For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

Flights to Europe and Japan will return to San Francisco International Airport in June, according to a statement from the airport.

This is big news; SFO hasn't had any flights to Europe since April 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But don't expect to escape to Paris for a week of fun next month. These flights are extremely limited and come with restrictions.

The following flights are slated to resume in June:

All Nippon Airways (ANA), three flights per week to Tokyo-Narita, beginning June 1

Swiss International Air Lines, one weekly flight to Zurich, beginning June 1

Lufthansa, three flights per week to Munich, beginning June 16.

There's no date yet for when flights between SFO and China will return.

"A lot of these international flights require governmental approval, so it will really require the approval of the Chinese government for United to resume some of those flights," SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel told KTVU-TV.

While airlines are resuming limited international service, you can't book these flights for leisure travel. All travel advisories, restrictions on entry, and arrival screening procedures remain in effect, SFO said in a statement.

The San Francisco stay-at-home order requires people to stay home except for essential needs and people may only travel to "perform essential activities, operate essential businesses and maintain essential government functions."

What's more, the Department of Homeland Security Notice of Arrival Restriction requires "American citizens, legal permanent residents, and their immediate families who have been in certain European countries at any point in the 14 days before their scheduled arrival to the United States to travel through one of 13 airports upon arrival to the U.S., submit to an enhanced entry screening and self-quarantine for 14 days once they reach their final destination."

SFO has seen a dramatic drop in travel. Yakel told KTVU that daily security screenings currently average 3,000. At this time last year 75,000 people passed through security per day.

Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.
Nine Bay Area counties recorded zero deaths from COVID-19 for two consecutive days on Sunday and Monday  the first time since March that has happened  but health experts warn that the plateau may just be a blip as the numbers soared again on Tuesday.

San Mateo County reported nine additional deaths, Alameda County recorded three and Santa Clara County two more before 3 p.m. The 14 new deaths pushed the Bay Area total past 400 with several counties not yet reporting for the day.

The Bay Area has averaged five to seven deaths a day in May, and was averaging about nine a day at the peak of the outbreak in mid April. Prior to Tuesday, there was only one double-digit total in the past two weeks.

Two days is too short of a period of time to define it as a trend, said John Swartzberg, a UC Berkeley infectious disease expert.

Even as San Francisco, along with much of the rest of the Bay Area, moved into phase two of Gov. Gavin Newsoms statewide reopening plan on Monday, Dr. Grant Colfax, the director of the citys Department of Public Health, cautioned that the virus remains unpredictable.

Its really important to emphasize, while were hopeful, that the situation can change quickly, he said during his morning briefing with Mayor London Breed. When this virus takes off, it takes off really fast.

San Francisco confirmed 48 new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the number of known cases in the city to 2,179. The Bay Area had 11,286 cases and 402 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.

Swartzberg emphasized the new case and death numbers do not reflect the current state of the outbreak, but what was happening two to five weeks ago. The virus has an incubation period of up to two weeks, and people who die generally do so three to five weeks after they are infected.

The reason were seeing the numbers plateau is because people sheltered in place, he said. We could be having a surge right now. We need much more rigorous application of testing to know where we are.

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.

Prior to Sunday, the last day without a reported virus-related death in the Bay Area was March 21. The last consecutive days without one were March 10-12, days before the shelter-in-place was ordered in the region and state. The Bay Area reported 20 deaths April 22.

Several Bay Area counties have reported small upticks in cases recently, which public health officials say may be due to some easing of stay-home restrictions  such as allowing construction to resume earlier this month  as well as increased testing.

But other counties, most noticeably Santa Clara, have seen a clear drop or a plateau in the number of cases over the past week or two. This week, all Bay Area county health officers said they were encouraged by signs that the regional outbreak has slowed and are prepared to continue, in some places very gradually, reopening the economy.

Swartzberg said the numbers may shoot up again as shelter-in-place restrictions are loosened around the Bay Area.

It's still a question mark, he said. The lack of deaths is great to see, but that's not telling us anything about where were at today. We know there will be more cases when people stop sheltering in place but we dont know how many.

Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
The Morrison government is considering a proposal to allow young Australians to stay on their parents' private health insurance plans until the age of 30, backed by health funds desperate to slow a fall in membership due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Catholic Health Australia, a major private hospital operator, wants the rules changed so that family cover can be used beyond the current age cut-off of 25, as thousands of young people ditch their health insurance amid rising unemployment.

Young Australians would be able to stay on their parents' health insurance plans until 30 under a proposal backed by the funds. Credit:Virginia Star

Chief executive Pat Garcia said the measure would help stem the youth exodus from private healthcare by keeping young Australians in the system until they were in a better financial position.

"If we want to start plugging the holes in the private health insurance system we need to let young Australians stay on the family plan for longer," Mr Garcia said.
Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won January's presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide, vowing to stand up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own and says it would be brought under Beijing's control by force if needed.

Tsai says Taiwan is an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name, and does not want to be part of the People's Republic of China governed by Beijing.

China has stepped up its military drills near Taiwan since Tsai's re-election, flying fighter jets into the island's air space and sailing warships around Taiwan. Tsai said Taiwan has made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the democratic island from its autocratic neighbour China.

China cut off a formal talks mechanism with Taiwan in 2016 after Tsai first won election. China views Tsai as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan.
VMware announced the availability of the second generation of VMware Cloud on Dell EMC, a cloud service that combines the simplicity and agility of the public cloud with the security and control of enterprise-grade on-premises infrastructure. Jointly developed with Dell Technologies, this VMware service delivers simple, more secure and scalable infrastructure-as-a-service to customers on-premises data center and edge locations.

Fidelma Russo, senior vice president and general manager, VMware Cloud on Dell EMC, said, Todays IT teams are under constant pressure to deliver the advantages of a cloud operating modelnamely, speed and agilitywhile still accounting for key security and compliance assurances. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC further enables IT teams to transform the operation, management and protection of their on-premises infrastructure to a cloud model. Organizations can migrate existing VMware-based workloads immediately to this cloud service, eliminating any re-development, re-factoring, or architectural rework and related costs. Additionally, it maximizes the value from existing IT investmentseliminating the potential need for point IT tools and related processes.

Cloud Service Unveils VDI Support, Large-Scale Deployment and Data Protection Capabilities

VMware Cloud on Dell EMC and features high-performance compute, storage and networking capabilities powered by VMware vSphere, VMware vSAN, and VMware NSX running on Dell EMC VxRail, the leader in Dell Technologies #1 hyperconverged systems. The service is designed to help IT organizations reduce operational complexity and accelerate innovation. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC supports a hybrid cloud model for IT enabling them to deliver infrastructure-as-a-service to data center and edge locations with consistent infrastructure and operations. This cloud service provides administrators with management of and visibility into all on-premises systems and is powered by VMware Cloud Foundation.

The second generation of VMware Cloud on Dell EMC introduces several new key capabilities:

Business Continuity Support via VDI : In todays environment, virtual desktops are a critical capability for enabling business continuity as more people work from home. VMware Horizon enables enterprises to offer their remote workforces more secure access to their desktops and applicationsespecially valuable in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is now fully certified for VMware Horizonto deliver virtual desktops at the edge or in the data center.

: In todays environment, virtual desktops are a critical capability for enabling business continuity as more people work from home. VMware Horizon enables enterprises to offer their remote workforces more secure access to their desktops and applicationsespecially valuable in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is now fully certified for VMware Horizonto deliver virtual desktops at the edge or in the data center. Enterprise-Grade Deployment Options: With a brand new, full enterprise-grade rack type for data center and colocation deployment, VMware Cloud on Dell EMC has doubled capabilities for compute, storage and networking in support of traditional and modern applications. This new, powerful 42RU R2 rack is now available in addition to the previously available R1 rack. Additionally, the cloud service now features automatic capacity expansion to ease scalability through the addition of new nodes over time.

With a brand new, full enterprise-grade rack type for data center and colocation deployment, VMware Cloud on Dell EMC has doubled capabilities for compute, storage and networking in support of traditional and modern applications. This new, powerful 42RU R2 rack is now available in addition to the previously available R1 rack. Additionally, the cloud service now features automatic capacity expansion to ease scalability through the addition of new nodes over time. Data Protection and Operational Transparency:VMware Cloud on Dell EMC now offers support for backup and recovery with certification of Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Manager to protect customers workloads. Additionally, the service supports other leading backup and recovery solutions. To enable greater operational transparency, insights and compliance, the service also introduced complete support for VMware vRealize Log Insight including integration with existing log solutions.

VMware Cloud on Dell EMC harnesses the full power of the VMware Software Defined Data Center, one of the most proven, most widely deployed cloud infrastructures supporting some of the most demanding business critical applications across global data centers. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC pioneers a new model for IT that delivers VMwares SDDC stack on-premises as-a-service and is operated and updated by VMware end-to-end. VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is core to the Dell Technologies Cloud data center-as-a-service solution.

Deepak Patil, senior vice president and general manager, Cloud Platforms & Solutions, Dell Technologies, said, Our customers expect flexibility and consistency in their use of cloud technologies from the core to the edge. They expect cloud to be a seamless enabler across these environments. With the second generation of VMware Cloud on Dell EMC, we are extending this cloud service capability to a broader set of enterprise use cases. With the tight integration between Dell EMC VxRail and VMware, we are enabling our customers with even greater performance, delivered as a service, across edge locations, the data center and public clouds.

Pricing & Availability

The second generation of VMware Cloud on Dell EMC is now available in the U.S. The subscription-based service offers cloud-like flexible consumption and payment options.
A Nigerian has become the first black valedictorian and the graduating student with the highest grade points ever recorded at a United States high school.

Timi Adelakun, 18, graduated with 5.604 GPA at South Broward High School in Florida.

The youngest of three children, he said his feat means a lot to his family and community.

Coming from a low-income community, it means a lot in general because of the way I was brought up, he told ABC News.

The teen said though he was shocked when he received the news, he was aware of his potential to break the schools record long before his senior year.

However, his major accomplishment has a bitter-sweet taste for his father who was deported over a decade ago and will be missing out on his big day.

He is missing out and it is not his fault. It is not any of our fault, Mr Adelakun said.

According to him, his father lived in the U.S. for about 28 years after coming to the country as a student in 1981 but was deported when Adelakun junior was so young he could barely remember him.

He left when I was in the first grade. I miss his physical presence and involvement, he said.

He said the family is fighting to bring him back to the country.

Due to his familys financial situation, he said he helped in funding his education with side hustles, such as graphic design and photography, or walking to school if he missed the bus.

Aside from being a science buff, he said he fed off time rehearsing for upcoming plays.

His love for performing art made him once serve as the district representative for a theatre competition.

Now as the schools first black Valedictorian, Mr Adelakun is anxious about his speech that will be delivered during South Broward High Schools virtual ceremony in June.

He said he was yet to pen his exact remarks but plans to provide some positive reinforcement for the Class of 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

He was accepted by several universities, including Columbia University, the Juilliard School and the University of Southern California but would go to Pomona College, a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California which offered him a full scholarship.
- Some of Deputy President William Ruto's allies have reached out to politicians close to President Uhuru Kenyatta seeking to shift their loyalty

- Many supporting the DP from Mt Kenya region have gone silent and shunned public limelight

- A dramatic shift of allegiance has seen all governors in the region rally behind the president

Deputy President William Rutos Mt Kenya allies are increasingly backing out of Tanga Tanga in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyattas ruthless crackdown on dissidents within Jubilee Party.

So scared are some of the MPs who have been championing Rutos 2022 presidential ambitions that they have been reaching out to politicians close to the President seeking to shift their loyalty.

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother laid to rest in Bungoma

Deputy President William Ruto is increasingly being abandoned by allies, particularly from Mt Kenya region. Photo: William Ruto.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Millicent Omanga miongoni mwa maseneta 48 wanaounga mkono kufurushwa kwa Kindiki

According to People Daily, some have confessed that they were deluded by some Tanga Tanga radicals into believing Uhuru and Ruto were working together but have since realised they were fighting the wrong battle.

Notably, a significant number of Central Kenya MPs who were openly supporting the DP and accompanying him to fundraisers have in recent weeks gone silent and vanished from the public limelight.

READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for May 20: 51 senators sign motion to dethrone Kithure Kindiki

President Uhuru Kenyatta has initiated a crackdown on disloyal Jubilee Party members with the purge targeting Tanga Tanga members. Photo: State House.A

Source: Facebook

This, observers opine, emanates from palpable fear that the President might take the war to their backyards like he did with Ferdinand Waititu in Kiambu, and lock them out of leadership come 2022.

Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu, who has stood firmly on the presidents side, is among those who have admitted to having been approached by scared Tanga Tanga politicians seeking to shift their loyalty.

Ive actually been talking to my colleagues on their behalf so that they can be pardoned, said Wambugu, a vocal critic of the DP.

Another staunch Uhuru supporter, Kieni MP Kanini Kega, also acknowledged having been approached by politicians from Rutos camp seeking accommodation as the anti-Tanga Tanga purge gains momentum.

We have welcomed back the moderate ones. But the extremists are still out there and today out of 75 MPs in the region, 62 are behind the President. What are these numbers they keep talking about? he asked.

Sharpshooting Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri, who has been a thorn in Uhuru's flesh, admitted the presidents shock move had terrified some Mt Kenya politicians but expressed doubts this would have long-lasting effects.

You can change your stand publicly to save yourself or to escape a problem but the heart of the people you are silencing cannot change, he stated.

Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri admitted some of Ruto's allies in Mt Kenya region have been shocked by the president's purge on Tanga Tanga members. PhotO Kimani Ngunjiri.

Source: Facebook

There has recently been a dramatic shift of allegiance in Uhurus favour as, apart from the MPs who are seeking to return home, almost all governors from Mt Kenya are now firmly behind him.

Among the county chiefs who at some point supported Ruto but have since changed tune are Mwangi wa Iria (Muranga) and Mutahi Kahiga (Nyeri) and ousted Kiambu boss Waititu.

Other leaders include Muranga county Woman Rep Sabina Chege and nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura.

Those who have toned down their support for the DP include vocal Laikipia county Woman Rep Catherine Waruguru and her counterparts Rahab Mukami (Nyeri) and Faith Gitau (Nyandarua).

Mwangi Kiunjuri, the former cabinet secretary who was touted as Rutos possible running mate in 2022, has gone mute despite thundering out with the pledge that "for every action, there will be a reaction", after his sacking last year.

This has left Moses Kuria (Gatundu South), Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu), Kimani Ichungwa (Kikuyu) and Rigathi Gachagua (Mathira) as the only outspoken leaders in Rutos camp, though they have also toned down their attacks on Uhuru.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

My boss in Saudi Arabia had denied me food for more than 10 days- Miriam Wangari| Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
eye-on-india BIG STORY | Private airlines to be part of the Vande Bharat Mission soon At present, Air India and subsidiary Air India Express hold a monopoly on the mission
The deceased who was a resident of Ntsin, a suburb of Cape Coast was said to have been released from prison not long ago.

A resident of Aquarium who pleaded anonymity told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the 29-year-old man known in the area as an ex-convict was last seen in the company of three others around 1200 hours in the vicinity.

According to the witness, the gang attempted to steal in the area and were pursued but the other three managed to escape.

The GNA noticed that the deceased was pelted with stones and cement blocks which damaged his face and some other parts of his body.

The incident drew a large crowd to the area and as at 900 hours, the body partly covered with plantain leaves, stones, pieces of wood and cement blocks, was still lying at the spot where the incident occurred.

The police are yet to visit the scene.

--GNA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 02:39:36|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIRUT, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese cabinet agreed on Tuesday to end the academic year for schools and cancel official exams amid increases in COVID-19 infections in the country, the National News Agency reported.

Students will take no official exams but continue their online education until the end of this month, it said.

Meanwhile, all students will pass their classes with certificates issued by their schools as proposed by Education Minister Tarek Majzoub.

The academic year in Lebanon was disrupted on multiple occasions, with schools closing during the mass protests last October and later as of March in accordance with coronavirus lockdown measures.

Several events that took place in Lebanon in the past few months led to an unprecedented economic and financial crisis which weighted heavily on living conditions of Lebanese citizens who have become incapable of affording schools tuition fees of their children. Enditem
(CNN) - Cyclone evacuation efforts in India and Bangladesh are being complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, as relief teams grapple with how to get millions of people to safety while also protecting them against the risk of Covid-19.

Cyclone Amphan started making landfall over eastern India at 2.30pm local time Wednesday (5am ET). The storm is expected to make official landfall late Wednesday afternoon local time, near the Indian city of Kolkata which is home to approximately 14 million people and close to the Bangladesh border.

Landfall officially occurs when half of the storm's center is over land.

As of Wednesday morning local time, the storm was tracking north in the Bay of Bengal with wind speeds of up to 160 kph (100 mph), according to data from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Amphan became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night, but has since weakened into the equivalent of a strong Category 2 Atlantic hurricane.

The storm could still wreak devastation, however. Its cloud field is 2,800 kilometers (1,740 miles) long from tip to tail -- that's the equivalent of the distance from Lisbon to Warsaw.

There's also a risk of powerful storm surges of up to 5 meters (16.4 feet), that could inundate low-lying coastal areas and be catastrophic for millions of people. In the areas under threat from the cyclone many villagers live in temporary homes with thatched or tin roofs.

Up to 33.6 million people in India could be exposed to the storm's powerful winds, according to the US Pacific Disaster Center (PDC). In Bangladesh, 8 million could be in its path, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said.

On Wednesday, Bangladesh raised its cyclone warning for the port towns of Mongla and Payra, which are in the storm's path, and 11 districts to danger signal 10 -- its second highest alert level. Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard has deployed 20 disaster relief teams along the country's eastern coast to carry out search and rescue operations at short notice, a spokesperson for India's Ministry of Defence said on Twitter.

Since Amphan is a large storm and spent multiple days at the equivalent of a Category 3 to 5 strength, the surge will be more significant than that of a typical Category 2 storm when it hits, meteorologists predict. The U-shape of the coastline around the Bay of Bengal and the low-lying delta region make the area prone to storm surge flooding.

Before it weakened on Wednesday, Amphan became just the second super cyclone to hit the Bay of Bengal since records began. During the last super cyclone in 1999, nearly 15,000 villages were affected and almost 10,000 people were killed.

Mass evacuations underway

Relief teams are rushing to evacuate people in low-lying coastal areas in both India and Bangladesh.

By Wednesday, Bangladesh had evacuated 2.4 million people, according to Enamur Rahaman, the State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief, who said evacuees from coastal areas would be relocated more than 12,000 cyclone shelters.

The Bangladesh Disaster Management Ministry said there is capacity nationwide for 9.1 million people to be safety housed in cyclone shelters while maintaining social distancing, as thousands of schools and government buildings are used for this purpose.

"(The government has) increased the evacuation shelter capacity, so that people can be taken to these shelters and ensure the physical distance," said Achala Navaratne, spokesperson for the American Red Cross in Bangladesh.

"They have also asked people to come with their own masks, make sure that if there are people that are showing any symptoms then to make sure they are in different shelters, not in the same shelters as the others."

In India, by Wednesday morning, more than 430,000 people had been evacuated in the states of Odisha and West Bengal states, according to India's National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). In West Bengal cyclone shelters can normally house 500,000 people, according to the NDRF, but because of social distancing rules, that number had been reduced by more than half to just 200,000.

Fishermen have been warned to remain onshore and not sail out for the next 24 hours by the Indian Meteorological Department.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the country's emergency response measures on Monday night, ahead of the storm's landfall in India. After the meeting, Modi said on his official Twitter account that evacuation plans had been discussed, as well as other emergency response measures.

"I pray for everyone's safety and assure all possible support from the Central Government," he said.

Coronavirus pandemic

The storm comes as India and Bangladesh struggle to bring local coronavirus outbreaks under control. India passed more than 100,000 confirmed infections on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and recorded its largest single-day spike on Wednesday with 5,611 new cases.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh's infection count is rapidly rising, with more than 1,300 new cases on Sunday, its biggest rise to date. In total, the country has recorded 23,870 confirmed infections, according to Johns Hopkins.

The countries will face as a double challenge, as emergency workers have to carry out difficult work with masks, gloves and visors, evacuating people who may already have the virus.

Pradeep Jena, special relief commissioner for Odisha state, said emergency services had to balance saving lives from the cyclone with saving lives from the coronavirus. "We have to strike a balance between the two and evacuate people wherever it is extremely essential, otherwise people are better off in their own homes," he said.

Jena said in evacuation centers, they were trying to keep the elderly and pregnant women separate from the rest of the population and were working hard to obtain adequate soap.

"Social distancing is definitely a very good concept but enforcing it in the strictest possible manner in a disaster situation may not always be possible," he said.

Snigdha Chakraborty, the Bangladesh manager for aid organization Catholic Relief Services, said people in the storm's path are worried about how they can ride it out while practicing social distancing.

"They're stressed. They are worried about going to evacuation centers. And they are also worried about maintaining physical distance," she said.

The problem is particularly acute in Cox's Bazar, which is home to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees, many who fled violence in neighboring Myanmar.

The first known Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the camp last week and with the storm now imminent, the two disasters could make for a devastating combination.

Though Cox's Bazar is on Bangladesh's east coast and further from the storm, Chakraborty said the camp could be affected.

Bangladesh's state minister for disaster management and relief Md. Enamur Rahman said evacuating the camp, was "not that important" as the warning signal for the area was at 6, a relatively manageable level.

"Evacuation is still not that important and [there] are many cyclone center[s] around the Rohingya camps[,] so if the direction of cyclone changes toward Cox's Bazar and Chittagong then they would be evacuated," he said on Wednesday.

One human rights advocate said that a novel coronavirus outbreak in the camp would be a "nightmare scenario."

"The prevalence of underlying health conditions among refugees and the deteriorating sanitary conditions sure to come with the looming monsoon and flooding season make for a witch's brew of conditions in which the virus is sure to thrive," said Daniel P. Sullivan, who works for the US-based organization Refugees International.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "India and Bangladesh's cyclone evacuations complicated by coronavirus"
Today we, the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees, write to current and future students, parents, families, faculty, staff, and members of the Mount Pleasant community to show our support for the decision to reopen campus this fall.

CMU has joined the growing list of institutions that have made plans to once again offer face-to-face classes. We are proud of the thoughtful, careful work done by President Davies and the CMU Emergency Management group to create a strategic approach to reopen campus that focuses on the health and safety of every member of the CMU community.

As plans to reopen are finalized, they will be made widely available. And, while we feel confident this is the best path forward for CMU, university leaders will continue to monitor the situation closely. Should outbreaks occur, or should state leaders require us to modify our plans, CMU also has developed several contingency plans, including a shift to remote and online instruction.

We are fortunate to have the leadership of President Davies to navigate through these challenging times. In the face of budget reductions and future uncertainties, he has provided calm guidance and even introduced powerful initiatives to keep education within reach for more students and lessening the burden on their families: freezing tuition, increasing scholarship support, guaranteeing on-campus employment for students, offering deferred and flexible payment options, and easing the path for transfer students.

Yet the responsibility for a successful transition this fall and for the future of our university cannot rest on President Davies alone. It is incumbent upon each of us to do our part. Today, we invite you to join us in this effort.

To CMU students and families: CMUs semirural setting makes it a safer option than some peer institutions in larger cities; however, the threat of COVID-19 has not and will not disappear for quite some time. We all must do our part to protect ourselves and others. This means following CDC recommendations  including washing your hands, wearing a face covering, practicing social distancing and cleaning often  and using good judgement when making decisions about activities on and off campus. We ask each of you to educate yourself on the facts and to do all you can to keep yourself and others safe.

To the Mount Pleasant business community: Many of you are eager to get back to business, and the return of students, faculty and staff may have a profound impact on your operations and your financial future. Please carefully consider how you will support a safe transition and share your plans with others. We look to you to develop practices and protocols to ensure the health and safety of your customers and consumers, including CMU students, faculty, staff and supporters.

To CMU alumni, donors and friends: Nationwide, higher education is in crisis, and CMU faces a challenging year ahead. Declining state appropriations, coupled with an unequal per-student funding model, will negatively impact the universitys financial bottom line. Changing demographics have led to lower enrollments, exacerbating the issue. Your financial support has never been as needed. Last year, CMU had its most successful fundraising year in its history. Please help us continue the trend. Consider making a gift in any amount to support students through scholarships, the Emergency Fund or another area.

We all share a vital interest in getting back to normal, yet recognize this will require us each to embrace changes to protect the health and safety of our community. We look forward to joining you in creating a vibrant school year at Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant and beyond.

Sincerely,

Tricia A. Keith, Chair

Richard K. Studley, Vice Chair

Robert F. Wardrop II, Vice Chair

Todd J. Anson

Isaiah M. Oliver

Edward J. Plawecki, Jr.

Dr. Michael A. Sandler

William H. Weideman
On May 18, anti-lockdown protesters from the poor neighborhood in El Bosque, located in the Chilean capital Santiago, clashed with the police due to food shortages during the lockdown.

Dozens of Chilean protesters threw rocks at the police, blocked traffic, and set fire in the neighborhood, as seen in numerous videos posted online. Tear gas and water cannon were also used to break crows on the streets. The local media reported similar incidents in other parts of the city and show protesters banging pots at night in several neighborhoods.

Anti-lockdown protest

Santiago, Chile's capital, went into a stick lockdown on May 15 after numerous coronavirus cases were recorded, but individual neighborhoods, including El Bosque where poverty is high, had been in lockdown for weeks. Chile's President Sebastian Pinera said on May 17 that millions of food baskets will be distributed to help struggling families.

The mayor of the district, Sadi Melo, told local radio that the neighborhood was facing a very difficult and complex situation because of a lack of work and hunger. The local officials said in a statement that they had distributed around 2,000 aid packages in the area but they warned the government that it was not enough.

President Pinera said that the government will prioritize the most vulnerable families and will start distributing millions of food baskets next week. Following the president's announcements, Santiago Mayor Felipe Guevara encouraged residents through a tweet to follow the lockdown rules and the stay at home orders for their own safety.

Guevara wrote that he understands the anguish of the people since thousands are now starving due to the lack of food and resources, but he did not address the controversy over the comments that he made on television about the protest.

Also Read: More Than 100 Infections in South Korea Linked to Fitness Classes

Government aid not enough

The protest in Santiago is just one of the growing anti-lockdown protest in Latin America. In Colombia, people have been hanging red cloths outside their houses to indicate that they are hungry. In Brazil, people from Sao Paulo marched to the state governor's palace as they demanded more assistance during the lockdown. In El Salvador, people have been banging pots to protest the lockdown and a way to demand help from the local government.

The governments in Latin America are finding it challenging to support the large population of poor people who are in lockdown since they have few financial resources left and their social systems are weak. Chile also had a number of protests in 2019 after the government announced its plan to increase metro fares.

There were also protest over high costs of living, low wages, and inequality, but it had subsided as the coronavirus spreads. The president already unveils the stimulus measures set by the government to help ease the impact of the pandemic in their economy, but critics and numerous opposition groups say that his plans are not enough since no one knows when the pandemic will end.

Coronavirus in Chile

Chile has 49,579 recorded as of May 19, with 509 deaths and 21,507 recovered cases. It is still unclear when the lockdown in Santiago will be lifted. On May 18, numerous members of Chile's senate and two ministers went into isolation after one of their colleagues tested positive for the virus.

Related Article: Japan in Recession After Economy Falls Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The proactive steps taken by all the northeastern states, coupled with the liberal support offered by the Centre, has helped the region cope up better with the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the rest of India, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

Singh said the success of the measures taken by the northeastern states is evident from the fact that Sikkim and Nagaland do not have a single COVID-19 positive case till date, while Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram had one patient each, who have since recovered



Meghalaya had 13 cases in a hospital in Shillong due to a foreign traveller. The state recorded one death, but all the others have since recovered, he said in a write up.

Meghalaya is also COVID-19 free now, the Union minister for development of north eastern region (DoNER), said.

In effect, as on Wednesday, five states of northeast India -- Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim -- are COVID-19 free.

Singh said the biggest state in the northeast, Assam, has a few cases, but the state has handled the pandemic very well and effectively contained it in local areas.

Manipur and Tripura had two cases each, who recovered, and the states were declared COVID-19 free.

However, in the first week of May due to migrants testing COVID-19 positive, Tripura saw a large spurt in cases, particularly in the Central Armed Police Forces, deployed there, he said.

Manipur has also seen five new case in the last three to four days related to migrants.

In fact, the pro-active steps taken by all the northeastern states coupled with the liberal support offered by the central government has helped the region to cope up better compared to the rest of India, he said.

This was made possible due to the prompt response of central and state governments in enforcing strict lockdowns, prompt supply of medicines and equipment through air cargo services and the air force, among others, Singh said.

He also said that quick ramping up of testing facilities and number of testing centres, upgrading COVID-19 related health infrastructure and making available essential supplies to all citizens through the public distribution system and the effective implementation of the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana has led to the northeast coping up better with the pandemic.

Giving details about the health infrastructure in the northeast, the minister said Sikkim and Nagaland did not have any testing facility while Assam had just two. Over the period, the number of testing facilities has been extended to all medical colleges in Assam.

The laboratory in Kohima in Nagaland is now functional and in Sikkim TrueNAT testing has started, while a RT-PCR laboratory would be functional shortly, he said.

Singh said that as a result of extension of testing facilities in the region, the pace of testing has increased from 2,931 in the first week of April to 60,063 in mid-May, from an average of 300 per day to 3,800 per day during this period, leading to prompt care and hospitalisations, wherever required.

He said the lockdown measures in all northeastern states were implemented effectively.

Not only inter-state borders were closed by the respective states, but more than 5,000 kilometers of international borders in the region were closed by border guarding forces and the local public, the Union minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The sweeping shutdowns across the U.S. intended to keep the coronavirus pandemic in check have been devastating to the economyand especially anything related to travel, as pretty much everything one would do on a vacation was put on pause. Even as states are slowly opening up, many of those recreational activities remain off-limitsor people are reluctant to come out and do them. After all, not only is there the lingering threat of catching a deadly disease, but many people have lost their jobsor are worried that layoffs still might be coming.

Travel searches for all popular U.S. vacation destinations dropped by 64% in March and April 2020 compared with the same time last year, according to a survey released last week by RentCafe. And a survey by Guesty, a rental property software company, of nearly 400 property management companies found that 64% of respondents said that cancellations were up by 76% to 100% compared with the same time last year. Nearly a third said they expect a 51% to 75% decrease in revenue for the year.

The vacation home rental market, dominated by such players as Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, has taken a huge hit as a result. Over time, renting out a home or homes for visitors became a full-time gig, and a substantial form of income for many ownerswhich is what makes the crash of the vacation economy so devastating. Many homeowners who had relied on rental income have been forced to either try to sell their homes or completely revamp their business model to stay afloat.

So what are they doing to stay afloat? Instead of raking in relatively high per-night rents, some rental home owners are turning to leasing out their fully furnished properties for longer terms, up to three months. It portends a big shift in the market.

COVID-19 is a terrible crisis in so many ways, says professor David Wachsmuth, who studies home-sharing platforms at McGill Universitys School of Urban Planning. One of the things were seeing is a remarkable collapse of the short-term rental market, particularly in cities. The viability of running dedicated Airbnb operations is not looking good right now.

To figure out which places have been hardest-hit by the collapse of home-sharing platforms like Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, the realtor.com economics team ran an analysis of the metros where furnished short-term rentals are now flooding the marketwhere they are shifting away from their mainstay: night-by-night rentals.

Looking at the 100 largest metros in the United States, the team scoured single-family homes, condos, townhomes, apartments, and other multifamily housing for keywords that identified furnished short-term properties. The metros eligible for analysis had at least 100 furnished short-term rentals in the last week of April, based on realtor.com data. The inventory growth trends were calculated by comparing the last week of February with the last week of April.

While theres no way to know for sure whether the influx of furnished rentals available for less than three months has come straight from home-sharing platforms, they are unusual in the general rental marketso theres reason to believe these new listings are overflow from Airbnb and VRBO inventory. And the markets that were unfortunate enough to make it into our top 10 are classic getaways for business and leisure. According to RentCafes survey, city trips fell among preferences from the first choice before the pandemic to the fourth after the coronavirus upended normal life.

Where short-term rentals are pouring onto the market realtor.com

No summer fun in the city this year

A pair of nightlife hot spots saw the biggest increases in furnished short-term rentals in the United States: Nashville, TN, with a whopping 185% leap, and Austin, TX, with 160%.

The famously lively destinations lure millions of visitors a year eager to listen to live music in densely packed bars and dine at bustling eateries. While Nashville is partly reopening with bars and restaurants at 50% capacity, Austin's stay-at-home order is still in effect until May 30.

Tennessee is allowing restaurants to open at 50% capacity. Here, a waitress wears rubber gloves and a mask at Puckett's Grocery & Restaurant in Franklin, just outside Nashville. Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Under the circumstances, its no surprise that short-term rental owners are seeking alternative tenants. The owners of these furnished units are either renting to folks in between homesin Nashville, 1,000 residents were displaced in early March after a tornado sliced through townor trying to sell.

Im seeing more furnished listings on the market [for sale], says Sher Powers, a spokesperson for the Greater Nashville Realtors who is also owner of a short-term rental.

A car drives down Bourbon Street in New Orleans on a Saturday, when it would normally be crowded with revelers. Bryan Tarnowski/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Just as short-term rental owners in Austin took a big hit when South by Southwest got canceled in mid-March, New Orleans landlords got slammed with financial losses by the cancellation of Jazz Fest. (The city's notorious Mardi Gras celebrations, which take place over the month leading up to the Feb. 25 holiday, have been blamed for accelerating the spread of the coronavirus.)

The number of furnished rentals being offered for longer stays in New Orleans shot up 48%sixth highest in the U.S.though, it probably would've been far higher had local governments not banned nearly all short-term rentals six months ago.

Since December, stays of fewer than 30 days are allowed only in commercial zones or if the owner lives on-site.

Its causing [rental] prices to fall in areas that had a lot of short-term rentals, says Brett Richman, broker and owner of Nola Homes Co. Landlords are heading for dark times. Theyre used to getting, like, $5,000 a month and now are looking for tenants for $1,200 per month.

The correction has been much-needed for local renters in these popular vacation cities. A recent study estimated that of all the rent increases over a multiyear timeline, one-fifth could be attributed to Airbnb, says Wachsmuth: Thats a crazy number.

Traditional family vacation spots are a no-go

The kids are out of school, but family-friendly getaways have been shut down just like everywhere else.

For the first time in its nearly 50-year history, Walt Disney World closed for something other than a hurricane. And on March 27, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis banned vacation rentals for stays shorter than 30 days, across the state. Hotels are open, but property owners are unable to take new short-term reservations. On Friday, the governor opened the door to allowing such rentals on a county-by-county basis.

Walt Disney World in Orlando has been closed since March 16. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Orlando has seen an 82% increase in furnished rentals being marketed for over 30 days, the third-highest in the nation. While the owners of these sorts of properties are taking a hit, the swell in inventory is actually a positive for locals in the steadily growing metrowhose population has increased nearly 20% in the past decadeas there is a huge demand for affordable rental units throughout Orlando and the Interstate Highway 4 corridor.

The Realty Medics, an Orlando-based rental agency, has seen a 30% increase in rental applications this April compared with April of last year. Broker Tommy Weclew has been approached by some of these short-term unit owners to help find long-term tenants to pay the bills.

Built for visiting families, these apartment-style placesin touristy areas right around the parks in Kissimmeeoften feature five bedrooms, five bathrooms, kitchens with granite countertops, and splashy community pools.

The people renting them for a year are getting a really nice, unique experience for a rental house, Weclew says. Its a whole different experience.

A police officer walks outside of the closed Alamo in San Antonio, TX. Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, San Antonio, TX, has long been a favorite urban getaway when schools out for summerits Sea World, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Alamo, and famous River Walk offer something for everyone. Normally at this time of year, Airbnb rentals often fill up on weekends with families for leisurely vacations, weddings, and graduations, but now bookings have been canceled through June.

San Antonio earned the No. 6 spot on the list of places with the biggest jump in furnished short-term rentals, with a 49% increase. The folks who have been taking advantage of these more affordable short-term rentals tend to be relocating for a job or changing homes.

Were getting people in transition from selling a home and trying to move into another home, says Ruth Horace, a short-term rental owner and agent with Keller Williams Legacy in San Antonio. Instead of a couple of days, we're seeing a few weeks at a time.

Waterside getaways also see a slump

Nearby Jacksonville, FL, in the No. 9 slot, has also seen a wave of longer-term furnished listings resulting from the short-term rental ban. Furnished rental listings have increased 42% since COVID-19 shut down the Sunshine State.

People access Jacksonville Beach in Florida. Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Though the Gateway to Florida itself isnt necessarily known as a vacation hot spot, the metro area encompasses several family-friendly, coastal communities where visitors rent out entire homes to enjoy the balmy ocean breeze. That includes Jacksonville Beach and St. Marys, across the state line in Georgia and just a ferry ride from Cumberland Island National Seashore. But throughout the two-state metro area, the vacation rental market has effectively died since March, local hosts sayin spite of Georgia lifting its short-term rental ban in late April.

Although these areas are attempting to lure tourists back, experts arent expecting to see visitors or vacation rentals pick back up anytime soon.

Its going to be a while, says Wachsmuth. Its not an Airbnb-specific problem; its the tourism industry as a whole.

The lack of tourism has crossed the Pacific, too. The family-friendly beach towns around Hawaii have seen their COVID-19 caseloads dwindle over the past two weeksmost likely due to the 14-day quarantine implemented for travelers entering the archipelago.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell recently extended the quarantine order to June 30 for the metro. The lack of holidaymakers has prompted many short-term rental owners to list their places for longer stays. Honolulu ranked at No. 8, with a 47% increase in furnished listings.

Though there has been a 40% drop in vacation searches for Honolulu since lockdown began, it actually is considered one of the most resilient vacation destinations in the U.S. by the folks at RentCafe, as that drop is far lower than other popular travel spots. Nationally, the most popular vacation destinations in the before times have experienced a 64% decrease in travel searches from last spring.

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Wakiki Beach resort stands next to the Duke Kahanamoku Lagoon in Honolulu, Hawaii. Marie Eriel Hobro/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bridgeport, CT, an upscale waterside metro of another stripe, has also seen an uptick in furnished short-term rentals hitting the marketthe 10th highest in the nation, at 35%. Many of the wealthy towns that make up Connecticuts Gold Coast on the Long Island Sound have banned rentals under 30 days and asked new arrivals to quarantine themselves for 14 days.

But the furnished longer-term listings in Westport, New Canaan, Darien, and similarly well-to-do ZIP codes are getting snapped up by New Yorkers desperately seeking an escape from the cramped COVID-19 epicenter of the United States for the next three to five months. Demand actually outpaces supplyespecially for the homes that are so luxe theres no need to leave the property.

Right now in Fairfield County there are only five summer furnished rentals with a pool, says Matt Murray, real estate salesperson with the Higgins Group. The pricing ranges from about $7,000 to $75,000 per month for the summer.

Its these types of suburban and rural areas just outside major cities that have been better poised to weather the storm of fewer weekend warriors.

The flow of new reservation requests has dropped by only 10% to 20% in U.S. suburban and rural areas, Omer Rabin, a director at Guesty, recently told Forbes. This is in comparison to a more than 50% decline in new reservations in urban markets (and a decline of over 70% in highly impacted markets).

No convening at these convention centers

The Las Vegas metro, which has varying short-term rental restrictions from municipality to municipality (some of which come with $1,000 penalties for noncompliance), has seen the fourth-highest increase in furnished listings, up 56% as demand for yearlong leases has been skyrocketing.

It seems like as soon as something becomes available, I get three or four people wanting to rent it, says George Trombley, broker of leasing at 10 Blackbird Realty & Management. I have a waiting list for the first time in 10 years.

A gaming area is closed at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

And Chicago, like Vegas a longtime hub for conventions and travelers seeking an accessible urban experience, follows right behind Vegas with a 49% increase in furnished short-term rentals. The Second City has not been as hard-hit by COVID-19 as New York, but with a thriving nightlife and a densely packed population, it most certainly hasnt been immune to the virus.

Even landlords and management companies that focus on yearlong leases are becoming more flexible with tenants, extending leases until the stay-at-home order is lifted or offering deals to renew.

Theres a lot of people who dont want to deal with the situation whatsoever, says Maurice Ortiz, director of operations at Apartment People. They dont want people coming through their apartments, don't want to look at apartmentssome are just moving home and hunkering down with family until this clears up.

Heres the complete list of the 10 metros where furnished short-term rentals have increased the most, with the percentage increase:

The post In Airbnb Hubs, Furnished Short-Term Rentals Are Now Pouring Onto the Market appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Turkeys clothing and textile industry  the most crucial branch of the countrys economy in terms of production, exports and employment  has emerged as the worst-hit industrial sector in the coronavirus pandemic, with no apparent prospects of a quick recovery.

Industrial production data, released by the Turkish Statistical Institute last week, shows that clothing and textile production in March, when the coronavirus officially reached Turkey, shrank respectively 20% and 14% from February, while the overall decline in the manufacturing industry stood at 7.5%. The downtick has apparently continued since then and the outlook reportedly remains far from promising for June.

Clothing and textiles have been among the first items that households forego during the pandemic, resulting in some of the sharpest slumps in consumer demand globally and raising the specter of unemployment for hundreds of thousands of workers in the sector, especially in Asia. The entire global chain, from cotton and fiber suppliers to retail shops, has been affected.

Turkeys clothing and textile industry  one of the countrys most deep-rooted manufacturing branches  has drawn both on domestic demand from an 83-million population and foreign demand, mainly from Europe, to thrive and grow into a heavyweight in the Turkish economy. For years, Turkey has ranked among leading producers in the global apparel and textile sector, where manufacturing has concentrated in emerging economies, mostly in Asia, while wealthy developed nations are the main consumers. China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh are the top producers today. Turkey is the worlds sixth-largest exporter of textiles and the eighth-largest exporter of ready-to-wear. In the European Union market, Turkey ranks third in terms of ready-to-wear sales after China and Bangladesh, and second in terms of textiles after China.

The pandemic-induced decline in Turkeys clothing and textile sector is of concern to a population much larger than it might seem at first glance. The industry employs some 1.3 million people, including unregistered workers, in the manufacturing field, but an equally large labor force works in distribution and marketing. Also, cotton growers represent a significant part of the agrarian population, though their numbers have decreased in recent years.

Central bank figures show that credit card spending on clothing in the eight weeks since March 11, when Turkey confirmed its first coronavirus case, decreased 64% from the eight weeks prior to the outbreak. Overall credit card spending was 30% down in the same period. Accordingly, the share of clothing spending fell to 3.5% of total spending from 7.5% before the pandemic, as consumer demand focused mostly on food and health and cleaning products.

The shrinkage in the domestic market has been mirrored by a decline in exports, a vital source of hard currency for the Turkish economy, which was still reeling from a severe currency shock in 2018 when the pandemic hit.

Clothing and textile producers contribute up to 15% of Turkeys exports, almost on par with the leading automotive sector. While the automotive industry accounts for 8% of imports, the share of the clothing and textile sector is 3%, making it one of Turkeys few sectors that are net exporters, along with, most notably, the food sector. Imports of cotton, the main raw material of the industry, have grown in recent years, but local cotton producers continue to partially supply the sector. So, the clothing and textile industry could be termed as one rooted at home. For all those reasons, the turmoil in the sector has far-reaching repercussions.

In January and February, Turkeys apparel exporters sold goods worth $3 billion to foreign markets, helped also by the depreciation of the Turkish lira. With the spread of the pandemic, especially in Europe, the principal market of Turkish-made apparel, exports fell by a staggering 40% to $1.8 billion in March and April.

Restrictions to contain the pandemic, coupled with sagging demand, have forced leading international brands such as Nike, Adidas, GAP, H&M and Macys to temporarily close their shores in an array of countries. The shares of many big apparel companies lost up to nearly 50% of their stock market value from late February to mid-March, and the downtick has yet to reverse.

Leading Turkish retailers, which operate mostly in shopping malls, met the same fate. Popular apparel brands such as Boyner, Mavi, Vakko and Ipekyol closed their shops and furloughed employees. Some sought solace in online sales. The slump in sales quickly hit production, forcing manufacturers to reduce or halt operations.

On May 11, shopping malls reopened across Turkey in a controversial move that, many fear, could inflame the outbreak. Though the decision has pleased mall owners, tenants selling apparel have had few reasons for optimism as domestic demand remains dormant and foreign tourists have yet to return. Shop tenants are now pressing for new rent arrangements, demanding that rents be pegged to turnovers.

Istanbul, Turkeys economic powerhouse and the main hub of the clothing industry, has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the country, accounting for about 60% of cases, according to limited geographical data released by the Health Ministry. The apparel sector in the city has been the worst hit after businesses in the services sector.

Istanbul contributes 31% of Turkeys gross domestic product and the clothing sector is the backbone of both industry and commerce in the city. Istanbul is home to 68% of Turkeys apparel businesses and 49% of workers in the apparel industry. In the textile sector, 39% of businesses and 16% of workers are located in Istanbul. In both sectors, Istanbul is the center of wholesale and retail trade, with hundreds of thousands of employees.

In sum, shrinking production and marketing in the clothing sector has severely hit employment in the city. Among those left jobless are many unregistered workers, including refugees and illegal migrants who live off very low wages.

Besides the decline in domestic demand and exports, Turkeys clothing sector has lost customers also from the abrupt halt in the tourism industry, which brought nearly 52 million foreign visitors to the country last year.

With the impact of the pandemic so complex and far-reaching, the sectors return to the old normal is likely to be slow and arduous.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Fighting back: people take part in the Worldwide Endometriosis March to help raise awareness of the painful condition in 2017

If you ever find yourself engaging with the kind of tiresome troll who suggests that "feminism has gone far enough", here's some advice.

Have a social media holiday, for starters. Then go read emergency care specialist Dr Alyson J McGregor's new book, Sex Matters: How male-centric medicine endangers women's health and what we can do about it.

Next, lie down in a darkened room until the feelings of impotent rage have died down and come back at them armed with a few of the facts below.

For example, a 2012 US study found that paramedics were less likely to take severely injured women to an emergency or other trauma centre (49% of women versus 62% of men).

Men reporting irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms are more often referred for X-rays, women offered lifestyle advice or anxiety medication.

Perhaps even more worryingly, women are less likely to be referred for testing if they complain of cardiac symptoms, and more likely to die after a serious heart attack due to a lack of care.

Most doctors, male or female, who presumably don't stroll around the wards jauntily indifferent to the fate of 50% of their patients, would be horrified by these findings. So, what is going on?

As McGregor unpicks in her accessible and urgently important book, there is a whole medical history and culture at work that assumes men are the default, with literally deadly consequences for the other half of humanity.

It's not as simple as blatantly sexist doctors (though one or two of those rear an oleaginous head in these pages), but a whole system that marginalises women and minimalises their suffering.

One of many anecdotes that liven up the grim litany of medical statistics is the author's visit to a "sim lab" of lifelike mannequins used to train students at a top-tier medical school in the US.

Every single model was white and male. The only "female" sim was a man with a blonde wig and a plastic foetus lying next to it. You don't need a PhD in women's studies to realise that a medical establishment which treats the female body as a faintly comical novelty with a baby attached is problematic.

As McGregor writes: "Students are trained to look for male patterns of disease, trauma and pain on male bodies, and solve problems according to research and testing using mostly male models."

We know that female health problems are prone to neglect. The author Hilary Mantel has written about the misery of endometriosis, an agonising condition that takes on average 7.5 years to be diagnosed in the UK and attracts only a fifth of the research as the distinctly less painful, more profitable erectile dysfunction.

What is less understood is that the problem runs much deeper: women react differently to drugs and show different symptoms to some of the world's biggest killers, including heart disease and stroke.

The chapter on medication in particular made my jaw plummet.

Women metabolise drugs differently 40% of the time, McGregor writes.

Yet 80% of animals used in trials of potential new drugs are young males, and women's participation in the first crucial phase of clinical trials is even now only 30%.

This leads to a situation where, for instance, it took nearly 20 years and thousands of complaints before the medical authorities realised that women only needed half the original recommended dose of the sleep aid Ambien.

More frighteningly, McGregor writes that when drug trials are designed without gender-based criteria, "the different effects of the drugs on men and women often simply cancel one another out".

For example, men may have no increase in QT interval (a gauge of heart activity) with a particular drug, whereas women may have a large, dangerous increase.

When these results are lumped together by researchers, it results in a "statistically insignificant QT interval impact" - which is deemed as "acceptable risk" by US regulators and approved.

Out of 10 prescription drugs that were withdrawn from the market in a four-year period, McGregor notes that eight were found to pose greater risks to women.

Medical research is a knotty, wicked problem: drugs are a public good, but the development of new ones is privately funded by pharmaceutical companies whose priority is to turn a profit.

Men are easier, safer and cheaper test subjects because there's no risk they're pregnant and they don't have monthly fluctuations of hormones, which can affect how drugs are metabolised. The incentives - and regulation - are apparently not yet in place to ensure the more fiddly and expensive clinical trials necessary to test how a drug performs at various points of a woman's menstrual cycle.

The problems with letting market forces rip right through the delicate task of developing drugs are so manifold they've spawned a cannon of their own.

Investigative journalist Gerald Posner's Pharma: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America, published this March, is the latest in a long line of industry exposes.

For women, a different kind of problem, though one no less toxic, is the battered old cultural baggage that means women are still seen as both irrational and doomed to suffer.

According to McGregor, they're more likely to receive a psychiatric diagnosis than men and less likely to receive appropriate investigations or pain medication.

She writes about how her husband, also a doctor, told her how a male neurologist had joked that he had an algorithm for treating paresthesia - the medical term for pins and needles that can precede serious diseases or stroke.

"When they come in, the first thing I ask is, 'Are they male or female?' If they're male, I say, 'Let's do a CT scan'. And if they're female, I say 'Stop! It's anxiety. It's all in her head'."

This is an educated man, in the second decade of the 21st century.

Sure, rich men can no longer send off their troublesome daughters for lobotomies or consign their errant wives to the asylum, but we still have a depressingly long way to go.

The author remains optimistic that things are improving and acknowledges that her research is no longer seen as fringe.

Let's hope this book is part of a major culture change, building on the momentum of Caroline Criado Perez's best-selling Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Built for Men. Her research explored how the same male-centric thinking plays out in the world at large.

For example, women are 47% more likely to be injured in a car crash because safety features are designed for men.

Feminism is basically the recognition that women are fully fledged humans, not men who went a bit wrong.

The fact that medical science still doesn't quite reflect this, from the way it develops drugs to who it refers for a life-saving scan, creates a queasy feeling that is not hard to diagnose.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

Bangkok (ESCAP News)  The 7th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) concluded today with a resounding call for countries to revive international cooperation and multi-stakeholder partnerships in tackling the huge socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threaten to reverse hard-won development gains in the region.

More than 730 delegates representing governments, civil society, businesses, and international organizations at the Forum hosted virtually by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) also expressed concerns on the limited progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and underscored the need for transformative accelerated action by all stakeholders to meet the targets by 2030.

COVID-19 is already raking high tolls on the region. Most economies experienced contractions during the first four months of 2020 and millions of people are projected to fall into extreme poverty this year. The disruption to food systems and reduced access to healthcare and education systems will also have profound effects on the most vulnerable communities and people in the region.

We have reached a point of great risks and opportunities for this world. If we are to tackle the fragilities this crisis has exposed, then our recovery must break with the past. It must pursue equality, inclusion, sustainability, and transformation. It must bring the fundamental calling of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to life, said United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed in her opening remarks. She called on governments to put resilience and sustainability at the core of recovery investment packages as well as reorient economic models to generate green jobs and invest in chronically underfunded public services such as social protection and healthcare.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana urged countries to turn challenges arising from the global health crisis into opportunities by leveraging innovation to advance technology-based solutions. Protecting peoples well-being must be at the core of policy responses. By ensuring a readiness on the part of institutions, policymaking must be able to manage trade-offs and complexity in responding to future crises to safeguard sustainable development gains, added Ms. Alisjahbana.

Science, technology and innovation has been vital in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing complex environmental issues. The time is right for ESCAP member States to consider a digital revolution by enhancing scientific collaboration in our region, shared H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. He added, However, bringing about a digital revolution also requires us to bridge the digital divide. Accelerating implementation of the SDGs through technology must begin by giving ordinary people the tools to do so.

Chair of the 7th APFSD, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to ESCAP H.E. Ms. Samantha K. Jayasuriya underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships moving forward: To achieve the 2030 Agenda and to deliver on the global Decade of Action, we need a strong, and well-coordinated response, both at country level, including with all institutions and all members of society, as well as from the multilateral cooperation framework.

Civil society representative Ms. Deki Yangzom of Y-PEER Bhutan further highlighted the need to address systemic barriers that impact the acceleration of the SDGs: We urge governments and the UN to include the civil society as part of policy decision processes. We want our voices to be heard because we are not only the future  we are the now.

Delegates at the APFSD this year reviewed six key transformative entry points to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. They are 1) human well-being and capabilities; 2) sustainable and just economies; 3) food systems and nutrition patterns; 4) enhancing power grid connectivity to achieve affordable and clean energy for all; 5) urban and peri-urban development; and 6) global environmental commons.

On the sidelines, ESCAP, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) jointly launched the latest edition of the Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report - Fast-Tracking the Sustainable Development Goals: Driving Asia-Pacific Transformations. The report highlights strategies to accelerate the transformation and helps countries compare their speed of progress with others. It calls for clear direction, removing systemic barriers, investing in institutional and public readiness to change, and upgrading policymaking approaches to manage increasingly complex development challenges.

One of the reports key findings is that higher income is not a silver bullet to address the challenges posed by SDGs and achieve accelerated progress along transformative pathways. Low-income and lower-middle-income countries emerged as some of the fastest-moving countries in the region.

Since 2014, the APFSD has provided a unique annual platform for countries in Asia and the Pacific to share perspectives, challenges, and best practices as they progress toward implementing the SDGs. Outcomes from APFSD will provide input into the global discussions held at the HLPF in July this year.

The full Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership report can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/SDGPartnersAP
Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the countrys second largest passenger vehicle maker, will go ahead with its planned investments despite the coronavirus outbreak. It is also devising a multi-pronged strategy to counter the economic slowdown, which is expected to last till December and might impact overall industry volumes by more than 25%, said two senior company executives.

Hyundai plans to push new and cheaper vehicle-ownership models, such as subscription-based offers in metro cities, besides retooling its used-car business strategy.

There will be no change or delay whatsoever in any of our planned investments as we work with a five-year vision principle. We may have to expedite our introduction of new models (because of the crisis). Our capacity is sufficient for two years. This crisis has given us the opportunity to work more closely with our Indian vendors and enhance our localization efforts," said Ganesh Mani S., director, manufacturing, Hyundai Motor India.

It is also planning a significant push in rural areas, as demand for vehicles is likely to revive in semi-urban and rural markets post the pandemic, much before urban areas. The firms rural network is marginal compared to rival Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which is also the leader in the used-car market with True Value outlets.

The needs of customers will probably change and some may look at total ownership, while others may prefer subscription-based offers, as mobility needs will change and affordability is a crucial factor now, said Tarun Garg, director, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India.

The advantage (of the subscription model) is that the customer is not bound to an EMI for four to five years and can try different cars for varying time periods. There is no problem of registration, insurance, and other payments. This should have a lot of traction for many customers, especially in urban areas," he said.

Hyundai, which senses a significant change in vehicle ownership patterns, plans to push its used-car business to offset any decline in new car sales.

We understand that now demand for good quality pre-owned cars is going to be very high. We have to review all the systems and processes and bring in much more digital in the pre-owned car business. I see a lot of potential there and we will have to see how to leverage it more. I feel strongly that customers will want good quality BS-IV pre-owned cars, as there is a price increase when it comes to BS-VI. The H-Promise brand has made quite an inroad and maybe the opportunity is to take it ahead," said Garg.

After opening some sales and service outlets more than a month after shutting down operations following the lockdown, Hyundai got 4,900 bookings and has delivered over 3,100 vehicles in May.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Topics
Menzgold Ghana Limited has announced Payboy Company Limited as a third party to negotiate debt settlement with its numerous aggrieved clients.

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

"... were happy to introduce PAYBOY COMPANY LIMITED, a digital payments marketing and promotions company, headquartered at No. 34 Nii Ako Nortei Street, Blohum Road, Dzorwulu, Accra, as the appointed third party entity with the capacity to negotiate Debt Settlement Agreements and to facilitate payments of same, in our committed resolve to ensure the eventual full debts settlements by Menzgold within the shortest possible time," portions of Menzgold's statement read.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Ghanas cases hit 6,096

On April 22, 2020, the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold (CACM) described Payboy Company Limited, an alleged offshoot of the defunct gold-trading company, as a Ponzi scheme and cautioned its members against doing business with the firm.

It followed calls to customers by Payboy Company to pay an amount of money in order to retrieve their locked-up funds from the defunct gold-trading company.

In a statement issued by the Coalition signed by the leadership of CACM on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the group advised its members to stay away from Payboy Company Limited.

According to the Coalition, information reaching them indicates that about 319 customers have fallen prey to the latest scandal by Payboy.

READ ALSO: Kumepreko Demo: Akufo-Addo, Kweku Baako, et al celebrate 25th anniversary

Many of the customers of Menzgold have received invites, adverts, and messages asking them to partake in the Payboy scheme.

Health benefits of Dawadawa and Kontomire | #Yencomgh

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
A fur farm worker caught coronavirus from mink weeks after animals with shortness of breath tested positive for the illness, a Dutch minister has revealed.

Dutch Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said her office had been wrong to claim the virus could not pass from animals to humans after a worker at an unnamed farm tested positive for Covid-19.

The strain of coronavirus found in the worker was similar to the strain circulating among the mink.

In a letter to parliament today she added that the Netherlands' Institute for Public Heath say the chance of transmission outside of the animals' stalls is minimal.

Outbreaks on mink farms in the Netherlands were first reported in April, when keepers noticed some animals having difficulty breathing, prompting a wider investigation.

The strain of coronavirus found in a mink farm worker in the Netherlands is similar to the strain circulating among the animals (file image)

In her letter, Ms Schouten didn't disclose any details of the affected worker's condition.

Restrictions have been placed on mink farms, including screening for all farms in the Netherlands, and requirements for employees to wear protective equipment.

Animals and manure on infected farms are banned from leaving their sites.

Mink fur is sold in China, Korea, Greece and Turkey. After pressure from animal rights activists, the Dutch government banned new mink farms in 2013 and said existing ones would have to close by 2024.

The semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals are raised for their soft pelts on more than 130 Dutch farms.

Barrier tape cordoning off buildings of a mink farm at Beek en Donk, eastern Netherlands on April 26, after it was revealed some of the animals were suffering from coronavirus. The farm where a worker contracted the virus is still unnamed

Authorities are monitoring the outbreak to gauge its persistence, Marion Koopmans, head of the viroscience department at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, told Bloomberg.

'Does it burn out on the farms? I think that's the biggest question,' said Ms Koopmans.

The study found traces of the virus in airborne, inhalable dust on the farms.

It was a source of 'transmission between the minks and occupational risk of exposure for the workers on the farms,' according to the study.

The outbreak began around April 19, when signs of respiratory disease were reported among mink on two farms in the province of Noord-Brabant, close to the Belgian border.

By the end of the month, 2.4 per cent of the animals had died on one and 1.2 per cent on the other, according to a study released Monday.

A closed off mink farm in Beek en Donk, the Netherlands, on Sunday, April 26. The effected animals were tested after showing signs of illness including shortness of breath and gastric problems

The government has asks infected mink farms to keep cats out of the premises because researchers think they could be another source of transmission.

Antibodies against Covid-19 were found in three out of 11 cats on one farm.

Last month Dutch police sealed off two mink farms in the south of the country after it was revealed some of the animals were suffering from coronavirus.

An investigation was launched to determine whether the animals were infected by their human keepers.

The towns where the farms are located, Germert-Bakel and Laarbeek, are both in the southern Noord Brabant province of the Netherlands which has seen the countrys worst coronavirus outbreak.

Latest statistics from the Johns Hopkins University shows that the Netherlands has 44,249 confirmed cases of infection with 5,715 deaths.

A closed off mink farm in Beek en Donk. Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority Minister Carola Schouten ordered that mink farmers, vets and people in research institutions need to notify them immediately if they notice breathing problems

Police sealed off the entrances of the two farms at Milheeze and Beek en Donk with red-and-white tape and advised locals not to walk or cycle anywhere within 437 yards of the two affected mink farms.

Movement of the ferret-like mammals and their manure was banned and the agriculture ministry said it was studying the outbreak carefully, including testing the air and soil.

The effected animals were tested after showing signs of illness including shortness of breath and gastric problems. Medics are trying to work out the source of the infection by testing employees.

After the confirmation of the infection, Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority Minister (NVWA) Carola Schouten ordered on Sunday that mink farmers, vets and people in research institutions need to notify them immediately if they notice breathing problems or an increase in mortality in minks.

The minister indicated that there were no plans to extend the order to any other livestock animals on the farms as there were no indications that these were also affected.

A closed off mink farm in Beek en Donk, the Netherlands. Mink breeding is already controversial in the Netherlands with a legal challenge at the country's highest court ordering that it should eventually be phased out by 2024

Researchers are currently at both farms taking samples to see which of the animals are infected to map the course of the disease for further research. They were also taking dust samples to see how far the virus was spreading outside the radius of the farm.

Beek en Donk mayor Frank van der Meijden said he had spoken to the local farm owner where there were 7,500 adult animals, and steps were being taken to make sure that they remain cared for. At the moment there was reportedly no suggestion that the animals would be culled.

The other farm with infected animals at Milheeze reportedly houses 13,000 minks.

The minks were the first reported cases in animals in the Netherlands of the disease, which has been found in some pets and zoo animals around the world after spreading among people.

Two dogs in Hong Kong tested positive for the virus last month. The first of the two dogs infected in Hong Kong was a pomeranian, belonging to a 60-year-old woman who had tested positive for the virus. The dog later died after being released from quarantine, officials said.

A total of eight big cats have tested positive for coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo in New York City (pictured)

The second infected dog was a German shepherd living in the Pok Fu Lam area on Hong Kong Island.

In Belgium, a woman was found to have passed on the coronavirus to her pet cat. 'The cat had diarrhoea, kept vomiting and had breathing difficulties. The researchers found the virus in the cat's faeces,' the country's top virologist said.

A total of eight big cats have tested positive for coronavirus at the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
The Bundi district administration in Rajasthan has sent back home over 2,000 of more than 3,000 migrant workers who had registered themselves with it, officials said on Wednesday.

Similarly, over 1,200 migrant workers from the district have returned from other parts of the country, they said.

So far, the administration has facilitated the return of 2,310 of the 3,117 migrant workers from 26 states who were stranded in the district due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to Bundi Collector Antar Singh Nehra.

Nearly 145 migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh will be sent back home on buses, which will also bring back to Bundi 87 workers from the neighbouring state, he said.

As many as 470 workers from Bihar and 132 from West Bengal are still stuck in Bundi and discussions are being held with the respective state governments to facilitate their return, he added.

Similarly, 1,232 of the total 2,564 migrant workers from Bundi stuck in other states have reached home. The process to bring back home the remaining workers is underway, Nehra said.

A helpline-cum-control room set up by the Bundi district Congress Committee has facilitated the return of 250 migrant workers to 22 states in the last 19 days, a party leader said.

At least 71 migrant workers hailing from Bihar are still struck in Bundi and are staying in the municipal council's 'rain-baseras' where they are being provided food by the district administration, district Congress vice president Charmesh Sharma said.

He said Urban Housing and Development Minister Shanti Dhariwal has specially allotted funds to the state's municipal bodies for providing food to the migrant workers staying in government 'rain-baseras'.

"The party workers contribute for travel expenses of migrant workers," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Smell of charred houses and teargas still hang heavy in the air at the Nawakadal neighbourhood, a day after two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed by security forces in an encounter on Tuesday.

The wanton destruction of the houses got revealed to residents after the forces deinducted from the downtown area. Soon angry residents threw stones and bricks at police who replied with teargas canisters.

Residents alleged the forces used heavy weaponry on the houses in a bid to neutralise the militants. They said in a congested locality when houses are literally strapped on to one other, the forces could have been more careful.

"In early 2000, security forces killed the then Jaish Mohammad chief Ghazi Baba in the Qamarwari area which is not far away from here, but only one house had suffered partial damage," an elderly man told CNN-News18 near the entrance of one house.

They keep on claiming this is a clean operation. How is it a clean operation when 15 to 18 houses are damaged, some of them razed to the ground? You cannot bombard a locality by using heavy ammunition in an urban area in the name of fighting militants, a youth shouted near a mosque where donations were being collected for rebuilding the line of houses. They could have waited. Why the urgency?

At 2am on Tuesday when Srinagar was eerily calm and getting ready for another Sehri -- a predawn mealtime during Ramzan -- security forces walked silently past a maze of lanes near a government college and ringed a cluster of houses.

They had credible leads that Junaid Sehrai -- a militant commander and son of a top separatist leader and his associate were in one of the houses.

Soon an encounter ensued and through the day the area rent with firing and occasional blasts. Before evening both were killed. A policeman and three CRPF jawans were also injured.

Soon it became evident the gunfight had left behind a trail of destruction and shattered the life of residents who till hours ago had no inkling of what was to come when they were gotten out of the locality.

Angry residents throw stones and bricks at police.

On their return, they dreaded to see what had become of their beloved homes and belongings. Children, women and old men stood in trance looking at the destruction that had wreaked in the locality.

Videos and pictures of children in tears and women beating their chests and put on social media spaces invited both scorn and outrage against police. There were diverse reactions too with some justifying the action and blaming the residents for sheltering militants.

Where will we stay? Who will allow us in their homes in this pandemic? We have to live under open sky? a woman said. We cannot even ask our relatives for accommodation in times of COVID-19, she added.

Only three houses have been permanently damaged and a few more have partial damages. The damage to other houses happened because they are packed close to each other and made of wood. There is no fire gap, Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Haseeb Mughal told CNN-News18.

On whether heavy munition was used, Mughal said the target houses were only fired at and occasionally under-barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs) were used with precision.

"Residents are not experts on identifying the make and quantity of explosives used. We did not use IEDs. The damage to the houses happened because the fire had spread. We got eight to nine fire tenders within no time to douse the flames, he said.

He ducked a question on whether the houses should be rebuilt, but said that as per norms, police are making a distinction between the houses which harboured militants from those which suffered collateral damage.

In the latter case, we will give police clearance if the government asks us. We know who harboured militants and who didn't.

Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu, meanwhile, suggested the administration compensates people to rebuild their houses.

Deeply saddened to see the specter of devastation at the site of todays encounter in Nawakadal, Srinagar.Almost a dozen families have been left homeless and devastated. The administration should announce immediate compensation and extent all possible assistance to rebuild. Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu (@Junaid_Mattu) May 19, 2020

While the houses in the hinterland and suburbs where militants seek sanctuary are blasted in explosives to neutralise them and avoid battle casualties of troops, Srinagar would generally see restrained use of explosives till a few years back because of it being congested.

The forces have now decided they will opt the best strategy to avoid risking the lives of their men.

The property damage apart, the victim families also accused the forces of looting valuables from their houses. One woman alleged that even the cooking gas cylinder from her house was stolen.

Mughal, however, said the allegations are baseless. In a live operation, how is it possible that someone will do that? Moreover, there were drones covering the incident and senior police monitoring at the spot. It is a ridiculous allegation that a cop will take a cylinder worth Rs 800, he added.
I was hard at work Monday, lobbying my haircutter for a Wednesday appointment instead of the second-rate Thursday time slot he gave me, when Gov. Ned Lamont issued his latest edict.

No haircuts until June 1. I can live with that, as thousands of people die every day around the world. Never mind that they made fun of my Larry Fine look on WTNH-TVs Capitol Gang on Sunday.

We can all live with another 10 days of waiting, just as we can sacrifice even more for the greater public health.

Still, Mondays delay, just 35 hours before the May 20 Grand Reopening, highlights the chaos behind the curtain, and calls to mind issues large and small. Reopening an economy, we now know, is harder than closing one down.

What we want is decisive action and clear communication. Weve seen a lot of that, but also enough missteps to raise a few eyebrows.

Why, for example, did the governor hire the blue-chip Boston Consulting Group for $2 million sometime in April, with no announcement, and disband an all-star reopening task force as of this week? Yes, the consultants will help coordinate the seven Northeast states, and yes, the feds will pay their platinum fees, but Mondays hair delay  caused partly by the need to coordinate with Massachusetts and Rhode Island  reveals a less-than-smooth multi-state operation.

And why are the managers of office buildings still claiming they need more guidance on cleaning, elevator issues, bathroom protocols and other details? Lamont has long made the point that its up to residents and businesses to use common sense, and hes right. But in a legally established opening where some numbskulls are bound to file lawsuits, precision does matter.

And why is Lamont letting the all-star task force get out of Dodge without a plan for Phase 2, Phase 3 and Phase 4? Were seeing an orderly, if slow, decline in the coronavirus threat, which should mean we can plan further ahead.

To a point, the governor cant win under these standards. If he makes specific plans ahead of time, then has to change them, well skewer him for indecision. If he holds off, well slam him for giving us too little time to plan. And thats even assuming the decisions he makes satisfy all sides, which, of course, aint happening.

And Lamont is hardly the only public official in the vice. On Saturday, I was on a call with a handful of reporters hearing from the health minister of New Zealand and the governor of Kentucky, among others in the news.

What were seeing in Kentucky is that there are about a third of people who think were moving too fast and a third of people who think were moving too slow, Andy Beshear, the governor of that state, told us. This is a challenge that transcends our divisions, that transcends our politics. ... I hope that coming out of this, we can stay a little more unified.

Sounds like Lamont, huh? Beshear has it harder in a way because hes had only a few hundred deaths in a red state, and yet hes had to close down the economy. And Lamont has it harder because Connecticut is a more privileged state that expects Swiss watch precision.

Lamonts change of mind Monday followed a reversal one week earlier, when he nixed his no-blow-dryer-in-salons rule after African American salon owners cried foul, saying blow drying is baked into their business. Again on Monday, he said he had listened to both sides and made a rational decision.

But the question is, could he have listened sooner and decided more decisively?

Todays announcement has completely shaken the publics trust. Governor Lamont has repeatedly talked about the importance of making decisions based on science. But today's last-minute delay is not based on science, said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven. It's a policy decision based on input that should have been sought long before decisions were made.

Its unclear how completely were were shaken, by a governor whose favorability ratings are high. Still, Fasano has a point and theres no substitute for early decisiveness when people are claiming theyre harmed.

Take all those barbers and salon owners who busted their butts over the last two weeks to make Wednesday the best post-coronavirus reopening ever. Kidding aside, they have no income and many received neither the federal small-business stimulus nor unemployment checks.

Lamonts change of mind followed the best medical advice federal bailout money can buy. He had declared in late April and early May that if we see 14 days of declining hospitalizations, a lower percentage of COVID-19 tests coming up positive, a ready supply of masks and other PPE and an army of contact tracers, wed be good to go.

He set the date and he took the heat from angry horn-honkers looking for a faster opening, and from upset protesters  some from fellow Democrats in the state Senate  who said slow down.

He made sure we had all the benchmarks in place. In fact, on Monday he went over each one and then some, pointing to success with each one. And yet, he pushed back the hair salon and barbershop date he had carefully chosen.

I was on the phone with a few hundred stylists just five or six days ago, Lamont said. We said Well give you a little bit more time.

Sen Alex Kasser, D-Greenwich, was among those pushing for more time, as her district, loaded with upscale salons, borders still-shuttered New York. She co-authored one letter from senators last week, and signed another, pushing for data, information, precision and in some cases, more time before opening.

When these criteria were first announced in early May, they were very vague. Starting from that day forward we began to ask questions saying What were the metrics? Kasser said Monday  pleased with the hair delay but still pushing for information. It has to be entirely data-driven and clear.

The moral of the story is, hair matters. When mine flares out, my mood drops. Ill take responsibility for that, but on Monday, Lamont gave all of us a reason to look askance at the whole reopening program.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
The majority of Canadian companies have reported earnings for the first three months of 2020, giving a picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business so far and in the months to come. Here's a sector-by-sector look at some of the themes that have emerged:

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man waits for a take-out order in a fast food restaurant in Toronto on Saturday, May 9, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

The majority of Canadian companies have reported earnings for the first three months of 2020, giving a picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business so far and in the months to come. Here's a sector-by-sector look at some of the themes that have emerged:

RETAIL: Canadian retailers scrapped their financial outlooks, announced permanent store closures and saw sales slip amid the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many to close their doors across the country. Many announced temporary and permanent lay offs, as well as pay cuts in an effort to manage costs; but some saw a glimmer of hope in online sales, with e-commerce revenue on the rise.

On the grocery side, companies experienced a sales surge in mid-March as the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold in Canada and consumers rushed to stock up their pantries, but that spike started to settle as consumers eased into their "new normal." Despite the sales bump, grocers experienced higher operating costs as they offered employees higher pay and increased cleaning and other safety precautions. These costs are expected to continue into the near future.

TRANSPORTATION: Airlines are bleeding cash amid prolonged travel restrictions and a drop-off in passenger flight demand. Air Canada lost more than $1 billion in the first quarter, slashing its flight capacity by over 90 per cent ahead of even fewer expected passengers between April and June. WestJet has cancelled tens of thousands of trips  including all U.S. and international routes  through July 4, while Porter, Transat and Sunwing have suspended flights entirely. Though traffic is expected to pick up somewhat before the end of the year, Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said the recovery will be slow, with at least three years of subpar earnings. Meanwhile, Bombardier Inc. reported a $200-million loss for the quarter after the global disruption impeded aircraft deliveries and shut down operations across dozens of plants. On the rail side, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. saw freight volumes drop amid blockades in February and production shutdowns in China. CN and CP withdrew and lowered their profit forecasts, respectively, as crude oil and auto shipments continue to fall, prompting some 3,300 layoffs so far.

RESTAURANTS: Companies large and small faced steep sales drops as the pandemic prompted mass dining room closures across Canada. Chains had to shift to some combination of serving food through counter service, curbside pick-up, delivery and drive-thru. Restaurants are now creating plans to resume some services as phased reopening begins, including measures such as spacing out tables to maintain distance between customers and taking staff temperatures at the start of shifts.

ENERGY: Huge non-cash asset writedowns, capital spending reductions, cancelled or reduced dividends, executive salary cuts, workforce reductions and production curtailments were themes in first-quarter results from Canada's energy sector. Global demand for energy products plunged as industries and individuals were forced to shut down to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Oil prices, already weak due to inventory builds from a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, fell as refineries throttled back output. Oilsands producer and fuel marketer Suncor Energy Inc. slashed its quarterly dividend by 55 per cent after 18 years of consecutive annual increases. Analysts calculate more than 800,000 barrels of oil per day have been taken off the market.

REAL ESTATE: The pandemic dealt a big blow to share prices and property valuations for some real estate companies, especially those focused on the retail sector, while others have seen only mild effects. Companies like Brookfield Property Partners, which has extensive mall holdings in the U.S., swung to a loss in the first quarter and its share price is trading at almost half of where it was before the crisis hit North America. The company reported only about 20 per cent of its retail tenants paid rent in April. RioCan also saw its earnings down significantly and its share price dive by almost half as it reported that about two-thirds of expected rent came in for April and didn't reveal May figures. Real estate investment trusts focused on office or residential have fared better, as have REITs with essential service anchor tenants like Smart Centres with Walmart, CT with Canadian Tire, and Choice Properties with Loblaw Inc.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Canada's large phone and cable companies have said they expect to lose some customers among small- to mid-sized businesses because of COVID-related shut-downs. However, BCE, Rogers and Telus indicated in that they hadn't seen much of that activity yet and are prepared to manage through the trend if it emerges. They expect to balance lost revenues from some areas with savings from others, such as money spent to sign up new smartphone customers. For the most part, demand for internet, wireless and other telecom services is expected to remain resilient as it was during the early stages of pandemic shutdowns.

INSURANCE: Insurance companies are starting to see the impacts of closed medical offices sales staff unable to connect with customers face-to-face. Manulife Financial Corp., Sun Life Financial Inc. and Great-West Lifeco all reported profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31 was down from the same period last year. Great-West Life's net income dropped by nearly 50 per cent  the biggest tumble seen by the country's top three insurers. The companies say they're optimistic they can bounce back if COVID-19 manages to create an awareness around the importance of insurance, much like they saw after the SARS crisis.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Engineering and construction firms haven't escaped the ripple effects of the virus, but may be well-poised to benefit from public works projects launched by governments eager to mitigate its impact. WSP Global saw profits fall by 77 per cent last quarter amid "extreme market volatility," but many projects deemed essential have proceeded. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. continued to lose cash through its resources division, losing $66 million in the first quarter as it pivots toward engineering services and away from higher-risk, fixed-price construction contracts. Public-sector projects account for more than half of WSP's revenues and three-quarters of SNC's, which should be relatively stable. Nonetheless, both companies have withdrawn their 2020 guidance, along with Aecon Group Inc. and Stantec Inc.

NEWSPAPERS: Canada's two largest publicly traded newspaper companies, Postmedia Network Canada and Torstar Corp., reported this month that they've seen a devastating decline in advertising revenue related to the economic slowdown. They each announced layoffs and closed some smaller print editions to reduce some of their costs. But they've also said they'll be eligible for millions of dollars of wage subsidies from a COVID-related emergency fund. They've also said they need to receive tax credits from a 2019 program to pay a portion of salaries paid to journalists working for qualified print organizations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.

By Ian Bickis, Tara Deschamps, Dan Healing, David Paddon, Christopher Reynolds and Aleksandra Sagan
The World Health Organization's head said on Tuesday he would keep leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off funding and quit the body.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the agency's role after the United States again withheld full support for a resolution on the pandemic.

"We want accountability more than anyone," Tedros told a virtual meeting of the WHO'S 194 member states. "We will continue providing strategic leadership to coordinate the global response."

Washington allowed the resolution calling for a review into the global response to the pandemic to pass by consensus, but said it objected to language about reproductive health rights and permission for poor countries to waive patent rules.

WHO officials running the meeting clapped and cheered after the resolution was passed without a vote hours after Trump tweeted his threat to pull the United States out of the body.

It calls for a review into the WHO-led global response, something the United States has demanded.

But the US mission in Geneva said in a statement that paragraphs on the right of poor countries to waive patents to obtain medicine during a health emergency would "send the wrong message to innovators" trying to produce new drugs and vaccines.

The reproductive healthcare language could be interpreted as requiring countries to permit abortion. "The United States believes in legal protections for the unborn," it said.

China and the United States also sparred in the closing moments of the assembly over the issue of Taiwan. Taiwan lobbied hard to be included as an observer at the two-day meeting and received support from the United States, Japan and others, but says it was not invited due to opposition from China.

BACKING FROM CHINA

Even as Trump has proposed quitting the WHO, the body has received backing and a two-year pledge of $2 billion in funds from China's President Xi Jinping.

Many other leaders expressed support for Tedros.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for international cooperation in response to the pandemic.

"At times like these, the greatest act of courage is to play as a team," she continued, without an overt reference to the United States.

During his three years in office, Trump has criticised many international organisations and quit some. Still, European diplomats said they were taken aback by Washington's decision to stand aside at the WHO while China is boosting its role.

"It was so striking to see Xi Jinping seizing the opportunity to open up, with broad (cooperation), and make a proposal for $2 billion, and say if ever there is a vaccine they will share it with everyone," a European diplomat said.

"It's exactly what we feared: the space liberated by Washington will be taken up by China."

The WHO declined to comment on Trump's threat to quit, saying only that it had received his letter and was considering its contents.

Tuesday's resolution calls for a review into how the novel coronavirus spread after making the jump from animals to humans, believed to have happened in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.

Some countries including hard-hit Spain and Italy suggested the body could emerge stronger from the pandemic through reform.

"This should be a time for renewing our organisation and we renew our strong commitment to the organisation," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
A heroin smuggler has been sentenced to death via Zoom call in Singapore.

Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, was told he would be hanged by a judge on the video calling service on Friday last week.

It is the first time the city-state has administered capital punishment via the service, a spokesman for the Supreme Court said.

Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, was told he would be hanged in Singapore via Zoom call with a judge after being found guilty of heroin smuggling (file image)

Singapore has introduced remote calling in court cases in an attempt to curb one of the highest coronavirus infection rates in southeast Asia.

The sentence was passed after Genansan was found guilty of hiring two couriers to transport 63lbs (28.5kgs) of heroin into Singapore in 2011.

Genansan agreed to pay the first courier - Malaysian V. Shanmugam Veloo - 1,300 per month to drive shipments of heroin from his home country into Singapore.

He then recruited Singaporean Mohd Suief Ismail to receive the packages, according to the Straits Times.

The couriers were caught transporting the first shipment, and confessed that Genansan had come up with the scheme.

Genasan - a debt collector by trade - claimed not to know either of the men and said he had been too busy with his regular business to arrange the scheme.

But a judge ruled he was lying after he failed to explain how both couriers were able to give personal information about him, despite his claims not to know them.

Shanmugam and Suief were convicted in 2015 after a joint trial. The former was sentenced to 15 lashes and life in prison, the latter was sentenced to death.

Genansan was put on trial in 2018 and was found guilty earlier this year.

Genasan's lawyer, Peter Fernando, said his client received the judge's verdict on a Zoom call and is considering an appeal.

The case is a first for Singapore (Supreme Court building pictured front), which has introduced distancing measures in courts to prevent the spread of coronavirus

While rights groups have criticised the use of Zoom in capital cases, Fernando said he did not object to the use of video-conferencing for Friday's call since it was only to receive the judge's verdict.

He said the verdict could be heard clearly, and no other legal arguments were presented.

California-based tech firm Zoom did not immediately respond to a request for comment made via its representatives in Singapore.

The Attorney General's Chambers, the public prosecutor, referred Reuters' questions to the Supreme Court.

Many court hearings in Singapore have been adjourned during a lockdown period that started in early April and is due to run until June 1, while cases deemed essential have been held remotely.

Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drugs and has hanged hundreds of people - including dozens of foreigners - for narcotics offences over past decades, rights groups say.

'Singapore's use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so,' said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

HRW has also criticised a similar case in Nigeria where a death sentence was delivered via Zoom.
Environment secretary George Eustice. (Jonathan Brady-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK environment minister George Eustice on Tuesday called for Brits to play their part in helping the countrys annual harvest, as farmers across the country face a severe shortfall in labour.

Eustice said Brits should lend a hand in picking fruit and vegetables to prevent large quantities going to waste in fields.

Large numbers of seasonal workers usually come to the UK from Romania and Bulgaria to help with the harvest, Eustice said, but the COVID-19 pandemic had disrupted this trend and only around a third of usual numbers had travelled to the UK this year.

This year, we will need to rely on British workers to lend a hand to help bring that harvest home, Eustice said at the daily Downing Street press briefing.

The government has set up a new Pick for Britain website to help people find work on farms. Eustice appealed to the 8 million people who have been furloughed, saying they should take a second job to supplement their income and play their part in the national effort.

Prince Charles has backed the governments campaign, saying in a video message that the hard graft of harvesting would be hugely important to avoid food waste.

Read more: Prince Charles urges new Land Army to take on 'hard graft' of fruit and veg harvest

UK farmers have so far struggled to recruit Brits to help pick fruit and veg, raising fears about thousands of tonnes of food going to waste in fields.

Only around 200 of the 50,000 Brits who initially applied for seasonal picking jobs accepted the positions, the Daily Mail reported last month. Recruits were reportedly put off after finding that the work is full-time and requires people to be away from home in the fields for weeks at a time.

Eustices recruitment drive came as he updated the public on the latest figures around the pandemic. The minister said 89,784 COVID-19 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, with 2,412 new cases. There were 545 new fatalities linked to COVID-19 in last 24 hours.
A High Court judge has said the only way mechanical harvesting of seaweed around our shores can be done sustainably - and yield significant benefits for coastal communities - is if the State first conducts trials on what the environmental effects will be.

Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy was speaking when she set aside a judgment she gave last year in relation to a challenge concerning reports required to act on a foreshore licence in Bantry Bay, Cork, granted in 2014 to kelp harvesting firm BioAtlantis Aquamarine Ltd which extract bioactives from seaweed.

The firm, based in Tralee, Co Kerry holds a patent for a product derived from kelp which has the potential to replace the use of antibiotics in animal feed.

She made her ruling last July in a challenge brought by John Casey, a member of a local group campaigning to protect native kelp habitats, against the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and in which BioAtlantis was a notice party.

She ruled the licencing process had not yet concluded by reason of the failure of the Minister to comply with his statutory obligations under the Foreshore Act 1933 (as amended).

BioAtlantis, which withdrew from the substantive hearing last year because it had nothing to add to the Minister's argument, subsequently asked the judge to revisit and set aside her decision. Mr Casey opposed the application.

Today, the judge set aside her July last judgment on the grounds that BioAtlantis had a right to be heard on that application.

This was the court's determination on the issue of jurisdiction, she said.

She refused Mr Casey's request to proceed to judgment on his application that there had been a failure by the Minister, among other things, to comply with the EU Habitats Directive in a 2017 decision approving a baseline study and monitoring programme which was a condition of BioAtlantis proceeding in 2018 with the 2014 harvesting licence.

The judge said she had already found that licence was not yet operative or effective because of the State's failure to comply with the Foreshore Act which provides for public scrutiny of State decisions.

"This is hugely regrettable not least for the notice party, BioAtlantis, who have complied with every request of the State during the licencing process and who have expended very significant time and resources in doing so," she said.

In this case the State has been the source of the problem. Perhaps now, it can be the source of the solution.

She also said the only way to know for certain what the environmental effects of mechanical harvesting of kelp will be is to conduct trials.

As long ago as 2004, an expert report advised the trialling of kelp harvesting might require a mechanical framework outside the normal licensing provisions of the Foreshore Act, as has been done in France and Norway.

Rather than act on that advice, the State "opted to use the existing licencing provisions to grant what, in effect, is a trial licence," to BioAtlantis, she said.

While that was the State's right, where it uses existing legislation, it has to fully comply with the provisions of public scrutiny required by that legislation and it did not do so in this case, she said.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low -2F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low -2F. Winds light and variable.
LONDON - Adil el-Tayar was a distinguished renal transplant surgeon, originally from Sudan, who volunteered to attend to coronavirus patients in an emergency room. Within weeks, the 64-year-old was dead - the first doctor in Britain to succumb to the virus.

"He was aware there was a risk," his son Osman said. "But he didn't believe it would affect him the way it did."

Nearly all the doctors who have died of covid-19 in the United Kingdom have been ethnic minorities, most born overseas, like el-Tayar, according to the British Medical Association.

That grim toll has confounded health experts, alarmed minority physicians, and startled a nation that relies on immigrants to swell the ranks of its public health-care system - yet voted for Brexit with a promise to "take back control" of its borders and limit immigration.

An estimated 44 percent of doctors in Britain are from ethnic minority backgrounds, significantly higher than the 13% in the population at large. Last year, more than half the new doctors who registered in Britain were born overseas.

But experts say it's still baffling that 93% of the doctors who have died of covid-19 were ethnic minorities.

"I can't get my head around that," said Michael Marmot, director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London. "Maybe we will understand more about this terrible disease if we can explain that," he told a parliamentary committee.

Doctors' associations in Britain have called for a government investigation, while National Health Service leaders have advised hospitals to "risk-assess" staff and "make appropriate arrangements accordingly." Hospitals are debating whether they should shift ethnic minority staffers away from the front lines.

If necessary, some staff should be redeployed, said Neil Mortensen, president of the Royal College of Surgeons. He told Sky News: "It's important they are removed from - if you like - from danger."

According to a Guardian newspaper analysis, more than 180 health workers have died of covid-19, the majority of them ethnic minorities. Another analysis of 106 National Health Service deaths found that two-thirds were among ethnic minorities.

The disparity is even greater for doctors.

Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the British Medical Association, began calling for answers after the first 10 doctors who died of covid-19 were all from ethnic minority groups. Now, the count is 27 out of 29.

"These figures are so stark and extreme. That's why we need an investigation," he said.

Nagpaul said there could be a number of contributing factors, including those that affect minority groups more generally.

As in the United States, the coronavirus has hit ethnic minorities disproportionately hard here. Britain's Office of National Statistics found that black people were more than four times as likely to die of covid-19 as white people in England and Wales, while people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin were more than three times as vulnerable as their white counterparts.

Nagpaul noted that among ethnic minorities in Britain, there is a greater prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension - health conditions thought to increase the severity of covid-19 - compared with the British white population.

Some physicians have also questioned whether vitamin D deficiency might play a role. People with dark skin tend to need longer in the sun than those with lighter skin to produce the same amounts of vitamin D.

But Nagpaul said there could be cultural and occupational factors at work, as well: Migrant doctors may be doing more of the front-line work, at the hardest-hit hospitals, in the most stressed settings.

A survey this month by the Royal College of Physicians found that 48% of all doctors reported being concerned or very concerned for their health, but that the number rose to 76% among ethnic minority doctors.

A separate British Medical Association poll last month of doctors involved in fighting covid-19 found that only 40% of ethnic minority doctors said they had sufficient access to personal protective equipment, compared with 70% of white doctors who said the same. And minority doctors were twice as likely to say they felt pressured to work in risky environments without appropriate protective equipment.

That's in line with previous studies showing that ethnic minority doctors feel less confident than their white counterparts in raising safety concerns and report higher levels of bullying and harassment.

The result, Nagpaul said, could be that some feel they "have not been able to speak out about concerns of working in environments without full protection."

One doctor who did publicly push for more protective equipment was Abdul Mabud Chowdhury, 53, a urologist originally from Bangladesh. Within days of contracting the virus, he wrote an appeal to the British government, asserting that health-care workers had "the human right like others to live in this world disease-free with our family and children."

He was the "bravest person I knew," said his son, Intisar, 18.

Chowdhury and his wife, Rehana, met at Chittagong Medical College in Bangladesh. They moved to England in 2001, got jobs with the National Heath Service and had two children: Intisar, who is finishing high school, and Wareesha, 11, whom her father called "my lovely-jubbly daughter."

Chowdhury's mentor and friend, Jhumur Pati, also from Bangladesh, described him as "extremely respectful, extremely dedicated." They shared an office at Homerton University Hospital in east London. When no one else was around, they would speak in their native Bengali.

One of Chowdhury's proudest professional achievements, Pati said, was setting up the BKN Memorial Hospital and Research Center, a facility in Bangladesh named after his wife's father, mother and sister, who died in a car accident.

"He had a big heart and wanted to share his expertise," she said.

Even after Chowdbury began to feel sick, he put off going into the hospital, because "he didn't want to overburden the system," Pati said.

She worried that her friend may have been a "very borderline diabetic" and was probably slightly overweight for his height. But she said she thinks that if more was known about the disease, his death could have been avoided.

The doctors who died of covid-19 in Britain came from Bangladesh, India, Iraq, Malawi, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Sudan - former colonial outposts and mandates. In obituaries, Facebook posts and interviews, family and friends repeat the same words to describe them: generous, hard-working, selfless, kind. They came here to practice medicine, while building new lives for their families and establishing themselves in their communities.

"Our father was the glue that kept us together," Osman el-Tayar said. "I can't really put it into words. It was the worst thing that could happen to us."

Adil el-Tayar was born in Atbara, Sudan, a railway town built by the British, and studied medicine at the University of Khartoum. A British doctor he met encouraged him to move to the United Kingdom. He arrived in 1996, and although he returned to Sudan at one point to establish an organ-transplant unit there, he spent most of his adult life in Britain.

"He never forgot his roots, but he certainly identified as British," said Osman el-Tayar, 30, speaking from the family home in west London.

Like his father and eldest sister, Osman el-Tayar is a doctor. He said the number of ethnic minorities dying was "quite frightening. The question that jumps into everyone's mind is: Why? I don't have an answer, but it's probably multifactorial."

He said his father had been diabetic and had high blood pressure.

Asked if his father had the protective equipment he needed, Osman el-Tayar said, "Given that he picked it up, he clearly didn't."

Adil el-Tayar had long told his family that he wanted to be buried in Sudan next to his father. Given the lockdown, that seemed impossible. But his wide network of friends and family mobilized and they were able to send his coffin on a cargo plane.

The funeral was broadcast on national television in Sudan. El-Tayar's wife and four children watched from Britain on their devices.

"It was very humbling," Osman el-Tayar said. "There was a very large crowd there that attended the burial. We obviously couldn't make it because of what's going on, but we got someone to FaceTime it for us."

- - -

The Washington Post's William Booth contributed to this report.
State and local officials are working together to provide personnel and resources to help the thousands of mid-Michigan residents that were forced to evacuate their homes following the historic flooding caused by the breaching and over-flowing of two mid-Michigan dams.

The Edenville and Sanford Dams, both privately-owned by Boyce Hydro and located in Midland County, failed Tuesday evening due to rain-swollen floodwaters, which prompted state and local officials to declare flash-flood warnings, issue a state of emergency for Midland County, and call for over 10,000 residents in Midland, Sanford, and Edenville to evacuate their homes and seek higher ground and nearby shelters.

The Tittabawassee River surpassed its previous record flood stage of 33.9 feet (1986) Tuesday night and reached its crest of 35.05 feet around 5 p.m. Wednesday, which was 11 feet above flood levels. The flood warning for Midland County will remain in effect through Sunday as officials wait for floodwaters to begin receding.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer completed an aerial tour of the area on Wednesday, calling the flood damage devastating. She said the state will be very aggressive in seeking support from the federal government, which will include making a formal request to FEMA.

At this point, theres been no reports of casualties, which is a pretty amazing thing, she said Wednesday afternoon outside Midland High School, which is serving as one of three area shelters for evacuees.

According to The National Weather Service, rainfall totals have exceeded five inches in Midland County since Sunday.

Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are working together to examine potential legal options that could be used to assist the states recovery efforts.

The damage from this crisis has devastated thousands of Midland County residents and business owners, said Whitmer. I will work with the attorney general and my partners at the state and federal level to help our families through this, and to help them get back on their feet once its safe to return home.

Dow Chemical has activated its emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions, spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in an email.

Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River, Schikorra said.

State concerns about Edenville Dam

In October 2018, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (ELGE) assumed regulatory authority over the 96-year-old Edenville Dam after its license to generate hydropower was revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Nick Assendelft, department spokesman, said EGLE conducted an initial inspection of the dam in October 2018, finding it to be in fair structural condition, but did note that the State had some strong concerns.

The dam did not have enough spillway capacity-which allows water to flow out of Wixom Lake-to meet state requirements, he said. We expressed those concerns to Boyce Hydros consultants and were continuing conversations about that deficiency.

Spillover capacity is the amount of water flow that a dam is able to pass before water comes over the top causing damage or complete failure.

According to the 2018 inspection report, state officials did not observe deficiencies that would be expected to cause immediate failure of the damthe structure and generating equipment appeared to be in fair condition as well.

In April, the Michigan Attorney Generals office filed a lawsuit against Boyce Hydro in Ingham County court for drawing down water levels without permission and for damage to natural resources as a result of those drawdowns.

EGLE was pursing additional enforcement action at the time of the breach, said Assendelft. Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades. That combined with the historical rainfall and the flooding were factors in the Edenville Dam failure.

According to records obtained by The Associated Press, there were 19 high hazard dams in Michigan rated in unsatisfactory or poor condition.

I just spoke with Gretchen Whitmer, Donald Trump said via the White House spokesperson. I will be going to Michigan at the appropriate time. They have a big problem with the dams breaking. So that is a big big problem. And so weve sent the FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers out, and theyre very good at dams, theyre probably better at that than anybody you can think of, right? The Army Corps of Engineers have done a fantastic job.

Shelters now open

The American Red Cross has opened eight area shelters to house those that have been evacuated from their homes.

Coleman High School, 4951 N. Lewis Road, Coleman, MI 48618 Midland, MI 48642

North Midland Family Center, 2601 E. Shearer Road, Midland, MI 48642

Midland High School, 1301 Eastlawn Drive, Midland, MI 48642

West Midland Family Center, 4011 W. Isabella Road, Shepherd, MI 48883

Bullock Creek High School, 1420 S. Badour Road, Midland, MI 48640

Freeland High School, 8250 Webster Road, Freeland, MI 48623

Swan Valley High School, 8380 Ohern Road, Saginaw, MI 48609

Hemlock High School, 733 N. Hemlock Road, Hemlock, MI 48626

Other communities being served include Arenac, Gladwin, Iosco, Ogemaw, and Saginaw counties, where Red Cross teams are in the field surveying damaged homes and working with local emergency management to assess the impact of the flooding and additional needs in the affected communities.

Additional support

Michigan National Guard units from Bay City, Saginaw, Port Huron, and other nearby communities have responded to a request for assistance as well. Around 130 soldiers and 40 emergency response vehicles arrived in the area to provide assistance beginning missions at 4 a.m. Wednesday, which includes evacuating residents and preparing logistical support.

More than 200 additional soldiers and equipment were expected to arrive throughout the day on Wednesday. Other guard members are on standby for aviation, rescue hoist, and logistical support if required.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is also providing 20 conservation officers and 10 patrol vessels to assist with resident evacuations.

Oakland Countys incident management team is working alongside the states Emergency Management Region 3 incident management team to provide on-scene resources in Midland County. The countys incident management team consists of personnel from various fire departments, law enforcement agencies, public works departments, public health, and emergency management staff from around the county.

Mike Loper, who has worked in the Oakland County Emergency Operations Center for the past 19 years, was sent up to the Midland County Emergency Operations Center to assist with their flood response efforts, according to Oakland County Executive David Coulter.

In addition, Michigan Task Force 1, which is based in Holly Township, responded Tuesday night with a swift water rescue team. All of this assistance is coordinated under the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which is designed to streamline the requesting and providing of emergency and fire services resources across Michigan.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report

Evacuations urged in parts of mid-Michigan due to flooding

Thousands evacuated as river dams break in central Michigan

Trump threatens funding after Michigan absentee ballot move

Oakland County providing $30 million to communities impacted by COVID-19 pandemic
Bankers say they are fighting for survival as a government plan to rescue the economy is not focused on restructuring the debt.

Lebanons leaders are struggling to find answers to the unprecedented economic crisis.

And stalled reforms are affecting its talks with the International Monetary Fund.

Now Lebanons banking association has rejected the governments five-year rescue plan, instead putting forward its own proposal.

Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr reports from Beirut, Lebanon.
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ('Benton' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a binding Letter Of Intent ("LOI") with White Metal Resources Corp (TSXV: WHM) ("WHM") whereby Benton can earn up to a 70% interest in WHM's Far Lake project (the "Property") located 80km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Recent exploration completed by WHM led to the discovery of a high-grade, semi-massive sulphide copper occurrence. Recent trenching and sampling programs at the Far Lake copper-silver-gold project provided results that include a 0.7m channel sample across massive sulphide that assayed 22.0% Cu, 30.2 g/t Ag, and 0.25 g/t Au as well as another channel sample that graded 3.54% Cu over 3m, including 4.96% Cu over 1m. Mineralization is located within a northwest-southeast trending, brecciated and silicified structure that bisects a regional granitic pluton. Sulphide mineralization in the structure has been delineated for approximately 400m and remains open in all directions. In addition, a parallel zone 2.1km west of the copper occurrence was located in the spring of 2020 and exhibits a similar intense brecciation and silicification. This second structure has been traced intermittently over a 5km strike length with chalcopyrite (copper sulphide) mineralization occurring throughout. The new zone is highly silicified and exhibits brecciation and an abundance of quartz veining with local silicified areas measuring up to 200m wide. Mineralization identified to-date on the Property displays characteristics suggestive of multiple mineralizing events, at both the property and regional scale.

Beyond the large silicified zones, the project also contains a boulder that was assayed by WHM and contained 0.293% Cu, 1.71g/t Pd, 0.3g/t Pt and 0.219g/t Au. Locating the source of this boulder will be an important activity to prove that Far Lake has the potential to also not only host copper-silver-gold, but also PGE's. The appearance of the boulder suggests the bedrock source is not far and only traveled a short distance during glaciation.

While the project is very early stage and has little historical exploration, there are a number of exciting targets that can be efficiently explored. The Project has excellent infrastructure with multiple logging roads accessing the property via the Trans-Canada Highway. Surprisingly, prior to the work completed by WHM in 2017, the Far Lake area as seen no documented historical exploration and its strategically located along the Quetico Fault and between Benton's Bark and Baril Lake projects (currently under option to Rio Tinto Exploration Canada) and the Escape Lake and Thunder Bay North deposits which Benton recently sold its option rights on to Clean Air Metals Inc. (see the location map included below or on www.bentonresources.ca)

Pursuant to the LOI, the Company can acquire from WHM an initial 60% interest in the Property (the "Initial Option") followed by a second option to acquire an additional 10% interest (the "Second Option") in the Property.

The Company may, subject to regulatory approval, exercise the Initial Option by paying $205,000, issuing 1.6 million common shares and completing $1 million in exploration expenditures over four years as follows:

Paying $25,000 and issuing 300,000 common shares to WHM within three days of receipt of TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") approval for the LOI;

Completing $200,000 of exploration expenditures on the Property on or before the first anniversary of execution of this LOI;

Paying $30,000 and issuing 400,000 common shares to WHM on or before the first anniversary of execution of this LOI;

Completing an additional $200,000 of exploration expenditures on the Property on or before the second anniversary of execution of this LOI;

Paying $50,000 and issuing 400,000 common shares to WHM on or before the second anniversary of execution of this LOI;

Completing an additional $300,000 of exploration expenditures on the Property on or before the third anniversary of execution of this LOI;

Paying $100,000 and issuing 500,000 common shares to WHM on or before the third anniversary of execution of this LOI; and

Completing an additional $300,000 of exploration expenditures on the Property on or before the fourth anniversary of execution of this LOI.

Within 90 days of completing the Initial Option, the Company may at its election exercise the Second Option by:

Issuing 500,000 common shares to WHM; and

Completing an additional $1 million of exploration expenditures on the Property on or before the fifth anniversary of the agreement.





Location Map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3657/56173_5c6283ee64dbc846_002full.jpg

QP

Nathan Sims (P.Geo.), Senior Exploration Manager for Benton Resources Inc., the 'Qualified Person' under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release and prepared or supervised its preparation.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benton Resources Inc.,

"Stephen Stares"

Stephen Stares, President

About Benton Resources Inc.

Benton Resources is a well-funded Canadian-based project generator with a diversified property portfolio in Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum group elements. Benton holds multiple high-grade projects available for option which can be viewed on the Company's website. Most projects have an up-to-date 43-101 Report available.

Parties interested in seeking more information about properties available for option can contact Mr. Stares at the number below.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen Stares, President & CEO

Phone: 807-475-7474

Email: sstares@bentonresources.ca

Website: www.bentonresources.ca

Twitter: @BentonResources

Facebook: @BentonResourcesBEX

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56173
In that incident, a vehicle pulled up alongside a car in which a woman was seated, the release said. A man got out of the vehicle and attempted to get into hers but she was able to lock her doors and drive away.
To the Editor:

Regarding the article: Trumps powers in emergency worry critics by Deb Riechmann, the Associated Press (Sunday, May 17, 2020):

Several Democratic senators are worried about the presidents emergency powers. Its actually been the Democratic governors who have crossed the lines when it comes to restraining their power.

Attorney General Bill Barr has very publicly stated, There is no pandemic exception ... to the fundamental liberties the Constitution safeguards.

The other side of the political aisle has been the party for trampling individual rights guaranteed to us by both the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The governors of both Maine and Pennsylvania have threatened and taken business and liquor licenses away from non-conformists. The totalitarian governor in Michigan has threaten protesters and other citizens with extra weeks of lock down for bad behavior. And a judge in Texas sentenced a hairstylist for trying to open her salon, throwing her in jail until she apologized for trying to make a living. This while we let other criminals who have actually broken real laws out of jail, for fear they may contract Covid while in jail.

Adam Clark

Jamesville

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Yancy: It has occurred to me at times that the atheist belief  expressed by Hawking  that there is no afterlife, that there is nothing after we die, might have an upside of adding value to our current lives. For example, I might treat people differently knowing that I will never see them after this life. Given that, do you think believing that one will exist forever could negatively impact how one lives in the present?

Teel: I suppose there are Christians who use their hope of heaven as an excuse to be lazy or immoral, though I dont know very many. More common, and more problematic, is our tendency to look down on people who dont believe what we do. Yet believing that life ends at death can also lead to nihilism, or to treating people horribly. Neither belief guarantees good character.

Yancy: Do you think that people lose anything by taking an atheist stance? And if they dont, why should they invest in the belief that we exist beyond the grave?

Teel: Im not terribly interested in convincing others to believe what I do about life after death. I may turn out to be wrong; and anyway, whatever is going to happen will happen whether or not anyone believes in it. Im much more interested in working to make our world more just.

In this life we have right now, people are suffering. This is not new. In his Urbi et Orbi blessing in March, Pope Francis, praying with the world from a dark and empty St. Peters Square, suggested that perhaps we can learn from the pandemic what we have failed to learn from war, injustice, poverty and environmental catastrophe: We need each other. If God is love, then we must do everything we can to reduce one anothers suffering, now and always. In fact, Jesus says that God cares far more about whether we do that than about whether we invoke God as our reason to do it. So, if believing in life after death motivates you, great. If not, then lets find another reason, pick a cause, and get to work.

Yancy: You say that your views on death and the afterlife could turn out to be wrong. If so  if death were in fact final  would it render life meaningless for you?

Teel: No. I dont believe that life matters because it continues. I believe that life continues because it matters. If it doesnt continue, it still matters.

We love each other imperfectly, yet love remains. My mothers love for me did not begin or end with her. She could love me because others loved her, they could love her because they had been loved, and so on. Her love is with me now. And it will continue, through me, through everyone I love, through everyone they love, long after we are all forgotten. Whether I actually see my mom again, in the specific way I anticipate, doesnt change that. As love, we live forever, we always will have lived.

George Yancy is a professor of philosophy at Emory University. His latest book is Across Black Spaces: Essays and Interviews from an American Philosopher.

Now in print: Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments, and The Stone Reader: Modern Philosophy in 133 Arguments, with essays from the series, edited by Peter Catapano and Simon Critchley, published by Liveright Books.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.
At the Wistar Instistute in January, project manager Faraz Zaidi, left, and Penn graduate student Daniel Park analyzed a coronavirus vaccine that is now being tested on humans Read more

Around the world, more than 100 coronavirus vaccine candidates are in development, as the need for a pandemic panacea grows ever more desperate.

Here are updates from three promising experimental immunizations  two with Philadelphia roots.

An important partnership

Thomas Jefferson University on Wednesday announced it has signed an exclusive deal with the global vaccine manufacturer Bharat Biotech to develop a coronavirus immunization invented at Jefferson.

The novel vaccine uses an existing rabies vaccine as a carrier to deliver coronavirus spike proteins that it is hoped will trigger an immune response. The rabies vaccine has a long, successful track record and is approved for the whole population, including children and pregnant women. It also can be dehydrated and stored without refrigeration, making it ideal for use in developing countries.

Under the license agreement, Bharat Biotech, headquartered in Hyderabad, India, gains rights to market Jeffersons vaccine except in certain countries, including the United States, where Jefferson continues to seek partners. With support from the Indian government, Bharat Biotech aims to start human trials of Jeffersons invention as soon as December.

 FAQ: Your coronavirus questions, answered.

"Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development, said microbiologist Matthias Schnell, who directs the Jefferson Vaccine Institute. We will be able to complete animal testing and move to a phase 1 clinical trial [in humans] rapidly.

Bharat says it has delivered more than four billion doses of vaccines to the world, including for H1N1 flu, rotavirus, Zika, and typhoid disease.

Preliminary signs of effectiveness

The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia on Wednesday announced that an animal study of its experimental vaccine showed signs of prompting an immune response, namely the production of antibodies and the activation of T cells.

The vaccine, being developed with Inovio Pharmaceuticals of Plymouth Meeting, uses a DNA plasmid  a tiny package of genetic instructions  that is inserted into skin cells. The cells then make a fragment of the coronavirus, which triggers the immune response. Many DNA vaccines are in the research pipeline, but none have yet been approved.

 READ MORE: Why a coronavirus vaccine will take 18 months

The Wistar vaccine is already in the first phase of human testing, but the researchers are continuing to study its performance in animals.

The new study, published in Nature Communications, showed that mice and guinea pigs responded to a single immunization within days, producing antibodies that neutralize the coronavirus and marshaling T cells.

Skepticism sets in

Modernas stock valuation soared Monday when the company announced that its vaccine candidate, the front-runner in the United States, seemed to have generated an immune response in the first phase of human testing.

But the Cambridge, Mass.-based company disclosed very few data, prompting questions about whether the results were as strong as the media blitz.

STAT News interviewed experts who pointed out that the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is partnering with Moderna on this vaccine, did not issue a news release and would not comment on Modernas announcement.

Whats more, while Moderna said all 45 volunteers developed antibodies, it had more detailed data for only eight of them. Those eight developed neutralizing antibodies, the most powerful type. Whether the 37 other subjects also develop neutralizing antibodies remains to be seen.

Moderna told STAT that more data will be disclosed in a journal article that NIAID eventually will publish.
A US Air Force F-35A Lightning II during Operation Rapid Forge over Germany, July 23, 2019.

US Air Force/Tech. Sgt. Emerson Nunez

A US Air Force F-35A crashed during a routine night-training exercise near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The pilot ejected from the aircraft and is in stable condition.

The crash is the third incident involving the advanced fighter since it was first produced in 2006.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A US Air Force F-35A crashed during a routine night-training exercise around 9:30 p.m. near Eglin Air Force Base in Florida on Tuesday, officials said in a statement.

The pilot assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron was transported to the hospital after successfully ejecting from the aircraft and is in stable condition.

No one was killed and no civilian property was damaged in the incident, Eglin Air Force Base said in a statement.

In a separate incident at around 9:15 a.m. on Friday, a US Air Force F-22 Raptor crashed near Eglin Air Force Base. The pilot also ejected safely and the incident is under investigation.

The crash is the third incident involving the advanced jet, which has been in production since 2006.

n 2018, a US Marine Corps F-35B crashed in South Carolina, after a "manufacturing defect caused an engine fuel tube to rupture during flight, resulting in a loss of power to the engine," according to a government report. The pilot ejected safely and survived.

One year after the F-35B crash, a Japanese F-35A crashed into the Pacific Ocean after the pilot was determined to have experienced "spatial disorientation" or vertigo, Reuters reported at the time. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force pilot was killed.

The F-35A, the most common version of three different variants, is designed to be operated on conventional runways. Each aircraft is estimated to cost around $90 million.

The 58th Fighter Squadron and its parent 33rd Fighter Wing routinely trains its F-35 pilots on Eglin Air Force Base.

Read the original article on Business Insider
UPCC President Ajay Kumar Lallu was granted bail by an Agra court on Wednesday and released before being rearrested by a team of Lucknow police in a second case filed here in connection with the Congress' standoff with the UP government over arrangement of buses for migrant workers.

Media convenor of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) Lallan Kumar said Lallu was granted bail and released by a local court in Agra on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 on Wednesday afternoon.

But soon after, he was arrested by a team of Lucknow police in connection with a second case filed against him at Hazratganj police station on Tuesday night, Lallan Kumar said.

Lucknow police confirrmed Lallu's arrest in the second case on Wednesday.

Lallu was first arrested in Agra on Tuesday for sitting on a dharna to protest against permission not being granted by the UP government to allow buses arranged for migrants by the Congress to enter the state.

"A case has been registered against Ajay Kumar Lallu under various sections of the IPC and Epidemic Act at Fatehpur Sikri police station. Ajay Kumar Lallu was arrested on Tuesday evening, and he along with other Congress leaders were put in Police Lines." Senior Superintendent of Police of Agra Babloo Kumar had said.

On Tuesday night another FIR against Lallu and Sandeep Singh, who is Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's personal secretary, and others was lodged at the Hazratganj police station of Lucknow under Indian Penal Code sections related to cheating and forging documents.

Hundreds of buses massed by the Congress on the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border for migrant workers turned back Wednesday evening, signalling an end to the party's row with the UP government on the issue of transporting migrants back to their homes in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTONA former U.S. Green Beret and his son were arrested Wednesday in Massachusetts on charges they smuggled Nissan Motor Co. chair Carlos Ghosn out of Japan in a box while he awaited trial there on financial misconduct charges.

Michael Taylor, a 59-year-old former Green Beret and private security specialist, and Peter Taylor, 27, are wanted by Japan on charges they helped Ghosn escape the country in December after he was released on bail.

The Taylors were arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Harvard. They appeared before a federal judge from jail via videoconference, wearing orange jumpsuits and tan face coverings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hassink said Japan plans as quickly as possible to submit a formal request to extradite the Taylors.

The tale of the daring escape began on Dec. 28, 2019, when Peter Taylor arrived in Japan and met with Ghosn at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo for about an hour, authorities said.

Just before 10 a.m. the next day, Michael Taylor flew into Osaka, Japan, on a chartered Bombardier Global Express jet from Dubai with another man, George-Antoine Zayek, carrying two large black boxes with them.

The elder Taylor was experienced with sticky situations. Over the years, he has been hired by parents to rescue abducted children, gone undercover for the FBI in a sting on a Massachusetts drug gang and worked as a contractor for the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last assignment had landed him in a Utah jail for 14 months, caught in a federal contract fraud case that upended Taylors family and finances before he agreed to plead guilty to two charges.

Its not clear yet how Ghosn hooked up with Taylor.

At their arrival, Taylor and Zayek, his Lebanese-born colleague, told airport employees they were musicians carrying audio equipment. Meanwhile, Ghosn, who was out of custody on a hefty bail, headed to the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and met up with Peter Taylor in his hotel room, authorities said.

The elder Taylor and Zayek joined after a brief stop to rent a separate room near the airport. And soon after their arrival, the group left the Grand Hyatt and split up.

Peter Taylor headed to the airport to hop on a flight to China, court documents said. The others hopped on a bullet train and arrived at the Shin-Osaka train station about four hours later, authorities said.

They hailed a taxi and went back to the towering luxury hotel where Taylor and Zayek had booked a room earlier in the day.

They all went in; only two would be seen walking out.

Authorities say Ghosn was inside one of the big black boxes, lugged by the two men to Japans Kansai International Airport, authorities said. The boxes passed through a security checkpoint without being checked and were loaded onto a private jet headed for Turkey, the documents say.

At 11:10 p.m., the chartered Bombardier, its windows fitted with pleated shades, lifted off with Ghosn stowed aboard. The flight went first to Turkey, then to Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship but which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

Two days later, Ghosn announced publicly he was in Lebanon.

He said he fled because he could not expect a fair trial, was subjected to unfair conditions in detention and was barred from meeting his wife under his bail conditions.

Ghosn maintains he is innocent of allegations he under-reported his future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his personal gain. He says that the compensation was never decided on or received, and that the Nissan payments were for legitimate business purposes.

Peter Taylor had travelled to Japan at least three times since July 2019 and met with Ghosn at least seven times during those visits, according to court records. Japanese officials had also issued a provisional warrant for Zayeks arrest.

Lebanese authorities said Ghosn entered the country legally on a French passport, though he had been required to surrender all three of his passports to his lawyers under terms of his bail. He also has Brazilian and Lebanese citizenship.

A lawyer for the Taylors, Paul V. Kelly, declined to comment.

The security business that Michael Taylor and a partner set up decades ago was initially focused on private investigations, but their caseload grew through corporate work and unofficial referrals from the U.S. State Department and FBI, including parents whose children had been taken overseas by former spouses.

In 2012, federal prosecutors alleged Taylor had won a U.S. military contract to train Afghan soldiers by using secret information passed along from an American officer. When Taylor learned the contract was being investigated, he asked an FBI agent and friend to intervene, prosecutors charged.

The government seized $5 million (U.S.) from the bank account of Taylors company. Facing 50 charges, he spent 14 months in jail before agreeing to plead guilty to two counts. The government agreed to return $2 million to the company as well as confiscated vehicles.
MONROE  The town will once again participate in the states Neighborhood Assistance Act program.

The program allows certain businesses to claim a state tax credit for monetary donations made to qualifying community programs conducted by tax exempt or municipal agencies.

I encourage municipal agencies and community non-profit organizations to submit proposals under NAA program, said First Selectman Ken Kellogg. We have many businesses that donate regularly to various community programs. If the business pays corporate taxes, this is an opportunity for them to benefit from a state tax credit.

Some of the programs that qualify for the NAA tax credit program include, but are not limited to, community services, job training and education, crime prevention, child care services, substance abuse prevention or treatment and open space acquisition.

Cathy Zuraw / Cathy Zuraw

The minimum contribution on which a tax credit may be granted is $250, and the maximum contribution that any non-profit or municipal entity can receive under the program is $150,000. Click here for more information regarding this program.

Organizations wishing to receive an application packet and businesses interested in taking advantage of the program in order to reduce their state corporate tax liability should contact the First Selectmans Office at 203-452-2821 or visit the towns website and look for the Neighborhood Assistance Act Tax Credit Program listed under News & Announcements.

All applications must be submitted to the first selectmans office and received by close of business on June 15 in order to be considered.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 04:15:16|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A clerk works in a coffee shop in London, Britain, May 17, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)

-- UK COVID-19 deaths top 35,000 as Britain faces "severe recession";

-- COVID-19 cases fall as Italy struggles to reopen;

-- Germany's COVID-19 cases rise to 175,210, death toll tops 8,000;

-- Spain reports slight increases in new virus cases, deaths.



BRUSSELS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries.

LONDON -- Another 545 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Monday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 35,341, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Tuesday.



The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that Britain faces a "severe recession".

The Rinascente department store is reopened in Rome, Italy, May 18, 2020.(Xinhua/Cheng Tingting)

ROME -- A further 162 COVID-19 patients had died in the past 24 hours in Italy, bringing the country's toll to 32,169, out of total infection cases of 226,699, according to fresh figures on Tuesday.

Tuesday's number of deaths bounced from Monday's tally of 99, the first time Italy's daily casualties were lower than 100 since March 10. Italy also registered 813 new cases of infection nationwide in the 24-hour period.

Nationwide, the number of active infections fell by 1,424 cases to 65,129 cases, down from a total of 66,553 infections on Monday, according to the Civil Protection Department.

Pedestrians are seen in front of the Bode Museum in Berlin, capital of Germany, May 18, 2020, which marks the International Museum Day. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)

BERLIN -- New COVID-19 infections in Germany remained under last week's average as the number of confirmed cases increased by 513 within one day to 175,210, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Tuesday.

Over the course of last week, an average of 734 daily cases had been reported by the RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

According to the RKI, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country increased by 72 to 8,007 on Tuesday, resulting in a fatality rate of 4.6 percent.

An operator cleans and disinfects a street amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Barcelona, Spain, May 15, 2020. (Barcelona City Hall/Handout via Xinhua)

MADRID -- Spanish health authorities on Tuesday confirmed slight increases in the numbers of new COVID-19 deaths and coronavirus cases in the country.

Eighty-three people lost their lives to COVID-19 on Monday, 24 more than a day earlier, taking the total number of confirmed deaths in Spain to 27,778.

It was the third consecutive day the death toll had been below 100. Although the regions of Catalonia and Madrid accounted for 51 of the 83 fatalities, five regions (Valencia, Andalusia, Murcia, Galicia and Navarra) reported no deaths at all.
For the first time, monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides with excellent optical properties were grown. A team of physicists from the University of Warsaw managed to overcome the technical difficulties faced by industry and scientists from around the world, namely the very limited size, heterogeneity, and broadening of the spectral lines of fabricated materials. Monolayers without these defects were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on atomically flat boron nitride substrates.

Two-dimensional crystals with a honeycomb structure, including the famous graphene, have already revolutionized nanoscience and have the potential to revolutionize common technologies, as well. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop industrial-scale methods for their production.

However, despite substantial investments in the development of growth techniques for atomically thin crystals, the best quality monolayers are currently still obtained using exfoliation, i.e. due to the mechanical detachment of individual atomic layers from the bulk crystal. For example, graphene flakes exfoliated from bulk graphite exhibit superior electrical properties when compared to grown graphene. In contrast, the size of the mechanically exfoliated monolayers is rather small.

Similarly, optical properties of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (e.g. molybdenum diselenide) are fully revealed only for layers obtained as a result of exfoliation and after having been subjected to further mechanical treatment, such as placing them between layers of boron nitride. However, as already mentioned, this technique does not lead to atomically thin crystals on a larger scale, resulting in heterogeneity, limited size, and even to the appearance of corrugations, bubbles, and irregular edges.

Hence, it is crucial to develop a technique for growing two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides that will allow for the production of monolayers with a large surface area. Currently, one of the most advanced technologies for producing thin semiconductor crystals is molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). It provides low-dimensional structures on large wafers, with high homogeneity, but its effectiveness in the production of transition metal dichalcogenides has been very limited so far. In particular, the optical properties of MBE grown monolayers have hitherto been rather modest, e.g. spectral lines have been broad and weak, giving no hope for the use of the spectacular optical properties of transition metal dichalcogenides on a larger scale.

It is in this area that researchers from the Faculty of Physics of the University of Warsaw made a breakthrough. In collaboration with several laboratories from Europe and Japan, they conducted a series of studies on the growth of transition metal dichalcogenides monolayers on an atomically flat boron nitride substrate. In this way, using the MBE method, they obtained flat crystals, equal in size to the substrate, showing uniform parameters over the entire surface, including - most valuably - excellent optical properties.

The results of the work have just been published in the latest volume of the prestigious journal Nano Letters. The discovery directs future research into the industrial production of atomically thin materials. In particular, it indicates the need to develop larger atomically flat boron nitride wafers. On such wafers, it will be possible to grow monolayers with the optical quality, dimensions, and homogeneity required for optoelectronic applications.

Physics and Astronomy first appeared at the University of Warsaw in 1816, under the then Faculty of Philosophy. In 1825 the Astronomical Observatory was established. Currently, the Faculty of Physics' Institutes include Experimental Physics, Theoretical Physics, Geophysics, Department of Mathematical Methods and an Astronomical Observatory. Research covers almost all areas of modern physics, on scales from the quantum to the cosmological. The Faculty's research and teaching staff includes ca. 200 university teachers, of which 87 are employees with the title of professor. The Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, is attended by ca. 1000 students and more than 170 doctoral students.

###

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS:

W. Pacuski, M. Grzeszczyk, K. Nogajewski, A. Bogucki, K. Oreszczuk, J. Kucharek, K.E. Polczynska, B. Seredynski, A. Rodek, R. Bozek, T. Taniguchi, K. Watanabe, S. Kret, J. Sadowski, T. Kazimierczuk, M. Potemski, P. Kossacki, ''Narrow Excitonic Lines and Large-Scale Homogeneity of Transition-Metal Dichalcogenide Monolayers Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy on Hexagonal Boron Nitride", Nano Lett. 20, 3058 (2020).

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b04998 (open access)

CONTACTS:

Dr. hab. Wojciech Pacuski

Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw

email: Wojciech.Pacuski@fuw.edu.pl

RELATED LINKS:

https://twitter.com/MBEatUW

https://www.fuw.edu.pl/~wmpac/mbe/mbe.htm

Laboratory of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) web page

http://lumnp.fuw.edu.pl/?lang=en

Laboratory of Ultrafast Magneto Spectroscopy (LUMS) web page

https://www.fuw.edu.pl

The Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw web page

https://www.fuw.edu.pl/press-releases.html

Press office of the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw
MADISON, N.J., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ERA Real Estate, a global franchising leader within the Realogy family of companies, today announced that four long-time franchisees have signed long-term renewals with the brand. The renewing companies have a combined affiliation tenure of 101 years. ERA King Real Estate Company and ERA Reardon Realty are both ranked in the brand's Top 20 Company Producers in Units with rankings of 11th and 20th, respectively. All four renewals, which also include High Pointe Real Estate and ERA Advantage Realty, Inc., showcased substantial growth since their affiliation with the ERA brand.

ERA King Real Estate Company was founded in 1969 by Jack King in Calhoun County, Ala, located in the east-central part of the state. His son Everett, joined by his wife and top agent Anna, later took over and affiliated with ERA in 1994. The ERA affiliation helped catapult ERA King Real Estate to the number one market share spot in the county. The firm, now with an expansive footprint spanning seven counties with eight offices and 300 affiliated agents, ranked in the 2020 REAL Trends Top 500 with 2,151 transaction sides in 2019. This equated to $419.2 million in sales volume. Since 2001, ERA King Real Estate has seen its annual transaction sides increase by more than 260% and volume by more than 450%. The Kings, who have helped shape the culture of the ERA brand through their passion and dedication, were recent unanimous inductees into ERA Real Estate's Hall of Fame. Along with the late ERA Real Estate President and CEO Brenda Casserly, the Kings are continuing and reinforcing the "Team ERA" battle cry that is emblematic of the brand's unique culture.

ERA Reardon Realty, under the leadership of broker/owner Rick Reardon, has been affiliated with ERA since 2000. As a top 20 company in the global network, ERA Reardon is the largest ERA affiliate in Michigan with more than 100 agents in seven offices across the state. The company generated 1,227 transaction sides in 2019 and $230 million in sales volume. The company has grown in sides and volume by more than 1050% and 2200%, respectively, since 2001. Reardon is a second-generation owner having taken over Gail Reardon Realty, which was founded in 1987 by his parents. His firm is recognized for its superior client service, agent-centric culture and commitment to supporting ERA's collaborative network.

ERA Reardon Realty's growth has also been fueled by the company's merger and acquisition strategy in collaboration with ERA. The most recent acquisition came in January when Reardon took an ownership stake in Midwest Properties ERA Powered in the Grand Rapids region, adding nearly 85 new agents and four new offices.

ERA High Pointe Real Estate based in Manhattan, Kansas, was founded in 1982 and joined the ERA brand in 1993. Led by broker/owners Ricci Dillon and Andy Carson, the company finished 2019 in the top 25 of the most productive single-office ERA brokerages with 294 transaction sides equaling $64 million in sales volume, a 100% increase annually since 2001. Known for its strong community presence and proactive approach to real estate, ERA High Pointe values the entrepreneurial spirit of the ERA network and the brand's forward-thinking business solutions.

ERA Advantage Realty, Inc., which serves the Port Charlotte, Fla. market led by broker/owner Joel Ament, first joined the ERA brand in 1992. Since then, the company has ranked consistently as a Top 100 company within the ERA network and finished 2019 with $30 million in sales volume, a 66% increase since 2001. The company's slogan, "Always There for You," showcases the company's commitment to creating the best experience possible for homeowners and a dedication to providing its agents with the ERA tools and training they need to succeed.

Quotes:

"ERA Real Estate is built on the foundation of creating an infrastructure that empowers affiliated companies to exceed their growth and profitability goals. The brand has a storied history of cultivating a strong, collaborative culture rooted in innovation that helps our affiliates grow their businesses. The recent renewals of four ERA's long-tenured brokerages are representative of the strength of the ERA network as well as the tangible value the ERA brand affiliation can deliver to companies over the years  and decades."

Sherry Chris, President and CEO of ERA Real Estate

"ERA is woven into the fabric of our company, and we would not want to be anywhere else. Through our 25 years with the ERA brand, we've successfully achieved the true value of a franchised partnership. Not only have we grown because of the guidance, resources and support we continually receive from ERA, but also from the incredible collaboration that exists. We firmly believe that the ERA network gives us a competitive advantage that is second to none."

Everett King, President at ERA King Real Estate Company, Inc.

"Over the last 20 years with ERA Real Estate, I've had the opportunity to grow this company into the largest affiliate in the state and build a truly profitable business. ERA has provided our company with access to innovative business solutions, a global network and a unique culture found nowhere else in this industry. With this renewal, I can continue to grow and become more profitable, and this latest partnership is just another example of the opportunities ERA helps provide and foster."

- Rick Reardon, President, CEO and Owner of ERA Reardon Realty

Four renewals in @erarealestate @ERAKingCo @ERAReardon are Top 20 companies and will remain with brand into next decade. #realestate

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 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

Related Links

http://www.era.com


(Bloomberg) --

ByteDance Ltd.s valuation has risen at least a third to more than $100 billion in recent private share transactions, people familiar with the matter said, reflecting expectations the owner of video phenom TikTok will keep pulling in advertisers.

Stock in the worlds most valuable startup has changed hands recently at a price that suggests its value has risen more than 33% from about $75 billion during a major round of funding two years ago, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter isnt public.

Some trades recently valued the Chinese company between $105 billion and $110 billion on the secondary markets, some of people said. It has also traded as high as $140 billion, one person said.

The trades are private transactions and may not fully reflect broader investor expectations. Stock in the secondary market is usually valued at a discount to primary shares since its less liquid and there are fewer financial details on company performance available to investors.

The trading of ByteDance is reflective of the global wave of consumers who agree that ByteDance can displace Facebook as the leading social network, said Andrea Walne, a partner at Manhattan Venture Partners who follows the secondary markets.

In the past decade, Bytedance is surpassed only by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Ant Financial Services Group as companies that have traded at a higher premium in the secondary market, she added.

ByteDance has grown into a potent online force propelled in part by a TikTok short video platform thats taken U.S. teenagers by storm. Investors are keen to grab a slice of a company that draws some 1.5 billion monthly active users to a family of apps that includes Douyin, TikToks Chinese twin, as well as news service Toutiao. Thats despite American lawmakers raising privacy and censorship concerns about its operation. This week, it poached Walt Disney Co. streaming czar Kevin Mayer to become chief executive officer of TikTok.

Story continues

The company was in the very early stages of exploring a share sale abroad last year, people familiar have said. But any float remains a longer-term objective given ByteDance remains well-funded, the people added. ByteDance declined to comment on Wednesday. Its backers include SoftBank Group Corp., General Atlantic and Sequoia.

The Chinese startup in the ballpark of the market capitalizations of some of the worlds biggest public companies, ahead of rivals such as Twitter Inc. and Snap Inc. but still behind Facebook Inc. ByteDance -- whose TikTok remains the venue of choice for half a billion lip-syncing, dancing music video aficionados -- is now going head-to-head with Chinese internet leaders from Tencent Holdings Ltd. to Alibaba for user traffic and marketing dollars.

Its also strengthening its operations in newer arenas such as e-commerce and gaming. ByteDance this year kicked off a wave of hiring it envisions hitting 40,000 new jobs in 2020, hoping to match Alibabas headcount at a time technology corporations across the globe are furloughing or reducing staff.

Longer term, the company will have to grapple with rising scrutiny from Washington. Two prominent senators have urged investigations into TikTok, labeling it a national security threat.

Read more: ByteDance Launches Global Hiring Spree With 10,000 New Jobs

(Updates with a quote, new details in the fifth paragraph. An earlier version of the story was corrected to reflect executives proper title.)

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The Netflix teen dramedy/mystery series Outer Banks took the world by storm when it was released on April 15, as people around the world watched in lockdown.

Actor Chase Stokes, 27, skyrocketed to fame, especially on social media, where he quickly amassed more than two million Instagram followers. But then, eagle-eyed fans discovered old, offensive posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

After receiving online backlash, the actor apologized for his "insensitive" posts - although now, he says he was hacked. He's the latest celebrity to offer up a self-quarantine apology, joining former Disney star Vanessa Hudgens, The Bachelorette Hannah Brown, recipe writer Alison Roman and more.

John B. and Ward Cameron (Courtesy of Netflix ) / Courtesy of Netflix

The posts have since been deleted, but one Twitter user uploaded a few older examples when someone asked why he was canceled.

Some of the past posts, which surfaced from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, included racial slurs, as well as negative terms directed at people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community, and an insult aimed at Justin Bieber.

Stokes posted on Twitter to issue an apology to his fans as #ChaseStokesIsOver was trending. His notes app statement read, "Yes. I will address this. I was not hiding. I consulted in one of my closest friends just as anybody else would. I have posted insensitive tweets. My Facebook has been hacked countless times. The picture isn't even of me or anybody I know."

He went on to write, "This does not excuse my words, nor am I excusing myself. I will continue to work towards using my platform in the same capacity I have been and doing/bringing light into the world."

However, mere moments after the formal apology, he said that he actually had been hacked. His previous statement was deleted, as well as all of his other tweets, leaving only two.

"Yo just getting back into twitter. My password was changed, figuring things out. I'm really sorry that this is all happening at once," he wrote on Monday night. "Somebody obviously got access to my account. So I'm trying to solve this."

His Outer Banks castmates quickly jumped to his defense, including Jonathan Daviss, who said that the posts were from hackers.

Daviss went on to write that Stokes wasn't "any of the things people have accused him of being."

After one fan responded to Daviss and wrote, "by hackers? one of them with a picture of himself. jd my man celebrate ur 1m and not associate yourself with this situation. youre too good for this," Daviss repsonded, "I want to but Pogues for life," referencing the clique he and Stokes are in on Outer Banks.
A study by a team of researchers from Canada and Italy recently published in Nature Materials could usher in a revolutionary development in materials science, leading to big changes in the way companies create modern electronics.

The goal was to develop two-dimensional materials, which are a single atomic layer thick, with added functionality to extend the revolutionary developments in materials science that started with the discovery of graphene in 2004.

In total, 19 authors worked on this paper from INRS, McGill, Lakehead, and Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, the national research council in Italy.

This work opens exciting new directions, both theoretical and experimental. The integration of this system into a device (e.g. transistors) may lead to outstanding performances. In addition, these results will foster more studies on a wide range of two-dimensional conjugated polymers with different lattice symmetries, thereby gaining further insights into the structure vs. properties of these systems.

The Italian/Canadian team demonstrated the synthesis of large-scale two-dimensional conjugated polymers, also thoroughly characterizing their electronic properties. They achieved success by combining the complementary expertise of organic chemists and surface scientists.

"This work represents an exciting development in the realization of functional two-dimensional materials beyond graphene," said Mark Gallagher, a Physics professor at Lakehead University.

"I found it particularly rewarding to participate in this collaboration, which allowed us to combine our expertise in organic chemistry, condensed matter physics, and materials science to achieve our goals."

Dmytro Perepichka, a professor and chair of Chemistry at McGill University, said they have been working on this research for a long time.

"Structurally reconfigurable two-dimensional conjugated polymers can give a new breadth to applications of two-dimensional materials in electronics," Perepichka said.

"We started dreaming of them more than 15 years ago. It's only through this four-way collaboration, across the country and between the continents, that this dream has become the reality."

Federico Rosei, a professor at the Energie Materiaux Telecommunications Research Centre of the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) in Varennes who holds the Canada Research Chair in Nanostructured Materials since 2016, said they are excited about the results of this collaboration.

"These results provide new insights into mechanisms of surface reactions at a fundamental level and simultaneously yield a novel material with outstanding properties, whose existence had only been predicted theoretically until now," he said.

###

About this study

"Synthesis of mesoscale ordered two-dimensional -conjugated polymers with semiconducting properties" by G. Galeotti et al. was published in Nature Materials.

This research was partially supported by a project Grande Rilevanza Italy-Quebec of the Italian Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, Direzione Generale per la Promozione del Sistema Paese, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council fo Canada, the Fonds Quebecois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies and a US Army. Federico Rosei is also grateful to the Canada Research Chairs program for funding and partial salary support. .

About McGill University

Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, McGill is a leading Canadian post-secondary institution. It has two campuses, 11 faculties, 13 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 40,000 students, including more than 10,200 graduate students. McGill attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,800 international students making up 31% per cent of the student body. Over half of McGill students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 19% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.

About the INRS

The Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) is the only institution in Quebec dedicated exclusively to graduate level university research and training. The impacts of its faculty and students are felt around the world. INRS proudly contributes to societal progress in partnership with industry and community stakeholders, both through its discoveries and by training new researchers and technicians to deliver scientific, social, and technological breakthroughs in the future.

Lakehead University

Lakehead University is a fully comprehensive university with approximately 9,700 full-time equivalent students and over 2,000 faculty and staff at two campuses in Orillia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead has 10 faculties, including Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Health & Behavioural Sciences, Law, Natural Resources Management, the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Science & Environmental Studies, and Social Sciences & Humanities. In 2019, Maclean's 2020 University Rankings, once again, included Lakehead University among Canada's Top 10 primarily undergraduate universities, while Research Infosource named Lakehead 'Research University of the Year' in its category for the fifth consecutive year. Visit http://www.lakeheadu.ca.

Contacts:

Justin Dupuis

McGill Media Relations Office, McGill University

514-298-8202

justin.dupuis@mcgill.ca

Audrey-Maude Vezina

Communications Advisor, INRS

418-254-2156

audreay-maude.vezina@inrs.ca

Brandon Walker

Media, Communications and Marketing Associate

807-343-8177

mediarelations@lakeheadu.ca
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Progressives keep promising conservative evangelicals theyll be our friends if only we stop harping on sex and serve people. The problem is that every time evangelicals try to serve people, progressives want to harp on sex.

A few years back, the late Rachel Held Evans wrote an opinion piece at CNN on why millennials are leaving the church. As a left-leaning Christian, she took it upon herself to speak for her generation. One of the explanations she offered for the millennial exodus from the pews was evangelicals preoccupation with the culture wars, especially sex.

[T]he evangelical obsession with sex, wrote Evans, can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules She added that We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed [and] pursuing reconciliation

Fast-forward to 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic, and no one has more clearly embodied the ideal of service-over-sermons than Samaritans Purse, the evangelical medical charity run by Franklin Graham. Early in New York Citys COVID-19 outbreak, Samaritans Purse set up an ICU in Central Park to treat overflow patients, mostly from Mount Sinai Hospital.

From almost day one, the ministry was beset with criticism, not from the over three-hundred patients who were treated by their personnel, but from city officials, journalists, and LGBT activists who were worried about (you guessed it) sex.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called Franklin Graham notoriously bigoted, and hate spewing. Protesters with the Reclaim Pride Coalition marched around the field hospital with signs demanding help, not hate. The New York Times quoted one member of the coalition who said the very presence of a non-affirming Christian charity has made the citys LGBT community feel personally attacked and personally at risk.

Religion News Service reporter Jonathan Merritt added his voice, sounding the alarm over Grahams long history of bigotry, and stoking fears that his traditional Christian views might open the door to substandard care or even discrimination.

Local news site AMNY struck an even more ominous note, warning that Samaritans Purse intends to inject its religious beliefs into the organizations work, raising more red flags about the groups intentions in Central Park. The piece went on to quote one genderqueer comedian and author, who described the cluster of white tents filled with Christian medical personnel as scary as hell.

Under all this pressure, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered the citys Commission on Human Rights to investigate the field hospital, looking to ferret out discriminatory practices against gay, lesbian, and transgender patients. That investigation closed on Friday, having found no evidence that [Samaritans Purse] had discriminated against patients.

After all of this melodrama, and with 333 patients treated, youd think a headline vindicating Samaritans Purse would be in order. Perhaps even an apology or a thank you. The New York Times wasnt interested. In its article about the charity wrapping up Central Park operations, the lede is buried sixteen paragraphs deep.

Readers must muddle through a misleading headline and an exhausting rehearsal of the concerns about Graham and his organization before we learn that the investigation didnt uncover a single instance of discrimination. (After admitting this fact, the article gets back to the real business of reciting concerns about discrimination.)

The substance behind all this sound and fury was, of course, the fact that Samaritans Purse holds a traditional Christian view of sex and marriage and requires its members to subscribe to that view. One does not have to be a fan of Franklin Grahams political activism (I am not) to see how overwrought this objection is. It amounts to a demand that Christianity as all churches have understood it until the last few years be expunged from public life.

It is an obsession with sexual issues bordering on paranoia  a John Nash-level fixation not content for Christians to quietly do good work in a community while keeping their views to themselves. No, this progressive pharisaism considers the mere touch  nay  the presence of Christians with aberrant sexual beliefs as infectious; more so even than the pandemic Samaritans Purse spent the last two months fighting.

There are two lessons we should learn from this spectacle. The first is that all the op-eds calling on evangelicals to drop the culture wars and get down to the real business of serving people were so much smoke-blowing. Christians have served people in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic  spectacularly and selflessly, in fact  and progressives still hate us.

The real demand here is not that we stop obsessing over sex but that we conform our beliefs about sex to the new political orthodoxies. This we cannot do. Happily, caving probably wouldnt have helped our church attendance, anyway. The denominations most closely following progressives advice are cratering.

Secondly, we should take this as a reminder that love of neighbor is not a strategy. It is a command. Please dont misunderstand: Many people who were treated at the Central Park field hospital have probably warmed toward Christians as a result. This is part of what a good witness often does.

But serving people and caring for their earthly needs are not primarily means of persuading them to join our cause. They are primarily expressions of who we are and who our Lord is. And if they result in no earthly reward, thats okay. We didnt do them for a reward. Which means Franklin Graham and co can take comfort as theyre practically run out of the city despite officials having found no fault in them. In that theyre in very good company.

This piece was originally published at BreakPoint
How do you kill two birds with one stone? Ask Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries (RIL). As global corporations are fighting a survival battle, Ambani has managed to pull off four large deals with Facebook, General Atlantic, Silver Lake, and Vista Equity Partners in the past few weeks. Through these investments, Reliance has raised a whopping Rs 67,195 crore - a large chunk of which will go to retire RIL's huge debt. Simultaneously, the deals have also propelled RIL's next growth phase: the $700-billion 'new commerce' opportunity.

In July 2018 when Ambani first announced the 'new commerce' venture, he said that it has the potential to redefine retailing in India and become one of the biggest new growth engines for Reliance in the years to come. Essentially, new commerce is an integration of RIL's digital and physical marketplaces, and the idea is to leverage the company's entire distribution stack to tap the large universe of MSMEs, farmers, and kiranas. With the Facebook deal, Ambani expects to leverage the wide reach of Facebook-owned WhatsApp to speed up the new commerce business.

So while Reliance has many apparent upsides from the deals, what's in it for its four global partners? The deals with General Atlantic, Silver Lake and Vista are more strategic that could benefit them if the valuations rise in the future as more investors join the Jio party. The partnership with Facebook, on the other hand, is deeper because it intends to explore mutual opportunities in areas like e-commerce and the offline-to-online (O2O) segment which has suddenly been gaining traction in the COVID-19 situation. It's clear that the stakes are really high for Facebook as compared to the other three, but in a way, they will all benefit if Ambani could execute his plans.

The Repositioning Game

The last two years have been particularly life-changing for Reliance Jio. How? After setting up a large 4G network across the country covering nearly 98 per cent of the population, Jio began acquiring (and partnering with) tech-focussed companies to enhance capabilities in areas like AI, IoT, 5G, robotics and drones.

More than a dozen investments have been made - ranging from a few hundred crore to Rs 700 crore for AI firm Haptik - with a single aim: to reposition Jio as a digital company rather than just a plain-vanilla telecom operator.

This aim also dovetails into Ambani's larger goal of moving RIL away from being an energy-focussed company. For years, RIL was perceived as an oil and gas major which doesn't have the ability to run a consumer business. In 2018, it started efforts to change that notion when the company embarked on a mission to earn over 50 per cent of its revenues from consumer-facing businesses in the next 10 years.

RIL entered the retail space in 2006 and the telecom business in 2010, the perception didn't change until recently (in 2019) when Reliance Retail became the largest retailer in the country, and Jio surpassed the incumbents in terms of subscribers numbers. Though in terms of revenues, the consumers businesses (telecom and retail) account for 29 per cent of the overall revenues, their contribution is likely to cross 40 per cent in FY21, and even higher in the subsequent years.

"These deals will help RIL reposition itself as a consumer/technology company," said a May 8 report by Axis Capital. "The recent round of investments has further cemented RIL's resolve to build upon the repositioning plank," says a telecom analyst.

But what's the need to reposition RIL as a consumers+tech company? In the words of RIL CFO Alok Agarwal, the repositioning exercise has huge benefits. How? In the recent earnings call, Agarwal said that three tech companies in the world command a market capitalisation of $1 trillion each. In comparison, all the energy companies don't even have a combined market cap of $600 billion. "So essentially, investors have taken to the tech and consumer companies - Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, etc - as new investment themes," he said. At an enterprise value of $74 billion (assuming exchange rate of Rs 70 per dollar), Jio Platforms (the RIL subsidiary where the deals are happening) seems to be marching in that direction but it still has a long way to go.

A recent report by Comparisun, an advice platform for small businesses, says Ambani could leapfrog into the trillionaire club by 2033, following Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Alibaba's Jack Ma, and two more tycoons.

RIL has indicated that Facebook's investment is just 50 per cent of the targeted "value unlocking" that RIL has in mind for Jio Platforms. Given that Jio Platforms has emerged as the new poster boy in the tech world, more global investors would be considering buying a piece of it.

Hong Kong-based brokerage firm CLSA says there are 11 tech companies in the world with over $5 billion of net cash position, including Apple, Alphabet, Alibaba and Microsoft, who could potentially invest in Jio Platforms going forward. That means that if more global investors buy RIL's repositioning story at higher valuation (as it has happened with General Atlantic, Vista and Silver Lake), the benefits will be reaped by all the existing shareholders.

How Facebook Got Lured In

Much like RIL, Facebook has not been satisfied with its current state. Despite earning a large chunk of its revenue from advertising (98.5 per cent), Facebook has been actively pursuing opportunities in the e-commerce space for the past four-odd years. Going back to its history, the social media giant focussed on building products for the first 12 years of its existence, and made itself a preferred ad platform for brands. But in 2016, it rolled out a consumer-to-consumer platform (Facebook Marketplace) followed by the 'Checkout' feature that lets users complete the transaction within the app.

Most recently, it has gone a step ahead with a new feature, Facebook Shops that allows businesses, particularly smaller ones, to sell their products right on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. While Facebook will earn ad revenues from these businesses, it can also earn commissions for facilitating payments. This is definitely a deeper engagement from Marketplace feature that allowed just listing, and advertising of products by sellers on Facebook. Of course, the idea to introduce Shops is to accelerate the e-commerce business since the existing Marketplace and Checkout features haven't really done well.

With Jio partnership, Facebook has set its sights on the growing Indian e-commerce and O2O markets. The tie-up is an extension of a half-hearted attempt made by Facebook last June with an investment in start-up Meesho that enables resellers and individuals to connect with buyers on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

Analysts say that India is a large market for Facebook given the large user base on both Facebook (328 million) and WhatsApp (400 million). It's one of the most attractive markets to establish e-commerce presence given the vast demographic potential and absence of a single large established player. Currently, Amazon and Flipkart are two leading online players but their share is rather small in the overall retail pie. "There is no large established e-commerce player in India which is strong in O2O model," said a recent report from Credit Suisse.

For Facebook, the reason to invest in Jio Platforms is five-fold: to mine the data of Jio's 388-million subscribers, strengthen its e-commerce plans, push its WhatsApp platform for payments and businesses, tide over regulatory challenges, and using Jio's telecom infra backbone to rollout new-age products - Oculus VR and enterprise solutions.

For instance, WhatsApp business account is currently being used by a lot of online service providers such as MakeMyTrip and Lenskart to communicate with their customers. WhatsApp charges for every message sent to the user. With its integration into JioMart (a Reliance Retail subsidiary), WhatsApp can tap a large number of local kiranas and small and medium businesses (SMBs) to use its paid service to communicate with their customers. Thus, it translates into additional revenues for Facebook.

Raja Lahiri, partner at Grant Thornton says that an investor, through RIL, gets a platform and a funnel to the entire consumers, telecom, retail, and internet space in India. "Global investors understand the impact of RIL in India, and that it knows the local market well which will help them to participate in the digital opportunity here," he says. Indeed, one of the key reasons for Facebook's investment in Jio Platforms was to bring onboard a strong local partner who can help it solve the regulatory puzzle. For more than two years, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been struggling for approval for a full-fledged rollout of its payments service, WhatsApp Pay.

Though experts say that there could be a potential friction between Facebook and RIL since they are both going after the same set of SMEs and merchants to build scale for their e-commerce portfolio. In the current arrangement, RIL's offline strengths (with Reliance Retail) and Facebook's vast online reach (with WhatsApp and Facebook) have got the partners together. But at some point, there would reach a point where RIL may feel threatened by Facebook's access to its SMEs and merchant base given that Facebook is going aggressive on its e-commerce vertical.

Taking on Amazon and Flipkart

Even though Amazon and Flipkart are leading the domestic online e-commerce space; their share is rather tiny in the overall retail pie. That's because around 88 per cent of the domestic retail sector is unorganised and just about 4 per cent is e-tailing, according to an August 2019 report by CARE Ratings. Most large online retailers work on the marketplace model, and a bulk of fulfilment is done through a handful of merchants.

But that could potentially change if JioMart's O2O model actually works. Take a look at the grocery (kirana) segment that JioMart plans to tap first. About 97 per cent of the grocery segment in India is unorganised. Grocery segment is important because it accounts for over 50 per cent of the monthly wallet share, especially for the middle- and lower-income consumers.

So while Amazon, Flipkart, Future Group, D-Mart, BigBasket and others are fighting for 3 per cent grocery share, Ambani is going after the bigger pie. And he's going to leverage the offline and online reach of Jio and Reliance Retail to connect the last-mile kirana merchant with a bigger audience.

Thus far, JioMart has rolled out grocery services in three neighbourhoods of Mumbai - Kalyan, Navi Mumbai and Thane - to deliver daily consumption items such as staples, soaps, shampoos and household items. Ultimately, the target is to tap 30 million kiranas across the country in addition to 60 million MSMEs and 120 million farmers.

Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a consulting firm focussed on retail and consumer products, says that for any large corporate to grow in retail, grocery is the most important segment. Other experts say that grocery, though large, is a low-hanging fruit. More retail segments like medicine distribution, fashion and lifestyle stores, and food delivery are likely to be explored later.

But there's more to it. RIL is known for its backward integration capabilities from its early days. Starting as a textile player, RIL has moved backwards into the value chain over the years - from polyester to petrochemicals and refinery.

It has replicated a similar strategy in the retail business where it's sourcing groceries from a large number of farmers and small vendors in a farm-to-fork model. The direct sourcing of groceries could enable Reliance Retail to get into high-margin private labels business. The experience in the retail business is likely to be leveraged to benefit partner kirana stores by bringing down their cost of procurement, etc.

"There are multiple opportunities for Facebook and RIL. But I see businesses with less friction picking up first. It might start with integrated digital payments, and over a period of time, when there's a visibility of the merchants' credit profile, new lending products can be created. As such, small merchants like kiranas don't have enough financing options," says Dutta.

"Additional synergies are expected to arrive in the form of Reliance Retail pushing its margin-accretive private label products to these (kirana) stores and providing easy credit terms," said analysts at Motilal Oswal in a recent report.

The next big frontier that RIL would tap is SMEs. In India, there are over 50 million SME units that account for 37.5 per cent to the country's GDP. For RIL, the opportunities are two-fold: digitise these SMEs and provide them lending facilities. For instance, as per Cisco India, 70 per cent of these SMEs are offline. With Facebook's digital tools coupled with RIL's in-house capabilities, a large number of these SMEs can be digitised.

Then, as per ratings agency CRISIL, SMEs accounted for 25 per cent of the corporate lending in the country in FY19. The current lending to SMEs stands at over Rs 17 lakh crore. With data mining tools, and access to other high-quality data, Jio can develop new revenue stream of lending to these small businesses. It already holds a payments bank licence (with SBI) but it hasn't been able to make good use of it. With millions of merchants and farmers on its platform, it could create a bouquet of services around loans, insurance and mutual funds.

Even as these investments seem like a valuation game at the moment, the task before Ambani to make his 'new commerce' gambit work is going to be daunting. Since the nuts and bolts of Facebook deal are yet to come out, it's safe to assume that there will be moments of conflicts between the partners. But then, if the potential market to tap is huge - bigger than the one currently catered by Amazons, Flipkarts and Future Groups of the world - there will be immense room for growth.

ALSO READ: Reliance Industries' Rs 53,125-crore rights issue opens today

ALSO READ: Facebook launches Shops, aims to bring kirana stores online

ALSO READ: Airtel's champion against Jio-Facebook alliance - a digital platform of its own

ALSO READ: General Atlantic to invest Rs 6,598 crore in Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms

ALSO READ: After General Atlantic deal, US firms to own 14.8% stake in Jio Platforms
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, writer Varun Grover and comedian Kunal Kamra are auctioning their trophies to raise funds for COVID-19 test kits.

The campaign aims to raise Rs 13,44,000 in the next 30 days for ten kits which will help one thousand people get tested.

Kashyap took to Twitter and said whoever bids the highest, gets the winning Filmfare trophy for his acclaimed gangster-drama "Gangs of Wasseypur".

"Highest bidder gets the original trophy for the Filmfare critics award best film 2013, 'Gangs of Wasseypur,'" Kashyap tweeted.

Grover shared a picture of his trophy for penning the lyrics of "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" for the Ayushmann Khurrana-Bhumi Pednekar starrer "Dum Laga Ke Haisha".

"Adding the TOIFA trophy I won for 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage' (DLKH, 2015) for charity auction to raise funds for Covid test kits. Putting it up on ebay in 2050 was my retirement fund plan but i believe now is a better time to use it to secure India's future," he wrote.

Kamra said he's giving away his YouTube Buttona creator award which aims to recognise most popular channelsto the highest donor.

"I urge all artists to give away their prized possessions towards charity in such difficult times. While every penny counts the highest donor will get the button," Kamra tweeted.

According to the crowdfunding platform Milaap, the money raised through the campaign will be transferred directly from Milaap Foundation to Mylab Discovery Solutions, which will help Burda Media India secure the COVID-19 testing kits that will be donated to hospitals and labs.

"The cost of each testing kit is Rs 1.2Lacs + GST and each testing kit has the capacity to test 100 samples. We aim to donate ten testing kits, which will help ,1000 people get tested for COVID-19, free of cost," a description on the platform read.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New York City vaccination rates among children have dramatically fallen during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday that the number of administered vaccines is down 63 percent compared to this time last year.

Immunizations overall have fallen by about two-thirds from this time in 2019. Among children two years old and younger, they have decreased by 42 percent and in children older than age two, vaccinations are down 91 percent.

Youngsters haven't been getting their typical shots against diseases such as measles and chickenpox because parents have feared their children might get coronavirus during a doctor's visit.

In addition, fewer physicians' offices are open to even administer the inoculations.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Vaccinations among children younger than age two have decreased by 42% and have fallen by 91% among children older than two years older, Mayor de Blasio revealed

The number of doses has decreased by 63% from almost 400,000 at this time last year to 150,000 over a six-week period this year (file image)

Over a six-week period during this time last year, doctors administered almost 400,000 vaccine doses.

By comparison, over the six-week period this year, fewer than 150,000 doses have been administered.

Dr Hanan Tanuos, director of primary care and an associate professor of pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School told DailyMail.com the reason for this drop is likely two-fold.

'I think part of it of course is the parents are afraid to bring their children out and I think the other part is that the availability of doctors is limited,' she said.

The mayor stressed a child contacting an illness that could have prevented in addition to coronavirus could create a very dangerous situation.

'The vaccines that, for example, prevent respiratory illnesses like pneumonia are important any time,' de Blasio said.

'A child who gets one of these diseases is likely to need to be hospitalized and they're likely to be more susceptible to contracting COVID.'

De Blasio said this also increases the risk of children falling ill with 'Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.'

This is the rare inflammatory condition that has been associated with COVID-19 and has affected at least 145 children in the city.

He added that vaccines are not just important for children with normal immune system but also for those who are immunocompromised and therefore, more vulnerable to catching childhood diseases and coronavirus.

Therefore, increasing immunization rates will not only protect kids but communities as a whole.

Officials from the city's health department stressed that there is no link between jabs and coronavirus.

'We're learning more and more about how COVID-19 manifests in children,' Dr Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said during the press conference.

'That being said, there is no indication that there is any correlation with vaccination status in children.'

To help drive vaccinations up, the city will offer free vaccinations - not for COVID-19 - at more than 1,000 New York City facilities and at all Health and Human community health clinics.

'The bottom line to all parents, all family members out there: get your child vaccinated,' de Blasio said.

It comes on the heels of a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that found similar alarming declines.

Vaccination rates for children aged five months and younger in Michigan in May fell to 49.7 percent.

By comparison, about two-thirds of children in that age bracket were given jabs in May 2016.

Public health officials have warned for years that vaccines not only protect individuals but the community as a whole in what is known as 'herd immunity'.

This occurs when the vast majority of a community - between 80 and 95 percent - becomes immune so that, if a disease is introduced, it is unable to spread.

Therefore, those who are unable to be vaccinated, including the ill, very young and very old, are protected.

Now, health authorities are worried that falling rates might destroy the herd immunity that had bee built up against certain diseases.

'If this goes on for long enough and enough children don't get vaccinated, then we might see small outbreaks of some of these diseases, some more easily than others,' Dr Joseph Schwab, an associate professor of pediatrics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told DailyMail.com.

He said one disease he is concerned about is pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough.

'Pertussis is one I'm concerned about because that's something that passes on from older people to the kids,' he said.

'[Parents] shouldn't let fear, because of the pandemic, prevent them from getting the care.'
- Ellen Adarna shared some good vibes to her social media followers amid the COVID-19 pandemic

- The celebrity mom posted new photos on Instagram of her beloved son  Elias Modesto

- The actress can be seen in the photos bonding with Elias by painting and cuddling with him

- Netizens praised Ellen for trying her best to be a good mom to her son Elias

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Ellen Adarna took to social media to share some good vibes to her followers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

KAMI learned that Ellen posted new photos on Instagram of her beloved son  Elias Modesto.

The pictures show the celebrity mom bonding with Elias by painting and cuddling with him.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback.

Netizens in the comments section of Fashion Pulis praised the actress for trying her best to be a good mom to Elias:

Like how Ellen took care of her health mentally and physically so she can be a good mom to her son.

Super candid lang ng photo, like ko toh.

I guess her son is the man she needed for her to be better. I'm not saying that women needs men but If we get to have a special person, Ellen found hers in her son.

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, Ellens reaction to Anne Curtis social media post went viral.

Ellen Adarna is a Filipina actress and model. She has a son named Elias Modesto, whose father is superstar actor John Lloyd Cruz. In 2019, Ellen and John Lloyd broke up but they have not yet revealed the reason for their split.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Spring is typically a ramp up time for air travel, with passengers grabbing flights for spring break ahead of the busy summer travel months.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has meant fewer flights and a significant drop in passengers across the country, leading to empty runways and deserted terminals.

On Wednesday, Lehigh Valley International Airport released its traffic for April, or what was left of it. LVIA reported a 96.7% decrease in passengers this past April compared to one year ago.

Its "a historic challenge in aviation that will take a while to bounce back from, said Tom Stoudt, executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, which runs the airport.

The TSA travel volume reports show severe passenger declines at airports across the United States, even as some states reopen for business amid the pandemic.

April saw TSA passenger totals dip below six figures several times that month.

As of May 19, the TSA saw 190,477 passengers through its checkpoints, compared to 2,312,727 passengers on the same weekday a year ago, an 92% decrease.

While the airport in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, saw 83,560 travelers in 2019, it only saw 2,749 passengers last month.

The airlines all reported significant drops in passenger traffic: Allegiants passenger traffic decreased 98%, Delta 97.6%, United 96.7%, and American 94%, according to a news release.

While the number of people flying was few and far between, cargo continues to increase at LVIA.

The airport processed almost 21 million pounds of air cargo in April, an increase of 54.6% compared to one year ago.

"Any way we can support the region while fighting this pandemic is certainly a high priority, Stoudt said of the cargo figures.

LVIA and Queen City airport will receive help as part of the $239 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants for Pennsylvania airports, $6,191,170 and $30,000, respectively.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Bangladesh has shifted over two million people to storm shelters and deployed its military to deal with cyclone 'Amphan' as the powerful weather system is set to make a landfall, authorities said on Wednesday.

Authorities have already raised the alert level to 'great danger' for some districts in the country as the cyclone, the most powerful storm since cyclone 'Sidr' killed nearly 3,500 people in 2007, was approaching the country's coastline.

The Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force have made preparations to tackle the super cyclone which has moved within 400km of Bangladesh's coast and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening, Bdnews24.com reported.

The cyclone is expected to make landfall at 6pm on Wednesday, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman was quoted as saying by the report.

On Tuesday, the authorities began to move nearly 2.2 million people to storm shelters to avoid casualties.

The Navy has deployed 25 ships as part of three-tier efforts to conduct emergency rescue, relief and medical operations in the immediate aftermath of the super cyclone, the report said.

Two maritime patrol aircraft and two helicopters were also at the ready to conduct search operations over the Bay of Bengal and in the coastal districts, the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said.

The Army has prepared 18,400 packets of relief materials and formed 71 medical teams. As many as 145 disaster management teams with special equipment are also ready to be deployed at short notice, the ISPR said.

The Army Aviation Group would join rescue and relief operations, it said.

The Air Force will assess the possible damage along with medical, relief and rescue efforts by using six transport aircraft and 22 helicopters, it said.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Wednesday advised ten coastal districts to hoist the 'Great Danger Signal Number 10' as Cyclone Amphan has moved closer to Bangladesh's coast, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Coastal districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Jhalokathi, Pirozpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal, Laxmipur, Chandpur and their offshore islands and chars will come under great danger signal number 10, the report said.

The meteorologists said the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, was likely to absorb the main brunt of the Amphan onslaughts as it has done many times over the centuries, leading to a less number of human casualties.

"The Sundarbans always absorbed the brunt of cyclones whichever hit the coastlines alongside the Bangladesh-India, we expect the forest to face the initial impact of Amphan like foot soldiers this time as well," Bangladesh's Meteorology Department Director Shamsuddin Ahmed told reporters on Tuesday.

Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather on Tuesday described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, fearing the "ferocious" storm to unleash extreme impacts across Bangladeshi and northeastern Indian coastlines.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Husbands arent for sale, but they are for rent with a new business in Rio Rancho, Beccas Rent a Hubby.

Handyman and Navy veteran Jamid Jay Shupe owns Beccas Rent a Hubby.

He offers his services as a handyman to turn honey to-do lists into honey-done lists, Shupe said.

During COVID-19-related restrictions, he only worked with existing clients, but hes looking to take on new ones when those limits are lifted.

Shupe served in the Navy for 10 years before leaving in 2004. He worked on an amphibious Navy ship in advanced electronics, computers and intelligence.

Shupe learned his trade from life, he said.

He watched This Old House with his mom growing up and considers himself overqualified as a painter because of his experience in the Navy.

His business began in 2019 after being let go from his job the day after Christmas in 2018.

I said, OK, I am tired of working for people who dont appreciate what I do, he said.

Shupe started his business to empower his skill set and identity as a veteran.

It just seemed like every time I would get ahead in a job in the private sector, it would be in a year or two years I would hear, I dont need you; have a good life,' he said.

Shupe started working for friends and people around the community who needed help with odd jobs around the house.

After a couple of jobs, his wife, Rebecca Shupe, suggested he start his own business.

I kind of sat there and thought about it and said, Why dont I do this full-time; why dont I become a handyman?' he said.

Rebecca offered to help him find more clients.

She posted on Nextdoor and on Facebook  as silly as it sounds  I am renting my husband out for anyone who needs a handyman; let me know,' he said.

And that is where the name of his business, Beccas Rent a Hubby, came from.

Most of Shupes clients are 50 to 80 years old.

One client is a Vietnam veteran who has multiple sclerosis.

This is another veteran in my community that needs someone to go to who understands them. And he is a very intelligent man, but the mind has become a little foggy and he cant do the things he used to, he said.

This veteran fell out of his chair one day, and emergency medical services had to break in through his back door to get to him.

Shupe fixed his back door and placed a lock box outside in case it ever happened again.

I am helping my community in one small little way. No one sees these things, but it is a vet I am doing this for, he said. I am working for the people I want to work for.

Shupe said he wants to see his business not only be veteran-owned but also veteran-employed.

I hold a lot of military ideas. So the chain of command is important to me, taking initiative and doing more than what is asked of me, he said. So being a veteran-owned business is me working for myself, and its being of service still to the ones that I think that need it.

To learn more about Beccas Rent a Hubby services, call 492-4128.
Turkey opposition party MPs petition for parliamentary inquiry into Hrant Dink assassination

Armenia parliament speaker in US, meets with Nancy Pelosi

Biden says invasion of Ukraine will be disaster for Russia

Newspaper: Armenia PM Pashinyan plans to hold Presidents office

Newspaper: Opposition Armenia bloc, led by ex-President Kocharyan, starting new processes

Taliban PM calls on Muslim countries to be first to formally recognize their government

Saudi Arabia records lowest temperature in 30 years

Erdogan's visit to Ukraine scheduled for February 3

Russian peacekeeping contingent establishes order of passage through Lachin corridor

French Senate votes to ban hijab at sporting events

Armenian FM: All necessary conditions to be created for Demarcation Commission work

Olaf Scholz: Borders in Europe cannot be changed by force

Lavrov presents Armenian Ambassador to Russia, with the Order of Friendship

Bill Gates warns of pandemics far more serious than COVID-19

Macron: EU countries must work together on agreement for stability and security

Turkey Central banks and UAE sign agreement worth almost $5 billion

Blinken: Western countries need unity to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine

Iranian President performs evening namaz in Kremlin after talks with Putin

Turkish police detain women protesting price hikes in hygiene products

Delegation headed by Chief of the Cypriot National Guard General Staff has meetings in Armenia

Merkel refuses job in UN structure

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
There's a new warning that you must know about Microsoft Windows 10 latest update. The report reveals that a lot of its users experience various problems during their installation of the software. Worse, some of them can't even install the updated version. Here's where the update goes wrong.

Don't update Microsoft Windows 10: It causes bugs, crashes, deleted data, and more

As reported via Forbes based on the Bleeping Computers website, a group of users of Microsoft's new KB4556799 Windows 10 update is recently complaining about the software.

As explained, the update has been causing problems on different computers such as Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crashes, deleted data, performance issues, broken audio, and more.

Microsoft released this update on May 12, and since then, a lot of negative feedbacks was already reported on the company.

"My system has been a wreck since this update (KB4556799)," said one impacted user. "I've had the machine for a month with no issues until this week. My system started throwing BSOD and rebooting over and over all night, to the point where I had to reset Windows to even be able to log back in."

Another user complained about its installment process.

"I installed the update, and audio drivers are missing. The Troubleshooter is also not working, and I am unable to uninstall the update because buttons within Settings are also not working," another user told the report.

It also appears that the new Microsoft update has been causing troubles-- not just in screen-- but in the audio driver configurations-- since the update was said to reinstall everything in a device.

"With this update, my audio devices have been completely broken. I have Realtek audio drivers, and I can't play anything via the speaker and even the headphones. I'm experiencing the problem on my desktop and Surface Pro 6. I clicked on the Sound icon and initiated Troubleshooting, which said that audio enhancements couldn't be loaded. I uninstalled the update and audio is now back," one user told in the comments.

Not the first time

It is not the first time that an updated version of Microsoft's Windows 10 garners negative feedbacks from its downloaders.

Since the start of the year, users have been complaining about the automatic deletion of user data, breaking audio in March, and even comprising the Chrome security, which impacted video games played in devices, in April.

For those who experienced troubles in your gadgets ever since you installed KB4556799 on your computer, it is advisable for you to uninstall the update first before using it directly immediately.

Microsoft has not yet announced any repair on the newest tech problems occurring with the new update. In most cases, they may probably release repair codes soon to resolve the problems.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has boycotted Peace FM's popular morning show 'Kokrokoo' programme because Social Commentator, Allotey Jacobs who is also their former Central Regional Chairman.



Subsequently, Allotey Jacobs has decided to 'stay away' for peace to reign.



However, it seems the boycott does not apply to some areas as members of the party still send in text messages reacting to issues.



Kweku Baako finds this surprising.



Listen to him in the video below









Meanwhile, a former Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party NPP, Adomako Baafi has expressed sadness over the fact that Allotey Jacobs has decided to 'resign' from Kokrokoo and other media platforms because of the NDC.



Sending a message to the NDC quoting a popular saying, he said: "Any Nation That Does Not Honor Its Heroes Is Not Worth Dying For"





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
It is expected that key farming regions that meet environmental, disease, food safety and labour standards will be established in nine central coastal provinces, namely Quang Binh, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

Currently spiny lobster farming is one of the main sources of income for Vietnams central coastal region. Khanh Hoa Province, for example, boasts 50,000 farming cages with an annual output of 1,500 tonnes.

But recently the industry has faced numerous challenges as Vietnam has yet to be able to produce juveniles and the feeding requires fresh food. At the same time, the traditional wooden cages are unable to withstand stronger waves, the environment is being degraded and the market is facing a great deal of difficulty due to the heavy reliance on exporting through unofficial channels.

The key factors to spiny lobster farming are proactively securing juveniles and preventing diseases. But to date Vietnam has been unable to produce juveniles in captivity. In Khanh Hoa Province, local residents must dive under the water to harvest juvenile lobsters, which are just a little bigger than a toothpick, and raise them. The natural stock is unstable and cannot meet the long-term farming requirements.

Another problem is the milky haemolymph disease in spiny lobster, to which farmers virtually must give in and the infected lobsters are bound to die. It is apparent that Vietnams scientific level has yet to meet the needs of spiny lobster farming. Therefore, it is necessary to further boost research so as to address the issues of broodstock and disease prevention for spiny lobsters.

The market for spiny lobster is also a great challenge. The majority of Vietnams spiny lobsters are exported live to China and Singapore, of which a large amount are traded through unofficial channels, resulting in unstable prices and revenue.

There were even times when spiny lobsters in Khanh Hoa Province could not find any buyers. In addition, some farmers failed to follow instructions by the authorities and grew spiny lobster without planning, so their products did not meet the standards to be exported to demanding markets.

Therefore, in the time ahead, the functional authorities should promptly introduce measures to increase the share of spiny lobster exports through official channels, and expand the domestic market as part of a long-term plan for the spiny lobster farming industry. It is also important to forge a link between lobster farmers and enterprises in the chain from production to export.
The market firmed up once again in mid-morning trade. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 264.84 points or 0.88% at 30,461.01. The Nifty 50 index added 85.95 points or 0.97% at 8,965.05.

The firmness was backed by gains in Reliance Industries and ITC. Sentiment got a boost after the country's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said the government remains open to more economic measures as and when needed.

Sitharaman on Sunday (17 May) announced the fifth and final tranche of economic stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The booster measures announced on Sunday related to MGNREGS, healthcare and education, businesses, de-criminalisation of the Companies Act, ease of doing business, public sector enterprises, and resources related to state governments.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.64% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.40%.

Buyers outpaced the sellers. On the BSE, 1005 shares rose and 842 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 41 shares advanced while 9 shares declined.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.96% to Rs 1435.30 as the company's rights issue opens today, 20 May 2020. The rights issue valued at Rs 53,125 crore, will be open for subscription today and it will close on 3 June. All eligible shareholders as per record date of 14 May are entitled to subscribe to the fresh issue. RIL will issue 42,26,26,894 equity shares as part of the rights issue. The company will offer existing shareholders one new share for 15 held at a discounted price of Rs 1,257.

Meanwhile, ITC (up 2.78%), HDFC (up 1.02%), Larsen & Toubro (up 3.04%) and HDFC Bank (up 1.14%) were the top index contributors.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index advanced 0.28% to 1,698.30, extending gains for second day. The index has risen 1.90% in the past one month while the benchmarks Nifty 50 index has lost 0.34% during the same period.

Tata Steel (up 2.19%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.04%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.02%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.76%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.59%), NMDC (up 0.35%) and JSW Steel (up 0.27%) advanced.

Hindustan Zinc (down 2.07%), Vedanta (down 0.94%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.36%) declined.

Earnings impact:

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank rose 3.39% to Rs 27.45 after net profit rose 14.7% to Rs 73.15 crore on 34.4% rise in total income to Rs 809.65 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Net interest income (NII) jumped 46% to Rs 466 crore in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19. Net interest margin (NIM) stood at 11.2% in Q4 March 2020 as compared to 10.8% in Q4 March 2019.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 137.14 crore as on 31 March 2020 as against Rs 129.45 crore as on 31 December 2019 and Rs 97.85 crore as on 31 March 2019. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 0.97% as on 31 March 2020 as against 0.95% as on 31 December 2019 and 0.92% as on 31 March 2019. The ratio of net NPAs to net advances stood at 0.20% as on 31 March 2020 as against 0.38% as on 31 December 2019 and 0.26% as on 31 March 2019.

The bank's provisions and contingencies stood at Rs 96.88 crore in Q4 March 2020, almost seven times compared to Rs 12.37 crore in Q4 March 2019. The bank has made total provision of Rs 70 crore for COVID-19 as on 31 March 2020, out of which Rs 48.97 crore is in respect of accounts in default but standard against the potential impact of COVID-19. The provisions held by the bank are in excess of the RBI prescribed norms.

The bank's deposits rose by 46.08% to Rs 10,780.48 crore as on 31 March 2020 from Rs 7,379.44 crore as on 31 March 2019. CASA ratio stood at 14% during the quarter compared with 11% in March 2019. Total advances jumped 33.08% to Rs 14,043.64 crore as on 31 March 2020 from Rs 10,552.45 crore as on 31 March 2019.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech rallied 6.94% to Rs 1,785 after consolidated net profit jumped 13.49% to Rs 427.50 crore on a 7.14% increase in net sales to Rs 3,011.90 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q3 December 2019. Consolidated profit before tax rose 10.32% to Rs 551.40 crore in Q4 March 2020 as against Rs 499.80 crore in Q3 December 2019.

Current tax expenses fell 28.05% at Rs 96.20 crore in Q4 March 2020 as compared to Rs 133.70 crore in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA margin improved to 19.2% in Q4 March 2020 as compared to 18.8% in Q3 December 2019 and 19.2% in Q4 March 2019.

Global Markets:

Asian markets were currently trading mixed after China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

China held its benchmark lending rate steady on Wednesday, mirroring the central bank's decision last week to keep borrowing costs on medium-term funding for financial institutions unchanged. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remained at 3.85% from last month's fixing, while the five-year LPR was also steady at 4.65% from previously.

Investors also watched for market reaction to a media report released overnight that raised concerns about the trial results for a potential coronavirus vaccine from Moderna. That initial positive development had sent global markets rallying earlier in the week.

The US equity market finished volatile session lower for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, 19 May 2020, as investors elected to book profit after a strong rally in the prior session, due to mixed batch of corporate results from major retailers and reports that Moderna Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine study didn't produce enough critical data to assess its success.

However, market losses were capped after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in a statement, said that the central bank is ready to use all the weapons in its arsenal to help the U.S. economy endure the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile, President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the World Health Organization must clean up its act or the U.S. won't be involved with them anymore. Trump threatened to pull support from the agency permanently Monday and started a 30-day clock for the WHO to commit to changes.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It looks like Russia is really trying to comply with its share of the OPEC+ production cuts this time, unlike in previous deals when it had regularly exceeded its cap, attributing higher production to condensate output.

In the new round of cuts, Russia is said to be nearly complying with its quota, two sources with knowledge of Russias oil and condensate production so far in May told Reuters.

As part of the OPEC+ deal, Russia pledged to cut its production to 8.5 million bpd in May and June from a February 2020 baseline, or by around 2 million bpd, or by 19 percent, from February 2020, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Interfax in an interview last month.

Russia has to cut its oil production from around 11 million bpd to 8.5 million bpdand many analysts expected that Moscow would not be able to fully comply with its share of the cuts, again.

Referring to Russias uneasy task to cut 2 million bpd as part of the OPEC+ deal, Russias Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said earlier this month that Moscow expects to achieve the maximum reduction level as soon as practicable. Related: The Oil Bulls Are Back

According to Reuters sources, Russias combined oil and condensate production averaged 9.42 million barrels per day (bpd) between May 1 and 19. Excluding condensate output, which is not part of the Russian quota within OPEC+ as of this year, crude oil production averaged 8.72 million bpd, as per Reuters estimates. This is close to the 8.5-million-bpd quota, especially considering Russias far-from-perfect track record in complying with the cuts.

Three weeks into the new deal, Russia, as well as OPECs leader Saudi Arabia, are trying to assure the market that the OPEC+ group is taking the task to rebalance the market very seriously.

Last week, Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, issued a joint statement, saying that Our two nations remain firmly committed to achieving the goal of market stability and expediting the rebalancing of the oil market. We are confident that our partners within OPEC+ are fully aligned with our goals and they will comply with the OPEC+ agreement.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The opening sitting of the 14th-tenure NA's 9th session on May 20 morning (Photo: VNA)

The opening sitting was broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the NAs TV channel.

The session will be held online from May 20th to 29th, and deputies will gather at the NA building in Hanoi for plenary meetings from June 8th to 18th.

The legislature is set to spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing 6 others.

Deputies will also deliberate and vote on some important drafts such as the resolution on the law and ordinance making programme for 2021, adjustments to the law and ordinance making programme for 2020, resolutions ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), a resolution recognising and permitting the enforcement of rulings issued by dispute settlement agencies under the EVIPA, and another on Vietnams joining of the International Labour Organisations Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labour.

During the ninth session, the NA will also consider and make decisions on some socio-economic and State budget issues.

The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard.

Notably, questions-and-answer sessions will not be organised at plenary meetings as usual, but NA deputies will send written queries to ministers and other Government members./.
It was inevitable that the nationwide anti-shelter-in-place protests would attract willing participants in North Dakota. From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large percentage of North Dakotans scoffed it off as a media-driven national panic that was shutting down the American economy for no good reason. After all, they said, flu kills tens of thousands of Americans per year and this was nothing but a slightly more virulent strain of flu. You dont close the U.S. highway system merely because 38,000 people die in automobile accidents every year.Besides, North Dakota is an isolated, rural state with one of the lowest population densities in the United States. Any one-size-fits-all set of national protocols for dealing with the coronavirus would unfairly punish a healthy state by lumping it with the hot spots of New York, New Orleans, Detroit, Chicago, and L.A. Suddenly, in the last three months, the Tenth Amendment became the mantra of many North Dakotans, who responded to the national panic with a kind of smugness that this is the sort of thing that pampered urban and coastal people get all twisted up about.North Dakota is a paradox. It is a state known for practical, no nonsense, resourceful, self-reliant people. Most North Dakotans have an agrarian origin story somewhere in their family, though the family farm has receded into the background in the last 25 years. North Dakotans are, on the whole, skeptical about things that originate or congregate on the two faraway coasts of America. They are also skeptical of the work of the national government.In the last couple of decades, they seem to have forgotten how much of the states prosperity, and even survival, has depended on the national government, from the transcontinental railroads and the Homestead Act to the U.S. Air Force bases at Grand Forks and Minot, not to mention the U.S. Farm Program, which has brought billions of dollars to the state and, since World War II, kept it afloat. North Dakotans dont like to be reminded of their historic dependence on the government in Washington, D.C., because the dominant myth of the state is that it has earned its stability and prosperity the old-fashioned way, by dint of discipline and hard work.On April 21, my daughter (25, home from England for the duration) and I decided to drive over to the state capital to see the protest for ourselves. We carried with us the conviction that only idiots who cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them would endanger themselves and others by participating in a public rally during the worst plague of the last hundred years.It seemed to us that these were people who were mistaking essential public health measures for tyranny, that any responsible government  state, local, or national  would direct people to shelter in place as much as possible and maintain very careful social distance if they needed to venture out for groceries or medicines. In fact, we believed that the state had not taken sufficiently draconian measures to protect its 750,000 citizens from the pandemic.Everything we read or heard on responsible news programs delivered the same message: the only way to get on top of the coronavirus pandemic was to shut down as much of the economy and the social life of America as possible until the first wave came under control, and then to move as quickly as possible to develop a vaccine for the inevitable second and third waves. Why anyone would protest a public safety directive whose purpose was to prevent the spread of a deadly plague was beyond our imaginations. This was not the Patriot Act or a call for a national retina-scan ID. It was the same kind of directive that requires evacuation or creates a curfew during a hurricane.We arrived at the 160-acre capital complex at 9:35 a.m. for a rally that was supposed to start at 10. When we got there, no more than a dozen people were on site. By the time we left about an hour later, maybe as many as 75 were wandering around the capital grounds. There were almost as many American flags as there were protesters. We had hoped for a bigger showing, a local happening, something to write home about.The turnout was just this side of pathetic. The strong wind may have been a factor. It has also been rumored that because the protesters had not secured a permit to rally on the capital grounds, the national guard or the state highway patrol might have assembled in riot gear. As it turned out, a member of the capital grounds crew mowed his way through the rally area, perhaps under instruction, but he soon focused his grass cutting at the far southern end of the grounds away from the madding crowd.A white pickup at the curb had been fitted with plywood, painted white, on which the words Re-OPEN NOW and 2 million NOW 60,000? had been carefully painted in black. Two women wearing American flag jackets wore white masks carefully cut away to expose their noses and mouths. A lonely local TV news reporter (with Florida plates on her car) interviewed them for a few minutes. Nearby, a big blue pickup in the parking lot had a brown sign attached to its grill saying, The only Solution is a VACCINE and TRACKING CHIP? GO BACK to the DRAWING BOARD.Someone inevitably set up two big speaker columns on stout tripods. During the time we were there we heard The Scores anthem Revolution a dozen or more times. The wind wafted the words, O O O can you hear the drummin, theres a revolution comin, over and over again across the capital lawn. Its a compelling song, but we could not be quite sure what revolution these folks had in mind. Opening up Applebees and Hobby Lobby for business did not seem sufficiently bloodthirsty to require a revolutionary anthem.The legalize recreational marijuana folks were there with hand-painted signs of green on white. The small but fierce anti-vaccination crowd (of about 10 people) was also present, of course. Someone in the crowd shouted something about George Washington crossing the Delaware. The point of that historical note was unclear.It was on the whole a subdued cluster (the word "crowd" is too big) of people.At some point the protesters gathered on the capitol steps. A man with a bushy black beard and moustache shouted, Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. He was quoting the famous sentence, sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin, sometimes to Thomas Jefferson, pretty wildly out of context. Its a favorite maxim of libertarians, the alt-right, the Tea Party, and the Liberty Caucus. But if the global pandemic has taught us anything so far, it is that nations with strong central governments that have developed a strong and clear response (South Korea, Germany, Japan) have gotten on top of the COVID-19 virus quickly and effectively.Meanwhile, the United States has responded unevenly and with a tardiness that has seemed like denial or indifference, and the messaging from the top of the national government has been dangerously imprecise and muddled. Americas response has been tragically inefficient and half-hearted. Unless you think our government has been itching to move in the direction of autocracy or martial law and the pandemic has given it the chance it needs to strip away whats left of our liberty, you might wish the national government had exhibited stronger central authority in this unprecedented moment of our history. If this is tyranny, it is just about as inept tyranny as one could imagine.If you follow the incipient tyranny argument backwards through American history, you have to suppose that the same people would have denounced Franklin Delano Roosevelts New Deal, Social Security, the integration of the U.S. military, Brown v. Board of Education, Medicare, the Voting Rights acts of 1964 and 1965, the Clean Air Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the War on Poverty, affirmative action and much more. Like it or not, we have grown accustomed to a relatively strong national government, especially in times of crisis. Every Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi River flood, tornado or nuclear meltdown brings on a potent federal response. Why? Because no single state has the resources to handle events of this magnitude.The initial $2 trillion economic rescue package of March 27, 2020, will before long prove to have been a drop in the bucket of the kind of government aid the country is going to need to get through this. Moreover, a global pandemic is a catastrophe that has no concept of state or national boundaries, no concern over the delicate balance of federal and state sovereignties embodied in the Constitution of the United States and the Tenth Amendment. Sometimes a nation has to behave like a nation: World War II, for example, or the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the 2008 Great Recession or the Oklahoma City bombings of April 19, 1995.It would have been fascinating to sit down with the man in Bismarck who uttered Franklins famous words and listen to his concerns about government intrusion in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. I would hope he would say something like this: that he understands why an unprecedented crisis of this magnitude might call forth the full authority of the national government, and he is not necessarily condemning that out of hand, but history teaches us that new powers taken on by government during times of crisis are seldom relinquished when the trouble is over; that while he understands the need for a clear and consistent national response to the pandemic, a one-size-fits-all approach is probably not the most efficient or fair way to address the problem; that the laboratory of democracy function of our divided sovereignty may permit different states or regions, or even different parts of states, to address the pandemic responsibly but employing somewhat different ways and means; and that government gigantism inevitably brings with it great possibilities of corruption, inefficiency, bloat, and waste, while more localized responses are more likely to be proportional and carefully administered; that while we might be able to get on top of the pandemic by digitally monitoring every American with a cellphone or smartphone, that level of surveillance raises really important issues with respect to privacy.While we sat in our car observing the protest rally, we found ourselves laughing at and then with and even for the protesters. We did not agree with them, not even slightly. But we also do not agree with one of my closest friends, another observer of the rally, who wrote, I swear, it was 75 or so of the stupidest people I have ever seen gathered in one place in my entire life. I predict at least three of them will be dead by the Fourth of July. We did not think that at all. Nor do we expect that any of them will be diagnosed with the virus.I found myself hearkening to the words of Americas greatest revolutionary, Thomas Jefferson. After most establishment Americans decried Shays Rebellion in western Massachusetts in 1786, Jefferson almost alone defended the farmers protest movement. He recognized that these were good American people  patriots  who were victims both of the economic dislocations that came with the Revolutionary War and its aftermath, and of the coastal indifference of the people of Boston to the plight of the rural folks of the western sectors of Massachusetts. They were not instinctive incendiaries or ruffians, but good Americans  war veterans  who felt their voices were not being heard by the very leaders who had enlisted them to secure Americas independence just a handful of years earlier.The people are the only censors of their governors, Jefferson wrote in January 1787, and even their errors will tend to keep these [their representatives] to the true principles of their institution. To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public liberty. The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the people, is to give them full information of their affairs through the channel of the public papers.In other words, from a Jeffersonian perspective, there is something essentially healthy, even virtuous, in the kind of protest that unfolded peacefully, even sweetly, on North Dakotas capital grounds. Are these folks wrong to be concerned about government encroachment on their liberties? Have they not good reason to be skeptical and even suspicious of a national government that provides its greatest benefits to big business, corporate moguls, and people of privilege, a government that lies to the American people with infuriating regularity, that seems more interested in inside-the-beltway partisan bickering than in solving actual problems of the people who live in the vast majority of the nations real estate?President Ronald Reagan may have been playing the demagogue a little, but there is surely a kernel of wisdom in his famous quip of April 12, 1986: The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.The Constitution and the Tenth Amendment were clearly intended by the founders to protect the rights of individuals and the rights of states against a centralized national government, and even people who have come to terms with the vast social, political, economic, and technological changes in America between 1787 and 2020 ought to feel some uneasiness at how much authority has been gathered in Washington in direct violation of the social compact written in 1787 and ratified in 1788. Maybe the folks in their American flag jackets are, in their somewhat imprecise way, a healthy reminder of what we have lost alongside all that we have gained by becoming a Hamiltonian nation with a powerful central government.Instead of denouncing these disheveled lovers of liberty and finding the comic aspects of their rally delicious, maybe the rest of us should be out there with them at the local equivalent of Hyde Park Corner in London, engaging in a spirited dialogue about the implications of the current crisis for the long-term liberty of the American people. Those who believe their protest is authentic but a little mis-directed might be able to help them explore and refine their concerns; and at the same time, perhaps some of the people who think themselves superior to the protesters might, if they stopped to listen generously, learn something that would alter their point of view somewhat.Maybe in a somewhat imprecise way the protesters are on to something of vital importance to us all. Their willingness to venture peacefully into the public square on a windy and not very warm Saturday morning on the plains of Dakota may be a greater service to American democracy than the contempt, condescension, and posture of superiority of the ones who stayed home that spring day or treated the protest with derision. The reason Donald Trump is the president of the United States is the recognition by the people on the capital grounds and tens of millions like them that the elites of America have had enough sport putting down the deplorables, the great unwashed, the yokels and rubes and the millions who get choked up when they hear Lee Greenwoods God Bless the USA.To his closest friend James Madison, Jefferson wrote, I hold it that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people, which have produced them. In other words, the impulse that sends a few dozen people to the state capital grounds is essentially wholesome and deserving of at least a modicum of respect.When in his magnificent first inaugural address Jefferson said, we are all republicans, we are all federalists, he was not just trying to unify the country after a bitter election and mollify the million or so people who believed he was too radical (too Frenchified) to serve as president of the United States. Jefferson meant something more significant. He meant that we are all republicans because we all want the smallest and least intrusive government that can hold the country together; and yet we are all federalists because we all want enough government to keep us secure and accomplish the things that any national government must do.Finding that balance is the whole art of governing if you wish to live in a republic. Jefferson believed  from decades of very hard reading  that the natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground, that America would be a great republic only so long as the spirit of liberty was so alive in the people that they would react, and sometimes overreact, whenever they felt that their liberties were being eroded.As we left the rally and drove home to make lunch, we found ourselves chastened. We hoped nobody at the rally would get sick from the experience. We were very glad we had gone to take a look, and though we seriously disagreed with the protesters views, we joined Voltaire in defending to the death their right to express them. And though we did not exactly hear the drummin, the whole experience seemed more redemptive than otherwise.We recommend that the protesters read Richard Prestonsor Lawrence Wrightsas well as the Bill of Rights. And, not least, we very much wanted recreational marijuana if we are all going to shelter in place for the next four months.
The StreetWise partnership happened after it merged with the YWCA in March. Youngquist said the opportunity to allow vendors to earn a stipend for census outreach made sense because it came around the same time the vendors were feeling the financial squeeze from fewer people on the street, where they typically sell the magazines.
Rose McGowan has said that she is 'in a good place now' that Harvey Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault.

The disgraced movie mogul, 68, was convicted in March in a landmark #MeToo case that ended with six of his accusers sobbing and hugging each other from the front row of the courtroom.

McGowan, 46, who was one of the leading activists of the global movement and accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, has now shared that she is 'in a good place' following the court verdict.

'Good place': Rose McGowan has said that she is 'in a good place now' after Harvey Weinstein's 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault (pictured outside court in January)

Speaking at all-female members club, the AllBright's digital event series for Mental Health Awareness Week, the Charmed star said: 'I'm in a good place now because nine/ten weeks ago he was put in prison.

'Although I hear he's in the hospital because he's too scared to be in general population. He's always faking something.'

Weinstein was hospitalised with chest pains hours after receiving a 23-year sentence. Later in March, he reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and was put in isolation for 14-days at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York.

He is now being held in the prison's residential mental health unit, where he remains on suicide watch, a prison official said in April.

Weinstein was convicted of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006.

Convicted: The disgraced movie mogul, 68, was convicted in March in a landmark #MeToo case that ended with six of his accusers sobbing and hugging each other from the front row of the courtroom (pictured outside court on February 24)

#MeToo movement: McGowan, 46, who was one of the leading activists of the global movement and accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, has now shared that she is 'in a good place' following the court verdict (pictured together in 2007)

McGowan went on to share that creativity has been her 'antidote' to her past trauma and claimed that she had a nervous breakdown 'during the whole thing'.

The American actress continued: 'I wrote the book Brave and recorded Planet 9 simultaneously; they go together...

'I had this incredible workload for three-and-a-half years, and I did that because I knew that after I was done fighting the bad guys and bad women (if you're ever done), that I would have no Hollywood career.

'Planet 9 is the happy reward for going through Brave because Brave is tough at times it's a book that gets you brave but you have to go through a lot with me to get there.'

McGowan released her music album, Planet 9, in April where she whispers songs to soothe people and her memoir Brave, which documents Weinstein's sexual assault, in 2018.

Speaking out: Speaking at all-female members club, the AllBright's digital event series for Mental Health Awareness Week, the Charmed star said: 'I'm in a good place now because nine/ten weeks ago he was put in prison.' (pictured in October)

The star added: 'I'll be honest, I think at one point during the whole thing, I think I had now what I know to be a nervous breakdown, and I didn't know, I don't know who could of survived it

HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S AILING HEALTH From the start, Weinstein's use of a walker to get in and out of court each day at his trial raised questions about his health. He left court in an ambulance after the guilty verdict and detoured to Bellevue Hospital, complaining of chest pains and high blood pressure. Weinstein later had a stent inserted to unblock an artery. After his sentencing, he returned with more chest pains. In addition to the heart issues, Weinstein's lawyers have said he was also dealing with the ramifications of unsuccessful back surgery stemming from a car crash last summer and a condition that requires shots in his eyes so he does not go blind. Advertisement

'They drive us to die, and they drive us to commit suicide, and that's what they were trying to do and my brain at one point just snapped under the pressure.'

McGowan added that she was 'working toward steadily taking [Weinstein] down for years' and became used to 'being hated' after becoming a polarising figure.

She said: 'Sometimes I just think I'm a freak. I've always been the same but when I shaved my head, people could hear the words coming out of my mouth. I knew what I was setting up, I was working toward steadily taking [Weinstein] down for years.

'And again, that's why I created Brave and Planet 9 - I had to write my way out of Hollywood which I call a cult because I grew up in one and I would know.'

McGowan claimed that Weinstein 'paid' people to trash her and 'disregard me as a drug addict, a crazy woman, a w***e'.

She continued: 'The standard playbook that they do for anybody that comes forward about sexual assault, whether they're known or unknown. But then the sad thing is when people join in; when people believe it.

She added: 'Although I hear he's in the hospital because he's too scared to be in general population. He's always faking something.' (Weinstein pictured outside court in February)

'I was so used to being hated in a way, for so long that I was like - well I might as well give you a reason to hate me. And I might as well help a lot of people while I can.

'Because I do have a special weird superpower. I don't know what it is by name, but I can cut through the noise and I do it effectively.'

McGowan concluded her interview by revealing that she feels 'safer' during lockdown, she said: 'I feel safer because people can't get to me for once.'

The star joined The AllBright Group and Let's Reset as part of their digital event series for Mental Health Awareness Week.

McGowan has previously claimed that she forwent having children so she could 'keep on fighting' against Weinstein and insisted she won't be free of the disgraced mogul until one of them is dead.

Health: Weinstein was hospitalised with chest pains hours after receiving a 23-year sentence. Later in March, he tested positive for COVID-19 and was put in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York (pictured in September 2017)

In an interview with The Guardian, she told that her battle against the disgraced producer has been 'very calculated', but insisted it will not be over until 'he's dead  or I am'.

On the day of the conviction, McGowan claimed that Weinstein was running a 'rape factory' and feared he would be exonerated in his New York trial, and also admitted said she feared he would hire a hitman to kill her in the wake of her claims.

McGowan told GMB the guilty verdicts were a 'huge moment' and that she hoped it would lead to more predators being convicted.

She said: 'This is a huge victory for all of us who have ever been affected by Harvey Weinstein. This affects so many. It's a huge moment. I thought he was going to exonerated.

'I never really had hope you see. I realised the last time I had hope was the moment before I was raped by him and after that it became survival.

'I didn't have hope but not because of the jury, I'm very grateful to that jury for getting further than most jury's get in rape cases.

Trauma: McGowan went on to share that creativity has been her 'antidote' to her past trauma and claimed that she had a nervous breakdown 'during the whole thing' (pictured in October)

'I was worried, it's hard to speak publicly about it without getting sued. But it's an extraordinary moment and it's a watershed moment.

'It's a never-ending kind of situation. This is an unbelievable achievement to have a woman who was raped by an accuser in court and saying ''You did this to me''. That is a privilege.

'There's an astounding number of victims who never get any kind of measure of justice. So, I found it, we were winning by even having it in court. That's how little we've been taught to expect.'

McGowan also discussed Weinstein in a recent podcast called At Home With The Lallas with DJ duo Laura Pradelska and Lara Fraser.

She said: 'Harvey Weinstein is in jail I'm still with d**kheads but not on that level, you couldn't even explain it to people.'

The star also added: 'I was 10 when I got sent from a hippy commune in Tuscany I mean I grew up in a well-known, they call it a cult but we called it a commune it was just radically different, I wasn't even integrated in Italian society.'
Regulatory News:

Total (Paris:FP) (LSE:TTA) (NYSE:TOT):

Total today confirmed its commitment to completing the sale of its UK North Sea non-core assets, first announced1 in July 2019. Reflecting recent significant market volatility, Total and Norway-based private equity investor HitecVision have successfully renegotiated the financial terms of the deal to respond to the current environment while Petrogas is no longer part of the transaction.

We have worked closely with HitecVision and its portfolio company NEO Energy to reconfirm our mutual commitment to completing the deal. The agreed revisions respond to current market conditions while retaining the majority of the value of the transaction. The structure of the consideration and phasing of payments has been modified, including interest-bearing vendor financing and earnout arrangements," declared Jean-Pierre Sbraire, Chief Financial Officer at Total. "We look forward to progressing swiftly to completion and for NEO Energy to take over operations. We are confident that this sale is the right thing for both parties and for the business and its employees."

Total and NEO Energy have developed detailed transition plans to deliver a smooth handover of operations upon completion, while allowing NEO to focus on embedding planned operating efficiencies and growth plans as rapidly as possible.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the parties expect to complete the transaction by the third quarter 2020.

About Total

Total is a broad energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and low-carbon electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to become the responsible energy major.

Cautionary Note

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for information purposes only. The entities in which TOTAL S.A. directly or indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TOTAL S.A. has no liability for their acts or omissions. In this document, the terms "Total", "Total Group" and Group are sometimes used for convenience. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TOTAL S.A. nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

1 https://www.total.com/media/news/press-releases/total-divests-assets-uk-petrogas

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519006064/en/

Contacts:

Total

Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@total.com l @TotalPress

Investor Relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@total.com
I nternational flights will be able to head directly to tourist destinations in Greece from July 1, the country's Prime Minister has announced.

The tourist season will restart on June 15 with the opening of seasonal hotels and the arrival of the first foreign visitors.

In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said visitors would be subject to sample coronavirus testing and our general health protocols will be adhered to, without them, however, overshadowing our bright sun or the natural beauties of Greece.

Mr Mitsotakis noted that Greece has managed to restrict the spread of the virus.

We made our country an example to follow in the handling of the health crisis," he said.

The tourist season will officially restart on June 15 / AFP via Getty Images

Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said a list of countries from which visitors will be able to arrive in Greece will be announced before the end of May.

The selection will be based on "epidemiological criteria" as determined by Greece's committee of experts dealing with the pandemic.

Balkan and Baltic countries, Germany and regional countries such as Israel and Cyprus are expected to be in the first wave of those whose citizens will be allowed to enter Greece, he said.

Visitors from those countries will be able to fly into Greece initially only through Athens' international airport as of June 15, Theoharis said, before direct international flights to the rest of the country's airports resume on July 1.

Public beaches reopened last weekend, with strict social distancing measures / AP

Some countries, however, might be excluded, depending on the situation with their coronavirus outbreaks, the minister said.

Greece imposed an early lockdown amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has been credited with keeping the number of deaths at very low levels.

On Wednesday, health authorities announced one new death and 10 new confirmed coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of dead to 166 and the total number of confirmed cases to 2,850 in the country of nearly 11 million.

But the lockdown has dealt a severe blow to Greeces economy and authorities have been anxious to ensure the entire summer season is not lost.

Authorities have been anxious to restart the tourist season / AFP via Getty Images

More than 34 million visitors travelled to Greece last year, spending 18.2 billion euros, according to central data.

Let us face reality with courage: April and May was the nadir of tourism, Mr Mitsotakis said. So whatever we achieve this year will be a profit.

Mr Mitsotakis also announced a reduction in consumer taxes on transport from 24 per cent to 13 per cent, which will lead to cheaper boat, plane and bus tickets during the tourist season, as well as a cut on tax on coffee, soft drinks and open-air cinema tickets.
As the second phase of the gradual easing of lockdown commences in Lagos, the state recorded 131 new cases on Tuesday, while nine more patients recovered from the infection.

Two deaths were also recorded.

While giving update on COVID-19 in Lagos, the Lagos State Ministry of Health on its Twitter handle said the nine more patients tested negative to the infection twice and have been reunited with the society.

The patients comprise two female and seven males and were discharged from the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba.

In addition to the recoveries, two more COVID-19 deaths were recorded on Tuesday, bringing the total deaths from the infection to 38, the statement added.

Details about the new deaths were not provided by the ministry.

Nine COVID-19 Lagos patients; 2 females & 7 males, all Nigerians have been discharged from our Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital Isolation facility to reunite with the society.

The patients were discharged having fully recovered & tested negative to COVID19 in two consecutive readings.

This brings to 632, the number of confirmed COVID19 cases that have been successfully managed and discharged in Lagos, the Ministry wrote.

Statistics

As of Wednesday, Lagos State has 2,771 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 2,083 active, 632 discharged and 38 deaths.

Nigeria recorded 226 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 6,401, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced.

As business activities continue in Lagos, residents are constantly urged to continue practising physical distancing, good personal hygiene, use of face masks and also obey other health guidelines towards curbing the spread of the virus.
El presidente @MartinVizcarraC informa sobre la situacion del Estado de Emergencia en el #Dia65 y las acciones que realiza el Gobierno para contener la propagacion del COVID-19. En vivo: https://t.co/mAveUstqA0 https://t.co/m2KCRE9VwK
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last month that the state would provide financial help to immigrants without legal status, but the program has gotten off to a rough start. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

Locked out of state unemployment benefits, hundreds of thousands of out-of-work immigrants are facing additional hurdles to tap into a new California program offering a $500 one-time payment during the COVID-19 pandemic to those without legal status.

Struggling to pay living expenses, immigrant workers are finding jammed phone lines and overwhelmed staff at the nonprofits tasked with distributing the funds as they compete for a dwindling pot of money that state officials acknowledge isn't enough to help all who need it.

Efforts to rally private contributions to supplement the $75 million in taxpayer money set aside for the program by Gov. Gavin Newsom have so far fallen short of meeting a $50-million goal.

Now, amid the problems, a group of legislators including state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) has called for an expansion of the program to better address the needs of underemployed and unemployed immigrants, proposing an additional $400 per week for eight weeks.

Phone lines and websites across the state crashed due to the volume of calls and inquiries, Durazo said Tuesday, the second day of the program. These undocumented residents, who comprise as much as 10% of the state workforce, are hurting for any type of assistance, being that they do not qualify for state unemployment or federal stimulus money.

A dozen California nonprofits, including the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and Central American Resource Center, were selected by state officials in the last month to administer the program. With many immigrants concerned about their personal information ending up with federal immigration authorities, the state is sending the money through nonprofits to keep the identities of recipients confidential  not even sharing them with the state.

The state website that provides information on the program, including the names of nonprofits accepting applications, crashed and was unavailable for two and a half hours Monday morning, said Scott Murray, a spokesman for the state Department of Social Services.

Story continues

He noted that "despite the initial technical challenges," more than 15,000 applications have been opened statewide by late Thursday.

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights received more than 1 million phone calls, forcing it to add a second line, executive director Angelica Salas said.

On the first day of the program, Salas' nonprofit and two others serving Los Angeles and Orange counties processed applications from 1,644 immigrant families and workers who are eligible to receive as much as $822,500 in one-time grants.

Those who applied the first day include a couple in which the husband is a permanent resident and the wife is undocumented, Salas said. They work as street vendors selling corn on the cob but have been unable to work in three months, she added.

"We know that, with at least 2.4 million undocumented Californians, response to the  program has been unprecedented," Salas said.

In a Facebook post urging patience with the process, The Central American Resource Center said it received more than 50,000 phone calls Monday that completely saturated our lines, and noted that staff members understand the communitys frustration and are doing the best we can.

Similar problems exist elsewhere in the state, said Carole Vigne, senior staff attorney at Legal Aid at Work, a nonprofit helping immigrants and others with employment issues.

Word about the program has gotten out to immigrants in California without legal status but the demand is too great, and the organizations cannot handle the volume, Vigne said.

I have heard from several clients that they were not able to reach the local organization here in the Bay Area.

A recent study by the UC Merced Community and Labor Center estimates that some 289,000 immigrants without legal status have lost their employment in California.

Newsom announced a month ago that emergency assistance for 150,000 immigrants would come from $75 million in taxpayer funds. He said that amount would be supplemented by $50 million from private sources  including charitable groups founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg.

A month later, the private effort by the nonprofit Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees has still not found all of the promised private money. The effort has raised just about $39 million of the $50 million initially announced by the governor, state officials said Thursday.

To be eligible for a $500 payment, individuals must provide information that shows they are an adult immigrant without legal status, not eligible for federal COVID-19-related assistance and have experienced hardship as a result of the pandemic. Families can receive up to $1,000.

Once approved, an individual can expect to receive the one-time assistance within about five business days, depending on the mode of delivery, Murray said.

But some Democratic lawmakers say the initial allocation of money, while welcome, is not sufficient to meet the needs of immigrant families who have lost income because of the stay-at-home order. As a result, 14 state legislators have written Newsom a letter asking him to provide an additional $400 per week for eight weeks to immigrant workers in the country illegally, noting that while the initial grants made California the first state in the nation to provide financial support for immigrant workers affected by the pandemic, additional steps should be taken.

We need to, and we must do more, the lawmakers said. We need to continue to work together to address the void created by the lack of action by the federal administration that has left our undocumented worker population in the cold; without any semblance of support or gratitude for the work they do on a daily basis.

The letter was signed by Democratic lawmakers including state Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino) and Durazo, who noted that undocumented workers play a large role in the food-service and hospitality industries, key parts of the state economy.

The lawmakers estimate the proposed program would help about 216,499 people.

California needs to stand up and help our most vulnerable members of society, many of which are essential workers and are most at risk of contracting COVID-19, Durazo said. A $500 state contribution will maybe provide food on the table for a few weeks. What we need is stability in the absence of traditional work pay.

On Thursday, a state Assembly committee heard pleas for the expansion of payments from dozens of immigrants and activists. Elly Matsumura, California director of the Partnership for Working Families, told lawmakers the proposed weekly wage replacement payments are essential, saying it would show Californias strong commitment to immigrant workers during this crisis.

The governor's office, which has begun private negotiations with lawmakers over next year's budget, declined to comment on the legislators' proposal.

Conservative activists, including San Francisco attorney Harmeet Dhillon, a state representative on the Republican National Committee, have voiced their opposition to the program.

Dhillon represented Republican clients who sued Newsom to challenge the current Disaster Relief Assistance for Immigrants program, but the state Supreme Court denied the petition to block the program.

She said the proposed expansion is also objectionable.

The reality is we are going to be at over 20% unemployment in California and the governments first duty is to its citizens and its legal residents, Dhillon said. By subsidizing these types of benefits to people who are here illegally and now competing for the same jobs that American citizens and legal residents will be competing for in California, I think this is immoral.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

0108263 License for publishing multimedia online



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 12:13:13|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

VIENTIANE, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group (CREC-2) told Xinhua that it has drilled through the Friendship Tunnel from northern Laos to the border line with China on Wednesday.

After 37 months of hard work, the China-Laos Railway Friendship Tunnel, which runs through the Laos-China border and is constructed by CREC-2 and designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, was bored from northern Laos' Boten, some 370 km north of Lao capital Vientiane, to the border with China on Wednesday.

The progress has, hence, laid a solid foundation for the completion of the railway by December 2021.

The Friendship Tunnel, with a total length of 9,959 meters and 2,425 meters of which belonging to the Lao section, and with the maximum burial depth of 243 meters, is located in the forests in northern Laos.

In the depth of the mountains, the tunnel meets salt layer with thickness of over 100 meters and salinity of over 80 percent, which is extremely harmful to the safety of the tunnel structure.

In view of the poor geological conditions of the tunnel and the frequent occurrence of water inflow and slump, the project department strengthened the geological prediction and information collection. They held several meetings to refine and optimize the construction plan to ensure the safety, quality and progress of the project.

With the COVID-19 epidemic setting in, the Chinese engineering companies also comprehensively implemented epidemic prevention and control to ensure tunnel construction.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The 414-km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021. Enditem
Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: In a rare gesture of generosity, a 72-year-old widow Sukhmati Manikpuri, who begs for a living, has donated one quintal of rice, around a dozen sarees and some cash for the needy.

A resident of Bilaspur district (around 125 km east of Chhattisgarh capital), Sukhmatis charity for a good cause came despite she also has the additional responsibility of bringing up two granddaughters  Raj Lakshmi, 16 and Shristi, 10, both enrolled in a government school.

I have been witnessing the agony of the needy amid lockdown. I myself eke out a living by begging and donated whatever I could arrange to a corporator of the Bilaspur municipal corporation. During this trying moment we should help each other, she said.

Her act left the officials pleasantly surprised. While many facing a tough time to combat deadly COVID-19 outbreak, Sukhmatis act epitomizes an exceptional open-hearted generosity in the name of humanity, said Dr. Sanjay Alang, the Bilaspur district collector and further added that such deed will encourage many to come forwarded to lend a helping hand.

When contacted over the phone, Sukhmati revealed the reason behind donating a quintal of rice. I understand the hunger pangs. I began begging more to arrange whatever possible for these needy and helpless people. No one should sleep hungry, she stated.

She contacted the corporator Vijay Kesharwani of her area and handed over the rice and clothes she got begging.

I was deeply moved. Living a poverty-ridden life and taking care of two granddaughters, she showed a strong determination to assist others during the crisis., he said. Besides her, there is no one to financially support the family of three. Kesharwani promised to bear all educational expenses of the two girls.

Sukhmati said she is living on begging after losing her husband some 12 years ago. After the two hapless girls lost their father a few years ago, their mother left both to get married someone away from Bilaspur.
Miguel Plangca was 36 when he left his home in Ozamis city in the Philippines for a new life in Ireland.

Like many Filipinos who relocate to the Republic, he had come for employment and managed to secure a job in Naas with Green Isle, one of the country's biggest frozen food producers.

For the next 20 years he did little else but work, clocking up thousands of gruelling hours on the factory packaging line and sending money home to his wife Gilceria and his five children in the Philippines.

When Gilceria died from cancer in 2015, his heartbroken children came to live with him in Naas, Co Kildare.

Last week, tragedy struck the Plangca children once again when Miguel (55) succumbed to the coronavirus.

My Dad made so many sacrifices for us. He was a good man and everything he did he did for us Mikee Plangca

"It came as such a shock," his 21-year-old daughter Mikee told the Irish Independent.

"Dad had been sick for about a week in the house, with a cough and what he thought was a cold and then he ended up in ICU. He spent 41 days there before he died. It's very hard for us to take it all in at the minute."

Together with her siblings Michael (19), John (14) and Chekie (12), Mikee is now an orphan.

"I'm concentrating on minding my brothers and sisters for now," she said.

"We don't know what will happen. We would like to stay in Ireland because that's where we have made a life, where our friends are and our [Filipino] community is, but we don't know."

The Plangca children first arrived in Ireland four years ago. Until then, they had lived their lives in the Philippines, where their only contact with their father was through video calls and twice-yearly visits.

Their half-sister Stephanie, a daughter Miguel had from a previous relationship, was living in Abu Dhabi.

"My father made a decision many years ago to come here to provide for us," said Mikee.

Expand Close Mikee Plangca (21) holds a photograph of her father Miguel who was a factory worker and lost his life to Covid-19, leaving Mikee and her 3 siblings orphans. Picture by Frank McGrath / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mikee Plangca (21) holds a photograph of her father Miguel who was a factory worker and lost his life to Covid-19, leaving Mikee and her 3 siblings orphans. Picture by Frank McGrath

"He left so we could stay in the Philippines and have a better quality of life. Every month he sent money home to us.

"We were like many other families in the Philippines who had a parent in another country working to provide.

"Then when my mother died, we came here to Ireland to live with him."

After completing sixth year at school in Prosperous, Co Kildare, Mikee opted out of going to college.

Instead, she applied to be a full-time carer for her brother Michael, who has intellectual disabilities.

"My brother is my responsibility," said Mikee.

"When we first came to Ireland, Dad was working day shifts but he switched to night shifts so that I could go to school. He looked after Michael during the day and worked at night.

"My Dad made so many sacrifices for us. He was a good man and everything he did he did for us."

Meanwhile, Miguel's sister Fely had followed in her brother's footsteps by moving to Ireland herself in 2009.

She later married an Irish man and settled in Naas, where she works as a childminder.

"I was working in the Philippines, not earning a lot of money and my brother encouraged me to come here," she said. "I met an Irish man and got married and I made a life here too.

"When Gilceria died and the children came here Miguel was finding it difficult to cope on his own and he talked about moving back to the Philippines. I said no, you can do this, so they moved in.

"My husband said to bring them in to live with us and that's where they were living when this all happened."

After Miguel fell ill with Covid-19, Fely also contracted the virus.

We were all praying he would get better. In the end it was no good, the virus was too strong Miguel's sister, Fely

Miguel was hospitalised on April 1 and Fely joined him in Naas General hospital six days later. When Miguel's children were tested, Mikee and Michael were found to be Covid positive.

"Michael and I had no symptoms," said Mikee. "We self-isolated in the house for a month. We were too scared to go out."

Fely was discharged on April 15, but her brother's condition worsened.

"My mother and siblings would call him every night at six o'clock," she said.

"They would talk to him in his hospital bed and we were all praying he would get better. In the end it was no good, the virus was too strong."

Last year, the Green Isle pizza manufacturing site in Naas where Miguel worked was bought over by Birdseye.

Colleagues remember him as a kind and gentle colleague. When he became ill, the Filipino community stepped in to look after his young family.

"We had to try to help out as best we could," said Aina Conway, president of the Kildare Filipino Community.

"They have recovered but they have lost their father and they are in shock. I speak to Mikee most days and she has cried every day since her father was brought in to ICU. At the moment she is just trying to be strong for the little ones."

Together with the Philippine consulate, the Kildare Filipino Community are raising money in aid of the Plangca children.

"They have their aunt, but Mikee has been the mum for a long time," said Aina.

"Now that they have lost their father, they need all the support we can give them. Miguel came here to provide a better life for his children. You look at the kids now and that's them forever, with no parents. It's incredibly sad."
Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
Nigel Farage today took to the English Channel in a chartered fishing boat and rescued more than 20 migrants trying to cross the Channel in two tiny dinghies.

The Brexit Party leader, who has been campaigning on the issue of migrants making the dangerous crossing, saw them desperately trying to bail out water as it got into difficulties.

His vessel contacted the Coastguard, who dispatched RNLI rescue vessels to the scene to save the people on the packed dinghy.

Mr Farage and his party also saw another boat carrying migrants which had already been intercepted by the French authorities and was handed over to Border Force.

Tweeting about his adventure later, Mr Farage said: 'The invasion will continue unless we act'.

He was previously criticised for being photographed on a factfinding trip to Dover while strict coronavirus lockdown rules were still in place.

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, pictured on board a fishing charter vessel in the English Channel this morning witnessed a group of 25 migrants attempting to make their way to Britain

The migrants were picked up by an RNLI lifeboat after their small-overcrowded inflatable began to take on water

The migrants were bailing out their boat as it made its way across the English Channel today

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage travelled out to the middle of the English Channel to witness the migrants leaving France

What happens when migrants are picked up in the Channel? When migrant boats are intercepted in the Channel by Border Force, the majority will be taken to the Port of Dover. The Home Office say that when migrants are stopped in the Channel and brought into the UK they are first assessed to see if they have any medical need. They will then likely be held at the Kent Intake Unit. There they can make an asylum claim and participate in an initial interview before they are released. To be eligible for asylum, the person must have left their country and be unable to go back because of fear of persecution. While awaiting a decision, asylum seekers are given 37.75 a week for essentials. Those who are likely to be eligible are moved into asylum accommodation, while those who are not, or are deemed a security risk, are moved to a detention centre, where immigration officers explore grounds for removing them from the UK. Unaccompanied children will typically be taken into care of Kent County Council. Advertisement

Speaking after his return to Dover, Mr Farage said: 'An astonishing morning mid-Channel. A hugely overloaded boat was bailing out water as we approached with 20 migrants on board.

'It is just outrageous after all the money we have sent to France to deal with this problem that the French Navy now escort illegal migrants into UK waters.'

Some 1,085 migrants have crossed the Channel on small boats since the start of the lockdown.

Up to seven vessels were involved in the rescue operation.

At 9am, around 13 refugees were pictured crammed on one dinghy alongside a Border Force vessel and a large French boat in the middle of the English Channel.

Another boat carrying some 22 people - including two children aged around seven - was also seen heading for Kent.

One migrant was seen using a red bucket to clear water that the boat had taken on.

The Coastguard launched its fixed-wing aircraft to work alongside the Border Force vessels Hunter and Speedwell, plus the Dover lifeboat.

The crossings come after eight migrants made it to Britain on one boat on Monday - following a weekend where 125 made the perilous trip over the Dover Strait shipping lane.

One group of migrants were escorted by a French vessel before being handed over to UK authorities

One of the vessels had several women and children on board as they crossed the Channel

One of the migrant boats was severely overloaded as it made its way across the Channel

One of the men let slip a plastic container which had been used to bail out the boat

At least 1,456 migrants are known to have reached the UK this year - rapidly approaching the 1,850 figure for the whole of 2019.

And of that tally, a staggering 1,085 have been brought in during lockdown.

A Coastguard spokesman said: 'Her Majesty's Coastguard has coordinated search and rescue responses to a number of incidents off Kent today, working with Border Force.

'We sent the Dover RNLI lifeboat, Border Force vessels Hunter and Speedwell and the HM Coastguard fixed-wing aircraft. We are committed to safeguarding life around the seas and coastal areas of this country.

'HM Coastguard is only concerned with preservation of life, rescuing those in trouble and bringing them safely back to shore, where they will be handed over to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities.'

The migrants waved at the chartered fishing vessel carrying Mr Farage

Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley estimates there are up to 200 child migrants living in squalor in settlements across Calais - most of them unaccompanied.

There are currently around 500 people in one camp in Calais, while 240 are spread out across three smaller sites. At a fifth camp, there are around 30.

Ms Moseley said the youngest unaccompanied child she has met in a camp is a 10-year-old Afghan boy. She has also met a 13-year-old girl without any parents.

She said: 'That's a rough figure. At any point, around 20 per cent of the refugees are under 18. A lot of them come from Sudan, where they could be recruited as soldiers.

'And some are from Afghanistan. They might have lost their parents and are trying to join other people in the UK.

'Coronavirus has made the conditions even worse for them so they are even more desperate to get to the UK. These people have nothing to lose.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The government takes the welfare of unaccompanied children very seriously and provides funding to local authorities, including Kent, as a contribution to the cost of supporting unaccompanied children and those who leave care.

'This funding was significantly increased in May 2019.'
Niche players in the global smart lock market must work on enhanced security features, disruptive technology, and recruiting the right talent in order to generate steady revenue channel.

ROCKVILLE, MD / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Both commercial and residential properties are increasingly adopting smart locks with advanced safety features. Moreover, early adoption of technology in developed countries is a significant growth lever of the smart lock market. Fact.MR projects the market to expand at stupendous CAGR of 15% over the forecast period (2019-2029).

"Remote locking of entrances, doors, and windows continues to gain traction on the back of technological advancements and viability of prices. Digitization of business and workforce operations offers profitable possibilities for the global smart lock market. Hence, the market will expand 3X over the projection period," says the Fact.MR analyst.

Request PDF Sample of the 170-page report on the smart lock market study-

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=4669

Key Takeaways of the Smart Lock Market Study

Enterprise application of smart locks will record noteworthy CAGR over the projection period.

About 68% of overall revenue share is contributed predominantly by residential applications of smart locks.

North America smart lock market accounts for 62% share in the overall market share.

South Asia & Oceania will offer lucrative opportunities for manufacturers through 2029.

Key Drivers: Smart Lock Market

Advancements in technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and internet of things are favouring market growth.

Greater sentience among consumers regarding smart devices is the growth engine of smart lock market.

Enhanced emphasis by leading manufacturers on consumers' convenience is stimulating the market growth.

Rapid digitization of private and public sector infrastructure is contributing substantially to the revenue pool.

Key Impediments: Smart Lock Market

Due to fragmented competitive landscape, the prospects of gaining significant market share are quite limited in smart lock market.

Possibility of hacking is a major threat looming on the global smart lock market.

Explore 96 tables and 191 figures of the study. Request ToC of the report at-

https://www.factmr.com/report/4669/smart-lock-market

Impact of COVID-19 on Smart Lock Market

In view of current COVID-19 pandemic, investments in ICT industry have taken a nosedive particularly in internet of things, 5G technologies, and other emerging technologies. Only essential operational expenses are being prioritized by players in the smart lock market, while others are being kept on hold. Major companies continue to witness reduction in hiring and capital budgets as well. Moreover, discretionary consumer spending is lowering the sales of smart locks in this scenario.

The only markets in ICT industry benefitting from the pandemic are contactless payments, food delivery, telemedicine, and telework. In countries such as India, ecommerce companies are delivering only essentials and consumers are not visiting local stores for non-essential purchases. Hence, the smart lock market will witness a slowdown which is projected to continue through the second quarter.

Competition Landscape of Smart Lock Market

The global smart lock market is fairly fragmented in nature. The market is characterized by the presence of numerous medium and small players. Some of the top companies profiled in this Fact.MR study include, but are not limited to, Onity, Inc., Salto Systems S.L., Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., Dorma+Kaba Holdings AG, Allegion Plc, and ASSA ABLOY AB. Key players continue to undertake differentiating strategies such as acquisition of Small to Mid-size Enterprises (SMEs), and product innovation in order to boost their profitability in the global smart lock market. Additionally, the aforementioned companies are developing nano-sensor technology and working on material science advancements to maintain their hegemony.

About the Report

This 170-page study offers in-depth commentary on the smart lock market. The study provides compelling insights on the smart lock market on the basis of type (deadbolt, lever handles, and padlock), and application (residential, hospitality, enterprise, and critical infrastructure) across six regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania, Middle East & Africa).

Explore Fact.MR's Comprehensive Coverage on ICT Landscape

Video Streaming Market - Get Fact.MR's detailed study on the global video streaming market covering key dynamics, macro-economic indicators, and end-use industries for predefined projection period (2019-2029).

Casino Management System Market - Obtain latest insights on the global casino management system market through Fact.MR's report covering regional analysis, competitive landscape, and segmental analysis for the course of forecast period (2019-2029).

Earth Observation Market - Fact.MR's comprehensive report on the global earth observation market encompasses accurate qualitative and quantitative insights for 2019-2029.

About Fact.MR

Expert analysis, actionable insights, and strategic recommendations of the veteran research team at Fact.MR 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 ICT industry across 50+ countries for over a decade. The team provides unmatched end-to-end research and consulting services. Fact.MR's latest ICT market reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and take critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition.

Contact:

Fact.MR

11140 Rockville Pike

Suite 400

Rockville, MD 20852

United States

Email: sales@factmr.com

Web: https://www.factmr.com/

PR- https://www.factmr.com/media-release/1422/global-smart-lock-market

SOURCE: FactMR

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590670/Smart-Lock-Sales-to-Grow-3X-Between-2019-and-2029-Key-Players-Prioritize-Essential-Operational-Expenses-amid-COVID-19-Says-a-New-FactMR-Study
(L): Ghislaine Maxwell attends a symposium in New York City in a 2013 file photograph. (Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images); (R): Jeffrey Epstein in a 2013 mugshot in Florida. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via Getty Images)

Ghislaine Maxwell Wants Lawsuit Filed by Jeffrey Epstein Victim Delayed

Jeffrey Epsteins one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of helping facilitate his sex trafficking schemes, wants a delay in a lawsuit filed by one of Epsteins alleged victims.

Maxwells attorney Laura Menninger asked a federal judge in a letter to stay her clients deposition in a case brought by Annie Farmer because Maxwell is under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in the Southern District of New York has publicly and repeatedly announced its ongoing criminal investigation into alleged Epstein co-conspirators on the same topic as Plaintiff alleges in this case, Menninger said in a court filing obtained by The Epoch Times.

Denial of a stay, particularly a stay of Ms. Maxwells deposition, pending outcome of the criminal investigation could impair her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, extend criminal discovery  expose the defenses theory to the prosecution in advance of trial, or otherwise prejudice the criminal case.

Farmers lawyer, David Boies, said in a response letter this week that the court should deny Maxwells motion because her reasons for staying discovery are meritless and the motion is simply another attempt to unjustifiably delay this litigation.

Ghislaine Maxwell attends a gala in New York City in a file photograph. (Rob Kim/Getty Images)

A pending criminal investigation of Maxwell doesnt justify a stay of discovery, Boies said.

Maxwell has provided no information about the subject matter of the criminal investigation into Epsteins co-conspirators, the status of the investigation, or even disclosed whether she herself is a target of the Southern Districts investigation, he added.

Maxwells lawyer listed two other reasons a stay is justified.

Farmer intends to participate in a program in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which will make payments to alleged victims of Epstein. The program required the women who take the payments to release all former employees or potential indemnitees of the Estate, including Ms. Maxwell, from any and all claims or causes of action that concern acts of sexual abuse by Mr. Epstein,' Menninger wrote.

If Farmer is accepted into the program, it would render the lawsuit moot. If shes not, the suit could continue at that time.

Attorney David Boies, representing several alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, arrives at federal court for a bail hearing for Jeffrey Epstein in New York City on July 15, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The third reason cited is that the claims are barred by the statute of limitations under New Mexico law, the lawyer argued. Farmer says she was sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell at Epsteins Zorro Ranch.

Boies, Farmers lawyer, said the potential claims resolution program shouldnt justify a stay of discovery because the contours of the program have not been finalized.

The attorney said Maxwell failed to comply with her obligations in the case, effectively granting herself a stay, and asked the court to end her delay tactics.

In a response to the response, Menninger wrote on May 19 that money spent on discovery in the case means less of a payout through the Virgin Islands-based fund for Epsteins other accusers, including Marias sister Annie.

The criminal investigation does justify a stay, the lawyer insisted, despite Plaintiffs feigned ignorance of its existence and despite Ms. Maxwell not having been arrested or charged.


By Lee Hyo-jin



A local court convicted a man in his 20s, who had claimed to be a conscientious objector, for violating the Military Services Act, Wednesday, after he was found to have often played online war games and to have never expressed political or philosophical views against the nation's mandatory military service.



A judge at the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced him to 18 months in prison for refusing to enlist in the army because of his "strong beliefs."



The man received an enlistment notice in October 2018, and was ordered to enter a military camp in Yanggu, Gangwon Province, the following month; but he failed to show up.



The defendant claimed he had refused to join the armed forces because he objects to violence and war. However, the court did not accept this excuse.



"The defendant had already postponed his mandatory military service several times in the past without expressing any personal belief or faith. The reasons were studying for the college entrance exam, college education and state examination," Judge Cho Guk-in said in his ruling.



"Also, he has admitted that he enjoys playing online war games, in which the player shoots and kills other characters using various weapons. This casts doubt about his personal belief that he opposes violence and war."



All able-bodied Korean men between the ages of 18 and 35 must complete around 20 months of military service. Those who refuse can be sentenced up to three years in jail under the Military Service Act.



After the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that religious and conscientious beliefs were justifiable reasons to refuse mandatory military service, the government and lawmakers plan to offer alternative services, such as working in prisons, for those who are able to verify the sincerity of their beliefs.


Hungary has banned people from legally changing gender, in a move rights groups said could lead to further intolerance and discrimination against the LGBTQ community in the country.

The parliament voted Tuesday to stop transgender and intersex people from changing their gender on identity documents.

Lawmakers voted -- with 134 votes in favor, 56 votes against and four abstentions -- to define gender on the basis of "sex at birth," as registered on a birth certificate.

Amnesty International researcher Krisztina Tamas-Saroy said in a statement published online: "This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people. It will not only expose them to further discrimination but will also deepen an already intolerant and hostile environment faced by the LGBTI community."

Hungarian rights group Hatter Society said the law violated a constitutional fundamental right and had been opposed by the European Parliament and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It said LGBTI organizations were now requesting the law be sent for review to the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court is the principal organ protecting the democratic state through the rule of law, and decides on the constitutionality of acts of parliament and other cases.

While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been forging his own path in recent years, passing a rash of laws that EU leaders have warned will undermine the country's democracy.

However, the government defended the law, telling CNN in an emailed statement that the law "does not affect men's and women's right to freely experience and exercise their identities as they wish.

"In no way does the relevant section of the bill that some people criticize prevent any person from exercising their fundamental rights arising from their human dignity or from living according their identity, just as the state cannot normatively instruct anybody what to think."

Earlier this month, Hungary dropped points in a ranking of European countries for LGBTI rights by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) because of "policies targeting LGBTI communities."

Darienne Flemington, co-chair of the ILGA-Europe executive board, said the then proposed ban on legal gender recognition was among "alarming signals of how governments with strong authoritarian tendencies are emboldened by the crisis to further limit the rights of vulnerable groups and minorities."

Hungary currently recognizes legal unions for same-sex couples, but the ruling Fidesz party and its leader, Orban, oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Coca-Cola faced a backlash from politicians and conservative activists in Hungary last August after running ads that included images of same-sex couples kissing and holding bottles of Coke.

At least one leading politician from the Fidesz party and conservative media outlets called for boycotting Coke products or banning the ad campaign.

In 2018, the Hungarian State Opera canceled a third of its performances of the stage musical "Billy Elliot" for this month and July amid criticism by a pro-government media outlet.

But a 2017 poll by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association found that more than 60% of the country's residents believe equal rights should be afforded to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
KYIV. May 20 (Interfax-Ukraine)  Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova has opened a criminal case over so-called "Biden's recordings" after a talk with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, and the latter by himself confirmed his personal interest in this case, lawyer of fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Ilya Novikov, said.

"Criminal case into so-called 'Biden's recordings' was opened today's nightwhich itself in cases relating to the events happened four years ago testifies some particular interest of the leadership of the Office of Prosecutor General towards this issue," the lawyer said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

According to Novikov, there is information, which will be verified and specified, it was done following the talk between Venediktova and Zelensky.

The lawyer said the president proved his personal interest over the given issue by these very statements made at the press conference.

"With his statements that he (Zelensky) is sure that Poroshenko's verdict is a matter of time and that it is possible to qualify actions under the treason article, President Zelensky first publicly outlined his position...as a person who directly coordinates and is directly interested in these proceedings," the lawyer said.
[May 20, 2020] New IDC Spending Guide Shows Continued Growth for Digital Transformation in 2020, Despite the Challenges Presented by the COVID-19 Pandemic

A new update to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide shows that spending on the digital transformation (DX) of business practices, products, and organizations will continue at a solid pace despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Global spending on DX technologies and services is forecast to grow 10.4% in 2020 to $1.3 trillion. While this is notably slower than the 17.9% growth in 2019, it remains one of the few bright spots in a year characterized by dramatic reductions in overall technology spending. "COVID-19 has upended the global economy, with direct negative implications on the way businesses invest in IT," said Craig Simpson, senior research manager with IDC's (News - Alert) Customer Insights and Analysis Group. "DX technology investment has not gone unscathed, but so far it has been affected to a lesser extent since many large-scale DX projects underway or planned are instrumental to broader strategic business initiatives. Compared to IDC's pre-COVID-19 forecast, the five-year growth rate for DX spending has declined by less than two percentage points." The industries that will see the slowest year-over-year growth in DX spending are the ones experiencing the greatest impact from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Personal and consumer services, which includes hotels, theme parks, casinos, and movie theaters, will only see an increase of 5.3% in its DX spending this year, down from 18.4% growth in 2019. Similarly, discrete manufacturing, the industry with the largest DX spending amount, will only grow 6.6% this year, down from 14.5% growth in 2019. The industries expected to see the strongest growth in DX spending in 2020 are construction (16.3%) and healthcare (15.7%), both of which will see spending grow more slowly than last year. A graphic comparing IDC's pre- and post-COVID-19 DX spending forecast by sector is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com.



"COVID-19 has wiped off almost $500 billion of worldwide DX technology investment between 2020-2023 from our pre-COVID-19 forecast," added Eileen Smith, program vice president with IDC's Customer Insights and Analysis Group. "Yet despite these losses, pockets of growth opportunities exist across most industries when diving deep into specific use cases that solve specific business problems. A few examples include RPA-based claims processing in insurance, digital visualization in education, omnichannel commerce platforms in telecommunications, and clinical trial operational excellence in process manufacturing." The DX use cases - discretely funded efforts that support a particular program objective - that will receive the most spending this year include autonomic operations ($51 billion), robotics manufacturing ($47 billion), and root cause ($35 billion), all of which will be driven by the manufacturing sector. The DX use cases that will see the greatest year-over-year growth in spending are virtualized labs and digital visualization in the education sector, robotic process automation-based claims processing in insurance, and augmented design management in the professional services industry. Of the 278 DX use cases identified in the DX Spending Guide, only nine will see a decline in spending this year.

The United States will remain the largest geographic market for DX spending, delivering roughly one third of the worldwide total in 2020. Western Europe will be the second largest region for DX spending, following closely by China. These two regions will also deliver the strongest year-over-year growth in DX spending at 13.6% for China and 12.8% for Western Europe. The Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide quantifies enterprise spending for 278 DX use cases and 12 technology categories across 19 industries and nine geographies. The guide provides spending data for 31 DX strategic priorities and 68 programs as well as technology spending by deployment type (cloud, non-cloud/other). This version (V1 2020) of the IDC Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide provides updated estimates for the impact of COVID-19 across all technology markets as of April 28, 2020. About IDC Spending Guides IDC's Spending Guides provide a granular view of key technology markets from a regional, vertical industry, use case, buyer, and technology perspective. The spending guides are delivered via pivot table format or custom query tool, allowing the user to easily extract meaningful information about each market by viewing data trends and relationships. For more information about IDC's Spending Guides, please contact Monika Kumar at [email protected]. Click here to learn about IDC's full suite of data products and how you can leverage them to grow your business. About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter (News - Alert) at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights: http://bit.ly/IDCBlog_Subscribe. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005094/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
To a cosmologist, galaxies are the true citizens of the cosmos. But where they come from and how they grow has always been fraught with controversy. And it is a story told mostly in the dark.

That story, researchers agree, began 13.8 billion years ago, when the universe emerged from the Big Bang as a fiery fizz of particles and energy. Sadly for astronomers, who like to see things, the atoms that comprise stars and ourselves are only a small minority constituent of what exists. This visible matter is vastly outweighed by mysterious dark matter, as yet unidentified, that seems to interact with us only through gravity.

In what has become the standard view of cosmology, dark matter provides the gravitational scaffolding for galaxies and other large structures. Small irregularities in the distribution of dark matter clump together into dense clouds connected by stringy filaments, according to computer simulations of the process. These spider-web shapes slowly draw ordinary atomic matter, which can eventually light up as stars, into their gravitational grip.

This is where things get messy. When gas falls into a galaxy, it heats up and becomes unruly  more so as it is banged around by other clouds of gas and dust  and causes train wrecks. Before the gas can grow dense enough to form stars, these wrecks must cool down again. The process can take a long, long time  billions of years  to settle down and form a stately disk as big as the Milky Way.

So the standard theory goes. But the history of the field is full of discrepant observations necessitating patching of the theory. There are hints, for example, of a phenomenon called downsizing, in which, as Dr. Dressler described it, the galaxies that grew earliest became the most massive ones visible today.

As a result, some astronomers have suspected that there might be another way for gas that was already cool to leak into the galaxy  perhaps, for instance, along the dark matter filaments that connected the big clumps of matter. Among those astronomers was Arthur Wolfe of the University of California, San Diego. He made it his mission to find galaxies or protogalaxies that could have formed when the universe was only 1 billion or so years old.

Were not saying that the cosmology is wrong, Dr. Wolfe said in a statement from the university in 1997. Were saying the part of the standard lore concerning galaxy formation needs to be changed.
<! IGP Mohammed Adamu >

In a display of over-zealousness, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu has overridden President Muhammadu Buharis order that those on essential duties, such as medical workers and journalists are exempted from the nationwide curfew to battle COVID-19.

The nationwide curfew begins from 8.00pm to 6.00am for the next two weeks.

Adamu, it was gathered has ordered all Commissioners of Police to strictly enforce the order and arrest all essential workers, such as medical doctors, nurses and journalists found moving as from 8.00pm.

The IGP said the curfew affected everybody, including journalists and doctors and had ordered their arrest.

Having gotten the order from the IGP, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu made it clear that journalists, doctors and other essential workers must cease from movement from 8.00pm, ordering his men to descend on them and arrest them.

Police officers at checkpoints, who usually allowed pressmen to go home from work with trepidation have now been emboldened as they joyously arrest journalists and impounded their vehicles.

Such was the case on Tuesday evening when the Crime Correspondent of TVC News, Ivy Kanu and others were arrested and detained at the Alausa Police Station by the police.

A Police officer who led the team in Alausa, said she was acting on strict orders from above.

Health workers and Journalists with Identification cards were all detained and their cars impounded by the officers.

This story is the same across the state, as Health workers have called TVC News to confirm if the directives by the President has changed.
Technavio has been monitoring the sanitary napkins market and it is poised to grow by USD 5.43 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 6% 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/20200520005281/en/

Technavio has announced the latest market research report titled Global Sanitary Napkins 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. COTTON HIGH TECH SL, Edgewell Personal Care Co., First Quality Enterprises Inc., Hengan International Group Co. Ltd., Johnson Johnson, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Ontex Group NV, The Procter Gamble Co., Unicharm Corp., and Unilever Group are some of the major market participants. The surge in popularity of organic products 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.

Surge in popularity of organic products has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Sanitary Napkins Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Sanitary Napkins Market is segmented as below:

Product Menstrual Pads Pantyliners

Geography North America APAC 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=IRTNTR43693

Sanitary Napkins 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 sanitary napkins market report covers the following areas:

Sanitary Napkins Market Size

Sanitary Napkins Market Trends

Sanitary Napkins Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies emergence of menstrual cups as one of the prime reasons driving the sanitary napkins market growth during the next few years.

Sanitary Napkins Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the sanitary napkins market, including some of the vendors such as COTTON HIGH TECH SL, Edgewell Personal Care Co., First Quality Enterprises Inc., Hengan International Group Co. Ltd., Johnson Johnson, Kimberly-Clark Corp., Ontex Group NV, The Procter Gamble Co., Unicharm Corp., and Unilever Group. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the sanitary napkins 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

Sanitary Napkins Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist sanitary napkins market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the sanitary napkins market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the sanitary napkins market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of sanitary napkins market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

Menstrual pads Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Pantyliners Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Product

Market Segmentation by Distribution channel

Market segments

Comparison by Distribution channel

Offline Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Online Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Distribution channel

Customer landscape

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

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the market

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

COTTON HIGH TECH SL

Edgewell Personal Care Co.

First Quality Enterprises Inc.

Hengan International Group Co. Ltd.

Johnson Johnson

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Ontex Group NV

The Procter Gamble Co.

Unicharm Corp.

Unilever Group

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005281/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/
WASHINGTON - Three leading House Democrats said Tuesday they plan to open an investigation into the replacement of the Transportation Department's acting inspector general, concerned that the move was tied to an ongoing investigation of Secretary Elaine Chao's dealings with the state of Kentucky.

Chao is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and has faced questions aboutwhether her department has given preferential treatment to projects in the state.

On Friday, President Donald Trump named Howard "Skip" Elliott, the head of a pipeline safety agency, as acting DOT inspector general. Mitch Behm, the department's deputy, had been filling that role.

In letter to Chao and Elliott, leaders of the House oversight and transportation committees tied Elliott's appointment to what they called a broad assault by the Trump administration on inspectors general, who serve as internal government watchdogs.

The lawmakers requested information about Chao and her team's communications with the White House about the decision to replace Behm. They asked Elliott to disclose whether the scope of any of the office's investigations have changed since his appointment.

"We are concerned that Mr. Behm's removal could be an effort to undermine the progress of this investigation, which we understand is ongoing," the lawmakers wrote to Chao. "Any attempt by you or your office to interfere with the Office of Inspector General's investigation of yourself is illegal and will be thoroughly examined by our Committees."

In a statement, Chao's office respond to the concerns about the Kentucky investigation, but said that the president was within his legal authority to name Elliott acting inspector general.

"Mr. Elliott will bring decades of valuable expertise to the role of Acting Inspector General, both in safety and in law enforcement," the statement said.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

One of the three lawmakers, Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., asked the inspector general twice last year to examine whether Chao was giving preferential treatment to Kentucky.

In October 2019, DeFazio said he first requested the inspector general's office look into Chao's influence on a discretionary grant program called Infrastructure and Rebuilding America (INFRA). In a December letter to the inspector general DeFazio amplified his concerns.

"New information has emerged that points to a troubling pattern of potential favoritism by the Secretary and her inner circle of staff at the Department of Transportation (DOT) and has heightened my concern about these issues," he wrote then.

DeFazio cited news accounts from Politico that he said revealed "that Secretary Chao's office has degraded the ability of career staff at DOT to objectively assess the merits of grant applications."

DeFazio also raised questions about Chao's family's shipping business and whether she followed her ethics agreement to divest stock in Vulcan Materials, both of which the House oversight committee is investigating.

In Tuesday's letters, DeFazio along with Reps. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Gerald Connolly, D-Va., leaders on the oversight committee, urged Chao to advise the White House to reinstate Behm, who they called a veteran public servant. Behm took on the role of acting inspector general when the office's former leader retired in January.

In the letter to Elliott, the lawmakers said they viewed his appointment as part of a broader attack by Trump on inspectors general across the government.

"This assault on the integrity and independence of Inspectors General appears to be an intentional campaign to undermine their ability to expose corruption and protect taxpayer dollars from waste, fraud, and abuse," the letter said.

The same day he named Elliott to the job at the Transportation Department, Trump removed State Department inspector general Steve Linick. Linick was said to be investigating whether Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a staffer run nonwork errands for him and to have nearly finished a review of an arms-sale deal with Saudi Arabia.

Elliot had a 40-year career in the railroad industry, serving as an executive at freight company CSX Transportation before joining the Trump administration. The lawmakers questioned what in his professional background qualified him to serve as inspector general.

Elliott is also set to continue as the head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration while serving as acting inspector general. The lawmakers wrote that the dual roles would stretch him too thin, and presented significant conflicts of interest. The inspector general's office has at least one open audit that touches on Elliott's leadership at the pipeline agency, they wrote.

As head of the pipeline agency Elliott reports to Chao, but as inspector general he ought to be independent of the department's leadership, they said.

"Your dual roles threaten both the safety of our transportation system and the integrity of the DOT Office of Inspector General," the lawmakers wrote, saying Elliott should resign from one job or the other.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., the top Democrat a senate subcommittee that oversees pipeline safety, said she was also concerned about the potential for conflicts of interest in combining the two jobs.

"Acting Inspector General Skip Elliott being charged with auditing and investigating the actions of PHMSA Administrator Skip Elliott makes a mockery of the entire system of Inspectors General," Duckworth said in a statement.

"Trump's haphazard approach to firing and hiring Inspector Generals is detrimental to the stability, operations and oversight of the federal government, the Department of Transportation and - most troubling - the entire concept of an accountable, transparent government."

In the statement, Chao's office said Elliott would be expected to recuse himself from audits or investigations connected to things that fall under his responsibilities at the pipeline agency.

Jeff Guzzetti, who worked with Behm at the inspector general's office when they were both senior officials there, said Behm was made the office's deputy after a rigorous selection process.

"Mitch is organized. He's sharp as a tack and he gets it," Guzzetti said.

"He's very practical and also very ethical," said Guzzetti, who is now an aviation safety consultant. "He was a kind of a business genius on Wall Street early in his career, and wanted to do something more meaningful through public service and joined the IG, probably making a lot less money."

On Friday, Trump nominated Eric J. Soskin, a Justice Department attorney, to serve as the permanent inspector general. As the office's deputy, Guzzetti said Behm was the obvious choice to be its leader until the confirmation of a permanent replacement.

"I can't for the life of me figure out why he was unceremoniously removed like that, so suddenly," Guzzetti said, adding that the move to sideline him was a shock.

Guzzetti said that the pipeline safety administration itself has numerous challenges, and the inspector general "is a full-time job."

"It's a big agency with a lot on their plate," he said. "It's very odd to me. It sounds wrong."

- - -

The Washington Post's Tom Hamburger contributed to this report.
CROMWELL  Frustrated by how long its taking to reopen the state and the impact that is having on small businesses, the Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to send a declaration to Gov. Ned Lamont calling on him to speed up the process.

The council met in person (minus member Allan Waters, who called in) for two-and-a-half hours.

Ninety minutes of that time was spent in a closed-door executive session with Town Attorney Kari Olson (and an associate) listening in via Zoom.

Mayor Enzo Faienza earlier this month sent an impassioned letter to Lamont saying many small businesses in town  and in the state  will never reopen.

He said in his letter and again on Tuesday that he had supported Lamonts original decision to issue a state-at-home order as the coronavirus spread across the state, nation and world.

But this shutdown has lasted too long, Faienza said.

Were beyond the crisis stage, Faienza said. More and more, none of this makes sense. ... Its OK for me to stand in line to get into a grocery store but I cant get a haircut?

Faienza was especially critical of Lamonts decision Monday to continue keeping barber shops and hair salons closed, just two days before they were scheduled to reopen. Faienza said he had heard from a salon owner who told him, I just spent my last $1,000 to prepare to open.

We cannot sit here and let the governor pick winners and losers. Thats just not right, Faienza said, while complaining Lamont keeps moving the goal posts.

Local businesses, including hair salons, have crafted plans to reduce the potential spread, Faienza said, adding, They just need a chance.

More and more, none of this makes sense, Faienza said. ... We need to do something, to make a stand. Enough is enough.

He was not alone in his criticism of Lamonts actions.

The legislature is supposed to be fully engaged in the decision-making process, council member Patrick Ahlquist said. Instead, Were just making this up as we go along. He said Lamont is paying too much attention to the governors of New York and Rhode Island and not the people of his home state.

Ahlquist also pointedly complained about government overreach on Lamonts part and what he said is a lack of transparency in the governors decision-making process.

I hope whatever comes out of this [discussion] that the governor listens to us, Deputy Mayor Jennifer Donohue said. The governor needs to listen to of these businesspeople. Somehow, our voices are not being heard..

Council member Steve Fortenbush also said Lamont is ignoring the General Assembly. He called for a system like the one adopted by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to open regions of the state when they meet certain standards.

The impact of the virus has been greatest in Fairfield County, which has recorded 1,160 deaths, Fortenbush said, calling it a special case.

However, elsewhere in the state, the numbers are dramatically lower: just 14 deaths in Windham County and 131 in Middlesex County. Fortenbush called for a county-by-county or even a town-by-town approach to accelerate reopening.

As the council prepared to move on to take a stand, Faienza made a direct challenge to Lamont. The governor needs to wake up and listen to small business owners, he said.

In order to go into executive session, Olson suggested the council was considering possible legal options, and the council accepted that argument.

When they emerged more than 90 minutes later, the council directed Olson to draft a declaration outlining Cromwells stance that the town is willing and ready to reopen and calling on Lamont to loosen restrictions.

After the meeting adjourned, it was explained that a declaration is as strongly worded letter.

The council is expected to take up the matter again no later than next week.

jmill@middletownpress.com
KABUL -- U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has held fresh talks with the Afghan leadership in Kabul, amid an uptick in violence that threatens to unravel a February peace deal between the United States and the Taliban.

After holding talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar, Khalilzad flew to Afghanistan on May 20, as the leader of the Taliban said the militants were committed to the deal with Washington despite stepping up violence against government forces since it was signed.

In Kabul, Khalilzad met with President Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, who is expected to lead the intra-Afghan peace talks with the Taliban, according to the Afghan presidency.

The sides discussed the importance of "a cease-fire or reduction in violence before the start of direct talks," a statement said.

Khalilzads visit comes days after Ghani and Abdullah reached a power-sharing agreement under which Abdullah, his political rival, leads the High Peace Council.

A power struggle between Ghani and Abdullah, both of whom claimed to have won the presidential election in September, had been one of the main impediments to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations to end more than 18 years of war.

The talks were to begin on March 10 under the agreement between the Taliban and the United States, which calls for U.S. and foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan following an intra-Afghan deal and in exchange for security guarantees.

Khalilzads visit also comes as at least 14 people were killed in attacks late on May 19 on two mosques in Afghanistan where worshippers were breaking their Ramadan fast.

The Taliban denied carrying out the killings, which came after last week's attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul in which 24 people, included newborns, were shot dead.

The Taliban also denied carrying out the maternity attack, which Washington said bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

In a message that coincided with Khalilzad's visit to Kabul, the Taliban's reclusive leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, called on Washington "not to waste" the opportunity offered by the deal to end the United States' longest war.

In the message released ahead of next week's Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Islamic month of Ramadan, Akhundzada urged U.S. officials to not afford anyone the opportunity to obstruct, delay, and ultimately derail this internationally recognized bilateral agreement."

The Taliban has so far rejected repeated calls for a cease-fire by the Afghan government.

On May 19, at least 11 people were killed and 16 were wounded in one of the mosque attacks in Charekar, the capital of the central province of Parwan, security officials told RFE/RL.

"Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time," said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.

The Interior Ministry blamed the attack on the Taliban. The militants denied responsibility and said Afghan security forces were to blame.

The Parwan Province police chief, Haroon Mubariz Parwan, told RFE/RL that Islamic State militants were suspected of having carried out the attack.

Three other people were killed in a similar attack late on May 19 on a mosque in the southeastern Khost Province, Talib Mangal, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told RFE/RL.

Mangal said a child was also wounded in the attack in Khost's Sabari district.

No one claimed responsibility for the Khost attack.

In the northern Takhar Province, suspected Taliban militants attacked a checkpoint late on May 19, leaving nine dead, officials said.

Six others were wounded in the incident, which took place in the province's Khawja Bahauddin district.

Elsewhere on May 19, Afghan security forces clashed with Taliban fighters around the city of Kunduz, a strategically important center that the militants have briefly captured twice in recent years.

Security forces largely repelled the Taliban offensive with the help of air support.

Assadullah Khalid, acting defense minister, said during a visit to the city that more than 50 militants and eight security-force members had been killed.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, dpa, and AFP
Moderna, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock popped after positive news about the company's coronavirus vaccine candidate. After the shares climbed 20% to record highs, the company announced plans to sell $1.25 billion in new shares to fund manufacturing and distribution of its vaccine candidate.

Update on Moderna's coronavirus vaccine

Moderna's coronavirus vaccine is officially referred to as mRNA-1273. The Phase 1 trial revealed that the COVID-19 vaccine caused antibodies against the disease to form. This is the first sign of a successful vaccine.

[caption id="attachment_575379" align="aligncenter" width="400"]

Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com[/caption]

Q1 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more

The trial looked at 25g and 100g doses. Both doses elicited antibody responses in patients, although the 100g dose elicited much higher neutralizing antibody responses than the median levels seen for convalescent plasma, Canaccord Genuity analyst John Newman said in a report. The coronavirus vaccine was given as an initial dose, and then a booster was given 29 days later.

A pre-clinical mouse model revealed that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine protected fully against viral replication in the lungs. Newman said the trial results provide proof-of-concept for what is emerging technology in the vaccine development space.

More study information

Three patients in the trial displayed Grade 3 adverse events at the 250g dose in the safety data. The symptoms included headache, flu-like symptoms and muscle aches, although all the symptoms resolved in 24 hours. Safety data will now be monitored for a longer timeframe after the vaccine is received.

The Phase 2 study is set to begun by the end of June, and patients will receive either a placebo, 50g or 100g doses of the vaccine. Half of the patients in the study will be between the ages of 18 and 55, while the other half will be age 55 and up. The Phase 3 dose will be between 25g and 100g, and it will start in July.

Story continues

One of the key differences in the different phases of the drug trial is the number of participants. The first phase includes a very small number of participants. The second phase involves hundreds of people, and Phase 3 usually involves tens of thousands of people.

Moderna partnered with Lonza to manufacture up to 1 billion doses of its coronavirus vaccine per year. It talked about ramping production on its conference call this week. The company partnered with the National Institutes of Health to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.

What's next for Moderna's coronavirus vaccine

If the next two trial phases of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine go well, it could become available to the public as early as January, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tal Zaks told CNN.

The World Health Organization said eight companies are working on human clinical trials with a COVID-19 vaccine. Like Moderna, Pfizer and Inovio are in the U.S. One of the companies is in the U.K., while four are located in China.

A vaccine expert who isn't working with Moderna told CNN that the company's vaccine study shows that the antibodies formed after the vaccine is administered not only bind to COVID-19 but also prevent it from infecting sells. It's important to know that positive trial results do not necessarily mean that the vaccine will protect people in the real world. However, given the number of deaths the world is seeing from COVID-19, officials are trying to get vaccines into development as quickly as possible.

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, we believe electric vehicles and energy storage are set to become giant markets, and we want to take advantage of the declining lithium prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So we are checking out investment opportunities like this one. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when S&P 500 was trading at 3150 after realizing the coronavirus pandemics significance before most investors. Several hedge funds got it right too. Below is our video about the top 5 stocks among hedge funds at the end of March:

Disclosure: None

Related Content
Gregory Tyree Boyce and his girlfriend were last seen alive two days before they were found dead next to white powdery substance.

Boyce, 30, and his partner Natalie Adepoju, 28, were found dead inside the bedroom of their Las Vegas home by their roommate, Louis Ledbetter, on May 13. Officers said the couple were beyond help by the time the tragic discovery was made.

Ledbetter told police he'd last seen the couple alive 48 hours earlier. The 33-year-old said he'd woken up in the afternoon of the 13th having worked a night shift the previous evening to find the couple's bedroom door closed.

Presuming they were out of the apartment, Ledbetter left the condo to return to work just after 2:30pm when he noticed the couple's car was still in the driveway.

Concerned, he knocked on their bedroom door and, after receiving no response, he forced his way into the room to find them both laying on their backs in bed, naked and lifeless.

According to a police report observed by DailyMail.com, next to their bodies officers found a unknown white powder substance on a nightstand, in addition to a straw and a plastic card.

Investigators were told by Ledbetter and Gregorys mother that they were both known to do harder drugs such as cocaine and meth, the report said.

However his brother, Chris Wayne, has said that drugs are not something he's ever known Boyce to do, insisting his sibling lived a very healthy lifestyle.

Gregory Tyree Boyce, 30, and 27-year-old Natalie Adepoju, were found dead on May 13 in their Las Vegas condo. Sources told TMZ that an unknown white powdery substance was found at the scene but an official cause of death hasn't been released

His brother, Chris Wayne (left), has said that drugs are not something he's ever known Boyce to do, insisting his sibling lived a very healthy lifestyle

'He was very into his health. He watched his meat intake. He would always talk to me about macros and exercise. He would give me recipes for juicing,' Wayne told The Sun.

Wayne added that the news of Boyce's shocking death has been a difficult reality to process.

'Its still a mystery and very bizarre what happened. We dont know what happened. We dont even have any closure,' he continued.

According to the bereaved brother, the Medical Examiner has not yet confirmed Boyce's specific cause of death, declining to provide the family even speculative information.

'Thats why it hurts so bad. We dont even know what happened to our family member. It just doesnt make any sense,' he continued to the outlet.

'How did they both go? Was it an accident? If there was no criminal activity involved or foul play, then how did they go? What happened to my brother.'

Investigators said the couple appeared to be 'deceased for some time' when they arrived at property on Casey Drive on the evening of May 13.

There were no signs of trauma to either subject and the bedroom was undisturbed, officers noted.

Both Boyce and Adepoju were found lying naked on their backs in bed. Investigators said each body showed signs of rigor mortis and blood pooling, indicating they'd been deceased for some time.

The official cause of their deaths has not yet been released, pending a toxicology report. Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said foul play was not suspected but a DailyMail.com request for more information has not yet been returned.

Similarly, LVPD told DailyMail.com that no criminal investigation has been launched.

In a tribute to his brother on Facebook, Wayne wrote: 'You were my baby. Worried about you all the time. I was always there for the rescue. I wish you were still here bro. The world lost an awesome person.'

According to the bereaved brother, the Medical Examiner has not yet confirmed Boyce's specific cause of death, declining to provide the family even speculative information

In a tribute to his brother on Facebook, Wayne wrote: 'You were my baby. Worried about you all the time. I was always there for the rescue. I wish you were still here bro. The world lost an awesome person'

In an Instagram post from December (pictured above) when Boyce celebrated his 30th birthday, the actor wrote that he didn't think he'd reach the milestone age

Boyce was best known for his role as Tyler Crowley in the first Twilight franchise movie in 2008. In the film, he almost crashed into Kristen Stewart's character Bella Swan with a car before she was saved by Robert Pattinson's character, Edward Cullen.

Boyce, who also appeared in the film short Apocalypse in 2018, had a 10-year-old daughter Alaya and his girlfriend had a young son called Egypt from a previous relationship.

In an Instagram post from December when Boyce celebrated his 30th birthday, the actor wrote that he didn't think he'd ever reach the milestone age.

'At one point I didn't think I would make it to see 30 years old,' he wrote.

'Over the years like everyone else I have made mistakes along the way, but today is one of those days I only reflect on the great ones. What a time to be alive. Happy Dirty 30 self! Let's make the rest of these years your best!!'

Prior to his death, the source said Boyce was 'really focused and handling a lot of business'.

He had moved to Las Vegas to help his mother but would commute to Los Angeles for acting roles and to see his daughter.

Boyce was best known for his role as Tyler Crowley in the first Twilight franchise movie with Kristen Stewart (pictured together above in the film)

In the film, he almost crashed into Kristen Stewart's character Bella Swan (above) with a car before she was saved by Robert Pattinson's character, Edward Cullen

In an statement, Boyce's family told TMZ: 'We as family of Gregory Boyce are very saddened by our loss. He was a dad, son, grandson, brother, uncle, and friend. He was the light of all our lives and we are very saddened by his death.

'The Gregory we knew was intimate with the world and a good person. He was a very respectful and responsible man. He always put others first. The family would like to ask for our privacy as we mourn our losses and thank you for your well wishes.'

Boyce and his girlfriend were last featured together on his Instagram page when he wished Adepoju a Happy Mother's Day.

'Happy Mother's Day again to my right hand/ my roll dog/ my Queen! Love you,' he wrote.

In a statement on GoFundMe page set up for Adepoju, she was remembered as a 'loving daughter, niece, sister, cousin, and friend'.

'Natalie had so much life to live we are saddened that her life was cut short. Natalie leaves behind one son, her father, two brothers and one sister, and a host of family and friends who love her dearly,' the page read.

The couple had been dating for about a year. Adepoju has a young son named Egypt and Boyce is survived by his 10-year-old daughter, Alaya

The couple, who had been dating for about a year, were found dead in their condo on May 13 after Boyce's cousin noticed the actor's car in the driveway when he was supposed to have been in Los Angeles

Boyce's mother, Lisa Wayne, mourned her son's death in a Facebook post on Sunday.

She revealed that Boyce had ambitions of starting a wing business, West Wings, and that Adepoju was his business partner.

'We were supposed to meet on Tuesday with my dad to discuss some plans for our near future to launch us into a great future, but that never happened,' she wrote.

'Greggy, if I could get my chef on like you, I'd continue this West Wings and set your baby girl up for life. You told me that you didn't want me to work, you wanted to take care of me. Oh man, this is killing me Hunny.

'I'm sick without you. I'm torn, I'm lost. I'm in pain. I'd text you or call you when I was broken or worried about something, and you'd tell me, Ma, I got you, we'll get thru this together. Boy. Why did you leave me?'

Wayne last saw Boyce on May 11 when she visited his home to eat leftover food from Mother's Day and spend time together.

'I went to your house to eat leftovers from Mother's day,' she wrote.

'We watched a Dave Chappelle show and you walked me to my car, hugged me, kissed me on my cheek and told me that you love me and to call you when I got home.

'That was it. Never another hug, kiss or to hear those words, I love you again.'
As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ
Cyclone Amphan hurtled towards Indian shores on May 20, triggering downpour in coastal Odisha and West Bengal, uprooting trees and forcing evacuation of over four lakh people. (Image: AP)

A powerful cyclone that slammed into coastal India and Bangladesh has left damage difficult to assess. Ceiling of a hangar collapsed on a parked Air Indian plane at Kolkata Airport. (Image: News18)

Super cyclonic storm Amphan over the northwest of the Bay of Bengal moved towards north-northeast. It is likely to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha and Hatiya Islands. (Image: News18)

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of extensive damage in West Bengal and Odisha from heavy rainfall and strong storms. Authorities of India and Bangladesh are trying to evacuate millions of people while maintaining social distancing norms. (Image: AP)

The satellite image released by NASA shows Cyclone Amphan over the Bay of Bengal in India. The powerful storm is expected to make landfall on May 20 near Sundarbans. (Image: AP)

Kolkata airport flooded and structures destroyed in wake of Cyclone Amphan. Air India planes are parked in a flooded hangar. (Image: News18)

Cyclone Amphan wrecks Kolkata airport. The tarmac and runway has been flooded and the ceiling of hangar are collapsed. (Image: News18)

People walk with umbrellas in the rain ahead of Cyclone Amphan at Bhadrak district in the eastern Indian state of Orissa on May 20. (Image: AP)

Commuters move past a tree branch precariously hanging after cyclone Amphan hit the region, in Kolkata, India, May 21, 2020. (Image: AP)

A man salvages his belongings from the rubble of a damaged shop after Cyclone Amphan made its landfall, in South 24 Parganas district in the eastern state of West Bengal, India on May 21, 2020. (Image: Reuters)

A boat brings people to land on May 20, as locals check an embankment before Cyclone Amphan made landfall, in Shyamnagar, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. (Image: AP)

People make their way to a safer place before the cyclone Amphan makes its landfall in Gabura outskirts of Satkhira district, Bangladesh on May 20, 2020. (Image: Reuters)

People crowd a shelter before Cyclone Amphan made landfall, in Shyamnagar, Shatkhira, Bangladesh. (Image: AP)

Trees stay uprooted on a highway from heavy winds and rainfall that hit the coastal districts of Odisha ahead of Cyclone Amphan landfall. (Image: AP)

India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) making announcements to warn people on the Bay of Bengal coast about Cyclone Amphan. (Image: AP)

Police officers carry a disabled man to a safer place following his evacuation from a slum area before Cyclone Amphan makes its landfall, in Kolkata, India, May 20, 2020. (Image: Reuters)

Villagers on the Bay of Bengal coast walk towards relief camps as they are evacuated by volunteers as a precaution against Cyclone Amphan. (Image: AP)

Boats are anchored at a fishing harbour at Paradeep on the Bay of Bengal coast in Odisha. (Image: AP)

A man walks in the rain ahead of Cyclone Amphan landfall, at Bhadrak district, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, May 20, 2020. (Image: AP)

A boat stands anchored as it rains ahead of Cyclone Amphan landfall, at Bhadrak district, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, May 20, 2020. (Image: AP)

Authorities are distributing face masks to the villagers evacuated as a precautionary measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. (Image: AP)
[May 20, 2020] Safe Return to Work Accelerated by Pointr WorkSafe Solving the Contact Tracing and Occupancy Management Problems Employers Are Facing

BOSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Lots of employers contacted us asking us to help with two problems," comments Ege Akpinar, CEO of Pointr, a leader in indoor location services. "Employers need contact tracing where they don't have to send everyone home when one person tests positive. The second problem is occupancy counting where they need to be sure there is no overcrowding and they can monitor the occupancy rates." Pointr is experiencing a boom in business following the creation of WorkSafe, its latest product which comprises a suite of services that build on its core indoor location technology. Pointr's WorkSafe solution uniquely solves these contact tracing and occupancy management problems. Ege Akpinar commented, "WorkSafe solves these problems by building an app for use by employees only when they are in the office and connecting it to an employer dashboard that protects privacy." The employee installs the WorkSafe app or finds it as part of their existing employee app. It has an 'on/off' control that is turned 'on' for contact tracing when in the office and turned 'off' when out of the office. Pointr's expertise in geolocation enables automated on and off when the employee enters and leaves the office. The employee privacy is protected by no personally identifiable information being collected. The phones that an employee goes near when in the office are recorded in the WorkSafe app and in the WorkSafe dashboard. This phone-to-phone detection leverages Pointr's world class expertise in Bluetooth technology. <>When an employee tests positive, they give their unique anonymous WorkSafe ID that is in the WorkSafe app to their employer via a phone call or email. The employer then messages those phones that were near the employee who tested positive via the WorkSafe dashboard. At no point does the employer know the identity of who they are alerting. WorkSafe has no record either. It just knows which WorkSafe app phones to notify.





Safely managing occupancy levels is also solved by WorkSafe. A live occupancy count of the office is available throughout the day via the WorkSafe dashboard. It alerts when getting close to above the safe occupancy level. "Buy Pointr WorkSafe to be up and running in less than 24 hours with a solution that reassures your team to safely return to the office. We also work with partners globally to make this accessible," said Ege Akpinar, CEO of Pointr. The WorkSafe suite is available as Standard and Plus. Standard includes Contact Tracing and Occupancy Manager and is up and running within a day. Plus adds floor level Occupancy Manager as well as Congestion Supervisor, Cleaning Monitor and Safe Wayfinding with the addition of some quick-to-install hardware in the office. To get a trial of the WorkSafe Suite or to become a Reseller, please go to https://worksafe.pointr.tech/ About Pointr Pointr is a global leader in indoor location. Pointr's software technology provides highly accurate indoor positioning. Machine-learning expertise allows location-based services such as digital mapping, navigation, location tracking, geofencing and powerful location-based analytics. Pointr works with major customers in retail, workplace, aviation and hospitality across North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. About Pointr WorkSafe In the last few weeks, Pointr leveraged their indoor location expertise to help businesses get back to work safely. Over the last month, Pointr's team of software engineers and computer scientists worked to create a new building re-entry solution from scratch, using components from Pointr's existing software technology. The result is the WorkSafe Suite, a range of solutions that provide occupancy and congestion management, contact tracing, safe wayfinding, cleaning compliance. Find out more at https://worksafe.pointr.tech/ Media Contacts

Marianne Slamich

Pointr

+447426321320

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/safe-return-to-work-accelerated-by-pointr-worksafe-solving-the-contact-tracing-and-occupancy-management-problems-employers-are-facing-301063120.html SOURCE Pointr

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[May 20, 2020] Esri Publishes Smarter Government Workbook by Martin O'Malley

Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced the publication of Smarter Government Workbook: A 14-Week Implementation Guide to Governing for Results by former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley. The book distills the lessons from his previous book, Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age, and concisely presents an interactive, easy-to-follow, proven 14-week plan any government can follow to achieve strategic performance management. The workbook enables readers to devise a framework to Gather and share timely, accurate information.

Rapidly deploy resources.

Build leadership and collaboration.

Develop and refine effective strategic goals and key performance indicators.

Assess results. In Smarter Government, O'Malley drew on his deep experience in implementing performance measurement and management ("Stat") systems at the city and state levels in Baltimore and Maryland. As a result of these policies, the region experienced the biggest crime reduction of any big city in American history; the rversal of a 300-year decline in the health of the Chesapeake Bay; and schools ranked number one in the US for five years in a row.



"Recently we lost track of the important roles governors play," said O'Malley. "They hold a unified command and get ahead of a fast-moving crisis. These are the leadership skills that save lives when a crisis hits." Now, leaders can take these tested solutions and apply them to their own government organizations in less than four months' time. Smarter Government Workbook is a practical, hands-on companion to Smarter Government and for realizing the promise of Stat.

Smarter Government Workbook: A 14-Week Implementation Guide to Governing for Results is available in print (ISBN: 9781589486027, 80 pages, US$19.99) and can be obtained from most online retailers worldwide. It is also available for purchase at esri.com/esripress or by calling 1-800-447-9778. If outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri Press book distributor Ingram Publisher Services. 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 US, as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the US 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 esri.com. Copyright  2020 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, The Science of Where, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005768/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Amsdoc BHPian



Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Pune Posts: 151 Thanked: 243 Times

The Dream Monster - Ducati Monster 620 i.e. I have always been a car/bike buff. Ever since my school days, I used to go out and buy the car/bike magazine available in those times and read them cover to cover. The poster on the centrefold would be stuck in my room on the wall. Soon there was no space on the walls left. It had all the boyhood dream supercars like the Ferrari Testarossa, the Lamborghini Countach and multiple superbikes too like the Honda Fireblade, Yamaha Thunderbird and the drop dead gorgeous Ducati 916. The centrepiece of my poster collection was however the Ducati Monster. For some reason the bike connected with me more than any other. The naked cafe racer look, the exposed trellis frame just melted my heart. So started a longing for the Monster in the hay days of the 90s.



Many moons later after moving to the UK and being reasonably settled, the bike bug stuck me again. I found a beautiful Kawasaki Z750 which was selling for cheap so I actually bought it before I finished my license. I got my UK bike riding license (which is no mean feat) and started using the bike. Whilst it was a great bike, especially a very accomplished tourer, it never got me very excited. I found a group of biking friends and used to go on long bike rides with them. One had a Triumph Daytona, one had a Suzuki SV650 and the last one had a red Ducati Monster 625. The Triumph was a beast, the Suzuki was sexy but the red 625 was something else. It got my pulse racing again and rekindled my long lost love affair for a Monster. I decided to sell the Z750 and buy another bike preferably a Monster but after careful consideration of various options. I didn't want a big bike or a superbike so options were between 600-750 cc.



Options considered:

-Kawasaki ER6: Very comfortable and easy to ride bike but too similar to my Z750

-Kawasaki Versys 650: Same engine as the ER6 but setup more for touring. In those days was quite ugly unlike now.

-Suzuki Bandit: This was the bike, I gave my test on so was very comfortable with it but was getting a bit old and didn't have the oomph factor.

-Suzuki SV650: Beautiful machine especially from the rear. Good engine. But riding position was not great and you got wrist pain after riding any significant distance.

-Honda Hornet: Was a great bike and a very good all rounder and was one of my final contenders

-Triumph Street Triple: I loved this bike. It was a hoot to ride. Looked great(I had found a neon green model) and was overall very very good. Only lost out because of the historical love I had for the Monster.



Buying the Monster:

By the time I had decided to buy a monster, Ducati released the 626. This was the first bike with the current design of the monster. Whilst it is beautiful and I liked it, it wasn't the design I had fallen in love with. I might as well have bought the Triumph which I felt was a better bike. So I started looking for older used monsters. Unsurprisingly, none were available in the configuration that I wanted which was a Red coloured 625. I waited for a long time but finally caved in. I found one monster in my budget but it was Black and was a 620i.e. It had a single lady owner before me, was very low milage and in great condition. I paid upfront and bought the bike from a very helpful dealer in Glasgow, Scotland who bought my Z750 in exchange as well.



Pros:

- Timeless design with instant recognition and appreciation from fellow bikers.

- Beautiful engine with great sound

- Engaging riding experience that rewarded you for better riding

- Comfortable and easy to ride with low seat height and light weight.



Cons:

- Not the fastest kid on the block and struggled to keep up with other boys on the highways.

- The low fuel warning wasnt very accurate and more than once left me stranded with no fuel where the screen still showed some distance to go.

- Not great protection from wind

- Not for track days

- Expensive to buy. There were better bikes available for the money.



The Design:

The Monster is a beautiful bike. Even in black. Mine was a shiny black 2006 piece with a single seat visible. The rear seat is covered by a cowl which is removal. It has a big round head light up front. The shape is crouching but the riding position is excellent and fairly upright. The big tank is sculpted very well with good area for your legs. The footrests were adequate and well positioned. The exposed Trellis frame is the standout feature of this bike and in mine it was brushed aluminium in colour which looked really cool. I wanted a red trellis frame but I ended up liking mine better. The other standout feature are the upside down Marzocchi forks. The big 320 mm front disc by Brembo looks imposing as well. It comes with 2 big brushed aluminium coloured exhausts, one on either side. It also has a rear disc brake but it is much smaller at 240mm.



The instrument console is very retro. It consists of two big analogue dials with small electronic lcd screen in each and a christmas tree of warning light in the top half in between the two dials. The left dial is the speedometer and the lcd screen shows the odometer. You can toggle between the trip meter and odometer with a tiny black button between the two dials. The right hand side dial has the rev meter and the lcd screen shows a clock and oil temp which you can toggle with a similar black button to the other side. The right dial also has magnetti marelli inscribed on it. There is a small led light above the two black button which denotes the engine immobiliser. The lights on the top are for the indicators, neutral, high beam and warning light. What I thought was cool at that time was, on turning the ignition on ignition both the needles go to max and return back to zero. My Honda Activa 125 also has this feature now.



The Mechanics:

The Monster 620ie came with a 618 cc 90 degree V twin with SOHC and 2 desmodromic valves per cylinder. It produced 60 bhp at 9500 rpm and around 55 Nm of torque. It came with marelli electronic fuel injection (hence the i.e in the name). Power was transferred via chain drive and it rode originally on Bridgestone tyres.



Modifications:

I did not tinker too much with the bike as it was how I liked it. I added a small wind screen to help on the long drives. Crash bungs to protect my legs if I fall off. The most important addition was a Scottoiler which is a auto chain lubing system which was worth its weight in gold in the cold Scottish climate and gritted roads. I did consider changing the exhausts to aftermarket Akrapovic ones but decided I liked how it originally sounded more than the Akrapovic. I did change the tyres to brand new sticky Pirellis when I took delivery.



Riding experience:

The riding position was very comfortable and seat very supportive too. The engine fires up with the most beautiful V twin note that you have to hear at least once to appreciate. Way better than any of the Harley V twins. The gearing was short and the acceleration was instant. It was a bike that made you ride it hard and rewarded you for it. Very punchy ( unlike my Z750, which was very linear and measured) and aggressive. The suspension handled everything that the British roads could throw at it though they were butter smooth most of the times. The big Brembo brakes stopped the bike well and the sticky Pirellis had great grip. Never did I feel out of control on it.



My usual ride was to work and back which was a 8 miles round trip. Sometimes there would be heavy traffic on this stretch and the nimble monster would help me whizz past stuck cars and get to my intended location to and fro almost 30-45 minutes before what I would have taken in a car. There wasnt much scope for high speeds but the Monster was best and in its element during this work run.



My bike group and I would go for long bike rides on most weekends usually in summer. These would be around 100-200 mile round trips and involved a wide variety of roads including A roads(highways) and B roads (smaller roads in the countryside). The monster struggled on the A roads. Whilst it easily could do around 80 mph the wind was bad and I really had to crouch down to avoid that. Plus the weather in Scotland even in summers was pretty chilly and the monster didnt offer much protection from the elements. I have been out in -5 degree where we had to stop intermittently to warm our hands on the engine. The Monster however came alive on the B roads and it was a pleasure flicking in through winding roads with that glorious note from the V twin. Scotland by the way, is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world to ride a bike and people came from all over the world to experience it. I consider myself extremely lucky and privileged to have that in my backyard and being able to fully enjoy it on my bike.



We also did a couple of track days. The most memorable of them was at a Scottish circuit called Knockhill. It is like a mini Laguna seca with a gradient turn just like the famous corkscrew. It was sponsored by BMW and first we got to ride our own bikes for a few laps. The Monster was truly out of place here and it struggled on the technical sections of the track. The others bikes were all superbikes apart from my friends Monster and 1 Honda Pan American! After our stint was over we got a few laps on the BMW S1000RR which remains to this day the best bike Ive ever ridden. What a precision instrument that is. I started tentatively but soon was doing triple figure speeds on the very challenging track. Until I saw a Fireblade crash on the mini corkscrew which put me back in my place. But the Monster was definitely not made for this party!



Sale:

I used the monster well and for 4 years. It brought a smile to my face every time I got on it. However, we decided to move mack to India in 2013. We got a container and shipped most of our belonging over. There was even place for the Monster in there. But, it is quite a pain to import vehicles. You have to pay a hefty charge, there are long delays and all of your shipment gets stuck for a long time until the vehicle is cleared. In the end the cons outweighed the pros for transferring the bike. I had a friendly bike mechanic who made enquiries for me and helped me sell my bike on to another lucky guy who got my beautifully maintained sample. I got a fair price for it as well, I think.



I know, there were better bikes for the same money out there but it was a childhood dream come true for me and I totally lived and loved the Monster dream and enjoyed it for as long as I could.



P.S: Mods, I am attaching some photos at the bottom. I haven't figured out how to get them in between the paragraphs yet. Could you help? Attached Thumbnails



































Attached Images
"That's very small, equivalent to an annual budget of a medium-sized hospital in the developed world," he said. "Imagine a budget of a medium-sized hospital in a developed world for WHO, which is actually working in the whole world. So that's small."

The agency's budget is already "very, very small" at about $2.3 billion a year, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

"We'll obviously have to work with other partners to ensure those funds can still flow," Ryan said. "This is going to be a major implication for delivering essential health services to some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and we trust developed donors will, if necessary, step in to fill that gap."

Most funding from the United States goes directly out to the program that helps countries in "all sorts of fragile and difficult settings," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, said during a press conference at the agency's Geneva headquarters.

World Health Organization officials said Wednesday they are worried their emergency programs will suffer if President Donald Trump permanently pulls U.S. funding from the international agency.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) attends the virtual 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WHO's funding runs in two-year budget cycles. For the 2018 and 2019 funding cycle, the U.S. paid a $237 million required assessment as well as $656 million in voluntary contributions, averaging $446 million a year and representing about 14.67% of its total budget, according to spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

Earlier this week, Trump threatened to permanently cut off U.S. funding of the WHO. In a letter Monday, he said that if the WHO "does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization."

A day later, the president said the international agency needs to "clean up" its act.

The WHO has "to do a better job," Trump told reporters Tuesday during a White House meeting about American farmers. "They have to be much more fair to other countries, including the United States, or we are not going to be involved with them anymore. We will do it a separate way."

When asked about the letter, Tedros simply said: "We have received the letter and we are looking into it."

Ryan said "you might want to" ask the U.S. in terms of what it is exactly looking to see from the agency.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the WHO's response to the coronavirus, which has hit the U.S. worse than any other country, amid scrutiny of his own administration's response to the pandemic.

The WHO started sounding the alarm on the outbreak in China in mid-January. On March 11, WHO officials declared the outbreak a pandemic, when there were just 121,000 global cases. There are now close to 5 million global cases and roughly 325,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
PwC is braced for a 25million court battle over claims it negligently failed to spot a Guernsey 'Ponzi scheme'.

The big four auditor tried to have the proceedings thrown out but its attempts failed.

PwC is being sued for negligence, breach of duty and breach of contract by the administrators of Providence Investment Fund, which collapsed four years ago owing investors more than 40million.

Big four auditor PwC is being sued for negligence, breach of duty and breach of contract by the administrators of Providence Investment Fund, which collapsed four years ago

The fund's administrators claim it was run as a 'fraudulent Ponzi scheme' and that PwC, which gave Providence's books a clean bill of health in 2013 and 2014, should have sounded the alarm.

Providence claimed to invest money in the Brazilian debt market but instead most of investors' cash was fraudulently funnelled into other parts of the group or companies controlled by its boss, Antonio Buzaneli.

He was jailed for 20 years in the US in 2019 for orchestrating a 122million Ponzi scheme, which prosecutors said 'targeted hundreds of victims worldwide, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable'.

PwC tried to quash the claim against it, saying that administrators could not prove any of Providence's directors had relied on its audits or that they would have acted differently if the fraud had been discovered, the Financial Times reported.

But a judge at Guernsey's Royal Court threw out the auditor's appeal.

A spokesman for PwC said: 'We believe this claim is misconceived and will continue to robustly defend our position.'
Advocate for Social Intervention Ghana (ASIG), a civil society organization dedicated to the promotion of social justice, has called for further education on the wearing of nose masks.



This, according to the organization would help the people appreciate the importance of the nose masks in the fight against the COVID-19 in the country.



A statement signed by Mr Emmanuel Arthur, Chief Executive Officer and issued in Kumasi, said it was important for all Ghanaians to know and understand when, where, and how to wear the nose masks, as a preventive measure for COVID-19.



The statement, which was in reaction to the arrest and prosecution of people found not to be wearing the nose masks, said such action would not help in the fight against the spread of the virus.



It said stigmatization associated with the pandemic had become a serious challenge in the fight against the disease in the country, and making the non-wearing of nose masks a sinful act, would aggravate the situation.



According to the statement, what the people needed was an education on why and where he or she should wear the mask since most people were finding it difficult to wear it throughout the day.



People should be encouraged to cover their nose and mouth when they are going to have an interaction with people, the statement pointed out.



The statement said if care was not taken, the strict enforcement of the directive would force the people to wear the masks only when they were about to meet the police or any security personnel.



It called on the government and the Ghana Health Service to strengthen public education of the preventive protocols to ensure that people understood and adhered to them without compulsion.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
As Massachusetts public health officials continue to see the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations trending downward, field hospitals across the state are closing and medical centers are planning to bring in patients for some procedures that had been put off.

Even as Massachusetts starts a phased reopening next week, there is the potential for another surge of coronavirus patients in the future.

Leaders from UMass Memorial Health Care and Baystate Health say that in the event of another surge, hospitals should have the capacity to handle increased cases.

With coronavirus, well have a warning, well see the cases start to increase and then well ramp up, said UMass Memorial Health Care CEO Dr. Eric Dickson. First we see cases go up in the ER, and people coming with new symptoms and they get diagnoses. Then the surge goes through the lower acuity beds, then it goes into the higher acuity beds, and those are the last to go up and the last to go down."

If needed, both UMass Memorial and Baystate could increase surge capacity within hours and reach a full surge capacity within days, said Dickson and Dr. Andrew Artenstein, the chief physician executive and chief academic officer at Baystate Health.

At UMass Memorial, surge units are slowly being taken down, Dickson said, but equipment will stay in place in the event that another surge happens, the units could be staffed within 24 hours.

Its highly likely there will be further surges, whether theyll be as big as the initial one or higher, lower, or the same, its too difficult to predict that at this point," Artenstein said. Even if the surge is as great or even somewhat greater than we just experienced, I think were prepared without the need for standing up a field hospital. Again, that could change. Its possible that it could be worse the second or third cycle, thats always possible. And it also depends on how likely it is that people can get reinfected. We dont know that.

At Baystate, the staff was able to perform herculean work in a matter of days to make space for coronavirus patients as the cases first became widespread in Massachusetts, Artenstein said.

In Western Massachusetts, Baystate Health had the opportunity to open a field hospital, but ultimately decided its own facilities have enough capacity to handle the regions coronavirus cases. Artenstein said he believes the system still has the capacity needed for the future.

The 206-bed field hospital at the DCU Center in Worcester is being shut down this week. Dickson said that officials plan to give the center a cleaning and keep it set up in case its needed if there is another peak in cases in the coming months.

The intent was never to keep it open forever and as we can manage those patients in the regular hospital, its much more efficient for us to be taking care of them in the hospital in our COVID-positive areas," Dickson said. At its peak, the DCU Center had about 100 patients, including members of Worcesters homeless population who had tested positive.

Another field hospital on the UMass Lowell campus is also set to close, according to CBS Boston. The Cape Cod field hospital constructed in the gymnasium at Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne closed in early May without ever seeing a patient.

On Monday, some industries will be able to open again with restrictions. Any potential spike in cases will likely take weeks to appear, said Dr. Richard Ellison, an epidemiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center, previously told MassLive, adding that if medical professionals start seeing a slow uptick in cases, "thats going to be a worrisome sign.

What Dickson sees as the bigger challenge would be handling another surge while also addressing procedures that were put off by the pandemic.

Its possible that another surge could mean another pause on non-emergency procedures.

Phase 1 of the states reopening plan allows for hospitals and community health centers as early as Monday to resume some procedures, including high-priority preventative care, pediatric care and medical treatment for high-risk patients that might be considered elective under the current executive order on non-essential surgeries. Hospitals must also keep at least 30% of intensive care units and 30% of total hospital beds available if they want to resume certain elective procedures, per the Phase 1 plan.

The amount of coronavirus testing in Massachusetts has increased through the pandemic and officials have announced a goal to increase testing even more in the coming months. But, there still is much not known about the virus and exactly how many people have been infected. Many people who contract coronavirus do not have symptoms. Antibody testing has not been widespread and a vaccine remains in the works.

The virus isnt going to disappear from the environment because we havent done anything to make it disappear from the environment. So there are still cases out there. Theres still virus out there, Artenstein said. So the only question is whos susceptible and how much public health intervention we continue to practice over the next six to 12 months.

As of Tuesday afternoon, hospitals statewide had 14% of ICU beds available and 36% of non-ICU beds available for coronavirus patients, both figures include surge space, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Related Content:
The country's speedy, efficient and expert-led action, despite not having WHO membership, becomes a blueprint for infectious disease control

Baseball fans enter the Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Friday, May 8, 2020. Up to 1,000 spectators are now allowed in the stands for baseball in Taiwan on Friday, albeit spaced far apart as a safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus, but they are still barred from bringing in food and concession stands are still closed. (Photo | AP)

In the fight to halt the coronavirus, several countries have been touted as models to be emulated. Chiefly, South Korea is oft cited, justifiably so. However, no country has met with as much success in holding off and beating back the virus as Taiwan, whose geographical and cultural proximity, literally next door, to China makes the feat all the more remarkable. Contained in this narrative are valuable insights for other countries such as India that are still in the throes of this pandemic.

Situated a mere 130 km off the coast of mainland China, Taiwan has 850,000 to 1 million citizens who live or work in China. Although Beijing and Taipei are adversarial regimes, numerous daily flights link the island to multiple major cities in China. Given such proximity, Taiwan would likely be the most affected by any epidemic with origins in China. In fact, it was the hardest hit when SARS broke out in China in 2003. Taiwan then had the highest mortality rate in the world.

That did not happen this time.

Taiwan's Covid-19 numbers have been surprisingly low, for a country that has 2.7 million visitors from the mainland annually and almost 12,000 daily just before the Lunar New Year. As of May 12, Taiwan has 440 total coronavirus cases, of which 372 have already been cured. There have been only 7 deaths. With less than 100 active cases, Taiwan has halted the virus at its doorstep. It managed all this in spite of not being a member of the WHO and while organising a national election on January 11.

How was this possible?

Led by Experts

Remarkably, Taiwans strategy to combat the novel coronavirus nCoV19 was led by experts and scientists who responded with urgency to the initial outbreak in China. Taiwans vice-president, Chen Chien-jen is a Johns Hopkins University trained epidemiologist, public health expert and national hero for his role as health minister during the SARS outbreak in 2002 and the H1N1 outbreak in 2009. Similarly, vice-premier Chen Chi-mai is a physician by training and former lecturer who collaborated with Minister for health and welfare Chen Shih-chung, a doctor and former director of Taipei Medical University. According to Channel News Asia (CNA), at 8 A.M on December 31, the latter was informed of at least seven atypical cases of pneumonia in Wuhan. Within an hour an inter-ministerial meeting was held to determine the measures to be taken to tackle the virus.

This response was as agile as the response in Wuhan itself. Over the next few days, suspected-case reporting and hospital infection control measures were strengthened, a level-1 travel notice to Wuhan was announced, and by January 15 all hospitals and the public were notified about the emerging infectious disease. By January 20, Taiwan activated the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) to coordinate and lead the response to the virus. Daily briefings to the public conducted by health minister Chen Shih-chung, attended by nearly 100,000 people, were also important in keeping the public informed and aware. The health minister currently enjoys an approval rating of 91% in Taiwan and has become the countrys most popular politician, even more than President Tsai ing-wen.

Flight Screening and Border Controls

Allowing public health experts to direct the response to Covid-19 meant that Taiwan could make a crucial connection very very early: that air travel was the main pathway of virus transmission. So, Taipei acted quickly to restrict and monitor air travel.

On December 31, the very day China reported the outbreak to the WHO, Taiwan began sending healthcare officials into airplanes to check passengers arriving from Wuhan before they disembarked. Within a couple of days, these measures were expanded to include fever screening and full-scale medical examination of suspected cases. Within 10 days after the flareup of the mysterious new virus in Wuhan on January 21, Taiwan closed its borders to all Wuhan residents, and by 6 Feb extended the restrictions to all arrivals from China, six days before any other country did so. Taiwan also issued a ban on all port calls by international cruise ships on Feb 6, to prevent more cases like the Diamond Princess. To monitor all foreign arrivals into the country, passengers were required to sign and complete a health declaration form. As the virus began to spread outside China to places like Thailand and Singapore, travel advisories were issued to these places by February 11. By early March, all foreign arrivals without a residence permit were banned from entering the country.

By strange coincidence or premonition, nearly a fortnight before December 31,

on December 18, 2019, in fact, an awards ceremony was held in Taiwan for airlines with outstanding performance in disease surveillance and aviation safety. At the same event, Taiwan CDC, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced their joint collaboration in implementing the Program for Airlines on Disease Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and Emergency Management, the first of its kind in the world.

Central Command Coordinated Measures

Activated on January 20, the Central Epidemic Command Centre proceeded to implement a total of 124 measures so far, including but not limited to border controls and fever screenings. One of the most significant of these was, contrary to WHO advice, a ban on the export of face masks and a decision to increase the production of protective equipment. The ban came into effect on Jan 24, one month before any other country adopted the same measure. According to the Vice-President, by the end of January, Taiwan stockpiled 44 million surgical masks, 1.95 million N-95 masks and 1,100 negative pressure isolation rooms. A national mask team was set up and 92 additional production lines were installed and the government requisitioned a total of 73 manufacturing companies. The policy increased the average daily production of masks from 1.9 million in January to 16 million masks daily in April. The CECC also instituted a rationing system for masks, according to which every citizen could buy 3 masks per week, then raised to 9 every fortnight, and finally an online ordering system was instituted.

Taiwans lightning-quick reaction has undoubtedly saved hundreds of lives and prevented thousands more from becoming infected. The island managed this without ever announcing a lockdown and significantly disrupting domestic economic and social life. Taiwan is also able to avoid, to a certain extent, the economic slump that follows a lockdown. Agencies like S&P and other economists have revised Taiwans GDP for 2020, but by a smaller margin than any other industrialised country. Schools, offices, restaurants and malls have remained open through the outbreak, limiting the disruption to the economy. Additionally, the islands approach of involving the public in the fight against Covid-19 has the additional benefit of inculcating awareness in its public, making a transition to the new normal much smoother. With just 65 active cases left, Taiwan has turned its attention to other countries struggling to contain the virus, with the campaign TaiwanCanHelp, which donates masks and other resources.

Most of Taiwans measures to combat Covid-19 were announced in late January and early February, taking effect almost immediately. The credit for this accrues to experts and scientists holding political office, who lead the fight against Covid-19, calling the shots and responding to developments in China almost instantaneously. The promptness in enacting these measures has been shown by no other country. While some countries like India were busy hosting grand bilateral summits for foreign leaders and others like USA were turning the virus into a political weapon, Taiwan was preparing for the Covid-19 outbreak, which has held the country in good stead in the months following the initial stages of the outbreak.
VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI  A Michigan woman who spent eight years in prison after being sentenced to life without parole for allegedly killing her husband in a house fire is one step closer to her case being heard a second time.

Linda Stermer, 55, has spent the last 18 months out of prison after successfully appealing a 2010 conviction and being granted a new trial by a U.S. District Court judge.

After the Michigan Attorney Generals office appealed that decision in April 2019, Stermer learned May 15 the judges decision to grant her a new trial had been upheld 2-1 by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

She now awaits a decision as to whether the latest court ruling will be appealed by the Michigan Attorney Generals Office, her case will be retried in Van Buren County Circuit Court or the charges against her will be dismissed in Van Buren County.

Van Buren County Prosecutor Michael Bedford said he stands ready to retry Stermer on murder charges and that the charges against Stermer will not be dismissed.

I am familiar enough with the case, Bedford said. Weve read all the appellate briefs and orders. I was there when it was tried by (former Van Buren County Prosecutor) Juris Kaps. So its definitely a situation where dismissal is not an option.

Bedford said the state attorney generals office handles the appellate process and after convening with his office this week or next, will make the decision to forego further appeals, file an appeal to be heard in front of a nine-member panel of U.S. Sixth Circuit Court judges in Cincinnati or bypass that step and appeal straight to the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the decision is made to take the case off the appellate track, Bedford said he plans on retrying the case by the end of the year.

If that happens, he said, and Stermer were to be acquitted, that would be the end of it. If Stermer lost a second trial, it would be within her rights to begin the appellate process again.

Stermer, who was found guilty of setting the fire that killed her husband and later running into him with a van after he escaped the burning house, did not testify at her 2010 trial in Van Buren County Circuit Court.

In February, as she awaited the recent court decision by the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, her story was featured on CBS News 48 Hours." She opened up at length on the show about her relationship with her husband, the 2007 fire and her case.

RELATED: Michigan woman convicted of husbands killing, released after appeal, featured on 48 Hours

Stermer  who lost multiple attempts at appeal in the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court  was released from prison in December 2018 after U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow of the Eastern District of Michigan ruled in her favor.

Had the states appeal of Tarnows ruling been successful, Stermer would have been sent back to prison.

Instead, Tarnows ruling was upheld by U.S. Circuit Judges Eric Clay and Karen Moore.

The decision was based in part on Stermers defense attorney at trial, Jeff Getting, being found to have provided ineffective counsel. Getting is now the Kalamazoo County prosecutor.

As well, Tarnow ruled Kaps was guilty of prosecutorial misconduct.

A joint opinion from Clay and Moore upheld Tarnows decision, finding the former Van Buren County prosecutors arguments to be improper, stating that he based his argument on Stermer being a liar and did not support those theories with evidence.

The prosecutor relied heavily on Stermers statements in his closing arguments, and he repeatedly called her a liar while misstating her own testimony, the opinion stated. All these factors combine to show that Stermer was clearly denied due process.

Clay and Moore also opined that Gettings failure to object to Kaps statements during closing arguments, significantly undercut Stermers defense and could not have been part of a reasonable trial strategy."

The two judges also said Getting was ineffective by not consulting with a fire expert to rebut the states expert testimony.

Getting told MLive in January that the decisions to not hire a fire expert in the 2010 trial were strategy decisions that were discussed with and agreed with by Stermer. When asked about the outcome of Fridays ruling, Getting said he had not had a chance to review it yet, and as such had no comment at this time.

The dissenting judge in Fridays ruling, U.S. Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote:

"The evidence introduced in the state court trial left no doubt that she tried to burn her husband alive and ran him over with a car in the front yard of their house when that did not work.

All that was missing was a film of the matricide."

Also on MLive:

St. Joseph County prosecutors case to be heard by Kalamazoo County judge

Court ruling favors Whitmer in lawsuit over emergency orders

A prior marijuana conviction could be a good thing for owners of Michigan pot businesses

Michigan residents can watch court proceedings across the state from home with new virtual directory
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  The government will be providing assistance to Filipinos returning to the provinces through the "Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pagasa" program, the National Housing Authority said on Wednesday.

"We earmarked 35,000 [transportation allowance] for anybody who would return back to their province," said NHA General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr. on CNN Philippines' Newsroom Ngayon. "Second is meron tayong (we have) 60,000 na transitional allowance which is both food and non-food items upon their return to the province. And the third is the 15,000 livelihood allowance."

These items will be disbursed according to the budget, he explained. Escalada cited as an example the first batch of 112 participants returning to Leyte, wherein the estimated 1,700 spent per passenger shall be directly paid out to the roll-on/roll-off (RORO) and bus service providers for their trips instead.

Leyte is among the provinces participating in the program's pilot run, which include Camarines Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Pangasinan, Quirino and Marinduque.

Another instance he cited was providing participants a fraction of the 60,000 allowance to purchase food while in transit. The rest of the amount will be released to them gradually through vouchers once they are already in the provinces, according to Escalada.

"What we are trying to prevent right now is the provision of cash of [at] all times. But this will be in the form of livelihood  hindi sila magugutom, yung kababayan natin, (our countrymen will not starve) if they so decide to return back to the province," he said.

Escalada added this is to prevent the usage of funds for purposes other than what's intended in the program.

The benefits to be provided to participants shall also be based on the type of livelihood they plan to pursue during their stay in the province, the official added. This is among the questions in the questionnaire for the program's applicants.

"This is not something na one size fits all intervention, but ano yung kailangang specific ng isang tao (what a person specifically needs) when he goes to the province already," Escalada said.

Meanwhile, for participants who have no housing in the province, he said the NHA, Pag-IBIG, Social Housing Finance Corporation and National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation shall come up with an affordable housing program for them.

Escalada said in just a matter of 7 days, around 28,000 have already enrolled to the program.
Eighteen people have tested positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking the virus tally in the state to 111, officials said on Wednesday.

While 13 persons, including four women, tested positive in Kangra, four in Mandi and one in Kullu district tested positive for COVID-19, they said.

The details of the four cases in Mandi were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, two persons from Chamba and one from Hamirpur recovered from the disease on Wednesday, they said.

Of the other 14 cases, 12 had returned from Mumbai whereas one each came back from Delhi and Chennai, the officials said.

The 12 were among the 697 people who had returned to the hill state from Mumbai in a special train on May 18, they said.

Of the 697 passengers who arrived at Una on Monday, 242 were from Kangra, 169 from Hamirpur, 103 from Mandi, 43 from Bilaspur, 40 from Shimla, 38 from Una, 26 from Chamba, 10 each from Kullu and Kinnaur and eight each were from Solan and Sirmaur, Una Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.

A woman (56), her son (31) and his wife (25) are among those who tested positive in Kangra for COVID-19, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

Similarly, a man (41), his wife (34) and their child (11) also tested positive at the Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (PRGMC) in Tanda, he said.

Besides a man (41) from Jaisinghpur tehsil also tested positive. He returned to Kangra from Chennai after alighting at the Pathankot Railway Station in a special train on May 19. He was quarantined at Jwalamukhi.

Similarly, a driver (55) from Upper Khera village also tested positive. He was quarantined at Dhaliara after returning from Delhi.

Now, active cases in Kangra stand at 26, whereas one man died on March 23. Eight people have been cured in Kangra, out of the total 35 positive cases, in the district. In Kullu, a 23-year-old man, who had returned from Mumbai, tested positive for COVID-19, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

This is the first positive case in Kullu district.

The SP said 10 people from Kullu district were kept in an isolation ward at Ayurveda Hospital. Samples of all of them were taken. While one tested positive, the others were negative.

The total number of infected people in the state stands at 111, while 54 of them have been cured. Four people have died due to COVID-19.

The active cases in the state now stand at 53, including 26 from Kangra, 10 from Hamirpur, five each from Bilaspur and Chamba, four from Mandi, two each from Sirmaur, Una and one from Kullu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Im not here to argue the ethics or politics of prescribing HCQ to coronavirus patients; I want all options on the table for saving lives. But when it comes to the public discussion of HCQ, the lives of millions of Americans with chronic illnesses dont seem to matter. Ive contacted and sat in on town halls with Senator Daines, Senator Tester, Representative Gianforte, and Governor Bullock; not one has said a word about protecting HCQ access. Press brief after press brief, news article after news article, the fact that HCQ is already a life-saving medication for those of us with autoimmune diseases is shoved aside.

Taking HCQ doesnt make me immune to the coronavirus. Ive spent nine months building a low dose up in my system, training my immune system not to attack itself. Even in the best of circumstances, which so many facing chronic illnesses dont have, Im still in a precarious and terrifying position. If Im forced to stop taking HCQ, my lupus could progress into a dangerous flare, damaging my vital organs. I could take an immunosuppressant to mitigate this harm, but doing so could be deadly in the face of a coronavirus infection.

As Montana and the US move forward in this crisis, Im urging elected officials and neighbors alike to fight for HCQ availability for lupus and RA patients like myself. Were already at higher risk; the why not mentality surrounding HCQ and coronavirus is a stark, painful devaluation of our lives. In the long months ahead, if I make it through, I will still wake up chronically ill. Realistically, this is the best I can hope fora shortness of breath that has nothing to do with a pandemic, an achy fatigue I can keep under control with a medicine Im still able to access.

Sarah Capdeville is a writer living in Missoula. Shes spent the majority of her young adulthood working and playing on Montanas public lands from the Beartooths to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, including four seasons as wilderness ranger in the Rattlesnake Wilderness north of Missoula.

Love 7 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 2
Actor Ranvir Shorey on Wednesday claimed that he was stopped by Mumbai Police personnel after he was on his way to the hospital with his house help for a medical emergency.

In a series of tweets, the actor said he had provided his car to his house help to rush his pregnant wife to the hospital for delivery.

He alleged that the officer-in-charge told him that child birth is not an emergency.

"@MumbaiPolice My car being impounded for taking my household help for his wife's delivery to hospital. Officer in charge says a child being delivered is not an emergency. Please advise," Shorey wrote on Twitter.

The "Angrezi Medium" actor said officer-in-charge at the Jogeshwari Highway Police Chowki has "decided to file an FIR and impound", which he described as "plain harassment".

He added that the officer was also speaking to the press about him.

Shorey further said he was "saddened and disappointed" with the "transgression and highhandedness of one policeman".

"... Even after 3 hours, there has been no redressal of my complaints. @MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice @DGPMaharashtra," he said.

Even after over six hours, Shorey said, he was still waiting at the police station.

"3 hapless people made to wait for more than 6 hours. What are we being punished for? @MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice @DGPMaharashtra," the actor wrote.

In response to the actor's tweets, Mumbai Police assured him to resolve the matter soon.

"Sir, we have followed you. Request you to share your number on DM for us to reach out to you for a few details," the police department wrote on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen urged China's Xi Jinping to "find a way to co-exist" with the island's democratic government as she started her second term - a plea for compromise that was quickly rejected by Beijing.

Tsai, 63, riding high with a record approval rating and a surge in U.S. support, issued one of her most forceful calls yet for an equal dialogue with Beijing after being sworn in a pared-down inauguration ceremony Wednesday. Xi's government cut off direct communications across the Taiwan Strait during Tsai's first four years in office, citing her refusal to accept the notion that both sides belong to "one China."

"Cross-strait relations have reached a historical turning point. Both sides have a duty to find a way to co-exist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences," Tsai said. "I also hope that the leader on the other side of the strait will take on the same responsibility, and work with us to jointly stabilize the long-term development of cross-strait relations."

Tsai called for "peace, parity, democracy and dialogue" in relations between the two sides and reiterated her opposition to unification with China under the "one country, two systems" framework used in Hong Kong. Tsai also pledged to build core industries including 5G and other information and communication technologies, bio-technology, medicine, defense and renewable energy.

A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing responded that a dialogue would only be possible under its "one China" principle, calling the state of ties "complicated and grim." "Certain politicians have created confrontation and obstructed cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and attempted to cut the relationship between Taiwan and the mainland geographically and legally," TAO spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said Wednesday, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.

The benchmark Taiex stock index rose 0.4% in Taipei. The Taiwan dollar remained little changed.

"President Tsai took a non-provocative and principled approach on the political issues," said Roy Lee, a deputy director at the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research. "Tsai will likely continue to face any comments from China with a gentle and firm attitude."

The event marked another high point for Tsai's Democratic Progressive Party, which has grown over the past four decades from a loose band of pro-independence dissidents to become Taiwan's dominant political bloc. A landslide election victory in January reaffirmed the DPP's control of the executive and legislative branches and left the Kuomintang - who ruled Taiwan for much of the time since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 - stuck in the opposition.

The KMT said that cross-strait exchange had been curtailed over the past four years under the president and she had provided no indication on how to build mutual trust with China in her speech Wednesday.

Tsai begins her second term with an approval rating of 61%, the highest since she took office in May 2016, according to a survey by broadcaster TVBS released Monday. She was also sworn in Wednesday as the DPP's chairwoman, a position she gave up after the party suffered a sweeping local election defeat in 2018.

The DPP's rise has upended efforts to by Xi, the Chinese president, to use his country's economic might to draw Taiwan toward a unification deal. Tsai views the Taiwan - formally known as the Republic of China - as a sovereign nation and has rejected Beijing's "one-China" bottom line.

The stakes for Tsai could rise in her second term, as disputes between Washington and Beijing prompt predictions that the two sides are headed toward a new cold war. China passed a law in 2005 asserting the right to use "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures" to prevent Taiwan's formal independence.

While Tsai had so far avoided any moves that might prompt an aggressive response from Beijing, she may face greater demands from the DPP's pro-independence wing. A constitutional amendment process that Tsai outlined Wednesday could become a potential flash point, since Beijing could view any discussion about changing the Republic of China's name, symbols or boundaries as separatist.

One figure to watch is Tsai's incoming vice president, Lai Ching-te, a former premier who has described himself as an "independence worker" and is a more outspoken advocate for a formal break from China.

In her first term, Tsai benefited from President Donald Trump's feuding with China, holding an unprecedented phone call with Trump in December 2016 and securing Taiwan's first American fighter jet deal in three decades. Tsai's support for pro-democracy protests in the former British colony of Hong Kong last year helped her consolidate her China-skeptic base and secure re-election.

The Trump administration threw its weigh behind an international campaign to grant Taiwan access to the World Health Assembly earlier this week. And while the attempt ultimately failed, it highlighted the lengths to which the U.S. was willing to go to back a greater international role for Taiwan.

Since Tsai came to office in 2016, Beijing has persuaded seven former Taiwanese allies to switch ties to the People's Republic of China. Taiwan is now officially recognized by just 15 countries, mostly small states in Latin America and the Pacific, many of whom sent envoys to Wednesday's swearing-in.

Some nations that lack formal ties with Taiwan, including the U.S. and Japan, still issued statements congratulating Tsai on her inauguration. U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo called Taiwan "a force for good in the world and a reliable partner" while Chief Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga expressed a desire to "deepen cooperation and exchanges."

Tsai vowed to continue pursuing greater international recognition, despite the failure of an effort earlier this week to restore Taiwan's observer status at the World Health Organization. She pledged to accelerate a push to develop "asymmetrical" capabilities and homegrown weapons systems to counter China's greater military might.

"We have made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past four years, gaining approval from the international community," Tsai said. "We will continue these efforts, and we are willing to engage in dialogue with China and make more concrete contributions to regional security."

Tsai's speech comes just two days before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to deliver his annual report to the National People's Congress in Beijing, a platform that Chinese leaders have often used to deliver pointed messages to Taiwan. Last year, Li vowed that China would "resolutely oppose and deter any separatist schemes or activities seeking Taiwanese independence."

"Beijing will continue to employ a mix of its carrots and sticks approach with Taiwan, but with an emphasis on the latter," said Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute. "Indeed, most indicators point to China ratcheting up its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan."
Over 24 million people in the US alone have gum recession, also referred to as toothbrush disease. People unknowingly brush away their gums, bone and teeth with conventional toothbrushes, due to the nylon bristles. Using high-tech rubber bristles instead, PeriClean is a specialty toothbrush that doesnt result in damaged gum tissue or tooth enamel.

Smooth and non-abrasive, the patented PeriClean was designed to help people with receding gums prevent it from getting worse or in some cases, even reversing it. Research shows that PeriClean effectively cleans teeth and removes plaque just as well as conventional toothbrushes. Clinical studies also show that PeriClean helps gums grow back.

PeriClean safely removes plaque and debris from the teeth and can be used by patients with even the most sensitive gums, says Dr. Jack Gruber, Periodontist and Creator of PeriClean. Its tragic that people are unknowingly destroying their teeth trying to save them. We wanted to work with AsSeenOnTV.pro so we could get the word out and help more people properly take care of their teeth and gums.

PeriClean is the way tooth brushing should feel, says Lisa Vrancken, Executive Vice President of Business Development at AsSeenOnTV.pro. It's smooth and gentle, and is clinically proven to clean teeth just as well as standard toothbrushes, with greater benefits!

As part of its DRTV campaign with AsSeenOnTV.pro, PeriClean will be appearing in 60 second spots set to air nationwide and feature the original Shark himself, Kevin Harrington. AsSeenOnTV.pro is comprised of an award-winning team of producers, writers, videographers, and editors as well as industry veterans dedicated to finding the latest, most innovative products and ideas, and putting them on the DRTV map.

About AsSeenOnTV.pro

Headquartered in South Florida, AsSeenOnTV.pro is a full-service production, branding, and marketing company that specializes in direct response television, short- and long-form commercials, and brand building. Based out of a 25,000+ sq ft, state-of-the-art studio, the companys creative team handles every aspect of production from script to screen to airing. For nearly two decades, AsSeenOnTV.pros veteran staff of writers, producers, videographers, and editors has amassed more than 50 Telly Awards, thousands of prestigious clients, and over $20 million in television placements.

About Kevin Harrington

As the inventor of the infomercial, founder of As Seen on TV, and one of the original Sharks on Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington has worked with some of the worlds biggest celebrities and launched some of the best-selling DRTV campaigns in history. Since producing his first 30-minute infomercial in 1984, Harrington has been involved in over 500 product launches that have resulted in over $4 billion in sales. Now, in his latest venture with AsSeenOnTV.pro, Harrington is on the hunt for the best new products and ideas, bringing them to homes everywhere through personalized DRTV campaigns featuring the Shark.

For more information on PeriClean, please visit http://www.PeriClean.com.
The Indian Railways' most powerful 12000 HP Made in India locomotive made its maiden commercial run between Deen Dayal Upadhaya and Shivpur stations in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, the national transporter said

New Delhi: The Indian Railways' most powerful 12000 HP Made in India locomotive made its maiden commercial run between Deen Dayal Upadhaya and Shivpur stations in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, the national transporter said.

Built by French company Alstom under the government's Make in India programme at the Railways' Madhepura factory in Bihar, these engines are the highest-powered locomotives that will run on Indian rails.

All 800 of these locos are being manufactured indigenously while they have been designed at the company's engineering centre in Bengaluru.

The first train, consisting of 118 wagons, using the locomotive departed from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station at 2:08 pm for Dhanbad division of East Central Railway.

"The locomotive is capable of working on railway tracks with conventional OHE lines as well as on Dedicated Freight corridors with high rise OHE lines. The locomotive has air-conditioned driver cabs on either side.

Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets

"It is equipped with regenerative braking system which provides substantial energy savings during operations. These high horsepower locomotives will help to decongest the saturated tracks by improving average speed of freight trains," the statement from Railways said.

As part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project of the Indian Railways, the Ministry of Railways and Alstom inked a Joint Venture worth Rs 25,000 crore in 2015.

The overall project is for the manufacturing of 800 double-section electric locomotives of 12000 HP for freight service and its associated maintenance for a period of 11 years.

The scope also includes setting up of a manufacturing plant at Madhepura (Bihar) for building the e-locos and two maintenance depots at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur, Maharashtra.
According to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, China's expansionism is a threat to all freedom-loving countries and America who more than jeopardized by the coronavirus from Wuhan.

Pompeo too another jab at Beijing in one of the latest pronouncement against the Xi Jinping regime, who heads the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

China has not fulfilled its promise to stop polarizing the South China Sea by sending ships to harass, a diminished One Country, also a Two Systems Hong Kong Policy which reforms were promised.

All the Chinese actuation are more than a US and Beijing affair, with their complicity that is more than it's exported coronavirus.

A statement was released to the right-wing news site Breitbart, he said the Chinese communists are doing far worse than their coronavirus. Citing their ignominious activities since it was seeded by China from its discovery.

Overall the coronavirus and the CCP are the greatest threats that are a danger to democratic states and America, who are all undermined by the conniving actions of Beijing.

This is just the latest instalment of exchanges coming from the two countries and how they are handling the coronavirus pandemic, from day one in Wuhan.

Many countries have aired demands for an enquiry about the coronavirus, as the World Health Organization is holding a virtual assembly to discuss the matter.

The assembly will include the US which has been blasted by Trump as a Chinese lackey how it dodges for China. Another one is how the US has stopped giving funds when China benefits from the money that is not theirs.

One of the US charges is that the Chinese Communist Party allowed the coronavirus to travel abroad destroying samples, but Chinese have admitted to it though added a convenient way out too.

China's admission of the destruction of the samples in unauthorized laboratories that prevented access to the earliest strains.

Also read: Scientists Speculate That Coronavirus Can Exploit 'Hidden Mutations,' Increases Its Chances to Kill the Host

Another of the bombshells cited by Pompeo is proof that the coronavirus came from the Wuhan Institute of virology.

Later a state-run Chinese newspaper blasted him for the allegations against China.

The communist paper, The Global Times tried to murk up the issue by citing his religion and suggested he be punished, the broadcaster call him evil in contrast to China suspected of complicity for the spread of COVID-19.

Chinese propagandists then said Trump, Pompeo, and trade adviser 'Peter Navarro' as liars or the 'professional lying trio' to misdirect issues once again.

Pompeo told Breitbart last weekend, that the Chinese also brand his many names.

Further adding these useless jabs are impotent and a trifle that should be called a weakness, no resolve at all.

The secretary of state did not deny how high the US death toll has climbed, and is the worst affected professional lying trio' all over the globe.

US President Donald Trump called it reckless to witholdd information about the outbreak, even stating evidence exists the WIV is where everything began.

One of his demands that made China belch was a $1 trillion as of the tariff for starting the pandemic, the CCP was ruffled because of this.

Another was that China inked a deal with the Trump administration, and the coronavirus came from China, to infect the world with 'the ink not even dry'.

Throughout the exchanges China has been deflecting and not admitting its apparent complicity in the coronavirus affair, even charging the coronavirus was made and planted by US troops.

No doubt the expansionists ambitions of China is taking a toll, made worse by the coronavirus which all freedom-loving countries and America has to take stock off.

Related article: Coronavirus Patient Zero? Man in US Not Infected in January, Antibody Tests Suggest

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Sources close to developments have revealed that Islamic evangelist and zealot Zakir Naik, one of the most wanted Indian fugitives, who is currently based in Malaysia, continues to be engaged in propagation of radical Islamic activities and collection of funds from his wealthy contacts in the Gulf region to support his activities.

In the most recent instance, Naik has contacted one of his old contacts, Abdullah Ali al Emadi, a prominent Qatari national, and requested him for a generous charity during the ongoing Ramadan period.

Emadi is learnt to have assured an amount of $500,000 to him. It is also learnt that Mohammad Siddique Al Emadi, a Qatari national, is a close associate of Naik and helps him contact local wealthy businessmen and charity organisations for collection of funds.

It may be recalled that Naik is an Islamic preacher and televangelist from Mumbai. He is the founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRP) and Peace TV, an Islamic TV Channel broadcast in Urdu and English from Saudi Arabia. He is also associated with several local radical Islamic organisations such as South Karnataka Salafi Movement and Al-Lisaan Islamic Foundation.

Naik continues to maintain several bank accounts in Gulf countries, including Qatar and the UAE, for collection of such funds to evade scrutiny of the Indian government. He generally uses these accounts to transfer funds to his associates and network for activities by IRF and other associated organizations. The Indian government has since put a five-year ban on IRF.

Naik is involved in preaching of radical Islamic ideology that has influenced a number of youth in India and abroad in adverse manner and some of them are found to have been motivated to join extremist organisations such as Daesh.

Following are some of the instances, in which individuals influenced by Naik have joined terror organisations:

i) Abdul Rasheed @ Abdulla and his wife Yasmin were radicalised while working in Zakir Naik-run Peace International School (Kerala). Subsequently, Abdul Rasheed motivated a group of 23 individuals to join him in leaving the country for Afghanistan to join Daesh.

(ii) Mohd Ibrahim Yazdani and Mohd Uyas Yezdani, kingpin of ISIS-influenced Junood-ul-Khilafafil-Hind (JKF) module which plotted to carry out terror attacks in different parts of India, were influenced by Naik's speeches. The module was neutralised by the Indian agencies in July 2016.

(iii) Naser Abubakar Yafahi @ Chaus joined ISIS-influenced JKH module after being radicalised by the preachings of Naik. Abubakar Yafahi was arrested in July 2016.

(iv) IRF had provided scholarship to Abu Anas from Rajasthan, who intended to join ISIS and was arrested while he was leaving India for joining ISIS.

(v) Afsha Jabeen @ Nickey Joseph, while based in Dubai was involved in facilitating recruitment for ISIS. She was influenced by Naik. She was deported back to India in September 2015.

(vi) Two Bangladeshi terrorists, namely Nabris Islam and Rohan Imtiaz, who were involved in the July 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka, confessed to have been inspired by Naik.

In view of his involvement in extremist activities, multiple non-bailable warrants (NBW) have been issued against Naik by the India authorities on charges of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and for money laundering.

--IANS

arm/
Farhan Akhtar urged people to support the coronavirus healthcare workers by donating and raising funds for the PPE Kits

Actor, director Farhan Akhtar on Tuesday said that his consignment of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, were sent to Mumbai's Cama Hospital.

(Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak)

The Rock On actor took to Twitter to share the pictures of the consignment and thanked those who contributed for the safety kits.

"Happy to share that our consignment of PPE kits leaves for the Cama Hospital, Mumbai. Lots of love & gratitude to all who contributed," he tweeted.

Check out the post

Happy to share that our consignment of PPE kits leaves for the Cama Hospital, Mumbai. Lots of love & gratitude to all who contributed.

This will help keeping our medics at the frontline safe! Jai Hind. You too can support the effort by donating at https://t.co/Bpih93yMWi pic.twitter.com/LvOQxNCGcH  Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) May 19, 2020

Thanks for your support you amazing people. Our first batch of PPE kits are on its way to Vakola Police Station from the factory. Pls do contribute at https://t.co/2HGxWebfH2 Lets protect our frontline warriors  Jai Hind. @MumbaiPolice @DevenBhartiIPS @TringIndia pic.twitter.com/NpMmz71IUZ  Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) May 12, 2020

He further urged people to support the healthcare workers by donating and raising funds for the PPE Kits.

"This will help keeping our medics at the frontline safe! Jai Hind. You too can support the effort by donating at http://tring.co.in/Farhan (/topic/farhan)- Akhtar," he added.

Earlier last week, the Zindagi Na Mileghi Dobara actor had announced that he is donating 1000 PPE kits and urged people to contribute to increase the number of the safety kits.

Many of the Bollywood celebrities have been donating to help the frontline workers combat COVID-19.

(With inputs from Asian News International)
About 6.39 per cent of the total number of active Covid-19 cases in the country needed hospital support, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.

During a briefing on the COVID-19 situation, joint secretary in the ministry Lav Agarwal also said about 2.94% of the active COVID-19 cases needed oxygen support, 3% needed intensive care units (ICU) and 0.45% required ventilator support.

Only around 6.39% of COVID-19 cases need either oxygen support or ICU or ventilator support; many people are recovering due to early identification. At the same time, we are also upgrading our healthcare infrastructure, he said.

During lockdown, we have upgraded our hospital infrastructure, including oxygen supported beds, ICU beds and ventilators. Our efforts give us confidence that we are ready and equipped, along with states, to manage COVID-19 cases, he added.

Agarwal said the health ministry analysed the data from the recently released WHO situation report and found that while cases per lakh of world population stand at 62, in India, it was found that 7.9 people per lakh population were affected.

Despite similar population, total cases of COVID-19 in top 15 countries is 34 times that of India and despite similar population, total deaths due to COVID-19 in top 15 countries is 83 times that of India, the joint secretary said.

He further said so far, India has about 0.2 COVID-19 deaths per lakh population as against the global figure of 4.1.

Among the countries with high COVID-19 casualties, the US with 87,180 fatalities has 26.6 deaths per lakh population. The UK has reported 34,636 deaths and has approximately 52.1 deaths per lakh population.

While our deaths are a matter of grief, we find that six countries have reported more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths, together with states and citizens. We have relatively been able to manage the situation, though the challenge still continues, Agarwal said.

When the lockdown started, the COVID-19 recovery rate was 7.1 per cent which gradually improved to 39.62%, he said.

He said the governments focus will be on stringent containment measures, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, environmental sanitation and conversion of physical distancing into a life norm.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), responding to a question on whether the government is planning to drop hydroxychloroquine from the COVID-19 treatment plan, said a review of its efficacy will be held to decide on its prophylaxis.

Head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at ICMR Raman R Gangakhedkar said 25.36 lakh COVID-19 tests have been done till 12.30 pm on Tuesday. For the second time, more than one lakh tests were conducted within a span of 24 hours.

There are 555 testing laboratories and 89,466 tests (were) done in ICMR labs yesterday (Tuesday), he said.
PUNE, India, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global energy as a service market size is projected to reach USD 41.85 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.3% during the forecast period. Rising energy demand worldwide will be the main growth determinant for this market, states Fortune Business Insights in its recent report, titled "Energy as a Service Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Service Type (Energy Supply Services, Operation & Maintenance Services, Optimization & Efficiency Services, and Others), By End User (Industrial, Commercial, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027".

Caption Energy as a Service Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that in 2018, global energy demand rose by 2.3%, growing at its fastest since 2010. Furthermore, the IEA projects that annual energy demand globally will increase by 1% till 2040, with 50% of this demand rise being met by renewable sources and 35% by gas. Heightening demand for energy will necessitate efficient management of energy services and infrastructure. These developments will lay down a strong platform for the EaaS market growth in the coming years. However, the COVID-19 outbreak is set to majorly disrupt the energy sector owing to a steep decline in power consumption and the resultant drop in power generation. According to the IEA, global energy demand will fall by 6% in 2020 owing to nationwide lockdowns and suspension of business operations, thus inevitably affecting the growth of this market in 2020.

The report states that the market value stood at USD 17.82 billion in 2019. Besides this, the report shares the following:

Precise computation of market figures and values;

Microscopic evaluation of the factors shaping the size, share, and growth of the market;

Comprehensive analysis of all the market segments;

In-depth examination of the regional and competitive dynamics of the market; and

Concise description of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the market.

Get Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/energy-as-a-service-market-101204

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/energy-as-a-service-market-101204

Market Driver

Shifting Preference towards Distributed Energy Resources to Create Novel Opportunities

Distributed energy resources (DER) can be understood as small-sized power generation units at the local level connected to the grid at the distribution level. They include electric vehicles and chargers, tri-generation units, fuel cells, biomass generators, natural gas turbines, wind turbines, and rooftop solar PV. DERs offer a variety of energy- and cost-related advantages. For example, installation of DERs can prove to be highly cost-effective as customers can sell power back to the grid system, thereby lowering electricity bills. Further, these power generation units can be deployed in areas which rely heavily of variable energy resources such as wind and solar to ensure uninterrupted power supply in case of disruptions. These benefits of DER are fueling its adoption in many regions. For example, the Australia Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is sanctioning over $12 million to attract investment and ease regulatory norms to boost the installation of DERs in the country.

Regional Analysis

Asia-Pacific to Occupy Commanding Position; North America and Europe to Grow Steadily

With a market size of USD 5.62 billion in 2019, Asia-Pacific is strongly positioned to dominate the energy as a service market share owing to massive investments in the commercial sector and rapid industrialization. Moreover, promising smart city pipeline projects in India and active uptake of green building models in the region will generate multiple growth avenues for the market.

Growing share of renewables in power generation and increasing focus on energy-efficiency of buildings will be the two key factors propelling the market in North America. Similar trends will be observed in Europe where investments in renewable energy are steadily climbing.

Speak to Analyst: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/energy-as-a-service-market-101204

Competitive Landscape

Contractual Partnerships among Players to Fire up the Market Competition

The competitive landscape of this market is highly charged owing to the increasing number of contract-based collaborations among companies operating in the energy as a service sphere. These partnerships are focused on harnessing the innovation capabilities of the stakeholders and coming up with unique, next-gen solutions.

Industry Developments:

July 2019 : The German engineering MNC, Man Energy Solutions, and the Hong Kong -based maritime solutions provider, Wallem Group, signed a Global Key Account Management contract. Under the agreement, MAN will supply spares and services to its turbochargers, generators, and engines that are aboard vessels managed by Wallem Group.

The German engineering MNC, Man Energy Solutions, and the -based maritime solutions provider, Wallem Group, signed a Global Key Account Management contract. Under the agreement, MAN will supply spares and services to its turbochargers, generators, and engines that are aboard vessels managed by Wallem Group. June 2019 : The US-based EaaS specialist, Budderfly, secured growth equity and project debt funding worth USD 55 million from Balance Point Capital in partnership with Connecticut Innovations. With participation by State of Connecticut , Budderfly will utilize the funding to customer project installations in the state and also expand its product offerings.

List of Companies Profiled in the Energy as a Service Market Report:

Orsted

Centrica

SmartWatt Inc.

WGL Energy

General Electric

Enel X

Honeywell

Schneider Electric

Johnson Controls

Edison Energy, LLC

ENGIE

EDF Renewables North America

Veolia

Siemens

ABB

Quick Buy  Energy as a Service Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101204

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



Latest Technological Advancement



Regulatory Landscape



Industry SWOT Analysis



Porters Five Forces Analysis

Global Energy as a Service Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027

Key Findings / Summary



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Service Type



Energy Supply Services





Operation & Maintenance Services





Optimization & Efficiency Services





Others



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By End User



Industrial





Commercial





Others



Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region



North America





Latin America





Europe





Asia Pacific





Middle East and Africa

TOC Continued....!!!

Get your Customized Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/energy-as-a-service-market-101204

Have a Look at Related Research Insights:

Energy Management Systems Market Size, Share, and Industry Analysis By Type (System, Services), By End-User (Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Building Automation, Energy and Utilities, Automotive, Pharmaceutical, and Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019 - 2026

Distributed Energy Resource Management System Market Size, Share and Global By Technology (Solar PV, Wind, Energy Storage, Combined Heat & Power, Others), By Software (Analytics, Management & Control, Virtual Power Plants), By End User (Government & Municipalities, Industrial, Commercial, Residential, Military) and Geography Forecast Till 2026

Blockchain in Energy Utilities Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Offerings (Vertical Solutions, Blockchain-as-a-Service), By Deployment (Proof of Concept, Pilot, and Production) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Advanced Energy Storage System Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis By Technology (Solid State Battery, Flow Battery, Thermal Energy Storage, Pumped Hydro Storage), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Utility) and Regional Forecast 2019-2026

District Heating Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Heat Source (Coal, Natural Gas, Renewables, Oil & Petroleum Products, and Others), By Plant Type (Boiler, CHP, Others), By Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019  2026

District Cooling Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By End User (Residential, Industrial, and Commercial), By Technology (Electric Chillers, Absorption Chillers, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019  2026

Switchgear Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Insulation (Gas, Air, Oil, Vacuum), By Voltage (Low, Medium, High), By End-User (T&D Utility, Industrial, Commercial & Residential), By Installation (Indoor, Outdoor), and Regional Forecast 2019-2026

Smart Transformer Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Power, Distribution, Specialty, and Instrument), By Application (Smart Grid, Traction Locomotive, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

Smart Meter Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Smart Electric Meter, Smart Gas Meter, Smart Water Meter) By Technology (Automatic Meter Reading {AMR} and Advanced Meter Infrastructure), By Application (Residential, Commercial and Industrial), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.

At Fortune Business Insights, we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We therefore offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

308, Supreme Headquarters,

Survey No. 36, Baner,

Pune-Bangalore Highway,

Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India.

Phone:

US: +1-424-253-0390

UK: +44-2071-939123

APAC: +91-744-740-1245

Email: [email protected]

Fortune Business Insights

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs

Read Press Release: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/press-release/energy-as-a-service-market-9923

SOURCE Fortune Business Insights
Hairdressers were also brought to concert halls to provide their services to music-loving customers. (AP)

Beauty salons and fitness centers have been reopened after a strict lockdown to contain the omicron variant, but cultural institutions cannot resume operations yet.
Tension is gradually building up between Indian and Chinese armies in several areas in Ladakh and northern Sikkim along the un-demarcated Sino-India border with both sides bringing in additional troops, days after they were involved in two violent face-offs, authoritative sources said on Tuesday.

New Delhi: Tension is gradually building up between Indian and Chinese armies in several areas in Ladakh and northern Sikkim along the un-demarcated Sino-India border with both sides bringing in additional troops, days after they were involved in two violent face-offs, authoritative sources said on Tuesday.

Both the Indian and Chinese armies have brought in more troops in sensitive locations like Demchok, Daulat Beg Oldie and areas around Galwan river as well as Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh, the sources said.

The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two sides for over six decades. They had a showdown over it in 1962 as well.

The sources said both the sides have deployed their troops around Galwan river and Pangong Tso lake  the two areas where they used to carry out border patrol.

It is learnt that the Chinese side has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley area following which India is keeping a hawk-eye vigil there.

On 5 May, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on 9 May. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to the sources.

Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on the escalating tension between the two armies.

In its reaction to the two face-offs, the Ministry of External Affairs last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the border with China, noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was common perception about the frontier.

It is learnt that additional troops have also been rushed to several areas in northern Sikkim as part of their aggressive posturing in guarding the disputed border.

A report by China's official media on Monday said Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures in the Galwan Valley in the Aksai Chin region.

The Chinese action followed "India's recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region," a write-up in the state-run Global Times tabloid said, quoting unnamed military sources.

The aggressive posturing by the two sides came amid India''s escalating border row with Nepal over the construction of a strategically key road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

Army Chief Gen MM Naravane last week said Nepal objected to the newly-inaugurated road at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible instigation by China on the matter. Nepal rejected the comments.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory.

It was not clear whether Gen Naravane will visit Nepal soon, following a tradition of the new Indian Army Chief visiting Nepal after taking charge.

His predecessor Gen Bipin Rawat visited Nepal less than three months after taking charge during which he has conferred the title of honorary general of the Nepalese Army. There is a custom of honouring the army chiefs of Nepal and India by each other keeping with the traditional friendly ties.

China on Tuesday said the Kalapani issue is between India and Nepal and hoped that the two neighbours would refrain from "unilateral actions" and properly resolve their disputes through friendly consultations.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 km along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8.

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.

China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh.

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.
As the world keenly awaits a credible solution like vaccine to stop the spread of COVID-19, doctor and political leaders around the world are working hard to revive the economy, with least effect from the virus. We have to live with this virus, or this is the new normal has been common saying these days.

But as we look at the restarting the economy, things will change, more particularly towards maintaining hygiene to reduce the chances to getting infected. Things like social distancing, hand sanitizers, face masks are becoming part of our life.

The biggest problem that we are going to face is while travelling, and especially travelling via air. The most hard hit industry, civil aviation is also said to be the biggest transmitter of virus as people fly from all across the world and hence it is of utmost importance for aviation industry to reform the way we travel and focus on safety of passengers.

Just a few days ago, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted a photo of the passengers traveling on the repatriation flight from Singapore to Delhi. In his tweet, the minister quoted the lyrics of popular song The Times are a Changing by Bob Dylan.

The times they are a changing! Not a scene from a sci-fi blockbuster but a picture of passengers with face shields onboard the Singapore-Mumbai flight which landed earlier today. Preventive measures are the new normal. Changes are here to stay.@MoCA_GoI @airindiain pic.twitter.com/xMRvYS549Z Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 10, 2020

The tweet read  "The times they are a-changing! Not a scene from a sci-fi blockbuster but a picture of passengers with face shields on-board the Singapore-Mumbai flight which landed earlier today. Preventive measures are the new normal. Changes are here to stay,"

Mr Puri was true to the sense that flying will become a lot different than it used to be. We bring you top 5 ways air travel will change and what we can expect when flying once the lockdown and travel ban is over-

Comprehensive Health Checkup

Not just airports, but health checkup has become mandatory for any person who wants to enter a large complex. However airports are a special case as a lot of people fly in from different areas, increasing the probability of contamination. While temperature checks using thermal gun will be done at the entry, one has to fill form before traveling to reveal the health history. Also, mandatory Aarogya Setu app will help track the health history too.

Empty Airports

Airports are usually full of hustle-bustle, especially the ones in India, like the Delhi and Mumbai airports. However, a lot of people will refrain from traveling until the early next year, especially for leisure activities. This will result in deserted airports, mostly filled with people traveling for work or emergency. Also, airports will close all common areas like smoking room, prayer room and dining area.

Personal Protective Equipment

The only and most efficient way to stop the spread of coronavirus is by wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). While the face mask is the bare minimum PPE one can wear, it's advisable to use gloves and face shields. This, however, is limited to only passengers. Cabin crew and pilots will be wearing full body PPE including body suit apart from security staff from CISF.

Sanitization All Around

Apart from PPE, regular sanitization is the other option to keep the covid-19 at bay. While airport staff will keep the airports clean including the seating area, planes will also be fully sanitized after each flight. The packed food items served on the plane will be properly cleaned too. However, the biggest newsmaker is the UV bag cleaner installed at the Delhi airport. UV scanners will be installed and all bags have to pass through them.

Technology and security

Lastly, technology will be enhanced manifolds to support the cleaniless drive and security measures. BACS, the nodal security body has stopped the stamping of boarding passes and additional CCTV cameras will be installed to keep a check on passengers. Similarly, mandatory web checkin will be required before boarding the flight. Movable UV towers will be install near seating areas.
*Warning: Spoilers ahead*

During my nightly Netflix scroll, I recently stumbled upon Sweet Magnolias, which is a new series that just premiered on the streaming service about three South Carolina women. As someone who (admittedly) watches a lot of TV, Im always skeptical when starting a show. It isnt that Im opposed to new story lines, but with so many options available on Netflix and Amazon Prime, I dont like investing myself in a series that isnt worth my time.

That said, I watched the first episode of Sweet Magnolias with an open mind, and heres what I gathered. While its not for everyone (what show is?), Im pleased to announce that its a total must-watch for anyone whos a sucker for cheesy romantic dramas, like Hart of Dixie and Gilmore Girls (or anything Hallmark).

So, what is Sweet Magnolias about? And should you add it to your queue? Keep reading for all the deets.

1. What is 'Sweet Magnolias' about?

Sweet Magnolias, which is based on Sherryl Woodss book series, tells the story of three grown women who were born and raised in Serenity, South Carolina. The problem? They still reside there, which means theyre now facing all the same small-town dilemmasas adults.

For example, Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) is recently divorced from her ex-husband, Bill (Chris Klein), who knocked up his nurse turned fiancee, Noreen (Jamie Lynn Spears). Not only is the entire town aware of Maddie and Bills separation, but they also cant escape each other, since they share three children together, attend the same church, have the same friend group and, well, you get the idea.

Theres also Helen (Heather Headley), who really wants to start a family but hasnt found that special someone. Although she visits a fertility specialist to discuss options, is now the right time?

Rounding out the trio is Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), a restaurant owner slash chef who can be described as the glue that holds the group together. Of course, that doesnt mean Dana Sue is without problems of her own, such as an employee whos caught stealing from the restaurants liquor cabinet.

Story continues

2. Should I watch 'Sweet Magnolias'?

In short, yes. However, I should warn that it might not resonate with everyone, especially if low-stakes television bores you to the core. Still, Sweet Magnolias is more than just a drama like Gilmore Girls, which didnt require my full attention span. (Im a total GG fan, but theres no denying that skipping a few episodes here and there would minimally affect the story line.)

You see, the first episode of Sweet Magnolias leaves viewers with a very small cliffhanger: Will Maddie, Helen and Dana Sue renovate an old beloved landmark into a women-only wellness center slash spa? I dont have to watch the next installment to know thats exactly what theyre going to do. Its clear the show will have a broader story line, in addition to the interpersonal relationships, and I was left wanting to know more.

For example, the episode concluded with Dana Sue spotting a hooded figure as she examined her car, which had been newly keyed. Theres also an interesting relationship between Dana Sue and her daughter, Annie (Anneliese Judge). While Dana Sue is Serenitys number one fan, Annie doesnt see the town in the same light. She even has an Instagram account dedicated to exposing Serenitys not-so-great features.

Not to mention, the fact that Jamie Lynn Spears is pretty much playing an adult version of her Zoey 101 character is just icing on Dana Sues cake.

If you need me, Ill be finishing what I started.

RELATED: Queer Eye, 13 Reasons Why & More TV Shows & Movies Coming to Netflix in June 2020
A Rwandan tycoon charged over the country's 1994 genocide and arrested in France over the weekend will challenge a bid to extradite him to an international court, his lawyers said Tuesday.

Felicien Kabuga, 84, one of the last key fugitives wanted over the genocide, was arrested at his home outside Paris on Saturday after living for years under a false identity.

He appeared Tuesday before Paris prosecutors in the first stage of a process that may see him handed over to an international court.

Kabuga -- once one of Rwanda's richest men -- was indicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1997 on seven counts, including genocide.

The tribunal formally closed in 2015 and its duties have since been taken over by the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).

If extradited, Kabuga is expected to be tried at the MICT's branch in Arusha in Tanzania.

Kabuga "opposes his transfer to Arusha", said his lawyers Laurent Bayon and Emmanuel Altit in a statement.

Kabuga was escorted from his Paris prison to the hearing with prosecutors at the Paris court of appeal. He was then formally notified of the MICT arrest warrant.

'A milestone'

He will appear before the investigation chamber of the court of appeal which will examine the warrant and give an opinion over whether he should be extradited to the MICT.

That hearing should take place on Wednesday but the defence wants it delayed to May 27.

After the hearing, the chamber will have 15 days to deliver its ruling.

Even if the chamber rules in favour of extradition, Kabuga can still take his case to France's Court of Cassation which would have two months to give a ruling.

Around 800,000 people -- Tutsis but also moderate Hutus -- were slaughtered over 100 days by ethnic Hutu extremists during the 1994 genocide.

Kabuga is accused of creating the notorious Interahamwe militia that carried out massacres and the Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines which, in its broadcasts, incited people to murder.

He is alleged to have used his wealth and influence during the genocide to funnel money to militia groups as chairman of the Fonds de Defense Nationale (FDN) fund.

The US State Department hailed the arrest as "a milestone for international justice, and a message to all fugitives indicted for genocide that they will be brought to justice."

Along with former defence minister Augustin Bizimana and top-ranking military figure Protais Mpiranya -- both still at large -- Kabuga was one of the three most significant suspects still sought over the genocide.

The statement by his lawyers expressed anger over the wording of the communique by Paris police over his arrest Saturday which they said "presented him as one of the main instigators of the genocide when no trial has taken place".
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted authorities worldwide to introduce entry restrictions on border traffic. But regulations in Japan have sparked a particularly strong reaction from its international community, as it is the only Group of Seven member denying entry to long-term and permanent residents and has set no clear criteria for their return.

The approach has left many foreign nationals in limbo a those who had headed overseas in earlier stages of the pandemic are now stuck abroad and face uncertainty about their careers and lives in Japan, whereas those who remain here fear that leaving the country would jeopardize their future as well.

Amid the restrictions, a decision about whether to cross the border due to a medical emergency in oneas immediate family can be agonizing. For Kvien, joining his grieving loved ones and paying tribute in person was an obvious choice. When he left, the travel ban was not yet imposed.

Under Japanas regulations imposed April 3, all foreign nationals including those with permanent residence status and their spouses, even if the spouses are Japanese, will be subject to the measure if they try to return to Japan from any regions affected by the pandemic.

The list of countries covered by Japanas entry ban has been expanded, bringing the total number to 100. In its most recent update, effective Saturday, Japan added 13 countries in Europe, Africa and South and Latin Americas, including Mexico, to the list.

While stuck abroad, foreign nationals may not be able to renew their Japanese visas, and some may lose their visa status if the situation remains as is. Although the ISA last week gave foreign nationals with periods of stay expiring in July a three-month extension, the extension only covers those present in Japan.
EDWARDSVILLE  The Land of Goshen Community Market will have its opening day on June 6 with new social distancing measures in place while also continuing their successful online shop.

The Goshen Markets managers Tara Eberlin Pohlman and Candice Watson have been collaborating with the City of Edwardsville and reviewing how farmers markets across the country have been responding to the pandemic. Based on their research and guidelines set forth by the Illinois Farmers Market Association, several social distancing measures will be in place when the market opens on June 6.

With over sixty vendors on an average Saturday, a drive-thru model is not ideal for a market of our size. Instead, we have opted for what is called an in-and-out market, said Eberlin Pohlman. In and out markets, are like a drive-thru market, but customers will be on foot.

We are encouraging customers to place orders ahead with vendors to make the process go smoothly and limit interaction, explains Watson.

The market is asking customers to send only one shopper per family. Additional programming like music, the kids program Market Sprouts, and demonstrations will not be included this season. The market will only include sales of food and hygiene items to limit the number of vendors and allow for at least ten feet of space between all stalls. The market will have two entrances, and only fifty customers will be allowed into the space at one time. Customers will be asked to wear masks.

The market plans to keep the online shop running indefinitely to help support immunocompromised customers and vendors. The shop opened for sales April 3 and has since taken in orders totaling over $35,000.

The shop offers the produce, meat, baked goods and soap from more than twenty vendors for sale through the markets website. Customer orders are delivered or available for pickup at 222 Artisan Bakery, at 222 N. Main St. in Edwardsville each Thursday.

I continue to get quality goods with emphasis being placed on keeping consumers and workers safe and healthy, customer Theresa Morrison said. I appreciate the social distancing and mask-wearing along with the usual great baked goods, meats and vegetables.

Sales through the Land of Goshen Community Market online store have been nothing short of a lifesaver for our business, market vendor and the proprietor of Queens Cuisine Tea Room, Jane Muscroft said.
New Delhi, May 20 : In a major success in the murder of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his borther Ajeet Parihar which took place in November 2018, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said that it arrested a terrorist of the banned outfit Hizabul Mujahideen from Jammu and Kashmir.

An NIA spokesperson said that it arrested absconding terrorist Rustam Ali from the outer area of Kishtwar town in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

The official said that he was arrested after the anti-terror probe agency received information about his presence in the area and accordingly an NIA team was sent which apprehended Rustam Ali, who is also wanted in several other cases related to the robbery of INSAS rifle from PSO of Advocate Nasir Hussain.

The official said that Ali was produced before a court that granted seven-day NIA custody. The official also claimed that Ali had been absconding for a long time and investigation revealed that he had constructed a hide-out in the house of one Nishad Ahmed Butt for safe hiding of accused persons.

Parihar brothers were shot at point-blank range outside their house on November 1, 2018 when they were returning home after closing their shop.

The J&K government had earlier constituted an SIT to probe the killings, and based on its findings agreed to transfer the case to the NIA three weeks later. On May 15 this year, the NIA filed a chargesheet against six people, including three slain HM terrorists and three arrested overground workers of the terror group for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorists to kill BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother.

Earlier, the NIA had said that it filed the chargesheet against three slain HM terrorists -- Osama-bin-Javid, Haroon Abbas Wani and Zahid Hussain and three OWGs (overground workers) -- Nisar Ahmed Sheikh, Nishad Ahmed Butt and Azad Hussain Bagwan, all residents of Kishtwar, in a Special NIA court in Jammu. They have been charged with murder and criminal conspiracy, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Arms Act.

The NIA official said that accused Sheikh, Butt and Bagwan, all residents of Kishtwar, were arrested on November 20, 2019. He said these three used to provide logistic support to three terrorists Javid, Wani and Hussain, who murdered the Parihar brothers.

The official said that the NIA investigation unearthed a larger conspiracy of these terrorists and the overground workers of HM to try to revive terrorism in the districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.

"These terrorists not only murdered the Parihar brothers but also carried out three other terrorist acts in Kishtwar in 2019," the official claimed.

He said in furtherance of the said conspiracy led by Jahangir Saroori, Commander of HM in Kishtwar district, the three accused persons devised ways and means to raise funds to sustain the activities of the banned terrorist organisation.

They looted weapons from police or personal security officers, he said.

According to the NIA, Javid, Wani and Hussain were killed in different encounters between the HM cadres and security forces in Ramban and Doda districts in September 2019 and January 2020.
Egypts State Information Service (SIS) announced on Wednesday that it will hold a regular monthly meeting for accredited foreign correspondents in the country to meet with SIS chairman Diaa Rashwan.

The aim behind these regular meetings is to listen to the foreign correspondents and respond to any inquiries related to their work and their coverage of Egyptian affairs, Rashwan said in the statement.

Rashwan said that through these meetings, the SIS can get acquainted with correspondents opinions and perspectives on their performances of their duties and the SIS ability to provide them with the means through which they can reflect the actual facts regarding affairs and issues related to Egypt in light of universally accepted standards of journalism.

The first meeting will be held on the first Tuesday of every month starting 2 June at the foreign correspondents club in Talaat Harb Street, Downtown Cairo.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


In the midst of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, many people are feeling the stress of the situation.

That stress might come from worry over a loved one who is ill or fear of catching the virus, the loss of a friend or family member, financial issues, lack of income, fear of going to the store for essentials, loneliness from staying at home, anxiety about the future. Thats just the beginning. The list could go on.

With the loss of control that stems from all of these scenarios, one thing we can learn to control is how to react, and how to gather the tools to help achieve relaxation. Certified clinical musician Amy Camie and her husband, John, want to help promote calmness  and joy  by offering her CD, The Magic Mirror, as a free download, to increase awareness and calm the mind and soul during the month of May  Mental Health Awareness Month.

Camie, originally from Godfrey, believes her sole gift is music, she said, and her inspired harp music is part of a study and medical paper that states in black and white that it can make people feel better.

Camie is also founder of the Scientific Arts Foundation. Her solo harp CDs, specifically The Magic Mirror, have been used in several research studies indicating how her music increases neurological functioning, supports the immune system and reduces pain, distress and anxiety levels, in addition to being beneficial for general relaxation and stress reduction.

The Magic Mirror music has helped thousands with sleep, anxiety, pain, PTSD and other mental health conditions. Cancer patients around the country have used the 23-minute therapeutic solo harp CD to help them through treatments, including Camie herself, who listened every day during her two journeys with breast cancer. The music was even requested by two stress combat control specialists in Iraq to help their troops.

Listening to The Magic Mirror is very effective and could be used in combination with other therapy for cancer or physiologically stressed patients to minimize the effect of their disease, pilot studies indicate. This statement was included in the paper, Effect of Specific Music on Psychoneuroimmunological Responses, published in the online medical journal The International Journal of Oncology Research. The online resource is open access and peer reviewed, Camie said.

She and Drs. Abdul Waheed, David Kossor and William Collins compiled the research they performed with The Magic Mirror into the scholarly paper.

The music also helps children and families, per Dr. Anu French, shown in a study with positive outcomes in resilience and quality-of-life scores, and calming of quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) brain wave patterns. The study supports the hypothesis that Camies healing music has powerful psychoneuroimmunological effects to help reverse inflammation and toxic stress.

More Information How to get "The Magic Mirror" for free To download a free copy of "The Magic Mirror," visit www.freemagicmirrordownload.com or www.musicformentalhealth.com. See More Collapse

For Camie, this path started in 1987, when she gave her harp music to a sick friend, who told Camie that it made her relax and actually made her feel better.

The studies have indicated this music has a direct impact on brain wave and the immune system function, Camie said.

In fact, the music is now part of a clinical trial, approved by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, to be implemented at Siteman Cancer Center, once funded.

Jerseyvilles Dr. Cristy Elving-Dial, who has a family practice at Jersey Community Hospital, said she has recommended Camies music for more than five years.

I have given it to patients going through cancer treatments and, recently, to a patient who is taking care of her sister being treated for cancer, Elving-Dial said. It definitely helps with relaxation, and anytime you relax, you heal better. It also helps with sleep.

Elving-Dial said her daughter has listened to the music every night for five years, because she feels she relaxes and sleeps better. She also thinks it helps her concentrate the next day, and Elving-Dial has listened to it multiple times with her daughter.

You cant help but relax when you listen, Elving-Dial said. It draws you in and settles your soul. It actually has a warning label to not listen to it while you drive, as you could fall asleep. I believe it.

She also recommended The Magic Mirror to Sharilyn Droege.

I had a very stressful day yesterday, so I went home and laid down to decompress, Droege said last week. I played it and was literally out in just a minute or two. I felt so rested when I woke up. I played it again when I went to bed, and again, even with a nap earlier, I was out.

Elving-Dial said she also shared it with a nurse practitioner, who is in the U.S. Army Reserves, stationed in Stamford, Connecticut, where she is working at a hospital during the pandemic.

She was deployed April 1, Elving-Dial said, and is feeling the stress from 12-hour shifts, six days a week. I sent it to help her relax.

I also knew she would share it with coworkers and patients. I really feel it helps them relax and heal. And I shared it with our entire hospital staff.

Camie said this is her vision for how word gets out about the music.

This kind of sharing is how I envision the music reaching others, Camie said. During this time, we (my husband and I) felt it was necessary to share this music at no cost, to help all those who could benefit from listening.

Even though Camie is a musician who, like many others, has lost substantial income during the pandemic, she said she felt compelled to help others during the month of May in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Its always been our dream to find sponsors to gift this music to those going through stressful life circumstances. We never imagined it would look like this, Camie said.

To download a free copy of The Magic Mirror, visit www.freemagicmirrordownload.com or www.musicformentalhealth.com.
The scene inside the Original Pancake House in Norco, which opened its doors to dine-in customers last week. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday morning, the parking lot outside the Original Pancake House in Norco was packed with cars. A small crowd of diners, most of them without masks, spread out around the restaurants front door as a hostess greeted guests inside. The wait for a table was around 20 minutes.

The Riverside County breakfast spot, along with a handful of other local businesses, opened to the public last week, despite not being approved for reopening by state officials.

Vince Kikugawa, who owns and operates the Norco location of the national pancake franchise with his daughter, Meghan, said he had received approval from Riverside County officials to resume dine-in service last Thursday.

Since then, business has boomed.

Some guy drove all the way from San Diego County to come eat. Weve had people from L.A., Anaheim, Temecula, just all over, he said. The word-of-mouth has been tremendous.

(Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)

Jose Arballo Jr., a public information specialist for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, said that his department had not approved the restaurant's request to open, but allowed the request may have been handled by other departments in the county. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has stated publicly that he would not be enforcing the county's stay-at-home orders.

For Kikugawa, 75, the decision to reopen was motivated more by financial statements than political ones.

Since closing its dining room in mid-March, the restaurant  best known for airy Dutch baby pancakes dusted with powdered sugar  had been doing about 10% of its usual business in takeout orders, he said, not enough to cover rent or utilities. Kikugawa estimated he was about 45 days away from closing the restaurant permanently and laying off 30 employees.

Ive been in the restaurant business my entire life. Ive never experienced anything like this, he said. We borrowed and invested a lot of money to open and all of it was at risk. We couldnt stay closed any longer.

Story continues

Vince Kikugawa says he's taking every precaution and following CDC safety guidelines at his restaurant: limiting seating, sanitizing tables and chairs, having patrons wait outside or in their cars until a seat is available, and requiring face coverings and gloves for all staff members. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Kikugawa, clad in a cloth mask as he greeted diners, said the restaurant had gone above and beyond to implement safety measures outlined by the CDC and state officials.

The dining area has reduced its seating capacity by half, with tables spaced at least six feet apart. Employees wore masks and gloves, changed them regularly and washed their hands in between. After each guest finished eating, tables and chairs were wiped down and sanitized, along with condiments and plastic menus. Pump bottles of hand sanitizer lined the room.

Original Pancake House employee Yaely Morales disinfects a chair between seatings. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

Yaely Morales, a busser who has worked at the Original Pancake House for six years, said she was relieved to return to work but still a little nervous. Its been OK so far, she said. Were trying to stay safe, but its been really busy.

As of Tuesday, Riverside County has had more than 6,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to numbers on the countys public health website, and 270 people have died of the virus.

Earlier in the week, Riverside County officials signaled they would begin moving forward with business reopenings after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced relaxed criteria that would allow most of the states 58 counties to restart restaurant dining and other services soon.

Several diners at Original Pancake House said they felt comfortable with the health precautions the restaurant had put in place, as well as the reopening of dining rooms in general.

Norco residents Bob Carr and Ron Couch, both retired, said that before the COVID-19 pandemic they had dined at Original Pancake House twice a week.

Were very happy to come eat breakfast again and would recommend it to anyone, Carr said. Theyre cleaning the booths so well you almost slip out of your seat when you sit down.

David and Tina Gallup of Ontario said they were looking forward to their first restaurant meal out since stay-at-home orders began and were happy to support a local business.

Obviously theres still a concern because of the virus, David said. But we already go to the grocery store and gas station. To me, this isnt too different.

If business maintains its current pace, Kikugawa feels confident that his restaurant will be able to survive the pandemic and remain open. So far hes even been able to increase hours for some of the restaurants workers. But hes also aware that many people on social media voiced concerns about the restaurants decision to reopen without say-so from the state.

Everything is a concern right now. You have to use common sense and be safe but you also have to live life, Kikugawa said. I dont think there is an issue with what were doing. If youre concerned about it, dont come here. Thats your right too.

Updates:

12:33 PM, May. 21, 2020: This story has been updated to include a comment by a Riverside County Department of Public Health official.




German foot-wear brand walks out of China, to set up operations in Agra

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: Germany based footwear brand, Von Wellx is shifting its entire production to Agra from China.

The brand owned by Casa Everz Gmbh, announced that it would be shifting its entire show production business from China, with a capacity of over 3 million pairs annually, to India with an initial investment of Rs 110 crore.

A new manufacturing unit of similar capacity will be set up in Agra in collaboration with Latric Industries Pvt Ltd. Von Wellx, which was made available in India in 2019 already has a production capacity of 5 lakh pairs for Casa Everz Gmbh.

Trump trying to shift blame from his 'incompetent response' to contain COVID-19: China

Reports say that the company was expecting to reach full production capacity in two years and was expecting to invest Rs 110 crore in the first phase. Phase II would see the company setting up ancillary industries for the production of raw material such as outsoles, special fabrics and chemicals, which are not manufactured in India as of now.

It may be recalled that the Uttar Pradesh government has set up a task force to promote the state as a lucrative investment hub, in the wake of several investors moving out of China.
A Russian ex-spy charged with downing the passenger jet MH17 has said he feels a 'moral responsibility' for the disaster.

Igor Girkin is one of four people accused of murder over the missile shot in July 2014 which killed all 298 people on the Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine.

Girkin was a commander of separatist forces in eastern Ukraine at the time. Speaking to The Times, he said: 'In as much as I was the commander of the rebels and a participant in the conflict, I feel a moral responsibility for these deaths.'

However, he denies that he was directly responsible for the crash - saying that his rebel forces 'did not bring down the plane'.

Igor Girkin (pictured), one of four people accused of involvement in the MH17 disaster in July 2014, has said he feels a 'moral responsibility' for the crash

Pro-Russian gunmen stand guard at the crash site in July 2014, after the Malaysia Airlines was brought down by what Dutch investigators say was a Russian missile

Girkin did not elaborate on whether he was blaming the Russian military for the crash, saying: 'People can interpret this as they like'.

Dutch-led investigators say Girkin was a former colonel in Russia's FSB security service before joining the separatists during the Ukraine crisis.

In the summer of 2014, he served as 'minister of defence' of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, which is backed by Russia.

The MH17 murder trial began in the Netherlands in March this year, although none of the suspects have attended the court proceedings.

The trial in a high-security courtroom near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has also been forced to shut out the public because of coronavirus.

The Netherlands has issued an international arrest warrant for the four suspects, but Russia does not extradite its subjects.

Along with Girkin, the other suspects are Russians Sergey Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko.

Prosecutors claim they were involved in arranging and delivering the missile system that brought down the plane.

The investigators say the missile originated from the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade, based in Kursk.

Moscow denies this, and the Kremlin has raised doubts about the objectivity of the Dutch-led investigation - while prosecutors say Russia has tried to sabotage it.

The Russian Defence Ministry said at the time: 'Not a single air defence missile launcher of the Russian Armed Forces has ever crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border.'

The reconstructed wreckage of MH17 is presented to the media by investigators in 2015. The Netherlands has led the inquiry because the majority of those killed were Dutch citizens

Wilbert Paulissen (left) of the Joint Investigation Team speaks at a press conference last June where charges against four people were announced

Vladimir Putin has called MH17's downing a 'terrible tragedy' but says Moscow was not to blame and that there are other explanations for what happened.

The Malaysia Airlines jet was shot out of the sky on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014.

The crash killed 196 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians, 27 Australians and ten Britons among others.

It led to fresh EU sanctions on Russia and further heightened tensions between Moscow and the West. The Netherlands and Australia have said they hold Russia responsible for the crash.

The largest criminal investigation in Dutch history painstakingly reconstructed the events leading up to the disaster.

Police and prosecutors examined tens of thousands of pieces of evidence, including videos, communication tapes, satellite imagery, photos and social media posts.

Last year they released a batch of intercepted phone calls which they allege show close links between the separatists and Russian security services.

Investigators said the separatists were speaking to Russian contacts 'almost daily' in the summer of 2014.

Russia's influence on the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) rebels 'went beyond military support' and they spoke on secure lines provided by the FSB, it is alleged.
Bermuda, 20 May 2020 - Avance Gas Holding Ltd (OSE: "AVANCE"), will on Thursday 28 May 2020 release its unaudited results for the first quarter of 2020. In connection with the earnings release, an audio webcast and conference call will be held at 14:00 (CET). The webcast can be accessed at Avance Gas' website www.avancegas.com. Dial in details are +44 (0) 2071 928 000 (UK and International), +1 631 510 7495 (US) or +47 23 96 02 64 (Norway). Please quote the passcode: 9088721. Phone lines will open 10 minutes before the conference call.





For further queries, please contact: Peder C. G. Simonsen, Interim CEO and CFO Tel: +47 22 00 48 15

Email: p.simonsen@avancegas.com



ABOUT AVANCE GAS

Avance Gas Holding Ltd operates in the global market for transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The Company is one of the world's leading owners and operators of very large gas carriers (VLGCs), operating a fleet of 14 modern VLGC.

For more information about Avance Gas, please visit: www.avancegas.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has decided to put his Filmfare trophy on auction to raise money for coronavirus test kits. His film Gangs of Wasseypur won the critics choice award for best film in 2013.

Responding to comedian Kunal Kamras call for artists to support the cause, Anurag made the announcement in a tweet. Highest bidder gets the original trophy for the Filmfare critics award best film 2013. Gangs of Wasseypur, he wrote in his tweet.

Highest bidder gets the original trophy for the Filmfare critics award best film 2013 . "Gangs of Wasseypur"... https://t.co/BtXrUQAJ7C  Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) May 20, 2020

Kunals original tweet read, While each ruppee counts I appreciate the hell out of Comrade @anuragkashyap72 who is giving away his 2013 gangs of Wasseypur critics award to the highest donor of this charity with my YouTube button.

Kunal added that he was auctioning off his YouTube Button for the cause. Writer Varun Grover said he will put his award for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage from Dum Laga Ke Haisha up for auction. Adding the TOIFA trophy I won for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (DLKH, 2015) for charity auction to raise funds for Covid test kits. Putting it up on ebay in 2050 was my retirement fund plan but i believe now is a better time to use it to secure Indias future, he wrote.

Adding the TOIFA trophy I won for 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage' (DLKH, 2015) for charity auction to raise funds for Covid test kits.



Putting it up on ebay in 2050 was my retirement fund plan but i believe now is a better time to use it to secure India's future. https://t.co/t0Q6YJMCkg https://t.co/2xqDEakmKA pic.twitter.com/hu6Yig2G7p    (@varungrover) May 20, 2020

Kunal gave details about the campaign in a tweet. We need more RT-PCR kits. This is the fastest confirmatory test kit in India. Mylab is an Indian company making it at 0 profit. Ive adopted a kit which costs Rs 1,34,000/- for my home city Mumbai. You can do the same, Im giving my YouTube button away to highest donor, I urge all artists to give away their prized possessions towards charity in such difficult times. While every penny counts the highest donor will get the button. Email your donation screenshots to contact@kunalkamra.in, he wrote.

Also read: What Are The Odds movie review: Abhay Deol, Yashaswini Dayamas ode to Wes Anderson is cute but not crazy enough

Proceeds from the auction will transferred directly from Milaap Foundation to Mylab Discovery Solutions, which will help Burda Media India secure the testing kits that will be donated to hospitals and labs.

A description about the campaign on Milaaps website read: The cost of each testing kit is Rs 1.2Lacs + GST and each testing kit has the capacity to test 100 samples. We aim to donate ten testing kits, which will help ,1000 people get tested for Covid-19, free of cost.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Portland is now the last major city in Oregon without a city manager.

Beaverton voters on Tuesday approved a change to the city charter that supplants the localitys strong-mayor system of government to one more in line with other large Oregon cities. Measure 34-298 passed with 55% of the vote according to a preliminary vote tally as of 8 p.m Tuesday.

The Beaverton mayor currently supervises the citys many departments and utilities. The position comes with an annual salary of $180,000.

The charter change also expands the City Council by one seat, adds the mayor as a voting member and imposes a three-term limit on Beavertons elected officials. The six councilors and mayor will hire the new city manager in 2021.

Should Mayor Denny Doyle win a fourth term in November, itll be his last. Hell face off against Lacey Beaty, whose second term on the city council expires in 2022.

Doyle took 45% of the vote while Beaty won 34%. Cate Arnold, who also left her City Council position to run for mayor, took 21%.

Arnold had pledged to forgo most of her salary if elected. In campaign material, the longtime city councilor said shed only accept $80,000 per year, donating the other $100,000 to city services.

In the Position 3 race for Beaverton City Council, incumbent Mark Fagin beat back a challenge from Nike supply management strategist John Dugger. Fagin took 60% of the vote.

In the Position 4 race to replace Arnold, ECONorthwest Marketing Director Allison Tivnon won the seat with 70% of the vote. Kate Kristiansen, executive director of Pride Beaverton, took 30%.

--Eder Campuzano | 503-221-4344 | @edercampuzano

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Steve A. Linick, the former State Department Inspector General fired by U.S. President Trump on Friday, was reportedly in the final phase of his investigation over the government's unlawful resumption of weapon sales to Saudi Arabia for their air war in Yemen.

According to reports, employees serving under the inspected general presented their initial findings to senior officials before the COVID-19 lockdowns in early March. It is unclear whether the report led to his dismissal.

President Trump gave a letter to the White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, he said he did not have the confidence in the inspector general's ability to serve. He did not indicate a reason for the loss of confidence.

During a Monday press conference, Trump claims he did not know and have never heard of Linick. He said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave him the recommendation to fire the inspector general.

The investigation was reportedly prompted by demands from New York Representative Eliot L. Engel who later alleges the investigation may have been "another reason" for ousting Linick.

The state inspector general's office was also examining Pompeo's use of government resources for his and his wife's travel across the Middle East. A whistleblower also accused the secretary of state of asking diplomatic security agents to run personal errands, including picking up meals from the restaurant and collecting the family dog from the groomer.

Several State Department officials also raised concerns about the Pompeos' elaborate and unpublicized "Madison Dinners" that, they claim, were using taxpayer resources to cultivate the state secretary's political ambitions. A list obtained by NBC News showed all of the 500 invitees were Republican and involved corporate and media giants, political figures, and foreign officials.

The inspector general's office is responsible for conducting multiple investigations into the State Department's activities. Experts say firing Linick before his work was complete was troubling.

In a phone interview with the Washington Post, Mike Pompeo claimed his private recommendation to fire the inspector was not a political retaliation. He said Linick's work was undermining the State Department, but he refused to describe specifics. Pompeo also claimed he was not aware that the ousted official was investigating allegations of selling arms and other complaints against him.

The administration undertook a major initiative to continue lethal aid to the Saudis and Emiratis despite a suspension imposed by the Congress after it was discovered that bomb fragments from the weapons sold were linked to a series of bombings that killed civilians and children.

Pompeo declared an emergency over Iran's activities in the Middle East to bypass the ban and restart the sales. The move intended to allow American businesses to sell $8.1 billion worth of weaponry to the gulf nations.

Since the Saudi Arabia-Yemen war began in 2015, more than 90,000 people have died. Saudi and allied warplanes have conducted 12 airstrikes a day. Only a third of the attacks targeted military bases. Most destroyed hospitals, schools, markets, farms, and other establishments, killing innocent civilians and children.

In September 2019, Amnesty International claimed a precision-guided bomb made in the USA was used by the Saudi Arabians to strike a residential home on June 28. The attack killed six civilians-three of whom were children.

"It is unfathomable and unconscionable that the USA continues to feed arms into Yemen's devastating conflict," the organization said. "The USA remains unmoved by the chaos their arms are wreaking on the civilian population."Want to read more? Check these out:
[May 20, 2020] Kaseya Unveils Key Product Enhancements to Drive Profitability and Cost-Efficiency

NEW YORK and MIAMI, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its first-ever, live streaming, innovation cycle broadcast, Kaseya , the leading provider of IT infrastructure management solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and internal IT organizations, today unveiled ProfitFuel and BudgetFuel  the companys official value propositions for IT Complete, its comprehensive suite of IT tools for monitoring, management, security, cloud, continuity, compliance and more. These two pillars serve as the foundation of Kaseyas steadfast commitment to quarterly innovation cycles that continuously innovate the platform and further the companys goal of a modern, comprehensive, workflow integrated, cost-effective platform to serve all SMB IT and MSP needs. Together, ProfitFuel and BudgetFuel solidify Kaseyas promise that, with IT Complete, users can save money and operate more productively, leading to increased customer acquisition for MSPs and business user satisfaction for internal IT teams.

Headlining Kaseyas quarterly innovation cycle are several major product releases and feature enhancements. These now quarterly cycles of rapid research and development ensure Kaseya customers have access to the most innovative technologies, cutting-edge products, feature rich enhancements and unrivaled workflow integrations. This new world economy has accelerated a full digital transformation for small and mid-sized businesses reminiscent to the enterprise market evolution from years ago, and IT is the center of it all, said Fred Voccola, CEO of Kaseya. IT is now what enables small to mid-sized businesses to exist in this current climate and this has ushered in an era of dependence on SMB IT, where IT service providers now need a new, modern platform to meet this demand. This new platform must be able to deliver a comprehensive set of technologies that allow you to deliver all of the IT infrastructure that your clients or internal users require. It must offer tight workflow integrated tools that allow technicians to be substantially more efficient so that they can increase output and do more with less. It has to be very cost effective enabling you to reduce the cost of your overall IT software kit. Thats what Kaseya delivers with IT Complete. IT Complete: ProfitFuel and BudgetFuel Through its workflow and solution integrations, IT Complete eliminates the space between, or the valuable time IT professionals waste moving between disparate applications and processes. With these integrations, users can reclaim an average of 25% of their time back to focus on work that directly impacts their business bottom line. Additionally, IT Complete users see an average of 74% higher customer retention and business user satisfaction rates, and spend approximately 33% less than they would with competing point solutions. IT Complete serves as the fuel to increase an MSPs profitability by reducing software costs, increasing technician efficiency and powering all the essential IT services small businesses demand today. Similarly, IT Complete allows internal IT teams to free-up resources enabling those teams to better serve their organization. Together, ProfitFuel and BudgetFuel are the foundation for IT Complete and all product updates and feature enhancements that result from this and future innovation cycles. Other key updates from this innovation cycle include: Product Updates Kaseya VSA: As the definition of the endpoint has changed to encompass many more devices and network infrastructure, IT professionals are often required to utilize multiple tools in order to manage them. This release of VSA provides a topology map visualization f both the network and endpoint environments to speed troubleshooting, understand asset relationships, and actively manage devices from a single, unified view.

As the definition of the endpoint has changed to encompass many more devices and network infrastructure, IT professionals are often required to utilize multiple tools in order to manage them. This release of VSA provides a topology map visualization f both the network and endpoint environments to speed troubleshooting, understand asset relationships, and actively manage devices from a single, unified view. Unitrends & Spanning - Unified Backup Portal: Stop wasting time managing all of your backup solutions independently. The Unitrends Unified Backup Portal empowers you to manage all backups from a single portal to perform your appliance, direct to cloud, and Microsoft O365 application backups.

Stop wasting time managing all of your backup solutions independently. The Unitrends Unified Backup Portal empowers you to manage all backups from a single portal to perform your appliance, direct to cloud, and Microsoft O365 application backups. IT Glue Password Folder Security: This highly-requested feature gives your organization full control over how you manage password access across your organization with macro (folders) and micro (individual passwords) controls to ensure that credentials map to your specific user and team policies.

This highly-requested feature gives your organization full control over how you manage password access across your organization with macro (folders) and micro (individual passwords) controls to ensure that credentials map to your specific user and team policies. Unitrends Conditional Alerts: Reduce the noise of backup alerts to only the ones you need to take action on. With this feature, Unitrends customers can specify conditions for alerts giving them complete control to determine when administrators need to take action.

Reduce the noise of backup alerts to only the ones you need to take action on. With this feature, Unitrends customers can specify conditions for alerts giving them complete control to determine when administrators need to take action. Unitrends Helix: Announced in April, Unitrends Helix delivers a self-healing remediation platform powered by AI that monitors and automatically fixes the most common backup issues facing IT administrators when managing backups.

Announced in April, delivers a self-healing remediation platform powered by AI that monitors and automatically fixes the most common backup issues facing IT administrators when managing backups. RapidFire Tools Microsoft Cloud Assessment: This new module for Network Detective focuses on aspects of Microsoft Cloud related to Office 365 and Azure AD. The assessment covers Azure AD, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook Mail and Microsoft Teams. Resulting reports document and assess the configuration of the various Microsoft Cloud aspects and include a Risk Report and Management Plan similar to other Network Detective modules.

This new module for Network Detective focuses on aspects of Microsoft Cloud related to Office 365 and Azure AD. The assessment covers Azure AD, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook Mail and Microsoft Teams. Resulting reports document and assess the configuration of the various Microsoft Cloud aspects and include a Risk Report and Management Plan similar to other Network Detective modules. RapidFire Tools Network Detective Work from Home: Also released in April, Network Detective Work from Home features a self-service portal to empower employees, who are working off home computers, to initiate network and security scans to be analyzed and documented by their companies IT support team before they connect to the corporate network. With Network Detective WFH, business owners can have peace of mind knowing that the integrity of their IT infrastructure remains in place, and also save money and reduce IT workload by allowing employees to use home computers and networks.

Also released in April, features a self-service portal to empower employees, who are working off home computers, to initiate network and security scans to be analyzed and documented by their companies IT support team before they connect to the corporate network. With Network Detective WFH, business owners can have peace of mind knowing that the integrity of their IT infrastructure remains in place, and also save money and reduce IT workload by allowing employees to use home computers and networks. Spanning Dark Web Monitoring: Released in March, Spanning Dark Web Monitoring is a first-to-market Dark Web Monitoring solution for Microsoft Office 365  and, in June, GSuite. Its the only tool of its kind to combine world-class backup and restore functionality for Office 365 and GSuite with sophisticated Dark Web intelligence and search capabilities to identify, analyze and proactively monitor for an organizations compromised or stolen employee data.



Workflow Integrations Kaseya VSA & Kaseya BMS - Automated Remediation: Improve the productivity of technicians with the ability to create automated remediation. Technicians create workflow rules to automatically run endpoint scripts in BMS (via Agent Procedures in VSA) and remediate issues based on IT tickets. This greatly reduces the number of manual actions technicians need to take.

- Improve the productivity of technicians with the ability to create automated remediation. Technicians create workflow rules to automatically run endpoint scripts in BMS (via Agent Procedures in VSA) and remediate issues based on IT tickets. This greatly reduces the number of manual actions technicians need to take. Kaseya VSA & IT Glue  Execute VSA Agent Procedures within IT Glue: Enhance technician productivity by allowing the execution of VSA automation from within IT Glue - removing the space between IT Glue and VSA. This integration enables technicians to run VSA agent procedures for specific configurations directly within the IT Glue platform.

Enhance technician productivity by allowing the execution of VSA automation from within IT Glue - removing the space between IT Glue and VSA. This integration enables technicians to run VSA agent procedures for specific configurations directly within the IT Glue platform. Kaseya BMS & IT Glue  Suggested Documentation: Get "suggested documentation" from IT Glue directly within the BMS ticket system based on the problem type to quickly guide technicians to problem resolution.

Get "suggested documentation" from IT Glue directly within the BMS ticket system based on the problem type to quickly guide technicians to problem resolution. Unitrends MSP & Kaseya VSA  Advanced Integration: This advanced integration allows you to reduce the time needed to manage your backups by 25% with alerting, organization sync, and deployment built into VSA that provides MSPs with greater automation to manage backups across their customer base.

This advanced integration allows you to reduce the time needed to manage your backups by 25% with alerting, organization sync, and deployment built into VSA that provides MSPs with greater automation to manage backups across their customer base. IT Glue & Unitrends MSP: Cut down on the time it takes to manage backup by automating the documentation of all your backup information without ever leaving IT Glue. Administrators can see the status of all their backups and protected machines directly from the IT Glue interface they already use. To learn more about the latest IT Complete updates, join Kaseya CEO, Fred Voccola and product leadership for an inside look at the newest product announcements and feature enhancements during a two-hour live broadcast today, Wednesday, May 20, at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The webcast will also be rebroadcasted this evening at 7:00pm EDT. Register at: https://info.kaseya.com/keynote-it-roadmap-q2-2020.html

About Kaseya Kaseya is the leading provider of complete IT Infrastructure Management Solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and internal IT organizations. Through its open platform and customer-centric approach, Kaseya delivers best in breed technologies that allow organizations to efficiently manage, secure, and backup IT. Kaseya IT Complete is the most comprehensive, integrated IT management platform comprised of industry-leading solutions from Kaseya, Unitrends, RapidFire Tools, Spanning Cloud Apps, IT Glue and ID Agent. The platform empowers businesses to: command all of IT centrally; easily manage remote and distributed environments; simplify backup and disaster recovery; safeguard against cybersecurity attacks; effectively manage compliance and network assets; streamline IT documentation, and automate across IT management functions. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Kaseya is privately held with a presence in over 20 countries. To learn more, visit www.kaseya.com. Media Contacts

Katy Hoeper, PR Manager

Walker Sands

[email protected] Tammy Hovey, Director, Corporate Communications

Kaseya

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
It is on the agenda of talks with all European partners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the issue of Russia-annexed Crimea has never disappeared from the radar screen.

Read alsoZelensky taps Crimean Tatar Dzhaparova for post of deputy foreign minister

"Probably the issue of Crimea takes up not enough information space, but it certainly occupies a fairly large part of the affairs of the government that is working," he said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

According to Zelensky, the issue of Crimea is on the agenda of talks with all European partners.

As UNIAN reported earlier, an ad hoc group will be created under the President's Office that will be in charge of issues of the Crimean Tatars.
Courts in at least five states have now weighed in on the constitutionality of their respective efforts to impose restrictions on fundamental liberties because of the coronavirus. In four out of five, the laws were struck down (though Oregon's Supreme Court is taking up an appeal of the recent decision there.) In this legal atmosphere, Vermont's Senate is considering mandatory masks for all Green Mountain State denizens in retail settings.

Vermont governor Phil Scott has been self-congratulatory of his patchwork of restrictive COVID-19 restrictions, recently praising Vermont's response as "the envy of the nation." But Vermont's haphazard conglomeration of restrictions has been cobbled together piecemeal, appearing to have sidestepped even a cursory consideration of constitutionality.



Vermont State House.

The nation may not much envy Vermont's economy six months hence. Most of its businesses were shut down by the governor's executive orders, but Walmart (which just reported a massive spike in sales) was permitted to remain open. Restaurants were closed, but the drive-through at McDonald's hummed along. In the zeal to appear heroic in response to a virus, many Democrat governors (and "Republican" Phil Scott) rushed blindly without regard to business realities. Many workers (and all state workers) have received relief  but not businesses.

A federal district court in Kentucky enjoined Louisville from restricting church services; a federal district court in Kansas and a state court in Oregon did likewise in their respective jurisdictions. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Governor Tony Evers "exceeded his authority" in stay-at-home orders. In response:

[T]he [ Wisconsin ] governor encouraged people in his state to continue "to stay safer at home, practice social distancing, and limit travel, because folks, deadly viruses don't wait around for politicians and bureaucrats to settle their differences or promulgate rules."

Unfortunately, economic collapse doesn't "wait around," either.

If Governors Scott and Evers had simply issued "encouragements," there would be no issue of violating the Constitution. But both issued edicts, and in both states, fundamental constitutional rights have been impinged. This subjects these orders to "strict scrutiny" by the courts and explains the "extraordinary remedy" of injunctive relief  a court order barring enforcement of the proposed government action. As one commentator offers:

Government may restrict fundamental rights. only if (1) government has a compelling purpose (or "compelling interest") and (2) the restriction is "narrowly tailored" toward solving the problem. The burden of proof in such cases is on the government.

If Donald Trump commanded all Americans to wear masks, or close all churches, doubtless, there would be an outcry. But states, the federal government, and localities are all restrained by constitutional limits. The problem here is that that "compelling interest" has been quite fuzzy  is it to "flatten the curve"? If so, mission accomplished. However, if the goal is to "outsmart and beat this virus" (per Governor Phil Scott), the government has a problem  such a goal is ill defined, and the public has not been properly informed of that quest. A second problem arises when sweeping restrictions are vague, broad, or uneven in application  like Phil Scott's McDonald's-favoring, farmer-hurting inconsistencies.

As liberal havens like Vermont leap to impose restraints on the public, they have simply shrugged off traditional constitutional restraints. This will not happen without challenge:

While court cases involving quarantines to control infectious disease are (thankfully) sparse, "lockdown" in its various forms is a species of preventive detention: a restriction on physical liberty without a finding of guilt after criminal trial[.] ... Even where the government has authority to preventively detain, the Due Process Clause requires that the duration and conditions of preventive detention measures "be reasonable in relation to their purpose."

Two months into this crisis, Americans are rightly questioning the reasonableness of both the duration and the conditions imposed by many state governments and are asking what purpose they are related to. This is basic constitutional stuff, that fear-mongering Democrats seem to find threatening. But the economic threat is as real as the virus, and Phil Scott may not be so good at "outsmarting and beating" that one  what powers will he employ to rebuild a shattered economy?

One Minnesota lawmaker has proposed a statute that would permit businesses who suffer losses due to shutdowns to sue the government for compensation (as in takings cases), and "the business owner 'has the burden of proving that the loss is due to the executive order and proving the amount of compensation for losses.'"

If that law, merely codifying settled constitutional precepts, were widely enacted, governors might think cautiously about sweeping, ill planned restrictive initiatives. In Vermont, instead, the state Senate is weighing statewide mask requirements, and two municipalities have enacted ordinances that require masks.

There is perhaps no flatter COVID-19 curve than Vermont's and perhaps no economy more effectively flattened.

Photo credit: Decumanus.
In March, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about how Steve Green, the CEO of Hobby Lobby and President of Museum of the Bible, plans to return 11,500 illicit Iraqi and Egyptian artifacts currently owned by the company or museum to their countries of origin. Among this vast collection of undocumented items that the museum was voluntarily returning is the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet an ancient clay tablet that, among other things, records part of historys oldest creation story. One detail Green left out of the story? The tablet had been seized on September 24, 2019 by the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Investigations. Now, Hobby Lobby wants the $1.6 million it spent on the tablet back.

On May 19, 2020 Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit against world renowned auction house Christies and a dealer identified as John Doe alleging that both parties deceived Hobby Lobby about the legality of the sale and seeking the return of funds spent on the item, interest since 2014, and attorney fees. They acquired the item in 2014 for $1,694,000.

The story, as it can be pieced together from the governments complaint and Hobby Lobbys filing, begins in 2001 when a dealer and unnamed cuneiform expert identified the tablet on the floor of the apartment of London based Jordanian antiquities dealer Ghassan Rihani. At the time it was unreadable and was purchased for $50,000. The antiquities dealer brought the tablet to the U.S. where it was worked on by a then unnamed professor at Princeton.

In 2007 the antiquities dealer sold the tablet to two other dealers for pretty much what he had purchased it for. When these unnamed dealers asked for provenance, the antiquities dealer used, the suit claims, a False Provenance Letter [that] indicated that the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was purchased at a 1981 Butterfield & Butterfield auction in San Francisco as part of lot 1503.

Why does the date matter? Because if it hadnt legally been in the U.S. for decades, then the tablet would have been illicit. Under the UNESCO convention, items of cultural and historical interest discovered after 1970 cannot be removed from their countries of origin except under special agreement. The false provenance letter suggested that the tablet had been in the U.S. for decades.

Story continues

In the same year as the fake letter was acquired, the tablet was published for the first time in a reputable academic journal by Professor A. R. George, a leading expert on Assyriology who teaches at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London). According to his article, George is the same scholar who viewed the tablet in 2005. He says that he published the tablet with the permission of the owner, who wished to remain anonymous. He also notes that the tablet has since been offered for sale by a Californian bookseller, Michael Sharpe Rare and Antiquarian Books, as item 53 in his catalogue no. 1, issued on 4 September 2007. The article does not mention the provenance of the item, although by the time the tablet went up for sale in 2007 the faked provenance was already attached. The catalog produced by Sharpe offered it for sale with an asking price of $450,000. At this point John Doe bought the item from the immediate owner.

The falsified provenance and Georges article certainly lent legitimacy to the project. When the item was subsequently sold via private treaty by Christies to Hobby Lobby in 2014, they were allegedly told about the involvement of only a few relevant parties: the faked Butterfield provenance, Michael Sharpe, and John Doe. They were not, Hobby Lobbys suit alleges, told about the American dealer who had imported the object into the country in the early 2000s, or the exchange of hands in 2007.

According to Hobby Lobbys complaint, Georgiana Aitken, the Head of Antiquities at Christies London office, had made inquiries about the provenance letter from the first dealer and was told over the telephone [that the letter] could not be verified and would not withstand the scrutiny of a public auction. Christie's, Hobby Lobby claims, organized the private sale to Hobby Lobby when they should have known that  [the provenance] was false.

After Hobby Lobby purchased the tablet (no later than July 2014), it was hand-carried by an Auction House representative [the Hobby Lobby suit alleges that this was Margaret Ford] to Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma so that Hobby Lobby could avoid incurring a New York sales tax.

It is worth noting that Christies have facilitated many such private sales to the Green Family (Hobby Lobby) and that in some cases, for example the sale of papyri, those items turned out to be illicit and also had to be returned. Now, it seems, Hobby Lobby is mad about it.

As made clear by the United States Attorney Generals complaint against the item (for legal reasons the governmental complaints are brought against objects and not people), Hobby Lobby didnt do anything wrong. They were shown faked provenance documents. In contrast to earlier seizures of Hobby Lobby acquisitions, first reported in The Daily Beast by Joel Baden and me in 2015, the Green family were clearly and overtly deceived. Certainly, their willingness to spend large sums of money on Bible-related antiquities and their history of being cavalier about provenance helped make them a target for what Steve Green has called unscrupulous dealers. Allegedly, that group may now include one of the worlds most famous and highly regarded auction houses.

In a statement issued to The Daily Beast after publication, a Christies spokesperson said, This filing is linked to new information that has come to light regarding an unidentified dealers admission to government authorities that he illegally imported this item then falsified documents over a decade ago, in order to perpetrate an illegal sale and exploit the legitimate market for ancient art. Now that we are informed of this activity pre-dating Christies involvement, we are reviewing all representations made to us by prior owners and will reserve our rights in this matter. Assertions within the filing that suggest Christies had knowledge of the original fraud or illegal importation do not comport with our investigation.

There are two important things to note in this story. First is that for the past year Hobby Lobby have been conducting a media campaign to reframe themselves as victims of unscrupulous buyers. They made mistakes, they claim, but things are different now. The language they use is, as Jill Hicks-Keeton, a professor at the University of Oklahoma, has told me, oddly evocative of Christian narratives of repentance and rebaptism. Certainly, the crime and greater blame lies with the dealers, auction houses, and (allegedly) scholars who knowingly perpetrated these crimes. These dealers exploited the religious interests of a powerful evangelical family. At the same time, as early as the Summer of 2010, the Greens were warned about the dangers of buying illicit antiquities by Patty Gerstenblith, one of the countrys leading experts on the subject. As she told Chasing Aphrodite, they chose not to take her advice.

The issue is not just that the Green Christian story of confession and rebirth has been told several times before (in 2012 when they replaced key figures in their organization, 2017 when the museum opened, and again this year) but that it doesnt note that all of their changes have been brought about because of external pressure by scholars. For example, their widely publicized revelation that they own forged (and thus illicitly purchased) Dead Sea Scrolls this year obscured the fact that scholars like Arstein Justnes have been publicly calling them forgeries since 2016. We discussed this and other examples in our 2017 book Bible Nation, and yet Museum of the Bible would have you believe that their investigation was sui generis and, thus, demonstrates that the organization has changed. They do finally seem to be trying to set things right, but its also a carefully managed media campaign that ignores their own culpability.

The more troubling thing is that the media is buying it. An April 5 article in The New York Times entirely omitted the recent revelation of the Museums possession of 13 fragments of papyri that were stolen from the Sackler Library at the University of Oxford and rightly belong to the Egypt Exploration Society. The article claims to represent the views of the Museums toughest critics.

However, none of those who spearheaded academic criticism of the Museum were cited.

One would expect to hear from Roberta Mazza, who sounded an early alarm about the illicit nature of the Green familys papyri collection and has pursued the story since; Brent Nongbri, whose blog Variant Readings is the premiere source of information on the Greens' illicit papyrus collecting; Mark Chancey, who was the first to criticize attempts to introduce their Bible Curriculum to Oklahoma; Jill Hicks-Keeton and Cavan Concannon, co-editors of The Museum of the Bible: A Critical Introduction (Fortress, 2019); and, at risk of sounding arrogant, myself and Joel Baden, who authored the first book on the museum Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby (Princeton, 2017). None of these scholars were asked for comment. (I attempted to contact the author of the article but did not hear back). Instead the article cites only those academics and experts who have collaborated with the Museum (even if they have offered some criticism of it in the past).

The Museum is doing a masterful job at being allowed to control its own press and rebaptize itself in the waters of public opinion. At no point has Steve Green, who does seem genuinely contrite, offered to repay the sizeable tax deductions Hobby Lobby received for worthless forged Dead Sea Scrolls. At risk of being too Catholic about this, what is repentance without penance?

The second important thing is that while individual scholars have been instrumental in bringing the problems with Hobby Lobbys collecting practices to light, the academy also unwittingly participates in the illicit antiquities market. Prior to the publication of Andrew Georges article, the Gilgamesh tablet traded for roughly $50,000, after his publication its value rose first to $450,000 and then to over $1.6 million. The Michael Sharpe catalog mentions Georges analysis. Georges article notes that he had presented his material at seminars at several distinguished universities. Did any of the attendees of these seminars ask where the tablet had come from? George published a tablet that had forged provenance and while theres no suggestion that he knew it was forged or that he financially benefited, that publication was instrumental in raising the value of the item in question.

For Hobby Lobby, using the skills of academics to raise the value of objects was always part of the plan. Scott Carroll, former director of the Green Collection, told me that that was part of the initial business pitch that he and Johnny Shipman had offered the Greens in 2005 and 2008. Academics would jump at the opportunity to work on these texts (for almost nothing), and the Greens would reap the financial rewards. As archaeologist Neil Brodie has said before, when academics work on unprovenanced artifacts, they raise the value of illicit antiquities. As an academic myself, I can only say that we are part of the problem.

Andrew George has not returned inquiries for comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Youve met my tribe.

Youve seen their work in small art galleries, and youve listened to their band play. Maybe you have a tote bag they designed or a print on your apartment wall with their signature in the corner. They directed the short you saw at the local film festival and they took all the photos for the Instagram handle youre really into.

But that isnt how you actually met them.

No, your first interaction was when they assured you the kitchen knew you were gluten-free. They recommended your table try the Beaujolais or they plated the dessert for your birthday dinner and carried it out to you, candle and all. Its all right if you didnt recognize that you were being served by these local artists the last time you dined out. They were busy working after all, and were content with the earnings theyd walk away with that evening, money that would pay the bills while they pursued creative interests on the side.

You should know that their employers were content as well; the restaurant industry has nearly always had a healthy symbiosis with actors, artists, writers and musicians, and was delighted to offer them work, even if it was just the occasional shift here and there.

Were. Was. Past-tense intended. Because I dont know whats going to become of my people and their former places of employment now.

I was brought into the tribe after a complete career change. After studying French and English and teaching for 10 years, I found myself side-hustling as a barista while pursuing freelance writing and translation. After a fortuitous turn of events, I now work as assistant to Dominique Crenn, a San Francisco chef who famously never attended culinary school and discovered her love and talent for gastronomy only after having received a masters degree in business. My love of the hospitality industry stems in part from this shared experience, that both she and I have been allowed to thrive in an area outside of our college studies. I struggle to think of other work arenas that allow this sort of fluidity.

For every person like me who unexpectedly found their calling through the restaurant industry, for every chef like my boss who rose through the ranks after mentors gave her a chance, there is a master sommelier who discovered wine-making on his way to an acting audition. There are writers or photographers who decided gastronomy was their muse. And, yes, there are others who have simply passed this way and used restaurant work as a stepping stone on their way to something else. One dear friend from my barista days now has a full-time job at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and contributes her artwork to galleries across the country. Another works in film and is a helping hand behind local festivals.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

Others still work  worked  as servers or cooks but also regularly performed in ballets, gave readings in bookshops, or recorded albums with their friends. Now, furloughed or fired, theyre all feeling the same misplaced pressure to make something of this time. Finish your novel! Write your screenplay! Paint your masterpiece! Many are relying on unemployment for the next few months but recognize that its temporary. Theyll need jobs again, and many local restaurants dont know when or if theyll be able to offer those much-needed shifts. And if an industry that has just contributed up to 60% of our current unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, cant receive a proper helping hand, as weve seen through the recent Paycheck Protection Program debacle, were perhaps wrong to expect the National Endowment for the Arts to wake up to overflowing coffers anytime soon.

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.

Like so many in the world of food and wine, I fear what our celebrated restaurant scene will look like for years to come. I also cant help but think of the future of our cultural fabric in general. Surely the decline of my industry will be felt in all creative and cultural sectors throughout the city. In my most feverish of nightmares, I see myself, a pescatarian, sadly studying the menu of yet another Ruths Chris Steakhouse for the nth Friday night in a row. My choices for activities after dinner will be equally bleak; my dear friends wont be DJing, dancing or leading any workshops that night. For lack of jobs, theyll have moved elsewhere, finally having lost the cost-of-living battle after all these years.

While we rush to find a vaccine for the illness that came upon us so suddenly, perhaps we can also direct our energy to broader societal healing. Can we begin to vaccinate against what has plagued our city for years now, namely the difficulty in living here with anything less than a six-figure paycheck from a tech job? I dont pretend to understand all the complexities of such a remedy, but these past few weeks, weve caught a glimpse of the policy, advocacy and generosity we are capable of.

In my own advocacy to save independent restaurants, I also see that were fighting to save something of a much larger scale. And if you dont yet know what that something much larger is, ask the many creative minds who have shaped Bay Area culture over the years.

Hurry before theyre gone.

Kimberly Zerkel is a freelance writer. Email: culture@sfchronicle.com
The UN's special Mideast envoy called Wednesday on Israel to drop plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, joining a growing international chorus of opposition. Envoy Nickolay Mladenov also called on the Palestinians to resume talks with the so-called Quartet, comprising the US, Russia, the EU and the United Nations. "Israel must abandon threats of annexation," Mladenov said during a meeting of the Security Council. "I call on my colleagues in the Middle East Quartet to work with the UN and quickly come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace," he added. The unusually direct statement came a day after Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas announced an end to the Palestinians' security arrangements with Israel, which plans to annex territories in the occupied West Bank. Mladenov said he would speak Thursday with Palestinian leaders about the practical consequences of their announcement, which were not spelled out by Abbas. "The continuing threat of annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank would constitute a most serious violation of international law," Mladenov warned. It would "deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to a renewal of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace and our broader efforts to maintain international peace and security," he added. The US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, stressed for her part that a solution could only result from the two parties sitting down at the same negotiating table. "What is needed right now, if we hope to take even a first step in the right direction, is for the parties to sit down with one another," she said. "This council cannot dictate the end of this conflict. We can only encourage the parties to sit down to determine how they wish to make progress." The US diplomat once again called on the Palestinians to seize the opportunity offered by a US peace plan that it has previously rejected. Several Security Council members such as Indonesia and the European countries have warned Israel against the planned annexations. In a joint statement France, Belgium, Germany and Estonia reaffirmed that they "will not recognize any changes to the 1967 borders, unless agreed by Israelis and Palestinians." "We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to international law," they said, reaffirming their support for a two state solution as the only one capable of bringing peace to the region.
Every day, MySA.com compiles the latest headlines and helpful links on the COVID-19 pandemic in the San Antonio area.

COVID-19 case updates: The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases continued to climb Tuesday but the rate of positive results is still dropping as Mayor Ron Nirenberg and County Judge Nelson Wolff extended their orders designed to prevent a resurgence of the disease until June 4.
The body of China's ambassador to Israel, who died earlier this week, was handed to Chinese authorities in a ceremony at Israel's Ben Gurion international airport on Wednesday.

Soldiers from Israel's military police, wearing surgical masks, white peak hats and armbands over their olive green uniforms carried the ambassador's wooden coffin, covered by the red and yellow Chinese flag, an AFP correspondent reported.

The coffin was placed on a black altar surrounded by white wreaths of flowers ahead of the body's repatriation to China.

Ambassador Du Wei was 57 when he was found dead at his home in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, on Sunday.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that "health reasons" were the presumed cause of Du's death, and Israeli police had not conducted a criminal investigation into the incident.

Du had taken his post in Israel in February, with part of his duties including advancing cooperation in high-tech and other sectors.

Israel's new Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazy, who took charge of the ministry the day after Du's death, expressed his "sincere condolences" and offered his "deepest sympathies" to the ambassador's family over his "sudden and tragic passing".
"We have attended to almost 1,000 cases of these extra-judicial measures with the same modus operandi. They seem to be on the rise, and it is time that the state holds whoever is doing that accountable," he told the BBC.
Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, a Sacramento, CA-based specialty pharmaceuticals company, closed a $16m equity financing round.

The round was led by Telegraph Hill Partners with participation from existing investors.

The company intends to use the funds for internal development and acquisition of additional generic and branded drugs to broaden its product portfolio.

Led by Mr. Jay Shukla, CEO, Nivagen is a specialty pharmaceuticals company engaged in the development and sale of difficult to formulate generic and branded prescription drugs for the North American market. The company is building a broad portfolio of drug products by developing, acquiring, and in-licensing unique formulations to serve the needs of its customers and is also exploring strategies to develop or acquire manufacturing facilities in the United States to alleviate supply disruptions and accelerate time to market for its pipeline products.

FinSMEs

20/05/2020
DALLAS, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- After spending weeks at home in a COVID-19 lockdown, office workers will find it's not business as usual when they return to their jobs, according to BBG, a leading due diligence commercial real estate firm.

Since most states have relaxed shelter-in-place rules, companies have begun the complicated task of making adjustments in offices that are designed to help prevent virus spread among their employees.

While there may be lingering concerns over employers' efforts to provide virus-free office space, an overwhelming majority of employees look forward to returning to their offices, at least some of the time, as they have grown weary of continually working from home.

According to one industry survey, more than 60 percent of the respondents plan to return to their offices part of the work week and spend the rest of the time working from home. Nearly 35 percent of the workers plan to resume work at the office full-time while the rest want to continue to work from home indefinitely.

To accommodate returning workers, companies are making a series of changes in the workplace. That includes installing Plexiglas cough shields at their desks, requiring temperature checks, providing masks, and improving ventilation systems to increase air flow.

Another return-to-work strategy includes limiting the number of employees in buildings by scheduling them to work different shifts at the office and home.

One of the biggest challenges facing owners and tenants of office buildings is redesigning employees' work space that follows social-distancing requirements of people staying at least six feet apart from each other.

An industry report on the virus's impact on office space said that office density has shrunk considerably over the years. The report added that research has found that current office densities ranged from 75 to 150 square feet per person, compared with more than 300 square feet two decades ago.

There also were reports that some companies plan to reduce office space in major urban areas as a result of many of their employees found they could do their work remotely during the virus-induced lockdown.

However, employees returning to their offices will require companies to consider additional space needs in order to meet social-distancing requirements.

BBG CEO Chris Roach commented: "The pandemic has had a profound effect on the office sector, forcing many businesses to temporarily close or significantly reduce staff. During the outbreak, companies found that video conferencing platforms and other technology allowed employees to be just as productive working from home as they were in an office. Fortunately, this enabled companies to continue to serve their clients and retain staff without serious disruption. However, the office building sector remains a vital one in the corporate environment, as most employees and their employers still prefer the face-to-face work-social interaction that only an office setting can provide."

About BBG

BBG offers comprehensive due diligence services including valuation, advisory, property assessment, energy services, cost segregation, and zoning. Headquartered in Dallas, the firm has 36 offices in key US markets and more than 2,700 clients. As one of the Big Five national commercial real estate valuation firms, BBG has achieved a reputation for personal attention, on-time delivery and deep expertise in multi-family, office, retail and industrial sectors. For more information about BBG, please visit www.bbgres.com.

Media Contact

Marc Weinstein

Ascent Communications

(908) 967-9958

[email protected]

SOURCE BBG

Related Links

http://www.bbgres.com


An outraged customer has claimed he was denied entry to a popular sportswear store because he refused to use hand sanitiser upon entering.

Opinion is divided over the man's claims about the incident at the Asics outlet at Birkenhead Point at Drummoyne in Sydney's inner west.

Retailers allowed to stay open during the ongoing coronavirus crisis have enforced increased safety measures to protect customers and staff, including social distancing guidelines, reduced capacity of customers in-store at one time, sanitisation of surfaces and cashless payment systems.

The furious shopper posted his story to Facebook page on Tuesday to vent his anger about the 'absolutely ridiculous' incident.

A man took to Facebook claiming he was refused entry to this Asics store (pictured) at Birkenhead Point Drummoyne because he refused to use their hand sanitiser upon entering

The post includes photos of the store entrance, where a sign clearly outlines the conditions of entry, including the sanitising and washing of hands.

'I had a conversation with the store manager inside the store who stated 'my hands are tied, it's a condition of entry',' the man posted.

'The whole time during conversation we were less than one metre apart.'

'I understand it's not the employees fault but come on.... slowly but surely turning into a police state.

'I'm guessing next corporations will need to see evidence of Covid-19 App or require your name, address and phone number before entry like in NZ. No thank you!'

The Facebook post was inundated with more than 1,000 comments sparked a divisive reaction.

Some supported the man's decision.

'Good on you for not complying. Non-compliance is the only way. There are so many studies on the importance of the microbiome and health and that crap destroys our first line of defence and our compromised biological environment is why Covid-19 is a problem to some,' one woman commented.

Poll Should shoppers be forced to use hand sanitiser before entering stores? Yes No Undecided Should shoppers be forced to use hand sanitiser before entering stores? Yes 156 votes

No 98 votes

Undecided 13 votes Now share your opinion





Another added: 'Take business elsewhere. All these big organisations that we leave our hard earned $$ too, are all part of this pandemic. Support the small business owner.'

But the man also copped backlash for not complying with the simple instruction.

'Just f*****g sanitize your hands instead of wasting workers time,' one person commented.

Another added: 'If that's your attitude stay at home, I wouldn't want you in the same shop as my family.'

The customer added within the comments that he had an extensive and civil conversation with staff.

'No aggression and was alluding to in the above post that it is an overreaction and Australia may possibly follow NZ's approach,' he wrote.

'In all honesty the conversation went for a bit of time but there is not enough room to write it all here, that's why I posted the way I did, so people can question what is happening.'

A sign at the store's entrance (pictured) clearly states that shoppers must sanitise or wash their hands upon entering the premises

Some pointed out the rules were much stricter in many other countries.

'In South Africa is worse mate, they've mandated wearing of face masks and it annoys the hell out of me. I keep fighting manager every day in all the retail shops,' one person wrote.

Another added: 'In Romania security guards are taking people's body temperature by the entrance of the supermarkets.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the customer and Asics for comment.

The Birkenhead Point outlet is one of seven Asics stores across Australia that have stayed open during the pandemic.
But if you search the negative space between what happened and what may come, youll see evidence of the panic among Obamas servants, his Washington Kemalists. Like their namesakes in Turkey years ago, they acted as if their mission were to protect the state against the will of the people, elections or no elections, and keep their hold on awesome power.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office released video footage showing a huge block party gathering on May 16, despite social distancing guidelines.

Facebook/Volusia Sheriff's Office

Florida authorities say some 3,000 people gathered for a block party on May 16.

On Monday, the police chief noted in a press conference that the public has been urged to avoid large gatherings due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

Florida is in the first of its three-phase reopening plan and has advised residents to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.

Authorities said they made seven arrests that night, starting after they saw two men exchange a gun, but residents expressed concern that the officers were unfairly targeting black attendees.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Florida authorities have released footage showing thousands of people gathering for a block party on May 16 in Spring Hill, despite social-distancing guidelines warning against large gatherings.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office released the footage after some partygoers accused deputies of targeting black residents when making arrests. The sheriff's office said the deputies had intervened only after seeing someone point a long gun out of the passenger-side window of a moving vehicle, and when they saw two men exchanging a gun.

After arresting the men  and Tasing one of them, who Chitwood said resisted arrest  officers were hit with a cup of alcohol, "sucker punched" by another partygoer who fled the scene, and hit with a barstool and mason jar, according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

"The behavior that occurred here overnight was dangerous, senseless, unacceptable, and an embarrassment to our community," Chitwood said in a statement posted online. "None of it will deter law enforcement from coming back when we're needed."

In a press conference Monday, DeLand Police Chief Jason Umberger noted that the public has been urged to avoid large gatherings due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The footage also showed the thousands of partygoers mingling without wearing face masks or maintaining a six-foot distance from one another.

Story continues

Florida is in the first of its three-phase reopening plan, as Insider's Haven Orecchio-Egresitz has reported, and has advised residents to avoid social gatherings of more than 10 people.

"Not only was this a public safety issue, but it was a matter of public health," Umberger said at the May 18 press conference. "No one should be getting together in large groups of 50 or more."

"The coronavirus affects everyone in our community, and we're asking for everyone's cooperation in this matter," Umberger said.

Seven people were arrested and two law enforcement officers were injured

The event began as a block party to commemorate a resident who was murdered in 2008, but grew chaotic in the evening when the afterparty occurred, according to The West Volusia Beacon, which quoted several attendees who complained about the deputies' conduct.

"This is what they do to black people," one attendee told the news outlet. "It's not fair."

Another woman who spoke to the outlet questioned why the partygoers were not simply allowed to enjoy themselves that night.

"We are human too  black lives matter. Every life matters," she said, according to the West Volusia Beacon. "Why do they try to take our humanity? Our pride? It's not fair to us  we're all human. We all bleed the same blood. When he made us, he made y'all."

Ultimately, seven people were arrested that night, according to The West Volusia Beacon. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said in the Facebook statement that one deputy sustained a minor knee injury and a DeLand police officer sustained a minor head injury from being hit with the mason jar.

Umberger acknowledged residents' complaints about racial bias in his remarks Monday, saying "there continues to be some racial tension between Spring Hill and law enforcement," and adding that his officers have undergone "impartial police training."

But Umberger also said the arrests at the block party had "nothing to do with race, it has more to do with public safety and law and order."

Read the original article on Insider
Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, says the Chinese medical team who arrived in Nigeria on April 8, are still within the country d...





Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, says the Chinese medical team who arrived in Nigeria on April 8, are still within the country despite the expiration of their visas.





Speaking on Tuesday during the briefing of the presidential task force on COVID-19, Aregbesola said the team members were issued a 30-day visa in Beijing, China.





The minister, however, explained that they have been unable to return their country due to the restriction placed on air travels.





Indeed 15 Chinese nationals came into Nigeria on the 8th of April, he said.





From everything we have heard and said, they were here on the bill of CCECC, a Chinese company working in Nigeria, doing some work for us in several places. And in conjunction with some Nigerian companies, they agreed to support us with efforts to respond to the pandemic.





At Idu, they participated in retrofitting and equipping the isolation centre there. They equally worked on the dome project that was handled by the NNPC consortium in conjunction with THISDAY. Those are the location in which they came to work.





Fifteen of them came in on April 8. They came on a 30-day visa issued in Beijing but they are still here.





They are still here not because they have not completed their job but because there is a restriction on travels in Nigeria occasioned by the COVID-19 protocols.




Usually, board examinations are held at designated test centres for students.

New Delhi: Students will appear for pending class 10 and 12 board exams at the schools where they are enrolled instead of an external test centre, according to the HRD Ministry.

The Ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end and evaluation process has already begun for exams which were conducted before the lockdown was announced.

According to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) officials, students will appear at their individual schools for the exams and not external test centres.

"Students will appear for the exams in their own schools and not external test centres to ensure minimum travel for them. Schools will be responsible for ensuring social distancing norms are followed and students will be required to carry their own sanitiser bottles and cover their face with mask," a board official said.

The information was also shared by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' in a live interaction with students aired on DD News on Tuesday night.

Usually, board examinations are held at designated test centres for students. This is to ensure minimum bias from schools for their students and to enable independent external invigilators to monitor the examination process.

The board on Monday announced the date sheet for the pending class 10 and 12 board exams, which will now be held from July 1-15 with strict distancing norms in place.

The exams were postponed due to the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of Covid-19.

While class 12 exams will be conducted across the country, the class 10 exams are only pending in North East Delhi, where they could not be held due to the law and order situation in the wake of protests against the amended citizenship act.

The HRD minister said that efforts are being made to ensure that the result is declared by July-end.

"Efforts are being made to declare the result by July-end itself. Evaluation process has already begun for the board exams and will continue to be held simultaneously with pending exams. Teachers who are involved in the evaluation process will be exempted from delivering academic and administrative work for the tenure," he said in the interaction.

The CBSE class 10 and class 12 board exam evaluation is being carried out from home. Further, the HRD Ministry had earmarked 3000 evaluation centres from where answer sheets would be distributed to teachers at their homes for evaluation and then collected.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the Covid-19 outbreak.

Later, a 21-day nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day. It has now been extended till May 31.

The board was not able to conduct class 10 and 12 exams on eight examination days due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Further, due to the law and order situation in North East Delhi, the board was not able to conduct exams on four examination days, while a very small number of students from and around this district were not able to appear in exams on six days.

The board had last month announced that it will only conduct pending exams in 29 subjects which are crucial for promotion and admission to higher educational institutions.

The modalities of assessment for the subjects for which exams are not being conducted will be announced soon by the board.

The schedule has been decided in order to ensure that the board exams are completed before competitive examinations such as engineering entrance JEE-Mains, which is scheduled from July 18-23, and medical entrance exam NEET, which is scheduled on July 26.
On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do

Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there...
The global yoga accessories market size is expected to grow by USD 830.47 million during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519005821/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Yoga Accessories Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Product premiumization due to increasing innovation will be one of the major factors behind the yoga accessories market growth. Vendors are offering innovative yoga accessories such as reversible mats, which are made from natural rubber along with eco-friendly mats that are developed from jute. These mats are designed with antimicrobial additives that help prevent mold and mildew on the mat. Such innovations are driving the market and consumers are willing to invest in these premium products due to factors such as superior quality and durability. The launch of such innovative and premium products will help vendors widen their profit margins and gain a competitive edge during the forecast period.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43441

As per Technavio, the introduction of smart mats will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Yoga Accessories Market: Introduction of Smart Mats

Several manufacturers are continuously looking to improve yoga mats with additional features to increase customer satisfaction. One of the trending innovations in the field of yoga mats is smart connectivity using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Such smart mats can be monitored through mobile apps installed on smart gadgets. Several manufacturers are focusing on introducing the smart connectivity feature in their upcoming yoga accessories. For instance, SmartMat is a portable yoga mat, which helps track and improve yoga practice by suggesting incremental improvements towards achieving the perfect position. Thus, with such advanced features, the global market is expected to witness a positive outlook during the forecast period.

"Growing enrolment in fitness and health clubs and increasing availability of custom yoga mats will have a significant impact on the growth of the yoga accessories market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports

Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Yoga Accessories Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the yoga accessories market by product (yoga mats, yoga straps, yoga blocks, and others) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

The North American region led the yoga accessories market share in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the rising participation in regular fitness activities, and the introduction of new product offerings by vendors in the region.

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/20200519005821/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/
Hours after Nepal released a revised controversial map of the country showing several Indian territories as its own, India on Wednesday rejected the new map and called for the respect of India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Reacting to the map, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the unilateral action is not based on historical facts and evidence.

The Nepal government officially issued a map which shows Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura as its own. The map was unveiled by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives & Poverty Alleviation.

The MEA spokesperson added that it is in contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. He also said that such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India. Srivastava further added that Nepal is well aware of Indias consistent position on the matter and urged it to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion.

An official statement read, "The Government of Nepal has released a revised official map of Nepal today that includes parts of Indian territory. This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India."

"Nepal is well aware of Indias consistent position on this matter and we urge the Government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues," it added.

Earlier in May, Nepals President Bidhya Devi, while addressing the joint session of the Parliament, had said new maps of the country will be published that will show all areas it considers it's own. Bhandari said, "Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani region are Nepal's territory and concrete diplomatic efforts will be taken towards reclaiming these territories. An official map of Nepal will be published accordingly incorporating all the territories of Nepal."

Elaborating Nepali govt's approach, Bhandari explained that the "government of Nepal is committed to safeguarding the international borders of Nepal" and "outstanding border disputes with India will be resolved through diplomatic medium relying on available historical treaties, maps, facts and evidence"

Kathmandu raised the chorus over the issue after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new road from Dharchula to Lipulekh that will reduce the time taken for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

After this development, Indian envoy to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra was called by Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and its concern was raised over the matter.

India has clarified to Nepal on Lipulekh that the "recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India".

New Delhi sees an increased Chinese role in Nepal as a reason for current comments by Kathmandu. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane had on Friday hinted at foreign involvement with Nepal raking up the Lipulekh issue.

Army Chief, speaking at a think tank IDSA's online meet, said, "I do not know exactly what they are exactly agitating about. Never been a problem in the past, reasons to believe they might have raised these problems, issues at the behest of someone else and there is very much a possibility."
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said that Trump connects best with the American people on the campaign trail, adding that rallies would resume as soon as it is possible. He declined to say whether the campaign has determined which states the president would focus on or if officials had been in touch with specific states to plan out rallies. Still, he echoed Trumps claims that Democrats are playing politics with reopening their economies and touted the Trump campaigns growing digital effort.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 14:04:03|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

CANBERRA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- South Australia's state government has fast-tracked the easing of coronavirus restrictions.

Premier Steven Marshall announced on Wednesday morning that cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen and serve up to 10 patrons indoors and a further 10 outdoors from Friday.

Pubs will reopen from June 5 for the Queen's Birthday long weekend, three days earlier than previously planned.

"We know that it would be great for regional South Australia. We know it would be great for businesses in metropolitan Adelaide."

South Australia is the only Australian state with zero active cases of COVID-19.

Greg Hunt, the Federal Health Minister, told reporters on Wednesday morning that there had been 7,071 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia as of 7:00 a.m. local time, an increase of 11 in 24 hours. Enditem
HOLYOKE  Faced with too few nurses at the beginning of a coronavirus outbreak, managers at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke merged units and moved nine patient beds to the dining room, according to a study examining how the staff shortage contributed to scores of infections and 74 deaths at the state-run nursing facility.

The Pioneer Institute, a public policy research group, released the study this week. Meanwhile, relatives of some Soldiers Home residents have been raising concerns about staffing and conditions in the facility since the initial days of the pandemic and earlier.

About 60% of deaths from COVID-19 in Massachusetts have occurred in long-term care facilities. While the elderly and those with preexisting health problems are the most vulnerable, the disproportionate number of people who have died in nursing homes demands an explanation, said Andrew Mikula, an economic opportunities fellow for the Pioneer Institute.

The Soldiers Home reportedly has fared the worst of any long-term health care facility nationwide, with 151 patients infected out of the about 210 living there when the outbreak began.

Mikula said he and study co-author Greg Sullivan were also drawn to study the Soldiers Home because of a 2017 series in The Republican that showed there were 600 residents injured by falls, some suffering broken bones and other serious injuries, during a two-year period. In the series, employees, their union representatives and families pointed to problems with understaffing.

Why didnt the state or federal government or VA handle it earlier? Mikula asked.

His research showed multiple audits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and one conducted by the state auditors office did not identify problems with staffing. The only finding about staffing inadequacy in the auditors report showed unnecessary payroll costs for overtime hours, the Pioneer Institute study said.

In 2019 a Suffolk University report on the Holyoke Soldiers Home asserted that excessive overtime is one of the primary indicators of possible problems with staffing, but the 2017 audit report didnt make that connection, and thus the warnings of union representatives went unheeded, the study said.

But examinations of staffing levels, for the most part, showed the Soldiers Home met state and federal rules, even if the study determined they were inadequate for the amount and type of care residents needed.

Federal staffing standards say each patient should get 2.5 hours of nursing care per day. But the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services recommended in 2001 the standard should be increased to 4.1 hours of nursing time per resident per day  especially at a place like the Soldiers Home, where many residents need assistance with eating and using the bathroom or suffer from dementia, Mikula said.

State officials and leaders at the Soldiers Home seem to have applied the staffing standards correctly, Mikula said in the study. The problem is that the standards themselves are not sufficient to protect the frail and elderly during normal times, let alone in the midst of a pandemic.

While its easy to retroactively point fingers, the staffing and managerial concerns at Holyoke Soldiers Home that predate the coronavirus outbreak really stand out, said Sullivan, research director for the Pioneer Institute.

The question of whether mismanagement allowed the outbreak will be answered by various government investigations now underway. Mikula said there are allegations that there was little or no quarantining of residents who were believed to have contracted COVID-19, meaning they were mixed with the general population in tight quarters.

What we do know is the Holyoke Soldiers Home combined floors of the facility because of staffing issues in March, and I believe it accelerated the spread, Mikula said. My research does not preclude that it is the main culprit to the horrifying numbers we are seeing.

Lisa Colombo, a registered nurse the executive vice chancellor for Commonwealth Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, heads a clinical team at the Soldiers Home brought in by the state March 30. She told the facilitys board of trustees last month that, when she arrived, she found 10 units had been combined into seven, creating overcrowding that exacerbated the spread of the disease.

There had been a significant number of people out of work. They were down to 40 people in a staff that was already small, Colombo said.

Family concerns

Family members said they also saw signs of staffing shortages, which led to serious concerns when the pandemic hit the region.

Laurie Beaudette said she worried about her father, James Mandeville, who had was 83 and lived at the Soldiers Home for 16 years until his death from COVID-19 on April 14.

Early in the outbreak, she wrote an email to the director of nurses with a list of concerns, such as bags of unwashed laundry in the hallway and nurses using her fathers private bathroom sink, although there was one nearby at the nurses station. She asked that her fathers bathroom be sanitized daily, but never got a response.

Im extremely angry that administrators made the decisions they made and allowed that disease to spread through that place like wildfire, said Beaudette. Im pissed off they stole a month or more that I would have been at my dads side enjoying his company.

Beaudette was extremely close to her father, a Navy veteran and retired Hampden County court employee who preferred to be called Jim. Nearly every evening she would visit the Soldiers Home and they would play cards.

About a year ago, she said, she noticed administrators began rotating nurses and certified nursing assistants through different units, instead of the previous practice of having the same people assigned to the same floors so they grew to know the residents and their needs.

Beaudette said she witnessed the overcrowding on her fathers floor. Any room that had double beds, they shoved a third bed in there. (The rooms) are not that big and the beds were not six feet apart.

The consolidation of units also worried Cheryl Malandrinos, whose father-in-law, Harry Malandrinos, died April 20. He served in the Navy during the Korea War. Later he worked as a teacher for more than 40 years and retired as the head of the business department at Chicopee Comprehensive High School.

On March 13, Malandrinos was told her father-in-law was being moved from the third floor to the fourth because officials were trying to improve care.

I was against the consolidating of patients, she said. I said, You do realize this is counter to social distancing. But what else were we going to do?

Initially, her father-in-law tested negative for the virus and the family was relieved. While they couldnt visit, his wife Katherine and other family members talked to him on the phone. In mid-April they talked through FaceTime, and Malandrinos noticed something wrong.

It took two days of leaving messages to finally reach someone. Her father-in-law was brought to Holyoke Medical Center on April 19 unable to breathe or swallow.

He was suffering horribly, she said. His tongue was enlarged and he couldnt communicate, he was struggling to breathe but his mind was fully there.

He died the next day at the age of 89.

Im furious. My father-in-law, did he have a week, a month, a year? Whatever time he had was taken from him, Malandrinos said. My hope is that all these veterans did not die in vain and they will learn something and develop better protocols.

Staffing data

The most recent staffing numbers Mikula could find date to 2014. They show staffing levels broken down into five units, most of which include two or three wards. One of those units exceeded the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare recommendation, with 6 hours of nursing care per resident per day. Mikula said he is still researching why that particular ward, 2 South, had more staff.

The average nursing time on the other units ranged from 2.72 hours for 2 East & West to 3.59 for 1 & 2 North, the study said.

Mikula said it is clear staffing standards need to be modified and there should be better communication between families, employees, Soldiers Home managers and the state. As the baby boom generation continues to age and more people need long-term health care, staffing standards must be looked at more comprehensively, he said.

The problem also has to be explored from an economic perspective, he said, since long-term care facilities are often struggling financially and some have gone out of business.

This is all unprecedented, but for decades experts have been telling us these standards need to be higher, he said.

The clinical team at the Soldiers Home is conducting its own study to determine the proper number of full-time-equivalent staff needed to care for the residents, Val Liptak, the facilitys interim director, told trustees last week.

Currently there are 102 residents at the home, with another 31 living in a unit set up in early April at Holyoke Medical Center to reduce crowding and ensure social distancing. Since an entire floor at the Soldiers Home is now empty, up to $2 million in renovations are in progress to remove and replace 70-year-old wallpaper, curtains and old, stained wardrobes in resident rooms, none of which meet with infection control standards. Once work on one floor is finished, existing residents will be moved to permanent rooms on that floor and work will start on a second floor so the residents at Holyoke Medical Center can return to the Soldiers Home, she said.

The number of residents permitted will be reduced, likely to 160 or 170, she said.

We are configuring the number of beds. Some beds are only 24 inches apart, Liptak said. You cannot take care of veterans safely with beds 24 inches apart. There were too many veterans in one room.

Related Content:
Lost opportunities

The first quarter of 2020 was quiet and unpredictable, pervaded by a gloomy business scenario and slowed production. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic raged across the world, disrupting flow of raw material supplies, freezing some markets and causing shortage of labor and capital deficit to cover costs of production. However, by the beginning of the second quarter, domestic textile enterprises saw a glimmer of hope when the demand for face masks in several countries increased phenomenally to cope with the spread of the disease.

According to the European-American Market Department in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from the beginning of April, many countries in Europe and America began to import face masks and protective equipment for individuals and for those serving the population of countries struggling to contain the pandemic. For example, the US market has demand for about 500 million N95 medical face masks, 200 million face masks of all other types, 1,000 ventilators, 1 billion pairs of gloves, 100 million sets of medical robes, and 50 million sets of protective clothing. Other markets such as Spain, Kazakhstan, Canada and Russia too are in need of face masks and medical protective equipment.

According to Mr. Truong Van Cam, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), Europeans and Americans are changing their behavior, and now are using more face masks on a daily basis. This demand is steadily increasing. This is motivation enough for textile enterprises to restructure production and shift to making face masks to meet a new international demand. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) believes this short-term opportunity could help save Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises in the current bleak scenario.

In mid-April, the Vietnamese Government agreed to export medical face masks, protective clothing and medical equipment, only after ensuring a sufficient stock reserve to meet domestic demand. With this export opportunity, about 15% of top textile enterprises began a face mask production line and some small businesses or outsourcing businesses are also taking advantage of this market to maintain production, retain workers and actively link to find output for other products.

Overlap in regulations

However, in reality, the export of face masks has not been smooth sailing for textile enterprises. Several export regulations are hindering the supply and the barriers include the Ministry of Health not being organized to bid for buying masks, and no specific announcement has been made about whether or not the reserves for domestic use have been purchased. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the supply capacity of textile enterprises is for almost eleven million face masks per day. The paradox is that due to an overlap of regulations between the ministries, exports have been held back.

It is not just the export of masks that are being weighed down under regulations, but the export of rice too is facing the same fate since early April. In early May, the Government agreed to export rice, but this is also the time when countries in the region such as Thailand and India enter the harvest season, and rice prices in the world market begin to cycle down when supply begins to stabilize. The enterprises exporting Vietnamese rice have no more price advantage in the market now.

This setback of overlap in policies for the export of goods is not new for Vietnamese enterprises and domestic exporters have complained about these unreasonable regulations to regulatory authorities for last many years. According to Asso. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duc Thanh, former Director of Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), shortcomings in rice export regulations have shown an overlap of policies as well as inconsistencies in the centralized administration of the Government.

Mr. Thanh said that the National Reserve Department itself or any State agency, when participating in the market, must have market thinking and accept the happenings and principles of the market. He also commented that the current quota we are applying for export enterprises is relatively old and outdated. Therefore, the current problem is to balance the consumption volume and production volume and only when it is sufficient we must allow exports.

Data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shows that Vietnam's export turnover in April was around USD 19.7 bn, down 18.4% compared to March and down 3.5% over the same period in 2019. In general, exports of most commodities have decreased compared to March. In this context, the export goods that are in high demand in the world market and also the goods that Vietnamese enterprises have strength over, such as masks and rice, are not much. This is also a commodity group that is expected to be a bright spot in the gloomy picture of exports due to the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, overlap of export regulations has slowed down export activities, causing businesses to miss opportunities to grab market share advantages.

Luu Thuy
Representative image

The government may place a 15 percent COVID-19 tax on all chemical and petrochemical imports to safeguard the domestic industry.

The provisional duty on the imports may be imposed from May 1 to March 31, 2021, The Economic Times reported.

"The proposal has been made by a certain section of industry to the Department of Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals, and the department is still carrying out stakeholder consultations," an official told the publication.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

The tax will be applicable on all preferential imports under India's various free trade agreements (FTA), and would include organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, plastics, rubber, man-made filaments and man-made staple fibres, the report said.

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

The 15 percent levy would be in addition to the lowest tariff placed on Most Favoured Nations (MFNs), the report added.

The commerce ministry is awaiting an official proposal from by the Department of Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals.

"Several industries, which are dependent on chemicals, raw materials or intermediate goods in these sectors, have opposed the proposal," an official told the publication.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here
 Close Donald Trump says he would have done 'nothing' differently to stop coronavirus

Donald Trump travelled to Michigan to tour a Ford factory making ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic. He said he wore a mask in the back room, but didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing him wear it, even though it looked very nice on him. Even better than without a mask.

Michigan's attorney general Dana Nessel says Trump is not welcome back to the state after refusing to wear the mask, and she threatened Ford with legal action for allowing him to do so.

Trump may hold back federal funding from the state, which has suffered catastrophic flooding after two dams broke. He has tied unspecified funding to mail-in voting, which he says leads to mass voter fraud.

Trump has said he would have done "nothing" differently to stop the spread of the coronavirus - even as a new Columbia University model indicates that going into lockdown two weeks earlier would have saved 36,000 American lives. The country's death toll is currently approaching 94,000.

Internationally and interplanetary, Trump confirmed that the US has pulled out of the Open Skies weapons treaty with Russia while saying he might attend the NASA SpaceX launch of two Americans to the International Space Station next week.

He also revealed that he will stop taking the controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine "in two days", which he has been heavily criticised for by his usual cheerleaders over at Fox News.

The president's day ended with a Twitter rant lamenting that Fox News was littered with garbage because they were doing nothing to help him get re-elected in November, while his former fixer Michael Cohen was released from prison early with the ominous comment that "there is so much I want to say".

Please allow a moment for our live blog to load
Making preparations for fresh free trade climate, illustration photo

According to the National Assembly Office, the ninth session of the 14th National Assembly (NA), which will take place from May 20 to June 19, is expected to see debate and adoption of 10 draft laws and seven draft resolutions (see box) including three draft resolutions on passing the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, and Convention No.105 on Abolition of Forced Labour of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

In late May at the NA Standing Committees 44th session, the committee agreed that Vietnams entry into Convention 105 is essential and significant in political, socio-economic, and legal aspects as the country beefs up its international integration and national industrialisation and modernisation.

Created in 1957, Convention 105, one of the eight fundamental ILO conventions, prohibits the use of any form of forced or compulsory labour as a means of political coercion or education, punishment for the expression of political or ideological views, workforce mobilisation, labour discipline, punishment for participation in strikes, or discrimination.

In Vietnams legal system, forced labour is entirely prohibited in all forms and punishment of all violations has been clearly prescribed in the Constitution, the Criminal Code, and the Labour Code.

According to the State President Office, Vietnams access to and implementation of Convention 105 will contribute to staying dangers of forced labour, protecting legitimate rights and benefits of labourers, and stabilising and harmonising the countrys labour climate, accordingly helping increase labour productivity and facilitating Made-in-Vietnam goods and services to have a better access to international markets, especially the US and Europe. This will also help ensure national sustainable economic development and ensure better social equality in the context of globalisation.

Entry to Convention 104 will facilitate enterprises goods exported to foreign markets to shun risks of being boycotted by the importing nations. Not using forced labour in the process of producing goods and services will also be a passport for goods and services from Vietnam to be exported to global markets, especially the EU and the US, stated Minister for Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung.

Nguyen Van Giau, Chairman of the NAs Committee for External Relations also said, Entry to Convention 105 is necessary now, especially when Vietnam has been implementing commitments in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and is going to realise commitments in the EVFTA expected to take effect in July.

The CPTPP embraces specific requirements on labour rights and work conditions to ensure that the free flow of trade will contribute to sustainable development, and enable workers and businesses to enjoy their fair share of economic gains, according to the ILO.

Meanwhile, Vietnams EVFTA labour commitments are not subject to specific standards but only reaffirm its respect, promotion, and effective implementation of four basic standards under the ILO 1998 Declaration, including respecting, promoting freedom of association and effectively recognising collective bargaining rights between workers and employers; eliminating all forms of forced and compulsory labour; eliminating child labour; and eliminating discrimination in employment.

The EU welcomes the plan of the government of Vietnam to submit ILO Convention 105 to the National Assembly of Vietnam for ratification procedures, stated a press release from the European Commission.
The Chilean airforce relocated three COVID-19 patients in critical conditions from Santiago to Concepcion on Tuesday, looking to free needed spaces in Intensive Care Units.

The Chilean health services were forced to operate close to capacity in the last weeks.

In Santiago, hospitals are close to 95% of its capacity and numbers of patients that require ventilators are still mounting.

On Tuesday, Chile has a record of new cases with 3,520 new patients 31 deaths in the last day.

At least 5% of those newly infected with the new coronavirus will need a critical bed and a mechanical ventilator in the coming days, further straining the Chilean Health System.

The Airforce has relocated 16 people in the last week, a partial solution as not all patients are eligible to be transferred into other hospitals with free ICU spaces.

The health service authority of the Chilean airforce said the patients should withstand several hours of transportation before reaching the next ICU.

Initially, four patients were meant to board the flight to Concepcion, but one was not admitted into the aircraft as specialists considered a better option to care for him in Santiago.

The government ordered on Tuesday that private medical facilities with intensive care beds to increase their space available by 20 percent within six days, and double the capacity within a month.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, Chile has nearly 50,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 500 deaths.

However, the number of infections may be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

For most people, the 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.
Every few years I write a column about the United States Postal Service. In 2009 I just about wrote it off. That year the Postal Service faced a $7 billion revenue shortfall, and 700 post offices were slated for closure.

The problem wasnt inefficiency or mismanagement. The previous year the post office had delivered 212 billion pieces of mail  46% of the world total  with an on-time delivery rate between 94 and 97 percent.

Still, mail volume was dropping and the Postal Service appeared to be an inevitable victim of a cultural shift as profound and revolutionary as the one that occurred when the printing press was invented 500 years ago.

The typewritten or handwritten letter was already deeply obsolescent in 2009, and a huge proportion of correspondence  bills, bank statements, advertising  that would have reached us via our mailboxes had already migrated to the internet. The future seemed clear, and it was unlikely to include the U.S. Postal Service.

But I wrote another column in 2013 that was more optimistic about the future of the post office. Mail volume had dropped to 175 billion pieces per year, but efficiency was as high as ever.
[May 20, 2020] Bango Expands Presence in Three Continents With New Google Play Launches

CAMBRIDGE, England, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bango (AIM: BGO), the mobile commerce company, has successfully launched carrier billing routes in the Google Play store for new operators in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Millions of customers in Peru, Hong Kong and South Africa can now pay for the massive array of content and services in Google Play, charging the cost to their phone bill, all powered by the Bango Platform. In the space of six weeks, Direct Carrier Billing in the Google Play store has been enabled through the Bango Platform for subscribers of Entel in Peru, Sun Mobile in Hong Kong and MTN in South Africa. Pre and post-paid subscribers can now simply click-to-buy using carrier billing for instant access to their favorite games, music, movies and more. "Ever more operators across the world standardize on the Bango platform to bringmobile commerce experiences to their customers," said Paul Larbey, CEO at Bango. "In addition to activating payments in Google Play and other app stores, Bango technology enables operators to offer third-party products bundled with their customer plans or marketed directly to their customers through Facebook and other platforms."



To ensure continuous revenue growth from carrier billing across these new routes, Bango technology will be applied to increase payment success, user acquisition and engagement. Mobile operators relying on Bango Boost data typically increase revenue by 20-40 percent, with some achieving growth of more than 70 percent. About Bango

App developers, stores and payment providers cross the threshold into the Bango ecosystem to converge, grow and thrive. By bringing businesses together and powering e-commerce with unique data-driven insights, Bango delivers new business opportunities and new dimensions of growth for customers around the world. Being inside the Bango circle means global merchants including Amazon, Google and Microsoft can work together with payment partners from Africa to the Americas, accelerating the performance of everyone on the inside. www.bango.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bango-expands-presence-in-three-continents-with-new-google-play-launches-301062049.html SOURCE Bango

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Donald Trump bashed China Wednesday morning for its 'incompetence' leading to worldwide deaths from the coronavirus pandemic  as the U.S. maintains the highest number of cases and deaths of any other country.

'Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people,' Trump tweeted, referencing an unidentified individual.

'Please explain to this dope that it was the 'incompetence of China', and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!' he continued.

Earlier on in the outbreak, Trump often referred to COVID-19 as the 'Chinese virus,' wanting to make it clear that he blames China for the outbreak.

The virus first appeared in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, located in Central China's Hubei province, and spread rapidly around the world.

Donald Trump bashed an unidentified Chinese individual on Wednesday for 'blaming everybody other than China' for coronavirus, claiming instead that China's 'incompetence' is to blame for 'mass worldwide killing'

The U.S. still has the most number of cases and deaths from coronavirus, but Trump and his administration claim this is because other countries  like China  are not reporting their real numbers

Trump has also said the U.S. accounted for around 30 per cent of the confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide because of the higher levels of testing equipment and capabilities

So far the virus has killed more than 324,000 people worldwide and there are nearly 5 million confirmed cases  and the pandemic has triggered huge economic destruction.

The U.S. accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the confirmed cases with more than 1.53 million instances, but the president and experts have raised potential explanations, including that other countries, like China, are not accurately reporting the case count and death toll.

China has only reported around 84,000 cases and claims only about 4,600 people have died after contracting the virus.

These numbers were reported even though images were captured and revealed with massive amounts of urns at funeral homes in China.

Trump has also claimed that other countries have less cases because they do not have the same level of testing equipment and capabilities, meaning these countries have a less accurate way of making sure all those with symptoms are tested for coronavirus.

U.S. has reportted the highest numbers of cases and deaths than any other country

China says only 4,683 people have died there after contracting coronavirus

'Don't forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world. But why? Because we do more testing,' Trump asserted during a speech last week at Owens and Minor, a medical supply distributor located in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

He also called testing 'overrated,' adding: 'When you test, you have a case.'

'When you test, you find something is wrong with people,' Trump continued in his remarks. 'If we didn't do any testing, we would have very few cases.'

Trump has asserted on several occasions that China knew about the virus earlier on in the outbreak, but did not inform the rest of the world  leading to more deaths than the president says would have resulted if China released the information earlier.

He also threatened to end U.S. funding to the World Health Organization over his claim that it provided assistance to China in covering up the extent and seriousness of the outbreak.

The White House has also suggested that the novel virus originated in a laboratory in China and was accidentally released.

Trump tweet come the day after Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China Communist Party's official publication Global Times, wrote in a now-deleted tweet that Trump governing by 'witchcraft' during the outbreak is to blame for the high level of deaths in the U.S.

The claim of 'witchcraft' came after Trump revealed Monday that he has been taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent contracting coronavirus for at least two weeks

The president's Wednesday morning attack against China also came after an individual close with China's Communist Party lashed out at Trump on Tuesday.

Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of China Communist Party's official publication, Global Times, claimed Trump is using 'witchcraft' after the president admitted to taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent contracting coronavirus.

He also blamed the U.S. response to the virus outbreak for accumulating the highest number of deaths.

'President Trump is leading the US's struggle against pandemic with witchcraft, and as a result, more than 90,000 people have died,' Hu wrote Tuesday morning in a now-deleted tweet. 'If it were in China, the White House would have been burned down by angry people.'

The editor of the governing publication is close with Chinese leadership.

Trump said Monday that he has been taking the unproven antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure for around two weeks.
In the May 1972 issue of Christianity Today, Frank Nelsen, a history professor from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee, proposed creating evangelical living and learning centers for undergraduate students [to] be built on private property near large state universities. These centers would provide students with space to pursue an intellectually honest investigation of the Christian faith and its relation to secular disciplines.

Nelsen suggested the ideatargeting a niche between campus ministries, local churches, and Christian liberal arts collegesas a solution to what CT had identified a year earlier as the Crisis in Christian Education. The postwar boom in higher education was waning, and evangelicals were unprepared to respond. Rather than stick to an aging model, Nelsen asked: Is there an educational alternative to the private college for evangelicals to consider in the light of current economic stresses and strains?

The question is, unfortunately, as timely in May of 2020 as it was in May of 1972. Once again, universitiesboth public and privateare facing a tidal wave of new economic stresses and strains. And what of Nelsens proposal? In the almost-half-century since, evangelical learning centers have popped up on dozens of college campuses, from flagship public institutions such as the University of Virginia and the University of WisconsinMadison to elite private schools including Yale and Duke. The 30 or so individual centers have formed a national Consortium of Christian Study Centers, founded in 2008. While the details of Nelsens proposal never came to fruition (he suggested separate Christian dormitories and accredited coursework), the idea took on a life of its own.

The path from CT article to national consortium was anything but straightforward. Charles Cothermans new book, To Think Christianly, is the first comprehensive history of the Christian study center movement and its many roots in postwar evangelicalism. Focused on an influential, if small, class of educated evangelicals pursuing deeper cultural engagement with contemporary thought, To Think Christianly carefully reconstructs a vast web of intellectual networks and institutional struggles that most recent histories of postwar evangelicalism ignore, resisting the dominant narrative of evangelical cultural engagement since World War II.

Two New Frameworks

To Think Christianly may be the first time many readers encounter the institution of the Christian study center. Cotherman, it should be clear, is exclusively concerned with the genealogy of evangelical learning centers. In the 19th century, organizations like the YMCA and the Chautauqua movement fulfilled a similar role for lay Christians. Catholics have built a vast Newman Center network, and mainline Protestants founded centers like the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland, in the late 1940s. Even Christian Science Reading Rooms resemble Christian study centers. Cotherman ignores this wider Christian history in favor of explaining contemporary evangelical study centers in particular. This may rankle some readers, but the choice also sharpens his focus on a distinct evangelical engagement with culture that remains understudied.

Evangelical Christian study centers trace their roots to two progenitors: Francis Schaeffers LAbri community in Switzerland and Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. While both were founded outside of the United States, they were deeply attuned to midcentury American evangelical concerns. Founded in 1955 in the Swiss Alps, LAbri became a destination for travelers and wanderers to learn at the feet (or more often at the cassette tape) of ex-fundamentalist Francis Schaeffer. A one-time missionary, Schaeffer and his wife, Edith, recognized the growing appeal of hosting young travelers in their home. As Cotherman observes, LAbris home-based hospitality of open-ended stays, communal work, and eating together made it a working, living, studying, praying community before communal living became a countercultural standard.

Article continues below

LAbris radical hospitality helped to popularize Schaeffers novel conservative Protestant engagement with art, philosophy, and culture. By the late 1960s, Schaeffer was a best-selling author with speaking tours across the United States. Yet there were limitations. Especially as he became a leader in pro-life politics in the 1970s, he developed a guru-like aura among his followers. Rather than engage directly with other thought leaders, he maintained an insular circle of intellectual partners. While most historical accounts of Schaeffer linger on this later phase of political activism, Cotherman emphasizes how a generation of intellectually inclined evangelicals were inspired by Schaeffers earlier period at LAbri.

If LAbris hospitality modeled a new type of evangelical community, Regent College suggested a novel framework for evangelicals to pursue academic knowledge. Initiated by a circle of educated Plymouth Brethren in Vancouver, Regent started as a graduate school for lay Christians, eventually affiliating with the University of British Columbia. Regents founding in 1970 was shaped by its first principal, James M. Houston, a Scottish geographer who left Oxford for the job. Houston quickly assembled an impressive faculty, including J. I. Packer and W. Ward Gasque, which led to growing enrollment.

One of Houstons early struggles was to maintain Regents focus on relational lay theological training and to resist developing Regent into a large seminary. As Cotherman puts it, Houston wanted education to do away with the trappings of technocracy in favor of personal relations. There were many benefits to this approach. With its mission to lay Christians, Regent was more welcoming to women (predominantly as students) in an era when it was almost impossible for women to enroll in evangelical seminaries. Regent encouraged women and men alike to become theological thinkers.

Why so much attention directed to this pair of institutions? In Cothermans telling, the twin legacies of LAbri and Regent helped sow an emphasis on hospitality and relationship for the study centers that would follow. Moreover, the majority of later study center founders had some connection to LAbri or Regent. These common evangelical roots were revealed through overlapping interpersonal networks and a shared intellectual agenda. The relationship of knowledge to faithof mind and heartwas the umbrella under which each new generation could contemplate certain core questions: What role does Christian faith play in the pursuit of academic knowledge? What does it mean to have a faithful Christian presence in a modern university community? How should Christian thought form an engineer, a doctor, an architect?

Cothermans other examplesR. C. Sprouls Ligonier Valley Study Center in Stahlstown, Pennsylvania, and New College Berkeley near the University of California (now affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union)diverged from the early models. Ligonier eventually became a national cassette and video tape ministry that relocated to outside of Orlando, Florida. New College Berkeley nearly folded in its attempt to gain accreditation in the 1980s, deciding instead to embed itself in an existing network of seminaries and theological centers in the San Francisco Bay area. More closely linked to the contemporary Christian study center movement is the Center for Christian Study on the campus of the University of Virginia, which under the leadership of Andrew Trotter in the 1990s and 2000s developed the cooperative model between university and study center that now dominates the movement. (Trotter would become the first director of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers in 2009.)

Article continues below

Carrying the Torch

Cothermans story largely sidesteps the familiar culture-war and Christian-right themes that currently receive so much attention from journalists and historians. Study centers themselves are scattered across the political spectrum. Schaeffer played a crucial role in the Christian right until his death in 1984, while New College Berkeleys roots are in the evangelical left of the 1970s.

This diversity does not mean, however, that Cotherman overlooks the areas where Christian study centers overlapped with conservative evangelical politics. Many study centers pitched (and still pitch) themselves as a shelter and specialize in apologetics, creating Christian bubbles of students floating in secular campuses. The US Supreme Courts 2010 ruling on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which allowed universities to implement far more muscular anti-bias regulations, only hardened this posture. According to Cotherman, the decision aided a reactionary and isolationist strain that can work against stated missions of cooperative academic engagement. And while the study centers that followed in Regents path were substantially more accessible to women than evangelical seminaries, most often they have been founded and led by white men.

Cothermans narrative choice is refreshing, suggesting an alternate story of postwar evangelical cultural engagement that is challenging, insightful, and, at times, inspirational. Like all histories, this one is shaped by the questions asked of the past. The Consortium of Christian Study Centers has recently experienced remarkable growth, as more than half of its 30 member centers were founded after 2010. To Think Christianlyreflects this narrative of growth, tracking the movements shift from an innovation mindset to a multiplication mindset. It remains unclear if the movement will continue to grow, or what its broader influence on evangelical thought will be. Observers beyond Cotherman, including historians Mark Noll and Molly Worthen, have highlighted study centers as potential bright spots in an intellectual landscape darkened by the multiple crises afflicting evangelical intellectual life and higher education.

These cycles of educational crisis, voiced by Nelsen in 1972, are, admittedly, here to stay. Crises are nothing new for the Christian colleges, he observed, their histories are replete with them. Cothermans excellent book illustrates how there has been and will continue to be an evangelical impulse to care for the mind, body, and spirit of these university communities. Whatever crises lay on the horizon, we can expect a host of Christian study centers to build creatively on the foundations laid by previous generations, carrying the torch of evangelical cultural engagement with the same verve and resilience.

Daniel G. Hummel is an honorary research fellow in the history department at the University of WisconsinMadison and a staff member at Upper House, a Christian study center based there. He is the author of Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations (University of Pennsylvania).
With coronavirus cases setting record after record in Brazil, an 86-year-old anti-malarial drug with an unproven track record against covid-19 is taking center stage in the country's political debate and public life.

President Jair Bolsonaro is poised to loosen protocols later this week for the use of chloroquine for mild coronavirus cases despite dangerous side effects, experts' warnings and no demonstrated success in clinical trials.

Undeterred, the president has ordered the military to ramp up production of the drug as he makes it a key element in the anti-virus fight, losing two health ministers in the process due in part to their objections to his strategy.

The controversy is just the latest twist in Brazil's erratic strategy to tackle the virus, with Bolsonaro pushing to restart the economy while local authorities try to enforce lockdowns and restrict activities to control it. In the past few days, Brazil has overtaken Spain, Italy and the U.K. and now trails only Russia and the U.S. in confirmed covid-19 infections, with more than a quarter million people testing positive and almost 18,000 deaths.

On Tuesday, Brazil reported 17,408 new confirmed cases and 1,179 deaths registered over the past 24 hours -- both records.

Since the start of the pandemic, Bolsonaro has often touted the anti-malarial medication. In small, yet frequent weekend demonstrations against social distancing, his supporters often carry signs asking for it to be authorized for use in the public health system. Even U.S. President Donald Trump has backed the practice, saying on Monday that he's been taking hydroxychloroquine, a sister drug, as a precautionary measure.

With the new guidelines, Brazil will allow for expanded use of chloroquine to include less serious cases and for patients in the early stages of infection.

Bolsonaro rarely misses a chance to talk up the drug to the press and on his social media accounts, helping fuel a fierce debate within the ranks of Brazil's medical profession. Several doctors who contracted the virus in Brazil have been encouraged to talk about their recovery, disclose if they took the drug and would they recommend it. Ligia Kogos, a celebrity dermatologist, said in an interview last month that she has prescribed it to her entire staff.

Clinical trials have failed to prove chloroquine's efficacy in combating covid-19. French research found the drug didn't reduce the likelihood that a covid-19 patient would die. Other trials were halted when patients developed potentially fatal irregular heart rates. Brazil has several ongoing trials involving hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, including one that was partially suspended after patients taking a higher dosage showed "a trend toward higher lethality."

The World Health Organization "cautions against physicians and medical associations recommending or administering these unproven treatments to patients with COVID-19 or people self-medicating with them," according to the organization's website.

With demand for chloroquine going up, a Brazilian health insurance firm created a drive-through to distribute it to clients who can provide a prescription -- with no need to have tested positive for the disease. Unimed Belem is giving out a kit containing the drug, plus the antibiotics azithromycin and ivermectin, in the Amazonian state of Para. The state, one of Brazil's poorest, has implemented lockdowns to counter the spread of the pandemic.

Prevent Senior, another health insurance plan focused on the elderly, has been providing chloroquine to patients presenting symptoms consistent with a mild stage of the virus.

"Of all the patients who started the medication on the second day, only a very small percentage had to be hospitalized and intubated," said Fernando Parrillo, CEO of Prevent, during a debate organized for a private bank last week.

Last month, Bolsonaro ordered military labs to expand production of chloroquine, which is usually given out to troops operating in the Amazon and other malaria-ridden locations. The military produces about 125,000 pills a year, according to its press office, but for April alone, the numbers topped 1.2 million.








Supergirl, Dreamer, Alex and Mgann are preparing for another strike against Leviathan after the sun eater was captured and their plans were foiled. Kara is suspicious of Lena since she arrived at the fortress the same time the morae did but they focus on what they know: finding Rama Khan.





Alex and Kara meet with a patient of Kellys, Pete Andrews, played by the fantasy king himself Sean Aston. Hes a linguist and they hope they can use him to help find Rama Khan with the symbols they found associated with him. When William calls about a possible update for Margot, Kara goes with him where they find out she wore an image inducer when she filmed the video they found.





Dreamer finds a clue in her dreams to where they can find Rama Khan. She, Jonn, and Mgann go to the Oregon Geological Monitoring Station. William is left to see who Margot was talking to at Obsidian while Supergirl comes to their aid. They stop Rama Khan from creating an earthquake. They find his staff makes him stronger but Brainy shows up and takes him into his custody. Supergirl and Dreamer follow them to make sure they can question him but Brainy refuses to let them in the room. Someone seems to be making this a little bit personal.





Pete and Alex continue their search after theyve hit a roadblock. They try to sneak into the special collections room but they are shot at by an unknown assailant. After he finds out his home is being watched, Pete goes in hiding.





At Obsidian, Andrea is trying to launch a VR Unity event worldwide despite Kelly telling her that its reckless and people could still get stuck inside the VR. William goes to Kelly for assistance and they find out the employee that Margot was in contact with was Eve. They bring this to Andrea who refuses to hear them out but thats not going to stop them. Sounds like were one step closer to them knowing the truth about Lex.





Brainys interrogation of Rama Khan goes sideways. Brainy tried to get him to take him to their ship but Rama escapes his chains. Brainy orders an evacuation and Rama Khan gains back his staff and takes all of the kryptonite in the building. This weakens Supergirl and he brings down the DEO. Jonn and MGann help get them out as the building comes crashing down. Kinda seems like Brainy shouldnt go rogue anymore. Kara and Dreamer are more than upset with Brainy. Dreamer questions him about what he was doing but he refuses to answer. Hes officially ostracized from the team.





While the team has been dealing with bigger provlems, Lena and Lex are dealing with an issue with her plans. One of the prisoners that she has been experimenting Non Nocere on had a glitch and became violent. Steve, one of her original patients, tells her about how he became suddenly violent when the elevator stopped. Shes unable to find out why but determines it was a one time incident. However, as she tries to fix it in the one inmate, the other inmates revert back to their fear and anger and start a riot.





She attempts to fix this by resetting the Q-Waves. This knocks out all the inmates but it makes Steve feel scared like he used to. This makes her realize that pain is a part of human life and she shouldnt have tried to fix it. Lex tells her that they need to work together to be a savior to humanity. Lena realizes that this was always what he wanted: power. He berates her for not being by his side after he put aside his goals for her. Lena leaves him after finally realizing hes a monster and unchangeable. Only took her all season but she finally got there.





The super team meets at the tower. Theyre unable to track Rama Khan and Leviathan now has Kryptonite and a lot of it. This makes Supergirl weak and unable to attack. Theyll need time before they regroup. Everything is going to plan for Lex. He gets to meet with the whole of Leviathan after helping Rama Khan get into the DEO. Oh and he blows up the prison when he leaves. Why? Who knows hes crazy. Lex meets Brainy and he reveals that he knew exactly what he would do and that with the Kryptonite and the item he stole from the fortress that he gave to Leviathan gets him access to the ship.





William tries to play private detective and follows Eve but gets taken instead. Oh William. Hes just a beginner. Ending this episode, Lena goes to Kara and apologizes to her. She admits that Lex is working with Leviathan using Lenas work and Obsidian. Kara obviously has a hard time trusting her but lets her stay. Not exactly a warming hug but its a start.





With only one episode left, theres definitely not going to be enough time to wrap up all of the little threads but with a new season already renewed, hopefully well have some closure to Leviathan and Lex and Obsidian.





Written by Carly B., SUPERGIRL Beat Writer




A living wage for janitors is the right thing to do, May 18

Emma Teitels article is right on the money. I am sure that essential front-line workers and support staff are tired of hearing all the thanks that are coming their way from the public, the government and large corporations.

The real, meaningful, long-term way to thank essential workers, who put their lives on the line every day during this pandemic, is to pay them.

This is the lowest paid work in society, done frequently by women.

Talk is cheap, but a big boost in wages across the board would begin to redress decades of neglect and exploitation of these workers who are critical to our economy.

It is time to stop paying CEOs big salaries for running companies efficiently and start paying the people who matter.

It is time to not only pay janitors a living wage, but nurses, teachers, ECE and child-care workers, PSWs, handicapped support staff, retail clerks and on and on.

This pandemic has revealed who really makes our society run, from sanitation workers to hotel cleaning staff, and it is about time that we stopped exploiting them so that corporations can make bigger profits.

These people are the backbone of our society who do what the rest of us will not.

The same is true of migrants who are brought in from Mexico and Jamaica to do all kinds of jobs that Canadians wont, from vegetable and fruit harvesters to packing lobster, because of the low wages.

Precarious work just doesnt cut it any more, as the pandemic has revealed.

The long-term-care corps recently released their financial results showing they paid billions to shareholders and CEOs while running their care homes, where the majority of people have died, on shoe-string budgets.

It is time that they started putting people first and profits last for a change.
Regulatory News:

Groupe PSA (Paris:UG):

Given the state of health emergency linked to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Managing Board of Peugeot S.A., in agreement with the Supervisory Board, decided, pursuant to ordinance n 2020-321 of March 25, 2020, to convene the Annual General Shareholders Meeting to be held on Thursday, June 25, 2020 without the physical presence of the shareholders and other persons entitled to attend.

The Managing Board and Supervisory Board want this event to be a special opportunity for dialogue between the shareholders and managers of the Company thanks to live streaming on the Groupe PSA website. Thus shareholders are invited to send their questions in writing, preferably by email, prior to the General Meeting within the statutory deadlines, ie no later than June 19.

In a context where postal deadlines are uncertain, it is also strongly recommended that shareholders vote online.

The details relating to the participation of shareholders in this General Meeting are specified in the usual documentation for the General Meeting which is available on the Company's website. Shareholders are invited to regularly consult the section of the website dedicated to the General Meeting to find all the latest information on the procedures for holding the General Meeting and exercising their rights.

The agenda and the draft resolutions which will be submitted to the vote of the shareholders, as well as the terms of participation in the General Meeting were made public today, Wednesday May 20, 2020, in the Bulletin of legal announcements, and may be consulted on the Group's website at the following address:

https://www.groupe-psa.com/en/finance/individual-shareholders/general-meeting/

About Groupe PSA

Groupe PSA designs unique automotive experiences and delivers mobility solutions to meet all customer expectations. The Group has five car brands, Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall and provides a wide array of mobility and smart services under the Free2Move brand. Its 'Push to Pass' strategic plan represents a first step towards the achievement of the Group's vision to be "a global carmaker with cutting-edge efficiency and a leading mobility provider sustaining lifetime customer relationships". An early innovator in the field of autonomous and connected cars, Groupe PSA is also involved in financing activities through Banque PSA Finance and in automotive equipment via Faurecia..

Media library: medialibrary.groupe-psa.com @GroupePSA_EN

Communications Division www.groupe-psa.com/en +33 6 61 93 29 36 @GroupePSA

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005330/en/

Contacts:

Media contacts:

Karine Douet: +33 6 61 64 03 83 karine.douet@mpsa.com

Valerie Gillot: +33 6 83 92 92 96 valerie.gillot@mpsa.com
Israels government published a proposal May 19 for a law that would allow the Shin Bet to monitor coronavirus carriers' cellphones. If adopted, the Shin Bet would be legally authorized, for a limited period of three months, to use mobile phone tracking to identify people who were in contact with those infected by the coronavirus.

The Shin Bet started tracking COVID-19 carriers in March, when Israel was first confronted with the novel virus. Several human right bodies and Knesset legislators objected, saying this violated people's right to privacy. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also heads the Shin Bet, decided at the time to circumvent the parliament by using emergency regulations. Thus, the agency tapped into cellular data to retrace the movements of people infected by the coronavirus.

The Shin Bet already was using these same technologies and means in its efforts to thwart terror acts. The emergency regulation approved by the Cabinet stipulated clearly that the corona-related data gathered by the Shin Bet should only be used by health authorities.

Human rights groups then petitioned the High Court to nullify the authorization.

On April 26, the High Court ruled that the government could no longer authorize the tracking through emergency regulations. While the court expressed its understanding of the unusual circumstances involved, it also cited grave dangers to privacy. The government was given until the end of the month to start legislating a law that would enable the Shin Bet to carry on with the phone monitoring. The government started debating the possibility of initiating such a law, with Prime Minister Netanyahu finally giving the go-ahead for a bill in mid-May.

The May 19 bill refers to latest developments in Israel in terms of the coronavirus spread and government restrictions. Its authors say that while the number of people infected has decreased drastically, the easing of restrictions actually highlights the need for the new law. With people authorized to circulate almost normally, and with beaches and synagogues reopening May 20, Israelis generally would have greater exposure to the virus. While tracking people who were in contact with coronavirus carriers was relatively simple during the lockdown, the same task is now becoming much more complicated.

The authors of the new law stressed that it would be implemented by government declaration and for a three-month period. The government would need to renew its declaration of a pandemic period in order to renew the implementation of the law for another three months. The government would also appoint a special ministerial committee to control Shin Bet operations on coronavirus tracking and the handling of the data retrieved. The bill stipulates that any misuse of the data would be considered a criminal offense.

The High Court emphasized in its April 26 ruling that the government should not speed through the legislation process, thus enabling the public and civil society groups to properly express their reservations. Ironically, this essentially gives the government several more weeks to use the Shin Bet tracking under the special emergency regulations.
BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 18: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, seen present live via video, speak to the media at the Chancellery during the coronavirus crisis on May 18, 2020. Pool

The euro has rallied this week after a landmark coronavirus relief fund proposed by France and Germany provided a "meaningful positive surprise" to expectations for the common currency, according to Goldman Sachs. As of Wednesday morning, the euro was trading at around $1.0942, up another 0.2% early in the European trading session, having started the week around the $1.08 mark. Despite tumbling in mid-March from above $1.14 to below $1.07, the common currency is up almost 1.5% over the past three months. It comes after Europe's two largest economies announced Monday that they would ask the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, to raise 500 billion euro ($545 billion) in public markets, to be distributed to countries most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Goldman Economist George Cole said in a note Tuesday that the size of the relief fund was "relatively small in macroeconomic terms." However, he flagged that the fact that it was agreed proactively in the absence of market pressure is likely to justify a relief rally in EMU (European Economic and Monetary Union) states' sovereign bond spreads.

The end of the short

The sovereign bond spread is the difference between the yield on a country's bond issue and the yield on a comparable bond issued by a benchmark country, such as Germany as Europe's largest economy. These spreads had been widening, but Goldman analysts anticipate that the Franco-German proposals will "short-circuit" that and bring spreads narrower. This relief rally in spreads implies that, should the proposal go through, these sovereign bonds are more likely to offer sufficient compensation relative to the risk. This narrowing of EMU spreads and easing of market pressure is what prompted Goldman analysts to close their short position on the euro against the traditional safe haven Swiss franc on Monday for a loss of around 0.8%. Short-selling a currency involves borrowing that currency, in this case the euro relative to the Swiss franc, selling it at the current market price and then waiting for the price to fall in order to buy the currency back at a lower price and return the loan. The short-seller therefore profits if the currency depreciates over that time period. "We had seen attractive asymmetry in this cross due to the high pace of SNB (Swiss National Bank) intervention in recent weeks," Cole said. "If EMU spreads remain at current levels, our cyclical fair value models would put EURCHF below current spot levels, suggesting investors may see better exit points in the coming days."

However, the implementation of the Franco-German plan is still far from certain and there are many questions remaining, leading investors to treat the news with caution. The proposal is around 200 billion euros larger than the original EU Commission's plan set out in April, which it could replace, and will distribute grants, rather than loans. It will also have to be unanimously approved by the 27 EU countries as well as by the European Parliament, the only directly-elected EU institution. "The positive tone set yesterday may end up being irresistible for skeptical northern European countries, such that the final proposal resembles the Franco-German plan," Cole added. "Tactically this also raises the possibility that the ECB capitalizes on this political step forward with additional support in June, which will likely see spreads trade well in coming weeks."

Risks remain high

A key factor in any long-term euro upside will be the transition from the politics of Covid-19 curtailment to the politics of debt sustainability, Cole highlighted. He suggested that spreads are already narrow compared with the economic fundamentals and that the downside risks remain high. "In particular, the path of future primary surpluses required to stabilise Italian debt (which we project at 168 percentage points of GDP (gross domestic product) this year) will require quasi-permanent north/south transfers and/or stronger domestic political commitment to fiscal reform," Cole said. "The probabilities of each have received a boost by yesterday's proposal, but with macro risks still firmly tilted to the downside, we think risk premium in EMU spreads will remain wide vs pre-COVID levels."

Two of the key questions arising from Monday's proposal from France and Germany are when the funding program will begin, over what time period EU countries will be "drip fed" the funds, and how much fresh money it will ultimately involve, according to Nomura FX Strategist Jordan Rochester. "As this could form a part of the 2021-2027 EU budget negotiations, it's not clear that this stimulus will be coming anytime soon," Rochester said in a note Tuesday. "(The first quarter of) 2021 may be when the EU finally does get around the joint issuance and six to seven months is a long time for EU countries to wait in these COVID-19 times." However, this could be clarified when the plan is presented by the European Commission next week, he suggested.

More details to iron out

Should the proposed funds, which total around 3.5% of EU GDP, be provided over the space of just one year, this would be a sizable contribution, Rochester flagged. However, if distributed over the course of the EU's seven-year budget, it could be a limited contribution in any one year relative to GDP. Finally, Rochester pointed out that since the plan involves the European Commission issuing only a portion of the 500 billion euro fund jointly, it remains to be seen how large that portion ends up becoming. "If it is small, then that implies the rest of the cash would have to be delivered from within the normal EU budget," Rochester said.
The Perspective

Atlanta, Georgia

May 20, 2020



Dr. Maima Darbah Fahnbulleh

(1946 - 2020)

Prior to the early 1960s, the government of Liberia did not have a formal program for people with disabilities. Churches and private organizations established institutions for orphans and others with physical disabilities, including lepers. Bishop Dickson and his wife started a school for the deaf in Brewerville which still exists. In 1961, the government started a program for people with mental health problems. Although the center was dubbed a rehabilitation center, it emphasized drug therapy more than rehabilitation. Today, while Liberia has a long way to go with regard to providing educational, rehabilitative, and other services for people with disabilities, the country has legislation for people with disabilities and a National Council on Disabilities. Among the sung and unsung heroes and heroines who laid the foundation for this accomplishment was Maima Darbah Fahnbulleh.

Born in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County on September 15, 1946, to the union of Rev. Urias Bayenbeh Freeman and Elizabeth Gordon Freeman, Maima graduated from the Episcopal High School in Robertsport. In 1970, she earned her bachelor's degree in zoology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. From 1971-1973, she earned two masters degrees from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan; one in social work and another in public health. In 2008, she received her Ph.D. from Howard University in Washington, DC; her doctorate was in Social Work.

According to her obituary, Dr. Fahnbullehs public service spanned five decades and in various countries, including Liberia, Grenada, and the United States. In that regard, she stepped into the shoes of her venerable father who served as a representative for Cape Mount County and eventually rose to a senior senator of the county. In Liberia, for instance, Maima served as Deputy Mayor of Monrovia, Director of Social Services at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and Assistant Minister of Social Welfare. In 2010, she returned to Liberia as a senior technical adviser to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

Maima succeeded Mrs. Victoria Marsh as Assistant Minister for Social Welfare. In that position, Maima worked with Christiana Tah, Joyce Mendscole, and others in initiating, expanding and/or revamping various programs for people with disabilities. For example, Father Edwards, dean of the Episcopal Cathedral, started Boys Town in Marshal for street boys. When he died, the church did little to continue his Boys Town mission. Christiana Tah and Maima, therefore, got involved with the center. In addition to steadfastly supporting the school for the deaf, it was during Maimas tenure as Assistant Minister that the late President Tolbert established the Group of Seventy-Seven on Newport Street. Maima visited the center regularly.

Arguably, Maima Fahnbullehs greatest contribution to people with disabilities in Liberia was made to the blind and visually impaired. As Assistant Minister, she contracted with the American Foundation for Overseas Blind, AFOB (now Helen Keller International) for a consultant to work with the ministry in areas of education, rehabilitation, and integration of the blind and visually impaired. Although a number of people disagreed to some extent with the consultant, Maima worked with her. Eventually, a resource center was established. In 1977, the program expanded into a residential school for the blind which exists to this day.

I know firsthand, Maima Fahnbullehs contribution to the blind because she made an immeasurable contribution to my life. To clarify, on March 6, 1972, through Ms. Tulu Hilton, a female police sergeant in Bomi Hills, I presented a letter to the late President Tolbert. I appealed to the President for sponsorship to Israel for treatment as I had lost my sight completely in high school. The President sent me to JFK Hospital to ascertain the possibility of my sight being restored if I went to Israel. (I am sure the President did not know I had undergone two surgeries, one on each eye, with Dr. Traub.) Both Dr. Traub and an Israelite ophthalmologist, Dr. Lobl, agreed that going to Israel would make no difference as I could no longer see through medical means. Therefore, I appealed to the President for sponsorship to a school for the blind in West Africa. In January 1973, President Tolbert sent me to the school for the blind in Freetown, Sierra Leone on his personal scholarship.

I completed the basics of braille in three weeks and started teaching informally at the school for the blind in Freetown. Later that year, I enrolled at Albert Academy, a regular secondary school. In 1974, I received a letter from Maima Fahnbulleh informing me she had succeeded Mrs. Victoria Marsh as Assistant Minister for Social Welfare. When I returned home for my first vacation that year, Maima was at the airport to pick me up.

During my vacation in 1974, Maima arranged for radio interviews with me. She also asked me to work briefly with the resource center for the blind. I was glad to oblige although I too disagreed, to an extent, with the AFOB consultant.

Maima Fahnbullehs greatest contribution to my life was manifested in 1975 while I was visiting Liberia. She had some conflict with her boss at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. She made an appointment to see the President on the matter. Knowing the difficulty of making a separate appointment for me, she asked me to go along. She did not have to do that but she did and it paid off in a lifetime manner.

When we arrived in the Presidents office, Maima briefly explained what happened at the ministry. The President said before she arrived, the ministry had sent him a letter on the matter. He, therefore, asked her to return to the ministry and he would respond to the letter and copy her thereby giving her an opportunity to respond in writing. Then she presented me to the President. Since he was not expecting me, President Tolbert proposed a different appointment date for me. My appointment was on August 7, 1975.

On the date of my appointment, Maima was scheduled out of town. She, therefore, asked Joyce Mendscole to accompany me to the Presidents office. I presented a statement to the President thanking him for the opportunity he gave me to study in Freetown. Impressed with my statement, President Tolbert gave me a scholarship to study at any university of my choice upon completing Albert Academy. So, here I am: two degrees from Florida State University, two degrees from Harvard University, a law degree from the University of Toledo, and more than three decades as a university professor. I say so, not out of vanity, but first, to give God the glory and to thank President Tolbert, Tulu Hilton, Maima, and all who helped along the way. Thank you, Dr. Maima Darbah Fahnbulleh; I will never forget you. I told her so tearfully at my house in 2014 in Toledo. In like manner, my tears flow endlessly as I write this. Thanks again Maima.

As indicated supra, Maimas work for, and with people with disabilities did not end in Liberia. She made a difference wherever she went. For instance, she was involved with the Parkinsons community of New York City. Indeed, she worked tirelessly for humanity in general and for people with disabilities in particular up to her final breath.

After a private funeral in Baltimore, Maryland on May 19limited because of the coronavirus pandemicMaima will be laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring Maryland. She leaves to mourn her loss, her children-- Kpana Kpoto, Konah Bernard, Irvin McQueen, and Fahsia McQueengrandchildren, siblings, nieces and nephews, former church members, former co-workers, scores of friends, and the countless she touched with her contagious laughter, mood-changing smile, affable personality, incredible brilliance, and enviable care and concern for fellow human beings. Rest In Peace Maima! Safe Trip Home in the arms of smiling angels!




WASHINGTON  Nearly 300,000 people have applied for food stamps in the past 10 weeks in New York.

A hotline telling people where they can find food assistance has seen a tenfold increase in calls since the coronavirus pandemic struck upstate New York. Lines to receive food and meals have stretched to hundreds of cars long in Albany. Many food pantries have doubled the number of people they serve, especially those that deliver groceries to homes.

As more Americans lose their jobs during the crisis, hunger is increasing in America. Democrats and Republicans are at odds over what to do about it.

Democrats are pushing legislation to make federal food assistance benefits more generous and expand who can get them. Republicans have expressed that current levels of food assistance benefits are sufficient, but supported other ways of getting more food into the hands of needy Americans, including a $3 billion plan for the U.S. government to buy unsold meat, produce and dairy from farmers and distribute it to communities in 25 pound boxes.

"It helps the small farmers and of course it helps those in need, said Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and advisor who has championed the Food Box Program.

Taking a similar approach, members of the New York congressional delegation including, Reps. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, Antonio Delgado, D-Rhinebeck and Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April urging the agency to match farmers with unsold milk to food donation programs.

"I have spoken with dairy farmers from across the district who have had to dump milk," Stefanik said. "I have also heard from local community leaders that food banks have seen an increase in the number of families they are serving. This bill helps to bridge that gap."

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on Tuesday applauded the food distribution efforts, but stressed that they should be a supplement to expanding food stamp benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation's largest and oldest food assistance program.

"It's estimated that every dollar distributed through SNAP would put $1.50 back into the economy," Gillibrand said. "That's one of the most powerful force multipliers the government has. As the world faces the worst economic emergency we've seen since the Great Depression, those benefits and the growth they create are urgently needed."

Gillibrand sent a letter to Senate leaders proposing increasing the maximum SNAP benefits by 15 percent during the pandemic. She wants to add children whose daycares are closed to a program that feeds low-income children whose schools are closed and extend the program through the summer. In addition, she wants to waive the time limit and other eligibility requirements, increase support for pregnant women, and allow more flexibility on where the benefits can be used.

Democrats pressed to include some of these changes in earlier coronavirus bills but could not reach bipartisan agreement.

The SNAP program is automatically funded so it does not need Congress to appropriate more money for it as demand balloons. Some Republicans think that alleviates the need for legislative changes, which they worry might become permanent expansions of food stamps.

During the pandemic, the Trump administration has allowed people in many states to use their SNAP benefits to buy food online, following a pilot program that started in New York in April 2019. But in other ways, the administration has prioritized decreasing the use of food stamps, including by issuing more stringent regulations regarding work requirements and eligibility for the program.

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

In 2019, 35.7 million Americans used food stamps and the program cost the government $60.3 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In February 2020, the number of Americans using the program rose to 36.8 million.

The USDA and New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance do not have data publicly available on SNAP usage in New York from March or April, when the crisis worsened. The most recent data available indicates that 2.5 million New Yorkers were using SNAP food assistance in February 2020, a slight decrease from the month prior and a nearly 5 percent decrease from the year prior.

Since February demand for food stamps in New York has skyrocketed. For the first two weeks of March, there was an average of approximately 15,000 SNAP applications per week, an official from the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance said. For the next four weeks, applications spiked to an average of about 38,000 per week. Then, in the past month, the application rate has gradually diminished, but was still 25,000 per week.

We run a food access resource line and since the crisis started, our phone referral line volume has increased to nearly 10 times the calls we were receiving before," Natasha Pernicka, executive director of the Food Pantries of the Capital Region, said Tuesday. What that tells us is that there is a significant number of people who are new.

The organization, a coalition of 68 food pantries in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties, has seen an increase in food demands at 46 percent of its food pantries, increases sometimes as high as 200 percent, Pernicka said. The increases were highest at food pantries that provided home delivery for vulnerable individuals.

Many unemployed individuals do not qualify for SNAP if they are receiving unemployment benefits including an extra $600 per week from the federal government during the pandemic; with the extra $600 benefit, they have too much income to qualify. But those pandemic unemployment supplements are scheduled to cease at the end of July. Social service workers predict another spike in food stamp applications at that time.

"We are concerned about seeing a crush of people who become eligible for SNAP when federal unemployment benefits end," said Sherry Tomasky, director of communications for Hunger Solutions New York, which subcontracts across the state to help people apply for food assistance. "It is a dynamic that we want to keep our eye on very closely so we are prepared to meet a demand that could possibly come at that time."
German conglomerate Siemens Aktiengesellschaft sold shares worth over Rs 8,500 crore in its listed Indian subsidiary Siemens Ltd, amounting to about 24 per cent stake, to another group firm Siemens Gas and Power Holding BV.

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft is the parent company of Siemens Ltd, which is listed in India.

While there was no official word from the company, reports suggested that Siemens AG was in the process of carving out its gas and power business, which had dragged its overall performance, into a separate subsidiary.

According to the block deal data available on the BSE, Siemens Aktiengesellschaft sold 8,54,68,862 shares of Siemens Ltd at an average price of Rs 996.9 apiece.

At this price, the transaction is valued at Rs 8,520 crore and the shares sold in the block deal amount to about 24 per cent stake.

As of March 2020, Siemens AG held 71.70 per cent stake in Siemens Ltd, while another group firm held 3.3 per cent stake, taking the total promoter stake to 75 per cent.
Chandigarh, May 20 : Reverting the decision, the Haryana government, here on Wednesday, decided not to allow inter-state buses to prevent spike in coronavirus cases. But the intra-state bus that started last week would continue in all 22 districts.

The decision not to operate inter-state buses was taken at a meeting between Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Home Minister Anil Vij.

Vij, who also holds the health portfolio, expressed apprehensions over rise in Covid-19 cases due to large movement of people from neighbouring states. Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have also decided not to ply inter-state buses till May 31.

Two days earlier, Haryana had sought the consent of neighbouring states to restart the inter-state bus service.

The state had written letters to UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, MP, Delhi and Chandigarh to start movement of commuters.

In a major relief to those stranded due to the nationwide lockdown, Haryana on Monday started special buses between district headquarters and the national capital.
I heard some alarming new statistics from IBM security this month during IBM Think. With COVID-19 as a backdrop, cyber-attacks are up 14,000%, led by a spike in ransomware. IBM also revealed a 6,000% increase in SPAM, as hackers take advantage of nervous users with fictitious coronavirus news and miracle cures. Other firms like DomainTools, FireEye, and Palo Alto Networks have reported similar data.

Of course, an explosion of cyber-attacks around COVID-19 comes as no surprise to cybersecurity professionals. Whether its flooding in Houston, fires in California, or earthquakes in South America, cybercriminals have perfected their ability to make an illegal buck on human misery. Global pandemic? Great news for online bad guys  the world population is a potential target.

Fortunately, cyber-defenders have a way to fight back.

As Sun Tzu said, if you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. From a simple cybersecurity perspective, this means comparing the latest and greatest cyber threat intelligence (CTI) with whats happening on your organizations network looking for malicious files, behaviors, and network traffic.

Yeah, I know, this is an obvious conclusion, but many organizations continue to take a very basic approach to CTI. For example:

Leaning on vendors. Part of being an endpoint or network security vendor is keeping up with attack patterns, developing countermeasures, and sharing them with customers. Okay, but this is a first line of defense and nothing more. Equating threat intelligence with indicators of compromise. Cyber-adversaries use web sites, IP addresses, and files within their attacks. Threat intelligence researchers watch for this activity and report the malicious things they find as indicators of compromise (IoCs). Blocking malicious IoCs is useful, but its a baby step. Limited use of threat intelligence feeds. Im always surprised that sophisticated organizations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for commercial threat feeds with the attitude that when it comes to CTI, more is always better. They then use homegrown tools for CTI management or feed IoCs into their SIEM but perform little further analysis. How is this strategy worthwhile?

Getting more from cyber threat intelligence

Based on my experience, leading organizations:

Operationalize CTI programmatically. There are really two things you do with CTI: operationalize and analyze it. Operationalization is the process of using threat intelligence information to fine tune security controls in real-time. Yes, security technology vendors can help here but leading organizations centralize all cyber threat intelligence, compare different feeds, and then create runbooks to turn malicious IoCs into blocking rules on firewalls, web gateways, endpoints, email security filters, etc. Many organizations use SOAR tools (i.e., Fortinet Cybersponse, IBM Resilient, PAN XSOAR, Splunk Phantom, etc.) to help automate this process.

There are really two things you do with CTI: operationalize and analyze it. Operationalization is the process of using threat intelligence information to fine tune security controls in real-time. Yes, security technology vendors can help here but leading organizations centralize all cyber threat intelligence, compare different feeds, and then create runbooks to turn malicious IoCs into blocking rules on firewalls, web gateways, endpoints, email security filters, etc. Many organizations use SOAR tools (i.e., Fortinet Cybersponse, IBM Resilient, PAN XSOAR, Splunk Phantom, etc.) to help automate this process. Analyze, analyze, analyze. Leading organizations analyze everything  open source threat feeds, commercial threat feeds, blogs, social media posts, dark web chatter, etc. Beyond IoCs, these organizations want to understand who is attacking them and the tactics, techniques, and procedures they are using. This intelligence is collected, processed, analyzed for real-time threats, and then stored for future use. Analysis tends to be very focused on adversaries and campaigns that pose a direct risk to the organization. Strong CTI programs are formalized, documented, and process-driven requiring purpose-built threat intelligence platforms from vendors like Anomali, RecordedFuture, ThreatConnect, and ThreatQuotient. These systems are extremely useful for managing massive CTI volumes, CTI analysis, comparing threat intelligence to internal behavior, hunting, and even have SOAR-like capabilities for threat remediation.

Leading organizations analyze everything  open source threat feeds, commercial threat feeds, blogs, social media posts, dark web chatter, etc. Beyond IoCs, these organizations want to understand who is attacking them and the tactics, techniques, and procedures they are using. This intelligence is collected, processed, analyzed for real-time threats, and then stored for future use. Analysis tends to be very focused on adversaries and campaigns that pose a direct risk to the organization. Strong CTI programs are formalized, documented, and process-driven requiring purpose-built threat intelligence platforms from vendors like Anomali, RecordedFuture, ThreatConnect, and ThreatQuotient. These systems are extremely useful for managing massive CTI volumes, CTI analysis, comparing threat intelligence to internal behavior, hunting, and even have SOAR-like capabilities for threat remediation. When it comes to threat intelligence, sharing is caring. Leading organizations participate in industry ISACs and local communities as CTI providers and consumers. Additionally, Ive never met a threat analyst who doesnt have a strong personal network they regularly communicate with on an informal basis. Oh, and part of collaboration is knowing when you need help. This may involve a call to an ex-NSA buddy, a birds-of-a-feather session at Defcon, a University event, or a services engagement with a leading CTI service provider.

Leading organizations participate in industry ISACs and local communities as CTI providers and consumers. Additionally, Ive never met a threat analyst who doesnt have a strong personal network they regularly communicate with on an informal basis. Oh, and part of collaboration is knowing when you need help. This may involve a call to an ex-NSA buddy, a birds-of-a-feather session at Defcon, a University event, or a services engagement with a leading CTI service provider. Don't forget the past. Something that seemed totally benign 6 months ago may be a needle in the proverbial haystack today. When new malicious campaigns arise, threat analysts poke around security telemetry to see if they missed something. Threat hunting can require maintaining historical security data records  one reason why we are seeing proliferation of security data lakes built on the ELK stack or commercial offerings like Google Chronicle.

A solid threat intelligence program isnt easy and its incredibly hard to find good talent. Still, its importance can't be overstated. As Sun Tzu might say, if you focus on internal security data and minimize threat intelligence analysis, you only see half the battlefield. CISOs should take an honest look at their capabilities and outsource CTI analysis and threat hunting if they dont have the chops themselves.

5 tips for running cyber threat intelligence programs

CTI programs should include diligent use of the MITRE ATT&CK Threat intelligence programs should also cover things like reputational risk, typosquatting, dark web chatter, etc. Service providers like Digital Shadows, Flashpoint, and GroupSense can help. Organizations with a small number of full- or part-time security professionals may want to explore whether a threat intelligence gateway (TIG) can help bridge their skills gap. Some TIG vendors are really white glove CTI analysis services. TIG vendors include Bandura Networks and Centripetal Networks. Threat intelligence analysis should always be tightly coupled with risk assessment, asking the question: Are we vulnerable to this type of attack? This is where continuous automated penetration and attack testing can help from vendors like AttackIQ, CyCognito, Pcysys, and Randori. Deception technology is also applicable here and plays a duel role of threat intelligence sensor and attack decoy. Vendors here include Attivo, Illusive Networks, GuardiCore, Smokescreen, and TopSpin.

There is little we can do medically about COVID-19 today, but we certainly can better defend our digital assets. To do so, we better get to know the enemy at a much more intimate level.
Qantas Airways boss Alan Joyce says he could have up to half his domestic network back in the air by July if states ease travel restrictions, in a bullish forecast of how quickly aviation could recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

"We dont think well go back to 100 per cent honestly in July but we have the capability to easily add 40 to 50 per cent of the capacity that we had before COVID-19 in that month and then a ramp up even further every other month," he said on Tuesday.

CEO Alan Joyce says Qantas is ready for a rapid return to flying. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

Mr Joyce added that COVID-19 was a far bigger concern for Qantas than whatever competitor emerges from the Virgin Australia administration process, as budget airline specialist Indigo Partners, private equity firms Bain and BGH Capital, and the Richard Branson-linked investor Cyrus Capital square off to buy the collapsed carrier.

"You look at the bidders and a variety of scenarios could come out," he said.
RALEIGH  Federal prosecutors have declined to pursue criminal charges against a chemical company that for years discharged compounds with unknown health risks into a North Carolina river, the company disclosed.

The U.S. Attorneys Office and the Environmental Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Justice Department were investigating potential violations of the federal Clean Water Act by The Chemours Co., a spinoff of DuPont that has a plant near Fayetteville, WRAL-TV reported.

In 2017, it was found that Chemours was releasing a compound called GenX into the air and water near the plant, which eventually made it into drinking water sources, including the Cape Fear River. GenX is an unregulated chemical that is used in nonstick surfaces such as Teflon. The EPA classifies it as an emerging contaminant needing research.

Chemours told shareholders in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing released this month that prosecutors notified it in March that they were declining to pursue charges and were closing the case.
Hungarys parliament has banned people from legally changing their gender in a move which has generated panic among trans people, who fear an increase in discrimination and attacks.

On Tuesday the legislature voted 133 to 57 to define individuals gender by their sex at birth on all birth, marriage and death certificates  a move which could expose trans people to harassment if their documents do not match their appearance.

The states decision ... to register childrens biological sex in their birth certificates does not affect mens and womens right to freely experience and exercise their identities as they wish, the governments communications office said.

In no way does the relevant section of the bill that some people criticise prevent any person from exercising their fundamental rights arising from their human dignity or from living according to their identity, it said in emailed comments.

But Amnesty International has condemned the move saying the vote took Hungary back towards the dark ages.

Krisztina Tamas-Saroy, a researcher for the NGO, said: This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people. It will not only expose them to further discrimination but will also deepen an already intolerant and hostile environment faced by the LGBTI community.

It is critical for Hungarys Commissioner for Fundamental Rights to act urgently and request that the Constitutional Court review and swiftly annul the appalling provisions of this law.

She added: Everyones gender identity should be legally recognised and everyone must be allowed to change their legal name and gender markers on all official documents.

It is possible to legally change gender in all European Union countries bar Cyprus, despite growing clamour among far-right, religious and other groups which contend trans rights represent an attack on traditional gender roles, advocacy group Transgender Europe told Reuters.

Hungarian rights organisation Hatter Society said: The parliament has passed a bill that renders legal gender recognition in Hungary impossible.

LGBTI organisations have now turned to the president of the republic asking him to send the law for review to the Constitutional Court.

Viktor Orban, Hungarys right-wing prime minister since 2010, was re-elected in 2018 promising to build a new era with major cultural changes in the ex-communist country.

Under his administration the country has slid towards authoritarianism and far-right ideology, with new laws this year which allow the government to declare a state of emergency without a time limit, and grant Orban the ability to rule by decree.

Parliaments speaker Laszlo Kover sparked outrage after comparing same-sex couples wanting to adopt a child to paedophiles.

Trans people in Hungary have been effectively unable to change the sex on their identity documents since 2018, according to LGBT+ rights advocates, who said there were already multiple court cases underway challenging that.

We have no words to describe what we feel, Tina Korlos Orban, vice president of advocacy group Transvanilla Transgender Association, told Reuters.

People who havent had suicidal thoughts for decades now are having them. People are in panic, people want to escape from Hungary to somewhere else where they can get their gender recognised.

The government said the amendment resolved uncertainties being faced by courts and authorities in interpreting the word sex, which was not defined in the previous registry law.

Tamas Dombos, a board member of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance, said activists would lobby the president, an ally of Orbans, not to sign the bill into law.

(The government) just doesnt care about how it impacts the life of trans people ... they could never provide any rational argument for why this bill is needed, said Mr Dombos.

Additional reporting by Reuters
Korean auto major Hyundai on Wednesday launched a refreshed version of its mid sized sedan Verna taking advantage of the delay in the launch of the new generation version of its arch rival and long time bestseller Honda City. Honda was getting ready to launch the city last month but had to delay the plans till the middle of next month due to the coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown.

The new Verna comes in 11 variants with a starting price of Rs 9.3 lakh that goes up to Rs 15.1 lakh. The sedan is offered with a 1.5 litre petrol, 1.5 litre diesel and a new 1.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine that is already offered with Hyundai's other small sedan Aura and the i10 Nios hatchback.

The 1.5 litre petrol version is offered in five variants-four with manual transmission priced between Rs 9.3-12.6 lakh and the lone automatic version at Rs 13.85 lakh. Similarly the diesel version is priced between Rs 10.65-13.95 lakh spread across the four manual transmission variants and Rs 15.1 lakh for the automatic version. The turbocharged petrol engine comes in only one variant and is paired with a dual clutch automatic transmission gearbox priced at Rs 13.99 lakh.

The 1.5 litre petrol engine develops a maximum 115 ps power and 14.7 kgm of torque while the diesel engine makes a similar 115 ps power and 25.5 kgm of torque. The smaller 1 litre turbocharged petrol engine has a higher power output of 120 ps and torque of 17.5 kgm. Besides changes in the front and rear styling of the car, it comes with a host of features like electric sun roof, front ventilated seats, wireless charging and the company suit of connectivity options offered through the blue link package.

Once the most promising segment in the industry, mid size sedans have come under pressure in the last few years as a number of models in the entry level compact sedan segment have eaten into its share in the lower end, while SUVs have battered it at the top end. In an overall market that declined 18 percent in 2019-20, this segment declined 37 percent with all the models registering steep double digit drop. Steep taxes of over 40 percent are a big reason for this.

Maruti's Ciaz, Honda's City and the Verna are closely bunched together in the segment with Ciaz topping the charts with sales of 25,258 in FY20, down 45 percent over FY 19, followed by City at 20,912 units, down 49 percent and Verna at 20,894 units, down 47 percent. This year, Verna and City are likely to benefit from Maruti discontinuing the diesel version of the Ciaz. Verna however is the only car of the three to offer a turbocharged petrol engine as well as the more advanced dual clutch transmission.

Also read: Swiss firm gets security clearance to develop Jewar airport

Also read: 2020 Nissan Kicks with BS-VI upgrade goes on sale; to take on Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Hector
It is inappropriate that they are asking everyone to sign these forms to take it or leave it, and if you decline, we will have you waive your rights, said the parent, whose son receives services through the Sangamon Area Special Education District and who asked to remain anonymous to keep his childs identity private. There are going to be thousands of parents who have no idea they have other options, and they will be forced to waive their rights without realizing they didnt have to do it.
Homes in Hazleton, Pa., which has become a coronavirus hotstpot. (Michelle Gustafson/The New York Times)

Karen Weise

Therese Kelly arrived for her shift at an Amazon warehouse March 27 to find her co-workers standing clustered in the cavernous space. They were awaiting a buildingwide announcement, a rarity at the complex known as AVP1. Over a loudspeaker, a manager told them what they had feared: For the first time, an employee had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Some of the workers cut short their shifts and went home. Kelly, 63, got to work, one of the hundreds of thousands of Amazon employees dealing with the spike in online orders from millions of Americans quarantined at home.

In the less than two months since then, the warehouse in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania has become Amazons biggest COVID-19 hot spot. More employees at AVP1 have been infected by the coronavirus than at any of Amazons roughly 500 other facilities in the United States.

Local lawmakers believe that more than 100 workers have tested positive for the virus, but the exact number is unknown. At first, Amazon told workers about each new case. But when the total reached about 60, the announcements stopped giving specific numbers.

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 disclosures also stopped at other Amazon warehouses. The best estimate is that more than 900 of the companys 400,000 blue-collar workers have had the disease. But that number, crowdsourced by Jana Jumpp, an Amazon worker, almost certainly understates the spread of the illness among Amazons employees.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

Amazon saw the pandemic up close before many American companies. In early February, it fretted about its global supply chain and consulted an infectious-disease specialist. Based in Seattle, an early center of the outbreak, the company told its 50,000 employees there to work from home starting March 5.

About that time, Amazon was hit by a huge wave of orders, a surprise surge the likes of which it had never experienced. Jeff Bezos, the companys founder and chief executive, called it the hardest time weve ever faced. The company paid workers extra to stay on the job and announced that it would hire 175,000 more to fill orders. Bezos told investors that pay increases, safety measures and testing efforts would cost more than $4 billion this quarter.

Still, toilet paper and jigsaw puzzles almost vanished from the site, and the 100 million American households that are Prime members watched Amazon struggle. Finding a balance between meeting the promise of one- or two-day delivery and keeping employees safe has been a challenge for the company ever since.

At the 600,000-square-foot warehouse where Kelly worked, in Hazle Township, products shipped from China and elsewhere are removed from trucks and broken down into smaller packages that are trucked to Amazons other facilities for shipment to shoppers. Safety measures began arriving at the warehouse in mid-March, but they were introduced without rigor. When a team that oversaw safety protocols posed for a photograph March 17, wearing green for St. Patricks Day, its members stood right next to one another, without social distancing. Yellow tape marked off 6-foot increments on a main walkway, but many people worked much closer together, Kelly said, just like every other day.

On April 1, Kelly, who had worked at the warehouse for nine years, noticed that four hand sanitizer pumps affixed to a pole were empty. Later that day, feeling ill with a scratchy throat, she left work early. She tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later.

Dave Clark, who runs Amazons global operations, said in a statement that we were earlier than most when rolling out broad protective measures for our teams, and weve adapted every day to make improvements. He pointed out that the warehouse is in a region with a high community infection rate and said he didnt think employees had caught the virus at work.

We believe our efforts are working, Clark said.

But workers and local leaders began worrying early on that Amazon wasnt doing enough.

The company in February began consulting with Dr. Ian Lipkin, an infectious-disease specialist at Columbia University, who advised introducing checks for fever, social distancing and other measures.

They wanted to stay ahead of the science as best they could, Lipkin said.

Still, some standard safety advice didnt become common practice at AVP1 for almost two months, according to interviews with six workers, local leaders and elected officials, some of whom asked that their names not be used for fear of retribution.

It wasnt until the first week in April, about a month after white-collar workers in Seattle were sent home, that fever checks were instituted at the Hazle Township warehouse. Masks were available to those who asked for them, but werent required. Tables in the break room were moved apart, but as employees who had stayed home returned to work, lunch became crowded. Amazon added an extra break time on April 21 after workers complained. In social media posts and interviews, workers argued that the plant should be temporarily closed for deep cleaning.

By the end of March, state Rep. Tarah Toohil, a Republican whose district includes the warehouse, was hearing from workers. A relative of an employee called to say Amazons cleaning crew had not shown up for work the previous day. Two days later, the mother of a contract worker told her to say not enough had changed at the warehouse.

Now they are up to about nine cases, and its still running the same, the woman wrote in an email.

Amazon kept alerting workers to new infections. April 4: four cases. April 6: nine cases. April 8: eight cases.

That day, a worker complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, reporting that theres no disinfectant we bring our own, and that employees awaiting COVID-19 test results were still going to work.

The richest company in the world can afford to close for a few days with pay for their people, the employee wrote. OSHA, which asked employers to investigate themselves during the outbreak, closed the complaint after Amazon provided documentation of its efforts.

As neighboring Hazleton, at the intersection of two interstates, became a hot spot for the virus, there was increasing pressure on the areas big employers to shut down. In a few days, more than 1,500 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Amazon to close AVP1. The petition said social distancing at the facility was nearly impossible.

The local congressman, Matt Cartwright, a Democrat, held an online news conference and announced that he had asked OSHA to investigate three of the areas major employers, because he had heard about problems with social distancing and the lack of protective gear. He later confirmed that one was Amazon. Toohil called on large industrial employers, including Amazon, to close and pay employees.

Pressure mounted when the Cargill meatpacking plant in the same industrial park as Amazon shut its doors, promising to pay its 900 workers for two weeks. More than 100 had tested positive for the disease.

I believe it actually saved lives, said Wendell Young IV, who heads the regions United Food and Commercial Workers union. Any spread related to the plant stopped immediately.

On April 10, Amazon announced 11 new cases. On April 13, it was four new infections, and on April 15 the company told employees that another 11 people were infected. After that, no specifics were forthcoming, just announcements that there had been additional cases.

On a whiteboard in the warehouse, several employees asked managers why the number of infections was no longer shared. They were told that it made no difference and that the company didnt want to make employees fearful.

In the dark early morning of April 11, trucks from a pest control company pulled into the facilitys parking lot. A team in hazmat suits wearing respirators sprayed disinfectant fog in the building between shifts.

There were other safety improvements. Where two people once had moved a stack of 10 empty pallets, one person instead moved five at a time. Managers told workers to tip and slide heavy items instead of lifting them with another person. Masks were required.

Still, by late April, a few places could still be too congested for employees to feel safe. One worker told colleagues in a Facebook group that social distancing was practiced everywhere but the busy area near the loading docks known as End of Line. Another wrote that she had seen 25 people working face to face across pallets, grabbing products to prepare for shipments.

If anyone is going to get infected, its going to be from tonight, she wrote in a Facebook post. She later said she had told a manager, who spaced people out more.

Since Kelly returned to work in late April, she has often worked almost 11-hour shifts  overtime to make up for the time she was out sick beyond the two weeks that Amazon pays workers with COVID-19.

She said she was glad to see some work stations had been removed while she was away, because they had been too close together. And some workers had been hired just to refill all the sanitizer bottles.

Its just way too late, she said.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Russia has offered to facilitate a meeting in the next few weeks between the U.S. and the Palestinian Authority, Western diplomats briefed on the Russian initiative tell me.

Why it matters: Dialogue was severed between the U.S. and the Palestinians two and a half years ago, and the Palestinians aren't taking part in negotiations on President Trump's peace plan. New talks could also offer a way to prevent escalation on the ground as Israel considers annexing parts of the West Bank.

According to the diplomatic sources, the UN and the EU support the Russian initiative and see it as a way to create a new political process that slows or stops Israel's moves toward annexation.

"The only way to stop Israeli annexation is to renew talks between the Palestinians and the U.S.

 Western diplomat

The big picture: Palestinian leadership has cut almost all ties with the Trump administration since it moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Authority demands that any future peace talks be held in a wider framework like the Middle East Quartet, which includes the U.S., Russia, the UN and the EU.

In order to overcome the Palestinian boycott, the Russians are proposing a mini summit in Geneva with the Palestinians, the U.S., the other members of the Quartet and Arab states, such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

It's unclear if Israel would be invited to this meeting or to a separate summit.

Russia's deputy foreign minister for the Middle East, Mikhail Bogdanov, spoke on Tuesday with White House special envoy Avi Berkowitz and officials from the U.S. National Security Council.

Berkowitz didnt rule out the Russian proposal but said the meeting would have to be framed around the Trump plan, and the Palestinians would have to present their reservations and their proposals for changes to the plan, sources briefed on the call told me.

Bogdanov also called the Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, yesterday and discussed with him the assistance of the Quartet of international mediators in the peace process, a Russian Foreign Ministry statement said.

Western diplomats tell me the Palestinians are not ruling out the Russian initiative but havent given a final answer.

Go deeper: Palestinian president says all agreements with U.S. and Israel void due to annexation plans
At least 10 other soldiers were also wounded in the attack on the Blabrine military base near the Diffa town in Niger.

Twelve soldiers have been killed in a Boko Haram attack on a military outpost in Nigers Diffa region, the scene of recent clashes with armed fighters.

The attack by Boko Haram terrorists overnight on Monday on the Blabrine military base left another 10 soldiers wounded, Nigers defence ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Seven terrorists were neutralised by Niger soldiers, the statement added.

The Blabrine base is some 20km (12 miles) northeast of Diffa town in the remote southeastern region near Lake Chad, where the borders of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria converge.

Diffa, a city of 200,000 near the Nigerian border, has been repeatedly attacked.

The region of the poor Sahel country borders Nigeria, the birthplace of Boko Haram. It shelters some 300,000 refugees from Nigeria as well as internally displaced people, according to United Nations figures.

In October 2019, 12 Niger troops were killed at Blabrine, according to the defence ministry.

Several violent clashes have pitted the army against armed fighters in the region since the start of May.

On May 13, Niger said 75 Boko Haram combatants were killed in the southeast of the country and across the border in Nigeria.

Fighters carried out another attack in the same area on Saturday.

Boko Haram has been active in the impoverished northeast of Nigeria border areas since 2009.

Attacks by the group have claimed more than 36,000 lives since and displaced nearly two million people.
A teenager accused of stabbing a woman to death with a sword at a Toronto massage parlor was charged with terrorism Tuesday after police said they uncovered evidence the attack was inspired by an online community of sexually frustrated men known as the Incel movement.

The 17-year-old was originally charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder on February 24 following multiple stabbings with at the Crown Spa adult massage parlor.

He now faces upgraded counts of first-degree murder-terrorist activity and first-degree attempted murder-terrorist activity.

Ashely Arzaga, 24, a mother-of-one, was killed in an attack at a Toronto massage parlor that was allegedly carried out by a 17-year-old 'incel,' who is now facing terrorism charges

Massage parlor employee Ashley Noelle Arzaga, 24, was found dead from stab wounds inside the business.

Arzaga was the mother of a five-year-old girl. She was described by those who knew her as a loving parent.

The female owner of the adult spa was found wounded outside the business.

The owner told reporters that she lost a finger as she fought for her life, but she managed to grab hold of the teenage attacker's sword and stab him, before holding him until police arrived, reported CP24.

Toronto Police Service contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's anti-terrorism unit after investigators found evidence the accused was inspired by 'incels,' a fringe internet subculture that allegedly plots attacks on people who have sex. 'Incel' is short for 'involuntary celibate.'

The movement has been linked to multiple deadly attacks targeting women and sexually active men in the US and Canada in recent years.

On February 24, the teen suspect entered the Crown Spa armed with a sword and allegedly proceeded to stab Arzaga and her employer, who was injured by survived

The accused in the Toronto stabbing case, who cannot be identified because of his age, appeared in court via video on Tuesday to face the updated charges. It's the first time in Canada that a terrorism charge has been laid over violence tied to 'involuntary celibates.'

'Terrorism comes in many forms and its important to note that it is not restricted to any particular group, religion or ideology,' the RCMP said in a statement.

The incel movement is an online subculture that has been linked to a 2018 rampage in Toronto in which Alek Minassian (pictured) used a van to kill 10 people

A police source told Global News the 17-year-old terrorism suspect had said he wanted to kill as many women as possible.

The teen, who cannot be identified because of his age, appeared in court via video on Tuesday to face the updated charges. It's the first time in Canada that a terrorism charge has been laid over violence tied to 'involuntary celibates.'

'Terrorism comes in many forms and its important to note that it is not restricted to any particular group, religion or ideology,' the RCMP said in a statement.

The incel movement is an online subculture that has been linked to a 2018 rampage in Toronto in which a man used a van to kill 10 people as well as to attacks in California and Florida. It promotes the misogynistic idea that men are entitled to have sex with women.

The accused in the Toronto van attack, Alek Minassian, faces 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in connection with the assault on April 23, 2018. Minassian is accused of driving a rented van into crowds of pedestrians in a busy north Toronto neighborhood.

Eight women and two men ranging in age from 22 to 94 died.

Minassian told police he was inspired by Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks in 2014 near the University of California, Santa Barbara

Minassian also invoked the name of another 'incel,' Chris Harper-Mercer, who shot nine people in Oregon in 2015 before killing himself

Minassian said in a lengthy interview with police that the attack was retribution for years of sexual rejection and ridicule by women. He is not facing terrorism charges.

Minassian also revealed he was in contact with Elliot Rodger, a community college student who killed six people and wounded 13 in shooting and stabbing attacks in 2014 near the University of California, Santa Barbara, before apparently shooting himself dead.

Rodger had railed in a manifesto and online videos about women who shunned him and called for an incel 'overthrow' of what he saw as feminist domination.

Minassian called Rodger the 'founding forefather' of the extremist movement.

He said he had also been in contact with Chris Harper-Mercer, who shot nine people in Oregon in 2015 before killing himself, in a rampage that was also linked to incel ideology.

'My whole life has been one lonely enterprise. One loss after another. And here I am, 26, with no friends, no job, no girlfriend, a virgin,' Harper-Mercer wrote in an apparent manifesto.
BOWIE, Md., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Toyota/Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TLMODA) is working with The Salvation Army to fill the pantries of families in need during the coronavirus pandemic. On May 22, 2020, TLMODA Dealers and The Salvation Army will distribute more than 4,800 packages in 24 communities throughout the country.

"The coronavirus pandemic has left many families vulnerable and in a state of economic instability," says TLMODA Board President Ed Fitzpatrick. "The COVID-19 Day of Service represents the TLMODA member's collective compassion and responsibility to give back to the community."

During TLMODA's National COVID-19 Day of Service, Toyota and Lexus dealership staff will distribute grocery boxes of non-perishable items like boxes of cereal and canned goods to help feed a family of four, for a week. Items for the grocery boxes will be packed and assembled by local Salvation Army teams in accordance with safety guidelines from local, state and federal health officials.

The Salvation Army is helping identify families in need of food and instructing them to visit one of the participating Toyota or Lexus dealerships to pick up their grocery box. In order to maintain proper social distance protocols, boxes will be placed in the trunk of each family's vehicle on a first-come, first-served basis until supplies are exhausted. All families must contact their local Salvation Army to qualify for a grocery box.

"Across the country, the economic impact of this pandemic continues to impact families, both those who were already experiencing the challenges of poverty, and some who are experiencing them for the first time," said David Hudson, National Commander of The Salvation Army. "We are extremely grateful for the support of organizations like TLMODA so we can continue to meet the evolving needs of the most vulnerable."

TLMODA COVID-19 Day of Service dealerships locations include:

Alabama

Lexus of Huntsville, Huntsville

Arizona

Sierra Toyota, Sierra

California

Coliseum Lexus of Oakland , Oakland

, Tracy Toyota , Tracy

Colorado

Lexus of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs

Florida

South Dade Toyota, Homestead

Toyota of Fort Walton Beach , Fort Walton Beach

, Treasure Coast Toyota of Stuart , Stuart

Georgia

Chatham Parkway Toyota, Savannah

Idaho

Teton Toyota, Idaho Falls

Illinois

Advantage Toyota of River Oaks, Calumet City

Indiana

Lexus of Mishawaka, Mishawaka

Massachusetts

Lexus of Northborough, Northborough

North Carolina

Classic Toyota of Wilkesboro, North Wilkesboro

Oklahoma

Toyota of Ardmore, Ardmore

Pennsylvania

North Hills Toyota, Pittsburgh

Texas

Brownsville Toyota, Brownsville

Lost Pines Toyota, Bastrop

Mike Shaw Toyota , Corpus Christi

, Toyota of Cedar Park , Cedar Park

, Toyota of Rockwall , Rockwall

Virginia

Gloucester Toyota, Gloucester

Vermont

Faith's Toyota Ford, Westminster

Washington

Marysville Toyota, Marysville

More information on the TLMODA 'COVID-19 Day of Service' can be found at TLMODA.org/day-of-service/

TLMODA's goal is to represent the needs of minority dealers within Toyota and Lexus. Any dealership which represents a minority group, based on 51 percent or more ownership, is invited to join as a dealer member. Some of the benefits available to dealer members include networking opportunities, mentoring support, collective representation within Toyota and Lexus, community involvement support, and development opportunities, among others.

Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association (TLMODA) is a diverse dealer association focused on the growth and sustainability of Toyota and Lexus minority customers, and ethnic minority dealers. For more information, go to www.tlmoda.org.

Contact: Shaun Wilson

Cadence c/o TLMODA

(313) 530-7860

[email protected]

SOURCE Toyota Lexus Minority Owners Dealership Association

Related Links

http://www.tlmoda.org


Kolkata: A powerful cyclone barrelled into eastern India on Wednesday with heavy rain, wind and waves as millions of people were evacuated from there and neighbouring Bangladesh in an operation complicated by the campaign against the novel coronavirus.

Cyclone Amphan had begun moving inland, the India Meteorological Department said in a bulletin at 3pm (7.30pm AEST), after brewing for days in the Bay of Bengal to become one of the strongest storms to hit the region in about a decade.

A disaster management volunteer carries a sick child as villagers on the Bay of Bengal coast are evacuated as a precaution against Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal, India, on Tuesday. Credit:AP

Officials in India's Odisha and West Bengal states said powerful winds had torn off roofs, uprooted trees and bent electricity poles, hitting power supplies in some areas.

In Bangladesh, junior minister for disaster management Enamur Rahman said about 2.4 million people in the most vulnerable districts had been shifted to more than 15,000 storm shelters.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Chef Matthew Overdevest is ready to get back in the kitchen.

One month after the coronavirus pandemic forced him to permanently close his high-end Grand Rapids restaurant, Marcona on Lyon, Overdevest is preparing to launch a new culinary venture that he says is well-suited to the new world of social distancing.

Steadfast Supper Club is a small-scale catering company that is designed to bring a high-end restaurant experience directly to a customers home.

People still want to celebrate with food, said Overdevest, an Ada resident who has worked in the restaurant industry for 25 years. This opportunity allows me to come in and provide that service in a comfortable and safe environment.

Designed to serve up to 12 guests, Steadfast is geared toward birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and dinner parties. Overdevest works with customers to plan the evenings theme and menu, deciding on everything from appetizers and entrees to wine and dessert.

On the day of the meal, he will arrive at a customers home a few hours early and, after setting the table and making other preparations, prepare and cook dinner.

Overdevest says his culinary skills are broad, and that he can make everything from Mediterranean to Italian to Asian cuisine.

Its not cheap. A four-course meal costs $80 per guest, while the price of a six-course meal rises to $100 per person. Theres a minimum charge of $450 for the evening.

But for those looking for an exceptional dining experience  and can afford it  the price is worth it, Overdevest says.

Youre getting a full custom experience, he said. Their renting a chef for the evening with 25 years of experience. Youre buying a much more seasoned professional in this environment.

While Overdevest is excited about his new venture, it comes amid a difficult time. Earlier this month, he announced that he was permanently closing Marcona on Lyon, the high-end Mediterranean restaurant he opened in October 2018 in Grand Rapids Heritage Hill neighborhood.

Overdevest said he offered takeout for about a week in March after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as part of her stay-at-home order, prohibited restaurants from offering dine-in service.

The attempt quickly fizzled. Marconas menu  which featured a variety of chicken, sausage and beef skewers, and more  simply wasnt geared toward the grab-and-go model, Overdevest said.

What drew people to Marcona was the in-person dining experience.

They came to have a dining experience and sit down for two hours at a time, enjoy themselves, enjoy their company, enjoy being taken care of, Overdevest said.

His initial plan was to temporarily close Marcona and reopen once the pandemic subsided. But it soon became clear that the coronavirus pandemic wasnt going away anytime soon, and that a continued emphasis on social distancing would change the way restaurants operate for the foreseeable future.

For a small, intimate restaurant like Marcona, the prospect of vastly limiting the number of patrons in order to emphasize social distancing posed many challenges. And from a financial perspective, operating in such a capacity simply wouldnt be sustainable, Overdevest said.

There were other obstacles too. Would people even feel safe returning to restaurants?

You lose so much of that personal connection when people have that slight fear of whos around me, whats going on, are the people that are preparing my food being safe, Overdevest said.

Everybody is a little bit on edge mentally with, How am I going to relax and enjoy myself when you have this underlying fear or concern?

Overdevest says his new venture attempts to ease such concerns.

Unless hes catering an event for more than six people, he will be the only person from his business in attendance. For larger events, he will bring an assistant. He will also be wearing a mask, gloves, and practicing the recommended hand washing and disinfectant procedures.

Thus far, Overdevest has about eight people who have reached out for events. After his venture gets off the ground, he would like to do as many as three or four meals per week.

Im not afraid to work, he said. I didnt get into the restaurant business or the food business to be sitting at home.

Read more:

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids to resume Mass services on May 29

Michigan expands outdoor, to-go options for liquor licensees during pandemic
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States, and among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury death. This could be something as simple as tripping in a parking lot or more serious incidents, like falling from a ladder or roof.

Every week at least 10% of the Yuma Fire Departments calls for service are fall related. No matter your age or activity, it pays to watch your footing and be careful.

Older adults can take several steps to protect their independence and reduce their risk of falling. They can: exercise regularly and improve balance; ask their doctor or pharmacist to review their medicinesboth prescription and over-the counterto reduce side effects and interactions; have their eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year; improve the lighting in their home; and reduce hazards in their home that can lead to falls. The best treatment in the world cannot compare to never being injured in the first place. Safety is no accident!

Strokes are the third leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability. A stroke is a life threatening emergency and every minute counts. Know the signs and symptoms essential for rapid diagnosis and treatment.

You can use the acronym F.A.S.T. to remember signs and symptoms associated with having a stroke. F stands for face. Can you smile without one side of your face drooping? A stands for arms. Is one weak or numb? When you raise your arms, does one drift downward? S stands for speech. Is your speech slurred? Can you repeat simple sentences correctly? T stands for time. Studies have shown that the longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the chances of neurological damage.

The Yuma Fire Department offers a voluntary registration program for Special Needs citizens living in the City of Yuma. The Special Needs population would include those with mobility challenges, acute dependency on utilities (medication preservation, oxygen, or other life support devices), and those with other acute medication or health monitoring needs. If you are interested in being added to this list, please contact Fire Administration at 928-373-4850.
CHICAGO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Combined Insurance, a Chubb company, announced today their commitment to supporting the wellbeing of communities with a $25,000 donation to four food banks in the U.S. to includeFood Bank For New York City, Northern Illinois Food Bank, Feed NC, and Feeding South Florida. The donation serves as a response to the critical food needs and disparities across communities, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our purpose is to help our customers when they need us most, as well as give back to the diverse communities where we live and work," said Joe Vasquez, President, Combined Insurance. "Food banks are doing tremendous work to support the daily wellbeing of our neighbors during a time when people in our nation are in need of food for themselves and their families. We are honored to be part of the many organizations dedicating resources to these efforts."

The company identified the following food banks that they will support:

"I am both grateful for and inspired by the untiring commitment to New Yorkers in need demonstrated by my fellow food bankers and our incredible network of supporters and friends like Combined Insurance. The continued support from our community is needed now more than ever as we innovate new solutions for all," said Janis Robinson, VP of Institutions and Partnerships at Food Bank For NYC.

Combined Insurance, a leading provider of supplemental accident & health, disability, and life insurance products, and a Chubb company is headquartered in Chicago with their next largest employee base in the New York metropolitan area. The company sees this as an opportunity to give back to the communities where its customers are being impacted.

Combined's donations provide a local complement to the recent announcement by their parent company, Chubb, to commit $10 million in pandemic relief efforts globally responding specifically to the sudden and massive demand for food bank support across the U.S. with a 1.5 million donation to Feeding America.

To learn more about Combined Insurance, visit www.combinedinsurance.com.

About Combined Insurance

Combined Insurance Company of America (Chicago, Ill.) is a leading provider of individual supplemental accident & health, disability, and life insurance products and a Chubb company. With a tradition of nearly 100 years of success, Combined Insurance is committed to making the world supplemental insurance easy to understand. The company has an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau and is one of Ward's Top 50 Performing Life-Health Insurance Companies. Combined Insurance is ranked the number one Military Friendly Employer in the over $1B revenue category for 2019 by VIQTORY. This is the company's eighth consecutive year on the top 10 list and fifth consecutive year in the top 5Combined Insurance was previously named the number one Military Friendly Employer in the nation for 2015 and 2016. For more information, please visit combinedinsurance.com.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 33,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com.

SOURCE Combined Insurance, a Chubb company

Related Links

http://www.combinedinsurance.com


The Ashanti Regional Director of Health, Mr. Emmanuel Tenkorang has cautioned Ghanaians to learn and live with the COVID-19 viruses since it has come to stay.

The Directorate says it is important to practice laid down protocols in fighting the pandemic.

Mr. Emmanuel Tenkorang made these remarks when he addressed the press on the state of the pandemic fight within the region.

The region has a commutative contract tracing of 1,283.

In this, the Ministry has a total number of 886 confirmed cases with 7 death.

Mr. Emmanuel Tenkorang confirmed that 15 people are currently on admission while 75 people are on isolation.

30 health workers from different hospitals within the region have also contracted the disease.

He says it is unethical to disclose the status of victims who are under treatment.

"It is not right for people to call on the health sector to disclose the identity of infected persons. The government should reconsider its decision of the reopening schools until effective measures of observing the protocols to help avoid the spread of the virus."
MONROE  The Board of Finance Tuesday formally approved a $90 million budget that will slightly lower the mill rate and include no tax increase.

The finance board's $90,043,075 budget  while maintaining some $58.5 million in education spending  represents a $1,490,716 reduction from the Town Councils proposal, leaving a 35.48 mill rate, a minor drop from the present number.

I do not believe everything weve done here is perfect, said Board of Finance Chair Michael Manjos. I know the Board of Education will have some difficult decisions to make. They did get an increase. I know its not enough to do what they wanted to do. Were aware of the challenges.

To help pay for the spending plan, the finance board will use $8 million from the towns undesignated fund balance and $500,000 from a designated fund balance while asking the unions for teachers and town employees to forgo raises for one year.

The reduction in expenditures comes mainly from an as-of-yet-unagreed-upon pay freeze for all town employees, both city and school. If all unions agree, finance officials say it would save the town some $1.2 million the coming fiscal year  $911,000 from the school unions alone.

Before the vote, Board of Education member Nicholas Kapoor urged finance board members to reverse (Manjos) senseless, short-sighted, ill-informed and just plain wrong $911,000 cut to the Monroe education budget.

Board of Finance Chair Manjos is single-handedly handicapping the school system, added Kapoor. His ego and personal animosity need to be put aside and the Board of Finance needs to do what is best for our teachers, students, staff and town. This additional $1 million cut is wholly owned by the Board of Finance who vote for it.

The finance board budget will not be posted. Residents will still have an opportunity to comment on the proposal before the budget and tax rate is set in early June.

Kapoor disputed Manjos past claim that the budget does not cut education spending.

Cathy Zuraw / Cathy Zuraw

The $58.5 million budget approved for Monroes public schools represents a 2.19 percent spending increase over the current budget. But the initial number, submitted by assistant school Superintendent Jack Zamary, proposed a 5.7 percent hike. That number was cut $500,000 by the school board, with another $500,00 then cut by First Selectman Ken Kellogg.

If teachers do not agree to a pay freeze, Kapoor said the district will have to find another $911,000 worth of cuts.

The budget proposal being voted on tonight is a fake budget, said Kapoor. Its built on the faulty assumption that the teachers are taking a zero in the upcoming year. I want to make it very clear that if the teachers and all other BOE staff do not take a zero, and we have to cut other things to find another close to a million dollars, the teachers and the BOE staff are not the bad guys.

The present financial uncertainty in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic forced Kellogg and Manjos to call for no tax increases.

That goal led the finance board, which under the governors executive order now has the power to adopt the final budget, go through the spending plan line item by line item finding areas of reductions in its quest to maintain or lower the present mill rate while not slashing staff or eliminating significant amounts of programs.

"It is not an unreasonable request, said Manjos last week, adding that everyone is feeling the financial pain brought by the pandemic. I truly believe that we need to do this ... unions need to come and support that decision, and God willing, we will not have to cut staff. That would be the ideal situation.

With a projected tax collection rate of 93 percent, the finance board concedes it may have to use as much as $8 million from the towns general fund to cover the budget. Manjos said if the collection rate turns out higher, less of the fund balance will be needed.

Kapoor noted Monroe leads the DRG in some elementary school statistics, and Monroe schools have done great things with what its been given. But what is the impact of a $2 million cut? Possibly devastating. The additional $911K cut from the Board of Finance makes it extremely hard to come up with a budget for an exceptional school system. If we want things, we have to fund them.

Kapoor said when students return to the school buildings, they will need more help, not less. We will need more staff, not less. As a member of the Board of Education, I will not vote to cut a single teacher in the upcoming budget year."

Manjos has stated he does not support adding money back into the budget at this time, considering potential unemployment rates of some 20 percent. Once the town has a better handle on the financials, he said, the schools and city officials can revisit specific items.

Come August, September, October, I think we will have a better picture of where we are at, Manjos said last week. If collections are larger than expected, we can have any conversation. Nothing stops us from taking a second bite at the apple, if collections are higher than anticipated.
N ine people are being held in custody after a student was shot dead in the street as she walked to a Lidl supermarket.

Police say they are working round the clock to find out who killed Aya Hachem in a drive-by shooting on Sunday.

Miss Hachem, 19, was an innocent bystander who was hit by one of several shots fired from a vehicle as she walked to a Lidl supermarket near her home, police said.

She died from a single wound to the chest.

Police said Miss Hachem was an innocent bystander / PA

Detectives have been granted an additional 36 hours by magistrates to continue questioning three men, aged 33, 36 and 39, all from Blackburn, on suspicion of her murder after their arrests on Monday.

On Wednesday, Lancashire Police said they had made six more arrests.

Three men aged 28, 31 and 35 were held on suspicion of murder and two women aged 19 and 26 and a 29-year-old man were detained on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Police believe Miss Hachem was not the intended target of the attack, which took place in broad daylight on a busy main road near a Lidl supermarket in the town centre.

The 19-year-old dreamed of becoming a solicitor, her family said / PA

The Lebanese-born teenager, a second year student at the University of Salford, died in hospital a short time after emergency services were called to the scene in King Street at around 3pm.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Andy Cribbin, from Lancashire Constabularys force major investigation team, said: Our inquiries are very much ongoing and we are working round the clock to find out who was responsible for Ayas death.

Our determination to get justice for her family remains undimmed and our thoughts are very much with Ayas loved ones.

I would like to thank those who have come forward to assist the investigation so far and I would continue to ask that anyone who has any information, however insignificant they may think it is, to get in touch."

Police continue to appeal for information about the incident / PA

Miss Hachem's family described her as "the most loyal, devoted daughter" who died in the "most horrific circumstances".

"She excelled in her studies both at Blackburn Central High School and at Salford University where she was in her second year and dreamed of becoming a solicitor," her family said in a statement.

"She had just completed her exams and was learning to drive.

"We her parents are absolutely devastated by her death and would like to take this opportunity to plead with any members of the public who may have any information however small that may bring those responsible to justice."

Anybody with information should contact 101, quoting log number 0412 of May 18, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Houston residents are well aware of the fast-changing nature of their dynamic city - whether in demographics, economic diversity or physical features of the city itself - but have you ever wondered how Houstonians' beliefs, opinions and perspectives have changed over the years?

A Rice University research project asked that question in 1982, and has been exploring the answers every year since. After 38 years of tracking Houston's internal response to a changing world, researchers claim the project is the longest-running of its kind anywhere in the U.S.

OIL STORAGE EXPLOSION: Oil storage tank explodes in Galveston

The 2020 Kinder Institute Houston Area Survey released its latest results May 4, but responses come from the weeks just before the pandemic truly took shape in the public mind, with interviews conducted in February and early March.

Researchers said they consider the findings a snapshot taken just before the pandemic, one which is bound to change in many ways in light of the historic global oil bust, pandemic lockdowns and record-high unemployment.
The police in Lagos, Tuesday night, arrested many essential workers, including journalists and doctors, for allegedly defying the 8 p.m to 5 a.m curfew imposed on the state by the federal government over the novel coronavirus pandemic.

But a reporter who witnessed it all said the arrests were malicious.

The police mounted several checkpoints on several parts of Lagos on Tuesday night to enforce the curfew during which they arrested many essential workers.

The health workers, journalists, bank officials and other essential workers had been caught in heavy traffic caused by the checkpoints when they were arrested.

Among those arrested were Ivy Kanu, a crime correspondent with TVC News, and Chuks Oluigbo, the News Editor of BusinessDay newspaper.

They were later detained at a police station and their vehicles impounded.

Order from above

Yusuf Adekunle, the Head of Investigation at The Nation newspaper who was also held up in the traffic, told PREMIUM TIMES that the journalists were arrested out of police annoyance at the media.

They were all angry that all the loopholes in the COVID-19 directives, the media were heaping them on the police, he said.

Mr Adekunle said the police mounted a checkpoint at Testing Ground, Alausa shortly after 8 p.m when the traffic had built up to Allen Avenue roundabout.

I had to abandon my car and trek to the front to see what was happening. The police said it was total lockdown for everyone and no exemption for anybody, including doctors, journalists and others, Mr Adekunle said.

He said the officers refused to allow anyone go, saying that was the instruction given to them.

Despite all our entreaties, they said no. Bankers who were on essential duties, feeding money into the ATMs, some of them had letters, they said no. They told us they would impound all our vehicles and hand them over to the task force in the morning.

Mr Adekunle said the DPO of the division later came to tell the people that nobody would be allowed to leave and that in the morning, their vehicles would be handed over to the task force.

I had to go back, manoeuvre and even do one-way to get out of there, because I had already spent more than seven hours in the traffic, he narrated.

Mr Adekunle said he was later intercepted by another officer at another checkpoint who insisted that nobody was exempted.

They were all angry, every one of them was saying the same thing. They were blaming the media that we heaped all the blames of not observing total lockdown on the police and that they were not effective. Apparently, they were angry because of that, he said.

At the end of a virtual conference with zonal assistant-inspector general of police and state commissioners of police on Tuesday, Mohammed Adamu, the inspector-general of police, ordered a strict enforcement of the national curfew and inter-state movement restriction imposed by the federal government.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has ordered strict enforcement of the national curfew and inter-state movement restriction orders emplaced by the Federal Government as part of measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.  Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) May 19, 2020

The police issued a clarification hours later saying people on essential services are exempted from the movement restriction.

Covid-19: Enforcement of Restriction Orders All essential workers including Medical Personnel,Firefighters, Ambulance Services,Journalists,etc are exempted from the restriction of movement associated with both the partial lockdown and the national curfew across the Federation.  Nigeria Police Force (@PoliceNG) May 19, 2020

Doctors react

Reacting to the arrest of its members, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Lagos directed members to proceed on an indefinite sit-at-home strike starting from 6 p.m on Wednesday.

According to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the NMA said the sit-at order will run until the conflict between the directives of the state government and law enforcement agents is resolved.

The Lagos State Branch of the NMA has resolved that it is presently unsafe for its members to continue to provide healthcare services under the present confused arrangement.

Advertisements



We resolve that all doctors under the auspices of the Nigerian Medical Association in Lagos to proceed on a sit-at-home starting from 6.00 p.m. today, May 20, indefinitely.

Until such time when the state government and the Commissioner of Police, are clear on how they wish to operationalise the lockdown/restriction of movement directive as it relates to essential service and service providers, including healthcare services and doctors, the NMA leaders said.

The spokesperson of the police in Lagos, Bala Elkana, did not respond to calls and a text message asking for his comments for this story.
This article, Justice League's Snyder Cut will be released on HBO Max, originally appeared on CNET.com.

Original Justice League director Zack Snyder has revealed that he'll finally be releasing his fabled version of the 2017 DC movie. The launch of The Snyder Cut, slated for 2021, was announced Wednesday by Snyder and Henry Cavill during a live online commentary of Man of Steel on social media platform Vero.

"I want to thank HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized," Snyder said. "Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the #SnyderCut movement for making this a reality."

Justice League, which brings together Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg in a bid to save the universe, was ultimately directed by Joss Whedon after Snyder stepped down. Fans -- including Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck -- have been pushing for Snyder's version to be released since the movie debuted.

Snyder in January released two images of his version of the movie on Vero, including a still of The Atom -- a character cut in Whedon's Justice League. He also posted a picture of Alfred working not in the Batcave but "at the abandon Wayne aerospace hanger," Snyder wrote at the time.

The Snyder Cut could be released as either a four-hour movie or a six-part TV series, according to Hollywood Reporter. The movie will reportedly have a new score, cut and visual effects, using the original post-production crew, and could cost between $20 million and $30 million to produce, Hollywood Reporter said. HBO Max said none of those reported details are confirmed, while Warner Bros. didn't immediately respond.
MIDLAND, MI  President Donald Trump is asking residents in central Michigan to stay safe and listen to local officials after flooding caused the Edenville Dam to burst and forced evacuations in Midland County.

Before 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, Trump used Twitter to acknowledge first responders, who have helped to get people to evacuation sites and get resources in Midland County, Saginaw Township, Tittabawassee Township and other areas of mid-Michigan.

My team is closely monitoring the flooding in Central Michigan  Stay SAFE and listen to local officials. Our brave First Responders are once again stepping up to serve their fellow citizens, THANK YOU! Trump said in the Twitter post.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency declaration late Tuesday and sent the National Guard to help after the Edenville Dam collapsed and water flooded over the top of the Sanford Dam following heavy rains. Both are on a river that leads into the city of Midland.

Whitmer was scheduled to hold a press conference on the flooding on Wednesday, as many residents of the Midland community remained evacuated from the Tittabawassee River area.

Trump is scheduled to visit Michigan on Thursday, May 21, to tour a Ford manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti Township and meet with national and Detroit-area African American leaders to discuss efforts to help distressed communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related news:

Trump to meet with Detroit-area black leaders before touring Michigan Ford plant

Sanford Dam remains intact, Dow shuts down operations in Midland as a precaution
WASHINGTON - A Senate committee moved Wednesday to subpoena documents related to the son of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in an election-year escalation of GOP congressional scrutiny of Biden's time as vice president.

The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the subpoena on a party-line vote, more than two months after its chairman, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., indicated that he planned to seek the documents concerning Hunter Biden's work for the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Johnson's quest has generated fierce objection from Democrats, who argue that the inquiry is simply an election-year witch hunt meant to sling mud at President Donald Trump's likely November opponent. Some, including the committee's top Democrat, have suggested that Johnson is serving as an unwitting pawn in a Russian disinformation campaign.

Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, said Wednesday that the panel is "going down a dangerous road" at a time of a national crisis from the coronavirus pandemic.

"At this moment when Americans need us to work together, this extremely partisan investigation is pulling us apart," he said.

After the vote, Johnson defended the investigation. "The question I would ask is: What is everybody worried about? If there's nothing there, we'll find out there's nothing there. But if there's something there, the American people need to know that," he said.

The subpoena comes as Republicans have increased their efforts to investigate the administration of former president Barack Obama - a campaign that they say is meant to uncover malfeasance in targeting Donald Trump when he was a candidate and president-elect for unwarranted investigation. Democrats say it is simply another front in a Republican effort to rough up Biden ahead of the election.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is seeking a list of Obama administration officials who may have sought to reveal the names of Trump-connected figures in anonymized foreign intelligence dragnets - an effort that could advance a narrative that the former president and his allies conspired to inappropriately target Trump, one that Trump has dubbed "Obamagate."

But experts say that veiled names in intelligence materials are routinely "unmasked" by government officials who are seeking to understand the context of what they are reviewing, and that unmasking itself is not evidence of wrongdoing.

Trump has urged Republicans to pursue the investigations targeting the Obama administration and vowed earlier this year to make Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine a "major issue" in the general election.

The Democratic-led House impeached Trump in December after an inquiry focused in part on the allegation that Trump tried to leverage a White House meeting and military aid to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate the Bidens. The Republican-run Senate acquitted Trump on the two charges - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - in February.

Andrew Bates, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, called Johnson's effort misguided amid the deadly outbreak.

"We're in the middle of the worst public health and economic crisis in a century, and what is Senator Johnson focused on? Running a political errand for Donald Trump by wasting Homeland Security Committee time and resources attempting to resurrect a craven, previously debunked smear against Vice President Biden," Bates said in a statement.

Johnson's subpoena targets documents and testimony in the custody of Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm that acted on behalf of Burisma and employed Andrii Telizhenko, a Ukrainian national linked to the energy company. Burisma employed Hunter Biden as a board member, paying him hundreds of thousands of dollars for a sinecure that he has acknowledged was the result, at least in part, of his father's famous name.

At the time Hunter Biden served on Burisma's board, his father was acting on behalf of the Obama administration to combat corruption in Ukraine. But no evidence has emerged to suggest that Joe Biden acted in that capacity to benefit his son.

Fact-checkers have debunked Trump's attacks related to Hunter Biden's work in Ukraine, and some Trump administration officials testified under oath during the impeachment inquiry that Joe Biden did not do anything wrong.

Johnson has pursued the subpoena since early March, but Democratic objections and the spread of the coronavirus delayed his efforts to push it through the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel, which has broad investigative jurisdiction. Democrats, in addition to objecting to the partisan nature of the inquiry, have suggested that any information sourced from Telizhenko could be suspect and called on Johnson to schedule "defensive briefings" with intelligence officials to prevent the committee from disseminating potentially false information planted by Russian intelligence services.

In a letter to the panel Wednesday, Blue Star said there was no reason a subpoena would be necessary: "At no time have we ever stated or indicated in any way that we would not cooperate. Therefore, we are puzzled, despite our willingness to cooperate, why the Committee is proceeding to vote on a subpoena."

Johnson said Wednesday that he disputed that claim and moved forward with the subpoena. He indicated earlier this year that he plans to issue a report about Hunter Biden's involvement with Burisma and Ukrainian matters before the election.

A spokesman for Johnson said that Blue Star delayed the panel's efforts for more than five months and that the firm responded only when the committee announced that it would hold a meeting to vote on the subpoena.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., lambasted Republicans on Wednesday for pursuing the subpoena, saying they were "using Russian propaganda to try and damage a political opponent."

"It appears the subpoena is just for show, a way to create the false impression of wrongdoing," he said. "It's like in a third-world dictatorship, a show trial with no basis in fact, with no due process, with no reality."

Democrats on the panel sent a letter to Johnson on Tuesday demanding that he focus the committee's attention on the coronavirus pandemic - not on the Bidens.

"Our committee has a responsibility to ask tough questions on the pandemic response and get answers for the American people at a time when they are most in need," they wrote, requesting information from various federal officials, including the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
STAMFORD  Stamford Hospital gave an enthusiastic goodbye Tuesday to some 130 camouflage- and surgical-mask-wearing members of a military task force that has been assisting with its Covid-19 response over the past several weeks.

Cheers and yells along with handmade signs of thanks were raised for several minutes as members of the task force, consisting of Connecticut National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve medical providers, paraded through the main lobby of the hospital.

The group then made its way to a parking lot on the east side of the new hospital building where a score of reservists were given awards for their service by Connecticut National Guard Brigadier General. Gen. Ralph Hedenberg, commander of the joint task force.

We are grateful for your support in our fight against Covid-19, hospital President and CEO Kathleen Silard said during the windy afternoon ceremony.

Calling the partnership between her staff and the task force truly special, she acknowledged the leadership of Hedenberg and U.S. Army Reserve Col. Patricia Olson.

I have to tell you, walking around the hospital over the past several days I kept hearing over and over again, We really are going to miss our military partners, she said.

Task force members became part of the fabric of the care provided to Stamford Hospital patients, Silard said.

Stamford has been hit harder by the coronavirus than any other city or town in the state. As of Tuesday evening it had seen 3,046 confirmed cases and 175 corona-attributed deaths, according to state Department of Public Health figures.

Silard said at present there are 30 cases of the virus in the hospital, down from a high of 160 several weeks ago.

We know this pandemic is not over. But thankfully due to your help we were able to provide robust care for our community during a time of great need, Silard told the departing military personnel.

After the ceremony Hedenberg said he was happy to come to Stamford and help.

It was extremely rewarding to assist people in our own state and being able to be down here, said the Hartford-area resident.

Connecticut citizens were in need and you answered the call, he told task force members. Your efforts and service during this time will not be forgotten. Connecticut owes you a debt of gratitude. Thank you for answering the call.

Olson in a statement recognized our new-found family of Stamford Hospital medical staff.

As they continue the prolonged fight against COVID-19 we cant imagine a more welcoming team to have joined during one of our nations most trying times, she said. It is with great pride that my team can say theyve had the chance to work shoulder to shoulder with the citizens of Connecticut, both civilian and National Guard, and if were ever called upon again we remain ready to help where needed to support our nation.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
Seoul education superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, right, checks a senior students body temperature at the Kyungbock High School in Seoul, South Korea (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

South Korean students began returning to schools on Wednesday as their country prepares for a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a reminder that returning to normalcy will not be easy, students in some schools near Seoul were quickly asked to leave and return home after two students were found to have contracted the virus.

South Korean health authorities reported 32 new cases over a 24-hour period, the first time the daily jump has been above 30 in more than a week.

Hundreds of thousands of high school seniors entered their schools after having their temperatures checked and rubbing their hands with sanitiser on Wednesday morning.

Students and teachers are required to wear masks in classrooms, and some schools installed plastic partitions at each students desk, according to the Education Ministry.

I am here to see students returning to school while praying that there wont be any coronavirus patients among our students in 2,200 schools Cho Hee-yeon

Lower-level students were set to return to school in phased steps by June 8.

South Koreas new school year was supposed to start in early March, but it was delayed several times due to worries about the spread of the coronavirus.

About 5.4 million students in South Korea have been subsequently taking classes online.

At Seouls Kyungbock High School, Cho Hee-yeon, the education superintendent in the capital, used a digital ear thermometer to check students temperatures at the main gate while another official placed liquid sanitiser on the hands of those students.

Signs that read No outsiders are allowed to enter the school premises were set up.

I am here to see students returning to school while praying that there wont be any coronavirus patients among our students in 2,200 schools in Seoul, Cho Hee-yeon, Seouls top education superintendent, told reporters.

Expand Close A senior student is greeted by a teacher, second from right, upon his arrival at the Kyungbock High School in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A senior student is greeted by a teacher, second from right, upon his arrival at the Kyungbock High School in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Students at 66 schools in Incheon, just west of Seoul, had to leave after two students at one of the schools tested positive for the virus.

The two students did not attend school on Wednesday, but authorities decided to temporarily close all schools in their neighbourhood as students there may have come in contact with the two infected students earlier, according to the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education.

South Korea relaxed much of its social distancing rules in early May. But it quickly saw a small but sudden spike in new infections linked to nightclubs in Seoul.

Those latest outbreaks had been on a downward trend until Tuesday.

The country has confirmed more than 11,000 coronavirus cases, including 263 deaths.
National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday sought the release of all detained political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir before Eid-ul-Fitr.

Several politicians, including Omar, his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, were detained hours before the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcation of the state into union territories on August 5 last year.

While Omar and Farooq have subsequently released, Mehbooba and Sagar continued to be in custody under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

"We are days away from Eid. @narendramodi ji should order the release of all detained politicians in J&K, whether under formal detention orders or informal house arrest. They have done nothing to deserve being locked away for as long as they've been, Omar wrote on Twitter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man, who returned from



Chennai, has tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said.

The Chennai returnee coronavirus patient has been admitted at a COVID-19 hospital in the Garo Hills, the CM said.

With the new case, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state has risen to 14 but the Chennai returnee is the only active case in the state at present as 12 people have recovered from coronavirus and one has died.

"One of the persons from Garo Hills, who came back from Chennai in the second batch has tested positive for COVID-19, the person is asymptomatic and has been in institutional quarantine in Tura. We are monitoring the situation," the chief minister tweeted on Tuesday night.

"We should not panic ... but need to handle this with utmost care and responsibility. We need to take care of elderly people and people with comorbid conditions. Asymptotic and young people are recovering from this by observing isolation," he added.

Meanwhile, two persons who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi have arrived here, according to district officials.

Both have been sent for home quarantine after medical screening, the official said.

The duo had travelled by bus from Delhi till Guwahati and from there, they boarded another bus arranged by the state government, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three best friends who just wanted to do something to help their friend who is battling cancer have raised almost 55,000 in less than three days!

The Graignamanagh friends launched their Cut it for Chloe fundraiser on Go Fund Me last Sunday night with their fingers crossed they could raise a target of 5,000 over a month - but the appeal has captured peoples' hearts.

"Within an hour we had over 10,000 on the page - we were knocked for six," KellyAnne Whelan, one of those who will shave her head told the Kilkenny People.

KellyAnne, along with Shannon O'Neill and Laura Bolger are the brave trio who are shaving their heads on June 13 - but KellyAnne says she's not nervous, it's only hair and it will grow back.

Foremost in the girl's thoughts is their ill friend Chloe Kavanagh - who is not only battling cancer but has beaten coronavirus!

In November 2019 Chloe was just 20 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with a stage 3 brain tumour. In early December she underwent surgery, while still pregnant, to have the tumour removed but was then told by the doctors in Beaumont Hospital that they were unable to have all the tumour removed by surgery and she would require rigorous rounds of both radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The main priority at the time was ensuring the safe delivery of her baby and on March 2 she gave birth to her beautiful baby boy Sam 6 weeks early.

Two weeks after Sam was born Chloe had to leave him to begin six weeks of radiotherapy in Dublin. During this time she was dealt another blow when she tested positive for Covid-19 and had to remain in isolation for the remainder of this treatment.

However, being the amazing fighter that she is she beat the virus and was able to continue with her radiotherapy and finally get back home to Sam her husband Ian and her family.

Her time at home again was very short lived and she was again brought back to Beaumont one week later with some complications.

"The goal for Chloes family now, is to be able to have her back home to allow her to spend time with them all but most importantly with her beautiful boy Sam who doesnt realise yet, the amazing Mammy that he has, before she has to begin her chemotherapy."

Chloe has lost her own hair, because of her treatment, and got a good laugh out of the idea of her friends shaving their heads!

KellyAnne explained that Chloe's friends just wanted to do something to help, and they decided a fundraiser that would take some of the financial worries from the family's shoulders at a time they have so much more to worry about would be the thing to do. "You want to to do something for the family just to make things a little bit easier."

Chloe's husband Ian is not working because he has devoted his time to looking after Chloe and baby Sam.

The community of Graignamanagh has been unbelievable, KellyAnne said. "I want to get the message out how good the people have been. It's phenomenal. Our first target was 5,000 and we thought wouldn't that be amazing (to get). Within an hour we had more than 10,000 on the page and it knocked us for six. I didn't sleep that night! It doesn't seem real, we can't actually believe it."

KellyAnne said they never doubted how good people are, but in the current climate when people have money worries themselves, the generosity is "just crazy." The girls are at a loss for the words to express how overwhelming the generosity of the community has been. "We thought this would be a small, community fundraiser that would be lovely for local people, because everybody wants to do something but nobody knows what to do."

"It's great for Chloe's family to realise the support they have."

KellyAnne said Chloe's friends have kept in touch with video calls but they haven't actually seen her in a long time, as she has been in isolation. "I just want to give her a squeeze!"

Chloe is such a good friend, KellyAnne said, that if it had been any one of her friends who was ill she would have done something to help.

The headshave will be broadcast live on Facebook on June 13, and anyone who wants to take part is welcome to.

For now you can read about Chloe's story and donate to the Cut it for Chloe fundraiser on Go Fund Me *click here*.

"It will be an emotional day for everybody," KellyAnne predicts. "People in Graig are great liars - they're saying it's going to suit us!"

"The people of Graignamanagh, and beyond, should be proud of themselves for what they have done. It's amazing."
A business school professor at the $48,600-a-year Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., has been suspended after students complained he made 'racist' tweets about Barack Obama and Kamala Harris.

John Tieso, adjunct professor at the University's Busch School of Business was suspended Monday after the school says it received complaints about the Twitter comments he made about Obama and Harris.

Tieso has fired back that he did not recall the criticism of Obama, when he made a 2018 trip to Africa, and that his comments about Harris were based on history.

John Tieso, adjunct professor at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., was suspended after students complained he made 'racist' tweets about Barack Obama and Kamala Harris

Tieso has fired back that he did not recall the criticism of Obama (pictured), when he made a 2018 trip to Africa, and that his comments about Harris were based on history

He took his Twitter account down in the days leading up to this week's suspension and insists it was never associated with the school, which is following up with an investigation, the College Fix reports.

The Twitter account was removed after a meeting with an administrator to discuss allegations of 'racially-charged' speech earlier this month, a spokesperson for the school said.

A copy of the letter obtained by WUSA revealed three tweets the student said were 'racist.'

One of the tweets, posted July 8, 2018, was a retweeted photo of former Obama and criticism of the former president for complaining about his wealth while visiting 'one of the poorest countries' during a visit to Africa. The country is not named.

Tieso retweeted the photo and wrote in the caption 'That's the Obama we all came to know and hate. Incredibly incompetent and vain. Perhaps he might consider staying in Africa and giving all his money to his people.'

In a second, more recent tweet made on May 5, Tieso wrote about Harris. In the social media post, he described the US senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, whose parents are from Jamaica and India, as a 'former escort', the College Fix reports.

One of the tweets, posted July 8, 2018, was a retweeted photo of former Obama and criticism of the former president for complaining about his wealth while visiting 'one of the poorest countries' during a visit to Africa. The country is not named

In a second, more recent tweet made on May 5, Tieso wrote about Harris. In the social media post, he described the US senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, whose parents are from Jamaica and India, as a 'former escort'

It was a reference to an accusation Harris has faced for most of her political career: that she dated Willie Brown, the former speaker of the California Assembly, a married man twice her age to get an edge on her entry into politics.

Details of the third tweet have not been made public.

When WUSA approached Tieso about the tweets on May 5, he declined to be interviewed and said he was the victim of a 'biased witch hunt.' He later told the College Fix that he couldn't remember the Obama tweet among thousands he had made and that his comments about Harris were based on history.

Karna Lozoya, executive director of strategic communications in the Office of the President at the university, confirmed Tieso's dean, Andrew Abela, 'received an anonymous letter on May 5 (at a little after 1 am).'

Tieso took his Twitter account (pictured) down in the days leading up to this week's suspension and insists it was never associated with the school, which is following up with an investigation

'He contacted John Tieso that afternoon to ask him about the concerns expressed in the letter. Mr. Tieso removed his Twitter account shortly after that phone call.'

Tieso wrote in his final tweet, 'Several people have claimed in my tweets that I am racist  which I certainly am not, and would not give such an impression.' The professor had composed nearly 100,000 tweets.

By Monday, Tieso says he was informed that his summer class was being postponed to a later session. He says he was told by the school that additional complaints, including some from alumni, had been received about his Twitter comments, and that an investigation was underway to 'determine the facts.'

Tieso says he was told additional complaints, including some from alumni, had been received about his Twitter comments by the school (pictured). An investigation is now underway

Tieso says he suspects he was suspended because the school was caving into media pressure as well as from others. A practicing Catholic, Tieso says being accuse of racism by unnamed persons was difficult to handle.

'I love the school and students,' he said. 'I've had Catholics, Protestants, Jews, and Muslims in my classes, and I've treated each of them the same. They are my students.'

According to its website the average tuition fees per year are $48,600.
On April 2, the nurses at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Fla., staged a protest outside their hospital, in part because they werent being provided masks to protect them from coronavirus infection.

A month later, pro-Donald Trump activists in Phoenix, Ariz., staged a protest of their own outside a Honeywell factory that Trump was visiting. The factory manufactures N95 masks for hospital personnel and that was the primary reason for the presidents visit.

But the MAGA contingent outside the Honeywell plant resented the very thought of people wearing protective face coverings. They questioned the validity of media-reported COVID-19 casualty numbers and harassed journalists on the scene for wearing masks.

The surgeon general tells you not to wear a mask, a female protester scoldingly said to a young male reporter. Why are you wearing a mask? Do you know more than the surgeon general?

Related links: Editorial: No shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service

Of course, she was wrong.

During an April 3 White House press briefing, Surgeon General Jerome Adams, with Trump standing by his side, explained why he advised people to wear cloth masks in public settings where they wouldnt be able to maintain social distancing.

In recent weeks, weve seen various members of the Trump administration wear masks in public, including Vice President Mike Pence and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin for a Capitol Hill visit on Tuesday with congressional Republican leaders.

Nonetheless, the simple act of wearing a mask is now being framed by many on the political right as a surrender to the forces of totalitarianism; an admission that youre a gutless snowflake willing to let power-mad bureaucrats strip you of your most basic freedoms.

These dissidents regard cloth coverings as symbols of a societal emasculation (or e-mask-ulation, if you prefer).

On Tuesday, Brenden Dilley, a Trump-worshiping host of a daily online talk show, and someone who has more than 47,000 Twitter followers, took to social media to rant about his contempt for those who wear masks.

Better to be dead than a f---ing dork, Dilley said, while wearing a Trump 2020 cap. Yes, I mean that literally. Id rather die than look like a f---ing idiot right now, you weakling.

Really, thats no way for a Republican to speak to Mike Pence and Steve Mnuchin.

Related links: Why do the young and healthy need masks

Four months ago, we associated masks with superheroes, surgeons, Mexican wrestlers and old-school outlaws. Now, theyre being caricatured as fashion accessories for wimps.

Conservatives less prone to inflammatory rhetoric than Dilley tend to say that theyre not against masks, per se. They just hate the way local and state officials have tried to force masks on us.

This argument suggests that if Big Brother just trusted individuals to make their own decisions, many of those people would choose  on their own  to wear masks.

How, then, do you explain the behavior of the rabblerousers in Arizona? Their governor did not mandate that they wear masks and no one was pressuring them to do so.

These self-proclaimed guardians of individual freedom were the ones imposing pressure, taunting journalists who had made their own individual choice on the issue.

Another complaint frequently voiced on the political right is that weve received contradictory guidance from government and health officials on masks: first, we were advised not to wear them, then we were made to feel like going out in public without one was a scandalous act.

Adams, in his White House press briefing, explained the policy shifts as an evolution that grew from new information.

Adams said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention always regarded it as a good idea for people with COVID-19 symptoms to wear masks. They didnt initially, however, take into account the risk posed by people who are asymptomatic.

We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms, Adams said.

Thats what the anti-maskers tend to miss about this issue.

Wearing a simple cloth mask in public is not an expression of fear. Its an expression of courtesy and consideration for the people around you.

Its an acknowledgment of the fact that you could very well be carrying the virus without knowing it. And that means you could unwittingly transmit it to someone else.

Thats why the surgeon general, the CDC and Trumps coronavirus task force have all recommended that we wear masks in public.

But, by all means, lets put those inconvenient facts aside, so we can treat masks as the product of a fake-news, left-wing cabal that wants to smother personal choice. After all, as Dilley might say, better to infect the people around you with a deadly virus than to risk looking like a dork.

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
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, it had been years since the wind flitted through my hair. Usually, it passes over my inch-long locks and playfully tickles my balding spot before drifting off the back of my neck.

When I was young, I always received compliments from hairdressers about how rich and thick my hair was, but, as I got older, greyer and more rotund, my hair also thinned.

So, I kept a tight ship. But, with the pandemic in British Columbia, business at barber shops, like so much of our everyday lives, ground to a halt.

Those of us who were used to monthly trims now faced the grim reality of being able to grab fistfuls of hair as it spread out in all directions. Armed with a guilty conscience and Facebook, I even spent a little time searching for a haircut on the black market to avoid the discomfort, but no one was risking opening before the governments green light.

So on Tuesday, as the B.C. government allowed salons and barber shops to re-open more than two months after their closure, there was a sense of relief and even anticipation.

I called my usual hairdresser, Angelina Nguyen, who runs a one-woman shop called TA Hair Salon in my Burnaby neighbourhood, and booked myself in.

It seemed like a special event. I considered wearing a tie.

And it was a big day in B.C. As elsewhere across the country, some businesses, including retail outlets and pubs, could start reopening, provided they follow safety measures. After the long weeks of our lockdown, it felt like a freedom, very similar to the last day of school.

The feeling was made all the more poignant by the fact that children are starting to return to daycare here.

While peoples COVID-19 experiences vary, those of us with small children have found ourselves trying to concentrate on work while suffering a barrage of yelling, banging and demands for attention. Go ahead and label me bad dad, but the thought of a quiet house in which to work made the lure of getting the kids back to daycare undeniable.

But its not quite business as usual. And we all know it.

We were told to pick the kids up at a specific time because the daycare is staggering pickups and dropoffs in five-minute intervals to avoid large groups forming.

Its easy to make light, but theres the real fear so many of us have of a second wave of COVID-19  that this is just a false start, a setup to a setback. Its hard not to ask yourself if youre doing the right thing by putting your children back in daycare and trekking off for a haircut.

Still, looking like one of the original members of The Doobie Brothers, I stuffed a bag with a mask and hand sanitizer, fixed my flat cap onto my head and started the five-minute walk to the hairdresser.

The salon is in a plaza featuring a grocery store, pub, insurance broker and other businesses. Outside the salon, a young man sat waiting his turn on a concrete cylinder.

A large jug of sanitizer with a fresh mask hanging on it sat next to the front door. A sign above said it was for customers only.

A young woman Id never seen before, opened the door for the man, asked him to sanitize his hands from the big jug and told him hed need a mask. The salon had them for $1.50 a piece, if he hadnt brought one.

I took his spot on the concrete cylinder and, for the next 30 minutes, watched person after person come to the door looking for haircuts. The young woman, who turned out to be Angelinas daughter, poked her head out from behind the heavy salon door to juggle time slots and explain the rules for getting a haircut to people.

You must sanitize your hands. You must wear a mask. And you must not even think about getting a trim if you or anyone in your family may have coronavirus symptoms, she told new arrivals.

All the while, Angelina was managing to get people in and out of her chair within 15 minutes.

If my daughter werent here, Id go crazy, shed tell me later.

One man with long, grey hair ending halfway down his back showed up at the front door looking for a pedicure. I waited for the big laugh, but there wasnt one; he wasnt kidding. But there was no time for pedicures with so many mop tops running around wanting haircuts and he was told to try later in the week.

Finally, it was my turn to be liberated from the tyranny of my long hair. I sanitized my hands and masked up. With Angelinas visor and mask on, it almost felt like I was getting my haircut by a dalek.

She told me its not that difficult to cut hair around a mask while also wearing her own protective equipment. She carefully pulled the strap from behind my ear to trim my sideburns and side of my head.

Many people had called her during the lockdown asking if she could sneak them a haircut at their home or come to her place for one, she told me, but she didnt want to risk getting anyone sick and declined the business. She had planned on bringing in a partner this year but has nixed the idea for now.

During my 15 minutes at least three people banged on the glass, asking for haircuts. When my time was up, I paid my $19  plus a 50 per cent tip, as I promised myself I would give to service workers for the first few outings.

She told me it feels good to get back to work.

Outside her shop, the rest of the plaza was filled with people waiting to get into to TA Hair Salon and other businesses in the plaza.

One could say the cliched new normal doesnt seem that much different than the old normal, but Angelinas visor and massive bottle of hand sanitizer makes a compelling argument that things have changed and that were still going through that change, each of us in our own way.

Its hard not to wonder whats next.

While I was wrapping up this story, my two children burst in the door after being picked up from daycare. As I thwacked away on my computer, my eldest, whos four, threw a paper plate at my head and said silly haircut, Daddy.

She might be right. Well see.

Read more about:
Justices (from left) Peter Maassen, Daniel Winfree, Chief Justice Joel Bolger, Craig Stowers, and Susan Carney, listen as attorney D. John McKay, back to camera, argues the case as the Alaska Supreme Court visits West Valley High School for the Supreme Court LIVE educational program Thursday morning, October 10, 2019. The court heard oral arguments in an appeal case, Kaleb Lee Basey v. State of Alaska, Department of Public Safety, before an audience of high school students.
Two-thirds of brain metastases give off fluorescence following administration of 5-aminolevulinic acid, which could potentially assist surgeons in identifying such tumors. However, fluorescence patterns are often heterogeneous or vague, which limits their practical benefits. These were the key findings of a major study performed by Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Krems (KL Krems) and headed by the Medical University of Vienna, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. The study looked at 150 patients, making this the worlds most comprehensive research project of its kind to date. It has also delivered significant results, which will form a valuable basis for developing this potentially useful technique.

Brain metastases are the most common type of tumor that affects the brain, occurring in 20-40 percent of all systemic cancers. They are often removed surgically, which is an important treatment option aside from radiotherapy, gamma knife radiosurgery or chemotherapy. In most cases, they can be effectively removed, as metastases can often be clearly distinguished from the surrounding tissue. However, recent research found that residual tumors remain after around 20 percent of surgical resections. Performing an operation after administering 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) could enable surgeons to pinpoint these hard-to-visualize parts of tumors during surgery. Particularly in tumor cells, 5-ALA creates easily recognizable fluorescence, which in turn simplifies identification of residual tumors. This already is an established method of treating primary brain tumors, but so far there has been no systematic investigation of its use in connection with brain metastases. This was what the team from KL Krems and MedUni Vienna set out to achieve in the largest study of its kind to be performed anywhere in the world  and their findings were sobering.

Marking metastases

We demonstrated visible fluorescence in two-thirds of all metastases following preoperative administration of 5-ALA, explained Dr. Franz Marhold (Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital St. Polten, KL Krems ), lead author of the study, which was published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. But this fluorescence was often vague and heterogeneously distributed, which unfortunately means its practical applicability is limited. The researchers examined a total of 157 brain metastases in 154 patients. 5-ALA fluorescence was identified in 104 metastases, and 53 demonstrated no fluorescence. However, in over 80 percent of cases, fluorescence was so heterogeneous that it provided little support to the surgeons performing the resection.

A key feature of this wide-ranging study was the correlation between the fluorescence characteristics  status (i.e. visible or not), quality (i.e. intensity) and homogeneity  and the primary tumor type.

According to Prof. Georg Widhalm of the Department of Neurosurgery at MedUni Vienna, who was the head of the study: We mainly examined brain metastases in patients with lung, breast, colorectal and renal cell cancer, and melanoma. Our evaluation showed that visible fluorescence was observed most frequently in certain kinds of breast tumors, and least often in melanoma cases. The heterogeneous distribution and low intensity of fluorescence in the tumor was a feature shared by all forms of cancer.

Solid foundations

The researchers were unable to find the causes of the often vague fluorescence in brain metastases, but the data and tumor samples collected will pave the way for future research into the possible reasons. The same goes for the heterogeneous fluorescence within individual metastases.

We suspect there are differences in the distribution of certain metabolites within a tumor. They react with 5-ALA, leading to heterogeneous levels of fluorescence. Dr. Franz Marhold, Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital St. Polten, KL Krems

This is one of the questions that researchers will aim to address in future projects.

The work performed by the team headed by Dr. Marhold and Prof. Widhalm demonstrates the strong practical relevance of the neuro-oncological research carried out at KL Krems and MedUni Vienna. The research addresses the needs of day-to-day clinical practice, and makes a significant contribution to discovering, developing, improving and evaluating treatment options.
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the western North Atlantic Ocean and provided forecasters with a visible image of Post Tropical Storm Arthur.

During the afternoon (Eastern Daylight Time/U.S.) of May 19, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of Arthur and showed a weak circulation with the bulk of clouds northeast and east of the center. Arthur is located out in the Western Atlantic Ocean far from the U.S. coast and parallel to the Virginia/North Carolina border.

The NOAA National Hurricane Center's Tropical Weather Discussion on May 20 at 8:05 a.m. EDT noted, "Post-Tropical Cyclone Arthur is north of the area near latitude 35 degrees north and longitude 65 degrees west. Arthur will move southeast to south through Thursday [May 21], and weaken. Large northeastern [ocean] swell from Arthur will affect the waters that are to the NE of the Bahamas, through Friday [May 22], and then subside on Friday night and Saturday."

Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

###

By Rob Gutro

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
School parents and citizens associations are unable to spend new money or approve school projects during the coronavirus pandemic, owing to a decades-old constitution that fails to recognise online meetings.

The constitution requires the associations hold one meeting each term as well as an annual general meeting. But voting can only occur when members are physically present, according to the P&C Federation's interpretation of the document, which has left groups in limbo during the pandemic.

The federation has asked the NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell to amend its constitution under the Parents and Citizens Associations Incorporation Act 1976.

School parent and citizens associations have not been able to meet in-person during the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many decisions in limbo. Credit:Janie Barrett

"The constitution doesnt have a specific enabler to allow online meetings," P&C Federation president Tim Spencer said.
The Cyclone Amphan on Wednesday evening crossed the West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) across Sunderbans (West Bengal) as a very severe cyclonic storm, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The cyclone crossed between 3.30 pm and 5.30 pm with wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.

At least two people died in West Bengal in the wake of the cyclone. While one person died in Howrah district another person died in North 24 Parganas district. A warning has also been issued for the districts of South 24 Pargana, Midinipur and Sunderban.

The cyclone will start weakening after landfall. The northern and central districts of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, east Bihar and east Jharkhand will get moderate to heavy rains until May 21 morning.

The landfall process of the cyclone began at 2.30 pm on Wednesday continued for about four hours.The forward sector of the wall cloud region entered into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the Extremely Severe cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 mph. Heavy rain and gale wind have affected several districts in the Gangetic West Bengal since morning and the intensity of the downpour and wind increased gradually with every passing hour.

There have been reports of trees being uprooted, kaccha houses being damaged and some roads being damaged. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha along with other senior officials are monitoring the situation from the states emergency operation centre at Nabanna.

For Odisha, the wind speed will be between 100 to 110 gusting to 125 kmph along and off Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts till afternoon and over Balasore district till evening. Addressing a press conference, the NDRF DG said, "24 additional alert teams on hot stand-by, for airlift, have been kept ready, they can be deployed not just during, but even after, the cyclone, they can get ready in 15 minutes and be airlifted."

According to data obtained from states, more than five lakh people in West Bengal and more than 1.5 lakh people in Odisha have been evacuated added the DG. He added, "NDRF headquarters and local commandants are in coordination with the respective state authorities; 20 teams in Odisha and 19 teams in West Bengal have been pre-positioned in consultation with the respective state authorities."
By PTI

BHOPAL: After a 12-day-old infant recovered from coronavirus, a four-month-old girl has successfully fought the dreaded infection and returned home from a Bhopal hospital after recovery.

The girl, her father who works as a nurse at Bhopal's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and another seven-year-old girl were discharged from the institute on Tuesday.

"The director of Bhopal's AIIMS Prof Sarman Singh presented gifts to the young patients on behalf of the institute's employees and wished that these children would become messengers that this virus can be defeated," said Dr Lakshmi Prasad, Additional Medical Superintendent and Public Relations Officer.

149 coronavirus patients were admitted to the hospital to date and 70 of them were discharged following recovery, Dr Prasad said.

Nine COVID-19 patients have died at the institute, including one who was brought dead.

On May 2, a baby girl who had tested positive for virus when she was only 12 days old returned home from a private hospital after recovery from coronavirus infection.

She was born on April 7 at a government-run hospital and possibly got the infection from a woman health worker who was on duty then and who later tested positive.
Around 70,000 people in Northern Ireland are now likely to be unemployed as an "alarming" jump in joblessness heralds an unwelcome new trend, an economist has said.

And tens of thousands more could face joining the dole queue as the end of the Government's furlough scheme looms.

Large numbers of firms here have put employees on furlough, so that while there is no work for them because of the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, they can still get paid by the Government at 80% of their wages.

However, that scheme runs out at the end of October, and companies looking to make more than 100 staff redundant will have to let employees know if their jobs are at risk 90 days in advance of the end of October.

Meanwhile, economic development agency Invest NI has said it's looking at more schemes to support businesses in recovery mode.

And Finance Minister Conor Murphy yesterday said that 700m had been made available to help businesses survive, including a further extension of rates relief.

Figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) have shown the impact the coronavirus outbreak is having on the economy.

In April the unemployment claimant count, which includes those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit primarily for being out of work, was 56,200 - or 6.1% of the workforce.

That was an increase of 26,500 since March, a monthly rise of 89% and the highest on record.

As lockdown set in, large numbers of businesses such as retailers, bars and restaurants closed their doors.

Many put their staff on the Government's furlough scheme. But other businesses shut up shop and let staff go, including those which were already in difficulty.

Read More

Ulster Bank chief economist Richard Ramsey said the true claimant count level was now more likely to be around 65,000 to 70,000, almost six weeks on from April 9 when Nisra recorded the data in yesterday's release.

And he said that he believed a previous claimant count peak of 7.3% - which was reached in the last recession in December 2012 - would be surpassed either this month or next.

Mr Ramsey said: "The pace and scale of the change in the labour market is nothing short of alarming and we are only at the start of the labour market deterioration."

He said that a significant portion of people who were on the furlough scheme at the minute were likely to be made redundant.

"The hospitality sector is arguably the most exposed. It faces a challenge on two fronts: the collapse in overseas visitor numbers, and the start of a new era of working from home.

"Both of these trends are expected to drastically reduce footfall. It should also be remembered that wages are another labour market pressure point not currently under the spotlight.

"For those who keep their jobs, escaping with pay freezes as opposed to outright wage cuts will represent a good outcome.

"Northern Ireland faces its biggest labour market challenge since the 1980s." During the last recession Invest NI developed a Jobs Fund to help companies expedite the creation of low-paid jobs to address soaring unemployment.

Asked if a similar fund could be established to address the present crisis, a spokeswoman said: "We are currently considering what support solutions will best help businesses on their road to recovery.

"Should we introduce any new schemes, these will be announced at the appropriate time."

Andrew Webb, chief economist at business advisory firm Grant Thornton, said soaring unemployment would have an unwelcome ripple effect on the entire economy.

"A weaker labour market reduces demand in the economy and reduces wider economic confidence," he said.
The surprising demotion and ensuing resignation of a top navy admiral, who is known as the architect of Turkeys controversial Libya policy, came as a shock for pro-government and opposition quarters alike, leading many to wonder whether President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is distancing himself from influential anti-Western cliques within the Turkish army.

The relationship between Turkey's civilian governments and the military has seen many turnabouts under the rule of the Justice and Development Party, the latest of which came May 15 when a highly popular navy admiral was demoted to a lower position through a presidential decree. The chief of staff of the Turkish navy, Rear Adm. Cihat Yayci, was the first high-ranking military officer demoted by presidential decree instead of at the biannual Supreme Military Council. The admiral resigned May 18, responding to his demotion with a loaded resignation letter.

The demotion has drawn sharp criticism from many corners, particularly Turkeys influential anti-Western and Euroasianist quarters, with some arguing that Yaycis resignation would only make Turkeys foreign and domestic enemies happy. The move has stunned even pro-government media with some figures calling on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reverse the action.

Yayci has been a high-profile admiral and has been called an influential military analyst and scholar when it comes to Turkeys geostrategic orientation.

As a prominent and popular figure within Turkeys increasingly influential anti-Western fold, Yayci is also known as the architect of the ambitious Turkish agenda in Libya, the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean sea. He is said to be the mastermind behind the controversial demarcation pact Ankara reached in November with one of Libyas two main warring parties, the Government of National Accord; Yayci has been advocating such a deal since his doctoral student years. Erdogan personally praised Yaycis role in the agreement.

Yayci has long been a vocal advocate of the Blue Homeland concept, a political-military agenda that suggests Turkey has to aggressively protect its maritime borders in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean at all costs and by all means.

Yayci has occupied a special place in the Turkish government's fight against the Gulenist network, which Ankara accused of masterminding the botched coup attempt in 2016. The algorithm used to point to alleged Gulenists in the navy ranks has been his trademark.

Yet Yaycis demotion was not completely unexpected. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akars displeasure with Yaycis rising profile became clear when the former kept the admiral from a meeting at the presidential palace although he was invited. As I explained in Al-Monitor in January, the incident was a showcase of personal relations triumph over institutional ties in civilian-military relations in Turkey.

Yaycis demotion and ensuing resignation has indicated that the personal ties between Erdogan and Akar still remain strong. Akar and Chief of General Staff Yasar Gulers annoyance at Yayci's rising public profile has not been a secret for the past two years. Thus, my estimation was that Yayci would be retired by the Supreme Military Council to be held in August. His demotion before the council meeting shows a lack of patience in the military ranks, highlighting the complicated nature of relations in Turkeys defense and security sector.

Traditionally the Turkish military disfavors star generals or admirals. Indeed, two high-profile generals suffered similar fates in recent years. Maj. Gen. Zekai Aksakalli, the former commander of the special forces, was demoted after he gained widespread publicity for his role in suppressing the 2016 coup attempt and as the commander of a Turkish military operation in Syria in 2016. Similarly, Gen. Metin Temel, the commander of Turkeys Operation Olive Branch in northern Syria, paid the price for his popularity by getting demoted.

However, both those generals assented to their new duties and continued to serve in the army, while Yayci resigned, writing that his demotion was unacceptable.

Aside from its underdeveloped institutional structure, the resignation also reveals the widening internal rifts and power struggles within the Turkish military's ranks. Although Akar and Guler and land forces commander Gen. Umit Dundar work in relative harmony, navy admirals have traditionally been more outspoken and tough-minded. The failure of the naval forces commander, Adm. Adnan Ozbal, to manage the friction between Akar and Yayci might be another reason for the tension.

Erdogan, for his part, remained silent about Yaycis resignation despite having publicly praised his work several times and calls by some pro-government figures to have the Defense Ministry reject his resignation. Erdogans inaction indicates that he felt the need to distance himself from the anti-Western front at a time when Turkey needs its Western partners support due to its increasing dependency on Russia and the blows COVID-19 has delivered to the economy

Turkey needs to counterbalance Russia, particularly in the Syrian and Libyan wars where the two actors support rival parties. Also, Ankara has been holding swap line negotiations with the United States and several European capitals in a bid to alleviate the outbreaks impact on the Turkish economy.
Google Maps

Two people were taken to a hospital after an oil storage tank exploded near the Texas A&M University Galveston campus, according to Galveston city spokeswoman Marissa Barnett.

Their injuries are not life threatening, she said. They were working around the tank at the time of the explosion, she said. A shelter-in-place order was issued for the campus while firefighters tackled the blaze with foam.
WASHINGTON - The share of female troops in the U.S. military increased only slightly over 14 years, consistently representing less than a fifth of service members, and women remain more likely to leave the military than male troops, a government watchdog report shows.

Women cited an array of challenges in deciding to end military careers at higher rates than men, including sexual assault and difficulty reconciling pregnancies and parenthood with career advancement, according to the study by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.

The GAO's analysis stems from concerns raised by lawmakers in recent years that disproportionate female attrition may harm Defense Department readiness and take an economic toll on the military.

The report comes as the Pentagon seeks to modernize its force and reorient toward China after two decades of counterinsurgent operations. In recent years, the military has sought to prepare for high-tech conflicts by buying sophisticated weaponry and growing its digital capability as the Trump administration has promoted increased defense spending.

But the GAO found that the military has failed over multiple administrations to adequately plan for and track the integration of women across the force, including into ground combat roles. More recently, the department - whose senior leaders remain predominantly male - has not established clear plans and metrics to ensure it can create a more diverse force, the watchdog found.

In fiscal 2018, women represented 16.5 percent of the active-duty force, compared with 15.1 percent in fiscal 2004, making up a small share of the more than 1 million active-duty troops. In the most recent year examined, the Air Force and Navy had the highest number of female personnel, both around 20 percent, while the Marine Corps had the lowest, at less than 9 percent, the GAO said.

"Without DOD guidance and service plans with goals, performance measures, and time frames to monitor female recruitment and retention efforts, DOD may continue to miss opportunities to recruit and retain a valuable segment for its active-duty force," the report stated.

While the GAO found that the gap between the rate of male and female departures from the military has narrowed, women continue to leave at higher annual rates than men. Losing troops trained at great cost represents a persistent challenge for the military.

In fiscal 2004, the attrition rate for men was 22.7 percent and 33.1 percent for women. In fiscal 2018, it was 6.1 percent for men and 8.6 percent for women. A statistical model based on historical data compiled by the GAO, meanwhile, showed that women are 28 percent more likely to leave the force than men.

The analysis also found that the share of women decreases after the 10-year service mark, "meaning a smaller pool of female servicemembers being available for leadership opportunities."

According to the GAO modeling, attrition rates vary among troops based on a variety of factors, including race, marital status and whether they have children.

Women in the Navy who are married and have children, for example, are 17 percent more likely to leave than their single female counterparts without children. But the converse is true for men: Married men in the Navy who have children are 28 percent less likely to leave than single male Navy personnel without children.

The study found that black and Hispanic female troops in every service are less likely to leave the military than white female troops.

Women reported several factors influencing their decisions to leave the military, including deployments; long or unpredictable work schedules that decrease family time; child-care issues; an organizational culture that some described as dominated by men and characterized by sexism; a desire for family planning in a way that does not damage career prospects; and sexual assault.

"Female servicemembers also discussed how having leaders who are not supportive or understanding of family needs can contribute to a negative or toxic work environment," the report stated.

The GAO presented a more mixed picture regarding promotions, saying that women are less likely to be promoted overall, but that female commissioned officers have consistently been more likely to be promoted than their male counterparts. Female enlisted troops were also less likely to be promoted than men over the entire period studied but surpassed men in promotions slightly between 2015 and 2018.

However, women remain far outnumbered, especially in the military's higher echelons.

For 2018, the GAO found that the percentage of women among commissioned officers declined by nearly three-quarters from lowest to highest rank, from 21 percent to 5.4 percent. Among enlisted personnel, the share of women declined by nearly half, from 16.6 percent at the lowest rank to 9.1 percent at the highest.
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
The Rev. Peter Purpura walked slowly down the middle of a street lined with brick rowhouses in Middle Village, Queens. He wore a black cassock, white vestments and a light blue surgical mask as he led a procession.

Every few houses a family waited outside in their compact front yard, many standing next to makeshift altars adorned with flowers, candles and religious statues. Father Purpura stopped at each house, saying blessings and offering prayers.

It was Sunday morning, and in more normal times Father Purpura would have been presiding over crowded services at Our Lady of Hope Catholic church. Since coronavirus restrictions forced him to close the church doors in March, he had been celebrating mass with empty pews, streaming it live on Facebook. But after his own bout with the coronavirus, he decided to meet his parishioners where they are  at home.
A reckless driver has been jailed for 26 months after he crashed into a police car in a 100mph motorway chase - as a baby girl sat unfastened in the back seat.

Wayne Smith, 27, ploughed his black Ford Focus into a police vehicle on the M5 in a dramatic collision which closed the motorway for ten hours on August 5 last year.

He was spotted speeding when he embarked on a 260-mile trip to Newquay, Cornwall, with the young girl in a 'callous and reckless act' after taking her from her mother.

Dashcam footage released today shows Smith, who has a Masters degree in physics, undertaking a lorry, swerving along the hard shoulder and colliding with a police BMW X5 near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset.

The police car, which was one of four pursuing Smith in the high-speed chase, flips over at least four times before it comes to a rest on its roof with flames flickering from the wreckage.

PC Jason Smith was inside the BMW when it overturned. He sustained serious head injuries and suffers from post traumatic stress as a result of the collision.

The child, who 'was not secured in the backseat', was found unharmed in the footwell of Smith's car, but was rushed to hospital as a precaution.

Wayne Smith, 27, ploughed his black Ford Focus into a police vehicle on the M5 in a dramatic collision which closed the motorway for ten hours on August 5 last year

Smith was convicted of battery, causing actual bodily harm, cruelty to a child and dangerous driving and jailed for 26 months following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

He was also banned from driving for three years, after which he will have to undertake an extended retest.

Staffordshire Police released dramatic footage today showing how Smith refused to stop despite being pursued by four police cars.

Pictured: Smith, who was jailed for 26 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday

Sentencing, Judge Barry Berlin told Smith: 'On August 4 at about half past 12 in the afternoon, the defendant entered the complainant's house. He snatched her phone from her and threw her against the floor.

'He sent a text and WhatsApp message to her boss at 2.30pm pretending to be her saying she would not be coming to work at 3pm. He put the child into his black Ford Focus and headed on the motorway to the south west.

'This was a callous and reckless act which was typical of his behaviour. After the police found suicide notes on his laptop they suspected he was in an unstable emotional state.

'He knew the police were looking for him from the text messages they sent him.'

Judge Berlin went on to discuss Smith's 'dangerous driving,' describing how the young child was 'left in harm while you swerved through traffic with her on the back seat.'

'Police officers saw you near junction 2 at speeds of over 100mph,' he said. 'The four officers formed a box of four cars to try to stop you undertook a lorry and went onto the hard shoulder.

''You rammed an X5 police car that turned over many times.

'I accept you did not do that as a deliberate attempt to injure the officer, but PC Jason Smith was injured in the collision and has PTSD.

'The child was not secured in the back seat. She was not injured but had marks on her genitalia and rashes to her back from sitting in her urine and faeces in old nappies and then baby wipes.

Dashcam footage released today shows Smith undertaking a lorry, swerving along the hard shoulder and colliding with a police BMW X5 near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset

The police car, which was one of four pursuing Smith in the high-speed chase, flips over at least four times before it comes to a rest on its roof with flames flickering from the wreckage

'I find this to be high culpability child cruelty due to the location of the offence and the timing.

'As to count four of dangerous driving, this was a police chase at speeds of at least 90 mph during which you undertook a lorry and swerved onto the hard shoulder before crashing.

'Although the prosecution case for premeditation was not made out in evidence, you put the lives of yourself and the baby at risk.

'There will be 16 months in prison and that will be consecutive to the two months for battery.

'For child cruelty in my view there is high culpability. You wholly disregarded the child when you would not stop for the police and put her at high risk.

'Mr Smith you are an intelligent man who tried to use this intelligence to put the blame on others. I'm going to make that consecutive and I think that is merciful. That adds up to 26 months and you will serve half of that in custody.'

PC Jason Smith was inside the BMW when it overturned and he sustained serious head injuries, alongside suffering from post traumatic stress, after the collision

Paul Cliff, defending, said: 'He is an intelligent young man. He has a masters degree in physics and is hard-working, focused and conscientious according to most of the colleagues he worked with prior to his remand.

'He has logged over 400 hours of unpaid work with wildlife charities. Prior to this matter he has no previous convictions.For a young man of his background a criminal record will have ongoing implications for his work.

'There have been very severe consequences for this young man who has been since August last year, one of the most stressful times to have to spend in detention.'

Detective Constable Martin Ottey, from Staffordshire Police, said after the case: 'Smith took a young child without his mother's knowledge and put its life at risk by driving extremely dangerously and reaching speeds way over the speed limit.

'He put the child, the officers and himself in danger and it's a miracle no one was seriously injured.

'Despite his best efforts to get away, officers arrested him and he's now been brought to justice for his actions.'
While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. We'll use ROE to examine American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK), by way of a worked example.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

Check out our latest analysis for American Water Works Company

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for American Water Works Company is:

10% = US$632m  US$6.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every $1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of $0.10.

Does American Water Works Company Have A Good ROE?

One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, American Water Works Company has a better ROE than the average (7.7%) in the Water Utilities industry.

NYSE:AWK Past Revenue and Net Income May 20th 2020

That is a good sign. Bear in mind, a high ROE doesn't always mean superior financial performance. A higher proportion of debt in a company's capital structure may also result in a high ROE, where the high debt levels could be a huge risk . Our risks dashboardshould have the 2 risks we have identified for American Water Works Company.

The Importance Of Debt To Return On Equity

Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. The cash for investment can come from prior year profits (retained earnings), issuing new shares, or borrowing. In the case of the first and second options, the ROE will reflect this use of cash, for growth. In the latter case, the debt used for growth will improve returns, but won't affect the total equity. That will make the ROE look better than if no debt was used.

Story continues

American Water Works Company's Debt And Its 10% ROE

American Water Works Company does use a high amount of debt to increase returns. It has a debt to equity ratio of 1.65. Its ROE is quite low, even with the use of significant debt; that's not a good result, in our opinion. Investors should think carefully about how a company might perform if it was unable to borrow so easily, because credit markets do change over time.

Conclusion

Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. In our books, the highest quality companies have high return on equity, despite low debt. If two companies have around the same level of debt to equity, and one has a higher ROE, I'd generally prefer the one with higher ROE.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Thylacine enthusiasts unearthed a 21-second video of the last Tasmanian Tiger in captivity from National Film and Sound Archives or the NFSA. It has been 85 years since the video was publicly viewed.



Benjamin, the Last Tasmanian Tiger

The footage features a male thylacine, named Benjamin, in its enclosure at Hobart's Beaumaris Zoo in Australia. In 1935, Brisbane filmmaker Sidney Cook filmed the thylacine for Tasmania the Wonderland. A few months later in 1936, the thylacine died due to the cold brought by being locked out of its confinement.

The film showed the Tasmanian tiger going around a paved enclosure while onlookers were rattling the cage. The narrator related that Benjamin is the only Tasmanian Tiger in captivity in the world. It also said that the Tasmanian tiger is very rare and that the march of civilization has forced them out of their natural habitat.

Simon Smith, the curator from the NFSA, said the video was truly precious as it is the last known surviving footage of the thylacine. The film was shot between February and March 1935 but had been lost in the archives since. He admits that there are over 2 million items in the collection, and they have difficulty looking at everything.

CHECK THIS OUT: Gene Behind Virgin Birth Discovered

Branden Holmes, one of those who found the video footage, he was delighted to find the video footage, but the sight of the last Tasmanian tiger in bare concrete and being provoked is sad to see.

Tasmanian tigers are not aggressive animals, and the team is getting insights into its behavior.

Holmes plans to publish a paper on the last thylacine. Watch the video below from Mike Williams on YouTube.



Documentary for the quest of the extinct Tasmanian Tiger

Tasmanian tigers have been declared extinct for eight years. Many people, around 8,000 members on Facebook, however, believe that the animal survived in remote areas of Tasmania and the mainland.

During the European settlement, it is estimated that 5,000 thylacines were thriving in Australia. Excessive hunting, destruction of habitat, and introduction of the disease led to the rapid decline and eventual extinction of the species.

Their group, named Thylacine Awareness Group of Australia is led by their president, Neil Waters. The group is convinced that the Tasmanian tiger still roams the island state and mainland.

Waters claimed that he had two sightings of the "Tassie" himself. The Facebook Group and website share their items of evidence gathered all over the country. The group also shares interesting information about the animals, including habits, mannerisms, and sightings. Photos of animals believed to be eaten by the thylacine, paw prints, night vision capture of wildlife in the bush, and video still are being exchanged in the group's webpages.

READ NEXT: The Only Flying Mammal: Why Bats Are One of Evolution's Greatest Mysteries

Members of the group use various types of technology, including cameras and thermal-imaging drones to find thylacines.

The group's quest for the thylacine caught the attention of local documentary makers, David Elliot-Jones and Naomi Ball. Screen Australia will award them a $ 50,000 grant to make a documentary project, Searching for the Tassie Tiger.

The film will be shot once the pandemic crisis is over in the northeast and northwest of Tasmania. The producer aims to finish the film by September and targets to release it next year.

READ MORE: Prized Catch: 9-Year Old Tennessee Boy Catches 79.8-lb Sturgeon
Minister for justice Charlie Flanagan said his department felt it had no choice amid the health emergency (PA)

The Justice Minister has publicly apologised to the people of a Co Kerry town for his departments handling of a direct provision centre in the area.

The centre, which opened in Cahersiveen in March, has been at the centre of controversy after a number of residents at the former Skellig Star Hotel were diagnosed with Covid-19.

Residents and local people expressed concern over social distancing, with many calling for the centre to be shut down.

Charlie Flanagan, in an open letter published in the Kerryman newspaper, said he acknowledges the upset and anger, however he rejected calls to close the centre.

All I can say in my departments defence is we simply did not feel we had a choice. We were facing an unprecedented health emergency Charlie Flanagan, Justice Minister

In the open letter, written to the people of Cahersiveen, Mr Flanagan said he wanted to explain his handling of the decision to move residents into the former hotel without local consultation.

He wrote: I know there has been suspicion and worry. I can see why they built up and I really regret the extent to which our actions fuelled them.

That is why I want to explain as much as I can, to outline the circumstances and timelines, and by doing so, hopefully to rebuild trust.

He said opening direct provision centres can be difficult and that in early March, his officials realised new centres were needed quickly following the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ireland.

He added: It was not tenable in a health emergency, to have large numbers of international protection applicants in emergency hotel accommodation, sharing facilities with other guests.

We needed more dedicated centres where we could offer care and services, and the Skellig Star was one of three available centres identified from a previous expressions of interest process.

So we moved people in within days. It was fast, I admit that. It left little or no time for engagement. I admit that. It was presented as a fait accompli. I admit that too.

All I can say in my departments defence is we simply did not feel we had a choice. We were facing an unprecedented health emergency and the Skellig Star was available to us.

He denied his department knew some of the residents had come into contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19 before they were transferred to the Co Kerry facility.

He said it was over two weeks later before any of the residents in Cahersiveen began to show symptoms or were confirmed as positive for Covid-19.

The Minister for Justice should apologise to the Dail over what has happened in Cahersiveen, and not just to the people of Kerry.



Last Wednesday when questioned on the treatment of residents there he failed to give adequate answers to @seansherlocktd https://t.co/4kXDlhYDwS pic.twitter.com/nf5d60pByI  The Labour Party (@labour) May 20, 2020

Residents who were diagnosed with coronavirus were transferred to a special self-isolation facility.

He said another case was recently confirmed which means residents are currently self-isolating.

Mr Flanagan said the centre, which has around 70 residents, has infection control measures in place and supplies of sanitising materials, masks and other PPE.

Asked on RTE Radios Today with Sarah McInerney whether he would apologise to the residents of the centre and the residents of Cahersiveen, he said: I am apologising to the residents now through you.

I dont have any problem apologising to the people living in the centre. For example, there was an issue with the boiler and there was no water at the beginning of the tenure there. I understand the boiler is not fixed because of difficulties due to the pandemic  I apologise for that, I have no difficulty with that.

Labour justice spokesman Sean Sherlock called for Mr Flanagan to apologise to the Dail.

What he has failed to do is fully explain what has happened in Cahersiveen, nor has he apologised to the asylum seekers he was responsible for, and to date he has not fully explained why they were placed in an unfit facility, Mr Sherlock said.

The minister for justice should now make an apology to the Dail and to the refugees he has utterly failed.

He failed to adequately answer questions in the Dail last Wednesday when I raised this centre with him and the treatment of residents in direct provision.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:01:47|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BERLIN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Turnover in the German hotel and restaurant industry slumped in real terms by 45.4 percent in March year-on-year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Wednesday.

The coronavirus pandemic had a "substantial impact" on the hospitality industry, Destatis noted. In the first quarter of the year, turnover in Germany's entire hospitality industry fell by 15.8 percent year-on-year.

To curb the virus spread, overnight stays of tourists in hotels and other accommodation facilities had been banned in Germany since March 18. A few days later, restaurants, with the exception of pick-up and delivery services, were also closed.

The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA) warned late last month that unemployment in the German hospitality industry in April rose by more than 200 percent compared to last year.

Furthermore, in March and April, more than 1.03 million employees in the hospitality industry had been registered for short-time work. Compared with figures by Germany's Federal Employment Agency, the number accounted for almost one tenth of all registered employees in short-time work. Enditem
Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the United States said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China.

"The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's in the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China," said Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department.

Her comments at an online media briefing came even as efforts to de-escalate the tense situation in the sensitive areas continued.

Sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake.

The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.

The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two for over six decades. They had a showdown over it in 1962 as well.

The sources said the Chinese side has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley area following which India has also sent reinforcements to keep a hawk-eye vigil in the area.

The sources said the Chinese side had taken strong exception to India undertaking construction of a key road around the Galwan river.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on May 9.

At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on the escalating tension between the two armies.

In its reaction to the two face-offs, the Ministry of External Affairs last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier.

It is learnt that additional troops have also been rushed in to several areas in northern Sikkim as part of their aggressive posturing in guarding the disputed border.

A report by China's official media on Monday said Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures in the Galwan Valley in the Aksai Chin region

The aggressive posturing by the two sides came amid India's escalating border row with Nepal over construction of a strategically key road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 km along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8.

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.

China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh.

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.
UPDATE: Mayor Alex Morse reports full water service within the city should be restored Wednesday morning. Holyoke Water Works personnel are flushing water lines to ensure residents have minimal disruption to water quality. The system should be back to normal by Thursday.

HOLYOKE  A section of Beech Street remains closed Wednesday morning due to an ongoing water main break repair, police said.

Police Lt. Charles Monfett told WWLP Beech Street is temporarily closed from West Franklin Street to Route 5 due to the break which occurred Tuesday afternoon

Monfette said motorists trying to get to Holyoke Medical Center should take Corser Street instead of Hospital Drive.

Mayor Alex Morse, in a post on his Facebook page, said the break knocked out water service to a large swath of the city. He said it occurred in the 16-inch transmission main on Beech Street at the intersection of Linden Street, across from Holyoke High School.

Residents in the Northampton Street area and as far east as Sargeant Street may experience low water pressure and discoloration into Wednesday morning, he said.

Holyoke Water Works officials could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday morning.
(Newser)  Two dams have failed in a Michigan county, leading the state's governor to declare a state of emergency and issue dire warnings to residents to evacuate affected areas. AccuWeather reports that the Edenville and Sanford dams in Midland County breached Tuesday night after heavy rains and flash flooding, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a livestreamed news conference to plead with people to seek higher ground, especially in areas near the Tittabawassee River, including the city of Midland. "In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water," Whitmer said at the presser, per Reuters. "We are anticipating an historic high water level." The National Weather Service is calling the situation "an extremely dangerous" one, per the BBC. In a release, Whitmer implored residents to go stay with loved ones elsewhere in the state or head to a shelter.

story continues below

The AP notes the Edenville Dam, built in 1924, received an "unsatisfactory" rating in 2018 from the state; the Sanford Dam, built a year later, received a "fair" rating. Midland County official Mark Bone tells CNN about 10,000 people had been evacuated as of early Wednesday, leading to another dilemma: how to house locals in the county's shelters while adhering to social distancing guidelines brought by the coronavirus. He says masks are being made available to everyone coming in to the shelters. People are also having their temperatures taken, and emergency responders are wearing personal protective equipment. "To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable," Whitmer said, adding that the state's National Guard has also been activated to respond to the emergency situation. "But ... to the best of our ability we are going to navigate this together." (Read more Michigan stories.)
Victoria's Secret is among the retailers to have been hard hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

AP Photo/Francois Mori

Victoria's Secret's parent company, L Brands, announced Wednesday that it would permanently close 250 stores in the US and Canada in 2020.

The news came just weeks after L Brands confirmed that a deal to sell a majority stake in the company to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners had fallen through.

Sycamore Partners filed a lawsuit to back out of the deal, alleging that Victoria's Secret's actions during the coronavirus pandemic were in violation of the agreement that the two parties previously made.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Victoria's Secret announced Wednesday that it planned to permanently close 250 stores in the US and Canada in 2020.

Its parent company announced the news in a commentary alongside its first-quarter earnings results after the market's close. Victoria's Secret has 849 stores in North America. The majority of these locations have remained closed since March after the coronavirus pandemic hit the US.

News of these store closings came just weeks after its parent company, L Brands, confirmed that a deal to sell a majority stake in the company to the private-equity firm Sycamore Partners had fallen through. Analysts were banking on Sycamore to execute a turnaround at Victoria's Secret and reposition the brand for the future after several years of sliding sales.

But Sycamore Partners filed a lawsuit to back out of the deal in April, alleging that Victoria's Secret's moves during the coronavirus pandemic to close stores, cut back on new inventory, and not pay rent for the month of April were in violation of the agreement that the two parties had made in February.

After initially saying it would "vigorously defend" the lawsuit and that a termination of the agreement was "invalid," Victoria's Secret confirmed that it had come to a "mutual agreement" to "terminate" the deal.

The company said stood by its goal to spin off the Victoria's Secret brand  which consists of Victoria's Secret Lingerie, Victoria's Secret Beauty, and Pink  to establish it as an independent company.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A woman from South Carolina was arrested by authorities after she deliberately tried to kill her 1-year-old son by setting the car on fire while the child was still inside.

Victim in critical condition due to injuries

Columbia police immediately arrested Caylin Watson after the authorities alleged that she tried to kill her 1-year-old son intentionally. According to WTOC 11, the authorities found the vehicle close to mile marker 1 on I-126 West on May 16 at 1:30 p.m.

When the woman set the car ablaze, there were four witnesses in the area and the called 911. There were people on the scene who tried to save the 1-year-old in the car but couldn't because of the heat.

Skip Holbrook, the police chief of Columbia, said in a statement that the first responders saved the child from the vehicle and rushed the 1-year-old to the hospital as he has severe burns all over his body. The child is in a critical condition at Augusta Burn Center in Augusta.

Authorities arrested and detained the 23-year-old mother and took her to the hospital to treat her minor injuries. She was charged with arson, abuse of a child, and attempted murder. Watson was denied to post bail and remains at the Columbia jail.

Also Read: Most Wanted Man in Rwanda Who is Responsible for 1994 Genocide, Finally Arrested

Similar Incident

In November 2018, a 27-year-old man was arrested for abusing and murdering his 5-year-old son. The police report stated that he used a heated spoon to burn the palm of the boy as a punishment for opening tins of milk powder that was meant for his siblings.

The suspect, Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman told forensic psychiatrist Cheow Enquan that he also beat his wife whenever they have a disagreement but he tried to refrain from hitting her so his anger was redirected towards his son.

Dr. Cheow said that the suspect does not have an intermittent explosive disorder or IED like what he previously claimed. The Institute of Mental Health or IMH forensic psychiatrist took the stand on the day of Ridzuan's trial and ruled out the possibility of him having a mental disorder. According to the police, Ridzuan and his wife, Azlin Arujunah, scalded the boy to death.

Both of them took turns in splashing hot water on the child. Each of the suspects faced charges related to other abusive acts including pinching him with a pair of pliers, putting him in a pet cage, and hitting him with a broom.

The lawyers of Ridzuan have submitted a report stating that he has three psychiatric disorders which involve aggressive and sudden outbursts.

Statistics on child abuse

There are more than 3.6 million referrals made to child protection agencies every year that involves more than 6.6 million children.

The United States has one of the worst records in child abuse cases as 4 to 7 children are lost due to child abuse and neglect. There are child abuse reports made every 10 seconds.

In 2014 alone, numerous state agencies found over 702,000 victims of child maltreatment, and one study reported that 80% of 21-year-old who experienced childhood abuse has at least one psychological disorder.

Related Article: Man Positive with COVID-19 Refused to Go to the Hospital, Hugs Neighbors Out of Spite

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Rivers State Government says there are plans by certain individuals to cause crisis that will lead to the declaration of a State of Emergency in the State.

The State government alleged that the planners of the crisis are Rivers politicians resident in Abuja.

Also Read: Court Convicts Owner, Manager Of Demolished Hotel In Rivers

Commissioner for Information and Communications in the State, Paulinus Nsirim raised the alarm in a statement on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Nsirim stated that the characters behind the plot were the same persons whose alleged plan, to declare a State of Emergency in the State since 2015 has not succeeded because of Gods intervention.

Nsirim noted that the individuals want to use the Covid-19 to create panic in the state to persuade the FG to declare emergency rule in the state.
OTTAWA - As Canada slowly emerges from COVID-19 lockdowns, its chief public health officer told the country on Wednesday to temper expectations and continue to take precautions to prevent a resurgence of the illness.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - As Canada slowly emerges from COVID-19 lockdowns, its chief public health officer told the country on Wednesday to temper expectations and continue to take precautions to prevent a resurgence of the illness.

Dr. Theresa Tam's caution  which included an updated recommendation for Canadians to wear non-medical masks in public  came as Alberta announced more intense screening for international travellers.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also struck a tougher tone, saying stricter border controls would likely be needed to prevent long-term economic damage. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Trudeau emphasized the need to prevent a second wave of the novel coronavirus in Canada.

The heightened vigilance, Tam said, is necessary to buy time so that a vaccine and other therapies could be found to better curtail the spread of the virus over the coming months.

"I know this may not be the grand reopening we might have liked, but we won't get through this on hope alone," Tam said.

Tam also said the differing paces provinces are taking towards reopening are to be expected. Ontario and Quebec still account for the vast majority of new COVID-19 cases and the Maritimes in particular, have emerged as an oasis of good pandemic health.

Across Canada as of Wednesday, there were 80,081 cases of COVID-19, including 6,027 deaths, with 40,686 cases resolved.

"Whatever pathway down this curve, there is no one size fits all," said Tam.

"There's a balance between the need to reduce the spread of disease compared to all the other needs from a health, social and economic perspective."

Alberta's Kenney acknowledged that balance as he announced that starting immediately, foreign travellers arriving at airports in Edmonton and Calgary would have their temperatures checked using an infrared camera.

New arrivals will also be asked to provide detailed plans on how they plan to self-isolate for 14 days, he said. That's in keeping with federal requirements imposed weeks ago.

In two weeks, a similar screening process will be set up at the Coutts border crossing on the Alberta-Montana border. Canada and the U.S. have extended their border closure to non-essential travel to June 21 but truckers with goods are allowed through, as are certain workers and Canadians returning home.

"Countries that most successfully avoided severe outbreaks, like South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, closed their borders from COVID-19 hotspots weeks before Canada did," said Kenney.

"Given that airports and border crossings remain a high-risk vector for transmission, and at the same time a crucial part of the infrastructure we need to get our economy moving, we need to do more  especially as we move towards relaunch."

Kenney said that while the Trudeau government has taken laudable action on shutting down the border it was needlessly late to the task.

Trudeau said the federal government, in talks with the provinces, is considering tougher surveillance measures for new international travellers in the coming months, especially if Canada's border restrictions are eased and more travellers are allowed into the country.

"A key part of reopening and keeping our economy going and controlling future spreads of COVID-19 will involve being very, very careful that we're not importing new cases, even as our economies open up, even as border restrictions are potentially loosened down the road," the prime minister said.

"We need to make sure we have the measures in place to be able to ensure new cases aren't arriving and spreading through the general population."

Trudeau also leaned on reluctant commercial landlords, urging them to apply for rent-relief programs in higher numbers  and dangling a post-pandemic scenario of empty offices if they don't start playing nice with struggling tenants trying to keep their businesses afloat.

"With many people discovering that we can work from home to a much greater degree there may a lot of vacancies in commercial buildings over the coming months and years. Who knows what the post-pandemic world will look like, exactly?" Trudeau mused.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, for one, has pleaded with "vicious" landlords to be flexible with business tenants during the pandemic.

On Wednesday, Ford railed against low COVID-19 testing numbers and warned he would bring back old restrictions if new cases continue to rise  one day after Ontario started the first stage of its reopening plan that includes retail stores allowing restricted access to customers.

Fewer than 10,000 tests had been completed in each of the last three days, which represented half or even a third of last week's testing rate. That's partly due to the province's finishing a push to test everyone in long-term care settings. But the number of news cases remained steady in Ontario.

"We're watching the trends like a hawk right now," Ford said. "We won't hesitate to roll things back if necessary."

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.

In Quebec, Deputy Premier and Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault said limited outdoor gatherings will be permitted as of Friday, while dentist offices across the province  and hair salons outside the Montreal and Joliette regions  can reopen on June 1. Quebec, Canada's worst-afflicted province, continues to record a downward trend of new COVID-19 cases.

Manitoba announced no new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, after registering one in the last eight days. As of Friday, the province will allow larger gatherings of people  25 for indoor events and 50 outside, up from the current limit of 10.

New Brunswick, meanwhile, took a victory lap as the province marked two weeks without any new COVID-19 cases. The province's chief health officer said all 120 people with confirmed cases in the province have recovered, with no deaths.

And that, declared Dr. Jennifer Russell, has made New Brunswick the envy of Canada and much of the world.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.

 with files from Canadian Press reporters across the country.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government will make sure banks will extend credit to small businesses, which will indirectly help poor, middle class and migrants. She said the government, among other suggestions, had received feedback to consider making larger cash transfers to alleviate stress among poor and those affected. However, the Centre decided to do it by way of asking banks to first reach out to small units without additional collateral, which she said was aimed at putting money in people's hands.

"I am not objecting to this suggestion. I repeat my answer, yes it was a suggestion we have heard, we have taken that into account, we have thought about it and in a way by extending the banks to reach out first without additional collateral for every small unit, let them refuse (to take) it but you approach to give, automatic is the word I use, what is that aimed at?" she said during an interview with The Indian Express.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Every sector will benefit from Rs 20 lakh crore package, says Sitharaman

Sitharaman said the stimulus package would make sure smaller units meet their fixed costs and pay wages to their workers, which would help most migrants. "So that's what we have done. I have made sure that banks will extend. Yes it's a loan, it's a credit, yes, it's not a grant. But that's where I am asking, grants for how many, of how much?" she added.

Sitharaman also said the economic stimulus was a "responsible package" and that it will put "public money" directly in poor and middle-class' hands. She said the measures announced in the fiscal stimulus will provide re-employment and that every sector would benefit from it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 announced the stimulus, saying it was aimed at making India a "self-reliant nation". The fiscal stimulus worth Rs 20 lakh crore announced has received criticism from several quarters. The package was 10 per cent of India's GDP, placing India among countries like the United States, Japan and Germany, which had announced mega stimulus packages to revive their pandemic-ravaged economies. However, critics have said it focussed on long-term measures rather than addressing pressing issues arising out the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown in India.

Also read: Atma Nirbhar Bharat a 'responsible package', will put money in poor's hands: Nirmala Sitharaman
Opposition forces have prevented any advance by the regimes forces, who tried to infiltrate villages in rural Hama province reports Brocar Press.

Military factions repulsed an infiltration attempt by regime forces Monday night in rural western Hama, the latest of ongoing violations of the ceasefire agreement covering northwestern Syria.

A faction from the National Liberation Front (NLF) repulsed an attempt by regime forces to infiltrate the outskirts of the village of al-Ankawi in rural Hamas al-Ghab Plain area, local sources told Brocar Press.

Sources said that clashes flared up late Monday evening between the two sides as regime forces tried breaking through towards a point near the village.

Regime forces fired heavy artillery Monday afternoon on the village of al-Qahera in rural western Hama.

The Syrian regime has continued to violate the Turkish-Russian ceasefire agreement even as residents gradually return to the hometowns that they fled during the last military campaign.

Military factions repelled a previous attempt by regime forces to infiltrate the village of al-Ruweiheh in rural southern Idlebs Jabal al-Zawiya area late Saturday night into Sunday.

The Syria Response Coordination Group has recorded more than 73 ceasefire violations since the beginning of this May alone by Russian-backed Syrian regime forces.

In its statement, the Syria Response Coordination Group said it believed the regimes continued violations were to prevent civilians from returning to their hometowns during the ceasefire.

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.
A rolling cycle of 50 days of strict lockdown measures followed by 30 days of easing of the restrictions could serve as an "effective" approach for managing the spread of coronavirus until there is a vaccine, research suggests.

There is currently no cure for Covid-19 and experts say a vaccine that is widely available is at least a year away.

A study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology has suggested that a continuous, three-month strategy of suppression measures, would reduce new coronavirus cases to near zero in most countries.

This model would keep intensive care demand within capacity and may allow populations and their national economies to breathe at intervals, the study indicated.

Looser mitigation strategies such as hygiene rules and shielding of vulnerable groups would require approximately six-and-a-half months to reach the same point, according to the research.

But the study suggested that such prolonged lockdowns would be unsustainable in most countries due to the potential knock-on effects on the economy and livelihoods.

An international team of researchers from the Global Dynamic Interventions Strategies for Covid-19 Collaborative Group modelled three alternative scenarios across 16 countries, from Belgium to India, that vary in setting and income.

UK lockdown eases as more people return to work - In pictures 1 /54 UK lockdown eases as more people return to work - In pictures A woman wearing a face mask and gloves walks on a platform at Waterloo Station in London Reuters Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn General view of roadworks on London Bridge, London PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park. PA People are seen at Waterloo Station in London Reuters People wear a face masks at Leeds station PA A worker from LNER stands beside ticket barriers that have been blocked for social distancing measures at Newcastle train station, PA Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Police at Victoria Station as Lockdown is slowly lifted at Victoria Station Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Burnt Oak tube station. PA A Victoria line train is deep cleaned at Northumberland Park depot PA Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA Nigel Howard Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Nigel Howard Passengers board and leave a train at a station in Bracknell, Berkshire PA Commuters and staff in and around at Clapham Junction Railway Station Daniel Hambury Police officers pictured at Colliers Wood Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Increased police and security personnel at New Street station in Birmingham PA Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Commuters at Clapham Junction sStation PA Nigel Howard Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park PA Nigel Howard Commuters and staff in and around at Clapham Junction Railway Station, Daniel Hambury Nigel Howard Increased police and security personnel at New Street station in Birmingham PA Increased security at New Street station in Birmingham, PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park PA Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA A sign advising passengers to wear a face mask at Clapham Junction station, PA Stickers being installed on a bus at Abellio Camberwell bus garage, as more people are set to return to offices, factories and building sites this week PA

They did not model the scenarios in the UK but said they expect the situation to be very similar to that in other high-income countries.

Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, a global health epidemiologist at Cambridge University and the papers lead author, said: Our models predict that dynamic cycles of 50-day suppression followed by a 30-day relaxation are effective at lowering the number of deaths significantly for all countries throughout the 18-month period.

This intermittent combination of strict social distancing, and a relatively relaxed period, with efficient testing, case isolation, contact tracing and shielding the vulnerable, may allow populations and their national economies to breathe at intervals  a potential that might make this solution more sustainable, especially in resource-poor regions.

The study suggested that the other two scenarios which were modelled would result in intensive care units being overwhelmed.

In the first scenario where no measures were introduced, the study indicated a total of 7.8 million deaths across the 16 countries with the epidemic lasting nearly 200 days in most countries.

Loading....

The second scenario which modelled a rolling cycle of looser 50-day mitigation measures followed by a 30-day relaxing, indicated 3.5 million deaths and a longer pandemic of around 12 months in high-income countries and 18 months or longer in other settings.

The final scenario, of a rolling cycle of stricter, 50-day suppression measures followed by a 30-day relaxing, would keep intensive care unit demand within capacity in all countries, the research suggested.

It indicated a longer pandemic of more than 18 months in all countries, and more than 130,000 deaths.

Professor Oscar Franco, from the University of Bern in Switzerland, said: Our study provides a strategic option that countries can use to help control Covid-19 and delay the peak rate of infections.

This should allow them to buy valuable time to shore up their health systems and increase efforts to develop new treatments or vaccines.

Theres no simple answer to the question of which strategy to choose.

Countries  particularly low-income countries  will have to weigh up the dilemma of preventing Covid-19-related deaths and public health system failure with the long-term economic collapse and hardship.

It comes as Boris Johnson announced a new "road map" for England's path out of the coronavirus lockdown and revealed a colour-coded alert system to monitor the threat posed by Covid-19.

Countries across Europe have begun easing lockdown restrictions by reopening shops, restaurants and allowing people to visit friends and family outside their households.

But the World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged world leaders to remain cautious when easing restrictions as the the lifting of lockdown measures has led to a resurgence of infections in places such as Wuhan, China.
Veterans Affairs Using 42,000 Hydroxychloroquine Doses a Day

Tens of thousands of hydroxychloroquine doses are being used by the Department of Veterans Affairs on any given day.

Those of us whove had a military lifesome of us around this tableweve been taking this drug for years, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie told reporters at the White House Tuesday.

On any given day, the department uses 42,000 doses, Wilkie added.

Whether to prescribe COVID-19 patients hydroxychloroquine, a medicine traditionally used against malaria and lupus, has become a politically charged issue after repeated touting by President Donald Trump, who informed reporters this week that hes been taking the drug since early May.

Every veteran who has received hydroxychloroquine consulted with their doctors before taking it, in addition to their families, according to Wilkie.

We are doing everything we can to protect the lives of our veterans. And this is one of the means that we used, he said.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie testifies during a Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in a 2019 file photograph. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Researchers based in South Carolina and Virginia performed an observational study on 368 male veterans who received the drug and said they found no evidence hydroxychloroquine works against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. They also said they found an increase in mortality in patients who received the drug.

The results were critiqued by Wilkie, who said the veterans involved were in the last stages of life.

Wilkie renewed that criticism Tuesday, saying the researchers took the numbers and did not clinically review them. The results of the study, he noted, werent peer reviewed. And the researchers didnt examine the various comorbidities that the patients who were referenced in that study had.

A researcher who co-led the study didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The researchers wrote in their preprint paper that the results highlight the importance of awaiting the results of ongoing prospective, randomized, controlled studies before widespread adoption of these drugs.

A chemist displays hydroxychloroquine tablets in Mumbai, India on May 19, 2020. (Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo)

Critics of hydroxychloroquine note that no rigorous, randomized, controlled trials examining its safety and efficacy have yet been completed. Some early studies lacking one of those components have shown effectiveness, especially when the drug is combined with zinc and the antibiotic azithryomycin.

Others have shown no effectiveness and some worrying side effects such as rapid heartbeats, prompting a warning from the Food and Drug Administration.

Wilkie was speaking at a Cabinet meeting.

Trump defended his use of hydroxychloroquine, telling reporters its being used by frontline workers as a prophylactic, or a way to avoid becoming infected with the CCP virus.

A lot of people are taking it. A lot of doctors are taking it. A lot of people swear by it, he said. Its gotten a bad reputation only because Im promoting it. So Im obviously a very bad promoter. If anybody else were promoting it, theyd say, This is the greatest thing ever.'
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with his cabinet in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 19, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Democrats Sweat as Trump Seizes Mantle of Recovery President

Commentary

This astonishing election campaign takes new and unprecedented turns each week.

In the past few days, we have seen the arrival in the campaign of the last two Democratic presidents trying, it must be assumed, to fill the vacuum created by this years likely nominee, Joe Biden, now well into his third month of sheltering in his basement in Delaware.

We have also had an extraordinary focus on the presidents tastes in prescriptive medicine. Apart from the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, there hasnt been such attention to an incumbent presidents medical condition since Dwight Eisenhowers heart attack (1955), when the New York Stock Exchange rose sharply on Dr. Paul Dudley Whites assurance that the presidents stools are firm.

On May 18, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi struck a less supportive note in warning that the president shouldnt be taking hydroxychloroquine because of his morbid obesity. It was an odd as well as ungracious choice of words by someone who could easily be described as a monument to the embalmers art, in the words (applied to Ronald Reagan) of Gore Vidal.

As the president inches slowly upward in the polls, the administration moves carefully toward reopening American life and accustoms the country to the long-known but little-discussed fact that the coronavirus cant be eliminated and can only be stopped either by a vaccine or the immunization through exposure (herd immunity) of almost the whole population.

The unease of the Democrats is understandable as they are receiving no leadership from their ostensible nominee, who was shouted down this past weekend by Canada geese in his backyard. (This was the most daring intrusion of Canadian wildlife in U.S. affairs since industrious beavers dammed-up the outlet of the Tidal Basin and the waters rose to lap over the feet of Mr. Jeffersons statue.)

Electoral Suicide

The Democrats are settling determinedly into the quagmire of calling for the self-impoverishment of the country through a continued lockdown, in order to engage in mass frenetic testing and tracing to no conceivable useful purpose. Analysts of U.S. politics will long consider how it was that the Democrats so foolishly stumbled headfirst into the trap of calling for an indefinite state of 30 percent unemployment for no discernible medical purpose, and which could be alleviated only by shoveling $1 trillion of borrowed money out into the country every couple of weeks.

This isnt policy; its electoral suicide.

The Democrats are a party in retreat and in hiding; Presidents Obama and Clinton both addressed large numbers of secondary school graduates through the internet on May 16. While neither named Trump, Obama disparaged this administrations management of the coronavirus crisis. It ill behooves one who made such a mess of a lesser influenza epidemic and who bequeathed an antediluvian emergency health care system to disparage the worthy performance of the incumbent.

Bill Clinton has been more unkindly buffeted than Obama as an ex-president, through the explosion of his housing bubble, the questionable antics of his wife as a presidential candidate, and the posture of his party of treating even a disrespectful male glance at any woman at any time in the past 50 years as tantamount to attempted rape.

Clinton contented himself with the usual Democratic flimflam that laments divisive tribalism, those who inflame our worst instincts, and see the world as a dog-eat-dog, zero-sum game, a crude reflection on Trump from someone who in his time was royally swindled by the North Koreans, Chinese, and Mexicans, and was almost pitched out for lying to a grand jury about his extramarital sex life.

Ex-presidents are entitled to a serene retirement after the service they have rendered, but not to pretend that the reputational glass houses they live in are the Maginot Line.

Letting a Crisis Go to Waste

The polls have moved around a bit but generally, the president has maintained a reasonably strong position. His response to the public health crisis has evolved from comparative levity to silencing Democratic claims that he was an anti-science know-nothing by loading up with scientists and imposing a national shutdown, although with precise rules delegated to the governors.

He has outmaneuvered the Democrats at each stage and left them jostling for the honor of being champions of the most horrific and prolonged quarantine, while Trump himself moved subtly to reopen the country, again without impinging on the authority of the governors.

For such an often heavy-handed president, it has been an artful performance.

And at the end of it, the Democrats cant claim the shutdown should never have occurred and are left calling for its politically unsustainable prolongation for no plausible reason. You know they are sweating when their most Alinskyite tactician, David Axelrod, erupts in print denouncing the presidents cold, hard, decision (to reopen the country and alleviate the lot of the nearly 40 million instantly unemployed). It wont fly.

While this has all been unraveling, the attempt to impugn Attorney General William Barr, following the withdrawal of charges against Michael Flynn and in anticipation of the conclusions of the Durham investigation into the origins of the RussiaTrump fiction, has collapsed. Barr told the press on May 18 that he had no present reason to believe that Obama or Biden would be indicted, and the reaction of the Democrats and their media parrots was one of conspicuous relief.

They have effectively segregated their former president and vice president from those who served them in the FBI and the intelligence agencies, presumably in the hope that as indictments unfold, the plea-bargaining system wont be exploited at the expense of Obama and Biden. Thats a hazardous proposition, indicative of the high legal vulnerability of the former regime. Its hard to believe they were unaware of the fraudulent FISA applications to approve spying on the Trump campaign and transition team.

In these circumstances, it is little wonder the Democrats are sweating. Its understandable that Obama and Clinton think that Biden needs their reinforcement; he certainly needs help. But although few elements of traditional U.S. political protocol have survived the tumult of the Trump years, its unlikely that Americans want acidulous comments from ex-presidents about their successors, where there has been almost none of it before in living memory apart from a few acerbities of Jimmy Carter about Richard Nixon. Trump has been the soul of discretion about former presidents, even as he ran on the backs of all of them in 2016, and is a dangerous opponent in a mudslinging contest.

Its now such a complicated political landscape and such a contentious atmosphere that its difficult to rise above the smoke of the battlefield and see the correlation of forces. At this point, Trump appears to be making a smooth transition from being behind the eight-ball fighting a deadly pandemic to emerging as a reasonably successful manager of a terrible and completely unforeseen crisis, and an effective resuscitator of the great prosperity that his policies helped to generate in the first three years of his term.

Another of the more prominent Chicago Democratic Alinskyites, former (highly unsuccessful) Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, famously counseled not to allow a crisis to go to waste. In political terms, thats precisely what the Democrats have done. The coronavirus was their last chance to prevent Trumps reelection, following on the TrumpRussia and impeachment fiascos.

They are blowing it, and Trump is installing himself in the public mind as the recovery president.

Conrad Black has been one of Canadas most prominent financiers for 40 years and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world. He is the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and, most recently Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A Florida nurse who had been struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic was found dead in his car from a suspected drug overdose, his family has revealed.

William Coddington, 32, was found dead in a hotel parking lot in Deerfield Beach, Florida on the morning of April 25.

Coddington worked at the intensive care unit at JFK Medical Center in West Palm Beach and had been trying to cope with the trauma of treating patients with the deadly virus.

His mother Carolyn told Reuters her son was rattled by seeing so many patients his age die and was scared about how little personal protective equipment he had.

She said he son had nightmares about alarms going off on ventilators in the ICU and suffered from the social isolation imposed by the pandemic.

His family also revealed Coddington was on the upswing of a decade-long battle with opioid addiction and other substance abuse and was committed to his recovery.

William Coddington, 32, was found dead in a hotel parking lot in Deerfield Beach, Florida on April 25

Coddington's family revealed he was a recovering drug addict and was struggling to cope with the trauma from treating coronavirus patients

He relied on 12-step meetings to stay sober, but after one virtual video gathering, he told his mother it was not as helpful.

'He couldn't meet with his sponsor,' she said. 'And his friends, nobody wanted to see him because he worked in a hospital, not even to sit six feet apart.'

On the night of April 24, Coddington spoke by phone to his best friend Robert Marks, who said he sounded distraught.

Coddington told him he felt trapped between the chaos at work and being cooped up at home.

'Don't take unnecessary risks but hang in there,' Marks texted him.

Sleepless at 1.24am, Marks sent his friend $20 on Apple Pay to buy himself coffee before his shift, but Coddington never responded.

The following morning, his mother, who feared a relapse was coming, checked his location and saw he wasn't at the hospital. She later drove to the hotel where she found him dead in his car.

Days before his death, Coddington had told friends he felt trapped between the chaos at work and home confinement

The nurse worked at JFK Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, and volunteered at the coronavirus unit

The family suspects Coddington died from a drug overdose, but the Broward County Medical Examiner's office said the case is pending.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said it is still investigating but does not suspect foul play.

Coddington had become addicted to opioids from a young age, when he began taking painkillers he received after a leg surgery.

He checked into rehab at the age of 21 and then joined 12-step fellowships, self-help healing groups and therapy.

But his health and path to sobriety took a hit in March, when fatally ill COVID-19 patients began showing up in his intensive care unit, where he worked for three months.

Frontline healthcare workers are trying to cope with the trauma of treating coronavirus, which has inundated U.S. hospitals with desperately ill patients and killed more than 90,000 Americans in less than three months.

Healthcare workers with histories of substance abuse may have more difficulty coping with fear, isolation and witnessing so much death during the pandemic, psychiatrists told Reuters.

Dozens of friends and family gathered online for a virtual funeral for Coddington last week

His mother Carolyn said Will suffered from the social isolation imposed by the pandemic

Those factors could provoke relapses in workers recovering from addiction, they said.

'Patients who are being treated for opioid use disorder have reported increased stress and opioid craving since this pandemic began,' said Kelly Dunn, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University who researches opioid use.

Coddington had volunteered at the coronavirus unit at the hospital because he was younger than some of his colleagues, and so potentially less likely to become severely ill, and because he was not a parent, his friend said.

Still, Coddington was scared, his friends said. He risked exposure and infecting his 65-year-old mother, with whom he still lived.

Palm Beach County ranks third in Florida behind Miami-Dade and Broward counties for confirmed coronavirus cases; nearly 300 people have died of COVID-19 there.

In an April 13 Facebook post, Coddington said his hospital had a shortage of protective equipment, especially crucial N95 respirator masks.

He said he didn't blame his employer because the issue was widespread.

'In my hospital we are rationing 1 n95 mask for my whole shift,' Coddington wrote. 'We are running out of gowns. We are having people make makeshift face shields that end up snapping.'

Days before he died, his face shield fell off while he was helping with an intubation, which involves putting tubes into patients' airways to assist breathing, said his father Ronald, a port engineer in Palm Beach.

'He literally felt things splash on his face,' Ronald recalled his son telling him.

Kathryn Walton, a spokeswoman for JFK Medical Center, part of the hospital group HCA Healthcare, declined to comment on Coddington's death except to extend condolences to his family.

She said the hospital's goal was always to protect employees.

The hospital has 'adequate supplies of PPE' and is 'taking steps to conserve PPE because we do not know what our future needs will be,' Walton said.

She said the hospital offers mental health counseling by phone and video. Coddingtons friends and family say they don't know if he used those services.

In his last weeks, Coddington came home from work, spoke little and played video games in his room, his mother said.

His friend Alexander, of Sunrise, Florida, said she noticed the change too: 'It was despair ... creeping in.'

With the pandemic weighing on Coddington, his loved ones were 'bracing for impact,' Marks said.

Healthcare workers are trying to cope with the trauma that comes from being on the frontline of the deadly pandemic

Carolyn checked on him constantly. His father and friends called and texted.

'You are so needed right now by others. You can be great,' Ronald Coddington said to his son in text messages on April 1.

'Please please bury me some day. Don't make me bury you ... I love you.'

'I love you too,' Coddington replied.

Ronald Coddington said police told him they obtained a video, likely hotel security footage, showing his son sitting in his car in the parking lot that night when another car briefly pulled alongside.

Ronald said there was 'some kind of exchange' between his son and the other vehicle's driver that he suspects was a drug deal.

The Broward County Sheriff's office did not respond to Reuters' request for the video.

Family members think the toxicology report, expected in a few weeks, will confirm an overdose - a temporary escape gone wrong.

'Do I think he wanted to die that night? 100 per cent no,' said his friend Marks.

'I would bet every dollar I have that it was in an effort to have some relief.'

Dozens of friends and family gathered online last for a virtual funeral for Coddington, NBC Miami reported.
News

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to Americas farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDAs Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

Americas farming community is facing an unprecedented situation as our nation tackles the coronavirus. President Trump has authorized USDA to ensure our patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers are supported and we are moving quickly to open applications to get payments out the door and into the pockets of farmers, said Secretary Perdue. These payments will help keep farmers afloat while market demand returns as our nation reopens and recovers. Americas farmers are resilient and will get through this challenge just like they always do with faith, hard work, and determination.

Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will be accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses.

Background:

CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020 and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producers 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commoditys applicable payment rates.

Livestock

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producers number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

Dairy

For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producers certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producers production in the first quarter.

Specialty Crops

For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

Eligibility

There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance

Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producers application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

Payment Structure

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available. USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus
3 A Man Sued An Airline For $34,000 Over One Wrong Letter

In 2014, Edward Gamson and his wife took off from London for a long-awaited holiday in the idyllic Spanish town of Granada ... or, at least, that's what they thought for the first 20 minutes of the flight. That's when Gamson noticed that the in-flight monitor showed their plane heading west of England, not south, the direction you usually go when you want to end up in a place south of where you are. He asked an attendant why, exactly, they were going west, who told him they were going to the Caribbean country of Grenada. As Gamson tells it, the airline's helpfulness ended there.

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

British Airways claims they apologized and offered the couple a flight to another destination plus enough frequent flyer miles for another trip, but Gamson says that didn't happen, and apparently, the couple went through a "three-day" ordeal after landing in the Caribbean and never actually got to, you know, Granada. That all made Gamson pretty unhappy, as he says he provided the exact city, country, and airport code when booking the flight, so he came up with how much he lost in return flights and wages - $34,000 - and sued British Airways for it.

It went well at first: The presiding judge tossed out an attempt to strike out part of the lawsuit and allowed it to head to a full hearing, explaining that "This case proves the truth of Mark Twain's aphorism that 'the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug,' except here, only a single letter's difference is involved." Unluckily for Gamson, the judge's appreciation of Mark Twain seemed to wane, since the lawsuit was later dismissed and British Airways walked away without having to pay a penny. The latest word was that Gamson was deciding whether or not to appeal, but that was in 2014, so he probably just shook his fist at legalized corporate tyranny and moved on. At least there's a kind of happy ending: He and his wife got to Granada later on and said it was so beautiful, it was worth the wait. Maybe not worth $34,000, though.
It is an almost startlingly intimate film, following this strange relationship between these two, as they go through the challenges of life: a car accident that nearly paralyzes Nordland, during which Kysilkova becomes his greatest advocate, a stint in jail for him; her own struggles with relationships and money and her career. A frisson of mystery wafts throughout, the whereabouts of her paintings always on Kysilkova's mind. Ultimately though, it was never really about the paintings, but the grace that came out of their theft, because she chose to look further, to look beyond the crime and see the person behind it.
Technavio has been monitoring the PoS mobile card reader market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.08 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 9% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005391/en/

Technavio has announced the latest market research report titled Global PoS Mobile Card Reader 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. Etsy Inc., Fiserv Inc., Ingenico Group SA, Intuit Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., Shopify Inc., Square Inc., Thales Group, Visa Inc., and Worldline SA are some of the major market participants. The lower costs of mobile card reader devices 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.

Lower costs of mobile card reader devices have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market is segmented as below:

Technology Contact Contactless

Geography APAC North America Europe South America MEA



To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43661

PoS Mobile Card Reader 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 PoS mobile card reader market report covers the following areas:

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market Size

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market Trends

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies lower transaction and switching costs as one of the prime reasons driving the PoS mobile card reader market growth during the next few years.

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the PoS mobile card reader market, including some of the vendors such as Etsy Inc., Fiserv Inc., Ingenico Group SA, Intuit Inc., PayPal Holdings Inc., Shopify Inc., Square Inc., Thales Group, Visa Inc., and Worldline SA. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the PoS mobile card reader 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

PoS Mobile Card Reader Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist PoS mobile card reader market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the PoS mobile card reader market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the PoS mobile card reader market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of PoS mobile card reader 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 Technology

Market segments

Comparison by Technology

Contact Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Contactless Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Technology

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

Competitive scenario

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Etsy Inc.

Fiserv Inc.

Ingenico Group SA

Intuit Inc.

PayPal Holdings Inc.

Shopify Inc.

Square Inc.

Thales Group

Visa Inc.

Worldline SA

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/20200520005391/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/
At Keck Hospital of USC, staff tried to provide a little levity by doodling on stickers worn by employees and patients after they had been screened for coronavirus symptoms. (Ricardo Carrasco III / Keck Medicine of USC)

The humble doodle has found itself at the center of a discussion about public art at Keck Hospital of USC.

Medical center workers, equipped with black Sharpie pens, have been drawing on ginormous, bright-green circular stickers that patients and staff have been wearing since mid-March to show that they have been screened for coronavirus symptoms and have sanitized their hands. The screening staff, which is creating the sticker art for all who pass through the hospital's doors, say it has helped alleviate stress from the health crisis.

When the pandemic started, a lot of our staff were frightened," Annette Sy, the chief nursing officer who oversees the staff conducting screenings, said. "Even though were sanitizing and wearing masks, we still have COVID-19 in our environment. The art, it livens things up, adds flavor and humor. Its helped people say, Were all in this together.

Christina Shen, an occupational therapist at Keck Medical Center of USC, creates new sticker art. (Ricardo Carrasco III / Keck Medicine of USC)

By early April, the halls of the hospital were filled with doctors, nurses and patients whod come for essential procedures, many sporting hearts and smiley faces, ice cream cones and flowering trees on their shirts. Familiar characters, like SpongeBob SquarePants, were appearing on stickers, as did a phrase from USCs fight song: Fight On. (Patients who arrived visibly ill and were suspected of having COVID-19 were screened in a tent outside and taken into isolation, so they didnt get stickers.)

Then politics happened.

Stickers began appearing with Biden 2020 or Trump Make America Great Again on them, which some people found offensive. Two weeks ago the hospital put an end to the sticker art.

We stopped it because we were reminding people were a multicultural, scholarly community and diversity enriches all our activities and interactions, Sy said. The artwork has to be inclusive and without religious or political beliefs.

Staff members complained, verbally and in emails, asking when the sticker art would resume. Some said it was the highlight of their day; others had been choosing entrances because they knew certain artists would be there. The daily ritual of picking out which piece of art to wear for the day while mingling  at a distance  with others from different parts of the hospital had become an anticipated social event, said the director of patient and family experience, Kaitlin Alderete.

Story continues

It was something we all looked forward to. You could really engage with each other and have a more meaningful relationship, she said, recalling that on St. Patrick's Day, staff wore four-leaf clovers. Good luck charms.

The artistic hand of Faith Robinson, an RN at Keck Medical Center of USC. (Ricardo Carrasco III / Keck Medicine of USC)

So Alderete and others came up with guidelines that she said are more in alignment with USCs code of ethics, including being respectful of religious and political beliefs and being mindful that the USC community is diverse.

The sticker art resumed last week.

Juan Aguayo, a surgical technician at Keck Medical Center of USC, taps into his artistic side. (Ricardo Carrasco III / Keck Medicine of USC)

The latest standout, Sy said, is a series of hearts, lungs, kidneys and livers, realistically rendered by physical therapist Yasaman Barzi. They're traced from an anatomy book and nod to the hospitals transplant surgeries.

Its been very meditative; its helped me balance, Barzi said of her art. With all the stress and uncertainty we have right now, this offers a hopeful moment. Its a distraction.

Sy envisions the sticker art being around for some time.

Were waiting for guidance from the Department of Public Health and CDC, but I feel were gonna be wearing masks and screening for a while. And as long as we have the green stickers, the art will continue.
A 43-year-old British pilot who has been critically sickened by novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had the condition of his lungs slightly improve, while doctors are still exerting their best efforts to prepare for his lung transplant.

Doctors from major hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and the central city of Hue convened their third teleconference in ten days on Tuesday to discuss the most viable treatment for the Briton.

The latest CT scan showed that the patient had regained capacity in 20-30 percent of his lungs, while previous results indicated that only ten percent of the organs were functional.

The improvement is a positive sign, but the patient still fully depends on life support in the form of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), doctors stated, adding that a lung transplant is still very necessary.

There is hope that his lungs will continue to recover, but chances are low as most of his lungs have solidified, which prevents blood from reaching the organs, an expert told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

All doctors agreed at the meeting on transferring the Briton from the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases to Cho Ray, the largest general hospital in the southern metropolis, for further treatment and a potential lung transplant.

The exact time of the transfer will be decided on by the two infirmaries.

The Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation confirmed that 59 people have volunteered to donate parts of their lungs for the surgical procedure.

However, the patient needs to have both of his lungs replaced entirely, thus finding a brain-dead registered donor is the top priority, according to the Ministry of Health.

In the meantime, doctors will continue treating the patient so that he will be ready for the transplant when a suitable donor is found.

The Briton, who works as a pilot for Vietnam Airlines, was diagnosed with COVID-19 in mid-March and has been receiving treatment at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City since.

He is currently the most severe COVID-19 case in Vietnam.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam remained at 324 as of Wednesday morning, with 264 having recovered. No deaths from the disease have been reported.

No new infections in the community have been documented in the Southeast Asian country in the past 34 days.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The only man ever convicted in a United States court for a role in the September 11 attacks now says he is renouncing terrorism, al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group.

Zacarias Moussaoui is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Colorado after narrowly escaping the death penalty at his 2006 trial.

He was sometimes referred to as the missing 20th hijacker, and while he was clearly a member of al-Qaeda, there is scant evidence to suggest he was slated to hijack a plane on September 11, 2001. Instead, prosecutors pinned responsibility on Moussaoui because they said he could have prevented the attacks if he had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of al-Qaeda and its efforts to attack the US when he was arrested in August 2001.

In a handwritten court motion Moussaoui filed with the federal court in Alexandria, Virginia last month, Moussaoui wrote, I denounce, repudiate Usama bin Laden as a useful idiot of the CIA/Saudi. I also proclaim unequivocally my opposition to any terrorist action, attack, propaganda against the US.

He also said he wants to warn young Muslim against the deception and the manipulation of these fake jihadis.

In this undated file photo, Osama bin Laden is seen in Afghanistan [File: AP Photo]

His remarks are a far cry from his 2006 trial, when he taunted victims and flashed a victory sign after a jury opted to send him to prison for life rather than execute him. At his final sentencing hearing, he told the judge God save Osama bin Laden, you will never get him.

Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US forces on a compound in Pakistan in 2011.

Moussaoui made his renunciation in a petition seeking relaxation of the special administrative measures under which he serves his sentence. In particular, he says he wants either Rudy Giuliani or Alan Dershowitz to represent him as a lawyer, so he can testify in a civil trial filed by victims of the September 11 attacks.

Prison documents filed with his motion indicate he received a response of some kind to a letter he wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union but was not allowed to see it because it was marked as privileged legal communication, and he is only allowed to receive the mail if the prison can open and read it.

Moussaoui has a long history of writing letters to the court  indeed he served as his own lawyer for several years leading up to his trial and regularly wrote legal motions referring to himself as Slave of Allah, a name he continues to use.

He has written numerous letters seeking to testify at a civil trial related to the September 11 attacks, and at the military trials of al-Qaeda members, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But those requests have not included the explicit renunciation of terrorism that he includes in his most recent letter.

As recently as 2018, he continued to refer to himself as a natural born terrorist in court papers. In another handwritten motion that year, he concluded his motion with God Curse Ugly Satan of Abomination in huge letters.





Katherine Donahue, an anthropology professor at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, who wrote a book about Moussaoui called Slave of Allah after attending his 2006 trial, said she was unaware of any other instance in which Moussaoui had renounced terrorism or bin Laden. She said she expects he is being truthful, even though he admitted at his trial that he lied to the FBI after his arrest.

Hes been there 14 years. Its a long time to think about what youve done, she said. I dont see him lying  There were so many ways he could have helped himself before by lying but he did not.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who presided over Moussaouis trial and was regularly subjected to Moussaouis insults in court papers, denied his request and said any grievance he has about the treatment he is receiving in prison should be filed in Colorado where he resides.

Raising these issues with this Court is an act of futility, Brinkema wrote.

Moussaoui has appealed her denial to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
Rear view of people at the cinema (Credit: Getty)

Director James Mangold is taking aim at the multiplexes, saying that basic errors in projection of movies is ruining the cinema experience.

The helmsman of movies like Logan and the recent Ford v Ferrari issued the stark takedown in an interview with Discussing Film.

The reality of theatre projection has gotten so tragically bad in so many cases, he said. The fight to put your movie in a theatre that stinks and someones eating an enchilada next to you, half the screen is out of focus or too dim.

Read more: Will UK cinemas open in July?

Theatrical has its own problems, which is that if it doesnt make itself a sterling presentation that you cannot approximate at the home then theatrical kills itself without any other delivery method even competing with it. When I talk to theatre owners or theatre chains, thats the big thing.

He goes on to say that 's***ty delivery of movies to audiences who are paying a premium to see them on a big screen' has made the theatrical experience 'a wasteland', slating major chains who 'pay people as little as they can, they hire as few people as they can, they serve snacks that cost them 45 cents to manufacture at prices 22 times the cost of creating'.

James Mangold (Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Once in a while, the main theatre chain will renovate and put new equipment in. But if the people running the equipment arent great, trained, or even give a s**t because theyre paid so badly then the result is always going to be questionable, he adds.

Its just that simple. It really doesnt matter what filmmakers say when theatre owners are worried about whether they can pay rent next month. More than whether some spoiled filmmaker thinks that their sound is too low or the image brightness isnt high enough. Thats not where their heads are.

Read more: The films on streaming early because of coronavirus

Cinemas across the world currently remain shuttered in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, while some studios  notably Universal  have decided to side-step cinema release of their movies.

Story continues

Disney has also elected to release some of its upcoming slate, including the Artemis Fowl movie, on its Disney+ platform.

However, Disney boss Bob Chapek recently stressed that it remains committed to cinemas nonetheless.

We believe in the theatrical experience, particularly to launch big blockbuster franchise films, he said.

It fuels the entire Disney company, from consumer products to theme parks all the way to Disney+. And so we really think thats the smart way to launch our big, tentpole films.
Two Louisiana State troopers were injured early Wednesday morning when a Hammond police vehicle hit them during a car chase in Hammond, officials said.

One of the troopers, identified in a State Police Facebook post as George Baker, was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon. The other trooper was treated and released with injuries described as minor, according to a statement from Louisiana State Police.

A Hammond Police Department officer noticed a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot in the 2700 block of West Thomas Street just after 2 a.m., according to a Hammond police news release issued Wednesday morning.

When the officer tried to conduct a traffic stop, the driver took off at a high rate of speed and the officer saw occupants throwing items out of the vehicle.

Multiple Hammond police officers joined the pursuit and, as it moved out of city limits, additional agencies joined, according to the release.

Louisiana State Police said their troopers were sent around 2:15 a.m. to help the Hammond Police Department.

The troopers put a tire deflation device on Wardline Road near the intersection with Kate Street, police said. The device flattened the tires of the vehicle authorities were chasing.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

When the troopers were getting the device from the road, a Hammond police unit involved in the chase hit the two troopers. The troopers were taken via Acadian Ambulance to North Oaks Medical Center, police said.

In a social media post Wednesday afternoon, State Police asked residents of Hammond to consider donating blood at North Oaks Health System in the name of Trooper George Baker to go toward his blood bank account.

They said after the tires were flattened, the vehicle crashed on Wardline Road at the intersection with Crapanzano Road. The occupants then fled, police said.

Hammond police on Wednesday afternoon arrested Taylor Cox, 26, of Hammond and is searching for Nathan Anding, 18, of Holden for counts relating to the pursuit, though the department does not specify what those counts are.

Hammond PD is investigating the traffic stop portion of the incident and is searching for the suspects who were in a gray 2007 Infinity SUV. State Police is investigating the crash.

Anyone with information about the suspicious vehicle is asked to contact Detective Chase Zaffuto at 985-277-5740 or Crime Stoppers of Tangipahoa's anonymous tip line at 1800-554-5245.
"Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears.

- - -

In this episode:

Joseph Marks describes the challenges of preparing for massive mail-in voting. Juliet Eilperin breaks down why people are not getting tested in places that have plenty of tests. Plus, Min Joo Kim explains how a new outbreak in South Korea has pushed its LGBTQ community into the spotlight.
Advertisement

The devastated wife and family of former WWE star Shad Gaspard gathered at Venice Beach on Wednesday, hours after the missing father's body washed up on the shore.

The 39-year-old wrestler's remains were discovered earlier this morning, three days after he was swept out to sea by a riptide while swimming with his ten-year-old son.

Los Angeles County Coroner's office said Gaspard was found on the surfline at 2600 Ocean Walk - one mile north from where he was believed to have drowned on Sunday.

His wife of 11 years, Siliana Gaspard was seen hours later standing at the spot where her husband washed up overnight, surrounded by loved ones.

Heartbroken friends and relatives were photographed embracing and consoling each other as they gathered together on the sand to mourn the athlete. Gaspard's young son Aryeh was not with them.

Scroll down for video

Heartbroken friends and family gathered at Venice Beach on Wednesday, hours after Shad Gaspard's body washed up ashore

The pro wrestler's wife of 11 years Siliana Gaspard was seen looking distraught as she mourned her husband on Wednesday

Siliana had been enjoying a day at the beach with her husband and their young son on Sunday when tragedy struck. The grieving mother and family members returned to the spot where Gaspard was last seen

Former WWE star Shad Gaspard, 39, has been missing since Sunday after being pulled into sea while swimming at California's Venice Beach with his son

A body matching the description of the missing father washed up ashore early Wednesday morning. Video footage from the scene shows authorities standing around a lifeless body on the sand early

Video footage taken at the scene Wednesday morning showed authorities surrounding Gaspard's lifeless body as it lay on the sand.

LAPD and LAFD were called to the beach around 2am after two people discovered a body on the sand halfway between Venice Beach pier and lifeguard headquarters at 1.25am, police said.

'The decedent was identified as Shad Gaspard and next of kin was notified,' LAPD said in a statement.

Gaspard, 39, had reportedly told lifeguards to save his son first, who was pulled from the water in good condition and did not require hospitalization.

But lifeguards were unable to rescue Gaspard, who was about 50 yards offshore when a wave crashed over him and pulled him out into the ocean.

His body was identified and transported to the LA County Coroner's office, Kenichi Haskett, Section Chief with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Lifeguard Services said.

Haskett revealed Gaspard had been pulled out about 75 to 100 yards off shore in just a moment's notice.

With Memorial weekend approaching, he warned beachgoers to stay safe and informed about the water conditions.

At one point, Siliana and a friend were seen entering the water near where Gaspard disappeared

The devastated mom is seen with friends and family at Venice Beach on Wednesday. Gaspard's young son Aryeh was not with them

Relatives and loved ones were seen embracing and consoling each other in the wake of the tragedy

Authorities revealed Gaspard had been pulled out about 75 to 100 yards off shore by a rip tide in just a moment's notice

Gaspard was found on the surfline at 2600 Ocean Walk - one mile north from where he was believed to have drowned on Sunday

Police were called to the scene after two people discovered the body on the sand around 1.30am

LA County lifeguards confirmed the body matches the description of missing father and wrestler Shad Gaspard

Although most beaches generally have signs or flags to indicate safe or unsafe swimming conditions, this type of warning system does not work on the Venice Beach coastline.

'Having been an ocean lifeguard since 1994 and worked Venice Beach during this time frame to now a full-time lifeguard and chief, I can say our conditions change on an hourly, if not a moment's notice,' he told DailyMail.com.

'It could be yellow where we put that flag, and then within a moment it's red because a rip current has now surfaced. So what we do instead is staff the lifeguard towers in those areas.

'The flag system at this time isn't the best system to save people's lives and protect people. It's us talking to people, it's us warning people, it's us making the preventive measures as to where people can swim.'

Siliana Gaspard had issued a statement on Instagram on Tuesday thanking authorities for their efforts, while holding on to hope for her husband's safe return.

'We would like to express our gratitude to the first responders who rescued Aryeh and to the lifeguards, coast guard, divers, fire and police departments for their continued efforts to help find our beloved Shad,' the statement said.

'Shad is a fighter, a warrior and a magical soul. We are hoping and praying for his safe return. As a family we thank you all for your concern and well wishes. Please continue to keep sending your positivity and prayers to our beloved Shad.'

Gaspard's distraught wife Siliana Gaspard was seen leaving Venice Beach in her Mercedes SUV, Wednesday morning

Gaspard married wife Siliana Gaspard in 2009 and they share one son together. Gaspard had launched an acting career since leaving the wrestling world in 2010

Gaspard's wife Siliana Gaspard was seen leading a small group of family and friends near the site where her husband's body washed up on shore at about 2am

The family appeared downcast as they walked along the shore where the wrestler's body was found

Friends and family members were seen embracing hours after authorities recovered Gaspard's body

LA County Fire Department Lifeguard is seen at Venice Beach, hours after Gaspard's body was found

The US Coast Guard confirmed on Tuesday it was no longer assisting in the search and the investigation was being led by LAPD.

Tributes have poured in from wrestling stars including Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Titus O'Neill and Triple H, after news broke of the discovery.

'My prayers and hope for Shad Gaspards wife, son and family during this unthinkable time. Man, this is a tough one. A really tough one. Great guy,' The Rock tweeted.

'I join fans around the world as we remember Shad Gaspard as a beloved performer and a caring father. In absolutely tragic circumstances, please keep his loved ones in your thoughts,' Triple H said.

Friends released a statement on behalf of the family on Monday night thanking the public for their support.

'[Shad's] family appreciates all the love, support, and concern through this horrible ordeal. At this time they are not ready to make any public or official statements to any media outlet And ask all to respect their wishes', Fellow wrestler Kofi Kingston tweeted.

Gaspard's wife Siliana Gaspard shared a statement on Instagram on Tuesday, thanking authorities for their efforts, while still holding on to hope

Gaspard's wife posted this missing flyer to his social media accounts and hers asking the public for help in finding her husband

Several friends and members of the wrestling community, including Montel Vontavious Porter, also tweeted the message at the request of the family.

Fellow WWE star JTG, who performed alongside Gaspard in wrestling tag team, 'Cryme Tyme', took to Twitter to share a screenshot of a heartfelt conversation he had the missing wrestler in January.

'If ever I die tomorrow just know I love you as a brother and friend for ever even past this life', Gaspard wrote, to which JTG replied: 'Love you too brotha #Nohomo'.

DailyMail.com was there as multiple lifeguards were on the scene on Sunday, along with divers, rescue boats, paramedics on standby, the coast guard flying back and forth and helicopters hovering over the crowded beach for nearly three hours.

'I saw the young boy who was inconsolable and his mother who had her arms wrapped around him,' said one onlooker. 'The whole thing was just heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking to see this mother and child in complete despair.'

Shad Gaspard's wife, Siliana Gaspard, was seen leaving Venice Beach being comforted by close friends after a tragic incident Sunday

Siliana was seen flanked by close friends as they left Venice Beach while divers continue their search for Shad Gaspard

On Monday afternoon Gaspard's wife Siliana was seen on the beach being consoled by close friends as the search continued for her husband.

The boy was unharmed and later walked off the beach with an adult friend for about fifteen minutes, while his mother Siliana Gaspard remained on the beach painstakingly staring out into the ocean.

'We had one of our lifeguards go out to make a double rescue of a father and a son,' Kenichi Haskett, Los Angeles County Fire Dept Lifeguard Division told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview.

'The father unfortunately got pushed down by a wave as they were getting pulled out of the current. The lifeguard rescued and grabbed the boy, the son, and tried to grab the father as well.

'He ended up getting pushed down by a wave and we couldn't find him and we immediately started with our rescue boats, called in additional lifeguards to search that location of his dad.'

Gaspard is best known as a member of the wrestling team Cryme Tyme with fellow WWE star JTG.

Since leaving the wrestling world in 2010, Gaspard pursued an acting career starring in several movies including Think Like A Man Too and the 2015 Kevin Hart comedy, Get Hard.

He married wife Siliana Gaspard in 2009 and they share one son together.

Friends of Gaspard released a statement on behalf of the family thanking the public for their support. Former fellow wrestler Matt Morgan took to Twitter to shared photos of him and his friend through the years (pictured)

A tent has been set up by the Los Angeles County Fire Department in the search for Shad Gaspard

The boy's mother Siliana Gaspard remained on the beach Sunday evening and was seen staring out into the ocean while the coast guard conducted a search

The mother and a few friends left the beach at about 12:30pm. The rescue station was also shut down at the same time.

Prior to leaving, Siliana was seen sitting on the beach with some friends and possible family members who were consoling her and rubbing her back.

Their son had left about 30 minutes prior with an adult and another young boy. Officials wouldn't confirm whether or not the body had been found.

Helicopters can still be heard hovering over the beach and many locals are asking the question why the beach wasn't closed off if the rip currents were so strong.

'There were unusually strong rip currents the day before this happened. Two girls were pulled out because of the riptide. I am not sure why swimmers weren't warned,' Daisy Godfrey tells DailyMail.com. 'Lifeguards were there immediately but the helicopter took almost an hour to get there.' 'If you feel a strong pull, that's the time to get out of the water. But many swimmers may not think anything of the pull, especially if they don't go to the beach a lot.'
With unemployment rising to 15%, and the grim corporate earnings seasons wrapping up, investors may struggle to keep up the relatively buoyant mood that has boosted markets in recent weeks.

Writing from JPMorgan, global market strategist Samantha Azzarello has commented on the apparent performance disconnect between the markets and the economy. I think the volatility right now is tied to a bunch of different things whether were going up or going down -- right its vaccine news, its treatment news, its Jay Powell speaking... I still think though theres a little bit of a disconnect between the real side of the economy and whats happening with the macro data, in particular the labor market

Its a situation tailor made for defensive stocks. High-yield dividend plays are getting lots of love from Wall Streets corps of stock analysts, and are showing high upside potential as investors move toward them. These are the stocks that pad a portfolio, providing an income stream capable of compensating for low share appreciation. Using TipRanks database, weve found three low-cost dividend plays that are yielding 10% or better. If that's not enough, all three received enough support from Wall Street analysts to earn a Strong Buy consensus rating.

Starwood Property Trust (STWD)

Well start with a real estate investment trust, a safe place to look for high-yield dividends. These companies are required by tax codes to return a certain percentage of profits and earnings directly to shareholders, and dividend payments are the common method. Starwood, which both originates and invests in commercial mortgage loans and other commercial real estate debt investments and instruments, is typical of the niche, as shown by the 90% dividend payout ratio.

Starwood posted strong Q1 beat recently. Earnings came in at 53 cents against a 46-cent forecast. The 15% earnings beat came in a quarter when most companies were struggling to cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and reports of steep misses were common.

Story continues

The solid earnings have supported a solid dividend. Weve already noted the high payout ratio  the actual dividend payment is 48 cents per share quarterly, and has been paid out reliably for the past seven years. The yield, at 15.2%, is simply excellent  and it shows the value of a reliable dividend stock. Dividend yields in the financial sector average 2.16%, so simple arithmetic shows that STWD returns more than 7x that rate.

Deutsche Banks analyst George Bahamondes gives STWD shares a Buy rating, and his $17 price target suggests an upside potential of 32%. (To watch Bahamondes track record, click here)

Justifying his bullish stance, the analyst noted, We continue to believe STWD's diversified business model allows the company to allocate capital to strategies that generate the best risk adjusted returns for shareholders... Importantly, the company's business model has also been central to the STWD's diversified capital structure, insulating the company from liquidity issues to a better degree than peers. In an environment mired with uncertainty, capital allocation optionality is valuable

The group wisdom on Wall Street is in concurrence with Bahamondes; STWD shares have a unanimous Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 5 recent Buy reviews. The average price target of $16.88 is also in line with Bahamondes, and indicates about 32% upside for the coming year. (See Starwood stock analysis on TipRanks)

Cherry Hill Mortgage (CHMI)

Based in, and operating in, the state of New Jersey, Cherry Hill Mortgage is another REIT. Rather than buying properties directly, the company manages a portfolio of excess mortgage services rights, agency residential mortgage backed securities, and other mortgage assets.

Unlike many companies in recent months, Cherry Hill has flat-out beaten expectations on earnings. In Q4, the company reported 48 cents EPS against a 44-cent forecast; in Q1, despite the coronavirus, CHMI showed 47 cents EPS after a 43-cent forecast. Q1 revenues, at $6.23 million, beat the forecast by an impressive 19%, and also grew 6% year-over-year. Earnings are estimated at 32 cents per share for Q2.

CHMI shares pay out a 40-cent dividend, after a downward adjustment from 49 cents in Q3 2019. The adjustment kept the payment in line with earnings; important, since the payout ratio is a high 85%. The annualized payout, of $1.60, gives a stunning yield of 21.5%. There is simply no point in comparing that to peer companies; that return is head-and-shoulders higher than anything else an investor is likely to find in the financial markets.

In his note on this stock, Piper Sandler analyst Kevin Barker says, We expect CHMI to remain defensive in the near-term by reducing leverage and holding cash. We also assume prepay speeds will continue to accelerate over the next couple of quarters as mortgage rates push closer to 3.0% or lower. Meanwhile, the bump higher in interest expense to 2.33% should moderate with market volatility settling down.

Barker gives CHMI a $12 price target, which suggests room for a 52% upside to the stock. (To watch Barkers track record, click here)

Cherry Hill is another stock, like Starwood above, with a unanimous analyst consensus rating. In this case, the Strong Buy rating is based on 4 recent Buys. Shares are priced low, at $7.85, and the average price target of $11.41 implies a 12-month upside potential of 45%. (See Cherry Hill Mortgage stock analysis on TipRanks)

Solar Capital, Ltd. (SLRC)

Next up is a business development company, focusing on debt and equity investment in leveraged companies, generating income by pumping capital into client companies existing investment-grade loans. Solar Capital is one of the scores of financing companies that makes liquid capital available to mid-market firms.

After a remarkably stable earnings run from Q3 2018 through Q3 2019, SLRC saw a sudden drop-off in EPS in Q4 and Q1. Both quarters missed expectations and saw sequential drops. Q4 EPS came in at 41 cents, against a 44-cent forecast, while Q1, hit by the coronavirus-inspired shutdowns, saw EPS slip again to 38 cents. Its important to note, however, that SLRC remains in positive earnings territory, in contrast to the well-publicized earnings losses that have made headlines since Q1. Looking ahead, Solar Capital is expected to remain profitable in Q2, with a 35-cent EPS projected.

Solar Capital uses its earnings to fund a generous dividend. The company has been growing the payment very gradually over the past seven years, and the current quarterly payment is 41 cents per share. At $1.64 annualized, this gives a yield of 10.6%. With dividend yields among S&P companies averaging 2%, and Treasury bonds down below 1%, the attraction of SLRCs yield is obvious. The only bit of cloud is the 107% payout ratio, indicating that earnings do not cover the dividend  but with $60 million cash available, and a further $545 million on a revolving credit facility, the company sees no problem in maintaining the payments.

Covering SLRC for JMP Securities, Christopher York sees SLRC taking a proactive role generating income moving forward. He writes, [We expect] that the company will be very active in new originations in 4Q20 and 1Q21. We believe Solar continues to be a strategic buyer of niche commercial finance businesses, which could be an immediate use of investment capacity.

Yorks Buy rating is supported by an $18.50 price target, which suggests a one-year upside of 19% for the stock. (To watch Yorks track record, click here)

The Wall Street analyst corps is bullish on SLRC, giving the stock 7 Buys against just one Hold. This adds up to an analyst consensus rating of Strong Buy. The average price target is a bit more cautious than Yorks, at $17.57, and implies an upside of 13% for the coming year. (See Solar Capital stock analysis on TipRanks)

To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.
NEWS FLASH

The Serbian government has announced that it will tomorrow adopt measures to lift all entry restriction and requirements introduced during the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic for both locals and foreign nationals as of Friday, May 22. As a result, incoming passengers will no longer be required to have a negative Covid-19 test, nor will they be required to self-isolate or be quarantined if they do not have one. Furthermore, foreign nationals will no longer be required to obtain a special permit to enter the country. Belgrade Airport reopened for commercial traffic this Monday. Air Serbia will resume commercial operations tomorrow, with the launch of flights to Frankfurt and Zurich. Although initially planned to run once per week, the carrier has added a further two flights to Zurich and an additional rotation to Frankfurt tomorrow due to increased inbound demand.
The government may soon allow private airlines to join the Vande Bharat Mission. This may be a welcome move for domestic carriers who earlier sought permission to participate.

An announcement is expected soon as Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola discussed the issue during a ministry meeting on May 20, The Economic Times reported.

Discussions about fares and flights that private carriers would operate is under discussion and will be announced soon, a government official told the paper. Presently, Air India and subsidiary Air India Express hold monopoly on the mission. In the updated plan, the national carrier could focus on long haul rescues, while private carriers concentrate on short-haul spots.

Airlines will have to take approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) before any such flight, another official added.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

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

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

The mission seeks to repatriate Indians stuck abroad after domestic and international air travel was shut down since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Allowing private airlines to join the efforts would give financially-struggling companies some revenue and may also lead to reduced ticket prices for citizens.

Airline executives told the paper the move was a welcome one  a big positive for the financially-strained sector and companies. It is believed that the move comes after the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package failed to provide any relief for the financially-drowning aviation industry.

One executive told ET: This will allow repatriation of citizens who are on waitlists. This also allows private airlines to get their aircraft, crew, and operational staff actively working again  it creates a revenue opportunity  and will make the flights more affordable.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday dismissed any hope of a review into what has been branded an unfair surcharge on foreign doctors, including Indians, working in the UK's state-funded National Health Service.

A number of professional associations for doctors in Britain have been campaigning against the annual Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), imposed of foreign workers to raise additional funds for the NHS, as an additional burden while they directly contribute to the health service.

The Opposition Labour Party Leader, Keir Starmer, backed their campaign in the House of Commons during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, when he asked Johnson if he thinks the surcharge on NHS doctors and nurses is fair.

I have thought a great deal about this and I do accept and understand the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff. I have been a personal beneficiary of people and carers who have come from abroad and, frankly, saved my life, replied Johnson, making a reference to his COVID-19 hospitalisation last month during which he was cared for by foreign medics.

I know exactly their importance. On the other hand, we must look at the realities that this is a great national service, a national institution which needs funding and those contributions actually help us to raise about 900 million pounds. It is very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources, so I do think that is the right way forward, he said.

The IHS, introduced in April 2015, is imposed on anyone in the UK on a work, study or family visa for longer than six months and is set for a further hike from 400 pounds to 624 pounds per year.

With the charge applicable on each member of a family, the overall cost is seen as prohibitive in a number of cases, over and above the tax payments.

In a letter to UK Home Secretary Priti Patel by the Doctors Association UK this week, Indian-origin chair Dr Rinesh Parmar branded the surcharge as deeply unfair and the government's move to dismiss a previous statement promising a review into the issue as a gross insult to medics on the coronavirus frontlines.

At a time when we are mourning colleagues your steadfast refusal to reconsider the deeply unfair immigration health surcharge is a gross insult to all who are serving this country at its time of greatest need, notes the letter.

Not only is this a betrayal of all these hardworking people, but also represents a deterrent to attracting talented and skilled workers to the UK a stated aim of this government's immigration policy, it adds, in reference to the British government's new skills-based post-Brexit immigration strategy, which cleared its second reading in the House of Commons this week.

According to a recent Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) study, Indians make up one in 10 of all foreign-born doctors in the NHS and the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), which represents this group, is among the bodies campaigning against the IHS for years and had most recently written to the UK PM on the issue in March.

We believe that this surcharge is discriminatory and unfair, as the overseas workers are already paying their due share of National Insurance contributions, superannuation and income tax, the BAPIO letter said.

We request you to remove the health surcharge with immediate effect. The NHS has been in a workforce crisis for several years, but now with the COVID-19 epidemic, there has never been a worse time for an overstrained service, and we require all the help we can get to meet the challenges, it added.

The UK Home Office had announced a free-of-charge visa extension and a waiver of the annual IHS for NHS medics whose visa was set to expire by October, in order for them to have the "peace of mind" as they combat the deadly virus across the country's hospitals.

Doctors' associations had hoped that exemption could be made permanent as the smallest recognition of the contribution of overseas doctors to the UK's health service.

However, Johnson's latest statement in Parliament will come as a big blow for their campaign.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A dinosaur fossil in Australia has reportedly been identified by scientists as a rare, toothless dinosaur that existed nearly 110 million years ago. The fossil was discovered by Jessica Parker, a volunteer, who dug it as a part of annual dig led by Melbourn Museum. At the time of discovery, it was assumed to be of a flying reptile, called Pterosaur, however, upon further analysis, scientists at Swinburne University found that it was a delicately built dinosaur.

According to reports, scientists discovered that it was Elaphrosaur, dinosaur related to Tyrannosaurus Rex and Velociraptor. Dr Stephen Poropat, one of the scientists, explained further revealing that the Elaphrosaurs had long necks, slumpy arms with small hands and relatively lightly built bodies. The five-centimetre vertebrate fossil, which was discovered near Cape Otway, Victoria in 2015 marked the first fossil of the species to be found on the Australian mainland.

Read: Fossils Of 67 Million-year-old Feathered Dinosaur Found In New Mexico

Read: Man Boards Plane Wearing Dinosaur Suit Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, See Pics

Could grow up to Six metres

The recently identified fossil reflected that they were about two metres long. However, previously discovered fossils in China Argentina and Tanzania indicated that Elaphrosaurs could grow up to six metres in length. Scientists have also reckoned that the ancient beings, whose names translates to light-footed lizard, didnt eat much meat.

Talking about the anatomy of the dinosaur, Dr Poropat said that a few known skulls of Elaphrosaurs show that youngsters had teeth, however, adults lost their teeth and replaced them with beaks. He added that the researchers were unsure if the same happened with Australian Elaphrosaurs too.

Read: Anushka Sharma Spots A 'dinosaur' Loose In Her House, Virat Is His Hilarious Best; WATCH

Read: 250-million-year-old Dinosaur Fossil Named After 'Lord Of The Rings' Character

In other news, a group of researchers found the fossils of a previously unknown reptile from the Early Triassic Period that has a long bony neck and long legs. The researchers reportedly named the lizard as 'Strider' after the famous 'Lord of The Rings' character which lived to have a history dating back to 250 million years. The study which was published in the journal, 'PLOS ONE' states that the rare fossil was of 'Elessaurus Gondwanocciens' which has now been named Strider.

Image credits: museumsvictoria/Twitter
By IANS

NEW DELHI: In a major success in the murder of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother Ajeet Parihar which took place in November 2018, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday said that it arrested a terrorist of the banned outfit Hizbul Mujahideen from Jammu and Kashmir.

An NIA spokesperson said that it arrested absconding terrorist Rustam Ali from the outer area of Kishtwar town in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

The official said that he was arrested after the anti-terror probe agency received information about his presence in the area and accordingly an NIA team was sent which apprehended Rustam Ali, who is also wanted in several other cases related to the robbery of INSAS rifle from PSO of Advocate Nasir Hussain.

The official said that Ali was produced before a court that granted seven-day NIA custody. The official also claimed that Ali had been absconding for a long time and investigation revealed that he had constructed a hide-out in the house of one Nishad Ahmed Butt for safe hiding of accused persons.

Parihar brothers were shot at point-blank range outside their house on November 1, 2018 when they were returning home after closing their shop.

The J&K government had earlier constituted an SIT to probe the killings, and based on its findings agreed to transfer the case to the NIA three weeks later. On May 15 this year, the NIA filed a chargesheet against six people, including three slain HM terrorists and three arrested overground workers of the terror group for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorists to kill BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother.

Earlier, the NIA had said that it filed the chargesheet against three slain HM terrorists -- Osama-bin-Javid, Haroon Abbas Wani and Zahid Hussain and three OWGs (overground workers) -- Nisar Ahmed Sheikh, Nishad Ahmed Butt and Azad Hussain Bagwan, all residents of Kishtwar, in a Special NIA court in Jammu. They have been charged with murder and criminal conspiracy, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Arms Act.

The NIA official said that accused Sheikh, Butt and Bagwan, all residents of Kishtwar, were arrested on November 20, 2019. He said these three used to provide logistic support to three terrorists Javid, Wani and Hussain, who murdered the Parihar brothers.

The official said that the NIA investigation unearthed a larger conspiracy of these terrorists and the overground workers of HM to try to revive terrorism in the districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.

"These terrorists not only murdered the Parihar brothers but also carried out three other terrorist acts in Kishtwar in 2019," the official claimed.

He said in furtherance of the said conspiracy led by Jahangir Saroori, Commander of HM in Kishtwar district, the three accused persons devised ways and means to raise funds to sustain the activities of the banned terrorist organisation.

They looted weapons from police or personal security officers, he said.

According to the NIA, Javid, Wani and Hussain were killed in different encounters between the HM cadres and security forces in Ramban and Doda districts in September 2019 and January 2020.
The Ghana Psychological Association has urged government and relevant state agencies to step up stigmatisation education on COVID-19 to maximise early reporting and reduce rate of infection.



The education, it said, must include developing several radio and television programmes on the disease including animation in different languages for different groups, as well as the use of recovered patients for awareness creation.



Speaking at a media briefing in Accra, organised by the Ministry of Information, Dr Charles Wiafe-Akenten Brenya, a member of the Association, attributed the situation to misconception by the public due to little knowledge on the disease.



He explained that stigma is a general thing that has been in the society probably since the beginning of the world and every society one, way or the other, has certain things they stigmatise. In general, it might be your physical appearance, it might be your social group, it might be your profession and it can be any other thing.



However, in Ghana, under no circumstance are we allowed to use peoples sickness or illness, either congenital, accident or by lifestyle against them in any way



Dr Brenya explained that this had the potential to prevent people from reporting when they began to show symptoms of the virus, a situation which could derail governments efforts at ending the pandemic.



He, therefore, cautioned the public to desist from stigmatising such persons as that could affect them emotionally, which could lead to self-isolation and discrimination, among other things.



Commending the media for their efforts in sensitising the public, Dr Brenya urged them to continue to solicit views from the experts for accurate reportage to mitigate stigmatisation.



He assured the ministries and the public of the Associations continuous support with assistance from the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, to provide counselling to those in quarantine, waiting to be tested and those who had tested positive for COVID-19, as it had done since the outbreak of the virus in Ghana.



He said the Association, in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education, would soon roll out sensitisation programmes to provide such supports to patients and end stigma.



Ghana has so far recorded 5,918 cases of COVID-19 with 31 deaths and 1,754 recoveries.



The current active case count stands at 4,133.





Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, Please Explain is coming to you five days a week.

Business groups and economists are asking unions jostling to secure a higher minimum wage to "read the room" leaving many questioning whether they'll ever see a pay rise. In today's episode, economics correspondent Jennifer Duke joins national editor Tory Maguire to discuss the impact of coronavirus on wage growth in Australia.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage.

Becoming a subscriber also gets you exclusive behind-the-scenes content and invitations to special events. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.
The oil price collapse will result in one-third of the North Sea oil left untouched because it will be uneconomical to produce, a new study from the University of Aberdeen showed on Wednesday.

According to the study led by Economist Professor Alex Kemp and Linda Stephen from the University of Aberdeen, even if Brent Crude prices were to trade at $45 a barrel, as much as 28 percent of the oil left in the North Sea would not be economical to extract. At $25 a barrel oil, a total of 35 percent of available oil in the North Sea may not make it out of the ground.

The future of the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) at the oil and gas prices employed in this study depends critically on technological innovations which can significantly enhance productivity, the oil economists said in the study as carried by the BBC.

At low prices, fields are quicker to reach the end of their economical lives, Professor Kemp told Evening Express.

Although that means decommissioning costs may be lower, we are still facing an extremely difficult period for the industry, the economist noted.

Commenting on the study, the leading industry association of the UK offshore industry, OGUK, said via market intelligence manager Ross Dornan:

We know that low oil and gas prices, along with the impact of Covid-19 on operations, have created a very uncertain outlook as this report points out.

Remaining as competitive as possible to attract investment, alongside innovative and flexible approaches and business models, will be required to ensure we can not only continue to meet as much of the UKs energy needs from domestic oil and gas, but also prepare the UK to fully capitalise on net zero opportunities of the future, Dornan added.

Last month, OGUK warned that up to 30,000 jobs could be lost in the UK North Sea oil and gas sector.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Both President Donald Trump and Time Magazine recently ignored discussion of the "smoking gun" document definitively establishing that the World Health Organization lied to the world in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic about whether the virus was showing human-to-human transmission. Ignoring this document allows the WHO and its supporters to continue to obfuscate the issue and argue that the WHO acted properly and should not be punished for its response to the virus. At stake are millions of American taxpayer dollars, countless lives that could be lost from future lying by the WHO, and the political survival of government officials like President Trump who are trying to hold the WHO accountable and prevent such conduct in the future.

The Communist Party of China (CPC)'s lie at the beginning of the pandemic that the coronavirus was not showing human-to-human transmission is the subject of a May 19, 2020 Time magazine article entitled "Taiwan Says It Tried to Warn the World about Coronavirus. Here's What It Really Knew and When," written by Louise Watt. The CPC's lie also is the subject of President Trump's May 18, 2020 letter to the WHO threatening to have the United States withdraw from the WHO.

The Time article discusses the earliest efforts of the Republic of China (ROC), also known as Taiwan, to discover the truth about the nature of the coronavirus that the CPC unleashed on humanity from Wuhan, China. The article focuses on the WHO's role in alerting the world to the virus in January of this year. The article offers statements criticizing the WHO and statements defending the WHO. Many who read the article will conclude that it is unclear whether the WHO did anything wrong.

The article omits discussion of a "smoking gun" document that was discussed at AT on April 20, 2020 in a post by this author entitled "WaPo comes to the defense of WHO." The document is a January 13, 2020 WHO news release that states: "To date, there has been no suggestion of human to human transmission of this new coronavirus." The key word is "suggestion."

The WHO made this statement despite the existence of another document that proves that there was such a "suggestion" before January 13, 2020. This other document is the December 31, 2019 email that the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control sent to the WHO, and which was released to the public on April 11, 2020 by the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare. The email states:

News resources today indicate that at least seven atypical pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, CHINA. Their health authorities replied to the media that the cases were believed not SARS; however the samples are still under examination and cases have been isolated for treatment. I would greatly appreciate it if you have relevant information to share with us. Thank you very much in advance for your attention to this matter. Best Regards,

This email is a central part of Time's article. Yet Time fails to evaluate its significance in light of the January 13, 2020 WHO news release that Time completely ignores.

Taiwan's email states that the seven "cases have been isolated for treatment." Isolation of the seven cases constitutes at least a "suggestion" of human-to-human transmission. This is the belief of Taiwanese health minister Chen Shih-chung, who held a news conference on April 11, 2020 announcing release of the email. On April 14, 2020, Henry Holloway of The Sun wrote "ALARM BELL Taiwan's coronavirus December warning to WHO about person-to-person spreading went unheeded bombshell email reveals," reporting about the news conference:

The email points out reports of patients being "isolated". Taiwanese health minister Chen Shih-chung argued this obviously refers to the risk of transmission at a press conference on Saturday in Taipei. He said: "If being treated in isolation is not a warning, then what is?"

The WHO's false denial on January 13, 2020 that there was any "suggestion" of human-to-human transmission is a "smoking gun" that leaves the WHO no wiggle room. The Time article discusses the WHO tweet of January 14, 2020, which states:

Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel #coronavirus (2019-nCoV) identified in #Wuhan, #ChinaFlag of China.

This tweet is always cited as the primary piece of evidence against the WHO's response to the virus. Although it is damning because it accepts the CPC's pronouncements without any challenge, implicitly endorsing the veracity of those pronouncements, it leaves the WHO wiggle room to argue and obfuscate, as is evident in Time's article.

The WHO has no wiggle room regarding its false January 13, 2020 news release. The "suggestion" of human-to-human transmission existed at that time because of Taiwan's December 31, 2019 email to the WHO. The WHO deceived the world about human-to-human transmission. The media need to focus on the WHO's January 13, 2020 news release.

This has become even more important in light of President Trump's May 18, 2020 letter to the WHO detailing its many failings regarding the virus, and stating that "if the World Health Organization does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze of United States funding to the World Health Organization permanent and reconsider our membership in the organization." Sadly, even President Trump's letter fails to mention the WHO's January 13, 2020 news release and its false denial of any "suggestion" of human-to-human transmission.

Derived from China, the word "kowtow" has come to mean more than a physical bowing. It means abject submission or groveling. The WHO did more than kowtow. The WHO aided and abetted the CPC in committing what is arguably one of the greatest single acts of mass murder, infliction of physical and emotional suffering, and economic destruction ever unleashed.

If we can't accurately set forth the history of this event in its first few months, how will we do so in the years to come? Time magazine needs to be accurate because that is its job in writing the first draft of history. President Trump needs to be accurate because he needs the public's support to hold the WHO accountable for its lies and to try to prevent such conduct in the future.

Allan J. Favish is an attorney in Los Angeles. His website is allanfavish.com. James Fernald and Mr. Favish have co-authored a book about what might happen if the government ran Disneyland, entitled "Fireworks! If the Government Ran the Fairest Kingdom of Them All (A Very Unauthorized Fantasy).
A second couple have died an agonising death after making up a batch of home-brew beer to get round South Africa's tough alcohol ban on drinking during lockdown.

Melvin Afrikaner, 54, and wife Winnie, 50, were rushed to hospital after downing several bottles of potent home-made ginger beer but died whilst in intensive care.

Only a fortnight ago estate agent Tony Hilliar, 54, and partner Alida Fouche, 42, died a horrific death after knocking back just a bottle each of home-brewed pineapple beer.

It is believed both couples died after adding almost pure 97 per cent alcohol in the form of ethanol into their home brew to make it mind blowingly strong but poisoned themselves.

Melvin Afrikaner, 54, and wife Winnie (pictured together), 50, were rushed to hospital after downing several bottles of potent home-made ginger beer but died whilst in intensive care

Drinkers in South Africa have been banned from buying alcohol from supermarkets or off licences since the lockdown began nearly eight weeks ago and all the bars were shut down.

It was part of a tough crackdown by President Cyril Ramaphaso who also banned the sale of cigarettes and introduced a night time curfew and bizarrely forbade the sale of flip-flops.

Alcohol-loving South Africans in response began illegally making strong beer from traditional recipes which include pineapple or ginger which date back to the old apartheid days.

The first reported deaths came in Port Nolloth in Northern Cape Province where well-known local man Tony Hilliar brewed up a powerful pineapple beer for himself and his partner.

A fortnight ago estate agent Tony Hilliar, 54, and partner Alida Fouche (pictured together), 42, died a horrific death after knocking back just a bottle each of home-brewed pineapple beer

But after drinking just one bottle each both collapsed in agony and by the time emergency services arrived secretary Alida was already dead and Tony died days later in hospital.

Their pineapple beer brew was seized by police and is undergoing laboratory tests but South African Police confirmed it appeared that both victims had died from alcohol poisoning.

In the latest tragedy Melvin and wife Winnie collapsed at their home in Ocean View near Cape Town but managed to raise the alarm and were rushed by ambulance to hospital.

But officials at False Bay Hospital said they could not be saved and police say they are now awaiting a post-mortem autopsy report to confirm the home-brew was responsible.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rxexana is pictured

A relative, who asked not to be named, told IOL Media: 'They drank home-made ginger beer which apparently had pure alcohol mixed into it and they died in the hospital.

'We hope this can be an eye-opener for others who are making these brews at home'.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rxexana confirmed the deaths and said: 'We are investigating the double death of a male and a female and awaiting post mortem results.

'A 54-year-old male and a 50-year-old woman died after an incident in Ocean View.'

The internet site alcoholrehab.com said in Africa it is common to use traditional recipes to make beer from items such as pineapple, ginger and sorghum but warned of the dangers.

It said:'Makers of these beverages and other homemade alcoholic drinks often add high-octane fuel or other chemicals to the mix to increase the euphoric effects of the brew.

'These harmful added ingredients however can cause death or irreparable damage to the drinker's vital organs and can even cause blindness by damaging the optic nerves,' it said.

It added that in Kenya the locally brewed Chang'aa beer can include jet fuel or embalming fluid or battery acid and ends up so potent it translates into English as 'Kill Me Quick'.

False Bay Hospital where home brew drinkers Melvin and Winnie Afrikaner were rushed for emergency treatment but later died

Last week thirsty thieves broke into the Rest in Peace funeral parlour in Clocolan in Free State Province, South Africa, and stole four gallons of 97 per cent alcohol proof exhumation liquid.

Police believe they will use the liquid, which is normally used to preserve bodies that have been dug up, in illegal mixtures to concoct powerful home brews.

There is still no end in sight for the 58-million-strong population of South Africa in having the alcohol ban lifted and supermarkets report selling ten times as many pineapples as usual.

Google also reported that 'how to brew homemade alcohol' is one of their highest internet search requests in South Africa since the ban was brought into the country 55 days ago.

President Ramaphosa is however refusing all calls to relax the hugely unpopular ban on booze and cigarettes and the only good news for locals was that the flip-flop ban has been dropped.

The loss of tax revenue to the nation is said to be 'eye watering' and South Africa along with Panama and Sri Lanka are now the only three countries operating a booze lockdown ban.
I often wish that CHRP concerts were presented with a little more polish  or none at all. Stomping Grounds lives in a weird, in-between place that makes it OK to hoot and holler during the performance (and also, apparently, to record the whole thing on your iPhone), but feels a little weird in a stuffy, ornate theater boasting brand-new stage lights and so much amplification it hurts. But I don't think this somewhat-fancy grand finale is what Stomping Grounds is really all about. Chicago is teeming with diversity, but it's no secret that we're a segregated city. Prior to this performance at the Studebaker, each of the featured companies hosted a free performance in their respective neighborhoods. So Mexican dance was performed in Pilsen but also in Garfield Park. African dance was presented in Hyde Park and Beverly with Spanish and Irish dance. The bigger idea of Stomping Grounds is awesome: that dance can bring Chicagoans together to celebrate what makes us the same, and what makes us different. That's hard to criticize, but my wish for Stomping Grounds is that it doesn't stop here: Can we see Mazurkas on Devon and Bharatanatyam in Portage Park? Taiko and Gamelan in Humboldt Park and Merengue on Argyle? Here's hoping.
New Delhi/Mumbai, May 20 : Domestic passenger flights would be resumed in a calibrated manner, two months after suspending them under the national lockdown norms, tweeted Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday.

"Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday, 25th May 2020. All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations," he tweeted.

According to the Minister, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the passenger movement would be issued soon.

The development comes a day after Puri had said it was not only up to the central government to decide on the resumption of domestic flights as states would also have to be ready to allow operations.

"It is not up to @MoCA_GoI or Centre alone to decide on resuming domestic flights. In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the govt of states where these flights will take off & land should be ready to allow civil aviation operations," Puri tweeted on Tuesday.

Ever since the imposition of nationwide lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak on March 25, the passenger air service was suspended for both scheduled domestic and international flights.

On Sunday, after the Ministry of Home Affairs' decision to extend the lockdown till May 31, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said it would inform the airlines about flights resumption in due course.

In the guidelines for lockdown 4.0, the MHA said all domestic and international air travel would be prohibited, except for domestic medical services, air ambulance and security purposes.

IANS on Tuesday reported that Covid-19 battered airline industry had started bookings for the travel, starting June 1.

When contacted on Wednesday, many airline executives said they would swiftly upload new ticket bookings itineraries, representing new schedule from May 25, on online platforms.

At present, some players have made cargo operations their main revenue stream. Still, fixed cost, especially the employee compensation component alone, dented their financial positions and stock prices.

But the latest announcement should bring some stability to the companies business continuity plans.

A second airline executive told IANS not all sectors would be offered under the new bookings itinerary and his airline would only take booking for 25 per cent of capacity.
One would imagine that Bill Gates' son must be one lucky man, because of all the riches and wealth, that he is set to inheritance. Well, one would be wrong. You see, most rich people have this sense of giving back to communities, and to the destitute in society. That is why most rich people, turn philanthropists and donate to charity. Also, there are tax reasons.

 Reuters

While most people would donate a part of their fortunes, there are some people who pledged to give away a significant chunk of their wealth to charitable foundations, rather than their children.

Some of these people have already put it into their will, while others are seriously contemplating to do it.

 Zambia Reports

Here are 5 of them who are planning not to leave their wealth for their children, but of giving it away to charity.

1. Bill & Melinda Gates - over 90 per cent to charity

 Reuters

Bill Gates & Warren Buffet were the creators of the Giving Pledge, an oath that encourages the super-rich to give away most of the wealth to charity instead of passing it down to their children. Bill & Melinda Gates is worth over $106 Billion, as of writing this piece.

2. Jackie Chan - All of it to charity

 AFP

Jackie Chan at one point of time was the highest-paid actor in the world, thanks to this action-comedy films. Moreover, the films that he invested his money in saw huge returns. Jackie plans to donate everything to various charitable organisations. He has already pledged half of his wealth and plans to pledge the other half, sometime soon. He once famously said, If he (Jackie's son) is capable, he can make his own money. If he is not, then he will just be wasting my money. As of writing this, Chan is worth just over $400 Million.

3. Daniel Craig - Most of it to charity

 Sony Pictures Releasing

Over the years, Craig has amassed a significant amount of fans, as well as money by portraying one of the most iconic versions of 007. Although he hasn't signed any pledge or taken an oath yet, Daniel has stated in a number of interviews that he finds inheritances distasteful, and will not be leaving anything from his $125 Million fortune for his children.

4. Warren Buffett - 99 per cent to charity

 Reuters

Warren Buffett is a rockstar for people who know anything about investments, stock markets, and venture capitalism. For a brief moment in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was the richest man in the world and has often bailed financial institutions out of solvency issues. Warren hs pledged to give away 99 per cent of his $68.1 Billion to charitable foundations. Don't feel bad for his children though, they still will inherit about $681 Million. As of writing this piece, Buffett is the 5th richest person on earth, right after Mark Zuckerberg.

5. Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan - 99 per cent to charity

 Reuters

Mark Zuckerberg at 36 is the youngest man in the 10 richest people in the world. Back in 2015, Mark & his wife, Priscilla Chan announced that they would be giving away 99 per cent of their wealth so that the world becomes a better place for the children of their daughter's generation. As of writing this piece, Zuckerberg is the 4th richest man in the world, with over $82.6 Billion.

Seriously, imagine just how pissed most of their children must have been when they got to know. With that being said, as for these parents, please, take a bow.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:33:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LUSAKA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Zambia arrested 1,013 people for various drug-related offences in the first quarter of 2020, its anti-drug agency said on Wednesday.

The Drug Enforcement Commission said of the total arrests, 959 comprised males while 54 were females and that the total arrests included 75 juveniles.

The agency also seized cannabis plants, herb, and seeds totalling about 18.17 tons while other seizures included some 110.6 kg of miraa and 1.07 kg of heroin.

Theresa Katongo, the agency's spokesperson, said the agency will continue to monitor the trends of drug trafficking in order to curtail the illicit vice.

"We wish to warn perpetrators behind the vices of illicit drug abuse, trafficking and money laundering to desist from the acts as the commission will be on hand to ensure all offenders are brought to book," she said. Enditem
A Virginia family out for a ride to get a change of scenery after being holed up during coronavirus lockdown found nearly $1million in two bags lying in the road.

David and Emily Schantz left their Caroline County home with their children last Saturday and took a drive in their pickup truck.

Emily told WTVR that she noticed the car in front of them suddenly swerve around a bag lying in the road.

The Schantz accidentally hit the bag with their pickup truck before spotting a similar bag about 15 feet away.

David and Emily Schantz (center and right) were driving with their two sons on Saturday when they ran over a bag left in the road

The family believed the bags were simply trash left in the middle of the road.

The Schantzes tossed the bags in the back of their pickup truck and kept riding, according to Emily Schantz.

But unbeknownst to them, they were driving around Caroline County with almost $1million in their pickup.

Two bags filled with nearly $1million in cash were left on a roadway in Caroline County, Virginia

The Schantz called local authorities after discovering the money inside

Authorities believe the bags belong to a postal service and the cash was meant for a bank

aOnly when the Schantzes returned home did they discover the bags contained money, she said.

'Inside of the bag, there were plastic baggies and they were addressed with something that said "cash vault,"' said Emily.

They contacted the Caroline County Sheriff's Office, which sent deputies to the home.

The deputies took inventory and determined the money totaled nearly $1 million.

Authorities are still investigating, but believe the bags belonged to a postal service and the cash was traveling to a bank.

Emily and David Schantz (pictured) were praised by local authorities who hope they receive an reward for their good deed

Caroline Sheriff's Maj. Scott Moser would not say specifically where the money was going, but praised the Schantz family for their integrity.

'For someone so honest and willing to give that almost a million dollars back, it's exceptional on their part,' he said.

'Their two sons were there, so I put the lights on for them, but we are proud and they represented this county well by being so honest.'

He said he hopes the recipients offer the Schantzes a nice reward.

'Their actions deserve nothing less,' Moser said. 'They saved someone a lot of money and set a wonderful example for everyone else.'
Bank officers' apex body AIBOC on Wednesday criticised the government's plan to privatise public sector undertakings in several sectors.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced the government's intention to privatise public sector enterprises (PSEs) in non-strategic sectors. The announcement was part of the over Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to stimulate the economy reeling under the impact of COVID-19.

In a statement, the All India Bank Officers' Confederation (AIBOC) said the package contains very little in terms of fiscal stimulus and tries to inflate the package size by adding liquidity infusion measures with that of fiscal steps.

"Most disturbingly, the Finance Minister has announced in unambiguous terms its intention to privatise PSEs and assets across sectors, which far from promoting economic self-reliance will destroy the very foundation of our national economy," it said.

PSEs have played a major role in building the nation and supported the country in many crisis situations unlike fair weather friends, it said, adding that it is public sector banks who have been in the forefront of implementing various government schemes.

It said while the "strategic sectors" where at least one PSU would be permitted have not been notified yet, it is clear that many of the 244 operating CPSUs have been targeted for privatisation.

The experience of the attempted privatisation of Air India has already shown that even suitable buyers are not available as on date, it said.

The same Air India has, however, continued to provide yeoman service in ferrying stranded Indian citizens from foreign countries during this difficult period of the coronavirus crisis, AIBOC said.

Criticising the stimulus package, AIBOC said the finance minister has relied on further liquidity infusion and chided the public sector banks for parking funds back with the RBI.

"What the banks lack today is not liquidity but the willingness of the borrowers to borrow and spend/invest, because of the deficiency of aggregate demand. Credit off-take would increase only when investment and consumer spending rises," it said.

"Given the recessionary trends, this would first require public investment and spending, which is why a fiscal stimulus is an absolute need of the hour. Only a substantial surge in the public investment and spending can ensure crowd-in funding through the route of private investment," it added.

The body also recommended direct cash transfers to migrant workers and other vulnerable groups.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
"The safety and wellbeing of passengers and employees is the top priority of U.S. airlines. Since the onset of this health crisis, carriers have been taking substantial, proactive steps  in many instances exceeding CDC guidance  to protect passengers and employees," said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. "With the Memorial Day holiday approaching, U.S. airlines are coming together as an industry to deepen their commitment to instituting multiple layers of protection throughout the travel experience  from check-in to touchdown."

Airlines Take Action

A4A's member airlines are requiring passengers and customer-facing employees to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth throughout the journey  check-in, boarding, in-flight and deplaning.

At check-in counters and gate areas, travelers may see agents sanitizing counters and kiosks. Some airlines have installed plexiglass shields over the counters to provide additional protection, and some have marked the floors to ensure appropriate distance is maintained.

All A4A member airlines have aircraft equipped with HEPA filters, which help generate hospital-grade air quality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that, "Because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes, most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights."

U.S. airlines have implemented intensive cleaning protocols, in some cases to include electrostatic cleaning and fogging procedures. Carriers are working around the clock to sanitize cockpits, cabins and key touchpoints  including tray tables, armrests, seatbelts, buttons, vents, handles and lavatories  with EPA-approved disinfectants. Airlines have increased the frequency of deep cleaning procedures for both domestic and international flights.

Carriers have implemented a range of policies  including back-to-front boarding and adjusting food and beverage services  to help allow for distancing between people.

As an additional layer of protection, A4A's member airlines have encouraged the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin conducting temperature screenings.

All travelers are urged to stay home when ill, frequently wash their hands and to wear a face covering throughout their air travel journey, consistent with CDC guidance.

New Data Points

As stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions are lifted, the country and communities are slowing reopening, meaning more people are choosing to travel by airplane. While some travelers may experience full or near-full flights, data from the most recent week of operations shows that the vast majority of U.S. airline flights (73%) are less than 50 percent full. As an added layer of protection, airlines are attempting to leave some seats open for distancing between travelers when feasible, but not all circumstances allow for that. Some airlines are working with passengers to make accommodations when possible, but it is important to note that only 8.5 percent of U.S. airline flights are more than 70 percent full.

Just last year, the TSA recorded a record number of travelers, with nearly 2.8 million people being screened at airports on May 28, the Friday prior to Memorial Day. This year is a very different story. The TSA is screening 91 percent fewer people. More than 50 percent of commercial aircraft in the U.S. are parked, and of the planes flying, airlines are averaging 31 passengers per domestic flight  an 83 percent decrease in capacity compared to last year.

"Airplanes Don't Make You Sick"

This week, Harvard Professor Joseph Allen wrote in the Washington Post, "The ventilation system requirements for airplanes meet the levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for use with covid-19 patients in airborne infection isolation rooms." His full piece, Airplanes don't make you sick. Really., goes on to say that, "There's a reason the risks are low. The required aircraft systems do a really good job of controlling airborne bacteria and viruses."

For more information about how carriers are working to protect traveling public and what travelers can do to protect themselves and others, please visit www.AirlinesTakeAction.com.

ABOUT A4A

Airlines for America (A4A) members are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and UPS. Air Canada is an associate member.

A4A advocates on behalf of the leading U.S. airlines, both passenger and cargo carriers. A4A works collaboratively with industry stakeholders, federal agencies, the Administration, Congress, labor and other groups to improve aviation for the traveling and shipping public.

For more information about the airline industry, visit our website airlines.org and our blog, A Better Flight Plan, at airlines.org/blog.

Follow us on Twitter: @airlinesdotorg.

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/AirlinesforAmerica.

Join us on Instagram: instagram.com/AirlinesforAmerica.

SOURCE Airlines for America

Related Links

www.airlines.org


Patriots safety Patrick Chung considered retirement this offseason before ultimately signing a two-year extension with New England, according to ESPNs Jeremy Fowler.

Was told Chung considered retirement this offseason. Instead, he re-ups with New England for multiple years. https://t.co/PWrvLbGqVs  Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) May 20, 2020

Chung, 32, will remain with the Patriots through 2023 after agreeing to his new contract Wednesday. The veteran will receive a $3 million signing bonus and is now due up to $12.8 million over the next four years, according to ESPNs Field Yates.

Except for one season he spent in Philadelphia in 2013, Chung has been with the Patriots since 2009, when they took him with the 34th overall pick out of Oregon. Chung is a three-time Super Bowl champion and was recently named to the Patriots 2010s All-Decade team.

Chung missed three games due to injury last season and has been a bit banged up over the last few years, suffering a broken arm in New Englands Super Bowl LIII win against the Rams. With the Patriots in a state of transition, its not exactly a surprise he would consider retiring during the offseason in which Tom Brady left for the Buccaneers after 20 years. Instead, Chung will rejoin Devin McCourty and Donta Hightower as the veteran pillars of New Englands defense in the fall.
Private pathology companies threatened to refuse COVID-19 testing at the height of the pandemic, forcing the federal government to increase by four-fold its payment for each test.

The hard-nosed negotiations, which resulted in an increase of the COVID-19 test subsidy from $24.40 to $100, has produced what one company chief executive described as a "COVID-led recovery" for pathologists confronting an exodus of patients from other services.

The government was told bluntly in negotiations that pathology companies would refuse to perform COVID-19 tests without a substantially increased subsidy. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The peak body for private pathology companies, Australian Pathology, is pushing for an extension of the increased fee beyond the cut-off date of September 30. In the meantime, the value of Australias mass testing program, which is currently open to anyone who feels unwell, is being questioned by those conducting the tests.

Australia this week recorded its 1 millionth COVID-19 test since the onset of the pandemic in a testing surge primarily driven by Victoria and NSW.
Modern optical devices require constant tuning of their light interaction settings. For that purpose, there exist various mechanical apparatuses that shift lenses, rotate reflectors, and move emitters. An international research team that includes staff members of ITMO University and the University of Exeter have proposed a new metamaterial capable of changing its optical properties without any mechanical input. This development could result in a significant improvement in the reliability of complex optical devices while making them cheaper to manufacture. The study was featured on the cover of the May 2020 issue of Optica.

The rapid development of physics and materials science in the past decades has brought humanity a wide selection of materials. Now, those who design complex devices are less bound by the limitations of traditional materials such as metals, wood, glass, or minerals. In this regard, the so-called metamaterials, which are studied at ITMO University among other places, open up incredible opportunities. Thanks to their complex periodical structure, they are relatively independent from the properties of their components. Such structures can be volumetric or flat - in the latter case, they are referred to as metasurfaces.

"Metasurfaces allow us to achieve many interesting effects in the manipulation of light," says Ivan Sinev, a senior researcher at ITMO University's Department of Physics and Engineering. "But these metasurfaces have one issue: how they interact with light is decided right in the moment when we design their structure. When creating devices for practical use, we would like to be able to control these properties not only at the outset, but during use, as well."

In their search for materials for adaptive optical devices, researchers from ITMO University, who possess great experience in working with silicon metasurfaces, have joined forces with their colleagues from the University of Exeter in the UK, who have a lot of experience in working with phase-change materials. Among such materials is, for instance, the germanium antimony telluride (GeSbTe) compound, often used in DVDs.

"We've made calculations to see what this new composite material would look like," says Pavel Trofimov, PhD student at the Department of Physics and Engineering. "We have an inclusion of GeSbTe embedded as a thin layer between two layers of silicon. It's a sort of sandwich: first we coat a blank substrate with silicon, then put on a layer of phase-change material, and then some more silicon."

Then, using the methods of e-beam lithography, the scientists converted the layered structure into a metasurface: an array of microscopic disks that was then tested at the laboratory on the subject of its ability to manipulate light. As the researchers expected, the combination of two materials into a complex periodic structure resulted in an important effect: the resulting surface's transparency level could be changed throughout the experiment. The reason is that a silicon disk in the near-infrared region has two optical resonances, allowing it to strongly reflect IR beams directed onto its surface. The layer of GeSbTe has made it possible to "switch off" one of the two resonances, making the disk nearly transparent to light in the near-infrared region.

Phase-change materials have two states: a crystalline state in which its molecules are positioned in an ordered structure, and an amorphous state. If the layer of GeSbTe at the center of the metamaterial is in the crystalline state, the second resonance will disappear; if it is in the amorphous state, the disk will continue to reflect IR beams.

"To switch between the two metasurface states, we've used a sufficiently powerful pulse laser," explains Pavel Trofimov. "By focusing the laser on our disk, we're able to perform the switch relatively quickly. A short laser pulse heats up the GeSbTe layer nearly to the melting point, after which it quickly cools down and becomes amorphous. If we subject it to a series of short pulses, it cools down more slowly, settling into a crystalline state."

The properties of this new metasurface can be used for various applications. That includes, first and foremost, the creation of lidars - devices that scan spaces by emitting infrared pulses and receiving the reflected beams. The principle of their creation can also serve as the basis in the production of special ultra-thin photographic lenses, such as ones used in phone cameras.

###
by Shafique Khokhar

Quotas will give minority students greater access to higher education and allow them to qualify for better paying jobs. Priests and activists want to see the law enforced, not just remain on paper.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Christian, Hindu and Sikh and other religious minority students will be entitled to 2 per cent quota in Punjab universities as part of the Punjab Minorities Empowerment Package.

A bill to that end was introduced in February 2019 by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with a 5 per cent quota. Even with a lower percentage, minority students will have the same opportunities in the admission policy by higher educational institutions.

Minorities in Pakistan face many forms of discrimination. Christians and churches have often seen their land and churches seized; Hindus suffer as a result of tensions between India and Pakistan and minority women and girls are often the victims of abductions and forced conversions.

In the name of justice, Pakistans central government reserved a 5 per cent share in employment to counter joblessness among minorities. It adopted a law to that effect on 26 May 2009. However, he latter has been applied intermittently by provincial governments. The minority quota often goes unfilled, especially for the most qualified positions.

For Fr Kamran Ghouri Daniel, from the Diocese of Islamabad, the decision by the Punjab government is the best way to help minorities climb the social ladder through education".

He also thanked Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government calling on them to ensure that "this law is applied and not just remain on paper.

Asif Aqeel, a journalist and a member of an association that supports minority rights, calls this decision "historic" as it "will enhance the well-being of religious minorities, especially Christians, Sikhs and Hindus.

In his view, support for the law by Punjabs Minorities and Human Rights Minster Ejaz Augustine was important.

Cecil Chaudhry, executive director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, describes the decision as "encouraging" and "very positive". However, he would like to see the government ensure that the law is actually applied and that job quotas are enforced as they are often not applied in the "right spirit".
Louise McMillan, a primary school headteacher, has urged parents not to send their children back to school on June 1

An outspoken headteacher is telling parents not to send their kids back to school as she claims her classrooms have been transformed into 'sterile holding bays'.

Louise McMillan revealed how previously 'vibrant' spaces at St Bede's Catholic Primary School, Cumbria are now 'impersonal zones' as 'cuddly objects' have been taken away due to new COVID-19 safety measures in schools.

The headteacher pleaded with parents to not allow their 'poor unfortunate children' to return come June 1 as it's unfair to put them in such an abnormal environment.

The head's comments struck a chord and received 1,700 likes on Facebook - while many concerned parents claimed it had inspired them not to send their own kids back in.

Louise, of Carlisle, Cumbria, said: 'I know by this point you have stopped reading the comments but I am a headteacher and I've been into work this morning splitting my school into impersonal zones.

'It doesn't feel like school, children and staff won't be able to socialise like they did. Children in the early years have had just about all the lovely cuddly things stripped from their rooms.

The headteacher of St Bede's, Cumbria, says classrooms have become 'sterile holding bays' as a result of coronavirus measures, turning 'vibrant spaces' into 'impersonal zones'

'My beautiful vibrant rooms are now sterile holding bays for the poor unfortunate children who arrive. Please don't send your children, we all want to get back to normal but at the moment this is not normal and not fair to put the children in this environment. And don't get me in about putting my staff at risk.'

Many mothers thanked Louise and said her comment had reassured them that they'd made the right decision to not allow their children to return to education so soon.

Some mums agreed with Louise's comments so much they asked if they could screenshot her post and share it themselves - which the headteacher urged them to do.

One mum said: 'This is the comment that's made me decide not to send my year one child back to school in two weeks. I know she would hate it. Thank you, she's going back in September.'

Another mother added: 'I love your honesty and you have definitely helped me make my decision. My boy is in year six and suffers anxiety. He's missing his friends but worried what school would be like.'

The headteacher posted a statement on Facebook outlining her thoughts on the June 1 return

A third wrote: 'I'm sorry that so much is out of your hands that you will still be held accountable for. It's so sad to hear how much you care and I trust your professional opinion that confirms that we have made the right decision to keep out children at home until at least September, thank you.'

The head teacher's vivid description of the new classrooms sparked discussion on how young children would be returning to a very different environment to what they remember.

One mum said: 'It sounds absolutely awful, it's hard enough for adults in the workplace but for little ones it's frightening being told to distance from their little friends.'

A second said: 'This makes me really sad that you're having to take away the things that help make primary schools nurturing environments.

Primary schools have been closed due to the coronavirus crisis with plans to reopen soon

'It absolutely breaks my heart knowing that my children's teachers will be doing the same. My heart goes out to you and all teachers / head teachers who are being put in this position.'

A third said: 'It's very wrong then for reception children to start in that institution like environment, which is very scary and not the fun lovely spaces they saw on their introduction days.'

However, some highlighted the reality that their children cannot stay away from school as they simply cannot get the time off work.

The government wish for primary schools to open again on June 1, although there has been push back by teachers and parents of young children

One said: 'Sadly for those of us who are key workers, we cannot make a choice. My child had to go to school, I wish I could make a choice based on this and that evidence that is being discussed, but I can't.

'I can't go and play with him, school him at home, keep him in cotton wool. I have to go to work and he has to go to school.'

Louise was praised for sharing her frank views of what primary school children can expect if their parents decide to shortly return them to education.

One said: 'Thank you for being so brutally honest about what will happen and what it will look like.'

Another wrote: 'You should be the head of head teachers.'

A third added: 'Thank you so much for your straight talking honest comment.'

Louise declined to comment further on her appeal.

St Bede's Catholic Primary School and Cumbria Country Council were contacted for comment.
Cyclone Amphan has made landfall in India and Bangladesh, officials said, bringing heavy rainfall and winds of more than 100mph to areas already badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The storm, described by meteorologists as the most powerful on record in the Bay of Bengal, has seen more than 2.8 million people evacuated across the two countries.

Bangladeshs Red Crescent reported the first death from the cyclone on Wednesday afternoon, a volunteer who was helping evacuate people from the storms path when their boat capsized. A woman crushed by a tree and a 13-year-old girl killed near Kolkata were among the first deaths reported in India.

Unprecedented high winds has lashed West Bengal, where officials have effectively reimposed the weeks-long coronavirus lockdown in order to close shops and keep people off the streets.

One Twitter user, Alka Gupta, described the scene from her window as dreadfully scary.

Anurag Danda, a climate change researcher based in Kolkata, told The Independent his home lost power around 4.30pm local time (12pm BST). He said the city was experiencing significant gusty winds and that it was getting more intense by the minute.

Even if Kolkata is in the periphery [of the storms path], damage to installations will be significant because of uprooting of trees, he said.

I have lived through a few cyclones in Kolkata and the Sundarbans since 1999, he said. I am told this is the severest.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Amphan started crossing over onto land at 2.30pm local time and that, due to the size of the storm, the landfall process would take up to four hours. Emergency officials have warned of the threat of huge storm surges, with waves as high as five meters, during this time.

SN Pradhan, director general of Indias National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), said as the storm made landfall that more than 500,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in West Bengal, and more than 150,000 in neighbouring Odisha state.

Bangladesh said as many as 5 million were at risk in low-lying areas in the storms path, and that it was aiming to evacuate up to 2.2 million.

Charities are particularly concerned for the impact of the storm on the Rohingya refugee camps at Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, which house almost 1 million people in overcrowded conditions.

Heavy rainfall has begun at the camps, though they are located some way along the coast from where the storm hit land. The makeshift refugee shelters built on rolling hills are highly susceptible to soil erosion and landslides.

While Bangladesh and Indian states like West Bengal and Odisha have well-developed plans to cope with the annual cyclone season, Amphan comes at a time when many shelters had been repurposed as coronavirus quarantine facilities.

The pandemic has also complicated efforts to get people to evacuate. Many in Digha, a seaside resort town in India, felt they were forced to choose between risking the virus or the storm, said fisherman Debasis Shyamal.

[People] have been home for weeks, and are afraid of going into a crowd [at shelters] where they could get infected, he told the Associated Press.

Amphan was declared the Bay of Bengals most powerful storm on record this week, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, as sustained wind-speeds reached up to 167mph. It diminished from an extremely to a very severe cyclonic storm as it met with cooler air near the shore, but gusts of wind were still reaching up to 112mph.

The region is no stranger to devastating cyclones, but scientists say the intensity of their wind speeds has increased due to climate change and warming in the region. Storms may not be becoming more frequent but with the same number of events, the ones with greater intensity are increasing, Mr Danda said.

Scores died last year during Cyclone Fani, the largest cyclone to hit Odisha state since the turn of the century. Simon Wang, professor of climate, Utah State University, said we dont yet know whether last years record storm activity in the Bay of Bengal was an outlier year or a year that portends things to come.

In our paper on Fani [in 2019], which was a terribly destructive cyclone, we noted that warming temperatures in the air and ocean surface have significantly intensified cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, he said. And what were seeing now is that abnormally warm sea surface temperatures were present in the case of Amphan, too.
Police crime scene investigators and plain clothes detectives have searched the home of missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Exclusive photos show cops carrying evidence bags and equipment into her $1.5 million three-bedroom home just outside Salida, Colorado, on Tuesday afternoon.

A CSI photographer was also seen at the home, which has been taped off. Evidence bags were spotted being brought out and loaded into a van.

Suzanne, 49, has not been heard from since May 9. A bike owned by the mother-of-two was recovered from a bridge close to her home on May 10, according to local sources  the same day she was reported missing.

DailyMail.com has learned it was her daughters Mallory and Macy who first raised the alarm after they were unable to get hold of her on Mothers Day as they made their way back from a camping trip in Idaho.

Police crime scene investigators and plain clothes detectives have searched the home of missing Colorado mom Suzanne Morphew, DailyMail.com can reveal

Suzanne, 49, has not been heard from since May 9. A bike owned by the mother-of-two was recovered from a bridge close to her home on May 10, according to local sources  the same day she was reported missing. Pictured: The $1.5 million home of Morphew's

Exclusive photos show cops carrying evidence bags and equipment into her $1.5 million three-bedroom home just outside Salida, Colorado, on Tuesday afternoon

The search comes just two days after police divers drafted in from neighboring Pueblo County were seen scouring a reservoir less than a mile from Suzanne's property

The Chaffee County Sheriffs Department had been looking for Suzanne in two-mile targeted blocks on either side of her home but did not conduct a search on Monday

Friends said they asked neighbor Jeanne Ritter, 70, to check on Suzanne when they couldnt get hold of her and it was Ritter who later called the police to report her missing.

Ritter declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com.

Summer Stehle, 43, the stepmother of 17-year-old Macys best friend, said: The neighbors up there are spread pretty far apart but the only reason they found out [she was missing] is because the girls called the neighbors and said, ''we never heard from Mom  can you go check on her?''

Nobody actually saw her on her bicycle, sadly.

Suzannes husband Barry Morphew, 52, has said he was away on a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter in Denver, Colorado, when she vanished.

On Sunday, he made an impassioned plea for his wifes safe return in a video released via social media. He has also offered a $200,000 reward.

But DailyMail.com can now reveal that Morphew, 52, has not been allowed to enter the home he shared with Suzanne since he returned from his trip to Denver.

Police also have his car and his cell phone  leaving the businessman and volunteer firefighter to communicate through his close friend George Davis, 33.

Davis declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com, saying he is too busy with stuff to talk.

Morphews fire department colleagues have been ordered not to take part in the search by police, although locals said Morphew and his friends have been out looking for Suzanne.

DailyMail.com has learned it was her daughters Mallory and Macy who first raised the alarm after they were unable to get hold of her on Mothers Day as they made their way back from a camping trip in Idaho

Suzannes husband Barry Morphew, 52, has said he was away on a training course for his job as a volunteer firefighter in Denver, Colorado, when she vanished. The 52-year-old is currently staying at a property close to the marital home and has been joined by friends who have flown in from his native Indiana. Morphew was pictured leaving the property along with Davis shortly before the CSI investigators arrived to search his home on Tuesday

Barry's uncle told Fox21 that he believes his nephew is innocent, saying: 'Theyre a loving couple and Ive never seen any kind of unhappiness with each other or produced by either one of them. What you saw on that video from Barry the other day thats exactly Barry and thats exactly how he feels. He loves her and he wants her back, he wasnt putting on'

On Sunday, he made an impassioned plea for his wifes safe return in a video released via social media. He has also offered a $200,000 reward

Morphews fire department colleagues have been ordered not to take part in the search by police, although locals said Morphew and his friends have been out looking for Suzanne

The 52-year-old is currently staying at a property close to the marital home and has been joined by friends who have flown in from his native Indiana.

A woman at the house on Monday declined to give her name but said she and her husband had come to support Morphew and look for Suzanne.

Morphew was pictured leaving the property along with Davis shortly before the CSI investigators arrived to search his home on Tuesday.

The search comes just two days after police divers drafted in from neighboring Pueblo County were seen scouring a reservoir less than a mile from Suzanne's property.

The Chaffee County Sheriffs Department had been looking for Suzanne in two-mile targeted blocks on either side of her home but did not conduct a search on Monday.

Suzanne, who had just received the all clear following a cancer diagnosis, has now been missing for at least nine days.

No trace of the mother-of-two has been found apart from the bike and a personal item - despite Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze bringing in 90 extra officers to help with the search.

Her three-bedroom home sits just off a remote mountain pass approximately nine miles outside of Salida in rugged terrain.

Drones have been used to comb the area, along with search and rescue K-9s and cadaver detection dogs brought in from nearby Buena Vista.

Summer Stehle, 43, the stepmother of 17-year-old Macys best friend, said:Unfortunately, now the girls feel partly to blame because if they hadnt taken their trip, maybe they would have been there and she wouldnt have gone out'

Friends said they asked neighbor Jeanne Ritter, 70, (pictured) to check on Suzanne when they couldnt get hold of her and it was Ritter who later called the police to report her missing. Ritter declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com

Morphews colleagues from the Maysville Fire Station have also been attempting to help with the search, although one told DailyMail.com they have been warned off by police

Morphews colleagues from the Maysville Fire Station have also been attempting to help with the search, although one told DailyMail.com they have been warned off by police.

Tim Nelson, 33, said: The Sheriffs office, they told us none of the fire guys are allowed up there.

They cant keep us out of the forest so thats what some of the others have done  they set up their own little search party.

Nelson added: Its a bad deal you know. They arent telling us anything. We got excluded from everything.

George [Davis] put together a search team of friends  I was going to go but pretty much all our fire guys are on it so I decided to step away just in case we get something [a fire].

Barry was very understanding from what I got from George. I know hes not allowed to go home. Hes at a neighbors. I guess they got him there until hes cleared or

Other friends spoke of the family in glowing terms, noting that Suzanne had been happy living in Colorado since moving to the state from Alexandria, Indiana, in July 2018.

Fire Chief Robert Bertram, 40, said he and his colleagues are still hoping she will be found alive and added that he doesnt believe she would have left by herself.

Fire Chief Robert Bertram, 40, said he and his colleagues are still hoping she will be found alive and added that he doesnt believe she would have left by herself

Other friends spoke of the family in glowing terms, noting that Suzanne had been happy living in Colorado since moving to the state from Alexandria, Indiana, in July 2018

Police also have Barry's car and his cell phone  leaving the businessman and volunteer firefighter to communicate through his close friend George Davis, 33

Other friends spoke of the family in glowing terms, noting that Suzanne had been happy living in Colorado since moving to the state from Alexandria, Indiana, in July 2018

He said: She loves where she lives up in the mountains, she loves mountain biking and all that kind of stuff.

This is not a normal thing. Shes a very happy person. Any time you meet her, she walks up, talks to you and makes you feel welcome.

He has known Suzanne and her husband for two years since meeting them at a firefighter recruitment drive in Maysville.

Speaking about Morphew, he said: Its tough for him. Right now, as far as communications, he doesnt have his phone  its being relayed through firefighters and thats how were getting information.

Hes been trying to keep busy  he cant sit still and keep hoping something will show up.

Stehle added: Her familys wonderful, her daughters are wonderful. Its really sad that something like this has come to such a good family.

Unfortunately, now the girls feel partly to blame because if they hadnt taken their trip, maybe they would have been there and she wouldnt have gone out.

Barry's uncle told Fox21 that he believes his nephew is innocent, saying: 'Theyre a loving couple and Ive never seen any kind of unhappiness with each other or produced by either one of them.

'What you saw on that video from Barry the other day thats exactly Barry and thats exactly how he feels. He loves her and he wants her back, he wasnt putting on.

'I think anybody that ever knew them at any point in their married life would tell you that they were as loving of a couple as you would find anywhere.
A would-be Olympian committed to stand trial for the alleged rape of a fellow equestrian eventer has been charged with harassing the woman he is accused of assaulting.

Equestrian Callum Buczak, 28, and his longtime girlfriend Alexandra McDonough, 29, were this week charged along with two others people with stalking and harassing the trial's key witness, the woman he allegedly raped in 2019.

Callum Buczak (centre) leaves Melbourne Magistrates Court in October with long time girlfriend Alexandra McDonough (right). Credit:Erin Pearson

Earlier this year, Mr Buczak, from Pakenham Upper, was committed to stand trial in the County Court of Victoria after pleading not guilty to raping a woman.

Court documents released to The Age in October show police allege the rape occurred on a property at Frankston on February 28, 2019. The charge followed a five-month Victoria Police sex crimes investigation.
NETANYA, Israel, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE: CEL) (the "Company") announced today that Mr. Shlomi Fruhling, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, informed the Company of his intention to resign his position, in the near term, at a date yet to be determined.

Mr. Fruhling has served as the Company's CFO since 2013 and played a central role in leading the Company's vision to become a strong communications group and executing substantial strategic steps to make it actualize. During his tenure the Company revolutionized the Israeli TV when it entered that field, entered the internet infrastructure using fiber optic and the wholesale market, entered network sharing agreements with Golan and Xfone, purchased IBC's controlling stake, together with IIF, planned and executed a restructuring plan to fortify the Company's balance sheet and entered a binding MOU to purchase Golan. As CFO, Mr. Fruhling initiated and led extensive activity in the Israel capital market, including very successful private and public debt issuance, debentures exchange and future issuance of debentures, as well as capital issuance.

Mr. Avi Gabbay, the Company's CEO said: "I thank Shlomi for his pivotal contribution to all aspects of the Company's activities and to turning the Company from the largest cellular operator in Israel to a strong communications group."

About Cellcom Israel

Cellcom Israel Ltd., established in 1994, is a leading Israeli communications group, providing a wide range of communications services. Cellcom Israel is the largest Israeli cellular provider, providing its approximately 2.744 million cellular subscribers (as at December 31, 2019) with a broad range of services including cellular telephony, roaming services for tourists in Israel and for its subscribers abroad, text and multimedia messaging, advanced cellular content and data services and other value-added services in the areas of music, video, mobile office etc., based on Cellcom Israel's technologically advanced infrastructure. The Company operates an LTE 4 generation network and an HSPA 3.5 Generation network enabling advanced high speed broadband multimedia services, in addition to GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks. Cellcom Israel offers Israel's broadest and largest customer service infrastructure including telephone customer service centers, retail stores, and service and sale centers, distributed nationwide. Cellcom Israel further provides OTT TV services, internet infrastructure and connectivity services and international calling services, as well as landline telephone services in Israel. Cellcom Israel's shares are traded both on the New York Stock Exchange (CEL) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (CEL). For additional information please visit the Company's website http://investors.cellcom.co.il.

Company Contact

Shlomi Fruhling

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

Tel: +972-52-998-9735

Investor Relations Contact

Ehud Helft

GK Investor & Public Relations In partnership with LHA

[email protected]

Tel: +1-617-418-3096





SOURCE Cellcom Israel Ltd.

Related Links

https://www.cellcom.co.il


Law enforcement officers and hundreds of volunteers are scouring roads and woods in Ohio in search of a high school senior who vanished on Sunday morning just hours before her graduation.

Madison Bell, 18, was last seen leaving her home in Ross County on Sunday morning en route to a tanning salon on State Road 28 near Greenfield, but she never made it there.

Instead, Madison's mother later found her daughter's car abandoned in the parking lot of a church in Highland County. The vehicle was unlocked with the missing teen's phone inside and the keys still in the ignition.

Madison Bell, 18 (left and right), was last seen leaving her home in Ross County, Ohio, on Sunday night. She was heading to a tanning salon, but she never made it there

Bell's car was found abandoned with the keys still in the ignition in the parking lot of the Good Shepherd Church in Highland County (pictured)

Melissa Bell told reporters that images from a surveillance camera captured a white Nissan with California license plates and a tall Caucasian man in his late 20s or early 30s in the church parking lot prior to her daughter's arrival there.

Authorities were said to be looking into this lead as part of the missing person investigation.

Bell said she last saw Madison at home at 10.30am on Sunday before the senior left to go to her tanning appointment ahead of her graduation at McClain High School.

Tanning businesses had just reopened in Ohio last Friday following the coronavirus lockdown.

When Madison, known to her family and friends as 'Maddie,' did not return home after about an hour, her mother started texting and calling her, but received no response.

Madison's mother, Melissa Bell (left), and her boyfriend, Cody Mann (right), drove to the church and found her car unlocked, with her phone inside

Bell (pictured with her live-in boyfriend of five years, left), was set to graduate on Sunday afternoon. Her mother said she would not have missed it

Surveillance photos reportedly showed a white Nissan with California license plates and a man in his 20s or 30s in the parking lot prior to Bell's arrival

Madison's live-in boyfriend, Cody Mann, tried to contact her too, but without success.

Concerned that Madison may have gotten into a car accident, Bell and Mann drove to the Good Shepherd Church parking lot near the Corner Market tanning salon, where they found her car.

'The windows are up, we open the door, her phone is laying in it, her keys in the ignition, the change is in the container she had. The car was left unlocked,' the mother recounted to WHIO. 'She would never leave her car unlocked, she would never leave her phone in there.'

Bell said she tried to unlock Madison's phone but was unable to and handed it over to law enforcement.

Hundreds of volunteers have been looking for Bell and giving out flyers

Bell insisted her daughter would never leave her family and friends, especially during graduation week.

'She would always contact me even if she was going to be five minutes late,' the distraught mother said.

Cody Mann, Madison's boyfriend of five years, broke down in tears pleading for her safe return during an interview with Fox19.

'Shes the most loving girl Ive ever seen in my life. I mean, I cant even explain it... I just want her to come home,' he said through sobs.

More than 300 volunteers came out to search for Madison on Sunday and Monday, spending thousands of man-hours scouring trails and woods, and distributing flyers.

Madison Bell is described as a white female, weighing 120lbs and standing at 5 feet 6 inches in height, with brown eyes and brown hair. She has grey contact lenses, a cross tattoo on her neck, and a ghost tattoo on her side

Madison Bell is described as a white female, weighing 120lbs and standing at 5 feet 6 inches in height, with brown eyes and brown hair. She has grey contact lenses, a cross tattoo on her neck, and a ghost tattoo on her side.

She was last seen wearing a T-shirt, brown sandals, black leggings or Star Wars pants, and a black North Face Jacket.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Highland County Sheriffs Office at (937) 393-1421.
At least 1,179 deaths recorded on Tuesday as country reports third-highest number of cases behind Russia and US.

Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro said the health ministry would issue new guidelines on the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat the illness.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,983 people in Brazil, according to the latest data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus, behind Russia and the United States.

Brazils confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, taking the total to 271,628 people.

President Jair Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, has been widely criticised for his handling of the outbreak and his continued opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.





Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Pazuello took over after Health Minister Dr Nelson Teich resigned on Friday over the guidelines, making him the second trained doctor to leave the post in a month.

Questions over use of hydroxychloroquine

In an interview posted to the website Blog do Magno, Bolsonaro said Pazuello, an active duty army general who had been Teichs deputy, would sign the new hydroxychloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now.

Bolsonaro added that he keeps a box of the drug on hand should his 93-year-old mother need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure, told reporters on Tuesday that the US was considering a ban on travel from Brazil.

I dont want people coming over here and infecting our people. I dont want people over there sick either. Were helping Brazil with ventilators  Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.

At least 88 indigenous people have already died of COVID-19 in the Amazon, according to a tally by the Brazilian indigenous organisation APIB [Bruno Kelly/Reuters]

Meanwhile, as the disease, also known as COVID-19, reached remote indigenous lands in Brazils Amazon. But the government agency responsible for protecting native people brushed off calls for action, focusing instead on waging ideological battles, according to agents from the institution itself and others.

Bolsonaros repeated promotion of developing the vast Amazon has for months prompted indigenous activists, celebrities and agents on the ground to sound the alarm. In the face of a spreading pandemic they warn inaction could be enough to wipe out many indigenous people.

The Associated Press news agency spoke to four agents working with indigenous peoples in the farthest reaches of Brazils Amazon and they were unanimous in their conclusion: The national Indian foundation, known as FUNAI, is hardly doing anything to coordinate a response to the crisis.

They said there was not enough protective equipment for agents who entered indigenous territories or met native people in cities. Necessities like kerosene and gasoline were in short supply.





Food deliveries only began last week  a month after indigenous people were instructed to remain in their villages  and remain vastly insufficient.

Since the pandemics onset, there has been fear about the vulnerability of native people who live far from urban health facilities and whose communal lifestyles render them susceptible to swift transmission.

At least 88 indigenous people have already died of COVID-19 in the Amazon, according to a tally by the Brazilian indigenous organisation APIB that includes health ministry figures and information from local leaders.

The actual number is probably higher, because hospitals often do not use patients indigenous names when admitting them.

Brazils health ministry said in a statement that the hard-hit cities, where many indigenous people live like Tabatinga and Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, received some help on Monday including 10 more ventilators and 15,000 masks.
Gov. Phil Murphys use of the insult knuckleheads to bash alleged violators of his coronavirus-related restrictions has found its way to a T-shirt fundraiser by his political party.

The New Jersey Democratic State Committee announced it was selling the knucklehead themed shirts to raise money for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. First, the organization is having an online vote for peoples favorite design, and the winning design will be available for sale, with net proceeds going to the fund, according to the committee.

Were giving you the opportunity to get in on the fun while both spreading the word about social distancing and supporting a great cause, the organization said.

Murphy has repeatedly called out state residents who defy his orders, which he implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Accused violators include residents who allegedly hosted parties and other gatherings.

As state parks reopened earlier this month, Murphy reprised the phrase as a warning for cooped-up New Jerseyans to follow social distancing and other health guidelines as cases of the virus continued to grow.

Dont be a knucklehead, was also displayed on electric signs in the state.

Not everyone was amused by the governors message. Republican State Sen. Joe Pennacchio called the term flippant.

"It is disrespectful to the citizens of New Jersey who have  and will continue to  make hard sacrifices to stop the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, the Morris County senator said.

As of Tuesday, health officials reported 149,013 cases of the virus and at least 10,586 deaths.

We are excited to announce that the NJDSC is launching a "Dont be a Knucklehead" T-Shirt sale! All net proceeds will... Posted by New Jersey Democratic State Committee on Tuesday, May 19, 2020

ATTN KNUCKLEHEADS: KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE #FlattenTheCurve pic.twitter.com/S7OS3E5Klw  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 2, 2020

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.
Jailed property developer Ron Medich should face a retrial if his conviction for murdering Michael McGurk is overturned, the Court of Criminal Appeal has been told.

Medich, 72, was sentenced to at least 30 years' jail in 2018 after a jury found him guilty of the 2009 shooting murder of his business rival Mr McGurk and the subsequent intimidation of Mr McGurks widow Kimberley.

Jailed: Millionaire property developer Ron Medich pictured in 2018. Credit:AAP

Medich's former right-hand man Fortunato "Lucky" Gattellari had told the jury that Medich was "the big boss" who ordered and paid for the murder, which was carried out in Mr McGurk's driveway at Cremorne amid a series of legal stoushes between Mr McGurk and Medich.

Appeal documents, filed by Medich's lawyers, allege there was as an error in the admission of some evidence in the trial, errors in directions given by the trial judge, and three miscarriages of justice during the trial, including from the prosecutor's address to the jury.
The CW superhero series Batwoman is looking for a new lead after actor, Ruby Rose, decided to leave the show after just one season.

Rose played the title character of Batwoman, aka Kate Kane, a masked crime-fighter who cleans up the streets of Gotham City.

I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season, said the Australian actor in a statement.

This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles, she continued.

I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created.

Earlier this year, a crew member working on the series was paralysed from the waist down following an on-set accident.

Rose herself also herniated two discs in her back during filming, and had to undergo surgery or she would be risking paralysis. The statement announcing her departure contained no mention of the on-set accidents.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Stephanie Beatriz has already seemingly thrown her hat into the ring to take over from Rose.

Batwoman airs on E4 in the UK.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The coronavirus pandemic has placed a disproportionate burden of illness and death among racial groups and vulnerable populations. To help address this disparity are physicians who understand the role of social determinants in health and are deeply committed to caring for the most at-risk populations.

Training those physicians is the mission of the CUNY School of Medicine.

"What distinguishes our first-ever graduating class is that they have been specifically trained to address health inequities and improve the healthcare of the underserved," said Erica Friedman, MD, interim dean, CUNY School of Medicine. The medical school recently held its degree-conferring ceremony to it 45 graduates, many of whom have already begun volunteering at hospitals on the front-lines of the pandemic.

The school recruits underrepresented minorities directly from high school into a combined BA/MD program where they are specifically trained to address health inequities and improve the healthcare of the underserved. Once they receive their degree, they return to inner-city communities where they serve as primary care physicians.

Forty-eight percent of the School's inaugural graduates will pursue careers in primary care in New York area hospitals, a disproportionately higher percentage than the national average.

area hospitals, a disproportionately higher percentage than the national average. Seventy-five percent of this class come from African-American, Latinx, and Asian backgrounds, also significantly larger than the national medical school average.

More than 60 percent of the class are either from first-generation immigrant families or are immigrants themselves.

One student who is putting into practice her training as socially responsible healer is Ugochukwu (Ugo) Akpara.

Ugo recalls being a medical student in an internal medicine clerkship when she notice that a patient was acting strangely: shivering, sweating, and frequently excusing herself to go to the bathroom. The patient was at the hospital to have her pacemaker checked out, but the look in the woman's eyes pleaded: "Can I trust you?" Ugo drew on the communication skills that she learned at CUNY School of Medicine and discovered that not only was the woman undergoing withdrawal from heroin, but her husband was dying, her house was in foreclosure, and she was the sole caregiver for the children living with her. "Everything I learned about social determinants negatively impacting a person's health was right there in front of me, " she says. "These factors need to be addressed. That why I want to be in medicine. That's why I was given this knowledge."

In New York, African Americans make up 33% of COVID-19 hospitalizations. Yet black people are just 18% of the state's population, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also reported that, in New York City, death rates are significantly higher for Hispanics/Latinos than for whites.. In Illinois, 15% of the population is black, but 43% of those who died from COVID-19 were black. Michigan's population is about 14% black, yet black people accounted for 40% of that state's COVID-19 deaths.

"Our students are moving into the next phase of their careers at a defining moment for the medical profession," says Dr. Friedman. "They are the hope for the future of the healthcare profession raising their voices for those who don't have a voice and enlisting others to address inequality."

Media Contact: Marc Kaplan, [email protected], 646-244-2169

SOURCE CUNY School of Medicine
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website  when visited by a user  asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies  which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting  for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a sale of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
"Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!.."

"State of Nevada 'thinks' that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can't! If they do, 'I think' I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury"

- President Donald Trump, in May 20 tweets

The president has a dearth of credibility on election issues. He routinely cries "voter fraud" where none exists. He entertains so many election-flavored conspiracy theories, even the presidential race he won in 2016 has come under fire. And yet, he votes by mail. None of it makes much sense.

Wednesday morning, Trump claimed two states are breaking the law by allowing voters to mail in their ballots for upcoming elections, disregarding that Americans have been voting by mail for more than a century and that it's risky to vote in person during the coronavirus pandemic.

Michigan and Nevada are battlegrounds in the November elections, but they're not the only states planning to use absentee or mail-in ballots to mitigate the spread of covid-19. For some reason, Trump did not tweet similar threats to Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska or West Virginia, several states doing the same thing as Michigan (but where his reelection prospects are better).

States and local governments are in charge of running U.S. elections. Each jurisdiction has its own set of rules, but all states offer accommodations for voters who cannot make it to the polls. "In two-thirds of the states, any qualified voter may vote absentee without offering an excuse, and in one-third of the states, an excuse is required," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Michigan modified its rules two years ago and now lets registered voters cast absentee ballots for any reason, "a change which helped increase absentee voting in the March 10 presidential primary from 18% four years ago to 38% this year," according to the Detroit Free-Press.

In response to covid-19, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, D, announced this week that all 7.7 million registered voters in the state would receive applications for absentee ballots - not the ballots themselves, as Trump claimed - for elections in August and November. (More than six hours after his tweet, Trump deleted it and replaced it with one that said "absentee ballot applications.")

"No voter should have to choose between their health & their vote," Benson tweeted. "And every Michigan citizen has a right under our state constitution to vote by mail. With funding from the federal CARES act, I am ensuring every registered voter has the tools to conveniently exercise that right."

Documented instances of voter fraud are exceedingly rare in the United States. And the same is true with absentee voting, according to Richard Hasen, an elections expert at the University of California at Irvine. "Absentee ballot fraud is very rare - there were 491 prosecutions related to absentee ballots in all elections nationwide between 2000 and 2012, out of literally billions of ballots cast," Hasen wrote in an essay for The Washington Post.

Michigan is not alone, though the Free-Press reported that Benson's move might be challenged in court. Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska and West Virginia, where Republicans are in charge of elections, also are mailing absentee ballot applications to all registered voters.

"Personally, I don't really have an issue with absentee ballot request forms being sent out to voters as much as ballots being sent directly to voters," Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel told reporters Monday. "We are really against, when people talk about mail-in voting, the ballots being sent directly to people who may or may not want them or sent to all the registered voters even when their voter rolls have not been cleaned up."

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, R, has announced an all-mail election for the state's June 9 primary, but has not indicated similar plans for November. State law allows absentee voting for any reason.

Trump's tweets included a vague threat to pull funding from Michigan and Nevada. We asked the White House what legal authority he could use but received no response.

Michigan and Nevada already have received most of their funding under the Cares Act relief legislation. According to Treasury Department data, Michigan has been paid $3 billion of its $3.8 billion allocation, and Nevada has been paid $836 million from a $1.25 billion allocation.

It's not clear that more absentee voting in those states would hurt Trump's chances. Dave Wasserman, an elections analyst at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, tweeted that Michigan's move "quite possibly would *aid* his prospects by turning out more low-education whites."

In summary, add this one to the vast collection of Trump's phony claims about voter fraud and rigged elections. He once again gets a maximum Four Pinocchios.

Michigan isn't sending absentee ballots to all of its registered voters, as Trump claimed. The state is sending out applications for absentee ballots - the same as Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska and West Virginia - in a move that the RNC says is kosher.

Trump added the word "application" to a subsequent tweet, but it didn't salvage his claim.

Michigan and Nevada have laws in place to allow absentee voting. Neither Trump nor the White House could say which laws the states supposedly broke by mailing ballot applications or choosing to hold an all-mail primary.

Trump threatened to pull funding from the two states, but it's not clear that he has a legal avenue to do so and the White House didn't offer any explanation. Most of the Cares Act funding allocated to Michigan and Nevada is out the door already.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 17:34:44|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday asked the United States to stop playing political games at the UN Security Council over Syria's humanitarian crisis.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, firmly rejected the criticism launched by U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Kelly Craft.

In her interventions at a virtual Security Council meeting, Craft asked China to "validate its claims of global leadership in combating COVID-19" by supporting a Security Council resolution to allow the UN to combat the pandemic by delivering cross-border aid into Syria.

China has adopted a very constructive and responsible approach in dealing with the Syrian humanitarian issue, and provided active help, said Zhang, adding that China tried its best to bridge the differences among council members in order to find solutions to provide more humanitarian assistance to Syria.

As the world faces an unprecedented public health crisis posed by COVID-19, it is time to demonstrate solidarity, unity and cooperation. China urges the United States to stop playing political games and scapegoating and instead focus on combating the virus and saving lives, said Zhang.

China urges the United States to honor its obligations and responsibilities, and support the World Health Organization and the UN in their central role in coordinating an international response against the virus, he said.

China called on the United States to constructively engage in Security Council consultations and negotiations over a draft resolution over COVID-19 so that a resolution could be adopted as soon as possible, the envoy said.

China also urges the United States to immediately lift unilateral sanctions against a number of countries, and avoid bringing more harm to innocent people in those countries, he said.

Noting that China pays close attention to the humanitarian situation in Syria, Zhang said China welcomes the cease-fire appeals by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, and calls on all parties to enhance mutual trust and jointly safeguard the well-being of the Syrian people, said Zhang.

Relevant parties should enhance political dialogue, and remove all obstacles that hinder cross-line humanitarian access to the northwest and northeast of Syria. Cross-border aid was established as a contingency measure. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria must be respected under all circumstances, said Zhang. Enditem
Notice is hereby given of the annual general meeting of Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS or the Company). The annual general meeting will be held at the Companys offices in Karenslyst Alle 4, 1st floor, 0278 Oslo, Norway on 19 June 2020 at 12:00 local time.

Due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19), shareholders are encouraged to not physically attend the meeting. Rather, shareholders should consider exercising their shareholder rights through electronic advance voting in VPS or by completing the proxy form with voting instruction.



The calling notice is attached to this stock exchange notification, and will, together with all appendixes and the Companys annual report for 2019 be published on the Companys webpage www.emgs.com.



For further information, please contact:

Anders Eimstad, Chief Financial Officer, +47 948 25 836



About EMGS

EMGS, the marine EM market leader, uses its proprietary electromagnetic (EM) technology to support oil and gas companies in their search for offshore hydrocarbons. EMGS supports each stage in the workflow, from survey design and data acquisition to processing and interpretation. The Company's services enable the integration of EM data with seismic and other geophysical and geological information to give explorationists a clearer and more complete understanding of the subsurface. This improves exploration efficiency and reduces risks and the finding costs per barrel.



For more information, visit www.emgs.com





This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act

Attachment
A loud boom sound at 1:30 pm sent the residents of Bengaluru into tizzy. Many took to social media to wondering the reason behind the thundering noise that left the windows with a crackling sound.

The Headquarters Training Command of the Indian Air Force, Bengaluru had issued a statement that says, "No aircraft of Training Command was flying in the area. Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) and HAL could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times. These are done well beyond the city limits in specified sectors."

"However, considering the atmospheric conditions and reduced noise levels in the city during these times, the aircraft sound may become clearly audible even if it happened way out from the city," the IAF stated.

Sources within the defence establishments have said that since the issue is sensitive the IAF cannot go categorical beyond this. However, no official confirmation has been given on which fighter aircraft flew.

While the police commissioner, Bhaskar Rao has stated that no damage has been reported.

The sound was heard across BTM, Whitefield, Koramangala, HAL, Old Madras Road, Ulsoor, Kundanahalli, Kammanahalli, CV Raman Nagar, Whitefield and HSR Layout and Sarjapura.

In the afternoon some residents thought that the explosion could be of an earthquake.

However, the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre allayed the fear clarifying, "The activity reported in Bengaluru is not due to an Earthquake. The Seismometers did not capture any Ground Vibration as generally happens during a mild Tremor. The activity is purely a loud unknown noise."

Earthquake activity will not be restricted to one area and will be widespread. We have checked our sensors and there is no earthquake activity recorded today," says Srinivas Reddy, Director of KSNDMC.
As provinces reopen, some are taking a two-tiered approach, not only restricting the types of businesses that can resume operations, but staggering the dates for when they can reopen in cities hardest hit by the pandemic.

Ontario, though, is not one of them.

The government allowed a province-wide opening of retailers with street entrances as well as numerous other activities on Tuesday, including the reopening of off-leash dog parks.

I think in Ontario, for the premier to say were all in it together, its one set of rules... in actual fact, it doesnt serve anyone well, said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and an assistant professor at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto.

In the north, where there is very little community spread, they should be getting back to normal...and they should have been able to do so maybe even sooner, said Furness. In Toronto, its the opposite. Were starting to open up and we have no business doing so...we have too much community spread.

Furness says he has no problem with outside activities, where people can social distance, but thinks that retailers could pose a problem since without adequate testing we are unsure of community spread.

Heres whats happening with COVID-19 numbers as lockdowns start to lift:

Quebec and Alberta

In comparison, Quebec, which has more than 40,000 cases, staggered its reopening, allowing businesses outside Montreal  the epicentre of the pandemic in the province  to resume operations before allowing stores in Greater Montreal to reopen on May 25.

In Quebec theyve taken a very intelligent approach, said Furness, which says theres swathes of the province which are very safe. And then theres Montreal, which is the opposite. Why dont we have at least two different timetables to reopen.

Montreal is the site of about half of the provinces confirmed cases of COVID-19. The GTA has two-thirds of Ontarios confirmed cases.

Alberta is also taking a cautious approach, allowing retailers, museums, restaurants, hair salons, daycares and bars to reopen on May 14, but not in Calgary and Brooks, the two cities hardest hit in the province.

There, customers hoping to take a seat at a bar, or get a hair cut, will have to wait until May 25.

Since reopening on May 14, Alberta has seen a decline in daily new cases and ICU admissions have remained steady, said Tom McMillan, a spokesperson for Alberta Health, in an email.

But the viruss two-week incubation period means it is too early to determine how Stage 1 is unfolding, he said and there are still outbreaks at long-term-care facilities.

We are watching the situation closely. As we move forward, there may be times we need to step back, said McMillan.

Testing in the hardest hit provinces

British Columbia entered phase two of its reopening on Tuesday and B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province had bent the curve, according to media reports.

The provinces success came from early testing, strong testing, and strong contact tracing in January and February which continued even into March, said Caroline Colijn, a professor of mathematics at Simon Fraser University, widening testing to anyone symptomatic, relatively early. Colijn is also a Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Infection, Evolution and Public Health.

The province managed outbreaks in long-term-care facilities by ensuring that staff only worked at one facility, said Colijn.

Meanwhile, Ontario was flat-footed when it came to testing and still isnt testing widely in the general population.

Our testing is very limited in Ontario, limited and apparently shrinking, said Furness in reference to the low reported number of tests on Monday. We have a very poor understanding of how many cases there are there. So the case count that we have every day doesnt tell you how much COVID there is in Ontario or Toronto.

It tells you how much testing weve done, So the true number of cases? We have no idea.

Furness said the province has no business opening without having some sense of what the background prevalence is.

Quebec had high numbers of tests early on in the pandemic, but Furness said part of the problem was that the province was hit very hard with a lot of virus really early on. When you look how an epidemic spreads, a few days a week can make all the difference between stomping it out and having it go out of control.

Both he and Colijn say the timing of the March break in some provinces could have played a role in the pandemic.

Quebec had their break from March 2 to 9. Ontarios started two weeks later.

A lot of people travelled to the States, came back infected, said Furness. We all closed around the same time. But Ontario closed before March break. (Quebec) closed after. Just that could explain a lot of the very unfortunate narrative.
HIGHLAND COUNTY, Ohio  Ohio police and volunteers continued searching for an 18-year-old woman who went missing Sunday morning after she told her mother she was going to a tanning appointment.

Highland County Sheriff's deputies were called to Greenfield, Ohio, after Madison Bell, a high school senior, failed to make it to her appointment. Bell's mother reported that she last saw Madison at their home in Ross County.

Bell's car was found nearby the tanning salon in the parking lot of a church. Her keys were in the ignition and her cell phone was in the car, according to reports from WBNS and Fox19.

Cody Mann, who is Bell's boyfriend, told a local Fox affiliate he has gotten little sleep since Bell's disappearance. Shes the most loving girl Ive ever seen in my life. I mean, I cant even explain it ... I just want her to come home," he said.

Each day that passes makes it even harder, Melissa Bell, Madison's mother, told Fox19.

A poster from the Highland County Sheriff's Office

According to Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera, investigators were looking into a white vehicle with California license tags parked in the church lot where Bell's car was found.

Madison Bell is described as 5 feet, 6 inches and weighing between 120 and 125 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

She also wears gray contact lenses, has a cross tattoo on her neck, and a ghost tattoo on her side.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio high school senior Madison Bell missing after car found at church
MIDLAND, MI - City of Midland officials held a press conference the afternoon of Wednesday, May 20, providing updates on the status of city infrastructure and services during the flood caused by the Edenville Dam collapse.

City Manager Brad Kaye did most of the talking. The city has had many floods before, but has never been through something like this, he said.

The rain event was one thing, Kaye said, referring to heavy rains Monday and early Tuesday that flooded many parts of mid-Michigan. To top that, however, the addition was the failure of the dam system upstream... All of the water from Wixom Lake is going to be coming down the river valley, and will come through the City of Midland.

The situation with the downriver Sanford Dam is more complicated, Kaye said. He considers the dam as having failed, but its impossible to tell at the moment whether its still intact.

The waters coming at us, and thats close enough to call it a failure, Kaye said. What were not entirely sure of what the structure under that water is, in other words how much of it is gone, how much of it is still there. That will in part dictate how the flood responds from this point forward.

The flood is now expected reach its peak height around 9 p.m. Wednesday night, rising about three feet higher than current levels, Kaye said. He encouraged the community to stay vigilant, saying those living near the edge of the water could be entirely underwater in the next few hours.

The important point that I really want to stress... Is that this is not over, Kaye said. Its a bright sunny day. For those of you that are Midlanders that have been here in the past, you know that every time we flood, it seems to be a bright, sunny, cloudless day... that doesnt mean its over. It doesnt mean that things arent going to get worse than they are right now.

There have been very serious effects across the city so far, Kaye said. The lower level of the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library flooded in 2017, causing about $1 million in damage, and it has flooded again. Staff are working to remove and protect materials. The city is looking at another costly renovation, he said.

The water system has not breached or shut down anywhere in the city, Kaye said. The city doesnt expect to shut off water to any homes at this time. The sewer system, however, is not fairing as well. Four pumping stations are underwater and now shut down, blocking parts of the city from treatment and likely causing backups.

The MidMichigan Medical Center - Midland hospital is within one of those areas, Kaye said. It has not been evacuated and continues to operate, and the city hopes it wont have to shut down or evacuate the building.

Power is still down in much of the city. Officials continue to work with Consumers Energy as part of its emergency response, Kaye said.

Some of our fire stations are on limited power right at the moment, Kaye said.

The Riverside Place Senior Living Community, located at 400 E Main St., was fully evacuated Tuesday night, Kaye said. Most of the residents are staying with family, but about 100 had to be sent to shelters, mostly to Midland High School. Some will be picked up and taken in by family, but some will have to stay at the shelter through the emergency, he said.

Some evacuees have opted to stay in their cars outside rather than in the shelters, Kaye said, largely out of COVID-19 concerns.

Understandable, but certainly not the type of ongoing living arrangement or accommodation that we would prefer people to have, particularly when some of them are elderly and in frail health, Kaye said.

The Midland High School shelter has been showered with community donations, to the point where it is oversupplied with food. Officials are trying to shuttle some supplies to other shelters, but the current state of the roads makes this difficult. Kaye asked residents to reach out to United Way before making donations so the supplies can go where theyre needed most.

Many roads in and out of the city are closed, as they are underwater and unsafe, Kaye said. Some are difficult to traverse, some are impossible. He encouraged residents to stay off the roads if they can.

Theres simply no reason to put yourself at harm, or to put our first-responders and emergency providers at harm, by thinking you can make it through that water," Kaye said.

The city is working with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to get a FEMA disaster declaration, in addition to declarations at the city, county and state level.

This is critical, because thats quite frankly where the money to help people who will be financially burdened from this flood will be able, potentially at least, to access funding," Kaye said.

Kaye thanked residents for their response and encouraged them to continue following safety precautions.

Make sure you stay both safe and healthy, Kaye said.

Read more:

Gov. Whitmer addresses Midland after dam break and flooding: Were gonna get through this'

Feds warned years ago Edenville Dam couldnt handle a historic flood

Flash flood warning canceled for central Midland County
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

With the support of the Produce in Georgia State Agency, Georgian natural juice Kampa will be exported to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Trend reports citing the agency.

Meanwhile, from the beginning of the year, the Georgian Kampa company exported 20,000 liters of juice to Azerbaijan and three containers of products to China.

The company established business relations with Chinese partners during one of the largest international exhibitions China Import Expo, and held negotiations with Azerbaijani buyers at the international exhibition of products, drinks, equipment for the hotel-restaurant business and culinary Gulfood 2020, which was held in February 2020 in Dubai.

Kampa plans to export three more containers to Azerbaijan and China in early June.

The Georgian company is also in talks with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to start exporting to these countries.

Kampa, which has been operating in Georgia's Saguramo village since 2008, produces natural juices and nectars.

The Produce in Georgia program was set up in the summer of 2014 to stimulate local production and offers two main incentives: financial resources and infrastructure (land, buildings, etc.). In April 2017, the agency of the same name was created, which combined all state programs aimed at promoting the business sector and economic development of the country.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
Oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids is of importance in both organic chemistry and chemical industry because the oxidation products can be used to prepare various pharmaceuticals and useful chemicals. Photocatalytic oxidation process has been considered as a sustainable technology to achieve the selective oxidation under ambient conditions with irradiation from solar light. To develop superior photocatalysts with a broad-range of light absorption and efficient electron-hole separation, surface modification with metal nanoparticles such as Au and Pt allow for the fast transfer of photoexcited electrons to the surface active sites. Therefore, bimetallic Au and Pt catalysts would be desirable by combining the advantages of both surface plasmonic resonance effect on Au and activation effect on Pt to further enhance the efficiency for catalytic oxidation under visible light irradiation.

Hollow structured materials have shown great potential in a variety of applications, including catalysis, drug release and delivery, and energy storage and conversion. High specific surface area and discrete voids afford abundant accessible surface sites and immobilization of reactive centers for catalytic reactions. More reactant molecules can be adsorbed and enriched within the hollow structure to accelerate reactions. However, it remains challenge to develop a facile and mild synthetic method to simultaneously create efficient hollow photocatalytic nanoreactor with ordered porous channels on the shell, well-controlled metal location, broad-spectrum utilization and well-controlled mass transfer and diffusion.

In a new research article published in the Beijing-based National Science Review, scientists at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Surrey,University of Technology Sydney and The University of Sydney demonstrated a facile synthesis of hollow-structured photocatalysts with controllable spatial location of active metals, chemical compositions and tunable shell thickness. Hollow structures can be achieved through coating SiO2 on the surface of ZIF-8 and a subsequent hydrothermal treatment. The formation mechanism of hollow structure is systematically investigated and a "adhesive-contraction" model is proposed. AuPt@HMZS nanoreactors exhibited broader absorbance region under visible light and excellent catalytic activity in cinnamyl alcohol oxidation to cinnamic acid with 99% selectivity.

AuPt@HMZS nanoreactors has the following advantages: i) Broader absorbance region under visible light; ii) Multiple light scattering can be generated within a hollow void to enhance light-harvesting process and heat generated by the photo-thermal effect is collected; iii) The uniform channels are excellent to facilitate the reactant diffusion and mass transfer; iv) A synergetic effect among plasmonic hot electron injection and electron trapping improves solar energy utilization and electron-hole separation of photocatalysts; v) The strong metal-metal interactions at the alloy interface tune the reaction performance. "The proposed strategy to build hollow structures as multifunctional micro/nanoreactors is promising for the design of high-performance and sustainable catalysts for chemical synthesis." Prof. Jian Liu said. "It is an amazing technology for construction of micro/nanoreactors with precise spatial location of active sites" Prof. Jun Huang added.

###

This research received funding from the Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (DNL) Cooperation Fund, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects and the SOAR Fellowship from the University of Sydney.

See the article:

Hao Tian, Jinhui Zhao, Xinyao Wang, Lizhuo Wang, Hao Liu, Guoxiu Wang, Jun Huang, Jian Liu and G Q (Max) Lu

Construction of hollow mesoporous silica nanoreactors for enhanced photo-oxidations over Au-Pt catalysts

Natl Sci Rev 2020; doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa080

a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa080">https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa080

The National Science Review is the first comprehensive scholarly journal released in English in China that is aimed at linking the country's rapidly advancing community of scientists with the global frontiers of science and technology. The journal also aims to shine a worldwide spotlight on scientific research advances across China.
One has to wonder, do those on the left, including the media, actually think Joe Biden is a viable candidate for president? Do they not realize that Nancy Pelosi is as senile as Joe? Like Joe, she often slurs her words, suffers brain freezes mid-sentence, and spews gibberish. Biden is a lifelong corruptocrat, a known plagiarist, a pathological liar, and a truly mean and evil man. You can catch a glimpse of just how mean in the film about Clarence Thomas; it was Biden who grilled him mercilessly during the hearings over Anita Hill's phony allegations. Biden is a racist as well. Pelosi is a lifelong power-mad lunatic. She has allowed her own district to dissolve into a homeless camp with all the attendant problems  discarded needles, feces on the streets and sidewalks, and an ever-escalating crime wave. Smash-and-grab car burglaries occur by the minute in San Francisco, and there are no consequences for the perpetrators if caught. Like Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Pelosi and her husband are millionaires several times over; they've become rich because both have been in Congress for so many years. They all get rich on insider information. Joe Biden goes farther; we all know he used a billion dollars in U.S. aid as leverage to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired because he was investigating his son. John Kerry was in on that bit of bribery. He is as low a form of life as Biden.

And yet, at the moment, Biden is their candidate, and Pelosi is their speaker, who embarrasses herself every time she opens her mouth, as does Biden. Both of them belong in a long-term care facility for the aged. That the Democrats consider either of these pols a credit to their party is proof of their willful blindness. Why do they not see what everyone outside of their party can see? That these two people are way past their sell-by date. How is Joe going to debate President Trump? He is unable to utter a coherent sentence or answer a simple question. Pelosi submitted a $3-trillion spending bill that is simply a joke. Biden has vowed to pick a woman as his running mate. Woe be unto him if he doesn't.

As for the left's "believe all women" mantra, that went out the window the moment Tara Reade accused Biden of sexual assault. Reade's allegations are infinitely more credible than Christine Blasey Ford's fabricated accusations against a high schoolaged Brett Kavanaugh, but Democrats are so self-unaware that they don't recognize their own gross hypocrisy. This time, Reade is "making it up." See Ami Horowitz's recent video. Blasey Ford most likely never met Justice Kavanaugh. Reade did work in Biden's office, did report his behavior and tell others at the time. But the Dems believed Blasey Ford and don't believe Reade. Go figure. Denial is a dangerous and mystifying psychological defense mechanism, and the Democrat party is in denial about the mental capacity of its two most prominent "leaders."

Donald Trump has warned our federal government about the dangers China represents to the U.S. since the 1980s. He was right, and since he took office, he has tried to rectify the horrific trade imbalance. No one can refute the fact that China purposely unleashed the COVID virus upon the world, but Nancy Pelosi calls Trump's focus on China "a diversion." Is she really that clueless? Probably not, but destroying Trump is far more important to her than protecting America. Her comments about Trump's use of hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic are outrageous. It is the most effective drug at the moment, used all over the world. And Trump is not "morbidly obese." She, however, is morbidly botoxed and has undergone so much plastic surgery that she resembles a character from the film Death Becomes Her. She is a ghoul in every sense of the word, but the left seems not to realize it. Leftists celebrate how she wields her power. That is what they admire; it's the only thing they admire in anyone. They just cannot abide it in a Republican, especially when they were so certain that Hillary was going to win the 2016 election and they would all be in fat city. They would have been all-powerful. They would have had control of all the levers of power in this country. And being the spoiled children they are, to this day, they cannot accept that defeat, especially to an outsider like Trump. They love to mock him, to call him stupid, but he has them all by the short hairs and runs rings around their collective body of NeverTrumps.

To be sure, Biden and Pelosi have their devoted fans who are so blinded by their hatred of Trump and their thoroughly unwarranted hero-worship of Biden and Pelosi that they mistakenly think they are normal and healthy but both are seriously in need of an intervention. Why Jill Biden allows Joe's candidacy to continue is a cruelty, a form of elder abuse. As for Pelosi, where are her five kids telling her it is time to retire? Of course the lady of iron will would refuse but how much longer can her infirmities be on public display? Only time will tell but it seems pretty likely Trump has the election in the bag. Biden is the weakest candidate the democrat party has run since George McGovern and McGovern was a decent man; Biden is not. As for Pelosi, her district is so damaged, so depressed, they will likely re-elect her and keep her in office until she is 100% wax-ready for Madame Tussaud's.

Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of images by Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, and USFWS, public domain.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to give an interview for State Department Inspector General Steve Linicks investigation into a massive Saudi arms sale deal before asking President Donald Trump to fire the watchdog, Al-Monitor has learned.

We are aware that he refused to give an interview in the inquiry about the arms sales, a Democratic aide on Capitol Hill told Al-Monitor.

Pompeo refused to disclose the reason he asked Trump to fire Linick during a press briefing today but denied that it was an act of retaliation over any investigations.

I have no sense of what investigations were taking place inside the inspector generals office, Pompeo told reporters. Ive seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. Its all just crazy.

However, he noted that he responded to a series of questions in writing regarding "a particular investigation. He did not specify what that investigation concerned and did not respond to a reporters question on the Saudi arms sales issue while leaving the briefing.

Aside from Linicks query into Saudi arms sales, Linick was reportedly investigating allegations that Pompeo had used security staff to conduct personal chores.

Why it matters: Although Pompeo refused to cooperate with the inspector generals investigation into the last years $8 billion deal to sell Raytheon-made precision-guided missiles and combat aircraft to the Saudis and Emiratis, the secretary was integral in Trumps decision to invoke emergency powers to proceed with the deal. The Trump administration justified the emergency declaration by citing Iran, which is backing Yemens Houthi rebels fighting the Saudi-led coalition.

Even some of Trumps closest allies in Congress rebuked him for the emergency sale. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Todd Young, R-Ind., joined Democrats in introducing a series of resolutions to block the sale. While the moves to block the sale narrowly cleared the Republican-held Senate, Trump vetoed the measures.

Whats next: Another Trump ally, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has also asked the president to explain why he fired Linick by June 1. The chairman and the top Democrat on the House and Senate Foreign Affairs panels  Eliot Engel of New York and Bob Menendez of New Jersey  have set a shorter deadline, demanding that the Trump administration give Congress all records related to Linicks firing by Friday.

Know more: Congressional correspondent Bryant Harris obtained the original memo that the Trump administration used to justify the emergency arms sale last year. The State Departments Iran coordinator, Brian Hook, appeared to contradict that justification months later by downplaying Irans influence over the Houthis. The White House has also withheld information from the Government Accountability Offices investigation into Saudi nuclear negotiations.
About 11,000 people in central Michigan were told to evacuate their homes after rapidly rising water overwhelmed dams, creating what the National Weather Service called a "life-threatening situation."

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the destruction in Midland County caused by the failures of the Edenville and Sanford dams was "devastating," and waters were expected to continue to rise until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The Tittabawassee River is expected to crest at 38 feet in Midland on Wednesday night. By 5:30 a.m., it had broken the record of 33.9 feet set during a 500-year flood event in 1986. At 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the river level was 35.013 feet and rising with an expected crest of 38 feet around 8 p.m.

The US Geological Survey said it was installing a temporary stream gage to the river because the one there only has an operating limit that is 36.5 feet.

Midland City Manager Brad Kay warned that even though the sun was out Wednesday, residents should not let their guard down. "This is not over," he said. "Don't take it easy."

"Continue to take this seriously," Whitmer said Wednesday afternoon. "If you are in an impacted area and not done so yet, please get somewhere safe."

Image: Michigan flooding (Jake May / The Flint Journal via AP)

The governor recognized that traveling and staying in a shelter was not ideal as the state continued to try to slow the spread of coronavirus. "This is almost unthinkable in the midst of a global pandemic. Continue to wear a face covering if you are going to a shelter. Please try to observe social distancing. I know it's going to be hard at a shelter, but please try," she said.

Kay said some people who had evacuated to shelters Tuesday night slept in their cars in the parking lots.

"Its hard to believe that we're in the midst of a 100-year crisis  a global pandemic  and a flooding event that looks to be the worst in 500 years," Whitmer said Wednesday.

No fatalities or significant injuries have been reported, according to a statement from the City of Midland, and a "10,000 person evacuation has gone as well as something like this can go," the governor said.

Story continues

But some residents had lost power, the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library had taken on water, many roads were flooded and some sewer services had been affected, according to the city.

The governor declared a state of emergency Tuesday night and said she had asked the federal government for assistance, and President Donald Trump was expected to visit Thursday.

Trump said in a tweet that he was closely monitoring the flooding and had sent military and FEMA teams to the area.

The Michigan National Guard said it would supply more 200 Soldiers and equipment throughout Wednesday.

Whitmer said Tuesday night that downtown Midland could end up under 9 feet of water. "We are anticipating an historic high water level.

Dow Chemical Co.'s main plant sits on the downtown Midland's riverbank. A spokeswoman said the plant has activated its emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of flood stage conditions, and Whitmer said so far the precautions were working.

Many families who lived in the area had been told to evacuate their homes twice in 24 hours.

Emergency responders went door to door early Tuesday morning warning residents living near the Edenville Dam of the rising water. Some residents were able to return home, only to be told to leave again following the dam's breach several hours later. The evacuations include the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of Midland, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for Midland County.

We were back at home and starting to feel comfortable that things were calming down, said Catherine Sias, who lives about a mile from the Edenville Dam and first left home early Tuesday morning. All of a sudden, we heard the firetruck sirens going north toward the dam.

Sias, 45, said emergency alerts then began coming on her cellphone and people started calling to make sure she was safe.

While packing, there were tons of police and firetrucks going up and down the roads, she added. As far as I know, all of our neighbors got out.

While driving along a jammed M-30, the state highway thats the main road through Edenville and which crosses the river north of town, Sias saw the rushing Tittabawassee River. It was very dramatic, very fast and full of debris, she said.

Both the Edenville and the Sanford dams were rated high hazards in 2018, according to the National Inventory of Dams.

We have a large crowd of elderly residents at MHS tonight. Tough to see them go through this. Many school and community members assisting them. pic.twitter.com/NvAOvMpcqv  Michael Sharrow (@MichaelSharrow2) May 20, 2020

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam due to noncompliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.

Flood warnings in Michigan were issued following widespread rainfall of as much as 8 inches between Sunday and Tuesday, according to the weather service. Heavy runoff pushed rivers higher.

The evacuations in Michigan followed days of heavy rains in parts of the Midwest that also brought flooding to northwestern Indiana, Chicago and other parts of Illinois, Ohio and other states.

On Wednesday, threats of torrential rain will move through back through Ohio and also south through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Regions through all the states are under flash flood watches, but western North Carolina faces the greatest threat.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:51:48|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

WINDHOEK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Namibia will temporarily discontinue white maize imports starting June 1 until the local harvest has been taken up and partially milled, the Namibian Agronomic Board (NAB) announced Wednesday.

NAB CEO Fidels Mwazi informed mahangu processors that their import permits will only be valid until June 30.

Mahangu, commonly known as pearl millet, is an ancient crop indigenous to Africa. Unlike exotic maize and wheat, pearl millet is a hardy local grain able to grow in areas of low soil fertility and high temperature, in soils with high salinity and low pH.

"Due to good rainfall experienced in most of the production zones, a total of 3,000 tons is expected to be marketed to millers and silos during this upcoming marketing season," Mwazi said.

Mahangu is mainly produced in the northern regions of Zambezi, Kavango East and West, Ohangwena, Oshikoto, Oshana and Omusati.

According to recent estimates by the NAB, the projected local white maize demand for the next six months in Namibia stands at 70,000 metric tons while the expected harvest to be marketed to processors and silos by Namibian producers stands at 64,039 metric tons.

The projected local mahangu formal market demand for the next six months stands at 1,800 metric tonnes with Namibian producers expected to market 1,823 metric tonnes to processors.

The NAB said millers refusing to take up maize from producers during the restricted import period will not be given import permits and producers are requested to report such cases to the NAB. Enditem
Press Release

May 20, 2020 Sen. Angara on the House of Rep's action on ABSCBN We have to respect the action of a co-equal house. We don't know the reason for the abrupt u-turn in direction. We can only appeal to fellow legislators to consider the plight of thousands of employees as they debate the issuance of a legislative franchise. It's quite difficult for people to find jobs with the economic downturn. That's something we legislators have the power to address.
Japan's defence ministry is investigating a possible leak of details of a new state-of-the-art missile in a large-scale cyber attack on Mitsubishi Electric Corp, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The ministry suspects hackers stole performance requirements that were sent to several defence-industry companies as part of the bidding process for the project, the Asahi reported, citing government sources whom it did not identify. Mitsubishi Electric did not win the bid for the prototype, the newspaper said.

Mitsubishi Electric said it was investigating the report but had no other immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. The defence ministry also did not provide an immediate comment.

The missile is of a type in use by countries including the United States, China and Russia, which flies at supersonic speeds over long distances and can pass through enemy missile defence networks to make precision strikes, the newspaper said. Japan has been researching such missiles since fiscal 2018, it said.

Among the leaked details may have been range, propulsion and heat resistance, according to the newspaper.
EU Council approves EUR 1.2 bln assistance to Ukraine

18:30, 20.05.20 5439

This is part of a wider assistance package to neighboring partners
Independent TD for Laois-Offaly Carol Nolan has welcomed confirmation from the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton, that hedgerows, which are not currently included in the calculation of Irelands compliance with emissions targets to 2020, will be included from 2021.

Deputy Nolan was speaking after the Minister further assured her in a written reply to a Parliamentary Question that emissions and removals of greenhouse gases associated with land-based activities will be integrated into the EU framework for compliance with national emissions targets from 2021 onwards:

There has been ample evidence both nationally and internationally that hedgerows can and do play a vital role in terms of carbon sequestration.

"In fact, we know from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) figures that emissions from the agriculture sector contributes about 34% to the overall level of national emissions; but this excludes the sequestration potential of hedgerows.

"This does not make any sense either from a scientific or common-sense point of view.

"Teagasc itself has long recognised that hedgerows are potentially valuable sinks within the national agricultural carbon budget.

"It would have been ludicrous then to have gone on insisting that the estimated 689,000km of hedgerows in Ireland be excluded from our carbon calculations.

"Many of us have put long argued that the current carbon sequestration methodology must be expanded.

"I am glad to see that is finally going to happen.

"We must now ensure that the land map that is being currently developed by the EPA is ready for the start of 2021, so that a more accurate reflection on the role of rural Ireland in sequestration emerges.
Criminal defense lawyer Matthew Ellis defeated controversial veteran prosecutor Eric J. Nisley to serve as Wasco Countys next district attorney.

"The people of Wasco County mandated a change in their district attorneys office,'' Ellis said Tuesday night. "The law needs good people on both sides of the law, defense and prosecution. Wasco County should be proud to have both.''

Partial results as of 9 p.m. showed Ellis with 72 percent of the vote.

Ellis, 40, a native of Alaska, has worked as a criminal defense attorney in Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler counties for the last seven years.

Nisley, first appointed to the seat in 1998 by Gov. John Kitzhaber, faced a cloud of controversy as he sought re-election for a sixth term. This was the first time he faced an opponent.

Nisley had his law license suspended for 60 days earlier this year for lying to state bar investigators about an investigation he pursued into a loan made by a county finance director.

When Nisleys suspension took effect Feb. 10, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum removed him from his elected office, cut off his pay and didnt allow him to return to office unless re-elected. An attorney from the state Department of Justice has been running the office since that day. Nisley is contesting his removal from office.

Ellis, who lives in Hood River, said in campaign video ads, "I am running to restore integrity and public confidence in this important part of our justice system.''

Matthew Ellis has defeated longtime Wasco County District Attorney Eric J. Nisley.

Ellis grew up in Washington and Georgia, graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas before attending University of Oregon law school. During law school and after graduating, he interned at the Alaska Public Defenders and Federal Public Defenders as well as Alaskas Office of Public Advocacy.

Admitted to the Alaska bar, Ellis worked as an independent contractor, assisting with court-appointed criminal cases. He spent time in Washington, D.C., assisting the U.S. Department of Justice in a federal civil prosecution. He returned to Oregon and settled into a practice working as a criminal defense and juvenile law attorney, taking both privately retained and court-appointed cases.

Nisley, by Wednesday morning, wrote on his campaign Facebook page, "All the money from Portland swung the election here. It is a sad day for Wasco County. Please recycle your lawn signs. I appreciate very much the amazing support from everyone in Wasco County.''

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Subscribe to Facebook page

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
The Northern Center for Contemporary Art (NCCA) in Darwin, Northern Territory (NT) on Friday, May 15 became the first Australian art gallery to reopen its doors to the public.

Switching the Arts Back on - priNT 2020, a group exhibition of work by printmakers from the NT, Australia and Germany, opened midday Friday to an enthusiastic Darwin art community who during the event maintained safe social distancing.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of Australian art and cultural institutions when the strict nationwide lockdown began on March 23. And while many artists have reveled in this period of isolation, remaining busy in their studios, critical facets of the art infrastructure, namely galleries, museums and institutions have had to initiate solutions to stay relevant to the community.

The NCCA was given approval for the exhibition by the NT Government and the Federal Government as the Northern Territory has had no coronavirus deaths. There has been no community transmission and the smallest number of affected persons in Australia, all of who came from overseas or interstate, said Colin McDonald QC, a member of the board and former chair of the NCCA. The NCCA board and the curator Mats Unden were proactive in organizing this exhibition, timing the reopening strategically in following with the decision of the government to relieve some of the restrictions.

Twenty-nine people attended the opening in accordance with the government limits set on social gatherings and were delighted to be participants in this historic event, added McDonald who said that many other people also wished to attend the opening.

The NCCA reopening is a positive and significant sign that Australia has embarked upon the long process to returning society to some sense of normality, and that some art institutions during this period of uncertainty have been sensitive and dynamic in their response to the governments outlook on easing restrictions.

During the period of lockdown and social isolation, we are reminded of the enduring importance of art and artists in our society, stated NCCA chairman Alastair Shields during his welcome speech at Fridays opening. Art is the creation of our imagination and our freedom of expression and has been a harmonizing influence on societies over history. Art has a vital role in maintaining confidence in our world today.

Dubbed "the hottest gallery in the world", because patrons often sweltered in the gallery during the notoriously hot Northern Territory wet season days, the NCCA opening also celebrated the occasion by switching on its new air-conditioning system. In doing so, the gallery realized a long-held dream to make its venue more comfortable to the public while enjoying art. NT minister for the arts, the Honourable Lauren Moss, officially switched on the new air conditioning after her opening remarks.

Switching the Arts Back on - priNT 2020 highlights the important role printmaking techniques play in many visual artists' practices, said curator Mats Unden. The show features an array of innovative printmaking techniques and approaches to this ancient art form such as linocuts, etchings, screen and silkscreen prints, monoprints, woodblock prints, relief prints and Mokulito (wood lithography).

The subject matter exhibited includes landscapes and abstract pictures, along with collages and installation works. A highlight is a series of six sociopolitical-themed screen prints by Franck Gohier that ridicule the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his stance on issues such as coal mining, working-class voters and a free press in Australia. Aboriginal artist Naminnapu Maymuru-White also exhibits a series of screen prints.

The next exhibition at NCCA running from mid-July to mid-August 2020 will be Artists Camp Retrospective Exhibition, a retrospective of works by Indonesian contemporary artists from the Artists Camp, an ongoing project that has a history dating back to 1978.

The project, run by the NCCA with the support of the government of the Northern Territory, invites Indonesian and international artists to the pristinely beautiful and culturally rich Top End of the Northern Territory to interpret aboriginal culture and the landscape.

The exhibition will include works by Made Budhiana, Wayan Wirawan, Ni Nyoman Sani, Gede Gunada, Suryani, Made Sudibia, Dewa Rata Yoga, Dalbo Suarimbawa and Australian artist Rupert Bertheras along with renown Aboriginal artists from the Top End.

Switching the Arts Back on - priNT 2020 continues through until June 15. (kes)
The two men and Mr. Ghosn then boarded a bullet train to Osaka, where they entered a hotel room where Michael Taylor and Mr. Zayek had brought two large boxes that looked like they were for audio equipment, the U.S. attorneys office filing said. Mr. Ghosn hid in one of the boxes, and two men smuggled the luggage through security at a private jet terminal and onto a plane bound for Turkey, the documents said. From Turkey, Mr. Ghosn boarded another plane to Lebanon, according to media reports and a person familiar with the details of the escape.

The U.S. attorneys office has asked the court to detain the Taylors until they can be turned over to Japanese custody, saying they pose an enormous risk for flight.

The very offense for which Michael Taylor is charged in Japan demonstrates his aptitude for hatching escape plans on a grand scale, the U.S. authorities wrote. Michael Taylor is not just capable of fleeing while on bond  he is an expert in the subject.

The Taylors made an initial court appearance via Zoom on Wednesday afternoon from Norfolk County, Mass., where they are being held. They sat next to each other, wearing bright orange uniforms and beige masks. For much of the proceeding, Michael Taylor kept his arms folded, while Peter Taylor sat with his hands clasped in his lap.

Mr. Ghosn is beyond the reach of Japanese authorities while he is in Lebanon because the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. Mr. Ghosn is a Lebanese national, and the country does not extradite its citizens.

But the Taylors could very well end up in Tokyo, because the United States and Japan do have an extradition treaty. After a hearing, the final decision about whether to give the men up is, under law, to be made by the secretary of state after a formal request from the Japanese government.

Michael Taylor, 59, was introduced to Mr. Ghosn by Lebanese intermediaries, The New York Times reported in January. He speaks Arabic and has extensive contacts in Lebanon from his time in Beirut during a U.S. Special Forces deployment.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - FALCON GOLD CORP. (TSXV: FG), (FSE: 3FA); ("Falcon" or "the Company") is pleased to announce it has applied for an exploration permit on its Bruce Lake Gold Project in the Red Lake Mining Camp. The permit will allow the company to perform overburden trenching, line cutting, and diamond drilling to follow-up on gold targets identified by past operators.

The 1,400 hectare property is contained within the Birch-Uchi-Confederation Lakes greenstone belt which hosts the world-renowned Red Lake gold deposits and includes the Dixie project currently being drilled by Great Bear Resources Ltd. ("GBR"). The project lies along the Longlegged-Pakwash fault zone, a major regional structure, which continues into the LP Fault Zone, hosting Great Bear Resources Ltd.'s ("GBR") Dixie Project. GBR has recently reported exciting drill results with mineralized intersections commonly returning bonanza gold grades in association with coarse visible gold grains. Falcon's Bruce Lake property is located approximately 16 km east of GBR's claims. For maps of the location please see following link: https://falcongold.ca/bruce-camping-lake/





Map 1



To view an enhanced version of Map 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4151/56212_0359a17de4f4ab46_003full.jpg

Karim Rayani Chief Executive Officer states, "The Bruce Lake Gold Project has very encouraging geochemical anomalies similar to the recent developments by Great Bear Resources. We are looking forward to starting work right away along the same regional structure."

The property is also within 12 km of BTU Metals Corp. ("BTU"). BTU reported recent drilling success including an assay result of 44.3 meters of 1.14% copper equivalent with intervals containing as much as 5.56% copper, 99.6 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver and 2 g/t gold.

The Bruce Lake Gold project contains excellent targets for both Red Lake-style gold mineralization as well as gold bearing base metal prospects. Historical work on the claims included prospecting, sampling, and airborne magnetic geophysical surveys. Past soil and lake sediment sampling by Laurentian Goldfield Ltd. in 2011 indicated gold and alteration mineral anomalies along the eastern shoreline of Bruce Lake.

Further to the announcement on April 21st 2020, The Company has received TSX Venture Exchange approval to settle the second anniversary property payment to the Central Canada Gold Group Concession holders for a total of 1,000,000 shares at a deemed price of $0.05 per share.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Alex Pleson, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Falcon Gold Corp.

Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project The Central Canada gold project is approximately 20 kilometers SE of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has a Measured & Indicated estimated resource of 208 Million Tonnes containing 4.5 Million ounces of Gold. The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond fault which is the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major structure the Quetico Fault. History on Central Canada 1901 to 1907 - Shaft to a depth of 12 m and 27 oz of gold from 18 tons using a stamp mill. 1930 to 1935 - Central Canada Mines Ltd. deepened the shaft to 40 m with about 42 m of crosscuts and installed a 75 ton per day gold mill. 1965 Anjamin Mines completed diamond drilling and in hole S2 returned a 2 ft section of 37.0 g/t Au and hole S3 assayed 44.0 g/t Au across 7 ft. 1985 - Interquest Resources Corp. drilled 13 diamond holes totaling 1,840 m in which a 3.8 ft intersection showed 30.0 g/t Au. The company holds 3 projects in Red Lake; the Bruce and Camping lake projects, the Wabunk Bay base metal project. A 49% interest in the Burton gold property with Iamgold in Sudbury, and the Spitfire and Sunny Boy gold claims in Merritt B.C.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Falcon Gold Corp.

Karim Rayani

CEO, Director

Telephone: 604-716-0551

Email: info@falcongold.ca

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, etc. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events or future financial performance, and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of terminology such as "may", "should", "intend", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "project", "predict", "potential", or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. This news release may also contain inferences to future oriented financial information ("FOFI") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The information in this news release has been prepared by our management to provide a context for the acquired projects and the registration of title and to provide the reader with an outlook for our future activities and anticipated focus projects and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements in this announcement include, (but are not limited to), hole CC-20-01 being the first of five planned holes in a 1,000 meter program, that the current campaign of drilling is intended to confirm the mineralization on the Central Canada Mineralized Zone and to step off the Zone to test structural splays for additional mineralization. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, and any implication that the Company's initiatives will individually or collectively be successful comprise forward looking statements.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56212
Argentine scientists are producing what they call a fast and inexpensive coronavirus test, which according to the government has captured the interest of other countries.

The new test, called "NEOKIT-COVID-19", allows detection of the virus in less than two hours, developers say.

"It is a simple, cheap and readily available technique," Santiago Werbajh, an epidemiologist at the Pablo Cassara Foundation, an organization that created the Cesar Milstein Institute of Science and Technology, a public-private entity where it was developed, told Reuters.

"The costs are low, approximately $8, and the simple thing is because of the time and handling, which can be used on an outpatient basis for mass testing, availability will be greater than with current techniques," Werbajh added.

In Argentina - where 8,371 cases of COVID-19 have been registered, of which 384 were fatal - 108,634 tests have been carried out for the disease so far. The country has 45 million inhabitants.

"We are willing to supply not only neighboring countries, but other countries, in fact there has already been contact with foreign embassies interested in accessing this kit," said the Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Roberto Salvarezza.

Argentina's heavily populated areas have been in lockdown since March 20.
The man who built Irelands James Bond-style wave-piercing powerboats has paid a unique tribute to Irelands frontline heroes.

Frank Kowalski, of Cork-based Safehaven Marine, opened the throttles on his sleek Thunder Child 2 vessel for several high-speed passes of Cobh last night, as a tricolour flew from the stern thanking those working in the various front-line emergency services - from nurses and doctors, to gardai, firefighters, coast guard and lifeboat crew, and all those working to keep Irish ports open.

He edited a video of the vessel in action, and posted it online today to the sound of David Bowies classic, We Could Be Heroes.

I wanted to do something nice to lift everyone's spirits. The soundtrack says it all, he said.

Kowalski led a crew on a record-breaking circumnavigation of Ireland in 2017 in just over 34-hours in his sleek 1m Thunder Child 1 interceptor vessel.

He built Thunder Child 2 across 2018 and 2019 in a bid to cross the Atlantic in under four days.

While Thunder Child 1 had a 60ft wave-piercing monohull design, the design of Thunder Child 2 fused the proven wave-piercing monohull with a catamaran hull.

The vessels longer hull blends from a monohull at the bow to a catamaran hull midship.

At 75ft-long, the vessel is powered by four 650hp Caterpillar engines and four France Helices SDS surface drives which give her a cruise speed of just over 40kts, a maximum speed of well over 50kts, and a range of 800 nautical miles.

The crew sit in military-spec shock mitigation seats and the boat has state-of-the-art satellite navigation and tracking technology.
Sphero, the company behind robotic toys like the BB-8 robot and educational robotics kits, announced today that its spinning its public safety division into a new company, dubbed Company Six. It plans to commercialize robots and AI software for first responders, government, defense and those who work in dangerous situations. While Sphero didnt say that Company Six will make robots for police, it sounds like the new company could be headed in that direction.

Our team is excited to build critically-needed robotic hardware and advanced software solutions that help first responders and people with dangerous jobs, said Company Six CEO Jim Booth, formerly Spheros COO.

Sphero has brought four million robots to market, including programmable tank robots, and its experience in mobility could come in handy. Weve also seen it make wearables. Though so far, those have been used to create music, not keep users safe.

Its not entirely surprising that Sphero would see an opportunity in the military and first responder space. Police in Massachusetts are reportedly testing Boston Dynamics Spot robot. The UK military has bomb disposal robots, and the US is testing robotic combat vehicles.

Plus, Sphero has hinted that making robotic toys isnt as lucrative as you might think. In 2018, it cut jobs after a lousy holiday season, and it quit making licensed Disney bots like BB-8 and R2-D2. At the time, it explained that the toys didnt sell well after their tie-in movies were released.

While it would be great to have robots that keep first responders safe, its still a bit disturbing to think that future robot armies might evolve from the adorable, educational toys youve been using for years.
A Houston congressman is asking for a rarely-used independent probe to determine whether the investigation into a fatal shooting involving an undercover Harris County Sheriffs Office deputy has been corrupted.

U.S. Rep. Al Green on Wednesday said he would like a court of inquiry to be established for questionable officer-involved shootings, starting with what authorities said happened the morning of April 22, when a plainclothes deputy shot and killed 35-year-old Joshua Johnson in Missouri City. The unique-to-Texas court of inquiry would require a state district judge to appoint another district judge to hear the evidence and determine if a state law has been violated.

That judge can then issue an arrest warrant.

Green said he fears the deputy who fired the fatal shots may have corrupted the initial investigation with false information.

I believe this case is the one that should turn the tide so in future questionable shootings of this kind, we will have courts of inquiry, Green said. Get a judge to review these facts.

Johnson was house-sitting a hospitalized neighbors house and dogs at the time of the pre-dawn shooting, his family said. Police said they believe Johnson confronted the undercover deputy, there with the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force to find a capital murder suspect from Mesquite, as he sat in an unmarked vehicle under a street light.

Johnson tapped on the deputys window with a BB gun  which police said resembled a Glock 17  in one hand and shined the light of his phone at the deputy. Words were exchanged and the deputy asked Johnson to lower his weapon. He raised it instead, authorities said. The deputy fired two shots. The mortally wounded man fled to his car in the neighbors driveway, where he died. He had multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiners office.

Neighbors said Johnson must have been barefoot at the time of the shooting because his shoes were still inside the home.

Green, speaking outside the East Ritter Circle home where Johnson died, echoed the doubts of Johnsons family and neighbors about the preliminary results of the investigation. He pointed to the lack of body cam footage, a bullet hole in a neighbors garage, the placement of the unmarked police vehicle and how Johnson was alleged to have confronted the deputy.

There are these contradictions that have not been resolved, Green said. Its important to note that one officer can corrupt an investigation.

Audio of a sheriffs office sergeant, explaining to Johnsons parents how the shooting unfolded, was also made public Wednesday. In it, the sergeant told the grieving parents that he had no reason to believe it happened any other way. Green said the investigator made his remarks without having spoken to the deputy who fired the fatal shots or before a medical examiner could see the body.

At that point, Johnsons body was still covered in a white cloth in a neighbors yard. His father, Richard Beary, was audibly distraught in the clip as he tried crossing the police tape to see the body and a Missouri City police officer stopped him.

Shoot me, he sobbed.

Johnsons parents were unable to see his body until the wake, held more than a week later, Green said.

Earlier this month, Beary urged authorities to be truthful.

Dont cover it up because dont think I dont know, Beary said, citing his experience as a police officer in California and while serving in the Army. I know what they do. The things that they said happened just doesnt match up.

Green said he had not spoken to the sheriffs office or the task force ahead of the news conference but that he would ultimately demand that the investigation move beyond the Harris County District Attorneys Office, which is already conducting its own review.

Sheriffs Office spokesman Jason Spencer did not provide comment on Greens desire for a court of inquiry. He said multiple investigations are already happening internally and at the district attorneys office.

Once these investigations are complete, the findings of these separate investigations, along with the autopsy findings of the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, will be presented to an independent grand jury to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate, Spencer said.

Our condolences go out to Mr. Johnson's family for the loss of their loved one in this tragic incident, he continued.

Spencer declined to identify the deputy involved in the shooting.

A court of inquiry was last ordered from Harris County in 2004 for problems related to the former Houston police DNA laboratory. In 2013, a Houston lawyer was appointed as a special prosecutor to investigate former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson. He was found guilty of contempt of court for failing to release exculpatory evidence to the defense. The original evidence sent an innocent man to prison for nearly 25 years in the death of his wife.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Credit card giant Mastercard will not ask staff to return to its worldwide corporate offices until a vaccine is available for the coronavirus, a senior executive flagged on Wednesday.

The world's second-largest payment processor is also looking at its real-estate footprint and considering consolidating offices, Chief People Officer Michael Fraccaro said.

"We expect in the coming weeks and months that more employees will continue to work from home than come into office," he said. "And we are OK with that. We support that choice."

Mastercard staff won't have to work at its offices until a coronavirus vaccine is available, its HR chief says. Credit:Jim Rice

The company employs nearly 20,000 people globally, with its main headquarters in Westchester, a New York City suburb. Mastercard owns that campus, which it purchased from IBM in 1994.
Vu Van Thang, (second, from left) senior director, general manager Herbalife Vietnam and Cambodia, presented the cheque plaque to the Vietnam Fatherland Front's Central Committee

Vu Van Thang, general manager of Herbalife Vietnam and Cambodia, said: "Herbalife Vietnam would like to make practical contributions in respond to the governments call to fight COVID-19. We are very grateful for all the tremendous efforts from the Vietnamese government, the Ministry of Health, provincial and city health departments, local authorities, hospitals, and frontline medical workers (together with the armed forces and volunteers) to fight the epidemic since the first day of the outbreak to protect the health and safety of the people. We believe in the strong leadership and determination of the Vietnamese government, and the co-operation, support, and responsible spirit of all organisations and individuals in the community. The country will win this battle.

The representatives of Herbalife Vietnam presented protective clothing to Friendship Hospital in Hanoi

Earlier, Herbalife Vietnam donated medical masks and protective clothing worth VND1.4 billion ($60,870) contributed by its members and employees to hospitals in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Specifically, the company presented 12,000 sets of protective clothing to six hospitals in Hanoi: National Hospital of Traditional Medicine, Central Epidemiology Institute, Friendship Hospital, Medicical University Hospital, Geriatric Hospital, and Lung Central Hospital (2,000 sets each); and 65,000 masks for several hospitals in Hanoi and Can Gio Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Representative of Herbalife Vietnam presented medical masks to Bach Mai Hospital

Herbalife Nutrition officially entered Vietnam in 2009. Over the past 10 years, Herbalife Vietnam has provided high-quality, science-backed nutrition products to Vietnamese consumers, contributing to promoting healthy, active lives in the local community. The company is the long-term partner of Vietnamese sports and the official nutrition sponsor of Vietnams top athletes since 2012.

As part of its CSR agenda, Herbalife Vietnam supports the implementation of the Casa Herbalife Nutrition Program which annually provides more than 800 needy children in Vietnam with access to good nutrition through four partners including the Womens Charity Association of Ho Chi MInh City, Xa Dan Secondary School in Hanoi, Dong Tam Social Protection Center in Binh Dinh, and Huong Duong Orphanage in Hau Giang. In 2019, over VND2.6 billion ($113,040) were granted to these four centres to help sustain good nutrition for these children in the 2019-2020 period.
CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat was first detected in E. coli in 1987. Most notably, however, its interaction with the endonuclease Cas9, along with the recognition that this peculiarity of the prokaryotic immune system may be used to accurately and permanently modify the genetic code in mammalian cells, was not discovered until many years later (Charpentier et al. 2012, Mali et al. 2012).

This was the beginning of what is often considered to be the gene-editing revolution.

Since that time, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing has become a cornerstone technology in the genetic manipulation of cells; both in commercial and academic laboratories.

This technology has huge potential and is already beginning to impact the whole scientific spectrum ranging from drug discovery through to direct therapeutic applications. However, like any pioneering technology, it is not without its issues.

Generating a CRISPR-modified cell that has been grown from a single-cell clone is a time-consuming process. It is also inefficient, often being carried out by hand, which leaves it prone to errors. These limitations adversely impact on the clinical or commercial scalability of this technology.

The scale is not the only issue. Questions remain around the accuracy and efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 for genome editing.

The CRISPR system is fairly straightforward, despite its considerable impact on biotechnology. A guide RNA directs a Cas9 protein towards a DNA sequence that is complementary to the RNA.

Next, the Cas9 cuts, establishing a double-strand break (DSB). The cell is then able to repair the cut through either non-homologous end joining, which commonly results in knock-out mutations, or homology-directed repair, which can be employed to knock-in mutations.

Regardless of which repair method is used, this conventional style of CRISPR/Cas9 editing is heavily reliant on the guide RNA being able to direct the Cas9 solely to the specific target site. If Cas9 binds non-specifically, off-target mutations may arise, prompting unwelcome genome modifications.

Gene editing advances have aimed to enhance the accuracy of gene editing. Base editing requires elements of the CRISPR/Cas9 system but works alongside other enzymes to directly insert specific point mutations in the DNA of nondividing cells, avoiding the creation of double-strand breaks (Komor et al. 2016). This substantially lowers the number of unintentional edits.

Prime editing has become a highly regarded technique, particularly by the worlds media. This process involves using a form of Cas9 that nicks the DNA instead of making a full double-strand break.

Rather than providing a guide RNA to target the molecular cut with a new template DNA to interpret the new genetic code, the guide RNA in prime editing does both simultaneously. The DNA nick prompts reverse transcription of the edited guide RNA into the DNA target site, resulting in considerably less off-target mutations (Anzalone et al. 2019).

Neither of these innovations has been able to address the problem of appropriate scaling of this technology, however. But, this is where OXGENE excels.

OXGENEs highly optimized, quality assured automated CRISPR cell line engineering workflow has been assembled on the foundations of a robust multidisciplinary framework.

This combines skills and knowledge of informatics, biology, and automation, utilizing this combination to create an efficient, reliable, and high-throughput genetic engineering platform that consistently edits hundreds of cell lines every year while maintaining impressive pass rates of KO success at the protein level when based on genotype predictions.

OXGENEs platform undertakes the majority of the repetitive, routine, or time-consuming elements of gene editing automatically. It is these parts of the protocol which are most at risk of human error.

First we automated the process of scanning plates at high throughput. Then we built the IT infrastructure and procedures to deal with clone verification. The next challenge was getting the clone-picking properly automated. But the best bit was building and optimizing the user interfaces so the scientists can be completely in control of their own work, without needing input from the automation team. Simon Pollack, Group Leader of Laboratory Automation

Pollack thus outlined how OXGENE began building the platforms infrastructure.

The triumph of OXGENEs capabilities in the genome engineering industry does not rest exclusively on their robots, however.

OXGENEs platform is comprised of several essential aspects, not least the solid partnerships between OXGENEs automation experts, its in-house bioinformatics team who are responsible designing precise primers and guides, biologists responsible for managing the protocols, and its project managers working diligently with various teams to make certain that operational planning and resourcing are effective and efficient.

Despite their successes, OXGENE continues to innovate.

Were currently optimizing conditions for more complex cell types, like primary cells and stem cells on our high-throughput platform, and also for more complex modifications, such as knock-ins. Pela Derizioti, Gene Editing Team, OXGENE

Simon sums up OXGENEs ethos, Within the year, well have doubled our capacity again. Pela concludes, Well never finish innovating,

Acknowledgments

Produced from materials originally authored by Sophie Lutter from OXGENE.

About OXGENE

OXGENE combines precision engineering and breakthrough science with advanced robotics and bioinformatics to accelerate the rational design, discovery and manufacture of cell and gene therapies across three core areas: gene therapy, gene editing and antibody therapeutics.

Gene therapy: Were transforming the vision of truly scalable gene therapies into a reality; progressing our industry leading transient gene therapy systems towards alternative technologies for scalable, stable manufacturing solutions.

Gene editing: We have automated gene editing to deliver CRISPR engineered cell lines at unparalleled speed, scale and quality and generate complex disease models in mammalian cells.

Antibody therapeutics: Were employing a novel proprietary mammalian display technology to discover antibodies against previously intractable membrane proteins.

OXGENE works at the edge of impossible in mammalian cell engineering. Our scientific expertise and technology solutions address industry bottlenecks. For more information, please visit www.oxgene.com

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.
(Newser)  President Trump has been told to wear a face mask when he visits a Ford factory in Michigan Thursdaybut it's not clear whether he plans to comply with the directive. The president has eschewed masks during public appearances, including a visit to a mask factory in Arizona, and he has never been photographed wearing one, CNBC reports. "Our policy is that everyone wears PPE to prevent the spread of COVID-19," Ford said in a statement Tuesday. The company said all of its safety protocols had been shared with the White House ahead of Trump's visit to the Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti, which has been repurposed to make ventilators.

story continues below

Trump, asked Tuesday whether he would wear a mask, said: "It depends. In certain areas I would, in certain areas I dont. But I will certainly look at it. It depends on what situation. Am I standing right next to everybody, or am I spread out? And also you look, is something a hospital? Is it a ward? What is it exactly? I'm going to a plant. So we'll see. Where its appropriate I would do it certainly." Ford said later in the day that the White House would "make its own determination." The Trump visit contradicts an executive order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer banning all nonessential visits to manufacturing facilities, though her office says it isn't planning to block the visit, the Detroit News reports. (Read more President Trump stories.)
NEW DELHI  A strong cyclone blew heavy rains and strong winds into coastal India and Bangladesh on Wednesday after more than 2.6 million people were moved to shelters in a frantic evacuation made more challenging by coronavirus.

Cyclone Amphan slowed slightly as it reached cooler waters near the coast. But with wind speeds ranging between 100 and 105 miles per hour, the storm could cause extensive damage: winds and heavy rain battering flimsy houses, a storm surge that may push seawater 15 miles inland and the possibility of flooding in crowded cities like Kolkata.

Bangladesh is attempting to evacuate 2.2 million people to safety. India's West Bengal state evacuated nearly 300,000. Odisha state has evacuated 148,486 people, said Pradeep Jena, the state official in charge of managing disasters.

Image: A man looks out as waves hit a breakwater at Kasimedu fishing harbour in Chennai (Arun Sankar / AFP - Getty Images)

Masks and hand-sanitizers were hastily added to the emergency items stocked in storm shelters. But the pandemic has made it harder to save lives.

Some cyclone shelters in West Bengal were used for quarantining COVID-19 patients and migrant workers traveling after India's lockdown was eased, officials said. Some schools are now being used to shelter people, news reports said.

The West Bengal government has also asked that the special trains for migrant workers be suspended, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

The cyclone passed parallel to the coast of Odisha and heavy rain and strong winds had uprooted trees and collapsed some walls, said Bhabesh Mohanti, a teacher in Bhadrak district. "I just hope it passes soon, without destroying our town, he said.

Some in the cyclone's path saw a choice between the virus and the storm.

Many in the seaside resort town of Digha feared going to the shelters, fisherman Debasis Shyamal said. They have been home for weeks, and are afraid of going into a crowd where they could get infected, he said.

The densely populated city of Kolkata, which has nearly 1,500 cases of the coronavirus, is likely to see flooding, while some centuries-old buildings in the northern half of the city could collapse due to the strong winds.

Story continues

In Sathira district in Bangladesh, local chief government administrator S.M. Mostafa Kamal said evacuees were given dry food, baby food and medicine. He said they were distributing masks and other safety equipment to keep coronavirus from spreading during their stay in thousands of shelters.

Pradeep Jena, the Odisha state official, said the state has over 800 centers that are used during floods or cyclones, each holding 2,000 to 3,000 people. Of these, 242 were being used as quarantine centers. He said there was no precedent for managing a cyclone in the midst of a pandemic, and the need to maintain social distance means the state would need many more shelters than usual.

Image: Heavy storm clouds ahead of Cyclone Amphan's landfall, May 19, 2020, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Debarchan Chatterjee / Zuma Press)

The cyclone is occurring during the Islamic holy month Ramadan, and some Bangladeshis who fasted during the day reportedly waited until the early morning hours before heading for the shelters.

The region is no stranger to devastating cyclones. But it is not the frequency of these cyclones, but the intensity of their wind speeds that have increased due to climate change and warming, said K.J. Ramesh, former chief of Indias meteorological department.

This has to do with the temperature of the seas surface. Warm water is the fuel for cyclones. It is where storms get their energy and the amount of heat trapped in the top 700 meters of the ocean has increased. As a result, cyclones are intensifying faster than before, he said.

Alam reported from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.
Bihar Board 10th Result 2020 declared: The Bihar Board released the Class 10 exam results today (Tuesday, 26 May). The results were likely to be released on Monday, but got delayed due to last-minute arrangements.

Bihar Board 10th Result 2020 declared: The Bihar Board released the Class 10 exam results today (Tuesday, 26 May). The results were likely to be released on Monday, but got delayed due to last-minute arrangements.

The BSEB announced the results of Class 10 students after scrutiny of the answer copies of students who scored the highest marks.

The Bihar Board started verifying the answer scripts of top-scoring students after an incident in 2016, where toppers did not know answers to basic questions.

The verification process of half of the toppers has been completed. As soon as the process for all the 38 districts is over, BSEB will declare the Class 10 results.

Once declared, students can check their Class 10 Bihar board examination 2020 results on biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in as well as biharboard.online and via SMS.

The board completed the compilation process of marks after the submission of evaluation results to it.

The Bihar Board Class 10 examination 2020 was held from 17 to 24 February. The results were scheduled to be announced by March but the evaluation of more than 15.29 lakh answer scripts was postponed till 3 May due to the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. The evaluation process began on 6 May.

Here's how to check your result:

Step 1: Visit the website of Bihar Board - biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in

Step 2: On the home page, click on the 'Results'

Step 3: Tap on Class X Matriculation results

Step 4: Select your stream and click on 'Result'

Step 5: You will be directed to a new page where you will have to key-in your credentials

Step 6: Enter the captcha text

Step 7: You can now check and download your BSEB Class 10 Result 2020.

Students can also check their BSEB Class 10 Results 2020 via SMS. For this, you will need to go to the message option of their phone and type - BSEB10 -space- ROLL NUMBER and send it to 56263.

Last year, the Bihar Board Class 10 Result pass percentage was 80.73 percent. Bihar board Class 12 Result 2020 was released by BSEB on 24 March.
Bexar County officials are looking to put $450 per week into the hands of thousands of unemployed workers while theyre trained for new, post-coronavirus careers.

The plan, which marks the first time the county will pay people to get job training, takes aim at two of the areas major weaknesses: a low-skilled workforce and low wages.

County officials Tuesday set aside $35 million in federal CARES Act funding, out of a total of nearly $80 million, to develop a training program for 5,000 workers.

On ExpressNews.com: Bexar County to spend $80 million in federal COVID-19 aid to help unemployed residents, small businesses in suburban cities

Both Bexar County and San Antonio are planning to unveil separate workforce development plans funded with CARES money.

More than 100,000 workers have filed unemployment claims in the city since mid-March.

Under the countys plan, trainees would receive the weekly stipend while they take classes at Alamo Colleges campuses in fields such as health care and information technology, Precinct 2 Commissioner Justin Rodriguez said.

The stipend amount was based on what someone would earn working 30 hours a week at $15 an hour. Its designed to replace that income so the recipient can train for a higher-paying occupation.

The model that weve talked about through Alamo Colleges is that the reality is most training programs are six to 22 weeks long, so how do we stand this up so people get full-time training and they can pay their bills and make a living? Rodriguez said. The trick, in addition to that, is we need to somehow have some confidence in what is going to be waiting for these folks at the end of training.

Details of the citys plan are scant. Officials are expected to develop a framework for a training initiative when the City Council meets virtually today, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

The city has received $270 million in CARES Act funding.

There's already some good discussions underway about making we sure that we not only get people back to work, but we also make sure that they're trained up for the long term, he said.

Since mid-March, when the pandemic set off an economic crisis, a quarter of all U.S. workers have filed for unemployment, including more than 12 percent of the Bexar County workforce.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio unemployed workers are slipping through the cracks

Job losses in Texas have been concentrated in service-oriented industries staffed largely with low-wage workers, such as retail and hospitality.

Were going to be concentrating on trying to reach those that are in the service industry that got hit the hardest, and the lowest wage people, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. This is an opportunity for them to really get a skill and make more money than they were making before.

The county initiative will target workers in suburban cities and areas not covered by the citys plan.

The University of Texas at San Antonio already is offering free and discounted online courses for people looking to gain skills amid the historic unemployment surge.

Robin Jerstad /Contributor

Registration is open for UTSAs Job Jumpstart program, which offers 24 six-week courses for $75 each. The courses are offered in subjects such as accounting, marketing and health care.

The university also offers free career builder courses, and $500 scholarships for its three- to 12-month-long career training programs.

But worker training initiatives have high costs and spotty track records in the U.S. And its far from clear whether graduates will be able to find jobs.

Its hard to estimate what jobs are going to look like in two weeks, let alone six months from now. Thats the moving target were dealing with, Rodriguez said.

Its not just about taking someone who was a waiter and putting him into something else, he said. With how the workforce is changing, how do we identify the jobs of the future, post-COVID?

On ExpressNews.com: Unemployment claims in San Antonio area top 106,000

Its long been difficult for cities to identify the best jobs for which to invest in training, said Gregory Ferenstein, the founder of Frederick Research, a consulting firm for policymakers, tech companies and nonprofits.

Worker training is dependent on your ability to predict the future, Ferenstein said. If it was that easy, every coding boot camp would be successful. But most fail.

Ferenstein also runs the Upward Mobility Fund, a loan fund for low-wage workers who seek high-skill job training  often in technology.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Workers receive a loan from Ferenstein for living expenses while they participate in training, and they pay it back only if they land jobs that pay significantly more than they were making before the training.

But a major roadblock, Ferenstein found, has been convincing local governments to collect and publish detailed data showing whether workers benefited economically.

Without county and city officials committing to publicly sharing data, it would be impossible to know if a training program is making graduates better off, he said.

Ferenstein said cities like San Antonio should act as investors  rather than administrators  in worker training, funneling money to the best-performing job training firms.

There absolutely is an opportunity for city governments to help residents retrain during the pandemic, but it will require them to be much more outcome-oriented, and to fund private organizations who are successful, Ferenstein said.

The economic crisis has led leaders to try novel approaches to skills training.

Income sharing, he said, is one model.

A laid-off hotel worker who earned $30,000 in 2019, for example, could take out a loan of several thousand dollars to cover living expenses while taking classes.

On ExpressNews.com: Jefferson: San Antonios hospitality workers take the first hit in coronavirus panic

If that worker graduates and finds a new job paying $40,000 annually, he or she would make monthly payments on the loan. Those payments would be recycled to fund loans for new trainees.

A graduate from the program who found a job earning around $30,000 or less would pay nothing back.

In the case of student loans, theyve created conditions where the loan is divorced from the outcome, Ferenstein said. Income-share agreements are a little better in that they depend on graduate earnings.

But local leaders have little time to test different worker-training strategies. The city and county must spend the CARES funding by the end of this year.

Efficiently spending tens of millions of dollars the next seven months will be a challenge, Rodriguez said. It wouldve been helpful to be able to stretch those dollars out a little bit.

As the city and county prepare to roll out their plans, a key element will be the length of the training program.

The brevity of many career-training boot camps means graduates often are unprepared to enter the workplace, Ferenstein said.

It takes a good two to three years to really get into a job, Ferenstein said. If you look at boot-camp success rates, one of my favorite things to ask is what percent of people who got a job had taken a boot camp previously? A lot of them are on their second boot camps, or have significant coding experience.

Despite the challenges, Wolff said he and Nirenberg have made workforce development their top priority in planning for the citys economic recovery.

You have to have some sort of certification or some sort of job training that offers you an opportunity for a good job, Wolff said. I think this crisis with COVID now really accentuates that.

If we cant get people educated, if we cant give them hope, if we cant help give them a skill, he said, we will always face this poverty.

diego.mendoza-moyers@express-news.net
By Mata Press Service

Canada has announced a series of new rules to ease the entry of immigrants, foreign workers and international students, enabling them to contribute in the nations battle against the COVID-19 virus.

"Immigrants, temporary foreign workers and international students are making considerable contributions to Canada's response to the unprecedented challenge that COVID-19 poses, said Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship.

We know and value their efforts and sacrifices to keep Canadians healthy and ensure the delivery of critical goods and services, he said.

Among the new policies is one that will allow Canadian businesses to recruit the workers they need and help unemployed workers contribute to the Canadian economy during this pandemic.

Effective immediately, a new, temporary policy will drastically reduce the time it takes for a temporary foreign worker to start a new job, Immigration Canada (IRCC) said in a statement.

While this policy is in place, a worker who is already in Canada and has secured a new job offer, typically backed by a labour market test, can get approval to start working in their new job, even while their work permit application is being fully processed. This will cut what can often take 10 weeks or more, down to 10 days or less.

IRCC said while Canadians are encouraged to fill job vacancies in critical sectors, a lack of workers in agriculture, food processing or health care could harm Canada's food security and health-care service capacity.

To be eligible under this new policy, workers must be in Canada with valid status; have an employer-specific work permit or have been working under a work permit exemption and

have submitted an application for a new work permit with a valid job offer under either the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program.

"Temporary foreign workers are an integral part of the Canadian workforce and Canada's COVID-19 response. They are helping us meet urgent labour needs, to ensure our food security and deliver essential goods and services, said Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion.

While there will always be jobs for Canadians who choose to work in these sectors, these changes help support our economy by ensuring that temporary foreign workers already here can contribute during these extraordinary times," she said.

In 2019, almost 190,000 employer-specific work permits were issued to foreign nationals.

To help battle the COVID-19 outbreak, starting immediately, the government will also remove the restriction that allows international students to work a maximum of 20 hours per week while classes are in session, provided they are working in an essential service or function, such as health care, critical infrastructure, or the supply of food or other critical goods.

For instance, thousands of international students are studying in health- and emergency service-related programs, including many who are nearly fully trained and ready to graduate. This temporary rule change provides health-care facilities with access to additional well-trained workers at a time when they are badly needed.

This temporary rule change will be in place until August 31, 2020.

Statistics Canada reported that in 20172018, more than 11,000 international students were enrolled in health-care programs at Canada's universities and colleges, representing about 4% of health-care students at that time.

In addition, IRCC has also announced a three-year Agri-Food Pilot to test an industry-specific approach to help employers in the meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production, and livestock-raising industries.

It is aimed to assess and fill ongoing labour needs for full-time, year-round employees and provide a pathway to permanent residence for many temporary foreign workers already in Canada.

A total of 2,750 applications will be accepted annually throughout the pilot, which applies primarily to people who are already in Canada. Existing travel restrictions continue to apply.

The Agri-Food Pilot complements Canada's existing suite of economic immigration programs, which includes the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, the caregivers pilots, the Global Skills Strategy, a revitalized Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program.

This pilot will help to ensure that employers in the agriculture and agri-food sector have much needed skills and labour so we can strengthen Canada's food security, grow our economy and improve living standards for all of Canada, said IRCC.

"This pilot provides an important path to permanent residency to these experienced workers, whom we rely on to feed our country and help grow our economy," said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

The agriculture and agri-food industry is an important contributor to Canada's economic growth and vitality, supporting 1 in 8 jobs across the country. In 2019, agricultural exports hit a new record, reaching $67 billion. The Agri-Food Pilot will accept applications from May 15, 2020, to May 14, 2023.

The role immigrant labour is playing to keep the country moving during the COVID-19 pandemic is proof of why robust immigration must continue in the aftermath, Mendicino said last Friday.

"We could not put food on the plate of Canadians at an affordable price without immigrants, we could not support our front-line workers without immigration...So it's vitally important that we continue to immigrate today in a manner that is safe and orderly and also to drive that future that we all believe will be underpinned by immigration as it has been in the past," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

Over the next three years, Canadas immigration plan calls for the admission of 341,000 permanent residents in 2020, 351,000 in 2021 and 361,000 in 2022.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 09:45:08|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A child wearing a face mask gets community free food in Johannesburg, South Africa, May 19, 2020. As of Tuesday, South Africa has recorded 17,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up by 767 from Monday, and 312 deaths, an increase of 26. (Photo by Yeshiel/Xinhua)

CAPE TOWN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- South African Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Tuesday refuted criticism against the COVID-19 lockdown, saying the measure has effectively stalled the exponential spread of the novel coronavirus.

With the lockdown, South Africa's healthcare sector has won time to prepare for the rising wave of infections and deaths, Mkhize said.

"Had we done nothing, estimates show that by this point, as many as 80,000 South Africans would have been infected, and nearly 2,000 of our brothers and sisters would have lost their lives," the minister said, citing scientific models and estimates.

He was responding to rising criticism from the opposition that some lockdown restrictions are too harsh, nonsensical and not based on scientific principles, and thus should be brought to an end.

The criticism comes at a time when the Western Cape province accounts for 60 percent of the national cumulative cases, with cases increasing exponentially on a daily basis as compared to the rest of the country, Mkhize said in a statement.

The Western Cape province is governed by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which is spearheading the campaign to halt the lockdown.

As of Tuesday, South Africa has recorded 17,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up by 767 from Monday, and 312 deaths, an increase of 26, said Mkhize.

The Western Cape remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic with 10,639 cases and 187 deaths.

"Our mortality rate of 1.8 percent remains well below the global average, which is currently 6.6 percent, and our recovery rate is 42.4 percent, which is above the global average," he said.

"Had we not traded freedom for time, hospitals would now be overwhelmed, and our concern would have been drawn away from saving lives by the need to excavate mass graves for those we would have lost," Mkhize said.

He warned against ending the lockdown abruptly, saying if people are allowed to flood back to the way life was before, infections would surge, effectively undoing everything that has been sacrificed thus far.

In the weeks to come, different areas will experience different levels of lockdown, according to Mkhize.

This district-based approach is seen as the most practical and implementable measure to balance the epidemiology of the virus with the economic risks of a continuous hard lockdown, he said.

Districts with low transmissions will be put on a vigilance program to maintain low levels of the virus infection while those with high transmissions will be classified as hotspots where restrictions are necessary and strong teams of medical experts will be deployed, Mkhize said.
Gunmen killed 11 people in two separate attacks in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday, the latest in relentless violence that continues to plague the war-shattered nation.

According to Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian, in the first attack, an unknown number of gunmen stormed a mosque in Parwan province, north of the capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday, killing eight worshipers and wounding several others.

In the second attack, also late on Tuesday, gunmen in eastern Khost province attacked a family returning home from a nearby mosque, killing three brothers, Arian said. In both attacks, the gunmen fled the scene.

No one claimed responsibility for either attack but the Taliban promptly denied involvement. The Islamic State group, which has been increasingly active in Afghanistan after suffering battlefield losses to government and US forces, as well as its Taliban rivals, has carried out similar attacks in the past.

Washington blamed the IS for last week's horrific attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul that killed 24 people, including two infants.

In Parwan, Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the provincial governor, said the police were investigating the assault, which she called a crime against humanity.

Mosques have also been a frequent scene of attacks. Last October, IS claimed responsibility for a bomb explosion in a mosque in eastern Nangarhar province, which caused the roof to collapse, killing 62 people and wounding 36 others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A pedestrian passes by on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis on April 9, 2019. The university closed its Confucius Institute in 2019. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Tide Turns Against Beijing-Backed Confucius Institutes on American Campuses

A growing number of Confucius Institutes are closing across U.S. college campuses amid concerns over their threats to academic freedom.

While billed as Chinese language and culture centers, Beijing-funded Confucius Institutes have drawn mounting criticism in the United States and elsewhere over its role in stifling free speech and promoting Chinese propaganda and influence in academic institutions.

Since 2004, more than 100 Confucius Institutes have opened in universities across the United States. Although this number has diminished in recent years as a rising number of colleges shutter the controversial centers, many have done so as a result of a measure in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018, which bars universities that host Confucius Institutes from receiving funding from the Pentagon.

As of May, 38 universities had closed or are in the process of closing their institutes, according to the National Association of Scholars (NAS), an education advocacy group. By the end of the summer, there will be 80 institutes left in the country.

Confucius Institutes import censorship into American higher education, Rachelle Peterson, policy director at NAS told Epoch Times in an email. They are inherently at odds with the intellectual freedom that a college or university requires.

Importing Censorship

Peterson describes Confucius Institutes as class-in-a-box kits from the Chinese regime, which supplies the host university with teachers and their salaries, teaching materials, as well as funding to run the centers.

A 2017 NAS report authored by Peterson which recommended the closure of all Confucius Institutes in the United States, highlighted the centers role in presenting a positive image of the communist regime.

They avoid Chinese political history and human rights abuses, portray Taiwan and Tibet as undisputed territories of China, and educate a generation of American students to know nothing more of China than the regimes official history, it said.

The institutes are funded and operated by Hanban, or the Office of Chinese Language Council International, an office within Chinas Ministry of Education.

Since 2006, Hanban has poured more than $158 million to about 100 U.S. universities for Confucius Institutes, according to a 2019 U.S. Senate subcommittee on investigations report (pdf). Between 2008 to 2016, Hanban spent more than $2 billion on setting up such institutes on college campuses around the world.

Outside of higher education, there are 512 Confucius Classrooms operating in K-12 grade schools in the United States, the report said.

Chinese officials themselves have remarked that Confucius Institutes are a key plank in the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) campaign to expand its global influence.

The CCPs then-propaganda chief Li Changchun in 2009 described Confucius Institutes as an important part of Chinas overseas propaganda set-up.

Later in a 2011 speech, he extolled the centers as an appealing brand for extending our culture abroad.

It has made an important contribution toward improving our soft power. The Confucius brand has a natural attractiveness. Using the excuse of teaching Chinese language, everything looks reasonable and logical, Li said at the time.

Strings Attached

The Senate subcommittee report found that some contracts between Hanban and U.S. universities contained provisions stating that both Chinese and U.S. law apply.

Chinese teachers, meanwhile, must sign contracts with Hanban, which state that their contracts will be terminated if they violate Chinese laws, engage in activities detrimental to national interests, or participate in illegal organizations, the report said. The terms also require instructors to conscientiously safeguard national interests and report to the Chinese Embassy within one month of arrival in the United States.

Sonia Zhao, a former Chinese teacher at the Confucius Institute at Canadas McMaster University, defected to the country in 2011. As reported by The Epoch Times at the time, prior to arriving in Canada, Zhao had to sign a contract stating that employees must not practice Falun Gong, a spiritual group persecuted by the Chinese regime. Zhao, herself an adherent of the practice, signed the agreement out of fear that a refusal could expose herself as a practitioner and lead to arrest.

In 2013, McMaster University became the first university in North America to close its Confucius Institute after Zhao filed a complaint at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario over its discriminatory hiring practices. A spokesperson for the university said that the decision was made because hiring decisions in China were not being done the way we would want to do the hiring.

Zhao revealed at the time that during her training in Beijing, they were told to avoid mentioning sensitive topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet, Taiwan, and Falun Gong in the classroom. However, if a student insists on a question, the teachers have to cite the CCP line on the issue, such as: Taiwan is part of China, and Tibet has been liberated by the regime.

Doris Liu, who directed a 2017 Canadian documentary In the Name of Confucius which spotlights Zhaos story, told The Epoch Times that money flowing from the regime to Western universities comes with strings attached.

Liu recalled that she met with three representatives of Confucius Institutes in Germany last year who told her that an unwritten condition for opening the centers is that issues deemed sensitive by the CCP are not to be discussed in the classroom.

In Petersons evidence to a 2019 UK inquiry, she said that Yin Xiuli, director of the New Jersey City University Confucius Institute, told her in 2016, we dont touch issues such as Taiwan, Tibet, and Falun Gong.

Chinese Interference

There are also notable instances of Confucius Institutes interfering in activities outside the classroom.

In 2004, an academic scandal erupted after Confucius Institute staff stole and tore out pages from a program book of a Chinese studies conference in Portugal. They did so under orders from the global head of Hanban Xu Lin, because the programs had included material about another conference sponsor, a Taiwanese organization.

The conference organizer decried the act as interference to an independent academic body that was totally unacceptable.

In 2018, journalist Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian discovered that her reporting experience in Taiwan was deleted from her biography when she gave a speech at the Savannah State Universitys Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. She later found out that the Chinese director of the campuss Confucius Institute was behind the removal.

A public screening of Lius documentary at Victoria University in Australia was canceled in 2018 after heads of the campuss Confucius Institute indicated to administrative staff that the screening would be a problem for us, and that the matter was of interest to the Chinese consulate, emails obtained by The Australian showed.

Concerns about the centers influence activities in the United States were raised by FBI director Christopher Wray, who at a 2018 Senate hearing confirmed that the agency was watching the institutes warily and in certain instances, have developed appropriate investigative steps.

Government Action

Since last July, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a series of investigations into foreign funding at U.S. colleges as part of a wider initiative targeting foreign influence on campuses.

Universities are required under federal law to report gifts and contracts with any foreign sources that exceed $250,000 in a calendar year. However, the Senate subcommittee report found that nearly 70 percent of universities failed to properly report funding they received from Confucius Institutes.

The departments enforcement action has resulted in the reporting of about $6.5 billion in previously undisclosed foreign money, including from China, Qatar, and Russia, it stated.

In a November 2019 report (pdf) to the Senate subcommittee, the department said that foreign donors may be seeking to project soft power, steal sensitive research, and spread propaganda at U.S. schools.

The investigations, according to the report, also revealed that one university had multiple contracts with the CCPs central committee, another received gifts from a foundation suspected of acting as an influence front for the Chinese regime, and one received research funding from a Chinese multinational to develop technology for surveillance.

Meanwhile, a group of Republican lawmakers recently pressed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for information on Beijings investments in American colleges to further its strategic and propaganda goals. Their letter noted that Confucius Institutes serve as a vehicle to promote Beijing propaganda to American students, as well as a gathering ground for Chinese intelligence agencies.

Grassroots Effort

Dovetailing with government efforts is a burgeoning student-led movement speaking out against the Chinese regimes infiltration of college campuses.

Last week, dozens of leaders of the College Republican National Committee and the College Democrats of America, representing universities in more than 45 states, along with rights groups representing Tibetan, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese communities, signed an open letter calling for the permanent closure of all Confucius Institutes on American campuses.

The Chinese Communist Partys actions pose an immense threat to academic freedom and to human dignity. It is imperative that we distinguish this totalitarian regime from the Chinese people, whom we must steadfastly defend from abhorrent acts of xenophobia, racism, and hatred, the letter read.

The letter was organized by newly-formed nonprofit Athenai Institute. Director and co-founder Rory OConnor told The Epoch Times that the organization was founded after a group of college students wanted to defend against the CCPs unprecedented assault on students rights and academic freedom.

OConnor said the group has seen a wave of interest since the release of the open letter and has plans to launch 25 Athenai chapters in the coming weeks.

Our generation has seen those in power fail to actwhether out of principle or just at alland we are not blind to those who are suffering and suppressed by the plutocratic, fascist CCP, OConnor said.
JOS, Nigeria, May 20, 2020 (Morning Star News)  Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed 12 Christians and kidnapped another in attacks in Benue state earlier this month, sources said.

Four Christians were killed in Tse-Haaga village on May 12, area residents said.

The herdsmen invaded our village riding four motorbikes around 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, and attacked us and killed four members of our village, injuring three others, Tse-Haaga resident Clement Haaga told Morning Star News by phone.

Another area resident, David Terwerse, confirmed to Morning Star News by text message that four Christians were killed and three injured. He added that in Agasha village two Christians were killed while two others were killed in Yelewata village, where five were injured.

Two Christians were also killed in Tarkende village on May 6, and the herdsmen killed two Christian farmers in attacks on Saghev and Ukusu villages on May 2, he said. In Agila, a Christian was kidnapped, Terwerse said.

The predominantly Christian communities are inhabited primarily by members of the Catholic, Methodist and Reformed (NKST) churches, in addition to some Pentecostal churches, sources said.

Catherine Anene, spokesperson for the Benue State Police Command, confirmed to Morning Star News by phone that four people were killed in Tse-Haaga and three others were injured.

We have deployed our personnel to the area to protect the people, she said.

In the killings in Agasha, Guma County, armed herdsmen began the attack on the night of May 11, said area resident Tom Terver in a text message.

The Fulani herdsmen attacked us at about 11 p.m., when everybody had gone to bed, Terver told to Morning Star News. They shot into houses and were shooting anything they sighted. In the course of the attack, they killed two of our people.

Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini of the military command in Benue state confirmed the attack.

Some suspected armed herdsmen infiltrated Agasha in Guma LGA of Benue state and killed two villagers overnight, Yekini told reporters. Operation Whirl Stroke troops on patrol in the area immediately mobilized to the scene, but the herdsmen had fled before their arrival.

Troops pursued the assailants through nearby communities, while other troops were deployed at Tomatar to block an escape route towards Nasarawa state, he said. At about 6 a.m. on May 12, troops confronted the armed herdsmen at a makeshift camp near the Benue River and killed four of them, he said.

Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, four magazines and 65 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, Yekini said.

In the attacks on predominantly Yelewata village, Guma County, the herdsmen initially invaded on May 9, killing two Christian women and injuring five other people, according to Anthony Shawon, chairman of the Guma Local Government Council.

They were armed with deadly weapons and killed two women in the village, Shawon told Morning Star News by phone. They returned again on Monday, May 11, to continue with their attacks on the people. A curfew has been imposed in the area by the military in order to stem these criminal activities by the herdsmen against our people.

The two people killed in the May 6 attack in Tarkende village, Guma County, were a married couple, he said.

The herdsmen invaded the village at about 2 a.m. and were shooting indiscriminately into the homes of the villagers, Shawon said. The Fulani herdsmen have established a camp around these villages and are attacking our people. The situation here is very disheartening, as these herdsmen are unstoppable in their attacks against unarmed communities.

In the May 2 herdsmen attacks on Saghev and Ukusu, Gwer West County, the Fulanis killed two farmers as they worked, area resident said. Their corpses were recovered by community members and buried the next day.

Msughter Tarnongo, 18, was abducted on their family farm and killed by herdsmen, area resident Benjamin Ado told Morning Star News by text message.

In Ado County on May 3, a Christian was kidnapped by armed herdsmen in Agila village, a resident told Morning Star News. Abel Onazi, chairman of the Ado Local Government Area, said Ochogga Agbese was abducted at about 7 p.m.

The incident occurred while the victim was in his house, Onazi told Morning Star News by phone. Cases of kidnappings in this area have be on the rise, and our people are living under the pressure of the activities of these armed herdsmen.

On Jan. 30, Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a genocide warning for Nigeria, calling on the Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council to take action. CSI issued the call in response to a rising tide of violence directed against Nigerian Christians and others classified as infidels by Islamist militants in the countrys north and middle belt regions.

Nigeria ranked 12th on Open Doors 2020 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer the most persecution but second in the number of Christians killed for their faith, behind Pakistan.

If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.org/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at https://morningstarnews.org/donate/?

Article originally published by Morning Star News. Used with permission.

Photo courtesy: Pixabay
Airlines are exaggerating the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to make job cuts, a pilots union in the UK has warned.

Brian Strutton, general secretary of Balpa, told British politicians that carriers are looking to take advantage of the crisis.

British Airways, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic are among the airlines that have announced plans to make thousands of staff redundant.

Our third session on the impact of coronavirus on aviation is starting. First up are:@DianaHolland_, Assistant General Secretary, @unitetheunion@BrianStrutton, General Secretary, @BALPApilots



Jason Holt, Chief Executive, @swissport



Watch it live: https://t.co/MLFlzqGF2B  Transport Committee (@CommonsTrans) May 20, 2020

IAG, which owns British Airways, has said it does not expect demand for air travel to recover before 2023, while Gatwick Airport has said it could take up to four years.

Giving evidence to the Commons Transport Select Committee in the UK, Mr Strutton said: I believe that airlines are exaggerating the problem.

The predictions that some of the airline leaders are saying, of up to a five or six-year recovery, is not in line with industry standard predictions.

Last week, Iata, the International Air Transport Association  which is usually the touchstone for these things  issued its new projections, and said that by the end of 2022 we would be back to 2019 levels.

Were in a trough at the moment, we will be coming out of it over the next two-and-a-half years, and I think that airlines are egging the pudding too much to take advantage of the crisis to make changes and downsize their workforce unnecessarily.

Mr Strutton went on: We have threats of job losses starting on the 15th of June.

The one immediate thing that needs to be done is those knee-jerk decisions taken now  in isolation by different airlines  need to be called out, need to be stopped.

Government should be saying, its not the right time to be taking those decisions whilst we work out a holistic way forward for the industry.

Diana Holland, assistant general secretary for transport at the UK's Unite union, told the committee that she is extremely concerned about the future of the aviation industry.

She said: If there isnt revenue coming in to the industry its not just the airlines (affected), its the airports, its everything down the line and of course all the people that work there.

We are extremely worried about the future, and thats why we need to come together now to look at what plan we have to restart, to rebuild confidence.

Ms Holland acknowledged that there may be temporary changes to jobs, pay, terms and conditions, but stressed these must not be decimated for the future.

She added: This is about all of us.
For the first time since the United States began implementing COVID-19 lockdown, all 50 states in the country have now partially reopened. According to an international media outlet, on May 20, Connecticut became the final state to begin lifting social distancing restrictions and allowing retail shops and restaurants to reopen doors to the public. Although states have now partially reopened, several health experts reportedly said that citizens remain at risk of catching the deadly virus.

As the US has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, Dr Leana Wen, the former Baltimore City Health Commissioner reportedly said that the only thing that was keeping this very contagious virus in check was people keeping the physical distance. However, with lifting restrictions prematurely, experts warned that thousands more Americans may die. Furthermore, health officials also fear that easing the restrictions might also lead to a second spike in cases in parts of the country.

READ: Karen Pence Speaks On Mental Health Benefits Of Getting Outdoors

While speaking to an international media outlet, health experts said that the responsibility now lies with individuals to adhere to guidelines, practice safe social distancing and adapt to new habits to keep themselves and those around them safe.

As per reports, while states including Georgia and Texas rolled out aggressive reopening reaping plans, others have taken more measures approached. Sates including New York, California and Pennsylvania are reportedly only reaping parts of their states which are reporting declines in the new cases. Meanwhile, several cities also remain under stay-at-home orders and Baltimore, on the other hand, has prohibited the gathering of more than 10 people.

READ: US: Family Out On Drive Discovers USD 1 Million, Returns It To Police

US highest cases is badge of honour

With over 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 93,000 deaths, US President Donald Trump reportedly said that it is a badge of honour that the country has the highest number of infections globally. Trump said, Really, it's a badge of honour. It's a great tribute to the testing and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done.

Trumps comments have, however, received criticism from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as they believe that the President delayed his response to the virus and led a corrupt recovery effort that has favoured the wealthy and well-connected over the small businesses. How Biden reportedly also said that Trump bears full responsibility for failing to protect the nation from the worst public health and economic crisis in our lifetime.

(Image credit: AP)

READ: Biden Calls Trump 'absolutely Irresponsible'

READ: Pennsylvania Governor Criticises NFL Star For Haircut During Lockdown
As if murderous hornets werent enough, millions of cicadas are expected to invade parts of the US this summer after spending 17 years underground.

Areas of Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia will be plagued with the wailing sounds of the Brood IX infestation, which has not made an appearance since 2003 and 2004.

Officials are warning that certain areas count face as many as 1.5 million cicadas per acre.

The timing of when these creatures emerge from their sunken worlds remain a mystery, but scientist theorize they have developed this tactic to avoid predators.

Scroll down for video

As if murderous hornets werent enough, millions of cicadas are expected to invade parts of the US this summer after spending 17 years underground

Eric Day, an entomologist in Virginia Tech's Department of Entomology, said: Communities and farms with large numbers of cicadas emerging at once may have a substantial noise issue.

Hopefully, any annoyance at the disturbance is tempered by just how infrequent  and amazing  this event is.

The Brood IX infestation is set to hit parts in Southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina, and West Virginia.

North Carolina was hit with Brood II cicadas in 2013, which had also laid underground for 17 years.

What makes these creatures so interesting is that they molt and leave behind a crusty brown shell on trees, allowing them to grow a half-inch bigger

Areas of Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia will be plagued with the wailing sounds of the Brood IX infestation, which has not made an appearance since 2003 and 2004

And again, residents will soon hear the buzzing noise during the summer months.

Cicadas are large, winged brown insects with bulbous eyes.

Cicadas can be found nesting on trees

They spend most of their lives as nymphs that live in the soil and feed on tree roots.

While they stay underground, the bugs are not hibernating.

As some of the world's longest-lived insects, they go through different growth stages and molt four times before ever getting to the surface.

Then they go above-ground when below the surface reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

What makes these creatures so interesting is that they molt and leave behind a crusty brown shell on trees, allowing them to grow a half-inch bigger.

The timing of when they first come out depends purely on ground temperature.

That means early May for southern areas and late May or even June for northern areas.

Cicadas are large, winged brown insects with bulbous eyes. The timing of when cicadas first come out depends purely on ground temperature

The timing of a 13- or 17-year cycle is one of the great mysteries of the insect world. Research and mathematical modeling suggest that the length of these brood cycles could be attributed to predatory avoidance, Virginia Tech shared in a statement.

When the cicadas emerge, the amount of biomass they provide could serve as a food source for potential predators to take advantage of. It is theorized that these cicadas have evolved to avoid synching up with predator cycles by having a 13- or 17-year prime number emergence interval.
President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at a White House coronavirus press briefing.

Reuters

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio grilled Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday over the administration's coronavirus economic relief efforts.

"How many workers should give their lives to increase our GDP by half a percent?" Brown, the top Democrat on the committee, asked Mnuchin during a Senate hearing, referring to US gross domestic product.

Brown and other Democrats want the federal government to implement hazard pay, which would boost wages for essential workers.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, grilled Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday over President Donald Trump's coronavirus economic relief efforts, urging the administration to boost pay for low-wage essential workers.

While Trump and his aides are hitting the brakes on federal fiscal spending as unemployment surges, Powell is pushing the administration to spend more to help laid-off workers and businesses on the verge of bankruptcy.

Brown and other Democrats want the federal government to implement hazard pay, which would boost wages for workers deemed essential, who are risking their lives as they work through the pandemic. Many essential workers make less than laid-off Americans who collect unemployment insurance, which was increased temporarily in part to discourage nonessential workers from trying to return to work too soon.

"A grocery store worker in Ohio told me recently: 'I don't feel safe at work, and they don't pay me much. I don't feel essential  I feel expendable,'" Brown said during a virtual Tuesday hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. He added later, "Thanking is great, but is it fair that our economy pays the essential workers so little in such dangerous conditions?"

At one point during Brown's questioning, he asked Mnuchin to estimate how many American workers would die from the coronavirus if they're forced to return to work without proper measures to contain the virus' spread.

Story continues

"How many workers should give their lives to increase our GDP by half a percent?" Brown, the top Democrat on the committee, asked Mnuchin, referring to US gross domestic product.

Mnuchin replied, "No workers should give their lives to do that, Mr. Senator, and I think your characterization is unfair."

Mnuchin received bipartisan criticism on Tuesday from lawmakers who said the almost $3 trillion in aid Congress had passed wasn't getting to businesses as quickly as it should.

Trump has long pushed for the economy to reopen quickly, even as health experts urge states to follow federal guidelines meant to ensure new virus outbreaks don't grow out of control.

Brown also slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over what he called the "reckless decision" to reconvene the Senate even as health experts said the chamber didn't have the necessary measures in place to keep senators, their staff, and all Senate employees safe from the virus.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Regulators and lawmakers in more states are demanding that workers who claim they were sickened by COVID-19 get a fair hearing, if not an outright presumption in their favor.

The Wyoming House of Representatives and Senate both passed a bill on Friday that creates a presumption that any workers covered by the states monopoly workers comp system had an increased risk of contracting COVID-19. Claimants will still be required to prove the disease was contracted from work.

Also last week, the Arizona Industrial Commission issued a substantive policy statement that workers compensation insurers cannot categorically deny COVID-19 claims.

All claims must be reviewed and investigated in good faith, the statement says. Claim denials related to COVID-19, like any claim denial, must be well-grounded in fact and warranted by existing law (or based upon a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law).

The commission said the statement is advisory only. It cites to several commission decisions that establish insurers may not unreasonably issue a notice of claim status without adequate supporting information.

Several states have gone much further. California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order creating a presumption that COVID-19 contracted by any employee who had to work from home was the result of on-the-job exposure. Employers are required to decided whether to accept or deny those claims within 30 days, but workers must submit medical confirmation that they were infected by the novel coronavirus within 14 days.

Administrative orders or legislation requiring coverage for first responders, health care workers or other essential workers have been issued by at least 11 other states so far. (That doesnt include an emergency order by the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission that was rescinded after a court challenge.)

The Wyoming House File 1002  which now moves to Gov. Mark Gordons desk  falls far short of creating a presumption that would ensure infected workers get benefits, said Michael C. Duff, a University of Wyoming law professor who wrote a treatise on the states workers compensation law.

Duff said in an email that the change in statute does not ease the claimants burden to prove medical causation.

A presumption that the disease arises out of and in the course of employment is a complete presumption of causation, not a partial one, he said. And I thinkknowing the culture as I dothat the hearing officers are very likely to deny the claims.

The bill also requires the state Workers Compensation Division to issue employers an 8.33% premium refund at a cost of $16.5 million. It includes no estimate for an increase in claims cost.

So far, actuarial estimates about the potential cost of COVID-19 claims have been all over the map.

Two of the nations largest rating agencies arent even guessing how much COVID-19 might cost in permanent disability benefits, despite evidence that the virus causes long-lasting ill health effects.

The National Council on Compensation Insurance did not factor any PD awards into its projection of potential workers compensation costs, which ranged from $2.2 billion best case to $81 billion worst case. NCCI released the projections along with a tool that one can use to change assumptions about the share of workers get infected, but none of those assumptions include any PD costs.

The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau estimated that a creating a statutory presumption that COVID-19 is an occupational disease would cost $31 billion  more than three times the current total system costs of $8.7 billion. That estimate included $13.6 billion in death claims and $7.4 billion in temporary disability benefits, but no permanent disability.

The long-term health impact of the COVID-19 virus is presently unknown, the NYCIRB report says.

NCCI declined to projected any PD costs for the same reason.

A report by Bloomberg News last week suggests that there is reason to suspect COVID-19 will cause at least some permanent disability. Bloomberg reported that 14 recovered patients in Wuhan, China had not fully recovered normal functioning regardless of the severity of their symptoms. Another study of CT scans taken of 90 Wuhan coronavirus patients found that of the 70 discharged from the hospital, 66 had mild to substantial residual lung abnormalities.

Actuaries for the California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating bureau, unlike their colleagues at NCCI and NYCIRB, did venture an estimate on permanent disability claims.

WCIRBs mid-range projection says 20,300 out of a total of 472,900 COVID-19 claims will result in permanent disability. The WCIRB assumed that 20 percent of the critical COVID-19 claims will have some form of PD, resulting in an average rating of 20% with an average cost of $22,000 in indemnity costs.

The total costs are projected at $100 million for permanent disability payouts and $100 million for temporary estimate.

On the scale of Californias system, PD appears to be a small impact. The big money goes to hospitalization costs.

The bureau projected 70,900 cases will result in hospitalization but not admission to an intensive care unit, costing $53,400 per claim. Another 20,300 cases will require intensive care, at a cost of $137,800 for each claim. However, 3,300 cases would result in death, costing $1.5 billion.

WCIRB projects total costs of $11.2 billion under its mid-range estimate.

Alex Swedlow, president of the California Workers Compensation Institute, said the WCIRB estimate looks reasonable to him. Swedlow said 80 percent of COVID-19 cases do not require hospitalization. Of the 20 percent who do need to be hospitalized, about a third will require admission to an intensive care unit.

He said actuaries have no real data on which to base any solid estimates on the percentage of cases that will result in permanent disability.

The industry is trying to gets hands around basic issues of compenaiblity, Swedlow said. The data will tell us the degree that PD will become a real issue in this.
Developments are accelerating as July approaches with the looming prospect of Ethiopia acting on its threat to start filling its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Last week Ethiopia replied in a manner consistent with the mode the Ethiopian government has followed for years to the memorandum that Egypt had submitted to the UN Security Council on 1 May. Addis Ababa continues to insist on its right to act unilaterally and remains indifferent to legitimate Egyptian and Sudanese concerns regarding the dams engineering specifications, environmental and economic impacts, and the safety precautions that need to be put into place to avert catastrophe for downstream nations at some point in the future. The Egyptian memorandum to the 15-member Security Council, elevating its cause to a higher international level, expresses Egypts frustration with Ethiopias persistent refusal to conclude an agreement with Egypt and Sudan after US-mediated negotiations in Washington broke down earlier this year.

The UN must intervene constructively in this crisis that threatens the lives and wellbeing of the Sudanese and Egyptian people. Surely, the international organisation cannot sit on the sidelines and watch as Addis Ababa flouts international law and violates agreements that have been in operation for decades on the flimsy excuse that they were concluded in the colonial era.

The Ethiopian strategy to counter Egyptian-Sudanese coordination over this existential question for Egypt is inspired by an urge to assert complete and sole control over the Blue Nile, the source of most of the water that reaches Egypt. The nature of this strategy is evidenced by Addis Ababas refusal to apply one of the most important principles of the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses: the need for a country planning to utilise a transboundary watercourse to notify others sharing this watercourse of its plans in advance. In the event that the other countries believe the plan could cause them harm, the law requires the concerned parties to conclude a mutually acceptable agreement.

In 2011 Ethiopia laid the cornerstone of its GERD project and then kept to itself all the details concerning the engineering specifications, reservoir capacity and safety standards.

Once information on the envisaged dam began to leak, it emerged that the project would be much larger than Ethiopia had led others to believe. It turned out that GERD would be high enough to create a 74 billion m3 reservoir, or five times the 14 billion m3 capacity that had been approved in all previous European and US studies. Then, in the findings of the first international technical committee that was formed to study the specifications and potential impacts of the dam, it turned out that the electricity generating capacity factor of the planned hydropower plant was less than 30 per cent. Addis Ababa had billed GERD as the powerhouse of East Africa, capable of generating more than 6,000 megawatts. In fact, according to the scientists, production could not exceed 2,000 MW, which led many to ask what Addis Ababas real motives were for building a dam of such an oversized scale.

The answer to this question is obvious. The dam is a means to control how much water flows to downstream countries under the pretext of the sovereign right to use domestic natural resources as Addis Ababa sees fit. It does not take international law experts to understand the antiquated and misleading nature of the Ethiopian argument. The Blue Nile is not a domestic resource but an international one shared by other countries along the same watercourse. These countries have rights upheld by international law, not least of which is the right to ensure that hydraulic projects planned by other countries will not cause them significant harm. This is why international law requires not just engineering studies at the envisioned construction site but also studies on the potential hydraulic, economic, social and environmental impacts on other countries in the same river basin. On the basis of such studies, appropriate measures can be taken in advance to safeguard the rights of all parties and mechanisms can be put in place to determine responsibility and exact compensation in the event harm of some sort does occur.

This is why the UN Watercourses Convention underscores the principles of prior notification and mutual agreement that Ethiopia has been so stubbornly blind to as though determined to live by the law of the jungle, heedless of the needs of others.

To round out its strategy, Ethiopia has persisted in its practices of deception and misinformation, and procrastination and evasiveness. For example, when faced with criticism of their unilateral actions, Ethiopian leaders protest, we wont reduce the amount of water to Egypt by a single drop!

That is for public consumption. Behind the scenes, in the negotiating chambers and elsewhere, they adopt a different style altogether as they haggle over just how much water they can divert and in how short a time. Then they drag out negotiations across endless rounds and stretch out the intervals between one round and the next in order to buy time until they present Egypt and Sudan with the next provocation or fait accompli.

It is because of such practices that the international community as embodied in the UN and the Security Council must step in quickly to resolve this crisis before it spirals out of control.

Egypt will not gamble with the lives of the Egyptian people.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


India on Wednesday said Nepals new political map, which depicts Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepalese territory, amounts to artificial enlargement of territorial claims that wont be accepted by New Delhi.

The external affairs ministrys sharply worded response came hours after Nepals land management minister Padma Kumari Aryal unveiled the map at a function in Kathmandu attended by political leaders and officials. The three territories were shown as part of Byas rural municipality in Sudurpaschim province.

Aryal said she hoped India will take Nepals decision to publish the new map in a positive way.

But external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Nepals revised official map includes parts of Indian territory. He said in a statement: This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence.

It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India.

Nepal is aware of Indias consistent position on this issue and the government should refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity, Srivastava said. India hopes the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve boundary issues, he added.

Kathmandus move came little more than six months after New Delhi published new maps of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that showed Kalapani as part of Uttarakhand state.

Nepals council of ministers had approved the new map during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday.

The map will come into use immediatelyThe areas of Gunji, Navi and Kuti, near Kalapani, which had been left out in earlier maps, are also included in the new map, Aryal was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

Unnamed Nepalese officials were quoted by the Post as saying that the countrys total area has increased from 147,181 sq km to 147,516 sq km after the addition of disputed land that is currently occupied by India.

The diplomatic row began on May 8 after defence minister Rajnath Singh opened an 80-km road that ends at Lipulekh Pass on the border with China. The road was built so that pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region can avoid dangerous high-altitude routes through Sikkim and Nepal.

Nepals foreign ministry summoned the Indian envoy last week to protest against the construction of the road. New Delhi had rejected Kathmandus protest, saying Lipulekh is completely within the territory of India.

While addressing Nepals Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said the decision to include the three territories in Nepals map was made after India inaugurated a road link through Nepali territory. He contended that people coming from India through illegal channels were spreading the Coronavirus in Nepal.

India and Nepal share a 1,800-km open border. Nepal claims all territories east of the Kali river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh, under the Treaty of Sugauli that it signed with the erstwhile British administration in 1816.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
An appeal by the La Traditional Stool that sought to claim possession of 49,420.53 acres of land which had been acquired by Agric Cattle and Lakeside Estate Limited has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Ghana.



The Supreme Court, presided over by Jones Dotse, dismissed the case on grounds that the original suit at the high court which was initiated by the La Traditional Council is void as the council has no capacity to take legal actions against the defendants.



The La Stool was seeking possession of the land after an Accra High Court declared Agric Cattle and Lakeside Estate as the rightful owners of the land.



Background



On May 16, 2008, the La Traditional Council filed a suit at the Accra High Court claiming possession of the 49,420.53 acres of land which had been acquired by Agric Cattle and Lakeside Estate Limited.



In January 2009, lawyers for the plaintiff amended the writ and replaced La Traditional Council with the La Divisional Council after the court declared their petition nullified with reason that they were not the rightful owners of the land.



The writ went through several amendments and at the end, the plaintiffs had become Nii Obodai IV, La Mankralo, on behalf of the La Stool, SFA Limited and Fodas Estates Limited.



The defendants were Agric Cattle, Santeo Mantse (Atta Quarshie), Kantamanso Mantse (Nii Otoo Laryea), Nungua Mantse (Nii Odaifio Welentsi II) and Lakeside Estate Limited.



Decisions



In its judgement, the High Court declared 2,911.53 acres of the disputed land as the rightful possession of the defendants and the remaining 46,509 acres as the rightful possession of the La Stool.



Dissatisfied, the defendants filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal.



On March 28, 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal and reversed the decision of the High Court, declaring the whole land for the defendants.



It was that appeal that was also appealed at the Supreme Court by the La Stool and the other plaintiffs

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
Kalapani and Lipulekh in Uttarakhand shown as Nepalese territory in a new map adopted by the neighbouring country figure in land records as part of villages on the Indian side of the border, officials here said.

All the land in Lipulekh, Kalapani and Nabhidhang on the border traditionally belongs to the residents of Garbiyang and Gunji villages of Dharchula sub-division in Pithoragarh district, Dharchula sub-divisional magistrate A K Shukla said, citing records.

While over 190 acres of land in Kalapani and Nabhidhang are registered in the names of villagers of Garbiyang, the land at Lipulekh pass is mentioned in the land records as common land of Gunji villagers in the same sub-division, the SDM said.

The inauguration earlier this month of a road linking Lipulekh pass with Dharchula triggered tensions between the two countries with Nepal claiming that the area fell on its side of the border.

But villagers of Garbiyang said their ancestors used to cultivate the land in Kalapani before the Indo-China war in 1962. The cultivation stopped when border trade with China through Lipulekh pass ended following the conflict, they said.

We used to grow local cereals palthi and phaphar on our land in Kalapani and Nabhidhang before 1962, said Krishna Garbiyal, a Garbiyang village resident and president of Rang Kalyan Sanstha, a tribal cultural organisation based in Dharchula sub-division.

According to Garbiyal, the land up to Mount Api, across Kalapani in Nepal, also belonged to the Garbiyang villagers but they abandoned it after the Sugauli treaty between Nepal and British East India Company in 1816.

Under the treaty river Kali became the border between Nepal and India.

Our ancestors abandoned their land inside Nepal and retained the Kalapani land, Garbiyal said. He said Kalapani is recognised as the source of Kali river.

The tribals of Garbiyang village said the water at the source of Kali river in Kalapani is considered sacred by them.

"We immerse the ashes of our dead in the river," a villager said.

After the row that followed the inauguration of the new road, Nepal asserted that Lipulekh and Kalapani were part of its territory.

The Nepal cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the areas as Nepalese territory.

India has deployed its troops in Kalapani since 1962 and our rulers in the past hesitated to raise the issue, Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said on Tuesday.

He said the territories belonged to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
H ugh Jackman, Julia Roberts and Millie Bobby Brown are among the stars who will hand over their social media channels to experts.

This will give their millions of followers access to health and economic experts as well as insights into the life of frontline workers.

They will take part in the #passthemic initiative from the ONE campaign, giving experts a platform to share their perspectives  grounded in data, science and facts  and talk about why they believe a global response to the current pandemic is crucial for eradicating coronavirus.

They will be joined by a range of other celebs, including David Oyelowo, James McAvoy, Connie Britton, Penelope Cruz, Danai Gurira, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rita Wilson and Robin Wright for the initiative.

Jackman's X-Men co-star James McAvoy will also be involved in #passthemic / Getty Images

Roberts and Jackman have a combined total of 37.9 million followers on Instagram alone.

Among the experts featured will be Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US.

Penelope Cruz has a massive 5.4million followers on Instagram alone / Joe Maher/Getty Images

Also included will be Aya Chebbi, youth envoy for the African Union, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, former president of Liberia, Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa and Craig Spencer, director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Centre.

Julia Roberts will be the first star to pass the mic, when she speaks to Dr Fauci on May 21.

Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers 1 /9 Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers Daniel Craig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were among stars featuring in celebrity show of thanks to the NHS NHS/Twitter PA PA PA PA PA Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was among stars who join in a show of thanks for NHS workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis NHS/Twitter

Gayle Smith, president and CEO of ONE Campaign, said: Beating the virus means listening to the experts and following the science, data and facts to get ahead of it.

This impressive group of talent and experts from around the world will put a spotlight on the need for a global response to this pandemic.

We need global cooperation and action to fight this pandemic  especially for the people, communities, and countries that are least able to withstand the shock. Because none of us are safe until all of us are safe.

Additional reporting by PA
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - All persons travelling from abroad will from now on receive bills connected to a government-mandated quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19, a senior Rwandan government official told PANA in Kigali on Wednesday
For most of us in the west, epidemics are what happen to other people. Covid-19 has changed that.

Mass burials in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Raphael Alves







Only weeks behind the west

For more than two months we have been consumed by daily death counts and the latest news from Italy, Spain, France and the US. We are aware that China claims to have almost stamped out domestic transmission. The more well-read can talk about contact tracing in South Korea and Taiwan, and the possibility that Australia and New Zealand may set up a Covid-19-free travel zone. Some have wondered why we arent hearing about the people in the global south who are the usual far-away victims of epidemics.Early hopes that warmer climates might mitigate SARS-CoV-2 have been largely overturned by counter-examples, such as Singapore where warm weather and rapid spread coincide. This coronavirus is new, so pre-existing immunity in some regions is not a factor either.There are two reasons why we have not been reading more about the epidemic in the global south. First, it is occurring later there. And second, we are not paying attention.Look at any map of Covid-19 cases over time and the pattern is clear through to the middle of March  China was hit first, followed by its neighbours, then Iran, western Europe, the UK and the US. The deaths we are seeing now are following two to six weeks later in the same pattern.This pattern almost exactly overlays the map of global air travel . Infectious disease modellers have known for decades that the spread of flu viruses is predicted by patterns of air travel . With COVID-19, countries with high volumes of air travel with China were affected first, and then it spread from those countries to the others with which they have the most air links.For instance, the epidemic on the US west coast appears to have been seeded by a SARS-CoV-2 strain from China, whereas in New York City the predominant viruses are related to the slightly different strains circulating in Italy.Notable on the map of international air travel is the paucity of flights to Africa. And while there are a lot of internal flights in India, there are relatively few from China. So a highly contagious virus that doesnt need a tropical vector, such as a mosquito, is likely to follow the pattern we have observed.The virus may have got to the global south later, but all the evidence is that it has arrived, behaves the same way, and that these countries are only a few weeks behind in their epidemics. Reports from Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia and South Africa all suggest epidemics that are taking off, albeit at a slower pace in the countries that have lockdowns and social distancing in place.Many countries in the global south have limited testing capacity, and so the epidemic can advance undetected well before the waves of death. Just as in the west, some countries are in denial. But the facts are a quick internet search away. People in the west hear less about what is happening in Chennai than Cheltenham, the Western Cape than Westchester, because they are so focused on trying to dig out of our own problem.Horrible though these last few months have been, the health impact in less developed countries will be worse. While we worried about not having enough ventilators, it was reported that at least ten countries in Africa dont have a single ventilator. While oxygen saved the life of the British prime minister, many hospitals in Africa have shortages of soap, let alone oxygen. In India, over 80% of deaths happen at home, often without medical interventions. A younger age structure may mean fewer deaths per million, but the toll will be high, and almost certainly underestimated.Locked down, with employment uncertain and the NHS under immense strain, it is no wonder we are concentrating on what is happening to our friends and neighbours. Shockingly, the field hospitals we set up in west Africa during the Ebola epidemic have now popped up in the convention centres of our own cities. But lets spare a thought for those living in countries in which the health system barely exists, the international charities are stretched thin, and who know that help is not arriving from western countries that are frantically stockpiling PPE and cannot spare personnel.The pandemic has brought us many tragedies. It would be a further tragedy if our once-in-a-century personal experience of an epidemic caused us to overlook yet another wave of suffering in less developed countries.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article
Andy Cohen has been isolating with his son Benjamin, one, in New York City since over coming the novel coronavirus.

And the Bravo host brought his toddler out to Lenox Health Greenwich Village to applaud the healthcare workers battling the pandemic on the front lines.

Sure to keep six feet between himself and others who came out to support the workers, the 51-year-old clapped his son's hands, on Tuesday.

Moment of appreciation: Andy Cohen brought his son Benjamin, one, out to Lenox Health Greenwich Village to applaud the healthcare workers battling the pandemic on the front lines Tuesday evening

The Watch What Happens Live host was sure to wear a green bandana as a face mask, as New York state requires face masks in crowded areas, including sidewalks.

He covered up for the cool evening in a baby blue hooded sweatshirt, light wash denim jeans and mustard color sneakers.

Benjamin was monochromatic for the outing, in a navy blue zip-up hoodie, dark wash jeans and blue slide-on sneakers.

Parents have been encouraged not to put face masks on their young children as it can cause them difficulty breathing.

Protected: The Watch What Happens Live host was sure to wear a green bandana as a face mask, as New York state requires face masks in crowded areas, including sidewalks

For weeks New Yorkers have been clapping in support for hospital workers across the city at 7pm.

Others joined the producer on the sidewalk, also wearing face masks to applaud the workers.

Andy welcomed his son Benjamin via a surrogate in February 2019.

Cute: Andy recently posted cute pics of himself and his 16-month-old son wearing matching pajamas to his Instagram and wrote in the caption: 'Three cheers for PJ Party!'

Earlier this month, Andy posted cute pics of himself and his 16-month-old son wearing matching pajamas to his Instagram and wrote in the caption: 'Three cheers for PJ Party!'

Back in April, Cohen showed off the tot during his Watch What Happens Live @ Home interview with late night host Stephen Colbert.

Prompting Benjamin to point to his head, the little boy eagerly obliged throwing a dazzling smile as he did so.

Doting dad: The Watch What Happens Live host, 51, welcomed his son Benjamin via a surrogate in February 2019

'Get this kid in show business. He can take direction,' Colbert quipped.

Like any proud papa, Cohen is marking every milestone in his child's life.

At the beginning of May, he revealed that Benjamin had started walking and he took him for his first stroll around their New York neighborhood.

He's a natural: Back in April, Cohen showed off the tot during his Watch What Happens Live @ Home interview with late night host Stephen Colbert. Prompting Benjamin to point to his head, the little boy eagerly obliged throwing a dazzling smile as he did so

Cohen has also been offering support to pal Anderson Cooper who became a dad himself via surrogacy in late April, welcoming a baby boy he named Wyatt.

Cooper has hired the nanny that cared for Benjamin during his first year and Cohen has spoken publicly about his delight at the CNN anchor joining him in fatherhood.

'I'm so happy for Anderson,' Cohen said on his SiriusXM show. 'We've been talking about this for a long time and I have been really enjoying Anderson coming over. His visits with Ben have taken on a special significance since we both knew for a while that Anderson was planning on [becoming a dad] himself.'
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the world's leading providers of life insurance, pensions and asset management (the Group) has partnered with RegTech provider FundApps to automate its shareholding disclosure process. FundApps was selected by the Group as their preferred supplier after a comprehensive RFP process.

Photo by Ian on Unsplash

Headquartered in The Netherlands and operating globally, the Group manages more than EUR 800 billion of revenue-generating investments. FundApps' Shareholding Disclosure service will enhance and simplify their compliance processes, enabling the Group to automate their shareholding disclosure in 90+ jurisdictions. The FundApps service combines a powerful rules engine backed by the legal information provider aosphere; a growing community of more than 1,000 users around the world and dedicated support from a team of compliance experts located in London, New York and Singapore. With support for major shareholding, short selling, takeover panels, issuer limits and more, FundApps will enable their compliance team to disclose quickly and accurately to global regulators.

"Our mission is to make compliance simple for financial institutions. We realised the best way to do this is to provide more than just software, so we blend technology with regulatory expertise," said Andrew P. White, CEO and founder of FundApps. "Our approach allows us to respond to regulatory change within hours or even minutes, rather than days or weeks, without ever needing clients to write rules themselves - something that's very relevant these days! Our model allows us to provide instant updates to our clients, which falls in-line with our clients' nimble and flexible approach to investing."

About FundApps: Since 2010, FundApps has been committed to making compliance simple by providing a client-focused service to automate monitoring of regulatory requirements. With offices in London, New York and Singapore, the company monitors over USD 11 trillion in client assets with 1,000+ users from compliance teams at asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and banks around the world.

FundApps' services automate the most difficult tasks in financial compliance, enabling compliance teams at top-tier financial services organisations to get more done in less time. An industry expert with a vast rule library and a dedicated in-house legal & regulatory team, FundApps enables compliance teams to respond more efficiently to regulatory change, increase certainty and reduce complexity in the compliance process.

www.fundapps.co

Press Contact:

Name: Arianne Rosmolen, Marketing Manager

Email: [email protected]

Press Material

Related Images

one-of-the-worlds-leading.jpg

One of the world's leading providers of life insurance, pensions and asset management (the Group) has partnered with RegTech provider FundApps to automate its shareholding disclosure process

Photo by Ian on Unsplash

SOURCE FundApps
SHANGHAI, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, global prestige beauty retailer Sephora joins hands with leading cross-border e-commerce platform Tmall Global to launch the Sephora Tmall Global Flagship Store. As part of the launch, a show room presenting cross-border beauty products with "cloud shelves" in the physical Sephora store is also being unveiled to further enrich customer experience and create online-offline synergy. This partnership connects Chinese customers to the world and synchronizes the local community with global beauty trends by bringing together numerous emerging and popular overseas beauty brands and offering the benefit of breaking geographical and time barriers through cross-border e-commerce.

"Based on our long-term relationships with global beauty brands, we are glad to cooperate with Tmall Global to introduce overseas brands into China market. Through the synergy of online and offline channels, consumers can access overseas brands to fulfill their emerging and evolving needs," said Benjamin Vuchot, Asia President of Sephora. "This initiative is very special to Sephora, as we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of Sephora in China this year. The opening of the Sephora Tmall Global Flagship Store offers a great opportunity for Sephora to continue reinforcing its commitment to the China market, by catering to the Chinese consumer's ever-changing trends and evolving needs to enhance their beauty power."

Sephora Tmall Global Flagship Store is launched with a series of signature brands' China debut, such as NATASHA DENONA, a popular American beauty brand well known on social media for its hottest eye shadow palette; and Sunday Riley, an emerging brand that embraces global beauty trends, technology and plant extracts. In addition, the cross-border online store also brings in the 100% cruelty-free beauty brand Fenty Beauty founded by the music, fashion and beauty icon, Rihanna; French independent perfume house, Bon Parfumeur; one of the bestselling natural skincare brand in Sephora America, Farmacy; and Dermalogica, known for its professional skin health products.

Rooted in China for 15 years, Sephora has witnessed the constant evolution of China's beauty needs. Today, consumers are not satisfied with just popular big name brands but instead desire a wider range of choices of niche overseas brands that help them to demonstrate their personal style with a bold and 'dare-to-try' attitude. The store provides Chinese consumers with 600 products from 25 overseas brands, that cover make-up, skincare, fragrance and hair care products, enabling them to turn on their beauty power without national boundaries.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1170831/Sephora.jpg
India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist

India logs over 3.17 lakh new Covid cases in last 24 hours; daily positivity rate up at 16.41 per cent

COVID-19 fatalities may be much more than what is being reported

Micro-identification, mass isolation, quick treatment helped India in COVID-19 fight: Vardhan

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, May 20: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday said the country's policy of micro-identification, mass isolation and quick treatment helped prevent large scale deaths and spread of COVID-19.

He said 1.35 billion Indians honoured the decision of nationwide lockdown that helped keep the mortality rate down and contained the spread of COVID-19 so far.

Addressing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Health Ministers' meeting through video conference, Vardhan stressed that human welfare must be the basis of all economic growth.

The meeting was chaired by Ogtay Shiraliyev, Minister of Health, Republic of Azerbaijan, the Union Health ministry said in a statement.

Vardhan said the present COVID-19 pandemic crisis also reminds the people that the global institutions of governance need to become more democratic, transparent and representative to be credible and effective. A reformed multilateralism is the need of the hour, he said.

"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured speed, scale and determination in the handling this crisis.

"Armed with a political will to ensure that we defeat this dreadful disease, 1.35 billion Indians came together to honour the decision on nationwide lockdown that have kept our mortality rate down and contained the spread of the disease," the statement quoting Vardhan said.

"Our policy of micro-identification, mass isolation and quick treatment reaped good dividends in preventing large scale spread and deaths due to COVID-19," he said.

The NAM summit is being organized at a time when the international community is faced with a pandemic which has disrupted lives and livelihood of millions of people around the world.

The NAM expressed its concern at the global threat posed by COVID-19 and resolved to fight it with proper preparedness, prevention, resilience-building, and greater national, regional and international collaboration, the statement said.

Offering his condolences to families across the world who have lost their loved ones to this deadly disease, Vardhan said, "COVID-19 has made us realize that we are more interconnected and interdependent than ever before.

Fact check: Does putting mustard oil into the nose kill coronavirus

"It has made us realize that the man-made challenges that our planet faces today - such as climate change and public health emergencies - can only be faced together, not when we are divided. It requires collaboration, not coercion."

In India, the health minister said, the government swung into action and added capacity in terms of infrastructure as well as manpower.

With a fleet of 10,000 dedicated COVID hospitals and Care Centers and a trained healthcare workforce of over two million, there was no looking back, he said, adding that India took every possible step to ensure that it contains the spread of the virus.

"We also ensured that focus on COVID-19 should not mean neglect of patients of other diseases," he stressed.

Along with taking care of its citizens, India also extended help to other countries, Vardhan said, adding that it has promoted coordination to counter coronavirus and organized capacity building by sharing its medical expertise with the neighbouring countries.

"India is living up to its reputation as the pharmacy of the world, especially for affordable medicines," he said.

Vardhan said besides meeting the domestic needs, India has provided medical supplies to over 123 partner countries, including 59 members of NAM.

The country is also taking active part in the global efforts to develop remedies and vaccines, he said. "As developing countries, it is our people that stand to be the most profoundly affected by these changes. We must all realize that our destinies are linked like never before," he said, seeking constructive deliberations, cooperation and collaboration in the spirit of solidarity and fraternity that characterizes NAM.

Acknowledging the contribution of the frontline workers, Vardhan said, "Let us all stand up to clap for all frontline COVID warriors - our doctors, our nurses, our paramedics, our sanitation and security staff, our army, police and paramilitary forces, our journalists, all those who are putting their lives at risk for us, and for their families who are sending their members to the battlefield with all the risks.

"They have taught us a lesson, and that lesson is to never forget that human welfare must be the basis of all economic growth," he said.
(CNN)  Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has resigned after months of pressure over his alleged involvement in the murder of his estranged wife in 2017.

In a televised address Tuesday morning, Thabane said the time for him to retire "from the great theater of action, take leave from public office" had come.

The official resignation comes after the 80-year-old Thabane repeatedly said that he would retire.

Thabane's former wife, Lipolelo, was shot by gunmen shortly before his inauguration as the Prime Minister of the tiny African nation. The couple were separated and had been pursuing a divorce before her death.

His current wife, Maesaiah Thabane, has been charged in the murder and has been granted bail.

The country's police also sought to charge the Prime Minister with Thabane's murder, but his lawyers argue he should be granted immunity against prosecution.

Both the Prime Minister and his wife have not spoken publicly about the allegations, but for months the tiny mountain kingdom has been roiled by the scandal.

On Tuesday, Thabane blamed his resignation on rival politicians seeking political gain. And continued to claim that his departure was voluntary.

"When I made a voluntary announcement in January this year to retire from office on or before 31 July, I did so with all sincerity because of my full conviction and belief that to everything, there is a season; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted," he said, quoting scripture.

He will be replaced by his finance minister Moeketsi Majoro who will be inaugurated Wednesday.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Lesotho Prime Minister Thabane resigns after months of pressure over alleged involvement in murder of estranged wife."
PARIS - One of the most wanted fugitives in Rwandas 1994 genocide, Felicien Kabuga, appeared before a French court Wednesday days after his arrest but a decision on his fate was delayed until next week.

Kabuga, 84, was arrested outside Paris on Saturday after 25 years on the run. He was brought into a Paris courtroom in a wheelchair, wearing a face mask. He had been living north of the city under an assumed name, shielded by his children.

Kabuga, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, is accused of equipping militias in the genocide that killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus who tried to protect them.

Rwandan prosecutors have said financial documents found in the capital, Kigali, after the slaughter indicated that Kabuga, then a wealthy businessman, used dozens of his companies to import vast quantities of machetes used in the killings.

The Paris court quickly decided to delay until next week the hearing on whether to hand him to the U.N.s International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals based at The Hague in the Netherlands.

The U.N.s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted Kabuga in 1997 on charges related to conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination.

Defence lawyer Laurent Bayon said Kabuga wished to be tried in France, citing health reasons. He did not give details.

We have eight more days to prepare his defence, Bayon said.

It is unacceptable to do such a fast procedure when justice has waited for 25 years. Justice can wait another 10 days before wanting to send it I dont know where, the lawyer added.
New Delhi, May 20 : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a scheme to provide foodgrains free of cost to the migrants/stranded migrants under the provision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' package for two months.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its ex-post facto approval for allocation of foodgrains from Central pool to approximately eight crore migrants/stranded migrants at the rate of 5 kg per person per month (May and June, 2020) for two months free of cost, said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in a statement.

It would entail an estimated food subsidy of about Rs 2,982.27 crore.

Further, the expenditure towards intra-state transportation and handling charges and dealer's margin/additional dealer margin will account for about 127.25 crore which will be borne fully by the Centre, said the statement.

Accordingly, the total subsidy from the government of India is estimated at about of Rs 3,109.52 crore.

The allocation will ease the hardships faced by migrants/stranded migrants due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19, said Food Ministry.

Only those migrants will get the benefit of this scheme who are not covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA).
A Utah police officer has denied saving explicit photos of a college student who provided them as evidence of being blackmailed by her ex-boyfriend.

University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey, 21, confided in campus cops in October 2018 that she was being extorted by her sex-offender ex, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, who said he had access to some of her personal images and was threatening to release them if she didn't pay him $1,000.

Terrified by the demand, McCluskey paid Rowland the money, and then sent copies of his threatening messages and the pictures in question to police as evidence.

Officer Miguel Deras then allegedly saved the compromising photos of the young track star onto his phone, before showing them to at least one male colleague and bragging about being able to ogle at them any time he wanted.

Just nine days after filing the report, Rowland shot McCluskey dead on campus, and then turned the gun on himself. The promising athlete had ended the relationship a month earlier after discovering Rowland was a registered sex offender who had lied about his name, age and criminal history.

Deras's lawyer, J.C. Jensen, has strongly denied the accusations made against his client in the Lake Tribune article.

'No evidence. No physical evidence. Not a single picture was downloaded to his personal cell phone,' Jensen told KSL TV. 'I want the public to step back and read the article and realize there are flaws in the article.'

University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey, 21, confided in campus cops in October 2018 that she was being extorted by her sex-offender former boyfriend, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, who said he had access to her personal files and was threatening to release them if she didn't pay $1,000

Terrified by the demand, McCluskey paid Melvin Rowland (right) the money, and then sent copies of the messages and pictures in question to police as evidence.

McCluskey is said to have given the photographs to Deras, who is now a police officer with the Logan City Police Department, as evidence against Rowland's actions.

Deras has been accused of downloading the images to his phone and showing them to another officer. His lawyer said the photos were on his phone as he used it for work - but that they were in an email and nowhere else on the device.

He said that Deras showed the photo to a senior member of the department in order to push the case forward, but did not make any 'disparaging remarks'.

An independent investigation by the university found that there was no evidence to support the allegations made. However, the college's new police chief has decided to start another based on the 'seriousness of the accusations, the thoroughness of the report, and to avoid any perception of bias.'

'The people who were supposed to be helping and protecting Lauren were actually exploiting her,' Jill McCluskey, Lauren's mother, told the Tribune. 'I wish that Deras had used his time to arrest the man who was committing crimes against Lauren.'

Along with her husband Matt, the McCluskey family filed a $56 million lawsuit over police handling of the case, after an independent review found Deras did very little to investigate McCluskey's complaints.

On the morning of October 22, McCluskey called Deras to report that Rowland was trying to lure her out of her dorm. Deras never passed that information along to anyone else in the department and hours later she was shot dead.

'This latest revelation makes me wonder when we'll hit bottom,' Matt McCluskey, told the Tribune.

Another officer confirmed to campus police that he had been shown the images by Deras, with another confirming he had heard the conversation taking place.

The first officer told investigators in September 2019 that he had been sitting next to Deras during a briefing in between shifts, when Deras leaned over towards him and started scrolling through the images on his phone.

Deras, who now works for Logan Police 85 miles away, declined several requests to comment, the paper said. Campus police say the officer who was shown the images has not been disciplined because he didn't ask Deras to see them.

While the university confirmed that Deras had in fact saved and shared the images, the revelation only came to light when the Tribune started asking to access records, officials said.

'He was long gone before we had any inkling that that incident with the photo being shown had occurred,' Lt. Jason Hinojosa told the paper. 'We did identify one person who could confirm. He came forward after the investigation [had] begun.'

In their lawsuit filed last October, the McClusky family (left to right: Dad, Matt; Mom, Jill) accused the school of failing to protect their daughter or for taking responsibility for her death. They're seeking $56 million in damages but say the money would go to a trust designed to improve campus safety

The university claims to have no physical evidence of Dera's misconduct. In July 2019, investigators attempted to download data from Deras' cellphone, but anything yielded was either corrupted or from after the McCluskey case. This was partly because Deras got a new cellphone after McCluskey's death and didn't transfer all of his files to the new device.

Sharing or displaying a compromising photo of someone without the person's consent could be prosecuted under Utah's revenge porn laws. The first offense can result in a misdemeanor charge. Because the statute requires proof that a victim was harmed, McCluskey's death could complicate a prosecution.

Also complicating matters, the university claims to have no physical evidence of Deras's misconduct.

In July 2019, investigators attempted to download data from Deras's cellphone, but anything yielded was either corrupted or from after the McCluskey case. This was partly because Deras's got a new cellphone after McCluskey's death and didn't transfer all of his files to the new device.

Major Scott Stephenson, who oversees all police training in the state under the Utah Department of Public Safety, said the discovery could be grounds for action against Deras's police certification.

'It's very alarming to me,' Stephenson told the Tribune, suggesting it might be a 'policy violation' for the incident having not been reported earlier.

In their lawsuit filed last October, the McClusky family accused the school of failing to protect their daughter and for failing taking responsibility for her death. They're seeking $56 million in damages but say the money would go to a trust designed to improve campus safety.

'This latest revelation makes me wonder when we'll hit bottom,' Matt McCluskey (pictured above with Lauren), told the Tribune

On the morning of October 22, McCluskey called Deras to report that Rowland was trying to lure her out of her dorm. Deras never passed that information along to anyone else in the department and hours later she was shot dead.

McClusky was said to have madbee as many as 20 police reports about Rowland before her death. Her friends also reported concerns to dormitory officials, the lawsuit said, but they were ignored

The lawsuit alleges that officials missing the warning signs of dating violence and made no effort to stop Rowland's harassment or ban him from being on campus.

McCluskey was said to have made as many as 20 police reports about Rowland before her death. Her friends also reported concerns to dormitory officials, the lawsuit said, but they were ignored.

An independent review was commissioned by the university and found that the school indeed missed warning signs of abuse before McCluskey was found shot in a car after returning from a night class.

However, university president Ruth Watkins says there's no reason to believe Rowland could've been stopped.

In response the lawsuit, UofU has pledged to run more frequent checks to identify ex-convicts and investigate on-campus complaints more thoroughly.

They've also hired more officers, increased training, and streamled communications between housing officials and police.

McCluskey received a track scholarship following a standout high school career in Pullman, Washington. She finished second in the state for the 100 hurdles and fifth in the high jump in her senior year. She specialized in jumping events in college and ranks 10th all-time at Utah in the pentathlon.
Houston police are investigating a deadly shooting at an apartment complex on the citys westside Wednesday morning.

Officers were called to the Brisa at Shadowlake apartments on Shadowbriar Drive near Westheimer around 9:10 a.m. for the reported shooting. A 911 caller told dispatchers a man kicked down an apartment door and shot someone before fleeing with a TV in hand, according to initial information from Houston police.

TRIPLE SHOOTING: 1 killed, 2 injured in shooting at northeast Houston home

Another caller told dispatchers they heard multiple gunshots. It is unclear if anything else of value was taken.

Paramedics pronounced the victim dead as soon as they arrived, according to a Houston Fire Department official. The victim was not immediately identified.

HPD homicide detectives are investigating. This is a developing story.

Anyone with information is urged to call Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
Sok Oudom, the owner of Rithysen radio station and website, was arrested and charged with broadcasting false news on a local land dispute in Kampong Chhnang, central Cambodia. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) regrets the arrest and calls for Sok Oudoms immediate release.

Authorities in Kampong Chhnang charged Oudom on May 14 under Article 495 of the Criminal Code for a story published on May 12, accusing the report of inciting villagers to encroach on state land in the Aural Wildlife Sanctuary. Oudom faces between six months and two years in prison and fined one million to four million riel (US$250 to US$1,000) if found guilty.

As the investigation continues, the prosecutor and the Kompong Chhnang provincial police chief have not provided specific details of the crime.

The licenses of Rithysen radio and website have also been revoked for allegedly inciting violence and chaos which, the Ministry of Information has warned, violates the license terms. The radio station, known for its reports on local disputes, was granted an operating license in 2014 and the news website has operated since 2018.

Press freedom in Cambodia continues to deteriorate due to the ongoing arrest and harassment of journalists, and the shutdown of independent media. IFJ has launched a monitoring and advocacy campaign page to raise awareness and solidarity to promote press freedom and the peoples right to know in Cambodia.

The IFJ said: IFJ condemns the ongoing arrest of journalists. Sok Oudom is one of at least a dozen of journalists who have been summoned and questioned for doing their jobs. Authorities in Cambodia must recognise the role of journalists in providing information in the publics interest. IFJ demands authorities drop all charges against these journalists and release them immediately.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

"A nation or world of people who will not use their intelligence are no better than animals which do not have intelligence. Such a people are beasts of burden and steaks on the table by choice and consent," says Henry Odoi, money scientist and president of Ghana Monetary Institute (a non-profit public trust dedicated to an independent study of money history, theory and reform.)

Careful consideration proves that he is right. He argues that, why should our Government with the sovereign authority and constitutional right to create and issue Ghana money give that power away to private international bankers and then borrow that same money back at interest? Why should the Finance Minister, in the midst of a global pandemic, focused more on borrowing "peanuts" which cannot solve the countrys problems instead of using alternative legal tender? Why should our Government, using the Covid-19 Trust Fund, beg for money from private individuals and businesses instead of the other way round whilst the majority of citizens suffer in hardship.

Henry Odoi, president of Ghana Monetary Institute, has proposed three (3) financial solutions:

First, the Local Government Money Act (Bill). A 5-year economic empowerment plan. A draft legislation to create Ghana money in the form of non-interest bearing credit (Treasury money) for local governments such as regions, constituencies, assemblies and chieftaincies for funding capital projects including health facilities, school facilities, environmental facilities, sewer and waste facilities, water and irrigation facilities, energy facilities, streets, motorways, bridges, tunnels, public buildings and other public infrastructure.

Second, the Ghana Money Creation Act (Bill). A draft legislation to provide the Bank of Ghana with exclusive right to create and issue all currency for direct funding by Government to modernize, improve and upgrade the physical economy and to promote the general welfare.

Third, the Ghana Dollar. A new legal tender note, a currency invention to complement the Ghana Cedi. A domestic money for domestic economy for domestic goods and services for domestic people. "Domestication" Money!

So, to answer Ken Ofori Attas question "What should a Finance Minister do?", I suggest he should call Henry Odoi, the money scientist, on 020-499-7519 now to save the nation and Ghanaians from debt, poverty and Covid-19.

Or, are we truly a nation of "less intelligence"?
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:5

Jesus preached the Beatitudes to teach us what it means to have a truly repentant heart. Matthew 5:5 is included in the well-known Biblical text called the Beatitudes, virtues that should characterize those who are ready for the kingdom and to assure them of blessing and reward when it comes (Moody Bible Commentary). Meek isnt a common word we use to describe someone. A deeper look at its true meaning explains why such a characteristic is a rare commodity. To be meek is to be kind and gentle, submissive or compliant, tame, and humbly patient or docile. God sees every part of our hearts, and His truth serves as a necessary guidepost to ensure we are living the way He has called us to live.

The Meaning of "Blessed Are the Meek"

Meekness is humility. And in the case of Christianity, it describes how we are to depend on God rather than ourselves or the world. In Matthew 5:5, Jesus referred to Psalm 37:11, which says, But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The meek humbly acknowledge their dependence on the goodness and grace of God (NIV Study Bible). King David addressed the seemingly unfair plight of good things happening to bad people and vice versa. With a heart after Gods very own, he put the temporary the happenings of the world in perspective. Ultimately, he points to a just and fair God, who is not unaware of our situation. Prosperity is better translated peace, for it refers to spiritual (inner) as well as material (outer) completeness (Moody Bible Commentary).

The word Jesus used here for meek is a Greek term that describes the breaking of a powerful stallion, wrote Greg Laurie for Harvest Daily Devotions, In the same way, when we surrender ourselves to Gods will, we exhibit meekness.

Christians, through the power of Christs sacrifice on the cross, confess their sins to God. Jesus explained that repentance is a literal turning away from the sins we confess. When we decide to turn from sin, we mature in meekness. The Beatitudes show us how God shows up when we obediently decide to surrender to His will in our lives. Our Creator knows whats best for our hearts, and Jesus explained the product of a repentant life in relatable terms. We are not naturally inclined to meekness because of the fallen world we live in and the sinful nature we are born with. In Christ, a repentant life and all of the fruitful changes of heart that come along with it will abound. Meek is not so much an attitude toward people, but rather a disposition before God, namely, humility (NIV Study Bible). Its not something we can earn by what we do but, rather, what happens when we let go and turn our lives over to God.

Why Would Jesus Say Something That Sounds Backward?

During Jesus days on earth, and today, prideful achievements and self-motivations are applauded and encouraged by the world. Society grooms us to look out for ourselves, to keep ourselves happy, and to go after everything we supposedly deserve in this life. Jesus message was quite the opposite. The very Son of God came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28).

Christ chose to save us from sin that warrants punishment of death. What Jesus offers us, in Matthew 5:5 and beyond, is a chance to experience the life we were created to live, apart from the curse of sin we are born with and live under in this world. The ability to confess our sins, repent, and grow in our faith requires us to humbly admit, confess, and repent of our sin. That certainly isnt the way of the world. We are much more inclined to justify our mistakes and argue in favor of our shortcomings. To gain something from humility and submissiveness seems backward. And by the worlds standards, it is. We dont gain anything the world would consider a gain when we choose meekness. However, we gain something much more valuable than the world has to offer.

In Christ, we gain His kingdom for eternity. So, when all of the temporary things of this world pass away  its accomplishments, accolades, cliques, and possessions  we will live forever in perfect peace and harmony with Him. It takes great faith to stake our whole lives on something and someone we cannot see, which is why Jesus words are so important. Anger arises from weakness of character, wrote Scotty Smith for thegospelcoalition.org, The meek man is able to conquer his fury. The pursuit of Gods truth is vital to our faith because it allows us to gain a glimpse of His kingdom perspective. Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount so that his Father would get the glory for the way the disciples lived, preached John Piper, His aim was to create a lifestyle in his disciples that would make people think about the value of God.

Should We Pursue Meekness?

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in Gods sight. - 1 Peter 3:3-4

God calls us to follow Jesus in order to experience life to the full (John 10:10). The meek are content in this world, even though they are not striving according to its standards. I think sometimes cultivating traits like meekness and humility are trickier than learning boldness because we can easily tip the scales too far and become passive, wrote Sarah Phillips for crosswalk.com, Its a difficult balance, but a necessary one if we want to reflect Christ to a hurting world.

Christs preaching was radical, considering the Messiah was expected by most to be a powerful king by earthly standards. To further understand the benefits of a meek countenance, Matthew Henry wrote of meekness:

The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to god, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men (Titus 3:2); who can show their displeasure when there is occasion for it, without being transported into any indecencies; who can be cool when others are hot; and in their patience keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of any thing else. They are the meek, who are rarely and hardly provoked, but quickly and easily pacified; and who would rather forgive twenty injuries than revenge one, having the rule of their own spirits. These meek ones are here represented as happy, even in this world. They are blessed, for they are like the blessed God himself, who is Lord of his anger, and in whole fury is not. They are blessed, for they have the most comfortable, undisturbed enjoyment of themselves, their friends, their God; they are fit for any relation, and condition, any company; fit to live, and fit to die. (Biblestudytools.com)

Proverbs 16:32 says, Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city. When we pursue Christ, He challenges us to replace our pride with meekness. We cannot stronghold our way through this world, but the choice to be meek shouldnt be confused with weakness. You can be blessed if youre a meek person, wrote Greg Laurie, It means that you are no longer inflated with pride. We will sacrifice our pride for meekness, with a quiet and godly confidence in our promised inheritance. Scotty Smith wrote, Meekness is the way to be like Jesus. (Mat 11:29). It is not the profession which makes us like Jesus- but imitation (thegospelcoalition.org).

How Christians Should Interpret "Blessed Are the Meek

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. - Matthew 11:29

Jesus came to show us the way. Learn from me, He says in the verse above. He gave us a glimpse into the very character of our Creator and modeled a life in honor and glory to His Father in heaven. We can look and learn from Jesus in Scripture, especially in passages like the Beatitudes. In Christ. we are led to the feet of our Heavenly Father.

The gentle rely on God to reverse their fortunes (Moody Bible Commentary), while The meek, preached John Piper, are people who wait on the Lord. Instead of running toward other solutions and consolation, we run straight to God the Father. Great faith has deep roots, and those with deep roots are not easily shaken. As Christians, we can operate in humility because we trust God.

Much is unfair and suffering abounds, but we choose to trade our ability to reason with His wisdom. Biblestudytools.com explains, Meekness toward God is that disposition of the spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting (New Testament Greek Lexicon). As Christians, we interpret blessed are the meek, as an assurance its safe to trust God with the outcome and purpose of our lives. He is trustworthy. It is who He is. Our choice to remain rooted in our trust of God produces meekness. Characteristics like these become the fruit of our faith as we daily seek God through prayer and the study of His Word.

When we have developed a proper trust in God, we do not worry about or compare ourselves with the world because we know it, and all of its ways will pass away. Jesus is the Truth and the Life. Therefore, as Gods chosen people, says Colossians 3:12, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

The Beatitudes are radical and difficult to apply to our lives. God never promised that following Jesus would be easy, but we are assured a full life and an eternal inheritance when we pursue Christ. Like anything worth pursuing, meekness will cost us. But as we work for the glory of the Lord, He grows and matures our hearts. For the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7) when we seek to imitate our Savior.

A Prayer to Be Meek

Father,



Meekness is not applauded in this world. Its often associated with weakness, and no-one wants to be weak. Give us a greater understanding of the characteristic of meekness and allow us to be strengthened in our faith as we pursue Jesus. Grant us Your peace, which surpasses all understanding. Following Christ can often feel like swimming up-stream. The current of the world is strong, and we face much resistance. Help us to see it as strength training. Sustain us when the waters threaten to sweep us up and steal our focus. Fix our eyes on You, Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and soften our hearts and minds to be malleable enough to bring You glory in all we set out to do.



In Jesus powerful name we pray, Amen.

Photo credit: GettyImages/TinnakornJorruang
As the state sees fewer hospitalizations of people with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the last six patients at the field hospital at the DCU Center will be transferred or discharged, Worcester city officials said Tuesday.

The field hospital was set up at the beginning of April to help local hospitals handle an incoming surge of coronavirus patients. Now, seeing the number of hospitalizations on a downward trend, City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said the ability to close the field hospital is a milestone.

I think its a good sign that we see the need for that facility to be able to be mothballed, Augustus said Tuesday at the citys daily press briefing.

Officials are currently discussing leaving materials of the facility intact in case there is another surge of cases in the coming months, Augustus said.

The six patients at the filed hospital on Tuesday is three fewer than Monday. The patients will be discharged or transferred to a local hospital by the end of the day on Wednesday, the city manager said.

Augustus on Tuesday announced 34 new cases of the virus, bringing the citys total to 3,556 cases.

Between the UMass Memorial Health Care system and Saint Vincent Hospital, there are 235 inpatients with coronavirus on Tuesday, one fewer than Monday. Of those patients, 87 are in the intensive care unit, also one fewer than Monday, Augustus said.

The two systems have seen 228 patients die from illness related to coronavirus, which is five more since Monday.

A total of 284 employees of the systems have tested positive for the respiratory illness, Augustus said.

At the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, there are 70 coronavirus patients on with seven discharges and four admissions, the city manager said.

The state-run facility at the Quality Inn for people who have coronavirus but cannot isolate has 16 patients on Tuesday, the same amount as Monday.

In towns around Worcester, there are 254 cases in Shrewsbury, 70 in Holden, 74 in Grafton, 118 in Leicester and 196 in Millbury.

Related Content:
As countries around the world slowly begin to come back to life, governments are experimenting with exactly how prescriptive they should be when giving guidelines on how people should navigate the new normal  including on sex and dating. It has involved some trial and error.

In the Netherlands, Dutch officials relaxed the governments rules on sex during the coronavirus pandemic, advising last week that locked-down singles find sex buddies. Acknowledging that human touch is important, the guidance said the two parties must be in strict agreement about limiting the spread of the virus.

Discuss together how to best do that, the guidelines said. Follow the rules around the new coronavirus.

Officials at the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands later clarified that advice, however, removing the term seksbuddy from the website after it drew attention from the international news media.
Seoul: The inauguration of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's second term has been overshadowed by a war of words between Beijing and Washington, underscoring how the US-aligned island has become a growing focus of the rivalry between the world powers.

China issued angry warnings after senior US officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger, sent rare, high-level messages to congratulate Tsai on the day of her swearing-in ceremony, at which the Democratic Progressive Party leader reiterated her rejection of a "one China" principle that Beijing considers a cornerstone of relations.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to absorb the island by force, if necessary. With nationalist sentiment running hot in China, military officials and well-known foreign affairs commentators have openly pondered whether to invade the island while the United States, its main backer, is distracted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The US-China bitterness surfaced in another forum on Wednesday as President Donald Trump tweeted, "Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China" for the COVID-19 pandemic.
New SLAS Discovery auto-commentary available

Oak Brook, IL - Protein phosphatases play an essential role in cell signaling, yet due to a lack of appropriate tools, they remain understudied compared to protein kinases. In the latest auto-commentary from SLAS Discovery, "Controlling Phosphate Removal with Light: The Development of Optochemical Tools to Probe Protein Phosphatase Function," researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) explain the design principles considered in developing an optically controlled protein phosphatase, opportunities and limitations of the methodology.

Taylor M. Courtney, Ph.D., and Alexander Deiters, Ph.D., (University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA) describe the thought process behind their experiment, which was originally published in a 2019 issue of Nature Communications. (Optical Control of Protein Phosphatase Function. Nat. Comm. 2019, 10, 4384.) In recent years, the importance of phosphatases has become top of mind, yet not much is known about their role in disease management due to the complexity of studying this particular enzyme. Courtney and Deiters, however, took on the challenge and explored the role of phosphatases as drug targets.

In their research, they were able to develop two different approaches for rendering MKP3 (a dual-specific phosphatase, also termed DUSP6) activated by light. More specifically, Courtney and Deiters expressed the protein with strategically placed light-removable protecting groups in cells with an expanded genetic code. This allowed for the acute perturbation of the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway upon photoactivation in live cells, confirming that MKP3 does not act as a thresholding gate for growth factor stimulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ESRK) pathway.

In the balance of the auto-commentary, Courtney and Deiters detail their study and discuss their predictions for how the two new approaches can be used to better understand future protein-protein interactions in drug discovery.

###

Read the complete SLAS Discovery auto-commentary at journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2472555220918519 through July 13. For more information about SLAS and its journals, visit http://www. slas. org/ journals .

SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of 16,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS Discovery: 2018 Impact Factor 2.192. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN (USA). SLAS Discovery (Advancing Life Sciences R&D) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS).

SLAS Technology: 2018 Impact Factor 2.048. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore). SLAS Technology (Translating Life Sciences Innovation) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA).

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Science BGR

Our Sun isnt quite as old as other stars out there. However, scientists are already trying to pinpoint exactly when the Sun will die. Of course, it isnt as simple as throwing out a date. After all, were working with a massive ball of energy that weve still barely managed to scratch the surface of  The post Scientists think they figured out when the Sun will explode and kill us all appeared first on BGR.
This press release is not for distribution in the United States or to U.S. news agencies

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) ("Aston Bay" or the "Company") announces a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering"), subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), for aggregate gross proceeds of $600,000. This fully subscribed placement is in response to strong interest following closing of the first tranche of the previous private placement (see February 28, 2020 Aston Bay news release) and supersedes that placement, which expired under regulatory guidelines. The funds raised under this placement will permit the Company to move to the next phase of exploration, including drilling, at the Company's Buckingham Gold Project in Virginia, USA, this summer.

The Offering will consist of units (the "Units") at a price of $0.06 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one full warrant (a "Warrant") entitling the holder thereof to acquire an additional common share (the "Warrant Share") of the Company at an exercise price of $0.12 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The Warrants will be subject to acceleration provisions when the volume weighted average trading price is greater than $0.25 for 10 consecutive trading days.

The Offering will be conducted pursuant to available prospectus exemptions including sales to accredited investors, family members, close friends and business associates of directors and officers of the Company, to purchasers who have obtained suitability advice from a registered investment dealer pursuant to the exemption set out in BC Instrument 45-536 (the "Investment Dealer Exemption") and to existing shareholders of the Company pursuant to the exemption set out in British Columbia Securities Commission BC Instrument 45-534 (the "Existing Shareholder Exemption").

The Company plans to allocate the gross proceeds of the Offering to: (i) exploration on its Buckingham Gold Property in Virginia, USA ($400,000) and (ii) general working capital ($200,000). Although the Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering as described above, the actual allocation of proceeds may vary from the uses set out above depending on future operations, events or opportunities.

The Offering is fully subscribed. Subscriptions will be accepted at the discretion of the Company and subject to the approval of the Exchange; therefore, it is possible that a subscriber's subscription may not be accepted by the Company even though it is received within the Offering period.

The Existing Shareholder Exemption is available to shareholders residing in all Canadian jurisdictions. Shareholders of record of the Company as at May 19, 2020 (the "Record Date") are eligible to participate under the Existing Shareholder Exemption. To rely upon the Existing Shareholder Exemption, the subscriber must: a) have been a shareholder of the Company on the Record Date and continue to hold shares of the Company until the date of closing of the Offering, b) be purchasing the Units as a principal, and c) either may not subscribe for more than $15,000 of securities from the Company in any 12 month period or have received advice from a registered investment dealer regarding the suitability of the investment. Existing shareholders interested in participating in the Offering should consult their investment advisor or the Company directly.

All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to statutory hold periods in accordance with applicable United States and Canadian securities laws.

The securities offered have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold absent registration or compliance with an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

Subject to Exchange approval, finder's fees may be paid to persons who introduce the Company to investors.

About Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for gold and base metal deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona.

The Company has acquired the exclusive rights to an integrated dataset over certain prospective private lands and has signed agreements with timber and land companies which grants the company the option to lease the mineral rights to 11,065 acres of land located in central Virginia. These lands are located within a gold-copper-lead-zinc mineralized belt prospective for Carolina slate belt gold deposits and Virginia gold-pyrite belt deposits, as well as sedimentary VMS, exhalative (SEDEX) and Broken Hill (BHT) type base metal deposits. Don Taylor, who led the predecessor company to Blue Ridge and assembled the dataset, has joined the Company's Advisory Board and will be directing the Company's exploration activities for the Blue Ridge Project. The Company is actively exploring the Buckingham Gold Project in Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands in the area.

The Company is also 100% owner of the 1,024,345-acres (414,537-hectares) Aston Bay Property located on western Somerset Island, Nunavut, which neighbours Teck's profitable, past-producing Polaris (Pb-Zn) Mine just 200km to the north. The Aston Bay Property hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit with drill-confirmed presence of sediment-hosted copper and zinc mineralization.

The Company's public disclosure documents are available on www.sedar.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this press release, including those regarding the completion of the acquisition, management objectives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the future may constitute "forward-looking statement", which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of such verbs as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "plan", and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative forms. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press release, Aston Bay's expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not supported by historical fact are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which apply only at the time of writing of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by securities legislation. We seek safe harbour.

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 news release.

THIS PRESS RELEASE, REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE CANADIAN LAWS, IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO SELL ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN IN THE UNITED STATES. THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN, AND WILL NOT BE, REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED OR EXEMPT THEREFROM.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer

thomas.ullrich@astonbayholdings.com

(416) 456-3516

Sofia Harquail, IR and Corporate Development

sofia.harquail@astonbayholdings.com

(647) 821-1337

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590699/Aston-Bay-Holdings-Announces-Fully-Subscribed-Non-Brokered-Private-Placement-Additional-Drilling-Planned-at-Buckingham-Gold-Project-Virginia
Peter Luger Steak House, which traces its roots to 1887, decided to start delivery so it could partially reopen during the coronavirus pandemic, General Manager David Berson told CNBC on Wednesday.

"To best serve our customers, delivery was the best option for us," said Berson, whose great-grandfather brought the place in 1950. "You feel like this could be the start of what will hopefully be the transition" to eventually reopening the dining rooms.

To offer delivery for the first time ever, the iconic steakhouse partnered with delivery app Caviar, the DoorDash-owned service that positions itself to serve higher-end restaurants. Peter Luger customers can also do pickup from the Brooklyn location only. Peter Luger's other location is in Great Neck on Long Island.

Normally mostly cash-only in its dining room, the restaurant also had to start taking credit cards to facilitate delivery and pick-up services. Traditionally, the accepted forms of payment besides cash had been the Peter Luger card and gift certificates as well as U.S. checks and debit cards.

"As far as the best safety practice, credit cards only was the clear choice to us," Berson told "Worldwide Exchange."
Police arrest stolen vehicle suspect who fled, entered occupied home

The homeowner was able to get out of the home safely, but Aberdeen police are now negotiating the surrender of the suspect.
Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop.

Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News

Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time.

Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up!

Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.
Financial scam victims are still being brushed off by the banks a year after a ground-breaking refund scheme was launched.

The new rules were supposed to put an end to the devastating cost of fraud. But as fraudsters seek to cash in on the coronavirus crisis, a new report by the payments regulator has revealed banks are still too quick to dismiss victims.

Money Mail launched its Stop The Bank Scammers campaign 18 months ago to prevent blameless victims being left out of pocket.

As fraudsters seek to cash in on the coronavirus crisis, a new report by the payments regulator has revealed banks are still too quick to dismiss victims

And we welcomed the introduction of a new voluntary code of conduct in May last year which set out how banks should treat customers who have been tricked into making payments.

This included a pledge to fully reimburse those who had done nothing wrong. Most major banks, nine in total, have now signed up to the code.

TSB has its own fraud guarantee that promises to reimburse innocent victims. Since April 15 last year the bank has reimbursed 99 per cent of all fraud cases.

The 1 per cent that were rejected involved customers being involved in the fraud.

Yet only 4 in every 10 lost to the so-called push payment scams was refunded last year following the code's introduction - leaving victims more than 41 million out of pocket, according to UK Finance figures. Before the code, 1.90 in every 10 was returned.

Now a review by the Lending Standards Board, which oversees the new code, reveals that some banks are still unfairly blaming victims to avoid paying refunds.

The regulator says banks had rejected some claims before considering the full circumstances.

Others refused payouts because they claimed customers had not paid attention to general fraud warnings on the bank's website.

Banks are also failing to keep records of how they made decisions, the report says. The regulator has now told banks to review cases where customers may have been treated unfairly.

The disappointing report into the new rules and refund scheme is the second blow in just two months.

Mail won back my 190,000 John Burburry, 83, lost 190,000 to an investment scam, but only got his life savings back after asking Money Mail for help. Fed up with poor savings rates, the retired engineer was desperate to get a reasonable return on his nest egg when he stumbled across an attractive offer with well-known international bank BNP Paribas. The website advertised two corporate bonds, Tesco and Yorkshire Water Services, paying 5 per cent and 6.5876 per cent respectively, four times more than the 1.2 per cent he was earning. Retired engineer John Burburry lost 190,000 to an investment scam after clicking on a fake website John who lives in Kent with wife Jan, 80, entered his details on the website and was contacted by the company's 'investor relations team'. After a series of telephone calls, John bought 20,000 of Yorkshire Water Services bonds, and 170,000 of Tesco bonds the following week. But John, never received the monthly income he had been promised. The website had appeared genuine, including a copycat logo and company number, but it was fake, and John had been conned. He says: 'The bottom fell out of my world.' John contacted Barclays to see if the money could be recovered. Under the new code of conduct, the bank should have responded within two weeks. But it was not until more than a month later that he received a call  and he was only offered counselling. It was only following Money Mail's intervention that Barclays refunded John the full 190,000 plus 8 per cent interest. The bank claims it never told John he wouldn't get a refund. A spokesman says: 'On this occasion we have failed to meet the high standards that Mr Burburry can expect to receive from Barclays, and for this we have offered our sincere apologies.'

In March new figures from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) exposed that victims were being reimbursed in fewer than 50 per cent of cases.

And when banks do pay out, they rarely refund customers in full. The findings forced the watchdog to admit the code is not working as well as it had hoped, resulting in 'inconsistent and poor outcomes for consumers'.

Fraud consultant Richard Emery, from 4Keys International, says: 'I am deeply concerned that the banks are not complying with the code. The banks either do not understand the code, or are purposely not applying it correctly.'

Gareth Shaw, from lobby group Which?, says: 'Many banks are falling far too short of providing the protection needed for blameless victims of bank transfer scams.

'All banks signed up to the scams code should be required to regularly publish their reimbursement figures, to expose those that are making a mockery of it.'

Sam and Dave Pentin, both 53, were duped by a fraudster who posed as their solicitor on email to steal 14,200 they were putting down as a deposit on a property in Penryn, Cornwall.

Sam, a writer and businesswoman, says: 'We saw no reason to question who we were communicating with.'

When the couple, from Falmouth, realised they had been scammed in December, Dave immediately called Lloyds. But five months on, they had not had any of it back.

Sam says: 'Lloyds says it has been waiting for HSBC to respond but I feel as if it has washed its hands of us.'

Only after Money Mail intervened, did Lloyds agree to refund 8,024 it recovered from the HSBC account, and HSBC paid back the rest.

A Lloyds spokesman says: 'We have a great deal of sympathy for Mr and Mrs Pentin. Unfortunately they received different account details in an email from a different address and did not check these details with the solicitor.'

Banking body UK Finance disputed the PSR's data.

A spokesman says: 'Customers who fall victim to authorised push payment fraud are reimbursed provided they did everything expected of them under the code. Each claim will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.'

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
A North Carolina hospital has reported a growing number of people attending COVID-19 parties with the purpose of trying to intentionally get infected with coronavirus, prompting a stern warning from leaders and experts.



"Over the last few days, we have heard from a lot of patients and the community that theyre unafraid of getting the virus," said Yolanda Enrich, a nurse practitioner with Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. "People are actually out and about trying to get the virus, so attending gatherings, parties trying to maximize their chances of exposure."



Enrich said patients say they are trying to develop an immunity to the virus, speeding up their ability to go about their day-to-day lives without having to take precautions against COVID-19.

"We're really concerned about this trend," Enrich said. "They can spread the virus around the community and hurt our vulnerable populations that will have serious health implications."

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the gatherings are "completely irresponsible and absolutely unacceptable" during a media briefing from the Joint Force Headquarters. "You can easily kill someone you love."

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, also spoke about the parties during the governor's briefing.

"There is no circumstance under which we want people to actively pursue getting COVID-19," Cohen said. "The reason we're working so hard collectively to keep virus spread low is the fact that when there is more virus in our community, it not only impacts those who have it, but particularly those who are at high risk of getting severe reactions to disease."

Cohen said they're hearing of young people saying, "I'm fine, I'm gonna go get COVID-19."

The problem, Cohen said, is that these people then go into the community and infect high-risk individuals.

"We implore folks not to do that," Cohen said. "We are nowhere near herd immunity. A party will not help us in any way. Please do not do that."

Enrich said the virus has changed the way she and her colleagues treat patients, from implementing new workflows to working outside in the rain to rescheduling non-emergency appointments. Still, she said, she's happy to be a part of treating patients and educating the community about the novel coronavirus.

She urged families to continue following safety recommendations to protect against the virus.

Watch the video above to learn more about this story.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 16:10:56

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 301 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Troy Energy Corp. (the "Corporation" or "Troy") (NEX: TEG.H) announces that it intends to conduct a private placement financing of up to 5,000,000 common shares at a price of $0.03 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $150,000 and up to 5,000,000 flow-through shares at a price of $0.04 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $200,000 (total aggregate gross proceeds are therefore $350,000). This financing is subject to regulatory approval. In accordance with applicable securities laws, the common shares issued under this financing will be subject to four-month hold periods. The proceeds from this private placement will be applied towards the payment of licensing fees in respect of the Corporation's 3,231 hectare Yellowknife Gold Belt mineral property located 90 kilometres north of Yellowknife, for exploration work on the aforementioned mineral properties and for the payment of outstanding payables.Forward Looking StatementsExcept for statements of historical fact relating to the Corporation, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management 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 projected in the forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:Richard WingatePresident and Chief Executive OfficerPhone: (306) 229-5029James Owen, Troy Energy Corp.Chief Financial OfficerPhone: (250) 465-1806Neither 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 the release.SOURCE: Troy Energy Corp.
Sen. Ben Sasse wrote a book called The Vanishing American Adult.

After his video graduation address Saturday to the Class of 2020 at his alma mater, Fremont High School, there seems to be one fewer.

Sasse turned what could have been a life-changing event  graduating amid the greatest crisis this nation has seen in at least a half-century  into part political rally, part stand-up routine. Comedy is hard. Even the pros get it wrong sometimes. But Sasses video for graduating seniors was especially cringeworthy.

His repeated digs at Chinas role  never mentioning that the U.S. had any culpability for where the nation sits today  were in poor taste, emphasized our victimhood and set an immature tone. A far better point might have been whatever happened in China happened in China. When the coronavirus arrived in the U.S., we needed to take responsibility for ourselves and our well-being.

Some of China's actions invite criticism. But a high school commencement address was neither the time nor the place for it.
President Trump at the White House. (Associated Press)

To the editor: The Democrats should thank President Trump's campaign for coming up with "Transition to Greatness" as its slogan all on its own.

"Transition" is generally understood to mean from one thing to another. For Trump, whether he knows it or not (and I think not), this translates as the greatest built-in sales gaffe of all time. It leaves him mired in the past, having to justify three-and-a-half years of a disastrous reign (especially the last few months of despicable conduct during a pandemic) in order to win a second term.

On the other hand, as a slogan for former Vice President Joe Biden's campaign, the meaning of "transition" is crystal clear and works as a positive driver toward a better future. He should use it  with special thanks to the president for the gift.

Steve Fine, North Hollywood

..

To the editor: However vapid Trump's 2016 campaign slogan was, "Make America Great Again" helped him win the election. Even those of us who fretted over his administration's glaring shortcomings during his first three years in office have had to concede his mastery of self-promotion.

But this year's COVID-19 crisis has laid bare Team Trump's unprecedented ineptitude and mounting chaos, all of which raise dire concerns about the president's well-being.

Trump's embarrassingly lame 2020 campaign slogan  "Transition to Greatness"  provides yet another sign that he has lost it.

Robin Groves, Pacific Palisades

..

To the editor: As a venture capitalist focused on building new medical technology and biotech companies, I travel the world meeting fascinating scientists and visionary entrepreneurs. When talk turns to politics, I'm appalled at how much respect we've lost over the three-plus years of Trump's presidency.

We've retreated from treaties and engagement with friends on global issues. We've snubbed allies and foes alike.

In fact, Trump's slogans are the only thing on which he and I agree. His defeat will enable a "Transition to Greatness," and his successor can reenter the world stage and "Make America Great Again."

Brian Dovey, La Jolla
The Venezuelan Government held a ceremony to mark the 130th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh on May 19, with the participation of officials of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

President Ho Chi Minh (File photo: VNA)

At the event held at the bust of the late President in Caracas, PSUV Vice President Diosdado Cabello highlighted the Vietnamese leaders contributions to the struggle for national independence, as well as the Vietnamese peoples strong sentiments for him.

Cabello also underlined the similarity in the struggles of people of the two nations against powerful forces, affirming that the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people serve as an example for Venezuela to protect the achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Meanwhile, on his Twitter account, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro spoke highly of the patriotism and steadfastness of the Vietnamese people nurtured by the President Ho Chi Minh, which helped the country emerge victorious from past struggles.

The Venezuelan government on May 19 congratulated the Party, State and people of Vietnam on the birth anniversary of their great leader and one of the most prominent figures of the 20th century./.

US symposium features life, career of President Ho Chi Minh

President Ho Chi Minh (R) receives US intellectuals protesting the Vietnam war



An online symposium on the life, thoughts and career of President Ho Chi Minh took place in New York on May 19 on the occasion of the late leaders 130th birthday.

The event was co-organised by the Vietnam Mission to the United Nations, Vietnamese representative agencies in the US, and the associations of Vietnamese students in New York and Boston.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, said President Ho Chi Minh left many invaluable legacies for later generations, with the largest one being his contribution to the struggle for national liberation.

After the country regained freedom and independence in 1945, a number of Vietnamese intellectuals worldwide decided to return to Vietnam to revive the country thanks to the late Presidents great influence.

The second largest legacy is the Presidents Thoughts in diverse areas, he said, adding that the late leader was aware of the role of other countries and respected them.

According to him, he was most impressed by the Presidents forecasting ability.

President Ho Chi Minh attached importance to the power of great national and international unity, leading the country from success to success, he said.

The ambassador also shared documents and literary works on President Ho Chi Minh with Vietnamese students and answered their questions regarding the application of Ho Chi Minhs Thoughts in Vietnams diplomatic orientations in the current context.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos held a meeting to celebrate the occasion.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Russias Vladivostok city also organized events to commemorate the late leader.

HCM City-Saint Petersburg video meeting marks Uncle Hos 130th birthday

Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan speaks at the event.

A video meeting was held on May 19 by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Russias Saint Petersburg administration and the Embassy of Vietnam in Russia to mark President Ho Chi Minhs 130th birthday (May 19).

The event also aimed to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

In his opening remarks, Governor of Saint Petersburg Beglov Alexander recalled the visit of President Ho Chi Minh to Petrograd (Saint Petersburg today) in 1923, marking a new milestone in Vietnams struggle for independence. Events paying tribute to the Vietnamese national hero have been organised in the city on May 19 every year since 2018, he said.

He expressed his pride for Saint Petersburg to play a crucial part in the Vietnam-Russia relations that have been built on the long-standing friendship and mutual assistance, saying the ties between Saint Petersburg and HCM City are growing strongly in the fields of economy, education, tourism and youth cooperation.

Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan, for his part, said learning from Marxism-Leninism and October Revolution and with the help of the former Soviet Union (Russia today), Nguyen Ai Quoc, an alias of President Ho Chi Minh, had found the way to free Vietnamese people from the feudal regime and French colonists, win the resistance war against the US and reunite the country.

He affirmed that Vietnamese leaders and people always remembered Russias support for the countrys struggle for independence and national reconstruction.

Vietnam wants to lift the friendship and bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia to a new height, he said, adding that HCM City and its people will do their utmost to strengthen ties with Saint Petersburg to contribute to the two countries relations.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh and Russian Consul General in HCM City Aleksey Popov also delivered remarks highlighting the role of President Ho Chi Minh in nurturing the bilateral relationship as well as directions for the bilateral ties to expand further in the future./.

President Ho Chi Minhs birthday celebrated in Ukraine, Germany

At the tree-planting event

Vietnamese agencies in Ukraine and Germany have held meaningful activities to mark President Ho Chi Minhs 130th birthday (May 19, 1890-2020).

The Party Committee in Ukraine organized a tree-planting event at the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine on May 19.

Ambassador Nguyen Anh Tuan recalled that President Ho Chi Minh initiated a tree-planting movement which later has become a beautiful tradition of Vietnam. He affirmed that the Presidents idea on planting tree  cultivating people has remained a valuable lesson.

Earlier, the embassy coordinated with the Ho Chi Minh School in Kiev to hold a seminar on President Ho Chi Minh and a contest on the life and career of the Vietnamese President.

The same day in Germany, the Vietnamese embassy held an incense offering ceremony to pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh./.

International parties, friends offer congratulations on President Ho Chi Minhs birthday

At a ceremony marking the 130th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi



Many parties and friends in the world have sent messages of congratulations to the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee on the occasion of the 130th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh.

In its message, the Central Committee of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP) said the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh is associated with the revolutionary causes of the Vietnamese and Indochinese people, the international communist movement and the struggle for freedom and independence of oppressed nations around the world.

The LPRP Central Committee said President Ho Chi Minh had always provided valuable and timely support for Lao people during their national liberation cause, thus contributing to the success of the Lao revolution.

President Ho Chi Minh and Presidents of Laos Kaysone Phomvihane and Souphanuvong built the Laos  Vietnam ties into a powerful bloc of solidarity to defeat foreign invaders. Such special solidarity has become a pure, loyal and rare relationship in international relations, and a valuable asset of the two nations, and one of the factors deciding the victory of each countrys revolution.

The Party, State and people of Laos will preserve such everlasting ties together with the Party, State and people of Vietnam, the message said.

Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) said President Fidel Castro Ruz and President Ho Chi Minh, leaders of two countries, nurtured their close-knit ties.

The CPC reaffirmed its determination to further consolidate the special friendship with the CPV, believing that President Ho Chi Minhs teachings and testament will continue guiding the Vietnamese people and future generations in their socialism building cause./.

Ceremonies held to mark President Ho Chi Minhs 130th birthday in Laos, Thailand

At the ceremony in Laos (Photo: VOV)

Ceremonies marking the 130th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh were held in Laos and Thailand on May 19.

At a memorial site dedicated to the late President in Xieng Vang village in the Lao province of Khammouane, the local community of overseas Vietnamese brought traditional Vietnamese cakes to put on the altar to remember the late President.

They were joined by delegates from the Vietnamese Consulate General in Savannakhet, the Laos - Vietnam Friendship Society, and the Vietnamese Association in Khammouane.

Delegates recalled major milestones in President Hos revolutionary life and memories of him crossing the Mekong River from the Thai province of Nakhone Phanom to Xieng Vang to set up a revolutionary base.

They expressed gratitude to the late President, who dedicated his life to the struggle for national independence and freedom in the two countries.

On the same day in Vientiane, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung hosted an incense-offering ceremony for the late President.

In the northeastern Thai province of Udon Thani, Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Hoang Ngoc Son and 100 overseas Vietnamese offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh relic site. The site, the first of its kind in Thailand, was opened in 2006.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Udon Thani Luong Xuan Hoa said that after arriving in the province, the President built a revolutionary movement and opened classrooms for the Vietnamese community during the 1928-1929 period.

Udon Thani is home to the largest community of Thais of Vietnamese origin in Thailand, with about 60,000 people./.

Documentary on President Ho Chi Minh aired on Venezuelas national TV

President Ho Chi Minh surrounded by children in 1960. (File photo)

A documentary on President Ho Chi Minh was aired on May 18 on Venezolana de Television (VTV), the state-run television station in Venezuela, to commemorate his 130th birthday (May 19).

Ho Chi Minh  Chan dung mot con nguoi (Ho Chi Minh: a Portray of a Man) by Vietnamese director Bui Dinh Hac was broadcast as part of the Latin American countrys activities to introduce the life and revolutionary career of the Vietnamese leader and national hero to its people.

The documentary tells stories about Vietnams struggle for national independence and portrays President Ho Chi Minh as a simple and devoted man who had great love for his nation and fought for its independence and freedom to the last breath.

Radio station Radio Nacional de Venezuela (RNV) has also aired a special show, featuring journalist Angel Miguel Bastidas who used to work in Vietnam for years, to talk about the late President and Vietnams revolutions in the past and national reconstruction and development today./.

Kazakhstani Ambassador: Ho Chi Minhs Thoughts penetrate into Vietnams social life

President Ho Chi Minh (first from right)

The Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Vietnam, Yerlan Bayzhanov has written an article sent to the Vietnam News Agency sharing his deep feelings about President Ho Chi Minh and the value of his political heritage.

In the article, written to mark the 130th birthday of the late President, the diplomat remarked that there is a commonality between Vietnams success in fighting COVID-19 and Ho Chi Minhs Thoughts.

According to him, President Ho Chi Minhs Thoughts have penetrated deeply into all aspects of Vietnamese social life. He added that all Vietnamese people exercised discipline and upheld a collective spirit, placing the common interest above personal benefit.

Apart from close collaboration between authorities, the Vietnamese people united, adapted to changes and stood determined to overcome difficulties. Such qualities were also strengthened by patriotism, he said.

Patriotism was a key characteristic of Ho Chi Minhs ideology, Bayzhanov said, as Vietnams freedom and independence were priorities throughout his life and career. The late leader also placed the national interest above class views.

The Ambassador quoted Professor Vladimir Kolotov from the Far East History Department at Saint Petersburg National University in Russia as saying that Ho Chi Minhs Thoughts are a system of viewpoints of the leader regarding the Vietnamese revolutionary process, including refined ideals from the French and American revolutions, Marxism-Leninism, and traditional philosophies in Far Eastern countries, which have been systemised based on Vietnams national culture.

The ambassador recalled that his father  a journalist - arrived in Vietnam in 1984 and 1987 and published a book entitled Nation of Bravery. He said he was strongly impressed by Ho Chi Minhs modesty and simple life after visiting his house.

The Ambassador also said that Vietnam has built a consistent reform policy and market mechanisms to achieve political and economic stability with more welfare policies provided to the public.

Regarding Vietnam - Kazakhstan ties, he said the second President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, attached great importance to ties with traditional friends.

Kazakhstan considers Vietnam an important partner in Southeast Asia, he said, adding that the two economies could be supplementary to each other.

He stressed that Kazakhstan understands Vietnam and believes that Ho Chi Minhs Testament will be realized.

Russian, Indian scholars share feelings about President Ho Chi Minh

Professor and Dr Vladimir Kolotov, head of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at the Saint Petersburg State University

President Ho Chi Minhs thoughts were built on a firm foundation of revolutionary ethics, Professor and Dr Vladimir Kolotov, head of the Ho Chi Minh Institute at the Saint Petersburg State University, told Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Russia on the occasion of the late Presidents 130th birthday.

One of the leading Russian scholars in Vietnamese studies, Kolotov stressed that the Presidents ethical values were solid based on the combination of both Western and Eastern philosophy.

President Ho always emphasised the just role of the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national liberation and reunification, he stated.

He highlighted the role and significance of morality and justice amid an unstable world, stressing the need to popularise President Hos thoughts, as the more the world relies on ethics, the better it will become.

President Ho Chi Minh, he went on, not only played an important role in Vietnams liberation and reunification but was also a renowned revolutionary who wrote books on revolutionary theory and practices in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Kolotov also affirmed that President Ho always left a good impression on those he met.

Several Indian scholars also shared their opinions on President Ho.

Professor Jayachandra Reddy, head of the Centre for Southeast Asian and Pacific Studies at the Sri Venkateswara University and co-editor of the book Ho Chi Minh with India, affirmed that the whole world recognises that Ho Chi Minh is a legendary Vietnamese leader.

He admires President Ho, he explained, because of his leadership and unyielding fighting spirit for national liberation.

Sharing the same opinion, General Secretary of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee of West Bengal state Prava Samantaray said she is impressed by President Hos characters and lifestyle and has taken part in many seminars, programmes, and lectures on the late Vietnamese leader./.

Officials stress President Ho Chi Minhs significant role in Lao revolution

The Vietnam-Laos combatant alliance was established in 1950 under the impervious and clear-sighted leadership of the Indochinese Communist Party (File photo: VNA)

Had it not been for the leadership and guidance of President Ho Chi Minh, the revolution in Laos would not have been as successful as it was, according to Sounthone Sayachak, Chairwoman of the External Relations Commission of the Lao Peoples Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee.

She made the comments during a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 130th birthday of the late Vietnamese leader (May 19).

She noted that the Indochinese Communist Party, the predecessor of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the LPRP, was established on February 3, 1930, by Ho Chi Minh, who was then known as Nguyen Ai Quoc. Since its foundation, the struggle for independence by the Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian peoples witnessed historic turning points and ended in glorious victories, leading to the independence of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, and of Laos on October 12 of the same year.

Under the impervious and clear-sighted leadership of the Indochinese Communist Party, the Vietnam-Laos combatant alliance was set up and, during the nine-year resistance war against the French colonialists, gained successive triumphs, in particular the historic victory of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in May 1954 that forced the French to sign the Geneva Accords and recognise the independence of the three Indochinese countries.

The peoples of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia then continued to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the fight against the US imperialists and won a resounding triumph in 1975, ending one of the fiercest wars in the history of humankind, according to Sounthone Sayachak.

She said the Lao Party, military, and people are well aware that the success of their revolution is inseparable from Vietnams revolution and attributable in part to the priceless and timely assistance from the CPV, President Ho Chi Minh, and the Vietnamese army and people.

It could be said that the success of the Lao revolution, the establishment and development of the LPRP, and the complete liberation of the Lao people and them following the path of socialism are due to the leadership and guidance of President Ho, the chairwoman noted.

Echoing this view, former Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Somsavat Lengsavath said that from the late 1940s onwards, President Ho Chi Minh shared Vietnams experience in building military resistance bases with Kaysone Phomvihane, who was later President of Laos, and this is why the late Lao leader chose Houaphanh province, which borders Vietnam, as the countrys revolutionary base.

President Ho Chi Minh also assigned General Vo Nguyen Giap to directly coordinate with Kaysone Phomvihane to help Laos develop its military. Thanks to President Hos sincere support and judicious recommendations, the Lao Issara (Lao Freedom) Army, now the Lao Peoples Armed Forces, was established on January 20, 1949, and the Neo Lao Issara (Lao Freedom Front), now the Lao Front for National Construction, in 1950.

Somsavat Lengsavath said the Vietnamese leaders recommendations were precise and suited the circumstances in Laos at the time, helping its revolution attain consecutive victories in national liberation and development.

Meanwhile, Kikeo Khaykhamphithoun, Secretary of the LPRP Central Committee and Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, said President Ho Chi Minh was always a close friend of the Lao people and greatly contributed to the countrys revolution.

He quoted the late leader as saying that if the Lao revolution hadnt succeeded and the colonialists hadnt been driven out, the Vietnamese revolution and country would not have been able to survive.

The minister emphasised that President Ho Chi Minh held a crucial role in the revolution in Laos, adding that the Lao people always keep in mind his dedication and will continue to apply his advice in todays development efforts, particularly the promotion of the special solidarity between the two countries./.VNA
The Ministry of Information has disclosed that Ghana has received samples of the popular Madagascar COVID-19 herbal mixture.



In a tweet, the Ministry said testing has begun to confirm its efficacy.



"We have received the Madagascar cure for Covid19 and we are testing it for efficacy," the tweet read.



The tonic is produced from the artemisia plant  the source of an ingredient used in a malaria treatment  and other Malagasy plants.



WHO views



The World Health Organization (WHO) has, however, not endorsed this herbal mixture because there is not yet evidence or proof that it can cure COVID-19.









Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
By Hilary Russ

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prime storefronts left empty by failed businesses. Cheaper or even flexible rents. Landlords willing to add drive-thru lanes.

As the coronavirus permanently shutters some small businesses, big fast-food brands like Domino's Pizza, Chipotle and Wendy's that were doing well before the crisis want to grow - or continue pre-existing expansion plans - after the pandemic subsides.

David Deno, chief executive officer of Outback Steakhouse parent company Bloomin' Brands, told Reuters in an interview that "I don't mean to wish ill on anybody, but there's going to be real estate opportunities," for new stores or relocations to areas with "better visibility, better access and better parking."

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc <CMG.N>, Taco Bell owner Yum! Brands Inc <YUM.N>, and Domino's Pizza Inc <DPZ.N> are among several household names planning post-pandemic growth, according to their CEOs.

"Brands that are doing well in this environment should have an opportunity to expand their footprint," said David Gibbs, Yum chief executive officer, in an earnings call in late April. "There's no reason to think that this brand is not going to be a growth business long term. And unit development is a big part of that."

In the month of April, retail properties collected less rent than other real estate sectors, according to a Citi note on Friday after a week of real estate investment trusts' earnings reports.

Malls collected only 28% of rents and shopping centers 60%, among other commercial property declines, Citi found.

"It's really a time of opportunity for these firms to entrench themselves into where they want to be," said Susan Wachter, professor of real estate finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "The retail landscape is going to be open for redeployment and for expansion of the firms whose market share is growing."

Story continues

"You are going to have a location reshuffle based on the tenants that offer what people will want post-COVID," said Scott Crowe of the real estate investment firm CenterSquare Investment Management, including the ability to spend less time inside and lower prices.

Starbucks Corp <SBUX.O> and McDonald's Corp <MCD.N> could also be among those that grow, said Neuberger Berman analyst Kevin McCarthy.

"We're in a period of a few years where independents lose and chains gain" as much as 10% to 15% of market share, McCarthy said of the restaurant industry. The winners of that share grab will be those models centered around convenience and accessibility.

"It was a trend going 30 miles an hour, now accelerated to 100 miles an hour," McCarthy said. "It's corporate Darwinism on steroids."

There is precedent for fast-food expansion in the face of crisis. In 2010, Burger King was able to grow its brand in Western Europe at the tail end of the financial crisis.

"These were some of the best years we had in Western Europe with many of our developing partners because there is tremendous opportunity," said Jose Cil, chief executive officer of Restaurant Brands International Inc <QSR.TO>, parent company of Burger King and Popeyes, in a May 1 earnings call.

"Our business works in almost any environment," Cil told Reuters, adding that it is positioned to capture market share in Europe, Asia, the United States and Canada. "We're very excited and bullish long term."

To be sure, the path to expansion could be choppy. Sales plunged in late March and April, leading many corporations to drop their financial forecasts and stop construction projects to save capital costs.

Even if they wanted to keep building, permitting has been temporarily halted in many places.

Occupancy restrictions will make reopening dining rooms tricky, and some restaurants may eventually change their floorplans to adapt to a new way of dining out.

Nonetheless, Shake Shack Inc <SHAK.N> CEO Randy Garutti said during a May 4 earnings call that "as additional real estate and development opportunities become available, we'll be ready to capture the white space ahead."

Wendy's Co <WEN.O>, Papa John's International Inc <PZZA.O> and Yum China Holdings Inc <YUMC.N> also discussed post-coronavirus expansion during recent Wall Street calls.

"If there's opportunities that make sense for us on the real estate side, we will pursue those," said David Hoffmann, Dunkin' Brands Group Inc <DNKN.O> chief executive officer in an April 30 earnings call. "But you also want to balance being a good corporate citizen and sticking to your values, and not being a shark either."

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Additional reporting by Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Former Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has praised Kerala's Health Minister K K Shailaja's proactive and bold leadership in curbing the spread of the coronavirus in her state.

Kerala, which reported India's first coronavirus case in January, has recorded an impressive recovery rate and flattening of the COVID-19 curve. Of all 642 confirmed cases in the state, only three lives have been lost and 497 people have been discharged from hospitals after full recovery.

In a letter to Shailaja dated May 18, Wickremesinghe said, "As the minister of health you have demonstrated that effective disease control is possible even if resources are limited."



"Your leadership in responding proactively and boldly has made this possible," he said.

The 63-year-old minister has won international acclaim for her leadership during the Nipah and coronavirus outbreaks in Kerala.

Wickremesinghe pointed out that intensive testing was the key to success in Kerala's fight against the coronavirus.

The former prime minister, in early March, told an all-party meeting in Sri Lanka that intense testing was the solution to check the virus spread.

Sri Lanka has recorded 1,027 coronavirus cases with over half of them recovering. So far, the virus has claimed nine lives in the country.

The island-nation has eased its lockdown drastically since last week with only two districts being under curfew.

Even in those areas, offices and businesses have reopened under health guidelines.

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


Image Source: Netflix

HBO's new six-part docuseries, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, is based on Michelle McNamara's book of the same name and describes her quest to find the notorious Golden State Killer, a serial rapist and murderer who was active during the 1970s and 1980s. McNamara worked on finding the killer and writing her book up until she died in 2016, and a man was caught and tied to the crimes in 2018.

A variety of murders, assaults, and burglaries occurred in California in the '70s and '80s, and when McNamara, a TV and film writer and true crime fanatic, started looking into the cases, she connected the dots between them. In the 1970s, Visalia, CA, was "terrorized by 85 burglaries and a murder, a series of crimes attributed to a perpetrator known as the Visalia Ransacker," according to NPR.

In the late 1970s and into the '80s, there was a series of assaults and murders in California attributed to what the authorities were calling the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. According to CNN, the suspect's crimes ranged in location from Orange County to Sacramento. McNamara found similarities in some of the rapes and murders and drew the conclusion that all of these crimes were most likely committed by the same person. She dubbed him the Golden State Killer and the authorities kept that name as they continued their search, despite many decades having passed.

After DNA matching became more advanced in 2001, the case got a new life as pieces started to come together. McNamara followed the trail of the Golden State Killer for years as she wrote her book I'll Be Gone in the Night, but she died in her sleep in 2016 before finishing the work or seeing a resolution in the case.

On April 24, 2018, authorities arrested former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. after matching his DNA to that on some of the Golden State Killer's crime scenes. He was charged with 13 counts of murder and numerous counts of kidnapping and weapons charges. His charges span six California counties: Sacramento, Santa Barbara, Orange, Ventura, Tulare, and Contra Costa and all but Tulare and Contra Costa are seeking the death penalty.

Story continues

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 27: Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected



Image Source: Getty / Justin Sullivan

DeAngelo Jr. has not yet been sentenced, but as of March, he planned to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence rather than the death penalty, The New York Times reported from court documents.

You can watch the whole story of the Golden State Killer in I'll Be Gone in the Dark on HBO starting June 28.
An alert by the Union agriculture ministry of a possible locust attack in Punjab, particularly the Malwa region, in the coming months has sent the cotton and paddy growers into a tizzy.

The Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), a subsidiary of the central ministry, has identified Fazilka district, which shares the boundary with the neighbouring state of Rajasthan as well as Pakistan, as the most vulnerable to attacks by swarms of migratory pests that target vegetation.

KL Gurjar, LWO deputy director and national coordinator on mitigating locust attacks, said the Sarwar Khuian block in Fazilka is under the constant watch of the state and central agencies.

He said the swarms of locusts are invading from Pakistan as a result of which Rajasthan districts such as Barmer, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Sriganganagar have been hit.

The Sarwar Khuian area near Abohar town has faced at least five locust attacks since April 11 and it may escalate in the next three months. Presently, movement of the locust is spotted from Rajasthan towards Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh. The agriculture authorities in Punjab have been sounded about the possibility of locust invasion, said Gurjar.

Gurjar said farmers should avoid using drum beats or other means to chase away locusts during the night hours.

Locusts have a natural tendency to rest on trees at night and then attack crops in the daytime. If farmers allow locust to settle at one place, the pest can be eliminated effectively with pesticides. Presently, immature locusts are active and they can harm vegetation, he added.

Fazilka chief agriculture officer Manjit Singh said of about 50,000 hectare land under cultivation in Sarwar Khuian, cotton is sown on 36,000 hectares. It is a matter of concern as cotton is being sown in the area and swarm attack on growing plants will impact the farmers. Following the LWO advisory, the district administration has roped in the Border Security Force (BSF) to maintain a constant watch to eliminate locusts. A sizeable cultivable land in Sarwar Khuian is located across the border fence and pest control measures have been taken, he added.

State agriculture director Sutantar Kumar Airi said the department will provide ample stock of pesticides at the district level this week.

We are ready for any emergency situation caused by locust swarms. A special monitoring team is working in Fazilka in coordination with teams of Rajasthan and central agencies, he added.
The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department are seeing a rising number of promotions of allegedly bogus treatments and cures for COVID-19, which they charge are in certain cases pushed directly by doctors and other licensed health care professionals.

The FTC and FDA on Thursday announced it had sent a new batch of 50 warning letters to companies and individuals it accused of making "unsubstantiated" claims about products and therapies to treat the coronavirus.

PHOTO: The building housing Allure Medical's office in Shelby Township, Michigan, April 23, 2020. The Federal Bureau of Investigations raided Allure Medical for an alleged 'federal violation.' (Detroit Free Press via USA Today Network)

"There are no FDA-approved cures, tests, prevention mechanisms, vaccines," FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips said in an interview with ABC News. "If someone is telling you that's what they're selling you, it's not true."

MORE: Man faces 20 years for attempted $750 million COVID-19 PPE scam

According to a statement, the commission's latest batch brought the total warnings issued since the start of the crisis to more than 120 companies and individuals. As of Thursday, FTC data showed the commission has so far received more than 50,000 overall complaints related to COVID-19, that includes more than 28,000 fraud complaints. Of those 28,000 complaints, the commission estimates consumers have suffered more than $37 million in losses since the start of the pandemic.

"People are spending hard-earned money, maybe they don't even have a job and they're spending money," Phillips said.

In certain instances in recent weeks, federal prosecutors have moved to shut down and even prosecute individuals accused of promoting products or therapies.

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.

MORE: DOJ moves to shutdown sham coronavirus therapies amid 'hundreds' of online scams

After a request from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, a federal judge ordered a Dallas-based chiropractor, Dr. Ray Nannis, to halt any further promotion of COVID-19 treatments after he posted videos advertising a 'homeopathic' therapy for customers.

Story continues

PHOTO: Hydroxychloroquine pills arranged in a photo taken April 5, 2020, in Las Vegas. (John Locher/AP, FILE)

"It can help the body up to 90%," Dr. Nannis said in one video. "It gives the body an immunological and a neurological recognition of the energy of the frequency of a virus in this specific one being the coronavirus."

In a press release announcing the injunction against Nannis, the US Attorneys office accused him of "preying on customers' basic human condition, fear."

Nannis agreed to stop making such claims following the judge's order, and had no further comment on the allegations when asked by ABC News.

In Michigan, prosecutors have charged Dr. Charles Mok with health care fraud after he allegedly sold patients a Vitamin C IV therapy that they say he claimed could protect the body from the coronavirus. A criminal complaint also accused Mok of endangering workers and customers after several employees who had reportedly tested positive with COVID-19 continued to work in the facility.

Mok's attorney declined to comment when reached by ABC News, instead saying, "we believe the appropriate forum is the courtroom." Mok has not yet entered a plea in the case.

San Diego Dr. Jennings Staley was also charged with mail fraud last month after allegedly offering a nearly $4,000 "family package" to treat COVID-19 that included access to telemedicine, hydroxychloroquine, Xanax and even Viagra.

MORE: DOJ announces first charges of alleged COVID-19 stimulus relief fraud

A lawyer for Dr. Staley, who has not yet entered a plea in the case, told ABC News he doesn't believe the government has proven any kind of fraud.

"(Dr. Staley) presented pros and cons of this medication, he believes in this medication," attorney Patrick Griffin said. "He had no intent to defraud. He genuinely believed that what he was doing was in the best interests of his patients."

Though federal officials have expressed alarm about licensed health care professionals allegedly taking advantage of the current crisis to dupe patients, the cases represent an otherwise isolated sample among the vast majority of health care professionals offering sound advice during the public health emergency.

PHOTO: The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, is pictured in 2017. (UIG via Getty Images, FILE)

"If people want good health information, they should consult with their doctor or go to a government Web site like CDC.gov or our website like FTC.gov to find out important information," Phillips said.

The DOJ has urged Americans who believe they are a victim of fraud or an attempted COVID-19 scam to alert law enforcement by calling the National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 1-866-720-5721 or by emailing disaster@leo.gov

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

FTC, DOJ crack down on surge of allegedly fraudulent COVID-19 'treatments' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
By AFP

KATHMANDU: Nepal has drawn-up a new political map that includes strategically important territory it disputes with India, officials said Tuesday, as the Himalayan country takes a tougher stance against its giant neighbour.

Protests have been staged in Nepal since India earlier this month inaugurated an 80-kilometre (50 mile) road in Uttarakhand state leading up to the disputed Lipu Lekh pass.

Nepal claims the pass under an 1816 treaty that sets the boundary with India along the Kali River, but disputes have arisen because neither side can agree its source.

READ| Nepal will reclaim Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura from India: PM Oli

A cabinet meeting on Monday decided to publish a new map that includes Lipu Lekh and zones in Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, Law Minister Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe told AFP.

The zones form a region of more than 300 square kilometres (115 square miles) considered important because it is where the Nepalese and Indian borders touch China.

"Nepal will initiate dialogues with India simultaneously to resolve the boundary issue through diplomatic channels" she said.

Nepal claims the Kalapani region, which adjoins Lipu Lekh, even though Indian troops have been deployed there since India and China fought a border war in 1962.

India and Nepal had both shown Kalapani and Lipu Lekh in their political maps, but Nepal had not previously shown Limpiyadhura.

"It was an issue of contention when Nepal first drew its map in the 1970s, but it was decided that Limpiyadhura area would be drawn after a discussion with India," border expert Buddhi Narayan Shrestha said.

READ| Nepal protests to India over road passing through disputed border area Lipulekh pass

Nepal condemned India's new road as a "unilateral act" while India maintained that it lies "completely within the territory of India".

Nepal has since deployed security forces close to Kalapani.

On Friday, Indian army chief General M.M. Naravane commented that Nepal's reaction might have been "at the behest of someone else", hinting at China's involvement.
This is an opinion column.

Alabama has one of the least effective open records laws in the country already, but a lawsuit filed in Montgomery this week could show whether the Alabama Open Records Act has any effect at all.

This case is all the more important because the defendant is Alabamas top law enforcement official, Attorney General Steve Marshall. At question here is not only if the law is enforceable but whether our state law enforcement is breaking laws they have sworn to uphold.

Open records among the few tools citizens have to hold their elected officials accountable. Alabamas law says that every citizen has a right to inspect public records and take copies upon request. Public officials lie  as some in this case have  but documents tell the truth. They reveal officials secret sins and expose things theyd rather keep hidden.

Much about this case has already been exposed.

In 2018, the U.S. Justice Department convicted a Balch & Bingham lawyer, Joel Gilbert, and a Drummond Co. vice president, David Roberson, with bribing state Rep. Oliver Robinson, who had pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors.

The bribery was part of a much larger political influence campaign, in which the defendants enlisted federal, state and local officials help to thwart an Environmental Protection Agency program trying to clean up toxins in north Birmingham neighborhoods.

As part of that campaign, Gilbert gave letters to mayors, lawmakers and other public officials. Gilbert asked those officials to sign their names to those letters, which they then sent to the EPA as though they had written them themselves, not Gilbert.

One of the officials Gilbert and Roberson asked for help was then-Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange.

This is all public knowledge now, but in 2017, it was all still a hunch. A hunch I had. And a hunch shared by the environmental watchdog group GASP.

GASP put in a public information request for any written communications the Balch lawyers or Drummond officials had with the AGs office.

The AGs office initially resisted their request, so I put in one, too.

When the AGs office finally replied, the documents they turned over included no smoking gun.

This might have been a dead-end, except that the AGs office had made a mistake when making Gilberts letter look like its own handiwork. Balch uses a document tracking system for keeping up with its work product and it puts version numbers at the bottom of its documents to keep up with them. When the AGs office put Stranges name on the Balch letter and pasted it to the AGs letterhead, it forgot to take the Balch tracking numbers off.

Around the time Stranges office sent those letters, his campaign received donations from Drummond.

I confronted the officials at the AGs office over this. I told them it was clear Balch had given Strange the letters to sign. Where were the emails from Gilbert sending the originals to the AGs office?

The AGs office still insisted they had turned over everything and what I was looking for didnt exist.

Fast forward a few months. Gilbert and Roberson go on trial. In that trial, federal prosecutors entered into evidence the very documents GASP and I had requested, and a deputy attorney general, Robert Tambling, testified about them.

The AGs office had been busted lying to me and lying to GASP.

After the documents came out in court, I called the same officials demanding to know why these documents hadnt been turned over. At that point, Assistant Attorney General Ward Beason argued that the emails had been drafts and that the Open Records Act doesnt cover drafts.

(In a subsequent decision in an unrelated case, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that drafts are, in fact, subject to the Open Records Act.)

Back then, I wrote a column about everything up to this point. But GASP did something else: They requested all these documents again, as well as some others they suspected the AGs office was sitting on.

They also requested documents from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, too, as well as others from the Alabama Environmental Management Commission.

All three agencies have denied or resisted their requests.

So GASP and its co-plaintiff, the Environmental Defense Alliance, are suing.

The AGs office says that GASPs latest request isnt specific enough.

GASP included its document requests as exhibits to their lawsuits. Ive seen the requests. Ive filed my share of open record requests. GASPs request is big but not that out of the ordinary and 

Im struggling for a nice way to say the AGs response is a load of bull.

The AGs office has already been caught lying, but its acting like it has done nothing wrong. And its still hiding something.

But whats happening here is worse than that. The AGs position here is dangerous.

Because when law enforcement doesnt enforce the law, there is no law.

And if the court doesnt compel Alabamas state law enforcement officer to obey the Open Records Act, then Alabama doesnt have an Open Records Act.

RELATED Documents: Marshall Lawsuit, Brown Lawsuit, LeFleur Lawsuit.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group.

You can follow his work on his Facebook page, The War on Dumb. And on Twitter. And on Instagram.

More columns by Kyle Whitmire

Remember when Alabama lawmakers said porn was a public health emergency? That was three months ago.

Alabamas secret prison plan puts public information into quarantine

And now we play American Roulette

Its not the Alabama State House that needs replacing

The immutable weirdness of Troy King

Alabama Legislature, same as it ever was

Alabama AG needs something to do
Judge Seamus Hughes has accepted jurisdiction for an alleged assault which took place in a Ballinamuck pub last summer.

Pub owner, James Conboy, of Gaigue, Ballinamuck, Co Longford, appeared before a recent sitting of Granard District Court charged with assaulting Daragh McPartland in June, 2019.

Giving his evidence in court on Friday, May 15, Mr McPartland explained that he and a number of his friends were drinking in the bar. They had been at a party the night before and met up at the pub the next day.

Answering questions from Judge Hughes, Mr McPartland explained that the group went back to a friends house after the party, went to bed and were drinking in Drumlish early the next day.

We were in Quinns bar, Drumlish, from 1pm for nearly the whole day, he explained, adding that they left Quinns and got a lift to the 98 Bar in Ballinamuck at approximately 6pm. They stayed there for the night, he said.

At about 10.30pm or 11pm, I was walking out from the toilets and I turned off the switch for the lights, Mr McPartland said, explaining that the lights went off in the bar as a result.

I kept walking straight ahead of me and James (Conboy) came out from behind the bar and grabbed me by the back of my t-shirt and tried to pull me out the door, he continued.

I stopped and tried putting my head back. He was in front of me. I got away and he tried to grab my t-shirt and when I put my head down, I got a blow to the nose.

Who injured you? Judge Hughes asked.

I think it was James Conboy, Mr McPartland replied.

Sgt Paddy McGirl, for the state, noted that Mr McPartland had not been in court before and might not be familiar with court.

He spent 48 hours drinking and the person in court is the barman. His lights were turned off by a lad who was drunk for 48 hours. How is it possible that this has come to court? Judge Hughes asked.

In his statement, he said he got a box to the nose, which resulted in a broken nose, said Sgt McGirl.

He said he ducked down and hit his nose. What hit you? Judge Hughes asked of Mr McPartland.

I think it was that mans fist, said Mr McPartland, gesturing towards the defendant.

But have you a clear recollection? asked Judge Hughes.

I cannot say, said Mr McPartland.

Judge Hughes accepted jurisdiction, stating that this is not a case for the Circuit Court, setting a date for hearing on June 19, 2020.

Sgt McGirl explained that there will be two more witnesses for the prosecution.

His drinking friends, Judge Hughes remarked.

Brid Mimnagh, on behalf of the defence, explained that she will also have a number of witnesses.

We have five witnesses but theyre fishermen who come every year from the UK. Theyre not coming this year because of Covid-19 but if they have to come over they will, she said.

We also have a number of older people who dont want to get involved but will if they have to, she added.

Judge Hughes explained that Ms Mimnagh can cross examine the prosecutions witnesses on June 19 and, if defence witnesses are needed after that, their evidence can be heard at a later date.
Click here to read the full article.

Most people assumed Richard Branson was too big to fail, but that was before Covid-19. The billionaires sprawling business empire has been decimated by the unrelenting pandemic that has savaged the industries in which Virgin competes (airlines, hotels and cruises). Of course, the determined Brit is far from giving up. Hes just cashed in more than $41 million of Virgin Galactic shares to help his struggling travel and leisure ventures.

According to a regulatory filing released Monday, Vieco 10, an investment company owned by Bransons Virgin Group, dumped just shy of 2.6 million Virgin Galactic stock between May 14 and May 15. And this drastic offloading is only just the beginning. The company is planning to sell up to 25 million of Virgin Galactic shares to keep his struggling businesses afloat.

More from Robb Report

Virgin intends to use any proceeds to support its portfolio of global leisure, holiday and travel businesses that have been affected by the unprecedented impact of Covid-19, the company said in a statement.

While the cashed-in stake equates to roughly 2 percent of Virgin Galactic, Bransons investment firm still holds more than 112 million shares. Though since the May 11 announcement, shares have been steadily dropping and are sitting at $14.86 as of press time.

Since Virgin investment group is basically a tangled web of roughly 400 different operations, some of which are managed via offshore trusts and overseas holding companies, its difficult to get a complete picture of Bransons finances. Needless to say, the billionaire has been working hard to keep his business in the green. So far, he has pumped around $250 million into Virgin Group companies in response to the pandemic.

Story continues

Plus, back in April, he offered his Necker Island estate in the Caribbean as collateral to save Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia from collapse. He has also sought a commercial loan from the UK government, even though he does not pay UK income tax because his primary residence is on the island.

One things for certain, Branson isnt going down without a fight.

Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 05:48:40|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A UN-backed government fighter shows victory gesture with a rifle in central Tripoli, Libya, on May 20, 2020. Spokesman of the UN-backed Libyan government's forces Mohamed Gonono said on Wednesday that the UN-backed Libyan government's forces attacked the rival east-based army in west Libya, destroying six Russian-made air defense systems. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of the UN-backed Libyan government's forces, Mohamed Gonono, on Wednesday said the UN-backed Libyan government's forces attacked the rival eastern-based army in western Libya, destroying a number of air defense systems.

A total of six Russian-made air defense systems have been destroyed in different areas in western Libya since early Wednesday, Gonono said in a statement.

The UN-backed government on Monday announced taking over a major air base from the eastern-based army in southwestern Libya, seizing a Russian-made air defense system.

Meanwhile, the eastern-based army announced launching an attack on the UN-backed government's forces near the city of Gharyan, some 80 km south of capital Tripoli, killing dozens of troops and destroying more than 20 military vehicles.

The eastern-based army and the UN-backed government have fighting since April 2019 for control of Tripoli, which has killed and injured hundreds of civilians and displaced more than 150,000 others. Enditem
Dozens of fires have burned thousands of acres in the 10 weeks since the start of the closed season

Farmers caught illegally burning land were docked an average of 1,000 each in subsidies last year - a fraction of the cost of the damage caused in many cases.

Just 80 farmers had money due under the Basic Payment Scheme withheld, losing an average of 1,014 each.

But 400 were investigated in relation to illegal fires and more than 2,000 countryside and woodland fires were recorded, with the financial cost running to hundreds of thousands of euro with the impact on wildlife and habitats incalculable.

Dozens of fires have burned thousands of acres in the 10 weeks since the start of the closed season which makes the deliberate burning of land to clear gorse and scrub illegal until September.

The Dublin Mountains and counties Wicklow, Roscommon, Laois and Offaly all suffered serious fires recently.

Unesco-protected Bull Island in Dublin became the latest victim on Monday night.

While not all are believed to be deliberate, there is growing concern over the weakness of protections for natural habitats and the lack of action on wildlife crime.

Wildlife groups are still reeling over the belated revelation that 23 buzzards - which are protected - died by poisoning in one incident last December.

Wildlife and environmental organisations are now hoping a new EU biodiversity strategy to be unveiled today will help bring fresh focus on the need to protect what remains of the country's natural landscape and marine habitats.

A leaked draft of the 10-year strategy includes plans to extend and strengthen protections to 30pc of all EU land and sea areas.

Currently 26pc of land and 11pc of coastal sea is protected but legal enforcement is often lacking. Within protected zones, one-third would be declared strictly protected, meaning no human disturbance would be permitted.

Some 10pc of all land in use for agriculture would be taken back for the development of non-commercial trees, hedgerows, ponds and meadow, and pesticide use would be reduced by 50pc.

Other measures focus on reforestation, ending over-fishing, encouraging organic farming, floodplain restoration, eradication of pollution, development of urban green spaces and strengthened plans to protect vulnerable and endangered species.

Many of the measures will prove controversial if retained in the final document because of restrictions imposed on agriculture and industry.

The strategy is to be published alongside the EU's farm to fork policy document which focuses particularly on improving food production practices.

Oliver Moore of ARC2020, an EU-wide umbrella organisation of rural, environmental and agricultural reform groups which published the leaked draft, said it was vital that the measures are not watered down.

"These strategies will really set the tone for how EU agriculture and environment policy will be shaped for a number of years," he said.

"They need to be as ambitious as possible."

Mr Moore said he was particularly concerned that the pesticide reduction policies set out in the draft were retained. Farming interests have voiced opposition to the plans.

"This will be the true test today. If real reduction targets aren't in place, this will just be window dressing."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 00:06:34|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ADDIS ABABA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across Africa rose from 84,634 Monday afternoon to 88,172 as of Tuesday afternoon, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Tuesday.

The continental disease control and prevention agency, which noted that the virus has so far spread into 54 African countries, also disclosed that some 33,863 people who have been infected with the COVID-19 have recovered across the continent as of Tuesday afternoon.

The death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic across the African continent also surged from 2,766 on Monday afternoon to 2,835 as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Africa CDC.

The Africa CDC currently estimates fatality rates of COVID-19 cases to be around 3.4 percent of all cases in the continent.

The Africa CDC said that the Northern African region is the most affected area across the continent both in terms of positive COVID-19 cases, as well as the number of deaths. Enditem
Private patients are struggling to access their consultants because of the private hospital takeover, it has been claimed.

Meanwhile, the dispute between private consultants and the Department of Health rumbles on, with meetings between consultants, the Minister for Health and top civil servants ending in a stalemate.

In April, the State took over Ireland's private hospitals, in order to increase bed capacity before the predicted increase in Covid-19 cases.

Private consultants were encouraged to sign a Type A public practice only contract.

The current deal is costing an estimated 115 million per month.

Private consultants claim bed occupancy in the private hospitals has remained relatively low since the deal was brokered, with the Minister for Health disputing these claims.

According to data on 17 of Ireland's private hospitals, compiled by Dr Fergal McGoldrick of the Hermitage Clinic in Dublin, there has been less than 40% bed occupancy overall since the deal was brokered.

However, Simon Harris, the Minister for Health, said last Thursday that it was "a bit of a myth... that these [private] hospitals are empty. For example, in April 2020, the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork had 82% inpatient occupancy and now it may even be greater.

"UPMC Whitfield in Waterford has 55% occupancy, the Mater Private Hospital Cork has 57% occupancy and the Mater Private Hospital in Dublin has 60% occupancy."

Meanwhile, full-time private practice consultants say the Type A contract does not allow them to retain their existing private patients, with many refusing to sign.

The HSE has said it will use the private hospitals and the National Treatment Purchase Fund to alleviate the public waiting lists.

However, concerns have been raised that this adds private patients to the already-long public waiting lists, as well as disconnecting them from their consultants.

Dr Fergal McGoldrick, a private consultant orthopaedic surgeon who works in the Hermitage Medical Clinic, says the Department of Health seems "inflexible" when it comes to changing the contract.

"The reason why the private consultants have not signed has been clarified. It is to do with continuity of care. If you sign up, you cannot take care of your own patients."

Dr McGoldrick says it is unclear who will take over responsibility for the private patients.

"There is no plan for 2.2 million people."

"The only hope is that in a semi-urgent case, you could phone a doctor who has signed the Type A contract and ask them if they would take the patient. But this is not applicable to all patients."

Dr McGoldrick says he cannot understand why other contracts, such as Type B, C or service level agreements, were not offered.

"The state would have had to pay significantly less. It would have allowed us to continue treating our private patients independently, as well as treating public patients."

He also says the plan to carry out surgeries using the National Treatment Purchase Fund, while still paying for the use of private hospitals, is "not logical".

Firstly, he is concerned that not enough private consultants have signed the contract to allow procedures to proceed, with roughly 300 consultants still refusing to sign.

He also does not believe it represents value for money.

"Last year it was estimated that treating 25,000 patients using the National Treatment Purchase Fund would cost 75 million.

"Now, they are talking about carrying out a few thousand procedures over three months at a cost of 115 million per month. Why do a few thousand procedures at that cost?"

In terms of continuity of care, Dr McGoldrick says after the Type A contracts came about, it was up to the CEO of the private hospitals to permit private patients access, and some consultants were seeing their patients pro-bono.

This practice was temporarily halted due to issues surrounding indemnity insurance.

Previously, the State Claims Agency advised that full time private practice consultants who had not signed the Type A contract were still covered under the Clinical Indemnity Scheme, as long as they did not charge the patient, insurer, hospital or the HSE for the treatment.

However, on Sunday May 3, the State Claims Agency said they were no longer offering clinical indemnity to private consultants who have not signed the Type A contract.

Fianna Fail TD Stephen Donnelly raised the issue, and Deputy Donnelly also said the State Claims Agency instructed that samples and specimens from biopsies should not be tested if they had been sent by private consultants who had not signed the Type A contract.

This decision was reversed on Friday May 15 after public outcry, and it means that some private consultants can still carry out pro-bono work.

However, private patients who cannot access their consultant and require urgent medical care say their only pathway is their local accident and emergency department.

A cardiac patient, who wishes to remain anonymous, has spoken to the Irish Examiner about how she struggled to get care within the private health system.

Mary, not her real name, was diagnosed with a cardiac condition on March 9. She has private health insurance and her consultant works in a private hospital.

"I was told I needed to go in on April 9 to get a test done, and possibly a cardiac procedure depending on the outcome of the test."

In the weeks leading up to the procedure, Mary became very unwell. She contacted the hospital where her consultant worked on March 30.

"They told me all procedures were going to be cancelled for private patients. I explained to my consultant's secretary that I had been unwell.

"The secretary spoke to the consultant and he said that I had to get my procedure done urgently."

Mary was told her procedure would be done on April 1.

"They said if I didn't get it done on April 1 it would probably be three to six months before I could get it done again."

Mary's procedure went ahead on April 1 but unfortunately it did not go to plan.

It resulted in me having to get emergency cardiac surgery, I had to get four procedures done in total. It was a huge shock. I had to get a pacemaker inserted.

Mary was discharged from the private hospital on April 4. However, her condition did not improve and she was extremely unwell at home.

On April 5, she went into her local public hospital through A&E, as this was the advice being given to private patients who needed urgent care.

She was kept in for a day of observation.

"They [public hospital] told me I needed to go back to the hospital that I got the procedures done in, because they couldn't help me. They didn't have the specialised doctors or equipment to look after me."

On April 6, a cardiac nurse from the private hospital Mary attended rang to see how she was doing. She told them that she had been in her local A&E.

"I was unwell all that week, and rang the [private] cardiac unit again on April 8, but they advised they couldn't see me, and to go to my own GP or to A&E."

Mary's GP was becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare and prescribed her pain medication.

"The following week, I rang the private cardiac unit again on my GP's advice, once again they said to just go to my own GP."

Things were not improving for Mary, and on April 24 her GP saw her in person for a consultation.

"She rang the cardiac unit and advised them my blood pressure was dangerously low and my heart rate was erratic and I needed an urgent review.

"They told her there was nothing they could do as they were not permitted to see private patients under the agreement. They told her I had to go to my local A&E.

"My GP explained to them there was nothing the A&E could do, they didn't have an electrophysiologist in the hospital, nor did they have the equipment to check or reset people's pacemakers."

The GP then rang Mary's private consultant's secretary, to see if she could get an appointment that way.

"They said they could now only take cases sent from public hospitals, who are public patients. But they said they would see what they could do."

That afternoon, the cardiac unit rang Mary and reiterated the same message: she could not be seen because she was a private patient.

If she was unwell, she had to go to her GP or to A&E.

On Monday 27 April, Mary rang the cardiac unit and said she was seriously unwell.

"Something had to be done, I couldn't continue on the way I was. My GP was concerned because it was cardiac, and my symptoms were getting worse.

"I told them I was being driven up to the unit and needed to be seen."

A cardiac technician saw Mary that day and they reprogrammed her pacemaker.

"But they said they shouldn't have seen me. They said their hands were completely tied."

Mary was told that if she disimproved, to ring the private cardiac unit, and they would try their best to help her.

"I rang the following week and spoke to the electrophysiologist. He said he was sorry but he couldn't see me.

"He sent out a home monitor on April 30, and I recieved it Wednesday May 6 in the post."

Mary received a letter yesterday which gave her a face-to-face appointment with her consultant for November 10.

"This will be the first time since my surgery that I will be able to see my consultant. I underwent a few cardiac procedures within 48 hours, and I have not had a follow up review in person.

"If I need to get the pacemaker adjusted I have to ring the private hospital first to see if there has been any change and if they can see me, but first stop is my GP, even though she can't do anything."

Mary says she recognises that public patients are waiting years to get treatment and she has the privilege of private health insurance, but is worried about the continuity of care for private patients.

"We are not getting the tests and treatments we need. The only pathway was my local A&E, but it wasn't the care that I needed. I am here in limbo.

"You are afraid to go to A&E because of Covid-19, and then when you do go, they don't have the care and services you need.

"There are people who are going to become seriously ill and die because of this."

When contacted for comment, the HSE said: "As discussions are ongoing in this matter it would not be appropriate for the HSE to comment at this time."
The US on Wednesday backed India amidst a flare up of border tension with China with a senior diplomat describing Beijing's aggression as "not always rhetorical" and accusing it of continuing with its "provocative and disturbing behaviour".

Military sources in New Delhi said that Indian and Chinese armies have rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off.

The sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake. The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

The flare ups on the border, I think are reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's on the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China that raises questions about how China seeks to use its growing power, Alice G Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department, told reporters in a conference call.

She was responding to a question on the recent flare up on the India-China border.

Wells retires from the State Department later this month after having heading the important South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department for three years in the Trump administration.

She also talked about China's aggressive behaviour in the strategic South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

And that is why you have seen a rallying of likeminded nations or whether it's .. through ASEAN or through other diplomatic groupings, the trilateral that the United States has with Japan and India, the quadrilateral with Australia, the conversations that are taking place globally as to how we can reinforce the principles of the post-World War II economic order that has supported free and open trade that help lift all boats, including the Chinese boat, Wells said.

What we want to see is an international system that provides benefit to everyone and not a system in which there is a suzerainty to China. I think in this instance, the border disputes are a reminder of the threat posed by China, the top American diplomat said.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

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.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
According to the Group Medical Director of Reddington Hospital, Dr. Olutunde Lalude, this involved temporarily stopping the heart to carry out the procedures by first, putting the patient on a Heart Lung Machine. Thereafter the heart was opened and the malfunctioning Mitral valve was repaired. In addition, the three blocked vessels supplying blood to the heart of the patient were bypassed and the blood flow was restored. The heart was then successfully re-started.

At a media briefing in Lagos to announce this feat Dr Lalude, said the patient's recovery was almost instant as he started talking, eating and drinking less than 24 hours after the surgery. "The complex surgery performed by a 19-man team of Nigerian Specialists demonstrates our ability to expand the range of what is possible in Nigeria particularly at this time when access to overseas medical travel has been restricted," said Dr. Lalude. He said but for the COVID-19 pandemic which has restricted air travel, the patient would have probably chosen to do the complex surgery abroad where he will spend thousands of dollars encouraging capital flight.

Head of the surgical team, Prof. Kamar Adeleke, said the COVID-19 pandemic had shown that every country needed to look inward for solutions, adding that with borders closed, the Tristate Reddington Cardic Programme is ready to offer treatments to complex heart issues, as it has a duty to help Nigerians with such conditions.

He said: "This underscores potential Nigeria has. Reddington practically has everything needed for the success we are celebrating today. It contributed 99 per cent of what you are seeing, but the remaining one per cent was also very vital, which we sourced from outside."

On how the surgical process went, Adeleke, who is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, said when the team first realized the patient's heart rate was fast going low, it gave him a temporary pacemaker, which enabled him breathe normally and then embarked on the seven-hour repair of the patient's leaking valves and other tissues, emphasising that the 19 team members are experts from different areas.

He said: "The following day, the patient went into complete kidney failure, but because we had all expertise here, the kidneys were worked on and in a few days, his body system started working perfectly and he began to urinate normally.

Adebiyi who is presently recovering after the surgical operation, said when his health deteriorated in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown, he thought this was the end as no one was allowed to leave the country for treatment abroad.

"I thank God for giving me the opportunity to live again. I can't remember how I got to Reddington Hospital, but when I became conscious, I saw an Indian doctor, and I was at peace, thinking he was the person who would lead my surgery. But I realized everyone who attended to me are Nigerians. They saved my life. I owe them and God this life I have now," he stated.

He explained that he was still surprised at his return to life, adding that he never believed anything good would come out of Nigeria.

"Nigerians do not have any reason to go abroad for treatments which can successfully be administered here," he said.

Recently, The Reddington Cardiac Centre and The Tristate Cardiovascular Consultants Group signed a collaboration agreement to commence a new Tristate Reddington Cardiac Programme at the Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island. This successful surgery highlights the benefit of this strategic collaboration aimed at reversing medical tourism abroad as we provide accessible and affordable specialist Cardiology care in Nigeria.

The new Reddington Tristate Cardiac Centre offers the full range of Cardiology services for both Adults and Children including a 24-hour Emergency Response for Cardiac emergencies.

SOURCE Reddington Hospital
Seasoned diplomat T S Tirumurti arrived here to assume charge as India's new Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

A 1985-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, Tirumurti succeeds Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, who retired on April 30 and returned to Hyderabad on May 14.

Tirumurti, 58, who arrived in New York on Tuesday on an Air India flight, is expected to present his credentials to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the earliest.

Currently, telecommuting arrangements are in place at the UN Headquarters till June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before being appointed as the Permanent Representative to the UN, Tirumurti served as the Secretary for Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The UN General Assembly will hold elections next month for five non-permanent seats of the UN Security Council for the 2021-22 term.

India's seat as a non-permanent member on the 15-nation Security Council for the two-year term is assured as it is the sole candidate vying for the lone seat from the Asia Pacific grouping.

New Delhi's candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seventeen more patients have been discharged from Lagos State isolation centres following their full recovery from coronavirus, the ministry of health announced on Wednesday.

Giving the update on its Twitter handle, the ministry disclosed that the patients tested negative twice to the infection and were subsequently discharged.

17 COVID-19 Lagos patients; 6 females & 11 males, all Nigerians have been discharged from our Yaba, Gbagada & LUTH Isolation facilities to reunite with the society.

The patients; 7 from Mainland Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, 6 from LUTH & 4 from Gbagada Isolation Centres were discharged having fully recovered & tested negative to COVID-19 in two consecutive readings.

This brings to 649, the number of discharged cases in Lagos, the ministry wrote.

The total confirmed cases of coronavirus in Lagos rose to 2,771 on Tuesday, while total cases stand at 6,401 in Nigeria.

The ministry urged Lagos residents to continue practising physical distancing, proper washing of hands, use of face masks and other health guidelines.

Residents can also lodge all COVID-19 related complaints to the ministry through a toll-free line: 08000CORONA.
After a long and tempest-tossed journey, the 24-foot whaleboat Middlesex has returned to safe harbor, giving the Darien Historical Society a unique opportunity to help make the towns Revolutionary history come to life.

After a nearly 40-year odyssey, I am happy to report that the Middlesex is back home and in ship shape, said Robert J. Pascal, Jr., president of the Societys Board of Directors.

The newly refurbished Whaleboat was returned Saturday to the Darien Historical Society, after several decades away and a nearly year-long restoration project. Three senior officers of the Darien Historical Society were there, as well as two representatives from The Darien Foundation, which funded the restoration. All gathered at a safe distance from each other for the unveiling of the boat.

Intended to educate the community about the Whaleboat Wars on Long Island Sound during the Revolution, the Society built the boat in the 1970s, and eventually donated it to the Maritime Center, where it had been displayed for years outdoors.

By the time members of the Society rediscovered her last year, the little boats fate seemed nearly sunk; however, a generous $14,000 grant from The Darien Foundation helped to turn the tides.

We found the lore of the Middlesex inspiring not only as it calls back to local Revolutionary history, but also the boat played a central role in Dariens celebrations during the nations bicentennial in 1976, said Sarah Woodberry, executive director of The Darien Foundation. We are thrilled that kids and neighbors will be able to climb aboard the Middlesex again.

A new episode from the Darien Historical Societys series Our Favorite Things focuses on the history of the Whaleboat Middlesex.

The whaleboat project was launched by the Society in the 1970s to celebrate the nations bicentennial, and building the boat became a community-wide effort. A group met every week at the Ziegler estate to build the boat, while students crafted the oars and rudder. After being launched to much fanfare in 1977, the boat was sailed in reenactments and used in rowing races throughout the northeast.

As one of those involved in the original construction and use of the Middlesex, it gives me great pleasure to see the boat is back in circulation at the Darien Historical Society, said David Sinclair, who was president of the Societys Board of Directors in the 1970s, during the boats construction. I am sure that everyone, both young and old, who worked on or rowed the boat, will be equally pleased.

A few years after the boats launch, the Middlesex was donated to Norwalks Maritime Center, but after the Center switched its mission from a focus on maritime history to an aquarium, the boat was moved outside and sat for years near a stroller parking area to the rear of the building.

Over the years, in an attempt to protect the vessel from the elements, the Middlesex was painted white from stem to stern and holes were drilled in its hull for drainage.

Through a bit of serendipity, the Society was able to reclaim the boat, and The Darien Foundations grant allowed the Middlesex to be transformed into a touchable and transportable exhibit.

While the Middlesex will now be a landlubber, shes ready to once again take on her original duty: to educate the community about this areas forgotten local heroes: The Whaleboat Men.

These mariners were our first line of defense against Tory raiders coming from Long Island, said Society Historian Ken Reiss. These men risked everything, sometimes engaging in hand-to-hand combat, to prevent the enemy from landing on our shores.

Eventually, the boat will be featured at town events and transported to schools throughout the region to educate students about the unique role the Whaleboat Men played in protecting Connecticuts shoreline communities during the Revolution.

This is exciting history, and the Middlesex will help to make these stories remembered for a lifetime, said Society Executive Director Maggie McIntire.

Come celebrate our towns story with us! To learn more the work and mission of the Darien Historical Society, or to support the Middlesex Project and other exciting initiatives, call us at 203.655.9233 or visit our website: www.darienhistorical.org .

The Darien Foundation is an independent, community-based, 501(c)(3) public charity. Since 1998, it has funded $4.5 million in grants for technology and capital initiatives, which create opportunity for Dariens youth, support the towns safety and security services, and enhance the overall quality of life in Darien. For more information about The Darien Foundation, visit darienfoundation.org .

*Please credit all photos: Katharine Calderwood*
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his taking antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a line of defence' against coronavirus.

I think it's worth it as a line of defence and I'll stay on it for a little while longer. I'm just very curious myself, but it seems to be very safe, Trump told reporters at the White House, a day after he disclosed that he has been taking the drug to ward off the deadly infection.

The US president said the drug has gotten a bad reputation only because 'he was promoting it'.

"So, I am obviously a very bad promoter. If anybody else were promoting it, they would say this is the greatest thing ever," he said.

It is a very powerful drug I guess but it doesn't harm you and so I thought as a frontline defence, possibly it would be good, and I have had no impact from it," Trump said, adding that the antimalaria drug has received tremendous reviews from doctors all over the world.

There have been some great studies about it in countries like Italy, France and Spain and doctors in the US have been very positive about it, he claimed.

Many doctors came out and said it's great, he said.

I have a doctor in the White House. I said what do you think? And it's just a line of defence, he said, adding that the drug was inexpensive.

Trump alleged that a recent study on Veteran Affairs patients was inaccurate and the drug was given to those who were on the verge of dying.

There was a false study done where they gave it to very sick people, extremely sick people, people that were ready to die. It was given by obviously not friends of the administration and the study came out, the people were ready to die. Everybody was old, had bad problems with hearts, diabetes and everything else you can imagine, he said.

So, they gave it. So, immediately when it came out, they gave a lot of false information, Trump said.

Separately in an interview, Vice-President Mike Pence said he is not taking hydroxychloroquine.

I'm not. But I would never begrudge any American taking the advice of their physician, he said.

Hydroxychloroquine is a drug that's been around for more than 40 years for treatment of malaria. But, early in this process, the FDA approved what's called off-label use where physicians could prescribe hydroxychloroquine in terms they deemed appropriate. So, my physician has not recommended that, but I wouldn't hesitate to take the counsel of my doctor. Any American should do likewise, Pence said.

However, opposition leaders slammed Trump for taking the unproven drug.

It's reckless to tell people he's using hydroxychloroquine. All of the experts say at best it doesn't help. So what about senior citizens who don't go to the doctor, who take hydroxychloroquine? Listening to the president. And at worst, it hurts you. So I don't know why he did it, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told MSNBC in an interview.

Maybe he has family or friends who own part of the company. It's not unlike the president. Someone at Mar-A-Lago, calls him on the phone tells him oh, this is a good company and he just talks about it. Maybe he did it to divert attention from all the bad things happening, and maybe he's just lying, he alleged.

Trump has called hydroxychloroquine a "game-changer" drug in the fight against the coronavirus.

After Trump's repeated touting of hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" cure for the virus, the FDA issued an advisory warning that the drug has not been "shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19."



The Trump Administration has bought millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine and stockpiled it.

India has sent several millions of doses to the US as part of its humanitarian gesture.

India is one of the major manufactures of the drug, which was first synthesised in 1946 and is in a class of medications historically used to treat and prevent malaria.

It is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, childhood arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases.

The drug is not FDA-approved for the treatment of COVID-19 but it has been identified as a possible treatment for the infection and the US government has requested its immediate availability.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More help will be needed from the Federal Reserve and Congress to get the economy through its slump, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told CNBC on Wednesday.

At least some of that aid likely will need to go to state and local governments, which have been hampered by lost revenue during the coronavirus pandemic, Kaplan said on "Squawk Box."

His comments reflect those of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who told a Senate panel on Tuesday that governments that are required to balance their budgets likely will need additional aid to survive without have to resort to mass layoffs.

"My guess is we are going to need to do more. But my guess is also you're going to need more fiscal action, whether it's aid to governments or other fiscal action as we go through this," Kaplan said.

"The problem is we're going to have an unemployment rate that peaks at around 20%, which we're going to reach very soon," he added. "We're going to end the year with an unemployment rate as high as 10%, and we're going to need to grind that down, and it's probably going to take more fiscal action to help grind that down."

The Fed has approved lending and liquidity measures totaling more than $2 trillion, though it has only put a fraction of that level to work. Congress in turn has approved another $2 trillion in rescue funds. The Treasury Department also has provided seed money that the Fed can use to leverage up in its lending programs.

However, as constraints remain in place on the national economy, policymakers are being pressed to do more.

"The Fed has done a lot to help stabilize the markets and make sure that small companies, mid-size companies, bigger companies have access to capital," Kaplan said. "But again, these are loans. We're the lender of last resort and this is intended to be a bridge to when we are going to recover."

Kaplan's home state of Texas was among the first in the nation to restart its economy following about two months of social distancing. The state has reported 49,912 Covid-19 cases, of which 29,359 have recovered, and 1,369 fatalities. Daily case counts have vacillated in recent days.

"Success in reopening means that the cases may not continue to decline, but it also means that they don't spike," Kaplan said. "So I think this reopening has to happen, but it's got to happen with good testing, contact tracing, good procedures, and that's what I'm watching."

He said an economic rebound is unlikely to happen until people feel safe enough to go out again.

Correction: A summary in an earlier version gave an incorrect day for Powell's testimony.
(Newser)  At the start of this year, Dr. James A. Mahoney was preparing to retire after nearly 40 years working in the intensive care unit of a New York City hospital. When the pandemic hit, relatives and even fellow doctors urged the 62-year-old to stick to his plans. Instead, he worked day and night on the frontlines until a COVID-19 infection made it impossible to continue. He died on April 27 after being treated at University Hospital of Brooklyn, his workplace, where he started out as a medical student in 1982, the New York Times reports. Colleagues say Mahoney was a much-loved and incredibly dedicated doctor, who continued consulting with patients online even after he developed a fever and had to self-isolate.

story continues below

Throughout his career, Mahoney turned down job opportunities that would have taken him away from the underfunded, state-run hospital. "He gave everything to that hospital," brother Melvin Mahoney, a doctor who retired in 2014, tells the Washington Post. "He gave his life for that hospital." Mahoney's boss. Dr. Robert F. Foronjy, says older doctors were given the opportunity to step back. "It just seems so unjust that someone who was this benevolent, this selfless, this kind, this skilled could be brought down by this disease," says Foronjy, who has started a GoFundMe fundraiser for a memorial scholarship for an aspiring African-American physician. Foronjy says Mahoney died with colleagues by his bedside. "I was able to hold his hand, tell him how much I loved him, how much everybody loved him," he says. (Read more coronavirus stories.)
Wanted in Rome put some questions to the celebrated US artist Jim Dine whose work is the focus of a major exhibition at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome.

Interview by Marco Venturini

: I have been a lucky guy. This life in art has been rich and full of provocation and satisfaction. I was born a painter and that was and is a privilege.I was honoured by Gianni Dessi to be made a member of the Accademia di S. Luca. As a very young man, I lived in the same city as De Kooning. That is a strong connection.I have been a close looker at the work of de Pisis. He was a wonderful painter.Since I was just in my 20s Europe has been my spiritual home.I try not to think of the vile Trump inspired political situation in the US. Also I despise the way he has willy-nilly set out to ruin the world.

The Jim Dine exhibition is at Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Via Nazionale 194, until 2 June. For full details see website.

This interview - published in the March 2020 edition of Wanted in Rome magazine - was conducted before the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the closure of Italy's museums on 8 March. Palazzo delle Esposizioni reopened on 19 May and the Dine show can be visited until 2 June.
Tuesday, January 31st, 2017 (2:05 pm) - Score 1,378

The Superfast Northamptonshire project in England has today signed two new contracts  worth 10.23m  with rural fibre optic ISP Gigaclear, which will enable the provider to roll-out their ultrafast (1Gbps+) Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) broadband network to 6,330 premises.

The Northamptonshire scheme completed its original contract with Openreach (BT) at the end of 2015 (here), which enabled 90% of local homes and businesses in the county to access a superfast broadband (24Mbps+) network (reflecting an additional 61,950 premises passed). Most of this was done using VDSL2 based up to 80Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) technology and tiny bit of ultra-fast FTTP.

Since then theyve been working with BT to extend that coverage to a further 20,465 premises (Contract 2), which is due to complete by December 2017. Today around 94% of the county can access broadband speeds of 24Mbps+ and once contract two is completed then this should rise above 95%.

However the local authority has just signed a third contract, this time with fibre optic ISP Gigaclear instead of BT. Under the new deal some 6,330 extra homes and businesses will be covered by the ISPs latest Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTP) technology, which can deliver ultra-fast broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps and faster in the future.

The new deal is being supported by around 4.9 million from the county council and 1.68 million from the Governments Broadband Delivery UK programme, with a further 3.65 million in private investment coming from Gigaclear itself.

Joe Frost, Gigaclears Business Development Director, said: Winning the Superfast Northamptonshire contracts means that we can now set the wheels in motion for providing a futureproof, pure fibre network to people living and working in the most remote corners of the county. Rural Northamptonshire will be one of the best connected areas in the UK as a result. This will be life-changing for residents and have a huge impact on the local economy as the ultrafast speeds attract organisations to the area. The fact that Gigaclear is winning more and more contracts like this one is a huge step in the right direction in the campaign for pure fibre, as we continue to connect thousands of people to speeds of up to 1Gbps. We are excited to work in partnership with the Superfast Northamptonshire team. This, together with our current and planned commercial coverage, will mean that we expect to be delivering ultrafast to more than 25,000 residents and business premises in rural Northamptonshire.

Cllr Ian Morris, Superfast Northamptonshire Project, said: Im delighted that were going to be working with Gigaclear on Stage Three of our Superfast Northamptonshire project, which will focus on those hardest to reach rural areas, which are the most difficult to serve with infrastructure. Having a county with excellent broadband infrastructure is essential if we want to be able to compete economically with other areas. The contracts awarded to Gigaclear will enable local businesses to benefit from some of the fastest broadband speeds available which is good news for data hungry operations and will to help boost the bottom line, whilst access to ultrafast broadband at home means the whole family can get on-line to take advantage of all that the internet has to offer.

According to Gigaclear the FTTP roll-out will be complete by December 2018; news on the exact coverage plan for the third contract should follow later this year (around May 2017). The deal marks the latest in a string of big contract wins for Gigaclear and theyre also the favourites to pick-up a major deal in the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire region (here).

However all of these new deals will be putting additional pressure on Gigaclear to ramp-up their deployment scale and attract more investment. So far theyve managed to cope and we hope that continues into the foreseeable future. The larger they become, the more we all expect.

We should point out that at the end of contract two around 14,000 premises in the county will still be waiting for a superfast broadband network to reach them, thus there will remain a fair gap left to fill even once Gigaclears 6,330 has been subtracted.
This is a fear for our families, said Isai Sanchez, 22, the youth program coordinator at the nonprofit, the Backside Learning Center. Like, How am I supposed to pay $120 right now for a service that I cant afford?

One of Mr. Sanchezs colleagues called Charter, which provides service under the Spectrum brand name, to ask about some of the surprise charges. The company eventually cleared some of the bills, blaming a miscommunication.

Internet providers like Charter and Comcast have introduced offers of free and low-cost internet with great fanfare in the last several weeks. The companies have said they want to help connect poor Americans during a pandemic that has shifted much of life online. Schools and community organizations have aggressively promoted the offers. Scores of customers have tried to sign up.

But people signing up for the programs have encountered unexpected difficulties and roadblocks, according to interviews with people who have tried to sign up or who have helped them. Their stories highlight the way that the pandemic has stretched the gap between Americans who have easy access to the internet and those who do not, cutting the latter group off from venues for learning, work and play.

The benefits and rules of the offers vary widely, so a customer may not qualify for free service while someone in identical circumstances elsewhere in the country can sign up. Sometimes, people must endure hourslong waits on the phone to sign up, which can lead some to give up before they ever talk to a customer service agent. Others have been deterred by language barriers or are wary of requests for identification.
SwaddleDesigns is pleased to be a part of the Seattle Protects program. We are supporting Seattle Protects to make it easier for businesses to find high-quality cloth masks. Lynette Damir, RN, CEO of SwaddleDesigns

On Monday, May 11, King County directed residents to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth while in an indoor public setting, such as a grocery store, or outside when it is difficult to maintain six feet of physical distance. Employers were highly advised to distribute masks to their employees and modify work settings to support social distancing. Today, the city of Seattle announced the Seattle Protects program, which will help employers find cloth masks from Seattle-based manufacturers. SwaddleDesigns is pleased to be supporting the Seattle Protects program. (http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/covid-19/seattle-protects)

We understand that as the regions throughout the country re-open, having masks available to protect employees, customers, as well as the general public, is important, says Lynette Damir, RN, CEO of SwaddleDesigns. We are supporting Seattle Protects to make it easier for businesses to find high-quality cloth masks. We offer different fabrics, colors, styles, and sizes, because we understand it is important for a mask to be comfortable and attractive, as well as effective.

In March, SwaddleDesigns converted their Seattle-area baby blanket production facility to manufacture cloth masks. SwaddleDesigns offers two different cotton face masks, designed by Lynette Damir, RN. In addition to their US factory, SwaddleDesigns converted production capacity in their audited and approved baby blanket factories in China to produce cloth face masks. SwaddleDesigns is using cotton fabrics consistent with published studies and CDC recommendations.

1. Two-layer 100% Cotton Flannel Masks designed to filter airborne particles. The flannel is baby soft, lightweight and breathable. Features ear elastic and headband elastic for secure fit. Available in Adult Large, Medium size and Child size. Made in USA.

2. Three-layer 180 thread count woven 100% Cotton Chambray. The masks come with an adjustable, bendable nose piece for snug fit and ear elastic. Available in Adult Large and Medium. Imported.

Attractive designs, good fit, effective filtration, and easy care. SwaddleDesigns cloth masks are reusable and washable.

As people go back to work and more people are venturing outside their home, children will need a mask as well, which is why SwaddleDesigns recently introduced an assortment of darling kids cloth masks.

Currently, SwaddleDesigns is selling individual masks, and offering discounts for bulk purchases. For more info, click here:

https://www.swaddledesigns.com/collections/cloth-fabric-face-masks
As part of Gov. Greg Abbott's phase two plan, Texas caverns are gearing up for cave exploration once again.

Grab your passport as you travel along the Texas cave trails uncovering underground mysteries.

"We are excited to resume daily operations and welcome our guests back, and we are taking every precaution needed to ensure guests and staff remain safe during their visit," said Brad Wuest, President, and CEO of Natural Bridge Caverns.

See some of the breathtaking views of these Texas caves. Have you explored any?

BIG RIVERS OPENING UP: Grand Texas' Big Rivers Waterpark set to open Memorial Day weekend, offering $20 tickets
Lowes India, the Bengaluru-based retail technology, analytics and business operations center for Lowes Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), announces new initiatives to support communities impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Reinforcing its commitment to the community, Lowes India, with the support of its employees, contributed to the PM-Cares Fund. Further, Lowes India is collaborating with the NGO Samarthanam to distribute rapid relief and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to families of migrant workers, people with disabilities, the elderly and healthcare professionals Through this program, over 2,300 relief kits and 350 PPE kits will be distributed across the city.

Speaking about the initiative, Ankur Mittal, VP  Technology and Managing Director (India) said, At Lowes, our focus has always been driven by a single purpose, to build a sustainable foundation for growth in the communities we serve. Our commitment goes beyond charitable giving; our associates also volunteer their time and talents to help with various CSR projects and programs. In this trying time, it is our duty to support the communities that are deeply affected by the pandemic in any way we can.

Each household receiving a relief or PPE kit, is educated on the importance of social distancing and the importance of sanitizing and maintaining hygienic conditions. A typical relief kit contains food grains, tea/coffee, sugar, spices, an assortment of long shelf life vegetables, masks, sanitizers, washing and bathing soap and toiletry kits. The PPE Kit for healthcare professionals contains N95 masks, PP Universal kit, TamiFlu 75mg tablet, 3-Ply face masks and Nitrile gloves.

Todays announcement builds on the companys ongoing commitment to its CSR focus areas which include building safe and affordable housing infrastructure and skilled trade education.
Red Nose Day US celebrates its sixth year on Thursday 21 May, with three hours of comedy and musical programming, featuring Jack Black, Ben Stiller and Gwen Stefani, among other famous faces

The event, that was transplanted over to the US six years ago, is inspired by the annual UK tradition where people buy and wear red noses to raise money for charity.

Red Nose Day is a fundraising campaign run by Comic Relief Inc. and raises money to tackle child poverty in the US and abroad.

Usually the red noses can be bought for $1 at stores such as Walgreens and Duane Reade, but this year the organisation have instead offered digital red noses to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

According to the organisation, in the five years that Red Nose Day has existed in the US, the organisation has raised over $200m to help tackle child poverty for nearly 25 million children in the US and abroad.

What time is it and how can you watch it?

The 2020 Red Nose Day is scheduled to begin on Thursday 21 May at 8pm ET/PT on NBC with a special one hour show called Celebrity Escape Room.

Jack Black is hosting the show and guests will include Adam Scott, Ben Stiller and former Friends stars Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow.

Then at 9pm ET/PT, the two hour long Red Nose Day Special will begin, which will be hosted by This is Us stars Mandy Moore and Justin Hartley.

What can I expect?

Keeping to tradition, stars from film, tv and music will be performing during the show, even if the coronavirus will bring a different feel to it.

Comedians Ricky Gervais, Sarah Silverman and Veep star Tony Hale are among the performers trying to make the audience laugh at this years event.

On the musical side, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson, among others will be performing during the show.

A lot of content will be packed into the two hour special, alongside short films that will showcase how the fundraising efforts make a difference in communities around the world.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the AAP government to renew the registrations of over five lakh construction workers who fulfil the eligibility criteria, so that they can be provided relief under its scheme for labourers during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar asked the Delhi government to revive the registrations of the workers who fulfil the eligibility criteria of having worked in the national capital for 90 days in the past one year as required under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Act.

Delhi government additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Urvi Mohan, who appeared for the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare (BOCWW) Board, said the bench issued the direction for the benefit of workers who were stranded in the national capital without any work during the lockdown and whose registrations had lapsed or were suspended for various reasons, including non-payment of the yearly membership fees.

In the proceedings, held via video conferencing, the bench asked the Delhi government to send and sms to the over five lakh workers so that they can apply for registration expeditiously, Ghose said.

The detailed order is awaited.

The direction came on a PIL by social activist Sunil Kumar Aledia seeking registration of all construction workers here under the BOCWW Act so that they can get the benefit of the relief package of Rs 5,000 per month being provided to each labourer during the lockdown.

The plea, filed through advocate Shiven Varma, has contended that only a small section out of the over 10 lakh workers in the city are registered under the laws regulating their welfare and service conditions and thus, a huge chunk of the labourers are not getting benefits actually meant for them.

The Board on the last date of hearing had told the court that it had disbursed Rs 19.8 crore to 39,600 workers registered with it as relief package during the COVID-19 lockdown.

It had also said that it has provided old age pension of Rs 3,000 per month to retired construction workers.

However, the relief has been provided only to the workers registered under the BOCWW Act as mandated under the statute and rules framed thereunder, it had said.

The Board had told the court that only a worker who has been engaged for 90 days or more in a year is eligible for registration under the Act and can be provided the relief package.

On the issue of registering the unregistered workers, the Board had claimed that due to the lockdown, there are administrative and manpower hurdles in carrying out registration or renewal of the same as physical presence of the worker is required.

It would also be difficult to maintain social distancing norms if such an exercise is carried out, the Board had said.

It had also said that efforts are being made to launch an online application portal for convenience of the workers to get themselves registered.

The petition by Aledia has contended that despite collection of over Rs 2,000 crore under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act in the names of lakhs of workers, only around 37,127 construction labourers who are registered are getting the benefits.

It has also claimed that there has been gross under-registration of construction workers in the national capital since 2015.

The petition has contended that the lockdown has led to work and wages being denied to the labourers and the relief granted by governments, through direct benefit transfers or orders to pay wages, are not available to those not registered.

It has further contended that due to lack of responsibility by employers, governments, and concerned departments, these workers have been left to fend for themselves and also deprived of the mandated benefit of crores of funds collected in their names.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wednesday morning began with a new hope for the shopkeepers on Laxmi Road, one of the oldest market places in Pune, as the city embarked on Covid-19 lockdown 4.0 allowing resumption of a large number of economic activities.

As per the new directives issued by Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad on Tuesday, public transport, cabs, autos, malls, saloons, restaurants and cafes are not allowed to function in Pune city which is part of a red zone district.

Establishments selling electronics, computers, mobiles, clothes, hardware, tailoring services, stationery, laundry services, home appliances and other goods, can be opened on certain days of the week. Masks are mandatory in public places and shops have to close for business after 7 pm. Housemaids have been allowed to resume duty in non-containment areas.

With these new guidelines, a large number of shutters went up and shops opened-up after remaining closed for more than two months. Laxmi Road, Bajirao Road, Tilak Road and J M Road were among the prominent shopping area in west Pune which were slowly limping back to life on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, Pune registered 207 deaths due to Covid-19 and 3,747 positive cases. The number of micro-containment zones in the city was reduced from 69 to 45 even as 19 new areas were added to this list in preparation for lockdown 4.0.

Dhiraj Parmar, proprietor of D K Traders, a clothes shop on Laxmi Road said, Today after almost 60 days we are opening our shop. We are doing the cleaning and checking of stocks. We will ensure proper social distancing. Our main problem is the absence of our employees who have gone back to their villages.

Mahendra Bora, a cloth merchant said business had been hit badly. We have given salaries to our staff, most of who have gone back to their states and are not willing to come back this year. It is going to be difficult for us to run our shop without them, he said.

Yogendra Ashtekar, owner of Yogendra Ashtekar Jewellers on Laxmi Road said he was opening his shop after 65 days. He said apart from following all the guidelines, they were ensuring footwear sanitisation of every customer along with hand sanitisation, he said.
As they shuffle between work or a job search, household chores and homeschooling, overworked parents  who are, more often than not, mothers  are counting down the days until the last day of school.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As they shuffle between work or a job search, household chores and homeschooling, overworked parents  who are, more often than not, mothers  are counting down the days until the last day of school.

Some have given up academic work for the year to lessen the load. Others, such as Zilla Jones, have given up any semblance of work-life balance.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Zilla Jones sits on her front steps as her children Kamil, 9, left, and Jericho, 12, read school books. Jones, who is a full-time lawyer, says two months into the distance learning routine, parents are getting exhausted as they try to balance work and homeschool. (John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press)

"I make it work; if I dont sleep, I dont sleep," said Jones, who has been simultaneously working from home as a full-time lawyer and providing homework help to her two school-age children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every morning, the Jones family jots down a to-do list, which may include, but is not limited to: math questions, music lessons and virtual bail hearings. If Jones is on the overnight shift, during which she offers urgent legal aid advice, she powers-through the satellite school day with a quick morning nap.

"Im doing this for my kids," said Jones, whose children are in grades 3 and 7. "If you opt out of schooling, nobodys going to pick up the slack for you."

"I make it work; if I dont sleep, I dont sleep."  Zilla Jones

Researchers have long-documented the implications of what Arlie Hochschild coined as the "second shift" more than 30 years ago: the idea that when women join the workforce, they maintain a disproportionate number of hours doing unpaid domestic work. In 1989, Hoshschild concluded, in addition to a womans paid job, her household responsibilities added up to the equivalent of another full-time job.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has added to the laundry list of domestic duties mothers squeeze into their schedules. Their days now include 24-7 child care, schoolwork support and comforting children who either dont understand why they are suddenly only allowed to have video call playdates or are overwhelmed by the dangers of the virus.

A new survey commissioned by the New York Times suggests while all parents are taking on more housework during the pandemic, mothers are handling more than their fair share.

Eighty per cent of mothers with children under 12 reported spending more time on distance learning than their partner, according to the April survey of 2,200 American adults. It also found nearly half of fathers reported being the primary homeschooler, but only three per cent of female respondents said their spouse is doing more.

(The survey was conducted by polling firm Morning Consult; its margin of error is plus or minus eight points for men and plus or minus seven points for women.)

"When we think about front-line workers, weve been thinking about the medical profession and our food supply, but we havent been thinking about (mothers)," said Fiona Green, a professor of womens and gender studies at the University of Winnipeg whose expertise is in feminist parenting and gender socialization.

"When we think about frontline workers, weve been thinking about the medical profession and our food supply, but we havent been thinking about (mothers)."  Fiona Green

Poverty and domestic violence remains ever-present, Green said; meanwhile, mothers of all kinds now have to shelter-in-place, deal with interpersonal dynamics and manage both their personal and childrens anxieties  and they have to do so with limited support.

Green and co-editor Andrea OReilly have started collecting submissions from mothers about their experiences during the pandemic for their new book, Mothers, Mothering and COVID-19: Dispatches from a Pandemic.

"Whats alarming to me is that this work continues to be invisible, but its also been expanded exponentially," she said, adding one way to cope is by venting to others and validating each others motherhood struggles amid the pandemic.

Feminist scholars and activists are also calling for a feminist response to COVID-19 to ease the burden on mothers, women, girls and LGBTTQ+ Manitobans, in consideration these groups have been disproportionately affected by job losses and child-care challenges.

The Institute for International Womens Rights  Manitoba has launched a campaign to call on the Pallister government to take an intersectional approach in legislation, policies and programs to ensure no Manitoban is left behind. Among their demands, establishing paid sick leave for all workers, implementing a living wage and adopting universal child care.

Board member Florence Okwudili said all mother figures will take on more domestic responsibilities long after the pandemic, since they will have to be extra cautious about sanitation and take time off if children have even the slightest cough.

"I really hope that folks see how essential that service is for people and (fund) it properly."  Corinne Mason

A mother and grandmother, Okwudili said shes already noticed her responsibilities have heightened; she lives with two of her grown children and three young grandchildren.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

When shes home from her full-time job as a health-care worker, she takes her grandchildren out on walks  which, before playgrounds opened, had to be meticulously planned to ensure they didnt see a playground to tempt the children. She has also moved nearly all the furniture from her living room to make space for the children to play indoors.

The pandemic has undoubtedly placed a spotlight on how critical child care is, whether it be in the form of daycare or school, said Corinne Mason, a queer parent who is taking turns with her partner, as the couple balances home offices and taking care of a three-year-old.

"Reproductive labour has to happen; so many people are at home doing that labour, at the expense of their own jobs," Mason said. "I really hope that folks see how essential that service is for people and (fund) it properly."

Now is the time, Mason said, for a national child-care strategy.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Philadelphia has the lowest minimum wage of any city in the U.S. when adjusted for the cost of living, according to a Pew study released May 20, 2020. That's partly due to a 2006 Pa. state law that forbids raising the $7.25 minimum. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) Read more

In Baltimore, if you work for minimum wage, youll pull in $11 an hour.

In Boston, youll earn about $12.75. In Washington, D.C., its $14. In New York City, $15.

But theres only one major stop along Amtraks Northeast Corridor where minimum-wage earners are guaranteed an income below the federally defined poverty line.

Thats Philadelphia, where minimum-wage earners eke out $7.25 an hour.

Pennsylvanias largest metropolis has what is effectively the lowest minimum wage of any major city in America, according to a study published Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Philadelphia is kind of an outlier, particularly for cities in this section of the country, said the studys author, Seth Budick, an officer with Pews Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative.

We knew going in that Philadelphia would be among the lowest when the minimum was adjusted for local wage levels and the cost of living, Budick said. But we didnt anticipate it being the absolute lowest.

In terms of the raw dollar figure, Philadelphia is tied with Pittsburgh and a dozen other major municipalities in offering the least-paid workers the federally mandated minimum of $7.25.

Figured as annual income, that amounts to $15,080 annually. A two-member household with a total income below $16,910 is considered to be living in poverty.

Minimum-wage occupations included cashiers; nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides; chefs and cooks; retail salespeople; and personal-care aides, according to Pew.

The low pay may be hurting economic development, said City Councilmember Helen Gym.

Its not surprising that the job growth rate in Pennsylvania has been slower than other states, Gym said. Its clear the low minimum is unsustainable. New Jersey is going to a $15 an hour rate by 2024, and its right across the river from us. And were surrounded by states all of which have higher minimum wages.

Other cities in the U.S. paying workers the federal minimum include El Paso, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.; and Charlotte, N.C. But because basics cost more in Philadelphia, the minimum wage does not buy as much as it does in the South.

The low minimum wage ensures that Philadelphia holds on to its status as Americas poorest big city, said John Meyerson of Raise the Wage Pa., a statewide coalition of labor, faith, and business organizations.

I dont think theres any doubt about it, Meyerson said. Were in a downward spiral. Were not building any new factories. Without government intervention or worker organization, things are not going to change.

Many cities have raised their minimums above their state baselines. Seattle, for example, has a minimum wage of $16.39, almost $3 more than the rest of Washington states minimum of $13.50.

Last year, Philadelphia voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to encourage the city to lobby state lawmakers  or act on its own  to establish a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

Thats unlikely to happen. Pennsylvania state law prevents local jurisdictions from raising the minimum wage. That policy, known as preemption, is also in place in 27 other states.

Mayor Jim Kenney said the study confirms what we instinctively know to be true: Low wages and high poverty go hand in hand.

It also shows that cities that are preempted by state law have both lower minimum wages and higher poverty rates, as is the case in Philadelphia, Kenney said in a statement. In a time of great economic uncertainty where our lowest-wage workers, largely women and people of color, are among our most essential workers, we must join together  state and local governments, private and public sectors  to raise wages.

Only half of those workers were employed full time. Minimum-wage earners, according to Pew, were disproportionately nonwhite or Hispanic, young, and lacking a college degree, and 57% were women.
Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, associate professor, has developed a highly printable bioink as a platform to generate anatomical-scale functional tissues. This study was recently published in the American Chemical Society's Applied Materials and Interfaces.

Bioprinting is an emerging additive manufacturing approach that takes biomaterials such as hydrogels and combines them with cells and growth factors, which are then printed to create tissue-like structures that imitate natural tissues.

One application of this technology could be designing patient-specific bone grafts, an area that is gaining interest from researchers and clinicians. Managing bone defects and injuries through traditional treatments tends to be slow and expensive. Gaharwar said that developing replacement bone tissues could create exciting new treatments for patients suffering from arthritis, bone fractures, dental infections and craniofacial defects.

Bioprinting requires cell-laden biomaterials that can flow through a nozzle like a liquid, but solidify almost as soon as they're deposited. These bioinks need to act as both cell carriers and structural components, requiring them to be highly printable while providing a robust and cell-friendly microenvironment. However, current bioinks lack sufficient biocompatibility, printability, structural stability and tissue-specific functions needed to translate this technology to preclinical and clinal applications.

To address this issue, Gaharwar's research group is leading efforts in developing advanced bioinks known as Nanoengineered Ionic-Covalent Entanglement (NICE) bioinks. NICE bioinks are a combination of two reinforcement techniques (nonreinforcement and ionic-covalent network), which together provide more effective reinforcement that results in much stronger structures.

Once bioprinting is complete, the cell-laden NICE networks are crosslinked to form stronger scaffolds. This technique has allowed the lab to produce full-scale, cell-friendly reconstructions of human body parts, including ears, blood vessels, cartilage and even bone segments.

Soon after the bioprinting, the enclosed cells start depositing new proteins rich in a cartilage-like extracellular matrix that subsequently calcifies to form a mineralized bone over a three-month period. Almost 5 percent of these printed scaffolds consisted of calcium, which is similar to cancellous bone, the network of spongy tissue typically found in vertebral bones.

To understand how these bioprinted structures induce stem cell differentiation, a next-generation genomics technique called whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) was utilized. RNA-seq takes a snapshot of all genetic communication inside the cell at given moment. The team worked with Dr. Irtisha Singh from Texas A&M Health Science Center, who served as a co-investigator.

The next milestone in 3D bioprinting is the maturation of bioprinted constructs toward the generation of functional tissues. Our study demonstrates that NICE bioink developed in our lab can be used to engineer 3D-functional bone tissues." Dr. Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, associate professor, Texas A&M

In the future, Gaharwar's team plans to demonstrate in vivo functionality of the 3D-bioprinted bone tissue.
MAPUTO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Government of Mozambique announced Tuesday the conclusion of a project to bring digital satellite television signal to 1,000 villages in the country, which is supposed to benefit over 20,000 families.

The Minister of Transport and Communication Janfar Abdulai made the announcement after reviewing the project in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

"This project is included in the 100 days of governance and now it is totally concluded, here today we are reviewing how the beneficiaries feel with the project and we are able to testify that they are happy, they have direct access to information and we share their satisfaction," said the minister.

He said the project generated about 2,000 jobs in total and trained work force particularly young people to be in charge of the maintenance and provide assistance to the beneficiaries.

The project, covering all the ten provinces and the capital city of Mozambique, was co-funded by China and implemented by the Chinese electronics and media company StarTimes.

The project is part of the resolutions of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, in which the Chinese government pledged to provide satellite television access for 10,000 villages in Africa.
President Donald Trump has refused to say whether he will abide by Fords rule, and wear a face mask on a visit to one of their factories.

Ford Motor Company revealed earlier this week that it informed the president that he will have to wear a face mask when he visits their Michigan factory, which is making ventilators amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The companys policy says that everyone wears PPE (personal protective equipment) to prevent the spread of Covid-19, according to a statement from Ford.

We shared all of Fords safety protocols, including our manufacturing playbook, employee pamphlet and self-assessment survey with the White House ahead of time and in preparation for this trip. it added.

The company later issued an updated statement, that seemingly suggested Mr Trump would be welcome with or without a face mask during his visit on Thursday.

The White House has its own safety and testing policies in place and will make its own determination, the statement read.

When asked on Tuesday if he will wear a face mask on his visit to the Ford plant, Mr Trump said he was unsure.

I dont know. I havent even thought of it. It depends I mean, on certain areas I would and certain areas I dont, the president said.

Recommended Mike Pence wears mask following outrage over Mayo Clinic appearance

But I will certainly look at it. It depends on what situation. Am I standing right next to everybody? Or am I spread out?

Also, you look, is something a hospital? Is it a ward? What is it exactly? Im going to a plant. So well see. Where it is appropriate I would do it certainly. he added.

Under Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmers order, manufacturing plants are supposed to suspend all non-essential factory visits and tours.

However, Ms Whitmers spokesperson, Zack Pohl told the Detroit Free Press that Mr Trumps visit is welcomed.

While the presidents visit is contrary to the governors order, this is an opportunity to showcase how important Michigan is to the response to Covid-19 and rebuilding our nations economy, Mr Pohl wrote.

In early April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommended that everyone in the US wear a face mask, or cloth face covering.

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain, their guidelines read.

Despite the guidance, the president has made it clear that he will not wear a face mask in public, because the guidelines are voluntary.

I just dont want to wear one, he said. Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute desk ... I dont see it for myself, he added.

The attitude has been adopted by some supporters of the president, who feel that by not wearing a mask, they are showing their support for Mr Trump.

In April, vice president Mike Pence wore a face mask on a visit to a General Motors plant, a day after being criticised for not wearing one at the Mayo Clinic.

After his visit to the clinic, he said that he did not have to wear a mask because he did not have coronavirus.

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, the vice president added.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.5 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 91,661.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 15:28 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd944443 1 News Angkasa-Pura-II,Soekarno-Hatta-International-Airport,pandemic,COVID-19,Transportation,transportation-safety,transporting-policy,new-normal Free

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II is working on a digital system to check passengers' flight documents to avoid long lines at airports.

The system will be supported by the Indonesia Airports app, which is still being developed.

Currently, flight documents are checked manually by airport staff. We are preparing [a system] so that in the near future all documents can be uploaded to the app and passengers will receive QR codes, said Muhammad Awaluddin, director of Angkasa Pura II, on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.

The new protocol involving the app is being finalized and is to be proposed to the State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Ministry on Monday.

Read also: More than 100,000 citizens return to Indonesia, 591 test positive for COVID-19

On Thursday, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, was reportedly packed with passengers despite the governments call for physical distancing in public. Angkasa Pura II received a warning letter from the government on Tuesday based on Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 78/2017.

Should a similar violation occur, the ministry will issue two more warning letters. As the final sanction, Angkasa Pura II's permit to operate airports will be revoked.

The operator applied new policies at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday, including dividing passenger lines into four sections, separating the document verification and health check process as well as limiting the number of flights to seven per hour. (gis/wng)
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
OTTAWAProvinces are awaiting more detail on what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said was a federal proposal for a national framework on testing and contact tracing.

A spokesperson for Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday Ontario officials had received a very preliminary document on collaborating on testing capacity and contact tracing.

Premier Ford welcomes the federal governments interest in supporting provinces with testing and contact tracing, said Ford spokesperson Ivana Yelich in a statement to the Star.

As we reopen our economies, we need to maintain and increase our robust testing regime. We need a united approach to sharing data and tracking cases, especially as people start travelling across the country and eventually across the U.S. border, said Yelich.

We want to get this right  ensuring that privacy is respected, and that the data helps the work being done by public health units. We look forward to continuing this conversation with the federal government as they provide more details about their support for provinces.

Ford has been calling for a national plan on contact tracing since May 4.

Two sources in provincial leaders offices suggested there was no formal proposal per se that was set out on a call with Trudeau but that there was a discussion during which the prime minister indicated the federal government was prepared to help provinces ramp up their data, testing and contact tracing capacity and efforts.

Several premiers were said to have made clear on the call to Trudeau that they are responsible for testing decisions, but would welcome more federal funds. Contact tracing is a more complicated discussion because different provinces are at different stages of their epidemics, said one source. Ideally there would be some co-ordination (and) interoperability among systems as travel increases.

Most premiers office referred questions about what the national framework is or might look like to their health officials.

But there was little clarification offered on any details about what Trudeau described as a proposal he made to the premiers on a phone call with first ministers last week.

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Balls public health office said that province is in favour of a national testing strategy and its officials have engaged with federal and provincial counterparts on it.

Newfoundland and Labrador supports the development of a single framework, with representation and input from each of the provinces and territories, considering their specific epidemiology, and where they are in relation to the pandemic, said the statement.

Canadas chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam

said I think the prime minister offered resources, support to the provinces as needed to ramp up their capacity.

Tam said officials are weighing how to widen surveillance systems, including more testing of asymptomatic people; ramping up laboratory-based PCR testing to detect active infections; and increasing the ability to do point of care testing (where test results can be instantly processed at clinics or testing sites and not shipped out to far-flung labs) especially in rural and more remote areas.

Finally, she pointed to the eventual ability to do broad serology (or blood antibody) testing to detect how much of the population has been infected and may have developed immunity.

That is important for policy decisions not just now but as we get a vaccine for example in the future to know what the population immunity is and where we might be going with vaccination strategies.  Right now that is not ready for prime time, she said.

Tam said provinces have to do a better job of gathering and reporting up to national policy-makers more in-depth data on how COVID-19 is affecting different populations across the country.

Data is currently reported to Ottawa on patients age, gender, whether they are seniors or have underlying medical conditions, she said, but there is a need to have First Nations, Inuit, Metis data as well as race-based data because if youre fine tuning your policies to support vulnerable populations thats important.

University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran told a Commons health committee on Wednesday Trudeaus proposal to try and devise a national framework on testing and contact tracing comes much too late. We need it now.

A pandemic is not normal times, and there comes a point where the federal government must step in  the point where provincial actions are killing Canadians. If our country cannot show that once-in-a-century flexibility, then yes, we are turning the Canadian Constitution into a suicide pact.

Read more about:
Empire Strikes Back: The film that nearly broke George Lucas. (Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

May, 1980: the second Star Wars movie hits cinemas with unprecedented expectations and its creators finances and reputation on the line.

It could have all gone very wrong, but as we now know, The Empire Strikes Back became one of the best sequels ever and continued the faraway galaxys march through the cinematic cosmos.

We find out how close it came to disaster.

George Lucas is not enjoying himself

Portrait of American directors George Lucas, Irvin Kershner and Steven Spielberg. 1980s (Photo by Mondadori via Getty Images)

He was coming off the back of the biggest movie ever, beloved by millions around the globe, but you might be surprised to hear that George Lucas wasnt happy much during the making of The Empire Strikes Back.

In fact, when Paul Hirsch, who edited the film and had won an Oscar for doing the same on the first picture thinks back to his favourite memories from the project, its Lucass frown turning upside down that pops into his head.

Read more: How Empire Strikes Back became the elusive Star Wars film in the 80s

We were renting a little mews house in Hampstead and it was Georges birthday, Hirsch recalls. We invited [him and his then-wife Marcia] there. I remember George relaxing and smiling and having a good time. It was a rare positive moment. The picture went way over schedule and of course as a consequence way over budget. He had risked a vast part of his fortune on the making of the film, so he was carrying a heavy burden he didnt smile all that much.

Film Editor Paul Hirsch attends the Academy of Motion Arts and Science's Oscars Outdoors Screening Series - 'Ferris Buellers Day Off' on June 23, 2012. (Toby Canham/WireImage)

Lucas had made a packet on A New Hope, but he was still annoyed about how much he had to give 20th Century Fox. So rather than go to them for more money, he instead went with an ultimatum. They could distribute The Empire Strikes Back, but he would get a bank loan using his own money as collateral and pay for the film himself. Also, Fox would only get an equal share in the lucrative merchandising rights until the middle of 1978, at which time he would take 80%. Of course the studio said yes  who wouldnt want a second Star Wars?  but while the filmmaker got control, he also took on all the risk.

Story continues

Which is fine, if everythings fine. But it wasnt on Empire. For a start there was the script. Lucass first choice of writer, Leigh Brackett, had submitted what he considered to be a substandard draft and then had tragically died not long afterwards. As always, Lucas knew exactly what he wanted, but didnt always believe that his vision was being followed to the letter in the way it should be.

The right director with the wrong attitude

American director Irvin Kershner on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. (Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

Not only his vision, but the understanding that it was his cash on the line. Saturday Night Fever director John Badham had almost got the gig, as had Bugsy Malones Alan Parker. Ultimately though, Empire was helmed by Irvin Kershner, a thoughtful, character-orientated artist who liked to take his time. With the entire picture budgeted at $15million, it was time (and money) Lucas didnt have.

Read more: The Star Wars timeline explained

Despite getting on with him and understanding his process, some of the crew admitted working with Kershner could be difficult. I liked [him] very much, special effects director Brian Johnson told Screen International back in 1980. He is frustrating as a director in a way, because he would change his mind at the last minute, much later than most directors do.

American actors Billy Dee Williams, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner. (Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

They werent shooting a lot of film each day, agrees Hirsch.

This relaxed and improvisational approach held no truck with Lucas. In fact, its what caused the schism between him and his friend/producer Gary Kurtz. Mid-shoot, blaming him for indulging Kershner, Lucas replaced Kurtz and put someone else in day-to-day charge of the production. George got really concerned about how long we were taking, Kurtz told author Brian Jay Jones years later. He banged me for the cost overruns on Empire.

Everything is not awesome

American actor Mark Hamill on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner. (Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

By this point however, things had already had plenty of time to get fraught. The British FX guys were rushed off their feet and trying to juggle Empire with a little horror movie called Alien, as the latter had gone over-schedule. We started The Empire Strikes Back in a hell of a rush, said Brian Johnson. As soon as anyone finished on Alien  say on a Thursday morning  by the afternoon they would over at Elstree working on Empire.

There were pioneering new characters to get to grips with too, such as a wizened Jedi master originally called Minch Yoda, whod lost his original first name as the screenplay evolved (Lucas had handed the gig to an up-and-comer called Lawrence Kasdan who was asked to sort out Empire before cracking on with another idea called Raiders of the Lost Ark).

I always thought Yoda was our secret weapon, Paul Hirsch says now. I thought people would go crazy when they saw him.

Lucas wasnt so sure. Yes, he was brilliantly puppeteered by Frank Oz, but he wasnt convinced initially that Ozs vocals was right. George didnt want my voice, Oz said later.

Tragedy and a terrible winter

American actor Harrison Ford on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner. (Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

However, there were other things to worry about. Second unit director John Barry, whod also been instrumental in the first film, collapsed suddenly on-set in the middle of filming and died of meningitis a couple of days later. To show how behind they were, on the very day of his death, the crew had to continue shooting scenes in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.

And the filming of the Hoth scenes in Norway had been a complete nightmare. Finse, the productions base, had experienced era-defining storms. When Harrison Ford was ferried there to film a sequence with Mark Hamill, the snow was so deep and it was so cold, he showed up on-set in a snow ploughs engine compartment (a mechanical Tauntaun of sorts). The crew was frequently snowed in and once Kershner filmed a scene with Luke Skywalker battling the elements from the lobby of their hotel because they couldnt set up outside.

Twists and turns

Darth Vader implores Luke to turn to the Dark Side of the Force. (Lucasfilm)

Of course, there is also the paternal twist. Desperate to keep it under wraps, Lucas went to extreme lengths to protect it. David Prowse, the body of Darth Vader, was considered so loose-lipped that he was basically kept out of the loop altogether. I wasnt even allowed to read the script, he told Screen International in 1980. They just gave me a few pages at a time because they were so worried about the story leaking out.

I went back and I got out my script and I looked and the page where that line is, is missing, says editor Paul Hirsch. The script is bound and I dont remember tearing the page out. Later on, after the picture had all been shot, thats when I would have learned about it.

Read more: The best order to watch Star Wars

Nevertheless, he had other things to worry about on the day than who was whos father. What I remember about that sequence is it was shot with enormous wind machines, he says. They put out an incredible noise. Because of the wind machines, they couldnt shoot dialogue for the sequence. So they had to shoot the sequence essentially silent. Vaders got a mask on anyway My concern was about Mark Hamill, having to loop his performance without a guide track. Usually, the actor can listen to what he did and parrot it, repeat it and try to capture the same performance so that was where my focus was  technical issues. I wasnt really thinking terribly much about what he was saying.

All these obstacles meant that Lucas ended up spending more time on the set than he intended (he was planning/building Skywalker Ranch at the time) and watching more closely than he thought he would be over Kershner and the rest of the crew.

George came in he changed the continuity of the first half-hour, I would say, remembers Hirsch. In fact, that tinkering of the Hoth sequence annoyed Kershner as he said it made it look like the director didnt know what he was doing.

And yet

American actors Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and British Anthony Daniels on the set of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back directed by Irvin Kershner. (Photo by Lucasfilm/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)

Despite the fact it was wildly over-schedule and ended up costing $33million rather than $15m, The Empire Strikes Back is a masterpiece that continues to challenge and excite audiences 40 years after its release.

My reaction to the script was I thought it was very bold and daring and courageous, says Hirsch. You never count on it being a hit, but I always had confidence in it.

Actor Mike Edmonds was still just an extra (and remains uncredited) when he was cast as an Ugnaught (an alien race latterly seen again in The Mandalorian), so you would have thought hed be a bit overwhelmed walking onto such a seminal production.

Apparently not. I didnt know much about Star Wars, he says. I hadnt seen it!

His roles included helping to put Han Solo into the carbon freezing chamber and being filmed walking up and down corridors.

Han Solo is manhandled into position by ugnaughts. (Lucasfilm)

I stayed with my agent who lived about a mile-and-a-half from the studios, he says today. I was able to get there early in the morning, so I did quite a bit of work before the others turned up.

[The set was] a wondrous thing, he continues. Its very strange to be on that set and then walk outside and get in your car and drive home, you know?

The actor went on to play Ewok Logray in Return of the Jedi and has had an illustrious cinematic career, as a Time Bandit and many more. Logray has his own action figure, yet, he laughs, here are few Ugnaught ones, but whether its me I dont know!

For Paul Hirsch too, the film brings back happy memories.

Lucass friend, the Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch staged The Droid Olympics, which was a series of contests involving editing room skills.

Marcia Lucas, wife of director George Lucas, right, carries her Oscar statuette as they arrive at a post Academy Awards party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Ca., April 4, 1978. She won for best achievement in film editing for "Star Wars," directed by her husband. (AP Photo)

Then there was the time Marcia Lucas showed up at Hirschs house in the pouring rain carrying a four-foot-tall Wookiee for his young daughter, or when we had a softball team made up of members of the editing crew. We were called The Sprockets.

So while George Lucas may not have smiled all that much when they made one of the greatest sequels of all-time, his instincts were proved correct. The film made him even more money, helped people think differently about how they might finance movies and never again would studios underestimate the value of a toy.

George is a combination of tremendous creative, imaginary powers and a hard-headed business sense, says Hirsch, who has gone on to edit everything from Ferris Buellers Day Off and Steel Magnolias, to Warcraft and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

So Id say on that score, hes unique.

A Long Time Ago in a Cutting Room Far, Far Away: My Fifty Years Editing Hollywood Hits - Star Wars, Carrie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Mission: Impossible, and More by Paul Hirsch is available now.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back is streaming on Disney+.
The day was a bit brighter on October 8, 1943, with the birth of Philip Leonidas Smith, born in Atlanta, Georgia to E. Leonidas Smith and Elizabeth Jane (Huddleston) Smith. The middle name Leonidas was a nod to Leonidas Polk, a Confederate general in the Civil War and the Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee.

Phil grew up in Chattanooga, graduating from Chattanooga City High School class of 1961, followed by graduation from University of Chattanooga, and then in 1968, graduation from the University of Georgia with the degree Master of Social Work, which provided him an excellent educational foundation upon which his professional life would take various paths. He also became a lifelong Georgia Bulldogs fan.

He accomplished much in his professional life, including early work with the Tennessee Department of Public Welfare, where he directed Neighborhood Services, directly supervising units of Child Welfare, Homemaker Services and Public Assistance programs.

In 1970, he was recruited by the Director for Academic Planning for the Florida Board of Regents to move to Tallahassee, Florida to work with Florida agencies that employed social services personnel to effect better matches between work and education with both entities benefiting.

In 1975, he was recruited once again to make a career move to Tampa, Florida to develop a social work program at the University of South Florida. He put together a great cadre of faculty to create the Department of Social Work, and over the next several years developed the BSW and MSW programs, and served as chair of the Department of Social Work for 13 years. He taught courses in both programs and continued to be involved in research and grant writing. He was elected twice by university faculty to represent them as speaker of the faculty senate. He was a tenured associate professor, and award winning teacher at the university.

While at the university he was sought out to take a position in central administration, as Assistant Provost in the Office of the Provost, the academic leader of the institution. In this capacity he guided the administration and the faculty in matters of collective bargaining, faculty development programs, and faculty recruitment, salary equity, and faculty retention. Both faculty members and administrators knew Phil would speak candidly and truthfully when seeking his counsel. At the time of his retirement in 2005 he held position of Associate Provost.

The preceding paragraphs offer a snapshot of Phil's education and the professional life it engendered. What follows is a snapshot of the man. In all aspects of his life, whether personal or professional, Phil was a vanguard for social justice, civil rights and equality. He spoke the truth. In high school he took on a teacher who used her class time to denounce a city official who supported desegregation. In the late 1960s during the Civil Rights movement he and some friends started the first Chattanooga Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, for which Phil was referred to by a local radio personality as a "godless communist." He was a man of unimpeachable integrity, humor both subtle and outrageous, and a great storyteller. He made life-long friends as a young man growing up in Chattanooga, some of whom remain close after 60 years. They were the Bad Boys of Brainerd and they in later years marveled that they survived to be elderly citizens.

Phil loved a good morality play in the genre of the western. His favorite western movie was The Searchers, which he had seen probably 15 times. He watched Gunsmoke and Lonesome Dove at nearly every showing on television.

He was a man of contradictions. He was a liberal Democrat who staunchly supported the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, but who was also a vehement opponent of the National Rifle Association. He was pro-choice, and supported marriage and racial equality. He was a well-informed lifelong student of the Civil War. His father's family claimed the South; his mother's, the North. When he traced his lineage directly to a Confederate officer, he became a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a very non-liberal organization.

He was a news junkie who reveled, sometimes boisterously, in political discourse with friends. He was a fan of the political humor of the late George Carlin, Lewis Black, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher. Phil's laughter could shake the rafters. It was a joy to be heard.

And the man loved cars. He counted the number of vehicles he had purchased over his lifetime to be 47. He left one afternoon to go food shopping in Tampa and came home hours later with a new car, but no food. His 1995 Buick Roadmaster was his favorite by far.

He was a great conversationalist on nearly any subject but pop culture! And he was a very good listener. You knew you were heard, even in disagreements. He was a man of great compassion as anyone who knew him would attest.

Phil was all about family; loving and loyal and dutiful. He adored his wife, Sharon, and never failed to tell her every day of his love and express his gratitude for the years they shared. And he was a loving father to his son, Rob, born of a previous marriage and very proud of the fine man he is, and that he, too, married the love of his life, Tracy. Phil and Debbie and Greg were very close at heart, although not in years, and always shared an "I love you" at end of phone call or visit. Phil also thought he had the best in-laws possible and the feeling was reciprocated by them.

He loved animals and he and Sharon adopted many during their nearly 45 years marriage. At the time of his death two of his favorite cats, Chester and Doc, sat vigil on his bed.

Just as the universe shone brighter on October 8, 1943, it turned darker on May 14, 2020.

Phil was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife Sharon Lewis Smith; his son and daughter-in-law Rob and Tracy Wolfe Smith; his sister and her husband, Debbie and Mike West; his brother, Greg. He leaves behind many loving friends and colleagues.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Matthew Hitchcock, Dr. Steven Monroe, Dr. Brant Holt, and Hospice of Chattanooga for their care and compassion. Phil was cremated and no services were held. When we can once again gather without masks, we will celebrate his life together.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to share my life with this man. Even knowing the later challenges to come, I would do it again if given the opportunity. Rest well, babe. You are loved. Sharon

Visit www.hamiltonfuneraloptions .com to share words of comfort to the family.

Arrangements are by Hamilton Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 4506 Hixson Pike. (423) 531-3975
President Trump tours a medical supply company in Allentown, Pa., last week. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

President Trump will fly to Michigan on Thursday to visit a Ford Motor Co. factory that launched a crash program last month to build ventilators and personal protective gear for the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, he visited a distribution facility in Pennsylvania that ships medical supplies around the country. And a week before that, he toured a factory in Arizona that makes respirator masks.

It's no coincidence that Trump's first events outside Washington since early March focused on three swing states that may determine who wins the November election.

He won all three in 2016, but polls in each state show him trailing Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, partly due to widespread disapproval of Trump's uneven response to the COVID-19 pandemic  including his squabbles with Democratic governors, including those in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Ever disdainful of experts, Trump has yet to wear a protective face mask in public despite guidance from federal health authorities and the White House coronavirus task force. It's unknown if he will don one Thursday when he tours Ford's Rawsonville components plant in Ypsilanti, about 30 miles west of Detroit.

If he doesn't, he'll be in violation of Ford's safety protocols as well as in technical violation of an executive order from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a frequent target of Trump's gibes for her lockdown orders. The state has been one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus, with nearly 5,000 deaths so far.

Whitmer, who is a potential running mate for Biden, has criticized the Trump administration's response to the outbreak. Her office said the White House had not invited her to attend Thursday's event and that she plans to volunteer at a school that day distributing meals to children and their families.

"Every time you politicize a crisis, there's an opportunity  but there's also a huge risk," said Saul Anuzis, a former Michigan GOP chairman. "That's especially true with this crisis, because it's affecting pretty much everyone."

Story continues

Given the federal and local resources required to coordinate and provide security for any presidential trip, the decision to travel after a catastrophic event is difficult for any White House. Doing so during a pandemic is even trickier.

"After a hurricane, you don't want to get there and disrupt the first responders, but the waters recede after a few days," said Thomas "Mack" McLarty, who was chief of staff to President Clinton. "This is different in that there isn't a natural time to go."

"But it's important to thank first responders, doctors and nurses, to show empathy and connectivity and concern and leadership. When you have events that focus on that, they're perfectly appropriate."

With Trump, these taxpayer-funded events  his first two trips included short factory tours followed by roughly 30 minutes of remarks  can seem like mini-campaign appearances, with blaring music, testimonials from supporters and invective against his enemies.

At the Honeywell plant in Phoenix on May 5, Trump led an entourage in hard hats around the floor while his campaign's festive rock 'n' roll playlist blasted from the speakers, infusing a moment ostensibly about hardship and sacrifice with a more celebratory air. Upon taking the stage, he started by praising his 2016 victory in Arizona.

Before Trump arrived at the Owens & Minor Inc. plant in Allentown, Pa., on May 14, multiple campaign surrogates hit local radio to promote the trip and Trump's overall response to the pandemic.

Given his slide in the polls, Trump is increasingly anxious about his reelection effort, according to numerous aides. Karl Rove, the architect of President George W. Bush's electoral victories in 2000 and 2004, told the president in an Oval Office meeting last week that the stalled campaign must accelerate quickly, one person familiar with the meeting said.

Trump's unease has also led to frustrations with his campaign manager, Brad Parscale.

After a contentious discussion over internal polling weeks ago, Trump, one administration official said, was grumbling again last week after Democratic strategist James Carville referred to Parscale on TV as a "grifter," suggesting he was getting rich running the campaign and was placating the president with "fake polls," an assessment that appeared to hit a nerve.

"He thought he had a juggernaut campaign," the official said. "Now there's a lot of doubt that's crept in."

While Trump's campaign and super PAC have broadcast ads in swing states attacking Biden, Democrats have countered with a barrage of spots slamming the president for failing to contain the coronavirus as successfully as have other countries.

Trump consistently boasts that the U.S. is doing more testing than any other country, but the U.S. death toll  more than 91,000 so far  is more than double that of any other nation.

Both political parties' traditional organizing efforts in swing states remain on hold for now. But Trump's inability to stage mass rallies arguably hurts him more since the raucous events boost his morale, energize his base and help his campaign raise money and accumulate voter data.

As he has sought to escape the confines of the White House, not to mention the sobering realities of a public-health crisis and economic calamity, Trump has shown an eagerness to return to the freewheeling, slash-and-burn tactics characteristic of campaign season, increasing his personal attacks on Democrats, the media and others.

All presidents are innately political, said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University. But while, say, President Lyndon Johnson's obsessive focus on electoral calculations was balanced to an extent by his zealous commitment to a legislative agenda, Trump's bluntness in asserting his own self-interest above all sets him apart.

Trump's presidency is "all about division," Zelizer said. "Every move he makes for reelection is about just playing to his supporters and never attempting to build a broader coalition, and that's a strategy. He sees the country as red or blue, and he focuses on red."

Since taking office, Trump has showered attention on swing states, especially those that pushed him over the top in 2016.

In 2017, he choose an Ohio riverbank as a backdrop for a speech outlining a still-unfulfilled infrastructure plan, helped lure a Chinese iPhone manufacturer to build a new plant in Wisconsin and touted new investments in domestic auto and coal production at facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania, respectively.

During the run-up to the midterm election in 2018, he held more than three dozen campaign rallies on behalf of Republican candidates  nearly all of them in heavily Republican, predominantly suburban and rural locales where he is most popular.

In 2016, Trump won Michigan by just 10,704 votes  a margin of 0.23%  unexpectedly dismantling Hillary Clinton's presumed "blue wall" after also narrowly taking Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Four years later, the president's allies have been pessimistic about his chances of winning Michigan in November based on weeks of internal polling data.

But according to a person involved in the reelection effort, a more recent internal poll showed Trump regaining some ground there amid growing frustration, stoked in large part by the president himself, over Whitmer's refusal to quickly ease stay-at-home orders.

State lawmakers in Lansing last week canceled a legislative session in the face of death threats to Whitmer and the menacing presence of anti-lockdown protesters, some armed with assault rifles, at the Capitol.

"There are a lot of people in Michigan who are disenchanted with the shutdown," said Anuzis, the former state GOP chairman. He said Trump can still galvanize the working-class white voters who backed him four years ago.

"The outbreak here was almost entirely in the urban areas, and yet we've got this one-size-fits-all approach that's put a lot of people in places where there is no virus out of work," he said. "Most people who work in manufacturing, in the automobile industry or the supply industry, they can't work from home. So there's an opportunity [for Trump] to take advantage of a lot of disenfranchised voters."
India will resume domestic flights beginning May 25, the government said on Wednesday, announcing a gradual reboot of air travel that was halted two months ago on account of a lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for passenger movement are also being separately issued by civil aviation ministry, civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri tweeted. The guidelines for air travel are expected on Thursday.

The governments plan for the resumption of services may feature recommending a price band for different routes keeping in mind the interest of both the consumer and the airline, a civil aviation ministry official who did not want to be named said.

Inside planes, middle seats might not be left vacant though such a proposal was initially on the table, according to the official, who also said measures will be taken to maintain social distancing at airports. On completion of travel, passengers will have to abide by the guidelines laid down by the destination state.

In the first phase, the flights are likely to cater to all major Tier-I cities.

A draft SOP by the civil aviation ministry earlier this month suggested that cabin luggage will be barred and those above 80 might not be allowed on board for now. It also said passengers identity checks will not be required so as to minimise the crowd at terminal gates. But the government was quick to clarify that these were just draft proposals, and that a final call was yet to be taken.

Last week, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which manages 100-odd airports in India, released its own guidelines for passengers, citing the possibility of domestic flights. AAI asked travellers to maintain a distance of four feet, wear a mask and other protective gear, wash or sanitise their hands frequently, and carry a 350 ml bottle of sanitiser all the time. Downloading the contact-tracing Aarogya Setu app in mobile phones will be mandatory, and passengers will have to do a web check-in before the journey and a carry a printout of the boarding pass, according to the AAI guidelines.

Domestic flight services have been put on hold since March 25, when the nationwide lockdown was first imposed, and international flights have not arrived in India since March 22. Cargo flights and those evacuating foreign nationals have been operating though.

Opening the skies for domestic flight services is seen as yet another step by the government in the direction of a graded exit from the lockdown, which has been extended till the end of this month. The curbs have taken a toll on the Indian economy, stalling activities across sectors, including the aviation industry.

We have been prepared for resuming domestic flights for a while and made all necessary arrangements, but states expressed some reservations on resuming the operations in a meeting held a day before the home ministry guidelines were issued, a second civil aviation ministry official said, referring to the Centres May 17 order on the lockdown that listed air travel as a banned activity across the country. Shortly after the announcement on the resumption of flights, the home ministry amended its order, removing domestic air services from the list.

A meeting with the chief executive officers (CEOs) of airlines is scheduled to be held on Thursday and the SOP on air travel could be made public after that, according to the second official. The Centre will also issue guidelines for the movement of passengers for reaching airports.

On Tuesday, civil aviation minister Puri said state governments should be ready to allow civil aviation operations in the spirit of cooperative federalism. It is not up to the civil aviation ministry or the Centre alone to decide on resuming domestic flights, he said.

Airlines welcomed the governments move to resume air services.

While the SOP for the resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much-awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport We will strictly adhere to social distancing norms and SOPs laid down by the government to ensure the best, the cleanest and the most sanitised flying experience, said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet.

IndiGo said it is fully prepared for the resumption of flights in a phased manner. We will share further details and guidelines for passengers, in line with the advisory from the authorities over the next few days, the private airline said in a statement.
The global health crisis has rocked the sharing economy. Uber and Lyft drivers have seen their incomes plunge as people shelter in place. Airbnb bookings have tumbled, and its services have been banned in some cities and states. Gig workers at a number of companies are protesting a lack of basic protections like hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and sick pay.

This crisis has brought to a head problems that have been lurking in the wings for years. As a professor who researches the sharing economy, Ive found that the features that make it so successful  especially its flexible, decentralized, independent workforce  create both unique opportunities and vulnerabilities. The stresses of our current situation have made these contradictions clearer than ever.

Related: 5 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Rebound After a Crisis

Will this public health emergency push the sharing economy to evolve? Or will it throw the entire business model into question? The answer hinges on whether companies can adapt quickly and find ways to create a virtuous cycle of benefits for both workers and customers, as well as their bottom lines. Sharing economy giants like Uber and Airbnb have become so ubiquitous that their ability to survive will have serious implications for the economy as a whole.

The most innovative aspect of the sharing economy is a unique relationship between companies and their workers. Rather than hiring and managing a traditional workforce, these businesses create platforms for individuals to sell goods and services, from use of their cars and homes to their time and skills. An estimated one-third of U.S. workers are now engaged in gig work, much of it through sharing economy marketplaces.

The sharing economys flexibility and low barriers to entry have long appealed to workers who can decide when and how much to work, or who want to pick up side hustles to earn extra income. Now, we may see people who have been laid off flock to gig work in an attempt to make ends meet, such as the 250,000 new users who signed up to work for Instacart during the first week of April.

At the same time, the tenuous relationship between sharing economy companies and their workers is showing signs of strain. Some frustrated Instacart workers have simply quit or switched to competing services like Postmates, while others are striking for safer working conditions. Though companies like Uber and Lyft are offering sick pay, many workers report trouble collecting benefits or meeting eligibility requirements.

Related: 10 Ways Startups Can Pivot From Growth to Operational Efficiency During a Crisis

These challenges reveal how precarious sharing economy jobs can be for workers, most of whom are classified as independent contractors. This means they are not guaranteed a steady income and often lack basic benefits like paid sick leave, health insurance and access to unemployment assistance. In recent years, gig workers at Uber and other companies have fought to be recognized as employees to obtain greater protections.

These ongoing concerns about the lack of security afforded by sharing economy jobs have boiled over during these trying times, resulting in highly publicized strikes and demands that companies better protect their workers. Policymakers are also getting involved, as states like Michigan and Colorado explore ways to help gig workers access unemployment benefits.

A workforce of independent contractors poses challenges for companies too. Because these businesses are so decentralized, it is harder for them to control the behavior of workers and sellers across their platforms to ensure customers have a good experience. Airbnb, for example, has struggled in recent years to protect the safety of guests and hosts and faced backlash after a series of sexual assaults at its properties.

Related: 10 Lessons Every Entrepreneur Should Learn About Their Business

The current crisis has made the underlying problems of decentralization clearer than ever. Although Grubhub, Postmates, and other food delivery services have announced precautions such as contactless delivery, restaurants and consumers have little guarantee that drivers are following proper protocols. In an attempt to discourage risky public health behavior, Airbnb issued guidelines for how hosts represent their properties during the pandemic. Yet there are still listings encouraging people to Quarantine in Paradise! with friends or offering toilet paper as a perk.

This situation has laid bare some of the core contradictions of a sharing economy built on a decentralized, independent and often precarious workforce. Companies will have to adapt quickly to mount a cohesive response that satisfies customers and workers, both of whom are essential to their continued success. The flexibility built into the sharing economy model may be an asset for companies looking to innovate rapidly. Uber, for example, has encouraged struggling drivers to shift to its food delivery service Uber Eats.

In many cases, workers demands for better protections might closely align with the interests of customers who are also concerned about their health. Previous research my colleagues and I conducted found a virtuous cycle on sharing economy platforms like Airbnb where good behavior from sellers induces better behavior from buyers, and vice versa. If companies can find a way to harness positive feedback loops around worker and customer safety, they may be able to secure the trust of both groups.

This logic also applies to protecting workers financially. Some sharing economy companies quickly realized that if they didnt offer some form of paid sick leave, they could be forcing workers into an impossible choice  starvation or sickness   potentially putting customers at risk as a result. Particularly in competitive sectors like food delivery, visible failures to protect workers could concern customers and lead to (further) losses of revenue.

The government might also need to step in to ensure gig workers are protected. This crisis could be the tipping point that finally leads companies and policymakers to address the precarity of gig work by offering a better safety net including access to health and unemployment benefits, greater income stability and paid leave.

The sharing economys ability to weather this storm will have broader impacts on the economy, given how thoroughly it has infiltrated our national and local markets and workforces. In a recent paper, my colleagues and I found that increased activity on home-sharing platforms like Airbnb boosted local restaurant revenue, often in areas outside traditional tourist districts. A downturn could have the opposite impact.

Local economies might also be affected as gig workers whove lost income shift gears. For example, some hosts are converting their now-empty Airbnb properties into long-term rentals, potentially reversing a trend we uncovered in our previous research on Airbnbs impact on local rental housing markets.

To survive this pandemic, the sharing economy must address some of its underlying contradictions by ensuring the security of both workers and customers. Companies that are able to do so might even come out ahead if they can safely offer essential services like grocery delivery. However, if the sharing economy cannot deal with its fundamental vulnerabilities in a moment of crisis, it could spell the end of its meteoric rise as a business model.

Related: Uber to Riders and Drivers: Wear a Mask or Lose Access to App

Related:

6 Predictions for How This Crisis Will Impact Small Businesses Long-Term

Secrets From a Navy SEAL on Courage During Crisis

Why Every Franchise Should Pivot Right Now



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The UK has joined the US, Europe and the World Health Organisation by including loss of smell or taste as an officially recognized symptom of Covid-19  thanks in part to an international research project involving Professor Carl Philpott at the University of East Anglia.

Led by an international delegation, the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) survey was launched in response to anecdotal reports of smell and taste loss in people who have tested positive for Covid-19.

UEA smell expert Prof Carl Philpot, from Norwich Medical School, is one of the research groups members. He has also been surveying local hospital workers during the pandemic.

Our group of international smell and taste researchers united to study how, when and why people are experiencing a loss of smell and taste, and what it can tell us about coronavirus. We are collecting data on Covid-19 from people in 50 countries all around the world  and it all points to the fact that smell loss is a symptom. We have found that it particularly affects some demographics, such as women in their 30s and 40s. This is different to what we would normally see when people present with anosmia following a virus - that tends to be people who are in an older age group, more commonly in their 60s and 70s. Our research and that from many other centers shows that for some, it can be the only symptom, or accompanied by or precede other mild symptoms. It adds weight to the findings from Kings College London, who launched a Covid-19 symptom tracker app. So todays announcement that the CMOs have now recognized smell and taste disturbances is extremely welcome, albeit much later than other European counterparts and at least two weeks after the WHO added it to their list. It means that those calling NHS 111 with sudden loss of smell will now be told they are likely to have Covid-19, are eligible for a test, and should self-isolate. This will hopefully now be another measure by which the pandemic can be contained, especially as in some people it may be the only symptom or may precede other symptoms. This is particularly pertinent in healthcare workers where reports of smell and taste disturbances have been commonplace, meaning the transfer of infection from colleagues to each other and to uninfected patients will have been happening unchecked. There will also be a recognition that although many patients will recover these senses, the need for ongoing support will be faced by a minority in whom these sensory losses persist, such as that provided by our charity Fifth Sense. Prof Carl Philpot, UEA smell expert, Norwich Medical School

Prof Barry Smith from the University of London, the UK lead for the GCCR, said: If enough people are able to tells us about their sudden loss of smell or taste, this will provide vital clues that could be part of the story about the prevalence of the virus in the population  information the Government can all upon before mass antibody testing is available.

The UK researchers in GCCR, who are made up of clinicians, sensory scientists and patient advocates have contributed at every turn according to Prof Smith, by publishing scientific findings, writing letters to leading medical journals, and by informing the public directly through social media, newspaper articles and podcasts.

The UK GCCR team hope that this new recognition of the importance of smell, and the effect of its loss on peoples lives, will encourage further work into olfaction, uniting the interests of ENT practitioners, sensory scientists and the many patients who have already contributed so much to understanding the link between Covid-19 and loss of smell.
The Good Wife

When to watch: Now, on Amazon, CBS All Access or Hulu.

The Good Wife, which aired on CBS from 2009 until 2016, is one of the best legal dramas of the modern era. Its not that the show does anything so outrageous or unique, it just does its version to rare excellence, balancing a rich, serialized plot and zesty procedural elements in a world exclusively populated by the brilliant and secretive.

Had The Good Wife been a premium cable show or streaming series, theres no way it would have had all its oddball judges and intriguing guest stars  because it wouldnt have needed to fill 22 episodes per season. And if it had been extruded from the CBS Procedural Fun Factory, it wouldnt have its prickly politics or character depth, or its sense of patience.
Bexar County Sheriff's Office

A 63-year-old man was arrested in connection with $9,000 worth of stolen water from the San Antonio Water System, according to an arrest affidavit.

Bexar County Sheriff's deputies were called after John Lloyd Ripley was accused of removing two water meters and replacing them with flex pipes, causing the water supply to be diverted to his home, the affidavit said.
The promotional videos and emails sent to prospective investors promised the investments in oil and gas wells in Wilson County were low-risk and the guaranteed 32 percent returns represented a worse case scenario.

In reality, the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges, the pitches were part of a fraudulent scheme that cost 15 investors at least $2.7 million.

The three men allegedly behind the scheme face securities fraud charges in a civil suit filed by the SEC Monday in San Antonio federal court.

Efforts to reach the trio  Paul Russell Montgomery Jr., 44, of Bulverde; Michael David Fisher, 40, of Canyon Lake; and James Hurst Willingham Jr., 72, of Cedar Park  were unsuccessful.

The suit marks the latest legal trouble for Montgomery. In February, he was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of mail fraud, two counts of filing a false tax return and one count of failing to file his 2016 tax return. He has pleaded not guilty.

On ExpressNews.com: Jury finds San Antonio oilman Brian Alfaro guilty

David Peavler, regional director of the SECs Fort Worth office, declined to comment on the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Willingham and a partner hired Montgomerys Energon3 to drill four new wells and rework four existing wells located on a group of six leases for what was dubbed the Navarro Project.

Sales representatives solicited investors using pop-up advertising on websites followed by emails with attached promotional videos.

Individuals identified in a nearly 12-minute YouTube video as potential investors were Fishers sister-in-law and her parents, the suit says.

Another person identified as a professional investor actually handled IT for the defendants. A person who viewers were told invested $150,000 was a sales representative pitching the investments.

None ever invested, though.

Montgomery and Fisher frequently participated in calls with the sales reps and potential investors. The pair, along with Willingham, also took the potential investors on tours of the leaseholds.

Between June 2016 and March 2017, about $2.4 million was raised from 15 investors. The joint venture units sold for $120,00 apiece.

Some of the investors were unaccredited  meaning they did not have the income, net worth or experience to purchase the investments, the SEC alleges.

The principals say the units were exempt from registration under federal securities laws, which require investors meet certain accreditation requirements.

The second phase of the alleged scheme, known as the Seguin Project, launched in early 2017 with the intent to raise almost $3.4 million, or $140,000 a unit. The stated plan was to drill four new wells and rework six existing ones on the same leases that were part of the Navarro Project.

Only $280,000 was raised for the Seguin Project. That money came from a person who had invested in Navarro.

The SEC says that Navarro and Seguin never owned the project leases. The mineral interests in the two projects were clouded by ongoing litigation, which the defendants knew about prior to soliciting investors, the suit adds.

Ultimately, Montgomery failed to drill or rework any wells on any of the project leases, the SECs suits says.

It described the Navarro Project as a disaster with no reasonable basis for Montgomery and Fisher to baselessly concoct a 32 percent return for investors.

The Navarro private placement memorandum said 85 percent of the proceeds raised from investors would be spent on purchasing the leases and existing wells, drilling and related expenses.

But $936,000, or 39 percent of the funds raised, went to Montgomery and Energon3, the suit says. A third, or $793,000, covered sales commissions, while Willingham received $221,000, or 9 percent. The remaining $450,000, or 19 percent, was returned to an investor.

Montgomery, in turn, paid 38 percent of the $936,000 to Fisher, the suit adds. That was presumably for work on the offering documents and marketing materials.

As for the Seguin project, $165,00 went to Montgomery and Energon3, and Willingham received $90,000. A sales agent received $25,000.

Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

The SEC wants Montgomery and Fisher to turn over any gains from the alleged scheme and pay interest and penalties.

Willingham has agreed to not commit future securities violations. He also agreed to return monies he received and pay interest and penalties.

The Navarro private placement misled investors about Montgomerys credentials, the suit says. The document said he received a bachelors degree in geology from Texas A&M University.

In fact, Montgomery only took two college courses at a community college and has no qualifications as a geologist or geophysicist, the suit says.

Records show that Montgomery and Fisher have each filed for bankruptcy. Montgomery filed Chapter 13 reorganization in 2015, and Fisher filed Chapter 7 liquidation in 2017.

An action filed in Fishers case in San Antonio indicates an Arizona investor had sued him for alleged securities fraud in Wilson County on investments before the Navarro and Seguin project. The plaintiff had invested $546,000 in an oil-and-gas project. A bankruptcy judge entered a default judgment against Fisher in 2018.

Montgomery also was a defendant in the Arizona investors lawsuit.

Montgomerys indictment refers to a couple of the same joint ventures that the Arizona investor had sued over. Montgomery is accused of defrauding a different investor who is only identified by the initials R.P.

Things arent always as they initially appear, said Thomas J. McHugh, one of Montgomerys defense lawyers.

Montgomerys criminal trial currently is set for next month in San Antonio, but likely will be rescheduled for a later date.

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
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:54:30|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A citizen runs in front of the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan, on Oct. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, the statement. said.



BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed strong indignation and condemnation over congratulations by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials to Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration.

According to a statement released by the ministry, Pompeo has called Tsai "Taiwan's president" and hyped up the U.S.-Taiwan "partnership" in his statement on Tsai's inauguration. Some U.S. officials and politicians also sent video congratulations to Tsai.

"The above-mentioned moves constitute a severe violation of the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and a serious interference in China's internal affairs. China expresses strong indignation and condemnation over such moves," said the statement.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, it said.

According to the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America signed in December 1978, the United States of America recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.

"The words and deeds aforementioned severely violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and brazenly go against the commitments made by the U.S. government itself," said the statement.

They have sent wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces, thus seriously damaging peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as China-U.S. relations, it said.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and China's core interests, the statement said, adding that the Chinese government and people are firmly resolved in opposing secessionist activities of "Taiwan independence" forces, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, standing against any foreign interference in China's internal affairs and striving for national reunification.

"We'd like to warn the U.S. side that 'Taiwan independence' has no way out. Indulging and supporting such forces is doomed to fail," said the statement, adding that any action that undermines China's core interests and interferes in China's internal affairs will meet vigorous countermeasures by China and will not stop the historical trend of China's reunification.

The statement said China urges the United States to correct its mistake immediately, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, sever official links and cease improving substantial relations with Taiwan, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop any words and deeds undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and China-U.S. relations.

"China will take necessary countermeasures against the above-mentioned erroneous moves of the United States. The consequences arising therefrom shall be taken by the U.S. side," said the statement. 
South Africa: Concerns over shrinking Vaal Dam levels

The Department of Water and Sanitation has called on water users in Gauteng to use water responsibly.

In a statement on Wednesday, the department urged water users to be cognisant that the Vaal Dam is responsible for supplying water to households and businesses.

This follows a concern raised by the department over shrinking water levels at the dam, as the country enters the dry winter season.

The weekly report on dam levels issued by the department showed that the Vaal Dam continues to gradually decline week-on-week, raising concerns that it will soon float below the 50% mark, as the country earnestly enters into the dry winter season.

Of particular concern is that in the same week last year, the dam was floating at 72.2% indicating that the dam has over time been shrinking to lower levels. Presently, the dam sits at 50.6%, down from 51.3% last week, the department said.

Other dams alongside the Vaal Dam in the Integrated Vaal River System including the Grootdraai and Sterkfontein have similarly seen a decline in levels this week.

Meanwhile, the Grootdraai Dam level decreased from 89.9% last week to 89.0% this week, while during the same period last year it hovered at slightly less, but stable levels of 76.7%.

The Sterkfontein Dam recorded a minor decrease from last weeks 93.5% to 93.4%.

The decrease in critical dams in the Integrated Vaal River System has seen a corresponding but slight decline in its levels, as it dropped from 67.9% last week to 67.7% this week.

As opposed to the falling dams, the Bloemhof Dam recorded an upsurge from 99.5% last week to 100.1% this week.

The dam remained stable for months as shown by its levels of 102.9% during the same week last year.

The department also raised concerns over the Katse and Mohale dams as they continue to dwindle week-on-week.

The Mohale dam level has decreased from 15.3% last week to 14.4% this week. During a similar period in the preceding year, the dam hovered at an equally low 33.2%.

Floating at less than 40% for over a year now, the Katse dam is presently at 37.6% and lower than last weeks 38.0%.

The department also reminded water users that to ward off the deadly novel Coronavirus, water is vitally important and therefore saving as much water as possible is at the heart of saving lives.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Months before he would emerge as the front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Joe Biden was one among a dense field of candidates, all vying for face time with voters at campaign stops in crucial primary states.

But as he made inroads in meetings and events with supporters, his campaign was marred by a series of awkward, condescending and physical meetings with would-be voters in crowds and in forums in front of dozens of people and cameras.

He grabbed lapels and hands, grew combative with difficult questions, told people they're wrong, or told them to vote for someone else, including his rival Donald Trump.

The former vice president called one man a liar and challenged him to pushups, called a young climate activist "child" and told immigrants and environmentalists to vote for his opponent.

Several months later, amid a public health crisis that, in 2019, barely registered on the campaign trail, Mr Biden heads to the Democratic National Convention as the likely nominee in an election framed by the critical demands of an international emergency.

But for the Democratic voters who left interactions with Campaign Biden defeated and dismissed, there remain unanswered questions and concerns while the candidate collects endorsements from Democratic powerhouses and prepares to face Trump in November.

Carlos Rojas on immigration reform

Silvia Morreno, an immigrants rights leader with Dignidad Inmigrante, stood up to address Mr Biden at a campaign stop in South Carolina in November.

"Every day I live with the fear that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] will separate my family," she said in Spanish, speaking through Carlos Rojas, who translated for her.

"You defended the 3 million deportations under Obama's administration, and that is why it is hard for me to trust you," she said. "I want to know whether you would stop deportations through executive action on your first day in office."

Story continues

Mr Rojas, speaking on his own behalf, told Mr Biden he volunteered for the Obama campaign in 2008 because he believed "the promises that he made to the immigrant community".

"The fact is that over those eight years, over 3 million people were deported and separated from families," he said.

Mr Biden cut him off: "Well you should vote for Trump then."

The event followed several protests targeting the Biden campaign to pressure the candidate to address the Obama administration's legacy as "deporter in chief" among many immigrant families, targeted not only from the Trump administration's rhetoric and sweeping deportations and detentions but also by the "broken promises" from the Obama years, Mr Rojas told The Independent.

"Obviously the way the Trump administration talks about immigrants and their policies that criminalise immigrants are horrific," said Mr Rojas, who later joined the Bernie Sanders campaign as an organiser in Iowa. "But this narrative that the Biden campaign preaches  going back to the Obama years  is also not a good place for immigrants."

While President Obama authorised the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which provided a pathway to legal status for young people who entered the US without legal permission as children, the administration also deported more more than 400,000 immigrants within his first year in office, eclipsing the number of people deported under Republican president George W Bush in his last year.

Under the Trump administration, migrant apprehensions at the US-Mexico border were at a 12-year high in 2019, when more than 850,000 people  double the previous year  were detained despite growing requests for asylum.

While ICE arrests have increased by more than 30 per cent since Mr Trump's order giving the agency broader authority to detain unauthorised immigrants, including people without criminal records, they are still below the peak of arrests under the Obama administration, when ICE arrested nearly 300,000 people from 2009 to 2010.

Despite making up a significant voting bloc within the grassroots "Obama coalition" that helped him win the White House, immigrant groups continued to clash with the Obama administration over its "broken promises" on reform as he delayed executive actions after efforts stalled in Congress.

"Those promises and that potential were never crystallised," Mr Rojas said. "There is disappointment  and I would even say resentment  towards the Democratic party, from voters of colour, voters who care about immigration, about the shortcomings of the Obama administration."

In March, Mr Biden committed to a moratorium on deportations within the first 100 days of his administration if elected, and he has promised comprehensive immigration reform on his first day in office. But Mr Rojas says that's not enough to begin to repair more than a decade of harmful immigration policies if that moratorium results in a return to the status quo.

"That's a debate we have to deal with every day  'I know you're not going to vote for Trump because what I have to offer is slightly better'  [but] a little bit is not enough anymore," he said. "There needs to be a real effort to hear where the community is at, a real effort to be open and transparent about the shortcomings and broken promises and pain, and a real effort to let that be a foundation for policy to undo the damage that has been done."

Mr Biden has conceded that deportations under the Obama administration were a "big mistake" but has struggled to draft a humane immigration agenda that appeals to moderates without risking alienating Latino voters.

"I understand why, politically speaking, this narrative of going back to the Obama years speaks to a lot of voters, but it also excludes a lot of folks who became a part of the coalition, who felt disenfranchised during Obama's eight years in office, though they believed in him at the beginning," Mr Rojas said. "On January 2021, I want to see a president who isn't attacking immigrants through rhetoric every day. But I also want to make sure that just because the immigration rhetoric isn't being inflamed, that we're also not being thrown under the bus through policies."

Mr Rojas said he doesn't endorse staying home in November, but he doesn't blame voters for doing so.

"We've given them more than enough reasons to feel that way," he said. "There's a lot that the Democratic establishment, Joe Biden, could actually do to appeal to these folks, and if they don't do it now when the pain is so evident, when the need is so big, then when are they gonna do it?"

Ed Fallon on oil pipelines and climate change

During a January campaign stop in Des Moines, Ed Fallon  a former Iowa general assembly member and climate organiser  had another face-to-face moment with Mr Biden after unsuccessfully trying to pin him down on a satisfactory answer about his support for oil pipeline construction.

In a moment captured on video, Mr Fallon asked the candidate: "I like you, and I'm going to support you if you win the nomination because we have to get rid of [Mr Trump], but what are we going to do about climate change? ... We have to stop building and replacing pipelines."

Mr Biden's response: "Go vote for someone else."

After Mr Fallon told him that he plans to support the former vice president in the general election, Mr Biden told him "I'm running in the primary" before grabbing Mr Fallon by his jacket lapels.

Mr Fallon said he was shocked by the former vice-president's reaction. On his website, he wrote that the exchange was "disturbing on a number of levels" and that "his propensity to violate personal space is a huge non-asset in politics".

By that point, he had been trying to pin down Mr Biden's position on pipelines for more than a year.

During the candidate's repeat visits to the state, Mr Fallon and his Bold Iowa organisation have pressed him on his positions on climate change, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and whether he supports removing or replacing older gas pipelines leaking methane, after giving apparently contradictory statements over his opposition to new construction.

"When a candidate was evasive we came back and tried to get them on record where they really stood," Mr Fallon told The Independent.

Mr Biden has said he supports replacing broken pipelines, but is against new construction, an answer that has confounded Mr Fallon.

"He seemed to be talking out of both sides of his both," he said.

Though Mr Fallon has been disillusioned with the Obama administration's climate response (what Mr Fallon said "promised us the moon" but "delivered a whole bag of mixed messages" in return), he admits that Mr Biden  joining a growing chorus among Democrats  can now speak to the urgency of the moment.

"It's good to see that the input of Bernie Sanders and other progressive voices within the Democratic party seem to be taken seriously by Biden," he said.

If Mr Biden ultimately receives the party's nomination, Mr Fallon will be supporting him in November, just as he promised the former vice president on the campaign trail.

"The bottom line is, I've had six or seven statements from Biden  how many have I had with Trump?" he said. "Trump is a firm climate denier. He's doing everything he can to worsen the crisis. ... [Biden] may not be strongest on climate, but given the alternative, I really hope people will follow Senator Sanders' lead on this and support Biden.

Mr Fallon says the "gold standard" is for Mr Biden to declare a climate emergency "on day one" of his administration, contrasting the moment to President Trump's first day, in which he he reauthorized Keystone and DAPL pipelines.

"Biden is going to become increasingly clear he's got to take some major leadership," he said. "We need a president who understands the climate and the urgency to act on day one to address it."

With Mr Biden in office, climate organisers like Mr Fallon are "going to work our tail off to hold him accountable" to the demands of the crisis.

"With Trump you can't even do that," he said. "At least with Biden you can have the conversation. ... Voters need to remember this is not a choice between an evil and ideal candidate. It's a choice between evil and someone who is going to least is not going to lead us down the road to oblivion."

But Mr Fallon says the growing public health emergency following the coronavirus pandemic has glimpsed the shortcomings of a national response to the larger and long-ignored threat of climate change.

"I feel less optimistic than I ever have before," he said. "I see us continuing to ignore so many clear messages about what's going on."

Michaelyn Mankel on a Green New Deal and super PAC support

During a media and handshake scrum at a September campaign stop in Des Moines, Michaelyn Mankel had pushed herself "out of her comfort zone" to come face to face with Mr Biden, she told The Independent.

Ms Mankel, then a field organiser with youth-led political action group Sunrise Movement, had prepared to "show up and ask questions that matter to millions of young people like me".

In a video of the exchange, Ms Mankel faces Mr Biden in the crowd and says: "I'm part of the Sunrise Movement and we're fighting for a Green New Deal."

He grabs her hands and tells her: "Well, you get a better deal from me than anybody."

"I'm just wondering, how can we trust you when you've continually broken your pledge not to take fossil-fuel money and held fundraisers with a CEO?" she asks

"I have not, that is not true," he says.

Weeks earlier, he had attended a fundraising event hosted by a former adviser and co-founder of natural gas company Western LNG.

"How about your climate adviser Heather Zichal  she's actually made a million dollars from the fossil-fuel industry," she says. "We need a Green New Deal, not more corruption."

Ms Zichal served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change in the Obama administration but later founded an energy consulting firm and joined the boards of Cheniere Energy and Abengoa Bioenergy.

The former vice president pats her hand and walks away, saying: "Thank you for being ... for admiring me so much."

In another exchange captured by Sunrise in North Carolina, Mr Biden tells an organiser "look at my record, child" after he takes a selfie while being questioned about super PAC support.

Ms Mankel, now an organiser with Michigan United, said she left the moment with "a lot of personal shame, like I had let people down" and felt she had "made it easy for him to dismiss me and not take me seriously."

Footage of her interaction went viral, but "because of the warm reception I got, it made it seem very clearly that I gave him an opportunity for a real response to an issue that's incredibly important, and it was his decision to write me off and not take me seriously," she said.

"Looking back on it, I recognise it's not really the problem," she said. "That's really the Democratic party's response to pretty much everyone who is wealthy, who is white, who is affluent, who doesn't have access to mainstream politics ... at virtually every level of leadership."

Mr Biden "should be willing to engage voters not tell them to vote for someone else or be condescending in a public place," she said.

Sunrise Movement and eight other youth organising affiliates issued a list of policy and personnel commitments they're demanding from the Biden campaign, including a commitment to a $10 trillion Green New Deal stimulus package, with a goal towards 100 per cent clean-energy creation by 2030 and to "prosecute the fossil fuel executives and lobbyists who have criminally jeopardized our generation".

In return, the organisations pledged to mobilise thousands of young people on his campaign's behalf.

Young voters have warned that the hulking generation gap between Mr Sanders's supporters and Mr Biden's during the primary isn't diminished simply with an anti-Trump platform,

Mr Biden unveiled a limited plan for free college tuition, partially borrowing a concept from the Sanders campaign, and in April, the campaign announced the creation of several working groups relying on support from Senator Sanders's campaign and other progressive leaders -- including Green New Deal champion and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is co-chairing a working group on climate change.

Also in that working group is Varshini Prakash, the executive director of Sunrise Movement.

"We can't ignore the discontent and tension" among the party's more moderate wing and young progressives, Ms Mankel said. "There's nothing more that I'd love than being energised, [to] get out the vote ... But I can't encourage someone to vote for someone who doesn't listen to them."

If sweeping progressive changes "remain a liberal fantasy" among party leadership, Democrats risk losing a generation of voters, now organising among themselves with other young people to hold the party accountable, Ms Mankel said.

"My approach is to get young voters mobilised and make them empowered," she said, engaging a moment that invokes the social movements that propelled the Civil Rights era by organising "everyday Americans participating in mass non-cooperation, disobedience, and symbols of people power".

"It doesn't end with voting or showing up at polls for progressive change," she said. "My hope is that things get easier moving towards November."

Despite the prospect of an immovable candidate and an ageing status quo, Ms Mankel says "there's no limit to what organisers are willing to do to beat Trump in 2020".

Read more

How Biden could win the election if he makes a stand on immigration

AOC joins Biden campaign as co-chair of climate change task force

Public want to tackle climate crisis with same urgency as coronavirus

Obama calls for people to take a stand against climate change

Most voters still trust Trump over Biden on handling the economy, poll

Eric Trump claims coronavirus will magically go away after election

Trump pleads with top Republicans to adopt 'Obamagate'

Bernie adviser warns of loss to Trump as alarming trends emerge

Joe Biden says anyone who believes Tara Reade should not vote for him
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 06:00:59|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Wednesday that China is deeply concerned about reports of Israel's plan to annex part of the occupied Palestinian territory.

The two-state solution is the only viable way forward to solve the Palestinian question. China urges the relevant party to stop such a unilateral action and refrain from escalating conflict and tension, said Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

It is also China's firm position that no country should back such unilateral actions. The Security Council should discharge its mandate and do its part to prevent such a dangerous move, and promote the early resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks in accordance with relevant UN resolutions, the land-for-peace principle and the Arab Peace Initiative, Zhang told the Security Council.

He emphasized that the Palestinian question is at the root of the turbulence in the Middle East. Independent statehood is the inalienable national right of the Palestinian people, and it is not something for trading.

The Palestinian people can count on China's continued support to their just cause to restore legitimate national rights. China fully supports Palestinians in building an independent and sovereign state on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as their capital. China will work closely with the international community in the pursuit of comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, he said. Enditem
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has allowed listing of mutual fund units of the schemes that are in the process of winding up on the stock exchanges with immediate effect.

This move will allow Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund to list their units for those investors who wish to exit.

On April 23, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund had said it would wind up six schemes - Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund - citing severe illiquidity and redemption pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEBI has said that while the scheme undergoes the various steps towards winding up their units can be listed and traded on the stock exchanges as a means to provide an exit to investors.

As per MF Regulations, there are several steps envisaged with respect to winding up of Mutual Fund schemes before the scheme ceases to exist. During this process, such units can be listed and traded on a recognized stock exchange, which may provide an exit to investors, SEBI said in a circular issued today.

However, pursuant to listing, trading on stock exchange mechanism will not be mandatory for investors, but if they want they have an optional channel to exit the scheme.

Trading in units of such a listed scheme that is under the process of winding up, will have to be in the dematerialised form,SEBI said.

SEBI further said that operational modalities for trading and settlement of units of MF schemes that are under the process of winding up, will be finalized by the stock exchanges where units of such schemes are being listed in consultation with SEBI.

The operational modalities will include mechanism for order placement, execution, payment and settlement, Enabling bulk orders to be placed for trading in units.

It will also include issue related to suspension of trading, declaration of date for determining the eligibility of unitholders in respect of payments to be made by the AMC as part of the winding up process and disclosures to be made by AMCs including disclosure of NAV on daily basis and scheme portfolio periodically.

SEBI has directed stock exchanges to develop mechanism along with RTA for trading and settlement of such units held in the form of Statement of Account/ Unit Certificates.

The circular pointed out that the AMC, its sponsor, employees of AMC and Trustee will not be allowed to transact (buy or sell) in the units of such schemes that are under the process of being wound up. The compliance of the same shall be monitored both by the Board of AMC and Trustee.

SEBI stated that stock exchanges who wish to offer the listing facility for schemes that are being wound up to submit a detailed operational modalities to SEBI, within seven days from May 20.
Advertisement

Justice Philomena Ekpe of the Court of Appeal, Calabar division, Cross Rivers State, on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 set aside the decision of a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, which acquitted Edward Odey Oluohu, Frank Asuquo Okon, Godwin Etim Anwanadung and their companies, Blue Dolphin Limited and Lib-Zone Petroleum Limited, in a case of alleged oil bunkering brought before it by the Uyo Zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The EFCC on May 22, 2018 arraigned Oluohu alongside Okon, Anwanadung and their companies, Blue Dolphin Limited and Lib-Zone Petroleum Limited before Justice F. O. Riman of the Federal High Court, Uyo, on a 6-count charge bordering on conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products.

When arraigned, the accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them , setting the stage for their trial which commenced on June 22, 2018.

In the course of trial, the prosecution, through its counsel, Nwandu Ukoha presented three witnesses and tendered 14 exhibits which were all admitted in evidence. The defence counsel, Ime Umana moved a No Case Submission arguing that the evidence against his clients were not sufficient to justify the continuation of trial and urged the court to discharge and acquit them.

Justice Riman upheld the argument of the defence and ruled that the prosecution could not link the accused persons with the charges pressed against them. She thereafter invoked the provisions of Section 302 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, and acquitted the accused persons and dismissed the charges against them.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC filed a Notice of Appeal on November 3, 2018 and prayed the court to set aside the acquittal of the accused persons. Delivering judgment on Monday May 18, 2020, at the Court of Appeal, Justice Ekpe on behalf of Justice M. L. Shuaibu, upheld the appeal filed by the EFCC and ordered a fresh trial. This appeal is meritorious and hereby allowed, she ruled.

The Judge thereafter ordered the Honourable Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the matter to another Judge for retrial.
The world is going through a period of unprecedented instability, distress and uncertainty. The novel coronavirus pandemic, and the threat posed by it to the socioeconomic fabric of nations, pushed many governments around the world into an existential crisis and forced them to switch to survival mode. Populist politicians in these countries, who failed to respond to this public health crisis swiftly and efficiently, resorted to scapegoating minority communities, especially Muslims, to justify their shortcomings.

This has put millions of people, who were subjected to discrimination, abuse and oppression even before the start of the pandemic, in a bind. In many countries around the world underprivileged Muslims are now facing not only a pandemic that is threatening their lives and livelihoods, but also a spike in institutionalised Islamophobia.

In India, since the emergence of COVID-19, members of the countrys 200 million-strong Muslim community have repeatedly been accused of being super spreaders of coronavirus both by the media and the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In late March, after a Muslim religious gathering in New Delhi allegedly led to a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in the city, a politician from the BJP dubbed the gathering corona terrorism, and called for Muslims who attend mosques amid the pandemic to be punished like terrorists. As a result, corona jihad became a trending topic on social media and many Muslims, including volunteers distributing relief material, faced physical and verbal attacks. A BJP legislator from the state of Uttar Pradesh, meanwhile, called for a boycott of Muslim vendors, accusing them of infecting vegetables with saliva.

The Indian media also contributed to the stigmatisation of Muslims during the pandemic. As politicians continued their efforts to blame the rapid spread of the virus in the country on Muslims, pro-government media organisations ran shows and published reports that support this unfounded accusation. As a result, Muslims who had only a few months ago survived a pogrom in New Delhi found themselves with an even bigger target on their backs.

Indias government treated the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to double down on its existing Islamophobic policies. Since the start of this public health emergency, it not only used Muslims as a scapegoat to divert attention from the shortcomings of its coronavirus response, but also managed to deepen the Hindu majoritys existing prejudices about this community.

In neighbouring Sri Lanka, the government chose to use the pandemic as an excuse to stigmatise Muslims and pander to Islamophobia.

Sri Lanka is an island nation with a vibrant multireligious and multi-ethnic heritage. But Islamophobic propaganda persistently spread by the media and politicians over the years, coupled with attacks by radical Muslim groups in Sri Lanka and the mainstreaming of Islamophobia across the world, led to the marginalisation of Muslims in the country. Muslims faced waves of violence at the hands of nationalists. The government was accused of not doing enough to protect this minority community and bring those who attack them to justice.

So, unsurprisingly, when COVID-19 reached Sri Lanka, some prominent media organisations and nationalists who are close to the current government were quick to blame Muslims, who form nearly 10 percent of the population, for the spread of the virus. Just like in India, Muslim religious practices were singled out as super spreader events and Sri Lankans who belong to the Buddhist majority were warned not to buy food items from Muslim vendors.

In April, the government made cremations compulsory for coronavirus victims, which goes against the Islamic tradition of burying the dead. The measure not only deprived Muslims of a basic religious right, but it contributed to the widespread perception that Muslim religious practices aid the spread of the virus.

Islam has at its heart the sanctity of life and honouring the dead is an extension of that sanctity. There are four duties that Muslims are obligated to perform upon the passing away of a fellow Muslim; they are to wash the body, shroud it with clean sheets, perform the funeral prayer even if only with a few people, and provide a dignified burial.

When called on to take all the necessary measures to stop the spread of the virus, the majority of Muslim communities, in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, agreed to adjust their burial practices accordingly, especially in regards to the first two duties.

There is no scientific basis to the claim that burying bodies of victims contributes to the spread of the coronavirus. Countries across the world, from Europe to Africa and North America, are burying coronavirus victims, according to the detailed guidelines issued by their governments, and without causing any risk to public health.

The Sri Lankan governments decision to make cremation mandatory for all victims of COVID-19 is thus not a public health measure but a blatant act of institutionalised Islamophobia. It speaks to the larger fears that amid the coronavirus pandemic the Indian model of disenfranchisement is being tested in Sri Lanka as well.

India and Sri Lanka are not the only countries in which Muslims face increased risks, abuse and discrimination due to the coronavirus crisis.

In China, Uighurs and other Turkic-Muslim minorities are still subjected to the most unimaginable forms of abuse at the hands of the government. According to the UN, about one million Uighurs are being held within so-called re-education camps in unhygenic and cramped conditions. As I wrote at the very beginning of this crisis, this puts them at an increased risk of contracting the novel coronavirus. It is also not known whether they have immediate access to healthcare.

The suffering of Rohingya Muslims, who in 2017 faced a military offensive in Myanmar for which the government is facing genocide charges at the UNs top court, has also increased due to the pandemic.Today, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees are living in densely populated camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. A COVID-19 outbreak in the overcrowded camps is almost certain to come  and when it does, experts say, the damage could be severe. A Rohingya refugee in the camps already tested positive for the virus last week.

The governments of both China and Myanmar are using the coronavirus pandemic to divert attention from the crimes they committed, and continue to commit, against Muslim minorities in their countries. Political leaders across the world are using racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia as potent tools for short-term gains during this pandemic.

The world must act immediately and decisively to hold these leaders and governments to account to ensure we do not let the rise of COVID-19 contribute to the rise of fascism.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
A 17-year-old girl identified as Wilma Andersson has been murdered by her ex-boyfriend.

According to reports, Wilma was beheaded when she returned to her ex-boyfriends flat to collect her belongings after she broke up with him.

Wilma and Tishko Ahmed Shabaz, 23, dated for two years before she ended the relationship.

Advertisement

Read Also: Lawyer Who Hired Hitman To Murder His Wife, Dies In Prison

Wilma went missing on November 14 last year, before a body part was found by police a fortnight later which turned out to be her head.

Ahmad was arrested and kept in custody after which Police searched his flat and found traces of blood inside.

Court papers also revealed that police then discovered Wilmas severed head in a suitcase, wrapped in aluminium foil and sticky tape, on November 28, bringing the missing person search to an end and the launch of a murder investigation.

Shabazs DNA and Wilmas blood was found on a kitchen knife, according to Officers. His fingerprints were found on the tape that wrapped the head but is still yet to find the rest of her body.

Prosecutors claim she was subjected to repeated violence during her death.

Shabaz, who is originally from Iraq, has now been charged with murder and his trial will begin on May 26 but he has denied killing his girlfriend.

He constantly answered no comment when questioned by officers in April saying they were forgetting he loved her.

Speaking to local media, he said: If I had murdered her, I would not have cut off her head.

Wilmas mum, Linda Andersson, reported her missing on November 14. She told local TV that she had kept ringing the doorbell to Shabazs home but he only said they had had an argument and that she just ran out of the apartment.

Wilmas coat and handbag were also still inside the flat, and her mum said her daughter would not have left without them.

Wilmas friends also described Shabaz as controlling, adding that he would tell her what to wear and where to go. They claim she repeatedly went to his flat to pick up items before she went missing.
New Delhi, May 20 : The politics over buses for ferrying migrants flared up yet again on Wednesday as the Congress brought over 500 vehicles near the Delhi-Noida border to hand them to the Uttar Pradesh government and accused the BJP of politicising the issue.

The buses arranged by the Delhi Congress have reached the DND flyway and are awaiting clearance from the UP government before entering the state. The party, however, alleged that the Gautam Buddha Nagar administration was not allowing the vehicles to enter.

Several senior Congress leaders -- Rajeev Shukla, Sushmita Deb, Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary and Rajiv Satav -- have reached the flyway along with many others.

Speaking to IANS, Shukla said, "The UP government can not lose sight of these buses... the officials had first complained about incomplete papers involving these vehicles. However, as many as 879 buses now have their full papers. So, the buses should be allowed to transport the migrant workers." The former Rajya Sabha MP said party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has already asked the BJP government to use, if that party wants to, their own banners and posters. "Then where is the problem?" Shukla asked, adding there were no motorbikes among the vehicles.

Speaking to IANS, Delhi Congress chief Chaudhary said: "We are waiting for the Uttar Pradesh government's permission. And as promised by Priyanka Gandhiji, we have come here with the buses to hand them to the state government.

He alleged that many buses are being sent back and the drivers and operators are being threatened. "More such buses have been parked at Agra's Ucha Nagla border since Tuesday morning. Last night when party leaders managed to move some of these vehicles to Noida, the police stopped them at Sector 39".

On Tuesday evening the UP government arrested state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu along with several others after they sat in protest near the Agra border.

On Tuesday as the tiff escalated, Priyanka Gandhi, who is also in-charge of the eastern UP, said that out of 1,049 buses, 879 have been found fit by the state government and that the party would provide 200 more buses on Wednesday. She also urged the UP government not to delay the bus services for the stranded migrant workers willing to go back to their homes.
The Uttar Pradesh Police Wednesday filed a case against Haryana Congress leader Pankaj Punia for allegedly "hurting religious feelings" and making "situation explosive" through a social media post, officials said.

An FIR has been registered against Punia, also a member of the All India Congress Committee, at the Hazratganj Police Station here for his alleged objectionable tweet.

A senior police official told PTI Punia has been booked under IPC sections related to promoting enmity between different groups (153 A), outraging religious feelings (295 A), public mischief (505-2), and some sections of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act 2008.

The FIR was registered by cyber cell Sub-Inspector Suresh Giri.

"During social media monitoring, we noticed the tweet of the leader which mentioned a particular community and their God. There is a possibility of this leading to political and religious clashes. It has made the situation explosive," Giri has said in his complaint.

Punia in his tweet on Tuesday targeted the UP's Yogi Adityanath government referring to the politics over plying of buses by the Congress for ferrying migrants.

He had also mentioned the name of the God and referred to the Sangh Parivar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DUBLIN, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group has informed its clients of its intention to wind down the NEX Regulatory Reporting and Abide Financial businesses, leaving many investment firms looking for new transaction reporting solutions.

AQMetrics has commenced migration planning with many NEX Abide clients and is providing a pathway to continuous reporting, without any disruption to regulatory compliance.

"The migration path can be simple," said Claire Savage, COO of AQMetrics. "Our Customer Success team is walking firms through the migration process, step-by-step. The AQMetrics data transformation tool supports the existing NEX Abide file format, to ensure a seamless and timely migration."

"In addition, AQMetrics will import historic transaction report files," she continued. "This will ensure the firm can continue to meet its requirements to verify the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of the transaction reports, a key priority for regulators ."

The firm has regulatory approval to operate an ARM (Approved Reporting Mechanism), and is authorised to report throughout Europe and the UK. As an ARM, AQMetrics can guarantee a fully integrated regulatory reporting process, eliminating the need for multiple vendors.

"There has been a lot of interest in our MiFIDII ARM offering this year with two new clients signed in as many weeks," said Darell Miller, AQMetrics' Head of Sales UK. "We were also recently awarded "Best RegTech Solution" at HFM European Services Awards 2020, which underlines our market-leading technology and strong commitment to clients."

AQMetrics is also well positioned for EMIR transaction reporting with direct connectivity to the DTCC. With more buy side firms looking to step away from the delegated reporting model, they want vendors with a complete solution for their transaction reporting needs.

"What investment firms will want going forward is peace of mind," Savage added. "They'll want a strong, proven, transaction reporting solution that can remain in situ for the long haul. As well as our innovative technology platform, our regulatory approval as an ARM provides the additional assurance that firms are now seeking."

To find out the migration steps specific to your firm, please contact sales@aqmetrics.com today.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/840928/AQMetrics_Logo.jpg

Contact:

Andrew Manners

+44(0)7788981751

andrew.manners@aqmetrics.com
Iran judiciary issues hefty sentences to corruption convicts

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 2:09 PM

An Iranian court responsible for economic corruption cases has handed down hefty sentences to 34 convicts, including to a couple who have been sentenced to death over money laundering, the country's judiciary has said.

Iranian judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili on Tuesday that the convicts had been involved in disrupting the foreign currencies, gold and car markets.

Esmailisai said a couple, identified as Vahid Behzadi and Najva Lashiedai, were sentenced to death after the Special Court for Economic Crimes found them guilty of laundering around 32 trillion rials ($200 million).

The spokesman said the couple had also hoarded 100 kilograms of gold and over 24,700 gold coins when police searched their house.

The verdicts are not final and can be appealed within the next 20 days, said the official, although he insisted that verdicts issued by Iran's special courts can be made public even before they are finalized.

Esmailisai said other convicts had received sentences between three to 15 years in prison. Among them were two current parliament lawmakers who each received sentences of 61 months over involvement in activities that disrupted Iran's car market.

The judiciary spokesman said 11 new verdicts related to economic corruption would be announced in the upcoming days.

For the past two years, Iran's independent judiciary system has toughened its campaign against corruption as the country seeks a deep reform in the way the economy is working in the face of illegal sanctions imposed by foreign entities.

More than a dozen people have been sentenced to death and dozens have received hefty jail sentences since fluctuations in exchange and gold markets began to hit the economy in the summer of 2018.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Lawsuit seeks to delay enforcing Noem's new abortion pill ban

Planned Parenthood and ACLU of South Dakota are suing Noem and the Department of Health in enforcing a new abortion pill ban.
Dr. Adam J. Rubinstein, M.D. FACS I am dedicated to sharing the truth with the public no matter how shocking it may be, says Dr Adam J Rubinstein.

Award winning and highly renowned, board certified Miami based plastic surgeon, Dr. Adam J. Rubinstein, M.D. FACS has filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against Dr. Simon Ourian M.D. and Epione Medical Corporation in Beverly Hills. The suit alleges multiple charges against Dr. Simon Ourian including among them Defamation and Slander, Libel, and Fraud. The case is filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida (case #1:2020cv21948) and is being handled by The Ferrarro Law Firm (Ferraro Law) in Miami, Florida with the legal team of James L. Ferraro, Esq and Janpaul Portal Esq.

The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Ourian orchestrated a retaliatory and fraudulent scheme to maliciously defame and slander Dr. Rubinsteins personal and professional character by creating hundreds of false and misleading posts about Dr. Rubinstein. This was allegedly accomplished via fictitious patient reviews from multiple websites, including, but not limited to, Google, RateMDs, Vitals, Ripoff Report, Yelp, and similar online outlets. The fake reviews are alleged to be in retaliation for videos made about Dr. Ourian by Dr. Rubinstein.

The complaint alleges the fake negative reviews were created and posted on multiple websites and social media platforms by Dr. Ourian, directly and/or through his agents. The suit describes the alleged hiring of foreign operatives that were directed and/or acted on behalf of Dr. Ourian. In some instances, the suit claims, Dr. Ourian allegedly directed his operatives to post fake positive reviews about himself at or about the same time they were directed to post fake negative reviews about Dr. Rubinstein on the same internet sites.

Dr. Rubinstein, a committed advocate for patients safety, truth and transparency in the aesthetics industry, frequently posts about doctors that are not revealing the full truth about themselves. His series of videos entitled, Exposed is dedicated to shining light on misleading or otherwise deceptive practices. He has also worked with local and national media to expose the truth about disingenuous doctors.

I am dedicated to sharing the truth with the public no matter how shocking it may be, says Dr Adam J Rubinstein. Sometimes the truth is not pleasant or complimentary. It is still, however, the truth. If I find myself being victimized for doing the right thing for patients, I have to defend myself to the fullest extent of the law.

The Ferraro Law Firm on behalf of Dr Rubinstein brings this action to recover damages he has incurred or will incur as a result of the alleged Dr Ourian tortious conduct and as well as investigating, reporting and removing these fake posts from multiple websites, including, but not limited to, Google, RateMDs, Vitals, Ripoff Report, Yelp, and similar social media places.

In cases of online defamation and, unfortunately, many people do not realize the pervasive damage that is being done to peoples reputations online. says James L. Ferraro Esq. This is serious business.

About Dr Adam J. Rubinstein

Dr Adam J. Rubinstein is a board certified and award winning plastic surgeon. He has served as the Chief of Plastic Surgery and Chief of the Department of Surgery for Jackson North Medical Center in Miami, FL. Dr Rubinstein specializes in whole body surgical & non-surgical cosmetic treatments for both women and men. He can discuss the latest innovations and procedures to help people make proper and informed choices. Dr. Rubinstein is also a patient advocate and is passionate about sharing the good, the bad and the ugly about common plastic surgery practices to help patients navigate the world of plastic surgery effectively and safely. His goal is to help people make their best choices about the latest and most innovative procedures. He believes people have the right to know the truth to make informed choices. You can learn more on his social channels including his website http://www.dr-rubinstein.com, Instagram accounts, @drrubinstein and @plasticsurgerytruths, SnapChat @drrubinstein, and Facebook page @MiamiPlasticSurgeon.

In addition, Dr. Rubinstein is an active member of many prestigious medical societies and associations, including, but not limited to: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons; The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery; The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine; and The Ralph Millard Jr., M.D., Medical Society and Education Foundation. Dr. Rubinstein is also a founding member of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons. He has also served on the editorial staff of the Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Journal published by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

About The Ferraro Law Firm

Ferraro Law has over three decades of experience in commercial and mass tort litigation representing thousands of clients in complex commercial litigation, asbestos, tobacco, environmental, and pharmaceutical/defective drug cases. Ferraro Law is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has a significant presence nationwide. Ferraro Law has earned its place as one of the top five firms in the United States in the areas of product liability, asbestos and environmental toxic tort lawsuits. Ferraro Law also has a strong track record in the Florida District Courts of Appeal and Florida Supreme Court. Over the past five years, Ferraro Law has won several multi-million-dollar verdicts for its clients.

Jim Ferraro would serve as the lead attorney for Ferraro Law, and is both nationally and locally recognized for his trial advocacy in complex tort cases. Jim has successfully tried many cases that resulted in multi-million dollar jury verdicts. Jim has negotiated settlements in the billions of dollars on behalf of tens of thousands of clients in his years of practice. In 1996, Jim made American legal history when he successfully tried a case against DuPont in the first case against a chemical company for causing a birth defect. Jim proved that a pregnant womans exposure to the fungicide Benlate caused her child to be born without eyes and held DuPont accountable in Castillo vs. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company and Pine Island Farms. The trial was broadcast in its entirety on Court TV, garnered worldwide media attention and, ultimately, went to the Florida Supreme Court. Seven years after trial, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the trial court verdict. In 1997, because of that case, Jim was named one of ten national finalists for Trial Lawyer of the Year. The Castillo case is now featured in Mr. Ferraros 2017 bestselling book, Blindsided.
A West Bengal-bound special train scheduled to depart from Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday was cancelled due to the forecast of cyclonic storm 'Amphan' making landfall there, a senior official said.

'Amphan' is likely to make landfall somewhere between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh close to the Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, between afternoon and evening of Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The train was supposed to ferry over 1,000 people of West Bengal stranded in HP due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Una Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said the special train scheduled to depart on May 20 from the Amb railway station for Howrah in West Bengal was cancelled due to the forecast of the cyclone.

A total of 1,400 West Bengal residents, including 15 from Una district, have expressed their desire to return to their state in the train by registering themselves online, he added.

A new date will be announced soon, Kumar added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Technavio has been monitoring the vehicle leasing market in Europe and it is poised to grow by USD 56.58 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 3% 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/20200520005358/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 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. ALD SA, Arval Service Lease, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing AG Co. KG, Europcar Mobility Group SA, LeasePlan Corp. NV, Natixis SA, Sixt SE, and Volkswagen AG are some of the major market participants. Although the cost-effective way of obtaining a vehicle will offer immense growth opportunities, the challenge posed by on-demand taxi operators 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.

Cost-effective way of obtaining a vehicle has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, the challenge posed by on-demand taxi operators might hamper the market growth.

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 2020-2024: Segmentation

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe is segmented as below:

Type Passenger Cars Commercial Vehicles

Geography UK Germany France Rest Of Europe



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=IRTNTR43746

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 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 vehicle leasing market in Europe report covers the following areas:

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe size

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe trends

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe industry analysis

This study identifies the use of telematics in leased vehicles as one of the prime reasons driving the vehicle leasing market in Europe growth during the next few years.

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe, including some of the vendors such as ALD SA, Arval Service Lease, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing AG Co. KG, Europcar Mobility Group SA, LeasePlan Corp. NV, Natixis SA, Sixt SE, and Volkswagen AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 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

Vehicle Leasing Market in Europe 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist the growth of vehicle leasing market in Europe during the next five years

Estimation of the vehicle leasing market size in Europe and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the vehicle leasing market in Europe

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of vehicle leasing market in Europe 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

Passenger cars Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Commercial vehicles Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Type

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

UK Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Germany Market size and forecast 2019-2024

France Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Rest of Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by geography

Volume drivers Demand led growth

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

ALD SA

Arval Service Lease

BMW AG

Daimler AG

Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing AG Co. KG

Europcar Mobility Group SA

LeasePlan Corp. NV

Natixis SA

Sixt SE

Volkswagen AG

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005358/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/
DETROIT - A Detroit-area doctor accused of misdiagnosing epilepsy in more than 200 children surrendered his medical license and agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty under a settlement accepted Wednesday by state regulators.

A great day for patients that was long overdue, said attorney Brian McKeen, who has won two trials so far over Dr. Yasser Awaads treatment of children.

A disciplinary panel at the Michigan Board of Medicine accepted the agreement during a meeting held by video conference. There was no immediate response from Awaads attorney to a request for comment.

The attorney generals office filed a complaint against Awaad in 2018, years after he treated children as a pediatric neurologist at Oakwood Healthcare in Dearborn, which is now part of Beaumont Health.

Between 1997 and 2007, (Awaad) misdiagnosed approximately 250 patients as suffering from epilepsy or seizure disorders, based on electroencephalograms that were either not performed or not interpreted properly, the complaint said. Some of these patients were also misdiagnosed as having attention deficit disorder or other autistic spectrum conditions.

Children were given medication that was unnecessary and sometimes harmful, the complaint said, and their actual conditions werent addressed.

Awaad agreed with regulators that the allegations could be treated as true to resolve the complaint. He said he has not actively practiced medicine in Michigan since 2007.

McKeen represents dozens of patients who have accused Awaad of malpractice. During one trial last year, he said the doctor was running a gravy train of fraud by repeatedly ordering expensive EEG tests.

Awaads attorney told jurors that it was outrageous and preposterous to claim Awaad intentionally harmed Mariah Martinez when she was 9 years old. Harry Sherbrook said there was more to diagnosing epilepsy than reading EEGs.

The jury awarded more than $3 million to Martinez, although a judge reduced it to $846,000 because of state caps on malpractice claims.

In a second case in October, a jury awarded nearly $2.8 million to a former Awaad patient. That verdict will likely be reduced, too.

Awaads agreement to give up his medical license was not his first encounter with regulators. A similar complaint over his epilepsy diagnoses was filed in 2011. He paid a $10,000 fine and agreed to have his work reviewed by another doctor for a period.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
A motorcyclist is dead after crashing into a pole in Etobicoke Tuesday night, police say.

Police got the call about the collision in the Burnhamthorpe and Mill Roads area just before 8 p.m. The man died on scene soon after.

Burnhamthorpe Road is closed in both directions as investigators look into the cause of the collision.

Miriam Lafontaine is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @mirilafontaine
An Albuquerque state District Court judge denied a petition to release a woman accused of allowing her young son to be molested.

Judge Cindy Leos on Wednesday said that Teri Sanchez, 39, could be easily influenced into wrongdoing if released, and that she had not shown a valid reason as to why she is more vulnerable to COVID-19 than other Metropolitan Detention Center inmates.

Sanchez  who is facing charges including criminal sexual contact of a minor, felony child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor  has been in the county jail on a pretrial detention hold since May 2018.

Sanchezs attorney, Liane Kerr, argued that Sanchez should be released because her medical conditions make her vulnerable to COVID-19. But Leos ruled that Sanchez could be still influenced by her husband, James Stewart, who is also facing charges related to their children, if shes released.

The fact that she is highly susceptible to manipulation, whether it be by someone else in the community or by Mr. Stewart, who remains incarcerated, makes her a risky individual to release, Leos said. I havent heard anything that indicates that her susceptibility to COVID-19 is any different than anybody else incarcerated at MDC.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Globe and Mail's automation and predictive paywall engine, Sophi.io, won WAN-IFRA's North American Digital Media Award in the category of Best Digital News Start-Up.

"Very impressed with Sophi," the judges wrote in explaining their decision. "The most important and attractive piece from the creation of this AI is that editorial input was key to it. In many newsrooms, the business models undermine the value of their key product, but from this presentation it's evident that it was not the case for The Globe and Mail."

The awards honour news publishers from Canada and the U.S. that have created unique and original digital media projects. Sophi also took second place in the awards' Best Paid Content Strategy category, in recognition of Sophi for Paywalls, its complex natural-language processing and user behaviour-based predictive paywalling technology.

The artificial intelligence system is also a finalist in the International News Media Association's Global Media Awards, rewarding innovation and excellence in growing audience, brand, and revenue, in the Best New Technology or Digital Product category. Additionally, Sophi is a finalist in the Digiday Media Awards, recognizing companies working to modernize digital media, in two categories: Best Digital Product Innovation and Best Revenue Diversification Strategy.

Sophi was developed by The Globe and Mail to help the newsroom make important strategic and tactical decisions. It is a suite of tools that includes Sophi Automation and Sophi for Paywalls as well as Sophi Analytics, a newsroom decision-support system.

Sophi Automation autonomously places 99% of the content on all of The Globe and Mail's digital pages, including its homepage and section pages. This lets the newsroom focus on producing the finest journalism possible and has been so successful that it is now being used for print laydown as well.

Sophi for Paywalls analyses both user and content propensity and determines which content should automatically be put behind a hard-paywall, where the subscription revenue opportunity is many times greater than the advertising revenue forgone. It has uncovered millions of dollars in untapped revenue for The Globe and Mail.

Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail, said: "It's an honour for Sophi to be named the best digital media start-up. We are always looking to innovate, and Sophi has brought us tremendously valuable insights over the years, as well as freed up our journalists to do what only they can do. We are pleased to share this powerful engine with other publishers and help transform the industry with this tool."

As a North American award winner, Sophi is now a contender for the WAN-IFRA World Digital Media Awards , where the winners from North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East compete.

About The Globe and Mail and Sophi.io

The Globe and Mail is Canada's foremost news media company, leading the national conversation and effecting policy change through brave, independent journalism since 1844. The Globe and Mail's award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs reaches 6 million readers every week in print and online. The Globe believes the future of journalism lies in its ability to bring readers the stories they both want and need to know. That's why the company invested in innovative data science and hired data scientists from leaders in the tech industry to develop Sophi.io - an artificial intelligence system with predictive capabilities - and used it to automate content curation and promotion.
A 71-year-old man died of COVID-19 in Greater Noida on Wednesday, taking the death toll due to the disease in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar to six, a hospital official said.

The man, from Sikandrabad in the adjoining Bulandshahr district, was admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences on Tuesday night with severe acute respiratory infection with sepsis (a life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection), GIMS Director Brig (retired) Rakesh Gupta said.

"He was put on ventilator support, antibiotics and supportive therapy. He expired on May 20 at 4.30 pm. His COVID-19 positive report came on May 20 at 9 pm," Gupta said in a statement.

The cause of death is COVID-19 positive with pneumonia and severe sepsis, he added.

District authorities in Bulandshahr have been informed, the doctor said.

Earlier, five men -- two of them aged 62, one 60, one 65 and another 71 -- have died due to coronavirus in Gautam Buddh Nagar, according to officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The new location offers customers secured dedicated and virtual servers, as well as services for the fast delivery of content with an average response time of 30 ms, according to Citrix independent analytical system. The new hosting and CDN point will be in demand among telecommunication and broadcasting companies, mass media fir and streaming services among others.Being a recognised world economic centre, Singapore is actively developing internet infrastructure and communication networks: more than 93% of 5.8 million residents here regularly go online, and in terms of speed of fixed and mobile internet, the city-state takes the first and second places in the world respectively [approx. 191 Mbps and 61 Mbps], remarked G-Core Labs managing director Andre Reitenbach. Singaporeans actively watch videos, communicate in social networks, buy online, including food, electronics and beauty products. The new G-Core Labs location will be in demand both in Singapore itself and in neighbouring China, as well as among Asian, European and American companies seeking to work effectively in the local and regional markets. G-Core Labs servers are located in a certified Tier III class data centre and the company provides 5 TB of traffic for free for each dedicated server. The global architecture of G-Core Labs content delivery network, located on five continents, was created by experts on high-load systems. It currently includes over 100 POPs located in more than 65 cities around the world, has more than 5000 peering partners, 300 cache servers and the total network capacity is over 10 Tbit/sec.The G-Core Labs virtual server, equipped with fast SSD disks, is based on KVM virtualisation technology which is said to guarantee high and uninterrupted performance.
JUPITER, Fla., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jupiter Medical Center, the #1 ranked hospital for safety, quality and patient satisfaction in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast region, today announced the launch of a revamped telehealth experience available to residents across the state of Florida. The new 'Care Anywhere' makes virtual visits easier to schedule and connecting with a provider more streamlined than ever before. The regional medical center's 'No Forms, No Wait,' telehealth service radically simplifies how consumers can access health care on demand from the comfort of their home, office or anywhere they are.

With the new 'No Forms, No Wait' telehealth service, patients can conveniently and quickly schedule a virtual provider consult by simply calling Jupiter Medical Center's telehealth hotline at (561) 263-7080 or by visiting www.jupitermed.com/telehealth from their mobile phone or desktop computer. Patients can access 'Care Anywhere' throughout the state of Florida to evaluate symptoms, conduct a screening and treat a wide variety of medical ailments.

"We are pleased to announce the launch of the new, streamlined 'Care Anywhere' telehealth experience. By putting the patient first, we have made it easier than ever before to initiate a virtual consultation without the forms and without the wait," said Dr. Amit Rastogi, president and CEO of Jupiter Medical Center. "With these enhancements, we are well positioned to meet the demands of consumers as they seek to access health care virtually wherever they are."

Because the new telehealth platform uses a dedicated hotline to schedule a virtual consultation and is web-based instead of app-based, Jupiter Medical Center has simplified the patient experience by eliminating the need for visiting and searching app stores, downloading software to devices, updating new versions of the app and remembering passwords to log in.

The new, enhanced 'Care Anywhere' also eliminates the dreaded process of filling out paper forms while sitting in a waiting room with other patients or waiting in their car outside of a physician's office to comply with social distancing practices. It also removes the need to complete online forms required by many other telehealth providers. Now, patients simply call Jupiter Medical Center's telehealth hotline at (561) 263-7080, talk to a live representative, provide the reason for their appointment, and their contact and insurance information. At the time of their virtual consultation, they receive a text message to their mobile device with a link to initiate their 15 to 20-minute web-based telehealth experience.

The new platform is also fully integrated with Jupiter Medical Center Urgent Care medical records, enabling providers with instant access to a patient's medical history, medications and previous treatments, ensuring a seamless experience for consumers.

Jupiter Medical Center accepts a wide variety of insurance plans for reimbursement, so that patients are not out-of-pocket for their consultations. For patients without insurance coverage, 'Care Anywhere' is available at the rate of $49 for a 15 to 20-minute consultation.

"By using Jupiter Medical Center's telehealth service, patients with non-life-threatening medical ailments can avoid having to visit an urgent care location or the Emergency Department and can instead receive expert medical care via a video consultation from home," said Dr. Harry Romero, medical director for Jupiter Medical Center Urgent Care.

During the virtual visit, a Care Anywhere health care provider can:

Diagnose common conditions such as flu, cold, cough, sore throat, sinus infections, gastrointestinal issues and skin conditions.

Order new prescriptions or refill prescriptions.

Provide advice on whether a patient should be seen in person or can safely remain at home. If a patient needs additional medical treatment, providers can refer a patient to a COVID-19 testing location or a Jupiter Medical Center specialist.

Should the patient require escalation for their condition, Jupiter Medical Center providers can refer the patient for an in-person Urgent Care visit or transfer the patient to Jupiter Medical Center should more comprehensive treatment be necessary.

'Care Anywhere' virtual visits are currently available Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

About Jupiter Medical Center

Rated number one for safety, quality and patient satisfaction, Jupiter Medical Center is the leading destination for world-class health care in Palm Beach County and across the Treasure Coast region. Recognized as the region's only independent, not-for-profit hospital, Jupiter Medical Center offers a comprehensive continuum of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, expertise and specialties, including orthopedics and spine care, cancer care, cardiac and vascular care, comprehensive stroke, obstetrics & maternity care, pediatrics, emergency care as well as diagnostic imaging, screening, testing and urgent care. For more information about Jupiter Medical Center, please call (561) 263-2234 or visit www.jupitermed.com.

SOURCE Jupiter Medical Center

Related Links

https://www.jupitermed.com


By PTI

NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling to harden their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the US said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China.

"The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's in the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China," said Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department.

Her comments at an online media briefing came even as efforts to de-escalate the tense situation in the sensitive areas continued.

Sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake.

The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.

The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two for over six decades.

They had a showdown over it in 1962 as well.

The sources said the Chinese side has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley area following which India has also sent reinforcements to keep a hawk-eye vigil in the area.

The sources said the Chinese side had taken strong exception to India undertaking construction of a key road around the Galwan river.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on May 9.

At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on the escalating tension between the two armies.

In its reaction to the two face-offs, the Ministry of External Affairs last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier.

It is learnt that additional troops have also been rushed in to several areas in northern Sikkim as part of their aggressive posturing in guarding the disputed border.

A report by China's official media on Monday said Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures in the Galwan Valley in the Aksai Chin region The aggressive posturing by the two sides came amid India's escalating border row with Nepal over construction of a strategically key road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 km along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8.

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.

China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory.

China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh.

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.
(Newser)  The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, the AP reports. The court's unsigned order keeps previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers at least until early summer. The court will decide then whether to extend its hold. The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in March that the documents should be turned over because the House Judiciary Committees need for the material in its investigation of President Trump outweighed the Justice Departments interests in keeping the testimony secret.

story continues below

Mueller's 448-page report, issued in April 2019, "stopped short" of reaching conclusions about Trump's conduct, including whether he obstructed justice, to avoid stepping on the Houses impeachment power, the appeals court said. The committee was able to persuasively argue that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the presidents actions, the court said. The DOJ said in its Supreme Court filings that the court's action was needed in part because the House hasnt given any indication it "urgently needs these materials for any ongoing impeachment investigation." The House had opposed the delay on the grounds that its investigation of Trump was continuing, and that time is of the essence because of the approaching election.

(Read more Mueller report stories.)
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Raytheon Technologies Corp. is shutting down operations at the Sandia Science and Technologies Park in southeast Albuquerque, where the company employs about 200 people.

Raytheons Albuquerque operations will be transferred to other company facilities outside of New Mexico, company spokesperson Heather Uberuaga told the Journal Tuesday.

After careful and deliberate consideration, Raytheon Technologies has chosen to close the companys Albuquerque facility and relocate support for key capabilities and customer programs to our other facilities around the country, Uberuaga wrote in an email. We think this move is in the best interest of our customers as we look to further integrate and streamline our capabilities with pursuits and programs located at other sites while working with employees on a case-by-case basis to explore their individual employment options going forward.

Raytheons Albuquerque division has specialized in designing and building directed energy systems, including laser-based technology and high-powered electromagnetic, or microwave, systems. Its worked closely in recent years with the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base on those technologies to develop modern laser and microwave weapons.

That work will now be transferred to Raytheon Missiles and Defense headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, Uberuaga said.

Raytheon expanded its operations at the Sandia Science and Technology Park in 2017, adding a second building there that broadened its total space from 102,000 square feet before to 175,000 now.

The company received $850,000 in Local Economic Development Act funding from the state to offset the expansion costs.

Raytheon has already returned that money to the state, Uberuaga said.

The company announced the shutdown to local employees Tuesday morning in a conference call with the workforce, taking many by surprise, according to one employee.

Theyre telling us were losing our jobs, the employee said while listening to the conference call and speaking on a separate line with the Journal. They decided their operations in Albuquerque dont align with their business plan and model and that theyre moving some programs to Massachusetts, some to Arizona, and that some programs will just sunset.

The company told workers layoffs will begin in 60 days and conclude by the end of the year, the employee said.

We had heard rumors, but there was nothing official until today, he said.

Uberuaga said all laid off workers will receive severance packages that include one week per year of service, with a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 26 weeks for regular employees working 20 hours or more per week. Health care will continue during the severance, and COBRA insurance will be available afterward.

Raytheon Technologies also offers an educational benefit to employees who are laid off, Uberuaga added. While we are not using a third-party outplacement provider, we are collaborating with New Mexicos dislocated worker unit to help employees find other employment if they wish to stay in Albuquerque. Other options for the employees may include relocating to a new site or applying for different positions on other programs across the country.

The Albuquerque shutdown will not affect Raytheon operations on the Navajo Nation, where the company employs about 350 people, Uberuaga said.

Workers there make electromechanical assemblies and other products for missiles.

Raytheon is a global aerospace defense contractor headquartered in Massachusetts. It reported $74 billion in net sales in 2019 with 195,000 employees across the globe.

The company announced a merger in April with United Technologies Corp. through an all-stock transaction between the two firms.
Hungary's right-wing parliament has voted to ban transgender people from changing their gender on identity documents on Tuesday.

LGBT+ advocates have said the move is creating panic among trans people who feared an increase in discrimination and attacks.

The legislature voted 133 to 57 to replace the Hungarian word 'nem', meaning sex or gender, with 'sex at birth' on birth, marriage and death certificates, which could expose trans people to harassment if their documents do not match their appearance.

Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, was re-elected in 2018 and promised to 'build a new era' with major cultural changes in the ex-communist country. Parliament's speaker has equated gay adoption with paedophilia.

'The state's decision ... to register children's biological sex in their birth certificates does not affect men's and women's right to freely experience and exercise their identities as they wish,' the government's communications office said.

'In no way does the relevant section of the bill that some people criticise prevent any person from exercising their fundamental rights arising from their human dignity or from living according their identity,' it said in emailed comments.

Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, pictured, has used increasingly anti-LGBT language in recent months

His government has increasingly used anti-LGBT rhetoric as part of a perceived culture war, according to The Guardian, and has placed so called 'traditional family values' at the centre of many of his policies.

'This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people,' said Krisztina Tamas-Saroy of Amnesty International.

'It will not only expose them to further discrimination but will also deepen an already intolerant and hostile environment faced by the LGBTI community.'

Daily life in Hungary requires people to show their ID frequently, leading to fears that this move will lead to increased discrimination against the already marginalised group.

'It basically means coming out as trans to complete strangers, all the time,' said Ivett Ordog, a 39-year-old trans woman living in Budapest, to the Guardian last month.

It is possible to legally change gender in all European Union countries bar Cyprus, advocacy group Transgender Europe says, despite growing criticism of trans rights as an attack on traditional gender roles by far-right and religious groups.

Trans people in Hungary have been effectively unable to change the sex on their identity documents since 2018, according to LGBT+ rights advocates, who said there were already multiple court cases underway challenging that.

'We have no words to describe what we feel,' Tina Korlos Orban, vice president of advocacy group Transvanilla Transgender Association, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

'People who haven't had suicidal thoughts for decades now are having them. People are in panic, people want to escape from Hungary to somewhere else where they can get their gender recognised.'

People sit on the grass on the Elizabeth Square in downtown Budapest, Hungary as the city eases curfew restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the country

The government said the amendment resolved uncertainties being faced by courts and authorities in interpreting the word sex, which was not defined in the previous registry law.

Tamas Dombos, a board member of the Hungarian LGBT Alliance, said activists would lobby the president, an ally of Orban's, not to sign the bill into law.

'(The government) just doesn't care about how it impacts the life of trans people ... they could never provide any rational argument for why this bill is needed,' said Dombos.

Advocates said they would challenge the law, which would also affect intersex people born neither clearly male nor female, in court in Hungary and at the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.

On March 30, the Hungarian parliament voted in favour of granting the government's request for power to rule by decree during the coronavirus crisis, but contained no time limit.

While Orban promised to use the powers he had been given 'proportionately and rationally', it sparked fears that he would refuse to relinquish the powers once the coronavirus subsides.

Despite over 100,000 people signing a petition against the move, Parliament voted by 137 to 53 to grant the extra powers.

However, on May 15, Orban promised to give up the powers by the end of the month.

'We successfully defended our homeland and our performance is comparable to any country's,' Orban said after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

He added: 'We did this within a democratic framework and we will return to the usual parliamentary order.'

Hungary has reported 3,556 cases of the coronavirus, with 467 related deaths.
A grassroots campaign representing school principals has called for the planned roll-out of a new Department of Education model of support for students with special educational needs (SEN) to be immediately halted and reviewed.

The proposed School Inclusion Model (SIM) sees principals scapegoated, and does not cater for additional students requiring support from Special Needs Assistants (SNA) for the next school year, and beyond. Thats according to the National Principals Forum, a lobby group set up in 2018 to represent primary school principals.

For too long we have been expected to accept and implement a loaves and fishes style provision for our pupils with special educational needs and care needs, as cuts disguised in spin have been rolled out systematically," the group said in a statement.

"We cannot stretch insufficient allocations further without it detrimentally impacting on all of our pupils' education, safety and wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of teachers and SNAs trying to manage this impossible situation.

The call from the group follows a recent circular issued by the Department of Education that the National Principals Forum claims confirms that the proposed model is in essence a frontloading model that has frozen schools current SNA allocation.

The forum strongly objects to the phased rollout of the proposed model, which it says has been foisted on schools without due process or consultation. The planned new model also demands an excessive labour intensive application process.

We also object to the complex and excessive paperwork required in this process  including the duplication of paperwork already with the National Council of Special Education (NCSE) in many cases.

This process is utterly excessive at any time, but due to Covid-19 restrictions it is exponentially more difficult for principals and Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) to organise remotely. This new model signifies a worrying precedent which we completely reject.

The SIM model does not reflect the level of care needed in schools, and pays mere lip service to the Education Act 1998 and the EPSEN Act 2004, the group added.

It places severe pressure on schools to make up the deficiencies in the support granted to us by the NCSE to cater for the needs of our pupils, and we face the fallout alone when we cannot stretch our insufficient SNA and SET allocations far enough. The SIM also scapegoats principals, the National Principals Forum claims.

"Applications for additional SNA support for a school should not necessitate 'an exceptional review' nor should they be so arduous and infeasible. Principal teachers are not SENOs and object to the work of the SENOs being foisted upon us and our staff.

"Parents are told that the decision to grant SNA access lies with the school principal, which is disingenuous and abhorrent, as we cannot give what we do not have. As ardent advocates for our SEN pupils we demand a halt and review of this process immediately." The group is also calling for an exact SEN profile of schools be collected through a database, therefore stopping the use of 'guesstimates' to profile schools.

In a statement, the Department of Education said the planned new SNA allocation model has been deferred for one year.

"The frontloading model for schools is planned to be in place in September 2021."

Following the deferral, announced in April, Joe McHugh, the Minister for Education, said that no school will receive a lower allocation of SNA support for September 2020 than they currently have.

"There is also a provision for schools to apply, through an exceptional circumstance review, for an increased allocation to meet new or emerging needs."

Some of the benefits of the scheme include that parents will not be required to secure a diagnosis of disability in order to access support. SNA support will also be available immediately to students in mainstream school, the Department of Education spokesman added.
The British government is to unveil legislation Wednesday that could potentially see indefinite curbs on the movements of suspected terrorists, a move that's prompted concerns over civil liberties.

The Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill, which is being labelled as the largest overhaul of terrorist sentencing and monitoring in decades, follows a series of attacks that the government said necessitated changes to terror legislation.

We promised to act and today we are delivering on that promise, Home Secretary Priti Patel said.

Under the proposed changes to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, courts will be able to limit the movement of individuals, including via enforced curfews and tagging, for an indefinite period, subject to review, rather than for a maximum of two years.

The bill also seeks to lower the evidence threshold for imposing curbs.

The government says the changes are necessary after 28-year-old Usman Khan stabbed several people, two fatally, near London Bridge last November, before he was tackled by members of the public and shot dead by police officers.

He had previously served six years in prison for terror crimes. Rosalind Comyn, policy and campaigns officer for human rights group Liberty, said the government's counter-terror strategy is failing and that the new bill threatens civil liberties.

By reintroducing, in all but name, the widely condemned control orders, a fundamental principle of justice the presumption of innocence hangs in the balance," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Monday, police said they arrested the driver of the Nissan  Wainer A. Pichinte Echeverria, 35, of Frederick, Md. Authorities said Echeverria was on his way to work in Manassas on the morning of the crash. He was charged with felony hit-and-run and was being held without bond, according to officials.
Sony Corporations SNE unit, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, has collaborated with Microsoft MSFT to build solutions that make AI-powered smart cameras and video analytics easier to access and deploy for their mutual customers. The companies will embed Microsoft Azure AI capabilities on Sonys vision sensor IMX500. The Japan-based company will create a smart camera managed app powered by Azure IoT and Cognitive Services that complement the IMX500 sensor and expands the capability of video analytics opportunities for enterprise customers.

The combination of Sonys imaging and sensing technology with Microsofts cloud AI services will see a powerful platform in the smart camera market. This, in turn, will help the companies support the creativity of their partners and contribute to overcoming challenges in various industries. Sony and Microsoft will also work together to facilitate hands-on co-innovation with partners and enterprise customers in the areas of computer vision and video analytics as part of Microsofts AI & IoT Insider Labs program.

In another development, Sony has announced a number of changes to the Sony Groups organizational structure to evolve individual businesses and leverage the diversity of its business portfolio. Effective Apr 1, 2021, the current Sony Corporation will change its name to Sony Group Corporation. With this launch, Sony Electronics Corporation, which currently operates the electronics business that is the origin of Sonys business, will acquire the name Sony Corporation.

Sony is also making a tender offer for shares and other equity securities of Sony Financial Holdings (SFH), of which it currently owns about 65% stake, to make SFH a wholly-owned subsidiary. The company aims to achieve growth and strengthen governance within its financial services business while enhancing the corporate value of Sony Group. Together with these, the Sony Groups executive structure will be optimized for the new Groups management structure.

Story continues

Of the Sony Groups core businesses, Game & Network Services, Music, Pictures and Financial Services have established executive structures. The electronics businesses, including Imaging & Sensing Solutions, will establish optimal executive structures for each business. Sony Group Corporations executive team will be formed from the heads of key group headquarters functions and core Sony Group business companies.

Shares of Sony have rallied 22.7% compared with 14.4% growth of the industry in the past year.

Sony currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader sector are Turtle Beach Corporation (HEAR), sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and Plantronics, Inc. (PLT), carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Turtle Beach has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 46.4%, on average.

Plantronics has a trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise of 27.7%, on average. The companys earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters.

5 Stocks Set to Double



Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.



Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.



Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>



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



Sony Corporation (SNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Turtle Beach Corporation (HEAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Plantronics, Inc. (PLT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Jaipur Foot USA Chairman Prem Bhandari has described the Vande Bharat' exercise to repatriate Indians stranded abroad as a "historic humanitarian mission by the Indian government as he along with other members of the Indian-American community accorded a warm welcome to an Air India crew here.

The Air India flight arrived from India into the J F K International Airport in New York on Tuesday and in a special gesture of gratitude for their service, Bhandari welcomed them as guests in the Stay Bridge hotel in New York's iconic Times Square.

The Vande Bharat is a historic humanitarian mission and unprecedented effort launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repatriate thousands of Indian nationals stranded during this coronavirus pandemic, Bhandari said.

The pilots and crew members of Air India are warriors for us who have put their lives at risk by coming to New York, the epicenter of COVID-19, to fly their stranded countrymen back home," he said.

Coronavirus cases in New York stands at over 353,000 with over 23,834 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

He said the Air India crew are guests of the Indian-American community and people of Indian-origin in the US as he welcomed them at the hotel owned by Chandra and KK Mehta in Times Square.

You have come to a second home. I salute you on behalf of Indians and the Indian-American community in the US for your services in the times of such crisis."



He also expressed gratitude to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rajiv Bansal for the opportunity to be of service to the Air India team.

Consul General of India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty applauded the Air India team saying they have risen to the occasion in the face of the COVID-19 challenges.

He said the Consulate and the community organisations in New York applaud the Air India crew for rising to the call of duty and for their service to the nation.

Present on the occasion were Deputy Consul General Shatrughna Sinha, Regional Finance Manager, Americas, Air India Kamal Roul and Federation of Indian Associations- NY NJ CT (FIA) President Anil Bansal.

Mehta announced a donation of one million dollars for COVID-19 relief efforts in Rajasthan.

This is in addition to the Rs 1.5 crore donated by the Nakoda Bheravnath Charitable Foundation that has already been donated for the COVID-19 cause.

Bhandari, who is the Chairman of the Foundation's advisory board, said Rs one crore was donated to the PM CARES Fund within a day of the Fund being created in March.

He added that the Mehtas had also offered to provide hundreds of rooms for Indians students stranded in the US as the COVID-19 crisis began in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  Former Health Secretary and now Iloilo Representative Janette Garin claimed COVID-19 testing in the country is overpriced due to corruption in the purchase of test kits and machines.

A former health secretary turned congresswoman accused a local supplier of jacking up prices of COVID-19 test kits, supposedly padding them three times the cost of what manufacturers sell them for.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin did not name the local supplier, whom she only identified as starting with the letter O and is connected to a couple with the initials V.E.. The couple supposedly claim that they are the exclusive distributor of test kits in the country, Garin said.

The congresswoman, however, said she is unsure whether the Department of Health gets its test kits from the same supplier.

She also accused the local supplier of hoarding equipment.

The company was telling us they cannot supply machines and equipment to the Philippines because this couple is hoarding equipment," Garin told CNN Philippines News Night, citing her experience in an initiative by a private organization to ramp up COVID-19 testing.

"Thats why we had to force them and we had to appeal to the company to release the equipment to us, she added.

In a privilege speech on Tuesday, Garin also said the couple is barring the importation of much-needed COVID-19 testing automated machines called Natch CS.

Garin told CNN Philippines that she is now looking at the possibility of filing charges against the supposed couple.

She also stressed that the government can cut the cost of testing if it buys test kits and machines directly from manufacturers.

In that way, when we reduce the cost of testing, we reduce all the reagents and consumables, and we end up with a cheaper testing cost, we would be able to test more, Garin said.

Garin had said the cost of polymerase chain reaction or PCR testing in the country can go down to less than P1,000 if the DOH purchase the test kits straight from the manufacturer.

Sought for comment, the Department of Health (DOH) only referred CNN Philippines to the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management.

Related: Solon warns of 8-B potential loss with 'overpriced' PhilHealth COVID-19 test package

Garin's successor, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, was questioned during a Senate hearing on Tuesday on the supposedly overpriced COVID-19 test package of state health insurer PhilHealth and testing machines bought by the DOH.

He promised lawmakers that he will ask for a review and submit a report to Congress on the matter.

Related: Senator questions 'overpriced' COVID-19 testing machines
In this file photo taken on May 12, 2020 an Air France employee checks the body temparture of passengers boarding an Air France flight to Point a Pitre Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport on the outskirts of Paris. (Photo | AFP)

Paris: France, which has long been sceptical of the growing power of US Big Tech companies, is seeking to bypass Apple and Google for a smartphone app to help trace people infected with the novel coronavirus.

The move, which leaves France relatively isolated in Europe alongside Britain and Norway, reflects differences on how such apps should be structured, who has access to sensitive data and their effectiveness.

Being dependent on Apple and Google means staying in an extremely restrictive framework for usage of the data, said a source close to Frances contract tracing effort.

It is Google and Apple who are defining the debate in what is essentially a public health issue, the source added.

A number of countries, including India, have already deployed contact tracing apps on smartphones that track a persons contacts and alert them if need be..

These apps can be based either on a decentralised or centralised architecture.

A decentralised architecture keeps the information about whom a person has been in contact with on the smartphone. If the person declares themselves to have been infected by the coronavirus, then those people deemed to have been in close contact for an extended period receive a notification to isolate themselves and get tested.

In a centralised system the data is managed by an authority, say a national health service, that would have access to the data to ensure those who are exposed are indeed following the proper health and isolation recommendations.

Apple and Google banded together last month to develop coronavirus contact tracing technology that would work across their operating systems.

The technology, set to be released later this month, embraces a decentralised architecture that would enable smartphone users to control their own data, and choose whether to notify the authorities if they have been exposed.

Titans setting the terms

Numerous tech experts and privacy advocates prefer a decentralised option because of data privacy concerns, worried about governments establishing databases that could be used for surveillance, even after the pandemic.

But France, along with London, contest that argument and prefer a centralised architecture that will provide them with the information needed to ensure the spread of the disease is effectively contained.

Norway also opted for a centralised system for its Smittestop or stop infection app launched last month.

To become an effective tool for public health authorities, a contact tracing app has to be widely usedexperts say by at least 60 percent of the populationbut also provide them with needed information about who is getting sick as well as where, which can be important for taking quick measures to close hotspots.

Decentralised apps that make use of the Bluetooth radios on smartphones can be built so they do not even record the location of where people are in contact.

Nations cannot easily go around Apple and Google and develop their own apps as Apple in particular makes it difficult to keep Bluetooth enabled in its operating system.

People would need to keep the app open at all times, an inconvenience that would likely lead to many people not having it running on their phones.

Systems rolled out

So far Apple has resisted pleas from France and other countries for help to get around that technical issue.

While the European Commission has not yet taken a formal position on the options, it acknowledges a decentralised system is better on data privacy grounds.

If both approaches can be in conformity with data protection laws, from a point of view of minimising the collection of data, the decentralised approach is preferable as less data would be stored on a centralised server, a Commission spokesman told AFP.

France hopes to have its app in operation on June 2, and the official leading its development has said it will work very well on an iPhone despite Apples lack of cooperation.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
A bird-lover has voiced his outrage after he spotted a remote-control plane being used to purposefully swoop at sea eagles.

Wildlife photographer Anthony Robertson was taking pictures of birds at Don in northern Tasmania last week when he noticed the sea eagles being harassed.

Mr Robertson told Daily Mail Australia he saw a 'beautiful young White Belly Sea Eagle leaving a Macrocarpa Pine tree just before being chased by the remote-control plane.'

Wildlife photographer Anthony Robertson voiced his outrage after spotting two White Bellied Sea eagles being intentionally swooped at by a remote-control plane (pictured)

Mr Robertson photographed the attack (pictured) at Don, in Northern Tasmania, last week

'I observed this eagle fly out over the river, its mate flew up to fly around with it and it was far enough away that we initially thought there were three sea eagles,' he said.

Mr Robertson then looked through his superzoom camera lens and saw the birds were being attacked by a blue and white toy aircraft.

Using his 600mm lens, Mr Robertson captured several images of the model airplane chasing and diving at the eagles.

Mr Robertson said: 'The eagles then fled to the cover of some gum trees by the riverside.'

THE WHITE BELLIED SEA EAGLE The White Bellied Sea Eagle is an Australian bird of prey It has a white body with a grey back and wings The eagle is common across coastal areas of Australia It eats fish, turtles and sea snakes as well as smaller birds and mammals Source: Birdlife Australia Advertisement

The wildlife enthusiast said he was outraged at the attack on birds which are classed as a 'vulnerable' species in Tasmania.

'I couldn't believe what I had witnessed,' Mr Robertson said.

'As I drove home I started to get angrier and angrier.'

'I hope it is just young person that regrets what they have done but in this society, who can tell,' he said.

Mr Robertson said he contacted the Department of Primary Industries Parks, Water and Environment to report the incident.

The Departments Manager of Policy, Advice and Regulatory Services, Andrew Crane, said: 'Eagles are territorial and will defend their territory from threats but they can also be easily spooked by model aircraft as well.'

'There is plenty of evidence to show that eagle species will interact with drones or model planes and are likely to be injured, often fatally,' Mr Crane said.

He noted the Departments Investigation and Enforcement Section were undertaking inquiries.

Mr Robertson's pictures were also shared around social media by other concerned bird-lovers.

One Facebook user wrote: 'This person needs to be stopped.'

Another commenter asked: 'Seriously what is wrong with some people?'
One-off grants of up to 28,000 will be available to businesses in the retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors under plans being proposed by Fianna Fail.

The party has suggested the Government should introduce the grant for ratepayers in these industries. The proposal is based on a scheme introduced in Northern Ireland.

In a letter to Business Minister Heather Humphreys, Fianna Fail TD Robert Troy said businesses in the North can apply for a 25,000 (28,000) grant.

"I wonder have such polices been examined for deployment in this jurisdiction?" Mr Troy added.

He also called for a review of the eligibility for the Government's recently announced Restart Grant which allows businesses to reclaim 10,000 of rates they paid last year.

"If a business cannot provide a rates evaluation for 2019, which new businesses might not be able to, then they cannot access the grant," he said.

Mr Troy's party is currently engaged in government formation talks with Fine Gael and the Green Party.

It is expected the Longford-Westmeath TD's proposals will be put forward during negotiations later this week when the parties discuss proposals for kick-starting the economy.

Meanwhile, an Irish Tourism Recovery Taskforce will be announced today to advise the Government on how to help the beleaguered industry.

The 14-member group will be led by independent chair Ruth Andrews, CEO of the Irish Tour Operators Association, and includes Paul Kelly, CEO of Failte Ireland, and Niall Gibbons, CEO Tourism Ireland.

It will also include travel expert Eoghan Corry and Center Parcs CEO Martin Dalby, among others.

Tourism Minister Shane Ross said: "All new and innovative ideas for recovery will be considered."

Elsewhere, an EU aid package worth a total of 2trn can play a vital role in helping Ireland rebuild the economy after coronavirus and get people back to work, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

Speaking after a video conference of EU finance ministers, Mr Donohoe also welcomed the latest joint proposal by France and Germany for a 500bn coronavirus rescue fund giving grants to member states.

The money would be raised by breaking a long-standing taboo about the EU borrowing heavily on international money markets and repaying it out of Brussels coffers.

Mr Donohoe said discussions were continuing on how this initiative, proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, would work in practice.

Brussels diplomats said the 'frugal four' - Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Denmark - remained opposed to the EU shouldering member states' debts and are also against expanding the overall scale of the EU budget.

Ireland has thrown its lot in with nine member states led by France, and including the worst-hit states, Spain and Italy, seeking massive non-repayable grants to help tackle the economic fallout.

Mr Donohoe said it would be wrong to assume anything about the 'frugal four' and he noted they were continuing to engage in dialogue.

He insisted Ireland can turn things around economically. But while much depended on international trends - the EU signals were positive.

"We have the ability to recreate the economy and get ourselves to a better place," Mr Donohoe said, arguing Ireland can revive and get people back to work.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is likely to announce the fresh dates for the Civil Services Prelims exam 2020 on Wednesday, May 20. The UPSC prelims exam had to be deferred due to the coronavirus disease outbreak in the country. According to the original schedule, the Civil Services Prelims exam were to be held on May 31.

Candidates who have applied for the civil services prelims exam can check the new dates, after they are released, on the official website of UPSC at upsc.gov.in.

The Civil Services preliminary Exam -2020, scheduled to be held on May 31, stands deferred. The decision on the fresh date of the Examination will be made available on May 20 after assessing the situation, a notification released on May 4 by UPSC said.

The Civil services prelims examination is one of Indias most coveted exam that draws nearly seven lakh candidates on an average every year. This year, 10 lakh aspirants have registered for the exam.

Note: For the latest news and updates on the exam visit the official website of UPSC.
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f048668d188)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048644ed28)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f048668d188)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048644ed28)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f048687aba0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048644ed28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048644ed28)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f0471f74c60)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f04863a01d0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f04863a01d0)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 20 free expression groups, activist organizations, and journalists in a joint statement condemning recent threats against journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers in Northern Ireland.

On May 8, Belfast police warned journalists about imminent attacks against them from the South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association, a loyalist, or pro-British, paramilitary group, as CPJ documented at the time.

The statement calls on the regions police force to thoroughly investigate all threats against journalists, and calls on Northern Irish policymakers to commit to protecting members of the press.

The statement can be read in full here.
A man who beat and raped a pensioner is to be released from prison, the Parole Board has ruled.

Wendell Baker, 63, was sentenced to life in prison in 2013 for the attack on Hazel Backwell, 66, in 1997.

Baker broke into Ms Backwell's flat in Stratford, east London, as she slept. He then tied her hands behind her back with flex, beat and raped her.

He left Ms Backwell tied up in a cupboard while he ransacked her belongings.

Hazel Backwell was raped by Wendell Baker after he broke into her home in Stratford, east London (Metropolitan Police/PA)

She was only discovered the next evening by a neighbour and thought she had been left for dead.

Ms Backwell was afraid to continue living alone or go out by herself after the attack and died five years later "with a very sad and broken heart, her family said.

Baker was found not guilty of the attack in 1999, but a law change in 2005 meant that people could be retried for the same serious offence under certain circumstances.

The case was reopened in 2009. Baker was arrested again in 2011 and convicted in 2013, after swabs were taken from him that matched DNA found at Ms Backwell's flat with a probability "in the order of one in a billion".

He denied the charges and said police had been hounding him and framed him for this offence. Baker had previously spent time in prison for crimes including burglary, theft and actual bodily harm.

His minimum sentence was cut by two years after an appeal, making it eight years and six months before he could be considered for parole.

A report on the decision granting his release said at the time of the offence Baker had a tendency to resort to violence and the use of weapons, being violent to a partner, alcohol misuse and using illegal drugs, not being able to control extreme emotions, being influenced by anti-social friends, not having anywhere suitable to live and not thinking about what will happen as a result of his actions.

Evidence was presented at the hearing regarding Mr Bakers progress and custodial conduct during this sentence.

He had completed training courses which addressed drugs misuse and better ways of thinking as well as a range of vocational courses.

The panel heard how Mr Baker had demonstrated some application of relevant skills and learning while in custody. Witnesses recommended release.

A Parole Board spokesman said: We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Wendell Baker following an oral hearing.

Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public after release and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

The panel will have carefully looked at a whole range of evidence, including details of the original case, and any evidence of behaviour change.

We do that with great care and public safety is our number one priority.
In an alert that appeared aimed squarely at Iran, the US Navy issued a warning on Tuesday to mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 meters (yards) away from US warships or risk being "interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures."

The notice to mariners, which was first reported by Reuters, follows US President Donald Trump's threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass Navy vessels.

"Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a US naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat," according to the text of the notice.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the US military's rules of engagement.

The Pentagon has stated that Trump's threat was meant to underscore the Navy's right to self-defense.

The Bahrain-based US Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that its notice was "designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation."

It follows an incident last month in which 11 Iranian vessels came close to US Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, in what the US military called "dangerous and provocative" behavior.

At one point, the Iranian vessels came within 10 yards (9 meters) of the US Coast Guard cutter Maui, the US military said.

Trump's threat followed that incident, which Tehran, in turn, said was the fault of the United States.

The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by threatening to destroy US warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.

The back-and-forth is just latest example of razor-sharp tension between Washington and Tehran, which has steadily escalated since 2018, when Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Animosity reached historic heights in early January, when the United States killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Iran retaliated on January 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq, causing brain injuries among US troops at one of them.

Close interactions with Iranian military vessels were not uncommon in 2016 and 2017. On several occasions, US Navy ships fired warning shots at Iranian vessels when they got too close.

But Iran had halted such maneuvers before the April incident.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the Chairman of the WHO Executive Board on May 22. The minister would succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan who is currently serving as the Chairman of the board.

One hundred and ninety-four nations signed the proposal to appoint India's nominee as the Chairman. The decision to elect India was unanimously taken last year and Harsh Vardhan's appointment appears to be a formality. He would serve as the Chairman beginning May.

The position of the Chairman is held by rotation for a year among regional groups. India would occupy that role for the first year that would start on May 22. As a Chairman of the WHO Executive Board, Harsh Vardhan would be required to chair meetings and it is not a full-time job.

Thirty-four qualified individuals from the field of health are designated by a member state for the Executive Board. Member states are elected for three year terms.

The Board meets at least twice a year and the main meeting is normally held in January, with a second shorter meeting organised in May, immediately after the World Health Assembly.

The primary responsibility of the Executive Board is to draw policies as well as decisions for the World Health Assembly and to advise it and facilitate its work.

The minister addressed the 73rd World Health Assembly via video conferencing on Monday and said that India would take all the necessary steps to fight coronavirus. He also said that the country has dealt with the crisis well and is working to do better work in the months to come.

India is set to take over the chairmanship of the Executive Board amid growing calls, including by US President Donald Trump, to investigate how the coronavirus originated in China's Wuhan city and subsequent action by Beijing.

(With PTI inputs)

Also read: Trump tells WHO to prove 'independence' from China within 30 days; warns freeze on funding

Also read: Coronavirus: After Trump's letter, WHO chief says will continue to lead fight against COVID-19
The CM recently instructed officials to prepare a roadmap for providing local jobs to about two million people, especially in the rural-based industries, such as khadi, dairy, and food processing units and MSMEs.

Virendra Singh Rawat reports.

IMAGE: Migrants who have arrived from Ghaziabad by a special train board a bus to reach their native places outside Praygraj railway station. Photograph: PTI Photo

Sarju Lal, 35, returned to his native village in Gorakhpur district from the textile hub of Surat recently after more than a month of lockdown.

For thousands of his ilk stranded in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and other industrialised states, the homecoming was made possible only after the Centre decided to ply non-stop interstate special trains.

Almost broke and brokenhearted at the sudden turn of events, as the host state purportedly failed to provide succour to migrants, Lal is facing the prospects of permanent loss of livelihood, even as he is ready to work locally even for a lower remuneration.

Nearly half a million migrants had already returned to UP following Lockdown 1.0 in March.

The Yogi Adityanath government estimates almost a million stranded workers may arrive over the next two months by trains or buses through the official channel.

This implies the state has the tough task of resettling over 1.5 million, now jobless, migrants.

Besides, tens of thousands of resident labourers and daily wage earners have been rendered jobless following the abrupt closure of commercial and industrial activities in March.

The state government has already provided Rs 1,000-cash handout each to nearly three million daily wagers in rural and urban areas.

Acknowledging the enormity of the challenge, the CM recently instructed officials to prepare a roadmap for providing local jobs to about two million people, especially in the rural-based industries, such as khadi, dairy, and food processing units and MSMEs.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has also set in motion the process of expanding the capacity of quarantine centres to accommodate a million people, and proposed to convert college premises into temporary shelter homes for migrants, since they are mandated to serve a 14-day facility or home quarantine on arrival.

Since a major chunk of these labourers are skilled, the state is looking at employing these workers in industries that suit their skill sets, including weaving and manufacturing processes.

Our labourers are coming back in large numbers. Suppose a substantial proportion of these workers stay back after the lockdown is lifted, there can be social problems if they are not gainfully employed. Therefore, the government is drafting an action plan to create job opportunities for them at the local level, UP deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma said.

He said the state would adopt an integrated approach to generate fresh employment for these labourers.

Social historian and political commentator Badri Narayan observed although UP had taken the lead in bringing back migrant labourers, the real test would be to provide them with suitable livelihood avenues.

Recently, Adityanath had written to his counterparts in other states seeking cooperation in bringing back these labourers.

The letters have been sent to the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Rajasthan.

The state government had appointed nodal officers to facilitate the institutional return of workers and the results were visible in the form of special trains arriving in UP. However, the big challenge is to provide inland job opportunities to such a large population base, he added.

It is easier said than done to generate local jobs on such a massive scale and that too within a limited period since the arrival of workers continues abated.

At the same time, the lockdown has shrunk revenues of the state by nearly 90 per cent, leaving little financial leverage for the government to dole out cash to the unemployed, in addition to free ration and food packets to beneficiaries.

For example, against the tax demand of Rs 12,141 crore in April 2020, the net mop up stood at merely Rs 1,178 crore, a fall of 90 per cent.

Considering that the monthly salary and pension bill of the state is to the tune of Rs 12,500 crore, and that the government decided not to cut or delay these payments, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party dispensation is in a tighter spot to make the ends meet.

If local level jobs were so readily available in villages, labourers would not have decided to migrate to states like Gujarat and Maharashtra. The fact is, in the present circumstances of Covid-19 and the bitter experience in the host states during the lockdown, most labourers do not want to go back if they have a viable option at hand. This will further put pressure on the UP government to come up with a concrete plan to provide jobs to them, Purvanchal-based social worker and writer Harishankar Shahi observed.

Migration will continue to happen, but now it will be more in an institutional format with labourers giving due consideration to their health issues, and negotiating such terms with their employers when they return to their workplaces in other states, Narayan added.
Millions of Indians are attacking TikTok across social media. It started when a TikTok creator got into a war of words with a popular YouTube creator.

Cyberbullying in India isn't something unusual. It happens every day, or maybe every minute, thanks to India's hefty contribution across various social media platforms. The most recent victim of large scale cyberbullying in India is TikTok, the viral short video platform owned by ByteDance.

Millions of Indians are attacking TikTok, and rating it 1 star and putting negative reviews on Google Play Store. There's been so much hate around the app that it fell to 1.3 stars, which was 4.5 stars until May 16th. The reason? Well, a TikTok creator got into a war of words with a popular YouTube creator who called out 'TikTokers' for 'substandard' content on the platform which angered the fans, and this shifted into online hate-mongering going by the hashtag #YouTubevsTikTok.

Note that TikTok's rating on Apple's App Store has also dropped, but it is still at 3.8 stars, most likely because of a lesser user base than Android and the user type.

A 20-year old YouTube creator, Carryminati, known for his roasts had put a video titled 'YouTube vs TikTok- The End' as a response to TikTok user Amir Siddiqui's remarks on YouTube and its creators. Carryminati's video was later pulled down by YouTube for 'violating terms of service', but no specific reason was given. It was supposedly removed after being reported for harassment and cyberbullying by Amir's supporters. Which later led to a mass hate-mongering campaign against the whole TikTok community and of course, the app. Note that YouTube's user-base is led by India, and it's also one of the top markets for the video platform.

The Chinese video app has more than 1.5 billion downloads on Play Store, and close to 27 million reviews. In Q1 2020, TikTok also generated the most downloads for any app ever in a quarter with 315 million installs across Android and iOS. In fact, Google Play accounts for a majority of TikTok app downloads. The Apple App Store generated 495.2 million downloads or 24.5%. However, TikTok has been under consistent scrutiny regarding its content monitoring, especially in India.

TikTok is not alone, and it's not the first time

There have been multiple instances where Indians have bombarded app reviews with negative comments and a 1-star rating. Snapchat has been on the receiving end too. Similar to TikTok, In 2017, Indians got hyper and triggered the hate against Snap Inc CEO, Evan Spiegel and the app for his controversial statement about India. Snapchat's on the Apple iOS app store had gone down to 1 from 5. Many uninstalled the app and slammed its CEO on social media platforms with hashtags like #boycottSnapchat.

What's funny is that an Indian e-commerce giant Snapdeal also got crushed just because it had a name that starts with 'Snap'. There are several other instances where Indian's lost their cool on Apps. Last year, Zomato got hammered by users for not refunding money to a user who cancelled his ordered because his delivery executive was a non-Hindu. Even worse, Uber Eats was bullied in a similar manner because they stood by Zomato's take on the matter.
The Kano State Council of Ulamas on Wednesday expressed its opposition to the decision by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to allow mosques and churches to resume congregational prayers in the state.

The Islamic clerics said the decision risks increasing the rate of infections in a state which has more cases than any other except Lagos.

Speaking on BBC Hausa Service, the head of the council, Ibrahim Khalil, said the government should have considered the continued spread of the virus in the state in its decision.

Mr Khalil said had the government consulted with the Council of Ulamas, it would have told it to give priority to the health of the people.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Mr Ganduje had announced the lifting of the ban on congregational and Eid prayers while insisting that congregants must continue to obey the physical distancing rule.

The governors directive came moments after the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and head of the presidential task force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, announced President Muhammadu Buharis extension of the lockdown in Kano by additional two weeks.

Mr Gandujes spokesperson, Salihu Tanko, in a brief statement posted on Facebook, had said the governors decision was based on recommendations by 30 Islamic scholars in the state.

Mr Tanko said the scholars asked Mr Ganduje to allow Friday prayers to hold as well as Eid prayers.

He said the governor gave his directive after a lengthy consultation with the Islamic scholars and other government officials.

But Mr Khalil said the ulamas were not consulted.

In this period of epidemic, since the government has allowed congregational prayers to hold, individuals can also decide for themselves not to risk their lives. Especially those with underlying illnesses should stay at home instead.

Those that feel they can go to mosque, if they dont have any problems can go ahead and pray in congregations. There is no sin for anyone that dont go to mosque as far as he has concrete reasons, Mr Khalil said.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, (NCDC), on Tuesday, announced 226 new infections of COVID-19 Nigeria, with Kano recording zero case.

The NCDC, however, said the total confirmed case in the state stands at 824, second only to Lagos, Nigerias epicentre of the disease.
ST. LOUIS, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With their Spring 2020 semester devastated by the coronavirus outbreak, a University of Missouri student, seeking to represent a class of his schoolmates, sued the university system for compounding their hardship by failing to reimburse them for portions of their tuition and on-campus fees which they paid for but never benefited from.

The University of Missouri System, which refers to itself as a "$3B enterprise with a broad statewide reach," closed its campuses for the majority of the Spring 2020 semester, and while the closures were understandable, the refusal to refund students their money is not. The complaint states the system's roughly 75,000 students did not sign up for a school that was only offering an online education; instead, they chose and paid for the complete in-person university experience. The result is that every attending student enrolled in the Spring 2020 semester received a diminished educational experience and received no or reduced value from student fees that they paid. Despite this, the University of Missouri has not refunded any tuition, and refunds for student fees have either been nonexistent or inadequate.

"These students are not wealthy, and many have had to move back in with their parents because of the closures and the money they lost. At a time when the economy will hit new graduates particularly hard, it's shameful the UM system is refusing to do right by the young people it is sworn to educate and raise up as leaders," said attorney Mike Arias of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos which has filed numerous lawsuits related to the COVID-19 outbreak, including business interruption lawsuits on behalf of businesses forced to close due to the outbreak.

Between the thousands of dollars in tuition for the Spring 2020 semester and the hundreds of dollars in mandatory fees (such as the $150 recreation center fee, $222 student activity fee and $14 IT fee), each of these students is out a substantial sum of money. The suit alleges the University of Missouri's refusal to reimburse this money constitutes breach of contract and violate state law.

"Like many other institutions, organizations, and companies, the University of Missouri made the right decision in closing its campuses during COVID-19; however, the leadership did the wrong thing by not reimbursing students the money they paid to learn from live professors, spend time on campus, and network with their current and future peers," said attorney Rick Cornfeld of the Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC.

The case is Student A v. The University of Missouri, Circuit Court for the County of Boone, Missouri Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, Case No. 20BA-CV01729.

Complaint is available - https://drive.google.com/open?d=1hBEM1pCPkZKljTdOUoG9PpE9pt3cP21r.

About Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos, LLP

With offices in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Las Vegas and Montreal, Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos represents clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Some of our practice areas include: Class Actions, Mass Torts, Major Personal Injury, Employment Law, and Intellectual Property Rights. To learn more about us, go to: www.aswtlawyers.com.

Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC

Based in St. Louis, The Law Office of Richard S. Cornfeld, LLC, pursues justice for consumers and employees through class action remedies. Richard Cornfeld founded the firm after a 30-year career at one of St. Louis' major law firms defending some of the country's largest lawsuits. Today, his firm fights for and obtains redress for those wronged by corporations and other entities throughout the United States. Learn more at www.cornfeldlegal.com.

CONTACT: 310-844-9696

SOURCE Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos

Related Links

http://www.aswtlawyers.com


The coronavirus pandemic swept across the airline industry, upending fleet, route, and passenger number predictions for years to come. Commercial air travel, alongside tourism, is the worst-hit business in these unusual times of restricted travel, lockdowns, social distancing, and online-only business conferences.

Airlines and aircraft manufacturers face a few years of losses and cost cuts before air travel numbers return to pre-crisis levels. In these several years of a marked downturn for the industry, demand for jet fuel is expected to be the last oil product to see demand recover to levels from 2019.

While oil demand for road transportation already shows signs of recovery as people prefer commuting with their own cars rather than using public transport, demand for jet fuel will probably take much longerpossibly yearsto recover, analysts say.

The Airline Business Has Already Changed

The COVID-19 pandemic has already brought significant changes to the way the business operates, according to Forbes Senior Contributor Ted Reed.

Passenger traffic on airlines has dropped off a cliff since countries moved to restrict inbound travel in an effort to flatten the curve of infections. In the United States, for example, total traveler throughput at security was just 253,807 this past Sunday, compared to 2,620,276 passengers who cleared security at airports on the same day last year, according to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In other words, the passenger numbers in mid-May were less than 10 percent of the typical day at U.S. airports last year.

The airlines, of course, are feeling the pinch, and so are aircraft manufacturers. While U.S. airlines have an obligation not to lay off staff at least until end-September as a condition to receive U.S. grants, they are warning that layoffs will be coming after that.

October 1st is likely to emerge as one of the darkest days in history for airline labor, JPMorgan Chase said earlier this month, as carried by Reuters.

At Delta Air Lines, for example, 37,000 employees, more than one-third of the workforce, have elected to take voluntary unpaid leaves ranging from 30 days to one year, CEO Ed Bastian said on the earnings call in April.

Delta was burning cash at a rate of $100 million per day in March, and expected that cash-burn rate at $50 million a day in May, Bastian added. Related: Oil Industry Faces Looming Threat Of Involuntary Outages

Outside the United States, airlines are already taking an ax to payroll numbers. IAG, the owner of British Airways, warned in early May that it is likely that there would be redundancies of up to 12,000 British Airways employees. Europes biggest budget carrier, Ryanair, is negotiating 3,000 job cuts, mainly pilots and cabin crew, and expects to carry this year half the number of passengers compared to initial expectations. Emirates is reportedly weighing 30,000 job cuts, according to Bloomberg News.

Airlines of all sizes now have to figure out how social distancing and face-coverings on flights would work apart from the gloomy outlooks for this year.

Aircraft Manufacturers Also Suffer

Significantly reduced passenger numbers and a highly uncertain recovery timeline impacts airlines fleet rotation, retirement, and new buys, affecting manufacturers and suppliers such as Boeing, Airbus, and GE Aviation, which are also cutting jobs.

Boeing has taken action to lower employee numbers by around 10-15 percent through a combination of voluntary layoffs (VLO), natural turnover, and involuntary layoffs as necessary. This means that Boeing will cut 15,000-16,000 jobs, as the pandemic is also delivering a body blow to our business, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a letter to employees at the end of April.

Recovery To Take Years, Threatening Jet Fuel Demand

Unlike in road transportation, where recovery is gaining momentum with eased lockdowns and more U.S. states and major economies opening up, airline transportation will suffer for years to come, executives and analysts say. As a consequence, jet fuel demandthe fuel worst hit by the slumpwill recover at the slowest rate.

Given the combined effects of the pandemic and associated financial impact on the global economy, we believe that it could be up to three years before we see a sustainable recovery, Deltas Bastian said on the earnings call.

Related: Russian Oil Majors Want Bailout From Moscow

While global oil demand is set to rebound with a V-shaped recovery, demand for jet fuel will continue to languish for at least another two years, cut by significantly reduced business travel, Goldman Sachs says.

Gasoline demand in the U.S. stood at 7.398 million bpd for the week to May 8, and although this was still below the 9.148-million bpd demand for the same week last year, the number was a clear improvement from the 5.86-million-bpd demand just two weeks prior, EIA data shows.

Global jet fuel demand, on the other hand, will drop by 33.6 percent this year, or by at least 2.4 million bpd from last years demand of 7.2 million bpd, according to Rystad Energy. Next year, jet fuel demand will not have returned to the pre-crisis levels and is expected to average 6.9 million bpd.

According to Wood Mackenzie, jet fuel demand is not expected to regain the 2019 level until 2022 at the earliest.

Travel restrictions and lockdowns impact near-term projections for the airline industry's future, but a lasting change in lifestyles and travel behavior could upend the air travel business and its demand for fuel forever.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Iranian journalist Nejat Bahrami has started serving a one-year prison sentence this week, in what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called another step by authorities to "muzzle" the press.

Bahrami arrived at Tehrans Evin Prison on May 18 to begin serving his sentence, according to the Persian service of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

It said Bahrami, a freelance columnist who has written for several publications in Iran, was convicted in August 2019 by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran of "spreading propaganda against the system" and "colluding to disturb the public order" over his writing critical of Iran's political establishment.

He was sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year ban on any media activities and joining any political or social factions -- a sentence Bahrami said was upheld by an appeals court last month.

The New York-based CPJ on May 20 urged Iranian authorities to immediately release Bahrami and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press.

Jailing a journalist during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, "especially one whom authorities already previously released from custody due to health issues, is yet another example of the extreme steps that Iran's judiciary is willing to take to muzzle the press," CPJ Middle East and North Africa program coordinator Sherif Mansour said in a statement.

Bahrami was arrested in December 2018 over his writings in Iranian publications and on social media, before being released on bail due to health complications, including high blood pressure, according to reports.
Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week?
Shares of Moderna, Inc. MRNA fell more than 10% on Tuesday on skepticism related to data announced on Monday by the company from a phase I study evaluating its mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273. The companys stock was also down 6% in after-hours trading on May 19.

The study is being conducted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Please note that, Moderna has discovered mRNA-1273 and NIAID is developing the candidate in the phase I study under its own investigational new drug (IND) application. Moderna will continue development of the candidate in later phases of clinical studies.

Starting the year with its stock price below $20, the companys shares touched an all-time of $87 on May 18, following the announcement of the phase I study data.

However, a report published on statnews.com raised a few questions regarding the announced clinical data on mRNA-1273, which presumably led to the decline in the stock.

Modernas shares have skyrocketed 266.4% so far this year against the industrys increase of 8.7%, primarily due to the companys progress with its coronavirus vaccine candidate.

The company announced earlier this week that patients vaccinated with mRNA-1273 achieved levels of antibodies similar or higher than those typically found in a patient who recovered from COVID-19 naturally.

The report on statnews.com concluded, after taking into account several vaccine experts, that it is impossible to ascertain the effectiveness of mRNA-1273 as pictured by the company. First, the report states that Moderna revealed very little information with almost no actual data.

Second, NIAID has not released any updates from the clinical study on mRNA-1273 and also declined to comment on Modernas announcement.

The statnews.com report states that data from only eight patients out of total 45 and also only two weeks of data following the second dosage also raise concerns related to the durability of the data. Data on majority of patients as well as longer-term data will likely provide clarity on the vaccines efficacy. However, we note that the phase I study primarily evaluates a candidates safety in human volunteers rather than efficacy.

Story continues

Moreover, vaccine experts questioned by statnews.com referred to a study in China for discussing level of antibodies. Data from the study showed that level of antibodies in blood sample from naturally recovered COVID-19 patients varies widely. Some patients in the Chinese study also had undetectable neutralizing antibodies. Hence, comparison of level of antibodies generated in patients vaccinated with mRNA-1273, with convalescent sera (level of antibodies seen in blood sample of patients naturally recovered from COVID-19) does not provide a clear picture of the vaccines immunogenicity.

Although questions raised by statnews.com report seem genuine with no specific data being made available by Moderna or NIAID, we note that the company has received funding of nearly $500 million from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority ("BARDA"), a government agency. We believe BARDA is funding Modernas coronavirus vaccine development due to its strong potential. The FDA has also approved the companys investigational new drug application to initiate a phase II study to evaluate mRNA-1273, which is expected to begin soon. A phase II study is also set to start in July.

Meanwhile, other pharma/biotech companies are also engaged in developing a vaccine for COVID-19 with the majority of them in pre-clinical stage. Apart from Moderna, clinical studies on a coronavirus vaccine are being conducted by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, and a collaboration of BioNTech BNTX and Pfizer PFE in the United States, per a WHO report. J&J JNJ plans to initiate clinical study on a coronavirus vaccine in the second half of 2020.

Moderna, Inc. Price

Zacks Rank

Moderna currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>

Click to get this free report Johnson Johnson (JNJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report BioNTech SE Sponsored ADR (BNTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research
DURHAM, N.C., May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Male Contraceptive Initiative (MCI), US-based non-profit, announced the release of its first podcast. Titled "Intended", this multi-episode series explores the past, present, and future of male contraception. The first episodes of the series release on June 10 to coincide with the start of Men's Health Week.

Named for the fact that nearly 50% of pregnancies globally are still unintended, the series investigates why, after more than a half-century of research, the only available methods of male contraception remain condoms and vasectomies. "Intended" features interviews with over 50 individuals representing the research community, funders, advocates, critics, and the general public.

"Male contraception is an incredibly interesting subject to explore, and we felt doing so via a podcast was the perfect way to engage with people to share the stories of successes and failures," said MCI's Marketing and Communications Director Kevin Shane. "Currently, there is not a lot of information readily available on the subject, and what gets reported can be inaccurate or just incorrect outright," he added. "Bringing the voices of individuals keenly interested in male contraception directly to the general public allows us to bridge that gap and better frame the conversation around new male methods."

Director of Operations and Programs, Dr. Logan Nickels added, "Interest in male contraception is growing, and there is a demand for new male methods. Taking the lead in educating the public about this critical work is a key mandate for us, and 'Intended' is a perfect example of that."

With over $3 million invested in male contraceptive product development, MCI seeks to push male contraceptive research projects towards market. There is a breadth of male contraception research, and funds granted in the drug development pipeline, from early stage screening of drugs up to studies that pave the way for early clinical trials. The organization's mission is to facilitate research and development of male contraceptives for people around the world, and to build awareness among researchers, donors, and the general public about the demand for and status of novel male contraceptive methods.

Through its funding efforts, the non-profit has championed this mission in manifold ways: investing in promising product development through this and other rounds of funding, supporting students and young professionals through fellowships and travel grants, and consistently advocating with the public and media for an increased method mix that includes male contraception.

Kevin Shane, Marketing & Communications Director

(585) 307-2270

[email protected]

The full Intended press kit can be found at: https://www.malecontraceptive.org/intended/presskit

About Male Contraceptive Initiative: Male Contraceptive Initiative works to bring new male contraceptives to market. We accomplish this through direct funding, technical support, research, and advocacy. We believe that couples deserve more contraceptive options and that we offer the biggest potential impact for them by focusing on male contraceptives. It's time men are given more opportunities to contribute toward family planning. Learn more at malecontraceptive.org

Related Files

MaleContraceptiveInitiative_IntendedPodcast-HostBios.pdf

MaleContraceptiveInitiative_IntendedPodcast-EpisodeGuide.pdf

SOURCE Male Contraceptive Initiative

Related Links

http://malecontraceptive.org


PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 09:32:44

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 961 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

Empower enters into a term sheet to acquire an interest in the global royalty rights of Dosed Movie, launches Dosed Wellness, a psychedelics brand, launches new dedicated website www.dosedwellness.com and adds new team members dedicated to the new brand.VANCOUVER BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE:CBDT)(OTCQB:EPWCF)(Frankfurt:8EC) ("Empower" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated life sciences company, is pleased to announce it has entered into a non-binding term sheet with Golden Teacher Films Inc. ("Golden") to acquire a 10% interest in certain royalty rights, intellectual property rights and interest in Dosed Movie ("DOSED"), an award-wining documentary film about treating anxiety, depression and addiction with psychedelic medicine.Under the terms of the agreement, the Company intends to issue $75,000.00 CAD of common shares in the capital of Empower (each, a "Share") plus an aggregate payment of $25,000.00 CAD to the Vendors at the Closing. Further, the principals of Golden, Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers will be offered consulting contracts to join the management team of Dosed Wellness Ltd.The Company also announces the launch of a dedicated psychedelics division Dosed Wellness Ltd. ("Dosed Wellness") and a new dedicated website www.dosedwellness.com that will leverage the operating assets of Empower. Dosed Wellness is uniquely positioned as an early mover in the psychedelics space with a network of physicians and clinics, advanced research opportunities, telehealth capabilities, and a growing base of over 165,000 patients.The mental health crisis could cost the world $16 trillion by 2030 and according to Future Market Insights; the global behavioral health (non-pharmacological) market is expected to be valued at US$156 billion by 2028."Widespread legalization of psilocybin and psychedelics is inevitable, as clinical research is showing these compounds are uniquely useful for treating mental illness and addiction." said Tyler Chandler, Director of DOSED. "Since billions of people worldwide suffer from these conditions, we need to establish infrastructure and patient-care competencies to serve this population as soon as the law allows. We're thrilled to align with Empower Clinics, which has the strategic vision, existing client base and clinic network to continue to lead the plant-based medicine industry." "The opportunity to partner with DOSED to help bring down stigmas and advance the science of psychedelic treatment options is a meaningful step forward to vastly improving the mental wellness outcome for millions of people around the world." said Steven McAuley, Chairman and CEO of Empower. "Now, with the additions of Tyler and Nick on our new management team, we will leverage their substantial psychedelics experience and network to take full advantage of Empowers' clinic infrastructure, technology and access to patients." According to the World Health Organization depression is already the leading cause of disability worldwide (more than 322 million people suffer from depression) and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.Both MDMA and psilocybin, combined with a course of therapy, have received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the FDA in the US, which means both are one step closer to licensing approval."Our team is well connected in the psychedelic space and our expertise on the media side will help elevate the Empower brand. We're also excited that Empower Clinics is acquiring an interest in DOSED, as their promotion of the film will help educate millions of people about the opportunities inherent in psychedelic medicine." said Nicholas Meyers, Producer of DOSED. "When people see Adrianne's inspiring and eye-opening journey in DOSED, they'll want to know how to access these treatments, which is precisely the problem Empower Clinics is positioned to solve as we move towards clinical trials and legalization." Psychedelic medicines derived from or inspired by plants and fungi found in nature have the potential to redefine how mental health conditions could be treated over the course of the next decade. Prohibition Partners Psych: The Psychedelics as Medicine Report March 2020ABOUT EMPOWEREmpower is a vertically integrated health & wellness brand with a network of corporate and franchised health & wellness clinics in the U.S. The Company is building its first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility and produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products. The Company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The Company has launched Dosed Wellness Ltd. to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies, psilocybin and other psychedelic plant-based treatment options. The Company now offers COVID-19 testing options in the United States and physician-based consultations, to address COVID-19 concerns.About Dosed MovieAfter many years of prescription medications failing her, a suicidal woman turns to underground healers to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine such as magic mushrooms and iboga. Adrianne's first dose of psilocybin mushrooms catapulted her into an unexpected world of healing where plant medicines are redefining our understanding of mental health and addiction. DOSED is directed and produced by Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers is producer and director of photography. Visit www.dosedmovie.com to rent or own DOSED.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:Steven McAuleyChief Executive OfficerCONTACTS:Investors: Steven McAuleyChairman & CEOs.mcauley@ empowerclinics.com 604-789-2146Investors: Dustin KleinSVP, Business Developmentdustin@ svmmjcc.com 720-352-1398For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: rs@ maricom.ca , T: (888) 585-MARIDISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTSThis news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.All statements, other than statements of histor
The ex-wife of a man accused of killing a convicted sex offender in Nebraska told sister station KETV he admitted his role in the killing.

Less than a day after local news media received an email about the killing of Mattieo Condoluci, Omaha police said Tuesday James Fairbanks, 43, was arrested for criminal homicide. The email from sender "Stop Predators," said "I killed Matteio Condoluci Thursday May 14th."

Fairbanks' ex-wife, Kelly Tamayo, told KETV that Fairbanks did send the email and confessed to killing Condoluci.

"Jim called me to tell me what had happened and that he was turning himself in. He just wanted to make clear that I would, you know, take care of the kids. He is a very loving and dedicated father," she said.

She said close family members have been stunned by the allegations and said that Fairbanks is "usually a man of good judgement."

Tamayo said Fairbanks has worked in the corrections system with sex offenders in the past and saw the worst of them.

"I could only say, like, that I think he reflected on his experiences working with them as just bothersome and upsetting because they are repeat offenders, we know them to be people who, you know, who repeatedly act out their intent or they act on their wishes that are to harm children," Tamayo said. "And so I think that, you know, he had mixed feelings of great sadness for the victims and frustrations certainly with those kind of people."

Tamayo said there is an injustice in the system, claiming "we don't treat sex offenders, we just house them and then we put them back out on the street and expect them to do different."

She described him as a protective person who was most recently working with troubled children in the Omaha Public School system. She said Fairbanks had never mentioned Condoluci, in particular, to her before the killing.

"I have no doubt that Jim, like all parents, was disgusted with that mans actions and wished justice," Tamayo wrote in a text message. "Again, I want it to be known that Jim is a protector who cared for some of the most vulnerable and victimized children. Please, if you can, report that Developmental Services of Nebraska had to create a special award for him because he never had to restrain kids and was always able to verbally de-escalate them. Many of them were victims of sexual abuse."

Omaha Public Schools confirmed Fairbanks worked at Morton Middle School from 2016 to 2018 and was most recently working for the middle school alternative program.
"Officials are warning that some areas could be under 9 feet of water by (Wednesday) afternoon," said Scott Baker, U-Haul Company of Central Michigan president. "Our neighbors are in serious need of a place to store their belongings. U-Haul supports the communities in which we do business, and we'll be offering clean and dry self-storage at no cost for a month."

People seeking more information or needing to arrange 30 days free self-storage should contact one of the three participating locations:

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Houghton Lake

8135 W. Houghton Lake Drive

Houghton Lake, MI 48629

(989) 202-7241

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Mount Pleasant (U-Box only)

2374 Parkway Drive

Mount Pleasant, MI 48858

(989) 546-4117

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Saginaw

3520 Bay Road

Saginaw, MI 48603

(989) 791-1510

With U-Box containers, you can conveniently pick up our custom-designed trailer and take your U-Box with you. U-Haul also can store your U-Box container in our secure warehouses or pick up and deliver it to a location of your choice.

U-Haul offered one month of free self-storage on March 12 to college students whose school schedules were interrupted by COVID-19. That offer is ongoing across the U.S. and Canada.

As an essential service provider, U-Haul remains open to meet the needs of customers and communities. For details on what U-Haul has done to enhance cleaning protocols, protect Team Members and customers, and develop programs that inherently promote social distancing and contactless business, please visit uhaul.com/announcement.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks, 120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

Related Links

www.uhaul.com


Mike Pence, Kayleigh McEnany honor Ravi Zacharias: 7 words changed his life

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Vice President Mike Pence and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany paid tribute to Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias Tuesday, hours after it was announced hed died of cancer at age 74.

Pence said in a post on Twitter that he and second lady Karen Pence were [d]eeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ravi Zacharias, a Christian apologist whose ministry for the Gospel of Jesus Christ impacted millions around the world.

Ravi was a man of faith who could rightly handle the word of truth like few others in our time & he was my friend, Pence, an evangelical Christian, wrote.

Upon the death of Abner, the Bible tells us David said do you not know that a prince & a great man has fallen today? Ravi was such a man & he will be missed. Karen & I send our deepest sympathies to his family and know he heard Well done good and faithful servant.

Upon the death of Abner, the Bible tells us David said do you not know that a prince & a great man has fallen today? Ravi was such a man & he will be missed. Karen & I send our deepest sympathies to his family and know he heard Well done good and faithful servant. pic.twitter.com/x8Bsor8OUv  Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) May 19, 2020

Zacharias eldest daughter, Sarah Davis, first announced her father had passed in a message on Ravi Zacharias International Ministries website in a post titled, Ravi Zacharias, Now With Jesus.

It was his Savior, Jesus Christ, that my dad always wanted most to talk about. Even in his final days, until he lacked the energy and breath to speak, he turned every conversation to Jesus and what the Lord had done, she wrote.

He perpetually marveled that God took a seventeen-year-old skeptic, defeated in hopelessness and unbelief, and called him into a life of glorious hope and belief in the truth of Scripture  a message he would carry across the globe for 48 years.

McEnany, who was hired on April 7 as White House Press Secretary for President Donald Trump, cried as she spoke to CBNs David Brody about the late Christian apologist.

Its a huge loss. My dad said to me that Billy Graham was the great evangelist, and I think Ravi Zacharias is the great apologist, she said through tears. Ravis someone that I never met. I know his team, and I knew some of those who are around him. For me, as a Christian, I always had the heart for Jesus Christ that I got at a very young age. I was saved when I was in my teens."

McEnany attended Oxford University in England as part of a study abroad program at Georgetown University and noted Zacharias presence at Oxford, where the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics was first established in 2004.

"To have someone from an academic place, as an apologist who could equip you with those arguments where you didn't have to check your brain at the door when you became a Christian, where there is the intellectual foundation for everything we believe," McEnany said of Zacharias. "There's prophecy. There's the human cell. There's the amazing creation of the human body and all of its complexity and the planet, the universe.

McEnany said that Zacharias put a philosophical and academic rationale to the heart that she had for Jesus.

[He] gave me the ability to go to Oxford, where there are renowned atheist scholars who try to say there's no intellectual undergirding for Christianity," she continued in the interview with CBN. "Ravi Zacharias, who happened to have an office at Oxford, was the person who provided the counter to that, the intelligence behind why we believe what we believe.

Your mind can never get you fully there, its a place only your heart can take you, she added. But Ravi Zacharias provided those steps to put in the mind of an academic, well, I should give the Christian faith some thought."

Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics is part of RZIM, which says its primary mission is to reach and challenge those who shape the ideas of a culture with the credibility of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

McEnany said that on Sunday, she had her 6-month-old daughter on her lap as she, her mother-in-law and husband, MLB player Sean Gilmartin, watched one of Zacharias previous sermons.

At the time, she said they knew his time on Earth was short. McEnany reflected on a message Zacharias daughter shared Tuesday when she announced his passing.

I think the words that were at the very bottom of the announcement today of his passing are so important. He had a verse there, it said, Because I live, you also will live, John 14:19," McEnany recalled.

And they said that these seven words changed Ravis life 57 years ago. He was on a bed of suicide, as he described it, and it was a Bible that was handed to him and those words in particular that set him on a 57-year path that has truly saved lives.

Davis said the Bible verse is carved into Zacharias' grandmothers gravestone and it will also be etched on her fathers gravestone.

We thank God for him and recommit our lives to sharing this truth with all who will hear, until He calls us to our eternal home, Davis added.

Details about a public memorial for Zacharias are pending. Davis requested that those interested in sending flowers donate to RZIM instead.
Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.

Your Full Name: (optional)

Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 13:50:04

Rene Buhay, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at leading education technology manufacturer AVer Europe outlines the role technology can play in personalising lessons for different learners.

AVer Europe explains how education technology supports different learning styles

Alison Scarrott

alison@brookscomm.com

In a world of fast-moving technology, education providers need to ensure the equipment used in their institutions meets the increasing expectations of its students to maintain engagement in the classroom. By exploring the preferences and learning styles of different students, we can identify how technology can meet the needs of learners within the classroom.

A visual learner is at their best when working with images and reading text. These learners need to see first what they are expected to know. Cameras and tablets keep the attention of students. Visualisers project paper handouts, pages from books, 3D objects and any other object that will fit within the cameras perspective to large screens so that students can get a closer look.

Verbal learners love language, whether it is written or spoken. Therefore, a traditional classroom with a lecturer working off textbooks or notes gives these students the resources to succeed. But education technology greatly enhances the classroom experience, such as access to a tablet, or watching videos of educational lectures and podcasts.

Aural learners learn best through hearing directions and speaking answers. Typically, aural learners prefer to listen to lectures rather than take notes. Classroom technology provides many methods of audio engagement, with standard examples including TVs and computers. Some visualisers also have a recording function that enable teachers to create audio content for aural learners.

Physical/kinetic learners pick up information by handling things and moving around. Technology is a great support for learners who like to physically manipulate what they are studying to retain the maximum amount of information. Students could also use an interactive whiteboard or even make a video of how they perform a task by using a visualisers recording function.

Technology in the classroom can make a big difference when it comes to teaching different learning styles. Its crucial that education technology works to driving engagement and meeting the needs of different learners, while working seamlessly with existing practices within the classroom.

About AVer Europe

AVer Europe provides intelligent technological solutions to harness the power of visual communications for business and education. http://www.avereurope.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington on May 20, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)

Pompeo: Impossible for Firing of Inspector General to be Retaliatory

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday confirmed he asked President Donald Trump to fire the State Department inspector general but insisted it wasnt done in retaliation.

Lets be clear: there are claims this was for retaliation for some investigation that the inspector generals office here was engaged in. Thats patently false. I have no sense what investigations were taking place inside the inspector generals office, Pompeo told reporters in Washington.

Trump late Friday informed Congress he was firing Steve Linick, the inspector general, telling lawmakers that he lacked enough confidence in Linick to keep him in the position.

Trump later said Pompeo recommended the firing.

I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated. Frankly, should have done it some time ago, Pompeo said Wednesday.

He refused to disclose the rationale for his recommendations, saying he doesnt discuss personnel matters with the press. The reasoning will be shared with the appropriate people, Pompeo said.

State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 2, 2019. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have asked for more detailed rationale than what was described in Trumps letter.

Congress requires written reasons justifying an IGs removal. A general lack of confidence simply is not sufficient detail to satisfy Congress, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a recent statement.

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) are investigating the firing, alleging it may have been linked to a probe Linick was conducting over arm sales to Saudi Arabia.

Pompeo accused Menendezs office of leaking false stories about the motivation for the firing, which have included anonymously sourced reports alleging Linick was probing whether Pompeo ordered staff to pick up dry cleaning and walk his dog.

This is all coming through the office of Senator Menendez. I dont get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted.  A man for whom his Senate colleagues, bipartisan, said, basically, that he was taking bribes, Pompeo said.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) speaks to reporters in Washington on Feb. 25, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Menendez and a friend were charged in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and fraud. The senator allegedly helped the friend, a doctor, in exchange for political contributions and gifts.

The trial ended in 2017 in a mistrial and the Department of Justice decided not to pursue a retrial. The Senate Ethics Committee officially admonished Menendez the next year.

Menendez in a statement said Pompeo is now trying diversion tactics by attempting to smear me.

The timing of the firing  reeks to the high heavens that obviously what he was investigating was problematic for the Secretary of State, Menendez added during an appearance on CNN earlier Wednesday.

The firing is an assault on the checks [and balances] over the agencies of the federal government and thats why we need to investigate it, he said.

Mimi Nguyen Ly, Janita Kan, and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
Indiabulls Group has asked over 2,000, of its total of 26,000 employees, to leave as an outcome of performance review at the end of financial year 2019-20. Though the company said the attrition was in line with the process it follows every year (of 10-15 per cent attrition after performance reviews), its employees have a different story to tell.

Scores of employees took to social media to express disappointment and said they were asked to resign over WhatsApp calls. On Twitter, some said they had been asked to resign by May 31 and that there was no severance package and salary ...
The URL has been copied to your clipboard

The code has been copied to your clipboard.

The Southern African Development Communitys Troika Organ on Politics, Defense and Security is holding a meeting in Harare to discuss the security situation in Mozambique. Some suspected Islamic terrorists have killed scores of people in Mozambique. (video: Thomas Chiripasi)
A new CDC report examined what happened after two seemingly-healthy people attended church events in Arkansas, and then developed COVID-19 symptoms a few days later.

35 out of 92 attendees got COVID-19, and three of them died, according to the report. There were 26 more cases and one more death from people who came into contact with church attendees.

This report adds to the growing pile of evidence on the dangers of gathering in groups during a pandemic.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

church





Getty

A new CDC report examines how quickly sickness spread at a rural Arkansas church, ultimately resulting in seven hospitalizations and four deaths. The report serves as more evidence of the dangers of gathering in groups in places like churches.

According to the report, a 57-year-old pastor of a local Arkansas church attended church events and a Bible study group in early March, along with his 56-year-old wife. A few days later, the two developed symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath, and became the first two officially tested cases of coronavirus in their rural county of about 25,000 residents.

35 out of 92 people they came into contact with at church events got sick, and seven had to be hospitalized. Three people died. Contact tracers from the Arkansas Department of Health then discovered 26 more cases of sickness and one other death, all from people who reported contact with the churchgoers.

"This outbreak highlights the potential for widespread transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, both at group gatherings during church events and within the broader community," the study authors wrote. "These findings underscore the opportunity for faith-based organizations to prevent COVID-19 by following local authorities' guidance."

In the days the church was open, the church hosted a three-day children's event with singing, in which all the children came into close contact with the adults, and a buffet-style meal served by church members. None of the children present got seriously ill.

Story continues

As soon as the pastor and his wife realized they were sick, in-person church activities were cancelled and the church was closed.

Previously there has been reports showing high COVID-19 attacks rates in choir practices, at nursing homes, and in hospitals, all places where groups of people gather.

Many churches are arguing that they should be re-opened

The CDC published this report against the backdrop of a larger argument, as many churches fight to re-open during COVID-19, arguing that religious services are essential.

In Oregon, 10 evangelical churches argued that the governor's shutdown orders had expired and shouldn't apply to them. A judge ruled in their favor, and the case is ongoing. In Chicago, hundreds defied stay-at-home orders in order to attend church services in an area that has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19.

And in New York, religious leaders have appealed to Governor Andrew Cuomo to ask if religious institutions could re-open if they practiced safe social distancing.

"It's less about being a church, temple or mosque  it's more about being a gathering," Cuomo recently said. "The last thing you want is 100, 200 people in close proximity."

Cuomo is currently meeting with Jewish community leaders to create social distancing guidelines for religious observance of the Shavuot holiday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Boris Johnsons chief Brexit negotiator accused the European Union of offering the UK only a low-quality trade deal as talks between the two sides descended into acrimony.

In a dramatic intervention in the increasingly fractious negotiations over the future UK-EU relationship, David Frost complained the bloc is treating Britain as unworthy of a fair deal. He told his EU counterpart Michel Barnier to think again.

The EU is demanding that the UK sign up to some of the blocs rules as the price for a trade deal that would give a large neighbor access to its single market of more than 450 million consumers. Barnier said last week Britain was looking to maintain the benefits of being a member state, without the obligations.

The UK is also seeking continued access for UK financial services firms to ensure cross-border banking, insurance, pensions and asset management arent disrupted.

We find it perplexing that the EU, instead of seeking to settle rapidly a high-quality set of agreements with a close economic partner, is instead insisting on additional, unbalanced, and unprecedented provisions in a range of areas, as a precondition for agreement between us, Frost wrote in a four-page letter published on Tuesday, hours after the UK released its own draft of the trade deal it wants.

Frost said the EU is offering not a fair free trade relationship between close economic partners, but a relatively low-quality trade agreement coming with unprecedented EU oversight of our laws and institutions.

The letter is likely to raise tensions even further in the negotiations, which have effectively reached an impasse. After the last round of talks concluded on Friday, Barnier said he was pessimistic about the chances of an agreement by the year-end.

No Longer Members

The UKs draft legal texts, published for the first time on Tuesday, underscored the gulf between the two sides. The documents set out a comprehensive plan for trade in goods, as well as for other issues including the contentious issue of fishing rights  but barely mention the so-called level playing field commitments the EU is determined to include in any accord to prevent the UK from undercutting the blocs economy.

The UK says the blocs demands to stick to its rules on areas such as state aid and workers rights are an unnecessary infringement of its sovereignty, and has accused the EU of demanding more from Britain than it does of other countries with which it has signed trade deals.

The EU essentially wants us to obey the rules of their club, even though were no longer members, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove told the House of Commons in London on Tuesday. It remains difficult to reach a mutually beneficial agreement while the EU maintains such an ideological approach.

Frost said the UKs draft free trade agreement approximates those the EU has signed with Canada and Japan, while its proposals to grant EU boats access to UK waters on an annual basis is similar to the deal the bloc has signed with Norway. The EU has made any trade deal conditional on the UK giving European boats the same access they had before Brexit.

Tangible Progress

The two sides have until the end of this year to reach an agreement or the UK will default to trading with the bloc on terms set by the World Trade Organization  meaning steep tariffs on goods like cars.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Barnier said he welcomed the UKs publication and pointed out the EUs version had been released two months ago.

In the next round, we must make tangible progress across all areas, he said.

In its own version of the draft treaty, published in March, the EU devoted almost 30 pages to how the UK should stick to the blocs rules in areas such as state subsidies, environmental standards and workers rights. The British text includes three sentences on upholding levels of protection to encourage trade.

Why should we help British businesses provide their services to Europe when wed have no guarantee that our businesses would get a fair play treatment in the UK? Barnier said at a news conference on Friday.

The documents show the UK is also seeking:

Continued access for UK financial services firms to ensure cross-border banking, insurance, pensions and asset management arent disrupted

Agreements on data sharing and telecommunications to avoid potential discrimination over roaming fees

Continued cross-border data transfers, with no company forced to locate servers in a specific jurisdiction, as well as harmonized privacy provisions that dont make explicit reference to the EUs General Data Protection Regulation.

Just one more round of talks remains before politicians are scheduled to meet in June to take stock and try to work out the way ahead. The lack of progress increases the chances the British government will pull the plug on the negotiations and pursue what it calls an Australian approach. That would mean leaving the bloc at the year-end without a trade deal in place, heaping more pressure and disruption on an economy already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

With assistance from Bryce Baschuk.

Photograph: The Houses of Parliament stand in this view from inside a bus in London. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Europe
The Fund and Beehive recently renewed and updated their existing partnership by broadening the channels of eligibility for SMEs to access financing, and for investors to reap attractive returns by participating in entrepreneurial startups.

The original agreement had enabled Dubai-based SMEs that are 100% owned and managed by an Emirati to request financing of up to AED780,000, backed by a full capital guarantee extended by The Fund from a total guarantee pool of AED 20 million. In a significant update to the agreement, Dubai-based SMEs that are 50% or more owned and managed by an Emirati are now also eligible for financing of up to AED420,000, which will be backed by a 50% capital guarantee.

Furthermore, the update allows businesses eligible for new financing to get a three-months payment holiday at the beginning of their loan term, which will be followed by a 24-months payment schedule.

His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General of Dubai Economy, said access to finance is key to the creation, sustainability and growth of SMEs. "The strengths and diversity of SMEs are strategic assets for Dubai in ensuring that business activity remains uninterrupted and new opportunities are created continuously. The agreement between Mohammed Bin Rashid Fund for SMEs and Beehive extends the benefits of their partnership to a wider SME community and will thereby strengthen the position of Dubai as a competitive hub for business and entrepreneurship, particularly during the present global economic challenges."

The loan guarantee scheme will allow eligible SMEs to access funding at lower rates and give protection to investors that support these businesses. This is critical for Dubai's SMEs that are currently facing a cash crunch and will allow them to continue their operations and paying their bills. The total guarantee pool of AED20 million will ensure this financial tool can be utilized by many eligible SMEs.

Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, said that the partnership with Beehive is also a unique opportunity for investors in Dubai. "Investors on Beehive's platform can invest from as little as AED100 into multiple businesses, and this new agreement will enable low risk investing, as well as the confidence which comes from having a diversified portfolio. Furthermore, it should help restore investor confidence in SMEs especially in view of the impact of COVID-19 on their operation."

Craig Moore, CEO of Beehive, said: "We are delighted to extend this important partnership with Dubai SME and to introduce updates which will allow the benefits to be appreciated by more SMEs, especially those who need it at this challenging time."

Dubai-based SMEs Facility Type Maximum Facility Amount Expected borrowing rate Expected average profit rate for investors Capital guarantee% Payment Holiday Re-payment

period 100% Emirati owned & managed Working Capital Finance AED 780,000 from 0.9% per month 1% per month 100% N/A 150 days Term Finance from 4.7% per annum 10% per annum 3 months 24 months 50% Emirati owned & managed Working Capital Finance AED 420,000 from 0.9% per month 1% per month 50% N/A 150 days Term Finance from 4.7% per annum 10% per annum 3 months 24 months

About Dubai SME

Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED), Government of Dubai, aims to foster an entrepreneurial culture and develop a competitive SME sector for the Emirate of Dubai. The key strategies adopted by Dubai SME are: advocate a pro-business environment for developing entrepreneurship and SMEs, seed innovative start-ups and groom promising SMEs. Dubai SME's vision is to make Dubai the centre for innovative SMEs to start, grow and expand their businesses, thus adding greater value to the economy of Dubai.

For further information, please contact: Faisal Shamsudheen, Tel: (971 4) 445 5927, Email: [email protected]

About Beehive

Beehive P2P Ltd. is the first peer to peer lending platform in MENA to be regulated by the DFSA. Beehive directly connects businesses looking for finance with investors, creating mutually beneficial partnerships for growth. Beehive's digital platform provides smarter finance solutions to businesses, financial institutions and investors. By combining financial market experience with technology, we accelerate efficiency and functionality to deliver market innovation. Beehive has been facilitating finance to SMEs for over five years in the GCC region and is regulated by the DFSA in Dubai, and CBB in Bahrain.

For Beehive enquiries, please contact: Bryony Travers, Brand Manager +971 58 587 1300 [email protected]

SOURCE Beehive P2P Ltd
The Minister of Trade and Industry Niveen Gamee stated on Wednesday face masks made of fabrics will be available in the market soon in line with the plan to coexist with the COVID-19 pandemic that Egypts government will implement as of mid-June.

Gamee made the statement during an online meeting with representatives of ready-made garments and textile companies, the health ministry, and the Unified Purchasing Authority to discuss the nationwide production of fabric face masks with high quality and reasonable prices.

The minister said the ready-made garments and textile companies will produce the required quantities of fabric face masks in the nearest time possible to meet the education and higher education ministries needs to provide the masks for students during year-end exams.

She also stated the trade and health ministries approved the manufacturing standards and requirements of the fabric face masks to be sent to factories to commence production.

Company representatives stressed at the meeting that this kind of face masks provides protection and can be washed more than 50 times.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Taiwan pro-separatist groups mocked for counting on 'crippled' US

Global Times

By Liu Xin and Yang Sheng Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/19 21:13:40

The attempt to push for proposals related to Taiwan at the World Health Assembly by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the island has once again failed. After the WHA announced it would not discuss the proposal, netizens from the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan mocked pro-separatist forces in Taiwan for "betting on the wrong horse" as the US has been "crippled by its own failure to control the COVID-19 domestically" and most member states of the WHO stuck to the one-China principle.

Only state members of the WHO have the right to attend the WHA. However, the DPP and pro-separatist groups in the island of Taiwan have been working hard to push for Taiwan's attendance at the WHA "as an observer" since 2017.

Compared to previous years, Ms Keva Bain from the Bahamas, president of this year's WHA was more "decisive and clear" about not discussing Taiwan-related proposals, experts said.

From 2017 to 2019, Taiwan-related proposals had entered into a limited discussion process - a 2 by 2 debate would be held by supporters and those who oppose. And the WHA president would give the final say. The Taiwan-related proposals were rejected by the presidents in the previous three years.

At the 50th WHA in 1997, the Taiwan authority incited its "diplomatic allies" to start a vote among all member states and got 128 vetoes, 19 votes and five abstentions. The proposal to take in Taiwan in the WHA as an observer failed to get approved. The assembly was prolonged for five and a half hours.

This year's WHA kicked off amid the global COVID-19 pandemic with the assembly being shortened to two days and in the form of a video conference.

The WHA president chose to reject the Taiwan-related proposal without debate. This move shows that the political practice should not take the precious time of the international community's discussions on fighting the COVID-19. It also proves that the DPP's attempt to use the WHA to seek separatism of the island was opposed by the international community, experts said.

An insider familiar with this year's WHA said that so far, more than 160 countries have reiterated their support to the one-China principle and more than 50 countries sent letters to WHO General-Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to oppose the Taiwan proposal.

Netizens from the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan ridiculed the DPP for "betting on the wrong horse."

"US President Donald Trump and his administration have been haunted by the failure to control the virus domestically and are busy blaming China and the WHO. How does the Taiwan authority rely on 'a partner' who is threatening to withdraw from the WHO?" a netizen surnamed Liu said.

Chinese mainland analysts said that the separatist DPP in Taiwan thought that ithas found the "big brother" - the Trump administration - and have paid a huge amount of money to flatter the US. But the "big brother" is not as reliable as they have thought, since all efforts they paid to challenge the one-China principle in the WHA failed, as always.

"They just don't get it. If they really want to be a WHA observer, the most effective path is through Beijing, not through Washington. That's why they are wasting money by begging the wrong boss but offend the one who can really help,"" a Beijing-based observer said, who requested anonymity. "What a hilarious behavior!"

Some US politicians also praised Taiwan for preventing the pandemic and using this as an excuse to support the island to attend the assembly. But they ignored the fact that Taiwan has fewer infected cases because the mainland shared all the information it got to the island immediately, and Taiwan's necessary technical cooperation with the WHO have never been interrupted, Chinese analysts noted.

"Taiwan is an island which was almost automatically locked down from the Chinese mainland as it can only connect with the mainland by air and ocean. And due to the worsening cross-Straits relations, people-to-people exchanges between the two sides have been mostly suspended, so it is not hard for Taiwan to keep the number low," Li Xiaobing, a Taiwan studies expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times previously.

Compared to other Chinese provinces, Taiwan did not have the best performance. For instance, Jiangsu Province with more than 80 million people, about 3.5 times more than Taiwan's population, has only 51 confirmed cases and all were cured with zero deaths as of Monday, according to the latest data released by the Jiangsu provincial government website.

But Taiwan has 440 confirmed cases and seven deaths, according to Taiwan's public health authority.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Face masks: A seemingly simple piece of fabric that straps around your ears and over your nose (note: always above your nostrils, and never under!) is now as essential to your leaving-the-house checklist as keys, wallet and phone  if not more important since it helps limit the spread of COVID-19.

For anyone still getting the hang of this new pandemic wear, or caught wondering if they even need to wear a face mask (the short answer: yes, most likely, but more on that later), weve rounded up the answers to your questions.

Why wear a mask?

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends you wear a non-medical mask when in public to protect the people around you from COVID-19 transmission.

COVID-19 is spread by tiny droplets that people expel when they breathe, cough, or sneeze. A mask helps prevent those droplets from being expelled into the air.

This may be particularly important as we begin to understand the potential impact of silent spreaders: people infected by the virus who are asymptomatic or presymptomatic, who may not know that theyre infected.

What kind of mask should I use?

If youre a health-care worker or front-line worker, you are likely wearing personal protective equipment, which may include medical-grade masks. Its also extremely important that we keep the supply of medical masks where it is needed, Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, said in April. Health-care workers need medical masks.

For people who arent front-line workers, Public Health Canada has recommended Neoprene masks, surgical masks, homemade cloth masks, face shields or even scarves or bandanas.

Of course, masks are not 100 per cent effective in preventing exposure to the novel coronavirus. People should continue prioritizing physical distancing  staying six feet, or two metres, apart  and handwashing, while avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth.

When should I wear a mask?

A mask can help in situations where physical distancing may be more difficult, like shopping at the grocery store or taking the bus.

You dont have to wear a mask when driving alone in a car or when you are outside for a walk, where you can practise physical distancing.

Urging or ordering Torontonians to wear face masks in some public settings is also still under consideration during Torontos COVID-19 recovery planning, Mayor John Tory said in March.

As Canadas economy slowly begins to reopen, some businesses and restaurants may also begin asking customers to wear masks or face coverings if they plan to enter the store. For instance, customers shopping at Longos grocery stores have been required to cover their faces as of May 4.

Can I wash and reuse my masks?

It depends on what type of mask youre using. If youre using a mask made of fabric or neoprene, then you can reuse these masks so long as youre washing them after each use.

Surgical masks are one-time use.

Public Health Canada recommends changing your mask, whether its cloth or medical, when it gets damp, soiled or crumpled.

The Star is offering free digital access on select COVID-19 stories. Misinformation is plentiful and dangerous and coronavirus news and knowledge evolves. Star reporters are working to bring you clarity, context and responsible facts. To help you get the information you need, articles that provide a public service will live outside our paywall.

How do I safely remove my mask and clean it?

Before removing your mask, Public Health Canada recommends that you wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap; if soap and water arent available to you, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Remove the mask from the back, without touching the front or your face.

If your mask is disposable, place it in a lined garbage bin immediately  dont discard it on the ground  then wash your hands again for 20 seconds. Dont touch your face in-between steps.

If youre cleaning a mask thats reusable, then Public Health Canada recommends laundering your mask in hot water immediately after removal, then washing your hands again for 20 seconds.

If youre on the go, or arent able to wash the mask right away, place it in a sealed plastic bag until youre ready to clean it. Be sure to empty the mask into the washing machine by holding onto the plastic bag, and not reaching in to grab it.

Why did guidelines around wearing masks change?

On Friday, April 3, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control advised the public to use cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19. By Monday, April 6, the Public Health Agency of Canada followed suit.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, said that day in a news conference that wearing a non-medical mask, even if you have no symptoms, is an additional measure that you can take to protect others around you.

Initially, officials in Canada were concerned about preserving personal protective equipment, such as medical-grade masks like the tight-fitting N95 respirators, for health-care workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

The advice shifted when Dr. Tam said during the April 6 news conference that the special advisory committee to the Public Health Agency of Canada had changed its recommendation, based on changing scientific findings in the previous 10 days.

The new recommendation was that homemade and cloth masks could help prevent an infected individual who shows no symptoms from spreading it to others, but that these masks would not prevent a mask-wearer from getting sick.

Where can I buy flattering masks? And can I make my own?

You sure can. There are resources online for how to easily make your own homemade mask, and boundless resources for where to find masks that suit your personality and lifestyle.

Here are just a few of those resources weve rounded up to make that search a bit easier:
President Donald Trump, flanked by officials and business leaders, announces a national emergency with regard to the coronavirus in the White House Rose Garden in Washington on March 13, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Michigan Attorney General Asks Trump to Wear a Mask During Upcoming Tour

President Donald Trump should wear a mask while touring a Ford plant in Michigan, the states attorney general said Wednesday.

Trump is scheduled to visit a manufacturing plant in Rawsonville Thursday.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel released an open letter (pdf) appealing to the president to don a face covering when he enters the building.

I ask that while you are on tour you respect the great efforts of the men and women at Fordand across this stateby wearing a facial covering, Nessel wrote.

Anyone who has potentially been recently exposed, including the President of the United States, has not only a legal responsibility, but also a social and moral responsibility, to take reasonable precautions to prevent further spread of the virus.

Nessel said she wouldnt move to block Trump from entering the plant if he doesnt wear a mask.

Neither Trump nor his presumptive rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, have been seen in public with a mask on.

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)

Ford policy dictates visitors wear masks and other person protective equipment but the White House has its own safety and testing policies in place and will make its own determination, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers current stay-at-home order requires people to wear facial coverings if medically able. Those who dont arent punished.

Federal officials for months said only people who were sick should wear masks but abruptly reversed the policy in April, urging everyone to wear masks when in areas where maintaining six feet from non-household members is difficult.

They cited the growing body of research that suggests people who become infected with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus can spread the virus even if they dont show symptoms.

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are tested daily to see if they have the virus.

Pence faced criticism for not wearing a mask in late April while visiting the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He said a few days later he should have and wore one while visiting a General Motors plant in Indiana. Hes since donned a covering in Washington at the U.S. Capitol and in other places.

After Trump revealed hes been taking hydroxychloroquine to try to prevent becoming infected with the new virus, Pence said he is not.
C ounter terror police today warned that renewed efforts to de-radicalise extremists are vital to protect the public despite new laws that will bring longer sentences for some convicts and allow indefinite controls on freed offenders.

Under legislation unveiled in Parliament today judges will be required to impose minimum 14-year terms on offenders convicted of a range of serious terrorist crimes that fall short of attracting life sentences.

Automatic early release will also be ended for some other terror convicts. At the same time, it will become easier to place a person under Tpim curbs such as curfews and exclusion from London with the restrictions potentially lasting indefinitely instead of only up to two years.

The changes are being introduced in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the Fishmongers Hall and Streatham attacks in London within the past year.

Both were carried out by freed terror convicts  Usman Khan, 28, on London Bridge in November and Sudesh Amman, 20, in south London in February  who had been released automatically after relatively short prison terms.

Armed police at the scene in Streatham High Road / PA

Announcing the new laws today, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: The shocking attacks at Fishmongers Hall and Streatham revealed serious flaws in the way terrorist offenders are dealt with.

"We promised to act and today we are delivering on that promise.

But Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, counter terrorism policings senior national coordinator, said that while officers supported changes to the law which helped protect the public, deradicalisation and diversion was even more critical.

He added: The new powers would only be used against a small number of the most dangerous terrorist offenders, and we need to focus just as much attention on the only strategy which attempts to divert people away from violent extremism altogether - Prevent.

Whether Prevent is attempting to stop someone following a path towards terrorism, or hoping to rehabilitate and de-radicalise those who have already been convicted, it is our best hope in reducing the threat in the long term.
The United States Embassy in Ukraine has congratulated President Volodymyr Zelensky on his first anniversary in office and announced further support for a democratic Ukraine.

The embassy said this in a statement marking President Zelenskys first anniversary in office.

"We congratulate President Zelenskyy and his administration on their first anniversary in office. At the time of President Zelenskyys election, the United States warmly welcomed his commitment to implement the reforms necessary to move Ukraine into a new era marked by stability, prosperity, democracy, and further integration into Europe. We commend the progress achieved this year," the statement reads.

In this context, the U.S. diplomats recalled that more than 130 Ukrainians unjustly detained by Russia and its proxies had returned to their families. The government completed unbundling of its natural gas sector, an important step in strengthening Ukraines energy security. Decentralization efforts to empower local communities have moved forward. Ukraine has implemented many of the reforms necessary to establish a new IMF program.

"The United States supports the work that remains, which is complicated by Russias ongoing, illegal aggression on Ukrainian territory and by the COVID-19 pandemic. As President Zelenskyy and his team press forward with dismantling Ukraines oligarchic system, strengthening the rule of law, and ensuring the independence and integrity of anti-corruption and law enforcement institutions, we will continue to work with the administration to achieve its objectives," the embassy noted.

The U.S. also called on MPs, local and regional officials to resist attempts by vested interests to slow progress.

"As President Zelenskyy enters the second year of his presidency, the United States stands firmly with the people of Ukraine in support of a democratic, prosperous Ukraine, secure in its internationally recognized borders," the U.S. diplomats stressed.

ish
The United Statesalong with the rest of the worldis in the midst on an environmental crisis. Global warming is on the rise, pollution is deteriorating the ozone, and ecosystems are being destroyed. These issues could cause irreparable damage to our beautiful blue planet and to our very way of life. And we are the cause of most of it; that is the hard truth. It is more important now than ever to educate ourselves on these issues, starting with the eight found below.

8. Climate Change

Climate change is one of the biggest environmental issues currently plaguing the United States. Abnormal temperatures and extreme weather are largely due to human activity, such as the emission of greenhouse gases, which the US, along with China, produces the most of. Since the late 1800s, the average temperature has risen by one or two degrees Fahrenheit every year, a pattern which is only expected to continue. This temperature change can be erratic and vary on location, creating regional problems, like droughts which are particularly bad in the Southwest.

7. Air Pollution

Manhattan's skyscrapers disappearing in the distance under a heavy blanket of smog and haze due to pollution. Image credit: KishoreJ/Shutterstock.com

Air pollution is the release of harmful contaminants into the air. Most of these pollutants are the result of industrialization: oil plants and vehicle emissions, among other things. According to a 2009 report released by the American Lung Association, approximately sixty percent of Americans live in areas with high levels of air pollution. This could lead to any number of health concerns, including respiratory issues, cancer, and even death. Air pollution is a nasty villain for major cities, particularly California; in fact, the top twelve most affected American cities are located in the Golden State.

6. Water Pollution

A "Warning - No Swimming"sign due to pollution at a Malibu beach, Malibu, California. Image credit: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com

Water pollution is the contamination of various water sources by harmful and potentially deadly substances. There are any number of reasons for this type of pollution. For example, the United Nations estimates that eighty percent of the worlds wastewatersink, shower, and toilet waterfinds its way back into the environment without being properly treated. Other damaging substances include garbage and radioactive waste. In the United States, water pollution also occurs from oil spills and abandoned mines. In Colorado, these mines have polluted approximately 1,430 miles of stream. There are even public health concerns regarding the presence of lead in tap water in Michigan.

5. Soil Contamination

Soil pollution with petrochemical products. Image credit: Mikadun/Shutterstock.com

Soil contamination occurs when non-natural substances get absorbed into the earth. This could have disastrous effects on soil fertility and plant growth, which in turn impacts the surrounding wildlife. But it also impacts people as contaminates can easily find their way into our water and food supplies. As a result, there have been several reports of illnesses caused by soil pollution in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Montana to name a few. Industrialization and the boom of landfills are largely responsible, but everyday items such as pesticides and paint can cause significant harm to the environment.

4. Waste Problem

An American flag waving in the distance behind a dump site at the Santa Monica Community Center, CA. Image credit: Joseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com

Every year, the world produces 1.3 billion tons of garbage, with the United States being among the most wasteful countries. In 2013, Americans generated 254 million tons of refuse. For comparison, China produced 190 million tons and their population is four times larger. It is a sad fact, but the average American household produces 65 percent of all garbage in the country. Landfills are filling at an alarming rateparticularly in the westernmost statesand are currently one of the leading causes of water and soil pollution. It does not help that they are kept relatively out of sight, concealing the seriousness of the problem.

3. Deforestation

Deforestation of a forest in Alaska. Image credit: Maridav/Shutterstock.com

Deforestation is the clearing or permanent destruction of forested areas. Since the 1600s, the United States has seen the removal of 75 percent of the lands forests. The reasons for this range from urbanization to the selling of timber. In the southern states alone, deforestation as a result of industrial logging is four times greater than that of the South American rainforests. Furthermore, each year the overall population of the US grows by approximately 1.7 million people. More people increases the demand for more space, which ultimately leads to the destruction of trees. Other harmful causes are climate change and loss of biodiversity.

2. Loss of Biodiversity

The Utah prairie dog is an endangered species found in the US. Image credit: James Phelps/Wikimedia.org

Mostif not allenvironmental issues are linked. Deforestation and pollution has led to a great loss in biodiversity, that is to say the elimination of some natural habitats and wildlife. Louisiana, North Carolina, and Florida are three states that continue to experience heavy losses. To make matters worse, about a third of all US plants and animals are at risk of extinction, with only five percent receiving enough attention from conservation efforts. Fish and birds have been particularly affected, but even small creatures like bumble beeswhich have vanished by nearly ninety percentare in danger. This impacts humans, too, as we depend on certain ecosystems for food and water.

1. Invasive Species

Burmese Python in the Everglades is an invasive species. Image credit: Heiko Kiera/Shutterstock.com

Animals that have been removed from their original countries, either on purpose or by accident, and brought to another are referred to as invasive species. With no natural predators in their new habitats, these foreign animals upset the established order of the existing ecosystem by destroying plants, killing animals, and introducing disease. Globalization is largely to blame, starting with the first European colonizers. Approximately 45,000 plants and animals have invaded the United States over the years, including the Burmese python, feral hogs, and lionfish. There are financial implications as well, with an estimated $120 billion spent every year on countering the damages.
Taiwan cannot accept becoming part of China under its one country, two systems offer of autonomy, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday as she was sworn in for her second and final term in office.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Ximen Mining Corp. (XIM.V)(1XMA.F)(XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") is pleased to announce that it will commence the 2020 exploration season with exploration work on its Providence property in the Greenwood mining camp in southern British Columbia.

Vein quartz from historic Providence mine 3.87 g/t gold and 100 g/t silver

Exploration at the Providence property is scheduled to start next week and will include rock sampling, trenching and diamond drilling. This property surrounds the historic Providence mine, which operated intermittently from 1893 to 1973, yielding 5884 OZ of gold, 1,368,079 OZ silver, 183 tonnes of lead, 118 tonnes of zinc from 10,426 tonnes of ore mined. The ore minerals include pyrite, galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, tetrahedrite, proustite, native silver and free gold.

Previous prospecting by Ximen crews identified a mine dump near the historic Providence mine, from which a sample returned significant gold and silver values (3.87 grams per tonne gold and 100 grams per tonne silver). The Company recently completed a GIS compilation of all historic data for the Providence property and has identified targets for follow-up exploration for gold-silver veins and skarn gold-copper deposits.

Analyses disclosed in this release were conducted by ALS Global - Geochemistry Analytical Lab in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. ALS is an independent, fully accredited commercial laboratory. Gold was determined by the fire assay method using a 50 gram sample weight. Other metals were analyzed as part of a 33-element package using a four acid digestion and determination by ICP-AES.

Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, approved the technical information contained in this News Release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Christopher R. Anderson"

Christopher R. Anderson,

President, CEO and Director

604 488-3900

Story continues

Investor Relations:

Sophy Cesar,

604-488-3900,

ir@XimenMiningCorp.com

About Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen`s two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has recently acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment.

Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. 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 possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. 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 effects.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

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: Ximen Mining Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/590638/Ximen-Mining-Ready-to-Start-Drilling-in-the-Greenwood-Camp




T wo young men accused of the murder of an NHS worker in an attack outside his own home have been remanded in custody.

David Ture, 18, and Vagnei Colubali, 22, are both charged with the murder of 24-year-old David Gomoh, who was chased and stabbed eight times as he left home in Newham, east London, on April 26.

The London Southbank University marketing graduate, who worked for the NHS in supplies and procurement, was on the phone to his girlfriend when the attack began, just seconds after he stepped outside to go shopping at 10.25pm.

Mr Gomoh, whose mother is a nurse, had just lost his father to Covid-19 when he was stabbed to death, in Freemasons Road, Canning Town.

At the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Judge Wendy Joseph QC remanded both Ture, of no fixed address, and Colubali, from Cambridge, in custody.

Prosecutor Peter Ratliff told the court Mr Gomoh had been killed in a brutal attack by four males, when he had the misfortune to step outside his home to go to a nearby shop.

It is said the attackers had earlier targeted another man in the street but he had managed to get away.

Muhammad Jalloh, 18, of no fixed address, and a 16-year-old boy, of Telford, Shropshire, who cannot be named because of his age, have already appeared at the Old Bailey charged with murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

Ture and Colubali face the same two charges, and all four defendants have now been remanded in custody.

All four defendants are due to return to court on July 22 for a plea hearing. A trial date has not been set.
The Director-General,

Ghana Education Service (GES),

Accra.

Dear Professor Opoku Amankwah,

Consensus Of Parent Teacher Associations And School Management Committees Vital To School Reopening Decision

Between 16th and 18th of May, 2020, we organized an online discussion on the reopening of Schools as envisaged by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in their letter of 13th May, 2020 sent to Teacher Unions and other National Level Stakeholders. The twitter activity attracted over 20,000 participants using the hashtag #GhanaEducationForum. The outcomes are presented below for your kind attention:

1. In the midst of an increasing community spread, it is not advisable to consider reo-pening schools as lives of teachers, students and other school workers may be put at risk due to the difficulty in maintaining social distance at school and Water, Sanita-tion and Hygiene logistical constraints in schools. The GES should not advise gov-ernment to re-open schools now.

2. The GES future decision to reopen schools must be based on science with pub-lished, convincing data in support and consensus by stakeholders, especially par-ents.

3. Meanwhile, the discussion on whether/how to reopen schools in the immediate fu-ture must be initiated from the Parent Teacher Associations/School Management Committee level (SMC/PTA), after which any such decision must be based on CON-SENSUS. The GES must task school heads to facilitate SMC & PTA executive meet-ings in Basic and Senior High Schools and submit outcomes to the GES and the wider stakeholder community, while assuring SMCs and PTAs that it would be ready to lis-ten to their opinions.

4. Any attempt to reopen schools without CONSENSUS from parents and local com-munities will suffer patronage as many parents may not send their children to school.

Very sincerely yours,

Kofi Asare Executive Director
Korea's airlines hope to resume more of its suspended international flights next month.

Korean Air will start flying again to Seattle as well as to Vancouver and Toronto. These routes have been suspended for some 50 days due to the coronavirus epidemic. Korean Air still runs 13 of its 110 international routes and plans to resume 19 more on June 1.

Asiana Airlines also plans to resume 13 suspended international routes next month, bringing the total to 27 out of 73 it used to fly.

Korea's low-cost carriers have also started taking some international bookings.
Anil Kapoor has worn many hats as an actor ever since he started acting way back in the 80s. He has done straight dramatic roles, action films, crime thrillers, romantic films, even westerns to boot. His versatility in the industry is well known. Hes still going strong despite all these years and giving the youngsters a run for their money. We bring to you a list of his top romantic films down the years. We hope his histrionics will lighten up the boredom during this extended lockdown.Director: BapuCast: Anil Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure, Naseeruddin ShahThe film is a remake of the 1981 Tamil film Andha 7 Naatkal, which was directed by K. Bhagyaraj. Director Bapu remade the film in Telugu first and then in Hindi. Anil Kapoor, believe it or faint, was called Prem Pratap Patialewale in the film. He plays a young musician who along with his assistant (Master Raju) becomes a tenant in Mayas (Padmini Kolhapure) house. The duo falls in love but Prem initially finds himself unworthy of her. Later, theyre found out while trying to elope and Prem is thrown out of the house. Shes forcibly married to Dr Anand (Naseeruddin Shah), but tries to commit suicide on her nuptial night itself. Upon learning the reason, the good doctor asks her to stay with them for seven days for the sake of his ailing mother. He searches for Prem and wants the lovers to unite but Maya has come to love him by now and even Prem doesnt agree with the whole thing. It was one of his earliest films but Anil came across as a confident actor, displaying comic timing as well as dramatic flair in ample measure.Director: Basu ChatterjeeCast: Anil Kapoor, Amrita Singh, Amjad Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Om PrakashThe film made a stand against casteism and had a feminist heroine, a novelty in those days. Charandas (Anil Kapoor), is under the influence of Mastram Pahelwan (Om Prakash) and wants to dedicate his life to being a wrestler. All his vows of celibacy go for a toss when he espies Chameli (Amrita Singh), the daughter of the local coal trader Kallumal (Pankaj Kapur). The duo fall in love and decide to get married, but both sets of parents are dead against the match as they belong to different castes. They take the help of Advocate Harish (Amjad Khan) to resolve the dilemma. He advises them to elope and get married. And later convinces both the girls father and the boys brother why the alliance would be politically beneficial to them both. Amrita Singh was pure gold as an overgrown schoolgirl who has failed in 8th four times and who bashes up her relatives like a real freestyle wrestler when she overhears them making plans of bumping off her boyfriend. Anil Kapoor let her take centre stage and was good as a former pahelwan coming to grips with the various emotions associated with love. His chemistry with Amrita Singh worked in the films favour. Amjad Khan got the best lines as the street smart lawyer who knows the weaknesses of people and uses his knowledge to get things done.Director: N ChandraCast: Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Chunky Pandey, Anupam Kher, Kiran KumarAnil Kapoor plays a young collegian in this violent love story. Munna (Anil) wanted nothing else but join the navy and serve his country but circumstances force him to take to a life of crime. The film highlighted the seething anger felt by the society which is mostly kept in check but acts like acid when erupted. A slumlord Lotiya Pathan (Kiran Kumar) has Mohini and her father in his grips over a past loan and doesnt like the growing proximity between Munna and Mohini. Munna kills the man who had tried to rape his sister and goes to jail because of that. He becomes a hardened criminal inside and is ordered off Mumbai limits. Munna locks horns with Lotya in order to save Mohini and is forced to go all mano-a-mano with the goon in the climax. It was an unusual love story in the sense that it had an undercurrent of violence running throughout and wasnt just another breezy masala entertainer. Anils intensity was much admired in the film.Director: K. VishwanathCast: Anil Kapoor, Vijayshanti, Saeed Jaffrey, Vinod MehraEeshwar is a learning-disabled orphan living with his grandmother. Though he may not be as intelligent as others, he has tons of sympathy for everyone. He chances upon a young widow Lalita (Vijayshanti) living with her young son in the village and cant bear to see her being mistreated by her relatives. He marries her and initially, his own relatives, as well as the other villagers, are against this match. The primary reason being that Lalita is a widow. But in his own simple way, he loves her fiercely and she too begins to love her. Hes transformed through love and soon finds employment and begins to take care of her. They lead a contented life and she dies in his arms later in the life of old age. He digs up the Tulsi plant which she had planted and takes it with him while leaving for his sons house. Anil Kapoor gave a fabulous performance in this remake of Swati Mutyam (1986) starring Kamal Haasan and Raadhika in the lead roles, which was directed by K Vishwanath himself.Director: Yash ChopraCast: Anil Kapoor, SrideviYash Chopra was known for his bold takes on romance but he really pushed the envelope with this one by showcasing the blossoming of love between a young girl and a man old enough to be her father. Viren (Anil Kapoor) is in love with Pallavi (Sridevi), daughter of a family friend. She, however, has hots for another. She marries her lover after the sudden death of her father and a distraught Viren leaves for London to set up a business there. One year later, its heard that Pallavi and her husband have died in an accident, leaving behind an infant daughter Pooja who is brought up by Daijaan (Waheeda Rehman), who had brought up Viren as well. When she grows up, she visits Viren in London and hes struck by her uncanny resemblance to her mother, whom he hadnt forgotten. She has been in love with him since childhood and it blossoms further. Viren has to stop living in the past in order to love her and the film sensitively portrays the different aspects of this delicate affair. Though it was Sris film, Anil admirably captured the different moods of a person who finds lost love again in the form of the daughter of the woman he loved.Director: Vidhu Vinod ChopraCast: Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala, Anupam KherIt was a period love story set in an era where the British still ruled us. Naren Singh (Anil Kapoor) falls in love with Rajeshwari "Rajjo" Pathak (Manisha Koirala). Narens father is a rich landlord and a staunch British supporter while her father is a staunch revolutionary. His father learns of the hideout of the freedom fighters through his son and informs the British. Rajjos father is killed in the ambush and she is rescued by Shubhankar (Jackie Shroff), another freedom fighter. When Naren comes to know of his fathers duplicity, hes livid and severs all ties with his father. He too becomes a revolutionary and gets captured by the British. Hes to be hanged for his actions in front of the whole town. Shubhanker saves him at the last minute and the duo manage to kill the British officials present at the gathering. The film showed a young man trying to find love in turbulent times and Anil was brilliant in both aspects of the role.Director: Satish KaushikCast: Anil Kapoor, Kajol, Anupam Kher, Satish KaushikIt was based on the Telugu Hit Pavitra Bandham (1996) and revolved around the idea of a contract marriage. Vijay (Anil Kapoor), is a pampered child of Viswanath (Anupam Kher) who doesnt believe in marriage. Forced by his father, he enters into a contract marriage with Megha (Kajol), his fathers personal assistant. His condition is that hell leave Megha if he doesnt fall in love with her in a year. Megha agrees to it as shes in a financial mess and needs money to take care of her family. She soon becomes the perfect wife and wins over everyones heart. However, Vijay isnt convinced about the institution of marriage even after one year and sends her back. He begins to miss her, however and finds a way to woo her back. He becomes the MD of the new company she works in and tries hard to win her affections again. Though Megha is pregnant with his child, she has no desire to move back with him. It so transpires that his enemies stab him and Megha too accidentally slips at that instance and goes into labour. He somehow gathers himself and takes both himself and her to the hospital. The child is safely born and Vijay and Megha get united once more. It was as melodramatic as they come but proved to be a huge hit.
SHENZHEN, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Among the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic across the world, over 430,000 people have been infected and nearly 300,000 have lost their lives as of May 12, according to the World Health Organization's official statistics.

Youibot, a Shenzhen-based robot company, decided to do something to help. Several days after the outbreak, Youibot launched an Anti-virus robot named ARIS-K2.

The Newly-developed robot, carried by an AGV, is integrated with infrared thermometer and UV lamp to scan the body temperature of crowds in the daytime, and to continue to disinfect at night. Any action the robot is going to take is specifically preprogrammed.

With Youibot ARIS-K2 was widely used in airports, health care facilities, shopping malls, and office buildings, the company donated some robots to the Hubei Third People's Hospital in Wuhan on March, 17 in order to help the frontline health care workers to fight against the virus.

By using ARIS-K2, the frontline workers can monitor the body temperature of crowds around at the main entrance. When someone has a fever, the system would alarm immediately, then less health care infection would occur. While at night, the system would walk around as programed for sanitization and disinfection.

Currently, this high-tech disinfection solution is being extensively used in 18 countries around the world, like Germany, Italy, Spain, the USA, and etc..And it truly helps the battle against the virus.

"China has found many ways to help control the pandemic, the Youibot ARIS-K2 is just one example," said Cody Zhang, the CEO of Youibot.

"We have a strong reason to believe that with the commercialization of technologies, the pandemic will be eliminated soon," he added.

As an innovative high-tech company, Youibot has core algorithms and technologies for mobile robots with self-owned intellectual property rights and is rich in the unmanned transformation of business scenarios. Based on AGVs, Youibot is committed to smart manufacturing, intelligent inspection, and maintenance throughout the industry, comprehensive products, and solutions.

Company: Shenzhen Youibot Robotics Technology Co., Ltd.

Address: 5F, D Block, No. 2070 Shennanzhong Rd., Futian District, Shenzhen, China

Website: http://www.Youibot.com

Mobile: +86-199-2533-8919

E-mail: amber@Youibot.com

Contact: Amber Qi

SOURCE: Shenzhen Youibot Robotics Technology Co., Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590636/A-Magic-Chinese-Robot-Helps-Us-Back-to-Work
3 1 of 3 Lori Van Buren/Times Union Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Lori Van Buren/Times Union Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Chris Churchill in the column "Where a workout is an act of defiance," May 12, uses the word "rebellion" in sharing the decision of a local gym owner to open his establishment in defiance of current business closure orders. Churchill frames the gym opening as falling in line with the rebellious traditions of our nation's founding.

It is no such thing. It is instead a self-seeking business decision. It profits no one but the owner and increases the risk of COVID-19 infection for himself and potentially many others. It is not at root a political action nor is it grounded in the concern for the general welfare that guided the Founding Fathers.
Disease struck and politicians blamed the patients, their country of origin and the public health officials who delivered the diagnosis. Its an old story.

Public health warnings were dismissed as a scare, and a politically motivated hoax. Thugs, fueled by fear and xenophobia, hurled slurs and attacks on Asian Americans. But blame-shifting and scapegoating of Chinese people just delayed care, and made the population less safe.

Politicians sidelined public health experts who delivered stark truth or strayed from the party line. Meanwhile, the powerful and their sycophants prematurely declared that the foe was on the run and we were open for business. Even after the ranks of the sick grew to include people of every background, the racializing of disease still tainted our public discourse.

This isnt just a snapshot of the coronavirus in 2020; its also a picture of the bubonic plague that hit San Francisco in 1900. Back then, much like today, the knee-jerk reactions  deny, delay, divert and blame  made it harder for doctors and scientists to do their job of preventing cases, treating patients and eradicating the disease. As I wrote in my book The Barbary Plague: the Black Death in Victorian San Francisco, political roadblocks to public health are common and costly.

Theyre also as predictable as the movie Groundhog Day.

In 1900, scapegoating, cover-ups and faux conspiracy theories were the order of the day. One official even accused doctors of injecting corpses with plague germs to prove their diagnosis, and control the citys health bureaucracy. San Francisco could have quashed plague quickly by attacking the real threat  infected rat fleas  rather than blaming patients or demeaning doctors.

In 2020, the U.S. could have pursued the coronavirus by nationalizing mask, gown and ventilator production, and adopting the World Health Organizations early coronavirus test in January  to access adequate supplies and an earlier picture of viral spread. We were late to these tasks because Washington wasted time, railing at the Chinese and imputing dark motives to the WHO. At home, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, long our premier source of epidemic intelligence, has grown quiet. Whoever muzzles the CDC imperils U.S. health.

But while politicians and their cynical allies fiddle, plague burns. Back in 1900 San Francisco, a cover-up allowed plague to smolder underground, igniting a second wave after the 1906 earthquake. In the end, it took until 1910 to declare real victory.

The delay exacted another permanent price. Delays in rodent eradication gave plague rats plenty of time to travel into the East Bay hills, and migrate further east to the Rocky Mountains. There the virus remains endemic today in squirrels and prairie dogs, infecting people each year in states like New Mexico. Studies show its the same strain of the plague bacillus that affected San Francisco in 1900. The only difference is, todays patients have lifesaving antibiotics. Because theres no cure for coronavirus, promoting quack cures and delaying testing, tracking and tracing will all cost lives.

The only sure thing  like death and taxes  is that we share the world with microbes. For decades, our best scientists cautioned us that we would see the rise new pandemic diseases. But the current administration disbanded the Office of Pandemic Preparedness, only to claim  incredibly  that no one saw this new scourge coming. Scientists saw it; Washington ignored it.

The names of the diseases, their symptoms, speed of travel and style of transmission change. Sadly, human nature does not. Just like the 1918 Spanish flu (which probably started in Kansas) and 15th century French disease (syphilis, which went everywhere) global pandemics trigger predictable rounds of buck-passing. Demonizing our neighbors around the world and subjecting science to political spin leaves only one victor standing: the virus.

As for San Francisco? Our city has come a long way since the 1900-era dealmakers in City Hall and Sacramento cut a deal to cover up the plague. This year, Mayor London Breed and Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed a shelter-in-place program that flattened the rising curve of COVID-19 cases. Lets stay on course, and keep putting people before plague politics.

Marilyn Chase is a journalist, author and instructor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Her latest book is Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa (Chronicle Books, April 2020).
Hundreds of thousands of workers face redundancy because insurance giants are refusing to pay out in a 1 billion 'coronavirus cover con'.

Tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses are at risk of bankruptcy because of the 'disgraceful' and 'immoral' attempt to wriggle out of releasing the vital funds.

This is despite them having paid for business interruption insurance policies promising them financial protection against closure due to outbreaks of a contagious disease.

Tens of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses are at risk of bankruptcy because of the 'disgraceful' and 'immoral' attempt to wriggle out of releasing the vital funds. (Stock image)

Campaigners yesterday called for the Chancellor to intervene urgently, warning that firms face going bust every day because of the lack of cashflow to keep them afloat.

Taxpayers are footing a huge part of the bill for the non-payments, which has forced companies to put more staff on furlough.

And the cost to the public purse could skyrocket as more and more businesses face bankruptcy without the lifeline of the insurance payouts.

Over the past decade some companies have paid more than 40,000 for the business interruption cover  which they chose because it was promoted as being wide-ranging  but are now not receiving a penny.

Their premiums helped drive huge profits for the insurance firms and vast rewards for their bosses  with the chief executive of Lloyd's of London underwriter Hiscox making more than 2.5 million in the past two years alone.

Small-business owners say the refusal to pay their claims is an exceptionally 'bitter betrayal' because Hiscox boasts that it offers its clients 'peace of mind, by providing advice, expertise, a safety net or simply an arm around them when they need it most'.

Its stated company values also include 'integrity' and 'doing the right thing, however hard' and, just six months ago, CEO Bronek Masojada insisted: 'Paying claims is what we are here for.'

Theresa May's hairdressers facing disaster A family hairdressing business that has operated for more than 50 years faces bankruptcy if it does not receive its insurance payout. Three generations of the Giamattei clan run the Marc Antoni salon chain that now employs 60 staff and boasts former PM Theresa May as a customer. The company has been paying premiums to Hiscox via a broker for about a decade on each of their branches in Fleet, Henley on Thames, Woodley, Wokingham, Caversham and Bracknell. Three generations of the Giamattei clan run the Marc Antoni salon chain that now employs 60 staff and boasts former PM Theresa May as a customer Last year the total bill was 4,304, which included cover for closure caused by 'an occurrence of notifiable human disease'. But despite weeks of inquiries, they were told on April 17 that their claim had been rejected by the insurer, leaving them with a battle for survival. Director Julie Giamattei has had to take out a 300,000 loan to cover the rent costs of all of her salons, but with huge overheads it will still be a struggle to continue the business without the 500,000 payout they believe is due from the insurer. 'It's been awful, an absolute nightmare,' she says. 'We haven't stopped. There have been many sleepless nights for the whole family. 'The directors, all family, have put our houses up as personal guarantees on long leases and loans, and we could potentially lose our homes.' They were told by their broker that the claim had been rejected because they closed the salons on the Saturday, two days before Boris Johnson announced the lockdown. Julie says: 'We were trying to be responsible and stop the spread, like most other businesses were doing. 'You can't get any closer contact than being a hair stylist  but this is how they punish us for doing the right thing.' The company was started by her father-in-law Bruno Giamattei in 1966. His four sons and their children also work in the salons. Julie adds: 'We will keep fighting this battle for our staff and for all our wonderful customers.'

FTSE 100 giant RSA and Australia's QBE are among several other firms under fire.

Most business interruption policies only cover common hazards that can put a firm out of action, such as fire and flooding. But some specifically promise to cover disruption caused by infectious diseases.

Despite this, insurance companies are rejecting claims, in some cases arguing that Covid-19 is not covered because it is a new disease, or that the impact of the Government lockdown is not included in the policy.

Simon Ager, whose Northampton-based Pinnacle Climbing and Caving Centre faces huge challenges without the expected 100,000 insurance payout, has organised Hiscox Action Group which now has 500 members, most of whom have unpaid cover worth the same amount.

'Our insurer's trying to wriggle out of paying' The boss of a family-run IT firm warned that taxpayers would end up footing the bill for his insurers refusal to pay out. James Gulliver, managing director of family-run Netmatters in Wymondham, Norfolk, has been forced to furlough more of the 70 staff because of Hiscox's 'immoral' decision to refuse to pay the 100,000 he says they are due. He started the company with his brother Chris 12 years ago and has been paying Hiscox for business interruption and building insurance cover. James Gulliver (right) started Netmatters with his brother Chris (left) 12 years ago and has been paying Hiscox for business interruption and building insurance cover He says: 'We built up the business gradually and have always been very risk-adverse, taking out insurance to cover us if the worst did happen. 'Now I just think, why did we bother?' He said coronavirus is without question the worst thing his business has had to deal with. He adds: 'It's terrifying what has happened. But everyone else  customers, staff, suppliers and the Government  has tried to do their best in these troubled times. 'Our insurer is the only bad guy, trying to wriggle out of any liability. 'It's really not what you expect from a supposedly reputable insurer. 'Our No 1 goal is to keep all our staff in jobs, and we have got a plan in place to do this, but this has meant we had to furlough more staff at more expense to the taxpayer. 'The whole country is paying for this failure by the insurance company to pay up, not just the businesses directly impacted.' The company's policy stated Hiscox would pay out if the company was unable to use its premises due to outbreak of 'any human infectious or human contagious disease' of which the local authority had been notified. But when they requested the payout they were told that this cover would only apply when there was an incident within a one-mile radius of the insured premises which led to official measures that prevented entry. The insurer said an example would be where the police cordon off the area surrounding a riot or a hotel is evacuated by the police following a nearby gas leak or fire. 'The multitude of wide-ranging measures the Government is taking to contain the coronavirus pandemic are very different in nature,' a spokesman explains. James says: 'This makes no sense. It's there in black and white that we would be covered, but they are trying to say 'we didn't really mean that'. 'It's morally wrong. A lot of firms will probably go out of business because this was their lifeline. 'Many smaller companies could not survive without the hundred grand.'

The group is bringing a case against the insurer with law firm Mishcon de Reya. Mr Ager says tens of thousands of jobs are at risk among the companies in his group alone if the payouts do not start soon.

He adds: 'It seems the only people Hiscox is interested in serving is their shareholders. Brokers promoted the Hiscox policy because it has a wide range of cover  that's why we bought it.

'If insurers don't have to comply with basic contract law and can effectively change the policy when it suits, why should anyone ever buy insurance?'

The Financial Conduct Authority says it intends to present a judge with a sample of the most frequently used policy wordings from a range of different insurers which 'are giving rise to uncertainty'.

But Mr Ager says: 'Court action could drag on for months and by the time they get this resolved thousands of small business might have gone bust. It doesn't need a long court battle. Every lawyer we have shown this to has said we have a clear cut case.'

Simon Sloane, a lawyer with Fieldfisher who is acting on behalf of clients in dispute with Hiscox, RSA and QBE, says: 'This insurance would have been in their premium. It was part of the deal, so the insurance companies should now pay up.

Climbing centre facing cliff edge A climbing centre is facing a financial mountain to climb after being refused a 'vital' 100,000 insurance payment. Father-of-two Simon Ager says the Pinnacle Climbing Centre, which he runs with his wife Cee, currently has 'zero income but lots of costs' after being forced to shut during lockdown. Simon Ager says the Pinnacle Climbing Centre currently has 'zero income but lots of costs' after being forced to shut during lockdown He says: 'It's a small business but I've always tried to run it responsibly, which included buying good insurance to protect the company, our staff and the people we served.' He thought the Northampton-based company, which has ten full-time staff and 25 freelancers, would be covered because he had a policy including financial losses for businesses unable to trade following 'an occurrence of any human infectious or human contagious disease'. But despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak saying the Government's initial recommendation for people not to visit leisure businesses was enough to satisfy insurance claims, Hiscox rejected the claim. Simon says: 'The brokers promoted this policy because it has a wide range of cover.'

'But at the moment there is a blanket refusal by insurers because they always fight where they don't want to set a precedent. Even if they agree in the end, many businesses will have gone under by then.'

Most companies with this form of business interruption insurance would be entitled to 100,000, meaning that for 10,000 businesses the total owed would be 1 billion.

A Hiscox spokesman says: 'We understand these are incredibly difficult times for businesses and we are paying claims covered by the policies we issue fairly and quickly.

'We don't comment on individual claims but, as the Financial Conduct Authority has said, most UK small business policies across the industry do not cover pandemics. Along with the Association of British Insurers, we welcome the FCA's recent initiative to accelerate resolution of disputes.'

The boss making a mint Just six months ago he insisted: 'Paying claims is what we are here for.' Today, the multi-millionaire chief executive of one of the UK's oldest and most respected insurance companies is accused of abandoning thousands of long-serving customers at the time they need him the most. In the past two years alone, Bronek Masojada has earned more than 2.5 million running the 119-year-old Lloyd's-listed Hiscox. Oxford-educated Mr Masojada became chief executive of the company in 2000 and has overseen a remarkable success story. Last year it had gross premiums worth 3.2 billion and enjoyed pre-tax profits of around 153 million over the past two years. It employs more than 3,300 people in 14 countries. The firm's London offices are festooned in fine art, including a Damien Hirst skull by the boardroom and a Polly Morgan piece depicting a stuffed squirrel squeezed into a champagne glass. The company is officially based in the corporate tax haven of Bermuda. In the UK, South African-born Mr Masojada and his wife Jane live in a 1.5 million house in Woldingham, Surrey.

An FCA spokesman says: 'Our legal action . . . is the quickest route to clarity and by covering multiple policies and insurers, it will also be of most use across the market.'

An Association of British Insurers spokesman says: 'Unfortunately, no country in the world has an insurance market that is able to offer widespread pandemic cover.'

Policy wording versus reality:

Hiscox Covers: 'Your inability to use the insured premises due to restrictions imposed by a public authority during the period of insurance following... an occurrence of any human infectious or human contagious disease, an outbreak of which must be notified to the local authority.'

What it told claimants: 'The restrictions the Government has imposed are part of its national response to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic; they were not issued following or in response to 'an occurrence' at any specific location, placing them outside the scope of the policy.'

QBE Covers: 'Any human infectious or human contagious disease . . . an outbreak of which the local authority has stipulated shall be notified to them . . . within a 25-mile radius' [of the premises.]

What it told claimants: Cover only provided 'where loss is in consequence of the occurrence of Covid-19 at the relevant locations and not where losses are in consequence of . . . wide-scale government measures.'

RSA Covers: Loss as a result of closure or restrictions placed on the premises as a result of a notifiable human disease manifesting itself at the premises or within a radius of 25 miles.

What it told claimants: Requires evidence of losses due to a specific local outbreak that led directly to closure or restrictions.

The policy does not cover losses arising from a general reduction in the number of bookings or increased cancellations as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
Informant deals are supposed to offer people a way out of criminal charges, but in practice these deals often look more like coercion. On a recent episode of Hi-Phi Nation, Barry Lam spoke to Nick Taiber, former City Council member in Cedar Falls, Iowa, about becoming an undercover drug informant when he was a teenager, and to Luke Hunt, an FBI special agentturnedpolitical philosopher who argues that informant deals are exploitative and contrary to the rule of law. An excerpt of the episode, condensed and edited for clarity, is transcribed below.

Advertisement

Nick Taiber: The event happened on July 3. We were at a house party, and leaving the house party with another person, I was obviously intoxicated and got into an accident. I was driving and probably didnt get more than a half a mile away from the house and turned blindly into a tree. The license plate was OK, but the car was totaled. It was me and a female. At that time, seat belts werent worn all too frequently, so I was thrown into the steering wheel, and she was thrown into the dash, sadly. I was taken away in an ambulance, and I have no recollection of that.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Barry Lam: You must have had a concussion at least, right?

Advertisement

Taiber: Probably did. I can remember my head was wrapped. My knee was wrapped. I dont recall actually going home. I recall being home, waking up to my alarm clock to go into work the next day. I had opening responsibility for the sandwich shop. I think I probably rode my bike there because the car was totaled, of course. I was served probably the next day with the infraction, with notice to appear in courtit was an OWI, operating while under the influence, infraction.

So there was a meeting. I can recall it being in the basement of the old police station. You walk down the stairs, the door gets shutit was probably a witness room of some kind. It was cold, the chair was hard, and my hands were sweaty, and I was probably shaking, my teeth were chattering. I dont even remember if my attorney was present.

Advertisement

Advertisement

This is far from a free bargain.  Luke Hunt, former FBI special agent

Lam: So whos actually there?

Taiber: One of the local police officers, Ill say Officer G, as well as another agent of some kind. I dont know if that was a DEA agent or the county attorney.

Advertisement

Luke Hunt: We have informants. Some people want to work for law enforcement because they want to be a patriot. Some people think its cool because theyre like a spy in the movies. Whats most troubling to me is a very common scenario in which the police compel an informant to do certain operational acts because they have a tremendous amount of power and leverage over the person. Now, the classic example of that would be when police have evidence that a person has committed some kind of crime, and they say, Hey, look, were willing to consider giving you a break if youll do this thing for us.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Taiber: As it was presented to me, youre faced with jail time, youre faced with a serious fine, or you can work toward a deferred sentence where it never appears on your recordwhich was very important to me. Its an honor thing. But you have to do these activities, perform these tasks.

Hunt: In many cases you might say, Thats just a free bargain. Theres nothing wrong with that. Its a very libertarian approach. But in my view, this is far from a free bargain. This is a situation which would rise to what you would call in contract law an unconscionable contract.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Taiber: I was 17 years old, I was just in a pretty major accident, Im going to college. This was a pretty stressful time. And you wanted to take the path of least resistance. From what I recall, it was a split-second decision where either youre gonna go this way or that way through the justice system.

Advertisement

Hunt: When we think about valid consent, morally binding consent, in philosophy and certainly in law, we think you need to have a real choice in the matter. And in many of these cases with informants, heres what the choice looks like: You can either engage in this very risky, very dangerous operation on our behalfwhich, to be honest, could result in your death or serious injuryor you can spend a long time in prison. Thats basically the choice. So thats one concern procedurally. The other concern is just the lack of knowledge. You have someone who is untrained in many cases, and youre asking this person to engage in a dangerous act where there are all kinds of risks that they could have no awareness of. On the other hand, the police have this awareness, they have this knowledge, because theyve been trained that way. They know what its like to go on an undercover operation, they know that things can go wrong.

Advertisement

Advertisement

I was 17 years old, I was just in a pretty major accident, Im going to college.  You wanted to take the path of least resistance.  Nick Taiber, former teen informant

Taiber: Id never been in this kind of trouble before. Probably deserved it. But bear in mind, this is Waverly, Iowa. Its 10,000 people. At that time, in 1995, I can say that drugs or methamphetaminewhich is a common rural drug todaywasnt even that prevalent. In Waverly, kids just arent exposed to this.

Lam: The term confidential informant is a real misnomer for the pervasive practice of recruiting young men and women, often underage, to engage in undercover operations on behalf of the police in the drug war. Confidential informant sounds like police are recruiting foot soldiers in the drug trade who then provide information or testimony to bust someone, but thats not what it is at all. In all of the prominent cases that end up making the newspapers, theyre high school or college kids who are busted on something, usually drug possession, and then are threatened with long sentences unless they use their youth as a cover to infiltrate some kind of dealing ring known to the police. And if you think about it, that makes sense; law enforcement officers are older, a 17-year-old boy or girl doesnt look like a narc. And it happens with law enforcement at all levels, from school police to local police and federal agents. In Nick Taibers case, there wasnt even a drug dealing ring. The police wanted to target a local stoner.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Taiber: He was a veteran. The most peaceful, calm person. He was known as being a marijuana userI dont even know if there were other drugs involvedbut also very friendly in the community and probably shared this with other people that were interested in partaking. Very open-minded is the best way to describe the individual.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Lam: How much did you know him at the time?

Taiber: I only knew him by association of my older brother. He was probably 20 years my senior, had one or two interactions, but it was quite known that this was his housekind of a haven for intellectual thought, where people would maybe sit in a circle and talk about Thoreau, Jack Kerouac. Probably one of the smartest people in the community, obviously a philosopher.

Advertisement

Lam: In this cold room with Officer G, you were tasked with providing actionable evidence in the next two months?

Taiber: Essentially it had to be done in two months because I was going to college in Iowa City, two hours away, and they didnt have the plan or anything of that nature. I had to set it up, I had to go collect information.

Advertisement

Lam: Oh, wow. So they didnt have an operation in mindits like giving you police work.

Taiber: It was to find and discover actionable evidence. I do recall putting on a wire and creating a superficial meeting through acquaintances that knew this personnone of which could know, of course, what I was trying to do. I put all of those people in that situation. Thats when it became an awful violation of trustwhy are we targeting this peaceful person thats never harmed anyone in their lives as far as I could tell? This was the boogeyman in the minds of law enforcement. If we cant get the big criminal enterprise, by God were gonna go after anybody that we can so that we can get a score.

Advertisement

Lam: Luckily for Nick Taiber, the polices target in Waverly, Iowa, was not a danger to anyone. That doesnt make it better. When the target is not a threat, why are you forcing some kid to conduct covert operations on your behalf? And why would you need to do that if the target is a threat?

Advertisement

There have been a series of botched informant operations in the last 10 years that follow the pattern of Nick Taibers story, only with far worse results. Rachel Hoffman in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2008 was arrested on marijuana and ecstasy possession, and threatened with very serious charges. In exchange for leniency, she agreed on doing a $13,000 drug and gun deal in a sting operation set up by the police. The police lost track of her, and she was shot in the head by the dealers. Andrew Sadek in North Dakota had a similar story: He was threatened with 40 years, so instead he started buying drugs for police at North Dakota State College of Science. Andrew disappeared and was found in a river with a gunshot wound to the head and a backpack filled with rocks. Andrews parents think he was murdered. The police say it was a suicideAndrews way of trying to get out of his informant deal. His parents are still fighting the police in lawsuits to this day.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Hunt: I think if you look at the sort of harm, the risks, that youre subjecting a person to in this situation, it really amounts to what you might describe as a form of legal punishment. Because at the end of the day, its a way for the informant to work off their misdeed, their wrongdoing. My problem is that we get there through this vast discretion, which I think deviates from basic rule of law governance. And its also this kind of punishment thats really outside the normal judicial process.

Lam: Right, because if we think of the legal system as determining culpability, what weve put in place is something like: presumption of innocence, trial, evidence, sentencing where theres people testifying. What youre saying is that the police in their discretion are bypassing that entire system.

Hunt: Another way to put it, which may be a little bit unusual: People have a right to legitimate punishment. They have a right to punishment. But in a case like the use of an informant, youre sort of working off your crime, your punishment, in this off-the-books way, to mitigate your wrongdoing. Your right to being punished in a legitimate way is being denigrated.

To listen to the entire episode, click the player below or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
a technician on the sets of the TV serial "Hamari Bahu Silk", could be seen alleging non-payment of dues from the producers.

Sharing the video, Kriti urged the producers to clear the dues of daily wagers. Kriti mentioned that she knew about this "incident" because a friend of her was a part of the daily soap. The actress also appealed to the Cine and TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA) to look into the matter.

"This is just one incident that I know of because a friend of mine has worked in this daily soap: iHumari Bahu Silk'. But my heart breaks to see so many people suffering because they haven't received their payments! This is the time when the daily wage earners need their hard-earned money the most!!

"I request the concerned producers to pls pay everyone their dues!! They have worked very hard for this, and it's rightfully theirs! @cintaaofficial pls pls help them. It's a tough time we all are going throughi and I urge all employers in every field to please clear the pending payments of their employees," the actress wrote.

Meanwhile, Kriti has been trying to do some cooking during the ongoing lockdown. Earlier in the day, the actress shared a video of a Burmese dish, ikhow suey', prepared by her.

Text: IANS

Images: Kriti on Instagram
With more people staying at home during the coronavirus crisis, many consumers have decided now is the right time to get a new pet.

Being home makes it easier to house train a puppy and to make sure it learns the rules of your home.

But the Better Business Bureau (BBB) says it has seen an uptick of complaints from consumers who have found online offerings for pets that dont exist or are paid for but never shipped to the consumer.

There were more reports about fraudulent pet websites in April than there were in the first months weeks of the year, according to BBB Scam Tracker data.

The coronavirus pandemic has given scammers new opportunities to demand special fees or make excuses about why the pet could not be seen in person before would-be pet owners figure out they have been conned, BBB said.

Puppy scams are nothing new.

Theyre common around the holidays, another time when many families decide to get a pet.

These kinds of frauds were the subject of an investigative study by BBB in 2017, which also found a spike during the holidays.

Scammers often take advantage of current events to target victims in new ways, and this pandemic is no exception, said Claire Rosenzweig, President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York. It is a terrible thing for those who are staying home and seeking a pet companion to lose money and be heartbroken when they learn they are victims of a puppy scam.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Businesses that are open | Homepage

BBB said the actual numbers of fraud may be much higher than reported because many victims either choose not to file complaints or do not know where to turn for help.

Many recent victims who filed reports with BBBs Scam Tracker said they wanted to adopt a puppy in order to ease their isolation and brighten their lives during the pandemic, BBB said.

Among the complaints were that victims were told they needed to send money for special climate-controlled crates, insurance and a non-existent COVID-19 vaccine. Other times consumers said they wanted to pick up the pet but were rebuffed, with sellers saying it couldnt happen because of the coronavirus shutdown.

BBB offered tips to avoid puppy scams.

First, if you cant see the pet in person, do an internet search to see if the photo used by the seller appears elsewhere online. If the photos appear on multiple sites, you can guess it may be a fake. Use tools such as Googles reverse image search to compare the photos.

Dont pay for the pet using untraceable payment methods, such as wire transfer, gift cards or cash transfer apps.

Fraudsters may claim to accept credit cards, but they may steal your credit card information to use it in other scams or inform you that payment didnt go through and request the payment via wire service or gift cards, BBB said.

Then, be suspicious if the price for the pet is too good to be true. For example, if a supposedly pure bred dog is being sold for a discounted price, be wary.

If you think you have been scammed, report it Consumer Affairs, BBB Scam Tracker and the Federal Trade Commission.

You also can report it to petscams.com, which BBB said catalogs puppy scammers and tries to get fraudulent pet sales websites taken down.

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

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at bamboozled@njadvancemedia.com.
New Jersey officials warned Wednesday that thousands of scams have been reported involving phony coronavirus contact tracers seeking to get information from residents with Gov. Phil Murphy saying those criminals have a special place in hell.

Officials warned residents to never give personal information like Social Security numbers and bank information if they are contacted by somebody who claims to be a contact tracer. Tracers dont need that information.

The warning came as a rash of complaints were made of people receiving text messages saying they came in contact with someone who had COVID-19. The text messages ask people to follow links and then try and obtain private information, officials said.

The fraud that were seeing started actually all the way in April, said Jared Maples, the director of the states Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. He said fraud reports have come from all of New Jerseys 21 counties.

Contact tracers dont text people who they believe came in contact with someone with the virus and private information should never be given to them, officials said.

A legitimate contact tracing effort usually includes a call to educate people and tell them if they are at risk and what they should be on the lookout for, officials said.

Typically what would happen  is that well begin with a call usually, Dr. Christina Tan, the state epidemiologist, said during the states daily coronavirus briefing in Trenton. Then theres an opportunity for the contact tracer  to provide information of what exactly is COVID  and what are the cautions that you need to take.

Officials gave the scam warning after they announced New Jerseys death toll from COVID-19 climbed Wednesday to 10,747 with 150,399 total cases since the start of the outbreak. The latest update includes 168 new deaths and 1,670 new cases.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Officials announced earlier this month they are looking to hire 1,000 new contact tracers to supplement the 800 to 900 people who currently do the work throughout the state.

Murphy has said a beefed-up contact tracing force is needed to recover from the outbreak and lift restrictions. Health officials have said as many as 7,000 tracers could be needed.

Over the last few weeks, Murphy has gradually peeled back the restrictions he ordered in late March to fight the virus. He has allowed state and county parks to reopen with social-distancing restrictions, permitted nonessential retail businesses to offer curbside pickup, and said beaches, boardwalks, and lakes can be open this summer with guidelines.

He announced auto dealerships and bicycle shops will once again be allowed to conduct in-person sales starting Wednesday and said earlier this week he hopes restaurants could be able to serve diners outdoors and nonessential businesses could let shoppers in stores within a matter of weeks.

On Monday, the governor outlined a broader multi-stage reopening plan and said the state is currently in Stage 1. He didnt provide hard dates for when stages 2 (additional activities allowed, with restrictions) and 3 (most activities allowed, with restrictions) will happen. But he said Stage 2 could happen within weeks if the downward coronavirus trends continue.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Columbus, Ohio: Annie Glenn, wife of the late astronaut and US senator John Glenn who overcame a childhood stutter to become an advocate for others with speech disorders, has died of complications from COVID-19. She was 100.

She died on Tuesday at a nursing home near St Paul, Minnesota, where she had moved in recent years to be near her daughter, said Hank Wilson, a spokesman for the Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.

Astronaut and US senator John Glenn and his wife, Annie, in 2015. Credit:AP

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine also announced Glenn's death, the latest among centenarians succumbing rapidly to the new coronavirus.

John Glenn died in 2016 following an extraordinary career that included breaking the transcontinental speed record, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth and serving as a Democratic senator from Ohio. At the time of his death, he and Annie had been married 73 years.
Surf life saving clubs are stoked about the added security a massive funding boost will provide clubs in the Bay of Plenty.

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Poto Williams announced last week that the water safety sector will receive a $63m boost in funding as part of Budget 2020.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand are set to receive $60.5m over four years.

Eastern Region lifesaving manager Chase Calahane says the funding will contribute to the operational costs of running surf life saving clubs.

The thing that we are most excited about is the added element of security and sustainability for the organisation.

A number of clubs operate month to month and rely on sponsorships and grants, he says.

"This funding means that local clubs dont have to start freaking out about securing funding so they can pay the bills in two, three and four months. This funding will go towards paying the bills and running operations.

In a written statement, Poto says that demand for water safety services has been growing with patrol hours extended and more calls for help to coastguard services.

Demand for water safety services has been growing with patrol hours extended and more calls for help to coastguard services.

Thats why we want to make sure these agencies can focus their energy and skills on reducing the drowning toll, rather than having to shore up their own short-term survival."

She says it will also help them with necessary equipment, facilities, and maintenance, as well as addressing the key challenges of service delivery, recruitment and retention of volunteers.

Chase says the government funding will provide "a good level of security" against unsecured funding.

But he reiterates that the Eastern region surf life saving clubs will still require a huge amount of support from the community as they continue to grow.

"We still need sponsorship, we still need funders to help us keep operating at the level we are.

We need continued community support to continue to grow. This funding just takes some of the stress off," Chase says.

Papamoa Surf Live Saving chairperson Angela Hayden says she was "leaping for joy and clapping" when the funding was announced.

"Its going to make a massive difference to us, and it will take a lot of pressure off us with regards to fundraising for operations."

Angela hopes the funding will enable the club to purchase a second ATV, something they desperately need before the summer patrols.

"One of our ATVs effectively died on us midway through this last season and we were very grateful that the Eastern Region office allowed us to use their one spare ATV, enabling us to complete our patrolling season.

She says so far they have raised $15,000 for a new ATV, but are still short by $10,000.

Unfortunately all the community funders have stopped taking applications so we dont expect to be able to apply for further grants until closer to August. Thats really pushing it for us as there is no guarantee well get the funding and our next season starts in October."

The funding announcement was a sign that the Government wants to invest in the valuable services that surf life savers provide, she says.

We are looking forward to roll out and having the operational resources available so our lifeguards can continue the great work they do for our local community.
A Kentucky pastor, joined by at least 50 other churches for an online petition, urges religious leaders across the nation to "step up and roar" for the right for worship amid coronavirus restrictions over churches.

Brian Gibson, pastor of His Church, a megachurch with locations in Owensboro, Ky., and Amarillo, Texas, told "Fox & Friends" Sunday that every day a church closed a bit of liberty dies.

"We need people to stand up and roar. There is a time to be quiet, a time to be the lamb, but today is the day to be the lion," Gibson told host Pete Hegseth.

The pastor of megachurch asked other faith leaders and pastors to sign an online petition to reopen churches responsibly using guidelines from the CDC, Fox News reported.

"I believe momentum is starting right now," the pastor continued. "Restrictions eased up on everyone around us but we couldn't do business as normal as the church."

Gibson pointed out that it is unreasonable that some churches were forced to stay closed while the businesses could reopen.

"We're looking across the road at fast-food places handing out french fries. Liquor stores are serving patrons -- but the church is the bad guy. It is time for us to stand up for our First Amendment rights," the pastor emphasized. "We have religious freedom in this nation. We'll not lay that down on our watch."

"We have a right to peaceably assemble," Gibson argued. "We want to be smart, be safe, be caring. We have all sorts of precautions put together... extra sterilization. We're taking care of everything, but we want to know our religious freedom isn't going to die with us.
Cancun man arrested for sexual crimes against a minor

Cancun, Q.R.  The Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo reports the arrest of a Cancun man for the crime of rape of a minor. The FGE reports that Octavio G was taken into custody on Paseo Petunia Avenue in SM 248 and transferred to the Cancun Social Reintegration Center.

According to police investigations, the events attributed to the accused occurred in a house in the Villas del Mar subdivision where the now detained is believed to have committed the crime on different dates, taking advantage of the familys close proximity to the victims environment.

Octavio G was arrested after the family filed an official complaint with prosecutors specialized in sexual crimes. After the judge issued an arrest warrant, police began the necessary steps to find the whereabouts of the aggressor and apprehend him.
(Natural News) To help efforts to screen for symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, a Chinese startup has developed augmented reality glasses that lets wearers see a persons temperature. Developed by a company called Rokid, the T1 smart glasses use a frame-mounted thermal camera to measure peoples temperatures from a distance, even while theyre moving.

Apart from fixed temperature measurement, T1 can provide portable, distant and prompt temperature checking, which would be a great help, Rokid vice president Xiang Wenjie said.

Xiang claims that the company developed its T1 glasses in only two weeks. He says that the company has already sold about 1,000 pairs of glasses to governments, industrial parks and schools.

Augmented reality to show peoples temperatures

Augmented reality technology uses special glasses to allow information to be overlayed over what a person sees, providing them with more data on what theyre looking at. In the case of Rokids T1, the glasses use an infrared sensor on a 12-megapixel camera that the company claims can detect the temperatures of up to 200 people within two minutes, from as far as three meters away.

Computing power for the glasses comes from a Qualcomm CPU, which also allows it to offer other features such as hands-free voice controls as well as the live recording of photos and video.

The Chinese startup plans business-to-business (B2B) sales of the wearable device in America, saying that the T1 can assist businesses, hospitals and law enforcement with COVID-19 detection. It claims that it is already working on deals with several U.S. hospitals and local municipalities to deliver shipments of the T1 thermal imaging wearables. However, they couldnt name any due to confidentiality agreements.

One company that is looking into Rokids glasses is California based online grocer Weee! The e-commerce company confirmed to TechCrunch that it is evaluating the T1 glasses to monitor the temperatures of its warehouse employees throughout the day.

As for procedures to manage those who the glasses detect as having COVID-19 related symptoms  such as referring them for testing  Rokids U.S. director Liang Guan says that this is something for their clients to determine on their own.

The clients can do the follow-up action, such as giving them a mask or asking to work from home, said Guan.

The T1 glasses can connect to computers via USB and can also be set up for internet of things (IoT) capabilities, allowing commercial clients to connect them to their own platforms.

Privacy concerns with smart glasses

As novel as the idea of smart glasses that measure peoples temperatures may be, the device could catch the attention of U.S. regulators, who have become much warier of Chinese tech firms handling of American citizens data.

For its part, Rokid claims that it doesnt collect data from the glasses directly.

Regarding this modulewe do not take any data to the cloud. For customers, privacy is very important to them. The data measurement is stored locally, explained Guan.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), temperature checks are counted as medical exams, something that employers normally cannot mandate their employees to undergo. With the COVID-19 outbreak now classified as a pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance allowing employers to ask their employees to have their temperatures checked. However, employees temperature data is still covered by the ADAs confidentiality requirements. (Related. The coronavirus outbreak is sparking the rollout of more digital surveillance.)

Should U.S. companies come to adopt Rokids T1 smart glasses, theyll need to make sure that they adhere to these rules, and that the glasses and whatever systems they connect to them, protect the data that they harvest.

Sources include:

Mirror.co.uk

TechCrunch.com 1

TechCrunch.com 2

EEOC.gov
Around 3,500 North Delhi Municipal Corporation teachers  who are currently engaged by the Delhi government in dry ration/food distribution duty, quarantine centres and for survey work  have launched a protest against non-payment of salaries..

The symbolic protest, in which the teachers are wearing black bands and black outfits, was launched on May 16 and is against non-payment of salaries for the past two months , March and April. The north corporation, in total, employs 7,500 teachers, and their total salary bill comes to Rs 64 crore per month, officials said.

The north bodys standing committee chairperson, Jai Prakash, said, We pay our teachers, sanitation workers, doctors, nurses, domestic mosquito breeding checkers (DBCs) and other staff from the money that comes from the Delhi Government under the Plan Head annually. Last financial year (2019-20), we got 1,850 crore for the year under this head, and 568 crore of it was paid to us in the first quarter (April).

This year, however, we have got only  222 crore, which is Rs. 346 crore less. We are struggling and have already written in this regard to the chief Minister and held a meeting with Lieutenant Governor, Anil Baijal, on this issue. But we have not got any response from the Delhi government so far, he said.

Ira Singhal, the north body spokesperson, said, We cannot pay these people from our own funds because our internal sources of revenue  house tax, parking, advertisement, toll tax, community hall bookings  have all dried up because of the lockdown.

The Delhi government refused to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, teachers said that they have been suffering for no fault of their own.

I have been working in north municipality schools since 1998. We never faced a problem of delayed salaries before. But for the past six years now, we teachers are getting paid only once in three months said Kiran Sardana, who teaches in a north municipality school in Kishan Vihar.

Before COVID, we would at least borrow money from lenders, shopkeepers, etc., but now, due to lockdown, no one is willing to oblige. I have EMIs to pay on a flat I purchased. Plus, there are elderly parents at home with health problems and medical bills, and children, whose school fee need to be paid, said Balwan Singh, another north corporation teacher.

The municipality teachers union said that they are currently engaged on COVID pandemic duties under the Disaster Management Act, and thereby cannot hold dharna (demonstration) or stop work, which, otherwise, makes them liable to arrest and legal action.

Therefore, we are only showing our disappointment and anguish wearing these black bands. However, we are constantly writing to the Delhi Government, Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Home Affairs and Finance through Twitter and e-mails. While we are sincerely discharging all our duties, including teaching at this time, the authorities must understand that we also have families, said Ramnivas Solanki, General Secretary of the municipal teachers association.
PSU major Oil India Ltd (OIL) on Wednesday claimed it will drill seven wells inside the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park from about 1.5 km distance outside the boundary of the forest with the help of advanced technology.

After the company published an advertisement in a leading newspaper on Tuesday about the development, netizens protested on social media and demanded protection of the National Park.

"This is a state of the art technology, where drilling will take place around at an average more than 1.5 kilometres outside the demarcated area of the national park where OIL already is carrying out hydrocarbon exploration since last 15 years (Baghjan area)," OIL said in a statement.

The company will be able to accomplish this task of exploring hydrocarbon reserves under the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park by use of the Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) technology, it added.

"ERD techniques are extensively used to intersect hydrocarbon targets far from the surface or areas of the reservoir which otherwise are difficult to access. By using this technology, wells can be drilled up to a depth of approximately four km from the existing well plinth without entering the protected area.

"Through ERD technology, OIL will reach the target depth of around 3.5 km beneath the surface of the National Park without carrying out any drilling activity inside the National Park," the statement said.

OIL asserted that no disturbance to the and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park is envisaged due to use of ERD technology.

The company informed that in order to tap the hydrocarbon resources underneath the Park, it had approached statutory bodies for obtaining necessary permissions in 2016 on the basis of the ERD technology.

"OIL went through an elaborate process for obtaining the necessary approvals from statutory bodies like MoEF&CC after fulfilling the stringent guidelines and adhering to various compliances and establishing the fact that OIL will not enter the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park area," it added.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) accorded environmental clearance for extension drilling and testing of hydrocarbons at seven locations under Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, north west of Baghjan in Tinsukia district. This development as per statutory requirement was published as a newspaper advertisement for information of all stakeholders concerned, the company said.

"It has been observed that post publication of the advertisement, certain section of the stakeholders have expressed their concern assuming that OIL will be operating inside the National Park...they can be reassured that OIL's operations will have no impact on the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park area," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Soaring unemployment has left more than 1 million Texans without health insurance, leaving many with the difficult choice of buying expensive private plans that eat up savings or going without as they look for jobs, putting off preventive care and hoping that nothing catastrophic occurs.

An estimated 1.6 million Texans lost employer-sponsored health insurance following record layoffs this spring, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a San Francisco-based health policy think tank. More than 2 million Texans have filed for unemployment since the middle of March.

The massive job losses will only add to what is already the biggest pool of uninsured in the nation, health care experts said. More than 5 million people, or 17.7 percent of the states population, lacked health insurance in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

When the jobs go away, the insurance goes away, said Elena Marks, president of the Episcopal Health Foundation, a nonprofit health policy advocacy group in Houston.

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that 25 percent of laid-off workers losing employer-based health insurance in Texas, or about 410,000 people, will be unable to qualify for Medicaid, the government health insurance program for the poor, or subsidies to buy plans through the Affordable Care Act.

Health care advocates say these workers are almost certain to try to get by without health insurance while hoping they dont need it. That could lead people to forego early treatment for illnesses, which could ultimately mean higher health care costs if they end up paying a visit to emergency rooms.

Advocates say one way to address the surge in the uninsured is to expand eligibility for Medicaid, which in Texas is limited to indigent people who are not 18 or under, pregnant or disabled to enroll. Texas is one of 14 states that has not adopted a waiver to allow people to qualify on income alone, even though the federal government would cover about 90 percent of the costs.

Despite repeated calls to expand the program even temporarily to allow more Texans to enroll, especially in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, state lawmakers and Gov. Greg Abbott have balked at loosening requirements, saying the system is too broken to expand.

LOST INSURANCE?: Heres how to pick health insurance if youve lost job benefits

Prior to the pandemic, a Medicaid expansion would have made up to 1.6 million Texans eligible for coverage  the same number of people now thought to have lost insurance.

With no Medicaid expansion, some of our newly-unemployed adults will not be able to get coverage anywhere, said Anne Dunkelberg, a health policy expert at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin think tank.

But unless businesses begin hiring workers, a substantial part of the uninsured population may remain without health care coverage, experts said. Federal data shows that approximately 82 percent of Texans working in the private sector are eligible for health insurance benefits, and 61 percent were enrolled as of 2018.

The uninsured (rate) wont go back down until people have jobs again, Dunkelberg said. Its tied to the recovery of the economy, not the status of the COVID-19 pandemic per se.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

twitter.com/gwendolynawu
The Minsk process has slowed over the coronavirus epidemic.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has unveiled the existence of Plan B and Plan C on Donbas, but the Minsk agreements remain a priority.

"I'm giving myself a few more months to resolve this, so that we find this diplomatic way out of the situation under the Minsk agreements," he said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoUkraine's envoy calling meeting over "LPR" statement on combat readiness  Zelensky

"I would not like to go to either Plan B or Plan C, although they exist. But it may happen the first plan fails," he said.

"As for 'Minsk' and this track, we will fight for it to the end, because sanctions against the Russian Federation are connected with the Minsk agreements. And you know everyone wants to lift them  not only Russia, but also many European countries. I know their economies are also suffering over these sanctions. But, as I said, we will fight for them for a year," he said.

According to Zelensky, the Minsk process has slowed over the coronavirus epidemic.
Extremely severe cyclone 'Amphan' hurtled towards Indian shores on Wednesday, triggering downpour in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, uprooting trees, flattening fragile dwellings and forcing evacuation of over four lakh people, officials said.

Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, has left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its destructive path over the Bay of Bengal.

More than 1.25 lakh people have so far been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas of Odisha and the exercise is still under way in some places like Balasore, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said in Bhubaneswar. More than three lakh people were removed to safer places in West Bengal.

Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

Though the storm lay about 120 km east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, 125 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and nearly 220 km south of Kolkata, its effects are already in evidence in the two states.

'Amphan' is likely to make a landfall somewhere between Digha and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh close to the Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, between afternoon and evening of Wednesday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The intensity near the centre of the storm was 170 kmph to 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph, the weatherman said, adding gale-force winds of 110-120 kmph will slam Kolkata when the cyclone passes over it later in the day, before weakening further into a cyclonic storm over Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal.

It will turn into a deep depression while advancing to Bangladesh and dissipate further.

The NDRF, the federal disaster response force, has deployed a total of 41 teams, including reserves, in the two states for relief and rescue operations. Each team consists of 45 personnel. The disaster response force of the two states, besides fire and police personnel have also been deployed.

A team of Indian Navy divers has been stationed at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district with specialised equipment and can be rushed for rescue missions as and when required, a defence spokesman said.

Streets in Kolkata were mostly deserted and the local authority has advised that markets, which had opened following relaxations in the lockdown regulations on Monday, should remain shut.

The West Bengal capital has been alternately experiencing drizzle and downpour since early Wednesday morning.

The cyclone, officials fear, will cause large-scale damage to crops and plantations, and disrupt electricity and communication lines.

The Eastern Railway (ER) has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express train scheduled for Wednesday. The New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on Thursday has also been cacelled, railway officials said.

A Bhubaneswar report said the cyclonic system is being continuously monitored with the help of Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Vishakhapatnam, Paradip and Gopalpur.

Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha P K Jena said reports of trees getting uprooted and huts being damaged and blown away have been received from several districts.

The impact of the cyclonic storm will be experienced in the state till late afternoon in parts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts.

'Amphan' has visited the state a year after cyclone Fani barrelled through vast parts of Odisha on May 3, claiming at least 64 lives and destroying vital infrastructure.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW YORK and PASADENA, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Atria Wealth Solutions, Inc. (Atria), a multi-channel wealth management solutions holding company, today announced that it successfully closed the acquisition of Western International Securities, Inc. (WIS). With the close of the WIS acquisition, Atria now serves nearly 2,500 advisors with approximately $75 billion of assets under administration (AUA) across five broker-dealers. The addition of WIS provides independent advisors increased optionality in how they manage their businesses with an expanded set of solutions needed to best serve their clients. WIS, an independent broker-dealer based in Pasadena, CA, brings over 400 independent financial advisors with $11 billion of AUA to Atria.

"The acquisition of WIS is another step forward for our firm, our clients and the financial industry at large. The intensely rapid and evolving wealth management landscape is forcing firms to rethink their value proposition and offer greater expertise and choice to their clients," said Doug Ketterer, CEO and founding partner of Atria. "Combining WIS' unique affiliation models and strategic partnerships with Atria's resources, technology and content creates more choice and an unparalleled experience for all current and future advisors. We are very excited to welcome all of the advisors and employees of WIS and look forward to our bright future together."

The strategic acquisition of WIS expands the set of affiliation models available to independent advisors to now include a turnkey branch solution. For advisors seeking a seamless transition to independence, the turnkey solution alleviates the burdens associated with procuring office space, choosing critical infrastructure, integrating technology and hiring staff. In addition, WIS' clearing partnerships add another flexible component to Atria's solution set for advisors who are looking to affiliate with a technologically innovative and multi-custodial partner.

"We are excited to be working with a group of such exceptional wealth management innovators," said Don Bizub, CEO of WIS, who is now a part of Atria's executive leadership team. "Their commitment and focus on elevating the advisor and end-client experience with unique solutions in the wealth management industry completely aligns with our vision and better positions us to serve advisors."

Atria provides an extensive suite of solutions and tools that are tailored and personalized to meet the needs of financial advisors and financial institutions so they can best serve their clients and build their practices and programs. Atria's new advisor platform, Unio, which includes critical features like business texting, CRM, business analytics, streamlined account opening, fee-based solutions, personalized dashboards and a client facing portal, Clear1, will be extended to WIS advisors.

WIS is the fifth broker-dealer acquired by Atria since 2017. Atria serves the investment programs of credit unions and banks through its subsidiaries, CUSO Financial Services, L.P. and Sorrento Pacific Financial, LLC, and independent advisors through its subsidiaries, Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., NEXT Financial Group, Inc. and Western International Securities, Inc.

SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as exclusive financial advisor to Atria. Broadhaven Capital Partners, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to WIS.

For more information, please visit www.atriawealth.com .

About Atria Wealth Solutions, Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions, Inc. (Atria) is a wealth management solutions holding company focused on delivering a clear path to the future of financial advice for financial advisors, financial institutions and their clients. Headquartered in New York City, Atria's broker-dealer subsidiaries empower financial institutions and independent advisors with a sophisticated set of tools, services, and capabilities that drive growth. Atria's broker-dealer subsidiaries include CUSO Financial Services, L.P., Sorrento Pacific Financial, LLC, Cadaret Grant & Co., Inc., NEXT Financial Group, Inc., and Western International Securities, Inc. Atria's subsidiaries together support nearly 2,500 financial advisors with more than $75 billion of assets under administration. For more information, please visit www.atriawealth.com .

About Western International Securities, Inc.

Established in 1995, Western International Securities, Inc. is an independent broker-dealer serving over 400 independent financial advisors. The firm supports financial advisors by delivering comprehensive securities and investment advisory services to their clients. Western International Securities is headquartered in Pasadena, CA, and maintains offices nationwide. For more information about Western International Securities, Inc., please visit www.wisdirect.com .

SOURCE Atria Wealth Solutions, Inc.
The head of food retailer and SuperValu owner Musgrave said the Government must protect Ireland's SME sector and invest in the country's capital infrastructure as the economy emerges from the impact of Covid-19.

Noel Keeley the CEO of the food retailer and wholesaler which operate 1,400 stores including the Centra, MarketPlace and La Rousse Foods, also said the people of Ireland needed to come together to reboot the economy in the same way as we came together to combat the threat of the virus.

He was speaking at the monthly Cork Chamber Business Breakfast Live event which was hosted online.

Mr Keeley spoke about the Musgrave Group's response to the challenge of the pandemic and paid tribute to the staff working in stores and supermarkets across the country.

As the economy starts to reopen on a phased basis, he said the Government needed to focus on capital spending and the SME sector in particular.

"The government need to look at spending their out of this recession, not in an irresponsible way, and making sure that we begin to put money towards the capital development and infrastructure," he said.

"But probably the most important sector is the SME sector. We sometimes forget that the vast majority of the working population works for SMEs.

"The Government really needs to make sure that the SMEs are supported and ultimately are in a position to return to trade, whether that is in the hospitality industry or in services."

They have got to be supported or we will have very significant problems on our hand.

Following an initial surge in panic buying when Government restrictions first came into effect Mr Keeley said they overcame the issue and they never reached a point where there was concern about food availability.

He said the pandemic has also changed the types of products being purchased and the way people shop.

"Sales are up but footfall is down. So when people are going to a store they are buying much more. The transaction size has gone up significantly," he said.

"They are also buying different things. The push into the store has been into ambient groceries, personal care, cleaning products and away from things like food-to-go and deli products.

"As a consequence of that, a lot of people think that the grocery sector is in a purple patch but most grocery if not all are experiencing the same thing. Increased volumes of sale but at a much lower margin."

Despite the difficulties facing the economy, Mr Keeley said he was confident we will emerge from the crisis in a stronger position.He said the spirit and discipline the country showed by curtailing their freedoms in recent weeks should be harnessed again to reboot the economy.

"We need to come together as a people and say we are going to support local, we are going stay at home for holidays we are going to go out to restaurants when they open and get our economy up and running again because the reality is that we all live off each other."

"In the same way that we called Ireland to beat coronavirus we need to call Ireland to reboot our economy."
Originally constructed in 1925, The Hebrew Home served as a nursing home until 1968, when it was purchased by the District of Columbia and converted into a community health center. Following a decade-long period of vacancy from 2009 to present, the adaptive re-use project will convert the building into new affordable apartment units. The restoration will include energy-efficient upgrades and is designed to achieve a LEED certification upon completion, which is scheduled for the summer of 2020.

Led by Rob Rotach, Senior Director in the FHA Finance group, Walker & Dunlop structured the financing with a combination of funding sources. The team worked to coordinate capital from nine percent and four percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity, loan proceeds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) 231 loan program, as well as cash-collateralized tax-exempt bond proceeds and subordinate debt from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development. The financing terms included a 40-year, fully amortizing, fixed rate loan for the property co-developers, Victory Housing, Brinshore Development, and Banc of America CDC.

"This transformative redevelopment is a unique opportunity for Victory to build on our mission while putting a great community asset back to use for affordable housing," said Leila Finucane, President of Victory Housing. "We greatly appreciate the work of all our partners and the input of the community in making this possible."

Mr. Rotach remarked, "This was a complex financing with a lot of moving parts. We were fortunate to be working with such dedicated and experienced partners in Victory Housing, Brinshore, and Banc of America CDC." He added, "Twinning nine percent and four percent LIHTCs has been an increasingly popular deal structure that maximizes the limited resources available to make these types of projects a reality. During these tumultuous times, the New York and Chicago HUD offices came together to work with Walker & Dunlop on this transaction. Both were instrumental in our success and we are grateful for their efforts."

Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest multifamily lenders in the country and is the top non-bank affordable lenders in the United States.1 In 2019 alone, Walker & Dunlop closed over $1.3 billion in transaction volume for affordable properties. For more information about Walker & Dunlop's activity in the affordable housing space, read the following press releases:

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate finance companies in the United States. The company provides a comprehensive range of capital solutions for all commercial real estate asset classes, as well as investment sales brokerage services to owners of multifamily properties. Walker & Dunlop is included on the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and was ranked as one of FORTUNE Magazine's Fastest Growing Companies in 2014, 2017, and 2018. Walker & Dunlop's 850+ professionals in 40 offices across the nation have an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

About Victory Housing

Victory Housing, Inc. is a nonprofit housing development arm of the Archdiocese of Washington with a mission to sustainably and compassionately provide affordable housing and related social services primarily to low- and moderate-income senior citizens and families, without discrimination. Victory Housing has developed 31 properties comprising 2280 units.

1 Mortgage Bankers Association's 2019 Commercial/Multifamily Origination Rankings

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.
Luxury SUV Market 2020-2024 | Preference for Safety and Comfort to Boost Growth | Technavio

LONDON--Technavio has been monitoring the luxury SUV market and it is poised to grow by 1.59 million units during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 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.

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. BMW AG, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Tesla Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen AG, and Volvo Car Corp. are some of the major market participants. The preference for safety and comfort 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.

Preference for safety and comfort has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Luxury SUV Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Luxury SUV Market is segmented as below:

Type Mid-size Luxury SUVs Full-size Luxury SUVs

Geography North America APAC 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=IRTNTR43718

Luxury SUV 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 luxury SUV market report covers the following areas:

Luxury SUV Market size

Luxury SUV Market trends

Luxury SUV Market industry analysis

This study identifies rising production rate of electric luxury SUV models as one of the prime reasons driving the luxury SUV market growth during the next few years.

Luxury SUV Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the luxury SUV market, including some of the vendors such as BMW AG, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Tesla Inc., Toyota Motor Corporation, Volkswagen AG, and Volvo Car Corp. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the luxury SUV 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

Luxury SUV Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist luxury SUV market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the luxury SUV market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the luxury SUV market

Analysis of the markets competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of luxury SUV 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

Mid-size luxury SUVs - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Full-size luxury SUVs - 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

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

Volume drivers  Demand led growth

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

BMW AG

Daimler AG

Ford Motor Co.

General Motors Co.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.

Tata Motors Ltd.

Tesla Inc.

Toyota Motor Corporation

Volkswagen AG

Volvo Car Corp.

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.
By Trend





Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns.

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.
IndiGo, which has been roped in to fly stranded passengers from India to Vietnam, operated two special flights today (Wednesday).

The flight 6E9103 from Bengaluru and Pune to Delhi transferred total 103 passengers while the flight 6E9102 from Gaya-Delhi transferred 99 passengers to Delhi, for their return flight to Vietnam. The charter flight was initiated by the Vietnam Embassy. After the passengers reached Delhi that Vietnam embassy arranged for a chartered flight to Vietnam. Indigo operated the two domestic flights. The third was by a Vietnamese charter operator.

The operations helped evacuate 99 Vietnamese citizens from Gaya, 23 from Bengaluru, and 80 from Pune, to Delhi. It was from the country capital, where they were flown to Vietnam. The flights also transported about 900kgs of Cargo.

Ronojoy Dutta, chief executive officer, IndiGo said, Our flights aided in the transfer of 202 Vietnamese citizens from Bangalore, Pune and Gaya to Delhi to board their return flight to Vietnam. We would like to extend our gratitude to the government for allowing IndiGo to operate these repatriation flights, which contributed to the safe return of stranded Vietnam Nationals to their homes. We will continue to contribute to the country in every way possible in these trying times.

This is the second time that the low-cost carrier operated repatriation flights during this pandemic. Many of the repatriation flights are being operated by the national carrier Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express.

Earlier on May 8, IndiGo flew two special flights for Kenyan nationals in India. The-Delhi Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight transferred 114 passengers while the Chennai-Bangalore- Hyderabad-Mumbai operation transferred 83 passengers. After being shifted to Mumbai, all of them were flown to Nairobi.
It may well be the case that the U.S. shale sector has cut over US$50 billion from its planned spending this year, the number of operating rigs has fallen by 40 per cent in the past four weeks, and output has fallen by nearly one million barrels per day (bpd) over the same period. It is equally true, though, that what all these reports overlook is that the shale oil (and gas) sector is too important from a geopolitical and economic perspective to the world standing of the U.S. for it to be allowed to fail, and all other considerations are secondary. In reality, the U.S. shale sector is set to emerge stronger, and earlier, than the vast majority of people think.

Ever since the 1973 Oil Crisis - when Saudi Arabia pressured OPEC members plus Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia to embargo oil exports to the U.S. (and the U.K., Japan, Canada, and the Netherlands) in response to the U.S.s supplying of arms to Israel in the Yom Kippur War  the U.S. had been itching for a way to end its energy dependence on other countries. Up to that point in October 1973, the U.S. had largely believed that the Saudis could be trusted to adhere to the multi-generational deal that U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Saudi King at the time, Abdulaziz, had struck in 1945, as analysed in depth in my new book on the global oil market. Specifically, this deal made in the Great Bitter Lake segment of the Suez Canal was that the U.S. would receive all of the oil supplies it needed for as long as Saudi Arabia had oil in place, in return for which the U.S. would guarantee the security of the ruling House of Saud. By the end of the Saudi-supported embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen from US$3 per barrel to nearly US$12 per barrel and, as the Saudi Minister of Oil and Mineral Reserves at the time, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani (widely credited with formulating the embargo strategy) unequivocally highlighted at that point: the extremely negative effects on the global economy marked a fundamental shift in the world balance of power between the emerging nations that produced oil and the developed nations that consumed it. Related: Are Oil Prices Rising Too High Too Soon?

When the U.S. shale industry began in earnest in 2006 with natural gas, and in 2010 with crude oil, it offered the U.S. the long-awaited opportunity to finally shrug off any shackles to Saudi that remained by dint of the Kingdoms petro-power. Within a relatively short time, the U.S. had become the number one oil producer in the world, pushing Saudi frequently into third place behind Russia, and producing an average of around 13 million bpd, with around 60-70 per cent of that coming from the shale sector. In short, it meant that the U.S. did not have to put up with any nonsense from the Saudis anymore, or from anyone else for that matter, with a new-found ability to sanction major oil producing nations that fell foul of it for one reason or another  most notably including Iran, Venezuela, and Russia  without fear of the repercussions for its own energy security.

Given this massive geopolitical reason alone, it should be blatantly obvious to anyone that the U.S. will never capitulate on its shale-centric power, or even allow it to be materially damaged. Even more immediate domestic political reasons militate into shale continuing to function as it was before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) ignored recent historical precedent and launched the second oil price war against the U.S. shale sector in less than a decade, with the disastrous fallout for it that has resulted. Senior U.S. politicians believe that if the Saudis are ever able to meaningfully reduce the U.S.s oil output (which has effectively made it the new global swing producer, instead of Saudi Arabia), then longer-term not only would the U.S. have to toe the Saudi line on whatever hare-brained schemes MbS might dream up but also it would allow Saudi Arabia over time to manipulate prices back up to levels that would allow it to avoid the imminent bankruptcy that it faces. At the moment, Saudis official budget breakeven price per barrel of Brent is US$84 (although after the latest oil price war it is in reality nearer US$100).

The threat of this power, and the resultant oil price levels, is intolerable to U.S. politicians, and particularly those right now whose power is up for grabs in an election year. In this context, any sustained Brent price above US$70 per barrel is regarded by the current Presidential Administration as being in a pricing area where the benefits to U.S. shale producers of higher prices are outweighed by the relative damage done to the U.S. economy. More specifically, it is estimated that every US$10 per barrel change in the price of crude oil results in a 25-30 cent change in the price of a gallon of gasoline, and for every 1 cent that the average price per gallon of gasoline rises, more than US$1 billion per year in consumer spending is lost. As Bob McNally, the former energy adviser to the former President George W. Bush put it: Few things terrify an American president more than a spike in fuel [gasoline] prices. Related: Saudi Arabia And Kuwait Halt Production At Giant Joint Oil Field

At least as bad for a sitting president is the effect of rising gasoline prices on an already ailing U.S. economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to U.S. NBER statistics, since World War I, the sitting U.S. president has won re-election 11 times out of 11 if the U.S. economy was not in recession within 24 months ahead of an election but presidents who went into a re-election campaign with the economy in recession won only once out of seven times (Calvin Coolidge in 1924). As it stands, according to the American Petroleum Institute, the oil sector also accounts for 10 per cent of U.S. gross domestic product, although this has to be put in context of it being a lobby group for oil companies.

As it stands, the U.S. shale sector benefits in its trajectory of recovery from the after-effects of the previous (2014-2016) oil price war launched against it by the Saudis. Prior to that, it was the consensus that the breakeven price for U.S. shale producers was around US$70 per barrel but this was reduced by around half or even more in some cases, Andrew Dittmar, a Houston-based senior M&A analyst for Enverus exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. They did so mainly through the advancement of technology that enabled them to drill longer laterals, manage the fracking stages closer and maintain the fracks with higher, finer, sand to allow for increased recovery for the wells drilled, in conjunction with faster drill times, and these improvements remain in place, he said. They gained further cost benefits from multi-pad drilling and well spacing theory and practice, and for some time the only factor holding back further improvements in output and pricing were infrastructure constrains but even these have now improved, so they are in a much better position to bounce back now than they were after the 2014-2016 war, he added.

So quickly, in fact, that from a standing start right now some of the best operations can be back online in as little as a week, although the refinery-related lead time is slightly longer. Typically, you buy the majority of your crude supplies 30-45 days out so what will happen is refineries will start to increase their run rates and will start buying, then buyers show up to start buying the crude from the producers and then the producers turn it back on  so there will be some advanced warning but it will be very dependent on refinery runs, Bernadette Johnson, Enverus Denver-based vice president of strategic analytics exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. There are some risks associated with a shut-in, of course  such as water encroachment in the reservoir, and well bore or surface facility damage, everything we leave in the well will be subject to rusting, corrosion, and deterioration  and these will all have to be tested for, but within those parameters for the vast majority of the wells one week is absolutely sufficient to bring them back to full production capacity, particularly for unconventional wells, she said. In fact, contrary to what many people think, the reservoir damage is actually fairly minimal for the most part and typically when the well has been shut-in pressure rebuilds and when we bring the well back online it actually performs a little better for a while and then it settles back to what it was before, she added. In terms of pricing, US$25-30 per barrel of WTI is enough to get the existing production back up and running, as long as operators believe prices wont crash back down below US$20 per barrel, she underlined. Fears as well of permanently losing the crews look as overblown this time as they were last time: The idea that these crews will just stay away from a sector that pays much bigger money than they can get elsewhere to go and re-train as coders or something is just not true and didnt play out last time either, said Dittmar.

In sum what we have seen is just another phase of the Business Cycle, with the first phase marked by the rush for volume and the second phase marked by some demand for capital repayment from Wall Street in a broadly lower price environment after 2016, said Dittmar. Now, we are entering a third phase that will be marked by more M&A activity, particularly by the acquisition of smaller shale operations by bigger firms, probably with a heavy equity-funded element, given that the stocks of the bigger oil firms have started to rebound whilst the smaller firms still have very low valuations, he added. For the big firms  particularly such as Exxon, Chevron, BP, Shell, and Total, having a good-sized shale operation is a very good fit in the overall business model, he told OilPrice.com. It sits well in the short-cycle perspective so that when prices are rising they can ramp up production quickly to take advantage of that and when they are falling they can just cut capex quickly and trim back production, he underlined.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Six people, including three of a family, who returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, taking the state's tally to 99, officials said on Wednesday.

While five persons, including three women, tested COVID-19 positive in Kangra district, a man confirmed positive for the disease in Kullu district, they said.

All the six persons had returned to the state from Mumbai along with other 697 people in a special train on May 18, the officials said.

The five cases in Kangra include a woman (56), her son (31) and his wife (25), a woman (43) from Lambagaon and a man (31) from Jawalamukhi, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

They tested positive at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (PRGMC) in Tanda, he added.

They were quarantined at Paraur and are being shifted to Baijnath, Ranjan said.

The active cases in Kangra now stand at 18. A man died of COVID-19 in the district in March.

Eight people have been cured in Kangra out of the total 27 positive cases.

In Kullu, a 23-year-old man of Anni tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

This is the first positive coronavirus case reported in the district.

Gaurav said the man had returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai in a special train on May 18.

After alighting at the Una railway station, he along with 10 other people from Kullu reached Bajaura in a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus and they all were kept in isolation at the Ayurveda hospital there, the SP said.

Samples of all of them were taken and the rest nine tested negative, he added.

The man has been kept in isolation separately from others. Samples of all his primary contacts will be taken for testing. The bus driver and the conductor have been quarantined, Gaurav said.

The total number of infected people in the state has risen to 99. Fifty-one among them have been cured while four have died.

The active cases in the state are 44 -- 18 from Kangra, 11 from Hamirpur, five each from Bilaspur and Chamba, two each from Sirmaur and Una and one from Kullu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Environmental Health Officers Alliance-Ghana has called for the inclusion of members in the COVID-19 National Response Team to enhance the fight against the disease.



Mr Yaw Akwaa Lartey, the President of the Alliance, said environmental officers were key enforcement agents hence the need to include them in the Team to complement governments efforts at preventing the spread of the virus.



That would also help advice government on environmental health issues since the fight against the disease was basically about observing hygiene protocols.



Mr Lartey, who made the call at a press conference in Accra, said;

As the famous adage goes; prevention is better than cure, it is incumbent on the Government to take a critical consideration of involving the Environmental Health Officers towards preventing the continuous spread of this pandemic.



He explained that members across the country had been unduly exposed to risk in the performance of their duties in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.



We are still working as we were expected to work (sanitary services) without any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other resources in our various jurisdictions in the communities, Mr Lartey said.



He said without the needed PPE members of the Association still worked more than the maximum eight hours a day or 40 hours a week and sometimes on weekends without any form of shift system and/or additional duty allowances.



In recent times, he said, there were reports of unknown deaths where environmental health officers were called upon to remove those bodies for subsequent action.



He called on the Government and all relevant stakeholders to put the necessary measures in place by prioritising their roles as a matter of urgency towards curbing the community spread of COVID-19.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
A serial fraudster who once conned Stephen Nolan appeared in court on Wednesday accused of fraudulently trying to claim a Covid-19 business loan.

John Cartmill (40) appeared at Lisburn Magistrates Court via videolink from police custody, and confirmed he understood the single charge against him.

Cartmill, from Coolnasilla Park in Belfast, is charged with fraud by falsely representing that he was Sean McMahon when he signed a an application for a Covid-19 business support loan on May 18 this year.

Detective Constable Torrance told the court she believed she could connect Cartmill to the charge and that she was objecting to bail as there are concerns that Cartmill would commit further offences as, of his 159 previous convictions, "86 are fraud related".

One of this convictions, she said, related to a fraud against "TV personality Stephen Nolan" and it was that notoriety which alerted bank staff.

The officer described how Cartmill had gone to the Dunmurry branch of the Ulster Bank with a partially completed application for a Covid-19 business support loan.

Parts of the form had not been completed and the detective claimed Cartmill filled them in and signed the form "in the name of Sean McMahon" before leaving the bank at around 10am.

Expand Close Stephen Nolan / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Stephen Nolan

It came to the attention of bank staff, however, that the man who signed the form was not Mr McMahon, but was in fact "John Cartmill, who has a previous conviction involving TV personality Stephen Nolan".

"That was reported to the police," said the officer adding that Cartmill was arrested at his home.

During police interviews, Cartmill "gave a full account of what had taken place," claiming that he was related to Mr McMahon who was "having difficulty" with the form, so had asked Cartmill "for help".

He further claimed that Mr McMahon has driven him to the bank and had been parked outside.

But DC Torrance told the court, however, that "at no stage during the application did Mr Cartmill tell the bank that he wasn't Mr McMahon or being him into the bank".

She highlighted that despite his claims Mr McMahon had driven him to the bank, he "isn't insured to drive that vehicle", while CCTV footage from the area isn't clear as to who was driving.

Describing the offence as "very, very unusual", defence solicitor Ciaran Toner said that according to his instructions, Mr McMahon stayed in his car as there was a young child with him, while Cartmill "was leaving the form in".

"The bank official went through the form and there seemed to be some points that needed amended, so he amended those and signed the amendments," said the solicitor, who conceded that by signing as Mr McMahon "technically that's an admission he makes to a very technical offence".

He argued, however, it "doesn't appear that he was trying to defraud anyone" as he had the consent of Mr McMahon, who was making a "legitimate application for the loan".

Mr Toner submitted that with a business and family ties, Cartmill could be freed on bail, albeit with strict conditions including that he "stay out of financial institutions".

Refusing bail, however, District Judge Amanda Brady told the solicitor "he didn't just sign something he should not have signed - he went to the bank and pretended he was someone he wasn't".

"I'm satisfied that there's a risk of reoffending and therefore I'm refusing bail for that reason."

Remanded into custody, Cartmill's case was adjourned to June 15.
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 3,303 and the number of cases climbed to 1,06,750 in the country on Wednesday, registering an increase of 140 deaths and a record spike of 5,611 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry.

IMAGE: A man wearing a coronavirus theme-based helmet rides a scooter with placards on it to spread awareness among people at Tilak road in Pune. Photograph: PTI Photo

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 61,149, while 42,297 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said.

"Thus, around 39.62 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

The total confirmed cases include foreigners.

Of the 140 deaths reported since Monday morning, 76 were from Maharashtra, 25 from Gujarat, six each from West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, five each from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, three each from Tamil Nadu Karnataka and Telangana, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and one each from Odhisha and Punjab.

Of the 3,303 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,325 deaths. Gujarat comes second with 719 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 258, West Bengal at 250, Delhi at 168, Rajasthan at 143, Uttar Pradesh at 123, Tamil Nadu at 84 and Andhra Pradesh at 52.

The death toll reached 40 in Karnataka, 38 each in Punjab and Telangana.

IMAGE: An artist paints a mural on a wall depicting a doctor saving people's lives from deadly coronavirus in Guwahati,. Photograph: PTI Photo

Jammu and Kashmir has reported 17 fatalities due to the disease and Haryana 14. Bihar has registered nine deaths and Odisha five.

Kerala and Assam have reported four deaths each.

Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh each have recorded three COVID-19 fatalities, while Meghalaya, Uttarakhand and Puducherry have reported one fatality each, according to the data shared by the health ministry.

According to the ministry's website, more than 70 per cent of the deaths are due to comorbidities, the existence of multiple disorders in the same person.

As per the health ministry data updated in the morning, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 37,136. It is followed by Tamil Nadu at 12,448, Gujarat at 12,140, Delhi at 10,554, Rajasthan at 5,845, Madhya Pradesh at 5,465 and Uttar Pradesh at 4,926.

IMAGE: A woman from Manipur along with her puppy boards 'Shramik Special' train at Dehradun railway station. Photograph: PTI Photo

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 2,961 in West Bengal, 2,532 in Andhra Pradesh and 2,002 in Punjab.

It has risen to 1,634 in Telangana, 1,498 in Bihar, 1,397 in Karnataka, 1,317 in Jammu and Kashmir and 978 in Odisha.

Haryana has reported 964 coronavirus infection cases so far, while Kerala has 642 cases. A total of 231 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 200 in Chandigarh.

Tripura has reported 173 cases, Assam has 142 cases, Uttarakhand has 111, Chhattisgarh has 101, Himachal Pradesh has 92 and Goa has registered 46 cases so far.

Ladakh has reported 43 COVID-19 cases, while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has registered 33 infections.

IMAGE: Workers wearing protective suits work at a milk and curd factory in Jammu. Photograph: PTI Photo

Puducherry has registered 18 cases, Meghalaya 13 and Manipur nine.

Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadar and Nagar Haveli have reported a case each till how.

"1,096 cases are being reassigned to states," the ministry said on its website, adding "our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR".

State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Samir Ali  Trend:

The Azerbaijani State Migration Service received appeals from migrants residing in Azerbaijan for getting financial assistance, Head of the Azerbaijani State Migration Service Vusal Huseynov said.

Huseynov made the remark during an online briefing in Baku, Trend reports on May 20.

These appeals were redirected to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population and other relevant structures, head of the Azerbaijani State Migration Service added.

The support and assistance were rendered to some migrants through the volunteers of the State Migration Service, Huseynov added. The appeals of these people related to the problems with transport and jobs were considered and the corresponding assistance was rendered to these people.
Maryland's most populous county said Wednesday that it may lift some social distancing restrictions within the next week, another tentative step toward reopening the Washington region as the rates of novel coronavirus infections and deaths show signs of slowing.

"We are moving in the right direction," Travis Gayles, head of Montgomery County's health department, said about plans to join other parts of the state in partially lifting restrictions on gatherings and nonessential businesses.

The District of Columbia and its suburbs have been reluctant to take part in the reopening launched last week by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for areas that have not been hit as hard by the pandemic of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

But - even as the tally of known coronavirus infections in D.C., Maryland and Virginia climbed to 82,782 Wednesday, with 3,602 covid-19 deaths - that reluctance appears to be softening in some places.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower, a Democrat, is expected to announce as soon as Thursday a date for a partial easing of restrictions, after what city officials say has been several days of declining rates of community transmission of the virus. D.C.'s stay-home order and ban against large gatherings are set to expire on June 8, though Bowser has said she may allow some reopening earlier.

Other hard-hit localities, including Prince George's County, Maryland, have not made statements about being close to easing restrictions.

Northam, a Democrat, said Wednesday that some northern Virginia leaders have asked him about loosening the shutdown in their communities, but he wants to keep the region on a unified footing.

"We are in daily communication with the leaders" in northern Virginia, Northam said, adding that there is no timeline yet for reopening. "They are following the data just as we are."

In Maryland, Gayles said Montgomery has been monitoring the three-day average of new covid-19 infections, deaths and hospitalizations as key metrics for reopening. In nine of the past 14 days, the three-day average for new cases has declined, along with the average number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations tied to covid-19, Gayles said.

But Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said he's concerned about whether county hospitals can handle potential surges of covid-19 patients in need of intensive care. During the past week, the intensive care units at all six hospitals in Montgomery have been at capacity, county officials said.

"I look at this data every single day . . . [but] we've got to get this right," Elrich, a Democrat, said. "We're going to move, hopefully, as soon as possible."

The greater Washington region recorded another 82 deaths Wednesday, more than half of them in Maryland.

Virginia recorded 33 new fatalities, nearly a third of them in Fairfax County, bringing the total number of covid-19 deaths to 302 in that state's most populous jurisdiction.

D.C. added seven fatalities. City health officials also reported that three children have developed the same inflammatory syndrome associated with covid-19 that has been linked to the Saturday death of a 15-year-old girl from Baltimore County, Maryland.

The illness, known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), is a recently discovered complication of the virus. The first U.S. cases were identified in New York in early May.

Across the region, government officials continue to expand testing options as part of their fight against the virus.

Loudoun County, Virginia, offered free, drive-up, no-appointment testing in Leesburg and used its 1,700 available tests three hours before the site was scheduled to close at 6 p.m.

Cars lined up at Philip A. Bolen Memorial Park hours ahead of the 10 a.m. start time, and some people had to wait for two to three hours before they could get tested, said David Goodfriend, Loudoun's health director.

"In terms of the volume, it very much exceeded our expectations," Goodfriend said in a phone interview.

The goal of the day-long event was to help determine how many asymptomatic county residents may risk inadvertently infecting people to the virus and to test people who had no other options, Goodfriend said. The results are expected back this weekend.

"For some it was a very frustrating experience. For some they were just grateful to have this opportunity," Goodfriend said.

Northam said the state health department will hold similar events across Virginia in coming weeks, an effort to better gauge how much and where the virus has spread.

"While people who have symptoms are a priority, everyone is welcome at testing events as long as there are tests available," Northam said.

Virginia is near its goal of 10,000 daily tests, with 9,782 coronavirus tests reported Tuesday, the governor said.

Hogan, a Republica, announced universal testing at Maryland state prisons and juvenile detention facilities, major hubs of covid-19 infections.

The move followed an outbreak detected Friday at the 60-bed Silver Oak Academy juvenile detention facility in Caroll County, where about 40 staff members and children have tested positive for coronavirus.

The virus has also spread throughout the prison system, infecting more than 100 of the state's approximately 20,000 inmates and killing five. In addition, 220 correction officers have tested positive, prompting union officials to accuse the Hogan administration during a Tuesday protest of not doing enough to protect those essential workers.

Hogan said the state is halfway toward its goal of testing 10,000 people per day. He did not outline when the expanded testing inside detention facilities would start.

The governor promised a month ago to launch universal testing in the state's nursing homes. The state is now delivering 20,000 tests per week to nursing homes, he said, and tests should have been administered at all 227 nursing homes by the end of next week.

There are about 16,000 nursing-home patients in the state and another 36,000 nursing-home workers, according to Joseph DeMattos, president and chief executive of the Health Facilities Association of Maryland.

So far, 1,135 residents of long-term care facilities in the state have died of covid-19.

Still, many jurisdictions around the state have begun to reopen. On Wednesday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat, urged the Hogan administration to "move as quickly as possible" to allow restaurants in those areas to offer outdoor dining - an amenity that is part of Virginia's first phase of reopening but not Maryland's.

The comptroller, who is running for governor in 2022, said he was advocating for outdoor dining to prop up a key part of the economy. He said he believes many social distancing and safety restrictions should stay in place, and he reiterated that the pandemic is far from over.

"This idea that we can just be cavalier and take our shirts off and walk down the boardwalk, like this virus has been defeated, that's just wrong," he said at a meeting of the state Board of Public Works. "I want people to understand that we're trying to protect their safety, and if they're not safe, they're not going to have any economic prosperity."

Even when the region does reopen, many summer activities probably will not happen, a round of announcements Wednesday showed.

Officials in Baltimore said all special events are canceled through Aug. 31, including the city's Fourth of July celebration and three-day Artscape festival that was scheduled to begin July 17. The city's summer jobs program for youths will be held remotely.

D.C.'s National Independence Day Parade has also been called off. And Arlington County, Virginia, announced Wednesday that summer camp activities have been canceled, joining Fairfax County in that decision.

Arlington officials said they considered whether the camps could be safely held with proper social distancing, appropriate cleaning protocols and other safety measures. But they concluded that the risk of infection for the camp participants and county staffers is still too great.

"We recognize how important camps are to our residents, and we are truly saddened to have to cancel for the summer," Jane Rudolph, director of the Arlington Parks & Recreation Department, said in a statement.

Residents who have already paid for summer camp will receive a credit for future camp activities, county officials said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Dana Hedgpeth, Fenit Nirappil, Jenna Portnoy, Gregory S. Schneider and Fredrick Kunkle contributed to this story.
LUGANO, Switzerland, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BGG World (BGG) announces that its manufacturing site, Xinjiang Jinshuo Plant Additive Co., Ltd. in Xinjiang, China, has become the first Licorice production facility in the world to obtain GMP+ FSA certification based on GMP+ C6 of the GMP+ international standard. GMP stands for "Good Manufacturing Practices" and the + stands for the integration of HACCP ("Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points"), while FSA stands for Feed Safety Assurance. GMP+ FSA certified companies demonstrate that they meet all requirements and conditions for the assurance of feed safety.

BGG Licorice Plant

BGG's Xinjiang plant is 100% dedicated to the manufacture of licorice extracts and licorice derivatives, including food, flavors and cosmetic ingredients, and with this new registration, also feed ingredients.

"We are very proud to include this certification and to help advance our animal health business," said Christian Artaria, CEO of BGG Europe. "The production of animal feed is a shared responsibility of the entire feed chain and, with this new certification, we are further outlining the responsible practices we commit to."

About BGG's Licorice:

BGG has been extracting licorice roots since our founding in 1995. With 25 years of continuous experience, we have become well-known in the food, flavor and personal care field as one of the very few companies controlling the entire production chain and delivering unmatched quality in these products.

Licorice is the common name attributed to certain species of the genus Glycyrrhiza that are known to produce the saponin glycyrrhizin, a natural sweetener responsible for the characteristic sweet taste of the roots. The genus Glycyrrhiza includes approximately 30 species, among which Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC. and Glycyrrhiza inflata Batalin are the three most commonly used. At BGG, we wildcraft our roots from pristine regions of the Middle East and Asia such as Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Our roots are carefully harvested from three to four-year-old plants during winter months after the leaves have died. This sustainable method ensures that the plants will survive. After collection, the roots are botanically identified, cleaned and cautiously dried, after which they are shipped to our state-of-the-art processing facility in Xinjiang. Next, they are quarantined under strictly-monitored conditions while different chemical analyses are performed including aflatoxins, ochratoxin and heavy metal screening. Only after passing these strict quality controls are lots released for further processingany lot failing a single test is rejected.

For each product, a specific licorice species is used and the whole production process is controlled. The manufacturing process includes controls on: grinding, extraction (time, temperature and pressure), concentration, purification, drying, packaging and labeling. Finally, only if the active principles and all safety parameters including heavy metals, pesticides, impurities, aflatoxins, residual solvents and microbiological analysis are in compliance with our specifications, the lot is released for sale.

BGG's licorice extracts and derivatives portfolio includes, licorice extracts, deglycyrrhizinated licorice extracts, Licochalcone A based extract, Glabridin at different purities, and Glycyrrhizic acid-based products such as Mono Ammonium Glycyrrhizinate, Enoxolone (18--Glycyrrhetinic Acid), Dipotassium Glycyrrhizinate.

Press Contact: Christian Artaria, CEO BGG Europe and Global Chief Marketing Officer:

[email protected]

808-345-7711

SOURCE BGG World

Related Links

http://bggworld.com/


National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins spoke about the coronavirus at a May 7 U.S. Senate committee hearing. He is winning the Templeton Prize for his leadership in science and religion. Read more

Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and a longtime advocate for the coexistence of religion and science, on Wednesday was named the winner of the $1.3 million Templeton Prize for his integration of faith and reason.

The annual award, administered by the John Templeton Foundation of West Conshohocken, is given to people in various intellectual or religious disciplines who use scientific insight to understand humans place in the universe.

Established in 1972 by investor Sir John Templeton, an American-born British subject who lived in the Bahamas, the prize has been overseen in recent decades by family members who live in the Philadelphia area. Scientists have won in the past, but the requirement that the winner make use of a scientific approach was added this year. Previous winners include Mother Teresa, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and physicist Freeman J. Dyson.

A physician with a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, Collins helped identify genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes and cystic fibrosis, among other illnesses, and later oversaw the Human Genome Project, the vast effort to decipher the genetic code of life, which culminated in 2003. In 2006 he wrote the bestseller The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

In an interview, he said he was quite blown away by the prize, valued at 1.1 million British pounds, to be given in a virtual ceremony later this year. Collins, 70, who grew up on a Virginia farm, spoke about the hunt for answers to the coronavirus, the challenge of running the NIH during a pandemic, and his nightly phone calls with longtime friend Anthony Fauci, who leads one of the agencys 27 units: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. This transcript has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Youre a geneticist by training. What do we know so far about the role of genetics in how sick someone becomes from the coronavirus?

We dont know a whole lot, but its certainly a critical question. Why is it that some people who you would think are not at higher risk, without chronic disease, get very sick, and on the other hand sometimes people in their 80s or 90s  just shrug this off?

Theres something going on there, but we dont have enough data yet. You wonder what kind of resilience genes do they have.

One shouldnt assume this is heredity in the strictest sense. There is a lot about the individual that may play into this. Some of it may be your previous exposure [to other viruses], or your exposure to this virus. Did you get a massive exposure, or did you just get a few viruses floating into your system?

 READ MORE: Why some get really sick from the coronavirus, and others dont

I suspect most people have little idea how you can tackle the specific problem of COVID while running the entire NIH. Give us an idea of a recent day.

It is focusing on everything from basic science to clinical trials: diabetes, heart disease, rare disease, and common disease. I have a wonderful team of senior leaders who oversee that so I can basically, in a circumstance like this, turn my attention to this crisis and be confident that NIH is going to move along effectively.

Im probably spending 95% of my time on [COVID-19], and I think thats what Im called to do. Helping with vaccines that we all know are essential, and treatments, moving forward with diagnostics. Thats what Ive been focused on since I got up this morning at 3:30 a.m.

With respect to vaccines, what kind of guidance are you providing?

We are trying to come up with every possible technology that could get us what we need, then encourage the scientists who have those skills to move as fast as possible and to work together so they can learn from their successes and their failures.

Probably not all of those will make it over the finish line, but we dont want to miss the one that will. We learn a lot by working together rather than working in secret.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

Im the cochair of ACTIV [Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines, a government-industry partnership]. We want to make sure all the great ideas are being tossed around the same table.

The Templeton Prize honors people for leadership in science and spirituality, among other areas. You have written about how both are important to you. How does your faith inform your pursuit of science?

I didnt start out as a believer. I was an atheist when I was a grad student studying chemistry and physics. As a medical student, I realized my efforts to understand really deep questions about life and death were not really being helped that much by the reductionist form of science going on around me.

For me, science is both an incredibly exciting intellectual challenge and detective story, but it also is a way of understanding nature and appreciating Gods creation. I cant really separate who I am as a scientist from who I am as a believer. They coexist quite comfortably together.

Well, I wasnt suggesting that one precludes the other.

Although plenty of people do say that.

But there are other scientists who are religious. They dont necessarily let the two worlds intersect.

Or they do, but they dont talk about it. Scientists tend to look for the exit when somebody brings that up.

Anthony Fauci, the head of NIAID and a point person on COVID, sometimes has to correct inaccurate information from the White House. Do the periodic conflicts get in the way of the important public health message?

Hes an incredible public servant and a dedicated scientist and a wonderful human being. Ive known Tony for 30 years. Tony is both a phenomenal leader, communicator, and scientist of the highest repute.

Tony and I talk virtually every night, some time between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. You will not meet a more dedicated public servant than Tony Fauci.

So you think he is managing the conflicts OK?

I think he is unable to do anything other than telling the truth as he sees it, in terms of what the public health risks are.

He will not sugarcoat that, even if people dont want to hear the message.

What was your reaction to the Templeton Prize?

I was totally stunned. I was aware of the prize and aware of some of the people who previously received it, starting with Mother Teresa. I never dreamed I could possibly aspire to be on the same list.

Im still trying to get over it and wonder if they made a mistake.

Do you have plans yet for the financial aspect of this prize?

I dont. My wife and I are in deep discussion about that. We will certainly want to make substantial contributions to charities that we care about.
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to pull America out of the World Health Organization (WHO) and permanently stop US funding for the world body if it did not commit to major substantive improvements in the next 30 days.

Underlining Washingtons escalating fight with Beijing, Trump said the WHO needs to show independence from China. He earlier labelled the WHO as a puppet of China.

In a letter to WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump accused the organisation of repeated missteps in responding to the pandemic.

Trump shared the letter on Twitter hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the WHOs governing body, the World Health Assembly, by video link. Xi promised to devote $2 billion towards fighting the pandemic over the next two years.

WHO head Tedros later said that he would keep leading the global fight against the pandemic.

Commenting on Trumps letter, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said it was full of insinuations and aimed to mislead the public and achieve the purpose of stigmatising Chinas epidemic control efforts while shirking its own responsibility. He said the US has an obligation to pay the full WHO membership fee.

Arbitrarily cutting funding to an international organisation is unilateralist behaviour, Zhao said. We urge the US to stop passing the buck and deepen international cooperation.

In the letter, Trump wrote, It is clear repeated missteps by you and your organisation in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly for the world. The only way forward for the organisation is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China.

He also wrote that if the WHO does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days, I will make my temporary freeze on US funding permanent and reconsider our membership.

Later, when Trump was asked about the reforms he wants the WHO to carry out, he said, They have to clean up their act. They have to do a better job. They have to be much more fair to other countries, including the US, or we are not going to b involved with them any more and we will go our separate way.

The US president had suspended US funding for the WHO - at more than $400 million annually - in April.

The US has exited a number of world bodies and pacts during Trumps tenure, starting with the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017. It was followed by departures from Paris Accord, Unesco, Iran Nuclear Deal and UNHCR.
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, says he is certain a memorandum with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be signed by the end of May to bolster the country's finances.

"We have large debts to international entities. We are a serious nation, but we are a poor country. We are paying off billions of U.S. dollars annually to international organizations," the 42-year-old former comedic actor told a press conference on May 20 to mark his first anniversary in power.

"We will sign this memorandum, I am sure that we will sign it in May. It cannot be delayed," he added.

Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year, $5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said that about $3.5 billion of the total expected from the IMF is intended to go directly into the state budget.

Lawmakers approved banking legislation on May 13 that paved the way for billions from the IMF to flow.

Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine's banks, analysts say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine's most powerful tycoons, Ihor Kolomoyskiy, the former co-owner of PrivatBank, from regaining ownership rights to the bank.

The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the banking law amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank, which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving Kolomoyskiy.

The bank was nationalized in 2016 when international auditors found a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet. Kolomoyskiy, who has close ties to Zelenskiy, has insisted that the bank was improperly nationalized by Ukrainian regulators.

Kolomoyskiy has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he is the rightful owner of PrivatBank.
Post-90s police officer delays wedding to fight against the epidemic in Shulan

"We had planned to hold a simple wedding ceremony, but now we must postpone it," said Bai Yuhang, a young police officer, born in the 1990s, shared during the fight against COVID-19 in Shulan of northeast China's Jilin province.

Bai Yuhang checks a vehicle at night. (Photo via the Public Security Bureau of Jilin city)

As of May 18, Bai has now supported Shulan for nine days in the citys fight against the epidemic, taking the initiative to volunteer after learning of the citys urgent need for police force.

"I am a probationary Party member, and I am relatively young. I have enough experience and physical strength," said Bai, who has five years of work experience.

Bai yuhang and his colleagues check vehicles. (Photo via the Public Security Bureau of Jilin city)

Bai seldom worries about his work. His fiancee Wang Xinyu also supports his decision, however, she cares about Bai's safety. "Every time I hear a notification from WeChat (social app), I know it is a message from him telling me that he is fine."

As Wang has a job in Changchun, a city near Shulan, the two were unable to see each other before Bai had to leave for work.

Bai yuhang checks a vehicle. (Photo via the Public Security Bureau of Jilin city)

At the end of his shift on the 18th, Bai Yuhang returned to a hotel after disinfection. Lying in bed, he hoped that the epidemic could be over as soon as possible and he could hold a decent wedding with his fiancee.
A million volumes sit alone in Powells Books enormous flagship store downtown, untouched and unread since the coronavirus outbreak abruptly shuttered the landmark Portland bookstore in March.

Powells, which occupies a full city block downtown, ordinarily draws readers from across Portland and around the world. Now, bestsellers and hidden gems sit idle in the enormous, empty shop.

Its bizarre. Its surreal. Its also in some ways magical, said Emily Powell, the bookstores CEO. It feels like walking through the aisles with the ghosts of writers and readers.

Listen to the interview.

Powells March closure was among the most shocking developments in the early days of Oregons epidemic as a sudden economic catastrophe descended upon state. When Powells locked its doors the city lost one of the cultural touchstones that define Portland, and more than 300 workers lost their jobs.

Its closure was a milestone, putting the crisis in stark terms and making it obvious just how profoundly the epidemic would change Oregon.

Now, as businesses across the state slowly begin to emerge from their coronavirus shutdowns, the bookstore isnt ready to change back. The elements that make Powells distinctive  huge stores, enormous selection, customers mingling together to share old favorites and new discoveries  work against it in an age of social distancing.

Yet Powell said the outpouring of customer support that followed the stores closure giver her confidence the store will find a path forward.

Powells will be here, she said. It may look different. It may feel different for a while. But it will be here.

The bookstore dates to 1971, founded by Emily Powells grandfather and later run by her father. She took over in 2011, in the waning days of the Great Recession and amid intense competition from Amazon and other online outlets. Powell stepped aside for a time but returned to the CEO role last year.

The bookstore has endured as one of the businesses central to Portlands identity. Powells is a favorite stop for readers looking to browse and for authors on book tours.

When people come to visit Portland, visiting Powells is at the top of the list, Oregon poet and Reed College Professor Samiya Bashir told PBS last month. You know, you go to Paris, you want to see the Eiffel Tower. You go to Portland, you want to go to Powells bookstore.

Emily Powell, 41, has spent most of the shutdown working from home with her husband and five-year-old son. She has a persistent cough  its not the coronavirus, shes been tested  but she said she feels obliged to stay home under the circumstances.

Emily Powell in 2013. (Oregonian file photo)LC-

Questions and crises come on a daily basis. In her quiet moments Powell said she is rereading Italian short stories from the 1920s and 30s, hoping to give the historic moment she is wrestling with a larger context.

Im doing what a lot of people are doing and thats going back to writing from way before this moment, she said, in order to find some perspective.

Many of the issues facing Powells are similar to those facing other Oregon businesses during the coronavirus outbreak. The company owns its downtown store but its four satellite shops around the Portland area all have landlords expecting rent.

Powell said her landlords have been very flexible to this point, but she said she doesnt know how long those property owners can afford to defer payments.

Powells secured a federal loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, loans that turn into grants for businesses that can keep their employees working into summer. Powell said she cant afford to rehire everyone while the bookstores are closed, and doesnt want to take on substantial new debt. So the bookstore has tapped only a small portion of the loan (she declined to say just how much.)

Reopening the stores requires ensuring both customers and employees are safe, Powell said. And that presents unique challenges for bookstores. While epidemiologists consider paper products to be low risk for transmission, she said its important people are secure in the places they work and shop.

You have to be able to pull a book off the shelf and feel comfortable touching something that someone else touched, Powell said. We have a million volumes in that store. We cant possibly disinfect every one of them all day long. And they cant get wet.

How will Powells persevere if it has to limit the number of people in its stores? Who will buy its books until tourists return to Portland?

The bookstore doesnt have those answers yet, Powell said, and may not for some time to come. But it is taking some tentative steps forward.

Powell has begun offering a pickup option at its downtown store. Powell said thats still in a trial phase but she hopes to make it a regular option at all its stores in the coming days or weeks.

And she said some customers may get the opportunity to shop in the downtown store all by themselves, through charity auctions.

Powells abrupt closure in March produced tension between the bookstore and ILWU Local 5, the union representing Powells employees. The union said initially that Powells hadnt committed to supporting workers through the closure.

Two months later, union representative Myka Dubay commended Powells for ensuring that workers who have returned have protective attire and adequate spacing and for excusing those concerned about their health. However, Dubay said the union and store havent come to terms on wage and benefits levels when the bookstore reopens.

When Powells employees are returned to work, they should be guaranteed their former hourly wage as well as benefits level, Dubay wrote in an email. Powells workers deserve to hold onto the wage and benefits they have achieved.

Emily Powell said the bookstore is working through disagreements with the union as it seeks to adapt to the implications of the coronavirus outbreak.

Im guessing, Powell said, most collective bargaining agreements in the country werent written for global pandemics.

Powells enjoyed a burst of online orders from patrons demonstrating support the business in the days after the March closure. For the bookstore it was, in some ways, too much of a good thing.

The company recalled some workers but struggled to process the surge in orders while maintaining a safe working environment. Some orders took several weeks to arrive.

Business was very strong right away and we really struggled to adapt to that, Powell said. Its hard to turn a big elephant on a dime.

Powells has caught up with its orders now, Powell said, but the surge in business early in the pandemic has ebbed. And that leaves the independent Portland bookstore competing online with Amazon, on Amazons turf.

They have all the money and they have all the technology, Powell said. Certainly we dont have that kind of firepower.

Instead, she said Powells and other local businesses bring a personal connection to their customers. She said it is her staffs devotion to readers, and to reading, that gives the bookstore an edge.

What we have in spades is the true passion and love for the products, Powell said. Our folks are just living and breathing books.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
For more than a quarter of a century, the size of San Franciscos police force has been governed by a number that, at least in recent years, no one could quite explain.

A 1994 amendment to the City Charter required that the Police Department maintain 1,971 full-duty officers on the police force at all times. But the rationale behind that figure remained elusive in recent debates, leading to what Board of Supervisors President Norman Yee called divisive conversations about police staffing.

Yee is now proposing a charter amendment that he says will create a more thoughtful, data-driven process in the years to come. If the proposal makes its way to the Nov. 3 ballot and wins approval from voters, it would remove the citys minimum police staffing requirement and require the police brass to submit a staffing report and recommendation to the Police Commission every two years.

The Police Commission, in turn, would be required to consider the report when approving the departments proposed budget.

It only makes sense that we create a thoughtful process for assessing police staffing that allows us to respond to current and future circumstances, Yee said in a statement. It is time for us to take a more logical, forward-looking approach to public safety.

But the proposal has come under fire from police union officials, who said removing the floor for staffing levels is an attempt to slash sworn positions.

Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, issued a statement Wednesday calling the proposed charter amendment reckless and nothing more than an open invitation to eliminate police officers and reduce safety in our neighborhoods.

Montoya said the city has never met the current charters staffing obligations, and the amendment would open the door to more cuts.

Our city already struggles with out of control property crime, open air drug markets and violent crime at levels that literally hold some neighborhoods hostage, Montoya said.

Yees proposal would put in place a system modeled after a recently released study that found severely inadequate staffing levels at the citys Police Department.

The report, conducted by Matrix Consulting Group, recommended the department employ 2,176 sworn officers  actually an uptick compared with the 1,911 sworn positions at the time of the study. The recommendation would add 205 more officers than the current charter minimum of 1,971.

In an interview, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said he applauds Yees efforts to create a methodology for staffing levels, but is concerned about eliminating a mandatory minimum.

The report tells us we need 2,176 (officers). And if were going to rely on a methodology, we should rely on it, he said. It at least gives us a guide and a compass as to what we need to police our city.

Marjan Philhour, a candidate for San Francisco Board of Supervisors and former senior adviser to Mayor London Breed, said she believes the city should be using accurate and timely data to determine staffing levels, but also questions removing the minimum.

Supervisors keep calling for more enforcement on traffic safety, more neighborhood beat officers, more police to stop drug dealing, she said. If were asking for more, its important that we ensure proper staffing.

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.

Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus said she supports Yees proposal.

This measure allows our City to take a more rational approach to determine police staffing levels instead of relying on an arbitrary number, DeJesus said in a statement. It ensures that our decisions can directly respond to the demonstrated needs of both the community and the department. This is good policy.

A 1994 Chronicle article provides some explanation about the origins of the 1,971 figure. The report states that staffing levels were cemented by a court-approved settlement in 1979 after a lawsuit accused the department of racial and sexual discrimination.

Supporters of the minimum staffing level at that time pointed to San Franciscos ratio of police officers to residents, which was low compared with other large cities.

The 1994 article states that budget analyst Harvey Rose found San Francisco had 2.5 officers for every 1,000 people. By contrast, Chicago had 4.4 officers per 1,000 people, New York had 3.7 officers and Los Angeles had 2.4 officers.

In February, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce released a CityBeat poll that found 80% of respondents would support an increase in police staffing levels.

The proposal will be assigned to a Board of Supervisors committee before it goes to a full vote.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
China Imposes Massive Tariffs on Australia Barley Imports, Sparking Fears of Trade War

By VOA News May 19, 2020

Australia is considering taking China to the World Trade Organization over Beijing's decision to impose massive tariffs on Australian barley imports.

China announced Monday that it was imposing 80.5% anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Australian barley after claiming that barley farming was heavily subsidized by the government. Beijing just last week suspended imports from four major Australian beef suppliers over labeling issues.

The tariffs, which take effect Tuesday, are expected to cost Australian farmers over $300 million annually.

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Tuesday that China's actions were "deeply disappointing" and were not made in accordance with anti-dumping rules. But Birmingham said Australia will not engage in a trade war with one of its biggest trading partners.

Beijing's trade actions against Australia are taking place amid a diplomatic dispute over Canberra's strong push for an independent probe into the origins of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which was first detected last year in central China.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Washington

Lawyers for Michael Flynn are asking a federal appeals court to order the dismissal of the criminal case against the former Trump administration national security adviser.

They also want the case reassigned to another judge, saying the judge now handling it overstepped his authority when he did not immediately grant the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case. Instead, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan appointed a retired judge to argue against the department's position and to consider whether Flynn, who previously admitted lying to federal agents but now asserts his innocence, could be held in criminal contempt for perjury.

The filing Tuesday with the Washington-based appeals court is the most extensive response by Flynn's lawyers to the Justice Department's motion this month to throw out the case. It seeks to bypass the judge handling the case before he's even had a chance to rule on the dismissal request, anticipating that the motion may not be as open-and-shut of a matter as the department and the defense team might have hoped.

Flynn had pleaded guilty as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation to lying to the FBI about conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition period.

But the Justice Department now says that the FBI had insufficient basis to interview him in the first place and that the statements he made during questioning were not relevant to the underlying investigation into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.

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

The department two weeks ago asked Sullivan to dismiss the case, but the judge days later signaled that he was inclined to take his time with the request. He announced that he would permit outside parties to weigh in with their viewpoints and appointed a retired federal judge from New York, John Gleeson, to argue against the department's position.

But in a court filing Tuesday, Flynn's attorneys said Sullivan had "egregiously" overstepped his authority, arguing that the judge "has no authority to adopt the role of prosecutor or change the issues in the case."

"The district judge's orders reveal his plan to continue the case indefinitely, rubbing salt in General Flynn's open wound from the Government's misconduct and threatening him with criminal contempt," the filing states.

One of Flynn's attorneys, Sidney Powell, tweeted a link to the court filing and said it had been delivered to the court and emailed to the parties.
New Delhi, May 20 : Amid bitter politics over buses for UP migrant workers, Aditi Singh, rebel Congress MLA from Raebareli, has taken the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) line and targeted Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday.

Slamming Priyanka Gandhi, Singh said, "At the time of crisis what was the need of the low level politics. Gave the list of 1,000 buses, half of them fake or junked. Why this cruel joke? If you had buses why you didn't send them to Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra.

"When thousand of children were stuck in Kota, the Rajasthan government couldn't drop them to the borders, forget about home. Then Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath facilitated the children to reach home." The tweets under @aditisinghinc suggest Singh has derived a new path. She may be technically in the Congress for the sake of House membership, but slamming Priyanka Gandhi cast aspersions about her politics.

The calls and messages to Aditi Singh went unanswered. But, according to highly placed sources, the BJP is nurturing her for the Raebareli parliamentary seat, which has been a Congress stronghold.

Aditi Singh's father late Akhilesh Pratap Singh was an MLA and had once contested against Sonia Gandhi in the Lok Sabha elections. But later he returned to the Congress.

Sonia Gandhi, sitting Lok Sabha member from Amethi since 2004 had shifted to Raebareli. But the Congress could win the Raebareli Sadar Assembly seat only when Aditi Singh joined the party. Before that her father was independent MLA from the seat most of the time.

In 2019, the BJP nominated Dinesh Singh, an MLC, against Sonia Gandhi. But he lost badly. At that time Aditi Singh and her father were with the Congress.

Amethi, the other Congress citadel, has already fallen with Smriti Irani defeating Rahul Gandhi in 2019. Since then Sanjay Singh of Amethi has left the party.

Reacting to Singh's tweets, K.L. Sharma, Congress Secretary and Raebareli in-charge, said a notice was pending against her in the Assembly for violating the party whip last year. "She is avoiding the reply and the Speaker is also not taking action," Sharma said.

After Aditi Singh's tweets, the Congress members are openly demanding that she be sacked immediately.
Cuba has asked the Paris Club of major creditors for a delay in repaying its debt until 2022, citing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy, diplomatic sources told AFP on Wednesday.

In a letter sent to 14 Paris Club countries to whom Cuba owes money including Britain, Canada, France and Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas proposed "a moratorium for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and a return to paying in 2022," a diplomatic source revealed.

Two other diplomats subsequently confirmed the information. All sources spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

Havana missed more than $30 million in reimbursements in 2019.

In February, it committed to settling that debt by May, but the virus crisis has now put paid to those plans.

According to one source, the letter stipulates that Cuba would reassess its economic situation in 2021 to see if it could resume repayments.

The agreement with the Paris Club is crucial for Cuba, which has been subjected to punishing US sanctions since 1962.

After an easing of tensions under Barack Obama, sanctions have been ramped up under the administration of US President Donald Trump.

In 2015, Havana renegotiated its debt with 14 Paris Club countries, wiping out $8.5 billion from an $11 billion debt, with the repayments restructured gradually until 2033.

Cuba, which has suffered from food and fuel shortages, also benefited from several other creditors writing off debt: $6 billion by China in 2011, $500 million by Mexico in 2013 and $35 billion by Russia in 2014.

Havana is increasingly reliant on the European Union, which has become its main investor with almost $3.5 billion in trade in 2018.

However, lockdown measures enforced to combat the pandemic have badly affected Cuba's main sources of income, such as tourism and remittances sent from Cubans abroad.

Tourism brought in $3.3 billion in 2018 but there has not been a single new visitor since March 24, putting a third of privately run businesses, and the 200,000 people they employ, at risk.

Tourist numbers had already dropped by 9.3 percent in 2019 due to new restrictions on American visitors.

The year-on year fall reached 16.5 percent in January and February -- and that was before Cuba closed its borders.

- 'Humanitarian crisis' -

Remittances accounted for $3.5 billion in 2017, according to an estimate by economist Carlos Mesa-Lago.

"If the economic damage in Florida (where many Cuban immigrants live) is significant, then (remittances) will fall and that will impact people's lives," said the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, warning of "a humanitarian crisis."

Another major source of income that has been hit is Cuba's export of health care workers, which brought in $6.3 billion in 2018.

That has been cut by the return of 9,000 workers from countries with whom Cuba has strained diplomatic relations.

"It's time to work on our reserves," said Economy Minister Alejandro Gil, because "we must save everything we can."

The island nation, which imports 80 percent of goods, "reduced by 75 percent its first quarter imports" because of a lack of cash flow, said economist Omar Everleny Perez.

Cuba is desperate to avoid a default, like it suffered in 1986.

It is hoping for clemency, given that the Group of 20 largest economies put in place a one-year freeze on debt repayments for the world's poorest countries, including 40 in Africa.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have vowed to help vulnerable countries, but Cuba is a member of neither organization.

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has said it expects Cuba's GDP to fall by 3.7 percent in 2020, but many experts predict a greater contraction.
Kochi, May 20 : A 105-member medical team from here, including 75 new recruits and 30 nurses who were stuck here due to the lockdown, reached Abu Dhabi on Wednesday morning, an official attached to VPS Healthcare who was instrumental in flying them out from here, said.

An initiative of VPS Healthcare, a healthcare group in the UAE, the team will be working in the critical care units in various Covid-19 hospitals across the Emirates. This will further strengthen the efforts of the UAE government in combating the virus.

Of the 105 members, 75 are recruits from here and the rest are employees of VPS Healthcare, who had been in Kerala on vacation and could not return due to the lockdown. All of these team members are extensively trained and experienced in critical care.

VPS Healthcare Director (India) Hafiz Ali Ullat said they are extremely proud to send a medical team to the UAE from Kerala.

"In UAE, we have been working with the government from the beginning. Sending a medical team is a part of our continuous effort in supporting the government there during this pandemic," he said.

Vinod Sebastian, one among the senior nurses in the medical team, said it is a proud moment for each of them.

"It is our duty to serve and treat the patients during this unprecedented crisis. For the majority of the nurses in the medical team, it is their maiden journey to a foreign country. All of them are extensively experienced in critical care. We are very confident and motivated. We are taking it up as a challenge," he said adding that his family has been very supportive and encouraging.

All the members of the medical team underwent a Covid-19 test on Sunday and all of them tested negative.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
As New York state emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, and prepares for a possible second wave of infections later in the year, join us for a live conversation with an expert in how New Yorks health system works, and how it can work better.

David Sandman, president and CEO of the New York State Health Foundation, will take your questions starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday on syracuse.coms Facebook page.

Sandman was appointed head of the foundation in 2016. Its mission is to improve the health of all New Yorkers. Since 2006, the foundation has made $146 million in grants to support access to health insurance, diabetes care, opioid addiction treatment, veterans care and healthy communities, including projects on Syracuses Near West Side and at Missio Church.

He has a Master of Public Administration degree and Ph.D. from New York Universitys Wagner School of Public Service.

Previously, Sandman was executive director of New York states Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, known as the Berger Commission. In 2006, the commission recommended hospital and nursing home closures and consolidations across the state to cut costs, reduce capacity and improve hospital finances.

Well ask Sandman about the gaps and weaknesses in the states health care infrastructure and preparedness that were exposed by the coronavirus pandemic, and how the state can be better prepared for the next wave.

Head over to syracuse.coms Facebook page at 1 p.m. to join the chat. You can ask a question in the comment feed, or email your question to mmorelli@syracuse.com. If you miss the live event, well post a replay later on Syracuse.com.

This is another in a series of live Q&A sessions Syracuse.com has conducted with experts and decision-makers.

MORE LIVE Q&As

Live Q&A: How can small business owners prepare for reopening

Live Q&A: Child psychiatrist on helping kids cope with coronavirus

Live Q&A: Syracuse small business lawyer on coronavirus economic recovery

Live Q&A with Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon

Live Q&A: CNY banker discusses small business coronavirus relief funds
ALBANY  In a decision that harshly criticized the federal prison system's response to COVID-19, a longtime federal judge in Albany granted compassionate release to a Troy man serving 15 1/2 years behind bars for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring.

Benjamin Rountree, 56, received time already served in a decision issued Monday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Kahn. The judge noted Rountree has diabetes and high blood pressure, which placed the prisoner at a high risk for developing a severe case of COVID-19. Kahn noted Rountree's behavior in prison was exemplary and that the inmate lacked a history of violence.

Rountree, a father of five children and a grandfather and who possesses a long rap sheet, served nearly eight years of his sentence. His release date was set for Jan. 6, 2025. The judge ordered Rountree to spend the first two years of his post-prison supervised release confined to his home with the exception of trips for work, medical care, religious or community service. He also ordered him quarantined for his first 14 days home.

"In light of the dangers posed by the prison environment, the need to expedite consideration of requests for compassionate release premised on potential exposure to COVID-19 takes on even new urgency," Kahn stated.

Under the First Step Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law in 2018, federal inmates can ask judges for compassionate release after they exhaust their administrative requests through the prison system. The Bureau of Prisons must have considered and denied the request or 30 days must have passed from when a facility's warden got the request.

On Monday, Kahn wrote that congressional objectives underlying the federal law not only allows the requirement to exhaust administrative remedies to be waived, but compels it.

"BOPs response to the COVID-19 threat underscores this conclusion," Kahn stated. "Alarmingly, and despite the demonstrated danger COVID-19 poses in the prison environment, it does not appear that the BOP has updated its regulations governing compassionate release requests since the First Step Act was passed, let alone made any attempt to suspend them or otherwise accelerate the process during the pandemic.

When the BOP responds to an inmate's initial request for release, Kahn stated, it is "virtually impossible" for the inmate to appeal a denial through BOP regulations. He said the 30-day waiting period has turned into "simply dead time during which there is no prospect the BOP will come to the defendants aid and no likelihood that BOP will provide the court with the benefit of its cconsiderable expertise concerning both the inmate and the conditions of confinement.

Kahn said even if the Bureau of Prisons tested for COVID-19 "consistently enough that its statistics could be relied upon, prison still poses a significant threat to individuals with health conditions like Rountrees because they serve as incubators that accelerate the spread of the disease."

Kahn credited the BOP for its efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but added, "The ease of transmission within the prison environment, coupled with a dearth of testing, results predictably in deadly outbreaks of the disease."

Kahn has recently granted compassionate release to one of Rountrees co-defendants in his case, Carl Logan, 59, whose more than 12-year sentence for cocaine trafficking conspiracy was commuted on April 22. The judge granted compassionate release to former Loudonville asbestos businessman Alexander Salvagno, who was convicted in one of racketeering conspiracy in what was at the time the most serious environmental crimes in U.S history and sentenced to 25 years.

Kahn said no to ex-lawyer and financial advisor Thomas Lagan, who is serving six-and-a-half-year sentence in federal prison for bilking nearly $12 million from elderly clients.

On April 23, Rountree asked the warden at his facility, Schuylkill federal prison camp in Minersville, Pa., to be transferred to home confinement. Rountree told Kahn the warden has steadfastly denied every request of this nature and has emphatically stated that he will not be releasing any inmates under Attorney General William Barrs memo on March 26 to expand release to home confinement of vulnerable prisoners.

Ryan R. Miller, a spokesman for the Schuylkill facility, told the Times Union in an email Thursday that each inmate request is reviewed individually in accordance with the First Step Act, the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) or Barr's memo.

Rountree told Kahn it was impossible for inmates to remain at least six feet apart. He said inmates were recently issued masks but 90 percent refuse to wear them. He said in his area of the prison, 20 inmates shared a single toilet.

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

Acting as his own attorney, Rountree asked Kahn asked for home confinement. The U.S. Attorneys office in Albany opposed Rountrees release , saying he needed to exhaust his efforts administratively.

On April 29, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hanlon reminded Kahn that Rountree has three prior felony drug convictions, as well as prior convictions for misdemeanor assault. In May 2013, in the crime that most recently sent him to prison, Rountree pleaded guilty before Kahn to one count of conspiracy to possess and sell more than 500 grams of cocaine. He admitted moving between 500 grams and two kilos of the drug, which he obtained from a co-defendant who obtained it in New York City.

The prosecutor stated that as of April 29, no inmates or staff at the prison camp had tested positive for COVID-19.

"In recent weeks, numerous inmates around the country have cited the unusual circumstances presented by COVID-19 as a basis for compassionate release, and have argued that the exhaustion requirement should be excused," Hanlon stated, adding that the only federal appeals court to address the question has rejected the argument and required inmates to exhaust their appeals administratively.

The judge disagreed, finding the release of Rountree was warranted by extraordinary and compelling reasons.

"Under the circumstances presented by Rountrees case, his failure to exhaust should be excused," Kahn stated.

At his sentencing in 2015, Rountree pleaded for leniency, telling Kahn: "I can't do no more time. It took a toll on me and I really, really, really learned my lesson. ... I'm not saying what I did wasn't wrong. I know that it was wrong. I'm tired though..."

Kahn, at the time, reminded Rountree he faced the possibility of 27 years in prison. The sentence, he said, could be lessened by good conduct.

"I believe when this is over, and I don't think that you won't survive, I think, God willing, you are going to get out of prison eventually," Kahn said.
Before an adulatory crowd of university professors and students, Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, offered a strikingly bold message about the global coronavirus pandemic. Summoning images of sacrifice from Communist Party lore, he told them that the calamity was ripe with possibility for China.

Great historical progress always happens after major disasters, Mr. Xi said during a recent visit to Xian Jiaotong University. Our nation was steeled and grew up through hardship and suffering.

Mr. Xi, shaped by his years of adversity as a young man, has seized on the pandemic as an opportunity in disguise  a chance to redeem the party after early mistakes let infections slip out of control, and to rally national pride in the face of international ire over those mistakes. And the state propaganda machine is aggressively backing him up, touting his leadership in fighting the pandemic.

Now, Mr. Xi needs to turn his exhortations of resolute unity into action  a theme likely to underpin the National Peoples Congress, the annual legislative meeting that opens on Friday after a monthslong delay.
Lucknow, May 20 : Authorities in Uttar Pradesh began taking all precautionary measures in the states jails even before the nationwide lockdown was enforced from March 25 onwards, including thermal screening and manufacture of sanitisers and face masks etc, a senior officer said.

In a telephonic interview with IANS, Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (Prisons), Anand Kumar, said that an alert had been sounded to state jails on March 12 even as the coronavirus threat was looming large over the country so as to ensure the safety of both inmates and jail staff. Thermal screening was provided in jails as a precautionary measure.

The task of manufacture of face masks, sanitisers and soaps was also taken up around that time. "Till May 7, jail inmates have manufactured around 11.49 lakh face masks, out of which 8 lakh have since been provided to government and non-governmental organisations. Also, the inmates and jail staff are using face masks. The manufacture of masks is still continuing," the DGP (Prisons) said.

The senior IPS officer said that the 'jail radios' were also coming in handy to fight the stress and anxiety among inmates amid the coronavirus scare in the country.

Prisons Department spokesman Santosh Verma said that these radio systems were currently in operation in 26 jails, including those in Ghaziabad, Shahjahanpur, Gorakhpur, Itawah, Agra, Lucknow, and Noida.

Verma said that these jail radios had helped prisoners keep themselves busy during the nationwide lockdown. Exchange of news and views through these radios have kept the jail inmates abreast of what is happening in the outside world. Interestingly, these jail radios are operated by prisoners, with jail staff having nothing the do with the endeavour.

Official sources said that the 71 jails in Uttar Pradesh house more than 90,000 undertrials and convicted prisoners. As the coronavirus threat loomed large, authorities paroled out 2,251 convicted and 13,453 undertrial prisoners. So, there are still over 75,000 prisoners lodged in state jails.

Ten of the 71 jails in Uttar Pradesh are said to be overcrowded -- Moradabad, Jaunpur, Lalitpur, Saharanpur, Ghaziabad, Devaria, Mathura, Varanasi,Shahjahanpur and Itawah. As for the numbers, the Prayagraj jail is the most overcrowded, lodging over 4,000 inmates as compared with its capacity of 2,060 prisoners only.

DGP Kumar said that in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the jails, 56 temporary jails were set up in 45 districts of Uttar Pradesh. As many as 783 prisoners are lodged there, including 538 Indians and 245 foreigners, so that inmates lodged in regular jails were saved from the spread of coronavirus.

Verma said that 100 PPE kits have so far been made in Meerut jail, costing Rs 600 each. He pointed out that a face mask costing Rs 95 was available in the markets outside at five-six times this cost.

The work of making PPE kits was also going on in Lucknow Model Jail. At least 132 kits have so far been supplied to Balrampur hospital.

DGP Kumar said that they had made efforts to provide sewing machines in jails which so far did not have these, in order to speed up the manufacture of face masks.

As for coronavirus cases reported in different jails, the senior officer said that the death of an inmate in Agra jail had come to light. "However, we are trying everything possible to ensure that the jail inmates across Uttar Pradesh are saved from the threat of coronavirus," he added.

(Sanjiv Chauhan can be contacted at sanjiv.c@ians.in)
Dividend paying stocks like Qingdao Port International Co., Ltd. (HKG:6198) tend to be popular with investors, and for good reason - some research suggests a significant amount of all stock market returns come from reinvested dividends. Unfortunately, it's common for investors to be enticed in by the seemingly attractive yield, and lose money when the company has to cut its dividend payments.

With a five-year payment history and a 4.7% yield, many investors probably find Qingdao Port International intriguing. We'd agree the yield does look enticing. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding Qingdao Port International for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.

Explore this interactive chart for our latest analysis on Qingdao Port International!

SEHK:6198 Historical Dividend Yield May 20th 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 34% of Qingdao Port International's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. A medium payout ratio strikes a good balance between paying dividends, and keeping enough back to invest in the business. Besides, if reinvestment opportunities dry up, the company has room to increase the dividend.

Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Qingdao Port International paid out 357% of its free cash flow last year, which we think is concerning if cash flows do not improve. Paying out such a high percentage of cash flow suggests that the dividend was funded from either cash at bank or by borrowing, neither of which is desirable over the long term. While Qingdao Port International's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, free cash flow is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were it to repeatedly pay dividends that were not well covered by cash flow, this could be a risk to Qingdao Port International's ability to maintain its dividend.

Story continues

With a strong net cash balance, Qingdao Port International investors may not have much to worry about in the near term from a dividend perspective.

We update our data on Qingdao Port International every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here.

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. Looking at the data, we can see that Qingdao Port International has been paying a dividend for the past five years. During the past five-year period, the first annual payment was CN0.062 in 2015, compared to CN0.20 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 26% per year over this time. Qingdao Port International's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 26% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth.

It's not great to see that the payment has been cut in the past. We're generally more wary of companies that have cut their dividend before, as they tend to perform worse in an economic downturn.

Dividend Growth Potential

Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. It's good to see Qingdao Port International has been growing its earnings per share at 11% a year over the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing at a good rate, and the company is paying less than half its earnings as dividends. We generally think this is an attractive combination, as it permits further reinvestment in the business.

Conclusion

When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Qingdao Port International has a low payout ratio, which we like, although it paid out virtually all of its generated cash. 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. In sum, we find it hard to get excited about Qingdao Port International from a dividend perspective. It's not that we think it's a bad business; just that there are other companies that perform better on these criteria.

It's important to note that companies having a consistent dividend policy will generate greater investor confidence than those having an erratic one. At the same time, there are other factors our readers should be conscious of before pouring capital into a stock. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Qingdao Port International that you should be aware of before investing.

If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding above 3%.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Maoists set ablaze four trucks in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district ahead of the bandh called by them to protest the killing of an associate, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Savargaon-Murumgaon road around Tuesday midnight, a release from the office of Gadchrioli superintendent of police said.

The rebels blocked the road in Dhanora taluka and torched the four heavy vehicles, an official said.

Maoists have called a bandh in the district on Wednesday to condemn the killing of woman rebel Srujjanakka, who was killed by police here on May 1.

There were around 155 cases of serious offences registered against her in Gadchiroli, including killings of 34 tribals, the police release said.

On Sunday, two policemen were killed and three others injured in an encounter with Maoists in Poyarkoti-Koparshi forest area of the district.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
- Seychelles has declared coronavirus-free, becoming the third to achieve the feat behind Mauritius and Eritrea

- The country's confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 11, all of whom have been successfully treated and discharged

- Mauritius was the first country to declare coronavirus-free followed by Eritrea

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

Seychelles has attained coronavirus-free status after the ministry of health announced full recoveries as of Monday, May 18, becoming the third African country to achieve the feat behind Mauritius and Eritrea.

According to African News, Seychelles' confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 11, all of whom have been successfully treated and discharged, 74 others remain in quarantine.

President Danny Faure of Seychelles. Photo credit: African News

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Ghanas cases hit 6,096

The coronavirus cases have continued to increase in Africa as the continent now has 86,721 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organisation.

In Africa, 2,721 patients succumbed to the deadly disease while more than 33,000 people recovered.

South Africa is topping the list as the country with the highest cases of the deadly disease.

Nigeria is number three on the list with 6,175 confirmed cases and 191 deaths. Ghana is trailing Nigeria with 5,735 confirmed cases and 29 deaths.

Meanwhile, YEN previously reported that the government of the East African country of Eritrea declared the country as coronavirus-free.

READ ALSO: Ghana receives Madagascars COVID-19 tonic; its efficacy being tested - Kojo Oppong Nkrumah

Eritrea made the official pronouncement after all the country's 39 confirmed cases successfully recovered from the disease.

The country's health ministry said the last coronavirus patient was discharged from the hospital on Friday, May 15.

In other news, a 22-year-old pregnant woman diagnosed with COVID-19 has been delivered of twins at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

The disclosure was made by Wasiu Adeyemo, the hospitals chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), who said the babies were delivered on Tuesday, May 19.

The twins, a boy, and a girl were delivered through cesarean section and they weigh 3.2kg and 3.25kg.

The statement by the CMAC read: The mother and babies are doing well!

Once again, celebrate our committed frontline staff for this achievement We also appreciate the support of the Federal government, Lagos State government and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC."

Health benefits of Dawadawa and Kontomire | #Yencomgh

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Scottish farmers have welcomed new proposals to tackle livestock worrying, including an increase in the maximum sentence to a 5,000 fine or imprisonment.

With cases of livestock being attacked by dogs continuing to be reported on a regular basis, the Livestock Worrying - Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill has now been published.

The measures were brought forward by Emma Harper MSP in the Scottish Parliament, and will now progress to stage one out of three, before becoming law.

The Bill seeks to increase the maximum penalty of livestock worrying to a fine of 5,000 or imprisonment for six months.

It would allow the courts to ban a convicted person from owning a dog or allowing their dog to go on agricultural land.

Police would also be given greater powers to enforce livestock worrying offences, including by going onto land to identify a dog, seize it and collect evidence from it

The Bill widens the definition of worrying to include chase, attack and kill to make the offence clear and to allow people to better understand the term.

Farming groups in Scotland have criticised current penalty levels for not acting enough of a deterrent to prevent livestock attacks.

NFU Scotland President, Andrew McCornick welcomed the new proposals, saying: The actions of a small number of irresponsible owners who refuse to keep their pets on a lead when around livestock have been impacting on the livelihoods of Scottish farmers.

"Because livestock worrying remains a considerable issue for our members, we view this Bill is a vital stepping stone in the fight to reduce this blight on the countryside."

Looking ahead, the union wants the Scottish government to introduce further powers to ensure that victims of livestock worrying can receive full compensation for their actual losses.

"Given the impact that such attacks can have on livestock businesses, we think that full compensation is wholly appropriate," Mr McCornick said.

It comes as recent NFU Mutual figures show that livestock worrying cost British farmers 1.2m last year.
(Newser)  President Trump threatened to withdraw federal funds Wedneday after apparently misinterpreting a move from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The president, who has repeatedly criticized Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, claimed the state had sent absentee ballots to 7.7 million voters. "This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State," he tweeted. "I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!" Benson, however, had sent applications for mail-in ballots, not the ballots themselves. "I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson," she tweeted. "And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska, and West Virginia."

story continues below

In another tweet, Trump said the military had been sent to deal with flooding in Michigan, but Whitmer "must now 'set you free' to help." Trump is strongly opposed to expanding mail-in voting amid the pandemic, but it's not clear who he believes needed to authorize Michigan's decision; Republicans have long "resisted efforts to inject federal oversight" into state elections, Politico notes. In another tweet Wednesday, the president threatened to cut off funding to Nevada for sending out "illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario." Rep. Dina Titus slammed Trump for "threatening to harm Nevadans" and said that the decision to make June 9 congressional primaries all-mail was made by Nevada's Republican secretary of state, the Nevada Independent reports. (Read more Michigan stories.)
FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a joint video news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Berlin, Germany, May 18, 2020. Kay Nietfeld/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo - POOL New/REUTERS

Angela Merkel is facing opposition at home to landmark Franco-German proposals for a European Union coronavirus rescue fund.

In a move that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of the bloc, Mrs Merkel this week abandoned Germanys longstanding opposition to any form of EU collective debt and joined Emmanuel Macron of France in calling for a 500bn (450bn) joint fund to aid the recovery in member states worst hit by the virus.

But the proposals have run into resistance from within Mrs Merkels own government before other EU member states get the chance to debate them.

One of her coalition partners has warned that the fund cannot be allowed to set a precedent for future EU joint borrowing, while some n her own party have spoken out against the plans.

If other countries budget badly, they should not be relieved at the expense of the German taxpayer, Mark Hauptmann of Mrs Merkels Christian Democrats (CDU) said.

Editorial use only. HANDOUT /NO SALES Mandatory Credit: Photo by Sandra Steins/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10650848a) A handout photo made available by German Federal Press Office (BPA) shows French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) during a video call at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, 18 May 2020. France and Germany discussed Europe's economic recovery plans to respond to the virus crisis. Germany and France propose a 500-billion-euro European programme to support the economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis. Germany, France propose 500 billion euro European stimulus package, Berlin - 18 May 2020 - Sandra Steins/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

There can be no precedent, this can only be permitted as a one-off emergency measure, Florian Hahn, Europe spokesman for Mrs Merkels Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) said.

Germany has been under pressure from other EU countries to agree to a collective coronabond scheme to fund the recovery, amid warnings that it risks the future of the bloc if it does not do more to help other member states.

France and Germany are instead proposing a joint recovery fund that will issue grants to those countries worst hit by the crisis.

Mrs Merkel is widely seen as responsible for blocking Mr Macrons initiatives to reform the EU in the past. But the reaction in Germany to the latest proposals makes clear the scale of domestic opposition she faces.

Many Germans resent what they sew as paying for the profligacy of less cautious EU member states, and even in the face of the coronavirus crisis the German press still hit out at other governments.

Story continues

Why should we pay for their overborrowing and dilapidated health systems? Bild, the countrys biggest-selling newspaper, asked .

The agreement is extremely vague when it comes to explaining what the money will be spent on, Jorg Kramer of Commerzbank told the paper.

Humanitarian aid is right and proper. But strict conditions are necessary, especially in the case of Italy, where a populist party is involved in the government.
GREENWICH  The Greenwich Police Department partnered with Neighbor to Neighbor to conduct a Community Food Drive on Saturday at the public safety complex in town.

A volunteer group of about a half-dozen members of the Community Emergency Response Team assisted police officers in collecting over seven truckloads of nonperishable food items donated by residents to the local food pantry.
The benchmark indices traded in a narrow range in early afternoon trade. At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 208.11 points or 0.69% at 30,404.28. The Nifty 50 index added 67.75 points or 0.76% at 8,946.85.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.79% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.52%.

Buyers outpaced the sellers. On the BSE, 1002 shares rose and 969 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 36 shares advanced while 14 shares declined.

Sentiment got a boost after the country's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said the government remains open to more economic measures as and when needed.

Sitharaman on Sunday (17 May) announced the fifth and final tranche of economic stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The booster measures announced on Sunday related to MGNREGS, healthcare and education, businesses, de-criminalisation of the Companies Act, ease of doing business, public sector enterprises, and resources related to state governments.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, fell 6.60% to 36.8475. The Nifty April 2020 futures were trading at 8,946, a discount of 0.85 points compared with the spot at 8,946.85.

On the options front, the Nifty option chain for 28 May 2020 expiry showed maximum call open interest (OI) of 23.39 lakh contracts at the 10,000 strike price. Maximum put OI of 22.85 lakh contracts was seen at 9,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Pharma index rose 1.34% to 9,206.50 after falling marginally in the past three sessions. The index rose 13.44% in the past three months while the benchmark Nifty 50 index has lost 24.36% during the same period.

Strides Pharma Science (up 3.64%), Lupin (up 2.63%), Cipla (up 2.54%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.24%), Piramal Enterprises (up 2.05%), Wockhardt (up 1.55%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.01%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.91%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.91%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.75%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.59%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.22%) advanced.

Abbott India (down 0.81%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.27%) declined.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose 0.71% to Rs 3725.7 after the company said its formulations manufacturing plant - 3 at Bachupally in Hyderabad received the establishment inspection report (EIR) from US drug regulator. The drug maker will announce Q4 results today, 20 May 2020.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[May 20, 2020] Tech-Access Canada Congratulates 13 Newly Awarded Technology Access Centres

OTTAWA, May 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Congratulations to the 13 new and four renewed Technology Access Centres (TACs) awarded as part of the College and Community Innovation Program, announced by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). The 13 new TACs were awarded to colleges and cegeps across the country from Castlegar, BC to Gaspe, QC bringing the total number of Canada's Technology Access Centres to 60. Congratulations as well to the four TACs that were successfully renewed with another five-year mandate, validating the Technology Access Centre model, and joining the previous 21 TACs that have also received a second five-year mandate. "The 13 new TACs announced today strengthen the already impressive capability and capacity of the Tech-Access Canada network," said David Berthiaume, Executive Director of OLEOTEK and Chair of Tech-Access Canada's Board of Directors. "We look forward to sharing best practices and assisting them to hit the ground running to rapidly solve the innovation challenges of industry partners in their regions." Canada's 60 Technology Access Centres (TACs) are specialized appied research & development centres affiliated with publicly-funded colleges and cegeps. Each TAC serves a specific geographic area, with a focus on strengthening the industrial sector of significance to that region. These demand-driven centres, from BC to PEI, help Canadian businessesespecially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)get their products, processes and services market-ready by:



offering objective advice and specialized technical services;

providing training related to new types of equipment and processes; and

conducting applied research and development projects focused on company problems. "As evidenced recently with their rapid response to COVID-19, the TACs were able to come together and help firms pivot and produce innovative new forms of personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer, tracking monitors, and other products; while still servicing the ongoing R&D needs of firms in essential industries," said Ken Doyle, Tech-Access Canada's Executive Director. Tech-Access Canada would also like to congratulate all of the other recipients of both the Tri-Council administered Colleges and Community Innovation Program initiatives and the Canada Foundation for Innovation's College-Industry Innovation Fund. These awards help expand college applied research capacity across the country, paving the way for future Technology Access Centre award winners.

About Tech-Access Canada Tech-Access Canada is the national network of Canada's 60 Technology Access Centres. Based in Ottawa, Tech-Access Canada facilitates the sharing of best practices between TAC members; works to harmonize service models across regions; and promotes college applied research to external audiences. The network enables the TACs to serve any company, anywhere in Canada, and help them access the expertise, equipment, and facilities they need to solve their innovation challenges. Learn more about the TACs at MeetTheTACs.ca SOURCE Tech-Access Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, Please Explain is coming to you five days a week.

In today's episode, national science reporter Liam Mannix joins deputy world editor Chris Zappone to discuss the politics of finding a COVID-19 vaccine.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage.

Becoming a subscriber also gets you exclusive behind-the-scenes content and invitations to special events. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.
Cab aggregator Ola is laying off 1,400 staff from rides, financial services and food business as revenues declined by 95 percent in the last two months due to coronavirus pandemic, a note by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said

After Uber made two announcements of laying off 6,500 employees in total so far, cab aggregator Ola said on Wednesday it is laying off 1,400 employees. These employees are from rides, financial services and food business as the company's revenues have declined by 95 percent in the last two months due to coronavirus pandemic, a note by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. Like Ola, Uber too had made its second announcement of lay offs on mail.

Sources say @Olacabs to lay off nearly 1,400 employees, 25% of workforce. Affected employees to get payout of fixed salary for 3 months, Sources to @MugdhaCNBCTV18 pic.twitter.com/RjnI143fJj  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 20, 2020

In an email to employees, Aggarwal made it clear that the prognosis ahead for the business is "very unclear and uncertain" and the impact of this crisis is "definitely going to be long-drawn for us".

"The fallout of the virus has been very tough for our industry in particular. Our revenue has come down 95 percent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies," he said.

The company has decided to downsize and "let go" of 1,400 employees, Aggarwal added, according to PTI.

One-time job cut announcement

Aggarwal said this will be a one-time exercise and will be complete by the end of this week for the India Mobility business, and by the end of next week for Ola foods and Ola Financial Services.

"No more COVID-related cuts will be done after this exercise," he said in the email.

Aggarwal explained that more companies are expected to have a large number of employees work from home, air travel will be limited to essential trips and vacations being put off for better times.

"...the impact of this crisis is definitely going to be long-drawn for us. The world is not going to revert to the pre-COVID era anytime soon. Social distancing, anxiety, and an abundance of caution will be the operating principles for everyone," he said.

Aggarwal, in his mail, said the crisis necessitated the need to conserve cash aggressively so that it is able to invest in opportunities in the future.

"While we restructure our organisation to the new realities of our business, we are also going to recommit ourselves to strengthening our operational excellence.

"We are increasing our investments and adding people capabilities in R&D as a group, through this crisis to double down on innovation and engineering...This crisis is accelerating macro trends of digital commerce and clean mobility, and our businesses are well-positioned to leverage these macro trends well," he said.

The company has, in the past, spoken of its aim to turn profitable and go public in the next few years.

ESOPs for employees

The impacted employees at Ola will receive a minimum financial payout of 3 months of their fixed salary, irrespective of the notice period.

"Employees who have spent significantly more time with us will be eligible for higher payouts depending on tenure," Aggarwal said.

Also, all eligible ESOPs will vest forward to the closest quarter and for those who may not have completed a year, as an exception, Ola will enable pro-rated vesting for the period of time spent with the company, he added.

"All affected employees will be able to continue using their medical, life and accident insurance cover for themselves and their families up to December 31, 2020 or the start of their next job whichever is earlier, to help minimise the financial burden of health and other risks in a time like this," Aggarwal said.

The company has also decided to offer medical insurance for up to 2 parents (or in-laws) to each employee. This insurance will cover parents for all pre-existing ailments up to the age of 90, for a sum of Rs 2 lakhs.

"While we have made every possible effort to accommodate as many affected team members in open roles in our other group companies, we are rallying the support of the Ola Talent Acquisition team to help with outplacement support for as many people and in helping find suitable roles for them outside of Ola," he said.

In addition to this, we are also allowing all company-issued laptops (primary work devices) to be retained by affected employees, he added.

Pay cuts for senior employees

Aggarwal said all members of Ola's extended leadership team have taken significant salary cuts.

"We had all hoped in the beginning that this would be a short-lived crisis and that its impact would be temporary. Over the past couple of months, all members of our extended leadership team have taken significant salary cuts to be able to help the organisation delay tougher people decisions as we waited for the situation to evolve. But unfortunately, it's not been a short crisis," he said.

Aggarwal said economic activity returns, so will the need for mobility.

"Formats will evolve depending on context - personal, shared, public transit, or the niches in between. This pandemic has only highlighted the need for each of us to have safe and reliable mobility solutions. As economic activity returns, so will the need for mobility, but the paradigm will have changed,"

Layoffs in December, too

In December 2019, there were reports about Ola laying off around 20 percent of its workforce in a bid to cut costs and course correct for the over-hiring done in the past few years, according to four people aware of the development, reported Entracker.

The report said the layoffs were part of the cab hailing platform's measures to reduce costs ahead of its public listing in the future.

According to the report, the number of people being laid off could reach 1,000 as the company had then a workforce strength of 5,000. Around 500 employees had already been asked to leave, the report said.

A spokesperson for Ola then had told the news site that only 5-7 percent of its strength of 4,500 employees would be impacted and the number of employees given the pink slips would be a little over 300.

COVID-19 and social distancing

A study by Ipsos conducted in China-a global market and opinion research firm, revealed that 66 percent of respondents are now thinking of buying a car as opposed just 34 percent before the outbreak. Around 15 percent of the respondents said they now plan to opt for cab services compared with 21 percent before, according to a report in Mint. Around 77% of respondents said their intention of buying a vehicle was to reduce chances of infection.

--With inputs from agencies
The following editorial was published in the Los Angeles Times:

(TNS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday was asked to rule that members of the Electoral College have the right not to cast their votes for the presidential candidate who won their state, even if they are required to do so by state law. The court must reject that claim.

The oral arguments on May 11 involved so-called faithless electors who emerged in two states following the 2016 election. In Washington, three electors were fined for voting not for Hillary Clinton, who carried the state, but for former Secretary of State Colin Powell. In Colorado, where Clinton also won the popular vote, Micheal Baca was removed as an elector after he tried to vote for then-Gov. John Kasich of Ohio.

There had also been a public campaign to persuade electors to reject Donald Trump. The argument was that the framers of the Constitution intended electors to cast their votes in what Alexander Hamilton called circumstances favorable to deliberation. But the Electoral College as Hamilton envisaged it hasnt existed for most of American history.

Fortunately, several justices indicated that they were loath to hand down a ruling that would upset the long-established understanding of the electors role. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh asked during the argument in the Washington case whether the court ought not to be guided by what he called the avoid-chaos principle of judging.

But shouldnt the justices rule not on pragmatic grounds but on the basis of what the Constitution requires? Of course, but the original overarching goal of the Constitution was to entrust states to appoint electors in whatever manner their legislatures saw fit. The states subsequently decided, rightly, on a more democratic approach, awarding electoral votes on the basis of the popular vote in their state. The court should respect that decision by allowing states to punish or replace electors who go rogue.

The alternative is a situation in which electors could be lobbied to vote for a candidate who didnt carry their state  conceivably the winner of the national popular vote but just as likely someone else, as occurred in these cases.

Twice in the recent past the Electoral College has installed in the White House candidates who lost the national popular vote. Thats why this editorial page has called for its abolition. As a stopgap measure, we also have supported Californias decision to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact in which participating states pledge to award their electoral votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. (The compact wouldnt go into effect until it included enough states to constitute a majority of 270 electoral votes.)

The Electoral College is a blot on American democracy. But allowing electors to disregard their states popular vote would make the system even less democratic.
The European Council has finally approved the allocation of EUR 1.2 billion in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba has said.

"The EU Council approved EUR 1.2 bln of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, concluding EU legislative procedure. Grateful for the solidarity and true friendship the EU demonstrates in fighting COVID-19 and its economic impact. We are all stronger when we are united against coronavirus," the diplomat wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, May 20.

.@EUCouncil approved 1,2 bln of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, concluding EU legislative procedure. Grateful for the solidarity & true friendship the EU demonstrates in fighting #COVID19 & its economic impact. We are all stronger when we are #UnitedAgainstCoronavirus  Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 20, 2020

A statement posted on the European Council's website says the Council adopted a decision to provide up to 3 billion euros of macro-financial assistance to ten enlargement and neighborhood partners to help them cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Financial assistance will be provided in the form of loans on highly favorable terms and allocated as follows: Albania: EUR 180 million; Bosnia-Herzegovina: EUR 250 million; Georgia: EUR 150 million; Jordan: EUR 200 million; Kosovo: EUR 100 million; Moldova: EUR 100 million; Montenegro: EUR 60 million; Republic of North Macedonia: EUR 160 million; Tunisia: EUR 600 million; Ukraine: EUR 1.2 billion," the statement said.

It notes that EU assistance will help these jurisdictions cover their immediate financing needs which have increased as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Together with the support from the International Monetary Fund, the funds will help enhance macroeconomic stability and create space to allow resources to be allocated towards protecting citizens and to mitigating the negative socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Aerial view of the Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya.  UNHCR

Nairobi/Geneva  UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, humanitarian agencies and the Government of Kenya are strengthening their COVID-19 response, after it was confirmed by the Government that two individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the Dadaab refugee camps.

In line with the Government of Kenyas directives, the two individuals were placed in quarantine and then moved to isolation centres after positive results were received. The Ministry of Healths Disease Surveillance and Response team has initiated contact tracing.

The crowded conditions in the Dadaab refugee camps, where health services are already under pressure, raise serious concerns about the vulnerability of over 217,000 refugees and 320,000 host communities living in the camp and its surrounding areas.

UNHCR, partners and other UN sister agencies have been supporting the Government-led countrywide response plan to mitigate risks and prevent further spread of the virus in the refugee camps.

In Dadaab, health facilities have been enhanced, with the construction of isolation and quarantine centres providing beds for an additional 955 people. An additional 125 hand-washing stations have been installed at food distribution sites, schools and markets.

Health centres have been provided with 68 personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline staff, 450 pairs of gloves, 45,000 surgical masks and four oxygen concentrators. Refugee-led groups have produced more than 150,000 cloth masks which will be ready for distribution in the coming days. All health workers have been trained on COVID-19 prevention and response. There are currently 18 medical doctors, 150 nurses, 52 clinicians, 11 lab technicians and 336 community health volunteers working in the Dadaab refugee camps.

Hygiene awareness campaigns on COVID-19 prevention have reached more than 200,000 refugees, including through local radio, posters, leaflets, WhatsApp messages, social media and dedicated websites in Somali, Oromo, Dinka, Swahili, Nuer, French and English.

UNHCR, World Food Programme (WFP) and partners have provided double rations of food and hygiene products such as soap and jerrycans, to minimise the need for large gatherings and queues.

Refugee community leaders and outreach workers have received training and are regularly sharing key messages with the refugee population in the camp. UNHCR and partners have also enhanced psycho-social support structures and strengthened existing dedicated helplines to ensure that refugees and asylum-seekers have access to information and guidance on available assistance.

UNHCRs Global COVID-19 Response Appeal has so far received 31 per cent of the US$745 million needed to assist refugees impacted by COVID-19. UNHCR is calling on the international community to continue and step up its support in order to ensure that vulnerable refugees, asylum-seekers and host communities in Kenya have access to adequate health services and care.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
JEFFERSON CITY  Post-Dispatch metro columnist Tony Messenger has won a Silver Gavel Award for Media and the Arts from the American Bar Association for his coverage of debtors prisons in Missouri.

The bar association said Messenger provided powerful commentary about Missourians being jailed, essentially, for being poor.

The Silver Gavel Awards, the bar association said, recognize outstanding work that fosters the American publics understanding of law and the legal system.

Messengers columns focused on the jailing of people who struggled to pay board bills that stemmed from their time behind bars. The bills charge for the cost of imprisonment and can total thousands of dollars.

In one column, Messenger profiled Brooke Bergen, of Salem, Missouri, who pleaded guilty to shoplifting after stealing an $8 tube of mascara from Walmart. She got probation, but had to submit to twice-weekly drug tests that cost her $30 a week.

When Bergen did not answer a call from Lisa Blackwell, who was administering the drug tests, Bergen spent a year in jail. When she was released, Bergen was given a $15,900 bill.

Messengers reporting shook the halls of power in Jefferson City, prompting legislation doing away with jail time for failure to pay jail debt. Gov. Mike Parson signed the measure last year.

The Missouri Supreme Court last year unanimously ruled in favor of two men Messenger had profiled.

Messenger won a Pulitzer Prize for his columns last year.

Messengers tenacious reporting overcame efforts by some local officials to thwart his coverage and block his access to records, Gilbert Bailon, the editor of the Post-Dispatch, said in a statement.

But he was able to reveal the truth about abuses of vulnerable people who had no recourse in the Missouri legal system, Bailon said. His columns made the public aware of an unjust system, which led lawmakers to change the law and procedures to prevent future abuses.

Messenger, noting the Legislature attempted this year to overturn recent reforms, said he expects to continue to write about debtors prisons for years to come.

When poor people are jailed simply because they cant afford a board bill or other costs and fees it exacerbates poverty in a cruel way. I hope my reporting on this topic has helped encourage needed reform, he said.

Other Silver Gavel winners include author Emily Bazelon for her book Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration and the Reuters news service for an investigative series titled Hidden Injustice, which was also published at stltoday.com. A documentary, a film drama and a podcast were also recognized by the ABA.

Jack Suntrup  573-556-6184 @JackSuntrup on Twitter jsuntrup@post-dispatch.com

Jack Suntrup  573-556-6184 @JackSuntrup on Twitter jsuntrup@post-dispatch.com
Israel was behind a cyber attack on 9 May that disrupted operations at a major port in Iran, according to high-ranking intelligence officials and experts in West Asia who are kept informed of covert Israeli actions in the region

Tel Aviv: Israel was behind a cyber attack on 9 May that disrupted operations at a major port in Iran, according to high-ranking intelligence officials and experts in West Asia who are kept informed of covert Israeli actions in the region.

The attack on the computer systems at the Shahid Rajaee port in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz was limited in scope, creating traffic jams of delivery trucks and some delays in shipments but causing no substantial or lasting damage.

Israel and Iran have recently been engaged in an exchange of attempted and successful cyber attacks, and the purpose of Israels relatively small-scale effort at the port, according to intelligence officials, was to send a message to Tehran: Dont target Israeli infrastructure.

The hacking of the ports computers came in direct response, those experts familiar with the decision-making process said, to a failed Iranian cyber attack on an Israeli water facility last month.

Officials in Israel initially decided the country should not retaliate for the attack on the water system, according to the intelligence sources, because its effect would have been minor even if it had succeeded.

But when the story of the attempted attack was published in Israeli media, government officials, led by Naftali Bennett in his last days as defence minister, thought Israel should react in the same token by targeting Iranian civilian infrastructure and then leaking that story to international news media.

Israels responsibility for the cyber attack on the port was first reported by The Washington Post.

The incident that prompted the Israeli attack on the port happened on 24 April, when a pump at a municipal water system in the Sharon region of central Israel stopped working. The facilitys computer system resumed pump operation in a short time but also recorded the occurrence as an exceptional event.

A security company that investigated discovered that malware had caused the shutdown. Because water is defined as critical infrastructure in Israel, the incident was reported to the Israel National Cyber Directorate and other intelligence agencies in Israel.

According to Israeli experts with knowledge of the investigation, Israeli officials identified the malware as coming from one of the offensive cyber units of Irans Revolutionary Guard.

While some unprotected pumps connected to the internet were not properly protected, the facilitys computer system identified the malfunction and restarted the pump, and no damage or interference with the water supply to residents and farmers in the region was recorded.

The attack and its quality were described by an intelligence official as miserable.

The main push for an Israeli counter-response came from Bennett, the outgoing defence minister, who had advocated an assertive line against Iran in his seven months in office, both in actions and in his public statements.

We must not let go of Iran for a moment, Bennett said Monday in his farewell remarks to the ministry as Israel swore in a new government. We need to increase political, economic, military, technological pressure and do that in even more and bigger dimensions, he said.

The site in Iran was specifically chosen as a non-central target, with an intent to send a warning that attacking Israels civilian infrastructure would not go unanswered and was crossing a red line, the intelligence officials said.

Activity at the Shahid Rajaee port has been severely hampered by the US sanctions imposed on Iran after the United States abandoned the nuclear deal. No more than 20 freight ships reach it every month.

Soon after the cyber attack began, the ports authorities detected it. They failed to fix it immediately but switched to manual management of unloading and loading.

The restrained nature of the recent cyber attacks seem to indicate that both sides want to avoid escalation.

On the Israeli side, this is somewhat similar to the way that the country is waging war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, where it is careful to bomb and destroy equipment but only after verifying that there is no danger to Hezbollahs personnel.

An intelligence official said that Israel hopes the attack on the port will end this cyber exchange but that, according to one intelligence assessment, the Revolutionary Guard will respond by attacking Israel again.

In a ceremony Tuesday evening, General Aviv Kochavi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces, appeared to allude to the cyber attack on the Iranian port. We will continue to use a diverse array of military tools and unique warfare methods to hurt the enemy, he said.

While we do everything in our might to avoid harming civilians, the enemy makes every possible effort to harm civilians, he said, adding, The dozens of strikes that we have conducted, both recently and in the past, have already proved the superior nature of the intelligence and fire abilities of the IDF.

Ronen Bergman and David M Halbfinger c.2020 The New York Times Company
NASA satellites have been providing forecasters with various types of imagery on Typhoon Amphan as it heads toward a landfall near the border of eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20.

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided visible imagery of Amphan and NASA's Aqua satellite provided an infrared view of the storm's cloud top temperatures. Amphan was moving north through the Bay of Bengal and forecast to make landfall in northeastern India near Kolkata, which is just west of the border with Bangladesh.

The Bay of Bengal is located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. The Bay is framed by India to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar to the east.

On May 19, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image Amphan. The image showed that Amphan covered the northern part of the Bay of Bengal.

Tropical cyclones are made up hundreds of thunderstorms, and infrared data can show where the strongest storms are located. They can do that because infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach highest into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures. Convection is rising air that condenses and forms the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone. When it is strong, it pushes clouds higher into the troposphere (the layer of atmosphere closest to Earth's surface). The higher you go in the troposphere, the colder the air temperature gets and colder cloud tops indicate stronger storms.

On May 20, 2020, at 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that both fly aboard NASA's Aqua satellite found coldest cloud top temperatures in a large area around Amphan's center of circulation and along the coast on northeastern India. It was as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). NASA research has found that cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms with the potential to generate heavy rainfall.

On May 20 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), Tropical Cyclone Amphan was located near latitude 20.5 degrees north and longitude 87.9 degrees east, approximately, 129 miles south-southwest of Kolkata, India. Amphan was moving to the north-northeast and had maximum sustained winds 85 knots (98 mph/157 kph). Amphan continued to hold on to Category 2 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that Amphan was weakening as it moves north-northeast toward landfall. That landfall occurred in the morning hours of May 20 Eastern Daylight Time.

The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in New Dehli, India reported, "Amphan crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) across Sunderbans near latitude 21.65 degrees north and longitude 88.3 degrees east between 1530 and 1730 [India Standard Time or] IST (6 and 8 a.m. EDT) on May 20 with wind speed of 155-165 kph [96 to 103 mph]." Amphan is forecast to move inland in a north-northeasterly direction.

###

Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA researches these storms to determine how they rapidly intensify, develop and behave. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

For the latest RSMC bulletin, visit: http://www.rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/images/cyclone_pdfs/13._Hourly_Bulletein_201200_UTC_1589981101.pdf

By Rob Gutro

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
A man has been injured following a shooting in North Dublin.

It is believed the man, aged in his 30s, was shot in the leg during the incident which occurred at Cromcastle Drive, Kilmore, Coolock, at 2pm today.

He has been transferred to Beaumont Hospital where his injuries are believed to be non life-threatening.

The scene is currently preserved for technical examination.

No arrests have been made.

Investigations are ongoing.

More to follow...
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  The country is already in the middle of its "second wave" or another surge of COVID-19 cases, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said, but it has also begun controlling the rise in numbers.

"Actually nasa second wave na tayo," said Duque in a Senate hearing held online.

[Translation: Actually we are now on the second wave.]

The secretary said he cited findings of epidemiologist Dr. John Wong and other experts.

Wong in a later briefing explained that a wave means a rise and fall in cases, adding that the country's first three cases recorded in January were considered the first wave while the second wave began in March.

"There was a very small wave last few days of January, and then there was a lull, and then we had our second wave, which is the first major wave, which is more than 10,000 cases," he said in an online briefing with the DOH. "We are now in the trough of the lower part of the second wave."

However, Duque also reported that the country has already flattened its curve due to fewer cases reported daily.

"Bumaba 'yung kaso at nagstabilize 'yung new cases," said the secretary.

[Translation: The number of cases has dropped and the number of new cases has stabilized.]

Wong expounded that flattening the curve means preventing the number of cases from exceeding the capacity of hospitals. He said the numbers peaked with 538 new COVID-19 cases per day, but recently, the daily count has dropped to 220, due to the enhanced community quarantine.

"When we say 'flatten the curve,' we flatten in relation of health system capacity, measured in terms of hospital beds, ICU beds, ventilators," said Wong.

The COVID-19 national tally broke the 13,000 mark on Wednesday with a death toll of 842 and recoveries reaching 2,932.

Do we have enough data?

However, senators were skeptical given that the government still has not met its target testing capacity of 30,000 per day.

"Can you please explain to us how can we say that we already flattened the curve when we have not tested enough?" raised Senator Kiko Pangilinan during the hearing.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also expressed concern over the health chief's pronouncement.

"Mahirap sabihin na (It is difficult to say) we have flattened the curve without real and reliable data... Lets be clear on our benchmarks and indicators," she said.

Duque said measuring the country's progress in the COVID-19 battle does not only take into account testing capacity but other factors such as contact-tracing. However, he maintained that flattening the curve does not mean people should become complacent.

"Tama pa rin yung ginagawa natin (What we are doing is still correct)...I'm not saying we should pat ourselves on the back," he said.

Just two days ago, an expert told CNN Philippines that the first wave may still be ongoing.

"There are some scientists who are saying we just pushed the first peak farther, that means we bought time. And as soon as we opened up, the peak will go up," said Ted Herbosa, medical adviser to the National Task Force on COVID-19.

So some even say this is still the first wave just delayed by about 50 days of ECQ (enhanced community quarantine)," he added. "The other thing is that weve already flattened it and the peak will happen from external sources, other sources."

Herbosa said he and fellow experts use the viral disease's "reproductive number" to determine the curve, with the goal being the statistic to drop to a value below one. Herbosa noted that the country was able to lower the rate to about 0.6 during the height of the ECQ implementation, but latest data show the number is hovering around 1.

Duque said the Health Department is now focused on preventing a third wave of cases as quarantine restrictions slowly ease. Duque said the agency is working on ensuring that "minimum health standards" such as reducing vulnerability, reducing transmission and reducing contact, are followed.

Reducing vulnerability means "increasing physical and mental resilience" by adopting a healthy lifestyle, while reducing transmission refers to preventive measures such as wearing face masks, practicing cough etiquette and using disinfectants, Duque said. On the other hand, reducing contact pertains to physical distancing or keeping people at least a meter apart.

The Health Department had earlier repeatedly warned the public of a possible "second wave" or surge of COVID-19 infections should the public stop practicing preventive measures and social distancing.

Metro Manila, Laguna and Cebu City have been under modified enhanced community quarantine for the past few days, which has allowed more businesses to resume operations. Meanwhile, low-risk areas are under general community quarantine with even lighter restrictions.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A local conservation group is fundraising to purchase undeveloped land for sale next to the Kleinstuck Preserve.

Stewards of Kleinstuck announced in a news release this week it is launching a fundraising campaign called Keep Kalamazoo Wild, to purchase and preserve 12 acres of undeveloped land next to the the preserve, which is owned and managed by Western Michigan University

Kleinstuck Stewards, a nonprofit that has partnered with WMU to maintain the preserve, held a meeting last fall to gauge interest in raising money to purchase the space after it went for sale. If purchased, the group plans to keep the land untouched and in its natural state.

The 12-acre property at 2000 Hudson Ave. sits between the 48-acre Kleinstuck Preserve, and the Kalamazoo YMCA. It is within the citys Westnedge Hill neighborhood, nearby Kalamazoos Oakland and Winchell neighborhoods. The property is currently listed for sale at $699,000.

The nearby Kleinstuck Preserve has seen an influx of community members since the stay-at-home orders began, as Kalamazoo residents look for outdoor experiences to alleviate cabin fever during Michigans stay-at-home measures. Stewards of Kleinstuck said the increase in traffic there is an indication of the communitys continued interest in conserving woodland areas, according to the release.

In these uncertain times, it has become all more clear to how important nature is in our community, Stewards of Kleinstuck President Erin Fuller said in the release.

Stewards of Kleinstuck said Kalamazoo residents are utilizing nature preserves at a higher rate as people look for ways to safely enjoy the outdoors. Leaving the adjacent lot untouched will add to the communitys stock of natural land.

Our sincere hope is to see this additional 12 acres remain in its natural state and open to the public forever, Fuller said.

In January, concerned community members packed Kalamazoo City Hall after a zoning change was proposed to allow development of properties near Asylum Lake Preserve, another popular natural area in Kalamazoo. The zoning change, requested for a property near the corner of Stadium Drive and South Drake Road, would have allowed the construction of a Drive and Shine car wash.

Related: 6 opinions voiced about car wash proposed near Asylum Lake

The Kalamazoo City Commission ultimately rejected the proposal, which would have also removed the Natural Features Protection designation that places conditions on future development of the land.

The company later opened a car wash on West Main Street in Kalamazoo Township, on a property where a former Davenport University facility was demolished in 2019.

The conservation group claims the potential development of the land near the Kleinstuck Preserve represents an environmental threat. Should the lot be sold, current zoning would allow development of up to 100 residential units on the property, according to the release.

Stewards of Kleinstuck said in the release it hopes the fundraising campaign will not only grant them the ability to buy the 12-acre woodland area next to its preserve, but also spark a renewed focus on the preservation and appreciation of Kalamazoos natural spaces.

As part of its fundraising effort, Stewards of Kleinstuck is offering Keep Kalamazoo Wild branded merchandise, including tote bags, vinyl stickers, hats and shirts. The items are available for purchase on the groups website, which also includes an option to donate to KeepKalamazooWild.com.

If the fundraising campaign does not raise enough money to purchase the lot, the group will instead spend any money raised toward the communitys wildlife and natural areas, according to the release.

Also on MLive:

Group seeks to conserve property next to nature preserve in Kalamazoo neighborhood

Asylum Lake Preserve remains open despite concerns about increase in visitors amid outbreak
Tanaiste Simon Coveney has said there will be a considerable degree of scepticism in Brussels to the UKs protocol on Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to customs controls.

Mr Coveney said while the UK has left the EU, Northern Ireland will remain in the EUs custom zone and British officials will have to adhere to European controls in the province.

He said the document does not alter the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU which he said guarantees that there will be no physical customs infrastructure on the island of Ireland.

While he gave the document a cautious welcome, Mr Coveney said extensive technical discussions between the UK and the EU negotiating teams will be needed to clarify the arrangements.

Mr Coveney, speaking on RTE news, described the protocol document as an implementation plan proposal from the British Government but that cannot alter or undermine what was signed up to in the Withdrawal Agreement.

Meanwhile, the possibility of customs checks on the Irish border grew more likely today following the publication of implementation guidelines for the Irish protocol today by the British Government, said Fianna Fail MEPs Barry Andrews and Billy Kelleher.

We are alarmed at how the British government is interpreting the Irish protocol. Some of the language used in the implementation guidelines is worrying. What the British government is proposing is quite light touch. We believe it could cause the European Commission to question whether keeping the trade border in the Irish Sea is still viable, they said.

The pair said their worry is that in this scenario, the Commission would be forced to insist on customs checks on the island of Ireland in order to protect the European Internal and Single Market. This is something we, and the majority of people on the island of Ireland, would oppose, they said in a statement.

The north's First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster welcomed "clarity" with the publication of the UK paper on Northern Ireland and Brexit.

"I think there's been some clarity brought today. Of course we'll continue to work on the technical parts and the entry designation for SPS and animal origin matter will, of course, have to be dealt with," she told Stormont's Executive committee.

"I think the important point in the protocol from what I can see thus far is it talks about very much minimising all of that. I welcome that," she said.
Elizabeth Hunnicutt was at Grace Northridge Church one Thursday recently, quietly arranging bags of food destined for delivery to Lamar Elementary School families whose world has been knocked off kilter by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A member of Grace Northridge, she said she volunteers at the food pantry that runs out of the Eisenhauer Road church because she knows what its like to go hungry.

My mom was a single mom, and I remember this older couple whod sneak food into our car because they knew we needed it, said the nurse practitioner. I want to give something back.

The all-volunteer effort is just one of several food pantries that have popped up around town since the citys stay-at-home orders went into effect. They help families of breadwinners thrown out of work, seniors afraid to venture to the supermarket, those with underlying medical conditions and people who depend on caregivers unable to visit.

While most of these programs do not partner with the San Antonio Food Bank, Eric Cooper said he welcomes the efforts.

You cant help but applaud anyone who takes the initiative to feed those in need, said the president of the organization that serves 16 counties in South Texas. It relieves the pressure on us because if someone is getting a meal from one place, they dont need to get it from someplace else.

Becky McMains, who runs the food pantry at Grace Northridge, realized soon after the pandemic struck that many parents of children who attend Lamar Elementary School (which has long had a relationship with the church) were likely to lose their jobs in the resulting economic crash.

So she put out a call on social media asking for food donations.

I had no strategy beyond asking them to drop off food at my house, McMains said. I figured Id figure out how to get it to the families somehow.

The food soon started rolling in: breakfast cereal, peanut butter, pasta, mac and cheese, rice, beans, canned soup and more, including baby formula and diapers.

I would burst into tears as more and more kept arriving, she said. Ive been overwhelmed by the generosity and empathy of givers. She got so much food, in fact, she soon ran out of storage room at her house and turned to her church for help.

On ExpressNews.com: Coronavirus pandemic feels like the Great Depression, say many who lived through it

Were not having live services, so we have plenty of space to help, said Robert Balfour, assistant pastor at Grace Northridge. So now every Thursday, a contingent of church members, along with teachers and administrators from the school, gathers at the church to prepare and deliver food to about 130 Lamar families.

Each week they try to deliver enough food so everyone in the family could have three breakfasts and three other meals, plus snacks. Most of their donations are of food, but they can occasionally supplement when someone gives them cash. Eight weeks in, the food donations continue to arrive.

I was talking to one of the school counselors who was worried people would stop giving, McMains said. I told her its not going to end. And it hasnt yet.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Putting buyers, sellers together

Elsewhere, Kimberly Goodwins effort to feed the needy, which she calls Neighbors Helping Neighbors, started one day early on in the pandemic while the adjunct professor in social work at the University of Texas at San Antonio was scrolling through her Facebook feed.

She noticed that W.D. Deli on Broadway, a favorite restaurant of hers, was closing for the duration of the pandemic because they werent making enough money on takeout orders alone (it has since reopened). Then a friend posted about how families living in SAMMinistries Transitional Living and Learning Center were unable to venture out to buy food because of the risk of infection.

I figured we had someone who needs to sell something and someone who wants to buy something, she said. So I ordered 123 boxed lunches from W.D. and we delivered them to the shelter.

After texting friends for help, she raised $1,125 to pay for the lunches in only two days.

Since then, shes been reaching out to different restaurants and shelters each week, buying from Deco Pizzeria, Bird Bakery and Sangria on the Burg and more, and delivering to nonprofits such as the Battered Women and Childrens Shelter, PFlag San Antonio and Roy Maas Youth Alternatives.

Every week she spends between $500 and $1,000 to provide one full meal per person served by the nonprofit, all of it raised through her personal and professional network of contacts and via Facebook.

Jerry Lara /Staff photographer

Its kind of amazing because every week we think this might be the last time we can do it, and every week we always get the money we need, she said. More than once weve gotten half the amount on the final day before we need to buy the food.

She said running the program helps her feel less helpless.

So many things are out of our control, she explained. This is a practical way of doing good and helping others.

Getting it wholesale

During the early days of the pandemic, when shoppers stripped store shelves of necessities such as eggs, milk and toilet paper, commercial baker Carol Jeske realized that many of her neighbors didnt have the means or the capability to leave their homes and face the crowds.

A lot of them are medically fragile, she said. They were terrified to go out into public.

On ExpressNews.com: Wholesalers giving cold shoulder to event planner tabbed for USDA program

So, avoiding large supermarkets, she started haunting less obvious convenience stores and bodegas where she could still find these and other necessities, dropping them off at the homes of people in need she knew who dont drive or dont have money.

Initially she covered most of the cost herself, although as word got out, people started donating money to her which, she said, made her feel odd.

I didnt want anyone to think I was pocketing it, so I take pictures of the receipts and send them to the people who give me money, she said. She estimates she still pays 80 percent to 90 percent of the costs herself.

Shell often ask neighbors, such as Sylvia Ponce who is medically fragile and so tries not to go to the supermarket too often, what they need and do what she can to fill those orders.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

She gets dairy, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, said Ponce, 75. Shes a very nice lady and has brought me food three times. She even asked if I needed toilet paper or cleaning supplies. But I told her my sister helps me out with that stuff.

Eventually, Jeske learned of wholesale outlets, like the San Antonio Produce terminal on the West Side where she could buy more food for less.

But the prices change daily, so you have to do your homework, she said. Some days Ill spend four hours calling around trying to find the best prices on the things I want to buy. Some days, if theyre having a special, H-E-B will be the cheapest.

Feeding seniors

Tatu and Emilie Herrera, owners of Folklores Coffee House on South Flores Street, have been making and delivering meals to mostly seniors in their neighborhood since soon after the pandemic forced them to close their doors.

I was watching TV when this all started, and I started thinking about how scary this must have been for all the seniors out there who might not know what was happening, he said. There was so much need it would kill me to know if my grandparents were having to go without food.

He put out a call to see if anyone needed anything and 30 people responded. So they made sandwiches, chips and a salad and delivered it to their homes. The next time, 80 people responded. Soon they were feeding 200 people at a time.

Eventually they transitioned from individual meals to groceries  rice, beans, pasta and the like  so the people could make their own meals and have food for several days. They estimate that in the eight weeks theyve been doing so, theyve served almost 5,100 meals and spent about $40,000, some out of their pocket and $26,000 raised on a Go Fund Me campaign.

Weve built our business saying we want to be a pillar of the community, Tatu said. So we figure why say it if were not going to act on it? In the end we feel that karma will come around and well be better off for what weve done.

None of these food pantry operators say they have plans to stop supplying food just yet. As the pandemic continues, so does the need. Some may continue, albeit under new guises. McMains, for example, said her group is discussing transforming the ongoing food pantry into one that helps school families in an emergency.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

Say a family has been evicted or mom gets sick and Grandma doesnt have enough food to feed the kids, she explained. Were talking about having food available to help bridge this gap, now that we have a model in place.

But, she emphasized, things are still up in the air and for now, the work of getting food to families that need it will continue.

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Richard A., become a subscriber. rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini
A missouri inmate on Tuesday became the first person to be executed since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Walter Barton, 64, died by lethal injection for killing Gladys Kuehler, 81, in 1991. A jury recently said that 'compelling' new evidence made them feel 'uncomfortable' about the conviction and he had long maintained his innocence.

His case had been tied up for years due to appeals, mistrials and two overturned convictions but his fate was sealed when neither the courts nor Gov. Mike Parson intervened.

Barton breathed heavily five times after the lethal drug entered his body Tuesday evening, then suddenly stopped. In his final statement released prior to his execution, Barton said: 'I, Walter 'Arkie' Barton, am innocent and they are executing an innocent man!!'

A federal appeals court on Sunday overturned a 30-day stay of execution granted by a judge two days earlier.

Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday that he had not heard anything to make him reconsider the execution which will 'move forward as scheduled.'

One of Barton's attorneys, Fred Duchardt Jr., had previously said Parson may not have the time to consider clemency because of the attention he must pay to dealing with the coronavirus.

Walter Barton was executed Tuesday, in the first since Nathaniel Woods in Alabama on March 5

Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman said everyone entering the prison in Bonne Terre will have their temperatures checked and will be offered face coverings. Witnesses will be divided into three rooms

Barton was executed in Bonne Terre, Missouri, about 60 miles south of St. Louis, at a prison that has no confirmed cases of the virus. Strict protocols were in place to protect workers and visitors from exposure to the coronavirus.

Everyone entering the prison had their temperatures checked. Face coverings were required, and the prison provided masks and gloves for those who didnt have them.

Witnesses were divided into three rooms. Those witnesses include an Associated Press reporter and other journalists and state witnesses, and people there to support Barton. No relatives or other supporters of the victim attended.

The execution made Barton the first person executed in the US since Nathaniel Woods was put to death in Alabama on March 5.

Soon after that, efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus shut down the US economy and led to strict limits on social distancing, including inside prisons. Three states have put aside executions over the past two-and-a-half months.

Gladys Kuehler operated a mobile home park in the town of Ozark, Missouri, near Springfield. In October 1991 she was found dead in her bedroom. She had been beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed more than 50 times.

Barton has long said he was innocent, and his case has been tied up for years due to appeals, mistrials and two overturned convictions.

Barton received the death penalty for the slaying of mobile home park operator (scene is pictured) Gladys Kuehler, 81, in 1991 but a jury recently said that 'compelling' new evidence from an expert witness made them feel 'uncomfortable' about the conviction

Other states, including Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, have postponed executions after attorneys argued that pandemic-related closures prevented them from securing records or conducting interviews for clemency petitions and court appeals.

Attorneys also expressed concerns about interacting with individuals and possibly being exposed to the virus. And, they've argued that the execution process, which includes placing prison workers and witnesses in close proximity to each other, could lead to spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

There have been no confirmed cases of the virus in the prison housing Missouri's execution chamber in Bonne Terre, about 60 miles south of St. Louis.

Barton often spent time at the mobile home park that Kuehler operated. He was with her granddaughter and a neighbor on the evening of October 9, 1991, when they found Kuehler dead in her bedroom.

Police noticed what appeared to be blood stains on Barton's clothing, and DNA tests later confirmed it was Kuehler's. Barton said the stains must have occurred when he pulled Kuehler's granddaughter away from the body.

The granddaughter first confirmed that account but testified that Barton never came into the bedroom. A blood spatter expert at Barton's trial said the three small stains likely resulted from the 'impact' of the knife.

The first attempt to prosecute Barton ended in a mistrial in 1993 after his attorney objected that prosecutors had failed to endorse any trial witnesses

At his fifth trial, in 2006, Barton was convicted for the third time. The state Supreme Court upheld that conviction and death penalty in 2007, but Barton has continued his appeals

The first attempt to prosecute Barton ended in a mistrial in 1993 after his attorney objected that prosecutors had failed to endorse any trial witnesses. Another mistrial was declared that same year after another jury deadlocked.

Barton was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to death. The state Supreme Court overturned the conviction over objections to the prosecutor's final arguments. Barton was convicted again and sentenced to death in 1998, but another new trial was ordered when a judge found that the prosecution had failed to disclose the full background of one of its witnesses, among other improprieties.

At his fifth trial, in 2006, Barton was convicted for the third time. The state Supreme Court upheld that conviction and death penalty in 2007, but Barton has continued his appeals.

In recent court filings, Barton's attorney, Fred Duchardt Jr., cited the findings of another blood spatter expert. Lawrence Renner examined Bartons clothing and boots and concluded the killer would have had far more blood stains.

Duchardt said three jurors recently signed affidavits calling Renner's determination 'compelling' and saying it would have affected their deliberations. The jury foreman said that based on the new evidence, he would have been 'uncomfortable' recommending the death penalty.

One of those on the jury went as far to say they had 'serious questions' about Barton's guilt even at the trial.

Barton's attorney previously told The Kansas City Star: 'It is a worse nightmare because evidence, never heard by the jury who rendered judgment, undermines the key evidence used to convict.'

The expert said the killer could not have worn the clothes used in the evidence against Barton.

Former prosecutor Ron Cleek, who tried Barton's fifth trial, said Barton deserves death, and was offered life without parole at the time: 'He had fair trials. He really did receive his whole due when it came down to it'

'I don't know how anybody could look at the evidence now and convict him,' Duchardt said.

But former prosecutor Ron Cleek, who tried Barton's fifth trial, disagreed.

'He had fair trials. He really did receive his whole due when it came down to it. This last trial that I did was very clean,' he told KSPR. 'The victim gets her just due. I think it was the right decision then. It's the right decision now. His life will be ended so that no one else could be hurt. He is not an innocent man.'

The last execution in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state, was February 6.

Seven executions that were scheduled since then have been delayed. Six of the delays had some connection to the pandemic while the seventh was related to claims that a death row inmate is intellectually disabled.

The next execution in Texas is set for June 16. Officials have instituted a process requiring witnesses to be be subject to the same screening required of prison employees before entering the facility, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel said.

The screening involves questions based on potential exposure to the coronavirus and health inquiries.

Texas' death chamber is not a heavy traffic area and is isolated from all parts of the prison in Huntsville, and it is constantly cleaned, Desel said.
Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said the coronavirus coming from India is more lethal than those from China and Italy and blamed the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan nation on those sneaking into the country from India, as the total number of COVID-19 cases jumped to 427 on Wednesday.

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside. Many coronavirus infected patients have entered Nepal.

The virus came from outside, as we did not have here before. We could not stop infiltration of people from outside the border, he said.

Oli said that the biggest challenge facing the country today is the rising number of coronavirus cases and blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals breaking the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India.

"The coronavirus coming from India are more lethal than those from China and Italy," he said.

Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing, Oli was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

Oli's remarks came amid Nepal's border row with India after the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

He said the Nepal government has been following precautionary measures since early time to stop the spread of the virus. "It is the main priority of the government to make the country free from coronavirus," he said.

There were 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.

Many of the confirmed coronavirus cases in Nepal are those who returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi's Nizamuddin area in early March.

Foreign nationals, particularly from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan attended the Tablighi activities in Delhi.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Oli had 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. The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been extended until June 2.

The coronavirus cases in Nepal on Wednesday rose to 427 after 25 new infection cases were confirmed, the Health Ministry said. Two persons, a man and a woman, have died due to COVID-19 in the country so far.

Prime Minister Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts, as his Cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the three areas as Nepalese territory. Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there. Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory. Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LAKE FOREST, Ill., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tenneco Inc. (NYSE: TEN) will participate in the Deutsche Bank 2020 Global Auto Industry Conference to be held virtually on Thursday, June 11, 2020. The webcasted presentation is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. Eastern. Brian Kesseler, chief executive officer, and Ken Trammell, interim chief financial officer, will give a strategic overview and provide information regarding matters impacting Tenneco's outlook.

The live webcast can be accessed by going to the "Investors" portion of its web site at www.investors.tenneco.com . A copy of the slides also will be available under the "Events & Presentations" tab in this section of the website. A replay of the webcast will be available through July 11, 2020.

About Tenneco

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, Tenneco is one of the world's leading designers, manufacturers and marketers of Aftermarket, Ride Performance, Clean Air and Powertrain products and technology solutions for diversified markets, including light vehicle, commercial truck, off-highway, industrial and the aftermarket, with 2019 revenues of $17.45 billion and approximately 78,000 employees worldwide. On October 1, 2018, Tenneco completed the acquisition of Federal-Mogul, a leading global supplier to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket. In the future, the company expects to separate its divisions to form two new, independent companies: DRiV, an Aftermarket and Ride Performance company, and New Tenneco, a Powertrain Technology company.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to our plans to separate into two independent companies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ from those described in the forward-looking statements, including the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on general economic, business and market conditions, our ability (or inability) to execute on our plans to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and our previously announced Accelerate plan and to realize the anticipated benefits of these actions, our financial flexibility in addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to maintain compliance with the agreements governing our indebtedness and otherwise have sufficient liquidity through the COVID-19 pandemic, the possibility that Tenneco may not complete the separation of the Aftermarket & Ride Performance business from the Powertrain Technology business (or achieve some or all of the anticipated benefits of such a separation); the possibility that the separation may have an adverse impact on existing arrangements with Tenneco, including those related to transition, manufacturing and supply services and tax matters; the ability to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers or other business partners; the risk that the benefits of the separation may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; the risk that the separation may not advance Tenneco's business strategy; the potential diversion of Tenneco management's attention resulting from the separation; as well as the risk factors and cautionary statements included in Tenneco's periodic and current reports (Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K) filed from time to time with the SEC. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Unless otherwise indicated, the forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date of this communication, and, except as required by law, Tenneco does not undertake any obligation, and disclaims any obligation, to publicly disclose revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements. Additional information regarding these risk factors and uncertainties is detailed from time to time in the company's SEC filings, including but not limited to its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Investor inquiries:

Linae Golla

847-482-5162

[email protected]

Rich Kwas

248-849-1340

[email protected]

Media inquiries:

Bill Dawson

847-482-5807

[email protected]

SOURCE Tenneco Inc.

Related Links

www.investors.tenneco.com


Axios has obtained a Chinese government request sent to the Turkish government for a Uighur man who fled Xinjiang amid worsening repression.

Why it matters: Uighurs living outside China have long suspected that Beijing is using its growing diplomatic and economic clout to pressure foreign governments into interrogating and deporting them.

These documents from 2016 and 2017  together with Turkey's treatment of the man after that  provide rare proof this is happening.

"I spend most of my nights in fear. I usually dont sleep until after 1am because I am afraid they will come for me and my family."

 Enver Turdi, in an interview with Axios

Details: Enver Turdi, the man named in the extradition request, has lived in Turkey since early 2014 when he fled Xinjiang, a region in northwest China that is home to around 10 million Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking ethnic minority.

In 2012 and 2013, Enver passed along information about Chinese government abuses to Radio Free Asia and to Uighur organizations abroad, he told Axios in an interview. He left China on a tourist visa after one of his associates was detained.

In 2015, the Chinese Embassy in Turkey refused to issue him a new passport, without which he could not renew his Turkish temporary residence permit, Enver told Axios. In 2017, he was placed in a deportation facility for 12 months after being unable to produce valid residence documents.

Turkish security officials then interrogated him and claimed that he had been running a pro-Islamic State website, which he denied, and showed him a copy of his 2004 graduation photo, which Enver says they could only have obtained from China. His case was sent to a criminal court, not an immigration court.

Enver's case is still pending in the Turkish courts.

Background: The Chinese Communist Party has placed heavy restrictions on Uighurs and other majority-Muslim ethnic groups in western China.

In early 2017, the Chinese government began putting hundreds of thousands of Uighurs into extrajudicial mass detention camps, where detainees are kept in dire conditions and forced to attend re-education classes. Many others receive long prison sentences without fair trials.

The Chinese government has said its measures in Xinjiang are intended to fight terrorism and extremism, but academics and human rights groups say what's happening is a cultural genocide on a scale not seen since World War II.

The documents: The dossier is 92 pages long and includes the Chinese government extradition request, dated May 2016, supporting police reports, Turkish translations provided by the Chinese government, and Turkish government documents from 2017 indicating the request was accepted by the Turkish Ministry of Justice and that court proceedings were initiated.

Enver's lawyer obtained the dossier in early 2020, the first time that Enver says he knew for sure that the Chinese government was behind his troubles in Turkey.

To authenticate the documents, Axios consulted experts on Chinese and Turkish law, human rights groups who work on cases in Turkey and China, and researchers who focus on Xinjiang.

What they're saying: The Chinese government accused Enver of creating a pro-Islamic State website and participating in a terrorist organization. Enver denies these accusations.

Beijing asked Turkish authorities to discover Enver's whereabouts, seize or freeze his assets, arrest him, and "repatriate him to China."

The documents themselves aren't formally marked as classified, but the Chinese government instructed Turkish officials to keep the case a secret, writing, "The details of this case are classified, we ask the Turkish side to keep it confidential in accordance with local laws."

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a request for comment.

Context: After thousands of Uighurs left China amid worsening repression over the past decade, the Chinese government launched a quiet global campaign to force Uighurs to return.

Some countries, including Egypt and Thailand, have sent dozens of Uighurs back to China. Those who returned often disappeared. Some have reportedly died.

The lengths that China will go to control Uighurs is stunning, said Elise Anderson, a program officer at the Uighur Human Rights Project, a U.S.-based advocacy organization, told Axios.

After the rise of the Islamic State, which a small number of Uighurs joined, the Chinese government has increasingly framed Uighur religious and cultural activity as dangerous extremism. One official list of signs of "religious extremism" included "distorting Xinjiang history," "young men wearing long beards" and "closing restaurants during Ramadan."

"China puts pressure on Turkey, and Turkey has to jump through hoops."

 Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director at Human Rights Watch, in an interview with Axios.

The view from Ankara: Prior to 2017, the Turkish government openly welcomed Uighurs fleeing China, and many Turkish people feel a sense of solidarity with Uighurs.

But warming ties between China and Turkey have seen Ankara walk back some of its support of Uighur refugees, who now say Turkish police are interrogating them and accusing them of terrorism.

Allegations concerning the extradition of Uighur Turks from Turkey to third countries are mere fabrication and as such are far from reflecting the truth," Serdar Kilic, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S., told Axios in a statement.

Given our historical background and the fact that we share a common language, religion and culture with the Uighur Turks, any issue pertaining to their well-being holds a special place on our agenda," he said.

"Extradition and judicial assistance requests by China, as is the case of any other third country, are examined in accordance with the international law, on the basis of full respect to human rights and within the framework of established practice."

What to watch: Turkey and China signed a draft extradition treaty in 2017, but the Turkish Parliament has not yet ratified it.

If passed, Turkey would be obligated, with some exceptions, to abide by Chinese government extradition requests.

Go deeper: Read the documents here.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Serdar Kilic, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S.
Justice minister Charlie Flanagan has issued an apology to the people of Cahersiveen in Co Kerry for the speed in which a direct provision centre in the town was opened.

In an open letter published in todays The Kerryman newspaper as a full page advertisement, the minister says that the coronavirus pandemic is why the centre was opened on March 18 with little or no engagement with the local community.

He explained that in early March, the justice department realised we needed new centres and we needed them quickly.

It was not tenable in a health emergency, to have large numbers of international protection applicants in emergency hotel accommodation, sharing facilities with other guests, Minister Flanagan writes.

So we moved people in within days. It was fast. I admit that. It left little or no time for engagement. I admit that. It was presented as a fait accompli. I admit that too, he added.

The minister apologises on behalf of Cork TD and Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration David Stanton.

I want to apologise most sincerely to the people of Cahersiveen, for the way in which we had to open the direct provision centre in the Skelling Star, but I also want to outline why we had to do it in the way we did, the letter reads.

I know that there has been upset and anger. I know there has been suspicion and worry. I can see why they built up and I really regret the extent to which our actions fuelled them.

The minister states that people were moved into the centre on March 18 and 19, and categorically denies that a positive coronavirus case was knowingly transferred into the hotel from Dublin.

My Department was never told of that case. The guest involved only stayed at the hotel for one night when they fell ill. They were removed to hospital and their close contacts were asked by the HSE to self-isolate, he writes.

It was well over a fortnight (the incubation period) before any of our residents in Cahersiveen began to show symptoms or were confirmed positive for Covid-19. Furthermore the residents who first became symptomatic were not transferred from that hotel.

He ends the letter by applauding the great dedication and loyalty of the staff of the Skellig Star and refutes claims that the centre will close, stating that a 12 month contract is in place.

The centre is operating and will continue to do so. I just hope we can welcome you into it when the current restrictions are lifted, he adds.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Marina Joubert (The Jakarta Post) -  Wed, May 20, 2020 14:42 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd93bc80 3 Parents kids-safe,kids,comic,cartoon,coronavirus,COVID-19,Instagram Free

The global COVID-19 pandemic has turned childrens lives upside down. Stay-at-home orders mean that they cannot go to school, visit a playground or spend time with friends. Just like adults, they may be scared and frustrated.

But given the right information, children can be powerful agents of change in their families and communities. Thats according to a UNICEF guide for communicating with children. This guide highlights the need to communicate with children in an age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, inclusive and positive way. It emphasises that to be effective, the communication must be interesting and engaging.

In response to the current pandemic, leading health scientists and child psychologists have joined forces with writers, educators and artists to produce innovative communication materials. These range from childrens books and videos to infographics and comics. Its a powerful collaboration: scientists provide the credibility and accuracy, while artists ensure this is communicated with creative flair and appealing design.

And theres science to back up their efforts. An academic overview of research looking at educational comics has concluded that comics have great potential to make complex topics more meaningful to diverse audiences. This is achieved by combining visuals with powerful metaphors, character-driven narratives and emotionally charged storylines. Scholars confirm that science-themed comics can both entertain and educate, thereby stimulating interest in science topics.

Comic books have been shown to be more effective than textbooks in increasing interest in and enjoyment of science topics. The medium is particularly effective at engaging low literacy audiences and young people with a low interest in science.

Cartoons and comics may, research suggests, be particularly effective when trying to explain viruses and how they affect our health.

Here are some of the best examples I have come across in the past few weeks. All were created especially for communicating about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. Importantly, these resources are shared freely online, and some are translated into several languages.

A variety of resources

A fantasy creature called Ario is the lead character in My Hero is You. The book resulted from collaboration between several agencies of the United Nations and several dozen organizations working in the humanitarian sector. Ario helps children to understand why the coronavirus is changing their lives and how to cope when they are feeling worried, angry or sad.

Script writer Helen Patuck drew on input from more than 1,700 children, parents, caregivers and teachers from around the world who shared their ways of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. This online book is also available in audio format. Translation has been finalized or is in progress in more than 100 languages.

Vaayu is the superhero whos been called upon to help Indian children cope with the pandemic in a comic book issued by the Indian ministry of health and family welfare.

From Singapore comes a series of comic strips for young children featuring Baffled Bunny and Curious Cat. Theyre seeking advice and clarification from Doctor Duck. This series was created by award-winning graphic novelist Sonny Liew, who worked with Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, the programme leader for infectious diseases at the National University of Singapore.

Nosy Crow, a UK publisher, has created a digital book for primary school age children, with the help of Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, an expert in the modelling of infectious diseases. The book is also available as a free e-book in Afrikaans, with text by South African author Jaco Jacobs.

After asking experts in mental health what kids may want to know about the coronavirus, Cory Turner, an educational reporter on National Public Radio, created an online comic that is also available in a printable zine version. Its available in Chinese and Spanish too.

A comic strip promoted by the South African health department features Wazi, who asks questions about the coronavirus and then shares advice provided by his parents and teachers.

Oaky and the Virus was written by South African author, poet and academic Athol Williams. Its available in English, isiZulu, Siswati, Sepedi and Tshivenda, and helps children understand why they have to stay at home and wash their hands regularly.

Jive Media Africa, a science communication agency in South Africa, created a series of cartoon-based infographics with Haykhona Corona as a theme. Haykhona is a South African expression meaning no, definitely not!. These infographics are based on the World Health Organizations guidelines around COVID-19. Theyre available in several of South Africas official languages, as well as languages spoken in other parts of the continent like Yoruba, KiSwahili, French and Portuguese.

Instagrammers are also creating and sharing graphics about coping with COVID-19, with good examples at comicallysane, callouscomics and comicsforgood.

Evidence-based communication

Of course, comic strips arent just for kids. Some have been created specifically for adults, tackling questions about the coronavirus with a mixture of education and humor. One example is a collection curated by Graphic Medicine, a health communication platform created by a team of researchers, information specialists and artists.

All of this work and the many other comics and cartoons available to help explain COVID-19 show that these media are far from frivolous. Scientists and communicators are becoming more aware of the special appeal and communication potential of science comics, and are starting to use them as part of an evidence-based portfolio of communication tools.

---

Marina Joubert, Science Communication Researcher, Stellenbosch University

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.
This is the fourth in a series of 10 stories examining the issues Chinese leaders face as they gather for their annual "two sessions" of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference this week. This story looks at the expectations for and the implications of China's new military budget.

China's military leaders are fighting for a substantial increase in their budget to be announced at the National People's Congress that starts on Friday, arguing that the world's largest standing army needs more resources to cope with volatile challenges at home and overseas. But top of the list is the growing confrontation with the US.

China-US relations have hit a low point amid a trade war, spats over civil liberties and Taiwan, and conflicts over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Add to that accusations flying between Washington and Beijing about the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and it is a toxic brew.

From Beijing's viewpoint, the military threats are surfacing on its doorstep with US bombers running about 40 flights over contested areas of the South China and East China seas so far this year, or more than three times the number in the same period of 2019. US Navy warships have sailed four "freedom of navigation operations" in the area in the same period, compared with eight in all of last year.

"Beijing feels security threats posed by the US and other foreign countries are increasing, so the People's Liberation Army wants a budget increase to support its military modernisation and combat-ready training," said Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military commentator and former officer in the PLA.

Although the actual size of China's defence budgets are a matter of dispute, military insiders say the PLA will want to match or exceed last year's 7.5 per cent growth rate " with one estimating a 9 per cent jump " as tensions escalate on several fronts, including the perennial Taiwan friction.

Story continues

While those spending growth estimates may not seem outlandish, they would be against a backdrop of a domestic economy severely hammered by the Covid-19 outbreak and the threat of a global recession. In late March, investment bank China International Capital Corporation slashed its real GDP growth forecast for China in 2020 to 2.6 per cent from 6.1 per cent in January.

China announced defence spending of 1.18 trillion yuan (US$176 billion) at the NPC in March 2019, which is the world's second largest. But the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates China's defence spending at US$261 billion, which is a little over a third that of the US$732 billion of the US.

Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the naval academy in Taiwan, said the suspicion between Beijing and Washington was the worst since the resumption of diplomatic relations in the 1970s, but he rated the chance of a military conflict as low.

Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, meanwhile, said the PLA and US military counterparts had communication channels.

"Bilateral military ties ... might not be always efficacious, but at least do serve as existing 'pressure valves' to forestall and potentially mitigate the risks that arise from growing tensions between Beijing and Washington," Koh said.

China's president has ordered the PLA to boost its combat capacity. Photo: Xinhua alt=China's president has ordered the PLA to boost its combat capacity. Photo: Xinhua

Still, President Xi Jinping, who chairs the all-powerful Central Military Commission, ordered the PLA on January 2 to boost its combat capacity as relations worsened with Washington. That was a repeat of Xi's "be ready to win wars" order when he laid out his military expansion plan to the Communist Party's national congress in 2017. The message has not changed.

Neither has the focus of attention: Taiwan. In last July's defence white paper, the PLA said two of its most challenging threats were from pro-independence forces in Taiwan and separatists in Tibet and Xinjiang, saying the army "will defend national unification at all costs".

Ni Lexiong, a specialist in China's naval strategy and former professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said under President Donald Trump, US arms sales to Taiwan " including 66 F-16 Viper fighter jets " gave the PLA additional bargaining chips in asking for more money.

Beijing considers Taiwan a part of China's territory that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. The PLA has planned for such an event since 1949, when the Nationalist Party was defeated in the Chinese Civil War by the Communist Party of China and fled to the island.

Tensions over Taiwan have ratcheted up since Tsai Ing-wen became president in 2016. She was re-elected in a landslide in January on a platform of standing up to Beijing and defending Taiwan as a liberal democracy. She will be inaugurated for a second four-year term on Wednesday, just two days before the NPC opens.

Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, a professor of international affairs and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, said that while a military conflict between the mainland and Taiwan would be unlikely in the coming two years as Beijing needed to concentrate its efforts on economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, the risk of conflict had increased.

"Beijing is expected to continue its sabre-rattling against Taipei, staging more war games to try to intimidate the Tsai government in her next four years in office as long as she rejects the 1992 consensus," Huang said, referring to a decade-old agreement between Beijing and Taipei to define cross-strait relations. Huang was a former vice-chairman of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council which oversees the island's policies towards the mainland.

China has been running increasing numbers of military flights into Taiwan airspace and in recent media articles some retired Chinese military officials have suggested the US was not in a position to defend Taiwan because all four of its aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific had been hit by Covid-19 outbreaks. Later comments in an influential party journal, the Study Times , suggested a military venture was not part of Beijing's immediate plans.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated suspicions and mistrust between Beijing and Washington, and likewise between Beijing and Taipei," Ni said. "China is facing a new round of containment posed by the US-led Western countries similar to the Cold War."

Xi's national rejuvenation strategy for China includes reshaping the PLA into a top-ranked fighting force by 2050, which includes launching at least four aircraft carrier strike groups by 2035, cutting-edge weapons research and development, and revamping the whole military command structure.

China now has two aircraft carriers; the Liaoning is a refitted vessel bought from Ukraine, while the Shandong is the first domestically built. The Shandong is still undergoing sea trials to meet what is known as initial operating capability, or IOC, for warships.

The Shandong is China's first domestically built aircraft carrier. Photo: Weibo alt=The Shandong is China's first domestically built aircraft carrier. Photo: Weibo

The navy has scheduled sea trials for two newly launched Type 075 helicopter docks, a type of amphibious vessel, with 40,000 tonnes of displacement. It also has plans for eight Type 055 guided-missile destroyers, its most powerful warship and among the most advanced in Asia. The first was commissioned in January and three others are being fitted out.

The PLA modernisation of both traditional and non-traditional military operations would not slow, said Song in Hong Kong. The PLA is also arguing for more funds, citing other complicated and non-traditional security challenges at home, from separatism to terrorism and religious extremism.

China's military also found itself at the forefront of a different battle this year as tens of thousands of personnel were drafted into the fight against the Covid-19 disease outbreak in the initial epicentre, Wuhan, in January. The PLA provided doctors to treat patients, as well as soldiers and logistics for quarantine lockdowns, all additional expenditures that affect short- and long-term planning.

Beside fighting pandemics, the military is also expected to do its part in providing jobs for the rising ranks of unemployed as businesses struggle to recover from the economic damage done by the disease.

More than 8.7 million students will graduate this summer and the PLA has been asked to absorb more of them, another reason to request more funding.

A military insider said the Covid-19 pandemic added a large, unexpected financial burden on the PLA.

"Military leadership is still fighting with the decision makers of the NPC for a budget increase up to 9 per cent for the coming year, even though the global and domestic economic situations are worrying," said the person, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

The PLA deployed more than 4,500 military medical personnel to worst-hit Hubei province and its capital Wuhan, as well as other logistic support elsewhere in the province from February.

"President Xi also ordered scientists from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences to join the global race to find a vaccine for Covid-19, which is a long-term and costly investment," the person said. "It's very difficult to predict the military cost from the Covid-19 pandemic, because we don't know how long it will last."

Additional reporting by Lawrence Chung

The next two stories in the series will examine the escalating debate over the future path of China's relations with the United States and how China will respond to the new international economic realities post-coronavirus pandemic. Until then, you can read the first three parts of the series: how Beijing is preparing for a post-Covid-19 world; how it is likely to ignore calls to investigate the coronavirus; and the expectations for Beijing's policy on Hong Kong.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
The seeds of jojoba are one of the world's only known sustainable sources of liquid wax esters and have been used as an eco-friendly replacement for the similar oils that were once harvested from the spermaceti organ of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which nearly drove this species to extinction. "Jojoba is the only plant to store wax in its seeds. Such a vegetable oil has heretofore been unavailable", further explains Dr. Eberhard Munz (research group AAN). The liquid wax is usually referred to as jojoba oil. Jojoba oil possesses several advantages over sperm whale oil and and is widely used in pharmacy, cosmetics and hair care products. We (humans) have microscopic glands in our skin that secrets sebum (waxy matter). Jojoba oil is believed to play the role of sebum. As we age, the glands produce less and less sebum, which results in dry skin and hair. "Native americans used jojoba wax to lubricate skin, whereas european relied on sperm whale products. Since whaling is banned in most countries, the sale and use of whale oil has practically ceased", says Dr. Ljudmilla Borisjuk.

While there have been considerable efforts to engineer a transgenic crops with wax ester in the seeds of canola (Brassica sp.), camelina (Camelina sativa), crambe (Crambe abyssinica), and Lepidum (Lepidum campestre), the expression of desired jojoba sequences has resulted in only modest elevation of waxes in oilseeds. Seed germination rates of engineered lines with higher wax esters markedly decreased. "As jojoba seeds can accumulate up to 60 percent seed oil with more than 95 percent wax esters with no observable germination effects, there is likely much to be learned about how jojoba seeds synthesize, package, and mobilize waxes", says Dr. Borisjuk.

International team of scientists (USA, Germany and China) joined their technological forces to extensively investigate transcriptome, proteome, and lipidome of Jojoba seeds and report the high-quality, 887-Mb genome of jojoba assembled into 26 chromosomes with 23,490 protein-coding genes in the March edition of the journal Science Advances. Scientists from Heinrich Heine University (Dusseldorf), University of Gottingen and Leibniz-Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK, Gatersleben) take a part in this exploration.

Study of oil distribution inside of intact mature seed was performed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging technology. "I am appreciate, that MRI investigations were representing the IPK in this large cooperation. Reason for that was our original technology for lipid visualisation", says Dr. Ljudmilla Borisjuk.

The genomic resources coupled with multi-omics and imaging studies, display missing evolutionary history information for this taxonomically segregated dioecious plant species and will support efforts to improve the agronomic properties of jojoba.

Due to establishment of the new technological NMR-imaging platform at IPK, structural and lipid imaging with close to cellular resolution is now available for wide range of international collaborations. "Now we are aiming to provide more insight into germination of the grain, because manipulation of wax content/composition affects germination of transgenics."

###
The home health aide accused of fatally stabbing her patient in an Elizabeth apartment will be detained as her case moves forward after a Superior Court judge in Union County said her knife wounds were possibly self-inflicted and not defensive.

Myrlande Dornelus, 41, was arrested and charged May 8, almost a month after authorities say she fatally stabbed 62-year-old Anna Pollard on April 13. An affidavit of probable cause in the case said Dornelus was taken to University Hospital in Newark with 25 superficial stab wounds after she called 911 and police found her with a bloodstained dress at the scene.

After reviewing photographs of those injuries, Superior Court Judge Thomas Isenhour on Tuesday wasnt swayed in letting Dornelus await trial outside of her jail cell.

The defendant has no significant injuries and the victim has many significant injuries, said Isenhour. The injuries the defendant does have are minor and appear to be more likely to have been self-inflicted than caused by an attacker during a violent struggle.

Dornelus faces a murder charge and two weapons offenses. Her attorney, Andy Murray, entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and argued she acted in self-defense. Murray added that his client gave a statement to police in English, which is not her first language, indicating that Pollard was the first attacker.

Whether a wound is defensive or not, if anything, would be subject possibly to expert testimony," Murray said. Or at the very least, a jury question, assuming that the defense of self-defense is put forward at trial. I would say to the court that it is not something that can so easily and so conclusory be put forward in an affidavit of probable cause.

Murray argued that Dornelus has no prior criminal record and would not be a flight risk since she didnt run anywhere since the stabbing. However, the prosecutor said she had been in the hospital until her arrest and said someone facing life in prison runs the risk of fleeing.

This was a violent attack where the victim had approximately seven or eight deep stab wounds in her abdominal area," said Union County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Peterson, who did not indicate why Pollard was under Dornelus care. (Pollard) had numerous - what the state is suggesting is - defensive wounds around her wrists and both hands. This was at the hands of her home health care worker.

The judge said there was a contradiction in the affidavit, which was written by a Union County Prosecutors Office detective. An unnamed hospital staff member told authorities Dornelus did not suffer any defensive wounds, yet the Union County Sheriffs Department photographed scratches to her right arm and a cut to the palm of her left hand, the criminal complaint said.

Isenhour delayed the virtual detention hearing on Monday so the prosecutor could send photographs of Dornelus wounds, which the affidavit said also included numerous stitched and unstitched injuries to the health aides chest, abdomen and a stitched injury to her right thigh.

The photographs were emailed to Isenhour and were not displayed during the hearing, which took place remotely via video link due to the coronavirus.

The judge described the wound on Dornelus left hand as a cut and a scratch since there wasnt significant parting of the skin, but there was blood flowing from it. The other photographs of the wounds on her stomach had one to four stitches each, the judge said.

In contrast, Isenhour described the injuries to Pollards hands and fingers as exceptionally deep" and likely to the bone and apparently defensive in nature. The affidavit said Pollard had stab wounds to her stomach, liver, aorta artery and a collapsed lung.

Murray argued that Dornelus could be released with an electric monitoring system to her Elizabeth residence, where she lives with her sister and her parents from Haiti are staying. Dornelus said she is a U.S. citizen, while her sister explained to the judge they immigrated to the United States in 2005 from Haiti.

Dornelus, who was listening with the help of a translator, did not speak during the hearing as she viewed it from jail via video.

Her sister said she knew Pollard, but didnt indicate how. Before he handed down his detention decision, she told the judge she was upset by the allegations against her sister.

That really hurts me, what happened, said her sister to the judge through a translator. This is something that really hurt our family, causing us a lot of, lot of problems.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
I wrote a column at the time praising Bennetts courage and integrity. My opinion of her has not changed, especially as she (and her broadcasting agency) have lately been in the presidents crosshairs. Trump has accused the VOA of making him look bad and of publishing Chinese propaganda. Writing the news objectively these days will often make Trump look bad, thanks to his own behavior. But its ludicrous to think Bennett would allow Chinese propaganda to pass as fact-based news in her global newsroom.
ARCHIVED - Sale of menthol cigarettes banned in Spain from today



From Wednesday the manufacture, distribution and sale of this type of cigarette is banned in Spain and throughout Europe

The Ministry of Health has issued a reminder that as of this Wednesday the manufacture, distribution and sale of commercial brands of tobacco containing menthol is prohibited in not only Spain but throughout the EU.

This ends the moratorium granted by the EU.

This type of tobacco has been on the market for almost a century, and first went on sale in 1925. Today it represents almost 30% of the total market for cigarettes and is particularly popular with the African-American population.

Why is it being prohibited?

The fundamental reason, according to the Ministry of Health, is that these products favour the introduction of new tobacco users to smoking, particularly amongst younger people, and make it more difficult to stop smoking. The menthol included in the product gives it an attractive flavour, masking the bitter taste of burning tobacco, making it particularly attractive to younger smokers.

It also has decongestant and refreshing properties so it masks the irritating effect, itching and congestion of the upper respiratory tract caused by the smoke, making it a more acceptable experience for young people.

Menthol also has a dilating effect on the pulmonary alveoli which causes a faster absorption of the nicotine contained within tobacco, making it more addictive.

This indirectly increases the addictive potential of the product as a whole.

From now on, non-compliance with this rule constitutes a serious administrative offense as laid out in article 19.3 w) of Law 28/2005, of December 26th, on sanitary measures against smoking and regulating the sale, supply, consumption and advertising of tobacco products.

Consumers, needless to say, are less than impressed.

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Murcia region: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/
Whats new: Chinas banking regulator said lenders are making progress toward meeting requirements under sweeping new regulations governing the management and sale of wealth management products (WMPs).

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said in a Q&A statement (link in Chinese) Monday that the outstanding value of products on the books of banks and their WMP subsidiaries based on net asset value (NAV) which dont guarantee investors principal stood at 25.9 trillion yuan ($3.6 trillion) at end-April, 1.6 trillion yuan higher than at end-November.

Whats the background: Chinas banks were forced to overhaul their wealth management operations and practices after new rules aimed at unifying oversight of the $16 trillion asset management industry were unveiled in November 2017 to rein in off-balance-sheet shadow banking activities that were increasingly seen as a risk to financial stability. WMPs, sold exclusively by banks, were a particular target.

Lenders were required to stipulate the returns offered by the new products based on their NAV to reflect changes in market prices, and to phase out products that did not comply with these new rules, namely principal-guaranteed WMPs.

The new regulations gave banks a transition period to make the changes ahead of an end-2020 deadline. But a CBIRC official in February said it would delay the deadline for some financial institutions after some banks complained it was hard to bring their large volume of WMPs into compliance in time.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full Caixin article in Chinese, click here.

Related: In Depth: Chinas New Asset Management Rules Face Uncertainty

Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com) and editor Nerys Avery (nerysavery@caixin.com)
Hanoi Golden Lake, a top-end hotel project, is slated for launch in the coming months, as the resort real estate market bounces back

Nguyen Huu Duong, chairman of Hoa Binh Group  the developer of the Hanoi Golden Lake top-end gilded luxury hotel project and one of leading construction players in Vietnam  has forked out VND100 million ($4,350) to become one of the first customers having the chance to enjoy the elevated personalised experience at this super project positioned in the heart of the capital.

These days, gilded tiles are being set at the exterior of the project, while the interior is receiving the last touches, travelling swiftly towards completion. The staff belonging to leading US hotel management group Wyndham Hotels & Resorts  the project operator and manager  are busy test-running the services, equipment, and processes to ensure the hotel will operate smoothly after the upcoming launch that is slated to descend in June or July.

After months of social distancing, we anticipate a wave of holidaymakers in the post-pandemic times, ushering in great opportunities for developers and investors with long vision," said Duong. Hoa Binh Group is also expediting two grand projects in Quang Nam and Phu Yen provinces to hail this fresh wave.

Not only Hoa Binh Group, a string of other resort property projects are scheduled to come onto the market right after the COVID-19 pandemic is soothed.

Industry experts assumed that six months after COVID-19 is contained, Vietnam could hail an unprecedented wave of holidaymakers and the resort real estate segment would enter a new era of development.

Another leading player, Sun Group, is also preparing to launch a raft of new tourism offerings after the health crisis is over.

Some of its eminent projects are high-end hot spring Yoko Onsen in Cam Pha city, Premier Village Halong Bay resort (Quang Ninh province), a modern sea-crossing cable car system in Cat Ba (Haiphong city), and a new cable car route plus Ravenstone castle at SunWorld Ba Na Hills in Danang city, just to name a few.

Vingroup, a leading local conglomerate, is mulling over plans to launch the VinHoliday-branded three-star hotel lineup that targets the common customer segment and is managed by the world's upscale hotel management groups.

Simultaneously, Vingroup envisages building a theme park chain under the VinWonders brand, each having at least 50ha in area, focusing in major urban and tourism metropoles.

According to a source from major foreign-backed real estate consultancy firm Savills Vietnam, creativity is one of the core factors in a projects success. Developers of fresh projects must take into account this factor to meet ever-increasing customer demands.

A recent forecast by DKRA Vietnam, a high-profile real estate service provider, shows that in the second quarter of this year, new supply in the resort real estate segment will consist of about 200-300 ocean-facing villas and 600-800 apartment units under condotel projects.

These projects are mostly seen in familiar markets such as Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Phu Quoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, or Danang city.

This source of supply is modest compared to several years ago, but in the current pandemic time, it attests to a quick rebound in the resort property segment.

Industry experts assumed that six months after COVID-19 is contained, Vietnam could hail an unprecedented wave of holidaymakers and the resort real estate segment would enter a new era of development.
ExxonMobil has again put its stake in Azerbaijans largest oil field up for sale despite a historic decline in oil prices linked to a decline in consumption due to coronavirus restrictions.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. energy giant said ExxonMobil is testing market interest for its assets in Azerbaijan. The company routinely evaluates its production portfolio and if other companies find more value in an asset, we will sell, spokeswoman Julie King told Reuters in a story published May 19.

ExxonMobil first tried to sell its 6.8 percent stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea in 2018. But a competing sale by rival Chevron for its larger stake in the field was taking place at the same time.

Chevron was successful in selling its 9.8 percent stake to Hungarian energy firm MOL Group for $1.57 billion last year.

It is unclear how much ExxonMobil is seeking to raise from the sale, but it is likely to be valued significantly lower than Chevrons stake, the sources said.

A number of Asian national oil companies, including China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), Indias ONGC, and Indonesias Pertamina, have shown interest in the stake, according to Reuters quoting four unidentified industry and banking sources.

A spokesman for SOCAR, Azerbaijans national oil company, declined to comment, Reuters reported.

The sharp drop in oil prices pushed ExxonMobil to report its first quarterly loss in decades in the first three months of the year.

The attempt to sell its stake in the Azerbaijani oil field comes after the Texas-based company last year launched a plan to divest up to $25 billion of oil and gas fields in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Based on reporting by Reuters
Srinagar:

3 security personnel including 2 army men were killed while three other security personnel were injured on Wednesday in a militant attack in Baramulla district of Kashmir, police said.



Militants ambushed an army convoy at Khwajabagh in Baramulla at 2.30 am, a police official said.



He said two soldiers were killed and two others were injured.



"One policeman was also killed while another cop was injured as their vehicle also came under attack by the militants," the official said.



He said a massive operation has been launched to track down the attackers, who fled the spot.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi: As Bollywood drama `Sarbjit` completed four years of its release today, actor Randeep Hooda went down the memory lane and shared his visibly transformed character look from the flick.

"Almost took the life outta me," the 43-year-old tweeted alongside his picture --fragile, visibly exhausted with cuts and bruises on his body.

In the biopic, Randeep played Sarbjit Singh, an Indian national who was punished by Pakistan`s Supreme Court on charges of spying.

The movie also starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead, who portrayed Dalbir Kaur, a sister, fighting against the system to bring back her brother from Pakistan jail.

Though the movie got mixed reactions, Aishwarya received huge recognition for her role, which also won her best actor award at IFFAA, Australia.

Apart from the duo, the movie also saw Richa Chadda and Darshan Kumar in significant roles.

Directed by Omung Kumar, the movie also made it to the long list of 336 feature films eligible for the 89th Academy Awards, in 2017.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

Trend:

The first Azerbaijani-made Lachin tanker, built at the Baku Shipyard LLC of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), has gone on its first voyage, Trend reports citing SOCAR.

According to SOCAR, the tanker loaded with diesel fuel has sailed from the port of Baku to the Kulevi port, and from there will travel to Turkey.

The tanker will transport liquid cargo in the basins of the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

The crew of the tanker consists of 14 people. The tankers length is 141 m and width - 16.9 m.

With the start of operation of the Lachin tanker, the number of vessels of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping (ASCO) OJSC sailing outside the Caspian Sea reached 15. Twelve out of these 15 vessels are bulk-carriers, and 3 are tankers.
Katie Lee is one of the most charming and personable stars on The Food Network. Known for her love of light, fresh, summery snacks, Lee has starred in several television shows, including The Kitchen and Beach Bites.

She is also an author and has written novels as well as cookbooks. Although she has achieved a lot of success in her professional life, she has also made headlines for her personal life, and many fans of Lee might not be aware that her ex-husband is considered to be one of the greatest musicians of all time.

Katie Lee was married to Billy Joel

Katie Lee | Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images for NYCWFF

RELATED: Billy Joels Almost Disastrous Visit with Former Beatle Paul McCartney

Katie Lee was born in 1981 and raised in West Virginia. She studied both journalism and food science in college, and she spent some time working as a model. Lee spent a great deal of time in New York City, which was where she first crossed paths with the iconic musician Billy Joel.

Joel is responsible for some of the most popular songs of all time, including Piano Man, The Longest Time, Big Shot, and Uptown Girl. Lee and Joel dated for close to a year before getting married in Long Island in October 2004.

Their marriage received some criticism due to the fact that Billy Joel is much older than Katie Lee, and it was his third marriage. In fact, Lee is only a few years older than Joels daughter, Alexa Ray Joel, who served as the maid of honor at the couples wedding.

Being married to Billy Joel helped to advance Katie Lees career, and she began gaining prominence as a chef and television personality.

When did Katie Lee and Billy Joel get divorced?

In early 2009, Billy Joel and Katie Lee announced that they would be divorcing. Many speculated that the drastic age difference played a role in their decision to separate, although the split was far from hostile. In fact, Lee maintains that they are still close to this day and that she thinks Joel is the greatest.

Billy Joel went on to start dating Alexis Roderick not long after his split from Lee, and in 2015, they announced that they were expecting a baby. According to the Daily Mail, Lee went on the record to express her happiness for the couple, proving that there are no hard feelings at all between the former couple.

As for Katie Lee, she wouldnt find love immediately after her divorce from Joel. It would take several years before she found her soulmate  however, around 2016-2017, she met producer Ryan Biegel and sparks flew immediately.

Is Katie Lee married now?

RELATED: Katie Lee from the Food Network Dishes About Her New Cooking Obsession

Katie Lee and Ryan Biegel began dating and their relationship progressed quickly. In March 2018, Biegel proposed to Lee during a vacation to Paris. Their destination wedding took place only six months later, in Italy.

Although many might have expected Lee and Biegel to start a family right away, the couple ran into some roadblocks. Lee admitted in 2019 that she was having some fertility problems and although she desperately wanted to become a mother, it wasnt as easy as what she had hoped.

There was light at the end of the tunnel for Katie Lee and Ryan Biegel, however.

In February 2020, Lee revealed that she and her husband were expecting a baby girl. In the months since, Lee has shared many sweet snapshots of her growing bump with her followers, all of whom seem very happy for the television star. Her road to happiness might not have been the smoothest, but ultimately, it seems as though everything has worked out perfectly for Katie Lee.
In Eid message Haibatullah Akhunzada asks US not to waste the opportunity offered by the deal to end 19-year-old war.

The leader of the Taliban said on Wednesday that his group was committed to a landmark deal with the US, despite being accused of carrying out hundreds of attacks in Afghanistan since it was signed in February.

Haibatullah Akhunzada urged Washington not to waste the opportunity offered by the deal to end the USs longest war in a message released ahead of next weeks Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The Islamic Emirate is committed to the agreement signed with America and urges the other side to honour its own commitments and not allow this critical opportunity to go waste, Akhunzada said in a statement, using the name the Taliban called Afghanistan when they were in power.

I urge American officials to not afford anyone the opportunity to obstruct, delay and ultimately derail this internationally recognised bilateral agreement, the reclusive leader added.

US to withdraw forces

After months of negotiations, the Taliban and the US signed a deal on February 29, which stipulates that Washington will withdraw all its troops by next year in return for security guarantees.

President Ghani, right, and his rival Abdullah, left, signed a political agreement in Kabul [Afghan Presidential Palace/Handout/Reuters]

The Doha agreement envisaged talks between Afghan leadership and the Taliban to reach a lasting peace, but that has been delayed as a prisoner swap  a key part of the agreement  has not been fully implemented.

The so-called intra-Afghan talks were also delayed by a leadership feud between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah. Last week, they signed a power-sharing deal that will move the peace process forward.

US President Donald Trumps administration has made it a priority to end the war in Afghanistan and, in a bid to facilitate the withdrawal of their forces, US officials have been pushing for intra-Afghan peace talks.

Under the accord, the Taliban pledged to stop attacking US interests, but has continued to target Afghan forces in the provinces.

The Taliban have also stepped up attacks against Afghan forces after President Ghani ordered troops to adopt offensive posture against armed groups following two deadly attacks last week that killed dozens.

Last week, at least 24 people were killed in an attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul and a suicide blast on a funeral on the same day left 32 dead in Nangarhar province.

The Taliban denied involvement in the two attacks, although Ghani blamed the Taliban and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group for the bloodshed.

Rising civilian casualties

At least 20 people have been killed, including eight soldiers, in Taliban attacks in the past week.

Eight soldiers were killed on Tuesday in a Taliban attack in Kunduz, a strategic city in northern Afghanistan that had briefly fallen to the armed group twice in the past, officials said.

Defence Minister Assadullah Khalid, who visited Kunduz later on Tuesday, said the Taliban had suffered big losses.

Unfortunately, we have also lost eight brave soldiers, he told AFP news agency.

Analysts say the Taliban have been emboldened by the February deal, and Afghan government officials have reported more than 3,800 attacks, which killed 420 civilians and wounded 906, since signing the deal.

The United Nations has warned that the spike in violence has also led to increased casualties among civilians.

The Taliban were responsible for 208 civilian casualties last month  25 percent more than April 2019  the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement.

It said civilian casualties attributed to Afghan security forces in April numbered 172, an increase of 38 percent.

Parties have committed to finding a peaceful solution and should protect the lives of all Afghans and not jeopardise peoples hope for an end to the war, said Deborah Lyons, the UN secretary-generals special representative for Afghanistan.
Regulatory News:

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005296/en/

Render V2G Drosso (Photo: FCA)

The COVID-19 outbreak has not put a stop to the cooperation between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and ENGIE Eps (Paris:EPS), nor to their commitment to support the deployment of electric mobility.

Since the announcement with Terna in September of the intention to jointly experiment with interactions between electric cars and the power grid, based on a "smart" charging infrastructure, FCA has selected ENGIE Eps as the technology partner for the project, to build that infrastructure.

In full compliance with the safety standards to contain the epidemic, work has therefore begun at the FCA plant in Mirafiori, Turin on the first phase of the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) pilot project. Once fully completed, it will be the largest plant of its kind in the world.

The initiative is aimed at two-way interaction between FCA full electric vehicles and the power grid. In addition to recharging the cars, the project will use their batteries to provide grid stabilization services. The vehicle batteries are capable of storing energy and, using the V2G infrastructure, can return it to the grid when needs be. This represents an opportunity to optimize the operating costs of the cars for the benefit of motorists and a concrete possibility of contributing to a more sustainable electricity system.

The need for "balancing resources" in the power grid is expected to increase considerably in the future: on the one hand to support the development of renewable sources, where energy production is by default nonprogrammable; on the other hand, to manage the deployment of electric vehicles, which given that they require power to be recharged could further destabilize the system. In the near future, the deployment of infrastructure for intelligent battery management, for example the system under development at Mirafiori, will therefore be a key element in balancing real-time energy demand and production.

V2G technology therefore represents one of the strongest incentives for the spread of truly sustainable electric mobility and a pillar of a rapid energy transition in terms of accessibility to all resulting in lower CO 2 emissions and in terms of sustainability from the point of view of the electricity infrastructure, where safety and reliability would in turn be increased. The crucial importance of the project thus served as justification to start its implementation despite the current outbreak.

The construction site for phase 1 of the project is now open at the Drosso logistics center, within the Mirafiori complex. The works cover an area of approximately 3,000 m2 with 450 m of trenches already excavated, ready to host over 10 km of the cables required to interconnect the electricity grid with 64 two-way fast charging points, with an output of up to 50 kW. The centralized infrastructure and advanced control system providing Vehicle-to-Grid network services in addition to fast charging of electric vehicles were designed, patented and constructed by ENGIE Eps.

Phase 1 of the project will see the installation of 32 V2G columns capable of connecting 64 electric vehicles and is scheduled for completion in July. By the end of 2021, the infrastructure will be extended to interconnect up to 700 electric vehicles, capable of providing ultrafast grid services to the transmission network operator, as well as recharging the vehicles themselves.

In its final configuration, the project will be capable of supplying up to 25 MW of regulatory capacity, making it the largest V2G facility ever built in the world. In addition, by aggregating with other FCA "assets" at Mirafiori including 5 MW of solar panel capacity this V2G infrastructure will become a true Virtual Power Plant, indeed the most innovative one in Italy. It will have the capability to provide a high level of resource optimization to the equivalent of 8,500 homes and a wide range of services to the network operator, including ultrafast frequency regulation.

"The project is acting as our laboratory to experiment on and develop an offering to add value in the energy markets," said Roberto Di Stefano, Head of EMEA e-Mobility at FCA. "On average, cars remain unused for 80-90 percent of the day. During this long period, if connected to the grid by Vehicle-to-Grid technology, customers can therefore receive money or free energy in exchange for the balancing service offered, without compromising their mobility needs in any way. In addition, this project forms part of a broader context of the technology partnership that has stood between ENGIE Eps and FCA since 2016. The main, tangible objective of this partnership is to reduce the cost of FCA electric vehicle lifecycles, via specific offers exclusive to our customers."

"During this period of forced immobility in Italy, we are continuing to build the country's future in partnership with FCA, by developing the technology required for the electricity grid to support the deployment of electric cars. At the same time, the project will also help to stabilize the network," noted Carlalberto Guglielminotti, CEO of ENGIE Eps. "Estimates have it that by 2025, the total storage capacity of electric vehicles in Europe will be over 300 GWh, representing the largest distributed resource available to the European energy system. The market for V2G infrastructure, to date consisting almost exclusively of experimental projects, is now ready to get off the ground. The Drosso project at Mirafiori is a world first. We are confident that it will soon be joined by a solution for all company fleets."

About ENGIE EPS

ENGIE EPS is an industrial player within the ENGIE group that develops technologies to revolutionize the paradigm shift in the global energy system towards renewable energy sources and electric mobility. Listed on Euronext Paris (EPS:FP), ENGIE EPS is listed in the CAC Mid Small and the CAC All-Tradable financial indices. Its registered office is in Paris and conducts its research, development and manufacturing in Italy.

For more information: www.engie-eps.com

About ENGIE

Our Group is a global reference in low-carbon energy and services. In response to the urgency of climate change, our ambition is to become the world leader in the zero-carbon transition "as a service" for our customers, in particular global companies and local authorities. We rely on our key activities (renewable energy, gas, services) to offer competitive turnkey solutions.

With our 170,000 employees, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are a community of Imaginative Builders, committed every day to more harmonious progress. Turnover in 2019: EUR 60.1 billion. The Group is listed on the Paris and Brussels stock exchanges (ENGI) and is represented in the main financial indices (CAC 40, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe) and non-financial indices (DJSI World, DJSI Europe and Euronext Vigeo Eiris World 120, Eurozone 120, Europe 120, France 20, CAC 40 Governance).

About Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

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 information on FCA, visit the website www.fcagroup.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005296/en/

Contacts:

ENGIE EPS

Press and Media: eps@imagebuilding.it

Investor Relations: ir@engie-eps.com

follow us on LinkedIn

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

+39 (011) 00 63088

mediarelations@fcagroup.com

www.fcagroup.com

LinkedIn
SMYRNA, GA  A Smyrna restaurant owner has demonstrated just how important her work family is to her. The owner of Vittles Restaurant wanted to pay her employees last month so sold her red Mustang GT 5.0 to help them.

Charity Salyers told WAGA-TV that due to the coronavirus pandemic she had to cut a staff of 10-12 down to two a day. Not wanting to lay off anyone, she said she decided to sell the car.

Karma came back. Savannah Volkswagen heard her story and gifted her with a 2017 Toyota RAV4.

This article originally appeared on the Smyrna-Vinings Patch
HONG KONG, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / TerraCrypto global online mining conference has been held in Russia on May 19th, 2020.

TerraCrypto is the largest forum on digital mining and trading in the CIS and the TerraCrypto team has organized industry forums in the cities of Kazan, 4 events in Moscow, Irkutsk, Nur-Sultan, Frankfurt and Hong Kong before. At the TerraCrypto event in 2019, there were 2,149 participants, 214 speakers, 117 companies, 3 memorandums of cooperation were signed, and thousands of networking talks were held.

In TerraCrypto 2020, the global industry leaders, professionals, experts and investors ranging from mining pools, digital assets trading platforms, investment agencies, etc. will attend this conference. Such as Jason Zhuang, CEO of BTC.com, Thomas Heller, Global Business Director of F2Pool, Peter Tylczynski, SVP of Business Development of MineBest and many other high profile persons will sit together and explore the development and opportunities of mining ecology after having to boost the booming development of mining ecology of blockchain.

Meanwhile, the Global CEO of RRMine Steve Tsou has attended this conference and addressed a speech on the topic: BTC Halving, Opportunity to Level Up for Cloud Mining Platform;

The rebalance of mining industry leads to the dimension improvement of computing power

Steve pointed out that halving would eliminate a number of small and medium-sized miners with limited ability to withstand risks, and the mining industry would be rebalanced. At present, the industrial chain of computing power has been relatively complete, and the rebalance of the mining industry will lead to the ascend of the computing power industry. The market performance after halving will not only be an opportunity to prove the deep value of computing power, but also a good Opportunity to Level Up for Cloud Mining Platform;

Steve also stressed that halving is a good thing for a platform which is well-prepared in advance. After three years of operation, RRMine has gained a sufficient understanding of risks and made good preparations for halving, continuously improved its technology and anti-risk capability and made an early deployment of scale and globalization to break out of the unique mode of global computing asset management and trading platform.

RRMine remains bullish on computing power market and will help users cope with the risks in multiple dimensions.

1.Users' income will be improved through the ascending of Computing Power Provision.

Through three years of stable operation, RRMine platform has effectively utilized the dynamic law of computing power market, kept hoarding computing power, satisfied the supply of computing power, and has the ability to reward users. RRMine is full of confidence in the future of the market. As early as March 15, the whole RRMine platform had fully given away computing power to users. Even on the day of halving with the time of lowest production, the revenue made by per T of users was still higher than the average level of the market, which helped users to pass through the halving stably and would not be greatly affected.

2.Computing Power assets are assessable due to the ascending of the contract value..

In China, RRMine Computing Power contract assets can be evaluated by traditional authoritative institutions, and derivative financial services can be carried out by third-party platforms, so as to truly achieve the new contract assets valuations through the perceptive of traditional assets valuation, it also makes the intangible computing power assets been accepted by the traditional financial market and improve the value of computing power as well..

3.Computing Power derivatives produced by products ascending;

Faced with the high volatility of the market, RRMine launched computing power hedging contract products to realize computing power hedging transactions. RRMine also helps users to cope with the risks in the future market and overcome the market fluctuations through diversified computing power derivatives.

RRMine is accelerating its global business layout and actively expanding its market;

1.Accelerate the bottom-level expansion by ascending dimensions of speed;

Halving will not affect the expansion rate of RRMine and it will continue to speed up the progress of business development at the bottom level, continuously to expand the globally distributed computing base and establish a globally distributed computing supply network in China, the United States, Canada, Russia and other European countries. Among them, RRMine Platform in the US won the "world's most beautiful mine" award. Meanwhile, RRMine has laid out a very excellent elite and high-tech team with more than 10 branches and more than 200 excellent employees, realizing a global business layout..

2.Build credible Computing Power with decentralized technology by ascending dimensions of trust;

Computing power itself is decentralized. RRMine brings more complete trust to users through bottom-level "decentralized" computing power asset management and achieves standardization, risk resistance, strong liquidity, decentralization, long-term stability and other characteristics to create multi-dimensional credible computing power assets through computing power contracts. At present, every single transaction data from RRMine is written to BHP public chain in real time and can be checked clearly and cannot be tampered with which has achieved the decentralized distribution method and made the distribution of computing power becomes open and transparent.

3.Ascending the dimension of Market, RRMine looks at the value of computing power as the basic energy of the digital world.

Computing power itself is a good asset and the new "energy" that will power all smart devices in the future and the year 2020 is the first year of the world infrastructure construction of computing power. Based on the fact that computing power is one of the most innovative and core productive forces in the digital economy, RRMine is committed to building the infrastructure for global computing assets. In the eyes of RRMine, the future of computing power industry is not only a market supported by BTC price but also a decentralized platform for computing power asset management and trading which facing the broad sky of the computing power market and we look at the market behind computing power assets as the basic energy of the digital world. We will put patience and speed into the hundreds of billions of dreams, try our best to become the representative of the computing power world and make contributions to the industry.

Media Contact

Company: Hong Kong SuperB Grace

Contact: Marco Peng

pr@rrmine.com

Phone: +86 15108499095

Website: www.rrmine.com

SOURCE: RRMine

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590654/Global-CEO-of-RRMine-Spoke-on-TerraCrypto-BTC-Halving-is-the-opportunity-to-Level-Up-for-Cloud-Mining-Platform
CLEVELAND, Ohio  As Ohio reopens businesses and lifts its stay-at-home order, public health experts are predicting at least one inevitable outcome: an increase in coronavirus infections per day.

Ohio residents have spent more than two months hunkered down at home, and the strategy has limited the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Mike DeWine has said he lifted the stay-at-home order in part because Ohio residents have helped keep infections at a manageable level as hospitals gathered equipment and resources to fight the virus.

As more Ohio residents return to some semblance of a life outside their homes, the virus remains a threat. There is no known cure for COVID-19, and public health experts believe it could take 12 to 18 months to develop a vaccine. Even if Ohio maintains strict social-distancing measures, there could be a 200 to 350 percent increase in person-to-person moving contact moving forward, according to the latest projections from MetroHealth.

The increase in person-to-person contact will likely result in an increase in coronavirus infections, public health experts say. The trick is to keep that increase manageable.

We anticipate that as we relax these measures, we will have an uptick. But the uptick is not unanticipated, said Dr. Michael Oglesbee, the director of Ohio State Universitys Infectious Disease Institute. The issue is just making sure the uptick is one our healthcare systems can accommodate. And thats been the goal all along.

Oglesbee uses the concept balanced risk to describe the complex nature of reopening Ohio. Hospitals have enough bed capacity and resources to handle an increase of infections, but a skyrocketing number of cases could still overwhelm the healthcare infrastructure. The goal is to strike the right balance.

Unfortunately, there is no blueprint for finding that balance. Different countries and U.S. states have taken various approaches to the pandemic, but experts say its tough to make comparisons. A litany of factors could affect the data, such as population density or the percentage of a population considered to be at high risk for developing serious COVID-19 symptoms.

Its such a dynamic issue that there is no clear picture at this time, MetroHealth President and CEO Dr. Akram Boutros said. We need more data points, of maybe two to four weeks of multiple re-openings, in order to have some assumptions.

Finding the right balance to easing restrictions

How do we determine what qualifies as balanced risk if theres no playbook? Public health experts and academics are working to figure it out.

In the U.S., the Trump Administration has primarily allowed states to develop individual strategies for responding to the pandemic. As Ohio and other states begin to reopen, the result could be a significant increase in data on various strategies, said Dr. Mark Roberts, the director of the University of Pittsburghs Public Health Dynamics Lab.

In the next six to eight weeks, were going to have a lot of information about which ways of opening up were disastrous, and which ways of opening up were not disastrous, Roberts said.

University of Pittsburgh researchers are monitoring the coronavirus through FRED, which is short for a Framework for Reconstructing Epidemiological Dynamics. The agent-based modeling system uses population data to represent each person in a geographic region. The FRED team is currently researching scenarios for easing social-distancing measures and reopening Pennsylvania. The goal is to identify strategies that could be most effective, Roberts said.

Roberts said hes concerned that some are seeing new coronavirus infections decline, and assume the virus is going away. He cautioned that social-distancing measures have been critical to slowing the spread, so going back to normal too quickly would be catastrophic.

All of our models show that if you were to just open up to how things were three months ago, we would get a huge resurgence, Roberts said. Theres no question that in the absence of social distancing, we predict therell be a fairly substantial increase in cases.

Identifying the right strategy to combat the coronavirus has been an international debate throughout 2020. After the city of Wuhan became the epicenter of the virus in China, government officials implemented a strict lockdown that lasted more than two months. South Korea, on the other hand, responded by quickly ramping up testing for the virus, so anyone confirmed to have COVID-19 could undergo isolation.

Sweden has taken the controversial approach of keeping schools and businesses open while suggesting anyone considered high risk take precautions to protect themselves. The strategy has lessened the blow to Swedens economy, but the country leads Europe in deaths-per-capita over the last week.

Oglesbee believes Ohios reopening strategy shows promise. He said the state has enough capacity in its hospitals and ICUs to deal with increased infections. But he said the state would need to maintain a cautious approach moving forward to prevent a surge, or risk ending up back where we started.

There might be a point at which we need to pull back, he said. Hopefully not, but its a possibility.

The complex nature of balanced risk

Public health experts are so focused on identifying balanced risk because they acknowledge there are risks to staying at home. Critics of the lockdowns have argued they are doing substantial harm to the global economy. More than 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment since the start of the crisis, while retail sales fell a record 16.4 percent in April.

But even health risks go beyond the coronavirus, experts say. Boutros noted that Ohio ordered hospitals to postpone non-essential care amid the crisis, so MetroHealth delayed appointments for people with conditions like diabetes. Others have warned that prolonged periods of isolation could lead to a long-term mental-health crisis.

Case Western Reserve University professors Yanfang (Fanny) Ye and Kenneth Loparo worked with a team of students to create an online risk-assessment tool to gauge the threat of contracting coronavirus in an area. The tool uses artificial intelligence to analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau, state and local health departments, Google traffic maps and social media posts. It also asks users to submit risk-perception ratings for specific areas.

That tool is intended to help users compare specific locations within a region, and its primary focus is on the transmission of COVID-19. The economic and other health impacts on people are also important to consider as states reopen, Loparo and Ye said.

This is not a one-dimensional problem. I think thats the issue, Loparo said. You have to consider all of the other ingredients, and then you have to balance the risk with the other risks that are out there in order to find the right strategy. Thats what makes this problem so difficult.

Roberts said the question of when states should reopen is mostly political, rather than a question for infectious disease experts. Its clear that reopening states will lead to more coronavirus infections. The goal is to make sure people continue to take the problem seriously, so they can take steps to limit the spread.

To be fair everybody, there is a risk to remaining in lockdown. And I understand that this is political decision that people have to make, Roberts said. I think what I worry about is people somehow think that because theyre seeing the peak, and the peak is going down, that were somehow done with this problem.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty, World Bank Group President David Malpass said.

The pandemic and shutdown of advanced economies could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty  erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation, Mr. David Malpass. The World Bank Group has moved quickly and decisively to establish emergency response operations in 100 countries, with mechanisms that allow other donors to rapidly expand the programs. To return to growth, our goal must be rapid, flexible responses to tackle the health emergency, provide cash and other expandable support to protect the poor, maintain the private sector, and strengthen economic resilience and recovery.

In a statement the WB said the Bank Group has rapidly delivered record levels of support in order to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, reinforce health systems, maintain the private sector, and bolster economic recovery. This assistance marks a milestone in implementing the Bank Groups pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the economic shutdown in advanced countries.
Representative image

When it comes to quality education, India doesnt have to look too far. Neighbouring Bangladesh has a few lessons to offer to India.

Bangladesh is significantly smaller than India. When it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, it had a population that was largely poor and little industry. Every year, floods and typhoons would ravage the country, which would suffer grievous loss of life and money.

But today, most countries are watching this nation. Its growth to relative prosperity has been astounding. For instance, while India is still struggling with garment exports at around $1 billion, Bangladesh has already gone beyond $32 billion.

This unexpected development has also been seen in the field of education.

Contrary to the popular narrative that Bangladeshis are coming to India for jobs, the opposite is happening now.

As opportunities spring, some Bangladeshis are moving back.

In fact, in 2019, 3,600 Indians went to Bangladesh for higher studies, with500 of them in enrolling in medical courses.

What this means is that this tiny nation has been building capacity for higher education and is even attracting students from India. It also means that India hasnt been able to build the capacities its people need.

And, Bangladesh has managed to do this at a fraction of money when compared to India. Bangladesh spends less on education as a percentage of GDP than India. It spends 40 percent of the money allocated for education on primary education, which is what India does too.

It did spend more on primary education earlierit was 53.74 percent of the allocated expenses in 1993. The countrys success, however, lies in not the amount of money it spends but how it manages the funds.

That can explain why its literacy rate is a high 74 percent, and not just in terms of numbers. Bangladeshs parameters are closer to the global definition of literacy than Indias.

Anyone who can read and write their name is defined as literate in India. Effective literacy in India is far lower.

Indias literacy rate was 74.37 % in 2018 but it could be close to around 40 percent if one goes by Prathams Annual Status of Education Report. In 2018, only 44.2 percent of the boys in Class5 could read the books meant for Class 2, the NGOs latest report says. The score declined from 53.1 percent in 2008.

Poor quality of primary education in India has deleterious effects on the rest of the educational structure. It compels politicians to clamour for the normalisation of results at the board level examinations -- in case too many students fail. They invariably do.

A lack of understanding of basics not only takes a toll on students but even teachers in higher classes. And, no college can undo the damage that 10-12 years of bad school education inflict on a child it ends up in wasted years and even unemployment.

So, what does Bangladesh do?

First, it does not tie itself into knots over language. At all levels of schooling, students can choose English or Bangla as the medium of instruction.

Private schools tend to teach in English while government-sponsored schools often opt for Bangla. Both students and parents thus know which language the child should opt for.

Then there is decentralisation of school management.

Non-government schools at higher secondary have school management committees (SMCs). At the intermediate college level, governing bodies (GBs), formed as per government directives, take care of non-government institutes.

They are responsible for mobilising resources, approving budgets, controlling expenditure, and appointing and disciplining staff.

A constant watch on outcomes at each level ensures that the quality of education is good.

One more advantage that Bangladesh enjoys is that students do not have to suffer substandard teachers.

There is reservation for the underprivileged student but not for teachers.

While teachers of non-government secondary schools are recruited by SMCs, teachers of government schools are recruited centrally by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) through a competitive exam.

Thus, one can forgive the poor investment in education, which appears to be a key reason for Indias low ranking on human capital development but poor teaching and non-existent monitoring of outcomes are unpardonable.

One of the big reasons for the reelection of Arvind Kejriwal as the Delhi chief minister earlier this year was his commitment to school education. He spent 26 percent of Delhis funds on education, unlike 3.1 percent for the government of India.

But, more importantly, he focussed on outcomes. His government paid attention to parent-teacher meetings to identify and weed out teachers who did not perform.

With better management of schools and improved infrastructure (because of better funding), children are learning better too. Not surprisingly, one comes across anecdotal evidence of parents moving their children from private schools to (not-so-expensive) government schools.

If India does not want to be left behind by Bangladesh, or others, it must focus on primary education first. That creates more employable people, which leads to better wealth generation. And it needs to build medical colleges and focus on merit and excellence as well but that is for another day.

(Series concludes)
Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

Your notification has been saved.

There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Lake District residents have set up roadblocks and fake signs to discourage day-trippers from visiting during lockdown.

The chief executive of the National Park urged members of the public not to rush to the Lakes after Boris Johnson eased the UKs coronavirus lockdown, allowing people unlimited travel to take exercise.

Some residents used traffic cones and barriers to erect fake road blocks, while others have put up no entry signs as a deterrent.

A sign near the town of Keswick says it is still closed and adds: Please come back when we are open.

Another in the village of Seathwaite says: No entry due to coronavirus.

It comes after the chief executive of the Lake District National Park, Richard Leafe, urged people not to rush back to the area last week.

Our message would be dont rush back to the Lake District, he said on BBC Radio Fours Today programme.

On whether the message is do not come, Mr Leafe said: It is for the time being, yes. It is consider and respect the local communities in doing that.

We are putting in place, for those people who insist on coming this weekend, a system whereby you can check to see how full the car parks in the Lake District are when you arrive so that you can go to one where hopefully there is a bit of space and you are able to get out.

But my main point would be please dont travel for the moment to the Lake District because of the impact you will have on the local communities here.

Recommended Visitors head to Peak District as coronavirus restrictions are eased

Last week, a retired teacher and former parish councillor were spoken to by police after they admitted building blockades to stop cyclists biking through a woodland during the lockdown.

Wendy McLachlan and Anna Hacket-Pain, both 62, were filmed by 17-year-old Nathan Cartwright saying they had laid rocks and branches across the trail in the village of Preston-under-Scar in North Yorkshire after he was almost upended by them.

North Yorkshire Police confirmed they sent two uniformed officers to speak to Ms McLachlan and Ms Hacket-Pain.

The force warned it was dangerous to lay obstacles which could injure cyclists or damage their bikes.

It said the women could have faced criminal charges if anyone had been hurt by the obstructions.
An Air India flight carrying 145 people stranded in London, landed at Vijayawada Airport on Wednesday, as part of the biggest ever off-shore evacuation drive of Indian citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission. The international airport in Visakhapatnam received two flights, one from Manila (Philippines) and the other from Abu Dhabi with 166 and 148 passengers respectively on Tuesday night, airport authorities said.

The national carrier from London arrived via Mumbai at the Airport at 8 AM, Vijayawada Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao said adding this was the first flight received after the lockdown was enforced across the country including Andhra Pradesh.

"As per protocols all the passengers were checked and sent to quarantine with the help of the state government. Immigration and customs clearance was done here only. The flight landed as an international transit flight," the official told PTI. "We have set up five medical counters for screening of the passengers. Also we have set up counters district-wise for the convenience of the passengers," he said.

Visakhapatnam Airport Director Raj Kishore said the aerodrome received two Air India flights, one from Abu Dhabi and the other from Manila (Philippines) on Tuesday night as part of Vande Bharat Mission. According to him, the Manila flight landed in Vizag Airport via Mumbai at 9.50 PM, while the Abu Dhabi flight arrived at 8.30 PM. He said all the passengers were screened thoroughly and sent to quarantine as per their choice, either paid or state- run facilities.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 15:19 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd942084 1 Business industry-ministry,West-Java,companies,factory-activity,factory-worker,PSBB,coronavirus,COVID-19,restriction Free

The Industry Ministry has issued more than 5,800 operational permits to companies in West Java to keep operating amid the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB).

"Around 5,800 companies have been granted permits by the ministry. In total, these companies employ almost 1.6 million workers," West Java Trade and Industry Agency head Mohammad Arifin Soedjayana told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Arifin explained that West Java had received the most operational and mobility permits (IOMKI) compared with other provinces in the country.

"Most of the companies that have received the permits are located in Purwakarta, Bekasi, Karawang and Bogor," he said.

However, out of the 5,800 permits issued, 58 have been revoked because the companies failed to implement the necessary health protocols to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Head of West Java Manpower and Transmigration Agency, Mochamad Ade Afriandi said that since the COVID-19 pandemic started 1,208 companies in the province had laid off their workers temporarily or permanently.

"So far 80,752 workers have been laid off or been forced to take unpaid leave. The number has increased significantly from April 5th when we recorded 53,465 workers affected by the pandemic," Ade said.

He explained that more than 50 percent of the layoffs occurred in textile and textile product (TPT) companies.

"Of the permanent layoffs 58.29 percent were carried out by TPT companies, followed by manufacturers with 18.26 percent and restaurant and accommodation companies with 6.10 percent," he said.

Of the workers who were forced to take unpaid leave 42.3 percent worked in TPT companies, he added, followed by accommodation and restaurants (23.71 percent), manufacturing (15.61 percent) and tourism (7.28 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit West Java industry hard. Head of the West Java Financial Services Authority (OJK), Triana Gunawan, said that as of May 14, 1.19 million companies had requested debt restructuring of loans amounting to Rp 61.5 trillion.

Triana explained that the OJK had granted the request for 665,917 borrowers, with Rp 29.5 trillion of loans, while the remaining 519,500, with total loans of Rp 32 trillion, were still being processed. (nal)
Vietnam expects online shoppers to account for 55 percent of the population by the year 2025, with average spending projected to hit US$600 million a year, according to a government master plan on growing the domestic e-commerce sector for 2021-25.

Signed into effect by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on Friday last week, the master plan forecasts revenue from e-commerce in the buyer-to-customer (B2C) model to climb 25 percent to surmount $35 billion, or ten percent of retail sales and services nationwide.

Cashless payments and other online services are expected to facilitate more economic activity online.

The use of cashless payment is projected to surge 50 percent, and about 80 percent of the orders will most likely be delivered by third-party carriers by 2025, according to the master plan.

The plan aims to have 70 percent of e-commerce websites and platforms adopt electronic billing by 2025.

A shared database for e-commerce activities will also be developed and utilized.

Areas outside of the major cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are calculated to contribute about 50 percent worth of the growth in retail e-commerce transactions in Vietnam.

The plan targets to have online shopping services available in at least 50 percent of Vietnams communes and equivalent administrative units.

By 2025, 80 percent of e-commerce websites are expected to be equipped with online ordering tools; 50 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises should have a presence on these e-commerce platforms; and 70 percent of electric, water, telecoms, and IT service providers should offer e-contracts to customers, allowing them to sign up and pay for services online.

E-commerce is gaining traction with the young, tech-savvy populace in Vietnam, being one of the most discussed sectors on social media in 2019, according to data from the firm YouNet Media.

According to reports from retail consulting firm iPrice, the five biggest platforms for e-commerce in Vietnam accumulated a total of 133 million visits in the first quarter of 2020.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
This Wednesday, social media went abuzz with reports of an unexplained loud noise heard by several residents of HSR Layout, Sarjapur, Whitefield and Hebbal in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The incident occurred roughly at 1:30 PM, as quarantined amid lockdown Bangaloreans sat down to have lunch and were rudely interrupted by the sound. While some residents said they heard a boom, and a thunderous noise, others felt tremors and windows rattling for as long as five seconds.

Twitter was flooded with confused and concerned citizens, asking if they werent the only ones that heard the mysterious noise.

Bangalore people, What the FUCK was that sound I heard?????  #Bangalore  britto (@something__co0l) May 20, 2020

What was that boom noise just now Bangalore South experienced  Anyone knows can comment?? @Gravitas @palkisu  GeethaBali (@geetha84439012) May 20, 2020

Soon, authorities began to mobilise around the issue, beginning with the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), who has seismographic equipment that could rule out earthquakes as the cause. Our sensors have not recorded any earthquake activity," said Srinivas Reddy, Director of the KSNDMC.

So, earthquakes are out - and quickly after, several users began to pose the theory that the boom was, in fact, a sonic boom - a loud noise created as a byproduct of shockwaves, formed by an object travelling faster than the speed of sound - at 1,235 kilometres per hour, only a high speed aircraft would be the logical cause.

#ALERT: A loud noise heard by several residents of Sarjapur, HSR, Whitefield and Hebbal.



Residents suspect it to be like an earthquake.



Scientists from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Center (KSNDMC) told BM that they are checking their systems and they are on it.  Bangalore Mirror (@BangaloreMirror) May 20, 2020

#ALERT: A loud noise heard by several residents of Sarjapur, HSR, Whitefield and Hebbal.



Residents suspect it to be like an earthquake.



Scientists from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Center (KSNDMC) told BM that they are checking their systems and they are on it.  Bangalore Mirror (@BangaloreMirror) May 20, 2020

One user even claimed to spot a jet aircraft in the skies above.

@ShivAroor Caught it!! Finally.. possible reasone behind that sonic boom type of noise!! #bangalore #bengaluru any idea which fighter jet is this?? pic.twitter.com/Sr0qRWadfz  Sandeep Mishra (@MishraSandy29) May 20, 2020

Others were sceptical - stating that a sonic boom would not be heard simultaneously across the entire city.

More like sound barrier being broken by Mach aircraft.. seem to me routine exercise of sorts by Airforce planes.. supersonic ones..  Surinder Singh (@sarryhere) May 20, 2020

Some pointed out that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) could be conducting regular flight tests of light combat aircraft (LCA), although the company disagreed. "We don't know either. It has nothing to do with HAL aircraft," an HAL spokesperson told TNM, when asked about the incident.

Naturally, several users also began to suggest a less-serious answer to everyones boom questions:

I think the aliens have landed. They figured the whole world knows abt them and there hasnt been a scary movie about aliens in a while - infact they've all been turned into super heroes (courtesy of MCU). No better time to make an entrance - with a vaccine. #BangaloreBoom  The Startup Guy (@vijayanands) May 20, 2020

It might well be an Alien Aircraft.

IAF, HAL, KSDMA everyone in negative..



So what was that Boom sound?#Bangalore pic.twitter.com/Zh4qKrsRIy  Mohan Raj (@mohanrajtn) May 20, 2020

"A loud sound was heard across eastern Bengaluru - from Kempegowda International Airport, Kalyan Nagar, MG road, Marathahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur, Electronic city right up to Hebbagodi," said the Bengaluru police.

The cops have searched the Whitefield area and have found no damage to anything as yet, said DCP (Whitefield) MN Anucheth.

According to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, no damage has been reported anywhere. "We also got information... the sound was heard from the international airport to Hebbagodi, Bengaluru. No calls to 100 till now of any damage. We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if this was a flight or supersonic sound. [We are] waiting for the Air Force to confirm."

Disgruntled citizens under lockdown also went on to explain how they were absolutely done with 2020 - a sentiment Im sure we all can sympathise with.

#ALERT: A loud noise heard by several residents of Sarjapur, HSR, Whitefield and Hebbal.



Residents suspect it to be like an earthquake.



Scientists from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Center (KSNDMC) told BM that they are checking their systems and they are on it.  Bangalore Mirror (@BangaloreMirror) May 20, 2020

Curiously, this isnt the first time that Bengaluru has witnessed an unexplained loud sound. According to news reports, this has been a recurring phenomenon in the city. As recently as 2018, an unexplained loud sound made headlines for terrifying south Bengaluru residents.

Whats your money on? I for one, am betting on the aliens!
Congress workers on Wednesday staged a dharna at the party headquarters here against the Uttar Pradesh government for denying permission to the buses sent by itto transport migrant labourers and the arrest of UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu.

While maintaining social distancing, party workers staged a dharna at the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) headquarters holding banners and placards with messagesagainst Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the state government, media convenor of the party LallanKumar said.

A peaceful protest was staged at the Congress office against the state government's move to stop the buses arranged by the party, the arrest of the UPCC president and lodging of "fake" cases against party leaders, Lallan Kumar said.

He said similar dharnas took place in different districts of the state over these issues.

In Amethi, the district unit led by president Pradeep Singhal staged a dharna at the party office in Gauriganj against Lallu's arrest, district unit spokesperson Anil Singh said. He said the party workers and leaders who took part in the dharna condemned the "stubborn attitude" of the state's chief minister for not accepting Congress' offer of 1,000 buses to transport migrant workers.

Lallan Kumar also said the fleet of buses arranged by the party was still parked at the UP-Rajasthan border awaiting the response of the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Our party leader Priyanka Gandhi had offered buses to safely ferry the migrant labourers but the government has so far failed to respond to it in a positive manner. We are still waiting for their replyand the buses are still parked on the UP-Rajasthan border," Lallan Kumar added.

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


 

  .

,      .


President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election campaign is rounding up "extremely pro-Trump" doctors to appear on television and elsewhere in the media, unpaid, in the coming months to promote the president's push to reopen the U.S. economy as quickly as possible, despite health officials' warnings that doing so could fuel another COVID-19 outbreak and cost lives.

The Associated Press first reported Tuesday that Republican political operatives raised the idea on a call with a senior member of the Trump campaign earlier this month, per a leaked recording of the conversation. The president's re-election campaign confirmed the report with PEOPLE.

"It shouldnt be surprising that the Trump campaign gathers together people who agree with President Trump," Tim Murtaugh, the communications director for Trump's campaign, tells PEOPLE. "The purpose of campaign coalitions is to amplify and promote the Presidents accomplishments and point of view."

The AP reports that on the leaked recording of the May 11 conference call between the Trump campaign and the conservative advocacy group CNP Action, Nancy Schulze, a Republican political activist, said, "There is a coalition of doctors who are extremely pro-Trump that have been preparing and coming together for the war ahead in the campaign on health care."

"And we have doctors that are  in the trenches, that are saying Its time to reopen. 

The idea was quickly embraced by Mercedes Schlapp, a senior advisor on the Trump campaign, who said that "those are the types of guys that we should want to get out on TV and radio to help push out the message."

Theyve already been vetted," Schulze reportedly replied, "but they need to be put on the screens."

Trump  who has hinged his presidential accomplishments on a strong U.S. economy before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown business and sunk the markets  has continuously pushed for the U.S. to reopen and send workers back to their jobs as soon as possible.

Story continues

At the same time, federal health officials have countered the president's desire to reopen the country  a decision of individual states  and have warned that doing so too quickly could cause another spike in the infection rates.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the nation's leading infectious disease expert and the primary medical voice on President Trump's coronavirus task force, said earlier this month that this could have dire consequences.

My concern is that we will start to see little spikes that then turn into outbreaks, Fauci, 79, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on May 12. The consequences could be really serious.

Health experts are now warning that the consequences of doctors signal-boosting the president's unfounded medical advice could be serious, as well.

I find it totally irresponsible to have physicians who are touting some information thats not anchored in evidence and not anchored in science, Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiology professor at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health, told the AP. What often creates confusion is the many voices that are out there, and many of those voices do have a political interest, which is the hugely dangerous situation we are at now.

El-Sadr told the outlet that the Trump campaign recruiting doctors to promote the president's unprofessional medical advice is "quite alarming.

RELATED: Joe Biden Shocked by Trump's Use of Possibly Dangerous Drug Against COVID-19 : 'What Is He Doing?'

Evan Vucci/AP/Shutterstock President Donald Trump looks on as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading expert on infectious diseases, addresses the media during a coronavirus task force briefing on April 10.

JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Protesters rally to demand an end to the statewide 'stay at home advisory' and the new law enforcing everyone to wear a mask in public, outside the Massachusetts State House in Boston on May 4, 2020

The Trump campaign tells PEOPLE that its purpose is to echo and reflect the president's points of view.

A spokesperson for the campaign did not respond to PEOPLE's further inquiry about whether the doctors that the campaign is recruiting would also back up the president's baseless promotion of hydroxychloroquine, an untested and potentially dangerous anti-malarial drug that Trump claimed he's taking as a preventative treatment for the coronavirus.

RELATED: Trump Threatens to Permanently End U.S. Funding of the World Health Organization Amid Pandemic

"I'm not a doctor," Trump, 73, told reporters during an April 23 press conference. Simultaneously, however, the president has repeatedly promoted the unproven hydroxychloroquine as an effective medicine.

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found the drug is ineffective against COVID-19 and leads to a higher rate of mortality among patients with the coronavirus.

Trump dismissed the VA study an "enemy statement" by anti-Trump actors. The VA is part of the federal government, which Trump is partly in charge of managing.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
ALONE, the organisation that supports older people, has received more than 20,000 calls to their COVID-19 helpline for older people since it launched in March. ALONE has hugely expanded their services since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ireland to meet the needs of older people nationwide, and is running a national helpline for older people as part of Community Call in collaboration with the Department of Health, the HSE, and Local Authorities including Tipperary County Council

In addition to this, ALONE staff and volunteers have made 71,715 calls to older people across the country that need support. Three quarters of the older people who called the ALONE helpline in the last week are living alone. ALONE has urged communities, family members and neighbours to continue to offer support and assistance to older people during this time, and remind older people that although we may be apart, that does not mean that they are alone.

While we welcomed the news last week that cocooning measures would be relaxed slightly and that older people would be able to leave their homes to exercise, our communities continue to play a vital role in supporting older people at this time, said ALONE CEO Sean Moynihan. In recent weeks we have seen increasing numbers of phone calls from older people experiencing difficulties with their physical and mental wellbeing as cocooning measures continue. Older people and particularly those who are medically and socially vulnerable should be aware that support is available, whether that is for COVID-19 information, or support with finance, housing, or other difficulties.

In March, the organisation welcomed the introduction of practical support phone lines for older and medically vulnerable people by Local Authorities to increase capacity and resources for those who are most in need. ALONE is working in collaboration with Tipperary County Council, and the ALONE National Helpline continues to complement Local Authority work by providing information and support on issues relating to COVID-19, housing, finance, and physical and mental health. ALONE also provides daily telephone support to older people who would like extra social contact while cocooning.

ALONE believes that as well as tackling the immediate issues posed by COVID-19, the Government must take into consideration the long-term detrimental effect that cocooning is having on the physical and mental health of older people. Last week the organisation released concerning figures relating to older peoples mental health as a result of the pandemic, with increases in calls from older people expressing suicidal ideation. ALONE has also noted an increase in calls regarding non-COVID related hospital visits, such as injuries related to falls. The organisation has also noted with concern that some older people are unsure about whether to seek needed medical attention for fear of contracting COVID-19 at a GP appointment or in hospital.

As the pandemic continues we are starting to see the long term impact that COVID-19 will have on the health and wellbeing of older people, said ALONE CEO Sean Moynihan. We are asking members of the public to stay in touch with the older people in their communities and to provide support if needed. Our message to older people is that staying at home doesnt mean you are alone, and we are encouraging every older person to keep in contact with the people and support organisations they need throughout this time.

He concluded, We are encouraging any older person who has questions, concerns, worries, or is experiencing loneliness at this time, to get in touch with us by calling 0818 222 024. As well as difficulties with everyday activities like getting groceries and prescriptions, cocooning measures will also result in lots of older people feeling lonely and isolated, including those who may not previously have experienced loneliness like this. It is important that every older person knows that support is available to them, even if they have not used ALONEs services before.

ALONE is encouraging older people who need advice to call their helpline, 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week. The helpline, which is running in collaboration with the Department of Health, the HSE and Local Authorities, is available to all older people including those who have not used ALONEs services previously. The support line is designed to complement the clinical advice and information being provided by the HSE through its website and helpline. Older people who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 are advised to call their GP.

Contact ALONE on 0818 222 024 if you have concerns about your own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of an older person you know. Further information can be found on www.alone.ie.
434 Shares Share

When the director of my general surgery program asked for a report on how the pandemic was affecting the residents, I queried my colleagues, promising anonymity to encourage candor. I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. Some are thriving; others are not.

Overall, everyone understands that this is a historic crisis that we will recount at the end of our careers. All are grateful to face the challenge at an institution where we are protected and supported. We admire the efforts of colleagues  ER doctors, anesthesiologists, and others  who answered the call before us. These include our own emergency surgery faculty. Watching the elective surgery attendings take trauma call while burn/plastic surgeons become COVID intensivists has been remarkable and inspiring. Indeed, the camaraderie throughout the hospital is energizing. We knew our nurses would stand out, but we were also amazed by the hospital support workers. Our cleaning staff demonstrate their bravery daily and sacrifice as much as any of us.

Despite the show of unity, the pandemic has had its challenges. Most residents experienced some fear about getting sick, and many contemplated their own mortality as much as their patients. As the first COVID wave came to our hospital, articles were published about residents dying in other cities. We wrote down passwords and discussed whether we would want tracheostomies or what to do if we suffered brain damage from hypoxia or stroke. The potential shortage of ventilators was concerning both for our patients and for ourselves. Otherwise, routine patient care suddenly required courage, yet when people started cheering for us, it felt undeserved. Too many patients were not improving. Other healthcare workers were contributing more, earning less, or juggling more outside responsibilities. The level of psychic stress varies among residents, but it is often greater than the physical.

For residents serving in research positions, labs shut down in mid-March. Our role quickly transitioned to fully-staffing a pop-up COVID ICU. Although this requires the commitment of multiple full-time residents per week, most feel deep satisfaction in helping any way we can, particularly when the rest of our lives are fraught with uncertainty. We value working closely with nurses, respiratory therapists, and burn and pulmonary critical care attendings as we all learn together. We review the literature to keep up-to-date with guidelines. We organize weekly video rounds to discuss changes in our COVID management. We collaborate to give a consistent message to the patients families, who hang on to every word in our daily calls. And amid all the discouraging cases, the opportunity to extubate a patient we thought would die is transformational.

A major stressor for research residents is that although the doors of our labs have closed, research continues. Many labs still expect productivity from residents who are now working full-time clinical jobs, and we still need to be productive for our own careers. The work-from-home days are challenging: switching from clinical to research duties each week causes deceleration, which is compounded by lost income, family responsibilities, coursework, and the uncertainty of the crisis. This creates a negative cycle of guilt at the wasted days spent recovering from the emotional and physical toll of working in the COVID ICU.

Clinical residents also describe challenges and silver linings. One of the most common reactions is we miss operating. Surgical services remain condensed as residents are redeployed to other departments. Some residents selected for redeployment felt undervalued by our department, although ultimately, those services were incredibly welcoming and grateful to have us. Those remaining on surgical services are frustrated by working more hours than redeployed colleagues. Morale is lowest on jobs that seem least relevant to the crisis, amplified by the lack of ability to plan for the future when the schedule changes weekly. The ICU census is now decreasing, and the city is considering reopening, but we have yet to see signs of our lives returning to something recognizable. We worry about surgery ramping up just as we burn out. We worry about a second wave happening before we have a chance to recover.

A new role for surgical residents is the team to place and troubleshoot central, arterial, and dialysis lines for COVID patients. Many participants have remarked how refreshing it is to enter the ICU and be greeted by excited nurses who need our help. We enjoy working with friends in the time of social distancing, and for many residents, this is the only opportunity to perform procedures.

Senior residents, by contrast, struggle to apply and interview for fellowships through Zoom without ever seeing the hospitals or cities in person. Chief residents expected their year to be packed with the best cases and the most independence. Instead, very few cases are performed. Seniors also missing the celebratory events to round out their time in our program. We all understand how deflating that feels.

Finally, we all have families; spouses and children (including three or four in utero) for some, or parents, grandparents, siblings, or long-distance partners for others. We worry about their health and, in some cases, wonder when we will see them again. Several residents have made the painful decision to live separately from their families while working in clinical positions. Others fear daily that they are bringing COVID home to loved ones. This fear is by no means unique to residency, but it adds to the burden of doing this job.

In the end, I cannot decide if things are going well or not. That may be because everything still feels uncertain and, at times, overwhelming. Parts of our health system are shining, and others need improvement. As residents, were frightened; were fearless; were overworked; we want to work more. But we are all proud of our work, our colleagues, and our institution. Generations of doctors have lived and died without facing a catastrophic health event quite like this one. Our institution and our forebears have faced many. This is our time.

Maggie Connolly is a general surgery resident.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
PHOENIX  A North Dakota construction company favored by President Donald Trump has received the largest contract to date to build a section of Trumps signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota confirmed the $1.3 billion contract for building the 42-mile section of wall through really tough terrain in the mountains in Arizona. Thats about $30 million per mile.

Cramer said Fisher Sand and Gravel Co. offered the lowest price for the project. He did not know how many companies bid.

Trump has promised to build 450 miles of wall along the border with Mexico by the end of the year. So far, the government has awarded millions of dollars in contracts for construction of 30-foot-tall barriers, along with new lighting, technology and infrastructure. The Trump administration says it has already built 187 miles of wall. Some of it is new, but most is replacing old, much shorter barriers that officials say were not sufficient.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday that there was no set date to start or complete construction on the latest award. Construction will take place near Nogales, Arizona, and Sasabe, Arizona.

Cramer said the fence will be painted black because thats what the president wanted, plain and simple, Cramer said.

The idea is that the black wall would absorb heat making it more difficult for someone to scale, he said.

Thats the presidents theory, Cramer said. Plus, it wont be an ugly, rusty thing that everyone is putting up now.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which awards contracts, said Fisher was one of several companies chosen in May 2019 to partake in building $5 billion worth of border wall. This months contract to Fisher was part of that award.

Asked if there were any additional bidders for this latest contract, a spokesman said the agency couldnt provide that information because of procurement sensitivities.

The Arizona Daily Star first reported news of the contract.

Cramer did not know if the Trump administrations recent move to waive federal contracting laws to speed construction of the wall helped the project or sped it up. He said he didnt know if the project fell under those rules.

In the 2018 election cycle, company owner Tommy Fisher and his wife donated $10,800 to Cramer, who championed the companys ability to build the wall and made Fisher his guest at Trumps 2018 State of the Union address.

Democratic members of Congress raised concerns in December after Fisher was awarded a $400 million contract for border wall construction. Within two weeks, the defense departments inspector general had launched an investigation, which is ongoing, according to Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, a critic who questioned whether the contract had been properly awarded.

If the administration cared about anything besides political optics and maximizing miles of fence in the run up to an election, they wouldnt have awarded this contract, Thompson said in a statement on Wednesday.

Environmentalists have also long criticized the border wall, saying it cuts off protected wildlife and destroys important ecosystems. Theyve filed lawsuits against the wall and the use of defense money to build it.

Trumps wanton destruction of the borderlands is made even worse by this sleazy contract with a big supporter, said Laiken Jordahl, borderlands campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Cramer said he has personally pitched Fishers company to the president and others in Washington.

It will be a cold day in hell when I apologize for advocating for a North Dakota business, Cramer said.

___

MacPherson reported from Bismarck, N.D.
The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) has appointed Mr John Awuah as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer.



He will take over from Mr D.K. Mensah, the current Chief Executive Officer, when he retires later in the year.



Prior to Mr Awuahs appointment, he was the Managing Partner of Jawuah & Co. Advisors Ltd, a management and financial services consulting firm.



A statement issued by the Association on Wednesday said Mr Awuah would lead all strategic initiatives of GAB and champion the banking industrys response to global banking practices, research opportunities, regulatory compliance, and emerging trends in sustainable financial services and financial inclusion efforts.



Mr Awuah, in response to his appointment, was quoted as saying: The practice of banking has evolved; the change has been deep and impacted every aspect of the trade  our job is to navigate this phenomenal change professionally and remain in control.



I draw my excitement from the superior service experience that banking customers are enjoying and will continue to benefit as a result of unimpeded banking evolution globally.



At GAB, we will focus on building more inclusive banking with emphasis on technology, collaboration and holistic risk management practices across all our networks and channels.



The statement said Mr Awuahs strong knowledge of the banking industry could only be an advantage to the Association.



We have every confidence in his ability to proactively coordinate industry efforts and be a strong advocate not only for banks in Ghana but for the entire financial services sector in the country and beyond, Mr Alhassan Andani, the President of GAB, was quoted as saying.



We assure him of our unflinching support.



Mr Awuah has an MBA from the Oxford Institute of International Finance (Oxford Brookes University) and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom) and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana.



He has previously worked with Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) as the CEO and has also held senior leadership positions as Finance Director at GCB Bank, Group Chief Finance Officer at Ecobank Capital, and Financial Controller at Barclays Bank of Ghana (now ABSA Bank).



He was also the Chief Finance Officer at UBA Ghana and as Finance Business Partner at Standard Chartered Bank Ghana with industry exposure from Tractor and Equipment Ghana (now Mantrac) and Western Castings Limited.



Established on May 29, 1980, the Ghana Association of Bankers is the country's leading mouthpiece for the universal banking sector, currently representing the interests of 23 member banks and the ARB Apex Bank.



It supports and promotes policies and initiatives that balance both the interest of banks and the wider public benefit.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
WILLIAMSPORT  A federal judge has ordered a Florida man to pay attorneys representing Penn State $9,493 as a sanction for failing to adhere to court orders in a trademark infringement case.

The amount U.S. Middle District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson on Wednesday ordered paid by Paul L. Parshall by Aug. 20 is less than the $17,373 requested.

The judge reduced the amounts requested by three attorneys saying they were above the prevailing hourly rates in the Middle District.

Wilson on May 4 had granted Penn States motion for sanctions and directed the university to submit an invoice detailing its legal costs.

At the same time, she warned Parshall of Naples, Florida, that continued failure to adhere to her orders could result in a default judgment against him.

Parshall on Monday filed notice he had provided certain discovery material as ordered.

Penn State last July sued Parshall after he applied either for trademarks or registrations for Penn State Nittany Brewing Co., Penn State Nittany Beer and Penn State Nittany Lion Cigars in Pennsylvania and Illinois.

He also attempted to do so with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Penn State sought sanctions citing the extra work required by its attorneys because Parshall failed to provide the requested material.

Parshall  who in an October court filing said he was nearly 80, had suffered two strokes and does not travel  claims to have offered Penn State $50,000 for the trademarks that are the subject of the court case.

Penn State, on the other hand, says it has offered to settle the suit if Parshall agrees to terms that include paying $70,000 to cover the universitys legal costs.

He also would have to abandon any trademark applications or registration for Penn State Nittany Brewing Co., Penn State Nittany Beer and Penn State Nittany Lion Cigars.

If Parshall would accept the Penn State offer he would have to transfer the domain of pennstatenittanybeer.com to the university.

Penn States suit seeks an injunction to stop the alleged trademark infringement and up to $2 million for each trademark willfully counterfeited and infringed.
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan has experienced sharp decline in the number of incoming tourists since April due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the State Statistics Committee reported on May 19.

According to the report, the number of visitors to Azerbaijan decreased by 4.7 times in April compared to the previous month and 12.1 times compared to April last year.

Overall, the number of foreigners and stateless persons in Azerbaijan decreased by 36.5 percent year-on-year in January-April 2020, amounting to 539.000 people.

Most tourists in the country were from Russia (30.4 percent) and Georgia (27.9 percent) in January-April 2020.

Some 12.3 percent of the overall visitors came from Turkey, 6.1 percent from Iran, 2.3 percent from India, 2.2 percent from Saudi Arabia and 2.1 percent from Ukraine. 1.5 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 1.4 percent in Pakistan, 1.3 percent in Kuwait and Kazakhstan, 1.2 percent in Turkmenistan, 0.9 percent in Iraq and the United Kingdom, 0.8 percent from Uzbekistan; 0.7% were citizens of Israel, 6.6% were citizens of other countries, and 0.1% were stateless persons.

Most visitors were males (74 percent).

In January-April this year, the number of visitors from the United Arab Emirates decreased by 4.1 times, from China - 3.5 times, from Spain, Oman and Poland - 2.5 times, from Japan - 2.4 times, from Qatar and the Netherlands - 2.3 times, whereas from the United States, Iraq, Italy, France and Canada reduced by the same number-2.2 times.

In general, the number of arrivals from EU member countries decreased by 2.2 times, amounting to 15.6 thousand people, while the figure from Gulf countries decreased by 2.0 times to 70.7 thousand people, from CIS countries decreased by 1.4 times to 197.6 thousand people.

Thus, 65.8 percent of foreigners and stateless persons came to Azerbaijan by rail and road, whereas 32.8 percent of them arrived by air and 1.4 percent by sea.

In the case of the number of citizens of Azerbaijan visiting abroad, compared to January-April 2019, the figure decreased by 42.3 percent, amounting 944.7 thousand people. Some 33.8 percent of the country's citizens visited Iran, 29.8 percent Georgia, 20.4 percent the Russian Federation, 9.7 percent Turkey and 6.3 percent other countries. In addition, 68.9 percent of those who left were men and 31.1 percent were women.

During this period, the number of Azerbaijani citizens traveling to Iran decreased by 50.3 percent, to Turkey by 42.4 percent, to Georgia by 36.8 percent, and the number of those traveling to the Russian Federation decreased by 35.6 percent.

Thus, in January-April 2020, 82.4 percent of the citizens of Azerbaijan who visited foreign countries used railways and automobiles, while 16.3 percent and 1.3 percent of them traveled by air and sea, respectively.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
With the world at a virtual standstill and many people moving into confinement for safety as instructed by health experts, there is that one group of diligent men and women who are risking their lives daily to keep the rest of us safe  our frontline health workers.

From all 16 regions of Ghana, health professionals travel daily to and from their health posts knowing very well they could get infected and by extension, infect their families and loved ones with the dreaded Coronavirus. Despite this grave fear and other challenges, they brave the storm daily to deliver healthcare to you and me even in the remotest parts of Ghana.

To them and others keeping us safe, we say Ayekoo! To show their gratitude for the great work being done and also to motivate them to do more, Starbites has for the last couple of months been donating daily meals to the staff of the University of Ghana Medical School throughout this pandemic.

The fast-growing restaurant joined the list of top companies in making donations to help fight the deadly Corona Virus disease. Hot and well-packaged foods in different varieties were delivered to the staff of the facility. The kind gesture which was met with all joy from the workers has been done every day throughout the month of April and May.

The move was in line with the restaurants brand promise to give comfort to Ghanaians especially during this pandemic and to provide good and healthy food for a better standard living beyond COVID 19.

The donations are received on behalf of the facility by Mrs Barbara Owusu Hemeng, the Public Relation officer who has said that kind gestures like these go a long way to pat the shoulders of the workers and Starbites move is one that will not be forgotten.

In commending the kind gesture shown, she alluded to the risky nature of the frontline job.

She, as well as the nurses, have assured a relentless work to fight COVID 19.

Star bites, since the outbreak of COVID-19, has ensured prudent measures to keep its cherished customers safe. A more spaced environment, free and fast delivery services and has initiated surprise giveaways to its customers through some amazing innovations and promotions.

They recently surprised media personalities, Abeiku Santana and Lexis live on air, also to encourage them to do more to inform, entertain, educate, and inspire the nation during these difficult times.

Star bites is a Ghanaian owned restaurant that has been operating in Ghana since 2010 with more than 10 branches in Accra and Kumasi.
The man who got the Transbay transit center opened only to have to lead an extensive investigation and repair job will leave the agency that built and operates the center in September.

Mark Zabaneh, executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, announced his resignation by a letter to the authoritys board of directors Tuesday.

Zabaneh joined the Transbay authority in 2013 after 26 years with Caltrans. He took over as executive director in 2016 after Maria Ayerdi, the original leader of the project, was pushed out as the cost of building the transit center soared.

The construction of the transit center  and the sale of public land around it  created a residential and commercial neighborhood in San Francisco. The vision is to eventually connect the center to Caltrain and high-speed rail, opening up transportation links throughout the state.

The $2.2 billion transit hub, officially named the Salesforce Transit Center, opened in August 2018 only to close six weeks later when a worker discovered cracks in a massive support beam. A second beam also was found to have cracks. The center remained closed for nearly 10 months while contractors bolstered the damaged girders and engineers looked for other construction flaws, which they didnt find.

The discovery of the fissures was the biggest disappointment of the project, Zabaneh told The Chronicle on Wednesday.

But he said he was proud of how the authority handled the crisis.

Our response was done with the highest integrity, the highest transparency, he said, and in a way that reassured the public it was safe to reopen.

Zabaneh said hes confident that public appreciation of the three-block-long transit center, which is topped by a popular rooftop park, will eventually cause people to forget the struggles to get it built as well as the discovery that closed it for months. Both remain open though the park is limited to those exercising. He said he was also proud of the Salesforce naming agreement, though some have criticized it as commercializing a public facility. The 25-year deal brought the Transbay authority $110 million to help pay operating expenses.

Zabaneh is leaving for another job he said he cannot yet disclose. But in the next three months, he hopes to help the center recover from the COVID-19 outbreak, which drove down bus ridership and shuttered some just-opened retail outlets, help prepare the agency to bring trains into the basement of the center if money becomes available, and help hire his replacement.

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.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who has been critical of the authority and proposed that someone else take over the construction of a rail extension to the center, said that he appreciates Zabanehs service but that his departure and the COVID-19 crisis leave the city with profound choices to make as to who the director is and what the future of this multibillion-dollar project will be.

The second phase of the Transbay project, which could cost as much as $6 billion, would complete the vision of making the transit hub the Grand Central Terminal of the West, as transit planners have called it, by bringing high-speed rail and Caltrain to the basement of the transit center.

Tom Radulovich, executive director of Livable City, which aims to make San Francisco more transit-friendly, said the next head of the Transbay authority will need not only to be able to get the downtown rail extension built, but also to liven up the transit center and its surroundings. As the region recovers from the coronavirus and fewer people ride transit, this could become particularly important.

The next director has to have some real intelligence around running and creating public places that will make the Transbay a place to go to, he said. It isnt a lively neighborhood aside from 9 to 5 weekdays. We dont really need an engineer as much as a place-maker.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
HQ: The Treasury Building in Dublin, where Nama is based

RECEIVERS appointed by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) last year shared 7.085m in fees for their Nama work.

That is according to figures provided by Nama in response to a Freedom of Information request.

It brings to 139m the total paid out to Nama-appointed receivers since it was established in 2009.

Two companies last year received fees in excess of 1m. RSM received fees of 1.57m for seven appointments to Nama debtors while Deloitte received 1.09m in relation to seven appointments.

The figures also show Grant Thornton received 956,000 in relation to 10 connections with McStay Luby getting the fourth highest amount at 638,000 in relation to three connections.

Duff and Phelps Ireland received 599,000 while two other firms got fees in excess of 200,000: PWC 298,000 and EY 255,000.

Four other firms received fees between 100,000 and 200,000: HWBC got 182,000, BDO 173,000, Crowe 169,000, RBK 159,000 and McKeogh GR 141,000.

The Nama FOI unit said: "Receivers appointed to Nama-secured properties are selected from Nama's insolvency service provider panel, which was established following a competitive public procurement process.

"Arising from this process, competitive fixed-fee rates were achieved relative to prevailing market norms. In general, fees are not paid to receivers directly by Nama but are instead paid out of the proceeds of assets under receivership or the management of these assets, pending realisation.

"Fees for any particular insolvency are set by reference to the fees quoted by the insolvency practitioner as part of the public procurement process.

"Typically, fees reduce as the assignment progresses and the number of assets reduces by way of disposals or otherwise. However, this depends on the complexity of the insolvency and the issues that may emerge during its course."

Over the course of Nama's operation, Grant Thornton has been paid just over 20m between its Irish and UK units for its receiver work.

One of the 'Big Four' accountancy firms, KPMG has received 14.8m in fees, while Duff & Phelps received 12m, RSM Ireland 12.6m, Deloitte 11.2m, Mazars 9.8m and PwC 9.1m.
Amazon boxes are loaded on a cart for delivery in New York. Read more

Amazon has confirmed some details of a much-expected new warehouse center at the former General Motors plant site just west of Wilmington.

On Tuesday, Amazon pledged more than 1,000 full-time jobs and a first-floor, robotics-heavy 820,000-square-foot operations center at the site, where developer Dermody Properties has filed plans to build as much as 3.8 million square feet, making it potentially larger than any current Amazon center.

Dermody built another center for Amazon near Bridgeport, Gloucester County, in 2018. Amazon also erected its first East Coast warehouse in New Castle, Del., in 1997 and added a larger facility in Middletown, Del., near the Maryland border, in 2012.

Delaware imposes a gross-receipts tax on retailers such as Amazon, but that tax is suspended for sales from newly built facilities such as the new warehouse. (More on Delaware property tax, sales-receipts tax and cash incentives for the new Amazon plant in my March 2 column here.)

Amazons existing Delaware facilities employ 2,500, plus more during the Christmas shipping season. The company also has concentrations of large warehouses in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley.

In February, Delaware officials agreed to pay Amazon $4.5 million, an unusually large up-front grant, despite objections from labor-union representative and state Sen. John Kowalko (D., Newark), if it moved to the site. The companys profits totaled $1 billion a month last year, record show.

Delaware officials and regulatory agencies have been very responsive to our needs, which made it possible to attract Amazon, said Dermody partner Jeffrey A. Zygler in a statement. Dermody plans to spend at least $200 million at the site while Amazon plans to spend $50 million on automation equipment.

Gov. John Carney said in a statement that Amazon was welcome to the site, which has been vacant since the car plant closed in 2009. A federal- and state-subsidized plan to build Fisker electric cars there, backed by then-Vice President Joe Biden, who lives in nearby Greenville, fizzled when that company went bankrupt. The plant was demolished by local developer Harvey, Hanna & Associates last year.

At the hearing for the grant, Amazon officials testified that they planned to pay workers $15 an hour, and a smaller group of managers $32 an hour. The base wage at the GM plant when it closed a decade ago was $26 an hour.

According to an Amazon statement, workers at the Wilmington center will work alongside innovative Amazon robotics technology to pick, pack and ship smaller customer items such as books, electronics, small household goods and toys.

Ryan Smith, director of Amazon robotics fulfillment centers in North America, said in a statement that workers get full medical, vision and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) with 50 percent company match" and tuition aid, on top of their $15-an-hour wages.
LIMERICK TD Willie ODea has written to Enterprise Mnister Heather Humphreys to ask she re-examine the eligibility criteria for the restart grant for business.

The grant is designed to help firms which employ under 50 people and with a turnover of less than 5m with grants of up to 10,000.

But Mr ODea says there are some aspects of the grant which small business owners in the city are querying.

As it stands it precludes small businesses which are in their infancy. If a business cannot provide a rates evaluation for 2019, which new businesses might not be able to, then they cannot access the grant, he said, What about the micro-businesses and entrepreneurs working from their home offices? Arguably they are the ones who need this grant the most and yet they frozen out of it  this has to be re-examined. It is also not clear whether a sole trader with no employees is eligible to apply for the scheme.

Mr ODea argued the grants are very small when compared to Britain, where firms there can access up to 25,000 in grants.

Calling a spade, a spade, a cash grant of 10,000 for a small or microbusiness would make a much greater difference to their viability than a 2,000 grant. We know that some businesses will never open their doors again, but we should be encouraging and supporting as many as possible to get back to business, Mr O'Dea concluded.
Exactly 90 years ago, India and also the rest of the world was brought to their knees by the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was marked by a sudden fall in prices, a crash of demand and also a shortage of money with people. Now, the world is witnessing a similar phenomenon, albeit caused by humankind locking itself at home to keep away the highly infectious coronavirus.

In fact, according to US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs, the Indian economy is expected to contract nearly 45 per cent in the first quarter  which is worse than the economic mayhem witnessed in the 1930s in India. It expects a washout of the financial year 2020-21, with the size of Indian economy shrinking by five per cent  a loss of $160 billion (Rs 12 lakh crore) worth output by a conservative estimate. The economic devastation caused by the 2020 coronavirus shock in India could be greater and much widespread because a significantly larger population of the country is dependent on formal economic activity than that of 1930s India. The government was the only entity that had the wherewithal to backstop the impact.

When the lockdown was announced, its impact was anticipated by everybody who had the basic knowledge of economics. We were the first to call upon the Narendra Modi government to loosen its purse strings to prevent the crash of demand or depression and to provide sovereign-backed working capital loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). While the small businesses were given a lifeline, the government has ignored suggestions to put cash in the hands of people to sustain demand in the economy.

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has grandly announced about Rs 20 lakh crores worth stimulus package to support a wavering economy, the analysis of announcements made finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman showed that it was a mere jugglery to hog the limelight and divert attention from fast-rising coronavirus cases. Instead of supporting the economy when it needed the most, Ms Sitharaman focused on medium and long term reforms. To support her policy, she reiterated Mr Modis oft-quoted statement that it is better to teach a person how to fish rather than give him the fish. However, one wonders how learning fishing would help a person who is going to die of hunger! For such a person, giving the fish is the only solution.

In 1930, when the cash crops of Indian farmers found no buyer because of the Great Depression, lakhs of farmers were on the verge of starvation and had no cash. But the viceroy of the day, Lord Willington, refused to provide any government support or stimulus to the countrys economy and let Indians sell their family gold to sail out of the crisis. One of the after-effects of this policy was Salt Satyagraha and the intensification of the Indian freedom struggle. One could understand the indifference showed by Willington to the plight of Indians, but it is difficult to fathom the same shown by the Modi government. History is taught to help the current generation to avoid mistakes committed by those in the past. If we dont take lessons from history, the same fate would await us as it did our forefathers.
Cyclone Jawad likely to weaken, move northwards during next 12 hours

Cyclone Amphan: Full list of Do's and Don'ts

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Nov 15: Amidst the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has pushed the whole country on edge, a super cyclonic storm 'Amphan' to move north-northeastwards and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha & Hatiya close to Sunderbans during the afternoon to evening today with a wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.

State and national authorities have already put Odisha and West Bengal on alert against inclement weather conditions. Forty-one teams of the National Disaster Response Force, including seven reserves, have been deployed in West Bengal and Odisha in view of the impending super cyclonic storm 'Amphan', its chief S N Pradhan said on Tuesday.

Cyclone Amphan makes landfall near Sunderbans in West Bengal

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) lists out Do's and Don'ts. Do's and Don't:

To track cyclone Amphan, please visit this link. The website quite similar to IMD website shows real-time updates of the cyclone and provides all the latest information.
Technavio has been monitoring the protein therapeutics market and it is poised to grow by USD 82.47 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/20200519005761/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Protein Therapeutics 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. AbbVie Inc., Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Johnson Johnson, Merck Co. Inc., Novo Nordisk AS, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi are some of the major market participants. The increased demand for mAbs 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.

Increased demand for mAbs has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Protein Therapeutics Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Protein Therapeutics Market is segmented as below:

Product MAbs Human Insulin Erythropoeitin Clotting Factors 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=IRTNTR43438

Protein Therapeutics 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 protein therapeutics market report covers the following areas:

Protein Therapeutics Market Size

Protein Therapeutics Market Trends

Protein Therapeutics Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the development of novel therapies using innovative technologies as one of the prime reasons driving the protein therapeutics market growth during the next few years.

Protein Therapeutics Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the protein therapeutics market, including some of the vendors such as AbbVie Inc., Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca Plc, Eli Lilly and Co., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Johnson Johnson, Merck Co. Inc., Novo Nordisk AS, Pfizer Inc., and Sanofi. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the protein therapeutics 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

Protein Therapeutics Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist protein therapeutics market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the protein therapeutics market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the protein therapeutics market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of protein therapeutics 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 Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

mAbs Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Human insulin Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Erythropoeitin Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Clotting factors Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Product

Market segmentation by Therapy Area

Market segments

Metabolic and endocrine disorders

Hematopoiesis

Fertility

Cancer

Autoimmune diseases

Infectious diseases

Protein vaccine

Market segmentation by Protein Function

Market segments

Enzymatic and regulatory activity

Special targeting activity

Vaccines

Protein diagnostics

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

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

AbbVie Inc.

Amgen Inc.

AstraZeneca Plc

Eli Lilly and Co.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Johnson Johnson

Merck Co. Inc.

Novo Nordisk AS

Pfizer Inc.

Sanofi

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/20200519005761/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/
Cepi Says New EU Biodiversity Strategy Could Put At-Risk Forest-based Sector Contribution to the Green Deal "The [European Commission's] proposal seems to miss that biodiversity is looked after in all areas, not only in protected ones, and is already part of sustainable forest management. These targets must be carefully reconsidered as they would decrease sustainable mobilisation of locally sourced raw materials in the EU."  Jori Ringman, Director General, Cepi. BRUSSELS, May 20, 2020 (Press Release) - As part of the European Green Deal, The European Commission published today its new Biodiversity Strategy, titled "Bringing nature back into our lives". The document presents the key points for the protection of biodiversity in Europe, including a proposal for land protection, which is set to increase from 26% today to at least 30% by 2030. One third of the whole network of protected areas should be covered by strict protection. This suggested increase in protection targets for land would come on top of existing measures and good practices. "The proposal seems to miss that biodiversity is looked after in all areas, not only in protected ones, and is already part of sustainable forest management. These targets must be carefully reconsidered as they would decrease sustainable mobilisation of locally sourced raw materials in the EU. This would put at risk advancing the resilient circular economy and EU's climate neutrality objectives" said Jori Ringman, Director General at Cepi, the Confederation of European Paper Industries. The European paper industry has released a joint statement (2-page pdf) together with its partners in the forest-based value chains explaining why sustainable forest management should be seen as an opportunity to safeguard biodiversity. We think it should play a key role across the world in enhancing the condition of ecosystems. Sustainable forest management assures the delivery of raw materials, of non-wood forest products and of ecosystem services like habitats, clean air, water purification and erosion prevention. Legally sourced, certified primary raw materials from sustainably managed forests are prerequisites for the European paper industries. Cepi agrees on the importance of ensuring prospects for the development of biodiversity and highlights the crucial need to tackle global deforestation which is a significant problem: it causes an increase in CO2 emissions and has a negative impact on biodiversity. It is mainly driven by agriculture and urban sprawl and can be best tackled with development policies. "We have many decades of track record in sustainable sourcing and traceability that, together with sustainable forest management, contribute to enhancing the health and resilience of European forests. We support the Commission's plans in creating more forests in Europe, tackling climate change and fostering a green and resilient recovery from COVID-19 crises. Viable and sustainable forest-based industries with healthy nature can be our strongest asset in the fight against the climate change", said Mr Ringman. The European paper industry has a strategic interest in keeping forests in an optimal state of health and growth in Europe. They provide the sustainable raw material that enables us to offer a wide range of renewable and recyclable wood fibre-based solutions for many sectors, from personal care to textile, green chemistry, and pharmaceuticals. The European paper industries are committed to use wood that has been legally harvested and comes from responsibly managed forests. This is reflected in the reality: 92% of the wood consumed by the European paper industry is from Europe, the rest being imported mainly from Russia and Belarus. In 2018, 74% of the wood supply to the paper industry is from forests certified either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification). 90% of the external purchased pulp is certified. The success of these programs shows that they are suitable tools to verify sustainable management, including biodiversity protection. The Commission is planning to publish a new EU Forest Strategy that should serve as the main policy tool to integrate European forests and the forest-based sector into the EU Green Deal. It should take the form of a holistic, multi-dimensional and inclusive strategy that will ensure an effective further development of the EU instruments related to forest management (such as adaptation, damage prevention, forest restoration, afforestation, Forest Information System for Europe). The elements included in the Biodiversity Strategy released today can complement an EU Forest Strategy, but further elaboration of their impact should take place before setting legally binding targets. About Cepi Cepi is the pan-European association representing the forest fibre and paper industry. Through its 18 national associations CEPI gathers 495 companies operating more than 900 pulp and paper mills across Europe producing paper, cardboard, pulp and other bio-based products. Cepi represents 22% of world production, EUR 82 billion of annual turnover to the European economy and directly employs more than 177,000 people. From forest fibre technology to advance paper design the industry currently invests EUR 5.5 billion annually and is a leader of the low carbon circular bioeconomy transition. Cepi's 2050 'Investment Roadmap' outlines the industry's vision to advance this transformation in Europe through value creation and decarbonisation. To learn more, visit: www.cepi.org . SOURCE: Cepi (Confederation of European Paper Industries)
PRAGUE, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy products, in cooperation with the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU), will host CyberSec&AI Connected on October 8, 2020, the second edition of its conference which took place in 2019 for the first time. Expanding on last year's conference, CyberSec&AI Connected will this year focus on the use of artificial intelligence to defend against cyber attacks, and tackle new challenges associated with data privacy.

This year, Avast and CTU will deliver a hybrid conference combining a global online agenda with three physical events across the world to bring together experts without the restriction of a single location. The global event will simultaneously run in venues in Prague, Czech Republic, London, UK, and San Francisco, US, with the content broadcast live to attendees worldwide across the timezones. Revolving around the theme "AI for privacy and security", the event will host world-class experts on artificial intelligence from industry and academia. Participants of CyberSec&AI Connected will be able to attend the conference physically in the city closest to them, or virtually via their computer, tablet or smartphone.

"Most of our daily activities on the internet are driven by artificial intelligence. AI can make our lives easier and satisfy our needs, but in the wrong hands it can become a powerful weapon. Especially in a challenging situation like the coronavirus pandemic, when society is even more vulnerable, we are using AI to detect and prevent cyber attacks being targeted against medical institutions and innocent people seeking information about the disease," said Avast CTO, Prof. Michal Pechoucek. "Given the current situation, we decided to scale CyberSec&AI Connected to different countries and once again connect forces of industry and academia. Only by combining the best scientific capabilities and advanced cyber security developments we will be able to produce concrete scientific and technological results that can help people and make them more secure online."

CyberSec&AI Connected will have a diverse program consisting of interactive workshops and presentations led by world-class experts in the field of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, including Roger Dingledine, Director, Researcher and Co-founder of the Tor Project, and Garry Kasparov, Chess Grandmaster and Avast Security Ambassador.

"The concept of AI has caused baseless fears due to many doomsayers and Hollywood movies spreading an overexaggerated image of potential risks associated with artificial intelligence," said Garry Kasparov. "However, our current situation proves more than ever that we need technological advancement urgently, and AI can be the basis of many solutions that are needed today, for medical equipment and research, but also in the space of fake news detection, cybersecurity and privacy. I'm excited to be a part of CyberSec&AI Connected this fall to meet with some of the brightest minds in the field of AI to discuss these topics."

Visitors of CyberSec&AI Connected can register their interest via this link to make sure they don't miss out on important conference updates.

About Avast

Avast (LSE: AVST) is a global leader in digital security and privacy products. With over 400 million users online, Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect people from threats on the internet and the evolving IoT threat landscape. The company's threat detection network is among the most advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time. Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test, SE Labs and others. Visit www.avast.com .

About Czech Technical University in Prague

The Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) is one of the biggest and oldest technical universities in Europe. CTU currently has eight faculties (Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Architecture, Transportation Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Information Technology) more than 18,000 students. For the 2019/20 academic year, CTU in Prague is offering its students 170 accredited study programmes in Czech language and 53 in foreign languages. CTU educates modern specialists, scientists and managers with knowledge of foreign languages, who are dynamic, flexible and can adapt quickly to the requirements of the market. Visit: www.cvut.cz

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Avast

Related Links

www.avast.com


House prices are likely to fall sharply over the next year, a leading think tank has predicted.

The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned that prices are set to plunge by 12pc by the end of next year, with the property market likely to be sluggish over the next year and a half.

Economic impacts from the virus will have a huge dampening effect on house prices, particularly the drop in household income and the surge in unemployment.

The new research paper suggests the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic will also likely lead to a decline in private investment in housing.

A shortfall in supply in the future will result from this.

Sellers of new and second-hand properties will be forced to reduce their prices due to demand dropping.

House builder Ballymore told Virgin Media TV this week it will be selling homes at cost, or very close to cost, for the next 12 months, as it struggles with reduced demand and a fall in output of housing units.

In paper by Kieran McQuinn and Matthew Allen Coghlan of the ESRI, it is stated: The scenario analysis presented here indicates that Irish house prices are set to fall over the next 18 months as a result of the Covid-19 downturn.

The contraction in prices is due to the decline in household disposable income and the sharp fall-off in mortgage market activity which will inevitably result from the administrative closedown implemented by the Irish authorities.

The analysis indicates that a quick bounce back in the economy is unlikely, with a sluggish recovery more realistic for next year and the following year.

Prof McQuinn said it is very clear that a second surge of the coronavirus could have a more significant impact on property prices.

He said that all the new conditions imposed on the construction sector will have an impact on both the supply and demand side of the market.

Disposable income drives demand and as long as that is subdued it will affect demand for properties, he explained.

Lenders are already tightening conditions on mortgages.

As the number of non-performing loans increase due to the impact of the pandemic, lenders are likely to restrict the number of loans and size of mortgages they issue, the ESRI paper states.

The analysts note that any decline in house prices would have been significantly worse if the Irish Government had not introduced the significant welfare payments to address the substantial increase in unemployment.

The recovery of housing demand in the Irish economy will depend on how long these payments remain in place and at what stage the authorities decide to remove them, the authors added.

Last week KBC Bank House said prices in Ireland could fall 20pc this year and continue to decline in 2021.

In a presentation to investors, the bank said the base case for Irish house prices is a 12pc fall in 2020 followed by a rise of 8pc last year.

However, the Construction Industry Federation has warned that Covid-19 safety measures could add 5pc to 10pc to the cost of a house.

CIF Director General Tom Parlon said house builders forecast that implementing the measures, including social distancing, could add 10,000 to 15,000 to the cost of a house.
Skyrora, a satellite launch company based in Scotland hopes to be able to send a rocket into space by spring 2021 after completing a ground fire test.

The company created a mobile launch platform and finished a full fire test of its Skylark-L rocket in just five days - the first from the UK in 50 years.

The ground test, which saw the Skylark-L perform all launch actions while restrained from taking off, was completed at the Kildemorie Estate in the North Scotland.

Skyora says the 36ft rocket will reach a height of 62 miles - the point where space officially begins - and be able to carry a 132lb payload when launched next year.

The testing of Skylark-L earlier this month was the first vertical static fire test of this magnitude in the UK since the Black Arrow Programme, 50 years ago.

The British-made Skylark-L rocket is a bi-liquid propellent launcher - it is the firms first sub-orbital flight vehicle and competing to launch from a British spaceport.

The Sutherland spaceport is expected to be the first in the UK and will allow for vertical take off from the Melness Crofting Estate in the Scottish highlands.

Skylark-L, which is powered by a combination of Hydrogen Peroxide and Kerosene which are pressure fed into its engine, could launch to space by spring 2021.

Building up to the static fire test, the rocket engine itself has gone through three hot fire tests before being integrated into the launch vehicle.

Eventually the company plans to use their own Ecosene, an equivalent Kerosene fuel made from un-recyclable plastic waste.

The ground test, which saw the Skylark-L perform all launch actions while restrained from taking off, was completed at the Kildemorie Estate in the North Scotland

In Skyrora's rocket suite, its aim is to start with launching sub-orbital rockets and move to orbital rockets by 2023. This will allow them to launch satellites that need to be in low earth orbit.

The static firing test, fully checked out the design and in-house manufacture, making sure the vehicle itself is ready for launch.

The last full fire test in the UK was for the Black Arrow satellite carrier rocket developed during the 1960s.

It launched from Australia between 1969 and 1971 before the government abandoned the programme in favour of using cheaper US scout rockets.

The UK is the only country to have developed and abandoned its own satellite launch capability.

Something that will change if the Skylark-L and other competing projects are succesfull - and unlike Black Arrow, these new rockets will launch from the UK.

Leading the operations of Skylark-L's static fire testing, Dr Jack-James Marlow said: 'It is very hard to oversell what we have achieved here with this test.'

He said 'The whole team has pulled through again to deliver another UK first. We have successfully static tested a fully integrated, sub-orbital Skylark L launch vehicle in flight configuration.

'This means we performed all actions of a launch but did not release the vehicle. The rocket engine successfully burned, with all vehicle systems showing nominal operation.'

There were over 100 unique operations the team had to oversee as part of the test, something Dr Marlow says gave them vital experience.

The British-made Skylark-L rocket is a bi-liquid propellent launcher - it is the firms first sub-orbital flight vehicle and competing to launch from a British spaceport

'This collection of tests, combined with the 25 other engine tests this year, allow us to take another step along our technology roadmap to orbital launch,' he added.

'This is the first time a launch vehicle of this magnitude has been tested in the UK for many years and I am very proud of my team for achieving this.

'The vehicle is now ready for flight and we are one step closer to putting the UK back into space,' said Marlow.

The UK already has a thriving payload industry, producing satellites and equipment that are launched by Russia, the US and elsewhere.

This is the start of a new 'UK launch industry', according to Skyrora's chief executive officer, Volodymyr Levykin.

'As the launch aspect of the UK's new Space industry starts to emerge, there will be many events that have never happened here previously and this is one of them.

The UK already has a thriving payload industry, producing satellites and equipment that are launched by Russia, the US and elsewhere.

'This was a mammoth effort in very trying circumstances, so it is quite an achievement to be proud of,' he said.

Levykin said they adhered to all social distancing measures in an extremely remote location - which added to the challenges facing the team.

'We see this as being the first significant step towards reaching space from our own soil and are very proud to have taken that step as part of the UK's Space ambitions.

'We are now in a full state of readiness for launch. It is this milestone that is the start of the UK's new space revolution, a fantastic example of the potential of what the UK Space holds for future,' he said.

'With the expertise in place and all the necessary hardware at the ready, we are poised to take the next steps in making the UK a serious leader in the Space business once again.'
LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Biofriendly Corporation and Dislub Equador Group announced the launch of DuraMais brand gasoline and biodiesel, which utilizes Biofriendly's Green Plus energy transition fuel technology. These efforts align with the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 from the United Nations. By choosing Green Plus, Dislub Equador Group delivers a groundbreaking fuel in both sustainability and fuel economy.

"At Biofriendly, we are committed to doing everything we can to lower greenhouse gas emissions for future generations and Green Plus is the only Energy Transition Fuel technology on the market today," said Biofriendly's Chief Executive Officer Noel Carroll. "With DuraMais, Dislub Equador Group's team is helping the people of Brazil to go green with their fuel choices right now."

"The emergence of DuraMais Gasoline in more than 400 Dislub Equador Group gas stations is an expression of the company's ever-changing way, always for the better, said Director of Dislub Equador Group, Humberto do Amaral Carrilho. "Adhering to Green Plus technology has made it possible to make a difference faster and for more people by offering the first eco-additive gasoline in Brazil. The choice to partner with Biofriendly was strategic and reaffirms the commitment that Dislub Equador Group has to the environment and society."

By joining forces in Brazil, Biofriendly and Dislub Equador Group are delivering an innovative and eco-conscious choice for the people of Latin America.

About Dislub Equador Group

Dislub Equador Group has been operating in the liquid, solid and gaseous fuels segment in the North and Northeast of Brazil since 1997. Awarded several times, which attests to the quality of its service, it is among the 150 best companies to work for in Brazil. More information is available at www.gasolinaduramais.com.br

http://equadorenergia.com.br

www.dislubenergia.com.br

About Biofriendly Corporation

Biofriendly Corporation was founded with the express purpose of solving the world's air quality problems. To that end, the company introduced Green Plus smog reducer to the market. 20 years later, Green Plus has cleaned over 11 billion gallons of fuel and removed enough pollution to take the equivalent of a 200-mile lineup of cars off the road every year. Biofriendly continues its commitment to reducing air pollution worldwide, but has expanded its purpose toward green education, investment and environmental solutions for the future of the planet.

For more information, visit www.biofriendly.com. For environmental information and green tips, visit Biofriendly's e-magazine at www.biofriendlyplanet.com and listen to the Biofriendly Podcast on YouTube. Follow Biofriendly Planet on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Matt Kovacs

[email protected]

(310) 395-5050

SOURCE Biofriendly Corporation

Related Links

http://www.biofriendly.com


Demi Moore's has opened up about how she is working to be more body confident (Getty Images)

She is currently in lockdown in Idaho with both of her famous parents - Demi Moore and ex-husband Bruce Willis - as well as her sisters Scout and Tallulah.

But Rumer Willis has taken time away from busy family life during the pandemic to reflect on her battle with body confidence.

In a post on Instagram, the actress, 31, admitted that she had been struggling to slot into a perfect healthy eating and exercise routine while cooped up at home.

The star, who at the same time shared a post-workout snap of herself, explained that while her body does so much all she tends to think about is what it is lacking and forgets to celebrate its unique beauty.

Read more: Rumer Willis opens up about being body-shamed and called 'potato head'

Rumer wrote: This is just an appreciation post for my body because I think its important to celebrate ourselves.

Not because we lost weight or we are a certain size or because we have a rare moment when a photo looks how we think it should to be accepted by mainstream.

My body does so much for me and works so hard for me. But more often than not the only thing it hears it what is wrong with it. What is lacking or what there is too much of. I am a fault of this all too often.

She continued: Being in quarantine and struggling to find a new routine and not using food to find comfort when you are stuck at home all day is hard.

Read more: Bruce Willis shaves daughter Tallulah's head while in lockdown

Finding discipline to workout from home and eat healthy is hard and its ok not to be perfect, Im certainly not.

What is important is to find ways to be happy where you are at and not make being a perfect size or weight or hair color or body shape some goal that you can only find happiness and acceptance of you reach it.

Rumer added: When we look in the mirror or at a photo we usually just go to all the things wrong not the unique beauty. I had a moment today after I worked out and I took this picture and I tried just for a moment to just see all the amazing things and not my perceived flaws.

Story continues

I took a moment to acknowledge myself and my body and how much it does and I said thank you for being just as you are and even just for today I release the idea that to be beautiful or desirable you have to be anything other that what you are right now.

Read more: Bruce Willis and Demi Moore self-isolate together with their children 20 years after divorce

The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood star - who was wearing a matching grey-blue set from Kim Kardashians brand Skims - also shared a video titled body talk in a second post.

Rumer explained that she wanted to be vulnerable and show her 819,000 followers what she looks like with no filters, no editing.

Both posts have received tens of thousands of likes and much praise from fans lauding her honesty.

One person wrote: Damn right, thank you for sharing love.

Another commented: GOSH I love you, you are such an incredible woman, whom I look up to so much.

A third shared: You have a beautiful, strong body and it looks like you take really good care of it. What an inspiration you are.

And a fourth added: Ive been feeling the same way. Thank you beautiful.
All you should know about Olas largest factory in the world being set up in Tamil Nadu

Bookings now open for the Ola Electric Scooter! Reserve at just Rs 499, pricing and other details here

Ola to layoff 1,400 staff as COVID-19 pandemic hits revenues

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, May 20: Ride-hailing service provider Ola will layoff 1,400 staff as revenues declined by 95 per cent in the last two months due to coronavirus pandemic. The job cuts were announced in an internal email note by CEO Bhavish Agarwal to staff.

In an email to employees, Aggarwal made it clear that the prognosis ahead for the business is "very unclear and uncertain" and the impact of this crisis is "definitely going to be long-drawn for us".

Swiggy to lay off 1,100 employees due to COVID-19 impact

"The fallout of the virus has been very tough for our industry in particular. Our revenue has come down 95 per cent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies," he said.

The company has decided to downsize and "let go" of 1,400 employees, Aggarwal added.

Fact check: Does putting mustard oil into nose kill coronavirus

The layoffs at Bengaluru-based Ola Cabs come as the country remains in the fourth phase of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed the economy into a standstill and forced many businesses to trim operations.

Over the past four weeks, at least two dozen top companies have fired employees and contract staff. They include Oyo, BlackBuck, BharatPe, Acko, Fab Hotels, Zolo Stays, Treebo, Udaan and Homelane. Others such as Bounce, Livspace, AgroStar, BookMyShow and Droom have cut salaries, according to data shared by Big.Jobs.
P iers Morgan has said his colleague Kate Garraway feels hope when she hears stories of patients who have survived being in intensive care with Covid-19, as her husband continues to fight the virus.

Garraways husband Derek Draper has been fighting Covid-19 for seven weeks, with the Good Morning Britain presenter taking time off work to care for him and their family.

Speaking to a woman named Jo on GMB who had survived the virus, Morgan said Garraway would be reassured by her story of recovery.

One of our colleagues, Kate Garraway, her husbands been very critically ill now for a long period of time, he told Jos doctor Dr Wimbush.

These sort of stories, I have to say, I think give Kate huge hope when she hears them and sees them, because you know shes been in this very position that Clive [Jos husband] was in where you cant see your loved one, you have to just muddle through I guess.

Kate Garraway with husband Derek Draper / PA

He continued: Dr Wimbush, one of the hardest things about this is that theres no usual personal contact either between loved ones and their own family, as they are in critical condition fighting for their lives.

They cant go and see them. And you as the staff, trying to save them, you cant connect with the families in the way that you would like to. Its all very disconnected, isnt it.

Dr Wimbush explained that it was difficult to build a relationship with the patient as they had to wear full PPE to treat Jo, and that she may not remember much of her time in hospital.

It is very disconnected, and it applies to our connection with the patient as well," he said.

"Other than the fact that Jo was desperately ill and may not remember a lot about her time in intensive care, she wouldnt recognise us because we had been dressed in full aprons and masks and gloves and visors. And that makes it very difficult for us to connect with the patient."

Hands Across The NHS - in pictures 1 /38 Hands Across The NHS - in pictures Sara Danesin, Acute Medicine Nurse at Royal Free Hospital "I'm in a COVID-19 isolation ward at Royal Free Hospital." Nurse Sara Danesin Sara Danesin, Acute Medicine Nurse at Royal Free Hospital "The days are long." Nurse Sara Danesin Sara Danesin, Acute Medicine Nurse at Royal Free Hospital "The feeling is of intense heat and claustrophobia." Nurse Sara Danesin Sara Danesin, Acute Medicine Nurse at Royal Free Hospital "Its a challenging time for everyone." Nurse Sara Danesin Patrick Simms, Senior Biomedical Scientist at Weston Hospital in Bristol "In the image, I am processing a positive Covid-19 patient's blood, performing quantitative analysis of various biological markers present in patients serum. This can give an indication to the Clinical team of the severity of illness, allowing them to make effective treatment pathway plans for the patient and ensure they receive the best care possible. Pictured is just one sample of the 1000 samples we process every day in Weston General Biochemistry." Patrick Simms Dr Ali Sanders, Emergency Medicine and Pre Hospital Care Consultant/Air Ambulance Doctor "I feel lucky to be able to come to work in these challenging times." Dr Ali Sanders Dr Ali Sanders, Emergency Medicine and Pre Hospital Care Consultant/Air Ambulance Doctor "The most challenging thing about that day was seeing the psychological and social impact of this pandemic playing out. The increasing effects of lockdown on mental health issues." Dr Ali Sanders Dr Ali Sanders, Emergency Medicine and Pre Hospital Care Consultant/Air Ambulance Doctor "Post-work, the thing I'm most looking forward to is sleeping!" Dr Ali Sanders Dr Ali Sanders, Emergency Medicine and Pre Hospital Care Consultant/Air Ambulance Doctor "Thank you for your appreciation of the NHS" Dr Ali Sanders Steven Male, high dependency patient carer, West Midlands Ambulance Service "That particular day I was actually feeling quite positive and hopeful. I have been amazed at the amount of people who have stepped up during this crisis to help others and volunteer for all sorts of things often putting themselves at risk." Steven Male Steven Male, high dependency patient carer, West Midlands Ambulance Service "The most challenging job that day was transporting an end of life patient from hospital to their home address so they could pass peacefully with their family. That particular job was very tough emotionally because the gentleman was only middle-aged but unfortunately had terminal cancer. When we arrived at the property, his family were there waiting. His children were only in their early twenties, I felt so sorry for them." Steven Male Steven Male, high dependency patient carer, West Midlands Ambulance Service "Doing this job makes you appreciate the small things in life and time with family is especially precious." Steven Male Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "It was at the beginning of my shift and I was anxious about what I was going to find out behind the door." Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "How were the patients?" Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "Have we had more admissions?" Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "Had any of my patients got better or worse?" Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "I was taking care of a work colleague. That made me realise that I could be next lying on that bed fighting for my life." Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "The most gratifying thing is to know that my patient was a bit better than when I took over 13 hours before. " Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "I'm most looking forward to going home to hug my family after having a long hot shower." Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Nurse Joan Pons Laplana, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust "Stay at home. Its the easiest way to save lives and stop the spreading of this nasty virus." Nurse Joan Pons Laplana Dr Nick Rhodes, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Northwick Park Hospital "The challenges of today have included patients who are struggling in their distressed mental states to understand social distancing, despite repeated requests to explain why we need them to take a step back; and a new admission who we were unable to assess properly because she remained mute and made no eye contact. Most gratifying this morning are two patients whose mental health crises seem to be abating and are looking forward to going home." Dr Nick Rhodes Dr Alice Beardmore-Gray, Obstetric Doctor - Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, South London "The photo shows me holding one of the babies we delivered that night, as the Mum recovered. In that moment I felt exhausted, but was enjoying the cuddle in amidst the chaos of a busy labour ward. So I guess I felt happy; its moments like this which remind us how lucky we are to do the job that we do." Dr Alice Beardmore-Gray Dr Alice Beardmore-Gray, Obstetric Doctor - Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, South London "It's challenging having to make important decisions in the middle of the night. This night shift was particularly busy, with several emergency caesarean sections. I think it must be especially hard for women giving birth at the moment, as partners aren't allowed in the operating theatre because of Covid-19." Dr Alice Beardmore-Gray Dr Alex Kumar, NHS Nightingale, ExCeL London "Im not sure how many hands came together to build the Nightingale hospital but when it did open, it was just brilliance and hope in a time of darkness." Dr Alexander Kumar Dawn Trigg, senior staff nurse at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital "I was feeling good and happy working with lovely people. My work family!" Dawn Trigg Dawn Trigg, senior staff nurse at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital "The most challenging part was the work load and not being able to answer a call bell in time due to having to put on gloves apron and mask before entering the room. Most gratifying was getting the work load done as a team and working together." Dawn Trigg Dawn Trigg, senior staff nurse at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital "I'm most looking forward to a shower and a cup of tea." Dawn Trigg Dawn Trigg, senior staff nurse at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital "I am very lucky to work with such lovely people across the whole board from cleaners to kitchen staff to the nursing and multidisciplinary team." Dawn Trigg Dawn Trigg, senior staff nurse at Edenbridge War Memorial Hospital "We should be grateful for the good things in life, pick your battles wisely, and always tell you friends and family you love them." Dawn Trigg

Speaking over video link from her couch, Jo thanked Dr Wimbush and other NHS staff who saved her life.

Although I dont remember everything that happened, I do remember on several occasions waking up, somebody holding my hand, reassuring me that I was safe, and I always felt safe and looked after, she said.

The staff were just amazing and I know they looked after Clive amazingly well as well, keeping him informed every day.

Draper is reportedly still in an intensive care unit, while Garraway is in living hell while he fights the virus, Morgan shared.

Her husband Derek has been in serious condition for many weeks, we can all just hope and pray he comes through it, he said.

Morgan continued: "It has been very difficult for her and her family."

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.
News Myanmar MP Denounces Govt's Extension of Controversial Coal Power Plant Operation

The Tigyit coal-fired power plant seen in December 2018. / Kyaw Myo / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAWA Lower House lawmaker has criticized the Myanmar governments move to extend operation of the Tigyit coal-fired power plant in Shan State despite local residents complaints about its negative impacts on their health and environment.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) government, with the approval of the Shan State government, gave the green light in 2019 for the plant to continue operation until May 2022.

Lower House lawmaker U Sai Tun Aye of Shan States Mong Hsu Township asked during a Parliament session on Tuesday whether the government would review its extension of the plant and intervene in disputes between local residents, civil society organizations and the company over operation of the power plant.

The plant generates electricity, but if it has negative health and environmental impacts on ethnic people in the region, the government needs to review its decision to extend the plants operation, U Sai Tun Aye told reporters after the parliamentary session.

The plant is located in Naung Ta Yar Sub-township of Panglong Township in the Pa-O Self-Administered Zone in southern Shan State.

The plant was built in 2001 under the military regime and came into operation in 2005 as a joint venture between the China Heavy Machinery Corporation and the Eden Group of Companies.

The plant was suspended in 2014 under the U Thein Sein government due to technical problems with the plant and local residents complaints over environmental damage, public health problems and commercial losses.

But in October 2015, the U Thein Sein government granted a 22-year lease to Wuxi Huaguang Electric Power Engineering Co. Ltd., a Chinese company that won the tender, for operation of the power plant.

The project was initiated under the military government and employs outdated technologies. As it produces electricity by burning coal, the question is whether it can contribute to the sustainable development that the government has eyes for, the lawmaker told reporters.

In response, Deputy Minister for Electricity and Energy U Khin Maung Win said the company is undertaking corporate social responsibility activities to improve transportation, electricity access and development in the region. He also said the ministry is working to ease tensions between local residents, civil society organizations and the company.

Since Wuxi Huaguang took over operation of the plant, electricity production has doubled to 100 megawatts, said the deputy minister.

As 100 megawatts can satisfy demand to a certain extent, it is beneficial to the country. The electricity production from Tigyit power plant is beneficial as it contributes to the requirements of the country, deputy minister U Khin Maung Win told Parliament.

He said the power plant applies the latest technologies of international coal-fired power plants to minimize damage to the environment and air pollution. He also said trees have been grown in the area to absorb carbon dioxide emitted by the power plant and smoke and dust monitoring instruments have also been installed.

Lawmaker U Sai Tun Aye of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy said the power plant has damaged water sources and ecosystems within at least a five mile radius and local residents have reported respiratory problems and decreased birthweight in babies.

I strongly oppose the deputy ministers answer. There is a difference between his answer and the situation on the ground. We are taken aback by his answer that the power plant is beneficial, U Aung Kyaw Moe, a member of the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability (MATA) told The Irrawaddy.

He added that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Tigyit plant has not been completed or approved.

According to U Aung Kyaw Moe, the deputy electricity ministers answer supports the interests of the company but not the interests of the people.

In April last year, hundreds of local residents held a protest march against the Tigyit power plant.

The power plant is currently being operated with over 300 permanent workers and daily wage earners, according to the deputy minister. He did not mentioned how profits are shared between the Myanmar government and the Chinese operating company.

Hydropower remains the main source of electricity in Myanmar, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total supply, while coal-fired power plants account for only one percent.

The government has adopted a policy to increase proportion of coal power to 33 percent in the next 30 years.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Strips Imprisoned Veteran Rakhine Politician of MP Status

Myanmar Doctor Arrested for Facebook Rant Against Monks Who Oppose Sex Education
Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and US leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazils confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.

Bolsonaro told website Blog do Magno that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now. Bolsonaro added that his mother is 93 years old, and he keeps a box of chloroquine on hand should she need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on Tuesday: I dont want people coming over here and infecting our people. I dont want people over there sick either. Were helping Brazil with ventilators ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.

Pan American Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned about the virus spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.

(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Additional reporting by Ricardo Brito and Maria Carolina Marcello in Brasilia; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Brad Haynes and Grant McCool)
Two Georgia men were arrested this week and charged in connection to the homicides of two half-sisters whose bodies were thrown off a bridge with plastic bags over their heads.

Desmond Brown, 28, was charged on Monday with misdemeanor obstruction of a police officer.

The following day, Devin Watts, 36, was jailed on counts of theft by receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Neither suspect has been charged with murder in the deaths of Vanita Richardson, 19, and her year-old half-sister, Truvenia Campbell, 31.

Desmond Brown, 28 (left), and Devin Watts, 36 (right) have been arrested and charged in connection to the double homicide of half-sisters from Georgia last week

Vanita Richardson, 19 (left) and Truvenia Campbell, 31 (right), were found dead beneath an overpass in Rome, Georgia, with bags over their heads

The two women were last seen alive on May 12. A work crew discovered their bodies beneath the East Rome Bypass bridge near the bank of the Etowah River the following morning.

Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Brian Johnston told WSB-TV last week that officials believe the sisters knew their killer or killers, and it was not a random act of violence.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a press release on Wednesday that the arrests of Brown and Watts were the result of search warrants executed on apartments and vehicles based on leads developed by investigators, and tips that were called into the agency.

Georgia investigators are searching from Richardson's 1997 gold Toyota Corolla (similar to the one in the phone above)

This investigation remains active and ongoing, the statement announcing the arrests read.

Authorities are still searching for Richardson's car, a 1997 gold Toyota Corolla with Georgia license plate RTJ6295.

It is believed that both Richardson and her older half-sister were in the car last Tuesday evening when they were last seen alive.

DailyMail.com on Wednesday reached out seeking information about a possible motive, but was referred back to its press release.

Last week, Richardson's inconsolable mother, Vanita Allen, spoke to WSB-TV about her loss, describing her daughter as 'an angel.'

My world is gone. Thats my only daughter, she said. I cant believe what they did to my baby. She wouldnt hurt anyone.

Allen said despite their age difference, her daughter and Campbell were close friends.

She last saw Richardson on Tuesday night before she went out, presumably with her half-sister.

She pulled out of the yard and I said, You better make it back in tonight, the mother recalled.

At a vigil for the sisters on Monday night in Rome, Truvenia Campbells mother, Donna Campbell, spoke of their close relationship, which she likened to that of twins, saying that her daughter had epilepsy and Richardson was protective of her, reported 11Alive.

Richardson, known to her loved ones by the nickname Bug, was just days away from graduating high school. Her mother said she aspired to become a photographer.

Vanita 'Vera' Richardson, 19 (left), and Truvenia 'Bean' Campbell, 31 (right), were found dead with plastic bags over their heads underneath an overpass in Georgia Wednesday

A work crew made the shocking discovery beneath the East Rome Bypass bridge near the bank of the Etowah River

Early reports said their victims' clothing was in tatters and there were spent shell casings nearby

Two maintenance workers came across the bodies at around 11am on May 13 while working in the area of the East Rome Bypass bridge and called 911, reportedly telling a dispatcher that the women had plastic bags over their heads and that their clothing was in tatters, reported WSB-TV.

Scanner traffic indicated that spent shell casings were found at the scene, but that has not been confirmed by the authorities.

Richardson attended Armuchee High School in Rome, The Rome News-Tribune reported.

Richardson was scheduled to graduate high school next weekend. The deaths of both women were ruled homicides

Floyd County Schools spokesperson Lenora Doss said Richardson was scheduled to graduate next weekend.

'We are deeply saddened and heartbroken by the news of the death of one of our students,' Doss stated. 'We extend our deepest sympathies to the Armuchee Community and her friends and family at this time.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Vanita will be remembered for being a fun-loving, humble, and motivated student who was making strong plans for her future.

'Even throughout the school closures, Vanita's passing is felt by all. In particular, the staff members whose lives she touched with her caring personality and big heart.'

GBI investigators are asking anyone who may have been in the area of the overpass between Tuesday at 10.30pm and Wednesday at 11am to contact them at 1800-597-8477.
Should you ever find yourself at Waterloo Station with an urgent train to catch, chances are the person in front of you at the ticket kiosk will be in no rush at all.

He will um and ah and examine the touch screen quizzically, his expression caught somewhere between wonder and confusion, as though trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics.

Occasionally, he will prod a few buttons  though more in hope than any real expectation. Before long, the numpty will decide to draw stumps and begin the whole process again.

As your molars slowly grind themselves into a fine powder, you long to hurl the remains of your Upper Crust baguette at the back of his head and scream: Get on with it, man! Yesterday Sir Keir Starmer was that man.

Keir Starmer, Britain's opposition Labour Party leader speaks during Wednesday's Prime Minister's questions, May 20

The Leader of the Opposition was in the chamber for his third outing at PMQs. His elegant slicing-and-dicing of the Prime Minister in recent weeks have been hailed as a triumph. Not since Torvill and Dean have judges been so unanimous.

This week Le Grand Inquisitor fell flat. He zig-zagged and meandered. At times, it was a struggle to work out what he was actually asking. Those lengthy pauses between sentences, effective when he had the PM on the rack last week, yesterday felt like awkward gaps in his thinking.

Even the Keirleaders on the benches behind him looked bored. Like that man at the ticket machine you longed to yell at him to just... Get. A. Move. On.

The PM was much improved, even if his hair looked as though he had just stuck his tongue against a 9V battery. At last, he seemed to have done a bit of preparation.

Those lengthy pauses between sentences, effective when he had the PM on the rack last week, yesterday felt like awkward gaps in his thinking

He still didnt answer the question much of the time but such was the verbal vermicelli flowing from Sir Keirs mouth you could hardly blame him.

There was a tetchiness about him too. Last weeks ill-tempered clash had instilled some much-needed fire in his belly.

Hes simply ignorant of the facts, he retorted at one point when Starmer challenged again over care homes. When Sir Keir quizzed him over the Governments tracing plans, Boris pointed out he had already briefed him about it privately.

I think his feigned ignorance really doesnt come very well, he said, urging his opponent to abandon his slightly negative tone.

Even the Keirleaders on the benches behind him looked bored. Like that man at the ticket machine you longed to yell at him to just... Get. A. Move. On

(I think its worth noting that accusation of being disingenuous and overtly negative wounded, Starmer. Boris might be onto something there.)

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was there again, whispering crib notes to his boss. He got a rollicking from Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at one point for heckling Starmer.

When he mumbled something back toward the chair, the Speaker threatened to eject him. Id be more than appy, barked a pop-eyed Sir Lindsay. Hancocks butter-wouldnt melt face was a picture.

The voice of SNP leader Ian Blackford soon crackled over televisions screens. Gentle groans. Some wonky lighting arrangements meant we could barely see his face, calling to mind those IRA supergrasses you used to see interviewed on the news in silhouette form.

He wasted a question on an issue Sir Keir had already raised concerning overseas health workers being required to pay surcharge to use the NHS.

Boris respectfully pointed out the charges raises 900million. The Treasury is hardly likely to be surrendering that income for a while.

Blackfords colleagues were in blusterous voice. You sense the SNP plan to irritate us into Independence during this crisis. To give them their due, they are good at it.

Wonky lighting arrangements meant we could barely see Ian Blackford's face, writes Henry Deedes. Blackford spoke to the commons via video link on Wednesday

Allan Dorans (SNP, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock) demanded the PM reprimand his Scottish secretary Alister Jack for breaking Scotlands lockdown to travel to Westminster. (Boris: No.)

Marion Fellows (SNP, Motherwell and Wishaw) wanted the job retention scheme extended in Scotland for however long Nicola Sturgeon maintained the lockdown. Boris gently suggested the 3billion he had already agreed to hand to Scotland was generous enough as it is.

There was a telling revelation toward the sessions end courtesy of Rosie Duffield (Labour, Canterbury), who complained about the lack of women in senior government positions.

Boris said he was addressing that issue even before the next reshuffle. As Parliament headed for recess last night, dont rule out a change in cabinet personnel upon its return.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) announced today the second class of ventures for the Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support growth-stage ventures from across the country who are working on solutions to address problems facing today's young farmers. The industry-leading program is sponsored by the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation in partnership with Uncharted, both nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. The seven-month annual accelerator program will connect ventures to the people and organizations they need in order to scale their solutions including mentors, funders and partners.

Chipotle announced the second class of ventures for the Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support growth-stage ventures from across the country who are working on solutions to address problems facing todays young farmers. The industry-leading program is sponsored by the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation in partnership with Uncharted, both nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. Chipotle announced the second class of ventures for the Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support growth-stage ventures from across the country who are working on solutions to address problems facing todays young farmers.

According to a survey conducted by the National Young Farmers Coalition, farmland access is the number one challenge facing young farmers and ranchers. The U.S. is in the midst of a major transition of farmland, with nearly 100 million acres predicted to change hands in the coming years. This trend is likely to persist as the average age of farmers continues to rise. Once land changes hands there is no guarantee farming on the newly sold soil will continue as land is often lost to non-agriculture use. With the additional unprecedented challenges for farmers due to the coronavirus, support has never been more critical.

"As a company dedicated to cultivating a better world and preserving the future of real food, Chipotle is committed to strengthening the farming community and empowering young farmers," said Brian Niccol, Chairman & CEO of Chipotle. "By investing in innovation through our accelerator program, these eight ventures will make a significant impact across areas of need for the farmers of today and tomorrow."

As farmland continues to diminish and the barriers young farmers face continue to increase, all eight selected ventures offer a product or service to empower farmers and make it easier to succeed in today's agriculturally challenged world. From the ability to access land, financial or legal guidance, connections to equipment and education, each business offers a unique solution.

The selected ventures include:

Agrarian Trust : Agrarian Trust is launching a network of Agrarian Commons in communities across the country to acquire and hold farmland in trust, providing farmers with equitable, affordable, secure land access through long-term leases.

: Agrarian Trust is launching a network of Agrarian Commons in communities across the country to acquire and hold farmland in trust, providing farmers with equitable, affordable, secure land access through long-term leases. American Farmland Trust : American Farmland Trust helps new farmers gain access to land through national and localized networks and services in order to transfer farms from one generation to the next and keep farmland in farming.

: American Farmland Trust helps new farmers gain access to land through national and localized networks and services in order to transfer farms from one generation to the next and keep farmland in farming. Demeter Mobile : Demeter Mobile is bringing the shared economy to agriculture. Pairing growers and service providers, Demeter Mobile is helping connect the farming community with a few taps on an app.

Demeter Mobile is bringing the shared economy to agriculture. Pairing growers and service providers, Demeter Mobile is helping connect the farming community with a few taps on an app. Farm Commons : Farm Commons provides the proactive legal resources that sustainable farmers need to become the stable, resilient foundation of a community-based food system.

: Farm Commons provides the proactive legal resources that sustainable farmers need to become the stable, resilient foundation of a community-based food system. F.A.R.M.S: F.A.R.M.S. provides legal services to small farmers while reducing hunger in the farmer's community.

F.A.R.M.S. provides legal services to small farmers while reducing hunger in the farmer's community. Rogue Farm Corps : Rogue Farm Corps trains and equips the next generation of farmers and ranchers through hands-on educational programs and the preservation of Oregon's farmland.

Rogue Farm Corps trains and equips the next generation of farmers and ranchers through hands-on educational programs and the preservation of farmland. Sustainable Iowa Land Trust : Sustainable Iowa Land Trust permanently protects Iowa's land to grow healthy food.

: Sustainable Iowa Land Trust permanently protects land to grow healthy food. Viva Farms: Viva Farms empowers aspiring and limited-resource farmers by providing bilingual training in holistic organic farming practices, as well as access to land, infrastructure, equipment, marketing, and capital.

"The Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0 ventures are poised to have a major influence on the future of farming. Growing these organizations by focusing on areas of scale, like strategy and leadership, will lead to the growth of our young farmer community," said Caitlin Leibert, Head of Sustainability at Chipotle. "Bringing together the best and the brightest in the industry with a common goal of furthering access and innovation for young farmers is truly inspiring."

For the next seven months, the farmer-focused ventures will receive customized support, including mentorship from industry leaders including Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea; Ken Meyer, Former Executive Vice President of Operations at Whole Foods Market; as well as Chipotle executives. Ventures will also receive individualized investor introductions throughout the program and Chipotle VIP cards, which will provide real food to fuel work sessions all year long.

Chipotle is also empowering the next generation of farmers with increased local sourcing, offering education, scholarships, grants, and guaranteed three-year contracts to young farmers across the nation. Chipotle and the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation have contributed over $500,000 to-date to support the next generation of farmers.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) is cultivating a better world by serving responsibly sourced, classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Chipotle had over 2,600 restaurants as of March 31, 2020, in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany and is the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants. With more than 85,000 employees passionate about providing a great guest experience, Chipotle is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. Chipotle is committed to making its food more accessible to everyone while continuing to be a brand with a demonstrated purpose as it leads the way in digital, technology and sustainable business practices. Steve Ells, founder and former executive chairman, first opened Chipotle with a single restaurant in Denver, Colorado in 1993. For more information or to place an order online, visit WWW.CHIPOTLE.COM.

ABOUT THE CHIPOTLE CULTIVATE FOUNDATION

Chipotle Mexican Grill established the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation in 2011 to extend its commitment to making real food accessible for all. Since its inception, the foundation has contributed more than $5 million to like-minded organizations committed to cultivating a better world through food. For more information, visit WWW.CHIPOTLECULTIVATEFOUNDATION.ORG.

ABOUT UNCHARTED

Uncharted is a social impact accelerator that builds coordinated movements of people to tackle problems from all angles. They partner with corporations, foundations, and governments to launch initiatives that connect those working on the same problem and help them go to scale. To date, Uncharted has helped social entrepreneurs raise $315 million, create impact in 96 countries, and benefit 55 million lives. For more information, visit WWW.UNCHARTED.ORG.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.chipotle.com


The long-awaited BART extension to San Jose will open June 13, officials at the transit agency said Tuesday, in concert with their partners at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.

Politicians and transit leaders made the announcement at a podium outside Berryessa station, the new end of the line in north San Jose. The 10-mile segment into Silicon Valley also includes a station in Milpitas, at a former truck yard now surrounded by the skeletons of new apartment buildings.

This new 10-mile extension will serve tens of thousands of people every day, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Cindy Chavez said at the Berryessa event. But this extension is bringing more than just transportation to our community. It is part of our transformation to get people out of their cars and onto public transportation.

Behind her stood an easel with the new BART map, with an added prong in the South Bay.

The line will eventually veer west through downtown San Jose, meeting Caltrain at Diridon Station to drop off tech workers at a sprawling new Google campus before heading into Santa Clara. In all, the system will add 16 miles of track, and six stations.

Although the first phase is roughly six months behind its original December opening date, its still a head-spinning development in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. Commuting on mass transit has all but evaporated, with BART serving 7% of the normal number of weekday riders.

Since Santa Clara is not part of the original BART district that formed in 1957, the county designed and built the segment and will pay BART to operate it, using a combination of fares and an eighth-of-a-cent sales tax that the county began collecting in 2012.

Silicon Valley Leadership Group steered the campaign for that tax measure, and its CEO, Carl Guardino, has remained a player in the BART extension. He called Tuesdays announcement the culmination of two decades of perspiration.

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.

For years BART inched tantalizingly close to Silicon Valley, but it took an ambitious, at times painful, partnership to bring the dream to fruition.

With the opening finally in sight, BART Board President Lateefah Simon exulted:

Silicon Valley, as we all know, is not just a region where folks have $94,000 cars. This is a region of hundreds of thousands of folks who need to get to work, to hospitals, to visit their children and their families.

For them, she said, transit isnt just a utility, but a psychological connection and form of economic mobility.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
TROY  The Rensselaer Countys Sheriffs Office renewed its contract for a controversial program that allows the jail to hold immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The renewal came a little early this year. The deadline was June 30, but Sheriff Patrick Russo sent a memo to the Rensselaer County Legislature on Wednesday stating that he already renewed the agreement until June 2021.

The county legislature forwarded the memo onto the New York Civil Liberties Union which criticized Russo for renewing the contract during a pandemic.

Doubling down and extending this agreement until June 2021 is a bad deal in the best of times, and an unfathomable decision during a pandemic where community resources and public trust are critical, said Melanie Trimble, director of the Capital Region Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Russo did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Trimble wrote in a statement that working with ICE ultimately compromises the officers relationship with the community. She called upon the sheriff to back out of the agreement.

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

In the two years since Sheriff Russo made his deal with ICE, it's difficult to see what the county has gained, but the drain on local resources, public safety and immigrant families is multiplied by the current health crisis, Trimble said. Sheriff Russo can rescind this agreement at any time, and he should do so immediately.

Rensselaer County is the only county in New York that participates in the 287(g) program. Nationwide, there are 77 law enforcement agencies in 21 states that participate in the same kind of 287(g) program as the Rensselaer Countys sheriffs office.
LG Group chairman Koo Gwang-mo apologised Wednesday over two fatal accidents at LG Chem facilities in the past two weeks, reports said, including a gas leak in India that killed 12 people.

LG Group is the fourth-biggest of the chaebols, the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in South Korea, the worlds 12th-largest economy.

LG Chem, the groups key subsidiary and South Koreas largest chemical company, is reeling from the deadly gas leak at its LG Polymers India subsidiary, which left 12 residents dead and saw more than 1,000 hospitalised.

On Wednesday, a fire broke out at LG Chems plant in Seosan, around 120 kilometres south of Seoul, killing a researcher and injuring two workers.

I express my deep condolences and consolation to victims and their families, Koo said at the Seosan plant, according to Yonhap news agency.

I am very sorry for causing concern to many people, Koo added, noting that management felt heavy responsibility for the safety accidents.

LG Chem produces petrochemicals, plastic resins, and engineering plastics, and has plants across South Korea and around the world, from the United States and Brazil to China and Australia.

The company also manufactures industrial and electronic materials and has emerged as one of the top battery suppliers for hybrid and electric cars, with customers including Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Volkswagen, and BMW.

LG Chem recorded sales of $24.5 billion last year and an operating profit of $800 million, according to its website.
Health officials on Wednesday announced 2,388 new known cases of the coronavirus. There were also 147 additional deaths confirmed, bringing the death toll to 4,525 since the pandemic began. Statewide, there have been 100,418 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

As lawmakers returned to Springfield on Wednesday, Republicans continued their offensive against Gov. J.B. Pritzkers reopening plans even as the governor withdrew his emergency rule that allowed businesses violating his stay-at-home order to be charged with a misdemeanor.

Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, co-chairman of the legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, said legislative leaders and the governors office have agreed to work on a bill this week that would address how to enforce Pritzkers order.

Heres whats happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:

9:23 p.m.: Chicago Police fine three churches for violating stay-at-home order; businessman Willie Wilson says hell pay

Following through with Mayor Lori Lightfoots promise to take action against churches that violate social distancing rules, the Chicago Police Department issued $500 fines to three separate houses of worship that held services over the weekend, city officials said.

Police cited Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church, Philadelphia Romanian Church of God and Metro Praise International for their services.

Police also acknowledged temporarily banning parking near churches as a precaution to prevent planned large gatherings from taking place. Read more here. Gregory Pratt

8:26 p.m.: Court hearing Friday is latest round in battle over legality of Illinois stay-at-home order

A downstate court is expected to rule Friday on a request to invalidate the stay-at-home order in Illinois, part of a legal process that could determine the fate of measures meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Clay County Judge Michael McHaney said he plans to resolve the case of Rep. Darren Bailey, a Republican, who challenged Gov. J.B. Pritzkers executive order that closed most businesses and churches, and kept people at home with some exceptions.

McHaney previously ruled that Bailey was not bound by the order, but now Bailey  who was removed from the General Assembly meeting Wednesday for refusing to wear a mask  is seeking to eliminate the governors order for all citizens of the state.

The legal battle is playing out even as Pritzker moves to relax some restrictions May 29 as part of a phased reopening plan. Read more here.  Robert McCoppin

7:30 p.m.: 530 Chicago police staffers stricken with COVID-19

Chicago Police confirm 530 of its approximately 13,000 members have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from its media affairs department on Wednesday evening.

Of the 530, 27 are civilian staffers and 503 are sworn members. All have had their diagnosis confirmed through the medical section of the department.  Rosemary Sobol

6:20 p.m.: Illinois restaurants and bars can go al fresco as soon as next Friday as Gov. J.B. Pritzker nods to reopening pressure

Illinois restaurants and bars will be allowed to reopen with limited outdoor seating as soon as next week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday amid mounting pressure from thousands of establishments that have suffered severe economic losses during the states two-month shutdown.

With all regions of the state on track to move to the next phase of Pritzkers Restore Illinois reopening plan next Friday, bars and restaurants were at risk of being left behind.

The governors program had banned any dining-in or drinking at restaurants and bars until phase four, which would arrive no earlier than late June. The Illinois Restaurant Association wanted to bump that up to May 29, the likely start of phase three.

The al fresco dining option represents a slight softening of the plan for Pritzker as many neighboring states have moved much faster to allow restaurants to reopen. Read more here.  Bill Ruthhart, Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger

5:59 p.m.: Family remembers 12-year-old boy who died from COVID-19. Absolutely heartbroken, we are trying to stay strong

Standing 6 feet apart and wearing face masks, Ernesto Guzmans teachers bid him farewell with white roses Wednesday as his family drove past his elementary school on their way to the cemetery.

Ernesto is the youngest person in Cook County to die from COVID-19. He was 12.

"Our hearts remain broken for Ernesto and his family. Acero Marquez teachers, scholars, staff and families continue to mourn with Ernestos family. We are thankful for the opportunity to be a part of Ernestos remembrance. His spirit fills us with love and only fuels our commitment to service. He is our light now, an Acero Marquez Elementary School statement said.

Nearly 20 teachers and school staff members waited for the procession that briefly stopped in front of the school. As part of a symbolic goodbye, a funeral home worker placed a cross with white flowers by the sidewalk. Read more here.  Laura Rodriguez Presa

5:45 p.m: Good news for Illinois golfers: Phase 3 would allow foursomes, single-rider carts and 10 minutes between tee times

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said all four regions of Illinois are on track to move to phase three of his reopening plan May 29, and that would bring significant changes to the states golf courses.

Pritzker spokeswomen Charity Greene confirmed that the following, all currently restricted, would be allowed:

Threesomes and foursomes.

Single-rider carts, with members of the same family allowed to share a ride.

Outdoor dining.

Forecaddies.

A 10-minute spread between tee times.

All of that would be a welcome change for golf course management businesses that have taken a financial hit because of Pritzkers strict safety guidelines, which since May 1 have called for twosomes spread 15 minutes apart.

Now theres the potential to sell 24 green fees an hour, rather than eight. And cart revenue will increase because players will not have to prove they have a physical limitation.

Single-rider carts are considered safer than dual-rider ones because of social distancing.

Forecaddies service a group by finding stray shots, reading greens, raking bunkers and cleaning golf balls  though the latter figures to be discouraged if not banned. And as of now, in this time of touchless golf, bunkers dont have rakes.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not immediately reply to a question regarding policies in Chicago. Courses such as Harborside International and Cook County Forest Preserve courses Indian Boundary, Billy Caldwell and Edgebrook were shuttered May 8 with no specific explanation.

Chicago Park District courses such as Jackson Park and Robert A. Black have remained closed all along, as has the Diversey Driving Range. Read more here.  Teddy Greenstein

4:19 p.m.: Struggling with severely reduced ridership, Metra offers a new $10 daily pass

Struggling with severely reduced ridership because of the coronavirus pandemic, Metra hopes to draw in more passengers with a $10 daily pass.

Metra is encouraging riders to buy the pass using the Ventra app, so they can show their phones to rail conductors instead of handing them a ticket. Metra has in the past only offered daily pass bargains during special events, such as Lollapalooza. It already offers a $10 weekend pass.

Metras ridership has fallen by 97% compared to pre-pandemic levels due to commuters working from home, or losing their jobs. The system projects it will lose $535.5 million in ticket and sales tax revenues over the next two years.

If you are ready to come back to Metra, we are ready for you, Metra CEO/Executive Director Jim Derwinski said in a statement. Read more here.  Mary Wisniewski

4:00 p.m.: Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey removed from House session for refusing to wear a face covering

The Illinois House voted Wednesday to remove Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey from the legislative session a the Bank of Springfield center Wednesday afternoon after he refused to wear a face covering as required in newly adopted House rules.

In a bipartisan vote, the Illinois House adopted rules on Wednesday that include a requirement for members, staff members and visitors to the special session to wear a face-covering over their nose and mouth, if they are medically able to do so.

Bailey was asked to come into compliance with the requirement and replied, I will not. Democratic Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch made a motion to remove Bailey from the House proceedings.

The House voted 81-27 in favor of Baileys removal.

Bailey, of downstate Xenia, has been an outspoken critic of Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home order, which includes requirements for face coverings in many social settings. Read more here.  Jamie Munks

3:16 p.m.: When can Illinois reopen? Check our daily charts on where each region stands.

The plan to reopen Illinois  from restaurants and salons to open space to non-COVID-19 procedures at the hospital to concerts and festivals  depends on a host of metrics laid out by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The metrics focus on a rolling average of positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations to keep track of the direction of the outbreak as well as availability of hospital beds and ventilators that would be needed to handle a possible surge. There are also benchmarks for testing and tracing positive tests.

A key element of the plan is that a region can move both forward and backward, where more parts of society can open and shut depending on the seriousness of the outbreak.

Here is a breakdown of where each region stands. Chad Yoder, Nausheen Husain, Jennifer Smith Richards and Jonathon Berlin

3:11 p.m.: Lightfoot says Chicago reopening on the horizon, but warned against ignoring stay-at-home order

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said a gradual reopening of the city is on the horizon but could be jeopardized if residents stop abiding by the stay-at-home order.

With the weather warming, Lightfoot said she hopes the city doesnt have a setback due to increased socializing.

If we retreat from that and throw all caution to the wind, were going to see a setback and that means were going to delay a gradual reopening that I think is on the horizon, Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot also said the city is looking to identify a range of businesses that can reopen safely. The citys coronavirus recovery task force is also looking at specific guidelines focused on protecting employees and protecting patrons, Lightfoot said.

Lightfoot didnt directly say whether the city will be ready to move to phase three on May 29, as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has hinted. Read more here. Gregory Pratt

2:58 p.m.: Outdoor seating at bars, restaurants to be allowed in next phase of states reopening plan

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced he would allow bars and restaurants to open for outdoor seating on May 29 when the state is expected to enter its next phase for reopening businesses.

Pritzkers gradual reopening plan previously did not allow bars and restaurants to open to dine-in service until phase four, which regions of the state would not hit until late June. However, the governor announced hes reconsidered that stance after consulting with individuals in the bar and restaurant industry and will allow those establishments to hold outdoor dining only in phase three, which all regions of the state are expected to meet next week.

We have to put public health first, and that means the safety of consumers and employees alike, but the epidemiologists now believe that summer offers us an opportunity, Pritzker said. Today, Im announcing an additional option for bars and restaurants interested in resuming operations early, opening for outdoor seating when phase three begins likely for everyone just nine days from now.

Pritzker also announced that in phase three camping and boating in groups of 10 or less would be allowed as well as at indoor and outdoor tennis centers. The governor also said concession stands would be allowed to reopen under state guidelines and that foursomes once again would be allowed at golf courses and golf carts would be permitted with a limit of one golfer per cart. Bill Ruthhart

2:36 p.m.: Illinois passes 100,000 total COVID-19 cases

As the state topped the grim milestone of 100,000 COVID-19 cases, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported good news on hospitalizations.

We are seeing a decrease in the numbers of people hospitalized in the numbers of people in the (intensive care unit) and the numbers of individuals on a ventilator associated with COVID-19, Ezike reported during Gov. J.B. Pritzkers daily press briefing.

As of Tuesday night, the state reported 3,914 individuals hospitalized with coronavirus, with 1,005 of those individuals in intensive care and 554 of them on a ventilator. Ezike said it was the lowest number since we were capturing these numbers that we have for COVID patients in the hospital.

State health officials announced 2,388 new known cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday and 147 additional deaths confirmed, bringing the death toll to 4,525 since the pandemic began. Statewide, there have been 100,418 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Bill Ruthhart

1:52 p.m.: Pritzker pulls back on rule that threatened a misdemeanor for businesses that reopen in violation of his order

As lawmakers returned to Springfield on Wednesday, Republicans continued their offensive against Gov. J.B. Pritzkers reopening plans even as the governor withdrew his emergency rule that allowed businesses violating his stay-at-home order to be charged with a misdemeanor.

Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, co-chairman of the legislatures Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, said legislative leaders and the governors office have agreed to work on a bill this week that would address how to enforce Pritzkers order. Read more here. Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella

12:18 p.m.: Protesters chant Open Illinois outside Springfield convention center where state House will meet

Protesters gathered outside the Bank of Springfield Center Wednesday chanting Open Illinois, waving Trump 2020 flags and holding signs that read Pritzker the real virus, Dont let the mask become a muzzle and J.B get your foot off my throat.

Few of the 150 or so demonstrators wore masks, a requirement of a modified statewide stay-at-home order that took effect May 1 for people who arent able to maintain six feet of distance from others in public.

The state House is set to meet at 1 p.m. in the downtown convention center, an accommodation for social distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The gathering was smaller than some previous Springfield protests on weekends that brought hundreds of protesters out to the Capitol steps and lawn.

The protesters cheered and chanted Thank you when Republican state Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia walked through the crowd to enter the convention center through the public access point. Bailey has said he would not wear a mask for session, and he entered the building not wearing one.

Bailey has filed one of several lawsuits over Pritzkers stay-at-home order. Jamie Munks

10:53 a.m.: Republicans take aim at Pritzkers reopening plan as legislators set to reconvene in Springfield

As lawmakers return to session in Springfield on Wednesday, Republicans continued their offensive against Gov. J.B. Pritzkers reopening plans and an emergency rule that allows businesses violating his stay-at-home order to be charged with a misdemeanor.

House and Senate Republicans issued a joint statement Wednesday contending the measure will criminalize individuals trying to protect their livelihoods and support their families, the Republicans said, calling it a vast government overreach at a time when business owners are doing everything they can to stay afloat.

We believe these emergency rules are also in direct contradiction to the governors own Restore Illinois plan by potentially keeping businesses deemed as non-essential closed for up to an additional five months, the statement says. We should not punish those who are the backbone of our states economy for trying to survive.

The GOP called on the legislatures bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, scheduled to meet Wednesday morning, to block Pritzkers emergency rule. The would take votes from eight members of the 12-member panel, made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate.

Four House Republicans held a Zoom news conference Wednesday morning calling for a vote on Pritzkers phased-in plan to reopen the state, all the while acknowledging that they dont expect such a vote to be called in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly during this weeks three-day special session.

I dont think that the Democrats will agree with us on this, I think thats the whole point is the fact that the governor has enacted this massive government program, really, under Restore Illinois without any input from the legislature, said Rep. Tim Butler, a Springfield Republican.

Republican lawmakers have criticized Pritzkers five-phase reopening plan as too strict, and have called extensions of his statewide stay-at-home order and the emergency rule for businesses that flout his restrictions overreach.

Pritzkers reopening plan divides the state into four regions, a continued stay-at-home order with modified restrictions that took effect May 1. All four regions are currently on track to advance to the third phase of reopening on May 29.

Pritzker has repeatedly deflected criticism of the reopening plan, including calls for him to amend it to divide the state into more than four regions, and has said he has acted within the powers given to the governor under the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act.

One of the things that business owners who are foaming at the mouth trying to get their businesses reopened in a safe manner and can do that are asking for us, their representatives, to be their voice, Rep. Dan Brady, a Republican from Bloomington, said. And thats simply understood. One of the ways you do that is to have input on plans, on the Restore Illinois plan. Jamie Munks and Dan Petrella

10:52 a.m.: Lightfoot introduces new tenant eviction rules, advocates say they dont do enough to protect Chicago renters

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is moving ahead with an ordinance to require more notice and in some cases payments to renters from landlords who are evicting them, despite some progressive aldermen saying the measure doesnt go nearly as far as the tenant protections housing advocates have been trying to negotiate with the administration.

The package Lightfoot introduced to the City Council Wednesday increases to 90 days from 30 days the amount of heads-up landlords would have to give renters before evicting them.

And it requires owners of buildings bigger than six units who are removing tenants in order to substantially rehabilitate or demolish such dwelling unit to make a one-time $2,500 payment to tenants they evict.

Lightfoot brought forward her plan after months of talks with tenants groups and their aldermanic allies failed to produce a compromise plan the two sides deemed workable.

Northwest Side Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, said housing advocates were pressing for much stronger pro-tenant rules, including $10,600 payments to those evicted for a considerably broader range of reasons than the ones covered in the mayors proposal.

La Spata noted the Just Cause ordinance backed by tenants rights groups would have required the landlords to pay tenants before evicting them, while Lightfoots allows the payment to be made a week later.

That defeats the purpose of the payment, La Spata said. Tenants need that money to help them find new homes, not after theyve already relocated.

And he said the Lightfoot plan relies far too much on landlords self-reporting their reasons for evicting people.

The mayor is basically proposing new rules on notice, and thats not what we need right now in Chicago to protect tenants, La Spata added. Read more here. John Byrne and Gregory Pratt

10:16 a.m.: Ford temporarily closed its Chicago Assembly Plant after two employees contracted the coronavirus a day after reopening

A day after resuming operations at Fords Chicago Assembly Plant on the citys Southeast Side, the U.S. automaker temporarily closed its facility Tuesday for disinfection because two employees tested positive for COVID-19.

The Torrence Avenue plant, which makes the new 2020 Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs, is open again with two shifts, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said Wednesday.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said it notified workers known to have been in close contact with the infected individuals and asked them to self-quarantine for 14 days.

It is important to note that due to incubation time, we know these employees did not contract COVID-19 while at work. Our protocols are in place to help stop the spread of the virus, Felker said in a statement. Read more here. Abdel Jimenez

8:20 a.m.: Oprah Winfrey provides $5 million to start COVID-19 relief network in home city of Chicago

Calling Chicago one of her home cities, Oprah Winfrey Wednesday launched a major relief effort aimed at fighting food insecurity and providing medical aid in African American and Latinx communities that face increased risk of severe COVID-19 consequences.

The $5 million donation starts Live Healthy Chicago, a consortium of food, religious, medical and other community organizations. It is part of a larger, $12 million relief effort from the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation, she said, aimed at helping the places where she lived on her way to fame and fortune.

I wanted to not try to serve the world but go back to the places that have given to me, she said. In addition to Chicago, the cities where organizations are receiving grants are Nashville and Baltimore, where she had early broadcast jobs, and Milwaukee and Kosciusko, Miss., where she grew up.

If this had been the pandemic when I was a kid, what would have happened to me? I would have gone hungry, she said, becoming emotional on the Zoom call from her home in Santa Barbara, Calif., where she moved after ending her eponymous talk show made in Chicago in 2011, following 25 years in national syndication.

My mother wouldnt have been able to get on that bus to go to the suburbs to clean white peoples houses, and I would have gone hungry. So I am trying to do for those kids who would have been me... what I would have wanted somebody to step up and do. Read more here. Steve Johnson and Darcel Rockett

8:16 a.m.: Three Floyds closes legendary brewpub indefinitely due to coronavirus, even as Indiana moves to reopen businesses

Northwest Indianas legendary Three Floyds Brewing has shuttered its brewpub indefinitely due to safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic, brewery founder Nick Floyd said late Tuesday.

Even as Indiana allows businesses to reopen, Floyd said he chose to furlough staff at his Munster pub, which has become one of the nations quintessential brewpubs.

I cant put people in danger; no one should die over a beer," Floyd said by text message. "I would die for beer and probably will, but Im not going to make people endanger themselves.

He is concerned for both customers and staff, he said. Read more here. Josh Noel

8:13 a.m.: How the falsehood-filled Plandemic movie spread widely online on YouTube, Facebook

There have been plenty of jaw-dropping digital moments during the coronavirus pandemic.

There was the time this month when Taylor Swift announced she would air her City of Lover concert on television. The time that the cast of The Office reunited for an 18-minute-long Zoom wedding. And the time last month that the Pentagon posted three videos that showed unexplained aerial phenomena.

Yet none of those went as viral as a 26-minute video called Plandemic, a slickly produced narration that wrongly claimed a shadowy cabal of elites was using the virus and a potential vaccine to profit and gain power. The video featured a discredited scientist, Judy Mikovits, who said her research about the harm from vaccines had been buried.

Plandemic went online May 4 when its maker, Mikki Willis, a little-known film producer, posted it to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and a separate website set up to share the video. For three days, it gathered steam in Facebook pages dedicated to conspiracy theories and the anti-vaccine movement, most of which linked to the video hosted on YouTube. Then it tipped into the mainstream and exploded.

Just over a week after Plandemic was released, it had been viewed more than 8 million times on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and had generated countless other posts. Read more here. The New York Times

7:47 a.m.: Chicago Teachers Union sues Trump administration and CPS over special education

The Chicago Teachers Union is unhappy with how U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Chicago Public Schools are handling special education during the coronavirus crisis.

And now Trumps education chief and CPS are the targets of a federal lawsuit by CTU that seeks an emergency halt to federal and local policies that they say are creating an impossible burden on special education teachers and families in CPS.

Specifically, the union is taking aim at what they say is a directive from CPS to rewrite about 70,000 individual lesson plans for special education students before the school year ends on June 18. Read more here. Diana Wallace

7:02 a.m.: Fifth CTA employee dies from COVID-19, agency announces

The CTA has confirmed the death of a fifth employee from COVID-19.

The bus driver, whose name, age and sex were not released, was a bus operator who started working for the Chicago Transit Authority in 2012, according to a statement from the CTA.

It is with great sadness that CTA announces the passing of a fifth member of the CTA family from COVID-19, according to the emailed statement, which did not say when the driver died.

The agency announced its first employee death from the coronavirus on April 11. In less than six weeks, four other employees would die as a result of COVID-19, including the worker who died most recently.

The entire CTA family extends its heartfelt sympathies to the family, friends, loved ones and colleagues of this dedicated bus operator, the statement quotes CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr. as saying. We will collectively remember and honor this employees service and commitment to Chicagoans and our city.

It wasnt immediately clear how many of the CTAs some 11,000 staffers have contracted the virus. By April 19, that number was less than 100, according to the CTA. Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

6 a.m.: Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield as pandemic drives partisan politics and rocks budget plans

The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield on Wednesday for the first time in nearly 11 weeks, meeting in a special session that figures to be driven by pandemic-heightened divides between Democrats and Republicans, and urban and rural splits over how to move the state forward in the new world of the coronavirus.

Lawmakers are scheduled to meet for just three days to try to put together a spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. And they also will have on their plates a coronavirus response package that covers employment, education, health care and the courts, an enhanced vote-by-mail program for November, and a program to provide funding for safety-net hospitals that care for the poor.

But the pandemic has created plenty of unknowns, not the least of which is how far work on a budget can progress without a clear picture of how much relief will be coming from Washington to counter plummeting tax receipts  even as demands for dealing with the states most vulnerable residents grows.

The reconvening of the legislature also holds the potential for creating a forum for Republicans eager to challenge Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home orders and plans to reopen Illinois economy.

The first item up for consideration in the newly reconvened House provides potential for partisan pandemic pandemonium.

With a few Downstate Republican lawmakers declaring they will not wear face masks  as recommended by Illinois Department of Public Health guidelines  to show their defiance to Pritzkers orders, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan is proposing a change to the chambers rules to require masks, daily temperature checks and physical distancing.

After the motion passes, any member in violation of this rule change will face discipline, including potentially being removed from the chamber by a vote of the House, Madigan said in a statement. Read more here. Rick Pearson, Jamie Munks, Dan Petrella

6 a.m.: As pandemic upends 2020 census, group turns to StreetWise vendors to reach undercounted community

StreetWise magazine vendors are shifting to census outreach work among the homeless in Chicago. They will be paid by the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, which is among organizations getting state money to communities that risk being undercounted.

Census organizers are hoping workers can help them overcome challenges presented by the pandemic.

Many of the StreetWise vendors live in SROs, are homeless or frequent social services where they come across others they can talk to about the census, according to Julie Youngquist, executive director of StreetWise.

Those are communities and areas that they are accessing anyways as part of their daily existence, she said.

The COVID-19 outbreak and stay-at-home orders caused the U.S. Census Bureau to push back its timeline for the decennial count. The agency had planned to finish collecting data on the countrys population by July 31, but that date has been pushed back to Oct. 31.

The agency was going to work with local service organizations to count the homeless during a three-day operation in late March. Its now uncertain when that will happen in Chicago. Read more here. Elvia Malagon

May 19

Here are five things that happened Tuesday that you need to know:

May 18
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was confronted by Good Morning Britain journalist Jonathan Swain live on TV on Wednesday morning as the government's 22-day boycott of the programme showed no sign of ending.

The Cabinet Minister was conducting an interview with a rival broadcaster in Westminster when Mr Swain intervened.

The senior correspondent interjected in a bid to convince the Justice Secretary to talk to hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland was confronted by a GMB journalist this morning

The Cabinet Minister was asked whether he would like to talk to the show on Wednesday

It comes as the Government have lead a 22-day boycott of ITV's morning news programme

Mr Buckland appeared to agree to speak with the outspoken GMB host, before adding that he couldn't chat for another hour and forty minutes.

The Justice Secretary also revealed that he enjoyed watching ITV's morning news programme, pointing out that he was a fan of their interviewing style.

This morning, Piers Morgan asked the GMB reporter whether Mr Buckland would agree to undergo an interview live on air.

Mr Swain responded: 'Piers, that request has already been put in when he arrived about 10 minutes ago,' as the camera panned to the Cabinet Minister.

Piers Morgan's interview style has lead to the government choosing not to go on the show

'He's with one of our competitors at the moment giving chapter and verse about how well the government are doing.'

As Mr Buckland was drinking a coffee after the interview with a rival, Mr Swain swooped on the MP, telling Piers and Susanna that he had given him 'an hour and forty minutes' to speak on air.

'But he's actually walking off as we speak... who knows, fingers crossed,' he added.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was accused of hiding in a fridge to avoid Jonathan Swain when the Good Morning Britain reporter asked whether he would speak to Piers Morgan before the 2019 General Election.
And finally: Quarantine and a ring

The Timess Charanna Alexander writes:

For many people, a marriage proposal involves months of planning, ring shopping and, of course, creating the perfect moment for that ultimate surprise. But when the coronavirus started to spread globally, followed by stay-at-home guidelines and the closure of restaurants and public spaces, plans to propose in exotic locales or fancy restaurants came to a screeching halt.

Many quarantined couples, however, decided to press on with their plans.

Christopher Bent of New York told The Times:

The whole city was on lockdown, so I decided to lock this down, too. At a time when everyone has to categorize what is essential in life or not, its easy to see who is essential in your own life. We got engaged on March 20, on our apartment buildings rooftop surrounded by the skyline, with a bottle of champagne and zero bystanders.

Daniel MacGregor, also a New Yorker, wrote:

My girlfriend, Paulina, and I decided to have a romantic dinner to celebrate us having lived together for three years. Halfway through dinner, Paulina started to say that she was grateful that I came back to New York from Mexico to be with her during the pandemic. My dad had needed surgery, and Id spent a few weeks in Mexico (where were both from) to be with my dad and my family. While there, the pandemic broke out.

It was important to me that we stay together, so I traveled back to New York on March 21. During our dinner on April 1, I had the engagement ring hidden inside a box of Flanax, so I went to get it from the desk drawer and Paulina was confused as to why I needed medicine so abruptly while she was speaking. I got the ring out from the box of medicine and got down on one knee. We both started laughing and crying. I asked her if she wanted to marry me, and she said yes.

Its Wednesday  surprise someone.

Metropolitan Diary: Losing it

Image

Dear Diary:

It was January, and I was home from college visiting my father on the Upper West Side.

While I was in New York, I relished making plans way downtown that would give me the chance to get a good stroll in. Unfortunately, that often meant braving the madness of Midtown.
KT&G must withdraw seizure on reporter's salary



Journalists are reacting furiously to a local court's approval of a provisional seizure of the salary of a newspaper reporter requested by KT&G, a leading tobacco company.



Last month, the Seoul Central District Court granted KT&G's request for a provisional seizure of the salary of Kang Jin-gu, a reporter at the Kyunghyang Shinmun. The decision came after Kyunghyang on Feb. 26 carried an article raising suspicions that KT&G had pressed for a merger between its affiliate KT&G Life Science and Yungjin Pharm, although it had known that a new drug developed by KT&G Life Science was toxic.



Two days later, the tobacco company filed a 200 million won ($163,000) damages suit against the newspaper, its managing editor and Kang. On the same day, KT&G made a request for the salary seizure targeting only Kang and the court accepted the request. Now half of the reporter's monthly salary will be garnished by KT&G until the total seized amount reaches 200 million won.



As journalists' organizations have condemned the move as an attempt to control journalists, KT&G said it exercised "the minimum right to defend itself within legal boundaries to defy unilateral and unfair reporting." Admittedly, any entity is entitled to ask for corrections and seek appropriate compensation if a news article is deemed wrong. But KT&G has gone too far in seizing the salary of a reporter even before the article in question has been judged to be false. One cannot help but worry that this may set a bad precedent that intimidates reporting on public issues.



What's most incomprehensible is that KT&G asked the court to seize only the reporter's salary. This gives the impression that the company is retaliating against a reporter who wrote a critical article, causing the Journalists Association of Korea to call the move "a new means to attempt to muzzle the press." By all accounts, KT&G's seizure of the reporter's wages seems extreme. KT&G should withdraw its seizure demand immediately.


Microsoft stunned the gaming industry when it announced this week it would buy game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA: After a long wait, the commercial movement of India's most powerful 12000HP electric locomotive, made in Bihar's Madhepura based Electrical Locomotive Pvt Ltd, was unlocked on Monday from Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction under the East Central Railway (ECR).

With the dedication of this powerful locomotive, India has become the sixth country in the world to join an elite club of countries producing the high powerful locomotive.

According to the railway official statement issued here through the ECR, the locomotive has been named as WAG12 with number 60027. The locomotive started pulling a freight train with a composition of 118 wagons from Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya to Bardhawan junction in West Bengal via Dehari on-sone rail route.

"It is for the first time in the world that a high horsepower locomotive has been operationalised on broad gauge railway tracks. It has been manufactured at Madhepura Locomotive Factory, which is spread across 250 acres of land in Bihar with a capacity of producing 120 locomotives per year," chief spokesperson of ECR, Rajesh Kumar said quoting details of railway statement.

The Madhepura Locomotive Factory is built with the world's latest technology to make it a game-changer in the future and in the smooth running of freight trains.

The locomotive has been equipped with the high frequency of GPS to get its minute to minute location. Detailing about the salient technical features of the factory, Kumar said that the Madhepura Locomotive Factory has all the capacity of manufacturing 800 12000HP electric locomotives in next 11 years. A township has also been developed within the factory to accommodate its officials and staff with all facilities.

Spelling out the benefits from the running of this factory, Kumar said that around 10000 direct or indirect jobs would be created with the functioning of the factory.

Side by side, a skill centre under the Corporate Social Responsibility intiative is also being set up in Madhepura to impart technical training to the locals.

The project to manufacture the most powerful locomotive was started in 2018 and the first prototype locomotive was brought out in shape in March 2018. This is the first locomotive also made for the Indian Railways under the much trumpeted "make in India" program of Prime Minister of India.
Carter Page, who worked for the Trump campaign, participates in a discussion on 'politicization of DOJ and the intelligence community in their efforts to undermine the president' hosted by Judicial Watch on May 29, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Senators Want Information on Unmasking of Trump Associates Dating Back to January 2016

Two senators expanded a recent request for information on the unmasking of Americans linked to Donald Trumps campaign to include any unmasking applications made from January 2016 to January 2017.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made the request last week to acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and Attorney General William Barr.

One of the most significant unanswered questions about what occurred during the 2016 election is how many Americans were unmasked, at whose request, and for what purpose, they wrote.

Grassley and Johnson initially said they wanted information related to requests to unmask, or deanonymize, the names of Americans who appeared in intelligence reports around the time of the 2016 election through January 2017.

In the new letter, they said they now want to expand the scope of the request to include information dating back to January 2016.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) during a Senate Judiciary hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 22, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in Washington on June 7, 2016. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Based on our investigation and recent press reports, we are increasingly concerned that the surveillance of U.S. persons affiliated with the Trump campaign began earlier than the opening of the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation in late July 2016, the senators wrote (pdf), linking to a story theorizing that Trumps incoming national security adviser, Michael Flynn, wasnt masked in the first place.

Crossfire Hurricane is the code name for the FBIs investigation into the Trump campaign.

It has become evident that the FBI, and possibly members of the U.S. Intelligence Community, were focused on U.S. persons affiliated with the Trump campaign in early 2016, if not even earlier, the lawmakers added.

For instance, FBI headquarters in Washington directed the New York field office in April 2016 to open a counterintelligence investigation of Carter Page, an advisor to the Trump campaign. That probe later became part of Crossfire Hurricane.

Johnson and Grassley reiterated that they want all information regarding the unmasking of Americans linked to the Trump campaign that was requested by members of President Barack Obamas administration.

Former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn leaves the federal courthouse in Washington, following a status hearing on July 10, 2018. (Manuel Balce Ceneta, File/AP photo)

President Barack Obama, right, 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)

If the information must be released in batches, they asked for information relating to the period of April through June 2016 first.

Grenell has in recent weeks declassified a list of Obama administration officials who requested the unmasking of Flynn and a portion of an email that Susan Rice, Obamas national security adviser, sent to herself just before Trump was sworn into office.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) earlier Tuesday asked for the declassification of Obama administration officials who sought to unmask people associated with the Trump campaign of transition team around the time of the 2016 presidential election.

Given the extensive number of requests for the unmasking of General Flynns name during this short time period, it raises the question of whether these or other officials sought the unmasking of the identities of other individuals associated with the Trump campaign or transition team, Graham wrote in a letter to Grenell and Barr.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
After three months of darkness, Houston bars will be allowed to turn the lights on beginning this Friday.

Under Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Monday that Texas bars could reopen for business May 22 at 25 percent of capacity. The guidelines also allow nightclubs, craft breweries and wine tasting rooms to reopen.

Reopening: Houston bars get green light to reopen May 22

Tables should not exceed six individuals and social distancing should be maintained.

While some business owners are not rushing to fully reopen, others are set to welcome customers this weekend, in accordance with the guidelines.

See several Houston bars and nightclubs reopening this weekend below.
Boney Kapoor has confirmed that the house help at his residence has tested positive for coronavirus. He said all the due processes are being followed.

Filmmaker Boney Kapoor on Tuesday said his house help has tested positive for coronavirus.

(Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak)

In a statement, the producer said 23-year-old Charan Sahu, a member of his staff at his residence in suburban Andheri, told them that he was feeling unwell on Saturday evening and after that, the filmmaker sent him for tests.

His daughter, actress Janhvi Kapoor also shared her father's statement on social media.

Check out the post

After his COVID-19 test result came positive, Kapoor informed the society authorities, who in turn apprised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) about the case.

The BMC is now in the process of getting Sahu into a quarantine centre.

"Myself, my children, and the other staff at home are all fine and none of us are showing any symptoms. In fact we haven't left our home since the lockdown started," Kapoor said in the statement.

The producer expressed his gratitude to the Maharashtra government and the BMC for their swift response for their house help.

"We shall be diligently following the instructions and advice given to us by BMC and their medical team. We are sure that Charan would soon recover and be back at home with us," he added.

Earlier this month, the office building of music label T-Series was sealed by the BMC after one caretaker tested positive for COVID-19.

In April, a member of jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali's in-house staff had tested positive for COVID-19.

According to the health ministry, death toll due to coronavirus rises to 3,163; cases climb to 1,01,139.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)
"Our new facility will offer the customers so much more," states Kevin Martin , Vice President of Operations at Pipeline. Martin continues, "We are increasing the warehouse footprint by 50% to facilitate product movement. We will also be adding several proprietary delivery trucks to supplement LTL deliveries in the local market. The new location will 'up the game' in speed to market."

"This market is very important to Pipeline and our continued growth. We have multiple locations in Texas to serve our customers and we are proud to call Texas home," says Chris Nelson, President of Pipeline Packaging. "In addition, we relocated our Houston facility to Conroe, TX last year and look forward to continuing our investment in this region."

The new Dallas location is conveniently located at 744 Refugee Way, Suite 100, Grand Prairie, TX 75050. Phone numbers remain the same: 866.715.7245/817.385.5354 and fax: 817.385.5885.

Pipeline Packaging and U.S. COEXCELL, are subsidiaries of the Cleveland Steel Container Corporation. Pipeline Packaging is the largest US distributor of industrial rigid packaging and an upcoming resource in the consumer packaging market. Founded in 1988, Pipeline has grown to 10 sales offices and warehouses. As a 100% employee-owned company, its success is attributed to a dedicated, people-centric vision that unites the best industry talent and respected manufacturers with a commitment to always consider "CUSTOMERS FIRST."

Please visit our website at pipelinepackaging.com for more information or connect with us on our social channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

SOURCE Pipeline Packaging

Related Links

www.pipelinepackaging.com


Republican Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.) tweeted on Wednesday that it is "unfathomable" for the Senate to take its planned one-week recess before passing additional coronavirus relief legislation.

The state of play: The Democrat-led House passed a $3 trillion coronavirus bill last week, but the proposal is considered dead on arrival in the Senate. President Trump has said he's "in no rush" to pass another new stimulus package.

But state and local lawmakers warn they're facing massive budget shortfalls and many are hoping for federal assistance.

Gardner, who's facing a tough re-election bid this fall, said that before leaving, Congress should:

"Address ongoing public health crisis with nursing homes & assisted living centers."

"Modify PPP rescue program to reflect ongoing challenges by employees & employers."

"Pass a stimulus bill to address growing unemployment & help states reopen."

What he's saying: The Colorado senator wrote, "Our country is facing the worst stretch of American job losses on record  we must provide new incentives to get our country back to work."
Palestinians reject Trumps plan that would see the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley.

The United Nations special Middle East envoy called on Israel to drop plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, joining a growing international chorus of opposition.

Envoy Nickolay Mladenov also called on the Palestinians to resume talks with the so-called Quartet, comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations.

Israel must abandon threats of annexation, Mladenov said during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Wednesday.

I call on my colleagues in the Middle East Quartet to work with the UN and quickly come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace, he added.

The unusually direct statement came a day after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced an end to the Palestinians security arrangements with the US and Israel, which has vowed to annex territories in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones, Abbas said at an emergency meeting for the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on Tuesday.

The Palestinians have rejected a Middle East plan by US President Donald Trumps administration that was proposed in January and that would see the annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank and Jordan Valley.

Mladenov said he would speak on Thursday with Palestinian leaders about the practical consequences of their announcement, which were not spelled out by Abbas.

The continuing threat of annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank would constitute a most serious violation of international law, Mladenov warned.

It would deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to a renewal of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace and our broader efforts to maintain international peace and security, he said.

US calls for negotiations

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, said a solution could only result from the two parties sitting down at the same negotiating table.

What is needed right now, if we hope to take even a first step in the right direction, is for the parties to sit down with one another, she said.

200516035706236

This council cannot dictate the end of this conflict. We can only encourage the parties to sit down to determine how they wish to make progress.

The US diplomat once again called on the Palestinians to seize the opportunity offered by a US Middle East plan that it has previously rejected.

EU warnings

Meanwhile, Frances foreign minister said on Wednesday that Paris was working with European partners to come up with a joint action plan for prevention or reprisal should Israel go ahead with its annexations threats.

For the past few days we have held several video conferences with European colleagues  with a view to deciding on a joint preventive action and eventually a reprisal if such a decision were taken, Jean-Yves Le Drian said at a parliament hearing.

In a joint statement, France, Belgium, Germany and Estonia reaffirmed they will not recognise any changes to the 1967 borders, unless agreed by Israelis and Palestinians.

We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to international law, they said, reaffirming their support for a two-state solution as the only one capable of bringing peace to the region.

At the same time, the Vatican said Israels possible annexation of large parts of the occupied West Bank was concerning and could further compromise peace talks.

Respect for international law and UN resolutions was an indispensable element for the two peoples to live side by side, the Vatican said following talks between chief foreign policy official Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.

The Holy See is following the situation closely and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue, the Vatican said in a statement.

It added that the Roman Catholic city-state hoped a resolution could soon be found through direct talks so that peace may finally reign in the Holy Land, so beloved by Jews and Christians and Muslims.
A sign stating the New York City subway is closed is displayed on a Mass Transit Authority (MTA) ticket booth at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 6, 2020. (Corey Sipkin/AFP via Getty Images)

As in 1918, New York May Use Staggered Work Hours to Keep Subway Safe

As New York City makes plans to reopen in the coming months, officials are dusting off the playbook from the 1918 flu pandemic, when businesses were ordered to begin their work days at staggered times to prevent the subway from becoming a vector of disease.

The idea, then and now, is to spread riders through the day to avoid the kind of crowding health experts fear could turn the subway into a breeding ground for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus which has killed over 20,000 people in the city.

Talks over staggered hours and days for offices are still at an early stage, a member of the New York states reopening panel told Reuters. Coordination could prove complex in a city of 220,000 businesses, most of them smaller firms.

People exit a subway station before being disinfected by MTA workers in the Manhattan borough of New York City, N.Y., on March 4, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/Reuters)

But Patrick Foye, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has been making the case to business leaders, signaling that he sees it as key to restoring confidence in the tangled web of 665 miles of track that ferried 5.5 million people a day before the lockdown in March.

Foye told a May 6 call organized by the Association for a Better New York that he sees staggered work hours and days as part of the answer to congestion, citing the 1918 response.

Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City and a member of New York Governor Andrew Cuomos reopening committee, said businesses would support coordinated start times.

A passenger sleeps inside an MTA subway car during the outbreak of the CCP virus in New York City, N.Y., on May 6, 2020. (Jeenah Moon/File Photo/Reuters)

Its the expectation of employers that something like that will have to be worked out if they are going to get their people back on the trains, she said.

During the 1918 pandemic, the New York City health commissioner, Royal Copeland, staggered starting and ending times for most businesses by 15-minute increments. While it is unclear what impact the move had, New York ultimately fared better than other citiesit had a death rate of 4.7 per 1,000 residents, far lower than Philadelphia at 7.3.

New York City is unlikely to reopen in a meaningful way until the fall. Even then, workers will likely return in phases, if at all. Employees of technology firms Twitter and Square, for example, have been given the option to keep working at home.

As we try to reopen the economy the use of buildings is obviously going to change. We should be talking about implementing staggered shifts, said Kyle Bragg, president of service workers union 32BJ SEIU.

A train conductor wears a protective mask while riding on a subway through the Fulton St. station in Manhattan in New York City, on May 6, 2020. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

More Trains

Last month Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist and physician Jeffrey Harris published a paper titled The Subways Seeded the Massive Coronavirus Epidemic in New York City that pointed to a parallel between rider patterns and CCP virus spread in early March.

But some officials have said they are not convinced the subway is a root cause. One skeptic is Cuomo, who has cited data showing transit workers with below-average infection rates and a hospital survey indicating most patients had not used public transit.

Sarah Kaufman, associate director at New York University (NYU) Rudin Center for Transportation said the notion that subways spread the CCP virus was inaccurate. It was a failure to quickly make people stay home.

Eddie Muniz, an MTA conductor, asks people to leave the train at the Coney Island, Stillwell Terminal, for disinfecting operations in the Brooklyn borough of New York, on May 6, 2020. (Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)

Even so, transit and health experts say the MTA needs to go beyond disinfecting cars at night, the mandating of masks, and other steps already taken. One common proposal is more frequent trains, especially on lines where people stand shoulder-to-shoulder during peak times.

Thats the only way to help with the social distancing, so that you clear the platforms quickly and there are fewer riders on the trains, said Elodie Ghedin, a former professor of global public health at NYU who is now at the National Institutes of Health.

That would require money the MTA doesnt have. It received $3.9 billion in emergency federal funding, but is asking for $3.9 billion more to compensate for the 93 percent drop in subway revenues.

For now, companies are making their own plans. Marsh & McLennan Cos, a Manhattan-based insurance and risk management group, said it instructed office leaders to make plans for staggered teams at the office and to determine whether commuters should travel at off-peak times.

Authorities were looking at how best to use technology, including apps that could direct commuters to use trains or subways at certain times based on capacity, Wylde said, a tool that did not exist in 1918.

By Nathan Layne

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Blue Mountains in Katoomba, Australia, on April 17, 2014. (Phil Noble/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Regional NSW Travel to Recommence June 1

NSW residents will be able to head to the states regions for holidays in less than a fortnight under a relaxation of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on May 20 announced recreational regional travel within the state will be allowed again from June 1.

Under current NSW public health orders, regional travel for holidays is banned.

The premier said social distancing will still be required and urged residents to plan ahead.

It will be different to a holiday you have taken before, she told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Nothing we do is the same during a pandemic.

Berejiklian added that NSW will be open for people from other states, saying thats best for NSW and Australia.

Queensland has flagged border closures with southern states could remain until at least September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting despair from tourism groups.

It comes as NSW on Wednesday recorded four new COVID-19 cases from more than 7000 tests, with three people in intensive care. The new cases involve returned travellers who were placed in quarantine in hotels.

Berejiklian also announced libraries, art galleries, and museums will reopen on June 1.

She said there will be set times for the states most vulnerable to visit, and people will be required to leave a record of their visit so authorities can follow up if there is an infection linked to the facility.

The premier also flagged the number of people allowed in restaurants and cafes could also be doubled to 20 within the next month.

Thats definitely on the cards, she told the Nine Network.

NSW Health on Wednesday confirmed the state recorded its 49th COVID-19 death, a 93-year-old female resident at Sydneys Newmarch House nursing home.

Operators Anglicare reported the death on Tuesday. The elderly womans death is the 17th at the Anglicare-run facility and takes the national death toll to 100.

Meanwhile, NSW public school students will return to classrooms full time on Monday, two months after restrictions forced about 800,000 children to study remotely.

Some independent and Catholic schools will also return full-time on Monday, while others are working towards a June 1 return date.

Assemblies and excursions will remain off the table, non-essential school visitors will be banned and parents have been warned not to linger at the school gate.

By Dominica Sanda
Expenditure Secretary T V Somanathan, one of the architects of the Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus package, tells Arup Roychoudhury in an interview that the governments actions are not being determined by any fear of a ratings downgrade. He also says while he agrees with the chief economic advisors assessment of 2 per cent GDP growth in FY21, it could be lower.

Edited excerpts: There has been criticism regarding the package announced by the finance minister. One is that there should have been more direct cash transfers for the poor and migrants. Another is that the ...
The Government of Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency announced a slew of measures in the last two months to combat the impact of the dreaded COVID-19 on the countrys economy. The Canada Revenue Agency has deferred the tax filing and tax payment deadline. In order to combat rising unemployment and lower consumer spending, several measures have been designed to help individuals and businesses alike.

Last month, several Canadians noticed a deposit of $400 in their bank accounts. It was a one-time special payment announced through the GSTC (Goods and Services Tax Credit). The average payment for individuals stood at $400, and this figure for couples was approximately $600.

The GSTC payment might impact close to 12 million low- and modest-income Canadian families. It also doubles the tax credit for the 2019-2020 benefit year. Last week, the Canada Revenue Agency announced that eligible Canadians who are receiving the GSTC will continue to receive these payments till the end of September 2020.

But is it enough to just depend on payouts from the Government of Canada and tax breaks from the Canada Revenue Agency?

Small investments can increase wealth in the long term

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc and disrupted the Canadian economy. The unemployment rates are moving higher and might surpass 20% by the end of May. In case you have an emergency fund to take care of your expenses in these uncertain times, you can look to invest these additional payments in top-quality dividend stocks such as Enbridge (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB).

Enbridge is Canadas largest energy company with a market cap of $87 billion and an enterprise value of $162 billion. Enbridge stock closed trading at $43.92 last week, which is 23% below its 52-week high. We know that stock prices and dividend yields move in opposition to each other. The recent pullback in Enbridge stock price has meant investors can benefit from its tasty forward yield of 7.4%.

Energy companies are grappling with lower oil prices, which have made production unprofitable. However, Enbridge is not a traditional oil company. It does not produce oil but transports the commodity. This energy infrastructure company has a robust network of pipelines and is a huge player in North America.

Story continues

Enbridge owns assets that generate a stable stream of cash flows. Over 90% of EBITDA is secured via long-term contracts. This makes the company somewhat immune to commodity prices. However, due to oversupply, several oil producers have reduced production capacity, which has impacted Enbridges pipeline volumes.

Enbridge is well diversified. It generates 53% of EBITDA from pipelines, 42% from gas infrastructure, and 5% from power & energy.

Enbridges dividend yield is sustainable

The GDP of most countries are expected to contract in 2020. A global recession indicates consumer spending will remain subdued over the next few quarters. Several companies have cut or entirely suspended dividend payments for 2020 due to falling revenue.

However, Enbridge expects to generate cash flow per share between $4.5 and $4.8 in 2020. Comparatively, it pays dividends of $3.24 per share. In case you buy 200 Enbridge shares, annual dividend payments will be close to $650. The energy giant is also reducing operating costs by $300 million and delayed growth-related capital spending by $1 billion this year.

The equity markets should recover in the second half of 2020 if governments can successfully contain the dreaded virus. This will give investors an opportunity to grow wealth via capital appreciation, as companies with strong fundamentals should outperform broader markets.

The post Canada Revenue Agency: The $400 GSTC Credit Is Available Until September appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge. Fool contributor Aditya Raghunath has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listens to a question during his daily news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic outside his residence at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa, on May 20, 2020. (Justin Tang/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Feds Ask Commercial Landlords to Give Tenants Help Through New Program

OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau is asking Canadas commercial landlords to buy into a federal program launching next week that would give companies a break on the rent due in only a few days.

Applications open Monday but business groups have warned that leery landlords are unlikely to take part in the program, which is delivered jointly with provinces and territories.

Landlords that do sign up can receive a forgivable loan to cover half monthly rents in April, May and June, so long as they drop rents by at least 75 percent over the same period.

Speaking outside his Ottawa residence, Trudeau said Wednesday that businesses facing a rent crunch will need to hold on through the COVID-19 pandemic and help with an eventual economic recovery, instead of closing up and slowing the rebound.

He said the government really hopes commercial landlords will apply for the program, warning that they may find themselves out of cash in the future if they evict tenants now.

With many people discovering that we can work from home  there may be a lot of vacancies in commercial buildings over the coming months and years. Who knows exactly what the post-pandemic world will look like exactly? Trudeau said.

Thats why making sure were supporting the businesses we have now to be able to stay in their spaces as we slowly restore our economy is going to be important, and we certainly expect landlords to be part of the solution.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation will handle applications for the program starting next week.

During testimony Tuesday at a Commons committee, CMHC president Evan Siddall said there would be information from the agency about how tenants can convince their landlords to apply for the program. He also said payments to landlords should arrive on time for June 1.

The announcement was one of two the Liberals made Wednesday about aid programs that are providing $151.7 billion in direct spending, and tens of billions more in loans and financing.

Federal figures posted Wednesday show that two of the biggest programs have seen bumps in applicants and payments.

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit now has more than 8.1 million applicants who have collectively received more than $38.4 billion _ pushing the program further over its $35-billion budget.

Meanwhile, a federal wage subsidy program has now approved 215,661 claims for help, providing $5.7 billion in aid to companies to cover 75 percent of wages for almost 2.8 million workers. The program has a budget of $73 billion.

Earlier in the day, the government unveiled details of a bridge financing program for large companies, saying that any receiving loans will have to give the government the option to take an ownership stake, or provide a cash equivalent.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the terms will be the same for any company asking for help through the program that opens for applications today.

He said the terms are designed to make sure companies using the program receive bridge loans, not bailouts, to get through COVID-19s economic disruptions.

Publicly traded companies, or any their private subsidiaries, will have to issue warrants giving the government the option of purchasing shares worth 15 percent of the loan, or receiving the equivalent in cash. Privately held companies will pay the same in fees, Morneau says.

The idea behind the warrant is to make sure that if the firm does well that Canadians, and Canadian taxpayers, share in that upside, he says.

The Canadian government will not be required to take that value in shares, it can take it in cash.

The Liberals have said the loans would be on commercial terms, and require companies to have already gone to banks or the market and been unable to meet their financial needs.

Recipients would also have to agree to limits on executive compensation, dividend payments and share buy-backs, as well as show they are contributing to the Liberals goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Loans would start at $60 million with no upper limit, Morneau says, and be targeted at firms with earnings of at least $300 million.

Morneau says the loan program for Canadas largest corporations is so they can stay open and keep employees on their payrolls and to avoid bankruptcies of otherwise viable firms, wherever possible.

Interest will be set at five percent in the first year, rising to eight percent in the second year, and two percent annually thereafter. The terms of the program posted online say companies can pay off the interest on the loan through in-kind contributions, usually goods or services, for the first two years of the loan.

What weve done here is make sure were providing a low level of interest in the first year, but one thats appropriate so that employers that seek this will first go to their own sources of financing, Morneau said during a morning news conference in Toronto.

By Jordan Press
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Actor Janhvi Kapoor took to Instagram to share a message from her father, filmmaker Boney Kapoor, after their house help tested positive for Covid-19. She also mentioned how her family will deal with the situation.

Sharing the message, Janhvi wrote: Staying at home is still the best solution we have. Stay safe everyone. Many of her industry colleagues dropped messages in the comments section. Actor Kartik Aaryan wrote: Kudos for Acting Promptly !! Spreading Awareness is the New Normal. Fashion designer and close family friend Manish Malhotra and actor and fashion stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania wrote: Stay safe. Fashion designer Masaba Gupta dropped a heart red emoji.

Also Watch | When Janhvi Kapoor celebrated 23rd birthday with paparazzi

On Tuesday, it was reported that Boney Kapoors house help Charan Sahu, 23, who lives with the Kapoors - Boney and his daughters Janhvi and Khushi - at their residence at Green Acres, Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri, Mumbai, had tested positive for Covid-19.

Along with her post, Janhvi had also shared a detailed message from her father. It read: I would like to inform you that our house staff, Charan Sahu, aged 23 years, has tested positive for Covid-19. He was unwell on Saturday evening, was sent for tests and kept in isolation. After receiving the test report, our Housing Society authorities were informed and then accordingly the BMC, who immediately started the process of getting him into a quarantine centre.

Also read: Malaika Arora spins like a dream on the beach, heres how boyfriend Arjun Kapoor reacted

The statement continued, My children, our other staff at home and I, are all fine and none of us are showing any symptoms. In fact, we havent left our home since the lockdown started. All of us will be in self-quarantine for the next 14 days. We shall be diligently following the instructions and advice given to us by the BMC as well as their medical team. We are thankful to the Government of Maharashtra and the BMC for their swift response.

I am sharing this information because it is important not to feed rumours and panic. We will take all precautions as required. We are sure that Charan will recover and be back at home with us soon.

Through much of the lockdown period, Janhvi has been sharing fun videos with her sister Khushi.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have shown that an alternating cycle of 50 days of strict lockdown followed by 30 days of easing can effectively reduce the number of COVID-19-related deaths, and lower admissions to intensive care units in hospitals.

IMAGE: Vehicles ply on Nizamuddin bridge, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, in New Delhi. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Since no effective treatments or vaccine for COVID-19 is available, reducing virus transmission via measures like isolating suspected infected individuals, school closures, and lockdowns are crucial, according to the researchers, including Rajiv Chowdhury from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

While such measures are effective at slowing disease spread and preventing health systems becoming overwhelmed, they can also lead to job losses and social disruption, noted the study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

The scientists said there is growing concern that these interventions may be unsustainable over the long term.

Hence they suggested an approach of alternating stricter measures with intervals of relaxed social distancing.

They said this strategy could be enforced with measures of effective "test-contact trace-isolate", and shielding of the vulnerable kept in place.

In the study, the scientists assessed the difference in impact between strategies aimed at mitigation, and those aimed at suppression.

Mitigation measures like physical distancing, hygiene rules, case-based isolation, restricting of large public events, and school closures, can reduce the number of new infections, but at a relatively slow rate, they explained.

On the other hand, the study said suppression measures can lead to a faster reduction in the number of new infections by applying additional interventions like lockdown.

In the first scenario, they modelled the impact of imposing no measures and found that the number of patients requiring treatment in intensive care units (ICUs) quickly exceed the available capacity significantly for every single country, including India.

According to the study, this may result in a total of 7.8 million deaths across the 16 countries considered in the modelling study.

Under this scenario, they said, the epidemic may last nearly 200 days in the majority of these countries.

The second scenario, the researchers said, modelled a rolling cycle of 50-day mitigation measures followed by a 30-day relaxing.

In this strategy, the number of people each infected individual goes on to infect, a measure called the R number, may go down to 0.8 in all countries, the study noted.

However, the scientists said this would still be insufficient to keep the number of patients requiring ICU care below the available critical care capacity.

While proving effective for the first three months for all the countries, they said, after the first relaxation, the number of patients requiring ICU care would exceed the hospital capacity.

According to the researchers, this would result in 3.5 million deaths across the 16 countries.

In this situation, they said the pandemic would last approximately 12 months in high-income countries, and about 18 months or longer in the other settings.

The final scenario assessed the possible outcomes of a rolling cycle of stricter, 50-day suppression measures followed by a 30-day relaxing.

These intermittent cycles, according to the scientists, would reduce the R number to 0.5 and keep ICU demand within national capacity in all countries.

Since more individuals remain susceptible at the end of each cycle of suppression and relaxation, they said, such an approach would result in a longer pandemic which may last beyond 18 months in all countries.

However, they said a significantly smaller number of people -- just over 1,30,000 across the 16 countries modelled -- would die during that period if this strategy was followed.

In comparison, the team found that if a continuous, three-month strategy of strict suppression measures is followed, most countries can reduce new cases to near zero.

Achieving this may take nearly 6.5 months to reach if looser, mitigation strategies are used, the study said.

But prolonged lockdowns, the scientists cautioned, are unsustainable in most countries due to potential effects on economy and livelihood.

"Our models predict that dynamic cycles of 50-day suppression followed by a 30-day relaxation are effective at lowering the number of deaths significantly for all countries throughout the 18-month period," Chowdhury, a global health epidemiologist the University of Cambridge, said in a statement.

This intermittent combination of strict social distancing, and a relatively relaxed period, along with efficient testing, case isolation, contact tracing and shielding the vulnerable, may allow national economies to 'breathe' at intervals, he added.

In resource-poor regions of the world, Chowdhury said, such a strategy might make the solution more sustainable.

The scientists noted that the specific durations of these interventions would, however, need to be defined by specific countries according to their needs and local facilities.
Story Highlights Faith in employers is evaporating for French workers

Managers are key to serving as conduit for crucial work lifeline needs

Employ these key communication steps for the return-to-work transition

French workers haven't had a great deal of faith in their leaders, and what little they did have is evaporating.

In April 2020, Gallup analysis found that just over one-third of the French workers (36%) strongly agree their employer has communicated a clear plan of action and that they're informed about the state of the company (33%). And one in four French workers (26%) feel the leadership at their company can "successfully manage emerging challenges."

Granted, few French employees expected their managers to handle challenges well before the pandemic -- that number hasn't budged since 2019 (25%). But the data also show these doubts about leadership undermine workers' sense of security.

Their skepticism will affect their performance -- prior to the pandemic, Gallup analysis found a correlation in France between workers believing leadership can successfully manage emerging challenges and being more likely to be engaged. And employee engagement, or the lack thereof, absolutely affects productivity and performance outcomes for workers. Addressing this trust deficit will affect the success of their company's return-to-work transition plans. Now is the time for leaders in France to renew the trust of their staff, and it starts with their managers.

How Your Managers Can Serve as the Conduit

Managers, presumably, understand that workers are extraordinarily sensitive to their personal health and safety right now. Nonetheless, one in four French workers strongly agree their employer cares about their wellbeing, and one-third (34%) feel confident that following their company's health policies will keep them safe. That skepticism is not endemic to employees in general -- Gallup finds that 51% of U.S. workers strongly agree their company cares about their wellbeing, and 41% of workers in the U.S. believe following their company's health policies will keep them safe.

In good times and bad, managers are always the conduit of information from leader to worker. So if managers aren't keeping French workers informed right now, it can't be because they don't know workers are scared. More likely by far, it's because managers aren't communicating leadership's strategies clearly or making those strategies relevant to workers.

Now is the time for leaders in France to renew the trust of their staff, and it starts with their managers.

Or it may be because managers don't know what's going on: 39% of French managers strongly agree with the statement, "My immediate supervisor keeps me informed about what is going on at my company." That's a mere 11-percentage-point improvement over the people they lead.

Managers can't communicate information they don't have, and the data suggest top-down communication isn't working optimally. Companies need to fill the information vacuum quickly. Gallup finds employees who strongly agree that, "My employer has communicated a clear plan of action in response to the coronavirus or COVID-19," are more likely to strongly agree with the statement, "I have confidence in the leadership of the company to successfully manage emerging challenges," than those who disagree or are neutral about their company's communicated plans in response to COVID-19. Plans of action typically come to employees from managers -- and the information deficit is making things more difficult for managers than they need to be.

39% of French managers strongly agree with the statement, "My immediate supervisor keeps me informed about what is going on at my company."

To repair employees' sense of broken trust, French leaders need to signal that they're not just pondering, but acting and sharing what answers they have, that they're creating solutions where they can and have mastery over the elements within their control. Despite the many unknown factors -- which workers understand -- leaders' motto should be "the situation is serious, but we are working on it." Three crucial aspects of communication will help them deliver that message: compassion, reliable information and hope.

Three Key Aspects Are Essential to Repairing Broken Workplace Trust

1. Compassion:

Leaders' messages have consequences. Clarity prevents confusion, whereas confusion creates doubt. Be clear -- it's a kindness. Furthermore, communication has an emotional effect on workers, and that should be planned for. If the leader is going to drop a bombshell, there will be emotional fallout. Prepare all the company's leaders to attend compassionately to their workforce's emotional needs.

2. Reliable information:

Workers need to know and understand the measures a company is taking to keep people safe from the coronavirus and the company safe from a depressed economy. Objective facts -- delivered clearly, openly and transparently -- make the situation more comprehensible and predictable. Workers need access to reliable information about COVID-19 through trusted, official sources as well as detailed information concerning the organization's security concept, changes in workflows, processes and shifts. The communication of factual information is clearly a problem in many French companies and needs to be rectified for workers to feel safe.

3. Hope:

If you want to move people, you have to give them hope. Hope is central to overcoming obstacles and it provides energy -- it will be needed after the crisis to get off to a good start into the "next normal." Even now, great things are happening in companies, extraordinary things are being done, and people are learning valuable lessons that will be important post-pandemic: new ways of working, new ways of collaborating, new ways of decision-making, new forms empowering themselves and others. Leaders need to describe the positives they've seen and share what they've learned in words everyone can understand.

Leaders' motto should be "the situation is serious, but we are working on it."

Employees' need for information is more acute in a time of crisis, as is their need to trust leaders. Those two elements are related and when they're absent, employee performance suffers. Poor performance will be a millstone around the necks of French businesses in the economic climate to come. Their leaders must recapture their employees' trust -- which they'll need to create a successful return-to-work transition -- but time is running out.

Discover more insights on how to lead through disruption with Gallup's latest COVID-19 research: Learn about the COVID-19 strategies and policies of the world's largest companies by reading this article.

Watch this webinar to discover more insights into the data.

Discover our learning programs that help leaders and managers build relationships based on trust.
Third, a federal bailout would stop state governments from enacting meaningful reforms. When I took office as governor of Wisconsin in 2011, we faced a deficit and a gap of several billion dollars in our next budget. Remnants of the recession and failures in federal funding, including the phase out of stimulus funds for schools, state and local governments, were the main reasons for our fiscal challenges.

Options for balancing the budget included employee layoffs, job-killing tax increases or draconian cuts in Medicaid. Instead, we chose reforms that allowed school districts and state and local entities to balance their budgets while still providing core services.

According to the MacIver Institute, since 2011, those reforms have saved more than $12 billion, which has resulted in additional funds for vital programs. Plus, schools and other entities no longer have seniority or tenure, as traditionally understood. They can hire based on merit and pay based on performance. Now, they can put the best and the brightest in the classroom.

Our reforms helped create a surplus every year we were in office. Our bond rating improved, our pension was fully funded  number one in the nation  and our rainy-day fund was hundreds of times larger than when we took office. The reforms worked.

In contrast, our neighbor to the south fought meaningful reform for years. Illinois had a backlog of unpaid bills, among the worst-funded state pension system in the nation, a budget deficit and an underfunded rainy-day fund. Taxpayers across the country should not have to bail out the politicians in Springfield who refuse to get serious about solving their states financial crisis.

Fourth, the federal government cannot afford to do it. The national debt is now over $25 trillion and could exceed $41 trillion over the next decade.

We need officials in the federal government to get serious about supporting reforms that will balance the budget, and we need many state leaders to do the same. The debt and deficit problems faced by the federal government are a reminder that bipartisanship is not always a good thing.
The genocide trial of a French-Rwandan former hotel driver, scheduled for September in Paris, has been postponed to next year due to the coronavirus lockdown, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.

Claude Muhayimana, formerly a driver at a hotel on Lake Kivu in western Rwanda, is accused of transporting Hutu militiamen to sites where massacres were carried out.

His trial  the third in France over the 1994 Rwandan genocide  will now take place from February 2 to 26, said the source.

Muhayimana faces charges of complicity in genocide and aiding and abetting crimes against humanity.

The charges relate to an attack on a school and another on Tutsis seeking refuge in nearby hills.

Muhayimana fled to France after the genocide and obtained French nationality in 2010.

In 2014, he was arrested in the northern city of Rouen after a year-long investigation triggered by a complaint from the Collective of Civilian Parties for Rwanda (CPCR), which represents victims.

In the two other Rwandan genocide trials concluded in France, a former officer in the presidential guard, Pascal Simbikangwa, was given a 25-year sentence in 2014, while Octavien Ngenzi and Tito Barahira, two former mayors, received life sentences in 2016.

Under French law, any individual on French soil can be put on trial in the country.

Some 800,000 people  Tutsis but also moderate Hutus  were slaughtered by Hutu extremists over 100 days of ethnic violence in 1994.
CasinoBeats Goes Digital with CasinoBeats Malta Digital 2020

Published May 20, 2020 by Lee R

No digital conference seems to be as well adapted an opportunity as the CasinoBeats version.

Vital conference event CasinoBeats Malta Digital will not be delayed or stopped; just adapted.

The Event

Promoter SBC has announced the evolution of online casino conference and exhibition CasinoBeats Malta 2020 into a new virtual three day conference exhibition and networking experience called CasinoBeats Malta Digital.

The Adaptation

Originally set physically to take place in mid-June at InterContinental Malta, SBC has adapted to ongoing restrictions on business travel and movement by generating the CasinoBeats Malta digital solution on revised dates of 30 June to 2 July.

Preserving the Vitals

In association with GamingMalta, CasinoBeats Malta Digital will offer the same advanced technological environment of late April's wildly successful SBC Digital Summit.

CasinoBeats Malta Digital preserves the most vital elements that physical trade shows serve to make them accessible to a global audience.

What GamingMalta Does

GamingMalta is an independent non-profit foundation set up by the Government of Malta and the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) to promote Malta as a digital and remote gaming sector hub.

Gaming Malta further liaisons with local relevant authorities to improve the Malta jurisdiction appeal in order to enhance the global gaming industry ecosystem.

GamingMalta Leader Speaks

GamingMalta Chief Operations Officer Ivan Filletti explained that Via this collaboration with SBC, we are showcasing how Malta remains open for business, whilst celebrating the resilience of the igaming sector.

Attendees

A total of 300 delegates will attend a five-track conference featuring 120 high-level speakers sharing insights across online casino, slots, compliance, affiliate marketing and payments discussing 2020s unique challenges and greater long-term opportunities.

Format

CasinoBeats Malta Digital's adapted virtual exhibition hall offers 30 interactive booths; while the virtual networking lounge and specialized theme and segment networking sessions will provide unique networking opportunities.

Outlook



As CasinoBeats Managing Director Stewart Darkin believes, CasinoBeats Malta Digital indeed appears the ideal platform for 3000 delegates whose logistical challenges should not deprive them from the offerings of GamingMalta this year.
According to him, society has a mixed attitude to direct talks between Zelensky and Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has explained why a one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is needed.

Read alsoZelensky ready for any format of talks with Putin  press conference

"There are some things you can understand only when you are one on one. There are some answers to what you can and [what you] want, and it is better to hear them when you are one on one to draw crystal clear conclusions and proceed with another plan, Plan B," Zelensky said at a press conference in Kyiv on May 20 on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Zelensky says "society has a mixed assessment of direct talks between President Zelensky and President Putin."

"I'm sure we should do this without dropping Minsk [talks], but to do simultaneously, as a separate track," he added.
Latest updates on lockdown 4.0 and coronavirus : Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Twitter on Wednesday that domestic flights will be resumed in the country from May 25 but in a calibrated manner. Taking to Twitter Puri said that that all airlines have been alerted to make necessary preparations to begin operations.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday that as many as 42,298 people have recovered from coronavirus infection in India so far, while the total count of active cases in the country stands at 61,149. Seven states- Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh account for over 80% of total COVID-19 cases in India. The states total count of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 88,514, which is 82.9% of the total 1,06,750 cases in the country. Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases, Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448, Gujarat at 12,140, Delhi-10,554, Rajasthan-5,845, Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and Uttar Pradesh at 4,926.,

India's total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,06,750 on Wednesday including 61,149 active cases, and 3,303 deaths, according to latest figures update by the Union Health Ministry on its website. The country recorded 5,611 new COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day jump so far.

Also Read: Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases surge to 1,06,750 ; 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

9:30 PM: Centre to exempt pregnant women, disabled people from attending office

The Ministry of Personnel on Wednesday said that all central government departments as well as State and Union Territory governments will be asked to exempt pregnant women, people with disabilities and those with comorbid conditions from coming to office during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, on Wednesday said that a circular to this effect has been issued and is expected to be followed by different ministries as well as State and Union Territory governments.

Meanwhile, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has exempted pregnant women officials and staff members from attending office.

8:20 PM: SpiceJet lauds govt's decision to recommence domestic flight operations from May 25

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, "This resumption will go a long way in lifting the overall economic sentiment in the country. While the SOP for resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport."

8:00 PM: IndiGo to resume flight operations in a "phased manner" from May 25

Gurgaon-headquartered IndiGo, India's largest airline by passengers carried and fleet size, said that it will be resuming flight operations from May 25, 2020 in a "phased manner".

"We are fully prepared with safety measures with respect to COVID-19 across all our passenger and cargo interfaces during their journey with us. We will share further details and guidelines for passengers, in line with the advisory from the authorities over the next few days," IndiGo said in a press statement.

Welcoming the government's decision to resume flight operations, the carrier said, "We are excited to be back in operations, connecting our customers to people and places they love."

7:20 PM: Coronavirus in Punjab: 3 new positive cases of COVID-19 reported today, tally rises to 2,005

3 new positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Punjab today. Total number of positive cases rises to 2005, including 173 active cases, 1794 cured and 38 deaths: State Health Department.

6:50 PM: US President Trump launches fresh attack at China on 'mass worldwide killing'

US president Donald Trump has alleged that the "incompetence of China" is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic's "mass worldwide killing".

"Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people. Please explain to this dope that it was the "incompetence of China", and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!," he tweeted.

6:20 PM: "In India, 0.2 death per lakh population due to COVID-19," says Lav Agarwal

Lav Agarwal, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary, on Wednesday said that 4.2 people per lakh population across the world have died due to COVID-19. In India it is 0.2 deaths per lakh population.

"If the total population of the world is taken into account then 62 people per lakh population have been affected due to COVID-19. In India, 7.9 people per lakh population of this country got affected due to COVID," he added.

6:00 PM: COVID-19 testing, treatment to be done free of cost in UP

Uttar Pradesh principal secretary (health) Amit Mohan Prasad on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given direction that testing and treatment for COVID-19 will be done free of cost.

"Anyone having a symptom of Covid-19 can contact any government district hospital for a test. If your reports come positive then your treatment will be done without any charges," Prasad told reporters on Wednesday.

5.29 pm: Kerala coronavirus cases: 24 more infected, total count-666

Kerala recorded 25 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, out of these 12 cases are from abroad, 8 from Maharashtra, 3 from Tamil Nadu. 5 people recovered today. There are 161 active cases in the state, while 74,398 people are under observation.

5.15 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus updates: State govt and local manufacturer develop transparent masks

The Tamil Nadu government and a mask manufacturer in Coimbatore have developed transparent masks to solve the problem of opaque masks which don't enable lip reading making it difficult for hearing impaired. Seen in Pics- masks being distributed to family and friends of the hearing impaired so that they can read their lips and communicate.

5.06 pm: Coronavirus live updates Domestic flights to resume in India from May 25

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Twitter on Wednesday that domestic flights will be resumed in the country from May 25 but in a calibrated manner. Taking to Twitter Puri said that that all airlines have been alerted to make necessary preparations to begin operations.

4.59 pm: 42,298 recoveries from COVID-19 in India so far, says Health Ministry

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday that as many as 42,298 people have recovered from coronavirus infection in India so far, while the total count of active cases in the country stands at 61,149.

Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020.



All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May.



SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI. Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 20, 2020

4.55 pm: India fights coronavirus

Moderate cases can be dischareed in 10 days: government

4.53 pm: COVID-19 cases in containment zones

States asked to strictly monitor containment zones, Health Ministry

4.50 pm: Coronavirus tests in India

Over 1 lakh tests conducted for 2nd day in a row in India, 555 COVID-19 labs in the country, says the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

4.47 pm: Health Ministry coronavirus update

2.5 lakh special COVID beds available in India. Focus on prevention till vaccine found, says Health Ministry.

4.45 pm: India'r recovery rate from COVID-19

Nearly 40% recovery rate in India. Only 2.9 cases need oxygen support: Health Ministry

4.42 pm: 7.9 coronavirus cases per lakh in India, says Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that India has 7.9 lakh cases per lakh in India, while the world average stands at 62 per lakh. The ministry added that India's fatality rate is only 0.2%.

4.39 pm: Govt begins briefing on fight against coronavirus

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the government's briefing on COVID-19 informed that recovery rate in the country has been satisfactory. He added that a total of 42,298 people have recovered so far.

4.35 pm: Migrant crisis in India: Cabinet gives nod to allocation of free food grains to migrants

The Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its nod to nearly 8 crore migrants who don't have a ration card. Each person will be provided with 5kg of wheat or rice per month for 2 months till June 2020, according to a report in the Economic Times.

4.28 pm: Himachal Pradesh COVID-19 updates: 12 new cases reported on Wednesday

Himachal Pradesh registered 12 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the state's tally to 105. These 12 people had recently returned from Mumbai and were among the 697 people who had returned to the state from Mumbai on a special train on May 18. Himachal Pradesh's total count of coronavirus cases now stands at 105, with 4 deaths. (PTI)

4.19 pm: Accept coronavirus as part of life, says Sharad Pawar

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that as the COVID-19 pandemic is not likely be eliminated completely in the immediate future, it has become essential to accept it as a part of life while returning to normalcy. Pawar as quoted by News18 added that it is necessary to aware the masses about healthcare.

4.13pm: Coronavirus outbreak in Delhi: Positive case in Health Ministry

A COVID-19 positive case has been found in Directorate General of Health Services in medical education division of Union Health Ministry, Nirman Bhawan, informed the ministry officials adding that the entire area will be sanitised as per proper protocols. It further stated that the contact tracing of the infected employee has been initiated. (ANI)

4.04 pm: Rajasthan records 395 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours

Rajasthan reported 395 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, taking the state's tally to 12,140 along with 719 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. The total recoveries in the state now stand at 5,043. Ahmedabad is the worst-hit city in Gujarat with 1,298 cases, Surat with 338, Vadodara-188, Rajkot-40, and Bhavnagar-32.

3.57 pm: Lockdown relaxation: Home Ministry grants exemption to hold board exams for classes 10th and 12th

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted exemption from lockdown to hold board exams for classes 10th and 12th.

3.45 pm: Corona updates: Let the buses standing on borders run, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urges govt

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday appealed to the Centre to give permission to run the buses standing at Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border. She added, "If you want to use BJP party flags and stickers on buses then do it. If you want to say that you made those buses available, do it. But let the buses run." (ANI reports)

3.35 pm: 250 buses for migrants return from Delhi-Noida border

Over 250 buses arranged by the Congress party to ferry migrant workers have returned from the Delhi-Noida border after the UP govt denied permission. Rajiv Shukla, who was leading the buses to UP from Delhi told India Today that, "We are not doing any politics. If UP government wants to paste photos of their party leaders, put flags on buses, do that, but don't make poor and migrants suffer any more. Over 800 buses are ready to take the migrants but the government should allow us. They are doing politics over poor people."

3.25 pm: Uttarakhand corona news

Nine new cases have been reported in Uttarakhand taking the total to 120 cases.

9 new #COVID19 positive cases reported in Uttarakhand today, 1 cured/discharged. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 120: Uttarakhand State Control Room for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/vTmcn7pyVp ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

3.20 pm: Migrant crisis in Uttar Pradesh

Rebel Congress MLA Aditi Singh said that when UP looked into the list of buses provided by Congress after the intervention of Priyanka Gandhi, it turned out that many were autorickshaws and some were even two-wheelers. She said that Congress has provided a bogus list and is creating political pressure.

3.10 pm: Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh

Indore has reported 78 more corona cases in the last 24 hours. Out of the 5,465 cases in the state, Indore has 2,715 cases. So far 105 people have died in Indore.

3.05 pm: Lockdown 4 latest updates

Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik said on Wednesday that a repatriation flight carrying 168 seafarers from Italy landed at Goa International Airport. "All passengers will be screened for COVID-19," he added.

A repatriation flight carrying 168 seafarers from Italy lands at Goa International Airport. "All passengers will be screened for #COVID19," says Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik. pic.twitter.com/LcU1wj8e5Q ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.59 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases: 107 more infected

Rajasthan health department said on Wednesday that the state reported 107 fresh COVID-19 cases till 2 pm. With this the total count of coronavirus now stands at 5,952, including 143 deaths.

Rajasthan reports 107 cases of COVID-19 till 2 pm. Total cases in the state stand at 5952, including 143 deaths: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/UB9vBIb2Fx ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.53 pm: Corona updates: State-wise tally

States and UTs with less than 300 cases

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 33 cases, 0 deaths

Arunachal Pradesh- 1 case, 0 deaths

Assam- 142 cases, 4 death

Chandigarh- 200 cases, 3 death

Chhattisgarh- 101 cases, 0 deaths

Goa- 46 cases, 0 deaths

Himachal Pradesh- 92 cases, 3 death

Jharkhand- 231 cases, 3 deaths

Ladakh- 43 cases, 0 deaths

Manipur- 9 cases, 0 deaths

Meghalaya- 13 cases, 1 death

Puducherry- 18 cases, 1 death

Tripura- 173 cases, 0 deaths

Uttarakhand- 111 cases, 1 death

2.45 pm: COVID-19 Red Zones in India; check full list here

Andaman and Nicobar Island: South Andaman

Andhra Pradesh: Kurnool, Guntur, Nellore, Prakasham, Krishna, YSR, West Godavari, Chittor, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Anantapur

Bihar: Anantapur

Chandigarh: Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh: Korba

Delhi: South, South East, Shahdara, West, North, Central, New Delhi, East, South West

Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot

Haryana: Noah, Gurugram, Parval, Faridabad

Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar, Bandipora, Baramulla, Jammu, Udhampur, Kupwada

Karnataka: Bengaluru Urban, Mussoorie, Belagavi

Kerala: Kannur, Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Malapuram, Pathanamthitta

Madhya Pradesh: Indore, Bhopal, Khargaon, Ujjain, Hoshangabad

Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Buldhana, Mumbai Suburban, Nashik

Odisha: Khordha

Punjab: SAS Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, Pathankot

Rajasthan: Jaipur, Tonk, Jodhpur, Banswara, Kota, Jhunjhunu, Jaisalmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Jalwar, Bharatpur

Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Dindigul, Villupuram, Tirupur, Thani, Namakkal, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tatikoran, Karur, Virudhunaru, Kanarukuru

Telangana: Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Wrangal Urban, Ranga Reddy, Jogulamba Gadwal, Machhal-Malkarjagiri, Karimnagar, Nirmal

Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Shaharanpur, Shamli, Firozabad, Moradabad

Uttarakhand: Dehradun

West Bengal: Kolkata, Howrah, Madinapur East, 24 Parganas North

2.37 pm: Lockdown relaxation in Delhi

Traffic congestion seen at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Kalindi Kunj area.

Delhi: Traffic congestion seen at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Kalindi Kunj area. #lockdown pic.twitter.com/hVfpyJP92S ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.28 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases jump to 11,088

Delhi Directorate General of Health Services said on Wednesday that the total count of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 11,088 in the national capital, with 534 more people testing positive in the last 24 hours. It added that Delhi has 5,729 active cases and 176 deaths as of date.

Number of #COVID19 cases has reached 11088 in Delhi, with 534 more people testing positive in the last 24 hours. Number of active cases and deaths stands at 5720 and 176 respectively: Delhi Directorate General of Health Services pic.twitter.com/OOtY0MwVwy ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.18 pm: Indian Railways in lockdown: Shramik special no longer need permit from receiving states

Indian Railways Executive Director RD Bajpai told ANI that Shramik special trains will no longer need a permit from the receiving states as they ferry the migrants back to their respective home states. Bajpai said that this will cut short the communication time between the states and the decisions can be taken faster. He added that the Indian Railways is running 100 pairs of non-AC trains from June 1.

2.06 pm: COVID-19 in India: Ola to lay-off 1,400 employees

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said in an email to cab aggregator's employees that the company is laying off 1,400 employees from financial services, rides, and food business as the revenues have plunged by 95% in the past 2 months due to COVID-19 induced lockdown. (PTI)

Read more here: Coronavirus impact: Ola lays off 1,400 employees as revenue dips 95% in two months

1.57 pm: Punjab corona lockdown updates: Restaurants open in Ludhiana, only online delivery allowed

Food shops in Punjab's Ludhiana have been permitted to open, but they will only be permitted to take online orders. A samosa shop owner told ANI that opening shops will give some relief but added that he has only 20% work as compared to before.

Punjab: Food shops open for online delivery in Ludhiana amid #COVID19 lockdown. Vipin Sharma, Samosa shop owner says,"We have some relief that we will be able to meet few expenses due to this. But we only have 20% work as compared to earlier days. Only online delivery is allowed" pic.twitter.com/5M7GVW0ofw ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1.49 pm: Global updates on coronavirus: Highlights

United States crosses 90,000 deaths and registers over 1.5 million cases.

China imposes lockdown on city of Shulan after coronavirus cases rise.

Iran sees jump in infections after easing lockdown restrictions.

Germany and France propose 500 billion euro fund for hard-hit EU nations.

1.39 pm: Jammu and Kashmir coronavirus death toll rises to 18

A 40-year-old woman hailing from Anantnag, who had tested COVID-19 positive, died at a hospital, taking the death toll in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir to 18. The woman died around 11 pm on Tuesday night and was admitted on April 6.

1.28 pm: Indian Railways status: Indian Railways has run 1,773 Shramik special trains so far, with 204 on 19 May alone, says Piyush Goyal

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that the Indian Railways has run 1,773 Shramik Special trains so far, with 204 of them run in a single day, on May 19 to ferry migrants stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown. Taking to Twitter Goyal said, "The Railways had promised to run 200 Shramik Special trains for workers yesterday, exceeding that limit we ran a record 204 trains in the service of passengers. A total of 1,773 Shramik Special trains have been operated so far by the Indian Railways to send workers to their home states."

, 200 , Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 19, 2020

1.19 pm: COVID-19 pandemic: Seven worst-hit states in India

Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases

Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448

Gujarat at 12,140

Delhi-10,554

Rajasthan-5,845

Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and

Uttar Pradesh at 4,926

1.13 pm: Chandigarh lockdown 4.0: Golf club reopens

Chandigarh Gold Club reopened on Wednesday, almost 2 months after it was shut due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Chandigarh Golf Club opens after almost two months due to COVID-19 pandemic. Golfer Jeev Milkha Singh says, "I am glad that the golf course is open now. As a precautionary measure, it has been decided that only four people will play at a time. Caddies are not allowed". pic.twitter.com/7wBRXeNgOI ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1.05 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases: 63 more infected in the state

Karnataka health department said that the state recorded 63 fresh COVID-19 cases between 5 pm and 12 pm on Wednesday. The total count of coronavirus positive in the state now stands at 1,458, including 864 active cases and 41 deaths, the department added.

63 more #COVID19 cases reported in Karnataka between yesterday 5 pm and 12 pm today. Total number of cases in the state is now at 1458, including 864 active cases & 41 deaths (1 due to 'non-covid' cause): State Health Department pic.twitter.com/96ChD73jTC ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

12.57 pm: COVID-19 vaccine: Oxford drug not able to stop coronavirus infection, says report

The National Institute of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in the United States (US) said in a study published last week that one of the top competitors for COVID-19 vaccine- University of Oxford's candidate has been not been able to prevent the infection. The development came as a big blow to the researchers across the world as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was seen as the top name in the race but the vaccine is able to reduce the severity of coronavirus infection.

Read more here: Coronavirus vaccine: Oxford vaccine does not stop COVID infection, says report

12.49 pm: Coronavirus cases: State-wise tally; check here

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with 37,136 COVID-19 cases and 1,325 deaths

Tamil Nadu is the second worst-affect state with 12,448 cases and 84 deaths

Gujarat is third on the list with 12,140 cases and 719 deaths

Delhi-10,554 cases and 168 deaths.

Rajasthan- 5,845 cases, 143 deaths

Madhya Pradesh with 5,465 cases, 258 deaths

Uttar Pradesh (UP)-4,926 cases, 123 deaths

Andhra Pradesh-2,532 cases, 52 deaths

Telangana 1,634 cases, 38 deaths

West Bengal-2,961 cases, 250 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 1,317 cases, 17 deaths

Karnataka- 1,397 cases, 40 deaths

Kerala- 642 cases, 4 deaths

Bihar-1,498 cases, 9 deaths

Punjab-2,002 cases, 38 deaths

Haryana-964 cases, 14 deaths

12.42 pm: Coronavirus recoveries: State-wise status

Top 5 states by recovery:

Maharashtra-9,639

Gujarat-5,043

Tamil Nadu-4,895

Delhi-4,750

Rajasthan-3,337

12.35 pm: Coronavirus cases: State-wise status

Five worst-hit states by deaths:

Maharashtra-1,325

Gujarat-719

Madhya Pradesh-258

West Bengal-250

Delhi-168

12.28 pm: Maharashtra cops coronavirus cases

Maharashtra Police told ANI on Wednesday that a total of 1,388 of its personnel are COVID-19 positive including 948 active cases, 428 recovered and 12 deaths.

12.18 pm: COVID-19 vaccine: Hydroxychloroquine research shows promising results in interim study by Telangana govt

An interim report prepared by the Telangana government has shown promising results regarding the efficacy of anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, for preventing coronavirus infection in healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines in the state. (ANI report)

12.09 pm: Andhra Pradesh corona lockdown: Air India flight from London lands at Vijayawada

An Air India flight from UK's London with 145 Indians landed at Vijayawada airport on Wednesday morning.

Andhra Pradesh: An Air India flight from UK's London carrying 145 Indians landed at Vijayawada airport today morning. All passengers went through health screening on arrival. pic.twitter.com/dPe8w1Jvgx ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

12.03 pm: Coronavirus vaccine trial: Chinese scientists develop drug with 'therapeutic effect' on patients

Researchers at Peking University in Beijing, China claim that they have develop a vaccine to fight COVID-19 disease. The drug for which the clinical trial is underway, could reduce recovery time in patients and offers short immunity, as claimed by the university scientists. The vaccine has passed the animal testing stage successfully, Sunney Xie, Director of the university's Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, told AFP. "When we injected neutralising antibodies into infected mice, after five days the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500," he added.

Read more here: Coronavirus cure: Chinese scientists claim this drug can have 'therapeutic effect' on patients

11.56 am: Moderna coronavirus vaccine shows positive results in early tests

US-based biotechnology company Moderna has said that the initial findings of its test for COVID-19 vaccine development have shown positive results. The experimental seems to be safe and is able to set off an immune response against the virus, Moderna said on Monday. The coronavirus vaccine resulted in the production of protective antibodies among a small group of healthy human participants, according to news agency Reuters. Moderna added that the vaccine has been tried on 8 people so far and must now be tested on a larger participant base to know its efficacy in the real world. The vaccine is among over 100 others being developed globally to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Coronavirus update: Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shows positive results in early tests

11.48 am: Corona latest news: Vande Bharat Mission: Repatriation flight reaches Thailand

The Embassy of India in Thailand said on Wednesday that check-in process underway of passengers for the first repatriation flight from Thailand to India, an Air India Bangkok to Delhi flight: Embassy of India in Thailand.

Check-in process underway of passengers for the first repatriation flight from Thailand to India, an Air India Bangkok to Delhi flight: Embassy of India in Thailand #VandeBharatMission pic.twitter.com/y8ODu7msOm ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

11.37 am: Tamil Nadu lockdown latest news

Migrant workers gather in large numbers at Sundarapuram, Coimbatore to collect train passes for today's 'shramik special' trains for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

#WATCH Tamil Nadu: Migrant workers gather in large numbers at Sundarapuram, Coimbatore to collect train passes for today's 'shramik special' trains for Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. pic.twitter.com/49tG73eNUz ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

11.27 am: Corona lockdown updates: Delhi-Noida border still shut

Delhi-Noida border continues to be sealed after the respective state governments allowed the traffic movement in line with the Centre's guidelines issued earlier this week.

11.19 am: Corona tracker India: 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.

11.11 am: Coronavirus outbreak in Assam latest updates: More than 74,000 people reached the state in 2 weeks, says Additional DGP

As many as 74,118 people returned to Assam in a period of 2 weeks, while, 17,488 left the state, said Additional DGP GP Singh on Wednesday.

In the last fortnight, Assam has received 74118 persons travelling back to Assam through all means of transportation, while 17488 persons have left Assam. @CMOfficeAssam @assampolice @himantabiswa @DGPAssamPolice GP Singh (@gpsinghassam) May 19, 2020

11.06 am: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: 68 more infected in 24 hours

Andhra Pradesh health department said on Wednesday that the state recorded 68 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 2,407. (ANI)

11.01 am: Coronavirus updates: Over 1 lakh samples tested in last 24 hours

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Wednesday that 1,08,121 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in India. It added that the total number of samples tested till 9 am on Wednesday stands at 25,12,388. (ANI reports)

10.56 am: Madhya Pradesh lockdown 4.0

Tourist guides, Gypsy drivers of Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni face hardships due to coronavirus induced lockdown. Hemraj Dhurve, a Gypsy driver, says, "I used to earn over Rs 8,000 per month but my source of income dried up due to closure of the park in view of COVID-19 pandemic".

Madhya Pradesh: Tourist guides, Gypsy drivers of Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni face hardships due to #lockdown. Hemraj Dhurve, a Gypsy driver, says, "I used to earn over Rs 8,000 per month but my source of income dried up due to closure of the park in view of COVID-19 pandemic". pic.twitter.com/4gmSotxh49 ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.48 am: Lockdown in Noida: Markets to reopen, follow odd-even rule

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has issued new guidelines allowing markets to reopen on odd-even basis following social distancing and necessary precautions. The guidelines are applicable only outside containment zones. Restaurants, and sweet shops are permitted to open but only home delivery is allowed.

10.39am: Goa coronavirus cases: 2 more test positive

Goa recorded 2 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the tally to 41. An Indian Coast Guard officer and a woman tested positive in the state. The officer was part of an 11-member team that came to Goa from Mumbai. The tests of 10 other members of the team came negative, however, they were quarantined.

10.28 am: Coronavirus in India- 7 states account for 80% of total cases in India

Seven states- Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh account for over 80% of total COVID-19 cases in India. The states total count of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 88,514, which is 82.9% of the total 1,06,750 cases in the country. Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases, Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448, Gujarat at 12,140, Delhi-10,554, Rajasthan-5,845, Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and Uttar Pradesh at 4,926.

10.19 am: Jharkhand liquor shops: Alcohol stores reopen in Ranchi

Liquor shops reopened in Ranchi on Wednesday. Jharkhand has imposed 75% value added tax (VAT) on alcohol including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

Jharkhand: Liquor shops re-open in Ranchi, during the fourth phase of lockdown. The state has levied 75% Value Added Tax on liquor including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). pic.twitter.com/T9MW2ORzzf ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.15 am: Corona news: 26 scientists among 150 Indians returning to India from South Africa

26 Indian scientists who were stranded in South Africa's Cape Town due to coronavirus induced lockdown will be heading back to India this week. The scientists are among 150 Indian citizens headed back home on a South African Airways (SAA) flight that will leave Johannesburg on Friday for Mumbai and Delhi. The scientists have been on a mission to Antarctica and got stuck in South Africa 3 months ago after the lockdown was imposed.

10.09 am: Coronavirus live updates: Migrant gives birth in train

A migrant, headed to Sitamarhi in Bihar from Surat in Gujarat, gave birth in train on Tuesday.

Woman migrant who was going from Surat (Guj) to Sitamarhi (Bihar)gave birth to child in train y'day.Doctors who attended her at Danapur station say,'child was delivered with help of passengers.We clamped baby's umbilical cord when train stopped here.Both mother&child are healthy' pic.twitter.com/6OqM1djPGb ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.03 am: Indian Railways status: Railways to run 200 non-AC trains from June 1

Indian Railways is planning to start 200 new passenger trains from June 1, 2020, according to a statement by the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday adding that the routes and schedules for the trains will be made public soon. These trains will be non-AC, and their tickets will be available online exclusively. The Railway Ministry said in its statement that ticket bookings will begin in a few days.

Read more here: Indian Railways to run 200 non-AC trains from June 1, online booking to commence soon

9.55 am: Coronavirus live updates

US, China join in calling for a probe into the global handling of COVID-19 pandemic as an EU resolution won endorsement at the World Health Organisation's annual meeting. This was soon after the US President Donald Trump warned to pull out of WHO.

9.45 am: Coronavirus global updates: US records 1,500 deaths in 1-day, global toll past 3.23 lakh

Over 48.5 lakh people have been reported to have been infected with COVID-19 globally and 3.23 lakh have died due to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker. The United States which is the worst-hit nation in the world recorded 1,500 new deaths in the last 24 hours, Britain's toll neared 43,000, the worst in Europe. The total count of coronavirus cases in the US crossed 1.5 million and total deaths surpassed 90,000, according to a Reuters tally. President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his use of anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus despite medical warnings.

9.38 am: Mumbai the worst-hit city in India

Mumbai recorded 1,411 fresh coronavirus cases and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours taking the city's tally past 22,000.

9.29 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases

Maharashtra remains on edge with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India which jumped to 37,136 on Wednesday along with 1,325 deaths. The state recorded 2,217 new virus cases and 76 deeaths in the last 24 hours

9.20 am: Coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours

The country recorded 5,611 new COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day jump, taking the total tally to 1,06,750, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

9.15 am: India coronavirus cases

The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,06,750 on Wednesday including 61,149 active cases, 42,297 recoveries, 1 migrated, and 3,303 deaths, according to latest figures update by the Union Health Ministry on its website.

9.00 AM: 'Govt wants us to go home and expose our families to risk'

"We were working to help the country fight against COVID-19, thinking it's our duty but what are we getting in return? We didn't complain about low-quality PPEs or less masks but now Govt wants us to go home and expose our families to risk," says Neelam Panwar, nurse at Gandhi Medical College in MP.

Central Government has issued a guideline according to which, those who are working wearing personal protective equipment are not at risk and do not need to stay at quarantine centres: Neelam Panwar, a nurse at Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal #MadhyaPradesh (19.05.2020) pic.twitter.com/AUojL2fho9 ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2020

8.43 PM: PM interacts with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. "In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives. I congratulate all the beneficiaries and their families. I also pray for their good health," he adds.
EU won't recognize unilateral Israeli annexation of occupied land: Borrell

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 7:50 AM

The European Union (EU)'s foreign policy chief has warned Israel against acting on its "unilateral" decision to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, saying the 27-nation bloc will not recognize any such changes to the 1967 borders.

In a statement released on Monday, Josep Borrell said the EU viewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push for annexation with "grave concern."

"International law is a fundamental pillar of the international rules-based order. In this respect, the EU and its member states recall that they will not recognize any changes to the 1967 borders unless agreed by Israelis and Palestinians," he said.

"We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to international law," the top EU diplomat added.

A key campaign promise of Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party in recent Israeli elections was imposing Tel Aviv's "sovereignty" over Israeli settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank.

A coalition deal that Netanyahu recently signed with his chief rival, Benny Gantz, allows the cabinet to begin moving ahead with the annexation bid on July 1.

Presenting his new cabinet on Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel's law should be extended over the West Bank areas.

"The truth is, and everyone knows it, that the hundreds of thousands of settlers in Judea and Samaria will always stay put in any future deal," he said, referring to the occupied West Bank by its biblical name.

Elsewhere in his statement, Borrell expressed the EU's willingness to help restart Israeli-Palestinian talks, adding that "the two-state solution, with Jerusalem [al-Quds] as the future capital for both states, is the only way to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the region."

Borrell had said Friday that the European nations "must work to discourage any possible initiative towards annexation" and such a strategy will require that states reach out to Israel, the US, the Palestinians and Arab partners "using all channels that the EU and the member states have."

The resolution of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict "remains a priority and it is one of the strategic interests of the European Union," he told a press conference in Brussels after a virtual meeting with EU foreign ministers on the matter.

Netanyahu's US-backed plan to consolidate Israel's occupation of Palestine has been met with harsh criticism from almost the entire international community, including its close allies.

Several member states of the EU  Tel Aviv's largest trading partner  have raised the possibility of taking punitive measures in a bid to deter Israel from its new land grab bid.

World must slap Israel with sanctions: Palestine PM

Addressing a virtual meeting of the UN committee that deals with Palestinian rights on Monday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said it is time for the world community to stand by the Palestinian nation in the face of Tel Aviv's annexation scheme.

"Now that the Israeli government has loud and clear and explicitly stated that they are going to annex certain parts of Palestine, no country has an excuse not to stand [against] this injustice," he said.

Shtayyeh also urged the international community to recognize Palestine as a sovereign state and impose sanctions on Israel if the regime goes ahead with the annexation plan.

"That should be the most serious reply to what Israel is intending to do," he said, noting that the Palestinian leadership will meet Tuesday night to discuss its next steps.

Shtayyeh further criticized the administration of US President Donald Trump for giving Israel the "green light" for annexation in the so-called "deal of the century," which was unveiled in January.

The US has held an unsuccessful "monopoly" over the so-called peace process, but the Palestinians want a multilateral approach starting with an international conference under UN auspices, he said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A large number of migrant workers gathered at the GMDC ground in Gujarat's Ahmedabad on Wednesday (May 20) morning in order to board the trains which will leave from Ahmedabad carrying the migrant workers.

It is to be noted that a total of 15 trains will leave from Ahmedabad division carrying workers. All the migrant workers are from Bhagalpur in Bihar. Over 1,000 workers have gathered at the ground with their family as well as belongings

Workers said they had been informed about the train by text a message, while others said they did not yet have permission to go or confirmation from the system. Some workers said that the bus will arrive by 11 am to take them to the station and a train has been arranged for them at 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, the migration of workers to their native places is still continuing from Delhi despite repeated assurances by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that the government will take care of their basic needs. But it seems that the announcements made by CM Kejriwal have proved to be hollow, forcing hundreds of migrant workers to leave for their native place in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, etc.

Several workers have complained in the recent past they are getting nothing to eat and since their work has stopped they are unable to pay room rent and they have no where to go except their homes.

Some migrant workers had gathered at Ghazipur border to leave for their home states but they were made to sit in a bus and brought back to Delhi by police. It is learnt that the police will take these workers to some shelter homes in Delhi.


By Bae Eun-joo





The world has surpassed another grim milestone as over 4.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections and over 320,000 deaths are reported. The novel coronavirus outbreak has taken an enormous toll on the global economy, forcing countless number of businesses to collapse and sending jobless rates to record-high worldwide.



South Korea undoubtedly has not escaped the impact of the novel coronavirus crisis with the Ministry of Employment and Labor announcing May 11 that the payment of unemployment benefits had soared to nearly 1 trillion won ($820 million) in April, a record disbursement for jobseekers. The ministry said that 129,000 people applied for jobseekers' allowances that month, up 33 percent from a year ago, suggesting that most people have been affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.



Among the 129,000 new beneficiaries, the self-employed, freelancers, workers in special employment such as home study teachers or translators, and artists were not eligible for unemployment payments as they are not covered by the state's insurance program. The government states "difficulty to manage their workplaces and the state of their qualifications as regards the insured" as reasons for their exclusion. Unemployment benefits for jobseekers are paid from unemployment insurance funds



However, this discriminating policy against workers in certain fields of society is about to change after President Moon Jae-in pledged to expand unemployment insurance, as part of his efforts to ramp up employment support programs, in an address marking his three years in office, May 10. Now, artists are to be included among unemployment insurance subscribers. Since the National Assembly passed the legislation Wednesday, they will be able to receive a monthly payment of 500,000 won for a maximum period of six months.



The proposal was initiated by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to help artists continue their creative activities without financial strain after director Bong Joon-ho grabbed top honors with his film "Parasite" at this year's Academy Awards in February. The DPK envisioned a Korean version of France's "intermittents," a reference to people who receive "intermittents du spectacle"  a program France has run since 1936 to support professionals in the culture sector during periods of unemployment. They include festival performers, creators, comedians, filmmakers, dancers and set designers.



They benefit from a special unemployment insurance plan that guarantees artists a monthly stipend paid by the government on the basis of 507 working hours over a 12-month period.



Whilst the economic downturn from the coronavirus crisis seems to be persisting and much of the arts industry remains closed for the time being, French President Emmanuel Macron declared an emergency plan to save France's cultural sector earlier this month. He promised that his government would not abandon the industry and laid out steps to support it throughout the crisis by prolonging financial support for "intermittent" artists, making authors eligible for the solidarity fund for the self-employed, and guaranteeing bank loans for small festival organizers and filmmakers.



Extending state support for intermittents until August 2021, Macron said that this was a time to "revolutionize" access to culture and the arts, paving the way to merging artists with schools where they could find work and contribute to educating children.



The United States Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package in March as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, handing out $1,200 checks to many Americans. Unlike unemployment benefits in the past, the bill is considered unprecedented in terms of the scope of the benefits as it now made it possible for artists and freelancers to apply for government assistance even if they didn't have an employer who paid unemployment subscriptions on their behalf. Gig-workers, the self-employed and others who have non-traditional means of income are all permitted to claim government assistance.



The world is struggling to survive amid unshakable fears of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a worsening economic recession. Nonetheless, we must not fail to uphold and support the intrinsic value of arts and culture to society. The creative endeavors and disciplines artists generate to enrich people's lives can only continue as long as governments provide them with financial stability and emotional support. Especially during the coronavirus crisis, the arts serve as an important pillar for our physical and mental exhaustion. That is why we cherish artists.




NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) announced today it has added three new locations to its global network, raising the number of its offices serving PR clients throughout the world to 53. PRGN is adding three new offices to its network in Little Rock, Arkansas, Denver, Colorado, and Portland, Oregon.

PRGN will be represented in Little Rock, AR by Ghidotti , a public relations and content strategy agency representing many of the South's premier brands. The agency focuses on relationships, reputations and results and is rooted in the foundations of public relations, while growing a focused offering on content marketing. Founded in 2007, the agency serves some of the region's best-known brands such as McDonald's, Ark. Children's Hospital, CHI St. Vincent and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

In addition, PRGN is now represented in Denver, CO by Novitas Communications, a full-service public relations firm that specializes in corporate communications, issue management, and crisis communication across numerous industries. Novitas helps clients craft and implement communications campaigns that influence public opinion, enhance brand recognition, and keep stakeholders informed.

Prichard Communications will represent PRGN in Portland, OR. Prichard Communications helps social changemakers across the United States make the world a better place. Clients include foundations, nonprofits and government agencies. Prichard is a Certified B Corporation, joining a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

"The network is elated to welcome Ghidotti, Novitas Communications and Prichard Communications to the PRGN family," said Aaron Blank, current president of PRGN and CEO of Seattle-based agency The Fearey Group. "With these new offices, we continue to expand our network of globally-connected communications professionals, while also recognizing the high standards of service and expertise these agencies bring."

Founded in 1990 by a group of visionary public relations leaders, with approximately 1,000 professionals in 53 locations, PRGN is one of the world's largest international public relations networks.

PRGN partners are independent, local, owner-operated public relations and marketing communications firms that share expertise and resources, while providing broad-based comprehensive communications strategies to clients worldwide. Companies or organizations interested in the services of PRGN's local agency network can visit www.prgn.com for more information.

Independent agencies interested in joining the network can visit the member recruitment section of the PRGN website for more information or email its membership chair, David Wills, Senior Vice President of Media Profile at [email protected]

About Public Relations Global Network (PRGN)

Clients across six continents depend on the combined resources of the Public Relations Global Network (PRGN) to deliver targeted public relations campaigns in markets around the world. PRGN is one of the world's largest international public relations networks measured by revenue. PRGN harnesses the resources of 51 independent public relations firms in 53 locations and more than 1,000 communications professionals to connect international companies and organizations with individual and culturally diverse markets globally. Visit PRGN online at www.prgn.com or on twitter at @PRGN.

SOURCE Public Relations Global Network (PRGN)

Related Links

http://www.prgn.com


As the water levels in the Tittabawassee River began to rise in Midland, Dow Inc activated its local emergency operations center and crisis management system, even before the upstream dams failed.

Working closely with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. National Guard, Dow began to make its Midland plant stable by shutting it down.

Dow CEO Jim Fitterling said the decision was made Tuesday, May 19, to shut the site down and all its operating units. All the Michigan Operations I-Park tenants  Dow, Cabot Corp., Corteva AgriScience, DuPont, SK Saran and Trinseo  have also shut down their operations. Just the wastewater treatment facilities, and operations to safely manage chemical containment on site, remain.

We had the experience from 1986 and that flood stage was about 34 feet. And so, we knew from 1986, what the limitations are and there have been a lot of changes and improvements made since then, Fitterling said about the site. And so with the projection of 38 feet, the team was planning for a worst-case scenario.

In addition, all railcars on site were moved to the highest point, and Fitterling said from a supply chain perspective, all the loaded trailers that were needed for customer deliveries had been relocated off site and are being monitored.

According to a statement made by Dow earlier in the day Wednesday, only essential staff are on site and there have been no reported employee injuries.

We just continue to monitor and right now, at this stage, at 35 feet on the river gauge, weve had a little bit of water into the site, but it isnt bad; its been manageable, he said. We probably wont be able to assess the total damage until the waters go back down, so in a couple of days, maybe early next week well have an idea what the total damage is to the site. But, so far, so good.

It was also previously announced that flood waters had begun to mix with a pond on site, however, Fitterling said the pond was filled with saltwater used for ground water remediation and posed no public safety concerns.

So, its not a pond for waste; its just a water for more like fresh water combined with salt, he said. There is no risk to anything that is in that pond; no threat to residents or to the community; and there havent been any reported product releases.

With the plant operations at a halt, Fitterling said Dow has made sure to keep their customers going.

We were in COVID-19 situation already so demand had been slow, he said. Were trying to make sure that we keep our customers going and so that was one of the first concerns of the team, was will be able to make shipments that our customers need and I think weve got that covered.

He said if the plant is down a couple days, they will be able to make up for lost time; however, if the plant is down a week, he said it might be different. Fitterling said in the grand scheme of things, well be able to navigate through this, and it will be small compared to COVID-19."

Fitterling said he isnt nervous about the situation, as support has poured in from the community itself, the surrounding counties and from the state.

You know what the community spirit is like here in Midland, and weve been through situations like this before, and you see how everybody pulls together  the city, the emergency operations teams from the city, the county, Saginaw County, Bay County, Michigan State Police  everybodys pulled together, he said. We got immediate help from the governor  I mean there was no hesitation to roll out all the big machinery here that we needed, whether it was from the National Guard or from the Armory.

However, he said his biggest concern is the people who have lost their homes and the subsequent property damage that has occurred.

Weve got to take care of them, he said.

He said theres work going on right now to try and mobilize support for those in need and Dow today has allowed its employees to apply for interest-free loans to help with property damage repairs or evacuation-related expenses.

Well get through this  Midland is strong; Dow is strong, he said. The region is a great community. It pulls together when times are tough. Were going to have to work together; were going to have somethings that need to be fixed up and improved, but were going to get though it.
Credit checker Experian was the top riser on the FTSE 100 yesterday despite warning turnover could be about to dip.

It was barely affected by the coronavirus crisis in the most recent financial year, which ended on March 31.

Revenues jumped 7 per cent to 4.3billion, while profits fell 2 per cent to 770million.

Credit checker Experian was barely affected by the coronavirus crisis in the most recent financial year, which ended on March 31

But Dublin-based Experian warned that organic revenues, which strip out any boost in sales from acquisitions, had decreased by 5 per cent in April and could drop by as much as 10 per cent during the first quarter.

Investors shrugged this off, though, taking a longer view.

The type of credit data check Experian offers may be needed now more than ever by struggling businesses and individuals who could become 'susceptible to fraudsters and criminal organisations', the company said.

At a time when many people's jobs are at risk, more people will want to know where they stand when it comes to their mortgages and loans.

Stock Watch - Echo Energy Echo Energy bounced after it told investors its work in Argentina has continued during the pandemic. The gas-focused group has secured extensions to contracts with two key customers. And it is working out what impact support from the Argentinian government for domestic energy companies could have on its operations. This could include restarting production at wells it had stopped using. Shares in the AIM-listed group jumped 34.8 per cent, or 0.2p, to 0.78p.

Chief executive Brian Cassin said that the coronavirus pandemic had 'highlighted the fundamental importance of data', adding that in his view the company 'has a role to play in helping societies recover'.

Those lofty goals sent Experian's shares rocketing  it was up 7.4 per cent, or 186p, to 2708p.

Experian's jump helped to nudge the FTSE 100 1.1 per cent higher, or 64.93 points, to 6067.16, after making early losses.

London's premier index was also boosted by blue-chip engineering giant Rolls-Royce, which climbed 2.3 per cent, or 6.1p, to 273.7p after it announced thousands of job cuts following the crisis in the travel industry.

The plane engine-maker will slash 8,000 roles in its civil aerospace division in addition to 1,000 it was lining up as part of a restructuring plan launched in 2018.

And water company Severn Trent (up 1.8 per cent, or 42p, to 2446p) also made gains after it pledged to pay a final dividend of 60p per share, up from 56p last year.

The utility giant reckons the coronavirus pandemic is likely to lead to a rise in unpaid bills and a fall in sales to businesses over the next year, with so many people now working from home.

On the mid-cap index, investors cheered as bookie William Hill rose 3.3 per cent, or 4p, to 126p, saying it expected to reclaim up to 150million from the taxman after gambling groups won a 1billion legal battle over the tax paid on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals.

Ladbrokes Coral-owner GVC did not make a statement yesterday but its shares climbed by 3.1 per cent, or 24.2p, to 811.2p, and it has said that it could make up to 200million from the ruling.

And gambling software maker Playtech rose 6 per cent, or 13.9p, to 244.9p after reporting its financial trading division had benefited from the see-sawing stock markets and higher trading volumes triggered by the pandemic.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 index as a whole advanced 0.3 per cent, or 47.4 points, to 16,367.48.

Elsewhere, oil services firm Lamprell was one of the day's big winners after it signed a new contract with the Sharjah National Oil Corporation, valued at anything between 5million and 41million. Its shares rocketed 76.7 per cent, or 8.9p, to 20.5p.

On AIM, e-sports firm Gfinity rose 10 per cent, or 0.15p, to 1.65p after it extended its partnership with motor racing company Formula One.

The group, which runs video game tournaments, will deliver the main elements of the F1 Esports Series this year and in 2021  as well as the 2022 qualifying events.
Representational image

A group of 200 people hailing from Kerala, stranded in Nigeria due to the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown announced by India, have been waiting for days for the Indian government to give a green light for their repatriation, The Indian Express has reported.

Cases of the viral infection have been rising quickly in West Africa, and Nigeria has reported over 6,000 cases and 194 deaths. The healthcare system in the country, too, is poor, according to the newspaper, and Indian expatriates in the country are thinking of returning.

This also comes amidst reports of scarcity of medical equipment and armed robberies in the country's north, according to the report.

"The general situation in Nigeria is very bad. About 61 percent of the cases being reported here have no epidemiological links which points to community transmission. Soon the cases will peak. The governments isolation facilities are not satisfactory and the health system is not equipped to handle the pandemic," Dr Arun Gangadhar, who is the managing director of a hospital in Lagos, told the newspaper.

According to the report, among those who want to return include pregnant women, children, elderly with comorbidity and those whose visas have expired and people who have lost their jobs.

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

Follow our LIVE Updates here.

Moreover, many of those with underlying health conditions and the elderly are unwilling to take the risk of getting tested and treated in Nigeria.

"Every day, the threshold for sustainability is reducing," Dr Gangadhar said.

The report states that even while Nigeria is a part of the second tranche of Vande Bharat Mission, there has been no communication from the government regarding the repatriation as of yet. The group, according to the report, is thinking of flying home via a chartered flight they have arranged if the Indian government grants them the permission.

Dr Gangadhar said that they have managed to strike a deal with Air Peace airline, which is flying to Bengaluru and Delhi to rescue stranded Nigerians there. The airline, according to the report, has agreed to fly the group to Cochin if it gets a landing permit from the Indian authorities.

"We have handed over the letter of the airline to the Indian high commission for approval. They acknowledged the letter and said they will get back to us," Dr Gangadhar said, adding that copies of the letter have also been sent to Kerala health department, and a response is awaited.

Dr Gangadhar told the newspaper that protocols will be followed, and only those without any symptoms will be allowed to board. The report said that the group is ready to pay for the flight themselves and follow quarantine guidelines upon their return.
PowerHouse Energy Group plc

("PowerHouse" or the "Company")

Issue of Equity

PowerHouse Energy Group plc (AIM: PHE), the UK technology company commercialising hydrogen production from waste plastic, announces that the Company is issuing 4,100,000 ordinary shares of 0.5p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") further to the exercise of warrants at 0.5p per Ordinary Share.

Application has been made for the admission of 4,100,000 Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and it is expected that this will occur on or around 27 May 2020. These shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing issued Ordinary Shares.

Subsequent to the issue of Ordinary Shares, the Company will have 2,068,606,914 Ordinary Shares in issue. PowerHouse has no shares in Treasury, therefore this figure may be used by shareholders, from Admission, as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

For more information, contact:

PowerHouse Energy Group plc Tel: +44 (0) 203 368 6399 David Ryan, Chief Executive Officer WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 James Joyce / Lydia Zychowska Turner Pope Investments Ltd (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 203 657 0050 Andrew Thacker / Zoe Alexander Ikon Associates (Media enquiries) Tel: +44 (0) 1483 271291 Adrian Shaw Mob: +44 (0) 7979 900733

About PowerHouse Energy Group plc

PowerHouse has developed a proprietary process technology - DMG - which can utilise waste, unrecycleable plastic, end-of-life-tyres, and other waste streams to efficiently and economically convert them into syngas from which valuable products such as hydrogen, chemical precursors, electricity and other industrial products may be derived. The PowerHouse technology is one of the world's first proven, modular, hydrogen from waste (HfW) process.

The PowerHouse DMG process can generate up to 2 tonnes of road-fuel quality H2, and more than 58MWh of exportable electricity per day.

The PowerHouse process produces low levels of safe residues and requires a small operating footprint, making it suitable for deployment at enterprise and community level.

PowerHouse is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market under the ticker: PHE, and is incorporated in the United Kingdom.

For more information see www.powerhouseenergy.net
Mumbai, May 20 : As lockdown 4.0 began across India, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan paid a quick visit to his parents in the city on Tuesday.

The superstar drove from his farmhouse in the adjoining locality of Panvel to his residence, Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai's Bandra area, with all necessary permissions for a few hours and drove back before nightfall, reports Mumbai Mirror.

The actor's parents Salim and Salma Khan are residing at their Bandra home while Salman has been staying at the farmhouse right from the start of the lockdown in March. He is accompanied by sister Arpita, her husband Aayush Sharma and their kids, brother Sohail Khan's son, rumoured ladylove Iulia Vantur, friends Jacqueline Fernandez and Waluscha De Sousa, besides a few people from his crew.

Recently, Salman shot the romantic song "Tere bina" at his farmhouse. The track is sung and directed by Salman, and it features him with Jacqueline. The video has garnered over 27 million views on YouTube since its launch a week ago.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
The Paycheck Protection Program is still offering $135 billion in loans available to small businesses struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved $513 billion in loans to 4.3 million small businesses across the country. That includes 281,058 loans to New York small businesses, totaling $37.8 billion. The SBA has not yet released regional data on the program.

The PPP was rolled out in two rounds of legislation, starting in early April, with the initial $350 billion claimed within less than two weeks. Congress had to approve a second round of funding for the popular low-interest, forgivable loans.

Smaller businesses have claimed a greater share of the money since the second round of funding. Some larger companies that got loans early on in the program have since returned the money. The average loan size is $118,000, according to the most recent data from the SBA.

The Paycheck Protection Program was designed as a lifeline to small businesses and their employees.

The loan amount is based on a companys payroll. To qualify for forgiveness, small businesses must spend 75% of the money on payroll expenses. The rest of the money can be used for rent, utilities and mortgage interest payments. Small businesses are also required to retain or rehire employees in order to qualify for forgiveness.

The program, which is administered through banks, credit unions and other lenders, has distributed more than 30 years worth of small business loans in just two months. Thousands of new SBA lenders have handled loans on behalf of new small businesses. Most of the loans have been handled by small and medium-sized banks.

MORE ON THE PPP

How to qualify for PPP forgiveness: 11 expert answers to small business owner questions

You got a PPP loan. Now what? 4 expert tips from a small businesses lawyer

Small businesses: If you were shut out of PPP loans by your lender, try this one

Checklist for small businesses: What you need to apply for federal coronavirus relief

Small businesses get much-needed instructions on qualifying for PPP loan forgiveness

Feds: Small business loans can be forgiven if employees wont return to work

Guide to federal small business loans: What you need to know about coronavirus relief funds

Small business owners: Have a question or a story to share? We want to hear from you. Contact Back in Business reporter Julie McMahon: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992. Join the conversation in our Facebook group, CNY Back in Business. Sign up for the Back In Business newsletter to get small business advice delivered to your email inbox.
A sign board with precautions is kept in front of a restaurant as people eat sitting outside on Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 18, 2020. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

All 50 Governors Have Eased Virus-Fueled Restrictions, but New Rules Vary Widely

Every state has relaxed harsh restrictions implemented to try to slow the spread of the CCP virus, but the new rules vary widely.

Some governors have loosened few restrictions, leaving residents largely confined to their homes. In other states, people are free to dine out, travel for pleasure, and congregate in large groups.

Governors overseeing less populous states have announced the widest reopenings.

Friday, were open for business across the state of Alaska, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy told reporters on May 19. Itll all be open, just like it was prior to the virus.

The noncontiguous state will join South Dakota, where Republican Gov. Kristi Noem last month said any business owner that wanted to could reopen, and Utah, where GOP Gov. Gary Herbert said last week any business could resume operations if social distancing restrictions are followed.

West Virginia, Missouri, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, Arkansas, and North Dakota are among the states nearing a total reopening.

Most are run by Republicans, but not all.

Visitors leave the Zion Lodge parking lot to go on a hike in Zion National Park in Springdale, Utah on May 15, 2020. (George Frey/Getty Images)

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, let schools reopen earlier this month. Groups of up to 50 will be allowed to gather on June 1 and many businesses, including gyms and movie theaters, have resumed operations.

Montana has been an example for the rest of the nation in our response to this global pandemic, Bullock said in a statement, urging residents to continue taking hygiene and social distancing guidance seriously, Bullock said in a statement.

Week four of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justices six-week reopening plan starts May 21 with the resumption of indoor dining at restaurants and the reopening of adventure sports, large retailers, and malls.

Were getting closer to a drug and a vaccine and every day that goes by, were getting better, Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican, said at a press conference.

Visitors to the state no longer have to self-quarantine for two weeks after they arrive.

A customer exits the Apple Store in Charleston, S.C. on May 13, 2020. Customers had their temperatures taken and were required to wear masks at the South Carolina store, as locations in Idaho, Alabama, and Alaska reopened as well following forced closures due to the CCP virus. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

A full reopening means all businesses can reopen and all activities can resume, but some social distancing rules stay in place.

Governors across the nation have pointed to modeling that once predicted a deluge of hospitalized patients not panning out.

We no longer believe our hospitals will see an overwhelming amount of ICU patients who need ventilators, as we once believed, and that is sure good news, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, told reporters on April 28.

Most states have avoided the spikes in confirmed cases that critics predicted would occur after reopenings started. Some states have reported increases in positive tests but thats happened in parallel with increases in testing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans overseeing two of the nations three most populous states, have joined others in easing many restrictions.

Vanessa Zubia-Meza and her mother Margie Zubia are pictured in the window of their new restaurant called El Paseo in downtown El Paso, Texas on May 18, 2020. (Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images)

Restaurants can serve customers inside in both states while a variety of professional sporting events are set to resume soon with no spectators.

Theme parks are reopening in Florida; rodeos are resuming soon in Texas.

Other governors have been extremely cautious. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, held off on easing any restrictions until May 20. Massachusetts, helmed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, just started reopening Monday. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, finally eased restrictions last week. Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, who eased few rules, directed a health official to extend his stay-at-home order to May 26 before it was blocked by the state Supreme Court, allowing many businesses to reopen.

A small selection of Illinois companies have been able to reopen under tight restrictions that include no customers entering the stores. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker is planning for a wider reopening on May 29 but wont let restaurants resume tableside service until late June.

Michigan residents gather in protest of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before a news conference outside of Karl Mankes Barber and Beauty in Owosso, Mich. on May 18, 2020. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said this week that states are ready to reopen but called for expanded testing and programs that identify people who came into contact with COVID-19 patients.

Outbreaks in nursing homes, meatpacking plants, prisons, funerals, weddings, and homeless encampments are being contained, Redfield said.

The CDC said Tuesday its providing $10.25 billion to states, territories, and local governments for COVID-19 testing, including for the development surveillance and contact tracing programs.

As the Nation cautiously begins the phased approach to reopening, this considerable investment in expanding both testing and contact tracing capacity  is essential, Redfield said in a statement. Americans should continue social distancing, washing their hands, and using face coverings, he added.

Health Secretary Alex Azar said the investment will help Americans get safely back to work and school.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 20:09:23

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 577 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Stans Energy Corp. (the "Company" or "Stans") (TSXV:HRE) wishes to provide an update on the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19") as it affects the Company and the status of the filing of its annual financial statements and accompanying management's discussion and analysis, and related CEO and CFO certifications, for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.Following notification received on April 30, 2020 from the Ontario Securities Commission ("OSC") regarding enactment on April 23, 2020 of the Ontario Instrument 51-502 Temporary Exemption from Certain Corporate Finance Requirements (the "OSC Temporary Exemption") providing a 45-day extension for certain periodic filings required to be made on or prior to June 1, Stans issued on May 7, 2020 the Press Release notifying public that it will be relying on this extension period due to delays experienced as result of COVID-19. It took us less then 5 business days to prepare this complicated announcement given that no guidelines were provided for the filing of this extension.To our surprise OSC issued a Cease Trading Order (CTO) on May 6, 2020 apparently triggered by our slow reaction to its notice. Whatever the reasons we must complete our financial reporting in order to remove this CTO.We will provide an update as per regulators requirements before June 15, 2020.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.About Stans EnergyStans Energy Corp. is a resource development company focused on advancing rare and specialty metals properties and processing technologies. Stans is now transitioning to become a supplier of materials and technologies that will assist in satisfying the future energy supply, storage and transmission needs of the world. Previously, the Company acquired, among other things, the right to mine the past producing rare earth mine, Kutessay II, in the Kyrgyz Republic. Due to the expropriation actions taken by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Company proceeded with the international arbitration litigation to protect the Company's rights and in August 2019 won the Award for damages at over US$24,000,000 plus interest.We seek safe harbour.Contact DetailsRodney IrwinStans Energy Corp.Interim President & CEOrodney@ stansenergy.com 647-426-1865Boris AryevStan Energy Corp.Chief Operating Officerboris@ stansenergy.com 647-426-1865FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This document includes forward-looking statements as well as historical information. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the Offering, the continued advancement of the company's general business development, research development and the company's development of mineral exploration projects. When used in this press release, the words "will", "shall", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intent", "may", "project", "plan", "should" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Although Stans Energy Corp. believes that their expectations reflected in these forward looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statement. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include the potential that fluctuations in the marketplace for the sale of minerals, the inability to implement corporate strategies, the ability to obtain financing and other risks disclosed in our filings made with Canadian Securities Regulators.SOURCE: Stans Energy Corp.
Students and professors at Clemson University can expect a return to in-person instruction in the fall.

The states second-largest college closed its doors in mid-March to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since then, classes have occurred exclusively online.

Specific details haven't been released regarding the campus' reopening plan, but university officials who spoke at a special-called board of trustees meeting Wednesday seemed optimistic.

"Clemson was ahead of the curve and will stay ahead of the curve. There are a lot of challenges ahead of us but we will stay Clemson," said Tony Wagner, executive vice president for finance and operations.

The college's plan is to host in-person classes that align with online instruction so that if an outbreak occurs on campus, the learning pace can continue virtually without a significant disruption.

The school plans to use a phased approach to gradually resume operations on-campus, according to a campuswide email President Jim Clements sent earlier this month. University officials have emphasized for weeks that the college is "laser-focused" on developing a strategy for a safe return to as close to normal operations as possible in the fall.

"At the same time, we recognize that our new normal will look different than in the past, and that a return to having our students back on campus can only occur in a way that is consistent with the best public health practices," he wrote.

The Greenville News reported Clements said the college will "have students in our residence halls" during the fall semester, as well.

The reopening plan will likely include three major phases, said university spokesman Joe Galbraith.

The first phase includes bringing select faculty, staff and students back to work on campus tentatively starting June 1.

After the first phase is complete, the school will monitor COVID-19 cases in the area for two weeks before proceeding with the second phase, which involves bringing more people back to campus.

The third and final phase will hopefully take place in the fall and includes bringing larger groups of students back.

The school is also evaluating its ability to conduct widespread coronavirus testing and implement contact tracing, Galbraith said.

Ultimately, the success of the reopening effort rests with the students, said university Police Chief Greg Mullen.

"The only way we are going to be successful is if everyone does their part to stay safe and healthy," he said.

Several other public and private schools across the state announced their own plans last week to return to in-person instruction in the fall, including Presbyterian College, Charleston Southern University and The Citadel.

The University of South Carolina was the first major public college in the state to release their plans, which they did on May 6. Earlier this week, the school announced that it would cancel fall break and switch to entirely online classes after Thanksgiving.

The school estimates that if it opted to resume in-person classes after spring break, the virus would have spread to 30 percent of the campus.

College of Charleston President Andrew Hsu has said the school is also in the process of developing a gradual return of campus operations over the summer, with a goal of returning to in-person instruction in the fall.

Some colleges have faced a major financial hit as a result of the pandemic and campus closures. The S.C. Commission on Higher Education has estimated the state's public colleges have anticipated a nearly $118 million in combined losses, the majority attributed to housing and meal plan refunds.

Clemson officials estimated that the effects of the pandemic has already taken a $15 million dollar toll on the school's budget.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Since 2012 Israel has carried out at least 300 air raids on Iranian forces in Syria. This began when Iran decided to back the Assad government of Syria, an Iranian ally since the 1980s, with massive financial and military aid. The Assads were dealing with a massive uprising that began in 2011 and was in danger of losing. Iran was also interested in establishing a land route to move weapons and personnel from Iran, through Iraq to Syria and Lebanon. This was in preparation for major attacks on Israel. In response, Israel began the airstrikes on Iranian weapons storage sites, bases and now missile assembly operations. Since 2012 there have been about 38 airstrikes a year but there have already at least 24 airstrikes so far in 2020. At least five airstrikes took place in a two week period after April 20. These air attacks use various types of smart bombs and guided missiles and rarely miss or are aborted.

The Syrians increasingly claim to have intercepted Israeli air-launched (often from inside Lebanon or Israel) missiles but the reality is that few of the Israeli missiles fail to hit their targets. Commercial satellite photos are available to determine damage and there is always a lot of destruction. Iran and Syria complain that the Russian air defense system in Syria is not used to stop the Israelis. The Russians dont want a fight with the Israelis, if only because the Israelis might publically demonstrate the ineffectiveness of Russian air defense systems. These systems are a major export item for Russia and the Israelis could reduce those export sales with demonstrations of how to get past the Russian air defenses.

Russians would prefer the Iranians to get out of Syria. The financial crises back in Iran have made losses from Israeli airstrikes more difficult to deal with. Iran cannot afford to keep replacing missiles and structures lost to these attacks. There is one exception to the Iranian reductions and repositioning in Syria. The new bases on the Iraqi border are being expanded. In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province), the Iranian weapons storage near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq continues to be reinforced and expanded. Storage areas are being built underground. This may not prove very effective because Israel has plenty of ground-penetrating bombs and even builds and exports these weapons. None of these bunker buster bombs have been used against Al Bukamal yet. The Israelis usually wait until such new facilities are completed and full of weapons before attacking them. This way the maximum, and most expensive, the damage is inflicted.

The Al Bukamal border crossing is vital for the Iran-to-Mediterranean land route. This road is essential to supporting any Iranian military expansion in Syria and Lebanon. Israel has bombed it before and will apparently continue doing so. That is what will also happen to the new military base Iran is building here on the Syrian side of the border. The base is nearly complete despite several Israeli airstrikes. At that point, the Israeli airstrikes usually intensify in an effort to obliterate the completed base.

The Syrian Swamp

The unusual (in historical terms) alliance between traditional foes Russia, Turkey and Iran in Syria is becoming a losing situation for all concerned. The initial objective was to defeat the rebels, particularly the many Islamic terror groups that had come to dominate the rebels' cause. The rebels eventually lost and that was obvious by 2018. Now the fighting is about Iran seeking to militarize Syria for a war against Israel while the Turks are literally at war with Syria over the Assad government battles with the last concentration of rebels in Idlib province. This battle zone is on the Turkish border. The Assads dont care if most of the several million civilians in Idlib flee into Turkey. Most of those civilians are pro-rebel Sunnis and the Shia Assads prefer that they leave. The Turks prefer that they stay in Syria. When things calm down in Syria, Turkey hopes to persuade the three million Syrian refugees it already has to go home. With the Assads back in power, Syria is not a safe place for Sunni refugees. Iran supports the Assad approach. An Iran dominated Syria hostile to Turkey is not a good place for Russian to have troops and bases.

Israel also wants the Iranians gone, as does Turkey. Earlier in the year, the Iranians began backing off because of economic problems back home and relentless air attacks by Israel. But the Iranians are not giving up. They have dominated Syria since the 1980s and finally have an opportunity to turn Syria into a base of operations against Israel. In reality, most Syrians dont want that. War with Israel never turns out well for Syria or most Syrians. Now most Iranians agree with this attitude as well. Iranian mercenaries and Iran-backed militias in Syria are responding to the continuing Israeli airstrikes by moving to better protected locations. The units involved are near the Iraqi and Israeli borders as well as Aleppo. Iran is undergoing a financial crises at home, caused by plunging oil prices and covid19 disruptions of the economy. Some of these units are being disbanded or losing their Iranian financial support. Spending on the war in Syria, Yemen, Gaza and Lebanon is very unpopular in Iran. For over a year there have been public protests against the Iranian government because of the many economic problems attributed to government corruption and mismanagement.

Similar unrest has broken out in Lebanon where Iranbacked Hezbollah has been armed and paid by Iran to bully the Lebanese government into tolerating southern Lebanon being turned into a base for attacks on Israel.

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 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's misconduct, at least not right now.

Covid19 Fades

So far Israel has suffered nearly 2,000 infected per million Israelis and 32 dead per million. The Israeli population travels to foreign destinations more (per million people) than any other nation in the region. That meant Israel was infected about the same time other industrialized nations were. The virus and quarantine response measures hurt the economy. The unemployment rate is up from 4 percent on March 1st to 25 percent, the highest ever for Israel. The GDP will contract 5.6 percent for 2020. The infections and deaths are declining and by 2021 the economy will be operating at full capacity and the usual economic growth will return.

Egypt is detecting more people with covid19 but the pandemic has not done major damage. Currently, the virus has infected 125 per million Egyptians and killed six per million. The national health system in Egypt is largely non-existent and many cases of covid19 will go undetected as will deaths, which can be confused with any number of similar diseases. In contrast, Israel has the best health care system in the region and more of its population is regularly exposed to foreign travelers who unknowingly spread such diseases all over the world.

Egyptian GDP growth is expected to be, at best, only half a percent for 2020, but rebound to over five percent in 2021.

Hamas has been much less aggressive about attacking Israel lately. This is in part to concerns about covid19 becoming a major problem which it has not become in Gaza or the West Bank. Hamas is growing more concerned about the economic damage it has inflicted on Gaza with its constant attacks on Israel. Hamas is trying to negotiate some kind of ceasefire that would lift the embargo on Gaza. Years of these efforts have not succeeded and may never do so because there are too many Islamic terror factions in Gaza that want constant war with Israel and dont care about the Gaza economy.

May 18, 2020: Israel finally has a new government, not much different from the previous one. This comes after 17 months of stalemates because of three national elections and multiple failures by parliamentary factions to form a new coalition government.

May 17, 2020: In the north Israeli troops shot and wounded a man who had been caught crossing the border into Israel. Normally the Lebanese border guards prevent anyone from getting close to the border. In the last month, there have been several cases where people showed up on the Lebanese side of the border and crossed it. These illegal crossers are usually detected and arrested or shot before they can get too far into Israel. It is unclear what the Lebanese border guards or Hezbollah (which can intimidate the security forces to do whatever) are up to.

May 16, 2020: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province) another Israeli airstrike hit the Iranian weapons storage near the Al Bukamal crossing into Iraq. There were several large explosions, not all of them missile warheads. At least seven Iranians (or Iranian mercenaries) were killed.

May 15, 2020: In Egypt (Sinai) a raid on a suspected Islamic terrorist hideout left seven terrorism suspects dead. One of the terrorists died during the raid while the other six escaped. Police tracked them down (via security camera video) to another hideout where the six were killed. Found there were ten bombs, four explosive vests, some rifles and ammo along with vehicles, cell phones and walkie-talkies.

May 14, 2020: In the West Bank a Palestinian deliberately drove his car at two soldiers, injuring one while the other shot dead the driver.

May 13, 2020: In the West Bank a raid to arrest Islamic terror suspects led to a mob of local civilians threatening the troops. The mob refused to disperse and threw rocks and other objects at the troops, who opened fire to disperse the mob. That worked but only after five of the rioters were hit and one of them died.

May 12, 2020: In the West Bank a night raid to arrest Islamic terror suspects led to the death of an Israeli soldier when Palestinians on the roof of a building dropped large rocks on the troops. That led to a search for the Palestinians responsible.

May 10, 2020: Officials at the Iranian Shahid Rajaee container port near the Strait of Hormuz admitted that local government networks had been hit with an Internet-based attack. The official insisted the attack did no lasting damage to port operations. But commercial satellite photos later showed trucks (delivering or going to pick up containers) backed up on roads to the port. An unusually large number of container ships were stuck waiting to get a berth. In a rare move, Israel took credit for the hack, which was meant to port operations. Israel rarely takes credit for these attacks but did so, in this case, to warn Iran there would be a lot more of this if Iran did not halt its efforts to hack Israeli water supply systems. The latest of these was in late April.

May 6, 2020: In eastern Syria (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 are 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 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, ISIL is a constant presence and menace.

May 5, 2020: In eastern Syria (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 northern 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 eastern Syria (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: 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 2, 2020: In Egypt (Sinai) ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) beheaded three members of the Terabin tribe, leaving the heads on the side of a road. Three other Terabin men were kidnapped. This is apparently yet another ISIL effort to compel cooperation from the tribe. Such cooperation can range from simply not reporting ISIL movements to the security forces, up to actively supporting ISIL and allowing the Islamic terrorists to openly recruit from the tribe. ISIL rarely gets any degree of tribal cooperation. By 2018 Egypt had persuaded most of the Sinai tribes to work with the security forces to curb ISIL activity. As is usually the case ISIL arrogance and brutal tactics turned the Bedouin from neutrals (and s0metime allies) into implacable enemies. Over a hundred Bedouin were killed by ISIL between 2016 and 2018 and that has had an impact. This pro-government attitude has gone from Bedouin sharing information about ISIL activities to quietly accept weapons, vehicles and cash to assist in patrolling the Sinai. The Bedouin never pass up free weapons but working part-time for the security forces is OK as long as it increases security for their own tribe. For a long time the security forces were reluctant to supply the Bedouin with weapons, because of the risk they would eventually be turned against Egyptian forces. That is still a risk but right now ISIL is a much larger danger to everyone. ISIL persists in using violence against tribes it feels might succumb to such pressure.

May 1, 2020: In Egypt (Sinai) a raid on a suspected Islamic terrorist hideout killed two armed men.

In central Syria (Homs province) an Israeli airstrike triggered large explosions at a Hezbollah ammo storage site.

April 30, 2020: In the north (Golan Heights) Israeli helicopters hit Iran-backed militia near the border. The next day more airstrikes hit Hezbollah positions in the Golan Heights.

In Egypt (Sinai) a military convoy was hit by a roadside bomb, leaving ten soldiers dead and three wounded. Security forces went looking for those responsible and two days later raided a nearby town where a home was being used as an Islamic terrorist base. When the house was surrounded the 18 men inside said they would not surrender and all were killed during the subsequent gun battle. In the building, troops found 13 assault rifles, two explosive vests and three other bombs.

April 27, 2020: In central Israel (Lod and its international airport) three fire kites (kites with incendiary devices attached) were released by local Arab-Israelis as part of Ramadan activities. Two kites came down in residential areas, one five kilometers from the airport. These tactics are normally only seen in the south, coming from Gaza. Police are seeking those responsible for the fire kites in Lod.

April 24, 2020: Iran claims it succeeded, on its fourth attempt since 2010, to launch a satellite into a stable orbit. The Iranian confirmation comes two days after the satellite was launched. The Noor photo satellite is in a stable 450 kilometers high orbit but appears to be tumbling out of control. Unless Noor has thrusters that can be used to stabilize it the satellite is useless. Noor is actually quite small, weighing about 4 kg (9 pounds) and about half the size of a microwave oven. One success in all this was the use of the new Qased SLV (satellite launch vehicle) to get their satellite into orbit. Since 2010 there were three previous attempts, all failures and all using the Simorgh SLV. Both Qased and Simorgh are multi-stage rockets that can carry a satellite into orbit or a warhead to a distant target. The U.S. and Israel describe the Iranian SLV test as a cover for what is actually an effort to develop an ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile).
Officials in Ohio have declared racism a public health crisis in the state's embattled Franklin County, where twice as many black people are hospitalized for COVID-19 than other races, despite being a minority of the population.

A public health declaration and resolution was passed on Tuesday by commissioners in Franklin County along with a 10-step plan to address racism in the health system, housing and education.

The resolution was a part of the 2019 Rise Together Blueprint effort to address poverty in Central Ohio that was first announced last year, well before the coronavirus struck.

'Racism has been a pandemic long before the current coronavirus pandemic,' Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce said in a statement.

'Our declaration today is important, but its not saying anything that hasnt been apparent for a long time. COVID-19 has highlighted the health divide between black and white Ohioans, however, and I hope that it can be the catalyst we need to reform the whole health system so that it works for all of us equally,' he added.

Franklin County's Commission Board in Ohio declared racism a public health crisis on Tuesday. A doctor in Columbus pictured installing equipment to treat COVID-19 patients on April 17

The resolution was a part of the 2019 Rise Together Blueprint effort to address poverty in Central Ohio that was first announced last year, well before the coronavirus struck. An aerial view of Columbus' capitol building, located in Franklin County, above

While black residents make up just 23 percent of the population of 1.3million in Franklin County, they are hospitalized at twice the rate of other demographic groups, according to the commissioner report.

Preliminary data from Ohio suggests they are dying at a disproportionately higher rate from the disease, according to the commissioners.

In mid-April 20 percent of all of Ohios coronavirus cases where African Americans  who make up just 12 percent of the population, according to the Columbus-Dispatch. Whites, by comparison, make up 79 percent of the states population but accounted for 52 percent of the COVID-19 cases, at that time.

'Racism has been a pandemic long before the current coronavirus pandemic,' Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce said in a statement Tuesday

In Ohio Franklin County has the highest number of COVID-19 cases with 4,793 infections, 607 hospitalizations and 200 deaths, as of Wednesday.

Overall in Ohio there are over 27,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 1,600 deaths.

Across the country black people are infected with COVID-19 and dying at a disproportionate rate.

An Amfar study based on data collected April 13 said disproportionately black counties account for 22 percent of all US counties and are home to 52 percent of nationwide coronavirus cases and 58 percent of COVID-19 deaths, according to the Washington Post.

Black people account for 13 percent of the countrys entire population.

The declaration comes after the Franklin County Board of Health passed a similar resolution last week on May 14 noting racism and segregation in Franklin County and Ohio has 'exacerbated a health divide resulting in Black Ohioans having lower life expectancy than White Ohioans.'

Black residents are more likely to die prematurely, meaning before the age of 75, compared to other races, the report said.

They also have an infant mortality rate that is nearly three times higher than other races and are more likely to be overweight or obese and have adult onset diabetes, according to the Board of Health.

The declaration describes that internal and systemic forms of racism have led to 'persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes' between white people and people of color in the county.

Discrimination has affected people of color in housing, education, employment and criminal justice, and healthcare.

'Nothing is more important than the health and wellbeing of our residents,' Board of Commissioners President John OGrady said in a statement.

In Franklin County twice as many black people are hospitalized for COVID-19 than other races, even though they account for just 23 percent of the population. Across the country black people are infected with COVID-19 and dying at a disproportionate rate. New York woman Sonia Joy pictured testing for coronavirus antibodies on May 14

'Our communitys success depends on all Franklin County residents being able to share in it, but right now we have a system that is resulting in different outcomes for people based on the color of their skin. Thats not acceptable.'

Board Commissioner Marilyn Brown said that the racism and discrimination seen today stems from centuries of systemic racism with roots in slavery and segregation that prevails today.

'Hundreds of years of systemic racism, from slavery to segregation, redlining to Jim Crow, and discrimination in housing, finance, and education, some of which persists today, have led to predictable inequities,' Commissioner Marilyn Brown said in a statement.

'We wont solve these things overnight, but its important to start by recognizing them and beginning to work purposefully for change.'

The Franklin County Rise Together Blueprint report noted that the countys African American residents also experience dramatically higher unemployment rates.

Overall the rate is 5.7 percent in the state, but it is 11.1 percent among African Americans. Similarly, they face a high poverty rate of 29.9 percent compared to the countys general 16.7 percent unemployment rate.

To combat the public health crisis the agency approved of a $3,000 contract to train employees on racism and equity in public health.

A separate resolution will also implement a 'Health and Equity in All Policies Policy' to further address racism within the agency.
Jailed Saudi royals hire Trump-tied lobbyists to counter MbS: NYT

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 3:24 PM

A number of prominent jailed Saudi royals and their allies have reportedly hired influential lobbyists in the US to establish links with President Donald Trump's circle and push for an end to "political persecution" by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while he is busy dealing with a coronavirus-related economic crisis in the kingdom.

According to a report published by The New York Times newspaper, allies of several jailed Saudis have contacted Washington lawyers and consultants during the past few weeks, and mounted legal, lobbying and public relations campaigns as part of efforts to end what they term as political persecution by the kingdom's 34-year-old de facto ruler.

The report added that an unnamed former senior associate of jailed Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud signed a $2-million agreement on May 15 to retain Trump-tied lobbyist Robert Stryk to "advocate for the release" of the imprisoned member of the House of Saud.

Last month, Barry Bennett, a Republican political consultant and former senior adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, signed a client with affiliation to an incarcerated Saudi prince, who had been a top rival of Mohammed bin Salman, also referred to as MbS.

Moreover, representatives of detained Princess Basmah bint Saud  a 56-year-old royal family member long seen as a proponent of women's rights and a constitutional monarchy  have inconspicuously approached lawyers and consultants in Washington and London to garner support for such an objective.

Despite Saudi crown prince's close relationship with Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, there is growing uneasiness in the Congress plus among some Pentagon and State Department officials with him, especially in the wake of the Saudi-led bloody war on Yemen and the premeditated murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018.

The reported push in Washington comes as the coronavirus outbreak and plummeting oil prices have saddled Saudi Arabia with its worst financial crisis in decades in a blow to MbS.

Allies of imprisoned Saudi dissidents and their Washington representatives hope to pressure MbS through some combination of lobbying and public relations efforts to highlight the dire situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia and possible legal action in international courts in a bid to secure their release.

The New York Times noted that filings submitted by Stryk's Sonoran Policy Group to the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act point to the fact that the firm will reach out to the United States, Britain, France as well as the European Union to push for the release of Prince Salman.

Some pundits in Washington and Riyadh have speculated that Prince Salman may have got into a bitter rivalry with MbS by meeting with Rep Adam B Schiff, a leading Trump critic and later the manager of his impeachment, in the weeks before the 2016 US presidential election.

Lebanese American businessman Ahmad Khawaja, who was charged last December with funneling more than $3.5 million in illicit campaign donations to buy access and influence in Washington, was also present during the meeting.

Prince Salman's allies have also approached Western leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, to rally support for his release.

Officials from the European Parliament have raised concerns about the detention of the Saudi prince and his father in letters to the European Commission and to Crown Prince Mohammed.

Prince Salman was among 11 princes arrested in January 2018 as part of a so-called anti-corruption campaign.

He reportedly spent about a year in the maximum security al-Ha'ir Prison, located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the Saudi capital Riyadh, before being transferred to home detention at a villa in Riyadh with his father. He was moved again this year.

Earlier this year, bin Salman launched a new campaign of arrests against royals over an alleged coup attempt to unseat him and his father King Salman, sparking yet another outcry from human rights organizations.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






SIPTU representatives and the Migrants Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) have written to the chief executive of the Health And Safety Authority (HSA) to complain about its failure to carry out inspections in meat plants across the country where there have been more than 850 cases of Coronavirus.

Also read: Naughten tells Dail 'contact tracing is so poor that employers informing staff'

The union and the MRCI were responding to remarks made to the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 yesterday by the chief executive of the HSA, Dr Sharon McGuinness.

The letter, signed by SIPTU Manufacturing Division Organiser, Greg Ennis and MRCI Director, Edel McGinley, said: We were deeply concerned to hear your testimony at yesterdays hearing to the Oireachtas Committee on Covid-19 that despite reports received by the HSA, no inspections have been carried out in the meat factories. We have been approached by our members and workers from various meat factories who feel that their safety at work has not been prioritised by their employers during this crisis.

At the beginning of the lockdown, some employers were very slow to put in place safety measures, including staggered breaks, floor markings, shields between work stations, temperature testing, cleaning of workwear between use by different employees and signage in languages people could understand.

The letter, sent to Ms McGuinness and copied to the chairman of the HSA board, Tom Coughlan and agriculture minister, Michael Creed, went on to complain that the failure by employers to implement health and safety protocols resulted in significant exposure among staff to the virus which may have contributed to the surge in cases in so many meat plants. SIPTU and the MRCI asked why the HSA has been so slow to respond to reports of the spread of the virus in the meat industry and what action it now intends to take.

The HSA has the powers at your disposal that could be used to shut down workplaces on the spot if this is deemed necessary. Where such action is taken, workers should suffer no loss of earnings, the letter states. The union has also accused the employers lobby group Meat Industry Ireland (MII) of refusing to engage with the it in discussions to deal with the spread of the virus in so many meat plants in recent weeks.

To avoid such an engagement is not in keeping with the approach of almost all other sectors in Ireland which are working together to defeat Covid-19 and its devastating effect on workers, their families, businesses and the wider community, Greg Ennis said.

Also read: Woman arrested after 10,000 worth of cocaine seized during Granard drugs bust
Jill Goodridge was shopping for affordable health insurance when a friend told her about O'NA HealthCare, a low-cost alternative to commercial insurance.

The self-described "health care cooperative" promised a shield against catastrophic claims. Its name suggested an affiliation with a Native American tribe  a theme that carried through on its website, where a feather floats from section to section.

The company promises 24/7 telemedicine and holistic dental care on its website. It says it provides more nontraditional options than any other health care plan," including coverage for essential oils, energy medicine and naturopathic care. All of that and conventional care, too.

It struck Goodridge as innovative. She signed up for a high-deductible plan, paying more than $9,000 in premiums and fees over 13 months, she said. Yet she could not get O'NA to cover her family's medical bills. For example, O'NA applied only a small portion of more than $6,000 in hospital-related bills against her $10,000 deductible.

"It almost seemed like we were just spending the premium money every month for really not much," said Goodridge, whose family runs a Rockland, Maine, restaurant that is temporarily shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A year-long investigation by the state insurance agency prompted by her complaint concluded she was right, uncovering a business scheme operating in the gray areas of insurance regulation and tribal law to appeal to patients looking to save money on health care.

Hers is a cautionary tale for anyone looking for cut-rate coverage at a time when the cost of commercial insurance is rising and a wide range of alternatives are on offer.

Tempting low premiums may mean skimpy coverage with huge out-of-pocket expenses.

"Health insurance is getting so expensive people are looking for other options," Maine insurance Superintendent Eric A. Cioppa said. "We tell everybody that if you do business over the internet to call us first and make sure it's licensed."

O'NA stood out, with a polished website featuring its story of holistic health and sun-dappled photographs. The sales pitch: "We're here to guide you to a new way for your mind, body, and soul."

Goodridge felt led astray.

The company claimed Native American ties that would exempt it from state insurance regulations because of tribal sovereignty, which gives federally recognized tribes the authority to self-govern outside of state or federal law. O'NA claimed it did not have to adhere to federal insurance requirements, such as guaranteeing standard coverage or maintaining a designated level of funds in reserve to pay claims.

O'NA HealthCare appears to be the first insurer to claim that Native American status exempted it from oversight, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

The company advertised it was "comfortably nestled under a Native American tribal corporate umbrella" and "protected by the many rights and privileges that Native American Indians enjoy today."

It sent its customers a "tribal membership ID & benefits card." And it said it derived its status from an affiliation with the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya. That tribe is not one of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.

But the troubles with O'NA went deeper than that, Cioppa and his team discovered during a year-long investigation. Along with serious doubts that anyone involved with O'NA had valid indigenous roots, there were financial irregularities, allegations of embezzlement and phony professional credentials.

"The more we found out," Cioppa said, "the more we wanted to keep digging."

Jill Goodridge took a chance on a nonprofit "health care cooperative" sold online by a Native American company called O'NA HealthCare. After paying more than $9,000 in premiums and fees over 13 months, Goodridge says, she could not get O'NA to cover her family's medical bills. (Shelby Knowles for KHN)

For patients, a tempting offer with red flags

There was much about Goodridge's new coverage that seemed unorthodox to the investigators.

She paid a tribal membership fee of $165, which the company said was a tax-deductible contribution to an unspecified Native American tribe. In addition to traditional medicine, O'NA said, its members could seek care at "Native American Tribal Healing Centers" nationwide, though it did not identify the centers or their locations. Goodridge also paid a family premium of $751 a month for 13 months before canceling, according to her testimony before the Maine Bureau of Insurance.

Stranger still, investigators found that O'NA required physicians to pay $485 a year to join its network. Her doctor declined.

On top of that, Goodridge testified, the plan did not pay out when needed, including much of that $6,000-plus hospital bill.

It turned out, that was not uncommon for a company that describes its services as "low cost, high value." According to a state inspection of O'NA's unaudited books in fall 2019, the plan spent an "unusually low" amount of the $2.5 million it collected in premiums to cover customers' medical bills  just 13% or less. Under federal law, most insurers spend 80% or more on benefits for subscribers.

"However low its prices may be, the value it delivers is even lower," Cioppa wrote in his December order.

Cioppa told KHN that state investigators could not determine the full scope of the operation, partly because O'NA, which boasted an "open provider network across all 50 states," refused to tell them how many members it had signed up nationwide. It covered only 27 people in Maine.

O'NA's bookkeeping also turned out to be suspect. Maine investigators observed that in 2019 O'NA paid few medical bills and didn't keep enough cash on hand to handle even a couple of catastrophic illness claims, a violation of state insurance regulations.

Ultimately, Cioppa ruled that O'NA had illegally operated an insurance company, falsely advertised its benefits and failed to set aside adequate reserves to pay claims.

O'NA's CEO, L.J. Fay, said the company is working hard to overcome past mistakes, noting: "We plan to make everything right. That is the ultimate goal."

But in the meantime, Cioppa has prohibited O'NA from selling policies in the state.

The people behind O'NA

Over the years, Benjamin Zvenia has presented himself at various times as a doctor, a lawyer and a tribal judge. O'NA was described by the United Cherokee Nation-Aniyvwiya as Zvenia's "brainchild," according to the Maine insurance bureau order.

He has a paper trail of criminal and civil infractions dating to the early 1990s, government records show.

In a sworn statement filed in Maine, Zvenia said he was a member and "administrative tribal judge" of the Nottoway Tribal Community Meherrin Band of North Carolina. That tribe is not among the 573 recognized by the federal government.

Zvenia also told Maine officials he served on the board of directors of Tribal Active Management Services, O'NA HealthCare's parent company, but had not been paid for his "voluntary" services and had no responsibility for day-to-day operations. In a sworn statement, Zvenia denied playing a major role in O'NA. He did not respond to repeated requests for comment for this story.

Zvenia, in fact, has a criminal conviction in Nevada for practicing medicine without a license, which prohibits him from overseeing an insurance company, according to Maine officials. He was sentenced to six years in prison, court records show.

In his statement, Zvenia wrote, "There was a crime, and I did the time. My previous history may be public information, but it is not part of my accomplishments today."

Zvenia's legal work also has drawn scrutiny. In March 1999, the Nevada Supreme Court removed him from a list of non-attorney arbitrators, citing his undisclosed criminal conviction. A State Bar of Nevada investigation found Zvenia had applied to practice in immigration court, claiming to hold a law license issued by the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia. But the state bar checked with Micronesia, and it could not verify his claims.

Zvenia also told a state bar investigator that he graduated from the Kensington College "School of Law" in California. The college said Zvenia had applied in June 1994 but "never completed enrollment," according to an exhibit filed with the Nevada Supreme Court order.

Jill Goodridge took a chance on a nonprofit "health care cooperative" sold online by a Native American company called O'NA HealthCare. After paying more than $9,000 in premiums and fees over 13 months, Goodridge says, she could not get O'NA to cover her family's medical bills. (Shelby Knowles for KHN)

Jill Goodridge, whose family runs a restaurant in Rockland, Maine, joined a nonprofit "health care cooperative" that promised to cover traditional medical services and holistic therapies through its ties to Indian tribes. "They seemed to be innovative in the idea that you could see holistic doctors or naturopaths," Goodridge testified during a Maine Bureau of Insurance hearing on Sept. 3, 2019. (Shelby Knowles for KHN)

A founder of O'NA HealthCare was Alan Boyer, a Utah musician who said he was a member of the Cherokee Nation. He was born in West Yorkshire, England, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1998, when he was nearly 40 years old.

Boyer was a founder of a British-style brass band in Utah but also dabbled in the holistic healing arts and naturopathic products before his death in December 2018 from cancer at age 59. In one promotional video for O'NA, Boyer, who spoke with a pronounced British accent, said the word O'NA means "new beginnings."

"One of Alan's greatest achievements in his later years was acceptance as a sovereign member of the great Cherokee Nation," reads an online obituary entered into the record in the Maine proceeding.

Maine regulators had their doubts: "It does not appear from the record that any Native Americans have been involved at any time in the establishment, management or operation of O'NA," reads the state order.

Lisa Hughes, the former CEO of O'NA and a resident of the Salt Lake City area, also raised Maine regulators' eyebrows. Investigators found Hughes' online resume shows more than a decade of experience in rocket engineering and consulting work in Utah. She recently told Maine officials she had been hired at O'NA because of her prior experience in "systems development and cashflow analysis."

In an affidavit and other legal filings filed in January, Hughes asserted she worked for O'NA for several years "with no or very reduced salary" before the company suspended her in July 2019 amid a corporate power struggle. The next month, O'NA sent her a letter from a law firm accusing her of embezzling $295,000, filings in the Maine investigation show.

In her affidavit, Hughes said O'NA concocted the embezzlement accusations "for purposes of smearing me and making me the scapegoat for O'NA's legal formation and structure."

Lessons learned - or not

In his December order, Cioppa gave the insurer until Jan. 21 to create a $100,000 fund to satisfy any outstanding medical claims. O'NA failed to do so, and now state officials are seeking a $450,000 penalty, though they aren't optimistic about collecting it.

Today, O'NA has promised to reinvent itself as a "different type of insurance company," according to CEO Fay. She said in an affidavit that it is anticipating a capital infusion of as much as $120 million and has $500,000 in reserves in a money market account in a Salt Lake City bank. She also indicated the company would file for a license to legally operate in Maine. So far, that has not happened.

Zvenia is still active online, offering professional and consulting services through Zvenia and Associates in Las Vegas, which says on its website that it is a "law firm guided by Benjamin Zvenia, Dr PH, JD." The site posts a disclaimer: "All Nevada State legal matters are referred out; our lawyers & advocates are not licensed to practice Nevada State law."

O'NA presents a new wrinkle in an ongoing conflict: The states regulate insurance but the internet allows for nationwide sales, leaving consumers basically on their own.

Goodridge, the Maine consumer who sparked the investigation, said in an interview that she holds little hope of getting any money back. But she has kept other Mainers from the same troubles.

Though O'NA health plans are still available in many states, its website notes that coverage is not available in Maine."
State policymaking has been dominated by the executive decrees of Gov. Andrew Cuomo ever since the coronavirus pandemic began, but that is beginning to change as state lawmakers get ready to reconvene for the first time since they passed the state budget in early April.

The state Senate plans to meet next Tuesday and Wednesday, state Sen. Julia Salazar and a Senate source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak on the record, have confirmed to City & State. It remains to be seen whether the Assembly will do the same, but a two-way deal appears to be in the works on a dozen bills intended to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, NY1 reports.

State lawmakers have only met a handful of times since the pandemic began in early March. While the state budget addressed many issues, the economic damage from COVID-19 means means that many decisions still have to be made on state spending  especially if sweeping budget cuts have to be enacted to deal with an increasingly bleak fiscal situation.

Lawmakers had originally planned to adjourn for the year on June 2 so that members could return to their districts to prepare for the June 23 state legislative primaries. The legislative chambers, however, are always at the call of their respective leaders so additional session days could theoretically be held later in the year, to make up for all the lost legislating over the last two months.

Rank-and-file lawmakers have proposed plenty of bills in recent weeks, but legislative leaders have yet to officially announce which specific legislation will come up for a vote first. Rent, however, appears to be a top issue, especially with July rent due in less than two weeks, based on the past statements of State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

Both chambers passed resolutions in March which allow them to pass bills with just a handful of party leaders on the legislative floors. Though the rules are different for each chamber, most lawmakers would be able to work remotely when one or both of the chambers meets next week.

Besides passing bills to help renters stay in their homes, streamline the process of absentee voting, change unemployment eligibility and give frontline workers some hazard pay, lawmakers are are also looking to assuage critics who say the state Legislature has been missing in action during the pandemic, especially when it comes to checking the power of the governor.

The emergency powers approved by state lawmakers in early March gave Cuomo enormous leeway to deal with the pandemic. However, lawmakers can overrule him at any time by passing a concurrent resolution by a majority vote. That does not appear likely to happen next week, but Democrats in the state Senate at least appear eager to demonstrate that they are ready to get back to doing their jobs after purportedly focusing on constituent services for the past six weeks.

In recent weeks, good government groups  and some among the legislative rank-and-file  have repeatedly urged Stewart-Cousins and Heastie to reconvene their chambers sooner rather than later.

A Tuesday morning press release from Common Cause New York argued state lawmakers should either reconvene or forfeit the second half of the 2020 legislative session. Why should New Yorkers pay lawmakers $110,000  in the middle of a budget deficit  to do only half their jobs? Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, said Tuesday, said in the statement, according to Gannett. If they are so intent on shirking their responsibilities and not resuming session remotely, then their paycheck should reflect that.

Some legislators have chafed at suggestions that they are not earning their keep. And even liberals usually allied with Common Cause pushed back: state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi, Brad Hoylman, James Skoufis, Robert Jackson and Gustavo Rivera, issued a joint statement accusing the group of misleadingly using past statements from them in the Tuesday press release. The truth is that all our colleagues are working extremely hard to serve their constituents during this crisis, the lawmakers said in a joint statement. Senate President Stewart-Cousins has made it clear we will be coming back into session imminently.

State lawmakers have said similar things in past weeks, but they finally appear to be ready to make good on vows to continue the legislative session despite the doubters like the governor.

But before state lawmakers can begin claiming that they are really staging a political comeback of sorts, they still need to place one more piece of the legislative puzzle. Both the state Senate and the Assembly have teamed up in the past week on holding hearings about how the pandemic has affected small businesses and minority communities, but it remains to be seen whether the full Assembly also will meet next week.

A Heastie representative did not respond by publication time about the speakers plans. And, in keeping with New Yorks infamously top-down legislative workflow, the rank-and-file appear to be in the dark, as always. When City & State asked Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, one of many members who have said the time has come for lawmakers to get back to business, if she knew when that might happen, she said, I literally have no idea.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Emergency medicine doctor Gamal Mohamed, called on personal contacts at a New York based vitamin company, NoorVitamins, to formulate a Vitamin C supplement due to shortage during COVID pandemic. Noor responds with making the vitamin c and giving away 100,000 doses for free. Follow the link to receive your free supplement.

Responding to a need

Serving on the front line, Dr. Gamal Mohamed, an emergency medicine resident physician at Robert Wood Johnson in in New Jersey, has seen the impact of Covid-19 in one of the hardest hit locations in the country. In addition to caring for patients, he reached out to NoorVitamins, a company where he had a summer internship during his pre-medical education and encouraged them to formulate a vitamin c supplement. "While Vitamin C is not a cure, it can't hurt to do whatever possible to support immune health during this time" said Dr. Mohamed.

There has been a shortage of vitamin c on many pharmacy shelves and even price gouging when looking to buy the product online. "Many patients couldn't get vitamin C and I knew the Noor executive team personally, so I thought to ask them to help" added Dr. Mohamed.

NoorVitamins responded with not only making the Vitamin C supplement, but also giving it away for free.

"We're inspired by Dr. Mohamed and other front-line worker's efforts. He reminded us that we all have a role to play in getting our communities through this momentous time in history. This is our way of doing our part." Said Dr. Issa, President of NoorVitamins.

The vitamin C supplement will be free of charge on www.noorvitamins.com, customers will only pay for shipping if looking to get this product alone.

About NoorVitamins:

Noor Pharmaceuticals, makers of NoorVitamins is based in New York and is the first and only halal based pharmaceutical company. Its mission is to innovate nutrition and create desirable vitamins and supplements that are pure, potent and sustainable. Noor was founded and is still managed by doctors and produce all of their products in North America in Food and Drug Administration Good Manufacturing practices (FDA GMP) certified facilities.

Learn more at www.noorvitamins.com.

SOURCE Noor Vitamins

Related Links

noorvitamins.com


(Hedgeweek) Investors pulled more than USD85 billion out of hedge funds during March  some 2.7 per cent of total industry assets globally  amid growing fears over the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, new data from BarclayHedge shows.

To read this article:
Gov. Ron DeSantis denies he fired a Syracuse University alumna for allegedly refusing to censor Floridas coronavirus data as the state pushed for reopening.

Rebekah Jones, a Department of Health employee who developed a Covid-19 dashboard for Florida, said this week that she was fired for refusing to manipulate data to drum up support for the plan to reopen. NBC 2 reports Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried has called for an investigation in a letter, which said Jones was initially reassigned, after raising concerns, before being fired.

Some reports referred to Jones, who earned a dual bachelors degree in geography and journalism at SU in 2012, as a data scientist but DeSantis said thats not the case.

One, shes not a data scientist, he said. Shes somebody that has a degree in journalism and communication and geography. She is not the Chief Architect of our web portal. That is another false statement.

The Florida governor further said Jones was fired because of insubordination and charges of cyberstalking and online sexual harassment.

She didnt listen to the people who were her superiors, she had many people above her in the chain of command and so said she was dismissed because of that, DeSantis said. And because of a bunch of different reasons. Come to find out shes also under active criminal charges in the state of Florida. Shes being charged with cyber stalking and cyber sexual harassment. So Ive asked the Department of Health to explain to me how someone would be allowed to be charged with that, and continue on because this was many months ago, I have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, so her supervisor dismissed her because of a lot of those reasons, and it was a totally valid way, but she should have been dismissed, long before that.

WEAR-TV reports a man told Tallahassee Police that he was a victim of revenge porn by Jones in June 2019. He said he had an injunction against Jones and said she posted a website which included naked pictures of him, and shared it with his place of employment and family members.

Jones said May 5 that she had been removed from managing the dashboard, which tracked coronavirus testing and hospitalizations for the state of Florida. In a note to people who had signed up to receive updates on the data portal, she expressed concerns about possible data manipulation.

As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months," she said. "After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it.

In April, White House coronavirus task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx singled out Floridas dashboard as an example of data that will help states reopen from shutdowns.

If you go to the Florida Public Health website on COVID, theyve been able to show their communities cases and tests district by district, county by county, ZIP code by ZIP code, Birx told CBS Face the Nation. Thats the kind of knowledge and power we need to put into the hands of American people so that they can see where the virus is, where the cases are, and make decisions.

Concerns about the accuracy of coronavirus data has been raised in other states. Officials in at least three states  Virginia, Texas and Vermont  said they have been combining the results of viral tests, which show an active infection, with antibody tests, which show a past infection to show higher testing numbers but inaccurate pictures of how Covid-19 is spreading. Georgia briefly used a graph showing cases declining to support an early reopening, but the data was arranged in descending order, not chronological order, to make it look like numbers were trending downward.
An Accra Circuit Court has convicted Ofoulo Aboubacar Mohamed Jamal, a 20-year-old Malian for breaching restrictions on travels into the country.

Jamal was arrested by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Kambaa Immigration Inland Checkpoint in the Upper West Region for entering Ghana through an unapproved route during the pendency of imposition of restrictions on travels into the country.



He pleaded guilty for violating the Imposition of Restriction Act, 2020 (ACT 1012) and was convicted on his own plea by the Court presided over by Mr. Emmanuel Essandoh to a fine of 2,000 penalty units (GH24,000.00) or in default serve four years in prison.



A statement issued and signed by Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, Head of Public Affairs, was copied to the GNA to this effect.



According to the prosecution the conviction secured against the Malian was appropriate, and that, it would deter others from entering the country illegally.



The statement said "We pleaded with the court for stiffer punishment so as to deter others especially foreign nationals from breaching travel restrictions in this period of new normal".



Jamal has however paid the fine and has been handed over to the Operations Unit of the GIS for further action to be taken.



The facts, as presented by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), were that on March 30, 2020, Jamal was arrested at Kambaa Immigration Checkpoint by personnel of the Upper West Regional Immigration Command for illegally entering into the country through unapproved route during the pendency of the Imposition of Restriction on travels to Ghana.



According to the statement of the prosecution, Jamal was quarantined and examined for COVID-19 at the Wa General Hospital which proved negative and was subsequently referred to the National Headquarters of the GIS in Accra for further investigations.



The statement said investigations revealed that Jamal had his wife and two children residing in Accra, and also trades in Sugar, maize and other related products.



The prosecution said prior to the imposition of restrictions on travels to Ghana by the Government to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, Jamal made a business trip to Mali in the month of March this year.



The statement said in his quest to enter the country, notwithstanding the restrictions imposed on travels, he engaged the services of a motor rider, to convey him from the border of Burkina Faso to Ghana's border through an unapproved route in Hamile in the Upper West Region.



The statement said the convict continued on his journey to Accra but was arrested at the Kambaa Immigration Checkpoint at Nandom, also in the Upper West Region.



The statement said Jamal admitted to the offence and after investigations he was charged for violating the restrictions imposed on travels 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.

Featured Video
Technavio has been monitoring the isosorbide market and it is poised to grow by USD 258.77 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 10% 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/20200520005685/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Isosorbide 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. Archer Daniels Midland Co., Endo International Plc, J&K Scientific Ltd., Jinan Hongbaifeng Industry And Trade Co. Ltd., Meryer Chemical Technology Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp., Novaphene Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Roquette Freres SA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. are some of the major market participants. Although the rising demand from resin and polymers will offer immense growth opportunities, health hazards associated with isosorbide, high cost of manufacturing and threat of substitutes 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 rising demand from resin and polymers has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, health hazards associated with isosorbide, high cost of manufacturing, and threat of substitutes may hamper market growth.

Isosorbide Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Isosorbide Market is segmented as below:

End-user Resins and Polymers Additives Others

Geography APAC North America Europe 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=IRTNTR43778

Isosorbide 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 isosorbide market report covers the following areas:

Isosorbide Market Size

Isosorbide Market Trends

Isosorbide Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies rising demand for PEIT as one of the prime reasons driving the isosorbide market growth during the next few years.

Isosorbide Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the isosorbide market, including some of the vendors such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., Endo International Plc, J&K Scientific Ltd., Jinan Hongbaifeng Industry And Trade Co. Ltd., Meryer Chemical Technology Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp., Novaphene Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Roquette Freres SA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the isosorbide 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

Isosorbide Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist isosorbide market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the isosorbide market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the isosorbide market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of isosorbide 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

PEIT Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Polycarbonate Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Polyurethane Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Polyester polyisosorbide succinate Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Isosorbide diesters Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Application

Market Segmentation by End user

Market segments

Comparison by End user

Resins and polymers Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Additives Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Others Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by End user

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Endo International Plc

J&K Scientific Ltd.

Jinan Hongbaifeng Industry And Trade Co. Ltd.

Meryer Chemical Technology Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp.

Novaphene Specialities Pvt. Ltd.

Roquette Freres SA

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.

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/20200520005685/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
A 22-year-old woman was arrested



at Boisar in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Wednesday for allegedly killing her husband over the suspicion of illicit relationship, an official said.

According to police, the woman, Kavita Mourya, resided with her husband Arun (29) at Sai Lok Nagar in Boisar. He worked at a company.

"The woman suspected that her husband was in an extra-marital relationship. The husband-wife duo used to argue over this issue frequently," Palghar police spokesperson Hemant Katkar said.

On Monday, the accused woman attacked him with a metal rod and also kicked him in the stomach. He suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead, he said.

The police initially registered a case of accidental death. However, during the probe it came to light that the victim's wife was involved the crime, he said.

"Accordingly, a case was registered against her under IPC section 302 (murder) at Boisar police station on Tuesday evening, following which she was arrested," Katkar said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- The Florida Department of Health has released its daily activity report which lists numbers of unemployed people helped so far by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and the CareerSource Florida network during the pandemic. The beginning of the report reads as follows:

" The State of Florida is responding to COVID-19. In an effort to keep Florida residents and visitors safe and aware regarding the status of the virus, the Florida Department of Health will continue to issue this update every day through Phase 1 of Floridas reopening plan. Once the state moves into Phase 2, DOH will provide this update once per week. However, DOH will continue to update the COVID-19 dashboard and post the state report daily.

Governor Ron DeSantis is in constant communication with Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz and State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees as the State of Florida continues to monitor and respond to the threat of COVID-19.

Today (5/19/20), Governor DeSantis held a press conference in the Florida Cabinet Meeting room with Florida Department of Management Services Secretary Jonathan Satter and provided an update on Floridas reemployment assistance program and the states COVID-19 testing efforts.

Governor DeSantis announced that to date, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has paid 97.6% of eligible applicants and distributed more than $2.65 billion in reemployment assistance for Floridians. DEO has paid out more in the last 10 weeks, than it has in the last five years combined.

The Governors presentation is available here.

The Governor also announced the state is opening five additional walk-up testing sites in Daytona Beach, North Lauderdale, Miramar, Opa-Locka and Sarasota. These sites will be able to test up to 200 individuals per day.

Recent actions the state has taken to respond to COVID-19

As part of her Hope for Healing Florida initiative, First Lady Casey DeSantis recently announced that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) will be receiving a $1.9 million emergency grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which will provide crisis counseling and other mental health support for Floridians impacted by COVID-19.

More than half of CareerSource Floridas 24 local workforce development boards are now open by appointment to assist job seekers and businesses with employment needs, especially those dealing with impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

CareerSource Heartland, serving DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands and Okeechobee counties, plans to open by appointment on May 26.



Remaining boards will open by June 1, pending receipt of personal protective equipment and completion of safety protocol training to protect customers and employees.

The CareerSource Florida network has continued to provide employment and business services virtually, via telephone, by email and by appointment in some locations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the numbers, from March 1-May 13:



315,976 job seekers served





14,124 job seekers placed in employment





19,125 businesses served





1,300 job seekers enrolled in training





51,000 new jobs posted

The state workforce board and all 24 local workforce development boards are providing paper Reemployment Assistance applications at career centers and printable applications on their websites as well as assisting with CONNECT PIN resets and processing PEGA applications."

The rest of the department's report can be accessed at http://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2020/05/051920-2007-covid19.pr.html
Indias decision to join 62 countries to discuss the origin of the virus behind Covid-19 at the World Health Assembly is clearly aimed at China, although the draft resolution does not specifically name our northern neighbour. The assembly is expected to review the international response to the coronavirus pandemic, including that of the WHO, which is governed by the assembly. Although the US, which blames China for the pandemic, is not part of the exercise, many other nations such as Australia are using the opportunity for their own geopolitical ends.

That India has joined hands with the other nations is significant as it comes in the backdrop of the latent tension with China. It is said many multinational companies could be looking to exit China in the wake of the pandemic. India is hoping to be a major beneficiary of this and it would not have gone down well with China, which has hit back at New Delhi in many ways. Among them are the Peoples Liberation Armys manoeuvres in Sikkim and Ladakh and the pinpricks in Lipulekh through Nepal. The current Nepal Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, is perceived to be close to Beijing and his cabinet has reportedly approved a new map of the country that depicts Lipulekh in Nepal. Given these circumstances, Indias decision to join what is called a review of the origin of the virus is clearly aimed at needling China.

But whatever be the geopolitical compulsions of each nation, the exercise is much needed. If epidemics in the recent past, SARS, MERS and Zika, are anything to go by, they show that in a globalised world, no country can insulate itself from any disease. As renowned medical historian Frank Snowden said, an infected man can board a flight in Africa and eight hours later reach Singapore or any other destination in Southeast Asia and spread the virus. He has called the Covid-19 outbreak globalisations first pandemic. So whatever the WHOs drawbacks and its conduct during the current health crisis, epidemics will have to be fought jointly by all nations. The first step towards that is to get to the root of the ongoing pandemic.
SAN FRANCISCO and LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dama Financial announces its support of the City of Los Angeles Office of Finance plan to offer its 300+ cannabis business licensees an improved method for cash payment of city cannabis tax and licensing fees.

Under prior business practices, the City of Los Angeles accepted payments by credit card, ACH, or cash by appointment. Since COVID-19, access to cash payment appointments have been suspended due to social distancing and personal safety requirements which resulted in businesses without access to banking services unable to pay their taxes and fees in cash.

With a deadline of June 30th for ensuring tax obligations are current, and city approval for operations in 2020 quickly approaching, the City of Los Angeles partnered with Dama Financial to provide cannabis businesses a safe and convenient way to remit cash payments for taxes and licensing fees.

A licensed cannabis business with a CashToTax account can arrange for cash to be picked up by armored courier and deposited into a dedicated FDIC-Insured account for subsequent online tax and fee payments. Dama's solution is also considerably less than the 2.7% service fee assessed for credit card payments and also includes secured pickup of cash at the business location.

"The City of Los Angeles Office of Finance is pleased with Dama Financial's ability to support our cash paying cannabis businesses at a time when we are navigating an unprecedented disruption," said Claire Bartels, Director of Finance for the city. "CashToTax is a convenient payment solution for cannabis license holders to keep their businesses compliant and active."

"Dama Financial is excited to support the City of Los Angeles and its cannabis license holders. With CashToTax, the City is prioritizing the safety and health of its community, as well as empowering the cannabis related businesses by providing a new and electronic method to pay their taxes and permit fees," said Eric Kaufman, Dama Financial's Chief Revenue Officer.

Los Angeles license holders can apply online at www.cashtotax.com.

About the City of Los Angeles: Los Angeles, with a population of 4 million, is the second-largest city in the United States, and the most populous city in the state of California. With its diverse economy, the city hosts a broad range of businesses in all industries. It is also famous for its movie, television, and recording industry. The city has become the world's undisputed center of innovation and creativity that spur Los Angeles' growth and economic development.

About Dama Financial

Dama Financial provides transparent, sustainable banking and payment solutions to cash-intensive industries. Using innovative technology and data, Dama Financial exceeds the compliance and regulatory requirements for servicing high-risk businesses. Payments industry experts have come together to enable the cannabis industry, an unbanked category, to achieve their potential by removing the barriers that exclude them from accessing fundamental financial solutions. For more information, visit www.DamaFinancial.com.

Press Contact:

Dama Financial

1-877-401-3262

[email protected]

Website: www.damafinancial.com

SOURCE Dama Financial

Related Links

http://www.damafinancial.com


Reopen Illinois rally takes place outside the Bank of Springfield Center as members of the Illinois House of Representatives meet inside for the first time in more than two months to take up a state budget and other matters while following strict social distancing rules during the coronavirus pandemic on May 20, 2020, in Springfield. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
The most competitive Metro Council race in at least a decade will continue until November, with the top two vote-getters headed for a runoff.

None of the five candidates vying to represent North and Northeast Portland on Metros Council won a majority of the vote Tuesday. So, voters will decide the race in November.

Mary Nolan, a former state legislator, city of Portland bureau director and House Majority leader, won 35% of the vote in partial returns, not enough to claim outright victory.

She is headed for a runoff, likely with transportation policy fan Chris Smith.

Nolan was the clear leader in the five-way race, according to votes tallied as of 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Smith appeared headed into the runoff as well, given his steady but narrow lead over Cameron Whitten. At 1 p.m. Wednesday, Smith was credited with 23% of the vote, Whitten with 20%.

Smith, 60, is a retired computer engineer and member of the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission. Smith campaigned on whats long been his passion  transportation issues. He believes Metro should exert more authority over TriMet and the Oregon Department of Transportation. Whitten, a 29-year-old community activist who most recently led the nonprofit LGBTQ+ community center, Q Center, had 19% of the vote. He talked about affordable housing and the need for climate action regionwide.

Nolan highlighted legislative experience and her support from the Democratic party establishment as well as her practical experience in Salem and city government as her top strengths.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

The five candidates competed to replace Sam Chase, a former chief of staff to the late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish. Chase declined to seek reelection and entered another competitive race, to fulfill the remainder of Fishs City Council term. According to partial returns Tuesday, Chase appeared unlikely to make the runoff in the City Council race.

The eventual winner of the Metro seat will join the council as it faces interesting and complex work. The regional government is still expected to ask voters to approve a $7 billion transportation package in November. Voters on Tuesday also appeared to have approved a region-wide homeless services package. Metro is also managing a $652.8 million affordable housing bond approved by voters in 2018 and must endure significant financial blows to its budget with the Oregon Zoo, Convention Center and Expo Center temporarily out of business due to the coronavirus.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
COVID-19 & Teacher Trauma

Caring for Educators is the First Step in Serving Students

With studies showing that teachers are more stressed than soldiers returning from battle, now is the time to focus on their mental and emotional health.

Meta-analyst Dr. John Hattie, whose work on visible learning draws from one of the largest sets of research data ever assembled, asks the simple question, What makes the biggest difference in educational outcomes? Year after year, the findings are the same. Teachers self-confidence ranks at the very top of the highest-impact factors for learning.

The idea for a book I co-wrote, Whole: What Teachers Need to Help Students Thrive, began with a provocative finding: teachers are the fourth-most stressed occupation in the United States. According to Gallup, more than one in 10 teachers are desperate to leave the profession, and more than half of all educators are not fully engaged in their work.

As my fellow authors and I visited schools in neighborhoods blighted by poverty and hopelessness (a sort of urban battlefield) we found one central, common factor across schools that were succeeding despite their local environment: a priority of caring for the mental well-being of their educators. Successful student learning outcomes began with caring about teachers, prioritizing their mental health and feeding their combined self-confidence.

And then there was COVID-19. Confined to working from home, with existing lesson plans no longer adequate, challenged to quickly learn new technologies and removed from students themselves, the American teacher corps is experiencing the single most traumatic and transformative event of the modern era. What are the mental health priorities now?

First, we must honor that our educators are experiencing just as much anxiety and stress as many of our students.

Because they are part of an aging demographic, we can expect some of our colleagues will not return this fall, taken from us by COVID-19. A greater number will be impacted by the loss of a loved one, by the emotional hardships of social confinement and by the increased anxiety caused by economic uncertainty for their family. We cannot expect educators to return to us this fall without mental and emotional needs resulting from their grief, their economic anxiety, and their personal loss.

Good schools begin with great leaders. The mental health, positive outlook and self-confidence of our school leaders are equally important. What is true for teachers is also true for our leadership. They will need care and support.

We are quickly beginning to find solutions to the immediate problems of self-care, vigilant observation of student risk factors, and effective crisis teaching. My co-author Michelle Kinder and I have collected a set of key nudges to prioritize in our daily conversations with our colleagues.

Establish a routine in your day, get dressed professionally, and put on your teacher persona. While sweatpants are inviting, our mental health is impacted by our routine and our costume, as is our self-confidence and positive outlook. That said, sleeping a bit later (no need to commute!) can help energize and ignite your passion. Speaking of passion, now is the time to escape the weariness of mandated curriculum and engage your creative mind and curious self. Consider the skills you want your students to learn, connect those skills to an area of study or topic that interests you, and let your own passion ignite that of your students. Excitement, curiosity, interest, and engagement can be communicated via a webcam and digital platform. Speaking of webcams, please use one. Ask your students to do the same, if possible. More than 90 percent of communication happens non-verbally. We are not fully engaged in teaching and learning if we cannot see each other. Exercise, be mindful of alcohol intake, and take time for daily reflection. Embracing that each of us is hurting, and giving ourselves permission to grieve our lost routines and joys, are the first steps towards healing. Make learning bite-sized, assume it will take students two to three times longer to learn a skill, and honor that were not engaged in distance learningwere engaged in crisis teaching. Check in daily with students about their feelings and emotions. Minds follow hearts. Care about the kids before you concern yourself with tests, grades, and other outcomes. Finally, plan now for a transformed school environment. Flexible classrooms to allow physical distance, professional development focused on teacher-student relationships and trauma informed teaching, and strategies for measuring student learning readiness are urgent next steps.

The lesson we learned in researching our book is simple: Educators mental and emotional health is the foundation of effective teaching and learning. Today, teachers self-confidence is diminished due to high levels of occupational stress. In a COVID-19 world, caring for our educators is an area of urgent priority.
A student walks inside a francophone primary school during its reopening in Jumet, as a small part of Belgian children head back to their schools with new rules and social distancing measures, during the outbreak of the CCP virus in Jumet, Belgium, on May 18, 2020. (Yves Herman/Reuters)

Children With COVID-19 May Be Less Contagious Than Adults, Two UK Epidemiologists Say

LONDONThere are tentative signs that children may not spread the CCP virus as much as adults, two top epidemiologists said on May 19, though they cautioned that the bad news was that human immunity may not last that long.

As Europe and the United States start to return to work after lockdowns imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, world leaders are trying to work out when it is safe for children and students to get back to their studies.

Dr. Rosalind Eggo, an infectious disease modeler at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said she had seen some indications from research that children may not spread the CCP virus as much as adults.

There are hints that children are less infectious but it is not certain, Eggo, who sits on a panel that advises the British government about the transmission of COVID-19 among children and within schools, told the science committee of the House of Lords, the second chamber of Britains parliament.

Eggo said that for children who show no sign of being infected it was very difficult to tell how contagious they were, though she said there was a little bit of evidence starting to appear that there may be a lower possibility of infection from them.

We need more studies to really pin this down as it is so important, Eggo said.

She said that her research had shown that there was a much lower level of symptomatic infection in those under 20 years-oldperhaps as little as 20 percent of infections showing clinical symptoms.

We think that children are less likely to get it so far but it is not certain, she said. We are very certain that children are less likely to have severe outcomes.

Eggo could not immediately be reached for further comment on the research she was referring to.

Children wearing face masks leave their elementary school at the end of the day in Xindian District, New Taipei, Taiwan, on March 3, 2020. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

Immunity May Not Last

John Edmunds, a member of Britains Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told the same science committee hearing that it was striking how children did not seem to play much of a role in spreading the CCP virus.

French Education and Youth Affairs Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer wearing a mask meets children as he visits a school in Paris, France, on May 11, 2020. It was the first day of Frances easing of lockdown measures that had been in place for 55 days to curb the spread of the CCP virus. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

It is unusual that children dont seem to play much of a role in transmission because for most respiratory viruses and bacteria they play a central role, but in this they dont seem to, said Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

There is only one documented outbreak associated with a schoolwhich is amazing; you would normally expect most of the outbreaks to be associated with schools but yet in global literature there is only one documented study, Edmunds said, citing a study of a French secondary school. It is pretty remarkable.

He said that, more broadly, the evidence of transmission from asymptomatic individualswhich may be about 30 or 40 percent of adultswas not clear.

But he added there was potentially bad newsthat human immunity to the CCP virus may not last long.

Antibody responses decline over time from survivors of SARS so after a couple of years their antibodies have declined quite significantly, Edmunds said, referring to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which is also caused by a type of CCP virus.

We can also see from other coronavirusesthe ones that cause coughs and coldsthat individuals again do seem to not have particularly long-term immunity to many of those viruses and so allowing them to be infected later.

So thats potentially bad news for us: that immunity may not last that long against this virus, he said.

By Guy Faulconbridge

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. has won Stevie Awards for two groundbreaking legal solutions as part of The 2020 American Business Awards. The accolades include a Gold Stevie Award for the Sexual Harassment & Workplace Compliance Suite on Cheetah and a Bronze Award for ftwilliam.com's Distribution Tracking Software (DTS).

The Sexual Harassment & Workplace Compliance Suite on Cheetah, which won a Gold Stevie Award in the Legal Information Solution category, delivers essential resources on preventative measures and effective responses to claims of sexual harassment in the workplace. This innovative digital suite provides guidance on sexual harassment prevention, workplace best practices, relevant news updates, and proper handling of claims for employment law attorneys, compliance and human resource professionals, and in-house corporate counsel. Users can also find ready-to-use practice tools to properly address harassment investigation issues and litigation matters, saving them valuable time, money and resources.

ftwilliam.com's DTS, which earned a Bronze Stevie Award for Human Capital Management Solution, automates all tasks associated with preparing and tracking distributions and saves retirement service providers time, reduces risk, and lowers operating costs. The solution also offers built-in accountability tools to streamline communication, collect data, and make distribution preparation and tracking faster and more efficient. These tools are also accompanied by real-time updates to combat costly Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) filings and keep clients informed.

"Both of these solutions were developed as part of Wolters Kluwer's continued efforts to provide our customers with the right tools to deliver deep impact by harnessing expert information, actionable insight, and intelligent tools," said Dean Sonderegger, head of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. "We are thrilled that the 2020 American Business Awards have recognized these solutions for their ability to drive value, efficiency and productivity for the legal professionals we serve."

All organizations operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations to The American Business Awards in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work. More than 3,600 nominations were reviewed in the judging process this year by more than 200 professionals. Wolters Kluwer was on a short list of companies winning five or more American Business Awards in 2020.

To learn more about the Sexual Harassment & Workplace Compliance Suite on Cheetah, visit: https://lrus.wolterskluwer.com/store/cheetah/sexual-harassment-workplace-compliance/

To learn more about ftwilliam.com Distribution Tracking Software, visit: http://product.ftwilliam.com/products/distribution-tracking-software/

About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

For more information about Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., visit www.WoltersKluwerLR.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media

Linda Gharib

Director, Communications

Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

Tel: +1 (646) 887-7962

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
Princess Eugenie's in-laws were told to 'expect for the worst' when her husband's father battled life-threatening coronavirus, his wife has revealed.

Jack Brookbank's father George, 71, who lives in London, fell ill with the disease in mid-March after a trip to France.

He spent five weeks on a ventilator fighting for his life at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital before having a tracheotomy, and he has now recovered from the disease.

His wife Nicola, 66, who also contracted coronavirus but did not need hospital treatment, paid tribute to doctors who saved his life, saying: 'We were not able to see him throughout his treatment and more than once we were told to expect the worst.'

Princess Eugenie's father-in-law George Brooksbank, 66, battled life-threatening coronavirus and spent five weeks on a ventilator, with the family told to 'expect the worst' (pictured, at the royal wedding in October 2018)

George, whose son Jack married the Queen's grand-daughter in 2018, ended up being in hospital for nine weeks, said a spokesman for Eugenie's mother Sarah, Duchess of York.

After a tracheotomy, his condition gradually improved and he was moved to a ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital which specialised in heart and lung conditions in people recovering from Covid-19.

He then underwent a further period of rehabilitation at an institution in Roehampton.

George said he now felt 'absolutely fine', attributing his recovery to the several weeks of recuperation in hospital.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were told to 'expect the worst' as George battled the disease in hospital for nine weeks

'The point I really want to get across is that I think the NHS is absolutely magnificent,' said George, who lives with his wife Nicola, 66, in Wandsworth, south London.

'The way I was treated was incredible. Nothing was too much trouble and at no point did I get a sense of a shortage of doctors or nurses or any impression that the service was in any way overwhelmed.

'There was always somebody at hand. I want to offer profound thanks to everyone who was involved.'

He described his treatment as 'incredible', revealing: 'It was a real eye-opener for somebody who has not been in hospital before for any length of time. I certainly owe NHS doctors and nurses my life.'

Meanwhile Jack's mother Nicola, who also contracted the disease but did not require hospital treatment, said the family 'could not be more grateful' to the NHS for saving her husband's life

Nicola, who also contracted the disease but is recovering at home without hospital treatment, echoed her husband's tribute to the NHS for saving his life.

She said: 'Without doubt, they saved him, and we could not be more grateful.'

Eugenie is likely to have kept her grandmother the Queen informed about her father-in-law's health.

The princess and the Brooksbank family were said to be relieved after he overcame the virus and the retired chartered accountant and company director said he was making a good recovery.

While Princess Eugenie hasn't commented on George's battle publicly, she has been playing an active role on social media to highlight the work of NHS staff on the frontline

George's illness comes after the Prince of Wales suffered from Covid-19, although his symptoms were mild.

While Princess Eugenie has not commented publicly on George's battle, she has played an active role on social media during the pandemic, highlighting work done to support NHS staff working on the frontline.

The Queen's granddaughter and her husband Jack have been in lockdown during the pandemic with the Duke and Duchess of York at their home of the Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:01:20|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. sanctions have hurt the Iranians over the past years, but they also led to great achievements such as self-sufficiency in many areas, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.

"Despite the harsh conditions of the country and the illegal and unjust sanctions and the severe economic pressure of the United States, production in Iran has not stopped," Rouhani was cited by the state TV as saying.

"We are witnessing great successes such as self-sufficiency in wheat and other food and agricultural products," he said.

Besides, Iran has become self-sufficient in gasoline, gas and diesel production today, he noted.

The boost in medical infrastructure in the country for years has also helped the Iranian health officials to respond to the novel coronavirus properly, he added.

The U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the Iranian 2015 landmark nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran's financial and energy sectors seeking to press Iran for renewed nuclear deal and a curb in its ballistic missile program. Tehran, however, dismissed U.S. calls and vowed resistance against the pressures.
MIDLAND COUNTY, MI  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered the owner of the Sanford Dam to establish an independent investigation team to determine why floodwaters overflowed the structure.

A Wednesday, May 20 letter from David Capka, director of the Division of Dam Safety and Inspections for FERC, directs Boyce Hydro Power, LLC to form the team to undertake a forensic analysis of the root cause of the overtopping damage to Sanford Dam as well as any other contributing causes.

In the letter, Boyce was also directed to fully lower the reservoirs behind Sanford Dam, Smallwood Dam, and Secord Dam in a safe manner as flows recede. You are also directed to perform a dam safety inspection of these dams immediately and within 3 days after the flows recede.

Neil Chatterjee, FERC Chairman, said in a statement the commission will send a staff engineer to the site to assist with the investigation, when it is appropriate and safe to do so.

During a Wednesday afternoon press conference, Midland City Manager Brad Kaye called it a dam failure by their standards, but officials will not be able to determine how much damage has taken place until the water recedes.

The waters coming at us, and thats close enough to call it a failure, he said. What were not entirely sure of (is) what the structure under that water is, in other words how much of it is gone, how much of it is still there. That will in part dictate how the flood responds from this point forward.

A Michigan State Police helicopter was monitoring and filming the river and structures Wednesday.

FERC also noted they will contact the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy regarding the Edenville Dam.

Sanford Dam remains intact, Dow shuts down operations in Midland as a precaution

Boyce Hydro also owns the Edenville Dam  which failed Tuesday afternoon  as well as the Secord and Smallwood dams.

Federal energy regulators pulled the Edenville Dam operators license in 2018 after concerns arose the spillway could not pass enough water to avoid a failure amid a flood.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) assumed regulatory authority for the 96-year-old Edenville Dam in late 2018 after its license to generate hydropower was revoked.

In a 2018 filing, regulators characterized dam owner Boyce Hydro as chronically non-compliant with regulatory requests to upgrade the dam. FERC wanted Boyce Hydro owner Lee Mueller of Las Vegas, Nev. to build additional spillways to reduce the risk of failure. The dam had six spillways at two sites.

Boyce Hydro has repeatedly failed to comply with regulators who wanted Mueller to develop and implement plans and schedules to address the fact that the project spillways are not adequate to pass the probable maximum flood, thereby creating a grave danger to the public, FERC deputy secretary Nathaniel Davis wrote.

Residents told to evacuate after Edenville Dam failure in Midland County

Boyce Hydro had agreed to sell Edenville Dam and three others to a local task force that hoped to oversee repairs and bring stability to impoundment lake levels after years of discord between dam owner Mueller and lakefront homeowners.

Mueller acquired the dam in 2004 and sold power generated by its operations to Consumers Energy.

The Four Lakes Task Force signed a $9.4 million purchase agreement in December to buy Wixom, Sanford, Secord and Smallwood lake bottomlands and the dams that regulate river impoundments from Boyce Trusts, according task force chairman Dave Kepler.

The deal was expected to close later this year.

Kepler, a former Dow Chemical executive who owns a home on Sanford Lake, said Boyce Hydro got to a point where it couldnt make enough money from power generation to cover the cost of dam maintenance and upkeep. With state and county backing, the task force planned to acquire and upgrade the dams to bring them in line with federal requirements.

According to the task force, upgrades were already underway. About $300,000 in repairs were completed in March to the dams pier noses, wing walls and the gate system. Another $2 million in upgrades, including the installation of new gate hoists and de-icing improvements, were planned next winter.

Feds warned years ago Edenville Dam couldnt handle a historic flood

This has been a longstanding problem, Kepler said.

A phone call to Boyce Hydros Sanford office was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Regulators conducted an inspection in October 2018 and found the Edenville Dam in fair structural condition, said EGLE spokesperson Nick Assendelft. However, we did have strong concerns that the dam did not have enough spillway capacity.

We had taken enforcement action against the dams owner for drawing down water levels without permission and for damage to natural resources as a result of those drawdowns, Assendelft said. EGLE was pursuing additional enforcement against Boyce Hydro at the time of the breach.

Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades, Assendelft said. That, combined with the historic rainfall and flooding, were factors in the Edenville failure.

Floodwaters were forecast to peak at 38 feet along the Tittabawassee River, more than four feet above the record flood level of 33.9 feet that occurred on September 13, 1986.

The river is expected to begin falling Wednesday tonight, but remain above major flood stage until Thursday night. By late Friday or early Saturday, the Tittabawassee River should have dropped to minimal flood levels, according to the official NOAA river forecast.

Related news:

Record flooding that broke dam in Midland County will surpass 1986 level

Bridge destroyed as flood waters rage in mid-Michigan

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Humane Society of Midland County on mission to keep pets safe during flooding

Michigan DNR aiding in removing residents, pets in Midland flood zones

M-30 bridge destroyed after nearby dam failure

Michigan National Guard helping in flood rescue efforts in Midland County
By Akbar Mammadov

Defence Minister Zakir Hasanov and the leadership of the ministry, who are in the frontline zone as part of the Large-Scale Operational-Tactical Exercises, have visited the Command Control Post deployed in the terrain in the field conditions, the ministry's press service reported on May 20.

The minister visited the groups of operation management, logistic, combat control, artillery, reconnaissance, air defence, and control of other troops, and gave relevant instructions in connection with the activities of staffs.

Furthermore, the Defense Ministry leadership inspected the combat capability of military equipment of the military units stationed in the frontline zone. "Colonel-General Z. Hasanov watched the foremost positions of the armed forces of Armenia and gave relevant instructions", the ministry said.

During his visit to the frontline zone in the exercises area, Zakir Hasanov has also heard the reports of commanders of the types of troops, commanders of Army Corps and relevant officers on decision-making process.

Thus, the forces and means involved in the exercises have taken positions on the terrain, and control points were deployed in the area of responsibility, missile, and anti-aircraft artillery systems have taken reserve firing and starting positions.

At the same time, as part of the exercises, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crews have carried out reconnaissance at various altitudes and transmitted the received information to control centres.

During the drills, UAV crews also worked out issues of detecting the positions and also targeted the imaginary enemy and transferring the relevant information to the fire control centre of artillery units.

These exercises allowed observing the results of the use of artillery and making the necessary adjustments.

Thus, UAVs that designed for conducting optical and radio-electronic reconnaissance of the terrain are used during the fulfilment of the tasks.

The Azerbaijani Army started large-scale operational-tactical exercises in line with the combat exercises plan for 2020 on May 18.

The drills will last till May 22 and involve various types and kinds of troops, military associations and units of the Azerbaijani Army.

Up to 10,000 servicemen, about 120 tanks and armoured vehicles, up to 200 rocket and artillery systems of various calibres, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, up to 30 military and frontline aircraft, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles for various purposes will take part in the exercises.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A special issue of Nature has published a series of studies looking at how monitoring Antarctica from space is providing crucial insights into its response to a warming climate.

Here are their key findings:

Three trillion tonnes of ice has been lost from Antarctica since 1992

The Antarctic Ice Sheet lost around three trillion tonnes of ice between 1992 and 2017, according to research led by Leeds University.

This figure corresponds to a mean sea-level rise of about eight millimetres (1/3 inch), with two-fifths of this rise coming in the last five years alone.

The finds mean people in coastal communities are at greater risk of losing their homes and becoming so-called climate refugees than previously feared.

In one of the most complete pictures of Antarctic ice sheet change to date, an international team of 84 experts combined 24 satellite surveys to yield the results.

It found that until 2012 Antarctica lost ice at a steady rate of 76 billion tonnes per year - a 0.2mm (0.008 inches) per year contribution to sea level rise.

However, since then there has been a sharp, threefold increase.

At some point since the last Ice Age, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was smaller than it is today

Researchers previously believed that since the last ice age, around 15,000 years ago, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) was getting smaller

However, new research published by Northern Illinois University shows that between roughly 14,500 and 9,000 years ago, the ice sheet below sea level was even smaller than today.

Over the following millennia, the loss of the massive amount of ice that was previously weighing down the seabed spurred an uplift in the sea floor.

Then the ice sheet began to regrow toward today's configuration.

'The WAIS today is again retreating, but there was a time since the last Ice Age when the ice sheet was even smaller than it is now, yet it didn't collapse,' said Northern Illinois University geology professor Reed Scherer, a lead author on the study.

'That's important information to have as we try to figure out how the ice sheet will behave in the future', he said.

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet was stable throughout the last warm period

The stability of the largest ice sheet on Earth is an indication to scientists that it could hold up as temperatures continue to rise.

If all the East Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, the sea level would rise by 175 feet (53 metres).

However, unlike the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets it seems it would be resistant to melting as conditions warm, according to research from Purdue University and Boston College.

Their research showed that land-based sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet were mostly stable throughout the Pliocene (5.3 to 2.6 million years ago).

This is when carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere were close to what they are today - around 400 parts per million.

'Based on this evidence from the Pliocene, today's current carbon dioxide levels are not enough to destabilise the land-based ice on the Antarctic continent,' said Jeremy Shakun, lead author of the paper and assistant professor of earth and environmental science at Boston College.

'This does not mean that at current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, Antarctica won't contribute to sea level rise.

'Marine-based ice very well could and in fact is already starting to contribute, and that alone holds an estimated 20 meters of sea level rise,' he said.

Decisions in the next decade will determine whether Antarctica contributes to a metre of sea level rise

One of the largest uncertainties in future sea-level rise predictions is how the Antarctic ice sheet reacts to human-induced global warming.

Scientists say that time is running out to save this unique ecosystem and if the right decisions are not made in the next ten years there will be no turning back.

Researchers from Imperial College London assessed the state of Antarctica in 2070 under two scenarios which represent the opposite extremes of action and inaction on greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the high emissions and low regulations narrative, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean undergo widespread and rapid change, with global consequences.

By 2070, warming of the ocean and atmosphere has caused dramatic loss of major ice shelves, leading to increased loss of grounded ice from the Antarctic Ice Sheet and an acceleration in global sea level rise.

Under the low emissions and tight regulations narrative, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and implementation of effective policy helps to minimise change in Antarctica, which in 2070 looks much like it did in the early decades of the century.

This results in Antarctica's ice shelves remaining intact, slowing loss of ice from the ice sheet and reducing the threat of sea level rise.

What saved the West Antarctic Ice Sheet 10,000 years ago will not save it today

The retreat of the West Antarctic ice masses after the last Ice Age was reversed surprisingly about 10,000 years ago, scientists found.

In fact it was the shrinking itself that stopped the shrinking: relieved from the weight of the ice, the Earth crust lifted and triggered the re-advance of the ice sheet.

According to research from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) this mechanism is much too slow to prevent dangerous sea-level rise caused by West Antarctica's ice-loss in the present and near future.

Only rapid greenhouse-gas emission reductions can, researchers found.

'The warming after the last Ice Age made the ice masses of West Antarctica dwindle,' said Torsten Albrecht from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

'Given the speed of current climate-change from burning fossil fuels, the mechanism we detected unfortunately does not work fast enough to save today's ice sheets from melting and causing seas to rise.'

The world's ice shelves may be being destabilised by forces from above and below

Researchers found that warm ocean water flowing in channels beneath Antarctic ice shelves is thinning the ice from below so much that the ice in the channels is cracking.

Surface meltwater can then flow into these fractures, further destabilising the ice shelf and increasing the chances that substantial pieces will break away.

The researchers, led by the University of Texas at Austin, documented this mechanism in a major ice break up, or calving, event in 2016 at Antarctica's Nansen Ice Shelf.

The findings are concerning because ice shelves, which are floating extensions of continental glaciers, slow down the flow of ice into the ocean and help control the rate of sea level rise, according to the study.

'We are learning that ice shelves are more vulnerable to rising ocean and air temperatures than we thought,' said Professor Christine Dow, lead author of the study.

'There are dual processes going on here. One that is destabilising from below, and another from above.

'This information could have an impact on our projected timelines for ice shelf collapse and resulting sea level rise due to climate change', he said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A proposed bill that would block Cuyahoga County and other local governments from banning single-use plastic bags took another step forward on Wednesday, advancing past a state Senate committee.

The Ohio Senates State and Local Government Committee voted 6-3 to advance House Bill 242, recommending it for passage by the full Senate. The committees three Democrats voted no, while all the yes votes came from Republicans, including the committees chair, Sen. Nathan Manning of Lorain County and Sen. Michael Rulli, who represents the Youngstown area and whose family owns a grocery store chain there.

If the Senate were to pass the law, it would head to Gov. Mike DeWines desk for his signature. The Ohio House passed the bill last December.

The legislation is meant to pre-empt local governments like Cuyahoga from banning plastic bags, which proponents have done for environmental reasons. Republican state lawmakers, meanwhile, have sided with business groups, including grocery store owners, who have said banning bags would drive up their costs, or force them to pass the costs along to customers, and reduce consumer choice.

Senate committee members on Wednesday heard testimony for and against the bill that gave familiar arguments.

But supporters drew on current events to generate a new argument in favor of the bill: the current coronavirus pandemic.

Gary Smith, an attorney for the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance, a plastic manufacturing industry group, said many grocers and other retailers are temporarily banning reusable bags and containers during the pandemic.

Banning these single use containers would only serve to make retailers operations more difficult during a global pandemic, he said.
Last week, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the reduction of statutory provident fund contribution by both employers and employees for the next three months to 10 percent of basic wages from 12 percent.

New Delhi: The labour ministry on Tuesday said employees can contribute more than the newly set limit of 10 percent of basic wages to their provident fund (PF) for the next three months, but employers don't need to match the higher contributions.

In a statement, the ministry said, "Under the EPF Scheme, 1952, any member has the option to contribute at a rate higher than statutory rate (10 percent) and employer can restrict his contributions 10 percent in respect of such employee."

Employer contributions to the social security scheme run by the EPFO shall be 10 percent of the wages of May, June and July due in June, July and August, respectively, the statement explained.

The Ministry on Monday notified lower rates of provident fund contribution at 10 percent, increasing the in-hand salary of 4.3 crore provident fund subscribers.

Last week, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the reduction of statutory provident fund contribution by both employers and employees for the next three months to 10 percent of basic wages from 12 percent.

The reduction of rate of contribution is not applicable to establishments like Central and State Public Sector enterprises or any other establishment owned or controlled by or under control of the Central Government or State Government.

These establishments shall continue to contribute 12 percent of basic pay and dearness allowances (DA).

EPF contributions are paid as proportion of basic wages which include basic pay and DA.

As a result of reduction in statutory rate of contributions, the employee shall have a higher take home pay due to reduction in deduction from his pay on account of EPF contributions and employer shall also have his liability reduced by 2 percent of basic wages of his employees.
The Trump administration has granted at least 76 petitions to cut royalty payments for oil and natural gas produced on public land in Utah -- a move condemned by critics as encouraging production the market doesnt need.

The Bureau of Land Management approved all 76 petitions it received for leases in Utah since May 1, according to an online government database. The approvals temporarily lower royalty rates so that oil companies can pay the federal government as little as 2.5% the value of oil and natural gas extracted from the tracts, instead of the usual 12.5% rate. The initial wave of data only reflects royalty relief applications in Utah, though requests from other states are also under review.

The move is designed to aid oil companies fighting to survive after the coronavirus pandemic quashed fuel demand and a price war broke out between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Prices have recovered somewhat from epic lows in April as global producers curb output and U.S. oil companies halt production at some wells.

Yet conservationists said the Trump administrations decision would encourage more oil production at a time when storage tanks are filling up and the industry still needs to curtail output.

Theyre neck deep in oil and were throwing them an anchor, said David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship. Not only does this boneheaded move shortchange American taxpayers and Western states at the worst possible time, it incentivizes oil production during the worst oil glut in history, Jenkins said.

The Interior Department earlier rebuffed pleas by some oil industry advocates to grant widespread royalty relief and issue a blanket waiver governing leases on land and in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Land Management, however, promised to expedite reviews of royalty relief petitions for onshore leases, especially for companies arguing production from existing wells would be halted without it.

The Bureau of Land Management said that it is not granting any special treatment, despite the clamor for blanket relief.

BLM state offices are only approving suspension of operations and royalty rate reduction applications when it is in the best interest of conservation to do so or when it would encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of our natural resources, the agency said in an emailed statement. The BLM is following laws and regulations that have existed for decades and across multiple administrations.

For offshore oil leases, companies can seek royalty relief through a more lengthy, multi step application process and under narrow terms that industry advocates say could make it impossible to win waivers.
 Flash

Palestine on Tuesday declared the abolition of all agreements and understandings with Israel and the U.S. in protest against the Israeli plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the end of an urgent leadership meeting held in Ramallah.

Israel will shoulder all responsibilities and obligations as an occupying power, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, Abbas said.

The convention holds the occupying power responsible for protecting the civilian population under occupation and their property, criminalizing collective punishment, banning theft of resources, appropriation and annexation of land, banning forced transfer of the population, he added.

Abbas's decision came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration of his plan to annex parts of the West Bank and apply Israeli law on the Israeli settlements built there, as his new government was sworn in before the parliament on Sunday.

In his speech, Abbas held the U.S. administration "fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people and we consider it a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government in all its aggressive and unfair decisions and measures against our people."

He urged the countries that have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, known as Deal of the Century, to take "deterrent steps and impose serious sanctions to prevent the Israeli occupation state from implementing its schemes and its continuing denial of the rights of our people."

Furthermore, Abbas declared that the state of Palestine will press ahead with signing and joining more international agreements and conventions.

"We will continue to pursue the occupation for its crimes against our people at all international authorities and courts. In this context, we affirm our confidence in the independence and integrity of the International Criminal Court," he added.
Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday

New Delhi: Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the US said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China.

"The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's in the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China," said Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department.

Her comments at an online media briefing came even as efforts to de-escalate the tense situation in the sensitive areas continued.

Sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake.

The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.

The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two for over six decades. They had a showdown over it in 1962 as well.

The sources said the Chinese side has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley area following which India has also sent reinforcements to keep a hawk-eye vigil in the area.

The sources said the Chinese side had taken strong exception to India undertaking construction of a key road around the Galwan river.

On 5 May, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on 9 May. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on the escalating tension between the two armies.

In its reaction to the two face-offs, the Ministry of External Affairs last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier.

It is learnt that additional troops have also been rushed in to several areas in northern Sikkim as part of their aggressive posturing in guarding the disputed border.

A report by China's official media on Monday said Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures in the Galwan Valley in the Aksai Chin region.

The aggressive posturing by the two sides came amid India's escalating border row with Nepal over construction of a strategically key road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 km along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 8 May.

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.

China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a Union Territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh.

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.
Bengaluru, May 20 : A 43-year-old man from Bengaluru Urban succumbed to Covid-19, even as 67 new positive cases raised Karnataka's tally to 1,462, an official said on Wednesday.

"Positive case number 1,236, a 43-year-old male, resident of Bengaluru Urban, died on Wednesday," said a health official.

The deceased had a history of hypertension, myocarditis and inter-state travel history to Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

This is Karnataka's 41st Covid death and Bengaluru Urban's ninth.

Meanwhile, 67 new coronavirus cases emerged in the past 24 hours in the state.

"New cases reported between 5 p.m. on Tuesday to Wednesday 5 p.m. were 67," said the Health Department official.

Of the total cases, 864 are active, 556 were discharged and 41 patients dead.

On Wednesday, 13 patients were discharged while 15 are in the ICU.

Across the state, 1.66 lakh samples were tested for Covid-19, out of which 1.64 lakh tested negative.

On Wednesday, cases spiked in Hassan, Kalaburagi and Bidar among others.

Among the new cases, Hassan contributed 21, followed by Bidar (10), Mandya (8), Kalaburagi (7), Udupi (6), Bengaluru Urban, Raichur and Tumkur (4 each), Yadagiri, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada (1 each).

Of the new cases, 49 had inter-state travel history, mostly to Mumbai, India's Covid hotspot.

Fourteen of the new cases were contacts of earlier cases.

A 40-year-old woman from Dakshina Kannada was also suffering from Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI).

Among the new cases, 33 are men and the rest 34 women.

In Karnataka, Mandya has the highest number of active cases, 144, followed by Bengaluru Urban (116), Davangere (99), Kalaburagi (72), and Hassan (53).

Bengaluru Urban has so far seen nine deaths, followed by Kalaburagi (7), Dakshina Kannada (5) and Davangere and Vijayapura (4 each), and remaining from other districts.

Of the 1,462 cases, 10 per cent were senior citizens, 63 per cent men and 37 per cent women. The state's patient discharge rate is 39 per cent.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has been taking place off and on since 2011. Instigated by the European Union, the dialogue is a series of negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries. The Trump administration has taken a keen interest and active role in the dialogue, and it appointed Richard Grenell as special envoy to the negotiations in October.

The negotiations largely take place between Grenell, Kosovar President Hashim Thaci, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. They have been mired in controversy not only for their role in the recent collapse of Kosovos government, but also for the fact that a territorial exchange in which Kosovo would swap some of its ethnic Serbian-majority municipalities for some of Serbias ethnic Albanian-majority ones is being strongly considered.

While the United States and European Union are the two most active actors from outside the Western Balkans in this process, China has been notably absent. This is somewhat surprising, considering that over the past several years China has emerged as one of the Western Balkans most important foreign actors. Beijing has invested heavily in the region as part of the Belt and Road Initiative and has incorporated most of its countries into the 17+1 format.

The Western Balkans have become a focal point for Chinas BRI investment in Europe. China views the region as a key route to transport goods shipped in from the port in Piraeus, of which China's COSCO Shipping Corp. Ltd. is majority owner, to the EU common market. While China has been investing a significant amount of capital in most of the countries in the region, the linchpin of its Balkans strategy has been its relationship with Serbia. Chinas relatively close ties with Serbia predate its active role in the region as a whole. In 2009, former Serbian President Boris Tadic declared China to be the fourth pillar of Serbian foreign policy, along with the United States, the European Union, and Russia.

The Sino-Serbian relationship has only grown closer since then. This closeness was recently exemplified by the fanfare that greeted Chinese medical aid and workers when they arrived in Belgrade to help Serbia with its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A billboard was later placed in the center of Belgrade, bearing a picture of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the phrase, written in both Serbian and Chinese, Thank you, brother Xi.

This relationship has also been reinforced by a shared policy of non-recognition towards Kosovos independence -- Serbia still considers Kosovo to be one of its provinces. In 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. The delcaration came a full decade after the conclusion of the Yugoslav Wars, during which Serbian troops committed atrocities against Kosovar Albanians. Serbias reasons for not recognizing Kosovos independence, besides the obvious desire to not lose territory, include its denialism of war crimes committed by Serbian troops during the Yugoslav Wars and the important role that the Battle of Kosovo (1389) plays in the Serbian nationalist mythology.

There are two motivations behind Chinas non-recognition of Kosovar independence. While this policy may prevent China from investing in Kosovo through the BRI or 17+1 format, China appears to view this as a tradeoff worth making in order to further ingratiate itself to the Serbian government. China also fears that recognition of Kosovos independence would set a precedent for the territories it views as its own renegade provinces, such as Taiwan.

Conveniently for China, a non-recognition policy towards Kosovar independence has been able to achieve two foreign policy goals, drawing it closer to its most important ally in the Western Balkans while simultaneously defending its own territorial integrity by proxy. However, a successfully negotiated agreement between Kosovo and Serbia could create a tension between these synchronized interests.

Part of the European Unions motivation for initiating these negotiations in the first place was to achieve a policy of mutual recognition between the two countries, as Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and Kosovo a potential one. No country can become an EU member without recognizing the territorial sovereignty of every other member state. This means that if a Kosovo-Serbia deal is successfully negotiated and true to its original mission, then Serbia will wind up recognizing Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state.

Such an outcome would complicate Chinas Balkans strategy and force it to consider the implications of its Kosovo policy in a way that it has never had to before. If this comes to pass and China chooses to continue to not recognize Kosovos independence, then it risks alienating its most vital partner in a region core to its geostrategic ambitions. On the other hand, if it reverses its policy and recognizes Kosovo, then those with anti-Beijing and pro-independence sentiment in places like Taiwan may be emboldened.

From Chinas perspective, the ideal outcome is for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue to fall apart and the status quo to persist.
A 70-year-old man died after sustaining burn injuries during a fire that broke out in the kitchen of his flat in southwest Delhi's Sarojini Nagar market area on Wednesday morning, a Delhi Fire Service official said.

The deceased has been identified as Ganga Vishal, a resident of Sarojini Nagar, they said.

The fire department said they received a call at around 7.30 am after which a fire tender was sent to the spot.

The fire broke out in the kitchen of the house following which 70-year-old man sustained burn injuries and died on the spot, a senior fire official said.

The fire was brought under control and the body was then handed over to the police, he said.

Vishal lived with his son and daughter, who run a shop on the ground floor of the building they reside in.

The man was a heart patient and had been unwell since Tuesday, a senior police official. No foul play was suspected by the police.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor Newsom Signs Executive Order on Actions in Response to COVID-19

Sacramento, California - Governor Gavin Newsom today issued an executive order addressing a variety of issues in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order helps ease the strain on domestic violence service providers by waiving the 10 percent cash or in-kind matching requirements for state grants awarded to these organizations.

The order also waives the deadline to verify grade point average and waives certain certification requirements and selective service registration verification for Cal Grant applicants.

The order suspends programmatic deadlines for entities that receive funding from the Energy Commission for the development and deployment of new technologies that support the states clean energy and decarbonization goals.

In addition, the order extends the timeframe for local governments to submit claims for reimbursement to the State Controllers Office.
By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others, officials said. 'Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time,' said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month

By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi

KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others, officials said.

"Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time," said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed the attack in Parwan's provincial capital Charekar, blaming it on the insurgent Taliban. The Taliban denied responsibility and said Afghan security forces were to blame.

The United Nations has warned of an alarming uptick in violence against civilians in Afghanistan. A shocking attack on a Kabul maternity ward last week killed 24 people, including newborn babies.

Violence increased around the country even after a Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban pact on the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

Afghan security forces on Tuesday clashed with Taliban fighters around the city of Kunduz, a strategically important centre that has been one of the Taliban's main targets and which the group has briefly captured twice in recent years.

Security forces largely repelled the Taliban offensive with the help of air support and Assadullah Khalid, acting minister of defence, said during a visit to the city that more than 50 insurgents and eight security force members had been killed.

The Taliban have rejected repeated calls for a ceasefire by the Afghan government. They deny any involvement in the maternity ward attack and the United States believes the Islamic State was responsible.

The United States has sent special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to Doha and Kabul to press the Afghan government and the Taliban to start stalled peace talks. Khalilzad has said he will push for a reduction in violence during the trip.

(Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Orooj Hakimi; additional by Sardar Razmal; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Alex Richardson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
- Police search for driver after vehicle chase ends with crash

Police in both Fargo and Moorhead spent a few hours searching north side neighborhoods in both cities early Wednesday for at least one person who took off after a chase that ended in a crash. Police have not released further details, but dispatchers have confirmed with Valley News Live that the crash happened along South Woodcrest Drive in north Fargo around 1:20 a.m.

- Parents arrested after 2-year-old found wandering in Minot

Police have arrested a Minot couple after their 2-year-old child was found wandering outside wearing only a diaper. Officers were called Tuesday afternoon about a young child wandering unsupervised. Police got help from neighbors in finding the child's home. A 27-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of child neglect and taken to the Ward County Jail.

-Bison injures visitor to Theodore Roosevelt National Park

The National Park Service says a bison injured a woman visiting the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. A 55-year-old woman from Watford City was hiking around a bend on the Buckhorn Trail on Monday afternoon when she encountered a bull bison on the trail. The bull charged, striking the woman in the face and knocking her down. The bison did not respond to hazing measures, so the ranger shot the animal.

National and Internation Stories

- A video from 2017 shows police in Georgia attempting to search Ahmaud Arberys parked car and when he refuses to let them and begins to walk back to the vehicle an officer tries to tase him.

- Super-duper missiles Thats what Trump calls the Pentagons work on hypersonic weapons, which fly a mile a second and maneuver in ways that make them difficult to detect and destroy in flight.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano is eyeing to start releasing funds for the second tranche of cash aid to local government units on Monday, with authorities looking at the possibility of doing door-to-door handouts.

"Ang tina-target sana namin ay by Monday, maka-expect na tayo na meron nang mada-download [We are targeting that by Monday, we can expect that there will be funds to be downloaded (to local government units)]," Ano told CNN Philippines' Balitaan.

May 25 has been declared a holiday in observance of Eid'l Fitr. Still, Ano said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has vowed to release the next wave of subsidies before the month ends.

Data on the DSWD website showed that LGUs have released 79.4 billion out of the 81.7 billion they received from the agency to be handed out to low-income families.

Towns and cities may receive the amounts for the second tranche as soon as they report where money from first wave of aid went. The first tranche of aid should be distributed to 18 million families between April and May.

Ano admitted that not all intended beneficiaries have received the first wave of financial relief, citing challenges faced by remote local government units in securing the cash and releasing to families in far-flung communities, especially in some parts of Mindanao.

The additional 5 million households left out during the initial distribution will be prioritized this time, Ano added. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said they will receive two months' worth of subsidies in one go, which may be as high as 16,000.

Roque said on Monday that 12 million families that are part of the Social Amelioration Program will continue to receive aid as they remain in areas under enhanced community quarantine, plus 4.9 million additional families recently approved by President Rodrigo Duterte. Households who received the first tranche but are in areas with relaxed stay-at-home rules will not be receiving aid anymore, he explained.

Ano said the DILG will discuss with LGUs about the the modes of distribution for the next wave of financial aid. Authorities earlier said that authorities are considering digital fund transfers via e-wallets like PayMaya and GCash for the doleouts, which range from 5,000 to 8,000.

"Ang gusto natin, mapabilis itong second tranche. Basta this May, makakapag-release na tayo at makapagsimula na rin ng distribution. Masyado na ring matagal at nakakainip na rin ito," the Cabinet official said.

RELATED: DSWD: AFP and PNP will distribute 2nd tranche of COVID-19 cash aid, not LGUs

"'Yung pagdidistribute na kasama 'yung sundalo at pulis, pwede naman 'yun. Gaya noong first tranche, instead na magkaroon tayo ng distribution points na medyo naging magulo, magbabahay-bahay tayo, pwede namang katulong ang mga sundalo natin sa pagbibigay sa bahay-bahay," Ano added, referring to the problems encountered during the first tranche distribution that drew long lines and thick crowds, contrary to social distancing rules.

[Translation: What we want is to fast-track this second tranche. Within May, we will release and start the distribution. It has taken too long. We can involve the cash distribution with the military and police. Contrary to the first tranche where we same some disorder in distribution points, we can go house-to-house and we can tap soldiers for that.]

In a statement, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it has been coordinating with the DSWD to provide assistance in the SAP distribution, which will focus on "problematic areas." These include LGUs or barangays with reported anomalies in the fund releases, those in far-flung or island municipalities, as well as in areas facing threats from communist and terrorist groups.

There are 23 barangay officials facing charges for supposed anomalies in cash distribution, while 110 separate charges are being prepared for other local authorities, according to the Department of Justice.

"We will employ in this task our experience in distributing election paraphernalia during local polls," AFP Spokesperson Brigadier General Edgard Arevalo said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier lambasted the armed rebel group New People's Army for attacking soldiers who were out assisting cash aid releases in remote areas.

Meanwhile, Ano added that the implementation of modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila appears to be a better approach as it allows government to focus on critical zones to prevent further widespread infections. The modified ECQ scheme will be in place until May 31.
KITCHENER  A Kitchener medical technology incubator has partnered with the provincial government to provide free advice to companies that are retooling operations to manufacture essential medical supplies and equipment to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical Innovation Xchange (MIX) announced Tuesday the partnership will help increase efficiency with provincial resources, navigate regulatory challenges, avoid preventable mistakes in quality compliance, and accelerate the timelines of delivering medical supplies and products.

As restrictions are lifted and Ontario returns to work, our health care system will be tested again, said Armen Bakirtzian, CEO of Intellijoint Surgical and founder of MIX. In order to help keep our front-line workers, health care professionals and communities safe, the time is now to build additional critical supplies.

Advisory services will be provided to recipients of the provinces $50 million Ontario Together Fund recipients, and companies that have received purchase orders from the province.

The advice will come from CEOs and employees that are part of MIX, including Intellijoint Surgical Inc., Vena Medical Inc., Penta Medical, Bloom Care Solutions, Conavi Medical Inc., KA Imaging Inc., Exact Imaging Inc., Emmetros Limited, NERv Technology Inc. and 7D Surgical Inc.

The med-tech hub was first launched last year.

Premier Doug Ford announced the Ontario Together Fund web portal on March 21 and appealed to manufacturers, entrepreneurs and innovators to provide the essential supplies and equipment needed to fight the coronavirus.

Dozens of Waterloo Region companies responded, manufacturing everything from face shields and isolation barriers, to gowns, cloth face masks, hand sanitizer and other essentials.

More than 17,000 proposals have been submitted to the portal over the past few months, and on May 6 the province announced Oakville-based Virox Technologies Inc. would be the first manufacturer to receive money from the $50 million fund.

During these unprecedented times, Ontarios business community has stepped up their efforts to help tackle the fight against COVID-19, said Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade, in a news release.

Our governments collaboration with Medical Innovation Xchange members is a prime example of how Ontario is working with our innovative business community to solve problems and build a safer environment for Ontarios health care facilities.
#GucciTheRitual is back for round two  and its best enjoyed at home.

Three months after the luxury brands fall 2020 collection debuted, Gucci launched its latest campaign, with digital imagery and a video. The 16-second clip shows a lineup of models dancing and singing to Alright by Supergrass in their respective homes  all while decked out in head-to-toe Gucci. Right before the video fades out, Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele takes the screen and joins in.

The campaign imagery shows models going about their routines in quarantine: brushing their teeth, concocting homemade face masks, and taking advantage of any and every socially distant outdoor space. Of course, no Gucci campaign would be complete without animals, so models invited their feathered friends, from chickens to birds, to join the at-home shoot. According to Interview, Michele called the campaign his most authentic yet, saying that the extravagant hyper-naturalism that [he has] always tried to depict, now emerges even more authentically and more amazingly.

The overturning, in fact, creates a paradoxical effect: loosening control produced a narration that seems to overcome, in intensity, my own ability to build fiction, he told the magazine. I am thankful for this imaginative experimentation because it restored the power of a dream: mine.



Since Michele took the helm in 2015, he has brought the Milan-based luxury brand into the modern-day, spearheading the maximalist fashion movement after years of minimal dominance. Since then, he has launched campaigns ranging in inspiration from photographs of Malick Sidibe, who captured youth culture in Africa in the 60s and 70s, (pre-fall 17) to old Hollywood glamour (spring 19).

Story continues

For the most recent the fall 20 runway show last February, Michele upturned the fashion show structure completely. The show, titled The Ritual, gave the audience the chance to see what happens behind the scenes at a fashion show. Behind a transparent screen, models could be seen getting dressed in their final looks. Once they were fully dressed, each model took their spot on the edge of the rotating stage. In the show notes, Michele explained his reasoning for the flipped format, saying: Theres something though, in this ceremony, that usually stays buried: the struggle of the parturient that accompanies the tremble of creation; the mothers womb where poetry blooms, from shape to shape. Therefore, I decided to unveil what lies behind the curtains. May the miracle of skillful hands and holding breath come out of the shadows.

See a stylized version of our lives in quarantine in the Gucci campaign, above.



Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

Gucci Turns The Backstage Area Into The Catwalk

The RealReal Joins Guccis Sustainability Pact

Original Gucci Jackie Bags Are Less Than $300
A proposal from the China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) will be submitted to the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), suggesting improvements to the policy on foreign students at an appropriate time.

The one concerning foreign students is among 46 proposals to be submitted by the Central Committee of the CAPD this year. The 46 proposals cover education, publication, culture, laws, economy, health care and ecology.

The CAPD, one of China's eight non-communist political parties, was founded in Shanghai on Dec. 30, 1945, and mainly comprises middle- and high-ranking intellectuals engaged in educational and cultural work.

The total number of foreign students studying in China has increased from 328,000 to 492,000 between 2012 and 2018. Coming from 196 countries and regions to study at a total of 1,004 universities and colleges in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, they have made China Asia's largest destination for international students.

However, as the proposal points out, in reality, there is room for improvement. The proposal states that some China's universities and colleges just provide Western-style education for foreign students rather than adopting educational methods rooted in Chinese civilization and real national conditions.

Some higher education institutions provide better dormitory environment, relatively looser management for foreign students than what are given to Chinese students, for example.

"Despite studying in China for several years, some foreign students still have very limited knowledge about China. They don't know much about China's national conditions and culture, and it is difficult for them to reach the Level 3 of the international standards for Chinese language proficiency," the proposal states, adding some foreign students need help from others to finish their graduation thesis papers.

The proposal suggests China should enhance recruitment standards and ensure high-quality entrants from all over the world, and make scientific and systematic planning for enrollment and education of international students.

"From the perspective of the country's overall development strategy needs, we should plan the scale and proportion of foreign students to be admitted to China, and the qualifications of colleges and universities for recruiting foreign students," it says, adding the need to reform the international evaluation index of colleges and universities.

The proposal also suggests Chinese colleges and universities should promote the unified standard of teaching management and examination assessment systems and provide equal and consistent educational resources and management services for both Chinese and foreign students, while reasonably and fairly caring for international students from different backgrounds, customs and cultures to cope with any cultural collision .

"Chinese higher education institutions should fully realize the educational goals for international students and strengthen their recognition of Chinese culture. They should arrange sufficient and applicable Chinese language courses and Chinese general situation courses to meet the learning needs of international students, and strengthen exchanges and joint learning between Chinese students and international students."

The third annual session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee will open on May 21.
Kerala: Fishing boat operators to boycott meet called by min

May 20,2020 | Source: The New Indian Express

After the state government decided to go ahead with the annual trawling ban starting next month, the boat operators who would face the restriction decided to boycott a meeting called by Fisheries Minister Mercykutty Amma to discuss the ban on May 20. The boat operators expected the government to relax the ban to compensate for the livelihood lost due to lockdown. Every year the minister conducts the meeting before announcing the trawling ban in the second week of June. This time the meeting was arranged online. It is a mere formality to ensure our approval, said Joseph Xavier Kalapurackal, general secretary of All-Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association (AKFBOA). The fishing sector is a major employer and its function is to ensure the food security of the common man.



He said over 3 lakh people are involved in the sector, both directly and indirectly. Besides, the sector offers job opportunities for those returning to Gulf countries, said Joseph Xavier. The fishing sector managed to get `50 crore worth of landing daily during the same season last year. This resulted in the creation of one lakh working days. Also, the workers received `1,000 per day as wages, said Xavier.



The fishing community is sharply divided over the effectiveness of trawling ban, introduced to protect marine life during spawning season since 1988. The traditional fishermen who gets exemption from the ban wanted a 90-day ban to ensure sustainable fishing while the boat operators see it as a bane that affects their livelihood. Kerala Swatantra Matsyathozhilali Federation has sought effective patrolling by the Marine Enforcement Wing to prevent boat operators from Kerala and Tamil Nadu from entering the sea during the ban period.
While 78% of unemployed Americans described themselves as temporarily laid off in the government's April jobs report, new research suggests for many people that may not be the case.

The University of Chicago's Becker Friedman Institute predicts that 42%, or 11.6 million, of all jobs lost through April 25 due to the coronavirus will become permanent. In a paper study this month, it used a combination of historical experience and survey data for the findings.

"The current crisis may be so severe that the fraction of temporary layoffs that become permanent ends up being much larger than the historical evidence would suggest," co-author Jose Maria Barrero cautioned in an email.

The Labor Department's April employment report showed a historic loss of 20.5 million nonfarm payrolls and the nation's unemployment rate soaring to 14.7%. Both numbers easily smashed post-World War II era records. In a small consolation, they weren't quite as bad as economists had expected.

According to the study, the jobs most at risk of being eliminated permanently include those lost due to demand shifts and those at companies that don't survive the coronavirus-related closures.

"I would anticipate many bars and sit-down restaurants will not survive the pandemic as people avoid gathering in large groups. So many waiting and bar-tending jobs are likely to disappear permanently," said Barrero, an economist. "This is likely more of an issue for small, independent restaurants and bars than for large national chains."

In fact, many restaurants may have already closed their doors for good.

According to a National Restaurant Association survey in late March, 3% of restaurant owners or operators reported closing permanently and 11% had anticipated doing the same within a month, meaning as many as 100,000 restaurants could close permanently due to coronavirus. There are more than 1 million restaurant locations in the U.S., according to the association.

The hospitality industry is also at increased risk of permanent job losses.

MGM Resorts recently informed employees that while it had hoped to reopen this summer it appeared less likely. In a note shared with CNBC, acting CEO Bill Hornbuckle expressed uncertainty about when workers would be called back.

"When we first furloughed our employees, we hoped the spread of the virus could be contained or that an effective treatment would emerge quickly. We hoped that a significant portion of our operations would bounce back by the summer," he said. "Based on the current situation, we now believe that some of our colleagues may not return to work this year. And, given the continued uncertainty facing our industry, we simply don't know just how many employees will return to work within the coming months."

The Becker Friedman study found that for every 10 layoffs caused by pandemic, three jobs were created in the near term.

Companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Lowe's, Dollar General, Papa John's and Domino's have announced plans to hire more workers as stay-at-home orders shift consumer behavior.

Barrero suggested this "reallocation shock" may result in "a major transformation of the economy, with many types of jobs and industries effectively disappearing and others expanding in a major way."

 CNBC's Jodi Gralnick contributed to this report. CNBC wants to hear about your job experience during the pandemic. Email us at unemploymenttips@cnbc.com to share your story.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

The Ashanti regional police command has arrested nine suspects in connection with the three persons who were shot dead by armed robbers at Dadiese in the Amansie South District.

The PRO of the command, ASP Godwin Ahianyo, said the suspects, seven males and two females, are in police custody.

Eight gunmen on Tuesday shot and killed three people including the driver of the District Chief Executive for the area.

"Four of them were wielding AK-47 assault rifles, three were also wielding pump-action guns...", ASP Ahianyo told Class News' regional correspondent Elisha Adarkwah.

According to him, the gunmen attacked a gold dealer and robbed him of four pounds of gold and a cash of GHS17,000 before they fired gunshots indiscriminately, killing the three people and injuring one.

The deceased included Kwaku Danso, 60; Kwaku Mila aka Osofo, 25; and Samuel Osei, the DCE's driver, 40.

The fourth victim, who sustained gunshot wounds and was in critical condition, was rushed to St. Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum for medical treatment.

---classfmonline
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:37:39|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he considered convening the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at Camp David, which had been rescheduled via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Now that our Country is 'Transitioning back to Greatness', I am considering rescheduling the G-7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David. The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all - normalization!" he tweeted, without providing more details.

The abrupt announcement came as the Trump administration attempted to revive the country despite the lack of sign of a significant downward trend in COVID-19 infections.

The United States alone has reported more than 1.5 million infections and over 92,000 deaths as of Wednesday noon, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. Both figures are far higher than those in any other country or region.

The White House said in March that the summit, originally scheduled to take place at Camp David in June, was canceled due to the coronavirus, and leaders would have a videoconference instead. Enditem
Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
In the single-day highest COVID-19



figure in Jharkhand, 26 more persons on Wednesday tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of cases to 271, officials said.

The Director of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr D K Singh, said that 18 cases were from Garhwa district while five persons were found infected in Koderma district.

Garhwa district Civil Surgeon N K Razzak said all the 18 persons, who came from outside the state, were in quarantine centres after they returned.

Giridih Civil Surgeon Dr Awadhesh Kumar Sinha said two persons,who had returned from Surat in Gujarat and put up in a quarantine facility, tested positve for the virus.

Hazaribag Deputy Commissioner Bhuvnesh Prasad Singh said t one person, who returned from Mumbai, tested positive to the infection.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dawn Meats is to re-start is burger production in Waterford ahead of the re-opening of some McDonald's fast food outlets today in Ireland and European McDonald's in Europe to reopen from Monday.

Dawn Meats supplies McDonald's restaurants with beef burgers from its Waterford facility and had stopped production on March 18 with the closure of fast food restaurants across Europe amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today, Dawn announced that while it was able to redeploy all 50 staff to other parts of the business, to cater for the increased demand from Irish retail customers and a surge in online meat sales, the staff will now return to the McDonalds plant.

It said workers would have enhanced protocols, allowing production to recommence smoothly to meet the required demand as McDonalds restaurants begin the re-opening process both in Ireland and across other European markets.

Niall Browne CEO Dawn Meats said the reopening of Carrolls Cross is "great news for staff and our supplier farmers, and an important confidence boost for all who have been affected by the closure of restaurants and the loss of the associated production."

McDonald's is the latest fast food chain to partially re-open, after Supermacs and Burger King opened to allow drive through and home delivery services. Six McDonald's drive throughs are open from today in Dublin.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For the first time in its history, the U.S. Navy will host Fleet Week New York in a virtual environment.

Virtual Fleet Week New York 2020 kicked off Wednesday and will continue through Tuesday on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The weeklong event is a new way for residents of New York City and the surrounding tri-state area to continue to take part in the annual celebration despite the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Viewers are encouraged to check back each day as new content is added to the lineup, including live question-and-answer sessions; never-before-seen video tours of the guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) and three Coast Guard cutters; and an aerial tour of the Coast Guard Barque Eagle, a tall ship that is used to train Coast Guard cadets, according MilitaryNews.com.

We are very pleased to present Fleet Week New York in this exciting new format, said Rear Adm. Charles W. Rock, commander of the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. Allowing New Yorkers to participate from the comfort of their homes means we can focus on health and safety as our nation continues to heal and fight this invisible enemy.

U.S. Navy vessels began visiting New York City in a celebratory manner following the SpanishAmerican War in 1898, when Commodore George Dewey was celebrated as the hero of the battle of Manila Bay.

The first official Fleet Week began in New York City in 1982 and has typically been timed to coincide with Memorial Day Weekend.

Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy line up on their flight deck to spell out their ship's feeling for the Big Apple. If you're having trouble reading their message, it says, "I Love NY." The carrier and other warships were passing under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to launch Fleet Week 1993. Parade of Ships-Kennedy goes under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. (Staten Island Advance)Staten Island Advance

For up-to-date information on all Fleet Week New York events, like FleetWeekNewYork on Facebook, and follow @FleetWeekNYC on Twitter and @fleetweeknyc on Instagram. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #VirtualFleetWeekNYC.

Keep scrolling for a look at past Fleet Week celebrations.

The aircraft carrier USS Forrestal visited New York Harbor for Fleet Week festivities in 1989. (Staten Island Advance)

USS Shreveport, USS Barry, USS Laboon and USS Kauffman docked at the Stapleton Homeport pier in 2001. (Staten Island Advance/Frank J. Johns)Staten Island Advance

Navy personnel at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal during Fleet Week 1990, waiting for the ferry to Manhattan. (Staten Island Advance /Steve Zaffarano) fleet week 1990 Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance

Marines rush from one of the helicopters that landed at Clove Lakes Park in a military demonstration that was part of Fleet Week in 2006. (Staten Island Advance/Irv Silverstein)staten island advance

Sailors and Marnies aboard the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS WASP (LHD 1) man the rail during the 2007 Fleet Week Parade of Ship. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Angelia. M. Rorison)

With one of the Navy ships serving as a backdrop, the Navy Regions Northeast Band performs at the former Navy home port in 2004. (Staten Island Advance/Joshua Carp)Staten Island Advance

Seamen stand at attention on deck as naval ships make their way through New York harbor during Fleet Week 2016. (Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo)Staff-Shot

Members of the chorus from the Petrides School give a big hello to the sailors and ships as they sail by the former Stapleton home port. From the left are Venassa Woodson, Diane Trimarchi, Lauren Geraghty, John Sweeney, Melissa Piccinonno and Kristie McClenin, 2004. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

USS Shreveport LPD 12 is greeted by a FDNY fireboat as it passes under the Verrazano bridge during the Fleet Week Parade of Ships. (Staten Island Advance/Michael McWeeney)

On the USS New York at the Homeport in Stapleton during Fleet Week, US Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Miner showed Ashley Farley, center, and Kaitlyn Roman, fourth-graders from PS 60 in Graniteville, a machine gun on a UH-1N Huey helicopter in 2011. (Staten Island Advance/Irving Silverstein)staten island advance
Mule deer populations are above average while whitetail numbers are stable across Region 6 in northeastern Montana, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists.

The tallies were compiled in the wake of the staff's completion of its 2020 post-season and winter aerial surveys of deer populations, along with some spring ground surveys.

Mule deer

For mule deer, 11 trend areas in Region 6 are surveyed two times each year from the air: once after the hunting season and once in early spring. The post-season survey was completed in December and January; however, the spring surveys were not completed due to concerns with the COVID-19 virus and distancing guidelines that are unavoidable in a plane.

Instead, ground counts for mule deer were collected by area biologists to estimate over-winter survival. While total deer counts tend to be variable across Region 6, FWP biologist Ryan Williamson of Outlook said the 2020 surveys indicate mule deer populations are healthy.

Mule deer numbers continue to remain well above average across the region, he said.
Good Samaritan 'severely battered' after trying to help stop thief, Overland Park police say by: FOX 4 Newsroom Posted: / Updated: OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Police are asking for help finding two people involved in a theft and battery that happened on May 9. According to police, a woman entered a business at 9600 Metcalf, what appears to be the Home Depot, and began concealing several items. She then walked out of the store.

Another reason toas thePolice share photos of a lady they want a conversation with described as Caucasian with brown hair. The male involved in the nasty episode is described as Hispanic in the statement.Take a look:
COHOES  A Cohoes wedding photographer and his business partner, a videographer, had their video selected as a finalist in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's statewide contest seeking a public service announcement that will be used to encourage New Yorkers to wear masks.

The five finalists were announced Wednesday at the Capitol by Cuomo's daughter, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, who the governor said was spearheading the contest for his office. People can vote for their favorite finalist at wearamask.ny.gov and the winner will be announced on May 26.

Thomas Bryant, who is unemployed as a result of the pandemic, had his father play a homeless person in the video and Bryant's 10-year-old son Eli has a starring role as a boy who hands the homeless person  who is seated on a park bench under a blanket  a mask. Bryant said his wife Kristy helped with writing the messages "We are ... NY tough" and "Let's prove it ... together" on the masks that Eli is wearing.

Bryant, 40, and his business partner, Greg Grygiel of Clifton Park, have been working in the wedding photography and videography business for about 10 years together. After they both were left unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, "We got in a position where we wanted to just create something together," Bryant said.

"It just turned out that we thought of doing this," Bryant said. "We didnt even know really about the New York state PSA contest that was going on. So what we did was we were coming up with this idea and then I had seen the governor's briefing and he talked about it on his briefing."

Bryant, who with his wife adopted Eli from Brooklyn, said they have a special connection to New York City and that he has been concerned about the number of people upstate not wearing masks.

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

Looking for more good news during the coronavirus pandemic? Join our Facebook group.

"As a creative person, you just, you cant just sit there and watch the world go by," he said. "I saw so many people ... not wearing their masks and people who just didnt have the compassion and the kindness that I was hoping for. ... I thought having a child in this video would be impactful."

Bryant said an official with the governor's office called him late Tuesday and informed him their video had made the lists of finalists.

Mariah Kennedy Cuomo said the voting will take place through Monday, which is Memorial Day.
She's rumoured to be engaged to Riverdale star, Skeet Ulrich, 50.

And on Tuesday, Megan Blake Irwin enjoyed a workout with her man.

The 25-year-old Australian model showed off her flawless figure in a red crop top and leggings, as they worked up a sweat while at home in lockdown in Los Angeles.

Red hot! Megan Blake Irwin (pictured) showed off her incredible figure in activewear on Tuesday as she worked out with Skeet Ulrich... after the pair sparked engagement rumours

Megan, who was once linked to Kourtney Kardashian's ex Scott Disick, looked incredible as she flashed her washboard abs.

The blonde bombshell appeared to ditch the makeup and wore her locks tied up and off her face.

The pair first took their dogs for a walk before working out at their at-home gym.

Keeping fit! The pair first took their dogs for a walk before working out at their at-home gym

Couples who work out together! Megan was seen honing her figure on an exercise bike, while a shirtless Skeet did weights

Looking good! The blonde bombshell appeared to ditch the makeup and wore her locks tied up and off her face

Megan was seen honing her figure on an exercise bike, while a shirtless Skeet did weights.

'And then some time in the gym with this hottie,' Megan captioned a video of the pair as they exercised.

On Sunday, Megan appeared to announce their engagement.

Wedding bells? On Sunday, Megan appeared to announce their engagement

She sent fans into meltdown when she posted a photo of herself with Skeet while sporting a diamond ring on her wedding finger.

In the black and white photo, Megan was pictured draping her arm around her much older beau's shoulders, as they posed in formal attire.

'Always & forever mine,' she simply wrote in the caption alongside a love heart emoji.

Megan made sure to get her ring finger in focus by resting her palm on top of Skeet's hands.

Setting tongues wagging! Fellow model Delilah Belle immediately commented on the post to ask the question on everyone's mind: 'Does always and forever mean ENGAGED!?'

Loved up: Megan also shared a sweet photo of the pair kissing after what could well have been the moment he proposed

Fellow model Delilah Belle immediately commented on the post to ask the question on everyone's mind: 'Does always and forever mean ENGAGED!?'

However, Megan kept her cards close to her chest by simply replying with five kissing-face emojis.

Meanwhile, Megan also shared several photos of herself posing and with her new ring via Instagram Stories.

'Mine forever,' she wrote next to one photo of the couple sweetly cuddling after what could well have been the moment he proposed.

It came days after Megan and American actor Skeet (real name Bryan Ray Trout) reportedly moved into her Los Angeles home together.
Bangladesh Army personnel and local volunteers participate in a rescue drill in preparation for Super Cyclone Amphan in a Rohingya camp in Ukhia, Coxs Bazar, May 18, 2020.

Bangladeshi authorities were rushing some 2.2 million people to shelter as Cyclone Amphan churned northward in the Bay of Bengal, with a projected landfall near the India-Bangladesh border late Wednesday.

Amphan will be packing sustained winds around 120 kph (75 mph) when it reaches the coast, according to the U.S. Navys Joint Typhoon Warning Center, adding new worries to a nation already contending with steep increases in coronavirus infections daily.

Amphan will hit the Southwestern Satkhira-Khulna region  It is likely to hit the Bangladesh coast by Wednesday evening, Shamsuddin Ahmed, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department under the Ministry of Defense, told BenarNews.

Authorities said they had begun moving vulnerable families in coastal districts to safe spots, even while trying to maintain social distancing in shelters.

Our target is to bring about 2.2 million people to cyclone shelters, Dr. Enamur Rahman, state minister for disaster management ministry, told BenarNews Tuesday night. By 8 p.m., 1.8 million people have been taken to different cyclone shelters.

Disaster experts said they feared evacuees could be vulnerable to COVID-19 even as they took shelter from the fury of the storm.

For cyclone Fani, we sheltered 2 million people in over 5,500 cyclone shelters. But due to the coronavirus vulnerability, we have readied 12,078 cyclone shelters so people could maintain social distancing, Rahman said.

Bangladeshis are accustomed to taking shelter from cyclones. The most recent, Bulbul, hit in November 2019. Seven months earlier, Fani killed 17 people. A cyclone on April 29, 1991 killed 150,000 people.

Cyclones are not new to Bangladesh. But this years Amphan has created a double danger as we have been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Abdul Latif, an independent disaster analyst, told BenarNews. We have never seen such a natural disaster amid a health disaster.

The evacuees focus will be on the storm, he said.

So the coronavirus may spread within the cyclone shelters, Latif said.

Cyclone will hit island housing Rohingya

Rahman said Rohingya camps in southeastern Bangladesh were likely to avoid the brunt of the storm. But with the help of U.N. agencies, NGOs and volunteers, we have kept adequate preparations to relocate vulnerable Rohingya, if necessary, to cyclone shelters, he said.

Bhashan Char, a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal housing a few hundred refugees, would not be spared, Rahman said, insisting it was safe.

Bhashan Char is likely to be hit. But there are over 120 cyclone shelters there. This is a completely safe island, Rahman said.

Authorities took about 310 Rohingya to Bhashan Char after rescuing them from smuggling boats in the Bay of Bengal earlier this month, citing fears they could spread coronavirus in densely packed refugee camps of Coxs Bazar where close to 1 million Rohingya refugees live.

Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Bangladesh to bring the refugees to the mainland once their quarantine was over.

I trust that they too, will benefit from the humanitarian services offered to the Rohingya in Bangladesh and that, at the end of their quarantine period  they will be allowed to rejoin their families in Coxs Bazar, said a letter from Guterres to the foreign minister of Bangladesh.

A.K. Abdul Momen, Bangladeshs top diplomat, said his government had not yet taken a decision on the matter.

We have yet to decide about it. We will do what we think is best, Momen told BenarNews on Monday. We do understand what is good and what is bad for the Rohingya.

There is a unanimous U.N. resolution that stipulates it is the shared responsibility of all states when some people are rescued at sea, but the U.N. always turns to Bangladesh when Rohingya are in trouble or adrift in the sea, as if there is no other country in the Bay of Bengal region, he added.

Rohingya on the mainland expressed fears about Amphans potential impact on the sprawling refugee settlements.

When the cyclone makes landfall, there could be landslides. It will destroy houses and huts. It could kill many people, Aung Myaing, a refugee in Kutupalong camp, told Radio Free Asia (RFA), a sister entity of BenarNews.

Mohammad Shamsu Douza, an additional refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, said officials met with their counterparts from U.N. relief agencies on Saturday and Monday to prepare for the storm.

Already we have made preparations and kept volunteers on stand-by for any emergency situation, he said.

COVID-19 toll increases

Meanwhile, Bangladesh continued to record steep increases in coronavirus cases, with the official death toll at 370 and the total number of infections at 25,212 as of Tuesday.

Dr. Abu Mohammad Toha, a health official at the office of refugee relief and repatriation, told BenarNews that four more Rohingya had been infected with COVID-19 since Monday, bringing the total number of Rohingya cases to nine  all in a camp in Ukhia, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar.

We have already isolated all nine Rohingya so that the virus cannot spread. Their family members have also been isolated from other Rohingya, Mahbub Alam Talukder, the refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told BenarNews.

Globally, more than 4.8 million have been infected, and at least 321,000 have died as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
The heart-stopping moment two men clinging onto a water cooler were rescued from the water 12 miles off the Florida shore was captured by one of the fishermen who came to their aid.

Jeovanni Villacis and Yunior Pupo were out for a day of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday when they noticed a leak in the rear of their boat.

Within seconds, the 16-and-a-half-foot vessel flipped, leaving the pair scrambling to find something to keep them afloat.

They were kicking to stay afloat for between three to four hours and their legs had gone numb when a passing fishing boat happened to spot their water cooler.

The video of their miraculous rescue was posted to Facebook by Adam Vetter, one of the fishermen, who wrote, what started out as a killer day of fishing ended in a way that I would have never imagined.

Scroll down for video

A dramatic video posted to Facebook on Monday shows fishermen pulling Jeovanni Villacis and Yunior Pupo from the water 12 miles from Hudson Beach on the Florida coast

Vetter was also with friends Rob Wells, Captain Fred Heidgerken and Joe Steplyk for a day of fishing when they came across a capsized boat about 12 miles from the coast of Hudson Beach in Florida around 6.30pm Sunday evening.

Although they could not see anybody, the boat was still anchored, and Vetter told WFLA that he knew there were people out there.

You know I said to him, theres somebody out there, he said.

The group say they attempted to contact the Coast Guard to see if the capsized boat had called in but where unable to get a good signal.

We noticed there was no grass around the hull and no water lines, so it looked like it had happened recently. We marked the location and we continued back in to call the Coast Guard, Vetter wrote.

The group began to return to shore when shortly afterward they spotted something white bobbing in the water about a half mile from their boat.

In the rescue video, Vetter and friends are seen speeding toward the piece of debris as it becomes clearer.

The boat slows down as it draws closer to the cooler and the waving hands of Villacis and Pupo holding onto it.

Thank you, the two men cry, as they begin to drag themselves exhausted toward the rescue boat.

Is it just you two? Is it just you guys? the fishermen question as they help the stranded men onto the back of the boat.

Jeovanni Villacis (left) and Yunior Pupo (right) were enjoying a day of fishing when they noticed water leaking into their boat. Within seconds, the boat had capsized leaving them clinging onto a water cooler and kicking to stay afloat, stranded in the Gulf of Mexico

Fishermen returning to shore spotted the white cooler in the water and raced to rescue them

We saw your boat, they explain as Villacis and Pupo lie on the floor and drag off their lifejackets.

We called it in to see if it was reported but we couldnt get through to them.

My wife and my daughter are outside in the beach, Pupo tells them, explaining that their families were on an island and not on the shore and able to report them missing.

Oh man, thank you, three hours.

Get them a drink, one of the rescuers comments.

Villacis and Pupo spotted that water was leaking into their boat and attempted to use a bucket to scoop it out but it was already too late.

Im like, grab that cooler, dont let it go. It floats. We need stuff that floats right now. So, he grabbed onto the side of the cooler, Villacis told WFLA.

Yunior Pupo is shown here thanking the rescue boat as he struggles to swim to the side and pull himself on board. The two men are heard crying 'thank you' as the boat neared them

Jeovanni Villacis and Yunior Pupo are shown climbing it the fishermen's boat after spending four hours at sea clinging to a water cooler after their boat flipped as they fished

Yunior Pupo lay exhausted on the floor of the boat as he told the rescuers they had left their families on a beach and they were unable to know that the boat had capsized

They clung onto the Coleman cooler that was holding all their catch and two lifejackets floated to the surface that they were able to put on.

Another boat had past within eyesight before Veller and crew came along, but they were unable to get their attention and the current was too strong to swim any closer.

At that point, I was just trying to stay calm. Keep him calm and keep myself calm, he added.

The pair remain thankful that their rescuers happened across them before it was too late and Villacis has said he now plans to get an alarm in case it happens again and may even start Coast Guard classes.

We are very grateful you guys were out there, he said, adding that he slept in the same bed as his wife and daughter that night.

I told everyone, Im just grateful to be home, said Villacis. Slept together, all hugged together that night.

Heidgerken told WFLA that the outcome could have been much worse if they hadnt spotted the cooler.

I think Monday we talked about it  we talked about it on the boat, and it finally hit us, said Heidgerken.

Its amazing.

Thank God they had that white cooler, that was the reason they were saved by us, Vetter said.

They probably had about another hour or so of daylight, and they dropped their family off at one of the islands while they went fishing so who knows when it wouldve been reported that they were missing that night.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wyoming rose by 12 Wednesday, while two probable cases were subtracted from the states total, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.

The newly confirmed cases come from Campbell, Carbon, Fremont (five), Hot Springs (two), Natrona (two) and Park counties. Probable cases were subtracted from Hot Springs and Laramie counties totals.

Six new confirmed coronavirus recoveries were also announced. No probable recoveries were reported.

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 787 cases  596 confirmed and 191 probable  and 534 recoveries  394 confirmed and 140 probable  recorded in the state, as well as 11 deaths.

The department also announced a 17th confirmed case in Sweetwater County, which was already reported Tuesday by the county but not by the state. (It was included in the Star-Tribunes case county Tuesday.)

Less than two-thirds of confirmed patients have fully recovered, a number that grows to 67.9 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. The states infection rate (134 per 100,000 residents) is sixth-lowest among states, also according to the New York Times, which includes probable counts where they exist.

Less than 13 percent of Wyomings cases required a hospital stay. In 15.4 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 49 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are white, 32.6 percent are American Indian, 12.4 percent are Hispanic, 0.8 percent are Asian, and 1.3 percent are black. The racial identities of 8.9 percent of confirmed cases in Wyoming are not known, and 3 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 50.5 percent of the cases, the patient came in contact with a known case. In another 11.4 percent of the cases, the patient had traveled either domestically or internationally. Community spread has been attributed to 19 percent of the cases. In 10.7 percent of Wyomings cases, health officials dont how the person was exposed to the virus, and 11.6 percent of cases are pending investigation.

Cases in Wyoming by county (probable in parentheses)





Albany: 10

Big Horn: 2 (1)

Campbell: 17 (13)

Carbon: 9 (7)

Converse: 14 (10)

Crook: 5

Fremont: 209 (24)

Goshen: 4 (1)

Hot Springs: 6 (2)

Johnson: 12 (4)

Laramie: 121 (61)

Lincoln: 11 (3)

Natrona: 53 (13)

Niobrara: 1 (1)

Park: 2

Platte: 0

Sheridan: 12 (4)

Sublette: 1 (2)

Sweetwater: 17 (8)

Teton: 69 (31)

Uinta: 8 (3)

Washakie: 13 (3)

Weston: 0







Deaths in Wyoming by county

Fremont: 6

Laramie: 2

Carbon: 1

Johnson: 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 Tuesday, there have been 18,168 tests performed for COVID-19 in Wyoming.

Wyoming Public Health Laboratory: 8,155

Commercial labs: 10,013

CDC: 1







National cases

There have been more than 1.5 million cases nationally, with about 92,000 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.
Yadira Barajas walks with her children Owen Vargas, 11, and 6-year-old twins Madison and Madelyn Contreras on May 11 as they prepare for a flight to Mexico from Los Angeles International Airport. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Wearing a face mask has become as much a part of flying on commercial planes as cramming too much in the overhead bin, wrestling your seatmate for the armrest and trying to charm an extra bag of peanuts from the flight attendant.

The nation's six largest carriers are requiring passengers to wear face masks or some other suitable nose-and-mouth covering during all flights to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Yet social media channels are littered with complaints about mask scofflaws of the skies traveling with apparent ease. Given that flouting mask mandates has become the secondhand smoke of the COVID-19 era, why are some passengers allowed to remain barefaced?

Airlines and the nation's largest union of flight attendants explain that they are enforcing the mask requirement  but not with threats of fines or diverting flights. Instead, airline personnel are using diplomacy and de-escalation tactics. One airline said it may go as far as banning passengers from the carrier for life.

"In the unlikely scenario that someone refuses to wear a mask, we are not planning to divert a flight but would follow up with the guest," said Ray Lane, a spokesman for Alaska Airlines.

The lenient enforcement attitude reflects several key changes in the post-pandemic aviation world, according to industry experts.

First, the requirement that passengers wear masks is a policy adopted by each airline and is not a federal regulation, like the rule against disabling an airplane lavatory's smoke detector, which can be enforced under the threat of fines or prison time.

"Absent a federal requirement that passengers wear face coverings, airlines can do only so much," said Henry Harteveldt, an aviation analyst with Atmosphere Research Group.

Another reason for the tolerant attitude is that demand for air travel is in a nosedive. About 500 flight attendants have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and there is little appetite among flight attendants or airline executives for a face-to-face confrontation with a passenger who refuses to wear a mask, nor is there a desire to divert a mostly empty plane that is already losing the airline money, industry experts said.

Story continues

"Practically speaking, these flight attendants have enough on their hands," said Mark Gerchick, former chief counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration.

In late April, New York's JetBlue Airways was the first major U.S. carrier to require that all passengers wear masks during flights, with American, United, Delta, Southwest and Alaska adopting the same requirement in early May.

The airlines said they would deny boarding to anyone who wasn't wearing a mask at the gate. Once on the plane, flight attendants would encourage passengers to keep the masks on except when eating or drinking.

LAX began requiring travelers to wear face coverings on May 11. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

But the Assn. of Flight Attendants wants the federal government to take the extra step of adopting an industrywide mask-wearing requirement, as well as cleaning and social distancing regulations for all U.S. carriers.

"Airlines are implementing policies on the fly, with essentially no coordination or direction from the federal government," said Sara Nelson, president of the union, which represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 19 airlines. "We need a federal plan of action to implement safety measures on masks, social distancing, cleaning and more. Safety, health and our entire economy is on the line."

So far, the U.S. Department of Transportation has shown little interest in imposing an industrywide mask policy.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, right, shown with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and President Trump, has brushed off suggestions for a federal regulation requiring masks on flights. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

In an April interview on Fox News, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao brushed off suggestions that the federal government should mandate masks on airlines. She noted that most commercial planes are now so empty that passengers can maintain social distancing inside of the cabin. Chao added that she prefers to leave policy questions about masks to the airlines and their workers.

"We encourage the unions and the management of the airlines to talk to one another," she said.

But industry experts say that a federal regulation would be easier to enforce than the policies of an individual airline.

A passenger who violates the FAA ban on smoking on a plane or engages in "unruly behavior" can be fined up to $25,000 per violation, according to federal regulations. Meanwhile, a passenger who breaks an airline policy, such as boarding out of turn, can be booted off a plane and banned from ever flying on that carrier.

"The difference between the mask rule and the smoking rule is that the smoking rule carries the force of law," said Madhu Unnikrishnan, editor of the trade publication Skift Airline Weekly. "As we don't have a law requiring masks onboard yet, it's up to airlines to set individual policy. And rather than face a fight onboard, they're choosing diplomacy."

JetBlue is asking its flight crew to "be sensitive to all situations, use their best judgment to maintain compliance while upholding our service standards and ... try to de-escalate issues onboard to the best of their ability," airline spokesman Derek Dombrowski said. As a last resort, he said, customers who don't follow the policy can be banned from flying JetBlue in the future.

On United Airlines, flight attendants have been asked to use their "de-escalation skills" to deal with any disturbance prompted by the mask policy. Flight attendants may also reassign a mask offender to a new seat away from other passengers, according to the airline.

On Southwest Airlines, employees and flight attendants "will respectfully request that customers abide by the policy," and if they don't, flight attendants will rely on their training in conflict management to resolve the dispute, airline spokesman Brian Parrish said.

Demand for air travel has dropped by more than 90% since March, but the number of passengers screened daily by the Transportation Security Administration has been rising slowly in the past three weeks. In a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Southwest Airlines reported that although overall bookings are down, the carrier has "recently experienced a modest improvement in passenger demand, bookings and trip cancellations."

Flight attendants and airline representatives worry that travelers may be less inclined to wear masks as local governments across the country begin to lift coronavirus restrictions. For now, they said, passengers are largely abiding by the mask rules.

"Even as states are opening up, there's a recognition that masks will be part of our new normal for some time," said Taylor Garland, a spokeswoman for the Assn. of Flight Attendants.
Sunshine Amendment would put openness in N.C. constitution

RALEIGH  N.C. Senate leaders say they value government transparency  especially given the COVID-19 pandemic. A bill recently filed in the House presents an opportunity for those senior officials to show commitment to the states sunshine laws.

House Bill 1111, Sunshine Amendment, would make access to public records and meetings a constitutional right in North Carolina. Under state law, public meetings must be noticed and open to any resident who wants to attend. Similarly, public records like emails, financial reports, and other official documents must be available to the public. H.B. 1111 would add those protections to the states constitution.

If H.B. 1111 passes the legislature, it would be sent before voters in November. The bill is similar to the famous Florida Sunshine Amendment, which was ratified by that states voters in 1992. The provision broke ground, becoming the first constitutional amendment of its kind in the United States.

North Carolina has the opportunity to follow suit  and the timing couldnt be more appropriate, said John Bussian, a media lawyer who represents the N.C. Press Association and Carolina Journal.

When COVID-19 spread into North Carolina and Gov. Roy Cooper ordered a total shutdown of all non-essential businesses, in-person meetings transitioned online. Video calls, conference calls, and virtual news conferences became the norm.

Public meetings evolved, and so the law evolved with it.

Today, North Carolinas public meetings and records laws have been amended to allow remote and virtual gatherings during a statewide emergency, such as that presented by the pandemic. Under new rules, government bodies are required to livestream audio or video of virtual meetings, use roll call votes, and identify members by name. Any chats, texts, instant messages, or emails exchanged among members of a public body during virtual meetings are now considered public records.

Given the light the virus crisis has shed on the need for government accountability  and the need for the government to be upfront with people  there couldnt be a better time for the Sunshine Amendment to be put on the ballot, Bussian told CJ.

H.B. 1111, sponsored by Reps. Mitchell Setzer, R-Catawba, and Stephen Ross, R-Alamance, doesnt yet have a Senate counterpart. CJ reached out to Setzers office via email Tuesday, May 19, seeking comment on who in the Senate might support the legislation. Setzer didnt immediately respond.

A few statements from Senate leaders Monday, May 18, indicate the subject is important to those who could give the bill a pathway.

Transparency and communication is what is paramount in any type of crisis that we have, Senate Majority Whip Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, told the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee during a discussion about dysfunction in the states unemployment insurance program.

Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, held a news conference Monday in the legislative auditorium, providing marked seats to create social distance among reporters. All journalists present were allowed to step up to a microphone and speak with Berger if they wished.

Its nice to be able to take questions and allow follow-ups from you all today, Berger said during his opening remarks. Transparency and accessibility is necessary during times of crisis. Unfortunately, thats been missing from the executive branch during this time.

Cooper is prohibiting members of the media from attending news briefings in person to prevent the spread of Covid-19. During his time as state attorney general, Cooper, a Democrat, championed public records and open meetings laws, even releasing a handbook on the topic. But today, when reporters phone into news conferences, Coopers staff screens the calls to decide who gets through, and who doesnt. Carolina Journal is nearly always blocked from asking the governor questions.

Transparency isnt partisan  and H.B. 1111 is designed to be impartial, Bussian said. Simply put, the bill is a constitutional assurance of government transparency for every North Carolinian.

Its a good, neutral start to a long-range effort to improve open government law in North Carolina, Bussian said. Its about everybody.
General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, is questioning the democratic dispensation under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



His critique is borne out of the brouhaha surrounding the Electoral Commission's resolve to use the identification cards produced by the National Identification Authority (NIA) as a prerequisite tool during the registration exercise for new voters identification cards.



What is the motive behind the idea that apart from the Ashanti Region, none of the regions in the country has been able to register more people with the NIA Card? What we are saying is that the way and manner the NIA has gone about the registration process, if we are to use this card for the new voters register, then it means about two million Ghanaians will be disenfranchised in the 2020 general elections, the NDC General Secretary stated on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show.



 . . those who were successful to go through the NIA registration have not been able to receive their cards. In Upper East, those who have received their cards are about 6 percent and so 94 percent of those who registered have not yet received their cards. In Upper West, those who have received their cards are 5 percent and 95 percent do not have their cards. In Northern Region, it is 33 percent, Bono East is 11 percent, Bono Region is 10 percent; in Ahafo Region, 8 percent people have received their cards and if you come to Ashanti Region, over 50 percent of the people have received their cards, he asserted.



Supporting the claim of Major Boakye Gyan of an impending danger in the country, General Mosquito as popularly called, insisted that the obstinate posture of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the NIA's shoddy work are a recipe for civil unrest.



How can you claim to be practicing democracy when infact you are disenfranchising some people . . . and if someone comes to warn you that what you are doing is a recipe for coup detat, you rather say that the person is inciting the public . . . why arrest someone who is simply warning you against civil war which might happen due to your activities? Why are we turning Ghanas democracy upside down? he bemoaned.



He however warned against the use of intimidation by the Akufo-Addo government to suppress the will of Ghanaians for demanding their democratic rights to take part in the upcoming general elections.



Nana Addo, you know that we were all part of the Peoples Movement For Freedom and Justice; we fought against Acheampongs regime and other regimes and we thought that once you have become President, you will demonstrate something good that we fought for but your actions as a President are worse than that of a military regime . . . you are bargaining for what you yourself have preached against before, he chastised the President.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
The first study aimed at establishing how prevalent Covid-19 has been across Irish communities is expected to take place in Dublin and Sligo next month.

The seroprevalence (a measure of the levels of a disease in a population measured by blood samples) study, which analyses people for antibodies which indicate they are either immune or may have had the coronavirus at some stage in the past, is one of the main approaches being taken in order to reopen Ireland on a basis of living alongside the virus - as opposed to its prevention or eradication.

Dr Cillian de Gascun, chair of the National Public Health Emergency Teams (NPHET) expert advisory group and director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, spoke about the study at a Department of Health briefing, saying we certainly plan to start the study in June.

The study has been in gestation for more than a month, with the chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan previously stating that seroprevalence would form the main approach to combating the fact that up to 50% of the population who present with the virus are asymptomatic.

At the twice weekly meeting of NPHET held on May 5 a briefing note was presented to the group by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, entitled Study to Investigate Covid-19 Infection in the Irish Population (SCOPI).

The prospective study will be funded by the HSE and carried out by the HPSC and NVRL in conjunction with the Central Statistics Office and the Department of Health. It will be aimed at estimating population age-specific immunity or past exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

On the back of discussion as to how representative the study will be the HPSC said it constituted a first approach and had been agreed with the CSO as being the most appropriate sampling strategy.

Its unclear why Dublin and Sligo have been selected as the two sample counties - though the former has presented nearly 50% of all Covid-19 infections across the country, while the Connacht county has one of the lowest rates with just 129 confirmed cases as at May 17.

Dr de Gascun said the study would involve a small proportion of the population, being chosen at random and then being invited to give blood which would be tested for the antibody to the coronavirus. The sample would hopefully be representative of the overall population, he said.

Wed probably look at two different regions - one of a higher prevalence and one of a low prevalence, he said, with the studys results subsequently giving rise to further testing in different regions.

Meanwhile, NPHET has also heard of a separate study on seroprevalence in older Irish people, to be carried out by the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), while other studies are also in the works, including an evaluation of the treatment of infection in healthcare workers and the World Health Organisations solidarity trial on the effectiveness of the drug Remdesivir against Covid-19.

That drug, a broad-ranging antiviral with proven inhibitory effects on human and animal coronaviruses including that which causes Covid-19 (albeit only in laboratory settings), has been touted by the European Union as one which may be fast-tracked to market despite comprehensive data on its effectiveness and side effects not yet being available.
Sr Mary De Chantal Gilfillan celebrated her 100th birthday on Monday, May 11 in the Convent of Mercy, Longford.

In Longford, where the Sisters of Mercy have been for almost one hundred and sixty years, the last remnant finds itself in lockdown, cocooned as a result of the coronavirus. Consequently Sr De Chantal was unable to enjoy the presence of her dearly loved relatives, nursing colleagues and friends at the celebration.

She was born on May 11, 1920 in Kilmore, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Roscommon and was christened Josephine Mary in St Brigids Church, Dangan.

She was the second youngest child of Thomas and Brigid Gilfillan and she had four brothers and four sisters.

Now at one hundred years of age she is the sole surviving member of her immediate family.

Josephine attended the Marist secondary school in Carrick-on-Shannon and then spent a year in the College of Home Economics, Ardagh. There she became acquainted with the Sisters of Mercy in Longford and in 1940 entered Longford Convent.

According to the custom of the time she was given the name Sr Mary De Chantal at her reception.

This was the beginning of eighty years answering her call as a Sister of Mercy.

Five years later she went to train as a nurse in the Mater Hospital, Dublin.

After training she was appointed to work in the old County Home, Longford (later known as St Josephs Hospital and now known as St Josephs Care Centre).

In 1950/51 she trained as a midwife in our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda and did her work experience in the Coombe Hospital, Dublin.

Some years later she was asked to work in Our Ladys Manor, Edgeworthstown where, with Sr Veronica Kiernan, she admitted the first maternity patient in February 1952.

Six and a half happy years later she was asked to leave the Manor to take care of the students health and domestic needs in St Mels College, Longford. Two other sisters were also assigned to this ministry.

1960 saw her back in St Josephs Hospital where she enjoyed her work with the, mainly, elderly patients and later in the adjacent Mount Carmel Hospital where she put her midwifery skills to good use. She retired from nursing in 1985.

The retirement was short lived and August of the same year saw her en route to Ely, Nevada  a small mining town in the Rocky Mountains where the Ardagh & Clonmacnois Mercy Sisters had a mission.

She worked there as a Parish Sister and returned to Longford Convent in 2001 where she has since resided except for the years 2012  2014 while the 1870s convent was being refurbished. During that time she lived in Ballymahon Convent.

Sr M De Chantal, now 100 years old, whose whole life was lived quietly and unobtrusively but very effectively is filled with gratitude and appreciation for the happiness and fulfilment she experienced in her life and work as a Sister of Mercy.

What was it that endeared her so much to her family, to the sisters with whom she lived, to her nursing colleagues, to the patients in the health care/nursing area and to so many others?

On reflection it was above all the quality of her presence. She had a peace-filled presence bringing calm everywhere she went.

Hers was a pleasant, encouraging, good humoured, healing presence that was greatly appreciated by her patients - a Christ-like presence bringing good news. To have journeyed with her even for a short while was a good experience. We are all on a journey. We are, all of us, a pilgrim people on the way to the Father whose unconditional love is revealed anew to us every day, especially through people like Sr De Chantal.

In hindsight hers was a life that began in the troubled times of the 1920s and continued in the 1930s and 40s through World War II. Throughout the peaceful years that followed she could never have imagined that she would celebrate her 100 birthday while another world war was being fought, this time with an invisible enemy, Covid-19.

The words of St John Henry Newman may resonate in some way with her now:

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on,

oer moor and fen, oer crag and torrent, till the night is gone

and with the morn those angel faces smile,

which I have loved long since, and lost awhile! and Keep thou my feet I do not ask to see the distant scene

One step enough for me.

Who would ever have dreamt of a distant scene like 2020?
The Punjab government has set up a facilitation centre at the Delhi airport to help people from the state coming back on special flights from abroad to return to their respective districts.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the transport facility had been arranged at the centre to ensure the comfortable return of stranded people to their native districts, where they will be required to stay in quarantine for 14 days and tested for COVID-19.

Those found negative would be sent home for another two weeks of self-quarantine, while those who test positive will be shifted to isolation centres, Singh said in a statement.

Around 20,000 stranded people are expected to return to Punjab under the Vande Bharat Mission. With many of them by flights arriving in New Delhi, the facilitation centre would ensure seamless coordination, without chaos or confusion, the chief minister said.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to quarantine these people in hotels in the respective districts, and free quarantine facility would be given to those students or immigrants who cannot afford the cost of hotels, Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said.

While one flight arrived in Amritsar from the USA on Tuesday, several more are expected to arrive in New Delhi and Amritsar next week.

The facilitation centre is coordinating with the state transport department to enable smooth and timely services for taking the returnees to their home districts in Punjab.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The majority of Canadian companies have reported earnings for the first three months of 2020, giving a picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business so far and in the months to come. Heres a sector-by-sector look at some of the themes that have emerged:

RETAIL: Canadian retailers scrapped their financial outlooks, announced permanent store closures and saw sales slip amid the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many to close their doors across the country. Many announced temporary and permanent lay offs, as well as pay cuts in an effort to manage costs; but some saw a glimmer of hope in online sales, with e-commerce revenue on the rise.

On the grocery side, companies experienced a sales surge in mid-March as the COVID-19 pandemic started to unfold in Canada and consumers rushed to stock up their pantries, but that spike started to settle as consumers eased into their new normal. Despite the sales bump, grocers experienced higher operating costs as they offered employees higher pay and increased cleaning and other safety precautions. These costs are expected to continue into the near future.

TRANSPORTATION: Airlines are bleeding cash amid prolonged travel restrictions and a drop-off in passenger flight demand. Air Canada lost more than $1 billion in the first quarter, slashing its flight capacity by over 90 per cent ahead of even fewer expected passengers between April and June. WestJet has cancelled tens of thousands of trips  including all U.S. and international routes  through July 4, while Porter, Transat and Sunwing have suspended flights entirely. Though traffic is expected to pick up somewhat before the end of the year, Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu said the recovery will be slow, with at least three years of subpar earnings. Meanwhile, Bombardier Inc. reported a $200-million loss for the quarter after the global disruption impeded aircraft deliveries and shut down operations across dozens of plants. On the rail side, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. saw freight volumes drop amid blockades in February and production shutdowns in China. CN and CP withdrew and lowered their profit forecasts, respectively, as crude oil and auto shipments continue to fall, prompting some 3,300 layoffs so far.

RESTAURANTS: Companies large and small faced steep sales drops as the pandemic prompted mass dining room closures across Canada. Chains had to shift to some combination of serving food through counter service, curbside pick-up, delivery and drive-thru. Restaurants are now creating plans to resume some services as phased reopening begins, including measures such as spacing out tables to maintain distance between customers and taking staff temperatures at the start of shifts.

ENERGY: Huge non-cash asset writedowns, capital spending reductions, cancelled or reduced dividends, executive salary cuts, workforce reductions and production curtailments were themes in first-quarter results from Canadas energy sector. Global demand for energy products plunged as industries and individuals were forced to shut down to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Oil prices, already weak due to inventory builds from a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, fell as refineries throttled back output. Oilsands producer and fuel marketer Suncor Energy Inc. slashed its quarterly dividend by 55 per cent after 18 years of consecutive annual increases. Analysts calculate more than 800,000 barrels of oil per day have been taken off the market.

REAL ESTATE: The pandemic dealt a big blow to share prices and property valuations for some real estate companies, especially those focused on the retail sector, while others have seen only mild effects. Companies like Brookfield Property Partners, which has extensive mall holdings in the U.S., swung to a loss in the first quarter and its share price is trading at almost half of where it was before the crisis hit North America. The company reported only about 20 per cent of its retail tenants paid rent in April. RioCan also saw its earnings down significantly and its share price dive by almost half as it reported that about two-thirds of expected rent came in for April and didnt reveal May figures. Real estate investment trusts focused on office or residential have fared better, as have REITs with essential service anchor tenants like Smart Centres with Walmart, CT with Canadian Tire, and Choice Properties with Loblaw Inc.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Canadas large phone and cable companies have said they expect to lose some customers among small- to mid-sized businesses because of COVID-related shut-downs. However, BCE, Rogers and Telus indicated in that they hadnt seen much of that activity yet and are prepared to manage through the trend if it emerges. They expect to balance lost revenues from some areas with savings from others, such as money spent to sign up new smartphone customers. For the most part, demand for internet, wireless and other telecom services is expected to remain resilient as it was during the early stages of pandemic shutdowns.

INSURANCE: Insurance companies are starting to see the impacts of closed medical offices sales staff unable to connect with customers face-to-face. Manulife Financial Corp., Sun Life Financial Inc. and Great-West Lifeco all reported profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31 was down from the same period last year. Great-West Lifes net income dropped by nearly 50 per cent  the biggest tumble seen by the countrys top three insurers. The companies say theyre optimistic they can bounce back if COVID-19 manages to create an awareness around the importance of insurance, much like they saw after the SARS crisis.

INFRASTRUCTURE: Engineering and construction firms havent escaped the ripple effects of the virus, but may be well-poised to benefit from public works projects launched by governments eager to mitigate its impact. WSP Global saw profits fall by 77 per cent last quarter amid extreme market volatility, but many projects deemed essential have proceeded. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. continued to lose cash through its resources division, losing $66 million in the first quarter as it pivots toward engineering services and away from higher-risk, fixed-price construction contracts. Public-sector projects account for more than half of WSPs revenues and three-quarters of SNCs, which should be relatively stable. Nonetheless, both companies have withdrawn their 2020 guidance, along with Aecon Group Inc. and Stantec Inc.

NEWSPAPERS: Canadas two largest publicly traded newspaper companies, Postmedia Network Canada and Torstar Corp., reported this month that theyve seen a devastating decline in advertising revenue related to the economic slowdown. They each announced layoffs and closed some smaller print editions to reduce some of their costs. But theyve also said theyll be eligible for millions of dollars of wage subsidies from a COVID-related emergency fund. Theyve also said they need to receive tax credits from a 2019 program to pay a portion of salaries paid to journalists working for qualified print organizations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.

By Ian Bickis, Tara Deschamps, Dan Healing, David Paddon, Christopher Reynolds and Aleksandra Sagan
Sen. Amy Klobuchar delivered a letter Wednesday to the country's top antitrust officials  Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons  urging scrutiny of Uber's potential acquisition of Grubhub.

Uber, which has a market capitalization of $59 billion, has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, which has a market capitalization of $5.3 billion, CNBC has reported. It is unclear whether the two will come to an agreement on price.

The talks come as the coronavirus pandemic has crushed Uber's ride-sharing business but grown demand for food delivery. Uber said earlier this month it will lay off 3,700 people, or about 14% of its 26,900 employees.

The spotlight from Klobuchar and other lawmakers is likely an unwelcome backdrop to deal discussions. Such scrutiny can result in CEOs testifying before Congress. Both companies have already drawn negative public attention on issues ranging from restaurant fee policy to worker treatment.

"As our country grapples with the many health and safety challenges brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many consumers have turned to food delivery apps to order meals online, and many restaurants have come to rely on the business they get through these apps to stay afloat," wrote Klobuchar, D-Minn., along with fellow Democratic Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

"A merger of Uber Eats and Grubhub would combine two of the three largest food delivery application providers and raise serious competition issues in many markets around the country," they said.

"We urge the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to closely monitor the negotiations of this potential transaction and to initiate an investigation if the parties reach an agreement to merge."

The senators said that it is "particularly troubling that this merger is being contemplated during a pandemic, when consumer demand has increased and when restaurants are more desperate for revenue than ever." They said they "have been hearing about the exorbitant fees" that online delivery app companies have been charging to restaurants.

Representatives for Uber, Grubhub, the DOJ and the FTC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawmakers' letter.

Klobuchar, a former presidential candidate, has been mentioned as a potential running mate for apparent Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

In their letter, Klobuchar, Leahy and Blumenthal argue that Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Doordash account for 20%, 28%, and 42% of online app-based food delivery sales across the nation, respectively. Merging Uber Eats and Grubhub would create significant anticompetitive effects, particularly at the local level, the Democrats argue. In New York City, for example, they said Uber Eats and Grubhub would have a hold on 79% of the market.

"These market shares are staggering," they wrote, "particularly in light of the leverage that these online delivery companies already wield over restaurants, delivery workers, and consumers, especially during this pandemic."

The senators are part of a broader chorus of lawmakers calling for tough antitrust scrutiny amid the pandemic, worried that the crisis will allow already powerful players to amass even more share, as small competition fall by the wayside.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. and fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have proposed "The Pandemic Anti-Monopoly Act" to "stop large corporations from exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to engage in harmful mergers.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I. has said he wants in language in the next relief package banning most mergers during the pandemic, though such language did not make its way in the $3 trillion relief package that Democrats passed last Friday.

The Justice Department and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general are working on an antitrust lawsuit against Google as part of an investigation that started prior to the pandemic.

Still, the DOJ's Delrahim told CNBC that some transactions may be "very necessary" now  to ensure that companies have liquidity and to keep workers employed.

He said his department will not review transactions with its "head in the sand."




The man killed his partner and her two daughters after a heated argument

A mom and her two daughters have been killed by her partner after a heated argument in South Carolina.

Sun UK reported that Shanta Singleton and her two daughters Essence, 15, and Trevay, 12, were killed, while two other children managed to escape the house.

Singleton, whose birthday was on 16 May, the same day she was killed, was believed to be on her way home from Myrtle Beach with her four daughters when they realized they were being followed.

According to Calhoun County deputies, when they arrived at the home on 145 Bugleflower Lane, deputies say Singleton and the man, Gabriel Jordan, got into an argument.

Singletons children tried to help her when Jordan began to choke her, according to the incident report. Moments later he killed her, two of her daughters and then himself.

Calhoun County Sheriffs department responded to the residence near St. Matthews just after 7pm Sunday and discovered the bodies of four people who had been killed by gunshots.

Jordan, also 37, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound

Any incident involving the loss of life is tragic, but in this case the senseless violence is unimaginable, said Calhoun County Sheriff Thomas Summers. This entire family and the community are grieving over this senseless act.

No one should be capable of this level of violence.

Singleton and Jordan were, together off and on for many years, Summers added.

Linda Grant, a neighbor who lives on Bugleflower Lane, told the Times and Democrat: Its just sad. I really cant even process what happened. Its bad enough when adults are involved, but when children are involved, thats just hard to break it.

Trevay, 12, jumped on Jordans back and he shot her, the local paper added. Then he shot 18-year-old Shantasia Stroman in the arm, Calhoun County deputies said.

As Shantasia ran to a neighbors house for help, she saw Jordan with his gun chasing her 15-year-old sister Essence into the house.

Essences body was later found by police in a bedroom.

One of the children told investigators Singleton went to Myrtle Beach with another man and Jordan followed them home, Calhoun County Sheriff Thomas Summers told the newspaper.

According to Summers, Singleton was telling Jordan their relationship was finished, and she had been at the beach with another man, who she was now dating.

Attorney Chasity Avinger who served as a court-appointed guardian ad litem for one of the children said: Shanta was a very hardworking and dedicated mother.

Her children were reflection of that love and devotion to their well-being and their losses will be felt by many.
Alabama voters have 50 days left to apply for an absentee ballot for the July 14 runoff.

Secretary of State John Merrill has advised that voters who dont want to vote in person because of the coronavirus pandemic can vote by absentee ballot. The application deadline is July 9.

Alabama law requires voters to give a reason when applying for an absentee ballot.

If the reason is to avoid the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19, voters should check the box that says: I have a physical illness or infirmity which prevents my attendance at the polls, according to Merrill.

Voters can download an absentee ballot application from the secretary of states website.

Or they can request an application from their county absentee election manager.

Another option is to request an application by phone from the secretary of states office, 334-242-7210.

The deadline to mail or deliver an absentee ballot to the absentee election manager is July 13.

The last day to register to vote before the runoff is June 29.

Gov. Kay Ivey postponed the runoff from March 31 to July 14 because of the pandemic.
UNICEF has entered into a partnership with Airtel Africa to provide children with access to remote learning and enable access to cash assistance for their families via mobile cash transfers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the telecom company said on Wednesday.

Airtel Africa will 'zero-rate' select websites hosting educational content, which will provide children with remote access to digital content at no cost.

Under this pact, UNICEF and Airtel Africa will use mobile technology to benefit an estimated 133 million children currently affected by school closures in 13 countries across sub-Saharan Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic, Airtel Africa said in a statement.

"UNICEF announced a new partnership with Airtel Africa aimed at providing children with access to remote learning and enable access to cash assistance for their families via mobile cash transfers," it said.

The adverse effects of school closures on children's learning are well-documented, and experts warn that gains made in increasing access to learning in the previous decade are at risk of being lost, or even reversed completely.

For poor households, the pandemic means a reduced or total loss of income due to the movement restrictions in place.

"Remote learning, supported by digital tools, is a core part of UNICEF's response to ensure continuity of learning for those children with access to technology at home," the statement pointed out.

The partnership will also provide UNICEF with a means to facilitate vital cash assistance to alleviate financial barriers for vulnerable families across the region, including many affected by the growing socio-economic hardships resulting from suspension of income earning activities, in the wake of the pandemic.

This will help ensure families have additional resources to cope with the ongoing health and economic crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

"COVID-19 is affecting access to information and at an unprecedented scale," Fayaz King, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Field Results and Innovation, said adding that UNICEF is partnering with Airtel Africa to deliver better outcomes for children and families affected by widespread closures.

The partnership aims to benefit children and families in 13 nations in sub-Saharan Africa. These include Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Raghunath Mandava said, "Some effective ways to cushion families from the effects of this crisis is through providing free Internet access to selected educational websites to help children keep up with their learning during the school closures and direct cash transfer programmes to reduce physical presence requirements for cash in hand exchanges.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COVID-19 is a stark reminder we must do more to promote good health, especially when it comes to our lungs.

I am incredibly grateful Sen. Jeremy Miller is working across party lines to keep Minnesotans healthy during this pandemic. Early studies suggest COVID-19 may be particularly dangerous for people with lungs weakened by chronic disease, asthma and tobacco use.

As someone who works with students at Winona State University, I'm concerned about the tobacco epidemic in the college-aged population as we face this deadly virus.

Rising vaping rates are erasing decades of progress to reduce tobacco use, especially in young adults. We must protect our students, and the Minnesota Senate has the means to do so with a bill to raise the tobacco sales age to 21.

Not only does this epidemic affect college students, but it also affects younger people. More than 25 percent of Minnesota 11th graders reported using e-cigarettes in the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, while the use rate of eighth-graders doubled in just three years. Tobacco use puts our kids at risk of a lifetime of addiction and health problems.

Despite a national law raising the age to 21, Minnesota still must update its state tobacco age to ensure communities can enforce T21.

I thank Sen. Miller for being a strong supporter of Tobacco 21 and urge him to help get it passed this session.

Katie Jensen, Winona

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Wednesday, May 20, 2020

When discussing gender equality, the wage gap between men and women nearly always becomes a part of the conversation. While most people know this gap exists, not as many realize the far-reaching and detrimental impacts of that inequality.

Why Does This Gap Exist?

Before diving into the consequences of wage inequality, its important to look at some of the reasons the gap exists. Its a complicated issue involving many interconnected factors, but some of the most prominent reasons include:

Occupational segregation, wherein more men work in higher-paid industries

Vertical segregation, with more men in senior (and, therefore, higher-paid) positions

Nonexistent, poorly enforced, or ineffective legislation related to equal pay

Barriers to entering the labor market, including outright discrimination, access to education, and work-hindering issues related to child-rearing

Real-World Consequences of the Gender Wage Gap

Closing the wage gap would, of course, be positive because it would be a step toward overall gender equality. However, there would be myriad other positive effects that should motivate people and businesses to make this issue a priority.

For example, gender wage inequality reduces overall economic output. While its certainly not the case for every woman, the wage disparity does make it more likely for females to be dependent on welfare or other social aid programsa problem that becomes even more pronounced in old age. With less savings and fewer pensions, women are generally at a disadvantage in regard to retirement and more likely to face poverty after the age of 65. One study by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs in Australia found that eliminating the 17 percent wage gap there would translate to approximately $93 billion in increased gross domestic product (GDP), or 8.5 percent of overall GDP.

Aptitude Research Partners also found that organizations that specifically prioritize gender equity perform better. They are 54 percent more likely to exceed industry average turnover numbers and 46 percent more likely to have higher year-over-year ratings on Glassdoor. With better retention rates and more engaged and motivated employees, companies are more likely to attract top talent, which then generally leads to improved customer satisfaction and higher-than-average financial returns.

In short, closing the wage gap would improve individual employee satisfaction and quality of life, improve a companys bottom line, and positively impact an entire nations GDP and economic standing.

The March Toward Equality

According to the World Economic Forum, if progress continues at its current pace, it will take 108 years to close the global pay gap in the 106 countries covered in that report. This pace is a result of the slowness of global action on the topic and the sheer vastness of the gap itself.

While these numbers can seem disheartening, many individuals and companies are using them as motivation. Lauren Hasson founded DevelopHer, which is based in Dallas, Texas, United States. DevelopHer is an award-winning platform that bridges the gender wage gap, inspires, and empowers women to advocate for themselves to break glass ceilings.

The scalability and affordability offered through DevelopHer programs has allowed and empowered thousands of women to earn 26%, 43%, and 67% salary increases in just a single negotiation. Through DevelopHer, Lauren has created real change at a grassroots level. Women have also gained the confidence to secure better positions and move beyond glass ceilings, bridging the challenging opportunity gap.

Hasson just won the Gold Stevie Award for Entrepreneur of the Year - Consumer Services in The 2020 American Business Awards as well as a Silver Stevie Award in the category of Female Solo Entrepreneur of the Year, and Startup of the Year - Consumer Services Industries in the 2019 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Interested in entering the Stevie Award for Women in Business?

Hasson acknowledges not only the complexity of this global issue but the need to focus on local solutions.

Pay disparity is an intractable issue that will not be solved overnight, says Hasson, but the DevelopHer mission is to foster engagement by businesses and individuals at a grassroots level to affect true change.
The global health crisis came swiftly. With little time to prepare for the nationwide shutdown that has left America on pause for months, companies from all industries have had to pivot, and quickly. As customer needs have evolved over the past few months, many companies are rising to the occasion and making alterations to their business models to be helpful and, consequently, to stay in business.

Every business has had to think quickly about their future in the wake of this global crisis. Some of the trends we've foreseen for a while, like the shift from brick and mortar to e-commerce, are coming to fruition sooner than expected. But businesses have also had to become more, resourceful, using whatever is at their disposal to be of service when their communities need it most. Overall, here are three big ways that companies are pivoting during the current crisis.

Related: 5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis

1. Theyre bringing in-person services online

Retail companies that already had an online presence have doubled down on their digital strategy. But it's another challenge entirely to move in-person services  such as physical therapy  online. Due to the need for in-person interaction, social distancing would seemingly bring physical therapy services to a complete halt. But Greg Peters, CEO of Better PT, an online platform that connects patients directly with physical therapy clinics, had already been thinking about a move to virtual telehealth services. The timing of the crisis created an opportunity and even a necessity to act.

Two years ago, I demanded by executive order that my company build a telemedicine platform," Peters said in an email interview. "I knew it would be useful down the road, but of course, I had no idea this would happen.

Luckily, the telehealth platform had already been built and launched shortly before the crisis happened, and Peters has been able to invite physical therapists from multiple locations to offer their services on Better PT. Since March 16th, 2020, the physical therapy telehealth app has hosted more than 32,000 telehealth visits from more than 900 physical therapy clinic locations.

Its been an accelerated level of beta testing, Peters said. We are constantly getting feedback, and turning around changes in two weeks.

Michelle Collie, the CEO of Performance Physical Therapy, made the difficult decision to shut down all thirteen of her physical therapy clinics for the safety of her patients and staff during the period of highest restriction and move them onto the platform. She said the biggest challenge of moving to virtual has been determining the right language and tools to make telehealth appointments as effective as in-person visits, but that the format has actually strengthened the relationships between patients and therapists, so far. Now she's considering with her team how theyll blend virtual services with live visits as the world returns to the new normal.

Michael Evangelist, VP of Clinical Services at JAG-ONE has had a similar experience in moving his services online. This will never replace in-person visits, but I can see us continuing to use teletherapy in instances when a client is running late and couldnt get to the office in time, he said.

Related: Inside the DIY Movement to Make Face Shields and Masks for ...

2. Theyre converting production lines to help with the crisis

In addition to fears for an inadequate number of hospital beds and intubators available, the global mask shortage created another layer of danger and mass panic in an already dire situation, especially for first responders. and medical personnel. A number of companies with infrastructure and factories available have risen to the occasion, foregoing their usual products to manufacture masks, hand-sanitizer, and other essential emergency needs. As an example, the BELLA+CANVAS clothing company in Los Angeles converted their production line of shirts and hoodies into Masks for America, which is now producing 100 million masks per week. Their high production volume was possible due to a zero-sew design for the masks and their ownership of one of the largest and most technologically advanced cutting facilities in the world. Additionally, the company leveraged a relationship with sales AI platform ScaleX.ai to funnel the masks into the hands of the organizations that have needed them most, potentially saving lives.

Companies such as Carhartt, Brooks Brothers, and the Gap have also committed to the production of masks and hospital gowns, The Louis Vuitton conglomerate converted their perfume and fragrance production to produce tons of hand sanitizer. None of these production facilities show signs of slowing down anytime soon, despite the relative flattening of the curve, as recent WHO guidelines (and the growing culture of wearing masks in public as a social courtesy) contribute to continued demand.

3. Theyre expanding operations to meet new demands

Many of the companies Americans depend on the most have needed to hire in mass and expand their operations. Stores like CVS Health and Walmart are now hiring tens of thousands of new employees. Delivery services like Amazon and InstaCart have announced the hiring of hundreds of thousands of new employees. Similarly, telecommunication companies like Slack and Zoom have hired hundreds of new employees to support the massive surge in online demand as companies have shifted to remote work.

Although there may be light at the end of the tunnel, one thing is sure: the "new normal" will not resemble the world we've worked in before. These pivots prove the resilience of America's entrepreneurs. The world will benefit for generations from the resiliency and creativity these and many other entrepreneurs have shown. May we all be inspired and compelled by their efforts.

Related: This Air Mask Company Struggled to Take Off. Then Came ...

Related:

10 OG Prison Tips to Get Your Mind, Body and Soul Right During Quarantine

La importancia de saber actuar ante lo inesperado

What Does the Crisis Mean for the Sharing Economy?



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
A patient of COVID-19 was allowed home quarantine in Mumbai because no hospital bed could be made available for him. The incident came to light from Antop Hill in Wadala East, one of the worst-hit areas of Mumbai.

The civic body did not even seal the building or floor where the man stays even hours after his infection was detected. Further, the municipal corporation, known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) failed to sanitise the complex.

After CNN-News18 broke the story, the administration swung into action and BMC employees took the patient to Seven Hills Hospital late in the afternoon on Wednesday.

The building was later declared as containment zone. Two lifts of the building were sealed.

In this F/North ward, the authorities have said they have organised several fever clinics to detect presence of the virus among locals.

On May 19, the man living on the 13th floor of a slum redevelopment building tested positive. Later in the day, he was taken to Somaiya Hospital, but no bed was available. So the authorities instead of shifting him another hospital, allowed him to be taken back home by his family.

Neighbours were not even asked to self-quarantine, neither did any BMC team visit the building to screen residents.

According to protocol, at least the floor, if not the entire building, needs to be sealed.

When asked about it, an official from the ward office said, "We had taken the patient to the hospital, but no bed was available. So the family took him back home. We allowed him to be home quarantined. I do not know about why our officials have not yet sealed the floor."

When asked if it was not against protocol to keep a coronavirus-positive patient home quarantined, he said the administration will find him a bed in a hospital soon.

Newly appointed BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal has asked his staff to do aggressive contact tracing. 10 high- and low-risk contacts are to be traced for every positive patient. But as the number of cases rise rapidly in the island city, one of the worst hit metros in the country, several questions about the inefficient handling of the pandemic are surfacing by the day.
HK residents should see opposition tricks amid legit election: LegCo Finance Committee Chairman

Global Times

By Fan Lingzhi Source:Globaltimes.cn Published: 2020/5/19 0:13:43

The election was completely legitimate, but the opposition remains infatuated with last year's results, Chan Kin-por, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) LegCo Finance Committee Chairman, told the Global Times on Monday after the LegCo House Committee chairwoman was elected.

Chan urged HK residents to identify the opposition's tricks and not vote for them as they would create more turmoil.

On Monday, Starry Lee Wai-king, chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress (DAB), was reelected chairwoman of the House Committee of the Legislative Council (LegCo), with Chan presiding over the election meeting.

Lee gained 40 votes, thus ending prolonged filibusters from opposition lawmakers led by Dennis Kwok Wing-hang that have been aimed at obstructing the election since October 2019.

As the election commenced, opposition lawmakers shouted slogans and charged the podium, forcing a suspension due to the disturbance. Chan ordered security to expel the unruly members after his warnings went unnoticed.

According to the LegCo website, the House Committee makes preparations for Council meetings and considers all business matters. One function of the House Committee is to scrutinize bills introduced to the Council and subsidiary legislation tabled at Council meetings or presented to the Council for approval.

Tang Fei, a member of the Council of Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said that except for the LegCo president, every member is part of the House Committee. "The only difference between the two is whether there is a president of LegCo. This is similar to the relationship between 99 and 100 percent," Tang said.

According to Tang, LegCo has two functions - one is legislation and the other is to approve public expenditure funding applications. The House Committee helps prepare LegCo meetings and assist with legislative tasks. If the House Committee cannot function, the bills will not make it to LegCo for deliberation.

LegCo is backlogged with 14 bills and over 20 subsidiary laws, including the national anthem law, and a bill to extend maternity leave. "If the House Committee cannot work, the LegCo cannot legislate. Then the bills will enter a black hole, which is ridiculous," Chan said.

According to the LegCo system, between the second and third bill readings, the House Committee usually votes. During this session, members can discuss the amendments made during the second reading.

"This is like a rehearsal of the third reading, which shows the importance of the House Committee. It even can be said that people who served as the chairperson of the House Committee is qualified to act as the president of LegCo," Tang said.

Since last October, meetings have been held to vote for the chairman of the House Committee due to obstruction from opposition lawmakers. Spokesperson of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong previously criticized Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and other lawmakers for filibustering to obstruct the LegCo's House Committee chairman election, leaving multiple bills related to people's livelihood unaddressed, thus harming Hong Kong residents and violating HKSAR lawmaker responsibilities, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chan was appointed by LegCo President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen to preside over the election meeting according to LegCo's Rules of Procedure.

"Leung said he named me to preside over the election out of consideration that the members of the House Committee are the same as the Finance Committee. Besides, the two committees separately assist the legislature and finance affairs," Chan said.

Another reason was Chan's experience in dealing with opposition lawmakers and handling conflicts incited by them.

When asked why the opposition continues to obstruct the election, Chan said it was because of the national anthem law and about hindering governance abilities. The opposition was concerned that if the government introduced policies benefiting HK residents and helped them address problems, it would win their support. Therefore, they would do everything possible to impede local governance.

Chan said Leung consulted heavyweights in British Constitution and concluded the situation had never happened in the history of LegCo. "In the past, it only took 15 minutes to elect a chairman. Now, no one had been elected after 17 meetings. This shows that the rules have loopholes which cannot address current issues. So, the president can use LegCo's 92 procedure rule, which stipulates that when something is missing in the procedure rules, the president can make the final decision. Therefore, the president decided to usher in a new procedure and assign a member to be responsible for the chairman election," he explained.

Chan said the opposition's criticism is only "a thief shouting 'stop thief.'"

"Kwok claimed to follow the rules of procedure, but in seven months, a chairman hasn't been elected, which paralyzed LegCo. He cheated," Chan said.

Chan said the opposition lawmakers' next move is to prevent the passage of the national anthem law. He predicted that on that day there would be conflict which could increase social instability.

"They [the opposition] have long ignored people's livelihood. I don't think they will succeed because most residents think the passage of the national anthem law is the responsibility and must for HKSAR. Only a small portion of people are against it," Chan explained.

Chan said the opposition has lost their sense of reasoning, and could become more radical while smearing the government to mislead Hong Kong citizens just to win more LegCo seats. Chan urged local citizens to see their true colors.

Tang said the opposition has been preparing for the LegCo election for a long time. During the second reading of the national anthem law, conflicts similar to what happened today could recur.

Given the current situation in Hong Kong, no matter how hard they try to stir trouble, it won't have much of effect. "LegCo will adjourn in July. The time remaining for the opposition to do performance art is running out," Chan said.



NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






<! Gov. Nyesom Wike >

By Okafor Ofiebor

The Rivers State Government on Tuesday said it has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause breakdown of law and order in a bid to declare State of Emergency in the state.

A statement signed by Paulinus Nsirim, Commissioner for Information and Communications alleged that these persons whose attempts to declare State of Emergency in the State since 2015 have never succeeded because of Gods intervention.

The statement said the same persons did everything within their powers to ensure that the 2019 Governorship election results were not announced but also failed.

According the State government, As the build up for the 2023 elections and jostle for Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets is gathering momentum, they want to use COVID-19 to create a crisis as if the State is at war with the Federal Government.

They have decided to create unnecessary tension as if indigenes of Ahoada, Eleme and Port Harcourt are fighting with Northerners not to carry out their legitimate businesses.

People forget history quickly. Since 2015, there have been farmers/herdsmen clashes in Nasarrawa, Plateau, Taraba, Ebonyi, Cross River, Kaduna, Yobe and Bornu States.

The Statement further cited the fact that throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, States like Enugu, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Kaduna States have been intercepting lorries carrying human beings instead of foodstuffs.

This is the same thing that the Rivers State Government is doing to protect the State from COVID-19, the statement said.

Nsirim said that bandits have been killing innocent people in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States and that indigenes of these States, no matter their political differences were working together to protect their States.

But here in Rivers State, instead of supporting our efforts, these Abuja politicians are busy looking for a State of Emergency because they want to acquire power.

We are alarmed at these hideous plots against our State. Rivers State has never fought a war with strangers or neighbours. Our fight against COVID-19 is to protect the lives of everyone living and doing business in the State.

The Statement further said the government is aware that some shameless politicians are playing politics with COVID-19.

No wonder one of the respected chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had to expose their plan to use COVID-19 to launch into the politics of the State.

After their clandestine meetings they have voted huge sums of money to entice and recruit gullible persons to carry out their plan.

The Rivers State government has therefore placed all patriotic Rivers State indigenes on alert to resist the devilish plans of those it called unpatriotic elements who connive with enemies of the State to cause confusion.

As a State, we have always defeated these sadists and with God on our side, we shall overcome them, the statement said.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As the need for secure and effective collaboration tools rises globally, Wire, the most secure collaboration platform, tracks turbo-charged growth in Q1 2020, driving upward trajectory into Q2.

Wire the most secure collaboration and communication platform Secure collaboration platform, Wire, leads with security at the forefront of 407% year-on-year revenue growth

Leading with security as the key building block of its flexible collaboration platform, Wire added 200 new enterprise customers in April alone, reaching a total of over 1,200 paying enterprise customers as of its calendar first quarter. The changing circumstances of the workplace resulting from the global pandemic have also driven a 400% increase in the number of free trials. The company's overall total revenue has increased by 407% year-on-year.

Built with security in mind at the outset, Wire offers dynamically encrypted messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration. Wire uses industry-leading end-to-end encryption to secure all data that passes through its platform. It is able to provide secure and scalable collaboration with custom deployment options that cater to enterprises and governments looking to protect their documents, secure their communications across teams, and with clients and partners.

"We have always maintained that the future of work is on the horizon and enterprises must be prepared for it. With the Covid-19 pandemic, that future accelerated and has now arrived. The enterprise has had to manage and adapt to the rapid change that comes with shifting to a remote-working model," said Wire CEO Morten Brgger, "Having the right platform to effectively manage that change is of utmost importance, and security needs to be at the heart of it. Because we are a security-led company, we have seen a very impressive growth globally at a time when the need for enterprises to secure their data outside of the company's four walls is more important than ever."

Along with its overall increase in sales, Wire has seen impressive growth in its channel partnerships, both in North America and globally. Wire's recent key channel partnerships include SVA in Germany, Carahsoft in the US, and SeniorsIT in Jordan. Such key partnerships in the channel allow Wire to bring its security-first offering to new customers across different markets and drive tangible business benefit to organisations in the regions.

To help drive the company's momentum, Wire announces several key hires.

Tony Lam, formerly Vice President of Sales, Americas at Wire, has been promoted to VP Partnerships North America and Global System Integrators, where he will be responsible for building Wire's partnership channels in North America and global systems integrators (e.g. IBM, Accenture, Dell, HP), delivering highly secure on-premise solutions to companies that place high value on the protection of their data. Tony will play a key role in accelerating this momentum even further with the focus, insight, and entrepreneurship that he has demonstrated in the past 18 months. Prior to joining Wire, Tony was the Global Head of Sales and Business at Xeebi.ai where he was responsible for the company's revenue and go-to-market strategy.

Erroin Martin joins Wire as VP of Direct Sales for the Americas. Erroin's background includes more than 15 years of leadership within sales organizations. Reporting into Wire's executive leadership, he will work closely with the rest of the Wire commercial and product team to expand and build the US direct pipeline.

Wire has also been recently recognized as a "High Performer" by G2 Crowd, the world's leading business solution review platform for business professionals, buyers, investors, and analysts. The move is a direct result of being highly rated for usability, adoption, and market presence amongst other vendors including Slack, MS Teams, and Webex.

About Wire

Wire is the most secure collaboration platform, transforming the way businesses communicate at the same speed that its founders disrupted telephony with Skype. Headquartered in Switzerland with offices in Berlin and San Francisco, Wire launched its collaboration and communications platform for businesses in early 2018 and today counts over 1,200 enterprise customers, making Wire the fastest-growing collaboration platform. Wire offers messenger, voice, video, conference calls, file-sharing, and external collaboration all protected by end-to-end encryption. Wire is consistently delivering ground-breaking innovation from a unique "message fortress" architecture to encrypted video conferencing, guest rooms and Messaging Layer Security (MLS).

For more information, please visit: wire.com

Media Contact:

Sasha Szczepanski

+44 20 3026 0000

[email protected]

SOURCE Wire

Related Links

https://wire.com/en/


Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) -Brand X Lifestyle Corp., (CSE: BXXX) ("Brand X") has issued 2.5 million units in a non-brokered private placement at a price of ten cents per unit for gross proceeds of $250,000. There were no finders' fees payable on this private placement.

The private placement is subject to the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange and the securities will be subject to a four-month hold period under securities laws. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement for working capital purposes.

Each unit consists of one common share in the capital of the company and one common share purchase warrant, each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share of the company, at an exercise price of thirty five cents per share, for a period of one year from the date of issuance. The warrants are subject to an acceleration right that allows the company to give notice of an earlier expiry date if the company's share price on the CSE (or such other stock exchange the company's shares may be trading on) is equal to or greater than 60 cents for a period of 10 consecutive trading days.

Total proceeds from insider participation in the private placement are $119,000. Insider participation in the private placement is a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101. The company has determined that the transaction is exempt from formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 because neither the fair market value of any shares issued to or the consideration paid by insiders exceeded 25 per cent of the company's market capitalization.

The company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the private placement as the details of the private placement and the participation therein by related parties of the company were not settled until shortly prior to closing and the company wished to close on an expedited basis for sound business reasons and in a time frame consistent with usual market practices for transactions of this nature.

About Brand X Lifestyle Corp.

Brand X (CSE: BXXX) seeks investment opportunities in early to mid-stage blockchain and emerging technology companies. Brand X is dedicated to disciplined due diligence, governance, and an investment process that results in highly qualified investment opportunities.

Contact:

Arni Johannson

Email: arni@canadiannexus.com

Tel: 604-349-3011

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56245
Sloane Googin headshot - high res

Axiom, the global leader in high-caliber, on-demand legal talent, today announced it has named Sloane Googin its next CFO. Googin brings to Axiom a track record of driving value, supporting accelerated growth, creating process efficiencies, and facilitating acquisition activity across a wide range of industries including business services, technology, and data analytics/research. As an experienced leader and CFO, Googin will help Axiom seize on the tremendous growth opportunities before it.

Our industry is at the tipping point for real, lasting transformation, said Elena Donio, CEO, Axiom. Even before COVID, legal had seen an ongoing shift to flexible talent models. We believe that recent events will trigger a more accelerated transformation, and we think that Sloane is the absolute right person to help us navigate through that transformation and to help support our continued, ambitious growth plans. Sloane is not only an accomplished CFO, he is a creative thinker, and an enthusiastic driver of growth, at scale. I couldnt be more excited to partner with him.

Since 2018, Googin has served as the CFO for Dynata, a first-party data and insights platform company. There, he helped lead the business through a period of organic and inorganic growth, and internal transformation. Prior to Dynata, Googin spent 10 years at The Nielsen Company, where he last served as SVP of Global Financial Planning and Analysis, responsible for nearly all aspects of finance with an emphasis on process and operational improvements, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning. He also served as CFO to various Nielsen business units, including the Global Business Services Division. Prior to his time at Nielsen, he held various executive finance positions at General Electric Company and General Electric Capital. Googin received his BS in Information Systems from the University of Connecticut.

As CFO, Googin will lead Axioms finance, accounting, facilities, and IT functions. He will be based in Axioms headquarters in New York.

Said Googin: We are at an inflection point for the business  a time where Axioms value proposition couldnt be any stronger or more relevant. Im excited to join the company at what I believe to be a transformational moment in Axioms story  and I look forward to partnering with Elena and the rest of the executive team to write our exciting next chapter.

About Axiom

Axiom, the global leader in high-caliber, on-demand legal talent, is disrupting the way legal teams and lawyers work. Axiom enables clients to access over 2,400 talented lawyers though a curated platform and build more dynamic teams to drive better business outcomes. Axiom empowers lawyers across industries and practice areas to thrive while pursuing more of the work they love. The company is deeply committed to gender equality and diversity and prides itself on having one of the most diverse employee populations in the industry. Axiom works with over half of the Fortune 100 companies, and currently operates in North America, the U.K., Central Europe and Asia Pacific. http://www.axiomlaw.com.

Contacts

For Axiom:

Wendy Schechter, Articulate Communications (US)

wschecter@articulatecomms.com

+1 212.984.2475

Vicky Newark, Articulate Communications (UK)

vnewark@articulatecomms.com

+44 7376 918 964

###
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:22:34|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TOKYO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The confirmed COVID-19 cases in Japan increased by 39 to reach 16,433, according to the latest figures from the health ministry and local authorities on Wednesday.

The number excludes the 712 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that had been quarantined in Yokohama near Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Japan from the pneumonia-causing virus stands at 797 people, according to the health ministry, with the figure including those from the cruise ship.

In Tokyo, the epicenter of Japan's outbreak, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased by five to reach 5,075, followed by Osaka Prefecture with 1,777 infections.

Kanagawa Prefecture, meanwhile, has recorded 1,303 infections, Hokkaido 1,019 cases, Saitama 993, Chiba 895, while Hyogo Prefecture has recorded 699 cases of COVID-19.

The health ministry said there are currently a total of 214 patients considered severely ill and are on ventilators or in intensive care units.

The ministry also said that in total, 12,939 people, including 653 from the cruise ship, have been discharged from hospitals after their symptoms improved. Enditem
Some bank offices plan to keep offices half full at the most for the foreseeable future.

Wall Street in the post-lockdown era is starting to take shape.

Big banks are preparing offices meant for thousands to house a fraction of that number, with some of those displaced employees relocating to suburban outposts and some working from home indefinitely.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. expects to keep its offices half full at the most for the foreseeable future, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is reopening its Paris office with a maximum of 20% of staff allowed in on any given day. Citigroup Inc. is considering leasing offices in New Jersey and the New York suburbs of Westchester County and Long Island.

The worlds largest banks have been studying how best to safely bring employees back to work once restrictions put in place to stem the spread of Covid-19 are lifted. Existing office configurations are ill-equipped to keep workers far enough apart to meet social-distancing guidelines, and cramped mass transit systems wont work for those facing long commutes.

Its very difficult to imagine large numbers of people flocking back to Manhattan in these tall high-rise buildings where they might have to wait a couple of hours just to ride the elevator, Darin Buelow, a principal at Deloitte Consulting and leader of the firms global location-strategy business, said in an interview.

At JPMorgan, some staff will be sitting at different desks, and in some cases different floors, when they get to work and flexible seating arrangements are enacted, according to an internal memo that was sent Wednesday to employees in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Similar notices were sent to U.S. workers other than branch staff, a person familiar with the matter said.

Frankfurt Plan

In addition to Paris, Goldman Sachs is also reopening outposts in Frankfurt, where its 300-strong team has been divided into three groups that can rotate between working from home and two of its buildings in the city. The firms offices in Madrid, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Stockholm, Milan and Dublin are also getting back in operation, with each adopting new safety protocols.

Workers must keep two meters away from others in the office, and conference rooms can only be used by a single person. The bank has also spaced out seating, reduced elevator capacity and banned visitors and client meetings.

Returning is in no way mandatory and everyone is encouraged to adopt an approach that works for them, the company said in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg.

Measures to protect workers are also being implemented in Londons Canary Wharf financial district, which houses the European headquarters of banks including HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Plc and JPMorgan. The landlord that operates the district said last week that returning workers can expect one-way entrances and no more than six in an elevator.

In the New York region, real estate brokers and landlords with suburban offices have seen a surge in interest from the finance industry, in addition to media and technology companies and law firms.

Rubenstein Partners, which owns office space in northern New Jersey and Stamford, Connecticut, has gotten inquiries on several hundred thousand square feet of office space, mostly from New York-based companies, according to Brandon Huffman, a manager at the firm.

Theres an overwhelming number of employees that need mass transit to access the urban environment, he said. Nobody knows how thats going to work in a social-distancing world.

Those who do make it back will find a world lacking many of the personal touches that helped make their workspaces more homey. JPMorgan has been placing workers personal items into sealed boxes to prepare desks for common use after lockdowns begin to ease.

Cafeterias will also look different, with reduced seating, cashless payments and pre-packaged meals replacing buffets and other self-serve options.

As we prepare for this level of flexible seating and put protocols in place for all areas to be cleaned and disinfected effectively, we have started clearing all desk surfaces and floor areas of any personal and business-related work items, JPMorgan said in the memo. We know how important your items are and will continue to make every effort to treat them with care.
The Immaculate Mary nursing home on Holme Avenue has had the most coronavirus deaths among Philadelphia senior facilities, according to state data. Read more

At least 32 residents of the Immaculate Mary nursing home in Northeast Philadelphia have died. For the Parkhouse facility in Royersford, the official death toll stands at 48. The Broomall Rehabilitation & Nursing Center has lost more than 40 of its residents. And at least 35 who lived in Spring Citys Southeastern Veterans Center are gone.

These long-term care facilities are among the hardest hit by the coronavirus in the Philadelphia area, according to long-sought data detailing the pandemics impact on nursing homes. The state released the data Tuesday.

Across Pennsylvania, there are about four dozen facilities that have seen at least 20 residents die, the data show. Twenty-eight of those were in Philadelphia and its suburbs.

Many of the figures provided by the state, however, do not align with statistics provided by local officials and some of the operators of the senior facilities. For the most part, the tallies appear to be undercounts, possibly reflecting delays in data reporting.

Deaths in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities account for more than 68% of all coronavirus-related fatalities in the state, with 3,086 long-term care resident fatalities. Until Tuesday, the state had released totals only by county. This accounting showed the highest number of deaths occurring at homes in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware Counties.

After calls for greater transparency about nursing home outbreaks from relatives of residents, the state Department of Health on Tuesday released the new information, which shows the names of infected facilities, the county in which each is located, the number of cases among residents and staff members, and the number of deaths.

At first, state officials resisted releasing the data, saying it was too convoluted for public consumption, and later citing a decades-old disease privacy law. The department reversed course after a recent federal regulatory change, for which Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) was a leading advocate, that mandates long-term care facilities report cases to federal officials as well as notify residents and families.

Without such disclosures, advocates said, some facilities could hide known cases of the virus from residents, families, staff, and the larger community, while obscuring which homes were most in need of resources. Several other states had made public the names of facilities and their case counts before new federal requirements, including New Jersey, Minnesota, and Kentucky.

"We are committed to continuing networks of support for these facilities so we can navigate and overcome this challenge together, Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said in a statement.

Despite apparent undercounts of cases and deaths at many facilities, the data nonetheless demonstrate the breadth of the destruction the virus has wrought on senior centers.

The 198-bed Broomall facility, which the state showed had 40 deaths, had actually counted 46 of its residents who passed away due to the coronavirus as of Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

We are working closely with the health authorities to follow their guidance, and will continue to be transparent with all information released to the authorities, family members and the wider public, while maintaining the dignity and privacy of each of our residents, Annaliese Impink, chief experience officer of the facilitys parent company, SavaSeniorCare Consulting LLC, said in a statement.

The highest death toll in a single facility was at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, outside of Pittsburgh in Beaver County. The facility has seen at least 76 out of its roughly 590 residents succumbing to the virus, the data show. The state has installed a temporary manager and sent in the National Guard for additional support. Lawmakers have called for a federal investigation.

"At Brighton, we have worked tirelessly since the onset of the virus to prevent its spread, Kate Rogers, a spokesperson for the facility, said in a statement.

.

The data also finally provided a clearer picture into local long-term care facilities whose trouble with the virus has been highly publicized.

In Chester County, the state-run Southeastern Veterans Center has seen 106 of its residents test positive, including 35 who have died from the virus, according to the state data. Additionally, 13 staff members at the facility have tested positive.

 READ MORE: FULL LIST: Pa. releases names of nursing homes with coronavirus cases, deaths

Those statistics seem to indicate a slowing of the death rate at the facility, which tripled over the course of five days in April. Current employees and relatives whose family members died in the facility have complained of a lack of communication from the administrators at the facility. In response, state and local officials called for an investigation into the center, asking for more transparency.

Phoebe Wyncote, a long-term care facility operated in the Montgomery County borough of the same name, had 51 residents test positive for coronavirus, 14 of whom died, according to state data.

The facilitys operator, Phoebe Ministries, quickly and suddenly relocated all 37 of its skilled-nursing residents to another facility it owns in Allentown on April 17 due to a staff shortage.

Brynn Buskirk, the vice president of marketing and external relations for Phoebe Ministries, disputed some of those numbers Tuesday: She said 39 residents and 22 staff members tested positive for the virus. The death count was accurate.

Buskirk also said that 20 skilled-nursing residents will be sent back to Phoebe Wyncote on Wednesday, all of them recovered from the virus. None of the staff who temporarily cared for the residents in the Allentown facility have tested positive for the coronavirus, she said.

We are taking extra precautions to mitigate the spread of the virus, including a consistent dedicated staff team for COVID positive residents, personal protective equipment, and screening measures, Buskirk said.

It was unclear Tuesday if the 14 deaths included any of the residents who had been relocated  Buskirk said she couldnt discuss individual cases. She said Phoebe Ministries will continue to provide weekly updates to the Wyncote facilitys residents and their families.

As of late Tuesday, officials at the Parkhouse and Immaculate Mary nursing homes could not be reached for comment.

Staff writers Allison Steele, Dylan Purcell, and William Bender contributed to this article.
Workers at four McDonald's restaurants in Chicago have filed a class action lawsuit against the fast food giant, accusing it of failing to adopt government safety guidance on COVID-19 and endangering employees and their families.

Five employees from the four separate franchises filed the suit in an Illinois state court Tuesday, less than a week after McDonald's released a 59-page reopening guide.

The suit contends that McDonald's has failed to provide adequate hand sanitizer and has not notified its staff when an employee has become infected with COVID-19, according to a copy of the lawsuit provided to Reuters.

Additionally, the employees allege that they are forced to reuse gloves and do not have to social distance so long as interactions are limited to under 10 minutes.

The lawsuit stated: 'The damage done by McDonald's decisions is not confined to the walls of its restaurants, but instead has broader public health consequences for the Chicago community, the State of Illinois, and the entire country'.

Workers at four McDonald's restaurants in Chicago have filed a class action lawsuit against the fast food giant, accusing it of failing to adopt government safety guidance on COVID-19 and endangering employees and their families

McDonald's responded in a statement saying that the allegations are inaccurate and that safety, including wellness checks and protective gear, area top priority.

The workers requested the Illinois state court issue an injunction, which would make McDonald's stop requiring workers to reuse masks, mandate face coverings for customers and require the company to inform employees if a coworker becomes infected.

Separately, McDonald's workers at three California locations on Tuesday filed administrative actions over allegedly unsafe conditions with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

The legal proceedings come a week after McDonald's released a 59-page plan for reopening dine-in services at its US restaurants. The company has been serving US diners through drive-thru, take-out and delivery amid coronavirus lockdowns.

As of Wednesday morning, 1.56 million Americans have tested positive to COVID-19, and more than 92,000 people have died.

A worker is pictured cleaning the floor in a McDonald's restaurant in Chicago in March

Under new rules, soda fountains will be banned or manned by an employee, bathrooms will be cleaned every half hour and digital kiosks wiped down after each order.

'We ask that you remember: we only get one chance to do this the right way,' the guide says.

The company suggests restaurants install new equipment that would make adhering to social distancing guidelines easier such as $310 automatic towel dispensers, $718 touchless sinks, and foot pulls for doors to allow customers to open bathroom doors without using their hands.

In the guide, workers are also recommended to use a timer to remind themselves every 30 minutes to wipe down frequently touched surfaces like door handles, trash lids, counters, and credit card machines. Digital kiosks should be wiped down after every order.

Under the new guidelines kiosks will be wiped down after every order and customers will be forced to maintain social distancing. Customers using a self service kiosk in Portland, Oregon in February above

Employees at restaurants, warehouses and other essential businesses that remained open during the COVID-19 outbreak have protested and walked off the job over fears of getting sick.

Trade groups have warned of a wave of litigation over the pandemic, but few cases have been filed.

Retailer Walmart Inc and meat producers JBS SA and Tyson Foods Inc were each sued over employee deaths from COVID-19.

Smithfield Foods Inc was sued by a workers group demanding safety measures in a lawsuit that, like the McDonald's case, alleged the company was a public nuisance.

The Smithfield case was quickly dismissed because the judge said workplace conditions were a matter for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the Department of Labor.
The Constitutional Committee talks are back on after months of inaction, following the collapse of discussions at the previous round writes Nadaa Syria.

UN Special Envoy to Syria Geir Pederson said on Tuesday that Syrian parties, including the opposition, civil society and the regime agreed to meet again in Geneva regarding the Constitutional Committee.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Pedersen said that the parties had agreed on an agenda for the next meeting, which will occur as soon as the coronavirus situation allows it. He said the meeting could provide an opportunity to begin repairing deep mistrust between the two sides.

We need this to start somewhere and the Constitutional Committee could be that arena, where that sort of confidence starts to build, Pedersen said.

There have so far only been two Constitutional Committee meetings in Geneva, with the participation of regime, opposition and civil society representatives. The regime blocked further meetings by barring its delegation from attending at times, and at other times suddenly withdrawing from them without explanation.

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.
In a sudden move, the Bihar government Wednesday transferred Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar, who has been at the forefront of the state's fight against coronavirus.

According to a notification issued by the General Administration Department, the 1990-batch IAS officer has been made to swap posts with 1993-batch officer Uday Singh Kumawat, who is the state's Principal Secretary for Tourism Department.

No reason has been cited for the abrupt top-level reshuffle, which comes as a surprise since Sanjay Kumar is said to be in the good books of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

He had come out unscathed when the state health department was in the eye of a storm last year when an outbreak of brain fever in Muzaffarpur killed 200 children in about a month.

He also held the additional charge of the cabinet secretariat department for a few months when the post was vacant.

Speculations are rife that with the COVID 19 crisis deepening, especially in the aftermath of the massive influx of migrants, the state may have opted for a change of guard to check further slide in the situation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amnesty International says the families of the more than 300 people who were killed by Iran's security forces during November's "ruthless" crackdown on anti-government protests continue to face "intense harassment and intimidation" from the authorities as they seek justice.

Five days of protests erupted in Iran on November 15 following a government announcement about a fuel price hike.

Amnesty International has documented 304 men, women, and children who were killed by security forces during the demonstrations but says it believes the real number is higher.

New research has again concluded that the use of lethal force against the vast majority of the recorded 304 victims was unlawful, the London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on May 20.

In almost all protests, there is no evidence that people were in possession of firearms or that they posed an imminent threat to life that would have warranted the use of lethal force, according to research conducted by the group.

It cited two exceptions in the city of Mahshahr, Khuzestan Province, where gunfire was exchanged between protesters and security forces. The violence resulted in the death of one member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and one police officer.

"The fact that so many people were shot while posing no threat whatsoever shows the sheer ruthlessness of the security forces' unlawful killing spree," said Philip Luther, Amnesty Internationals research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Six months after the crackdown, Iranian authorities have still not issued an official death toll and "the devastated families of victims continue their struggle for truth and justice while facing intense harassment and intimidation from the authorities," Luther said.

Such "impunity" afforded to the security forces "allows the recurrence of lethal force to crush dissent," he added, reiterating Amnesty's call to members of the UN Human Rights Council to "mandate an inquiry into the killings, and identify pathways for truth, justice, and reparations."

The 304 victims were killed in 37 cities in eight provinces across Iran, reflecting the "widespread nature of the crackdown," the statement said.

The poverty-stricken suburbs around Tehran saw the most killings, with at least 163 deaths recorded. The minority-populated western provinces of Khuzestan and Kermanshah were also badly affected, with 57 and 30 deaths, respectively.

The victims include 236 men, 10 women, and at least 23 children; the sex of the remaining 35 victims remains unknown to Amnesty International.

In all but four cases, the victims were shot dead by Iranian security forces -- including IRGC members, paramilitary Basij forces, and the police -- "firing live ammunition, often at the head or torso, indicating that they were shooting to kill."

Two other victims reportedly suffered fatal head injuries after being beaten by members of the security forces, and another two were recorded as having suffocated from tear gas.

More than 220 of the recorded deaths took place over two days -- on November 16-17.

To conduct its research, Amnesty said it had gathered evidence from videos and photographs, death and burial certificates, accounts from eyewitnesses and victims' relatives and friends, as well as information collected by human rights activists and journalists.

During and after the demonstrations, it said thousands of protesters were "arbitrarily" detained and many were subjected to "enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment, and unfair trials."
NEW ORLEANS  Three Gulf Coast states are getting more than $88 million in fisheries disaster funds for damage from last years flooding, which included an unprecedented two openings of a spillway west of New Orleans.

These funds will help industries and individuals recover from this disaster, and build resilience for the future, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who declared a fisheries disaster in September, said in a news release Monday.

The total includes $58.3 million for Louisiana, $21.3 million for Mississippi and $8.6 million for Alabama, Republican U.S. Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana said in a separate statement.

After waiting an entire year, we finally have a chance to right some of the wrongs caused by last years high river event, Graves said. South Louisianans know the disaster process all too well and for years they have been victimized by cumbersome bureaucracy.

A state report in November said Louisiana alone lost $256 million because heavy rains in the Midwest kept the Mississippi River at flood stage for extended periods and forced two openings of the Bonnet Carre spillway.

The spillway diverts polluted river water into brackish Lake Pontchartrain, which drains into the Mississippi Sound. The fresh water dramatically reduced the sounds salinity last year, affecting Alabama and Mississippi fisheries and causing toxic algae blooms that closed all of Mississippis beaches.

These funds are welcome news for the many fishermen who suffered through last years unprecedented opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway, but our state deserves a long-term solution to disasters like these, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, said in a news release.

He and U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, also a Republican, said they are working to change the way federal fisheries disasters are evaluated and approved.

I am also pushing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to consider alternatives to opening the Bonnet Carre Spillway so that we can minimize the risk of these disasters in the future, Wicker said.

Mississippi has been pushing to have the Morganza Floodway used as an alternative to the Bonnet Carre, which was created to protect New Orleans levees from damage caused by rushing water. The floodway, which starts west of Baton Rouge in Pointe Coupee Parish, sends water into farmland and campsites in the Atchafalaya Basin if floods threaten Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thomas Thabanes succesor vows to usher in new version of leadership and bring back trust to the government.

Moeketsi Majoro has been sworn in as Lesothos prime minister following the resignation of his embattled predecessor, Thomas Thabane.

Thabanes decision to step down on Tuesday came amid mounting pressure over a case in which he and his current wife are suspected of involvement in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife. They both deny this.

The move cleared the way for Majoro, a seasoned economist and Lesothos former finance minister, to take the reins.

Thabane attended Wednesdays swearing-in ceremony at the royal palace of King Letsie III, handing his successor a copy of the constitution to formally signal the transfer of power.

The men tapped elbows instead of shaking hands, and Majoro wore a face mask as a precaution against coronavirus.

I will be a true and faithful prime minister, so help me God, said Majoro, who previously worked as an executive director at the International Monetary Fund.

Apology

Thabanes former wife, Lipolelo Thabane, was murdered in 2017, just two days before he took office. The couple were in the midst of a divorce when she was shot outside her home, sending shockwaves through the tiny mountainous kingdom.

Two months later, he married his current wife Maesaiah Thabane, 43, who is considered a co-conspirator to the killing. She has been charged with murder and is out on bail.

Maesaiah Thabane was absent from Wednesdays swearing-in ceremony, where her husband apologised for shortcomings during his nearly three years in office, his second stint as prime minister.

In as much as I tried my level best to serve His Majesty and Basotho [people] with dedication and loyalty  I may have inadvertently erred in several ways during my tenure as prime minister.

Consequently, I sincerely wish to ask you to forgive me for my mistakes, said Thabane.

Majoro: The scourge of hunger and poverty is a serious issue in this country we need to deal with this issue decisively [AP Photo]

His election in 2017 had brought hopes of stability to Lesotho, which has a long history of political turmoil.

Thabanes own All Basotho Convention (ABC) party, opposition figures and South African mediators had pressured him to quit, but he had resisted, supported by an inner circle of loyalists.

It is going to be very difficult for (Majoro)  to unify the ABC because its members are still disgruntled and are going to fight, independent analyst Lefu Thaela said.

Majoro, who has also served as planning minister, is seen as a technocrat, better at analysing economic data than soothing tensions between rival political factions.

He has been part of the warring sides himself, Limpho Tau, leader of the Democratic Congress party, told Reuters. It is not going to be easy to satisfy everyone.

Majoro, who was first appointed into cabinet by Thabane in 2013, promised on Wednesday to usher in a new version of leadership and bring back their (peoples) trust to the government.

He also promised to make tackling COVID-19  Lesotho has recorded one case so far  poverty, and unemployment his main priorities.

Majoro will serve out Thabanes remaining term before the next round of elections in 2022.

We dont have much time on our side. We only have two years left before the elections, yet there is a lot of work ahead of us.

Fifty-four years after independence, the scourge of hunger and poverty is a serious issue in this country, and we need to deal with this issue decisively, he said.
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee has requested that the acting director of national intelligence hand over the underlying intelligence reports at the center of the so-called unmasking controversy.

In a letter sent Wednesday and obtained by POLITICO, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) raised concerns with Richard Grenell about the intel chiefs decision last week to declassify the names of Obama administration officials involved in unmasking the name in intelligence reports of a U.S. person later determined to be Michael Flynn, the incoming national security adviser.

Selectively declassifying intelligence solely for political purposes undermines the Intelligence Communitys credibility, and erodes public trust in institutions critical to protecting the nation, Warner wrote. He requested that Grenell provide the Committee with the underlying intelligence reports in which the identity of the individual was unmasked to be Flynn.

As the committees top Democrat, Warner has no power to compel Grenell to comply. Its not clear whether Republicans will endorse any aspects of Warners request, though the Senate intel panel has operated on a more bipartisan basis than its more raucous House counterpart. The incoming chairman, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), recently replaced Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who stepped aside amid a probe of his financial dealings.

Critics have seized on the declassified list, which includes former Vice President Joe Biden, as evidence that Flynn was spied on by the Obama administration, which picked up Flynn speaking with the former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during routine surveillance of foreign officials. Flynn suggested in the calls that the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration to punish Russian election interference might be overturned by Trump and urged the Russians not to retaliate, FBI officials have said.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn, leaves the federal courthouse in Washington, Monday, June 24, 2019. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

But the declassified list, which was provided by the National Security Agency, appears to have nothing to do with the Flynn-Kislyak calls, which were discovered by the FBI. According to The Washington Post, Flynns name was not masked  or minimized, in FBI parlance  in those records.

Story continues

National security experts and former officials have also noted that the unmaskers wouldnt have known whom they were trying to get more information about  and that the frequency with which Flynns name showed up in intercepted calls with foreign officials before entering the administration, and the corresponding swell of unmasking requests, is evidence only that the Obama administration was alarmed by the content of the conversations and sought to find out more.

There are thousands of such requests each year, each subject to the same process before it is approved, Warner wrote of unmasking requests, noting that under the Trump administration the number of unmasked identities jumped from 9,529 in 2017 to 16,721 in 2018.

Grenell has been on a declassification tear in recent days as he prepares to hand the office over to his successor. In the past week he has declassified not only the list of Obama administration officials involved in the unmasking, but also an email that former national security adviser Susan Rice sent herself in January 2017 memorializing a meeting with Obama, former FBI Director James Comey and others in which concerns were expressed over Flynns calls with Kisylak.

Now, Warner is asking that Grenell declassify and make publicly available any intelligence report concerning conversations between Lt. Gen. Flynn (ret.) and Russian Ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak, in order to more fully and properly inform the American people of the events surrounding the unmasking of Flynn.

These calls have been the topic of the multiple investigations, trials, and plea agreements concerning General Flynn and merit being in the public domain, Warner wrote, citing a 2009 executive order governing classified national security information that calls for information to be declassified in some exceptional cases, [where] the need to protect such information may be outweighed by the public interest in disclosure of the information.

Grenell is on the verge of being replaced by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), who was just cleared as the permanent director of national intelligence by the Senate Intelligence Committee and is expected to pass the final hurdle  a full Senate vote  later this week.

But pressure is mounting on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify more information about the Flynn-Kislyak calls, including the transcripts of the calls themselves. The Justice Department recently moved to dismiss the case against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the content of those calls in January 2017.

On Tuesday, Rice also called for the DNI to release the unredacted transcripts.

In the interest of transparency, Ambassador Rice again calls upon the Director of National Intelligence to release the unredacted transcripts of all Kislyak-Flynn calls, Rices spokesperson said in a statement. The American people deserve the full transcripts so they can judge for themselves Michael Flynns conduct.

Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
DETROIT, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Due to disruptions in previously anticipated health care services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network will be returning more than $100 million to many fully insured customers this year. The refunds are in addition to $494 million that BCBSM has invested in expanding the availability of no-cost benefits for members and to support health providers in response to COVID-19  bringing the BCBSM enterprises commitment in response to the crisis to nearly $600 million.

For 81 years, Blue Cross has stood behind our members care in good times and bad, said BCBSM President & CEO Daniel J. Loepp. Weve been proactive in addressing the pandemic, providing no-cost benefits for members and advancing millions of dollars to care providers. Now we can return money to our customers and members.

We are living through a great disruption in health care economics, and there is still a lot of uncertainty about where health care spending will go this year, Loepp said. But at this point in the pandemic, were confident in premiums exceeding claims for the year  so we are starting to give money back to our customers. We hope these refunds allow businesses across Michigan to better cover their employees health care and provide our members some relief during a difficult time.

BCBSM will be providing the following relief to customers and members with Blue Cross and Blue Care Network health plans:

Fully insured small group customers with 50 or fewer employees will receive a 30 percent credit on their July premium invoice. All told, BCBSM is providing about $37 million back to small group customers for their medical plans.

will receive a 30 percent credit on their July premium invoice. All told, BCBSM is providing about back to small group customers for their medical plans. Low rate adjustments for small group customers. BCBSM filed 2021 small group rates last week with state regulators that average 0.9 percent more for PPO plans and 1.9 percent more for HMO plans.

BCBSM filed 2021 small group rates last week with state regulators that average 0.9 percent more for PPO plans and 1.9 percent more for HMO plans. Blue Dental and Blue Vision employer group customers will be sharing a total refund of about $10.5 million. All fully insured groups with dental and vision coverage will receive a one-month premium refund to be credited on their July invoice. BCBSM also will not increase rates for fully insured customers renewing dental and vision plans for 2021.

All fully insured groups with dental and vision coverage will receive a one-month premium refund to be credited on their July invoice. BCBSM also will not increase rates for fully insured customers renewing dental and vision plans for 2021. Individual health plan members from 2019 will receive a one-time rebate resulting from lower than expected health care claims. Altogether, about $45 million will be paid directly to these 2019 individual plan subscribers in September. Rebates are determined based on each subscribers plan and premiums paid in 2019. Rebate amounts will vary by subscriber.

Altogether, about will be paid directly to these 2019 individual plan subscribers in September. Rebates are determined based on each subscribers plan and premiums paid in 2019. Rebate amounts will vary by subscriber. Medigap (Medicare Supplement) and individual Medicare Advantage members in a plan with a premium above $0 will receive a 15 percent premium refund for the months of March and April to be applied to their July premium bill. This refund totals about $15 million to Medigap and Individual Medicare Advantage members. For Individual Medicare Advantage members this includes their Optional Supplemental Buy-up (if applicable).



BCBSM is also providing $494 million in additional support to members and providers:


These movies are a showcase for Steves attempts at erudition. Do you actually have all that knowledge rattling around in your head?

I do prep work, but Im naturally curious. I had a quite good education, I would say. I went to a Catholic school, which in this country was a bit like a free private education. The curse is, if youre from very humble origins and you havent had a good education, you dont know what you dont know. Then if youre half well-educated, the curse is that youre aware of the knowledge you dont have. Thats what I felt I was. In answer to that, I love to learn.

So yes, I do my homework. Rob doesnt do his homework, but thats almost deliberate, because he can trivialize my quest for the truth, as it were.

This time around, Steves father is seriously ill. You lost your own father two years ago. What was it like tapping into such personal memories?

Funnily enough, I did a version where I was very emotional. I wept as I would when I re-emulated some of those scenes. Then Michael wanted me to do it again and just hold it all back. I think its probably better for that, because audiences dont like completely candid displays of emotion, whether happiness or sadness. Audiences like to look for stuff. And painful stuff is where you find good art, I suppose. Otherwise you end up with some vanilla-flavored mediocrity.
Swimmers at the Forty Foot in Sandycove, Dublin, as the bathing spot has reopened following closures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Gardai were dispatched to some popular beaches in Dublin today as the good weather drew large crowds to recently re-opened bathing spots.

Gardai said a number of patrols were carried out at the Forty Foot and Sandycove Beach today whereby members of the public were advised on, and adhered to, public health guidelines.

Garda patrols were also mounted on Sutton beach in north Dublin after reports and video emerged of hundreds of young people mingling in close proximity to each other without social distancing.

A large group of at least 30 or 40 teenagers emerged from the beach and took over the streets of the seaside town in Skerries shortly before 10pm, completely blocking the towns narrow footpaths and ignoring social distancing.

Several nearby residents took to Twitter to vent their anger as restrictions are still in place to in order to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Sandycove resident Conor Slattery tweeted: In the two days since the barriers have been removed, the 40 Foot has already been recognised as a major area where social distancing protocols are being broken.

"Anytime I look out a window, I almost always see groups of people ignoring guidelines. The beaches should be reclosed, he said.
Ali Davideit was overwhelmed the first time she went to Dumps Like A Trucks bao shop, The Irritable Bao. From the moment she stepped in, the owner Whitley Dykes treated her like a friend.

He was like Ive never seen you before. Whats your name? Is this your first time? Davideit said.

The New Jersey native wasnt ready for Dykes approach. Thats not how things are back home.

But her first impression of the food  she got a traditional beef, carrot and onion bao as well as a Korean chicken one  was that it was amazing, so she went back a second time two days later. When she walked in, Dykes recognized her. It was an oh wow moment for Davideit.

Now, Davideit is what Dykes fondly calls a Dumpster. Once a week, she comes for her bao fix and will often stay to chat with him, the other employees and the people in line. When Davideit, a senior majoring in marine biology, goes home for break, she and her friends go through The Irritable Bao withdrawal.

In less than a year, the Dumps Like A Truck and The Irritable Bao have become a significant part of Davideits Auburn experience, as much as Skybar or Toomers. Its where she takes her family when they visit, and its somewhere shell miss once she graduates.

In the final week before The Irritable Bao closed on April 18 to relocate downtown, Davideit braved leaving her home amidst the pandemic to get her last bao and dumpling fix.

I wont be back next year for school, Davideit said. Its definitely like I need to get it while I can and be here and show my support.

Bao from Irritable Bao/Dumps Like a Truck.

From Starbucks to bao

Its hard to pinpoint where Dumps Like A Truck and The Irritable Baos story begins, Dykes said. There isnt one singular moment but rather a culmination of life experience. Dykes grew up in Auburn. On the opposite side of the world, his future wife, Kunyu Li (whose English name is Desiree), grew up in China. Dykes path to her took many twists and turns.

Dykes dropped out of his first attempt at college before returning and finishing school at UAB. While he was there, he majored in international studies and briefly studied Spanish before switching to Chinese because it was more strategic and challenging for him. He then studied abroad in China. Just before then, Dykes had had a profound encounter with God and while in China, he realized he was called to full-time ministry. At the time, he didnt know exactly what that meant other than entering the seminary or becoming a missionary. He chose to return to China after graduation in 2009.

Dykes signed up for one year. He stayed in China for seven. While he was there, he fell in love with the food, and he fell in love with his wife. Desiree was a student in his English class, and after she was no longer his student, the two started dating. They married in China and have now been together about 10 years.

After a while, Dykes felt he could make more of a difference elsewhere, and the couple returned to Auburn. The Dykes quickly got jobs, Whitley at Auburn Global and Desiree at a construction software company.

I just felt like neither one of us felt like our gifts and our talents were being utilized in a way that was as impactful as they could be, Dykes said.

They started thinking about ways they could make the international students Whitley worked with at Auburn Global feel more at home. Starbucks came to mind. While Dykes was in China, Starbucks was his place. They realized food is the perfect way to make people feel loved and comfortable while away from home, and it was a talent Desiree had to share. Her mom had taught her how to cook growing up, and the idea of a restaurant has always been in her heart.

They decided to start with a food truck. Dumps Like A Truck served its first customer on Dec. 5, 2017. After that, it took off. Dykes would get there early before work and then spend his lunch break at the truck as he tried to help Desiree manage the long, long lines. Dykes eventually had to quit his day job, and as the food trucks popularity grew, the couple started looking into spaces to put a permanent bao shop. They found a space next to the Goal Post in April 2018 and opened The Irritable Bao in October of that year.

Since then, lines filled with international students, sorority girls and locals have been out the door.

The daily menu for The Irritable Bao on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 is written and placed outside the store front. (Photo by Giana Han)

The lunch spot

When Daryl McCormick moved to Auburn from Michigan, he still didnt really know how to cook. Finding a good lunch spot was imperative.

McCormick works as a peer instructor in the Harbert School of Business, and one of the professors he works with recommended he try The Irritable Bao.

The day McCormick decided to check it out, The Irritable Bao was doing a collaboration with a local restaurant, Bow and Arrow, for a barbecue rib bao.

It was awesome, McCormick said. I was hooked.

Since then, McCormick has gone about twice a week, even during the pandemic, because hes still in the early stages of learning how to cook. But its about more than the food now. As McCormick became a Dumpster, he got to see that hes not part of a group of customers but a community. Its a diverse group, and McCormick has gotten the chance to socialize as he waits for his bao.

His moneys also going to a cause thats very personal for him. Dumps Like A Truck supports a number of causes, including helping children in the Philippines, where a big part of McCormicks family still lives.

These guys have such big hearts to donate their time and effort, McCormick said. Its really meaningful."

Mills Thumser, Whitley Dykes' assistant, packages bao inside The Irritable Bao. The walls are covered with pictures from their missions. "I've always been really big on ministry and purposeful work," Thumser said. "I've always wanted to something like nonprofit or missionary, but this showed me you can do that in other ways, in unconventional ways." (Photo by Giana Han)

An infinite game

Dumps like a truck is a play on words Dykes found amusing as well as a redemptive spin on a line from Sisqos Thong Song. Their original business idea was to have a dumpling truck that helped put thongs on sandals for children in dumps.

The Dykes knew from the start that whatever their business turned out to be, it would give back no matter what. Both of them were passionate about alleviating poverty, so they looked for ways to help the poorest of the poor. They found them literally in the dumps. There are children across the world who scavenge for trash as a means of survival, and they have no foot protection or medical care. The Dykes decided to donate part of their proceeds and all of their cash tips toward those kids, but they never actually ended up buying any shoes.

Shoes were just a bandaid for a much bigger wound. They wanted to do more than protect their feet  they wanted to eradicate generational poverty, so they partnered with Empowering Young Warriors Asia, which looks to help those children through empowerment and education.

When the Dykes decided to move into a storefront and open a bao shop, Whitley Dykes knew two things: they wanted to help the community the shop was anchored in and he wanted a clever name. He came up with Bao Time and Bao Down, but neither felt quite right. Then, irritable bowel syndrome came up in conversation, and inspiration hit.

The name The Irritable Bao is not meant to make light of IBS, but its a good conversation starter, and it makes people laugh.

Through The Irritable Bao, which is still under the LLC of Dumps Like A Truck, the Dykes have supported the local community in various ways while continuing to support their overseas mission. They have Hump day, bump day where single parents or those facing pregnancy alone can come get a free meal on Wednesdays, and all the cash tips from that day go to the cause. On Thursdays, they focus on police officers, and throughout the week, those at Dumps Like A Truck help out in other small ways. Mills Thumser, who is Dykes personal assistant and also works in the storefront, said theyll give out free meals to a student or community member they know is having a bad day.

I've seen people cry and just get so happy, Thumser said. You can just really tell how much it really changed their day.

As word has gotten out about the cash tip jar, more and more tips have come in. People drop anywhere from a dollar to $100 in there. Even though their mission is rooted in faith, it appeals to a wider audience, said Davideit, who doesnt claim to be religious but tips when she can.

If you have a righteous cause, people will always back you, McCormick said.

But Dumps Like A Truck wouldnt be able to support that cause if it werent for the food. Its the reason people go, and if its good, its the reason they return.

Dykes acts as the face for the company and handles the marketing, but the food is all Desiree. Before going into the restaurant business, Desiree was already a good cook, said Cordelia Jarvis, a friend from Bible study who also grew up in China. But Desiree decided to get more formal instruction. In January 2018, Desiree returned to China to learn more about bao making, something Jarvis can say is very difficult based on first-hand experience. Every day for three weeks, Desiree spent 2-3 hours on a bus as she went out to her cousins restaurant to perfect her bao making skills.

Desirees talent astounds her husband, and its captured the heart of Auburn, as well. The bao she makes arent just authentic, theyre also delicious. Jarvis said she and her friends from the Chinese community in Auburn always go to The Irritable Bao when they want a taste of home.

The menu for The Irritable Bao changes daily. In addition to the traditional bao and dumplings, they also offer fusion bao, like buffalo chicken or eggs and sausage bao, and do collaborations with local restaurants. The fusion bao are fun, but they also help introduce people to the more authentic Chinese food.

People would come just on buffalo chicken days because they were scared to try the other ones, Thumser said. And then they'd try one and realize how good the classic Chinese bao are.

Dykes estimates theyve made at least 50 different types of bao. Theyve also started offering boxes, like spicy chicken boxes or brussels sprout boxes, and drinks like bubble tea. Carter DeShazo, a resident of Auburn, said shes been impressed with the vegetarian offerings, as well.

The fusions and collaborations have helped develop the customer base into the diverse community McCormick was so impressed with. Instead of just attracting international students, Chinese-food lovers and adventurous eaters, their clientele is all over the map  but the biggest demographic they seem to be attracting right now is sorority girls, he said with a laugh.

Most people have heard about The Irritable Bao through word of mouth. Dykes preferred form of marketing, Instagram, makes it easy for him to reach a younger population, and its also made The Irritable Bao trendy.

Anyone who comes to The Irritable Bao will almost certainly come face-to-face with Dykes, the cheerleader of the restaurant. He greets them, chats with them, and if theyre first-timers, he takes a picture of them for his Instagram story and has them tag themselves. For some people, like Davideit, thats overwhelming at first. For others, like Claire and Jessica Milton, its welcoming. Then theres the group that gets embarrassed because they dont look good that day. But whether the first impression is good or too much, Thumser sees people return for the food and eventually get pulled into Dykes personality. They go from customers to friends.

The line on Saturday, April 18, 2020, the last day The Irritable Bao is open at the Goal Post location, wraps around the parking lot. It appeared extra long because customers were spacing themselves out. "We really wanted to finish well in our space and really God has blessed us during this season," owner Whitley Dykes said. (Photo by Giana Han)

Half a bao

After growing up in Auburn, Jenna Malphrus, who graduated in 2012, saw many businesses go through the storefront next to the Goal Post. She saw an Instagram post that Dumps Like A Truck moved in as a bao shop and, knowing Dykes from Auburn High and his mission, she decided to check it out.

Malphrus went with a friend in early fall, and she was struck by the long, long line  it was a buffalo chicken day. By the time Malphrus got to the front, they were sold out, and she was stuck splitting a bao. She didnt get what the hype was about.

Despite that, she was impressed with their mission, their ability to embrace the full spectrum of Auburns society and their success as a business in a difficult location. She wanted to try again, but the line was always too long and parking wasnt easy.

When Malphrus saw they would be closing for a while as they relocated to a space downtown, she knew she had to make it back. On Saturday, April 18, Malphrus joined the line of customers that snaked down the building and wrapped around the parking lot.

Even though you do have to wait, its just such a good spirit, Malphrus said. Theres always positivity. Its a good, open environment And you can make conversations with people in line and make new friendships.

This time, she got the fried bacon, egg and cheese dumplings shed been dying to try  as well as a whole buffalo chicken bao.

Whitley Dykes, the owner of The Irritable Bao, placed cones outside the shop to help customers stay six feet apart. "The first day we opened back up, lines were insane," Dykes said. "So it just evolved. I got cones and I try to support social distancing." (Photo by Giana Han)

Ignorance, excitement, pandemic and success

In March, Dykes sat at a little table with some customers talking about how he and Desiree wanted to close the current shop as late as possible so the down time before the new location opened was very short.

Those statements and predictions were made in ignorance, he said. The move downtown was very different than the move to the storefront, and they had no clue what steps theyd have to take, what inspections theyd have to pass  or that a pandemic would sweep across the world.

COVID-19 has hurt them, like many other businesses, but the support during this time has been amazing, Dykes said. However, unlike other businesses, their rent is up and they have to figure out how to relocate during a pandemic.

Construction hasnt slowed, that Dykes has noticed, other than that the number of people in the building has to be limited to keep social distancing. COVID-19 might have hurt them from an approval standpoint because they arent high on the citys list of priorities compared to a pandemic, but theyve also been delayed by a number of surprises theyve found in the space, like brick they found under the drywall. It was a treasure, but they had to take the time to tear out the drywall.

Now, theyre going to be income-less during a pandemic for about a month.

If we were not building a restaurant, we would survive, Dykes said. Because were building a restaurant, we have to be very, very careful and use as many resources as possible without getting in over our head.

Thumser said it was amazing because through their conversations, Dykes did not wonder how he would support himself but rather how he could support his employees and his different causes. The Dykes are trying to utilize the grants available for small businesses during this time. There was also some talk about taking the food truck out, but all their supplies are in storage. Instead, the Dykes are going to focus on the move and on spending time with family before they reopen.

The Dumpsters have shown amazing support, Dykes said. People have bought gift cards and offered money to help them with the new store. During the final week, the lines stayed long and people drove from Mobile, Birmingham and Atlanta to stock up on bao. People have also offered their time and labor to help with the move. They already have orders to complete, and the store hasnt even opened.

People are being overly generous, but the best way that people have supported us is just by checking on us, Dykes said.

The community is the reason they had enough success to move downtown as such a young business.

Once the space opens, The Irritable Bao will be the same beloved grab and go bao shop with a few twists. For one thing, theyll have better equipment and traffic flow, so Dykes hopes the wait time will go down. Dykes is also thinking about late-night bao. Hes not sure if hell open up the store to whoever may come in from the bars, but he has a to-go window and thinks theyll do late night delivery.

The rotating menu will remain the same because thats part of the business, but Dykes said they may be able to add soup bao because theyll have tables for customers to eat at. Soup bao has to be eaten fresh, so it wasnt a good to-go menu item. They can also start featuring the different boxes more often. People have also asked them about serving noodles. Dykes said that wouldnt be a regular menu item because thats not what they do, but Desiree definitely has an interest in making them. They also want to start creating dumplings that customers can bring home and cook for their families. Theyll continue to do dumpling pop-ups, which they call Forrest Dumps, and the goal is to break into farmer markets.

Possibilities are endless, but we want to make sure we stay true to who we are, Dykes said. Were a bao, box and dumpling place.

Dykes now estimates that, barring more delays, they will reopen in mid-May. The goal is May 27. The Dumpsters are waiting anxiously. Some are trying to wrap their minds around the excitement of late-night bao while others are excited not to have to deal with the miniscule Goal Post parking lot.

Theyre rooting for us and getting to see us be able to buy and renovate and completely redo a storefront and be able to move downtown, I think people are just proud to see that weve made it that far so quick, Thumser said.

Read more about COVID-19s impact on businesses:

From how much to save to student loan payments, what young people need to know to survive a recession

How to make coffee in a pandemic: local coffee shops adapt

Alabama barbershop opens yet again despite coronavirus order
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Senate on Wednesday unanimously rejected a measure from the House that would limit the authority of Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton.

The Senate voted 32-0 against the changes the Ohio House made to Senate Bill 1, a measure originally crafted in the Senate to reduce state government regulations.

The rejection sends the bill to a conference committee between members of the House and Senate, where theyll try to hammer out their differences. Gov. Mike DeWine had vowed to veto the bill with the restrictions on his health directors orders.

Senate Bill 1 was all about limited government," said Sen. Kristina Roegner, a Hudson Republican who sponsored the bill but asked her colleagues in the Senate to reject the bill because of how the House altered it.

Roegner has another bill, SB 311, that would restrain public health orders.

But Republicans in the Senate want any restraints on Acton to be fully vetted in legislative committees where people have the opportunity to testify for and against them, and not crammed into different unrelated legislation and passed at the last minute.

Under the changes the House made to SB1, Ohio Department of Health orders would be limited to 14 days, and could only be extended if approved by the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, a legislative oversight committee.

Sen. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat, said that she doesnt want any legislation to restrict Acton at this time, since all lawmakers will be seeing the issue through a political lens during the coronavirus pandemic.

I am absolutely in agreement in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, none of which can happen when youre dead," she said. "None of them.

Many of the protesters against coronavirus public health orders have said the issue to them is about liberty, and have used the hashtag #LibertyOrDeath online.

Nevertheless, public polling has shown Ohioans have overwhelmingly supported DeWines leadership and actions during the outbreak, noted Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat.

Oho has been recognized nationally for our response to COVID-19," Williams said.

Sen. Peggy Lehner, a Dayton-area Republican, criticized lawmakers in the House who claim to be pro-life for not caring about the lives of millions of people who could get coronavirus and die. Lehner formerly ran Ohio Right to Life.

We must put life first, over and above personal liberties," she said. "Suddenly, that has gone out the window.

Other coverage:

Ohio House Republicans move to limit Health Director Amy Actons authority

Ohio voters overwhelmingly support Mike DeWines coronavirus response, poll says

1,781 dead from coronavirus in Ohio: Wednesday update
A trendy restaurant that is only allowed 10 customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has slammed a woman who didn't show up for her booking.

Aimee made a reservation for four people to dine at Low 302 in Surry Hills, Sydney, on Friday.

But according to the cozy inner-city restaurant the party-of-four did not show up for their meal or have the 'common courtesy' to cancel.

'We had people on a waiting list who would have been happy to take your reservation,' Low 302 wrote on Facebook.

'You have single handedly set the worst precedent for our entire industry at this most difficult time.

'Aimee, there is a special place for you to burn in hospo hell.'

Low 302 slammed a woman named Aimee, who failed to show up for her booking

New South Wales began to ease their coronavirus restrictions on Friday after receiving the green light from the Federal Government.

Restaurants are now allowed to host up to 10 diners at a time after more than two months of strictly delivery and take-away service.

Cafes and restaurants are expected to enforce social distancing of 1.5 metres and encourage their customers to practise good hand hygiene.

Low 32 owner Aref, who shared the Facebook post and spoke with Aimee over the phone for her booking, said it was 'upsetting' she didn't cancel her booking.

'On that night, it was a little bit upsetting to have someone not turn up and not call up and make the cancellation,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I totally understand if something untoward had happened.'

Aref said he wasn't expecting the social media post to blow up but he has received an 'overwhelming response was of support'.

He said simply shared it as a reminder to cancel bookings if you can't make it.

Low 302 (pictured) is a cocktail bar and restaurant in Sydney's Surry Hills

'I think restaurants have always hated no shows but this situation now has shown the damage it can to do restaurants,' he said.

The Low 302 post said Aimee's failure to show meant they were now forced to ask other diners to pay a booking deposit.

But Aref said he changed his mind about implementing the deposit as the health and safety of diners should come first.

'I don't want someone waking up on Friday morning feeling a bit unwell and thinking they're going to lose their deposit,' he explained.

'We are in a position of high responsibility here. We are trying to get Sydney open again. If we don't do this responsibility, it could have dire consequences.'

Despite the disappointing no-show, Aref said Low 302 is 'so excited' to have people back inside the restaurant.

They are only open for 10 diners, in 90 minute slots, on Friday and Saturday evenings. The restaurant are otherwise open for takeaway.

'People seemed so happy to be out and being served,' he said.

'I think everyone was having a laugh about being in a spacious room all to themselves.

'It was great to have people back and enjoying themselves.'

NSW began to ease their coronavirus restrictions on Friday after receiving the green light from the Federal Government. Restaurants are now allowed to host up to 10 diners at a time after more than two months of strictly delivery and take-away service. Pictured: Low 302

Online supporters commended Low 302 for taking a stand against Aimee during the coronavirus pandemic.

'Aimee these people are finding it extremely tough and you choose to make it even tougher absolutely disgusting behaviour,' one person wrote.

'All you had to do was pick up the phone and cancel your booking - not hard when you were probably on your phone (social) all night!'

Another commented: 'Low 302, I am furious for you. You and your team did not deserve to be stood up so callously.'

'Aimee, people, DO BETTER. Courtesy and empathy is not too much to ask for in these times.'
Saudi Reinsurance Company (Saudi Re) has appointed two seasoned reinsurance professionals - Dr Peter Hugger and Mr Marc Maipoux - to its board of directors for a three-year term starting 2020.

Dr Hugger has diversified experience in the reinsurance market, mainly in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. He was the former CEO of Echo Re, Zurich, from 2012-2018 and assumed executive and technical roles in companies such as ACR, Singapore; MSG System, and Gerling Global Re, Zurich. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Konstanz in Germany.

Maupoux is well-known for his rich reinsurance experience, having led the establishment of Exin Re, Zurich, as CEO. He also assumed the role of Senior Vice President, Head of Property Non-Cat Property & Engineering Worldwide for Axis Re Europe, Zurich, from 2003 to 2016. Mr. Maupoux is a fellow of the International Actuarial Association and the Institute of Actuaries of France.

Fahad Al-Hesni, Managing Director and CEO, Saudi Re, said: We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Peter Hugger and Mr. Marc Maipoux to the Board. They both have long and successful track records, and have extensive experience in the international reinsurance markets.

"Saudi Re enjoys a well-diversified board of directors, and we are confident that the new members strategic and technical perspectives will be of significance to the Board in leading Saudi Re towards new successes and creating value for our shareholders. - TradeArabia News Service
A missing 80-year-old man with dementia has been found and is safe after last being seen Tuesday night in Gresham, police said Thursday.

Jack Patterson was last seen about 8 p.m. Tuesday near the 18700 block of Southeast Richey Road, according to Gresham police.

Police said he had last been seen wearing a blue long-sleeve shirt, baggy blue jeans and an old pair of dress shoes. He was driving a white 2004 Buick LeSabre.

This story was updated.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Wednesday that the BJP is exploiting the eagerness of migrant labourers to reach home to serve its "political self-interest".

"The tales of migrant labourers struggling to reach home are saddening. They are getting killed in accidents daily. But the unconcerned BJP has no care for human values. It is exploiting their eagerness to reach home for its political self-interest," he said in a statement issued here.

"When 50,000 government, private and school buses are standing, why are those not being utilised to send the migrants back home?" Yadav asked.

Without taking the name of any party, he said, "Those who are extending a helping hand are being meted out inhuman treatment, which has become routine behaviour of the BJP."



The SP chief said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh should give its own "fitness certificate" that it was able to run the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Labourers are dying in accidents. Where is the alertness? When officers are not paying heed to the chief minister's directives, what can be expected from them," he said, while asking his party workers to help the migrants coming to Uttar Pradesh in whatever way they can from their own resources.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Imperial Valley News Center

Governors Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery Urges Congress to Pass Emergency Relief for State & Local Governments

Sacramento, California - Members of Governor Gavin Newsoms Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them pass $1 trillion in direct relief for state and local governments  funding that is critical to reopening our economies.

State, local and tribal governments are critical to our recovery. In the short-term, they must be able to scale-up necessary programs, like contact tracing and testing, the signers said. Given budget shortfalls, they are also soon facing impossible decisions  like whether to fund additional safety measures related to COVID-19 that will help businesses reopen more quickly or prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers, firefighters and other first responders.

The letter, signed by 91 California leaders  including business leaders like Bob Iger and Marc Benioff -- outlines the budgetary challenges facing state, local and tribal governments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, massive and sudden losses in revenue are making it nearly impossible for state and local governments to fund critical health infrastructure like contact tracing and testing, while still providing critical services like public education and public safety.

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed how we will manage our businesses and organizations going forward, with the worst of the economic impact likely still to come, the letter continues. Reopening our economies is a welcome step forward, but the success of our efforts ultimately relies on building greater confidence among consumers that it is safe to shop and greater certainty for workers that the services they rely on to do their jobs will remain in place. Without that, we will be a re-opened economy in name only.

The Governor last month convened the Task Force, co-chaired by Governor Newsoms Chief of Staff Ann OLeary and philanthropist, environmentalist and businessman Tom Steyer, to chart a path forward on recovery in the wake of COVID-19.
Carole Baskin pretty much became a household name overnight with the release of Netflix's smash hit docuseries 'Tiger King'.

Now it seems the US 'animal activist' is moving into fashion... Well, sort of.

Posting on her 'Big Cat Rescue' Facebook page, the controversial docu-star shared that she's releasing her own range of face-masks, complete with her iconic line "hey all you cool cats and kittens".

"Be one of the first to get your very own mask featuring Caroles favorite tag line! Choice of black or leopard print!" the post reads.
Each year, Equal Justice Works (EJW) selects a class of passionate public service leaders who have designed projects in partnership with legal services organizations that help build sustainable solutions for communities. The projects are funded by the generous support of law firms, corporations, foundations, and individuals.

TVC is fortunate to have been selected to host two outstanding EJW Fellows who will join us to support new initiatives focused on serving the needs of veterans. We are very grateful to their sponsors, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Covington & Burling LLP for their generosity and commitment to veterans and to supporting real life solutions to serve their unique needs.

Equal Justice Works Fellow, Chesley Roberts, is originally from Tallahassee, Florida and is a recent JD graduate from Stetson University College of Law. Her two-year project sponsored by Lockheed Martin, will focus on the legal needs of women veterans and the unique issues they face. Chesley's project will be to support the recently launched TVC Pro Bono Legal Clinic for Women Veterans, which is held in the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center's Women's Health Clinic (DC VAMC). This legal clinic is exclusively for women veterans and staffed by female volunteer attorneys. Chesley will help to manage the clinic, provide direct legal services, and research and compile resources to navigate certain legal issues and other barriers that women veterans face. Chesley will work with our volunteer attorneys, law schools, and Veteran Service Organizations to further understand and address issues that impact the lives of female veterans. We look forward to welcoming her as part of the TVC team.

"In my second year of law school I began working at the Veterans Advocacy Clinic at Stetson, where I was able to see the unique need for services specific to female veterans," says Chesley. "Growing up in a military family, I witnessed firsthand the sacrifices veterans and their families must make. I'm passionate about making sure our veterans receive the help they deserve and I'm very grateful to Lockheed Martin for sponsoring me and allowing me to serve women veterans."

Equal Justice Works Fellow, Nicqelle Godfrey, grew up in Sacramento, California and recently earned her JD from Georgetown University Law Center. She is being sponsored by Northrop Grumman and Covington & Burling LLP. Her two-year project will focus on the development of a program to provide education, support, and free legal services to immigrants seeking naturalization through military service. According to the Immigrations and Nationalities Act, those who serve honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible for expedited naturalization. However, in recent years there has been a decline in the number of naturalization applications, an increase in the obstacles to application, and an increase in the denials of such applications. The rate of denials among non-citizen military personnel is now higher than their civilian counterparts. Nicqelle's project will provide free legal assistance to immigrants and military personnel that are seeking naturalization through military service. She will be responsible for creating and distributing resources and identifying immigration clinics nationwide to distribute materials to veterans. Nicqelle will also create a training program for new volunteer attorneys who are interested in assisting immigrants with military naturalization. We look forward to welcoming her as part of the TVC team.

"Serving non-citizen veterans through naturalization is a perfect blend of my family background," says Nicqelle. "One of my grandfathers was a Korean War veteran; the other an immigrant to the United States. I'm excited for this opportunity and very grateful to Northrop Grumman and Covington & Burling LLP for their sponsorship of my fellowship and of this important initiative."

During their two-year fellowships, Chesley and Nicqelle will advance the cause of justice for veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. Their respective projects have the potential for enormous impact on the lives of our veterans.

"It has been exciting to see our team collaborate closely with Chesley and Nicqelle to design these groundbreaking projects and then celebrate their selection as EJW Fellowships," says Steve Jordon, TVC's Executive Director. "We are deeply grateful to their sponsors, Northrop Grumman, Covington & Burling LLP and Lockheed Martin for investing in these young lawyers and supporting new initiatives in veterans law. We look forward welcoming them in September and creating positive change for veterans."

The Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program (TVC) is a leading national 501(c)(3) charity providing free legal services in federal venues for veterans in need. TVC operates a global federal Veterans Pro Bono Program in service to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims to represent pro se veterans denied care, benefits, or compensation earned from military service. Our TVC National Volunteer Corps attorneys also litigate cases that are appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Our TVC Discharge Upgrade Program represents service men and women before military Discharge Review Boards and Boards of Correction for Military Records.

For more information about TVC, how to get involved, how to support the organization and our national outreach initiatives associated with the federal Veterans Pro Bono Program please visit our website, www.vetsprobono.org or contact TVC via email at [email protected].

SOURCE The Veterans Consortium

Related Links

http://www.vetsprobono.org


The coronavirus pandemic has upended the personal finances of millions of workers and their loved ones. And one recent trend is of particular concern.

Many workers who have been furloughed or laid off are now strapped for cash. And they're considering borrowing money from their 401(k) instead of using other sources of funds.

Advisers recommend tapping all other sources of money before borrowing from your 401(k).

Please stay away from retirement accounts, says Chris Chen, a certified financial planner with Insight Financial Strategists. The long-term damage is absolutely horrible.

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which is closing businesses and forcing millions out of work, makes it even less appealing.

We like to use 401(k) loans as a last resort, especially in a challenging financial environment, says Dan Galli, a certified financial planner with Daniel J. Galli & Associates.

No match:My company just stopped their 401(k) match. What should I do?

Wall St. vs. Main St.: Here's why the market is better than the economy right now

A worker looks inside the closed doors of the Pasadena Community Job Center in Pasadena, Calif., May 7, 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak. The center normally connects members of the community, residential customers and small business owners with skilled day laborers.

Reason to avoid 401(k) loans

Galli also advises against 401(k) loans for this reason:

Plan sponsors, according to the IRS, may require an employee to repay the full outstanding balance of a loan if he or she terminates employment or if the plan is terminated. And that could put even more financial stress on your finances if youre already desperate for living expenses.

Even worse: If you, the employee, are unable to repay the loan, then your employer will treat it as a distribution and report it to the IRS.

The country is littered with stories about folks that took 401(k) withdrawals with every attempt to pay the money back, but never got around to it, says Charles Sachs, a certified financial planner with Kaufman Rossin Wealth. Imagine the lost growth over a 20-, 30- or 40-year period. If people think they have it tough now, they should imagine when they are in their 80s without the benefit of a nice-sized 401(k).

Story continues

One bit of good news: You, the employee, can avoid the immediate income tax consequences by rolling over all or part of the loans outstanding balance to an IRA or eligible retirement plan by the due date for filing the Federal income tax return for the year in which the loan is treated as a distribution.

What to tap instead

So, where might you find money for living expenses? Well, for starters consider that each option has its pros and cons.

But in the main, borrowing from family, a home equity line of credit and credit cards should be used before borrowing from a 401(k), Galli says.

Thomas Scanlon, a certified financial planner with Raymond James, also recommends tapping your Roth IRA.

Your contributions to the Roth IRA can be withdrawn any time, income tax and penalty free, he says. This is because the contributions go in after tax.

If youre owed a refund, file your 2019 tax return right away. Thats another source of cash, says Rita Cheng, a certified financial planner Blue Ocean Global Wealth. Likewise, follow up on your stimulus check if you havent received that yet.

And, for some, accessing the cash value in your life insurance is another source of funds, says Cheng.

You might be able to take a hardship distribution from your 401(k) plan. Typically, its allowed for an immediate and heavy financial need, and limited to the amount necessary to satisfy that financial need. But experts generally advise against this tactic. That's because you will have to pay taxes on the distribution, and you cant pay the distribution back into your 401(k).

Bottom line: List all your available options and create a plan that will best position you to weather a difficult storm, says David Mullins, a certified financial planner with David Mullins Wealth Management Group.

When a 401(k) loan is the best option

To be fair, a 401(k) loan may be the best option, depending on the expected need and the length of time, and what other options are available. But remember you are pulling from funds in a down market and missing out on a potential recovery," says David Shotwell, a certified financial planner Shotwell Rutter Baer. "It may be less interest cost, but the long-term cost can be much greater.

The right way and the wrong way: If you borrow money from your 401(k) plan, there are best practices to follow. When you take a loan, you are selling securities, says Leon LaBrecque, a certified financial planner with Sequoia Financial Advisors. And given that, Robert Braglia, a certified financial planner with American Financial & Tax Strategies, advises against taking the money on a pro-rata basis across all investment options but rather specify which ones, probably cash or bonds, will be sold.

The Cares Act: According to Ed Slott, a CPA with Ed Slott and Company, the CARES Act increases the maximum loan amount for qualified individuals to the lesser of $100,000 (reduced by other outstanding loans) or 100% of the account balance, and, two, allows qualified individuals to take up to $100,000 of penalty-free coronavirus-related IRA and company plan distributions during 2020. If youre a qualified individual, either the loan or distribution could be a source of funds for living expenses.

Robert Powell is the editor of TheStreets Retirement Daily (www.thestreet.com/retirement-daily) and contributes regularly to USA TODAY. Got questions about money? Email Bob at rpowell@allthingsretirement.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Low on cash? Here's why you shouldn't touch your 401(k)
Owners of the Big Boy restaurant on Hoover and 12 Mile roads in Warren have told city officials they plan to reopen as soon as possible following a fire that caused a closure.

Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams on Tuesday said a preliminary determination by fire investigators indicates the blaze was accidental, and foul play is not suspected.

In speaking with some of the corporate officials, they say they want to get it back in operation as soon as possible, McAdams said. They said it was doing well before the COVID-19 crisis, and was doing exceptionally well since the crisis took hold.

Warren fire crews responded to reports of a blaze coming from the back of the building about 11 p.m. Friday.

The fire seems to have started near a cold storage room or an electrical room, the commissioner said. Investigators plan to return to the property Wednesday after heavy rain forced them to stop their probe on Tuesday.

An exact origin and cause of the fire has not yet been finalized.

There was smoke damage throughout the building, McAdams said. Fire officials estimate the fire caused about $100,000 in property damage and $50,000 lost in contents, mostly food and beverages.

According to city assessing records, the 4,600-square-foot building was constructed in 1976.

Warren & Hoover Property LLC purchased the building from D.E.E. Investments in 2019 for $1.5 million, records show. The current assessed value is $195,000, according to city records.

Warren-based Big Boy corporate officials could not be reached for comment, but Dr. Redwan Uddin of Troy, the listed resident agent for Warren & Hoover Property, agreed the business will reopen but isnt sure when.

The eatery is located near Ascension St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in a neighborhood that has a healthy traffic flow. Customers enjoy the classic double-decker cheeseburgers, milk shakes, chicken sandwiches, salad bar and other menu items.

Hopefully, we will open again, but we havent had a chance yet to get in there to see how much damage is done. Im hoping it wont be too bad, Uddin said.

The restaurant is one of the last Big Boys in Macomb County. Several have closed in recent years, including locations on Groesbeck Highway in Mount Clemens, Gratiot Avenue in Eastpointe, Van Dyke Avenue in Shelby Township and Van Dyke Avenue in Washington Township.
Hospitals in Mexico are already at full capacity. One hospital in particular, in the neighborhood of Tlatelolco, is on the brink of collapse.

There are currently 20 doctors who are infected with COVID-19 leaving almost 78 patients in the care of the remaining 6 doctors who have yet to be tested for the coronavirus. The hospital had already lost one of their doctors to the virus while another is in critical condition.

Doctors from the Tlatelolco General Hospital are experiencing a shortage of PPEs or personal protective equipment. Request letters have been sent to the hospital's director asking for more PPEs and replacement of ventilators and medical equipment but they are yet to receive a response. Most of the hospital ventilators are either faulty or completely out of order.

Saving Mexico's front liners

At a height of any epidemic, loss of medical staff is a country's worst nightmare. Without people specialized to help patients combat the deadly virus, there is a very low chance of survival. The country has sent home all their elderly and pregnant medical personnel citing that they have a high risk of contracting the disease resulting in most hospitals being understaffed.

Health officials urged hospitals to follow strict hygiene protocols and to regularly disinfect their facilities. With cases in Mexico rising every single day, medical staff in government hospitals are working round the clock leaving most of them overworked and exhausted. Some states like Juarez, are already pleading for more medical and health professionals to volunteer to ease the strain on the state's medical resources.

As of April 2020, 329 medical staff have tested positive for the virus.

In most countries, medical staff are praised for their tireless and hard work. But in Mexico even with the country's medical staff working twice as hard, they are experiencing nothing but hate from some members of society. There is false news circulating on social media that the country's front liners are the ones spreading the virus themselves. A lot of people surprisingly believe it resulting in nurses and doctors being attacked on the streets.

In a press conference held last month, the head nurse of the IMSS has tearfully asked the public to respect their medical workforce and solidarity is much needed at this time of crisis.

Check these out:

Doctors, Nurses fight for proper equipment

According to the WHO, COVID-19 will continue to be a threat until a proper vaccine has been found. For most countries, even if the number of positive cases go down, the fight is still not over.

In the past weeks, medical workers have been seen demonstrating on the streets and demanding more protective equipment. One nurse complained that she was only allowed to use one mask per day even if she tended to several COVID-19 patients. Some hospitals are even running out of masks at a time that positive cases are surging.

The government has said that medical equipment from China will cover up the country's PPE shortage. Last May 13, 120 tons of medical equipment arrived in Mexico from Shanghai. Since then hundreds of gloves, goggles, and other types of PPEs have been distributed to hospitals across the country.
NORWALK  High school seniors will be taking part in a drive-in style graduation this summer at the beach.

Steven Adamowski, superintendent of schools, said there will be two in-car graduation ceremonies at Calf Pasture Beach  Aug. 3 at 9 a.m. for approximately 380 seniors from Norwalk High School, and Aug. 4 at 9 a.m. for about 400 students from Brien McMahon High School.

The beach will be closed to the public those days from 8 to 11 a.m.

A drive-in ceremony for 60 P-TECH students will be held July 25 at 9 a.m. on the field at Norwalk High School, while the 45 students of the Center for Global Studies will graduate Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. on the Brien McMahon field.

There was very little support for a virtual graduation, Adamowski said, or for the possibility of students returning in the fall to have a ceremony.

He said students provided input into the process and plans.

They wanted, even if it was on a limited basis, to be able to see their fellow graduates and be able to participate in some kind of ceremony with them, he said.

The ceremonies will largely contain the traditional activities, including individual speakers and, for the students, a chance to receive their diplomas. Families and students, however, will otherwise remain in their cars.

Our schools are preparing some more detailed instruction, Adamowski said, with provisions to be considered for families without cars.

Adamowski said police will also determine how many cars can be accommodated at the beach.

The announcement was made Tuesday during the Board of Education meeting when Adamowski also discussed the role of the School Opening Task Force, which will include various administrators and principals, three teachers, two support staff, a school board member and three parents to be recommended by the board. The group will be responsible for creating a reopening plan for schools.

This is something that I have been in discussions with the new superintendent about, Adamowski said, referring to Alexandra Estrella, who will lead the district starting July 1.

The task force will spend nine weeks during the summer to create the reopening plan.

I know that there is a tremendous amount of anxiety involving practical logistical questions, Board of Education Chairwoman Sarah LeMieux said.

Adamowski said masks will more likely be something staff members wear when school reconvenes, but not students.

I think the focus is on the protection of anyone who is older, he said, noting that emerging consensus is that young children are not particularly vulnerable. However, there have been at least 10 cases reported in Connecticut of children developing a potentially dangerous inflammatory condition that experts have linked to the coronavirus.

Adamowski said they are not recommending taking temperatures of students when they arrive, but may consider doing it for the staff.

Were also exploring the general notion  of any staff being tested before they return to work, he said.

In order to help with close-contact services, like psychology and speech therapies, Adamowski said plastic guards have been ordered and will be installed in those offices and resource rooms.

I think we have a responsibility to our community that we put safety first in our planning, board member Barbara Meyer-Mitchell said.

Adamowski said the district is also anticipating a big demand for summer school, especially at the middle school level  something they hope to help fund through the CARES Act grant received through the state.

The governor has cleared school districts to open for summer school on July 6, Adamowski said, and families will have the option of having their children participate remotely or potentially be part of a smaller group that attends in person.

This will be a valuable experience and preparation in terms of opening the rest of the school year, he said.
'It's up to us': how Merkel and Macron revived EU solidarity FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds a joint video news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron

By John Chalmers and Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - It took a courtroom of scarlet-robed judges to spur Angela Merkel to make one of her boldest moves in 15 years as German chancellor: propose huge cash handouts to the European Union's weaker economies.

Merkel was already worried about the future of the Union after the coronavirus pandemic struck Europe in February, triggering a wave of deaths and crippling lockdowns.

But it was Germany's own Constitutional Court that tipped her hand, sources said. Its bombshell ruling on May 5 challenged the EU's reliance on European Central Bank (ECB) money-printing to keep its weaker members' economies afloat - and the EU's governance.

Until then, Merkel had opposed a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron for a Recovery Fund that would, for the first time, bind all 27 member states to raise debt jointly.

"Initially they were on quite different positions," said one senior diplomat. "They reviewed the risk of a split in the EU. But then the Constitutional Court decision came and Merkel ... said: 'It's up to us, the governments'."

A series of video calls between Merkel and Macron led to a plan for the European Commission, the EU executive, to borrow 500 billion euros ($550 billion) as common debt and transfer it to the regions and industries hit hardest.

It would be a top-up to the EU's 2021-2027 budget, already close to 1 trillion euros.

Diplomats in Brussels, Paris and Berlin familiar with the discussions said Merkel had dropped Germany's long-held opposition to mutualising debt to fund other member states - when it became clear the EU itself was in peril.

The court ruling in effect put the onus on EU governments themselves to fund any fiscal response.

European leaders agree that, if they fail to rescue economies now in freefall, they risk something worse than the debt crisis 10 years ago - which exposed faultlines, fanned euroscepticism and almost blew up the eurozone.

Story continues

UNION IN NAME ONLY?

The pandemic has derailed the recovery of the EU's most indebted countries. Italy's debt is shooting towards 170% of national output, Greece is losing gains wrung from years of belt-tightening and, across the south, a collapse in tourism threatens millions of jobs.

Surely the moment for the Union to live up to its name.

But members' initial slowness to share medical equipment, and readiness to close their borders, seemed to demonstrate Brussels' irrelevance when national interests are at stake.

Divisions erupted at an all-night videoconference of EU leaders on March 27 as fiscally conservative northern countries resisted pressure from a "Club Med" group to raise a splurge of mutual EU debt to tackle the effects of the pandemic.

Finance ministers agreed on April 9 to an EU-wide rescue plan worth half a trillion euros, but it was too little to fund long-term recovery, and the feud festered on. Berlin insisted any recovery plan must consist of short-term, repayable loans.

Then Merkel and Macron began talking.

"Merkel became increasingly aware that it was making Europe look really bad," said an EU official familiar with Macron and Merkel's consultations with the Commission.

Just when it seemed that this latest in a series of traumas, from sovereign debt crisis to a chaotic wave of migration to Brexit, could finally tear the bloc apart, the deal hints that the two founder members can still provide the EU's steady core.

It may also boost Macron's standing and his vision of more integration as Merkel ends her long tenure.

The Commission, which presents its own proposal on May 27, warmly welcomed the initiative, but the deal is not yet done.

To pass, it needs backing from all 27 capitals, and Austria's leader has already said that he, along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, will offer only loans, not grants.

($1 = 0.9145 euros)

(Additional reporting by Michel Rose in Paris and by Andreas Rinke in Berlin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Bharat Biotech has partnered with the US-based Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) to develop its experimental vaccine Coravax against Covid-19 under the accelerated development programme.

This is the third vaccine candidates that the Hyderabad-based vaccine major is working on using two different platforms.

One uses the nasal flu backbone to deliver Sars-CoV2 genetic material to produce an immune response, while two use the deactivated rabies vaccine as a vector.

The new viral-vector vaccine candidate, which was developed by TJU researchers in January, has recently completed preliminary trials in animal models that show a strong antibody response in vaccinated mice. The data on whether it protects vaccinated animals against Sars-CoV-2 is expected next month.

The vaccine uses a proven deactivated rabies vaccine as a carrier for the genetic code of the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein, which the virus uses to enter human cells and cause infection.

The rabies vaccine has been shown to generate a rigorous but safe immune reaction that confers lifelong protection. Since we know the immune system reacts to the rabies vaccine with a strong response, when we add the coronavirus component, we expect to see that level of protection and immune memory carry over to the Sars-CoV-2 viral protein as well, said Matthias Schnell, director of Jefferson Vaccine Center in Philadelphia.

Bharat Biotech is the worlds largest supplier of rabies vaccines and the rabies carrier vaccine being used is approved for use in the whole population, including children and pregnant women.

We are particularly excited about this technology since the basic proof of concept has been established while using it for other pandemic infectious diseases. Bharat Biotech will be involved in an end-to-end development of the vaccine, including comprehensive clinical trials to achieve commercial licensure, said Dr Krishna Mohan, CEO, Bharat Biotech.

With support from the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the company plans to begin human trials by December 2020.

Global efforts to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 are proceeding at an unprecedented pace and scale, with companies using established platforms and parallel vaccine development phases to fast-track development. Vaccine development, from lab to market, on average takes a decade.

Scientists are using a massive range of new technology platforms for vaccine development, including nucleic acid (DNA and RNA), virus-like particles, peptides, viral vectors (replicating and non-replicating), recombinant proteins, live attenuated virus and inactivated virus approaches, many of which have never before been used to develop vaccines that are currently licenced for use.

Around 25 groups are working on viral-vector vaccines, in which a virus such as rabies or adenovirus is genetically engineered so it can produce coronavirus proteins within the body without causing disease.

Most vaccine development focuses on identifying the genetic code of the spike protein that Sars-CoV-2 uses to enter human cells, which is then used in the vaccine to trigger an immune response against subsequent exposure in people who are vaccinated. The Bharat Biotech project is moving very fast, said Dr NK Ganguly, former director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development and we be able to complete animal testing and move to phase-1 clinical trial rapidly, said Schnell, whose centre has previously used this approach to confer strong immunity in animal models against coronaviruses that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome and middle eastern respiratory syndrome.

Under the licence agreement, Bharat Biotech gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jeffersons vaccine across the world, excluding in the US, Europe, and Japan, where Jefferson continues to seek partners.

The other potential vaccines that have Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (Birac) funding are Bharat Biotechs second rabies vector vaccine that being developed in partnership with ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune, and Ahmedabad-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals vaccine project that uses recombinant DNA technology.

Birac is also supporting Pune-based Serum Institute of Indias phase III trials to determine whether the vaccine candidate, VPM1002, which was developed against tuberculosis by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, also protects against Sars-CoV-2.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Worker's Daily / Photo

VIENTIANE, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China Railway No. 2 Engineering Group (CREC-2) told Xinhua that it has drilled through the Friendship Tunnel from northern Laos to the border line with China on Wednesday.

After 37 months of hard work, the China-Laos Railway Friendship Tunnel, which runs through the Laos-China border and is constructed by CREC-2 and designed by China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group, was bored from northern Laos' Boten, some 370 km north of Lao capital Vientiane, to the border with China on Wednesday.

The progress has, hence, laid a solid foundation for the completion of the railway by December 2021.

The Friendship Tunnel, with a total length of 9,959 meters and 2,425 meters of which belonging to the Lao section, and with the maximum burial depth of 243 meters, is located in the forests in northern Laos.

Worker's Daily / Photo

In the depth of the mountains, the tunnel meets salt layer with thickness of over 100 meters and salinity of over 80 percent, which is extremely harmful to the safety of the tunnel structure.

In view of the poor geological conditions of the tunnel and the frequent occurrence of water inflow and slump, the project department strengthened the geological prediction and information collection. They held several meetings to refine and optimize the construction plan to ensure the safety, quality and progress of the project.

With the COVID-19 epidemic setting in, the Chinese engineering companies also comprehensively implemented epidemic prevention and control to ensure tunnel construction.

The China-Laos Railway is a strategic docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

The 414-km railway, with 198-km tunnels and 62-km bridges, will run from Boten border gate in northern Laos, bordering China, to Vientiane with an operating speed of 160 km per hour.

Worker's Daily / Photo

The electrified passenger and cargo railway is built with the full application of Chinese management and technical standards.

The project started in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in December 2021.
Wholly owned subsidiary adds new technology and manufacturing machines, expanding product lines offered at wholesale

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / World High Life Plc (AQSE:LIFE)(OTCQB:WRHLF) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Love Hemp Ltd ("Love Hemp"), has increased capacity for its LH Botanicals business with new machinery and technology to meet growing demand.

Established by the founders of Love Hemp, Tony Calamita and Thomas Rowland, the London-headquartered company, LH Botanicals provides a complete range of CBD products for wholesale, bulk and white label, with all products certified THC-free in customisable bottle sizes, concentrations, and flavours.

The Company has found that demand for LH Botanicals' CBD products is continuing to rise and, as noted within the Company's announcement on 7 May 2020, the Company has responded by increasing production capacity by acquiring a new capsule machine and a new bath bomb machine to extend its product offerings in an attempt to increase market share further. In addition, LH Botanicals has invested in advanced in-house technology that can test for the widest range of cannabinoids as standard.

LH Botanicals Highlights

LH Botanicals' bulk CBD products are available as CBD rich oils, isolate crystals, water soluble powders, body salves, liquid terpenes, flavoured isolate e-liquids, broad spectrum unflavoured e-liquids, vegan jelly domes, gummy bears, and soft gel capsules

LH Botanicals has expanded their product offering with the addition of a bath bomb machine capable of producing 5,000 bath bombs per day

LH Botanicals has also responded to an increase in customer demand for capsules with the acquisition of an additional capsule machine capable of producing 100,000 capsules daily

Love Hemp CEO, Tony Calamita commented: "We are proud to offer exceptional levels of service and the most competitive pricing when it comes to wholesale CBD. Our broad spectrum Phyto cannabinoid-rich industrial hemp is naturally developed and grown in America, and an advanced cloning programme is used to ensure the consistency of the genetic strains to create a safe and regulated product with excellent characteristics. The acquisition of a bath bomb and additional capsule machine is testament to our continued success, and the trust we have built as a brand."

For further information please contact:

David Stadnyk

Founder & CEO

World High Life PLC

North America toll-free, 1 (888) 616-WRHLF (9745)

+44 (0) 7926 397 675

info@worldhighlife.uk AQSE Corporate Adviser Mark Anwyl/Allie Feuerlein

Peterhouse Capital Limited

+44 (0) 20 7469 0930

ma@peterhousecap.com

af@peterhousecap.com Financial PR Camilla Horsfall/Megan Ray

Blytheweigh

+44 (0) 20 7138 3224

Camilla.horsfall@blytheweigh.com

Megan.Ray@blytheweigh.com



For more information on World High Life please visit: www.worldhighlife.uk

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

We seek safe harbour. Some statements contained in this news release are "forward looking information" within the meaning of securities laws. Forward looking information include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the use of proceeds of the non-brokered private placement and payment of the debt settlements. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. We do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event, except as required by law.

SOURCE: World High Life PLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590602/LH-Botanicals-Increases-Capacity-in-Response-to-Consumer-Demand
A few days ago, a photograph of a migrant worker carrying his two pets, a duck, and a puppy, went viral on social media. In the last few weeks, thousands of migrants have taken on the Herculean task of heading back home on foot with their families and all their belongings. While the exodus has led to some heart-wrenching images and videos, some images that are now going viral, are of a happier kind.

While the incident of the migrant worker carrying his petsstood out, it seems he wasn't alone.

There are countless others who decided to take their pets along instead of abandoning them.

Now let's face it, many families, even those who can afford to travel with them, often choose to leave their pets behind while changing cities. Sometimes it's the more convenient option and at others, even a necessity. But these images of migrant returnees and others travelling amid the pandemic with their beloved pets go on to prove that for some pet owners, a commitment is a commitment.

In the past few days, social media has been flooded with images of people carrying their pets, dogs, cats, rabbits and even ducks, as they travel miles to reach their homelands. This is in sharp contrast to some disturbing reports that had come in in the initial stages of the coronavirus pandemic where pet owners were abandoning their furry babies thinking they could be spreading the virus.

A report claimed that soon after the World Health Organisation warned people about coronavirus, several Indians in a moment of panic abandoned their pets overnight. People who had formerly loved their pets as family abandoned these well-cared-for animals to the streets and to hunger and destitution.

In contrast, images of migrants bundling up their pets and carrying them home is bringing new hope among pet lovers and filling social media with joy.

Take a look at some of the photos we found on Twitter, which left us awestruck and moved us to tears at the same time:

@jhasushant @rajivjournalist @manjit2007 a migrant labour family perhaps heading towards anand vihar ISBT with their belongings and a pet PUG. pic.twitter.com/eRvsEwWDNN scorpio682 (@sourabhdaga82) May 16, 2020

A migrant worker carrying her pet as she gets tired after two days of walking .PM Modi see this is love and care for your loved ones pic.twitter.com/SwsA0xdBje Ravinder Kapur (@RavinderKapur2) May 18, 2020

This is India!!!The migrant is caring for the pets. pic.twitter.com/Mi7QBVfX3n Vina Desurkar (@VDesurkar) May 13, 2020
A Pennsylvania man has been indicted for allegedly kidnapping his four-foot-tall girlfriend last year, driving her to the Nevada desert and killing her during a fake S&M photo shoot.

Federal prosecutors said 40-year-old John Chapman is accused of one count of kidnapping which resulted in the death of 33-year-old Jaime Rae Feden, who had special needs, last September.

Chapman remains in federal custody in Las Vegas and awaits a May 29 court appearance.

John Chapman, 40 (left), has been indicted on one count of kidnapping resulting in the death of his special-needs girlfriend, 33-year-old Jaime Rae Feden (right)

Prosecutors said Chapman faces up to life in prison if he is convicted in the case.

According to the criminal complaint and indictment, on November 14, 2019, the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania conducted a welfare check on Feden at the request of a friend.

During the welfare check, neighbors said they had not seen the woman in about two months, but they had spotted Chapman entering and leaving her home.

Inside the residence, officers found a fake CIA identification card with Chapmans name and photo, Feden's cellphone, multiple zip ties, and a roll of duct tape.

Feden's family member told investigators that she was communicating with her Facebook messenger account. It was later established that Chapman was pretending to be his dead girlfriend in online exchanges with her relatives, according to the indictment.

Officials said Feden allowed Chapman to tie her up and affix her to a post in the Nevada desert, before he put duct tape over her mouth and nose and watched her suffocate to death

A day after the welfare check, police arrested Chapman and took him in for questioning, at which time he reportedly admitted to his involvement in Feden's death.

Chapman, who was married, told detectives that in September 2019, he drove his girlfriend, Feden, from Bethel Park to Las Vegas after lying to her that the trip was a vacation and they would potentially buy a house in Nevada.

'Chapman, however, had planned to kill the victim and had a kill kit ready before their departure to Nevada,' according to a statement from the Department of Justice announcing his indictment.

Chapman told investigators that he drove the Feden out to the desert in Lincoln County.

There, under the pretext of an S&M-themed photo shoot, Feden allegedly allowed Chapman to bind her hands and feet with plastic zip ties and affix her to a signpost.

'Chapman then applied duct tape to her mouth and nose, and watched her die from asphyxiation,' according to the statement.

Chapman was arrested in November 2019 in Pennsylvania after allegedly confessing to killing Feden

Chapman, who was married, reportedly told his wife, Maureen (left), that he killed Feden 'because I had to'

The investigation revealed that Chapman returned to Pennsylvania afterwards and proceeded to used Feden's home and money as his own, the indictment stated.

Fedens naked body was found in October 2019 and positively identified through dental records.

Chapman's wife, Maureen, claimed she did not know he was dating Feden until he called from the police department following his arrest in November and allegedly confessed to her.

Chapman reportedly told Maureen: 'I killed her because I had to.'
The former head of Molson, who was "instrumental in the historic merger" that created Molson Coors, has died unexpectedly at the age of 68.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The former head of Molson, who was "instrumental in the historic merger" that created Molson Coors, has died unexpectedly at the age of 68.

Daniel O'Neill, who led the company from 2000 to 2005, passed away this week, said Andrew Molson, chairman of the board at Molson Coors Beverage Co., during the company's annual general meeting of shareholders Wednesday.

"Many of our colleagues will remember Dan as a great leader and friend, who helped to rebuild the Molson brand," he said

In 2004, Molson Inc. and Adolph Coors Company announced a merger of equals to create the new Molson Coors Brewing Co. At the time, the companies said they would become the fifth largest brewing company by volume with combined beer sales of 60 million hectolitres and net sales of US$6 billion.

O'Neill, who was chief executive at the time of the announced merger in July 2004, would become vice chairman, synergies and integration at the newly formed company, as well as a director on the board.

O'Neill left that role and the company May 31, 2005 after completing his work on the merger synergies plan, according to a company statement at the time.

"I am leaving the company in good hands and with a bright future," O'Neill said when the departure was announced in late April 2005.

O'Neill went on to serve as president and chief executive officer of WinSport in December 2010. WinSport oversees the investments and legacies from Calgary's 1988 Winter Olympics.

Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

He stepped down for "personal reasons" in February 2013.

He was a board member at recreational products manufacturer BRP Inc., as well as CannaRoyalty Corp.

No information on the cause of death was provided.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan's family during these difficult times," Molson said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TPX.B, TSX:DOO)
Washington

Facing the gravest U.S. economic crisis in decades, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered Congress contrasting views Tuesday of what the government's most urgent priority should be.

Striking a theme frequently pushed by President Donald Trump, Mnuchin warned that prolonged business shutdowns would pose long-term threats to the economy, from widespread bankruptcies for small businesses to long-term unemployment for millions of Americans.

"There is risk of permanent damage," Mnuchin said.

Powell, by contrast, stressed, as he has in recent weeks, that the nation is gripped by an economic shock "without modern precedent" and that Congress must consider providing further financial aid soon to support states, localities, businesses and individuals to prevent an even deeper recession.

"What Congress has done to date has been remarkably timely and forceful," Powell said. "But we need to step back and ask, 'Is it enough?"

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

Their points of emphasis reflect the contours of a debate occurring across the country, among individuals, business people and political leaders, about when and under what circumstances the economy should reopen and what further help the government can or should provide.

During the hearing, Mnuchin clashed sharply with Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts over the administration's support for a phased reopening of the economy and over its reluctance to require that all companies that receive government aid keep their workers on the payroll.
ALBANY  In the latest step toward normalcy for a state court system operating virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, judges and their staffs will return to courthouses in eight counties across the heart of the Capital Region on Tuesday.

Top state court officials announced that the judges will return to courthouses in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Greene, Warren and Washington counties. Limited in-person operations can be conducted. Cases can be filed electronically.

Judges returned to courthouses Monday in 23 upstate counties, including Fulton, Montgomery and Schoharie counties. Judges returned in seven other counties on Wednesday and, on Thursday, they will return to counties in western New York.

When the openings began Monday, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said "make no mistake, this is most decidedly not a return to business as usual.

Jury trials are still not happening. The court system will continue to conduct business virtually, officials said.

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

DiFiore said before court operations can fully resume, court facilities will undergo deep cleaning and upgraded regular cleaning. Masks, gloves and sanitizing agents must be available for visitors. She said plexiglass barriers will be installed around magnetometers, X-ray machines and other courthouse locations. Blue tape will show where to socially distance. Areas will be set aside for unrepresented litigants to safely get assistance, she said.

As we go forward, we will be closely monitoring, and learning from, this phased-in resumption of in-person court operations,  DiFiore said. We will be standing by, and prepared, to make any needed adjustments.

DiFiore added: lets be patient and remind ourselves of the careful, incremental way in which weve responded effectively to the pandemic, so that we dont forget, and arent tempted, to jump ahead of where we need to be right now.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Wednesday that it will sanction Iran's interior minister for human rights abuses, the latest move in the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.

The new penalties targeted a dozen individuals, including Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, according to the Treasury notice. The sanctions also target three entities, including two prisons as well as a law enforcement group.

"We have reason to believe Minister Rahmani Fazli gave carte blanche orders authorizing Iranian police forces to use lethal force on peaceful protestors and bystanders," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. "His orders led to the killing of many protestors, including at least 23 minors," the nation's top diplomat added.

The Treasury also targeted Iran's Law Enforcement Forces, LEF, for the violent suppression of peaceful protests and for operating detention centers.

"The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The LEF, separately sanctioned for supporting the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, also uses its detention centers to recruit fighters for Iranian militias, according to the Treasury.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared after Trump's withdrawal from the landmark Iran nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration.

The 2015 nuclear agreement lifted sanctions on Iran that crippled its economy and cut its oil exports roughly in half. In exchange for sanctions relief, Iran accepted limits on its nuclear program and allowed international inspectors into its facilities.

Tehran has said it will not negotiate with Washington while sanctions are in place.

Separately, Pompeo is under scrutiny for his role in the firing of the State Department Inspector General.
The medical aid includes medicines, medical equipment, disinfectants, protective suits for medical staff and large quantities of formula milk

Egypt said it sent medical aid to South Sudan as per presidential orders to the military to help in the countrys battle against the coronavirus pandemic, a statement by the Armed Forces read.

Armed Forces spokesman Tamer El-Refaie said the military has prepped and dispatched a military jet as per orders by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to provide support to South Sudan amid consecutive crises faced by the country.

The medical aid includes medicines, medical equipment, disinfectants, protective suits for medical staff and large quantities of formula milk.

This aid is an affirmation of Egypts leading role in Africa and a solidifying of cooperative relations and historical ties connecting Egypt with the continent, the statement read.

So far, South Sudan has detected 347 cases of coronavirus and six deaths from the contagion.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Egypt has sent several shipments of supplies and medical aid to some of the worlds worst-stricken countries, including China, Italy and the US.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


May 20 : Biggest south superstar Jr NTR turns a year older today and the entire digital world is buzzing with best wishes. Fans, friends, family and co-stars took to their social media profile and wished him on his special day.

Celebrities such as Rakul Preet Singh, Ram Charan, Sudheer Babu, Shibasish Sarkar, Allu Sirish and more wished Jr NTR on social media.

Happppy happy bdayyyy @tarak9999  wishing you a fabulous year and great health . May all your dreams n desires come true. Keep killing it with your outstanding work .   Rakul Singh (@Rakulpreet) May 20, 2020

Actress Rakul Preet Singh wrote, Happppy happy bdayyyy @tarak9999 wishing you a fabulous year and great health. May all your dreams n desires come true. Keep killing it with your outstanding work

A very talented member to share the club with  Great work this is @tarak9999 ... Happy Birthday man  #HappyBirthdayNTR pic.twitter.com/wKjcGnfky2  Sudheer Babu (@isudheerbabu) May 20, 2020

Actor Sudheer Babu shared, A very talented member to share the club with...Great work this is @tarak9999...Happy Birthday man #HappyBirthdayNTR

Many many happy returns of the day @tarak9999 ...wish you a great year ahead with love, peace & happiness pic.twitter.com/4PLJBZVLWm  Shibasish Sarkar (@Shibasishsarkar) May 19, 2020

Shibasish Sarkar wrote, Many many happy returns of the day @tarak9999...wish you a great year ahead with love, peace & happiness

Wishing Tarak garu a happy birthday. All the best for RRR & have a great year ahead. Thanks for inspiring us with new fitness goals on your birthday! :) @tarak9999 #HappyBirthdayNTR  Allu Sirish (@AlluSirish) May 20, 2020

Actor Allu Sirish expressed, Wishing Tarak garu a happy birthday. All the best for RRR & have a great year ahead. Thanks for inspiring us with new fitness goals on your birthday! :) @tarak9999 #HappyBirthdayNTR

Happy Birthday to my dear brother @tarak9999! I know I owe you a return gift. But, I promise I will give you the best. More celebrations await...  pic.twitter.com/ZW9UgmBu2G  Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) May 20, 2020

Actor Ram Charan wrote, Happy Birthday to my dear brother @tarak9999! I know I owe you a return gift. But, I promise I will give you the best. More celebrations await...

Was looking forward to the first look of #JrNTR in #SSRajamoulis magnum opus #RRRMovie today [on the actors birthday]... Read the statement issued by the actor himself and also by producers... Sending across good vibes and best wishes on this day, @tarak9999 #HappyBirthdayTarak pic.twitter.com/7RBYtZvLer  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) May 20, 2020

Meanwhile on the work front, Jr NTR is gearing up with Roudram Ranam Rudhiram  RRR movi, an upcoming period action film written and directed by S. S. Rajamouli. It also stars Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn.

It is a fictional story revolving around India's freedom fighters, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem who fought against the British Raj and Nizam of Hyderabad respectively, it is slated for 8th January 2021 release.
BRIDGEPORT  A toddler found alone on city streets early Tuesday morning was reunited with his mother after she learned about the childs disappearance from a relatives home, according to city officials.

Around 3 a.m., city police officers were dispatched for a report of a child found on Hewitt Street, said Scott Appleby, Bridgeports director of emergency communications and emergency management.
This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

Overwhelmed government bureaucracy and technology has failed Americans trying to apply for unemployment benefits or business loans.

But some government technology is holding up well in this crisis.

I talked to two people overseeing 911 emergency response systems whose digital modernization  not trivial for resource-strapped government agencies  is helping the helpers help us.

In New Orleans, recent upgrades to emergency systems have enabled paramedics to do video call assessments of people with symptoms of a coronavirus infection. In Manatee County, Fla., emergency responders can now more precisely pinpoint peoples location  necessary when a call comes from a boat in the Gulf of Mexico.

If youre thinking these upgrades seem basic, youre right. We like to imagine fanciful technology feats, but you dont need flying cars to save lives.
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Life sciences and microbiome knowledge discovery company Eagle Genomics today announced that Cargill has signed a multi-year platform agreement to enable the digital transformation of microbiome and life sciences R&D across its global locations.

The deployment of the Eagle Genomics e[datascientist] platform will initially enable Cargill's Health Technologies business to organize and synthesize additional insights from microbiome data amassed by the company over the past decade. "By revealing relationships between microbiome data entities and relevant multi-omics data, the platform will further enable Cargill to advance our understanding of the complex association between the microbiome and digestive and immune health in humans and animals," said Mike Johnson, marketing director, Cargill Health Technologies.

"Healthy animals, healthy people and a healthy planet are all interconnected," Johnson explained. "With the advanced knowledge and insights we anticipate generating from our microbiome data, the e[datascientist] will allow us to effectively build on our existing suite of health solutions and bring more relevant products to market in this exciting area of functional food."

With the capabilities to manage, explore and interpret life sciences data beyond the microbiome, the Eagle Genomics platform will ultimately allow Cargill to digitally reinvent its biological research activities to bring innovative products to customers, faster.

With a particular focus on the microbiome, (the populations of bacteria, viruses and fungi which coexist in our bodies, in the environment and which make up the majority of life on earth), Eagle Genomics is accelerating advances in the fields of sustainable agriculture and functional food. The Eagle Genomics e[datascientist] platform applies AI, a unique data valuation engine and pioneering visualisation to navigate and reveal novel relationships between data entities at microbiomical scale.

Anthony Finbow, CEO at Eagle Genomics said, "We are delighted to be enabling Cargill to explore microbiome data for food and digestive health, an area which we believe will be transformed by microbiome discovery over the next decade. We look forward to a future of industry-disrupting food and nutraceutical products for humans and animals, informed by our platform."

About Eagle Genomics

Eagle Genomics' award-winning AI augmented knowledge discovery platform, the e[datascientist], is revolutionising how scientists conduct life sciences research and is bridging the gap between data and new insights in a rapid, systematic and traceable way. It puts data science at the fingertips of biologists to drastically reduce time and cost of research, enabling customers to achieve radical productivity improvements and true data driven discovery.

Find out more at www.eaglegenomics.com

About Cargill

Cargill's 160,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 154 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.

Press Contact

Catherine Kidd

UK +44 (0)1223 654481

[email protected]

www.eaglegenomics.com

SOURCE Eagle Genomics

Related Links

https://www.eaglegenomics.com/


NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Musicians On Call (MOC), a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities, and Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a nonprofit committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer, are bringing smiles and welcome relief to patients and caregivers in children's hospitals across the country with Healing Through Music. Through the series, called Musicians On Call & Hyundai Hope On Wheels present Healing Through Music, national recording artists are delivering the healing power of music to patients and caregivers with surprise, once-in-a-lifetime virtual performances. Some of music's biggest artists volunteered with Musicians On Call and will be featured in the series, including Sia, Jason Derulo, Darius Rucker, JoJo, Lauren Alaina, Rachel Platten, Ally Brooke, Ingrid Michaelson, Fonseca, Lauren Daigle and more.

Over the next four weeks the series will surprise these brave individuals and teams with performances ranging from intimate one-on-one visits with their favorite artists to hundreds of individuals tuning in throughout the hospital. Videos from these performances will premiere on Musicians On Call's and Hyundai Hope On Wheels' social media accounts every day at 7 p.m. EDT Monday through Friday, in conjunction with hospital shift changes and the hour that citizens nationwide show their gratitude to caregivers.

More information about the series is available at www.musiciansoncall.org/healingthroughmusic and www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org/healing-through-music/. Follow the series on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube by following @musiciansoncall and @hyundaihopeonwheels.

"Hospital patients are currently facing higher levels of isolation and caregivers are pulling double duty with both their traditional roles and COVID-19 response. In such a stressful environment music can have a profound positive impact," said Musicians On Call President & CEO Pete Griffin. "With the support of Hyundai Hope On Wheels, and the help of many of Musicians On Call's compassionate artist supporters, it is our honor to share the healing qualities of music with the people who need it most and bring joy during strenuous days. We hope these performances will give these incredibly deserving patients and healthcare professionals some unforgettable moments to hold onto."

"For the last 22 years, Hyundai has partnered with children's hospitals nationwide to help kids fight cancer," said Scott Fink, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Chair, "Children battling cancer and other diseases can be in the hospital for extended periods of time and research shows that music has positive benefits during treatment. We are pleased to work with Musicians On Call to bring the healing power of music to children in hospitals across the country, especially during this period of increased stress and anxiety due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Musicians On Call & Hyundai Hope On Wheels present Healing Through Music uses the technology of MOC's Virtual Bedside Performance Program to connect artists directly with patients and caregivers. During this program, MOC Volunteer Musicians perform remotely for patients via live broadcasts through hospital closed-circuit TVs and in-home services. MOC expanded this program to serve more patients in need; currently, more than 15,000 people have enjoyed virtual performances during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more than 20 years MOC has used music to promote and complement the healing process with programs including the Bedside Performance Program, Virtual Bedside Performance Program and Music Pharmacy program. As the nation's leading provider of live music in hospitals, MOC's Bedside Performance Program and Virtual Program have reached more than 800,000 individuals and there are hospitals in all 50 states that share Music Pharmacies with their patients.

Hyundai Hope On Wheels, Hyundai's 501c(3) non-profit, has committed $4.3 million towards COVID-19 Drive-thru testing centers as well as providing testing kits and testing machines which have been in severely short supply.

About Musicians On Call (MOC)

Musicians On Call (MOC) is the nation's leading provider of live music in hospitals. For over 20 years MOC has brought live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in healthcare facilities ranging from children's hospitals to adult facilities, VA hospitals and hospices. MOC has a vision of a world filled with the healing power of music and is expanding its Virtual Bedside Performance Program and Music Pharmacy program to serve the populations most in need during this pandemic, including hospital patients who are undergoing visitor restrictions, caregivers spending countless hours on the frontlines and elderly individuals who must remain at home. For more information on how Musicians On Call continues to share music's healing qualities during this global pandemic, visit www.musiciansoncall.org/covid-19.

Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $171 million toward childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

A sizzle video about the Healing Through Music series is available for download.

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

http://hyundaihopeonwheels.org


A cabinet minister has admitted he does not know if schools in England will reopen on 1 June as planned, after a growing revolt from teachers and local councils.

Robert Buckland rowed back from the target date  less than two weeks away  acknowledging safety fears and that town halls probably had the power to keep some schools closed.

Im not going to sit here and pretend that suddenly on 1 June everything will be uniform  I dont know, the justice secretary said.

A total of 11 local authorities, including some Conservative-run, have either stated outright opposition to the reopening, or warned it must be delayed.

School governors have warned it will be hard to ignore the views of councils  something Mr Buckland appeared to back, when he said some directly employed teaching staff.

Recommended Tory MPs and Labour council clash over school reopening plans

I don't think any of us want to put either children or our dedicated teaching staff in any danger at all, and the question of being safe is clearly paramount, he told BBC Breakfast.

So, we're all working towards 1 June and planning for that return, but I accept the point that there may well be issues from employers that need to be addressed.

The justice secretary added: I utterly respect and understand the concerns that we are hearing from some parts of the sector.

The tone is a marked change from Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, who expects all English primary schools to reopen on 1 June if the government's five tests have been met.

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

But opponents now have a powerful ally in Angela McLean, the deputy chief scientific adviser, who opposed further lockdown-easing before the test-and-trace scheme to catch new infections is finally up and running.

Any further lifting of restrictions should be based on observed levels of infection...and not on a fixed date, she told the Downing Street daily briefing.

John Edmunds, another member of the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage), also said the system needed to be embedded and working well before schools could reopen.

A Labour spokesman suggested local councils would make their own decisions.

"Ultimately councils will want to do what is in the best interests of children and families in their area, he said.

"Infection rate varies from area to area so its not surprising some councils have particular concerns.

Mr Buckland admitted test-and-trace would not be fully developed in England for several weeks, adding: I think it won't necessarily be as widespread and as full-blown as we would like [by 1 June].

I think that would develop over the next several weeks, over the next month or so. It's a combination of that app and of the track-and-trace volunteers who are being trained as we speak.

And he acknowledged the government had chosen to protect the NHS ahead of care homes, where at least 15,000 deaths have now taken place.

That's right and I think that was absolutely essential, he told Sky News. Now is not time to blame people. I think that would be wholly counterproductive.
LITCHFIELD  Three candidates received endorsements to run for seats in the state legislature this week, including a former mayor.

Democrats this week endorsed attorney Matthew Dyer of Litchfield to run against incumbent Republican state Rep. David Wilson, R-66; former New Milford Mayor David Gronbach to run against incumbent Sen. Craig Miner, R-30; and Noel Rodriquez of Torrington to run against incumbent state Rep. Jay Case, R-63.

Attorney Audrey Blondin, a member of the Democrats Connecticut State Central Committee, said the new candidates signal an exciting start to campaign season for the fall elections.

The quality of the candidates that have come forward to run this year is exceptional, Blondin said. Matthew Dyer came forward a few months ago and expressed a desire to run, and we were just thrilled to have him. Hes an outstanding candidate. He has a great command of the issues, and theres a clear difference between him and the incumbent Republican.

Dyer is an attorney with the firm Furey, Donovan, Tracy & Daly in Bristol. According to the firms website, he earned his Juris Doctorate from University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford, in 2002. He is a 1998 graduate of the University of Wyoming, where he earned a bachelors degree in English literature. He has lived in Litchfield since 2018 and has been a practicing attorney for nearly 18 years.

He chose Litchfield as his home because of the quality of its community, he said. One of my close friends worked in the public defenders office in the Litchfield County Courthouse, and the more time I spent there, the more I liked the town, Dyer said. Theres a sense of focused community here. People were very welcoming. We had a bag of stuff left on our doorstep by the Litchfield Area Business Assoication, and it wasnt a sales pitch, it was just a welcome.

When he joined the Democratic Town Committee, he asked members what he could do. Thats what led to (the nomination), Dyer said. They said they were looking for candidates, and they heard I was interested. I thought that the skill set I have, representing individuals and small businesses, represents being a candidate. So I decided to run.

Dyers goals include reevaluating the states health care system, something he feels even more strongly about since the pandemic. The coronavirus should never be something thats a binary question  do you save lives, or save money  peoples lives should be the first thing we think about, always. If thats not working, the system need to be revamped, he said. The state government is in a really prime position to do some good work on health care.

His other goals are to examine educational funding and improve it for all towns and cities in the state. Educational funding is sporadic throughout the state, he said. Theres a formual for Educational Cost Sharing and that means certain places get a benefit, and others dont. We need to look at that seriously.

He also wants to involve all members of the communities hed serve  Bethlehem, Woodbury, Warren, Morris and Litchfield  in any conversations about improving peoples quality of life.

Its about community, he said. People are trying to make better places to live, and we want everyone in that community to have a conversation about it. The only way things will get better is for us to talk to each other. ... How do we retain our unique character? The average age up here is about 56, then theres another group of people over 65. Part of the process of community is handing the reins over to the next generation. So how to we provide opportunities to the 21st century, for the next generation? How do we get our kids to come back here and stay here? Thats why Im running.

Blondin was contacted by Rodriquez, who expressed his interest in running for the 63rd District.

Noel is young and I think he brings tremendous energy and strength to the 63rd District, she said. I think he exemplifies the future of the Democratic party in the northwest corner. Hes working very hard and he has good communication skills. Thats the difference between a young candidate and a more seasoned politician. ... The younger candidates have knowledge and experience of their own. We can all learn and benefit from that.

Gronbach, a resident of New Milford, is an owner and partner at Gronbach Law Offices LLC. He studied law at Pace University School of Law and previously served as an administrative judge/impartial hearing officer at New York State Education Department. He served as mayor in New Milford for one term.

Blondin called Gronbach another high-quality candidate.

He thought about running last year, and he got an early start on his campaign in January, she said. Hes been working very hard to raise the money to qualify.

Again, theres a vast distinction between him and state Sen. Craig Miner, Blondin said. These newcomers have the ability to communicate effectively using new mediums, like social media, Zoom. ... Theyre very connected with that. Were very lucky to have these people, like David, who are experts at communication.

Gronbach and his wife, Vanessa, practice law together at their firm. The couple has three school-age children.

Gronbach said he took a break after his term as mayor, but didnt give up on politics. Im a young guy, and what I think I can offer isnt done yet, he said. I saw the power good government can have, and I also saw what happens when you become complacent. So when I was asked to run, it was hard to say no.

The candidate said he wants to be an advocate for the people of the 30th District. The pandemic, he said, has created funding and other resources for communities across the state, but theres going to be a scramble for that support and resources, he said

Well need to be aggressive to get those resources, whatever they might be  education funding, money for economic development. ... There are underlying issues that are festering when it comes to funding, he said.

Gronbach wants to improve economic development for the northwest corner, and said the burden on taxpayers is too much.

Economic development is tied to so much of what we do, but we can do better, he said. If we have an advocate in Hartford thats focused on that, theres great opportunities for us in the northwest corner.

I want to help the middle class, he said. At the end of the day, everyone feels squeezed. Reducing the burden on the middle class is a big priority, because the school budgets are such a burden. People are frustrated by that.

Gronbach said the local dependency on property taxes creates a divide between parents with school-age children and older residents who no longer have children in the school system.

Were at the breaking point in our communities, he said.  The grand lists in the 30th Districts are either flat, or going down, and expenses keep going up. We cant sustain it all on our property taxes without some kind of uniform formula. At this point, it all depends on whos got influence in Hartford. Its just not sustainable anymore.

Blondin is hoping for a series of virtual depbates to help voters meet and get acquainted with the new candidates. Theres no reason why we cant do that, she said. Im very excited about the elections this year. I think its going to be good.
Swedens approach to tackling the coronavirus has drawn plenty of attention from around the world  and like other European nations, the country appears to be paying a heavy price for its response to the pandemic.

Rather than declaring a full lockdown, Sweden has adopted a mix of legislation and recommendations in response to the virus that international media has widely labelled a relatively soft policy.

Sweden has registered more than 3,740 coronavirus-linked deaths  a toll far lower than many large EU countries but about five times higher than Denmark and more than 10 times that of its other Nordic neighbours.

People chat and drink outside a bar in Stockholm, Sweden. Source: AP

While there are countries that have fared far worse, Swedens death toll per million people has been the worst in the world over the past week.

According to data compiled by the Financial Times, Sweden had the highest number of coronavirus deaths per capita for the past week, based on a seven-day rolling average of new deaths (per million) from May 12 to 19.

Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and Health Economist at Harvard University says it puts Sweden in unflattering territory.

 SWEDEN TOPS THE WORLD now in daily deaths per capita. Just in case that wasnt clear before. Here is the matching graph from FT.



The much talked about Swedish approach has now led to the worst #COVID19 country death outcome to date. https://t.co/mumwmTiWFm pic.twitter.com/3y6lN6tjjw  Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 18, 2020

While other hard-hit countries have dipped below Sweden since the worst of the virus outbreak, the reading shows Sweden has not squashed the coronavirus curve to the same degree.

When looking at the numbers in totality, Sweden has registered 30,143 coronavirus cases and 3,679 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Thats a mortality rate of 36.13 per 100,000. Which is less than half of Belgium at 78.8 per 100,000.

Story continues

Sweden suffers high death rate and low GDP

While Sweden took a somewhat less strict approach than most countries, it has suffered an almost identical drop in GDP when compared to other nordic countries, so has been unable to stave off the economic destruction of the virus either.

People sit in a restaurant in Stockholm on May 8, 2020. Source: Getty

As a number of leaders in hard-hit countries have sought to remind the public, comparisons between countries and report cards on coronavirus response will largely have to wait until the pandemic has passed to get the full picture.

The Swedish Prime Minister late last week said impressions conveyed abroad that Sweden has adopted a "business as usual" approach to the coronavirus are wrong.

While social distancing wasnt mandated by the government, it was advised and recommended and public activity still reduced significantly, according to mobile data, albeit slightly less than most countries.

Sweden had some early blunders that led to outbreak in nursing homes, however Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has rejected the notion that Sweden has carried on as normal.

The image that Sweden is doing so totally different than other countries. That's not the case, he said last week.

Swedish coronavirus rules built on trust

The Swedish model for managing society was built on trust between officials and citizens who had "a responsibility to do the right thing," he told a briefing with foreign media.

"Life is not carrying on as normal in Sweden. It is not business as usual."

Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has rejected the notion Sweden has remained open. Source: Getty

The government has banned large gatherings, high schools and universities are closed and authorities recommend social distancing, protecting the elderly, working from home and staying at home if unwell.

Elementary schools however remain open, people have not been obliged to stay indoors and can meet in small groups, and stores have not been forced to close.

Sweden, whose population is about twice that of other Nordic countries, had no plans to ease its coronavirus regime, Mr Lofven said.

While there was "no one-size-fits-all response" to the pandemic, he said better co-operation was needed as countries started to ease lockdown curbs.

with Reuters

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

The discussions on the reopening of schools across the country have been met with skepticism because of the upsurge in Ghana's case count, fear of further spread among especially our children, and a host of other challenges.

GES and Ministry of Education should preferably consider the following suggestions:

1. Only WASSCE and BECE candidates should be allowed back to school probably from June 2020.

2. All other pupils and students should stay home till September while enough measures are put in place to welcome them.

3. It should be possible to get the candidates to follow the health and safety protocols including social and physical distancing because there will be adequate spaces in our schools for only final year students.

4. Wearing of facemasks should be compulsory for all students and staff at all times.

5. Washing of hands and hand sanitizing should be strictly enforced by school authorities in and outside the classroom.

6. For optimum safety of the candidates, thermometer guns could be sent to all schools across the country for the regular tests of the temperature of candidates and other staff members in our schools.

7. Better still, all candidates should be tested before admission to schools to forestall any fears of the spread of the pandemic.

8. All candidates who are tested and declared COVID-19 free should be admitted to the boarding house to minimize contact with the general public.

9. Class sizes should be reduced to 20 or 25 students per class for now.

10. All schools should have at least one medical staff attached for prompt response and attention to any eventuality.

Conclusion: Doing this would provide blueprints for receiving the larger population of pupils and students from September 2020.

(CLEMENT ADJEI SARFO, The CRUSADER, [email protected])
FP Trending

Facebook has launched Shops to help businesses set up online storefronts to tide over the losses caused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Through this move, the social media giant wants to help small businesses adapt and make shopping easier for people.

Facebook Shops will allow businesses to sell their product both on Facebook and Instagram.

Businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalog and then customize the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colors that showcase their brand, said the company.

Online stores can reach out to people through their Facebook or Instagram pages. Users can discover businesses through stories or ads. They can check out the full collection, save products they like and place an order, either by visiting the business website or on the Facebook page, if the online store has provided the option.

Users can even ask questions related to products by just messaging the online store through WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct. In the future, Facebook will let people view a business" shop and make purchases right within a chat in WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct.

The social media giant is also coming up with Instagram Shop this summer, starting in the US. This feature will let users discover and buy products they love on Instagram Explore.

The company is also going to introduce a way through which people will be able to sell and buy products in real-time, said Facebook on its blogpost.

Currently, Facebook allows sales on the platform through Marketplace, which was launched in 2016. It allows users to sell personal belongings to each other and functions somewhat similar to Craiglist.

The company earlier this month introduced a new feature to its Coronavirus community Help Hub to assist local businesses, blood banks, and non-profit organisations.

The feature allows users to find gift cards and vouchers to support local businesses, donate to local nonprofit fundraisers, and sign up to become a blood donor under Community Help.
UP assembly polls will be about '80 per cent vs 20 per cent'; BJP will win: Yogi Adityanath

UP migrant workers bus row: Rebel Congress leader Aditi Singh slams own party

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 20: Aditi Singh, a rebel Congress MLA from Raebareily has once again targeted her own party over the Uttar Pradesh's bus row. The rebel Congress MLA said that most of the buses that were supposed to be sent for the benefit for migrant workers are smaller vehicles and asked what cruel joke is this.

Taking to Twitter, the Congress MLA said, "What is the need of such low level of politics at the time of a disaster. A list of one 1,000 buses was sent and more than half of the registration numbers were fake, 297 were junk buses, 98 were autorickshaws and vehicles like ambulance, 68 vehicles were without any papers. What cruel joke this?".

Provide buses to DMs of Ghaziabad, Noida, UP govt tells Priyanka Gandhi

Further, the Congress MLA said, "Where were the so-called buses when thousands of children from Uttar Pradesh were stranded in Kota, then the Congress government could not leave these children at home, could not even leave them at the border."

What happened in the bus controversary?

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi extended her support to send 1,000 buses to ferry thousands of stranded migrant workers who were wanting to return to their native places in Uttar Pradesh. Soon after the decision, the Congress and the BJP indulged in a war of words in which Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath accepted the offer and asked Gandhi to send the buses to Noida and Ghaziabad by Tuesday afternoon.

Yogi Adityanath okays Priyanka Gandhi's request to run 1,000 migrant buses

As the UP CM came to a conclusion, several officials of the state government claimed that many of the registration numbers of the buses sent by Congress were of two-wheelers, cars or fake numbers.

FIR filed against Congress leaders

On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's secretary were booked by police after the state government claimed for the fake numbers.

However, Congress rejected Yogi Adityanath-let state government's claim and challenged it to conduct a "physical verification" of the buses. Later, a state government spokesman claimed that nearly 100 vehicles on the Congress list were not buses.
An Australian Hero: Keith Payne VC

SBS, 8.30pm

Heroism has easy contours and stubborn depths. To the credit of this documentary, presented and produced by Ray Martin and written and directed by Max Uechtritz, the former never precludes the latter. Now 86 years old, Keith Payne was awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest military commendation, for his actions on May 24, 1969, when a US Green Beret unit he was a company commander with came under heavy attack during the Vietnam War and he subsequently rescued numerous wounded.

Keith Payne, VC with his medals which he donated to the Australian War Memorial. Credit:Melissa Adams

Lauded by others, the unvarnished Queenslander is straightforward about what transpired  "I went tap-tap, tap-tap, they fell and I got out of there," he says of one encounter with a pair of North Vietnamese soldiers  and equally clear about what he's tried to do with his rare honour in the sometimes difficult years since.

Described as a "changed man" by one of his sons, Payne eventually had to seek help for the trauma he carried from his military service, and he would advocate for Vietnam veterans who needed similar care, while also campaigning to make sure Indigenous veterans who'd initially been denied decorations were finally honoured. The achievement of this respectful portrait is that the deeds of one brave day are seen as the start of something valuable, not the end.
A Hamilton retirement home that was emptied last week due to a horrific COVID-19 outbreak is associated with the family behind the largest bankruptcy of long-term care homes in Ontarios history.

The Rosslyn Retirement Residence at 1322 King St. E. is associated with the families of Aldo Martino and the late John Martino, who owned the Royal Crest Lifecare chain of nursing homes until they went bankrupt in 2003.

At the time of the bankruptcy, Royal Crests 11 long-term care and six retirement homes had $180 million in liabilities owing and left taxpayers on the hook for $18 million.

Sixty-two residents of the 64-bed Rosslyn home were hospitalized after a rampant coronavirus outbreak emptied the residence last week. Twenty staff members have also been infected and one resident of the now-vacant facility has died.

In addition to the Rosslyn Retirement Residence, the Martino family is also associated with seven other retirement homes and residential care facilities still active in Hamilton.

They include Dundas Retirement Place at 33 Main St. in Dundas, Northview Seniors Residence at 19 Aikman Ave., Cathmar Manor at 236 Catharine St. N., Montgomery Retirement Home at 1605 Main St. E., Emerald Lodge at 83 Emerald St. S., and Victoria Manor I and II at 115-121 Victoria St. S.

Emerald Lodge and Victoria Manor I and II are residential care facilities. The other five are retirement homes.

The citys public health department has launched urgent inspections of all homes associated with the Martinos in the wake of the serious Rosslyn home outbreak.

The inspections are expected to be completed Friday.

Representatives of the Martino family did not immediately respond to requests for comment made Tuesday by telephone and email.

On May 14, the citys associate medical officer of health issued an order against the Rosslyn home requiring a number of immediate steps be taken to address alleged deficiencies related to screening, outbreak response plans, protective equipment and staff training.

The order notes that failing to comply is an offence that could lead to fines as high as $5,000 per day against individuals and $25,000 a day for the corporation.

The person listed on the public health order as the Rosslyns representative is the spouse of the late John Martino.

The following day, the provinces Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority also issued an order against the Rosslyn home, stating the facility was in contravention of the Retirement Homes Act section pertaining to infection prevention and control and failure to protect residents from neglect.

The regulatory agencys order states Rosslyn is not permitted to admit new residents to the home until the licensee has retained a regulated health professional (RHP).

Residents that were not residing at the home as of May 16, 2020 are not permitted to return to the home, until the retained RHP has approved their return, the order states.

Corporate searches for most of the eight homes associated with the Martinos show the business addresses listed for the companies are either the former headquarters of Royal Crest Lifecare at 307 King St. E. or the Martino family home in Ancaster.

A company associated with the Martinos called North American Living Centres continued to operate from 307 King St. E. after the Royal Crest bankruptcy.

In November 2019, five Martino family members, including the spouse of the late John Martino, signed as guarantors to a mortgage that covered the properties of Rosslyn, Dundas Retirement Place, Northview, Cathmar, Victoria Manor and the Martino home in Ancaster.

Until Oct. 2017, Aldo Martinos family home was owned by a trust called JAAMSS Investment Corporation. The name was made from the initials of the first names of Aldo Martino, his spouse and their children.

On Oct. 27, 2017, ownership of the Ancaster home transferred from JAAMSS to Stefanie Martino and Sophi-Anne Martino. They also signed the transfer as the president and secretary respectively of JAAMSS, which suggests they could be related to Aldo Martino. Representatives of the Martino family did not immediately respond to a Spectator request Tuesday seeking confirmation Stefanie Martino and Sophi-Anne Martino are related to Aldo Martino.

Stefanie Martino is listed as either an officer or director of the companies associated with Rosslyn, Dundas Retirement Place, Northview and Montgomery Retirement Home. Sophi-Anne Martino is listed as either an officer or director of the companies associated with Dundas Retirement Place and Northview.

Rose Hrncie, spouse of the late John Martino, is the only officer and director listed for the company associated with Cathmar Manor.

Three of the retirement homes now controlled by the Martino family were part of the original Royal Crest bankruptcy in 2003 Cathmar, Victoria Manor I and II.

Those three homes, along with Hillview Seniors Residence on Concession Street, were purchased out of bankruptcy in 2004 by Joe Melo, a friend of the Martino brothers who formerly acted as an independent contractor to Royal Crest and North American Living Centres.

At the time of the purchase, Melo told the Spectator his ownership and operation of the four homes had no connection to the Martinos.

In August 2010, Melo was found murdered in an east-end pharmacy he co-owned. The murder remains unsolved.

Royal Crest and the Martino brothers were the subjects of an extensive Spectator investigation in 2003 and 2004.

The investigation showed Ontarios health ministry had provided more than $500 million to Royal Crest in a decade leading up to the chains collapse, but the ministry hadnt conducted its own audit of the company in the three years prior to the bankruptcy.

The Martino brothers both declared personal bankruptcy a month before the Royal Crest collapse in early 2003, each listing $10,000 in household assets and $180 million in liabilities related to their nursing home business.

Aldo Martino was ordered by a judge to pay $300,000 to his estate before he could be discharged from bankruptcy. Its not known if Martino has been discharged from his bankruptcy, and representatives of the family did not respond to a request for confirmation from the Spectator.

The judge at the bankruptcy hearing ordered the payment because the Martino brothers hadnt given plausible explanations for what had happened to a combined $4 million of income earned in the few years leading up to their respective bankruptcies.

John Martino died in 2006.

In 2002, Royal Crest had its licence to operate an Oakville long-term care home revoked by the province because of concerns over substandard care.
A n NHS nurse says she is no longer able to make the hour-long journey to her work at a London hospital after her motorbike worth 11,000 was stolen.

Adina Nash, specialist nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in Camden, said she was shocked to discover her garage had been broken into and her yellow Suzuki V-Storm motorcycle was missing over the weekend.

She told the Evening Standard that while NHS workers on the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak have received overwhelming messages of support from the public, one "bad apple" had made her feel "sick to her stomach".

The 52-year-old nurse, from Bracknell, discovered her motorbike had been stolen from her garage on May 16.

"It was a nice, sunny day and I decided to wash the patio," said Ms Nash.

"I went round to the garage and I saw a small van turn up. It made me think twice about locking the garage so I double-checked that it was properly locked.

"When I came back to the garage the bike was gone. I was absolutely gutted, I felt sick to my stomach."

A neighbour's footage showed a suspect driving away from the garages on Adina Nash's motorbike / Supplied

Footage from a neighbour's security camera recorded the image of a suspect riding away from the garage with Ms Nash's motorbike.

Since her motorbike was stolen, Ms Nash has been working from home and focusing on helping outpatients with epilepsy instead of working at the hospital.

At the Royal Free Hospital, she has taken over running the epilepsy department since the start of the Covid-19 crisis.

She said: "It's costing me the earth at the moment because they also took my crash helmet. The motorcycle was my only way of getting to and from work.

"The only reason I have a motorbike is because I can park it for free at Richmond Station and from there I get the Overground to the hospital, and I've done that for about 10 years.

"From home to work the journey takes about an hour and 20 minutes."

Adina Nash said she felt 'absolutely gutted' to discover her motorbike had been stolen / Tim Hack

Ms Nash said she was "very proud" of the motorcycle that she bought in 2018 to replace an old bike.

She has received reports that a motorbike matching the description of hers has been spotted in Windsor and Stanmore.

The specialist nurse from Easthampstead added: "Overall the reaction towards the NHS has been absolutely brilliant.

"Every time I phone a patient about their condition they often ask me how I'm doing.

"But right now, I'm not exactly feeling on top of the world. I've never had such a nice bike, it's like my baby."

Thames Valley Police said they investigated the theft of a motorbike on May 16 and the case has been filed pending further evidence coming to light.

The motorbike is a yellow Suzuki V-Strom 1200 cc with panniers and top box, and the registration HV68ZRL.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Thames Valley Police using the reference 432000144391 or if you do not have access to the online system, call the non-emergency number 101.
Is the Post Office Open on Memorial Day?

Monday, May 25, 2020, is Memorial Day, which some consider the unofficial start of summer. Since its a holiday, many businesses close, giving workers a day off to enjoy the warmer weather and spend the day doing fun activities, like throwing a celebratory barbecue. However, since not everything closes for Memorial Day, many people arent sure what will or wont be open. If you are wondering whether you can head to the post office on Memorial Day, heres what you need to know.

No, the post office isnt open on Memorial Day. While the United States Postal Service (USPS) usually offers Monday service, they are a government agency. As a result, since Memorial Day is a federal holiday, they recognize it with a closure, giving postal workers a day off.

On Monday, May 25, 2020, mail delivery will not run. You wont receive any letters, bills, flyers, or packages through USPS on the holiday.

Additionally, you wont be able to handle any activities that require assistance from a post office employee. For example, if you check your post office box and have a package slip, you wont be able to get assistance to retrieve the parcel. Similarly, if you need to mail a box and require help to get the proper postage, you wont be able to do that on Memorial Day.

However, that doesnt mean you cant accomplish anything at your local post office. If the building has an unsecured section, you may be able to check your post office box for mail, if you have one. Similarly, if there are self-service postage kiosks and mail drop boxes, you can purchase sufficient postage and drop off items. While they wont be officially processed until Tuesday, May 26, they will be there when the employees return from the holiday.

Will the Post Office Open on Memorial Day Weekend?

If you need to get an item mailed or have other tasks to handle that require help from a post office employee, you may be wondering if you can take care of it during Memorial Day weekend. Depending on where you live, there is a chance you can.

Your local post office might be open on Saturday, May 23. If your location typically offers Saturday hours, then it will follow its usual Saturday schedule. But, if your post office closes on Saturday, then it wont be open on May 23.

Post offices dont generally open on Sundays, regardless of whether there is a Monday holiday. Sunday, May 24, 2020, will be no different.

Its important to note that mail service will run on Saturday. Youll still get your deliveries, even though its Memorial Day weekend, and your outgoing mail will still be picked up. Similarly, if your post office supports Sunday service (which is mainly for Amazon package deliveries), that will continue on Memorial Day weekend.

2020 Post Office Holidays

The post office usually follows the federal holiday schedule when it comes to closures. However, in 2020, there is one exception. Heres a look at the official post office holidays for 2020:

New Years Day  Wednesday, January 1

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day  Monday, January 20

Presidents Day (Washingtons Birthday)  Monday, February 17

Memorial Day  Monday, May 25

Independence Day  Saturday, July 3

Labor Day  Monday, September 7

Columbus Day  Monday, October 12

Veterans Day  Wednesday, November 11

Thanksgiving Day  Thursday, November 26

Christmas Day  Friday, December 25

In 2020, the post office holiday that differs from the federal one is July 4. This year, Independence Day falls on a Saturday, making that the legal holiday. However, since most government offices are closed on the weekend, the federal government is going to observe the holiday with closures on July 3, the Friday before.

But that adjustment doesnt apply to the post office, mainly because the mail runs on Saturdays. As a result, post offices will be available on July 3, even though other government agencies wont be open.

Are FedEx or UPS Open on Memorial Day?

USPS isnt the only option for getting items shipped. As a result, you may be wondering, Are FedEx or UPS open on Memorial Day?

While these two shipping giants follow their own holiday schedules (and arent required to close on federal holidays), both UPS and FedEx will close on Memorial Day. The only exceptions are the FedEx Custom Critical and UPS Express Critical services. Those options operate every day of the year, including holidays.

Post Office Normal Business Hours

While not every post office follows the exact same schedule, most are very similar. Typically, a USPS location opens between 8:00 am and 8:30 am, Monday through Friday. Then, the post offices usually close between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

There are a few locations that deviate from that norm. For instance, certain Miami post offices open at 7:30 am and stay open until 9:00 pm or later, Monday through Friday.

When it comes to Saturday schedules, the differences can be quite dramatic. Many locations dont open at all on Saturdays. Those that do welcome customers usually have reduced hours, in comparison to their Monday through Friday schedule.

In most cases, if you want to find out if your post office will be open, its best to check its schedule specifically. You can either contact the location or use the USPS website to find out when the services you need will be available.

Do you wish the Post Office was open on Memorial Day? Have you avoided going to the Post Office because of COVID-19? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Read More:

If you enjoy reading our blog posts and would like to try your hand at blogging, we have good news for you; you can do exactly that on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

Photo: Flickr.com/Gerry Dincher
The Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has written

Read More:

The centre, which opened unexpectedly on March 18, has been mired in controversy following an oubreak of the coronavirus in mid-April. At the latest count, 25 people in the hotel, including three staff, had been infected with the virus.

Once residents tested positive they are moved from the hotel to a location where it is possible to self isolate.

Local people, politicians and groups representing asylum seekers have all called for it to be shut down.

However, the minister has instead written a 1,500-word open letter to apologise and explain to the people of Cahirciveen in particular.

The apology which takes the form of an open letter is being published in local newspapers in Kerry.

In it, he said: On behalf of Minister Stanton and myself, I want to apologise most sincerely to the people of Cahirciveen for the way in which we had to open the Direct Provision Centre in the Skellig Star, but I also want to outline why we had to do it in the way we did.

The minister writes that it was necessary to open the centre with short notice in response to the Covid 19 pandemic and this was why there wasnt an opportunity to engage with the local community.

In early March, my officials realised we needed new centres and we needed them quickly.

"It was not tenable in a health emergency to have large numbers of international protection applications in emergency hotel accommodation, sharing facilities with other guests.

However, he does not address the fact, as reported in

Read More:

The letter goes on to address allegations that the outbreak originated with an asylum seekers who had been transferred to Cahirciveen from a hotel in Dublin where the virus was known to be present.

There have been suggestions that we knew of that case and recklessly allowed transfers to proceed despite it and despite the risk it posed to public health. I want to categorically deny that. My department was never told of that case.

The open letter goes on to state that much is now being done to make life easier for the remaining residents in the hotel.

The centre, which is currently home to fewer than 70 people, has infection control measures in place and it has plentiful supplies of sanitising materials, masks and other PPE as needed.

While 22 residents who tested positive have been moved, at least four others returned to Dublin within days of arriving at the centre.

These, mostly women, had been working in the capital and wanted to return to their jobs after being given 24 hours notice that they were to be moved to Kerry.

The Irish Examiner has also learned that the hotel is currently short-staffed as some of the staff have had to self isolate at home as a precaution.

The hotel in which the centre is now housed was sold last December to a company owned by businessman Paul Collins, who runs a number of direct provision centres.

He bought the company which held the lease, Skellig Hotel Experience, in which Kerry TD

Read More:

Mr Healy Rae had initially stated that the company had no direct connection to the hotel but when the Irish Examiner presented him with evidence he conceded that was the case.

He also initially stated that he did not know to whom the hotel was sold but last Friday he told Radio Kerry that he was in the room last December with Mr Collins when the sale documents were signed.

The TD said that at no point before or after the sale was he aware it was to be a direct provision centre, until he found out days before it opened.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought economic activity to a grinding halt with most companies facing a cash crunch in running their operations. Given the challenging times, a recent survey reveals that investors who typically chase dividends wouldn't mind letting it go as they believe companies should preserve cash to sail through the economic crisis. According to a survey by proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS), 78 per cent investors and sell-side analysts feel companies should suspend dividends and fortify their balance sheets. "Companies need to conserve cash and prioritise protecting their balance sheets. They can resume dividends once they restart operations and gain visibility," they said.

The response is in line with what IiAS recommended in the first week of April after the first phase of lockdown was announced. "Given that many companies are going to scramble to find money just to survive, dividends and buy-backs should be the last thing on a board's agenda. Only after business has stabilized and there is visibility ahead, should companies look at paying their shareholders," the report dated April 3 said. The latest survey that was conducted between 13 to 21 April sought investors' response on eight questions on a variety of resolutions that are presented to shareholders.

In another key finding, the survey highlighted that 57 per cent investors and sell-side analysts do not trust Big-4 audit firms and would like to move beyond them if required. The Big-4 audit firms - PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young - have received flak from all quarters on their inability to capture true financial health of listed companies. In 2018, market regulator Sebi banned PwC from auditing listed companies for two years. Although the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has quashed the ban, Sebi has challenged the decision, says IiAS.

The Reserve Bank of India last year barred SR Batliboi & Company, an affiliate of Ernst & Young, from carrying out statutory audit assignments of commercial banks for one year. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has charged Deloitte Haskins & Sells and BSR and Associates (part of the KPMG network), for colluding with IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN) executives and not revealing the true state of finances. It is looking at banning them from undertaking audits. Moreover, frequent resignation by auditors raises questions on the quality of the audits that are being presented to investors. The report further says that dual class shares have found favour with the respondents. Among them, 52 per cent believe that "it is one more instrument in a company's armory. And what's more, exchanges like NYSE allow these".

On promoters' embedded rights in the Articles of Association (AoA) of the company, such as permanent chairmanship for family member, non-rotating board seat and right to nominate directors, 87 per cent of the respondents said that these should be periodically put to vote, and the promoter can use their shares to vote for these. Published annually since 2013, this is the seventh edition of IiAS' Voting Guidelines in which 63-89 investors participated in answering various questions in the survey.

Also read: Lockdown 4.0 Coronavirus Live Updates: Noida issues new rules; allows markets to reopen, India cases: 1,06,750

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Global carbon emissions fall by 17% in April
This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

20th May 2020

Board and Leadership Changes

Further to the announcement made on 19th March 2020 regarding the temporary suspension of the CEO search process, PayPoint plc (PayPoint) is today pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Wiles as Chief Executive.

The Board is delighted to confirm this appointment which follows both a thorough recruitment search and consideration of the needs of the business as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis. The Board believes that Nicks leadership will provide the business with the clarity, stability and continuity required to enable continued progress against its strategic priorities and delivery of a stronger platform for long-term growth.

Nick joined the Board in October 2009 as a Non-Executive Director and has been Chairman of the Company for the past 5 years. Since September 2019 he has been operating in the capacity of Executive Chairman after Patrick Headon stepped down from the board due to ill health. As a result of this appointment, Nick has stepped down from the Board of Picton Property Income Limited where he was a Non-Executive Director.

Giles Kerr, currently Senior Independent Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee, will take over from Nick as Chairman of the Board and Chair of the Nomination Committee. Both Nick and Giles will move into their new roles immediately and Giles will continue to carry out his chairmanship duties of the Audit Committee until such time as a new Chair of the Audit Committee can be appointed. Rakesh Sharma, the Chair of the Remuneration Committee, has been appointed Senior Independent Director, taking over from Giles with immediate effect.

PayPoint plc also announces today that Rachel Kentleton is to step down from her role as Finance Director.

Nick Wiles, CEO of PayPoint said The Board are grateful to Rachel for her contribution to PayPoint since 2017. She has built an excellent finance function, delivered a step change in PayPoints systems and data, maintained a strong balance sheet and provided leadership across the wider organisation during a significant period of change. She leaves PayPoint better-positioned to respond to the current challenges facing all businesses. Rachels step down reflects her desire to further develop her career after a successful period at PayPoint, as well as a natural transition following the other Board changes announced today. I would like to thank Rachel for all the support she has given me and the whole PayPoint team wishes her well for the future.

The Board is pleased to confirm that Alan Dale, currently Head of UK Finance, will be appointed as Interim Finance Director and a member of the Executive Board. Alan, an ACA qualified finance executive, has been with PayPoint in his current capacity for 3 years and has significant finance leadership experience having held senior finance roles with financial services companies including GE Capital. Rachel will work with Nick and Alan to ensure an orderly handover process and will leave the business over the summer when this has been completed.

Finally, the Board is pleased to announce that Lewis Alcraft, currently Chief Commercial Officer, has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect and remains a member of the Executive Board. Lewis will work closely with Nick to drive the operational performance of the business as well as on a number of strategic projects.

Giles Kerr, Chairman of PayPoint, said:

Nick is an outstanding leader who has made a significant contribution to the business as Chairman and more recently as Executive Chairman, providing strong leadership throughout the Covid-19 crisis and with a clear plan for the business to adapt and invest to maximise the opportunities available as it emerges from the crisis in an increasingly competitive environment. I am delighted to appoint him as CEO and the Board and I are looking forward to working with Nick, Lewis, Alan and the rest of the Executive Board. I would also like to thank Rachel for her significant contribution during her time in the business and wish her every success in her future career.

PayPoint plc will announce its results for the year ending 31 March 2020 on 28th May 2020. These results will be consistent with guidance previously given to the market. A presentation of the results by Nick Wiles and Rachel Kentleton will webcast at 9.30 am 28th May 2020 at https://corporate.paypoint.com/investor-centre/results.

There are no further disclosures required for the purposes of Listing Rules 9.6.11(2) and 9.6.11(3).

Remuneration

Full details of the remuneration arrangements for Nick, Giles and Rakesh, which are in line with the current shareholder approved Remuneration Policy, will be disclosed in the Directors Remuneration Report which will be published shortly. Rachels remuneration arrangements will be uploaded to the Company's corporate website in accordance with section 430(2B) of the Companies Act 2006 at the point she steps down from the Board.

Enquiries:

PayPoint plc Finsbury

Nick Wiles, Chief Executive (Tel: 07768 636801) Rollo Head (Tel: 0207 251 3801)

-end-

Attachment
The EU Council Has Approved a Package of Financial Assistance to Georgia - GeorgianJournal
As of 6:41 p.m. May 20, 2020, the Pa. Department of Health reports that there are 64,412 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. There are at least 4,767 reported deaths from the virus.

Click the image to see a data page including an interactive maps for the state. (Please click the link in the previous sentence if you cant see the image)

Click here for a ZIP code breakdown of cases provided by the Pa. Department of Health.

The state is also providing detailed hospital and respirator data here for desktop users and here for mobile users.

PennLive is monitoring the new cases over a two-week period, part of the Wolf administrations criteria for reopening the state. A map and a database for these are below. If you cannot see either embed, please click here for the map and here for the database.

Below is a map of the current reopening status of Pennsylvania counties. Please click here if you cannot see that map.

Adams County

197 positive cases and 2,302 negative results with 5 deaths.

Allegheny County

1,687 positive cases and 24,154 negative results with 147 deaths.

Armstrong County

58 positive cases and 1,064 negative results with 2 deaths.

Beaver County

539 positive cases and 2,897 negative results with 70 deaths.

Bedford County

32 positive cases and 547 negative results with 2 deaths.

Berks County

3,763 positive cases and 9,191 negative results with 273 deaths.

Blair County

39 positive cases and 2,074 negative results with 1 death.

Bradford County

41 positive cases and 1,182 negative results with 3 deaths.

Bucks County

4,662 positive cases and 15,034 negative results with 431 deaths.

Butler County

208 positive cases and 3,187 negative results with 12 deaths.

Cambria County

54 positive cases and 2,792 negative results with 2 deaths.

Cameron County

2 positive cases and 97 negative results.

Carbon County

219 positive cases and 1,821 negative results with 22 deaths.

Centre County

133 positive cases and 1,632 negative results with 5 deaths.

Chester County

2,217 positive cases and 9,164 negative results with 235 deaths.

Clarion County

25 positive cases and 599 negative results with 2 deaths.

Clearfield County

33 positive cases and 855 negative results.

Clinton County

45 positive cases and 453 negative results.

Columbia County

340 positive cases and 1,083 negative results with 29 deaths.

Crawford County

21 positive cases and 894 negative results.

Cumberland County

545 positive cases and 3,333 negative results with 43 deaths.

Dauphin County

1,012 positive cases and 8,039 negative results with 51 deaths.

Delaware County

5,844 positive cases and 15,817 negative results with 472 deaths.

Elk County

6 positive cases and 253 negative results.

Erie County

163 positive cases and 3,420 negative results with 4 deaths.

Fayette County

93 positive cases and 2,670 negative results with 4 deaths.

Forest County

7 positive cases and 59 negative results.

Franklin County

662 positive cases and 4,255 negative results with 27 deaths.

Fulton County

13 positive cases and 163 negative results with 1 death.

Greene County

27 positive cases and 645 negative results.

Huntingdon County

215 positive cases and 673 negative results with 1 death.

Indiana County

86 positive cases and 1,051 negative results with 4 deaths.

Jefferson County

7 positive cases and 436 negative results.

Juniata County

94 positive cases and 283 negative results with 2 deaths.

Lackawanna County

1,400 positive cases and 4,723 negative results with 132 deaths.

Lancaster County

2,599 positive cases and 12,442 negative results with 266 deaths.

Lawrence County

73 positive cases and 1,056 negative results with 8 deaths.

Lebanon County

885 positive cases and 3,783 negative results with 24 deaths.

Lehigh County

3,550 positive cases and 11,521 negative results with 188 deaths.

Luzerne County

2,572 positive cases and 8,630 negative results with 128 deaths.

Lycoming County

152 positive cases and 1,842 negative results with 9 deaths.

McKean County

11 positive cases and 414 negative results with 1 death.

Mercer County

96 positive cases and 1,223 negative results with 4 deaths.

Mifflin County

57 positive cases and 1,037 negative results with 1 death.

Monroe County

1,278 positive cases and 4,475 negative results with 93 deaths.

Montgomery County

6,154 positive cases and 26,817 negative results with 596 deaths.

Montour County

50 positive cases and 3,080 negative results.

Northampton County

2,779 positive cases and 10,548 negative results with 182 deaths.

Northumberland County

150 positive cases and 1,134 negative results with 2 deaths.

Perry County

42 positive cases and 534 negative results with 1 death.

Philadelphia County

16,645 positive cases and 45,313 negative results with 1149 deaths.

Pike County

470 positive cases and 1,736 negative results with 18 deaths.

Potter County

4 positive cases and 123 negative results.

Schuylkill County

541 positive cases and 3,583 negative results with 21 deaths.

Snyder County

33 positive cases and 327 negative results with 1 death.

Somerset County

37 positive cases and 1,329 negative results.

Sullivan County

2 positive cases and 77 negative results.

Susquehanna County

87 positive cases and 543 negative results with 15 deaths.

Tioga County

16 positive cases and 452 negative results with 2 deaths.

Union County

56 positive cases and 854 negative results with 1 death.

Venango County

8 positive cases and 384 negative results.

Warren County

2 positive cases and 280 negative results.

Washington County

130 positive cases and 3,469 negative results with 5 deaths.

Wayne County

110 positive cases and 788 negative results with 7 deaths.

Westmoreland County

432 positive cases and 7,573 negative results with 38 deaths.

Wyoming County

30 positive cases and 353 negative results with 6 deaths.

York County

872 positive cases and 10,682 negative results with 19 deaths.

This data is compiled from the Pa. Department of Health. The state will not be providing recovery data at this time.

Several counties have released their own data maps. Information reported at the county level may not be consistent with the state numbers. Those counties include:

Some medical systems have begun releasing discharge data. Those medical systems include:

Text PennLive to 717-745-7532 to sign up to have breaking news and essential updates about the coronavirus delivered right to your mobile device. Data and messaging rates may apply.

-- Follow Ed Sutelan on Twitter, @EdwardSutelan

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Windy early with showers becoming likely later in the day. Some sleet may mix in. High 39F. Winds N at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Overcast. Low 29F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.
Group MD of Meta Media, Kagiso Musi's account of work-life in the time of Covid-19, part of a series of articles looking into how agencies and agency folk are responding to the crisis and viewing it through a creative lens.

Kagiso Musi, group MD at Meta Media

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 the agency and media industry or economy as a whole.

How is the agency responding to the crisis and current lockdown?

Comment on the challenges and opportunities.

Speaking of opportunities, the world has really turned to creativity during this time. Why do you think this is the case and what does this mean for the industry, agencies and their clients/brands?

We need to dig deeper and start coming up with solutions. Not hashtags, not slogans but real solutions, allowing our work to help solve problems the world is encountering because thats why most of our clients are in business. Not so? I think the industry misses a beat when the work we do is only self-serving and doesnt go deep enough.

How are you navigating physical distancing while keeping your team close-knit and aligned and your clients happy?

Has this global crisis changed your view of the future of advertising/marketing in any way?

Any trends youve seen emerge as a result of the crisis?

Your key message to fellow industry folk?

One thinks of beautiful slow wakeups and languid breakfasts (like one is on holiday) before starting the workday during lockdown, right? I wish!My days start out as cold mornings warmed by a sweet little (but loud) voice wanting to sing Baby Shark very early in the morning, followed by tea and Twitter and catching up on what noise the world is making on that day.Then its 30 minutes of planning out Nanas day with the nanny and a bad attempt at some form of fitness training via DStv or online or since Level 4 lockdown, a social distance walk around the neighbourhood.Then it's a full day in front of the computer: Skype, Microsoft Teams and Zoom have us locked to the screen. I try finish earlyish around 4pm so I can have daytime play with the little one before 8pm. Check mails, finishing off anything outstanding and setting up the following day whilst holding thumbs for less virtual meetings.To be fair though, I do get a lot of work done in between the virtual.  Group MD of Meta Media, Kagiso Musi's account of work-life in the time of Covid-19.Initial response was massive intrigue I was obsessed with reading up anything and everything on Covid-19 and seeing the devastation it was causing in the world. But I honestly thought for once we wouldnt be hit as hard.I thought lockdown would be short and relatively easy but even though it was relatively easy to get into the groove of working from home full time, it has been challenging having to set boundaries for the family, in their space! I made a decision early on that I would not reprimand my two-year-old too much because Im the one that has brought work into her home. Now, however, we have found our groove. She gets it and in fact gives me time to be in my meetings.The coronavirus will forever be known in my mind as the virus that helped many get to the place they were going to end up in anywaythats harsh but I mostly believe this.The economy has been in a downward spiral for a while, the country has been in a precarious position for a long while, the industry has been failing in many ways and the glory of it dimming each day So, here comes Covid-19 and all of a sudden people are brave to say they are in trouble, but now have an invisible enemy to blame!Covids impact will be felt for years to come in SA because again, like many before it, it has managed to bring out the vast inequality of our country. The only difference now is that this virus knows no economic, racial or even social bounds and lives even in the most privileged of spaces.Covids impact will also be felt in the industry for years to come because unfortunately, the industry has not shielded itself well enough. Agencies operate like they did 20 years ago. Agencies operate like we are still a startup industry, with the only difference being the hierarchies that have been built having encouraged a hogging of the lights and the brights. This is what kills our industry and why people dont stay.Another factor is that digitalisation is embraced in very flimsy terms versus a natural order of doing things. Covid has forced us to think and do differently and post-Covid will demand even more from us. We either open up for trade or dont. Digital is but one medium especially in SA, but a medium which must be considered with the lens of mass SA and as a tool for progression  for our people in our agencies, the work we do and our outputs.How we cost must also be held up to scrutiny. Clients are squeezing the industry to a point where increasingly agencies are literally breaking even, if they are lucky! What I mean by this is that resource structures are so lean - margins and overhead costs so thin, that agencies see little to no profit for the work that they do. The vast majority of the industry, unfortunately, lives from hand to mouth  there is very little financial and business operational sustainability that is built in.With care and constant planning, reassessing and replanning.We sent everyone home the day after patient one was named in SA. So in effect, we have been working from home (WFH) for longer than lockdown  almost two weeks before official lockdown. Prior to patient one  we had been meeting as a group on our WFH plan and by the time we chose to close the office, we had many of our plans in place  replaced desktops with laptops, data cards for those with no home internet, printers for some, training for remote working for those who needed it, collaboration tools installed on laptops and mobile devices, always-on IT services and an always-on psychologist.We have also, even though as 'professional services' could open in Level 4, elected not to open and continue WFH until it feels safer to get our people back into the office. This decision was made with the lens of the safety of our people and their families as well as business continuity, in mind. WFH has worked well for us and productivity has in fact shot up.I think one of the challenges is that most of us miss the tactile engagement and water-cooler moments we have in-office because the unintended consequence of lockdown is that the front-of-the-monitor workday doesnt seem to end. The other is that for many of our people lockdown is, in fact, a very stressful occurrence  from a spatial perspective and emotionally too.From a client perspective, the marketing teams budgets are being reduced and panic is driving what work is done. Many clients have reduced spending and some outright stopped spending and this naturally has an adverse effect on the brands themselves and our bottom line. Recovery takes a lot longer.The opportunities, on the other hand, are vast. Our teams have been attending training which in normal life they just couldnt get to (and most of it is free at the moment). Many, like most of SA, have become overnight cooking sensations and importantly many have connected with themselves and their families, and I think this a great recipe for growth. I think it is a great time to either build resilience or test that which you think you have.The opportunity for the industry is fast-tracking to the new world order and infusing digital as a natural order of doing things. Creative industries have the potential to thrive in such cases because of the opportunity to actually be creative presents itself It is said the arts and creative industries will most likely survive as our work is not easily replaceable by automation and AI. If this is the case, how do we monetise this in a way that does not strangle the industry and helps all those who work in it and the communities in which they exist in thrive?Well we know the role of creativity in modern society is really about opening up avenues for innovation, talking to our core, helping us connect to ideas and spaces in a meaningful way and perhaps help change perception for the better  I dont believe the industry does work that does these things anymore. Our creativity is one-dimensional  its for show, slogans and awards  its been a long while since Ive seen work that is socially meaningful and really impacts clients bottom line. This is where the rubber will hit the road for all of us.It also goes back to the industry being reticent to do work with government or consider things beyond what they see in front of them. People are clouded by the Sandton narrative where public service accounts are concerned. This leaves our industry out of the real conversation and stuck in open letter land. The industry lacks the sensibility to see transformation as a transformative project to solving all sorts of issues and not only ticking boxes. Our survival will be based on the survival of the country, and that is where the rubber actually hits the road.Everyone is WFH and fully equipped to do so. Our media managers and client leads are in daily e-meets and deliverables sessions. Its incredible how people have come together more now than when they sit in the agency next to each other.There has never been a more important time than now to connect with absolute regularity and deliver impeccably. It reduces stress for us and our clients.We continue our Town Hall sessions, hosted by different members of the team and still virtually break bread together. We were doing this long before Covid-19 to pull our Cape Town and Johannesburg teams closer together. It works pretty well. And of course, the WhatsApp group is always lit!Yes, it has made me even more excited about what the future holds for creative industries. I really think we can offer solutions in a more impactful and meaningful way for our clients, whilst winning awards and creating pay-off lines. I also think it is important that clients need to see themselves as part of the creative industry because these solutions only happen when clients buy them. Right now marketers see themselves as marketeers (or bankers or the industry in which they work). The value chain of an idea coming to life includes clients and only when they are a part of the creative circle and process will the ideas germinate in a meaningful way.Yeah, plenty, and the most important one is not really an emergence per se and it will make many of our industry strategists roll their eyesMy trend number one is to put a South African filter on all your global trends, and after that put an African filter on em (because you know, Africa is not a country). I recently heard a lovely quote from Irvin Moroke, which summarises what Im saying: 'We are not all in the same boat, we are all in the same storm.'Its time to evolve in ideas, in who is in the circle, in how we charge, in how we catapult to the new world order or consultancies and solutions-oriented startups will just take over.Adapt or die!
In this March 30, 2016, photo, Christian apologist and author Ravi Zacharias talks with Associate Professor Lenny Luchetti during the Society of World Changers induction ceremony at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind. Zacharias, who built an international ministry that strives to defend Christianity on intellectual grounds, has died at his home in Atlanta. AP



By Jung Min-ho



Ravi Zacharias, a skeptic turned Christian evangelist who spent his life defending the faith on intellectual grounds, died Tuesday. He was 74.



The cause was complications from a rare form of bone cancer called sarcoma, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), the evangelical organization he established in 1984, said.



Zacharias was one of the most prominent and sought-after figures in apologetics  a branch of theology that defends Christianity against objections  who challenged various skeptics by using his razor-sharp logic and the voices of scientists, philosophers and even atheists.



He also published and edited more than 25 books, which have inspired many Christians and non-Christians around the world, including Korea.



Zacharias, who was born in Madras (now Chennai), India, discovered his calling in a hospital at 17, after trying to take his own life by swallowing poison over the fear of academic failure. He survived and found the meaning and purpose of his life in the Bible, which he was given by a medical worker.



"Inside me there was something new  a new vibrancy, a new meaning, a new hope and a new Ravi Zacharias  Purpose and transformation were now writ large in my heart," he said in the book, "Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows."



"I also marvel at how God was in the shadows then, for I could have done permanent damage to my body  What if there had been some neurological debilitation? That did not happen. In the shadows was the One, who made me select the 'right' poison, just enough to awaken me from my stupidity and steady my feet in the right direction."



A few years after committing himself to Jesus Christ, Zacharias' family migrated to Canada, where he studied theology. Soon, he found himself spreading the gospel in the United States, Vietnam and Cambodia, where he preached before the country fell to the Khmer Rouge.





Ravi Zacharias / Courtesy of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
MANILA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese business companies have stood firmly behind the Philippines in the fight against COVID-19, donating nearly 10 million pesos (197,078 U.S. dollars) and nearly 3 million pieces of much-needed medical supplies to stop the spread of the epidemic, China's Ambassador Huang Xilian said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Chinese firms have donated 2.65 million medical masks, 250,000 pieces of protective suits, gloves, and goggles to the Philippines, according to Huang.

He said major donors include the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), Bank of China, Panhua Group, China Information Communication Technology Group, Power Construction Corporation of China, China Road and Bridge Corporation, China Railway Design Corporation, China Geo-Engineering Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Energy Engineering Corporation and Qingjian Group.

Ambassador Huang added that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, co-owned by SGCC, also donated 1 billion pesos (about 19.7 million U.S. dollars) to the Philippine government.

Moreover, he said Dito Telecommunity, co-owned by China Telecom, provided 375,000 kilos of rice to Philippine local governments.

Huang said Zhejiang Dahua Technology offered a thermal temperature monitoring solution. Huawei provided technical support for diagnosis and treatment system using remote CT scans in Baguio General Hospital Medical Center, he added.

Chinese multinational corporations have also joined the humanitarian campaign, Huang said.

These corporations include Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation which donated 107,000 test kits and 500,000 medical masks, TikTok which contributed a million U.S. dollars to the Philippine General Hospital Medical Foundation and the 51talk sent medical supplies worth 5.25 million pesos (about 103,387 U.S. dollars) to the Philippines.

The ambassador said the Chinese reagents and testing equipment manufacturers, such as Sansure Biotech Inc. and Beijing Genomics Institute Group, also responded timely to the demand of the Philippines to ensure sufficient supplies.

Huang said these manufacturers also dispatched professional teams to the Philippines to provide personnel training and technical support, and helped the Philippines to expand its COVID-19 testing capacity.

"In light of the urgent need of medical supplies in the Philippines, Chinese manufacturers have prioritized the requests and orders from the Philippines and exported huge amounts of medicines and medical equipment to the Philippines, overcoming a lot of unexpected difficulties," Huang said.

"The pandemic is a common enemy of mankind. Solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapons (to combat the epidemic)," he said.

Huang said the global pandemic has strengthened the partnership between China and the Philippines to mount a collective response to defeat the viral disease.

"China will stand firmly with the Philippine people till the day of final victory," Huang said, adding that Chinese enterprises "will continue to contribute to the new era partnership evolving between the two countries."
[May 20, 2020] Youth Impact For The UN Sustainable Development Goals Being Recognized By The United Nations Association Of The USA And InnerView

Students across the country are being honored by the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) and InnerView Technologies, in the 2nd Annual National Community Service Awards for students at both the high school and undergraduate level. The three-tier award program recognizes a range of volunteer, advocacy and leadership efforts. This year we celebrate a blend of activity in the community and virtual support for community needs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "Youth efforts and voices are essential to achieve the SDGs. These awards allow us to share our appreciation for youth leaders who have invested talent and effort in the causes they care about," says Rachel Bowen Pittman, Executive Director of United Nations Association of the USA. "With a decade remaining to deliver on the SDGs, we are thrilled that these students will be entering the workforce with meaningful community engagement skills and socially aware experiences." In the last ten months, thousands of students devoted more than 557,000 community service hours to causes and community needs. "The close of this school year, will be a moment in time, never forgotten by current students. Every aspect of life has been affected by COVID-19, and there has never been a better personal understanding of the connectedness between people, local, and global challenges," says Kristine Sturgeon, CEO of InnerView Technologies. "We are delighted to amplify and honor the incredible work of students who are changing the world, one action at a time. In the last few months we have seen students transition their passions for causes to safe remote pathways including virtual tutoring, organizing local food collections, recording musc performances for senior centers, digital connections to advocate for voter registration, unique appreciation for HealthCare heroes and so much more."



For the 2019-2020 School Year, students from 305 schools earned recognition for their local and global service impact. This national program continues to expand in breath and depth, now honoring students in 45 states. Support for the awards is made possible by InnerView Champions of Change social impact partners: United Nations Association of the USA, Youth Service America, The Kroger Co., Michigan Community Service Commission, and The Hershey Company. Each student award earner is recognized with the primary area of impact at https://innerview.org/award/members.

About United Nations Association of the USA The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) is a membership organization dedicated to inform, inspire, and mobilize the American people to support the ideals and vital work of the United Nations. For 70 years UNA-USA has worked to accomplish its mission through its national network of Chapters, youth engagement, advocacy efforts, education programs, and public events. UNA-USA is a program of the United Nations Foundation. UNA-USA and its sister organization the Better World Campaign represent the single largest network of advocates and supporters of the United Nations in the world. Learn more at www.UNAUSA.org About InnerView Technologies InnerView is the leading youth social responsibility platform to help students, groups, and schools highlight community service impact, passion for causes, skill development, and connect local effort to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. All college and high school aged students are welcome to join thousands of 14 to 24 year olds who have discovered ways to get involved and developed dynamic visual service resumes through my.InnerView.org. InnerView Technologies is a social impact organization working with students, groups, schools, nonprofits, and committed & compassionate institutions. Learn more at https://InnerView.org View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005043/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:18:35|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

OUAGAGADOUGOU, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Burkina Faso's army on Wednesday said 47 terrorists had been killed after its raid on two terrorist bases on Tuesday in the northwestern Kossi province.

The surprise attack caused heavy losses to the enemy, especially the death of 47 terrorists and the seizure or the destruction of large quatity of materials, the army said in a statement on Wednesday.

The attacks were a final assault on the two terrorist bases in Waribere locality, about 40 km from the provincial capital Barani, according to the statement. Enditem
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino will reopen on June 1, a move Gov. Ned Lamont discouraged and called incredibly risky.

The Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which operate the two southeastern Connecticut casinos, announced their reopening plans in a joint news release Wednesday.

Lamont said hell urge the tribes against reopening, and that if hes not able to convince them to change their plans, he would work to discourage people not to go. Im going to do everything I can to make sure that we put public health first, he said.

Later Wednesday evening, James Gessner, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, issued a statement in response to Lamonts comments, clarifying that they have similar concerns to the ones he mentioned.

First, they worry about the regional impact, specifically referencing buses coming from New York or other states. We completely agree, thats why the plan we put forward today made clear that both casinos will not accept any buses and clearly not from New York or Massachusetts, nor will we do any marketing to those states at this time, Gessners statement said.

He added that the state is also concerned about older casino visitors with increased health risks.

Again we agree, thats why the plan we put forward today made clear that we will advise older customers to take specific precautions and to stay home if they are part of an at-risk group, Gessners statement said. We appreciate the Governors concerns, and we appreciate that he also made clear the tribal nations are being thoughtful about reopening. We look forward to working with him further as the state continues to reopen.

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino closed in March due to the coronavirus, the first time either had ever stopped operations. Because they are run by the tribes, which are sovereign nations, they are able to open without approval from the governors office, outside of his regulations for phased reopening.

Based on the collaborative guidelines, each Tribal Nation has developed their own policies to address the unique needs of their respective property, the tribes said in their joint statement Wednesday. Consistent with or exceeding the States phased guidance and safety protocols, each property has incorporated protective equipment and physical distancing in its policies.

Asked what he could do to try to halt the reopening, Lamont said he would say youre a sovereign nation, but youre also part of the great family we call Connecticut, and weve had a great partnership together, going back decades.

Ive got some of the greatest health experts in the world who have said opening up now endangers your customers, endangers your employees and endangers the broader community, he said. Its a good time to slow up. Were going to work with you to find a way to open up safely together. If conversations with the tribes dont result in slowing the reopening plan, we have a number of options, he said, including advising people as they drive into the casinos that the governor said this is not safe.

Dr. Albert Ko, co-chair of Lamonts Reopen CT Advisory Group, called the casinos a proverbial perfect storm, because they attract people from outside the state to the enclosed areas, where theyll spend time in close proximity. I cant stress enough how we are concerned about that situation, he said.

Ko said reopening them would put both employees and visitors at risk. From the public health perspective, the risk of outbreaks in this type of setting is actually enormous and would have large ramifications as people return to their homes in different parts of not only Connecticut but the northeast, he said.

Concert venues, buffets and poker rooms will remain closed, and restaurants at the two locations will be takeout only, the tribes said. Out-of-state buses, which typically bring visitors to the casinos, will not be accepted.

The new safety measures include the use of infrared temperature scanners at all entrances, and replacing dice, tiles and cards at table games, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation chairman Rodney Butler said in a statement. All guests will be required to wear masks and common surfaces will be frequently cleaned, he said.

The casinos guidelines were shared with state officials weeks ago, Gessner said Wednesday afternoon.

Butler is a member of Lamonts Advisory Group, and had conversations with co-chair and former Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi.

I understand where the casinos are coming from, theyhave aloss of business and these are thriving enterprises Nooyi said. She said she spoke with him about concerns, including that many people who come to the casinos are older people who we would call vulnerable to this COVID virus, so we are worried about them.

I think theyre exposing themselves to more infection than they need to, she said.

Lamont said Wednesday that hes looking to include hotels, which both tribes operate at the casinos, in the second phase of reopening, which is likely to start June 20. The third phase, which would begin at least four weeks later, would include indoor event spaces and venues, like the casinos.

We have spent the past 10 weeks putting extraordinary measures in place including cutting edge technology to protect the safety and health of all individuals who walk through the doors of Mohegan Sun as well as to ensure the safety of our community as a whole, Gessner said. As we enter our new normal we are excited to welcome back our team members who are an extension of our Mohegan family and to once again begin working with many of our local partners and businesses to help stimulate the Connecticut economy.

Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, the tribes most vocal supporter in the legislature, applauded the announcement.

Im in full support of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes preparing their facilities to reopen soon to the public, she said in a statement. They are keeping uppermost in their plans the health of their families, their employees and their guests.

Osten pointed to casinos reopened in other states, including California and New York, and said that Connecticut is no different.

We know that these two casinos and their hotels and restaurants and shops and employees contribute billions of dollars to Connecticuts economy, and they provide jobs for thousands and thousands of people all across the state, Osten said. As other Connecticut businesses begin to emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown, so will the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots. Its time.

Liz.teitz@hearstmediact.com
The landfall process of Cyclone Amphan started at 2.30 pm on Wednesday and will continue for about four hours, said the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal.

The intensity of the Extremely Severe cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 mph. Heavy rain and gale wind have affected several districts in the Gangetic West Bengal since morning and the intensity of the downpour and wind increased gradually with every passing hour.

There have been reports of trees being uprooted, kaccha houses being damaged and some roads being damaged. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha along with other senior officials are monitoring the situation from the states emergency operation centre at Nabanna.

The system is very likely to move north-northeastwards after landfall and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digbha and Hatiya close to Sunderban during the late afternoon to evening hours i.e. 4 pm onwards, with a wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph. After landfall, the system is likely to move north-northeastwards close to Kolkata.

For Odisha, the wind speed will be between 100 to 110 gusting to 125 kmph along and off Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Bhadrak districts till afternoon and over Balasore district till evening.

Addressing a press conference, the NDRF DG said, "24 additional alert teams on hot stand-by, for airlift, have been kept ready, they can be deployed not just during, but even after, the cyclone, they can get ready in 15 minutes and be airlifted."

According to data obtained from states, more than five lakh people in West Bengal and more than 1.5 lakh people in Odisha have been evacuated added the DG.

He added, "NDRF headquarters and local commandants are in coordination with the respective state authorities; 20 teams in Odisha and 19 teams in West Bengal have been pre-positioned in consultation with the respective state authorities."
Philip Manshaus, 22, is accused of murder and committing an act of terror.

Norwegian prosecutors on Wednesday requested a 21-year sentence for a far-right attacker who admitted to opening fire in a mosque near Oslo after killing his step-sister.

Philip Manshaus, 22, is accused of murder and committing an act of terror.

He seems likely to be dangerous for a very long time, prosecutor Johan Overberg, told a court outside Oslo in his closing statement.

Manshaus was arrested on August 10, 2019, after opening fire in the Al-Noor mosque in the affluent Oslo suburb of Baerum while wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet with a camera strapped to it.

Just three worshippers were in the mosque at the time, and there were no serious injuries as a 65-year-old man overpowered Manshaus.





The body of his 17-year-old step-sister was later found in their home.

Adopted from China by his fathers girlfriend, Johanne Zhangjia Ihle-Hansen was killed by four bullets, police said.

Norway does not have a life sentence, but the custodial sentence requested can be extended indefinitely as long as the person is considered a threat to society.

In his indictment, Overberg argued that the murder of Manshauss step-sister was a planned execution with a racist motive.

In the mosque, where worshippers were preparing for Eid, Manshaus wanted to kill as many Muslims as possible, the prosecutor added, stressing that the accused had not shown remorse.

Manshaus has admitted to the facts of the case but pleaded not guilty, claiming his actions came out of necessity, namely to ensure the survival of the White race.

He has said he was inspired by the attacks in Christchurch in New Zealand in March 2019, when Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people in shootings at two mosques.

Tarrant, in turn, has said he was inspired by Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who in July 2011 killed 77 people in a truck bomb blast near government offices in Oslo and a shooting spree at a Labour Party youth camp on the island of Utoya.
Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to not allow coal mining inside the Dehing Patkai forest area, saying it will destroy its biodiversity and the region's ecological balance.

Writing a letter to Modi, Gogoi also alleged that huge illegal coal mining is going on at Saleki proposed reserve forest, which is a part of Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, in connivance of local political leaders, police and district administration.

"This area is very rich in biodiversity besides having various rare species of birds, butterfly, fish, animals, water bodies etc. Today the people of whole Assam are agitating for such a derogatory decision of Government of India and have been demanding for revocation of destructive decision," Gogoi said in his letter.

Allowing coal mining inside the Dehing Patkai forest will not only destroy its biodiversity but will also change the ecological balance, lead to pollution, flood and erosion in the near future, he opined.

"Today whole world is facing the problem of climate change and you are the champion for preserving ecological balance... I, therefore, on behalf of the people of Assam request you to kindly withdraw the decision so that it will remain as Asiatic biodiversity hotspot and elephant reserve," Gogoi wrote to Modi.

The senior Congress leader pointed out that the state government had notified Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve in 2003 and in June 2004 this region was declared as Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.

"In 2012, Coal India Ltd wanted permission for casting of coal and Assam State Wild Life Board, of which I was ex-officio Chairman, refused permission for casting of coal in this region.

"Further, it may be mentioned that unprecedented illegal rat hole coal mining is going on at Dirak Likhajan under Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary with the connivance of local political leaders, police and district administration," Gogoi said.

He alleged that illegal mining is going on at Saleki proposed reserve forest also under Dehing Patkai Elephant reserve.

"Daily almost hundreds of loaded trucks are carrying illegally mining coal from this region to other parts of the country," Gogoi claimed.

Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 111.42 sq km, while the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve with 937 sq km of area is surrounding the sanctuary in its periphery across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

In a statement, the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia demanded the National Board of Wild Life to reconsider its decision to open the Saleki forest for mining activity in view of the justified misgivings expressed by a section of conscious citizens as well as students' organisations.

"It is primarily the government's duty to protect this rainforest to maintain ecological balance... Reports are rife about a cartel carrying out illegal mining activity in the Dehing Patkai rainforest under the patronage of the ruling regime.

"Now that the NBWL has taken this controversial decision in undue haste during the nationwide lockdown, fears have also naturally arisen that this illegal group will use the activities of Coal India Ltd as a smokescreen for illegal mining and transportation of coal," the Congress leader said.

Though it was mining since 2003, Coal India Ltd (CIL) sought clearance in 2012 only, but it was rejected then. It applied again in 2019 for clearance of 98.59 hectares, out of which CIL was carrying out mining activities in 73 hectares.

The Centre gave the Stage-I clearance to the PSU major for 57.20 hectares in December 2019 with 28 conditions, including fines and action against responsible officers violating the Forest Conservation Act.

Accordingly, the Assam Forest Department last month slapped a penalty of Rs 43.25 crore on CIL for carrying out illegal mining activity inside the forest, which is termed as the Amazon of East, for 16 years since 2003.

In its last meeting in April 2020, the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change recommended the CIL's proposal for legalising the mining for approval provided it fulfills the 28 conditions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistani Troops Come Under Deadly Militant Attacks

By Ayaz Gul May 19, 2020

Pakistani officials said Tuesday a roadside bombing of a military convoy and a separate clash with militants in southwestern Baluchistan province had killed at least seven troops and a civilian.

An army statement said in one incident, paramilitary troops were heading back to their base camp after a "routine patrolling duty" late Monday when an improvised explosive device hit their convoy in the remote Pir Ghaib area and detonated. Six troops and their civilian driver were killed.

Mureed Baluch, a purported spokesman for the so-called United Baluch Army separatist group, claimed it planted the bomb. He said in a statement to the news media the targeted Pakistani troops were guarding engineers of an oil and gas installation in the area.

It was not immediately possible to verify the militant claim through independent sources.

Separately, the Pakistani army said an overnight "exchange of fire with terrorists" in another Baluchistan district killed a soldier. It did not elaborate further, nor did anyone claim responsibility.

Separatists often plot deadly attacks against Pakistani security forces and government installations in natural resources-rich Baluchistan, the country's largest and sparsely populated province. It shares Pakistan's border with Iran and Afghanistan.

Earlier this month, a roadside bombing of a security convoy near the Iranian border killed six Pakistani soldiers, including a high-ranking officer. The slain troops were said to be monitoring illegal crossings on the largely porous border with Iran. Officials at the time alleged the attackers had come from the Iranian side.

The deadly attack prompted Pakistani military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa to call the chief of the armed forces of Iran to share his concerns about the "terrorist" incident.

A post-conversation military statement quoted Bajwa as telling Iranian Major-General Mohammad Baqeri that Pakistan had started fencing the nearly 900-kilometer border between the two countries to deter illegal movements.

According to Iranian official media, Baqeri expressed his readiness for cooperation against "the miscreants" and called for enhancement of security measures at the borders so as to prevent the terrorist groups and "common enemies" from creating problems at the borders.

"But [it] will require mutual bilateral cooperation to ensure border security and stem smuggling activity which is also used by terrorists and narcotraffickers for covering their movement," Bajwa said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






President Donald Trump has said it is a "badge of honour" for America to "lead" the world with 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases since it means the US is testing more people for the disease that has killed over 300,000 people across the world.

The US has 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and over 91,000 deaths, both the world's highest.

"I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better," he said on Tuesday at the White House as he hosted his first Cabinet meeting since the COVID-19 outbreak began.

"By the way," he told reporters, "you know when you say that we lead in cases, that's because we have more testing than anybody else."



"So when we have a lot of cases," he continued, "I don't look at that as a bad thing, I look at that as, in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better."



He added: "So I view it as a badge of honour. Really, it's a badge of honour.

Trump was responding to a question about whether he was considering a travel ban on Latin America, Brazil in particular.

"It's a great tribute to the testing and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done," the president said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a federal agency, the US had conducted 12.6 million coronavirus tests by Tuesday.

The Democratic National Committee has criticised the Republican president's comments, tweeting that the 1.5 million COVID-19 cases in the US represented "a complete failure of leadership". Trump is seeking reelection in the November 3 presidential poll.

Meanwhile, the president said he was considering travel ban on countries from Latin America due to surge in coronavirus cases there.

"We are considering it," the President said when asked if he was considering a travel ban on Latin America, and Brazil in particular.

Brazil has over 271,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, the third highest in the world, following the US and Russia. According to Johns Hopkins data, Russia has over 308,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As Brazils death count has climbed over the past two months, the federal governments response has unraveled. From the beginning, Bolsonaro has dismissed the virus as nothing but a little flu and encouraged people to get back to work. He has gone through two health ministers, both of whom refused to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the virus.
More Iran-backed militia members entered eastern Syria from Iraq, according to a pro-Syrian opposition group. The report comes after statements by Israelis that Iran may be starting to withdraw somewhat from Syrian territory.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported today that buses carrying tens of fighers entered al-Bokamal in the eastern Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor, citing unnamed sources. The move followed an attack Saturday via an unknown aircraft on Iranian forces in the area. Earlier that week, the militias received reinforcements to one of their nearby bases, according to the observatory.

The Deir ez-Zor regions deserts are also the location of much of the Islamic States recent activity in Syria.

This news follows remarks by some Israeli officials that Iran may be pulling back from Syria. Naftali Bennett, defense minister until a few days ago, said this week that Iran was withdrawing its forces from Syria following intensified bombings attributed to Israel, but he did not offer any evidence of this.

Israel is suspected of carrying out several recent bombings of Iranian forces warehouses and other facilities in Syria. Israel does not take credit for such attacks, but Israeli politicians have acknowledged hitting Iranian targets in the region.

An Israeli security source told Al-Monitor this month that Irans transfers of military hardware in Syria have stopped and that the presence of Iranian and allied forces is declining.

It is possible that Iran is simply adapting its position in Syria and some doubt the Islamic Republic is pulling out. Iran is under significant pressure from US sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic, the suspected Israeli bombings and the drop in global oil prices. This is making Irans military action abroad more costly, but Iran has had forces in Syria and Iraq for years. Tehran still has crucial interests in Syria related to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Mediterranean access.
Nepal on Wednesday extended the suspension on all domestic and international flights until June 14 to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of infected cases in the country increased to 427.

A meeting of the high-level government committee for the prevention and control of COVID-19 took a decision to this effect.

The committee concluded that the flights needs to be halted until mid-June keeping in mind the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

The countrywide lockdown imposed in the country since March 24 will remain effective till June 2.

So far, 2 persons have died of the disease in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canberra, May 20 : The Australian government has announced "quick financial support" for 10 Pacific countries hit by Cyclone Harold and the coronavirus pandemic.

Cyclone Harold swept through the Pacific in April, causing widespread damage that exacerbated the economic impacts of COVID-19.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) committed 100 million Australian dollars (65.4 million US dollars) to nations struggling with the basic costs of running their countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) will receive the most assistance at 20.5 million Australian dollars (13.4 million US dollars), followed by the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu at 13 million Australian dollars (8.5 million US dollars) each.

"To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our region, Australia has been working in partnership with Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to provide quick financial support, drawing on our existing aid program," a DFAT spokesperson said.

"Australia is providing separate support packages for Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Timor-Leste.

"This immediate funding will provide respite." The government in November 2019 provided PNG with a 440 million Australian dollars (287.7 million US dollars) short-term loan, repayments on which have been postponed amid the pandemic.

Marise Payne, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, told the parliament earlier in May that Australia's Pacific neighbors had kept the spread of COVID-19 "to a very low rate" on account of "very swift action." However, she said Cyclone Harold "compounded the impact of COVID-19 in the Solomon Islands, in Tonga, in Vanuatu and in Fiji", saying it prompted a "pivot" in foreign aid priorities.
As schools wrestled with how to handle the fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic, Boston College said Tuesday it plans to host on-campus classes beginning Aug. 31.

In a letter to the schools community, president William Leahy outlined how he plans to reopen campus in a way that is safe for students, staff and faculty.

In line with the state plans to reopen in phases, Leahy said, Boston College would resume in-class instruction in phases this summer.

While on-campus classes were moved to remote learning in March, Leahy said as many as 400 students remained on campus, which provided valuable lessons. The school, Leahy said, learned how to implement social distancing at dining halls, increase sanitizing in buildings, specifically dorms, and use technology to conduct group meetings.

More remains to be done in regard to testing, contact tracing, and treatment, but I believe that these and other issues can be addressed by working in concert with institutions of higher education in our area as well as federal, state, and local government, Leahy said in the letter.

Boston Colleges announcement comes days after Boston University released a plan for the gradual reopening of the Charles River, Fenway, and Medical campuses.

Last week, Northeasterns president Joseph Aoun told CNN the university will rethink every aspect of college life to allow for students to return to campus in the fall.

In Leahys letter, he assured students that Boston College has overcome adversity in the past and the coronavirus pandemic is no different.

In its long history, Boston College has had to deal with a range of serious issues, including the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the attacks of September 11,Leahy said. Our University has already responded to the coronavirus with grace, generosity, and commitment; and I remain confident that it will continue to do so in the months and year ahead.

Related Content:
Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

On the streets of San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood, social distancing does not exist.

Tents and blankets cram the narrow sidewalks, even set right against sun-faded buildings. Occupants of these encampments loll on the pavement nearby, hyper cognizant they risk losing their belongings if they leave.

Makeshift shelters and overflowing carts are in constant conflict with pedestrians for six feet of space. Passing through sometimes means pushing through crowds, weaving around camp debris, blankets and waste as flies bounce off face coverings.

Related: 'It could have been averted': How 92 residents at a San Francisco homeless shelter got Covid-19

In the Tenderloin, social distancing does not exist because many of the neighborhoods unhoused residents have nowhere else to go. Weeks into the global coronavirus pandemic, as San Francisco prepares to cautiously reopen, the historically low-income and underserved neighborhood once again finds itself experiencing a very different reality than the rest of the city.

While other parts of the Bay Area look like outtakes from The Good Place, the Tenderloin isnt even third world at this point, said Kathy Looper, owner of the Cadillac Hotel in the neighborhood. Ive been to third world countries that look better than this, Looper said.

A street in San Franciscos Tenderloin district is a jumble of sleeping people, discarded clothes and used needles. Photograph: Janie Har/AP

The Tenderloin has long been a refuge for some of San Franciscos most vulnerable, displaying a vicious cycle of homelessness, addiction and mental illness in the heart of the city. But the pandemic  and the citys homeless policies during the pandemic  helped create a perfect storm within the neighborhoods 35 blocks. In order to be able to enforce social distancing guidelines, San Franciscos overcrowded homeless shelters drastically reduced their capacity. The city made hotel rooms available to homeless people, but only those who had tested positive for the virus or ranked among the most vulnerable. Many unhoused people suddenly had no other choice but to take to the streets, some fortunate enough with tents and others making do with what they could find. Amid a lack of testing, its unclear how widespread the virus is in the neighborhood, among the housed and unhoused.

Story continues

I really dont know what to do, said Roger Moussa, 51, who has been sleeping on the streets since his shelter bed reservation ran out a month ago. I feel completely helpless. I have nowhere to go, and every other night I get robbed.

Tents have sprung up throughout San Franciscos 49 sq miles since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, but in the Tenderloin, the number of tents had exploded by 285%  268 tents total. Neighborhood residents believe this to be an undercount, with some tallying 432 tents as of last week.

This is not a way for people to live, especially now, said Kathy Looper, owner of the Cadillac Hotel in the Tenderloin. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP

This is not a way for people to live, especially now, and the city is not providing any solution, Looper said. They herded everyone into this one neighborhood and said its OK, but its not OK. They created their own Warsaw ghetto.

Several unhoused people said they werent trying to make life difficult for the housed Tenderloin residents. Many have community ties, with some living in the supportive housing offered there before becoming homeless again. Given the option, most of them wouldnt be sleeping on the sidewalk; they didnt have a choice.

I tried to go into the mens shelter but they said the corona had came out, said Abdull Best, 25. You cant get into a new shelter while its quarantined. No new residents during the quarantine.

The city has responded with a Tenderloin Neighborhood Plan that includes more public restrooms and hand-washing stations. It launched several safe-sleeping sites, city-sanctioned encampments with access to some amenities and services and identified 13 of the hardest hit blocks for cleaning and clearing. I want to really recognize that this is going to be a targeted plan, a challenging one, and we are set to be as aggressive as we can in implementing it so that the people in the community can see a difference, said Mayor London Breed.

For many in the neighborhood, its yet another empty gesture in a long history of empty gestures. Residents have grown accustomed to being overlooked by the powers that be. Located just three blocks from the towering beaux-arts majesty of city hall, the neighborhood has long been written off as an open-air drug market and homeless hub. Tourists are warned to avoid it. Fox News and conservative media relish in attacking it, splashing live shots of feces and syringes on the pavement as proof of the citys failings.

San Franciscos first sanctioned tent encampment is in a fenced-off space near city hall with spaces marked for social distancing and some amenities. Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

But its also one of the most diverse and densely populated communities in the city: 31% of the neighborhood is Asian, 23% is Latino and 10% is black. In San Francisco, a city with the most billionaires per capita in the world, the median household income is $104,552. In the Tenderloin, where 30% of the neighborhood is in poverty, the median household income is $23,513.

A term frequently used with the Tenderloin is containment zone. For years, residents have viewed this as the citys tactic in dealing with the neighborhood. Theres inherent pressure in urban life, with homelessness and drug dealing and mental illness  just urban realities, explained David Faigman, dean and chancellor of the UC Hastings Law School, which is located in the neighborhood. And if we can keep it in the Tenderloin, were not going to see it in the Marina. Were not going to see it in Pacific Heights.

Earlier this month, UC Hastings filed a federal lawsuit against the city, joined by the merchants and property association and some other residents. The lawsuit seeks to compel the city to clear the sidewalks and clean the streets by providing healthy and safe options for the unhoused population in the encampments.

We could have brought a lawsuit 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago and we probably could have had standing, Faigman said. We would have had neighbors who were fed up with what they were dealing with. But what theyre dealing with now is at such a much more profound level. We have a virus that could possibly be deadly, and we dont know how prevalent the pandemic is out on the streets. You have people in wheelchairs, children and the elderly who need to maneuver around a population that may have a very high rate of Covid-19.

There has always been an underlying health crisis, he continued. But now its a true exigent emergency.

To many in the neighborhood, the citys homelessness policies amid the pandemic have continued to institutionalize homelessness within the neighborhood borders, rather than try to solve the issue with housing. The time they spent writing the plan they could have spent moving people into hotels or sanctioned encampments, said Randy Shaw, executive director of the Tenderloin Housing Clinic.

And many recognize that nothing will change until those without shelter can safely get off the streets. There is a literal plague sweeping the country and our city and we are only as safe and as protected as our most vulnerable residents, said local lawmaker Matt Haney, who represents the Tenderloin.

An activist protests from her vehicle outside Moscone Center in San Francisco, asking Mayor London Breed to house homeless people using vacant hotels. Photograph: Ben Margot/AP

The crisis unfolding in the Tenderloin has created light tension in the world of homeless outreach. Residents demands for clearing tents and sweeping encampments can come across as anti-homeless, but many of those advocating for the measures work in homeless outreach. Its not that theyre against homeless people  its that no one should be in those tents, Shaw said. Everyone should agree they should either be in hotels or in supervised encampments. They shouldnt be on sidewalks in the Tenderloin.

There needs to be concern for the housed residents of the Tenderloin as well, Shaw said, many of whom do not have the luxury to work from home and have to make their way through the crowded streets every day.

Theres a level of despair in the Tenderloin that Ive never seen before, Shaw said. What does it say to these families that the city government will allow these conditions to proliferate right on the sidewalks? It sends a message that theyre not valued at all.

One week after the city announced its Tenderloin Neighborhood Plan, tents and makeshift structures still crammed the sidewalks, their occupants never too far away. The few public restrooms available had lines down the street.

Pedestrians walk by homeless encampments in the Tenderloin. Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The city has recommended establishing a testing site as part of its Tenderloin assessment report and has begun setting up the sanctioned encampments. Homeless outreach advocates worry that it wont be enough. The camps must still adhere to social distancing, so they will only accept a limited number of people. Priority is going to the medically vulnerable and those who are already in the city system.

Haney, the local lawmaker who represents the Tenderloin, believes that what happens in this neighborhood will determine how long the citys stay-at-home order will last. Can San Francisco meet the metrics the governor has put forth if we have so many people who cannot shelter in place? he said.

Because what Haney and homeless outreach advocates have been saying since the mayor declared a state of emergency is that viruses dont stay within income brackets or sociological boundaries. The impact on the Tenderloin already demonstrates the direct effect that the unhoused population in a pandemic can have on a housed population.

This isnt even about doing the right thing for disenfranchised people, or charity, Haney said. When they get sick, you and your families will get sick as well.
Social workers from the local authority with the worst reputation for child protection failures in the country allowed a mother of two boys to develop a relationship with a paedophile.

Staff from Haringey Council put their sympathy for the woman before the needs of the children, whose lives have been seriously damaged, High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden said.

The case  said by the judge to be the worst failure by social workers he had ever come across  carries echoes of the scandal over the death of Baby P in 2007.

In that case, Haringey social workers allowed 17-month-old Peter Connelly to live with his neglectful mother, who was later convicted and jailed over his death from 50 injuries.

The same north London borough failed to save Victoria Climbie, murdered in 2000 by her aunt and a boyfriend who subjected the eight-year-old to extreme violence.

Mr Justice Hayden spoke of a 'litany of failure' at Haringey Council in north London, which was criticised after the deaths of Victoria Climbie (pictured) in 2000 and Peter Connelly in 2007

Mr Justice Hayden allowed Haringey to be named yesterday and lifted an earlier ruling preventing the council from being identified.

The judge said: 'This case cannot be seen as an isolated example of strikingly poor practice, but is reflective of a much broader and deeper malaise within Haringey's children with disabilities team.'

He said the authority had been responsible for 'a preoccupation with and empathy for the mother which eclipsed the needs of the children, a failure to evaluate risk and a planning vacuum.'

The judge cited the borough's 'lamentable history' and recorded a series of highly critical assessments by the Ofsted inspectorate in recent years.

He declined to identify the social workers involved in the case but instead said the council's Director of Children's Services, Ann Graham, should be named.

The scandal began three years ago after the mother campaigned to have the family home refitted so her older son, a quadriplegic cerebral palsy sufferer, could live there.

The judge said he had first heard details of the case when the 'bureaucratic sclerosis' of Haringey meant the adaptations, which ultimately cost 340,000, had not been been made.

Haringey Council was accused of failing to safeguard Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, who was found dead in his cot at 17-months-old in 2007

Mr Justice Hayden, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court (pictured) in London, allowed Haringey to be named yesterday and lifted an earlier ruling preventing the council from being identified

In early 2018 the boys' mother and father broke up.

After the split, social workers stopped speaking to the father, and took the side of the mother.

This continued after the mother began a relationship with a paedophile who had been released from prison for abusing his daughter. During 2018 and 2019, the sex offender visited the mother's home, was seen with her in a McDonald's, and the woman had his name tattooed on her wedding ring finger.

The man visited the hospital where the disabled boy was being treated and was seen by the younger boy on at least one occasion. Mr Justice Hayden said: 'Cutting the father out to the extent they did gives the appearance of petulance.

'It creates the impression that the welfare of the staff is regarded as having greater value than the welfare of the child.'

The sympathy of social workers for the mother was such that they declined to take the children into care even after an independent children's guardian had recommended they should do so.

The judge declined to identify the social workers involved in the case but instead said the council's Director of Children's Services, Ann Graham, pictured, should be named

Instead they accepted the mother's claim that she had only seen the paedophile to finish their relationship and 'was overwhelmed with her caring responsibilities and needed emotional support.'

The judge said of the failure of social workers to stop the mother's relationship with the paedophile while she had care of her sons: 'There is simply no defence to it, nor did the service manager or the social worker offer anything that came close to an understanding or explanation of how things came to go so badly wrong.' Calling the failures 'profoundly troubling', he added that the refusal to tell the father about the involvement of the paedophile in his sons' lives 'defies comprehension'.

The judge said it was both a breach of social work principles and 'active discrimination' against the father.

The mother had repeatedly lied to social workers and in court about her relationship with the paedophile.

The judge said it was 'far more likely that CC [the paedophile] visited the home more regularly.'

The younger boy will now live with his father, and the older disabled brother will live in a care home and visit them whenever he can, Mr Justice Hayden ruled.

He said the younger son could not live with his mother because 'the scale and reach of the mother's dishonesty and her striking capacity to inveigle gullible professionals into her own distorted belief structure renders this unlikely.'

The mother can in future only see her sons 'under the father's careful scrutiny'.

The judge said of the disabled boy: 'He has been deprived of the home life that he so manifestly wanted.'

Cllr Zena Brabazon, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, said: 'The most important thing for me to note is that the children remain safe, and their wellbeing is our primary focus.

'The assessment and management of the risks to the children was completely unacceptable and fell far below the council's usual social work practice. We recognise wholeheartedly that this judgment highlights areas where we can and must improve  many steps have already been taken and significant progress has been made.

'We firmly believe that this judgment is not a reflection of our wider practice in children's social care. Since the Ofsted inspection of 2018 we have made significant changes, and Haringey has been commended by Ofsted and its partners for its work strengthening and improving its children's services.

'We have been carrying out our own review into what can be done better, and this will continue, along with a new, independent assessment. We have brought in additional resource and training, and are accessing expertise from some of the best services in the country. We have made real progress, but where there are still improvements to be made, we will continue to make them.

'It is our duty to protect our young people. We did not do well enough in this case, and that is being rectified now, and going forward.'

Failings that led to torture, abuse and child murder

Haringey Council was lambasted for shocking failures by its social workers and their managers over the deaths of Victoria Climbie and Baby P.

Eight-year-old Victoria was starved, tortured and eventually murdered by her great-aunt Marie Therese Kouao and the woman's boyfriend Carl Manning, despite the north London council having been alerted seven months earlier.

Kouao and Manning were both jailed for her murder after the jury heard horrific evidence about the girl's abuse, including the 128 separate injuries and scars found on her body in February 2000.

But prosecutors made clear that Victoria was also failed by child protection authorities  described in court as 'blindingly incompetent'.

Haringey Council, pictured, was lambasted for shocking failures by its social workers and their managers over the deaths of Victoria Climbie and Baby P

In 2007 toddler Peter Connelly  known as Baby P  was killed following months of abuse while he was on Haringey's 'at risk' register. Peter was identified as being at risk of neglect and had been seen on around 60 separate occasions by social workers, health visitors and others who failed to save him.

In the eight months while he was on Haringey's child protection register he suffered more than 50 injuries including seven broken ribs and a fractured spine, and was finally found dead in his blood-spattered cot. His mother Tracey Connelly helped to disguise his injuries by smearing his face with chocolate.

She was later jailed over his death, along with her abusive lover Steven Barker and his brother Jason Owen.

The council's then head of children's services, Sharon Shoesmith, was later sacked and a serious case review said the 17-month-old's death 'could have been prevented'.

Haringey faced further criticism over the abuse of a six-year-old boy who was beaten by his heroin addict stepfather. The boy, named only as Child T, was taken to hospital at least three times over eight months, once with more than 50 bruises on his body.

Staff from Haringey allowed him to go home twice, only for him to be beaten again by his Polish stepfather, who hit him with a belt, a stick and a cable.

He survived and was eventually taken into care with his three siblings in 2011, more than a year after the first incident of abuse was noted.

A serious case review found his case featured 'compelling evidence of individual and systemic failures'.

The stepfather was jailed by a judge for four years.
Thousands of workers have been forced to leave a Ford factory in Chicago the day after they returned to work because they were exposed to an employee who tested positive to coronavirus.

The assembly plant has rearranged the layout, started medical screening staff upon arrival, and provided them with personal protective equipment but workers have complained that they are still at serious risk of being infected.

They suggested that the reality was not akin to what's promoted in a video designed to help employees feel more comfortable about going back when cases in Illinois surpassed 98,000 and deaths were 4,379 on Wednesday.

The company has introduced new disinfecting measures to kill the virus, which can live on non-porous surfaces such as metal for days.

Scroll down for video

Workers were evacuated from a Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Chicago, Illinois Monday after an employee tested positive for coronavirus (file image)

The company has changed the set-up of the assembly line to increase safety for workers

They are specifically focused on cleaning the areas the affected employee may have touched.

But one worker said the way the plant is set up, if one person is infected, it could easily spread to another.

'All these people are crowded and on top of each other,' employee Michael Hopper told CBS News.

He is especially concerned because he lost his brother to coronavirus two weeks ago.

While many companies have adapted to new styles of working from home, the Ford staff do not have that option when it comes to staying safe.

Outside the Ford Motor Company signs also remind people to distance themselves.

'I cleaned my own workstation myself,' Hopper continued. 'How our jobs are set-up, if one person gets in the hole that would affect the person behind him.'

'Social distancing doesn't really work,' employee Billy Cowart told CBS News.

Staff were scheduled to return to the factor Tuesday night.

'I'm worried right now,' employee Timothy Shy told CBS News. 'This is the second day, and we are already hearing about this.'

One woman said: 'I just don't feel it's safe enough yet.'

A colleague of the infected person said she felt fine at work last Monday through Wednesday but Wednesday night she felt 'feverish' and on Thursday morning she still didn't feel well so decided to stay home from work. Results didn't come back until Monday

Ford Motor Company has also introduced a new temperature screening method to check for fever that could be related to COVID-19

A promotional video shows that Ford Motor Company is asking staff to stay 6 feet apart

The company said in a statement: 'We notified people known to have been in close contact with the infected individual, while maintaining confidentiality, and asked them to self-quarantine for 14 days. We are also cleaning and disinfecting the work area, equipment, team area and the path that the team member took.'

Some workers expressed on a United Auto Workers Facebook page that the whole plant of around 4,000 workers was not shut down and only only workers on the infected person's line were told were told to go home.

Others commented that they were back to work within six hours rather than the recommended one-day shutdown for cleaning as described in protocol sent to employees in a letter.

Speaking about how they were put at risk, a colleague of the infected person said she felt fine at work last Monday through Wednesday but Wednesday night she felt 'feverish'. On Thursday morning she still didn't feel well so decided to stay home from work.

Later on Thursday she went to her local hospital and got tested for COVID-19 and stayed quarantined. She received her test results on Monday when they returned to work and notified labor relations, which then contacted everyone she was able to name that she was in contact with for 15 minutes or more.

The woman has reportedly been receiving threats from people who think she intentionally exposed them to the virus.

Employee Timothy Shy said: 'I'm worried right now. This is the second day, and we are already hearing about this.' His brother died from COVID-19 two weeks ago

One woman said: 'I just don't feel it's safe enough yet.' One man (right) said he has to go to the plant to earn a paycheck

It prompted further messages of people sharing their confusing about what to do if they think they may have symptoms.

Probed by a CBS reporter about going into work despite concerns, one worker said: 'Yes, I have to.'

One woman also described her worry about taking precautions while ensuring she gets paid.

Via the union Facebook group page she said on Monday she was 'trying my best to follow the safety measures in place' and was 'miserably hot' in a face visor. But on Tuesday she woke up with a 'pounding headache and neck stiffness'.

'I do feel warm, but not sure if its a temperature. Im about to do the self survey, which if I answer the questions HONESTLY, (and I will!), it will tell me not to report to work! Herein lies the problem!.' she explained.

'This COULD just be a simple headache that Tylenol can handle. I COULDVE slept wrong and just have crook-in-my-neck. These symptoms are so common, that is hard to determine whether I should just soldier on like any other day...because after all, do we really call-in to work for feeling the slightest bit less than 100%? And if we dont, does that make us all money-hungry liars??

'I have vacation time, but because I could in no way foresee myself feeling this way today, Im not in the book. This IS the dilemma we face each day just to come to work without proper testing.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 16:04:56|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RAMALLAH, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Tuesday declared the abolition of all agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States in protest against the Israeli plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at the end of an urgent leadership meeting held in Ramallah.

From now on, the Palestinian leader called on Israel to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations as an occupying power, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

The convention holds the occupying power responsible for protecting the civilian population under occupation and their property, criminalizing collective punishment, banning theft of resources, appropriation and annexation of land, banning forced transfer of the population, he added.

Analysts have said that "the security ones (obligations)" Abbas mentioned in his speech referred to the Palestinian decision to put an end to its security cooperation with Israel and the United States.

At present, the Israeli and Palestinian security forces have long-term cooperation in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank to maintain local law and order. Palestine also have an intelligence cooperation agreement with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to share counter-terrorism intelligence.

Once Palestine exits the "security obligations," a security vacuum in the West Bank may occur, which means the suppressed forces -- the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Organization and other factions -- may stage a comback, and Palestine and Israel may return to the old path of returning violence for violence, the analysts have said.

Abbas's decision came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration of his plan to the Jordan Valley, part of the occupied West Bank, and apply Israeli law on the Israeli settlements built there, as his new government was sworn in before the parliament on Sunday.

The West Bank is an area seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, where the Palestinians wish to build their future state.

In his speech, Abbas held the U.S. administration "fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people and we consider it a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government in all its aggressive and unfair decisions and measures against our people."

He urged the countries that have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, known as Deal of the Century, to take "deterrent steps and impose serious sanctions to prevent the Israeli occupation state from implementing its schemes and its continuing denial of the rights of our people."

Furthermore, Abbas declared that the state of Palestine will press ahead with signing and joining more international agreements and conventions.

"We will continue to pursue the occupation for its crimes against our people at all international authorities and courts. In this context, we affirm our confidence in the independence and integrity of the International Criminal Court," he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel on Wednesday for talks with Israeli leaders on Israel's plan to annex portions of the occupied West Bank, which is part of Trump's peace plan.

On Jan. 28, Trump unveiled the controversial peace plan for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which would limit the sovereignty of a future Palestinian state.

The plan is strongly objected by the Palestinians and the Arab world as well as international organizations such as the UN, which denounced the plan as a violation of international law.
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



Washington, D.C., May 20, 2020  Iranian authorities should immediately release journalist Nejat Bahrami from prison and cease arbitrarily jailing members of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On May 5, Bahrami, a freelance columnist who has written for publications including the Iran Daily and Etemad newspapers and the weekly Tejarat-e Farda and Seda magazines, wrote on Twitter that he had received a written notice from the judiciary summoning him to prison within five days.

He had been convicted on August 18, 2019, by the Revolutionary Court of Tehran of spreading propaganda against the system and colluding to disturb the public order over his writing and commentary that was critical of Irans political establishment, and was sentenced to one year in prison and a two-year ban on any media activities, joining any political or social factions, and using smart phones, according to a report by the Persian service of the International Federation of Journalists, a global media workers union.

On May 18, he arrived at Tehrans Evin Prison to begin serving his one-year sentence, according to the federations report.

Jailing a journalist during a pandemic, especially one whom authorities already previously released from custody due to health issues, is yet another example of the extreme steps that Irans judiciary is willing to take to muzzle the press, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. Nejat Bahrami should be released immediately and the charges against him should be dropped.

Security agents had arrested Bahrami on December 5, 2018, over his writings in Iranian publications and on social media, including his Telegram channel, and detained him for one week before releasing him on bail due to health complications including high blood pressure, according to the federations report and other news reports.

After his August 2019 conviction, the case was in appeal until April 12, 2020, when Branch 36 of Tehran Appeals Court upheld his sentence, excluding the restrictions on smart phones, he wrote on his Twitter account.
Even the coronavirus crisis has not made tensions "abate" in the Indo-Pacific, and both India and France are aware of the ongoing activities in the region, French Ambassador said on Wednesday, in an oblique reference to China's muscular military deployment in the strategic waters at a time when the world is battling the pandemic.

In an interview to PTI,French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenainalso talked about the scourge of cross-border terrorism faced by India, and asserted that Pakistan must implement the action plan prescribed by global anti-terror watchdog FATF in containing the menace emanating from its soil.

"France has always supported India in combating terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism," he said, adding"We are pleased that fighting terror funding is an area in which we are working together with India."



Pakistan must pursue the implementation of the action plan of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), he said.

In February,Islamabad managed to avoid the FATF blacklisting, and was given four months extra time to implement anti-terror financing norms after the country missed multiple deadlines to comply with the recommendations of the global body, which targets money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the global financial system.

Asserting that France was monitoring developments in the Indo-Pacific region, the envoy said "We have seen it over the past few weeks (that even) the pandemic hasn't made tensions abate in this region, particularly in the South China Sea."



China's aggressive military posturing is seen by many security experts as an attempt to leverage the situation caused by the pandemic to push its agenda in the Indo-Pacific particularly after the US grounded its aircraft carriers the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Theodore Roosevelt following the coronavirus outbreak.

Following China's rising military presence, the US has sent additional deployment to the South China Sea, a strategically key trade route linking Southeast Asia with



"We are actively exchanging information and analysis with India on ongoing activities in the Indo-Pacific by through the ties between our maritime information fusion centres," he said.

"We're also very pleased that India joined the Indian Ocean Commission as an observer in March this year. We are looking forward to this as an opportunity to further strengthen ties between India and CRFIM--the regional maritime information fusion centre in Madagascar," he said.

The envoy also said France can offer assistance to India in data protection which has gained in importance in the context of app-based contact tracing to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

India has launched a contact tracing app called Aarogya Setu which triggered fears of breach in privacy of citizens downloading it though the government has rejected such apprehensions.

"Our respective cyber security agencies and our ecosystems are working together. We hold discussions on our 5G policy. We could very well additionally discuss the issue of personal data protection, which has gained in importance in the context of app-based contact tracing for the pandemic," the envoy said.

He said France has a longstanding policy on the matter and it could share it as India will be passing a law on data protection.

On the comprehensive bilateral ties between India and France, he said strategic partnership is not a mere political catchword.

"The spirit of the strategic partnership is to be by India's side in very concrete ways not only in good times but also in tough times. Practically 22 years to the day, France decided to be on India's side at a critical moment. Since then, this alliance between our two countries has never wavered," he said.

"With regard to defence and security, our cooperation is expanding ambitiously," he added.

Talking about the coronavirus pandemic, he said the next area to watch out for is the "cyberspace" as it could face a major crisis.

"Cyberspace is probably the next looming crisis. The current public health crisis has revealed the magnitude of the challenges, and we wish to cooperate with India to tackle them," he added.

Asked whether a new global order will emerge in the post Covid-19 phase, he said the crisis has shown that France and India's support to multilateralism is the right option for this century.

"I am delighted that the reform of the WHO, which France encourages, has found favour in India. India and France have coordinated closely and continue to do so. However, we can do much more together. The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of international cooperation on humanitarian issues," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Investigations are underway after a reported shooting incident in Dublin this afternoon.

Gardai are currently at the scene at Cromcastle Drive, Kilmore, Coolock where the incident occurred at 2pm today.

A man in his 30s suffered non-life threatening injuries and was removed by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital.

The scene is currently preserved for technical examination, a garda spokesperson said.

No arrests have been made but gardai say investigations are ongoing.

Gardai at Santry are appealing for any witnesses and anyone with information to contact them, the Garda Confidential Line or any Garda Station.
WASHINGTON  After dozens of tribal governments sued the U.S. Treasury Department for withholding Covid-19 pandemic relief money that Congress allotted them seven weeks back, the federal executive branch announced on May 5 that it is releasing 60 percent of the $8 billion set-aside.

Payment to tribes will begin today based on the population allocation, and will take place over several banking days, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in a joint statement.

The $8 billion was the sliver of an overall $150 billion assigned to tribal, state, local and territorial governments in the CARES Act, or Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, signed into law on March 27, by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Congress had mandated the emergency funding release by no later than April 27. However, while all the rest of the CARES Act beneficiary governments were enjoying their relief provided in a timely fashion, the tribes found it necessary to file two lawsuits against Secretary Mnuchin to obtain even a fraction of their share after the deadline.

"Frustrating": Tribal nations are still jumping through bureaucratic hoops in order to secure the full $8 billion in #COVID19 relief that was promised by the Trump administration more than seven weeks ago. #CoronavirusReliefFund #CARESAct #Coronavirus https://t.co/UQEIx8ZG3y  indianz.com (@indianz) May 20, 2020

Following the second tribal governments lawsuit, which called on April 30 for a full payout in 24 hours, the Presidential Cabinet leaders took five days to announce that the 60-percent distribution would happen over an unspecified number of days more.

We are pleased to begin making $4.8 billion in critical funds available to tribal governments in all states, Secretary Mnuchin said.

Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Mnuchin for working with Congress to pass the CARES Act as historic financial support will now begin to be disbursed to Native Americans battling the Covid-19 health crisis, said Secretary Bernhardt.

I appreciate the Secretary of the Treasurys determination in providing a clear pathway to get these resources promptly delivered, he added.

The first of the tribal governments complaints over the withheld funding arose from Interior Department Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Tara Sweeneys advice to the Treasury Department to channel about half of the tribal government CARES Act budget to for-profit Alaska Native Corporations.

A statue of Albert Gallatin, the 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury stands on the north side of the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Gallatin studied tribal nations and was a personal friend of Cherokee leader John Ridge. His work on Native languages has led some to call him "the father of American ethnology." Photo: dog97209

The complaint resulted in a preliminary federal court injunction responding favorably to plaintiffs with a ruling that no Alaska Native Corporation is eligible for any share of the $8 billion allocated by Congress for tribal governments, because the ANCs are for-profit businesses.

Sweeney is an Alaska Native, former employee and lobbyist of the largest of the 13 Alaska Native Corporations, and a current stockholder.

She did not disclose that her husband Kevin Sweeney is a registered lobbyist for Bristol Bay Native Corporation, which was among the first companies to apply for CARES Act funding intended for tribal governments, according to the non-profit Western Values Project

Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today

Join the Conversation
After 18 months of waiting, Jaclyn Hockenjos and Sebstian Cina, Jr. were set to become Mr. and Mrs. on Saturday. But like so many other couples, theyll have to wait a little longer, after the coronavirus pushed their wedding back.

Instead of spending the day feeling sad for what wasnt, the couple turned their canceled day into a way to give back to the community.

The pair launched With This Ring, Youll Be Fed, a campaign designed to raise money for Fulfill, a food bank that provides services to Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Family and friends were invited to a drive-by at the couples home, where they were asked to bring nonperishable food and monetary donations to help stock the shelves.

We were devastated when we found out we had to postpone our wedding, Hockenjos, said in a statement. Then we thought about it and realized we could use it as a platform to help people in our community, and thats exactly what we intend on doing.

Over 50 cars came to the drive-by on Saturday, escorted through the neighborhood by police. They got into the spirit of the wedding, decorating their front lawn with gold and silver balloons. Hockenjos wore a white face mask and matching veil, while Cina opted for a tuxedo t-shirt and black mask.

Unlike a wedding, this wont be a one-day event. They plan on keeping the effort up until their new wedding day in October, and possibly beyond.

Gov. Phil Murphy offered his support to the couple during his daily press briefing on Tuesday, saying he could not thank them enough for their contributions to the community.

Hockenjos, an elementary school teacher, and Cina, the manager of an auto body shop, hope other couples follow their footsteps and turn canceled days into fundraisers by using the hashtag #WithThisRingYoullBeFed. Those looking for more information can text VOWS to 313131.

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

Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
The truth is that if you invest for long enough, you're going to end up with some losing stocks. But the last three years have been particularly tough on longer term Victoria plc (LON:VCP) shareholders. So they might be feeling emotional about the 65% share price collapse, in that time. The more recent news is of little comfort, with the share price down 63% in a year. Furthermore, it's down 51% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

See our latest analysis for Victoria

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price.

Victoria saw its share price decline over the three years in which its EPS also dropped, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Since the company has fallen to a loss making position, it's hard to compare the change in EPS with the share price change. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

AIM:VCP Past and Future Earnings May 20th 2020

It's good to see that there was some significant insider buying in the last three months. That's a positive. That said, we think earnings and revenue growth trends are even more important factors to consider. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Victoria's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

A Different Perspective

While the broader market lost about 12% in the twelve months, Victoria shareholders did even worse, losing 63%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 0.2% over the last half decade. 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. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Victoria (of which 2 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

Story continues

Victoria is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Chinese Medical Team Stranded In Nigeria After Assignment

The Chinese medical team which arrived on April 8 has been unable to leave the country following the unavailability of commercial flights to Beijing, the capital of China.

It was gathered that the personnel had concluded their assignment, which included assisting with the installation of some equipment and sharing Covid-19 experience with the Federal Government.

The 15-man team, which include experts in infectious diseases, respiratory illness, intensive care, cardiology, neurology, general surgery, anesthesiology and a journalist, had come to the country on the invitation of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

The Executive Director, CCECC, Mr Jacques Liao, disclosed in Abuja on Monday, that the team had been unable to leave the country because there were no commercial flights.

He explained that the medical experts were still at the Idu area of Abuja where they were accommodated.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, had said during a briefing by Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 that he did not know the whereabouts of the Chinese visitors, stressing that they were not guests of the Federal Government but that of the construction company.

But shedding light on the situation, Liao stated that the personnel were supposed to spend one month in the country, adding that they were issued three-month visas.

He said, They (Chinese medical team) are waiting for their flight and this depends on when the airspace would be opened. You know, they came by a charter flight because of the personal protective equipment and other medical materials they brought, but they cant go back by charter flight, so they are waiting for regular commercial flights.

They are still here (in Abuja) and they would still assist the Ministry of Health anytime they require their assistance.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) donated essential personal protective equipment and medical supplies to the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) to support it in the fight against the coronavirus, the international humanitarian organisation said on Wednesday.

The aid, worth more than EGP 1 million, is planned for health facilities in North Sinai, the ICRC statement quoted Egypt's social solidarity minister Nevine El-Kabbag, who is also vice chairman of the ERC, as saying.

The ICRC, in cooperation with the ERC, has carried out four assistance distributions to thousands of households in North Sinai to alleviate the impact of events in the area on the residents, the statement said.

We would like to thank the ICRC for this important donation, which comes in light of our fruitful partnership and that will help the ERCs efforts in these challenging times, said Executive Director of the ERC Ramy El-Nazer following a signing ceremony to mark the event at the ERC headquarters in Cairo.

The ICRC and ERC are part of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement which works on alleviating human suffering, especially during emergencies.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Egypt, the ICRC has been in close contact with the ERC to provide support, advice and training to staff and volunteers in light of the ERCs important role in the national response to COVID-19, said Ronald Ofteringer, head of the ICRC delegation in Cairo.

Egypt has adopted a set of measures since March to contain the spread of the virus, including a night-time curfew, suspending classes at schools and universities, shutting mosques and churches, and halting international flights.

Despite the restrictions, Egypts infection rate has continued to rise, surpassing 13,000 confirmed cases on Tuesday, almost three months after the first case was confirmed on 14 February.

The ICRC has been operating in the country for over 100 years to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A second First Nation has blocked the other access point to Manitoba Hydros Keeyask megaproject, over concerns a massive shift change will introduce COVID-19 to vulnerable reserves.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A second First Nation has blocked the other access point to Manitoba Hydros Keeyask megaproject, over concerns a massive shift change will introduce COVID-19 to vulnerable reserves.

Fox Lake Cree Nation decided to launch the new blockade Monday evening, just hours after a Manitoba court authorized the RCMP to arrest anyone blocking access to the Keeyask plant.

The new blockade, on the southern access road, comes after Tataskweyak Cree Nation restricted the northern road Friday to non-Hydro traffic.

The southern road is closer to the Gillam airport, where workers were supposed to start arriving Tuesday from Winnipeg.

RCMP say theyre monitoring the situation and will respect Charter rights, but arrest anyone who puts safety at risk.

The concern stems from Hydros planned shift change, which will see as many as 1,200 staff and contractors arrive on the construction site. They will replace the 512 workers who remain on the site as of this past weekend.

Manitoba Hydro convinced public-health authorities to approve the plan, which exempts Keeyask from an ongoing April 16 northern travel ban.

The province also allowed the work camps gym and cafeteria to open last month.

The local bands say theyre worried about an outbreak similar to northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, where work camps have been a vector for coronavirus outbreaks in Indigenous communities with limited health-care access.

The four bands say Hydro managers overseeing the project have left them out of the loop.

While Hydro showed the court records of weekly conversations about COVID-19, the Crown corporation has never disputed that it only shared the plan to fly in hundreds of staff after the province had approved it.

Hydro has since changed the plan to have all workers from outside Manitoba self-isolate in Winnipeg for two weeks instead of one, before taking a charter flight.

Hydro expects to fly in 100 to 150 non-Manitobans to the Keeyask site over the first three weeks, of whom fewer than 10 will come from outside Canada.

In an affidavit, Keeyask director David Bowen said there are usually 200 non-Manitobans at the work camp. He specifically cited engineers from Quebec, the province hit hardest by COVID-19. Americans have also worked on the project.

When the four bands asked to meet Hydro CEO Jay Grewal, she instead replied in writing, asking them to stop talking with media.

"The level of disrespect shown by Manitoba Hydro in ignoring community concerns during this pandemic is unacceptable," Fox Lake Cree Nation Chief Billy Beardy wrote in a Tuesday news release.

But in an interview, Hydro spokesman Scott Powell said the Crown corporation went beyond provincial approvals to maintain safe protocols at the site, like having truckers stay inside the cab as camp employees unload supplies.

"Were taking those concerns seriously," Powell said.

"Weve been in ongoing conversations with all the communities; weve made changes to the plan based on input."

Some Keeyask staff said their colleagues did not arrive as planned Tuesday; Powell was not sure whether chartered flights had been postponed or if they arrived at the Gillam airport.

(COURTESY OF FOX LAKE CREE NATION) Demonstrators from Fox Lake are seen blocking the south access road to the Keeyask generating-station construction site Monday evening.

Tataskweyak band councillor Nathan Neckoway said the RCMP has sent its division-liaison team, a cohort of officers that focus on negotiating and de-escalating tense situations.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"Were not backing down," he said Tuesday. "Were on treaty land."

The court injunction authorizes the RCMP until May 28 to arrest anyone blocking the northern or southern access roads, and charge them with contempt of court.

The RCMP said they will determine how to implement that injunction.

"The RCMP will continue to monitor the situation and take action on a case-by-case basis, with a focus on enforcement should there be any criminal activities that pose a threat to the safety of individuals or property," wrote Cpl. Julie Courchaine.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Tuesday that his administration considers all agreements signed with Israel and the United States null and void, after Israel declared it would annex parts of the occupied West Bank, according to local media reports.

Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas made the announcement during an emergency meeting held in Ramallah to discuss the Israeli plans.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones, Abbas reportedly said.

The Israeli occupation authority, as of today, has to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations in front of the international community as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine.

Abbas threatened to withdraw from agreements back in February, after US President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East plan, which included the possibility of annexation.

Al Jazeera correspondent Nida Ibrahim said the implications of the move remained unclear.

While he said that the PLO is no longer bound by agreements signed with Israel, he did not say that he is dissolving the Palestinian Authority, Ibrahim said from Ramallah.

During his address, which was broadcast on Palestinian television, Abbas also said he was still ready to negotiate with Israel and remains committed to ending the conflict on the basis of a two-state solution.

Scepticism

Speaking from Chicago, Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada was sceptical about Abbas announcement.

Mahmoud Abbas has announced I cant remember how many times that hes suspended this agreement or that agreement and the fact is that hes never (actually) done that. Hes never (actually) suspended an agreement, he said. The reality is that the Palestinian Authority cannot move a salt shaker from one side of the table to another without the permission and help of the Israelis.





Annexing parts of the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley as part of Trumps Middle East plan was a central promise of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus latest re-election campaign. His former political rivals-turned-allies Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi have also expressed their support of the plan.

Netanyahu was sworn into office for another term on Sunday, after more than 500 days without a stable government and three inconclusive elections.

Addressing the parliament before the vote, Netanyahu said his incoming government should apply Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements, which are illegal under international law.

Its time to apply the Israeli law and write another glorious chapter in the history of Zionism, Netanyahu said on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

These territories are where the Jewish nation was born and grew, he said of the settlements.

Such a move will likely cause international uproar and inflame tensions in the West Bank.

Jordans King Abdullah II, warned Israel of a massive conflict if it went ahead with the plan, while the European Unions foreign policy chief said EU would use all our diplomatic capacities to try to dissuade the new government from going ahead with the move.
China's lies and excuses that attempted to shift the blame is at its end, as 100 countries have banded together demanding a real investigation to reveal if Beijing is behind the coronavirus.

A surprise member is Russia, that has backed up China several times, which is pointing fingers at Beijing. All these 100 countries are backing a resolution at the World Health Assembly (WHA) stating that an independent investigation is needed to know if China should be accountable for it.

Countries are looking for answers for China's COVID-19 response

Australia has been aggressively pushing for an enquiry as the European gives the move an extra push, placing China in the spotlight more than ever.

Beijing was flabbergasted and incensed at Australia and tried to bully its way out, but the other party stood its ground, despite the CCP's excuses.

Soon, this resolution will be tested at the yearly meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), starting on Monday in Geneva. The forwarded resolution will be fair to all countries and a comprehensive investigation in the coronavirus response.

Some observers say that the content of the resolution is downplayed when contrasted to the statements of Canberra. Especially when references fall into what China has done to the Pandemic response and its complicity. More members will be needed to sign on, like Russia which has ties with Beijing.

Beijing is restive as world opinion is against them, not easy but they've been deflecting since. If an independent probe comes online, then digging up evidence that will bury China will be a great smear on it. According to the ABC, all the words were hard and direct to make sure no sidestepping will be done during the investigation.

Before this, Beijing will acknowledge an inquiry by the WHO, by and far called China PR agency by some sectors but top WHO officials are refuting it vehemently.

Also read: Scientists Speculate That Coronavirus Can Exploit 'Hidden Mutations,' Increases Its Chances to Kill the Host

Liu Xiaoming, Chinese UK envoy said that China does not fear an investigation, but only if the WHO will be the one doing it, according to him.

Many countries are on the EU resolution, as the gathering is close with control not in China's favor. Some signs are there that Beijing will agree to the resolution though. Reports say that on Monday, Xi will give the opening remarks for the WHA, not something to do if the CCP will refute anything in the agenda.

Cracks in China's reputation

Should a report come out as highly negative of China's role, this will be bad for China's worsening image abroad. The coronavirus crisis is already chipping away since it began and the US pummeling China who is on the defensive as the cause of the pandemic.

China is aggressively pushing and deflecting all criticism for its action since December 31 last year. The WHO has been charged as China's accomplice by the US, and everything that went wrong with the COVID-19 pandemic killing thousands all over the world.

Chinese officials chose to silence reports of the new disease and shut up whistleblowers with harsh control. Top medical advisers in China explain that local officials choose to keep silent at the time, which translated to a controlling CCP that dealt with those out of line severely.

One Chinese official called those supporting Taiwan with agendas, and against resolving the pandemic, further adding that Taiwan will not be backed by most of the international community. Clearly, China is opposed to the presence of Taiwan, that mocks the One-China Policy of the CCP. But, Taiwan is attending so the Chinese will be less stressed.

Attendance and signing of 100 countries to investigate China are unprecedented, putting China in the center of everything since it started.

Related article: US Navy Destroyer Sails Through Taiwan Strait to Let Beijing Know US Will Support Taiwan

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations secretary-general, has described Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, as ...





Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations secretary-general, has described Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, as a great asset to Nigeria and Africa in a broader sense.





The new chief of staff once served as under secretary-general of the United Nations.





He was also appointed as the joint special representative of the United Nations-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), an international peacekeeping mission, in 2010 by Ban Ki-Moon.





In a statement, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, said the former UN secretary-general expressed confidence that Gambaris invaluable experience will help Nigeria in addressing challenging times caused by the coronavirus pandemic.





I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your recent appointment as Chief of Staff to H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. the statement said.





Your appointment is a great asset not to the President of Nigeria but also your country Nigeria and Africa in a broader sense.





I am confident that your invaluable experience gained while serving the UN, with various important leadership roles, will help your leadership in addressing these challenging times caused by COVID-19.





I shared this good news with the former Minister Yoo Chong-ha, your good friend and former Foreign Minister of Korea. He sends his warmest congratulations to you.





According to the statement, Catriona Laing, UK high commissioner to Nigeria, also expressed delight with Gambaris appointment.





Laing said the mission looks forward to working closely with the new chief of staff on our shared agenda in the challenging COVID-19 times.




Kim Brent / The Enterprise

Its easy to talk in general terms about the coronavirus and ways to avoid catching it, but the actions of Jefferson County commissioners speak louder than any words. They are laying down firm, sensible guidelines as they plan to reopen the courthouse and other county buildings to the public on June 1. This is the kind of leadership that Southeast Texans need from public officials at a time when some seem to think the coronavirus is receding as a threat.

The commissioners arent beating around the bush with recommendations to act responsibly. They are saying that anyone who wants to enter the courthouse will have to wear a mask and have their temperature taken. At other county buildings and annexes, security officers will be taking the temperatures of those who want to enter, though at precinct barns employees will take peoples temperatures. Courthouse visitors can wear their own mask  which is still a good idea for any journey outside the home  but masks will be provided for those who dont have one.
Jobless claims may be trending downward, but state unemployment insurance systems are still having trouble processing claims. In some states, officials believe staffing is as big of an issue  if not a bigger issue  than the technology behind the systems.Its hard on a good day, said Tara Hutchison, communications director for the Alabama Department of Labor.According to the U.S. Department of Labor , initial UI claims went down, on average, during the week ending May 9. Nonetheless, states are dealing with far more claims than they expected for the year, and a few states, such as Georgia and Florida, experienced increases in cases the week of May 9.To add insult to injury, UI fraud has emerged as a pressing issue for states. obtained a federal memo that suspects a well-organized Nigerian fraud ring has targeted the UI systems in multiple states. Further, states such as Arkansas and Illinois have fallen victim to UI data breaches. Such attacks come just a few weeks after government groups, such as the National Governors Association and National Association of State Chief Information Officers, asked Congress to provide funding to address cybersecurity and IT infrastructure needs due to the global impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).While cloud-based solutions have helped states absorb some of the UI claim load, not all have modernized their infrastructure. Data from the Center for Digital Government* indicates that about half of state UI systems rely on outdated technology.Some case studies appear bleak. Hawaii , for instance, may not be able to upgrade its obsolete mainframe UI system until 2021.In Congress, some members have proposed funding to bring UI systems up to speed. However,has been told by multiple states that tech cant completely fix the UI predicaments they face.Take Indiana, which launched its modernized UI system within the last decade. The state feels it has done almost everything it can do to improve its UI claim processing from a technological angle, said Josh Richardson, chief of staff for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.I dont think you could take it much farther than what we have in terms of the steps of the process that we can automate, Richardson said.Although modernized tech clearly matters, Indiana, like the rest of the country, still undergoes hardships dealing with the complications of UI claims. The real struggle is UI is a really complex system, Richardson said. Some of the things that we do is subject to automation but a lot of what our staff does is exception processing.In certain cases, staff must manually collect information in order to determine eligibility. For instance, an employer may say an individual quit a job and is thus not eligible for UI. A state employee must communicate with both the employer and employee in order to resolve the situation. Such determinations slow states down.Even if its a small percentage [of claims] that requires staff intervention, the numbers are still really large right now, Richardson said.Hutchison painted a similar picture for Alabama, which moved most of its UI system to the cloud before COVID-19. In the first two months of the current crisis, Alabama processed 450,000 initial claims, a number that exceeds the amount of such claims that Alabama processed in the previous two years combined. But even that outrageous statistic doesnt fully capture how swamped the state has been.Taking an initial claim is not anywhere near as involved as continued claims or adjudicating issues, Hutchison said.As Hutchison puts it, states must give employers due process under the law when it comes to jobless claims, and navigating the intricacies of the law takes training. This reality explains how states can get backed up to a significant degree, regardless of whether they have implemented updated technical solutions.What you almost have to do is take trained people off the phones so they can train the new people, Richardson said.Other stories across the country further highlight the staffing problem. According to The Sentinel , Pennsylvanias struggle with UI claims can be attributed to limited staff as much as it can be linked to the states outdated technology.[The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry] went into the current economic crisis  whose unemployment spike has been a full order of magnitude steeper than the last downturn  with less than half the unemployment staff it had during the Great Recession,reported. indicated that Georgia had to process about 1 million claims in a month with fewer than 1,000 UI employees, which is not even half of the UI staff that the state had during the Great Recession. This is why the Georgia Department of Labor created a rule that requires employers to file partial claims on behalf of their employees whenever it is necessary to temporarily reduce work hours or there is no work available for a short period.But as thestory detailed, this type of mandate can lead to potential confusion for employers and employees, cutting deeper into the time of stretched-out staff in another way.Both Richardson and Hutchison pointed out that state UI staffing is affected by the overall health of the economy. Over the last several years, states didnt have much unemployment, so funding for staff wasnt prioritized. The COVID-19 crisis thus raises a difficult question to address: how can states be prepared for a UI emergency if current economic indicators suggest that not as much staff is needed?Government Technology's
A new model for the reopening of childcare will see limited interaction between parents and carers, including staggering operating hours, and hosting children in special pod settings.

Amid concern that providers may not come on board, Minister for Children Katherine Zappone told the Dail that in other countries demand for services had reduced because of parents' fears of risks.

But Ms Zappone has come under fire today in Dail chamber after the collapse of the first phase of childcare resuming for essential healthcare workers.

After this failure, department officials are also now scrambling to ensure that a general restarting of care services for essential workers children can go ahead on June 29, as is planned.

Ms Zappone admitted to the Opposition that it was a big step, adding:

I dont underestimate the challenge. Nor do I underestimate the anxiety for parents and childcare professionals.

She said the government was looking at the Norweigan model of childcare returning.

Children under six could not do social distancing, she said.

Attempts at social distancing would be traumatic for children and for the adults that care for them.

Regular handwashing would be the norm in creches and childcare facilities, the Dail heard.

Provisional plans include caring for children in so-called pods.

This would involve small groups of children with the same childcare practitioner, in the same room with the same toys every time they are there.

The number of children that could be cared for by a single adult childcare practitioner is still being explored.

Other ways to limit the spread of the virus among practitioners and children was also being examined, the Dail heard. Ms Zappone added:

They will play together and will be encouraged to stay together in this little Pod. They will be encouraged to use outdoor space as much as possible.

We need to examine how adults working in the childcare centre can social distance between each other as far as possible.

In order to keep children, childcare practitioners and families as safe as possible we also need to examine ways of limiting interaction with other parents and guardians.

This will require practical arrangements to help us minimise this contact.

In other countries, they have done this by having staggered opening hours but we will also examine other practices related to reception of children.

Special methods of handing over children at facilities are being developed. Ms Zappone said:

One option is to devise a way for children to be received at the creche by parents remaining in their cars while childcare practitioners collect the children from the cars if that is how they travel.
Before a search warrant document related to the Nova Scotia mass shooting was released to reporters Tuesday, sections of it were redacted by Crown prosecutors in consultation with the RCMP, including details about the firearms the shooter used.

At the top of the 40-page document, investigators list the various items they expect to find at Gabriel Wortmans properties. The list includes firearms, ammunition, explosives and chemicals. But a fifth item is blacked out.

Why is it that we cant know what they were seeking? asked Sean Holman, a journalism professor at Mount Royal University.

Later in the document, an investigator writes that rifles and pistols were found in Wortmans vehicle when he was gunned down by police. But other details are blacked out, including the source of the weapons.

Why can the public not know what firearms this individual had in their possession, as well as how that individual went about purchasing those firearms? Holman asked, noting that such information is important to know because it could speak to gaps in firearms policies.

The court record, used by investigators to obtain a search warrant, did offer new observations into the shooters character. It quotes witnesses who described the shooter as someone who exhibited paranoia, who was a sociopath and who thought he was better than police.

But throughout the document, words, sentences and entire paragraphs are blacked out. Holman said he was troubled that the names of most witnesses were withheld.

There are times when the identity of a source or witness needs to be shielded, for protection from reprisals for example, Holman said, adding that withholding names needs to be done judiciously.

If we cant verify what a witness has said, it makes it difficult to hold law enforcement officials accountable.

Holman said while there could be valid reasons for redacting other parts of the document, theres a troubling trend of authorities being stingy when releasing information the public has a right to know.

Regardless of however you feel about these redactions, its important to question them because if we simply let redactions be the order of the day  become normalized and become accepted  then we are headed to an even more secretive society, he said.

The unsealing of other court documents is expected in the coming days.

Read more about:
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 17:28:18|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A woman gets a swab test at a Mobile Rapid Swab Test site amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, May 20, 2020. In Indonesia, the total cases rose by 693 within one day to 19,189, and the death toll increased by 21 to 1,242. (Photo by Surya Betha/Xinhua)

JAKARTA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's COVID-19 cases rose by 693 within one day to 19,189, Achmad Yurianto, a health ministry official, said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The death toll in the country rose by 21 to 1,242, he added.

The Indonesian capital of Jakarta, hardest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak, on Tuesday decided to prolong a large-scale social restriction as the number of virus infections spikes in the country.

Jakarta's governor Anies Baswedan announced that the partial lockdown would be extended for another 14 days until June 4.

The governor urged the citizens to obey the rules to rein the virus spread in the capital of over 10 million people. Enditem
Delivery platform DoorDash made man gain $8 profit for every pizza and $75 for pizza dough in pure profit. DoorDash is a technology-based company that specializes in door-to-door delivery services. The company plans on expanding its territory of door-to-door delivery services in the future to help better connect people with the best companies in the cities.

DoorDash believes in the power of connection. They want people to have easier which, in turn, makes for happier times in going about their daily lives. Moreover, DoorDash wants people to be able to create savings in their services and strengthen their bonds with the various communities they live in. Additionally, DoorDash promotes self-care and quality time with loved ones. Delivering to households and workplaces for the people means more time and energy for the self and the ones we love.

Food delivery business

DoorDash is also an advocate for invention and innovation when it comes to business. The company wants businesses to be able to flourish and transform into successful enterprises by adhering to DoorDash's services. In addition to this, DoorDash created the project "Project Dash."

According to DoorDash's blog, restaurants always have excess food. A study showed that, on average, restaurants create 100,000 pounds of excess food each year. However, only a small percentage of 1.4% is donated to the homeless and the like.

Project Dash is a project in which DoorDash will deliver food from restaurants to local charities. The food donated will be used to feed the hungry and the homeless. To add to this, Project Dash is grounded on three goals: 1:1 Meal Donation, WeDash For Good, and Reducing Food Waste.

1:1 Meal Donation is essentially made for meal donations to local charities through the Feeding America Charity. Consequently, WeDash For Good is focused on setting aside funds to donate to the Feeding America Charity. Lastly, DoorDash wants to be able to use their platform to encourage the reduction of food waste.

A DoorDash Experience

Content writer Ranjan Roy for the Margins wrote about the experience his friend had with DoorDash regarding this issue. A friend of Roy owned several pizza restaurants in the U.S. His friend did not want to offer delivery services to his customers so as to not stray away from the point of authentic Italian dining, which is a dine-in experience.

Moreover, his friend did not want to be labeled as a fast food pizza restaurant like Domino's However, Roy's friend started to get calls from customers saying that they've been receiving deliveries from his restaurants. As he researched through the internet, he discovered that, on their company's Google Listing, a delivery alternative button was available for people to use.

Read Also: Remember Hassan Minhaj of Netflix's Patriot Act? What Happened? Will His Show Ever Come Back?

DoorDash app's pricing

DoorDash, apparently, was the creator of this delivery option. Despite the collaboration of Roy's friend and DoorDash the Google Listing showed, Roy's friend confirmed that he had never interacted with DoorDash. Furthermore, the prices that were listed on Google Listing were wrong.

A certain pizza that he sold in his restaurant for $24 was seen to be as $16 in the company's Google Listing. Knowing this, Ranjan Roy gave his thoughts on his article. He had three thoughts on the issue: DoorDash might be lowering their prices for acquiring more customers, DoorDash went through restaurant websites and made wrong menus on the delivery options they input in restaurant websites, and DoorDash allowed people to save money through their lowered prices.

Read Also: American Idol 2020 Winner: Is Just Sam Deserving? Social Media Backlash Says Arthur Gunn Should Have Won
Shortage of labour and equipment operators amid the nationwide lockdown is resulting in shipments not getting unloaded for up to 10-15 days of arrival of the container at the container freight station, a logistics industry official has said.

At the same time, container freight station operators allegedly refuse to pay heed to the directives from the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) not to charge the storage charges from the consignees during the lockdown days, the official said.

"The cargo movement came to a standstill during lockdown 1.0. It gradually started under lockdown 2.0 and 3.0. However, migration of labour and drivers from cities to their hometowns has created labour shortages at port, airports, CFSs and Inland Container Depots (ICDS)," Lancy Barboza, Managing director, Flomic Global Logistics told PTI.

"Truck drivers have also moved back to their home towns in large numbers and now there is a huge shortage of trucks and trailers which has severely impacted movement of domestic and international cargo,"he said.

The ports and CFS were open during the lockdown however, the clearance of cargo was severely affected due to the fear of coronavirus infection and shortage of labourers, he said.

"This labour crunch coupled with shortage of equipment operators has led to LCL (Less Than Container load) containers not getting de-stuffed for 10-15 days oftheir arrival at the CFS and the consignees are being charged for theseextra storage days," Barboza said.

The DG Shipping in its April 22 order had decided that for the second lockdown period, the shipping companies or carriers will not charge any levy or recover any penal charges, demurrage, ground rent, storage charges in the port on cargo owners/consignees of non-containerised cargo whether LCL or not for the period from April 15 to May 3 due to delay in berthing, loading/unloading operations or evacuation/arrival of cargo.

Prior to this, on March 29 also, it had issued an advisory on non-charging of container detention charges on import and export shipments for the period from March 22 to April 14.

"However, the CFS operators refuse to pay heed to the well-intentioned directive of DG shipping not to charge the storage charges during the lockdown days and the consignees are suffering due to this," he said.

Barboza lamented that the logistics industry has hardly got anything in the recently announced stimulus package.

"We find that the share of benefits to the logistics industryis this package is very little. From what we have understood, onlythe logistics companies who come under the new definition of MSME will be able to get additional loan funding from Banks for a three year period.

"Also there is a reduction in Provident Fund which is applicable to all industries. Other than this there is hardly any benefit or support to logistics operators," he said.

Besides, there is no clarity on how much of additional loans can be availed and how quickly it will be disbursed to the MSME logistics companies, he added.

The package announced by the Union Finance Minister last Friday includes 11 measures to improve farm infrastructure and logistics and reform the agriculture sector.

"In India, the logistics industry is still largely manpower-oriented due to low level of automation in CFSs and warehouses and prevalence of manual approval processes, instead of electronic data interchange EDI).

"Paying wages and salaries to the workforce is a huge burden on the logistics operators. The Industry was expecting a subsidy grant or an interest-free loan for three months of wage bill. This would have set to rest the anxieties of employers and employees in the logistics industry," Barboza said.

As against this, in other parts of the world such as Italy, Spain, France and UK, the governments have taken care of the60 per cent of the employee's salary which means they don't have to worry about the day-to-day expenses, he said.

"Therefore, the entrepreneurs in these countries don't have to worry about the payment of employees' salaries unlike in India where we have to worry about this issue also," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to allow advocates to travel to the national capital by issuing them e-passes for inter-state transit during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad, which conducted the hearing through video conferencing, asked the Uttar Pradesh government to implement the same mechanism that has been done by the Haryana government by 10 AM on Thursday.

The high court said the online passes be issued within 30 minutes of the application for a period of one week. It also directed that at the border, the e-pass can be shown on the mobile, along with the lawyer's identity card, and a printed copy of the pass is not necessary.

The Haryana government on May 18 had informed the high court that it has decided to allow advocates to travel to the national capital and has started issuing them e-passes for inter-state transit during the lockdown.

The high court passed the order while hearing two petitions by Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) and Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) seeking to allow lawyers, who reside in NCR areas, to travel to the national capital to visit their offices and attend the courts here.

During the hearing, the UP government's counsel said to obtain an e-pass, an advocate is required to go to the district magistrate's office and he will be issued a day's pass.

BCD's plea, through its chairman and advocate K C Mittal, has 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.

The Delhi government has supported the petitions.

DHCBA and its office bearers, in their plea through advocate Shreya Singhal, have claimed there are many lawyers who reside outside Delhi, but have chambers or offices in the national capital and are required to access them in connection with their right to practice law.

The lawyers also need access to their chambers, to get their files and other infrastructure, the plea has said.

It has sought directions for "unhindered movement" of such advocates so that they can access their offices located in Delhi and return back to their residences outside the national capital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Another 16 people have died from Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health announced on Tuesday, May 19.

There have been 51 additional confirmed cases of the virus, bringing the total to 24,251.

It brings the total number of deaths in Ireland to 1,561.

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Carlow is now at 148 - it marks an increase of one from the previous figure.

Over the past week, 36,818 tests were carried out and of these 932 were positive, giving a positivity rate of 2.5%.

Dr. Cillian De Gascun, Chair of the NPHET Expert Advisory Group, said: Despite broadening the case definition and increases in referrals the positivity rate has continued to decline. This indicates a consistent suppression of COVID-19 in the community.

Dr. Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said; The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet again this week. Given the decreasing positivity rate and that testing capacity has been expanded, we will be examining the case definition further.

Dr. Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: Today is World Family Doctor Day. GPs continue to play a key role in Irelands response to this pandemic. General Practice is open and has continued to be a vital point of access to healthcare for all during this pandemic.

Data from the HPSC, as of midnight, Sunday 17 May (24,176 cases), reveals:

 57% are female and 43% are male

 the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

 3,143 cases (13%) have been hospitalised

 Of those hospitalised, 390 cases have been admitted to ICU

 7,661 cases are associated with healthcare workers

 Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,759 (49% of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,379 cases (6%) and then Cork with 1,372 cases (5%)

 Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 60%, close contact accounts for 37%, travel abroad accounts for 3%

As of midnight Monday 18 May, 295,626 tests have been carried out.
Police officers carry a disabled man to a safer place following his evacuation from a slum area before Cyclone Amphan makes its landfall, in Kolkata, India, on May 20, 2020. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Cyclone Kills 14 in India, Bangladesh Leaving Trail of Destruction

KOLKATA/DHAKAA powerful cyclone pounded eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20, killing at least 14 people and destroying thousands of homes, officials said, leaving authorities struggling to mount relief efforts amid a surging virus outbreak.

The populous Indian state of West Bengal took the brunt of Cyclone Amphan, which barrelled out of the Bay of Bengal with gusting winds of up to 185 km per hour (115 mph) and a storm surge of around 16 feet.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at least 10 people had died in the state, and two districts been completely battered by one of the strongest storms to hit the region in several years.

Rescue workers cut fallen tree branches after heavy winds caused by Cyclone Amphan, in Kolkata, India, on May 20, 2020. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Area after area has been devastated. Communications are disrupted, Banerjee said, adding that although 500 thousand people had been evacuated, state authorities had not entirely anticipated the ferocity of the storm.

With rains continuing, she said the hardest hits areas were not immediately accessible. Federal authorities said they could only make a proper assessment of the destruction on Thursday morning.

We are facing greater damage and devastation than the COVID-19, Banerjee said, referring to the disease caused by the CCP virus, which has so far killed 250 people in the state.

In West Bengals capital city, Kolkata, strong winds upturned cars and felled trees and electricity poles. Parts of the city were plunged into darkness.

Members of the National Disaster Rescue Force remove a branch of an uprooted tree after Cyclone Amphan made its landfall, in Digha, near the border between the eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha, India, on May 20, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters)

An official in the adjoining Hooghly district said thousands of mud homes were damaged by raging winds.

In neighboring Bangladesh, at least four people were killed, officials said, with power supplies cut off in some districts.

Authorities there had shifted around 2.4 million people to more than 15 thousand storm shelters this week. Bangladeshi officials also said they had moved hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Burma (also known as Myanmar), living on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, to shelter.

A woman carries her son as she tries to protect him from heavy rain while they rush to a safer place, following their evacuation from a slum area before Cyclone Amphan makes its landfall, in Kolkata, India, on May 20, 2020. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

But officials said they feared that standing crops could be damaged and large tracts of fertile land in the densely-populated country washed away.

Fortunately, the harvesting of the rice crop has almost been completed. Still it could leave a trail of destruction, said Mizanur Rahman Khan, a senior official in the Bangladesh agriculture ministry.

Cyclones frequently batter parts of eastern India and Bangladesh between April and December, often forcing the evacuations of tens of thousands and causing widespread damage.

Surge And High Tide

Surging waters broke through embankments surrounding an island in Bangladeshs Noakhali district, destroying more than 500 homes, local official Rezaul Karim said.

We could avoid casualties as people were moved to cyclone centers earlier, Karim said.

Embankments were also breached in West Bengals Sundarban delta, where weather authorities had said the surge whipped up by the cyclone could inundate up to about 9 miles inland.

Fishermen tie their boats along the shore during rain before Cyclone Amphan makes its landfall, in the Baleswar district of the eastern state of Odisha, India, on May 20, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters)

The ecologically-fragile region straddling the Indian-Bangladesh border is best known for thick mangrove forests that are a critical tiger habitat, and is home to around four million people in India.

On the Sundarbans Ghoramara island, resident Sanjib Sagar said several embankments surrounding settlements had been damaged, and some flooding had started.

A lot of houses have been damaged, he told Reuters by phone.

A police officer moves a barricade to block a road leading to a flyover before Cyclone Amphan makes its landfall, in Kolkata, India, on May 20, 2020. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Anamitra Anurag Danda, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think-tank who has extensively studied the Sundarbans, said that embankments across the area may have been breached.

The cyclone surge coincided with the new moon high tides. It is devastation in the coastal belt, he said.

By Subrata Nagchoudhary and Ruma Paul, Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
SEOUL  School restarted across South Korea on Wednesday, but it was a first day like never before.

In scenes repeated across the country that has been widely hailed for the way it has fought the coronavirus outbreak, teachers and staff equipped with thermometers and hand sanitizer greeted thousands high school seniors.

At some schools, the seniors  the first group of students to return to class after nearly three months of lockdown  were ordered to walk more than 3 feet from each other, wear masks except at mealtimes, and sit at desks separated by plastic dividers. Protective screens will also be up in at some cafeterias during lunch breaks.

Image: High school students wearing face masks prepare for classes, with plastic covers placed on desks to prevent infection, as schools reopen following the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Daejeon, South Korea (Yonhap / Reuters)

Han Sang Jun, the vice-principal of Kyungbock High School in the capital Seoul, told NBC News the entire school had been sprayed with disinfectant ahead of reopening.

It will be challenging as COVID-19 may come without symptoms, but we are ready to protect our students and deal with new normal, he said.

Han said the school's staff and teachers have created manuals for various situations to handle students who exhibit symptoms.

The school was keeping only the main gate open to control the movement of students and teachers, who will have their temperature checked upon entering.

Each student also received a care package with two face masks and hand sanitizer upon their return.

Despite the arrangements, some teachers are unhappy. One told Reuters on condition of anonymity that certain rules  such as setting specific times of the day when students can use the bathroom  were "practically impossible to implement."

"I feel like we're carrying a time bomb," said the high school teacher in Gyeonggi Province.

Image: A staff member greets students as they arrive at Kyungbock High School in Seoul (Ed Jones / AFP - Getty Images)

Some students were sent home almost as soon as they had walked through their school gates after the two high school seniors tested positive in the city of Incheon, near Seoul, on Wednesday morning, according to the education ministry. South Korean health officials reported 32 new cases, the first time the daily jump has been above 30 in more than a week.

Story continues

The new school year was supposed to start in early March, but has been delayed several times, forcing millions of students to learn online. Schools were supposed to start reopening last week, but that was delayed again after a new cluster of cases linked to nightclubs in Seoul.

The rest of South Korean schools are set to reopen in stages by next month.

South Korea has managed to contain its outbreak through aggressive testing and contact tracing, and has been held up as an example of effective containment.

The country has registered no new deaths in the last three days. So far, more than 11,000 coronavirus cases and 263 deaths have been reported  far fewer than other countries of comparable size.

Kelly Cobiella reported from Seoul, Yuliya Talmazan from London, Stella Kim from Los Angeles.

Reuters contributed to this report.
The Madison Plan Commission decided early Tuesday to refer a proposal for new housing on Langdon Street back to the Urban Design Commission before giving its final stamp of approval.

The Urban Design Commission will give its input on the look of the front of the proposed building and related aspects to the front like parking, traffic flow and delivery vehicles to better meet standards for conditional use, which the majority of the Plan Commission believes have already been met for the most part.

One part of the proposal is the conditional use to construct two additional stories, making the development a seven-story apartment building with 107 units at 126 Langdon. The Downtown Height Map allows five stories at the proposed building site with up to two more stories given that it meets certain conditions, like being compatible with the surrounding area.

Ald. Patrick Heck, who represents the 2nd District on City Council encompassing the site and also sits on the Plan Commission, was one of two who voted against the motion with the Plan Commission's finding that most conditional use standards have been met because the building's front is "out of scale" with the historic nature of Langdon Street.

"I think the front of the building has larger issues with regard to the standards of approval than can be solved by a trip to the Urban Design Commission," he said.

The proposal was still being discussed by the Plan Commission past 12:30 a.m. Tuesday after a public comment period that lasted almost two hours, ending shortly before 10 p.m. Monday. Several people spoke in support of and against the development.

One of the biggest concerns during public comment revolved around complaints that Core Spaces, the real estate company proposing the new housing which also brought The Hub and The James apartment buildings to UW-Madison's campus, garnered support for the project by offering leasing and other types of benefits to students.

Marc Lifshin, the co-founder and CEO of Core Spaces, said the company's promotional efforts were intended to educate the community on the project and not meant to be targeted toward specific people for support.

"We've received amazing support within the community from the city stakeholders, local business owners, students and university staff because they believe the benefits of the project to the community are really great," Lifshin said.

A number of students and members of the Greek community at UW-Madison spoke with mixed feelings on the development. Some spoke against the project, believing it would not benefit the community but rather add stress to the neighborhood.

Barb Garrity, house director and property manager at the Tri Delta sorority house located next to the proposed building site, said she is worried about adding more than 300 residents to the area, as well as an increased traffic flow and lack of parking in an already crowded corridor.

However, some students said the Hub II is needed because of its proximity to Greek Row and because The Hub and The James fill up too quickly.

Chapter leader of Delta Tau Delta, Max Glennie, said Madison "will continue to lose out on untapped potential from its student body" without the Hub II.

"By bringing much-needed additional rental spaces to the Langdon area, chapters are likely to see an increase in active participation because of more members residing closer to chapter shelters," Glennie said.

There will be another public comment period when the proposal makes its way back to the Plan Commission for final approval.

Also Monday, the commission recommended changes to city stormwater design rules be approved by the City Council. Supporters say they will protect against flooding, and developers say the changes will add costs to future projects and raise the pricing of low-income housing.

The City Council will take up final approval of the changes to stormwater design rules at its June 2 meeting.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Ireland intends to open its embassy in Ukraine by the end of 2020, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.

This issue was discussed during a phone conversation between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland Simon Coveney.

The foreign ministers paid special attention to Ukrainian-Irish bilateral cooperation. In particular, Minister Coveney confirmed his intention to open the Embassy of Ireland in Ukraine by the end of 2020, the statement reads.

In this regard, Kuleba said that the opening of the Irish Embassy in Kyiv would be an important milestone in relations between the two countries.

We also expect the arrival of an Irish business mission in Ukraine by the end of the year. We need to quickly and efficiently develop trade and attract Irish investment in Ukraine, he emphasized.

Kuleba also noted Ireland's consistent support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including within international organizations.

The ministers exchanged information on overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures taken by the governments of both countries to return to their normal life.

ish
The post-coronavirus world provides a window of opportunity to India as countries are looking to diversify their supply chains, a senior American diplomat said on Wednesday.

Alice G Wells, US State Department's top official for Central and South Asia, however, said India needs to open up as it is still a protected market, which sometimes denies a level playing field to foreign companies.

In the post-pandemic environment, countries are looking at a little bit of de-globalisation and onshoring of the critical production. And at the same time, there's a very vigorous effort to diversify supply chains, Wells said during a conference call with reporters.

And this is a real moment of opportunity for India by adopting a more open and welcoming policies by reducing tariffs that allow manufacturing companies inside India to be part of the global supply chain, Wells added, stressing on building trusted supply chain relationships.

Wells said as India is the world's foremost producer of generic drugs and vaccinations, it is going to be play a critical role.

So, it will really be an opportunity for us to focus on trade ties and bring together entrepreneurs for greater growth and prosperity of people, she stressed.

Responding to a question, Wells said trade is very important part of India-US relationship and the two countries continue to work towards a deal as the bilateral trade between both touched almost USD 150 billion last year.

I can't predict whether a deal will be reached this year, but the impetus for achieving a trade deal is very much present, Wells said, adding that India is a critical actor, not just for America's South Asia strategy, but also for the vision of the Pacific region that president Trump put forward in November 2017.

The US has welcomed India's emergence as a leading global power and is a net security provider in the region and the Trump administration has committed the United States to deepening the US-India strategic partnership.

We're working more closely together than ever before to advance shared ambitions, she said.

The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US in 2017 and 2019 and President Trump's visit to India this February really showcase the closeness between the two leaders and the two countries, Wells asserted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Listen to Outbreak Alabama: Stories from a Pandemic, above.

Today, we hear from Olivia Paschal with Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies. She covers democracy, money in politics, the census and agriculture.

In a new piece on facingsouth.org, she analyzes COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths data across the rural South.

We talk about disparities between majority-black and white counties in Southern rural counties, plus why outbreaks are so common in prisons and meatpacking plants.

Outbreak Alabama will release two or three episodes per week, chronicling the experiences of those directly impacted by COVID-19s spread, including health care professionals, business owners, city leaders, artists, AL.com reporters and many others.

If you or anyone you know is affected by the coronavirus and want to share your story, please email bflanagan@al.com. For all of our coverage on the outbreak and how it continues to impact Alabama, visit AL.com/coronavirus.

Listen and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Acast or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like the show, please rate it and write us a review. Thank you for listening.

More from Outbreak Alabama:

Where is the nursing home data?

Is it a mistake to reopen now?

Whiter Thomas on staying creative during the pandemic

Our successes and failures so far

The return of retail

A barbers dilemma

Is it really time to reopen Alabama?

A coronavirus survivors message to the rest of us

Ivey not ready to reopen just yet

Crime in the age of coronavirus

What role do our churches play?

The absence of sports

Learning from a distance

Walt Maddox on leading Tuscaloosa through coronavirus

Social distancing, or not

Coronavirus early impact on musicians

Alabama restaurants
A Colorado woman was arrested Saturday in Hawaii on suspicion of violating that state's quarantine order for travelers due to the COVID-19 pan
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Churches and monasteries are among the most affected by the pandemic. Series of deaths at Lavra di St. Sergius, Novospasskij and Donskoj in Moscow, and at the patriarchal one of St. Daniel. Among the clergy and monks there are "denialists" ("it is not possible to get infected inside churches"). Many churches and monasteries remained open so as not to miss the indispensable offerings of the faithful. Patriarchate seeks new measures to support priests in economic difficulties. Support for widows of priests who have died of the virus.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - While the country shyly begins to hope for a weakening of the epidemic, the Orthodox Church continues to count its victims, especially in monasteries. The community most affected continues to be that of Lavra di St. Sergius, where other deaths have occurred in the last few days: on May 15 the 61-year-old Igumen Ferapont (Apollonov, photo 2) died, one of the superiors of the monastic community, which followed the death of the 46-year-old Hieromonk Modest (Panchenko) (photo 1) and the Hierodiacon Kallist (Kosulin), as well as some simple brothers of the monastery.

Monk Simon (Bajko), 68 years old, of the Novospassky monastery in Moscow, also affected by the pandemic, died this week. Fortunately, Metropolitan Dionisij (Porubaj) was cured of the coronavirus in the same monastery; other monasteries in which almost all the monks are infected are the large complex of the Donskoy of Moscow, and the patriarchal complex of St. Daniel. In the Ukrainian diocese of Vinnitsa, 49-year-old protoierey Aleksij Irodov, who served in the patriarchate of Moscow, died. The choir director, 60-year-old Mikhail Gareev, died in the Trinity church in Chelyabinsk in the Ural region. One of the oldest serving priests of the diocese of Moscow, 87-year-old protoierej Nikolai Djatlov, also died.

Many wonder why Orthodox priests are so exposed to infection, so much so as to spark debates on social media and the national press. Even a Swedish newspaper, the Dagens Nyether, has investigated the matter, noting the uncertainties of Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev) and the conflict that has arisen with the orthodox virus "denialist" fundamentalists, who maintain "it is not possible to get infected inside churches." Another reason is the difficulty of sustaining the churches and monasteries, which have remained open so as not to miss the indispensable offerings of the faithful.

Several observers have highlighted the low confidence of the Russians in civil and ecclesiastical authorities. According to Andrej Zubov, interviewed by the Swedes, you in Europe are used to choosing the rulers, we in Russia are not. This is why people here think that the rules are made to get around."

In particular, the rules imposed on church attendance have sparked many protests in various locations. The pandemic crisis further widened the dissent between the Ukrainian "national" Orthodox faithful, who chose the online liturgies (photo 4), and the "Muscovite" ones who went to the church demonstratively, with the result that the Ukrainian monasteries of the Patriarchate of Moscow are among the most affected by the virus.

The spiritual father of the Sredneuralsky monastery near Yekaterinburg, the Igumen with the skhima Sergij (Romanov, photo 3), is one of the leaders of the "denialists". The Orthodox authorities had forbidden him to preach and speak in public after he cursed all those who speak of the closure of churches due to the "pseudopandemic", with heavy allusions to Patriarch Kirill himself. On May 14, however, he released a short video on Znak.com, in which the starets congratulates the faithful for the feast of the icon of "sudden joy", with the words: "The sun, the air and the water are our dear friends. My dear, we are alive and well, what I wish for you too". In these days the nuns of his monastery have broadcast a video of patriotic songs and dances in the woods, also to support the optimism of their spiritual director.

The patriarchate, meanwhile, is looking for new measures to support priests in economic difficulties, creating lists of the neediest, blocking the layoffs of parish employees and supporting in particular the widows of priests who have died of the virus. Other initiatives are aimed at supporting the clinics, hospitals and care centers more closely linked to the Orthodox Church, and most active in the care of Covid-19 patients.
[May 20, 2020] Callan Joins More Than 900 CEOs in Commitment to Advance Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, announced today that CEO and Chief Research Officer Greg Allen joins more than 900 CEOs pledging to take action to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace through the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion coalition. "We are proud to become signatories in this unique collective," said Allen. "It is important for us and our industry to ultimately reflect the diversity of the communities that we serve. We are mindful that this is an evolutionary process, and that it requires thoughtful and proactive attention." Since the firm's founding in 1973, Callan has taken steps to develop diverse talent and to ensure gender diversity at all levels--including mentoring and promoting numerous women into senior roles. Today, 52% of Callan's management committee and 57% of employees are female and/or diverse. The firm also launched Callan Connects in 2010, which became the first-of-its-kind program developed by an investment consulting firm to engage emerging investment managers and diverse-, women-, and diabled-owned firms.



"A commitment to diversity has always been at the foundation of our firm, and we are setting the bar even higher in days to come," said Lauren Mathias, senior vice president and co-chair of the Callan Inclusion Committee. "We are continuing to proactively promote and recognize women and people of other diverse backgrounds, and taking a leadership role to keep diversity at the forefront of conversation throughout the industry." The collective of signatories has shared more than 700 best known actions, exchanged tangible learning opportunities, and created collaborative conversations via the initiative's unified hub, CEOAction.com . CEO Action is led by a steering committee of CEOs and leaders from Accenture, BCG, Deloitte US, The Executive Leadership Council, EY, General Atlantic, KPMG, New York Life, Procter & Gamble, and PwC. The coalition represents 85 industries, all 50 US States, and millions of employees globally.

About Callan

Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, robust data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises on more than $2 trillion in total fund sponsor assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com. About CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Bringing together more than 900 CEOs of America's leading organizations, the commitment outlines actions that participating companies pledge to take to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, employees feel comfortable and encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where best known--and unsuccessful--actions can be shared across organizations. Learn more at CEOAction.com . Media Contact:

Elizabeth Anathan

[email protected]

415-274-3020 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/callan-joins-more-than-900-ceos-in-commitment-to-advance-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-workplace-301062192.html SOURCE Callan LLC

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
NEW YORK  This is what normal will look like for the foreseeable future.

In Connecticut, restaurants are reopening with outdoor-only dining and tables 6 feet (2 meters) apart. In Beverly Hills, California, the rich and glamorous are doing their shopping from the curb along Rodeo Drive. And preschools around the U.S. plan to turn social distancing into an arts-and-crafts project by teaching kids how to create their own space with things like yarn and masking tape.

As the U.S. and other countries loosen their coronavirus restrictions, its back to business, but not business as usual. In fact, it is becoming all too clear that without a vaccine against the scourge, the disruptions could be long-lasting and the economy wont be bouncing right back.

In Italy, where good food is an essential part of life, once-packed restaurants and cafes are facing a huge financial hit as they reopen with strict social distancing rules after a 10-week shutdown.

Experts warned that as many as one-third of the countrys restaurants and bars could go out of business, up to 300,000 jobs in the sector could vanish and losses could reach 30 billion euros ($32 billion) this year.

We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before, lamented chef Raffaele di Cristo, who must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. Everything is changed.

Corsi reopened this week with half its tables removed to ensure the mandated 1-meter (3-foot) spacing. Hand sanitizing gel was placed at the entrance, and a new ordering system was installed so that customers could read the menu on their phones instead of listening to waitresses recite the specials.

In Connecticut, restaurants that reopened Wednesday for outdoor dining are required to rearrange workstations so that employees dont face one another, and stagger shifts and break times to minimize contact among them. Markers must be installed to encourage customers to keep their distance from one another.

In Glastonbury, Connecticut, the Max Fish restaurant opened for lunch with 16 tables on outdoor patios. Customers filled about half the tables in the early afternoon, and all the tables were reserved for dinner, general manager Brian Costa said.

Friends and retirees Debbie Lawrence and Jill Perry, who often ate out together before the outbreak, enjoyed a meal at Max Fish.

It was terrific. Its just wonderful to be outside, Lawrence said. But Im still a little leery of going to any stores.

At the Crab Shell Restaurant on the waterfront in Stamford, co-owner James Clifford held up a roughly 6-foot-long (2-meter-long) stick he said he used to make sure chairs werent too close together.

I just hope the outdoor people dont get greedy and they dont overstep their bounds, he said. Because if you cant get it right outdoors, how can you get it indoors?

In Fredericksburg, Virginia, one restaurant that recently reopened its patio has taken an extra step to reassure diners. The Colonial Tavern is taking staff members temperatures at the start of their shifts and posting the results for customers to see.

Some of new rules for dining out echo reopening guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are intended for child care centers, schools, day camps, mass transit systems, restaurants, bars and other businesses and organizations.

For example, the CDC suggests mass transit systems close every other row of seats and limit how many riders can be on a bus or train.

Amid the wave of reopenings, many Americans remain wary, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll says 83% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will lead to additional infections.

The poll also exposed a widening partisan divide on the topic, with Democrats more cautious and Republicans less anxious as President Donald Trump urges states to open up our country. Only about a third of Republicans say they are very or extremely concerned about additional infections, compared with three-quarters of Democrats.

About 5 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected, and over 328,000 deaths have been recorded, including over 93,000 in the U.S. and around 165,000 in Europe, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, based on government data. Experts believe the true toll is significantly higher.

With the virus far from vanquished, the reopenings could prove to be a stop-and-start, two-steps-forward-one-step-back process.

Ford temporarily halted production at two of its assembly plants Tuesday and Wednesday in Chicago and Dearborn, Michigan, after three autoworkers tested positive for the virus. Work was stopped to sanitize equipment and isolate those who were in contact with the infected employees.

Detroits Big Three automakers restarted their U.S. factories on Monday after a two-month shutdown.

Education, too, is facing radical changes.

Cambridge became the first university in Britain to cancel all face-to-face lectures for the upcoming school year, saying they will be held virtually and streamed online until the summer of 2021.

Other institutions have taken different tacks. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana will bring students back to campus but redesigned its calendar to start the semester early in August and end before Thanksgiving.

In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitizer as they returned Wednesday, many for the first time since late last year. Students and teachers were required to wear masks, and some schools installed plastic partitions around desks.

France is limiting spaces in its primary schools, giving priority to the children of essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while high schools remain closed.

Peoples gratitude at being able to shop or eat out again is mingling with worries about job security.

Business was slow at a Paris farmers market with a mixed mood among the masked, gloved vendors. A man selling peonies and petunias said he was glad to get out and see shoppers again, while a woman selling asparagus and tomatoes behind a makeshift plastic screen grumbled that her customers were buying less than usual.

British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans to cut 9,000 workers as it grapples with the collapse in air travel. In general, those jobs come with good pay and benefits, and losing them is a sharp blow to local communities.

___

Winfield reported from Rome and Collins from Glastonbury, Connecticut. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
[May 20, 2020] delivery.com Expands to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- delivery.com, a leading destination for online ordering today announced that ACK Eats has joined the delivery.com network. ACK Eats, which serves Nantucket, will also be expanding to Martha's Vineyard. The two locations now operate exclusively through the delivery.com website and app. The current ACK Eats management and teams are remaining local to leverage their roots and take a local first approach to expanding online ordering and delivery services in their area. The announcement with ACK Eats is part of a rapid series of acquisitions and partnerships and comes only a week after delivery.com announced that Food of Your Mood, located throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, also joined their network. Customers who live on or visit the islands served can continue to order from their favorite local restaurants for delivery or pickup, and can now access the delivery.com suite of offerings: Best-in-class technology and mobile apps: consumers can experience a frictionless, easy-to-use platform to order from their favorite neighborhood restaurants.

Order tracking: After placing their order, customers receive a link designed for tracking the progress of their order and stay up-to-date on its ETA.

Delivery Points: The popular oyalty program from delivery.com that allows customers to earn free food and other rewards. "We founded ACK Eats because there were no other options to get food delivery on Nantucket ," said Liam Bruno , Owner of ACK Eats. "There is a strong sense of loyalty to locally owned small businesses on the islands and we're ready to take that to the next level. We see streamlined operations and better technology as key to any sort of growth in our market." Since being founded in 2018, ACK Eats was the only food delivery service available on Nantucket. The team provides delivery services to seasonal and year-round residents, to their homes, at the beach or on boats. ACK Eats is bringing new restaurants to the delivery.com platform including Nantucket favorites like 45 Surfside, Pizzeria Gemelle and The Thai House. "We're proud to bring customers their favorite local places, no matter where they are. The team at ACK Eats is committed to keeping things local, and dedicated to offering a convenient and efficient ordering experience on Nantucket, and on Martha's Vineyard" said Jed Kleckner, CEO of delivery.com . With the addition of ACK Eats, delivery.com expands its presence to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard while continuing to grow nationwide. ACK Eats plans to roll out a full set of delivery.com services in their markets, including Group Orders and options for job site and office food delivery. They are also planning to expand into alcohol delivery. For a limited time, ACK Eats is offering their customers $10 off orders of $15 or more when they place their first order on delivery.com with the code ORDERNOW (see the website or app for details). About delivery.com

delivery.com empowers the neighborhood economy by enabling consumers and corporate customers to order online from their favorite restaurants and other local businesses. More than two and a half million delivery.com customers and delivery.com Office clients explore their communities and order from over 18,000 local businesses in more than 1,800 cities while at home, at work, or on the go. With headquarters in New York and a growing presence across the country, delivery.com makes e-commerce an integral part of local daily life, enabling customers to order, companies to provide, businesses to grow, and neighborhoods to thrive. Trademarks and/or trademark registrations referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deliverycom-expands-to-nantucket-and-marthas-vineyard-301062472.html SOURCE delivery.com

[ Back To www.mobilitytechzone.com\LTE's Homepage ]
On Monday, President Donald Trump revealed that has been taking the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to stave off the coronavirus infection. The announcement comes despite the unproven effects of the drug as a cure for the global pandemic.

Hydroxychloroquine: Is it effective?

During a roundtable event at the White House, Trump said, "I happen to be taking it," and that "A lot of good things have come out. You'd be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the front-line workers before you catch it. The front-line workers, many, many are taking it."

He expressed his optimism about the drug as he has heard a lot of "good stories" about it. Along with the drug, the president also said he is taking zinc as well as an initial dose of Z-Pak or more commonly known as azithromycin, as reported by CNBC.

Dr Sean Conley, the physician for the White House, released on Monday evening a memo that stated the president Dr Conley discussed and looked into the potential benefits and risks of hydroxychloroquine and have concluded: "The potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks."

One of Trump's staff had previously been found to have been infected with the coronavirus, and despite this, Conley reassured the nation that "The president is in very good health and has remained symptom-free. He receives regular COVID-19 testing, all negative to date."

Dr Conley has also stated that he is continually monitoring the status of the coronavirus crisis and the vaccines that are being developed to fight against it to find potential therapies that could aid the fight against the pandemic.

He anticipates that "employing the same shared medical decision making based on the evidence in hand in the future."

The experimental drug had received the support of the Trump administration since its discovery as a potential cure, although no real evidence can support the claim. It is also commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

When asked what evidence the president had to support his claim of the drug as a potential cure for the virus, he stated: "Here's my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it."

Also Read: COVID-19 Cure: Tablet Form Coronavirus Vaccine Not Injection May Be Available Next Year

The truth behind the drug

According to BBC, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released an advisory last month, which said that hydroxychloroquine has "not been shown to be safe and effective."

Far from being a helpful drug, the FDA stated that it could potentially cause serious heart rhythm complications in patients that have been infected by the coronavirus.

The agency urged citizens to be wary of using the drug outside of hospitals and without a doctor's consent as the use of it has only been approved inside medical establishments and with certain criteria to be met.

Currently, no drugs or therapeutics have been shown to prevent or treat COVID-19, as stated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The president assured that if the drug had any side effects, he would "tell you," and saying he has no stock in the company responsible for the drug, adding he wants "the people of this nation to feel good."

Trump also said that he cares for his citizens and does not want them falling ill, and believing that hydroxychloroquine has a "very good chance" to make an impact against the COVID-19.

The president said "I take a pill every day. At some point, I'll stop. What I'd like to is I'd like to have the cure and or the vaccine, and that'll happen I think very soon."

He also noted that the drug has been around for quite some time and that even if you take it, you are unlikely to get sick or even die.

An unintended effect

Despite the criticisms that president of the United States, with his unorthodox use of the drug, has garnered the support of India in its efforts to fight the coronavirus, as reported by APNews.

Due to Trump's reveal, the Asian country had its largest producer of the unproven drug manufacture much more of it to be used as a defence mechanism for front-line workers as well as a political tool.

India's policy regarding hydroxychloroquine changed significantly after the announcement by Trump that with the drug's use along with an antibiotic as potential "game-changers." The country's health ministry immediately approved the drug to be used in the fight against COVID-19.

The result is a massive surge in demand for the drug and a sharp decline of supply for patients that need it, such as those with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

"We should do a trial. I think that is the right way to come to answer on this question. But the (government) made our job harder," said Dr Bharath Kumar, who is part of a team that proposed a trial.

The news comes as the amount of evidence against using hydroxychloroquine as a cure or treatment for the coronavirus grows.

Related Article: COVID-19 Cure? Sorrento Discovers Antibody That 100% Blocks Viral Infection

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Hong Kongs last British governor, Chris Patten, on Wednesday urged protesters not to lose faith over what he described as moves by Beijing to tighten its control over the semi-autonomous city.

The former British colony was returned to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems framework that gives it its own legal system and more freedoms than on the mainland. It has been rocked over the past year by huge rallies that exposed deep divisions between democracy-minded Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing.

The protests began over a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to the mainland for trial, and continued for more than seven months over police conduct and perceptions that Beijing is tightening its controls over the citys affairs.

The demonstrations, which were largely peaceful at first, over the months descended into occasionally violent clashes between police and protesters. More than 8,000 arrests were made.

They shouldnt lose heart. They shouldnt lose their sense of dignity and decency and moderation, Patten said in an online interview organized by The Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong.

I dont think you can kill or lock up or tear gas into submission the idea of freedom, said Patten, who was Hong Kongs last colonial governor before the city was returned to China and helped negotiate the terms of the handover. He has often been critical of developments in Hong Kong since then, saying the terms were violated.

Hong Kongs police force has been accused of excessive use of force during the demonstrations. Protesters have thrown gasoline bombs in retaliation and occupied streets and college campuses, turning them into battlegrounds against the police.

Patten urged people to stand up for what they believe in and vote in legislative elections in September.

He criticized a recent report by the citys police watchdog that exonerated officers use of force, and described the recent arrests of 15 pro-democracy activists on charges of unlawful assembly as outrageous.

Its a threat to Hong Kongs autonomy and to the one country, two systems,  he said, adding that the arrests were an attempt to intimidate the rest of Hong Kong.

In response to Pattens comments, Chinas foreign ministry in Hong Kong said in a statement that Patten was instigating the young people of Hong Kong to continue to act like hooligans as cannon fodder for political gain.

He was also accused of distorting the one country, two systems principle, and of smearing Chinas international image, according to the ministrys statement.

Chris Patten is a sinner of a thousand years who will definitely be nailed to historys pillar of shame, the statement said.

Patten, who introduced democratic reforms in Hong Kong toward the end of his tenure as governor, has urged Britain to speak up for the territory. Beijing last October accused him of being a black hand behind the protest movement after he called a regulation banning protesters from wearing face coverings absolute madness.

Patten also hit out at Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday, saying she was not performing her job with the greatest integrity as Beijing tightens controls over the city.

The government seem to be the mechanism through which the Communist leadership in Beijing runs Hong Kong and makes its decisions. Carrie Lam will have to live with her conscience, he said.
On Monday, the UAE announced that the nighttime curfew would start two hours earlier, at 8 p.m. The measures came in light of what we have observed during the holy month of Ramadan and the increase in the number of covid-19 infections resulting from some of the individuals in the community who were reckless and didnt take into account the precautionary measures, said Saif Juma al-Dhaheri of the Safety and Prevention Department.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

The prices for renting apartments have surged in Baku, director general of Azerbaijans MBA Group consulting company, expert in the field of real estate Nusrat Ibrahimov, told Trend.

The prices rose by 2.98 percent while a decline of 0.78 percent was observed regarding rental of commercial facilities in April, the expert said.

Ibrahimov emphasized that the reason for the rise in prices for renting apartments is the decrease in the portfolio of proposals because of the coronavirus.

The expert added that people prefer to wait for the post-pandemic period for renting apartments.

A decrease in prices for renting the commercial facilities has been stipulated by a decrease in demand for them, Ibrahimov added.
The Ministry of Finance announced on Wednesday it will likely reduce the accepted amounts of treasury bills (T-bills) and bonds bids issued in local currency until the end of FY 2019/2020, which ends in June.

The ministry said the move came on the back of receiving the Rapid Finance Instrument (RFI) loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), worth $2.7 billion, to address the COVID-19 crisis and its implications.

The ministry stressed that acquiring the IMF loan reflects the international financial institutions' praise of Egypts economic and fiscal policies, which resulted in keeping Egypts credit rate with a stable outlook by global credit rating institutions.

It added that these signs reflect the financial institutions confidence in Egypts ability to cope with the external shocks despite the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On Sunday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced it is ready to issue EGP 19 billion in T-bills, on behalf of the Finance Ministry, in two installments: the first is estimated at EGP 8.5 billion with a 91-day yield, while the second is valued at EGP 10.5 billion with a 273-day yield.

Foreign investors sold more than half their T-bill holdings in local currency in March, according to the CBE, amid the COVID-19 pandemic which led them to pull money out of emerging markets.

Foreign customers held the equivalent of EGP 149.3 billion ($9.5 billion) as of the end of March, down from EGP 310.65 billion at the end of February, according to the CBE.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in April that foreign investment in Egyptian T-bills stood at between $13.5 billion and $14 billion, which may include foreign holdings of treasury bonds, which the central bank doesnt provide figures for.

Egypts net foreign reserves dropped by $5.4 billion to $40.1 billion in March, while the net foreign assets of the countrys banks declined by EGP 162.12 billion, according to the CBE data.

In May, the CBE announced that Egypts foreign reserves dropped by a further $3.07 billion in April.

On 11 May, the IMFs Executive Board approved Egypts request for emergency financial assistance of $2.772 billion (100 percent of Egypts quota) under the RFI to meet the urgent balance of payments needs stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IMF also announced that purchase under the RFI entails exceptional access due to outstanding credit under the previous extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility.

According to the IMF, Egypt achieved a remarkable turnaround prior to the COVID-19 shock, carrying out a successful economic reform programme supported by the IMFs Extended Fund Facility to correct large external and domestic imbalances.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Portland voters enthusiastically extended the citys 10-cents-per-gallon gas tax for another four years.

In balloting Tuesday, the gas tax measure tallied 77% yes votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The voter approval was a significant deal for Portlands transportation bureau, which is bracing for significant financial issues due to COVID-19-related travel declines hitting multiple revenue sources. Gas tax revenue plummeted in recent months, and city parking revenue fell, a combination that was projected to punch a $7 million-per-month hole in the agencys operations.

The four-year gas tax is projected to produce $75 million in revenue cumulatively, augmenting the citys existing paving and safety budget.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

City transportation officials said the estimate is based on revenue collection starting in 2021, and they werent prepared to revise those estimates downward despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who oversees the transportation department, signaled the city would push for a gas tax renewal more than a year ago.

Eudalys campaign spokesperson said the commissioner was "very pleased that Portland appears to have overwhelmingly approved measure 26-209 and she is grateful to the broad coalition community organizations that came together to support this initiative.

The gas tax was the culmination of a fraught political process initiated by then-Commissioner Steve Novick and former Mayor Charlie Hales. The politicians believed the lack of city funding for street maintenance and safety projects necessitated additional revenue.

Hales and Novick brought several funding proposals before the City Council, including user fees charged to businesses and households, before settling on a 10-cent gas tax.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

Staff writer Everton Bailey Jr. contributed to this story
New photos of a homeless woman who was sawn in half at a refuge have emerged as a suspect accused of assisting an offender in the case has been pictured for the first time since his bail release.

Phoenix Netts, whose charred and dismembered body was found in suitcases in a Gloucestershire forest, is said to have been killed in a row over drugs at the hostel where she had been living for a number of months.

Suspect Gareeca Gordon, 27, who was charged with Phoenix's murder last week, lived in the room next door at the seven-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO) in the Lozells area of Birmingham.

Father-of-two Mahesh Sorathiya, 38, from Wolverhampton was charged with assisting an offender and granted bail. He was today seen at Wolverhampton central police station to sign on under his strict bail conditions

Police say the victim had been 'sawed in half' before being burned.

Now pictures have emerged of Phoenix with a friend from university, who said she was 'such a lovely person' who 'would give you her last penny'.

She said: 'It makes me sick that somebody could kill her and then cut her body up.

'Phoenix was a kind and considerate woman.

'We had great times at university. But she did have mental health issues and when I spoke to her about eight months ago on Facebook, she wasn't in a good place.

'But I am so saddened at what has happened to her.'

Mahesh Sorathiya (pictured), 38, was charged with assisting an offender and granted bail. Suspect Gareeca Gordon, 27, was charged with Phoenix's murder last week

Phoenix Netts, pictured right, is believed to have been killed in a row over drugs at the hostel where she had been living for a number of months. Left is her university friend, who said: 'She was such a lovely person'

Phoenix's friend said she 'did have mental health issues, and when I spoke to her about eight months ago on Facebook, she wasnt in a good place'

Now pictures have emerged of Phoenix with a friend from university, who said she was 'such a lovely person' who 'would give you her last penny'

Phoenix was killed at the women's refuge in Lozells, Birmingham, where she had been living for a number of months. Pictured is Sorathiya, 38, from Wolverhampton, at Wolverhampton central police station today

Police pictured searching the woodland in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, where the girl's charred and dismembered body was found in suitcases last week

Phoenix's former boyfriend, speaking exclusively to MailOnline, said the 28-year-old was 'always vulnerable and easy to exploit' after her troubled youth, when she was raped by a drug dealer, and believed it was her fragility that led her to a refuge

Phoenix was killed at the women's refuge in Lozells, Birmingham, where she had been living for a number of months.

Her body was found in two suitcases in the Forest of Dean.

Her ex-boyfriend Joe, who asked for his surname to be withheld and speaking from his new base in Toronto, Canada, said: 'She seemed damaged and rightly so.

'We went out while we were at Canterbury Christ Church University and she was there between 2009 and 2011, but she didn't graduate. She told me and one other friend of hers that she had been raped by a drug dealer.

'Phoenix was kind and quiet, but also vulnerable. She didn't have a great childhood after her parents had split up.

Phoenix, above, grew up in Croydon, south London and later moved to the Midlands where an aunt lived. It is believed she moved into the women's refuge at the end of last year

Phoenix Netts, pictured right, 28, had ended her dream of becoming a paramedic after dropping out of university and falling into drugs, it can today be revealed by MailOnline

'She used to love Louis Theroux documentaries and I remember her joking about getting a T-shirt saying 'We're gonna get Theroux this.''

Before university Phoenix fell into drugs and dated a dealer, regularly smoking marijuana before she started taking acid, cocaine and MDMA.

Phoenix, above, 28. Her former boyfriend said they dated at Canterbury Christ Church University while she was there between 2009 and 2011

Joe said: 'I was ignorant to peoples' mental health at the time, so I wouldn't have been able to analyse then as I can now. But she seemed damaged, and rightly so, by the trauma she went through.

'I don't know which way her life went after we split up, but it clearly went south. She never expressed any interest in kids or getting married.

'Phoenix mostly lived in the past and a little in the moment. She spent the majority of the time stoned. She barely ate anything. I am not sure if that was linked to post-traumatic stress disorder.

'She was vulnerable and clearly experienced the dark side of the world that not many people would realise is there.

'But she still showed compassion and empathy to others.'

Phoenix grew up in Croydon, south London and later moved to the Midlands where an aunt lived.

It is believed she moved into the women's refuge at the end of last year.

Father-of-two Mahesh Sorathiya (right), 38, from Wolverhampton was charged with assisting an offender in Phoenix's (left) murder and granted bail

Phoenix, above, was described by her ex-boyfriend Joe as 'kind and quiet, but also vulnerable'. He added: 'She used to love Louis Theroux documentaries'

A court heard how the woman accused of killing her returned to the Forest of Dean four times to dispose of the body.

Bristol Crown Court was told that Sorathiya was paid to drive Gordon from a women's refuge in Birmingham to the Forest of Dean four times between April 24 and May 12.

James Ward QC, prosecuting, said: 'He was the driver, admittedly, of a Vauxhall Zafira in which the body parts were contained and he says he had no knowledge of the parts.

'The police were involved in the first place in stopping his car because of the Covid-19 regulations. The police said in their evidence the smell from the suitcases was obvious.

Police, pictured in woodland next to Stowfield Quarry in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, searched the area for several days looking for evidence during the investigation

Police launched a major operation after discovering the suitcases containing body parts. A court heard how the woman accused of killing her returned to the forest four times

'When they opened the suitcases, the police said it smelled of barbecue and the smell was sickening from the decomposition.'

Eugene Hickey, defending, said Sorathiya, a father of two, had no idea of the contents of the suitcases in the back seat, adding: 'His account is that he was on Gumtree as a driver and handyman.

'On a few occasions he has done journeys where he has been paid by [Gordon] to take her to the Forest of Dean.'

Mr Justice Garnham set a provisional trial date of November 10. He granted Sorathiya bail.

A statement released on behalf of the victim's family said: 'As a family we are devastated with what has happened to Phoenix.

A map, pictured, shows where Sorathiya and Gordon were arrested by police following the grim discovery in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, last week

Forensic tents, pictured. The quarry is on Staunton Road and the closed section also contains a fishery, a former sawmill which now contains storage units, several houses and a campsite

Police searched a women's refuge in Birmingham where they believe Phoenix was murdered. Gloucestershire police said cause of death was not determined by a post mortem

'We ask most humbly that our family's privacy is respected whilst we grieve and come to terms with the loss of Phoenix in such tragic circumstances.

'Whilst we understand this is a news story, we hope everyone can understand why we need to be left alone at this very difficult time.

'We have family and good friends supporting us and our thanks go out to all of them. We would also like to thank all the police officers involved in the investigation for their hard work and sensitivity.'

West Midlands police said: 'Exactly where Phoenix was killed is still unknown and officers continue to follow up a number of enquiries in a bid to establish what happened.

'Our specialist family liaison officers are working with the family at this devastating time.'

Gloucestershire police said the cause of death had not been determined by a post mortem and further examinations were ongoing.
Vineet Upadhyay By

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to send people returning to the state from red zone areas of the other parts of the country into a week long 'institutional quarantine' before letting them enter the state.

The matters were heard in the division bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ravindra Maithani. Next hearing of the petitions has been scheduled on June 2. The court also added that these people must be quarantined at border areas of Uttarakhand and tests should be conducted of those who are symptomatic for COVID-19.

The directions came while court combined two public interest litigations concerning COVID-19 spread and alleged lack of facilities and precautions by the state government. Dushyant Mainali, counsel for one of the petitioners in one of the PILs said, "The honorable court give many directions including making suitable arrangements for containing spread of coronavirus."

Lawyers of the central government and Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR) told the court that they are ready to provide any necessary equipments as soon as the demand is raised by the state government. Till date cases have rose to 120 with 24 new cases within 36 hours of duration.
A recent analysis of discourse on Facebook highlights how social media and an individual's sense of identity can be used to dehumanize entire groups of people.

"Fundamentally, we wanted to examine how online platforms can normalize hatred and contribute to dehumanization," says Jessica Jameson, co-author of a paper on the work and a professor of communication at North Carolina State University. "And we found that an established model of the role identity plays in intractable conflicts seems to explain a great deal of this behavior."

For this study, Jameson worked with colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem to assess discourse on a Facebook page that was noteworthy in Israel for propagating right-wing hate speech. Specifically, the researchers examined comments on the page that were related to other Israeli Jews who commenters felt were not politically right wing.

"We found that the language used in these Facebook interactions hewed very closely to three stages we see in Terrell Northrup's theory of intractable conflict," says Jameson. "One stage is the threat - meaning that the people in one group perceive another group as a threat to their identity. For example, one representative comment we found was that 'The leftists are our devil, because of their existence the country is being destroyed and the army weakened.'

"A second stage is distortion. This basically means that the first group will not engage with new information regarding the other group - instead distorting it or dismissing it as irrelevant for some reason. For example, 'I don't know if I really want to know the answer to the question of whether the thinking of the left is due to infinite stupidity or infinite naivete.'

"A third stage is rigidification - where people become locked into their positions, making it difficult or impossible to change their views of the other group," Jameson says. "This is where dehumanization occurs, and we see people referring to the political left as 'cockroaches,' 'vermin,' or 'stinking dogs.' And when people stop seeing members of a group as human - that's dangerous.

"Look, when social media tools are used for community-building, or to provide social support, or to engage people who have otherwise remained silent, they are very valuable," Jameson says. "The concern that is raised by our work here is that when one identity group uses these platforms to dehumanize another group, there is no possibility for conversation with those who have different views. And things may potentially become dangerous.

"I don't think having social media companies police their own sites is the answer. But I do think this work highlights the need for more efforts aimed at fostering healthy communication between groups."

###

The paper, "The Normalization of Hatred: Identity, Affective Polarization, and Dehumanization on Facebook in the Context of Intractable Political Conflict," is published open access in the journal Social Media + Society. Lead author of the paper is Tal Orian Harel, a Ph.D. student at The Hebrew University. The paper was co-authored by Ifat Maoz, a professor of psychology at The Hebrew University. The work was done with partial support from a Lady Davis Foundation Fellowship.
The Telangana high court on Wednesday directed the state government to allow authorised private labs in the state to conduct Covid-19 tests and private hospitals to treat such patients.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice K Lakshman found fault with the Telangana government headed by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for insisting that people should get tested for Covid-19 only in state-authorised labs at Gandhi Hospital and Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and go for treatment only in government hospitals.

This is highly unconstitutional. People have every right to get tested and treated at private labs and hospitals respectively at their own cost. The government cannot bring pressure on anyone to go only to the state-run hospitals, the bench observed, while dealing with a public interest litigation petition filed by one Ganta Jaya Kumar of Hyderabad.

However, the court ruled that only those private hospitals and labs which are authorised by the Indian Council of Medical Research could admit patients and conduct tests for Covid-19.

Those private labs and hospitals willing to deal with Covid-19 cases should apply for permission from ICMR. Experts from ICMR would assess the capacity of the labs and facilities available in the hospitals before giving permission. The ICMR will also fix rates for the tests and treatment, the bench said.

The high court wondered how the government could alone tackle the Covid-19 which was rapidly spreading in the country without the support of private institutions. At present, government labs are conducting tests only for those who have symptoms of Covid-19. What about asymptomatic patients? What is the objection by the government if those asymptomatic patients go to private labs to get tested for Covid-19 at their own cost? Does it not reduce the burden on the government? the court asked.

The court did not agree with the contention of the state government that the private hospitals, if given permission, might misuse the same and hide the actual figures. If the government has no faith on the private hospitals, why is it allowing them to treat patients under Arogya Sri scheme? it questioned.

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in the past, had ruled out giving permission to private labs and hospitals to deal with Covid-19 cases on the pretext that they would fleece the people in the name of tests and treatment.
PASCAGOULA, Miss., May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) Ingalls Shipbuilding division will host a drive-in hiring event for job seekers from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday, May 22 on Singing River Island.



Event attendees will have the opportunity to apply for open positions and speak to Ingalls recruiters and shipbuilders in person without having to exit their vehicle.

We are exploring innovative hiring techniques that provide greater accessibility to the many employment opportunities we have to offer, said Edmond Hughes, vice president of human resources and administration at Ingalls. This event allows us to efficiently interface with interested applicants while practicing safe social distancing.

Attendees will enter the drive-in event at USS Wisconsin Loop on Singing River Island in Pascagoula. Each hiring station set up around the loop will represent a different shipbuilding craft.

To pre-register for this event, visit ingalls.huntingtoningalls.com/wearehiring .

Huntington Ingalls Industries is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HIIs Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HIIs Technical Solutions division supports national security missions around the globe with unmanned systems, defense and federal solutions, nuclear and environmental services, and fleet sustainment. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII employs more than 42,000 people operating both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:

HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com

HII on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries

HII on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hiindustries

Contact:
The coronavirus pandemic is slowing growth of wind and solar electricity projects, but the renewables sector is "more resilient than other fuels" and slated to bounce back quickly, the International Energy Agency said.

Why it matters: It's on track to be the first year-over-year decline in 20 years, IEA said in a report that offers their downward revision in expected 20202021 capacity growth.

It's something of a glass half-full for people fearful that the crisis will hinder efforts to fight climate change.

IEA sees growth resuming next year after an expected 13% drop in 2020, but the forecast for additions over the two years combined has taken a hit.

And decarbonization of energy systems needs to speed up greatly to meet emissions cuts consistent with the Paris climate deal.

Driving the news: "The decline reflects delays in construction activity due to supply chain disruption, lockdown measures and social-distancing guidelines, and emerging financing challenges," the report states.

One level deeper: Solar photovoltaics and wind are expected to provide the vast majority of global capacity additions this year, but their growth is forecast to be respectively 18% and 12% lower than last year.

Still, IEA anticipates that utility-scale projects will rebound because most of them in the pipeline are already financed and under construction.

Rooftop solar, however, will see slower recovery as households and small businesses review investments, IEA said.

Of note: IEA actually sees renewable power generation growing a bit this year despite pandemic-related declines in overall power demand.

Renewables are the only fuel source with a forecasted demand increase in 2020. The report notes renewables' "low operating costs and priority access to the grid in many markets."

Go deeper: Clean energy and climate change unlikely to lead American recovery
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It is an ambitious run  from St. George to Tottenville  and spans about 20 miles, but Cesar Vargas, an immigration attorney and member of the U.S. Army Reserve, said it is nothing compared to what police officers do ... what nurses do every day.

Vargas, who will be joined by spouse, Yesenia Mata, the executive director of La Colmena  a job community center in Port Richmond  and also a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, will take the trek through the borough on Memorial Day to raise funds to buy and deliver local meals to essential workers.

From the guardsmen and soldiers who actually came to New York City to help set up field hospitals, to the police officers, firefighters, nurses and immigrant workers who have put themselves at risk to keep others safe, Vargas said he felt the run would be an opportunity to honor all essential workers.

The meals Vargas and Mata purchase with the funds raised will be from local restaurants, Vargas said, in an effort to support Staten Islanders whose businesses are struggling.

This is our hometown, and we need to support each other, Vargas said. We need to stand with each other.

Members of the U.S. Army Reserve for about a year, Vargas said he and Mata are running because we are healthy and know we can rely on our essential workers to have our backs.

This is our way to have their back, he said.

While Vargas said concerns about social distancing measures have restricted others from joining the run, he said residents can be involved by supporting the fund.

At the end of the day, we are, literally, an Island and we want to be there for each other, Vargas said, "no matter whether were born here or not, no matter our job ... were all in this together.
Talks are ongoing with key stakeholders in the Midlands in a bid to kick-start his proposal for an Edenderry Green Energy Hub.

Cllr Noel Cribbin is proposing the rezoning of land in North Offaly as a designated area for the creation of what would be Irelands first 100% Green Energy Hub.

According to Cllr. Cribbin the opportunity presented by investment in such a hub has the potential to provide a massive jobs boost to Edenderry and the surrounding areas. He has already engaged in talks with key personnel in Bord na Mona, along with Green Senator Pippa Hackett and his colleagues on the Midlands Transition Team. Further talks are scheduled to take place with Bord na Mona in the coming weeks. Cllr Cribbin says the response to date has been extremely positive.

He said: "Although this is early days, a real opportunity exists now for decision-makers at a local and national level, to put their heads together and begin to plot the roadmap for the peatlands in our area. The power currently generated at Edenderry Power Plant is already 30% green and fuelled by biomass.

"As peat production continues to wind down, theres the potential for the plant to become 100% Green. When this is combined with the one wind farm already operational in the area, and three more having been granted planning permission, it becomes clear that Edenderry has the potential to become the home of Irelands first Green Energy Hub.

"With more and more pressure on industry and multinational companies to meet carbon compliance targets, the need for green energy is only going to increase in the coming years. Now is the time to position Edenderry as core to the supply of that energy. It would make the area massively appealing for multinationals in a range of sectors including data centres that have high energy usage."

Cllr Cribbin went on to say: "There are a number of factors at play here. Also, in the mix is the opportunity that will be created by the construction of the Shannon to Dublin water pipeline which is proposed to run the length of North Offaly. I have already met with Ervia, the Government semi-state planning this project to discuss the opportunities this may bring for the area.

"These include the construction of gas and fibre optic infrastructure when the water pipeline is being constructed. This would further add to the appeal of the area as a location for business investment which in turn would boost jobs in the area.

"I am calling on all local elected representatives in the Midlands to work with me and get behind the progression of this proposal. It has the potential to provide a long-term, sustainable employment boost to Edenderry and surrounding areas and now is the time to act on it," Cllr Cribbin concluded.
Pentagon Plans to Test-Fire 60 kW Laser Aboard Ghostrider Gunships in Two Years

Sputnik News

16:26 GMT 19.05.2020(updated 16:28 GMT 19.05.2020)

Once seen as the stuff of science fiction, or of a distant dystopian future, laser-based weapons have become a reality in recent years as major powers including the United States, Russia and China rush to field the technology in a variety of air, ground and naval applications.

The US Air Force Special Operations Command plans to test-fire a 60-kilowatt laser aboard its new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship by 2022, Col. Melissa Johnson, programme executive officer for fixed-wing programmes has confirmed.

"If it is successful  and we are planning for success then it will feed into our new requirements and potentially a new programme down the road," Johnson said, her comments cited by National Defense magazine.

"If this goes forward past the demowe'll have an additional [R&D, testing and evaluation] programme going forward," she added.

According to the officer, laser systems for use by the Air Force for the AC-130J have already seen ground-based testing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia.

Now, Johnson says, after years of wrangling with the Pentagon to receive additional funding to develop the laser cannon technology, the Air Force finally has enough cash to proceed with development.

The US Air Force announced plans to introduce directed-energy weapons aboard the AC-130J in 2015, and had hoped to carry out a demonstration of the system sometime this year, but faced setbacks amid a lack of funding. The Ghostrider-based laser cannon, touted as a "less than lethal" weapon which can paralyze but not kill enemy combatants, is just one of a number of Pentagon programmes to introduce high-energy lasers in its weapons.

The US is not the only country making use of laser technology in defence applications, with Russia introducing the Peresvet ground-based defence system to assist in air and missile defence in 2018. China too is making progress in laser weapons, and like Washington, is working on an airborne offensive laser weapon. The US deployed a new Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) anti-drone system aboard one of its combat-capable warships earlier this year. Israel unveiled a new laser-based missile intercept system to replace the Iron Dome in January.

Laser weapons make use of concentrated bursts of light to heat an enemy target. If strong enough, a laser could slash people apart or burn holes straight through thick armour, but the power requirements for such systems is currently more than engineers have access to. According to Popular Mechanics, the 60-kW power rating mentioned for use aboard the AC-130J is enough to melt a satellite dish, burn through the hood of a moving car, or puncture the hull of a small boat. The laser is also expected to be scalable, allowing for power requirements to be adjusted.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






New Delhi, May 20 : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Rs 3 lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers.

Under the Scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage would be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for the additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the form of a ECLGS facility.

An official statement said that to this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore shall be provided by the Centre, spread over the current and the next three financial years.

The Cabinet also approved that the scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under ECLGS during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31, 2020, or till an amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under the ECLGS, whichever is earlier.

The ECLGS has been formulated as a specific response to the unprecedented situation caused by COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown, which has severely impacted manufacturing and other activities in the MSME sector.

The main objective of the scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), including banks, financial institutions, and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to increase access to and enable availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered due to non-repayment of the ECLGS funding by borrowers.

All MSME borrower accounts with outstanding credit of up to Rs 25 crore as on February 2020, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 100 crore, would be eligible for collateral-free loan under the scheme.

The amount of ECLGS funding to eligible MSME borrowers will either be in the form of additional working capital term loans in case of banks or additional term loans in case of NBFCs and it would be up to 20 per cent of their entire outstanding credit up to Rs 25 crore as on February 29, 2020.
The NDRF chief said that based on experiences during Cyclone FANI, all teams are equipped with tree cutters and pole cutters for post-landfall restoration if the need arises.

More than 5 lakh people have been evacuated in West Bengal and 1,58,640 people in Odisha in view of cyclone Amhpan, said SN Pradhan, chief of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Wednesday.

Landfall has started. We are keeping a close watch because the situation is fast changing. After the landfall, our work in the actual sense starts like recovery and restoration. Commandments of NDRF are camping in Balasore and South 24 Paraganas. 20 teams in Odisha and 19 teams in West Bengal have been deployed. Two teams are on standby. All teams have wireless and satellite communications, Pradhan said in a press briefing here.

State authorities have informed more than 5 lakh people have been evacuated in West Bengal and 1,58,640 people in Odisha, he said.

The NDRF chief said that based on experiences during Cyclone FANI, all teams are equipped with tree cutters and pole cutters for post-landfall restoration if the need arises.

We are dealing with the cyclone in the context of COVID-19 and perhaps it is the beginning of the new normal. Natural disasters in the coming time will be in the context of COVID-19. 24 additional alert teams are ready for airlift. Road clearing and restoration work has started. The awareness programmes are also going on, he said.

The landfall process of Cyclone Amphan has commenced since 2.30 pm on Wednesday and it will continue for about four hours, said Director of Indian Meteorological Department, Bhubaneswar Centre, HR Biswas.

The landfall process commenced since 2:30 PM, will continue for about 4 hours. The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal, he said.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
A majority of university staff union representatives have endorsed wage cuts of up to 15 per cent as part of a national framework for campus negotiations.

Eighty per cent of 107 rank and file National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) councillors from every university branch around the country supported the proposal.

National Tertiary Education Union national president Dr Alison Barnes. Credit:Attila Csaszar

The union's national president Dr Alison Barnes said the deal with vice-chancellors aimed to save 12,000 jobs. The proposal will be put to a national vote of members as early as next week.

After a robust debate, our national councillors have reached a difficult but necessary decision. We have been guided by the urgent need to save as many careers and livelihoods as we possibly can, Dr Barnes said.
Donald Trump's administration plans to "indefinitely" extend border restrictions that prevent asylum seekers and other immigrants from entering the US during the coronavirus pandemic, or until administration officials determine that the restrictions are "no longer necessary".

The extension follows a March order from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention that imposed a 30-day closure along the US-Mexico and Canada borders, but the agency extended the measure in April for another month. The latest move keeps the restrictions in place through at least June  preventing asylum seekers and other immigrants from entering the US under the guise of a public health issue during the coronavirus crisis.

CDC officials will review the mandate "every 30 days" once the measure goes into effect on 21 May. It "shall remain in effect until the CDC Director determines that the danger of further introduction of Covid-19 into the United States from covered aliens has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health"  but it represents another strict, hardline immigration policy imposing severe limitations on people entering the US under the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, 40 public health experts, including former CDC officials, wrote to CDC director Robert Redfield and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar criticising the administration's "specious public health rationale" and urging officials to lift the order.

Mr Trump has justified his aggressive anti-immigration agenda, largely shaped by adviser Stephen Miller, by invoking public health laws to broaden his restrictive immigration policies during the pandemic.

Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said that the order "has been one of the most critical tools the department has used to prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people"  though more than 1.5 million Americans have been infected since the onset of the outbreak, with most transmissions from community spread and international travel from Asia and Europe.

Critics argue that the administration's efforts have severely impacted whether people fleeing humanitarian crises have been able to enter the US. Since March, only two people have been granted refugee status at the southern border.

Three others have pending asylum cases, while more than 50 others have been turned away from entering the US.

Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that "these now indefinite restrictions have nothing to do with curbing the spread of Covid-19."

"The president is hell-bent on exploiting a public health crisis to achieve his long-held goal of ending asylum at the border," she said in a statement. "He's also doubling down on fear-mongering against immigrants, so many of whom are essential workers during this crisis. Do not be fooled: Trump's goal is not to protect our health, it's to sow division and advance his political agenda."
UPDATE: What's Open on Oregon Coast and What Isn't

Updated 05/20/2020 at 11:44 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast)  UPDATED. Seaside just voted to open up lodgings at 100 percent capacity on May 26. The situation along the Oregon coast is incredibly fluid when it comes to reopening after COVID-19 shutdowns, and some days things shift within a few hours. While this gives a good look at what has been brought back to life as of May 21, more restarts are inevitable.

Luckily, lodgings are open or will be open soon in just about all areas, except Astoria. Beach accesses are a mixed bag almost every place but most of the state has opened these up. However, the messages from many visitor centers are just because you can it doesnt mean you should.

Currently, all counties along the coast are under Phase One reopenings, which means some restaurants have opened back up limited seating, but many are still doing only to-go orders. Youll have to check with each one individually.

In all cases you should wear a mask while in coastal shops or city limits. Some lodgings will actually require this.

Keep checking the Oregon Coast News section for updates. The current situation is:

Astoria - Warrenton. Clatsop County is in the beginnings of its Phase One opening, meaning some businesses are restarting in restricted ways. Lodgings are set to open on June 5. See Last of Oregon Coast Towns Set Reopen Date; Beaches Update Astoria, Gearhart ands Warrenton to resume operations June 5. News on state parks.

Just south of Warrenton, some beaches in Gearhart have been open for awhile.

Seaside. Beaches in town are open now but only to locals. Lodgings will be up and running on May 26 at 100 percent capacity. The city is asking to please not visit until then, but many businesses are hoping visitors will come out.

Seaside Aquarium is open as of Wednesday, May 20. Hotels in Seaside - Where to eat - Seaside Maps and Virtual Tours

Cannon Beach. Beaches in town were officially opened up to the public on Friday, and lodgings will resume on May 26. The town will be welcoming of visitors then. Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours

Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Oceanside, Netarts, Pacific City, Neskowin. Tillamook County is a mixed bag, with all lodgings opening up May 29. Businesses there are swinging their doors wide open to visitors at that time. However, most beach accesses are still technically closed. You should be able to get into many beaches that lie between major accesses, however, such as those in neighborhoods in Rockaway Beach, around Tierra Del Mar (near Pacific City), etc. Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) operates most accesses there and has not opened up that area as yet, though this may happen in early June. Hotels in Manzanita, Wheeler - Where to eat - Manzanita, Wheeler Maps and Virtual Tours

As Visit Tillamook Coasts Nan Devlin put it, youll likely have to park farther away to get to many beach accesses, such as at Manzanita.

The Garibaldi Museum will be opening to the public on Saturday, May 30. They will, however, be open only by appointment and only on weekends until it is deemed safe for visitors and staff to open further. Appointments will be made on an hourly basis from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Saturdays and Sundays. They may be made by calling 503.322.8411. Hotels in Pacific City - Where to eat - Pacific City Maps and Virtual Tours

Lincoln City, Gleneden Beach, Depoe Bay, Newport, Waldport, Yachats. OPRD has reopened the vast majority of Lincoln County parks and beach accesses, although a small select few may still be closed. Most cities and unincorporated areas of the county will see lodgings open up on June 1, while Waldport kicks off overnight stays on May 22 and Newport on May 23. Hotels in Lincoln City - Where to eat - Lincoln City Maps and Virtual Tours

Major attractions like the Oregon Coast Aquarium will not be open yet. They just sent out word that may still be awhile. Hotels in Depoe Bay - Hotels in Newport - Hotels in Waldport - Hotels in Yachats



Strawberry Hill



Lane County  Florence, Dunes. All major coastal parks in Lane County are open, including the Dunes National Recreation Area. This includes secluded beach spots between Yachats and Florence like Strawberry Hill, Bob Creek, Neptune and Heceta Head. Florence has had lodgings opening for a few weeks.

However, according to Andy Vobora with Travel Lane County, the area is currently asking people to stay away.

Non-essential travel is still not allowed so no one should be coming to the coast and people should stay in their own community, he said. If those are open then locals can recreate in them according to the state guidelines.

At the dunes rec area, Sand Master Park is open and renting sandboards. 5351 Hwy 101. Florence, Oregon. 541.997.6006. SandMasterPark.com.

Coos County  Coos Bay, Charleston, Bandon. Most beach accesses in that region of the southern Oregon coast have opened up as well as lodgings. However, according to the tourism promotions group Oregons Adventure Coast, the area wishes to be left alone at this time.

Lodging is no longer restricted but Gov. Browns stay at home order is still in place, said executive director Janice Langlinais. So while we are happy to see Phase 1 reopening happening, we are still encouraging folks to stay safe and dream about visiting us.

Curry County  Gold Beach, Brookings. Most state parks have unlocked their beach accesses in this section at the very southern end of the Oregon coast, and lodgings have opened up as well. However, like the rest of the southern and south central coast, they are asking people to not visit as yet.









More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Coastal Spotlight



LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net

All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted
The place of worship closed for almost two months under restrictions for the pandemic. The go-ahead for the Eid al-Fitr festival. The director of the mosque hopes that there will be no restrictions on access. In Israel over 16,600 infections and 278 victims; in the West Bank and Gaza 391 infections and two victims.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - After almost two months of complete closure, in an attempt to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, the authorities have ordered the reopening for prayer of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem starting next week.

The measure is linked to the slowdown of the epidemic in the region, as in other parts of the world, after weeks of emergency and deep suffering. In Israel, there were over 16,600 infections and 278 victims to date; in the West Bank and Gaza 391 infections and two victims.

In a note released yesterday, the Muslim committee that manages the complex (Waqf) reports that restrictions on outdoor prayer on the Temple Mount will be removed at the end of the festival of Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer. The holy day, one of the moments of greatest celebration for Muslims, with sumptuous banquets and group meetings difficult to repeat in this time of pandemic, will begin on May 23 or 24 depending on the different countries and different traditions.

The decision to close al-Aqsa to the public, announced April 16 by the Council headed by Jordan as guardian of the sacred places in Jerusalem, extended the measure taken on 23 March during the early stages of the pandemic. In a note the custodians had spoken of a "painful" decision but "in line with the fatwas and the indications of the doctors". Muslims are required to "perform prayers in their homes during the month of Ramadan [which begins April 23], to protect their safety".

At the moment it is not clear whether the faithful will be able to enter the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the third most important holy place for Islam, after it was closed for the first time in over 50 years. A Palestinian official for religious affairs in Jerusalem adds that further clarifications will be released in the coming days on openings and access modalities.

According to Islamic tradition, the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from here.

Omar al-Kiswani, director of the mosque, hopes that there will be no restrictions on the number of faithful; in addition, the body that presides over the care of places of worship will provide the exact "access mechanism and measures". Every measure, he concludes, is taken to "ensure that we will not be subject to criticism on the pretext that we would have broken the rules".
The President will sign the law on the banking activity, which is the final requirement for the memorandum signature with the Fund

In the near future, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky will sign the law on the improvement of mechanisms of banking activity regulation. He said he expected that the signature of a memorandum between Ukraine and the IMF would take place in May.

Zelensky said so during the press conference timed to the first year of his presidency. 112 Ukraine TV channel broadcasted the event.

"Now, I will sign the bank law, the final requirement for the signature of the memorandum between the state of Ukraine and the IMF. We wil sign this memorandum. I'm confident we will sign it in May; one shoudn't put that on hold. I will soon get the bank law - tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, maybe even today. And the doors will be open to the IMF assistance that we fought for so desperately, and you all saw this. We fought for it even in the Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament, - 112 International), Zelensky said.

The MPs passed the bank law on May 13, giving it 270 votes with 226 necessary to pass. The document offers an ultimate ban on the return of the nationalized banks to its previous owners. Passing the law was among the demands of the IMF in order to assign financial aid for Ukraine.
Nine new Covid-19 cases were detected in Uttarakhand including in districts like Haridwar, recently found to be Covid-free, taking the state tally to 120 by Wednesday late afternoon.

According to the health bulletin released in the afternoon, two Covid-19 positive cases were detected in Haridwar and Uttarkashi on Tuesday. The two had travelled to disease hotspots of Mumbai and Delhi respectively.

According to chief medical officer of Haridwar, Dr. Saroj Naithani, a medical team is putting the relatives and others who came in contact with the positive person in quarantine and taking their samples for testing.

After a months gap, a Covid-19 case has been confirmed in the district and we are tracing the travel history as well as primary contacts. All the migrants arriving in the district are being randomly sampled, with senior citizens and children being tested mandatorily, Dr Saroj Naithani said.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Since Wednesday morning, seven positive cases were detected from Almora, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar.

As per the VRDL Haldwani lab report, two patients from Nainital, a 29-year-old female, who lives in the former containment zone of Banbhulpura and a 21-year-old male, who recently returned from Delhi, tested positive. A 19-year-old man from Civil Hospital in Ranikhet, Almora also tested positive.

From Udham Singh Nagar, four new cases, including two 21-year-old males from a health center in Jaspur, a 35-year-old man from Kichha and a 29-year-old man from Rudrapur, tested positive.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

With 22 active cases, Udham Singh Nagar has most cases in the state, followed by 17 in Dehradun and 15 in Nainital. The state has a total of 66 active cases and has seen 53 successful recoveries so far.

The doubling rate of cases stands at 10.3 days in Uttarakhand as of Wednesday with 44.17 % total recoveries.
"With the onset of COVID-19, we put a stop to in-person C&P tests on April 2," Lawrence said. "The reality of the situation is that there are a lot of folks we have to see in person when it comes to testing, so we are working with some of our medical vendors to expedite this. Veterans should expect a communication on this within a month. But I want to make clear  if you miss a C&P exam because you don't want to leave your house, we will not deny your claim, and you will not lose your place in line."

Lawrence said the veteran benefits administration is still conducting disability exam testing digitally  and that this process could continue after the pandemic.

"We are adjusting to this new world and seeing what does and doesn't work," Lawrence said. "Some telehealth options work, but there are some things you can't do over the phone or digitally. We're anxious to keep using best practices going forward, and I hope to see telehealth become part of the new normal once we are back at full operational capability."

He also expressed his gratitude for the patience of American service members and veterans during the pandemic, stating that VA is aware of the backlog both within the benefits system and across other VA institutions such as the hospitals and cemeteries.

"The VBA is open for business, and while it is different than we imagine it normally, we're still here and still at it," Lawrence said. "We will be exploring other options, including possible legislative fixes, to see what other medical professionals can help us with the testing backlog. We intend to return to normal as fast as we can. We want veterans to know that we're going to honor our commitments and get them their benefits."

According to data from WWP's most recent Annual Warrior Survey, 90% of survey participants identified that they are receiving compensation benefits from VA, with 65% saying they have a disability rating of 80% or higher. More than one third have a rating of 100%.

Watch the entire webinar, and learn more about how WWP works with our nation's leaders to improve the lives of wounded veterans and their families.

About Wounded Warrior Project

Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers  helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project

Related Links

www.woundedwarriorproject.org


The number of people killed by coronavirus in Mexico City could be more than triple the official figure released by government, death certificates have revealed.

While the government says there have been 1,332 people in Mexico City who have succumbed to the killer virus, death certificates show 4,577 cases where coronavirus or Covid-19 were mentioned.

The city mayor has admitted that 'there are more' deaths than had been reported and that formally acknowledging them 'will definitely have to happen.'

If the additional 3,245 deaths in Mexico City's death toll are counted, it would push the national toll up from 5,666 to 8,911 - a rise of 57 per cent.

Mexico City, the country's capital, reported a national surge of 2,713 new cases on Tuesday, its highest daily rate so far.

Workers in full protection gear against the spread of the new coronavirus bury a coffin in an area of the San Rafael municipal cemetery set apart for COVID-19 cases in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on May 19

It also announced 334 new deaths on Tuesday - the second-highest death toll in a day.

The news comes as fresh fears are raised over the rate at which medical staff have contracted the virus.

Frontline medical staff have seen deaths rise a third in the past week alone, reaching 149, and more than half of those are believed to be doctors.

Medical personnel now account for 11,394 infections, or one in every five cases nationwide.

But Mexico City, with its 9 million residents, has been the hardest hit area of the country and official death counts have faced intense scrutiny over their accuracy.

The anti-corruption group Mexicans Against Corruption said in a report on Monday that it had accessed a database of death certificates issued in Mexico City between March 18 and May 12.

It revealed that doctors included the words SARS, COV2, COV, Covid 19, or 'new coronavirus' in explanatory notes attached to 4,577 death certificates,

A cemetery worker in personal protective equipment burries the casket of a COVID-19 victim at Tijuana Municipal Cemetery 13 amid the pandemic on May 19, 2020 in Tijuana, Mexico. Non-essential activities are not permitted during stage three of the nation-wide health emergency

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been left infuriated by reports that claimed Mexico was undercounting its deaths on a federal level

The technical name of the virus is SARS-CoV-2. The notes the group counted included terms like 'suspected,' 'probable', or 'possible' role of the virus in the deaths.

Coronavirus was listed as a suspected contributing factor along with other causes of death, like pneumonia, respiratory failure, septic shock or multiple organ failure in 3,209 of the certificates.

Only 323 certificates list confirmed coronavirus as the cause of death, and 1,045 other death certificates listed Covid-19 but did not specify if it was suspected or confirmed.

It is not clear how the group accessed the database, which was kept by local courts, but it noted that official counts showed only 1,060 coronavirus deaths during the period between 18 March and 12 May.

The news comes as 324 municipalities across the country were given the green light to start easing some lockdown measures, despite fears that the pandemic is far from over.

Children pray as they stand in line to receive food donations to take away in Don Chemo's breakfast room at Miguel Aleman town on May 19

The municipalities were told they could reopen if they had no recorded cases in the previous 28 days and if cases were not rising in neighbouring areas.

But analysts said the selection process was flawed and claimed that no tests had been carried out in two-thirds of the municipalities given permission to reopenl according to Valeria Moy, director of the NGO Mexico, Como Vamos?, and reported by The Guardian.

The country's testing rate ranks among the lowest in Latin America, with just 0.4 tests for every 1,000 people.

Residents have expressed doubts over the proposed reopening.

A poll published by the Mexican City Reformer newspaper on Monday found that 67 per cent of respondents feared 'the worst is yet to come', while 68 per cent said they were abandoning practices like social distancing and staying at home.

Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged there are more deaths than have officially been reported and said a team of epidemiologists will review the death figures.

'What we are saying now is that in addition to those with a positive Covid test, are there more? Yes, there are more,' she said on Tuesday.

'When is that going to be made public?

'According to Mexican standards this will definitely have to happen and there will be total transparency, but we have to comply with the standards concerning the review of the medical certificates.'

Lopez Obrador has been left infuriated by reports that claimed Mexico was undercounting its deaths on a federal level.

He has criticised the group before for allegedly opposing his policies and representing business interests, mockingly dubbing it 'Mexicans For Corruption'.

Ms Sheinbaum repeated that phrase on Tuesday and claimed there were efforts to create a split between her administration and the federal government.
On March 13, as much of the country began to shut down in response to the coronavirus crisis, Breonna Taylora 26-year-old Black woman, an emergency medical technician from Louisville, Kentuckywas asleep at home with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Around 12:30 in the morning, Taylor and Walker were abruptly awakened. It sounded like a break-in. Police officers from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department had arrived on her doorstep in plain clothes and, according to lawyers representing the Taylor family, entered the home without knocking or saying who they were. (Officers insist that they announced their presence; statements from neighbors contradict those claims.) The police broke down the front door with a battering ram. Walker, a licensed firearm owner, believing the home was under siege, reportedly drew his weapon in self-defense. He fired a single shot, hitting an officer in the leg. The officers returned fire, shooting more than twenty rounds into the home. Bullets ricocheted in the dark, a quiet night suddenly ablaze.

Walker called Taylors mother. He told her that someone was breaking in. In the background, she heard screams. Then Walker said, I think they shot Breonna. Taylor was hit eight times and died at the scene. Walker was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder. The officers had apparently been executing a no-knock search warrant; they thought a suspect involved in a narcotics investigation was receiving mail and storing cash at Taylors home. Later, lawyers discovered that the suspect, Jamarcus Glover, had already been located by police at the time of Taylors death. On April 27, the Taylor family filed a lawsuit against the department.

But it would be weeks before Breonna Taylors name entered the national consciousness. At the time, social media was exploding in belated grief and rage over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, an unarmed twenty-five-year-old Black man who was shot dead in February while out for a run in Brunswick, a town on the coast of Georgia. He was pursued by Gregory McMichael64, a retired police officer who had lost his power of arrest in 2006 for failure to complete trainingand his son, Travis, 34. The pair had seen Arbery, who was a regular runner, pass by; they armed themselves with a shotgun and a revolver, believing him to be a suspect in a series of local break-ins. They followed him in a white truck and shot him dead in the street. The men walked free for more than two monthsuntil May 5, when a video of the altercation emerged. It was viewed online more than four million times. The country, which had been preoccupied with the coronavirus, now lit up in outrage over Arberys death. Two days after the video went viral, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested the McMichaels and charged them with murder and aggravated assault.

It was perhaps the first time since COVID-19 arrived in the United States that an unrelated story rose to national prominence. Taylors name, however, went largely unspoken. The journalism industryalready unstable, already desperate for the attention of readerswas now serving a changed world; it made its choice about which stories, which lives, deserved focus. In doing so, it did what it often does: erase Black women from the narrative of Americas stubborn history of police violence and vigilante murder against people with skin like Taylors.

All too often, Black peoples lives become pawns in a war of attention and scarce resources. In recent years, coverage has come and gone. There was a sharp uptick in February 2012, after a Black teenager named Trayvon Martin was killed by a white man named George Zimmerman. In the years that followed, the names of Black men and women, girls and boys murdered by police filled the pages of newspapers and hung, heavily, on the tongues of Black people who asked that the world recognize their reality. Tamir Rice, age twelve, was killed on a playground in Cleveland. Atatiana Jefferson was killed by Ft. Worth police who had been sent to her home on a wellness check. Walter Scott was shot dead during a traffic stop in North Charleston, South Carolina, while his back was turned to officers. Eric Garner was strangled to death by police in Staten Island, New York. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a seven-year-old, was shot in the head by police while asleep in her bed in Detroit. Yvette Smith was killed by police she summoned to a home in Bastrop County, Texas, for help settling a dispute between two men. Laquan McDonald was shot from behind by police in Chicago. Mike Brown, who was killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri, became the face of a new civil rights movement. Sandra Bland. Oscar Grant. Alton Sterling. Freddie Gray. The list goes on.

As these stories circulated on social media, the press took notice. Outlets devoted significant resources to covering violence against Black Americans. New beats and major reporting initiatives emerged. The Guardian tracked instances of fatal police shootings from 2015 to 2016; the Washington Post launched a similar project that has continued to track shootings into 2020. In virtually every instance, however, the stories that received the most attention were those that came with a sensational, horrible video. Arberys murder, for example, only took hold in the national press after footage depicting his death was uploaded; in Taylors case, by contrast, there is no video, and her death has received relatively less coverage. Over the years, journalists have had difficult conversations about the ethics of publishing videos of killings; the videos draw focus to casesand clicks to websitesbut they are also used as a way to spark apathetic white and other non-Black people to action, at the expense of subjecting Black people to the trauma of witnessing violence against their communities. Black people have never needed video footage to be convinced of a problem. And the same news organizations disseminating images of Black people being murdered have not, to large extent, committed to other coverage thats in the service of saving Black lives.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Often, it has been difficult for Black people to control journalistic narratives about our own lives and deaths. The Black press has done an effective job documenting cases of violence against Black people, even when the names of victims dont rise to national prominence. But as newsrooms have integrated, the reach of the Black press has diminished; the stories they publish are seen by a decreasing number of readers. The dominant storylines are the ones that shock people on social media; eventually, the general public moves on and the consequences of trauma inflicted on Black people retreats back to the corners where it has always been.

We are a nation with much to worry about. The coronavirus now dictates much of American life, and it is doing so along predictable lines of race and class. Newsrooms are being decimated. Amid this upheaval, as an absence of reporting resources leaves us to rely on reactive social-media outcries, journalists cannot be left as the arbiters of whose lives matter. Twitter is not an adequate assignment editor. If we treat it that way, Black and other people of color will continue to suffer lethal consequences.

RECENTLY: Ronan Farrow, Ben Smith, and the problem of the superstar journalist

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Alexandria Neason was CJRs staff writer and Senior Delacorte Fellow. Recently, she became an editor and producer at WNYCs Radiolab.
6th International Forum on Teacher Education (Virtual IFTE 2020)

Objectives:

Presentation, discussion and promotion of relevant educational research on teacher education in the era of transformations, choices and challenges;

Practical experience dissemination and discussion of the issues of promising forms of scientific and methodological support for innovative teacher education, new developments and achievements in the field of educational technologies;

Building academic and pedagogical partnerships among Russian and overseas educators.

The forum includes the following academic activities:

Digitalization of modern teacher education: strategies and risks

Continuing professional development and additional training of teachers to bridge the digital divide

Transformation of teachers' professional competences in the digital age of education

Digital technology in teacher education

Gamification and virtual reality in the educational process

Psychological and pedagogical support of students in the digital educational environment

Psychology of digital education

Teacher training in the context of equality and social justice

Advanced educational technologies, methods, innovations, and best practices in teacher education

Inclusive education and its implementation: Russian and international practices

Equal educational opportunities outside of school: the role of stakeholders in the context of social justice, equality, and cultural congruence

Multicultural teacher education for work with migrant childrenand their families

Effective models, approaches and methods in teacher education within the context of social justice, equality, and cultural congruence

Strategies, theory and practice of modern bilingual and language teacher education: Russian and international experience

Models of bilingual education, didactic aspects, theoretical constructs and flexible bilingual practices

Digital architectonics of bilingual and language teacher education

Bilingual and language teacher education as a tool for professional development of teacher educators

Cultural and professional identity of a teacher in the conditions of modern bilingual school

Collaboration and need for a dialogue between bilingual families and teachers

Professional formation and self-development of a teacher-linguist in the conditions of educational standards introduction

The forum includes the following academic activities

IFTE-2020 is to take place in virtual format from May 27, 2020 to June 9, 2020.

VirtualIFTE-2020 is an opportunity to present, discuss and promote research results of leading Russian and foreign scientists in the field of teacher education in a virtual format.

Languages at the Forum - Russian and English

IFTE-2019 attracted more than 600 leading scholars in the field of teacher education (132 Russian and 74 overseas universities and educational organizations were represented by the forum participants). IFTE-2019 gathered leading scholars in the field of teacher education from all over the world (the UK, the US, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia, Canada, China and many others).

Proceedings of the II, III and IV Forums were published as European Proceedings of Social and Behavioral Sciences and indexed in Web of Science. Proceedings of the V Forum (IFTE-2019) were published in the special issue of the journal Education and Self-Development (indexed in Scopus), ARPHA Proceedings and European Proceedings of Social and Behavioral Sciences ((in the process of verification in Scopus and Web of Science).

VirtualIFTE-2020 formats*:

virtualIFTE-2020 platform: Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform that combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage (including collaboration on files), and application integration.

###

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
'Over 27 million youngsters in their 20s lost their jobs in April.'

'33 million men and women in their 30s lost jobs in April,' points out Mahesh Vyas.

IMAGE: Migrant workers collect food items, distributed by volunteers, as they ride a truck from Maharashtra to their villages in Malda, West Bengal, on the Ranchi-Bengal highway, May 19, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

Labour statistics improved during the week ended May 10, 2020.

But only in comparison to the previous week, which was the worst that India has witnessed so far.

The unemployment rate fell from 27.1 per cent to 24 per cent.

Labour participation rate rose from 36.2 per cent to 37.6 per cent.

And employment rate rose from 26.4 per cent to 28.6 per cent.

These improvements notwithstanding, this is not a good place to be in.

In spite of very low income levels, open unemployment in India in April 2020 was 23.5 per cent.

In comparison, a much richer USA reported an unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent in April.

In India, the rate shot up 14.8 percentage points. In the US, it shot up by 10.3 percentage points.

Labour force participation rate fell from 41.9 per cent in March 2020 to 35.6 per cent in April, a fall of 6.3 percentage points.

In the US, it fell by 2.5 percentage points to 60.2 per cent.

Compared to Indians, Americans can afford to remain unemployed for some time as the state provides assistance to the jobless.

While the US government has announced a handsome fiscal package to reduce the economic pain of the pandemic, the Indian government has dithered for too long on this count.

No wonder gradually voices against the lockdown have been rising.

The window of the benefit of the doubt in favour of a lockdown is closing.

Claims that the pandemic can be devastating is countered by the fact that the lockdown is already devastating.

122 million jobs have been lost because of the lockdown.

We do not know how many deaths could have been caused by job losses, but we know that scores of lives were lost because of people falling asleep on tracks or dropping dead on their way walking home.

We will probably never know how many died because of hunger, how many children were stunted because of malnutrition caused by the lockdown.

And, we can never count the loss of dignity.

Hunger, fear, anger and desperation is writ large on the faces of people wanting to save their lives from the lockdown.

We are given to understand that older people are more vulnerable to the virus.

It is also logical to believe that children suffer life-threatening or highly debilitating malnutrition during such times.

Researchers have shown that this malnutrition during childhood hurts their ability to earn a living later in life and therefore it plays an important role in keeping them perpetually trapped in poverty.

The long-term impacts of the lockdown are probably worse than what we witness today.

Data from CMIE's Consumer Pyramids Household Survey tells us a disturbing story of young aspiring Indians who have just stepped into the labour markets.

Youngsters in the age group 20 to 24 years accounted for 8.5 per cent of the total employed persons in the country in 2019-2020.

But they accounted for 11 per cent of those who lost jobs.

34.2 million of these young men and women were working in 2019-2020. In April 2020 their numbers were down to 20.9 million.

Over 13 million youngsters lost their jobs in the lockdown.

Another 14 million jobs were lost in the age-group 25 to 29 years.

This loss again, was disproportionately high.

This group accounted for 11.1 per cent of total employment in 2019-2020 but it accounted for 11.5 per cent of the job losses.

Over 27 million youngsters in their 20s lost their jobs in April.

This has serious long-term repercussions.

It is during this age that young India builds its career in the hope of a bright future.

If the career of this cohort is disrupted or postponed by even a year it will have to compete with the new cohorts joining the labour force after them -- arguably, for fewer jobs.

Young India will not be able to build the savings it will require later in life.

33 million men and women in their 30s lost jobs in April.

86 per cent of the job losses were among men.

Job losses have been registered in every age-group of five years.

However, job losses are disproportionately high among the younger age groups.

Collectively, 44 per cent of those employed in 2019-2020 were under 40 years of age.

However, 52 per cent of the job losses were among those who were under 40 years of age.

In contrast, while those of 40 years or more accounted for 56 per cent of the total employed in 2019-2020, they account for only 48 per cent of the job losses.

Job losses among the vulnerable are likely to raise the proportion of households in debt.

It will also possibly raise debt delinquency.

Job losses among the young population would have implications on savings.

While households may well conserve cash during these times, the loss of jobs among the young deprives households of the extra cash that is mostly saved for either buying a house or durables or for retirement.

This loss of savings will have long-term implications.

Mahesh Vyas is MD & CEO, CMIE.
Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TARO) (Taro or the Company) today provided unaudited financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2020.

Quarter ended March 31, 2020 Highlights  compared to March 31, 2019

Net sales of $174.9 million decreased $5.0 million.

Gross profit of $102.3 million (58.5% of net sales compared to 66.4%) decreased $17.3 million.

Research and development (R&D) expenses of $15.8 million decreased $4.7 million.

Selling, marketing, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) of $29.1 million increased $5.8 million.

Operating income of $57.2 million (32.7% of net sales compared to 41.9%) decreased $18.2 million.

Interest and other financial income of $6.6 million decreased $1.6 million.

Foreign Exchange (FX) income of $3.7 million compared to FX expense of $9.4 million in the comparable period, an increase of $13.1 million principally the result of the commencement of hedging accounting in accordance with ASU No. 2017-12 and the change in our Canadian subsidiarys functional currency to U.S. dollar.

Tax expense of $13.9 million decreased $1.7 million, with a resulting effective tax rate of 20.4% compared to 21.1%.

Net income attributable to Taro was $54.2 million compared to $58.4 million, a $4.2 million decrease, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $1.42 compared to $1.52.

Year ended March 31, 2020 Highlights  compared to March 31, 2019

Net sales of $644.8 million decreased $25.1 million.

Gross profit of $399.7 million (62.0% of net sales compared to 66.5%) decreased $46.0 million.

R&D expenses of $59.8 million decreased $3.5 million.

SG&A of $93.4 million increased $3.4 million.

Operating income of $246.5 million (38.2% of net sales compared to 44.2%) decreased $49.7 million.

Interest and other financial income of $33.6 million remained in line with the prior year.

FX income of $14.8 million compared to $25.3 million in 2019  an unfavorable impact of $10.5 million  principally the result of the aforementioned commencement of hedging accounting and the change in our Canadian subsidiarys functional currency to U.S. dollar effective April 1, 2019.

Tax expense of $53.5 million decreased $21.2 million, with a resulting effective tax rate of 17.9% compared to 20.9%; principally the result of non-recurring items in the current year.

Net income attributable to Taro was $244.2 million compared to $281.8 million, a $37.5 million decrease, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $6.35 compared to $7.23.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

Cash flow provided by operations for the year ended March 31, 2020, was $271.6 million compared to $323.7 million for the year ended March 31, 2019.

As of March 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities (both short and long-term) increased $214.7 million to $1.6 billion from March 31, 2019. Cash and cash equivalents reflects the impact from the $27.0 million Tender Offer paid in December 2019.

Mr. Uday Baldota, Taros CEO, stated, Despite the leading market position of many of our products, we continue to face a challenging U.S. generic market. In the short-term, even as we commercialize recently approved products, we expect operations and profitability to be temporarily impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemicnow more than ever, we continue to focus on better serving the needs of our customers and patients. We continue to concentrate on creating shareholder value by continuing our R&D investment, as well as exploring investments in inorganic strategic opportunities.

FDA Approvals and Filings

The Company recently received approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for four Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs); Mupirocin Cream USP, 2%, Ivermectin Lotion, 0.5%, Clindamycin Phosphate Foam, 1% and Clocortolone Pivalate Cream USP, 0.1%. The Company currently has a total of twenty-one ANDAs awaiting FDA approval, including five tentative approvals.

Earnings Call (8:00 am ET, May 20, 2020)

As previously announced, the Company will host an earnings call at 8:00 am ET on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, where senior management will discuss the Companys performance and answer questions from participants. This call will be accessible through an audio dial-in and a web-cast. Audio conference participants can dial-in on the numbers below:

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: +1 (844) 421-0601 ID: 5275616

Participant International Dial-In Number: +1 (716) 247-5800 ID: 5275616

Web-cast: Details are provided on our website, www.taro.com

To participate in the audio call, please dial the numbers provided above five to ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time. The transcript of the event will be available on the Companys website at www.taro.com. An audio playback will be available for ten (10) days following the call.

The Company cautions that the foregoing financial information is unaudited and could be subject to change.

About Taro

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is a multinational, science-based pharmaceutical company, dedicated to meeting the needs of its customers through the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of the highest quality healthcare products. For further information on Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., please visit the Companys website at www.taro.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the annual consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments necessary to present fairly the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. The unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Companys audited consolidated financial statements included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F, as filed with the SEC.

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements that do not describe historical facts or that refer or relate to events or circumstances the Company estimates, believes, or expects to happen or similar language, and statements with respect to the Companys financial performance, availability of financial information, and estimates of financial results and information for fiscal year 2020. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements to be based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general domestic and international economic conditions, industry and market conditions, changes in the Company's financial position, litigation brought by any party in any court in Israel, the United States, or any country in which Taro operates, regulatory and legislative actions in the countries in which Taro operates, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Companys SEC reports, including its Annual Reports on Form 20-F. Forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligations to update, change or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.

TARO PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (U.S. dollars in thousands, except share data) Quarter Ended Year Ended March 31, March 31, 2020 2019 2020 2019 (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) Sales, net $ 174,940 $ 179,921 $ 644,769 $ 669,893 Cost of sales 72,668 60,384 245,044 224,169 Gross profit 102,272 119,537 399,725 445,724 Operating Expenses: Research and development 15,799 20,512 59,777 63,238 Selling, marketing, general and administrative 29,111 23,321 93,413 89,971 Settlements and loss contingencies 150 322  (3,678 ) Operating income 57,212 75,382 246,535 296,193 Financial (income) expense, net: Interest and other financial income (6,633 ) (8,241 ) (33,645 ) (33,542 ) Foreign exchange (income) expense (3,690 ) 9,397 (14,837 ) (25,309 ) Other gain (loss), net 808 (100 ) 3,018 1,810 Income before income taxes 68,343 74,126 298,035 356,854 Tax expense 13,920 15,649 53,485 74,732 Net income 54,423 58,477 244,550 282,122 Net income attributable to non-controlling interest 225 42 309 345 Net income attributable to Taro $ 54,198 $ 58,435 $ 244,241 $ 281,777 Net income per ordinary share attributable to Taro: Basic and Diluted $ 1.42 $ 1.52 $ 6.35 $ 7.23 Weighted-average number of shares used to compute net income per share: Basic and Diluted 38,258,337 38,548,516 38,460,056 38,990,058 May not foot due to rounding.

TARO PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (U.S. dollars in thousands) March 31, March 31, 2020 2019 ASSETS (unaudited) (audited) CURRENT ASSETS: Cash and cash equivalents $ 513,354 $ 567,451 Marketable securities 595,383 481,883 Accounts receivable and other: Trade, net 235,221 237,945 Other receivables and prepaid expenses 35,567 47,362 Inventories 153,073 148,079 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 1,532,598 1,482,720 Marketable securities 459,639 304,322 Property, plant and equipment, net 209,961 206,242 Deferred income taxes 106,693 110,974 Other assets 32,361 31,068 TOTAL ASSETS $ 2,341,252 $ 2,135,326 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES: Trade payables $ 28,858 $ 35,060 Other current liabilities 193,873 181,761 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 222,731 216,821 Deferred taxes and other long-term liabilities 8,763 7,383 TOTAL LIABILITIES 231,494 224,204 Taro shareholders' equity 2,103,862 1,905,536 Non-controlling interest 5,896 5,586 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 2,341,252 $ 2,135,326

TARO PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LTD. SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (U.S. dollars in thousands) Year Ended March 31, 2020 2019 (unaudited) (audited) Cash flows from operating activities: Net income $ 244,550 $ 282,122 Adjustments required to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 21,383 18,597 Realized loss on sale of long-lived assets 28 27 Change in derivative instruments, net (2,649 ) 3,115 Effect of change in exchange rate on inter-company balances, marketable securities and bank deposits (11,600 ) (29,533 ) Deferred income taxes, net 7,584 12,262 Decrease (increase) in trade receivables, net 2,724 (32,088 ) Increase in inventories, net (4,994 ) (5,515 ) Decrease in other receivables, income tax receivable, prepaid expenses and other 12,137 74,256 Increase in trade, income tax, accrued expenses, and other payables 782 529 Loss (income) from marketable securities, net 1,660 (63 ) Net cash provided by operating activities 271,605 323,709 Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of plant, property & equipment, net (26,610 ) (27,018 ) Investment in other intangible assets (1,783 ) (3,666 ) Proceeds from short-term bank deposits, net  225,503 Proceeds from long-term deposits and other assets  70,685 Investment in marketable securities, net (269,769 ) (8,368 ) Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (298,162 ) 257,136 Cash flows from financing activities: Purchase of treasury stock (26,984 ) (88,849 ) Dividends paid  (500,000 ) Net cash used in financing activities (26,984 ) (588,849 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (556 ) (1,156 ) Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (54,097 ) (9,160 ) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 567,451 576,611 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 513,354 $ 567,451 Cash Paid during the year for: Income taxes $ 54,536 $ 71,096 Cash Received during the year for: Income taxes $ 24,331 $ 69,436 Non-cash investing transactions: Purchase of property, plant and equipment included in accounts payable $ 1,477 $ 4,740 Non-cash financing transactions: Purchase of marketable securities $ 9,159 $ 2,003

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519005937/en/
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (DMGGF:OTC US) (FRANKFURT:6AX) (DMG or the Company), a diversified blockchain and technology company, is pleased to present its new corporate presentation including the Companys updated operational business outlook.



In advance of its conference call tomorrow, DMG is providing an update on its outlook and plans for the fiscal years 2020 to 2023. DMG has raised its financial expectations to reflect stronger than anticipated market developments, with an expectation that trends will continue to significantly favor DMGs business model in the years ahead, while remaining competitive in an increasingly innovation driven and energy cost dependent bitcoin mining industry.

The Company expects its self-mining compute power to increase following the strong growth in bitcoin price. As a result, the Company is now raising its business projections accordingly.

Increasing self-mining compute power will require the Company to secure sufficient capital through equity, debt, or joint ventures in order to purchase additional miners, add more megawatt capacity to the Companys existing mining facility, and potentially acquire a second or third mining facility.

Self-Mining Division

DMG intends to expand its self-mining efforts with a goal to becoming one of the largest North American bitcoin mining companies by compute power. DMG will continue its strategy to blend self-mining with hosted mining for third-party clients. This model allows the Company to earn consistent revenues from hosting, and at the same time benefit from surges in BTC value from self-mining. DMG forecasts that approximately 65% of its mining capacity at its facility will be for self-mining by the end of 2021.

DMGs forward-looking forecasts are based on adding self-mining compute power on a consistent basis over the next three years. DMG will acquire mining hardware at regular intervals (subject to securing sufficient capital to make such purchases) to ensure that the fleet includes the most efficient hardware available at all times and to avoid the need to replace the entire fleet simultaneously in the future.

Hosted Mining

DMG currently serves a variety of hosted mining clients and intends to significantly grow its hosted mining operations by encouraging existing clients to upgrade their miners, and to add additional hosted mining clients through its business development and marketing efforts.

Other Business Divisions

DMG continues to develop and license its proprietary software products including Mine Manager, Blockseer, and Walletscore, and is currently working to merge Blockseer and Walletscore into a single platform. In the near future, DMG will provide more comprehensive details on these software products.

Wazabi is still in the early stages of development and has not yet been commercialized. Soon DMG will also provide more comprehensive details on Wazabis progress and outlook.

Competitive Advantage

DMG owns its own 84MW substation and currently has in place infrastructure to support 45MW of mining. DMGs mining team is one of the most experienced globally, and its Mine Manager software ensures tremendous data centre uptime and efficient service and maintenance processes.

DMG expects to employ various methods in order to expand its self-mining and hosted mining capacity. These may include outright purchasing of mining hardware, financing, or strategic partnerships with various OEM manufacturers and investors.

Conference Call

Daniel Reitzik, the Companys CEO, states: We look forward to providing our shareholders, partners, and other stakeholders with an update on the Companys current and future efforts. Please join us tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. PST by logging on to: https://us02web.zoom.us/s/81091822055?pwd=N2Y1MWJ0SmwzZ0NkK091cy91TnNwdz09

-Password: 851780

DMG intends to share its new presentation and to explain and discuss its recently announced new mining overview. (To access PDF versions of both documents, please go to www.dmgblockchain.com/investors ). The Company will host a presentation on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. PST, and DMGs CEO Dan Reitzik, COO Sheldon Bennett, and CTO Adrian Glover will provide a more detailed business update during that call.

To join the event, please use the above-mentioned Zoom link (and please call in approximately 10 minutes in advance to participate in the live call). Alternatively, you will have the opportunity to listen to the conference call afterwards by accessing an archived version of the call on the Companys website (to submit questions before the call to management, please email John Martin at investors@dmgblockchain.com ).

About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.

DMG is a diversified cryptocurrency and blockchain platform company that is focused on the two primary opportunities in the sector  mining public blockchains and applying permissioned blockchain technology. DMG focuses on mining bitcoin, providing hosting services for industrial mining clients, earning revenues from block rewards and transaction fees, developing data analytics and forensic software products, working with auditors, law firms, and law enforcement to provide technical expertise. DMGs permissioned blockchain technology is focused on developing enterprise software for the supply chain management of controlled products. DMGs strategy is to become the domain experts across the business verticals it focuses on. DMGs management team includes seasoned crypto experts, forensic & financial professionals and blockchain developers with deep relationships throughout the industry, with previous experience working at Bitfury, PwC, EY, Cisco and UBS.

For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: www.dmgblockchain.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Daniel Reitzik, CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc.

Investor Relations: John Martin

Toll Free: 1-888-702-0258

Email: investors@dmgblockchain.com

Web: www.dmgblockchain.com

Direct: 778-868-6470

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information based on current expectations. Statements about the Companys plans to increase petahash (PH) by self-mining, securing financing to complete the Companys business plans, adding more megawatts, acquiring additional facilities, price of bitcoin, plans and intentions, other potential transactions, acquisition of customers, product development, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Companys technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding looking wording such as may, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, believe and continue or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Companys financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoins; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMGs bitcoins; DMGs relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMGs facilities; DMGs ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

DMGs forward-looking projections are based on securing necessary financing through equity, debt or joint venture structures in order to finance required investments for new mining equipment until 2023 and beyond. Currently, the Company does not have sufficient capital or financing available to complete the entire expansion through 2023 and plans to seek the required funds in the relevant fiscal periods. However, DMG may face difficulties obtaining sufficient financing and in a timely manner to support the Companys future growth goals. If DMG is unable to raise additional working capital, then DMG might be unable to fully fund its expansion and to otherwise execute its outlined and projected growth plan.

The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMGs business.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Companys ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoins from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMGs products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
A Delhi court Wednesday sent Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) university student Asif Iqbal Tanha to 7-day police custody in a case related to communal violence in northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in February.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain sent him to the custody till May 27 after the police said it required his remand to unearth the entire conspiracy with respect to the communal violence in Delhi and to confront him with the electronic data collected during investigation.

Tanha, a third-year student of BA in Persian language, was earlier arrested in connection with the violence in the Jamia area during a protest against the CAA in December last year. He was sent to judicial custody on till May 31 in the case.

The police had said that Tanha, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave in Shaheen Bagh, was a member of the Students Islamic Organization and was part of the Jamia Coordination Committee which spearheaded protests against the new citizenship law.

"Asif is a key member of the Jamia Coordination Committee and played an active role in organising protests and riots in Jamia in December 2019. He is a close associate of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider and Safoora Zargar who had been key organisers of anti-CAA protests and subsequent riots," police had said.

On December 15 last year, protesters had turned violent, torching four public buses and two police vehicles and pelting stones at the police and civilians, near JMI. At least 40 people including students, policemen and fire fighters were injured in the incident.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The director of 2017 film God's Own Country has asked people to boycott his movie on Amazon Prime which he claims has censored gay sex scenes.

Francis Lee tweeted Tuesday: 'Dear friends in USA, God's Own Country appears to have been censored on Amazon Prime. Until this is investigated please do not rent or buy on Amazon Prime. It is not the film I intended or made.'

The movie starring Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu won the World Cinema Directing Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, and the Manner Jury Award at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.

Francis Lee tweeted Tuesday that his 2017 movie God's Own Country appeared to have been censored on Amazon Prime in the US. It stars Josh O'Connor and Alec Secareanu

He tweeted: 'Until this is investigated please do not rent or buy on Amazon Prime. It is not the film I intended or made'

The streamed version of the film was not available on Amazon Prime as of Wednesday

An Amazon Video synopsis for the movie states: 'Johnny works on his family's remote farm in northern England where he numbs his loneliness with nightly visits to the local pub and casual sex.

'When a handsome Romanian migrant worker arrives to take up temporary work on the farm, Johnny finds himself dealing with emotions he has never felt before. An intense relationship forms between the two which could change Johnny's life forever.'

Lee did not specify which scenes had been censored but a Twitter user said: 'They cut most of the scene in the cattle trailer with Johnny and the trainee auctioneer and the same for the scene in the mud.'

Twitter user Dylan Sims continued: 'I stopped watching after that because it was bugging me they'd done that so I don't know if anything else was censored.'

In a follow-up tweet, Lee wrote: 'Dear friends in USA. I'm interested if any of you have evidence of @PrimeVideo (Amazon Prime USA) censoring naked women or intimate/sex scenes within heterosexual stories on their streaming service? Or if they just censor queer stories?'

That tweet was no longer available on Wednesday.

A message on the Amazon Prime website Wednesday stated that the LGBTQ romance drama was also 'no longer available'.

But critical comments remained from Amazon customers.

'The movie itself is a good story; I am just disappointed in Amazon Prime for editing out certain scenes. Shame on you for censorship,' one reviewer wrote.

Another said: 'This version on Amazon Prime is missing the graphic scenes, which really takes away from the film.'

Lee didn't specify the edits but a Twitter user said 'they cut most of the scene in the cattle trailer with Johnny and the trainee auctioneer' and a mud scene

Twitter user Dylan Sims posted: 'I stopped watching after that because it was bugging me they'd done that so I don't know if anything else was censored'

An Amazon representative in the EU told DailyMail.com that Amazon Prime Video did not edit this movie.

The company told DailyMail.com that the distributor edited the movie that was available on Prime Video in the US.

Samuel Goldwyn Films distributed the movie. They also distribute Super Size Me 2, Submergence and Allure.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the company.

Francis later said Amazon Video was 'very supportive in rectifying' the issue. He said the rental version is the correct version.

'Dear USA friends, after investigation Gods Own Country was not censored by (Amazon USA) but by the US distributor who butchered the streaming version without consultation to get more "revenue".

'I would like to thank Amazon Prime for being supportive and I would caution any film maker of working with the aforementioned "distributor". Thank you EVERYONE for all your support.'

In the past, Amazon has been accused of censorship for removing a heavily-criticized gay conversion therapy book in 2019.

An anti-gay app was also removed from an Amazon service in 2018. The app from Living Hope Ministries featured homophobic podcasts and articles.

An Amazon representative told DailyMail.com that Amazon Prime Video did not edit this movie
Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries kicked off its Rs 53,125-crore rights issue on Tuesday, which is the biggest-ever equity fundraise by an Indian company. The company says 75 per cent (Rs 39,755.08 crore) of the fund raise will be used in deleveraging its balance sheet to become net debt-free by March 2021. The rights issue will be allotted at Rs 1,257 per share in the ratio of 1:15, that is, 1 share for every 15 held as of record date, which was May 14. The issue will remain open till June 3. You need to pay 25 per cent of the issue price (Rs 314.25) while applying for it. The balance needs to be paid in two tranches - Rs 314.25 in May 2021 and Rs 628.50 in November 2021. The share will be allotted and listed on June 10 and June 12, respectively. If you do not want to subscribe to the issue, you can renounce your rights entitlement (RE) in the secondary market. In fact, RIL-RE jumped over 39 per cent to hit day's high of Rs 211.60 on the NSE.

How to subscribe to it?

There are three ways to apply for a rights issue - two online methods and one offline.

Apply through ASBA

Most large banks such as SBI, Bank Of Baroda, UCO Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank etc offer you Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) facility to apply for rights issue through their net-banking. These banks are certified by Sebi and are called Self-Certified Syndicate Banks. You can check out the list below:

https://www.sebi.gov.in/sebiweb/other/OtherAction.do?doRecognisedFpi=yes&intmId=35

You only need to log in to your bank's website and go under the ASBA option. It will showcase all active issues. Click on the RIL's rights issue and the bank will direct you through the application process.

The advantage of ASBA option is that your bank will block the application amount towards the rights issue. But, this will still be in your account and continue earning interest. It is only after the allotment that the money will be debited from your account. In case of partial or no allotment, the bank will release the amount for the portion not allotted.

Apply through Karvy Fintech website

You need to log on to the following website:

https://rights.kfintech.com

You'll receive various options on the home page. First, verify or update your email id, mobile number and PAN registered with Karvy Fintech, then go under 'Apply for Rights Issue' option. You need to select your depository participant (NSDL/CDSL) and provide client ID or DP ID. Fill up the online form along with making payment. You'll receive an acknowledgment after successfully completing the process. Note that the application money will be debited immediately from your account.

Offline method

The Application form must be in your email box or you can download it directly from the RIL or Karvy Fintech website. Print and fill up this form and submit the signed form physically to the nearest branch of your bank. No cheque needs to be attached with the application form. This is the offline ASBA method. Your bank will block the application amount that you have mentioned in the form and you'll keep earning interest on the same until the allotment process is completed.

How to sell your rights in the secondary market?

If you don't want to participate in the rights issue, you can sell your rights entitlement on the BSE or NSE like any other equity. You can search for it under the equity segment on the NSE as Reliance Industries Limited-Rights Entitlement (RIL-RE) and as RELIANCELR on the BSE. The trading of rights issue is allowed only till May 29. You can also do it offline by issuing delivery instruction slip to depository participant.
All prerequisites in place for successful 2020 harvest, Zelensky's advisor assures

23:10, 20.05.20 678

Ukrainian agricultural enterprises are fully provided with all resources required.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenian minister of high technology industry Hakob Arshakyan on May 19 had an online discussion with Russias minister of industry and trade Denis Manturov, the Armenian high-tech industry ministry told Armenpress.

The Russian minister briefly introduced the development dynamics of programs being implemented by the two countries in the fields of high technologies and industry, the targeted sectors and the opportunities for expanding the cooperation. In particular, he highlighted the active development dynamics in the field of space industry which is marked with the program on launching a space monitoring center by Roscosmos in Armenia.

The Armenian minister introduced his Russian counterpart on the main activity directions of the ministry, highlighted the cooperation directions in high-tech and military-industrial spheres.

The sides stated that Armenia, back from the Soviet years, has accumulated a necessary scientific-technical and human potential to create the necessary technical solutions in main directions of mutual partnership.

At the end of the talk the ministers reached several agreements which will be soon discussed at the deputy ministers level in a working procedure.

Minister Manturov said the Russian side has expanded its production capacities and is ready to provide medical items to Armenia aimed at preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Minister Arshakyan in turn expressed hope that the world will overcome the current crisis with joint efforts, and people will eventually return to their normal life.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
DOYLESTOWN >> A man and woman will face decades in state prison for the repeated sexual assault of three children under the age of 13, abuse that they also filmed in more than 40 videos of child pornography. Leonard F. Hewitt Sr. 51, and Krystyn Anne Smock, 40, both of Bristol Township, committed the acts for more than four years...
Sixteen Manipur residents, housed in different quarantine centres after they returned from Chennai, Delhi and Guwahati recently, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the tally of infections in the northeastern state to 23, officials said.

According to a statement issued by the state's COVID-19 Common Control Room, among those infected are a woman and her 23-day-old son.

Fourteen of those who tested positive on Wednesday hailed from Churachandpur district and returned from Chennai recently. Another person from Churachandpur district who recently returned from Delhi also tested positive for COVID-19.

Another who tested positive is a Guwahati returnee and hails from Imphal East district.

"Necessary control measures such as containment and contact tracing have been taken up," an official said.

Three symptomatic cases from District Hospital Churachandpur have now been admitted to the COVID-19 care facility at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in the state capital, the statement said.

The Chennai returnees were part of stranded Manipuris numbering around 1,140 who were evacuated and in a 'Shramik Special' train.

The train had reached Jiribam Railway Station on May 13 following which the returnees were transported to their respective district and were sent for community quarantine.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
84 complaints were about the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with the Ombudsman upholding ten of the complaints, new figures from the Ombudsman show.

Overall, complaints to Ombudsman Peter Tyndall rose by 9pc to 3,664 in 2019. It is the highest number of complaints received by the Ombudsman since 2010.

One upheld complaint against the Department of Agriculture involved a farmer from Sligo whose payment under the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS) was stopped.

As part of the scheme the farmer had set aside a strip of land for 20 years to encourage wildlife habitat. The farmer had invested considerable resources in planting trees along the river and believed he would receive payments for 20 years.

The man took part in a number of REPS schemes involving different conditions and varying completion dates. He was unable to enter the final REPS scheme and took part in a different scheme. However, the Department stopped the 20-year payments as he was not in a REPS scheme.

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint as the farmer was in full compliance with all the conditions of the scheme, and it was reasonable for the man to believe he would continue to receive payment as the scheme clearly provided for payment for 20 years. The Department revised its decision and awarded the man 12,500. The Department also identified 109 similar cases involving a possible liability of 855,000.

In another case, the Department agreed to review its decision not to allow a 40-year-old farmer to apply for the Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme (YFCIS). The Ombudsman clarified with the European Commission that the interpretation of young farmer in the scheme included someone who applied before their 41st birthday.

According to the Ombudsman, the European Commission confirmed that a young farmer is someone who is not more than 40 years of age at the moment of submitting an application and that the application has to be submitted, at the latest, on the day before the 41st birthday.

The Department said that the clarification applied to Measure 6 only and that payments are not made under Measure 6 in Ireland. However, the Ombudsman pointed out that the same definition applied to all Measures and that the farmer was adversely affected by the decision to exclude her from applying. The Department reviewed its decision and confirmed that the farmer was eligible.

Student Farmer

In another case, a student from Clare contacted the Ombudsman after Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) refused her application for an education grant at the special rate.

The special rate is a higher grant aimed at people on low incomes and she had discovered that SUSI had double-counted some of her income which brought her above the threshold for the special rate grant. The studenthad applied to SUSI for a grant for the academic year 2018/19 and was awarded a grant. However, she was not awarded the higher special rate. Her household income had been miscalculated as farm grants were added to the income.

These grants had already been included in the farming accounts and should not have been added to the income. She appealed the decision to SUSI and she was awarded the special rate for the academic year 2018/19. She discovered that this error had occurred in two other years.

She appealed these earlier decisions, but her appeal was turned down as she was outside the time limit for making an appeal. The time limit for making an appeal to SUSI is 30 days. However, the error came to light only during Karens 2018/19 application and therefore she had no reason to appeal the decision at the time. Following discussions with the Ombudsman SUSI reviewed the award of her previous grants. She was awarded the special rate of grant for 2016/17 receiving an additional payment of 2,890.

The Ombudsman examines complaints about public services, such as those provided by government departments, local authorities and the HSE. In his annual report for 2019, the Ombudsman said his Office saw increases in complaints about almost all sectors it deals with.

Before complainants bring their complaints to the Ombudsman Office they must first take reasonable steps to resolve their complaint with the public service provider concerned.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The FDNY responded to an a report of smoke emanating from the wall of an Annadale home Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters arrived to the scene at 161 Boardwalk Ave. just after 3:06 p.m., according to an FDNY spokesman.

The incident was placed under control at 3:45 p.m., the spokesman said, after 12 FDNY trucks and 60 firefighters arrived to the scene.

No injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Advertisement

No10 has disowned Cabinet minister Therese Coffey after she blamed government blunders on coronavirus testing and care homes on 'wrong' science advice.

Downing Street heaped praise on its experts and insisted 'ministers decide' after the comments by the Work and Pensions Secretary caused a storm.

As a furious blame game erupted yesterday, Ms Coffey appeared to try to pass the buck.

Pushed on whether the government had made mistakes, she told Sky News that ministers could 'only make judgements and decisions based on the information and advice that we have at the time'. 'If the science advice at the time was wrong I am not surprised people think we made the wrong decision,' she said.

The intervention triggered a thinly-veiled rebuke from Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, at the daily media briefing last night.

Dame Angela said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to track individual cases 'took account of the testing that was available'.

'With the testing we had the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital... it was the right thing to do at the time,' she said.

She said the 'scientific advice would be that you need to have a rapid and reliable testing system'. Asked if that was now true, Dame Angela replied: 'I think it is getting better.'

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland risked fuelling the row this morning by conceding the government had to make a 'choice' about where to deploy limited testing capacity.

'I think we needed to make a choice about testing and we did decide to focus upon the NHS,' he told Sky News. 'The issue with care homes is that weve got many thousands of different providers, different settings, there have been lots of examples of care homes that have mercifully stayed infection free, but sadly far too many cases of infection and then death.'

The admission came after the Commons Science Committee said hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'.

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with checks reserved for hospital patients and health staff.

Meanwhile, health select committee chairman Jeremy Hunt has told Boris Johnson to be more transparent to show whether politicians have been given the right advice by scientists.

'The only way to resolve this is to publish the scientific advice ministers were acting on,' Mr Hunt told the Times.

'We can't possibly know whether government was following the science if we don't know the advice they were given. If you publish the advice it gives a chance for other scientists to scrutinise it.'

Swathes of evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has not been published, while other parts have been released with a long time lag and sections blanked out.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey appeared to pass the buck in a round of interviews yesterday, saying science advice might have been 'wrong'

Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to track individual cases 'took account of the testing that was available'

Scots Royal Regiment of Scotland take a test sample at a Covid-19 testing centre at Glasgow Airport - but the scheme was lambasted by MPs

Boris Johnson sits at the top of a complex chain of experts who have shaped crucial decisions on the coronavirus crisis. As chair of Cobra and the Cabinet, the PM has the final say on the UKs approach  but ministers insist they have faithfully followed the scientific advice at all times. The governments Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance are the main gateways through which expertise is channelled to the PM from a variety of scientific committees and groups

Environment Secretary George Eustice stopped short of conceding explicitly that policy was driven by limits on testing capability, merely saying efforts were made to 'build the capacity'

How the UK's testing regime chaos collapsed into chaos - and the fateful day No 10 halted community testing before the pandemic's peak The UK's testing regime is under the microscope after ministers appeared too slow to act while today the UK still has no fully functioning trace and trace app despite already easing the lockdown. March 12 is viewed as the lowest point of the crisis when the Government dropped community testing despite experts around the world warning that testing every case was the only way to cut infections and save lives. The Government has been damned by MPs for still not explaining who took the decision - or exactly why - although a lack of capacity and a lack of control over the virus' spread are the likeliest answers. This is how the testing scandal has unfolded: January 31: First confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK are two Chinese nationals staying in York while sightseeing. The Department of Health pledges to test anyone who becomes ill with the virus. February 1: China reports asymptomatic cases of coronavirus, making the testing of health workers crucial because they could be spreading the virus unknowingly. An outbreak of COVID-19 had already swamped the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. A British man on board would later die. February 21: As the virus continues to spread across the globe, the UK Government experts conclude at a meeting that the disease is still only a 'moderate' threat to the UK. Yet in Lombardy, Italy, clusters of cases began to emerge before the north of the country was engulfed completely. March 3: South Korea manages to reduce the number of Covid-19 infections to 851 on March 3 by effectively tracking people infected with COVID-19 using an app and testing. By the end of March there would be less than 20 cases per day. Doctors urge other countries to adopt their model. March 11: Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is 'rolling out a big expansion of testing' but fails to give a timetable and says 1,215 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK. March 12: 24 hours later Boris Johnson was accused of mixed messages after saying that health workers will no longer test people for the virus in their homes, only when they are admitted to hospital. Anyone with symptoms, but able to care for themselves at home, would not be tested and it marked the end of the policy to 'contact trace' everyone with symptoms on, as the government's response moves from 'containment' into a 'delay' phase. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: 'It is no longer needed to identify every case, so we will pivot testing capacity to identify people in hospitals with symptoms to ensure they don't pass it on.' Critics have said that this is the day the Government lost control and conceded defeat on testing as cases increased and they didn't have the capacity to test every person. Downing Street has always refused to say who took the fateful decision to halt testing in the community on March 12, with many claiming it was this decision that led to it sweeping through communities and care homes. March 13: Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance suggests the strategy is not to 'suppress' coronavirus completely but 'reduce the peak' as up to 60 per cent get infected. He says that means the UK will 'build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease'. March 16: Boris Johnson urges Britons to follow 'social distancing' guidelines as well as isolating when they have symptoms, in a change of policy after modelling found the death toll could be much higher than previously estimated. The WHO warns on slow progress with testing, saying you 'cannot fight a fire blindfolded' and urges countries to 'test, test, test'. March 17: There was more confusion as Patrick Vallance tells a Commons committee testing numbers should be higher. 'I think we need a big increase in testing, and that is what I am pushing for very hard.' March 18: Amid growing criticism, the PM declares that there will be a big expansion of tests from under 5,000 a day to 25,000. He also sets an ambition of 250,000 tests a day, although this includes potential mass antibody tests for whether people previously had the disease. March 21: Downing Street sends an email to research institutions begging for machines needed to process testing samples. No10 denies this was the first time it had raised the idea. March 27: Mr Johnson and Matt Hancock announce they have tested positive for coronavirus. Prof Whitty goes into self-isolation with symptoms. March 29: Cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Michael Gove hail news that the UK is now carrying out 10,000 tests a day. April 1: It emerges that the UK has still not carried out 10,000 tests in a day, despite apparently having the capacity to do so. In Germany a single lab in Cologne was carrying out 10,000 tests itself. Germany would soon ramp up to 500,000 tests a week. April 2: Matt Hancock sets a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. At the same time a goal of 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April is quietly dropped. April 5: The PM's official account causes confusion by tweeting that the target is for 100,000 people to be tested a day, rather than 100,000 tests as other ministers have suggested. Many people need more than one test in a day for clinical reasons, such as to confirm results. April 6: Mr Johnson is admitted to hospital as his symptoms fail to subside and would later spend days in intensive care. April 30: Mr Hancock declares victory with 122,000 tests in a day. However, it emerges that the government has been counting tests posted out but not actually completed. That is despite Mr Johnson and others stating the numbers are for tests 'carried out'. The numbers tumble below the target again in the following days, although the government insists capacity remains in place. May 5: Trials of an NHSX app to track who has been in proximity to infected people begin on the Isle of Wight. Chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance admits ramping up testing earlier would have been 'beneficial'. May 18: It emerges the app will not be ready for national use by 'mid-May' as planned, although Downing Street insists track and trace can start without it. Mr Hancock announces that everyone over the age of five displaying coronavirus symptoms can now apply for a test, although key workers and patients will be prioritised. May 19: A furious blame game erupted over who was to blame for coronavirus blunders on testing and care homes were down to 'wrong' science advice. The Science and Technology Committee found hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of capacity for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'. The Department of Health and Public Health England have been pointing the finger at each other. Advertisement

The extraordinary comment came after the incoming president of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, warned politicians against putting blame on to scientists.

The ability to detect and crack down on cases is seen as crucial to getting the economy up and running, with unions warning workplaces and schools cannot be safe until the regime is in place.

The committee hit out at Public Health England for the 'pivotal decision' to shun smaller labs and failure to make a 'rigorous assessment' of countries such as South Korea and Germany that had successfully ramped up testing.

But PHE chief Duncan Selbie shot back that it was 'not responsible' for the testing strategy, which 'has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He insisted 'any testing facility with the right technology and containment' could have carried out checks after security restrictions were lowered on March 3.

GMB's Piers Morgan also berated Ms Coffey for mistakenly claiming that 100,000 people had been tested on a 'handful' of days. In fact, while the government says it has hit the 100,000 tests a day target, the number of people checked is lower as many need to be done more than once for clinical reasons.

In a letter to the PM, committee chairman Greg Clark identified a series of lessons to learn from the UK's handling of the outbreak.

He said capacity must 'urgently' be built up for contact tracing, a key tactic in helping ease existing lockdown measures.

Mr Clark said: 'Testing capacity has been inadequate for most of the pandemic so far.

'Capacity was not increased early enough or boldly enough. Capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity.'

Mr Hancock announced on April 2 that he wanted to reach 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of the month.

The goal was reached for the first time on April 30 but sparked accusations the figures had been inflated, as they included tests which had been posted out but not completed.

The milestone has been reached a handful of times since.

Mr Clark said PHE had repeatedly failed to answer questions over the 'pivotal' decision to ignore mass testing in favour of other tactics.

He said: 'The decision to pursue an approach of initially concentrating testing in a limited number of laboratories and to expand them gradually, rather than an approach of surging capacity through a large number of available public sector, research institute, university and private sector labs is one of the most consequential made during this crisis.

'From it followed the decision on March 12 to cease testing in the community and retreat to testing principally within hospitals.'

He said the decision meant that residents in care homes and care home workers could not be tested at a time when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant.

Mr Clark wrote: 'Had the public bodies responsible in this space themselves taken the initiative at the beginning of February, or even the beginning of March, rather than waiting until the Secretary of State imposed a target on April 2, knowledge of the spread of the pandemic and decisions about the response to it may have made more options available to decision makers at earlier stages.'

But in a statement to the BBC, Mr Selbie said the testing strategy was not PHE's responsibility.

'PHE did not constrain or seek to control any laboratory either public, university or commercial from conducting testing,' he said.

Downing Street rejected the criticism over testing.

'We set up the largest diagnostic testing industry in British history from scratch in a matter of weeks,' the PM's spokesman said.

'The PM is hugely grateful for the hard work and expertise of the UK's world-leading scientists,' the spokesman said.

Asked about Ms Coffey's intervention, the spokesman pointedly said 'ministers make decisions, scientists advise'.

The Science committee identified concerns over the transparency of its Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency) membership amid concerns political interference could affect the guidance.

The report, based on evidence sessions with experts including Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, and Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, found the approach to dealing with asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19 was 'unclear'.

Separately, a care home chief blamed delayed advice and testing during a 'critical' period for having spread coronavirus throughout homes.

Barchester Healthcare chief executive Dr Pete Calveley, who said around two thirds of his homes have had Covid-19 cases, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had several weeks where their first reaction was to protect the NHS, where they wanted to discharge a lot of clients from hospital to make sure there was capacity for what they anticipated was a surcharge.

'And that meant a lot of people being discharged from care homes rather quickly who hadn't been tested and often we've seen where we've been doing large testing of care homes where asymptomatic staff, and particularly residents, are actually positive and therefore are freely moving through the home are infecting other residents and staff without anybody knowing about it until too late.'

Dr Calveley said there was a 'critical' period of up to four weeks before testing was available and advice was issued for staff to wear professional masks and isolation for new admissions.

'None of that advice came out until it was probably too late,' he said.

One former minister told the Telegraph the government's handling of the crisis was reminiscent of the famous Morecambe and Wise sketch featuring Andre Previn, the pianist and composer.

The MP said: 'It's like when Previn turns to Eric and says: 'You're not playing the right notes' and Eric grabs him by the lapels and replies: 'I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order'. Everything has been the wrong way round.'

On the plan for a 14-day quarantine period on arrivals to the UK, they added: 'That should have happened at the beginning of the crisis, not at the end.'

Ms Coffey defended the Government's coronavirus testing record as having improved from a 'standing start'.

Responding to the Commons Science and Technology Committee's criticism, she told BBC Breakfast: 'We had a small amount of capacity at the very start, it was solely based on Public Health England's capability of being able to have about 2,000 tests a day.

'We had little capacity early on, I recognise that, we have got a lot of capacity now.

'I think from pretty much a standing start, roughly in about mid-February I think it was, to get to a capacity and actual tests being done of 100,000 within about six weeks, I think is pretty full-on and actually I think something we can look on with pride.'

The row came as Downing Street announced the NHS contact tracing app  trailed on the Isle of Wight this month  will be launched across the country in the 'coming weeks'.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called on Boris Johnson to start getting the economy working again and to reconsider the two-metre social distancing rule, after dire benefits claim figures show the highest rise since records began 50 years ago.

The Tory MP told Today that unemployment depends 'first and foremost (on) how quickly are we able to get the economy moving'?

'We need to get that moving as quick as possible and I've certainly been arguing that for some weeks now,' he said.

Ministers 'must stop claiming they are following the science' Ministers should stop claiming they are 'following the science' and stop passing the buck in the battle against coronavirus, a leading scientist has demanded. Sir Adrian Smith, 73, a statistician and the the incoming president of the Royal Society, said politicians are justifying their measures by saying they are following expert advice to appear decisive. He warned that blame should not be passed to scientists as the government are the ones implementing and making decisions in the battle against coronavirus. Sir Adrian also blasted the government's decision to make decisions behind closed doors, adding 'openness and transparency would have been a better option'. A full list of members of the government's secretive SAGE committee, which has advised on tackling the virus, was only published two weeks ago and minutes from its meetings have still to be released. Furious MPs have previously demanded research papers underpinning the government's coronavirus strategy are immediately released. Advertisement

On social distancing, Sir Iain said 'we're the only country certainly in Europe that I know of' that uses the two-metre rule.

'I think when it comes to the hospitality sector, I think we do need to look at it very carefully,' he said.

'So we do need to look at how they manage that process and give them some flexibility.

Meanwhile, ministers have been told to stop claiming they are 'following the science' and stop passing the buck in the battle against coronavirus.

Sir Adrian Smith, 73, a statistician and the the incoming president of the Royal Society, said politicians are justifying their measures by saying they are following expert advice to appear decisive.

He warned that blame should not be passed to scientists as the government are the ones implementing and making decisions in the battle against coronavirus.

Sir Adrian also blasted the government's decision to make decisions behind closed doors, adding 'openness and transparency would have been a better option'.

A full list of members of the government's secretive SAGE committee, which has advised on tackling the virus, was only published two weeks ago and minutes from its meetings have still to be released.

Furious MPs have previously demanded research papers underpinning the government's coronavirus strategy are immediately released.

The latest slides released bythe government tonight show the state of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK

PHE chief Dunan Selbie (right) said it was 'not responsible' for the testing strategy, which 'has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care' - Matt Hancock's (left) department

Abandoned to their fate: Elderly hospital patients with COVID-19 symptoms were discharged into care homes WITHOUT tests before virus killed 10,000 pensioners - despite warnings from around the world

Care home chief blames lack of testing for spread A care home chief has blamed delayed advice and testing during a 'critical' period for having spread coronavirus throughout homes. Barchester Healthcare chief executive Dr Pete Calveley, who said around two thirds of his homes have had Covid-19 cases, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had several weeks where their first reaction was to protect the NHS, where they wanted to discharge a lot of clients from hospital to make sure there was capacity for what they anticipated was a surcharge. 'And that meant a lot of people being discharged from care homes rather quickly who hadn't been tested and often we've seen where we've been doing large testing of care homes where asymptomatic staff, and particularly residents, are actually positive and therefore are freely moving through the home are infecting other residents and staff without anybody knowing about it until too late.' Dr Calveley said there was a 'critical' period of up to four weeks before testing was available and advice was issued for staff to wear professional masks and isolation for new admissions. 'None of that advice came out until it was probably too late,' he said. Advertisement

Elderly hospital patients who had coronavirus symptoms were discharged into care homes without being tested despite warnings from around the world the crisis could grip the sector, industry bosses revealed today.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told MPs the decision may be partly to blame for allowing COVID-19 to race through homes and kill more than 10,000 residents.

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the Government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with swabs reserved for critically ill hospital patients and NHS staff.

Professor Green said emphasis on saving the NHS led to elderly people with underlying health conditions - the most at risk of dying from the disease - being abandoned.

Prioritising hospitals over care homes also resulted in residents having their medical support cut off and PPE supplies for the sector being disrupted, according to Professor Green.

He told the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee today that 'very clear national strategy' was now needed from Government to prevent more waves of the virus ravaging the sector.

Adelina Comas-Herrera, assistant research fellow at the London School of Economics, told the committee that there was 'plenty of evidence' in March that care homes could be devastated by the crisis.

She said US research had shown that coronavirus patients were regularly asymptomatic, highlighting the need for stringent testing.

An Office for National Statistics report revealed today that at least 11,000 COVID-19 deaths occurred in England and Wales

However this is a modest estimate because it does not include care home deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland or residents who were moved to hospital before they passed away

It comes as an Office for National Statistics report revealed today that at least 11,000 COVID-19 deaths occurred in England and Wales. However this is a modest estimate because it does not include care home deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland or residents who were moved to hospital before they passed away.

Researchers at the London School of Economics estimate at least 22,000 care home residents have died with coronavirus - half of the UK's overall fatalities.

Meanwhile, a damning Government study leaked today also revealed that untested temporary staff may have been inadvertently spreading the illness in the sector's scramble to fill vacancies left by workers in self-isolation.
The death toll due to coronavirus climbed to 127 in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, with four fresh fatalities and the number of cases in the state rose to 5,175 as 249 more people tested positive for the infection, the health department said.

There are 1,981 active cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, in the state. As many as 3,066 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovery, it said.

Of the four fresh deaths, two were reported from Prayagraj, and one each from Meerut and Gorakhpur, according to the health department.

Of the total 127 deaths, 27 were reported in Agra; 21 in Meerut; 11 in Moradabad; eight each in Aligarh and Kanpur; five each in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Firozabad; four each in Varanasi, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mathura and Jhansi; three in Prayagraj; and two each in Basti, Jalaun, Mainpuri and Ghaziabad.

One death each has been reported in Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Bijnor, Pratapgarh, Amroha, Bareilly, Shrawasti, Azamgarh, Etah, Kanpur Dehat, Mahoba, Kushi Nagar and Lalitpur.

Principal Secretary, Health, and Medical Officer Amit Mohan Prasad said a total of 7,179 COVID-19 tests were conducted across UP in the last 24 hours and the state is also ramping up its pool testing facility.

"We are emphasising on surveillance and over 3.38 crore people have been surveyed by 83,405 teams in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

Prasad said the Centre's Aarogya Setu mobile application is being used and alerts are being sent to people.

"We have made 23,780 calls on the basis of the alerts generated by the mobile app and 326 people have been quarantined, while 71 have tested positive for coronavirus," he said.

The officer said migrant workers coming from other states are being monitored by health workers.

"Over five lakh migrant workers were screened and 629 of them showed symptoms of coronavirus. Their samples were sent for testing," Prasad said.

The state government has asked them to strictly follow home quarantine and 'village/mohalla nigrani samitis' are keeping an eye on them, he added.

There are 56,019 isolation and 26,419 quarantine beds in the state, Prasad said, adding that there are 1,260 beds with ventilators as well.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Newser)  Many states have postponed scheduled executions amid the coronavirus pandemic, but on Tuesday night, an inmate was put to death for the first time since March 5. Walter Barton, 64, was convicted of murdering his former landlord, 81-year-old Gladys Kuehler, in 1991, USA Today reports. Kuehler operated a mobile home park in Missouri, and Barton, who was living in his car at the time, was reportedly visiting Kuehler's granddaughter and a neighbor on the night she was stabbed to death after being beaten and sexually assaulted; the trio found her dead in her room. A small amount of her blood was found on Barton's clothing, but he maintained his innocence throughout five trials, including mistrials and appeals, the last of which ended with a death sentence in 2006, NBC News reports. The Telegraph reports he twice saw convictions overturned.

story continues below

The Innocence Project, Amnesty International, and others had worked to halt the execution, raising concerns about the blood spatter evidence used by the prosecution; that type of forensic analysis has seen its accuracy questioned recently and there were questions of whether Barton's defense team properly countered it. An independent bloodstain analysis ordered by Barton's current lawyers found that his clothes didn't have as much blood on them as they would have had he stabbed Kuehler 52 times. One of his attorneys also got affidavits from three jurors who said they now have doubts after convicting Barton. However, a federal appeals court on Sunday declined to delay the execution, the Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to intervene, and he was put to death via lethal injection. Missouri officials say witnesses' temperatures were checked, masks were required, and they were split into three rooms to maintain social distancing. (Read more execution stories.)
Oman has made key amendments in some provisions of the values, prices and fees collected by the Ministry of Housing and also the fees for services provided through the real estate development electronic system, said a report.

As per the ministerial decisions made by Shaikh Saif bin Mohammed al Shabibi, Minister of Housing, the fee for obtaining a three-year valid licence required for practicing real estate development activity has been set at RO750 ($1,950) while the fee for initiating a real estate development project will be 0.1 per cent of the total projects value, reported Oman Observer.

Investors seeking to display properties for a period of three months inside the sultanate will be required to pay RO500 in fees. These include kiosks, exhibitions, conferences, brokerage offices, marketing companies, it stated.

The fees for the promotion of international properties will cost RO10,000 while advertising and promotion of local properties require payment of RO200, it added.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

All the data so far suggests the novel coronavirus arrived in the United States in 2020, but that hasn't stopped speculation that people who became ill with mysterious flu-like symptoms in late 2019 might have contracted COVID-19.

The latest study out of Stanford University, however, is further evidence that the coronavirus wasn't in the United States prior to 2020, as researchers attempt to find the earliest coronavirus patients in an effort to track the spread of the disease.

No COVID-19 cases were identified, consistent with limited transmission in this population at this time, Dr. Catherine A. Hogan, an infectious diseases physician and medical microbiologist with Stanfords Department of Pathology, told the Mercury News.

The Stanford study, which examined 1,700 throat swabs taken from patients who visited a Stanford Health Care facility in the Bay Area in November and December 2019, found no traces of the coronavirus. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.

The symptoms that people tend to present with have a lot of overlap with other common viruses like the common cold, influenza, the common flu-type symptoms, Dr. Alexei Wagner, assistant director of Adult Emergency Medicine at Stanfords Department of Emergency Medicine, told SFGATE in April. So fever, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, sore throat  there's tons of overlap. And so we've heard [from] a lot of people concerned, OK do I have COVID or do I have just kind of a normal upper-respiratory infection that I don't have to worry about?

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the United States was in Seattle on Jan. 21 involving a man who had recently returned from the Wuhan region of China, with the first confirmed COVID-19 fatality, a woman from San Jose, occurring on Feb. 6.

It is still possible that COVID-19 was in the United States prior to January, as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn't begin testing for coronavirus until early February, with the rollout marred by contamination in the initial testing kits.

The Stanford study also is limited to people who sought medical treatment because they exhibited symptoms of a respiratory illness. Researchers suggest that as many as half of people infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.

Matthew Tom is a Homepage Editor at SFGATE. Email: mtom@sfgate.com.
Experts predict 3 pct growth in China's military budget amid rising defense needs

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/19 13:39:46

Growth rate may fall due to COVID-19 impact

China's defense budget draft for 2020 is expected to be released on Friday, the first day of the annual National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, with most Chinese military observers reached by the Global Times believing the figure will continue to rise amid the "black swan" COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted China's economy but also raised additional national defense demands.

In a Global Times survey with nine military experts, three calculated a growth rate of around 3 percent, leading to a possible budget of about 1.22 trillion yuan ($171.5 billion), one predicted a 5 to 6 percent growth to about 1.25 trillion yuan, three said it was difficult to forecast, and two said a shrink is possible.

China takes the development of the economy and the demands of national defense into consideration when deciding on the appropriate scale and composition of defense expenditure, according to the national defense white paper issued by the State Council Information Office in July 2019.

Both these elements favor growth, although the growth rate could become slower, analysts said.

China's defense budget for 2019 was 1.19 trillion yuan, up 7.5 percent from 2018. China has maintained single-digit growth in its annual defense budget since 2016.

Limited economic impact

In the past three decades, China has kept its military expenditure/GDP ratio to under 2 percent. In the past 10 years, this figure was maintained at around 1.3 percent, according to the 2019 white paper.

This overall trend is unlikely to change drastically, analysts said.

Despite China's economy contracting 6.8 percent in the first three months of the year due to quarantines introduced as an important measure to control and prevent COVID-19, which has restricted many kinds of business and trade activities, the country's economy is already restarting along with comprehensive work resumptions and daily activities along with normalized epidemic control measures. Many economists recently reached by the Global Times predicted a 3 percent GDP increase for the year 2020.

Beijing-based military expert Li Jie told the Global Times that the military budget will likely follow the general direction of the economy and grow based on the increase in GDP, so while this year's budget will not grow as fast as last year, a slight growth should still be expected.

Some optimistic GDP growth predictions of 2 to 3 percent indicate a similar growth in the military budget, but the final expenditure could be adjusted according to the actual situation, Li said.

If GDP growth is assumed to be at about 3 percent, the defense budget should also aim for a similar growth, a Chinese military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times.

Deviations in the military budget could also occur based on the projected military expenditure/GDP ratio, which could fluctuate within the 2 percent range, the anonymous expert predicted.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst, also voiced a similar prediction.

Wei told the Global Times that a defense budget growth rate lower than 5 percent would match China's current economic and financial situation.

A lowered defense budget growth would be a rational choice, because it will not overwhelm the country's finances and would still ensure the military's training and exercises as well as key projects in weapons and equipment development, Wei said.

Growing defense needs

China has been facing additional national defense threats from Western countries led by the US.

Since the start of 2020, the US has been frequently sending warships and warplanes into the South China Sea and East China Sea, with some crossing the Taiwan Straits, sending wrong signals to Taiwan secessionists. This situation was exacerbated after US aircraft carriers were hit by COVID-19 in March.

According to a report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in April, the US drives global military expenditure growth, spending a whopping $732 billion in 2019. By comparison, China only spent $261 billion. The number for China in the report is higher than China's official figure.

China needs to moderately increase its defense budget and boost its military capabilities, particularly under the current complicated circumstances and with the US making provocations near China, Li said.

Wei said that China still needs to develop and produce more advanced weapons and equipment, and increase salaries and benefits for officers and soldiers, and a continuously increasing budget will provide sufficient funding.

The anonymous expert said that despite several technological breakthroughs in military equipment, China still operates a vast arsenal of outdated weapons such as Type 59 tanks and J-7 fighter jets. They need to be replaced by advanced weapons like Type 99A and Type 15 tanks and J-10 fighter jets. The numbers of China's most advanced weapons such as the J-20 fighter jet, Type 055 large destroyer and aircraft carriers are also limited and require funding.

China needs to continue expanding its naval arsenal and conduct frequent patrols and exercises in related waters to safeguard territorial integrity and national sovereignty, the expert said.

According to a report submitted to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017, the Chinese armed forces should achieve mechanization in 2020, Xinhua reported.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times that China should prepare for military struggles given the increasing military pressure from countries and regions like the US, so the military budget increase should be kept the same as last year while a slightly slowed growth rate will also be acceptable.

In the post-pandemic period, the international and regional situation might further deteriorate in a manner that is unfavorable to China, Song said, noting that boosting investment in a strong national defense field will also ensure a peaceful environment in which the Chinese economy can continue to steadily develop.

The funding will also go to the Chinese military's non-combat capabilities, Song said.

The Chinese military played vital roles in China's success in overcoming the COVID-19 epidemic. Thousands of medical personnel from military medical units were dispatched via military transport means to aid Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, the city hit hardest by the epidemic in China, while top Chinese military scientists are leading the world in COVID-19 vaccine development.

They have also provided solid support to the Chinese people, helping them overcome major disasters like the epidemic, return to normal lives and enjoy stable economy development, Song said. An increased military budget will be worth it, he said.

An expanding defense budget would also give more funding to China's military research and development, which is actually boosting domestic demand at a time when exports are being hit by the pandemic, Song said, noting that this will bring momentum to the economy and enhance China's technological level, which will in turn boost the economy further.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Rwanda, also known as the land of a thousand hills, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Its name is derived from its mountain dominated topography. Since the global outbreak of COVID-19, the African nation, which has a population of 12 million and occupies less than 30,000 kilometers of land, has been inundated with a slew of new pressure. As of May 13, the Rwandan Ministry of Health has confirmed 287 cases of COVID-19 in Rwanda.

In the midst of the global fight against COVID-19, Zhu Ruizhi, a Ph.D. candidate from the PKU National School of Development, began to be involved in a refugee protection program in Rwanda as a UN Junior Officer (JPO). With years of experience in refugee protection and a background in interdisciplinary research, Zhu is determined to bring Chinas experience in battling COVID-19 to Africa.

Zhu Ruizhi

At undergraduate level, Zhu majored in PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) at Yuanpei College of Peking University. She has shown how a multi-disciplined background can teach one to empathetically and also pragmatically think about societal issues. Zhus research in pedagogy and economics during her masters and now in her doctorate has provided her with the tools needed to investigate the expansion of human capital and the development of a nation from a perspective of educational equity. Last April, she made the decision to head to Rwanda and engage in refugee protection, which was a memorable opportunity offered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Zhu, who was supposed to be on holidays in China earlier this year, was called back to help. Despite the obvious danger, Zhu accepted the call without hesitation. She made the decision to return to Rwanda and lend her hands in refugee support work and the fight against the novel coronavirus.

On her trip to Rwanda, Zhu was faced with an entirely new set of challenges. On top of her usual work, for example maintaining refugee protection services, she was also involved in disease prevention. Refugee communities are like huge families, and all of the demands of its residents, no matter how big or small, need to be given our full attention, Zhu said.

Zhu and her team worked day and night to provide the best support possible to the refugees residing in the community. Their duties spanned from the provision of food, nutritional supplements, and utilities such as electricity and water, to helping with newborn baby registrations, the elderlys access to medical treatment, to name but a few. Sometimes Zhu would jokingly declare her job title to be a farmer or an urban management officer. In the face of the pandemic, maintaining a steady supply of clean drinking water, distributing necessities while avoiding large gatherings, and ensuring the safety of residents and volunteers in the face of supply shortages all presented great hurdles for Zhu and her team.

Zhu Ruizhi and her colleagues

After going through the COVID-19 outbreak in China, Zhu realized the importance of frequent hand washing. To begin with, the team couldnt figure out why hand washing hadnt been taken up as a habit by many members of the refugee community. Was it due to a lack of access to running water? Broken taps? Residents didnt believe the water to be clean enough?

Effective improvements couldnt be made without first carrying out a proper field investigation. Zhu and her team went door to door to learn more about water usage among local residents and to promote the importance of hand washing. Eventually, their hard work paid off as their early action bore encouraging results. They managed to renovate public washrooms, bathrooms, and the communitys water supply system before the local cases of COVID-19 were reported.

Keeping public washrooms clean posed a particular challenge to the team, especially when COVID-19 is raging across the world. With fear of lack of sanitation in public washrooms, residents were opting to build makeshift latrines inside their own houses. However, this was strongly discouraged as the sanitation of private latrines was hard to control and presented a potential risk to disease control. While carrying out their duties, Zhu and her team surprisingly found that one of the communities always managed to keep their public washrooms clean. Afterwards, they found out that the community had assigned only three households per cubicle who had full responsibility for their assigned toilets, rather than having 10 households all share the entire toilet block. Inspired by the positive results, Zhu and her team began to adopt this approach in surrounding communities, which in turn all saw similar positive changes.

Zhu Ruizhi in a Rwandan refugee community

Before returning to Rwanda, Zhu was worried that Chinas efforts in fighting against the pandemic would be overlooked. On the contrary, when Zhu returned to Rwanda from China and started her 14-day quarantine, many colleagues sent her emails and text messages with positive responses to Chinas handling of the outbreak. Among these messages were also regards and wishes addressed to Zhu and her family in China and also to all Chinese citizens. She was deeply moved by the messages. Despite a cacophony of opinions, Chinas efforts in controlling the disease did not go unseen in the international community, Zhu said. Her colleagues in Rwanda all made efforts to debunk any groundless rumors about China. They also worked hard to understand Chinas current situation and the preventive measures China had taken in its attempt to control COVID-19. Zhu expressed her gratification towards the scientific and pragmatic approach that had been adopted by China in its response to the viral outbreak.

As soon as Rwanda saw its first case of COVID-19, the government imposed a series of measures to control its spread. Due to restrictions on transportation, going out to purchase supplies and entering the refugee community became even more difficult. In order to ensure residents access to resources, the team had to carefully plan out their purchases and ration their supplies. The team also had to develop an effective communication system so as to ensure the residents access to the latest information regarding the status of the potential outbreak. With Chinas experience in implementing such measures, Zhu and the team gathered all 127 community workers, volunteers, and local autonomous organizations to establish an online platform, on which they could constantly distribute updated information to the community including the latest news from the government, especially from the Ministry of Health. The members were also instructed to promote hygiene and cleanliness among the refugee communities. Although the teams chances for face-to-face contact had greatly been diminished, they maintained frequent online communication, keeping all members of the team involved and unified.

During her time in Rwanda, Zhu worked day and night. But she never felt burnt out. The smiling faces of the residents never failed to keep her going; the encouragement she received from her colleagues, and the support from her home country thousands of miles away, coupled with warm Rwandan nights, kept motivating her to dedicate herself in Rwanda. As the only Chinese team member, Zhu realized that there were many opportunities for young Chinese people to get involved in international organizations, especially on the frontlines of developing countries.

Zhu Ruizhi in Rwanda

I grew up in a generation shaped by Chinas rapid growth. We witnessed Chinas transformation from an impoverished country it once was to the prosperous one it is today, Zhu said. During this shift, China never stopped striving for new ways of doing things, so Zhu believed there is a lot to learn from this transition. During her time working in Rwanda, Zhu touched upon a unique experience. In the past, people in Rwanda believed that the development of agricultural technologies was crucial, because only then will countries send them the most advanced tractors. But, what if no one knows how to fix the tractor when it breaks down? The answer is simple. It could only sit there and rust. When Chinas agricultural poverty alleviation team arrived in Rwanda, they quickly discovered that the hoes being used were too short, so they lengthened the hoes by 10 centimeters. Over time, this minor change successfully boosted Rwandas local farming yields. To Zhu, China always showed great empathy through its international initiatives. This in large part was related to Chinas history, having emerged as a once poor nation itself, it had built up a vast system of knowledge over the course of its development. From an economic perspective, it might seem like much of the improvements were marginal, but it was these marginal improvements that had ultimately allowed China to flourish. Zhu hopes that she can continue to put this empathy and knowledge into practice on current and future refugee support programs.

In the face of this global pandemic, no man or country is an island. Zhu believes that every country has their own ways to combat the pandemic and she sincerely hopes that the world is able to stand united and continue to selflessly share new scientific knowledge in the fight against COVID-19. Zhu is also gratified to know that many students from Peking University are now serving in their own communities. This sense of social responsibility will always course through the veins of every PKUer. We will always uphold these values no matter where we end up, Zhu said.

The virus knows no borders. The world is in a community with a shared future. The sooner countries around the world come to realize this fact, the sooner they can find strength through unity. The students of PKU have embodied this unity as they reach out across the globe. Through helping a refugee community in Rwanda amid the pandemic, Zhu Ruizhi, who was recently bestowed with Peking University May Fourth Medal, the highest honor for PKU students, has shown us first hand that China is willing and ready to contribute to the global battle against COVID-19 in the face of adversity.

Source: PKU News
Australian actor Ruby Rose has handed in her cowl and walked away from the US series Batwoman.

The role, which Rose once described as the fulfillment of a childhood dream, will now be recast with a new actor when production on the show's second season resumes later this year.

Rose issued a statement to US media that said she had "made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman."

"This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show," the Melbourne-born actor, 34, said.
Matthew Henderson, 21, a college senior who has no job prospects and $24,000 in student loans, outside his parents' home in South Bend, Ind., on May 17, 2020. (Chris Walker/The New York Times)

Eduardo Porter and David Yaffe-Bellany

(Economy)

Matthew Henderson couldnt be entering the job market at a worse time. As a senior at Loyola University, he spent the spring semester interning as a trade policy analyst at the British Consulate in Chicago. But his chances of turning that opportunity into a permanent job after graduation ran headlong into the coronavirus pandemic.

Now Henderson is at home with his family in South Bend, Indiana, unemployed and considering jobs at Costco and Target to help pay off $24,000 in student loans. Im in this bubble of anxiety, said Henderson, who just turned 21. I have to pay these, but I have no money to pay them.

Saddled with debt, and entering a job market devastated by the pandemic, he and millions of his contemporaries face an exceptionally dicey future.

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

Young adults, especially those without a college degree, are particularly vulnerable in recessions. They are new to the job market  with scant on-the-job experience and little or no seniority to protect them from layoffs. A large body of research  along with the experience of those who came of age in the last recession  shows that young people trying to start their careers during an economic crisis are at a lasting disadvantage. Their wages, opportunities and confidence in the workplace may never fully recover.

And in the worst downturn in generations  one with no bottom in sight  the pattern is beginning to play out with a vengeance. From March to April, employment dropped by a quarter for workers 20-24 years old, and 16% for those 20-29. That compares with about 12% of workers in their 50s.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

In an article for Lawfare, a blog about law and national security, historian David Kennedy and retired general Karl Eikenberry likened the current crisis to wartime, when elders send the young to fight and die. It is the young  indebted students and struggling mortgagors, parents supporting families paycheck to paycheck, precarious recent graduates and anxious first-time job-seekers  whose lives will be most deeply scarred, they wrote.

For some younger workers, this is the second blow in barely a decade. An analysis by the McKinsey Global Institute noted that the generation that first entered the job market in the aftermath of the Great Recession is now going through its second once-in-a-lifetime downturn.

Molly Zerjal, a 32-year-old in St. Louis, lost a communications job at Wells Fargo during the last downturn. Now, Zerjal works in marketing at a different financial firm, and shes afraid it could happen again.

Im not an essential worker: marketing and communications is a nice to have, she said. Every day, Im like, Oh, God, what could happen today? Its like PTSD.

The question is what kind of scars this will leave in the hearts, minds and pockets of younger people.

Jordan Haggard, 33, graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2009 in the depths of the recession. The job market was dire: When she applied for a job at McDonalds, she never heard back.

Ten years later, Haggard works as an office manager for a small publishing company in Seattle. She has kept her job during the pandemic, even as some colleagues have been furloughed. But she still feels the effects of 2009.

I know I will never be able to afford a home in Seattle or even live by myself without a roommate or two, Haggard said. Life is different from the one I was told about or imagined.

Indeed, Jesse Rothstein of the University of California, Berkeley, followed college graduates who entered the labor market after the 2008 financial crisis. By 2018, those who had landed jobs in 2010 and 2011 had a lower employment rate than people at the same age who graduated before the recession hit, and those working earned less.

The effects are likely to persist. Lisa B. Kahn, an economics professor at the University of Rochester, tracked young white men who graduated from college in 1979 and 1980, into the jaws of an earlier recession. Over the next two decades, she found, they got stuck in low-quality, low-pay jobs. Even after the economy recovered, they had a hard time moving into better jobs.

The causes seem varied. Recession graduates, with limited opportunities, will start in jobs that are a worse fit. Once the economy recovers, they will compete for jobs with people who have more experience. In addition, Kahn noted, recession graduates seem more risk averse. People that graduate into a recession dont change jobs as often as people that graduate into booms, she noted. And these job changes are one of the best ways to get a raise.

The difficult start shadowed many through their careers. Till von Wachter of the University of California, Los Angeles, and Hannes Schwandt of Northwestern University followed Americans who entered the labor market in 1981 and 1982, during the largest postwar recession up to that time.

They not only earned less in midlife. They were also less likely to be married or to have children, and more likely to die young, recording higher mortality rates starting in their 30s  driven by heart disease, lung cancer, liver failure and drug overdoses  what two Princeton scholars, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, have called deaths of despair.

And, of course, young workers without a college degree are likely to fare even worse. Recessions, in general, widen inequality, Kahn said. The more disadvantaged groups  minorities, the young, those with less education  are the hardest hit.

In the coronavirus pandemic, the lopsided impact of business shutdowns on the young risks opening a generation gap with their elders who are more likely to die of the disease.

The diverging interests could affect policy as soon as this summer. In a research paper published last month, Dirk Krueger of the University of Pennsylvania and three colleagues estimated that people past retirement age would choose to close a much larger share of nonessential businesses and keep them closed, while younger workers in those shuttered businesses have the most to lose. The conflict between the old and the young is severe, Krueger noted.

The asymmetric aftershocks of this pandemic are likely to ripple across society far into the future.

Jordan Meier, who just graduated from the University of Missouri, has been hunting for a job as a reporter since February. Despite a strong resume, shes been able to find only a summer internship offering $250 a month, barely enough for her car payments, and no full-time prospects after that.

You work for years, you go through school, and you get to this point where youre preparing to get a job, she said. And now I cant do that. Its very frustrating.

Its not something I feel like any of my professors, my parents or really anybody has any knowledge about, she added. They never had to deal with it.

Meiers parents finished college in 1988, married and settled into fairly stable careers and a comfortable middle-class life. Her father attended graduate school and then got a job as a software analyst for Overland Park, Kansas. Her mother got a series of accounting jobs. She was laid off in the last recession, but found another position soon after.

Theres a big difference between finding a third or fourth full-time job and finding your first job, Meier said.

It would be unsurprising if this economic upheaval changed the youngs perception of the world, justice and the role of government.

Haggard, the office manager who graduated in 2009, was a Republican in college. She voted for John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. But the recession changed her worldview. Now, shes far more liberal, and she voted for Bernie Sanders in this years Democratic primary in Washington.

A big Republican thing is, Pick yourself up by the bootstraps,  she said. Well, we dont live in a world where thats possible, at least in America.

Paola Giuliano, a UCLA economist, and Antonio Spilimbergo of the International Monetary Fund studied how economic setbacks affect personal ideology.

Looking at data from the General Social Survey from 1972 through 2010, they concluded that people who experience a recession in what social psychologists call the impressionable years, roughly 18 to 25, were more likely to believe that success in life depends less on effort than on luck, support redistributive politics to help the less fortunate and mitigate inequality, and vote more often for left-wing parties.

Among those directly hit  young workers who have lost their jobs  the ideological shift could be even stronger. This, in principle, should create a divide between generations, Giuliano said.

Alicia Munnell and Wenliang Hou of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College have documented how millennials, born from 1981 to 1999, hit particularly hard by the recession of 2009, are less financially secure than young adults from preceding generations. They have more student debt and less money in their retirement plans. Their net worth is lower than that of boomers or Gen Xers. Fewer own homes. Fewer are married.

This is the generation that gave rise to Occupy Wall Street and propelled two presidential campaigns by Sanders. It is the generation voting for candidates like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, pushing the Democratic Party to the left.

And as it moves to the left, elders are moving in the opposite direction. In one recent study, Vivekinan Ashok and Ebonya Washington of Yale, with Ilyana Kuziemko of Princeton, found that even as income inequality has intensified, Americans 65 and older have become more resistant to redistribution. The old, they suggest, worry that new programs to help the poor will come at the expense of cuts to Medicare.

The disproportionate gains to the American elderly in terms of social spending over the past several decades may make them wary of further extending redistributive programs, they wrote.

There remains a crucial bond between generations: family. The young care for their parents, and dont want them to die of COVID-19. The old care about the financial well-being of their children and grandchildren, as well as about the balance in their 401(k). They dont want the economy to go into free fall.

For much of her adult life, Brenda Michael-Haggard, the 59-year-old mother of Jordan Haggard, has felt that people who lose jobs or face other forms of adversity should persevere and simply find another way to make stuff happen.

Now she has seen her daughters generation experience two economic crises in a little more than a decade and tens of millions of people lose their jobs practically overnight. It has changed how she looks at the world.

As the mom, golly, its too bad, she said. Its something that I wish any one of us could prevent. With all of the COVID, you cant just pick yourself up and find something different.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
PARIS  Coronavirus infections have dropped sharply in Paris following a strict two-month lockdown and a growing contact tracing effort, health officials say, and they have remained in check since the city began a halting return to life nearly two weeks ago.

The drop is pretty spectacular, said Renaud Piarroux, head of parasitology at one of the main Paris hospitals and organizer of the citys mobile contact tracing teams. The decline has been sharpest in what were the citys viral hot spots, in the less affluent northern neighborhoods. For right now there are very, very few cases, he said. Its just a small number that are testing positive.

But if the initial signs are hopeful, the reopening of Paris has been muted, in keeping with the national mood: fearful of what lies ahead, and angry at the government.

On the streets of Paris, shops have reopened, though many still lack customers. The police no longer check self-signed permits to leave home, yet streets in normally crowded neighborhoods like the Marais remain quiet. Table service at cafes and restaurants remains forbidden, a source of despair for chefs and cafe owners.
"As the weather has gotten nicer, it has been increasingly difficult to walk on neighborhood streets and maintain social distancing as more and more people come out, wrote Edgewater area resident Michael Dunghe. Often I resort to walking in the street but then I have to dodge cars and incredibly rude bicycle riders who never yield to anyone. Now I sometimes walk the alleys and only have to dodge rats.
BOULDER, CO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - (TSX:CWEB,OTCQX:CWBHF) Charlotte's Web, the company behind the world's most trusted hemp extract has achieved another milestone in its continued commitment to innovation and consistency in hemp genetics. The Company has earned U.S. utility patent U.S. 10,653,085, its second U.S. patent for hemp genetics. This patent is for 'CW1AS1', a new hemp variety created by company co-founder Joel Stanley and Sr. Director of Cultivation R&D Bear Reel. The patent takes Charlotte's Web's premier proprietary genetics to the next generation, and builds a strong wall of protection around it, and the products made from it.

"This 'CW1AS1' patent gives Charlotte's Web the highest level of protection for our proprietary genetics and ensures that Charlotte's Web products will continue to be available to the thousands who use them in a form that is consistent and provides the same user experience time and time again," said Deanie Elsner, Charlotte's Web CEO and President.

Patents on hemp genetics are a new frontier, and very few patents in this sector have been issued to date. Charlotte's Web, the world's largest vertically integrated hemp company, has been at the forefront of this new frontier in hemp patents and will continue to invest in its breeding program and in the science of hemp to ensure a consistent and high-quality supply is available.

"This patent recognizes the progress our breeding program has made to assure our farmer partners that the plants they grow will yield better and have a high level of phytocannabinoids," said Reel.

Charlotte's Web's flagship Original Formula was the first CBD wellness product to be sold nationally to consumers. Before Charlotte's Web was officially founded in 2013, there was a waiting list of more than 15,000 individuals for Original Formula, which uses the same proprietary phytochemical profiles produced by the now patented 'CW1AS1' hemp variety.

About Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.

Founded by the Stanley Brothers in 2013 in Colorado, Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc. is the market leader in the growing, production and distribution of innovative hemp-derived cannabidiol ("CBD") wellness products. The Company's exceptional quality products, tested more than 20 times, start with proprietary hemp-derived extracts naturally containing a full spectrum of phytocannabinoids and entourage phytochemicals including CBD, terpenes, flavonoids, and other beneficial hemp compounds. Industrial hemp products are non-intoxicating. Charlotte's Web product categories include CBD Oil tinctures (liquid products), CBD capsules, CBD topicals, as well as CBD pet products. Charlotte's Web hemp-derived products are sold through select distributors, in more than 11,000 brick and mortar stores, and online at www.CharlottesWeb.com. The rate the Company pays for agricultural products is fair and sustainable, driving higher quality yield, encouraging regenerative farming practices, and supporting U.S. farming communities.

Charlotte's Web is a socially conscious company and is committed to using business as a force for good and a catalyst for innovation. The Company weighs sound business decisions with consideration for how its actions affect its employees, customers, the environment, and local communities, while maximizing profits and strengthening its brands. The Company's management believes that socially conscious actions have a positive impact on the Company, its employees, its shareholders and society. Charlotte's Web donates a portion of its pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations.

Shares of Charlotte's Web trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol "CWEB" and are quoted in U.S. Dollars in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol "CWBHF". As at May 13, 2020 Charlotte's Web had 71,945,914 Common Shares outstanding and 92,455.575 Proportionate Voting Shares convertible at 400:1, for an effective equivalent of 108,928,144 Common Shares outstanding.

SOURCE Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.charlottesweb.com/


Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
The five who had returned into the country in spite of President Akufo-Addo's directives, were kept under surveillance after they appeared at the Port.

They were eventually arrested after background investigations confirmed that they were Ghanaian returnees from Nigeria.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Wednesday Mr Francis Anyidoho, a Stevedore in Fishing Vessels at the port said Colonel William Kwabiah, the Head of Security at the Port, led the operation that busted the returnees.

According to him the Chief security got the Port's security patrol boat to track the five down after the background investigations.

He said I witnessed the arrest, it was so professional and effective, Col. Kwabiah and his team, including Nene Ofoe Teye and Mr. Sammy Adjetey, senior officers of the security department, made sure the five were at a place where they were isolated from other people at the port and arrested them.

They were first reminded of President Akufo-Addo's directive and were told that they had breached the directive and must therefore be arrested. So in the name of President Akufo-Addo, the five were arrested,.

After the arrest, the five were questioned and self-confessed that they indeed had returned from Nigeria after spending two months there and that they were on their way to Sekondi, where they originally come from.

The arrested persons whose names weren't given also said they were driven by hunger to the Port and were hoping to secure some food and go on their way, like they were regular citizens who were living in the country through the Covid-19 lockdown.

However, while they thought they were sneaking, they didn't know they had long been picked up by the eagle eyes of Col. Kwabiah, the port security manager Francis Anyidoho said.

The five according to him have since been put into isolation and subjected to mandatory testing for coronavirus.

Mr. Anyidoho was full of praise for Col. Kwabiah and the tough muscle he brought onto the security of the Tema Port.

He is just as effective as his predecessor, Col. JM Punamane, who has now been transferred to the power house in Accra for special duties because of his vast experience, Mr. Anyidoho said.

This is not the first time GPHA security department has fished out people trying to sneak into the country through the Tema Port.

Just a few weeks ago, two other persons who tried to steal into the country were picked up and mandatorily put into isolation for testing.

The way the Tema Port security is sharp, if all the security people at the various ports around the country are this sharp, the country will be very safe,' Francis Anyidoho observed.

He also praised the Management of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, including: the Director General, Mr. Michael Luguje and the Director of Tema port, Mrs. Sandra Opoku, saying their provision was what aided the Port security officials to be that sharp.

---GNA
The deputy leader of the Green Party has said she is giving serious consideration to running for the leadership.

It comes as rural members of the party wrote to Catherine Martin urging her to challenge leader Eamon Ryan.

The letter stated: Regardless of the outcome of these talks, we will need a leader who we trust to do the right thing for the country and the party.

Expand Close Green Party leader Eamon Ryan (left) alongside deputy leader Catherine Martin (centre) and party candidate Joe OBrien during an election campaigni press conference (PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Green Party leader Eamon Ryan (left) alongside deputy leader Catherine Martin (centre) and party candidate Joe OBrien during an election campaigni press conference (PA)

Whether we enter government or not, we believe the party needs a new leader, someone who will fight hard for all of our futures.

We urge you to put yourself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Green Party. You have our support.

In a statement on Wednesday evening, Ms Martin said she was giving the request serious consideration but her focus remains on the crucial government formation talks.

She said: I believe it is important that government formation talks fully conclude uninterrupted and that any leadership campaign happens subsequently.

Under Green Party rules, a leadership election must happen within six months of a General Election.

The party held government formation talks with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail again on Wednesday, 102 days on from Februarys inconclusive General Election.

The Green Party won 12 seats but there have been divisions within the party over the decision by Mr Ryan to lead them into the talks with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Meanwhile, some Green Party members have already begun to back Mr Ryan or Ms Martin for leader.

Dublin city councillor Michael Pigeon tweeted: For me the past few years have shown Eamons commitment not just to the party as an organisation, but the ideas that underpin it. Consistently one of the most thoughtful people in Irish politics. If theres a leadership contest, hell have my vote.

Yep. For me the past few years have shown Eamon's commitment not just to the party as an organisation, but the ideas that underpin it. Consistently one of the most thoughtful people in Irish politics.



If there's a leadership contest, he'll have my vote.https://t.co/ZON2KRt0EM  Michael Pidgeon (@Pidge) May 20, 2020

The Rural Young Greens wrote to Ms Martin to pledge their support for her should she run in the upcoming Green Party leadership election.
Tracy Singleton, owner of Birchwood Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota, remains cautious about reopening. "I don't feel safe having people walk into my environment yet," she says. Tracy Singleton

Like many small business owners, Edgar Comellas, owner of Aces Wild Entertainment in Florida, has seen business grind to a halt since March. His company, which arranges casino games for corporate, fundraising and private events, has returned deposits and doesn't have any new bookings on the horizon. Times are hard, but Comellas isn't exactly rushing to get back out there. He's been stocking up on protective gear such as masks, gloves and hand sanitizer while contemplating eye goggles, plexiglass dividers and new arrangements, like three blackjack tables for the price of two so as to allow for more space between patrons. Florida, like many other states, is slowly reopening, but Comellas still worries about the lack of concrete guidelines and the risk of opening himself up to potential liability. "If you called and said you want a party at the end of June to kick off summer and then two weeks later we end up on the news as the new hot spot, with 100 people tested positive and five died, even though you and I and the event provider took precautions but some individual was sick. Do you want to risk that?" he said. Comellas is far from alone. As businesses prepare to reopen, business owners are left to make difficult decisions about how best to keep the business running while protecting customers and employees and fending off potential liability. "Businesses all over the country, but especially small businesses, are pretty worried about liability risks," said Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. "There is no playbook for this. Litigation is particularly damaging to Main Street because the level of potential damages can close down your doors," Kim said.

Coronavirus litigation could set record

Anecdotally, lawyers said they see more advertising from ambulance chasers, more lawsuit lending and increased funding from investors, including hedge funds, to provide capital to firms to pursue litigation. Burford Capital, a publicly traded litigation finance firm, said in March that it expects a "heightened level of engagement as firms and their clients head into a potential downturn and also come to grips with the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus." Kim said there are precedents, including consumer class-action litigation resulting from the Great Recession of 2008 and, in the 1990s, asbestos class actions. "But the level of litigation here in the wake of coronavirus could overshadow all of that," Kim said, likening the capital and infrastructure ramping up around litigation to drinking water out of a fire hose. Businesses "have to get some kind of qualified immunity or it will be open season on employers," said Andrew Sherman, partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Washington, D.C.

Lawmakers and business owners are weighing the desire for a broader reopening of the economy, with concerns about safety and litigation. President Donald Trump has proposed shielding businesses from lawsuits, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that the issue would be a priority. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday that the leaders would start with liability protections for doctors and businesses. "Liability protections would be the No. 1 thing I would look at," McCarthy said. "No bill will pass without it." There is also some bipartisan debate on both the federal and state levels to limit liability. Most of the proposals focus on limiting liability from customers. There's already been a number of consumer class-action lawsuits against companies and organizations, such as Live Nation and Major League Baseball, involving refund disputes. There are also increasing disputes involving insurance coverage as restaurants and other businesses find that pandemics are generally excluded from business interruption insurance.

Businesses should expect employee lawsuits

For employers and employees, the risk is more complicated. Workers' compensation laws, which limit the liability for employers, and tort law, which establishes liability for intentional or accidental wrongdoing, vary state to state. Even so, lawyers say they expect a wave of employment-related litigation as more businesses open up. Over 1,000 coronavirus-related lawsuits had been filed as of last Wednesday, according to a case tracker by the Hunton Andrews Kurth law firm, but only 45 cases related to medical claims, reveals an analysis from the Insurance Journal. Cruise ship operators, meat-processing companies, senior-care facilities and Walmart are among those facing legal action related to medical issues. Walmart has been sued by the family of a worker who died of coronavirus complications. "We are heartbroken at the passing of two associates at our Evergreen Park store and we are mourning along with their families," a Walmart spokesman said. "While it may be impossible to determine where or how someone contracts the virus, we have taken steps across the country to protect our associates and customers," he added. Those measures include additional cleaning measures, installing sneeze guards at registers, placing social distancing decals on the floors and limiting the number of customers in a store at a given time. Screening associates, conducting temperature checks, and requiring that associates wear masks or other face coverings at work is also part of Walmart's plan. "We take this issue seriously and will respond as appropriate with the court," the spokesman said.

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

We're being asked to open up. To go out there and be warriors. We're literally on the front lines but have no battle plans or proper ammunition or even working guns. Edgar Comellas owner of Aces Wild Entertainment

One of the most significant areas of concern, said Kim of the U.S. Chamber Institute of Legal Reform, is exposure claims against businesses, schools or places of worship that didn't take reasonable precautions to provide a safe workplace. The Chamber has proposed a safe harbor for companies and other entities that follow CDC guidelines as well as state and local guidelines. A barrage of industry groups, ranging from manufacturers, restaurants, casinos and hospitals, are pushing for liability protections. "People are making high-stakes decisions right now as to how to proceed, affecting a lot of people," said Barb Dawson, partner at Snell & Wilmer and chair of the American Bar Association's Section of Litigation.

Labor advocates fear 'race to the bottom'

Labor advocates worry about the consequences of freeing businesses from liability. Testifying before the U.S. Senate last week, Rebecca Dixon, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, argued that granting any sort of immunity to businesses as part of reopening the U.S. economy requires taking into account the millions of unemployed workers who want to go back to work but who are terrified of the conditions that may await them. "In order to achieve that safety and confidence, workers and consumers must be able to hold employers accountable for unsafe workplaces and other violations of the law. Were Congress to grant employers the immunity that some have long sought, it would create disincentives for even law-abiding employers to protect their workers  producing a race-to-the-bottom for workplace standards  and would cause a health and safety disaster, with new hot spots across sectors and spread across communities," Dixon testified. CNBC's latest WorkForce Survey for Q2 2020, released earlier this week, found that 53% of employees across the country want their workplaces to place a limit on size of workplace gatherings; 47% want testing for all employees; 41% want a requirement that all employees wear masks. Lawmakers are getting a lot of pressure to lift shelter-in-place rules, and businesses are economically incentivized to open. But with no vaccine yet proven, and people going back to work, "it's a when, not if someone gets Covid-19 in the workplace," said Ben Rothstein, partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters in San Francisco.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards CNBC|SurveyMonkey Q2 2020 Workforce Survey
Lucknow, May 20 : Rebel Congress MLA Aditi Singh has caused further embarrassment to the Congress in Uttar Pradesh with a series of tweets slamming the party on the controversy over buses.

Singh, who has been working against the party line for almost six months now, has termed the bus issue as a 'crude joke'.

"If buses were available, why were they not deployed in Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra," she asked.

She termed the entire issue as petty politics and said that the list of buses included 297 buses which were unfit to travel, while 98 autos, ambulances and 68 vehicles did not have documents.

She further said that why did the Congress not deploy buses to send thousands of students stranded in Kota (Rajasthan) to their homes in Uttar Pradesh.

"It was Yogi Adityanath who sent buses to Kota to bring back these students," she tweeted.

Singh, the Congress legislator form Rae Bareli, has been constantly defying the party line. She attended the special Assembly session last year when the Congress announced that it would boycott the same.

She has also been praising the BJP and its leaders on social media, causing embarrassment to the party.
All social media platforms have become inaccessible in Burundi as voting kicked off across the east African country on Wednesday.

The BBC has confirmed that access to Twitter, Whatsapp and Facebook has been blocked.

Only those using Virtual Private Network (VPN), which mask a users identity, could access the social media sites.

Polling stations opened early morning and journalist Moses Havyarimana has tweeted a photo of the turnout in one station.

Human rights organisations had urged the government not to block the internet on voting day because it would hinder access to crucial election information.

Critics say the outage will also affect the opposition who will be unable to flag electoral malpractices.

Voting begins in Burundi elections

Polling stations in Burundi opened at 06:00 local time (04:00GMT) on Wednesday with around five million voters expected to participate in the general elections.

Voters will be electing their president, members of parliament, and communal council members.

Seven candidates are seeking to replace long-serving President Pierre Nkurunzinza, with the main contenders being Agathon Rwasa of the opposition CNL party and Evariste Ndayishimiye from the ruling CNDD-FDD party.

Voters in the diaspora will not cast their ballot because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Polling stations will close at 16:00 local time with preliminary results expected to be out on 25 May.

The electoral commission announced that there will be 53 international observers who include personnel for the embassies of Tanzania, Egypt, China, Kenya, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Russia, and Africa Union Mission in Burundi.

The commission has banned the use of mobile phones and cameras by observers and poll agents inside polling stations.

---BBC
TVC News Crime correspondent, Ivy Kanu, has been arrested by the officers of the Lagos State Police Command.

She is being detained at the Alausa Police station.

A Police officer who led the team in Alausa, said she was acting on strict orders from above.

Health workers and Journalists with Identification cards were all detained and their cars impounded by the officers.

Advertisement

This story is the same across the state, as Health workers have called TVC News to confirm if the directives by the President has changed.

The arrest is an outright disregard of President Muhammadu Buharis directive that those on essential duties are free to move.

The Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 earlier thanked Health workers and the Media who are frontline workers in the battle against coronavirus.

TVC News Crime Correspondent, Ivy Kanu is presently at the Alausa Police station and the management is trying to reach the government officials for clarity.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Sean CombsInfluential music executive and founder of Uptown Records, Andre Harrell, will be honored in a BET tribute set that will air on Sunday.

The memorial broadcast titled after his nickname, Mr. Champagne and Bubbles, will feature a laundry list of A-list celebrities including Chris Rock, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Babyface, Naomi Campbell, Lee Daniels, Clarence Avant, Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons, Robin Thicke to name a few.

Harrell, who died at age 59, is credited with launching the careers of some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop and R&B like Mary J. Blige, Heavy D and Guy. He is also the individual that Sean "Diddy" Combs credits for giving him his big break and the opportunity to become the mogul that he is today.

"Ive got to give myself the reality of this in doses. Because I cant even handle this," Diddy wrote on Instagram. "I hope to God that you are all blessed to have someone in your life that loves you and believes in you like this man believed in me. Im going to miss him so much. I cant even imagine life without Dre."

Harrells tribute will air commercial-free on Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET on BET, REVOLT TV, all iOne digital brands, and FOX Soul.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Sign for the University of Utah campus police: (Fox 13 News Utah - YouTube)

A former campus police officer at the University of Utah has denied saving explicit photos of a student, who provided them to the authorities as evidence that her ex boyfriend was blackmailing her before she was murdered by him.

The student, 21-year-old Lauren McCluskey, provided the photos as evidence after her ex boyfriend, 37-year-old Melvin Rowland, blackmailed her by saying he had access to some of her private photos.

In fear of what Rowland might do, Ms McCluskey paid him, and then handed over photos and screenshots of his messages to campus police officer, Miguel Deras.

Rowland is believed to have killed himself and Ms McCluskey nine days after she handed the evidence over to the police.

Ms McCluskey ended the relationship a month prior, after finding out that Rowland was a registered sex offender and had lied to her about his age.

An article published by the Lake Tribune, accused Mr Deras of saving the explicit photos to his personal phone, and showing them to at least one of his male colleagues, while bragging about having them.

Mr Deras lawyer, JC Jensen, denied the claims that he saved the private photos to his phone, while speaking to KSL TV.

No evidence. No physical evidence. Not a single picture was downloaded to his personal cell phone, he said.

I want the public to step back and read the article and realise there are flaws in the article, Mr Jensen added.

An independent investigation that was commissioned by the university could not find any evidence that Mr Deras saved the photos.

A former colleague of Mr Deras told campus police that he had been shown the images by him, but the university had no physical evidence of it.

However, the police officer, who replaced Mr Deras when he left to join the Logan City Police Department, has initiated a second investigation, because of the seriousness of the accusations, the thoroughness of the report, and to avoid any perception of bias.

Last October, Ms McCluskeys parents filed a lawsuit that accused the university of failing to take responsibly for her death, and for failing to protect her.

Story continues

The lawsuit claims that despite knowing about their daughters claims, the university did not prevent Mr Rowland from being on campus, or do enough to protect her.

They are asking for $56m in damages, that will be put in a trust to improve safety on campus.

Jill McCluskey, Laurens mother, told the outlet that her daughter was exploited by the campus police.

The people who were supposed to be helping and protecting Lauren were actually exploiting her, she said. I wish that Deras had used his time to arrest the man who was committing crimes against Lauren.

Read more

Utah man arrested after police find $4m worth of drugs in his car
Tokyo reported just five new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the latest sign of progress in the battle against the outbreak as the city remains under a state of emergency.

That marks the tenth straight day the number of confirmed infections in the Japanese capital has been below 30. A total of more than 5,000 people have tested positive in the city of about 14 million.

The central government is expected to decide on Thursday whether to lift the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and six other prefectures. The measure ended around the rest of the country last week.

The governors of Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures held a video conference on Tuesday.

They repeated their call for residents to stay alert and maintain social distancing.

Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko said: " More people are coming out of their homes. We need to remind residents to continue taking thorough preventive measures."

Economic and social activities are gradually resuming. An aquarium outside Tokyo opened on Monday for the first time in more than a month.

Namekawa Noritaka, who works for the Ibaraki Prefectural Oarai Aquarium, said: "People have been mostly staying at home. I hope they'll enjoy spending time with various creatures here."

Starbucks has started reopening more than half its 1,500 coffee shops across Japan. Other major coffee chains such as Doutor and Tully's are taking similar steps.

Meanwhile, the government is offering up to 1,900 dollars to post-secondary students whose income from part-time jobs has fallen due to store closures. About 430,000 people will benefit, including foreign students.

The program will be funded by a 1.1-trillion-dollar economic package that also includes a cash handout of about 940 dollars for all residents.

More than 16,300 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Japan and over 770 have died.
The death of a man in a two-alarm fire in his apartment in Scarborough is now being treated as a homicide, Toronto police say.

Firefighters and police were called to 31 Gilder Drive, a Toronto Community Housing building near Midland Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East, at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

The body of Jomo Hendricks, 58, of Toronto, was found after firefighters put out a blaze in his apartment, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Hendrickss death was initially treated as suspicious. After a post-mortem Tuesday, the death was determined to be a homicide.

Police are looking to speak with anyone who had contact with Hendricks in the days before his death.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477.

Abhya Adlakha is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @AbhyaAdlakha
Unprecedented flooding was ongoing Wednesday morning in Midland County, Michigan, after a pair of dams collapsed following record rainfall. Thousands of residents have been told to evacuate as floodwaters gush into the communities along the Tittabawassee River, inundating homes and businesses and prompting an emergency declaration from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. The flooding is threatening a major Dow Chemical plant that lies along the river.

The Edenville Dam was breached Tuesday evening after more than 2.5 inches of rain fell during the day, following days of heavy rain across the state. The dam sits about 18 miles upstream of Midland, a city of more than 40,000.

That collapse sent floodwaters gushing into Sanford Lake, where a dam has powered the Boyce Hydroelectric Plant. The Sanford Dam succumbed shortly thereafter, the twin reservoirs of water left with no place to drain but into the city of Midland.

A flash flood emergency is in effect for downstream areas of Sanford.

According to The Associated Press, 10,000 residents have been evacuated.

The National Weather Service in Detroit issued a rare flash-flood emergency, the governor warning that downtown Midland could find itself under up to nine feet of water early Wednesday. News reports showed flooded Midland homes and businesses on Wednesday morning. The Weather Service bulletin described a "particularly dangerous situation" and "catastrophic" flood threat.

"Right now, the water is rising, and we won't know the extent of it for maybe the next 12, 15 hours," said Whitmer at a news conference Tuesday evening.

Scores of businesses have been shuttered in the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which has been particularly severe in Michigan, and are facing serious economic hardship.

"This is unlike anything we've ever seen before," said Whitmer. "I feel like I've said that a lot over the last number of weeks, but this truly is a historic event that is playing out in the midst of another historic event."

Major flooding begins when the Tittabawassee River hits 28 feet; flood stage is at 24 feet. As of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, river gauges reported a level of 34.28 feet and rising. That's enough to flood West Main Street from Main Street to Saginaw Road, with many homes experiencing overland flooding.

It supersedes the historic 33.9-foot flood stage measured on Sept. 13, 1986, which at the time was deemed a "once in 500 year flood." National Weather Service hydrologists were forecasting a crest four feet higher early Wednesday. It remains unclear if that level will be reached.

Dow Chemical's Midland headquarters was evacuated, with only essential staff remaining on-site to monitor the situation. The facility is associated with a Superfund site due to excess dioxins, which are known to cause cancer, in the riverbed downstream of the plant.

New video released by the Michigan State Police appeared to show flooding on the Dow property, though the extent and severity were unclear.

"Dow has activated its local emergency operations center and is implementing its flood preparedness plan which includes the safe shutdown of operating units," wrote the company on its Facebook page.

Dow also filed an "Unusual Event Report" with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because of the possibility that floodwaters could affect its 300 kilowatt nuclear research reactor, though the reactor was already shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak. That reactor was built in 1967.

"This is a solidly middle- to upper-class town because of the Dow plant here," Peter Sinclair, a Midland resident who is a videographer for Yale Climate Connections, said in an interview. He said a 2017 seasonal flood, combined with this disaster, may cause property values to decline. This includes expensive lakefront property, since these lakes are now being drained by the flooding.

For years, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has feared a failure at the Edenville Dam. According to The Detroit News, the dam has been of concern to federal overseers since at least 1999, when its owners were warned that more spillway capacity was needed to avoid a potential collapse.

The Edenville dam was constructed in 1924 and was on FERC's list of "high hazard" dams, meaning that its failure could damage property and threaten lives.

Boyce Hydro LLC, which has owned three other dams along the Tittabawassee River, failed to meet FERC demands for years.

A January 17, 2019, FERC document notes "a history . . . of Boyce Hydro's failure to comply with its license for the Edenville Project."

In January of this year, a two-county authority purchased four dams and lakes from Boyce Hydro, including Edenville and Sanford, for $9.4 million, and expects to spend $100 million to improve the dams. FERC had repeatedly faulted the previous owner for failing to maintain and improve spillways, which help direct excess water around the dam to relieve pressure on the structure.

FERC argued that the Edenville dam "could not handle 50% of a probable maximum flood for the region," the paper reported, whereas in 2018, Boyce Hydro put the odds of a "probable maximum flood" event occurring during the next 5 to 10 years at "5 to 10 in one million."

FERC revoked Boyce Hydro's license on September 10, 2018, forcing the company to permanently disable its power generating capacity within the dam. The order, however, did not require Boyce to modify the dam's structure. Boyce filed for a rehearing, which was denied on January 17, 2019.

Sinclair, who is on the dry side of Midland and is sheltering family members who live closer to the flood-affected areas, says this event illustrates what climate scientists have been warning about for years.

Heavy spring rains triggered the disaster. Much of the Midwest has borne the brunt of a wet weather pattern that's left many areas with an extra 8 to 10 inches of rain when compared to average.

On Tuesday, Gladwin, Michigan, picked up 2.53 inches of rain, while Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, about 25 miles west of the Edenville Dam, received 2.65 inches. More than three inches fell upstream, pouring into a river that's been swollen in recent weeks.Midland received 3.83 inches on Tuesday - its fourth-highest calendar-day rainfall total on record, and its wettest day since September 2015. Records date back to 1970.

During the past several decades, spring rainfall in Michigan has been increasing, probably tied to warming temperatures and the air's ability to hold additional moisture. There was a 25% increase in March-May rainfall since 1970 in Midland, with similar trends areawide. Mean springtime precipitation in Gladwin has leapt from 7.1 inches in 1940 to nearly 9.3 inches recently. Spring temperatures have warmed 1.5 degrees.

According to the U.S. government's National Climate Assessment, the heaviest precipitation events in the Midwest have increased by 42% since 1958.
Irish groups have welcomed an EU plan aimed at preventing the further decline of nature and protecting it from harmful agricultural and industrial practices.

The new ten-year Biodiversity Strategy will require countries to reduce pesticide use by 50pc, cut fertiliser use by 20pc, reserve 10pc of agricultural land for wildlife and designate 30pc of land and sea as protected areas.

It also requires a reduction in the use of animal antibiotics and the collective planting of 3 billion trees and it will set out legally binding conservation targets for threatened species and habitats. An accompanying Farm to Fork policy requires 25pc of all agricultural production to be organic.

The strategy has been praised for its ambitious targets although groups here warn that they will mean little if they dont come with the political will to implement them.

If implemented, it would see a transformation of farming, fishing and land use in general, said Padraic Fogarty of the Irish Wildlife Trust.

However, too often in the past we've seen these bold initiatives come to nothing as they are effectively ignored by member states. This time must be different".

Birdwatch Ireland said setting binding ecosystem restoration targets was critical to repair the damage done to habitats and species.

The requirements proposed for agriculture are very significant. Cutting fertilizer use will not only benefit biodiversity in Ireland but also ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions and should also improve water quality. Cutting pesticide use will be an important boost for wild birds, pollinators and other wildlife, said CEO Nicholas Williams.

On May 9 2019 Ireland declared a Climate and Biodiversity emergency, but most of the actions needed to address this crisis have yet to happen, or even be announced.

We call on the Government to back these strategies in the next Programme for Government, for the benefit of people and wildlife in Ireland.

Oliver Moore of Europe-wide grouping, ARC2020, said it was a relief that the strategy stood firm on the pesticide and fertiliser reduction targets which were leaked several weeks ago, prompting complaints from farming groups and the chemicals industry.

We need the detail of how all the targets will be implemented  whether they will apply equally to all member states or whether individual national targets will be set, he said.

For Ireland, the 25pc target for organic farming would be difficult to achieve in the ten-year timeframe as it currently only makes up 2pc of farming here whereas across the EU it is 8pc and in Austria, it is 22pc.

But either way, these are strong guidance documents and they could make a big difference if implemented.

Introducing the strategy, European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans said the move to halt natures decline was all the more important in the context of the Covid19 pandemic and would be a central element in the EU recovery plan.

The biodiversity strategy is essential for boosting our resilience and preventing the emergence and spread of future diseases such as zoonosis because we are destroying nature at an unprecedented rate and now with around 1m species at risk of extinction within only decades we literally threaten our own life, our health and wellbeing, he said.

Its an economic imperative as well as almost half of the worlds GDP is linked to nature, he added. The business case for biodiversity is compelling.
The United States on Wednesday backed India amidst a flare-up of border tension with China, with a senior diplomat describing Beijing's aggression as "not always rhetorical" and accusing it of continuing with its "provocative and disturbing behaviour".

Military sources in New Delhi said Indian and Chinese armies have rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after they were engaged in a fierce face-off.

The sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake. The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie.

"The flare-ups on the border, I think, are reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's on the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China that raises questions about how China seeks to use its growing power," Alice G Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department, said in a conference call.

She was responding to a question on the recent flare-up on the India-China border.

Wells retires from the State Department later this month after having heading the important South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department for three years in the Trump administration. She also talked about China's aggressive behaviour in the strategic South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter-claims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

"And that is why you have seen a rallying of like-minded nations or whether it's... through ASEAN or through other diplomatic groupings, the trilateral that the US has with Japan and India, the quadrilateral with Australia, the conversations that are taking place globally as to how we can reinforce the principles of the post-World War II economic order that has supported free and open trade that help lift all boats, including the Chinese boat," Wells said.

"What we want to see is an international system that provides benefit to everyone and not a system in which there is a suzerainty to China. I think in this instance, the border disputes are a reminder of the threat posed by China," she said.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

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.
Brendan Pang's return to the MasterChef kitchen has left him feeling homesick.

After relocating to Melbourne to film the show in January, the 27-year-old recently revealed he was missing his boyfriend, Nick Fimognari, who is back home in Perth.

The fan favourite publicly came out as gay in June 2019, around the same time he debuted his relationship with Nick.

Distance: MasterChef's Brendan Pang (left) has revealed that filming the show in Melbourne has left him homesick and missing his boyfriend, Nick Fimognari (right), who is staying in Perth

'Missing a lot today,' Brendan wrote on Instagram on April 19, alongside a throwback photo of himself cuddling up to Nick.

Before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, Nick would make regular trips from Perth to Melbourne to be with Brendan on his days off from filming.

But as the global health crisis escalated and state borders closed, these meetings stopped abruptly.

The pair shared a post-Valentine's Day selfie on the Great Ocean Road on February 16, which Brendan captioned with a heart emoji.

Living apart: 'Missing a lot today,' Brendan wrote on Instagram on April 19, alongside a throwback photo of himself cuddling up to Nick

Supportive: Before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March, Nick would make regular trips from Perth to Melbourne to be with Brendan on his days off from filming. But as the global health crisis escalated and state borders closed, these meetings stopped abruptly

Brendan came out as gay in an emotional Facebook post last year.

'My name is Brendan Pang and I'm 26 years old... but, for as long as I can remember and up until the age of 24 I struggled with my sense of identity,' he wrote.

'As a gay male, I had feelings of being "different" very early on, and as I navigated the bumpy road into adulthood, I went through some pretty dark times from feeling pressured to change who I was, to experiencing high levels of social anxiety.

'Thankfully, with the help of a strong and supportive network (my family and friends), I was able to not only survive the complexity of mental health, but thrive and become a stronger, happier, comfortable and proud ME.'

Sweet: The pair shared a post-Valentine's Day selfie on the Great Ocean Road on February 16, which Brendan captioned with a heart emoji

'I struggled with my sense of identity': Brendan publicly came out as gay in June 2019 in a heartfelt Instagram post

Brendan shared his story to inspire others struggling with their own identity.

He was also raising awareness of the Telethon Kids Institute's Embrace program, WA's first research centre devoted to the mental health of children and young people.

'We are still losing too many young people to suicide. One in five teens say they have high levels of distress. One in 12 Australian young people aged 12-17 have self-harmed,' he added.
Roelof Botha's career is the stuff dreams are made of -- that is, if the dream is to become one of the topmost investors in the U.S. venture capital industry.

Not only has Botha had tremendous success in his investing career, including an early bet on the mobile payments company Square (on whose board he still sits five years after its IPO), but in 2017, Botha was made the U.S. head of the venture firm he first joined 17 years ago, Sequoia Capital .

Considering that Sequoia is widely considered the most powerful venture firm in the country, that's quite a position to hold. In fact, on Forbes's 2020 Midas List, Botha was ranked the third-best VC in the world, just two spots behind the number-one ranked investor. That person: Neil Shen, who is the founder and managing partner of Sequoia Capital China. (Doug Leone is the firm's global managing director.)

It's because of Botha's position and the insights that he brings to the role that we're very pleased to announce that he is joining us this year at Disrupt 2020, which runs September 14 to September 16.

Certainly, there's a lot to talk about. While Botha's career has seemingly moved in one direction, he has lived through numerous economic ups and downs dating back more than 20 years, and has seen what it takes to get through tough times.

When he first came to the U.S. from his native South Africa, it was as a former McKinsey consultant looking to nab an MBA from Stanford. He graduated just as the tech economy was imploding in 2000, but he managed to connect with a fledgling payments startup, PayPal, joining as a director of corporate development before becoming its VP of finance and later its CFO.

A role at Sequoia Capital would follow, and a young Botha didn't waste the opportunity. Instead, he led the firm's investment in YouTube, sitting on its board before Google purchased the then 1.5-year-old startup in 2006 for what seemed at the time like an ungodly sum: $1.65 billion. (Last year, YouTube produced $15 billion in revenue for the company.)

Story continues

It hasn't all been a walk in the park. Today, in fact, Botha has portfolio companies that are facing an uphill battle. Eventbrite, for example, on whose board he sits, had to cut 45% of its staff last month because of the impact of COVID-19 on the events business. Another of his portfolio companies, Bird, the buzzy micromobility company, has conducted its own mass layoffs, as much of the U.S. remains at home in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus.

We'll talk with Botha about how he's advising these startups, as well as about his outlook for the broader venture industry. More specifically, we'll discuss how startups strike a balance right now between continuing on their paths and succumbing to false optimism about how quickly the "black swan of 2020," as Sequoia has described the coronavirus in a letter to its founders, is resolved.

If you care about the global shifts that are reshaping the tech industry right now, this is one conversation you won't want to miss.

Disrupt 2020 runs September 14 to September 16, and we have several Digital Pass options to be part of the action or to exhibit virtually, which you can check out here.

Well be announcing more speakers over the coming weeks, so stay tuned.



(Editors Note: Were watching the developing situation around the novel coronavirus very closely and will adapt as we go. You can find out the latest on our event schedule plans here.)

https://tcprotectedembed.com/protected-iframe/782cbcb2c00c3b27bcf0c98c267ec587 ( function() { var func = function() { var iframe = document.getElementById('wpcom-iframe-782cbcb2c00c3b27bcf0c98c267ec587') if ( iframe ) { iframe.onload = function() { iframe.contentWindow.postMessage( { 'msg_type': 'poll_size', 'frame_id': 'wpcom-iframe-782cbcb2c00c3b27bcf0c98c267ec587' }, "https:\/\/tcprotectedembed.com" ); } } // Autosize iframe var funcSizeResponse = function( e ) { var origin = document.createElement( 'a' ); origin.href = e.origin; // Verify message origin if ( 'tcprotectedembed.com' !== origin.host ) return; // Verify message is in a format we expect if ( 'object' !== typeof e.data || undefined === e.data.msg_type ) return; switch ( e.data.msg_type ) { case 'poll_size:response': var iframe = document.getElementById( e.data._request.frame_id ); if ( iframe && '' === iframe.width ) iframe.width = '100%'; if ( iframe && '' === iframe.height ) iframe.height = parseInt( e.data.height ); return; default: return; } } if ( 'function' === typeof window.addEventListener ) { window.addEventListener( 'message', funcSizeResponse, false ); } else if ( 'function' === typeof window.attachEvent ) { window.attachEvent( 'onmessage', funcSizeResponse ); } } if (document.readyState === 'complete') { func.apply(); /* compat for infinite scroll */ } else if ( document.addEventListener ) { document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', func, false ); } else if ( document.attachEvent ) { document.attachEvent( 'onreadystatechange', func ); } } )();
Infectious Diseases expert Professor Matthias Schnell's lab developed the vaccine in January this year, and has recently completed preliminary tests in animal models. The vaccine showed a strong antibody response in mice receiving the vaccine. The researchers are currently testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected in the next month.

"Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development," says Prof. Schnell - a coronavirus expert who directs The Jefferson Vaccine Institute and chairs Jefferson's Department of Microbiology and Immunology, "We will be able to complete animal testing and move to phase 1 clinical trial rapidly" he adds.

Dr. Krishna Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of Bharat Biotech said, "In view of the imminent demand for an effective vaccine, Bharat Biotech is pleased to collaborate with Thomas Jefferson, USA towards developing a new vaccine for COVID-19 using an inactivated rabies vector platform. We are particularly excited about this technology since the basic proof of concept has been established while using it for other pandemic infectious diseases. Bharat Biotech is committed to global public health and will be involved in an end to end development of the vaccine including comprehensive clinical trials to achieve commercial licensure."

Under the license agreement, Bharat Biotech gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jefferson's vaccine across the world excluding countries such as USA, Europe, Japan etc., where Jefferson continues to seek partners. With support from the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Bharat Biotech aims to get into human trials as soon as December 2020.

"Bharat Biotech is the world's largest supplier of rabies vaccines, and has been at the forefront of creating breakthrough vaccines for several challenging diseases", said Dr. Rose Ritts, Jefferson's Innovation EVP, who led the negotiations with the assistance of Dr. Heather Rose, Innovation VP. "They are the right partner for Jefferson to accelerate this important project with urgency."

Of the 90 or so coronavirus vaccines in development, about 25% use an established vaccine to act as a "carrier" or vector for the target virus, in this case, the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 spike protein. The vector used in this new vaccine is a deactivated rabies vaccine that is known to produce a strong immune response, and that has been proven safe for all populations including children and pregnant women.

Not every vaccine produces the same level of the immune response. The rabies vaccine has been shown to generate a rigorous but safe immune reaction that confers life-long protection. "Since we know the immune system reacts to the rabies vaccine with a strong response when we add the coronavirus component, we expect to see that level of protection, and immune memory, carry over to the SARS-CoV-2 viral protein as well," says Prof. Schnell.

Prof. Schnell's prior research creating vaccines with this approach against two other strains of coronavirus (the 2003 SARS and 2012 MERS viruses), worked in this way, conferring strong immunity in animal models.

"We are leveraging the properties of a very effective vaccine  one that provides life-long immunity against one of the biggest global threats of our time," says Dr. Mark Tykocinski MD, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of Thomas Jefferson University, and Dean of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College. "Rather than go with an untested approach, we have a leg-up by using a vaccine that is safe, effective, and exceptionally good at creating a strong immune response  which is something not every vaccine can do."

About Bharat Biotech:

Bharat Biotech has established an excellent track record of innovation with more than 100 global patents, a wide product portfolio of more than 16 products, registrations in more than 70 countries and WHO Pre-qualifications.

Having already delivered more than 4 billion doses of vaccines to the world, Bharat continues to innovate having developed vaccines for H1N1, Rotavirus, Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid (world's first conjugated typhoid vaccine) Chikungunya and Zika.

Our commitment to global social innovation programs and public private partnerships resulted in the introduction of path breaking WHO pre-qualified vaccines BIOPOLIO  ROTAVAC and Typbar TCV' combatting polio, rotavirus, typhoid infections respectively. The recent acquisition of the Rabies vaccine facility, Chiron Behring from GSK has positioned Bharat as the largest Rabies vaccine manufacturer in the world.

About Prof. Schnell, Jefferson Vaccine Institute

Prof. Matthias Schnell directs The Jefferson Vaccine Institute and chairs Jefferson's Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Prof. Schnell's work includes vaccines in development for other coronaviruses, as well as for Ebola, NIPAH, Lassa Fever, and Lyssa.

He has more than 120 peer-reviewed paper have been cited over 9000 times. Dr. Schnell is the current Chair of the NIH VMD (Vaccines against Microbial Diseases) study section, and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Virology, the Journal of Vaccines, PLOS (Public Library of Science) ONE, PLOS Currents: Outbreaks and PLOS Pathogens.

Jefferson is seeking additional partners for clinical development in the developed world.

SOURCE Thomas Jefferson University

Related Links

http://www.jeffersonhealth.org


A group of angry protesters attacked the office of MBC Iraq on May 18, causing it to be closed. The TV channel, which is owned by members of the ruling Saudi family, had broadcast a documentary about the attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Lebanon in the early 1980s, accusing a former deputy of the Popular Mobilization Units of being involved in the attack and calling him a terrorist.

The deputy, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, was killed Jan. 3 by the United States along with Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.

The documentary came on the heels of audience complaints about a drama broadcast and produced by MBC Iraq.

The Iraqi series "Ahlam Al-Sinin" ("Dreams of the Years") aired during Ramadan caused quite a stir; tribes in southern Iraqi areas, which are predominantly Shiite, deemed some scenes to be inconsistent with their values.

The events of the series take place in the 1950s in southern Iraq, where tribal norms and values dominate peoples lives. The show is about a family struggle to preside over a tribe and an attempt to seize plots of land. The series also features a sheikh getting involved in violent and corrupt practices. Revenge is the name of the game in this series that Iraqi families enjoy watching together.

However, some scenes regarding tribal grudges and a sheikhs order to handcuff a woman in a barn have raised the ire of tribes in central and southern provinces.

Iraqi newspapers and news sites published a large number of statements issued by tribes demanding the suspension of the series while issuing a warning to the channel.

Chief among the statements that were widely circulated is one signed by the tribes of the south and another signed by the tribes of Basra province. While the two statements reiterated their condemnation of the disrespect for the authentic values of Iraqi tribes, they also attacked the channel as a result of its Saudi funding.

The southern tribes statement accused the channel of seeking to insult Iraqis' national and social values and legacy, indicating that Saudi Arabia supports religious sheikhs who accuse the Shiite sect of infidelity and that the Gulf kingdom also supports jihadi organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

For its part, the Basra tribes' statement stressed that the series is systematic propaganda "intended to offend all Iraqis as well as the noble societal values and reputation of our authentic tribes. A top tribal sheikh held Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the series.

Sheikhs appeared in video clips defending the tribal values and respect for women, demanding government action to stop the broadcast of the series.

Meanwhile, several members of parliament participated in the campaign launched against the series and the Saudi satellite channel that produced it.

Even before the opening of its offices in Iraq, the Saudi-funded channel came under harsh scrutiny as its intentions toward Iraq were questioned.

The number of statements issued by tribal sheikhs in the south of Iraq has prompted the Communications and Media Commission, which monitors media content, to issue a statement in which it stressed, without naming any station in particular, the need for TV channels to make sure not to broadcast content contrary to public taste, and to commit to neutrality and professionalism in the transmission of historical facts. The statement said it had noticed violations on some satellite channels.

As a result of the same social pressure, the Cultural Commission stressed in a statement the need to respect all Iraqi components and take into account the public taste and moral foundations of Iraqi society in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

Bashar al-Kiki, a member of the parliamentary group, told Al-Monitor, It is true that we, as a Cultural Commission, have issued a statement regarding the series 'Ahlam Al-Sinin' ..., but we do not encourage violent reactions against its cadres.

Jabbar Joudi, head of the Iraqi Artists Syndicate, said the series' crew members feared for their safety as a result of the campaign launched against the series.

Although the tribal sheikhs said they would sue the channel and the crew, Joudi said, The syndicate has yet to receive judicial communications in this regard.

The Iraqi Artists Syndicate seemed ready to face the campaigns against the series. Joudi told Al-Monitor, I informed the crew that if a lawsuit is filed against them, then the syndicate would take it upon itself to defend them before the judiciary.

Another series called Binj Aam ("General Anesthesia"), one of whose episodes dealt with the issue of female Yazidis kidnapped by IS, also caused a stir, albeit to a lesser extent.

The political content of these series has played a major role in how the audience reacts. For example, the series Kamamat Watan ("Homeland Masks"), broadcast on Al Sharqiya TV channel, was widely praised as it tackled the issue of the victims of the demonstrations that began in October, and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met with the crew to encourage them.

Iraqi dramas broacast during the month of Ramadan are usually widely criticized due to their detachment from Iraqi reality, but this year has been rare in how it has sparked cultural and political controversy.

Joudi said, Attacking Iraqi drama will deal a heavy blow to it at a time when we are already suffering from a lack of production.

He said, The series did not disrespect anyone and the dramatic events required good and evil characters. The evil character in the series on MBC Iraq was the tribal sheikh, and this is not intended to offend Iraqi tribal elders.

Joudi fears that such campaigns would lead to censorship.

This will destroy the drama industry in Iraq and limit freedom of opinion, he said.

Kiki seemed more optimistic, however. He said, As a cultural commission, we do not want to place control barriers on Iraqi productions, but we call on Iraqi creators to take into consideration the security of the Iraqi people when embarking on a given work without disrespecting the customs of any Iraqi components.

Political interpretations related to a series broadcast on a Saudi channel have exacerbated the issue, and the participation of Iraqi institutions in such campaigns sow fear among drama makers regarding the tackling of more problematic issues in Iraqi society.
Latest News First major rate move of 2022 as ANZ cuts variable Despite expectations that rates will rise, the first big move of the year is a cut

70% of Aussies pessimistic about their chances of getting on the property ladder Mortgage franchise giant releases data suggesting that Aussie Dream is out of reach for young people

An aggregator has partnered with CoreLogic, Australia and New Zealand's largest provider of property data, in order to integrate the groups insights into its customer relationship management (CRM) platform and give its brokers a leg up.

Finsure Group launched its new CRM system, Infynity, to its network of more than 1,700 brokers last year. Now, the groups brokers are positioned to benefit from CoreLogics market-leading property information, analytics and risk management services.

The Infynity software has been one of the key developments in the history of Finsure and it is one of the most up to date CRMs in the market with ground-breaking technology that streamlines workflow and automates time-consuming tasks, said Finsure general manager of aggregation, Simon Bednar.

We are very excited to be able to enhance that platform through the partnership with CoreLogic, which can provide data on recent sales of comparable properties, estimate values, sales trends and suburb insights.

We want to empower Finsure brokers to be the trusted partner throughout the home buying journey and assist home buyers and investors beyond just arranging their finances.

Bednar expects the partnership with CoreLogic to be a game changer for Finsure brokers, especially given the events of the past several months.

In the current highly challenging economic landscape, the aggregator that can maintain the strongest offering to brokers across all services will be the one that succeeds in this market, he emphasised.

CoreLogic general manager of banking and finance solutions for Australasia, Milena Malev, echoed Bednars sentiment.

Being able to provide access to the most up-to-date property information in a timely manner is especially important in times like these, she said.

We are excited to be partnering with Finsure to provide an innovative solution that arms their members with all of the information they need to help their customers make better decisions around property.
(CNN)  The pastor of a northern California church has been diagnosed with the coronavirus after holding a Mother's Day livestream service with singing, according to officials.

A health order issued by the county had specifically restricted singing during church services due to the high risk of spreading the virus through air droplets.

Now at least three confirmed cases have been linked to the event, a press release from Mendocino County announced Monday. The two other cases are from Lake County, with one person being treated in the hospital, according to a release.

Churches throughout the country have continued to hold services despite orders in many states banning large gatherings, even in religious settings. In North Carolina, a judge issued a ruling Saturday that would temporarily allow indoor worship services to resume, according to CNN affiliate WNCN, after a lawsuit argued Gov. Roy Cooper's executive order violated constitutional rights.

The northern California church confirmed that its pastor was diagnosed with the virus on social media after participating in person with the service, the county said.

Anyone who has recently visited the Assembly of God church in Redwood Valley or has been in contact with someone who has was urged to contact the county and get tested for coronavirus, the release said.

"Mendocino and Lake County Public Health are working together to reach any other individuals who are contacts with these three new cases, including anyone who participated in the live stream church service with singing," according to the Mendocino.

Free testing is being provided on Tuesday at a local school for those that may have been exposed.

Second California church linked to coronavirus cases over Mother's Day

This is the second church in northern California linked to the spread of the coronavirus during Mother's Day services.

Last week Butte County Public Health announced an individual who had attended a Mother's Day church service in the county had tested positive for the coronavirus.

That person may have exposed as many as 180 people who were in attendance for the service at Palermo Bible Family Church.

Those who attended the service have been notified about the positive case and were told to self-quarantine, according to the health department statement.

"We faced a few challenges," Michael Jacobsen, Palermo Bible Family Church's pastor, said in an online sermon, addressing the coronavirus exposure following the Mother's Day service.

Jacobsen named two members who tested positive for the virus, saying one attended the service but had exhibited no symptoms.

"They didn't do it intentionally," Jacobsen said. "They didn't come to church intentionally. It was never my heart to put our church in harm's way. That has never been my desire."

Jacobsen said he was neither justifying or defending his decision to hold services and added that reactions have been both positive and negative.

In California, in-person religious gatherings remain banned even as other restrictions have been lifted.

Butte County Public Health said that the religious organization that held the service has cost health officials many hours and has created a "financial burden" as they work to meet the demands of the pandemic.

"Moving too quickly through the reopening process can cause a major setback and could require us to revert back to more restrictive measures," its statement said. "We implore everyone to follow the State order and our reopening plan to help combat the potential spread of Covid-19."
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High around 70F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy with periods of rain. Low 38F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
An employee of the Internet company Facebook walks through the courtyard of the company campus in Menlo Park, California.

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Analog Devices  Shares of the semiconductor stock rose more than 8% following its earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. Analog Devices reported earnings per share of $1.08, topping the $1.03 per share forecast by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Revenue, however, fell shorts of estimates.

Western Digital  Shares of the data storage company jumped more than 5% after Cowen reiterated its outperform rating on the stock. The firm said the company looks set to report improving demand fundamentals, as well as higher growth and higher profitability as it shifts the focus of its business. Cowen's $70 price target on the stock is roughly 59% above where shares currently trade.

Facebook  Shares of Facebook jumped 6%, hitting a new all-time high, as Wall Street gets bullish on the social media's new e-commerce feature Facebook Shops. AB Bernstein believes Facebook Shops could unlock a $1.3 trillion market, while Morgan Stanley said Facebook's leading reach can make Facebook a competitor to Amazon and Alphabet.

MGM Resorts  The casino stock spiked by more than 8% on Wednesday as casinos and hotels around the country continue to announce reopenings. MGM was part of a group of casinos and others that announced last night that they would provide testing for employees in Las Vegas. MGM also announced on Tuesday that it was reopening its casinos in Mississippi over the next two weeks.

Urban Outfitters  Shares of Urban Outfitters tanked nearly 9% after the apparel retailer reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss. The company said it lost $1.41 per share for its latest quarter, versus the 29 cent loss that Wall Street was expecting, according to Refinitiv. The company expects a 60% decline in same-store sales for the current quarter as the pandemic continues to hammer the industry.

Harley-Davidson  Shares of the motorcycle company rallied 7.7% Wednesday after a Wall Street Journal report said Harley-Davidson is reopening its factories this week at reduced production and a more limited assortment of bikes. The Journal cited Harley's director of product sales, who reportedly said in a memo that about 70% of dealer will likely not received any more new motorcycles this year.

Target  Shares of the retailer slipped more than 1% following the company's first quarter results. The big-box retailer reported a 10.8% year-over-year increase in same-store sales  fueled by digital sales more than doubling  and also beat revenue expectations. Profit fell to 56 cents per share compared with $1.53 per share a year earlier, however, and the company also said its coronavirus-related expenses have grown to about $500 million.

United Airlines  Shares of the airline jumped 4.6% as investors bet on the economy reopening. New CEO Scott Kirby said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the company is working with unions in an attempt to avoid staff cuts due to the pandemic. The airlines that took federal support are restricted from laying off employees through September.

Lowe's  Lowe's stock rose 0.4% in midday trading after the home-improvement retailer reported that same-store sales popped 11% in its fiscal first quarter. Still, that's well below where the equity traded earlier in the session, when it rallied nearly 5%. Investor optimism on Lowe's stock faded after executives cautioned analysts on the earnings call that same-store sales growth is expected to "moderate," but not turn negative, later in 2020.

Royal Caribbean  The cruise line fell more than 2% following its disappointing quarterly earnings. Royal Caribbean reported a loss of $1.48 per share, more than the loss of 63 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. The company also said it expects losses in the second quarter and the full year. Revenue topped estimates.

CNBC's Thomas Franck, Maggie Fitzgerald, Pippa Stevens, Jesse Pound contributed reporting.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.
Homicides in Mexico reach record levels: Homicides in Mexico hit record levels in the first four months of 2020, climbing by 2.4 percent from the same period last year, official data showed, dealing a setback to the government's efforts to restore order. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pledged to bring down gang-fueled violence when he took office in December 2018, but homicides hit a record level in 2019 and have continued to climb. In the first four months of this year, 11,535 homicides were registered, up from 11,266 in the same period last year, preliminary data from the Security Ministry showed.
The Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma says the skull, which is in its collection, is reported to have been that of a man who was injured during battle before having some of the earliest forms of surgery to implant a piece of metal in his head to repair the fracture. Experts told the Daily Star that the man was believed to have survived the wound and the surgery, with the skill now a key piece of evidence in proving that ancient peoples were capable of performing complex surgeries. The skull in question is an example of a Peruvian elongated skull, which is an ancient form of body modification where tribe members intentionally deformed the skulls of young children by binding them with cloth or even binding the head between two pieces of wood for prolonged periods of time.
MC Hammer on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 Nathan Congleton | NBC | NBCU Photo Bank

If you tuned into the Clubhouse app Monday night, you could have heard a lively discussion on how the coronavirus is affecting the prison population. Speakers included MC Hammer, political commentator Van Jones, writer and activist Shaka Senghor and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Despite the big names, only about 1,500 people, mostly with ties to prominent tech investors, had access to the chat. Clubhouse is the buzzy new social app of 2020, freshly valued at $100 million after a reported $12 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz. There's no website yet, and the founders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, have stayed out of the press. Their LinkedIn profiles say they started Alpha Exploration Co., the parent company of Clubhouse, earlier this year. Those in the exclusive beta group describe the Clubhouse experience as a mashup of listening to a podcast while scrolling through your Twitter feed and attending a conference remotely. Upon launching the app, they see a few virtual rooms with the names of the people in them. Sometimes there are two participants, occasionally there are 100. When they enter a room, the audio switches on and they can hear people speaking  it's like walking into a conference room where a panel or Q&A is happening. The room's creator can decide who gets to speak.

Clubhouse screenshot

Bilal Zuberi, a partner at venture firm Lux Capital, said Clubhouse is the only social audio app that's captured his interest. "Almost all social media requires us to look at a screen," said Zuberi, whose firm has offices in New York and Menlo Park, California. "This is the first one where I'm not looking at a screen. I'm involved in social media but I'm sitting by the pool with my kids and as long as I'm muted and not speaking, it's great." Clubhouse is keeping a tight lid on invites, with only a dozen or so new people joining a day. The average number of daily users is currently about 270, or roughly 18% of the total number of signups, according to a person close to the company. Davison will commonly hop into a room for a few minutes to ask the participants for feedback on a particular feature. Zuberi said a senior executive at Uber invited him a few weeks ago. He estimates he now spends about half an hour per day listening to conversations, and sometimes participating. While cooking dinner on Monday night, he was one of about 100 people listening to the discussion on race that featured MC Hammer and other well-known voices. Felicia Horowitz, Ben's wife and the founder of the Horowitz Family Foundation, was also a participant, tweeting afterwards, "Clubhouse was incredible!" tweet

'It's either dead by July or it's something big'

In Silicon Valley, where many of the world's top entrepreneurs boast about trying to solve some of the universe's most complex challenges, social media apps have served as both the butt of endless jokes and the source of absurd value creation. For almost two decades, start-ups have sought new and novel ways to help people connect with friends, peers, celebrities and strangers. Most have gone broke along the way, but the few successes  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (now part of Microsoft), Snap and Pinterest  generated billions of dollars for founders and early investors. It's the ultimate boom-or-bust business. Revenue comes mostly from advertisers, and success relies mostly on the so-called network effect: Every user brings in three new people, who each bring in three more. Either you're the category winner, like Facebook, or the failed also-ran like Friendster. In many instances, it all proves to be a passing fad, like Yik Yak, an anonymous messaging app for college students that collapsed after raising over $70 million. Or Yo, which allowed users to send the simple one-word message "Yo" and worked more as a parody than a useful tool. Or Chatroulette, an anonymous video chat app that was a brief pop-cultural phenomenon in 2010, then collapsed as users flooded it with unwanted nudity. Josh Felser, co-founder of venture firm Freestyle, expects Clubhouse to face the same sort of binary outcome. "It's either dead by July or it's something big," said Felser, who estimates he spends about an hour a day on the app. "We're all locked away right now so it was a good time to launch it. I don't know if it's sustainable." Much of the engagement on Clubhouse today comes when a celebrity joins a room and followers get notified. It could be MC Hammer, comedian Kevin Hart, actor Jared Leto (talking about washing fruit with soap) or hip-hop artist Fab 5 Freddy. Ben Horowitz, who has close personal ties to the hip-hop community, says his firm is targeting talent to bring onto the platform.

Actor Jared Leto enters the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum on May 07, 2018 in New York City. Ray Tamarra | GC Images | Getty Images

Chris Lyons, the head of Andreessen Horowitz's Cultural Leadership Fund, and Naithan Jones, a partner at the firm, "have put more people in Clubhouse than anyone," Horowitz tweeted on Monday. tweet An Andreessen Horowitz spokesperson declined to comment for this story, and Davison said he's not doing interviews yet. Matt Brezina, a San Francisco-based investor, joined Clubhouse in April after hearing about it from his friend Nate Bosshard, co-founder of fitness start-up Tonal. Brezina has become a fervent user, typically opening the app after getting notifications that someone he follows is in a room or created a room. He listens while cooking or laying in bed, and describes Clubhouse as the "AirPods social network." "I've used this app a lot to the point where my wife is like, 'You're on that app aren't you,'" said Brezina, who's listened to chats about raising children while sheltered in place and Joe Biden's presidential campaign strategies. "It's so simple, but it's such a powerful platform for people to have candid conversations." After reports of Clubhouse's financing round surfaced over the weekend, critics took to Twitter to ask if it's just the latest toy for tech bros. Del Johnson, a former Google and Oracle employee who now invests in start-ups, tweeted that he's been invited to Clubhouse three times but hasn't yet joined, citing his "aversion to all exclusive clubs where the exclusion isn't based on anything tangible." Other detractors pointed to the absurdity of the valuation, while supporters argued that if it works, it will be worth many billions of dollars. tweet

Can it scale?
ALONE, the organisation that supports older people, has received more than 20,000 calls to their Covid-19 helpline for older people since it launched in March. ALONE has hugely expanded their services since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Ireland to meet the needs of older people nationwide, and is running a national helpline for older people as part of Community Call in collaboration with the Department of Health, the HSE, and Local Authorities including Laois County Council.

In addition to this, ALONE staff and volunteers have made 71,715 calls to older people across the country that need support. Three quarters of the older people who called the ALONE helpline in the last week are living alone. ALONE has urged communities, family members and neighbours to continue to offer support and assistance to older people during this time, and remind older people that although we may be apart, that does not mean that they are alone.

While we welcomed the news last week that cocooning measures would be relaxed slightly and that older people would be able to leave their homes to exercise, our communities continue to play a vital role in supporting older people at this time, said ALONE CEO Sean Moynihan. In recent weeks we have seen increasing numbers of phone calls from older people experiencing difficulties with their physical and mental wellbeing as cocooning measures continue. Older people and particularly those who are medically and socially vulnerable should be aware that support is available, whether that is for Covid-19 information, or support with finance, housing, or other difficulties.

In March, the organisation welcomed the introduction of practical support phone lines for older and medically vulnerable people by Local Authorities to increase capacity and resources for those who are most in need. ALONE is working in collaboration with Laois County Council, and the ALONE National Helpline continues to complement Local Authority work by providing information and support on issues relating to COVID-19, housing, finance, and physical and mental health. ALONE also provides daily telephone support to older people who would like extra social contact while cocooning.

ALONE believes that as well as tackling the immediate issues posed by COVID-19, the Government must take into consideration the long-term detrimental effect that cocooning is having on the physical and mental health of older people. Last week the organisation released concerning figures relating to older peoples mental health as a result of the pandemic, with increases in calls from older people expressing suicidal ideation. ALONE has also noted an increase in calls regarding non-Covid related hospital visits, such as injuries related to falls. The organisation has also noted with concern that some older people are unsure about whether to seek needed medical attention for fear of contracting Covid-19 at a GP appointment or in hospital.

As the pandemic continues we are starting to see the long term impact that Covid-19 will have on the health and wellbeing of older people, said ALONE CEO Sean Moynihan. We are asking members of the public to stay in touch with the older people in their communities and to provide support if needed. Our message to older people is that staying at home doesnt mean you are alone, and we are encouraging every older person to keep in contact with the people and support organisations they need throughout this time.

He concluded, We are encouraging any older person who has questions, concerns, worries, or is experiencing loneliness at this time, to get in touch with us by calling 0818 222 024. As well as difficulties with everyday activities like getting groceries and prescriptions, cocooning measures will also result in lots of older people feeling lonely and isolated, including those who may not previously have experienced loneliness like this. It is important that every older person knows that support is available to them, even if they have not used ALONEs services before.

ALONE is encouraging older people who need advice to call their helpline, 0818 222 024 from 8am-8pm, seven days a week. The helpline, which is running in collaboration with the Department of Health, the HSE and Local Authorities, is available to all older people including those who have not used ALONEs services previously. The support line is designed to complement the clinical advice and information being provided by the HSE through its website and helpline. Older people who are experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 are advised to call their GP.

Contact ALONE on 0818 222 024 if you have concerns about your own wellbeing, or the wellbeing of an older person you know. Further information can be found on www.alone.ie.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If we can sum up this week in restaurant news so far it can be divided into three categories -- the good, the bad and the ugly.

The good stuff first.

Nice things that have come from the pandemic are gestures and words of appreciation for those who have worked through the quarantine, most notably our grocery store workers. Outside of Key Food this week a patron nailed a painted image of a Campbells Soup sign to the fence along Forest Avenue -- very cool. Its taken as a thank you to the store workers.

We helped the FDNY on Nelson Avenue a few times and they brought free Fire Department shirts for me and my employees," said owner Tommy Saini. Another perk from New Yorks Bravest: they bought coffee for all the employees in the Great Kills store.

Utilizing three seperate food suppliers, Saini has managed to get full stock of many high-demand items including paper towels, toilet paper and cleaning supplies. April 4, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon)

The love goes both ways: the store donated 500 masks and hand sanitizer bottles for Nassau County police who contacted him through Instagram.

Saini said, In my presence at the store if anybody comes to shop in uniform like Fire Department, cops or health care workers we dont charge for any of their stuff.

Beyars Market also gets some recognition in the world of kudos.

Tommy Beyar said, We do get overwhelming thank yous from our customers for being open and taking the big measures to keep people safe as they shop.

He shared a letter sent to the store by a senior patron who used the home delivery service. It read, The coronavirus pandemic has left us concerned with what will happen to us and our families. However we were given assurances by a young woman named Lisa who took our orders and told us not to worry.

The shopper added, It was very comforting to hear those words spoken to us and made us feel we will not be abandoned in our time of need.

Good stuff.

And although were trying to remain upbeat and positive there is the not-so-good stuff that cant be ignored. This is a diary, after all, and it was started to share perspective and chronicle some of the shared experiences food people were having during this unprecedented time.

With that, restaurant owners call and kibbutz throughout the day. The tenor of our conversations in mid-March, based on this Food Service Diary, were fear, uncertainty and general soul searching over whether or not to close during the quarantine stage of the pandemic. In April, there was a sense of acceptance of the situation and wholehearted embracing of to-go formats, while still fear over becoming sick.

These last few days I can say that sentiment has turned to a slow-simmering anger and general anxiousness over opening dining rooms very soon in some way, shape or form. Restaurant owners like Sal Finocchiaro of Palermo Pizza in Richmond Valley and Cargo Cafe among others have been visited by the Sheriffs office for putting tables and chairs outside their restaurants last weekend. This enforcement has prompted much conversation among restaurateurs plus genuine outrage over why they cannot use legitimate outdoor spaces with a respect for diminished seating capacity.

This afternoon I received two texts one right after another from South Shore operators who were glad to be noted on the record. One came from Vincent Malerba of Angelinas, who was paid a visit by four police officers. He was told not to serve alcoholic beverages if the public were to consume them in the Mall parking lot outside his restaurant, tailgating style.

No ones allowed to drink alcoholic beverage in public. We can give them the drink but we can tell them dont drink it. It ruins the whole vibe of everyone being out in the air and...just smiling, he said.

Said a stern reminder in a flyer handed to him by the officers: Any licensed business found to be operating in violation of the Governors order restricting on-premises sales of alcoholic beverages shall face a monetary penalty (retail maximum of $10,000/manufacturer maximum of $100,000) and/or suspension, cancellation, or revocation of its license.

And on Tuesday the Sheriffs Office came back for a second visit to Sal Finocchiaro at Palermo Pizza. They were responding to his again putting a few chairs and tables outside his Richmond Valley restaurant. And Finocchiaro had to laugh over the irony of the situation.

He said, Theyre letting prisoners out of jail because of the coronavirus. But theyll put you in jail because youre trying to make money because of the coronavirus.

Sal, an accountant by trade, also pointed out a source of his consternation -- the current situation with unemployment benefits. At the moment workers affected by business closures receive an additional $600 of benefits on top of the base unemployment figure.

He concludes, So theyre making more to stay home. So, yes, theyre being paid more than at their job. I dont have that luxury as an owner.

And now, the ugly -- the reality of closures when we get out of this thing. Readers are wondering about businesses that have yet to reopen. In the meantime, Five Guys in New Dorp has moved furniture out of the storefront and the number is disconnected.

Keep in touch.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Egypts biggest newspaper Al-Ahram distanced itself from an article published in Turkish media by former Al-Ahram journalist Mohamed Sabreen titled Proposals for normalisation in Turkish-Egyptian Relations.

Editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram newspaper Alaa Thabet said on Wednesday that Egypt's policy towards Turkey is determined by official institutions, at the top of which is the presidency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The statement said that Sabreens views do not reflect those of Al-Ahram or the Egyptian state

Thabet said that the Turkish regime is hostile toward Egypt and hosts and protects a terrorist group, thereby sacrificing the historical relations between Egypt and Turkey.

Al-Ahram newspaper denies any connection to the op-ed and considers the calls to normalise relations with the current Turkish regime akin to calling for normalisation with the terrorist organisation, Thabet said, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood group, which is banned in Egypt.

Al-Ahram understands that it has been being targeted by the Turkish regime for years, and these attempts intensify whenever the Turkish regime faces pressures locally and internationally, the statement said, adding that the way in which the article has been received by Turkish media reflects confusion in the Turkish regime.

A single article written by an Egyptian does not reflect an attempt to restore relations, the statement said.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been strained since the 2013 ouster of Egypts Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP government.

Cairo has repeatedly accused Ankara of interference in its domestic affairs and of providing a safe haven to leading members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, while Erdogan's government has been an outspoken critic of Morsi's ouster and of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Things have escalated further recently with Turkeys involvement in the Libyan conflict.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Montgomery hospitals are starting to run low on intensive care beds, said Dr. David Thrasher, a critical care doctor at Montgomery Pulmonary Consultants. The four counties making up the Montgomery metro area have seen a combined 721 new confirmed coronavirus cases since May 4  an increase of 110 percent.

Mayor Steven Reed said the virus is straining the citys hospitals.

Im concerned about the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic, Reed said. We are seeing an increase in the number of people who test positive. Occupancy in our Intensive Care Units has reached a critical point and Montgomery hospital officials are now referring some cases to Birmingham.

Beyond the numbers, Thrasher also has concerns about the faces hes seeing. About 40 percent of his patients have been between the ages of 25 and 40. And although older people are more likely to die from the virus, he said he has treated many younger patients, including a couple hairstylists. Some of his younger patients havent survived.

Since May 1, 27 people have died of the virus across the Montgomery metro.

Last week, a couple pastors reached out to Thrasher for advice on whether to hold church services. He advised against it, since religious services have proved to be hot spots for coronavirus transmission. The ensuing exchange wound up on Facebook, where it has been shared many times.

There is no way for me not to cry when I see and treat folks that I work with and are giving their all to help others, Thrasher wrote. Many are on vents. Just intubated a 26-year-old male who will probably die. It is hitting Blacks worse but nobody is safe. We have to have an economic engine, but we have to insist for people to use good sense.

The economy must reopen, he said, but that doesnt mean going all the way back to normal.

Im not for shutting down the city, Thrasher told Al.com on Tuesday afternoon. But I want people to be careful. Wear a mask in public. Wash your hands. Dont go into groups unless you have to.

The number of coronavirus cases in Montgomery rose so sharply in May, the metro landed on White House list of locations to watch. Hospitals converted some areas into dedicated COVID-19 treatment wings as the virus surged.

The four counties making up the Montgomery metro area have seen a combined 721 new confirmed coronavirus cases since May 4 - an increase of 110 percent. Some of those new positives could be explained in part by an increase in testing, but testing isnt increasing at the same rate as new cases.

The metro area has seen a testing increase of about 65 percent since May 4. More than 3,700 virus tests have been performed in the metro area since May 4, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Most of them, around 2,200, were in Montgomery County, which added 477 new cases over that time.

Thats a case-to-test rate of 22 percent in Montgomery county, which is among the highest in the state, and by far the highest among counties with the highest number of new tests.

Late surge

Montgomery's sudden rise came much later than in Birmingham and Mobile, which experienced surges in March and April. That gave the city time to prepare, said Montgomery Emergency Management Agency Director Christina Thornton. Hospitals stocked up on ventilators and protective equipment while case numbers remained low.

Cases have grown significantly over the last week or two, Thrasher said on Tuesday. Alabama and Montgomery probably hit a peak this last weekend.

I look daily at the bed counts, ICU beds, negative pressure rooms and ventilators, Thornton said. Right now, there is a large capacity and they are holding their own.

Thornton said she has some concerns about the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, which provides opportunities for the virus to spread at gatherings.

Dont share beverages with other people, Thornton said. Dont overdo it with parties. We dont want to keep this incline going.

Community advocate Marche Johnson said many members of the community seem to have grown tired of coronavirus restrictions.

Youve got people still having barbecues, family gatherings and you know its graduation time, Johnson said. I think thats the hardest part of this season. Youve got parents that really want to celebrate their seniors and thinking about the current moment, but not thinking about the aftermath.

Alabama Department of Public Health did not have an immediate explanation for the recent spike in the Montgomery area. I don't have a specific indicator as to why that county did go up, but we do know that some of the cases were [epidemiologically] linked, Dr. Karen Landers of ADPH said.

In an average May, he and his colleagues at Montgomery Pulmonary Consultants might see between 60 to 80 patients a day hospitalized with breathing problems. Normally May is one of our slowest times, Thrasher said. But last weekend, doctors in the practice saw 140 hospitalized patients, including 119 with confirmed COVID-19.

Dr. David Thrasher treats hospitalized patients with breathing difficulties in Montgomery, including those with COVID-19

Thrasher said the most important figure to him is the number of people hospitalized with complications of COVID-19, which reflects patients with symptoms and not just an increase in tests catching asymptomatic carriers.

That number dropped a bit from the weekend but remains above 100. Jackson Hospital had 25 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and another 23 awaiting test results, according to a daily update.

As for churches, he recommends online or drive-in services. Studies have linked large outbreaks to choir practices, funerals and services.

We can still have church services remotely and do really well with that, Thrasher said.

"No county is safe"

Lowndes County, which is also in the Montgomery metro area, saw a new case-to-test rate of 39 percent, tied with Bullock County for first in the state, though both are rural counties and just 168 new tests have been performed there since May 4.

Lowndes County, next door to Montgomery County, currently has the higher per capita rate of infections in Alabama.

Perman Hardy, a civil rights activist in Lowndes County, said she has many concerns about the lack of testing in the community. An outbreak at a nursing home may account for part of the countys high numbers, but she worries that many other cases have not been identified.

You had to call in for an appointment, Hardy said. When youve got a lot of elderly people who dont get out, it can be hard to get them to a testing site.

Thrasher thinks other counties that haven't experienced a surge yet, such as several in north Alabama, can learn from Montgomery.

He said many there believed they missed the worst of the pandemic when cases remained relatively low in March and April. Yet the virus remained present and took root anyway.

No county is safe, Thrasher said. I said Alabama and Montgomery hit the peak 3 weeks ago. I was wrong. Today and yesterday were better than this weekend. I hope and pray that we have peaked.

AL.com reporters Dennis Pillion and Sarah Whites-Koditschek contributed to this report. Updated at 12:20 p.m. with quote from community advocate Marche Johnson.

Updated to correct a statement about two hairstylists, who were treated for COVID-19 but didnt die.
The United States and its allies are lobbying Russia to re-establish access for a border crossing from Iraq to eastern Syria that is deemed critical to UN humanitarian aid deliveries to the northeast part of the war-ravaged nation.

There are mounting concerns, however, that not only will Russia refuse to do so but that it will also wield its veto power at the UN Security Council to block UN aid coming through the two remaining access points to northwest Syria via Turkey, sources familiar with the deliberations told Al-Monitor. Moreover, governments who want access restored are divided on how to handle Russia, they said, easing the Kremlins ability to impose its will.

The Yaroubiyah crossing was sealed by the UN Security Council under Russian and Chinese pressure on Jan. 10  a further cynical display of how politics often trump humanitarian concerns at the world body.

Yaroubiyah was the principal hub for medical supplies the World Health Organization delivered to the Kurdish-run autonomous administration in the northeast. Its closure has dealt a powerful blow to the fledgling administrations efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The central government in Damascus is doing little to ease the Kurds plight and the WHO has been blasted over its reluctance to engage the Kurds for fear of upsetting Damascus.

David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs, told Al-Monitor in emailed comments, The northeast has been severely affected by nine years of crisis with the number of facilities, hospital beds and health care workers well below accepted standards. For example, none of the districts in the northeast meet the minimum standard of 18 hospital beds per 10,000 [people].

The risk of contagion is especially high in the regions overflowing displacement camps and prisons, home to thousands of increasingly rebellious Islamic State fighters and their families. The Rojava Information Center noted in a brief today that widespread disease [in the camps] and detention facilities mean medical staff fear an up to 10% death rate if the disease enters the camps.

Russia and Chinas opposition to extending full cross-border humanitarian assistance in January has made the job of delivering life-saving assistance during the pandemic much harder and put the lives of millions of innocent Syrians in the balance, a state department official told Al-Monitor in emailed comments. To be clear: Russia must bear responsibility for this situation, the official added.

The UNs undersecretary for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Mark Lowcock, told the Security Council yesterday that medical supplies are reaching only 31% of the northeast Syria facilities that previously got them through Yaroubiyah.

Over two million people, including large numbers of Arabs, live in the Kurdish-run territory. Miraculously, there have been only five reported cases of COVID-19 and one death in the northeast so far.

UN and US officials are now mulling a strategy to break the deadlock without provoking Moscow into shutting down the northwest as well.

The question before them is, do they move to get Yaroubiyah reauthorized now or do they wait until July 10? Russia has been clear in its recent council interventions: Dont even try to reauthorize Yaroubiyah, we arent going for it, one of the sources familiar with the deliberations said. The UN has been equally clear that cross-line support or aid channeled through existing hubs, mainly Damascus, has fallen far short of filling the gap from Yaroubiyah, not least because of government obstructionism.

Those pushing for getting Yaroubiyah reopened before July are seeking a formula "that makes it uncomfortable as possible for Russia to stand in the way of what clearly is a humanitarian imperative, said the source, speaking not for attribution.

The United States Syria envoy, Jim Jeffrey, is said to advocate this approach.

Other Security Council members favor waiting until July. France is especially wary of upsetting Moscow and is among those erring on the side of caution, the source said. Germany and Belgium, who are among the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, are likely to follow Frances lead. People are so terrified of what the Russians would do that theyve refused to hold the line on anything, making concessions before they are even demanded, the source said.

In any case, humanitarian imperatives appear to have had little part in Russias calculations as it helps the regime bomb hospitals and homes, killing and maiming thousands of civilians as it claws back rebel-held territory.

Russia has also pressured UN relief agencies into halting funding for private charities carrying critical health services from Iraq into northeastern Syria, Foreign Policy revealed.

Russia sees the UN cross-border mechanism as a limitation of the regimes control over UN humanitarian support in Syria. It therefore tries, step by step, depending on the opportunities, to dismantle the mechanism, observed Charles Thepaut, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. In addition, Russia wants to exploit the partial withdrawal of US troops in October 2019 to push all US troops out of northeastern Syrian and push [the US-backed] Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] closer to the regime."

Thepaut told Al-Monitor, By closing Yaroubiyah, Moscow limits access for NGOs refusing to work with the Syrian regime and benefiting from the security brought by the US military presence. Moscow therefore increases the SDFs reliance on Damascus for humanitarian assistance, especially medical equipment.

As such, few believe Russia will yield to Washingtons pressure to reinstate access. Russias ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, recently called the effort a waste of time.

Ruslan Mamedov, a Middle East expert at the Moscow-based think tank Russian International Affairs Council, argued, however, that the United States and Western partners ought to practice what they preach. The United States has also rejected a proposal to lift sanctions that influence the humanitarian situation in the country as well, he told Al-Monitor. Mamedov was alluding to Washingtons refusal to lift sanctions on Syria.

As for the northwest, Russias decision largely hinges on its complex relationship with Turkey in Idlib. Russia is going to do what is going to do in the northwest, irrespective of the northeast, one of the sources said.

Dareen Khalifa, a Syria researcher for the International Crisis Group, said Russia was definitely hinting at closing access through Idlib. Today over a million of Idlibs population  some of them already displaced twice or thrice from other parts of the country  rely primarily on cross-border humanitarian aid for living. The potential of using the crossing as a tool for political pressure would only exacerbate an already tragic humanitarian situation, she told Al-Monitor.

Ankara convinced Russia in January to withdraw its December veto over the two border crossings to the rebel-held province. Its likely to succeed in getting the Russians to keep the aid pipelines open in July as well, reckons Fabrice Balanche, Syria expert and associate professor at Frances Lyon II University.

Russia wont want to upset [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan at a time when the Americans are trying to blow up the Russia-Turkey relationship, Balanche told Al-Monitor. But Moscows thinking may shift should Turkey fail to tame the jihadists in Idlib and prevent them from continuing to attack [the Russian base in] Hmeimim, he added.

Russias approval of the northwest entry points predated Turkeys walloping of Syrian regime forces in February as they sought to capture Idlib proper. Hundreds of Syrian forces were killed in the Turkish assault, which inflicted more damage on President Bashar al-Assads army than at any time during the course of the nine-year-long conflict. Turkey has certainly increased its military standing after inflicting important losses to regime forces, and this has improved the Turkish negotiation position with Russia. However, it may not be enough to counter the Russian strategy of freezing the front line for some time before letting the regime attack again, said Thepaut.

A cease-fire struck in March, largely on Moscows terms, has put Russian-Turkish cooperation in Idlib back on track for the time being. Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to each other after a nearly month-long pause Monday to discuss the situation in Syria and Libya.

Moscow and Ankara need each other to achieve their own goals and interests trying to avoid frictions and confrontations, remarked Alexey Klebhnikov, another Middle East expert at the Russian International Affairs Council. They will continue coordination on Syria regardless of US-Turkey ties, he told Al-Monitor.

Idlib figures in Ankaras own calculations in different ways. One is to transfer Sunni Arab militants and their families to the 1,100 square kilometer (680 square mile) stretch of territory between the towns of Tell Abyad and Ras al-Ain, which Turkey occupied in the northeast during its October Operation Peace Spring against the SDF.

The aim is to recreate an Arab belt in the heart of Kurdish territory, much as the Baathists did in the 1960s and the 1970s, Balanche said.

The effort to consolidate and sustain the new status quo has played out at the UNs discussions on aid pipelines to Syria. In December, Turkey proposed opening a new border crossing for aid deliveries through Tell Abyad. At Jeffreys urging, the United States backed the move, sources familiar with the discussions said.

Turkey wants the UN to help fund its occupation, Salih Muslim, the deputy co-chair of the Democratic Unity Party, which shares power in the autonomous administration in northeast Syria, told Al-Monitor.

For a while, the UNs Lowcock was on board. In a February report, the UN touted Tell Abyad as one of several alternatives to Yaroubiyah despite some misgivings about delivering aid to occupied territory. But that bridge had already been crossed in the majority-Kurdish enclave of Afrin occupied by Turkey in 2018, where the UN delivers some humanitarian aid.

Logistically and geographically, Tell Abyad makes sense, one of the sources said. But the politics of it didnt. There is no way that Turkey is going to allow aid through Tell Abyad that would support SDF-controlled areas in the northeast. Nor is the SDF going to want to allow the Turkish Red Crescent for delivery purposes into areas it controls. You are basically transporting all the cross-line dynamics in Syria but to a different set of actors, the source said, drawing parallels with the hurdles thrown up by Damascus for aid destined for areas outside its control. Tell Abyad was the least bad of only bad options. It's unviable.

Turkey has since 2017 gradually disallowed aid to cross from its borders to the Kurdish-run areas, part of an ongoing effort to squash the Syrian Kurds experiment with self-rule.

Since October, it has periodically turned off water from the Alok pumping station in Ras al-Ain, on which some 450,000 people in the Kurdish-run regions Hasakah province depend. Lowcock alluded to it yesterday: The provision of water from the [Alok] station was again interrupted and reduced many times since my last briefing, creating severe disruptions. Lowcock added, At least half a million people are affected. Access to water in all areas is all the more critical in this COVID-19 pandemic.

Lowcocks interest in Tell Abyad appears to have waned.

In a May 13 report reviewing the UNs cross-border and cross-line humanitarian operations, Tell Abyad was mentioned only in passing. France and China, which seethes over the presence of thousands of ethnic Uighur jihadis in Idlib, had already voiced firm opposition to the idea. The US State Department did not respond to Al-Monitors question about whether it still supports Tell Abyad.

Washingtons overarching priority is to get Yaroubiyah reinstated.

The United States will continue to work with the [UN] Secretary General and [Security] Council members to ensure that UN deliveries will resume to the communities in the northeast regardless of who controls the territory, in keeping with our principled humanitarian approach to the crisis in Syria, the state department official said.

Additional reporting by Bryant Harris
The Western Military District is preparing for the defensive drills of the Baltic fleet and the Sixth Army, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday, Sputnik reports.

"The drills are purely defensive," Shoigu said.

"The Western strategic area is still facing the most threat for the military security of Russia," the minister said.

In addition, Shoigu also said that over 40 combat ships, vessels and submarines will take part in Russias Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg on Navy Day that will be celebrated on July 26 this year.

"We will begin the board meeting with a review of the preparations for holding the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg scheduled for July 26. The parade will involve 46 combat ships and submarines of all the fleets, including the most advanced vessels that are entering service now," the defense chief said, TASS reports.

The first serial-produced frigate Admiral Kasatonov, the large amphibious assault ship Pyotr Morgunov, the submarine Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and other combat ships will take part in the parade, the defense minister specified.

"As a sign of recognizing the Russian Fleets big contribution to the exploration of the World Ocean, two latest hydrographic survey vessels will sail along the Neva River together with combat ships. The oceanic survey vessel Admiral Vladimirsky, which is currently completing a scientific expedition to the Antarctic shores together with the Russian Geographical Society, will anchor in the Kronshtadt roadstead," Shoigu said.
Missouri Executes First US Inmate Put to Death During COVID-19 Pandemic

Missouri carried out the first execution in the country Tuesday since the start of the CCP virus outbreak in the United States.

Walter Barton was executed Tuesday by the state of Missouri at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections (DOC).

Barton, 64, had been found guilty in 2006 of the 1991 murder of an 81-year old acquaintance, according to court documents. He had maintained his innocence throughout. After multiple trials and appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Bartons request for a stay Tuesday.

Barton was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. CDT, according to the DOC.

The last execution to take place in the United States was on March 5 in Alabama, according to Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

At that time there were 161 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country and 11 deaths from the disease, according to CNNs reporting of cases and fatalities from that date. As of Tuesday evening, there were at least 1,528,568 CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases in the United States and at least 91,921 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

At the correctional center, witnesses to the execution were screened with temperature checks and were provided with face covers and hand sanitizer, said Karen Pojmann, communications director for the DOC.

The last execution at the Bonne Terre facility took place Oct. 1, 2019, and no other executions are currently scheduled, according to Pojmann.

CNN has reached out to Bartons attorney, Frederick A. Duchardt Jr., for comment.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Start-ups hit by the lockdown have been given fresh hope for survival as applications for the Government's coronavirus Future Fund opened today.

The new scheme, which has been developed alongside the British Business Bank, will issue convertible loans between 125,000 to 5million to innovative companies which are facing financing difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Loans will be given subject to at least equal funding from private investors and an initial commitment of 250million by the Government has been announced meaning at least 500million is already up for grabs.

UK start-ups hit by the coronavirus lockdown have been given a lifeline by the Government

The loan is for businesses who have been unable to access any of the support currently on offer by the Government such as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Small Business Grants Fund.

This is largely because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. The Government's initial commitment of 250million of new funding will be unlocked by private investment on a match-funded basis.

Under the Future Fund's terms, companies will be able to apply for match-funding of up to 5million, with the loans converting into discounted equity at the next funding round or after three years if they are not repaid.

Unlike equity investment, there is no requirement to value companies being supported, which helps at a time when company valuations have been significantly hit by the coronavirus.

EIS companies and investors banned

Is your business eligible for coronavirus Future Fund aid? Businesses must meet the following criteria in order to be eligible for support from the coronavirus Future Fund: It is UK-incorporated. If your business is part of a corporate group, only the parent company is eligible It has raised at least 250,000 in equity investment from third-party investors in the last 5 years None of its shares are traded on a regulated market, multilateral trading facility or other listing venue It was incorporated on or before 31 December 2019 At least one of the following is true: - half or more employees are UK-based - half or more revenues are from UK sales

Companies that have previously raised money through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and the SEIS, which offer tax advantages to individual investors in start-ups, will not be able to apply to the scheme.

This rule has sparked complaints from both start-ups and investors alike as it means many earlier stage start-ups who have lined up investment from angel investors subject to them being able to claim EIS will not be able to participate in the Future Fund.

The omission of EIS investment appears to be a result of the State Aid rules and so beyond the governments control.

But many warn the impact is likely to be significant as many start-ups may be forced to re-enter the economy without sufficient financial backing.

Michael Buckworth of UK law firm Buckworths, which works exclusively with start-ups and high growth businesses, said the exclusion of EIS relief for angel investors providing matched funding 'significantly weakens the efficacy of the scheme'.

He said: 'Most UK angels are reliant on EIS as a way of reducing their risk and rewarding them for making high risk investments in early stage businesses.

'These angels will likely not invest as part of the Future Fund thereby excluding a swathe of earlier stage start-ups from the scheme.

'The UK start-up ecosystem which is so important to our economy risks losing a generation of early-stage start-ups who will be unable to secure funding and so will fail.

'The government must act now to incentivise angel investors to invest in businesses who have not secured funding from the Future Fund.'

Meanwhile Alex Davies, founder and chief executive of wealth club, a platform for VCT and EIS funds, said the Future Fund 'completely misses the point'.

'The early stage start-up and scale-up industry is fuelled by SEIS and EIS  and so the scheme should be EIS and VCT compatible. But it isnt,' he said.

'Are you going to get individual investors in large numbers to back companies which are likely in many cases to be in a very distressed state, without the benefit of tax relief? Unlikely.

Alex Davies is chief executive at Wealth Club

'For later stage companies backed by non-tax led venture funds, who can match the funding, it makes more sense. The question here, is whether 250million will be enough?

'I expect it will go at the click of a finger. That said it is only the really distressed companies that are going to use it, because the terms are quite expensive as the government is clearly expecting a high failure rate.'

Furthermore, with only 250million in matched funding available at this point, there is the potential for only fifty companies to benefit from the scheme if they were to be awarded the full 5million each.

David Hough of Blick Rothenberg said: 'Smaller companies and those in most need of support could be left behind and may find the pot has been fully utilised by the time they can get their matching lenders in place.

'More established companies are likely to be able to access the Future Fund more quickly as they will be able to show any historic fundraising that is required as part of the application and will have relationships with third party investors that they can utilise to secure the necessary matched funding.

'These businesses can act quickly and be first in line to take a share of the pot.'

Hough also agreed the restrictions on EIS relief were 'disappointing'.
New Delhi, May 20 : For two days in a row, the capital has recorded over 500 Covid-19 cases, taking up the tally to 11,088 cases on Wednesday, and it seems the number of cases will continue to spike and may reach up to 1,000 cases a day, say experts.

As many as 534 coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, marking the biggest one-day jump so far. On Tuesday, Delhi had reported 500 cases, which was also the sharpest rise - till then - in the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases. Although, the number of containment zones has come down from 97 a few weeks ago to 66, but Covid-19 cases continue to spiral in Delhi.

Dr. S K Sarin, Chairman of Delhi government's committee tackling Covid-19, said they recorded 500 cases a day, but the rate of doubling is decreasing, and it seems the numbers may go up to 1,000 a day.

He insisted Delhi is reasonably well-prepared to handle such a spike in cases, and more cases are adding up to the tally because more people are being tested for the viral infection. "The number of infections is not the real cause of worry. We need to keep the mortality rate and people becoming sick down. Therefore, people should move out only if it's required, that too wearing face masks at all times," he said.

The number of active case in the city is 5,720 with 5,192 cases have recovered so far and 176 people having succumbed to the viral infection. As many as 7,442 tests per million have been conducted.

Dr. Manoj K Goel, Director & Head of Pulmonary Critical Care & Sleep Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said: "We are now in the phase where the number of new cases is going to spike much faster than it was before. When the lockdown was imposed, social distancing norms could be followed as people were not leaving their houses. However, now as the lockdown is opening up, there is an increase in the people mingling in the community." Goel insisted that it is difficult to maintain social distancing norms and infection control strategies which include -- cough hygiene, hand hygiene and also wearing masks. "Although people are wearing masks but they are not wearing it properly which keeps them exposed to the infection. Also people from other parts of the country are travelling to Delhi, which increases the risk of spread of infection," he added.
Thinking about boating in the Adirondacks Memorial Day Weekend?

Its a good time to start thinking and taking action to prevent the spread of invasive plant and animal species on your favorite waterway.

Paul Smiths College Adirondack Watershed Institute will be providing free boat inspections and decontaminations starting this weekend at nearly 75 locations across the Adirondacks.

The Institute operates the New York State Department of Environmental Conservations (DEC) Adirondack Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention Program to help the public observe New Yorks Aquatic Invasive Species Spread Prevention law. The law prohibits invasive plants and animals on boats launching into the states lakes, ponds and rivers.

The program includes decontamination stations and boat inspection locations at popular boat launches throughout the Adirondacks. Institute staff inspect boats, educate visitors about aquatic invasive species, and decontaminate any boat to meet the Clean, Drain, and Dry standard required by New York State.

The stewards working for the program have been deemed exempt from Governor Andrew Cuomos "New York State on PAUSE" executive order. They are working closely with the DEC and local medical professionals and are trained to protect themselves and the public from the threat of spreading Coronavirus while at the launches.

The public can expect to see stewards wearing face masks, practicing safe social distancing protocols and taking other preventative measures to keep themselves and the visiting public safe.

We are asking the public to be considerate of our stewards and to do their part to protect themselves and our stewards at the boat launches, said Don Kelting, executive director of the Institute.

The public should follow these important steps. Be courteous by wearing a face covering at the launches and while interacting with stewards. Next, maintain at least 6 feet of social distance between you and others. And finally, be patient. Launching and inspecting your boat for aquatic invasive species may take longer than normal due to social distancing and other challenges related to safety protocols.

A number of AWIs inspection sites are located within New York State campgrounds which are closed until at least June 1. Until further notice, these inspection sites will not be in operation until campgrounds reopen.

In addition, the Lake Flower boat launch, which is currently closed due to construction, will not operate as an inspection station. Further, a small number of decontamination stations will be delayed in opening.

The inspection and decontamination station at the Adirondacks Welcome Center on Interstate 87 northbound near Exit 18 in Glens Falls will be opened this weekend. In 2019 this boat wash station decontaminated more than 400 boats, the highest of any boat wash station within the Adirondacks..

The boat inspection and decontamination stations are cooperatively funded by New York States Environmental Protection Fund, US Fish and Wildlife Service-Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Lake Champlain Basin Program, numerous Lake Associations, private foundations, and municipalities.

Visit the programs website at www.adkcleanboats.org for details about inspection and decontamination station location and steps the public can take to maintain the quality of New Yorks waterways. The most up-to-date inspection and de-on station location list will posted on the website on Friday.

MORE OUTDOORS

How coronavirus syndrome is affecting young children is making NY rethink summer camp

Canal Corporation: Large systems of NY canal system will be open by July 4

No camping will be allowed at DEC, NYS Parks campgrounds Memorial Day weekend
1K Shares Share

Dr. Lorna Breen, an ER physician in New York City, killed herself after working the front lines in the pandemic. Her death has created a call to action. The headlines read that healthcare workers are suffering; they are heroes; they need support. Dr. Lorna Breen was 49 years old. I am 49 years old. I am also a successful ER physician on the front lines of the pandemic. I cant speak to Dr. Breens experience. But I can tell you mine.

Most of us who work in the ER signed up to work with the most emotionally challenging patients in medicine because we fill our buckets by connecting with people in the most difficult moments of their lives. We are the cops of medicine. We take care of the homeless, drug addicts, car wrecks, cancer patients, heart attacks, the dying. We love it. We are a unique bunch. We are achievers, A + students; we get the job done, weekends, holidays, overnights. But we are also the healthcare workers that need to achieve the most outside of work because we are constantly humbled by what we cannot do in our professional lives. We cannot fix that the mother we heroically resuscitated after her car accident may never recover from the deaths of her two children who we could not save. We cannot fix that the child we saved from drowning will need 24-hour care for the rest of her life. We cope by holding the mothers hand of a dying child. We cope by talking a family through a parents death. We cope by knowing that by being fully present, by really seeing and acknowledging our patients and their familys pain, what we do matters. But this is different.

First of all, I cant breathe. PPE. Personal protective equipment. It starts with an N95 mask. The mask is thick and fits tight to my face. The rubber bands cut off the circulation to my ears, but if I touch it, I will get COVID. For an 8 hour shift, I suffocate. On top of the mask, I wear a face shield, which is essentially a welders mask. This needs to be cleaned multiple times a shift with a solution that smells like urine. It is incredibly hard to concentrate much less truly connect with patients.

Still, I signed up for this. The morning news feeds me I am a hero, a hero, who last week, walked into a room of a patient with dementia and after seeing me in my spacesuit, curled up in a ball and started screaming. I wasnt human. The N95 mask makes it hard for even those patients with the best hearing to understand me. If English is a patients second language, or the patient has difficulty hearing communication is almost impossible. No one can see my eyes or facial expression. Body language, facial expression, having a conversation, that is how I connect with my patients. I cannot connect.

I have seen an enormous number of patients with mental health crises. I have seen multiple patients who have attempted suicide. Not just by our usual attempts, suicide by overdose of drugs or alcohol, but patients who were stopped by a passerby from jumping off a bridge or putting a bullet in their head. I have seen more anxiety than ever before. Patients who have never had a panic attack but present to the ER desperate for some relief. Patients without their anxiety or depression medication because their usual physician was furloughed or unable to see them in person. All of them had one thing in common, a desperate need for human connection.

This week I have seen many patients die of COVID-19. All of them had a story. All of them were heroes. Before COVID-19, they would have died with their families around them; their lives would have been celebrated with a funeral, they would have been more than the department of healths daily update. They would not have spent the past six weeks socially isolated. They would not have died alone.

Dr. Breen worked in New York City. She would have seen death on a scale that thankfully, I have not. Dr. Breen was a hero, not because she was an ER physician, but because by all accounts, she was an amazing human being. And like all those that have and will die from or because of COVID-19 her life deserves to be honored. I cant tell you why Dr. Breen killed herself, but I can tell you that she was a witness. A witness to the incredible power of a string of RNA that is COVID-19. A witness to fear. A witness to helplessness and disbelief. A witness to child and domestic abuse on a scale never seen before. A witness to the depression, anxiety, and isolation. A witness to those who grieve the deaths of their parents in ER parking lots, on Facetime, on Zoom without the support of their friends and family. A witness to the loss of the last hug, kiss, touch of those we love. A witness to the death of hundreds of COVID-19 patients who died in isolation, with only an emergency physician in an N95 mask, a gown and a welders shield, who spoke to them on a phone outside the room, a doctor they had never met, could not see, could barely hear, who promised to tell their children they love them. A witness to the most powerful social experiment ever performed. A witness to our response to COVID-19. Thank you, Dr. Breen, for caring so much.

Carolyn Anne McClain is an emergency physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
UN Calls For Reduction In Violence As U.S. Envoy Meets Taliban

By RFE/RL May 19, 2020

The United Nations has called for an immediate reduction of violence in Afghanistan, warning that civilian deaths by both the Taliban and Afghan security forces are on the rise, as the U.S. special peace envoy opened another round of talks with the Taliban to press the militants to start talking with the Kabul government.

The statement from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which also voiced concern about the stepped-up attacks and the brutality of assaults claimed by Islamic State (IS) militants, came after a horrific attack last week at a maternity hospital in the Afghan capital that killed 24 people, including two infants and several young mothers.

The Taliban denied involvement in the attack, which has not been claimed by any group, while Washington said the assault bore all the hallmarks of Afghanistan's IS affiliate -- targeting the country's minority Shi'a in an area of Kabul that IS militants have repeatedly attacked in the past.

UNAMA said in the statement that the Taliban killed 208 civilians last month and also said that operations by Afghan forces in April had killed 172 civilians.

"Parties have committed to finding a peaceful solution and should protect the lives of all Afghans and not jeopardize people's hope for an end to the war," UNAMA chief Deborah Lyons said.

She added that "intra-Afghan peace negotiations need to start as soon as possible."

The Taliban has ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence, a tactic that it may be employing to strengthen its negotiating position.

Meanwhile, IS militants also continue to conduct deadly attacks on Afghan security forces and civilians.

On May 19, eight Afghan soldiers were killed while repelling a Taliban attack on the northern city of Kunduz, officials said.

The militants attacked several government posts on the outskirts of the city overnight, a Defense Ministry statement said, triggering heavy fighting.

The assault was repelled with the support of air power, the ministry said.

The attackers "suffered big losses," according to Defense Minister Assadullah Khalid.

Three civilians were also killed and 55 others wounded in the violence, provincial health director Ehsanullah Afzali said.

The attack came as U.S. special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad prepared to open another round of talks with the Taliban to press it to start talking to the newly reconciled political leadership in Kabul.

Khalilzad was scheduled to also visit Kabul, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on May 18.

Khalilzad will meet in Doha with Taliban representatives to discuss implementation of the agreement "and press for steps necessary to commence intra-Afghan negotiations, including a significant reduction of violence," the statement said.

He will then meet with senior government officials in Kabul "to explore steps the Afghan government needs to take to make intra-Afghan negotiations begin as soon as possible," the statement said.

During the meetings, Khalilzad will continue to reinforce the U.S. view that "the best path to end the conflict is for all parties to sit together and negotiate an agreement on the political future of Afghanistan," the statement said.

Khalilzad's departure came after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, reached a power-sharing agreement under which Abdullah will lead the government's efforts to reach a peace deal with the Taliban.

The power struggle had been one of the main impediments to the start of intra-Afghan negotiations to end more than 18 years of war.

The talks were to begin on March 10 under a February 29 agreement, which calls for U.S. and foreign troops to withdraw from Afghanistan following an intra-Afghan deal in exchange for guarantees from the Taliban not to allow the country to become a haven for transnational terrorist groups such as IS and Al-Qaeda.

The Taliban has said stepping up violence was in response to Ghani ordering Afghan forces to go on the offensive against the militant group.

With reporting by AP, AFP, dpa, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/khalilzad-afghanistan- taliban-peace/30619920.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Todays Headlines

The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.

Email address

By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
(CNN) Gregory Tyree Boyce, an actor who appeared in the 2008 film "Twilight," was found dead in a Las Vegas residence, a spokesperson with the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner confirmed to CNN.

He was 30.

According to the coroner's office, Boyce was found dead with Natalie Adenike Adepoju, 27, at a residence on May 13.

The cause and manner of death is still being determined.

A public information officer for the Las Vegas Police Department told CNN in an email that the deaths were "not a criminal incident" and referred any inquiry to the coroner's office.

Boyce was best known for playing Tyler Crowley opposite Kristen Stewart's character Bella Swan in "Twilight."

He was also credited with appearing as Cowboy in video short "Apocalypse" in 2018.

In Facebook posts Sunday, Boyce's mother, Lisa Wayne, paid tribute to both her son and Adepoju.

Wayne wrote that her son was "the best chef."

"He was in the process of starting a wing business, West Wings," Wayne wrote. "He created the flavors to his perfection and named them after west coast rappers."

CNN was unable to locate a representative for Boyce and has reached out to Wayne for additional comment.

It will take six to eight weeks for a cause of death to be determined, according to the coroner's office.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Gregory Tyree Boyce, 'Twilight' actor, found dead with girlfriend."
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, home goods chain Pier 1 Imports announced Tuesday that will close all retail operations, according to multiple reports.

Pier 1 Imports, still operating 540 stories after the closing of 402 stores through the Chapter 11 filing, opened its first store in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962.

This is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve, CEO and CFO Robert Riesbeck told House Beautiful Magazine.

PennLives full coronavirus coverage

Pier 1 will begin the process of liquidating all of its remaining stores once all can reopen in compliance with coronavirus guidelines from local government and health officials.

All inventory and remaining assets are part of the court-supervised wind-down, which includes Pier 1s intellectual property and e-commerce business.

Pier 1 had planned to find a buyer to continue its brand after it Chapter 11 filing in February. Riesbeck noted the harsh reality of achieving that goal under the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the report, Pier1.com orders are still be processed and filled. The company also will host its annual Memorial Day sale, with shoppers getting up to 40-percent off sitewide.

RELATED NEWS

 Making a go of it: Area restaurants staying open

 Lawmakers, advocates question Wolfs decisions, fear hes ruining Pa. business
Tests on new designs for next-gen solar cells can now be done in hours instead of days thanks to a new system built by scientists at Australias Monash University, incorporating 3D-printed key components.

The machine can analyse 16 sample perovskite-based solar cells simultaneously, in parallel, dramatically speeding up the process.

The invention means that the performance and commercial potential of new compounds can be very rapidly evaluated, significantly speeding up the development process.

Third generation perovskite cells have boosted performance to above 25%, which is almost identical to the efficiency level for conventional silicon-based ones, said project leader Mr Adam Surmiak from the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science (Exciton Science).

But those results are from laboratory tests on millimetre-sized samples in indoor conditions  and therefore dont take into account a whole range of real-world factors such as environmental conditions, the use to which the cells are put, the manufacturing process, and possible deterioration over time.

To make proper decisions, we need to know how each different cell design will function at large scales in the real world  and to do that we need a proper data library so we can pick the best candidates to take to that next stage. This new system lets us build that very rapidly and speed up transition from laboratory to fabrication.

Getting the recipe right for perovskite solar cells is regarded as critically important to the transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy generation. They cost about 10 times less than silicon cells and are much cheaper to manufacture.

Rooftop solar panels made from perovskite will pay for themselves within months instead of years, which is the case with present models.

To achieve the high level of precision needed to build the system, PhD candidate Surmiak and his colleagues turned to Monash Universitys Instrumentation Facility and the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, part of the Australian National Fabrication Facility  highly specialised machining and equipment facilities. There, the researchers designs were produced using ultra-detailed milling and a 16-micrometre precision 3D printer.

Alongside the development and set-up of this new testing facility, Mr Surmiak was also able to significantly speed up the actual solar cell fabrication process.

The head of the Monash University lab in which Surmiak works, Professor Udo Bach, a chief investigator with Exciton Science, described the invention as world-leading.

Experimental high-throughput concepts will become increasingly important for the discovery of the next generation of energy materials, fueling the transition to a carbon-neutral energy economy, he said.

Our new set-up has the capacity to test thousands of solar cells in one single day, putting us ahead of practically all other R&D labs worldwide.

###

Mr Surmiak and Professor Bach worked with Dr Tian Zhan, Dr Jianfeng Lu, Dr Kevin Rietwyk, Dr Sonia Ruiz Raga and Dr David McMeekin, all from Exciton Science.

The research is published in the journal Solar RRL.
Missed the most recent top news in Houston? Read on for everything you need to know. Houston police officer who died in head-on crash was intoxicated, investigators say Read the full story on KPRC2 / Click2Houston. Popular radio DJ killed in crash with 18-wheeler on Southwest Freeway Read the full story on ABC13 Houston. Houston renters among first in the country to face evictions after COVID-19 moratoriums Read the full story on Houston Public Media. Owner in need of help after more than 20 animals seized from home Read the full story on KPRC2 / Click2Houston. Houston-area cheerleader hospitalized after snake bite that was caught on video Read the full story on Fox 11 Los Angeles. 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.

A Houston police officer who was driving the wrong way on the highway when she slammed into a big rig and died in Sealy was driving while drunk, investigators said.

A man died after crashing into an 18-wheeler that had pulled over to the left shoulder, Houston police say.

In many major U.S. cities, landlords can't evict tenants impacted by COVID-19 until late summer.

An animal rescue team arrived at a south Houston home to seize over two dozen neglected animals Tuesday, and discovered the animals owner is also in need of help.
South Africa: COVID-19 severely impacts employment

A Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) survey has revealed that 8.1% of its respondents lost jobs or closed businesses as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The survey, titled Wave 2, studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and income in South Africa. Stats SA released the findings on Wednesday. The survey was conducted between 29 April and 6 May.

According to the report, almost nine in ten (89.5%) respondents who were employed before the national lockdown remained employed during the lockdown.

The survey also found a decrease in the proportion of respondents who usually derive their income from salaries and wages, as well as from own business during the lockdown. On the other hand, the results indicated an increase in the proportion of those who derived their incomes from savings and investments (increasing from 4.8% prior to the lockdown to 6.0% during the lockdown), loans from friends, family and/or businesses (increasing from 1.7% to 3.3%), and claims from UIF (increasing from 0.3% to 2.1%), found the report.

The percentage of respondents who reported no income increased from 5.2% before the lockdown to 15.4% by the sixth week of the national lockdown, said Stats SA.

The survey further indicated that about a quarter of respondents (25.8%) reported that their incomes decreased during the national lockdown, while over half (56.2%) said that their income had stayed the same.

Approximately one-third of respondents (33.4%) reported that COVID-19 and the national lockdown will have no impact on their ability to cover their financial obligations, while 18.7% and 18.2% of respondents indicated that it would have a major or moderate impact, respectively, Stats SA said.

Most respondents who reported that their income reduced during the lockdown indicated that they reduced their spending during lockdown as a coping mechanism (74.9%).

Other coping mechanisms that respondents used to compensate for the loss of income included accessing their savings (51.7%), relying on extended family members, friends and their communities (36.8%), and claiming from UIF (14.6%).

Stats SA said an overwhelming majority of respondents (67.7%) reported that they are more concerned about the potential long-term impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on their financial situation compared to 12.3% of respondents who reported being more concerned about the short-term impact. Roughly one in ten respondents (10.5%) reported that it was too soon to tell whether they were more concerned about the long- or short-term impact of the virus.

Before the national lockdown, the majority of respondents (95.6%) indicated that they had worked from non-residential buildings, while only 1.4% of those in employment worked from home. However, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a change where 77.9% of those who worked during the national lockdown did so from home, compared to 15.1% who worked from non-residential buildings, said Stats SA.

Most of the respondents (60.5%) indicated that they will be returning to their jobs after the national lockdown. Just over 5% indicated they are not sure whether or not they would be returning and 1.0% were certain that they would not be returning to the same job/business. Only a small proportion of respondents (5.4%) who reported owning a small registered business indicated that they had received financial relief from government.

Since the start of the national lockdown, the proportion of respondents who reported experiencing hunger increased from 4.3% to 7.0% as compared to the month prior to the lockdown. Amongst respondents who reported that their income had decreased during the lockdown, more than one in ten (11.4%) reported experiencing hunger, indicating that the loss of income may further increase food insecurity in the country.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The big privatization will be launched as soon as the coronavirus crisis is over, and the Dnipro Hotel will become its pilot project, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"As to medium-sized and big privatization, everything is ready. It will be launched after COVID-19. The first target  the Dnipro Hotel  is ready. As we promised, we started with public administration agency," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The president also said the rest of hotels on balance of the public administration agency will be handed over to the State Property Fund.

The privatization targets have been "cleared off" legal cases, Zelensky said.
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on 22 May, sources said

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on 22 May, sources said on Tuesday.

The Executive Board meeting of the WHO will be held on 22 May. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. The chairman's post is held by rotation for one year among regional groups. The main functions of the Board are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly and facilitate its work.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had on Monday participated in the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) via video conferencing. WHA is the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation.

In his address, Health Minister had expressed his "deepest condolences" at the loss of lives across the world due to COVID-19 and also expressed his "sincere gratitude" for the efforts of those who are in the frontline of this battle. "We, in India, undertook the COVID-19 challenge with the highest level of political commitment. Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, personally monitored the situation and ensured a pre-emptive, pro-active and graded response, leaving no stones unturned to contain the deadly virus from spreading," Harsh Vardhan had said.

The Minister had stressed that this is the time when humankind must come together. "On our part, India is playing a key role in fostering bilateral and regional partnerships. Under our Prime Minister's able leadership, India has supplied essential medicines to 123 nations as an expression of solidarity," he had said.

"I stand here to honour the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the scientists, the journalists, the delivery boys, security staff, sanitation staff and the police personnel - the forgotten roles who are today playing 'superhumans'. They are our real heroes," he added.

The 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) unanimously adopted a resolution to conduct an independent probe of WHO's COVID-19 response.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked the World Health Assembly members for adopting a resolution on the independent evaluation of the coronavirus response. "I thank Member States for adopting the resolution, which calls for an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the international response - including, but not limited to, WHO's performance. As I said yesterday, I will initiate such an evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment," said Tedros.
Emirati telecom group Etisalat Group Wednesday appointed Hatem Dowidar as Acting Chief Executive Officer after Saleh Al Abdooli resigned from his role as CEO.

Abdooli, according to the group, submitted his resignation citing personal reasons. He had been with telecom giant for 28 years.

The board of directors picked Dowidar who until his new appointment was the CEO international of the group. He joined the Abu Dhabi company in September 2015 as Group Chief Operating Officer.

The 51-year old Egyptian businessman takes control of the company, which on Wednesday posted a net profit of Dh2.2 billion resulting in a net profit margin of 17 per cent. The company announced that its board had approved dividend payout of 25 fils per share.

The company, Khaleej Times reports, has also reported 150 million subscribers around the world, including 12.7 million in the UAE.
SEARCH

A minimum of 3 characters are required to be typed in the search bar in order to perform a search.
A stone cottage has gone up in flames after being struck by lighting during an electrical storm.

The house at Golden Gate Mines road, at Angaston in the Barossa Valley, South Australia caught alight about 6.45pm on Tuesday.

Homeowner Mark Grossman told ABC News it's a misconception that lightning never strikes twice.

'There's been storms like that before,' Mr Grossman said.

A stone cottage has gone up in flames after being struck by lighting during an electrical storm in South Australia

'Prior to being married, in one three-month period I went through three answering machines in the house that blew up.'

Neighbours reported hearing a loud bang and seeing a flash of light before the house caught alight on Tuesday night.

Mr Grossman said he wasn't inside when the lighting struck. He was feeding his sheep nearby.

Homeowner Mark Grossman (pictured) said everything was lost in the fire except one wedding album

'I got a phone call early evening last night from my wife [and] a few minutes later my son rang to say there's a fire in the house,' he said.

The farmer told 9News he was able to save a precious family memory, but everything else was lost.

'Miraculously this morning I found our wedding album which was packed in the side of a cupboard that I found unburnt but otherwise everything else has gone,' he said.

It took more than seven fire trucks and 30 fire fighters to douse the flames.

It took more than seven fire trucks and 30 fire fighters to douse the flames

The Country Fire service managed to keep the building standing but the home was severely damaged in the fire

The Country Fire service managed to keep the building standing but the home was severely damaged in the fire,

Authorities estimate it caused between $200,000 to $250,000 damage.

South Australia was hit by a wave of wild weather on Tuesday night, after a cold front moved quickly from the coast and through part's of Adelaide's metropolitan areas.

The weather event brought thunderstorms and a serious hail storm which resulted in hailstones of up to one centimeter in size dropping out of the sky.

The bureau of meteorology said the hail was 'quite typical' for late Autumn, and while the stones weren't very big said there was a reasonable quantity.

A second cold front is forecast to bring another hail storm to much of the city on Wednesday afternoon.

South Australia was hit by a wave of wild weather on Tuesday night, after a cold front moved quickly from the coast and through part's of Adelaide's metropolitan areas
Two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were martyred on Wednesday after three terrorists launched an attack in Soura near Pandach area of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. The two BSF personnel have identified as Rana Mondol and Jiaul Haque.

The bike-borne terrorists fired at the two jawans at around 5.10 pm and also snatched two weapons from the BSF, said Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar. They belonged to the 37 Batallion of C Company of 37 Battalion BSF, deployed as a part of Adhoc K-7 and were attacked when the troops were on their Road Opening Party (ROP) duty. The injured jawans were rushed to the hospital but they died on the way.

Kumar said, Two BSF jawans on Naka Duty at the outskirts of Srinagar city at Pandach Chowk were fired upon by 3 bike-borne terrorists," adding, one jawan died at the spot while one succumbed on way to the hospital.

Eyewitnesses said that the terrorists fired discriminately at the BSF personnel, resulting in serious injuries to two personnel who were evacuated to nearby SKIMS hospital in Soura, Srinagar.

Soon after the attack, the area was cordoned and a search was launched to nab the attackers. All the entry and exit points were sealed.

The battalion was deployed in the Pandach area under Ganderbal district for law and order duty since August 2019.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Page Content

In this interview, Juanma Moreno, President of Andalusia, shares his views as rapporteur on the new European Climate Law, the legally binding proposal on the table to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050



The draft opinion of the President of Andalusia Juanma Moreno (ES/EPP) on the Climate Law is available here in all EU official languages. The text is to be discussed and voted at the next ENVE Commission meeting on 8 June. Final vote and adoption is scheduled at the 1-2 July plenary session along with a high-level debate on the European Green Deal.

The European Commission published its proposal for a Climate Law before the COVID-19 outbreak, a very different context from the current one. Should the efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 remain a priority within the economic and social recovery plan?

Of course, this goal must remain a priority as much as this recovery represents a great opportunity. We must remember that, prior to the current situation, our society was already immersed in an industrial revolution and dealing with the consequences of global warming. The solutions we need in order to overcome the social and economic challenges we now face are also an opportunity to redirect our society towards a sustainable and more resilient model, and our economy towards a climate-neutral one. The COVID-19 recovery plan is an opportunity to carry out a truly green revolution. We must therefore make greater use of sources of renewable energy, promote energy efficiency and effective infrastructures, and further develop sustainable transport systems, all the while keeping a focus on job creation.



The European Commission's proposal for a European Climate Law was criticised for its lack of ambition when it was published. In which respects could it have shown more ambition?

The Andalusian government considers that the binding climate neutrality objective by 2050, as set out in the proposed European Climate Law, is sufficiently ambitious, and that it constitutes a major challenge for the whole European Union. However, we believe that it is essential that new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 are specified as soon as possible, at EU and national levels, given the scale of the social, technological and economic transformations that must be addressed.



Andalusia has adopted a regional climate law. From your experience, what are the areas in which local and regional authorities (LRAs) can better contribute and have a greater impact on the path towards climate neutrality? Why are LRAs better positioned in these areas than national governments?

Some of the carbon-intensive sectors in which we need to act fall under the competencies of local and regional administrations. This is the case for transport, housing and public buildings as well as waste management. The importance of taking a regional and local approach to climate change is evident, since global warming impacts each region in different ways and on the basis of multiple factors. We therefore need to establish coordination mechanisms amongst all levels of governance so that the planning and execution of climate policies in each territory is complementary and aligned in order to optimise resources and obtain better results.



Do you think that a single European Climate Law is able to properly reflect and fit the wide diversity of regions across Europe in geographical, social and economic terms?

It is precisely because of the socio-economic and geographical diversity of the territories of the European Union that we need a single law that acts as a unifying framework. This same spirit constitutes the basis of the European project. Due to the diversity of local and regional realities, we must develop the active participation of all territories both in the design and in the implementation process of the new Climate Law. Local and regional authorities are not only the public administrations closest to the citizens, but they are also those ultimately responsible for the implementation of the new legislation on the ground. This makes it an efficient tool to reduce divergences between territories and deliver a more resilient society.



What modifications to the European Climate Law proposal would you put forward so as to guarantee that regions and cities are better considered and more involved in the process?

Regional and local factors are key when drafting climate-neutrality strategies and action plans. Socio-economic, geographical and climate-related variables must be taken into consideration when evaluating and assessing vulnerabilities and risks as well as defining future scenarios. National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) need to be complemented with regional and local ones, following the same criteria such as profitability, economic and energy efficiency, equity and solidarity. Local and regional authorities play a key role in climate adaptation and mitigation measures. As such, developing regional angles would increase our chances of achieving the collective objective we are working on. That is to become the first climate-neutral continent in the world, by 2050.



Notes:

The agenda and draft opinions of the 8 June ENVE commission meeting are downloadable here.



EU Climate Law: Cities and regions demand 5-year action plan. As a reaction to the EC proposal on a European Climate Law last 4 March, the President of the European Committee of the Regions Apostolos Tzitzikostas has called on the EU to set out a 5-year action plan and ensure all regions and cities are involved in achieving climate neutrality. Read the press release here.





Press Contact:

David Crous

Tel.: +32 (0) 470 88 10 37

david.crous@cor.europa.eu














Bengaluru, May 21 : The South Western Railway (SWR) zone has run 15 Shramik special trains to transport 19,690 migrants back home to seven states in north and east India, an official said on Wednesday.

"First Shramik special train of SWR on Wednesday left Bengaluru Cantonment to New Jalpaiguri (in West Bengal) at 12.20 a.m. with 1,200 passengers," said a SWR spokesperson.

Wednesday's second special train departed from KSR Bengaluru to Bettaiah in Bihar at 1.27 a.m. with 1,526 migrants.

Both the first and second trains were scheduled for Tuesday but got delayed and overran their time schedules to be counted on Wednesday.

"Third Shramik special train left Hubballi at noon with 1,564 passengers on board to Madhubani (Bihar)," said the official.

The fourth special train departed from Bengaluru Cantonment station at 2.47 p.m. with 1,530 migrants, including 26 children to Darbhanga in Bihar.

Wednesday's fifth special train left Hubballi for Samastipur in Bihar at 4 p.m. with 1,541 migrants.

Overall, Wednesday's fifth special train was SWR's 100th Shramik special train.

"SWR on Wednesday ran its 100th Shramik special train carrying 1,40,473 passengers, mostly migrant workers, students and families to their hometowns," said an official statement.

Similarly, the sixth special train departed from Bengaluru Cantonment to Purnia in Bihar at 4:40 p.m. with 1,515 passengers, including 15 children.

Wednesday's seventh special train left from KSR Bengaluru to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh at 5:50 p.m. with 1,541 migrants.

The eighth special train departed from Bengaluru Cantonment to Chapra in Bihar at 6.35 p.m. with 1,550 migrants, including 30 children.

Wednesday's ninth special train left Chikka Bannavara to Mau in UP at 7.10 p.m. with 1,500 migrants.

The 10th special train departed from Hubballi to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh at 8 p.m. with 1,488 migrants.

"Wednesday's 11th Shramik special train left from Chikka Bannavara to Basti at 8.40 p.m. with 1,495 passengers," the official said.

The 12th special train left Bengaluru Cantonment station to Darbhanga at 8.45 p.m. with 1,534 migrants, including 12 children.

SWR's 13th special train and Wednesday's last one departed from Chikka Bannavara to Haridwar in Uttarakhand at 10 p.m. with 1,076 migrants.

This was SWR's 107th Shramik special train.

The special trains are being run following the Ministry of Home Affairs' permission for the movement of stranded migrant labourers, workers, students, tourists and others.
The 21-year-old man mortally wounded in a shooting in Metairie on Tuesday night was Alpha O. Smith, the Jefferson Parish Coroners Office said.

The coroner on Wednesday identified Smith as the victim of the shooting in the 600 block of N. Elm Street in Metairie about 11:50 p.m.

The Sheriffs Office said that deputies responding to a report of gunshots in the area found Smith with a gunshot wounds and another, unidentified male with a wound to his knee.

Smith died of his injuries at a hospital Wednesday morning, deputies said. The other male, whose age and name have not been released, is accused in the killing. The Sheriff's Office said the person was involved in "a series of disturbances throughout the day."

Deputies intend to book him on counts of second-degree murder, obstruction of justice and felon in possession of a firearm when he is released from a hospital.
Armed with a squirt gun loaded with holy water, a Roman Catholic priest from Detroit has caught the attention of the internet, in his unorthodox yet fun way of blessing his congregation while still abiding by the social distancing guidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Father Timothy Pelc, the priest turned "marksman", went viral on social media after photos of him shooting holy water into window of a car passing by was posted. The priest was also equipped with personal protective equipment. Wearing a face mask, face shield, and rubber gloves, he looked ready to battle evil and combat coronavirus at the same time.

Although the photos were taken back in Easter, they have only recently gone viral and has even inspired various memes on the internet.

One of those that caught attention was a parody of the movie poster of Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." The meme replaced the last frame in the poster with Father Pelc holding his squirt gun and changed the title to "The Good, The Bad, and The Holy Spirit."

Its an internet law: once a post or photo about you goes viral, you must end up in a meme. Now its happened to Fr.... Posted by St. Ambrose Parish on Friday, May 15, 2020

Bright Idea Amid a Grim Situation

According to the 70-year-old priest, the idea of using a squirt gun came up during a discussion with a parishioner who was also a physician before the holy week. They were in the middle of a discussion on safe ways to bless Easter Baskets amid the coronavirus pandemic since they were told that handing out palms is not allowed due to possible cross-contamination.

Read also: "Express Burials" in Nicaragua Spark Speculations of a Cover Up on the Real Status of COVID-19

After a thorough discussion, they decided to use a squirt gun to bless people with holy water. They even initially considered giving out vials with holy water but it would still defeat the purpose of avoiding cross-contamination. Thus, they discussed that squirt gun option was the best way to go but Father Pelc should still wear PPE and stand at several feet away from the cars that would pass.

According to Pelc, the church and the communities surrounding it have taken the outbreak seriously and are afraid to leave their homes. He also added that as s symbol of solidarity, blue ribbons were tied on trees by parishioners in remembrance of people from Michigan who succumbed to the killer virus. As of the moment, the number is already nearing the 5000-mark.

Based on reports, the photos of Pelc armed with the squirt gun were posted on the church's Facebook Page last month but they have recently been taken down from Twitter after receiving more than a hundred thousand retweets.

In an interview with Buzzfeed News, Pelc said that he is a little worried about the Vatican's possible reaction to the photos, but he has not heard from them yet. He also stated that he wants people to learn from his actions and remember that in these times that the world is engulfed by a health crisis, having fun is also an option.

"If you can't have fun with your faith, what can you have fun with?" said the priest.

Related article: St. Peter's Basilica to Re-open for the Faithful as Italy Eases Restrictions

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, will hold a press conference on Thursday, one day ahead of the opening of its annual session.

A spokesperson of the third session of the 13th NPC will take questions from Chinese and foreign reporters on the agenda of the session and work of the NPC, according to the press center of the session.

The press conference, scheduled for 9:40 p.m. at the Great Hall of the People, will be held via video link in consideration of epidemic prevention and control and public health protection, it said.
Oyster Mill Playhouses next production will be Barefoot in the Park, a classic Neil Simon romantic comedy about mismatched newlyweds trying to make a go of it in New York City.

We ARE going to do Barefoot in the Park, Oyster Mill board president Rosie Turner said resolutely earlier this month. I dont care how long it takes.

Plans to stage the Simon rom-com went offtrack when the entire theater industry in Pennsylvania had to shut down due to COVID-19.

So opening night, which had been set for Friday at the small community theater in East Pennsboro Township, had to be postponed indefinitely.

We just knew we couldnt do it then, Turner said. We are trying to make good decisions. The biggest thing was, how do we do right by our patrons?

The six-member cast, along with director Michael Hosler, has agreed to remain on hold while the pandemic sorts itself out over time.

Current plans call for Barefoot to be staged Aug. 14-30 at the 91-seat theater in a former grist mill along the banks of the Conodoguinet Creek. But Turner conceded that could change.

Financially, the all-volunteer theater has some advantages: no payroll and no mortgage. Other than some minimal utility expenses and insurance costs, they can stand pat for quite a while without fear of going under.

We are a true volunteer-led organization, Turner said. The way we react to this and come through this will define us for the future.

The Oyster Mill board already has mapped out a seven-show season for 2021, but is expecting some changes. Turner said they are planning to sell just 45 percent of the seats to allow for social distancing. Recorded music may replace live musicians. Temperature checks and good hygiene will be part of the new reality, and rehearsals may be done through video conferencing.

Once on stage, actors will need to feel safe. That makes a romantic comedy like Barefoot in the Park more challenging, because the intimacy has to be, ah, spaced out a bit.

We will let the actors and actresses feel comfortable, Turner said. There are still ways of doing romantic comedy.

Ironically, Barefoot in the Park is the first show Oyster Mill did when it opened its current venue in 1988. Now plans call for it to be the first show in the post-pandemic era.

I love community theater, Turner, whose real-world job is director of marketing and communications for the Harrisburg Area YMCA, said. It can be some of the most authentic and fun experiences you can find. We hope our patrons will feel safe about coming back when we do reopen.

Fall plans

Less than 10 miles away from Oyster Mill, Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg is in a similar bind.

Like its West Shore colleague, LTM is shuttered for the time being due to the coronavirus.

The show Casa Valentina was halted mid-run in March as a safety precaution.

The last two scheduled shows of the 2020 season  The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Murder at West Moon Street  have been suspended, as has the annual May Gala fundraiser.

We are hoping to reopen in September, said Gordon Einhorn, vice president of the community theaters board of directors. The first show would be Murder on West Moon Street. We do have a director, but it has not been cast yet.

The tiny, all-volunteer theater, inside a converted schoolhouse just south of Mechanicsburg Borough, has been staging shows for nearly 70 years.

Like Oyster Mill, LTM has no mortgage to pay or payroll to meet. That insulates the theater from financial catastrophe, at least for a while.

Certain expenses dont go away even when you are not open, like utilities and insurance, for instance, said Einhorn, a partner in the Harrisburg law firm of Thomas, Thomas & Hafer. We have had some talk about seeking some grant money. We took a hit losing two shows.

When LTM does reopen  and a 70th season is already in the works  the theater will likely have to reduce the number of available seats to allow for social distancing. Other expenses, such as protective gear, may have to be added under the states reopening guidelines.

Of course, that changes the whole economics for us, Einhorn said.

Still, he said he remains optimistic about the future for theater in central Pennsylvania. Ironically, hes also a cast member in Oyster Mills planned production of Barefoot in the Park.

I tend to think once this is over, and it will be over, people will be anxious to go out and do something, Einhorn said. I know thats true on the part of the performers. They are anxious to get started again.

Staying open

Open Stage, a small professional theater in downtown Harrisburg, has been exploring a way to stay open even while the stage is dark during this pandemic.

Under the guidance of producing artistic director Stuart Landon, Open Stage has moved online. The theater just completed a web-based run of Tony Kushners AIDS fantasy Angels in America, and will launch a virtual production of An Iliad Friday night.

Angels worked out great, Landon said of the pay-what-you-will production. Sometimes we had over 100 people show up for a live show. We also had tons of people that are watching the recordings.

One benefit of online shows, he said, is that you can record a live performance and then allow people to watch it whenever they want. Open Stage is doubling down on that notion for An Iliad, a post-modernist take on Homers epic story of the Trojan War.

We pre-recorded the show and will be live streaming at each performance evening, Landon said. After each of the four performances  scheduled for Friday, May 28, June 5 and June 13  a live post-show talk for audience members will be offered via Zoom software.

Landon said current plans call for all upcoming Open Stage shows to be offered virtually.

At this point, we dont know when well be able to reopen for in-person shows, he said. All of the plans we have our flexible, allowing us to be nimble as we all get more information about this health crisis.

As a professional theater, Open Stage faces more expenses than community theaters like LTM and Oyster Mill, starting with the need to pay actors.

Landon conceded that online productions cant replace live shows from a financial perspective  at least for now  but promised to offer top notch productions that people can watch from home.

We also will be poised to welcome a small live audience into our facility, if and when we deem it appropriate, he said. Were going to need our community to pivot with us, though, and embrace these new explorations of live performance ... until we can all be together again, safely.
Spike Lees Vietnam War film 'Da 5 Bloods' features Ngo Thanh Van as infamous radio presenter Hanoi Hannah in the new trailer.

"Black GI, is it fair to serve more than the white Americans that sent you here?" the Vietnamese actress, playing an ao dai clad Hanoi Hannah, asks in "Da 5 Bloods" trailer sneak peek.

Ngo Thanh Van, or Veronica Ngo, could not hide her excitement after sharing the trailer on her Facebook page.

"I like it! This is a Spike Lee movie about the Vietnam War," she said, adding she is proud to play Trinh Thi Ngo, or Hanoi Hannah, who used her voice to convince American soldiers to leave the battlefield in Vietnam and return home. Van had spent three months speaking with a northern Vietnamese accent to prepare for her role.

Ngo Thanh Van as Hanoi Hannah in "Da 5 Bloods" trailer.

With the Chambers Brothers hit "Time Has Come Today" as theme song, the trailer includes vintage footage of Vietnam War protests and U.S. President Richard Nixon's resignation speech.

"Da 5 Bloods" depicts four veterans, including Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), returning to Vietnam searching for the remains of their fallen squad leader with help from a tour guide (Johnny Tri Nguyen), amid the lure of buried treasure.

Battling forces of humanity and nature, they are confronted by the eternal ravages of the Vietnam War. The movie was filmed in Vietnam last summer.

Spike Lee is well-known for his directorial work in "Do The Right Thing" [1989], "Jungle Fever" [1991], "Malcolm X" [1992], "He Got Game" [1998], and especially "BlacKkKlansman" [2018], which earned him an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Ngo Thanh Van is an A-list Vietnamese actress and producer, appearing in Hollywood films like "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" [2017], "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny" [2016], and upcoming American superhero film "The Old Guard."

"Da 5 Bloods" will be available on Netflix starting June 12. It was originally meant to premiere at Cannes Film Festival, but the Covid-19 pandemic ruled out the plan.
Russian minors ombudsman asks government to support families with children 16+

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

12:07 20/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI)  Russias child rights commissioner Anna Kuznetsova has requested the government to consider state support for families with chidren aged 16-18 during the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the ombudsmans press service has told RAPSI.

According to the ombudsmans office, Kuznetsova regularly receives questions about such support from citizens having children of the age between 16 and 18.

Teenagers have no full advantage of employement and stand at the parental care; many of them get education. It is also necessary to take into account the interests of children with disabilities of this age, Kuznetsova states.

Earlier, Russian authorities granted financial aid to families with kids up to 3 years old and with children aged from 3 to 16. Moreover, unemployed Russians with children are to receive additional support.
Switch the Market flag

Open the menu and switch the

Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice.

for targeted data from your country of choice.
By helping households to invest in making their homes more resilient, were creating stronger, more confident communities one house, street, and suburb at a time, said Mark Milliner, IAGs Australia chief executive. This will ultimately mean we will be better able to withstand and recover from natural disaster in the future.

We welcome the renewed investment in this programme from the Queensland and federal governments, and we look forward to continuing our support for our customers who invest in making their home, and community, more resilient into the future, with premium reductions to reflect their lower level of risk.

Meanwhile Suncorp Insurance CEO Gary Dransfield sees the development as a win not only for cyclone-prone homeowners but also for builders, communities, and regional economies.

Dransfield noted: Effective investment in economic infrastructure that reduces the impact of natural disasters will help create regional jobs while building safer communities and reducing cost of living pressures through lower insurance premiums.

Household resilience is the best way to help north Queenslanders protect themselves and their loved ones against cyclones. At the same time, a stronger home means a lower risk and therefore cheaper insurance for customers.

For the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the programme is a practical and proven measure, and the trade body is encouraging owners of pre-1984 homes located up to 50km from the coast between Bundaberg and Cooktown to check their eligibility.

The ICA called for the renewal of the Household Resilience Programme in its September 2019 submission to the ACCC (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission) Northern Australia Insurance Inquiry, stated ICA communications head Campbell Fuller.

The insurance industry supported this initiative the first time around and backs the renewal of it this time, particularly in light of the tough financial situation many North Queensland homeowners and tradies are in as a result of COVID-19.

The first Household Resilience Programme initiative was introduced in July 2018.
It was announced last week that Bank of Ireland has introduced a carers debit card to provide a safe and secure way for trusted relatives and friends or other designated carers to manage the day-to-day living expenses of those who are in their care.

Bank of Ireland says the Carers Card gives parents and carers controlled access to the accounts of the person they are looking after. The new card is an initiative of the Banks Vulnerable Customer Unit (VCU), which provides enhanced banking support for customers in vulnerable circumstances.

The VCU say the Carers' Card was developed after handling multiple cases where carers faced obstacles in managing the money and expenses of Bank of Ireland customers they are looking after. In the absence of formal arrangements such as power of attorney, it can often be difficult for carers to access cash for day-to-day expenses.

To provide transparency and protection for both the carer and the customer, the card bears the carers initials as well as the customers name and has built-in safeguards such as limits on cash withdrawals and daily monitoring by the Vulnerable Customer Unit. The Carers Card is an optional feature of the Banks Vulnerable Customer Account.

Commenting on the initiative, Chief Executive of Bank of Irelands Retail Ireland division, Gavin Kelly said, "When COVID-19 happened we prioritised cocooning supports and other initiatives that addressed an immediate need for our vulnerable customers. However, we had already challenged ourselves to solve a problem which predates the pandemic and will persist afterwards. Carers provide our customers with invaluable emotional and physical support but its often difficult for them to help with managing day-to-day living expenses. We think the Carers Card is a really practical solution that helps our customers and their carers while providing protection and transparency to both."

Executive Director at Sage Advocacy, Mervyn Taylor added, "Sage Advocacy welcomes this initiative by Bank of Ireland. We have long been concerned about the safeguarding aspects of informal arrangements whereby a family member and / or a carer effectively ends up controlling the finances of vulnerable adults. Carefully controlled access to accounts overseen by specially trained bank staff is a positive development."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Police guard the padlocked Fontana Leisure Park inside the Clark Freeport Zone in the northern Philippine town of Mabalacat, May 19, 2020.

Authorities in the northern Philippines raided a villa housing an unauthorized COVID-19 clinic and arrested two Chinese nationals who were operating it, police said Wednesday.

Ling Hu, 45, the apparent owner of the outfit, and pharmacist Seung-Hyun Lee, 38, were taken into custody Tuesday while allegedly operating the clinic at the Fontana Leisure Park inside the government-operated Clark Freeport Zone in the town of Mabalacat.

Police said they confiscated Chinese-labeled medicines used on COVID-19 patients, but did not identify the medicines.

Their patients were Chinese nationals, local police commander Brig. Gen. Rhoderick Armamento told reporters, adding that he sent officers to track them down.

Their patients thought they were already treated at the hospital, but they may be spreading the virus, he said.

Regional police commander Col. Amante Daro said the suspects would face criminal charges, but did not elaborate.

The place was operating as a health facility and pharmacy with Chinese-labeled medicine catering to the services of Chinese nationals, he said.

More than 200 suspected coronavirus rapid test kits and syringes were recovered from trash cans at the villa, the Associated Press reported.

Armamento said the two suspects were not permitted to operate a medical facility in the Philippines, adding that officers were checking their immigration status.

The area is a known destination for illegal Chinese workers who end up working inside online casinos that cater to Chinese clients.

Statistics from the immigration bureau show that as of last year, more than 200,000 Chinese nationals were working in the country, many of them employed by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. Since September 2019, Philippine authorities have arrested and deported nearly 1,000 Chinese nationals illegally employed in online casinos in Manila and in Clark, officials said.

The state-owned Clark Development Corp., which runs the economic zone, said it ordered the closure and full lockdown of Fontana Leisure Park following the raid.

This illegal activity not only violates the law, but also poses danger to individuals who potentially need medical treatment for the deadly disease, it said. CDS does not and will not tolerate this inside the Clark Freeport.

In April, military chief of staff Gen. Felimon Santos caused a diplomatic stir when he sought assistance from the Chinese Embassy to procure the Chinese-developed anti-COVID-19 drug known as Carrimycin.

Santos, who said the drug helped him recover, subsequently apologized and withdrew his letter after learning that the drug had not been approved in the Philippines.

Philippine National Police officers inspect a pharmacy linked to an alleged medical facility set up to treat Chinese COVID-19 patients in the northern Philippine town of Mabalacat, May 19, 2020. [Philippine National Police via AP]

Second wave

At a Wednesday Senate hearing on the government response to COVID-19, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the country was on its second wave of infections.

The first wave based on our epidemiologist happened sometime in January. Its the time when we have three Chinese nationals from Wuhan infected by the virus. Its just small, Duque said.

But now we are on second wave and we are doing all we can to flatten the epidemic curve, he said.

During a cabinet meeting that stretched past midnight Wednesday, President Rodrigo Duterte warned that he would re-impose a total lockdown if infections continued to rise.

The government relaxed quarantine rules on Saturday in many parts of the Luzon island, home to the capital city Manila and 60 million people, triggering a commotion in some malls by shoppers eager to go out after two months of being cooped up at home.

If we will go back to the situation before, if the contamination will be as fast as before and it will continue to infect those who are already allowed to go outside, then well have to just go back to the original program, Duterte said.

On Wednesday, health officials announced seven new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the national toll to 844, and 205 new infections, for a cumulative caseload of 13,147.

Around the world, more than 4.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 324,000 have died as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Warning: This article includes content some readers may find disturbing

A pit bull mix suspected of being used as bait in a dog-fighting ring was found abandoned on a street with severe injuries. Four years later, this canine has not only fully recovered but is thriving and has made it to an upcoming Disney plus series.

In November 2016, the founder of Love is Fur Ever Dog Rescue was horrified when she came across a photo of a pit bull mix at Miami-Dade Animal Services in Florida. The dog had been picked up as a stray and brought to the shelter.

Her whole entire side of her face was missing, Frazier told The Dodo. Her skin tissue was hanging. Most of her ear was gone. Additionally, Frazier said that her ear had been ripped right down under her eardrum.

At that moment, Frazier knew she had to step in to help the poor dog and immediately contacted the shelter. A day later, Frazier and her husband brought the dog, later named Abigail, to Pets First Wellness Center for treatment by veterinarian Dr. Thomas Jackson. According to him, Abigail was one of the worst cases he had come across.

She had multiple bites all through the top of her head, her ear was missing, the muscular holding the side of her face was chewed out, Dr. Thomas described the injuries to Fox 4. He and his team performed several surgeries and skin grafts to save Abigail, though her right ear couldnt be saved.

The story of Abigails rescue soon gained international attention as people started following her recovery journey on the Facebook page Bonnets For Abigail.

However, there is another very special reason for her newfound famethe pooch is always seen wearing fanciful headbands.

Frazier has been taking care of and fostering Abigail following her surgeries. Once, when Frazier was changing the dogs head bandages, she happened to see the gauze forming the shape of a bow. This prompted Frazier to put headbands over the bandages to make Abigail look cuter, according to Abigails story on her Facebook page.

Her bonnets just make her personality. Shes just so bubbly and jumpy and giddy and happy, Frazier told WINK news.

People around the world who were touched by Abigails rescue soon started to send her bonnets. She had hats for almost all seasons.

Eight months after being with Frazier and her husband, Abigail was ready for a new home. Hundreds of people came forward to apply for the adoption of this sweet dog. However, Frazier wanted to choose a perfect family for Abigails forever home. The dog was then adopted by Jason and Megan Steinke in July 2017. The couple has another rescued pit bull named Tala.

After the adoption, the couple signed Tala and Abigail for therapy dog school, and the two siblings successfully graduated in September 2017. In the same month when Abigail became a certified therapy dog, she was also named the American Humanes hero dog of the year.

On Abigail being named the hero dog, the Fraziers and the Steinkes were equally excited.

Honestly, I cant describe the feeling, Frazier told TODAY. Im proud and excited for her.

Shes just happy, Steinke said of Abigails reaction. It was definitely a magical moment. And she knew.

Needless to say, Abigail was dressed to the nines for the ceremony, with a special red headband made just for the event. The colorful headbands have now become Abigails signature look, and a symbol of hope, love, and change.

We really hope that people look at Abigail, this pit bull, and see that she has defied the odds, Steinke said.

Now three years later, Abigail is continuing to touch hearts like she previously did and is again making headlines. According to her Facebook page, Disney reached out to Abigails family to share her story on Disney+ latest series, Its a Dogs Life! hosted by Bill Farmer, who is often recognized for his voice of Pluto and Goofy.

Announcing the wonderful news on Facebook, the post read: Former bait dog to Disney princess! Abigail and her Cinderella story are going to be featured on the newest Disney+ show, Its a Dogs Life!

According to the Facebook post, the 10-week show will feature dogs around the country that have done amazing things at their canine jobs.

The brave and amazing Abigail will be featured in the episode due to air on May 29, 2020.
With customers panicking over unkempt pets, Norm Candalore couldn't stand remaining shut a day longer. He was inside his suburban Pittsburgh pet-grooming salon one April evening when an elderly woman pulled up, distressed at having clipped her collie's nails too short and causing them to bleed.

"When this lady left, I looked at my daughter and I said, 'We're opening up,' " Candalore said. "I called all the local police departments and told them what we were doing."

With that, he joined a cohort of small businesses gone rogue, operating in defiance, or ignorance, of state and local shut-down orders. The phenomenon is largely anecdotal, but evidence points to a growing number of such businesses making secret house calls across the U.S. or opening their shops to the public and waiting for authorities to shut them down.

Most states have begun reopening at least parts of their economies in recent weeks. Georgia was the first shuttered state to reopen, allowing nail salons, hairdressers, fitness centers and bowling alleys to restart on April 24. Much of the South and the U.S. heartland soon followed.

However, harder hit states are taking a more conservative approach. Michigan has extended its broad stay-at-home order until May 28, giving an exception for manufacturing workers. New York allowed for some curbside retail as well as construction and manufacturing to resume Friday in five regions, excluding New York City.

The piecemeal approach is infuriating some business people. Thomas DeVore, a lawyer in southwest Illinois, is representing pubs that reopened in rural areas despite the state's shut-down order. He's seen his list of clients eager to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D, grow to around 100. It's expected that many Illinois retailers, barber shops, offices and manufacturers could reopen May 29 based on the state's multiphase plan.

"You can go into the big-box stores and buy flowers, but you can't go into your local florist to buy flowers?" DeVore said.

Several businesses have reopened in high-profile fashion lately, sometimes rallying conservative politicians when shut down by authorities. But most businesses opening against the rules are doing it quietly, often by making house calls or by seeing customers by appointment. Candalore shut down in March after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, D, closed all nonessential businesses, even as Candalore's phones "blew up" with desperate customers.

"I had 798 messages," he said. "I can prove it to you."

He never completely closed.

"I'm probably going to tell you too much, but sometimes we'd sneak in the back door to help a customer out," Candalore said. "People would park around back. Was it an open business? No. Was it a situation where we were advertising? No. But we never stopped helping people out, and we never will."

In Washington, D.C., barber Antonio Botticella has been making house calls since before the pandemic. While his rate will drop for multiple customers at a single location, a solo trim runs $180.

Botticella sterilizes his tools after each use, wears a mask and gloves and has a coverall suit for each client, he said. "There is zero skin contact," Botticella said.

The barber said he's no scofflaw. He read through the city's rules and didn't see anything prohibiting mobile barbers, he said.

However, Washington's order closing nonessential business applies to hair, nail and tanning salons and barbershops, and it would prohibit house calls, said LaToya Foster, a spokeswoman for Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.

Businesses operating against the rules are the tip of what economists call the "shadow economy," an informal system of providing goods and services. It relies largely on cash, and the amount of paper currency and coins in circulation outside bank and government vaults has increased 5.1% since lockdowns began, according to the Federal Reserve. As of May 4, it passed $1.8 trillion, a record.

Ordinarily, the shadow economy represents 8% to 10% of U.S. economic output. But the pandemic could push more people underground, said James Saunoris, an Eastern Michigan University economics professor.

For now, many governments appear to be taking a relaxed approach to enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police issued 329 warnings as of May 11 and only one citation - to an Amish roofing contractor conducting training meetings without personal protective equipment. That citation came after two warnings.

In California, the Board of Barbering and Cosmetology is looking into 651 complaints of salons remaining open in defiance of state rules that also ban home visits, said spokeswoman Cheri Gyuro. California hasn't yet taken any enforcement actions.

DeVore, the attorney in Greenville, Illinois, about an hour from St. Louis, argues that power to close businesses resides only with local health departments, and some haven't acted.

He's made headlines for suing the governor on behalf of the owner of two rural bars, Poopy's Pub & Grub and Dookie's Pub & Grub. Poopy's, a biker bar in tiny Savanna, reopened briefly this month before receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the state and limiting operations to curbside service.

His clients "can't wait until the end of May or the end of June," DeVore said. "These people are saying, 'You know, Tom, I'm going to be on welfare if I have to wait that long.' "

At a mid-May news conference, Gov. Pritzker said executive orders "set the ground rules" under a disaster proclamation. "There's a reason why those exist in the law," he said.

In inland Maine, brewery co-owner Rick Savage is taking a stand against Gov. Janet Mills', D, order closing nonessential businesses.

Savage had already closed Sunday River Brewing Co. for six weeks when, on May 1, the governor allowed some businesses, but not restaurants, to restart. Dismayed, he reopened his restaurant and brewery on that day and drew a crowd of 150, according to a local news report.

That set off a tussle between Savage and the state, with Maine authorities revoking his liquor and health licenses. Savage reopened soon after, citing a federal license to brew. For now, he acknowledges, he's not authorized to host customers for dine-in service, but he's doing so nonetheless, Savage said Friday.

Walmart and Target remain open, he said. "We're doing the same spacing they are, and maybe more."
DETROIT, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Alliance Plan (HAP), a Michigan-based nonprofit health plan, today announced several steps designed to provide financial relief and improve access to care for its members, including individual and Medicare Advantage members, as well as small business employers, all of whom have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

HAP has extended its cost-sharing waiver for telehealth services through the end of the year. All cost-sharing is waived for HAP's individual, fully-insured employer group, Medicare, Medicaid and MI Health Link members using telehealth services through December 31, 2020, even if the service is not related to COVID-19. Self-insured employer group customers control their own health benefits, and HAP is working with its self-insured customers to determine how they will cover telehealth services.

For its individual members and small employer group customers, HAP will decrease monthly premiums by 5% through the end of the year. A small group is defined as an employer with fewer than 50 employees. These decreases will be reflected in monthly premium bills beginning July 1 and will be in effect through December 2020.

"Individuals and small business owners have been among the hardest hit economically during this pandemic," said Dr. Michael Genord, president and CEO, HAP. "As a Michigan-based insurer, HAP is committed to helping the economic recovery efforts in Michigan as businesses and their employees attempt to return to normal operations. We want them to know that HAP is here for them during this unparalleled era in Michigan history."

For its Medicare Advantage members, HAP will waive copays for all in-person primary care visits and behavioral health visits through the end of the year. In addition, HAP will waive all member cost-sharing for telehealth visits for its Medicare Advantage members through the end of the year. This means that HAP Medicare Advantage members will not be charged any copays, deductibles or co-insurance for telehealth visits made through December 31, 2020, even if it is unrelated to COVID-19.

"Medicare members are an extremely vulnerable population," said Dr. Genord. "Not only in relation to COVID-19, but because the majority of them have one or more chronic conditions that need to be managed. If left untreated, chronic conditions can become worse and result in further complications. HAP wants to make it as safe and easy as possible for members to see their doctor regularly  whether it be a traditional visit to a brick-and-mortar doctor's office or through a telehealth visit. No one should be afraid to seek care when they need it. Waiving certain costs associated with doctor visits is one way we can encourage these members to get the care they need.

"At the same time, HAP understands the importance of supporting health care providers, who are important partners with us in providing care to our members. We are committed to continuing to improve access to care  something that benefits both member and physician alike  and providing incentives for those physicians and health systems who deliver the highest quality of care for HAP members."

For more information on what HAP is doing to assist its members during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit www.hap.org.

About Health Alliance Plan

Health Alliance Plan (HAP) is a Michigan-based, nonprofit health plan that provides health coverage to individuals and companies of all sizes. For 60 years, HAP has partnered with leading doctors and hospitals, employers and community organizations to enhance the health and well-being of the lives it touches. HAP offers a product portfolio with six distinct product lines: Group Insured Commercial, Individual, Medicare, Medicaid (through HAP Empowered Health Plan), Self-Funded and Network Leasing. HAP excels in delivering award-winning preventive services, disease management and wellness programs, as well as personalized customer service. HAP is an operating unit of Henry Ford Health System, one of the nation's leading health care systems. For more information, visit www.hap.org.

SOURCE Health Alliance Plan

Related Links

http://www.hap.org


Published on 2020/05/19 | Source

Actor Park Si-hoo, who was accused of rape in 2013, said something about his co-star in his new drama and has taken a hit.

Advertisement

At the online premiere of the new TV Chosun weekend drama "King Maker: The Change of Destiny", Park Si-hoo mentioned a naked scene by Ko Sung-hee and said, "You can look forward to it".

Park Kyung-rim, the host of the premiere that day, asked Ko Sung-hee what her most memorable scene was and Ko Sung-hee said, "I don't know how much to tell you because my character is a mysterious one".

Then Park Si-hoo suddenly popped up and said, "There's a naked scene by Ko Sung-hee in the drama. It's very provocative and sexy, so you can look forward to it".

Netizens criticized him, saying that it was careless of an actor to mention such a scene as the most memorable one. The majority say, "It would have been a controversial statement even if someone else had said it", "He has no respect for his co-star" and such.

Since Park Si-hoo was once under fire for sexual assault, they are saying that he should have been more responsible as the leading actor. They say it was inappropriate for a leading actor to mention the 'naked scene' at a function where he was introducing his work for the first time.

Netizens continued to criticize, "That's just who he is", "I don't get why people keep hiring Park Si-hoo" and more.

___________

"King Maker: The Change of Destiny" is directed by Yoon Sang-ho, written by Bang Ji-yeong, and features Park Si-hoo, Ko Sung-hee, Sung Hyuk, Jun Kwang-ryul, Kim Seung-soo, Cha Kwang-soo. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2020/05/17~Now airing, Sat, Sun 22:50 on TV Chosun.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the arrival of two hundred and ninety-two Nigerians evacuated from Saudi Arabia in the federal capital territory (FCT).

This was announced in a tweet on Wednesday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

Also Read: Nigerians Abroad To Pay N297,600 For Isolation Stay Before Evacuation

He said the evacuees arrived in the nations capital on Tuesday.

Advertisement

Onyeama said the Saudi Arabia government facilitated their transportation to Abuja, and that a large number of the evacuees are nursing mothers and children.

According to him, the evacuees have already begun their 14-day quarantine in some undisclosed hotels.

See tweet below:
After months in lockdown, as Italy opens up, there are queues for fresh haircuts. But can the country bounce back?

To get a haircut by Antonino di Maggio, you face at least a two-week wait. And when you do arrive for your appointment, you had better be on time.

The 58-year-old hairdresser in the Italian city of Palermo has 200 scheduled appointments since reopening the doors of his salon on Monday, after more than two months in lockdown.

Di Maggios business was among the many permitted to serve customers again, alongside restaurants, cafes and clothing shops.

But there are some changes  chats, magazine browsing and last-minute drop-ins are not allowed.

Clients have to book in advance and be seated at a two-metre (6.6 feet) distance from each other. Employees must wear a face mask and sanitise seats and tools between appointments.

Personal objects have to be put in plastic bags at the entrance, and capes must be cleaned for a minimum of 30 minutes at 60 degrees Celcius (140 Fahrenheit).

The workflow is great. There is no crowd, the ambience is clean, and people finally have to be punctual, said di Maggio. We work longer hours to keep the same number of clients. So far, I can only see improvements.

His salon, named Joshua, will have to respect these new ways for months to come.

By allowing businesses to reopen gradually, the government is trying to revive the economy without triggering a second wave of infections.





The caution is necessary.

Italy has paid one of the highest prices of the global pandemic with more than 32,000 deaths and about 225,000 infected.

Just a month ago, we saw army trucks escorting coffins in Bergamo, and while the curve is flattening, I can still hear the rumours of ambulance sirens, said Alessandro Lisi, 45, owner of the Area#6 hair salon in Milan.

He has decided against reopening the salon for now, but will start cutting hair again on June 3.

This freedom is coming too fast, I prefer to move with caution, he said, despite his phone burning with appointment requests.

Lisi estimated that the lockdown, which has seen the salon close for more than 70 days, has so far cost him about 150,000 euros ($164,000) of income  tax included.

But he said he wants to treat his clients health with the same level of dedication as their hair.

So, Ill wait until we have more clarity over the health situation, he said.

A dangerous crisis

Italians, whose lives will still be dictated by distancing rules, are now having to accept a new normal, one of drastically reduced activity.

The economic outlook is awful, said Flavia Terribile, economist and chair of the OECD Regional Development Policy Committee.

Economic growth is estimated to drop by 8 percent this year, according to government figures.

This crisis is dangerous as the most vulnerable will pay for it  such as workers with temporary jobs or without a welfare state, the already poorer southern regions compared to the richer in the north, and small activities which are destined to disappear, said Terribile.

The current crisis has hit the tertiary sector, she added, which includes culture, tourism and catering.

This means it cannot play its role as a workforce sponge, by absorbing unemployed people.

The Italian government issued two substantial economic relief packages since the beginning of the outbreak, and Germany and France called on Monday for a recovery fund worth 500 billion euros ($543bn) for the worst-hit European Union countries.

But, said Terribile, a question remains  how can Italy, which suffers from a lethal bureaucratic system deliver these funds to those in need?

Sandro Silvestri, the 61-year-old owner of Augusto, a trattoria in Trastevere, a central Roman neighbourhood usually packed with tourists, had to lay off four of seven employees.

None of them has yet received government-issued redundancy funds, which should amount to 80 percent of the salary.

Sandro Silvestri, the owner of Trattoria da Augusto in Trastevere, stands at the door to observe customers after more than two months of a nationwide lockdown [Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images]

I am depressed, such anguish and such an apocalyptic atmosphere, said Silvestri as he counted 10 clients in the restaurant which used to serve 60 at this time last year.

Tourism in Italy accounts for 12 percent of the GDP.

Silvestri hopes that when regional and national borders for EU countries are reopened on June 3, the situation will improve.

Cost of uncertainty

But more tourists and an eased lockdown might not be enough to prop up the economy, as much depends on how willing Italians are to resume normal life and start spending as normal.

Uncertainty over the future remains high with no vaccine in sight and fears of another outbreak, a scenario which will weigh on peoples purchasing power, said Terribile.

There are some concerns given how the virus is still circulating, health ministry spokesperson Nicola Del Duce told Al Jazeera.

However, he added: The experience has taught us a lot, and today, we are better equipped to prevent the virus from degenerating.

The governments latest relief package comprises billions of euros to boost the healthcare system, expand intensive care units, nurses and strengthen the monitoring system.

As the careful journey back to normality continues, Italians have few options but to wait and see how their new reality progresses.

In the meantime, they can get a new haircut.

Valeriano Seminara has transformed his Brush Square hair salon in the centre of Milan to include more stations, changed the colours of his wall from black to white and rolled out a green grass-like carpet at the entrance.

I expect a lot of request for short haircuts, he said, and luminous dye colours. Lightness and brightness, this is what people are looking for.
New US Destroyer Arrives at Spanish Rota Base as Navy Pushes for Aegis Ashore System

Sputnik News

19:00 GMT 19.05.2020

The US Navy destroyer USS Roosevelt arrived at the Naval Station Rota in southwestern Spain on Saturday, part of a plan to rotate out four warships that have worked the missile defense beat since 2013. However, as European Command has pushed for an even larger deployment to Rota, the Navy is being stretched increasingly thin.

The first of several US warships deployed to Spain began to rotate home on Saturday when its replacement, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Roosevelt, arrived in Rota, the Navy announced on Monday.

Not to be confused with the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, the USS Roosevelt is a guided missile destroyer sporting the latest upgrades, including the Aegis Baseline 9 missile defense system and the SM-3 anti-air missile.

"These capabilities vastly increase the sea-based BMD [ballistic missile defense] force structure and contribute to NATO's robust integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) architecture," the Navy said in the release. The warship also brought along two MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopters, a naval variant of the Blackhawk used for hunting submarines as well as search and rescue.

The Navy began stationing a quartet of guided missile destroyers at Rota in 2013 following an agreement with Madrid to incorporate an additional node into the European Missile Defense System, a network of ballistic missile interceptors designed to protect against potential attack by Iran. However, in recent years the network has been touted as protection against Russian attack as well, expanding into former Russian allies Romania and Poland.

How the European Missile Defense (EMD) System protects against Iranian attack

The Rota deployment has become a point of contention, however, between two sections of the Pentagon.

US European Command (EUROCOM) has been pushing for two more destroyers to be stationed at Rota, bringing the total to six warships. EUROCOM chief Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters argued before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February that "two additional ships [at Rota] would allow us the opportunity to improve our ability to get indications and warnings" of missiles coming from the East, according to Breaking Defense.

The Rota-based warships run patrols across the Mediterranean and up the western coast of Europe, including being used for offensive strikes on Libya and Syria, Defense News noted.

However, the Navy isn't too pleased at the idea of sending more warships to Rota. In 2018, then-head of Fleet Forces Command Adm. Phil Davidson bemoaned the amount of support a single deployment requires, limiting the number of naval forces capable of being deployed to other theaters.

"I can tell you that the four ships I've got to send next, I'm already pulling them out of strike groups to do the modernization they need to go over there," Davidson said at the time, according to Defense News.

A Standard Missile (SM-3) is launched from the Aegis combat system equipped Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) during a Missile Defense Agency ballistic missile flight test

"Then I'm going to get four ships back that then are going to require their docking availability and some modernization as well," he said. "Pretty soon this looks like eight ships that are out of the strike group rotation for three years. We're going to need a bigger Navy to apply that kind of policy."

Instead, the Navy has pushed for construction of an Aegis Ashore station at Rota in order to provide the same protection but at drastically reduced manpower and ship demands.

In 2018, then-US Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told a symposium at the US Naval War College that "10 years down the road, it's time to build something on land to defend the land. Whether that's AEGIS Ashore or whatever, I want to get out of the long-term missile defense business and move to dynamic missile defense."

In addition, a shore station takes roughly 33 people to operate, while a Burke-class warship needs a crew of more than 200.

As of now, there are no plans to build such a system in Spain, but even if they are drawn up, the move will be sure to anger both locals and international powers. In Japan, protests against a planned Aegis Ashore installation in Akita have forced Tokyo to back down, and in Romania, the quick conversion of Aegis Ashore from defensive to offensive capabilities following the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty elicited strong protests from Moscow.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A man has been injured as he was targeted by axe-wielding thugs in an horrifying attack in south-east London.

Armed police were scrambled to the scene shortly before 5pm on Tuesday following reports of an assault in West Street, Erith.

The victim told officers he had been attacked by two suspects who were in possession on an axe.

He was rushed to hospital to be treated for his his injuries, which have been described as not life-threatening.

A police presence remained in the area following the shocking incident. No arrests have yet been made.

A Met Police spokesperson said: Officers, including firearms officers, attended.

The victim informed officers that he had been attacked by two suspects in possession of an axe.

The man was taken by the London Ambulance Service to a south London hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
Copper

Ravindra Rao

Most commodities in base metals pack have bounced off the multi-year lows hit in March this year led by a sharp rebound in Copper prices. LME three month Copper prices that had hit January 2016 lows of $4,371 as on March 19 have rebounded more than 21 percent to trade near $5,350 levels.

The recovery in prices has been on the back of improvement in global risk appetite as has been evident from a rebound in equity indices.

Global sentiments have improved amid hopes of pick up in global activity as many regions across globe, lift lockdown restrictions. European hotspots like Italy, Spain, Germany and UK along with various regions in US are gradually reopening their economies as the pace of new infections decline. Also lending support is loose monetary stance by central banks of major economies to revive growth.

More recently the risk appetite has further been lifted amid optimism over progress on virus vaccine front. As per the latest report from Bloomberg, Moderna Inc. said its vaccine tests yielded signs it can create an immune-system response in the body.

Copper prices have further sought support tracking improvement in Chinas macro-economic data which is indicating early signs of recovery and fanning hopes of revival in demand from the region. Data from the nation last week showed that industrial production rose by 3.9 percent in April; its first gain this year following 1.1 percent drop in March and 13.5 percent plunge in first two months of 2020.

On fundamental front, prices are also seeking support from falling stocks at SHFE warehouses along with signs of pickup in demand from China as is evident from jump nations copper import premium. Copper stocks at SHFE have declined more than 171,000 since hitting four year high of 380,000 in mid -March. Meanwhile Chinas Yangshang Copper import premium have surged to October 2018 high of $112.50 a tonne from $55 in February.

However, on the flip side recent jump in stocks at LME warehouses and expectation of easing worries over supply especially from Peru may disrupt the rally in prices. Copper stocks at LME jumped 55,650 tonnes on May 14, the second-biggest daily inflow on record in data going back to 1997, as reported by Bloomberg. Meanwhile supply worries from Peru, the worlds second-biggest-producer of copper, are expected to ease as miners are set to restart operations in the coming days and ramp up to around 80% of normal production levels within a month.

Furthermore, on macro front, the gains may also be challenged by global growth worries along with renewed tensions between US-China. The recent spate of bleak data from major economies like the US and Euro Zone highlights the damage of coronavirus on global health. Meanwhile, tensions between the worlds two largest economy viz US and China have risen following political sparring between both the nations over coronavirus outbreak.

Overall the recent upbeat risk appetite may continue to be supportive of Copper prices however further run up in prices may face challenges especially on fundamental front.

The author is VP - Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Folashade Diya, the wife of a retired lieutenant general, Oladipo Diya, is dead.

The death was confirmed in a statement by Femi Adesina, spokesperson to President Muhammadu Buhari.

President Muhammadu Buhari commiserates with former Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, over the passing of his wife, Chief Deborah Folashade Diya, praying that the almighty God will comfort the family, Mr Adesina wrote.

The President joins family members, friends and associates of Chief Folashade Diya, particularly members of the United African Methodist (Evangelical) Church, in mourning the devout Christian, who dedicated her time on earth to serving God, and working for the good of others.

President Buhari affirms that the wife of the former Chief of General Staff lived to encourage and inspire many on faith in God, demonstrating love, kindness and generosity through focus on helping the underprivileged, and counselling many.

The President prays that the soul of the departed will find rest in God, he said.

Mr Diya was second in command to the late military dictator, Sani Abacha, until he was indicted in an alleged coup plot.
Small oil palm farmers face survival crisis in risk to future output Malaysian palm oil farmer Incham Serdin, with a worker at one of his family farms in Sarawak

By Mei Mei Chu and Krishna N. Das

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - When Shell engineer Incham Serdin quit his job four years ago to start a small palm plantation in his native Malaysia, prices of the fleshy fruit bunches used to make the world's most-consumed vegetable oil were bubbling near their peak.

But prices have since halved for smallholders like Incham, falling 30% this year alone as the COVID-19 pandemic slashes demand and wipes out profits for many farmers with 100 acres (40 hectares) of land or less.

To survive, smallholders in Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia -- which together account for 85% of global palm oil production -- are cutting back on spending, particularly on expensive fertilisers and replanting old trees.

With small farmers making up a third of output, the cuts are set to hit production, not just in 2020 but also next year when demand for the oil used in everything from noodles to lipstick is expected to rebound as the health crisis eases, farmers and analysts said.

"What you get currently is just enough to pay the workers," Incham, 59, said by phone from Sarawak, Malaysia's biggest palm producing state by cultivation area where he has a 100-acre plantation.

"For those people with landholdings of 10 acres or so, there's barely enough to put food on the table."

Fertiliser makes up 30%-50% of the cost of production for smallholders and any lower application of the nutrients typically shows in output six months to a year later. Incham said his yields could fall by 20%-40% as he halves fertiliser usage to 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) per tree per quarter.

With the price of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) now at about 330 ringgit ($73.63) a tonne, Malaysia's biodiesel association has estimated palm oil output this year will fall 10% to about 18 million tonnes. It has yet to give an estimate for next year.

"A lot of people are facing credit crunch and cash flow issues," said Malaysian Palm Oil Association Chief Executive Nageeb Wahab.

(Graphic: Malaysian palm oil output growth mainly due to increases in area rather than yield https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/nmovangqdpa/MalaysiaPalmOutputYieldsEtcMay2020.png)

Story continues

In Indonesia, farmers are using the minimum recommended dosage of fertiliser, said Gulat Manurung, chairman of the Palm Farmers Association, likely cutting output to 1.4 tonnes per hectare per month from the usual 1.5 tonnes.

Some farmers, however, are facing a worse dilemma.

Yusro Fadli, a smallholder in Rokan Hulu in Riau province, said the fresh fruit price has dropped below 1,000 rupiah per kilogram ($67.80 a tonne) in his region.

"Whether there is a pandemic or not, if the fresh fruit bunch price is below 1,000 rupiah per kilogram, forget about fertiliser. Farmers will choose to buy rice instead of fertiliser," he said.

(Graphic: Benchmark Malaysia palm oil futures prices since 1980 https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ce/jznpnerxmvl/MalaysiaPalmPrices.png)

SURVIVAL MODE

Bigger companies like Malaysia's Sime Darby Oils have also warned of "painful cost cuts" in the industry, but are reducing overhead expenses instead of production inputs.

Lower nitrogen, phosphate and potassium use by many planters is already showing in overall fertiliser sales.

Sales in Malaysia by German agrochemical supplier Behn Meyer AgriCare fell 30% over January to April from a year earlier, and local Managing Director Teo Tee Seng expects more order cancellations in coming weeks.

Smallholders are also delaying replanting old trees. Demand for seedlings in the first four months of the year fell 29% from last year, according to Malaysian Palm Oil Board data.

Other growers like Adzmi Hassan, vice president of Malaysia's National Association of Smallholders, are dipping into their own savings to keep going.

"For me, it's okay as long as I can pay my costs because I have a government pension to help me survive. I'm spending my own money to keep my palm growing, and hopefully palm prices will go up next year."

($1 = 4.3460 ringgit)

($1 = 14,750.0000 rupiah)

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu and Krishna N. Das in Kuala Lumpur; Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta; Editing by Richard Pullin)
Sydney-born Tongan artist Latai Taumoepeau, has, for art, suspended her roped body from blocks of ice. She has walked across broken glass with bricks as shoes, and performed a traditional dance in a tank that slowly filled with water.

Dark Continent by Sydney-born Tongan artist Latai Taumoepeau. Credit:Zan Wimberley

There is symbolism here. The performances reference pain, endurance, survival. They pose hard, global questions.

In a disaster such as a pandemic, Taumoepeau says, the role of an artist is to reflect society back to itself while posing problematic questions, such as which communities are impacted. After Australias period of enforced physical distancing, a new normal might prioritise community above the individual, says Taumoepeau.
A quarterly report by the U.S. Department of Defense to Congress has noted continued Pakistani support for violence by the hard-line Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

The report by the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, compiled with the help of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development, observes a continuity in Islamabads quest for what it has long defined as its interests in Afghanistan.

The report, covering the period from January to March of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan, is significant because it covers the first month after Washington signed an initial peace agreement with the Taliban. Islamabad had celebrated the February 29 deal and highlighted its role in making it possible.

Pakistan continues to harbor the Taliban and associated militant groups in Pakistan, such as the Haqqani Network, which maintains the ability to conduct attacks against Afghan interests, said the report, issued on May 19, while referring to reporting by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The report noted that Islamabad has encouraged the Afghan Taliban to participate in peace talks but that it refrained from applying coercive pressure that would seriously threaten its relationship with the Afghan Taliban to dissuade the group from conducting further violence, the report said, citing DIA reporting.

The findings are in contrast with recent statements by Pakistani leaders who have repeatedly assured Washington that they support peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistans support for facilitation of the Afghan peace process and underscored the importance of next steps leading to the earliest commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations, a Pakistani government statement said after an April 22 telephone conversation between Prime Minister Imran Khan and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Pentagons report says that according to the DIA Islamabads primary strategic objective in Afghanistan is to counter its regional archrival, India, and prevent the spillover of instability from the neighboring country.

Pakistan likely views increased Taliban influence in Afghanistan as supporting its overall objectives and will seek to influence intra-Afghan peace talks in a direction favorable to Pakistan, the report noted.

Pakistan was the Talibans principal foreign backer after its emergence in southern Afghanistan in the 1990s and together with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recognized its government in 1996. Islamabad supported the U.S.-led military attack in October 2001 that led to the downfall of its regime in December 2001.

In the following years, senior Pakistani leaders denied the presence of Taliban sanctuaries in their country, but Afghan and Western leaders insisted that those sanctuaries were key to the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

But in a candid admission in March 2016, Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani PMs foreign affairs adviser, admitted that Islamabad had considerable leverage over the Taliban because its leaders lived in the country.

"We have some influence over them because their leadership is in Pakistan and they get some medical facilities. Their families are here," he told a think tank audience in Washington.

In May 2016, the erstwhile Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur was killed in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan by a U.S. drone. While traveling on a Pakistani passport, he had reportedly developed differences with Islamabad before his killing.

In a sign that Balochistan remains a key bastion for Taliban militants, Mullah Mullah Fazel, a former top Taliban military commander and senior member of the Taliban negotiating team in Doha, traveled to Balochistan in late March.

The amir or leader of [a future government] will be ours. There will be an Islamic Emirate, and there will be a system based on Sharia [Islamic law], he told Taliban fighters and supporters in the rural district of Pishin near the Afghan border on March 25. We will not let the sacrifices of our martyrs be wasted. God willing, we will see the victory, said Fazel, a former inmate at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay.

In a joint statement with Russia, Iran, and China on May 18, Pakistan reiterated its support for peace in Afghanistan.

Inclusive Intra-Afghan negotiations [are] the only way to realize the Afghan national reconciliation, leading to prompt [an] end of the prolonged conflict, the statement noted while calling on all sides in the Afghan conflict to agree to a comprehensive cease-fire.

The statement, however did not mention Taliban sanctuaries outside Afghanistan.
Dozens of blue collar jobs for a major deference project have been advertised, with hundreds more expected in the next 18 months.

Naval Group Australia, the Major contractor for the $90 billion ship and submarine building project in Adelaide has gone on a hiring spree in the past month, advertising 29 positions ranging from construction workers to IT professionals.

The group has also shared ten expressions of interest on its website seeking a range of engineering positions and even opportunities for graduates at it's shipping yard.

Naval Group Australia has advertised 29 new jobs ranging from construction workers to IT professionals

It also posted ten expressions of interest on their website seeking a range of engineering positions and even opportunities for graduates

It recently began work preparing the Osborne shipyard in the city's north east to construct $50 billion worth of Attack Class submarines.

And as Australia's unemployment rate surges due to the coronavirus lockdown, the Naval Shipbuilding College told The Advertiser there would be many more jobs on the way.

The 529 jobs available before December 2021 120 Designers

75 Heavy Fabrication Tradespeople

48 Heavy Fabrication Apprentices

45 Mechanical Engineers

44 Software Engineers

38 Operations Support Staff

31 Combat Systems Engineers

27 Mechanical Apprentices

21 Electrical Apprentices

18 Production Engineers

17 Mechanical Tradespeople

15 Configuration Management Engineers

14 Electrical Engineers

16 ILS Technical Officers Advertisement

In total 529 extra jobs will be offered by December 2021 including 120 designers, 75 heavy fabricators and nearly 50 mechanical and electrical apprenticeships.

The group estimates 15,000 jobs will be created over the next ten years due to the project.

Up to 70 additional roles are expected to be offered over the next four months at NGA in roles such as administration, security and industry specialists positions.

ASC Shipbuilding said it would increase it's 700 strong workforce to 1,000 by the year's end as it begins work on nine Hunter Class Frigates in their $35 billion project.

The number of staff is expected to increase to 1500 by mid-2025 with more positions expected to be generation around Australia as third party groups manufacture components for the project, according to InDaily.

As Australia faces a huge unemployment crisis due to the pandemic Naval Shipbuilding College said there would be 529 more jobs on the way before the end of next year

The submarine project has been the subject of controversy after an audit showed it was running nine months late with the first vessel, which was not expected to be ready for use until 2034 or 2035.

The report also said the Defence Department was unable to prove the $400 million it spent on design work had been an effective use of the funds.

Despite the claims the department said the submarines were still on track to meet the current schedule.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
The Pallister government wants 6,250 civil servants, including managers as high as the deputy minister level, to take five unpaid days off before next April to help meet the province's pandemic-related cost-control targets.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pallister government wants 6,250 civil servants, including managers as high as the deputy minister level, to take five unpaid days off before next April to help meet the province's pandemic-related cost-control targets.

A memo to workers Tuesday morning called the idea a "potential pathway" to meeting the objective of trimming Manitoba civil service costs by $9.5 million (or 0.8 per cent).

MIKAELA MACKENZIE/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees Union.

Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, said while she believes the work reduction move is wrong, it's less "draconian" than the layoffs of up to 30 per cent in some areas the government had once contemplated.

She said the province has given the union a week to respond to the proposal.

The unpaid days off would affect roughly half the bureaucracy. As of March 31, 2019, there were 12,839 civil servants in Manitoba, about 2,000 fewer than when the Progressive Conservatives took office in 2016.

Gawronsky said what's unknown is exactly who would be required to participate.

"I won't say it's a good-news story. There's progress here in that it won't be as draconian as what they were threatening it was going to be. That said, what services are going to be hit?"  Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union

She noted workers had worried about being laid off for more than a month since the government made it known it was seeking to reduce employee costs.

"I won't say it's a good-news story," she said. "There's progress here in that it won't be as draconian as what they were threatening it was going to be. That said, what services are going to be hit?"

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Central Services Minister Reg Helwer.

In a statement Tuesday, Central Services Minister Reg Helwer said the plan would not include essential employees "delivering pandemic services," those working in institutional settings (such as corrections), seasonal workers or those who have already requested at least five days off through the government's existing voluntary reduced work week program.

"Specific proposals and details are being presented for discussion with both unions and our management and non-union staff," he said.

The civil service belt-tightening comes as the Pallister government seeks millions of dollars in spending reductions from Crown corporations, universities and other government entities.

"Specific proposals and details are being presented for discussion with both unions and our management and non-union staff."  Central Services Minister Reg Helwer

Manitoba Hydro is looking at laying off as many as 700 workers to meet government cost-cutting targets.

According to the government staff memo, "a significant portion" of the unpaid days could potentially be taken off between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

It reminds civil servants that, up till now, they've not been subjected to layoff or lost any pay or benefits. It repeated government estimates that expenditures will rise by $2 billion and revenues will plunge by $3 billion this fiscal year due to the pandemic.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

NDP Leader Wab Kinew said the $9.5 million in lost income for civil servants will only hurt the economy.

"We should be asking, 'How can we protect jobs and how can we protect people's incomes at this time?'" he said.

Kinew said reducing civil service pay around Christmas time won't help the retail sector, which is already having a tough year.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Tuesday that people who have been exposed to the novel coronavirus but show no symptoms can get tested at state-run sites, an expansion that follows complaints from local leaders that a lack of testing has made it more difficult to ease shutdown restrictions.

Although hospitalizations and deaths have mostly flattened across Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, dozens of fatalities are still reported each day, including the death over the weekend of a 15-year-old girl from Baltimore County.

Sean Naron, a county government spokesman, said the girl was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital on May 11 and died there on Saturday from a multi-system inflammatory syndrome linked to covid-19. It is the same syndrome documented in New York and elsewhere, which has been described by medical professionals as a Kawasaki-like illness.

"Any loss of life from this virus is tragic, but the loss of a child is devastating," Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This is a stark reminder that this virus spares no one, and that we all must remain vigilant in our efforts to stay home, socially distance, and limit the spread of this deadly disease."

Virginia officials said Tuesday that a child in the Fairfax health district had the syndrome but was recovering.

"The child was hospitalized on May 5 and has since been discharged and is recovering at home," state health officials said in a news release. They declined to disclose additional information.

The District, Maryland and Virginia on Tuesday announced 93 new covid-19 fatalities, the highest in five days after the usual weekend dip in reported deaths.

Maryland reported 58 fatalities and 1,784 new cases - which is the highest single-day increase in confirmed infections since the pandemic started. The spike in cases coincides with more than 7,100 new test results received, which is also one of the highest one-day totals since Hogan, a Republican, set a goal of testing 10,000 daily. Maryland now has 41,546 known cases and 2,081 deaths.

Virginia disclosed 27 new deaths and 1,005 new cases, which are both higher than the seven-day average for new fatalities and positive test results. That brings the total to 1,041 deaths and 32,145 cases.

The District reported eight new fatalities - all people older than 60 - bringing its death toll to 400. The city also disclosed 164 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of known positive test results to 7,434.

As of Sunday, the District was at nine days of declining community spread of the virus - which is different from the raw number of new positive test results - and five days away from hitting the threshold to begin reopening, officials said Tuesday.

Adequate testing is seen as the key to gradually reopening society, because it's the only way public health officials can understand how to manage the spread of the disease. Both Hogan and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, began allowing some retail stores to reopen last week, with restrictions, though officials maintained a more extensive shutdown on areas around Washington that have been hardest hit.

Although Hogan acquired 500,000 testing kits from South Korea with much fanfare last month, his administration has been slow to deploy them or reach his daily testing goal. On average, the state has been testing about 5,000 people per day. This week, the state twice tested more than 7,000 people in a single day.

The state has encouraged doctors not to refer asymptomatic or low-risk patients for testing at public sites, and turned away those without a doctor's referral. Even for patients with referrals, several counties have been rationing appointments, hamstrung by shortages in supplies and lab capacity.

The situation will start to change Thursday, when the first of several state testing locations will offer testing to anyone exposed to the virus, no appointment or referral needed. There will be no out-of-pocket expense, the governor's office said.

Expanded testing will be offered at the Timonium Fairgrounds in Baltimore County starting Thursday, and will be available at vehicle emissions inspection sites in Glen Burnie and Hyattsville starting Friday, and at the Clinton vehicle emissions site next week.

The latter two locations are in Prince George's County, home to the highest concentration of cases in Maryland. Elected officials there have publicly accused Hogan of being unresponsive to the county's needs.

"Prince George's County has been asking for more help with testing for months, but was forced to fend for itself," Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., said Tuesday in a statement. "Announcing new testing sites after the state reopens, is frankly too little, too late. It is becoming more apparent, we reopened the state without sufficient testing - especially in our hardest-hit communities."

Brown also said the infection rate in Maryland is "unacceptably high." On Tuesday, 25 percent of the newly reported 7,152 test results were positive, more than twice the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization for an adequate testing operation.

The governor's office said the state has administered 200,000 tests and tested 3.5 percent of its population. "This will help doctors diagnose and treat new cases more quickly, and it will further increase the safety of our state for all citizens," Hogan said. in a statement.

The governor also signed an executive order that authorizes pharmacists to order and administer coronavirus tests. The policy coincides with new federal guidelines to pay pharmacists for Medicare beneficiaries who are tested, his office said.

Earlier this week, Hogan launched Caregiver Services Corps, a volunteer group that can help seniors with tasks when their usual caregiver is incapacitated because of the virus or other factors. Volunteers can sign up with the state health department.

Virginia has faced continued criticism for lagging most other states in per capita testing even as it begins to loosen restrictions. Like Hogan, Northam has set a goal of 10,000 tests per day. The state has been averaging just under 6,000 for about the past week. Its tests are running just under 15 percent positive.

Virginia has begun offering testing for people who don't show symptoms at various sites around the state, based on socioeconomic factors that place some populations at greater risk. That has included some public housing projects in Richmond.

This week, officials unveiled a plan to bring testing to locations around Richmond as well as in Manassas, Leesburg, Portsmouth, Petersburg, Fairfax and Alexandria.

In the District, officials expanded testing criteria in recent weeks to include people without symptoms if they are in a high-risk group such as the elderly and those with underlying conditions, members of an infected person's household, or essential workers.

A testing clinic operated by Howard University Hospital will test residents of Southeast, one of the hardest-hit parts of the city, regardless of symptoms.

- - -

The Washington Post's Ovetta Wiggins and Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
BEIJING, May 20 -- The Ministry of National Defense(MND) of the Peoples Republic of China issued a written statement to express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeos congratulating Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration on Wednesday.

The MNDs statement said that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The US act is a grave violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques. It seriously interferes in China's internal affairs, seriously jeopardizes the development of relations between the two countries and the two militaries, and seriously undermines the peace and stability across the Taiwan straits.

As an internal affair of China, the Taiwan question bears on China's core interests and the feelings of the 1.4 billion Chinese people. It brooks no external interference. The Chinese defense ministry firmly opposes any country's official exchanges and military ties with Taiwan in any form. We will never allow anyone, any organization, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China.

There is no way out to bank on foreign forces to build themselves up, and it is doomed to be futile to contain China with Taiwan. The "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and their acts go against the great interests of the nation and will leave behind historical imprints of notoriety. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has the strong will, full confidence and sufficient capability to thwart any form of external interference and any separatist attempts for "Taiwan independence". The PLA will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, safeguard peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.
What a difference an earnings report makes if you're a shareholder of the most popular pot stock on the planet, Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB).

Following a precipitous 14-month downtrend that saw Aurora's stock lose as much as 95% of its value and undergo a 1-for-12 reverse stock split in order to avoid being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, the company's stock has rallied a whopping 158% in a two-day stretch. Both days featured daily volume of close to 100 million, which suggests a lot of short-term trading considering that there are only around 109 million shares of Aurora's stock outstanding (and perhaps less in its float) following its reverse split.

Three reasons Aurora Cannabis has skyrocketed 158% in two days

What has investors so excited that the "FOMO" -- that's fear of missing out -- has returned to Aurora Cannabis' stock? First off, the company delivered sequential quarterly sales growth of 35%, and a net cannabis sales increase of 32% from the sequential second quarter. Aurora didn't sell any low-margin wholesale or bulk cannabis, but saw adult-use weed sales climb 24%, which is likely the result of excitement surrounding the launch of higher-margin derivatives (e.g., edibles, infused beverages, and vapes).

Secondly, management continues to believe that the company's cost-cutting measures have it on track to deliver positive adjusted EBITDA by the fiscal first quarter of 2021 (ended Sept. 30, 2020). As some of you may know, Aurora's new debt covenant requires it to be generating positive adjusted EBITDA by Q1 2021. According to the company's operating results, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses dipped to around $75 million Canadian in Q3 2020 from almost CA$100 million in the sequential quarter. Aurora is targeting between CA$40 million and CA$45 million in quarterly SG&A by Q1 2021.

A third reason Aurora has likely taken off like a rocket is the company's extensive short position. Short-sellers make money when a stock declines in value. Unfortunately for short-sellers, their gains are capped at 100%, while their losses are, theoretically, unlimited. With Aurora's stock moving up so abruptly over the past two days, short-sellers may have been left with little choice but to cover their positions, which only fuels additional upside.

Aurora's total assets may need to be reduced by more than 50%

There's no question that Aurora Cannabis' third-quarter report wasn't a worst-case scenario -- but it wasn't great, either. What worries me is that investors buying into Aurora during its 158% two-day run higher may not understand what they're really getting into. More specifically, what you see on the company's balance sheet isn't necessarily what you're going to get.

In the recently ended third quarter, Aurora's total assets tallied CA$4.72 billion, down from CA$5.5 billion when it ended its fiscal 2019 on June 30, 2019. The reason for the drop over the past nine months ties into a multitude of writedowns and impairments taken by the company in the second quarter. This included writing down CA$762.2 million in goodwill. Based on the U.S. close and market cap of $1.83 billion (CA$2.55 billion) as of Monday, May 18, Aurora probably looks like a book value bargain. But that's not the case.

Currently, 51% of the company's total assets (CA$2.42 billion) are classified as goodwill. This pretty much means Aurora grossly overpaid for the businesses it acquired, and management hopes that it'll be able to utilize the infrastructure, brands, and patents acquired from these companies to recoup the premium it paid. As you can imagine, that's not a guarantee to happen.

The biggest issue with the goodwill writedowns that Aurora took during the fiscal second quarter is that they were tied to its South American and Denmark assets. While these assets were likely overvalued, they're nowhere near as grossly overpriced as the MedReleaf transaction was. Completed in July 2018, the MedReleaf buyout was an all-stock deal valued at CA$2.64 billion, with approximately CA$2 billion classified as goodwill.

The thing is, the 1-million-square-foot Exeter greenhouse, which needed to be retrofit to grow up to 105,000 kilos per year, was the crown jewel of this acquisition. Aurora never wound up moving forward with this retrofit and has put the Exeter greenhouse up for sale. Effectively, Aurora paid CA$2.64 billion for a meager 35,000 kilos in annual output and a handful of unique brands. In my view, nearly all of this CA$2 billion in goodwill may eventually be written off.

This isn't just a goodwill problem...

But that's not all. Inventory levels have been skyrocketing over the past nine months for all licensed Canadian producers. Aurora ended the most recent quarter with CA$251.2 million in inventory, which is more than double the CA$113.6 million it had in inventory on June 30, 2019. Don't get me wrong, having some product in inventory is a good thing. But rapidly growing inventory levels throughout the industry suggest a combination of rampant oversupply and insufficient retail channels to move legal product. There's a growing possibility that some of Aurora's inventory may need to be written down, reduced in price, or even destroyed, if it can't be sold through traditional retail channels.

That leads to the next point: Aurora's CA$1.05 billion in property, plant and equipment. The company already wrote down some of the value of its Aurora Nordic 2 facility in Denmark, but hasn't fully addressed underutilization throughout its portfolio. It's only utilizing 238,000 square feet of cultivation space in the Aurora Sun facility (which currently has construction halted), and has skyrocketing inventory with an annualized run-rate of around 150,000 kilos a year. This was a company gearing up for more than 650,000 kilos of annual output at this time last year.

Lastly, there's Aurora's CA$501 million in intangible assets, which may need to be adjusted based on the retail struggles licensed producers are currently contending with in Canada.

With Aurora's cash balance also likely to decline as the company continues to lose money on an operating basis, I'd contend that Aurora's total assets are more likely valued around CA$2 billion, rather than the CA$4.72 billion investors are seeing today. That makes buying into Aurora because of FOMO a dangerous proposition.
A day after Nepal's cabinet endorsed a new political map showing India's Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory, thus raising the border dispute, the country's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has defended the action. On Tuesday, Oli reiterated that Nepal will claim Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapanias through 'diplomatic efforts'. Moreover, he went on to say that the constitution will be amended to formally adopt the newly issued map. Earlier, the country's president Bidhya Bhandarialso said that these parts belong to Nepal and appropriate diplomatic measures will be adopted to resolve the existing issues with India.

While answering a question by parliamentarians regarding the issue, Oli said that diplomatic efforts will be made to bring back the territories. "As Prime Minister of the incumbent government, I want to appraise the honourable house that the issue of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani won't be covered up, a conclusion will be drawn regarding it. We won't let this issue fade out and it will be sorted out through diplomatic talks making concrete efforts and the territories will be reclaimed," Oli said.

READ | Indian Army deploys additional troops in Ladakh, days after Indo-China face-off along LAC

Nepal's new map

Even as Nepal's foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives, the country issued an official map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory. Nepals ruling Nepal Communist Party lawmakers have also tabled a special resolution in Parliament demanding return of Nepals territory in Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh.

Nepalese media quoted an official at the Ministry of Land Reform and Management as saying: "The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, which suggests Limpiyadhura, from where the Kali river originated, is Nepals border with India."

READ | Coronavirus cases in Nepal rises to 375: Health Ministry

India-Nepal border

India and Nepal share a 1,800km (1,118-mile) open border. The Lipulekh Pass is claimed by Nepal based on the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli it entered with the British colonial rulers to define its western border with India. Kathmandu also claims the highly strategic areas of Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, although Indian troops have been deployed there since New Delhi fought a war with China in 1962. While Nepal claims Kalapani as part of their Dharchula district, India says it is a part of Uttarakhands Pithoragarh district.

READ | COVID-19: Nepal extends nationwide lockdown until June 2

Recent row between India and Nepal

India and Nepal are at loggerheads after India issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border in October last year. The tension further escalated after India inaugurated a road link connecting Kailash Mansarovar, the holy pilgrimage site situated at Tibet, China, that passes through the territory that Nepal claims. The 80-km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass. India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the road going through Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India".

After the new road was inaugurated on May 8 connecting the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand with Kailash Mansarovar route in China, Nepal had protested and said it is also considering putting up a security post in the area. Nepal's foreign minister also summoned the Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to him to protest against the construction of the key road.

READ | India's Health Min Dr Harsh Vardhan set to be WHO Executive Board chairman: Officials
Ola and Uber cabs may be back on road but their drivers, resuming work after 50 days of the lockdown, are not a happy lot as business is low and they have to shell out additional cost of sanitisers and disinfectants.

While cab aggregators like Uber and Ola have claimed that they are supplying sanitisers and disinfectants to their driver-partners to ensure that vehicles are sanitised before every ride, drivers tell a different story.

Ankit Rajput, who is engaged with both the platforms, said he took out his cab for the first time since the lockdown was announced.

"Since 8 AM till about 3PM, I earned just Rs 200 through a ride from Hari Nagar to Dwarka. I bought a bottle of sanitiser for Rs 300. If you remove that cost from my earning, I am running loss. People are not coming out, those forced to commute are using their own vehicles instead of booking cabs," he said, adding that he expects the situation to continue for months.

Another driver, Rehan Ahmad was not that lucky. He says he did not get a single ride even after being online for six hours.

"It's very bad situation. I spent Rs 450 on CNG and bought a bottle of sanitiser for Rs 250, but I have not earned a single rupee today. I drove around in Rohini for nearly 20 kms but there has been no call so far. I called the company office and they said I will be informed when there is a ride," he said.

He declined to name the company fearing action.

Ahmad said the lockdown has left him financially broke.

"This cab was bought by me and I paid the EMIs in last two months without earning anything. My wife is due to deliver next month, and I have no idea how I will pay the bills. I just hope god shows mercy on us in these difficult times," he said.

When contacted, an Uber spokesperson said the company is distributing three million three-ply masks, disinfectants and sanitisers to driver partners.

"Each driver will get a PPE (personal protective equipment) kit, which consists of a bottle of sanitiser, disinfectant and 10 pieces of 3-ply masks along with an instruction manual on how to effectively use all these products. Those drivers who have purchased PPE kits themselves will be reimbursed by Uber," the spokesperson said.

An Ola spokesperson said the company has outlined a 10-steps programme for customers and driver-partners to adopt good hygiene practices to minimise the risks of COVID-19 to themselves and the community.

"We have spent a considerable amount of time and effort to train our driver-partners to rigorously implement these steps...To facilitate easier implementation, we had already distributed lakhs of Hygiene kits, consisting of hand sanitisers and amongst other hygiene material for which they will be reimbursed," the spokesperson said.

The lockdown, which started on March 25, had left driver-partners of cab companies with no source of income as these companies were not allowed to operate. After 40 days of lockdown, some relaxations were provided in the third phase (May 4 onwards) and these companies were allowed to operate in orange and green zones.

In the fourth phase that ends on May 31, many states have allowed these companies to operate but with restrictions. These companies have been mandated that they ensure proper hygiene is followed, riders and drivers wear masks and some cities also have restrictions on number of passengers in the vehicle during a trip.

Ola and Uber continue to resume operations in more cities, including many in red zones since Monday. However, services continue to be unavailable in cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Pune.

Industry watchers attribute the low demand volume to lack of trips that people make to offices, malls and airports. They are hopeful of demand picking up as more offices open and people resume work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan is nearing an end amid the coronavirus crisis. Scores of countries, including India, are under lockdown to curb the rising incidence of Covid-19 infections.

Last month, during the commencement of Ramadan, governments across the globe and Islamic leaders had urged the Muslim community to offer prayers from home and not to congregate amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Mosques bore a deserted look in the absence of devotees owing to the global outbreak of coronavirus.

With Eid-ul-Fitr celebration just around the corner, Islamic leaders have urged people to stay indoors and avoid large gatherings on the occasion of Eid.

Also read: Timing, date of Eid and impact of coronavirus

Earlier this week, Darul Uloom Deoband, Indias leading Islamic seminary, issued a fatwa urging Muslims to offer their Eid prayers at home instead of congregating at mosques. The fatwa said the Eid namaz can be offered in the same manner that the Friday prayers are now being read at home.

The Muslim Council of Britain also issued a similar directive asking people to celebrate Eid virtually keeping the prevailing coronavirus situation in mind.

Islamic and Gulf nations like Saudia Arabia have extended lockdown for the period of Eid holidays keeping the rising number of coronavirus cases in view.

Egypt has said it will bring forward the start of its curfew by four hours to 5 pm and halt public transport from May 24 for six days during the Eid holiday.

Shops, restaurants, parks and beaches will be closed for the extended holiday at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Restrictions on citizens movements will remain in place for at least two weeks afterwards, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia too has introduced a nationwide 24-hour curfew during the Eid holidays amid the coronavirus crisis. The curfew will apply from May 23 to May 27.

In Jordan, there will be restrictions of movement of vehicles on the first day of Eid. The curfew will now begin at 8 pm, instead of 10 pm, and will last till 6 am.

On Monday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said a four-day lockdown, starting May 23, would be imposed nationwide, to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the Eid holidays.

The month of Ramazan is the holiest of the year as per the Islamic tradition and lasts for around 28 to 30 days depending on the sighting of the moon. The month-long fasting or Sawm (fasting from dawn till dusk) is one of the five pillars of Islam and is observed by Muslims across the world during Ramadan.

The day starts with partaking a meal at the crack of dawn and ends by breaking the fast after sunset and saying the evening prayer Magrib.

The month-long phase of fasting culminates into the day of feasting after the moon is sighted and Eid is celebrated to round off the holy month.

This year Ramadan began on April 23 and shall continue till May 23. This year, Eid is likely to be celebrated on May 24, depending on the date when the moon is sighted.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China  Wed, May 20, 2020 13:23 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd936b1f 2 World China,Taiwan,diplomacy,Tsai-Ing-wen Free

Beijing will "never tolerate" Taiwan's separation from China, a spokesman at the mainland's top Taiwan body said Wednesday, after President Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for a second term.

"We have... sufficient ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and will never tolerate any separatist activities or external forces interfering in China's internal politics," said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, according to official news agency Xinhua.

President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday that Taiwan cannot accept becoming part of China under its "one country, two systems" offer of autonomy.

In a speech after being sworn in for her second and final term in office, Tsai said relations between Taiwan and China had reached an historical turning point.

"Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences," she said.

Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party won January's presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide, vowing to stand up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own and says it would be brought under Beijing's control by force if needed.

"Here, I want to reiterate the words 'peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue'. We will not accept the Beijing authorities' use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle," Tsai said.
C alvin Harris has revealed that doctors saved his life in 2014 after his heart stopped.

The global DJ, 36, reflected on the interesting year in a Twitter post on Tuesday night, telling followers that his heart stopped and he was resuscitated in the ER.

Sharing a video of his 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival set in North America, the DJ wrote: Interesting year for me 2014, started with me knocking myself off number 1 in the UK and ended with my heart getting restarted in the ER...this sort of stuff happened in between.

2014 was a big year in the DJs career, as Harris reached number one with his track Summer, and released his fourth studio album, Motion, which had worldwide success.

He also collaborated with huge stars, such as Ellie Goulding on Outside and Rita Ora on I Will Never Let You Down.

Previously, all that was known about Harriss condition was that he pulled out of some major gigs, including the MTV European Music Awards, after revealing he was suffering from some heart problems.

He had tweeted at the time: No EMAs for me this weekend. Got some heart problems. Heading home to see if it can be fixed x.

Harris later confirmed he had been diagnosed with arrhythmia, a disorder of the heart that affects the rate or rhythm at which the heart beats.

This led the DJ to give up alcohol.

Calvin Harris performing in 2014 / Rob Ball/Redferns via Getty Images

Things are a bit less fun but haven't had an arrhythmia since 2014 he previously tweeted in 2018.

Wouldn't dream of encouraging anyone to drink two bottles a nightgot me in a right old state.

Fans were shocked by the star's brush with death, responding to his post on Twitter.

One fan wrote "I remember! All that you said was you had heart problems to fix but damn! You never said your heart needed to be restarted!"

Harris went on to release How Deep Is Your Love with Disciples in January 2015, and was nominated for three Brit Awards.
San Francisco public schools will be back in session on Aug. 17, San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said Wednesday.

But how that will look is not yet known  although a decision is expected by mid-July.

School will be in session for students in some form starting August 17, Matthews told The Chronicle. We are still in the process of planning what that will look like. Given current guidance from public health and education officials, we are considering a variety of approaches and scenarios, all of which will require major changes in how we deliver instruction in order to minimize health risks for our students and staff and their families.

For instance, we may need new procedures for cleaning schools and access to a steady supply chain of materials like soap, hand sanitizer and masks. We will need to consider guidelines for sports, equipment cleaning protocols, and food distribution practices, among other things.

We are focused on providing equitable access to learning while also prioritizing the safety of students, staff and families.

The district has made no decisions, but is discussing several options for schools in the fall, Matthews said during a Wednesday night town hall meeting with the San Francisco Parent Teacher Association. Options include continued distance learning, a combination of virtual and in-classroom instruction or schedule changes like staggered start times, half days or week-on week-off instruction.

One certainty is that students will not return to brick-and-mortar classrooms this summer, Matthews said. Officials are still working out the details of summer programming, but it would be remote.

Matthews said he expects the district will host community input sessions for parents, teachers and students in June. A decision about the fall semester could come in July, he said.

The expectation would be that sometime around mid-July, if not earlier, we would be making announcements, Matthews said.

If the district did decide to bring students back into the classroom, Matthews said parents would be given the option of keeping their children home if they have safety concerns.

Earlier Wednesday, the states top education officials said the decision on how and when to reopen Californias public schools will be made by each school district, but students and teachers will likely be required to wear masks and classrooms will be sanitized several times a day.

Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond made the announcement in a virtual news conference Wednesday morning, a day before he was scheduled to meet virtually with leaders from the states 1,000 school districts and discuss how to resume classes in the fall while continuing to battle the coronavirus outbreak.

Each district will set its own schedule for resuming classes, Thurmond said, and local officials will also decide whether classes will be held in person, online or a combination of the two. The expectation is many schools will use the hybrid model.

While the state Department of Education wont set schedules or determine how classes can be taught, Thurmond said, it will offer guidance on how to safely reopen. In addition to masks and sanitizing school grounds, smaller classes will be necessary to create physical distance between students. Schools also will need to supply hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations in classrooms and common areas like cafeterias.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

All of our focus on reopening is first and foremost on safety for our students, our teachers and our staff,  Thurmond said.

Reducing class sizes, hiring more cleaning crews and supplying masks and sanitizer will cost money, however, and Thurmond acknowledged the governors proposed state budget calls for drastic cuts on school funding. Thurmond said schools will need federal aid to safely reopen.

The budget as currently construed will require cuts to many areas of education if we dont receive more federal funding, he said. Our schools cannot open safely if they have to maintain these kinds of cuts.

School districts will work with their county health departments to reopen, Thurmond said. He did not offer details on how that will happen.

We know none of this is perfect, Thurmond said. We know at times it will be bumpy.

In Napa County, where county officials this week got approval from the state to forge further into the second phase of reopening, five school districts said in a joint statement that they dont plan to resume class instructions this school year.

County officials were given the option to resume June 1, but steps still need to be taken regarding physical distancing requirements and detailed disinfecting protocols, school officials said in the statement.

Michael Cabanatuan, Alejandro Serrano and Anna Bauman are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, alejandro.serrano@sfchronicle.com, anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com
Bangladesh Garment Workers Bangladeshi garment workers run for cover after police fired tear gas to disperse them during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. More than 1,000 garment factory workers protested demanding that they be paid their salaries and bonuses ahead of Islam's biggest festival, witnesses and industry officials said. (AP Photo/Sony Ramany)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP)  Police in Bangladeshs capital fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse more than 1,000 garment factory workers who were demanding that they be paid salaries and bonuses ahead of Islam's biggest holiday, witnesses and an industry official said.

The workers at Civic Apparels Ltd. in Dhakas Shyampur area took to the streets after demanding that they be paid their salary in advance for May and a 100% bonus for Eid-al Fitr, the festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Huq said the workers had been paid until April, but some protesters said they had not received their salaries for three months. Some said they were attacked without provocation.

Huq accused the workers of vandalizing the factory, taking the owner hostage and blocking streets outside the factory, prompting police to take action.

Witnesses said the workers threw stones at the police and about a dozen people were hurt.

Up to 2,000 workers work in the factory, Huq said.

Rehana Begum, 30, said they were asking for their salary and bonus.

They can pay (at least) half of our salary (for May) so that we can go through the times of Eid. Well rejoin work after the Eid holiday and they will pay the rest, she said.

Huq said the factory owners agreed to pay the bonus after the chaos ended with the intervention of police.

Bangladesh has about 4,000 garment factories employing about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural areas. The garment industry is the world's second largest after China and earns $35 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, Western buyers have canceled or suspended orders worth $3.2 billion.

The government allowed owners to reopen their factories in a limited way in late April as buyers began placing orders. Some small protests have taken place demanding wages or a bonus.
After closing its doors when the UK was put into lockdown in March, McDonalds has now reopened several of its restaurants for drive-through and delivery.

On Wednesday 13 May, the fast-food chain opened 15 outlets for takeaway only, with locations including Gillingham, London, and Chelmsford.

The company clarified that it had taken additional health and safety measures to protect staff and customers.

These included taking the temperature of every employee at the start of their shift.

However, within an hour of reopening, customers complained on Twitter that the service was not working through delivery service Uber Eats.

In one response to a customer who was struggling to order from their local branch, McDonalds said that its pilot restaurants were operating slower than usual with smaller teams that were practising social distancing.

This means we are unable to process as many delivery orders as usual, they added.

Please bear with us as we adjust to the new ways of working and prioritise the safety of our people.

Now, in a bid to resume trading from all of its 1,350 sites across the UK in the coming weeks, McDonalds has reopened an additional 39 outlets for drive-through.

These Drive Thru pilot restaurants were all chosen as they are close to one of our distribution centres as we continue to prepare our supply chain for reopening, the company said on Twitter.

For those looking to get their fast food fix, see below for the full list of McDonalds branches that are currently open for delivery and drive-through in the UK.

Delivery

Chelmsford Riverside Chelmsford Westway Ipswich Cardinal Park Boreham Interchange Luton Leagrave Watford Hertfordshire Arms Chaul End Lane, Luton Beechings Way, Gillingham Sittingbourne Retail Park Gillingham Bowaters Tooting Dalston Welling Harrow Luton George Street

Drive-through

Dunstable Luton (Chaul End Lane) Luton (Leagrave) Luton retail park (Gipsy Lane) Peterborough (Boongate) Peterborough (Bourges Boulevard) Peterborough (Eye Green) Peterborough (Glinton) Peterborough (Hampton) Peterborough (Morrissons) Chelmsford (Boreham Interchange) Chelmsford (Riverside) Chelmsford (Regiment business park) Chelmsford (Westway) Ipswich (Cardinal Park) Ipswich (Ranelagh Road) Ipswich (Ravenwood) Ipswich (Whitehouse) Bushey Garston (Watford) Watford (Hertfordshire Arms) Medway (Beechings Way) Bobbing (Sheppey Way) Gillingham (Bowaters) Medway (City Estate) Medway (Valley Park) Sittingbourne retail park Strood Harrow North Cheam West Sutton (Oldfields Road) Hounslow (Travellers Friend) Tooting Welling Nutgrove Shopping Centre (Dublin) Kylemore Road (Dublin) East Wall Road (Dublin) Coolock Retail Park (Dublin) Belgard Road (Dublin)

You can see the full list online here.
According to reports, President Muhammadu Buhari and ministers are attending a virtual Federal Executive Council meeting.

President Buhari is attending the meeting from the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Also Read: Lockdown: Nigerians Still Awaiting Your Broadcast  PDP Tells Buhari

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus, this is the second virtual FEC meeting being held.

Advertisement

Recall that the first virtual FEC meeting was held on Wednesday, 13th of May 2020, where he confirmed the appointment of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the new Chief of Staff.

The virtual option was adopted as part of measures to guard against the spread of the virus.

Only ministers with memos to present need to be physically present at the Presidential Villa while others linked up from their different locations.
SACRAMENTO  As colleges make plans to bring students back to campus, alongside discussions of mask requirements and half-empty classrooms, one common strategy is emerging: Forgoing fall break and getting students home before Thanksgiving.

The University of South Carolina, Notre Dame, Rice and Creighton are among the schools that have said they will find ways to shorten the fall semester, in an attempt to avoid a second wave of coronavirus infections expected to emerge in late fall.

Built into their calculations, university officials say, are epidemiological assumptions that reducing travel will help students avoid contracting and spreading the virus, and that any easing of the pandemic this summer will end with the return of flu season.

We dont know if the second wave will be weaker or stronger, but theres a significant risk that this will resurge in the winter, said Rice Universitys president, David W. Leebron.
US president Donald Trump indicates he is considering a travel ban from Brazil

Brazil's Armed Forces soldiers prepare to disinfect the public shelter Stella Maris as a measure to combat the outbreak of new novel coronavirus (COVID-19), in Rio de Janeiro. (AFP)

Rio De Janeiro: Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as president Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and U.S. leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazils confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on the movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.

Bolsonaro told website Blog do Magno that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now. Bolsonaro added that his mother is 93 years old, and he keeps a box of chloroquine on hand should she need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on Tuesday: I dont want people coming over here and infecting our people. I dont want people over there sick either. Were helping Brazil with ventilators ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.

Pan American Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned about the virus spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.
Organised labour unions at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, Wednesday, trooped in large numbers to express their anger over the replacement of the managing Director of the company, Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed with Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz.

The unions, which staged the wild protest at the Companys Headquarters located in Maitama District of the Federal Capital City, FCC, in Abuja, said they rejected the sacking of Mr. Mohammed as the Managing Director of TCN, by the Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman.

They however threatened to shut down power infrastructure should urgent step not taking by the government to reinstate him.

Recall Minister of Power, Engr. Sale Mamman Tuesday night announced the replacement of the Managing Director, TCN Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed with Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz.

Engr. Abdulaziz until the appointment as the Managing Director of TCN in acting capacity was the Regional Transmission Manager (RTM), Abuja Region of TCN.

The development was contained in a statement by Mr. Aaron Artimas, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power.

Artimas explained that, As part of continuing measures to reposition and improve the performance of the power sector in the country, the Honorable Minister of Power Engr. Sale Mamman hereby announces major changes at the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

Accordingly, the Managing Director of the TCN, Usman Gur Mohammed has been removed from office with immediate effect. He is being replaced with Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, as Managing Director, in acting capacity.

The post TCN threatens to shut down operation if Mohammed is not reinstated appeared first on .

Share this post with your Friends on
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Starting June 1, the Railways will deploy 200 special non-AC passenger trains daily for the benefit of stranded migrants, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday.

In a tweet, Goyal said, Apart from the Shramik Special Trains, Indian Railways will run 200 non-AC trains daily as per the time table from June 1, whose online booking will start soon.

Currently, the Railways operates 30 special trains to 15 destinations from Delhi. These special trains, called Rajdhani Express, are fully air-conditioned and accept bookings online.

The national transporter has thus far ferried around 14 lakh stranded people to their home states in almost 1,600 Shramik trains.

The rail minister also said the number of these trains would be increased to help migrant workers reach their homes.

He urged the state governments to help workers in registering themselves at the nearest mainline station.

State governments are requested to help workers and register them with the nearest mainline station and give the list to the railways, so that the railway workers can run special trains. Workers are requested to stay put in their place, the Indian Railways will take them to their desired destination, Goyal tweeted in Hindi.

Railways has been running Shramik special trains since May 1 ferrying over 2 lakh stranded Indians each day.

The national transporter, in a statement last week, had said the daily capacity of the Shramik trains would be increased to around 3 lakh passengers.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Home Affairs revised the guidelines for movement of stranded workers via special Shramik trains.

Now, consent of receiving states is not needed for trains to pull in with migrant workers. The Centre will take the final call on train schedule, stoppages and destination.

Railway spokesperson Rajesh Dutt Bajpai said, "Consent of terminating state not necessary to run 'Shramik Special' trains."

He further said, "After the new SoP, the implication is that no consent of the receiving state is mandatory".

Over the last few weeks, the Centre has alleged that some states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, which have a significant migrant population in other states were not giving permission for migrant trains resulting in lakhs of them walking towards their homes hundreds of kilometers away.

While the states have denied the allegations, data has shown otherwise.

The new rule of bypassing the destination state will significantly ease the movement of migrants, officials said, with railways needing approval only from the originating states.

The national transporter hopes to run up to 300 such trains and carry the remaining migrants home over the next week, the officials said.

While Uttar Pradesh has allowed 837 trains into the state, Bihar has received 428 and Madhya Pradesh more than 100 trains, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said in a tweet on Tuesday.

However, till Monday evening, some other migrant heavy states had agreed to receive very few trains -- Chhattisgarh approved only 19 trains, Rajasthan only 33 trains and Jharkhand only 72 trains, according to official data.

According to the officials, while the railways has the capacity to run around 300 trains per day, it is operating half of that number because destination states are not sending an adequate number of approvals.

A 'Shramik Special' train carries around 1,700 passengers, instead of the earlier 1,200, to ferry as many workers home as possible.

Initially, these trains had no scheduled stoppages during the journey, but the railways now allows up to three stoppages in the destination states.

While the transporter is yet to announce the cost incurred on these special services, the officials indicated that the national transporter is spending around Rs 80 lakh per service.

(WITH PTI INPUTS)
China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe is on a record breaking streak of surviving the extremities of the far side of the moon.

With its first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater on the far side of the moon on January 3, 2019, the Change-4 lunar probe has now survived for 500 Earth days and is still working.

Shutterstock

The probe, consisting of the lander and the rover, are meant to survey the terrain and landforms of the yet unexplored territory, along with other mission targets. Its rover Yutu-2 has provided insights for the geological structure of the far side of the moon up to 40 meters under the surface.

Chang'e-4 completed its 500 Earth days on the moon periodically switching to a dormant mode during the lunar nights.

In case you didn't know, 14 days on Earth make up one lunar night and a lunar day is of the same length. It slept during the nights due to the lack of solar power. Its lander and rover woke up from their last sleep on May 17 and May 16 respectively.

Chang'e-4 Yutu-2 model (Image: Reuters)

Chang'e-4s rover Yutu-2 has covered 447.68 meters on the moons surface to date and is 292 meters away from its lander. Through its infrared imaging spectrometer, scientists in China were able to find a rich deposit of olivine on the moons mantle, believed to be the most abundant constituent of the Earths upper mantle.



Through this probe, the Change-4 will be able to find answers to the mystery related to the moon. Studying its geological evolution is one definitive way of doing so.

While CNSA, and a handful of other space agencies have their rovers on the moon, US space agency NASA is planning to restore its human explorations to the moon. NASAs upcoming space mission Artemis plans to build a human base on the moon. NASA also released the Artemis Accords earlier this month to form an international pact defining the regulations on the moon.
Islamabad:

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said the world needs to take stock of the plight of Kashmiri people and vowed to support their indigenous freedom struggle.

Sharifs remarks came as he met Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan, the outgoing president of Pakistani-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The Prime Minister reiterated his governments firm resolve to extend its fullest moral, diplomatic and political support to the indigenous freedom struggle of Kashmiri people.

The world needs to take stock of the latest brutalities against unarmed innocent Kashmiri people who are heavily sacrificing for attainment of their inalienable right to freedom, he said on the occasion.

Sharif also appreciated the outgoing president for amicably conducting states affairs during his term in office. The continuity of electoral process has amply strengthened the democratic system in PoK, said the Prime Minister.

Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won last months parliamentary elections in Kashmir.Sharif already appointed Raja Farooq Haider as prime minister of Kashmir and Masood Khan as president. Both are from PoK.

While Haider is seasoned politician, Khan is career diplomat who served in key positions including Foreign Office spokesperson, ambassador to China and Permanent Representative at the UN.

Khan was today elected as the new president of Pakistani Kashmir. The legislative assembly of PoK met at capital Muzaffarabad to choose the new president.

Khan, who was nominated by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), got 42 votes and was declared as elected.

His opponent Lateef Akbar of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) got just six votes. The new president is nominated by Sharif but is believed to enjoy the confidence and support of the army.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Spain is going slower with its coronavirus deescalation process than its European neighbors. The pace is deliberate, as the government is wary of a new spike in infections in one of the worlds hardest-hit countries.

On June 3, Italy will open its borders to all travelers from the European Union and Schengen area, who will not need to self-quarantine. And France has decreed an end to the 14-day isolation period for citizens from European countries.

In Spain, borders will remain closed to tourists at least until late June, when restrictions on mobility within the country are expected to be eased.

While Spains minority government, made up of a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the leftist Unidas Podemos, originally defended the need to save the summer tourism season, the fear of a new surge in Covid-19 contagion has led to a more restrictive approach to deescalation.

The country has been in lockdown since mid-March, when the executive decreed a state of alarm that has been extended in two-week periods. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on Congress to approve a fifth extension until June 7.

What started out as one of the strictest confinements in the world is being gradually lifted through a four-phase plan applied asymmetrically across the country, where territories with lower transmission rates and better primary healthcare preparedness are moving ahead before others.

Opening borders

Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas airport in Madrid, where passengers are being informed that they need to self-quarantine for 14 days. Olmo Calvo

Sources in the Spanish executive said the prime minister is convinced that reopening the borders prematurely could negatively affect the downward trend in coronavirus deaths and infections of recent weeks.

A comparison shows that some countries that applied deescalation measures earlier are now detecting spikes in contagion, reads a document that was approved by the Spanish Cabinet.

And any surge in transmissions that might force the country to go back to stricter lockdown rules would be less well received by society than a delay in reopening the borders, said sources in the executive.

Its about adapting the border conditions to the reality of the country, about adding an additional layer of health security, said a source at the Foreign Ministry. It would be very difficult to explain to citizens that they cannot travel to another province, but that people coming from abroad can land anywhere they please.

From an economic viewpoint, these sources said that in the mid-term, there will not be much difference between reopening borders in June or in July. The government is hoping that this year domestic tourism will revive an industry that contributes around 11% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and which is already reeling from the effects of the prolonged lockdown.

Central versus regional power

An anti-government protest outside PSOE headquarters in Madrid on Sunday. Oscar J. Barroso / AFP7 / Europa Press (Europa Press)

In Spain, the central and regional governments have openly argued about the economic effects of the confinement measures, with Madrid  which is governed by a center-right coalition  criticizing the governments decision to keep the region in Phase 0 of the deescalation plan.

This is in contrast with Italy, where the executive of Giuseppe Conte has decided to devolve responsibility for loosening confinement to regional authorities. This move has partially eased criticism from far-right parties such as the League and Brothers of Italy, although it is unclear whether the political benefits will outweigh health ones: the scientific committee advising the prime minister opposed decentralizing deconfinement powers.

In Spain, the far-right party Vox has been applauding anti-government protests that have been taking place in Madrids wealthier neighborhoods, framing them as acts of freedom against an executive that is clinging to its emergency powers. Vox has also called nationwide demonstrations for this coming Saturday, asking people to show up in their cars instead of on foot in order to respect social-distancing rules.

Scaling back

Spains requirements for transitioning between deescalation phases is also stricter than those of its neighbors. In France, the confinement measures ended on May 11, and citizens may travel within a 100 kilometer radius or more, as long as they remain within their administrative departement. Primary schools have reopened and so have factories and retail stores, although remote work is still recommended. So-called green zones, where the rate of infection is lower, can open parks and beaches, while red zones like Paris are under greater restrictions.

In Spain, most of the country except for Madrid, Barcelona and much of Castilla y Leon has moved from Phase 0 to Phase 1 of the four-phase deescalation plan, while a few islands are already in Phase 2. This involves some degree of social interaction and business activity, but many restrictions remain in place and travel between territories is still banned.

English version by Susana Urra.
Twenty-six Indian scientists stranded in South Africas Cape Town due to a coronavirus lockdown will be heading back home this week.

They had been on a mission to Antarctica and stuck in South Africa three months ago after the imposition of the lockdown. The scientists are among around 150 Indian nationals who will be returning home on a South African Airways (SAA) flight that will leave Johannesburg on Friday for Mumbai and Delhi.

Indian Consul General in Johannesburg, Anju Ranjan, said over 1,000 Indian nationals had registered for the the flight.

Passengers had to be vetted by the Indian mission based on a criteria set by the South African Department of Home Affairs. We had to select priority passengers depending on their need, Ranjan said in a Facebook broadcast.

The diplomat said those left out are likely to be repatriated on an Air India flight under the Indian governments Vande Bharat mission.

People who are going back on this flight include 26 scientists from India who were stuck in Cape Town after they returned from a mission to Antarctica, Ranjan said.

They were here for the past three months, so this was a priority for us to send them back to India, the official said.

Ranjan said 93 members of the ISE Cruise who were stuck in the coastal city of Durban were also a priority for them.

Others approved for the flight are those who are ill or on a temporary tourist visa.

Ranjan said the ticket price for the one-way flight was 15,000 rands, which was fixed by the SAA and the Indian government had nothing to do with it.

The fare, which is almost thrice the normal ticket price, has to be paid by the passengers themselves.

An Air India flight can be expected in phase 3 of the Vande Bharat mission in June as there is no fixed date for it yet, Ranjan said. Currently, the mission in phase 2, the official added.

Many people who could not pay could not be accommodated on the flight. I feel very sorry for them, but we can have some say and discounts when we get our own flights, so I just want them to wait patiently and not feel disheartened, Ranjan said.
From the earliest cases of the novel coronavirus, the government made it clear that lack of cooperation with health officials would be treated as a crime. Ordinary, errant Singaporeans have been showily prosecuted, photographed outside the court, their misdeeds blasted on the news as a warning. A man who had been quarantined upon returning from a trip to Myanmar, then ventured to a food court for pork-rib stew, got six weeks in jail. A shopper who cursed in a supermarket argument over face masks could get a prison sentence. A Singapore citizen who traveled to Indonesia in violation of his stay-at-home notice had his passport suspended.

But despite all the threats, through collective complacency or failure of imagination, the government was blindsided by a vulnerability it might have easily anticipated. In April, a dramatic surge of infections among poorly paid foreign workers crushed Singapores sense of invulnerability. The city is built and maintained by an army of laborers who come from other Asian countries  Bangladesh, India, China. They can be lodged as many as 20 men to a single room; one toilet is legally considered enough for 15 people. Last year, some of the dormitories suffered a measles outbreak. Migrant-worker housing has been connected with illness ever since the British colonial rulers called tuberculosis a disease of the town-dwelling Chinese because it raged among the lowly paid migrants living en masse in congested and insanitary dwellings in the municipal area, Loh and Hsu write. In other words, the notion that packed worker lodgings could weaken public health was neither new nor surprising.

And yet the city reeled at the dizzying reports of illness emerging from the worker dormitories  hundreds of people, sometimes 1,000 or more, tested positive day after day. It was as if the entire city had fallen so completely into the habit of regarding the laborers as some other kind of person that the basic fact of our corporeal interconnectedness never occurred to anybody. Workers rights advocates had tried to raise the alarm earlier, but their warnings went ignored. Now these perpetually marginalized workers have, at last, grabbed the citys attention. A strict citywide lockdown was enforced and has been extended and tightened as the government scrambles to curb the outbreak in the dormitories.

All schools, most businesses and even some doctors offices are closed; masks are mandatory; shopping is permitted only for absolute necessities like food or medicine. At this writing, nearly all of the new cases are concentrated in the dormitories, whose residents are shut away as they undergo systematic screenings. As of May 19, Singapore counted a total of 28,794 confirmed cases and 22 deaths. The daily toll of new cases was down to 451; 450 of them were among migrant workers. The lockdown is now scheduled to lift in early June; its not clear what this will mean for the ailing corps of migrant laborers. Singapore is now, more than ever, divided into two cities, two populations: the foreign workers in dormitories, and the rest of us.

This sort of arrangement can be justified ethically only with a geographic bifurcation: The worker is earning money he could never dream of back home. We are not supposed to think about his life here; we are supposed to think about his life there. The cheerful certainty of money flowing into that other life makes all of this degradation excusable, even beneficial. But thats a thought exercise. The virus works in flesh and blood, and it has destroyed the fantasy of a disconnected labor pool.

Now we live in a reduced version of the city. The two faces of the state, caretaker and authoritarian, are intertwined and omnipresent. Through the governments fliers and text messages and speeches, Ive been extorted, scolded, cheered up, menaced, coddled, invited to conspire against my fellow residents and reminded, all the while, that its for my own good. Report safe distancing infringements on OneService app, said a WhatsApp message I got from the Singaporean government. Provide specific details, location, photos. A notice tacked to our condominium bulletin board and titled, simply, Penalty detailed the prison terms, heavy fines and court prosecutions we could get for breaking the pandemic rules. Failure to comply will result in firm action by Enforcement Officers, the paper warned. Enforcement officers may conduct a sudden inspection at any condominium.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. KEYS is scheduled to release second-quarter fiscal 2020 results on May 26.



Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced on Mar 18, 2020, that it may not be able to meet second-quarter fiscal 2020 guidance provided in the last earnings call. The company had to temporarily shut down many of its locations globally until at least the end of March.



The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $1.09 billion, which indicates growth of 0.2% from the prior-year quarter.



We note that the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has been steady at $1.18 per share over the past 30 days, suggesting a decline of 3.3% from the year-ago reported figure.



Notably, the company surpassed earnings estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 19.11%.



Keysight Technologies Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Keysight Technologies Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Keysight Technologies Inc. price-eps-surprise | Keysight Technologies Inc. Quote

Factors to Note



Keysights fiscal second-quarter performance is expected to have gained from rising demand of its semiconductor measurement solutions on the back of allegiance of semiconductor companies to develop chips on next-generation process technologies.



In fact, the company recently announced that it is collaborating with NVIDIA NVDA to accelerate the development of high-value mobile services and flexible virtualized networks. Per the deal, semiconductor giant, NVIDIA, will utilize Keysights UE emulation (UEE) solutions to test its Aerial software development kit (SDK).



Moreover, deal wins from QUALCOMM Incorporated QCOM, Viomi Technology VIOT, DEKRA, during the qurter under review, remain noteworthy, in this regard. Robust adoption of the companys offerings is instilling investor confidence in this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Notably, shares of the company have gained 28.8% in the past year, compared with the industrys rally of 27.3%.





Story continues





Solid demand for the companys solutions in next-generation energy technologies and momentum in first-to-market solutions, might have contributed to the fiscal second-quarter performance.



Growing clout of radar technologies for high-power devices and applications amid higher spending on aerospace and defense have been driving demand for the Keysights solutions in this end market.



These factors are likely to have driven growth of Electronic Industrial Solutions Group (EISG) segmental revenues. Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EISG revenues is pegged at $304 million, compared with prior-quarter reported figure of $277 million.



Moreover, strong order growth in the wireless ecosystem primarily fueled by advancement in 5G investment and robust adoption of Ixias Network Applications & Security solutions may get reflected in Communications Solutions Group (CSG) fiscal second-quarter revenues.



Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CSG is pegged at $869 million, compared with $818 million reported in the fiscal first quarter.



Besides, momentum in the companys innovative PathWave Test 2020 software and latest support solutions, including Keysight Care, is expected to have led to gross margin expansion in the fiscal second quarter.



Additionally, growing usage of electronics-based testing equipment across medical devices and pharmaceutical markets, led by coronavirus crisis, might have benefited the performance in the quarter to be reported. Further, as employees are being forced to work from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increasing demand for high-speed connectivity, which is expected to have bolstered adoption of the companys 5G testing solutions. This is likely to get reflected in the fiscal second-quarter results.



Nevertheless, the coronavirus outbreak in China might have weighed on Keysights fiscal second-quarter performance, as the company is exposed to the demand environment in the country. Also, Huawei blacklisting is anticipated to have limited growth in revenues in the fiscal second-quarter.



Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?



Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.



Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.



See the pot trades we're targeting>>



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



NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report



QUALCOMM Incorporated (QCOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Keysight Technologies Inc. (KEYS) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Viomi Technology Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (VIOT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
President to focus on cross-strait issues, institutional reforms: aide

ROC Central News Agency

05/19/2020 09:17 PM

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () is expected to stress peace, parity, democracy and dialogue as the keys to cross-Taiwan Strait relations in her second-term inaugural address Wednesday, while firmly rejecting the "one country, two systems" model espoused by China.

Tsai will lay out a four-point national development strategy focused on national security, democratic reforms, economic development and social stability, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang () said Tuesday.

Aside from the specific themes of "peace, parity, democracy and dialogue," Tsai will reiterate her commitment to conducting cross-strait relations in accordance with the Republic of China (Taiwan) Constitution and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Huang said.

In broader national security terms, she will announce military reforms, including an effort to expand asymmetric warfare capabilities, and plans to strengthen ties with like-minded nations through participation in international organizations, Huang went on.

According to Huang, Tsai's speech will also propose institutional reforms aimed at strengthening Taiwan's democracy.

These include the expected announcement of plans to form a constitutional reform committee in the Legislative Yuan that will serve as a platform for discussion of proposed constitutional amendments.

She is also expected to announce that a national human rights commission will be established in August -- what Huang called a "starting point" for the repurposing of the Control Yuan, which is the body responsible for monitoring and investigating the other branches of government.

Meanwhile, in economic terms, Tsai will build on the foundation of her administration's 5+2 Major Innovative Industries policy, which is focused on moving Taiwan's industrial base away from traditional manufacturing and into more technology-oriented industries.

She will announce a "six core strategic industries" plan to continue to promote the development of IT and digital technology, 5G, medical technology, green energy and other industries, Huang said.

A fourth policy direction will emphasize social stability, and will feature plans to strengthen Taiwan's public health systems and the country's social safety net, Huang said.

Thematically, Huang said, the address will stress the unity of the Taiwanese people, as exemplified by the country's response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The speech, which will take place at the Taipei Guest House before a limited audience, will follow a 9 a.m. swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Office.

(By Wen Kuei-hsiang, Yeh Su-ping and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/J

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump emphatically defended himself against criticism from medical experts that his announced use of a malaria drug against the coronavirus could spark wide misuse by Americans of the unproven treatment with potentially fatal side effects.

Trumps revelation a day earlier that he was taking hydroxychloroquine caught many in his administration by surprise and set off an urgent effort by officials to justify his action. But their attempt to address the concerns of health professionals was undercut by the president himself.

He asserted Tuesday without evidence that a study of veterans raising alarm about the drug was false and an enemy statement, even as his own government warned that the drug should be administered for COVID-19 only in a hospital or research setting.

If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape, Trump said. That was an apparent reference to a study of hundreds of patients treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in which more of those in a group who were administered hydroxychloroquine died than among those who werent.

They were very old. Almost dead, Trump said. It was a Trump enemy statement. During a Cabinet meeting, he elicited a defense of his practice from other officials, including VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, who noted the study in question wasnt conducted by his agency.

But the drug has not been shown to combat the virus in a multitude of other studies as well. Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no COVID benefit from hydroxychloroquine. Two published last week in the medical journal BMJ reached the same conclusion.

No large, rigorous studies have found the drug safe or effective for preventing or treating COVID-19.

Trump said he decided to take hydroxychloroquine after two White House staffers tested positive for the disease, but he already had spent months promoting the drug as a potential cure or preventive despite the cautionary advice of many of his administrations top medical professionals.

This is an individual decision to make, Trump told reporters during a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans. He later claimed, Its gotten a bad reputation only because Im promoting it.

Many studies are testing hydroxychloroquine for preventing or limiting coronavirus illness but theres absolutely no evidence that this strategy works, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious-disease specialist at Emory University in Atlanta.

My concern is, the president has a big bully pulpit  maybe people will think theres some non-public evidence that the drug works because Trump has chosen to use it, del Rio said. It creates this conspiracy theory that something works and theyre not telling me about it yet.

The veterans study Trump slammed was an analysis by researchers at several universities of hydroxychloroquine with or without azithromycin in COVID-19 patients at veterans hospitals. It found no benefit and more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care alone. The work was posted on a site for researchers and has not been reviewed by other scientists. Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia paid for the work.

Addressing concerns Trumps example could lead people to misuse the drug, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said tens of millions of people around the world have used this drug for other purposes, including malaria prophylaxis. She emphasized, You have to have a prescription.

The drug is also prescribed for some lupus and arthritis patients.

Trump said that his doctor didnt recommend hydroxychloroquine to him but that he requested it from the White House physician.

That physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said in a statement that, after numerous discussions with Trump, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.

The Food and Drug Administration warned health professionals last month the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19 outside hospital or research settings because of sometimes-fatal side effects. Regulators issued the alert, in part, based on increased reports of dangerous side effects called in to U.S. poison control centers.

Calls to centers involving hydroxychloroquine increased last month to 96, compared with 49 in April 2019, according to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers provided to the AP. It was the second month of elevated reports involving the drug, following 79 calls in March. The problems reported included abnormal heart rhythms, seizures, nausea and vomiting.

Trump dismissed reports of side effects, claiming, What has been determined is it doesnt harm you. Very powerful drug, I guess, but it doesnt harm you.

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in an emailed statement Tuesday: The decision to take any drug is ultimately a decision between a patient and their doctor.

As research started to emerge that hydroxychloroquine was not helpful, and even potentially harmful, in battling COVID-19, the presidents public rhetoric in support of the drug had faded. But his private hopes had not, according to three White House officials and Republicans close to the White House not authorized to speak publicly about private discussions.

Trump also lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her a sick woman who has a lot of mental problems after she questioned Trumps use of the drug because he is 73 and falsely labeled him morbidly obese. Her comments were followed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who told MSNBC that Trumps move was reckless, reckless, reckless.

Trumps presumptive Democratic opponent in the 2020 election, Joe Biden, chastised the president for being irresponsible in taking hydroxychloroquine.

What in Gods name is he doing? Biden said during a Yahoo News town hall Tuesday night.

After two staffers were known to test positive for COVID-19 this month, the White House mandated that those in the West Wing wear face coverings and introduced daily testing for the president, vice president and those they come in close contact with.

Pence told Fox he wasnt taking the drug because his doctor didnt recommend it.

___

Marchione reported from Milwaukee and Lemire reported from New York. AP writers Matthew Perrone, Will Weissert and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.
They say if youve got it, flaunt it. Media personality Lillian Muli has it and she did not shy away from flaunting it on social media yesterday.

Posting to her Instagram account with over 950K followers, the Citizen TV news anchor on Tuesday brightened her followers day with a perfect shot of her surprisingly sizeable bum.

While the self-proclaimed Mama Boys posted the photo under the pretext of showing off her new pants, we all know, deep in our butts, that it was not just about the pants.

These pants are just too dope Muli captioned the picture.

It was a day in which the celebrity media personality was feeling herself as she treated her fans with more photos of her elegant outfit by Against_allads.

Feeling myself. Looking fab wearing top and pants from @against_allads. Ive always been into dresses but lately I am really feeling pants, wrote Muli.

In another post, the news presenter celebrated her achievements in the media industry.

Never knew that some day this Kamba girl called Nzisa would be on National Television. From KTN to Citizentvkenya. It has been a good run. Im still chasing my dreams. I think we need to pat ourselves on the shoulder and be proud of our achievements especially if your growth is organic and not sponsored by anyone. Thank you God you are my number one sponyo! ? God is not man that he should Lie! He will always lead you towards your God given destiny and he will always provide for you, wrote Muli.

And in another post, Lillian posted her eye candy of a face and simply wrote: Mama Boys, perhaps to let the stunning picture do all the talking.

The four posts drew hundreds of comments and thousands of likes as fans gushed over the 38-year-old TV bombshell.

Naturally, netizens were more drawn to the picture of Muli flaunting her fundamentals, with some seemingly taken aback by the substantial size of Mulis peachy bumbum.

We have sampled some reactions below:

Ladies please note, the pants dont come with the body????, one fan, @kyalodenny, cautioned.

A second IG user, identified as makasifridah, wrote: And I want your body? beautiful Nzisa.

@engwynnie added:  Figure???

Another, @mureithivincent, was ready to be finished as he wrote:  Finish us Lillian!!! ?????

Sakas Bwani wondered: You sure guys are focussing on pants?

Kumbe umebeba Ivo ? wrote robert.reto.

Amos the only observed that Mulis pair of pants: Inatoa shape ya fundamentals vizuri ?

Underrated Ninja kept it real, saying: Mimi sioni pants but anway??

Forget about the pants @lilmuli you are just more than dope ?, said Mwende Abbie.

You have a bright future behind you, (insert snoop voice), added mamavantoto.
Several residents of Bengaluru took to Twitter at around 1.30 pm on May 20 after hearing a mysterious boom. While some thought it was an earthquake, others said the sound was more like a sonic boom.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Whitefield Division - Bengaluru, told The News Minute that the noise was heard right from the international airport to Sarjapur and many other areas and that they are trying to ascertain what it was.

Later in the day, the Ministry of Defence's Bengaluru PRO handle had tweeted an update stating that a "routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside City limits" was the cause of the noise.

"The aircraft was of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment whose Test Pilots & Flight Test Engineers routinely test out all aeroplanes. The sonic boom was probably heard while the aircraft was decelerating from supersonic to subsonic speed between 36,000 and 40000 feet altitude," the PRO added.

"The aircraft was far away from the city limits when this occurred. The sound of a sonic boom can be heard and felt by an observer even when the aircraft is flying as far away as 65 to 80 kilometres away from the person," the Ministry of Defence clarified further.

Earlier in the day, a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) spokesperson had told TNM that they had no idea what had caused the sound and said it had nothing to with their flights.

The state Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) had also confirmed that the sound was not related to an earthquake and that their sensors had not recorded any earthquake activity.

A resident of Halasuru in the city said the sound was more like a thud, and she assumed it to be thunder.



Ok Bangalore what did you hear ? Gotta know how many were startled by the noise .

 Devina Sengupta (@DevinaET) May 20, 2020

Meanwhile, others are still trying to figure out where the sound actually came from.



I am in Bangalore. We are not coastal and Cyclone Amphan has bypassed is totally. This loud noise s still@mysterious. No@official explanation yet.  Nandita (@nand_bo) May 20, 2020


ANTIOCH, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Antioch will be seeking to establish a COVID-19 Economic Support Package specifically targeting small businesses within the City.

As the City begins moving forward towards re-opening, it recognizes the financial hardship that COVID-19 has created for Antioch's business community.

"The City must do everything we can to help our small businesses recover as fast as possible," said Sean Wright, Mayor, City of Antioch. "We must ensure that Antioch continues to be a place for opportunity."

As part of the City's financial recovery strategy, City staff is exploring the following options:

Business license relief

Grants

Shared marketing

Expediting the business application process

The incentives and funding sources that could be included for the COVID-19 Economic Support Package will be discussed at a future City Council meeting.

About the City of Antioch: Antioch is located on the banks of the San Joaquin River in Northern California, just off of Highway 4, in Contra Costa County.

With a population of over 100,000 people, Antioch has become the heart of Eastern Contra Costa County, offering a variety of employment, shopping and vast recreational activities.

The pace of development in Antioch has spurred activity for financial and insurance institutions, contractors, and other types of service-oriented businesses. Increased development has created increased employment in schools, hospitals, and other local service sectors. Antioch poised to capitalize on its location, skilled workforce, and fiscal strength.

For more information: www.antiochca.gov

SOURCE City of Antioch

Related Links

http://www.antiochca.gov


LIMERICK is set for a multi-million euro boost after Aldi unveiled plans to open a flagship store in the heart of the city centre.

A total of 100 construction jobs and 25 permanent roles will be created with the German retailer set to open beside the Eir exchange in Roches Street, should the proposal clear planning hurdles.

The massive four-storey development will be built at the former Eir parking exchange, and will provide 1,250 square metres of retail space and 85 new car parking spaces.

It comes as part of a 160m investment programme the retailer is embarking on.

The news comes in the same week that demolition began of the former ESB building on Bishops Quay with a seven-storey skyscraper to be built in its place and on the site which also takes in property at Lower Cecil Street and Henry Street.

This development will provide office space for 600 people, and gives high hopes that Limerick can weather the post-coronavirus downturn.

Chamber chief executive Dee Ryan said: It's uplifting to see the infrastructural projects progress and that their progress hasn't been dramatically hampered by the onset of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael councillor Dan McSweeney has also welcomed the proposals for Aldi.

He said: Its important to note what Leo Varadkar said in Dail Eireann last week. That the way to get out of a downturn is by providing employment. All in all, its a good day for Limerick that we have the prospect of Aldi for a new store, as well as the Opera site coming in over the coming months.

The councillor also said Aldis neighbouring shops will benefit from the parking, with shoppers there venturing elsewhere in the centre.

The Aldi application  which is due to be lodged with council in the next fortnight  is likely to prove controversial, though, with smaller retailers likely to object.

I need my business to remain open, so my family dont starve, said one retailer this Tuesday, pointing out that for every job Aldi creates, roles are lost in smaller firms.

Cllr Daniel Butler, Fine Gael, urged caution that council doesnt jump too quickly on the site, arguing a masterplan is needed for the area.

Adam Ward, the managing director of Aldi in this region said: Every new Aldi store that opens brings greater choice, quality and value to shoppers.

Aldi has branches at Childers Road, Dublin Road and in Newcastle West.

The retailer is also planning its first Shannon shop in 2023, with a planning application for a unit in the Airport Road submitted to Clare County Council.

This store would measure 1,315 square metres.
H2O2 is an important commodity chemical and potential energy carrier, and is widely used for various environmental, medical and household applications. At present, about 99% H2O2 is produced from energy-intensive anthraquinone oxidation process. Its centralized production in this way produces highly concentrated H2O2 that often has to be distributed to and diluted at the site of use, bringing additional complexity and challenges. In addition, H2O2 can also be produced from the direct reaction between H2 and O2 in the presence of Pd-based catalysts. The potential explosion hazard of this approach, however, hinders its practical application.

Electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction via a two-electron pathway represents a novel and decentralized strategy to produce H2O2. It relies on the development of active and selective electrocatalysts. The state-of-the-art candidates are Pt-Hg and Pd-Hg alloys. Despite their relatively high mass activity and selectivity in acids, these precious metal alloys are unlikely to be used on a large scale due to their prohibitive costs and toxicity (because of the inclusion of Hg). More recently, carbon-based materials emerge and demonstrate appreciable activity and selectivity for H2O2 production in alkaline solution. Unfortunately, their potentials are also limited since H2O2 is subjected to rapid decomposition in alkaline medium. For practical applications, H2O2 is more widely used in acidic media with stronger oxidation ability. As a result, it is highly desirable to pursue high-performance electrocatalysts for selective H2O2 production in acids.

In a new research published in the Beijing-based National Science Review, scientists from Soochow University (Suzhou, China), the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing, China), Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing, China) and Trinity College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland) worked together, and reported for the first time that molybdenum telluride (MoTe2) nanoflakes had a remarkable performance for H2O2 production in acids.

MoTe2 nanoflakes were prepared via the well-established liquid phase exfoliation method from bulk MoTe2. X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses evidenced that the product had a hexagonal 2H phase. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy imaging revealed that exfoliated MoTe2 nanoflakes had lateral size distribution from 50 to 350 nm. Moreover, the authors used aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy to elucidate the atomic structure of MoTe2 nanoflakes, and observed that their exposed edges, though not atomically sharp, were mostly along the zigzag directions with abundant bonding unsaturated Mo and Te sites.

When investigated as the electrocatalyst materials in O2-satuated 0.5 M H2SO4 solution, MoTe2 nanoflakes mixed with graphene nanosheets exhibited positive onset potential of 0.56 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode and outstanding H2O2 selectivity up to 93%. The mass activity was also calculated by normalizing the catalytic current with respect to the catalyst mass. The authors found that the value was in the range of ~10-102 A g-1 between 0.3-0.45 V for MoTe2, which, although not as magnificent as the state-of-the-art Pt-Hg and Pd-Hg alloys, was superior to Au alloys and carbon-based materials. Prof. Yanguang Li who led the electrochemical experiments noted that "the mass activity of exfoliated MoTe2 nanosheets at 0.4 V was 27 A g-1 -- approximately 7-10 times greater than those of Au-Pd alloys and N-doped carbon." In addition to its impressive activity and selectivity, MoTe2 nanoflakes also exhibited decent stability with negligible performance loss even after the accelerated durability test and overnight aging experiment.

In order to understand the experimental result, the authors conducted density functional theory calculations to simulate the absorption energies of key reaction intermediates on the catalyst surface. They found that the zigzag edge of 2H MoTe2 had suitable binding for HOO* and weak binding for O*, and therefore would promote the reduction of O2 to H2O2 but retard its further reduction to H2O. Prof. Yafei Li who led the theoretical work said "MoTe2 was really unique for its capability for two-electron oxygen reduction, which was not found in other transition metal dichalcogenides including MoS2 and MoSe2"

"Our study here unveiled the unexpected potential of MoTe2 nanoflakes as a non-precious metal based electrocatalyst for H2O2 production in acids, and might open a new pathway toward the catalyst design for this challenging electrochemical reaction." Prof. Yanguang Li finally commented on their interesting discovery.

###

Y.G.L. acknowledges the support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2017YFA0204800), the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology. Y.F.L. acknowledges the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21873050). W.Z. thanks the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51622211) and the CAS Pioneer Hundred Talents Program.

See the article:

Xuan Zhao, Yu Wang, Yunli Da, Xinxia Wang, Tingting Wang, Mingquan Xu, Xiaoyun He, Wu Zhou, Yafei Li, Jonathan N. Coleman and Yanguang Li

Selective electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide at zigzag edges of exfoliated aolybdenum telluride nanoflakes

Natl Sci Rev 2020; DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa084

https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa084

The National Science Review is the first comprehensive scholarly journal released in English in China that is aimed at linking the country's rapidly advancing community of scientists with the global frontiers of science and technology. The journal also aims to shine a worldwide spotlight on scientific research advances across China.
"As industry visionaries and leading innovators of ALPR technologies, our innovative products will now be used to serve NTT and their clients needs on a global basis. - John Chigos, CEO, PlateSmart

PlateSmart Technologies, which applies cutting-edge AI and deep learning technologies to its automatic license plate recognition (ALPR)-based vehicle recognition solutions, announced it was selected by NTT Corporation (NTT) to be an official provider of ALPR, vehicle recognition and safety solutions for customers of the global technology and business solutions provider.

NTT is a leading global innovator when it comes to applying IT and technology around the world, said John Chigos, CEO, PlateSmart. This relationship will further extend our global reach beyond the 30-plus countries we are in currently and will allow us to expand into sectors we are not already in. This agreement between our companies also serves as further proof that our products are the best of breed in the industry.

NTT, which operates in more than 80 countries and regions, will partner with PlateSmart to generate sensor information and video management details for the companys Accelerate Smart data platform, which is being deployed in cities around the world to help improve the lives of citizens through smart technologies.

So many opportunities exist for the use of our ALPR-based vehicle recognition solutions around the world, Chigos said. As industry visionaries and leading innovators of ALPR technologies, our innovative products will now be used to serve NTT and their clients needs on a global basis.

PlateSmart Technologies was the first industry player to introduce a software-only, camera-agnostic automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) engine powered by early AI-based object recognition technology  a major industry milestone positioning the company as an industry innovator. In 2015, PlateSmart was also the first to introduce an HD ALPR-based vehicle recognition solution capable of capturing license plate data as well as vehicle make and color.

PlateSmart currently offers proactive, real-time solutions to law enforcement agencies that are used to prevent and solve crimes and prevent acts of terrorism. The company also provides its solutions across a large spectrum of commercial clients, ranging from smart cities to government users to educational facilities, to enhance any perimeter or access control security solution. Airports, rental car companies and retailers have also benefited from using PlateSmart vehicle recognition technology for enhanced customers service, improved security, and loss and fraud prevention.

The company is also in development with players in the franchise food business, and its software is currently deployed for testing with one of the largest restaurant chains in the country to improve customer support and provide contactless payment. PlateSmart anticipates that such technology will be in ever more demand in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

For more information about PlateSmart solutions, visit http://www.platesmart.com.

About PlateSmart

In business since 2004, PlateSmart Technologies was the first industry player to introduce a software-only, camera-agnostic automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) engine powered by early AI-based object recognition technology and compatible with both state-of-the-art cameras and video management systems (VMS). PlateSmart offers both mobile and fixed-location solutions, which are designed either to function as stand-alone tools or to integrate with third-party software and hardware. PlateSmart ARES, the companys enterprise solution, provides real-time actionable intelligence with license plate number, state jurisdiction, and vehicle make recognition for complete situational awareness. PlateSmarts solutions are the recipients of multiple industry awards for excellence in security technology. http://www.platesmart.com

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain forward-looking statements and/or predictions. These statements are based on history, current knowledge, and current market conditions. They are subject to change without notice as conditions and knowledge change; therefore, undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.
A Washington County man thought to be responsible for dozens of residential burglaries was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges, authorities said Wednesday.

Adolphus Newell III, 24, will serve 50 months after pleading to five counts of first-degree burglary and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

The guilty plea was the result of a monthslong investigation, Tigard police said in a statement. Newell is believed to have committed dozens of thefts in Washington County between October 2019 and February 2020, often stealing jewelry and firearms, police said.

As part of the plea agreement, Newell will also pay restitution to the victims, though the amount will be determined at a later hearing, officials said.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that people should have to learn to live with the coronavirus until a vaccine is developed to treat the disease as the number of infected cases in the country soared up to 45,898 with 985 deaths.

Khan was speaking at the inauguration of the COVID-19 Telehealth Portal in Islamabad to help people get medical services on phone.

We have to live with this virus for some time until a vaccine is developed, he said, adding that even advanced countries with much more resources were unable to cope with the situation.

Khan said asked the doctors, especially female doctors, to register on the portal to provide their services through it.

This year our nation will have to join forces to fight against the virus. We previously launched an initiative for tele education and now are launching this initiative for tele health, he said.

Even when coronavirus ends, we will continue [on] this portal, he said.

The nationwide tally of the coronavirus soared to 45,898 with 1,932 new cases reported during the last 24 four hours.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, 17,947 cases have been reported in Sindh, 16,685 in Punjab, 6,554 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 2,885 in Balochistan, 1,138 in Islamabad, 556 in Gilgit Baltistan and 133 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

So far, 13,101 patients have recovered from the virus, while 985 have died, including 46 new deaths reported during the last 24 hours.

Authorities have so far conducted 414,254 tests, including 13,962 in the last one day.

Limited rail operations resumed on Wednesday across Pakistan after over two months of suspension during the lockdown.

Railway officials said that the suspension caused a loss of Rs 10 billion, while 10.26 million passengers were affected, making achieving the annual financial target of Rs 58 billion impossible.

Special arrangements were made at railway stations to spray disinfectants on the trains and scanners were installed for the passengers.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in a meeting with European Union Ambassador in Pakistan Androulla Kaminara urged for global efforts to fight the coronavirus.

The minister welcomed the European Union's support to Pakistan to deal with the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pakistan government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have begun the first disbursements of emergency cash assistance to the most vulnerable refugee families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

This is a significant event and important milestone for the emergency cash programme that will continue over the coming months, UNHCR Representative Noriko Yoshida said.

Last week, UNHCR and the Pakistan Post signed an innovative agreement for the disbursement of the emergency cash assistance. The initiative follows the Pakistan government's Ehsaas emergency cash programme, where vulnerable families receive Rs 12,000 to cover a four-month period.

Some 36,000 families will be the initial beneficiaries for this emergency cash assistance from UNHCR through the Pakistan Post. It will help the most vulnerable refugee families to meet their urgent needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Postmaster General Laeeq Zaman, said that Pakistan Post will be there every step of the way in solidarity with Afghan refugees, as this emergency cash assistance programme is rolled out across Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police have a significant number of warrants to arrest a 26-year-old for crimes including assault, possession of illegal firearms and supplying methamphetamine. Brodie Collins-Haskins is a patched member of the Mongols gang, says a post on the Bay of Plenty and Taupo Police Facebook page. "Over the last two weeks police has arrested five people linked to this organised crime group in relation to serious drug dealing, firearms and money laundering offences. "Brodie is considered to be dangerous and should not be approached. If you see him then please call 111 immediately. "He has connections throughout New Zealand including in Auckland, Bay of Plenty and Christchurch." If you know where he is then please contact Detective Sergeant Andrew Stevenson on 105. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Brazil's Armed Forces soldiers prepare to disinfect the public shelter Stella Maris as a measure to combat the outbreak of new novel coronavirus (COVID-19), in Rio de Janeiro. (AFP)

Rio De Janeiro: Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as president Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and U.S. leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazils confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on the movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.

Bolsonaro told website Blog do Magno that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now. Bolsonaro added that his mother is 93 years old, and he keeps a box of chloroquine on hand should she need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on Tuesday: I dont want people coming over here and infecting our people. I dont want people over there sick either. Were helping Brazil with ventilators ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.

Pan American Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned about the virus spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.
The US government imposed sanctions on Wednesday on an Iranian government minister and senior law enforcement and military officials over human rights abuses. "The Iranian regime violently suppresses dissent of the Iranian people, including peaceful protests, through physical and psychological abuse," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people." The sanctions, the latest in a series of measures against the Iranian regime, target Interior Minister and chair of Iran's National Domestic Security Council (NDSC), Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, seven law enforcement officials and an IRGC commander. The Treasury alleged that Rahmani Fazli has issued orders authorizing Iran's Law Enforcement Force to use "lethal force in response to the November 2019 protests, resulting in violence against peaceful protestors and bystanders. His orders led to the killing of many protestors, including at least 23 minors." Washington also targeted IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour Najafabadi, Law Enforcement Force Commander Hossein Ashtari Fard, and Deputy Commander Ayoub Soleimani. The sanctions block all US assets and property of the officials and prevent US financial institutions from dealing with them. The steps also have implications for foreign banks and businesses which can run afoul of US authorities if they engage in transactions with sanctioned officials or firms. The State Department also sanctioned Rahmani Fazli for "his involvement in gross violations of human rights," barring him and his family from entering the United States. The US government said the LEF was "responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses that have occurred since the disputed June 2009 presidential election and ensuing protests." The LEF also operates detention centers associated with physical and psychological abuses, and was implicated in the torture and drowning of Afghan nationals attempting to cross into Iran, according to the US government. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has announced new sanctions against Iranian officials, citing human rights abuses
Kolkata, May 20 : Severe cyclonic storm Amphan made a landfall in West Bengal on Wednesday afternoon, with Kolkata and its nearby areas witnessing high-speed winds exceeding 100 kmph accompanied by heavy rains. The cyclone is said to be one of the worst to form over the Bay of Bengal in many years.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said the eye of the cyclone, which is 30 km in diameter, has touched the land.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, Alipore Met Dept, (Eastern region), said the circular structure of the cyclone started making landfall in Bengal this afternoon.

He said : "The process started around 2.30 p.m. with the forward sector boundary of the cyclonic circle making the landfall in the coastal districts of Bengal. As per our records at 4 p.m. the windspeed was 105 km/hr in Kolkata which can go upto 130 km." He said three coastal districts -- South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore -- will be the worst affected, besides, vast swathes of South Bengal districts such as Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, West Midnapore will bear the brunt of the heavy storm.

Areas such as Sagar Island, Kakdwip and Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas and Digha and Haldia in East Midnapore were battered by the storm, uprooting trees and electric poles and destroying many shacks.

Firhad Hakim, Administrator of the state's largest civic body, Kolkata Municipl Corporation, said, "We are keeping a close watch on the situation. The storm has caused some trees getting uproted and power failure in various parts of the city. We have shifted a number of people from old dilapidated buildings in Kolkata to temporary rescue centres. Some of them have, however, refused to get relocated. Our officials are monitoring the situation on an hourly basis".

"I am at the TMC control room and supervising the overall situation in Kolkata. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is reviewing the situation from the Nabanna control room. She will be there at the state secretariat for the whole night. A task force spearheaded by the State Chief Secretary Rajib Sinha is looking after the relief and rescue operations. The police are on high alert." All flyovers and elevated corridors were closed to vehicular traffic in Kolkata in view of the approaching cyclonic storm, expected to make a landfall somewhere between East Midnapore's Digha and Hatiya Island in Bangladesh on Wednesday. The landfall is expected between afternoon and evening.

Police sources said all flyovers have been barricaded and movement of vehicles suspended at various flyovers in the state capital.

Meanwhile, as many as five lakh people in West Bengal and 1.5 lakh in Odisha have been evacuated as per the data submitted by the state governments, the National Disaster Response Force said on Wednesday.
What happened

Shares of Brazilian discount airline Azul (NYSE:AZUL) bounced back from a 6.5% loss Tuesday and were racing ahead 22% today as of 10:40 a.m. EDT. Curiously, today's bounce seems predicated on no actual good news and flies in the face of an awful lot of bad news.

So what

As recently as February, Azul was still in growth mode, with consolidated passenger traffic up 25% year over year. But when the coronavirus arrived in March, Azul cut its number of planned flights by 90%.

By May, things were so bad that S&P Global Ratings downgraded the Brazilian airline's debt to CCC+ (a junk level) with a negative outlook promising more downgrades ahead. S&P warned that travel restrictions "will crimp the company's cash flows and liquidity."

Today, the other shoe dropped: With the coronavirus raging across Brazil (more than 1,000 new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours), the U.S. announced it is considering a ban on travel to and from Brazil.

Now what

Despite all this bad news, investors have hopes that Azul will be saved by a proposed $683 million bailout that Brazil is planning for its three biggest airlines. Investors, seeing Azul stock down nearly 75% over the past year, are rushing to cash in on the potential bailout.

But is that wise? Despite growing traffic strongly before the pandemic, Azul is now cruising into a likely recession carrying $3.4 billion in net debt, and losing money at the rate of $1.5 billion a year. The company has lost money in four of the past five years, too. And while the coronavirus certainly contributed to its most recent quarterly loss ($1.2 billion), Azul lost money in the last two quarters of 2019 as well, before the pandemic.

Much as I'd like to be optimistic here, I fear Azul is not in the bloom of health, and today's stock rally could prove fleeting.
As the Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, rainfall and strong winds have hit Bhadrak district in Odisha. According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) cyclone Amphan will cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (WB) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans on afternoon of May 20.

#WATCH: Rainfall and strong winds hit Bhadrak in Odisha. #CycloneAmphan is expected to make landfall today. pic.twitter.com/X8xF9aZ6cf  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2020

'Amphan to cross WB-Bangladesh coasts on Wednesday'

"Cyclone Amphan over the Bay of Bengal near latitude 18.4N & longitude 87.1E, about 210 km nearly south of Paradip (Odisha). To cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (WB)& Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans during the afternoon to evening hours of 20th May," tweeted IMD.

Meanwhile, Paradip in Odisha reported wind speed of 82 km/h (44 knots) at 0430 hrs IST and rainfall 11.0 mm (hourly)/ 144.1mm (progressive total), IMD said.

READ | Cyclone Amphan Live Updates: Bengal evacuates 3L people, Assam issues 'high alert'

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday spoke to Members of Parliament of areas that could be affected by Cyclone Amphan. "He urged them to be in touch with the people of their areas proactively and guide them about the arrangements being made by the agencies concerned," read a Lok Sabha press release.

Birla said in a tweet that he urged MPs to monitor relief measures so that these reach in a timely manner to those in need.

Spoke on phone to MPs of affected areas regarding Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. Urged them to sensitize people in the affected areas. Also, impressed upon them to monitor relief & rescue measures so that they timely reach to those affected.  Om Birla (@ombirlakota) May 19, 2020

READ | Power, Telecom Ministry lay down plan of action, control room to deal with Cyclone Amphan

'...but we expect this speed to increase'

"Amphan is the most intense cyclone - the second super cyclone - which has been formed in the Bay of Bengal after 1999. We are utilizing all tools and technologies to monitor it. The current wind speed of Amphan is around 200 - 240 km/h, it is moving north-northwest direction at 15 km/h, but we expect this speed to increase," IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said in a press briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday.

READ | Cyclone Amphan: Over 3 lakh people moved to relief shelters, says Mamata Banerjee

At least three lakh people have been evacuated from the coastal areas of West Bengal, ahead of the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan', and all steps have been taken to deal with any eventuality arising out of it, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

NDRF chief SN Pradhan in a media briefing on Tuesday said that a total of 41 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in West Bengal and Odisha to deal with any emergency situation arising out of Cyclone Amphan.

READ | Cyclone Amphan: Indian Oil refinery, Haldia Petrochem plant put on high alert

(With agency inputs)
BOSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently the versatility of mixed and augmented reality products has come to the forefront of the news, with an Imperial led project at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Doctors have been wearing the Microsoft Hololens headsets whilst working on the front lines of the COVID pandemic, to aid them in their care for their patients. IDTechEx have previously researched this market area in its report "Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030: Forecasts, Markets and Technologies", which predicts the market to be $30Bn by 2030. This article discusses the use case in the Imperial Project.

The use case for this project allows other clinicians to sit in another room, and by using Microsoft Teams, see a live video feed of the doctor who is treating the COVID-19 patients. This is utilising the remote assistance aspects which have been previously used by Hololens users for manufacturing, maintenance, and other similar applications. By using the devices, staff reduced the amount of time they must spend in a high-risk area by 83%. Not only this, they are using less PPE, as fewer clinicians are in the room during patient care.

The use of mixed and augmented reality in a hospital setting has been discussed for several years, with surgeons for example, being able to view overlays of xrays or simulating operations before the actual event. To support the rapid development of the Hololens for this use case, MedicaliSight provided an important role to ensure that the Hololens and Remote Assist has the correct security, management and network capabilities of the NHS trust. It also ensured that the device is easy for clinical adoption - the user must be able to instinctively use the device. These instinctive use cases are even more important in a high stakes environment such as caring for patients on a high-risk ward.

Mixed reality is just one part of the "Spatial reality" family, the others including augmented and virtual reality devices. In the future, more use cases such as those of the Hololens will be found, and IDTechEx predicts this market to be over $30Bn by 2030, and part of this will come from an uptake of devices used in these novel, high impact use cases.

To identify these use cases, it is important to have a holistic overview of the current capabilities, future growth opportunities, and hindrances of this technology. IDTechEx provides a range of market research reports, with the most recent report on augmented, mixed and virtual reality published only a few months ago. "Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality 2020-2030: Forecasts, Markets and Technologies" includes market research on AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed reality) areas, compiled from historic data from nearly 100 companies and over 170 distinct products and forecasts from 2020-2030. It can provide you with the insights into this exciting and growing market area, infiltrating many aspect of users daily lives for many more years to come with its novel use cases and applications.

For more information on this report, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/ARVR or for the full portfolio of Wearable Technology research available from IDTechEx please visit www.IDTechEx.com/research/WT.

IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Consultancy and Event products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information on IDTechEx Research and Consultancy, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1171035/Hololens_Device.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg

Media Contact:

Jessica Abineri

Marketing Coordinator

press@IDTechEx.com

+44(0)1223 812300
PLATTSMOUTH  The taste of Italy should soon arrive in downtown Plattsmouth.

Renovations are underway at 534 Main St. for a new restaurant, Di Bella Italian Eatery, owned by Mark and Sue Shaw. They leased the site where the former Sisters Cafe was located and next door to the Fork and Hammer restaurant.

It will be Italian cuisine, said Mark Shaw of the new restaurant.

The site is being totally remodeled and a mid-June opening is the plan, he said. It would seat about 30 to 35 customers, he added.

Anticipated hours of operation would be from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.

At its meeting Monday night, the Plattsmouth City Council recommended to the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission a Class C liquor license for the establishment.

I think it will be great, said Councilwoman Jeannie Brookhouser.

Mayor Paul Lambert had similar thoughts.

Its a great addition to downtown and I hope people will patronize it. I wish the Shaws the best.

This will be the third eating establishment the Shaws have opened within the last year. They also own the adjacent Fork and Hammer restaurant, as well as the Sweet Spot at the corner of Main and Sixth streets.

Mark Shaw told the council he would like to see additional restaurants in downtown Plattsmouth to encourage more visitors here.

What we need to have is more of them, he said.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Douglas Loverro, the head of human spaceflight for NASA, abruptly resigned on Monday, after only six months on the job and just days before the agency is scheduled to launch astronauts for the first time since the space shuttle retired in 2011.

Loverro's resignation comes at a critical time - two days before he was to lead a critical "launch readiness review" meeting that would determine whether SpaceX should proceed to launch two NASA astronauts on a test mission to the International Space Station.

A longtime Pentagon official, Loverro was seen as a calm and immensely capable executive that would not only help the agency restore human spaceflight from United States soil as part of NASA's Commercial Crew program, but also push NASA to meet a White House mandate to return astronauts to the moon by 2024.

PHOTO CONTEST: Winning photos of Tournament Earth released by NASA

Two people with knowledge of the situation said his resignation was spurred when Loverro broke a rule during NASA's recent procurement of a spacecraft capable of landing humans on the moon.

In an email he wrote to top NASA officials that was obtained by The Post, Loverro wrote that NASA's mission "is certainly not easy, nor for the faint of heart, and risk-taking is part of the job description."

He wrote that he took "a risk earlier in the year because I judged it necessary to fulfill our mission. Now, over the balance of time, it is clear that I made a mistake in that choice for which I alone must bear the consequences."

In an interview, Loverro declined to discuss the exact details of why he resigned.

"It had nothing to do with commercial crew," he said. "It had to do with moving fast on Artemis, and I don't want to characterize it in any more detail than that." Artemis is NASA's program to return people to the moon.

Last month, NASA awarded three contracts, worth nearly $1 billion combined, to a team led by Blue Origin, a team led by Dynetics and to SpaceX. (Blue Origin is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post.)

FROM HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: NASA astronauts prepare to fly in a capsule once again

Loverro said there were "no sour grapes" and that he holds "NASA in great respect. I hope they can continue on everything they started and will follow through on their plans."

On May 27, SpaceX is scheduled to launch two NASA astronauts on a test flight of the Dragon Spacecraft to the space station. In a statement Tuesday, NASA indicated the launch would proceed without delay.

"Next week will mark the beginning of a new era in human spaceflight with the launch of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station," the agency said. "This test flight will be a historic and momentous occasion that will see the return of human spaceflight to our country, and the incredible dedication by the men and women of NASA is what has made this mission possible."

The statement did not say what led to Loverro's resignation.

Earlier in the day, Vice President Mike Pence praised NASA for "renewing American leadership in space" and said he was looking forward to the launch. He and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine gave no indication of the shake-up.

The news sent shock waves through the space community, and there were concerns over whether NASA should proceed with the launch in the wake of such a tumultuous development.

Steve Jurczyk, NASA's associate administrator, will chair the readiness review meeting on Thursday. Loverro said he thought "it was absolutely safe to proceed." He added he had "100 percent faith" in Jurczyk. "I would trust him with every ounce of that mission's performance."

NASA said that Ken Bowersox, currently the deputy associate administrator for the human exploration, would take over the job in an acting capacity. Bowersox previously held the position after Bridenstine demoted William Gerstenmaier, a NASA veteran who later resigned and now works for SpaceX.
Fewer public complaints against municipal police forces in Manitoba were filed with the Law Enforcement Review Agency two years ago, and all of them were either dismissed or withdrawn.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Fewer public complaints against municipal police forces in Manitoba were filed with the Law Enforcement Review Agency two years ago, and all of them were either dismissed or withdrawn.

Manitobas Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA) released its 2018 annual report Tuesday, showing most of the complaints it received that year involved allegations of excessive use of force -- 39 per cent -- or discourteous behaviour by police. Three complaints alleged improper use of handcuffs and two complaints alleged misuse of Tasers by Winnipeg police. The agency doesnt investigate criminal complaints, but 15 criminal complaints against police arose from incidents that were also reported to LERA in 2018.

None of the complaints led to a public hearing: 70 per cent were dismissed by the LERA commissioner as lacking sufficient evidence or being outside the agencys scope to investigate. The other 30 per cent of complaints were considered abandoned by the complainants.

Most of the complaints were submitted by men who alleged incidents happened either in private homes or on the street, and most of the complaints were filed against the largest municipal police force in the province, the Winnipeg Police Service.

There were 166 files opened in 2018, and 98 formal complaints received -- down from 2017, when there were 190 files opened and 109 formal complaints. While there was a decrease from the previous year, the number of files opened in 2018 is still higher than the four-year average of 117, which includes a period of time before Manitobas Independent Investigation Unit got up and running. Starting in 2015, the IIU began investigating serious incidents involving all police officers in Manitoba, including criminal complaints.

On average, investigations LERA finished in 2018 took six months to complete.
Public library buildings in Brazoria County have been shuttered for weeks, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel just in time for summer reading.

We closed our buildings on St. Patricks Day, but we do have plans to reopen the buildings with limited services and limited hours on June 1, said Lisa Loranc, library director for the Brazoria County Library System, which has branches in Alvin and Manvel and two in Pearland  Pearland and Pearland Westside.

Reopening policies

While the libraries are getting ready for reopening, some policies are also being established.

Once we reopen, we will have to enforce capacity limits and were going to be offering limited services, Loranc said. Patrons can browse and search the library, but we wont have any of our public study areas or seating available for use.

Residents will be allowed to enter, choose their materials, checkout and go. Some use of public computers will be offered.

With social distancing requirements, well be limiting our libraries to approximately half of the computers we would normally have available to the public, Loranc said.

That will be the policy, at least through July 4.

More Information Brazoria County library hours starting June 1 Pearland: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday;10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday-aturday Pearland Westside: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday-Saturday Manvel: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday Alvin: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday Brazoria County Library System: http://bcls.lib.tx.us See More Collapse

Summer reading club more important than ever

The summer reading club will begin June 1.

The reading part will continue as normal. Kids will be able to count whatever reading they do whether its digital or an actual book, magazine or whatever, Loranc said.

Programming will be all virtual delivery.

Crafting programs will continue, and lists of the craft supplies for the projects will be provided for the public beforehand. The libraries will limit the kinds of crafts they do to those that can be made with materials readily available in the home.

This year will be more important than ever to involve children in summer reading programs, because theyve already missed so much of their classroom time, and nothing can combat summer slide better than participating in a summer reading program, Loranc said. Our public libraries are the primary conduit for those kinds of programs.

We need to find a way to make our summer reading program work for everyone so that when they go back in the fall, they have had an opportunity to retain where they were and be ready to move forward in the new year.

Every branch will be open for adjusted hours and with limited services and occupancy.

We will reassess everything in July and go from there, Loranc said.

Studying how to make virtual storytime pop

One of the newest services was curbside delivery. Patrons can request items online then go to any of the branches and pick up the items they selected.

WiFi was always available to residents because the signal extended into the parking lot. Some patrons took advantage of the seating areas outside of the libraries to work.

To increase its WiFi footprint, the library system circulated approximately 200 tablets that also function as hot spots.

There are areas of Brazoria County that dont necessarily have the most robust WiFi opportunities. This is a way for some of our patrons who have depended on the library to get their computer services, Loranc said.

With the buildings closed, there was no access to public computers and the tablets were a stop-gap measure.

Two hundred tablets wont meet the entire need of the community, but its a great step in the right direction, she said.

The transition from in-person programming to almost all online didnt catch the staff off-guard.

We have some members of our staff who are tech-savvy, and for those that were lagging a little behind, the state library provided a number of resources including classes on How to make your virtual storytime pop, she said.

Weve taken advantage of some of the things that the state library has offered to make sure were providing as professional as possible a virtual experience.

The library system was already set up with necessary resources, so additional spending was limited.

Our staff all have access to tablets and recording software. We have purchased some tripods since it was difficult to record a storytime with someone holding the tablet. Just a few things like that. Weve upgraded some of our editing software, Loranc said.

Stocking up on safety supplies

Like other businesses and libraries around the country, branches in the system are stocking up on personal protective equipment, hand sanitizer and any other products to prepare the buildings for customers when they return.

Loranc pointed out a nice feature for those who havent frequented the library.

Our library card registration is an online process. Weve been able to tell people who havent always been patrons and are stuck at home with kids and looking for ways to educate and entertain that they can register online and well mail them out their card so they can start using it immediately, she said.

More than 600 residents have already registered online to take care of the library services since the pandemic started.

It does make me feel good,Loranc said regarding the number. Id like to think that once this is over theyll have experienced the library and understand the value we add to their life and theyll become lifelong library users. Thats the upside to this insanity.

For those looking for reference materials, encyclopedias and numerous other reference books have digital equivalents that are available.

Another service that gets used often is an online chat service.

Patrons can chat with us and ask questions or even simply email a question to us and well research it and get them an answer, Loranc said.

While the buildings have been closed, there were no forced furloughs or layoffs.

Weve been very fortunate that the county has been able to continue to keep everyone on staff. Most of our staff continued to work in one way or another, maybe not their full or regular schedule, but they managed to keep working throughout the whole process, Loranc said.

While library staffs werent waiting on a lot of customers, they took advantage of the time to get caught up on some housekeeping needs, she said.

We were completely closed for a very limited amount of time, she said. Once we were able to get the right mechanisms in place, we started doing virtual programming. Of course, we always had our digital services available to the public.

That meant streaming videos, checking out digital books and participating in a number of online resources.

The popular story time sessions became virtual programming, and Lorance said the libraries beefed up other digital offerings.

We started it as soon as we could after the pandemic started, she said.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
Terrorists kill 7 soldiers in Pakistan's Balochistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 19, IRNA -- Seven Pakistani security personnel were killed in two separate terrorist incidents in south western Balochistan province, a military statement said on Tuesday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), six soldiers including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and a civilian driver were killed as their vehicle was targeted with remote controlled IED in Pir Ghaib, Mach, Balochistan.

The FC vehicle was returning to base camp after routine patrolling duty.

In another incident a security man was killed during exchange of fire with terrorists near Mand are of Balochistan.

Earlier this month one officer and five soldiers of Pakistan's FC were killed as their vehicle was targeted with remote controlled IED near Pak-Iran border in Balochistan province.

In March unidentified assailants attacked Pakistani military team fencing border in Balochistan province and killed two security personnel.

Pakistan's Ministry of Defence had sought US $ 188 million from the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for the second phase of fencing of border with Iran saying the project has become a strategic priority.

272**1416

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






By Ayya Lmahamad

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a $200 million swap agreement to ensure the financing of Azerbaijans real sector amid COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Banks press service reported.

The agreement is part of the CBAs cooperation with international financial institutions in a bid to support businesses and the population during the time of novel coronavirus pandemic.

Under the new agreement, EBRD will provide credit support to local companies in local currency. Of this amount, $50 million will be transferred to local companies, especially the relatively small ones that have faced temporary difficulties this year.

The agreement between the Central Bank and the EBRD will not only support enterprises affected by the pandemic, but will also encourage the increased use of derivatives in Azerbaijan and their use as an alternative financing instrument.

The CBA and EBRD also cooperate to develop Azerbaijans capital market by issuing shares in manat in local market and bringing the legal framework of the derivatives market in line with international standards.

To date, the EBRD has invested 3.3 billion ($3.6bn) in Azerbaijans economy within 172 projects. The EBRD also provides business consulting services to small and medium enterprises, has provided technical support to improve financial performance and development of more than 1000 companies.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A 66-year-old Jalandhar woman found infected with Covid-19 died while 11 more persons tested positive for the disease in Punjab on Wednesday, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 2,095.

The sexagenarian, Santosh Kumari, a resident of Ishar Nagar in the city, was suffering from renal complication and was put on dialysis at the isolation ward of the civil hospital, a health department official said. She was tested positive a week ago. The district has reported seven deaths due to the coronavirus so far.

Also, two persons, including a Dubai-returned man, tested positive in the district which has 217 positive cases.



Four more positive cases in Amritsar

Four persons were tested positive for Covid-19 in Amritsar on Wednesday.

One of the patients returned from Dubai in a special flight under the Vande Bharat Mission on May 13. Out of the 27 returnees from Amritsar, this is the fourth person testing positive. Two other patients came to Amritsar from Mumbai last week.

Also, a person, who came to the city from Gujarat last week has tested positive, said civil surgeon Dr Jugal Kishore.

With this, the total number of Covid-19 patients in the district reached 311.



Ludhiana count 177 as 2 found infected

Two fresh cases of Covid-19 were reported in Ludhiana district. A 27- year-old youth, son of a 63-year-old purchase manager of tyre factory found infected on May 7, tested positive. The father and son are residents of Kabir Nagar. The 63-year-olds wife was and younger son were also tested positive on May 8.

A 30- year- old Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan tested positive in his repeat test.The RPF jawan was tested negative on May 11, but he was symptomatic. His repeat sample was taken, civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said.

The department has failed to locate two youths, aged 18 and 22, found positive for the virus. The two visited the flu corner of the civil hospital four days ago.

Their details such as phone numbers were found to be incorrect.



2 cases in Gurdaspur, one in Barnala

Two more coronavirus cases were reported in Gurdaspur district. Of the two patients, one youth is from Thikriwal village of Kahnuwan block while the second is resident of Harpura village near Batala. At present, there are three active Covid-19 cases in the district.

An 18-year-old resident of Tajoke village in Barnala district was tested positive for the coronavirus. The patient, a combine operator, returned from Andhra Pradesh on May 14 and was under quarantine since.



2 more cured in Rupnagar

Two more persons tested positive for Covid-19 recovered in Rupnagar distruct. They were discharged from Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Banur.

With this, the number of active Covid-19 cases in the district came down to three.

(Inputs from Gurdaspur, Barnala and Rupnagar)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday questioned Washington's intensive deployment of biological laboratories in countries neighboring China and Russia, as well as its unwillingness to disclose the biological experiments being performed in those facilities.

Furthermore, he noted that for about 20 years the United States has been one of the few countries against a protocol establishing a mechanism to verify and check parties' compliance with their commitment not to create biological weapons. Their behavior has raised international concerns about what is really going on in the labs.

According to reports, the U.S. has more than 200 biological laboratories established worldwide and large-scale dangerous infectious diseases have been found around some of them. For example, the army lab at Fort Detrick in Maryland, which is the country's largest biochemical weapons base, was shut down in July last year, but the CDC refused to give any details on the grounds of "national security".

Once regarded as the center of the U.S. government's darkest experiments, the lab was also the CIA's base for secret chemical and mind control experiments. According to The New York Times, the research involved biological agents and toxins that have been determined to have the potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety, to animal and plant health, or to animal or plant products.

What's even more worrisome was that a vaping-related lung disease, the symptoms of which resemble those of COVID-19 pneumonia, broke out in a community just one hour's drive away from the lab shortly after the lab was shut down. The timing and the location of the outbreak appear dubious, especially since e-cigarettes have been sold in the country since 2007.

In March, many Americans signed a petition that asked the White House to disclose the real reason behind the closure after the CDC decided to reopen the Fort Detrick lab. They also wanted clarification about whether the lab was related to the novel coronavirus and if there had been a virus leak. Unsurprisingly, U.S. authorities and politicians have remained silent on the issue.

The unusual silence from Washington has raised international concerns as to what kind of risks the U.S. biolabs, which are found in former Soviet Union member countries, Southeast Asian nations and African countries, may pose to global public health security.

According to USA Today, hundreds of incidents of unintended exposure to deadly biological microorganisms have occurred in U.S. biolabs since 2003. While rare, the report noted that there have been lab-created outbreaks that have spread to people or animals in the surrounding community.

Anna Popova, Head of the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being, said in November that Georgia disestablished its own epidemic prevention agency and replaced it with a lab set up by the United States in 2003. After that, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and anthrax broke out in Georgia.

As Lavrov pointed out, the U.S. stands almost alone against the resumption of negotiations on the verification protocol of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which has won support from many of the signatory countries. Washington has repeatedly blocked the effort, claiming that the biological field is not for verification because it may threaten what they call "national interests and trade secrets", as well as "facilitate industrial espionage activities".

What threats to humanity are being hidden in those suspicious biological labs? It is a question that needs to be honestly answered by Washington, especially when the world faces a major threat to its public health safety.
MIDLAND, MI  Dozens, if not more than a hundred, Midland-area residents gathered to seek refuge within the walls of Midland High School Tuesday night after the Edenville Dam failed to hold back a deluge of water.

Midland officials warned residents living near the Tittabawassee River to evacuate. They are concerned the Sanford Dam, located a few miles northwest of the city and downstream of the Edenville Dam, will also fail.

Some drove to the school at 1301 Eastlawn Drive to seek shelter. Others were brought in by bus. Among those who came was Elvera Ilgenfritz, who arrived with her dog Sophie, a Maltese.

My son called and they told us to go to the mall, then the police at the mall told us to come here, said Ilgenfritz, seated on a bench within the school. I grabbed her dog food and her bowls, threw in some clothes, my medication. Took some papers out of my safe, some clothes. Nothing seemed important. Nothing seemed important. Its in Gods hands.

94 Gov. Whitmer delivers remarks as Midland experiences major flooding

About 8:15 p.m., Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow said the residents were arriving ahead of the American Red Cross, which was bringing cots and other supplies. He said he was expecting 100 cots.

By 8:45 p.m., the cots hadnt arrived and he expected theyd need more than 100.

Shawn Burkett said he knew he had to leave his home on M-20 when firefighters arrived at his door.

The fire department showed up at my door and said we needed to evacuate, he said. Originally, the plan was for the mall, then they relocated everyone here because its higher ground.

Burkett made the trip with some roommates.

Im just shook up, he said. I didnt really bringing anything beside what I needed. Something to drink and my cigarettes and that was it.

Midland High School served as a refuge site for Midland residents displaced by the Edenville Dam failure on May 19, 2020.

Rebecca and Steve Malkin, seated on bleachers in the schools gymnasium, said they left their Sanford home a few minutes before 7 p.m.

We packed up in about 10 minutes and came directly here, Rebecca Malkin said. Or, as directly as we could. It was slow going.

They drove separate vehicles, not wanting to leave one in their garage in case it ended up being flooded.

The Malkins were following developments via news reports and media alerts.

We knew what was going on and just decided we should probably leave, Rebecca Malkin said. We saw the neighbor leaving and thought we should go.

In their haste to leave, they forgot to bring their coronavirus-recommended face masks and gloves, but they were able to acquire new ones at the high school.

I brought my genealogy; I didnt want to lose all that business, Rebecca Malkin said. We brought some lockboxes and a blanket in case we have to spend the night some place. We brought our meds, my laptop, my tablet, and my cellphone. That was pretty much it.

We dont know what were gonna come home to, Steve Malkin added. If we got a home.

Others at the school were not there out of necessity, but out of charity. Richard Groves, standing beside his truck bed in the parking lot, was not required to leave his home. He showed up to the school to donate 10 cases of bottled water for those in need.

Just went to the store and bought some water to give to these folks, he said.

Tyler Brown is an employee of Independent Community Living, an adult foster care center at 233 E. Larkin St. in Midland. He was still on duty while at the school.

I got the message on my phone  and my job called everybody and told us where to evacuate to, how to get to it, everything like that, Brown said. As with Ilgenfritz and Burkett, Brown initially went to the Midland Mall before being rerouted to the high school.

Our job is amazing at keeping everybody safe and informed about where to go, he continued. He wasnt able to say how many people he brought with him to the site.

Jaye Collins and Charley Kinzel live at Riverside Place Senior Living Community at 400 E. Main St. They learned of the evacuation via their buildings public address system. Kinzel estimated it took about five minutes to gather up some necessities.

Im wondering where everybody else was that was coming here, Collins said. They cleared out Riverside, really.

Most of the people either had friends or relatives or still had their house in town, Kinzel said. They just either went back home or are staying with their sons or daughters.

Asked for his overall thoughts on the ordeal, Kinzel was philosophical.

Thats life, he said with a chuckle. Its no big deal.

Related:

Sanford Dam collapse imminent, Midland County residents urged to evacuate

Residents told to evacuate after Edenville Dam failure in Midland County

Gov. Whitmer plans to issue emergency declaration for Edenville Dam collapse

Theres just no words for it, say residents near flooded Rifle River in Arenac County

Flooding is widespread in Saginaw County after heavy rains, county officials say
Paschal Donohoe is running up against the hypocrisy of the weekly unemployment payment of 350 and the much lower 203 payment, as the finance minister juggles the costs with the need to support of the economy, a leading adviser to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has warned.

Tom McDonnell who heads up the think tank, the Nevin Economic Research Institute said the separate payments - the 350 a week paid to the thousands who lost their jobs since March and the 203 paid to longer-term unemployed who had lost their jobs before March - was unsustainable in terms of justice.

Mr McDonnell said that Mr Donohoe will some under pressure because paying the 350 payment was effectively an admission by the Government that the benchmark 203 payment a week for the regular unemployed wasn't sufficient for people to make ends meet.

Mr McDonnell, who is a member of a government planning committee for the Covid-19 emergency, said he expects the finance minister to start tapering the Covid-19 main payment and the wage-support scheme from August or September, during the final phases of the return to work.

However, he said there could be constitutional problems extending the pandemic payment and the separate wage-support scheme when they come to an end at the end of June because there is no new government in place.

Mr McDonnell said that extending the 350 a week payment will raise the issue of economic justice and the courts would have to decide on the issue if there were ever a legal challenge over the two rates.

He said the economy would suffer more damage if the 350 weekly payment were tapered too quickly and any process wold likely be achieved on a gradual basis.

During Dail questions, Minister Donohoe said extending the Covid-19 unemployment payment to the end of the year would raise questions about increasing the regular unemployment payment.

The latest figures to last Friday show there are 585,000 people on the 350 a week payment; 464,000 people whose wages are being supported; as well as 215,700 people who were on the regular unemployment count at the end of April.

That means 1.24 million are availing of some sort of Government support accounting for two thirds of all private sector workers.

Minister Donohoe said he was examining the best way to ensure that women returning from maternity leave can tap the wage-support scheme and that it was never the intention to stop new mothers for using it.

Minister Donohoe confirmed that the budget deficit would head close to 30bn this year as the exchequer accounts for the costs of the economic fallout and the hit to tax revenues of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government had also injected 13bn into the economy since the onset of the crisis, he said.
Francisco Aldana, left, fist bumps a fellow homeless man under the 405 Freeway on Venice Boulevard in 2019. (Los Angeles Times)

U.S. District Judge David O. Carter has been a passionate advocate for getting homeless people housed and sheltered. Even during the pandemic, he has visited L.A. homeless shelters and walked the streets of skid row to talk with residents. (He wore a mask or kept a safe distance from others on these outings, but he is 76 years old.) Now he is hearing a lawsuit filed by a group of Los Angeles business owners, downtown dwellers and homeless shelter residents against city and county government. The plaintiffs contend that local officials have violated a state welfare law by allowing homeless people to live on the streets and risk their health.

Known for being abrupt in court, he has little patience  make that no patience  for the slow pace of sheltering and housing homeless people, and has made it clear that he wants action, not just proposals.

But the judge went too far when he issued a preliminary injunction last Friday ordering the county and city to move several thousand homeless people away from encampments around freeway overpasses and underpasses and into shelter or housing, starting this coming Friday.

Even as the city and county have housed and sheltered homeless people in the last six weeks at an unprecedented rate  about 2,400 are in hotel and motel rooms throughout the county and 1,000 more are in shuttered recreation centers that the city turned into shelters  the number assisted is a fraction of the 15,000 that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has identified as most vulnerable to getting very sick from the virus. And overall, there are nearly 60,000 homeless people across the county. Those numbers dwarf the supply of shelter beds, hotel rooms and permanent housing units available.

We understand the judge's desire to light a fire under local officials. But this injunction is not the way to do that. Its not Carters job to pick which homeless people get into housing ahead of others. Thats a task for the city and county and the professionals who run their homelessness services operations. And in fact, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has identified the homeless people it wants at the head of the line for the limited number of federally subsidized hotel rooms it has been able to lease: those who are 65 and older or have an underlying medical conditions. Some people living near freeways may fit that description. Others may not. And in order to be housed in those hotel rooms, people must fit the eligibility criteria set by the federal government.

Story continues

Also, were not sure the judge is correctly interpreting the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which requires the state to support poor and incapacitated people. The law establishes a minimum level of general assistance (that is, welfare payments) that counties must provide. Carter is reading it as a right to shelter and housing. Such a major policy change should be left to the Legislature.

Even if people living near freeways are exposed to particular environmental harms, that shouldnt necessarily give them priority for shelter and housing. Being homeless anywhere is debilitating. And there are reasons why homeless people seek out underpasses  as shelter from rain, heat, and unwelcoming residents and store owners.

If Los Angeles could come up with enough capacity quickly to house the estimated 3,000 to 7,000 freeway-adjacent dwellers, what about people who turn down the offered room or shelter? The judges order says at that point if sufficient shelter is available  homeless people could be ordered to relocate an adequate distance from a freeway. That may sound like a safety improvement, but its the opposite. The CDC has warned that dispersing people in homeless encampments increases the risk of spreading the virus.

Thankfully, Carter has allowed city and county officials to file alternative plans. There's no shortage of smart, fast ways to get more homeless people off the street. So-called tiny houses, modular dwellings, safe parking lots for people living in their vehicles, and areas for sanctioned encampments with bathrooms, food and medical care for people who remain in their tents are all ideas that should be on the table and could be executed in a matter of weeks and months.

Carter has the right goal if not the right means to get there. During this pandemic  and beyond it  people should not be living on streets, whether theyre in the shadow of a freeway or miles away.




Actor Marlon Wayans is joining forces with producer Neal H Moritz for "Ride or Die", a film touted as the first romantic buddy-cop action-comedy.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wayans has co-written the script with Rick Alvarez.

Moritz will back the film via his banner, Original Film, along with Wayans and Alvarez through their Ugly Baby banner.

Wayans, best known for collaborating with his brother Shawn Wayans on comedies like "Scary Movie" films and "White Chicks", described the film as "Bad Boys" with romance or "When Harry Met Sally..." with guns.

"Rick and I conceived this as a franchise and collaborating with Neal, who has mastered the art of franchises, makes it a perfect fit," Wayans said.

The story follows a robbery detective Martin Banks (Wayans), a professional, and narcotics detective and unapologetic Tami Moore.

Sparks and bullets fly when these opposites are partnered to track down a billion-dollar cache of deadly opioids stolen from the vault of a multinational pharmaceutical company that threaten to flood the streets of Chicago.

Moritz, known for the "Fast and Furious" film franchise and shows like "Prison Break", said he was lucky to get a chance to read the script early.

"I had to jump on it... rarely do you read scripts with such a great concept and relationship," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aspiring filmmakers have learnt to live without their cameras to create a scripted podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has resulted in the release of Beyond Strange Lands, an audio drama on Amazon's Audible platform that journeys across the Australian outback.

The story, set in 1982, centres around paranormal expert Grant Peters, who went missing while filming in Australia.

At least 26 Queenslanders were brought in as part of the casting crew.

His wife, Melissa, also disappears nearly 40 years later, leading her daughter and grandson to Boulia, where a collection of old audio tapes are found that could help solve the mystery.
Courtney Queen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Department of Public Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC), was selected to be a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

Brandt Schneider, Ph.D., dean of the TTUHSC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, said being selected to participate in the Fulbright Scholar program is a tremendous honor and he congratulated Queen for her achievement.

"With less than 500 Fulbright U.S. Scholars working world-wide, this award clearly identifies Dr. Queen's research as being highly meritorious, innovative, impactful and wide-reaching," Schneider said. "The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Julia Jones Matthews Department of Public Health are incredibly proud of Dr. Queen and her accomplishments."

Funded by the U.S. Department of State, the presidentially appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board annually offers approximately 470 grant opportunities for U.S. faculty, administrators and professionals in variety of fields. Fulbright U.S. Scholars are selected based on their leadership and academic merits and their abilities to teach, conduct research and contribute to solutions for shared international concerns.

Under her award, Queen will travel to Latvia in the Baltic region of Northern Europe to teach at Riga Stradi?s University (RSU) during the spring semester, which runs from February through June. She previously worked in Latvia from 2000 to 2002 as a Peace Corps volunteer for non-governmental organization and small- and medium-sized enterprise development. During that time, she learned to speak Latvian and some Russian.

In addition to teaching, Queen also will collaborate with the RSU Institute of Public Health to identify and evaluate health disparities and inequalities within Latvia's relatively young health care system. Their research will focus on evaluating data and examining some of the remaining public health challenges and concerns. Those issues include reducing inequities in health access and health status, increasing coverage and reducing harmful behaviors that contribute to chronic disease and cardiovascular death.

Latvia gained its independence in 1991 and has undergone a major societal transformation that has changed their institutions, especially the government and economic health systems. Because of this transformation, Queen said Latvia is known to have a health system in transition, which has required the country to develop a slew of new policies, create a contemporary funding approach and review changes in organization, governance, health care financing and health care provision and performance.

With the system nearing the end of its third decade, she said it's a good time to start looking at data through the lens of independence to evaluate the overall health care structure to identify those areas that may benefit from intervention.

"We can come in now with evidence, experience, ideas and thoughts about the public's health, health disparities and equities and use our theories and models to look at them starting now," Queen said.

During independence, Latvia's Ministry of Health approved measures to ensure the social safety net and adopted a public health strategy. Queen said this would allow her and the RSU researchers to collaboratively focus attention on evaluating the major structural reforms on matters of public health concerns.

"This time is especially important because that specific population has had particularly traumatic experiences," Queen said. "Now they're at the age where we can start looking at different health conditions; for instance, the development of chronic health conditions, wellness and health and even resilience. There's a lot of unique opportunities with this population that we can garner a lot of perspective from which have a profound ability to shape the public health perspective about how we approach social, political and the economic determinants of health."

During her career, Queen has received training as a National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Scholar at the Health Disparities Research Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. In addition, she gained experience as a Health Equity Leadership Institute Scholar and worked in global health education and with vulnerable populations in Costa Rica. Her research related to increasing access to health care for those who suffer from melanoma and Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical disease, has also taken her to Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Queen considers the opportunity to work as a Fulbright Scholar to be an honor and a pinnacle moment where her dedication and commitment over a long period of time has paid off. She believes studying the development of the Latvian health care system will enrich her ability to teach and complement the missions of TTUHSC, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Julia Jones Matthews Department of Public Health.

"I'd like to thank Dr. Schneider, our department chair, Dr. Theresa Byrd, and all of my wonderful department colleagues for their support," Queen said. "In public health, we look at the development of public health systems and we look at the development of medical care systems, so all of my experiences in Latvia will be brought back here to the classroom. It'll be great for students too; it's really nice for our students to have faculty with these kinds of experiences and perspective."

###
France, Britain, Norway say government needs access data to combat virus whereas the tech firms say they are adhering to data privacy norms.

In this file photo taken on May 14, 2020 a member of Charles de Gaulle airport personnel wears a protective face mask and visor in Terminal 2 of Charles de Gaulle international airport in Roissy near Paris, as France eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of the COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus). (Photo | AFP)

Paris: France, which has long been sceptical of the growing power of US Big Tech companies, is seeking to bypass Apple and Google for a smartphone app to help trace people infected with the novel coronavirus.

The move, which leaves France relatively isolated in Europe alongside Britain and Norway, reflects differences on how such apps should be structured, who has access to sensitive data and their effectiveness.

Being dependent on Apple and Google means staying in an extremely restrictive framework for usage of the data, said a source close to Frances contract tracing effort.

It is Google and Apple who are defining the debate in what is essentially a public health issue, the source added.

A number of countries, including India, have already deployed contact tracing apps on smartphones that track a persons contacts and alert them if need be..

These apps can be based either on a decentralised or centralised architecture.

A decentralised architecture keeps the information about whom a person has been in contact with on the smartphone. If the person declares themselves to have been infected by the coronavirus, then those people deemed to have been in close contact for an extended period receive a notification to isolate themselves and get tested.

In a centralised system the data is managed by an authority, say a national health service, that would have access to the data to ensure those who are exposed are indeed following the proper health and isolation recommendations.

Apple and Google banded together last month to develop coronavirus contact tracing technology that would work across their operating systems.

The technology, set to be released later this month, embraces a decentralised architecture that would enable smartphone users to control their own data, and choose whether to notify the authorities if they have been exposed.

Titans setting the terms

Numerous tech experts and privacy advocates prefer a decentralised option because of data privacy concerns, worried about governments establishing databases that could be used for surveillance, even after the pandemic.

But France, along with London, contest that argument and prefer a centralised architecture that will provide them with the information needed to ensure the spread of the disease is effectively contained.

Norway also opted for a centralised system for its Smittestop or stop infection app launched last month.

To become an effective tool for public health authorities, a contact tracing app has to be widely usedexperts say by at least 60 percent of the populationbut also provide them with needed information about who is getting sick as well as where, which can be important for taking quick measures to close hotspots.

Decentralised apps that make use of the Bluetooth radios on smartphones can be built so they do not even record the location of where people are in contact.

Nations cannot easily go around Apple and Google and develop their own apps as Apple in particular makes it difficult to keep Bluetooth enabled in its operating system.

People would need to keep the app open at all times, an inconvenience that would likely lead to many people not having it running on their phones.

Systems rolled out

So far Apple has resisted pleas from France and other countries for help to get around that technical issue.

While the European Commission has not yet taken a formal position on the options, it acknowledges a decentralised system is better on data privacy grounds.

If both approaches can be in conformity with data protection laws, from a point of view of minimising the collection of data, the decentralised approach is preferable as less data would be stored on a centralised server, a Commission spokesman told AFP.

France hopes to have its app in operation on June 2, and the official leading its development has said it will work very well on an iPhone despite Apples lack of cooperation.
GUIYANG, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Guizhou Province announced Tuesday that all cinemas and exhibition centers are allowed to reopen after being closed for months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Visitors to cinemas are required to book tickets online, have their temperatures taken, sit separately and wear masks during their stay. In addition, theaters are only allowed to book 50 percent of capacity, according to an announcement released by the provincial COVID-19 prevention and control headquarters.

Necessary meetings and exhibitions can also be held in Guizhou after the announcement, with the number of participants strictly controlled to less than half of the total seats.

Public places that are allowed to reopen will adopt strict safety measures to avoid mass gathering and ensure routine disinfection of public facilities.

Guizhou reported no new cases of COVID-19, no suspected and asymptomatic cases on Monday.
CHICAGO--Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) members were among the first to learn of Nissans 2020 Frontier pricing, which was announced this week during the associations latest eMeet, a virtual meeting series. More than 50 MAMA members, comprised of automotive journalists and related industry professionals, were able to ask live questions of Nissans Senior Marketing Manager Michael Yarger and Senior Manager of Engineering Melaina Vasko.

Pricing for the refreshed-for-2020 Nissan Frontier pickup, which was first unveiled this past February during the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, will begin at $26,790 for the Frontier S King Cab 4x2 model. The top-line model, the Frontier PRO-4X Crew Cab 4x4, will be listed at $37,490. Across the model lineup, the 2020 prices represent an average increase of less than $2,000 from 2019.

The 2020 Frontier features a new 3.8-liter direct-injection V6 engine paired with a 9-speed automatic transmission. The new engine is rated 310 horsepower (best in class, according to Nissan) and 281 lb.-ft. of torque, and helps the 2020 Frontier achieve its 6,640-lb. towing capacity.

A host of additional upgrades will be offered for the 2020 model year, including standard push-button start, a leather shift knob, manual tilt steering, power door locks and power windows with the auto-down feature on the drivers side.

The 2020 Frontier is available in King Cab, Crew Cab Short Wheelbase and Crew Cab Long Wheelbase bodies, and comes with a choice of 4x2 or 4x4 drive configurations. Additionally, two previous option packages have been added to 2020 Frontier Crew Cab SV grades at no additional charge: the Midnight Editionfeaturing special black exterior treatments and 18-inch gloss black aluminum-alloy wheelsand the Special Edition Packagefeaturing a trip computer, Satin Chrome grille, body-color rear bumper and 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels.

The 2020 Frontier is scheduled to arrive at dealerships this July.

View release

About the Midwest Automotive Media Association

Founded in 1991, and now in its 29th year, the Midwest Automotive Media Association is based in the Chicago area and comprises 234 automotive journalists and public relations professionals from across the country. The organizations primary purpose is to provide a forum for newsworthy people, major issues and new products in the auto industry.

Contacts

Damon Bell

MAMA President

webmaster@mamaonline.org






Job Title: Accountant, Regional

Hub

Organisation: Islamic

Development Bank (IDB)

Duty Station:

Kampala, Uganda

About US:

The Islamic

Development Bank (IDB) is a multi-lateral development financing institution

located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1973 by the Finance

Ministers at the first Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now called the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) with the support of the king of Saudi

Arabia at the time (Faisal), and began its activities on 20 October 1975.

Job Summary:

The Accountant, Regional Hub will process, review, record, maintain and

reconcile financial transactions in the Regional Hub. Provide financial analysis

and oversight over all financial transactions in the Regional Hub to ensure

compliance with internal financial controls and Bank rules. Support detailed

analysis, annual planning and periodic forecasting of the expenses, produce

monthly financial reports relating to the regional hub, participate in

developing, enhancing and implementing controls.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Financial

Accounting:



Update

and maintain the general ledger and charter of accounts to reflect the

transactional activities of regional hub accounts, ensuring that proper books

of accounts are maintained for effective financial control in accordance with

Bank standards and local statutory requirements.



Reconcile

sub ledger reports on a monthly basis in addition to creating the final trial

balance to ensure quality and efficiency in the deliverables.



Registration

and maintenance of Regional Hubs fixed assets; evaluation of fixed assets and

adjusting for depreciation as per fixed asset accounting policy.



Manage

cash flow and petty cash in Regional Hub and ensure that all transactions are

recorded clearly.

Reporting:



Examine

and analyse accounting records, financial statements, or other financial

reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural

standards.



Proper

planning, expenditure tracking and audit of financial resources, in accordance

with Bank rules and regulations.



Elaboration

of the internal expenditures control system which ensures that vouchers

processed are matched and completed, transactions are correctly recorded and

posted in SAP.



Timely

and accurate approval of bank reconciliation, including documented review of

exceptions.



Perform

financial analysis as requested for both internal and external use.



Analyse

financial or operating data to satisfy regulatory requirements.



Assess

data for integrity and analytical purposes as and when required.



Assist

in standard or ad-hoc analyses to meet variety of management objectives.

Payments:



Verify

all vendor invoices and prepare for approval to ensure a smooth and efficient

payment processing.



Manage

invoicing and the collection of receivables and payments.



Ensure

proper recording and accuracy of all transactions related to payroll at

Regional Hub, ensuring compliance with payroll processes.



Review

and validate payroll summary reports for Regional Hub through coordination with

the relevant HR Team.



Review

the reimbursement of staff related costs, including business travel and medical

expenses.

Treasury:



Initiation

of bank transfers and deals, selecting bank transfers and deals for approval

and settlement.



Timely

review of cash position for local accounts to ensure sufficient funds on hand

for disbursements.



Primary

contact with local bank management on routine operational matters including

negotiation of exchange rate on replenishments.

Policies and

Procedures:



Contribute

to the formulation of policies and guidelines governing accounting practices at

the Regional Hub.



Provide

guidance on interpretation of IsDB Group policies and procedures, and

legislative regulations applicable for the Regional Hub.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The

ideal candidate for the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Accountant, Regional Hub

job vacancy must hold a Bachelors degree in Accounting, Finance, Business

Administration or related field.



Professional

qualifications like CA, ACCA or CPA would be preferred.



At least

five years of experience in finance and accounting, preferably in a

multilateral sector.



SAP ERP

experience.



Knowledge

of the multilateral bank sector.



Financial

Management.



Accounting.





Business

Process Knowledge.



Passion

for Excellence



Analytical

Thinking



Problem

Solving.



Advanced

MS Office skills, especially Excel.



Good

knowledge of the local regional markets and work culture in the specific

Region.

Competencies:

Core/ Behavioural:



Adaptability





Teamwork





Client

Centricity and Stakeholder Management



Motivation

to Learn and Share Knowledge



Drive

for Results

Leadership:



Change

& Transition Management



Solutions

and Result Management



Innovation

and Future Orientation



Leadership

and People Management



International

and Multicultural Collaboration



Communication

and Partnership

How to Apply:

All suitably

qualified and interested candidates who wish to join the Islamic Development

Bank are encouraged to apply online at the link below.

Click

Here

Deadline: 10th June 2020

For more of the

latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or

find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline
Advertisement

Hollywood actor Hagen Mills is dead following an 'attempted murder-suicide' in his native Kentucky.

The 29-year-old actor, who appeared in the hit FX series Baskets, reportedly tried to kill former partner Erica Price, 34, at her residence in Mayfield on Tuesday evening.

Price was allegedly shot by Mills in both the arm and chest but managed to survive and call police. Mills subsequently turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.

According to The West Kentucky Star, Price is the mother of Mills' four-year-old daughter, Mila.

The young girl was inside the home at the time, as was Price's mother. Neither were injured during the incident.

Investigators claim that Mills held the pair hostage inside the home until Price arrived at 5.45 pm. After she walked through the front door, Mills shot her multiple times. She was taken to hospital in a stable condition after contacting police.

Records from Graves County Jail in Kentucky show Mills has an extensive rap sheet.

On March 30 of this year, he was arrested and charged with first degree rape and sodomy, as well as kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine.

Prison officials told DailyMail.com Wednesday that Mills was released May 6 on a $500,000 property bond and $10,000 surety.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by DailyMail.com pertaining to that case, Mills allegedly became embroiled in an altercation with a woman outside his home sometime in March. He reportedly struck the victim with a handgun 'causing a laceration to her lip'.

The actor then allegedly forced the female victim into his home, where he raped and sodomized her. She was held inside for hours, but managed to escape the property when Mills fell asleep. The victim took herself to a local hospital for an examination.

Mills allegedly shot former partner Erica Price in both the arm and chest, but she managed to survive and call police. Mills is pictured in a 2016 social media snap with a woman tagged as Erica Price and a young girl believed to be their daughter

The fatal incident occurred inside this home in Mayfield on Tuesday evening. Mills reportedly held his young daughter and Price's mother inside the residence until Price returned

On March 30 of this year, he was arrested and charged with first degree rape and sodomy, as well as kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine

According to Mills' mother, the actor maintained homes in both Hollywood and Kentucky.

Mills grew up in the south, before he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting in the early 2010s.

He was best known for appearing in the FX comedy-drama series, Baskets, created in 2016 by Zach Galifianakis and Louis CK. The Emmy-winning show ran for four seasons and starred Galifianakis the lead role.

Mills also starred in an episode of the TV comedy Swedish Dicks, and had a role in the 2013 telemovie Bonnie & Clyde: Justified.

The actor's last listed role is the upcoming indie horror film, Star Light, set for release in August

One of Mills' former reps, Elyah Dolan, told Heavy that she had not heard from the actor since 2018, when he returned to Kentucky to 'address issues unrelated to the entertainment industry'.

'I knew him as a talented actor and horseman with that classic southern hospitality and charm. May he rest in peace,' she stated.

She did not elaborate on the 'issues' Mills was seeking to address, but the actor was frequently in trouble with the law.

Records from the Graves County Jail website show he was arrested for a DUI in 2016, wanton endangerment in 2017, and second-degree assault in 2018.

Despite burgeoning fame and photos of domestic bliss, Mills was having trouble with the law in Kentucky. He had been arrested at least four times since 2016. Mills and Price are pictured with their daughter in a 2017 snap

Mills is pictured in a 2016 social media snap. Erica Price is tagged on the right

A a GoFundMe page has been set up to support Price, who will need ongoing medical treatment for the injuries she sustained during Tuesday's incident

It's believed Mills and Price began dating in 2012 - four years before they welcomed their daughter, Mila. Price currently works as an practice nurse at Kentucky Care.

Mills began splitting his time between Hollywood and Kentucky, where Price and his baby girl were based.It remains unclear when the couple split.

Mayfield Police would not speculate as to the motive behind Mills' attempted murder-suicide.

Locals who knew Mills expressed their shock on social media Wednesday.

'Just such a sad situation for both families. I cant imagine. Prayers for his soul and for Erica Price and her family. This isnt the Hagen I knew and grew up with. You never know what someone is going through,' one old acquaintance wrote.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page has been set up to support Price, who will need ongoing medical treatment for the injuries she sustained during Tuesday's incident.

The description reads: 'Erica was involved in an incident entirely out of her control and the results of that incident have left her with injuries that needed immediate and ongoing medical treatment.

Erica has a small child to support, as a single mother. She will likely accumulate a series of expensive medical bills, and at this point it is unlikely she will return to work anytime soon.'

Mills is pictured in a scene from his 2014 show reel. The Kentucky-born star appeared in the 2013 telemovie Bonnie and Clyde: Justified

Mills appeared in the hit FX series Baskets, starring Zach Galifianakis. The Emmy-winning show ran for four seasons and was co-created by Louis CK
- National Treasury CS Ukur Yattani submitted 2020/2021 financial year budget estimates to the National Assembly in April 29

- On May 14, the CS wrote to the National Assembly indicating an additional 27.9 billion for Nairobi Metropolitan Services

- Should MPs pass the budget, NMS will be funded by the national government after Governor Mike Sonko refused to allocate it money

The Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) will no longer rely on the county government to finance its operations after the National Treasury allocated it KSh 27.9 billion in the coming financial year 2020/2021.

The newly created office will now be receiving funding, under the office of the president, directly from the National Treasury.

READ ALSO: Mhubiri aliyedai kuwaponya wagonjwa wa COVID-19 aaga dunia kutokana na ugonjwa huo

General Mohammed Badi was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to lead the Nairobi Metropolitan Service. Photo: The Standard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother buried in Bungoma

In a report by the Daily Nation, in the 2020/2021 budget estimates, CS Ukur Yattani indicated NMS needed KSh 18.6 billion for recurrent expenditure and KSh 9.32 billion for development expenditure.

Yattani had submitted the budget estimates to the National Assembly in April 29 but had not included the NMS funding and wrote a letter on May 14 indicating inclusion of NMS in the budget.

In a letter addressed to National Assembly clerk, Michael Sialai, Yattani explained that the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua had submitted the budget estimates for the NMS after the Treasurys submission to parliament, prompting the proposed amendment.

Nairobi governor Mike Sonko refused to allocate money for NMS citing inclusion of functions that were not handed over to national government. Photo: Mike Sonko

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Nurse punished for wearing only underwear, transparent PPE in male coronavirus ward

The Head of Public Service submitted the Budget Estimates for Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) after our submission to parliament. In this regard we request for inclusion of NMS budget Estimates in the National Government Budget under the Presidency, read in part the letter by Yatani.

Among other projects that were mentioned in the estimates including the Mukuru slums upgrade programme which is set to receive KSh 1.5 billion.

The budget proposals came after NMS director general Mohammed Badi raised complaints over lack of enough funds to run the county.

READ ALSO: Khalwalwe under siege after accusing Uhuru of dumping Kindiki: "You also dumped Raila for Ruto"

Badi's team had been allocated KSh 3.8 billion on April 17 from the National Treasury to help kick start its operations with KSh 2.2 billion being spent on salaries.

The new development is most likely to render Governor Mike Sonko toothless as far as matters of administering the county is concerned.

The county boss had refused to approve the County Supplementary Appropriation Bill of 2020 which had allocated money for the NMS.

The flamboyant governor accused the ward representatives of allocating money to NMS for some functions that were never transferred to the national government.

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
Google Earth

The Comal County Sheriff's Office is investigating the drowning of man at Canyon Lake earlier this week.

County officials identified the drowning victim as 25-year-old Jhonatan Zavaleta from Houston. First responders received a call around 4 p.m. Monday, about five minutes after he went missing, for a possible drowning at the Comal Park Swim Beach.
The onboarding process enables the NHS to save time and money at a critical time, allowing fully remote sign-ups to the app

iProov and NHS technology proven to manage unprecedented increase in demand

iProov, the world leader in spoof-resistant, biometric authentication technology, today announced that its technology has been deployed to verify users signing up to NHS login across Android and iOS. Following an initial launch on Android, iProov's technology is now available on the iOS version of the NHS App.

This enables users in England to create their NHS login remotely, securely and conveniently at a time when they need it most, removing the need for manual and in-person verifications. The NHS App allows for easy and fast access to essential services such as GP appointments, access to medical records and ordering repeat prescriptions.

iProov's Flashmark facial verification technology is now used by users to create an NHS login through the NHS App. Once a user submits a photo of their identity document, such as a valid passport or driving licence, they will be prompted to position their face correctly on the screen. Following a short sequence of flashing colours, the user's identification will be verified and they will be able to access all the information and services the NHS App has to offer, following completion of all other checks including matching a user to their medical record.

The iProov process verifies that an individual is a real person, the right person, and is authenticating themselves right now. This protects against the risk of identity theft while giving people quicker and more convenient access to vital services wherever they are. It also frees up valuable NHS resources and saves money, as NHS Digital now needs to process far fewer manual applications. More than a million people have now registered with NHS login, with a peak of over 60,000 new IDs verified during the first week of April. The combined iProov and NHS solution has proven its ability to cope with an unprecedented increase in demand.

Andrew Bud, Founder and CEO, iProov said: "The NHS login service is now a proven, secure, inclusive and effective way for citizens to verify and use their identity for health-related purposes. We have been very impressed by what the NHS Digital team has accomplished, by their agility and professionalism, and by the boldness of their vision.

"This is particularly important in the current climate in which demand is unprecedented and the need for convenient and robust remote identity verification is crucial. We are delighted to be playing our part."

Melissa Ruscoe, Programme Head for NHS login, said: "iOS users are now able to benefit from faster automatic identity verification when creating their NHS login, giving them a single safe and secure way to access their digital healthcare services such as the NHS App.

"Over the past couple of months we have seen a surge in demand in people registering for an NHS login as they look to manage their health digitally.

"More automated tools like this will help us to improve the experience of our users, increase demand capacity and ensure nobody is waiting too long to complete identity verification checks to gain access to their digital healthcare services."

In addition to NHS login, iProov's unique patented technology is used to verify identities in the Home Office 'EU Exit: ID Document Check' app which enables European citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme. iProov also provides governments, banks and other enterprises with Genuine Presence Assurance, including the US Department for Homeland Security, allowing them to authenticate users remotely on smartphones or other devices.

ENDS

About?iProov

Founded in 2011,?iProov?is a world leader in spoof-resistant, biometric facial authentication technology. Its technology is used by banks and governments around the world for secure customer onboarding, logon and authentication, to ensure new and returning users are genuine, and to guard against fraudulent attempts to gain access to personal data. For more information, see?www.iproov.com.

About NHS login

NHS login is a service that has been created by the NHS for patients and the public. It provides a re-usable way for patients to access multiple digital health and social care services with a single login, which includes authentication for returning users.

NHS login can be used by the public to securely access their health and care information wherever they see the NHS login button. People can use NHS login to prove who they are safely and securely and, in most cases, without the need to visit their GP.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005254/en/

Contacts:

PR contacts

Tyto

Lauren Armour

lauren.armour@tytopr.com

+44 203 026 000

NHS Digital

Tom Donnelly

Thomas.donnelly@nhs.net

07864 690124
Officers searched the home of the two men accused of killing Ahmed Arbery for two hours yesterday evening, it has been revealead.

Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took their time while going through the property on Tuesday evening.

The father and son shot dead Arbery, 25, while he was out on a jog in February.

Officers at the property of Gregory and Travis McMichael in Brunswick on Tuesday evening, above and below

Gregory (left) and Travis McMichael (right) have both been charged with murder and aggravated assault over the February 23 shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Arbery was killed after white former cop Gregory McMichael, 64, and his son Travis McMichael, 34, trailed him in their white pick-up truck after he jogged past their yard.

The lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family said the 25-year-old was chased for four minutes before being gunned down.

The McMichaels allegedly believed Arbery was a burglary suspect, and they trailed him in their pick-up truck.

Officers searched the home of the two men accused of killing Ahmed Arbery for two hours yesterday evening, including vehicles parked outside

Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took their time while going through the property on Tuesday evening

The officers had a search warrant to look for evidence inside the house

Footage shows the GBI agents outside the McMichael's property in Brunswick, Georgia, yesterday evening. The officers had a search warrant to look for evidence inside the house.

The officers were not only seen searching inside the house, but also in vehicles parked outside and a boat dock in the backyard, WSB-TV reported.

It comes after cell phone footage showing the incident went viral on social media earlier this month, sparking outrage.

The video showed the McMichaels trailing Arbery before they stopped and became embroiled in an altercation with him. He was then fatally shot by Travis McMichael.

Shocking cellphone video captured the moment the McMichaels confronted Arbery in the street. In the footage Travis is seen engaging in a physical fight with Arbery before shooting him with a shotgun

The cell phone footage was taken by William 'Roddie' Bryan, a neighbor of the McMichaels.

Two weeks ago, it was revealed that Bryan's footage of the attack was actually leaked to the media by a friend of the McMichaels - who though the vision would clear them of any crime.

Attorney Alan Tucker told Inside Edition Friday that he was responsible for releasing the footage, which showed the McMichaels engaged in a fatal altercation with Arbery in Brunswick on February 23.

Arbery's death has sparked nationwide outrage

'I really thought releasing the video would put the truth out to the public,' Tucker stated.

'If he [Arbery] had just froze and hadn't done anything, then he wouldn't have been shot.'

However after the video was uploaded to the internet it quickly went viral and sparked nationwide outrage. Presumptive Democratic nominee for President Joe Biden said it showed the McMichaels killing Aubrey 'in cold blood'.

Three years before Arbery, 25, was shot dead by a white former cop and his son while jogging in February, he had a tense encounter with police officers in Glynn County, Georgia.

Police bodycam footage shows officers in Georgia trying to use a taser on Ahmaud Arbery while his hands were up and he was unarmed in 2017.

In November 2017, Officer Micheal Kanago reportedly approached Arbery after he suspected him of using marijuana and questioned why he was sitting alone in his car.

Arbery adds that it's his day off from working at Blue Beacon Truck Wash.

Arbery is pictured right with his mom Wanda Jones, The lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family said the 25-year-old was chased for four minutes before being gunned down

Ahmaud Arbery and his mother Wanda Cooper Jones are pictured in another social media snap

'You want to know why I'm f****** with you?' Kanago asks, before instructing Arbery to remove his hands from his pocket.

Kanago later claimed to have felt threatened by Arbery and later wrote that 'veins were popping from [Arberys] chest, which made me feel that he was becoming enraged and may turn physically violent towards me.'

At the time, Kanago requested help from an additional officer.

'Youre bothering me for nothing,' Arbery says to Kanago in bodycam footage.

Arbery continues to question the officer, who soon admits that the area is well known for drug use and criminal activity.

'Criminal activity? Im in a f****** park. I work,' Arbery says.

David Haney, the second officer at the scene, arrives minutes later and yells at Arbery to remove his hands from his pockets, which he did.

Police released video Tuesday of Arbery's December 1, 2017, arrest outside a Brunswick Walmart store on shoplifting charges

Arbery and his friends were detained in the parking lot and quizzed about a stolen TV by cops

Arbery is detained after an employee identifies him as the suspect who tried to take the television

That's when Haney tries to use a taser on Arbery. However the taser did not work.

'I get one day off a weekIm up early in the morning trying to chill,' Arbery told the officers.

'Im just so aggravated because I work hard, six days a week.'

Arbery is eventually released by the officers, but barred from driving his car because his license is expired.

Lawyers with Arbery's family described the incident as 'a situation where Ahmaud was harassed by Glynn county police officers.'

They told The Guardian that there was 'no justifiable reason' for Arbery to be confronted with a taser.

An officer tried to use a taser on Ahmaud Arbery (pictured) during an interaction in 2017 but the taser did not work

Additionally, they suggested that the video is proof that Glynn County police have unfairly targeted Arbery in the past.

'This appears to be just a glimpse into the kind of scrutiny Ahmaud Arbery faced not only by this police department, but ultimately regular citizens like the McMichaels and their posse, pretending to be police officers,' a statement read.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Arbery was placed on probation in 2013 for having a gun while at a high school basket ball game.

He was later charged with shoplifting and violating his probation in 2018. Arbery's family lawyer's said those charges are unrelated to his death.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tennessee Poll, conducted April 22-May 1 by the Applied Social Research Lab at East Tennessee State University, sought to take a snapshot of the state's potential voters in advance of the 2020 general election. At this time, it is impossible to predict who will vote in November, but 52.8% of the eligible voting population in Tennessee cast a ballot in 2016, so turnout could be similar in 2020. The Tennessee Poll asked respondents how likely they are to vote in November 2020, and 83% said that they definitely will vote (67%) or will likely vote (16%). For the purposes of discussing the elections, the 17% who said they would definitely not vote (9%), likely would not vote (6%) or were not sure (2%) were omitted from questions about voting in 2020.

There is a strong relationship between how closely one follows the news and the likelihood of voting. One third of those who don't follow national news at all say that they definitely will not vote in the November general election. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship.

Tennesseans are more likely to closely follow national news than state news. Seventy-two percent of Tennessee adults follow national news either very closely (32%) or somewhat closely (40%), whereas only 62% follow state news either very closely (19%) or somewhat closely (43%). Interest in both national and state news increases with age, with 48% of those aged 55 and older following national news "very closely" in contrast to 18% of those 18 to 34 years old.

For a plurality of respondents (37%), local papers and/or local television stations are among their primary sources of news. The second most common primary news source is Fox News (31 percent), followed by national network news (24 percent), national public radio or television (15 percent), and CNN (14 percent). While 48 percent of respondents cited only one primary source of news, 49% cited more than one primary source. On average, respondents cited 1.8 sources, and no source is more likely than another to be a sole source of news.

Voting Preferences

A snapshot of Tennesseans who expressed some likelihood of voting (n=536) favors President Donald Trump (53%) to Joe Biden (36%) in the November 2020 presidential contest. Among Republicans, 94% support the President's re-election, whereas only 4% of Democrats say they would vote for Mr. Trump. The story for Independents, however, is much more complicated; Independents favor Trump over Biden by a 10-percentage point margin (37% to 27%), but 22% of Independents say they will vote for another candidate, and 14% remain uncertain. In 2016, Trump took all but three counties in Tennessee, winning overall with 60.7% of the state's popular vote, to 34.7% for his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. These new data suggest that there has been little to no change in electoral support for Donald Trump in the Volunteer State.

Support for President Trump is greatest in East Tennessee where 65% of respondents said they would vote for Trump if the election were held that day, as opposed to only 27% who said they would vote for Bidena margin of 38 percentage points. In Middle Tennessee, Trump's margin over Biden is 10 percentage points (49% and 39% respectively), and in West Tennessee, Biden leads by a mere two percentage points, a statistical tie. (see Figure 2)

A plurality (43%) of Tennesseans who said they were likely to vote want to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander with another Republican; 26% prefer a Democratic candidate and another 26% say the party of Alexander's successor does not matter. Not surprisingly, a vast majority of Republicans want to keep the Senate seat in the Republican camp; it should be noted that the support for keeping the Senate seat Republican is lower than support for re-electing the President among Republicans, and the support for a Democrat to take the Senate seat among Democrats (71%) is considerably lower than their support for Biden's candidacy. The importance of holding the Senate seat among Republicans and taking it for a Democratic candidate among Democrats increases with levels of education; those with college degrees are more likely to think that party control of the Senate seat matters.

On the generic ballot for House races, Tennessee adults who are likeliest to vote favor Republican candidates to Democratic candidates by a 13-percentage-point margin. The margin of difference is greatest among those aged 35 to 54 (a 25-point margin) and smallest among 18- to 34-year-olds (a 9-point margin favoring Republican candidates). Of those who get their news from Fox News, 74% say they will vote Republican in their House contest in November, as opposed to 17% who say they will vote Democrat. Those getting their news from local television and newspapers or from national networks (ABC, CBC, or NBC) are also more likely to support the Republican candidate, although by a much smaller margin (see Figure 3). The viewers of CNN and/or MSNBC, on the other hand, are much more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate.

Although statewide, 48% of Tennessee adults favor the Republican candidate for the House, compared to 35% that favor the Democrat, there are some dramatic regional differences. In West Tennessee, respondents favor Democratic candidates for the house (45 percent) to Republican opponents (41%) by a small margin. Middle Tennessee adults favor Republican House candidates (41 percent) to Democrats (37%) by an equally small margin. In East Tennessee, on the other hand, 61% of respondents said they would vote for the Republican House candidate, while only 26% said they would vote Democrat.

Voting by Mail

Given the complexities from the COVID-19 pandemic, some have proposed that the 2020 general election this coming November be conducted by mail. President Trump has come out strongly against voting by mail, and the debate has taken on a partisan tone. A recent Gallup Poll found 64% of American adults favor "allowing all voters to vote by mail or absentee ballot in this year's presidential election," and 34% opposed.i Tennesseans are much more divided on the issue.

In general, Tennessee adults are more likely to oppose voting by mail as an option. The recent Tennessee Poll split its sample into two randomly assigned groups who received two different questions related to voting by mail:

Group One: "Do you favor or oppose requiring voting by mail in the 2020 general election?"

Group Two: "Do you think every Tennessean should have the option of voting by mail in the next general election, or should vote-by-mail options only be given to those who are physically unable to vote in person?"

The question put to Group One used the term "requiring," making it clear that voting in-person was not an option. The question for Group Two presented the controversy as an option for voters to make a choice. Despite the differences in question wording, there is no statistical difference between the two groups in levels of support for voting by mail. This suggests that opinions on the issue of voting by mail are fairly well-fixed since variance in question wording has no impact.

Tennesseans are closely divided on the question of voting by mail, but there are major partisan differences. The majority of Republicans oppose voting by mail while the majority of Democrats support it. Independents, however, while more likely to support the option, are more influenced by the question wording than are partisans, as illustrated in Table 1.

Currently, to vote by mail in Tennessee, a voter must qualify for an absentee ballot. The requirements are that one will be away at the time of election or is disabled and not able to go to the polling place. The list of requirements is on the Tennessee Secretary of State's web site.ii

About the Tennessee Poll

The Tennessee Poll is conducted by the Applied Social Research Lab (ASRL) in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at East Tennessee State University. ASRL is directed by Dr. Kelly N. Foster, associate professor of sociology.

For detailed information on The Tennessee Poll, including methodology, additional analysis, and information about the authors, please visit www.etsu.edu/asrl/tnpoll.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Hill

[email protected]

i Younis, Mohamed. "Most Americans Favor Voting by Mail as Option in November." Gallup Poll, May 12, 2020. Accessed online on May 12, 2020, at https://news.gallup.com/poll/310586/americans-favor-voting-mail-option-november.aspx

ii Requirements for absentee voting by mail in Tennessee: https://sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting#1

SOURCE East Tennessee State University

Related Links

https://www.etsu.edu


An almost empty Waterloo Station in London at 9am in May as the country continues in lockdown to help stop the spread of coronavirus. (AP)

While England has seen some lockdown restrictions relaxed, scientists have urged a full reopening of society to get the country back on its feet.

Boris Johnson announced an easing of some lockdown restrictions, which were brought in to stop the spread of coronavirus, earlier this month.

However, the easing measures  which include allowing unlimited exercise and a potential reopening of schools  do not go far enough, according to Tom Jefferson and Carl Heneghan from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM).

They argue that there is now no alternative but to end lockdown in order to start the engine of society again.

Boris Johnson announced the relaxation of some lockdown measures earlier this month. (AP)

They said: Lockdown must be lifted in short order, simply because there is no alternative.

To run essential services, we need taxes to be paid into state coffers. That is not possible if the economy is halted.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

The government is considering a partial reopening of schools at the start of June, something Heneghan and Jefferson strongly support.

They added: The education of a generation of schoolchildren will be blighted.

We have the impression that politicians boxed in a corner are reluctant to let go of the strings and the media are incapable of seeing a bigger picture, grounded on what we know of previous pandemics and the little we know of this one.

The pair argue the government and their scientific advisers should not be subject to an inquest or criticism, which is not constructive, saying they made decisions on good faith.

People settle to enjoy the good weather on the beach in Margate, Kent, after the introduction of measures to bring the country out of lockdown. (AP)

They added: Any questioning and examination of events should take place very soon, not to castigate or score points but to learn the lessons and implement those changes that could see us more ready for any future similar challenges, be they six months or 100 years ahead.

Research has suggested that a rolling cycle of 50 days of strict lockdown measures followed by 30 days of easing of restrictions could be an "effective" approach for managing COVID-19 until there is a vaccine.

Story continues

This model would keep intensive care demand within capacity and "may allow populations and their national economies to 'breathe' at intervals", according to a study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

There are currently no effective treatments for coronavirus, and a vaccine that is widely available is likely to be at least a year away.

A continuous three-month strategy of suppression measures, such as strict physical distancing and lockdown, would reduce new coronavirus cases to near zero in most countries, the study indicated.

Looser mitigation strategies such as hygiene rules and shielding of vulnerable groups would require approximately six-and-a-half months to reach the same point, according to the research.

But the study suggested that such prolonged lockdowns would be unsustainable in most countries due to the potential knock-on effects on the economy and livelihoods.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter
I started my career as a Highwayman in 1960 when I went to work for the Nevada State Highway Department on the first Interstate 80 construction project in Nevada at Verdi. After working in various capacities, I was appointed to work in the NDOT construction office in Carson City. On a team with two other engineers, we processed payments to the contractors and wrote the final reports on all the highway construction projects statewide. This involved traveling to the construction field offices on every project along the route of Interstate 80 in northern Nevada and Interstate 15 in southern Nevada.

In the 1960s through the 1980s, the largest highway construction program ever attempted was commenced. This crossed over the Great American Desert of Nevada. It included construction of the Interstate 80 Freeway route across Northern Nevada connecting Verdi, Reno, Sparks, Lovelock, Winnemucca, Battle Mountain Carlin, Elko, Wells and Wendover.

At about the same time, the Interstate 15 route across the southern part of the state through Las Vegas to Mesquite was being constructed. The population of the American West had reached the level where major east-west highway transportation could no longer be handled on narrow, two-lane highways winding their way through the mountains and deserts of Nevada. Truck transportation had largely replaced railroad transportation due to the convenience of direct point-to-point delivery. Automobile transportation had blossomed due to westward migration and the growing tourist industry.

Increasingly, political pressure forced the creation of the Interstate Highway system to meet the needs of the traveling public. Other states had begun their Interstate systems much earlier. Nevada was often considered nothing more than a vast desert that had to be crossed in order to reach California in the least time possible. Certainly, a state with a comparatively small population could not afford to construct the hundreds of miles of Interstate highways across such vast distances without some financial assistance. People and freight had to have good roads to travel through this rugged country.

The only way this could be accomplished was through Federal funding assistance. Revenue for the construction program was obtained mostly from state and federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes. The Federal Highway Trust Fund was created to provide this assistance. In Nevada, the funds were allocated on a 90-10 percentage basis with the state having to provide only 10% of the funds.

The demand for personnel with the required skills to design, engineer and build this system created a sudden strain on the work forces available at that time. As a result, a curious collection of characters stepped forward to fill the demand and staff the crews of contractors, surveyors, inspectors, testers, engineers and design personnel

The tremendous influx of money pouring into small Nevada towns created conditions similar to the old mining camp boomtown days. Small town bars, restaurants, motels, and boarding houses thrived on the windfall of prosperity brought about by the construction crews.

The only major cities on the southern I-15 route were Las Vegas and Mesquite. Since construction of the system, many of the smaller towns have grown to become substantial larger communities, primarily due to the prosperity brought about by proximity to the Interstate.

Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Aussie Ruby Rose has departed the lead role as Batwoman after a single season, with the character now to be recast.

The announcement comes just two days after the shows season finale.

Rose was critically received in the role as a lesbian superhero, but the move by producer Greg Berlanti, did attract some criticism on social media.

I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season, said Rose. This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success  I am truly grateful.

The CW, Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions said jointly, Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best. The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwomans second season and long-term future, and we  along with the shows talented creative team  look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months.

Batwoman was forced to end its season early due to the coronavirus pandemic at 20 of a planned 22 episodes. It was renewed for a second season in January.

It screens in Australia on FOX8.

Source: Hollywood Reporter
The Ahmedabad Municipal



Corporation on Wednesday served notices to 16 private hospitals for refusing to admit COVID-19 patients referred to them by the civic body.

In the notices served under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the AMC has alleged that despite its order and an appeal made by Ahmedabad Medical Association, 16 hospitals had refused to cooperate and provide beds for COVID-19 patients.

The civic body had declared 16 hospitals as designated COVID-19 facilities in an order on May 16 and directed them to provide 50 per cent of their beds for patients referred by the AMC, a release stated.

Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who is overseeing the AMC's coronavirus operation, confirmed that notices were served to 16 private hospitals for non-compliance of the civic authority's order under Epidemic Diseases Act.

Notices were served to major hospitals including Sterling Hospital, Life Care Hospital, SAL Hospital, Rajasthan Hospital, SFVP Hospital, Global Hospital and Sardar Hospital.

The release stated that notices were served to these hospitals for "deliberately and willingly disobeying and causing grave prejudice to the safety and security of the public at large".

The civic body has also warned of action "under civil and criminal law, including filing of FIR, against erring hospitals", the release read.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases, government hospitals are swamped with patients, because of which the AMC had designated these private hospitals as dedicated COVID-19 facilities.

The worst-hit district in Gujarat, Ahmedabad has recorded 8,945 cases so far, of which 576 patients have succumbed to the infection.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
'Thy soul is by vile fear assailed, which oft so overcasts a man, that he recoils from noblest resolution, like a beast at some false semblance in the twilight of gloom.' The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri (14th century)

Andrea Widburg, in her American Thinker article "Pennsylvania's Governor Wolf and the caring face of totalitarianism," highlighted Gov. Tom Wolf's COVID-19 total lockdown of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, only now partially easing.

Wolf's approach has been the same as governors in other Democrat-run states: promise a short lockdown to "flatten the curve" to protect the health care system, and then shift the goalposts to a seemingly permanent lockdown, or semi-lockdown, status until the virus is gone or there is a vaccine.

There is a political subtext to Wolf's grand design, and something uber-fishy about the statistics being reported from Philadelphia, and fishier still, the draconian decisions upon which they are based.

Take a look:

Because of the COVID-19 emergency, Pennsylvania's primary scheduled for April 28 was pushed back to June 2. In Pennsylvania's primaries, registered voters pick only from the candidates of their respective parties. With mounting cases and reported deaths, the date change seemed plausibly rational and didn't raise much dissent. That was then.

Wolf also divided Pennsylvania into three colors: red, yellow, and green. COVID cases, per county, were highest at red and lowest at green. The colors were based on number of cases reported, deaths, and hospital beds available. While the closings were targeted in early March, by March 16, Wolf ordered all schools closed. By April 1, regardless of county color allocation, all estimated that 12.9 million Pennsylvanians were under strict stay at home mandate. If not deemed an essential worker or business, the mandate ordered one to venture from home only for groceries, drugs, and takeout food orders.

On May 8, 2020, the first lifting of the stay-at-home mandate was accorded to those counties that passed a new calculus. Once a county had an average of fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 residents for 14 days, it could shift from the red total lockdown to yellow. It didn't matter if that county was already coded yellow or green; it still shifted from the omnipresent red to yellow. Even in yellow, the restrictions are severe. Fitness clubs, movies, and casinos remained closed, as did restaurants and bars; restaurants that could offered take-out via home delivery or curbside pick-up. Essential businesses, such as Costco, Walmart, and Target, that were permitted to remain open throughout, still had to maintain employee and customer social distancing and heavy daily cleaning. Additional counties have slowly been permitted to open in code yellow mode, but not Philadelphia or the populous suburbs surrounding the city.

Philadelphia and its adjacent suburbs currently trapped in the red zone, as noted above, are scheduled to open on June 4, two days after the primary election. Originally envisioned as a normal election day, it is currently a quagmire. Previously, all voting was done in person; absentee voting was permitted only for illness, disability, or absence from the state on the date of the election. Moreover, the application process itself was laborious, and tight control of absentee ballots was maintained at the end of election night at each polling location. For this primary, any registered voter who applies for an absentee ballot will purportedly receive one, due to COVID-19 and the stay at home mandate for those residents still in code red counties. While these residents can vote in person, the vast majority are fearful. Too many reports of unfulfilled absentee ballot requests have been reported. Additionally, voting in person, while still permitted, has become more confusing and difficult, especially for the elderly. All traditional polling places have been shuttered and clumped together in public school locations. Admittedly, a few polling locations already existed in schools; for most voters, though, these physical changes create more distant, unfamiliar, and less accessible locations.

More bothersome is the issue of changed poll workers, who in Pennsylvania are elected and generally known to their constituents. Most are elderly, retired, and professional. They have been trained and brook no nonsense. With the consolidation of polling places, the elected poll workers not afraid to work and a host of unknown substitutes have been reassigned. Added to this cauldron of confusion is a staggering number of absentee ballots already received. How will they be handled, tallied, and controlled? Thankfully, there are few contested races in the primary, making the stakes low.

But is this a precedent-setting scenario for the presidential election in November, and a naked attempt at election theft? Surely not.

During the past weekend, attorneys were stunned by the news from the president judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that all criminal and civil trials were postponed until Sept. 8, 2020. Since the courts have been closed since March 16, that indicates a lack of a functioning judicial system for almost six months. What happened to respect for the Constitution? The Sixth (VI) Amendment to the Constitution reads in pertinent part: 'In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district shall have been committed'. Undoubtedly, former President Obama, in his risible concern for the preservation of our Constitution should bite his tongue. In addition to Pennsylvania's Democrat Governor, the mayor of Philadelphia is a Democrat, as is the District Attorney.

The mandates and closing are suspect because the COVID-19 statistics don't add up. As of May18, 2020, Pennsylvania had a total confirmed COVID-19 cases of 63,056 and 4,505 deaths. Of these, Philadelphia County had 16,340 reported cases and 1,080 deaths. In Philadelphia's surrounding counties, Montgomery County reported 6,012 cases with 566 deaths, Delaware County reported 5,689 cases with 456 deaths, Bucks County reported 4,516 cases with 417 deaths, and Chester reported 2,153 cases with 227 deaths. Philadelphia reported approximately 1/3 of the deaths were at nursing/assisted living homes, while the suburbs reported those deaths at approximately 65-70%. On May 17, Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai, a Republican, issued a report based on statistics he had received from the Governor's State Secretary of Health, Rachel Levine, M.D. She reported that as of May 15, 2020, there were 4,342 deaths and that 2,991 of those had occurred at nursing homes, personal care homes, and assisted living facilities, equaling 69% of all deaths.

What gives? Why is Philadelphia's death rate ratio to confirmed cases so much smaller than that of its neighboring suburbs? Similarly, why are the assisted living facility deaths so much lower? And, if both sets of statistics are accurate, why have the Philadelphia courts slammed shut their doors?

Lynne Lechter is a practicing attorney and litigator in Philadelphia, and an elected member of the Pennsylvania State Republican Committee.

Image credit: Jokullmusic via Wikipedia, public domain.

Correction: primary date corrected to June 2not 4
There was no dearth of recommendation letters for some of the bright Indian students planning to pursue quality education in the United States.

The COVID-19 crisis has put their Ivy League plans on hold. The letters are now comforting notes of their talent. But all is not lost, as a handful of Indian universities, perceived by some to be equivalent of Ivy League schools, are offering quality education at lesser fees, in times of changed circumstances due to COVID-19.

News18.com spoke to the vice-chancellors of these universities and other educationists on what lies ahead as the dream of studying abroad takes a backseat for students.

'Liberal Education in Private Universities Attractive for Students'

COVID-19 has imposed challenges on higher-education institutions across the world. The Ivy League colleges are also going through a tough time in trying to cope with the unprecedented conditions.

The vice-chancellor of Shiv Nadar University, Rupamanjari Ghosh, said that it is ultimately a question of high-quality education  both in content and delivery. And the added advantage in a place like Shiv Nadar University in India, she said, is the affordability of this quality education.

Considering these parameters, Ghosh said, her university is a suitable alternative to the Ivy League institutes. While talking about content delivery, she said, Traditional 'Liberal Arts' is not restricted to just arts subjects, it includes science and mathematics. It is thus 'Liberal Studies' that allows a student to follow 'liberal' pursuits, free of boundaries, and aims to break the mould of education in silos.

From the beginning, said Ghosh, her university realised the importance of a broad-based, comprehensive education in today's context and started offering what I call an integrated STEAM education (a combination of STEM and Art & Design), which is poised to transform the economy of the 21st Century, just as science and technology did in the last century with STEM. This is the future of liberal arts education, she said, and that future is already being taught at SNU".

The vice-chancellor of Ashoka University, Malabika Sarkar, said that the Covid-19 pandemic has made many Indian students reconsider their overseas education plans but they have a reason to be relieved. Fortunately, they have the option of applying to places like Ashoka University for their higher education. We are seeing evidence in our ongoing admissions process that they are taking up that option, she said.

Ashoka is Indias premier Liberal Arts and Sciences institution, and provides a similar quality of education for which students would get abroad, at a significantly lower cost, said Sarkar. They have world-renowned faculty members who have PhDs from, and have taught at, the worlds best universities, she added. The university provides a Liberal Arts and Sciences education on par with that which students would get in the West, at a lower cost, Sarkar said.

The university also provides financial aid to students who cannot afford their higher education. For the last couple of years, we have been seeing the trend that students who earlier used to go to the West for their education are now seeing premier institutions such as Ashoka as the natural destination, as awareness has risen that an Ashoka education is on par with recognised global best practices, said Sarkar.

Some of these private elite universities offering liberal studies and education have always been in touch with the changing academic demands of the 21st century, as Sarkar added, Ashoka provides breadth in education and depth in learning. In addition to receiving a broad-based liberal arts education, students get to choose their major and switch majors if they need to. They also have the choice to major in interdisciplinary specialisations.

With the lure of liberal studies attracting students to other higher education institutions, OP Jindal Global University is open to the change in demands. "Changing academic demands are a reflection of the myriad challenges facing the world today. We intend to continue to address these challenges through new programmes in environment and sustainability as well as psychology and mental health," said Arya B Majumdar, Dean, Admissions and Outreach.

The university has already partnered with over 250 universities worldwide and its students regularly engage in student mobility programmes such as summer abroad programmes, semester exchange and dual degree programmes. "Moving forward, we do expect to build more partnerships in terms of numbers and engagement," he said.

'New Elite Campuses Offering Hybrid Solution'

Shiv Nadar University had realised the gravity of the situation early, and moved all courses to online mode on March 16, 2020, even for students who were still on campus, during the spring semester break the previous week, Ghosh said. Agility has been the key to be able to plan and face the challenges optimistically. Our courses, industry and academia talks, concerts and club activities have all moved to different online platforms, she said.

The faculty has ensured the continuity of teaching-learning and engagement of students while keeping their health, wellness and career opportunities in mind. The focus has been minimum loss of time in the semester. The SNU plans to start the next session on August 3, 2020.

In this mode of delivery and even otherwise, what has always been central in their thinking is the "student experience", said Ghosh. In this time the faculty gained a remarkable understanding of digital delivery. They found that their students are dying to come back to the campus. Students pay tuition fees in the Ivy League schools and elsewhere to get enriching campus experience, socialising and learning with peers, she said and added, This experience is central to education. But now with digital transactions everywhere, students are missing this more than ever. It is becoming clear that the hybrid or blended model is here to stay.

Shiv Nadar University is not going to outsource teaching, which carries its brand, but will use the best of professionally developed digital quality content and physical hands-on learning in its laboratories and studios for a functional hybrid model, Ghosh said. The focus is on reliable testing, enhanced partnerships with international universities in SNU.

The handful of universities promising liberal studies and arts have focused on the seamless delivery of education. Recently, Ashoka was awarded the E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitisation (E-LEAD) certification by QS-IGAUGE, a renowned global college and varsity rating initiative, as shared by the V-C of the university.

Apart from being swift in their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, campus hygiene, safety of students and staff, they ensured no interruption in teaching learning experience, said Sarkar. With these new challenges Ashoka began online classes from mid-March itself, ensuring seamless academic continuity without the loss of even one day of studies she said, informing that they have also upgraded internet plans at no cost for students who are on 100% financial aid, in order for them to access classes from their hometowns and villages. Sessions are also recorded for students to access later. The university is equipped to continue hosting classes and providing other services online for a prolonged period of time, if deemed necessary, said Sarkar.

Much like other universities, OP Jindal Global University has also moved its classes and modes of learning online. It is one of the few universities to have received the E-Learning Excellence for Academic Digitisaton (E-LEAD) Certification from the coveted QS IGAUGE for E-learning excellence. "This certification means that JGU is now a globally recognised higher education institution to offer online education programmes benchmarked with best global practices," said Majumdar. It is making preparations to ensure social distancing both within and outside the classroom.

Tweaks in Admission for New Crowd

There is evidence that those who preferred going to USA for education have thought about applying in these universities like OP Jindal, Ashoka, KREA and Shiv Nadar. This is clearly the fallout of the fact that Ivy League schools in the US are not above the pandemic. These institutions are also going to recalibrate themselves in the new scenario. For many, financial sustenance comes from hefty fees paid by a large number of international students. Some of the Indian alternatives to them charge much less for the courses they offer, said Ghosh.

Those who do not want to leave the country for an uncertain and expensive education outside can join the "institution of eminence". But there wont be an increase in seats.

For the candidates who were outbound, SNU has expanded and modified its undergraduate admission process. This is the first time that domestic candidates can apply through their original college board SAT scores. Their own online admission tests (SNU-SAT & APT) for the academic session 2020-21 are being remotely proctored, using an AI mechanism that is secure and ensures anti-cheating surveillance.

Additionally, students scoring above 80 percentile in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Mains are eligible to apply directly into the School of Engineering and School of Natural Sciences.

In Ashoka, they have a holistic admissions process, involving not just the students academic performance but also their co-curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as an on-the-spot essay and interview", said the V-C

Sarkar added, Importantly for students who had planned to go abroad, we recognise SAT and ACT scores and can make an offer of admission without waiting for their Board results.

Ashoka university has partnerships with close to 20 top global universities including Yale, UPenn, UMichigan, Duke, Kings College London, Sciences Po, HEC Paris, and many others.

This gives their students unmatched access to exchange programmes, summer abroad programmes and semester abroad programmes, the V-C said. As the world deals with the pandemic, collaborations with international universities for purposes such as research in domains ranging from biosciences to economics can help strengthen the response of India and the world to Covid-19, she said.

OP Jindal's administration is expecting "similar to the Great Recession of 2008-09 the lack of employment opportunities in the west, particularly in the US, will be crucial in students aspiration to study and eventually work abroad. Instead, we envisage that Indian students will continue studying in India and choose to pursue higher education abroad in later years," added Majumdar.

'We Need More HEIs to Serve as Ivy League Alternatives'

As per Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the educational rankings agency, nearly half of the students around the world with plans to study abroad are considering deferment. This also revealed that a fifth of them are considering finding an alternative destination or drop the plans altogether.

The AISHE report 2019 tells us that there are 385 universities which are privately managed out of the 993 universities in the country. The total enrolment in higher education has been estimated to be 37.4 million. Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher education in India is 26.3%, which is calculated for the 18-23 years age group.

According to the 2019 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange, for six years the total number of Indians pursuing higher education in the United States has grown steadily. From 2018 it recorded an increase of almost three per cent.

We need large number of good quality higher education institutions (HEIs) to absorb the teeming aspirations of students dropping the plans to study in an Ivy League college. In fact, many of them left for an HEI in the US because of lack of such HEIs here and not having got admission in any of the handful that currently exist in our country, said Associate Professor Rishikesh BS in the School of Education of Azim Premji University.

He added, The number of students wanting to go out has increased every year as per the higher education surveys. Now, if all of them start looking for admissions within the country due to the pandemic, I dont see wide enough absorption capacity within the country currently.

In his view, even if the current good quality HEIs increase their admission quota (so far they are not) it will not be sufficient unless the entire higher education system raises its quality. The crisis, he believes, can change some things at a faster pace, and there can be an opportunity to overhaul the system leading to establishment of good quality private HEIs that are not commercial ventures and at the same time transform the public universities into high quality ones by reforming the governance and regulation structures.

Rishikesh said, In this dearth of Indian Ivy League schools, the real hope is in our public universities. They will have to transform and make themselves attractive for which one of the key aspects is to situate the entire higher education system within the country in a liberal education framework as suggested by the draft of New Education Policy 2019.

In fact, he added, Many students go outside the country seeking such a liberal education environment. This liberal education framework makes universities outside attractive to our students, so if we transform our system in that manner we could also become attractive.

Rishikesh said he understands that this entails not only operating under a liberal education framework, it also brings in many other critical changes. For instance, this transformation would entail greater financial and administrative autonomy for public universities.

For private universities also to follow that model it requires rethinking and infusion of funds. So the downside of this autonomy and transformation could mean higher expenses and thereby higher per student cost. Therefore, it is crucial that a large number of scholarships should be made available by the government and the private HEIs should be mandated to provide freeships and scholarships to a certain percentage of their admission intake, he said.

Currently, though there are hundreds of private universities in the country, most do not match the global standards, Rishikesh said, adding that a lot of them are market-driven and education is a commercial concept. Many of them are single-discipline institutions, and they lack the physical and mental space, thought and vision, he said. However, other than the few very good ones, there are also many private HEIs in the middle rung that are performing alright which the government should encourage along with making the public universities high-quality institutions, he added.

The idea of a liberal education framework that offers integration of courses, rigorous exposure to different disciplines from arts and humanities to the sciences, mathematics and other professional fields, flexible curricular structures which allow for creative combinations of study, integration of vocational education and multiple entry/exit points needs to be pursued in all HEIs, in his opinion.

The central universities understand they have to rise to the occasion and face the kind of challenges private universities are giving to them and at the same time curb the trend towards privatisation and ensure quality education with government funds.

Delhi University Teachers' Association president Rajib Ray said that a government-funded institute has no replacement as "generations have benefitted from it without having any care of how much our parents earned and how big their pockets are, which is an impossible scenario in any other model of education".

Academia has to evolve with time and, he said, For adapting to changed times we need grant from the government and resources. Many of the institutes have the brand name and image that doesnt change with even NAAC scores.

He added, In public-funded institutes it doesnt matter how large the pockets of my students or their parents are. In other institutes, it matters. These elite private colleges are regarded as better ones, affordable by only a particular segment. But in our country we need the system that only cares about the grades of the student.

For him, the rightful struggle for government resources must be upped as any effort for the government to move out of funding public education is allowing the private players gain momentum at our cost.
A Washington state woman who allegedly tried to strangle her two young children to death admitted she did so because she's 'a bad mother'.

On Sunday, officers with the Fife Police Department rushed to the home of Hina Sadia, 31, after she called 911.

She told authorities that she killed her four-year-old daughter and her two-year-old son was next, KOMO News reports.

When asked why she wanted to kill her own children, Sadia reportedly told dispatchers: 'I am a bad mother and I cannot take care of my kids.'

Hina Sadia (pictured) called 911 after she tried to strangle her two children inside their home in Fife, Washington, according to authorities

Video courtesy of Q13 Fox

When police arrived at the home, they found the front door locked and heard Sadia crying inside while a child screamed.

Sadia eventually unlocked the door and was arrested.

The children were found naked and wet in an upstairs bathroom, The News Tribune reports.

The girl was limp and not moving and the boy was sobbing at her feet.

'The defendant told detectives she could not do anything for her children, and they were not going to contribute to society, so it would be better that they die, and she decided to kill them,' wrote prosecutors.

Sadia (right) was charged with two counts of attempted murder and held in jail on a $1million bond

Sadia's home is seen above. When authorities arrived at the home, the door was locked and she sobbed inside

Sadia reportedly said she choked her son first, but then decided her daughter should die first instead.

Officers immediately began medical treatment on the little girl.

'She was not responsive upon initial contact and they began life-saving breathing medical attention until Tacoma Fire arrived on scene and took that over,' according to Assistant Chief Dave Woods with the Fife Police Department.

The children were taken to Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital, where the young girl is in critical condition and the boy is stable, Q13 Fox reports.

During the incident, the children's father who also lives in the home was at the store.

The children were taken to Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital (pictured), where the daughter is in critical condition and the son is stable

Investigators are shocked by Sadia's alleged actions and don't yet have a motive.

'Its baffling to us, its baffling to our investigators, its baffling to the father at this point. We arent sure why it took place,' said Woods.

Sadia was charged with two counts of attempted murder and is being held at the Pierce County Jail on a $1million bond.
Dublin, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "North America Baby & Adult Diaper Market Outlook, 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The North American diaper market is estimated to reach US$14.99 billion in the year 2025 with a growth of more than 2% (CAGR). This report gives a comprehensive and regional analysis of the diaper market of North America.



Globally, the markets are experiencing the growth in the diaper industry due to increased fertility and birth rates or due to the aging population with higher life expectancy. Diapers have evolved with time and are continually improving in order to meet the consumer's satisfaction levels. Moreover, market trends are forcing the brands to develop new products that can compete in the international competition.



With the emerging diseases in the world, the adult diapers were developed which can serve the adult incontinence. Incontinence can occur due to several diseases such as UT infections, prostate infections and also, aging is also one of the reasons. Hence, this emphasized the diaper industry to develop adult diapers for needy ones. Adult diapers are available in several sizes and fit such as briefs, adhesive tape, pull up, pants, etc. These diapers were also developed ultra soft so that they can provide the utmost comfort and safety.



Due to the development of diapers with the emergence of new trends, the global diaper market is continually growing. It is growing with a CAGR of more than 6% during the review period of 2014-2019 and is expected to grow to $98.82 billion by the end of 2025.



Of the total global diaper market, North America contributes a share of 18.65%. North America has the Unites States of America and Canada, which are two major economies. Hence, the market of these economies can affect any market globally. Besides this, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Panama, Costa Rica are also developing economies that contribute to the market share of the North American continent.



The key players of the North American Diaper Market are Kimberly Clark, Procter & Gamble, SCA Hygiene, Johnson & Johnson, and several other domestic ones.



Key Topics Covered



1. Executive Summary



2. Methodology



3. Regional Breakup



4. Global Diaper Market Outlook

4.1. Market Size (Baby & Adult)

4.1.1. Overall Diaper Market Outlook

4.1.2. North America Diaper Market Outlook

4.1.3. South America Diaper Market Outlook

4.1.4. Europe Diaper Market Outlook

4.1.5. APAC Diaper Market Outlook

4.1.6. Africa & Middle East Diaper Market Outlook

4.2. Market Share

4.2.1. By Company

4.2.2. By Type

4.2.3. By Region

4.2.4. By Country



5. Global Baby Diaper Market Outlook

5.1. Global Birth Rate and Fertility Rate

5.2. Market Size

5.2.1. Overall Diaper Market Outlook

5.2.2. North America Diaper Market Outlook

5.2.3. South America Diaper Market Outlook

5.2.4. Europe Diaper Market Outlook

5.2.5. APAC Diaper Market Outlook

5.2.6. Africa & Middle East Diaper Market Outlook

5.3. Market Share

5.3.1. By Company

5.3.2. By Type

5.3.3. By Region

5.3.4. By Country



6. North America Baby Diaper Market Outlook

6.1. Birth Rate & Fertility Rate

6.2. Market Size

6.2.1. Overall Baby Diaper Market Outlook (By Type)

6.2.2. North America Disposable Baby Diaper Market Size (By Country)

6.2.3. North America Cloth Baby Diaper Market Size(By Country)

6.2.4. North America Swim Pants Baby Diaper Market Size (By Country)

6.2.5. North America Training Baby Diaper Market Size (By Country)

6.2.6. North America Biodegradable/Others Diaper Market Size (By Country)

6.3. Market Share

6.3.1. By Country

6.3.2. By Type

6.4. USA Baby Diaper Market

6.4.1. Disposable Baby Diaper Market

6.4.2. Cloth, Training, Swim pants, Biodegradable Baby Diaper Market Outlook

6.4.3. Canada Baby Diaper Market

6.4.4. Disposable Baby Diaper Market Size

6.4.5. Cloth, Training, Swim pants, Biodegradable Baby Diaper Market Outlook

6.5. Mexico Baby Diaper Market

6.5.1. Disposable Baby Diaper Market

6.5.2. Cloth, Training, Swim pants, Biodegradable Baby Diaper Market Outlook

6.6. Rest of the North America Baby Diaper Market Size

6.6.1. Disposable Baby Diaper Market

6.6.2. Cloth, Training, Swim pants, Biodegradable Baby Diaper Market Outlook



7. Global Adult Diaper Market Outlook

7.1. Market Size

7.1.1. Overall Adult Diaper Market Outlook

7.1.2. North America Diaper Market Outlook

7.1.3. South America Diaper Market Outlook

7.1.4. Europe Diaper Market Outlook

7.1.5. APAC Diaper Market Outlook

7.1.6. Africa & Middle East Diaper Market Outlook

7.2. Market Share

7.2.1. By Company

7.2.2. By Region

7.2.3. By Country



8. Global Diaper Market Dynamics

8.1. Key Drivers

8.2. Key Challenges



9. Market Trends & Developments

9.1. Innovations have been done with the passage of time

9.2. Delayed Toilet Training of Children in Developed Countries Leads to Bigger Diaper

9.3. Global Growth In E-Commerce Sales

9.4. Impact of digital marketing & building emotional connections with the consumers

9.5. Increased health problems in older people push the Incontinence products high



10. Company Profiles

10.1.1. Procter & Gamble

10.1.2. Kimberly & Clark Corporation

10.1.3. Unicharm Corporation

10.1.4. Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) Hygiene

10.1.5. Domtar Corporation

10.1.6. The Daio Paper Corporation

10.1.7. Hengan International Group Company Limited

10.1.8. Kao Corporation

10.1.9. Ontex Group

10.1.10. Johnson & Johnson



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/399xz3

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
A scrappy, abused 10-year-old girl who robbed a Texas gas station in 1957 and ran away to hide in an Oklahoma City motel would grow up to change American history.

"I am a rough woman, born into pain and anger and raised mostly by myself," wrote Norma McCorvey, in one of her two memoirs, "I Am Roe."

McCorvey - better known as Jane Roe in the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that legalized abortion in the United States - lived a tempestuous 69 years that included alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse, rape, sexual experimentation, reform school, three pregnancies, jobs as a roller-skating car hop and carnival barker, religious rebirth, and, it is now revealed, bribery.

In a documentary about her life, "AKA Jane Roe," which premieres Friday on FX, she made the deathbed confession in 2017 that her later-life fight against abortion rights was all an act that she was paid handsomely for by antiabortion activists.

That jaw-dropping flip-flop in the late 1990s, after she revealed her identity and began fighting the legal case named for her, was hailed as a victory by the antiabortion movement.

And it all goes back to the self-esteem and self-preservation of an abused girl running from the adults who failed to protect her.

That heist by 10-year-old Norma Leah Nelson - born in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, and uprooted to Texas when she was 9 - ended when a housekeeper at the Oklahoma City motel where she holed up with a friend opened the door and found the two girls kissing, according to her memoir.

She was sent back to Texas and into a Catholic reformatory school, where she was sexually abused by a nun, she wrote.

After leaving the reformatory, she was sent to live with a distant relative of her mother. That man raped her, she wrote. She returned to Dallas at 15, where she was working at a drive-in burger joint when she met her husband, occasional steelworker Woody McCorvey, according to her memoir.

When she became pregnant, McCorvey beat her, she wrote. She left him, had the baby and came to terms with her sexual identity. She was a regular at the Red Devil lesbian bar in Dallas after moving back in with her mom. But grandma didn't agree with her daughter's life and took the baby, allegedly tricking McCorvey into signing adoption papers to give up her parental rights, according to the book.

By that time, McCorvey was in a serious relationship with a woman but had a tryst with a male colleague, which led to her second pregnancy. That child was put up for adoption.

McCorvey was a 21-year-old financially unstable high school dropout when she became pregnant a third time. It was 1969 and she was in the crowd dropping acid, not waving signs at political rallies.

Her next move wasn't about making a political statement; she was only looking for an abortion when someone gave her the names of two lawyers - Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington.

The lawyers were looking for a plaintiff to fight for women's right to safe and legal abortions. Connected and wealthy women could get illegal abortions in Texas, or they traveled to other places for the procedure. That wasn't an option for someone like McCorvey. At the time, she seemed like the perfect poster child for the cause. So when the three of them sat down in a Dallas restaurant in February 1970, Jane Roe was born.

Roe v. Wade was a class-action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas laws criminalizing abortion, against Henry Wade, the Dallas district attorney. It made it to the Supreme Court, which established the constitutional right to an abortion in 1973.

McCorvey never had her abortion. She had the baby and put the child up for adoption, again.

It was that messy backstory that became a problem.

When she tried to attend abortion rights protests, she said, she felt as though the movement never embraced her.

Women's rights luminaries "were supposed to look like suburban wives," said David Garrow, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Liberty and Sexuality: The Right to Privacy and the Making of Roe v. Wade."

An uneducated, colorful, carnival-barking lesbian didn't exactly fit with the high-minded feminist narrative of the time.

She was invited to an abortion rights rally and felt ignored.

"They never gave me the respect I thought I deserved," McCorvey said in a 1995 television interview on "Nightline."

"I felt increasingly alienated" from the abortion rights movement, McCorvey wrote in her second memoir, "Won By Love," in 1997.

She was working at an abortion clinic in a Dallas strip mall in the early 1990s when she met Philip Benham, an evangelical minister who opened up an Operation Rescue office in that same strip mall. It's one of the group's tactics to divert women going to clinics.

It was a time in McCorvey's life when she felt used, ignored and marginalized by the movement to keep abortion legal. She was ready for a sympathetic ear, and a friend.

Benham became that friend. He baptized her in a Dallas pool in 1995, and she began speaking against abortion alongside him, calling herself a born-again Christian.

She spent the rest of her life fighting against Roe v. Wade, which was a huge victory for antiabortion activists.

As she was dying in 2017, she flipped again, saying it was all an act, according to the documentary and first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

"I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money, and they'd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That's what I'd say," she says in "AKA Jane Roe." "It was all an act. I did it well, too. I am a good actress."

In the documentary, McCorvey restates her support for reproductive rights: "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that's no skin off my ass. That's why they call it choice."

- - -

Part of a continuing series about events of the past that remain relevant.
We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.
While Australia continues to successfully suppress the coronavirus outbreak and begins to eye the further lifting of restrictions, the picture overseas is vastly different.

Asides from a handful of countries, which many of whom meet with Australia on a weekly basis to share details of their success, many of the worlds biggest and most powerful nations have either experienced or are on the brink of a substantial outbreak resulting in a surge in cases and ultimately deaths.

On Tuesday, Brazil, with a population of 209 million, recorded both its highest daily total of deaths and cases in one day since its first cases in February.

Brazil recorded 1,179 further deaths and 17,408 cases.

In comparison, Australia recorded just eight cases and one death  its 100th death in the entire pandemic.

The death toll in Brazil is on the rise. Pictured is a graveyard in Manaus where burials are rapidly increasing. Source: AP

South America really needs to be looked at, University of Queensland virologist Professor Ian Mackay told Yahoo News Australia.

Countries within South America are really accelerating quite quickly in some places so there are lots and lots of hotspots around the world.

Prof Mackay said worryingly for countries such as Brazil and Chile, the worst hasnt occurred for them yet.

Theyre still obviously going to see deaths follow those waves of cases and obviously the more cases the higher the amount of deaths as well.

Brazil is the latest country to surge up the coronavirus cases rankings.

It now has the third most cases in the world with 271,885.

Such a meteoric surge in cases has likely been prompted by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaros lacklustre restriction measures amid the outbreak, regularly dismissing the virus as a little flu and placing greater importance on protecting the economy.

In recent weeks he has routinely disagreed with local governments over the implementation of restrictions.

Leading epidemiologist Professor Raina MacIntyre, from the University of NSW, told Yahoo News Australia the amount of testing, particularly in poor, high density areas could have been Brazils downfall.

Story continues

It is unclear how much testing has occurred and what the testing capacity and human resources capacity for contact tracing are, she explained.

The reported number of cases in many low income countries may be the tip of the iceberg.

Countries that are seeing a rising trend need to review each of the pillars of disease control and also look at urban slums in megacities. These could be hot spots for transmission, where social distancing is not possible due to crowded conditions.

Russias spike a big concern

One of Prof Mackays biggest concerns is the emergence of Russias wave of cases.

The nation last week became the country with the second most cases behind the USA.

I think Russia in particular is really speeding along, he said.

With nearly 300,000 cases, it has become Europes latest country  which has been ever-changing since its original epicentre of Italy  that is prompting deep concern from experts.

On Tuesday, Russia recorded nearly 9,300 new infections in 24 hours.

Trust in Vladimir Putin appears to be waning, with the president accused of offering mixed messages amid the pandemic.

Putin's approval ratings sank last month to 59 per cent, the lowest in the two decades he has been in power, Russia's independent pollster Levada Center reported.

It comes as the Russian government has been accused of manipulating its coronavirus figures, with its low death of 2,837 questioned.

However Russia strongly denies such claims, stating the reason the figure is so low is due to early management however it did admit not all deaths of people with coronavirus were being counted.

Russia has been accused of underreporting its coronavirus deaths. Source: AP

Last week, Moscow said it had ascribed the deaths of more than 60 per cent of coronavirus patients in April to other causes.

But it insisted its high case count was due to widespread testing, a move which Prof Mackay believes will assist the nations battle against the virus to find and isolate those infected.

Russia, alike many other countries in Europe have pushed ahead with easing lockdown measures to revive its economy despite repeated warnings cases could surge once more.

Italy and other badly-hit countries early on in the pandemic continue to display dropping case numbers, however cases are rapidly rising elsewhere.

Sweden, for example, a nation which has drawn widespread attention for its lenient restrictions, this week became the worst hit country in the continent per capita over the last week.

According to data compiled by the Financial Times, Sweden had the highest number of coronavirus deaths per capita for the past week, based on a seven-day rolling average of new deaths (per million) from May 12 to 19.

Countries need to act quicker to avoid outbreaks

Prof Mackay said it was difficult to predict if such a trend would continue in the coming weeks, where new countries continue to suffer from a spike in coronavirus cases.

It's a hard question to answer because every country, every jurisdiction tells its own story and does things a little bit differently, he told Yahoo News Australia.

Prof MacIntyre said she believes cases globally could worsen further in the future.

The data from WHO situation reports show that cases are rising again, so it could be the worst is yet to come overseas, she told Yahoo News Australia.

Prof Mackay outlined how countries without significant outbreaks so far could avoid joining the likes of Russia and Brazil, learning in part from Australia.

I think the countries that have worked through this, and we're among those, have done lots of testing, lots of contact tracing and got down to the nitty gritty on this very early on, he said.

They shut the borders, they saw things coming within the first hundred cases or so and made these changes and said, we have to act quickly.

He credits Australia for acting early and implementing its pandemic plan for avoiding a larger outbreak, which was aided by not having any land borders.

Because all of our cases came from overseas and we dont have land borders that we share, we can and we did track every one of those cases and all of their contacts from the beginning, he said.

We got on top of it whereas other countries with borders didn't close their borders quickly or just didn't think it was a big concern or maybe had some problems with the testing early on.

What countries are now at risk?

While Prof Mackay said it appeared cases had plateaued globally as other nations control their outbreak, others who have yet had a major outbreak are vulnerable.

He said other South American countries will need to be on high-alert to avoid similar outbreaks seen on the continent.

Prof Mackay previously identified Africa as a cause of concern and said it was still vulnerable to a large-scale outbreak.

South Africa is still struggling for its cases at the moment. It's got plenty of cases, some of the highest numbers they've had so far, he noted.

For other African countries, low testing rates could prove to be a problem in the future as they tackle a range of issues.

Different parts of Africa obviously have different issues such as land capacity, poverty and population density and initially, how much would a broad virus travel there, Prof Mackay explained.

So without lots of testing you don't know how many cases, you've got, and we're seeing that in countries that have brought their testing on later.

Cases begin to surge in India

Daily new cases in India are continuing to rise. Source: Worldometers

Another country Prof Mackay identified as taking off is India.

With a population of 1.3 billion, cases in India have surged past 100,000, and infections are rising in the home states of migrant workers who left cities and towns during a nationwide lockdown when they lost work.

India is seeing more than 4,000 new cases every day, with states including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Gujarat  the major contributors of the migrant labour workforce in the country  showing a major spike in infections as lockdown rules were eased. More than 3,100 have died, according to Indias health ministry.

Prof MacIntyre said the nations high population and its level of poverty had only worsened the issue and left it prone to further spikes.

On Sunday, the federal government extended the nationwide coronavirus lockdown to May 31 but eased many restrictions to restore economic activity.

Migrant workers are a source of rising infection in India. Source: AP

Small shops and other businesses were reopened in several states, including the capital, New Delhi, where the movement of private transport led to some traffic snarls. E-commerce companies started to deliver goods, including those considered non-essential, to places outside containment zones.

Metro service, flights, schools, shopping malls, colleges, hotels and restaurants, however, remain shuttered nationwide.

The ease in restrictions comes as the federal government gives states more control in deciding the nature of the lockdown and the power to classify areas as certain types of COVID-19 zones based on the spread and severity of cases.

And in densely populated Bangladesh, where authorities on Monday reported a record 1,602 positive tests, thousands of cars were on the streets of the capital, Dhaka, despite a lockdown that extends through to May 30.

Authorities in Bangladesh have relaxed some rules and allowed shops to open ahead of the Muslims biggest festival, Eid al-Fitr, at the end of the month. Public transportation is suspended but the countrys thousands of garment factories are operating.

with AP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
Soper said that would-be buyers should remain wary of market volatility, which will likely prevail until at least next year.

There is a risk premium for trading in any financial crisis, and frankly its justified because there are so many unknowns, Soper said.

Some sectors might still find it difficult to take advantage of these lower prices, nevertheless. Chief among these high-risk cohorts are young adults 25 to 35 years old, according to David Macdonald of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

If you were in that age category and a third of your friends lost their jobs, you might be pretty reticent to take on a big mortgage because you might be next, Macdonald said. Youve got to be lucky enough to keep your job, and we need to see big declines in house prices, which itself would be devastating to the economy because people would feel a lot poorer as a result of their houses being worth much less.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Dyaning Pangestika (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 07:11 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd91d36e 1 National crime,clerics,Indonesia,prison,parole,bahar-smith,penitentiary,Law-and-Human-Rights-Ministry Free

After two days of freedom, controversial cleric Bahar bin Ali bin Smith  famously known as Bahar Smith  was sent back to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence after breaking the terms of his parole.

The cleric was released on Saturday after the Law and Human Rights Ministry declared him eligible for parole. According to a statement from the ministry, Bahar had signed an agreement not to violate any laws during his parole.

The ministry said authorities had later found him delivering a sermon containing hate for the government during a large religious gathering in violation of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

We hereby revoke his parole and order him to stay in prison during the remainder of his prison sentence, the ministry wrote in a statement.

Read also: Imprisoned Papuan activists denied early release in govt's pandemic-related program

Members of the ministrys Corrections Directorate General and police officers took Bahar from his house to Gunung Sindur penitentiary in Bogor, West Java, at 3 a.m. on Tuesday and put him in a jail cell for high-risk inmates.

Bahar was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay Rp 50 million (US$3,386) in fines in July of last year for assaulting two teenagers, identified by their initials CAJ, 18, and MK, 18, for mocking him during their stay in Bali.

The two teenagers actions upset Bahar, prompting him to hit them and shave them bald.

He was also named a suspect in a hate-speech case against President Joko Jokowi Widodo in December 2018, although there has yet to be any progress on the case.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
Six weeks ago, Boris Johnson lay close to death in the intensive care unit of a London hospital.

By his own dramatic account later, doctors and nurses frantically filled him with 'litres and litres of oxygen' to keep him alive.

'It was a tough old moment, I won't deny it,' he recalled. 'They had a strategy to deal with a 'death of Stalin'-type scenario. I was not in particularly brilliant shape and I was aware there were no contingency plans in place. The bloody indicators kept going in the wrong direction.'

The Prime Minister kept asking himself 'How am I going to get out of this?'

Thankfully, he did get out of it.

How?

Six weeks ago, Boris Johnson (pictured with Carrie Symonds outside Downing Street last Thursday) lay close to death in the intensive care unit of a London hospital, writes Piers Morgan

'It was thanks to some wonderful, wonderful nursing that I made it,' he said. 'They really did it and they made a huge difference.'

At that point of his interview with The Sun, we're told Boris Johnson's voice faltered, his eyes reddened, and he paused to take a deep breath.

'I get emotional about it,' he said. 'But it was an extraordinary thing.'

When he first came out of hospital, Johnson named many of those who helped saved his life  'Po Ling and Shannon and Emily and Angel and Connie and Becky and Rachael and Nicky and Ann.'

He paid special tribute to two nurses in particular  'Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal.'

Johnson said: 'The reason in the end my body did start to get enough oxygen was because for every second of the night they were watching, and they were thinking and they were caring and making the interventions I needed.

'So that is how I also know that across this country, 24 hours a day, for every second of every hour, there are hundreds of thousands of NHS staff who are acting with the same care and thought and precision as Jenny and Luis. It is hard to find the words to express my debt. It could have gone either way.'

He also lavished effusive praise on all the others who had helped pull him through.

'I have of course seen the pressure that the NHS is under,' he said. 'I've seen the personal courage, not just of the doctors and nurses, but of everyone, the cleaners, the cooks, the healthcare workers of every description. Physios, radiographers, pharmacists who kept coming to work, kept putting themselves in harm's way, kept risking this deadly virus.'

Today, Boris Johnson stood up in the House of Commons and revealed just how risky it has been for NHS and care workers on the frontline battling this deadly virus.

After he recovered, Mr Johnson paid special tribute to two nurses in particular  'Jenny McGee from New Zealand (left) and Luis Pitarma from Portugal' (right)

Boris Johnson is seen leaving Downing Street for Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon

A staggering 181 NHS staff have so far died from coronavirus, more than the 179 British military personnel who died in the Iraq War.

Another 131 care workers have died.

This is a truly horrifying death toll, part of the overall number of 62,000 people that are now believed to have lost their lives in the UK during the crisis.

(To put THAT figure into perspective, 67,000 civilians died in the UK during the entire Second World War.)

Yet Boris Johnson says his priority mission to 'protect the NHS' has been a 'success.'

And so do his senior ministers.

Time after time, the likes of Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove have proudly boasted of how they stopped the NHS from being over-run.

Yet the ever-rising NHS worker death toll points to an abject failure to 'protect the NHS', not success.

We know why so many NHS and care workers have died: They weren't, as they have repeatedly said, given enough of the right Personal Protection Equipment.

This is a scandal, not a success.

And we now know why the NHS itself wasn't 'over-run'  it was because the Government ordered hospitals to send thousands of elderly patients back to their care homes without even testing them to see if they had COVID-19.

A staggering 181 NHS staff have died so far from coronavirus, more than the 179 British military personnel who died in the Iraq War (Pictured: health workers who have died in the Covid-19 crisis)

In fact, the Government specifically said they didn't need to be tested.

This catastrophic mistake has led to a second ferocious phase of the epidemic in care homes that has caused over 22,000 excess deaths.

Boris Johnson said last week that care homes were locked down before the rest of the UK. This has now been proven to be a lie.

Matt Hancock and Michael Gove both said the Government had put a 'protective ring' around care homes. This has also been proven to be a lie.

Politico UK journalist Jack Blanchard today quoted Susan McKinney, who owns 14 care homes in the north-east: 'We had an incident on April 10 where twice we rang the hospital saying, "we can't accept this person back, we need them tested, we need a negative test so we know what we're dealing with."

'They turned up at the door in an ambulance and refused to go away. There was a sort of stand-off at the door of the home. The family members turned up, the paramedics had the poor resident on a stretcher at the door and would not go away until we allowed them in. And all we got was "you're not following the guidelines"  We were threatened with the police if we did not let this person in.'

So no, there was no 'protective ring', there was in fact the complete opposite.

People with COVID-19 were deliberately sent back into care homes where they infected many elderly and vulnerable people who then died.

That, as Andrew Neil told me on Good Morning Britain today, is a 'scandal', not a success.

As for Boris Johnson's moving tribute to the NHS staff who saved him, you might think he has now moved to reward them  right?

I mean, he's supposedly a 'changed man' since his brush with death, and we see him every Thursday night furiously clapping the NHS outside the No10 door.

But you would be wrong.

Before the crisis began, an NHS surcharge was slapped on all migrant healthcare workers who came from outside the European Economic Area, and on all members of their families.

It was 400 a year, a lot of money for many of those asked to pay it.

Particularly as they already pay taxes and national insurance that contribute to the NHS.

But that wasn't enough of a punishment apparently, so in March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Government was increasing the Immigration Health Surcharge to 624 from October.

And from next January, it will be extended to all EU citizens when Brexit is completed.

So, all migrant workers who come from outside the UK to work in the NHS will have to pay thousands of pounds extra for them and their families to the NHS they serve, on top of the taxes and national insurance they will also be paying from their salaries.

This is being done, Sunak said, 'to ensure that new arrivals to the UK contribute to the funding of the NHS' and that 'what people get out, they also put in.'

At the time, this seemed an astonishingly tone-deaf thing to be doing to the very people risking their lives to save others from coronavirus on the NHS frontline.

Today, given the shocking NHS staff death toll, which includes many migrant workers, it seems utterly disgusting.

There are 153,000 overseas workers in the NHS.

Many of those work at St Thomas's Hospital where the Prime Minister's life was saved.

You would think that Boris Johnson, of all people, would want to scrap such a grotesquely unfair financial burden on the very people who helped save him.

But he doesn't. He wants to increase it.

In the Commons today, he said he'd 'thought about it a great deal' but decided to go ahead with the massively hiked surcharge.

'I do accept and understand the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff,' he said. 'I've been a personal beneficiary of carers who have come from abroad and frankly, saved my life. On the other hand, we must look at the realities. This is a great national service, it's a national institution, it needs funding and those contributions actually help us to raise about 900 million and it's very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources.'

Sorry, WHAT?

You're going to further punish the NHS workers like 'Jenny from New Zealand' who saved your life because you WANT THEIR MONEY?

In the general scheme of the economic toll of this crisis, 900 million is a drop in the ocean for this Government right now.

Yet to those who will have to pay it, it may be a crippling sum that forces them to leave the country they are currently serving with such courage, resilience and humanity.

I've seen some disgusting acts of ingratitude in my time, but this is the worst.

And it gets worse: the Times reported today that despite the Government announcing that families and dependents of migrant NHS workers who die from the virus could stay in the UK indefinitely, Priti Patel's Home Office has now revealed the scheme will only apply to certain occupations like nursing, not to care workers, hospital cleaners or porters.

So, the families of many heroes who've died now face being kicked out of Britain because their loved ones gave their lives to save others.

This is another absolute disgrace.

Spare me any more of your hypocritical claps for the NHS, Prime Minister.

You've just given those who saved your life a massive slap in the face.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

As states decide how and when to reopen churches amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a new federal report analyzing a cluster in Arkansas shows how easily the virus can spread in faith communitieseven when they take precautions.

The analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) details how one couplea pastor at a local church and his wifecontracted the virus and unwittingly may have helped spread it to 26 others, which ballooned into a cluster of 61, of which four people died. The analysis mirrors past reports detailingwith painful precisionhow just one case of COVID-19 can quickly spread within communities or cities, like at a funeral and birthday party in Chicago.

But this latest report comes as states and localities move to reopen from COVID-19 lockdownand served as a stark warning amid a rush to fashion rules and regulations for large gatherings.

Is This COVID-19 Vaccine Trial a Promising Start or a Dead End?

Before the Arkansas couple developed respiratory symptoms and fever, the 57-year-old pastor attended a Bible study group on March 11 at his church. During subsequent contact tracing, local and federal public health authorities determined that dozens of others were likely infected by the pair, highlighting the potential for widespread transmission of the virus both at group gatherings during church events and within the broader community, according to the report.

On March 12, after learning that members of their congregation had developed symptoms, the pastor and his 56-year-old spouse closed the church indefinitely. They were the first two confirmed cases of the virus in the county, the report states. They were likely infected between March 6 and 8, and the husband might have then exposed others while presymptomatic during the March 11 Bible study event.

He and his wife were officially diagnosed on March 16, after their test results came back positive.

The Arkansas case report was largely consistent with the details of an outbreak reported at a church in Greers Ferry, Arkansas, north of Little Rock, though as with other CDC reports of this nature, individuals identities were obscured. And though the deacon publicly cautioned congregants to take the virus seriously in that case, public health authorities have sparred with pastors and other religious leaders over social distancing, sometimes resulting in criminal charges.

Story continues

Of course, the novel coronavirus pandemic is not the first time that public health has been at loggerheads with religious practices, according to Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University and an expert on U.S. readiness for pandemics.

He cited the conflict between those in West Africa who passionately fought to maintain religious burial traditions during an Ebola outbreak and even Orthodox Jewish communities in New York City, where measles outbreaks flared last year. (Tension between the ultra Orthodox community and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has escalated amid reports of well-attended funerals and school sessions in recent weeks.)

There are people whose entire lives center around going to a mega church every Sunday, said Redlener. This is to be expected, in a way, because of very strong religious beliefs that often do override concerns about health and safety.

But the Arkansas case is perhaps more concerning because the church closed indefinitely as soon as the pastor and his wife learned that congregants had developed symptoms. Whats more, the couple cooperated with the investigation, generating a list of 94 church members and guests who had registered for or might have attended related events. Those March events included a 3-day childrens event beginning on March 6 with indoor sessions, singing, and church services led by guests from another state and involving hand-to-hand contact during offerings. On March 7, food prepared by church members was served in a buffet.

Of the total of 35 cases related to the church through April 22, the investigation by the Arkansas Department of Health identified the pastor and his wife as the index cases. But another two people who were symptomatic on earlier dates were found to be the primary cases because they likely initiated the chain of transmission among church attendees. Those two people lived locally, reported no travel or contact with any confirmed cases, and were linked only through the church.

Although no previous cases had been reported from this county, undetected low-level community transmission was likely, and some patients in this cluster might have had exposures outside the church, according to the CDC report.

Of this group of 94 church event attendees, 92 were contacted, and 38 percent of that group contracted the virus. Of the 45 people who were tested, 78 percent received positive test results. Among the 35 church event attendees with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, sevenor 20 percentwere hospitalized, and threeor 9 percentdied. No children suffered severe infection. Six of the seven hospitalized persons and all three deaths occurred in persons at or over the age of 65 years.

But those 35 people appeared to spread the virus to another 26, including one person who died, leading to a total of 61 confirmed cases either directly or indirectly associated with the church. To be clear, the report notes that there could have been additional cases that were not detected because they did not seek testing, were ineligible for testing based on criteria at the time, or were unable to access testing.

As Redlener pointed out, while other clusters around the country have involved so-called super-spreaders who may be more contagious than the average patient, the virus itself is infectious enough to be easily spread by anyoneeven if they have mild or no symptoms.

We dont even need super-spreaders to create a significant outbreak because the rate of transmission is so high, he said. This disease is very infectious, and unless we have thorough contact tracing, its going to be hard to control.

This matters a great deal when states discuss how and when to reopen churches and other public gathering spaces, Redlener argued. Churches all over the country have said they are working to determine what makes sense after weeks of Zoom services. In New York at least, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that churches will be among the last spaces to reopen.

People can go to church and become infected and then spread it into their larger communities, and with an infection like SARS-CoV-2, this could really promote a major secondary or tertiary wave of infection in the larger community, Redlener said. Its not just limited to the people who attend these services.

This is an unresolved issue, he added. Theres a threat to the larger community.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Afghan security forces on Tuesday repelled a fierce Taliban attack on Kunduz, officials said, a strategic city in northern Afghanistan that had briefly fallen to the militants twice in the past. Taliban fighters attacked several outposts of Afghan forces on the outskirts of the city at around 1:00 am, triggering fierce fighting, a defence ministry statement said. "With the support of air force their attack was repelled. Eleven Taliban were killed and eight wounded," it said, adding that the fighting lasted for several hours. Both sides have repeatedly clashed in rural areas in recent months, but an attempt to enter a city like Kunduz is seen as a serious escalation. It follows a declaration by President Ashraf Ghani last week to resume offensive strikes against the insurgents, after a string of brutal attacks. The Taliban responded to the order by vowing to increase attacks against Afghan security forces. During Tuesday's fighting, the insurgents managed to briefly capture an Afghan army post, killing one soldier, but it was quickly retaken by security forces, Hadi Jamal, an army spokesman in northern Afghanistan told AFP. The Taliban were not immediately available for comment. The insurgent group briefly captured Kunduz, a strategic city not far from the Tajikistan border, twice before -- in September 2015 and again exactly a year later. The latest attack on the city came a day after the Taliban killed at least seven Afghan intelligence personnel in a car bomb attack in the eastern province of Ghazni. Last week, gunmen stormed a hospital in Kabul killing 24, including mothers and infants. That attack, which triggered international outrage, was followed by a suicide bombing at a funeral which killed at least 32 mourners. The Taliban denied involvement in those attacks, although Ghani blamed the militants and the Islamic State group for the bloodshed. Officials say the assaults are part of the Taliban's undeclared spring offensive. Violence has spiked since the Taliban signed a deal with Washington in February, under which Washington said it would pull its troops out of the country. The Taliban have carried out more than 3,800 attacks and killed 420 civilians and wounded 906 since signing the deal with Washington, officials say.
A young demonstrator holds a sign asking for schools to be reopened during a protest at Pier Plaza in Huntington Beach on May 9. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Most public school districts in California are planning to reopen campuses on their regular start dates in late August and September  but the new normal amid the coronavirus outbreak will likely include masks, daily school sanitation and smaller class sizes to maintain six feet of distance, state Supt. of Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday.

Also, some school districts will likely offer a combination of in-person and distance learning, something parents have asked for, Thurmond said.

But the new safety accommodations will require more funding, Thurmond said during a news conference Wednesday, almost a week after the governor's May budget revise slashed about $19 billion from schools over the next two years.

We believe that our school districts cannot reopen safely if they have to implement these kinds of cuts," Thurmond said, echoing the governor's plea for additional federal aid for schools. "We need to maintain all that we have in our educational sector, and were going to need to be able to do more.

California schools have been closed since mid-March due to the coronavirus crisis, disrupting the education of 6.1 million students. Educators have scrambled to provide distance learning for students and have attempted to provide computers and internet access to an estimated 1 in 5 students without digital access. However student needs have not been met evenly, especially in small and rural districts and those serving students from low income families.

Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom said schools could physically open as early as July.

Thurmond said the state was not mandating when schools would open and that the state Education Department was working with public health officials, school leaders and workplace safety experts to compile guidelines for how to do so safely.

There will not be a common opening, rather school districts will make their own decisions about when they will open, he said. The state Department of Education will keep track of district reopenings as they're scheduled, he said.

Story continues

Although some schools may open early, he said, many will end the school year when they normally do and take some time to plan for next year as well as to address fatigue for educators. Summer, though, is also potentially a time to provide enrichment for students "who may need some additional support to offset learning gaps that have occurred" during the shutdown, Thurmond said Wednesday.

School district leaders say that they need answers to complex challenges involving reopening campuses and need government funding to do so. They are asking multiple questions:

Will there be adequate testing and contact tracing available? Will schools be able to procure the necessary protective equipment, and will staff receive adequate cleaning equipment and training in how to use it? How will kids catch up on the learning they lost during school closures? How will schools pay for the necessary reductions in class sizes that experts say will have to be a part of the new normal?

The proposed budget hit to schools worsens existing financial challenges and district level leaders say it does not go far enough to pay for pandemic-related costs. Newsom did allot $4.4 billion in emergency federal aid to schools and redirected another $2.3 billion to ease the sting, reallocating money originally intended to reduce a long-term shortfall in educators pensions  a major priority for school districts, but less crucial than addressing the immediate crisis.

This week, superintendents of six of the state's largest school districts  including L.A., San Diego and Long Beach  wrote in a letter to lawmakers that the governor's May budget revise would hinder schools' ability to reopen.

"Reopening our school campuses will require more  not fewer  resources to ensure and sustain proper implementation of public health guidance and the safety of all of those involved. Cuts will mean that the reopening of schools will be delayed even after State guidance and clearance from public health officials is given," they wrote. "We cannot in good conscience risk the health and safety of our students and staff by returning to the classroom prematurely and without funding for the necessary precautions given the continued lack of a national testing program and a lack of clear understanding of the impacts of coronavirus on young people."

Districts have incurred new costs since schools closed that include online learning resources, meals, cleaning and protective equipment, the letter said. In the coming academic year, they expect to spend more money to mitigate learning loss and added staff like nurses and mental health professionals.

On Thursday, Thurmond is scheduled to host a webinar "focus group" for school districts to discuss reopening guidance with and school districts.

L.A. Times staff writer Howard Blume contributed to this report.
Texas Childrens plans to build a pediatric and womens hospital in Austin, officials announced Wednesday, the latest expansion of its brand beyond the Texas Medical Center but its first full-spectrum hospital outside the Houston area.

The plan comes two years after Texas Childrens began testing the Austin market with the first of a scheduled network of clinics. It calls for a 48-bed, 360,000-square-foot hospital to open in north Austin in late 2023. Officials estimate the project will cost $450 million.

We see so much opportunity to bring Austin the breadth and depth of our services and increase access to high quality health care for children and women, said Michelle Riley-Brown, executive vice president of Texas Childrens. We know Austins one of the fastest growing cities in the country and we love the community and the spirit of the city. Were excited to serve it in a bigger way.

Texas Childrens, the nations largest pediatric hospital and a Texas Medical Center institution for 66 years, has expanded across both Greater Houston and the state since the mid-1990s. It also has pediatric HIV/AIDS and cancer clinics in numerous countries in the developing world.

Currently, Austins high-end pediatric hospital care is mostly provided by Dell Childrens Medical Center of Central Texas, a smaller and younger but up-and-coming hospital owned by the Seton Healthcare Family and affiliated with the University of Texas-Austins Dell Medical School. Its staff boasts Dr. Charles Fraser, one of the worlds preeminent pediatric heart surgeons, who joined Dell in 2018 after building one of the nations top centers at Texas Childrens.

Riley-Brown said Texas Childrens intends to grow the planned Austin hospital beyond the initial 48 beds. There are 2.2 million people in the greater Austin metropolitan area, which has grown by nearly 30 percent since 2010.

Kevin Holloran, senior director of Fitch Ratings, noted that its fairly uncommon for pediatric hospitals to go head to head, but said he thought the Austin market could sustain two. He said hes sure the Texas Childrens brand name has been resonating, the demographics and trends look favorable and all the financial numbers so far line up to convince the Houston hospital system to pull the trigger.

He said he wasnt surprised it came so soon after it opened the first Austin clinic.

Theyre not folks who sit still very long when they see an opportunity, who are shy about putting assets behind their strategy, Holloran said. When they decide they like a market, they seed it, then go out and build. When they open, it tends to go gangbusters.

Holloran called Texas Childrens on a different level than Dell in terms of resources, scale and recruiting ability. Texas Childrens tied for the nations third best best pediatric hospital in U.S. News & World Reports latest rankings.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas Childrens to expand to Austin with clinics

Vivian Ho, a Rice University health care economist, said Texas Childrens plan makes sense, given Austin is a tech hub, attracting high-income, well-insured residents.

Texas Childrens has made the calculation that the increase in residents with good insurance coverage is sufficient to warrant the entry of another standalone hospital, said Ho. Ill be interested to see whether the additional competition helps to slow growth in prices for childrens health care in that region.

Riley-Brown said Texas Childrens has had a pretty good idea it would build an Austin hospital since shortly after opening its first clinic in spring 2018. Officials have been studying the market and listening to families about what theyd like in terms of services for several years, she said.

Riley-Brown emphasized the full spectrum of care that will be provided at the Austin hospital. She said a few cases, like transplants, may have to come to Houston.

Texas Childrens bought the 24-acre plot of land at North Lake Creek Parkway and Texas 45 in December.

The location is 2 miles from a spot where Dell plans to build a second hospital  the project calls for 36 beds, with the ability to go to 100  scheduled to open in November 2022. Also nearby, HCAs St. David Hospital has a 57-bed childrens wing.

Dells Childrens is licensed for 240 beds. Texas Childrens has 969 throughout the system, including 813 in the Medical Center.

The Texas Childrens Austin hospital will include neonatal and pediatric intensive care; labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care; an emergency center; diagnostic imaging and operating rooms; an epilepsy monitoring unit; a sleep center; and an on-site urgent care location.

Since announcing plans for an Austin network in 2017, the system has opened its Texas Childrens Urgent Care Westgate and Texas Childrens Specialty Care Austin and seven pediatric practices. It plans to build three more urgent-care clinics, two more specialty clinics, 11 more primary-care practices and two maternal-fetal medicine practices.

The hospital project will bring an estimated 400 new jobs to the Austin area, Texas Childrens officials said. The Austin network already employees 25 doctors and 84 additional staffers.

Previous Texas Childrens ventures around the state include a cancer and hematology clinic in McAllen that opened in 2001; a partnership with Scott & White Healthcare in Temple that was signed in 2011; and a collaboration with Childrens Hospital of San Antonio that began providing it doctors in 2013.

Outside the Texas Medical Center but within Greater Houston, Texas Childrens opened a West Campus hospital at Interstate 10 and Barker Cypress in 2011 and a hospital in The Woodlands in 2017.

todd.ackerman@chron.com
Voters got a split-screen view of pandemic-era elections yesterday in Oregon and Kentucky.

Both states were scheduled to conduct their presidential primaries, but only Oregon, where voters cast ballots almost entirely by mail, carried it off. The state had tallied results from about 75 percent of 1.2 million ballots it received as of early this morning and declared winners in most major races. Former vice president Joe Biden, the last remaining Democratic presidential candidate, handily won the state's presidential primary with about 70 percent of votes.

Kentucky, where just about 2 percent of voters cast their ballots by mail in 2018, delayed its primary until June 23. Now, the state is scrambling to rebuild its voting operations from the ground up in just a matter of months.

The split demonstrates how some states are facing far greater challenges preparing for the primaries and general election during the pandemic - and how some voters are in greater danger of facing a choice between casting their votes and protecting their health.

The state created a temporary exception to that rule on April 24 but only after weeks of wrangling between Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and Republican Secretary of State Mike Adams, who opposed expanding mail voting before the pandemic struck.

The agreement came about a week after Wisconsin pushed through with a mostly in-person primary during the height of the pandemic, resulting in thousands of voters who requested absentee ballots but didn't get them in time and blocks-long lines of voters standing six feet apart. More than 50 new cases of the novel coronavirus have been tied to the primary.

Adams now hopes up to 90 percent of Kentucky voters cast their ballots by mail in the primary, he told the Kentucky public radio station WKMS.

The state is setting up an online system where voters can request mail ballots and urging counties to offer 15 days of early in-person voting.

Nor is it clear whether officials will make a decision in time for all the necessary preparations, such as buying loads of envelopes, stuffing and sorting machines for mail ballots, and hiring poll workers who can manage the process.

That will be a massive undertaking, according to voting security experts and election officials in states with large vote-by-mail elections. States must begin preparations by June if not sooner, they say.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University has estimated the cost of implementing vote by mail and other coronavirus-related reforms across the nation in November at $2 billion.

About half of states had less than 10 percent of their voters cast ballots by mail in 2018 regardless of those states' voting by mail rules, according to figures maintained by the Brennan Center. That means it will be a huge undertaking to run general elections primarily by mail if the virus is still making voting in person unsafe.

The list includes several large states, such as Texas (6 percent) and New York (4 percent), where a judge ordered last night the state must go forward with a Democratic primary next month it had tried to cancel.

Near 100 percent of the state's residents already vote by mail. The major exceptions are voters with disabilities that make voting by mail impractical, homeless voters and people who register to vote on Election Day.

The state retained in-person voting for those people during yesterday's primary and expanded polling places by leasing nearby spaces so it would be easier to maintain social distancing.

Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno, R, boasted about the system in a recent newsletter, saying "it will prevent Oregon voters from having to choose between staying safe at home and casting their ballot," during the pandemic.

Oregon Democrats also used the primary to tout voting by mail as a "no-brainer" during coronavirus.

States are mostly strapped for cash during the pandemic. And experts say $400 million Congress provided for elections in the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill won't be nearly enough to cover the tab.

House Democrats passed another $3 trillion coronavirus stimulus last weekthat included $3.6 billionfor elections. But it also included a lot of mandates - including that states permanently remove restrictions on voting by mail - even after the pandemic is over.

That will be a nonstarter with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has long opposed federal mandates on state-run elections.

The bill also mandates that states send absentee ballots directly to registered voters rather than ballot request forms - which Republicans say creates too great a risk of fraud if voter rolls are out of date.

President Donald Trump has also vilified voting by mail despite voting by mail himself in Florida this year.

The president has claimed without evidence that voting by mail produces widespread fraud. He specifically objected to those parts of the Democratic bill during a lunch with Republican lawmakers yesterday, Erica Werner, Seung Min Kim and Jeff Stein reported.

Top Senate supporters of election changes have been doing near-weekly media calls advocating for more money for voting by mail since the pandemic began, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

"[We're] trying to get more people engaged in this issue around the country and present it in the Senate, not simply as a partisan position, but as something we should all care about, protecting our democracy," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said during one of those calls organized by the advocacy group Stand Up America.

"For our voting system to have legitimacy, we all must believe that all citizens have equal access to the vote," she said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Tonya Riley contributed to this report.
Bangladesh has shifted over two million people to storm shelters and deployed its military to deal with cyclone 'Amphan' as the powerful weather system is set to make a landfall, authorities said on Wednesday. Authorities have already raised the alert level to 'great danger' for some districts in the country as the cyclone, the most powerful storm since cyclone 'Sidr' killed nearly 3,500 people in 2007, was approaching the country's coastline.

The Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force have made preparations to tackle the super cyclone which has moved within 400km of Bangladesh's coast and is expected to make landfall on Wednesday evening, Bdnews24.com reported. The cyclone is expected to make landfall at 6pm on Wednesday, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman was quoted as saying by the report.

On Tuesday, the authorities began to move nearly 2.2 million people to storm shelters to avoid casualties. The Navy has deployed 25 ships as part of three-tier efforts to conduct emergency rescue, relief and medical operations in the immediate aftermath of the super cyclone, the report said.

Two maritime patrol aircraft and two helicopters were also at the ready to conduct search operations over the Bay of Bengal and in the coastal districts, the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said. The Army has prepared 18,400 packets of relief materials and formed 71 medical teams. As many as 145 disaster management teams with special equipment are also ready to be deployed at short notice, the ISPR said.

The Army Aviation Group would join rescue and relief operations, it said. The Air Force will assess the possible damage along with medical, relief and rescue efforts by using six transport aircraft and 22 helicopters, it said. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department on Wednesday advised ten coastal districts to hoist the 'Great Danger Signal Number 10' as Cyclone Amphan has moved closer to Bangladesh's coast, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Coastal districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagherhat, Jhalokathi, Pirozpur, Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal, Laxmipur, Chandpur and their offshore islands and chars will come under great danger signal number 10, the report said. The meteorologists said the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, was likely to absorb the main brunt of the Amphan onslaughts as it has done many times over the centuries, leading to a less number of human casualties.

"The Sundarbans always absorbed the brunt of cyclones whichever hit the coastlines alongside the Bangladesh-India, we expect the forest to face the initial impact of Amphan like foot soldiers this time as well," Bangladesh's Meteorology Department Director Shamsuddin Ahmed told reporters on Tuesday. Leading global storm tracker AccuWeather on Tuesday described Amphan as the first super cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, fearing the "ferocious" storm to unleash extreme impacts across Bangladeshi and northeastern Indian coastlines.

Also read: Cyclone Amphan LIVE Tracker: Super storm 170 km south of Digha; Odisha, West Bengal evacuate 5 lakh people

Also read: Cyclone Amphan lay centered around 240 km south of Bengal's Digha
More snow on the way in Pennsylvania; here's how much to expect
A ferry departs circular Quay passing the Harbour Bridge and Opera House as it heads to Neutral Bay on May 19, 2020 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

New employment data from the ABS shows that (for now at least), Australias economy has weathered the worst of the COVID-19 storm.

With some help from the Tax office, the ABS is now releasing results fortnightly to more accurately account for the dramatic changes. And the latest figures showed the pace of job losses in the economy has started to slow.

Over the seven week period from mid-March (stage-two lockdown rules were enacted on March 22) to early May, total payrolls declined by 7.3 per cent.

The steepest falls were in the two largest state economies, NSW and Victoria, where job losses totalled 7.7 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively.

However, todays result shows a further slowing in the fall in COVID-19 job losses between mid-April and early May, Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said.

Job numbers declined by 1.1 per cent for the week ended May 2, up slightly from 0.9 per cent in the week ended April 25.

The week-to-week changes are much smaller than they were early in the COVID-19 period, Jarvis said.

To illustrate the scale of the impact on Australias hospitality sector, job losses in the accommodation and food services designation totalled 27.1 per cent since mid-March.

But to the week ended April 11, job losses in that sector had reached 33.3 per cent.

By age group, the under-20 bracket was hardest hit with losses amounting to 14.6 per cent over the seven-week time period.

The employment data follows some other tentative signs of recovery in the local jobs market, after data from UBS last week showed job ads were back on the rise.

With Australian states planning a phased return to business activity through to the end of June, total percentage job losses may continue declining in the weeks ahead.

The good news domestically followed some other signs of optimism on the global front, as US markets soared on the back of positive early results from a phase-one clinical trial for a COVID-19 vaccine.

US medical company Moderna said it could move towards a phase three (across thousands of patients) as early as July. The company took advantage of the excitement to announce a $US1.25bn ($1.92bn) share issue after US markets closed.

Story continues

And across the pond in Europe, Germanys Dax stock index surged more than 5 per cent after a key measure of economic activity indicated the contraction for Europes largest economy wouldnt be as large as initially feared.

Australian stocks are trading almost 2 per cent higher in afternoon trade, while the Australian dollar is holding its overnight gains above 65 US cents.

For more articles like this, please visit us at Stockhead.com.au. Subscribe now to stay ahead with the latest stock news and insights.

Tune into Episode 4 of the Yahoo Finance Breakfast Club: Live Online series on Thursday 21st May 10am AEST.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
English day trippers caught making non-essential trips over the Welsh border during lockdown have been fined, a police chief said today, as restrictions have sparked a surge in staycation bookings at campsites.

Superintendent Clark Jones-John of Dyfed Powys Police said a number of cars heading to the Brecon Beacons, a popular camping destination, had been turned around in recent weeks.

It comes after heath officials indicated camping could be a way for people to enjoy holidays with less risk than if they were to stay in hotels.

This, along with the incoming 14-day quarantine for people arriving in the UK, means many will be considering a domestic break instead of a foreign trip this summer.

Superintendent Clark Jones-John of Dyfed Powys Police said a number of cars heading to the Brecon Beacons, pictured in 2017, had been turned around in recent weeks

The police chief, pictured today on Sky News, reminded English travellers that some stricter restrictions remain in place on the other side of the border

One booking website even revealed that Sunday was its strongest day for revenue since it began operating in 2006.

However, Supt. Jones-John reminded English travellers today that some stricter restrictions remain in place on the other side of the border.

'When people are in Wales it's the Welsh regulations that are applicable,' he told Sky News.

'What that means that travel must be for essential purposes like buying food, exercising, however any such travel must be local.

'And we have seen situations where people have travelled from Birmingham, Bristol and London - that is clearly non-essential travel, is not local and it is unfortunate that such people have been turned around and we have issued fines where necessary.'

Similar fears are being voiced in Scottish rural villages and glens, where locals have been urging visitors and those wishing to isolate there to stay away.

Signs and blockades have been erected on single track roads and normally popular destinations, with messages such as 'go home' and 'closed' written across them.

In the Lochaber community of Applecross, residents had placed a large notice along the famous Bealach na Ba road, part of the North Coast 500 route.

Residents in Scottish rural villages and glens have been urging visitors and those wishing to isolate there to stay away (pictured: Sign in Ross-shire)

Nothing to see here: Bales of hay at John O'Groats stop motorists from making a detour to the Caithness village famous for landmark photos

In the Lochaber community of Applecross, residents had placed a large notice along the famous Bealach na Ba road, part of the North Coast 500 route

Angry villagers in the popular Lake District, in Cumbria, have barricaded themselves in with makeshift roadblocks and plastic fences in a bid to fend off hoards of tourists amid the coronavirus crisis

Similarly, people living in the Lake District, in Cumbria, are putting out traffic barriers and industrial waste bins across roads - which is against the law - to stop walkers accessing parts of the national park.

Farmers in the area have also set up fake signs in a bid to keep visitors walking past their houses.

One sign in the village of Seathwaite, within the national park, claims there is 'No entry due to coronavirus'.

However, as people are told to stay away, business for many of these traditional tourist hotspots begins to suffer.

A study last month claimed that jobs in Britain's most popular holiday destinations were among those most at risk due to coronavirus.

The futures of more than 30 per cent of positions in areas such as Cornwall, the Cotswolds and the Isle of Wight are threatened in light of the pandemic, according to analysis by The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA).

The research suggests some 66,878 jobs could be lost on England's southwestern tip, traditionally inundated with swathes of tourists and holidaymakers during the summer months.

A map, pictured, shows the 20 local authority areas where the most jobs are at risk, according to an RSA study

Many other coastal towns are also vulnerable, with North Norfolk potentially looking at 10,063 losses, 13,313 in Pembrokeshire, 14,458 in Scarborough and 10,074 in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands.

Meanwhile, the Cotswolds, England's largest Area of Outstanding National Beauty, is facing up to 13,526 losses and 15,423 more are threatened on the Isle of Wight.

Proportionally they are among the top 20 areas most at risk across Britain, with one in three jobs nationwide believed to be on the line.

To combat the huge loss predicted as a result of the pandemic, a top tourism boss suggested yesterday an extra bank holiday in October could help revive the industry.

Patricia Yates, who heads Visit Britain, told MPs the industry had lost 37billion in trade since lockdown began and an additional day off would 'stimulate demand when it is possible to travel'.

The country has already spent three bank holiday days in lockdown, including two at Easter and one earlier this month, which was moved to May 8 to mark VE Day's 75th anniversary.

Tourists and residents were spotted cramming onto packed beaches across Britain today, including Blackpool, pictured, on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far

Downing Street said Boris Johnson would consider the idea but warned that extra bank holidays 'do come with economic costs' as Ms Yates admitted that 'every time we do the modelling [on the impact of the pandemic], the figures get worse'.

Meanwhile, tourists and residents were spotted cramming onto packed beaches across Britain today on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far.

The prospect of travelling abroad this year is not completely off the table, however, after European nations offered to open their borders to British holidaymakers - but only if the UK drops its 14-day coronavirus quarantine.

Popular tourist destinations like Spain, Italy and Greece have said that they would be willing to allow UK visitors in to help their under-threat tourism industries.

But they insisted that any deal must be 'reciprocal', allowing their own nationals into Britain without spending two weeks in isolation.

A drone captures people flooding onto a beach in Potamos, Epanomi, Greece, this weekend as public spaces begin to open across the country. The scenes comes as Downing Street played down the idea of opening 'air bridges' to some foreign resorts

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested two-way 'air bridges' linking Britain with nations who have low or falling rates of coronavirus cases, boosting hopes stressed Britons will be able to get away on holiday this year.

But with ministers expected to unveil plans tomorrow for a tough new quarantine regime requiring travellers to self-isolate for 14 days after arriving in the UK, holidaymakers were warned not to make holiday plans yet in anticipation of the Med being opened up.

As a result, campsites are experiencing a surge in bookings, with bosses at the Cool Camping website telling the PA news agency that Sunday was its strongest day for revenue since it began operating in 2006.

It also recorded a five-fold increase in the number of bookings during the week after Boris Johnson's announcement about easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions on May 10 compared with the previous seven-day period.

The Prime Minister said July 4 is the earliest date for hospitality businesses reopening.

Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said at a Downing Street press briefing that it is a 'biological truism' that being outdoors is safer than being in an enclosed space with people potentially carrying coronavirus.

Campsites, pictured, are experiencing a surge in bookings, with bosses at one booking site revealing that Sunday was its strongest day for revenue since it began operating in 2006

He promised to give 'careful thought' to what steps would be needed to allow campsites and caravan parks to reopen.

Cool Camping marketing manager James Warner Smith said: 'The demand for camping is clearly there, and with foreign holidays on the backburner for the time being, people appear to be looking closer to home for their holidays this year.

'We also expect to see a lot more first-time campers in 2020.

'City breaks may look very different if galleries, museums and leisure facilities face restrictions, and consumers are, naturally, looking to the countryside when they plan their breaks.

'With the usual holidays for some people seeming less accessible or appealing, we expect many will try camping for the very first time.'

Camping and other forms of holidays are still currently banned despite some travel restrictions being lifted in England.

The Camping and Caravanning Club has urged the Government to provide 'greater clarity' on how campsites can be safely reopened 'with additional measures in place'.
A uthorities in Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, have officially banned eating, hunting and breeding wild animals.

A notice on the city's municipal Government website said the ban will come into immediate effect on Wednesday and will last for five years.

Cases of the new coronavirus were first recorded in the city late last year, and linked to a seafood market that included a live animal section.

Most hunting of wild animals has been banned within the city limits and Wuhan has been decared "a wildlife sanctuary".

Hunting is banned except for "scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances," the notice says.

"Hunting of wild animals is strictly prohibited," the statement says. "The administrative area of the whole city is a wildlife sanctuary."

Wuhan lifts Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures 1 /20 Wuhan lifts Coronavirus lockdown - In pictures A medical worker from China's Jilin Province, in red, embraces a colleague from Wuhan as she prepares to return home at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport AP A pilot leans out of the cockpit window to wave goodbye before the China Eastern airlines flight, the first domestic flight from Wuhan that resumed service after travel restrictions to leave the capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak were lifted, takes off from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to Sanya Reuters A medical staff member from Jilin Province tears up during a ceremony before leaving as Tianhe Airport is reopened in Wuhan AFP via Getty Images Passengers wearing face masks and suits to protect against the spread of new coronavirus walk past a display screen at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport i AP A passenger wearing a face mask is seen in the counter at the Tianhe Airport after it was reopened today AFP via Getty Images People wearing protective clothing and masks arrive at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan AFP via Getty Images Travellers wearing protective gear ride an escalator at Wuchang Railway Station before travel restrictions to leave Wuhan Reuters Medical staff from Jilin Province (in red) hug nurses from Wuhan after working together during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak during a ceremony before leaving as Tianhe Airport is reopened in Wuhan AFP via Getty Images Medical workers from China's Jilin Province react as they prepare to return home at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport AP A man wearing protective gear gets through security check at Wuchang Railway Station before travel restrictions to leave Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak are lifted Reuters A woman wearing a face mask to protect against the spread of coronavirus puts a poncho on a child at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan AP Bullet trains at a station in preparation for resuming operations after authorities lifted a more than two-month ban on outbound travel, in Wuhan AFP via Getty Images People wait for the train at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan as travel restrictions for leaving the city, the epicentre of a global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, are lifted and people will be allowed to leave the city via road, rail and air Reuters A train staff member stands on a high-speed train at Wuhan's Hankou Railway Station Reuters People wait for the train at the Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan as travel restrictions for leaving the city, the epicentre of a global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, are lifted and people will be allowed to leave the city via road, rail and air Reuters

There will also be strict new controls on the breeding of wild animals, with city officials making it clear that none can be reared as food.

"It is prohibited to artificially breed terrestrial wild animals and rare and endangered aquatic wild animals under national key protection for the purpose of eating," the notice says.

The notice also says illegal wildlife trading is "comprehensively prohibited" and there will be strengthening of "the supervision and inspection of wild animals".

Officials will also "actively carry out wildlife protection and public health safety publicity and education, eliminate the abuse of wild animals, promote a civilised and healthy, green and environmentally friendly lifestyle, and create a good atmosphere for people and nature to live in harmony".

The move comes amid mounting pressure for China to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade blamed by many for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wuhan students return to school after Coronavirus 1 /9 Wuhan students return to school after Coronavirus AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images AFP via Getty Images REUTERS REUTERS AFP via Getty Images

The coronavirus is widely believed to have passed from bats to people, possibly via another species, before spreading across the globe.

In February, researchers analysed samples from seven patients with severe pneumonia, six of whom were identified as workers from the seafood market in Wuhan.

They found that full-length genome sequences  which determined the DNA of the virus  from five of the patients, were almost (over 99.9 per cent) identical to each other.

According to the study published in Nature, the virus sequence is 96 per cent identical at the whole-genome level to a bat coronavirus, suggesting bats are a probable source of the new coronavirus.

Wuhan residents enjoy first steps outdoors after coronavirus lockdown lifted

Other studies suggested the Covid-19 outbreak may have been sparked by stray dogs eating bat meat.

After analysing coronavirus across different species, a top biology researcher in Canada concluded that feral dogs may have helped transmit the new Sars-CoV-2 disease to humans.

The ancestor of the virus and its nearest relative, a bat coronavirus, could have infected the intestines of canines where it evolved before jumping to humans, Professor Xuhua Xias study suggests.

Wuhan, the original epicentre of China's coronavirus outbreak, conducted 856,128 tests for the disease on Tuesday, the local health authority said on Wednesday, compared with 467,847 a day earlier.
UPPER GWYNEDD  A fire that damaged a portion of the roof of Bacco Italian Restaurant last week remains under investigation, according to Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Marshal Jeff Tomczak.

Tomczak said his office continued their fact finding mission, visiting the site two times in the week since the fire broke out. While Tomczak couldnt speak to the circumstances leading up to the incident, he said the fire that affected the kitchen area appeared to be accidental.

We do believe its accidental, he said. There [was] no malice intent or anything like that. So thats the most important thing.

Several Montgomery County first responder agencies responded to reports of the May 13 blaze at the eatery on 587 Dekalb Pike in North Wales, according to Upper Gwynedd Township Fire Chief Eric Geiger. He added that flames were seen coming from the roof area near the buildings cupola.

However, upon further inspection, Tomczak found there was relatively minor fire damage that was contained contained right in that roof area. He said the kitchen area sustained some water damage.

That cupola that was up there, it was strictly for decorative purposes; it did not have a vent or anything inside there, Tomczak said.

Due to the states restrictions to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, restaurants are prohibited from operating in-person dining, but they do have the option to fulfill takeout and delivery orders.

Tomczak confirmed there was one  employee that was in the building at the time when the fire broke out. Geiger said last week that the building was evacuated and no injuries were reported.

The Montgomery County location will be temporarily closed until further notice, according to an automated message at the restaurants phone number. The restaurants Doylestown location remains operational.

We hope to rebuild and reopen as soon as possible and look forward to the time we can all be together again, read a post on Bacco Italian Restaurants website.
TRENTON  Two men were charged with attempted murder after they were involved separate shootings last month that injured three people, police said.

The arrests come as the capital city contends with another round of gunplay that killed three people and injured a former reputed Bloods gangster.

Since Saturday, police responded to at least a half-dozen instances of gunplay in which someone was injured or shell casings were discovered.

There have been at least 20 calls for shots fired, many of which officers did not find bullet casings at the scenes, police sources said.

Mayor Reed Gusciora has repeatedly pointed to the violence as the reason he put the city under a tight curfew over the last few weeks, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He has since eased the curfew to 9 p.m., and said he wouldnt consider rolling back that decision in light of a second wave of violence that swept the city.

At some point, even curfews are unworkable, he told The Trentonian. As the weather gets warmer, people want to get out. You have to strike the balance between public safety and the right of citizens to go on or about their legal business.

Officials said this week theyd renew focus on some of the citys troubled crime hotpsots following the murder of 38-year-old Robert Smith, of Trenton.

He was one of three people gunned down in a 33-hour span, including a cousin-on-cousin murder on Oakland Street.

Meanwhile, cops closed in on suspects allegedly involved in two shootings last month.

Arrested and charged with attempted murder were Naire Burnett, 29, and Anthony Brown, 25, for shootings March 2 and March 12, respectively.

Authorities tracked down Brown in Atlanta, Georgia and extradited him back to New jersey on Monday, Trenton Police spokesman Lt. Jason Kmiec said.

Burnett alleged shot up a house on the 100 block of Cleveland Avenue during a dispute with a 33-year-old man around 12:14 a.m. March 2.

The victim was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the back.

The Shooting Response Teams investigation led to Burnett, who allegedly retrieved a gun from his car, then shot up the house.

Burnett was also hit with charges of aggravated assault, weapons offenses and child endangerment because a 1-year-old girl was in the residence at the time of the shooting.

Brown was identified as the gunman involved in the March 12 that injured two people near Academy and North Montgomery streets.

He is accused of blasting two 19-year-old men, one in the chest and another in the buttocks.

Detectives reviewed surveillance that helped them identify Brown as the shooter, He was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals in Atlanta.

Brown also faces charges of aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Police are also investigating a shooting that happened Monday, on the 500 block of Grand Street, one of at least six since Saturday.

A group of people, including the accused shooter, were gathered outside a home around 6:40 p.m. when violence erupted.

A man shot in the thigh was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken femur.

Cops say the alleged gunman fired three rounds at the victim. No one else was injured.

The suspect, described as a light-skinned man, was still on the lam.

In the past couple days, cops also responded to gunfire on the 800 block of Park Avenue, on the 600 block of West State Street, on the first block of Murray Street, and on the 100 block of Oakland Street.

No victims were reported in any of those shootings, Kmiec said.

Police expected a wave of retaliatory violence after Saturdays triple shooting that killed Smith and injured ex-Bloods leader Earlie Harrell, aka the Almighty Blood Messiah.

Featured on a 2009 segment of the History Channels Gangland, Harrell was a big-timer in the Money, Sex, Murder set of the notorious street gang.

He still is revered among many street hustlers, so police expected tempers to flare after he and a 19-year were shot during a cookout before midnight Saturday on Daymond Street.

Then on Monday, 18-year-old Tayvion Jones was found shot to death in his kitchen on the first block of Oakland Street.

Police quickly arrested and charged the murder victims cousin, Horace Jones, 34, of Ewing, with the killing.

The killing appeared unrelated to Saturdays slaying as the men were allegedly feuding over women, police sources said.

A third murder happened more than five hours later, when Antwuan Bowens, 44, was shot to death around 9 a.m. Monday on Daymond Street, in the same part of the city where Smith was killed.

Bowens murder remains unsolved.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:53:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

BANGKOK -- The Thai government will decide on Thursday whether the current state of emergency should be extended after it expires on May 31, National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Somsak Roongsita said on Wednesday.

The meeting on the fate of emergency decree will comprise executive leaders from NSC, the Ministry of Public Health and business sectors.

"The actual COVID-19 situation will be the determining factor," said Somsak.

- - - -

MUMBAI -- India's western state of Maharashtra has revised guidelines for the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown by mapping its urban cities and districts into red and non-red zones effective from Friday based on the number of deaths and doubling rate of COVID-19 in the past seven days.

The state had earlier demarcated its cities and districts based on red, orange and green zones with red being the worst affected and green being the least affected.

- - - -

DAR ES SALAAM -- The East African regional business and private sector watchdog on Wednesday praised truck drivers for their continued delivery of essential commodities across the east African borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The East African Business Councilbased in Tanzania's tourist city of Arusha said in a statement that the truck drivers were among those risking their personal health to keep products moving to stores, hospitals, homes and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic.

- - - -

YANGON -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in Myanmar has risen to 199, with six more confirmed cases reported on Wednesday, according to a release from the Ministry of Health and Sports.

Of the newly confirmed cases, all patients are from Yangon region who were under quarantine as they had travel history in the past 14 days, the release said.

- - - -

TEHRAN -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said here on Wednesday that his country has got closer to the containment of the novel coronavirus epidemic in the country, according to Tasnim news agency.

Iran has made great progress in the fight against COVID-19 thanks to the efforts of the medical staff over the past three months, Rouhani said in a weekly cabinet meeting.

"During these three months, we have been advancing step by step without a retreat. In general, we've made good progress in the face of this dangerous virus and are almost on the verge of containment," he said.

- - - -

BEIJING -- China has welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) regarding COVID-19, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Wednesday.

Zhao made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the resolution proposed by the European Union and adopted by consensus before the closing of the WHA's virtual conference Tuesday.

The resolution unequivocally affirms and supports the leading role of the World Health Organization (WHO) and calls on member states to take necessary measures to prevent discrimination and stigmatization and combat misinformation and disinformation.

- - - -

LUSAKA -- Zambia reported 60 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry figures showed on Wednesday.

The cases were picked from 495 tests conducted from different parts of the country.

- - - -

KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Wednesday reported 804 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 17,568 and the death toll to 124, the health ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 12,559 patients are receiving treatment, including 167 in ICU, according to the statement. Enditem
Ukraine receives $15.5 mln in aid from U.S. to fight against COVID-19  U.S. Dept of State

Ukrainian authorities have received assistance from the United States in the amount of $15.5 million to combat COVID-19, the U.S. Department of State said.

It is noted that in total assistance includes $13.1 million in health and IDA humanitarian assistance "that will improve the ability of local health care institutions to care for the sick and combat further spread of COVID-19."

In addition, it also includes $2.4 million in MRA humanitarian assistance "to support vulnerable populations during the pandemic."

"The United States has invested nearly $5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine over the past 20 years, including nearly $362 million for health," the U.S. Department of State said.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 12:06 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd932d4f 1 Business PLN,electricity,power,2019,financial-report,profit,state-owned-enterprise,SOEs Free

State-owned electricity company PLNs net profit nosedived last year as a result of higher tax expenses and operational costs that had offset its higher income, according to the company's annual report released on Monday.

PLN booked a net profit of Rp 4.32 trillion (US$292.4 million) in 2019, lower than Rp 11.56 trillion in 2018 even though revenue grew 4.67 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 285.6 trillion from improved electricity access in Indonesia. The company also recorded an income of Rp 73.9 trillion from state reimbursements.

[We] added 3.8 million customers, PLN spokesperson I Made Suprateka said in a statement on Monday, adding that PLNs consumer base now stood at 75.7 million users.

The companys operating costs rose slightly by 2.3 percent yoy to Rp 315.4 trillion in 2019, but tax expenses ballooned 2.6-fold to Rp 21.8 trillion over the same time period.

Company representatives did not respond to questions about its higher tax expenses.

The spokesperson also hinted that the higher sales revenue was notable under the condition that electricity tariffs did not rise in 2019, suggesting that increases were mainly driven by the wider customer base.

PLN and the government raised Indonesias electrification ratio  defined as the portion of neighborhoods that can switch on a lightbulb  to a historical high of 98.89 percent in 2019.

As a result, the companys electricity sales reached 245.52 terawatt-hours in 2019, up 4.65 percent from the previous year.

PLNs statement added that the company increased its installed power generation capacity by 8 percent to 62,234 megawatts (MW) and its electric network by 11.5 percent to 59,817 circuit kilometers last year.

However, analysts warn that at least two of PLNs ongoing programs this year presented risks for the electricity companys post-pandemic financial recovery.

The first program is PLNs free and discounted electricity scheme for 31 million of Indonesias poorest households. The three-month scheme was expected to cost Rp 3.5 trillion but the government recently announced it would be extended by another three months until September.

Government representatives said the state would reimburse PLN but did not mention a timeline. The government still owes PLN Rp 48 trillion for subsidies incurred in 2018 and 2019, said a company executive.

[The profit recorded in 2019] does not close the possibility of PLN making a loss this year, energy economist Fahmy Radhi of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said in a statement on Tuesday.

The second program is PLNs Take-Or-Pay policy, in which the company guarantees buying a certain amount of electricity from independently owned coal-fired power plants  even when demand collapses, like what is now happening in the pandemic.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) estimates in a recent report that payments to such independent power producers (IPP) will become PLNs largest operating expense by 2021, exceeding the companys own spending on fossil fuels.

The COVID-19 crisis has upended Indonesias financial settings and PLNs dealings with the Indonesian public and global markets will need to be adjusted to face a new reality, said IEEFA Asia director for energy finance studies Melissa Brown.

Previously, PLN president director Zulkifli Zaini said in April that the company expected this year's demand to decline by 9.7 percent from the initial target, as emergency measures imposed by the government to halt the spread of COVID-19 had paralyzed many business activities.

Each 1 percent fall in electricity demand means PLNs revenue falls Rp 2.8 trillion, as a rule of thumb, Zulkifli told lawmakers via video conference.

He projected the company's revenues to reach Rp 257 trillion this year, 14.7 percent below the initial target of Rp 301 trillion.
BBC Three could make a return to television screens four years after it was taken off air and moved online in an effort to increase the broadcasting corporation's young audience.

The digital platform, which is home to the international hits Fleabag and Killing Eve, will see its budget doubled in an effort to bring it back to the TV screen.

The plans follow the success of shows including Normal People, which helped the corporation reach the crucial target of younger viewers.

The youth-focused channel was taken off air in 2016 in a move that saved the broadcaster a reported 30 million.

However following a strong showing for BBC Three during lockdown, the corporation expects to double the amount it spends on commissions for the channel over the next two years and is 'considering the case' for restoring it as a linear TV channel.

The BBC is considering moving BBC Three back to the television screen four years after it was taken off air. (Stock image)

A BBC source said: 'Clearly no organisation from the smallest shop to the largest multinational won't be changed by this pandemic.

'It will have financial implications for the BBC, but that doesn't mean we can't make choices. BBC Three has become the home to some of our biggest shows.

'We need to back that success, so within an environment where we are making difficult cuts, this is one of a limited number of areas, where we will seek to invest.

'Who wouldn't want more Fleabags, Killing Eves, This Country or Normal People?'

Normal People, which is an adaptation of Sally Rooney's acclaimed novel, arrived on iPlayer in April and has so far had 38 million requests to view it, according to the BBC.

Ahead of publishing its annual plan on Wednesday, it is understood the BBC believes it has recaptured a young audience in 'dramatic fashion' during lockdown.

Amid cost-cutting measures of about 125 million enforced by the coronavirus pandemic, a source said the corporation will have to trim budgets in some areas to invest in others, and BBC Three 'would be a key beneficiary of that'.

However, following reports BBC Four was in danger of closing, a source insisted the move is 'not about playing off' the two channels, saying the corporation has 'no plans' to diminish its arts portfolio.

The source said no final decisions have been taken and options will be considered as viewing habits develop during the Covid-19 crisis.

The youth-focused channel was taken off air in 2016 and helped save he broadcaster a reported 30 million. (Stock image)

The digital platform, which will see its budget doubled, is home to the international hits Fleabag (left) and Killing Eve (right)

The possible move comes just weeks after the corporation agreed on a historic new trade deal which will see shows made by independent TV producers available on iPlayer for a least a year.

The new deal, which was struck between the BBC and the trade association Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (Pact), will allow the broadcasting company to transform the content it provides its viewers and expand on its service.

The announcement came after the media watchdog Ofcom gave the BBC the green light to expand its iPlayer service, and host its content online for longer periods, after initial disputes over the value to the public and competitors.

Previously, independently produced shows would be available for up to 30 days on the streaming service.

However the deal, which came into effect for entirely new commissions this, gives the BBC a guaranteed 12-month window on all content it commissions within its initial payment.
Google Chrome 83 update comes with enhanced security and privacy controls.

Google rolled out a new update for Chrome packed with new security and privacy features. The new Chrome 83 update for desktops will start rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.

Chromes latest update gives users more control over third-party cookies. Google is giving users the option to block third-party cookies in regular or incognito mode. Users can also choose to block all cookies on some websites or on all of them.

Site Settings on Chrome has been updated highlighting more security features like access to location, camera or microphone, and notifications. Theres a new section with recent permissions activity as well. More visual changes include You and Google on top of Chrome replacing People. Here, users will find sync controls for their Google account. The option to clear browsing data has also been moved on top now. Extensions are also now clubbed under one puzzle icon on the toolbar.

Google has also added a new safety check in Chromes settings where users can find out if their passwords have been compromised, dangerous site alerts and more.

There are two new security upgrades users can choose for safer browsing. Enhanced Safe Browsing will allow Chrome to check if the pages users browse are safe. Those signed to Chrome will have added browsing protection. Chromes new DNS feature will also determine first which server is hosting the website users visit.

Google plans to add more security features for phishing sites, file downloads and cross-product alerts as well.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 17:15:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Staff members do nucleic acid tests at a lab in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 13, 2020. (Xinhua)

Why does the origin of COVID-19 remain a mystery despite the efforts of so many scientists around the world?

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, the puzzle of where the virus originated is attracting global attention from science community.

To identify the origin of an unknown virus, scientists need to find out the pathogen that caused the disease and the animal carrier, that is, the natural host of the virus, according to Zhao Guoping, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Since the outbreak of SARS, global scientists have been searching for its source. They identified SARS-CoV as the pathogen. But it was not until 2015, 13 years after the outbreak, that the natural host of SARS-CoV, Rhinolophus sinicus, was revealed.

Questions are still waiting to be answered including whether Rhinolophus sinicus is the only natural host of SARS-CoV and how the virus varied when it encountered its intermediate host, civet cats.

Tracing the origin of the virus pathogen requires scientific evidence, including the biological evidence provided by etiology, clinical medicine and epidemiology and the molecular biological evidence provided by genetic sequencing and antibody detection, according to Zhao.

Scientists need to establish the connection between the two types of evidence, which is not easy, to confirm both findings before they can finally make the issue clear, he said.

The epidemiological investigation of the origin of an infectious disease usually starts from the contact history of the first infected patient, or "patient zero," which is even more difficult to confirm.

It is challenging to trace COVID-19 patient zero as it involves a large volume of complicated data, and the early cases might include asymptomatic infections short of medical records, said Liu Peipei, an expert at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Jin Qi, head of the Institute of Medical Biology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said patient zero has not been confirmed for the 1918 influenza pandemic, AIDS or the H1N1 flu that broke out in 2009. Tracing patient zero is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires a great deal of work from the medical and scientific circles.

A staff member does nucleic acid testing work at a novel coronavirus detection lab in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)

The novel coronavirus spread extensively around the world since late 2019 and the single "patient zeroes" is absent in most countries, the latest study by the University College London Genetics Institute has shown.

"The results add to a growing body of evidence that SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus) viruses share a common ancestor from late 2019, suggesting that this was when the virus jumped from a previous animal host, into people," the university said in a statement early this month.

The molecular biological evidence is also difficult to obtain.

Viruses are tricky, especially those whose genomes are made up of RNA rather than DNA. They mutate more and faster.

Zhao said coronavirus is an RNA virus, which is more tricky. Its genome is three times the size of the HIV genome and mutations including deletion and recombination are more likely to happen.

In the process of cross-species transmission, the virus will accumulate mutations to adapt to the human body, its new host, and spread in the population, he said.

He also mentioned that most of the mutations in the early stage might show no obvious manifestation in the infected, therefore this key evidence is hard to collect.

That is why the origin of COVID-19 remains a mystery despite the efforts of so many scientists around the world.

The search for the pathogenic origin of many diseases in human history, such as AIDS and SARS, has never stopped and is full of uncertainty due to its complexity, Zhao said.

"Some evidence, once lost, may never be found, and some facts may not be revealed even after long-term studies," he said, suggesting people should have reasonable expectations for the results of the search for the natural origin of the novel coronavirus. 
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijans national carrier Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has performed a charter flight from Berlin to repatriate 188 citizens to Baku, the companys press service reported on May 19.

All repatriated citizens have been placed under a mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

Some 20.000 citizens have already been repatriated to the country. The citizens have been repatriated from Moscow, Istanbul, Kyiv, Minsk, Iran, Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Riga (Latvia), among others.

AZAL operates charter flights to return compatriots to the country in accordance with plan defined by the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers.

Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24 and the third stage of quarantine regime easing came into force May 18.

As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus-related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has commended Right To Play, Ghana, for its decision to extend psychosocial support to children during this period of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Director-General of the GES, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, described the support by the organisation as a special one which would help children and their parents, especially those in rural areas.



This is an initiative where teachers will go into the homes and give opportunities to communities where they may not have access to radio and internet, he noted.



The Right To play is undertaking a project dubbed psychosocial support which refers to the actions that address both psychological and social needs of individuals, families, communities among other things.



Event



The GES director made the commendation in Accra, when Right To Play, a non-government organisation, made a donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and education materials to the service worth GH532,000.



The items included 1,200 pieces of locally manufactured nose masks, 50 boxes of handwashing soap, 250 boxes of hand gloves, 7,000 bottles of hand sanitiser, 2,000 pens and 2,000 pencils.



The others included 4,000 copies of exercise books and 4,000 copies of level-appropriate storybooks, as well as 3000 copies of specially designed communication material on COVID-19.



Project



At the short ceremony, the Country Director of Right To Play, Ghana, Ms Josephine Mukakalisa, said the gesture would be extended to six other regions in the country and that it formed part of a project dubbed psychosocial support.



She noted that over 100 volunteer teachers in Ga South, Keta, Kumbungu, Tolon and Savelugu would be participating in the project by visiting homes to take children through various lessons and games designed to build their capacity in times like these.

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
The headline read, Stepfather fatally shot teen during quarantine fight in an Atlanta home. A 16-year-old high school student is now dead after disobeying his parents and leaving the house during quarantine, and a stepfather is in jail. Another Black boy is dead from violence, specifically domestic violence. As a secondary school teacher, my heart sank at the news; students like this teenager surround me every day.

The widespread school closures to combat COVID-19 have revealed inequities and disparities for families across the country. Without support from family, students are less likely to succeed in school, yet these structures are at risk of breaking down during the quarantine.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, more than 10 million Americans are victims of domestic violence annuallyapproximately 20 every minute. Experts have warned that stay at home directives are likely exacerbating these incidents of domestic violence, as the stress of the pandemic and the staggering current unemployment rate add more fear and uncertainty to already volatile relationships. Whats more, many of the services that domestic-abuse victims usually rely on are now harder to access.

I am no longer fixated on the pressures and obligations of my job as a remote learning teacher."

During the COVID-19 outbreak, my teacher brain has been forced to shift into a new gear. When my school first switched to online instruction, I was frustrated at students who failed to submit their assignments. They are high school students, I complained to my fellow teachers. They are expected to independently follow instructions and utilize learning protocols.

But I am now compelled to consider the underlying issues that are preventing my students from being their best selves. As teachers, we are forced to reframe our thinking as we become more aware of the daily lives of our students. Many of us have long worked to accommodate students who struggle with being the caregivers for siblings and loved ones. We must now have compassion for the students whose parents are on the front line during this devastating pandemic, forced to make a living surrounded by death. For these moms and dads, their last concern is whether their child submitted an assignment.

In addition to the parents who are caring for the ill, there are those who are ill themselves, taking care of loved ones with the virus, or who have lost their stable income. As I am privileged to be working in the comfort of a peaceful home, my thoughts are especially with parents who are suffering domestic duress in their homes. I think of the students whose safe haven was school but now are forced to be at home all day with their abusers.

The thought of parents and students who are enduring domestic violence on top of the additional stresses wrought by this pandemic is heartbreaking.

I am no longer fixated on the pressures and obligations of my job as a remote learning teacher; my thoughts are instead on my students, their families, and their safety. We must all be aware of how domestic violencebe it a father killing his stepson or a mother being physically and emotionally abused by her partnercan threaten our students and their families.

I appreciate the love from parents and students who send their teachers thank you notes, emails, and texts. I appreciate the virtual presence of guidance counselors, who can offer a support system for students and parentsand now, for teachers as well. I appreciate the district administrators who communicate directly with their teachers, share contingency plans, and answer questions in a timely fashion.

Most of all, I appreciate the parents who are keeping their children fed, healthy, and safe. As schools are preparing for the end-of-year shutdown procedures and virtual graduations, lets also celebrate those parents. Lets be kind to one another, as we never know what others are going through within the so-called safety of their homes. Even though no professional-development session, faculty meeting, or professional learning team meeting could prepare us for this feat, we charge on.
Boris Johnsons ventilator challenge to British manufacturers failed to produce significant numbers of the devices in time for the peak of the pandemic, leaving the NHS with far fewer than ministers said was necessary.

The prime minister launched his challenge to much fanfare in March, with health secretary Matt Hancock stating at the start of April that the NHS needed 18,000 ventilators within two weeks, as the peak of the crisis loomed.

But figures released by the Department of Health and Social Care show that the NHS (DHSC) only had 11,900 mechanical ventilators as of 6 May, when over 600 people a day were dying from Covid-19  around 7,000 machines short of what ministers said was needed.

Notably, the governments figures show that just 344 of these new ventilators were produced by the new UK suppliers responding to the challenge, meaning the scheme only delivered a 4 per cent rise in the number of ventilators available before the crisis.

Justin Madders, Labours former shadow health minister, suggested the governments actions over the devices were undermining public confidence.

To get through this awful crisis together there must be absolute public trust that government plans are deliverable, he told The Independent.

Ministers, therefore, need to be realistic and candid with the public about what is possible. Only managing to make about a tenth of the ventilators that were promised back in March is yet another example of where the governments promises have failed to materialise. Lessons must be learned as we continue to fight the virus.

Mechanical ventilators are crucial for keeping the Covid-19 death toll down because they keep the most seriously ill patients breathing and alive while their bodies fight the illness.

The UK has the highest number of deaths in Europe, with around 44,000 so far, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Of the ventilators available to the NHS on 6 May, a further 118 were produced by established UK suppliers, while the bulk of the increase in devices was acquired from elsewhere.

Downing Street claimed on 27 March as the crisis began in earnest that a further 8,000 ventilators were expected from existing UK and international manufacturers in the next few weeks, but these never materialised.

In reality, even now the DHSC says the total number available to the NHS as of 19 May is still only around 13,000, short of the original promised devices Downing Street claimed would be delivered within weeks back in March. Of these, the government says 1,969 were produced by UK manufacturers.

A DHSC spokesperson argued that the government had, in fact, met its 18,000 target, claiming that the health secretary was referring not just to mechanical ventilators but to non-invasive breathing apparatus, which should be counted.

Ventilators are key in treating severe coronavirus patients (Getty)

But a look back at statements from ministers and senior officials appears to contradict this version of the target. On 5 April, Mr Hancock referred to the figures for mechanical ventilators when laying out the need for 18,000 ventilators, while NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens was also clear at a Health Select Committee hearing on 17 March that the procurement effort was for mechanical ventilators.

As of today we have 6,699 adult mechanical ventilators in operation in the NHS, together with 750 paediatric mechanical ventilators which can be repurposed, an estimated 691 in the private sector and 35 in the ministry of defence. So in the round we have 8,175, he said in the 17 March session at the start of the crisis.

For some weeks now we have been out preparing and procuring mechanical ventilators and can see a line of sight over the next several weeks to 3,799 bringing the total to just under 12,000.

In addition to that, you may have seen that the prime minister hosted a call to the manufacturing sector seeking to bring new supply into the country for mechanical ventilation and we have set an open-ended goal for what that might be.

Mr Hancock himself has said no number is too high when it comes to ventilators, though the DHSC said everyone who has ventilator needed one. They were also unable to produce any evidence that non-invasive ventilators were always meant to be included in the target, but suggested Mr Hancock had used the figures for the mechanical ventilators when discussing the issue because no other figures were available.

High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Show all 18 1 /18 High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Najaf, Iraq A man holds a pocket watch at noon, at an almost empty market near the Imam Ali shrine Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Bangkok, Thailand Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, part of The Grand Palace) Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Prague, Czech Republic An empty street leading to the historic Old Town Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Washington DC, US Lawn stretching towards the Capitol, home of Congress Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Jerusalem's Old City A watch showing the time in front of Damascus Gate Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world London, UK The Houses of Parliament seen from Westminster Bridge Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Wuhan, China Empty lanes in the city that saw the first outbreak of disease Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Havana, Cuba The Malecon road and esplanade winds along the city's seafront Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Cairo, Egypt A little busier than elsewhere: midday traffic in Tahrir Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Berlin, Germany The Brandenburg Gate, the only surviving city gate in the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Caracas, Venezuela Bolivar Avenue, opened in 1949 and the site of many demonstrations and rallies Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Moscow, Russia Spasskaya Tower (left) on the eastern wall of the Kremlin, and St Basil's Cathedral Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Istanbul,Turkey The harbourside Eminonu district is usually buzzing with activity Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New Delhi, India Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard that runs through the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Amman, Jordan The Roman amphitheatre that dates back to the 2nd century AD Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New York City, US The main concourse of Grand Central station in Manhattan Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Kiev, Ukraine Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the site of many political protests since the end of the Soviet era Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Accra, Ghana The odd walker out in the midday sun on Ring Road Central Reuters

The confusion over the target follows a row over the governments disputed claim to have met a separate self-imposed goal on Covid-19 testing. The government had also tried to redefine what meeting the target would mean, counting thousands of tests that had merely been posted to a university in a single day, artificially putting it over the line before the deadline despite those people not actually being tested.

Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for health and social care, said: Throughout the coronavirus crisis, ministers have consistently put in place arbitrary targets where they have either fiddled the figures or failed to meet to them in an obvious attempt to chase media headlines. Instead, ministers should have been trying to get a grip on the crisis, whether it was increasing the availability and speed of tests, the number of tracers hired, or in this case the number of ventilators.

The figures this morning showing that over 44,000 have now tragically lost their lives due to the virus will shock many. The government must focus on ramping up measures that will actually help prevent further deaths, especially as lockdown measures begin to be relaxed, by ensuring we have a robust system to test, trace and isolate to keep people safe rather than setting any more arbitrary targets.

A DHSC spokesperson said: We have exceeded our target of increasing the number of ventilators by 18,000. Thanks to decisive government action, everyone who has needed a ventilator during this unprecedented pandemic has had access to one.
BJP leaders in Rajasthan on Wednesday accused the Congress government in the state of doing on the issue of migrant labourers.

BJP state president Satish Poonia said the Congress party staged a "drama" on the UP border for three days where buses were brought under pressure from the state government.

"It is unfortunate that was done in the name of migrant labourers by the government and Congress leaders for pleasing Priyanka Gandhi," Poonia said.

He said a large number of migrant workers had to walk for hundreds of kilometres in an attempt to return home but the state government did not care for them.

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said the situation in the state worsened due to wrong policies of the government.

He said migrants were walking through forest areas to reach Banswara, Dungarpur, Udaipur and there was no arrangement to screen them for COVID-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
He also reminded that the Ukrainian government had launched the construction of a bridge across the Dnipro river in Zaporizhia

President of Ukraine during a press conference RBC-Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he was looking for an opportunity to attract three billion dollars in order to get all bridges in Ukraine fixed. He said this during a press conference that was broadcasted by 112 Ukraine TV channel.

"Another big program is planned, I am now looking for funds in order to get implemented, and it is my responsibility to find another three billion dollars - these are all the bridges of our country," he said.

Zelensky reminded that the Ukrainian government had launched the construction of a bridge across the Dnipro river in Zaporizhia.

It will be one of the largest bridges in the history of our country. And we will all be proud of it too. We need three billion dollars for the implementation of the Big Bridges program. This is a beautiful, territorially complex country, but we love it and we want to build all bridges. If we take the Ivano-Frankivsk region as an example, there are 1900 bridges and footbridges, the president added.

As we reported earlier, during his press conference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the signature of a memorandum between Ukraine and the IMF would take place in May.
A former Arizona teacher who was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old student is divorcing her husband from prison after he stood by her side during the trial.

Brittany Zamora, 29, filed for divorce from her husband, Daniel Zamora, nearly one year after she was sentenced to 20 years behind bars.

In 2019, Brittany pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor, public sexual indecency and molestation of a child while teaching at Las Brisas Elementary School in Goodyear.

Separate allegations accused the teacher of trying to groom another young boy by promising to send him naked photos of herself.

Scroll down for video

Former Arizona teacher Brittany Zamora (left) filed for divorce from her husband, Daniel Zamora (right) in April while in prison

AZ Central reports that a mother of a male friend of the victim told local authorities that Brittany promised to send her son nude photos over the summer.

During class, Brittany reportedly asked the friend whether he was circumcised.

When he did not understand Brittany's question, she allegedly showed him photos of genitalia on her phone.

The friend said the teacher had never tried to touch or kiss him.

Brittany filed for divorce from Daniel on April 28, according to People.

In the court documents, Brittany checked a box reading, 'Our marriage is broken beyond repair ("irretrievably broken") and there is no hope of reconciliation.'

As part of the filing, Brittany has relinquished her hold on the family home and all other shared properties.

The couple married in 2015 after meeting when they were 16. They have no children together.

Daniel and Brittany Zamora (left and right) married in 2015 after being childhood friends

Brittany (left) was arrested in 2019 after the victim's parents found inappropriate messages from the teacher on their son's phone

After Brittany was arrested, Daniel remained by her side and even went so far as to call the victim's family to plead on his wife's behalf.

Court documents revealed the victim's father told local police Brittany and Daniel were harassing him over the phone.

Daniel called the victim's father to say Brittany had made a mistake, but that she loved children.

He reportedly asked the victim's family to handle the situation out of court, adding that they should 'meet up' and 'settle this'.

The victim's father disagreed and ended the phone call.

The victim's family filed a lawsuit against Daniel for failing to alert authorities when he learned of the affair. It was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Brittany (pictured) was also accused of promising to sends nude photos to another young boy

Brittany was caught in March 2018 when the victim's parents noticed he was acting strange, leading them to install an app on his phone called Sentry Parental Control, which monitors messaging apps for 'suspicious content or behavior'.

The Sentry app sends parents alerts when it detects suspicious images and messages on a child's device.

It also detects whether or not a child is exposed to inappropriate online content through its web monitoring feature.

When the teen's parents started getting the alerts about inappropriate text messages, they confronted him.

It was later revealed that Brittany may have also begun grooming another student around that time.

That's when the teen admitted to having sex with Brittany.

The boys parents were devastated by the affair.

During trial, an attorney read a victim impact statement written by the mother.

'Brittany Zamora betrayed our trust and changed Victim A forever,' the statement read, according to the Arizona Republic.

'Before, he was an innocent child, and now she stole his innocence from him. I hate Brittany Zamora for what she did to my son and family.'

Pictured above are some of the text messages exchanged between the teenage boy and Brittany

She was arrested in March 2018 and accused of having sex with the teen multiple times in a classroom (pictured), and on one occasion in front of another student while he served as a lookout

Brittany had flirted with the young victim via text messages, but it quickly escalated to inappropriate contact and sex on several occasions in 2018.

In one X-rated back-and-forth, Brittany told the boy she wanted to have sex with him 'every day with no time limit'.

'Wyd?' she started one conversation with him, using the slang-abbreviation for 'what are you doing?'

He replied: 'Thinking about your sexy self' and added two pink heart emojis.

'Aww baby (love heart eyes emoji) I wish you were with me,' she responded.

The boy replied: 'I want u bby. (sic).. when can we f**k again?', this time adding two red heart emojis to his message.

Brittany hit back: 'I want you too baby so bad! Whenever we can you know I'm down,' with a red heart emoji.

She went on: 'Like you for real get sexier to me every day lol.'

'I want to f**k you so bad baby those times weren't enough,' the boy replied to her. She responded: 'Me neither baby! I want you every day with no time limit.'

In another message, she told him she would quit her job in order for them to be together.

The teen sent her love notes on bright post-its including one which read 'U R SEXY!' which he passed her in class

On two occasions, she drove to his grandparents' home to have sex with him in her car while her husband was fishing.

She and the boy performed oral sex on each other before her husband phoned to tell her he would be home soon, according to the records.

They exchanged explicit photographs including images of Brittany in lingerie and naked and the boy gave her love notes on brightly colored post-its which contained messages including 'you are sexy', according to police.

Brittany told police when she was arrested that she was nervous she would not survive behind bars.

At her sentencing, a judge ordered that Brittany (pictured) spend 20 years behind bars in Perryville, Arizona

Brittany (staff photo) has surrendered her state teaching certificate

'I'm little. They're gonna tear me apart.'

She then asked 'Can I have an attorney?' when the interviewer declared: 'I'm going to give you an opportunity to explain what happened.'

Before being helped into a police car by an officer who warned her the step was large, she asked cops to help her move her hair in front of her face to avoid the glare of waiting media.

Brittany even appears to be smiling at one point.

It was previously reported that on February 8, three students at the school complained to administrators about Brittany favoring the 13-year-old.

Some of the students went so far as to say that she was 'dating' or 'in a relationship' with the teen.

'Everyone talks about them having an inappropriate relationship outside of class and at recess,' one of the students said, according to notes taken by Principal Tom Dickey in an interview.

'I've heard other kids in my class say that they think they are dating,' another note reads.

The school district interim superintendent, Richard Rundhaug, said that they investigated the allegations at the time, but found no evidence of a romantic relation
Jaipur, May 20 : The Rajasthan government has allowed reopening of offices in schools, colleges and malls during the fourth phase of nationwide lockdown, subject to adherence to guidelines of social distancing and other health protocols.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot late Tuesday night to review the arrangements during the lockdown 4.0.

Additional Chief Secretary Rajeev Swaroop said that offices in educational institutions can reopen for non-academic work. The academic work shall stay restricted and students shall not be able to attend schools and colleges.

Similarly, offices situated inside malls can be opened, but shops are not permitted to operate, he said.

The CM directed officials that migrants stuck in Rajasthan during the lockdown should be sent to their respective places by special buses besides Shramik Special trains.

In the next five days, 23 special trains will be run from the state to different states, said ACS Subodh Agrawal.

The meeting was told that discussions are on with Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra governments for the plying of special buses for migrants.

Gehlot directed for effective coordination with other states to ensure that problems of migrants can be reduced.

DGP Bhupendra Singh said that more than 12,000 challans have been issued across the state for violation of lockdown guidelines.
GRAND HAVEN, MI  The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival has been canceled this summer due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, officials said Wednesday, May 20.

This decision is difficult and necessary to ensure a healthy community, festival organizers said in a press release.

Since 1924, The Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival has continuously honored the men and women of the United States Coast Guard for their heroic service in pursuit of our maritime safety and national security with ten days of public recognition."

The festival, which draws thousands to the lakeshore town each summer, was scheduled to take place from July 26 through Aug. 4. Last years event attracted up to 350,000 people.

The Coast Guard festival, which honors men and women serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, brings popular attractions like a parade, carnival, concerts and fireworks to the small West Michigan town.

The festival will resume July 30-Aug. 8, 2021.

RELATED: Grand Haven flooded by crowds during 95th annual Coast Guard Festival

Last year, the 95th annual Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival celebrated the citys status as the first Coast Guard City, USA while commemorating the service of veterans and especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice while fulfilling the military branchs motto of SEMPER PARATUS (Always Ready).

The cancellation adds the Coast Guard to the growing list of popular summer festivals and events that have already been canceled due to the coronavirus crisis in Michigan. That list includes the Miss Michigan competition, the Electric Forest festival, Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts and the Michigan Irish Music Festival.

Ottawa County has 573 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Tuesday, May 19, and 25 deaths linked to the virus, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

More on MLive:

Michigan Irish Music Festival 2020 canceled due to coronavirus crisis

Muskegon tourism hit by coronavirus uncertainty amid cruise ship cancellations

Lakeshore Art Festival 2020 canceled due to coronavirus crisis

Miss Michigan 2020 canceled due to coronavirus pandemic

Unity Christian Music Festival canceled this year due to coronavirus

Electric Forest 2020 canceled due to coronavirus pandemic
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19

By Matanat Nasibova  Trend:

Azerbaijani Goycay-Sud enterprise producing dairy products and fruit juices located in Goychay district is increasing its export potential to enhance the supply of pomegranate juices abroad, a source in Goycay-Sud told Trend.

New Zealand remains the main market for the export of products, the source said. The enterprise exported pomegranate juices worth over 90,000 manat ($52,941) abroad during four months of this year.

The products are also planned to be exported to Belarus during this period. Besides the pomegranate juice, the enterprise produces apple juice, which is sold domestically, said the source.

The enterprise operates at full capacity and has been provided with modern Swedish and Italian equipment.

The products of the enterprise have a certificate of conformity issued by the Azerbaijani State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents.
If Covid-19 has fast-tracked one aspect of our lives, it is how quickly we had to adapt in terms of working, family life and our interactions with each other, all while trying to ensure our safety.

RTE has also had to adapt, with many shows being produced and broadcast from the homes of staff.

And as we emerge from this pandemic, and we will, it is critical all organisations continue to evolve, and RTE cannot be immune from that process.

Already in cost-cutting mode from severe challenges that were well documented before the virus outbreak, it is imperative RTE continues to have a role in every region across the country. It is the national broadcaster after all.

Last year, RTE's Limerick studios - its HQ for the midwest region - were earmarked for closure, along with the uprooting of Lyric FM to Dublin and Cork.

This death knell for those based in Limerick and the national radio station based outside of Dublin has been only temporarily staved off pending recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Irish Public Service Broadcasting due this September.

In the intervening period, RTE has found its regional presence critical when it comes to reporting and covering the unprecedented events of Covid-19.

And rightly so - the national broadcaster has an obligation to examine every aspect of how these unprecedented times are playing out across the island, whether on TV, radio or online.

The stories of the communities of Ardara, Co Donegal, and Tournafulla, Co Limerick, are as newsworthy and important as those of Sandymount and Rathfarnham in Dublin.

The public service provided by RTE, on a range of its productions and platforms, throughout this period has been critical to all.

Over the past two months, much like the now daily online teleconferences for work, RTE panel interviews feature guests from across the country, whether it is in its regional studios or via Zoom, whereas the general insistence before from some shows was all guests needed to be based in its Dublin studios.

Technical issues aside, RTE needs to realise a very Dublin-centric approach cannot continue despite its outstanding financial difficulties. There must be another way.

Why not take it a step further and display a real commitment to the rest of the country outside of the Dublin commuter belt.

Yes, just shy of two million people live in the Dublin, Meath, Wicklow and Kildare sprawl.

But you know what else? Three million people live in the rest of the country.

The savings from the proposed closing of RTE's Limerick base were minimal at best and the long-term effects would be far worse. There is no point in going down that path again.

After this is over, there is a big test coming for the top brass at Montrose.

The challenge now will not be how many contributors to mainstream programmes come from regions and tick all the required boxes, but will the station commit to broadcasting full mainstream shows, currently firmly rooted in Dublin, from places like Limerick and Sligo?

On its website, the national broadcaster states that "as an organisation and individually, RTE will be outward looking, creative, respectful, sustainable and accountable, collaborative and transparent".

The values section goes on to claim it will, "be resourceful and innovative in how it makes its content" and "be brave - take risks and be willing to learn from failures".

Undoubtedly, with less finance available, hard decisions await us all.

However, I say to RTE director general Dee Forbes and her team, be brave and innovative.

Look to the advantages of bases already established around the country. Embrace them and watch how they can support the central Dublin axis as opposed to a conflicting sides mentality.

You will soon find, as many of your regional colleagues will testify, that the regions are more than willing to work and assist RTE in providing the best possible public service broadcasting going.

And that is something the entire country will benefit from.

Patrick O'Donovan is a Fine Gael Minister of State
DUBLIN, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Stationery Products - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Stationery Products market worldwide is projected to grow by US$45.2 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 3.1%.



Printing Supplies, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 3.3%. The shifting dynamics supporting this growth makes it critical for businesses in this space to keep abreast of the changing pulse of the market. Poised to reach over US$115.8 Billion by the year 2025, Printing Supplies will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.



Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 2.5% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$1.7 Billion to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$1.3 Billion worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets.



In Japan, Printing Supplies will reach a market size of US$6.4 Billion by the close of the analysis period. As the world's second largest economy and the new game changer in global markets, China exhibits the potential to grow at 4.8% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$12.3 Billion in terms of addressable opportunity for the picking by aspiring businesses and their astute leaders.



Presented in visually rich graphics are these and many more need-to-know quantitative data important in ensuring quality of strategy decisions, be it entry into new markets or allocation of resources within a portfolio. Several macroeconomic factors and internal market forces will shape growth and development of demand patterns in emerging countries in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.



All research viewpoints presented are based on validated engagements from influencers in the market, whose opinions supersede all other research methodologies.



Key Topics Covered



I. INTRODUCTION, METHODOLOGY & REPORT SCOPE



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW



Impact of COVID-19 and a Looming Global Recession

Stationery Products - A Diverse and Dispersed Industry

Digitalization Brings in a Mixed Bag of Opportunities & Challenges for Stationery Products

Writing Instruments Continue to Attract Demand

Digital Fatigue Triggers Revival of Interest in Penmanship and Printed Books

Recent Market Activity

Education Sector - A Major Market for Stationery Products

Rising Education Levels to Inject Demand

Seasonality is the Norm, Rather than an Exception

Digitization Impacts Demand for Conventional Office Supplies

Market Outlook

Developing Countries to Drive Global Growth

Global Competitor Market Shares

Stationery Products Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2020 & 2029

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS



A.T. Cross Company ( USA )

) ACCO Brands Corporation ( USA )

) Adveo Group International SA ( Spain )

) American Greetings Corporation ( USA )

) Archies Limited ( India )

) Aurora DUE s.r.l. ( Italy )

) Brother International Corporation ( USA )

) Canon U.S.A. , Inc. ( USA )

, Inc. ( ) Crayola, LLC ( USA )

) CSS Industries Inc. ( USA )

) Faber-Castell AG ( Germany )

( ) FILA SPA ( Italy )

) Dixon Ticonderoga Company ( USA )

) Groupe Hamelin ( France )

) Hallmark Cards, Inc. ( USA )

) Herlitz PBS AG ( Germany )

) Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. ( USA )

) Kokuyo Co., Ltd. ( Japan )

) The FLB Group Limited (UK)

Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd. ( Japan )

) Newell Brands , Inc. ( USA )

, Inc. ( ) Office Depot, Inc. ( USA )

) Pentel Co., Ltd. ( Japan )

) Pilot Corporation ( Japan )

) Pilot Pen Corporation of America ( USA )

) PT Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia TBK ( Indonesia )

) Richemont ( Switzerland )

) Montblanc International GmbH ( Germany )

) Societe BIC SA ( France )

) Staples, Inc. ( USA )

) ST Dupont SA ( France )

) Xerox Corporation ( USA )

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS



Product Innovations Spark Renewed Interest in Stationery

Demand for Personalized Stationery Gains Momentum

The Home Office - An Expanding Market Segment

New Office Starts & Corporate Expansions - Key to Growth for Office Supplies

Paper & Paper-Based Products - Traditional Revenue Contributors

Trends Dictating a Direct Face-Off of Paper Products with Digitization

Growing Trend towards Bullet-Journaling and Hand Lettering Support Sales of Writing Instruments and Notebooks

Rise in Adoption of Eco-Friendly Products

DIY Market Presents New Opportunities

Demand on Rise for Fundraising Calendars

Stationery Licensing Offers New Pockets of Growth

Rise in Sales of Gift-Wrap and Party Goods

Writing Instruments - A Review

Writing Instruments Growth Drivers (On a Scale of 1-10)

Pens/Markers - Less Fazed by Digital Media

Premium Fountain Pens Remain a Niche

Luxury Writing Instruments Garner Demand

Ergonomic Pens to Relieve Writers Cramp

Personalization of Pens Grows in Demand

Demand on Rise for Fashionable and Stylish Writing Instruments

Pens in the Competitive List of Gifts

The 'Green Trend' - Assaying the Environmental Cause

Pencil Makers Go the Digital Way

Binders and Notebooks Emerge as Fashionable Items

Envelopes Market - A Review

Favorable Demographics Augur Well for Educational Stationery Products Market

Youth Bulge Augurs Well for Stationery Products Market

Writing & Marking Instruments Reach Toddlers

Women - The Largest Home Office Users

Features in Home-Office Supplies Increasingly Preferred by Consumers (Rating on Scale of 1-10, 1 being the least)

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE



III. MARKET ANALYSIS



IV. COMPETITION (Total Companies Profiled: 375)



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c5yy2k

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: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


As nations around the world loosen coronavirus restrictions, people are discovering that ``the new normal'' is anything but.

Yet some realities have emerged: schools, offices, public transport, bars and restaurants are now on the front lines of post-lockdown life.

How each of those key sectors manages social distancing and tamps down on expected new outbreaks will determine the shape of daily life for millions as researchers race to develop a vaccine that is still likely months, if not years, away from being available to all.

What a return to normal looks like varies widely. For hungry migrant workers in India, it was finally being able to catch trains back to their home villages to farm while city jobs dried up. For hundreds of cruise ship workers stranded at sea for months, it was finally reaching shore Wednesday in Croatia. For wealthy shoppers, it was returning to the newly reopened boutiques of America's iconic Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.

In Italy, where good food is an essential part of life itself, once-packed restaurants and cafes are facing a huge financial hit as they reopen with strict social distancing rules. The losses are forecast to pile up to 30 billion euros ($32 billion) this year.

``We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before,'' lamented chef Raffaele di Cristo, who now must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. ``Everything is changed. Slowly, slowly, we will try to understand and to adapt to this coronavirus.''

Corsi reopened for business Monday with half its tables removed to ensure the mandated 1-meter (3-foot) spacing between tables. Hand sanitizing gel was placed at the entrance and a new ordering system was installed so customers can read the menu on their phones.

Some shops in Italy have complained about a shortage of gloves keeping away customers. Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia said Wednesday he would change the rules on wearing gloves in clothing stores and shoe shops and substitute sanitizing gel instead.

Slovakia reopened theaters, cinemas and shopping malls on Wednesday, all with new restrictions on visitor numbers, even though it has had only 28 deaths from COVID-19.

The head of the Dutch hospitality industry welcomed a decision to allow bars and restaurants to reopen on June 1, but warned about the impact of mandatory social distancing rules.

``The restrictions are unfortunately unworkable'' for many businesses, said Rober Willemsen of Royal Hospitality Netherlands, adding that more government support is needed to ensure the survival of many bars and restaurants.

Education is also facing a radical rethink.

Cambridge became the first university in Britain to cancel all face-to-face lectures for the upcoming school year, saying they will be held virtually and streamed online until summer 2021. Other institutions have taken different tacks: the California State University system has announced that most classes will be online for the fall. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana will bring students back to campus but redesigned its calendar to start the semester early in August and end before Thanksgiving, along with ordering masks, testing and contact tracing.

In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitizers as they returned Wednesday, many for the first time since late last year after their new term was repeatedly pushed back. Students and teachers were required wear masks and some schools installed plastic partitions around desks.

France is limiting spaces in its primary schools, giving priority to the children of essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while high schools remain closed.

In the new normal, people's gratitude at being able to shop or eat out again is mingling with worries about job security.

Business was slow Wednesday at a Paris farmer's market with a mixed mood among the masked, gloved vendors. A man selling peonies and petunias said he was glad to get out and see shoppers again, while a woman selling asparagus and tomatoes behind a makeshift plastic screen grumbled that her customers were buying less than usual.

Fears about job security are not unwarranted. Airline engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans Wednesday to cut 9,000 workers as it grapples with the collapse in air travel due to the pandemic. In general, those jobs come with good pay and benefits, and losing them is a sharp blow to local communities.

Some businesses are adapting quickly to new realities. In Kenya, safari operators have resorted to sharing live broadcasts on social media in hopes that attention to endangered and other species doesn't fade.

Many governments, including those in scores of U.S. states, are in fierce disagreement over what the new normal should even be.

As beaches reopened in Barcelona, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked lawmakers to back a plan to extend the nation's state of emergency by another two weeks until June 7. Spain's main opposition, the conservative Popular Party, rejected the move.

``You are like a headless chicken running around not knowing what to do,'' Popular Party leader Pablo Casado told Sanchez. ``To endorse your extension would be irresponsible.''

While infection rates have been falling in Asia and much of Europe, the pandemic is still spiking in Latin America. Brazil this week became the world's third worst-hit country with more than 250,000 confirmed cases despite limited testing. In Lima, the capital of Peru, coronavirus patients are filling up the city's intensive care beds.

``We're in bad shape,'' said Pilar Mazzetti, head of the Peruvian government's COVID-19 task force. ``This is war.''

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the pandemic could push millions into extreme poverty in Africa, where the virus has reached every country. Guterres said Africa needs more than $200 billion and ``an across-the-board debt standstill'' for struggling nations.

``(This must be )followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults,'' he added.

More than 4.9 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected by the virus, and over 323,000 deaths have been recorded, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that experts believe is too low for reasons that differ country by country. The United States has seen nearly 92,000 deaths and Europe has had nearly 165,000.

Russia and Brazil are now behind only the United States in the number of reported infections, and cases are also spiking in India, South Africa and Mexico. Russia announced Wednesday that its coronavirus caseload has surpassed 300,000, with the death toll almost reaching 3,000.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response during a Cabinet meeting in the East Room at the White House in Washington, May 19, 2020.

President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to withhold funding from Michigan and Nevada for expanding their mail-in voting services in an effort to avoid crowded polling centers during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State," Trump tweeted. "I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!"

Trump's tweet incorrectly said voters in Michigan, a crucial swing state, will receive an absentee ballot in the mail.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, quickly corrected the president with her own tartly worded tweet.

"We sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia," Benson said.

Tweet

Benson's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Hours later Trump revised his tweet, adding "applications."

Tweet

It's unclear what "funding" Trump is referring to. The White House declined to comment.

A senior administrative official at the Office of Management and Budget, which develops and executes the budget across the Executive Branch, told CNBC in a statement that "no decisions have been made at this time" regarding Trump's threat to withhold funding and that "discussions are on-going."

And it is unclear whether Republicans in the state will challenge the move.

Shortly after that tweet, Trump unloaded on Nevada for expanding mail-in voting to carry out the state's congressional primaries on June 9.

"State of Nevada 'thinks' that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can't! If they do, 'I think' I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections," he tweeted.

Tweet

Republicans vying in the primary for Nevada's 4th Congressional District are itching to win that seat held by Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford.

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, introduced the vote-by-mail initiative in March in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Nevada TV station KSNV reported.

Trump has been a staunch critic of vote-by-mail expansion. In April, he said mail-in voting "doesn't work out well for Republicans," suggesting that easier access to absentee ballots could determine whether the Republicans retain control over the Senate or win the House. It may also affect Trump's own fortunes in his reelection bid this year, especially in swing states where margins could be razor thin.

He has claimed that voting by mail leads to voter fraud, but there is no evidence that this is true. Earlier this year, Trump submitted an absentee ballot to vote for himself in Florida's presidential primary.

Michigan is among several states to take action to limit in-person voting due to the fear of spreading the coronavirus.

The pandemic has upended 2020 elections, forcing officials to seek safer or alternatives for Americans to cast their votes.

In the last two months, multiple states and territories either delayed or adjusted their presidential primaries due to a fear of spreading the virus among large groups.

Already, more than a dozen states have begun to prepare for the November election, with the anticipation that more voters will choose mail-in ballots over in-person voting. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on May 8 allowing all registered voters in the state to receive a mail-in ballot for the November election.

The issue has attracted the attention of several heavyweight Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

On Tuesday, Warren urged the Senate to include $4 billion in the next coronavirus relief package to allow states to expand their vote-by-mail services for the general election.

The outbreak has spread to dozens of countries, with more than 4.9 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 323,653 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 1.5 million cases in the United States and at least 91,938 deaths, according to the latest tallies.

Correction: An earlier version misstated the day of Trump's threats.
Jaime King is hoping she and estranged husband Kyle Newman can reach a 'private resolution' as they deal with their messy divorce.

The actress, 41, filed a divorce petition two days ago, also requesting a temporary domestic violence restraining order and making an emergency motion related to child custody and visitation at the same time.

King now wants to avoid any more legal proceedings to make sure personal lives stay out of the spotlight, according to an insider who spoke to People.

Personal business: Jaime King is aiming for a 'private resolution' with estranged husband Kylie Newman, hoping to avoid any more legal action for the sake of their children. She's seen in January above

'Jaime was granted her request for a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Kyle from being near her or contacting her and is hopeful for a private and peaceful resolution without further court proceedings, which would be best for their children,' the source explained.

'Jaime strongly believes that their children's lives should not be discussed in the press.'

The star was granted the temporary restraining order until a hearing June 8th, but her filing for an emergency motion related to child custody and visitation was 'denied without prejudice,' according to People.

Newman said he was 'pleased' with the outcome in a statement issued via his representatives Tuesday.

The director's spokesperson told TMZ: 'Kyle was deeply saddened by Jaimes attempt to obtain court orders based solely on false claims without providing him any opportunity to respond.

'As a result, he was extremely pleased that the judge nevertheless permitted their children to remain in his care.'

At odds: The actress, 41, filed a divorce petition two days ago, also requesting a temporary domestic violence restraining order and making an emergency motion related to child custody and visitation at the same time. Newman is seen in 2015 above

The way they were: Newman has made a statement after she filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against him, saying he was 'deeply saddened' by what has transpired. The pair are pictured in 2018 above

A King insider corrected his characterization, telling People he 'was not granted any type of custody of the children by the court' and 'the judge simply took "no action" in regards to custody until such time as a hearing with notice to Kyle takes place.'

Newman's statement went on to say: 'As Kyle continues to solo parent, as he has done throughout this pandemic, he remains entirely focused on putting the childrens stability and welfare first.

'Kyle wants nothing but the best for his whole family and hopes that Jaime can find the peace and help she needs.'

King, 41, is reportedly 'distraught' over the entire situation.

Upset: King, 41, is reportedly 'distraught' over the entire situation. She's seen in December 2019 above

News of King's filing came hours early on Monday, according to TMZ.

King has been married to Newman, 44, since 2007 after meeting on his film Fanboys, and together they share sons James, six, and Leo, four.

The couple's marriage had come under scrutiny lately after Jaime was seen out without her wedding band.

The duo were reportedly quarantining apart in recent days, with Jaime in California and Kyle in Pennsylvania with their children, according to Life & Style.

Split: The couple has been married for 12 years before the split

Jaime and Kyle are 'taking some time apart to focus on themselves,' a source told the site.

'He's [Kyle] been staying with his family for months and is leaning on them for support,' the source added.

The couple had an instant connection that blew Jaime away.

'I don't know why, but some part of me was instantly connected to him, and I loved him so much,' Jaime told InStyle Weddings. 'It was intense. I never thought that would happen to me.'

As they were: Jaime has been married to Kyle since 2007 after meeting on his film Fanboys, and together they share sons James, six, and Leo, four (pictured 2019)

Family life: The couple with their two sons at the farmers' market in West Hollywood in 2019

They moved in together three months after first meeting, and married in November 2007 at the place they had their first date, the Greystone Park and Manor in Los Angeles.

The couple endured several trials over the course of their nearly 13 year long marriage.

Jaime was in Beverly Hills in 2018 when a man jumped onto her car with her son James inside, wrecking the windshield and leaving the pair shaken.

'I've had five miscarriages': Jaime has also been open about her struggles to have a family (pictured 2018)

The man, Paul Francis Floyd, was jailed for one year as a result of the attack, and was again sentenced to over four years in prison in 2019 after allegedly sending Jaime threats and explicit images following his initial release.

Jaime has also been open about her own fertility struggles.

The actress revealed she had suffered five miscarriages and was even diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis before finally having her first child.

'Dad life': Newman has reportedly been quarantining in Pennsylvania with their sons, and has been documenting his time with them in self-isolation on Instagram

'I've had five miscarriages, gone through five rounds of IVF and 26 rounds of IUD,' she told People in 2015. 'I was in severe pain all the time, emotionally and physically.'

Jaime went through five years of fertility treatments but eventually wound up getting pregnant naturally.

The couple welcomed their son Leo in 2015, but Jaime learned he had a heart defect when she was still pregnant.

The child was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries when he was 20 weeks old, and subsequently underwent major heart surgery.

No ring: King pictured without her wedding ring on in September 2019

Describing the ordeal, she told People, 'I was wheel-chaired to him every three hours, so I could breastfeed him and take care of him before he went into this huge surgery. It was a terrifying experience.'

Adding: 'But thank God for the medicine that we have now ... I knew how traumatic the experience was, how much post-traumatic stress disorder I had afterwards, and the trauma that I was experiencing before it. It's because I didn't know anybody that had gone through it and I didn't have people to talk to.

'I have a voice and I want to use that voice on behalf of my son - and I know that my son would want that. I've gotten thousands of letters from people and now I have a real community of people to talk to.'

Missing accessory: King wasn't wearing her ring in January 2020
3 1 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





TORRINGTON  Make Music Day NWCT returns for the third year to the Northwest corner June 21, through the Northwest CT Arts Council.

Make Music Day began in France in 1892 as the Fete de la Musique, and has spread to more than 800 cities across 120 countries. This event grew into an international celebration that takes place on the summer solstice of each year. People of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to create music at participating venues all over the region on the longest day of the year.
Portland-area voters chose key new members of the Legislature Tuesday, when they made their choices in the Democratic primaries for five open, reliably Democratic seats.

Democratic voters in Southwest Portland and Tigard also registered their continued support for Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick and party members in Southeast Portland reelected Democratic Rep. Rob Nosse.

Both Burdick and Nosse faced challengers in the primary who ran against them in part because the incumbents supported a 2019 law to reduce the states public pension costs.

Unions were trying to make the point that public employee pension benefits are sacrosanct, and cutting them even a little comes with a political penalty. They withheld their support from both Democratic stalwarts.

The tactic even has a name in political circles  getting Macphersoned  a reference to former Rep. Greg MacPherson, a Lake Oswego Democrat who was one of the main architects of the Legislatures pension reforms in 2003. In 2008, when MacPherson ran for attorney general, unions flooded his opponents campaign coffers, and he lost.

This time around, they backed challengers to Burdick and Nosse. But both sailed easily to victory, reinforcing the rarity of newcomers replacing sitting lawmakers in Oregon.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

Voters in East Portland, who had no choice other than to write in a candidate, selected incumbent Rep. Diego Hernandez, who faces allegations of verbally and physically harassing women, to appear on the ballot in the November general election. Prominent leaders including House Speaker Tina Kotek have called for Hernandez to resign due to the allegations. But Hernandez has resisted and recently served notice he plans to sue the Legislature over its handling of the matter.

Maxine Dexter, a pulmonary doctor who won the crowded House District 33 Democratic primary to represent parts of northeast Washington County and Northwest Portland, could begin making a mark on state policy and budget issues sooner than anticipated. The death of the districts current representative, Mitch Greenlick, on Friday means county commissioners will appoint someone to serve out the remainder of Greenlicks term, and that will likely be Dexter since she got the nod from the heavily Democratic districts primary voters.

Senate District 14

In Washington County, Democrats selected former Multnomah County prosecutor Kate Lieber over 20-year Washington County Commissioner and avid bike commuter Dick Schouten. Lieber has also served as chair the state Psychiatric Security Review Board and currently chairs the board of homelessness prevention nonprofit Transition Services.

Senate District 18

Burdick, the number two Democrat in the Senate, prevailed against young education consultant and Tigard school board member Ben Bowman. Bowman, who ran a youth volunteer-powered campaign, largely agreed with Burdick on policy issues.

House District 33

Maxine Dexter, the critical care pulmonologist who has taken on a high profile during the COVID-19 pandemic, beat a competitive four-person field to represent the greater Bethany area of Washington County and part of Northwest Portland.

Dexter will face Republican Dick Courter, a forestry consultant who ran unopposed in the primary, in the November election.

House District 36

Lisa Reynolds, a pediatrician and community activist, claimed victory in the hard fought Democratic primary to represent House District 36, which covers much of Portlands west side. She beat teachers union lobbyist Laurie Wimmer and Rob Fullmer, an IT specialist at Portland State. She will face Republican James Ball in the November election but is considered a shoo-in to win a district that has been represented by a Democrat for at least 35 years.

House District 42

Rob Nosse, a longtime labor organizer, drew the ire of public employee unions after he voted in favor of Senate Bill 1049, a 2019 kick-the-can bill supported by Democrats to save public employers money by delaying repayment of Oregons $25 billion pension deficit. It also included modest cuts to employee benefits, which led unions to back his opponent, Paige Kreisman. Nosse still managed to quadruple her fundraising efforts.

House District 46

Khanh Pham, an organizer with Opal Environmental Justice, trounced former Multnomah County Chair and non-profit director Jeff Cogen to win the open seat in House District 46, representing a swath of Northeast and Southeast Portland. Cogen was attempting to resurrect a political career sidelined by controversy in 2013 when he resigned as county chair after his affair with a county employee and his use of county funds to travel with her were made public. Pham has focused has her advocacy on climate change and housing and health equity and says that will remain a focus in the Legislature. No Republican filed to run in this overwhelmingly Democratic district.

House District 50

Ricki Ruiz, a Reynolds School Board member whose day job is community services coordinator for the city of Gresham, defeated William Miller to become Democrats choice to represent House District 50, which spans East Portland and Gresham.

Ruiz will now face Republican candidate Amelia Salvador, a real estate broker who previously managed the Gresham Farmers Market, in the November general election.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Taiwan's Tsai to Tread Cautiously on Cross-Strait Relations at Inauguration: Experts

By Tina Chung, Adrianna Zhang May 19, 2020

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is set to be sworn in on Wednesday for her second term. Analysts say she is expected to "put down the markers" on Taiwanese sovereignty but not cross China's red lines in her inaugural speech.

Tsai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) she represents won a landslide victory in January elections, which were widely seen as a referendum on the future of Taiwan and cross-strait relations with Beijing.

Her inaugural speech could provide clues as to how Tsai, who rejects Beijing's one-China principle, will proceed in her second term.

Robert Sutter, who teaches international affairs at George Washington University, said Tsai is "a formidable opponent" of Beijing, and her stance has been consistent. Sutter said he expects Tsai's speech will emphasize her government's accomplishments in the first term and avoid overtly antagonizing China.

Sutter said, "Tsai Ing-wen strikes me as a very sober individual, who is very concerned about Taiwan's sovereignty, and she's very experienced in cross-strait relations. She knows what the buttons are, and she doesn't want to push with Beijing, and so she'll avoid them and say something meaningful to the people on Taiwan to deepen their sense of being in a good place of good government."

Beijing has escalated the number and intensity of military drills around the island in recent months, including a 36-hour air force endurance exercise in April and a first-ever nighttime drill in March.

I-Chung Lai, president of the Taiwan-based Prospect Foundation, said the island received pressure from China to show goodwill in Tsai's speech, but China's recent saber-rattling could have the opposite effect.

Lai said, "So I really hope China can reduce the temperature a little bit so Tsai Ing-wen will have a better reason to respond in kind."

Jacques deLisle is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who focuses on contemporary Chinese law and politics. He said Tsai's speech will not challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait but may reference protests and unrest in Hong Kong.

"I expect her to hit pretty hard on the themes of how successful Taiwan's democratic liberal society has been in coping with COVID," deLisle said. "I think she has to walk a fine line in how much to reference the Hong Kong situation which obviously is key to her re-election but neuralgic [sharply painful] to Beijing."

DeLisle added, "I think there'll be a bleak reference to how appealing the Taiwan model is and how Taiwanese people ... don't want to be Hong Kong. I think you will see the kinds of references to sovereignty that put down markers but don't cross red lines."

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there will be no large-scale celebrations for the inauguration. Tsai posted a tweet on Monday, inviting people to watch the inauguration ceremony online "to celebrate the power of the people in this flourishing democracy that embraces diversity."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






20.05.2020 LISTEN

Paris, 20 MayThe Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has condemned the murder of television reporter Said Yusuf Ali in Mogadiscio, Somalia, on 4 May.

I condemn the killing of Said Yusuf Ali, said the Director-General. I call on the authorities to undertake a thorough investigation to determine if the journalists death is connected to his profession. This killing comes as a sad reminder of the threats facing the press, Ms. Azoulay added, stressing that the murder took place on the day following World Press Freedom Day.

A reporter with private television broadcaster Kalsan TV, Said Yusuf Ali was stabbed to death on his way home while trying to separate a man and a woman who appeared to be fighting. Investigators are reported to suspect that the fight was staged as a trap for the journalist who had reported on the reverses of the rebellion against the government of Somalia.

UNESCO promotes the safety of journalists through global awareness-raising, capacity building, and a range of actions, notably in the framework of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity.
If you don't wear a mask while shopping, Tison from Costco will ask you to leave.

That was the case for one customer in in Arvada, Colorado, when a Costco employee with a badge name "Tison" asked the man who refused to wear a face covering to leave the establishment.

The confrontation, which Twitter user @OnlyInLVNV posted online Monday, went viral Wednesday.

"I'll just put you on my 3,000-follower Instagram feed, mostly loved ones," the customer says to the Costco employee as he starts recording the interaction.

To which Tison replies, "Hi, everyone. I work for Costco and I'm asking this member to put on a mask 'cause that is our company policy."

Costco employee who asked customer to leave for not wearing a mask.

Last month, Costco announced that, beginning May 4, it would return to regular hours and customers and employees alike would be required to wear face coverings or masks. At the time of the announcement, some on social media voiced their opposition to wearing masks while shopping.

Nevertheless, as BuzzFeed News reported, safety guidelines from Costco have been loosened since May 1.

The customer retorted that he's not putting on a mask "because I woke up in a free country."

Costco customer who was asked to leave the establishment for not wearing a mask.

Tison, the Costco employee, proceeded to take the customer's cart away, politely wished him a great day several times and informed him that he was "not welcome here in our warehouse" and that he needed to leave.

The customer then offered up insults to the Costco employee as he walked away and culminated the video saying, "there he goes, 'cause I'm not a (expletive) sheep."

Costco employee took the customer's cart away after asking him to leave the establishment.

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended "wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission."

After some social media backlash, the customer posted another video saying, "I've got every (expletive) right to not wear a mask anywhere because this isn't about the mask  this is about control." He added, "I was one of the only people in that store not wearing a mask, which means you're protected from me and I'm protected from you."

Story continues

This perspective doesn't align with what the CDC has said.

In its recommendation, the agency notes: "We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms ('asymptomatic') and that even those who eventually develop symptoms ('pre-symptomatic') can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity."

Though the CDC's guidelines refer to wearing a cloth face covering as a "voluntary public health measure," Costco has adopted face coverings as mandatory for entrance to the store.

In unrelated posts on the Costco (Arvada, CO) Facebook page, users were praising the requirement of masks for customers and employees. Support for Tison has also been pouring from Twitter, including from Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who tweeted the video adding: "Costco has the right to require that customers wear a mask. Businesses have the right to prevent people from spewing saliva droplets in their stores. Because we live in a free country."

Costco said that management had no comment at this time when USA TODAY reached out.

In a previous statement, the retailer said: "We know some members may find this inconvenient or objectionable, but under the circumstances we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience. This is not simply a matter of personal choice; a face covering protects not just the wearer, but others too."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Costco employee 'Tison' asks customer to leave for not wearing a mask
1. Yes. Too many kids are staying home. They need a virtual learning option to keep up.

2. Yes. Teachers are out sick and subs cant handle the load. Online learning is needed.

3. No. Its too late in the school year to make a wholesale switch in teaching platforms.

4.No. Many parents arent in a position to stay home while their kids learn virtually.

5. Unsure. It may seem like a good idea from a health standpoint, but it has shortcomings.

Vote

View Results
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Yet another dark money group has inserted itself into the race for northern New Mexicos 3rd Congressional District seat  this time targeting former CIA operative Valerie Plame with a pair of ads that call her a disgraced racist millionaire.

Plame is considered one of the favorites in the Democratic primary, which features seven candidates.

The ads  one in English and the other in Spanish  are produced by the Alliance to Combat Extremism, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit. The ads started airing on such digital platforms as YouTube and Facebook on Tuesday, two weeks before the June 2 Democratic primary. They seize on several issues that have plagued Plame in the past, including her retweet of an anti-Semitic article titled Americas Jews are Driving American Wars that appeared on the blogging site Unz Review in 2017.

Plame later apologized for the retweet, saying she sometimes makes mistakes and that one was a doozy.

After that retweet, the ads say that former KKK leader David Duke and the Nazi website The Daily Stormer embraced Plame for standing up against Jews.

The ad in English zooms in on an image of Plame, swastikas superimposed over her eyes.

Contacted by the Journal, Plame called the ads disgusting.

Our community is struggling to survive this pandemic and rebuild our economy. That will take all of us working together. Political campaigning of this nature is deplorable and not who we are as New Mexicans, she said in an emailed statement. In Congress, I will fight to mandate that groups that operate in the darkness must report their contributions so we know who is funding them. Groups who will do and say anything to get their candidate elected should tell the voters where their money comes from so they can hold them accountable. I wont stop fighting for campaign finance reform and more fairness in elections if elected.

Earlier this year, in an interview with an Israeli journalist, Plame said she had always been drawn to her Jewish heritage and was a member of a Jewish congregation. But the Journal reported afterward that a prominent member of the Temple Beth Shalom said she was not a member.

Plame also heralds herself as a product of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine in one of her TV ads.

Ian Sugar, who describes himself as a Democratic political operative and Jewish, is president of the Alliance to Combat Extremism, which was formed last fall.

We feel that Valerie Plame poses a real unique threat, combining bigotry with celebrity, he said in a phone interview. This is not who Democrats are. We dont nominate bigots. We dont nominate people who as recently as 2017 made racist statements. We think thats disqualifying.

Sugar said the ad buy was in the low six figures, but wouldnt disclose the donors.

During a candidate forum cosponsored by the Journal that aired on KOAT-TV on Sunday, another contender in the CD3 race, John Blair, called out opponent Teresa Leger Fernandez for the support shes received from two dark money groups. He did it again in a news release Tuesday.

I condemn these ads in the strongest possible terms, Blair said. This is why dark money has no place in New Mexico, and why I fought against these shady, secret groups as Deputy Secretary of State.
A 55-year-old farmer in Germany has been convicted of drowning his wife in liquid manure in 2018, after a court dismissed his claim that she fell into a slurry pit by accident.

German agency dpa reported that the Augsburg regional court on Wednesday sentenced the defendant to 13-and-a-half years in prison for manslaughter.

Judges in the Bavarian city said they had no doubt the 51-year-old woman had fallen victim to a violent crime. The defendant's lawyer said they would appeal.

In a separate case, a court in the southern city of Ellwangen convicted a 48-year-old German man of killing his estranged wife last year by pouring gasoline over her and setting her alight.

Prosecutors said the 45-year-old victim died in a fiery blast.

The defendant was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder. In Germany, 123 women were killed by their current or former partners in 2018.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It is a cynosure of all eyes, the tallest architectural masterpiece in the South/South region of Nigeria, the most ICT compliant intelligence structure, the 21 storey smart office complex, located in the central business district of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, set to host any known corporate organization or world class company in the Nigeria Oil and Gas industry.

With the Tower as high as 108.8 meters, the 21 storey Five Star business accommodation occupies a construction area of 18, 639.50 meters square on a massive site area of 48,200.00 meters square, making room for a 500 capacity car park.

The visionary Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, burning with the desire to attract huge volumes of Foreign Direct Investments, FDI, to Akwa Ibom and catapult the state into an investment hub of Nigeria, undertook the 21 storey building, a flagship of his government, as a major catalyst in his envisioned economic renaissance.

For years, Akwa Ibom suffered from dearth of international standard office accommodations for world class corporate organizations as well as International Oil Companies, IOCs, some of which operate in the state but with operational base and headquarters in other cities, a situation which deprived the state of huge internally generated revenues, IGR.

As a leader committed to the overall development of the state in all sectors, Governor Emmanuel saw the turn-key high rise office building as a bait for the oil companies which hitherto laid claims to lack of suitable business accommodations as the major hindrance to the relocation of their headquarters and operational base to Akwa Ibom State.

This much may have accounted to the near lack of presence of any substantial Federal establishment in the oil and gas sector in Akwa Ibom State since creation over 33 years ago. As the hen that lays the golden egg, Akwa Ibom, the largest oil producing state in Nigeria contributing large chunk of revenue to the Federation account from its crude oil, could not boast of a single oil depot, an office of the Directorate of Petroleum Resources, DPR or the head office of any of the oil companies exploiting the States rich oil reserves.

Coming with all the attractions and safety mechanism expected of a smart building anywhere in the world, the 21 storey building is a dream come true in the sustainable infrastructural drive of the Governor Udom Emmanuel administration. The project which kicked off on 17th January, 2018 with a two year work term is scheduled for completion by the end of this year, precisely on 17th December, 2020.

The Mega project handled by a Turkish construction company, VKS, is a magical architectural design on land, the first of its kind in Nigeria which ongoing work is providing direct and indirect job opportunities to the people of Akwa Ibom State and which on completion will not only generate employment  skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled, to the teeming youths of the state but will contribute to the area development as well as house oil and gas companies and serve as a ready haven for investors.

The Tower which has added aesthetics to the landscape of Akwa Ibom will run with 24 hours power supply and contains all necessary facilities and equipment of a smart building including: 4 elevators, 2 emergency exit, fire protection sensors and aviation wing. The ground floor is designed to accommodate banks and canteens while the mechanical floor controls sewage and takes care of waste disposal.

From the second to the twentieth floor seamless office accommodations are provided to end  users while the twenty-one floor is a terrace where guests, tourists and investors can stand to have a glimpse of the beautiful landscape of the capital city.

It is worthy of mention that, the smart building has an access control with such components like, the card reader, biometric control keypads, central stand-alone server workstation, electric lock hardware cabling for doors, boom barrier for cars, automated cards, automated turnstiles, fire protected doors and time attendance readers.

For the fire system, the tower boasts of: fire electric pumps, diesel pump backup, Fire extinguisher hose real, technical rooms E30 cabling for S90 fire, protection sprinkler system, intelligent smoke detectors and fire alarm panel connected to the CCTV room. The state-of-the-art communication gadgets of the intelligence building are in place with all accessories of a public address system including: speaker, combine audio+media via sms for evacuation, control station, UPS and amplifiers.

Night view of the Smart Building

Other unique features of the super imposing edifice are the Led lighting, Touchscreen control KNX occupancy and motion sensors, Digitally addressed lighting interface(DALI), network switch for outdoor lighting motion sensor, Solar fitted nano type facade panel to power facade light at night as well as Perimeter fence light.

Quite expected of a Five Star business environment, the 21 storey smart building makes room for video conferencing, thus putting in place necessary cameras and efficiently managed workstation. With a chiller system of chilled water sensor, infrared toilet system, automated facade sprinklers and cleaner and automated Rain gage.

With Humidity and temperature sensors in all the floors, the smart office complex stamps out itself as truly an intelligence building with no comparison in the south/south region of Nigeria.

Already, Governor Udom Emmanuel has put up Akwa Ibom as first among equal in all sectors such as, Agriculture, Aviation, Healthcare, Education, Human capital development, Power, entrepreneural development and even in the current fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

It is notable that with the very friendly government policies, so many investors have been attracted to Akwa Ibom while some others such as ExxonMobil and Black Rhino have gone ahead to register their intent to share in the opulence of the 21 storey commercial business accommodation.

And so, with a peaceful environment, coupled with warm and friendly people, rich cultural heritage, internationaly acclaimed cuisines, abundant natural endowments and resources, mega projects, including the 21 storey smart building, it can only be concluded that, Akwa Ibom is ready and set to host world businesses.

Source Grace Akpan  Ministry of Information, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

See more photos below;
A mother who nurses her sons, aged five and two, said they are in 'extremely good health' thanks to the breast milk.

Laura Smith, 25, from Michigan, breastfeeds Joel, five, and Bennett, two, up to three times a day, alongside their solid foods.

She claims her sons have never caught the flu or needed medication thanks to the nutrients in the milk.

And, despite receiving criticism from friends and strangers, Laura said she will happily keep breastfeeding her boys until they are eight years old.

Laura Smith, 25, from Michigan, still breastfeeds her sons Joel (back), five, and Bennett (front), two, and is hoping to encourage other mothers to nurse, regardless of their child's age

Laura believes breastfeeding her sons keeps them in good health and has developed a special bond between them. Pictured: Laura with her husband Zane and their sons

Laura revealed her friends began to comment on her extended breastfeeding, by the time Joel was two years old. Pictured: Laura breastfeeding Joel and Bennett

She said: 'The immune benefits are so huge. Joel and Bennett have never had the flu, an ear infection or needed medication for anything. People don't realize how much vitamins and nutrients there are in breast milk.

'I think my own personal limit to feed them would be age eight. But if they still didn't want to stop then I wouldn't say no to them. I won't wake up one day and think this disgusts me, when they are ready to stop then I will.'

Laura and husband Zane, 28, an internal auditor, welcomed their eldest son Joel in May 2015.

The mother-of-two said doctors recommended she stop breast feeding at around six months but realized when Joel reached the age that there was 'no way' she was stopping.

'My mom breastfed me and my four siblings until we were aged up four and five. So extended breastfeeding ran in my family,' she said. 'I began giving him some pureed sweet potato on the side but he continued feeding up to six times a day.

Laura who has received dirty looks while breastfeeding in public, said it's silly how something 'so beautiful and natural can be frowned upon'. Pictured: The 25-year-old nursing her sons

'I had no problem with my milk supply so I knew I'd be able to go past a year. When he was eight months old I introduced some solids like avocado, apples and pears for him to nibble on between his feeds. Before I knew it, Joel was one.'

Whether she's out at the park or zoo, she feels little hesitation in feeding him in public.

But she claims that some of her friends have been judgmental about her choice.

Laura said: 'By the time Joel was two, I had a couple of friends who said they didn't think it was normal that Joel was still feeding. Others asked if I thought he was too old for it or when I was going to give him some real food.

'I had a niggling feeling they didn't agree with it but they were afraid to say. Thankfully my husband and family were so supportive throughout.'

In November 2017, Laura gave birth to her youngest son, Bennett.

'It was really hard to say no to Joel when I needed to feed Bennett,' she explained.

Laura claims Joel was jealous of her closeness to Bennett, when she began breastfeeding him. Pictured: Laura and Joel, her eldest son, who is now five years old and is still nursing

Laura who would breastfeed her sons up to the age of eight, said she will stop when her sons are ready. Pictured: Laura and Joel

'It was a bond only the two of us shared up until that point. So there was a lot of jealously. I think it was more the closeness that Joel was jealous of rather than the milk.'

Afraid of Joel feeling left out, Laura soon began tandem breastfeeding her sons.

Laura continued: 'Joel has breakfast lunch and dinner like any other kid.

'But he also feeds up to three times a day. Bennett has started eating some solids on the side as well. There's nothing I love more than nursing them, it brings us all closer together. I feed them at parks, the zoo, or wherever if I need to.

'If Joel and Bennett are running around and one gets hurt, I'll nurse them to make them feel better.'

Despite her keenness to continue breastfeeding her kids, Laura has grown self-conscious of nursing them in public over the years.

She added: 'As Joel is so big now, strangers do give me dirty looks or stare at me. It's very silly how something so beautiful and natural can be frowned upon.

Laura believes nursing her five-year-old makes him feel safe and gives him stability. Pictured: Laura breastfeeding her son Joel

Laura claims people lack education about extended breastfeeding, but she's passionate about teaching them. Pictured: Laura and Zane with their children

'I now avoid feeding them in shopping centers as there are too many people who stare and I don't want to deal with the drama. I try to wait until we get into the car or go home.

'A few months ago I uploaded some photos of my tandem nursing and some moms commented 'You're too old.'

'Others said 'Why is she nursing a toddler?' and 'Shouldn't she stop?' It was upsetting, but I tried not to let the negative comments get to me.

'People just lack education about extended breastfeeding and I'm passionate about teaching them.

'The next week I joined some support groups for extended breastfeeding on Facebook and people said my photos were beautiful. Some were moms on there breastfed their kids up to eight, which made me feel so much better.'

She added: 'I know there is a huge stigma around this, but I hope one day there won't be.'
The Lagos State Police Command have reportedly arrested an actor for allegedly stabbing his neighbour to death in the Ikotun area of the state.

Temitayo Phillips Ogunbusola was said to have stabbed one Oladotun Johnson Opeyemi to death during an argument over electricity bill.

NEWS DIRECT gathered that the incident happened on Sunday, 17 May 2020 at No. 4, Sebil Kazeem, Cele-Egbe, Ikotun, Lagos.

According to a neighbour of the deceased and the culprit, one Banjo Lateef, the argument started when the Nollywood actor was asked to pay the N21,000 electricity bill he was owing.

Narrating the incident on social media, Lateef wrote:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Central government on five fresh pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 on various grounds including that the specific exclusion of Muslims was against the right to equality and secularism under the Constitution.

The CAA, which was notified on January 10, grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities -- Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian -- who migrated to India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh till December 31, 2014, following persecution over their faith.

The top court, on December 18 last year, had decided to examine the constitutional validity of the CAA while refusing to stay its operation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and Hrishiksh Roy, in the proceedings held through video-conferencing, issued the notice on the pleas filed by Tamil Nadu Thoweed Jamath, Shalim, All Assam Law Students Union, Muslim Students Federation (Assam) and Sachin Yadav and ordered their tagging with the earlier batch of PILs filed on the issue.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is the lead petitioner in the case.

Tamil Nadu Thoweed Jamath, in its PIL, said it was raising a seminal important questions related to the promulgation of CAA, wherein first time religion is introduced as a reference point/condition for acquisition of Indian Citizenship for illegal/undocumented migrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Citizenship is being extended to certain a class of migrants belonging to religion of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians and such classification violates Article 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to equality) of the Constitution.

Moreover, the classification based on the religious identity of the individual offends the fundamental principle of Secularism', which is enshrined as basic structure of the Constitution, it said, adding that the benefit was specifically denied to Muslims by specific exclusion.

Other fresh PILs also raised similar objections to the CAA.

Prior to this, the Centre on March 17 had filed its response to the over 100 PILs against the CAA and had asserted that the law does not violate any fundamental right or affect the legal, democratic and secular rights of any Indian citizens.

The government had said the CAA does not confer any arbitrary and unguided powers on the executive as the citizenship to the persecuted minorities of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh would be granted in a manner as specified under the law governing grant of citizenship.

"CAA does not impinge upon any existing right that may have existed prior to the enactment of the amendment and further, in no manner whatsoever, seeks to affect the legal, democratic or secular rights of any of the Indian citizens. The existing regime for obtaining citizenship of India by foreigners of any country is untouched by the CAA and remains the same," it had said.

President Ram Nath Kovind had given his assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act.

Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the CAA. Among those who have filed pleas are IUML, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.

The IUML said in its plea that the CAA violates the fundamental Right to Equality and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making an exclusion on the basis of religion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Contact tracers interview patients confirmed to have COVID-19, identify their close contacts, and help them self-isolate, so that the rest of the population can go back to work. Is your state ready to employ this strategy?

This article was first published on Stacker
[May 20, 2020] NTS Longmont Expands Capabilities to Become One of Colorado's Most Advanced "One-Stop Shops" for Packaging, Energy, Space and Aviation Industry Testing and Certification

NTS, the undisputed leader in testing, inspection, and certification solutions in North America, is pleased to announce that its laboratory in Longmont, Colorado, is once again expanding its services. The NTS (News - Alert) lab secured ISTA Laboratory Certification earlier this year, and now tests to Amazon, FedEx and Sam's Club requirements. ISTA Certification ensures packages undergo rigorous testing to protect against shock, vibration, and atmospheric hazards. In addition to strengthening its ISTA certification, NTS Longmont is rolling out services to meet the needs of three other distinct markets: Energy, Space and Aviation. With its newly achieved Energy Star Certification and Product Safety Testing certification (61010-1 Safety for Laboratory, Measurement, Scientific), NTS Longmont becomes Colorado's only provider of Energy Star, Safety and EMC (News - Alert) testing. The facility is certified to perform Energy Star testing for Data Center Storage Equipment in online 2, 3, or 4 Storage Taxonomy categories. "We have always had the engineering expertise to accommodate these testing categories," said Michael Graham, General Manager at NTS Longmont. "Now we have the proper safety test equipment and the certification to offer valued customers like Seagate (News - Alert), Hewlett Packard, DELL, Quantum and Oracle the convenience of securing the Energy Star seal with increased efficiencies and cost-effectiveness," Graham continued. "These are also valuable gains for other local customers that design IT or laboratory equipment to be able to turn to us for certified product safety testing, and those who require EMC testing. They have industry leading expertise for essential testing in their back yard."



NTS is also extending its superior Space and Aerospace testing capabilities to Longmont, with the arrival of a Thermal Vacuum (TVAC) chamber. The TVAC chamber simulates environmental conditions a spacecraft would endure in flight, and is one of the final tests performed before any equipment arrives at the launch pad. NTS Longmont's TVAC chamber's internal dimensions are 62 inches in depth by 41 inches in diameter. The plate is 36 inches by 60 inches with pressure to 1 x 10-6 Torr. Its temperature range is -180 degrees C to 175 degrees C. "We're excited to use NTS to ensure the integrity of our products in space," said Sally Duller, Manufacturing and Test Manager for EnerSys (News - Alert). "The TVAC chamber is key and using a trusted name like NTS with its multi-decade history in space testing provides assurance in the testing process," Duller continued. Michael Graham remarked, "We have had multiple customers in our immediate area inquire about TVAC chamber testing, so we are thrilled to provide this key service at a significant time to local companies."

About National Technical Systems National Technical Systems, Inc. (NTS) is the leading provider of qualification testing, inspection, and certification services in North America, serving a broad range of industries, including the civil aviation, space, defense, nuclear, telecommunications, industrial, electronics, medical, and automotive end markets. Since 1961, NTS has built the broadest geographic presence in the United States, offering more than 70 distinct environmental simulation and materials testing categories, including climatic, structural, dynamics, fluid flow, EMI/EMC, lightning, product safety, acoustics, failure analysis, chemical, and other industry-specific tests. Operating through a network of more than 27 technologically advanced testing laboratories, this geographically diverse footprint puts NTS facilities in close proximity to its more than 8,000 clients, allowing NTS to serve the nation's most innovative companies with industry-leading accessibility and responsiveness. NTS is accredited by numerous national and international organizations and operates its inspection division under the Unitek brand, providing a wide range of supply chain management services. NTS' certification division, which operates under the NQA brand, is one of the largest and most respected global ISO registrars, with active certifications in more than 75 countries. For additional information about NTS, visit our website at www.nts.com or call 800-270-2516. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005269/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

Trend:

The US has provided nearly $3.6 million COVID-19 assistance to Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the State Departments website.

Nearly $3.6 million in total assistance includes $3 million in health assistance which is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. It also includes $565,000 in MRA (Migration and Refugee Assistance) humanitarian assistance that will help vulnerable people and host communities during the pandemic, reads the message.

Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $894 million in total assistance to Azerbaijan, including nearly $41 million for health, said the State Department.
The coronavirus has taken a grim toll on San Franciscos Asian American community, which accounts for half of the fatalities from COVID-19 and has a high death rate among those who have tested positive for the disease.

Eighteen of the 36 people who had perished from COVID-19 in San Francisco as of Sunday were Asian American, even though the group makes up just over a third of the citys population.

Meanwhile, 6.6% of the confirmed coronavirus cases among Asian Americans in the city have been fatal, compared with 1.7% for the population at large, according to a recent research brief by the Asian American Research Center on Health, or ARCH. The disparity also exists to an extent throughout California.

The number of COVID-19 deaths in San Francisco remains relatively small, prompting health officials to caution against drawing strong conclusions.

John Blanchard

Its possible, for example, that lower testing rates in the Asian American community could make the case-to-death ratio appear artificially high. Some health care providers said that older Asian Americans in the city have sheltered in place so diligently that they may not be venturing out to be tested for the coronavirus, especially if they have mild symptoms.

Still, researchers, local politicians and advocacy groups are asking the city to look more closely at the disparity, especially as the region begins to loosen social restrictions. Some have requested more detailed information to understand whats driving the imbalance.

The city releases aggregate data on cases and deaths, but its impossible to dig into the common factors that might connect them.

This data just points out a problem: Is the problem too many deaths, or is the problem too few tests? asked Dr. Tung Nguyen, a UCSF professor of medicine and one of the authors of the ARCH report. Those are questions that need to be answered.

The ARCH paper lists several possible reasons for the high case-to-death ratio among Asian Americans in San Francisco, including limited access to health care, higher rates of underlying health conditions and an older population.

Nguyen said the likelihood that coronavirus cases become fatal is a good indication of the severity of the disease among different groups, but it can be muddied by inconsistent testing that makes it impossible to get a clear picture of how many people have been infected with the virus.

When other researchers have compared COVID-19 cases and deaths to the population, the biggest racial disparities have emerged among the black and Latino communities  both in the Bay Area and California.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Sasanna Yee, co-founder of Communities as One, a San Francisco nonprofit that works with the Asian American community, had read about the racial disparities among blacks and Latinos in the city, but was surprised that Asian Americans were also being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

There are still a lot of questions to get a richer understanding of this data, Yee said.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health did not make someone available to discuss the topic, despite requests by The Chronicle.

At a Board of Supervisors meeting last week, Public Health Director Grant Colfax said the overall number of COVID-19 deaths in the city is still low, making it difficult to draw any firm statistical conclusions.

He added that the death cases among Asian Americans in the city were very much correlated with age  roughly 90% were older than 60 and many were residents in long-term-care facilities. Some were connected to cruise ships, though health officials did not provide additional details.

Community groups and health care providers, however, were still taken aback by the figures.

We understand our population is more elderly and might have more comorbidities, like diabetes or hypertension, but when the deaths are 50% it really wakes you up, said Dr. L. Eric Leung, board chairman of San Franciscos Asian American Medical Group. That number is striking to me as someone who has been practicing in our community for over 40 years.

Local politicians and researchers have asked the city to release more information about the people who have died from COVID-19 to better understand whats driving the disparity and to alleviate growing anxiety among the Asian American community.

Were the residents concentrated in certain assisted living facilities? What health ailments, if any, did they share? How many had access to health care?

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

We want to find out the common medical and social factors among these cases that have progressed to deaths so that we can protect communities that seem to be at higher risk, said Brandon Yan, a UCSF medical student and lead author of the ARCH report. We dont have sufficient data right now to answer the questions we would like to answer.

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.

Across the Bay Area, people have been clamoring for more details on COVID-19 cases and deaths, but health officials have had to juggle the publics right to information with patient privacy. The balancing act has sometimes left policymakers dissatisfied.

San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who represents Chinatown, said knowing if the COVID-19 deaths were clustered among certain professions, or concentrated in high-density housing such as single room occupancy hotels, would help the city better protect those who are especially vulnerable.

Supervisor Gordon Mar, who represents the Sunset in western San Francisco, said he has pressed the city for more information on the high numbers of Asian Americans who have died of COVID-19, but has yet to receive anything beyond what was shared at the supervisors meeting last week.

And Nguyen, at ARCH, said he has gotten several questions about the impacts of COVID-19 on Californias Filipino American community due to the high numbers who work in health care, but its impossible to measure due to data limitations. Currently everyone with Asian ancestry is grouped together in state and city data.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

If we could just get a profile, that would be helpful, said Kent Woo, executive director of the NICOS Chinese Health Coalition in San Francisco. Were the ones doing the health messaging, were the ones making visits to homes, were the ones setting up food pantries. Who do we need to target? What do we need to do?

The disparity in San Francisco could be because Asian Americans are less likely to get tested for the coronavirus than other races and ethnicities, an observation made by several health care providers, as well as in the ARCH report. With fewer confirmed cases, the mortality rate could appear higher.

Dr. Amy Tang, director of immigrant health at the North East Medical Services, said that many older residents in San Franciscos Chinatown began sheltering in place well before the official orders were announced, and have continued to remain inside their homes unless they need to leave.

The cautious behavior should help tamp down the spread of the virus, but it could also lead to lower testing rates and health outcomes that appear worse, Tang said. Of the four Bay Area testing sites that North East Medical Services runs, the Chinatown location has the least traffic, and a disproportionate number of requests for tests have come from non-Asian patients.

I want to explore whether thats because theres a lower burden of COVID-19 in the immediate community, or for other reasons, like a fear of getting tested or leaving the house, Tang said. I dont want our patients waiting until the last minute  when theyre very, very ill  to acknowledge they may have the virus.

Joaquin Palomino is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jpalomino@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoaquinPalomino
Twelve people, who had recently returned from Mumbai, have tested positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking the virus tally in the state to 105, officials said on Wednesday.

The 12 were among the 697 people, who had returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai in a special train on May 18, they said.

Of the 697 passengers who arrived at Una on Monday, 242 were from Kangra, 169 from Hamirpur, 103 from Mandi, 43 from Bilaspur, 40 from Shimla, 38 from Una, 26 from Chamba, 10 each from Kullu and Kinnaur and eight each were from Solan and Sirmaur, Una deputy commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.

While eleven persons, including four women, tested positive in Kangra, a man tested positive for COVID-19 in Kullu district, they added.

A woman (56), her son (31) and his wife (25) are among those who tested positive in Kangra for COVID-19, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

Similarly, a man (41), his wife (34) and their child (11) also tested positive at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (PRGMC) in Tanda, he added.

They have been quarantined at Parour and are being shifted to Baijnath, he added.

Now, active cases in Kangra stand at 24 whereas one man died on March 23. Eight people have been cured in Kangra out of the total 33 positive cases in the district.

In Kullu, a 23-year-old man, who had returned from Mumbai, tested positive for COVID-19, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

This is the first positive case in Kullu district.

The SP said 10 people from Kullu district were kept in isolation at Ayurveda hospital. Samples of all of them were taken. While on tested positive, the others were negative.

The total number of infected people in the state stands at 105, while 51 of them have been cured. Four people have died due to COVID-19.

The active cases in the state now stands at 50, including 24 from Kangra, 11 from Hamirpur, five each from Bilaspur and Chamba, two each from Sirmaur, Una and one from Kullu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has said he could not travel to Cahirciveen to apologise directly to the people in direct provision in the Skellig Star hotel because of Covid-19 restrictions.

I am subject to the same restrictions as everybody else, he told RTE radios Today with Sarah McInerney show.

The Minister was commenting after he

Read More:

I didnt deem it appropriate to address people in direct provision through the Kerryman, he said.

Mr Flanagan said he felt he needed to explain the situation to the people of Kerry and to apologise for not alerting the locals sooner when it was confirmed that there was a case of Covid-19 in the direct provision centre.

Remember we were in the middle of a pandemic.

Action had to be taken swiftly which meant that the usual protocols such as informing locals had not been taken, he said.

The Minister said that either he or officials from his department are in contact with management of the direct provision centre in the former Skellig Star hotel on a daily basis.

Justince minister CHarlie Flanagan

Mr Flanagan acknowledged that there had been problems with a boiler for hot water in the former hotel, this issue has still not been dealt with because of the difficulty in having it repaired during a pandemic.

But, he said that every room had been furnished with an electrical heater and there were heaters in communal spaces.

Where possible social distancing is observed in the centre and ever family has their own room. Unfortunately, he said not everyone could have their own room.

We dont have a bedroom for everybody (in direct provision), ideally we would have an apartment for everybody, but we dont have the resources for 7,000 apartments.

"The people in direct provision are not refugees," said Mr Flanagan.

"They are people who have arrived in country suddenly and the State is obliged to offer them board, shelter and accommodation," he said.

The Minister said and his officials had always sought to make life as comfortable as possible for people in direct provision.

The Skellig Star hotel had been assessed last September after the Department of Justice had sought expressions of interest in providing accommodation which could be used for direct provision.

It was designated as suitable, but it was not until March when the need became acute that the hotel was required.

Because of the pandemic we werent able to consult with locals. I regret that locals were not alerted sooner.

Mr Flanagan said it had been deemed necessary to move people to accommodation that was not commercial where they would not have to come in contact with customers staying in a hotel.

That could have proved too high a risk.

He regretted that locals were not alerted sooner about the case of Covid-19 and he said that he accepted the matter had not been handled in the manner in which it would had there not been a pandemic.

As soon as anyone tested positive they were relocated to a place of greater safety.

I dont believe there was secrecy, he said, but because of the pandemic the usual mechanisms by which information is shared had not been observed.

Mr Flanagan said he had no problem addressing the issue again in the Dail. He said he had no problem apologising to the people in the centre, but would not do so through the local newspaper.
Ukraine needs to have a dialogue with Putin, Zelensky is ready for talks in any format

President of Ukraine during a press conference strana.ua

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the meeting of the Normandy Four would take place after the Covid-19 pandemic began to fade. He stated this during a press conference that was broadcasted by 112 Ukraine TV channel.

Zelensky added that he had not even communicated with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a long time because of the current epidemiological situation in the world.

"I really did not have a meeting with him in any format, there were no calls. Now all countries, and it is true, are engaged, everyone is focusing on the situation with coronavirus in their country. We are still working on the issue of the return of our people, on the issue of return of our territories and illegally annexed Crimea," he said.

As we reported earlier, on May 6, Head of Ukraines Presidents Office Andriy Yermak held phone talks with the political advisers of the leaders of the Normandy Format countries.

The Ukrainian side offered to involve IDPs in the work of the subgroups as people who will represent the occupied territories.
Empress 1908 Gin has a familiar flavor, made with the usual lineup of citrus, coriander and juniper, although looks anything but ordinary. Its a striking indigo blue in the bottle thanks to the addition of butterfly pea blossoms.

And thats only the beginning.

Butterfly pea blossoms are the flower of a plant related to peas and beans and native to South East Asia. The flowers give liquids theyre steeped in a deep blue color thats reactive to acids such as lemon or lime juice. When the pH level drops, that blue changes to a bright purple.

Empress 1908 is named for the famed Fairmont Empress hotel in Canada and is made with the same blend of black tea served there, giving the spirit a refined fragrance and flavor that makes for a uniquely blue, gin-based old-fashioned. But to really make the most of Empress, try it in a cocktail that uses fresh citrus juice.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio bars can open Friday under phase 2 of coronavirus reopening

I have been pouring it into variations of cocktails including the French 75, gin sour, gin and tonic  most commercial tonic waters include enough citric acid to trigger the color-shifting reaction on their own  and other drinks. As an enthusiastic gin fan, I can say Empress is on par with other top-shelf gins in terms of taste. The color is a fun bonus that doesnt come at the expense of flavor.

If youre looking to shake up your home mixology game, Empress 1908 is a worthy contender for space on your shelf. Look for 750-milliliter bottles priced at around $35 at Specs, Total Wine & More and some specialty liquor stores in the San Antonio area.

Paul Stephen is a food and drink reporter and restaurant critic in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Paul, become a subscriber. pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
[May 20, 2020] Reid Collins Defeats Motions to Dismiss in In re Renren, Inc. Derivative Litigation Involving Billion Dollar Sham "Spin-Off"

Reid Collins & Tsai LLP, a leading national trial law firm, announced today that it has defeated five motions to dismiss filed by defendants in a suit involving an alleged scheme by Renren insiders to squeeze out minority shareholders and take the company's billion-dollar investment portfolio for themselves. The New York Supreme Court for New York County today entered a 71-page order denying all of the motions filed by insiders and others involved in the transaction. The defendants - Joseph Chen, David Chao and related DCM (News - Alert) Investments funds, Oak Pacific Interactive ("OPI"), and Duff & Phelps, LLC - had moved to dismiss, asserting lack of personal jurisdiction and that Reid Collins' clients, including Renren shareholders Heng Ren Silk Road Investments LLC and Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd., lacked derivative standing under Cayman law to pursue the claims. "We are pleased that the New York State Supreme Court rejected the defendants' attempts to dismiss the case so we can proceed in securing justice for our clients," said William T. Reid, IV, lead litigator and co-founder of Reid Collins. The suit arises out of Mr. Chen's and Mr. Chao's alleged scheme to take Renren's billion-dollar investment portfolio for themselves and their associates through a sham transaction in which Renren's investment portfolio was transferred to an entity (OPI) that was then divested from Renren. Unlike a normal spin-off, Renren's minority shareholders did not receive shares of OPI, but instead received an artificially low cash dividend based on a deflaed value for OPI and its assets, including a $560+ million interest in renowned fintech company Social Finance, Inc. The valuation on which the cash dividend was based undervalued the investment portfolio by hundreds of millions of dollars. Renren had originally obtained the investment portfolio at issue with the proceeds of its initial public offering of American depository shares on the New York Stock Exchange.



In a meticulously detailed opinion, Justice Andrew Borrok rejected the defendants' arguments that New York courts could not exercise specific personal jurisdiction, noting: "Nearly every aspect of the IPO and the Transaction are connected to New York. And, Renren's New York-based contacts were not merely incidental to listing its ADS on the NYSE; they related to a deliberate decision to structure the disposition of assets from Renren pursuant to the Transaction, which necessarily involved New York." Justice Borrok further observed "the Amended Complaint in this case draws a straight line from the IPO and the investments made from the proceeds thereof to the Transaction and the ultimate divesture of those investments in the Separation." Justice Borrok similarly rejected the defendants' arguments that the claims at issue did not give rise to derivative standing under Cayman law's "fraud on the minority" exception. In doing so, Justice Borrok noted: "The allegations of deliberate and dishonest breaches of duty of the Director Defendants and DCM Defendants leap off the pages of the Amended Complaint."

About Reid Collins & Tsai LLP Reid Collins & Tsai LLP is a national trial law firm that practices complex litigation nationally and internationally. With offices strategically located in New York, Washington D.C., Austin, Dallas, and Los Angeles, its trial attorneys include a team of former federal prosecutors, judicial law clerks, and forensic accountants who maximize recoveries and resolve complicated disputes for clients in and out of the courtroom. Its practice spans a wide range of complex commercial litigation, including financial fraud matters, Ponzi scheme-related cases, cross-border disputes, and professional-liability matters. The firm represents trustees, receivers, liquidators, foreign governments, international banks, individuals, and companies from the U.S. and abroad in federal and state courts across the country. For more information visit www.reidcollins.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005872/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Five McDonald's employees and four of their family members have filed a lawsuit in Illinois that claims the Chicago-based company didn't provide workers with adequate protections against the coronavirus.

The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, was filed Tuesday in Cook County with the goal of having an Illinois state court issue an injunction that would force McDonald's to require face coverings for customers, inform employees of coworkers who test positive for COVID-19, and prevent workers from having to reuse masks.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Arnhem (Piroschka van de Wouw / Reuters)

It also claims that employees were not given an adequate amount of hand sanitizer, gloves and masks and were not told by superiors when a coworker tested positive for the virus.

McDonald's said in a statement to TODAY that a press release by the Service Employees International Union outlining the lawsuit contains "inaccurate characterizations" and that it has provided adequate protective equipment and safety protocols.

"Crew and managers are the heart and soul of the restaurants in which they work, and their safety and well-being is a top priority that guides our decision making,'' the company said in its statement. "Since February, McDonalds USA has updated nearly 50 processes to keep restaurant employees and customers safe and has issued a 59-page guide outlining national standards restaurants must implement.

"These include wellness checks, protective barriers, adhering to social distancing guidelines for customers and crew, using gloves and masks, increasing the frequency of handwashing and moving to contactless operations. PPE is in ample supply for all restaurants, as masks, gloves and protective barriers are required at all restaurants; to-date, more than 100 million masks have been distributed to crew."

The lawsuit also claims that employees at one location were not told by managers that a coworker had tested positive for coronavirus and that employees at four locations were unable to practice social distancing because they had to work in crowded kitchens.

Employees at three McDonald's restaurants in California also filed notices of intent to sue on Tuesday with the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency alleging unsafe work conditions. McDonald's has 33 days to fix the violations or the workers can take the company to court, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

McDonald's is the latest company to face legal action over allegedly failing to protect workers during the pandemic. The family of a 51-year-old Walmart employee in Chicago who died from coronavirus filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company last month, and workers at a pork processing plant in Missouri sued Smithfield Foods last month saying they were made to work in unsafe conditions.
It is not every day that the world looks at something that is happening in India, especially in the health sector, and says, this is what the rest of the world also should do. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is happening and the international media is drooling over an Indian's effort to contain the deadly outbreak.

From BBC to Washington Post and The Guardian, international media from around the world have been showering praises on Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja, for her steadfast actions in the face of the pandemic.

SCREENGRAB

Over the past few weeks, KK Shailaja or Shailaja Teacher as she is fondly called, have been given other names like Corona Slayer and Kerala's Rockstar Health Minister by international media who it seems can't have enough of her.

While it came as a surprise to many, for people of Kerala, it was not, because just two years ago she almost single-handedly led Kerala in its fight against Nipah, another virus outbreak, which like COVID-19 had no cure, but had a much higher mortality rate.

BCCL

But the quick action of the health system in Kerala prevented it from spiraling out of control and kept the deaths to just 17. These efforts won praises from across the world including from the WHO.

Fast forward two years, and when the world was still scrambling for answers on how to deal with COVID-19, the former High School science teacher had a well thought-out plan ready. Like in the case of Nipah, COVID-19 too spread through contact with infected patients and it was important to identify all high-risk contacts.

BCCL

When the first cases were reported in Kerala, the health department had prepared route maps of the patients since their arrival in the state, which helped to identify and isolate every single person who came into contact with them.

According to Shailaja Teacher, the state was already prepared for COVID-19 long before it hit the state. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Shailaja Teacher said she first read about the virus in China and asked an official if we have to be worried, the answer was yes, it was only a matter of time.

As feared, the first wave of COVID-19 in Kerala came from where it all began - Wuhan, China. Three medical students who had returned from Wuhan were the first to test positive for COVID-19 in Kerala, this was back on January 30, long before it started wreaking havoc around the world.

KK Shailaja Teacher

Kerala declared COVID-19 a 'state calamity' and swung into action. While the three eventually recovered, Shailaja and her team continued their vigil and it paid off. In March when like the rest of India, Kerala too started seeing a spike in the number of cases, mostly on those returning from abroad.

Kerala which has a high expat population could have easily become another Maharashtra or Gujarat. But the state has recorded an unparalleled success, in containing the outbreak, with just 643 cases so far. What is even more impressive is the recovery and mortality rate in Kerala. 497 people including elderly and those with multiple health complications have already recovered in Kerala and there have been just 4 deaths, including one Mahe resident who was brought to Kannur for treatment. (Mahe falls under the UT of Puducherry).

KK Shailaja Teacher

Despite the success so far, Shailaja and her team who spend most of their day monitoring the developments in the state is not in a celebratory mood and keeps on reminding people that any careless act could bring the virus back.
The continuing row between the US and the Chinese government may lead China to 'nuke bomb' US companies as sanctions against Huawei is still happening.

Beijing warns the US that their big companies like Apple, Cisco, also Qualcomm need to keep the Chinese market, and they will be blacklisted.

Retaliation for Trump's move against Huawei

Next to come, according to the Chinese statement, will be restrictive rules and investigations to be done, as per The Global Times. All these counter moves are the result of President Trump's crusade to stop shipping parts needed for Huawei mobile phones.

The result is razing these firms to the ground and make their backers pull, as retaliation for embargoing crucial electronic components.

It is called a 'Nuke bomb' by analysts. Newsweek confirmed that the CCP will not buy Boeing planes as well, to dig deeper into American companies.

He Weiwen said that these countermeasures will teach the US to ask any favors, after their actuation against a Chinese company, which he told the Global Times. The recent declaration by the US Department of Commerce to set new rules on the sale of electronic components to a foreign company, like Huawei.

One claim is the intentional move to hinder Huawei from controlling the market. The US is making the move to lessen China's trading capacity. Rules for exporting are getting amended so that electronic components will be out of reach, companies like Huawei will have a hard time getting US software and tech.

A warning was issued citing that Apple, Cisco and Qualcomm are dependent on China to earn more revenue for the US companies.

New info has been revealed that Apple has made moves to continue in China, as cited in the Washington Post.

Also read: Coronavirus Outbreak Second Wave? Recovered Wuhan Patients Testing Positive Again

'Nuke bomb' may cause billions of losses

Chinese demands even called for hiding a Taiwanese flag on the keyboard, and other references to Hong Kong protests too. The editorial commented that Apple accepted it, as cost of operation in China and the Chinese need a big US firm.

The biggest loser in the row will be US chip-making firms that will lose billions with a side effect of obliterating Huawei, which needs the US more. As Washington and Beijing trade barbs which will cause a massive disruption of tech industries, Huawei is caught in a political feud and it could wipe out the most successful Chinese firm.

If Washington refused to supply Huawei with electronic components, then the Chinese company will be at a disadvantage. The Chinese firm has chips of its own, thought the firms they contract to use American equipment.

Many other chipmakers like the as Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC are dependent on US components. An expert said that Huawei is like a sitting duck for all intents in an email when requested for comment.

For the most part, China has failed to make its sources but choose to be dependent instead. Now, the Chinese telecom has few options to go for, like SMIC but less advanced than TSMC.

Accusations that the US is unfair and bends principles of the market, with these new impositions. Whatever happens, as the US squeezes Huawei, the result is a destructive tsunami in the industry.

Blacklisting Huawei has caused a low demand, with their new mobiles without require services. Despite the nuke bomb threat on US companies, it seems Huawei is the real victim.

Related article: China-US Trade War: Trump Has Two Choices for America

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The coronavirus pandemic is expected to throw into extreme poverty more than 60 million people globally, the World Bank said on Tuesday as it announced emergency operations worth USD 160 billion in 100 developing countries to fight this deadly virus. "The pandemic and shutdown of advanced economies could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation, World Bank President David Malpass told reporters during a conference call.

"The World Bank Group has moved quickly and decisively to establish emergency response operations in 100 countries, with mechanisms that allow other donors to rapidly expand the programs," he said. Of the 100 countries, home to 70 per cent of the world's population, 39 are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly one-third of the total projects are in fragile and conflict-affected situations, such as Afghanistan, Chad, Haiti, and Niger.

"To return to growth, our goal must be rapid, flexible responses to tackle the health emergency, provide cash and other expandable support to protect the poor, maintain the private sector, and strengthen economic resilience and recovery, Malpass said. "This represents a significant milestone in the World Bank Group's effort to deploy USD160 billion over a 15-month period. So this is a milestone in the USD 160 billion that we have committed to, he said.

Malpass said that the programs are tailored to the countries to effectively respond to the health, economic and social shocks that that country are facing. The programs will reinforce healthcare systems; and also help procure vital life-saving medical equipment and supplies. And these programs contain mechanisms that allow other donors to rapidly expand the program, he added.

"We invite that. There can be co-financing, there can be additional donors parallel with these programs, so it is important that we note that the programs are expandable. And because of the breadth that means the interested donors and other multilateral banks can reach countries around the world, the World Bank President said.

The Bank Group's support through grants, loans and equity investments will be supplemented by the suspension of bilateral debt service, as endorsed by the Bank's governors. IDA-eligible countries that request forbearance on their official bilateral debt payments will have more financial resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and fund critical, lifesaving emergency responses.

"The bilateral debt-service suspension being offered will free up crucial resources for IDA countries to fund emergency responses to COVID-19, said Malpass.

"Nations should move quickly to substantially increase the transparency of all their governments' financial commitments. This will increase the confidence in the investment climate and encourage more beneficial debt and investment in the future, he added. More than 310,000 people have died due to the coronavirus pandemic and over 4.8 million people infected around the world. The US is the worst-hit country with over 90,000 deaths and over 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Also read: Lockdown 4.0 Coronavirus Live Updates: Railways to run 200 trains from June 1; India tally crosses 1-lakh mark

Also read: Economic stimulus to partially offset negative impact of coronavirus: Moody's
New Delhi, May 20 : Highlighting the plight of migrant workers walking on foot to their native places, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday targeted the Uttar Pradesh government for not allowing the buses arranged by the party to enter the state.

After the permission was not granted for the buses to enter UP, Priyanka Gandhi decided to recall them.

Addressing a press conference over the politics on the buses to ferry the migrant workers, Priyanka Gandhi said, "For the last few days we have seen that migrant workers have been walking without any food and any proper mode of transport. They are are travelling hundreds of kilometres. Many pregnant women are walking for over eight hours a day, while some are carrying their children and parents on their shoulders." She said that during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis, everyone needs to realize one's responsibilities.

She said the Congress wants to help in a positive way and doesn't want to indulge in politics.

"I request you to let these buses enter Uttar Pradesh. This is not the time to play politics; all parties should set aside politics and help people," she said.

"They are not only people of the country, but they are the backbone of the economy. They have made the buildings and cities," she said.

Reiterating the offer of providing 1,000 buses to ferry the migrants, the Congress leader, who is also party in-charge of eastern UP, said, "Our buses have been parked at the Uttar Pradesh borders. They will remain there till 4 p.m. on Wednesday. If you want to use them, then give permission or they will be brought back." However, the party said the buses waited two more hours beyond 4p.m. and then were called back.

Priyanka said if the BJP wants to use these buses with their own stickers and posters, the Congress has no objection as its only motive is to help the migrant workers.

She said that in the last three days, had the buses been allowed to enter UP, over 92,000 people would have been ferried to their native places. "But now we can see that the same people are walking on foot to their homes," she said.

She also mentioned the letter war with the Uttar Pradesh government and said, "I had written to the Chief Minister proposing 1,000 buses. Initially, the Chief Minister said they did not need those vehicles as they already had over 12,000 of them. And then the next day, we received a letter from the Uttar Pradesh government to provide the details of the buses, which we shared with them. Out of the 1,000 buses, some were not fit, which we agreed to replace," she said.

"However, for the last three days, these buses have been parked at the Uttar Pradesh border adjoining Rajasthan and in Delhi and waiting for the permission," she said.

Emphasising that it is not the time for petty politics, she said, "It is important that all political parties help the people in distress. The UP Congress after the announcement of lockdown formed a volunteer group and also started community kitchens in several parts of the state." She said that the Congress has to date distributed food to over 67 lakh people.
Pakistani netizens on Wednesday eagerly and somewhat thanklessly jumped on the Turkey bandwagon trending 'Boycott UAE' on Twitter after a Turkey-based account asked Pakistani's to trend the hashtag highlighting the strengthening relationship between India and the UAE.

Raising objections against PM Modi being given its highest civilian award and the UAE sending medical supplies to India amid the pandemic, the Turkish account stated that UAE was biased towards India and was silent on multiple issues like Kashmir, an issue on which Turkey 'stood-by' Pakistan.

United Arab Emirates is now the enemy of Turkey. I ask all our Muslim friends to impose sanctions on the UAE. #BoycottUAE  Ali Keskin (@alikeskin_tr) May 19, 2020

Furious debate begins online

Reactions to the trend were myriad, with many netizens highlighting Pakistan's outstanding debts to the UAE and how it has been, along with China, among the main avenues for Pakistan to seek bailouts.

Welldone my dear Pakistani brothers & sisters for trending #BoycottUAE but kindly note we own them $30 bn.



If we 200 million Pakistanis sell 1 kidney, 1 eye in Int market we can get $33 bn. Let us return their money & with extra $3 bn we can have free biryani for next 3 yrs.  Zaidu (@TheZaiduLeaks) May 19, 2020

Boycott UAE? Sure, first return them the billions of $$ Pakistan owes them. Today showing love for Turkey, Pakistani keyboard warriors are trending Boycott UAE. https://t.co/iariXWnQCT  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) May 19, 2020

Pakistani are trending #BoycottUAE, do they know that UAE is the second largest source of remittances to Pakistan with over $3 billion.

Its like "to put axe on your own foot"

Kuch nahi hoga is desh ka.  Mohit Jamwal (@MohitJamwal77) May 20, 2020

Pakistan is boycotting UAE just bcoz they have strengthened their ties with India to fight COVID 19.



This is huge loss for entire gulf region as they've lost a handsome driver today.#BoycottUAE @TarekFatah #PKPB pic.twitter.com/RzRCID14O6  Sachin Singh (@Sachin_anshu06) May 20, 2020

Read: Turkey's Delivery Of 4,00,000 Surgical Gowns To UK Failed To Meet British Safety Standards

Boycott UAE was started by the Turkish account in response to UAE's growing support to Khalifa Hafter, after they criticized Turkeys actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, extending support for Libyas legitimate government along with countries like Israel and Russia. Pakistani netizens, on the other hand, jumped on the bandwagon agreeing that Pakistan should impose sanctions against UAE when UAE's relations with India were highlighted. It is imperative however to understand, that Pakistan has been a heavy borrower of the UAE, and owes the country $30 billion dollars.

Read: Pakistani Lawmaker Baffles All; Claims Half Of UK's Population Has Covid & Brazens It Out
Based on an article, the Mexican corn or maize is beyond the food that Mexicans and other people across the world love to include in their dishes. Mexican corn is embodied in the culture of the country's indigenous people.

Also, the article reveals that thousands of years in the past, indigenous people in Meso-America decided to plant teocintle which had resulted in the first domesticated corn.

Corn Vs Mexican Corn

Corn is known to be in different forms and types. Also, 21 percent of the nutrition of the people across the globe are attributable to the corn, according to an article.

Based on an article, corn pertains to a broader term while the Mexican corn or maize is a type of corn.

In the past, the corn connotes to the grains harvested in a location. It means that during that time, when corn was used in conversations, it may be pointing out to barley, oats, or rye. There has been a place before where rice was called corn.

According to an article, maize came from the mahiz. It was the name that indigenous people from the Caribbean gave to maize. It was their group's main source of nutrition. The maize was named as such by the Spanish people who arrived in the indigenous tribe's land in the 16th century.

Corn is the main ingredient for cornstarch, cornmeal, cornflour, and grits. It means that aside from its natural form, humans had made a way to transform it into different everyday kitchen ingredients that many kitchens cannot live without. Whether it be for sauces or ingredients in your favorite meals, corn has got your back.

Maize of the Indigenous People

The Mexican corn or maize of the Mexican indigenous people can be in different sizes and colors, says an article. Also, the article reveals that the Mexican corn can be as small as a few inches to a foot long. Its varieties come in different colors such as blue, black, red, yellow, and white. Some even contain more than one color per corn variety.

Based on an article, the maize is part of the daily nutrition of the indigenous people in Mexico.

The Mexican corn or maize represents the diverse and rich culture of the country's indigenous people. This can be witnessed in the maize varieties locally grown by indigenous people. Just like the people who grow them, the maize's different colors and sizes represent a rich culture protected by a community influenced by their ancestry's past and their dedication to protecting it.

Check these out:

Protecting Mexico's Maize

Recently, the government of Mexico had passed a bill to help protect the Mexican corn and the indigenous people's methods of growing them, says in an article. Also, the article reveals that the bill aims to protect the maize varieties that are grown through the traditional methods of tribes from genetic modification.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao secured its first accredited COVID-19 testing laboratory on Wednesday.

The Department of Health-Central Office has selected the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC) to perform reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the region.

We are using Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2, an FDA-approved RT-PCR testing kit, an acceptable confirmatory testing for SARS-CoV-2 and it can run the test in 45 minutes, said CRMC Chief of Hospital Dr. Helen Yambao.

Yambao added the hospital was inspected by the DOH Central Office through the Health Facilities Services and Regulatory Bureau, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), World Health Organization, and the DOH Region 12 Regulation, Licensing, and Enforcement Division before giving the certification to be a COVID-19 testing laboratory.

The CRMC hospital chief also noted they will accept specimens only of suspected COVID-19 patients in BARMM and Region 12.

We are not going to accept specimens from walk-in patients to CRMC, or directly referred by LGUs, hospitals, and clinics. Only specimens from suspect or probable COVID-19 cases are accepted, and priority testing will be done to those critical cases and repeat tests for monitoring of COVID-19 positive cases, Yambao added.

Previous swab samples from the Bangsamoro region were previously sent to RITM in Metro Manila or to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.

The Bangsamoro government allotted  14.1-million for the procurement and upgrading of medical and laboratory supplies to prepare for the COVID-19 testing.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Al Haj Murad Ebrahim welcomed the accreditation of CRMC as a COVID-19 testing laboratory, hoping that it can be a big help in preventing the spread of the virus in the region.

We congratulate the CRMC on their recent accreditation as a sub-national testing laboratory for COVID-19. This development will greatly help the Bangsamoro and Region XII as we adopt the national strategy of D.I.T.R or detect, isolate, treat, and reintegrate, Ebrahim said.

As of May 1, the BARMM has no active COVID-19 cases. But it has 11 confirmed infections, along with four deaths and seven recoveries.

As per the DOH count yesterday, the country now has 13,221 confirmed COVID-19 cases together with 842 fatalities and 2,932 recoveries.
Crews on Tuesday night were battling a large forest fire that burned more than 750 acres across two towns in South Jersey, authorities said.

Firefighters were working to quell the flames in a wooded-area near Winslow Road and Broadlane Road, close to Monroe Township in Gloucester County, and neighboring Winslow Township, according to local police. The fire was reported to be 10% contained as of 8 p.m.

Police said residents should expect to see smoke in the area through late Tuesday.

There were no immediate reports of any structures threatened by the flames or any evacuations. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service responded with ground crews and by air, police said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.
HBO Max has officially launched.

WarnerMedia's streaming company went live on Wednesday (27 May), with iconic shows such as Friends, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Bachelor on its catalogue.

In addition to digging into its library of existing fan favourites, HBO Max also added six originals on day one. Those include Love Life, a scripted comedy starring Anna Kendrick, and the ballroom dance competition series Legendary.

You can see our selection of the best TV shows and films coming to the platform here, and take a closer look at the catalogue here.

HBO Max went live seven months after the project was first announced by WarnerMedia. Some accommodations have had to be made due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Notably, a planned Friends reunion special, which was supposed to be among the most sought-after programmes on the platform on launch day, isn't available to stream at the moment.

Nonetheless, HBO Max plans to add to its library of originals and classics over the coming months. The new originals will be added to the platform on a monthly basis.

Viewers can currently subscribe to HBO Max online for $14.99 a month with a free seven-day trial.

HBO Now subscribers who access the platform through HBO, Apple, Google Play, Samsung TV, Hulu, and some Internet providers have access to HBO Max. You can click here to check whether your provider supports HBO Max.

HBO subscribers may also have access to HBO Max. You can click here to see a list of TV providers that support HBO Max.

HBO Max is also included in some AT&T plans, a list of which can be seen here.
MasterChef Australia's Poh Ling Yeow has excited fans by making a special announcement on social media.

The celebrity chef, 47, has revealed a new project she will launch after the Back To Win series has finished airing on Channel 10.

'Please keep your eyes peeled,' Poh told her Instagram followers on Wednesday, adding her new venture will be up and running by July.

Scroll down for video

'There's no end to your talent!' MasterChef's Poh Ling Yeow asks fans to 'keep eyes peeled' for her new creative project after the show finishes airing in July

Despite being known by millions for her culinary finesse, Poh is also a very accomplished artist.

'Thank you everyone whos hit me up for artwork. Im working on my website at the moment and hope to be selling prints by July.

'Please keep your eyes peeled. I will let yall know on IG,' Poh added.

Her fans were pleased to see Poh's announcement, writing 'Amazing! Is there no end to your talent?', 'how are you so great at cooking and art?', and 'so talented'.

Talented artist! Poh has been painting full-time since 2002, after first freelancing as a graphic designer and illustrator before focusing mainly on acrylics on canvas

'Thank you everyone whos hit me up for artwork': Poh said she had been overwhelmed by fans wanting to buy artwork from her, that she is setting up a website to sell art by July

Others said they were excited to purchase their own artwork by Poh.

'Can't wait Poh. It's going to go nuts', and 'I cant wait Poh! My walls are screaming for one of your prints,' fans wrote in the comment section.

While it's unknown how much her new artwork will be priced at, Poh's 2014 range of acrylic on canvas designs sold for $6,000 each.

Pricey: Poh's 2014 range of acrylic on canvas designs (pictured) sold for $6,000 each

Surprise! Poh (pictured) shared a picture in front of her latest painting this month, impressing her new followers and fans who were not aware that she was an artist

Earlier this month, many fans discovered Poh's hidden talent for the very first time.

After sharing a picture of her latest painting, many of her new followers were amazed that she had exhibited her work across Australia.

'You're a talented human being,' one complimented at the time, as Poh posed with a cake in front of her painting - paying homage to her love of art and baking.

MasterChef: Back To Win contestant Rose Adam commented: 'You're an inspiration wifey. Your creativity knows no limits.'

'Your creativity knows no limits': Poh was praised by followers and co-star Rose Adam as she posed with a cake in front of her painting - paying homage to her love of art and baking

Poh has been painting full-time since 2002, after first freelancing as a graphic designer and illustrator before focusing mainly on acrylics on canvas.

Her work 'emphatically explore notions of belonging' and her paintings 'are an attempt at reconciling this heritage with her Western identity, after her family moved from Kuala Lumpur to South Australia when she was nine, her website reads.

She has exhibited across Australia, takes commissions and sells pieces online. The creative has her own art studio inside her colourful Adelaide home.

Culture: Her work 'emphatically explore notions of belonging' and her paintings 'are an attempt at reconciling this heritage with her Western identity, her website reads

Artist: She has exhibited across Australia, takes commissions and sells pieces online. Pictured: Poh's portrait of one of her dogs

Poh is currently the favourite to win MasterChef: Back To Win.

The contestant first found fame on MasterChef Australia's first season in 2009, where she memorably came second, behind Julie Goodwin.

Some viewers have hit out at her constant airtime from producers and Channel 10 this year, re-naming the Back To Win series 'The Poh Show'.
Sarah, a teaching assistant (TA) in a primary school in south Yorkshire, England, emailed the World Socialist Web Site about the Johnson governments plans to reopen UK schools.

I am opposed to schools reopening on June 1. Most of my colleagues are too. Its not safe to do so. The governments decision is not based on science or protecting the interests of children.

My school is in an area of high social deprivation. We are well aware of the problems caused by more than a decade of austerity. As in other schools, a skeleton staff look after children from vulnerable families on alternate days of the week. We are very close to our school families. Many have been forced to rely on food parcels to survive during the lockdown as they have not been able to access the free school meals and fruit usually provided at school.

On March 20, the day that all schools were closed, there were 714 new cases of coronavirus and 36 deaths. Today there were 2,412 new cases and 545 deaths. Its worse now than when the lockdown was announced!

On the governments own manipulated figures more than 35,000 people have been killed. Now the R rate has gone up and the epicentre of the virus has shifted from the capital to the north west and Yorkshire. How is any of this safe?

The government is treating schools like holding pens. They want companies making profit again, without any concern for people.

Theyre getting a free ride from the media on this insane policy. On the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, [government minister] Michael Gove said he could virtually guarantee teachers and pupils would be safe in schools. Then they started talking about acceptable levels of risk. How is it acceptable to deliberately risk the life of any child, let alone reopen schools in the middle of a pandemic?

According to a recent poll only 5 percent of teachers think its safe enough for more children to return to school.

Every TA knows it will be impossible to enforce social distancing among our kids. Theres no-way our 4-year-olds will stay two metres apart from their classmates or teachers. They will become the perfect vectors for any infection; this is proven by the constant cycle of colds and flu-like symptoms children get.

Children at this developmental stage are far more socially active and tactile than older children and adults. Our kids constantly touch, play with and hug their parents, siblings, grandparents, friends and school staff. They are always exploring, touching their eyes, noses and mouthsall the main points of entry for infections. Regular hand-washing and hygiene is something that we already model for our youngest, as they are always forgetting about it. Some of our kids also have toileting issues, bringing us into further vulnerability.

Some of our children have really complex additional needs and we need to have close contact. When were comforting a distressed child we cant do this by standing two metres apart!

Theres also no serious academic case for returning year 6 pupils to their schools. Our year 6 students would normally be going through transition activities in preparation for starting secondary school in September. Typically, this includes leavers assemblies and performances and residentials, usually at a remote location over the course of several days, as well as time spent by our pupils at their new school, getting to know teachers and the changed routine and environment.

I think the governments response to the coronavirus has exposed their absolute contempt for the working class. I saw a tweet today that none of the elite private schools including Eton, Harrow, Winchester and Rugby is reopening until September. So its just the children of the working class who are to be sacrificedincluding nursery aged childrento this cruel experiment.

And its not just the Johnson government. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and his Deputy Angela Raynerwho was Shadow Education Minister under Jeremy Corbynrefused to endorse the stand taken by local councils who said they would not reopen schools in their area. They are all in it together.

We dont know where this virus might go next. Look at the poor kids who are contracting the Kawasaki disease. A 5-year-old girl is in hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who has a 20 percent chance of surviving. Her father wrote an open letter to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson in which he said the decision to reopen schools was like turning them into death camps and he compared government policy to a war crime.

Gavin Williamson says they will create a protective bubble around students in school. This brings to mind [Health Secretarys] Matt Hancocks pledge of a protective shield around care homes. Nobody trusts this government.

The unions are making all kinds of noises about how ludicrous the reopening is. But NASUWT and other teaching unions have already supported the reopening date and the National Education Union has stated that its opposition to the June 1 opening is just a negotiating position, according to the Daily Telegraphs report. Theyve already indicated their willingness for year 6 to return and are telling teachers to use a checklist to determine whether their own school is safe to go back.

But with coronavirus still running rampant, no school is safe. As of today, 1,500 primary schools have refused to re-open. There are 20,832 primary schools in total. We should all stand togetherTAs and teachers, general staff and parents, and defeat the governments reckless agenda that threatens so many lives.

I like the idea at the end of your last article about the need to organise independent rank-and-file committees. I dont have faith in the union or local councils or any of the politicians. If there is going to be a fight, then its us who have to organise it.
Four Dead Sea scroll fragments from the Reed Collection in the University of Manchesters John Rylands Library, which were previously thought to be blank, do in fact contain text.

In the 1950s, a collection of Dead Sea scroll fragments was gifted by the Jordanian government to University of Leeds researcher Ronald Reed. It was assumed that the pieces were ideal for scientific tests, as they were blank and relatively worthless.

The fragments were studied and published by Dr. Reed and his student John Poole, and then stored safely away.

In 1997, the Reed Collection was donated to the University of Manchester through the initiative of Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis, George Brooke.

In the new study, Kings College London Professor Joan Taylor and her colleagues from the Network for the Study of Dispersed Qumran Cave Artefacts and Archival Sources (DQCAAS) decided to photograph all of the existing fragments over 1 cm that appear blank to the naked eye, using multispectral imaging.

The researchers imaged a total of 51 fragments and identified six for further detailed investigation. Of these, it was established that four have readable Hebrew/Aramaic text written in carbon-based ink.

The most substantial fragment, Ryl4Q22, has the remains of four lines of text with 15-16 letters, most of which are only partially preserved, but the word Shabbat (Sabbath) can be clearly read. This text may be related to the Biblical book of Ezekiel (46:1-3).

One piece with text is the edge of a parchment scroll section, with sewn thread, and the first letters of two lines of text may be seen to the left of this binding.

Looking at one of the fragments with a magnifying glass, I thought I saw a small, faded letter  a lamed, the Hebrew letter L, Professor Taylor said.

Frankly, since all these fragments were supposed to be blank and had even been cut into for leather studies, I also thought I might be imagining things. But then it seemed maybe other fragments could have very faded letters too.

With new techniques for revealing ancient texts now available, I felt we had to know if these letters could be exposed.

There are only a few on each fragment, but they are like missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle you find under a sofa.




Nigerians have expressed doubt in the number of coronavirus cases in the country

Nigerians who accused the government of not being transparent with the novel coronavirus pandemic have taken to Twitter with #EndCovidScamNow to protest the handling of the virus in the country.

The federal government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control have continued to release figures of people they claim have been infected with the coronavirus without showing their faces.

Nigerians who are not happy how the virus is being handled differently from what is obtainable in other places have accused the government of foul play.

Also, some patients who were said to have tested positive have also accused the government of failing to show them their test results, for which an index case from Benue state declared positive by the government has threatened to go to court after staying in an isolation centre for more than 30 days without showing any symptoms of the virus.

Nigerians on Twitter are now doubting if the numbers by NCDC are made up by the government in order to continue to get contributions which they claim end up being siphoned by unscrupulous elements in government.

See tweets below:

Both the WHO and NCDC should stop playing with our senses. Nigerians aint senseless. ???#EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/AjemwtP7qt      ?? (@Ijumaree) May 19, 2020

An American citizen suffering from corona virus and a Nigerian citizen suffering from corona virus #EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/GyQCDo4jsR  Charles Logan (@ceo_logan) May 19, 2020

3 nigeria medical team arrive China to fight corona virus #EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/5RxPuMMjxW  Kay2 (@sadiqq_ajiya) May 19, 2020

Since NCDC started reeling the number of COVID19 cases like 1,2,3.I knew this has an element of scam in it.I dont bother checking the number again self #EndCovidScamNow  Orioye owolebi (@Lordoye1) May 19, 2020

Mind you! All those donations u see today, that money is not for COVID-19. Those companies are indirectly scratching Government back and will soon expect them to scratch theirs in return Thats a long term investment! #EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/I2Iw0tlZdL  ONLY ONE KHYZZO (@khyxxo) May 19, 2020

Thank God naija eyes don clear finally #EndCovidScamNow  Sweet6 (@Sweet690735729) May 19, 2020

Everybody cannot be screaming #EndCovidScamNow if these guys are actually in a Nigerian C19 isolation centre, what becomes their fate that happens.

PS: have human sympathy ????.

You can say #tiktokdown #omohtee no p. pic.twitter.com/JVfVqJF0WD  Bomcy (@Bomcy4) May 19, 2020

I have a friend who went for the coronavirus test more than 3weeks ago..

Till today he hasnt received or seen his result @NCDCgov #EndCovidScamNow  SAGE (@VerbalGymnast_) May 19, 2020

Since were here talking about #EndCovidScamNow and Lai Mohammed, please I want you to confirm if this is true; theres a video going round social media about an isolation centre in nigeria! I dont know the particular location.. but IS IT REAL?? pic.twitter.com/664Hh0Gf99  Ola !. ?? (@OlaWhyt) May 19, 2020

Many people live in Ogun State but work in Lagos yet Ogun active COVID19 number is 78 while Lagos is claiming 2030 active case. Where is Lagos getting all these numbers from. I want to know.#EndCovidScamNow #EndCovidScamNow  Wendy Prince Adeyemi (@WendyPrincea) May 19, 2020

I had malaria last week in my house, and I treated it with Iya Nuru agbo.

Thank you God to not telling anybody, they would have bring ambulance to my area and carry me?#EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/1aW1JHsb4V  CODED(OMO IYA ALAGBADO)???? (@ulotleather) May 19, 2020

A whole GCFR is flaunting its own orders!

No face mask! Meaning this man is protecting himself from the VIRUS HIMSELF!

He is war

He is fight

But he can never be INDABOSKI #EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/j3I7TSj2qw  ONLY ONE KHYZZO (@khyxxo) May 19, 2020

There is nothing like covid19 bt scam19 #EndCovidScamNow 99.9% of Nigeria government will surely go to hell ?  Kay2 (@sadiqq_ajiya) May 19, 2020

So with all the tremendous reported cases of Corona in Nigeria now find it to be scam? ?? #EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/mnGo407I2n      ?? (@Ijumaree) May 19, 2020

#EndCovidScamNow

The many people that died mysteriously in Kano and it was later discovered to be Covid-19 related, why hasnt NCDC added it to their Covid-19 death toll data ?  Son of Methuselah (@EjikeEmmanuel18) May 19, 2020

The difference is ear. We are experiencing Fraud-19 in Nigeria. Its so painful that the government only care about themselves and not the masses. We are suffering and still yet they dont care to add more to that suffering.#EndCovidScamNow #tiktokexposed Trump pic.twitter.com/Y4Xull3Rtv  Yhommy Best (@YhommyBest) May 19, 2020

Those of you saying covid 19 is a scam

Did they ask you to contribute money ??

Lets just stay safe and observe #EndCovidScamNow  Meedack (@Meedack1) May 19, 2020

Chaiiiii.Nigeria yyyyyy

Oda country r showing humans on sick bed and dose dt dey claim dey die with Covid19 but here Nigeria naaa only number we dey seewe r humans not cow oooo. There is God ooooo

Abeegii ehn me Una end d scam Tins nww.#EndCovidScamNow pic.twitter.com/H5a8iPYAe0  lamilekan ibraheem (@horlamilekan057) May 19, 2020

Nigeria Covid19 report NCDC: 300 new cases Covid19: Sofri lie abeg, I couldnt penetrate, the government is worse than myself #EndCovidScamNow  DonJared (CEO) (@DonJared1) May 19, 2020
World-leading medical journal The Lancet challenged a key claim in US President Donald Trump's four-page diatribe against the World Health Organisation (WHO), saying the US leader cited academic research that did not exist.

In his Monday letter to WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus threatening US withdrawal from the United Nations body, Trump said the WHO had ignored "credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier, including reports from The Lancet medical journal".

The Lancet's editor-in-chief, Richard Horton, took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to challenge the claim.

"Dear President Trump " You cite The Lancet in your attack on WHO," Horton wrote. "Please let me correct the record. The Lancet did not publish any report in early December, 2019, about a virus spreading in Wuhan. The first reports we published were from Chinese scientists on Jan 24, 2020."

Dear President Trump - You cite The Lancet in your attack on WHO. Please let me correct the record. The Lancet did not publish any report in early December, 2019, about a virus spreading in Wuhan. The first reports we published were from Chinese scientists on Jan 24, 2020. pic.twitter.com/Vx6mDpZJHx

" richard horton (@richardhorton1) May 19, 2020

The journal, headquartered in London, later issued a full statement challenging Trump's "factually incorrect" statement with details about the timing, authorship and substance of the first two papers it published on the outbreak in late January.

"It is essential that any review of the global response is based on a factually accurate account of what took place in December and January," the statement concluded.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Pr Trump claims we published reports in Dec 2019 claiming a virus was spreading in Wuhan. Untrue. The first paper describing 41 patients with COVID-19 was published on Jan 24. That paper identified symptom onset of the first Wuhan patient as Dec 1. No cover up. Full transparency. pic.twitter.com/BISAgbp0sE

Story continues

" richard horton (@richardhorton1) May 19, 2020

Not only did it challenge the veracity of claims made in Trump's letter to Tedros, The Lancet also said in its statement that the allegations levelled against the WHO were "serious and damaging to efforts to strengthen international cooperation to control this pandemic".

In that letter, Trump said that he would permanently cut US contributions to and consider withdrawal from the WHO, unless it committed to "substantive improvements within the next 30 days".

The threat came after weeks of accusations by both Trump and Republican allies in Congress that the WHO has acted deferentially to Beijing, with the US leader recently describing the body as "a puppet of China".

WHO officials have welcomed scrutiny of their response to the outbreak, but have called for such reviews to happen once the pandemic is brought under control.

The letter came as WHO members moved to approve a resolution calling for an investigation into both the origins of the coronavirus and the WHO's response. Echoing WHO officials, Beijing supported the motion and said that such a review should come at the "appropriate time".

Among its charges against the WHO, Trump's missive collated a list of what it called "grossly inaccurate or misleading" claims made by the agency, including remarks from Tedros on January 28 praising China's "transparency", despite reports that authorities had silenced doctors.

Yet those accusations refer to a time when even Trump himself was lauding similar praise on the Chinese government, tweeting on January 24 that Beijing had been "working very hard to contain the Coronavirus" and voicing US appreciation for its "efforts and transparency."

"In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!" Trump wrote.

" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2020

And as recently as February 24, Trump spoke glowingly of the WHO's work, tweeting that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO had been "working hard and very smart".

Horton has spoken out against Trump's position on the WHO before, using a recent opinion piece published in The Lancet to castigate the US leader for his mixed messaging and the decision in April to suspend funding to the agency while his administration reviewed its pandemic response.

"President Trump's decision to harm an agency whose sole purpose is to protect the health and well-being of the world's peoples is a crime against humanity," Horton wrote then. "It is a knowing and inhumane attack against the global civilian population."

Horton has served in a number of roles with the WHO, and is currently listed as chair or co-chair on at least two WHO expert panels, according to the agency's website. Last year he received a "Health Leaders" award from the WHO in recognition of his "outstanding leadership in global health".

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
As relatives of a local Houston family prepare to bury the five people who died in a car crash in late June, the 15-year-old girl who survived the wreck struggles to recover.

On June 29, Valentin Guzman, 41, was driving to Oklahoma with his 40-year-old wife, Elvira Guzman-Santoyo, and four of their children, when they were struck by a truck traveling in the wrong direction on the north Sam Houston Parkway.

On Thursday, relatives will bury the Guzman family, who came to Texas from Alabama about two years ago to be closer to Elvira's family, said Ramon Santoyo, her brother. The couple came to the U.S. from the Guanajuato region of Mexico, he said. The family had decided to move to Oklahoma to live with Guzman's family, Santoyo said.

Efraim Carmona, 34, who was driving the Dodge Ram 5500 east in the parkway's westbound lane, faces five counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxicated assault.

A paramedic pulled Stephanie, 15, from the family's truck before it erupted into a conflagration, killing the rest of the occupants of the vehicle, said Ramon Santoyo, Elvira's brother.

Guzman, his wife, and three of their children died in the crash, among them their 13-year-old daughter, Ani, their 11-year-old daughter, Patricia, and their 3-year-old son, Valentin. The couple's 18-year-old son was not in the truck with them.

Authorities weren't able to identify relatives of the family for days, because their identifying documents were burned beyond recognition.

Eventually, they were able to identify Guzman from an identification card he had in his wallet.

Now, Stephanie is struggling to recover in the hospital, Santoyo said. She remains immobilized, after damaging her spine and suffering second- and third-degree burns and other injuries, he said at the family's wake Thursday.

Doctors have told family members that she has a 40 percent chance of walking again, Santoyo said. She remains on a feeding tube and breathing tube, and her neck is immobilized to keep herself from injuring herself further, he said. Her rehabilitation will take at least a year, he said.

Still, she's much improved, he said, explaining that even though Stephanie can't talk, she can communicate with them by blinking her eyes.

Friends and family, meanwhile have rallied around them, raising about $64,000 on a gofundme fundraiser, and visiting often.

"There's a lot of support," said Elvira's brother, Jose.
Here are four stocks with buy rank and strong value characteristics for investors to consider today, May 19th:

National General Holdings Corp. (NGHC): This specialty personal lines insurance holding company has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings rising 9.6% over the last 60 days.

National General Holdings Corp Price and Consensus

National General Holdings Corp Price and Consensus

National General Holdings Corp price-consensus-chart | National General Holdings Corp Quote

National General has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 5.83, compared with 10.70 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Scoreof A.

National General Holdings Corp PE Ratio (TTM)

National General Holdings Corp PE Ratio (TTM)

National General Holdings Corp pe-ratio-ttm | National General Holdings Corp Quote

Hunt Companies Finance Trust, Inc. (HCFT): This real estate investment trust has a Zacks Rank #1, and seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings rising 16.7% over the last 60 days.

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. Price and Consensus

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. Price and Consensus

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. price-consensus-chart | HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. Quote

Hunt Companies Finance Trust has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 7.00, compared with 7.70 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of A.

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. PE Ratio (TTM)

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. PE Ratio (TTM)

HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. pe-ratio-ttm | HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. Quote

Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc. (MPB): This bank holding company for Mid Penn Bank has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings rising 19.2% over the last 60 days.

Mid Penn Bancorp Price and Consensus

Mid Penn Bancorp Price and Consensus

Mid Penn Bancorp price-consensus-chart | Mid Penn Bancorp Quote

Mid Penn has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 8.66, compared with 11.70 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of A.

Mid Penn Bancorp PE Ratio (TTM)

Mid Penn Bancorp PE Ratio (TTM)

Mid Penn Bancorp pe-ratio-ttm | Mid Penn Bancorp Quote

Banco BBVA Argentina S.A. (BBAR): This provider of banking products and services has a Zacks Rank #2, and seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings rising 8.8% over the last 60 days.

Story continues

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. Price and Consensus

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. Price and Consensus

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. price-consensus-chart | BBVA Banco Frances S.A. Quote

Banco BBVA Argentina has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 2.09, compared with 8.50 for the industry. The company possesses a Value Score of A.

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. PE Ratio (TTM)

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. PE Ratio (TTM)

BBVA Banco Frances S.A. pe-ratio-ttm | BBVA Banco Frances S.A. Quote

See the full list of top ranked stocks here.

Learn more about the Value score and how it is calculated here.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>



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



National General Holdings Corp (NGHC) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Mid Penn Bancorp (MPB) : Free Stock Analysis Report



HUNT COMPANIES FINANCE TRUST, INC. (HCFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



BBVA Banco Frances S.A. (BBAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Most of us have been wearing face masks for several weeks to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus as the pandemic rages on.

But social media has been exploding with claims that masks reduce the intake of oxygen, forcing people to breathe in high levels of their own carbon dioxide.

People claim they feel lightheaded or dizzy, and that breathing in too much carbon dioxide could cause them to suffer from seizures, or even suffocate.

But one New York City pediatrician, Dr Rebekah Diamond of Columbia University Medical Center says this is just not true.

In her experiment, she shared a picture of her carbon dioxide levels after a day of wearing an N95, which showed the mask did not drive her CO2 up to dangerous levels.

DailyMail.com spoke to two respiratory experts who said, plainly, there is no evidence that prolonged face mask use will reduce oxygen levels in the blood - or kill you.

Dr Rebekah Diamond of Columbia University Medical Center in New York City took a photo of her blood CO2 levels after wearing an N95 all day

Normal PCO2 levels are between 35 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and 45 mmHg and Diamond's levels were 36.4 mmHg

The pediatrician said she wants to combat the misinformation that is spreading about how prolonged face mask use is dangerous

'Apparently worrying about hypercapnea (too much carbon dioxide) from wearing a breathable cloth mask is a thing,' Diamond wrote on Twitter.

Normal PCO2 levels are between 35 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and 45 mmHg.

Diamond took a blood test that showed the levels of gases in her body. Her CO2 levels were 36.4 mmHg.

'So here's my normal venous CO2 after wearing an N95 all day to remind you it's really ok. Don't let fake science enable unsafe decisions [please],' she wrote.

She then posted a photo of herself outside the hospital where she works wearing both an N95 mask and a face shield.

'Plenty of reasons to hate masks. Just dont let false claims be one of them, so thank you for seeing through that!' Diamond tweeted.

'This is what I wear and it definitely makes me lightheaded, leaves marks on my face, irritated skin, even causes headaches. We do what we have to.'

Several posts have been circulating around social media claiming that wearing a face mask can cause such a build-up of carbon dioxide that leads to people passing out - or worse.

One Facebook post from May 8 claims 'oxygen in the blood reduces' and 'oxygen to the brain reduces' from wearing masks for too long.

Another post alleged 'prolonged use of a face mask' can led to hypoxia, which is when there are low oxygen levels in the tissues that can result in death

Several posts online claim that prolonged face mask use can reduce oxygen in the blood or lead to hypoxia, which is when there are low oxygen levels in the tissues

Dr Steve Lubinsky, the medical director of respiratory care at New York University Langone Health, told DailyMail.com there is no danger in face mask use.

'[Masks are] not comfortable and there is data that shows they can cause headaches, they're irritating and it does interfere with daily life,' he said.

'I think people kind of sense that. These are common symptoms we all get and I think people may have focused on that.'

Dr Raed Dweik, chair of the Cleveland Clinic's Respiratory Institute, says he also thinks it's a social concern.

'People want to see the face, and that's understandable of normal conditions,' he told DailyMail.com.

'But at a time when health is adrift, it's important to [wear masks] for us and for each other.'

There are rare cases in which carbon dioxide, a natural by-product of respiration, can be deadly.

Inhaling high levels of the gas can lead to hypercapnia, also known as carbon dioxide toxicity, and cause headaches, double vision, lack of concentration or suffocation - but it has to be a very high concentration of CO2.

'We've seen, in New York, there's a significant risk of illness and death in patients who get COVID-19, we've seen people get sick, grievously ill and die,' Lubinksy said.

'We've never seen anyone with an illness due to face mask use.'

Both physicians say wearing face masks should be coupled with social distancing and good hand hygiene such as washing your hands and trying not to touch your face.

'Short of having universal testing, the best next thing is to cover each other's faces, nose and mouth and emphasize that this doesn't replace other important things like social distancing and hand washing,' said Dweik.

'When you wear it, you are protecting others and when others wear it, they are protecting you. It's almost like a selfish act not to wear a mask in public.'
APTOPIX Taiwan Politics

In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, center, walks ahead of Vice-President Lai Ching-te, left of her, as they attend an inauguration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan, May 20, 2020. Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

Beijing has flashed its anger yet again over the Trump administration's ever-warmer ties with Taiwan. The latest condemnation from Beijing came Wednesday after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on her second inauguration.

"Her re-election by a huge margin shows that she has earned the respect, admiration, and trust of the people on Taiwan," Pompeo said in a written statement that was read aloud at Tsai's inauguration Wednesday in Taipei. "Her courage and vision in leading Taiwan's vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world."

The praise prompted China's Ministry of Defense to issue a statement expressing "strong dissatisfaction" and "firm opposition" to Pompeo's remarks. The ministry stressed China's long-time stance that, "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China."

China said the latest comments from Washington "seriously violate" the "one-China" policy, which has been a cornerstone of U.S.-China relations for decades, and added that Pompeo's words hurt the "sentiments of the 1.4 billion Chinese people."

Taiwan, the U.S., and "one-China"

Taiwan split from China during the civil war that brought China's ruling Communist Party to power in 1949. The rival Nationalists set up their own government on the small island, which sits about 100 miles off China's coast.

China considers the island a renegade province, and the U.S. relationship with Taiwan is complicated.

Under the one-China policy, which remains the policy of the Trump administration, Washington accepts that it deals only with Beijing for diplomatic affairs. There are no formal diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Taipei.

Story continues

But under the terms of the diplomatic agreement with China  and under U.S. law  Washington is required to take any threat to the island seriously, and "make available to Taiwan such defense articles and defense services in such quantity as may be necessary to enable Taiwan to maintain a sufficient self-defense capability."

President Tsai has made bolstering the island's armed forces a focus of her administration, and the Trump administration has helped her do it, amid mounting Chinese military threats and a campaign to isolate Taiwan diplomatically and weaken its economy.

With his statement, Pompeo became the first U.S. Secretary of State to send an official congratulatory message to a president of Taiwan, which the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs heralded as a milestone. Pompeo is also now the highest-ranking U.S. official to congratulate President Tsai, specifically, who was elected as Taiwan's first female commander-in-chief in 2016.

Tsai won her first term in a land-slide. Her second victory, in January this year, set a new record; the biggest election margin for any president of Taiwan since democratic elections began in 1996. Her resounding victory came thanks in large part to her firm stance amid China's threats to reunify the island  by force, if necessary.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, pre-recorded messages from Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies and supportive politicians from around the world were played to congratulate Tsai at her inauguration on Wednesday. Former U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (D-New York) also tweeted out video congratulations to her and the Taiwanese people.

A Taiwanese renaissance?

Taiwan's stature on the global stage has been boosted this year by its success in combating the coronavirus. With a population of nearly 24 million people, Taiwan has reported just 440 infections and only seven deaths to date. In the lead-up to the World Health Organization's annual assembly meeting earlier this week, Taiwan made a renewed push to regain observer status at the WHO which symbolically infers independent statehood - based on its COVID-19 successes.

But China blocked Taiwan's attempts to rejoin the global health body in an observer capacity, likely because of its anger at Tsai and her independence-leading Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government. "Over the next four years we will continue to fight for our participation in international organizations, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with our allies, and bolster ties with the United States, Japan, Europe and other like-minded countries," said Tsai at her inauguration.

"Although we were once isolated in the world, we have always persisted in the values of democracy and freedom, no matter the challenges ahead of us."

CBS News' Grace Qi in Beijing contributed to this report.

Veteran NASA astronauts to be first to launch from American soil since retirement of Space Shuttle

Memorable moments from the "CBS This Morning" anchor team's year together

Colonel Tom Moore to be knighted after receiving special nomination from Boris Johnson
Published: 20 May 2020

Share of pupils studying English is growing in the lower grades of comprehensive schools

According to Statistics Finland, studying English grew in grades 1 to 6 in 2019. Eighty-three per cent of students in grades 1 to 6 studied English. The share of pupils studying English increased by nine percentage points from the previous year in grades 1 to 6. Almost all students in grades 7 to 9 studied English.

Language choices of comprehensive school pupils in 2019

Grades Studied language Compulsory language A1 Optional language A2 Compulsory language B1 Elective language B2 Total Share of pupils in grades 1-6 % Share of pupils in grades 7-9 % Grades 1-6 English 289 992 18 013 38 . 308 043 83.0 . Swedish 3 775 11 927 52 521 . 68 223 18.4 . Finnish 20 005 1 183 1 . 21 189 5.7 . French 3 965 3 894 20 . 7 879 2.1 . German 3 649 10 800 18 . 14 467 3.9 . Russian 1 100 1 016 . . 2 116 0.6 . Spanish 1 031 6 762 . . 7 793 2.1 . Italian 0 0 . . 0 0.0 . Sami 4 220 . . 224 0.1 . Other 382 132 0 . 514 0.1 . Grades 7-9 English 168 922 13 158 85 69 182 234 . 99.5 Swedish 2 023 10 879 156 379 3 169 284 . 92.5 Finnish 9 266 1 341 213 2 10 822 . 5.9 French 1 643 3 321 97 3 428 8 489 . 4.6 German 1 774 7 608 301 7 346 17 029 . 9.3 Russian 534 983 . 1 448 2 965 . 1.6 Spanish 230 2 137 . 4 326 6 693 . 3.7 Italian 0 0 . 75 75 . 0.0 Sami 2 51 . 1 54 . 0.0 Latin 0 7 . 373 380 . 0.2 Other 178 47 6 63 294 . 0.2

According to the updated curriculum for basic education, starting from the beginning of 2020 all pupils start studying their first foreign language or a second national language at the latest in the spring of the first grade.

Eighteen per cent of pupils in grades 1 to 6 and 93 per cent of pupils in grades 7 to 9 studied Swedish as a foreign language.

Nearly all pupils attending grades 7 to 9 studied both English and Swedish or Finnish either as mother tongue, or as a compulsory, optional or elective foreign language. German was studied by nine per cent and French by five per cent of the pupils attending grades 7 to 9, mainly as an optional or elective foreign language.

A total of 371,102 pupils attended grades 1 to 6, of whom 189,974 were boys and 181,128 girls. Grades 7 to 9 had a total of 183,063 pupils, of whom 93,684 were boys and 89,379 girls.

Source: Education. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Vesa Hamalainen 029 551 2594, koulutustilastot@stat.fi

Director in charge: Jari Tarkoma

Publication in pdf-format (213.1 kB)

Updated 20.5.2020

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Subject choices of students [e-publication].

ISSN=1799-1056. Subject choices of comprehensive school pupils 2019. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 20.1.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ava/2019/02/ava_2019_02_2020-05-20_tie_001_en.html
MONTREALAs Quebec continued to slowly reopen Wednesday following weeks of pandemic-induced shutdowns, members of the Mohawk community of Kanesatake outside Montreal demanded that authorities slow down.

Mohawks were preventing access to Oka provincial park, which was scheduled to partially reopen Wednesday morning, according to Oka Mayor Pascal Quevillon.

He said members of the adjacent First Nations community began blocking access around 8:30 a.m., adding provincial police werent doing anything about the blockade.

I asked Premier Francois Legault to ask the Surete du Quebec to intervene, Quevillon said in an interview.

Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon sent a letter earlier in the week to Legault, urging him to keep the park closed until his community is consulted.

Simons letter said that even if all proper precautions are taken, the risks of community spread in our area are too high. He insisted that the park and a ferry to the region remain closed until we are consulted on any reopening of tourist services that may affect the health of our region.

Deputy Premier and Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault told reporters Wednesday that members of the cabinet were in discussions with Simon and with local public health officials. Simon was not immediately available for comment.

We understand that there are concerns in various places in Quebec, but especially in that area, about the deconfinement, Guilbault said.

We have to try to see how we can reassure them, and how we can come to a solution, she said, adding that prohibiting access to the park is not the answer.

The people in Kanesatake and in the adjacent town of Oka usually live peacefully side-by-side, but flare-ups have occurred over the years, often due to land disputes. Simon and Quevillon got into a public spat last summer when a developer wanted to donate land to the Mohawks.

Also Wednesday, Quebec announced that limited outdoor gatherings will be permitted starting Friday as the province continues to record a downward trend of new COVID-19 cases.

Authorities also announced private health-care providers across the province can begin operating again June 1. Those providers include dentists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, optometrists and several others. Also allowed to open June 1 are centres for animal grooming.

Outside the greater Montreal area and the region around the city of Joliette, hair salons and other personal-care businesses such as tattoo parlours can open June 1. The government still hasnt set a date to reopen those services in the Montreal and Joliette regions.

Starting Friday, Quebecers will be allowed to host outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, from a maximum of three families, as long as they keep a two-metre distance from one another. The province, however, had already authorized people to be outside together as long as they kept a two-metre distance.

Guilbault said authorities wanted to be more clear with Wednesdays announcement. She said authorities had been telling people to avoid outdoor gatherings in private settings as much as possible. But, as the springtime weather improved, she said, people began increasingly meeting outside.

So, were saying: Perfect, we have to be realistic. People are fed up, people want to see each other, they are getting bored. Its nice out, its getting hot. We want people to get together, but now we are announcing clear rules.

The province is starting to ease restrictions as the number of new cases of COVID-19 continues to decrease. Quebec recorded 71 new deaths from COVID-19, for a total of 3,718, and the number of total cases increased by 578 to 44,775. A total of 12,822 people are classified as recovered.

But Quebec also recorded the first death among its provincial prison population. A Quebec civil-liberties group, la Ligue des droits et Libertes, said in a statement Wednesday the 72-year-old inmates death could have been prevented if authorities had reduced the number of seniors detained in provincial jails.

Guilbault said about two per cent of Quebecs inmate population has become infected with the virus, including about 60 people at the detention centre in Montreal that housed the inmate who died.

Despite the impossibility of avoiding any cases of COVID (in provincial jails), she said, I consider that, in general, it is going relatively well in the prison network.

Read more about:
'Direct war' to follow if US attacks Iran tankers to Venezuela

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 2:30 AM

A top US political analyst is warning that, "direct war" war could break out if the country attempts to attack Iranian fuel tankers en route to Venezuela.

Mark Dankof made the comments in an interview with Press TV on Monday.

"The United States is not in a formal declaration of war with either country. The United States absolutely has no business under its own constitution, much less international law, to attack an Iranian vessel," he said.

The political commentator further noted that the Iranian vessels' travel towards Venezuela is "legitimate."

"The United States will be held absolutely responsible for any of that kind of conduct in regard to interrupting free naval passage of these Iranian vessels to Venezuela," he said.

The former US Senate candidate also lambasted the US adventurism worldwide, getting stronger under President Donald Trump and his hawkish allies today.

"A so-called America First president, is doing what he said he wouldn't do. He is interfering in other countries' business; he's breaking international law," Dankov said, warning that the United States "might well choose to fire on Iranian vessels there's no way of knowing how deeply or how seriously this situation will escalate."

Iran's Foreign Ministry has warned again that the United States will itself bear the responsibility for any foolish act that it could take against

An unnamed official with the US administration that has brought both Iran and Venezuela under sanctions, however, told Reuters on Thursday that the shipment was "unwelcome," claiming "we're looking at measures that can be taken."

Iran is shipping tons of gasoline to Venezuela in defiance of US sanctions on both countries in a symbolic move guaranteed by Tehran's missile prowess.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






There has been a surge in migrants arriving in Malta this year.

Authorities on the Mediterranean island of Malta are being accused of violating international law. Footage has been released showing Maltese armed forces actively preventing a vessel with 101 people on board coming into port.

Al Jazeeras Sonia Gallego reports.
Students wait for class to begin with plastic boards placed on their desks at a school in South Korea (Kim Jun-beom/Yonhap via AP)

Anxiety is rising about the impact of the new normal on peoples daily lives and businesses as countries around the world cautiously emerge from coronavirus lockdowns.

Schools, public transport, bars and restaurants are shaping up as the front lines as nations move out of lockdown but retain social distancing.

How each of those key sectors manages social distancing and reduces expected new outbreaks will determine the shape of daily life for millions as researchers race to develop a vaccine that is still likely months, if not years, away from being available to all.

What a return to normal looks like varies widely.

For hungry migrant workers in India, it was finally being able to catch trains back to their home villages to farm while city jobs dried up. For cruise ship workers stranded at sea for months, it was finally reaching shore in Croatia. For wealthy shoppers in a Maserati or Rolls-Royce, it was returning to the newly reopened boutiques of Americas famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

In Italy, where good food is an essential part of life itself, once-packed restaurants and cafes are facing a huge financial hit as they reopen with strict social distancing rules.

We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before, lamented chef Raffaele di Cristo, who now must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. Everything is changed. Slowly, slowly, we will try to understand and to adapt to this coronavirus.

Corsi reopened for business on Monday with half its tables removed to ensure the mandated one metre spacing between tables and customers. Hand sanitising gel was placed at the entrance and a new ordering system was installed so customers can read the menu on their phones instead of handling a shared plastic copy.

Slovakia reopened theatres, cinemas and shopping centres on Wednesday, all with new restrictions on visitor numbers, even though it has had only 28 deaths from Covid-19.

Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA Graphics)

The head of the Dutch hospitality industry welcomed a decision to allow bars and restaurants to reopen on June 1, but warned about the impact of mandatory social distancing conditions.

The restrictions are unfortunately unworkable for many businesses, said Rober Willemsen of Royal Hospitality Netherlands, adding that more government support is needed to ensure the survival of many bars and restaurants.

Education is also facing a radical rethink.

Cambridge became the first university in Britain to cancel all face-to-face lectures for the upcoming school year, saying they will be held virtually and streamed online until summer 2021.

Other institutions have taken different approaches: the California State University system has announced that most classes will be online for the autumn. Notre Dame University will bring students back to campus but redesigned its calendar to start the term early in August and end before Thanksgiving, along with ordering masks, testing and contact tracing.

In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitisers as they returned to school on Wednesday, many for the first time since late last year after their new term was repeatedly pushed back. Students and teachers were required to wear masks and some schools installed plastic partitions around desks.

Expand Close Students line up to get their temperatures checked at a school in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Students line up to get their temperatures checked at a school in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

More than 60 schools near Seoul quickly sent their students home as a precaution after two students who had not even attended class were found to be infected.

France is limiting spaces in primary schools, giving priority to the children of essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while high schools remain closed.

In the new normal, peoples gratitude at being able to shop or eat out again is mingling with worries about job security.

Business was slow at a Paris farmers market with a mixed mood among the masked, gloved vendors. A man selling peonies and petunias said he was glad to get out and see shoppers again, while a woman selling asparagus and tomatoes behind a makeshift plastic screen grumbled that her customers were buying less than usual.

Fears about job security are not unwarranted. Airline engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans to cut 9,000 workers as it grapples with the collapse in air travel due to the pandemic. In general, those jobs come with good pay and benefits, and losing them is a sharp blow to local communities.

Some businesses are quickly adapting to new realities. In Kenya, safari operators have resorted to sharing live broadcasts on social media in the hope that attention to endangered and other species does not fade.

Many governments, including many US states, are in fierce disagreement over what the new normal should even be.

Expand Close People enjoy the beach in Barcelona (Emilio Morenatti/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp People enjoy the beach in Barcelona (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked politicians to endorse a plan to extend the nations state of emergency by another two weeks until June 7, even as beaches reopened in Barcelona. Spains main opposition, the conservative Popular Party, said it will vote No.

You are like a headless chicken running around not knowing what to do, Popular Party leader Pablo Casado told Mr Sanchez. To endorse your extension would be irresponsible.

While infection rates have been falling in Asia and much of Europe, the pandemic is still spiking in Latin America. Brazil this week became the worlds third worst-hit country with more than 250,000 confirmed cases despite limited testing. In Lima, the capital of Peru, coronavirus patients are filling up the citys intensive care beds.

Were in bad shape, said Pilar Mazzetti, head of the Peruvian governments Covid-19 task force. This is war.

Expand Close A pilot wearing PPE airlifts Covid-19 patients to a hospital in Brazil (Felipe Dana/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A pilot wearing PPE airlifts Covid-19 patients to a hospital in Brazil (Felipe Dana/AP)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the pandemic could push millions into extreme poverty in Africa, where the virus has reached every country.

More than 4.9 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected with the virus, and over 323,000 deaths have been recorded, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University that experts believe is too low for reasons that differ country by country. The United States has seen nearly 92,000 deaths and Europe has had nearly 165,000.

Russia and Brazil are now behind only the United States in the number of reported infections, and cases are also spiking in India, South Africa and Mexico.

Russia announced that its coronavirus caseload has surpassed 300,000, with the death toll almost reaching 3,000.
What does it mean to be human during a major biological crisis like the coronavirus pandemic? To see all of our economic, social and cultural achievements and challenges suddenly take a back seat to the sheer physical fact of disease, contagion and death? What can the humanities  the study of what it means to be human  offer to help us survive such trauma?

In this time, the humanities, and history and literature in particular, offer important insights into how people have dealt with the trauma of pandemics in the past, and how to make sense of a world now in many ways beyond our control.

If history illustrates the effect of pandemics on whole communities, then literature gives us a more intimate view.

When we consider the changes, both short and long term, that the coronavirus may bring for us, we should remember that the world we know today was shaped by the pandemics of the past. This realization can help us cope with these difficult days.

The pandemic commonly known as the Black Death devastated Asia, Europe and North Africa between 1347 and 1351, shaping human history for centuries. Communities throughout Europe lost half their populations, and it took more than 100 years to recover.

More Information Pandemic literature through the ages I've listed below a few novels and stories, from the past to today, that explore the impact of pandemics on humanity. Doubtless you can add your own favorite works, and I encourage you to do so. Hopefully, they will serve as a resource and as an inspiration as you negotiate these difficult days with your family and friends, a reminder that even the hardest times can prompt and illustrate the triumph of the human spirit. Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron (1353): The granddaddy of pandemic fiction, The Decameron relates tales told by refugees from the Black Death in 14th century Florence. Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year (1722): The Plague Year gives a literary and historical account of the bubonic plague in 17th century London. Katherine Anne Porter, "Pale Horse, Pale Rider"(1939): A short story about the great flu pandemic of 1918-1919 by an author who survived it. Ahmed Ali, Twilight in Delhi (1940): Another novel about the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, in this case set in colonial India. Albert Camus, The Plague (1947): A novel about the plague in French-ruled Algeria after World War II, often seen as a metaphor for everything from Nazism to colonialism and the existential crisis of the human spirit. Kenzaburo Oe, Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (1958): The story of a group of reform school boys sent to a plague-stricken Japanese village during World War II. Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain (1961): A classic science fiction novel about medical attempts to combat a pandemic. Octavia E. Butler, Survivor (1978): A novel about the survivors of a widespread plague on Earth who settle on another planet. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera (1985): A novel by the great Colombian writer that explores analogies of love, passion and disease. Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (2003) and The Year of the Flood (2009): The first two novels of the MaddAdam trilogy, they explore how women and men adjusted to a world torn apart by disaster. Philip Roth, Nemesis (2010): A novel about the impact of the 1944 polio epidemic on a Jewish neighborhood in Newark, N.J. Colson Whitehead, Zone One (2011): A portrait of New York City as a post-apocalyptic dystopia infected by a plague that turns its inhabitants into zombies. And, finally, for sheer unadulterated creepiness as well as a powerful statement about pandemics and social justice, it's hard to beat Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Masque of the Red Death" (1842). - Tyler Stovall See More Collapse

This enormous biological crisis also prompted fundamental social and cultural changes. For example, the shortage of labor it created helped bring about the end of serfdom and create a free peasantry that could bargain for wages, so that death and freedom marched together.

The European conquest of the New World in the 16th century largely was aided by pandemic. When Spanish conquistadores landed in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1520 they brought not only guns and gold but also smallpox, which within a year ran rampant in the Aztec empire. Diseases brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers wiped out as much as 90% of the indigenous population.

The global flu pandemic of 1918-1919 overlapped with (and killed more people than) World War I. As diplomats gathered in Paris to make the peace in 1919, they struggled to remake a world whose essential unity had been underscored by one of the greatest pandemics in human history.

Literature takes us beyond statistics of global deaths and degree of spread to show how the crisis has affected the individual lives of those infected as well as their friends, families and neighbors. As several cultural commentators have noted in the last few weeks, there has been a sharp uptick in the popularity of literary works dealing with plagues, epidemics and other forms of biological crises.

Ive listed below a few novels and stories, from the past to today, that explore the impact of pandemics on humanity. Doubtless you can add your own favorite works, and I encourage you to do so. Hopefully, they will serve as a resource and as an inspiration as you negotiate these difficult days with your family and friends, a reminder that even the hardest times can prompt and illustrate the triumph of the human spirit.

Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron (1353): The granddaddy of pandemic fiction, The Decameron relates tales told by refugees from the Black Death in 14th century Florence.

Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year (1722): The Plague Year gives a literary and historical account of the bubonic plague in 17th century London.

Katherine Anne Porter, Pale Horse, Pale Rider (1939): A short story about the great flu pandemic of 1918-1919 by an author who survived it.

Ahmed Ali, Twilight in Delhi (1940): Another novel about the 1918-1919 flu pandemic, in this case set in colonial India.

Albert Camus, The Plague (1947): A novel about the plague in French-ruled Algeria after World War II, often seen as a metaphor for everything from Nazism to colonialism and the existential crisis of the human spirit.

Kenzaburo Oe, Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids (1958): The story of a group of reform school boys sent to a plague-stricken Japanese village during World War II.

Michael Crichton, The Andromeda Strain (1961): A classic science fiction novel about medical attempts to combat a pandemic.

Octavia E. Butler, Survivor (1978): A novel about the survivors of a widespread plague on Earth who settle on another planet.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera (1985): A novel by the great Colombian writer that explores analogies of love, passion and disease.

Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (2003) and The Year of the Flood (2009): The first two novels of the MaddAdam trilogy, they explore how women and men adjusted to a world torn apart by disaster.

Philip Roth, Nemesis (2010): A novel about the impact of the 1944 polio epidemic on a Jewish neighborhood in Newark, N.J.

Colson Whitehead, Zone One (2011): A portrait of New York City as a post-apocalyptic dystopia infected by a plague that turns its inhabitants into zombies.

And, finally, for sheer unadulterated creepiness as well as a powerful statement about pandemics and social justice, its hard to beat Edgar Allan Poes short story, The Masque of the Red Death (1842).

What can such literature teach us about the effect of these deadly manifestations on humanity, and how they shape what it means to be human? We are the stories we tell, and in a time of pandemic these stories show how we will live through this crisis and, ultimately, build a brighter tomorrow.

Be well and stay safe.

Tyler Stovall, distinguished professor of history, is the dean of the humanities at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
One person was arrested on Wednesday after he had allegedly slaughtered a calf in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir that hurt the religious sentiments of a particular community, officials said.

The accused was booked under Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulating its religion or the religious beliefs) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race) of the Indian Penal Code, the officials said.

The man was arrested after police received information about his sacrilegious act, they said.

Anybody who tries to disturb the communal fabric of Ramban will not be spared, Senior Superintendent of Police Haseeb-ur-Rehman told PTI.

Earlier on May 5, communal tension gripped Ramban after a youth belonging to a particular community hurt the religious feelings of the majority community by uploading communal comments on social media.

Police acted swiftly and arrested the accused to maintain law and order in the district.

The SSP urged people to maintain communal harmony and foil the nefarious designs of those who are bent upon dividing the people in the name of religion.

People of Ramban are requested not to pay heed to rumours, trust the administration and maintain communal harmony, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Wednesday chair the Union Cabinet meet during which two ordinances related to farmers and agricultural sectors and the fast approaching Cyclone Amphan is likely to be discussed.

According to reports, the Cabinet meeting is scheduled to begin around 11 AM. During the meeting, the Union cabinet is likely to approve the relief package for farmers.

PM-led Cabinet is also likely to discuss the coronavirus situation in the country and the lookdown 4 to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

The Union Cabinet is also likely to discuss measures to tackle the Cyclone Amphan, which is expected to make a landfall in West Bengal coast today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the response preparedness against Cyclone Amphan and assured all possible Central assistance to the states which are likely to be hit.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, MHA officials, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and officials of NDMA ad NDRF attended the meeting.

Soon after the meeting, the PM wrote on Twitter that he prays for everyone's safety 'and assure all possible support from the central government.'

At the review meet, Modi took stock of the situation and reviewed the measures as well as the evacuation plan presented by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
The border dispute between India and Nepal seems to be deepening. The dispute is about the Kalapani script. It may be noted that both Nepal and India claim to be an integral part of Kalapani, while India considers it a part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, while Nepal claims it as part of Dharchula district.

Motion logo of 'Gulabo-Sitabo' released, trailer will out soon

Thank you for keeping the dignity of our small nation..we all are looking forward for a peaceful and respectful dialogue between all three great nations now https://t.co/A60BZNjgyK  Manisha Koirala (@mkoirala) May 18, 2020

Top 5 controversies of Bollywood celebs



In this episode, recently the Nepal cabinet has taken a big decision to make a new political map. In this, India Kalapani Lipulekh has been shown as part of the border of Nepal. Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala has supported Nepal's move.

Directors of these 9 films rules South and Bollywood industry

Manisha hails from Nepal and she tweeted, "Thank you for maintaining the dignity of our small nation. We are looking forward to a peaceful, respectful dialogue between all three great countries. She made this tweet retweeting the tweet of the Foreign Minister of Nepal in which information was given to include two disputed areas like Kalapani Lipulekh in the official map of Nepal.

This actress who left Bollywood revealed shocking things about film industry
She has been charged with money laundering and defrauding a financial institution, Kane County court records show. She was also charged with defrauding a financial institution, theft from a financial institution, theft by deception, conducting a continuing financial crime enterprise, forgery, computer fraud and writing bad checks.
The number of newborn babies in the US has dropped to the lowest level in 35 years, with experts estimating that Covid-19 could decrease numbers still.

The latest statistics were published on Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and based on birth certificate issue numbers.

American births in 2019, said the CDC, dropped one per cent on the previous year.

About 3.7 million babies were born in 2019, whilst birth rates continued to fall for teenage mothers and for women in their 20s.

This unpredictable environment, and anxiety about the future, is going to make women think twice about having children, said Dr. Denise Jamieson, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University.

The new data comes after a decades-long decline in the US birth rate dubbed the baby bust, in which newborns have decreased in number almost year-on-year since 2007.

It means that aside from a one-year increase in 2014, the US birthrate has continued to decline since the last major economic crash.

Some experts now believe that the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy will suppress the numbers further.

Family health expert Dr. John Santelli is among those who believe that low-paying and unstable work, combined with high rents and other factors, have caused couples to be more cautious about having children.

At the same time, the Columbia University professor suggests more limited access to abortion services and social-distancing could decrease the birth rate amongst certain groups.

Hans-Peter Kohler, a University of Pennsylvania fertility researcher, added that Covid-19's impact could be more long-term.

He told The Associated Press: The decline due to COVID-19 might be different given the extent and severity of the crisis, and the long-lasting uncertainty that is caused by it.

Brady Hamilton, the leading author of the CDC report, added on Wednesday that it was unclear what will happen to births this year due to the pandemic.

Still, the after-effects of Covid-19 will not be seen on maternity wards until late this year or in 2021, he said.
Authorities have had to concoct regulations for more modern services such as Grab. Photo Le Toan

In the past few years, the ride-hailing market in Vietnam has seen substantial growth, which has drawn certain attention to Vietnamese tax authorities who have been developing their viewpoint on taxation mechanisms in order to implement tax collection from tech-based drivers for income generated from the new business model in Vietnam.

On behalf of the tech-based drivers who earn more than VND100 million ($4,350) annually, Singapore-backed Grab Vietnam has charged 4.5 per cent of the earnings for their tax obligation since the end of last August, following Document No.384/TCT-TNCN outlining the tax policy for Grabs business operations. Those include 3 per cent VAT and 1.5 per cent personal income tax.

While its tax duty in the nation has been at prolonged unease due a lack of frameworks for new kinds of business such as ride-hailing, that Grab is on the side of the drivers to carry out their tax liabilities has raised anguish on whether the firm takes advantage of their taxes to perform another purpose.

Regarding the issue, a representative of Grab Vietnam asserted to VIR that it always obeys local regulations during operation in the country. Since the new tax policy came into force, Grab said it has transparently performed declaration and collection of taxes from drivers and also on behalf of them to pay taxes to the government. The detailed data regarding taxpayers are fully collected and reported to the tax authorities that assures the principle of their privacy protection following local regulations, said the representative.

Clarifying driver queries, the Grab representative said that based on the relevant documents of the tax authorities, Grab is in charge of declaring, collecting and paying tax obligations for driver partners. On its side, the company is taking efforts to deploy more initiatives and services to meet the needs of the Vietnamese people and improve income for driver partners. Particularly, Grab is willing to work with Vietnamese tax authorities to apply science and technology in tax management.

Discussing the situation with VIR, Nguyen Hung Du, partner of tax services at Grant Thornton, assumed that Grab has received specific guidance from tax authorities for a new approach. The tax collection by Grab should go directly to local authorities and Grab plays a role of collection of taxes on behalf of the local authorities for income earned by business partners being drivers.

Chau Huy Quang, managing director of Rajah & Tann LCT law firm, said the issue is who would bear the risk in tax collection arising from this business model. It appears that the best way for the tax authority to continue the current mechanism is to indirectly collect the tax of the drivers from ride-hailing operators like Grab, GoViet, Baemin, and FastGo and allow the ride-hailing operators and drivers to internally resolve this.

However, as a protective view in favour of the drivers, the time of deduction and deducted amount by the ride-hailing operators against the drivers income should be clearly regulated. The reality is that drivers have to work hard to even generate income of VND300,000 ($13) a day, and this is made harder if the ride-hailing operators automatically deduct VND60,000 ($2.50) each day for an undetermined tax amount plus the operators fees, according to Quang.

Kieu Anh Vu, managing director at KAV Lawyers, told VIR that based on Document 384, Grab Vietnam has been paying taxes under the form of subtraction method that applies to businesses with the annual earning of less than VND1 billion ($43,500).

Vu said that Grab is a legal entity formed in Vietnam, so it is necessary to inspect whether it has met the full requirements to be an object of the credit method. Those standards include fulfilling the accounting system, invoices, and other documents, as well as annual turnover of more than VND1 billion.

Responding to the matter, the representative for Grab stated that the local tax authorities are building a legal framework that promotes equality for the benefits of all economic members. Grab is committed to meeting its tax obligations in Vietnam in line with local regulations, he added.
State and local officials are working together to provide personnel and resources to help the thousands of mid-Michigan residents that were forced to evacuate their homes following the historic flooding caused by the breaching and over-flowing of two mid-Michigan dams.

The Edenville and Sanford Dams, both privately-owned by Boyce Hydro and located in Midland County, failed Tuesday evening due to rain-swollen floodwaters, which prompted state and local officials to declare flash-flood warnings, issue a state of emergency for Midland County, and call for over 10,000 residents in Midland, Sanford, and Edenville to evacuate their homes and seek higher ground and nearby shelters.

The Tittabawassee River surpassed its previous record flood stage of 33.9 feet (1986) Tuesday night and reached its crest of 35.05 feet around 5 p.m. Wednesday, which was 11 feet above flood levels. The flood warning for Midland County will remain in effect through Sunday as officials wait for floodwaters to begin receding.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer completed an aerial tour of the area on Wednesday, calling the flood damage devastating. She said the state will be very aggressive in seeking support from the federal government, which will include making a formal request to FEMA.

At this point, theres been no reports of casualties, which is a pretty amazing thing, she said Wednesday afternoon outside Midland High School, which is serving as one of three area shelters for evacuees.

According to The National Weather Service, rainfall totals have exceeded five inches in Midland County since Sunday.

Whitmer and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are working together to examine potential legal options that could be used to assist the states recovery efforts.

The damage from this crisis has devastated thousands of Midland County residents and business owners, said Whitmer. I will work with the attorney general and my partners at the state and federal level to help our families through this, and to help them get back on their feet once its safe to return home.

Dow Chemical has activated its emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions, spokeswoman Rachelle Schikorra said in an email.

Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River, Schikorra said.

State concerns about Edenville Dam

In October 2018, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (ELGE) assumed regulatory authority over the 96-year-old Edenville Dam after its license to generate hydropower was revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Nick Assendelft, department spokesman, said EGLE conducted an initial inspection of the dam in October 2018, finding it to be in fair structural condition, but did note that the State had some strong concerns.

The dam did not have enough spillway capacity-which allows water to flow out of Wixom Lake-to meet state requirements, he said. We expressed those concerns to Boyce Hydros consultants and were continuing conversations about that deficiency.

Spillover capacity is the amount of water flow that a dam is able to pass before water comes over the top causing damage or complete failure.

According to the 2018 inspection report, state officials did not observe deficiencies that would be expected to cause immediate failure of the damthe structure and generating equipment appeared to be in fair condition as well.

In April, the Michigan Attorney Generals office filed a lawsuit against Boyce Hydro in Ingham County court for drawing down water levels without permission and for damage to natural resources as a result of those drawdowns.

EGLE was pursing additional enforcement action at the time of the breach, said Assendelft. Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades. That combined with the historical rainfall and the flooding were factors in the Edenville Dam failure.

According to records obtained by The Associated Press, there were 19 high hazard dams in Michigan rated in unsatisfactory or poor condition.

I just spoke with Gretchen Whitmer, Donald Trump said via the White House spokesperson. I will be going to Michigan at the appropriate time. They have a big problem with the dams breaking. So that is a big big problem. And so weve sent the FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers out, and theyre very good at dams, theyre probably better at that than anybody you can think of, right? The Army Corps of Engineers have done a fantastic job.

Shelters now open

The American Red Cross has opened eight area shelters to house those that have been evacuated from their homes.

Coleman High School, 4951 N. Lewis Road, Coleman, MI 48618 Midland, MI 48642

North Midland Family Center, 2601 E. Shearer Road, Midland, MI 48642

Midland High School, 1301 Eastlawn Drive, Midland, MI 48642

West Midland Family Center, 4011 W. Isabella Road, Shepherd, MI 48883

Bullock Creek High School, 1420 S. Badour Road, Midland, MI 48640

Freeland High School, 8250 Webster Road, Freeland, MI 48623

Swan Valley High School, 8380 Ohern Road, Saginaw, MI 48609

Hemlock High School, 733 N. Hemlock Road, Hemlock, MI 48626

Other communities being served include Arenac, Gladwin, Iosco, Ogemaw, and Saginaw counties, where Red Cross teams are in the field surveying damaged homes and working with local emergency management to assess the impact of the flooding and additional needs in the affected communities.

Additional support

Michigan National Guard units from Bay City, Saginaw, Port Huron, and other nearby communities have responded to a request for assistance as well. Around 130 soldiers and 40 emergency response vehicles arrived in the area to provide assistance beginning missions at 4 a.m. Wednesday, which includes evacuating residents and preparing logistical support.

More than 200 additional soldiers and equipment were expected to arrive throughout the day on Wednesday. Other guard members are on standby for aviation, rescue hoist, and logistical support if required.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is also providing 20 conservation officers and 10 patrol vessels to assist with resident evacuations.

Oakland Countys incident management team is working alongside the states Emergency Management Region 3 incident management team to provide on-scene resources in Midland County. The countys incident management team consists of personnel from various fire departments, law enforcement agencies, public works departments, public health, and emergency management staff from around the county.

Mike Loper, who has worked in the Oakland County Emergency Operations Center for the past 19 years, was sent up to the Midland County Emergency Operations Center to assist with their flood response efforts, according to Oakland County Executive David Coulter.

In addition, Michigan Task Force 1, which is based in Holly Township, responded Tuesday night with a swift water rescue team. All of this assistance is coordinated under the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, which is designed to streamline the requesting and providing of emergency and fire services resources across Michigan.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday (May 20) approved the Finance Ministry's proposal to launch a new Special Liquidity Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) to improve the liquidity position of the NBFCs/HFCs, said a government notification.

Under this scheme, the government has proposed a framework for addressing the liquidity constraints of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) through a Special Liquidity Scheme. "An SPV would be set up to manage a Stressed Asset Fund (SAF) whose special securities would be guaranteed by the government and purchased by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) only," according to the statement.

"The proceeds of the sale of such securities would be used by the SPV to acquire short-term debt of NBFCs/HFCs," it said adding that the scheme will be administered by the Department of Financial Services, which will issue the detailed guidelines.

Accordingly, a large public sector bank would set up an SPV to manage a stressed asset fund which would issue interest bearing special securities guaranteed by the government to be purchased by RBI only.

"The SPV would issue securities as per requirement subject to the total amount of securities outstanding not exceeding Rs 30,000 crore to be extended by the amount required as per the need. The securities issued by the SPV would be purchased by RBI and proceeds thereof would be used by the SPV to acquire the debt of at least investment grade of short duration (residual maturity of upto 3 months) of eligible NBFCs/HFCs," the statement said.

Notably, the proposed scheme would be a one-stop arrangement between the SPV and the NBFCs without having to liquidate their current asset portfolio. "The scheme would also act as an enabler for the NBFC to get investment grade or better rating for bonds issued. The scheme is likely to be easier to operate and also augment the flow of funds from the non-bank sector," according to the statement.

In the Budget Speech of 2020-21, it was announced that a mechanism would be devised to provide additional liquidity facility to NBFCs/HFCs over that provided through the PCGS. This facility would supplement the liquidity measures taken so far by the government and RBI. The Scheme would benefit the real economy by augmenting the lending resources of NBFCs/HFCs/MFls.

This Budget announcement is being approved to strengthen financial stability on account of the emerging situation of COVID-19 crisis.
Intensifying his offensive against India, Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli said the virus from India looks more lethal than Chinese and Italian, accusing India for the spread of coronavirus cases in the country.

According to a report by NDTV, the Nepalese PM in his Parliament speech on May 20 said those entering Nepal through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country, and that some party leaders are bringing in people from India without proper testing.

In his first Parliament address after the outbreak of coronavirus, PM Oli said, It has become very difficult to contain COVID-19 due to the flow of people from outside. Indian virus looks more lethal than Chinese and Italian now. More are getting infected.

This has further escalated the rift between India and Nepal, which was triggered by the Kalapani dispute.

Talking about the issue, he said Nepal would bring back Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh area at any cost. Recently, the Nepal Cabinet had released a political map, which showed the tri-junction as a part of the country.

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

Nepal has two tri-junctions with India  the Lipulekh Pass in the west and Jhinsang Chull in the east. The one under dispute currently is the Lipulekh Pass, located in Kalapani area at the border of Uttarakhand with Nepal.

Kalapani is a 35 square kilometre area in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh district, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

However, the Nepalese government contends that the Lipulekh Pass belongs to them as mentioned in Sugauli Treaty signed between the British East India Company and Nepal in 1816.

Nepal has been worried ever since Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8 inaugurated a road connecting the Lipulekh pass with the Kailash Mansarovar route in China. Not only has Nepal protested the move, it is also considering putting up a security post in the area.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has maintained that the road going through Uttarakhand''s Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India".

Asserting that the newly inaugurated road follows the pre-existing route which is used pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the MEA said, "Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals, and traders."
Parents are weighing the risk of allowing their children to return to school in the wake of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.



Surveys conducted by the Daily Graphic on the possible reopening of schools revealed divergent opinions of parents.



Accra



Some parents in Accra said they would allow their children to return to school only when the COVID-19 cases had completely gone down or there was a cure.



A medical doctor, Dr Prince Nuamah, said: I am uncertain about how safe the school environment would be for my children in view of the fact that the country hasn't yet approved of RDTs to know all who have the virus.



A mother, Mrs Abena Agyeiwaa, said although she was comfortable with the preventive protocols being prescribed, contextually, it would be difficult for most of the schools to implement them.



I dont think we should be in a rush to send the children back to school now that it is clear children are not insulated from contracting the virus, Tilly Mensah-Ansah, another parent said.



Kumasi



In Kumasi, parents were divided over the issue. While some believed it was dangerous to resume academic work now, some clamoured for the resumption, while others were undecided, writes Daniel Kenu.



Those who clamoured for the early reopening said they were overburdened with work and taking care of children.



Some said their resources were overstretched because, since the closure, they have had to hire the services of caretakers to manage their homes while they were at work.



Mr Kwadwo Ayisi, a banker and his wife, Maa Ataa, a trader, who are residents of the Asuoyeboa SSNIT Flats, told the Daily Graphic that the closure of the schools had brought untold hardship on them.



For his part, a second hand clothes dealer, Yaw Bonsie Adu, said because of crowded dormitories and classrooms, it would be difficult to ensure social distancing and other such protocols in schools.



Tema



Mercy Akpene Amevor reports from Tema that some parents whose children attend public basic schools in the metropolis expressed doubts about the reopening of schools amid the community spread of the coronavirus.



A cross-section of parents who spoke to the Daily Graphic said with the conversion of some public school parks into satellite markets by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), it would be impossible for schools and the market to operate in the same environment.



A parent, Mr David Serebour Boateng, was of the view that the time was not ripe to reopen schools.



Mrs Matilda Agyeman, a parent, also said children should not be made to return to school now.



Koforidua



George Folley reports from Koforidua that a cross-section of parents in the New Juaben Municipality in the Eastern Region have appealed to the government to put in place well-grounded measures before reopening schools.



This, according to them, was to ensure that the health of children was not jeopardised.



They said in as much as they wanted their children to be in school, their health needs must be considered.



A parent, Mr Albert Nartey, said looking at the population in most schools, observing social distancing would be difficult.



Cape Coast



From Cape Coast, Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports that some residents have appealed to the government to bring the pandemic under control before reopening schools.



They indicated that nothing was more important than the safety and well-being of the people for which reason pupils and students must not be rushed into going back to school until the pandemic was brought under control.



Mr Ebo Ryder, a mechanic, said there was no need to rush to reopen schools when the number of cases kept increasing.



Bolgatanga



From Bolgatanga, Vincent Amenuveve reports that there were mixed reactions from parents, teachers and guardians over the proposal.



While some parents said they would not mind sending their children to school provided the necessary health protocols would be observed in the schools, others said they would give it a second thought because they were not sure the health protocols would be strictly observed.



Among those who shared their opinions with the Daily Graphic were Osman Abubakari, Meshach Aguna, Sampana Osman, Stephen Ayimbilla, Johnson Adongo and Ms Monica Anaba.



Ho



Parents in Ho in the Volta Region also expressed diverse opinions about a possible reopening of schools, writes Mary Anane-Amponsah.



Ms Hannah Essuman, a teacher, expressed fear of an escalation in infections if schools reopened now due to a possible failure of adherence to the COVID-19 safety protocols.



Another parent, Ms Agnes Ayite, said allowing her children to go to school would only put them at a higher risk.

However, Mr Dzidefo Akude welcomed the idea because children were losing critical contact hours and may be left behind in the academic year.



Tamale



Samuel Duodu reports from Tamale that there were mixed reactions over the issue.



While some residents said they were not frightened by the increase in the number of cases of the COVID-19, others expressed worry over the situation.



Some were of the opinion that the wearing of nose masks and social distancing protocols must be made mandatory and enforced to contain the spread of the virus.



Mr Paul Achonga Kwode, a lecturer at the Tamale Technical University (TTU), said adequate measures must be put in place before the schools were reopened.



Takoradi



Some parents in Sekondi/Takoradi said they were not sure if they would send their children to school if it was reopened today, writes Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu.



However, a parent, Agnes Mensah, said it would be a great relief for her if schools were reopened now, even though she expressed concern about the safety of children.







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
India on Wednesday bluntly asked Nepal not to resort to any 'artificial enlargement' of its territorial claim after the neighbouring country came up with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as its territory.





The Ministry of External Affairs said the revised map of Nepal included parts of the Indian territory and asked Kathmandu to refrain from such 'unjustified cartographic assertion'.

India's angry reaction came hours after the Nepal government released a revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the strategically key areas along the border between the two countries.

"This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

He said Nepal is well aware of India's consistent position on the matter.

"We urge the government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues," he said.

The new map was released by Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal during a televised press conference in Kathmandu.

The ties between the two countries came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a 80-KM-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.

Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through Nepalese territory.

India rejected the claim asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week summoned Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to protest against India inaugurating the key road.

In the midst of the row, Indian Army chief General M M Naravane said there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to the road at the behest of 'someone else', in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.

Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to 'reclaim' them from India through political and diplomatic efforts.

Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there.

The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after New Delhi issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh as part of its territory in October last year.
Its been about three months since the novel coronavirus was identified in the Houston area, but those days before the pandemic feel like the distant past  a different time when children went to school, friends gathered in restaurants and government meetings werent virtual.

I joined one virtual meeting this week out of curiosity over how Harris County leaders are navigating the extraordinary circumstances now facing us.

County leaders and staffers are still having to juggle routine business in addition to doing what they can to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus and alleviate the economic impacts of the county being pretty much shut down for weeks.

I thought we already did Nurses Week, Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia told staffers on a Monday morning conference call, in advance of Tuesdays commissioners court meeting.

There was some conferring among the men and women of the Precinct 2 staff, who had Zoomed or phoned in, and it was determined that the county has yet to honor nurses specifically. We did health care professionals in general, one of them confirmed.

Another question that came up is whether Harris County Public Health, which has faced extraordinary outlays for personal protective equipment, is eligible for any relief under the federal CARES Act, passed by Congress last month; legal experts are still sorting through that question.

The spotlight this week has been on the states response to COVID-19. Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced the second phase of his plan to re-open Texas. His new executive order allows child care centers, summer camps, zoos, bowling alleys and bars to re-open this month, albeit with limits on capacity for now.

The move comes as a Houston Chronicle analysis finds the state has failed to meet key criteria set by Abbotts own strike force for re-opening the state: although Texas is doing well in terms of hospital capacity, we havent seen a sustained reduction in new cases, nor do we have the capacity for large-scale testing or contact tracing.

In other words, the state is essentially embarking on a high-stakes and high-profile public health experiment.

And it will fall largely on local governments to manage the fallout, for better or worse.

The Texas Legislature wont meet again until January, unless Abbott decides to call a special session. The federal government is busy giving Texans cause to long for the days when we could safely ignore it.

Congressional Democrats last week passed another stimulus bill, the HEROES Act, that would provide funds to cash-strapped state and local governments, among other things, but Republican Senate leaders have called it dead on arrival

And so Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and county commissioners are under extraordinary pressure at the moment.

The Houston area is hurting from both the coronavirus and the attendant economic fallout. More than 400,000 people from across the Houston area have filed for unemployment since March, according to the Greater Houston Partnership. Problems such as homelessness, food insecurity and inequality have only been exacerbated by the crisis. And the worst may be yet to come. The Texas Supreme Court last week lifted the moratorium on eviction and debt-collection proceedings that it imposed in March.

Garcias staffers are certainly seeing the impact.

On Friday, Chris Saddler, the offices director of parks & recreation, gave an update on some of Precinct 2s food distribution projects. Three hundred sandwiches were distributed on Tuesday, he said, along with 2,100 masks, 1,700 pounds of potatoes and 500 pounds of cabbage. Another round of sandwiches and masks went out on Thursday, along with 3,480 apples and 630 pineapples.

Such programs, however, are a stopgap at best. Garcias main focus this week was his proposal to provide more enduring relief for senior citizens and disabled homeowners by expanding the homestead exemption; the Democrat and former sheriff noted in a statement that property owners have been hit hard by rising appraisal values as well as the pandemic.

The idea had attracted some skeptical pushback from critics, on the right, who were worried about whether it would truly be revenue-neutral  and a snippy response from his Republican colleague Jack Cagle, who welcomed Garcias newfound concern for homeowners struggling with their property taxes.

The COVID thing is important, but its also really important to focus on the gentrification aspect of it, Garcia said on his call with staffers Monday evening.

The motion passed unanimously the next day, in another virtual meeting. The commissioners court also approved, on party lines, a proposal from Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis to invest $30 million, up from the $15 million tentatively approved three weeks ago, in a COVID relief fund focused on low-income families in Harris County.

These measures wont be enough to allay all the economic distress the region is experiencing, but in the absence of stronger state action, its nice to see county leaders step up.

erica.grieder@chron.com
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti recently ordered residents to wear face masks whenever out of the home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And Emma Roberts was sure to follow the rules as she headed to a local coffee shop in her Los Feliz neighborhood on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old star also hopped on the popular tie-dye trend wearing a blue and pink hoodie from New York-based brand Dannijo for her trip.

Covered up: Emma Roberts followed new Los Angeles guidelines for face masks outside of the home, as she went to a local coffee shop on Tuesday

The American Horror Story actress looked sporty, pairing black Adidas leggings and New Balance sneakers with the colorful sweatshirt.

For a handsfree accessory, she wore a black fanny pack across her chest, as she had her iced coffee in hand.

Most of her famous face was covered in a tropical patterned face mask in beige print with green and pink floral design.

Trendy: The 29-year-old star also hopped on the popular tie-dye trend wearing a blue and pink hoodie from New York-based brand Dannijo for her trip

Full look: The American Horror Story actress looked sporty, pairing black Adidas leggings and New Balance sneakers with the colorful sweatshirt as she walked through her Los Feliz neighborhood

She wore her signature gold rimmed, circular Ray Ban sunglasses for her walk, and listened to music through large, over the year headphones.

Though Emma did wear a face covering to protect her from the virus, at one point she pulled her face mask down to her chin for easy sipping.

The American Horror Star has dutifully been practicing social-isolation in her lush LA home with boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 35, through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Face wear: She wore her signature gold rimmed, circular Ray Ban sunglasses for her walk, and listened to music through large, over the year headphones

Accessories: For a handsfree accessory, she wore a black fanny pack across her chest, as she had her iced coffee in hand

The couple are believed to have started dating in March 2019 following the end of her relationship with former fiance Evan Peters.

Roberts and Peters had started dating in 2014 and became engaged in 2014.

Five years later, their breakup was confirmed and Roberts began dating Hedlund who had previously been in a relationship with Kirsten Dunst from 2012 to 2016.

Easy sip: Though Emma did wear a face covering to protect her from the virus, at one point she pulled her face mask down to her chin for easy sipping

Limbo: The release of her upcoming romantic comedy film The Holidate is now in limbo due to production delays caused by the pandemic

Together: The American Horror Star has dutifully been practicing social-isolation in her lush LA home with boyfriend Garrett Hedlund, 35, through the COVID-19 pandemic (pictured in 2019)

Emma recently appeared in the horror-thriller film The Hunt, which was initially slated for a September 2019 premiere date but was delayed due to the mass shootings in Dayton and El Paso.

It eventually made its theatrical release in March, however, it was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in theaters closing.

The release of her upcoming romantic comedy film The Holidate is now in limbo due to production delays caused by the pandemic.
Met Eireann has issued weather warnings for parts of Ireland for Thursday and Friday

A Status Yellow Wind Warning has bee issued for Galway and Mayo.

Through Thursday night and Friday, south to southeast winds, veering southwesterly will reach mean speeds of 45 to 65 km/hr with gusts of 85 to 110 Km/hr, mainly in coastal areas and on exposed hills and mountains. That warning is in place from 9pm on Thursday until 6pm on Friday.

A Status Yellow Wind Warning has also been issued for Donegal. Through Friday, southerly winds veering southwesterly will reach mean speeds of 45 to 65 km/hr with gusts of 85 to 110 km/hr, especially in coastal areas and on exposed hills and mountains. That warning is valid from 6am on Friday until 9pm on Friday.

Status Yellow - Wind warning for Donegal



All current warnings here : https://t.co/ozrQHtoOkt pic.twitter.com/hQU2qr5v8n  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) May 20, 2020

In its latest forecast, Met Eireann states most places will be dry with good sunshine on Thursday morning however, heavy or thundery rain will arrive in the southwest in the evening and extend northeastwards. Highest temperatures of 16 to 19 degrees and a degree or two cooler in southern coastal areas with strengthening southeast winds.

Wet and windy with outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards across the country on Thursday night, turning heavy at times and followed later by showers. It will be a windy night with southwesterly gales on Atlantic coasts. Temperatures no lower than 10 or 11 degrees.

Friday will be windy with sunshine and showers and the risk of very strong winds near the west and north coast. Showers will be most frequent over the western half of the country with the southeast becoming largely dry. Temperatures on Friday will be a few degrees cooler than of late with highs 12 to 16 degrees west to east. Gusty southwesterly winds remaining fresh to strong throughout the day with gales continuing on Atlantic coasts. The showers will become confined to western coasts on Friday night with lows of 7 to 9 degrees and remaining windy.
Love them, hate them ignore them at national peril, is the babu guarantee and Dilips belief. Share significant babu escapades dilipcherian@hotmail.com

The chief secretary of Punjab has earned the ire of the ministers for his alleged rude behaviour

Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh is caught in a controversy that could have political repercussions. Predictably, its clear CM Amarinder Singh is going to let the slugfest between his colleagues and his bureaucrats slide.

The CMs excise policy that seeks to give relief to liquor contractors has split the state Council of Ministers. The chief secretary, who is also financial commissioner (taxation) and administrative secretary of the Punjab excise department, has earned the ire of the ministers for his alleged rude behaviour.

A rather sensitive lot, maybe it is the corona lockdown that is causing frayed tempers being displayed in public.

During the last meeting on the issue, all the ministers walked out mid-way to protest the chief secretarys attitude. Inexplicable given that were talking of a seasoned babu here.

Further, sources say, all ministers have resolved not to attend any cabinet meeting where Karan Avtar Singh is present. Apparently, even Amarinder Singhs efforts to resolve the spat have not appeased his colleagues. Moreover, a party MLA has sought a probe claiming there is a government-contractor nexus in the excise department.

This has given Punjab Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa the opportunity to pepper CM Amarinder Singh with barbs disguised as pleas for transparency. Bajwa has asked that the chief secretary be either cleared of such charges or removed from his post, squarely putting the CM in an unenviable position.

The mantris may have won the round because, in the next meeting, the chief secretary proceeded on half-day leave, authorising the next senior most IAS officer, home secretary Satish Chandra, to chair the meeting. And now, bowing to pressure, Amarinder has stripped the chief secretary of his additional charge as financial commissioner (taxation).

Clearly, this is an unfortunate situation in a state that is fighting the ravages of coronavirus outbreak. A spat like this between ministers and the state chief secretary is the last thing that the CM needs. For there are signs that even as this saga unfolds, there could be more that is hidden from the public eye. And meanwhile, both revenues and victims, wilt in utter neglect.

IAS officers resignation rejected

The Haryana government has rejected the resignation of IAS officer Rani Nagar and instead recommended to the Centre that her cadre be changed to her home state Uttar Pradesh. The 2014-batch officer had resigned from service on May 4. In her letter to chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora, the officer cited personal safety on government duty as the reason behind her decision, and also posted the letter on her Facebook page.

The IAS officer held the charge of a director in the Haryana archives department and that of additional director in the social justice and empowerment department in Haryana.

In an FB post last month, she had expressed her desire to resign from the service after the lockdown and go back to her native place in UP. She had cited issues related to her safety. She had made news in 2018 when she accused an additional chief secretary-level officer of harassing her. According to sources, the state government had conducted an inquiry into her allegations but did not charge the officer.

Rani Nagars case comes close on the heels of another IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan from Kerala who had resigned from service last year but the government has refused to accept it. Instead, it has booked him for refusing to rejoin duty amid the coronavirus outbreak. Hopefully, Rani Nagars case will have a better ending.

Special consignment

There was a special passenger on the Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft that flew with medical supplies to Sri Lanka recently. Besides medicines, the aircraft also took Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Gopal Baglay who is Indias new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. Before his latest assignment, Baglay was a joint secretary in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

Sources say that though Baglay had been appointed Indias envoy to Sri Lanka back in February, the envoy-designate was unable to take up his new assignment due to the announcement of the nationwide lockdown by the Modi sarkar. He was forced to cool his heels until this opportunity arrived when India gifted 12.5 tonnes of medical supplies to its neighbour, and Baglay hopped on for the ride.

During his career in the diplomatic service, Baglay has been Indias deputy high commissioner to Pakistan, joint secretary in-charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, as well as spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs.
Detectives released the name of a young man killed Friday afternoon in a Northeast Albuquerque home.

Gilbert Gallegos, an Albuquerque police spokesman, said the body of 18-year-old Gabriel Montes Jr. was found in the 2600 block of Graceland NE, near Menaul and Washington. He wouldve turned 19 on Sunday.

Less than two hours after his body was found, officers detained three people who were found in Montes car at a West Side Walmart. Gallegos said the three have since been released but gave no other details.

The investigation is still active, he said.

Officers responded around 5 p.m. to an armed robbery call at the home after Montes father told a 911 dispatcher that his son was dead.

Police found the body of Montes Jr. inside the home with severe trauma. Montes vehicle was missing and officers tracked it to the Walmart near Coors and Interstate 40.

Dozens of officers surrounded the Walmart evacuating shoppers and keeping others from going into the store until they detained a woman and two men. The three were led out in handcuffs.
Portland-area residents approved a historic new tax to fund homeless services Tuesday.

The measure will collect a 1% income income tax from people who make $125,000 annually or couples who earn $200,000 combined. It also includes a 1% tax on businesses that generate $5 million annually.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, it was expected to raise $250 million a year to be spread among the three counties in the Metro region. There is no projection of what it will raise now, but supporters say it will likely generate the expected annual $250 million by the end of its 10-year lifespan.

The money will go toward funding behavioral health services, job training and other services for homeless people or people on the edge of it. Local officials and homelessness nonprofit leaders say the money could be a game changer in broadening and deepening the scope of their work.

The guidelines for the measure prioritize people of color and chronically homeless people.

Katrina Holland, executive director of nonprofit JOIN, said her staff has had to turn homeless families away for lack of funds at the beginning of this year. But when money starts to roll in in 2021, that could shore up their ability to serve more people.

This was a serious wildcard and I am so thankful to be part of a community that has decided we still care about those of us who are most vulnerable, Holland said. I can only imagine some of our workers who are working a new kind of joy that they havent felt in a long time."

Some counties might be able to spend money before 2021, if they have funds on hand. Those counties would then be paid back by Metro once the tax money is collected.

Metro President Lynn Peterson said Metro staff will begin work to help counties create plans for how to spend the money as soon as possible.

Does the service get down to the people yet? Thats a question we have to dig into of how quickly that can happen, Peterson said.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

The measure was sponsored by Metro, and so far won a majority in two counties.

Results tallied as of 1 a.m. Wednesday show Multnomah County voters favored it by 64% and Washington County by 52%. Clackamas County voted 53% against the measure in results tallied as of that our.

It originally was pitched as the companion measure to the landmark Metro affordable housing measure passed in 2018. The money from this measure does not have to be used on permanent supportive housing, though officials say much of it will go to provide services to people who have a hard time gaining and staying in housing.

At the beginning of the campaign, measure supporters said they wanted to carry all three counties, as the affordable housing bond did. Tuesday night, Peterson -- a former Clackamas County chair -- said there is still a lot of need for homeless services in the county and that if partial returns hold as more votes are counted, that means that elected officials need to listen to residents concern. But it wont affect the countys participation in how the measure money is used.

Jim Bernard, the Clackamas County chairman, has been supportive of the measure, as have other commissioners. However, he is facing a possible defeat, though the race is too close to call.

If he does lose, Tootie Smith will take the chair seat and could throw that support into question. When Smith last sat on the Clackamas County board, she helped lead confrontations between the county and regional agencies Metro and TriMet.

The opposition campaign -- called the Alliance for an Affordable Metro and funded by the grocers and manufacturers lobbies -- claim the new taxes will hurt businesses during a pandemic-ravaged economy.

The pushback spurred supporters to ramp up fundraising, surpassing $1 million in early May. They bought broadcast and online advertising, as well as mailers, polling and extensive consulting services.

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com | 503-294-5923 | @MollyHarbarger

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
WASHINGTON - Joe Biden is warning that those tasked with enforcing the law are abusing their powers, offering a measured critique of the Trump administration a day after he declined to respond to President Donald Trumps attacks directly.

Speaking Wednesday to Columbia University Law School graduates via video, Biden urged them to protect the very foundations of democracy.

Trust in self-governance. Because right now, its under attack, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said. The very people tasked with enforcing the rule of law are abusing their powers, protecting their friends, weakening the very principles that make our country work.

His comments come amid escalating rhetoric from Trump and his allies pushing conspiracy theories and alleging improper behaviour during the Obama administration.

Asked on Tuesday night how hed respond to the allegations, Biden said, I dont want to get down in the mud with these guys.

Speaking at a Yahoo News virtual town hall on Tuesday, Biden said Trump was trying to distract voters from his inadequate response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 90,000 Americans. Trump has said the virus will disappear like a miracle.

Broadly dubbing his allegations Obamagate, Trump has pointed to the legal case of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, suggesting that the unmasking of Flynns name as part of legal U.S. surveillance of foreign targets was criminal and motivated by partisan politics.

There is no evidence of that, and Trumps accusations misrepresent the facts of the case. The unmasking of people in surveillance reports is a routine, legal activity in government  the Trump administration made 10,012 such requests in 2019.

But they dont often become public, and in the Flynn case, Trump supporters point to it as evidence that Obama loyalists were out to undermine Trump from the start. The president himself has called it the biggest political crime and scandal in the history of the USA.

This is his pattern. Diversion, diversion, diversion, diversion, Biden said Tuesday. The greatest crime? I mean, my Lord.

Trumps cries of scandal come as the president and many top Republicans have used increasingly harsh rhetoric against Biden  hoping to foment doubt in voters minds as election season beings to heat up.

On Wednesday, a Senate committee led by Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson will vote on whether to issue a subpoena as part of an investigation into Bidens son Hunter and his work for a Ukrainian natural gas company that grew out of Trumps impeachment earlier this year.

Over the weekend, Trumps two adult sons appeared to spread baseless, online conspiracy theories suggesting other criminal activity by Biden. Asked about that Tuesday, Biden called online posts about the matter sick.

People know me. The good news is the bad news. They know me. They know my faults, they know my talents, Biden said.

Pointing to his decades in the Senate and eight years as vice-president, he continued, Its hard to lay on me some of the things that are just totally out of sync with anything in my whole life that anyone has ever said about me.

Also Tuesday, Biden was asked about Trumps firing of Steve Linick as the State Departments inspector general. Some Republicans have defended the move, arguing that it was within the presidents rights, but Biden and other Democrats say it is part of a larger White House effort to undermine government oversight.

Biden promised not to fire any inspector general should he be elected, saying those positions were designed to make government honest.
TSX : MFI

www.mapleleaffoods.com

MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (the "Company") today announced that it has filed its 2020 notice of annual meeting of shareholders and management information circular and copies are now available online at www.mapleleaffoods.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The annual meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. in a virtual-only format. In keeping with the Company's commitment to take all prudent precautions to ensure the health and well-being of its employees, clients, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders in the context of COVID-19, the Company will not be hosting the meeting in person, but shareholders will be able to join the meeting online, ask questions and vote online in real time by following the instructions provided in the circular.

The circular contains important information about the Company's annual meeting, including the election of directors and the appointment of the Company's auditor, as well as a detailed description of the Company's approach to executive compensation, a report on governance and an update regarding legal matters. Shareholders are encouraged to review the circular and vote by proxy as early as possible to ensure their shares are represented at the meeting.

This year, in accordance with securities laws, the Company is using "Notice and Access" to deliver the circular and related meeting materials by providing Shareholders with notice of their availability and access to the materials online. The Company has adopted Notice and Access because it allows for the reduction of printed paper materials which is consistent with the Company's sustainability goals and its commitment to reduce its environmental footprint.

Please see below for relevant document links.

Management Information Circular: https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Maple-Leaf-Foods-2020-Management-Information-Circular.pdf

Notice and Access Letter: https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Maple-Leaf-Foods-2020-Notice-and-Access.pdf

2020 AGM User Guide: https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Maple-Leaf-Foods-2020-AGM-User-Guide.pdf

We encourage shareholders and other interested parties to check our website at www.mapleleaffoods.com for additional information about the meeting.

About Maple Leaf Foods

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a producer of food products under leading brands including Maple Leaf, Maple Leaf Prime, Maple Leaf Natural Selections, Schneiders, Schneiders Country Naturals, Mina, Greenfield Natural Meat Co., LightlifeTM, Field Roast Grain Meat Co. and Swift. Maple Leaf employs approximately 13,000 people and does business in Canada, the U.S. and Asia. The Company is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario and its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MFI.

SOURCE Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mapleleaf.ca


Homegrown cab aggregator Ola has laid off 1,400 employees as its revenue take a hit amid the coronavirus lockdown. CEO Bhavish Agarwal said that their revenue has dipped 95 per cent in the last 2 months. "Our revenue has come down 95 per cent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies," said Aggarwal in a blog.

Aggarwal said in the blog that they had hoped in the beginning that this would be a short-lived crisis and the impact would be temporary. However, he said, the Ola leadership team has taken significant salary cuts to keep tougher decisions at bay. "And the prognosis ahead for our business is very unclear and uncertain. It is going to take a long time for people to go out and about like before," he said. He pointed out that people are preferring to work from home and air travel has also been limited to essential trips, resulting in long-drawn implications for the company. "The world is not going to revert to the pre-COVID era anytime soon. Social distancing, anxiety, and an abundance of caution will be the operating principles for everyone," said Aggarwal.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Swiggy lays off 1,100 employees, future of cloud kitchens uncertain

The Ola CEO said that we will have to learn to live with the virus and resultant implications. He also said that the company has undertaken several initiatives to help the driver partners in distress. Lease rental waivers, zero interest loans or Ola Sahyog, individual and institutional contributions such as Drive The Driver Fund, citizen initiatives such as Ola Emergency and Ola Connects are some of the measures undertaken by the company to help the drivers as well as frontline workers amid the pandemic.

Aggarwal added that he personally spent significant time reviewing and revisiting every aspect of this exercise. "These decisions are not reflective of anyone's performance and are purely a function of the uncontrollable circumstances that we have been faced with," he added.

Also read: Zomato fires 13% employees, announces 50% salary cuts due to coronavirus

The Human Resource team at Ola would have one-on-one conversations with every impacted employee, said Aggarwal in the blog. All the impacted employees would receive a minimum financial payout of three months of their fixed salary irrespective of the notice period. "All eligible ESOPs will vest forward to the closest quarter. For those who may not have completed a year, as an exception, we will enable pro-rated vesting for the period of time spent with us," he said.

Life and accident insurance of all of the impacted employees would continue till December 31 or start of the next job - whichever is earlier. Medical insurance to two parents or in-laws up to 90 years of age and a sum of Rs 2 lakh would also be offered by the company till December 31. Ola would also extend outplacement support to its affected employees.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Twitter-backed ShareChat lays off one-fourth of its workforce

"This will be a one time exercise and will be complete by the end of this week for our India Mobility business and by the end of next week for Ola foods and Ola Financial Services. No more COVID related cuts will be done after this exercise," he said. Bhavish Aggarwal said, "I'm filled with a lot of emotion and sadness as I write this email, but also with strong hope and resolve to rebuild our business, and create the future that we envision, together."

Also read: Coronavirus effect: Uber cuts 3,000 jobs as demand tumbles
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size China has slapped an 80 per cent tax on all barley grain imported from Australia. Some say it is retaliation for Australia's push for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. But others in the international trade community saw it coming and say the origins and potential ramifications of the dispute run much deeper. One thing is clear: Australia has finally been engulfed by the global trade wars stirred up by US President Donald Trump, and Australian farmers are firmly in the firing line. China is the world's biggest drinker of beer, a key ingredient of which is barley. Credit:iStock So, what has China done and why? What will it mean for the thousands of barley farmers with crops in the ground? And how do tariffs work? What has China done? In November 2018, China announced an investigation into whether the Australian government was unfairly subsidising our barley producers or whether they had engaged in "dumping". Dumping is said to occur when exports are sold at a price below "normal" value, giving foreigners an unfair advantage against domestic producers.

Advertisement

The implication is that a nation is "dumping" its surplus product in a way that is against the spirit of free trade. However, countries often use the allegation as a guise to protect their local producers from cheaper imports. Dumping is not illegal but the World Trade Organisation has guidelines about the practice. Most countries  including Australia  have "anti-dumping" processes by which governments can deem a foreign country to be engaging in unfair dumping and impose a tax on those goods to level the playing field for domestic producers. China also makes the case that the Australian government gives unfair subsidies to our farmers, including drought support and the diesel fuel rebate. Despite prolonged consultation with Australian farmers and our government, China's Ministry of Commerce has decided to apply a "countervailing duty" on barley imports from Australia. What's a "countervailing duty"? It's a tariff, by any other name. What's a tariff? Essentially a tax imposed by a government on goods or services imported from other countries. They are there to protect domestic suppliers  and jobs  from competition.

Advertisement

Loading Tariffs were cut back dramatically during the reform era of the 1970s and 1980s. Economists don't like tariffs because they artificially allow less productive firms to survive, when those resources  of people and capital  would be better deployed doing other more productive things, which would produce higher investment returns and wages. Tariffs also mean consumers pay higher prices on imported goods because the businesses that import the goods have to fork out for the tariff and tend to pass on the cost to consumers. Another effect of tariffs is that consumers end up with less diversity in the products available to them because foreign producers don't bother trying to market their goods in a country if they know their goods won't be priced competitively. Instead, consumers tend to get whatever domestic producers make. Much effort has been expended internationally through multilateral and, more recently, bilateral free-trade agreements to try to get rid of such taxes on trade. Why barley?

Advertisement

China is Australia's biggest trading partner. We sent $63 billion worth of iron ore to China in 2018-19, $17 billion of natural gas and $14 billion of coal. Of agricultural goods, beef is our biggest export to China, earning $9.5 billion, followed by non-beef meat ($5.2 billion), wool ($3.8 billion) and wheat ($3.7 billion). Barley appears in 12th place on the list of our biggest agricultural, forestry and fisheries exports to China in 2018-19, earning $1.38 billion in that year, sitting below wine, cotton, fruit, sugar and wood. Australian barley producers have become particularly reliant on China in recent years, partly because of a concerted trade push to that nation, and partly because China tends to pay high prices. Some Australian farmers have bred types of barley specially suited to the Chinese market. Loading China's share of our barley exports has risen from about 30 per cent a decade ago to between 60 per cent and 70 per cent, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture.

Advertisement

Just over 2.5 million tonnes of Australian barley was shipped to China in 2018-19, about 700,000 tonnes to Japan, 370,000 tonnes to Thailand, 350,000 to Vietnam and 100,000 to South Korea. This includes malting barley used for beer production and lower grade barley used for animal feedstock. But China is the world's largest producer and consumer of beer and it sources its barley from a wide range of countries. By targeting Australian barley, China can make its point while also targeting a good for which its own domestic beer producers have other sources of supply. What happens after the tariff is imposed? China's decision is effective immediately. Some grain already on ships may be exempt. But it is unlikely Chinese importers will choose to buy much more Australian barley now that the price has effectively doubled. They will import from other countries. Australia's barley exporters will try to sell their grain to other countries, mostly other south-east Asian nations, but they are likely to be forced to accept a lower price, given they suddenly have fewer potential buyers. Farmers who have barley in the ground will suffer a financial loss  which the industry bodies representing the growers estimate at half a billion dollars a year. Ultimately, farmers who survive will be forced to sow other crops to sustain a living.

Advertisement
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The export of leather goods from Turkey to Uzbekistan declined by 39.2 percent from January through April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and amounted to slightly over $2 million, the Turkish Ministry of Trade told Trend on May 20.

In April 2020, the export of leather goods from Turkey to Uzbekistan plunged by 60 percent compared to April 2019 and amounted to $255,000.

From January through April of this year, export of leather goods from Turkey to world markets slid by 19.2 percent compared to the same period of 2019 and amounted to $469.4 million.

The export of leather from Turkey made up 0.9 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In April 2020, Turkey exported the leather goods worth over $54.4 million to the world markets, which is 61.6 percent less compared to the same month of 2019. Meanwhile, Turkeys leather export amounted to 0.6 percent of the country's total export.

During the last twelve months (from April 2019 through April 2020), Turkey exported the leather goods worth over $1.5 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
SARATOGA SPRINGS - The seven candidates vying for three seats on the Saratoga Springs City School District's board of education will discuss the issues in a virtual forum from 7 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 1.

The League of Women Voters of Saratoga County will host the event on Webex. Log-in will be available at saratogaschools.org with the ability to sign in as an attendee. The forum will begin after the school budget presentation.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 17:25:04|Editor: Wang Yamei

Video Player Close

Journalists raise hands to ask questions in front of a screen during a press conference of the third session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) through video link in Beijing, capital of China, May 20, 2020. The CPPCC National Committee held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the top political advisory body's annual session. Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, briefed media on the session and took questions through video link due to epidemic response. (Xinhua/Lyu Shuai)

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, will open its annual session on Thursday afternoon in Beijing, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The session is set to conclude on May 27, Guo Weimin, spokesperson for the third session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC, told a press conference.

Amid regular measures to prevent and control COVID-19, this year's session will be shorter than previously planned.

During the session, the number of plenary meetings and group meetings will be reduced, Guo said, noting that one of the plenary meetings will be held via video link.

Foreign diplomatic envoys to China will be invited to observe the opening and closing meetings of the session, he added.

A number of Beijing-based Chinese and foreign reporters have been invited to cover the event at the Great Hall of the People, he said.

Guo also briefed the press conference on the main items of the agenda.
Google announced on Tuesday that it would no longer build custom AI tools for oil and gas companies, according to the Associated Press, after Greenpeace, which named Googlealong with Amazon and Microsoftin a report, stating that they helped oil and gas companies to find and extract oil and gas, therefore undermining their own carbon pledge.

After being called out on the implied hypocrisy, Google has moved to separate itself from the mega-computing packa move that Greenpeace praised.

While Google still has a few legacy contracts with oil and gas firms, we welcome this indication from Google that it will no longer build custom solutions for upstream oil and gas extraction, Greenpeace senior corporate campaigner Elizabeth Jardim told AP.

Google will, however, continue to honor all of its existing contracts.

Many in the industry believe that oil and gas companies have already squeezed all available efficiency gains out of their processes after the previous oil downturn forced everyone in the industry to become leaner year ago. With these avenues exhausted, oil and gas companies have become increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence and computing power, which allow them to eke out additional gains from their processes through real-time big data, algorithms to analyze seismic data, deep machine learning, and fuzzy logic, to name a few.

Especially after the coronavirus pandemic stripped away a huge chunk of demand and oil prices fell recently even into negative territory, these AI and computing services have become even more critical to the industry.

Meanwhile, big data, AI, 5G and the IoTwhether or not they are employed by oil and gas companies--could be responsible for 20% of the worlds electricity consumption and 5.5% of the worlds CO2 emissions by 2025 based on findings from a peer-reviewed study by Swedish researcher Anders Andrae, as people scramble to stay connected through smart phones and the internet.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Kelvin Watson (27) has been charged with attempted first-degree murder after police in Colorado say he shot a Waffle House cook who told him he couldn't order food without wearing a mask.

From CBS 4 Denver:

The cook said he told Watson he was not going to serve him and that he needed to leave the restaurant. Watson reportedly became very upset and slapped the cook across the face with an opened left hand, cutting his lip. The cook said he ran to the back of the restaurant and Watson followed him.

Once outside, the cook said Watson made numerous statements to the effect of "You better shut the **** up and serve me."

That's when Watson shot him, the cook said.
Several development plans, including a new hotel, a senior living community and apartment complexes, were approved by the Dothan Planning Commission on Wednesday, signaling the citys continued growth on its west and north sides.

However, one project received heavy opposition by residents of the Kelly Springs subdivision, who packed the second floor of the Dothan Civic Center.

Before the meeting, the public was asked to practice social distancing when assembling in the lobby of the second floor while the commission met in the City Commission chambers. The meeting was transmitted via video and audio feeds to that section of the Civic Center.

Opponents of the proposed large, low-income apartment complex said the development will lower their property values and create traffic problems on the main road to Kelly Springs Elementary School.

I just think its a bad idea, and I think we should just study the negative impact on homeowners in the area, Ron Watson said to the commission.

City of Dothan traffic studies are only completed for complexes with 150 units or more. The Pines for Harwick Apartments on Kelly Springs Road includes 56 units, but may be expanded later in another phase.
Tourism facilities in most Russian regions will open from June 1, chief of the Federal Tourism Agency Zarina Doguzova said.

According to her, resorts, with medical permits, apartment hotels and cottage-type hotels, will be the first to resume operations. By the end of May, the agency plans to elaborate on the criteria for establishments to reopen in the first place.



"We are looking into the summer season with great optimism. From June 1, most regions will launch the first stage of lifting quarantine measures. We are now interacting closely with the governors, with Rospotrebnadzor, finalizing details and nuances," TASS cited Doguzova as saying.



As Russia closed its borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, the tourism industry and air transportation were worst hit by the pandemic.
A couple with face masks walk through Singapore during the coronavirus outbreak on March 14, 2020.

Ee Ming Toh/AP

Punithan Genasan, 37, was sentenced to death on Friday by a Singapore court in a hearing conducted over the video-conferencing platform Zoom, his lawyer said.

The Malaysian man was sentenced for his role in a 2011 heroin deal. The city-state has a zero tolerance policy on drugs.

Like many court systems around the world, Singapore has turned to video conferencing to continue processing cases while coronavirus lockdowns make in-person hearings impossible.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A Singapore judge sentenced a 37-year-old man to death on Friday during a hearing conducted on the video-conferencing platform Zoom, Reuters and The Straits Times reported.

Punithan Genasan, 37, was sentenced at the Singapore High Court for his role in a 2011 heroin deal. The city-state has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drugs.

A spokesman for Singapore's Supreme Court says Genasan's death sentence is the first capital punishment to be handed down over a video-conferencing court hearing.

Genasan's lawyer Peter Fernando named Zoom as the site that was used, and said he had no issues hearing the judge, according to Reuters. Fernando added that the judge was only handing down a sentence, and no arguments were being heard.

He said, however, that they may launch an appeal.

Like many other countries, Singapore has turned to Zoom to hold court hearings remotely as coronavirus lockdowns make in-person hearings impossible.

The country has been on lockdown since early April and won't reopen until June 1 at the earliest. While initially lauded for its handling of the crisis, the city-state has now grown to have one of the highest coronavirus rates in Asia.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asian division, issued a statement criticizing the use of Zoom in Genasan's capital case.

"Singapore's use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so," Robertson said, according to Reuters.

Story continues

Andrew Stroehlein, the European media director at Human Rights Watch, also tweeted: "The tech may be new, but the inhumanity is archaic..."

Singapore isn't the first country to issue a death penalty via Zoom during the coronavirus outbreak. In early May, a man in Nigeria was sentenced over Zoom to hang for the murder of his boss' mother, according to the BBC.

Read the original article on Business Insider
ALBUQUERQUE  Aerospace and defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corp. has confirmed plans to pack up operations in New Mexico and move to Arizona and elsewhere.

Raytheon will close its office in Albuquerque, where it employs about 200 people, the Albuquerque Journal reported Tuesday.

Company spokeswoman Heather Uberuaga said about 20 workers affected by the closure will move to Raytheon Missiles & Defense in Tucson.

Raytheon is looking to streamline its capabilities with pursuits and programs located at other sites around the country, Uberuaga said.

In April, the former Raytheon Co. completed its merger with United Technologies Corp. to create Raytheon Technologies Corp.

Tucson became headquarters for a consolidated Raytheon Missiles & Defense, consisting of Raytheon Missile Systems and Raytheons former Boston-area Integrated Defense Systems business.
An F-35 fighter jet accidentally crashed while trying to land at the Eglin Air Force Base located in Florida, this Tuesday evening, May 19, at around 9:30 p.m., with the pilot successfully able to eject.



The F-35 Fighter Jet Accident

According to a Newsweek report, the fighter jet in question is an F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron.

The Eglin AFB confirmed the news via their official Twitter account, where they updated their followers in a series of tweets, saying that the pilot was able to eject successfully from the aircraft and was brought to the 96th Medical Group for monitoring and evaluation by the first responders that were on the scene.

The pilot, who is not being identified at the moment, is now in a stable condition.

The air force also confirmed that no civilian life nor property was lost or damaged because of the accident.

As of writing, there are still no other updates regarding the F-35 accident that recently occurred.

This comes merely days after another fighter jet crash-landed on the air base.

Read Also: [VIDEO] New Footage of Extinct Tasmanian Tiger Found in Film Archives in Australia

Just Days After the F-22 Crash

According to the news outlet, an F-22 jet that was assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron, which is part of the 325th Fighter Wing that is currently based at Eglin, also crashed on Friday, May 15 at around 9:15 a.m.

The F-22 pilot, who is not being named and is in a stable condition, was also safely able to eject from the aircraft and was also brought to the 96th Medical Group.

Eglin AFB also said that the F-22 jet was also participating in a routine training flight when the incident happened.

More Details on the F-22 Incident

A spokesperson for the air force base also confirmed that the aircraft debris is yet to be removed, but they are already investigating the incident.

"The interim safety investigation board is in control of the crash scene and will not move the debris until they can ensure all evidence is preserved to assist in establishing the cause of the accident," the spokesperson said in an email, according to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

In addition, the air force noted in the email that they don't know yet where the aircraft debris will be stored.

While the F-22 is equipped with a black box, a flight recorder that stores the information about the jet's trajectory and other details about the crash, the Eglin Air Force Base did not comment whether they have retrieved it or not.

But they did assure the public that there are no live munitions that were aboard the F-22 when it crashed.

Nevertheless, they assured that the safety investigation board is also looking into the accident and are currently collecting any evidence they can find to understand what happened to the fighter jets and to prevent them from further happening in the future.

However, any report by the safety investigation board will not be released to the public, unlike the accident investigation board, another panel that will investigate the accidents.

According to them, they will provide "releasable information on the crash" in the future when it's available.

Read Also: [BREAKING] GM Develops Own Version of Hands-Off Advanced Driving System for City Streets

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

MOGADISHU, Somalia 19 May 2020- The Somali media fraternity: Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ), Somali Media Association (SOMA) and Somali Independent Media Houses Association (SIMHA) outrageously condemn the recent violations against journalists and the media in Mogadishu and Gedo region in the latest of string of violence targeting media professionals in Somalia.

Around 9:00p.m on Monday, armed NISA officers raided the premises of the privately-owned Somali Cable TV in Mogadishu. According to the affected journalists, three officers beat cameraman Abdirahman Omar Abdulle who sustained slight injuries on the left arm while threatening to shoot a reporter and a driver at the TVs premises before leaving the area. The reason of the raid is yet unclear and officers responsible were not arrested as of Tuesday midday.

Around 8:00p.m on Monday, a police commander and three officers from Hodan District Police Station stopped Som News TV reporter, Mohamed Abdi Osman and cameraman Abdifatah Mohamed Abdullahi who were on assignment to cover Covid-19 impact on the local business ahead of the upcoming Eid-al-Fitr celebrations.

The officers told the journalists to stop filming nearby shops in the pretext of that business owners were not happy with the filming. When the journalists demanded explanation, the officers threatened that they will shoot if the journalists continue filming resulting the TV crew to leave and drop their assignment.

Around 3.30p.m on Monday, police officers in Beledhawo town of Gedo briefly detained freelance journalist Warsame Haji Farah after photographing Beledhawo city market on the aftermath of a gun clash within the Somali police force in Beledhawo on Monday.

Regrettably, these latest incidents occurred hours after the media fraternity expressed grave concern about the endless threats against the media professionals working in the country and the total impunity enjoyed by those committing these violations.

While, we jointly condemn these latest violations, we also demand for a prompt investigation into the attack on Somali Cable TV premises on Monday and we call for the Somali police to permit unhindered access to all journalists to carry out their duties without harassment.

Meanwhile, the Somali media fraternity on Monday condemned the continued enforced disappearance against Radio Hiigsi editor, Mohamed Abduwahaab Nuur (Abuja) since 7th March in Mogadishu as we call for his freedom or be brought to a court of law with access to a lawyer.
MIDLAND COUNTY, MI -- Residents in Edenville and Sanford have been told to immediately evacuate after a failure of the Edenville Dam.

Midland County Central Dispatch issued an advisory Tuesday, May 19 noting a structural failure of the dam on the Tittabawassee River, advising people not to call 911 unless they are unable to evacuate.

Eastbound and westbound US-10 is between River Road and M-30 is closed due to water over the roadway, per the Michigan Department of Transportation Bay Region Twitter page.

EB & WB US-10 between River Rd Exit 114 and M-30 (Meridian Rd) Exit 116

Freeway Closed

Water over the Roadway

Midland County  MDOT - Bay Region (@MDOT_Bay) May 19, 2020

A flash flood warning has been issued by the National Weather Service until 8:45 Tuesday for the Tittabawassee River from Edenville Dam to the Sanford Dam.

Life threatening flash flooding of areas downstream from the Edenville Dam along the Tittabawassee River, the warning reads. The nearest downstream town is Sanford Dam...located about 7 miles from the Edenville Dam. Areas downstream from the Edenville Dam along the Tittabawassee River should be prepared for additional flooding.

In a statement issued Tuesday night regarding the dam failure, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she will issue an emergency declaration to ensure state and local officials have the resources they need to respond.

The State Emergency Operations Center is already activated and fully engaged in the response, she added. State officials from multiple departments have been on-site throughout the day."

Some portions of Midland County reported nearly five inches of rainfall since Sunday, May 17, as well as 4.22 inches in Bay City and 4.03 inches in Freeland.

Related news:

Officials report flooded roadways, evacuations and dams unable to control water in mid-Michigan

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Floodwater pours through Midland County dam

Michigan just had record-breaking heavy rains, heres where most of it fell
San Antonio's River Walk, often dubbed the Venice of Texas, is similar to the famous Italian city's canals in another way  both are clear while residents and tourists self-isolate during the coronavirus pandemic.

Twitter user @rdrunner, or Ulises, whose normal jogging trail is along the San Antonio River was stopped in his tracks by what he saw during his run Wednesday. The water, which is usually murky and the butt of jokes from people like Mark Cuban, was clear on San Antonio's first day under the "Stay Home, Work Safe" order.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news with mySA.com:

The photos he took, near Rita's on the River, show the water is so clear that rocks can be seen on the riverbed. Ulises' tweet has been racking up attention by the thousands. Some are playing an online game of "I spy," pointing out objects like spiders, crabs and beads likely left over from Mardi Gras events in February. Others jokesters added an image of Spurs legend Tim Duncan with a beluga whale onto the photo.

People have also marveled at photos of the Venice Canals, which have been described as "crystal clear" since locals were asked to stay indoors.

RELATED: Photos capture an 'eerie' but 'beautiful' downtown San Antonio during coronavirus pandemic

The environmental sciences staff for the San Antonio River Authority says the clarity can be attributed to the suspension of river barge traffic, which stirs up sediment. Go Rio Cruises, which is the exclusive barge operator on the river, suspended tours on March 19 in accordance with Mayor Ron Nirenberg's health declaration. Bars and restaurants have also been mandated to shut up shop in an effort to mitigate the virus.

The river authority said the "lack of patrons at restaurants feeding ducks, and reduced availability of food sources that attract birds, which can contribute waste in the river," is also helping the transparency.

Ulises also noticed the water was clear in the King William and Mission Reach areas, which are not part of the barge tour routes.

In addition to the reduced foot and barge traffic, the environmental team for the river authority said weather can also play a factor.

Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @MaddySkye

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Two armed men robbed a Papa Johns Saturday night, police say.

The robbery happened about 11:45 p.m. at the pizza shop on Cedar Road near Kerwin Road, University Heights spokesman Lt. Todd Kinley said. An employee called police and said the robbers stole $700 at gunpoint and ran away.

Police combed the area and made no arrests. Police have not identified any suspects in the robbery.

No one suffered injuries in the incident, police said.

Read more crime stories on cleveland.com:

North Olmsted man chokes neighborhood HOA president after complaining to him that his basement flooded, police say

Uber driver shot during attempted carjacking in Clevelands Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood

Cuyahoga County officials warn of scammers pretending they are coronavirus contact tracers

Man charged in high-speed crash that killed woman, injured two kids in Cleveland

Man snatches stimulus-check cash from victims hand, police say
Hitting out at the BJP over its



plan to hold a protest on the state government's "failure" in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said there was no wisdom in turning one's courtyard into a battlefield during a crisis.

Pawar said the BJP's planned "Maharashtra Bachao" (Save Maharashtra) protest is an insult of the people of the state and doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, policemen and others, who are at the forefront of the fight against COVID- 19.

Claiming the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra has "failed" to check the spread of coronavirus and the rising fatalities unlike Kerala, the BJP on Wednesday appealed to people to register a protest on May 22.

"There is no wisdom in turning one's courtyard into a battlefield. Today, the doctors, nurses, paramedical staffers, sanitation workers, police and every citizen is fighting coronavirus," Pawar said in a statement.

"So, staging protests instead of giving them strength is nothing but an insult of the people of the state and the COVID-19 warriors," the senior NCP leader said.

Noting the BJP workers' plan to use black placards and masks to mark their protest, Pawar wondered how come one can think of such a "black protest" amid the fight against COVID- 19.

"This is an untimely, enigmatic protest. This protest will not benefit Maharashtra and the BJP," he added.

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat also tore into the BJP, saying the "Maharashtra Bachao" protest is in fact "Save BJP" agitation and a "farce" aimed at underscoring the existence of the party "which was not seen anywhere" in the fight against the disease.

Thorat, who is the state unit chief of the Congress, said that the BJP's position is contradictory to its leader Devendra Fadnavis's statement no should be played amid the crisis.

Thorat alleged that instead of helping the state, Fadnavis chose to contribute money to the PM Cares Fund (for COVID-19 relief work) and said the latter's loyalty rested with the BJP leaders in Delhi and not the state.

"How come the BJP leaders think of during a crisis situation? The BJP's behavior in this hour of crisis is nothing but Maharashtradroh (treason with Maharashtra)," he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blasted the Chinese Communist Party for threatening economic retaliation against Australia, declaring the Trump administration fully backs the Morrison government's push for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.

A motion led by the European Union and Australia to establish an independent review of the coronavirus passed the World Health Assembly by a unanimous vote this week, a day after China hit Australian barley producers with tariffs of up to 80 per cent.

"The Chinese Communist Party chose to threaten Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus," Pompeo said at a media briefing in Washington on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).

"Its not right."

Pompeo said: "We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, so we can understand what went wrong and save lives now, and in the future."
Over 100 members of Congress are calling on the Trump administration to collect information on the sexual orientations and gender identities of COVID-19 patients.

A letter addressed Wednesday to the Department of Health and Human Services said a failure to track demographic data about LGBTQ identities will "make it difficult for health care providers and policymakers to clearly identify and address the prevention and treatment needs" of the community during the pandemic. A lack of data on how COVID-19 affects LGBTQ people "will exacerbate the challenges that these populations are already experiencing during the COVID-19 public health emergency," it said.

"Like other marginalized groups, the LGBTQ community faces multiple health inequities," it read. "With scarce demographic information available about the LGBTQ population, it is difficult to provide quality care and solutions."

It is unknown how many of the 1.5 million people who have contracted the coronavirus in the U.S. and the 93,000 who have died are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Just one state, Pennsylvania, has begun tracking information on the LGBTQ identities of COVID-19 patients. A bill authored by openly gay state Sen. Scott Weiner, a Democrat from San Francisco, that would require LGBTQ data collection in California's pandemic response is still moving through the Legislature.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who organized Wednesday's letter with Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., noted in an email to NBC News that the COVID-19 case report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also does not ask about patients' LGBTQ identities. He said it is not clear whether "upcoming COVID-19 related surveys will include these questions."

Image: Sen. Bob Menendez (Julio Cortez / Pool via AP file)

"This contradicts the requirements of the Affordable Care Act, as well as HHS' Healthy People 2020 objectives to improve the collection of health data on LGBTQ populations," Menendez said.

Story continues

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The senator  who helped lead the effort this year urging the Food and Drug Administration to overhaul restrictions on gay blood donations  said having the information is critical in helping policymakers allocate crucial funding.

"Congress and governmental agencies rely on data to create better health programs, direct vital resources to communities, and better the health of all people," Menendez said.

Menendez and Baldwin were joined in the letter by 18 other senators and 81 members of the House, all of them Democrats except for independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Image: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call via AP file)

In an email to NBC News, Baldwin, the first out senator, said the letter is an important step in recognizing the unique vulnerabilities of LGBTQ people when it comes to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. She and Menendez joined nine of their Senate colleagues in March to call on the White House to recognize risks for the 1.1 million people living with HIV, a chronic immune condition that disproportionately affects LGBTQ people.

"We know that LGBTQ people experience significant health disparities, and the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to disproportionately impact them as well," she said. "We must ensure that we have the data and information needed to better understand the full extent that this public health crisis is inflicting on our community."

A research brief released in March by the Human Rights Campaign indicated that LGBTQ individuals are 37 percent more likely to smoke than cisgender, heterosexual people and are 50 percent more likely to have asthma, which could increase the likelihood of severe illness from COVID-19. And HRC found that LGBTQ people are more likely to work in jobs in service industries like restaurants and bars that could put them into close contact with COVID-19. Seventeen percent of LGBTQ individuals lack health insurance, HRC said, making it more difficult to seek care if they become infected.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Wednesday's letter calls on HHS to ensure that federal health centers collect information on the LGBTQ identities of COVID-19 patients, explain the importance of the data to state agencies, work toward proper implementation of data collection and coordinate its efforts with LGBTQ community centers on the front lines of the public health crisis.

The letter emphasizes that HHS should stress that all information that is shared about a patient's sexual orientation and gender identity is "voluntary" and that federal agencies must offer "guidance to health care providers about how to ask these questions in a sensitive manner that emphasizes confidentiality."

"Data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity is an opportunity to eliminate barriers to culturally competent care," the letter said. "Questions about sexual orientation and gender identity allow individuals to disclose who they indeed are, if they so choose, and may allow individuals to feel safe sharing information that is relevant to their care. Inclusive and nondiscriminatory health care settings are urgently needed."

Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram
When two of the biggest beneficiaries of fossil fuels abandon the cause is that an omen?

Start with Norways sovereign wealth fund, the biggest in the world. That nation created what is basically a giant investment portfolio with the huge profits earned from its vast oil fields. The managers of the fund just sold off positions in a bevy of coal miners and coal burning utilities, including Glencore, Anglo American and Germanys RWE. The Norwegians have also pruned oil holdings modestly. This modesty here makes little sense from a risk management perspective (technically it is called a Texas hedge) because it leaves Norway doubly exposed to oil first as E&P capital provider/owner and again as an equity investor. But that might be next years story.

The question this raises is Can a multi billion investment fund manage without owning energy companies? Following their recent severe stock price decline oil companies make up roughly 3% of the S&P 500. The same size as the US utility sector. Ten years ago this industry had a 10% weighting in the S&P 500 stock index. Quite a comedown. Speaking broadly the biggest S&P sectors are about 10-15% of the index, the two biggest sectors currently being technology and health care.

Investment funds that aim to replicate or slightly outperform the broad equity indices have little discretion about owning the largest S&P sectors. However at a 2 or 3% industry weighting portfolio managers have more flexibility to operate without those relatively tiny sectors without fear of underperforming their equity benchmarks. In addition they can always buy financial instruments that mimic the actions of those stocks if they want to maintain a proxy for ownership. Related: 2 Reasons To Bet On Bitcoin Right Now

Given the concentration in investment industry firms like Fidelity, BlackRock and Vanguard control over half of the market. If they choose not to buy a particular group of securities that action alone will depress these prices. When energy companies were flush with cash and had impeccable bond ratings, keeping public investors happy may not have been a top priority for their investor relations teams. But with oil prices down sharply and once proud companies struggling to pay dividends and finance capital expenditure, they might have to rely more heavily on the capital markets to raise money. If investors become skittish then cost of capital rises. The same is also true for utility companies raising large sums to modernize and decarbonize plant.

Pressure groups of various types are demanding that investment funds, especially those associated with charities, universities, and government divest their ownership in carbon emitting, fossil fuel companies. This has engendered a three sided division of opinion.

The first group argues that it is immoral to profit from environmentally harmful activities. Hence energy companies should be removed from investment portfolios. Doing so, though, does not affect companies or even industries directly. Funds that sell out of stock or bond positions lose any leverage they may have had (through proxy voting) to effect corporate management change. Large blocs of disgruntled shareholders on the other hand typically receive at least some management attention.

Related: COVID-19 Could Spark A Global Food Crisis

The second divestment group, we will call them the pragmatists, argues that owning fossil fuel producing energy stocks no longer makes investment sense. As we have seen energy companies are losing prominence in investment indices. And investors do not fully realize the risks of owning this industry which is potentially experiencing a terminal, technological decline.

The third group, usually the investment fund directors and managers, try to take the high ground. They argue their actions, whether pro or anti fossil fuels, derive from a fiduciary obligation to preserve and enhance the value of their fund. And their role is not to make political or moral judgements about climate related matters. They further argue that limiting their choice of securities even modestly hinders their ability to make optimal investment decisions. That seems like dispassionate, if narrow, reasoning. But its real purpose may be to not antagonize oil companies, political interests and in the case of university endowments, conservative donors. Once investment managers declare that they make all decisions purely on the basis of economics, they can do what they want.

Do so-called sustainable investors earn more or less than conventional investors? The International Monetary Fund did a study last year that said, in effect, sustainable investors do as well as others. No big advantage or disadvantage. Other studies have found marginal differences in performance. So, it is hard to make the case that virtue, at least in terms of investment performance, has a steep cost.

Five years ago, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, whose origins are in the Standard Oil Trust, the monopoly of all monopolies, decided that investment in fossil fuels did not mesh with one of the foundations goals, to combat the impact of climate change. The foundation hired a new investment manager. They concluded much of the value of energy stocks is determined by an assessment of the value of their assets in the ground and that a significant portion of those assets would be stranded. (Any industry confronted with a new technology faces this risk).

The Rockefeller Fund divested its fossil fuel investments, starting with coal and oil sands. They also made impact investments in firms whose activities mitigate climate change. Five years later, Rockefeller Brothers Fund reported that it had performed better than the standard portfolio (by roughly one percentage point a year) and that a companion index of sustainable stocks did even better, probably enough to pay any extra management fees.

Bottom line? Investors have figured out that they can reduce or eliminate energy holdings and still produce respectable portfolio performance. And a 3% S&P index weighting makes the energy group even easier to ignore. This has negative implications for cost of capital and is a message not to be ignored.

By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles for Oilprice.com



More Top Reads From Safehaven.com:
The longtime manager at Lake Genevas popular Riviera Beach has resigned in protest because the city is reopening the beach to the public during the coronavirus pandemic.

A sharply divided Lake Geneva City Council voted May 19 to open the beach to the public, despite concerns that big crowds could risk spreading the deadly virus.

The 4-3 vote at a special city council meeting means hundreds of people could jam the beach starting May 23 for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, with no mandate that they take precautions to avoid spreading germs.

Aldermen urged city staff to take steps to protect workers and also to encourage beach goers to voluntarily observe public health guidelines, such as staying six feet away from one another.

Beach supervisor George Steffen resigned in protest after 40 years on the job, saying that the city was jeopardizing public safety by opening the beach during a global pandemic.

I see no other option than to resign, Steffen wrote in a letter that was read aloud at the council meeting before aldermen cast their votes.

Linda Frame, the citys harbormaster, told aldermen that assistant beach supervisor Joe Clifford also had resigned. Frame later clarified that Clifford was only declining to report for duty until July, out of concern about the coronavirus.

Frame said she, too, is worried about the crowded beach creating an environment where people will be in jeopardy of contracting the virus  herself included.

This will put me at risk, she said. But this is my job, whatever you decide to do.

The city-owned beach in downtown Lake Geneva  a major tourism attraction throughout the summer  can accommodate between 300 and 800 people, depending on how the capacity is measured.

Enticing to visitors even during the off-season, the beach has been closed behind barricades for several weeks to prevent crowds from gathering during the public health crisis.

Voting in favor of opening the beach were city council members Cindy Flower, Joan Yunker, Tim Dunn and Richard Hedlund. Voting in opposition were John Halverson, Mary Jo Fesenmaier and Ken Howell.

Flower was among the most vocal advocates for opening the beach, saying that she believes beach goers and workers can observe the same public health guidelines that have been recommended for businesses and other public places.

At Flowers urging, the measure declaring Riviera Beach open effective May 23 calls for such precautions as maintaining safe distances and limiting cash transactions.

Theres lots of things that can be done, she said.

Flower said she saw no benefit to keeping the beach closed, adding: If its going to be warm weather, we might as well open now.

Other aldermen, however, said too much uncertainty remains about whether the coronavirus outbreak is worsening and whether social distancing and other precautions are sufficient.

Its too early, Halverson said.

The upper respiratory virus, also known as COVID-19, has killed more than 90,000 people in the United States, including nearly 500 in Wisconsin.

Howell referred to the revenue that comes into city coffers from beach admission fees of $8 for adults and $4 for children. Howell said he would rather forgo the revenue than put public health at risk.

I dont believe we need the money that badly, he said.

Mayor Charlene Klein, who votes only in the case of a tie, did not voice an opinion one way or another, at one point simply noting that the beach opening was a difficult decision for city officials.

The beach was scheduled to reopen to the public May 23 for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Memorial Day weekend, then reopen the following weekend and continue daily throughout the summer.

Aldermen briefly debated opening the beach by removing the barricades only and allowing people to come and go for free. But that was set aside in favor of a full opening with admission fees, city staff and public restrooms.

Beach goers will find no showers or lockers available, admission payments will be exact change only, and the east beach entrance will be for disabled patrons and child strollers only.

The council also approved its annual contract with the Water Safety Patrol to provide lifeguard services at the beach.

Fesenmaier proposed putting a limit on the number of people who could attend the beach at one time  she suggested 250 people  but the suggestion drew no support.

A few days later, city officials announced that they were declaring a 300-person capacity limit at the beach.

Dunn voiced concern that keeping the beach closed would cause beach employees to leave their jobs.

If they dont get paid, they may go off and find other jobs, he said.

Asked by aldermen about Steffens resignation, Frame said the beach manager had been with the city since 1980, and was emotional as he submitted his resignation.

She called the beach Steffens second home.

Clifford, who has been assistant beach supervisor for the same 40 years, told Frame he would not work until July, because he is caretaker to his wife, and he does not want to risk being at the beach during the coronavirus pandemic.

He cannot afford to catch anything, Frame said.

Neither Steffen nor Clifford was in attendance during the city council meeting.

In his resignation letter dated May 17, Steffen regretted quitting without warning, but he wrote that he never expected city leaders to open the beach during such a public health crisis.

I dont feel it is morally right to put the beach workers, the lifeguards, the beach managers and the beach patrons at risk, he wrote.

Frame warned aldermen that crowds of visitors shopping and recreating in Lake Geneva are showing little regard for social distancing or other guidelines aimed at combating the spread of the virus. She said opening the beach could bring even bigger crowds and create greater risks.

She described visitors from Illinois and said many of them are aggressive about refusing to observe public safety recommendations.

We love our Illinois tourists, but this is getting out of hand, she said. They are in denial of whats going on. And they get in your face. They are not going to do what we ask them to.

Editors note: This report has been updated to correctly attribute a quote to Alderman Ken Howell about beach revenue, and also to update Joe Cliffords work status.(tncms-asset)499b8216-bfa5-11e9-b63f-00163ec2aa77[3](/tncms-asset)

Love 1 Funny 3 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 5
Tillman is thought to have spent time in Hawaii and New York before the childs mother contacted the Lake Zurich Police Department with information indicating Tillman might be staying with extended family in the Lake Zurich area, according to the release.
The Chinese government often says the border dispute with India is a legacy of history. The dispute has influenced bilateral ties between New Delhi and Beijing for nearly 70 years despite dozens of rounds of negotiations over the years.

Archival documents from 1962 reveal tit-for-tat allegations by India and China on soldiers trespassing in Ladakh sectors Galwan Valley -- where the most recent standoff took place. The Galwan Valley region, which China claims is part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, is part of the 3,488 km long border dispute.

Through the summer of 1962, barely weeks before the two neighbours fought a war, India and China went back-and-forth on their troops trespassing across the border in the Galwan Valley region.

Several letters were exchanged between the foreign ministries through embassies in New Delhi and Beijing.

The rhetoric flew thick-and-fast and within months both countries were fighting the border war of 1962.

The language in those letters exchanged remain almost identical to official exchanges now.

In a letter from the Chinese foreign ministry handed over to the Indian embassy in Beijing on July 23, 1962, Beijing laid out its allegations.

According to frontier guards in Sinkiang, (Xinjiang) China, there occurred recently another two serious cases of Indian troops intruding into Chinese territory and firing provocatively at Chinese frontier guards, excerpts from the letter said.

It continued: Several dozens of Indian troops intruded recently into Chinese territory south of the Galwan river had reached a placewhere they attempted to entrench themselves permanently. At 17:35 hours on July 19, the said Indian troops unwarrantedly fired provocatively at Chinese patrol nearby. The Chinese patrol took no action against the provocation.

If the Chinese guards had not remained cool and exercised self-restrain, the above two new cases of provocation would most probably have led to armed clashes. The Chinese Government hereby lodges a serious protest with the Government of India against the two cases, the letter said.

The Indian government responded swiftly.

In a letter to the Chinese embassy, August 3, 1962, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) rejected the allegations.

The Government of India has carefully investigated all the three allegations and has found them to be without any basis whatsoeverThe GOI notes in this connection that all the three areas referred to by the Chinese government lie well within India territory. It is clear from this that such intrusions as have occurred, have in fact been committed by Chinese forces and not by Indian troops.

The Indian border defence forces have, despite provocation by Chinese forces throughout shown considerable patience and self-restraint.

While rejecting the Chinese note, the Government of India would once again press upon the Chinese Government the urgent necessity of issuing immediate instructions to all Chinese forces to desist from provocative action of any kind and to withdraw from Indian territory.

The very next day, on August 4, 1962, China shot off another dispatch to India.

In disregard of the repeated protests of the Chinese government, the Indian side has not only refused to withdraw its troops which have intruded into the Galwan river valley in Sinkiang, China, and menacingly surrounded the Chinese frontier guards there but set up another military strongpoint on Chinese territory south of Galwan river, excerpt from the letter said.

India dismissed the allegations on August 8 in a letter to the Chinese embassy. ...There is no truth whatsoever in these allegations. On the contrary whenever an instance of this nature has arisen, it has invariably been due to Chinese forces intruding in Indian territory and shooting at Indian border forces. The Government of India has protested about two such incidentsOn both occasions the Indian forces exercises great self-restrain and did not return the Chinese fire, said part of the letter.

Similar exchanges continued for weeks until the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the legacy of which will continue to shadow ties for a long time to come.
The Assyrian Church in India

Members of the Assyrian church in India Trichur, India -- How much do we actually know about this Kottayam-based community apart from the 'Chacko ettan' cultural stereotyping and the lip-smacking mappas? Well, there's a lot more to it than that. Shrouded in mystery and a whole lot of customs and tradition, the Syrian Christians have been around in Kerala for a long, long time.

Well, the term 'Syrian' might have left a bunch of you puzzled. But, as a matter of fact, the community has little to do with Syria. In fact, it is believed that when the Dutch first landed in Kerala, the Christians that they crossed paths with were labelled as Syrian Christians, a reference to their connection with the [Assyrian] Church of the East or East Syriac Church. The name also owes its origins to the Syriac liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity. Often referred to as Saint Thomas Christians and even Nasranis, the origins of the Syrian Christian community can be traced back to the arrival of St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles, on the Malabar coast in 52 CE.

The Nasranis were first welcomed by the local Malabar Christians as the countrymen of Jesus and Saint Thomas. Further divided into four sects--the Knanaya Christians, Jacobites, Marthomites and Syrian Catholics, today the Syrian Christians account for the bulk of Kerala's Christians. Many believe that the community has a lot in common with the Namboothiris. According to Christian commentators, St Thomas converted a number of Namboothiri families upon his arrival in Kerala and many Christians today are of Namboothiri ancestry.

Apart from their tumultuous history and disputed origins, what intrigued our curiosity are the unique customs and traditions of the community. In addition to observing Lent, a period of penitential preparation before Easter, the community is known for the Holy Qurbana, the ritual service with prayers recited in Malayalam and Syric. A strictly endogamous sect, the Nasaranis follow the traditional matriarchal lineage prevalent in Kerala.

While the history of the community is rich and storied, not much is known about the cuisine. Borrowing heavily from Portuguese culinary traditions, Syrian Christian cuisine still retains many of its Hindu roots. Most of the dishes are coconut-based like the istew and appam. Stew or what is colloquially known as istew is a rich chicken dish with a coconut-milk base, seasoned with local spices like ginger, curry leaves, pepper and turmeric. Beef cutlets with sallas is also a signature Syrian Christian dish. Served as the first course of a Syrian Christian meal, sallas is essentially a salad made of finely cut onions, green chillies and vinegar. The quintessential breakfast spread also consists of appams accompanied with chicken stew, kadala curry (chickpea curry) and fish molee. The Portuguese influence on the cuisine is evident in the mappas and vindaloo. The fish mappas, a preparation made using mustard seeds, curry leaves, coriander and coconut milk, features as a popular delicacy during special occasions like baptism. The one-pot meal has also been a staple mainstream food for the Nasrani community, with kozhi pidi (chicken with rice dumplings) being a crowd favourite. A number of fish items are also savoured by the Christian community throughout the year including karimeen pollichathu (pearlspot in banana leaves) and meen vevichathu (Kottayam-style fish curry).

From meen molee to duck curries and beef ularthiyathu, the Syrian Christian cuisine has some of the most delectable culinary gems in India. We don't know about you but it sure does tick all the right boxes for us!
(GETTY)

Shares of Green Growth Brands (GGB.CN) plunged more than 70 per cent to just above a penny on Wednesday after the cannabis firm announced it has filed for creditor protection.

Citing a severe liquidity crisis and the impact of COVID-19, the Columbus, Ohio-based company filed for insolvency protection under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). An initial 10-day order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice will shield Green Growth Brands from creditors and other parties until May 29.

All Js Greenspace LLC, a firm backed by the billionaire Schottenstein family, has agreed to fund up to US$7.2 million in credit throughout the court proceedings. Green Growth Brands has roughly $718,000 in cash remaining on its balance sheet across its various business lines.

The CCAA filing was necessitated due to a severe liquidity crisis in the face of material matured and maturing debt, which . . . was further exacerbated by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company stated in a release.

Green Growth Brands had been in the process of pivoting from its mall-based CBD kiosk business towards dispensary operations in several states.

The company indefinitely suspended its mall-based business, citing a lack of profitability, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced most shopping centres to close their doors. The company added that orders by Nevada Governor Stephen Sisolak to limit cannabis dispensary operations in that state during COVID-19 have also impacted the business.

Green Growth Brands has fallen on hard times since its headline-grabbing $2.4-billion hostile bid for Aphria (APHA.TO)(APHA), one of Canadas largest pot producers, in January 2019. The bid was derailed by a short-seller attack that erased more than half of the companys market value.

Shares listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange have fallen more than 98 per cent over the past year.

Earlier this spring, Green Growth brands fired roughly 800 workers from its mall-based CBD business. The company was in the process of selling an 80 per cent stake in the chain of kiosks, which sold products through stores including American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch inside about 200 shopping centres in the United States.

Story continues

BRN Group, a company whose chief executive previously ran Sean Combs portfolio of businesses, was named as a potential buyer. It is unclear if the deal closed as COVID-19 shut down malls across the country.

Retail veteran Peter Horvath stepped down as chief executive officer in March, leaving chief operating officer Randy Whitaker to fill the role on an interim basis. Horvath recently announced a new role at Hightimes Holdings, leading the magazine company in its transition to operating dispensaries.

Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Such self-referential grandeur might be insufferable in any other franchise, but Coogan and Brydon wear it with the rakish elan of their panama hats. The Trip to Greece begins in media res, with the duo discussing the impending picaresque over an alfresco lunch. It doesnt take long for the knives to come out, whether Steve is tweaking Rob about his literary knowledge or Rob is needling Steve about his performance in Stan & Ollie. What ensues will be warmly familiar to inveterate Trip fans; they wont be treated to yet another rendition of Caines blow-the-bloody-doors-off bit, but they will get a Come, come, Mr. Bond or two  not to mention newly minted classics referencing Mick Jagger, Dustin Hoffman, Barry Gibb and Ray Winstone as Henry VIII.
A U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II lands at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 25, 2018. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Franklin R. Ramos)

Second Stealth Jet Crashes During Training at Florida Base

A flagship F-35 jet has crashed on landing at a Florida airbasethe second stealth jet to crash during training in the last five days.

The pilot ejected in time before their F-35 Lightning II crashed at Eglin Air Force Base last night, according to a statement from the Air Force, and is now in a stable condition in hospital.

At the time of the accident, the pilot was participating in a routine night training sortie, said the statement. The accident is under investigation. There was no loss of life or damage to civilian property. The name of the pilot is not being released this time.

The crash comes just five days after an F-22 Raptorthe more expensive stable-mate of the F-35crashed 12 miles from the same airbase, with the pilot also ejecting safely.

The F-35 crash is the second in the United States after a Marine Corps version of the stealth jet crashed in September 2018.

The F-35 is regarded by many as the most advanced fighter jet in serviceand one of only three so-called 5th generation fighters in the world.

Capt. Andrew Olson, F-35 Demonstration Team pilot and commander, performs a dedication pass during the Melbourne Air and Space Show in Melbourne, Fla., on March 30, 2019. (Senior Airman Alexander Cook/U.S. Air Force)

Developed as a joint forces program, the F-35 was envisioned as the next-generation backbone of fighter fleets of the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, with an efficient single-engine and universal design aimed at cutting production and running costs.

But the original simple vision of a jack-of-all-trades morphed, with the program splitting into what many analysts say is really three different aircraft with very different technical requirements.

Those different versions are a carrier-friendly version designed for the catapult systems unique to U.S. carriers that launch aircraft off the deck; a vertical take-off and landing version that can be used by other nations carriers and by the U.S. Marine Corps amphibious ships; and a regular version used by the Air Force.

Late, and over budget, the next-generation aircraft has performed well in tests but is struggling with maintenance, parts, sustainability costs, and software problems.

It was first deployed in 2018.

The F-22 Raptor cost around $140 million per plane, with only around 180 finally in service after production was axed over cost concerns and during a shifting of the political winds.

An F-22 Raptor in Alaska in a file photo. (Facebook/3rd Wing @JBER3WG  USAF)

The F-35A versions flown by the Air Force are estimated to cost around $80 million each.

In total, Lockheed Martin, partnered with engine makers Pratt & Whitney, is expected to make an estimated 4,600 F-35s over the entire life cycle. The first F-35 flew in 2006, but the aircraft has only recently entered service.

The Air Force hopes to procure over 1,700 of the A varient.

The $428 billion price tag for the program has already raised eyebrows, but members of Congress are wary of the even larger estimated $1 trillion lifetime sustainment costs, especially with sustainment problems currently creating drag.
Six Brits including a fugitive have been arrested following a Costa del Sol bar knife fight which left one man, found on the ground with his 'guts hanging out', in intensive care.

The injured man, also British, is recovering at the Costa del Sol hospital near Marbella after a life-saving operation.

The violence erupted around 11pm on Monday at an unnamed bar in Torrenueva, a small residential area of Mijas Costa between the towns of Marbella and Fuengirola.

Around ten people are said to been involved in the altercation.

Six Brits including a fugitive have been arrested following a Costa del Sol bar knife fight

The violence erupted at around 11pm on Monday night at an unnamed bar in Torrenueva

Around ten people are said to been involved in the altercation, which saw police have to call for back-up to make arrests, pictured

Police had to call for back-up to make the arrests. Three were held as they tried to flee down a nearby stream.

Civil Guard association AUGC said the stabbed Brit had suffered an 'evisceration' injury.

A spokesman said the incident showed police reinforcements were 'vital.'

One of the six men held has been transferred to Madrid for an extradition hearing after police discovered he was wanted in the UK for drugs offences.

Local reports said the men involved in the fight knew each other and were drunk and possibly under the influence of drugs when violence flared. The motive is not known.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 746 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, raising the statewide total to 64,412.

Across Pennsylvania, 4,767 have died due to COVID-19, including 143 newly reported fatalities Wednesday.

The health department released the data early Wednesday night, hours later than usual; the daily updates typically arrive around noon. The department cited problems with the statewide surveillance data system for the delay. The data reflect cases and deaths reported as of midnight.

There are 293,244 patients who have tested negative for the virus, according to the health department.

More than two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes. Thousands of nursing home residents have become infected and more than 2,000 employees have contracted the virus.

After weeks of pressure, the health department Tuesday released a full list of coronavirus cases and deaths at specific facilities. Previously, the department only listed nursing home deaths in each county. Nearly 50 nursing homes have reported more than 20 deaths tied to the coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.

Nursing homes and health care workers

Across Pennsylvania, 3,172 residents of long-term care facilities have died due to COVID-19, according to the health department.

The department said 13,947 residents have tested positive for the virus, along with 2,244 employees.

Cases have been found at 559 facilities in 44 counties.

Statewide, 4,751 health care workers have contracted the virus, according to the health department.

Reopening Pennsylvania

Gov. Tom Wolf has been moving to gradually reopen parts of Pennsylvania. So far, 37 counties have been moved into the yellow phase in the governors plan to reopen the state. Those counties cover western Pennsylvania, including the Pittsburgh area, and the states northern tier.

On Friday, a dozen more counties will move to the yellow phase, including some in central Pennsylvania. These are the counties: Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Wayne and York.

With counties in the yellow phase, more businesses can resume operations, with some restrictions. Companies can reopen but are encouraged to allow employees to work remotely. Retailers that have been closed can reopen but are encouraged to offer curbside pickup. On Saturday, Boscovs plans to reopen stores in Camp Hill and the York area.

In the yellow counties, restaurants and bars are still limited to delivery and takeout services. Movie theaters, casinos, gyms, nail salons and barber shops are still closed in the yellow counties.

After Friday, 18 counties will remain under a stay-at-home order, signifying theyre in the red phase. Those counties include Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and eastern Pennsylvania, including the Philadelphia area.

The Wolf administration said it will soon disclose how the yellow counties can enter the green phase, signifying a return to some normalcy.

Gov. Tom Wolf's red, yellow and green phases reopening Pennsylvania after coronavirus-related shutdowns in 2020. (Graphic via the governor's office.)

More from PennLive

Gov. Tom Wolf talks about coronavirus and the gradual reopening of Pennsylvania

Will Penn State reopen for in-person classes this fall? President Barron said thats how they are proceeding

Another Pa. lawmaker calls for resignation of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine

After veto, Gov. Tom Wolf moves to allow more real estate sales
(Photo : Charles Deluvio/Unsplash) browsing Netflix (Photo : Annie Spratt/Unsplash) Team work, work colleagues, working together

To prevent further strain on the internet, Netflix and YouTube will reduce streaming quality across Europe for 30 days as increased usage is expected to continue in the region in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

As reported by CNN Business, a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement that Netflix traffic is estimated to decline by around 25% while "also ensuring a good quality service" for its subscribers.

Similarly, a spokesperson for Google, YouTube's parent company, promised to provide a "good user experience" while the company continues to work with governments and network firms "to minimize stress on the system."

The decision comes after EU officials urged users and streaming services to shun high definition videos to prevent the internet from collapsing. Millions of families have been forced to stay home, and employees have switched to working from home while more children have been out of school during the health crisis.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton spoke to Netflix (NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings last week about how video streaming is straining the internet. Breton oversees the EU internal market of over 450 million people.

In a statement on Thursday, May 14, Breton said that with such a remarkable situation, users, streaming platforms, and internet providers are all responsible to ensure "the smooth functioning of the internet during the battle against the virus propagation."

Europe's extremely high Internet demand

A 2019 report by Sandvine, an American networking equipment company, revealed that over 60% of data from internet providers are used for video streaming, in which Netflix and YouTube account for about 12% each.

A Netflix spokesperson told CNN Business the reduction may mean some users "see a reduction in perceptible video quality," while others won't see any change.

Meanwhile, an Amazon spokesperson said the company has also begun reducing its Prime Video service streaming bitrates. The company is also assisting authorities to help relieve network congestion.

EU officials said they would also work with regulators who monitor electronic communications to monitor internet traffic and alleviate volume issues. Despite a spike in usage, the Commission said no outages or harmful effects have been reported so far.

Last month, Netflix users experienced technical issues across the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other European countries. A message saying "something went wrong" appeared on the screen when they tried to sign in, while others got "NSES-504" error messages.

Meanwhile, telecom operators support calls to shift to standard definition streaming.

In a statement, Lise Fuhr, director-general of the European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association, said that engineers effectively manage new traffic patterns based on standard network operations. "We support the European Commission's effort to ensure that national governments and national regulators have all the tools they need to keep networks strong across the continent," Fuhr added.

Verizon (VZ) CEO Hans Vestberg told CNN Business on Thursday that his company's "very robust network" can handle the traffic, although they have not yet seen any congestion. The company saw a 75% surge in gaming traffic and a 30% rise in VPN usage two weeks ago.

Clearly under pressure

The internet is evidently under great pressure. However, Kin K. Leung, professor of internet technology at Imperial College London, said that it is not just because of video streaming.

Currently, numerous businesses, schools, and universities have shut down and switched to study- and work-from-home. This has prompted the increase in video conferencing and live streaming of classes which requires more data than video streaming.

Leung also aired his concern about how the UK could handle the surge in demand. He called for people to be conscious of how they use the Internet. "Be a bit more conscious about the demand every one of us places on the internet, that is a good step to help out and ease the overload," said Leung.

Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters during a call that the social media giant is facing "big surges" in usage as millions worldwide are forced to stay home.

He said the surge is beyond network's annual spike during New Year's Eve as voice and video calls on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have more than doubled.

Read also: GM Has Developed its Own Hands-Off Advanced Driving System: 'Super Cruise'

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A man from Kariobangi North estate in Nairobi has been charged in court with incest after allegedly defiling his 11-month-old daughter at his house on November 23, 2019.

The suspect (name withheld) was also charged at Makadara Law Courts with an indecent act with a child for intentionally and unlawfully touching the babys private parts.

The suspect was reportedly caught in the act by his wifes friend after she knocked on their door unexpectedly. The wife had left the child under the care of her 14-year-old son but the boy left the baby in the house and went out to play with his friends.

On her way back home, the wife was informed by a neighbour that her daughter had been crying continuously for a long time.

At home, she was shocked to find her baby had been defiled and went around asking neighbours if they had seen someone at her house. She was informed that her husband was seen leaving the house moments before she returned.

Her friend, who had knocked on the door, said the accused opened for her while holding the naked baby and returned to bed, leaving her at the door.

The suspect is said to have gone into hiding after committing the indecent act.

Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Angelo Kithinji, the suspect denied the charges. He was freed on a Sh 500,000 bond.

The court set hearing of the case starts for July 29, 2020.
An Etihad Airways plane flew from the United Arab Emirates to Israel on Tuesday to deliver coronavirus supplies to the Palestinians, a spokeswoman for the Abu Dhabi airline said, marking the first known flight by a UAE carrier to Israel.

Israel does not have diplomatic relations with any of the six Gulf Arab countries, and there are no commercial flights between them.

However, shared concerns over Iran's influence in the region have led to a discrete thaw in ties between Israel and the Arab Gulf in recent years.

That thaw has been accompanied by a slight relaxation of stringent air travel rules. In 2018, Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel - an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv.

"Etihad Airways operated a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on May 19 to provide medical supplies to the Palestinians," an Etihad spokeswoman said, adding that there were no passengers on board.

Video showed crew at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport offloading stacks of cardboard boxes with large banners over them reading: "UAE AID: for Palestine to fight Coronavirus (COVID-19)."

The United Nations coordinated a 16-tonne shipment of "urgent medical supplies" from the UAE to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Palestinian territories, according to a statement from the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).

"The aid includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical equipment. Most notably, it includes 10 ventilators that are acutely needed," the statement added.

It was not immediately clear whether the 16 tonnes of aid were transported on the Tuesday Etihad cargo flight. Etihad was not mentioned in the UNSCO statement.

Palestinian officials in the Israeli-occupied West Bank had no immediate comment. Health officials in the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Islamist group Hamas, said they had no knowledge of any aid shipment for Gaza from Abu Dhabi.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A conservative lawmaker and former chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has said that Iran spent 20-30 billion dollars in Syria that must be reimbursed.

In a video interview with Etemad Online, the website of the reformist Etemad newspaper, published on May 19, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh said the money paid to Syria came from the national coffers and has to be paid back.

Falahatpisheh visited Syria in March 2018 and following his visit said Iran should help Syria as long as Syria asks for it and claimed that Iran had played a major role in all the successful operations in the country "against terrorists". He also pointed out that Syria had a "major debt" to Iran which it had to pay back but did not mention the extent of the debt.

The issue of who will economically benefit in Syria after peace returns has been discussed in media as recently as this month when controversy erupted over a close relative of Bashar al-Assad and his billion-dollar empire. Some have said that Iran and Russia are competitors when it comes to reaping the benefits of their "investment" in Syria

"Following my visit to Syria [and calling for the monies paid to Syria or spent there to be paid back] some people said [my statement] had been costly [for Iran]," he said in the interview but added: "I repeat, we have probably given 20 to 30 billion dollars to Syria and must recover it. The money belonging to this nation has been spent there".

Falahatpisheh did not elaborate on whether he meant monies loaned to Syria or spent there for Iran and Hezbollah military operations. He also did not mention when and in what manner he expects the money to be paid back.

The interview was quickly picked up by many news websites in Iran.

Falahatpisheh whose term will end on May 27 is a conservative but was elected as the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament with the support of reformists in the third year of the current parliament.

In February 2019 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis top military adviser, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, also said that Iran will recoup what it had spent in Syria by exploiting the war-torn countrys oil, gas and phosphate resources but had not mentioned a figure.
Six people were killed and one was injured when a pickup van was hit by a speeding truck at the Bakewar vegetable market here, police said on Wednesday.

"The accident took place around 10 pm on Tuesday at the Bakewar sabji mandi (vegetable market)," Senior Superintendent of Police, Etawah, Akash Tomar said.

The deceased have been identified as Rajesh Yadav (42), Raju Porwal (30), Jagdish Kushwaha (30), Jageshwar Kushwaha (28), Mahesh Kushwaha (40) and driver Brijesh Kushwaha (35), he said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the accident and issued a directive to give Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured person, an government official said.

He has also directed that the injured be given adequate treatment, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hyderabad, May 20 : Two more persons died of Covid-19 in Telangana on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 40, officials said.

The state has reported fatalities for the second day in a row. The authorities had declared four deaths on Tuesday.

The Health Department, however, has not come out with the details of the deceased.

The number of Covid-19 cases in the state rose to 1,661 with 27 persons testing positive. According to the Director of public health and family welfare, 15 of these cases were reported in Greater Hyderabad.

Twelve migrants were also found infected, taking to 89 the total number of migrants tested positive so far.

Two persons were discharged from hospital. With this the number of recoveries rose to 1,013. The number of active cases now stands at 608.

Meanwhile, with the relaxations in the lockdown, Hyderabad and other towns continued to see hectic activity for a second day.

More shops were opened in the state capital. However, confusion prevailed at several places due to implementation of odd-even system. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) allotted odd and even numbers to shops to ensure that two adjacent shops don't remain open on the same day. This was done to ensure social distancing.

Shop owners at some places complained about lack of effective implementation of the system. This system is in force only in Hyderabad, as it accounts for the majority of Covid-19 cases. The authorities have allowed re-opening of all shops in other towns.

Though government and private offices were allowed to function with 100 per cent attendance, many offices reported less than 50 per cent attendance. The Covid scare is still keeping many employees away from work places.

The attendance has also not improved in the information technology companies with an overwhelming majority of employees is still preferring to work from home.

With 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew still in force, employees and workers were seen leaving their offices much before 6 p.m. to reach their homes. Many shopkeepers too downed their shutters at 5 p.m.

Authorities are not allowing any activity in containment zones. The state government has declared the entire state barring the containment areas as the green zone.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A Houston lawyer and Texas Democratic Party official will serve as interim Harris County Clerk, taking the reins two months before voters cast ballots in primary runoffs in July.

Commissioners Court on Tuesday voted 3-2 along party lines to appoint Christopher Hollins, vice chairman for the state Democratic party. He will serve until a new clerk can be elected in November.

Incumbent Diane Trautman, who was elected in 2018, announced May 9 she would step down because of health issues. Trautmans last day is May 31; Hollins will start the following day.

County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said Hollins pledge to serve only on an interim basis factored in their decision.

Im committing to him with the understanding that he will bring his skill set to running the best election we can, for the sake of our county and democratic rights of all the residents, and not focusing on advancing personal political ambitions, Hidalgo said.

Hollins, 33, was selected after 10 p.m., more than 12 hours after Commissioners Court convened, and did not address the body. He said in a statement Wednesday morning he was grateful for the opportunity.

My deep connection to Harris County and professional background in management consulting, government, and law have prepared me to step into this role and be effective from Day One, Hollins said.

He previously worked as a senior manager at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company and interned at Goldman Sachs and the White House Office of Presidential Personnel during the Obama administration, according to his personal website. He never has held elected office.

The primary function of the county clerks office is to maintain court, property and vital records, including the issuance of marriage licenses, but the clerks most visible job is conducting elections.

Hollins faces a difficult task. He will be in charge of running Julys primary runoff as well as Novembers general election  potentially the highest turnout contest in county history  during the coronavirus pandemic.

Commissioners Court in April agreed to spend up to $12 million to expand mail voting to any resident fearful of contracting coronavirus at polling places. A pending court case could derail those plans, however, and leave the county will little time to adjust.

In addition, countywide voting, Trautmans signature accomplishment, will get its first test in a presidential election in November.

Elections have flummoxed even experienced county clerks, from both political parties, as Harris Countys massive population, geographic expanse and aging voting machines present challenges. Both elections Trautman oversaw during her brief tenure had problems.

Trautmans departure encouraged Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis to propose exploring whether the county should shift to an appointed administrator to run elections instead of the county clerk, as most other large Texas counties have done. That position also would take the voter registration role away from count tax assessor-collector.

Commissioners Court debated the idea on Tuesday but took no action.

The county Republican and Democratic parties must put forth county clerk nominees for the November election to fill the remainder of Trautmans term, which runs through 2022. Trautman said she would help Hollins transition into the role.

Hollins attended Hightower High School in Missouri City and earned degrees from Morehouse College, Harvard Business School and Yale Law School. He runs his own law practice, which focuses on personal injury claims.

zach.despart@chron.com
[May 20, 2020] Wisconsin Boys & Girls Clubs Receive $110,000 from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation to Support COVID-19 Response

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation announced today new grants totaling $110,000 to Wisconsin-based Boys & Girls Clubs to fund virtual programming and meals for kids and their families during the COVID-19 crisis. The grants are part of a $900,000 ongoing commitment that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin and its Foundation have made to support Wisconsin nonprofit organizations on the front lines of the pandemic. "Many families across Wisconsin continue to struggle with the effects of the COVID-19, including access to nutritious food. We'll continue to support local efforts that are providing relief for our neighbors, businesses, nonprofit partners and health care workers through this pandemic and its aftermath," said Paul Nobile, commercial president for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin. "We're longtime supporters of the Boys & Girls Clubs. Their work serve our children and their families is needed more than ever." Boys & Girls Clubs across the state have been forced to quickly adapt and meet an increased need for their vital services to Wisconsin's youth. "This generous support from the Anthem Foundation has made it possible for our organization to serve our community's youth in new ways during the COVID-19 crisis, all while developing healthy lifestyles and staying true to our mission," said Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay Executive Director, Lisa Kogan-Praska. "We are grateful for the continued partnership with the Anthem Foundation, especially during this challenging time when our club members need us most." Boys and Girls Clubs receiving funding include: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee will utilize the Anthem Foundation funding to support nutrition, academics and mentorship during the COVID-19 health crisis. Since the shutdown began, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee has provided Milwaukee youth with more than 100,000 meals, 350 hours of online educational content, more than 5,000 books, puzzles and educational games, and more. Their staff has also personally connected with club families more than 7,000 times since mid-March to understand their needs and have adjusted their services to meet those needs.

Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha will use the funding to support its partnership with Kenosha Unified School District and other community agencies to operate a meal distribution site at both the club and the Oribiletti Center in Lincoln Park. The program provides nearly 2,500 grab-and-go lunches and breakfasts each week at the club's sites. More than 4,000 grab-and-go dinners have been distributed as well, including some meals that are picked up from local restaurants by school counselors and delivered directly to the homes of people in need.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay will utilize the Anthem Foundation funding to engage youth in virtual programming through the organization's Cyber Clubhouse. Grant funds will also support weekly care package distributions of healthy food and enrichment activities, with over 800 care packages provided to club families to date. In total, these initiatives are engaging about 300 club members and their families each week.

Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh will use the grant to continue providing healthy meal kits to 260 people each week in the Oshkosh area. Funds will also support the club's Happy Healthy Members program, which promotes at-home exercise, healthy cooking and mental health activities.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley will use the funding to continue providing services to an average of 750 children and youth each day via school-age daycare for essential workers, meal assistance (more than 15,000 meals distributed to date), and online educational programming. In addition, they are providing outreach to over 300 middle and high school students, supporting their participation in distance learning and providing resources to help navigate the mental and emotional challenges associated with the pandemic.



Anthem and its Foundation also continue to work with national partners including the American Red Cross, Americares, Feeding America, Direct Relief and numerous others to ensure access to emergency assistance for individuals and families, and personal protective equipment and training for health workers.

Anthem associates in Wisconsin have logged 600 volunteer hours and donated $100,000 to support nonprofit organizations in their communities. Volunteer efforts have included providing meals to frontline healthcare workers and engaging in virtual volunteering such as online teaching and telephone outreach to people who are isolated. About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to improving lives and communities. Through strategic partnerships and programs, the Foundation addresses the social drivers that will help create a healthier generation of Americans in communities that the company serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on critical initiatives that make up its Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets: maternal health, diabetes prevention, cancer prevention, heart health and healthy, active lifestyles, behavioral health efforts and programs that benefit people with disabilities. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of associates' donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, please visit http://www.anthem.foundation and its blog at https://medium.com/anthemfoundation. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005105/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
GREENWICH  Sunny and nearly 70 degrees, Wednesday would have been the perfect day for an outdoor graduation ceremony.

The 102 seniors at Brunswick School who are graduating this spring were supposed to hold their commencement ceremony Wednesday, but that has been postponed due to closures from the coronavirus.

The date for a new, regulated and socially distanced commencement ceremony, when the graduates will get their diplomas, is penciled in for July.

But to make May 20 special despite the postponement, Brunswick hosted a drive-through celebration along the large oval-shaped driveway at the lower school campus on King Street.

Students sat in the back of pickup trucks, stood through car sunroofs and peeked their heads out of the windows of vehicles. The cars, driven by family members, were decorated with Brunswicks school colors, balloons and inscriptions in washable car chalk. Sisters, girlfriends and moms recorded the whole event on their cellphones.

As the cars filed by, energetic teachers waved homemade signs, rattled noise makers and cheered on the 2020 Wick students, who they have not seen in two months since the school halted in-person classes due to the pandemic. The music team blasted iconic songs.

Matthew Kirby-Smith, who teaches theater and shop, made a display of props from the school musical, The Music Man. Brunswick theater kids put on their performance just days before the school closed, so most of the seniors would recognize his set-up, Kirby-Smith said.

Its absolutely amazing to see the guys again, he said. I hope we will be in-person this July.

Katie White, a fifth-grade teacher, was also waving on the students. The 2020 graduating class was her first class as a teacher at Brunswick, and she knows a good number of the boys who were driven by.

It is really nice to see them, she said.

Josh Duennebier, an eighth-grade English teacher, rattled a noisemaker and shouted to boys by name.

Although he last taught them in middle school, Duennebier said he is often at the high school and has kept up connections with the students through the four years of high school.

Its wonderful to see them, he said. Its a great feeling. Im happy that they worked something out. Theyre all starved for interaction, so even a little bit is good.

The smiles on all the boys faces speak for themselves, he said.

jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com
[May 20, 2020] Research Report with COVID-19 Forecasts-Global Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024 | Rise in Seaborne Trade to Boost Growth | Technavio

Technavio has been monitoring the global marine electronics market size and it is poised to grow by USD 927.70 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 3% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005706/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Marine Electronics 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. FLIR Systems Inc., Furuno Electric Co. Ltd., Garmin (News - Alert) Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Navico, Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., Thales Group, thyssenkrupp AG, and Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc are some of the major market participants. Although the rise in seaborne trade will offer immense growth opportunities, high cost associated with sonar systems 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. Rise in seaborne trade has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, high cost associated with sonar systems might hamper market growth. Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024 : Segmentation Marine Electronics Market is segmented as below: Product Sonar Systems Radars GPS Tracking Devices

Geography North America APAC Europe 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=IRTNTR43782



Marine Electronics 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 marine electronics market report covers the following areas:

Marine Electronics Market Size

Marine Electronics Market Trends

Marine Electronics Market Industry Analysis This study identifies developments in SAS (News - Alert) technology as one of the prime reasons driving the marine electronics market growth during the next few years. Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024 : Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the marine electronics market, including some of the vendors such as FLIR Systems Inc., Furuno Electric Co. Ltd., Garmin Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Navico, Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon (News - Alert) Co., Thales Group, thyssenkrupp AG, and Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the marine electronics 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 Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024 : Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist marine electronics market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the marine electronics market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the marine electronics market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of marine electronics market vendors Table Of Contents : Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019-2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition Market Segmentation by Product Market segments

Comparison by Product

Sonar systems - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Radars - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

GPS tracking devices - Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Product Customer Landscape 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

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

FLIR Systems Inc.

Furuno Electric Co. Ltd.

Garmin Ltd.

Kongsberg Gruppen ASA

Navico

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Raytheon Co.

Thales (News - Alert) Group

thyssenkrupp AG

Ultra Electronics Holdings 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005706/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
For those among us who have had to make do without the aid of a manicurist these past three months, there is good news: nail salons may open as early as June.

But they may not be exactly as we remember them before lockdown. Nail salons, like beauticians and tattoo parlours, will have a 20-person limit on their premises. Clients will also have to provide their contact details so they can easily be traced. And greater discretion will be left up to individual states.

Nail salons in New South Wales could open as early as June. Credit:Getty

We spoke to two Sydney-based nail stylists to find out what we can expect after walking inside and hearing those three little words pick a colour.

Skye McIntyre is a nail stylist and educator with 23 years experience. She normally runs her own salon in Penrith, west of Sydney and says that although the new restrictions may pose greater challenges, shes more than happy to follow them.
LafargeHolcim's CEO targets low-carbon and sustainable recovery

20 May 2020

LafargeHolcim's CEO, Jan Jenisch, has updated customers on the company's low-carbon cement initiatives and preparing for the gradual pick-up in business as the world tries to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.



"As markets are gradually reopening around the world, we are ramping up our production to best support our customers and help the world economy recover as quickly as possible," said Mr Jenisch. We are doing this by putting sustainable construction at the heart of the recovery.



"Building on this commitment, we are proud to join the 'Recover Better' movement, launched by the Science Based Targets initiative, the UN Global Compact and the We Mean Business coalition to embed climate action in todays economic recovery."



He added, "Putting our innovation to work, more than 50 per cent of our research resources are focussed on low-carbon products, with 40 per cent of our patents currently in this area. Taking a circular approach, we upcycled over 40Mt of waste to power our operations in 2019, while supporting clean living. Working across the entire construction value chain, one-third of our 2019 sales were in sustainable solutions, such as our fully carbon-neutral concretes launched last year."





Published under
To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.

On a spring morning in 1955, a pair of press officers greeted a mob of reporters in a stately hall on the University of Michigan campus. The officers had hot news: A clinical trial of the long-awaited polio vaccine had proved it to be safe and effective. The reporters nearly rioted in their scramble to spread the word. Once they did, church bells rang, and people ran into the streets to cheer.

In the midst of our current pandemic, collective hope for a vaccine is just as palpable and regularly reinforced  as it was with this weeks news of promising results from a small coronavirus vaccine test. The federal governments top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that the ultimate game changer in this will be a vaccine. President Trump assured us that a vaccine is not far off. Television hosts and pundits claim that this goal is within reach because weve beaten infectious killers, such as polio, with vaccines in the past.

But Americas experience with polio should give us pause, not hope. The first effective polio vaccine followed decades of research and testing. Once fully tested, it was approved with record speed. Then there were life-threatening manufacturing problems. Distribution problems followed. Political fights broke out. After several years, enough Americans were vaccinated that cases plummeted  but they persisted in poor communities for over a decade. Polios full story should make us wary of promises that we will soon have the coronavirus under control with a vaccine.

The first polio epidemic in the United States hit Vermont in 1894, killing 18 and leaving 58 permanently paralyzed. It was only the beginning. Over the next several decades, warm-weather outbreaks became common, striking communities one year and sparing them the next, sometimes only to return later with added force. A New York City outbreak killed more than 100 people in 1907. In 1916, polio returned and killed 6,000. The disease primarily struck children. It could kill up to 25 percent of the stricken. And it left many paralyzed, consigning some to life in an iron lung.
- Richard Yap impressed many people with the latest episode of his personal vlog on YouTube

- The actor-businessman gave an epic tour of his luxurious house that he describes as humble

- The video shows the Richard showing and sharing details of the different areas of his house

- He also gave an exciting glimpse of the five expensive cars in his enormous garage

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Richard Yap wowed a lot of netizens with the latest episode of his personal vlog on YouTube.

KAMI learned that Richard gave an epic tour of his luxurious house that he describes as humble.

The video shows the actor-businessman showing and sharing details of the different areas of his house.

He also gave an exciting glimpse of the five expensive cars in his enormous garage.

According to Richard, he decided to give a tour of his house because it has been requested many times by his fans.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedbacks

Hi guys! Since many of you have been asking to see my house, we decided to show you a glimpse of it. Welcome to my humble home, Richard said.

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, Richards participation in a popular teleserye created buzz online.

Richard Yap is a Filipino-Chinese actor, best known for his roles on the teleseryes My Binondo Girl and Be Careful With My Heart. He is also the owner of Wangfu, which has several branches across the nation.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
GREENWICH  The expansion of outdoor dining and shopping along Greenwich Avenue  an idea uniquely suited for the pandemic era of social distancing  is the initiative behind an online petition thats garnering plenty of support.

Greenwich resident Jonathan Loflin launched a petition on change.org that calls for closing Greenwich Avenue to cars and parking and allowing restaurants to set up tables six feet apart in the street to expand outdoor dining. The proposal also would allow outdoor shopping along the sidewalks every day, while businesses begin to slowly reopen from the closures due to the coronavirus crisis.

Loflin started the petition last Saturday and as of Tuesday afternoon, it had been signed by over 1,100 people. The petition can be found at www.change.org/SummerStreetsGreenwich.

The petition is circulating as some nonessential businesses prepare to reopen beginning on Wednesday while following strict guidelines issued by Gov. Ned Lamont.

The state will allow restaurants to offer outdoor dining only, with tables six feet apart under the new rules. Employees and customers must wear face masks except while dining.

Loading

As for retail stores, some of the reopening guidelines limit customers to 50 percent of capacity or less, with physical barriers while making payments. Fitting rooms and self-serve counters will be closed. Customers and employees must wear face masks at all times, too.

Loflin hatched his idea to allow restaurants to set up their tables in the street and retail stores to hold sidewalk shopping  imaging an outdoor pedestrian shopping area the length and width of the Avenue  while thinking about the gradual reopening.

The state and this town are slated to reopen on May 20, and I was thinking how this could be done safely, whats the best way this could be done? Loflin said. My first thought was, how is this going to work on Greenwich Avenue?

Loflin emphasized the thought behind his petition is safety comes first  shoppers, diners and workers need to practice social distancing.

Its hard to socially distance, without using the pavement for tables, and its hard to mix moving cars and diners on the same pavement safely, he said. It occurred to me that not having cars driving down the street would be the right thing to do. The politicians need to hear this from their constituents  they need to hear that people are excited about showing up.

The Greenwich Chamber of Commerce supports the idea.

Our Chamber would very much support any concept that will help our local business sustainability, Chamber President and CEO Marcia OKane said. Providing more outdoor dining and shopping on Greenwich Avenue would be a fantastic idea, one that has been discussed for years.

The Avenue offers outdoor shopping during the Sidewalk Sale Days sponsored by the Greenwich Chamber. And pedestrian traffic also increases for Art to the Avenue and the Holiday Stroll  which are all popular events in town.

Loflin referenced several reports that the virus lives longer when the humidity and temperature are lower. It becomes inactivate faster, as the temperature increases  and sunlight can destroy the virus quickly, he said.

Part of the petition shows that people are ready to leave the house in a safe way, Lofhelin said. I started by signing the petition myself and shared it with a few people. Everyone I spoke to about it said its a great idea. The safety aspect is important  we want restaurants and businesses to open in a safe way.

Concern for the vitality of restaurants and retailers during these challenging times is also an issue.

These businesses in town  you cant expect them to pay their rent throughout 2020, without having any business, Loflin said. This really resonates with the people in town. Its important to support them safely.

Maria Correia, managing partner of Douro on Greenwich Avenue, eagerly signed the petition.

I think its fantastic, Correia said. Prior to him even sending anything out we thought it would be a good idea to close Greenwich Avenue.

Currently, Douro can seat six patrons with outdoor dining. If the petitions cause moved forward, the increased outdoor space would help the restaurant.

Our capacity inside is 130, so if things change we can seat probably 65, or so, Correia said. Thats why the petition to close the Avenue would be ideal, because currently, we cannot really take advantage of outdoor seating, with seating only six people. Everyone on the Avenue has that issue.

Douro is offering curb-side pickup and white-glove home delivery, she said.

Its been extremely tough, mainly because we have a lot of employees who are out of a job, she said. We have customers who have been very loyal to us and we appreciate them very much.

The idea of opening up Greenwich Avenue was discussed by both First Selectman Fred Camillo and Selectwoman Jill Oberlander during last years campaign for first selectman.

Camillo said he is on board with temporary closures of The Avenue to allow expanded outdoor use for the businesses. He called the idea transformative and said everyone is in love with the idea.

This is something that we are not only talking about for the short-term but also for the long-term, he said. My idea is to have Greenwich Avenue closed to vehicular traffic during the warm weather months like from May into the fall. You can go from Memorial Day to Labor Day and maybe even expand it further.

By starting closures on Greenwich Avenue at 5 p.m., Camillo said there would be plenty of parking at lots off the Avenue, including at Town Hall, the Board of Education and other spots.

There has been talk for decades about what that would look like and what it would do to the downtown area, Camillo said. I think it would really transform our downtown, especially Greenwich Avenue. Its something were working on now. ... We are speaking with fire, police, health, Planning and Zoning and you name it. Theyre all at the table, and were making sure everyones concerns are addressed.

Staff Writer Ken Borsuk contributed to this story.

dfierro@greenwichtime.com
Residents of Himachal Pradesh stranded in various other states during the lockdown were in a crisis situation and were brought back in public interest, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Wednesday.

Responding to media queries about the recent spike in cases of the novel coronavirus in the state, Thakur said the government is also worried about the same and that the cases may further increase in the next few days as a large number of people are returning from other parts of the country.

"It (spike in cases) was already feared but we couldn't leave anyone (from the state) to die (in other states). The stranded people especially in red zone areas were in crisis. They were surrounded by coronavirus patients," Thakur said.

He added that those who want to return to the state should do so in the coming few days as thereafter their arrival will be restricted.

Himachal Pradesh had only one active COVID-19 case on May 3 but the number of active cases climbed to 51 within 17 days till May 20. Most of the fresh positive cases are of those who returned from Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab, Chennai and other places.

After bringing back residents of Himachal Pradesh from other states, the government will concentrate on testing, the CM said while claiming that coronavirus testing is already the highest in this state in comparison to other states as per the population ratio.

"At least 1,000 people will be tested daily and the government will leave no stone unturned to eradicate the virus from the state in coming days," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For every positive COVID-19 test more than 20 negative tests have been done, the ICMR said Wednesday, asserting there has been a 1,000-fold increase in the quantum of test per days in the last two months.

A total of 25,12,388 samples have been tested by 9 AM of May 20, and the testing capacity has been scaled up to 1 lakh tests per day, it said.

Starting with less than 100 COVID-19 tests per day just two months ago, a 1000-fold increase in just 60 days was made possible by dedicated teams from research institutions, medical colleges, testing laboratories, ministries, airlines and postal services working together, the ICMR said in a statement.

In January, India had only one laboratory testing for COVID-19, at the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology, Pune. "Today there are 555 laboratories across the country, performing molecular tests for diagnosis of COVID-19 - an unparalleled achievement in the history of the Indian health system," the apex health research body said.

Faced with an unprecedented challenge, both in terms of technicalities and scale, Indian scientists had to innovate extensively, health workers had to train and learn on the job, administrators had to coordinate multiple actions round the clock amid the challenges of a nationwide lockdown.

In the absence of an effective treatment, prevention is the best strategy, which revolves around testing. In a diverse country like India, for inclusive and equitable access to testing, optimization of resources, based on the evolving epidemic was an essential part of sustainable scaling up.

"As the epidemic evolved, India's testing strategy underwent iterative calibration to keep pace with the changing epidemiology and extent of infection. This ensured that access to tests was assured for risk groups that needed it the most; wasteful, unnecessary testing was avoided; and testing infrastructure was optimally scaled up without taking away resources from other key public health interventions," ICMR said.

This is evidenced by the fact that for every positive test more than 20 negative tests have been done throughout the course of the epidemic, it said.

"With its testing capabilities now matching the most advanced countries in the world, Indian institutions have risen to the occasion in an emergency situation. In the days ahead their contributions will be required even more as India continues to grapple with the clear and present danger still posed by COVID-19," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
YEREVAN.  He did not carry out the lawful demand of the police, we took him away. One of the police officers stated this Wednesday in front of the government building where a group of restaurant owners, employees, and toastmasters staged a protest. They were demanding that they, too, be allowed to work again after the recent easing of some restrictions that were imposed due to the COVID-19 situation in Armenia.

Police apprehended three of the demonstrators, including renowned actor Sargis Grigoryan.

Also, the law enforcement officers demanded that the picketers get out of the grass area outside the government building, and to keep social distance.
CAMARILLO, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SecureSpace Self Storage announces the Grand Opening of a new self storage facility in Camarillo, California.

SecureSpace Camarillo is a newly converted, Class A property that is strategically located at 5300 Adolfo Road, Camarillo, CA 93012, just north of the US-101 and less than five miles east of Oxnard.

This new SecureSpace location offers 75,000 square feet of climate-controlled, ground-floor self storage space with unit sizes ranging from 5'x5' to 15'x25'. Additionally, the second floor consists of 75,000 square feet of office space available for rent.

The property's leasing office offers a convenient lobby with free WiFi and work stations, moving supplies including boxes, locks, and furniture covers for sale, and friendly staff to assist with all storage needs.

InSite Partner Paul Brown notes, "As a Southern California-based developer, we know and love the Camarillo area - there are 300 days of sunshine a year and it's a thriving city close to everything with friendly residents - so we built this location to provide a unique storage option for this market. Less than 15% of the supply in Camarillo currently offers climate-controlled storage. With SecureSpace Self Storage Camarillo, we built out every unit - 100% - to be climate-controlled to ensure our customers' valuables are well-maintained. We invite the community to come and see the difference at SecureSpace - please visit us in person or go to SecureSpace.com to learn more."

Well-located for consumer and business users, the underutilized site was acquired in 2019 by InSite Property Group, the parent company of SecureSpace, and developed into the world-class self storage facility that is now open for business.

Located in Ventura County, the picturesque city of Camarillo is an affluent community with a rich history and great weather. It is nestled at the base of the Conejo foothills in between Thousand Oaks and Oxnard.

The SecureSpace Self Storage Camarillo store will be open for business on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Customers can reserve their own secure space by visiting https://SecureSpace.com or calling (805) 600-5665.

About SecureSpace Self Storage

Relax. It's safe at SecureSpace.

Based in Redondo Beach, California, the SecureSpace team is dedicated to providing a hassle-free self storage experience. All of our facilities are brand-new buildings and provide the latest amenities in securing a customer's belongings.

We look forward to serving our customers and satisfying their storage needs - please visit http://www.SecureSpace.com to make a reservation or learn more today.

About InSite Property Group

Based in Redondo Beach, California, InSite Property Group is the parent corporation of SecureSpace Self Storage.

As a fully integrated developer, builder, and operator, InSite Property Group currently has a pipeline of more than 20 brand-new storage facilities under development. Please visit http://www.InsitePG.com to learn more.

Contact:

Jake McMillan

(866) 521-8292

[email protected]

https://insitepg.com/

Related Links

SecureSpace

InSite Property Group

SOURCE SecureSpace

Related Links

http://www.SecureSpace.com


The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, urged the federal government to sponsor experts on a study trip to Madagascar and Senegal for possible indigenous COVID-19 cure.

Madagascar has claimed to have found a cure for the virus while Senegal has developed an inexpensive coronavirus diagnostic kit.

The green chamber also asked the government to set aside a 15 billion emergency fund for tertiary institutions in the country as a response to the impact COVID-19 has had and will have on them.

The House also resolved that part of this fund should be used to establish an infectious diseases research institute in six selected universities across the six geopolitical zones of the country.

It followed this by tasking tertiary institutions to launch a Coronavirus Student Emergency Fund, from which indigent and vulnerable students can draw from to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic.

These unanimous resolutions were adopted after a motion was moved by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta).

He said it is estimated that tertiary institutions will experience at least a 15% reduction in enrolment, thereby reducing the rate at which students would consider enrolling into tertiary education after the pandemic.

He added that the looming likelihood that parents will lose their jobs would also make tertiary institutions tuition income to nose-dive

He noted that with the emergency fund, students may demand fee reduction and waivers in the light of economic recession coupled with the shock of unemployment rates that could reach an estimated global average of 25%, higher education may also seem like a luxury for many.

Mr Elumelu further noted that there is a need to support institutions who are showing prospects of developing locally made equipment in the fight against COVID-19.

Last week, for instance, a team of engineers in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, unveiled a locally invented ventilator.

The lawmaker argued that strategic additional funding could increase their capacity in this regard, adding that the Nigerian government should learn from the U.S. and Canada.

Mr Elumelus motion was co-sponsored by his fellow PDP lawmakers Fred Obua (Bayelsa), Francis Agbo (Benue), Makwe Livinus (Ebonyi), Aniekan Umanah (PDP, Akwa Ibom).

Other co-sponsors were APC lawmakers: Steve Azaiki (Bayelsa), Betara Aliyu (Borno), Olaide Akinremi (Oyo), Kabiru Tukura (Kebbi) and Mahmud Gaya (Kano).
As MoneySKILL Mania goes virtual, local high school students learn personal finance

Personal finance skills are especially important for young people. MoneySKILL exposes students to real-life situations and requires them to think critically and use reasoning. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  With experts warning that todays staggering unemployment may lead to a prolonged recession, financial literacy is more important than ever.

Thats why the University at Buffalo School of Management and M&T Bank have partneredsince 2006to help local high school students develop critical personal finance skills through the free MoneySKILL program and the annual MoneySKILL Mania competition.

From choosing a university to establishing a credit profile, these students are at a critical point in their financial lives, says Cynthia Shore, senior assistant dean and director of alumni engagement and external relations at the UB School of Management. This year, as teachers shifted to remote instruction due to the coronavirus, we wanted to support their efforts to teach personal financeand help students have fun with some friendly competitionby taking MoneySKILL Mania virtual.

Mania is a quiz show-style competition that tests students proficiency with concepts theyve learned through the online MoneySKILL curriculum, offered by the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) Education Foundation. The late Lewis Mandell, former professor of finance in the School of Management, wrote the original curriculum, which has since reached more than 1 million students across all 50 states and 40 countries.

Locally, the UB School of Management and M&T Bank partner to sponsor the MoneySKILL Mania competition and a series of undergraduate honors student projects at local nonprofits, all to help Western New Yorkers improve their financial literacy.

Personal finance skills are especially important for young people so they are prepared to make responsible decisions that will have an impact on the rest of their lives, says Emily Frishholz, business teacher at City Honors School in Buffalo. MoneySKILL exposes students to real-life situations and requires them to think critically and use reasoning.

Frishholz was among the teachers in three Western New York counties who hosted the Mania competition as part of their remote instruction this spring.

For some teachers, MoneySKILL complements their existing curriculum; for others, it serves as enrichment material to infuse additional money management topics into their class. Frishholz says MoneySKILL helps to reinforce concepts in her differentiated business course for students with autism, and helps her weave new topics into another business class that wouldnt normally cover personal finance.

At Buffalos Hutchinson Central Technical High School, retired 1st Sgt. Stephen Frazier has been a longtime supporter of MoneySKILL, using the online program and playing Mania each year with his Hutch-Tech Junior ROTC cadets. This year, he went even biggerplaying MoneySKILL Mania on Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform, with cadets from schools around New York State and in Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

When our building closed, I lined up two speakers every week to give what we now call Tech Talks, Frazier says. In these sessions, his former students, now ages 24-34, routinely brought up financial responsibility. Almost every speaker acknowledged the value of the financial skills they gained as a cadetincluding retirement, savings, student loans, insurance and investingand how they have applied them to their life today.

Meanwhile, Cassandra Bold, a mathematics and special education teacher at Olean High School, uses the online MoneySKILL modules with her financial algebra class and hosted Mania this year via the Zoom videoconference platform.

For students, its very important for their future to be aware of the topics covered in MoneySKILL, Bold says. My students enjoy doing the MoneySKILL modules. They normally do well on them, and they help boost their grades. I mean, what student doesnt love a grade boost?
The flight, departing from the Indian capital of New Delhi, landed at the Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta early in the morning. Passengers onboard include people in very difficult situations, stranded tourists, engineers, businessmen and nearly 200 monks and nuns whod gone for retreats at Buddhist institutes in India.

All passengers are being quarantined in Can Tho and the nearby Tien Giang and Tra Vinh Provinces.

The green light from the Vietnamese government for carrying out the repatriation came last Thursday, Nguyen Sanh Chau, Vietnam's ambassador to India, Nepal and Bhutan, told VnExpress.

He said the launch of the repatriation flight at this time was extremely difficult as the country of 1.3 billion people with a large area and complex procedures had been placed under a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.

"However, we were determined to implement the plan," Chau said.

India, the second largest coronavirus hotspot in Asia with 100,000 cases and more than 3,000 deaths, has imposed a nationwide blockade set to last at least until May 31. Three domestic flights from the cities of Bangalore, Pune and Gaya were chartered to bring Vietnamese from different parts of India to New Delhi Thursday morning to board the repatriation flight.

Traveling by road to airports was also difficult because commercial vehicles are banned and private vehicles are required to have a license from the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Each state has its own checkpoint, and people moving from a heavily-affected state could be forced to be quarantined or be banned from entering another state.

Some Vietnamese citizens from the city of Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh traveled more than 1,000 km to New Delhi on bad roads in hot weather conditions with no street side food shops open.

Among those repatriated on the flight were four foreigners. One of them is an Indian businessman who owns a textile factory in the northern province of Nam Dinh. He returned to Vietnam to pay wages for 700 workers.

Vietnam has suspended entry for foreign nationals since March 22. Only those with diplomatic or official passports, or coming for special economic projects, are allowed to enter the country under strict medical surveillance.

"Around 340 people from different locations in 15 states traveled in 66 cars to reach three local airports and then flew to New Delhi to begin the journey home," Chau said.

The final flight, between New Delhi and Can Tho, took four hours and 30 minutes.

In the last few months, several special flights have repatriated thousands of Vietnamese from several countries and territories including Canada, France, Japan, Russia, the UAE and the U.S., and other Southeast Asian countries. Passengers paid their own fares.

Civil aviation authorities have said another 4,000 or so Vietnamese citizens are to be repatriated by mid-June.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

A former Member of Parliament for Sege, Alfred Abayateye, says he will go any lengths including the International Courts of Human Rights to ensure that arrears and gratuities due him and his colleague former MPs are paid accordingly.

I will follow this issue because I have been cheated. I was shortchanged. So even if it is to go to the international court, some of us will organise and go so that Ghana will pay, he said in a Citi News interview.

Mr. Abayatey was reacting to a decision by the Auditor General not to approve the payment of some GHS29 million to the Forum of Former MPs who made their request through the Chief of Staff.

Daniel Domelevo had described the request of the former MPs as invalid and amounting to a conflict of interest given that most of the 200 beneficiaries were now serving as members of the current government, including the President and the Chief of Staff.

But Mr. Abayateye maintains that this is a question of fairness.

In 2005, if we are taking our correct salary, somebody has worked and is supposed to be given GHs3 and you gave the persons GHs2, and he has a balance of GHs1 and because of the GHS3. you use the GHs3it to build the salary for the following year. So the person you have cheated, you wont pay him his money?

He further downplayed the conflict of interest claims and said: ordinary people must be sensitive to reality.

In 2005 was Akufo-Addo president? he was the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South. By then it was only that. If he had been paid that money at that time, would he be taking the money as MP or taking it as President?

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, is also unhappy with the Auditor-General's decision to reject the Chief of Staff's request for the conduct of an audit verification that will pave the way for payment of the salary arrears.

The Suame legislator argued that the Auditor-General should have considered whether payments made to some Members of Parliament were enough, instead of raising issues with conflict of interest.

----citinewsroom
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 18:16:58|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Turkish and Russian troops conduct their 12th joint patrol along a key highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria, on May 20, 2020. The two countries have accelerated the frequency of the patrolling activities in the area and have been holding at least one patrol once a week in Idlib, the last stronghold of the rebels. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish and Russian troops conducted their 12th joint patrol along a key highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria, the Turkish defense ministry said on Wednesday.

"Within the framework of TUR-RF Agreement/Protocol, the 12th TUR-RF Combined Land Patrol on M-4 Highway in Idlib was conducted with the participation of land and air elements," the ministry tweeted.

The two countries have accelerated the frequency of the patrolling activities in the area and have been holding at least one patrol once a week in Idlib, the last stronghold of the rebels. The eleventh joint patrol was carried out on May 14.

The key M4 highway, located about 30 km away from the southern border of Turkey, links Aleppo to Latakia in Syria.

On March 5, Turkey and Russia sealed a deal to maintain a temporary cease-fire for "all military actions along the line of contact in the Idlib de-escalation area" and envisaged the establishment of a security corridor six km to the north and six km to the south of the M4 highway, after nearly 60 Turkish soldiers were killed in escalated tensions between the Syrian government and Turkish troops in the region.

Joint Turkish-Russian patrols began on March 15 along the M4 highway as part of the deal. Enditem
(CNN)  By now, you've likely heard the main pieces of advice to avoid the coronavirus.

Wear a mask. Wash your hands with soap. Stay at least 6 feet from others. If you do gather with others, go outside rather than inside.

Still, there's one more aspect to infection that has received less attention. Growing evidence suggests that Covid-19 infection, like with other illnesses, is related to prolonged time exposed to the virus. The longer you stay in an environment that may contain the virus, the higher the risk of getting sick.

Erin Bromage, a comparative immunologist and professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, summed it up with a short and sweet equation: "Successful Infection = Exposure to Virus x Time."

Bromage's simplified formula was part of a recent blog post explaining ways to lower your risk of catching Covid-19 that has been read over 15 million times in the past two weeks, he told CNN.

The main idea is that people get infected when they are exposed to a certain amount of viral particles. That viral threshold can be reached by an infected person's sneeze or cough, which releases a large number of viral particles into the air. But an infected person talking or even just breathing still releases some virus into the air, and over a long period of time in an enclosed space, that could still infect others.

"The longer time you spend in that environment  so minutes or hours in there  the more virus you breathe in, the more it can build up and then establish infection," Bromage said. "So it's always a balance of exposure and time. If you get a high level of exposure, it's a short time (to infection, and if you get a) low level of exposure, it's a longer time before that infection can establish."

The importance of time exposed to a virus is relevant for all infectious diseases, from measles to tuberculosis to Covid-19, said Dr. Kent Sepkowitz, an infectious disease specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Indeed, it's the underlying theory behind contact tracing, which tries to locate and contact anyone who has spent prolonged time near an infected person.

Bromage said his simple formula suggests that a short shopping trip comes with a comparatively low risk of infection  but employees in those same stores for eight-hour shifts have a higher risk.

"Even if there is virus in that environment, you hopefully haven't had that extended time needed to get to that infectious dose. The employees, though, are in that environment all day," he said. "So what wouldn't infect you and I because it didn't get to that infectious dose number, has a much stronger effect or larger effect on an employee that gets that low dose all day."

Gym class, restaurant and choir practice as examples

Several case studies of Covid-19 outbreaks over the past few months show the dangers of spending a long time in an enclosed space with an infected person, including at a choir practice in Washington state, a restaurant in China and a fitness studio in South Korea.

In Washington state, a single infected person attended a two-and-a-half hour choir practice on March 10, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 61 attendees, 53 people, or 87% of the group, developed Covid-19 afterward, the report said.

No one reported physical contact between the attendees at the practices, but they sat close together. The report said the chairs were 6-10 inches apart, but there were empty seats between some of the members. The choir broke into two groups for part of the practice, and members moved closer together for that 45-minute session, they said.

Another example of the dangers of prolonged exposure came at a restaurant in Guangzhou, China, on January 24. Over lunch that lasted about an hour, an infected person spread the virus to four people at their table, two people at a nearby table and three people at another nearby table.

The study concluded that the transmission of the virus was prompted by air-conditioned ventilation at the restaurant and recommended restaurants increase the distance between tables as well as improve their ventilation.

Finally, researchers in South Korea linked more than 100 coronavirus infections to a four-hour fitness instructor workshop from mid-February, according to research published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal from the CDC.

Almost 30 instructors participated in the original workshop, which was held in Cheonan, South Korea. They trained intensely for four hours, and while none had symptoms at the time, eight instructors eventually tested positive for the virus.

Less than a month later, researchers had identified 112 coronavirus cases linked to dance classes in a dozen different facilities. Half of the cases were the result of direct transmission from instructors to students, and some people went on to infect others outside of class.

The classes linked to transmission had between five to 22 students and took place in small spaces for almost an hour. Out of 217 students exposed to infected instructors, 57 of them, or about one in four, ended up testing positive.

How long is too long?

Because experimenting with viruses on humans is unethical, data is limited on exactly how much exposure and time are needed for an infection. The number also varies by person, as older or immuno-compromised people have lower thresholds to infection.

"Data are insufficient to precisely define the duration of time that constitutes a prolonged exposure," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website. "Recommendations vary on the length of time of exposure but 15 min of close exposure can be used as an operational definition."

Sepkowitz similarly said that shorter exposure times are safer, but there is no hard and fast rule for how long is too long.

"Everyone has a little bit of risk per minute, and it's a cumulative thing," he said.

The other part of Bromage's equation  the issue of "exposure to virus"  also varies depending on the actions within that enclosed space. For example, he said that louder places are riskier because infected people emit more virus when they talk loudly or when they sing, such as in the chorus case study in Washington.

Quieter places with fewer airborne particles may also be lower risk. In the South Korea fitness case study, one of the infected instructors taught Pilates and yoga, and none of her students contracted the virus.

"We hypothesize that the lower intensity of Pilates and yoga did not cause the same transmission effects as those of the more intense fitness dance classes," the researchers said.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Staying safe isn't just about hygiene and distance. It's about time, too."
Australian dating shows will drastically change following the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's expected that local networks will follow the strict safety precautions that several European production companies have now implemented on shoots overseas.

Social distancing on set, constant temperature checks and plexiglass walls between the cast and crew are just some of the changes, which will ruin all of the romance.

They'll be none of this! Australian dating shows will drastically change following the COVID-19 pandemic. Pictured: Locky Gilbert shooting The Bachelor on March 9 before filming stopped

The German and Finnish versions of Temptation Island are set to start filming in Europe in June, with bosses now finalising safety measures, Variety report.

Other precautions include quarantining the cast and crew before filming, having people wear masks and gloves on set, as well as daily temperature checks.

Vehicles and control rooms will also have plexiglass walls installed, in a bid to keep people apart from each other and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Safety first: It's expected that networks will follow the safety precautions European production companies have implemented overseas. Pictured: MAFS Elizabeth Sobinoff and Seb Guilhaus

In Australia, The Bachelor is likely to resume filming in the coming weeks.

Production was halted in Sydney in March with Locklan 'Locky' Gilbert, the crew and contestants all returning to their homes across Australia to self-isolate.

It was initially claimed Locky would have virtual dates with the girls during this time to maintain their connection, but he was recently spotted growing close to Married At First Sight's Aleks Markovic in Perth. She claims they're 'just friends'.

The Bachelorette always starts filming immediately after The Bachelor wraps. Both show are filmed in the same Oxford Falls mansion on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Wow! Social distancing on set, temperature checks and plexiglass walls between the cast and crew are just some of the changes that'll ruin all romance. Pictured: Love Island Au 2019 cast

Married At First Sight is currently casting for the 2021 season.

Filming was meant to start in late August before shooting the weddings in early September, but it is believed things have now been delayed.

It is currently unclear what the future holds for Love Island Australia. ITV recently announced the UK version of the show is cancelled this year.
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

When the new iteration of old school French restaurant Taix reopens in Echo Park, it may be a shell of its former self  and not because of coronavirus.

In the summer of 2019, owner Michael Taix sold the restaurant to real estate developer Holland Property Group. At the time, he told the Los Angeles Times business had been declining while costs had ballooned, and areas of the 18,000-square-foot space, such as the ballroom, sat mostly unused.

Via an application filed with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Urbanize LA this week revealed what might take Taix's place  a six-story development with 13,000 square feet of retail space, 170 apartments (24 of which will be restricted affordable units) and a 220-car basement garage.

First look at the mixed-use apartment building slated to rise at the site of Taix in Echo Park. The French restaurant is slated to reopen on the ground floor of the new development. https://t.co/ugANspBzP0 pic.twitter.com/xSSv3b6Kne  Urbanize LA (@UrbanizeLA) May 18, 2020

The proposed development is comprised of two separate structures linked by pedestrian bridges. Taix will occupy a 6,000-square-foot space on the ground floor of one of them, alongside several other restaurants and retail establishments.

It's a massive change from the current French Revival-style structure which has been home to Taix since 1962.

I'm no architecture critic, so this is just my gut reaction as a frequent and avid diner. Visually, the bland, boxy development is so aggressively charmless, it's hard to believe it was designed by an architecture firm. It was.

Sure, all things change. Tastes, culture, real estate, neighborhoods. And Los Angeles needs all the residential units it can get. But do these developments have to be so uniformly ugly? Do we need yet another shining example of McUrbanism? (We can't take credit for that term.)

In recent years, most people weren't going to Taix for the food. They were going for the ambiance. Taix was a perfect spot to sink into a chair and cozy up while sipping a martini or slurping a bowl of onion soup.

If you're not going to keep any of that, if you're going to replace it with some slick generic nonsense, you might as well drop the name Taix and call it Another Corporate Gastropub You Can Forget About Two Minutes After Finishing Your Overpriced IPA.

The exterior of Taix French Restaurant, located at 321 Commercial St. in downtown Los Angeles. City Hall and the U.S. Courthouse and Post Office are visible in the background. Circa 1956. (Security Pacific National Bank Collection/Los Angeles Public Library Collection)

Taix (pronounced "tex") is one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles. It opened in 1882 as Taix French Bread Bakery at 321 Commercial Street. Back then, the area surrounding the old plaza was a hub for French immigrants. Over the decades, the bakery expanded and became a hotel with a full restaurant.

In 1962, "Les Freres Taix" opened in Echo Park. Two years later, the original restaurant was razed to make way for an office building, and the Sunset Blvd. establishment became Taix.

It would be great if Holland Property Group had understood what made Taix special and cared enough to hold onto some of that but real estate has no room for sentimentality.

Aside from maybe a few pictures on the walls as a nod to the establishment's history, does this new iteration of Taix even deserve the name?


Libyan National Army says it is withdrawing to ease conditions for Tripoli residents at the end of Ramadan.

Renegade military commander Khalifa Haftars Libyan National Army (LNA) said on Wednesday that it was pulling back from all Tripoli front lines, calling into question their ability to sustain a year-long offensive aimed at seizing the capital.

The LNA announced overnight it was withdrawing 2-3km (1-2 miles) to ease conditions for Tripoli residents at the end of Ramadan, but the move follows the loss on Monday of a key airbase.

The eastern forces setbacks underscore the shifting dynamics of the conflict since Turkey intensified its intervention in January, to help the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) stave off Haftars assault.

Libya has been split since 2014 between rival factions based in Tripoli and in the east, in a sometimes-chaotic war that has drawn in outside powers and a flood of foreign arms and mercenaries.

Backed by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Egypt, the LNA still holds all of eastern Libya and much of the south, including most oil facilities, but its presence in the northwest, where Libyas population is concentrated, has come under intense pressure.

The GNA last month took a string of small towns linking Tripoli to the Tunisian border. On Monday, it took al-Watiya, the LNAs only airbase near Tripoli and a significant strategic prize. On Tuesday, it took three small towns to the southwest.

On Wednesday morning, clashes rocked Asaba, south of Tripoli, while rockets struck the LNAs most important stronghold in the region, the town of Tarhouna, a witness told Reuters News Agency.

Last month, GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said capturing Tarhouna would end Haftars campaign to seize Tripoli, but that the fighting in the capital was the priority.

The LNA military source told Reuters that in Tripoli the LNA had completed a gradual withdrawal from the Salahedin battlefront, one of the main theatres of fighting in the capital.

Residential areas, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in Tripoli have been bombarded frequently for months.

Calls for de-escalation

Meanwhile on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed their concern about the worsening foreign interference in Libya and agreed on the need for urgent de-escalation, the White House said.

Addressing the Security Council on Tuesday, the UNs acting Libya envoy warned of a new escalation in the conflict and urged pressure on countries backing the warring sides.

However, diplomatic efforts to negotiate a political settlement have made little headway, as more foreign fighters and weapons systems have poured in despite months of near impasse following Haftars initial offensive last year.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, his supporters, the UAE and Russia, issued separate calls for a ceasefire and political solution to the conflict.

Previous ceasefires have been short-lived, and the GNA has accused the LNA and its allies of using truces to build up military supplies and prepare for new attacks.

At al-Watiya, the GNA says it seized a Russian-made Pantsir air defence system supplied to the LNA by the UAE. It says it has put several others out of action with air raids in recent days, which the LNA has denied.

Turkish drones and air defences appear to have played a key role in GNA advances in recent weeks, with repeated claims of attacks on LNA supply chains from the east.

Ankaras Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that as a result of Turkish training and advice the balance in Libya changed significantly.
Brazil's daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and US leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazil's confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.

Bolsonaro told website Blog do Magno that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now. Bolsonaro added that his mother is 93 years old, and he keeps a box of chloroquine on hand should she need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on Tuesday: "I don't want people coming over here and infecting our people. I don't want people over there sick either. We're helping Brazil with ventilators ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it."

Pan American Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned about the virus' spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.
At a ceremony in Hanoi on May 19, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) Dang Minh Khoi handed over VND4.6 billion (nearly US$197,000) presented by individuals and organisations of OVs to the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee.

Also at the ceremony, the COVA received 50,000 face masks that the VFF Central Committee sent to OVs in the US who are facing difficulties due to the pandemic.

Deputy FM Khoi said OVs all over the world have warmly responded to the call of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, the appeal of the Presidium of the VFF Central Committee and the directive of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and raised support for efforts to fight COVID-19 in Vietnam.

He stressed that the meaningful support reflects the tradition of solidarity, the patriotic spirit and the compassion of the OV community abroad.

President of the VFF Central Committee Tran Thanh Man announced that the VFF has so far received over VND2 trillion worth of support in both cash and kind donated by agencies, businesses, organisations and individuals both in and outside the country.

Initial statistics of the COVA showed OVs have donated more than VND34 billion and large volume of medical supplies as of May 19.
Empower enters into a term sheet to acquire an interest in the global royalty rights of Dosed Movie, launches Dosed Wellness, a psychedelics brand, launches new dedicated website www.dosedwellness.com and adds new team members dedicated to the new brand.

VANCOUVER BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE:CBDT)(OTCQB:EPWCF)(Frankfurt:8EC) ("Empower" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated life sciences company, is pleased to announce it has entered into a non-binding term sheet with Golden Teacher Films Inc. ("Golden") to acquire a 10% interest in certain royalty rights, intellectual property rights and interest in Dosed Movie ("DOSED"), an award-wining documentary film about treating anxiety, depression and addiction with psychedelic medicine.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company intends to issue $75,000.00 CAD of common shares in the capital of Empower (each, a "Share") plus an aggregate payment of $25,000.00 CAD to the Vendors at the Closing. Further, the principals of Golden, Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers will be offered consulting contracts to join the management team of Dosed Wellness Ltd.

The Company also announces the launch of a dedicated psychedelics division Dosed Wellness Ltd. ("Dosed Wellness") and a new dedicated website www.dosedwellness.com that will leverage the operating assets of Empower. Dosed Wellness is uniquely positioned as an early mover in the psychedelics space with a network of physicians and clinics, advanced research opportunities, telehealth capabilities, and a growing base of over 165,000 patients.

The mental health crisis could cost the world $16 trillion by 2030 and according to Future Market Insights; the global behavioral health (non-pharmacological) market is expected to be valued at US$156 billion by 2028.

"Widespread legalization of psilocybin and psychedelics is inevitable, as clinical research is showing these compounds are uniquely useful for treating mental illness and addiction." said Tyler Chandler, Director of DOSED. "Since billions of people worldwide suffer from these conditions, we need to establish infrastructure and patient-care competencies to serve this population as soon as the law allows. We're thrilled to align with Empower Clinics, which has the strategic vision, existing client base and clinic network to continue to lead the plant-based medicine industry."

"The opportunity to partner with DOSED to help bring down stigmas and advance the science of psychedelic treatment options is a meaningful step forward to vastly improving the mental wellness outcome for millions of people around the world." said Steven McAuley, Chairman and CEO of Empower. "Now, with the additions of Tyler and Nick on our new management team, we will leverage their substantial psychedelics experience and network to take full advantage of Empowers' clinic infrastructure, technology and access to patients."

According to the World Health Organization depression is already the leading cause of disability worldwide (more than 322 million people suffer from depression) and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.

Both MDMA and psilocybin, combined with a course of therapy, have received Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the FDA in the US, which means both are one step closer to licensing approval.

"Our team is well connected in the psychedelic space and our expertise on the media side will help elevate the Empower brand. We're also excited that Empower Clinics is acquiring an interest in DOSED, as their promotion of the film will help educate millions of people about the opportunities inherent in psychedelic medicine." said Nicholas Meyers, Producer of DOSED. "When people see Adrianne's inspiring and eye-opening journey in DOSED, they'll want to know how to access these treatments, which is precisely the problem Empower Clinics is positioned to solve as we move towards clinical trials and legalization."

Psychedelic medicines derived from or inspired by plants and fungi found in nature have the potential to redefine how mental health conditions could be treated over the course of the next decade. Prohibition Partners Psych: The Psychedelics as Medicine Report March 2020

ABOUT EMPOWER

Empower is a vertically integrated health & wellness brand with a network of corporate and franchised health & wellness clinics in the U.S. The Company is building its first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility and produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products. The Company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The Company has launched Dosed Wellness Ltd. to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies, psilocybin and other psychedelic plant-based treatment options. The Company now offers COVID-19 testing options in the United States and physician-based consultations, to address COVID-19 concerns.

About Dosed Movie

After many years of prescription medications failing her, a suicidal woman turns to underground healers to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine such as magic mushrooms and iboga. Adrianne's first dose of psilocybin mushrooms catapulted her into an unexpected world of healing where plant medicines are redefining our understanding of mental health and addiction. DOSED is directed and produced by Tyler Chandler and Nicholas Meyers is producer and director of photography. Visit www.dosedmovie.com to rent or own DOSED.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuley

Chief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Investors: Steven McAuley

Chairman & CEO

s.mcauley@empowerclinics.com

604-789-2146

Investors: Dustin Klein

SVP, Business Development

dustin@svmmjcc.com

720-352-1398

For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: rs@maricom.ca, T: (888) 585-MARI

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release.Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as "plans", "continues", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the Company's expected timing of filing of its Annual Filings, the Company's intention to create psilocybin and psychedelics divisions, that market research on advancements in psilocybin and psychedelics in North America and globally will create greater shareholder value, the Company's intention to open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits for Empower's patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the Company's patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019 and beyond; the ability of the Company to complete or execute phases One, Two, Three or Four of COVID-19 test programs, and Psychedelic substances remain illegal in most countries, so please reference your local laws in relation to medical or recreational use. Such statements are only projections, are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company's business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other factors beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable laws.

SOURCE: Empower Clinics Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590635/Empower-Signs-Term-Sheet-to-Acquire-Interest-in-Dosed-Movie-and-Launches-New-Psychedelics-Company-Dosed-Wellness-Ltd
Bolivia's health minister was arrested on suspicion of corruption related to the over-priced purchase of ventilators to fight COVID-19, then fired by interim President Jeanine Anez, officials said Wednesday. Marcelo Navajas was detained by police in La Paz, police Colonel Ivan Rojas said, a day after Anez ordered an investigation into the shady purchase. Two other health ministry officials have also been arrested. Anez is facing her biggest corruption scandal in six months in power and a fierce wave of criticism over her handling of the crisis. Bolivia bought 179 ventilators from a manufacturer in Spain for $27,683 each, costing almost $5 million, a purchase funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. But it later transpired that the manufacturer was offering ventilators for around half that price - 9,500-11,000 euros each ($10,312-$11,941). Another Spanish company acted as an intermediary. Anez said on Twitter that Bolivia had already sent more than $2 million to pay for the ventilators but "will no pay one more cent." She said she was committed to "recovering the money of Bolivians." The scandal came to light at the end of last week when intensive care doctors complained that the ventilators were not suitable for Bolivian intensive care units. Anez "decided to remove the health minister" to "avoid any interference in the work of the law," said the government's communications chief Isabel Fernandez. Bolivia has reported 4,500 COVID-19 cases and 190 deaths. On March 17, the government closed the landlocked South American country's borders and instigated a general lockdown. The socially and political conservative Anez took office on November 12, one day after leftist president Evo Morales (2006-2019) resigned following days of violent unrest. A photo from the Bolivian government press agency ABI shows Bolivian Health Minister Marcelo Navajas (R) and Bolivian Government Minister Arturo Murillo (L) during the handing of 15 new respirators at a hospital in Santa Cruz, Bolivia on May 19, 2020
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico will host a virtual event Thursday, with journalist and author Florence Williams, writer of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative.

The author will be joined by Terry Sullivan, the New Mexico state director for the Nature Conservancy.

Williams lived in Colorado and Montana for 20 years before moving to Washington, D.C. She said she initially felt very stressed out by the city.

The journalist traveled to Japan, Scandinavia, Scotland and Singapore to interview neuroscientists and psychologists who study how spending time in nature can reduce stress and improve heart health.

Everywhere there has been this explosion of science looking at this issue, Williams said. People are recognizing how cut off we are from the natural world, and what kind of implications that has on our brains and our bodies.

For Williams, connecting with nature is especially relevant during the pandemic. She said she copes with stress by visiting the Potomac River each day.

We need the comforts of nature, we need the calming effects of nature, we need the feeling that were connected to something larger than ourselves, Williams said. I think we can also find comfort in the metaphors of nature. There are cycles of life. Things grow back, spring comes and birds keep singing. Nature really helps us slow down and discover whats important.

The virtual event will be hosted on Zoom from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain Time, and will include a question-and-answer session. Participants can register for Thursdays free event by visiting nature.org and searching for TNC TV: Thriving with Nature. Event details can also be found on the New Mexico Nature Conservancy Facebook page.
As Cyclone Amphan barrels towards South Asia, communities are taking action to stay safe. Heavy rainfall, high winds and storm surges threaten coastal communities in Bangladesh and India. While Myanmar is not in the cyclones direct path, heavy rain, strong winds and storm surges are expected to affect northern parts of the country, including Rakhine state.

In Bangladesh, the super cyclonethe strongest ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal is forecast to make landfall near poor, densely populated areas with unreliable infrastructure. Thousands of Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers have spent the past days warning families of the incoming threat, helping people in coastal areas to evacuate and preparing relief stocks.

In Bangladeshs low-lying deltas, many communities are only accessible by small brick paths. Local volunteers are using bicycles, motorbikes, 3-wheeled rickshaws or walking by foot with megaphones in hand, urging families to take the threat seriously, pack what they need and get to safety.

Storm preparedness and relief efforts are complicated by the presence of the coronavirus. In Bangladesh, the government has asked people to arrive at evacuation centers with their own masks. Authorities have prepared more than 12,000 evacuation sheltersthree times as many as in previous yearsto help ensure physical distancing and other COVID-19 hygiene measures. In India, coronavirus quarantine centers are already being shifted further inland to accommodate the cyclone evacuees.

Bangladesh faces regular cyclone threats, so the American Red Cross and the Bangladesh Red Crescent have been training people on first aid for yearsin preparation for cyclone season and other weather emergencies. Equipping community members with lifesaving skills means they can be their own first responders when disasters strike. See photos of a disaster simulation here.

In Coxs Bazar, refugees prepare for the worst

While the cyclone is not currently forecast to make a direct hit on the Coxs Bazar district, heavy rain and strong winds are raging and could cause major damage to refugees temporary shelters, which sit on muddy hills near the Myanmar/Bangladesh border.

Volunteerswho are refugees themselveshave been sharing early warnings and going door-to-door to ease fears. They are reminding people to strengthen their shelters by tying down roofs and laying sand bags to the edges of their homes to prevent flooding.

Since settling in the Coxs Bazar camps more than two years ago, migrant families have been acutely aware of storm threatsexperiencing regular flooding and erosion that put lives at risk. The American Red Cross and Bangladesh Red Crescent have been preparing families in the camps through first aid training, information and materials to strengthen their temporary shelters and other lifesaving skills. The Red Cross and Red Crescent manage regular disaster simulations (see a short video, here)attended by thousands of refugeesthat remind people how to respond when a cyclone strikes.

In addition to cyclone preparedness, the Red Cross and Red Crescent has been doing everything in its power to mitigate spread of coronavirus in the campsincluding installing extra handwashing facilities, spreading hygiene messages and helping textile businesses pivot to mask-making. Despite efforts, the camps confirmed their first case of coronavirus last week. In the crowded camp, where physical distancing can be hard to maintain, the virus presents yet another challenge to peoples daily lives.

For regular updates, follow @IFRCAsiaPacific

The American Red Cross has spokespersons on the ground and AV materials available upon request.
A federal judge has refused to halt a class-action suit against President Donald Trump and his family alleging they promoted a pyramid scheme.

Judge Lorna G Schofield in Manhattan denied the Trump family request on Monday for a stay while they challenged a previous ruling for the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, led by four anonymous plaintiffs, claimed that Mr Trump and his children Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump, and Ivanka Trump were guilty of fraud and false advertising by promoting a multilevel marketing company called American Communications Network (ACN). In exchange, the Trump family allegedly received millions of dollars in secret payments.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was initially filed in October 2018, also claimed the promotion by the Mr Trump and his children of ACN encouraged them to invest hundreds of dollars into the company, but they never reaped any benefit from the investment.

"The Trumps conned each of these victims into giving up hundreds or thousands of dollars  losses that many experienced as a devastating and life-altering," the lawsuit claimed. "Surely the Trumps dismissed these amounts (and the lives they wrecked) as trivial. But by defrauding so many for so long, the Trumps made millions."

Ms Schofield cited the Trump team's unsuccessful bid to force the case into arbitration as a reason why an appeal would not work. Other factors were also considered when coming to her decision

"Weighing the two 'most critical' factors  likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm  against each other, any prejudice that Defendants and ACN may suffer from proceeding with the litigation during the pendency of the appeal does not outweigh the strong likelihood that Defendants and ACN will not succeed on appeal," the judge wrote.

The president's team of lawyers argued the plaintiffs had no legal standing and asked for the case to move to arbitration to protect a majority of it from the public eye.

But the judge denied the motion, and the Trump team since appealed her decision.

In March, the judge ordered the Trump team to provide 15 years of detailed documents relating to the case, which encouraged the lawyers to ask for arbitration.
The recordings played at the news conference Tuesday shed relatively little new light on Bidens actions in Ukraine, which were at the center of President Trumps impeachment last year. They show that Biden, as he has previously said publicly, linked loan guarantees for Ukraine to the ouster of the countrys prosecutor general in 2015. But Derkach used the new clips to make an array of accusations not proven by the tapes.
CHICAGOIntensive care unit nurse Raquel Rocky Collanto is 63 and cares for her 91-year-old mother, so when COVID-19 patients began to arrive at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, her supervisor offered her options. Collanto could transfer to another department or to a different ICU unit where there would be less risk of exposure to the potentially deadly virus.

Collanto thought about it; the virus scares her.

But then she thought about the young nurses in her unit, the ones who call her mom. They were so full of energy and compassion, and they all wanted to stay and fight.

I will stay with my team, she said.

The Old Dolls, a group of ICU nurses in their 50s and older, were a local legend at Northwestern even before COVID-19 struck. And in the days that followed, the 10 who remain in the ICU after 30 years or more have continued to care for some of the citys sickest patients despite being in an age bracket that puts them at added risk from the virus.

Four are now working directly with COVID-19 patients, and all are playing vital roles in the intensive care units, both as caregivers and supervisors, and as work moms for younger nurses.

I feel like they are such a symbol of hope, ICU nurse Katherine Glaser, 23, said of the Old Dolls she works with.

Its difficult going to work and not really knowing what youre going to face that day, so having them there, being able to really fall back on them is really, really nice.

Members of the Old Dolls, originally a group of about two dozen, trace their origins to the 1980s and 1990s at Northwestern. Even then, doll was an old-school term of endearment, and the Dolls  hard-charging health care professionals in their 30s  werent big fans of the term.

But some recall that a fellow nurse, an older man, insisted on using it.

Hey doll, come help me here, he might say to a female nurse.

We were like, Oh my gosh, why is he saying that? recalled ICU nurse Andrea Baer, 58, the youngest of the 10 remaining Old Dolls.

I think that played a role (Old Dolls) was sort of an homage to that old-fashioned nurse who was not at all P.C.

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.

I grew up with everybody, from my 20s, to my 30s, 40s, 50s, said Old Doll Cindy Pascalo, 60, a nurse in the medical intensive care unit.

We raised children together. We lost parents together. And just the work ethic: In my unit, everybody helps everybody, so youre never feeling alone.

Both Pascalo and another Old Doll, Linda Michna, 61, have daughters who became nurses at Northwestern.

When the coronavirus crisis came, the Old Dolls got the option to work in non-COVID ICUs, according to Jaime Hosler, a patient care manager at Northwestern.

But four of the Old Dolls opted to work with COVID-19 patients, and all continued to anchor the ICU units, with more than 300 years of combined experience.

Theyve been so vital to leading our workforce through these crazy times, said Hosler. They are the true leaders of our hospital.

Pascalo has worked directly with dozens of COVID-19 patients as a code nurse whotransfers patients in crisis to the ICU. She feels safe, she said, because staff members are following safety guidelines and wearing recommended protective gear.

The level of (patient) suffering is 100 times what Im used to, Pascalo said of COVID-19. The hardest part is they cant have visitors. I cant imagine having a loved one in the hospital and not even be able to console them or sit by their bedside.

She said the crisis is like nothing shes seen as an intensive care nurse. And the Old Dolls have seen a lot, including the beginning of the AIDS crisis, when no one knew how HIV was transmitted, but intensive care nurses suited up and cared for very ill patients.

The defining thing about COVID-19, she said, is that so many patients are getting so ill so fast.

But there are also success stories: Pascalo treated a young man who was very sick, very scared and expecting a child with his pregnant wife.

Dont worry, Pascalo said, making two promises to the young man that she felt she could actually keep: Were going to take care of you. Were going to make you comfortable.

The man got extremely ill and had to be sedated and put on a ventilator, but he recovered and was able to transfer out of the virus unit.

Collanto said that, with COVID-19, she can sometimes see the fear in the faces of younger nurses. She feels fear herself: Its really scary.

The most fear that I have is for my family, she said. My mom is older, but I have my own room  we have an extra room where I stay. I use another bathroom. I change my clothes in the garage, and we have working shoes that stay in the unit.

And now, more than ever, being a nurse feels like a calling, she said. Her younger co-workers have cancelled their time off, or come to work after the pandemic led them to postpone their weddings.

Everyone is in the unit right now. No one is on vacation, she said. I think that keeps me going: to see these kids that are really willing to help out.
By Elliott Ruga

State Senator Ron Rice is crying foul that Senate President Sweeney hasnt appointed any black or Latino legislators to work on Gov. Phil Murphys COVID-19 Economic Recovery Panel. If thats a case to be made, Senator Rice should be the last person to make it while he continues to block Governor Murphys nomination of Wynnie-Fred Victor Hinds to the Highlands Council.

Ms. Victor Hinds would be the first person of color on the council since Tahesha Way, the current secretary of state, resigned from the Highlands Council in 2008 to become an administrative law judge.

The Highlands Council is a regional authority, mandated by the 2004 Highlands Act to guide planning in the water resource-rich Highlands region of northwest New Jersey. Newark, where Ms. Victor Hinds resides, and whose legislative district Senator Rice represents, has never been represented on the Highlands Council, despite the city being the largest landowner in the Highlands.

Newark owns 35,000 acres of the states best quality forests, which buffer the five reservoirs that provide drinking water to Newark and many surrounding towns. In fact, Newarks interest in maintaining water quality in the Highlands very much aligns with the objectives of the Highlands Act. Having Ms. Victor Hinds on the council would be a great benefit for Newark.

Why is Senator Rice blocking Ms. Victor Hindss appointment? As the co-chair of the Newark Environmental Commission, as a board member of NJ Clean Water Action, as a volunteer serving several organizations that advocate for environmental justice, and with an advanced degree in international relations from the New School, shes both smart and qualified.

In a conversation with Senator Rice in March, he explained that he is blocking all nominees from his district in solidarity with his Essex County colleague, Senator Nia Gill. He and Gill are unhappy with their Essex County Senate colleague, Theresa Ruiz, who is the deputy chief of staff for Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo. A powerful North Jersey party boss, DiVincenzo is aligned with Senator Sweeney, a powerhouse of the South Jersey Democrats. Rice and Gill believe Sweeney has too much control in Essex County.

In blocking Victor Hinds appointment, Senator Rice is exercising senatorial courtesy, the unwritten, but immutable provision, which holds that any senator whose district includes any part of the county that a nominee resides has the power to block that appointment, indefinitely, and without having to provide an explanation.

Unfortunately for Ms. Victor Hinds, she has six senators who could use her nomination as a cudgel to settle their political grievances. Ironically, the two Essex County Republican senators signed off on Ms. Victor Hinds almost immediately, including Joe Pennacchio, a vocal critic of the Highlands Act. Of the six senators, only Rice and Gill are still holding firm.

Governor Murphy nominated three individuals to the Highlands Council, all equally impressive. But the Senate Judiciary Committee, which must approve all gubernatorial nominees, will not consider any of the Highlands nominees until all have cleared senatorial courtesy.

These are very important appointments because the three members of the Highlands Council who were appointed by Governor Christie for the purpose of undermining the Highlands Council remain on the council. Since council members serve until replaced, the Highlands Council is frozen in time, still influenced by a former governor who strived to weaken the Highlands Act.

What are the options? Ms. Victor Hinds could withdraw from the nomination, allowing the other Highlands nominees to move forward. But that would unfairly deprive Ms. Victor Hinds of an opportunity to serve her community in a meaningful way. Or, Senators Rice and Gill could find some other means to settle their score, one that doesnt deny a talented constituent the opportunity to do great work that would also reflect positively on her community and doesnt put at risk the Highlands supply of clean drinking water that 6.2 million people in New Jersey depend upon.

It is the governors privilege to nominate members to the hundreds of state boards and commissions that are the agencies of the state, with the advice and consent of the Senate. His nominations to the Highlands Council are key to moving his environmental agenda forward. There is too much at stake to be bogged down by issues that have nothing to do with its merits of his nominees.

Elliott Ruga is the policy and communications director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

The Star-Ledger/NJ.com encourages submissions of opinion. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
By Juno McEnroe, Aoife Moore, and Paul Hosford

The HSE has suspended the practice of giving Covid-19 test results to employers ahead of workers, after concerns about breaches of confidentiality.

The emergence of results going to bosses ahead of workers triggered criticism and has sparked a data protection inquiry.

After health authorities also had mixed views of the practice, the HSE decided last night to cease the practice.

In a statement, it said: In view of the concerns raised by some employees in relation to this issue, the HSE will reconsider the use of exceptions and has suspended the practice while we seek guidance from the Data Protection Commissioner.

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan last night said the issue of employers getting test results first was an important principle and anything else was a breach of confidentiality.

The controversy saw TDs at a special Covid-19 committee quiz health authorities over bosses getting results first in meat factories and nursing homes.

Dr Holohan and the chief executive of the HSE, Paul Reid, contradicted each other over employers receiving workers virus results.

It was revealed that the commissioner had received complaints in some cases of mass testing employees, management had received the employees results first.

Dr Holohan said the practice would be a breach of confidentiality, full stop. Employers should not be receiving results for employees.

In the afternoon committee session, Mr Reid said public health officials can make a judgement call on the issue, saying: There are exceptional cases where there is discretion and judgement call available for public health officials.

It also emerged the cost of the National Childrens Hospital could rise by 40% due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Speaking at the committee, head of the Construction Industry Federation Tom Parlon told Labour TD Duncan Smith he had been told by industry figures that the cost of the 1.7bn project could rise by 40%. That would add 680m to the already over-budget project.

The warning came as health authorities said there is a consistent suppression of Covid-19 in the community after an extra 51 cases of the virus were announced.

There were another 16 deaths bringing the number of fatalities to 1,561. Virus cases number are now 24,251.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted it

Read More:

The admission to a Fine Gael party meeting on Monday night comes as the Government scrambles to secure the reopening of childcare facilities, after a deal collapsed last week on the care of health workers children.

Mr Varadkar raised concerns that other European countries were opening schools and creches earlier.

According to party sources, he said the new target here to reopen creches by the end of June would take a lot of work and could be difficult with social distancing and fewer providers.

Members said Mr Varadkar said he does not want Ireland to be the last country in Europe reopening creches and schools, as it would reflect badly on us.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The COVID-19 pandemic maintained a grip on much of Canada on Tuesday even as at least three provinces stepped up their efforts to resume the trappings of life prior to the outbreak.

Efforts to reopen more businesses in Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan were embraced only in part, with several stores indicating they were not in a position to observe the public health measures needed to operate in the post-pandemic era.

But despite the tentative economic steps forward, some jurisdictions extended their more aggressive protective measures. Ontario opted to cancel school for the rest of the academic year, while the federal government extended a planned border closure with the United States.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the decision to prolong the ban on non-essential travel between the two countries until June 21 was a necessary step to protect the health of people on both sides of the border.

Canada's top public health official also highlighted the need to keep borders closed and concentrate on ensuring the domestic situation is well in hand before welcoming outside visitors.

"We have to cautiously lift measures within our borders first just to see slowly what actually happens," Dr. Theresa Tam said at an early afternoon briefing. "We will want to see that cases are still suppressed. We're still going to manage, detect and clamp down on any new spots that might come up."

The U.S. has more than 1.5 million active cases of COVID-19, accounting for roughly 42 per cent of the world's active case load and well above the roughly 79,000 diagnoses documented in Canada.

The death toll south of the border crossed the 90,000 threshold over the weekend, while in Canada it stood at just over 5,900 as of Tuesday.

Canadian and American officials mutually agreed to the extended closure, which prohibits discretionary travel while permitting trade shipments, commerce and essential workers to flow in both directions.

One of the provinces hardest hit by COVID-19 also opted to continue with one major measure intended to curb the spread of the virus. Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province's schools would remain closed until at least September, noting overnight summer camps would also be shuttered for the upcoming season.

"I'm just not going to risk it," Ford said as he announced the move. "This wasn't an easy decision to make, but it was the right decision."

The Ontario government also extended emergency orders shuttering businesses such as libraries, restaurants and bars until May 29, also extending a ban on public gatherings of more than five people.

Word of the extended safety measures came as the province joined Saskatchewan and British Columbia in attempting to revive larger swaths of the local economy.

Retailers across Ontario began reopening their doors on Tuesday, though with significant physical distancing measures remaining in place to protect staff and shoppers.

Car dealerships and some outdoor recreation spaces were also included in the reopening, which marked Phase 1 of the province's gradual economic recovery plan.

Reopening efforts were more widespread in British Columbia, where a much larger number of businesses have been given the green light to resume operations if they're able to observe sound public health practices.

Those cleared to reopen on Tuesday included restaurants, cafes and pubs, retail and personal service establishments, libraries, museums and galleries, office spaces, child care facilities, parks and beaches.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's chief medical health officer, urged businesses to "take it slow" as they work towards operating in a world transformed by the pandemic.

In Saskatchewan, meanwhile, Phase 2 of the province's reopening plan went into effect as malls, salons, massage parlours and dentists offices were cleared to resume business. Some restrictions remain in place, however, with personal service workers being encouraged to wear protective gear and clothing stores discouraging customers from trying on their offerings.

Regina-based barber Jason Zalusky said longer service times, reduced store capacity and more stringent disinfection protocols mean his shop will only be able to handle about 60 per cent of its usual business levels.

"Theres a lot more work definitely for a lot less pay, but thats what we gotta do," he said. "I don't think its going to benefit many of us being open, but people are ready and they want it."
Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR)

Press Statement

Even as the world, including the Nagas, continue to frantically battle with the Corona Virus Pandemic, along with the world, side by side, the Government of India, continues to militarily wage war on innocent Naga civilians on one pretext or the other. While on the one hand, the Indian army in recent times have been aggressively intruding into Naga areas under the present Indian state of Manipur to launch operations against their aso-called insurgentsa - with whom they are in Ceasefire and Political negotiations. On the other hand, in another present Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh; Indian Army is ruthlessly engaged in kidnapping and torturing Naga civilians.

On the 14th of May 2020, personnel of the 19th Sikh Regiment under the Command of Col. D. K. Tiwari, arrested Nokchai Wangsu, from Pumao Village. He was taken to their Army Base Camp at Longding, where he was tortured and interrogated and released after sternly warning him not to disclose the incident to any person to which effect he was forced to sign on a paper without allowing him to know its contents.

Again the next day on the 15th of May 2020, the same group of Army personnel of the 19th Sikh Regiment picked up Jimphu Wangnow, also of Pumao Village, who was also beaten and tortured for no reason.

Following the inhuman act, on the 16th of May 2020, the Villagers of Pumao gathered at the house of the Village Chief to clarify the reasons for these atrocious acts and behaviour of the Indian Army personnel of the 19th Sikh Regiment, who also came to the meeting under the Command of Captain Preteek Dabas.

During the meeting, the personnel of the Indian Army started to panic when some of the villagers brought the victims to the meeting hall to have first hand information, and started leaving the meeting hall. Some of the villagers and specially the women folks tried to bring them back. But instead of coming back; they started opening fire, which infuriated some of the young people who also resorted to stone pelting. The Army personnel then trained their guns on the civilians and killed Mr. Lamdaan Lukham and injured several others in the process.

This version was fully corroborated by the Civil Administration who announced a compensation of 50,000/- Indian Rupees for the dead and 25,000/- Indian Rupees each for all those injured. The District Superintendent of Police also informed that an Enquiry has been initiated.

However, in a blatant lie to cover their misdeeds, the Indian Army through its Tezpur based Defence PRO Harsh Wardhan Pande, issued a statement saying; ainsurgents had open fire on the security forces using civilians as human shields and that the civilian had died in the crossfirea .

The Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) is fully aware that so many civil society organizations at the local levels as well as from the North Eastern region have condemned and sought for justice through various forms, including the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission of India. However, we are very pessimistic to expect any positive responses from Government agencies and institutions such as the NHRC which continue to function only as an eye-wash to the misdeeds of the Indian army operating in North East India, Jammu and Kashmir and other trouble-torn regions in different parts of India and as a window dressing to shield the inhuman and gruesome acts of the Government of India through its military might. Our memories are also still fresh when the National Human Rights Commission of India supported the upholding of the Armed Forces (Special Powers), Act a AFSPA, 1958, in the Supreme Court of India, during a hearing in July 1997, under Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights - Vrs - Union of India under a Petition filed for the Repeal of AFSPA.

NPMHR therefore calls upon the Indian Civil society Organizations, Democratic Rights institutions, Peopleas Movements as well as the international communities, United Nationas agencies and others, to take cognisance of these heinous atrocities of the Government of India, who have denied even the basic aright to lifea of the Naga people, leave alone the recognition of our people hood. The NPMHR also calls upon the Government of India albeit its inhuman track record to listen to its conscience and refrain from continuing its military bloddbath.

NPMHR also take this opportunity to express and extend our support and solidarity with the people of India, be it the people of Kashmir, the political prisoners, migrant workers, displaced people of developmental aggressions, trade unionists, forest people, farmers, fishermen and women, all those affected by anti-poor and anti-working class approach of the Govt. of India, the abandoned millions of toiling masses all across India, and all struggling peoples of the Indian sub-continent.

Issued by:-

Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights,

Dated Kohima the 20th of May 2020, Nagaland.
A further 16 people have died from Covid-19 the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) confirmed.

There have now been a total of 1,561 deaths in Ireland from the coronavirus.

51 new cases were also confirmed today by health authorities bringing the total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland to 24, 251.

Dr. Cillian De Gascun, Chair of the NPHET Expert Advisory Group said the figures indicate consistent suppression of Covid-19 within the community.

He said: "Despite broadening the case definition and increases in referrals the positivity rate has continued to decline. This indicates a consistent suppression of COVID-19 in the community."

A further breakdown of data provided by the HPSC shows:

57% are female and 43% are male

the median age of confirmed cases is 48 years

3,143 cases (13%) have been hospitalised

Of those hospitalised, 390 cases have been admitted to ICU

7,661 cases are associated with healthcare workers

Dublin has the highest number of cases at 11,759 (49% of all cases) followed by Kildare with 1,379 cases (6%) and then Cork with 1,372 cases (5%)

Of those for whom transmission status is known: community transmission accounts for 60%, close contact accounts for 37%, travel abroad accounts for 3%

Earlier today senior health officials appeared before the Oireachtas special committee on Covid-19.

They were discussing Ireland's response to the pandemic.

During these appearances, the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan and the Chief Executive of the HSE Paul Reid directly contradicted each other over employers receiving employees coronavirus results.

It was revealed that the Data Protection Commissioner had received complaints in some instances of mass testing employees, management had received the employee's results first.

When the news first broke during the morning session of Tuesday's committee, CMO Dr Tony Holohan said the practice would be a "breach of confidentiality, full stop. Employers should not be receiving results for employees.

In the afternoon session, Paul Reid, Chief Executive of the HSE, was pressed on the matter by Sinn Fein's Matt Carthy, who asked how many employers had been informed of their employees' test results before the employees themselves, and said that public health officials can make a "judgement call" on the issue.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said the government will shortly decide on how long the pandemic unemployment payment will continue for and at what level.

Mr Donohoe said he did not want the government to discriminate against women returning to work after maternity leave and that officials were addressing these concerns.

Asked about plans to extend the Covid-19 350 unemployment payment beyond June, Mr Donohoe said he knew the money was "important" for families and that the government was looking at the period and what amounts would be paid.
Under normal circumstances they make for perfect stay-cation destinations.

But residents in Scottish rural villages and glens have been urging visitors and those wishing to isolate there to stay away.

Signs and blockades have been erected on single track roads and normally popular destinations, with messages such as 'go home' and 'closed' written across them.

In the Lochaber community of Applecross, residents had placed a large notice along the famous Bealach na Ba road, part of the North Coast 500 route.

It read: 'Attention Visitors! Businesses are closed in Applecross. No food/drink available. Public toilets locked. No facilities. Community isolating  please respect.'

Residents in Scottish rural villages and glens have been urging visitors and those wishing to isolate there to stay away (pictured: Sign in Ross-shire)

Nothing to see here: Bales of hay at John O'Groats stop motorists from making a detour to the Caithness village famous for landmark photos

In the Lochaber community of Applecross, residents had placed a large notice along the famous Bealach na Ba road, part of the North Coast 500 route

Further north, locals in John O'Groats, Caithness, have placed hay bales, with the words 'closed' written across them, to block off the car park at the popular photo spot.

Near Towford, in Roxburghshire, a home-made sign asking visitors to go home to help stop the virus spreading yesterday.

At the A82 in Ballachulish, near Glencoe, there was a warning to tourists to go home.

A similar notice in Muthill, Perthshire, asked non-residents to 'turn around', with another friendly reminder at the village of Balquhidder, Stirlingshire.

A similar notice in Muthill, Perthshire, asked non-residents to 'turn around'

A Royal Mail post van drives past a home made sign asking the public to go home to help stop the spread of Covid-19 today near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders

Steer clear: Locals at Ballachulish, Lochaber, have made their views known to visitors

Balquhidder, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Residents in rural villages and glens have been urging visitors and those wishing to isolate there to stay away

It comes as angry villagers near a popular English beauty spot barricaded themselves in with makeshift roadblocks and plastic fences in a bid to fend off hoards of tourists amid the coronavirus crisis.

Residents living in the Lake District, in Cumbria, are putting out traffic barriers and industrial waste bins across roads - which is against the law - to stop walkers accessing parts of the national park.

Farmers in the area have also set up fake signs in a bid to keep visitors walking past their houses.

One sign in the village of Seathwaite, within the national park, claims there is 'No entry due to coronavirus'.

Another on the outskirts of nearby Keswick tells visitors the whole town is closed and to 'come back when we are open'.

Angry villagers in the popular Lake District, in Cumbria, have barricaded themselves in with makeshift roadblocks and plastic fences in a bid to fend off hoards of tourists amid the coronavirus crisis

Farmers in the area have also set up fake signs in a bid to keep visitors walking past their houses. Peter Edmondson (pictured), 65, is classed as a high-risk for coronavirus and is concerned about tourists walking near to his home

Mr Edmondson has put up a sign near to his home saying 'No entry' and urged visitors to 'please stay away'

One sign in the village of Seathwaite, within the national park, claims there is 'No entry due to coronavirus'

Another on the outskirts of nearby Keswick tells visitors the whole town is closed and to 'come back when we are open'

Covidiot 4X4 driver is fined for breaking lockdown after calling police to tow his stranded vehicle from a 'dangerous' mountain route A covidiot driver was fined for breaching lockdown after his 4X4 got stuck in the mud during an off-road spin down a 'dangerous' mountain trail. The motorist needed rescuing after going down a closed track running over mountains in the village of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog near Wrexham, north Wales. Countryside officers arrived to tow him free - and fined him for breaking 'stay home' coronavirus rules. Wrexham Rural Police tweeted: 'The occupants of this vehicle (whose decision-making is as good as their driving) have been reported for breaching covid regulations. Why... Just why.' The track was closed because of damage done by vehicles using the route for off-road adventures. The 4X4 driver needed rescuing after going down a closed track running over mountains in the village of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog near Wrexham, north Wales Social media users suggested officers leave the vehicle stuck there - saying getting stuck in the mud 'serves them right'. One said: 'I hope you made them walk home.' Another said: 'That's what you call karma'. Local councillor Trevor Bates said he was 'delighted' the police took action. He warned that the route is so dangerous, and those who go there are 'big boys playing with their toys'. He said: 'The police have done a good job up there but we still occasionally get people driving on there, often they are coming from outside the area. 'It is not safe, if you take a 4x4 on there you can easily end up at 45 degrees and some parts are so steep that if you go down you could be a goner. 'The last thing we want at this time is people having accidents on there. 'They have gone off the main track to get where they are, it's big boys playing with their toys. There's no mobile reception up there and if they had have got into trouble it would probably mean the air ambulance coming out. 'It is a time when resources are needed in the towns really.' Advertisement

The push-back from locals follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson easing coronavirus lockdown rules, allowing people to drive unlimited distances to take exercise.

But some residents are still living in fear of Covid-19 - particularly with Cumbria having one of the worst infection rates in the country, despite it being one of the most sparsely populated counties in England.

It has pushed the more concerned among the residents into taking extreme measures - including blocking off roads, which is an offence under the Highways Act.

Residents in other popular tourist areas, including St Ives, Cornwall, have used similar tactics to deter visitors, such as blocking up pathways.

In Keswick, a tiny hamlet in the Lake District National Park, with around a dozen homes, is at the base of one the main trails to England's highest mountain Scafell Pike.

In the summer thousands of walkers park along the road to scale the famous peak.

However villagers are scared the tourists could bring the coronavirus with them - and have erected the barriers to protect the vulnerable and elderly.

Pete Edmondson, whose family have run the farm in Seathwaite for 104 years, is classed as high risk.

The 65-year-old is missing part of his lung and suffered pneumonia as a child.

He said: 'As soon as the coronavirus started we put up signs and barriers to stop people coming through the farmyard.

'But people have no respect, they've been taking no notice whatsoever. It's really upsetting.

'I find it very threatening, it keeps going through my mind that if I got Covid-19 it would kill me.

'There's no consideration or respect for people who are at risk.'

Mr Edmondson says walkers are coming through his yard, and touching gates and styles without washing their hands.

'We can't close a public right of way without permission, but you must understand that this is our home,' he added.

Another local, who did not wish to be named, said they had had people from the Midlands knocking on their doors in the middle of the night last week.

She said: 'It was because they were lost.

''We don't want people like that coming through the farmyards. It's simple as.'

The reason we've got the barriers is to stop walkers coming through the yard.

'We've rerouted the footpath. You can still come and walk, we can't stop that now since Boris Johnson did his new announcement.'

Tourism bosses in the Lake District are also concerned about the relaxation of lockdown.

They've urged Brits to stay out of the national park and only exercise locally, despite the new rules.

Another sign reads 'residents only' and 'valley closed, GO HOME'

Is it illegal to block off a road in the UK? Wilfully obstructing a highway is an offence under the Highways Act 1980. The law states: 'If a person, without lawful authority or excuse, in any way wilfully obstructs the free passage along a highway he is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine.' The maximum fine for this offence is currently set at 1,000. If the person responsible is convicted of the offence and the obstruction can be moved, but continues, a court can demand that it be removed. If the person still does not comply, they are guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of an unlimited value. Advertisement

Richard Leafe, Lake District National Park chief executive, said: 'Please don't travel for the moment to the Lake District because of the impact that you will have on the local communities here.

'Cumbria already has a fairly high incidence of Covid, so there is real concern on the ground about large amounts of people coming back.'

The tourism boss also warned against daytrippers hiking and climbing in the fells.

'The further you go away from the road, the more likely you are to need to be rescued if you are unlucky enough to have an accident,' Mr Leafe added.

'That involves bringing out our volunteer mountain-rescue teams and putting those people at risk themselves - many of whom work for medical services in the NHS.'

Mr Edmondson says walkers are coming through his yard, and touching gates and styles without washing their hands

'So I'd really encourage people to exercise locally if they can.

'The National Park will be here, and we will invite people back as soon as it is safe to do so.'

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), who are the coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom, told the MailOnline it expects more visitors to beauty spots following the government changes to lockdown laws.

A spokesperson said: 'Forces will be assessing the impact of a likely increase to footfall in town centres and beauty spots in the coming days and weeks, alongside any crime intelligence they receive.

'We can generally expect to see more movement and activity from the public going forward and much of this will be lawful under the regulations.

'Police officers will use their discretion and judgement in all situations and will engage with people, encouraging them to return home if appropriate.'

'Officers will respond appropriately and will investigate concerns made by communities.

A block stopping people going down a pedestrian-only street in St Ives, Cornwall, asking them to use an alternative route instead to avoid vulnerable people

The spokesperson added: 'We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone and want to assist members of the public in navigating what the recent changes to the regulations now mean.'

Meanwhile bosses at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) have urged tourists to 'be conscious' when visiting beauty spots.

CLA President Mark Bridgeman said: 'We fully recognise that the nation will want to make the most of our beautiful countryside following lockdown restrictions being eased.

The push-back from locals comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson eased coronavirus lockdown rules, allowing people to drive unlimited distances to take exercise. Pictured: Rannerdale Knotss in the Lake District

'Those using the countryside should, especially under current circumstances, be conscious that it is also a place of work where the land, livestock, machinery, wildlife and environment must be respected.

'Following advice from Defra and Public Health England, we urge the public, when on their daily exercise, to maintain social distancing requirements, keep dogs away from livestock and leave gates as they find them.'

'We are also calling on the public to be pragmatic and avoid hot-spot tourist areas that are particularly busy this time of year. It's important that we all act responsibly and check car parks, for example, are open before travelling.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 12:49:38|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee voted on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Congressman John Ratcliffe to be the next director of national intelligence (DNI).

The vote was eight to seven, a straight party-line result from the Republican-led committee, sending the nomination to the Senate floor for a likely confirmation.

Ratcliffe, 54, was nominated again by President Donald Trump in February to be the nation's spy chief, several months after the Texas Republican's first nomination was withdrawn amid bipartisan concerns about his qualification.

First elected to the U.S. Congress, Ratcliffe sits on the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.

U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is currently the acting DNI.

The Trump administration's first DNI, Dan Coats,left the post in August 2019 after a tenure in which he conflicted with the White House on a number of national security issues.

The DNI serves as the head of the U.S. intelligence community. Enditem
Paleontologists have uncovered the remains of megaraptor that lived 70 million years ago, making it one of the last carnivorous dinosaur to roam the Earth.

Discovered in Argentina, the team found vertebrae, ribs and part of what would have been the dinosaur's chest and shoulder girdle.

After a further analysis, they determined the creature was approximately 33 feet in length -the largest megaraptor found to date.

Unlike the Tyrannosaurus rex, this lethal dinosaur had extremely long, muscular arms with massive claws at the end that were used to attack prey.

Scroll down for video

Paleontologists have uncovered the remains of megaraptor that lived 70 million years ago, making it one of the last carnivorous dinosaur to roam the Earth

When the megaraptor was first described in 1997, it was thought to be a relative of the viscous velociraptor, but has since been disputed - scientists have uncovered evidence that shows the claw was from the thumb and not the foot like the smaller dinosaur

The fossils were found in the southern province of Santa Cruz during a month-long dig in Estancia La Anita, which contains Cretaceous-era deposits.

The excavation team was led by Fernando Novas from the Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires.

'This is the moment, 65 million years ago, when the extinction of the dinosaurs occurs, and this new megaraptor that we now have to study would be one of the last representatives of this group,' Novas told Reuters.

The team used a range of techniques to pull the remains from the dusty ground, including a chain saw to free one large bone and hammers to chisel away debris.

Discovered in Argentina, the team found vertebrae, ribs and part of what would have been the dinosaur's chest and shoulder girdle. After a further analysis, they determined the creature was approximately 33 feet in length -the largest megaraptor found to date

Novas noted that 'this new megaraptor that we now have to study would be one of the last representatives of this group' before the dinosaurs became extinct.

The megaraptor, although smaller in size compared to the Tyrannosaurus rex, had long, muscular arms that it used to attack and hunt with -it was also slimmer and more agile.

It had massive claws that stretched nearly 15 inches, allowing it to easily grab other creatures.

This new megaraptor that we now have to study would be one of the last representatives of this group' before the dinosaurs became extinct, the researchers said

The megaraptor, although smaller in size compared to the Tyrannosaurus rex, had long, muscular arms that it used to attack and hunt with -it was also slimmer and more agile

With its enormous muscles and wide ranges of movements, the team determined that the arms were this megaraptors main weapon and not its jaws like many other predators such as the famous Velociraptor

With its enormous muscles and wide ranges of movements, the team determined that the arms were this megaraptors main weapon and not its jaws like many other predators such as the famous Velociraptor.

However, when the megaraptor was first described in 1997, it was thought to be a relative of the viscous velociraptor, but has since been disputed - scientists have uncovered evidence that shows the claw was from the thumb and not the foot like the smaller dinosaur.

'Its neck was long. Its skull was low, thin and long. It had teeth which were not too big, different from those of the Tyrannosaurus or the Giganotosaurus. These were small teeth,' Novas said.

'Nevertheless, its jaw was armed with these teeth that allowed him to tear into the skin of its prey.'

Philip Currie from the University of Alberta and his team were also part of the excavation.

'This is a super-cool specimen from a very enigmatic family of big dinosaurs,' said Currie, University of Alberta professor and Canada Research Chair in Paleobiology. 'Because we have most of the skeleton in a single entity, it really helps consolidate their relationships to other animals.'
Note: This article was originally published in the Hamilton Spectator on March 6, 2003

A variety of government agencies allowed more than $18 million to go uncollected for months -- years, in some cases -- without taking decisive action against a now-bankrupt chain of long-term care and retirement homes.

Taxpayers may be left holding the bag for some or all of that money in the wake of the $200-million collapse of Hamilton-based Royal Crest Lifecare Group Inc. and four of its associated companies.

The Royal Crest group filed for bankruptcy in January after an attempt to reorganize its finances was rejected in court.

The chain, owned by brothers John Martino, of Burlington, and Aldo Martino, of Ancaster, operated 17 long-term care and retirement homes in southern Ontario.

It's unclear whether any of the government agencies will be able to recoup any of the funds they're owed once the Royal Crest assets are eventually sold.

In its bankruptcy filings, Royal Crest listed about $85 million more in debts than the value of its assets. The Bank of Nova Scotia alone has secured claims of more than $130 million against Royal Crest properties.

Ernst & Young, the court-appointed receiver, has been given the task of finding a buyer for the chain's 17 homes.

Most of the $18 million at stake was money that Royal Crest was obligated to forward to various federal and provincial ministries. The biggest government creditor is Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, which is owed about $9 million in income tax money that had been deducted from employees' pay by Royal Crest but then not subsequently passed on to the federal tax department.

It's not known how far back the unremitted deductions date but it's likely that it would have taken many months, perhaps even years, for the amount to have reached that level.

Royal Crest should have been remitting about $500,000 per month in withheld taxes.

It raises disturbing questions about how closely the federal tax department was monitoring the activities of Royal Crest.

Companies are normally given an established time period to send in tax money based on the size of the operation. The larger the company, the more frequently it must make remittances.

According to a sworn court affidavit filed by a senior Scotiabank manager last fall, "Royal Crest has a statutory obligation to remit the source deductions to CCRA within five days of their being withheld from employees."

The bank alleged that the company was not making its income tax remittances so that it could use the money as a form of monthly bridge financing.

A spokesperson for the federal tax department refused to answer any questions about Royal Crest Lifecare Group Inc.

"Anything to do with this case, I can't comment on," said Lee McConnell of CCRA's Hamilton office.

The Martinos responded to questions with a statement issued through their lawyer.

"We can indicate that arrangements had been entered into with CCRA with respect to an orderly payment of the outstanding amount," said the Martinos' statement.

"CCRA and Royal Crest were in constant contact with respect to this matter."

Ontario's Health Ministry was Royal Crest's second-largest government creditor, with a total of about $4.4 million still owing.

The Health Ministry provided almost $50 million annually to the Royal Crest chain to cover the costs of nursing home residents.

If money was overpaid in one year because of lower-than-expected occupancy levels, the Health Ministry would claw back the overpayment in the following year.

Some of the money owed to the Health Ministry by Royal Crest is for clawbacks that had built up.

According to a document prepared by Ernst & Young, at least some of those clawbacks date back as far as 1999.

It's not clear why the Health Ministry allowed that much money to accumulate even as it continued to provide millions of dollars in funding to Royal Crest each month. A spokesperson for the ministry did not respond to The Spectator's specific questions about Royal Crest's debt.

Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is owed more than $3.2 million by Royal Crest for insurance premiums that weren't remitted by the company.

Royal Crest was supposed to remit about $80,000 per month in WSIB premiums, which means the shortfall would have taken more than three years to accumulate.

A spokesperson for the WSIB referred all questions about Royal Crest to Ernst & Young.

The Martinos did respond to the WSIB issue in a statement forwarded to The Spectator by their lawyer.

"In regard to WSIB, payment arrangements had been negotiated and mortgage security provided on the Townsview project," said the Martinos' statement.

Townsview Lifecare Centre and Townsview Retirement Residence in downtown Hamilto n were part of the Royal Crest chain. But both were already heavily mortgaged by financial institutions, so it's not clear if WSIB stands to recoup any funds ahead of the banks.

Ontario's Finance Ministry is also owed about $1.8 million by the Royal Crest group of companies, including about $1.6 million in unremitted premiums for the Employer's Health Tax.
New Delhi, May 20 : Two months after Jyotiraditya Scindia switched loyalty leading to the fall of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, the party has appointed new district presidents in the state, including in the Scindia turf.

As many as 11 new district party presidents have been appointed in Guna, Gwalior, Sheopur, Vidisha, Sehore, Ratlam, Shivpuri, Hoshangabad and Dewas rural.

Earlier the party had appointed Mukul Wasnik as General Secretary in-charge and two Secretaries.

The party is gearing up for by-elections for 24 seats which fell vacant by resignation of 22 Congress MLAs, besides, 2 more had fallen vacant earlier.

The party is eyeing Scindia detractors and potential leaders who can wrest these seats for the party.

The Congress came to power in 2018, but was unseated by the rebellion of Jyotiraditya Scindia who blamed the then Chief Minister Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh for sidelining him.

The Scindia supporters are said to have been given tickets by the BJP in the elections.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Black Tusk Resources Inc. ("Black Tusk" or the "Company) (CSE:TUSK)(OTC PINK:BTKRF)(FRA:0NB) is pleased to announce that the company has completed a first geological reconnaissance of the McKenzie East Gold Property located north of Val d'Or, Quebec.

The company's contractor VD Geo Service, based in Val d'Or, completed a site visit of the McKenzie East Gold Project to assess areas for soil sampling and potential for outcrop mapping and sampling. VD Geo Services comprise a team of certified technicians and geologists who are members of the Ordre des Geologue du Quebec. The Geologists are also part of the Association des Explorations Minieres du Quebec. Dr. Mathieu Piche, a Black Tusk director, will be leading the exploration team. The property work is expected to be continued in the following weeks.

Black Tusk recently acquired a permit that allows for the construction of 18 drill pads with supporting water supply stations and access trails. Black Tusk plans to conduct the drilling program in the Summer 2020 exploration season.

Perry Grunenberg, PGeo, 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.

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 five separate gold and palladium projects in Canada. For more information on these gold and palladium projects, please visit our website www.blacktuskresources.com

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Richard Penn

CEO

(778) 384-8923

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions as of that date. These statements reflect management's 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 Company's 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 Company's 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 Company's 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.

SOURCE: Black Tusk Resources Inc

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590633/Black-Tusk-Resources-Completes-Reconnaissance-Mission-on-the-McKenzie-East-Gold-Project-Val-dOr-Quebec
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the global economy, businesses have been forced to fold and employers tasked with cutting cost moves like laying off employees.

Big companies in Malaysia havent been spared from these tough times. Media powerhouse Blu Inc, for example, has ceased operations and laid off more than 200 employees.

Its not a new development for most companies in Malaysia, but for some employees, it could be their first-ever devastating crisis, especially after devoting so many years to a company.

Whats one to do after being laid off? Talent and culture manager Joachim Ooi from Photobook Worldwide KL, an online photo gifts company, shares with us some advice on how to bounce back.

Take a deep breath and dont panic just yet, you can get out of this funk. We have faith in you!

The first step

Human resource specialist Joachim Ooi. Photo: Joachim Ooi

According to Ooi, it is common for companies to compensate the employees they are laying off based on the years of service. Fresh graduates or new hires, however, might want to speak to a human resource expert or a legal friend for more details.

Everyone has to know their rights to lawful compensation. Most people will receive a month or two of compensation, or more, depending on the years of service, Ooi said. He was himself laid off by a previous employer.

Ooi recalled putting a strong front in front of his bosses after he got wind of the managements decision. In hindsight, theres really no need to hide the emotions, Ooi said.

Its okay to cry and feel disheartened, he said. Embrace your emotions. Take a few days to recover and process your thoughts.

No financial commitments? Time to reinvent yourself

If you dont have financial commitments, take this time to find your passion. Photo: Tierra Mallorca

Being laid off can be an opportunity for you to find your true passion as long as there are no financial commitments like a mortgage. If you have this, it is best not to be picky with the jobs that come your way, Ooi said.

For example, if youre from a sales background, you need to be open to try out other job functions like business development and operations. Be flexible and fluid about your options, he said.

Story continues

He also advised people to focus on developing hobbies that can be monetized, like baking, writing, or designing, if they are in need of cash.

Staying competitive in the job market

Building your network is essential when it comes to job-hunting. Photo: Brooke Cagle

Being laid off is also a good time to spruce up your CV and start networking again. If you havent created a LinkedIn account yet, now is the time to do so.

Build up your network, on LinkedIn, and in real life. Its OK to mention you were laid off and that youre looking for a job. Ask your connections to spread the word. Theyre happy to help, Ooi said.

Being laid off isnt an issue for many HR professionals since such people were usually not fired due to poor performance, according to Ooi.

Attending virtual career fairs is another way to build connections. Such online events run up until the end of June and hosted by companies like Talentbank, Lazada, and TalentCorp. Its a good opportunity to submit resumes for a chance to get hired.

Certain industries are flourishing in these times, like banking, telecommunications, and delivery companies. Look out for them, Ooi said.

In the meantime, you can also upgrade your skills through online courses and webinars, which have been popping up more than usual recently.

These courses, some by the likes of Harvard Business School, cover areas including digital marketing, wellness, and politics. Some of them are also free-of-charge.

Look out for each other

Graphic from Oois online talent support community. Photo: Joachim Ooi/LinkedIn

Layoffs are never a good thing, even for employers, according to Ooi, and it is important to reach out to one another for support.

Ooi said that he has seen job seekers gather on various WhatsApp group chats to help each other seek out opportunities.

Jobseekers have to look out for each other. Like, some of them have formed a WhatsApp group where they will share vacancies from other companies and encourage each other to apply for this or that position. It becomes a space of comfort and care between not just jobseekers, but friends. Theyre all in this together, Ooi said.

Ooi has also built an online community to help jobseekers who were laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic connect with potential employers.

Malaysias unemployment rate hit highest in a decade earlier this year at 3.9%, according to the Department of Statistics. More than 600,000 Malaysians are said to be unemployed.

Ooi wishes for all laid-off employees to never give up in their endeavors.

Be patient, and the right opportunity will find you, he said.

Other stories you should check out:

What you need to know about Riza Aziz

Malaysians, heres how you can celebrate Hari Raya while social distancing

Bonus backlash: Struggling Pos Malaysia promises better rewards when COVID-19 situation improves

This article, A HR manager tells us what to do after being laid off, originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. Want more Coconuts? Sign up for our newsletters!
A Carlisle man is facing charges after an assault in the Carlisle Walmart parking lot that stemmed from an argument over a woman not wearing a mask.

Police say the assault occurred around 3 p.m. on May 14, with Warren Gennell Bennett accused of punching another man while they were leaving the store.

The assault stemmed from an argument involving Bennett, 33, about a woman not wearing a mask while she entered the store, police say. Additional details of how the argument changed to a physical fight were not released by police.

The other man suffered minor injuries, police say. He was not identified by police.

Bennett is charged with misdemeanor simple assault and was cited for harassment, according to online court dockets.

Read more on PennLive:
UK mobile developer-publisher Kwalee has opened a new studio in Bangalore, India, to help expand production.

The Bangalore studio is Kwalee's first overseas branch, and will work in tandem with the company's existing UK team in Leamington Spa.

Kwalee explained that having two studios in different time zones will help it achieve "an almost 'always on' workflow," allowing it to boost efficiency and become more competitive in the hypercasual market.

Since being founded in 2011, Kwalee has worked on a range of hypercasual titles including Draw It, Shootout 3D, Off the Rails 3D, and Rocket Sky, which have collectively amassed over 350 million downloads worldwide.

"From the outset, the aim will be for Kwalees Leamington Spa and Bangalore teams to collaborate as though they are one studio, with departments made up of employees in both locations," reads a press release.

"The look and feel of each studio will also be developed with this goal in mind, with Kwalee exploring ways they can use technology to help make the two studios feel closer to one another once COVID-19 related restrictions are lifted."
SAO PAULO, May 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian banks are unable to meet clients' demands for loans amid the coronavirus pandemic, as banking liquidity has fallen and default risk has risen, Itau Unibanco Holding SA's chief executive Candido Bracher said on Tuesday.

Speaking on a live webcast hosted by Valor Economico, Bracher said loan demand is likely to fall soon due to the economic crisis, and also said that banks and the government are discussing rules mortgage refinancing as a way of raising cash backed by strong collateral. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl)
The Iraqi National Intelligence Service announced May 11 that an individual who was impersonating social activist Haida al-Amiri and blackmailing businessmen and prominent figures has been arrested in Lebanon.

Haida al-Amiri's is one of hundreds of fake social media accounts impersonating political figures in Iraq. Extensive electronic networks are paid to promote the funding party and distorting the image of its opponents to topple them politically and electorally. On April 28, activists and protesters received threatening messages via hundreds of fake accounts. Minister of Finance Ali Allawi denied having a Twitter account May 16 after a fake one was discovered to be posting in his name.

On May 7, the Ministry of Interior announced it had closed 15 fake accounts for Iraqi Airways that were posting false timetables for flights. Back in Septemer 2019, Facebook announced it was deleting around 500 fake pages and accounts created in Iraq and Ukraine.

The Haida al-Amiri impostor told Al-Monitor over the phone from Lebanon, I am banned from writing, posting or making statements, except with the approval of the Lebanese authorities.

Parliament member Falah al-Khafaji told Al-Monitor, There has been a significant spread of social media pages and accounts [that] leak documents from state departments to trick politicians and officials. Blackmail of citizens and officials has also been on the rise. Khafaji said that this phenomenon prompted a specialized parliamentary committee to coordinate with the Ministry of Communications. He admitted how difficult it was to fight electronic blackmail.

Researcher and former editor-in-chief of the Assabah newspaper Abbas Abboud told Al-Monitor that the fake accounts are being exploited for political ends. He called on the Iraqi government to promote freedom of expression, which guarantees a persons right to express himself using his own name or to publish critical ideas, as long as they are in line with the ethics of journalistic work and do not cause moral or psychological harm to others.

Abboud said, It is very easy to create fake pages and accounts in Iraq and even to obtain official documents under impostor names due to the rampant corruption and bribery. He called on governmental and political figures to verify Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts and pages.

Media professor at the University of Baghdad Mohammad Fallahi told Al-Monitor, The chaotic reality of [online] publishing allows people to post through fake accounts and take advantage of the digital environment to implement their schemes, in the absence of deterrent laws.

He explained, The pending cybercrime bill has its shortfalls because it treats providing information as a crime.

The problem is affecting the work of many institutions and ministries. On May 9, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense had to explain that Defense Minister Gomaa Enad had been impersonated on social media. Iraqs Central Bank warned citizens on May 5 that there are fake social media accounts with its name and logo spreading false information and news about loans for ministry staff.

Member of the board of trustees of the National Communications and Media Commission of Iraq Salem Mashkour told Al-Monitor about official efforts to pursue the owners of offensive pages that have tarnished reputations, been used to blackmail businessmen and politicians and allegedly led to murder. He asserted, Iraq needs to develop special monitoring departments with high-tech skills. It also needs direct communication channels with the administrations of these sites to organize shutting down offensive pages.

He said, The blackmailers receive information from collaborators in Iraq who are often in the state apparatus. The pursuit should include [foreign] collaborators whose involvement would explain the wide-scale opposition to the cybercrime law in several countries. Because the cybercrime bill has not been passed yet, he added, the judicial authorities have to rely on the current penal code in prosecuting the blackmailers.

National Wisdom Movement senior Baligh Abu Kalal acknowledged the impact of electronic fraud on the political scene in Iraq, but warned against jeopardizing freedom of speech because it is protected by the Iraqi Constitution. However, people must not abuse this freedom for political extortion, he told Al-Monitor, noting, Maintaining anonymity is a personal right, no doubt, but political or moral blackmail under this anonymity is absolutely not part of the freedom of speech.

Former judge Ali al-Tamimi told Al-Monitor that fake accounts and pages on social media are considered crimes in the Iraqi Penal Code, per Articles 333 to 336. He noted that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are subject to the law. However, influential political figures are spending money to fight their rivals by leaking official documents or spreading fabricated news.
As Houston and Harris County tightened restrictions on businesses and daily life in March, local leaders often thanked residents here for heeding their calls.

Those efforts and sacrifices, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said, helped the region escape the dire circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic emerging in other pockets of the country.

Now, as Gov. Greg Abbott gradually opens the states economy, the local leaders are urging their constituents to remain vigilant, even as many restrictions are lifted.

The governor cited rising testing capacity and the falling percentage of new cases for beginning to reopen earlier this month. On Monday, he also noted the availability of hospital beds, which have remained well within capacity here, and the falling percentage of people who have tested positive.

Our focus is to keep you safe while also restoring your ability to get you back to work, said Abbott.

The governors orders override local restrictions and now map out a way for nearly all businesses to open in some fashion. Local residents have been able to frequent restaurants, retail stores, malls, and movie theaters with limited capacities since May 1. A new order Monday expanded those capacities and added gyms, childcare centers and massage businesses to the mix, with bars, bowling alleys and others joining Friday.

Just because you can, doesnt mean you should, Turner said of the new openings. Its becoming very, very difficult now because people are getting mixed messages And when the messaging is confusing, people hear what they want to hear.

Hidalgo struck a similar tone Tuesday while urging her colleagues on Commissioners Court to extend the countys disaster declaration through June 10. The citys declaration is indefinite.

I keep saying: Dont tempt fate, Hidalgo said. Because Im just concerned folks will get so comfortable pushing, pushing, pushing, until we end up in a bad situation.

The county judge said folks have settled into a routine, but it is important to ensure that it does not slide into complacency.

The virus hasnt gone anywhere. Its a very strange thing  weve fallen into a bit of a new normal, but  we may well be in the eye of the hurricane. I hope were not.

Local health officials have said the region was able to flatten its curve of cases, though the total tallies remain on the rise. Texas hit a record 1,556 new positive results on Saturday. Texas surpassed 50,000 cases on Tuesday, with Harris County accounting for just under 10,000 of them. The Houston region has been reporting more than 1,500 new cases a week in May.

The mayor regularly has deployed local star power to bolster his messages to take proper safety measures. He called on gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, rapper Slim Thug and Astros shortstop Carlos Correa for a Mask Up campaign to encourage the wearing of facial coverings. Tina Lawson Knowles, Beyonces mother, joined the mayor to talk about efforts to open a mobile testing center.

Turner said Tuesday he also has taped a radio commercial and will be releasing public service announcements to further encourage social distancing.

The city and county have focused efforts in recent weeks on bolstering testing and contact tracing. The county had about 300 on the rolls as of Monday, Hidalgo said. The citys health department has hosted job fairs to hire a similar number, and has about 125 city workers on the job already.

That infrastructure ideally would have been in place before the state began to reopen, Turner said.

I want to be able to say everything is in place in terms of infrastructure to keep you safe, Turner said. And Im not going to ask you to do something that Im uncomfortable with doing myself.

Medical experts say it is essential that the public continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, wash their hands frequently and disinfect common surfaces as more businesses open and residents come out of their homes more frequently.

Going to restaurants, bars or gyms as they reopen is not necessarily a bad idea, said Firas Zabaneh, director of system infection prevention & control for Houston Methodist Hospital System. By taking proper precautions, such as avoiding prolonged interactions within six feet of others and regularly cleaning common surfaces, Zabaneh said people can congregate with a decreased risk of contracting the virus.

We have to be really careful, he said. You want to make sure that the restaurant or bar that you go to has sectioned off areas out so you can maintain social distancing. When youre having prolonged interactions with people, especially in enclosed spaces, it becomes more important to wear a mask.

People with compromised immune systems or who have underlying medical conditions should consider being more cautious, said Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, president and CEO of Harris Health System, because research shows they face a higher risk of contracting the virus.

Regularly disinfecting things like door handles, cell phones, keys, gym equipment, grocery carts and other items is still is recommended by health officials, as is frequent hand-washing.

Staff writer Zach Despart contributed to this report.
SAN ANTONIO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- North American Development Bank or "NADB," today announced the results of its previously announced cash tender offer (the "Offer") to purchase up to U.S.$225,000,000 aggregate principal amount of its outstanding 2.40% Notes Due 2022 (the "Notes") and that it has increased the size of the Offer. The Offer was made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase dated May 13, 2020 (the "Offer to Purchase"), which set forth the terms and conditions of the Offer.

As of the previously announced expiration time of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 19, 2020 (the "Expiration Time"), according to information provided by D.F. King & Co., Inc., the Information and Tender Agent for the Offer, a total of U.S.$377,638,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes had been validly tendered in the Offer. This amount includes U.S.$1,350,000 aggregate principal amount tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Offer to Purchase and Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, dated May 13, 2020, which amount remains subject to the holders' performance of the delivery requirements under such procedures.

NADB has elected to increase the size of the Offer and accept validly tendered Notes in an aggregate principal amount of U.S.$279,988,000, including Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures and delivered in accordance with the terms of the Offer to Purchase. As a result of the oversubscription of the Offer, notwithstanding the increase in size, NADB will accept Notes on a prorated basis in accordance with the terms of the Offer to Purchase.

The table below sets forth the aggregate principal amount of the Notes validly tendered by the Expiration Time, the principal amount of such tendered Notes that will be accepted for purchase by NADB and the proration percentage. NADB will not accept any further tenders. To the extent Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures are not delivered within two business days following the Expiration Time, NADB will accept other Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time, pro rata, to the extent required to purchase U.S.$279,988,000 aggregate principal amount of Notes.

Common Code / ISIN / CUSIP Description of Notes Principal Amount of

Validly Tendered

Notes Principal Amount of

Tendered Notes

Accepted Proration

Percentage

of Tendered

Notes Accepted 084936871/ US656836AB97/ 656836AB9 2.40% Notes Due 2022 U.S.$377,638,000 U.S.$279,988,000 73.63%*





* Percentage assumes all Notes tendered pursuant to the guaranteed delivery procedures are delivered within two business days following the expiration of the Offer and accepted for purchase.

Holders whose Notes have been accepted for purchase will receive the purchase price of U.S.$1,045 (the "Purchase Price") per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of those Notes accepted for purchase, plus accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date to but excluding the Settlement Date (as defined below).

The Offer is subject to NADB's receipt of aggregate net proceeds from an offering of new NADB notes (the "New Notes Offering") sufficient to fund the aggregate Purchase Price plus accrued interest in respect of all Notes tendered and accepted for purchase in the Offer.

Payment of the Purchase Price for any Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time and accepted for payment is expected to take place on May 29, 2020 (subject to change without notice and no earlier than closing date of the New Notes Offering) (the "Settlement Date"). The Settlement Date will not occur prior to the closing of the New Notes Offering.

This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to buy any of the Notes. Neither NADB, nor the Dealer Managers, nor the Information and Tender Agent make any recommendation that any holder of the Notes tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of the principal amount of such holder's Notes. Holders must make their own decisions whether to tender any Notes, and if so, decide on the principal amount of the Notes to tender. NADB's securities are obligations of NADB only. The Notes, including any interest or return of discount on the securities, are not guaranteed by and are neither debts nor obligations of the United States or any federal agency or instrumentality or entity other than NADB. The Offer is being made only upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated May 13, 2020.

This announcement does not constitute an invitation to participate in the Offer in or from any jurisdiction in or from which, or to or from any person to or from whom, it is unlawful to make such an offer under applicable securities laws or otherwise.

The distribution of materials relating to the Offer, and the transactions contemplated by the Offer, may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions where it is legal to do so. The Offer is void in all jurisdictions where it is prohibited. If materials relating to the Offer come into your possession, you are required by NADB to inform yourself of and to observe all of these restrictions. The materials relating to the Offer do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer or solicitation in any place where offers or solicitations are not permitted by law. If a jurisdiction requires that the Offer be made by a licensed broker or dealer and a Dealer Manager or any affiliate of a Dealer Manager is a licensed broker or dealer in that jurisdiction, the Offer shall be deemed to be made by the Dealer Manager or such affiliate on behalf of NADB in that jurisdiction.

NADB is a binational development financing institution established on January 1, 1994, by the Governments of the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects in the U.S.-Mexico border region, as well as providing technical and other assistance to support the development of such projects.

CONTACT: D.F. King, [email protected]

SOURCE North American Development Bank
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 02:21:15

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 901 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2020 / Technology has always pushed along businesses and entrepreneurs. Particularly with the use of the internet, business has changed fundamentally in its attempts to try to adapt and keep up with the fast-moving world. Tommy, also known as Linkmon99 on YouTube, has found a way to harness the capabilities of technology to create his own business."My name is Tommy, I'm 20 years old and based out of Connecticut USA! I'm a popular YouTuber (434K+ subscribers) who makes gameplays and vlogs based upon the online game platform Roblox. On Roblox I'm considered to be the "Richest Player" for my collection of limited tradeable items being the most valuable of any player (non-employee) on the site, which is what draws millions of people to watch videos on my channel." Tommy explains.Through his YouTube channel, Tommy has gathered millions of subscribers and brings in lots of business to him. In addition, he finds the time to be a full-time college student and a division three runner in college."I run a verified YouTube channel under the name Linkmon99 for 434K subscribers and bring in millions of views each month. The total value of my account exceeds 100 million robux, which converts to hundreds of thousands of USD. Given that there are more than 1.5 billion accounts on Roblox, and the site has over 100 million active monthly players, this is an incredible feat to have to one's name. Besides just being a YouTuber, I am a full-time college student and D3 runner at Wesleyan University, and involved in various other business ventures which will be described below. I'm passionate about gaming as well as music, and like to play guitar & drums in my free time!" exclaims Tommy.Despite being only 20, Tommy knew from a young age that he wanted to be an entrepreneur and did not want to work a job with normal 9 to 5 hours a week. Tommy knew that he wanted to find a job for him that not only broke away from being a normal entrepreneur, but also combined his interests in video gaming."I always knew I had a passion for entrepreneurship, I was just unclear how I would go about satisfying it. I definitely didn't want to work a 9 to 5 job without passion. I desired to be able to work as much or as little as I felt like on any given day. Above all, I never wanted it to feel like work. I always wanted to turn my dreams, hobbies, and passions into something that would make me financially stable - things that would have a real positive impact on the world and make a difference." Says Tommy.Because Tommy was one of the first people who were attempting to breakthrough in this industry, he struggled a bit with getting off the ground. He used other YouTubers as guidance on his path to success, but realized that there were still very few resources available to help him."In the past 2 years I've come a long way, but I think the thing that made my journey the most difficult was the lack of solid resources available for someone my age embarking on online entrepreneurship endeavours such as mine. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of content up there when you search "how to be a youtuber" "how to start a business" or "how to get rich" on google, however, plenty of those are scams or oversimplified guides. Actually learning how to apply those broad principles to something you could work with yourself is much more difficult. For me, I had to learn a lot through trial and error and by networking with other YouTubers, brands, and entrepreneurs. It's great that people were willing to work with me and pass along advice, and I try to do the same for others now and always." Tommy remarks.Because Tommy is only 20, he knows that this is just the beginning of his entrepreneurial adventure. He is excited to see where his path takes him in the future. Tommy also wants people to know that he is not that different from many other people who want to start their own businesses. He encourages people to go for it and follow their dreams."I truly believe this is only the first chapter to my story, and I can't wait to see what I can achieve in this new decade if I continue with the effort and energy I have given so far to my life and endeavors. Lastly, I want to say to whoever is reading this, YOU can do it. As cliche as that sounds, I started everything I have today from literally nothing but a dream and it's slowly becoming a reality. Believe in yourself, and never stop working hard. If you ever need encouragement or advice feel free to reach out to me, because as human beings we grow together!" States Tommy.You can check out Tommy's YouTube channel at Linkmon99. You can also find him on Instagram and Twitter @Linkmon99 for both websites. You can also check out his Roblox websites at rbxcity.com and rbxtoys.com CONTACT:Paula Henderson202-539-7664phendersonnews@ gmail.com About VIP Media GroupVIP Media Group is a hybrid PR agency. Their diverse client base includes top-class entrepreneurs, public figures, influencers, and celebrities.SOURCE: VIP-Media
Officials at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have claimed that the organisation has been muzzled by Donald Trumps administration amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Six sources at the CDC told CNN that the government purposely ignored scientific evidence and made a coordinated response to the pandemic difficult.

According to the outlet, the organisation planned to put out a global advisory that warned about the dangers of flying abroad, a week before the Trump administration formally recognised it.

In the time between their proposal and the publishing of the advisory, more than 66,000 Europeans arrived at US airports.

The sources added that two days after CDC analysis showed the coronavirus was being transmitted in 29 countries, new data revealed it had reached 89 across the world.

A current CDC official told CNN that if the advisory had been published when the organisation planned, US lives would have been saved.

Weve been muzzled, they said. Whats tough is that if we would have acted earlier on what we knew and recommended, we would have saved lives and money.

Sources told the outlet that the CDC has been relegated to an advisor, instead of leading the response, as would normally be the case.

One CDC official said that guidelines on safely reopening the US were also ignored by the Trump administration.

If you look at our guidance documents online, they have been watered down a lot, they said.

The ones that were written in March say, Go home and stay there, and they are very clear. And the ones now say, in consultation with state and local governors, do what they say.

They added that the CDCs role has changed during the pandemic: We normally give guidance and then states take that guidance and turn it into policy.

The official said that previously CDC employees were treated like scientists, but thats not the case this time. If the science that we are offering up contradicts a specific policy goal, then we are the problem.

A 63-page document that included CDC guidelines for safely reopening states was obtained by the Associated Press last week.

The guidelines called for specific safety precautions to be rolled out all over the country, so to not cause confusion and to limit the number of new patients.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called for the full report to be released.

America needs and must have the candid guidance of our best scientists unfiltered, unedited, uncensored by president Trump or his political minions, he said.

The CDC report on reopening the country is an important piece of that guidance.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Columbus, Ohio

Annie Glenn, the widow of astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn and a communication disorders advocate, died Tuesday at age 100.

Glenn died of COVID-19 complications at a nursing home near St. Paul, Minn., said Hank Wilson, a spokesman for the Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.

At the time of John Glenn's death in 2016, the two had been married 73 years. She had moved out of the apartment they shared in Columbus in recent years and gone to live with her daughter, Lyn, according to Wilson.

Annie Glenn was thrust into the spotlight in 1962, when her husband became the first American to orbit Earth. She shied away from the media attention because of a severe stutter.

Later, she underwent an intensive program at the Communications Research Institute at Hollins College, now Hollins University, in Roanoke, Va., that gave her the skills to control her stutter and to speak in public.

By the time 77-year-old John Glenn returned to space in 1998 aboard space shuttle Discovery, Annie showed she had become comfortable in her public role when she acknowledged that she had reservations about the retired senator's second flight.

"John had announced one year before that he was going to retire as a senator, so I was looking forward to having him as my own because I had given him to our government for 55 years," she told a NASA interviewer.

Her career in advocacy for those with communication disorders included service on the advisory boards of numerous child abuse and speech and hearing organizations. The Annie Glenn Award was created to honor individuals who overcome a communication disorder.

Defense Secretary William Cohen honored Annie Glenn with the Department of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1998. He called her "a hero in her own right" and praised her for being "a strong voice for children, speech and communications, and the disabled."

In 2009, Glenn received an honorary doctorate of public service from Ohio State, where she served as an adjunct professor of speech pathology in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. The department bestows an Annie Glenn Leadership Award annually.

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

Glenn was born Anna Margaret Castor on Feb. 17, 1920, in Columbus.

She met her husband while they were children growing up in New Concord. She was offered an organ scholarship to The Julliard School, but World War II began and John proposed  so she decided to stay with him, according to a biography on the Glenn College's website. The high school sweethearts attended Muskingum College and were married in 1943. They had two children, David and Lyn.

The Glenns served on the board of trustees of the college, now Muskingum University, and Annie Glenn was named a distinguished alumni fellow in speech communications at the school.

A virtual memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. June 6, officiated by the Rev. Amy Miracle, pastor for the Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus.
Official White House Photo by Shealah CraigheadBy TRISH TURNER, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- just days after President Donald Trump pushed the senior Republican to get on board -- gave a full-throated endorsement of an aggressive Senate Republican investigation of the counterintelligence probe into whether the then-candidate and his campaign colluded with the Russians in 2016.



"Senate Republicans are taking steps to issue new subpoenas to a wide variety of Obama administration officials with some relationship to the abuses," McConnell said in a floor speech Tuesday, referencing errors made with the surveillance of a former Trump campaign official and the prosecution of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, which the Department of Justice has moved to dismiss. "The American people deserve answers about how such abuses could happen, and we intend to get those answers."



The notable move by the Republican leader, who once supported the Mueller probe and is a strong supporter of the foreign surveillance laws, came after the president tweeted over the weekend, "Mitch, I love you, but this is 100% true. Time is running out. Get tough and move quickly, or it will be too late. The Dems are vicious, but got caught. They MUST pay a big price for what they have done to our Country. Don't let them get away with this!"



The president traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday, in part, to hammer home that very message in a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans, according to four GOP senators.



Attendees said afterward that Trump encouraged the group to "get tough" on the federal investigators he has long decried as "corrupt," those who led the probe known as "Crossfire Hurricane." He also encouraged them to unify and fight back because -- he said -- Democrats will continue to stick together to attack him.



After the lunch, the president brought the subject up on his own with reporters, echoing an oft-repeated rallying cry on the campaign trail, saying, "The top of the FBI, they were dirty cops. They were crooked. Bad people, and nobody has been abused more than Trump."



Special counsel Robert Mueller's nearly two-year investigation found no conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians, but it stopped short of exonerating the president on obstruction of justice.



"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment," the report read.



Still, Republicans are intent on plowing back through the probe.



"The government's case against (Trump) was unfair and distorted as well. Wild theories of Russian collusion, but upon investigation -- the Mueller investigation, remember that one? It was those wild allegations that collapsed," McConnell said. "No matter what Washington Democrats try to claim, you're not crazy or a conspiracy theorist if you see a pattern of inconsistency toward this president. You'd have to be blind not to see one."



The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by top Trump ally Chairman Lindsey Graham, announced Monday that it will seek authorization to issue subpoenas for Obama-era intelligence and law enforcement officials like former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan.



Graham, R-S.C., is honchoing the sweeping probe of the investigation by Mueller -- whom the chairman has praised in the past -- and a deep dive into the significant problems inside the FBI regarding how it went about obtaining permission from a secret court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to surveil then-Trump campaign senior adviser Carter Page.



The chairman said he hopes to have a preliminary report ready in October, which would place it squarely in the middle of the presidential campaign.



And Graham is not alone in his efforts that could have major political consequences in the fall.



Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is hoping to gain the support of a majority on his panel Wednesday in order to issue a subpoena for documents from Blue Star Strategies, a Democratic firm that sought influence in the Obama administration on behalf of Ukraine energy giant Burisma. The investigation is intended, the chairman said, to seek out any improper actions by former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who has maintained his innocence.



Johnson has partnered with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who will take the gavel back at the Judiciary Committee if Republicans hold onto their majority in this year's elections.



Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called these investigations part of an "insane conspiracy theory" and part of an effort to "rewrite the history of Russian interference in the 2016 election to match the fantasy in the president's head."



"We're talking about some wild theory, because President Trump two days ago demanded it when everyone knows the president's penchant for truth is at a bare minimum, as exemplified by his hydroxychloroquine comments last night," Schumer said, referencing the president's announcement that he was taking an anti-malarial drug as a prophylactic against COVID-19, an unproven treatment regimen.



The vociferous, public support by McConnell was a remarkable moment for the majority leader, who has generally remained at arm's length when the president has lashed out at law enforcement and the Intelligence community in the past.



McConnell did not back Trump's candidacy in 2016 until later in the race, supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush instead, so his Tuesday speech marked something of an evolution, one that perhaps represented a recognition that the political fate of the two men is now inextricably linked.



"I just think that everybody realizes that our fortunes sort of rise and fall together," said McConnell's chief deputy, Sen. John Thune of South Dakota. "One thing that we have to make sure that we are is united on our agenda and making sure that there's not separation between the White House and Republicans in Congress."



And with a grin that appeared to acknowledge the unique experience many senators have gone through in learning to deal with a mercurial president, Thune continued, "It's probably an evolution over time, to some degree, and part of it, too, is getting accustomed to each other's styles, differences in the way we do things. But you know, in the end, it's all about getting results, and I think that we're going to be judged by our accomplishments and our results."



But Schumer slammed Republicans for focusing on investigations rather than the coronavirus pandemic.



"The president is tweeting insane conspiracy theories, demanding that his water carriers of Capitol Hill make them look legitimate instead of focusing on testing capacity and policies to safely reopen our country," he said.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Actor Salman Khan reportedly made a visit to his house in Mumbai on Tuesday, after spending 60 days at his Panvel farmhouse during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Salman took the necessary precautions and checked in on his parents, who have been staying at the familys Galaxy apartments home in Bandra.

According to Mumbai Mirror, Salman remained in Mumbai for a few hours, before returning to Panvel before nightfall. He followed social distancing guidelines and had taken the requisite permissions.

Salman, along with several friends and family -- sister Arpita and her husband Aayush Sharma, actors Jacqueline Fernandez, Waluscha De Sousa and Iulia Vantur, nephew Nirvaan Khan and others -- had arrived at the farmhouse to discuss an upcoming project, when the lockdown was enforced, leaving them stranded.

Also Watch | Salman Khans stern message for those attacking cops & doctors: For few Jokers

During this time, Salman has appeared in several public safety videos, urging his fans to obey laws. He has also released two music numbers. Both were produced entirely at the farmhouse. The second one, Tere Bina, also featured Jacqueline.

Salman also worked with his team to help over 30000 daily wage workers in the film industry, who have been affected by the lockdown. He also provided rations to 1000 local families around Panvel.

Also read: Salman Khan pays for 25000 workers, family feeds staff: Salim Khan says our money should benefit needy

In an earlier video, Salman had expressed sadness and concern at not being able to visit his father for several weeks. He had said that if he could stay isolated, then everyone should. His father, Salim Khan had told Mumbai Mirror in an earlier interview, This is not the time for false bravado. There is a disease, and people are dying since a vaccine is not available yet. What is dearest to you is your life, and that of your family and close ones. If something happens to one person, the whole family is impacted.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
While nature never ceases to surprise us with its infinite variations, the shoebill stork (Balaeniceps rex) is a creature whose looks are wilder than most. This African birds enormous size (it stands up to 5 feet tall) and huge shoe-shaped bill have led it to be described as the most terrifying bird in the world by the Audubon Society.

Other names for the strange-looking creature include the whalehead and the whaleheaded stork, giving an idea of just how odd this prehistoric-looking bird is.

In addition to their bizarre appearance, shoebill storks are no pushovers. In fact, along with large-sized fish, these swamp-hunting storks have been known to devour snakes, freshwater eels, Nile monitor lizards, and, most shockingly, even baby Nile crocodiles.

The shoebill storks primary habitat is in the wetlands of central Africa, stretching from Sudan in the north all the way to Zambia in the south. The birds need shallow, wet areas with vegetation that provide good habitat for their favorite prey: fish and small reptiles.

Their hunting behavior is one of the speciess most notable traits, next to their giant bills. Shoebill storks are famous for making themselves like statues, standing completely immobile for long periods of time with their feet submerged in the water, before finally striking with their powerful bill.

Clamping down on its prey, the bird will start to swing its massive head back and forth, tipping out whatever stuff it doesnt want to eat, the Audubon society notes. When theres nothing but lungfish or crocodile left, the Shoebill will give it a quick decapitation with the sharp edges of the bill.

As if this werent all impressive enough, the shoebills massive size makes its countenance even more formidable. Their average height rivals that of children, from 3.5 feet to 4.6 feet, while their wingspan is twice as long as that. This means that when a shoebill spreads its wings, it has a bigger wingspan than Shaquille ONeal (Wingspan of 7.5 feet), Uganda Safari Experts notes.

The birds bill, which has the same curvature of the footwear for which it is named, is also exceedingly large. While the Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) holds the Guiness World Record for the longest bill at 1318 and a half inches (3437 cm) long, the shoebill storks comes in at third-longest, which in some cases has a bigger circumference than its pelican counterparts.

For a bird that is otherwise very good at staying still and being quiet, shoebill storks have a strange habit called bill-clattering, shared by other stork species. This machine-gun- or jackhammer-like sound is done by adults when greeting each other at the nest, but young shoebills also perform the bill-clatter, according to Animal Diversity.

This unique mixture of characteristics naturally makes shoebill storks an object of fascination for scientists and birdwatchers. Unfortunately, their docility toward humans not only means that birders can get close, but it also means that poachers can take advantage.

These storks have relatively few other predators besides humans, who destroy their wetland habitats in order to build or channel water, or capture their chicks for exotic pets, as well as fishermen who believe the birds will harm their livelihoods. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as vulnerable, with just 3,3005,300 mature specimens left.

Fortunately, local people in Zambia who depend on wildlife tourism along with the nonprofit organization African Parks are stepping up to protect this unique stork. As reported by the Audubon Society, by paying fishermen to monitor the populations and keep an eye out for poachers, they have managed to help safeguard breeding pairs and increase the overall population.

This is good news for bird watchers, though perhaps bad news for the prey that will never see those huge bills coming for them until its too late.

We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc
For one Rikers Island correction officer, the low point came when he and his wife were both extremely sick with the coronavirus. She could hardly breathe and begged him to make sure she was not buried in a mass grave, he recalled. He was sure he had contracted the disease working in the jailhouse, where supervisors had discouraged him from wearing a mask.

Im looking at the person I care most about possibly dying from this thing I brought home, he said, choking back tears. That to me is the scariest thing I ever faced.

Another officer at the Rikers jail said he worked for nearly two weeks while feeling ill but received no help from the jails administrators in getting a test. A third, who delivered mail to people in custody, some of them sick, was told he could not use a mask that he had at home but had to wait for a city-issued one. He, too, became infected.

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on New York Citys 9,680 correction officers and their supervisors, who, like the police and firefighters, are considered essential workers. So far, 1,259 have caught the virus and six have died, along with five other jail employees and two correctional health workers. The officers union contends that the death of one other guard is also the result of Covid-19.
Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more

Customer attrition and churn are not new problems. Anyone who has spent time in the sales world has heard statistics around the cost of acquiring a new customer. It can be five to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one.

More importantly, improving your customer retention by just 5 percent can increase profits by 25-95 percent, depending on your industry and company size. Needless to say, companies cannot afford to neglect their customer churn.

Today, many companies are intrigued by the idea of turning to artificial intelligence for help in the sales process. However, most do not know where or how to get started. The best way to tap into the power of AI and machine learning is by building an intelligent experience.

The intelligent experience is all about leveraging AI and ML to derive predictive insights that can be embedded into the workflow of a CRM. Companies seeking a competitive advantage must find ways to make their business operations more intelligent.

Shifting the Focus

How can the intelligent experience help improve customer retention? It starts with a shift in focus. Typically, businesses are addressing the problem by homing in on churn. They invest time in figuring out how to prevent churn. However, the focus needs to shift from customer churn alone to an overall look at customer success.

Focusing on churn exclusively is a very reactive tactic. Oftentimes, companies are late to the party with churn. They will identify customers likely to churn when its too late. This is because there is a major difference between a leading indicator and a lagging indicator.

For example, many businesses want to look at order cadence as a sign of churn. However, it tends to be a lagging indicator of a problem that manifested earlier. In order to make an impact, businesses must look at the leading indicators.

Often the best indicators for churn are further back in the customer lifecycle, during acquisition and onboarding. Sometimes high customer attrition is not due to poor customer service but to poor customer acquisition efforts.

Think back to what was happening in your business when a new customer started. Were you launching a new product? Were there changes in your manufacturing process? How long did it take the customer to start utilizing your service once the deal was executed?

It is crucial to assess the landscape of the acquisition time period. This often is where perceptions of the relationship start to form. Customers are going to be comparing their initial experience to the expectations you set during the sales process. As the age-old adage tells us, first impressions are hard to shake.

Examining the Cost

Have you ever determined the true cost of customer churn for your business? Before you take any steps to improve customer retention, you must quantify the cost of churn. There are three major variables to consider.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

First is obviously the loss of recurring revenue. Whatever that customer is paying is money lost.

Second, with any existing customer, there is an opportunity to upsell and expand revenue. So you have to take into consideration the loss of that potential revenue.

Finally, factor in all your customer acquisition costs.

By combining these factors, you can get a better understanding of the true cost of customer churn.

Once you have determined the true cost of customer churn, you can begin assessing the quality of churn. Not all customer attrition is regrettable. You should be able to determine what an acceptable level of churn is and set an established benchmark using basic analytics.

For example, it might be OK for a customer to leave if the cost-to-serve is high and the margins are low. That assumes you are acquiring net-new customers at an appropriate velocity and volume to compensate for lost business. AI is certainly exciting, but you cannot jump into it without first laying the foundation with basic analytics.

Getting Smarter About Customer Success

After you shift your focus from purely churn to overall customer success, determine the true cost of customer churn, and establish foundational analytics, you then can begin using analytics and AI to drive customer success and reduce attrition.

As I mentioned earlier, the real value is in creating an intelligent experience. When implementing AI into a business, gathering insights is great, but that is not enough. You must be able to leverage the insights that can be uncovered from data to identify next steps.

Your AI project cannot be simply about getting a score of how likely a customer is to churn. You need to set your team up for action by weaving insights into the business process. This allows the focus to move from churn to customer success.

Here is how it actually works. To predict the probability of a customer to churn, you need a logistic regression model that is trained on historical data. It is looking for examples of customers who have churned and ones who have not. It will learn from these situations and develop a probability score for each customer. Then various actions can be taken to influence that probability in hopes of changing the outcome.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Natural language processing models can be used to discern a customers sentiment. These models can be fed large amounts of unstructured data  such as call recordings and Web chats  to find themes. Then customers can be classified by how they feel: good, bad or indifferent. These classifications then are put into a logistic regression-based churn model.

You are starting to chain together multiple models to help isolate customers who are likely to churn. The key is to figure out how to intervene before something actually happens. This is the power of predictive analytics. It allows you to be more proactive in improving customer retention rather than reactive to customer churn.

Here is an example of how to pair insight with action: George, an inside sales rep, is working the retention desk, which is a specialized team tasked with reaching out to customers who have a high likelihood of churning. He enters the office in the morning and logs into his CRM. He sees a call list generated by an AI model that surfaces and ranks customers likely to churn. It tells George why the customer is likely to churn and provides a relevant sales play to take action.

There is even more value in what AI and ML can do after George makes the call and takes the recommended action. Once he inputs his call notes and updates the CRM, the customer can be re-scored in real time. This system allows you to continue ensuring you are taking the next best steps to retain the customer.

AI is the future of business operations. When contemplating an investment in AI, be sure you have a setup that will allow you to embed insights into the daily workflow of your organization. Through the power of AI, you can start blurring the lines between sales, service and marketing.

Remember, the best time to have a selling conversation is right after youve solved a problem. AI can be used to improve customer retention in a variety of industries. Consider how implementing AI can help change your sales operations and ultimately drive customer success.
Pawar, who worked as sugarcane cutter in cane fields, was native of Dhopte Pondul village. He was visiting his parents at his sister's house in Pune when lockdown was imposed, and got stuck there.

Aurangabad: A 40-year-old farm labourer died of hunger and dehydration while walking from Pune to his village in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, over 360 km away, the police said on Wednesday.

Pintu Pawar's dead body was found on Monday at Dhanora in Beed district, 200 km from his village, said assistant inspector Dnyneshwar Kuklare of Ambhora police station. "The postmortem was done later and it was found that he died due to exhaustion due to excessive walking, hunger and dehydration around 15 May," the official said.

Pawar, who worked as sugarcane cutter in cane fields, was native of Dhopte Pondul village. He was visiting his parents at his sister's house in Pune when lockdown was imposed, and got stuck there.

According to his sister Kaveri Jadhav, he became restless as lockdown continued and decided to walk home. He left Pune on 8 May. Pawar reached Ahmednagar on 14 May. As he did not have a mobile phone, he contacted his family by using someone else's phone.

Dhanora, where his body was found, is 30 to 35 km from Ahmednagar. The death came to light when someone complained of foul smell from a roadside shed, the police said.

Pawar's last rites were performed by officials of the Dhanora gram panchayat and police after consulting his family members, the police official said.

"My son who is seven years old keeps asking everyone when will his father return," said Chandrakala Pawar, Pintu Pawar's wife. "He even calls up relatives on phone and asks the question....He is yet to understand the truth," she said.

Chandrakala and her husband were last together at Shirol where they were working as labourers.

"We were away from home for around four to five months. We were about to return to our village. My husband told me that he will meet his parents in Pune and return. That was our last conversation," she said. "Our son's future is now my biggest concern," she added.

Kaveri, Pawar's sister, said she and her parents "begged" him not to undertake the journey on foot. "As the lockdown continued, he became very restless, saying he wanted to go home as he had not seen his son for six months," she said.

"I told him I would pay for the fare, but he was adamant about going on foot with a group of migrants from Parbhani. I and my parents begged him not to go walking but in vain," she added.

"He called me from someone else's phone a few times. But not once he complained that he was unwell. When I asked about food, he said he got food packets on the way," Jadhav said. "I should not have allowed him to leave," she said.
There will be no face-to-face lectures in the University of Cambridge in the next academic year beginning October 6 as part of plans to deal with coronavirus pandemic that has left British universities reeling with financial and other challenges.

Teaching in the current Easter term in Cambridge was moved to online in April, but university authorities have now decided to continue to teach and hold exams online in 2020-21. If the official advice changes, it may be possible to hold some small teaching groups in person.

Cambridge is among several universities bracing for lesser number of Indian and other non-EU international students turning up when the next academic year begins in September-October. The university sector has sought a bailout from the government.

A Cambridge spokesman said: The university is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the university has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.

Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social-distancing requirements. This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.

Universities moving to a virtual learning environment will deprive students of campus experience, which is one of the key attractions of international students to come to the UK. Stake-holders say it should be made clear to students how they would be taught before they arrive for the next academic year.

In April, five unions warned the government that universities must be given extra protection during the pandemic to ensure their financial survival; some universities were already facing major financial challenges before the pandemic struck.

Until recently, ministers, diplomats and stake-holders were hailing an increase in the number of Indian students based on visas granted, but there are now concerns over the extent of the new intake from September-October.

In a joint letter to higher education minister Michelle Donelan, the unions representing higher education staff sought urgent assurances that universities will not be allowed to collapse financially as a result of the outbreak, backed up with legislation.

The unions  UNISON, University and College Union (UCU), GMB, Unite and the Educational Institute of Scotland  said in a letter to the government that the university sector is too valuable for any institutions to get into financial difficulties.

The letter says: The university sector is one of the most productive and important parts of the UK economy with international students alone bringing in 7.3 billion each year and the sector as a whole generating 73 billion.

We are already getting many reports of universities serving notifications of redundancies, and of contractors in universities sending staff home without pay or asking them to use their annual leave.

It is no overstatement to say that such a response from universities will be disastrous for the individuals concerned and their families as well as for the future of the higher education sector  one of the most important industries in the UK, it adds.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Wednesday that prosecutors have opened a criminal inquiry into leaked tapes that allegedly feature the country's former leader discussing conditions for a $1 billion loan with former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

And in yet another insertion of Ukrainian politics into the U.S. elections, Zelensky said the call 'might be perceived, qualified as high treason.'

The tapes, which are yet to be authenticated, were released on Tuesday by Ukrainian lawmaker Andrii Derkach, who long has aired unsubstantiated corruption accusations against Biden and his son, who used to serve on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Derkach met previously with Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, whose investigations in that country played into the failed Democratic impeachment effort.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to the media during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. At the press conference marking Zelenskiy's one year in office, the president answered questions about domestic affairs, foreign policy and his main achievements. (Sergey Dolzhenko/Pool Photo via AP)

The recordings don't appear to contain anything that would incriminate Biden or his son and were seen by some observers as a political effort to help U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection bid.

They largely comport with what Biden has said publicly about his role.

The Ukrainian investigation was opened on treason and abuse of office charges, indicating it was mostly directed against former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko rejected the tapes as a fabrication by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.

There was no immediate sign that the probe could be directed against Biden. The Prosecutor Generals Office gave no further details.

Seperately, a U.S. Senate committee has voted to issue a subpoena as part of its investigation into former Vice President Joe Bidens son, Hunter.

The move that met immediate opposition from Democrats who said the panel should be focused on overseeing the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 8-6 to subpoena Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm that was a consultant to Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine that paid Hunter Biden to serve as a board member.

The leak comes as a GOP Senate committee voted to subpoena Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm that was a consultant to Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine that paid Hunter Biden to serve as a board member.

The leaked calls are are between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

In this handout photo provided by Adriii Derkach's press office, Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for President Donald Trump, left, meets with Ukrainian lawmaker Adriii Derkach in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019

The Senate GOP investigation comes after Trump was revealed on a transcript to have called Zelensky last year and sought a Ukrainian investigation of the Bidens.

The chairman of the Republican-led panel, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, has repeatedly insisted that the investigation is not designed to hurt Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee in this years presidential election. Another Republican on the committee, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, said at the vote that "we need to get to the truth about the Bidens relationship with Burisma. These hearings will provide the Senate with the full picture."

A Biden campaign spokesman said in a statement that Johnson was "running a political errand" for Trump.

Said Zelensky Wednesday: 'As to Poroshenko and Biden, yes, I have heard, I will comment.'

He added: 'I think its not the last sign that Ukrainians will see. The prosecutors, law enforcement bodies should react. The prosecutor general of Ukraine registered criminal proceedings at the request of deputy [Andriy] Derkach yesterday. They will investigate,' the Washington Post reported.

The leaked transcript and new probe comes just months before Trump must stand for reelection, with Biden as his presumed opponent.

Zelenskiy, who carefully avoided taking sides in the U.S. impeachment inquiry, said his predecessor could be in trouble over the tapes.

'They governed the country in such a way that they could face many twists and convictions,' said Zelenskiy, who has repeatedly accused Poroshenko of corruption, accusations the former president has categorically denied.

In a Facebook statement, Poroshenko said the tapes were fabricated and described their release as part of a Kremlin-driven effort to 'undermine bipartisan support of Ukraine in the United States.'

He called Biden a 'friend and ally of Ukraine' and criticized Zelenskiy for eroding Western support for Ukraine to Moscows benefit.

Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and has supported a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has killed 14,000 people in six years. The U.S. and the European Union have responded with a slew of sanctions against Russia.

The Biden campaign declined to comment on the latest Ukraine developments.

Derkach, an obscure figure who has repeatedly changed his political affiliation, doesn't belong to Zelenskiy's camp, but several lawmakers who are members of the governing party announced Wednesday that they would set up a parliamentary panel to conduct their own inquiry into the tapes.

Derkach, the son of Ukraine's former security chief, has held a succession of official jobs after graduating from a spy academy in Moscow in 1993. He is reportedly linked to Ihor Kolomoiskiy, a billionaire who owns a TV channel that broadcast a sitcom that made former comedian Zelenskiy widely famous.

Since his election, Zelenskiy has sought to distance himself from Kolomoiskiy, who hoped to regain control over his bank that was nationalized under Poroshenko's watch. The Ukrainian parliament recently passed a bill that outlawed the bank's return to private hands.

In December, Derkach met with Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Kyiv, a move widely seen as part of a campaign against Biden, now the presumptive Democratic nominee and Trump's rival in the 2020 presidential election.

Derkach alleged Tuesday that Biden promised Poroshenko in 2015-16, when both were still in office, $1 billion in loan guarantees in exchange for 'keeping Burisma's schemes and international corruption in place' by ousting then Prosecutor General Victor Shokin to prevent him from investigating the company.

But on the tape Derkach released, the two men introduced as 'Vice President Biden' and 'President Poroshenko' discuss replacing Shokin as a condition for the loan guarantees, but make no mention of Burisma.

Biden has previously said the loan was linked to the removal of Shokin as part of an anti-corruption effort backed by the U.S. government, EU and international lenders.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks to media during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

In one of the edited fragments, 'Poroshenko' says he convinced Shokin to resign as a 'second step' of keeping the promises he made to Biden in a bid to get the loan guarantees.

Shokin was eventually fired in March 2016.

In another fragment, 'Biden' says that 'now that the new prosecutor general is in place, were ready to move forward in signing that new $1 billion loan guarantee.'

Derkach said he obtained the recordings from unnamed 'investigative journalists' and claimed they were made by Poroshenko.

Commentators in Ukraine believe that Derkach was trying to help Trump win the 2020 election.

'Derkach clearly plays for Trump,' Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the independent Kyiv-based Penta think tank, told the AP.

Fesenko noted, however, that the tape doesn't offer anything incriminating.

'There is nothing super sensational in these conversations. Where is the dirt on Biden? Where is the reference to Burisma?' he said. 'None of it is there. Instead these are conversations between a dependent foreign politician and his boss, which is a sad but natural reality for us here, but is unlikely to impress the Americans.'
China's consul-general to WA Dong Zhihua has "moved to Beijing", according to a social media post that appeared in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

References to Ms Dong's position as consul-general were also removed from her Twitter profile, which she used regularly up until Saturday.

Chinese consul-general to WA Dong Zhihua.

Australia has been locked in a dispute with China after Beijing decided to hit barley imports with an 80 per cent tariff.

Ms Dong made the post to Facebook in Beijing just before 3am, Australian Western Standard Time, saying she had "moved to Beijing", but offering no other explanation.
Does the May share price for SunOpta Inc. (TSE:SOY) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for SunOpta

The method

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$11.9m US$14.8m US$17.4m US$19.6m US$21.5m US$23.0m US$24.3m US$25.3m US$26.2m US$27.0m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 34.09% Est @ 24.36% Est @ 17.55% Est @ 12.78% Est @ 9.45% Est @ 7.11% Est @ 5.48% Est @ 4.33% Est @ 3.53% Est @ 2.97% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.0% US$11.0 US$12.7 US$13.8 US$14.4 US$14.6 US$14.5 US$14.2 US$13.7 US$13.1 US$12.5

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$134m

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (1.7%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2029  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$27m (1 + 1.7%)  8.0% 1.7%) = US$434m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$434m ( 1 + 8.0%)10= US$202m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is US$336m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CA$5.2, the company appears about fair value at a 0.1% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

TSX:SOY Intrinsic value May 20th 2020

The assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at SunOpta as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.051. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For SunOpta, There are three further factors you should further examine:

Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for SunOpta we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does SOY's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every CA stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Photo: Chongqing Jiaotong University

Chinese navy garrisoned on an island in the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea recently harvested 1.5 tons of vegetables on sandy beaches for the first time, using technology which experts said could support communities on islands.

Seven kinds of vegetables, including Pakchoi cabbage, lettuce and baby Chinese cabbage, were harvested on a "sand to earth" experimental field on Yongxing Island in Sansha city, South China's Hainan Province, on May 12, according to a report from the Chinese navy on Tuesday.

"The technology will be promoted on a large scale, which could solve the problem of military forces and civilians on islands lacking enough green vegetables," a navy officer said, according to the report.

The navy's garrisoned force in Xisha worked with the "sand to earth" research team from the Chongqing Jiaotong University in Southwest China for four months to achieve the "miracle."

According to the navy's report, naval officers and scientists mixed a botanical fiber adhesive powder material into the sand. After watering, the sand became soil. Seeds planted in a 0.5-mu field on April 4 grew into more than 1,500 kilograms of harvests after one month, which means vegetables could be harvested five or six times a year.

The team from Chongqing Jiaotong University had changed 4,000 mu of desert into farming land in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2017.

The breakthrough also counters international theories, including those in a 2016 arbitration, that islands in the South China Sea could not support communities of their own, Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Now China's capability of being able to support civilians on these islands would allow more people to live on the islands," Chen noted.

The high temperatures, high humidity and high salt content had made farming extremely difficult on the South China Sea islands, Chen said.

"Being able to grow vegetables makes it possible to take the next step, such as raising pigs or chickens. An ecological cycle would make the islands more suitable for humans to live there for a longer time," Chen said. "In the future, each island could form a small independent community."

Since the 1970s, forces stationed in the islands have relied on green-leaf vegetables to be shipped to them. But sometimes boats could not reach the islands due to bad weather, and officers could only eat seaweed, pumpkins or beancurd sticks, causing nutritional issues, according to the navy report.

Navy officers tried bringing soil from the mainland, but they could only grow a small amount of vegetables. In 2007, the Ministry of Science and Technology built a vegetable demonstrative base on Yongxing island. Vegetable greenhouses were also built on some islands.

Sansha city was founded in 2012. With more and more navy officers and civilians moving onto the islands, the need for green-leaf vegetables has been increasing.
Sheet pan dinners are the new mealtime darlings these days, and its easy to see why. The chosen protein and vegetable sides all get chummy on the same dish as they bake together. And in about a half-hour, dinners ready. No extra bowls or pans to wash.

For weeks I tended to avoid tray bake meals. Id read recipes, give them some thought, then reject them. Why? Im not sure exactly. Was it snobbery? I dont think so. I think it was because I couldnt quite see how the different foods would all be ready to eat at the same time. Thats really the main thing to keep in mind when creating a sheet pan meal.

Here are some specifics to keep in mind for planning your own tray bake creations. Dont even think of cooking shrimp that way. Even fish fillets are tricky because they need to bake at a low temperature, around 275 degrees, for 25 to 30 minutes. That temperatures too low for firm-textured vegetables.

Chicken thighs work really well because their flesh is dense and fairly fatty and will cook completely and relatively quickly in a hot oven. And you dont have to turn them over while theyre cooking. But be careful with boneless chicken breasts. Theyll work, but youll need to add them to the tray after the vegetables have been in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. And who wants to do that?

The vegetables in a tray bake need to be non-watery. Supermarket mushrooms ooze too much liquid. Cherry tomatoes, popular in some tray bake recipes, are also not a good choice for the same reason. These vegetables will create pools of unwanted liquid.

The best vegetables for sheet pan dinners are the firmest: Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts are all excellent. Kale, de-ribbed and leaves torn into largish pieces, will also cook up nicely.

Experiment! And have fun.

Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner with Roasted Brussels sprouts and Carrots

(4-6 servings)

For the best flavor, marinate the chicken overnight. Or marinate for 6 to 8 hours during the day. If you dont have smoked paprika, sweet paprika will work just fine. You dont need to do anything to the chicken except cut away any large pieces of fat.

1 cup buttermilk

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

4 garlic cloves, put through a garlic press or finely minced

6 large skinless and boneless chicken thighs (1 3/4 to 2 pounds)

6 large carrots, rainbow if available (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 pound Brussels sprouts

Salt and pepper

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (reserve remainder for the carrots and Brussels sprouts), coriander, cayenne, turmeric, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic. Add the chicken thighs and submerge them in the marinade. Cover tightly and refrigerate, preferably overnight.

2. The next day, peel the carrots and trim off the root ends. Cut the carrots into unevenly shaped chunks the Chinese roll-cut way. For the first cut, set the knife blade at a 45-degree angle about 1 1/2 inches in from the root end and make your cut. Roll the carrot towards you about a half turn and make a second cut at a 45-degree angle about 1 1/2 inches from the first cut. Continue down the length of the carrot. Repeat with the other carrots. Before you know it the job is done.

3. For the Brussels sprouts, trim off the ends  not too much or the leaves will come off. If the sprouts are small, say no larger than 1 inch, you can leave them whole. Otherwise cut them in half through the stem end.

4. About 1 hour before youre ready to cook, take the bowl with the chicken out of the fridge and let stand at room temperature. Line a large rimmed baking sheet (17-by-11-inch) with foil. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a rack in the center position.

5. Put the carrots on the foil, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil. Toss carrots around to coat with the oil and spread them out over one-fourth of the foil. Repeat with the Brussels sprouts so that the vegetables occupy one-half the length of the sheet pan.

6. Remove the chicken one piece at a time from the marinade and arrange the thighs  with their original skin sides up  down the length of the empty section of foil. Save the marinade!

7. Put the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the vegetables are browned in spots and the chicken is cooked through. While the dish cooks, transfer the marinade to a small (1-quart) saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, and remove from the heat. Serve the chicken and vegetables on heated dinner plates, and spoon the marinade onto the chicken.

8. Any leftovers? Serve with cooked pasta, preferably the wide pappardelle or tagliatelle.

Greg Patent is a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author for Baking in America, a food journalist, blogger, and radio co-host for The Food Guys on Montana Public Radio. Please visit his blog, www.thebakingwizard.com, and follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

With large tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft extending their work-from-home policies until the fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economists are predicting that real estate trends might shift and cause a "suburban boom" in the housing market.

In a newly released survey, the Seattle-based Zillow Group found that 75% of Americans working from home due to COVID-19 would prefer to telecommute at least half of the time once the pandemic subsides, and 66% said they would consider moving if their job allowed them to continue telecommuting.

A recent Redfin survey yielded similar results with 50% of respondents in cities like New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle saying they would consider moving out of the city if work-from-home became permanent.

These trends in the job market are leading economists to predict that post-pandemic housing preferences may move away from dense metropolitan areas due to the virus and more lenient work-from-home situations.

"Moving away from the central core has traditionally offered affordability at the cost of your time and gas money. Relaxing those costs by working remotely could mean more households choose those larger homes farther out, easing price pressure on urban and inner suburban areas," said Zillow senior principal economist, Skylar Olsen.

As people reconsider housing options in conjunction with remote work, the amount of space desired by home shoppers will also shift. Zillow predicts that larger homes, especially those with extra rooms or home offices, will be in high demand.

Additionally, the growing affordability crisis in cities may also have a major impact on the suburban real estate surge. But proximity to a metropolitan center is still crucial. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman predicted that people will move to nearby suburban areas like Tacoma to be able to make office visits in Seattle when necessary.

"Prior to this pandemic, the housing affordability crisis was already driving people from large cities to small. Now, more permissive policies around remote work, and a rising wariness about close quarters, will likely accelerate that trend," said Kelman. "We expect to see more people commuting once a week from Sacramento to San Francisco, from Tacoma to Seattle, from New Hampshire to Boston. Some wont commute at all, choosing instead to work completely virtually from a small town, perhaps where their parents still live. The whole narrative of the past 200 years, of the young person moving to the big city, may turn a little upside down in the years ahead."

According to the Pew Research Center, only 7% of American workers had the option to telecommute as a benefit prior to the COVID-19 pandemic although over 40% of jobs could be performed remotely. With more employers seeing that remote work is a possibility, this gap may narrow once the pandemic is over.

However, a shift to living further out of the metropolitan core is not without its drawbacks, which is why Olsen and other economists do not predict that the market surge will extend to more rural areas.

"However, [moving way from cities] means they'd also be moving farther from a wider variety of restaurants, shops, yoga studios and art galleries," said Olsen. "Given the value many place on access to such amenities, we're not talking about the rise of the rural homesteader on a large scale. Future growth under broader remote work would still favor suburban communities or secondary cities that offer those amenities along with more spacious homes and larger lots."

A move to suburban areas is not the only way COVID-19 is expected to impact the housing market. For those selling their homes, a decrease in the GDP can mean a drop in value.

Using a baseline prediction that the GDP will drop 4.9% in 2020, Zillow economists also predict that home prices nationwide will fall between 2-3% through the end of the year and only return to pre-coronavirus levels by late summer of 2021.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
- Rwandan health minister, Daniel Ngamije, said the five high tech robots would help doctors and nurses in reducing their contact with COVID-19 patients and minimising their risk of infection

- The robots were given Rwandan names, Akazuba (meaning sun in English), Ikizere (meaning hope), Mwiza (meaning beautiful), Ngabo (meaning shield) and Urumuri (meaning light)

- As of Wednesday, May 20, morning Rwanda had confirmed 308 cases of the disease with 209 recoveries and no single reported death

Rwanda has scaled its fight against coronavirus pandemic by deploying robots to screen, deliver food and drugs to COVID-19 patients across the country.

Rwandan health minister, Daniel Ngamije, said the five high tech robots would help doctors and nurses in reducing their contact with COVID-19 patients and minimising their risk of infection with the deadly virus.

READ ALSO: Makau Mutua says William Ruto will re-emerge with a bang "Timing is everything"

The robots were given Rwandan names: Akazuba (meaning sun in English), Ikizere (meaning hope), Mwiza (meaning beautiful), Ngabo (meaning shield) and Urumuri (meaning light). Photo: BBC.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Yummy mummy: Lilian Muli flaunts lovely curves in figure-hugging trousers during news night

Speaking at Kanyinya Hospital in the capital city Kigali, the minister said the robots had the capacity to screen up to 150 people per minute, CGTN reported.

"The robots, donated to the Health Ministry by the United Nations Development Program and the Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation, have the capacity to screen 50 to 150 people per minute, deliver food and medication to patient rooms, capture data and notify officers on duty about detected abnormalities.

Because of these capabilities, they will enhance health workers efficiency and effectiveness in fighting COVID-19 in our country, he said, adding that they would also facilitate the transformation from paper-based to digital patients files," said Ngamije.

Ngamije said the robots had the capacity to screen up to 150 people per minute. Photo: Daniel Ngamije.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Trump aanza kunywa dawa ya hydroxychloroquine bila kufuata ushauri wa daktari

Ngamije said the robots were given Rwandan names, Akazuba (meaning sun in English), Ikizere (meaning hope), Mwiza (meaning beautiful), Ngabo (meaning shield) and Urumuri (meaning light).

It is exciting to see different institutions join hands to seek solutions to address COVID-19. It is yet another milestone that technology is used to improve healthcare in Rwanda, he said.

READ ALSO: Mike Sonko says he's broke, pleads with court to unfreeze his 10 bank accounts

As of Wednesday, May 20, morning, Rwanda had confirmed 308 cases of the disease with 209 recoveries and no single death.

Kenya on the other hand had recorded 963 cases, 358 recoveries and 50 deaths.

Do you have an inspirational story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

My boss in Saudi Arabia had denied me food for more than 10 days- Miriam Wangari| Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The Conroe ISD Board of Trustees approved applications for several grants related to the vastly different crises that have affected the district this school year: Tropical Storm Imelda and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the multiple grants that the board approved applications for during its monthly meeting Tuesday were the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations Grant and the Texas Education Agency Instructional Continuity of Learning Grant.

MORE FROM JAMIE SWINNERTON: United Way grants nearly $80,000 to Montgomery County Food Bank

This is a federal grant designed to supply supplemental resources to support improved student outcomes and increase the capacities of schools to facilitate instructional continuity and distance learning for student affected by the COVID-19 campus closures, Debbie Phillips, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education for CISD, told the board when presenting the Instructional Continuity of Learning Grant application. Under this learning grant, Conroe ISD is eligible to receive up to $49,000 o support one or more of the eligible schools recommended by TEA.

The district intends to use the grant, if awarded, to target San Jacinto Elementary School to support remote instruction and learning and training for staff. The money will be used to purchase computers, connectivity solutions, hotspots, and software to achieve this goal.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Just because you can, doesnt mean you should: Local leaders urge caution as Texas reopens

San Jacinto Elementary is a CISD campus in need of improvement. Its 2019 TEA Accountability Rating was a D. Because of its need for improvement the district has implemented several plans this year to help it improve.

In a strange change of pace from the current crisis, the board also approved a grant application related to emergency funds allocated for schools impacted by Tropical Storm Imelda, which hit east Montgomery County last September. Caney Creek High School was closed for a time to allow for cleaning and repairs after serious flooding.

The grant is part of the federal Hurricane Education Recovery Act and is intended to support districts with expenses related to the restart of operations in, the reopening of, and the re-enrollment of students in elementary and secondary schools that serve an area in which the Federal government declared a major disaster related to designated 2019 flooding.

LATEST STATE DATA: TEA report cards largely positive for Conroe ISD

TEA has indicated Conroe ISD is eligible to receive $1,944,983, according to the meeting board book. These funds, if awarded, would be used to address identified expenses incurred by the District during recovery from Tropical Storm Imelda such as providing additional counselors, nurses, and nurses aides to meet the needs of students, reasonable costs to transport displaced students, hardware/software for use in tutorial and remedial programs, and supporting recovery efforts.

Both applications were passed by the board unanimously.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
New Delhi, May 20 : Highlighting the plight of migrant workers walking on foot to their native places, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to give permission to the buses arranged by her party to transport them or else it will send them back.

Addressing a press conference over the politics over the buses to ferry the migrant workers, Priyanka Gandhi said, "For the last few days we have seen that migrant workers have been walking without any food and any proper mode of transportation. They are coming from several parts of the country and travelling hundreds of kilometers. Even many pregnant women are walking for over eight hours a day, while some people are carrying their children and parents on their shoulders." She said that during the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis everyone needs to learn their responsibilities.

"They are not only people of country, but they are the backbone of the country who have made the buildings and cities," she said. Reiterating the offer of providing 1,000 buses to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Congress leader, who is also party in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said, "Our buses have been standing at the Uttar Pradesh borders. They will remain there till 4 p.m. If you want to use them, then give permission or they will be brought back." She also said if the BJP wants to use these buses with their own stickers and posters, the Congress has no objection to it as its only motive is to help the migrant workers. She also said that in the last three days, since the time when the buses have been standing at the Uttar Pradesh borders, over 92,000 people have been ferried to their native places. "But now we can see that the same people are walking on foot to their homes," she said.

She also mentioned the letter war with the Uttar Pradesh government and said, "I have written to the Chief Minister proposing to provide 1,000 buses. But initially the Chief Minister said that we don't need buses as it already has over 12,000 buses. But then next day we received a letter from the Uttar Pradesh government to provide the details of the buses, which we shared with them. Out of 1,000 buses, some were not fit, to which also we agreed to provide other buses," she said.

"However, for the last three days the buses have been standing at the Uttar Pradesh border adjoining Rajasthan and in Delhi and waiting for the permission," she said. Her remarks came amid the bus politics heating up for the third consecutive day on Wednesday.

Emphasising that it is not the time for petty politics, she said, "It is important that all political parties should help the people. And UP Congress with the motive of helping migrant workers after the announcement of lockdown formed a volunteer group and also started running community kitchens in several parts of the state." She said that the Congress has till date distributed food to over 67 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh. Out of these 67 lakh, 60 lakh are from Uttar Pradesh while seven lakh are from other states, she said.
H undreds of vulnerable Londoners have been successfully shielded from coronavirus while continuing to receive life-saving NHS care three times a week.

Guys and St Thomas trust established a Covid-positive site for kidney dialysis patients with coronavirus, preventing them coming into contact with other dialysis patients.

The trust operates six satellite dialysis units in south-east London and Kent which are used by 670 patients three times a week.

Staff feared that about half would contract Covid-19, which would place them in grave danger as dialysis patients have a compromised immune system.

But by treating Covid-positive patients only at its New Cross Gate unit, the number contracting the virus was kept under 100.

Several patients died but the mortality rate was said to be among the lowest in the UK for dialysis patients when the higher prevalence of the virus in the capital is factored in.

Matthew Bultitude, clinical director for transplant, renal and urology at Guys and St Thomas and a consultant urological surgeon, said: In a hospital situation, we know what to do  we have a dedicated ward, or we use side rooms. That is just not possible in a dialysis unit. It has worked very well. I think it has prevented cross-transmission.

The approach contrasted with other NHS trusts, which separated patients within the same unit.

Dialysis patients often have diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Many are awaiting transplants, but these were halted during the pandemic, so patients had no route off dialysis.

Patients often have a chronic cough, increasing the risk of spreading the virus. They wear face masks while being transported to clinic and during dialysis. Patients at the trust are being regularly swabbed, but less than two per cent of asymptomatic patients are being found to have the virus.

About a dozen patients are still using the Covid-positive unit at New Cross but it may be wound down next week. At its peak, the number was about 50.

Glenda Baillie, head of nursing for the directorate, said: They are very vulnerable and they are a shielded group  but, by the nature of needing to come into a healthcare setting three times a week to sustain their lives they cannot be shielded.

We think that what we have done around the cohorting and triaging in the units means we have potentially reduced our numbers by what could have been another 200.

David Game, the lead for nephrology, said: We are quite surprised how resilient this population has been. We were expecting a higher mortality rate. We were very worried early on when we could see what had gone on elsewhere.

The commonest cause of death for a dialysis patient in China was not having dialysis. We were very keen that that should not be the case, and that we would offer everyone as much dialysis as they were getting before.
The Council of the European Union has approved a proposal of the European Commission to provide EUR 1.2 billion of micro-financial assistance to help Ukraine to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The respective decision was taken on May 20 under the written procedure during sitting of the EU Council.

It is expected that after this Kyiv and Brussels will begin negotiations regarding the future Memorandum, which should specify the conditions for the allocation of the second tranche. Further, the Memorandum should be ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, after which Ukraine will receive the first tranche in the amount of EUR 600 million, which is unconditional. The horizontal condition for obtaining macro-financial assistance is mandatory cooperation with the IMF.

On May 15, European Parliament backed the commission's proposal.
Shortly after the re-opening of the Ford Otosan factory in Golcuk, Kocaeli on May 4, several COVID-19 cases were reported among the workers. However, production continues at the plant. As US autoworkers also have also begun returning to work amid widespread anger at the auto companies, this demonstrates that unsafe and even deadly conditions during the pandemic are an international issue facing workers of every country.

The first report came last Monday, when autoworkers at the factory told the daily Evrensel that a worker in the assembly department was infected. Mehmet Sener, a Turk Metal trade union official, denied this, stating that the worker is just under quarantine because someone in his family was infected: We are currently waiting for the test result.

While management and the union initially tried to hide the situation from workers, Ford management had to admit last Thursday that there are at least 10 cases among workers in the factory. This is a grave danger not only for Ford workers but also for their families and neighbors. The union is playing a reactionary role against the workers.

Previously it signed an agreement with Metal Industry Employers Association (MESS), stating that if any COVID-19 cases emerged in the factories, it would invoke workers legal right to withdraw, that is to strike, against unsafe working conditions. But of course this was another lie. Workers cannot leave their fate in the hands of these corrupt, pro-company unions.

The only way to guarantee workplace safety is for workers to take independent action, building their own rank-and-file safety committees independent of the unions to monitor conditions and, if necessary, stop production in non-essential sectors. Workers who exercise their right to withdraw must have full pay during the pandemic, so that the struggle to ensure safe working conditions does not come at the expense of living standards.

The situation facing autoworkers and other sections of the working class raises the necessity for organizing independently of the trade unions to defend human needs and lives, not profits.

The reopening of auto factories in Turkey, which employ about 50,000 workers directly, but hundreds of thousands along the entire supply chain, has gone parallel with a normalization campaign launched by the government and media at the end of April. Ford, Renault, Tofas-Fiat, Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda and other automakers shut their factories in March or early April, largely due to supply chain problems and a collapse in demand. Wildcat strikes by autoworkers in America and Europe intensified supply problems.

Especially after April 20, however, a peak point in the outbreak in Turkey, with over 4,500 new cases and 123 deaths, auto companies began to reopen, forcing workers back to work in unsafe conditions. After production resumed in Toyota and at Tofas-Fiat plants on May 11, the Turkish auto industry has reopened completely. Starting with the auto industry, all the major industrial sectors are now resuming production.

From the beginning of the pandemic, the Erdogan government suspended only small businesses operations, seeking to save the profits of the capitalist class. When it announced limited weekend lockdowns, many factories and workplaces in non-essential sectors remained open thanks to special dispensations. This policy has cost at least 103 workers lives in April alone. The rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases among workers is almost three times the average in Turkey.

Moreover, the Turkish ruling class has seized upon the pandemic as an opportunity to restructure class relations via a massive onslaught against the working class. The Erdogan government calls it the new normal. Spokesperson Ibrahim Kaln said on Sunday, Let's not forget that the post-coronavirus process is the new normal. The conditions, dynamics and parameters of the new normal are being built right now  Nothing will be the same.

On this basis, the Turkish bourgeoisie is taking class-war measures in line with such attacks on the working class internationally amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Firstly, the government passed a new law last month letting employers put workers on unpaid leave for up to six months on just 39 lira ($6) daily, while handing over billions to the ruling elites and forcing workers to choose between working in unsafe conditions or starvation.

Moreover, millions of workers have been condemned to live on a pittance. According to a recent Labor Ministry report, while one group of nearly 3 million workers has received on average just 1,590 liras as short-time working allowance, another group of nearly 800,000 workers got only 500 liras on average as unpaid leave assistance thus far.

On May 7, the Social Security Institution issued a circular stating that workers deaths and illnesses due to COVID-19 cannot be considered an occupational illness or accident. This lets employers avoid paying compensation to workers or their families if they get COVID-19.

On the other hand, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has forced banking and call center workers, who are working from home, to open their web cameras. In its formal letter, the BDDK declared: The personnel of the call centers will be monitored by the Banks teams, with cameras open during calls.

Another sinister system to monitor workers movements has been developed by MESS, a device named MESS-SAFE, under the pretext of enforcing social distancing at work. This device is an electronic fetter that follows, records and reports all of a workers movements. Worn around workers necks, it measures the distance from other devices around it, and provides a warning when the social distancing rules are not followed.

Moreover, the Independent Industrialists and Businessmens Association (MUSIAD) announced a project last Tuesday to build isolated production bases to avoid stopping production amid this pandemic and continue exploitation of the working class. Developed seven years ago as Medium-Scaled Industrial Areas, the project was immediately changed after the pandemic and received the necessary legal permissions to proceed.

Designed to accommodate 1,000 families and approximately 4,500 people, these areas in fact are modern-day labor camps. Planned as isolated living spaces, complete with educational institutions, according to the official statement, the bases will be able to continue their production inside by closing their doors in an outbreak or possible natural disaster. They will manage all bonded warehouses, storage and sanitation processes.

The first isolated production base will open on June 15 in the northwestern city of Tekirdag. Three more bases will be built in different provinces, including Istanbul. According to a MUSIAD official, they plan to build similar bases across Turkey. In another example of the reactionary collaboration between the capitalist class and the unions, the Hak-Is trade union confederation enthusiastically hailed this labor camp project.

The working class can defend human life and fight a new normal of working under threats of death, mass unemployment, wage cuts, labor camps and the decimation of social rights only on the basis of an independent political struggle against the capitalist system and for socialism.
Owning a Tesla, the luxurious electric car, is a major liberal status symbol. It signals nothing more than good taste  the perfect balance of wealth with care for fossil fuels. But the man behind the brand is crafting a very different persona online that may now prove to be a challenge for his fans.

Elon Musk, the bombastic head of Tesla and SpaceX, exhorted his 34 million Twitter followers on May 18 to take the red pill. The comment was quickly embraced by his followers, including Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trumps elder daughter, who announced that she had taken the pill already.

The exchange referred to a scene from The Matrix, the 1999 science fiction action film. But the meaning of red pill, and the idea of taking it, has since percolated in online forums and become a deeply political metaphor. And with Musk and Ivanka Trump, the phrase is now lodged more fully into the mainstream.

So Tesla owners are having to grapple with a car that carries a few new connotations.

Honestly, Musk is becoming a liability and the Tesla board needs to seriously consider ousting him, wrote Markos Moulitsas, author of The Resistance Handbook: 45 Ways to Fight Trump. And I say that as a proud owner of a Tesla and a SpaceX fanatic who truly appreciates what hes built.

In The Matrix, the movies hero, Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, is given the option to take a pill that lets him see the truth.

The world he thinks is real turns out to be an entertaining lie; his body is actually trapped in a farm where people are being used as human batteries. Taking the blue pill would let him return to living in the ignorant but blissful lie, while taking the red pill would launch him into an arduous journey through a brutal but fulfilling reality.

The idea of taking the red pill later grew to mean waking up to societys grand lies. It was embraced by the right, especially by members of its youngest cohort who organised and spent their time in online forums like Reddit and 4chan.

The truth to be woken up to varied, but it ended up usually being about gender. To be red-pilled meant you discovered that feminism was a scam that ruined the lives of boys and girls. In this view, for a male to refuse the red pill was to be weak.

Red Pill forums were often filled with deeply misogynistic and often racist diatribes. The more extreme elements splintered into groups like involuntary celibates (incels) or male separatists (Men Going Their Own Way, or MGTOWs). Conferences like The 21 Convention and its sister convention Make Women Great Again sprang up to gather red-pilled men. Being red-pilled became a sort of umbrella term for all of it.

As these conversations seeped into the mainstream, pulled along by a host of other internet language from message boards to establishment Republican conversations on sites like Breitbart, the meaning broadened and got watered down. To be red-pilled can now mean being broadly skeptical of experts, to be distrustful of the mainstream press or to see hypocrisy in social liberalism.

Musk has been pretty wild online for years now, which has made him a major internet celebrity with devoted fans who call themselves Musketeers. There are fan pages like Musk Memes with nearly 100,000 followers, and a Reddit page with 200,000 members in constant, extremely active conversation.

Most recently, Musk has been a prominent skeptic online of the coronavirus, calling the response to it a panic and dumb and wrongly predicting close to zero new cases by the end of April. As of May 20, there were more than 90,000 deaths from the virus and more than 1.5 million cases in the United States alone.

The night before Teslas earnings were released last month, Musk tweeted an anti-lockdown rallying cry: FREE AMERICA NOW. He had a showdown with local lawmakers, threatening to move Tesla headquarters out of California and deciding to reopen a Tesla factory in Fremont, California, despite the local countys restrictions to prevent the virus from spreading. When state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez objected on May 9 with an obscene tweet, Musk responded, Message received.

Defending his reopening of the Tesla factory, Musk wrote on Twitter that he would be on the factory floor and offered himself up to authorities. I will be on the line with everyone else, he posted on May 11. If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.

This month, he and his girlfriend, Claire Boucher, the musician known as Grimes, had a child and named him X  A-12. And Musk announced that Tesla shares were too high and that he was selling almost all his possessions to the point of owning no house.

We have a phrase, its EMM  Elon Moves Markets, said Bill Selesky, an analyst at Argus Research who tracks how Musks messages affect Teslas stock price. People want to listen to him no matter what he says. He tends to be thought of as a great visionary.

Selesky said that even Musks detractors carefully parse every tweet and utterance. Plus, if you have a Tesla, nobody can ever complain about you because youre good for society, he added.

This leads back to Musks message on May 19, telling his followers to take the red pill.

No. Lilly Wachowski, a Matrix co-creator, told Musk and Ivanka Trump in colorful language on Twitter that they could take a hike.To some extent.

There has long been a strain of mens rights activism in Silicon Valley, exemplified by James Damore, a former Google engineer who was fired after writing a memo arguing that the reason there are fewer female engineers is biological differences rather than discrimination.

Damore became a folk hero for a simmering movement in the technology industry of people who thought the efforts toward 50/50 representation at tech companies was absurd. Cassie Jaye, who calls herself a former feminist, made a 2016 documentary about the Red Pill community and said it had flourished in the tech world.

But the more common phrase in Silicon Valley to signal contrarian thinking is narrative violation, which is often used to describe an event that cuts against the mainstream medias consensus on a topic. The idea is that there is a story being told about the world and how it works, but that the story is too simplistic to be entirely true and an event occasionally pops up to remind people of that.

Few products today are as deeply entwined with a persons brand as Tesla is with Musk, and so his comments can feel personal for Tesla drivers.

As a Tesla owner, a 47-year-old male recovering from COVID-19, and someone very concerned simultaneously about the environment, the economy, my kids and my parents future, this aint great, said Jeff Guilfoyle, a product manager at FireEye in San Diego. This disease is no joke, and the long-term health impacts are unknown for survivors.

Many have implored Musk online to stop.

Raja Sohail Abbas, the Chief Executive of an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Allentown, Pennsylvania, wrote, I am a Tesla owner and love the company. You have to stop being an idiot about this.

The debate has riven the Tesla community.

The last two months, theres been this polarisation in the Elon Musk fan club, said Paula Timothy-Mellon, a technology consultant who moderates that LinkedIn-based fan club, which has 22,000 members. There are those who are believers in these California guidelines and there are those in favor of his push to reopen Tesla.

Driving a Tesla often carries great symbolism for the owner (and observers).

If you own a Tesla, you feel you are directly connected to Elon Musk and people think that Tesla owners are directly connected to the politics of the CEO, said Sam Kelly, a Tesla owner and investor based in Spain who posts under the name SamTalksTesla.

Asked to explain his thinking, Musk pasted an image of the Urban Dictionary definition of red pill in an email. It read:

Red pill has become a popular phrase among cyberculture and signifies a free-thinking attitude, and a waking up from a normal life of sloth and ignorance. Red pills prefer the truth, no matter how gritty and painful it may be.

c.2020 The New York Times Company
Owning a Tesla, the luxurious electric car, is a major liberal status symbol. It signals nothing more than good taste  the perfect balance of wealth with care for fossil fuels. But the man behind the brand is crafting a very different persona online that may now prove to be a challenge for his fans.

Elon Musk, the bombastic head of Tesla and SpaceX, exhorted his 34 million Twitter followers on Sunday to "take the red pill". The comment was quickly embraced by his followers, including Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump's elder daughter, who announced that she had taken the pill already.

Elon Musk has ruffled feathers with his 'red pill' tweet. Credit:Bloomberg

The exchange referred to a scene from The Matrix, the 1999 science-fiction action film. But the meaning of "red pill" and the idea of taking it, has since percolated in online forums and become a deeply political metaphor. And with Musk and Ivanka Trump, the phrase is now lodged more fully into the mainstream.

So Tesla owners are having to grapple with a car that carries a few new connotations.
Millions of British workers are being driven back to work in dangerously unsafe conditions. Behind Prime Minister Boris Johnsons hokum of caution, a phased return and meeting five criteria is the reality of a reckless and premature reopening of the economy that will cost thousands of lives.

With the government furlough scheme only covering 7 million workers, many have now been told to return to their workplaces. Many more will follow within weeks. Those returning will join half the UK workforce that has worked throughout the seven-week lockdown. A survey by the consultancy Healthy Return of 100 employers with 52,000 workers found that 30 to 80 percent of employees will be called back to the workplace in the coming weeks. Sixty percent of employers intend to bring in more than half their workforce and nearly a third more than 70 percent.

The Conservative government knows it is placing millions at risk and could not care less. It is seeking to reopen primary schools on June 1, despite massive opposition among parents and teachers and reports of outbreaks of COVID-19 in 70 French schools immediately on their reopening. All that matters for the government is that schools can be used as a holding pen for children so their parents can return to work.

So dangerous is travelling on public transport that the government has been forced to issue advice that it should be avoided wherever possible. But the situation in workplaces is just as dangerous. Nothing of significance has been put in place regarding personal protective equipment, sanitary measures and social distancing and nothing will be done to change this.

Last Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, The Health and Safety Executive [HSE] will be enforcing companies compliance with safety guidelines, and we will have spot inspections to make sure that businesses are keeping their employees safe.

He was lying. On Sunday, the i newspaper reported that the HSE has not carried out any inspections of workplaces since March and has not set a date for when they will resume. A spokesperson explained, In line with government guidance to cease all but essential work that cannot be done outside of the home, minimising contact between individuals, HSE has paused all proactive inspections at this time to reduce any risk posed to our own staff and to members of the public.

HSE says it is encouraging companies to self-police, a blank check for corporations to do nothing.

The HSE has been gutted by the Conservatives, with the number of inspectors cut by a third since 2010, so that inspections have fallen year on year as part of the Tory bonfire of the regulations. The net result of all such Tory cuts has been the needless death of tens of thousands, including frontline workers during the pandemic, and with a particularly grisly toll being taken on the elderly and the infirm.

Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics reported that excess deaths based on the time of yearconsidered by many to be the best indication of the actual impact of the pandemicreached almost 55,000 in early May. The Financial Times estimates it closer to 62,000.

This will be dwarfed by a second wave of the pandemic. An editorial in this weeks British Medical Journal warned that without an effective strategy for case finding, testing, contact tracing, and isolation, the relaxation of social distancing would trigger further epidemic spikes with prospects of a vaccine or treatment still distant.

There is growing opposition to the Johnson government that presently finds no organised expression. It would be unable to implement its back-to-work plans were it not for the role played by the trade unions, as partners to the employers and the government in their criminal conspiracy against the working class.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer never tires of issuing appeals to the Tories for consensus on exiting the lockdown. This has left his party so politically exposed that a slew of Labour councils have been forced to break ranks and declare their refusal to cooperate with Tory plans to reopen schools by June 1. Read the small print and many are simply calling for a slight delay.

However, it is the trade unions that are playing the key role in suppressing opposition in the working class, making occasional noises of protest but never once organising industrial action or other forms of resistance. The overarching aim of the union bureaucracy is to convince the employers that they can organise the return to work in return for Johnson including them as partners in a new form of corporatist government.

The trade unions will not only impose unsafe working conditions, they will police massive job losses and brutal speed-ups, as the full scale of the economic crisis of British and world capitalism becomes clear.

Yesterday saw reports that joblessness claims rose by nearly 70 percent in April. An additional 856,000 people received Universal Credit and jobseekers allowance, lifting the claimant count to nearly 2.1 millionthe largest monthly rise since comparable records began in 1971, and since February 1947 based on different administrative data.

Unemployment will continue to climb. Confirming the imminence of the worst global depression since the 1930s, dwarfing 2008, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has reported that 28 percent of Europeans have lost their jobs permanently or temporarily since the crisis. Almost 50 percent say their working hours have decreased and 15 percent believe they are likely to lose their jobs within the next three months.

In the face of this disaster, the entire trade union bureaucracy is straining every sinew to align themselves with the employers. Writing for LabourList, the Unite unions Assistant General Secretary Steve Turner declared, Trade unions have also been at the virtual table in daily discussions with ministers and employers, before adding, But we are not putting our feet up.

Turner appealed directly to Chancellor Rishi Sunak: No time should be wasted in getting back round the tableunions, ministers and employers, stressing that the UK has become a country that now sees what can be done when government opens up to unions and steps up to its role as an interventionist, strategic partner in the economy We have the ideas. We know what can be done.

In opposition to the corporations and banks, the Tories, Labour, and the corrupt pro-business unions, the Socialist Equality Party urges workers to organise themselves independently in defence of their health, the safety of their loved ones and their jobs and livelihoods.

Individual resistance must give way to a collective programme of class struggle. This means organising rank-and-file committees in every neighbourhood and workplace to ensure safe working conditions and the safety of the entire population.

The reopening of schools and non-essential workplaces must be opposed until they are made safe. Continued and full income must be provided to all affected workers until the pandemic is contained.

Essential workers in health care, food production, transport and distribution must be guaranteed protective gear, universal testing and a safe working environment overseen by their own safety committees, working in conjunction with public health care experts. All those being driven back to work deserve nothing less.

Job losses and speed-ups demanded in the name of national sacrifice must be opposed. Instead, a massive programme of investment in health and social care and in the economy must begin now, paid for by taking the major banks and corporations into social ownership and heavily taxing the obscene wealth of the super-rich.

Workers in the UK must set out to unify their struggles with their brothers and sisters all over the world, based on an international and socialist perspective for planned production for the needs of the vast majority, not corporate profit and the enrichment of the financial oligarchy.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Solebury Trout, a boutique investor relations and corporate communications firm, announced today that it will be hosting a continuation of the Solebury Trout Virtual Global Healthcare Conference Series on May 26, 2020, featuring leading companies from the life sciences industry. At the event, management teams will present a business overview and highlights using an online, digital meeting platform.

Investors and others can register at the Solebury Trout Virtual Global Healthcare Conference Series homepage to access the conference and presentation schedule.

"We heard great feedback from clients and across the biotech community about our inaugural Virtual Global Healthcare Conference and are happy to announce a continuation of the event," commented Jonathan Fassberg, Co-CEO of Solebury Trout. "This platform enables direct access to the many companies in our industry advancing innovative, life-saving technologies and products worldwide."

Presenting companies include:

CureVac (private), Genetron Health (private), Immatics (private), Immunocore (private), Lineage Cell Therapeutics [LCTX], OncoResponse (private), Strongbridge Biopharma [SBBP], Sublimity Therapeutics (private), Targovax [TRVX.OS], VantAI (private), and Zentalis [ZNTL].

More information on the event, including a list of presenters available for 1x1's, please go to www.troutaccess.com.

About Solebury Trout

Solebury Trout is a well-established Investor Relations and Corporate Communications firm. For more than 20 years, Solebury Trout has partnered with private and public companies across all sectors, offering fully outsourced investor relations, perception surveys, environmental, social and governance (ESG) evaluations, C-suite visibility programs, content development, media relations, digital and social media communications, crisis preparation and media and presentation training.

Solebury Trout is affiliated with Solebury Capital and is a subsidiary of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. Solebury Capital a premier equity capital markets advisory firm providing management teams and owners with independent advice and judgment honed in decades of experience in capital markets at leading investment firms across the globe. Since its founding in 2005, Solebury Capital has advised on over 700 successful transactions representing nearly $300B in proceeds.

Contact:

Thomas Hoffmann

thoffman@soleburytrout.com

Disclaimer

"Solebury" is a marketing name for Solebury Trout LLC and Solebury Capital LLC. The services described herein may be performed by a combination of Solebury Trout LLC or Solebury Capital LLC. Solebury deal team members may be employees of either entity. Solebury is an affiliate of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., a diversified financial services company. Equity capital markets advisory and related services are provided by Solebury Capital LLC. Solebury Capital LLC, is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. This material does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any investment product or security.

SOURCE: Solebury Trout

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590700/Solebury-Trout-to-Host-Virtual-Global-Healthcare-Conference-Series-on-May-26
Around a third of residents in a Liverpool care home have died after showing tell-tale coronavirus symptoms.

Paisley Court Care Home, in Dovecot, which can care for up to 60 elderly residents, has recorded at least suspected 20 deaths.

Parent company Care UK said the deaths included those who had shown symptoms but never confirmed to have the virus.

It blamed a lack of 'meaningful levels of testing' in the sector for uncertainty - routine testing was not available until April 15, by which time it was too late for thousands.

More than 12,000 deaths - around a quarter of the total number of coronavirus victims in the UK - have been in care homes, official figures show.

Four out of every 10 care homes in the country say they have had cases at some point.

Officials have come under fire for not offering enough support to care home staff and residents at the beginning of the outbreak, which they deny.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland sparked fury today by admitting that ministers 'chose' to protect the NHS over care homes because there was not enough coronavirus testing capacity.

Paisley Court Care Home, in Dovecot, today confirmed 20 residents had died after showing coronavirus symptoms, making it one of the worst hit care homes of the pandemic

ONS data yesterday showed that 9,980 people had died in care homes in England and Wales by May 8, and a further 1,411 happened between then and May 15, according to the Care Quality Commission and Care Inspectorate Wales

Paisley Court offers nursing care to older people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and those with complex care needs.

The home confirmed 16 of the 20 residents who passed away died at the care home, while the remaining four died in hospital.

A statement from parent company Care UK said the 20 includes residents who were not tested but were displaying coronavirus symptoms before they died.

They did not say how many had definitely been confirmed positive.

A Care UK spokesperson said: 'Sadly, 20 residents from Paisley Court care home have passed away having shown symptoms which suggested coronavirus.

'Without meaningful levels of testing, we are unable to confirm an exact number, so we have included those who showed even the slightest symptoms in the full total.

'No residents in the home are currently showing any symptoms of coronavirus.'

Care UK's Regional Director Maggie Bustard said: 'This is devastating news for the family and friends of these residents as well as our team. Our thoughts are with those who have lost someone and we send our condolences and best wishes.

'I would like to acknowledge the fantastic team at Paisley Court who have worked so hard to care for these other residents.

'We have a number of measures in place to minimise the risk of infection for both residents and colleagues. We have access to a full supply of personal protective equipment which the team is using in line with Public Health England and NHS guidance.

'Residents are being cared for in their rooms as much as possible and we follow strict isolation processes should anyone show even the slightest symptoms.

'We also have control processes in place to ensure anyone who comes into the home, including our own team, is screened via a health and temperature check.'

Latest figures show at least 12,800 COVID-19 deaths have occurred in UK care homes, out of a total of 44,000 total covid deaths to date.

That includes more than 11,000 in England and Wales up until May 8, more than 1,630 in Scotland up until May 16, and 269 in Northern Ireland until May 8.

Last week, the ONS said more than 12,500 people living in care homes have died with COVID-19 which included all care home residents who died with coronavirus either at their care home or in hospital.

It suggests the overall care home resident death figure is 25 per cent higher than the total reported by the ONS.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson today confirmed 131 social care workers had died from COVID-19 and at least 181 NHS staff.

Another measurement of the scale of the problem in care homes is 'excess of mortality'.

The term is used to describe when more people die than would be expected under normal conditions, either from COVID-19 or something else.

AGENCY WORKERS CONTRIBUTED TO VIRUS SPREAD IN CARE HOMES Temporary care workers helped to fuel Britain's coronavirus crisis in care homes, a damning Government study has found. Agency staff working in multiple homes may have unwittingly infected thousands of elderly and vulnerable residents without being tested for the virus. In some cases 'bank workers'  used to fill temporary vacancies  were standing in for full-time carers who were self-isolating to protect the residents. Public Health England researchers analysing the virus' genome traced outbreaks in London care homes back to the temporary workers. The unpublished PHE study, seen by the Guardian, analysed the behaviour of the virus in six care homes in London from April 11 to April 13, over Easter weekend. The study warned: 'Infection is spreading from care home to care home, linked to changed patterns of staffing, working across and moving between homes.' It said the agency staff were often asymptomatic, which meant 'by the time local health protection teams are informed of an outbreak substantial transmission may already have occurred.' Care homes were hugely reliant on bank staff at the peak of the crisis in April, when a quarter of the workforce were self-isolating. Results of the research were handed to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) at the end of last month. But the findings were only circulated last week to care home providers, councils and local public health directors - fuelling allegations care homes were left in the lurch. The government is facing scathing criticism over claims it abandoned care homes in its scramble to protect the NHS from the infection. Advertisement

That shows twice as many people have died in care homes in England, Wales and Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic than would be expected in normal times.

An extra 21,813 deaths have occurred in care homes in England Wales and 2,054 additional deaths in care homes in Scotland compared to the five year average.

It means an additional 10,000 or so deaths have not been caused directly by COVID-19, but they would not have been expected to happen if the pandemic didn't hit Britain.

Paisley Court reported a further four residents had passed away due to causes not related to COVID-19.

'No residents in the home are currently showing any symptoms of coronavirus.'

Four out of every 10 care home in the UK has now had a coronavirus case at some point, the Prime Minister's spokesman confirmed.

Data from Public Health England found that 5,889 care settings - 38 per cent - had reported a suspected outbreak, a rise of 300 outbreaks in just one week.

In Scotland, there are currently 484 (45 per cent) adult care homes with a current case of suspected COVID-19.

Last week, the Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that all residents and members of staff in care homes in England would be able to receive a test for coronavirus even if they were not showing symptoms of the disease.

But the move came after the coronavirus had already rippled through the sector, taking the lives of thousands.

The true scale of the crisis is unknown because of a lack of routine testing.

The Government's response in protecting care homes has been a contentious issue, as ministers have faced increasing criticism for their slow response.

Today was the first time a minister - Justice Secretary Robert Buckland - admitted ministers 'chose' to protect the NHS over care homes. It was the clearest statement yet that a decision was made to prioritise the health service when the outbreak was at its most ferocious.

'I think we needed to make a choice about testing and we did decide to focus upon the NHS,' he told Sky News.

Care England chief Martin Green said it was a 'significant' statement from Mr Buckland and he hoped the government will 'learn lessons'.

But just hours later, Mr Buckland tried to retract his statement, telling ITV News it was a 'false dichotomy' to suggest a choice was made between the two.

It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned a claim made by the Health Secretary that a 'protective ring was thrown around care homes from start'.

He said today that claim was 'flatly contradicted' by the chief executive of Care England, Professor Martin Green, who said on Tuesday 'we should have been focusing on care homes from the start'.

The advice to hospitals from the April 2 to April 15 was that 'negative tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home'.

'Whats protective about that?' Sir Keir asked the PM - who said 'no one was discharged into a care home this year without the express authorisation of a clinician'.

It follows Liz Kendall, Labours Shadow Minister for Social Care, slamming the Government for its delayed approach yesterday after the latest ONS figures.

Addressing Matt Hancock at the House of Commons, she said: 'Can the Health Secretary explain why guidance saying care homes were very unlikely to be infected wasn't withdrawn until March 12, when the Chief Medical Officer warned about community transmission and the risk to the elderly on March 4?'

In response, Mr Hancock said the guidance was in place while 'community transmission was low'.

Ms Kendall continued: 'Can he explain why there was no requirement to test those being discharged to care homes, the very group most at risk, until April 15?

'It took until mid-April for the Government to produce a health and social care plan, until the end of April to say all residents and staff should be tested, and until May 11 to set a deadline for achieving this, and that deadline still isn't until June 6.'

Mr Hancock said it was 'important to remember' hospital was also a dangerous place to pick up the virus. Therefore it is appropriate in many cases for patients to go to a care home.

He appeared to pass the buck to care homes, which had been instructed to put infection control procedures in from the beginning of the pandemic.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:16:03|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China stands ready to work with Myanmar and other countries to continue to support the World Health Organization (WHO) playing a leading role in the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a phone conversation with his Myanmar counterpart, U Win Myint, Xi also called for concerted efforts to firmly uphold international fairness and justice as well as the basic norms in international relations, and jointly win the battle for global public health.

Recalling that after the coronavirus disease broke out in China, the Myanmar government and all sections of society extended a helping hand to the Chinese side, Xi said the outbreak in Myanmar is pulling at the heartstrings of the Chinese people.

The Chinese side has donated multiple batches of anti-epidemic supplies to Myanmar and sent two groups of medical experts to fight side by side with Myanmar medical workers, he added.

That, he pointed out, has fully demonstrated the "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship of standing together and helping each other between the people of the two countries, and vividly illustrated the spirit of a community with a shared future that features China and Myanmar sticking together through thick and thin.

China will continue to provide firm support and as much assistance as its capacity allows for the Asian neighbor in line with the latter's needs, Xi said, adding that he is confident that the Myanmar people will eventually overcome the epidemic.

Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of China-Myanmar diplomatic relations, Xi recalled that he paid a successful visit to Myanmar in January, during which the two sides agreed to build a China-Myanmar community with a shared future and usher in a new era of bilateral relations. He expressed the hope that the two sides will closely cooperate to implement the results of the visit.

Xi suggested that on the basis of putting in place COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the two sides should appropriately advance exchanges and cooperation in various fields and push for positive progress in China-Myanmar Economic Corridor projects.

The two sides, he added, should also make good use of their joint prevention and control mechanism for border areas, and make coordinated efforts to safeguard peace and tranquility along the border, prevent and control the epidemic, and resume work and production.

For his part, Win Myint said that under the strong leadership of Xi, the Chinese government and people have succeeded in putting the epidemic under control and the national economy and social life have been fully restored, which Myanmar is grad to see.

The Myanmar president thanked China for providing support and assistance to the WHO and other countries including Myanmar in their fight against the epidemic.

In the face of the epidemic, all countries should strengthen cooperation and uphold international justice as well as each country's right to development, he said.

The sound cooperation between Myanmar and China is a reflection of the two sides' efforts to build a community with a shared future, Win Myint said.

Myanmar will continue to firmly uphold the one-China policy and work with China to earnestly implement the outcomes of Xi's visit to Myanmar in January, continue to deepen "Paukphaw" friendship and cooperation in various fields and promote the continuous development of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Myanmar and China, he added. Enditem
New Delhi:

Amidst allegations of anti-India slogans being raised at an Amnesty event in Bengaluru, the Home Ministry has launched a probe into the funding of the NGO, its expenses and possible violation of FCRA by it. The probe is being carried out under the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to find whether there was any violation of the laws by the India chapter of Amnesty International, a Home Ministry official said today.

The NGO has not been registered under the FCRA and its application for registration under the FCRA is now under serious scrutiny following the Bengaluru event where anti-India slogans were allegedly raised during a discussion on Kashmir on Saturday.

The probe will see whether the India chapter of Amnesty International has received foreign funds and if so under what laws, other sources of funding, it expenses and patterns of expenses, the official said.

Amnesty International, on its part, has rejected as without substance the allegations made by ABVP, the student outfit of RSS, and claimed that none of its employees shouted any anti-India slogans at any point.

The NGO was booked under IPC sections, including sedition, by Bengaluru Police.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Actor Brian Austin Green just confirmed that he and actress Megan Fox are no longer together, but he clarified that it is not because of Fox's cheating allegations with rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

False cheating rumors

The "90210" actor talked about his marriage in his own podcast. He addressed everything including Fox's supposed romantic relationship with Machine Gun Kelly. In the recent episode of his podcast, Green said that his ex-wife and Machine Gun Kelly are just good friends and their pictures together were just taken out of context.

Brian said that he and Fox began drifting apart last year after Fox spent 6 weeks overseas when she worked on a film. He said they became distant and they decided to go with trial separation. Green admits that he was upset over the situation of their marriage but unfortunately, even after the trial separation, their relationship never improved.

Green got emotional on his podcast and said that he will always love his estranged wife. He pointed out that he has three amazing children with Fox and he hopes that they can co-parent effectively going forward. As for rapper Machine Gun Kelly, the actor claims that he never met him but Fox has said that he is a nice guy, and Green trusts her judgement.

Also Read: Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant Cause of Death: Helicopter Pilot Tested Negative for Drugs, Alcohol

During the podcast, Green said that there is nothing romantic going in between the two and that Kelly is a good friend to Fox. Green has spent minutes in his podcast talking about his ex-wife and Machine Gun Kelly, and making sure that the public won't come after the both of them, as he said that is no victim in the whole situation. He also talked about pictures of Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox together, and that it was just an unfortunate situation taken by paparazzi.

In the end of his podcast, Green admits that he is saddened by the sudden change in his life, but that leaves the door open for his wife for possible reconciliation in the future.

Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green relationship

Fox and Green were in a 16 year on and off relationship and they were married for 10 years. The pair met in 2004 on the set of Hope & Faith. On an interview in 2009, Megan Fox said that she immediately liked Green but due to their huge age gap, Green declined her advances.

Fox was 18 and Green was 30 at the time, but due to Fox's persistence, they ended up together. The couple began dating in 2006 and eventually got engaged, but in 2009 they briefly ended their engagement. During their "break-up" Fox was romantically involved with her Transformers co-star Shia LaBeouf.

The actor and Fox both denied the rumors about them being together, but in 2018, Fox admitted that they had an on-set romance but it didn't lead anywhere. In June 2010, Fox and Green got together again and they announced their engagement the second time.

The got married days later in Hawaii. In 2012, Fox gave birth to their first son Noah and in 2014, she gave birth to their second son Bodhi. In 2015, Megan Fox filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences, but months after she confirmed she was once again pregnant. In 2016, she gave birth to their third son, Journey.

Related Article: Kimye Call It Quits? Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Rumored to Be in a Trial Separation

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
For many Iraqis, the anti-British revolt of 1920 was the greatest event in their modern history, an inspiring revolutionary movement which ushered in the birth of a new nation in ancient Mesopotamia.

Even though the revolt was crushed by the British, it has been established since in Iraqi collective memory as a war of independence against colonialism and a milestone event that forged Iraqi nationalism.

Yet a century later, Iraqis are still trying to come to terms with the difficult history and politics born out of their struggle to establish a new state and a new national identity following the Great Revolution.

While the government is not planning to commemorate the event at a national level, Iraqis remain divided over the consequences of that fateful year, with different versions of the revolution being narrated, some contrasting markedly with the usual glowing tributes to national history.

Britain seized Iraq from the Ottomans during World War I. British forces composed of largely Indian soldiers landed in the southern port city of Basra in November 1914, and after capturing most of southern Iraq they finally succeeded in taking Baghdad from the retreating Ottoman Turks in March 1917.

Subsequent military operations in Iraq spawned an aggressive array of political measures that culminated in early 1920 with the placing of Iraq under a British mandate established by the League of Nations for the territories of powers defeated in the war.

The move was widely resented, as were efforts by the British occupation to create a new administration composed of mainly British officials to govern the country. Peaceful protests and petitioning failed to convince the British authorities to abandon plans to make Iraq part of the British Empire.

Widespread discontent with British rule grew in May 1920 with the outbreak of mass meetings and demonstrations in Baghdad and some other cities and a fatwa, or religious edict, from a leading Shia cleric declaring that service in the British administration was unlawful.

An armed uprising broke out in late June 1920 following the British authorities rejection of the Iraqis demands and another fatwa from Ayatollah Mohamed Taqi Al-Shirazi that seemed to encourage jihad, or the fight against the enemies of Islam.

For months, Iraqs Shia-dominated middle Euphrates River region was in rebellion against British rule, and the insurrection then moved north around the River Valley. The uprising sought to foster a greater sense of national unity against a common foreign enemy.

Although the insurrection was finally and brutally suppressed, it forced the British government to abandon any idea of direct colonial control on the Indian model in Iraq.

Instead, the British decided on a new policy to control Iraq through more indirect means, mainly by installing a friendly regime. They installed prince Faisal of the Hashemite family in Mecca as king of Iraq as a reward for his support in fighting the Ottoman Turks during World War I, though he had no family ties or historical roots in Iraq.

Despite its failure, the uprising was established in Iraqi collective memory as a Great Revolution for independence and a formative event in Iraqi nationalism, symbolising the unity of the Iraqi people and their sense of patriotism.

A century later, and with the US-led invasion in 2003 unleashing political turmoil, bloody insurgency, large-scale sectarian reprisals and unbridled foreign intervention, the country has been plagued by communal divisions and foreign hegemony that make the meaning of the 1920 Revolution highly contested.

Since the fall of the Sunni-dominated regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein, each Iraqi community has reclaimed selected historical narratives to suit the politics of the moment, and it is unclear where the revolution fits into this repertoire.

The story of the Great Revolution of 1920 is no longer the foundation story that legitimises the new Iraq, which has come full circle from the Sunni-dominated era to turn into a reinvented nation of ethnic and religious diversity.

In this new Iraq and after decades of marginalisation, the leaders of the countrys Shia community have begun publicly and proudly recalibrating the narrative of the uprising and giving their tale more and more ground.

What they had kept hidden for decades in their communal consciousness has suddenly become a new public discourse about the revolution, claiming that it was mostly and primarily a Shia uprising against the British colonialists led by Shia clerics and fought by Shia tribes.

Meanwhile, Iraqs Sunni Arabs, who had always taken pride in their view that they were the founding fathers of the modern Iraqi state, have watched themselves helplessly losing the legitimacy they acquired as a result of this narrative and going overnight from being the rulers to the ruled.

The Sunnis have been neither prepared nor willing to accept a minority role, and many of them have denied the new realities and rejected seeing their community losing power and privileges.

Some Sunnis have even resisted the changeover by force of arms, trying to ward off what they perceive as a historic defeat, while others have resorted to political means to reduce their marginalisation and exclusion.

But even with that dramatic shift and feelings of frustration, the Sunnis have not managed to recalibrate their narrative that it was their political elites who built Iraqs modern state.

The dilemma has given their narrative more and more ground, while highlighting the dysfunction and abysmal failure of the countrys Shia leaders in rebuilding the post-Saddam state.

The Iraqi Kurds, who live in a semi-autonomous federal enclave in the north of the country, are indifferent not only to the 1920 Revolution as a political event worthy of commemoration and also as a topic of national interest.

The Kurds have their own version of the history of modern Iraq, with their perception that as a non-Arab ethnicity they were forced to be part of the Arab-dominated nation that emerged after a series of international treaties re-mapping the Middle East following World War I.

Following the defeat of the Ottomans, the Kurds in the northern Mosul province exploited the chaos in the region and revolted against the League of Nations mandate and the British-backed establishment it created.

That opened the first chapter of the Kurdish conflict in Iraq, as the Kurds continued to rebel against all the governments in Baghdad. But they ultimately failed to break away from the rest of Iraq, including in an attempt to hold an independence referendum in 2017.

Yet, with a self-ruled region and a politics that has been promoting separation rather than integration, the Kurds connection to the rest of Iraq is being reshaped in a fluid national context that transcends Iraqi national identity.

The US-led invasion changed Iraq as much as the British colonial project did, with the latter originally setting the foundations for the modern state and putting the minority Sunnis in the leadership seat.

Not only did political power structures fundamentally shift on a radical scale following the Shias empowerment, but it also set the stage for a wholly different Iraq in which Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis, Shias and other minorities constantly confront each other.

Not long after the Americans began their occupation of Iraq, one of the radical changes that swept Iraqi society was the increased identification of Iraqis with their own different sects.

One of the main reasons behind the Iraqis withdrawal into smaller tribal, religious and sectarian identities was the dismantling of the state in Iraq and its key institutions by the US occupation authorities.

Indeed, the changes that were wrought by the invasion were pushed on by Shia and Kurdish political groups that did not hide their resentment of the former state that they perceived as having been controlled by Sunni Arabs.

Beyond colonial reasons and the incompetence of its ruling elites, the failure of the post-independence state in Iraq has been largely due to its failure to forge a collective identity or to promote national integration.

Over the past 80 years, the modern nation-state has failed to resolve the tensions between sectarian identities and equal citizenship, while trying hard to synchronise competing communal identities with perceived nationalism and the political structures it created.

The leaders of the countrys Sunni community who took prominent positions in the modern state were not alone responsible for forging the imagined national formation. Shia religious, tribal, political and community leaders also participated in moulding a national formation that diluted their own cultural identity.

In many ways, and like in the story of The Emperors New Clothes, the US occupation of Iraq in 2003 lighted up the all-too-hidden reality of an Iraq that was far from being truly and solidly homogenised.

What the US-led invasion and the collapse of the state in 2003 exposed was not only the myth of a shared collective identity imposed by the post-colonial political reality, but also the banality of the identity politics that the post-Saddam Shia elite and its US backers imposed in trying to make good of the Shia failure in 1920.

This is why outside the confines of groups that may be trying to commemorate the 1920 Great Revolution for vested sectarian or political interests, there are few celebrations taking place to mark its centenary across Iraq.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect that President Trump deleted his original tweet and replaced it with another about ballot applications.

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump has again attacked Michigan leadership via his Twitter account.

This time Trump went after Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, alleging shes sent absentee ballots to 7.7 million voters in Michigan ahead of the August primaries. In a now deleted tweet, Trump called Benson a rogue Secretary of State and threatened to withhold funding to the state for attempted voter fraud.

Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!.. read Trumps original tweet.

The problem with Trumps message is that Benson did not send ballots to voters. On Tuesday, Benson announced all voters in the state will receive applications to vote from home ahead of the August primary and general election in November. Benson said the option is available to Michiganders as part of efforts to protect the safety of voters and election workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Shortly after Trump sent his tweet Wednesday morning, Benson corrected the president and pointed out that similar efforts have been made in other states.

Hi!  I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy  Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020

Bensons office also released a statement Wednesday morning addressing Trumps comments.

President Donald Trumps statement is false. The Bureau of Elections is mailing absent voter applications, not ballots," said Benson spokesman Jake Rollow. "Applications are mailed nearly every election cycle by both major parties and countless advocacy and nonpartisan organizations. Just like them, we have full authority to mail applications to ensure voters know they have the right to vote safely by mail.

After Trump deleted his original tweet, he sent out another one including the word applications before again threatening to withhold funding from the state.

Michigan sends absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

During local elections earlier this month, nearly 25% of eligible voters cast ballots on May 5, and 99% of them did so by mail or in a drop box, according to Bensons office. That total was more than double the typical voter turnout for May elections over the previous decade.

The vast majority of voters across the political spectrum want the option to vote by mail, Benson said in a press release announcing the upcoming mailings. Mailing applications to all registered voters is one of the ways that we are ensuring Michigans elections will continue to be safe, accurate and secure.

Trump also attacked the state of Nevada for similar plans and threatened to withhold funding from that state as well.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Wednesday, May 20: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Court ruling favors Whitmer in lawsuit over emergency orders
Talc-based baby powder has been a staple item for many households for over a century, used to soothe babies sensitive skin.

However, the talc-based product sold by Johnson & Johnson has been subject to controversy for several years amid claims, in the form of thousands of lawsuits, that it can cause cancer.

On Wednesday 20 May, it was reported that J&J is to cease sales of its talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada due to decreased demand.

However, the international pharmaceuticals producer is to continue selling the product in other parts of the world, including the UK.

So should parents and other consumers who purchase the companys baby powder be concerned?

Why is J&J ceasing sales of baby powder in the US and Canada?

When announcing it is to stop selling its talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada, the corporation said this decision was made due to declining demand in North America, which was due in large part to changes in consumer habits, with the coronavirus pandemic impacting shopping and manufacturing processes.

The firm added that the reduced demand had been fuelled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising.

J&J is current facing around 19,400 lawsuits alleging that its talc powder has caused users to develop cancer over the years.

In December 2018, a report published by Reuters claimed that J&J had been aware for years that small amounts of asbestos, a known carcinogen, were present in its baby powder.

The company has repeatedly maintained that its products are safe, with a spokesperson stating that the corporation has no plans to settle any lawsuits and will continue to vigorously defend its product.

The firm will continue selling its cornstarch-based baby powder in North America.

Christie Nordhielm, a professor of marketing at Georgetown University in Washington DC, speculated that J&J was tactical when deciding the time to announce the removal of its baby powder from the market in the US and Canada.

Its a nice time to quietly do it, the professor said, in reference to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. It will minimise the reputational hit.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

What is talc?

Talc is the softest mineral on earth explains Asbestos.com, a website created by charity The Mesothelioma Centre.

Finely crushed talcum powder is valued for its ability to absorb moisture and provide lubrication at the same time. People have used talcum powder products to dry, protect and perfume their skin for more than a century.

Does talc cause cancer?

When discussing the question of whether talc causes cancer, it is important to distinguish between talc that is contaminated with asbestos and talc that isnt.

The American Cancer Society outlines that when talc is in its natural form, it may contain asbestos, a substance known to cause cancers in and around the lungs when inhaled.

Talc that has asbestos is generally accepted as being able to cause cancer if it is inhaled. The evidence about asbestos-free talc is less clear, the organisation stresses.

The American Cancer Society states that it has been suggested that talc may cause ovarian cancer if the powder particles (applied to the genital area or on sanitary napkins, diaphragms, or condoms) were to travel through the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes to the ovary.

The organisation adds that in the numerous investigations to have explored a possible connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, findings have been mixed, with some studies reporting a slightly increased risk and some reporting no increase.

The society stated that no increased risk of lung cancer has been reported with the use of cosmetic talcum powder, while talc has not been strongly linked to other forms of cancer.

Although not all possible links with other cancers have been studied extensively, the organisation adds.

On the Asbestos.com website, it says that there is no indication that pure talc causes mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the linings of the lungs, abdomen or heart.

But talc that is contaminated with asbestos and asbestiform minerals has led to the development of mesothelioma, it adds.

Recommended Study finds no links between talcum powder and ovarian cancer

In January 2020, a review, which followed more than 250,000 women for approximately 11 years, concluded that there is no significant link between using talcum powder on the genital area and developing ovarian cancer.

The NHS stated that previous studies linking talcum powder use on the genital area and ovarian cancer may have been flawed, because they relied on women with and without cancer being asked to remember if they had used talc on their vulva.

Women with cancer are more likely to remember or mention something that could be linked to cancer than women without, meaning these studies could have biased results, the health service said.

However, the NHS added that while the study is reassuring, researchers cannot rule out a very small increase in risk.

There is no need to use talc on the vulva for hygiene reasons, the organisation stated.

Should parents and other consumers in the UK be concerned?

On the J&J website, it states that the companys baby powder does not contain asbestos, a substance classified as cancer-causing.

The talc used in all our global production is carefully selected and processed to be asbestos-free, which is confirmed by regular testing to confirm purity, the company says.

Like all our products, Johnsons baby powder contains only ingredients that have been fully evaluated by scientific and medical experts to ensure they are safe to use.

The company adds that decades of safety reviews by independent researchers and scientists have shown that cosmetic talc is safe to use with no proven causal link to cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies talc as possibly carcinogenic to humans, thus not providing a definitive answer.

Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Show all 10 1 /10 Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle, 28, from Stoke-on-Trent, pictured with her sons, Teddy and Louis. Ms Boyle was told she was wrongly misdiagnosed with breast cancer at Royal Stoke University Hospital after already undergoing extensive chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle after cancer misdiagnosis and treatment. Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle, 28, with son Louis and husband Steven, 31. Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Sarah Boyle/SWNS Mum told she doesn't have cancer after undergoing chemo and mastectomy Royal Stoke University Hospital. Sarah Boyle/SWNS

It is not clear if consumer products containing talcum powder increase cancer risk. Studies of personal use of talcum powder have had mixed results, although there is some suggestion of a possible increase in ovarian cancer risk, the American Cancer Society says.

There is very little evidence at this time that any other forms of cancer are linked with consumer use of talcum powder. Until more information is available, people concerned about using talcum powder may want to avoid or limit their use of consumer products that contain it.

Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, said it is biologically plausible talcum powder applied to the genital area could result in ovarian cancer.

Dr Ranit Mishori, professor of family medicine at Georgetown University, told Reuters that she does not believe there is any proof of a link between talc and cancer.

However, the professor added: If you are concerned, just dont use it.
FTI Consulting, Inc. FCN yesterday announced that it has inked a deal to purchase certain assets of Delta Partners. Subject to customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to be closed during the third quarter of 2020. Financial terms of the deal have been kept under wraps.

Founded in 2006, Delta Partners is one of the leading telecom, media & technology (TMT) focused strategy consulting and investment banking firms. It has offices in Dubai, New York, Singapore, Barcelona, Johannesburg, San Francisco and Sydney. The company is focused on addressing the challenging issues faced by global and regional TMT players through multi-disciplinary services, which combine strategic, technical, financial, analytical and operational advice.

So far this year, shares of FTI Consulting have gained 10.6% against the 13.5% decline of the industry it belongs to.

Deal Benefits

The buyout is expected to enhance FTI Consultings existing TMT expertise. It will bring in Delta Partners TMT team of nearly 150 billable professionals, including 21 senior managing directors, thus boosting FTI Consultings business transformation and transactions and FTI Capital Advisors offerings on a global scale.

Meanwhile, Victor Font, chief executive officer of Delta Partners will be joining FTI Consulting as a senior managing director and will serve as co-leader of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring segments TMT industry practice alongside Luke Schaeffer.

Carlyn Taylor, global co-leader of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment at FTI Consulting and the founder of the firms TMT industry practice, stated, The addition of the Delta Partners team strengthens our strategy consulting offering and significantly bolsters our business transformation and transactions capabilities, enabling us to establish FTI Consulting as a truly global TMT advisory firm.

She further added, Delta Partners brings a wealth of new corporate clients to FTI Consulting, and together our practices will achieve a formidable scale to serve any TMT client in the world with exceptional industry expertise and a wide range of services.

Story continues

Given the increasing rate of operational challenges and opportunities, every TMT company is focusing on innovative problem-solving and diverse skill sets. The deal, thus, seems to be a strategic move on FTI Consultings part to strengthen its foothold in the TMT business on a global scale.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

FTI Consulting currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are DocuSign, Inc. DOCU, SPS Commerce SPSC and SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc. SAIL. All the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The long-term expected earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate for DocuSign, SPS Commerce and SailPoint is 46.8%, 15% and 15%, respectively.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>



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



FTI Consulting, Inc. (FCN) : Free Stock Analysis Report



SPS Commerce, Inc. (SPSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report



SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc. (SAIL) : Free Stock Analysis Report



DocuSign Inc. (DOCU) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Flights are continuing to land in the US from Wuhan and the rest of China and Europe despite the travel ban put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus.

According to Flight Tracker data, people are arriving into the US every day from the countries that have been blamed for sparking the outbreak across America, with flights even touching down from Wuhan where the global pandemic originated.

This comes as warnings mount that passengers are not being screened properly for the deadly virus on arrival into the US and as questions are being raised over how - if at all - the mandatory 14-day quarantine for returning travelers is being enforced.

Flights are continuing to land in the US from Wuhan and the rest of China and Europe despite the travel ban put in place to stop the spread of coronaviru

According to Flight Tracker, five flights had landed into New York airports JFK and Newark from London, UK, airports by 4:30p.m. ET since the start of the day Wednesday.

More flights are also scheduled to land later into the evening and night.

The data also revealed flights continue to arrive from China - with a China Southern Airlines flight on schedule to land Wednesday night in JFK from Wuhan.

In LA, a China Eastern flight from Wuhan also touched down in LA International Airport Wednesday afternoon.

President Trump ordered bans on flights from several nations back in March as cases and deaths started to ramp up across the nation and he pointed the blame at international travel.

Foreign nationals who have visited countries including China, Iran, the UK, Republic of Ireland and several places in Europe in the previous 14 days are now banned from entering the US.

However, American citizens, green card holders, certain family members and other exceptions who have been to these high-risk countries can still fly into the US.

According to Flight Tracker, five flights had landed into New York airports JFK and Newark from London, UK, airports by 4:30p.m. ET since the start of the day Wednesday

The data also revealed flights continue to arrive from China - with a China Southern Airlines flight on schedule to land Wednesday night in JFK from Wuhan, where the virus is thought to have originated

All arrivals from these areas - considered coronavirus hotspots by the US government - are sent to one of 13 airports that are able to screen them for the virus.

They are then required to quarantine at home for 14 days and provide contact details to airport officials.

The US Customs and Border Protection and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said individuals are subject to 'enhanced entry screening,' including questions about their medical history, current condition, and some have their temperature taken.

But travelers landing into New York have painted a mixed picture of how thorough the screening process is.

'They were very specific about how we need to do two-week quarantine,' one woman who traveled to Newark from Albania via Switzerland and had her temperature taken told CBS2.

Another traveler Joe Horvath said: 'I haven't seen anybody being screened for anything.'

Concerns are also ramping up around whether arrivals are complying with the two-week quarantine once they get to US soil.

A Transportation Security Administration employee checks the identification of a traveler at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia in May. Warnings mount that passengers are not being screened properly for the deadly virus on arrival into the US

American Airlines employees check in passengers at a mostly empty check-in counter in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo admitted the state is not tracking arrivals once they enter New York, which has been hardest hit by the pandemic.

When asked at a press conference Tuesday about monitoring the arrivals, Cuomo responded that 'it's not a state role,' adding that the screening and monitoring process is under the remit of the federal government.

'There is coordination, but they determine who comes, who doesn't come, is purely federal, and they determine what procedures and practices are in place,' Cuomo said.

The ban on letting foreign travelers into the US has also been called into question after DailyMail.com revealed Wednesday that a Russian tourist traveled from Moscow to New York and on to Miami for a vacation.

This comes despite US officials repeatedly blaming the start of the US outbreak on international flights landing from China and Europe.

In April, Cuomo said coronavirus arrived in New York from Europe and that 2.2million people flew in from European countries in January and February, while the world was oblivious to the threat and assumed it could only come from China.

'It came from Europe. When you look at the number of flights that came from Europe to New York in January and February, up until the close down in March... 13,000 flights bringing 2.2million people,' he said.

'The horse had already left the barn by the time we moved. Those are the flights coming from Italy and Europe in January and February.

'We closed the front door with the China travel ban, which was right, but we left the backdoor open because the virus had left China by the time we did the China travel ban.'

Cuomo said the 'next time' a pandemic happens, the world must presume that the virus is in every country the day after the first case is reported.

Trump has widely claimed the virus came to the US from China, and has blamed the nation for letting flights to go in and out of Wuhan while the city was in the midst of its outbreak.

'You could fly out of Wuhan where the primary problem was and you could go to different parts of the world, but you couldn't go [from Wuhan] to Beijing and you couldn't go to any place in China. So what's that all about?' the president said on May 3.

Flight records have shown China did block international commercial flights out of Wuhan after January 23, according to Flightradar24.
A hall at the Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre, which has been repurposed into a COVID-19 community care facility. (PHOTO: MOH)

UPDATE ON 21 MAY, 3.45PM: The story has been updated with a statement issued by law firm Allen & Gledhill on behalf of Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.

SINGAPORE  Manpower Minister Josephine Teo has requested that her lawyers issue formal letters of demand to two individuals who have posted statements accusing her and her husband of profiteering and corruption in relation to COVID-19 community care facilities developed by Surbana Jurong.

These claims are untrue, scurrilous and completely baseless, said a statement issued by law firm Allen & Gledhill on behalf of Teo on Wednesday (20 May).

Teos husband is Teo Eng Cheong, the international chief executive in charge of urban and infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurongs Singapore, South-east Asia, and North Asia markets.

The consultancy had dealt directly with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of National Development (MND) on these projects, the statement added.

Neither my spouse nor I have any involvement with the commissioning of these projects or the monetary transactions. In any case, Surbana Jurong has stated that In service of the community, we will continue to provide our expertise to projects related to managing the COVID-19 crisis on a cost-recovery basis, the statement said.

Accusations of profiteering and corruption are unfounded, it added.

In the statement, Teo also said that she does not intend to pursue the matter further or to claim damages if the allegations are publicly withdrawn and apologies are given, despite being legally entitled to substantial damages.

The letters also require the two individuals to make a donation of $1,000 each to the Migrant Workers Assistance Fund, the statement added.

In response to media queries by Yahoo News Singapore, Allen & Gledhill identified the two individuals who were issued the formal letters of demand as civil activist Jolovan Wham and Donald Liew.

Liew has since deleted his post on Facebook and issued an apology on the social media platform.

Story continues

Joint statement by MOH, MND

This comes on the same day that the authorities debunked the false and malicious allegations of profiteering and corruption in the development of the Singapore EXPO community care facility by Surbana Jurong, assuring the public that the project was carried out at or below cost, and that all actions had been above board.

The government accepts that legitimate questions can be raised about the spending, and is fully prepared to explain why and how money was spent. However, the government will respond firmly and appropriately to any scurrilous allegation of corruption, said the MOH and the MND in a joint statement.

Both Teos and the ministries statements come a day after Surbana Jurong issued its own statement to refute the claims, which had been circulating on social media and messaging platforms.

"We absolutely refute the allegations and will not hesitate to take legal action against any perpetrator who continues to make scurrilous attacks against our company, said the consultancy.

One of the several social media posts had alleged conflicts of interest given the the role of Teo's husband in Surbana Jurong.

Wednesdays joint statement stressed that both the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and its minister were not involved in the selection of the consultancy  or any of the parties  to participate in the development of the community care facility at the EXPO. Both were also not involved in the process of managing the costs of the project.

It noted that the consultancy worked with the other partners to complete the development of the EXPO community care facility in a very short time, and was able to leverage its sourcing processes to obtain construction and other needed materials on an urgent basis.

Despite the tight timelines and extensive work that was required, Surbana Jurong provided its expertise to develop the Singapore EXPO community care facility at cost, without any profit or management fee, the joint statement added.

In the same statement, the authorities also detailed their process behind working with Temasek Holdings  and through the state investment firm, Surbana Jurong  to help build and prepare the necessarily facilities required for the needs of COVID-19 patients.

As the facilities needed to be built and prepared quickly in a matter of days, the government approached Temasek as it had the necessary resources to be marshalled, at short notice, through its subsidiaries, said the MOH and MND.

Cost-recovery basis

The authorities added that Temasek had committed to assist as well as agreed that the work done by its linked companies would be done at a cost-recovery basis, and in some cases, below cost.

There will be no profit made by Temasek and its linked companies for the work done. The Temasek-linked companies agreed with these arrangements, said the statement.

Temasek later identified the EXPO as a suitable venue and had asked Surbana Jurong to convert it into Singapores first large-scale community care facility with 8,000 beds.

Temasek also asked other companies, including PSA International (which was the overall project co-ordinator), Singapore Technologies Engineering and Sheares Healthcare to help. External vendors such as Parkway Pantai, Resorts World Sentosa, and Certis Cisco also played a crucial role in the successful development of the Singapore EXPO community care facility, the statement added.

The MOH worked with Temasek and the other entities on the healthcare requirements and needs for the site.

The government worked out a comprehensive strategy to care for COVID-19 patients at different stages of their infection, and based on their need for different types of treatment, the statement said.

The majority (of patients) needed accommodation where they can be isolated, until their infectious stage has passed. These were designated community care facilities. Those admitted to (them) are persons with mild or no symptoms, or are recovering patients who have been discharged from hospital.

Once the requirements and needs of the sites were confirmed, MND liaised with the entities on the payments for the development of the facility.

This is because MND has also been liaising with other parties to pay for the provision of other facilities, like the dedicated stay-home notice facilities, said the statement.

It added that Temasek did not charge any management fees for all the work it had done and only invoiced the MND for expenses paid to third parties.

Temasek also confirmed that its linked companies, including Surbana Jurong will only charge for direct expenditure, at cost. Some aspects were charged at below normal cost, said the statement.

One example would be that Temasek had told the government that SingEx Venues, which manages the EXPO, would not charge the full capital expenditure cost, since it was not being used for normal business during the COVID-19 situation.

Many parties have stepped forward to help in the fight against COVID-19. These include the Temasek companies, private sector companies, as well as thousands of Singaporeans.

We are grateful to all who have worked hard and around the clock to set up the Singapore EXPO community care facility under extraordinary circumstances. This is a testament to the whole-of-society effort that has made it possible for us to combat and manage the COVID-19 virus, the statement added.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Singapore to exit circuit breaker period, resume activities over 3 phases

COVID-19: Heng Swee Keat to announce more help for businesses, individuals on 26 May

Ang Mo Kio Town Council case: prosecution seek longer jail sentences

National Day parade will be held 'as long as there is a Singapore', says NDP ExCo chair
Pune, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global vaccines market size is expected to reach USD 93.08 Billion by 2020, while exhibiting a promising CAGR of 10.7% between 2019 and 2026. This is ascribable to factors such as increasing prevalence of deadly infectious disease and increasing investment by companies to develop novel vaccines to counter the effects of disease. Fortune Business Insights, in its latest report, titled Vaccines Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Recombinant/Conjugate/Subunit, Inactivated, Live Attenuated), By Route of Administration (Parenteral & Oral), By Disease Indication (Viral Diseases (Hepatitis, Influenza, Human Papillomavirus) and Bacterial Diseases (Meningococcal, Pneumococcal)), By Age Group (Pediatric & Adults), By Distribution Channel (Hospital & Retail Pharmacies, Government Suppliers) & Region Forecast, 2019-2026., observes that market was worth USD 41.61 Billion in 2018.





Request a Sample Copy of the Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/vaccines-market-101769







Vaccine is an important preventive measure to fight and contain any type of contagious disease. Every vaccine consists of a disease germ either a bacteria or a virus in small quantities. Additionally, vaccines help to build up the immune system of the humans that aid to protect the body against the harmful effects of the disease. A small quantity of virus or bacteria is taking into a vial and further weakened to stop their reproduction. Further, they are replicated to produce a vaccine that build up immunity against the disease. In 1796, Edward Jenner was the first person to invent a method to treat smallpox. With time, development of vaccines was routine across the globe to prevent fatalities among the population.



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.





To get the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this Market.

Please visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/vaccines-market-101769







What does the Market Report Offer?

The market report offers an exhaustive study of several factors such as drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities that will affect the growth of the market in the forthcoming years. The report covers regional demographics that include qualitative and quantitative information about the regions that are further divided into nations that are contributing to the growth of the market between 2019 and 2026. Furthermore, the competitive landscape has been discussed in-depth that include information of several players operating in the market. Moreover, information on the adoption of strategies such as merger and acquisition, collaboration, partnerships, and joint ventures by the companies that will drive the growth of the market has been included during the projected horizon.



Drivers and Restraints:



Increasing Global Focus on Developing COVID-19 Vaccine to Spur Demand

COVID-19 has brought the world to a complete standstill while claiming millions of lives. Additionally, the companies across the globe are focusing on developing an effective vaccine and enable its mass-production to contain deadly pandemic. The countries face a herculean task to not only develop the vaccine but also ensure totally immunity against the novel coronavirus for its citizen. An underlying competition among the countries to develop the novel vaccine is expected to drive the growth of the market in the coming years.

Furthermore, active attempts by the government to prepare completely for any type of future biological threats is anticipated to aid the market growth in the forthcoming years. For instance, in May 2020, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission announced that 3 of its COVID-19 vaccines that had passed the phase 2 clinical trials have entered the phase 2 trials in China. Furthermore, Beijing is expected to accelerate its research and development process that involves an expansion of diagnosis of disease facilities along with a keen focus on manufacturing novel drugs, vaccines, and medical equipment to cater to the increasing demand.





Quick Buy - Vaccines Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101769







Segmentation:

Increasing Demand for Bacterial Vaccines to Bolster Growth

The segment Bacterial diseases (by type Disease Indication) is expected to remain at the forefront in the forthcoming years. This is attributable to factors such as high sales for meningitis, pneumococcal, and DTP vaccines globally that are first-line immunity boosters for newborn babies. On the other hand, the segment viral diseases is likely to foresee growth backed by increasing demand for influenza and HPV vaccines.



Regional Analysis:

High Vaccine Awareness among Population in North America to Stoke Demand

Among the regions, the market in North America was worth USD 22.03 Billion by 2018 and is likely to register high global vaccine market revenue during the forecast period. This is ascribable to factors such as large presence of manufacturers, robust government policy regarding the healthcare, and high awareness among the population for several vaccines. Furthermore, focused impetus by the government in the U.S. to produce vaccine and efficient disease surveillance will bode well for the market in the region. Asia-Pacific, on the other hand, will witness tremendous growth in the forthcoming years. This is attributable to factors such as increasing population and presence of key players in the region. Furthermore, the countries such as Japan in the region is likely to hold the largest market share owing to high research and development activities to produce novel vaccines between 2019 and 2026.



Competitive Landscape:

Rising Investment for Research and Development to Augur Growth

According to Fortune Business Insights, the market is highly organized that comprises of several companies striving to maintain market stronghold. They are doing so by adopting strategies such as collaboration, expansion of facility, and increasing investment in R&D. For instance, in May 2020, the government of the UK announced its plan to invest Euro 93 Million in developing a vaccine-manufacturing center. According to Alok Sharma, Business Secretary, the investment will propel the government to focus on R&D activities and further be equipped to manufacture vaccines by the count of millions.



Industry Development:

September 2019: The government of Kenya announced its collaboration with Ghana and Malawi to develop the worlds first ever malaria vaccine. With malaria affecting over millions of people in Africa, the pilot program that went underway will assist in containing the disease.



List of the Key Companies Operating in the Vaccines Market are:

GlaxoSmithKline plc.

Sanofi

Pfizer Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Novartis AG

Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.

CSL Limited

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Bavarian Nordic

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation.

Other Prominent Players





Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/vaccines-market-101769







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 New Product Launch Pipeline Analysis Technological Advancements in the Vaccines Market Prevalence of Disease Indications Key Industry Developments - Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships

Global Vaccines Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2015-2026 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Recombinant/Conjugate/Subunit Inactivated Live Attenuated Toxoid Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Route of Administration Parenteral Oral Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Disease Indication Viral Diseases Bacterial Diseases Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Age Group Pediatric Adults Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Distribution Channel Hospital & Retail Pharmacies Government Suppliers Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Geography North America Europe Asia pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued.!!!







Request for Customization: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/customization/vaccines-market-101769





Have a Look at Related Reports:

Hydroxychloroquine Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Disease Indication (Malaria, COVID-19, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Others), By Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacy Retail Pharmacy, and Online Stores), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027



Pediatric Drugs and Vaccines Market Size , Share and Global Trend By Product (Vaccines, Drugs) By Disease Indication (Infectious Disease, Cancer, Allergy And Respiratory, Nervous System Disorders, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Others), By Distribution Channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies) and Geography Forecast till 2026

Recombinant DNA Technology Market Size , Share and Global Trend By Product (Vaccines, Therapeutic Agents, Recombinant Protein, Others), By Component (Vectors, Expression System, Others), By Application (Diagnostics, Therapeutic, Food and Agriculture, Others), By End User (Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies, Diagnostic Laboratories, Academic and Government Research Institutes, Other) and Geography Forecast till 2026

Veterinary/Animal Vaccines Market Size , Share & Industry Analysis, By Product (Inactivated, Live Attenuated, Recombinant, Others), By Animal (Companion, Livestock), By Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Others), By Distribution Channel (Veterinary Hospitals, Veterinary Clinics, Pharmacies & Drug Stores, Others) and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Our reports contain a unique mix of tangible insights and qualitative analysis to help companies achieve sustainable growth. Our team of experienced analysts and consultants use industry-leading research tools and techniques to compile comprehensive market studies, interspersed with relevant data.

At Fortune Business Insights we aim at highlighting the most lucrative growth opportunities for our clients. We, therefore, offer recommendations, making it easier for them to navigate through technological and market-related changes. Our consulting services are designed to help organizations identify hidden opportunities and understand prevailing competitive challenges.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd.

308, Supreme Headquarters,

Survey No. 36, Baner,

Pune-Bangalore Highway,

Pune - 411045, Maharashtra, India.

Phone:

US: +1-424-253-0390

UK: +44-2071-939123

APAC: +91-744-740-1245

Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com

Fortune Business Insights

LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs






Eight Paramilitary Troops Killed In Pakistan Bombings, Shooting

By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal May 19, 2020

Seven paramilitary troops have been killed in separate attacks in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on May 18. An eighth soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in the country's northwest.

Six military personnel died and at least four more were wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb while on patrol in an overnight attack in the Bolan area of Balochistan.

"Six [paramilitary] Frontier Corps personnel were killed in a roadside bomb blast while four others were wounded and have been sent to hospital," Deputy Commissioner Bolan Murad Kasi told the media.

The incident happened some 80 kilometers southeast of the provincial capital, Quetta, late on May 17.

Mureed Baloch, a spokesman for the separatist United Baloch Army, claimed responsibility. In a statement, he said the group targeted Pakistani soldiers assigned to protect engineers of an oil and gas facility in the region.

One soldier was killed later in an exchange of fire with militants in the Mand area of the Kech district of the same province, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said in a statement.

Separately, police said that at least one soldier was killed and three were wounded in a roadside bombing in the country's northwestern North Waziristan tribal district on May 17.

Attacks on Pakistani security forces in the restive Balochistan region bordering Afghanistan and Iran and the tribal districts bordering Afghanistan have increased over the past few months.

Six Pakistani soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Balochistan near the border with Iran on May 8.

On May 7, the military reported the death of two Pakistani soldiers in the town of Mir Ali in the country's North Waziristan tribal district.

Pakistan conducted a massive military operation in North Waziristan in June 2014 and later the country's security forces declared that the area had been cleared of militants.

In Balochistan, Pakistan is struggling with ethnic Baloch separatists while the Waziristan region has recorded a spike in incidents of violence involving Taliban remnants.

The violence in Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and most volatile province, is seen as a reaction by separatists to China's investment plans in the region linking its Xinjiang Province with the Arabian Sea through a network of roads and rail tracks.

The proposed $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor plan is meant to give Beijing access to markets in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa through the shortest overland and sea route.

With reporting by dpa, AP, and dawn.com

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/seven-soldiers- killed-in-pakistan-bombing -shooting-/30620353.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Kaala is Rajinikanth's Tamil action and drama flick directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Dhanush, under his production house Wunderbar Films. The film was dubbed into Telugu and Malayalam languages and released under the same title. However, it was released in Hindi as Kaala Karikalan.

Kaala is about the life of Nellai / Tirunelveli based Tamils who live in large numbers in Mumbai. Apart from Rajnikanth, Kaala also features Nana Patekar, Eswari Rao, Huma Qureshi, and Samuthirakani in pivotal roles. Take a look at interesting trivia and lesser-known facts about the action-drama flick, Kaala.

Also Read | Kapil Dev gains Thanos, Rajnikanth comparisons by Twitterati after showing new, bald look

Trivia about Kaala

Nana Patekar did his own dubbing in hindi and tamil.

The action drama film is the fourth collaboration of the director Pa Ranjith and Santhosh Narayanan after Attakathi, Madras and Kabali.

According to the director of the film, the movie name, Kaala, is referred to Lord Yama, the God of death.

The film marks the first movie of Nana Patekar and Rajinikanth in Tamil.

According to IMDB reports, Kaala is Rajinikanth's second Tamil film ever to receive a U/A certificate from the Indian censor board, the first being Thalapathi (1991).

After Kabali released in 2016, this was the second collaboration of director Pa. Ranjit with superstar Rajnikanth.

Anil Thadani's AA films secured Kaala rights for North India.

Also Read | Rajnikanth to Hrithik Roshan: Bollywood actors who pulled off tropes effortlessly

On the social media popularity, Kaala has a custom emoji created on Twitter that appears in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi as per the hashtag.

Post its huge release, it became the first-ever Tamil film to open in 300+ locations in the USA.

The Rajinikanth starrer Kaala has opened in nearly 322 locations approximately in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi.

Kaala is the first Indian film ever that was released in Saudi Arabia, following the country lifting its ban on public theatres in December 2017.

The film was shot in the Sion area of Mumbai at midnight to avoid crowd gathering at film shoots. But people still stayed awake till midnight and watched Rajnikanth shooting from their windows.

The jeep that was used in the first look poster of this movie became a sensation when Anand Mahindra, chairman and managing director of Mahindra Group, was interested in it. He tweeted that he would love to acquire that jeep for his company's auto museum.

Also Read | Soundarya Rajnikanth shares an epic 'Secret' from 'Into The Wild' episode

Also Read | Alia Bhatt's throwback fangirl moment with 'Thalaiva' Rajnikanth is too good to be missed

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Entrance mats are soothing and appealing to eyes when they are correctly and finely designed either at home, restaurants, or any other place. Manufacturing of quality entrance mat is a boon to technology and construction industry. Market Research Future reveals that the global entrance matting market is ready to expand at a CAGR of 4.6% during the estimated period from 2018 to 2023. The extensive study has segmental analysis, reviews of factors that can sway the market in the coming years, and expert views for an all-engrossing understanding of the market in a detailed manner.

Market Drivers & Trends

The entrance matting market is likely to witness a sustainable growth throughout the forecast period with the increased consumption of matting products such as walk-off mats, anti-fatigue, and logo & specialty mats mainly in residential as well as commercial areas. These factors are booming the construction industry, which is directly influencing the entrance matting market. In the past years, the sales of the entrance mats have been improved a lot, which has grabbed more demand for these mats in the coming years. Such establishment of the market is touted to achieve more valuation during its growth period.

At the same time, the supportive government regulations & initiatives have also further anticipated influencing the market prospects in terms of demand and sales. On the other hand, the growing flooring market coupled with rising in focus on interior and exterior decorations to attract customers have also impacted the entrance matting market and is going to experience impressive growth during the forecast period.

Other factors, such as rapid urbanization and industrialization, have exponentially enhanced the demand for remodeling and renovation activities, which in turn, largely contributes to the tremendous growth of the global entrance matting market.

Market Segmentation

The segmental analysis of the global entrance matting market has been done on the elements of type, material, application, and usage.

In terms of type: anti-fatigue, walk-off mats, logo, and specialty are the segments. Among these, walk-off mats segment is likely to exhibit a maximum growth rate owing to soar in commercial flooring products for hospitality, retail, sports, workplaces, healthcare, and more.

In terms of material: Nylon, rubber, polypropylene, vinyl, and others are the segments. The nylon segment accounted for the largest market share in 2017, which will retain its dominance by 2023. Nylon mats offer superior moisture absorption features which reduce the risk of tripping on a wet floor.

Regional Outlook

The region-wise analysis of the global entrance matting market has been done under the key regions of North America, Europe, Asia-pacific, and Rest of the World.

Among these, North America is recorded to have the largest market for entrance matting as this region also accounted for the leading market share in 2017. Such a significant market share is credited to the surge in adoption of walk-off mats along with the increase in the event shows in the USA, which has enhanced the growth of entrance matting market more than before in this region.

Asia-Pacific region is also ready to exhibit maximum growth rate over the forecast period, owing to the surge in the hospitality industry, mainly in developing countries such as India, China, and Indonesia. Such proliferation is creating hike in demand for entrance matting, which is simultaneously gaining popularity in the upcoming years.

Key Players

The well-known players in the entrance matting market are listed as Birrus Matting, Superior Manufacturing Group, 3M, Unifirst Corporation, Bergo Flooring AB, Cintas Corporation, Forbo Holdings AG, Eagle Mat & Floor Products, and among others.

Note: The COVID-19 pandemic disruption is estimated to transform the XX market in the years to come drastically, and its after-effects will be persistently seen in the years ahead. The MRFR report on the XX market meticulously tracks the COVID-19 pandemic effect for the years ahead. Moreover, the precise analysis of drivers and restraints in a post-COVID-19 market offers a coherent understanding of future growth cues.

Read More: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/covid-19-analysis
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  The two astronauts who will end a nine-year launch drought for NASA arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, exactly one week before their historic SpaceX flight.

It will be the first time a private company, rather than a national government, sends astronauts into orbit.

NASA test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken flew to Florida from their home base in Houston aboard one of the space agencys jets.

Its an incredible time for NASA and the space program, once again launching U.S. crews from Florida and hopefully in just a week from about right now, Hurley told reporters minutes after arriving.

Hurley was one of the four astronauts who arrived at Kennedy on July 4, 2011, for the final space shuttle flight, so its incredibly humbling to be here to start out the next launch from the United States.

We feel it as an opportunity but also a responsibility for the American people, for the SpaceX team, for all of NASA, Behnken added.

The two are scheduled to blast off next Wednesday afternoon atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, bound for the International Space Station. Theyll soar from the same pad where Atlantis closed out the shuttle program in 2011, the last home launch for NASA astronauts.

Since then, the only way to the space station for astronauts has been on Russian rockets launched from Kazakhstan.

Hurley and Behnken still dont know how long theyll spend at the space station: anywhere between one and four months. Only one American is up there right now  astronaut Chris Cassidy  and could use a hand. Hurley said he got an email from Cassidy on Tuesday night in which he wrote that hes looking forward to seeing our ugly mugs on board.

Greeting the astronauts at Kennedys former shuttle landing strip were the centers director, former shuttle commander Robert Cabana, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

You really are a bright light for all of America right now, Bridenstine told them.

The welcoming committee was reduced drastically in size because of the coronavirus pandemic. There were no handshakes for the astronauts, who did not wear masks but kept their distance at separate microphones. Cabana and Bridenstine wore masks except while addressing the crowd; so did the approximately 20 journalists standing more than 20 feet (6 meters) away.

During these tough times, Bridenstine said, this is a moment when we can all look and be inspired as to what the future holds.

NASAs commercial crew program has been years in the making. Boeing, the competing company, isnt expected to launch its first astronauts until next year.

As the trailblazers, Hurley and Behnken are establishing new prelaunch traditions. They shared two at Bridenstines request Wednesday.

Hurley, a former Marine and fighter pilot, followed military tradition and put a mission sticker on the SpaceX flight simulator in Houston on Tuesday, after completing training. Behnken, an Air Force colonel, followed Russian custom and planted a tree. He had help back home from his wife, whos also an astronaut, and their 6-year-old son.

My son will always have that lemon tree that he was a part of planting, Behnken said. Hopefully, it makes it through Houstons hot summer this year and becomes a tradition for some other folks as well.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Teacher Stephanie Talianicich thought her Ocean Springs family was safe from COVID-19, but her son Wyatt is now on a ventilator, fighting to see his 16th birthday June 1, after being diagnosed with a rare illness, pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

Today, she is questioning everything she knows and has read about coronavirus. Wyatt tested negative for the virus and its antibodies, but doctors plan to retest him, saying others they have treated for PMIS also tested negative.

Taliancich worries what will happen when children return to school.

Wyatts condition is so critical that he was flown Monday from Ocean Springs Hospital to Childrens Hospital in New Orleans, where he was put on a ventilator. She said Emergency Medicine Drs. Drew Weber and Stephen Boskovich of Ocean Springs Hospital saved her sons life by recognizing the severity of his illness and reacting quickly.

Taliancich was with her son in the New Orleans hospital when she saw an article at sunherald.com about Mississippis first case of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome. That patient, a boy from Central Mississippi who tested positive for COVID-19, is out of the hospital and recovering.

Taliancich immediately sent an email to the Sun Herald: I wanted you to know so you could share this information. This could happen to anyone. Wyatt has been 2 places in over 2 months. Please let the governor know . . . it is happening.

In another email, she wrote: We thought we were doing everything right and here we are. Schools really need to think about this. Are they prepared for children who could possibly be this sick?

I just think there are too many unknowns. Is it COVID? Is it related to COVID? Or is it something else?

I just do not think you can send kids into the unknown.

FAMILY PRACTICED SOCIAL DISTANCING

Wyatts last day at Ocean Springs High School was March 13. The Taliancichs other son, 20-year-old Travis, has been home from Mississippi State University since March 7.

Their parents have also been off work and staying close to home. In 2014, they lost a daughter born with a severe disability. She died in her sleep after suffering some illnesses, her mother said.

My husband and I have picked up groceries and such, ordered takeout and picked up in the drive-thru, but we were extra cautious with our kids, she said.

She said that she and her husband took their sons swimming several weeks ago. Nobody else was in the water, and no one was around them on the beach in Ocean Springs.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

A couple of days later, the family went to Target. They were in the store about 20 minutes. Those are the only two places Wyatt has been since COVID-19 closed schools, she said.

The only people who have been to their house are a colleague who wore a mask and two close friends, one with a daughter, who are considered family and have been around the Taliancichs throughout the pandemic. None of them are sick.

We educated ourselves and practiced social distancing, Taliancich said. We kept him home and made sure he was not exposed to risky situations, yet it still happened.

What do we really know about this? Not much more than we knew in March. My son is on a ventilator and he is fighting with our support, but it could be anyones child.

WYATT NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL ATTENTION

Wyatt was looking forward to his 16th birthday. He wanted one of those parades like he has seen on Facebook during the quarantine. Friends and Taliancichs co-workers are going to send him cards.

Everyone is praying for this smart teenager who loves Legos, math, band, movies and going out to eat with his family.

He is kind-hearted and loves people unconditionally, his mother said. He is empathetic and kind to all.

She said Wyatt has no underlying health conditions. He started feeling bad one week ago. His parents ordered ribs for dinner, but he said they didnt taste right.

For the next two days, he mostly slept. His father took Wyatt to the emergency room at Ocean Springs Hospital on Saturday, after he developed a cough and still felt bad. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics. A COVID-19 test was negative.

By Monday morning, he was dry heaving and back at the hospital. His blood pressure was dangerously low and his kidneys were failing. A second COVID-19 test was negative.

Recognizing how sick he was, the doctors consulted with Childrens Hospital in New Orleans and had him flown there.

He was soon put on a ventilator.

He was hallucinating and thought he was at school, his mother said. We explained to him what was going on, but I really dont think he had any idea.

The doctors in New Orleans diagnosed Wyatt with PMIS. They have seen other cases, too. PMIS has been reported in other states and countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many children with PMIS, but not all, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization.

PMIS can cause dangerous levels of inflammation throughout the body, an article on Yale Medicines website says.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County on Tuesday following the breach of a dam and unprecedented flooding. The Tittabawassee River was at 30.54 feet at 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 19 and is expected to crest at 8 a.m. at 38 feet, more than 4 feet higher than the flood of 1986.

The Edenville Dam along the river failed -- the structure collapsing -- at about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and an alert from Midland County 911 at about 7 p.m. stated the failure of the Sanford Dam was imminent. Dave Kook, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the breaching of the Edenville Dam has caused more water to be released into Sanford Lake, also increasing the amount of water passing through Sanford Dam.

ALSO SEE: Midland looks to evacuate more than 10,000 people

Residents were told to evacuate immediately as a life-threatening flash flood was issued by the National Weather Service of Detroit/Pontiac for the Tittabawassee River from Sanford Dam to the Windover school area in the City of Midland. The time of the flood was pushed back with several alerts and is currently set to end at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 20.

Several shelters have popped up in Midland and the surrounding region, while previous shelters at Meridian Junior High School and Coleman High School were moved due to flooding and power outages.

All residents along the lake and river should immediately evacuate as well as City of Midland residents living west of Eastman Avenue and south of US-10. Any Midland Township residents on Ashby Road between Poseyville and Patterson roads must evacuate immediately to a shelter at Bullock Creek High School, 1420 S. Badour Road.

In addition, Homer Township residents residing on East Wheeler Road or on Homer Road should also leave and head to Carol Creek to be evacuated. All residents in Lincoln Township east of M-30 on any roads between Price and Wackerly should evacuate immediately.

A shelter is being set up at Midland County ESA, 3917 Jefferson Avenue, at Midland High School, 1301 Eastlawn Drive, and at 7:30 p.m. a shelter at West Midland Family Center at 4011 W. Isabella Road, M-20 will be set up.

See a video of water flowing over the damaged Edenville Dam:

Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County.

If you have not evacuated the area, do so now and get somewhere safe, Whitmer said. This is unlike anything weve seen in Midland County. If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now. If you dont, go to one of the shelters that have opened across the county. I want to thank the emergency responders, Michigan National Guard members, and the Michigan State Police on the ground helping residents evacuate. Stay safe, and take care of each other.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar issued a statement Tuesday night saying mid-Michigan residents pull together in challenging times and will make it through this.

"Right now, the most important priority is staying safe, and I urge everyone to follow the advice of emergency responders who are protecting our community," Moolenaar said. "I have been working with state and local officials throughout the day, and tonight I opened communication with FEMA as we prepare to assess the need for future assistance."

Midland County Public Information Officer Selina Tisdale said residents should watch local media pages for updates and be aware of their surroundings, as well check on their loved ones. Unless youre in an evacuation area, she urges residents to stay off the roads since many unexpected roadways are being closed due to water.

Were finding a lot of things we didnt expect  its some strange flooding patterns going on, she said.

Tisdale said officials are following past flood patterns based on available data, however, she said areas are flooding faster than anticipated.

US-10 will be closed in both directions at Sanford Lake, according to the latest 911 alert. People should not call 911 unless they are unable to evacuate.

Dow posted to its local Facebook page at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, stating: "Dows Michigan Operations has activated their emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions. Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River. As always, our first priority is the safety and security of our employees and community."

This article will be updated as more information is made available.

RELATED:

 Edenville Dam structure breaks; evacuate immediately

 Photos: Homeowners assess damage as floodwater rises on Wixom Lake

 Aerial photos show flooding in Sanford Tuesday morning

 Aerial photographs show flooding in downtown Midland Tuesday
Voters wait in a line to cast their ballots during an early voting for the April 15 general elections at a polling station at Seoul Station, April 10. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



By Park Han-sol



More than nine in 10 voters believed that early voting in the April 15 general election encouraged them to participate, according to a survey released by the National Election Commission (NEC), Tuesday.



The survey was conducted after early voting for this election recorded the highest turnout ever  26.69 percent  since the system was introduced in 2013. This also contributed to the highest total turnout for a general election since 1992 at 66.2 percent, despite the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing.



In the survey of 1,500 eligible voters from April 16 to May 6 by Gallup Korea following an NEC request, 93.3 percent of respondents said early voting helped more people to participate in the poll, up 6.2 percentage points from a similar poll conducted after the general election four years ago.



Among reasons for choosing early voting, 41.1 percent said they might not have been able to vote on the actual election day due to other activities.



When asked whether the early voting system needs improvement, 64 percent said they were satisfied with the current one, while 17.7 percent thought the NEC should increase the number of early polling stations and 11.4 percent wanted the voting period to be extended.



More than 41 percent of those surveyed said they had decided on who to vote for about three weeks before the election. As to why they made their decision, 41.9 percent cited the candidates' parties, 24.6 percent said the candidate's capability and 20.7 percent, their campaign pledges.


The babies turned blue and gasped for air. Cocooned inside incubators in an Arizona neonatal intensive-care unit, the preemies were sick with whooping cough, having contracted the infection somewhere between the maternity ward and the NICU. It was 2011, I was an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it was my job to investigate the NICU epidemic and stop its spread.

My sleuthing pointed to health care workers as one of the likely carriers. Hospital policy lumped sick leave with personal time off, and NICU staff members told me the policy encouraged them to continue to work while sick. I was furious. One of my supervisors urged me to calm down and suggested that if I was too forceful when I approached hospital administrators about changing sick leave policy, they would become defensive and wouldnt allow me to come back the next time there was an outbreak. I was urged to calculate the cost of the outbreak to the hospital system, with the idea that economics, not dying preemies, might encourage a change in policy. I did the math. Nothing changed.

At last weeks Senate committee hearing on how to safely return to work and school, Americans received a crash course in how politics interacts with public health. As with White House news conferences where the president has shared dangerous scientific misinformation and disagreed with the nations top health experts, senators derided the best scientific evidence and even took jabs at the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

What might not be clear is that this play between politics and public health is not new. I spent two years in the Epidemic Intelligence Service and can say from experience: We might like to think of public health as the realm of experts and evidence, but politics and diplomacy have long been vital skills for disease detectives. These seemingly nonscientific skills are becoming more critical under the current administration.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said he should have recommended to President Donald Trump that Trump fire former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick "some time ago."

Speaking at a State Department news conference, Pompeo denied that he urged the department's internal watchdog be fired in retaliation for internal investigations he was conducting and said that the reason that he recommended Linick's ouster would be shared with the relevant people.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


He points to the fact that the $US800m is just the beginning of what Amazon expects to spend on anti-COVID measures. In the second quarter of this year the company is likely to spend a further $US4 billion or more, wiping out projected profits. "If you're a share owner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because we're not thinking small," says 56-year-old Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive. While much will be spent on what Olsavsky calls "people costs, both in productivity and also in wages and relief funds" (Amazon has increased its pay by $US2 per hour in the US; 2 per hour in the UK), hundreds of millions is being spent on securing its sites from infection in a way that nation states simply cannot emulate. Some $US300 million will be spent on the private testing project to the end of June, rising to a possible $US1 billion by the end of the year. In his annual shareholder letter, Bezos noted that "research scientists and program managers... procurement specialists and software engineers [have] moved from their normal day jobs on to a dedicated team to work on this initiative" and that the aim was "regular testing of all Amazonians, including those showing no symptoms". Amazon has a tendency to do things in an enormous way. Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at the New York University Stern School of Business Nowak goes further, suggesting that the true aim is to create "testing stations that Amazon employees can pass through on a daily basis", with results returned in minutes. Amazon would then combine such testing with its current precise tracking and tracing of its employees, ensuring that any worker who has come into contact with another who has been infected can be quickly quarantined.

Such fulfilment centres would, according to Galloway, be the keystones "of the world's first vaccinated supply chain", allowing customers to have greater confidence that products sold and delivered through Amazon were not vectors of coronavirus. "I don't think anybody else can do this," says Galloway. Loading "There are just so few organisations that have the capital and control of the entire supply chain to even conceive of doing this... to be honest, my mind is blown." He said Amazon was in a unique position because it could control the three key aspects of its supply chain: choice of goods coming to its warehouses, the warehouses themselves and, finally, delivery. Many rival retailers - even giants like Walmart - rely on third-party couriers for home delivery. And rival delivery firms, like FedEx, do not control what they ship. "FedEx can't call a toy manufacturer and say, 'Can you pull this product down from your website, because it's difficult to manage to a certain level of distancing, picking and packing," says Galloway.

In the UK, Amazon controls the shipment of most of its packages, through Amazon Logistics, now the largest private delivery firm in the country. Not everyone is happy with the measures the company is taking. According to The Washington Post (a title owned by Bezos), Amazon fired two employees, Emily Cunningham and Maren Costa, who were critical of its working conditions. Then, earlier this month, Tim Bray, an Amazon vice president, resigned noting "it's a matter of fact that workers are saying they're at risk" and issuing a condemnation of the "toxicity" in the company's culture, which included "firing whistleblowers". "I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison," he added. The minutely calculated rhythms and routines of its packing centres has been upended by COVID-19, forcing the company to spend billions. Credit:AP Several US senators have since sent Bezos a letter asking Amazon to reveal its policies for disciplining those who raise concerns about workplace safety. "Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began," the letter notes, "Amazon has fired at least four Amazon workers who had publicly raised concerns about safety conditions in Amazon warehouses." The letter also claims Amazon's "safety responses have not been sufficient". "To date more than 100 Amazon warehouses have reportedly had positive coronavirus cases... At least three Amazon warehouse employees have died."

One of those deaths, it notes, was at a facility where a fired worker was "fighting for safety protections". This week, a group of US state attorneys asked Amazon to provide precise details on the numbers of its warehouse workers who have been infected with or died from COVID-19. Amazon, which so far has not made precise figures available, has insisted that fired employees were "terminated... for repeatedly violating internal policies" - not whistleblowing. The reinvestment of multiple billions in Amazon at a time when other companies are retrenching is typical of Bezos, who has repeatedly defied traditional shareholder expectations to plough profits into game changing solutions for problems the company faces. While Amazon shares sunk 5 per cent after news of this investment, such solutions can sometimes be the basis of hugely profitable new businesses. The best example is the creation of Amazon Web Services (AWS) - data storage and processing infrastructure, which the company initially designed to cater to its own needs, but that it realised it could sell as a product to other companies. Estimates suggest AWS has a third of the $US100 billion+ annual cloud market, providing the web backbone to an array of customers from Netflix to the Ministry of Justice.
Jammu:

Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) on Wednesday held anti-Pakistan protests here and urged United Nations to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

Led by the party Chairman Harsh Dev Singh, a contingent of JKNPP staged a massive protest demonstration at Exhibition Ground Jammu against Pakistan for its overt and covert support to secessionists and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing the media, Singh urged the United Nations to declare Pakistan a terrorist state and lambasted the country for its pernicious designs in aiding and abetting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in the country with utterly malevolent and ulterior motives.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The UAE Food Security Office and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have taken a significant step forward in joining efforts to strengthen food security in the UAE.

The collaboration with FAO targets transforming the agriculture sector to achieve the SDGs as well as to enhance food safety in the UAE. The partnership has as main objectives: ensuring that everyone has access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food at all times - especially during crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic - and enabling the local and federal governments to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 2  Zero Hunger.

The project titled Assessment and strategic analysis of the food control system brings FAO technical assistance to assist on assessing and improving the UAE food safety control system and in particular of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, building a baseline using internationally accepted best practices. The project is expected to outline a roadmap for government investments to ensure maintenance and improvements to the food systems over time, thus allowing it to address upcoming and evolving food control challenges. With an estimated cost of around $218,000, this initiative is expected to run over 12 months and bring about major improvements.

The second project titled Transforming the food and agriculture sector to achieve the SDGs for enhanced Food Security and Nutrition, is expected to run over 2 years and 8 months and is estimated to cost around $3.6 million. This project will contribute to strategic FAO goals, including contributing to the eradication of hunger, making agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable, reducing rural poverty, enabling more efficient agricultural and food systems and increasing the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.

The second project specifically aims at assisting the UAE in achieving the SDGs by strengthening the capacity of its national partners, recommending best practices and technologies for developing sustainable food production, promoting nutrition policies for long-term health, making food systems more effective, and preventing diseases that threaten plant and animal production. It outlines how it will meet these objectives through three specific focal areas: utilising research, technology and innovation, supporting a sustainable and innovative aquaculture sector, and transforming the livestock sector for enriched food security and nutrition.

The project addresses 5 improvement areas for promoting the aquaculture sector in the UAE: 1) undertaking a feasibility exercise to enhance the competitiveness of the Recirculating Aquaculture System; 2) implementing a tasting or pilot exercise for enhancing UAEs local species of broodstock; 3) creating a data base of seafood consumption in the UAE; 4) investigating aspects of biosecurity of fish farms; and finally 5) investigating offshore aquaculture systems.

The two projects that the Food Security Office has signed with the FAO represent an important step forward in boosting food security for the region and enhancing the UAEs capacity to meet the United Nations SDGs. Although as a nation we are currently considered food secure due to our strong political and economic stance, the current COVID-19 pandemic has reiterated the need for us to augment our capacity in the areas of food production so that we can reduce our reliance on these food supply chains, which currently bring in 90 percent of the countrys total food imports, said Mariam Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security.

Through these two engagements, the FAO will be playing an instrumental role in helping the UAE meet its target of becoming one of the top 10 food-secure countries in the world by 2021 and number one by 2051. By enabling its domestic food production to ramp up through innovative smart agricultural methods and the development of its aquaculture sector, it will also improve our capability to reduce global malnutrition by meeting the UNs SDGs, especially SDG 2, the eradication of hunger by 2030, she added.

The two outlined projects will be implemented by the FAOs Subregional Office for the Gulf Cooperation Council States and Yemen, in conjunction with the UAE Food Security Office among others. With respect to the second project Transforming the food and agriculture sector to achieve the SDGs for enhanced Food Security and Nutrition, its implementation will make reference to the UAE and Saudi Arabias agreed-upon common food security strategy and its five goals: integration of agricultural investments; food safety and nutrition support systems; sustainable food production supported by technology, research and innovations; reducing food loss and waste and integration of management and communication systems.

The UAE is clearly committed to ensure food security for all. The National Food Security Strategy of the UAE is internationally recognized as a comprehensive and forward looking approach to engage the public and private sector in achieving food security in a sustainable way. FAO highly appreciates the engagement of Her Excellency Mariam AlMheiri and the Food Security Office in guiding and supporting the development of the FAO Cooperation Programme, said Dino Francescutti, FAO Sub-Regional Coordinator of the GCC States and Yemen and FAO Representative in the UAE.

The two projects signed with Her Excellency are major building blocks on this cooperation programme. These projects will contribute through strategic channels to achieve food security, with the current challenges brought by the COVID-19 emergency. The Director General of FAO recognises the opportunity given to FAO by the UAE to contribute toward a profound transformation of the food system in the country and in the region, he added. - TradeArabia News Service
The Government wants the business community to provide feedback and input to help improve the National Public Service Portal, heard a conference held by the PMs Council on Administrative Reform and the WB in Hanoi on May 19.

A screenshot of the National Public Service Portal (File Photo: VNA)

To cope with COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has been pushing more administrative procedures online, including the use of e-documents and e-reports, and the establishment of information and public service portals on local levels, said Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung.

The Governments Decision 45/2020/ND-CP also dictated, for the first time, that online procedures be recognised by governmental agencies to reduce red tape, paperwork for businesses and to promote online transactions as well as the digital economy.

Since its formation, the National Public Service Portal has proven to be an effective tool in the countrys scheme to digitalise administrative procedures. In addition, the portal also helps improve the transparency and accountability of local governments, said Dung.

The portal has developed from just eight groups of public services, to provide nearly 400 services with more than half designed to meet the needs of businesses. The portal allows firms to open service tickets with ministries, agencies and local authorities.

Citizens and businesses can track how their applications are being processed and at the same time, the Office of the Government can keep an eye on the proceedings and when required, send feedback and instructions.

Speaking at the conference, the World Banks Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione said the COVID-19 pandemic had brought unprecedented disruption to social and economic development on a global scale. He called for the Government and business community to work together to fight the crisis.

Along with effective public health measures taken by the Government, the countrys swift digitalisation of public services was a highlight of its ability to deal with the pandemic.

Dione said the portal was of tremendous value in stopping the spread of the coronavirus and in protecting the health of citizens and public servants.

He called for actions to be taken by the private sector to hasten business digitalisation to improve business resilience and ensure operations can run uninterrupted. As made clear by the pandemic, businesses with a high level of digitalisation have proven much less likely to be affected while others suffered disastrous consequences or were put out of operations.

In addition, applications of digitalisation, e-commerce, big data and Artificial Intelligence may boost productivity and add value for small-to-medium-sized enterprises by up to 26 percent, he said, citing a 2019 study conducted in Singapore. On a regional scale, digitalisation has the potential to create 1.1 trillion VND in GDP value for ASEAN economies by 2025.

Dione also called for the Government to continue with administrative reforms to cut costs and time for businesses. To this end, data gathered by the portal may provide an excellent starting point for the Government to identify time-wasting procedures and bottlenecks in the system.

The national public service portal debuted on December 9, 2019, and has logged more than 140,000 registered accounts, 35 million visits, 7.3 million documents and processed more than 68,000 documents.

It is estimated as much as 6.49 trillion VND (280 million USD) has been saved thanks to online public services a year, which includes 3.036 trillion VND from the portal.

According to the report of the Government Office, after six months in operation, the portal has supplied 389 online public services (160 for people and 229 for enterprises) in sales promotion, electricity supply, payment of taxes, charges and fees, electronic tax declaration and payment and tax extension request.

Starting from May 12, the portal has started additional services to support citizens and businesses affected by COVID-19 including workers who have lost their jobs or had their salaries suspended, employers who have borrowed to compensate laid-off workers, applications to delay payments of personal and business income./.VNA
An exodus of a different kind, hundreds of guest workers dot the Chennai-Kolkata Highway here starting from Puzhal, a northern Chennai suburb, hoping to make it to their native towns and villages up north and eastern parts of the country to reunite with worried parents, concerned spouses and doting children.

With the odds stacked against them, they walk, pedal and hitchhike along the highway (National Highway-16/Chennai- Kolkata), also known as the Grand Northern Trunk Road, with the sole aim of reaching home, all the while managing with little or no money.

The entire 46-km stretch of the highway from Puzhal on the northern tip of Chennai till Ramapuram, the first village on the Andhra Pradesh side that falls under Tada mandal is teeming with hundreds of guest workers mainly belonging to Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal.

The scene of several families including women and children from Odisha who carried their belongings stuffed in big, empty paint boxes on their heads was a deeply moving sight.

Most people are unaware of the 'e-passes' to travel on road and do not know whom to approach to board special trains to reach their destinations with ease.

Some who tried to get passes claimed they could not get them.

While the scene that is unfolding on the highway is often chaotic with guest workers trying to reason out with police officials to allow them to go, some with adequate money manage to charter buses and others plead with truck drivers to take them home.

Some who do not travel in a group, seek 'lift' from two- wheeler riders too.

Not all are, however, lucky enough.

A migrant worker in his late thirties, Ram Biswas who was determined to cycle his way to Lachipeta of Malkangiri district in Odisha could not make it beyond Kavarapettai near here and he was found dead on roadside on Tuesday.

Biswas was among a group of young men who left Chennai city a couple of days ago.

"Apparently the man was exhausted," a police official said adding his body was being sent to his native place following post mortem at a government hospital.

Each one of the guest workers have agonising tales to recount.

Braving the scorching sun, Bihar-bound Ranjit Kumar Ojha though penniless and injured, was seeking "directions" with determination to go home at the Sholavaram checkpost that was abuzz with activity.

Having worked for a road construction firm till recently, Ojha was distressed that his company did not help him even after he suffered a leg injury, but said he will walk all the way till Champaran in Bihar to start life anew.

Ajay Nayak and a small bunch of his friends who were resting on the highway repeated that they wanted to reach Kandhamal in Odisha, come what may.

Nayak was "unsuccessful" in his bid to secure a pass to leave Tamil Nadu and said he was now left with no choice than to take the long walk like thousands of his ilk across the country, where a punishing lockdown has left them jobless and no money to spend.

Nayak, all of 20 years, and his friends were employed at an industrial unit near Chennai.

"We wanted to go to Odisha, but the police stopped us (here) and wanted us to get a pass..what can we do?. its not easy.. we have no money and it is a problem to get food," one of Nayak's friends said and added that they will resume their journey.

Bishwanath Mondal, from Malda in West Bengal, was till recently in the "construction line" at Ambattur in the city.

"Our company has not helped us in the last two months. We want to proceed to Kolkata but don't have a penny... whatever we had was spent on food, even as we are out of work for two months," he said as his colleagues looked on.

"Our parents and others back home are worried," he added.

A white towel wrapped around his head to protect himself from the harsh summer sun, Mondal said, "we have set out by foot since we have no money."



Mondal and others reached the border point by hopping on and off empty cargo vans right from the industrial cluster of Ambattur in Chennai.

Dhananjay Chatria and five of his friends have embarked on their journey on brand new cycles, bought from whatever they could salvage after remaining jobless for two months at a city hotel.

Each member of the team is headed to a different destination in Odisha.

Asked if they can cycle all the way there, Chatria said in a mix of broken Tamil and Hindi "this is Hindustan we can go."



The cyclists have some money with them and are happy that people are lending a helping hand by way of food and water along the way.

Jetendra Gadatya and 19 other men working for a water bottling plant got e-pass from authorities and paid Rs 5,600 per head to a bus operator to reach a couple of destinations in Odisha including Balangir.

Unlike several others, though they have jobs and are paid promptly they said, "our minds are set, we want to go home as our families are worried."



The trail for people without permission comes with the prospect of being stopped by officials.

Therefore, the workers are keen to avoid the authorities by taking the roads less taken.

However, not all of them manage to evade officials and many were stopped by police at many points.

For instance, the families from Odisha, including a number of women and children were safely housed at the Red Hills Paddy and Rice Wholesale Traders Sangam Marriage Hall.

Sadly, they had traversed about 70 km from Chengelpet on foot before they were intercepted by authorities on the highway near Padianallur.

"The registration process is now on. Arrangements are afoot to put them on a train," a police official at Red Hills said.

While civic officials insist that the state government is ensuring accommodation and food for the jobless workers, police said they do not "allow anyone to walk on the highway."



They said efforts were being made to get these stranded workers board trains to reach their native places and till then accommodate them in marriage halls and community centres.

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

SRINAGAR: Four militant associates of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday, and arms and ammunition recovered from their possession, police said.

Acting on inputs, security forces arrested Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, Mudasir Ahmad Lone, Younis Waza -- all residents of Budran -- and Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Poshkar Khag, a police spokesperson said.

Incriminating materials, arms, including a pistol, a grenade and huge cache of ammunition were recovered from their possession, the spokesperson said.

As per the police records, they were involved in providing logistic support and shelter to the active militants of the LeT operating in the area, besides other unlawful activities, according to the spokesman.

A case has been registered and an investigation is on, he added.
I was thrilled to hear that the Michigan militia said they will prevent police from enforcing wacko Gov. Whitmer's unconstitutional demand that 77-year-old Karl Manke close down his barber shop.

We the people are finally rising up to say this is America and we're not gonna take this crap, and it makes me extremely proud to be an American. Thank God we have not become a nation of metrosexual wimps, allowing power-drunk Democrats to behave like our parents. They demand that we stay in our homes. When we ask why, their response is "because we said so!"

Several weeks ago, when the lockdowns began, I had a conversation with two political activist buddies. They were concerned that Democrats would force the lockdown to continue until election day in November. I said I could not imagine the American people putting up with it that long.

Seeing that Democrats are using COVID-19 to implement their dream list of extreme leftist initiatives, many of you were frustrated that Trump appeared to surrender to Dr. Fauci's keep-America-closed recommendations. I told you guys to chill out and trust Trump and God. Trump is a master deal-maker in a crazy situation. While you were annoyed at Trump for listening to Dr. Fauci, Democrats and fake news media continue to spread the lie that thousands have died and will die because Trump refuses to listen to Dr. Fauci.

Weeks ago, a large chunk of the country believed fake news media and health experts' lie that COVID-19 is the worst thing that ever hit the planet. They said 2 million would die if we did not close down the country. It would have been foolish for Trump to push against the tsunami of fear sweeping the country. Trump wisely waited for evidence to begin surfacing that the predicted doomsday numbers of deaths were proven false.

In April, Trump announced his plan to reopen America. As expected, Democrats and fake news media responded in outrage, hysterically claiming that over 100 thousand will die. Trump realizes THAT a large percentage of Americans are over the fear and ready to begin living again. Dr. Fauci wants the lockdowns to continue. After expressing his respect for Dr. Fauci, Trump said he will proceed.

Now is the time for more Americans to step up and rebel big-time against power-drunk, evil Democrats. My two political activist buddies played a major role in making the May 1 ReOpen California protest a huge success. But we can't stop there. That was only Phase One. Democrat governors continue to dig their long claws deep into the walls of their lockdowns, implementing more absurd COVID-19 restrictions. They will not loosen their chains around the necks of their constituents. They must be forced to let their people go.

Joe Wierzbicki, a true patriot, is president of the Conservative Campaign Committee. He posted this on Facebook. "Nevada's disgraced Democrat Governor Steve Sisolak's actions cause closure of famed Colorado Belle in Laughlin, NV. Another 400 jobs lost. Folks  we must RECALL these Democrat governors who are destroying our economy."

Folks, this cruel insanity should make every American extremely angry. The Bible says, "Be angry, but sin not." The Bible also speaks of "righteous anger." Seeing Democrat tyrants punish and destroy people's lives should make righteous Americans angry. Conservative Campaign Committee is laser-focused on helping Republicans take back the House.

Wicked Nancy Pelosi must be unseated from her role as House majority leader. From her illegal impeachment scheme to exploiting COVID-19, she will use anything to remove Trump and dictate the behavior of the American people. She has zero compassion for U.S. citizens.

The Pelosi-controlled House recently approved a new $3-trillion COVID-19 relief bill, polluted with funding for extreme leftist initiatives and giveaways to illegals. While 30 million Americans have lost their jobs, Pelosi's bill allows illegal aliens to work. Pelosi's bill also gifts illegals stimulus checks and amnesty.

Her bill includes huge tax cuts for rich liberal donors in Democrat-controlled states.

Pelosi's bill mentions cannabIs 68 times while mentioning jobs 52 times.

Taxpayers oppose funding abortion 55% to 29%. And yet, Pelosi's relief bill includes taxpayer-funded abortion. What the heck does abortion have to do with COVID-19? Pelosi's bill includes blocking voter identification laws even though 80% of Americans want such laws. Again, what does voter ID have to do with COVID-19? Pelosi's bill includes $20 million for arts and humanities. Pelosi stuffed much more crazy evil leftist garbage into her bill calling it COVID-19 relief.

In New York, police wrestled a woman with a toddler to the ground and arrested her for not wearing her mask properly. This is too much, folks. There is something seriously wrong when one person can mandate brute force to implement their unconstitutional decrees. For this reason, we must never allow Democrats to ignore the Second Amendment to confiscate our guns.

Phase two of the battle to restore our constitutional freedoms requireS that we lawfully and rightfully push back. I would love to be a part of a national ReOpen America bus tour.

Similar to the Tea Party movement, the grassroots ReOpen America movement does not have one charismatic leader. It has numerous courageous lovers of freedom and America saying, "I will fight and suffer the consequences." My mind flashed back to that scene in the movie, Spartacus. Soldiers came to arrest Spartacus but did not know his identity. Each of his men boldly proclaimed, "I am Spartacus." The soldiers crucified all of them. We have small business owners from beauty salons to gyms to restaurants and more, in essence, saying, "Take me, I am Spartacus."

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American

Help Lloyd Spread the Truth

https://www.trumptrainusa2020.com/

http://LloydMarcus.com

Image: Jeff Turner via Flickr.
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

On Friday, Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez asked Councilmember Jose Huizar not to attend any more council meetings until there's "legal clarity" regarding his involvement in the bribery scheme embroiling City Hall.

For the past few years, federal investigators have been working on a sweeping corruption probe involving L.A. city staff, members of the City Council, developers, lobbyists and more.

News broke last week that a Granada Hills developer had agreed to plead guilty in connection with a scheme to bribe public officials -- including an unnamed L.A. city councilmember -- to smooth the passage of real estate projects. According to prosecutors, that developer, George Chiang, became a "close political ally" of a member of the council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

L.A. City Councilmember Jose Huizar in 2014. (Benjamin Brayfield/KPCC file photo)

Huizar, who represents communities including Boyle Heights, downtown L.A., El Sereno and Eagle Rock, had been a member of that committee until November 2018. His duties were revoked following an FBI raid on his home and council offices in connection with the federal investigation.

Following the Martinez's request, Huizar issued a statement saying he does "not wish to be a distraction" and would "limit my participation in Council while working to meet the needs of my district."

Huizar has not yet been charged with any crimes, but calls for his resignation are mounting at City Hall.

Here's a roundup of what fellow city councilmembers, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other L.A. leaders have said about the corruption scandal -- and Councilmember Huizar's possible role in it.

CITY COUNCIL

Gil Cedillo - CD 1

"He is not weighing in on this," said a spokesperson with Cedillo's office.

Paul Krekorian - CD 2

"I applaud and strongly support Council President Martinez for taking a firm stand with regard to Councilmember Jose Huizar's status during the pending federal investigation.



"The corrupt conduct described publicly by the U.S. Attorney is shocking and revolting. Any elected official who has engaged in such conduct has betrayed the public's trust and forfeited the privilege of serving the people. Such conduct also betrays the trust of the vast majority of elected officials and other public servants who work hard every day to represent the people's interests.



"I recognize that no criminal charges have yet been announced against Councilmember Huizar, but the facts and evidence described by federal prosecutors make clear that he is the unnamed Councilmember referenced in their public statements. The people of the 14th District, and the rest of Los Angeles, therefore can no longer have confidence that Councilmember Huizar is representing their interests fairly and honestly, and with his full attention. Worse, the ongoing cloud over him causes the potential for every action the Council takes in which he is involved to be tainted."





"My blood boils as I learn more details about this horrific tale of corruption. This is the absolute antithesis of what public service is all about. The public's trust has been broken and from what we continue to discover from the Department of Justice and news reports, he (Huizar) should no longer hold a seat on our City Council. He should resign. I understand that he hasn't been indicted or pleaded guilty but where there is smoke there is fire and right now it's hard not to choke."





Ryu put out a short tweet Friday: "Jose Huizar should resign."

His office later provided this statement to LAist:

"I support Council President Nury Martinez in asking Jose Huizar to refrain from attending Council meetings, and thank her for her leadership, but Jose should not have to be asked. If he knows that he is guilty, he should have resigned long ago."





"The Councilmember believes it would be inappropriate to comment [at] this time," said a spokesperson from his office.

Nury Martinez - CD 6

The council president has not issued a statement beyond confirming the move to us, and she has stopped short of calling it a suspension.

Monica Rodriguez - CD 7*

Marqueese Harris-Dawson - CD 8*

Curren Price - CD 9*

Herb Wesson - CD 10

The councilmember and his office declined to comment.

Mike Bonin - CD 11

"If he is indicted, Councilmember Huizar should resign, and the Council should immediately appoint his elected successor, Kevin DeLeon, to fill the remainder of the term. The constituents of the 14th District must have their voices represented."





The councilmember and his office declined to comment.

Lee was elected to the Council District 12 seat in August 2019 after former councilmember Mitch Englander resigned from his seat at the end of 2018. Lee had served as Englander's chief of staff.

In March, Englander surrendered to federal authorities on charges that he "obstructed an investigation into him accepting cash, female escort services, hotel rooms and expensive meals from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs, and later lied to the FBI about his conduct," according to a statement from the FBI.

Englander later took a plea deal and agreed to plead guilty to one count of "scheming to falsify material facts," according to Department of Justice officials.

Lee was with Englander on that Vegas trip. Following news of the charges brought against Englander, Lee issued a statement, saying: "I did everything in my power to pay for and reimburse expenses related to this trip. I was unaware of any illegal activities for which Councilmember Englander is being charged."

Mitch O'Farrell - CD 13

"Councilmember O'Farrell supports the call for Huizar's suspension," said a spokesperson for his office.

Jose Huizar - CD 14

"I have proudly served on the Los Angeles City Council representing Council District 14 for the last 15 years. It has been my honor to work side-by-side with the constituents who elected me to represent them. During this critical time, I have been working with community groups and nonprofits throughout the district to provide PPE and food to those who would otherwise go without. The establishment of critical rent relief programs and support for small businesses in Council District 14 are essential, and I intend to move forward with this work and carry out my duties to protect the safety and economic wellbeing of the residents of Los Angeles during this COVID 19 crisis. I do not wish to be a distraction to the important work that is being done and will respect the Council President's wishes that I limit my participation in Council while working to meet the needs of my district."





"Whatever ends up happening to Jose Huizar on the legal front, it is blatantly obvious he has compromised his ability to represent his District and should step down immediately."





MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI

The mayor addressed last week's news at a Friday media briefing and had this to say about the scandal and Councilmember Huizar:

"We cannot tolerate the kind of behavior that's come to light in recent weeks. It is absolutely unacceptable... we can't let this dark cloud continue to hang over us... I support what Council President Martinez said about making sure that he (Huizar) should step aside for the remainder of this investigation, and, if he is charged, he should resign immediately."





OTHER CITY LEADERS

City Controller Ron Galperin

Galperin tweeted this Friday:

Its time for Jose Huizar to resign from the Los Angeles City Council.  LA Controller Ron Galperin (@LAController) May 15, 2020

His tweet thread went on to say: "While I believe strongly in the principle that someone is innocent until proven guilty, the shocking information about his alleged corruption and serious breach of the public trust are not compatible with continuing as a representative of the people.

"To violate the public trust is the most serious affront to the people we are entrusted and sworn to serve."

City Attorney Mike Feuer

Feuer's office did not respond to our request for comment, but he was quoted in the L.A. Times last week saying that "the right thing to do would be to step down," if a councilmember was indicted.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CITY HALL CORRUPTION PROBE:

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
- National Task Force on COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez said that there are now 465 returning OFWs who tested positive for coronavirus disease

- Galvez also mentioned that the test was conducted by the Philippine Red Cross

- According to him, 42,000 OFWs are expected to come back home to the Philippines soon

- Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana already coordinated with other agencies to address the issue

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

National Task Force on COVID-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez announced on Tuesday night that many returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

KAMI learned that the OFWs were tested by the Philippine Red Cross.

In a report by CNN Philippines, the Philippine Red Cross conducted over 22,000 tests among OFWs.

Kung hindi natin ni-PCR [polymerase chain reaction testing] ito, yung 465 po na ito ay parang magiging second wave, Galvez said.

At kawawa ang mga local government units, lalo na yung mga walang alam tsaka walang PCR sa area at walang facilities, he added.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

As reported by the Philippine Star, Galvez also explained that more OFWs are coming back to the country amid the crisis and it poses more problems.

Malaki po ang problema po natin sa returning OFWs. Kasi po sa ngayon po, more than 27,000 na po ang nandito sa Manila, at mayroon pa pong darating na 42,000 this coming May and June, he said.

Meanwhile, Galvez assured President Rodrigo Duterte that Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana is coordinating with other agencies to address the concern.

Lorenzana also ordered the immediate release of OFWs who tested negative for 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 got emotional as he was listening to the song that captured what he was feeling during the coronavirus crisis.

As of posting time, there are now 2,431 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Filipinos abroad.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
The whole reason we have parole is to show that people can change, Goodmark said. If parole means anything, you have to look at Eraina Pretty and say she has done everything she has been told to do. The one thing she cant change is what put her in prison.
2020 Nissan Frontier News From Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) eMeeting | By Larry Nutson and Thom Cannell

SEE ALSO: Official 2020 Nissan Frontier Prices and Press Kit

2020 Nissan Frontier

New powertrain; new price

by Thom Cannell and Larry Nutson

Michigan and Chicago Bureau

The Auto Channel

Zoom-land May 19, 2020; After a short delay, Nissan again debuted its 2020 Frontier. We say again, as they put it on display at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show in February with modest details. Today we got more news at a MAMA eMeeting.

Since we cant meet in person, we along with about sixty of our auto media colleagues, who are also members of the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) met virtually on the invite of Nissan as part of the new MAMA eMeet series to Zoom and talk all things 2020 Frontier.

Briefly, the 2020 model is significantly changed in only one respect, it now uses a single engine and transmission. Thats an all-new 3.8-liter V-6 mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. The engine is rated at 310-horspeower, an increase of 49 horsepower over the previous V6, while also providing improved fuel economy and emissions performance. Nissan says its best-in-class.

Nissans Melaina Vasko, Vehicle Development Performance Manager, says the 9-speed automatic helps give them superb control over gear-centric activities like off roading and towing while delivering improved shift feel. The new powertrain also generally improves overall fuel economy, now rated at 18 city mpg, 24 highway mpg and 20 combined mpg for 4x2 models. Ratings for 4x4 models are 17 city mpg, 23 highway mpg, and 19 combined mpg.

Nissan says the new powertrain gets better fuel economy than the outgoing in-line four-cylinder. Overall, the 2020 Frontier is quieter running compared to the last years model due to the new powertrain.

Zero to 60 mph acceleration is in 7.9 seconds, compared to the previous 8.1 seconds. Trailer tow rating remains the unchanged.

Michael Yarger, Senior Manager Product Planning, said the 2020 Frontier offers a number of other upgrades for the new model year, including standard push button start. In addition, a number of features are now standard for all grades: leather shift knob, manual tilt steering, power door locks and power windows with driver side auto-down.

The 2020 Frontier is available in King Cab, Crew Cab Short Wheelbase and Crew Cab Long Wheelbase bodies and in a choice of 4x2 and 4x4 drive configurations.

For model year 2020, there will be a price increase, which Nissan says is under $2000 model-to-model, but includes the pricier engine and transmission, and other significant upgrades. For instance, the popular SV at $31,990 includes an option to take a Midnight Edition or Special Edition at no increase in price. Those include leather interior appointments, upgraded wheels and tires, dual air conditioning and other bits. Or the Pro4X costs, on paper, $3,000 more but includes $2,100 of premium content according to the company. So the latest Pro4X is, in effect, $900 more. Whats interesting about all the pricing is that, the old V-6 compared to the all-new V-6 is an increase of $870. Surely youd pay $30 for a more modern engine, one with 310 horsepower instead of 261?

Starting MSRP is $26,790 for 2020 Frontier King Cab 4x2 S model, plus the $1,095 destination charge.

The new truck will be built in Nissans Canton, Mississippi plant, the engine at the Dechard, Tennessee facility. The 2020 Nissan Frontier will be in dealer showrooms in July.

A 2021 Frontier was expected in fall 2020, but who knows what will happen now with the Covid-19 impact on the entire automobile industry.

Going back in time, Nissan delivered its first compact pickup to the North American market in 1959 with the Datsun 220, their first half-ton compact pickup in 1969 and the first King Cab small pickup in 1983. Weve come a long way, baby!
Simon Bridges and deputy Paula Bennett will be challenged for the leadership of the National Party.

Bridges' position is under scrutiny after a political poll showed support for National had plunged.

He told Morning Report he and his deputy, Paula Bennett, are being both challenged, and he's confident he has the support of the majority of caucus.

He will not say who the two challengers were.

The leadership vote is likely to be at a caucus meeting next Tuesday.

The latest Newshub Reid-Research political poll has National with just 30.6 percent support, and in the preferred Prime Minister's stakes Bridges is on 4.5 per cent.

At the same time Labour and Jacinda Ardern are enjoying a huge surge in popularity.

Former National MP Bob 'The Builder' Clarkson, who used to hold Bridges' Tauranga seat, is still backing the leader.

"He's well educated, he doesn't swear like me. So I think he's a decent sort of guy, actually," says Bob.

"He might not pick the right subjects to talk about sometimes but generally, I think he's a nice guy. He's a family man and everything.

"But the leader of the Labour Party has had a charmed run as a politician - she's on the TV 90 per cent of the damn time, and that's hard to beat."

Some voters in Bridges' home suburb of Matua concede National's leader has made mistakes but, for the most part, they're forgiving.

"Aside from what I believe was a mistake very early on in the pandemic when it became a little political, I think he's done very well," says one man.

"I guess a lot of the things that the government's done and proposed probably aren't too dissimilar to what National would have done. He just really hasn't done a very good job of - if there's an alternative - getting that across," says another.

One Tauranga voter says he can come across as "a bit bombastic".

"Oh my goodness, just speak to someone - you're not speaking at someone all the time and always having to get your point across. He doesn't seem to listen very well," she says.

"I don't always like what Jacinda Ardern does, but because she comes across as genuine I think that's what makes her the winner."

In the safe National seat of North Shore, it's hard to find anyone with a positive thing to say about Bridges.

"I'm a long-standing National voter and I wouldn't vote for him. I like the ol' Crusher," says Marjory, with a laugh, referring to National MP Judith Collins' nickname.

Peter Bedford says one of Bridges' problems is that he isn't memorable.

"Three of us were talking the other day and none of us could remember his first name, which is quite brutal."

Bobby Barker from Devonport says Bridges seemed to like being the contrarian.

"I think he doesn't really have any opinions of his own - his opinion is whatever is the dissenting opinion. I don't think he's once come across as honest or anything, just disingenuous."

Rose Hunt from Takapuna says she "just can't listen to him".

"Simon Bridges, he needs to go. He needs to go - a bit like Donald Trump needs to go."

The National Party caucus is now anxiously awaiting a fresh poll later this week.

At the party caucus next Tuesday, MP's are likely to decide whether or not to topple their leader.

Former National Prime Minister Jim Bolger is promoting Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller.

"Todd has the ability to work well with all across world, across the line. He's not that harsh partisan position, he will work with others to achieve the right goal," he says.

Simon Bridges and his party are now faced with crucial decisions three months out from the general election.

-RNZ/ Matthew Theunissen
HANOI -- A free trade agreement with the European Union set to soon be ratified by Vietnam should boost the Asian nations economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Tuesday, while urging faster reforms.

Vietnams legislature is expected to give its final approval later this month for a deal that would see tariff reductions on 99% of goods traded with the bloc, its second-largest export market after the United States.

Its trade minister has said he expects the agreement to take effect in July.

Vietnams economy grew at its slowest pace in the first quarter of this year, 3.8%, as the coronavirus outbreak hit output. But with just 324 cases and no deaths, Vietnam is set to resume economic activity sooner than its regional peers.

The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) could boost Vietnams GDP and exports by 2.4% and 12% respectively over the next decade and lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty, the World Bank said in a report.

Such benefits are particularly urgent to lock in positive economic gains as the country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank said.

It said now was the perfect time for Vietnam to initiate deeper reforms and fix legal gaps and implementation issues to reap the full benefits of the agreement.
Lodha Group, Indias largest real estate developer joins hands with the brand ambassador - Akshay Kumar, to launch their brand new corporate campaign Apna Ghar, Apna Desh. The campaign aims at highlighting the importance of having your own home and providing yourself and your family with a secure future. The 360-degree campaign features Akshay Kumar filming a complete brand campaign video at his own home, for the very first time!

Akshay Kumar represents a wholesome, responsible family man, whose inspirational journey from humble roots to becoming one of the most successful icons in India, strikes a chord with families across the country. The video will see Akshay Kumar taking viewers down memory lane - narrating never-heard-before experiences of his rented apartment in Sion, a place that never really felt like home. He echoes the traditional Indian sentiment of having your own home, and his dream of building a home for his family, a place that exudes a sense of belonging. In Akshays words  aakhir apna ghar apna hi hota hai.

The Apna Ghar, Apna Desh brand video goes live across Lodha Groups social media platforms and website, supported by display and electronic ads across media networks. To build a personal connection, Akshay Kumar will also take this conversation live on Instagram for a Q&A session, to speak with customers and fans. The live session can be streamed here: @lodhagroup_india

Commenting on the campaign, Raunika Malhotra, Brand Guardian, Lodha Group said; The Apna Ghar, Apna Desh campaign is for everyone who dreams of having their own home. It has been exciting to bring alive this intrinsic Indian sentiment through the story of Akshay Kumar. Discovering the role that his home played in building memories for his family and being a safe haven for him in the toughest phases of life, is exactly how any of us would feel. The security of having a space to call your own is unparalleled, especially in these uncertain times.

Apart from fulfilling the dream of home buyers, the Apna Ghar, Apna Desh initiative also seeks to contribute in a big way in re-building the nation. The initiative emphasizes on how every homebuyer can help with the annual income for more than ten workers as well as contribute towards supporting the Covid-19 warriors. In addition, 25% spends on buying home goes to the government which helps in nations treasury in these challenging times, thus crafting a unique developer  homebuyer journey that can help in boosting the economy for the country.
Brazil recorded 1,179 more deaths on May 19 marking the highest single-day fatalities due to coronavirus. The new numbers have pushed the nationwide death toll to over 17,971. Previously, the largest single-day toll was recorded on May 12, when 881 people died due to the lethal respiratory infection.

On May 18, the Latin American nation surpassed UK to become the country with the third-highest infection with 2,71,628 cases as of now. Brazil, which is only behind the US and Russia, reported 17,408 cases on May 18. Currently, there are over 1,47,108 active cases in the country. In recent months, two doctors have resigned as health ministers owing to the fact that Bolsonaro constantly defies public health experts to advise.

Read: Brazil: Bolsonaro Rejected COVID-19 As 'little Flu', Now Nation Has 3rd Highest Cases

Read: Brazil's President Defies Social Distancing Norms Yet Again At Anti-lockdown Protests

This comes as Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy for the infection. Speaking to international media reporters, the Brazilian leader asserted that interim Health minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines expanding the recommended use of the anti-malaria drug on May 20. Later, speaking to a Brazilan website, he said that an active-duty army general would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the job for now.

'Trouble'

Meanwhile, Trump has reckoned a possible travel ban. Speaking to reporters on May 18, he said that he didnt want people to come and infect Americans adding that Brazil was having undoubtedly.some troubled. However, he said that he didn't want Brazilians to be sick either and that he was helping the Latin American nation with ventilators.

Read: Brazil To Allow Use Of Chloroquine For COVID-19 Treatment Under New Rules Despite Warnings

Read: UK Supermarkets Threaten To Boycott Brazilian Products If It Passes Forest Law

(Image credits: AP)
Loading China accused Australia of running a politically motivated campaign in April. Two trade strikes would follow in early May. They were of course, unrelated, we were told. About $1 billion in the barley and beef trade is now affected. By Sunday, more than 60 countries had signed on as co-sponsors of the resolution. Its fate was sealed. For Beijing, it was much more preferable for the European Union to be seen as leaders of the resolution than those upstarts Down Under. Europe has gravitas that Australia does not. Our negotiators recognised this early when they latched the first terms for an independent inquiry onto the draft of a European Union motion on April 29. It was happy to concede the lead, allowing countries to back the call without choosing "sides" in the rancorous three-way dispute between China, the US and Australia. China became one of the last dozen co-sponsors on Tuesday night, just before the vote. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian emphasised the European Unions role this week after being asked about Australias push. "The EU submitted a draft resolution on COVID-19 to this years WHA, and the parties reached consensus on the content of the draft resolution after thorough discussion," he said.

Loading "This is a slap to the face to countries like Australia - the most active player in pushing forward a so-called independent probe into China over the coronavirus outbreak, which was then rejected by the international community," China's international state media arm The Global Times said on Tuesday. Behind the bluster, the reality is found in the actual motion. The final text of two key clauses in the motion, OP9.6 and OP9.10 are identical to the draft motion agreed to by the European Union and Australia over the weekend. The same document was signed by China on Tuesday. They establish a mechanism to identify the source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population and "an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the WHO's response to COVID-19" at the "earliest appropriate moment".

Loading Compromise and negotiation saw any direct reference to China removed and terms such as "investigation" transformed into "review", but the substance of Australia's argument largely remains intact. In fact it is far stronger now that the one initially agreed to by the European Union member states in April. That motion would have focused much more broadly on the "lessons learnt from the international health response to COVID-19". No doubt questions still remain. China will use its weight, funding of the WHO and influence over developing countries to interpret the "earliest appropriate moment" as only once the pandemic has passed. That could be years away. Independence is also a vexed issue.

Loading The footnotes of the motion reveal the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme will be engaged "as appropriate" to oversee the inquiry into the WHO response. The existing WHO committee consists of seven members drawn from national governments, non-governmental organisations, and the UN system, outside of the WHO itself. Can they be truly independent inside an organisation that has shown itself to be caught and occasionally paralysed by the rising rhetoric and volatile funding of its two largest members? The significance of clause OP9.6 of the resolution should not be understated. It allows for scientific and collaborative field missions to enter China to determine the origin of the disease and prevent the establishment of new zoonotic reservoirs, those sites where the virus makes the fateful leap from bat or bird or pangolin to human.
Two people in Texas were shot after a fight escalated during a weekend event in Crystal Beach, local authorities said.

According to officials, a shooting incident broke out when two women began fighting on Crystal Beach just before midnight Saturday. Two unidentified men got involved in the altercation when one of the men started shooting, hitting two people.

The incident reportedly happened during an annual Jeep Weekend event in Bolivar Peninsula. The injured men were airlifted and rushed to the University of Texas Medical Branch. The men underwent surgery on Sunday. Their conditions are unknown.

Local police officers arrested more than 180 attendees of the annual "Go Topless Jeep Weekend" which usually draws thousands of Jeep fans and owners. According to police records, the arrests were for misdemeanour charges, including driving while intoxicated.

The event pushed through despite a ban on gatherings. The Galveston County Sheriff's Office added 40 public safety officers in an effort to bolster its patrol.

In 2019, the Go Topless Jeep Weekend event resulted in more than 600 calls for police between May 23 to 25. Over 305 people were also booked in the Galveston County Jail for alcohol-related and DWI charges.

Local authorities reported ten major auto-pedestrian accidents as well as eight car crashes and 14 other minor accidents. According to the reports, the numbers only covered May 24 and 25.

On May 25, 2019, Saturday, county officials called the Texas Department of Public Safety for backup after a man and women needed to be transported to the hospital by LifeFlight. The man reportedly fell out of a truck while the woman was involved in a head-on collision.

Another attendee, a 21-year-old, barely survived after he fell off the pickup truck he was riding. The same truck ran over him. The victim, who was identified as Tanner Francis, suffered multiple skull fractures. The base of his brain was also broken. He also suffered nerve damage, bruising and damage in his lungs.

First responders reportedly told his family he might not survive. His incident also resulted in fights and wrecks after other attendees stood around the victim and took a video of the incident.

The number of 911 calls, arrests, and accidents forced many Crystal Beach residents to start a petition to end the annual event.

Crystal Beach resident Daniel Wilson started a petition on Change.org where he claimed the event has become more dangerous in recent years. The danger has affected the people attending the event as well the as people living in the Crystal Beach community, he said.

Wilson also revealed he reached out to the Bolivar Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. He said he hopes they will support the campaign to end the event.

Texas reopened its beaches on May 1 after they closed operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A video posted on social media platforms showed most of the attendees violating the social distancing protocols.

Read the latest news here:
A pair of states using federal coronavirus relief to make voting easier during the pandemic faced unspecified threats of financial cuts from President Donald Trump on Wednesday, with the president renewing assertions of fraud connected to voting by mail without presenting any evidence.

The president on Wednesday morning incorrectly said the battleground state of Michigan sent absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of primaries and the general election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rouge Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!

In fact, the state sent absentee ballot applications, not ballots  using coronavirus relief funding made available by legislation signed by Trump, The Associated Press reported.

Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia, tweeted Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Hi!  I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy  Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020

The president later posted a tweet noting the state had sent applications, not ballots.

Trump, who asked for a mail ballot for Floridas Republican primary last month and has used absentee ballots in the past, also called out Nevada, alleging it had sent out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the state and the U.S. They cant! If they do, I think I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections.

State of Nevada thinks that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They cant! If they do, I think I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

Nevada had sent ballots to voters for the June 9 state primary because of the COVID-19 crisis. The decision to mail the ballots, made by Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, was recently cleared by a judge, AP reported.

Trump included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, acting budget director Russ Vought and chief of staff Mark Meadows in the tweets. He did not specify what funding he threatened to hold up to Michigan and Nevada.

Samuel Bagenstos, a constitutional law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, told CNN that Trump has no authority to unilaterally hold up federal funding to states because he doesnt like what states are doing. Congress decides conditions on which states receive federal funds, Bagenstos said.

Alex Padilla, the Democratic Secretary of State of California, invoked Trumps impeachment Wednesday and blasted the presidents threats as un-American and unconstitutional.

The President is threatening to withhold funding because hes worried that protecting voting rights will hurt his re-election chances (Ukraine all over again?), Padilla tweeted.

The president has repeatedly asserted that mail-in voting creates opportunities for fraud, but voter fraud is extremely rare according to political scientists and voting experts.

A pair of studies by Arizona State University in 2012 and 2016 found negligible rates of impersonation fraud," according to the The Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute. The studies showed just 10 cases of voter impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2012, and zero prosecutions of such fraud in a handful of states where politicians claimed it was a serious issue.

The claim that voter fraud threatens the integrity of American elections is itself a fraud, according to a study by a political scientist at Columbia University and Barnard College. It is being used to persuade the public that deceitful and criminal voters are manipulating the electoral system. No available evidence suggests that voters are intentionally corrupting the electoral process, let alone in numbers that dilute and cancel out the lawful votes of the vast majority of Americans.

The election fraud database at the conservative think tank the The Heritage Foundation shows about 200 cases of fraudulent use of absentee ballots over the last 29 years, Roll Call reported last month. In the five states with all-mail voting, Hawaii and Utah reported zero, Oregon reported two, Colorado reported five and Washington six.

Related Content:
Two men have given themselves up to police after a shooting at a Perth home during a three-hour crime spree, but their alleged accomplices remain at large.

Police say a man aged in his 20s was struck with a bullet that did not pierce his skin after a group of men barged into his Cardup home and fired shots on Monday evening.

The victim was then assaulted and suffered serious facial injuries, police said.

The group had allegedly driven a ute with the registration "pighuntr" into the garage door and fired a shot through the front door before barging in.

The crime spree also included an assault in Roleystone, an attempted burglary in Byford, a nearby assault about 10 minutes later, and a disturbance at a hospital.
The last time Sandra Rodriguez saw her son Gerson, she bent down to look him in the eye. Be good, she said, instructing him to behave when he encountered Border Patrol agents on the other side of the river in the United States, and when he was reunited with his uncle in Houston.

The 10-year-old nodded, giving his mother one last squinty smile. Tears caught in his dimples, she recalled, as he climbed into a raft and pushed out across the Rio Grande toward Texas from Mexico, guided by a stranger who was also trying to reach the United States.

Rodriguez expected that Gerson would be held by the Border Patrol for a few days and then transferred to a government shelter for migrant children, from which her brother in Houston would eventually be able to claim him. But Gerson seemed to disappear on the other side of the river. For six frantic days, she heard nothing about her son  no word that he had been taken into custody, no contact with the uncle in Houston.

Finally, she received a panicked phone call from a cousin in Honduras who said that Gerson was with her. The little boy was crying and disoriented, his relatives said; he seemed confused about how he had ended up back in the dangerous place he had fled.

Hundreds of migrant children and teenagers have been swiftly deported by U.S. authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic without the opportunity to speak to a social worker or plea for asylum from the violence in their home countries  a reversal of years of established practice for dealing with young foreigners who arrive in the United States.

The deportations represent an extraordinary shift in policy that has been unfolding in recent weeks on the southwestern border, under which safeguards that have for decades been granted to migrant children by both Democratic and Republican administrations appear to have been abandoned.

Historically, young migrants who showed up at the border without adult guardians were provided with shelter, education, medical care and a lengthy administrative process that allowed them to make a case for staying in the United States. Those who were eventually deported were sent home only after arrangements had been made to assure they had a safe place to return to.

That process appears to have been abruptly thrown out under U.S. President Donald Trumps latest border decrees. Some young migrants have been deported within hours of setting foot on U.S. soil. Others have been rousted from their beds in the middle of the night in U.S. government shelters and put on planes out of the country without any notification to their families.

The Trump administration is trying to justify the new practices under a 1944 law that grants the president broad power to block foreigners from entering the country to prevent the serious threat of a dangerous disease. But immigration officials in recent weeks have also been abruptly expelling migrant children and teenagers who were already in the United States when the pandemic-related order came down in late March.

Since the decree was put in effect, hundreds of young migrants have been deported, including some who had asylum appeals pending in the court system.

Some of the young people have been flown back to Central America, while others have been pushed back into Mexico, where thousands of migrants are living in filthy tent camps and overrun shelters.

In March and April, the most recent period for which data was available, 915 young migrants were expelled shortly after reaching the U.S. border, and 60 were shipped home from the interior of the country.

During the same period, at least 166 young migrants were allowed into the United States and afforded the safeguards that were once customary. But in another unusual departure, Customs and Border Protection has refused to disclose how the government was determining which legal standards to apply to which children.

We just cant put it out there, said Matthew Dyman, a public-affairs specialist with the agency, citing concerns that human smugglers would exploit the information to traffic more people into the country if they knew how the laws were being applied.

Recently, the Trump administration extended the stepped-up border security that allows for young migrants to be expelled at the border, saying the policy would remain in place indefinitely and be reviewed every 30 days.

Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the policy had been one of the most critical tools the department has used to prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people, DHS front-line officers and those in their care and custody from COVID-19.

An agency spokesman said its policies for deporting children from within the interior of the country had not changed.

Amid Trumps efforts to block migrants from seeking refuge in the United States, the administration has been especially scrutinized for its treatment of the most vulnerable among them  children.

Beginning in 2017, the government traumatized thousands of children by separating them from their parents at the border. Administration officials have also left young migrants to languish in filthy Border Patrol holding cells with no adult supervision and argued in court that the children were not legally entitled to toothbrushes or soap.

Democratic members of Congress argue that the swift deportations taking place now violate the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a 20-year-old federal law that lays out standards for the treatment of foreign children who arrive at the U.S. border without an adult guardian.

In a letter last month to Wolf, Democratic members of the Senate judiciary committee said the moves had no known precedent or clear legal rationale.

Immigrant advocates say their pleas for help ensuring that the children have somewhere safe to go when they land have been ignored. Since the coronavirus was first discovered in the United States in January, 239 unaccompanied minors have been returned to Guatemala, and 183 have been returned to Honduras, according to government figures.

The fact that nobody knows who these kids are and there are hundreds of them is really terrifying, said Jennifer Nagda, policy director of the Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights. Theres no telling if theyve been returned to smugglers or into harms way.

Some minors have been deported overnight despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy that says they should be repatriated only during daylight hours.

Before daybreak one morning late last month, Pedro Buezo Romero, 16, was taken from his bed in a shelter in New York and told to pack a suitcase so he could be taken to a court appearance in Florida.

Instead, the teenager ended up on four flights over two days. He was able to sleep for a few hours in a hotel room in Miami shared by three adult employees of a private security company hired to transport him and two other migrant teenagers.

Only before boarding his final flight to Honduras from Texas did the adults reveal to Pedro that he was being deported. When he arrived in Honduras, he had to borrow the cellphone of an immigration official to ask his cousin for a place to stay.

Pedros mother has not been seen since the shelter in Mexico where they had been staying together was ransacked by gang members. He and his mother were separated during the ordeal, after which Pedro decided to cross the border alone.

While Pedro was in transit, his lawyers had worked frantically to try to locate him but did not receive any response from the federal government.

There were two or three days we had no idea where he was, said Katty Vera de Fisher, a supervising migration counsellor for Catholic Charities of New York.

Some of the children who have been expelled from the United States were previously ordered deported. But historically, even children with prior deportation orders have been given new opportunities to request asylum if they entered the United States again. Now, that appears to have changed.

Lawyers representing children threatened with deportation say they are having to engage in 11th-hour legal manoeuvres to try to prevent deportations from happening.

Last week, Hannah Flamm, an immigration lawyer in New York, had only hours to try to stop the repatriation of a 14-year-old client after learning the girl had been booked by ICE on a 3 a.m. flight to Honduras.

The girls family had not been notified of her imminent arrival. Flamm managed to secure an emergency stay of the deportation at 11:47 p.m., at which point the girl was allowed to go back to sleep in the shelter where she was staying.

Ricardo Rodriguez Galo, the uncle of the 10-year-old boy who was deported this month, said he was shocked to learn that Gerson had been sent back to Honduras alone.

Rodriguez said he worried about the boys safety in Honduras, where his sisters former partner had beaten the boy and his mother and withheld food from them. Rodriguez also wondered about the judgment of U.S. authorities who chose to put a child on a plane without notifying any of his family members, including those who had been waiting in the United States to take the boy into their home.

Im not going to tell you that we were going to shower him with riches, Rodriguez said. Were poor, but we were going to fight to support him. We were going to welcome him like he deserved.
Boris Johnson has criticised Sir Keir Starmer for his negative tone about the governments coronavirus response.

In the prime ministers latest clash with the Labour leader in Parliament, Johnson came under fire over the UKs testing and tracing record during the COVID-19 outbreak.

As well as saying Starmer was being negative, he accused him of feigned ignorance. Starmer issued a stern response, saying: Thirty-four thousand deaths is negative.

The UKs latest official death toll is actually 35,341, the second highest in the world.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area

6 charts and maps that explain how COVID-19 is spreading

Starmer had asked Johnson about the UKs testing and tracing record, pointing to the success of Germany and South Korea in using testing and contact tracing to restrict the number of cases and deaths in those countries.

The UK dropped contact tracing  in which the authorities get in touch with people who have come into contact with a coronavirus-positive patient  at the beginning of the outbreak in March.

The government has said this was because it didnt have the necessary testing capacity at the time.

Boris Johnson accused Sir Keir Starmer of using a 'negative tone' at PMQs on Wednesday. (Parliamentlive.tv)

Starmer said: Despite 2 million tests having been carried out, there has been no effective tracing in place since 12 March when tracing was abandoned. Thats nearly 10 weeks in a critical period without effecting tracing.

Thats a huge hole in our defences, isnt it, prime minister?

Johnson hit back by accusing Starmer of feigned ignorance.

The PM said the UK will have a new test and trace system that will enable us to make progress, saying 24,000 people have been recruited capable of tracking the contacts of 10,000 new cases a day.

With the latest figures showing there were 2,412 new cases on Tuesday, the PM also pointed to vast progress. Two weeks prior, there had been a daily increase of 4,406.

Story continues

I have great confidence that by 1 June, we will have a system that will help us very greatly to defeat this disease and move the country forward, Johnson said.

I hope, therefore, he will abandon his slightly negative tone and support it.

Starmer, taking to the despatch box, stood and paused, before finally saying: Thirty-four thousand deaths is negative. Of course Im going to ask about that  and quite right too.

The PM knows  he says feigned ignorance  for 10 weeks there has been no tracing, unlike Germany and South Korea. Theres no getting away from that, no getting away from that.

The heated exchange comes after Starmer called out Johnson last week over 10,000 unexplained care home deaths.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Coronavirus: Britons must isolate if they lose their taste or smell
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Democrat John Sapien won reelection by less than a percentage point four years ago.

Now a diverse field of six candidates is scrambling to replace him in Senate District 9, a district covering Corrales, Bernalillo, Placitas and parts of Rio Rancho.

Sapien is stepping down at the end of the year, setting the stage for what could be one of the most competitive races of 2020.

Democratic and Republican voters each have three candidates to choose from in the June 2 primary, establishing the general election matchup for the fall.

Campaigning on the Republican side are economic development executive Bridget Condon and business owners Tania Dennis and John Stahlman Clark.

Seeking the Democratic nomination are Bernalillo County sheriffs deputy Kevin Lucero, congressional staffer Brenda McKenna and business owner Ben Rodefer, who served in the state House in 2009-10.

Lucero, a law enforcement officer who previously worked as a livestock inspector, said he has a strong understanding of the criminal justice system and the need for expanded mental health and treatment services. He grew up in Ponderosa, now serves as a village councilor in Corrales, and is eager to work hard for the district, he said.

I have a keen sense of what these little communities need, Lucero said. I know what the culture is. I know what the priorities are.

He comes from a ranching and farming family, he said, and still helps his dad with alfalfa.

McKenna, a field representative for U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, said she would bring a fresh perspective to the Senate as a woman from Nambe Pueblo. She has also worked in health care and volunteered for the League of Women Voters in Central New Mexico.

McKenna said her tenure under Haaland has given her insight and experience into the importance of helping people  regardless of political affiliation  who must navigate government bureaucracies.

Ive really learned how to be very present, to be an active listener and how to advocate for constituents, she said. I feel that experience would serve me well as a public servant in the Roundhouse.

Rodefer, who served for two years in the House, is a past president of an association of renewable energy companies  an industry that can help produce high-paying jobs and strengthen New Mexicos economic recovery, he said. If elected, he said, he intends to address wealth disparity.

Rodefer said his legislative service after the Great Recession puts him in good position to help New Mexico rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In these difficult times, Rodefer said, we need someone with experience  someone who can hit the ground running and get things done, and I think thats me.

McKenna and Rodefer have a financial edge. McKenna reported about $17,000 in recent donations and had about $20,000 in her campaign account, according to reports filed earlier this month.

Rodefer had about $18,000 in his account, and Lucero had about $2,400.

Condon, director of business development at the Sandoval Economic Alliance, said she knows firsthand how difficult it can be to recruit companies to New Mexico because of the states tax code and other policies. She said she would bring a young, necessary voice to the Senate with specific ideas for simplifying tax credits and putting New Mexico on the right track.

As someone whos from the state and wants to stay in New Mexico, Condon said in an interview, Im really frustrated with whats happening in Santa Fe.  The choices theyre making are really going to impact if I can have a job, raise a family here.

Dennis, in a written statement to the Journal, said the states tax burden is too heavy on businesses. The state budget needs an overhaul, she said, and the education system should treat students as individuals, not test scores.

I am not a politician, and I feel thats one of my biggest strengths, Dennis wrote. Im running because I want to be a change maker in my community and make New Mexico stronger. I want this state to be a place full of opportunity so that our children want to stay here and grow!

Clark didnt respond to email and phone messages seeking an interview.

None of the candidates has a significant financial advantage over the others so far. Condon had $1,100 in her campaign account, Dennis had about $1,300 and Clark had about $2,300, according to reports filed this month.
In a month-and-a-half since coronavirus (Covid-19) treatment was made free under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (AB-PMJAY), at least 2,000 people were either treated or have been currently undergoing treatment for the viral disease. This is when the total number of people having been treated under the worlds largest public health insurance scheme reached 10 million since its launch in September 2018.

At least 3,000 persons have also been tested cashless for Covid-19 under the scheme.

The National Health Authority (NHA), which is the implementing authority of the scheme, has empanelled about 1,500 additional hospitals under the scheme in the past month to meet the load of Covid-19 patients, the authority announced on Wednesday.

Also read: Maharashtra reports highest single-day recovery of Covid-19 patients

We want to be prepared in case there is a surge in cases. As of now, the public sector is taking care of much of the load but if theres an unusual increase then we would need private sector hospitals also to chip in. We are currently on a drive to add more hospitals to the list. We have created separate Covid-19 treatment packages also as treating these patients requires isolation, PPE kits, extra manpower etc, said Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer, NHA (Ayushman Bharat).

The authority is in the process of also adding private laboratories for Covid-19 testing that have been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The rate packages are being used from the already existing category related to respiratory illnesses, severe acute respiratory infection, influenza-like illness with aggravated symptoms etc. India currently has 61,149 active Covid-19 cases.

Also read: PM Modi lauds Ayushman Bharat scheme as beneficiaries cross 1 crore-mark

Responding to the outbreak of Covid-19, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made the testing and treatment for Covid-19 free of cost under the AB PMJAY scheme for all its 53 crore beneficiaries. 2,132 people have availed the treatment or are currently undergoing treatment for Covid-19 under AB PMJAY in the country, read the National Health Authority (NHA) statement.

The NHA teams are also reaching out to its elderly (above 60 years of age) and other high-risk category beneficiaries (who recently received treatment) to check if any of them has Covid-19 symptoms and needs testing through its call entre that is handled by about 700 dedicated operators.

Close to 30 million calls have already been made to the scheme beneficiaries through this call centre.

Our aim was to call up all of the beneficiaries who are above 60 years, recently received treatment and those who have co-morbidities because these are the people at high risk. Our call centre is running 24x7, said Bhushan.

The call centre is also being used to get in touch with people identified at potential risk of contracting the infection by the Aarogya Setu mobile application, to caution them so that they strictly follow the preventive measures. Close to 6 lakh people have been contacted and 15,000 teleconsultations have been facilitated with doctors in the past couple of months.

The NHA has empanelled 21,565 hospitals under the scheme, of which 1,385 hospitals have been empanelled across the country since April 1. A total of 1,310 hospitals are through the regular empanelment route and remaining 75 under express empanelment. Of the total hospitals on board, nearly 58% per cent are private hospitals.

To increase the number of hospitals providing Covid-19 treatment and to ensure continued treatment such as haemodialysis, cardiovascular procedures, and chemotherapy for non-Covid-19 critical illnesses, the NHA has started an express empanelment mechanism.

The NHA is also launching a hospital ranking dashboard to rank empanelled hospitals on the basis of beneficiaries feedback. The ranking will help the NHA to take evidence-based decision-making for enhancing the quality measures and indicators of healthcare delivery across all empanelled facilities to further improve the beneficiaries experience, it said in a statement.
Banking trojan Cerberus, the new headache for cyber security officials

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a nationwide alert on the banking trojan Cerberus. The CBI said that this tricks the smartphone users into downloading a malicious link relating to COVID-19.

The advisory was issued by the CBI, following an input from the Interpol. The trojan presents itself as an update related to COVID-19. The trojan primarily focuses on stealing financial data such as credit card numbers. It can use overlay attacks to trick victims into providing personal information and can capture two-factor authentication details, the agency also said.

India faced three times the cyber attack than the global average

The trojan takes advantage of the pandemic and sends a text message to lure a user into downloading the link with the malicious software. Once downloaded, the trojan application launches into phishing attacks to steal data such as credit card number and other details.

It may be recalled that the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued an advisory for those working from home. The MHA asked them to take precautions and not fall prey to cyber criminals. On Zoom and Google Hangout, the MHA had advised against sharing links inviting for a meeting publicly or through social media platforms.

MHA advisory on Zoom:

Prevent unauthorised entry in the conference room

Prevent an authorised participant to carry out malicious on

the terminals of other in the conference.

Avoid DOS attack by restricting users through passwords

and access grant.

Most of the settings can be done by login into users zoom account at the website, or installed application at PC/Laptop/Phone and also during conduct of conference. However, certain settings are possible through certain mode/channel only. For example, lock meeting can be enabled by administrator only when the meeting has started. This documents explains in details all the security configuration through website, App and through console during the conduct of conference.

Objective of security configurations:

Setting new user ID and password for each meeting

Enabling waiting Room, so that every user can enter only

when host conducting meeting admits him

Disabling join before host

Allowing Screen Sharing by host Only

Disabling "Allow removed participants to re-join"

Restricting/disabling file transfer option (if not required)

Locking meeting, once all attendees have joined

Restricting the recording feature

To end meeting (and not just leave, if you are administrator

Some tips:

Don't use your personal meeting Id (PMI) to host event, instead use randomly generated meeting IDs for each event.

Don't share your link on public platform, instead share randomly generated meeting id and password for every new meeting session/schedule. It makes it much secure and difficult to leak.

Maha cyber cell registers 395 cases for spreading rumours

If you are admin, remember to end meeting, do not just leave meeting.

Sign out of your account when not in use
The governments 20.97 lakh crore Covid-19 package lacks in addressing immediate concerns of the economy as the actual fiscal impact of the additional stimulus is only about 1 per cent of GDP as opposed to the claim of 10 per cent, Fitch Solutions said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 announced a stimulus package of 20 lakh crore, or nearly 10 per cent of GDP, to deal with the economic fallout of Covid-19. The contents of the package were broad-based and announced in five tranches.

About half of the package amount covers fiscal measures that had previously been announced and also include the estimated economic impact of monetary stimulus from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Fitch Solutions said in a note.

The rating agency said a seeming reluctance for fiscal expansion by the central government amid the Covid-19 crisis in India also poses a significant downside risk to its 1.8 per cent growth forecast for 2020-21 fiscal.

Indias economic crisis is growing increasingly dire due to surging Covid-19 infections and weak demand both domestically and externally. We believe that every delay to effective government stimulus will only deepen the downturn, which will eventually require even more spending to lift the economy out of the doldrums, which could see the deficit come in wider, it said.

The new fiscal stimulus announced between May 13 and May 17 is made up of the government loan guarantees, credit extensions to be led by banks, and regulatory amendments, it said.

The new spending will only amount to about 1 per cent of GDP, which would take Indias total central government Covid-19 fiscal response to-date to only 1.8 per cent of GDP, it said.

We see the package as being lacking in addressing the immediate concerns of the economy and have revised our central and combined deficit forecasts for FY2020/21 (AprilMarch) to 7 per cent and 11 per cent of GDP respectively, from 6.2 per cent and 9 per cent previously, the rating agency said.

The package, it said, will not have a major fiscal and economic impact, despite the governments claim of its 10 per cent of GDP size.

Of the host of new stimulus measures, only about six -- pension fund support, temporary tax cuts, farm infrastructure upgrades (if funds are quickly disbursed and projects rapidly executed), free food provision for migrant workers, funds to safeguard rural employment and an emergency fund for post-harvest activities -- can be quantified as a fiscal stimulus with a near-term impact.

Loan guarantees have been excluded as they will not have an immediate fiscal impact and will depend on other factors such as loan demand and bank propensity to lend, it said.

Stating that it is skeptical of the efficacy of the announced measures despite the broad-based package, Fitch Solutions said the Government loan guarantees should technically aid credit flow to MSMEs through non-bank lenders.

However, this will only aid to stem business closures in the economy rather than support an expansion at this point. Moreover, confounding new rules on MSME definition which have both an investment and a newly introduced turnover limit will also hamper credit flow as businesses may fail to meet one or the other, rendering them ineligible for the MSME stimulus credit.

Many of the announced schemes such as regulatory changes and vague reform plans also only target medium-term supply-side issues but fail to address immediate demand-side issues. As such, we expect further fiscal spending to be announced over the coming months, especially after India extended its nationwide lockdown by another two weeks to May 31, which would further impact economic activity, it said.

The rating agency said central government revenues are likely to contract by 18.1 per cent in FY2020/21 due to repeated extensions to nationwide lockdowns amid a worsening Covid-19 outbreak domestically, and weak appetite for fiscal stimulus by the central government to lift the economic activity.

With the unemployment rate at over 20 per cent and a weak economic outlook both domestically and externally, both personal income and corporate income tax revenues will remain under severe stress over the coming quarters, it said.

While India is pushing to reopen its economy, Fitch said this is motivated by an urgent need to limit further economic hardship rather than an easing outbreak situation and infections could well accelerate after lockdowns are lifted, which would hamper the pace of economic recovery going forward.

Also, Indias debt-to-GDP will almost certainly surge as a result of this crisis as the government will have to fund its expenditures with increased domestic borrowing amid a revenue shortfall.

Indias combined government debt stands at about 70 per cent of GDP as of December 2019, of which central government debt is at 47 per cent of GDP.

An increased debt load will entail higher interest payments and this would divert even more resources away from more productive economic spending, and thus constrain Indias long-term growth potential, Fitch said.

As opposed to other fiscal stimulus packages in the region, Indias package includes previously announced measures and also monetary stimulus, making the actual fiscal impact of the additional stimulus only about 1 per cent of GDP, according to Fitch estimates.

The stimulus includes positive reform efforts, loan guarantees, and other measures that will be somewhat supportive of the Indian economy during the crisis and over the medium term.

The frugal fiscal crisis intervention will likely impede a rapid economic recovery and accordingly, tax revenues, and we are revising our FY2020/21 (April-March) central fiscal deficit forecast to 7.0 per cent of GDP and overall fiscal deficit forecast to 11.0 per cent of GDP, it added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
(Newser)  A process is underway to move 2.6 million people from isolation to shelters in India and Bangladesh with a super-cyclone making landfall. Amphan, the first super-cyclone in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, has already claimed one life as it plowed into the India-Bangladesh border on Wednesday morning. A Bangladesh Red Crescent volunteer was helping with evacuations Wednesday when his boat capsized in strong winds, per the BBC. Officials fear the storm could be more deadly than Cyclone Sidr, which killed 3,500 people in 2007. Some areas are seeing wind gusts of 120mph. Severe flooding is expected, while a storm surge could push water 15 miles inland, reports the AP. India's weather department predicts storm surges could reach 16 feet high. Some 2.2 million people are being evacuated in Bangladesh, almost 300,000 in India's West Bengal state, and 148,486 in Odisha state.

story continues below

An Odisha disaster management official said more shelters than usual were needed to allow people to keep distance, but some 242 of 800 centers typically used during floods or cyclones are already being used as coronavirus quarantine centers. Schools are reportedly being stocked with masks and hand sanitizer as a result. Still, some are wary of leaving their homes. "They  are afraid of going into a crowd where they could get infected," a fisherman in the seaside town of Digha, West Bengal, tells the AP. Amphan made landfall around the India-Bangladesh border Wednesday, about 2:30pm local time, per the Guardian. The storm is expected to move toward the West Bengal capital of Kolkata, home to 15 million people and 1,500 cases of COVID-19, where flooding is expected. It's forecast to move into Bangladesh on Thursday, and then into Bhutan. (Read more cyclone stories.)
Ventilators have seen a global increase in demand since the outbreak of the pandemic - Rodrigo Sura/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock

Bolivia's health minister has been arrested on suspicion of corruption related to the over-priced purchase of ventilators to fight COVID-19, the police chief said on Wednesday.

Marcelo Navajas was detained by police in La Paz, Colonel Ivan Rojas said, a day after interim President Jeanine Anez ordered an investigation.

Two other health ministry officials have also been arrested.

Bolivia bought 179 ventilators from a manufacturer in Spain for $27,683 each, costing almost $5 million.

That was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. Two of the bank's employees have been summoned to make witness statements.

Bolivia is currently under a general lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic - AIZAR RALDES/AFP

But it later transpired that the manufacturer was offering ventilators for 9,500-11,000 euros each ($10,312-$11,941).

Another Spanish company acted as an intermediary.

The scandal came to light at the end of last week when intensive care doctors complained that the ventilators were not suitable for Bolivian intensive care units.

It then came out that they had been bought at grossly inflated prices.

Bolivia has reported 4,500 COVID-19 cases and 190 deaths. On March 17, the government closed the landlocked South American country's borders and instigated a general lockdown.
New Delhi: The government of Nepal on Wednesday officially issued a new controversial map of the country which shows Indian territories of Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura as its own. The map was unveiled by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives & Poverty Alleviation.

Earlier this month Nepals President Bidhya Devi, while addressing the joint session of the Parliament, had said new maps of the country will be published that will show all areas it considers its own.

Bhandari said, "Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani region are Nepal's territory and concrete diplomatic efforts will be taken towards reclaiming these territories. An official map of Nepal will be published accordingly incorporating all the territories of Nepal."

Elaborating Nepali govt's approach, Bhandari explained that the "government of Nepal is committed to safeguarding the international borders of Nepal" and "outstanding border disputes with India will be resolved through diplomatic medium relying on available historical treaties, maps, facts and evidence"

Kathmandu raised the chorus over the issue after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new road from Dharchula to Lipulekh that will reduce the time taken for Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage.

After this development, Indian envoy to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra was called by Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and its concern was raised over the matter.

India has clarified to Nepal on Lipulekh that the "recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the State of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India."

New Delhi sees an increased Chinese role in Nepal as a reason for current comments by Kathmandu. Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane had on Friday hinted at foreign involvement with Nepal raking up the Lipulekh issue.

Army Chief, speaking at a think tank IDSA's online meet, said, "I do not know exactly what they are exactly agitating about. Never been a problem in the past, reasons to believe they might have raised these problems, issues at the behest of someone else and there is very much a possibility."

While names have not been taken, Chinas increased involvement in the country is something that is well known.

The ongoing dispute is not new and dates back to 1816 when under the Treaty of Sugauli, King of Nepal lost parts of its territory to British including Kalapani and Lipulekh.
Once dubbed as historic by him, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he now feels differently' about the trade deal he signed with China earlier this year. He said this while once again venting out his frustration with the Beijing leadership, accusing it of letting coronavirus spread. Till Tuesday, over 92,000 Americans have died and 1.5 million tested positive for coronavirus that has globally killed around 320,000 people.

The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes on products worth nearly half a trillion USD. Under it, Beijing agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by USD 200 billion in 2020-2021.

I feel differently now about that deal than I did three months ago, Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. We will see what all happens, but it's been a very disappointing situation. Very disappointing thing happened with China because the plague flowed in and that wasn't supposed to happen and it could have been stopped," he said.

Trump said he was very excited when the trade deal with China was signed. But once the virus came in, once the plague, as I called it, came in, I said how did they let that happen? And how come it didn't go into other sections of China? Why did they block it from leaving Wuhan? But they didn't block it from going to the rest of the world, including the United States. Why is that? Beijing doesn't have it. Other places don't have it, he said.

Trump did not respond to questions on retaliation against China. Meanwhile, top American senators continued to press the administration that rules of engagement with China needs to change post-coronavirus.

As we know, they unleashed this virus on America and the world with their classic communist cover-up, deception, continued propaganda campaign, costing now over 90,000 American lives, 35 million Americans losing their jobs so far, Senator Martha McSally said during a Congressional hearing.

We don't know who patient zero is, they destroyed samples, they silenced doctors, they kicked out journalists, they impacted international travel to seed this and their reckless behaviour continues to be the root of all this, she said. As a result of coronavirus, the American economy has been thrown into recession; more than 36 million people have lost their job the worst ever after last century's great depression.

Many of the US states have now started opening up, after taking necessary precautions. By conservative estimates, it will take several quarters for the economy to be back on track. Trump in the last a few weeks has exuded confidence that the economy will be back on track next year.

Also read: US includes Huawei India in its export control entity list

Also read: Lockdown 4.0 Coronavirus Live Updates: 5,611 new cases in 24 hours, highest 1-day jump; India's tally-1,06,750

Also read: Trump tells WHO to prove 'independence' from China within 30 days; warns freeze on funding
With easing of restrictions on delivery of non-essential items, UK-based Dyson that has witnessed a surge in the demand for cleaning assistant and self-grooming products has resumed deliveries across all the major cities within India. As product demonstration is a key parameter for a complete Dyson experience, the company has come up with online demo sessions to facilitate new purchases.

In the current challenging scenario, keeping consumers and employees in mind, and in line with the administration's call to maintain social distancing by cutting down physical contact between humans as much as possible, Dyson has started an option of booking an online demo session on the website, Dyson.in, or through a real-time live chat facility. Users can book an appointment either online or by calling at the contact centre or via WhatsApp to the contact centre number. The online demo sessions will be available for all Dyson products, in all four categories including floor care, environmental control, personal care and lighting. The online demo facility is currently available from Monday to Saturday, between 11 am to 6 pm, and can be scaled depending on the demo requirements.

Also read: Microsoft launches all-new Surface Hub 2S in India for Rs 11,89,999

According to the company, the Dyson experts who will demonstrate the technology, have gone through a gruelling on-boarding process. The company wants the experts to understand everything about the machines, how they were developed and why they work the way they do and pass on the same insights to the customers. In personal care - Air Wrap and SuperSonic Hair Dryer, there are stylists available as well.

"At Dyson, the spotlight is always on the machines we create - how they work, and the technology inside. Fundamentally, we want people to understand why Dyson engineers develop and use technology to make better machines. It is only by experiencing the performance in a safe environment, that you can understand how the technology makes them different," says the company.

All Dyson products available in India are imported from Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Given the surge in the demand in the cleaning assistant category, Dyson has enough stocks to cater to the increased demand. Available through Dyson India website as well as Amazon India, the former offers a 30-day money-back guarantee with no questions asked. However, the machines purchased from Amazon India are only eligible for a 10-day replacement. Deliveries at the moment are taking a bit longer than the usual.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that led to a nationwide lockdown has compelled companies to come up with innovative ways to reach out to their customers. Consumer durable and smartphone companies have adopted the online-to-offline model to deliver products to prospect customers. Some companies have even shared DIY videos for cleaning air conditioners before use.

Also read: My MG App, owner vehicle application launched
The Covid-19 crisis has presented an opportunity for India to become a key part of new trusted supply chain relationships but it will have to reduce tariffs and adopt more welcoming policies for foreign players, a top US diplomat said on Wednesday.

Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the state departments South and Central Asia bureau, said bilateral trade had totalled almost a record $150 billion in 2019 but the US continues to have concerns about Indias protected market that can be difficult and sometimes not provide a level playing field for foreign companies.

India and the US had made concerted efforts to finalise a limited trade deal ahead of President Donald Trumps visit to the country in February but were unable to reach common ground on a range of issues. Before winding up the visit, Trump had held out hope for trade deal by the end of 2020.

During an online briefing for journalists, Wells said she couldnt predict whether the US Trade Representative and the Indian government would be able to finalise an agreement this year, but noted that the impetus for achieving a trade deal is very much present.

Instead, Wells suggested that the Covid-19 crisis and the move by countries to carry out a little bit of de-globalisation and of onshoring more of the critical production could present an opportunity for India to become a bigger player in global supply chains.

I think theres a very vigorous effort to diversify supply chains. This is a real moment of opportunity for India, by adopting more open and welcoming policies, by reducing tariffs that allow manufacturing companies inside of India to be part of a global supply chain  its a real moment of opportunity for us to create trusted supply chain relationships with one another, she said.

India, as one of the worlds foremost producers of pharmaceuticals, generic drugs and vaccines, can also play a critically important role in the treatment and health of the world as we move out of the pandemic, Wells said.

In recent weeks, India has supplied hydroxychloroquine and other drugs to dozens of countries, including the US, both through commercial sales and grants. It has also sent medical rapid response teams to several countries, including the Maldives and Kuwait.

On the other hand, Wells was very critical of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, saying they were exposing countries such as Pakistan to predatory loans. The US is concerned about the lack of transparency in CPEC projects, unfair rates of profits guaranteed to Chinese state-owned organisations and distortions the project has caused in Pakistans economy, including a massive imbalance in trade with China, she said.

I think at a time of crisis like Covid, when the world is reeling from the economic consequences of having shut down parts of the economy, it is really incumbent on China to take steps to alleviate the burden that this predatory, unsustainable and unfair lending is going to cause Pakistan, she said.
British supermarkets have warned the Brazilian government that if it goes ahead with legislation that calls for mining in indigenous lands of Amazon Rainforest, the consumers in the UK might have to boycott its products. According to international reports, 40 UK companies including Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer have written an open letter to Brazils national legislature calling for the rejection of the new bill that is wholeheartedly backed by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

The bill had already fueled protests among the indigenous groups back in February and the letter by UK firms said that the law would pay heed to further land grabbing and widespread deforestation of the sacred Amazon forests. It would also harm the goals set during the Paris Climate Accord of 2015 for climate change and the British companies also noted the violation of rights of indigenous communities due to the concerned bill. The letter also said, We believe that it would also put at risk the ability of organisations such as ours to continue sourcing from Brazil in the future.

Read - Brazil: Bolsonaro Rejected COVID-19 As 'little Flu', Now Nation Has 3rd Highest Cases

Read - Brazil's President Defies Social Distancing Norms Yet Again At Anti-lockdown Protests

Bill to be introduced on May 20

According to reports, Brazils lower house speaker, Rodrigo Maia had said earlier that the bill would be tabled by him in Congress for a potential vote on May 20 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Previously in a controversial statement, Bolsonaro called it his 'dream' and said he wants to see it 'come true' while Sonia Guajajara of the Brazilian Indigenous People's Assembly said that 'his dream is our nightmare'.

Slamming the President Bolsonaro for his prejudice, Guajajara further said that far-right Brazilian government's new moves can also lead to the 'extermination' of indigenous groups in the Latin American nation. The bill proposed by Bolsonaro on February 5 would not only allow mining but also farming and hydroelectric power projects that were previously prohibited in the protected regions of the world's largest rainforest.

Read - Brazil Has World's 3rd Highest Number Of COVID-19 Cases With 674 More Deaths

Read - Brazil Surpasses UK With 2,55,368 COVID-19 Cases, Death Toll Reaches 16,853

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi, May 20 : Amid bitter politics on the issue of providing buses to the stranded migrants, the Congress has accused the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister of doing the "cheapest" form of politics.

The Congress claimed that it has provided buses to ferry migrants, which are stationed at various entry points of Uttar Pradesh but have been denied permission to enter the state so far.

Congress Senior spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said on Wednesday, "For last six days, especially the last two days and even as we speak, about 500 buses are standing at UP border. How is it that you will not allow to ferry migrants of UP and Bihar. This is cheapest form of politics." "It is still not too late and I beseech with folded hands, like Priyanka ji said, if you're so concerned about politics, please put your name or party banner but at least use the help we are providing," added Singhvi.

He said, "One is astounded, one cannot understand, if it weren't tragic for humanity, it would be comic. How is it that an Ajay Bisht government is sitting and doing nothing and not letting anyone else do something and also obstructing any help to migrants.

"Will they stand up and explain to the nation?" Singhvi questioned.

The Congress has said that they will wait till 4 p.m. on Wednesday to chalk out future strategy. It also slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for registration an FIR on the state president Ajay Kumar and aide of Priyanka Gandhi Sandeep Singh.

Amid the ongoing bitter politics over the buses for stranded migrant workers, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that out of 1,049 buses, 879 have been found fit by the Uttar Pradesh government and the party will provide 200 more buses on Wednesday.

She also urged the state government not to delay the bus services for the stranded migrant workers willing to go back to their homes.

In a series of tweets Priyanka Gandhi said, "Uttar Pradesh government has itself said that of the 1,049 buses offered by us, 879 have been found proper in the verification. At Uncha Nagala border, our 500 buses have been made to wait by the administration for several hours. Similarly, on Delhi border 300 buses are also coming. Please allow 879 buses to ply."
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved emergency financing for Egypt to help the North African country overcome the financial crunch caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The IMF agreed May 11 to Egypts request for a nearly $2.8 billion loan to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds emergency assistance under its rapid financing instrument will be earmarked for urgent balance of payments needs stemming from the outbreak of COVID-19, said Rashad Abdo, head of the Egyptian Forum for Economic and Strategic Studies.

Economists say the IMF emergency funding will help mitigate the repercussions of the coronavirus on Egypts finances.

The IMFs financing facility is a good opportunity for Egypt, especially as its foreign reserves fell by $8 billion over the past two months, Abdo told Al-Monitor.

The IMF approved Egypts economic reform program in 2016 and wants it to stay on track and be able to weather COVID-19 economic repercussions, Abdo said. He said the emergency financing, in addition to a $4 billion loan Egypt hopes to get from the IMF later, "will ensure smooth recovery of the local economy.

Egypt and the IMF signed off on a $12 billion loan in November 2016, following Egypts currency float.

Abdo said of the emergency funding, The IMF has imposed no stipulations for its assistance. However, it may be used to enhance Egypts medical sector in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The objective is to safeguard the countrys successful reform program, which has maintained positive growth of GDP above 2%, while many world countries are in a negative growth area. He said the country's reforms have helped it deal with the impact of COVID-19.

Egypts foreign reserves stood at a little above $37 billion at the end of April, down from $40 billion the previous month, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt.

Net international reserves stood at $45.5 billion at the end of February, according to Central Bank data. Egypts foreign debt rose by $16.1 billion in 2019, or 16.6%, to $112.7 billion at the end of December 2019, Central Bank data showed.

Geoffrey Okamoto, the IMF's first deputy managing director and acting chair, said in a May 11 statement that the emergency support will help limit the decline in Egypt's international reserves and provide financing to the budget for targeted and temporary spending and is aimed at containing and mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic.

The [Egyptian] authorities are committed to full transparency and accountability on crisis-related spending including through publishing information on procurement plans and awarded contracts, as well as ex-post audits of such spending, Okamoto said.

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait was quoted by the Youm7 news portal on May 4 that Egypt lost around 100 billion Egyptian pounds, or $6.37 billion, in April because of COVID-19. Maait said the coronavirus pandemic has battered the tourism sector, saying that Egypt would otherwise have netted $15 billion from tourist arrivals in 2020.

Moodys said May 11 that the coronavirus shock has placed pressure on Egypts external financing requirements and brought about diminished tourism receipts and remittances and slower growth.

Egypt is exposed to the potential liquidity and external financing shocks facing many emerging and frontier market sovereigns as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Its debt affordability is weak and susceptible to a sharp rise in financing costs; its external position sensitive to potential capital outflows, Moodys added.

However, Moody's also pointed out that Egypts economic, fiscal and monetary reforms in recent years have shored up the country's credit profile.

Lower trade with the world on the back of COVID-19 pandemic has improved the countrys trade balance. The deficit in Egypts trade balance fell by 51.4% to $1.95 billion in February, compared with a little over $4 billion in February 2019, according to data from the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

Egypts imports fell to $4.64 billion in February, down from $6.62 billion in the same month a year earlier, according to the agency.

The countrys exports rose to $2.69 billion in February, up from $2.61 billion in the same month the previous year, the agency said.

Remittances from Egyptian expatriates and tourist arrivals have been hit hard. The global economy has fallen into recession. Declining oil prices have badly impacted the Arab Gulf countries, where Egyptian remittances mainly come from, Mostafa al-Fiky, the senior treasurer and head of planning and financial analysis at the oil and energy company Saipem, told Al-Monitor.

Egypt needs to maintain stable levels of net international reserves as the whole world, including Egypt, is facing the unknown. We should be well prepared for that, Fiky said, pointing out that crisis may persist into 2021.

Foreign reserves have declined while one of the countrys major hard currency earners, tourism, has been tragically hit since the coronavirus pandemic halted international flights, Fiky said.

Absent the COVID-19 crisis, Egypt could have netted some $100 billion in 2020 from tourism, the Suez Canal, Egyptian expats remittances and exports. Unfortunately, the pandemic has made that impossible, he said.

It is imperative to maintain a safe level of reserves to keep the US dollar around 15.7 pounds on the local foreign exchange market and combat any attempts for dollarization, he added.
BSP chief Mayawati said in the name of sending migrant labourers home, both the BJP and the Congress are playing disgusting politics.

BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday slammed both the BJP and the Congress for allegedly playing disgusting politics over the migrants issue even as the country fights the COVID-19 pandemic.

She further claimed that her political outfit is supporting affected migrants without seeking any publicity.

In the name of sending migrant labourers home, both the BJP and the Congress are playing disgusting politics. The parties are accusing each other and are diverting attention from the main issue. This is very unfortunate, she tweeted (translated from Hindi).

People in BSP are helping these migrants as per their capacity in every manner they can and are not seeking any sort of publicity. My party is not doing any disgusting politics like the Congress and the BJP in the name of helping the migrants, Mayawati said in another tweet.

The former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister further lashed out at Congress on the micro-blogging site and suggested that if the party wants to help the migrants, they should instead pay for the tickets of their travel via Shramik trains or deploy their buses in Congress-ruled states to ferry the migrants.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma attacked Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over the issue of buses arranged by the Congress for stranded migrant workers, saying it is for a political stunt.

He further claimed that the condition of the buses provided by the Congress was unfit for ferrying people from one state to another.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Defunct gold collectible company, Menzgold Ghana Limited, has appointed a digital marketing company to negotiate debt settlements with its unpaid clients.

Menzgold made the announcement in a statement issued by its Management on May 19, 2020.

The statement revealed that Payboy is to act as a third party entity.

It says the digital marketing firm based in Accra will negotiate and facilitate the payment of the investment of Menzgold customers whose monies are locked up.

Thousands of depositors are believed to have their funds locked up with Menzgold.

Following an advise given and subsequently reiterated in a press release issued on the 18th December 2019 with reference number; KBA 3015/19 by our counsel, we're happy to introduce PAYBOY COMPANY LIMITED; a digital payments marketing and promotions company, headquartered at No. 34 Nii Ako Nortei Street, Blohum Road, Dzorwulu, Accra, as the appointed third party entity with capacity to negotiate Debt Settlements Agreements and to facilitate payments of same, in our committed resolve to ensure the eventual full debts settlements by Menzgold within the shortest possible time, the statement read.

Counting on your kind cooperation as we strive to achieve this noble debt settlement objective, according to the statement.

Menzgold has been facing legal battle since 2017, with the Securities and Exchange Commission describing its deposits-taking operations back then as illegal.

The companys assets were frozen and its Chief Executive Officer, Nana Appiah Mensah aka NAM1 was arrested in Dubai in connection with an alleged gold scam.

---Daily Guide
Thousands of museums around the world may not be able to open their doors again because of the coronavirus pandemic, with experts fearing that one in eight may stay closed permanently.

Data compiled by UNESCO and the International Council of Museums shows that about 90 percent of all museums  roughly 85,000 institutions  have had to temporarily shutter due to the pandemic. This is "alarming," Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO's assistant director general for culture, told The Associated Press. Many museums have said they might not be able to reopen because they have been "closed for months and they have no revenues," he said. "And they don't know how they're going to get their revenues."

There are also concerns the museums won't have the capacity to fix their infrastructure in order to ensure social distancing, with institutes in poorer countries more likely to stay closed.

Many museums rely on tourism, and the Network of European Museum Organizations said popular destinations like the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and Kunsthistorisches in Vienna could be losing up to $2.75 million every month. In Europe, politicians and royalty have been visiting newly reopened museums in order to bring attention to their plights. Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes spent time at the Bozar Center for Fine Arts in Brussels on Tuesday, and said it was important for world leaders to "show our support at the maximum level to this sector" and let the public know they can "come back here in complete safety."

More stories from theweek.com

Republicans are up in arms about Flynn's 'unmasking.' He was reportedly never masked in the first place.

Virginia Tech therapy dog beloved by students receives honorary doctorate

Taxpayers paid for food, a harpist, and goody bags for Pompeo's frequent 500-guest formal dinners


Karpowership Ghana has donated various food items to the Muslim Community at Sekondi Zongo as they fast and pray in the holy month of Ramadan.



Several bags of rice, cartons of vegetable oil, boxes of milk and sardines were among the items handed over to support the residents as part of the celebration.



Since we began operations in Ghana, we have made series of donations to Muslim communities as our way of supporting our brothers and sisters during Ramadan. We know that Ramadan, and by extension the Islamic faith embodies the values of charity, empathy, patience and holiness and these are needed to live in unity and build better relationships, especially in these times, Ms. Sandra Amarquaye, corporate communications specialist at the company said virtually at a brief ceremony to present the items.



She observed that the spiritual exercise which is set to end in a few days is happening at an opportune time, when the country is in dire need of a solution to the Coronavirus pandemic which has infected thousands and brought the world to a standstill. She is hopeful that the Almighty God will hear the voices of his children and heal the world from the pandemic.



Receiving the items on behalf of the Muslim community, the Western regional Chief Imam Dr. Sheikh Ostaz Ali Hassan Ali, expressed appreciation to the company for its kind gesture and prayed for their continuous success. He noted it is admirable that despite the company commencing operations only a few months ago in the Sekondi area, it has shown great care and concern for the community.



He added the items were needed in this crucial time as the current pandemic had greatly impacted many lives economically.



Ms. Amarquaye entreated residents to abide by all protocols put in place by the government to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country, as the fight against the virus must be done collectively.



She advised individuals to adhere to all the safety measures enumerated by the Ghana Health Service

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
Dunbars Creole Cuisine reopened its dining room after two months of coronavirus closures on Monday, so there was no question about the daily special: red beans and rice with fried chicken and cornbread.

If only anything else in the New Orleans restaurant world had such certainty these days.

I dont know whats going to happen, I really dont, said owner Celestine Tina Dunbar. Were just trying to do our part and see.

Dunbar started her business in her home kitchen nearly 40 years ago and has fed generations of New Orleanians with her Creole soul dishes. On opening day, wearing an American flag patterned facemask, she looked over a dining room where just two people were eating at separate tables. A few others trickled in for takeout.

If we have to close thats it, Dunbar said. But for now were trying to feed people good, treat them right, have them leave happy and pray they come back.

That sums up the manifesto of countless restaurants across the dining spectrum these days, from mom-and-pop eateries to large local restaurant groups.

Restaurants are returning with their businesses on the line, employees jobs hanging in the balance and customers' anxieties about going out, much less dining out, still prevalent as heath officials watch for renewed coronavirus spread.

Reopening under Phase 1 rules in Louisiana includes a 25% occupancy limit, looser limits outdoors and, only in New Orleans itself, what officials call a reservation requirement for future contract tracing purposes. In practice, this is a customer log, not a reservation system, so walk-ins simply write down names and phone numbers.

+2 Ian McNulty: As New Orleans restaurants re-open, their real fight just begins You can hear New Orleans cheering each time another of its favorite restaurants reopens in the coronavirus crisis. What Im dreading is when N

These rules are only one part of the shifting landscape however. For restaurants, once ironclad assumptions about business demand, service style and customer expectations are gone, replaced with guarded hope at reopening and trepidation for the future.

Work toward normal

Donald Link opened most of his restaurants this past week, including Cochon, Peche Seafood Grill and Herbsaint (Butcher and La Boulangerie reopened earlier, Gianna remains closed for now).

These restaurants, draped in James Beard awards, were booming until the pandemic hit. Cochon alone often served 800 people a day when conventions were rolling, even 1,000 on the best days. Now it can seat 40 at a time.

Working with staggered seating times at lunch and dinner, a tactic to further reduce crowding, the restaurant will max out at 160 people a day under current restrictions. Like many restaurateurs, Link expects to lose money by operating at 25% occupancy, but hes looking down the road to less restrictive reopening phases.

Im being optimistic but also realistic, were not going to reopen and have all our cash problems go away, said Link. The whole point is to somehow work toward normal.

His company laid off most of its 460 workers in March. Those it has rehired since have been handed a 12-page manual that managers have written, rewritten and constantly edited in recent weeks to cover new protocols. That includes facemasks (required for staff) and how to handle previously elementary aspects of service, like setting tables with utensils and napkins (now done as customers are seated, not beforehand).

A lot of this is to test the waters, Link said. We have to make sure the business is there. The last thing we want to do is bring everyone back and have to lay people off again. I dont have the stomach to lay people off again.

I want to contribute

On a once-busy stretch of Magazine Street, Joey Ks is a small neighborhood restaurant, a home-style place for onion rings, trout with crabmeat and schooners of beer.

The restaurant has kept up takeout through the shutdowns, but early days of limited dining room service have drawn fewer people than co-owner Cindy Farnet was expecting.

Food and restaurant news in your inbox Every Thursday we give you the scoop on NOLA dining. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

I think people are still hesitant, said Farnet, assessing the sparse dining room, where folk art signs on the walls have outnumbered customers in the seats. We didnt think it would be great to start, but we thought it would be better. Were just hoping the people come.

The reservations requirement may be throwing some customers off, she guessed, since Joey Ks is not normally a restaurant for reservations. Some people have called ahead for tables, though most simply write their information on a list by the door when they walk in.

Maybe in the early days, people are going to more upscale restaurants to mark their first meals back, so Farnet is hopeful the everyday places will see more business when routines reassert themselves. But even if its slow for now, she felt compelled to reopen.

I just thought, we have to, she said. I wanted to be here. We need some life on the street and I want to contribute to that. How else do we get back to normal?

Lunch, at last

Palace Cafe reopened on Canal Street this week with a scene that looked reassuringly normal. At lunchtime on its first day back, well-spaced sidewalk tables outside were filled with couples tucking into andouille-crusted redfish and crabmeat cheesecake.

Through the revolving doors, the main dining room of the Creole brasserie was busy with staff in black vests and new facemasks, often matching their neckties. Some patrolled with spray bottles of sanitizer, wiping down surfaces. Others whisked wine buckets and gumbo bowls to a collection of booths and a reduced number of tables spread across the tiled floor.

Getting men and women working again is the only way this is going to work, co-founder Dickie Brennan said of his decision to reopen. We are all stronger together. Just seeing everyone back together again is good.

Many staff are being rehired, and theyre starting with new training, conducted in groups of 10 to maintain small gathering rules. The basics of restaurant hygiene remain the starting point, said managing partner Lauren Brower.

Its always been wash your hands, wash your hands here, she said. Thats not new for the restaurant industry, now were adding to those practices weve always preached.

Tables have one waiter instead of the usual team service here. Printed menus are single use, and customers can scan a QR code to see them on their phone instead to handling a menu at all.

Palace Cafe is the oldest restaurant in the Dickie Brennan & Co. group, one branch of the expanded Brennan restaurant family (other branches are proceeding with their own plans).

The company opened its new, long-planned Commissary as a takeout and prepared meals hub last month, and brought back Acorn, its cafe in City Park. The core of its business, though, are four large downtown restaurants  Bourbon House, Dickie Brennans Steakhouse, Tableau and Palace Cafe  all built to handle big groups alongside regular dining room service.

With tourism and conventions on hold, restaurants are trying to assess how much the local market can support.

In April, Brennans company emailed a survey to its list of customers to gauge their comfort with dining out again. Managers were surprised to get more than 1,600 replies within days. About half signaled they wanted to return to dining rooms as soon as they could. That feedback has helped inform its reopening plans.

Someone has to be out in front, you have to get out there again and show people its possible, said Steve Pettus, a managing partner in the group.

Still, while lunch tables clinked glasses, celebrating a first lunch out again, Brennan was clear eyed about the challenges ahead.

What are things going to look like a month from now? he said. Soon its June, then its July. Thats summer and thats rough here. The restaurant community is going to need a lot of support from the locals.

+16 Reopening begins at historic New Orleans restaurants but concerns for future loom Galatoires Restaurant will reopen its main dining room Wednesday with just a few dozen seats and something its never had before: reservation

+16 New Orleans dining rooms reopen with familiar flavor but new rules, changing tactics Dressed up for brunch, with scarves as face coverings, Jerry Hingle and Kristin Lausten were the first customers through the door at Coquette 

+11 Lunch as usual, new beginnings and jitters before dinner as New Orleans suburbs reopen As part of the upgrades made during coronavirus closures, Austins Restaurant in Metairie got new carpets. Just before reopening night Friday,
- Arusha regional commissioner claimed Tanzanian truck drivers whom Kenya had confirmed to be positive later on tested negative for COVID-19

- The commissioner claimed Nairobi was engaging in fear mongering with the view of killing tourism in parts of Arusha province

- Kenya's Ministry of Health confirmed sending close to 200 truckers who tested positive back to Tanzania over rising cases across the borders

Tanzanian authorities are now reading malice in Kenya's heightened mass testing of truck drivers along its border entry points.

Arusha regional commissioner Mrisho Gambo claimed Kenya was engaging in fear mongering with the view of killing tourism in parts of Arusha province.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Kenyan scientist develops equipment that allows medics test patients without physical contact

Border point at Namanga. Kenya intensified testing of truck drivers for COVID-19. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetangula's brother laid to rest in Bungoma

In a statement on Wednesday, May 20, Mrisho said samples of 19 Tanzanian drivers who had tested positive for coronavirus in Kenya turned negative after a repeat test in Dar es Salaam.

According to the regional commissioner, the drivers were subjected to forced mandatory testing by the Kenyan health officials upon arrival at the Namanga border.

READ ALSO: Millicent Omanga among 48 senators supporting Kithure Kindiki's impeachment

READ ALSO: Aflred Keter amshambulia Khalwale, asema anafuata mamilioni ya DP

"Arusha province has confirmed these are some of the tactics being used by the Kenyan government to kill tourism market not only in Arusha but also in Tanzania as a whole," he alleged.

At the same time, Mrisho said all truckers coming in or out of Tanzania would be tested after the enforced testing at its entry points.

As a result, he said some 24 out of 67 drivers who entered the country through Kenya were confirmed to be sick with COVID-19.

Test results of 11 others were yet to be released by the time of the press statement.

All the samples were taken between May 16 and 18.

Meanwhile, Nairobi confirmed sending close to 200 truckers who tested positive back to Tanzania.

Kenyan truck drivers with negative COVID-19 results were also denied entry to Tanzania even as Nairobi allowed those from Dodoma to enter into the country.

Strained relationship between the two neighbouring countries continued to severe after President Uhuru Kenyatta imposed ban on both Somalia and Tanzanian borders.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

My wife pushed me to marry another woman - Pastor Habil Were | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Extremely severe cyclone Amphan made landfall between Digha, West Bengal, and Hatia island in Bangladesh leaving a trail of destruction and claiming two lives. One teenager died in Howrah district and a woman passed away in Minakha, North 24-Parganas district. The extent of damage is yet to be ascertained.

Around 2.30 pm, the cyclone with wind speed of 160 to 170 kmph, gusting to 190kmph, coupled with heavy rain hit East Midnapores Digha coast. The landfall process continued for four hours, said an IMD official in Kolkata.

ALSO READ| Cyclone Amphan: Power supply cut off in North and South 24 Parganas of West Bengal

In Kolkata, several trees, light-posts and signal-posts were uprooted. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was at the control room at Nabanna, the state secretariat, to monitor the works of disaster management teams. The IMD office in Kolkata recorded maximum wind speed of 130kmph in the state capital.

Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim said teams of the civic body is monitoring the situation. "Trees, light posts and traffic signal posts uprooted at several places. We have shifted a number of people from old dilapidated buildings to temporary refuge centres. Some of them refused to get relocated. Our rescue teams and personnel of disaster management teams are keeping a close watch on the areas where old buildings exist," he said.

More than two lakh people were evacuated from Sunderbans and other coastal parts of the state. "Reports are reaching us that number of houses collapsed at Kakdwip, Namkhana, Basanti, Gosaba in south 24-Parganas and at Minakha, Haroa and Basirhat in North 24-Parganas district. We are yet to know the number of houses collapsed in the cyclone," said an official of the state government.

In large parts of delta region in South 24 Parganas district, river dams were washed away at four places- Hingalganj in North 24 Parganas, Pathar Pratima and Mousuni Island in South 24 Parganas and Jelingham in East Midnapore-resulting in waterlogging at around 150 villages.

"At least 7000 mud-huts in that region and 5,500 in the pockets in North 24 parganas district were collapsed and washed away during the course of five-hour devastation. The figure will be double in the morning," said an official of the state government.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE COVERAGE OF AMPHAN CYCLONE

Seven teams of NDRF and the state government's disaster management group personnel are deployed in East Mjdnapore, South and North 24 Parganas, West Midnapore, Hooghly and Howrah districts. "Relief materials are ready to deliver in affected areas. Our teams are rescuing people ans bringing them to safe shelter camps. The extent of damage is not known yet," said an official of the team monitoring the situation.
An unemployed Washington man drove more 600 miles to get a $20 haircut in a California county after local officials decided to open salons earlier than Governor Gavin Newsom's Phase 2 plan for reopening.

J Farr, a 28-year-old living in Olympia, Washington, made the arduous journey to Butte House Barber in Sutter County on Tuesday.

Farr decided to make the trip in his Volkswagen Jetta after a friend from his hometown in Yuba City, California, also shared that he had gotten a haircut there.

'I immediately started making preparations,' Farr explained to the Los Angeles Times.

J Farr, a 28-year-old living in Olympia, Washington, made the arduous journey to Butte House Barber in Sutter County on Tuesday

'When I got in there it was exactly what I had hoped for,' Farr said (pictured in Feb). 'I've been isolated for the last three months and that's the first time I had that type of social interaction in that period. It's a really good feeling to feel like there's other people in the world who aren't going to sit inside in fear when there's nothing to be afraid of'

Farr, who lost his job as a paint sprayer, considered shaving his own head prior to the cut.

'When I got in there it was exactly what I had hoped for,' he said. 'I've been isolated for the last three months and that's the first time I had that type of social interaction in that period. It's a really good feeling to feel like there's other people in the world who aren't going to sit inside in fear when there's nothing to be afraid of.'

People from neighboring counties and other states have been making the long treks to salons in Sutter and Yuba counties. In early May, officials from the counties allowed fitness centers, shopping malls, tattoo parlors, hair and nail salons and other businesses to reopen.

Officials argued that the counties have been less affected by the pandemic than other areas in the state.

Some salons are still taking extra steps to ensure that they won't lose their licenses by making customers wait in their cars and limiting contact with professionals to roughly 30 minutes.

Shop owners are trying to meet the overwhelming demand the best that they can.

'I am cutting people's hair from out of state, from San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Martinez, Fresno, Madera, Redding, Reno,' said Wes Heryford, owner of the Butte House Barber Shop. 'There's not very many options and people are excited that there is someone cutting hair, so they have no problem to drive three or four hours to come see us'

'I am cutting people's hair from out of state, from San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Martinez, Fresno, Madera, Redding, Reno,' said Wes Heryford, owner of the Butte House Barber Shop. 'There's not very many options and people are excited that there is someone cutting hair, so they have no problem to drive three or four hours to come see us.'

The governor gave the counties permission to move forward with Phase 2 of California's reopening plan - which does not include personal care services. The Yuba-Sutter bi-county health officer has still asserted that businesses should seek private legal county to determine whether they fit within that phase.

Still, many salon owners are concerned about possible legal ramifications. The California Board and Cosmetology has warned that it may pursue action against licenses of those who do not follow the state's stay-at-home order.

On Tuesday, the Professional Beauty Federation of California, launched a federal lawsuit hoping to reopen the industry. They've cited that the sanitation and hygiene measures and training most cosmetologists should have.

Dr. George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco, shared that the issue is with cotton masks, which do not fully protect against coronavirus transmission.

Heryford does not require his clients or barbers to wear masks

Amy Johnson, owner of Rockabetty's Hair Parlor in Yuba City, reopened so that she could support her family and staff. She already has lost out on money having let her stylist skip out on rent payments

'I think you're in very close contact and even with masks it's going to be problematic,' he said. 'It's the concern about respiratory secretions.'

Mike, a 52-year-old bread deliveryman in san Bruno, decided to make the two hour trip to Heryford's salon. Mike, who did not disclose his last name, make the 115-mile journey on his day off on Wednesday after seeing good reviews about the barbershop online.

Heryford does not require his clients or barbers to wear masks. Mike did not wear one.

'Barbers go about sanitizing their clippers, their combs, whatever tools they use,' he said. 'It's a big thing, sanitization from one customer to the next. They're very careful about it.'

Heryford stressed that it was up to his customers if they wanted to wear a mask.

The 40-year-old salon owner is taking extra steps to ensure safety by spraying shoes with disinfectant and making all who enter her salon, use hand sanitizer

In the salon, there is a marked walkway that promotes social distancing. Stylists also use a 30-minute timer and turn away requests that require more time

'I don't force anything on anybody, it's a free country as far as I'm concerned,' he said. 'It's their decision, it's their life. I myself am not afraid of the virus, so I'm not wearing a mask.'

Amy Johnson, owner of Rockabetty's Hair Parlor in Yuba City, reopened so that she could support her family and staff. She already has lost out on money having let her stylist skip out on rent payments.

The 40-year-old salon owner is taking extra steps to ensure safety by spraying shoes with disinfectant and making all who enter her salon, use hand sanitizer.

Clients and stylists sign release forms stating the parlor is not liable if they contract the virus. In the salon, there is a marked walkway that promotes social distancing. Stylists also use a 30-minute timer and turn away requests that require more time.

Johnson said that she has been getting 'tons' of customers from across the state, including many men,

She is debating whether to continue letting them come from out-of-county.

'I'm really not sure what to do,' she said. 'How am I going to say that to a person? And how am I going to enforce that?'
A 105-member medical team from Kerala



left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a mission to treat COVID-19 patients there early on Wednesday, as part of an initiative of VPS healthcare group based in the gulf nation.

The team comprising nurses and other healthcare pesonnel included 30 employees of VPS health care group, who were stranded in Kerala due to the lockdown after coming on a vacation, a release from the company said.

All the members departed to Abu Dhabi from Cochin international airport on a specially chartered Etihad aircraft.

The team members will be working in the critical care units of various COVID-19 designated hospitals across the emirates.

This will further strengthen the efforts of the UAE government in combating COVID-19, it said.

The travel date was decided after the medical team received the nod from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Health in both countries, it added.

Of the 105 members who arrived in the UAE, 75 are recruits from India who have come to join the gulf nation's battle against the pandemic.

VPS Healthcare Director (India) Hafiz Ali Ullat said,"We extend our deep gratitude to the governments of India and the UAE, and the state government of Kerala for its support of this medical mission."



"In UAE, we have been working with the government from the beginning.

Sending a medical team is a part of our continuous effort in supporting the government there during this pandemic.

The medical team will be following all the travel guidelines and maintain social distancing norms even on the flight," he said.

Vinod Sebastian, a senior nurse among the medical team, said it was a proud moment for each of them.

"It is our duty to serve and treat the patients during this unprecedented crisis. For the majority of the nurses in the medical team, it is their maiden journey to a foreign country.

.. we are very confident and motivated. We are taking it up as a challenge," he said.

All the members of the team underwent a COVID-19 test on Sunday and all of them tested negative, the release said.

The travel of the nurses to Kochi was facilitated by the Office of the Kerala Chief Minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This story was corrected to reflect that the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino never stopped taking reservations.

Their casino gambling floors remain closed until further notice, but some Atlantic City establishments are still taking reservations for hotel rooms as early as next week.

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is allowing room reservations as early as May 28, followed by the Tropicana, Caesars and Resorts Casino Hotel starting on June 7, according to their websites. The Ocean canceled all previous reservations up to June 14, according to its website, but is taking online reservations starting June 15.

A spokeswoman said the Hard Rock never stopped taking hotel reservations, but simply re-evaluates every week whether it can honor those reservations based on the governors restrictions. It has no plans to reopen the hotel room rentals before the casino can fully reopen, she said.

Richard Broome, a spokesman for Caesars, said the business will open whenever the governor allows it, and the availability of reservations in the future are part of our plan to ensure we have business when we are allowed to re-open.

The date does not indicate that we have any insight into the actual re-opening date, Broome said.

Hotels have technically been allowed to remain open under the restrictions set by Gov. Phil Murphy, but most casino hotels closed completely when Murphy stopped gambling March 16.

The governor has not said when he plans to lift those restrictions, but some hotels have announced plans to reopen and keep customers safe, including contactless check-in and increased cleanings.

A bicyclist rides by Tropicana Atlantic City, Friday, March 20, 2020. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ordered the casinos to close Monday night, March 16, to help stop the spread of coronavirus.Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Murphy reopened beaches and boardwalks starting Friday, the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend, but is requiring people to stay six feet apart and not gather with anyone outside their immediate household or romantic partners.

April was the worst month ever for Atlantic City casinos, with revenue at the citys nine casinos down nearly 69% in April from the same month a year earlier.

Not all casino hotels are being as aggressive with their reopening plans. The Borgatas website does not allow any room reservations earlier than July 1.

The casinos will be prepared to welcome back their employees and customers at the appropriate time with the health and safety of all foremost in their plans, James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, told the Associated Press last week.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
[May 20, 2020] YuJa Formally Announces Licensing Agreement With USDA to Provide Video Management Solutions

YuJa Inc. formally announces a licensing agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to provide the government organization with Digital Asset and Video Management solutions. Procurement of the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform offers a video management platform that can house the agency's video and digital asset contents. The YuJa Enterprise Video Platform was selected following a formal review process that described USDA's minimum service requirements for a full scale video management platform, digital rights management permission settings, and organized folder management. These tools support USDA's goal to securely store, stream, and share digital assets effectively both within the agency and externally. "A secure content management system allows users to securely share digital content safely aross their entire organization," said Dr. Ajit Singh, Chief Executive Officer of YuJa Inc. "Our partnership with USDA demonstrates our commitment to provide leading government organizations with scalable media management solutions to support their enterprise video initiatives."



About YuJa YuJa is a leader in enterprise video solutions. Our products harness the power of video to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve organizations of all sizes, within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate delivering engaging video experiences. Our portfolio includes products for lecture capture, live streaming, video management, video conferencing, video test proctoring, digital asset management and enterprise accessibility. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto.

About USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) The United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (OIG) is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has regional offices located in Atlanta, Georgia; Beltsville, Maryland; Kansas City, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Oakland, California; and Temple, Texas. Our mission is to promote economy, efficiency, and integrity in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and operations through the successful execution of audits, investigations, and reviews. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005261/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Mumbai, May 20 : Farhan Akhtar was questioned by netizens after he shared photos of PPE kits donated by his fans that bear his name. Social media users, on seeing the pictures, pointed out charity should be faceless.

Happy to share that our consignment of PPE kits leaves for the Cama Hospital, Mumbai. Lots of love & gratitude to all who contributed.

This will help keeping our medics at the frontline safe! Jai Hind.



You too can support the effort by donating at https://t.co/Bpih93yMWi pic.twitter.com/LvOQxNCGcH  Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) May 19, 2020

Farhan had tweeted a couple of photos where cartons can be seen piled up inside a room. On every carton, it is written "These PPE kits made possible by fans of FARHAN AKHTAR CAMA HOSPITAL."

The actor-filmmaker had captioned: "Happy to share that our consignment of PPE kits leaves for the Cama Hospital, Mumbai. Lots of love & gratitude to all who contributed. This will help keeping our medics at the frontline safe! Jai Hind."

Reacting to his tweet, a user wrote: "Why have your name pasted in BOLD letters! Shouldn't help be faceless ?"

Replying to the comment, Farhan wrote: "It's so that the manufacturer knows whose order it is and therefore, where to send it. Nothing more. Please contribute if you can. Love."

Most users on social media, however, did not seem convinced with Farhan's line of thought. Several other netizens also pointed out the same thing.

"If you guys are really doing it, then is it necessary to make a show for media? Can't we do humanity without taking pictures or making our ego satisfied," wrote another user.

However, a lot of people also took Farhan's side.

"Sometimes it's good to show the world that you're donating it motivates other to do the same. Why hating on the guy for doing something good?" commented a user.

"Many thanks sir ji.....Many doctors need this," expressed another user.

-- Syndicated from IANS
TEL AVIV - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of agreements with Israel and the United States due to the former's intention to move forward with plans to annex parts of the West Bank.



"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones," he said at a meeting of the Palestinian leadership, confirming previous statements.



At the emergency meeting held on Tuesday night in Ramallah, Abbas reaffirmed Palestine's "commitment to a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution".



He said Palestine is ready "to accept the presence of a third party on the borders" between the two countries, "on the condition that negotiations will be held to achieve that under international auspices (the International Quartet plus) and through an international peace conference based on international legitimacy". In his speech, Abbas detailed accusations regarding the peace plan of US President Donald Trump and Israel (the "occupying power"), which has a new national emergency government that is moving towards annexing parts of the West Bank.
The UK will invest up to 20 million in the African Unions new Africa anti-COVID 19 fund to tackle coronavirus and save lives. This makes the UK the largest national donor to the fund, which was announced by Cyril Ramaphosa, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) and President of the Republic of South Africa last month.

It will support African leaders and technical experts to slow the spread of coronavirus and save lives in Africa and worldwide.

The fund will tackle the pandemic by recruiting African health experts and deploying them where they are needed most, strengthening global tracking of the pandemic, combatting potentially harmful misinformation, providing specialist coronavirus training for health workers and making information about the virus more accessible to the public.

Announcing the funding today, International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: As the UK faces its biggest peacetime challenge in tackling coronavirus, its never been more important to work with our partners in Africa to fight disease. No one is safe until we are all safe and this new funding and support for African leadership will help protect us all  in the UK, Africa and around the world  from further spread of the virus.

The announcement follows calls between Minister for Africa James Duddridge, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry Albert Muchanga and AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Amira El-Fadil in which they discussed the risks Africa faces from the pandemic and how the UK is working with partners on the continent to tackle these shared global issues.

This new support for the African Union comes after the UK has already pledged over $900 million to the international fight against coronavirus. The UK is also using its existing aid programmes to help vulnerable countries in Africa to strengthen their health systems.

It also comes ahead of the UK hosting the virtual Global Vaccine Summit on 4th June, to secure future funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which has already saved the lives of millions of children in Africa from infectious diseases Many countries on the continent are beginning to see exponential increases in case numbers, presenting a severe risk to fragile healthcare systems.

The high prevalence of HIV, malnutrition and other illnesses in parts of Africa may also worsen the impact of the virus. In sub-Saharan Africa, there are on average just 2 doctors for every 10,000 people, compared to 28 per 10,000 in the UK. If healthcare systems become overwhelmed, the worldwide spread of the virus will be difficult to slow, risking new waves of infection.

The UKs contribution to the Africa anti-COVID 19 fund will prevent this by working in partnership with the AU to help fight the virus, strengthen healthcare systems and save lives in the AUs 55 member states. Todays announcement brings the total UK aid contribution to fighting coronavirus to up to 764 million ($935.6 million). This money is helping to find a vaccine, providing vital humanitarian relief, feeding the worlds poorest people, strengthening global healthcare systems and managing the risk of a global economic downturn. ENDS Notes to editors

 The contribution to the AU Africa anti-COVID 19 Fund will support the implementation of the AUs continental strategy to: (1) coordinate the efforts of AU member states and multilateral and international partners in responding to the outbreak in Africa; and (2) promote an evidence-based approach for surveillance, diagnosis, treatment and control of coronavirus in Africa.

 Aspects of the strategy supported by the fund will include: the recruitment and deployment of African experts, through Africa CDCs African Voluntary Health Corps (a roster of 800 skilled volunteers), tracking the outbreak through effective screening, contact tracing, and information management; combatting misinformation; creating an online community of practice with weekly webinars for African clinicians; publishing technical guidelines in all AU languages; creating an Africa Taskforce for coronavirus to co-ordinate response activity, and convening AU member states to agree on a continental response.

 The UN Economic Commission for Africa has warned that over 300,000 Africans could lose their lives due to coronavirus.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 09:57 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd927f08 1 National COVID-19-in-Indonesia,house-of-representatives,KPK,corruption,korupsi,mitigation,DPR,indef,ICW Free

Experts are encouraging increased public scrutiny of the governments COVID-19 mitigation policies, as the House of Representatives and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) were less critical in their stances.

Didin S. Damanhuri, founder of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said that large-scale embezzlement could occur if COVID-19 response and spending were not monitored closely.

The public has to keep watch so that there is no the BLBI scandal volume 2, Didin said on Tuesday during a public discussion held by the KPK.

He was referring to the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI) that the central bank provided to help failing banks during the 1998 monetary crisis. The recipient banks largely misused the funds, with the KPK estimating in 2019 that Rp 4.58 trillion (US$309.87 million) in state losses remained unrecovered.

Didin stressed that public scrutiny was needed, as the House had passed the regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on COVID-19 mitigation with little resistance, forfeiting their chance to challenge the regulation.

In addition to the implementing regulations the government has issued under the 2018 Health Quarantine Law, the controversial Perppu gives the government expanded authority to raise the deficit cap and reallocate funds from the state budget.

The Perppu has drawn criticism for a clause that protects officials from legal liabilities, as long as they act in good faith and in accordance with the law in the implementation of related fiscal and monetary policies. Experts and activists have raised concerns that the regulation essentially gives carte blanche for officials to commit graft and embezzlement.

Following the Perppu, the government announced it would roll out an economic recovery stimulus package worth Rp 641.17 trillion to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Read also: Court summonses Jokowi, House to next hearing in COVID-19 response judicial review

Bivitri Susanti, a constitutional law expert at the Jentera School of Law in Jakarta, said during Tuesday's discussion that she deplored the House for focusing on issues other than COVID-19 mitigation, including deliberating the revised 2009 Mining Law revision and insisting on passing contentious omnibus bill on job creation.

It's like the House and the government are wearing blinders, while the people they represent are thinking about whether they will be able to eat tomorrow, she said.

Bivitri also urged the public to report any signs of embezzlement in COVID-19 mitigation to the relevant authorities, including the Indonesia Ombudsman and the KPK. She also called on the KPK to be more transparent in releasing public reports.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Corruption Watch activist Kurnia Ramadhana suggested that the KPK might no longer be depended on to eradicate corruption.

The revised KPK Law that came into effect in October 2019 has established a new hierarchical level above the KPK to install a supervisory council armed with veto powers, essentially stripping the commission its independence and its antigraft tools.

Kurnia also noted that KPK chair Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri, a police general whose appointment late last year prompted public debate, had recorded more controversies than achievements. He added that Firli had made fewer graft arrests while making more frequent visits to government agencies and the House compared to previous KPK leaders, who generally avoided meeting government officials.

Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said that the public should communicate any dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 regulations and policies through legal channels, such as by filing a judicial review with the Constitutional Court or filing a class-action lawsuit.

Usman also said that the public should find new ways to exert political pressure on the government amid the current social restrictions. For example, he said, a car caravan protest was held in the United States so protesters could maintain physical distance while making their voices heard.
A farmer standing in queue in a village of Chhipabarod region of Baran district for procuring a token for selling his wheat at minimum support price (MSP) allegedly fainted in the scorching heat and died on Wednesday.

The BJPs Pratap Singh Singhvi who is the local MLA has alleged administrative mismanagement in the arrangements for government purchase of wheat led to farmers death.

Amritlal Meena (55), a farmer from Paroliya village in Chhipabarod tehsil of Baran district had gone to the Rajeev Gandhi Sevva Kendra in nearby Nipania village for procure a token for government purchase of his wheat at MSP.

My brother was standing in the queue when he fainted due to the scorching heat. He was taken to nearby hospital by locals where he was declared dead, said

Mohan Meena, the younger brother of Amritlal.

Mohan has sought compensation for his brothers family.

I have written to the MLA, Chhipabarod, Pratap Singh Singhvi seeking financial assistance from the government for Amritlals family, he said.

Farmers are being given token prior government purchase of wheat on MSP in Rajasthan these days.

Barans District Collector, Inder Singh Rao said that he has sought a report from the officials of Chhipabarod in the matter and anything about the cause of death can be said after the autopsy report.

On the issue of arrangements of shade and water at the token distribution center, Rao said that the Krishi upaj mandi makes arrangements for shade and drinking water and such measures must have been done there also.
Give the music-lover in your life the perfect gift this Eid with the amazing OPPO Enco W31, offering the industry-leading sound quality and highly synchronized audio for an immersive listening experience.

OPPO Reno3 Pro

If you're looking for that perfect smartphone with exceptional photography features and superb gaming experience, OPPO has it all in one.

Whatever you're doing, whether it's staying under the sun or gathering with your family for Iftar, OPPO Reno3 Pro brings photography to a new level. With its 64MP Zoom Quadcam, Ultra Steady Video 2.0, 44MP Dual Front Camera with Ultra Night Selfie Mode, this impeccable smartphone delivers an outstanding photography performance and allows you to capture clear images under any daily life scenarios.

Great memories are meant when you spend time with your loved ones. The Ultra Steady Video feature provides two modes for different life scenarios, respectively, allowing you to record all your favourite moments in steady and clear videos.

Reno3 Pro empowers users to see more in the dark. For the first time, OPPO has added its Ultra Night Mode feature in the front cameras. As taking a selfie at night is popular amongst young explorers, Ultra Night Selfie Mode guarantees clarity and brightness, even in low light conditions. Ultra Dark Mode on the Reno3 Pro's rear camera makes taking photos in the dark so easy.

Famously known for its captivating smartphone designs and patterns, OPPO has carried the legacy forward with the Reno3 Series. Inspired by the natural skylights, Reno3 Pro comes with two stunning back colours, Auroral Blue and Midnight Black, which echo the beauty of nature.

Availability

The OPPO Reno3 Pro with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM, 64MP Zoom Quadcam, 44MP Dual Front Camera with Ultra Night Selfie Mode, and Super AMOLED Display, is available for AED 1,899 only. The smartphone is available on OPPO Official Website, and e-commerce partners' online stores at Noon and Amazon.

OPPO Enco W31 Headphones

Unleash the power of music this Eid, with the stunning audio capabilities of OPPO Enco W31 Headphones. As OPPO's first wireless audio product in the Middle East, Enco W31 Headphones are the ultimate gift for the audiophile, with highly synchronized audio and industry-leading sound quality to make everything  from your favourite song to movie soundtracks and even phone calls  sound exactly as you imagine it.

Enco W31 Headphones feature an optimized audio experience, tailored specifically to meet the demands of active users. In addition to IP54 dust and water resistance, the headphones feature binaural low-latency Bluetooth transmissions and dual-microphone noise cancellation during calls, amongst numerous other exciting features.

The ergonomic in-ear design provides users with a perfect fit to further enhance audio, while an immersive experience is guaranteed through the use of leading technologies and materials that ensure a resounding treble and deep, powerful bass, with balance mode and bass mode available to offer audio personalization.

And of course, voice calls are received with unparalleled clarity, as if you were speaking face to face. An environmental noise cancellation algorithm and anti-wind noise chamber cancel out noisy surroundings, while OPPO Enco W31 Headphones also feature technologies to distinguish users' voice and transmit it clearly, blocking out all surrounding noise.

Oppo Enco W31 has recently been recognised with the renowned Platinum A' Design Award in the Digital and Electronic Devices Design Competition Category. Platinum A' Design Award is a prestigious award given to top consumer electronics designs that have accomplished an exemplary level of perfection in design.

Availability

OPPO Enco W31 Headphones are available in white on OPPO's official website, Noon.com, and OPPO's official distributors for only AED299. Consumers will be able to purchase the headphones exclusively on Noon until May 20th.

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global technology brand, dedicated to providing products infused with art and innovative technology. Based on the brand elements of leading, young and beautiful, OPPO dedicates to the mission of letting the extraordinary users enjoy the beauty of technology.

For the last 10 years, OPPO has focused on manufacturing camera phones, while innovating mobile photography technology breakthroughs. Today, OPPO brings the aesthetics of technology to global consumers through smart devices, ColorOS, and Internet services like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+.

OPPO's business covers 40 countries and regions, and with 6 research institutes and 4 R&D centres around the world, as well as an International Design Center in London, providing an excellent smartphone photography experience to more and more young people around the world.

About OPPO MEA

In 2015, OPPO entered the Egyptian market. In 2016, OPPO set up its Middle East & Africa Sales Center in Cairo. The markets OPPO has entered in the Middle East and Africa including Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Levant.

OPPO set up its factory in Algeria in 2017, which made OPPO the first Chinese brand setting up a factory in North Africa. Based on the insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO MEA has started the progress of localization. And the localization includes all the perspectives towards each market - product localization, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localization, to better communicate with local young customers; and team localization, to know our local consumers also and provide better service to the consumers.

Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region precisely. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X smartphone and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1170022/OPPO_Reno3_Pro_Enco_W31.jpg

For more information, please contact:

Judy Zhu

Regional PR Manager

OPPO

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE OPPO

Related Links

https://www.oppo.com


A lot of investors might be wary of growth stocks right now. A lot of amazing growth stocks have suffered in the recent market crash, and not all of them have recovered quite as swiftly as others. But if you want to make up for the losses you incurred in this market crash (especially if you sold your stake at rock-bottom valuations), a smart way is to add some growth back to the portfolio.

From a safety perspective, I have chosen all three growth stocks from among the Aristocrats. If nothing else, they can augment your portfolios dividend payouts and growth.

A defensive stock

To be fair, Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B) stock has almost recovered its year-to-date price but is still trading 12% below its yearly high price. At $40.4 per share, this Aristocrat might still be a bargain. The company has a geographically diversified footprint: it has 15,000 stores in several countries in the world. The main brands it operates under are Couche-Tard, Circle K, and Ingo.

As an Aristocrat, it has grown its payouts for 10 years straight. Its dividend-growth rate is also very attractive; its been over 100% in the past five years. The payout ratio is very stable at 10.2%. It offers a decent return on equity of 21.8%. The company has grown its stock price by over 90% in the past five years before the crash.

Its not an explosively growing stock, but combined with a decent dividend streak, this stock can really boost your portfolios performance. The current yield is not as flattering, however, at merely 0.69%.

A food company

Premium Brands Holdings (TSX:PBH) is a specialty food manufacturing and holding company with customers/clients all over the country and in the United States. The company owns several brands, divided into two categories, premium food distribution, and specialty products. It has over 61 operating facilities in North America. Strategic acquisitions have been one of the companys primary growth policies.

As a Dividend Aristocrat, the company has increased its dividends for seven consecutive years. The five-year dividend growth has been about 52%, and dividend-adjusted returns have been about 197% for the same period. Its 10-year CAGR comes out to an impressive number of 25.5%. At this pace, the company can double your capital in under four years.

Story continues

Currently, the company is trading at $83.3 per share, almost 18.5% down from its yearly high value. The yield is at 2.71%, but the payout ratio seems a bit dangerous at 90.82%.

An industrial giant

TFI International is a transport and logistics company based in Montreal. This $3.71 billion market cap company has an e-commerce network spanning across 80 cities in the country, the U.S., and Mexico. TFI has over 80 operating companies working under its banner and over 390 facilities to its name. Package and courier, less-than-truckload, truck-load, and logistics are the four major solutions that the company provides.

It does not a very steady growth stock; its more of a cyclical one. Still, it returned over 52% to its investors in the past five years. The return on equity is down from the last quarter, but its still at 20%. The yield is decent enough at 2.74%, and payouts grew by about 53% in the past five years. The payout ratio is stable at 25.38%.

Foolish takeaway

Dividend Aristocrats, especially ones that are unlikely to slash or stop their dividend payouts altogether, offer a great way to create a passive-income investment portfolio. But if the stocks are fair growers, you can expect a decent-sized nest egg resulting from the capital gains from these Aristocrats.

The post TFSA Investors: 3 Discounted Growth Stocks Might Recover Your Losses appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Adam Othman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD INC.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is satisfied with the work of the head of Ukraine's SBU State Security Service Ivan Bakanov, although he admits his lack of professionalism and experience in this field.

At a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday, the head of state noted that there was no reason for Bakanov to hide anything in his income statements.

"Regarding the declaration of real estate, money or business, which, it seems to me, Ivan Bakanov does not have. First, Ivan Bakanov is not afraid of anything, and everything that he has was acquired before his political career, many years ago. Even before he began working at Kvartal 95 studio, he had his house in which he lives," Zelensky said.

He admitted that he was friends with the head of the SBU and appreciated his human qualities.

"We really are friends. I really respect him as a decent person. I know, and you know that, Bakanov is missing something honest and professional, from the point of view of professionalism and experience, but it seems to me there has never been a more honest SBU chief," he said.

Speaking directly about the bill, which deals with the classification of the SBU declarations, Zelensky said: "As for the bill ... I can't say all the details ... Ivan Bakanov told me ... that he has suggestions, changes that some people cannot show (certain information in the income statement), because they are employees of the SBU, they cannot show where they live."

Zelensky promised to discuss with the head of the SBU and the relevant committee of the parliament the issue of making public declarations of SBU employees.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - COVID-19, which forced shutdown of advanced economies across the world, could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty, erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation, according to the World Bank.



This was unveiled by World Bank Group President David Malpass Wednesday while announcing the details of its emergency operations to fight coronavirus pandemic in 100 developing countries.



This assistance, the largest and fastest crisis response in the Bank Group's history, marks a milestone in implementing the Bank Group's pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the economic shutdown in advanced countries.



Of the 100 countries, 39 are in Sub-Saharan Africa.



The World Bank also announced the suspension of bilateral debt service, which will free up crucial resources for IDA countries to fund emergency responses to COVID-19.



'To return to growth, our goal must be rapid, flexible responses to tackle the health emergency, provide cash and other expandable support to protect the poor, maintain the private sector, and strengthen economic resilience and recovery', said Malpass.



Disbursement is already underway on $20 million to Senegal and $35 million to Ghana. A $20 million IDA grant was approved for Haiti. A $95 million financing package was alloted for Uzbekistan, and $100 million granted to Tunisia.



Pakistan was provied fiancial assistance to import the medical supplies critical for fighting COVID-19.



The World Bank approved $100 million for the Philippines.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
The Caspian Digital Hub involves the construction of fiber optic links along the bottom of the Caspian Sea and includes the construction of an underwater fiber optic cable on the Caspian bottom, as well as the construction of two data centers in Aktau (Kazakhstan) and Baku (Azerbaijan).

Issues of creating a Digital Hub in the Mangistau region in Kazakhstan were discussed at a meeting on the project to create a Caspian digital hub, The Times of Central Asia writes in the article Kazakhstans Mangistau to become a digital hub in Caspian region. The meeting, held last Friday, gathered representatives of the Embassy of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom, Kazakhstans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development, akimat (administration) of the Mangystau region, Kazakh Invest national investment promotion company, Kazakhstan Investment Development Fund KIDF, and JSC Transtelecom, Kazakh Invest reported.

The project will create a communication channel for data transfer from Europe to Asia, through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. The project will contribute to the creation of an open information society in the Eurasian region and the development of Internet services, which will positively affect the development and diversification of the economies of the region. During the meeting, issues requiring attention and solutions with the participation of state bodies were considered. To provide data centers with uninterrupted power, it is necessary to have a power station running on gas or renewable sources in close proximity to data centers. Along with this, a number of organizational issues need to be resolved, not only a roadmap is required but also close interaction of interested parties for the implementation of the project.

On behalf of Kazakh Invest, a discussion was initiated of possible preferences, risks, as well as a number of measures to service support of potential investors. Along with this, the meeting participants announced a number of conditions the solution of which will help attract foreign investors and large client companies, including transnational ones, to transfer their traffic to the end-user. Among them are such international high-tech companies as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, as well as Kazakhstani companies.

Today, UK companies are very interested in the project, which carry out construction, manage such objects, and also own energy-generating capacities around the world. At the same time, the involvement of international investment companies for equity participation in the project is being considered. The creation of the Trans-Caspian Fiber optic communication line with the participation of investors will open up new opportunities for the development of the economies of both states, as well as affect the stimulation of business activity in the Caspian region. As a result, the country will receive a technological hub on its territory, operating income, and new jobs, both during construction and operation," said Yahiya Tuleshov, IT Project Manager at Kazakh Invest.

Last year, the Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan launched the TransCaspian Fiber Optic project to build fiber-optic communication lines between the two countries along the bottom of the Caspian Sea. The project aims to expand data transmission capabilities in Kazakhstan and increase the data transit to the Asia-Europe direction. The length of the cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea will be about 400 km, the design data transfer capacity is at least 4-6 terabits/s. In order to build the Trans-Caspian line a consortium was created between the telecommunications operators of the two countries, a joint working group was established, as well as a joint agreement was signed for the construction. It is planned that the fiber-optic communication line will be commissioned by the end of 2021.
Actor Swara Bhasker has travelled to Delhi from Mumbai after taking special permission when she got to know that her mother has suffered a fracture. Swara had to travel from Mumbai to Delhi by road amid the ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

I was very concerned when I learnt about my mothers fall and the fracture to the right arm. My first impulse was to rush to Delhi....to look after my mom...but that was not possible due to the lockdown, Swara said.

Also read | Nawazuddin Siddiquis wife Aaliya claims his brother hit her: His family has mentally and physically tortured me a lot

So as soon as the process opened up, I applied for permission and travelled by road from Mumbai to Delhi. It was a very long journey, two days by road with an overnight halt. I had a safe journey albeit long and Im very grateful to have been allowed to travel and to now be here with my mom.. if only to help her comb her hair and change clothes! Ive gone through the necessary self isolation and home quarantine protocols, she added.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
BRIDGEPORT  The Guilford teenager accused of repeatedly stabbing a woman outside a Westport hair salon in January was released Wednesday from a state psychiatric hospital.

Superior Court Judge Joan Alexander agreed to release 18-year-old Ellis Tibere on a $1 million bond following a hearing in court.

Tibere will live with his parents in Guilford under house arrest, with GPS monitoring pending his next court date on July 8. Tibere has been found competent to stand trial on charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault and possession of a deadly weapon.

Dr. Lori Hauser, a psychologist at the Whiting Forensic Institute, the states maximum security psychiatric hospital in in Middletown where Tibere has been held since February, told the judge via video conferencing that Tibere does not pose a significant risk requiring him to be further hospitalized.

Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

Senior Assistant States Attorney Joseph Valdes disagreed, telling the judge he is concerned that Tibere does pose a danger to the public and insisted on the house arrest condition.

He told police he is obsessed with injuring another human being and this event was his practice run, the prosecutor said. He told police, I would live off the property of the person I would kill.

Tibere attended the hearing by video conferencing from Whiting. His only comment was to agree he understood the conditions of his release. His father and their lawyer, John R. Gulash, stood before the judge during the hearing.

It was an appropriate result and the matter is proceeding, Gulash said after the hearing.

Eugene Riccio, the lawyer for the 33-year-old victim, also attended the hearing.

We appreciate that the court set stringent conditions on the defendants release. My client is justifiably concerned about her safety, Riccio said.

Tibere told police he waited on Jan. 6 for more than three hours in the parking lot of New Beauty Wellness at 1137 Post Road E., before donning a black mask and attacking the unsuspecting Greenwich woman, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police said Tibere walked up to the womans car, opened her door and began stabbing her. Tibere told detectives he only stopped stabbing the woman when a man exited the beauty salon, according to the affidavit.

When police arrived, they found two men trying to stanch the victims bleeding. Officers applied a tourniquet to the womans leg. She was later transferred to Norwalk Hospital.

Police found Tibere driving south on the Sherwood Island Connector shortly after the incident, where he surrendered to police without incident.

According to search warrants, Westport police said Tibere had also planned to ambush victims inside of their homes and kill them. However, a Westport detective said location data from Tiberes phone did not corroborate his claims and he has not been charged in those alleged incidents.
Chennai, May 20 : A large number of migrant workers wanting to go back to their home states have gathered at the Sundarapuram locality in Coimbatore, the said police on Wednesday.

According to the police, three trains carrying migrant workers are expected to leave Coimbatore on Wednesday for Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

"Migrant workers are being sent back to their home states in trains on the basis of passes issued by the Tamil Nadu government. When the news of trains leaving with migrant workers spreads, non-pass holders also throng the station and other localities, demanding that they be sent back home too," a police officer told IANS.

He said that some workers are also demanding to be sent back to Jharkhand.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami recently said that the state plans to send back 10,000 migrant workers per day to their home states and has requested them to stay at the camps till the arrangements are made.

The movement of migrant workers to their home states has snowballed into a major issue across the country.

"The migrant workers' heart and mind were in their home states. They did not develop roots in their place of work as many industries did not internalise them, but had them as a contract worker," Jairam Varadaraj, Managing Director, Elgi Equipments, told IANS.

Located at about 500 km from Chennai, Coimbatore is a hub of industrial and commercial activity.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
[May 20, 2020] MEF Celebrates 24 Certified MEF 3.0 Service Providers

LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MEF is pleased to announce that 24 service providers from around the world now offer a combined total of 77 certified MEF 3.0 SD-WAN and Carrier Ethernet (CE) services. These innovative providers have demonstrated that their solutions conform to rigorous specifications established by the industrys defining authority for standardized network services.

The large number of MEF 3.0 certifications celebrated today represents a key milestone on our journey to develop a global federation of dynamic, trusted, and certified services that power enterprise digital transformation, said Nan Chen, President, MEF. I wish to congratulate each service provider for achieving MEF 3.0 certification and demonstrating their commitment to delivering innovative solutions with compelling value for customers. All certified MEF 3.0 service providers are listed in the MEF Services Certification Registry . Certified MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Service Providers

In March 2020, MEF announced that Comcast Business, PCCW Global, Spectrum Enterprise, and Telia Company were the first service providers in the world to become MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certified, demonstrating conformity to the industrys only standard for SD-WAN managed services. MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification  which has now shifted from the pilot phase to general availability  is expected to play an important role in driving growth of the global managed SD-WAN services market, which Frost & Sullivan projects will reach nearly $6.4 billion by 2023. As one of the first service providers to achieve MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification, were committed to being a technology and standards leader in the Ethernet ecosystem to improve the quality, management and interoperability of Ethernet services for our customers, said Bob Victor, SVP Product Management, Comcast Business. Were encouraged by the expanding number of certified MEF 3.0 service providers and are proud to be included among the leaders offering the industrys most innovative WAN services. MEF 3.0 SD-WAN certification testing is conducted by Spirent, a MEF Accredited Certification Test Partner. Companies interested in certification of SD-WAN managed services and products should contact [email protected] for more information. Certified MEF 3.0 CE Service Providers

Orchestration-ready MEF 3.0 CE services provide the highest level of performance, assurance, and agility available in what Vertical Systems Group estimates is a $60+ billion global CE services market. MEF 3.0 CE certification is available for a set of subscriber services (E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree) and a set of operator services (Access E-Line and Transit E-Line). Twenty-one service providers with home offices based in every geographic region of the world offer a total of 73 certified MEF 3.0 CE services. These pioneering providers include:  Bell (Canada)  Moratelindo (Indonesia)  BOnline (Kuwait)  Open Fiber (Italy)  CAT (Thailand)  Orange Business Services (France)  CMC Networks (South Africa)  Sparklight Business (USA)  CMC Telecom (Vietnam)  Telxius (Spain/Latin America)  DOCOMO PACIFIC (Guam)  TIME (Malaysia)  euNetworks (UK)  SSE Enterprise Telecoms (UK)  Fiberail (Malaysia)  UFINET (Spain/Latin America)  LinkNet (Indonesia)  Telia Company (Sweden)  Marcatel (Mexico)  VNPT (Vietnam)  Maxis Broadband (Malaysia)



Jeremy Wubs, Senior Vice President, Marketing for Bell Business Markets, Bell Canada

Bell has been a MEF member for more than a decade, and we are proud to play a leading role in the development of the standards that drive value for customers. As the only Canadian service provider to offer MEF 3.0 certified services, along with the countrys largest team of active MEF certified professionals, Bell is supporting our customers in their digital transformation journeys with SLA backed performance aligned with international standards. Franck Morales, Vice President, Connectivity Services at Orange Business Services and MEF Board Advisory Director

As a network-native digital services company, Orange Business Services is proud to be one of the first global service providers to deliver a certified MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet service, and we are pleased to see how new SD-WAN certifications are gaining more and more traction. Never has it been more important for the industry to have agile, flexible and trusted SD-WAN solutions combined with high-performance underlay connectivity to support the new digital needs of enterprises around the world.

Tomi Airola, Head of Business Networking, Telia Company

Telia is proud to be the first service provider in the world to have successfully achieved both MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet and SD-WAN certifications. We view our MEF 3.0 certifications as key steps in addressing the requirements of our enterprise and wholesale customers to accelerate our customers digital transformation journey. Alignment with the latest industry standards is a continuous job in which Telia Company invests to help customers simplify their onboarding process and daily operations. Chris Boone, Vice President of Business Services, Sparklight Business

MEF 3.0 certification demonstrates the ongoing commitment of Sparklight Business to deliver the most advanced and secure Ethernet services across our footprint. Our business customers can be confident the Carrier-grade Ethernet services theyre receiving are compatible with a global standard that will support all of their business needs well into the future. Juan Carlos Naranjo, Chief Technology Officer, UFINET

We are proud to be MEF members since 2015. During all these years, UFINET has witnessed the evolution of information technology and the important role that MEF has played in it. We consider MEF to be a keystone in todays telecommunications developments, even more so in Latin America, a rapidly developing region with enormous growth potential. All MEF certifications have represented important milestones for UFINET, as we strive to become the neutral telecommunications operator of reference, worldwide. MEF 3.0 certification allows us to have a clear competitive advantage, as it ensures that products and services provided by UFINET meet the needs of customers through an effective quality management and homogenous system. Our decision to work with MEF 3.0 accreditation demonstrates our commitment to continually improve our products and services. We are proud to be MEF 3.0 compliant. Isaias Alegria, Chief Technology Officer, Marcatel

Being the first Mexican carrier to achieve MEF 3.0 certification is very rewarding for us and our customers. It is a guarantee that our Carrier Ethernet network fulfills the highest standards for performance and transparency. We are very pleased to be a member of the MEF organization. It has been very helpful in allowing us to align with the worldwide industry, as Marcatel is a worldwide service provider. We will continue to evolve in the process of delivering high-performance services while seeking the full satisfaction of our customers. Mr. To Dung Thai, Vice President of VNPT - Chairman of VNPT VinaPhone

VNPT is proud to offer a broad portfolio of certified MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet services that comply with the industrys highest global standards. This is the development goal of VNPT as the corporation always desires to bring customers high quality products and services. Through MEF 3.0 certification, VNPT once again affirms our position as a world-class telecommunications service provider, contributing to digital transformation in Vietnam. Dang Tung Son, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, CMC Telecom

Ultimately we strive for this level of certification so that our global and domestic customers can have guaranteed peace of mind on compatibility and ease of integration. By becoming the first MEF 3.0 certified service provider in the world, we can proudly say that we are able to deliver scalable, reliable next-generation Ethernet services to enterprise and carrier customers across the diverse connectivity in the metro markets we serve. Mohamed Asri Jaafar, Chief Executive Officer, Fiberail

We are proud to be among the first in Malaysia and among the earliest in the world to receive this certification. The certification acknowledges our commitment and determination to be at par with the global standard in the provisioning of metro network services and delivering world class services to our customers. It also recognises our continuous efforts and capabilities in keeping abreast with advanced technology innovation and delivering dynamic products and services to the market. With the certification, our customers can look forward to more secured, advanced network services that meet global standards and are scalable to fulfill their future communication requirements and beyond, as part of our efforts in elevating Malaysia into a digital Nation. MEF recently published a new white paper  MEF 3.0 Carrier Ethernet Certification Business Case for Service Providers  that explores how certification can strengthen customer relations, increase revenue opportunities, and improve operational efficiencies for retail and wholesale service providers. MEF 3.0 CE certification validates performance excellence, provides competitive differentiation, and enables service providers to establish a standards-compliant presence within a federation of automated networks, among other business benefits. Ultimately, the combination of certified services and MEF 3.0 LSO Sonata APIs will enable service providers to better address enterprise demand for rapidly delivered, customizable data services that are available beyond the network footprint of any individual service provider. MEF 3.0 CE certification testing is conducted by Iometrix, a MEF Accredited Certification Test Partner, via an on-demand cloud-based virtual test platform. Companies interested in certification of MEF 3.0 CE services or technologies should contact MEF ( [email protected] ) and Iometrix ( [email protected] ) for more information. About MEF

An industry association of 200 member companies, MEF is driving development of a global federation of dynamic, trusted, and certified services that power enterprise digital transformation. MEF 3.0 services are designed to provide an on-demand, cloud-centric experience with user- and application-directed control over network resources and service capabilities. MEF 3.0 services are delivered over automated, virtualized, and interconnected networks powered by LSO, SDN, and NFV. MEF produces service standards, LSO frameworks, LSO APIs, MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept Showcases, and certification programs for services, technologies, and professionals. MEF 3.0 work will enable automated delivery of standardized Carrier Ethernet, Optical Transport, IP, SD-WAN, SD-WAN Security, and other Layer 4-7 services across multiple provider networks. For more information: https://www.MEF.net and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @MEF_Forum . Additional resources: What Industry Leaders Say About MEF 3.0 SD-WAN and CE Services Certification

MEF 3.0 Overview

MEF YouTube Channel Media Contact:

Ashley Schulte

Connect 2 Communications for MEF

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The Archdiocese of Boston plans to hold a virtual memorial Mass honoring those whove died from the coronavirus.

Bishop Robert Reed, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, will lead the Mass at the CatholicTV Networks Chapel of the Holy Cross Chapel in Watertown beginning at 9:30 a.m. on May 29. The network is broadcasted by the Archdiocese of Boston.

Memorial Mass for victims of the COVID-19 virus. Please let us know if you lost a loved one at this link: https://t.co/sXxpjDywNj. We will place their names near the altar on May 29th.



Join me in praying for these good people - the last Friday of May on @CatholicTV pic.twitter.com/zjEAdDb8Th  Bishop Robert Reed (@BpRobertReed) May 19, 2020

On this day to remember and pray for all of those who have died due to the pandemic, CatholicTV hopes the Mass will offer support for the families, friends, and health care workers who have been affected by the loss of a loved one, friend or patient, the network said.

Anyone who has lost a loved one to COVID-19 should visit: CatholicTV.com/memorial, to enter the memorial information.

Related Content:
Jammu, May 20 : Escalating its ceasefire violation further on the Line of Control (LoC) on Wednesday, Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing in two more sectors of Jammu & Kashmir's Poonch district.

Colonel Devender Anand, defence ministry spokesman told IANS, "After violating ceasefire in Kirni and Degwar sectors early today, Pakistan started ceasefire violation in Qasba and Kirni sectors.

"Pakistan initiated another ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars in Kirni and Qasba sectors. This second violation started around 1.50 p.m. Indian army retaliated befittingly in all sectors where Pakistan initiated ceasefire violation today".

The first ceasefire violation had taken place around 9.30 a.m. Pakistan has been resorting to frequent ceasefire violations along the LoC in J&K.

This has affected hundreds of civilians living along the LoC as their lives, homes, cattle and agricultural fields are in peril during such hostilities.
VANCOUVER, May 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Zenabis Global Inc. (TSX:ZENA) ("Zenabis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully received EU-GMP approval for its Atholville facility and expects to commence commercial export to the European Union in the third quarter of 2020. In addition, the Company is announcing Health Canada approval of additional growing and processing areas at Zenabis Langley.

Kevin Coft, Chief Executive Officer of Zenabis stated, "We are very excited to be able to announce that Zenabis, in conjunction with our European Union partners Natrix Sciences Ltd. (formerly Starpharma Ltd. Malta) and ZenPharm Ltd., have received EU-GMP approval. This is a tremendous milestone for the Company as it will allow us to supply bulk dried medicinal cannabis to the European market and allow ZenPharm the supply needed to serve their customers throughout Europe. I would like to extend my thanks to the entire Zenabis team who have made this major achievement possible as well as to our European partners for their continued support in this process. With our extremely competitive cost of cultivation at $0.63 per gram in the first quarter of 2020, we believe we can be incredibly competitive in the export of cannabis to the European Union."

Receipt of EU-GMP Approval

Zenabis Global Inc. has obtained EU-GMP approval through its Malta-based European partner, ZenPharm Limited. This milestone enables Zenabis to supply the European market with bulk dried medicinal cannabis flower through its ZenPharm joint venture. Zenabis is a 43.5% owner of ZenPharm. ZenPharm is located within an existing EU-GMP facility in Europe managed by the other 43.5% owner of ZenPharm, Natrix Sciences Limited Malta ("Natrix"). ZenPharma is regulated by the Maltese 'Production of Cannabis for Medicinal and Research Purposes Act', which allows for the cultivation, import, processing, and production of cannabis intended for medicinal and research purposes. Zenabis' EU-GMP approval provides ZenPharm with an approved supplier which will allow it to undertake the necessary regulatory requirements in order to achieve its own GMP certification for the packaging and processing of cannabis from the Maltese Medicines Authority. The approval came after an intense 4-day inspection of the facility, which provided ZenPharm with confidence in the Zenabis GMP Quality Management Systems ("QMS") and products.

Although this EU-GMP approval only pertains to cannabis supplied to ZenPharm, Zenabis' now proven QMS provides the Company the ability to ship to GMP facilities worldwide for further processing and packaging, subject to the successful completion of QMS audits by other potential international clients.

Alan Mayo, Chief Quality & Compliance Officer of Zenabis stated, "Zenabis' achievement demonstrates the commitment that the Company has towards a robust QMS and Quality in general. It is the result of investment by senior leadership and eight months of hard work, dedication, and perseverance by a group of individuals, most of whom had little to no previous GMP experience. I am so proud of the team because they have all come a long way. In less than a year they overcame the challenge of obtaining such a strict pharmaceutical standard like GMP." Angele Azzopardi, Chief Executive Officer of ZenPharm said, "This milestone solidifies ZenPharm, a Zenabis subsidiary, as a vertically integrated seed to sale European pharmaceutical company that specializes in the development and delivery of cannabis-based treatments rooted in the fundamental medicinal standards of safety, quality and efficacy. This achievement would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of the entire Company. Furthermore, Malta has strategically put in place the regulatory gold standard for the European medicinal cannabis industry. ZenPharm's incorporation shows confidence from Zenabis, as a Canadian licensed producer, in the value of setting up this operation in a jurisdiction that not only demonstrates a pioneering energy but also encompasses, through its competent authorities, a valuable ethos that is practical but not permissive".

Timeline and Next Steps

Date, or anticipated timing Activity December 21, 2017 Zenabis, as Sun Pharm Investments Ltd., received an initial letter of intent from Malta Enterprises for the processing of cannabis in Malta. November 28, 2018 Zenabis entered into a letter of intent to establish a joint venture to convert Natrix's EU-GMP certified facility in Malta to produce finished medical cannabis products using cannabis supplied from Zenabis' facilities in Canada. October 4, 2019 Zenabis receives notification from Malta Enterprise of acceptance of the amendment of its original letter of intent to reflect the joint venture with Natrix. October 2, 2019 ZenPharm incorporated through the execution of a shareholders' agreement and incorporation documentation approved by Malta Enterprises. Supply agreement executed between Zenabis and ZenPharm. April 23, 2020 First shipment completed from Zenabis to ZenPharm to allow for completion of ZenPharm EU-GMP approval within the original Natrix' EU-GMP facility. July 2020 Anticipated completion of Malta Medicines Authority inspection of ZenPharm facility. 3Q or 4Q 2020 Anticipated first commercial shipments to ZenPharm for processing and shipment to other clients.

Commercial Potential

Currently, the packaging equipment installed at the ZenPharm facility has the capacity to package 7,000 kg per annum. While this is a fraction of the cultivation capacity of Zenabis Atholville, ZenPharm has an obligation under its shareholders agreement to undertake capital improvements as necessary in order to increase capacity to the extent market demand in the European Union exceeds these levels.

ZenPharm, on behalf of Zenabis, is currently engaged in extensive discussions with a range of clients in the European Union in order to commence product shipment. Zenabis is currently in the process of assigning its rights and obligations under its previously disclosed European commercial agreements to ZenPharm.

Olen Vanderleeden, Vice President, Strategic Development for Zenabis, said, "Our partnership with ZenPharm gives us direct access to the significant market opportunity for medical cannabis in the European market and represents a substantial revenue growth opportunity for Zenabis. The market for medical cannabis in Europe is estimated to reach up to $22.3 billion by 2024 and our partnership provides us with the ability to participate in this market in a meaningful way. Pricing in the European bulk market remains at a significant premium to the Canadian bulk market. We expect to focus our bulk sales efforts on the European market from the third quarter forward in order to realize on this market potential with our partners at ZenPharm. Additionally, the qualification of our QMS opens up other international medical cannabis markets for us including the Middle East, Australia and others."

Zenabis Langley License Amendment

Zenabis is also pleased to announce that it has received approval of the following amendments to its Zenabis Langley sales license: the addition of 3 processing rooms with a combined area of 7,173 sq ft; the addition of 10 drying rooms with a combined area of 10,176 sq ft; and a 40,574 sq ft expansion to its grow room. Together, these license amendments have the impact of increasing the Company's licensed capacity from 96,400 kg to 111,200 kg per annum.

About Zenabis Global Inc.

Zenabis is a significant Canadian licensed cultivator of medical and recreational cannabis, and a propagator and cultivator of floral and vegetable products. Zenabis employs staff coast-to-coast, across facilities in Atholville, New Brunswick; Delta, Aldergrove, Pitt Meadows and Langley, British Columbia; and Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Zenabis currently has 111,200 kg of licensed cannabis cultivation space across four licensed facilities. Zenabis has 3.5 million square feet of total facility space dedicated to a mix of cannabis production and cultivation and its propagation and floral business.

Zenabis expects its Zenabis Atholville, Zenabis Stellarton and Zenabis Langley facilities to be in steady state production in 2020. The Zenabis brand name is used in the medical cannabis market, the Namaste, Blazery, and Re-Up brand names are used in the adult-use recreational cannabis market, and the True Buch brand name is used for Zenabis' kombucha products.

About Natrix Sciences Ltd.

Natrix Sciences Ltd. is an experienced pharmaceutical manufacturing company headquartered in Malta. Natrix focuses on contract development and manufacturing of niche, innovative and complex pharmaceutical products for its customers. Natrix has significant experience operating under EU-GMP standards and currently operates its pharmaceutical business from an EU-GMP-certified facility in Malta.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information may include, among others, statements regarding the future plans, costs, objectives or performance of Zenabis, or the assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. In this news release, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the Company's organizational and strategic review and forecast of demand; the Company's focus on aligning its resources to meet the needs of consumers; the expected timing and completion of current and planned conversion, expansion and optimization of our facilities, including Zenabis Langley; our plans for Zenabis Delta; the expected submissions of license amendment applications and site evidence packages; the licensing of our facilities and projected timing thereof; our expectations for our extraction projects, equipment and capacity; our expectations for processing output; our expectations regarding our packaging equipment; and the expected content of future operational updates. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. No assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information will transpire or occur. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good-faith belief with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond Zenabis' control. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described in the shelf prospectus dated April 9, 2019, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Furthermore, any forward-looking information with respect to available space for cannabis production is subject to the qualification that management of Zenabis may decide not to use all available space for cannabis production, and the assumptions that any construction or conversion would not be cost prohibitive, required permits will be obtained and the labour, materials and equipment necessary to complete such construction or conversion will be available. Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Zenabis does not intend, nor undertake any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information contained in this news release to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except if required by applicable laws

For more information, visit: https://www.zenabis.com.

SOURCE Zenabis Global Inc.

For further information: Media Relations, Email: [email protected], Phone: 1-855-936-2247; Investor Relations, E-mail: [email protected], Phone: 1-855-936-2247

Related Links

www.zenabis.com


Donald Trump on Tuesday privately expressed opposition to extending a weekly $600 (489) boost in unemployment insurance for laid-off workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to three officials familiar with his remarks during a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Capitol Hill.

The increased unemployment benefits  paid by the federal government but administered through individual states  were enacted earlier this year as part of a broader $2tn (1.6tn) relief package passed by Congress. The boost expires this summer and House Democrats have proposed extending the aid through January 2021.

But congressional Republicans have said they are concerned that some workers are making more money on unemployment insurance than if they were on a payroll and therefore have less incentive to return to work or find a new job.

You can extend some assistance, but you dont want to pay people more unemployed than theyd make working. You should never make more than your actual wages, said senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said he raised the issue with Mr Trump during the lunch. While Trump did not explicitly say he would not sign another bill if it contained a benefits boost, Mr Graham said he agrees that it is hurting the economic recovery.

Many economists fear cutting off the benefits extension could hamper the economic recovery. Government spending on unemployment benefits rose by $45bn (36.6bn) from February to April, offsetting slightly more than half of the decline in private wages and salary, according to a recent study by the Brookings Institution. Republicans have maintained that the higher benefit will give workers an incentive to stay at home rather than go to work, but eliminating the massive cash infusion could further depress demand amid fears consumers are already cutting back dramatically on spending.

Mr Trumps advisers have expressed confidence the economy will quickly recover, a view at odds with many economists.

Inside the lunch, Mr Trump also implored Senate Republicans to take their time on the next phase of coronavirus legislation to get it right  according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation  mirroring the strategy of senior Republican leaders who have argued that lawmakers should hit pause before passing another massive rescue package.

There may be some more needs out there, senator Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told reporters following the lunch. After we get back, and after the next week when we get back, well take a look and see what we can, and keep focused on the things that are necessary and helpful.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also told reporters Tuesday morning that he doesnt see the need right now to negotiate with Democrats on new virus response legislation.

The unemployment benefits werent the only provisions pushed by Democrats that Mr Trump signalled opposition to during the lunch with GOP senators. The president, a vocal critic of voting by mail, also objected to language in the House Democratic plan passed last week that expands voting options ahead of the November elections, including mail-in balloting, according to two of the officials.

Despite being a critic of the practice, Mr Trump  who is now registered to vote in Florida  has voted by mail, including in 2018 and earlier this year.

The Washington Post
(CNN)  Members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet reinforced his decision to ingest an unproven treatment to prevent coronavirus on Tuesday, insisting the drug was safe even as none volunteered they were taking it themselves.

The public support for Trump's use of hydroxychloroquine is hardly surprising given the premium Trump has placed on loyalty among his Cabinet members. But even for an administration known for fealty, the declarations of support for a drug the US Food and Drug Administration has warned might be dangerous were notable.

Trump was hosting his Cabinet at the White House for the first time in months as the coronavirus pandemic has consumed the administration. Unlike previous sessions, Tuesday's meeting occurred in the East Room, which provides more space than the West Wing Cabinet Room for officials to spread out.

No officials wore masks, though they were spaced several feet apart and spoke into microphones.

As they went around the table, the Cabinet members uniformly praised Trump's handling of the pandemic and tried to insist the worst may be over.

Vice President Mike Pence, who has led the administration's coronavirus task force, announced all 50 US states had partially opened their economies. The American people, Pence said, "are breathing free air and doing it responsibly."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who is overseeing attempts to revive a stalled US economy, presented Trump with a debit card that had been embossed with his name -- an example, he said, of what "many Americans will now get so we can get their money to them even quicker."

And Alex Azar, the secretary of Health and Human Services, sought to reinforce Trump's claims that keeping Americans under lockdown would carry their own health risks.

Azar said the "virus-induced recession," according to one estimate, would cause "an extra 65,000 deaths from suicide, drug-overdose, alcohol-abuse over the years."

It was a uniform message from an administration that has, at moments, appeared disjointed during the coronavirus pandemic. Even as officials sought to project uniform confidence, however, examples of the contradictory messages seeped through.

When Trump was questioned why he decided to take hydroxychloroquine to prevent coming down with Covid-19 -- a disclosure he'd made a day earlier -- he dismissed his own government's warnings against using the drug for coronavirus, including from the FDA, which has said the drug should only be used in hospitals or clinical trials because they can kill or cause serious side effects.

"I think it's worthwhile as a line of defense, and I plan on staying on it for a little while longer. I'm just very curious myself," he said.

He went on to bash a study of Veterans Affairs patients who received the drug, calling it false because it was administered to sick people who "were ready to die."

"Everybody was old, had bad problems with hearts," Trump said of the study. "So immediately when it came out they gave a lot of false information."

But even that study was funded partly by Trump's own administration through the National Institutes of Health. Speaking at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie insisted the drug was safe, despite the study.

"I want to knock down the phony story that this is somehow the VA going back on what the President told us to do," he said.

Still, when a reporter asked Trump whether any member of his Cabinet was also taking hydroxychloroquine, none spoke up.

"Many of them would take it if they thought it was necessary," Trump said.

As part of the meeting, Trump signed an executive order he described as "instructing federal agencies to use any and all authority to weigh, suspend and eliminate unnecessary regulations that impede economic recovery."

"And we want to leave it that way," the President said. "We want to leave it that way. In some cases, we won't be able to, but in other cases, we will."

But when pressed later how his administration was planning to return more than 35 million unemployed Americans to work, Trump lashed out.

"I think we've announced a plan. We're opening up our country. Just a rude person, you are," he said.

Tuesday's meeting came as Trump stretches the limits of presidential power by dismissing inspectors general and inserting himself into Justice Department investigations into political rivals.

The coronavirus outbreak has dominated most agencies' work for the past months, though recent actions have demonstrated that the work begun earlier this year to install more loyalists across the government continues apace.

Trump was angered by the number of administration officials who provided unflattering testimony during the impeachment proceedings and instructed aides to find ways to replace or undermine them.

Part of the effort included elevating John McEntee, the President's former body man, to run the presidential personnel office. McEntee told agency officials at a meeting in February to expect staffing changes and movements across the government, people familiar with the meeting told CNN.

Another official said McEntee indicated he planned to first focus his efforts on personnel at the State Department and Department of Defense. He also told the liaisons that promotions and significant staff changes should not occur without prior approval from the presidential personnel office.

Since then, the coronavirus outbreak has preoccupied large swaths of the administration and Trump has been fixated on the federal response to the crisis, as well as how his actions are being perceived in the media.

The outbreak exposed weaknesses in his administration, including at the Department of Health and Human Services and some of its entities such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump has at times expressed frustration at the officials in charge of the coronavirus response effort, though is not currently moving to terminate anyone.

At the same time, efforts to locate and eliminate officials deemed disloyal continued, including over the past month, when Trump replaced or removed four inspectors general from his administration he viewed as Obama holdovers or as part of the so-called "deep state" he believes is working against him.

The ousted watchdogs are Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, acting Defense Department Inspector General Glenn Fine, acting Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Christi Grimm and State Department Inspector General Steve Linick.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that he had asked Trump to remove Linick because the independent watchdog was "undermining" the department and wasn't performing in a way that the top US diplomat wanted him to.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have said Linick was probing whether Pompeo made a staffer perform a variety of personal errands, including walking his dog, as well as completing an investigation into Pompeo's decision to fast-track an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

At the Justice Department, Attorney General William Barr has also continued to draw criticism for interfering in cases involving Trump's former political advisers, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, and softening prosecutors' stances toward them for political reasons.

On Monday, Barr tried to tamp down speculation that a review of the Russia probe that began in 2016 would result in criminal charges against former President Barack Obama, saying instead that he was attempting to curtail the politicization of Justice Department investigations.

"Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others," Barr added.

Later, Trump said he was surprised by Barr's comments.

This story was first published on CNN.com 'Trump's Cabinet backs up his use of unproven drug'
Cmdr. Nate Christensen is the public affairs officer to the chief of naval operations. Lt. Cmdr. Mike Mabrey is the speechwriter to the CNO. Lt. Mary Sanford is the deputy PAO to the CNO.

While the U.S. Navy is accustomed to confronting those who seek to challenge established international norms and rules, we now face a new, invisible enemy, which attacks people from all walks of life indiscriminately and has no regard for collateral damage.

Indeed, COVID-19 has brought a fight to America's shores, and the Navy has been forced to confront a global pandemic, all while continuing to carry out its mission, day in and day out.

To be sure, times are both challenging and unprecedented right now, but that's never deterred the service before. And it will not this time either.

"As the forward-deployed force of our country, we have a duty to ensure we are ready to respond," Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday recently said in a message to the force. "We cannot simply take a knee or keep everyone in port until this enemy is defeated. We must be laser-focused on the Fleet -- from manning to maintenance, and from training to warfighting. Operational readiness is our job  and every one of us has a role. Nobody sits on the bench."

Today, the disruption caused by our new adversary -- COVID-19, combined with the potential for others to exploit this crisis for their own gain, makes protecting the seas more important than ever. That is why the Navy continues to operate forward as America's "away team," and why we will continue to do so for decades to come.

While some headlines of the past month may cause people to think COVID-19 has limited the Navy's ability to operate at sea, that couldn't be further from the truth. Today, our force remains ready, relevant and deployed forward around the globe.

For example, as of May 10, more than a third of the service's 299 ships, to include six aircraft carriers and four amphibious assault ships, were underway to help provide security and stability around the globe. Just two days prior, every one of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's forward-deployed submarines was at sea.

The Navy has also recently conducted several operations and exercises alongside our allies and partners. Over the past month, U.S. and British ships carried out an anti-submarine exercise above the Arctic Circle; four U.S. Navy ships and a Royal Navy ship conducted maritime security operations in the Barents Sea; and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group and French Navy conducted a bilateral exercise in the North Arabian Sea. We will continue to exercise at sea with partner nations, including during the 2020 Rim of the Pacific Exercise later this summer.

Adm. Jamie Foggo, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, recently discussed how the Navy must be prepared to operate going forward in a "Proceedings" article entitled "Germs: The Seventh Domain of Warfare."

"Confronting a pandemic requires an all-hands approach. We must work with our interagency and host nation partners to leverage mutual strengths in order to effectively stem the spread of the virus, while offering our support to those in need," Foggo said. "Yet we must be mindful of our operational readiness, retaining the ability to respond immediately if challenged in another domain of warfare."

Along with operating together at sea, the CNO has remained in contact with his counterparts over the past several weeks, and members of the OPNAV staff have worked closely with other navies to share lessons and best practices in the fight against COVID-19.

A number of COVID-19 frameworks have been shared with our allies and partners, which help guide commanders in pre-deployment, mitigation and recovery practices against the virus. Additionally, the U.S. Naval COVID-19 Rapid Response Team has exchanged scientific and engineering data with other navies to advance understanding of the virus and its effects on ships and facilities. Many navies have also chosen to share their approaches on the All Partners Access Network website, to facilitate rapid responses within this network.

"Despite worldwide restrictions caused by COVID-19, we have found creative ways to work with our allies and partners, that has not only had positive operational impact, but also positions the U.S. Navy to conquer future unforeseen challenges, like this one," said Rear Adm. Will Pennington, the Navy's director of Global Integration and Engagement. "These robust exchanges with our allies and partners have dramatically steepened the collective learning curve within our vibrant and growing network of like-minded navies."

We have stood watch together throughout history; we fought our battles as allied forces; and this new fight is no different. The Navy is operating in every corner of the globe alongside our partners 24/7/365 because, now, more than ever, the world's prosperity and security depend on it.

In mid-April, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said during a town hall meeting at the Pentagon that, "Many of our adversaries ... are trying to exploit this crisis."

And they have certainly tried. In the span of four days in April, Russian pilots twice intercepted our P-8A Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft in an unsafe and unprofessional manner in the U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations. Earlier that same month, 11 Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of U.S. naval forces inside the Arabian Gulf.

But that's not all.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently highlighted how the Chinese Communist Party is asserting itself in the South China Sea while the world is focused on COVID-19.

"Beijing has moved to take advantage of the distraction, from China's new unilateral announcement of administrative districts over disputed islands and maritime areas in the South China Sea, its sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel earlier this month, and its 'research stations' on Fiery Cross Reef and Subi Reef," Pompeo said. "It is important to highlight how the Chinese Communist Party is exploiting the world's focus on the COVID-19 crisis by continuing its provocative behavior."

That is why the U.S. Navy, along with our allies and partners, continues to patrol critical waterways like the South China Sea during this pandemic to provide continued security and stability, which results in a free and open global maritime commons. By operating forward, we are where it matters, when it matters.

The Navy's ships need no permission to operate at sea. They are lethal, reliable and multi-dimensional. They are a formidable naval force that clearly and undeniably represents our nation's power by their mere presence. Their power does not rest in geographic location, but rather in their ability to maneuver freely while operating across the spectrum of military operations.

Today, the U.S. Navy, and our global team of like-minded navies, operate as the world's first line of defense against lawlessness and aggression, providing strength in unity that cannot be matched by any alternative.

To be sure, we are a force for good. But make no mistake, we are also a force to be reckoned with.

-- 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.
By Express News Service

Actor Gregory Tyree Boyce of Twilight fame was found dead along with his girlfriend in Las Vegas on May 13. The news was made public after the local police told a newspaper. Gregory Tyree Boyce was 30 years old and his girlfriend Natalie Adepoju was 27 years old. The cause of their death has not been disclosed yet.

Very little details have been released regarding their death so far. But, the police have reportedly stated that the death is not due to any criminal activity.Apart from being an actor, Boyce was also a cook and was reportedly planning on setting up his own business. His mother Lisa Wayne took to her Facebook account and wrote a long emotional note stating that she was broken and torn after his demise.Gregory Tyree Boyce is survived by his 10-year-old daughter Alaya.
Elder McKay Bergeson  missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints  died in a hit and run collision in LaFayette, Ga. on Saturday, May 16, 2019. He was 19 years old, from Bountiful, Utah. He was serving a two-year mission in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission, which includes the greater Chattanooga area. He had been on his mission since December 2019.

Like all missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Bergeson was a volunteer. He was not paid for his services. He served based on his desire to share the good news and glad tidings of Jesus Christ. Since Adam, the Lord has called upon authorized representatives to preach His gospel message to all parts of the world. Since the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, over one million [Latter-day Saint] missionaries have been called and sent forth  at their own expense  to testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God  the Savior of the world (see Gospel Principles, Chapter 33). Elder Bergeson was part of this holy work.

Elder Bergeson postponed college, dating and any and all other social activities out of loyalty to The Lord. He gave it all up to proclaim the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God (D&C 138:57) because the greatest story ever told is that God appointed and anointed a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Only through and by Christ can we live again and be freed from the burdens of our sins.

As President Russell M. Nelson explains, Jesus Christ provides to each individual the unconditional gift of resurrection after death. He also provides the conditional gift [of eternal life]  based on obedience to essential ordinances and covenants  which makes it possible for families to be forever with God. Goodness alone is not sufficient to qualify for Gods greatest blessings for His sons and daughters, President Nelson states. Priesthood ordinances are required (Church News, June 26, 2018).

This is what Elder Bergeson was teaching. As a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was teaching the doctrine of Christ. Of His missionaries, The Lord says, Ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you (D&C 62:3).

Missionaries do not choose where they serve but they go where they are called. Elder Bergeson was called to the greater Chattanooga area. He loved the people of Tennessee and Georgia. His love continues, just as his life continues on the other side of the veil. Through scripture we know that faithful missionaries, when they depart from mortal life, continue their laborsamong those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead (D&C 138:57). This is what Elder Bergeson is doing now.

While untold numbers of friends and family, including members of The Chattanooga Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, mourn Elder Bergesons passing, we also rejoice in knowing that because of Jesus Christ we will meet again. Until then, we commend Elder Bergeson for his service to God and fellowman  and wish him Godspeed in his new assignment.

Phil Smartt
The vast majority of young people who self-harm or experience suicidal thoughts appear to have only mild or moderate mental distress, instead of more obvious symptoms associated with a diagnosable disorder, according to a new study.

As such, measures to reduce suicide risk in young people should focus on the whole population, not just those who are most distressed, depressed or anxious, said Cambridge University researchers during Mental Health Awareness week.

They argue that the small increases in stress across the entire population due to the coronavirus lockdown could cause far more young people to be at risk of suicide than can be detected through evidence of psychiatric disorders.

"It appears that self-harm and suicidal thinking among young people dramatically increases well within the normal or non-clinical range of mental distress," said Professor Peter Jones, senior author of the study from Cambridge's Department of Psychiatry.

"These findings show that public policy strategies to reduce suicide should support better mental health for all young people, not only those who are most unwell," said Jones, who is also a consultant for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust.

"Even modest improvements in mental health and wellbeing across the entire population may prevent more suicides than targeting only those who are severely depressed or anxious."

The Cambridge researchers conducted the study with colleagues from University College London. It was supported by the Wellcome Trust and the National Institute for Health Research, and is recently published in the journal BMJ Open.

Recent studies suggest a broad range of mental health problems - e.g. depression, anxiety, impulsive behaviour, low self-esteem, and so on - can be taken as a whole to measure levels of "common mental distress" (CMD).

Researchers analysed levels of CMD in two large groups of young people through a series of questionnaires.

They also separately collected self-reported data on suicidal thinking and non-suicidal self-injury: predictive markers for increased risk of suicide - the second most common cause of death among 10-24 year-olds worldwide.

Both groups consisted of young people aged 14-24 from London and Cambridgeshire. The first contained 2,403 participants. The study's methods - and findings - were then reproduced with a separate group of 1,074 participants.

"Our findings are noteworthy for being replicated in the two independent samples," said Jones.

CMD scores increase in three significant increments above the population average: mild mental distress, followed by moderate, and finally severe distress and beyond - which often manifests as a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Those with severe mental distress came out highest for risk of suicide. However, the majority of all participants experiencing suicidal thoughts or self-harming - 78% and 76% respectively in the first sample, 66% and 71% in the second - ranked as having either mild or moderate levels of mental distress.

"Our findings help explain why research focusing on high-risk subjects has yet to translate into useful clinical tools for predicting suicide risk," said Jones. "Self-harm and suicidal thoughts merit a swift response even if they occur without further evidence of a psychiatric disorder."

The findings point to a seemingly contradictory situation, in which most of the young people who take their own life may, in fact, be from the considerably larger pool of those deemed as low- or no-risk for suicide.

"It is well known that for many physical conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, small improvements in the risks of the overall population translate into more lives saved, rather than focusing only on those at extremely high risk," said Jones.

"This is called the 'prevention paradox', and we believe our study is the first evidence that mental health could be viewed in the same way. We need both a public health and a clinical approach to suicide risk."

"We are surrounded by technology designed to engage the attention of children and young people, and its effect on wellbeing should be seen by industry as a priority beyond profit."

"At a government level, policies affecting the economy, employment, education and housing, to health, culture and sport must all take account of young people; supporting their wellbeing is an investment, not a cost. This is particularly important as the widespread effects of the Covid-19 pandemic unfold."

###
Pakistan on Wednesday summoned a senior diplomat from the Indian High Commission to protest over the alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control (LoC).

The Foreign Office claimed that indiscriminate and unprovoked firing" by the Indian forces in the Nikial Sector on Tuesday caused serious injuries to three Pakistani civilians.

The Indian forces "along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) have continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons, it alleged.

The FO claimed that in 2020, India has so far committed 1,101 ceasefire violations.

It said that the Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Naxals set ablaze four trucks



in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district ahead of the bandh called by them to protest the killing of an associate, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place on Savargaon-Murumgaon road around Tuesday midnight, a release from the office of Gadchrioli superintendent of police said.

The rebels blocked the road in Dhanora taluka and torched the four heavy vehicles, an official said.

Naxals have called a bandh in the district on Wednesday to condemn the killing of woman rebel Srujjanakka, who was killed by police here on May 1.

There were around 155 cases of serious offences registered against her in Gadchiroli, including killings of 34 tribals, the police release said.

On Sunday, two policemen were killed and three others injured in an encounter with Naxals in Poyarkoti-Koparshi forest area of the district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Girl Scouts of the Southern Appalachians congratulates Logan Jordan, Cydney Kapperman, Alexandra Robison, Victoria Robison and Alaina Washington from Chattanooga for becoming Gold Award Girl Scouts. Their projects focused on foster care support, reducing infant mortality, zoo education, women in leadership, and scoliosis education.

Having personal belongings as a child in foster care establishes a sense of self and thus increases their confidence and resilience. Logan Jordan from troop 40520 provided children in foster care with Go-Bags that contained clothing, toys, books, and hygiene products that were donated by local businesses and taken to the Department of Children Services. For sustainability, Logan presented her project and research at her school.

Cydney Kapperman from troop 40573 aimed to reduce the maternal-infant mortality rate of families in rural Culmi, Honduras. By working with a birthing clinic in Honduras, she donated medical equipment which can be used for years to come and created an incentive program to mothers who come to regular checkups with necessary infant supplies. The clinic has delivered triple the number of babies since the start of her project.

Alexandra Robinson from troop 40507 worked with the Chattanooga Zoo to provide educational resources for students attending the zoo on field trips. Instead of teachers having to provide their own lesson plans, she made engaging activities to make learning more meaningful for children at the zoo. She developed communication, professional, and leadership skills, collaborating with the zoo staff.

Victoria Robinson from troop 40507, fueled by her passion to see more female representation in leadership and traditionally male-dominated careers, interviewed influential women in her city to identify characteristics that lead to success. In order to inspire young women on their paths, she created a YouTube channel to post videos of her interviews with female leaders and survey to get feedback from her viewers. Tori said she was excited to come up with a project that was something she could "pass on" to young future female leaders.

Alaina Washington from troop 40276 aimed to educate the community on scoliosis, especially in minority communities, by participating in a health fair, engaging with faith communities, and leading informational sessions. These community members were taught that people who have scoliosis are not limited in their activities and were encouraged to have conversations with their healthcare providers about early detection.

The Gold Award is the mark of the truly remarkableearned by a high school Girl Scout who works to address an issue shes passionate about in a way that produces meaningful and lasting change. Whether its on a local, national, or global level, Gold Award Girl Scouts provide innovative solutions to significant challenges.

"Logan, Cydney, and Alaina exemplify leadership in all its forms," said Lynne Fugate, chief executive officer of the Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians. "Each saw a need in their communities and took action. Their extraordinary dedication, perseverance, and leadership is making the world a better place. We congratulate them on this momentous accomplishment."






A new study suggests that the novel coronavirus didn't arrive in the US and sicken people before 2020.

Researchers from Stanford University looked at 1,700 throat swabs and did not find any of them to contain traces of the strain SARS-CoV-2.

The team says this doesn't mean the virus wasn't circulating in the US in 2019. But it does mean that potential patients weren't seeking care at Stanford.

Researchers looked at 1,700 nasopharyngeal swab samples collected between October 31, 2019 and December 31, 2019 at Stanford Health Care. Pictured: A worker performs drive-up COVID-19 testing administered from a car in Los Angeles, California, May 13

None of the samples contained traces of the novel coronavirus. Pictured: A healthcare worker takes a nasal swab sample from a New York City resident to test for COVID-19, May 13

For the study, published in the pre-print server medRxiv.org, the team looked at 1,700 nasopharyngeal swab samples collected between October 31, 2019 and December 31, 2019 at Stanford Health Care.

All of them were negative for routine respiratory virus testing and none had been tested for COVID-19.

However, no traces of the virus were detected.

'No SARS-CoV-2 positive pools were 19 identified, consistent with limited transmission in this population at this time,' the authors wrote.

Several reports have emerged implying that the virus arrived in the US as early as last year.

The first documented case of COVID-19 is a man in his 50s in Snohomish County, Washington on January 20, 2020.

But two other residents of Snohomish County tested positive for antibodies after falling ill with similar symptoms in December, reported The Seattle Times.

This is not the first time that health officials have had to grapple with the fact the virus may have been circulating earlier in the US.

Until recently, it was believed that a resident of the LifeCare Center of Kirkland, who died on February 26, was the first COVID-19 death in America.

However, in April, it was revealed through autopsies that the first death actually occurred in Santa Clara, California on February 6.

Similar analyses have also been performed outside of the US.

An unconfirmed report in the South China Morning Post indicated a COVID-19 case in China's Hubei Province on November 17, 2019.

That's weeks earlier than when Chinese officials in the city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, alerted the World Health Organization to the outbreak.

Additionally, a French study detected SARS-CoV-2 in a respiratory sample collected on December 27, 2019. That's a month earlier than official cases were reported in the country.

There has been an active interest in identifying the 'patient zero' of various regions to better understand how the virus spread and prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future.
The Nepal government on Wednesday released a revised political and administrative map showing Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory, a day after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said the areas belong to the country and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts.

During a televised press conference, Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal unveiled the new map of Nepal.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there.

Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Oli on Monday endorsed the new map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as territories of Nepal.

The new map has been updated in the schedule of the Constitution and coat of arms and will be kept at government offices, Minister Aryal said, adding that it will be tabled in Parliament for necessary constitution amendment.

The move comes weeks after Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives.

Nepal's ruling Nepal Communist Party lawmakers have also tabled a special resolution in Parliament demanding return of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh to Nepal.

Aryal said the Nepal government will hold dialogue with India on the matter and the issue will be resolved through diplomatic efforts.

She also expressed belief that (India will) consider the matter in a positive manner.

The new map includes 335-km land area including Limpiyadhura in the Nepalese territory, officials said, adding that technicians at the Survey Department prepared the map with accurate scale, projection and coordinate system.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Gyawali last week summoned the Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to him to protest against the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

"The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said on May 9.

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.

The 80-KM-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 KM along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month.

Nepal has raised objection to the inauguration of the road, saying the "unilateral act" was against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, officials said.

India and Nepal are at a row after the Indian side issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border in October last year.

The tension further escalated after India inaugurated the road link connecting Kailash Mansarovar, a holy pilgrimage site situated at Tibet, China, that passes through the territory belonging to Nepal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One of the first prosecutions to be brought for an alleged breach of new Covid-19 Legislation was before Cork District Court today.

The charge relates to an alleged breach of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act, 2020.

The defendant in the case before Judge Olann Kelleher was 63-year-old Michael Murphy, of 56 Mount Eden Road, Gurranabraher, Cork.

Prior to the case coming before the court a statement was issued on behalf of An Garda Siochana in which it was alleged that shortly after 11.30am on April 27, gardai from Togher Garda Station were on patrol in The Lough area of Cork city when a man allegedly shouted towards gardai and when gardai began speaking to the man about the purpose of his journey, he refused to give his name and relevant details.

As a result he was arrested, brought to Bridewell Garda Station and upon directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, he was charged in relation to the alleged incident.

Sergeant John Kelleher sought an adjournment of the case for the purpose of obtaining directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions. The defendant was represented in Cork District Court by solicitor, Niall OSullivan.

Judge Kelleher adjourned the case until July 1 and there was no objection to the accused being remanded on bail until then.

The charge against Michael Murphy stated that, On April 27 at The Lough, following a requirement by a member of An Garda Siochana, namely Garda Michael Harney, under Section 31 (A) 9 of the Health Act of 1947 as amended he did fail to state his name and address in purported compliance with the said requirement.

This charge was brought contrary to Sections of the Health Act of 1947 as amended by Section 10 of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act, 2020.
Brussels: Museums are starting to reopen in some countries as governments ease coronavirus restrictions, but experts warn one in eight worldwide could face permanent closure due to the pandemic.

Studies by UNESCO and the International Council of Museums show 90 per cent of the planet's museums, some 85,000 institutions, have had to shut at least temporarily.

"It is alarming data that we are giving," Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director General for Culture at UNESCO said in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Belgium's King Philippe, centre right, and Belgium's Queen Mathilde, centre left, wear face masks, to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as they visit the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels. Credit:AP

He said the problem cuts across the board, affecting museums big and small, new and established, featuring art or science.
Horrifying video has emerged of a man being brutally attacked with a meat cleaver and a knife by two attackers.

The shocking scene took place in Hillingdon, London on Sunday saw the victim mercilessly beaten by two other masked men in the street and left with slash wounds.

The video was uploaded to Facebook last night and police say the injuries sustained were not life threatening.

A man (left) was attacked by two assailants on Sunday in Hillingdon, London, one of whom was wielding a meat cleaver (right)

One of the masked attackers swung the mini cleaver at the victim at the start of the attack

The man who was attacked put his hands up to protect himself but was mercilessly beaten

As the clip begins, the two men are seen confronting a third man who attempts to back away.

The men corner him against a car and then one of the men attempts to strike him in the face with a mini cleaver.

He continues striking and pulls the man to the floor and puts the cleaver to the side where he begins punching him repeatedly in the head while holding the weapon.

The other man joins, kicking him in the head, pummeling the man as he lies helplessly on the floor and appearing to stab at him.

The victim was punched repeatedly and the other attacker was seen wielding a knife

He was punched and kicked on the ground and police are asking for information on the attack

A fourth man who seems to be with the victim attempts to come to the man's aid, but is scared back by one of the attackers.

The men wearing gloves, hats and a mask to hide their identity, continue to assault the man before one man delivers a vicious kick to the victim's head.

The victim is then kicked hard in the groin, before the man picks up his weapon and strikes him again twice before walking away.

As the clip ends, the victim's friend comes over to try and help the man, who lies limp on the ground.

The victim was seen lying prone on the ground and was even kicked in the head

The Metropolitan police said: 'Police were called at 17:12hrs on Sunday, 17 May to reports of an assault on Woolacombe Way in Hayes.

'Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended. A man was found suffering from slash wounds.

'The victim was taken to a central London hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

'There have been no arrests and enquiries continue. Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 5071/17May.'

The video was posted online with the caption: 'This is the incident that occurred yesterday on Woolacombe Way Hayes.

One of the attackers stood over him and slashed his face before running off with the other

A man thought to be the victim's friend rushed in immediately after the attackers left

'Not sure about the motive of the attack but definitely over the top for whatever reason. '

It prompted disgust among social media users.

@owsi1968 wrote under the post: 'Sickening. Animals. In fact that's an insult to animals. Sub humans need destroying.'

Prian_678 added: 'Hope the guy who stabbed him gets his d*** cut off and forced to eat it.'

Nikki_wills_ said: 'That's just sick.'
President Trump and his conservative allies have been fixated in recent weeks on the practice of unmasking  or revealing an anonymized reference in a government document. The practice is common, meant to help officials better understand intelligence products. But conservatives have seized on it to assert that Obama-era officials inappropriately targeted those in Trumps orbit, especially Flynn. They have dubbed the matter Obamagate, accusing President Barack Obama and others in his administration of spying on Trumps campaign. Among those on the recently declassified list were former vice president Joe Biden and Obamas former chief of staff.
The effort to repeal the rule drew even nonpartisan groups like the American Legion, which represents two million members, into the fight.

In a letter, the legions national commander, James W. Oxford, said the rule was fundamentally rigged against defrauded borrowers of student loans. He said thousands of student veterans over the years had been promised their credits would transfer when they wouldnt, given false or misleading job placement rates in marketing, promised one educational experience when they were recruited, but given something completely different.

This type of deception against our veterans and service members has been a lucrative scam for unscrupulous actors, he wrote.

In the minutes after the Senate took its vote, Ms. Berkhalter did what she has done often in the last decade when discussing her student loans: She wept.

Ms. Berkhalter served in the Army as a motor transportation specialist for five years before she was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2005. The same desire to try to make things right, and put away the bad guys that led her to the military also made her jump at the opportunity to attend ITT Technical Institute in 2006 to study criminal justice.

But well before she graduated in 2010, she had unanswered questions about ITTs promised but nonexistent high tech equipment and outdated books. An admissions officer at another school warned her that her credits would not transfer. ITT officials asked her to take out loans to front the cost of her tuition while they waited for her G.I. Bill check, then requested she take out even more loans to cover inexplicably rising costs.
RANSOMWARE REALITIES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES

Ransomware doesnt discriminate; organizations of any size and across every industry can become targets of an attack. In fact, according to a recent Verizon Data Breach Report, as many as 43% of breaches involved small business victims.

However, with limited IT and security resources, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are often underequipped to handle a serious threat.

This report is designed to provide the IT and security leaders at small and medium-sized organizations with actionable information and best-practices, including:

Common vulnerabilities

How to protect against ransomware

The human factor

& more
omg dont do dum dums this dirty.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I want the cream soda flavor now

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





GOD, white entitlement is at an all time high -



There was a sign on the table not to sit there because of social distancing. Karen moves the sign and sat there anyway. The management asked her to move or leave. This is what happened next. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/QV1rHAmitU  chris evans (@notcapnamerica) May 19, 2020



(PLEASE pray for us working in fast food/restaurants RN ) WHY would you document this you IDIOT?!GOD, white entitlement is at an all time high -(PLEASE pray for us working in fast food/restaurants RN )

Reply

Thread

Link

jesus fucking CHRIST





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'd have knocked her on her arse.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this woman is fucking sick and should be arrested

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

isnt this assault?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I follow this new Insta page called KuwtKarens (keeping up with the Karens) and it's so ridiculous but I'm glad they are getting more and more exposed. This behavior have been around forever but Im glad more people are calling it out for what it is: white privilege



Edited at 2020-05-20 12:01 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

My moms name is Karen and she feels offended by this meme/ I honestly dont get it

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

is the person she's coughing on a server or just someone sitting at a nearby table? either way, she sounds fuckin demon-possessed

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Jesus. I hate people, wtf

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It's like she thinks moving the sign will change it and she won't be told to move. as someone who has worked in food service, this is 100% not surprising. Sometimes they wouldn't even move it, they'd read it, set it back down on the table, and sit anyways. (obvs this was before COVID, but still)



I'm thinking of all the restaurant workers right now that have to deal with that shit. For his sake, I hope she wasn't sick, but also I hope she gets it \_()_/.



Could what she did considered assault in a way?



Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Thats assault right? LOCK HER UP.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

hope she dies bc my fists would've been flying

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

praying for you, sis!





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

hope u're doing ok at ur work! ppl are crazy

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Is Arizona one of the states asking people who arrive from out of state to quarantine for 14 days? According to my friend Texas is, but idk about Arizona.



Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Jfc, gringos are out of their minds.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

God the entitlement. In addition to all the other comments, they aren't obligated to fucking serve you, it's THEIR establishment. Make your own fucking food at home.



The absolute entitlement of people and their belief it is an absolute necessity that they have the privilege of eating out at fucking Chilli's blows my mind.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Jeezus Krist, I am holding my mace in public. If this bitch coughed like that to me, I'm spraying mace down her fucking throat.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Man Im no fighter but Ive suddenly felt like wanting to fight this lady

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

man whats going on lol it's like a racial civil war. bless social media exposing these folks left and right



always praying though. people in foodservice get the absolute worst treatment of anyone in customer service

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I hope he beat her ass!

TBH.



I would have to go to jail...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That's disgusting even if there weren't a pandemic.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm ready to deadlift that table and slam it over her head, jfc.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He would have been justified in stabbing her in the throat with a butterknife.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

What a fucking disgusting piece of shit. I hope this ruins her life and she cant get a job ever again.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

White women are... psychotic, like wtf is wrong with her?!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow that's fuckin disgusting. I would've thrown a chair at her, fuck that

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

sometimes punching people is ok and i think that would've been one of those times

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this is happening bc white people can't handle being told no



she should be arrested the way that girl was for licking ice cream, hideous dog breath waste of space.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

they need to seriously start defining what will constitute as assault/bio-terrorism/attempted murder when it comes to behavior during this pandemic because this is out right one or all three of those. im not kidding this is beyond fucked.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i saw this video the other day and couldn't believe it. so disgusting. if there's a hell, i hope she's going :-/

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

there are enough idiots in arizona as it is during all of this, we don't need more of 'em driving here for stupid shit like hair appointments. like, you're not supposed to be going out, you don't need your hair done...

Reply

Thread

Link

Yeah I know a lot of people are driving in from CA in droves. I've seen people praise Ducey for handling this well and I just roll my damn eyes.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

do people not understand that this isn't just about them

Reply

Thread

Link

It absolutely amazes me how people not only think it's just about them, but that most people are too stupid and self-involved to realize just how absolutely little the universe at large cares about them. I guess it must be some sort of idiot survival mechanism to be like, "Well yeah, but nothing bad will ever happen to ME!" I'm dumbfounded by it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

caring about others? in my america?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

This is truly pathetic

Reply

Thread

Link



influencers continue to prove they're:

Reply

Thread

Link

yaaaaaaaaasss the environment fuck ha

Reply

Thread

Link

she may have tested negative leaving CA, but with those people she encountered in that salon and how close they had to be to her face, she could've easily gotten the virus THEN brought it back to CA (not that CA don't have it already but jfc she aint helping)

Reply

Thread

Link

California doesn't have hairdressers? You learn something new every day.

Reply

Thread

Link

Maybe that's why Bieber looks like that

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't think that's going to be improved by a visit to the hairdressers', Claud.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

salons arent open in california. just essential places.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

California isn't allowed to have them open. Newsom has threatened licenses being revoked and heafty fines if salons or stylists are being found to be working. It's bullshit, hair stylists are currently making 0 income and could easily do like Nevada is doing. Nevada only allows 1-2 customers in their salon, few enough that the stylists are a good 2 stations or more apart, the stylist wears gloves and a mask and the client has to hold their mask over their face the entire time, since they can't necessarily wear it over their ears. But CA's governor isn't worried about people who need money, mean while he is getting his haircut every month without fail.



Edited at 2020-05-20 04:15 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

theyre closed like in most states

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I just can't fathom being so vain and narcissistic you would drive 5 hours to get your fucking hair done in the middle of a pandemic when where you live is still under stay-at-home orders for the safety of yourself *and others* so you could ~feel like a new woman~ like jesus fuck order some Madison Reed and call it a day you demon.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Ohio opened up Friday (or is opening this Friday? Time has no meaning to me anymore), and people here in Michigan were booking salon appointments there like crazy. One salon owner said she was getting people from the UP of Michigan calling to make appointments. Its over 300 miles from the UP to the Ohio border.



Edited at 2020-05-20 12:02 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

My hair stylist said shes booked until

August. Its absolutely insane.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





Restaurants can start seating diners inside starting this week, and then between now and the end of the month things like public pools, daycares, campgrounds, and gyms open on a staggered basis.



Of course it doesn't really matter, they lifted the Stay at Home order yesterday here in Ohio so now it's a case of people going



The salons and things opened last Friday in Ohio along with restaurant patios, tattoo parlors, massage parlors, etc.Restaurants can start seating diners inside starting this week, and then between now and the end of the month things like public pools, daycares, campgrounds, and gyms open on a staggered basis.Of course it doesn't really matter, they lifted the Stay at Home order yesterday here in Ohio so now it's a case of people going

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I just looked up your stats and its still adding like 300+ cases a day. Thats INSANE youre opening up so quick!



My state has 3 current cases. TOTAL. And were prob a month off most of that

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I fucking hate this state lol DeWine pretended to give a shit just long enough to get all that good press, then buckled like the coward he is.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Those people in the UP are ridiculous. It's been this long, just wait until WI salons are open May 26th. Hell, some in Northern WI might be open since I think it's county by county now.



Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I have a co-worker who drove to Indiana from Illinois to get a tattoo.



To say nothing of all the other tattoos she got here in IL while shit was supposed to be locked down.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I've been a Yooper (UP-er) all my life, and that is CRAZY. We are pretty safe/secluded in the UP- so anyone who would drive thru the lower Mitten (where 80-90% of the cases are) for a haircut is INSANE. Lord....



Whitmer opened the UP to most everything this Friday. The only thing left closed are salons, dentists/eye docs, and gyms-- but I'm sure those are coming soon.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I don't understand this at all. I managed to strip purple dye from my hair, bleach my red roots to platinum, and dye it all hot pink on my own and it was my first time doing any of that. It's not salon quality but who the fuck cares?? Why does your hair have to look flawless during a pandemic?? Are your highlights so necessary? If it's just gray roots, get a fucking box of clairol nice n easy from fucking walmart and DEAL

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That's so crazy to me! I get my hair done 3-4 times a year and was supposed to get mine in a couple weeks, but my hair stylist is pregnant and because of how everything has happened, she's now on maternity leave. I could get my hair done to tide me over until she comes back in a few months, but I'm not going to. One, I'm super loyal to her, and don't want to have any other kind of technique or products used on my hair that she doesn't. Two, I'll be working from home until September, so it really doesn't freaking matter if my hair is done.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

seriously, just order a pair of shears online. it might not look great, but it's better than infecting people jfc

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Too scared to use a public restroom (where you can go in a stall alone and wash your hands) but not too scared to share air with everyone in a hair salon?

Reply

Thread

Link

Everybody knows God doesnt allow for suffering in hair salons

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

God dont like ugly.



Edited at 2020-05-20 10:51 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She's afraid of public toilets? What could you possibly catch from a public toilet seat that is worse than covid. I have patients die everyday.

Reply

Thread

Link

This pandemic has confirmed to me that white people wouldnt last two seconds in black folks shoes. Hell they wont last 2 seconds in lgbt folks shoes. Which is ironic because we are the one thats sensitive cause we dont like homophobic and racist jokes, meanwhile they are losing their mind because they were told to stay home so they dont die. I have to laugh.

Reply

Thread

Link

it's the same ones that tell black people to just follow orders and they won't get in trouble or get shot

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

YUP

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Bloop

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lol yep

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The hypocrisy is absolutely astounding

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yep. Or think it's a-okay for businesses to discriminate against customers because of the business's rights.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

whats sad is that they will never experience it tho so theyll never learn

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link





i am so fucking angry and sick of people. ljljflkasjflkasgj. I can't even put into words, jfc. i am so fucking angry and sick of people. ljljflkasjflkasgj. I can't even put into words, jfc.

Reply

Thread

Link
Sarah Clare was eliminated from MasterChef after failing to impress the judges with her take on the Black Box dessert on Tuesday's pressure test.

And on Wednesday, the chef discussed the struggles of making the dish - which comprised of 11 different elements - on The Project.

When asked what was going through her mind in the final moments of assembling the dessert, Sarah said: 'I don't know if you caught it, but they kept calling me a deer in headlights.'

'You just go blank!' On Wednesday, eliminated MasterChef star Sarah Clare joked to The Project that she was like a 'deer in headlights' as struggled to recreate the Black Box dessert during Tuesday's pressure test

'That was because my brain - the second you go, "What if I don't put a dish up", you just go blank,' she laughed.

'So it is pretty intense, but at the same time, look, so many amazing cooks came back for this season and it has been a pleasure the whole time,' she said.

Sarah went on to say she was proud of her efforts during her time on the show.

'So I was just really proud to be there, and to be seeing the new judges take the rein, to be honest,' she added.

Failed to impress: The Black Box dessert, which included a total of 11 elements, was missing chocolate soil and lacked flavour, according to the judges

'Sad to see her go!' MasterChef fans were left devastated after Sarah was eliminated from the competition after her dessert failed to impress judges on Tuesday

Fans said goodbye to Sarah on Tuesday after she failed to impress judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen - as well as guest chef Peter Gunn - after presenting them with an incomplete version of Peter's intricate Black Box dessert.

The dessert, which included a total of 11 elements, was missing chocolate soil and lacked flavour, according to the judges.

Dozens of Sarah's fans were devastated to see her go, including one who wrote on Twitter: 'Sad to see Sarah Clare go. Shout out to her amazing hairstyles this season.'

Fans: Dozens of Sarah's fans were devastated to see her go, including one who wrote on Twitter: 'Sad to see Sarah Clare go. Shout out to her amazing hairstyles this season'

Another said: 'Thank you Sarah Clare, for lighting up our nights with every appearance.'

'Sad for the other contestants to have to say tartare to Sarah Clare,' one shared.

'And thats a (hair) wrap for Sarah Clare,' someone else added, referring to the chef's eclectic choice of accessory.

'I really do feel like I've grown': Reflecting on her time on the show, Sarah said: 'Two years ago, there is no chance I would have been able to get that to dish up'

Reflecting on her time on the show, Sarah said: 'Two years ago, there is no chance I would have been able to get that to dish up. Oh! So I really do feel like I've grown.'

Sarah first came to fame in season 10 of MasterChef alongside the likes of Reece Hignell, Jess Liemantara and Khanh Ong.

Outside of MasterChef, Sarah runs Ilha Restaurant in Cygnet, Tasmania, which specialises in casual modern Australian dishes with a South American influence.

MasterChef continues Thursday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
<! Electricity workers end strike that shut the national grid >

Some Nigerians living at Ogidi ward in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara have called on the State Government to rescue them from perennial darkness.

The residents said the darkness was caused by a faulty transformer servicing three communities in the area.

The residents made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ilorin and signed by Alhaji Baba Malu and Alhaji Abdulkharim Dende, Joint Chairmen of Alawo, Ajibesin and Olayeri communities.

According to the statement, there is only one transformer providing electricity to the three communities.

They said the population of the three communities has grown over the years, hence the lone transformer cannot cope with the load.

The chairmen recalled that in January 2020, they wrote a letter to Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq urging him to come to their aid by giving them two more transformers for the area.

Dende said in Olayeri community, there were over 5,000 inhabitants with over 1,500 completed houses and over 500 under one stage of completion or other.

The old age of the existing transformer coupled with the noticeable expansion of the buildings and increasing population of the area has put the three communities into constant darkness, they said.

According to them, the appeal to the governor for two more transformers will cushion the effect of overloading on the only available transformer serving the three communities.

They said that the constant power failure in the area was having a toll on their socio-economic activities.

The residents added that there were many artisans living in the affected communities that depended on electricity for their businesses, adding that the power outage is affecting their businesses.

This is why we, on behalf of the entire communities, are crying out to Gov. AbdulRazaq to come to our rescue and give us transformers in our area.

If the governor accedes to our request, it will go a long way to reawaken the socio-economic activities of the hitherto sleeping community as a result of the darkness we are now, they added.

The chairmen, however, commended the governor for his commitment and strive towards alleviating the standard of living of the people, particularly in rural areas.

We also commend the governors track record of achievements in all areas of human endeavors, the chairmen said.

Reacting to the development, the Communication Officer of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (lBEDC), Mr Asaju Kolawole, told NAN that the company was not yet aware of the electricity problems confronting the communities.

The IBEDC spokesman advised the affected communities to formally write a letter to the company with a view to restoring normal electricity supply to them.
Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of remarkable individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, announced the six recipients of the 2020 Dennis Washington Leadership Graduate Scholarship. Endowed in 2008 and funded by the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation in partnership with the Horatio Alger Association, the scholarship provides financial assistance to Horatio Alger Alumni Scholars who aspire to obtain graduate, professional, or doctoral degrees in business, engineering, law, medicine, applied sciences or education. Since 2008, the program has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships. In 2020, the six recipients will be eligible to receive up to $120,000 each.

The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation was established in 1988 by Dennis Washington, chairman emeritus of the Horatio Alger Association, and his wife, Phyllis. The Foundation, which supports deserving individuals in an effort to better society as a whole, established its Leadership Graduate Scholarship program to provide financial assistance exclusively to Horatio Alger undergraduate scholarship recipients who are committed to obtaining a graduate degree. Applicants must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and have exemplified leadership, integrity and perseverance in overcoming personal adversity. They should also exhibit a passion for entrepreneurship and a commitment to community service.

For over 25 years, we have been avid supporters of the Horatio Alger Association and its mission to help deserving young people in pursuit of their dreams through higher education, said Phyllis Washington, co-founder, the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation and chair of the selection committee for this scholarship. This years recipients are catalysts for change in their communities, and we are thrilled to help these inspiring Alumni Scholars achieve their goals.

The following Horatio Alger Alumni Scholars will receive up to $120,000 each in their pursuit of a masters, doctoral or professional degree:



Omid Cohensedgh, Columbia University, Doctor of Medicine, 2016 National Scholar

Joseph Dakki, Oakland University, Doctor of Medicine, 2015 Michigan State Scholar

Andrew Murphy, Loyola Marymount University, Doctorate in Educational Leadership, 2005 Kentucky State Scholar

Mahika Phutane, Cornell University, Doctor of Philosophy, Computer Science, 2015 British Columbia Scholar

Itka Safir, University of Chicago, Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration, 2011 New York State Scholar

Brook Thompson, Stanford University, Doctor of Philosophy, Environmental Engineering, 2014 Oregon State Scholar

The ongoing support from the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation provides Horatio Alger Alumni Scholars the opportunity to continue their educational aspirations, said Terrence J. Giroux, executive director, Horatio Alger Association. We are grateful for Dennis and Phyllis unwavering generosity and look forward to witnessing all that these Alumni Scholars will accomplish in the years to come.

Since the establishment of its scholarship programs in 1984, more than 27,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada have received more than $180 million in scholarships for undergraduate, graduate and technical studies. In 2000, 16 years after the establishment of its National Scholarship Program, the Association began funding scholarships concentrated in each state to further its mission of assisting deserving young people to pursue higher education. Additionally, Horatio Alger Members fund a series of Specialized Scholarships, which target students attending specific academic institutions or pursuing certain degree programs.

For more information about the Horatio Alger Association, please visit http://www.horatioalger.org or follow the organization on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans:

Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc. is dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles. The Association honors the achievements of outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity by bestowing upon them the Horatio Alger Award and inducting them as lifetime Members. Horatio Alger Members support promising young people with the resources and confidence needed to overcome adversity in pursuit of their dreams through higher education. Through the generosity of its Members and friends, in 2019, the Association awarded more than $21 million in undergraduate and graduate need-based scholarships to 2,500 students across the United States and Canada, and provided college support and mentoring services to its Scholars. Since 1984, the Association has awarded more than $180 million in college scholarships to more than 27,000 deserving students. For more information, please visit http://www.horatioalger.org.

About Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation:

Founded in 1988, the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation is the major philanthropic organization for The Washington Companies and the Washington family. Funding for the Foundation comes primarily from personal contributions from the Washington Family and profits of The Washington Companies. The Foundation focuses in the areas of education, arts and culture, health and human services, and community service. The Foundation website is located at http://www.dpwfoundation.org.
(TNS)  The Missoula City Council voted Monday to move forward with a project to convert all city streetlights to LED lights in partnership with NorthWestern Energy.On Monday, the council approved on a 9-3 vote for the mayor to sign an agreement between the city and NorthWestern for the LED conversion project, as well as a memorandum of understanding for streetlight districts with NorthWestern Energy. Councilors Heidi West, Jesse Ramos and John Contos voted against the motion.The council also approved the adoption of the Climate Ready Missoula Plan in a joint resolution with Missoula County Commissioners. All commissioners voted in favor of the plan Monday night. Eleven council members voted in favor of the city adopting Climate Ready Missoula as part of the city's growth policy, with the exception of Councilor John Contos who abstained from voting.In the project to replace streetlights, the City of Missoula will work with NorthWestern to replace all 1,808 of the city's high-pressure sodium lights with LED lights on the poles already in place. NorthWestern estimates the LED lights will save the city $79,000 per year in electricity costs because they use about half the energy as the current lights."It's a significant upgrade to the streetlight system," Jeremy Keene, the city's Public Works director, told the Missoulian. "They're more energy efficient, and they have better light."Keene said the project will also improve safety for pedestrians and vehicles, while also increasing the life of the fixtures. A handful of lights have already been installed for beta testing, but the majority of the LED lights will likely be installed in the next six to nine months, according to Keene.The lights will come at no upfront cost to the city, with NorthWestern paying for the LED fixtures and installation as part of a statewide project in larger Montana cities. The city will pay for electricity and maintenance costs per rate charges set annually for the state by the Montana Public Service Commission.The money the city saves from reduced energy costs will be used to reduce the charges to residents in special improvement lighting districts, or to make additional lighting improvements in those districts, according to city documents.Councilor Heidi West said she voted against the motion because she did not feel it was the best way to fund the city's lighting districts after an independent analysis on the city's lighting districts determined that the infrastructure payoff would be two to three years."We are always discussing about savings at current rates and there's no guarantee that these rates are going to stay the same," West said. "NorthWestern Energy considers approaching the Public Service Commission on an annual basis, and I foresee that they will be approaching the PSC because they're going to have to recoup the materials cost for these upgrades."West also said she worried that the project could create inequity among cities in Montana. West noted that if rates increase, communities that have not upgraded to LED lights would be burdened with "an increased rate without increased efficiency.""I think that there's severe equity issues when we're looking at this on a statewide basis where communities like Bozeman, Billings and Missoula will see financial savings, while there will be additional costs for smaller communities that are maybe less likely to be able to weather those increases," she said.Councilor Jordan Hess voted in favor of the project, although he said he appreciated West's scrutiny."I think that the energy savings that come along with this conversion project are a net win overall, but it's not without sharing some of her reservations," Hess said.The city's current lights are about 20 to 30 years old, Keene said. The new lights will appear brighter  partly because the old lights have faded over time, and also because LED lights have a different color spectrum that makes them appear to be whiter."A lot of the the older style lights that we have are high pressure sodium, and that gives kind of a yellow appearance, and on the LED lights, you can always tell it's an LED because it's a pure white light," Keene told the Missoulian.Although there was no public comment during or submitted prior to Monday's meeting, or a committee meeting on Wednesday when the project was discussed, some community members have expressed concerns that the brighter LED lights will contribute to light pollution, according to Keene."I think people really care about the quality of our night sky in Missoula and so there are concerns that when we do street lighting, that it's too bright," Keene told the Missoulian. "We're going to have to be careful and sensitive to those kinds of impacts."Keene said the city is working with NorthWestern to make sure that the light is directed in the right places."We we want to light streets," he said. "We don't want to light people's houses or yards or the sky."City Council President Bryan von Lossberg also noted community concerns about compliance with the city's dark skies ordinance. During a committee meeting Wednesday, he asked if the city and NorthWestern could host some pilot conversions where they could demonstrate to the public the difference between lighting fixtures, which Keene said he is now working on with Public Works."I'm certainly interested and will be asking Public Works and NorthWestern to come in and give us an update about how that's going, and I really want to see the community involved in the way that I was describing," Von Lossberg told the Missoulian.Before beginning any LED conversion, NorthWestern and the City will also create a process for landowners with issues to contact NorthWestern, according to the agreement approved by council.Keene said that as part of the process, the city is trying to use the two new agreements to set up a path to make improvements to its lighting system in the future, which could include consolidating some lighting districts.
At the initiative of the Egyptian Association of the Soviet and Russian Universities Graduates headed by Sherif Gad, an invitation was sent online to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the transformation of the Nile Hungarian, which took place from 14 to 16 May in 1964, as part of the giant national project to build the High Dam.

Secretary-General of the Egyptian Association of the Soviet and Russian Universities Graduates Fathi Togan noted that the congratulations of the Russian side is very important for being partners in this achievement.

"The community participation to congratulate the dam's makers reflects their historic achievement and their special place and in the hearts of Egyptians," Togan said.

Acting ambassador of Russia to Cairo Svetlana Subova sent a message congratulating him, stressing that the High Dam has become a symbol of the special Egyptian-Russian friendship, and is a strong foundation for the continuity of joint cooperation.

On this special occasion, Engineer Abdel-Hakim Abdel-Nasser, son of late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, also sent an audio message congratulating the builders of the High Dam, the heroes of Egypt's greatest epic in modern times, for building an edifice that is one of the most important engineering projects of the 20th century in the world.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


SACRAMENTO  The state Senate leader endorsed five bills Wednesday to address Californias housing shortage by boosting construction of duplexes, small apartments and affordable units, even as an economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic has dried up public funding for new projects.

The legislative package was developed by a working group of Senate Democrats, formed in the wake of the high-profile failure of SB50, San Francisco Democratic Sen. Scott Wieners contentious proposal to allow denser residential construction around public transit and in wealthy suburbs.

Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, backed Wieners measure. After it failed on the Senate floor in January, Atkins committed to passing legislation this year that would ramp up housing production in California, which experts estimate has millions of homes fewer than needed.

Atkins said Wednesday that she had worked for months with both supporters and opponents of SB50 to come up with legislation that struck a better balance between streamlining the approval process for housing projects and maintaining local control so communities could decide for themselves how they develop.

Though a gaping budget deficit has taken away the ability to provide financial incentives, Atkins said the bill package would create substantial tools to spur new construction by reducing planning costs.

Time is money when youre trying to build a project, Atkins said. When the capital markets come back, we should be able to hit the ground running.

Two of the bills are Atkins own. SB995 would let smaller mixed-use and affordable housing projects use a shorter environmental review process, which was created a decade ago to speed the approval of major developments that would not increase greenhouse gas emissions.

SB1120 aims to build up existing residential neighborhoods, which are largely zoned for single-family housing, by making it easier to split lots and convert homes into duplexes. Projects that meet local zoning and design standards, do not require demolition of occupied housing, and fall outside historic and environmentally sensitive districts would go through a streamlined approval process.

A similar effort in SB50 to push multifamily housing into wealthy areas that have restricted development sparked major opposition from local government officials and homeowners, who worried that the new rules could radically change the look and feel of their communities. Atkins said her approach would be more palatable for cities because it would increase housing stock while respecting neighborhood character.

Its very much a local control, but it still pushes for densification and development, she said.

The League of California Cities, a leading opponent of SB50, said it was still reviewing the new bills.

The package also includes Wieners SB902, which he introduced in March to revive some aspects of SB50. The bill would allow cities to rezone residential parcels for apartment or condominium projects of up to 10 units without having to go through the formal environmental review that Wiener says can add five to 10 years to the process. Cities could adopt the change for neighborhoods near public transit and in high-income areas with access to jobs and good schools, but would not be required to.

An earlier provision of the measure, which would have essentially eliminated single-family zoning across the state by allowing multiunit housing in nearly all residential neighborhoods, has been removed.

The two other bills are SB1085, by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, which would give housing developers additional incentives, such as the ability to increase the size of a project, for including more affordable units; and SB1385, by Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, which would open properties zoned for office and commercial buildings to housing developments, particularly in areas where the land has sat empty for years.

Some advocates expressed disappointment that the package backed away from the broad zoning changes in SB50. Matthew Lewis, spokesman for California YIMBY, which lobbies to build more housing, said the proposals put forward by Atkins must be strengthened by the Legislature.

We would like to see a more transformative outcome and recognize that everyones working under dire conditions. But were here to solve the housing crisis, and that means doing whatever it takes, he said.

Wiener acknowledged that the legislation was not the grand slam, hit-it-out-of-the-park housing victory for all ages, but he said it would take tangible steps toward additional construction. He said he was optimistic that the bills would be able to navigate the complex politics that sank SB50, which also faced concerns from affordable-housing advocates that it would accelerate gentrification by promoting luxury development.

Nothing is overnight with housing, Wiener said. Were planting the seed for a brighter housing future.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
President Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday, 19th May launched the GH1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme, which is being provided by Government and selected participating banks to micro, small and medium-scale businesses around the country.

Launching the Scheme at Jubilee House, the seat of the nation's presidency, President Akufo-Addo explained that the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on all economies around the world, with reduced productivity, job losses, and steep decline in revenues for Government, businesses, households and individuals in Ghana.

Amongst the hardest hit in Ghana, according to the President, are micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), which account for 70% of the country's gross domestic product, and represent some 92% of businesses.

This amply highlights the important role MSMEs play in the growth and development of our economy, necessitating the special attention of Government, he said.

This, President Akufo-Addo said, provides the basis for my direction to the Minister for Finance to send to Parliament the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP), whose objective is to protect households and livelihoods, support micro, small, and medium-scale businesses, minimise job losses, and source additional funding for promotion of industries to shore up and expand industrial output for domestic consumption and exports.

Out of the 1.2 billion cedis earmarked for this Programme, GH600 million will be disbursed as soft loans to MSMEs, with up to a one-year moratorium and a two-year repayment period. The rate of interest on government's six hundred million cedi (GH600 million) facility is three percent (3%).

Additionally, selected participating banks will provide negotiated counterpart funding to the tune of GH400 million, making, in all, GH1 billion for disbursement under this Business Support Scheme, with the entire scheme set to attract some 180,000 beneficiaries across the country.

With the funds under the Scheme to be managed by NBSSI, and to be supervised by a loans committee, composed of one representative each of the Ministries of Finance and Trade and Industry, a representative of the NBSSI, and a representative of the participating banks, the well-known audit firm, KPMG, will act as technical advisors to the Scheme.

Disbursement of the funds will be effected through the participating banks. Transparency and accountability will be the hallmarks of the operation of the Scheme, he added.

President Akufo-Addo indicated that the Scheme is targeted at MSMEs in the formal and informal sectors, which have been affected by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, with MSMEs in growth sectors that require additional capital to expand their business to meet growing demand for COVID-19 related goods and services, also eligible to apply.

The beneficiary sectors include agri and agro-businesses; manufacturing; water and sanitation; tourism and hospitality; education; food and beverages; technology; transportation; commerce and trade; healthcare and pharmaceuticals; and textiles and garments.

In order to ensure a smooth application process for all eligible candidates, application forms have been made available online on the website of NBSSI, which is www.nbssi.gov.gh. It is also available via USSD code across all mobile networks, and applicants can also call the CAP Business Call Centre on 0302 477 777, or visit the nearest NBSSI Business Advisory Centre for assistance with their applications.

The President added that beneficiaries must be either self-employed, sole proprietors, or engaged in a limited liability, partnership, or joint venture arrangement.

A total of ninety-nine (99) employees is the limit of employment for any qualifying enterprise. The qualifying enterprise will be encouraged to belong to a trade association or group, and be registered with NBSSI. The application process starts tomorrow, 20th May, and ends on Saturday, 20th June, he said.

The President urged beneficiaries to use the funds received for the intended purpose, so that, together, we can work to grow our economy once again. Smaller enterprises can access funds from the Adom Micro Loans, and larger ones from the Anidasuo Soft Loan. This whole Scheme is meant to engender compassion and hope, the pillars upon which we will build a new post-COVID Ghana.

Reiterating his passion for the success of the Scheme, President Akufo-Addo reminded beneficiaries of the fact that Government is investing a lot in it, and I am confident that the proper application of these funds will help our nation bounce back stronger and better than before.
At least three tankers loaded with Canadian crude have headed to China since the start of the year, Bloomberg reports, citing shipping data. This is the latest sign of how the oil crisis is changing demand patterns.

The usual buyers of Canadian crude are U.S. refineries, but demand has been depressed in the United States. In China, however, it appears to be improving, benefiting the long-suffering Canadian oil industry. Oil sands producers had to shut in about 1 million bpd in oil production amid the latest price crisis, and the survival of some is questionable.

The federal government has had to step in with financial support, linking it, however, with climate change commitments. Even with these, the industry and the Alberta government welcomed the aid, which will be made available both for small and large oil companies.

We know that the [financial] need could be great. Weve seen some recovery in energy prices, thats very welcome, but these prices that were seeing today are by no means close to profitable for the industry, Alberta finance minister Travis Troews said, as quoted by Global News.

Canadian oil firms have been reducing spending and output at many heavy oil projects in Alberta, due to the unsustainably low oil prices and the demand crash in the COVID-19 pandemic. The cuts have worked: earlier this month, the local benchmark, Western Canadian Select, narrowed its discount to West Texas Intermediate to less than $4 a barrel, the smallest gap in 12 years. News about increased storageby no less than 2 million barrelsalso contributed to WCSs improved performance relative to WTI.

Meanwhile, refineries in China are raising run rates as the country comes out of lockdown, and imports are on the rise once again. This seems to indicate a return to the growing demand for fuels, although there is worry overproduction could damage refiners bottom lines.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Zamfara State branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), on Wednesday, said eight of its members have tested positive for coronavirus. It said they were infected while discharging their duties at various health facilities in the state.

The NMA vice chairman, Mannir Bature, told reporters in Gusau that doctors in the state constituted 10 per cent of the confirmed cases in Zamfara.

He said the doctors got infected while trying to save the lives of patients at the emergency section of hospitals who they were unaware had contracted the disease.

Mr Bature, however, said no death has been recorded among the health personnel and that 60 per cent of the infected persons have recovered and have been discharged, while the remaining are fast responding to treatment.

The official added that 30 other medical doctors are in self-isolation in the state, following contacts with their infected colleagues.

He said the situation has caused panic among the about 300 medical doctors in the state and is affecting their performance, including in private healthcare centres.

The NMA has proposed to the state governor, Bello Matawalle, to engage more doctors and other health personnel as well as sponsor the training of students in medicine so as to boost the number of doctors and improve the healthcare indices of the state, Mr Bature said.
President Tsai protests Taiwan's exclusion from WHA

ROC Central News Agency

05/19/2020 06:16 PM

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen () on Tuesday expressed a "solemn protest" against the World Health Organization's refusal to invite Taiwan this year to join the annual meeting of its decision-making body.

During a briefing at the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Tsai said the WHO's decision to exclude Taiwan from this year's World Health Assembly (WHA), which began Monday as an abbreviated virtual meeting, was based on political pressure.

"The WHO's secretariat has again, under pressure, refused to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA, and I would like to use this opportunity to express my solemn protest," she said. "Refusing Taiwan's participation because of political factors does not conform to the common interests of the international community."

This is the fourth consecutive year that Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA, despite a proposal put forth by 14 of its diplomatic allies - all WHO member states - for the issue of Taiwan's WHA status to be put on the agenda for discussion at this year's meeting.

On Monday, WHA President Keva Bain said the proposal for Taiwan's inclusion in the WHA as an observer will be considered by the General Committee, which will make a recommendation to the full WHA body on whether to include the issue on the agenda when the WHA session resumes later in the year.

The May 2020 session of the WHA, which is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to end Tuesday.

At Tuesday's briefing, Tsai said Taiwan will not abandon its efforts to participate in international organizations.

Taiwan's successful prevention against the COVID-19 coronavirus has attracted the attention of many countries around the world, she said.

Taiwan has recorded 440 COVID-19 cases and seven deaths since the outbreak of the disease late last year.

The WHO's refusal to invite Taiwan to this year's WHA is widely believed to have stemmed from political pressure by China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when relations between Taipei and Beijing were better under the then-Kuomintang administration.

Since 2017, however, China reportedly has persuaded the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing's hardline stance on cross-Taiwan Strait relations since Tsai of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016.

After a landslide election victory in January, Tsai will be inaugurated Wednesday for a second term.

(By William Yen)

Enditem/pc

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Beyond the hotspots of Brazil and Mexico, the coronavirus is threatening to overwhelm Latin American cities stretching from Chile to the Colombian Amazon in an alarming sign that the pandemic may be only at the start of its destructive march through the region.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

More than 90% of intensive care beds were full last week in Chiles capital, Santiago, whose main cemetery dug 1,000 emergency graves to prepare for a wave of deaths.

In Lima, Peru, patients took up 80% of intensive care beds as of Friday. Peru has the worlds 12th-highest number of confirmed cases, with more than 90,000.

Were in bad shape, said Pilar Mazzetti, head of the Peruvian governments Covid-19 task force. This is war. In some cities, doctors say patients are dying because of a lack of ventilators or because they couldnt get to a hospital fast enough. With intensive care units swamped, officials plan to move patients from capitals like Lima and Santiago to hospitals in smaller cities that arent as busy  running the risk of spreading the disease further.

Latin American countries halted international flights and rolled out social distancing guidelines around the same time as the US and Europe, delaying the arrival of large-scale infection, said Dr Marcos Espinal, director of communicable diseases at the Pan American Health Organization.

Latin America was the last wave, said Espinal, who previously worked at the World Health Organization.

He warned that authorities need to maintain anti-virus restrictions even as the US and Europe reopen. Some of the hardest-hit cities, like Lima and Santiago, imposed strict, early lockdowns.

But officials have struggled to enforce them, whether among the wealthy who are used to flouting regulations or lower-income people who depend on day labor or selling things on the street to feed their families.

Latin America is the worlds most unequal region, a reality that Espinal said made it difficult to balance health and economic growth, with millions facing increased poverty during quarantines, curfews and shutdowns.

A month after swamping the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil in one of the first serious blows to Latin America, Covid-19 is sickening thousands in the capital of Quito, where 80% of intensive care beds were occupied as of Friday.

In terms of intensive care, were stripped bare, city health secretary Lenin Mantilla said.

Quito has more than 2,400 confirmed infections, and Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos said he expected the peak to come toward the end of June. He assured citizens that the city was prepared and would avoid the fate of Guayaquil, where hundreds died at home, left in living rooms for days before overworked coroners could retrieve the bodies. Those who perished in hospitals in coastal cities were put in chilled shipping containers that served as makeshift morgues.

The number of deaths in Quito jumped alarmingly over the weekend, from 114 to 209, and doctors said they dreaded the coming days.

I have a 26-year-old woman next to me who walked in. Three hours later, shes suffocating because we dont have a respirator available, said an intensive care doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media. I think were getting to the point that you saw in Europe, where people died for lack of respirators. Ecuador has banned most private car trips and imposed a 2 pm to 5 am daily quarantine, but thousands of people can be seen buying from street vendors across the capital.

The worst-hit country in Latin America remains Brazil, which is third in the world for reported infections  at more than 250,000  even with limited testing. More than 85 percent of intensive care beds are full in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Now, other countries are surging. Chile has imposed new restrictions in Santiago after cases doubled over the past week, to more than 34,000 in the country of 18 million people.

Under the new restrictions, people will have to receive a police permit to leave home, with violators fined the equivalent of thousands of dollars. Essential workers are exempted.

Were on very, very thin ice, said Claudio Castillo, a professor of public policy and health at the University of Santiago.

In Colombias Amazon region, cases have shot up in recent weeks, from 105 at the start of the month to 1,006 on Monday. The infections are concentrated in Leticia, a city on the Amazon river that borders both Brazil and Peru.

Locals believe its related to the increase in cases in Brazils Amazon. Even though Colombias president has militarised the border, many still cross. Residents often work in one country and live in the other.

Leticia relies on two poorly equipped hospitals, which have about a half-dozen respirators between them. Authorities recently began transporting seriously ill patients to Bogota after a failure at a hospital oxygen plant. Officials said Monday that they will open hotels in Leticia to take in people with less severe coronavirus cases.

Health workers also complain of limited access to testing and say they are overworked to the point of collapse.

In Mexico, intensive care occupancy is below 50 per cent in most cities, although deaths have begun to overwhelm funeral homes and crematoriums in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Nissy Solomon

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced five tranches of economic stimulus under Atmanirbhar Bharat to save the ailing economy.

The first tranche was comprehensive, and responsive to the plight of the Micro, Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The sector, contributing over 28 percent to the GDP and employing about 30 percent of the workforce, has been reeling under the COVID-19 pandemic. The move was undertaken to infuse liquidity in the market and to revitalise the sector. The measures also attempted to allay the concerns of the banking sector that showed indisposition to disburse credit to the businesses.

The collateral-free automatic loans extended to those who have a turnover of Rs 100 crore was proposed with an intent to increase the credit lending of banking institutions. The scheme will benefit 4.5 million MSMEs, which is less than 10 percent of the 63 million MSMEs in India. Ideally, credit guarantee requires a fine balancing act where the risks are shared between the guarantor, borrowers and the bank. The guarantor should only take as much risk as it can to incentivise banks to extend credit. Given the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, the provision of 100 percent credit guarantee on principal and interest may seem rational, but there will be an increased chance of strategic defaults. That said, the move will certainly encourage banks to lend.

The subordinate debt scheme, which was proposed in the budget, featured in the announcements for stressed MSMEs. The partial credit guarantee support provided in the scheme is less likely to translate into the required line of credit, given the uncertain outlook lenders have now. The banks have the discretion to exclude the potentially risky MSMEs to maintain their financial stability.

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

One substantive announcement was the change in the definition of an MSME. This will help the enterprises to scale up in the long-run without having to lose its status and benefits.

The overall measures introduced in the first batch were mostly in favour of big players with viable businesses. The measures do seem impressive, but the problem lies in the realms of banks being risk-averse.

As Lockdown 4.0 is underway, businesses, especially MSMEs, will continue to face a severe liquidity crunch. To remain afloat, the sector needs immediate support through refunds, tax benefits, etc. It is not clear as to how soon these credit schemes will meet the immediate requirements of the sector. The initiatives are good from a long-term perspective. The government needs to ensure that they are translated into letter and spirit on the ground.

The first batch of measures were sadly mum about addressing the concerns of the migrant labourers who form a big part of the MSMEs labour force. Unless the distressed labourers are not assured with an arrangement of their safe return and safety protocols in workplaces, any stimulus given to the factories will be futile.

Pro-Poor Or Poor Measures?

What followed the MSME measures were schemes targeting the poor. Foodgrains for migrant returnees, credit schemes to street vendors and farmers were some of the measures announced. Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMMSY), National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), etc. featured in the subsequent announcements. They were a hyperbolised narration of the existing schemes presented in the budget with no special allocation. Perhaps what is new are the series of amendments introduced in the agriculture sector, which will go a long way in resolving some bottlenecks in the process.

A direct fiscal measure taken by the government for the poor was free foodgrain supply to the migrant returnees for two months. Nearly Rs 2 lakh-crore was proposed to be given to farmers through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC). The subsequent measures were credit schemes to farmers and street vendors. It must not be forgotten that bad loans in the agriculture sector have zoomed over time, pushing many farmers to the brink. The credit schemes to the impoverished households will put additional pressure on them to repay the debt. Moreover, the scheme has achieved limited coverage. The Print recently reported some concerning statistics regarding the coverage of these schemes; only around 45 percent of farmers possess an operative KCC, and the errors in excluding many poor farmers remain pronounced.

A key task in all of these announcements entails plugging the gaps by ensuring comprehensive coverage.

The additional allocation of Rs 40,000 crore to the MGNREGA and the consideration to keep the work open in the monsoon season, is a welcome move to generate rural employment. This again does not immediately help the workers tide over the present livelihood crisis since the work will be full-fledged only when there is a substantive easing of lockdown. With uncertainty looming over, the intervention should prioritise more on giving direct benefits to this segment for its survival.

Wisdom Dawned Late

One of the laudable reforms is the One Nation-One Ration Card scheme, an idea that took too long to launch. A successful implementation in creating a portable ration card will benefit a large number of inter-state and intra-state labourers who otherwise risked being ineligible for social security schemes. Much of the ongoing migrant crisis could have been prevented if the scheme was in place. Better co-ordination between source and destination states will benefit migrant labourers.

The reforms also included deregulation of inter-state barriers on movements of agricultural products, amending the archaic Essential Commodities Act, etc. This is expected to improve the supply chain and eliminate the network of intermediaries in the system by enabling a direct purchase from farmers outside the Agricultural Produce and Marketing Committees (APMCs). A fine print of the legal framework is required to better assess the action.

The package of Rs 20 lakh-crore covers an extensive range, but it falls short of meeting the concerns of the poor. We need a concrete fiscal stimulus to revive demand; the liquidity measures taken by the government were from the supply side. The propositions at large, have been a combination of credit schemes, tax-deferments, amendments and re-announcements of existing schemes. Putting money in the hands of the poor through fiscal measures will only address this humanitarian crisis.

(Vidhi Rupal, research intern at CPPR, has assisted for research for this article)
Amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, dentists, ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists who run their own clinics have become increasingly concerned over whether to continue medical examinations and treatments.

Doctors, particularly in these fields, face a risk of infection with the new coronavirus as they need to be close to their patients while treating them. In addition to this risk, they are also concerned that their patients' conditions may deteriorate if treatment sessions are postponed. The number of patients is decreasing, making it more difficult for doctors to keep their clinics financially viable, leaving them caught in a multifaceted dilemma.

"I've never experienced anything like this in my 50-year career," said Katsuhiro Nakagawa, a dentist who runs the Sakurada Dental Clinic in Tokyo.

The clinic used to treat 20 to 30 patients a day, but since March there have been many days when it had fewer than 10 patients, as many patients are refraining from coming to the dentist.

Because the dental condition of many elderly people is highly vulnerable to deterioration, the clinic decided to focus on patients who need urgent treatment. Dental treatment and oral care are important for keeping the mouth clean to prevent infection and maintain the immune system. However, dentists and other medical staff work with their faces close to patients' mouths, so it is easy for them to be exposed to airborne droplets during treatment.

Cases of dental staff becoming infected have been confirmed nationwide. Another dentist concerned over the situation said, "We are basically postponing sessions for nonurgent treatment, but if the current situation becomes prolonged, we just have no idea how to deal with it."

Ophthalmologists and otolaryngologists are in similar circumstances when treating patients. They treat patients with conjunctivitis (also known as pink eye) and dysosmia (a disorder of the sense of smell), but the symptoms of these conditions overlap with those of covid-19.

The Japanese Ophthalmological Society (JOS), among others in the field, said that it is unavoidable to postpone nonurgent surgeries, but at the same time they are also concerned over a possible delay in treatment and deteriorating conditions due to patients refraining from coming to clinics. The JOS on its website advises people who have sudden worsening of vision or severe pain to consult a doctor.

For many general practitioners, there is also a major concern over their business. This is because even if their income decreases they still have to continue to pay fixed costs, such as rent for the clinic building, leasing costs for medical equipment and personnel costs. In the case of Nakagawa, who employs four staff members in his clinic, the monthly fixed costs total about 2.5 million yen. "I'm so worried about whether we can hold up in this situation," he said.

The Tokyo Shika Hoken-i Kyokai, or association of dental practitioners, has received many questions, such as "Is there a compensation system or a loan system when the clinic is closed?" An ophthalmologist who runs a clinic in Tokyo has also shortened her consultation hours. "Some doctors have almost no patients. If this epidemic continues, many clinics may have to close down for good," she said.
MIDLAND, MI - The Sanford Dams collapse is imminent and residents are urged to evacuate, according to a Midland County Central Dispatch message sent out at 7:09 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19.

The warning followed shortly after Midland County Central Dispatch issued an advisory Tuesday, evening of a structural failure of the Edenville Dam upstream of Sanford on the Tittabawassee River. That was sending a huge volume of water downstream into already flooded Sanford Lake.

Edenville and Sanford residents are asked to evacuate immediately. Midland County Central Dispatch stated that Midland Mall, located at 6800 Eastman Ave., as well as Midland High School, located at 1301 Eastlawn Drive, are available as emergency shelters.

Sanford Lake Dam also is believed to be structurally unsound after two days of heavy rainfall. Midland saw 3 to 4 inches of rain since Sunday, May 17, according to The National Weather Service.

The Tittabawassee River near downtown Midland was 26.5 feet high as of 5 a.m., Tuesday and anything above 24 feet is considered flooding. The river is expected to be at 29.9 feet by Wednesday morning.

Read More

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Midland County residents urged to leave homes due to imminent dam failure

Roads closed across Mid-Michigan counties due to flooding

Heavy rain floods ditches, rivers, roads across Mid-Michigan
Britain's Rolls-Royce said it would cut at least 9,000 jobs from its global staff of 52,000 to adapt to the much smaller aviation market that will emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.

Rolls-Royce, which supplies engines for large aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, said the job losses would predominantly affect its civil aerospace business, plus its central support functions.

The job losses would help it to make annual cost savings of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.59 billion), with cash restructuring costs of around 800 million pounds. The company said it would also cut costs across plant, property and other areas.

Air travel has slumped since March because of travel restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have grounded planes and may not need as many new planes in future, hurting Rolls-Royce which earns revenues from the number of hours its engines fly.

Rolls-Royce's headquarters are in Derby, England and about two-thirds of its civil aerospace jobs are based in the UK. Consultations with unions would now get underway, said the company in its statement on Wednesday.
Viewers were left horrified by Marco Pierre White's 'awful' choice of saucy artwork in A Very British Hotel Chain: Inside Best Western.

In last night's episode of the Channel 4 show, Best Western's director of business development, Terii, was seen trying to secure chef Marco as the company's first celebrity hotelier.

But at the Rudloe Arms in Corsham, Wiltshire, where the former Hell's Kitchen star also lives, Marco revealed that his choice of art is too steamy for some.

In one of the bedrooms adorned with saucy artworks he told Terii: 'We had a couple last week that wanted to relocatethey didn't like the pictures, but that's fine.'

Chef Marco Pierre White showed viewers around his hotel Rudloe Arms in Corsham, Wiltshire in last night's episode of A Very British Hotel Chain: Inside Best Western (pictured)

The walls were complete with saucy decor (pictured) - along with gigantic photographs of the chef himself

Taking to social media, one viewers wrote: 'I don't think you could pay me to stay in that Marco Pierre-White hotel (pictured)

And it seemed those guests weren't the only ones to take issue with the rather steamy artwork - which even the producers decided to pixelate.

'I don't think you could pay me to stay in that Marco Pierre-White hotel. It's f***ng awful. #InsideBestWestern,' wrote one viewer, while a second penned:

'Haven't seen Marco Pierre White in ages. Not surprised by the pictures of himself and naked women described as 'ArT' and 'TaStE.'

A third added: 'Absolutely no polite words to say about Marco PW or his ghastly looking 'hotel'.'

The bedroom walls were also adorned with huge photographs of the chef (pictured) wielding a meat cleaver

Explaining why he decorated the hotel in the way he did, the chef said: 'When you go away, it should be like going to someone's house, that's what I believe.' Pictured, the bathroom

The three-part series, which was filmed in the months before coronavirus changed everything, takes a look inside Britains largest independent hotel chain.

With 265 hotels dotted across the UK, each Best Western hotel is as individual as their owners and staff.

And during Tuesday's show, chef Marco explained why he decorated his hotel the way he did, and said: 'When you go away, it should be like going to someone's house, that's what I believe.'

In another room dedicated to the work of photographer David Bailey, the chef declared that 'some people like it, some people are horrified by it'.

The Rudloe Arms also featured many photos of its celebrity owner - including one of Marco wielding a giant meat cleaver.

'There's nothing wrong with a bit of narcissism,' he added.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  Senator Cynthia Villar has expressed apprehension over middle-class families receiving financial aid from the government during the COVID-19 crisis, claiming they are taking away help that should be reserved for the poorest of the poor.

The lawmaker on Tuesday said the middle-class families do not need help from the government as they are receiving their salaries during the lockdown.

She asked the Department of Social Welfare Development why families belonging to the middle class are included in the social amelioration program or SAP, which is intended to help low-income families and no-work, no-pay workers. During the hearing of the Senate committee of the whole on COVID-19 pandemic response, she said the government allotted P5,000 to P8,000 financial help to 18 million families or 82 percent of the country's population. She claimed only 59 percent belong to the sector that should receive aid.

"'Yung 82 percent, kasama na doon ang middle class. May trabaho sila, na kahit lockdown pinasusweldo sila ng gobyerno at pinasusweldo ng mga private companies. Bakit sila pa ang bibigyan ng SAP? Eh may sweldo sila, mapalad sila may sweldo sila," she said.

[Translation: The 82 percent who are covered by SAP includes the middle class. They have work during the lockdown and they are receiving their salaries either from the government or private companies. Why do they need to receive cash aid? They are lucky they are being paid.]

She added, "Hindi ko ma-accept ang numbers na yon kasi nade-deprive ang mahihirap dahil binibigyan pati ang middle class."

[Translation: I cannot accept the number of beneficiaries because the poor are being deprived of help because you are also helping the middle class.]

Villar, the wife of businessman Manny Villar  the richest Filipino on Forbes' list for 2020, said several businesses are losing money because they are paying their employees even though they barely earn during the lockdown.

She asked DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista to explain how the department came up with the list of beneficiaries. He explained that LGUs are tasked to identify the beneficiaries as they are more knowledgeable of the status of the families in their areas.

Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua explained that population projections show that there are now 24.6 million families in the country, compared to the 22 million families in 2015  when the last census was conducted. He said 18 million families belong to the low-income and informal work sectors or no-work no-pay workers.

Some 23 million families received help through the SAP during the first tranche of 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.

The national government also has a separate emergency aid program for those employed in small business.

Villar has since apologized, saying she recognizes the vast contribution of middle-class workers.

"My statements during the hearing yesterday was not in any manner meant to be an affront to the hardworking middle class of the country. I might have framed my questions and statements in such a manner that made it seem I was insensitive to the plight of the middle income sector. I am NOT. I am concerned and I lookout for the welfare of the middle income workers. If I have offended anyone with my statements, I humbly apologize," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Steve Stanulis is back in a big way.

The Staten Island native directed and stars in 5th Borough, which will be released through on-demand services June 3.

The film, which is described as a Staten Island crime drama, also stars Tara Reid (American Pie, Sharknado).

Being a native Staten Islander, I wanted to shoot on the Island since its one of the most diverse boroughs from the North Shore to the South Shore, Stanulis wrote in a release. You have the projects of Park Hill and Stapleton, the mansions of Todt Hill and Grymes Hill, wooded areas, lakes and everything in between.

He added that he hopes 5th Borough shines a positive light on the Island.

Some may remember Stanulis as the former police officer who doubled as a dancer at Chippendales before becoming a bodyguard to the stars with famous clients, including Kanye West. In 2018, he released Sex & the Shield, a tell-all autobiography about his experience.

5th Borough tells the story of Islander Niko (Stanulis), an ex-con whose daughter is diagnosed with a brain tumor, forcing him back into the criminal underworld to save her life.

The films cast also includes James Russo, Lillo Brancato, Frederico Castelluccio, Vincent Young and Al Sapienza.

5th Borough, which is distributed by Stanulis Productions and Stonecutter Media, also will be available at major retailers, including Target, Walmart and Best Buy.

For more information on how to watch the film, visit stanulisfilms.com/films/5th-borough.
Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari has once again lambasted foreign powers for occupying Syrian land and called for the support of terrorist organisations to end writes SANA.

Syrias Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari, reiterated that the presence of any foreign military forces on the Syrian territories, without the consent of the government, is an aggression and occupation.

Syria will not abandon its right to defend its land and resources, and continuing the fight against terrorism as well as liberating its occupied lands whether the occupier is an American, Turkish, Israeli, or from a terrorist organisation, Jaafari said during a UN Security Council video session about the situation in Syria.

He added that the Turkish regime continues supporting and sponsoring the terrorist organizations affiliated to it, which are active in different regions in northern Syria, in a flagrant violation of its obligations according to international law, and the Sochi, Astana and Moscow understandings.

Jaafari went on to say that the US occupation forces also began to establish a new military base in Deir ez-Zor countryside in order to tighten its grip on the Syrian oil wells and loot the Syrian peoples resources.

The recent period also witnessed Israeli aggressions in Syria from the occupied Syrian Golan lands and neighboring countries, Jaafari said, affirming that these hostile practices, which represent a flagrant violation of international law, are just parts of the hostile practices to back the terrorist organizations and the agent separatist militias to prolong the span of the Syrian crisis.

He affirmed that Syria encounters unprecedented terrorism, sponsored by UN member countries in order to gain political concessions that suit their agendas of interfering in the sovereign affairs of regional countries.

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.
Sri Lanka Tuesday threatened to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council if it pursued war crimes claims allegedly committed by government forces during a bloody war with Tamil Tiger separatists.

The country's president Gotabaya Rajapaksa -- the top defence official when the rebels were defeated in May 2009 under his brother, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa -- issued the warning at the 11th anniversary of the end of the 37-year conflict.

In a brief but emotional speech during the commemoration at a war memorial in the capital Colombo that was slimmed-down due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rajapaksa said it was his "national duty" to protect troops.

"If any international body or organisation continuously targets our country and our war heroes using baseless allegations, I will also not hesitate to withdraw Sri Lanka from such bodies or organisations," Rajapaksa said, switching to English during his speech in Sinhala.

Rajapaksa, a retired army lieutenant colonel, did not single out the United Nations, but his remarks were widely viewed as aimed at the Human Rights Council.

"Even leaders of powerful countries have emphatically stated that they will not allow any action against their war heroes," he added.

"I will not allow anyone or organisation to exert undue pressure on them and harass them."

The top rights body has called for accountability in Sri Lanka where some 100,000 people died during the war, a demand resisted by successive Rajapaksa administrations.

Before he won the November presidential election, Rajapaksa said he would not abide by the commitments of the administration in power at the time to probe war crimes claims.

After coming to power, he withdrew the island nation from a United Nations resolution calling for action over the alleged rights abuses.

The UN as well as rights bodies have accused Sri Lankan troops of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war, a charge denied by successive governments.
Australian businesses have been urged by the federal government and industry leaders to explore other markets beyond China, recognising the risk of relying on Australias largest trading partner has increased as relations deteriorate.

Despite publicly claiming Australia wanted to maintain its strong trading relationship with China, business and farmers groups have been advised behind closed doors this week to diversify, highlighting the rising vulnerability of key exports such as wine and dairy.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Diplomatic relations soured as Australia campaigned for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus. China hit Australia with trade strikes on beef and barley exports last week. The motion, led by the European Union, passed the World Health Assembly unanimously on Tuesday night.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said barley farmers who have had their Chinese market wiped out by tariffs of up 80 per cent would find a new home. China has denied the trade dispute is linked to the inquiry.
The Committee to Protect Journalists yesterday joined 30 other rights organizations in a joint letter urging the government of Burundi to ensure that the internet remains accessible before, during, and after the presidential elections scheduled for tomorrow.

In the letter, addressed to President Pierre Nkurunziza, the organizations, which are part of the #KeepItOn coalition against internet shutdowns, also call for the unblocking of all independent media websites and a guarantee that the public will be informed about any potential internet disruptions. Currently, at least three independent news websites are blocked in Burundi, according to the letter.

Burundis elections are taking place amid a hostile environment for the media, including the ongoing detention of four journalists from the Iwacu news website and government bans on the BBC and Voice of America broadcasters, as CPJ has documented.

Find here the full details of the letter:

#KeepItOn: Joint letter on keeping the internet open and secure during the presidential elections in Burundi

Re: Internet access will ensure increased participation and transparency in Burundis presidential elections

Your Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President of the Republic of Burundi

CC:

General de Brigade Irambona Telesphore, Director General, Agence de Regulation et de Controle des Telecommunications (ARCT); Nestor Bankumukunzi, President of Conseil National de Communications, Burundi;

We, the undersigned organizations that make up the #KeepItOn coalition , a global network that unites over 210 organizations from 75 countries that seek to end internet shutdowns globally, write to urgently request that your office ensures the stability and openness of the internet and social media platforms before, during, and after the presidential elections in Burundi scheduled for May 20, 2020. We appeal to you, President Nkurunziza, to ensure that the internet and all other communication channels are open, secure, and accessible throughout the election period in the Republic of Burundi.

Access to the internet and social media platforms can significantly contribute to advancing citizens participation in important national events like elections, and citizens can use the internet to hold their elected leaders accountable. It is therefore important to guarantee an open, secure, and reliable internet.

We have received reports about the shrinking civic space in the country with increased reports of human rights violations , which has forced several journalists, activists, and opposition politicians to go into exile for fear of prosecution. We have also been informed that some independent media websites including Inzamba , Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) and Iwacu , remain inaccessible in Burundi, making it impossible for people to access information and content generated about the happenings in the country.

We are seriously concerned about the lack of an open and active civil society space in Burundi, which is essential for the success of any democracy. We use this medium to appeal to you to urgently adopt the necessary measures to ensure that freedom of expression and access to information rights are respected and guaranteed in Burundi.

Internet shutdowns harm human rights, disrupt emergency services, and harm economies

Research shows that internet shutdowns and violence go hand in hand.[1], [2] Shutting down the internet during a deadly pandemic will add fuel to the fire. In addition, shutdowns will disrupt the free flow of information and shield human rights violations perpetrated within that period by both state and non-state actors from public scrutiny. Journalists and media workers will be unable to contact sources, gather information, or file stories about the electioneering process without access to digital communications tools.[3] Justified for various reasons, internet shutdowns cut off access to vital and life-saving information, and emergency services, plunging whole communities into fear.

Moreover, the technical means used to block access to information online often dangerously undermine the stability and resilience of the internet. Network disruptions also destabilize the internets power to support small business livelihoods and to drive economic development. Moreover, internet shutdowns will have a detrimental effect on people

Internet shutdowns contravene national and international laws

Internet shutdowns violate fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to peaceful assembly, among others guaranteed by national, regional, and international frameworks such as the Constitution of the Republic of Burundi, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR).

The U.N. Human Rights Committee, the official interpreter of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), emphasizes in its General Comment No. 34 that restrictions on speech online must be strictly necessary and proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose.[4] Shutdowns, by contrast, disproportionately impact all users, and unnecessarily restrict access to information and emergency services communications during crucial moments. Shutdowns are neither necessary nor effective at achieving a legitimate aim, as they block the spread of information, contribute to confusion and disorder, and obstruct public safety.

As a coalition that believes in the internet as an enabler of all other human rights, we are confident that access to the internet and social media platforms can foster transparent and fair outcomes of the upcoming presidential elections through citizens active participation.

We, therefore, call on you to undertake the necessary measures to ensure that the internet service providers and relevant actors ensure an open, accessible, and secure internet across Burundi throughout this critical period.

We respectfully request that you use the important positions of your good offices to:

Ensure that the internet, including social media and other digital communication platforms, remains accessible throughout the elections;

Ensure that the Agence de Regulation et de Controle des Telecommunications (ARCT) and the Conseil National de la Communication take all the necessary regulatory measures to ensure internet service providers (ISPs) inform people of any form of disruption or interference in the provision of internet access;

Order the unblocking of all websites of independent media outlets that are currently inaccessible in the country.

We are happy to assist you in any of these matters.

Sincerely,

Access Now

ADISI-CAMEROUN

Advocacy Initiative for Development (AID)

Africa Open Data and Internet Research Foundation (AODIRF)

AfroLeadership

ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa

Bloggers of Zambia

Campaign for Human Rights and Development International (CHRDI)

Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

Derechos Digitales

Gambia Press Union (GPU)

Human Rights Foundation

Iraqi Network for Social Media  INSM
More behind the cutTidePodTrump claims hes taking hydroxyjfklwliwjine plus Zinc plus maybe Z-pack (which is for a bacterial infection not a viral infection?) which is probably a lie because he always lies and even the official letter from WH Physician is carefully worded and doesnt confirm an actual prescription. What a snake oil salesman. The side effects alone. He lies and hides everything so why is he even claiming this. Meghan said blah blah.Plays clip. Meghan thinks its like marriage on acid. Joy gives praise for her husband who has become the tech guru for her wfh setup. Sunny says after almost 22 yrs marriage hes finally gotten to his honey-do list.Congressman Mike Kelly survived a nasty battle with coronavirus but is still suing the Pennsylvania to reopen because of course. Says his doctor prescribed hydroxyjfksjjkfine in the early days. Blah blah Constitution blah blah daily Mass. These people are a lost cause. Hes 72 yrs old and has Type II Diabetes. Also took Z-pack which is for bacterial infection not viral infection (what is happening?!) More blah blah nanny state. Optional masks, gloves, social distancing always ignores that people can be asymptomatic.Rebecca covers business, economics, and technology for ABC. 36M are unemployed. Talks about routine health care falling by the wayside while everything is focused on virus, such as cancer screenings and childhood vaccinations. More discussion on mental health issues and domestic violence increasing. By end of year, estimated 250M people globally may be facing starvation. Even if businesses officially open, the consumers may still hold back. They say a lot without really saying anything.More of the same. Says everyone needs to reassess their personal budget. Talk to your bank or lender about mortgage, car loans, or other revolving debt. Taking money from 401K should be absolute last resort. Fees for taking out money are waived but you still have to pay taxes on the income you withdraw. Ride it out if you can.Source links are below each video or section
Almost 3,000 books, each ranging in value from $50 to $4,000, soon will go to auction, the legacy of a man who always loved a good story.

Dads life was history, Litton Power said of John Power, who died Oct. 9, 2018, at the age of 69.

John Power loved history and was always willing to learn something new, Litton Power said. One way he did that was to read everything  and constantly.

He always had a book in progress or he was adding to his stack of books to read, Litton Power said.

A graduate of Illinois College, John Power served as publisher of the Jacksonville Journal-Courier for 23 years, retiring in 2005. He also was senior publisher and vice president for Freedom Communications, which published the Jacksonville Journal-Courier and The Telegraph in Alton.

He loved everything Jacksonville and he just immersed himself in it, Litton Power said of his fathers love of the area.

The book collection that will be going to auction covers topics ranging from Abraham Lincoln to American literature, European history, reference materials, genealogy, and law and politics. It also includes some novels.

He was passionate about Africa, Litton Power said, noting that some of the books are rare editions of titles by Henry Morton Stanley, a Welsh journalist and author who was famous for his exploration of central Africa, especially Congo.

Spradlin Auction Center, owned by Jess Spradlin, will handle the online auction of John Powers book collection.

Luke and Debbie Fry, who work with Spradlin and the auction center, have been leading the effort to get the books ready by sorting, categorizing and photographing the collection.

We began the project with the books on March 18 and the total (number) of books (is) 2,855, Luke Fry said.

John Power would have his books appraised and kept details records of book values, which helped them understand the collection, Luke Fry said.

The collection also includes signed editions and personal notes from authors.

The stay-at-home order related to the COVID-19 pandemic actually helped give the auction organizers a chance to sort through everything, the Frys said.

One of the interesting things is that, in the books that were given to him as gifts because he was a collector  for Christmas or whatever  are the inscriptions, Debbie Fry said. Theres a lot of signed copies by authors that wrote books, and little messages that were to John personally.

Aside from his book collection, the auction will feature other items from John Powers estate, including an original painting by local artist Charlotte Swanson Cleeland (1904-2002), who was a personal friend of the family.

She was still painting in her 90s and she was a good friend of the familys, Litton Power said. She used to come over to the house all the time.

The online auction will be available for the public to view starting today at www.spradlinauction.com.
Of the total 1,770 Shramik



special trains run across the country till Tuesday, 562 originated from Gujarat, which ferried 8.8 lakh workers to their home states, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Another 1.10 lakh migrant workers will leave Gujarat in 72 trains by Wednesday midnight, Ashwani Kumar, secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, said.

Among the trains that originated from Gujarat, 393 had left for Uttar Pradesh, 69 for Bihar, 40 for Odisha, 24 for Madhya Pradesh, 18 for Jharkhand, seven for Chhattisgarh and 11 for West Bengal, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, he said.

As many as 72 special trains were scheduled to leave Gujarat by Wednesday midnight- 46 for Uttar Pradesh, 23 for Bihar, two for Jharkhand and one for Tamil Nadu, he said.

"These trains will carry 1.10 lakh workers and with this, the state would have ferried 9,18,000 workers back to their home states," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NCRPO chief Major General Debold Sinas

MANILA, Philippines  President Rodrigo Duterte has finally spoken regarding the controversy involving his appointee, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief MGen. Debold Sinas.

Sinas is in hot water for violation of quarantine protocols during a mananita or a surprise celebration that his staff set up for his birthday.

But the Chief Executive said he will not order Sinas relieved as he vouched for his credibility describing him as honest and good.

Ako ang ayaw na malipat siya [I personally do not want to relieve him.] He is a good officer, the President said during a meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force against COVID-19 on Tuesday night (May 19).

He is an honest one and hindi niya kasalanan kung may mangharana sa kaniya sa birthday niya [it is not his fault if people serenaded him on his birthday], he added in defense of Sinas.

The President defended himself for siding with Sinas despite mounting criticisms against the NCRPO director.

Kailangan ko iyong tao. Mas kailangan ko yung tao dito sa trabaho niya, [I need him. I need him for the position], the President argued.

I do not believe in firing him because kinantahan siya ng happy birthday, [I do not believe in firing him just because he was serenaded with Happy Birthday], he added.

He said he made sure to weigh his decision and he has decided to keep Sinas.

Sabihin mong the law is the law, akin na yun. [You may say that the law is law, but that is on me]. Its my responsibility. I will not order his transfer, he stays there, the President concluded. MNP (with details from Rosalie Coz)

The post Duterte keeps honest Sinas amid birthday controversy appeared first on UNTV News.
Google has announced it will no longer build custom AI or machine learning tools for oil and gas companies.

The move comes in response to a report from Greenpeace called 'Oil in the Cloud,' which identified the tech giant as one of three main tech companies helping fossil fuel companies expand their extraction projects.

While Google still has a number of current contracts it says it will honor, a company spokesperson said that moving forward it will no longer build custom AI or machine learning algorithms 'to facilitate upstream extraction in the oil and gas industry.'

Google will no longer develop custom AI or machine learning algorithms to help fossil fuel companies with their extraction operations, after being named in a Greenpeace report on the relationship between the tech industry and oil and gas companies

The spokesperson pointed out that the company receives just $65million in annual revenue through Google Cloud from oil and gas companies, less than one percent of the total revenue from cloud services.

Greenpeace was encouraged by Google's response and called on other major tech companies to follow suit, saying it has already had 'productive conversations' with many.

'We hope Microsoft and Amazon will quickly follow with commitments to end AI partnerships with oil and gas firms, as these contracts contradict their stated climate goals and accelerate the climate crisis,' Greenpeace's Elizabeth Jardim told OneZero.

In recent years, Google has initiated a number of new policies to try and make its businesses less environmentally impactful.

In 2018, the company announced it had reached an internal goal of matching 100 percent of its own annual energy usage with renewable energy purchases in the hopes of supporting the industry.

The Greenpeace report also singled out Microsoft and Amazon Web Services for their support of the fossil fuel industry. 'For us, its pretty simple, accelerating oil extraction is not an application tech companies should be using AI for at all,' Greenpeace's Elizabeth Jardim said

Google says it will honor all of its existing contracts, but won't sign any new partnerships to develop AI programs that contribute to oil or gas extraction

Google also emphasized its cloud computing contracts for renewable energy projects with companies like AES Corporation, a Virigina-based electricity firm, Veolia, a French utility company, and Simple Energy, a software company that gives customers breakdowns of their energy usage.

The Greenpeace report singled out Microsoft as the most heavily entangled with fossil fuel companies, specifically pointing to a recent contract with ExxonMobil to help expand its extraction activities in the Permian Basin, which stretches across New Mexico and west Texas.

'For us, its pretty simple,' Jardim said. 'Accelerating oil extraction is not an application tech companies should be using AI for at all.'
Deputy head of the Ukrainian delegation at the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Oleksiy Reznikov has said that reports alleging that the Ukrainian army has attacked energy infrastructure in the Luhansk region are false and provocative.

"In order to discuss this situation, the Ukrainian side has forwarded the initiative to hold urgent consultations in a video link-up format in the Trilateral Contact Group's working group on security," Reznikov told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian side has asked the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group, Ambassador Heidi Grau, to inform Russian delegation representative Boris Gryzlov about the initiative, he said.

Head of the Ukrainian delegation Leonid Kuchma signed a relevant letter and sent it to the OSCE, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:14:14|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Wednesday released management measures of the funds for marine ecological protection and restoration.

The funds here refer to the transfer payment funds of the central government through the general public budget to support marine ecological protection and restoration, the MOF said in an online statement.

The use of the funds should give priority to protection measures and natural restoration while cutting unnecessary spending, it said.

The funds will support the protection of coastal zones, mangroves and islands, as well as restoration of mangroves, coastlines, coastal zones, sea areas and islands, it said.

The path of green development is vital for China, as the country has stepped up rolling out measures to enhance environmental protection. Enditem
Twenty-two people were killed in separate road accidents in five states on Tuesday, taking the death toll in such incidents involving migrant labourers to at least 162 during the lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Nine people died in Bihar, four in Maharashtra, six in two separate accidents in Uttar Pradesh, one in Jharkhand, and two in as many incidents in Odisha, according to state officials.

The accident in Bihars Bhagalpur took place when a truck with the migrants rammed a bus, which too was carrying labourers who returned on a Shramik Special train on Monday night. Four passengers in the bus, which was on the way to Banka district from Darbhanga, suffered injuries.

The truck, which was carrying iron poles, skidded off the road and fell into a ditch after the collision on NH-31 around 4am. The nine victims sitting atop were buried under the poles, Bhagalpur district magistrate Pranav Kumar said. According to the documents found in their possession, they were residents of east and west Champaran districts. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of ~4 lakh to family members of each victim.

In Maharashtras Yavatmal district, three migrant labourers and a bus driver were killed and 22 others injured after their vehicle hit a stationary truck early on Tuesday, the police said. Among those injured, 17 were reported to be in a serious condition.

The accident took place at Kolwan village around 3.30am, when the bus was on its way from Solapur to the Nagpur railway station. The labourers were going there to board a Shramik Special train to reach their home towns in Jharkhand, additional superintendent of police Noorul Hasan said. The bus driver lost control and the vehicle hit a stationary truck carrying road construction material, he said.

In UP, two separate accidents involving migrant workers were reported. In the first incident, a truck carrying labourers overturned on the Jhansi-Mirzapur highway, killing three women  between 30 and 38 years  and leaving 17 others injured, the police said.

The accident took place at Mahuva crossing in Mahoba district. The labourers had returned from Delhi and boarded the truck near Harpalpur along the Madhya Pradesh border. The truck fell into a roadside ditch after a tyre burst.

In the second accident, three workers travelling in a car were killed when their vehicle rammed a stationary mini-truck in Azamgarh district. Superintendent of police Trivedi Singh said: The accident took place in Jameendashav village under Atraulia police station when the driver of the car dozed off. As a result, he lost control over the car and rammed it into a stationary mini-truck.

In Odishas Angul district, the driver of an LPG tanker was charred to death when a bus carrying 26 migrants on its way to West Bengal from Mumbai rammed into the tanker . At least 12 migrants sustained injuries.

A migrant worker of Balasore sitting atop a iron sheet-laden truck was killed when the vehicle hit another truck parked in front of a marine products export company. Another migrant worker killed as the trolley he was travelling in was hit by truck.

According to data collected by HT reporters, at least 162 migrants have died in such accidents since the beginning of the lockdown on March 25. In the past fortnight alone, 42 migrant labourers have died in two major accidents.

On May 8, a goods train ran over 16 people who were sleeping on the tracks in Maharashtras Aurangabad on their way back to their village in MP on foot. Then on May 16, 26 workers died after the truck they were travelling in rammed another vehicle in Uttar Pradeshs Auraiya district.

The nationwide lockdown left migrant workers without jobs and a way to get back home. It was only in late April that some states started transporting their workers back from other states using buses and only on May 1 that the government started running special trains for them.

In a communication to states on Tuesday, the Union home ministry asked states and Union Territories to operate more Shramik Special trains in coordination with Indian Railways to ferry the migrants. I appeal state governments to help the migrants, register their names and provide the list to the railways. I also appeal the migrants to stay where they are, and the Indian Railways will soon help them reach their hometowns, said railway minister Piyush Goyal.

The home secretary also asked states and UTs to ensure that no migrant worker has to resort to walking on roads or railway tracks to reach their destination.

(With inputs from HTC in states and agencies)
A 32-year-old man was arrested



here on Wednesday for allegedly duping migrant workers and others seeking to travel to Bihar by selling them fake tokens for special trains.

Wearing a personal protection equipment (PPE) kit, Rajesh Rai, the accused, posed as a railway officer, police said.

"He has been arrested for selling fake tokens for a Bihar-bound train at the Habibganj railway station," said City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Bhupendra Singh.

Rai wore a PPE kit so that people should not suspect him, the senior police officer told PTI.

An engineering student from Bihar lodged a complaint against him, Singh said.

The student and his friends, stranded in Bhopal during lockdown, went to the Habibganj railway station on Tuesday to board a special train, he said.

Rai allegedly offered them 'tokens for journey' for Rs 1,000 apiece and they paid him, the CSP said.

But when they entered the station, the train had already left. After inquiring with railway officials, they realized that they had been duped.

Rai was arrested on Wednesday under IPC sections 170 (impersonating a public servant), 420 (cheating), 167 (framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury) and 468 (forgery) and further probe was on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syracuse, N.Y.  Hair salons and barbershops will look and feel starkly different when they reopen, which could be as early as the end of this month.

The magazines, the beverage service, the waiting areas, the blow dryers, the floral arrangements and even much of the chitchat will likely be gone.

In their place? Face masks. Face shields. Temperature checks and exposure questionnaires. See-through partitions and touchless pay systems.

These are some of the changes that Syracuse-area salons are planning, even as stylists and barbers wait for final guidance from New York officials about best practices to keep staff and clients safe from the coronavirus.

No matter what the final details, salons will be more spartan places in coming weeks. Its another weird change that comes with living with Covid-19. Thats especially true in a space where many go for a couple hours of pampering and friendly banter. And it will be like that for a while, salon owners say.

I cant even give them a hug when I see them, Candi Lalomia said of her 125 clients that she serves at Trinity Salon & Spa in Syracuse with her business partner, Cheryl Tagliamonte. Thats going to be hard.

But Lalomia and others interviewed this week say they believe clients will understand.

Ultimately, we want to be safe for each other, said Jacquie Grabowski, who owns Element on Water in downtown Syracuse. Thats the top priority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week hair salons and barbers would be in phase two of New Yorks reopening plan. The earliest phase two would kick in is May 29  and thats only if the spread of Covid-19, hospitalizations and deaths dont dramatically increase in Central New York in the next few days.

But hair stylists, who shut their doors to clients and income two months ago, arent waiting to make plans.

Instead, they are looking at salons in other states and countries that already have reopened for ideas and best practices.

Those changes include eliminating waiting areas inside the salon and installing lockers for clients personal belongings. There will be no walk-in service. Clients must come alone. Everyone must wash their hands and wear a mask, which many salons said they would supply. Some even are providing gloves. Cutting stations must be sanitized between customers.

Some salons have hung plastic partitions between shampooing areas. Others put bank-teller-like clear walls  the kind you slip your hands under  over manicure tables. Some have turned their waiting area into another cutting station.

Some salon owners said theyre planning to increase hours, opening as early as 7 a.m. and closing at 9 p.m. They said theyre looking at staffing on more days, including Sundays and Monday. Theyre also decreasing how many stylists will work at one time.

In many cases, clients will be asked to show up with clean, dry hair. Stylists will do a dry cut and, if getting color, will wash it out. That means many will leave the salons with wet hair.

We are not going to be doing any blow-drying, said Kendalia Edelman, who owns Miracles Hair Salon in Fayetteville and North Syracuse with her husband, Eric. Few stylists want to risk blowing any infection around the room, she said.

Shes also going to ask, for now, for clients to leave laptops and work at home. Thats because one of the goals, Edelman and others said, is to have both client and stylist touch as few things as possible inside the salon.

Grabowski, whose salon is on Water Street in downtown Syracuse, has two entrances to her business. Now the Water Street door is for entering only. Clients will exit onto Erie Boulevard West.

Shes also split her stylists into two teams, who will work specific hours as a group. At the same time, shes thinking of opening seven days a week. And shes reserving time on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for seniors and anyone who has health concerns.

In Skaneateles, Kim Baker-Bringas has run Bijou Salon since 2007. Shes installed an air-purifying system into her HVAC system and hung plastic partitions over her manicure tables. Her staff will wear face shields while shampooing. There wont be any talking during the shampoo, she said, which is often the closest, face-to-face contact between client and stylist.

I think for the first couple of months, unfortunately, there is going to be less leisurely catching up, she said.

The Salon & Spa Professionals of New York State already has sent a five-page proposal to Cuomo and other state officials that lists dozens of ideas for keeping the salons, staff and clientele safe. Executive Director Todd Garofano said Monday hes waiting to hear back. That list includes many of the ideas Syracuse-area stylists are already planning.

Most stylists this week said they expect the first trips back to the salon or barber to be simple, maintenance visits. A trim and root color. A quick cut. No beard trims, for now.

And most said they expect clients will appreciate the brevity of the visits.

I know some people are more scared than others, and I respect that, Lalomia said. This is an eye-opener, you know, for all of us.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Syracuse gym owner desperate to reopen: I dont know how to make myself heard

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Got a story idea or news tip youd like to share? Please contact me through email, Twitter, Facebook or at 315-470-2274.
The MAA seeks approval of tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

MUNICH, GERMANY / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / MorphoSys AG (MOR.F) Prime Standard Segment; MDAX & TecDAX; (MOR) and Incyte (INCY) today announced the validation of the European Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for tafasitamab, an anti-CD19 antibody. The application seeks approval of tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide, followed by tafasitamab monotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL), including DLBCL arising from low grade lymphoma, who are not candidates for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). The validation of the MAA by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) confirms that the submission is ready to enter the formal review process.

"The EMA's validation of the MAA for tafasitamab is a critical step on the path to making tafasitamab available for use in combination with lenalidomide in eligible patients with r/r DLBCL in Europe," said Peter Langmuir, M.D., Group Vice President, Targeted Therapeutics, Incyte. "We will continue to work closely with the EMA to progress the review of this application, with the hope of bringing this novel therapy to eligible patients as soon as possible."

"We are pleased to have achieved this important milestone, which moves tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide into the formal regulatory review process in the European Union," said Dr. Malte Peters, Chief Research & Development Officer, MorphoSys. "Following the U.S. FDA's acceptance of our Biologics License Application filing for tafasitamab for Priority Review earlier this year, this represents another major step forward. We look forward to continuing to work with the regulatory authorities alongside our partners at Incyte to bring this novel therapeutic option to eligible patients in need."

Story continues

The MAA, submitted by MorphoSys, is based on data from the L-MIND study evaluating tafasitamab in combination with lenalidomide as a treatment for patients with r/r DLBCL; and is supported by the Re-MIND study, an observational retrospective study in r/r DLBCL. If approved, Incyte will hold the marketing authorization, and has exclusive commercialization rights for tafasitamab outside of the United States, including Europe.

DLBCL is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in adults worldwide - comprising 40% of all cases1. It is an aggressive disease affecting the B-cells of the immune system with 30-40% of patients who do not respond to initial therapy or relapse thereafter, leading to a high medical need for new, effective therapies2.

About L-MIND

The L-MIND trial is a single arm, open-label Phase 2 study (NCT02399085) investigating the combination of tafasitamab and lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) after up to two prior lines of therapy, including an anti-CD20 targeting therapy (e.g. rituximab), who are not eligible for high-dose chemotherapy and subsequent autologous stem cell transplantation. The study's primary endpoint is objective response rate (ORR). Secondary outcome measures include duration of response (DoR), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). In May 2019, the study reached its primary completion. Two-year data, assessed by an independent review committee (November 30, 2019 cut-off), evaluating 80 patients receiving tafasitamab and lenalidomide corroborate previously reported primary analysis data.

For more information about L-MIND, visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02399085.

About Re-MIND

Re-MIND, an observational retrospective study (NCT04150328), was designed to isolate the contribution of tafasitamab in the combination with lenalidomide and to prove the combinatorial effect. The study compares real-world response data of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (r/r DLBCL) who received lenalidomide monotherapy with the efficacy outcomes of the tafasitamab-lenalidomide combination, as investigated in MorphoSys' L-MIND trial. Re-MIND collected the efficacy data from 490 r/r DLBCL patients in the U.S. and EU. Qualification criteria for matching patients of both studies were pre-specified. As a result, 76 eligible Re-MIND patients were identified and matched 1:1 to 76 of 80 L-MIND patients based on important baseline characteristics. Objective response rates (ORR) were validated based on this subset of 76 patients in Re-MIND and L-MIND, respectively. The primary endpoint of Re-MIND was met and shows a statistically significant superior best ORR of the tafasitamab/lenalidomide combination compared to lenalidomide monotherapy.

For more information about Re-MIND, visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04150328.

About Tafasitamab

Tafasitamab is an investigational humanized Fc-engineered monoclonal antibody directed against CD19. In 2010, MorphoSys licensed exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize tafasitamab from Xencor, Inc. Tafasitamab incorporates an XmAb(R) engineered Fc domain, which is intended to lead to a significant potentiation of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis (ADCP), thus aiming to improve a key mechanism of tumor cell killing.

In January 2020, MorphoSys and Incyte entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement to further develop and commercialize tafasitamab globally. If approved, MorphoSys and Incyte will co-commercialize tafasitamab in the United States. Incyte has exclusive commercialization rights outside the United States.

Tafasitamab is being studied as a therapeutic option in B-cell malignancies in a number of ongoing combination trials, including L-MIND and Re-MIND, as well as the ongoing Phase 3 B-MIND study evaluating the combination of tafasitamab and bendamustine versus rituximab and bendamustine in r/r DLBCL. In addition, tafasitamab is currently being evaluated in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) after discontinuation of a prior Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapy (e.g. ibrutinib) in combination with idelalisib or venetoclax.

XmAb(R) is a trademark of Xencor, Inc.

About Incyte

Incyte is a Wilmington, Delaware-based, global biopharmaceutical company focused on finding solutions for serious unmet medical needs through the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics. For additional information on Incyte, please visit Incyte.com and follow @Incyte.

About MorphoSys

MorphoSys is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of exceptional, innovative therapies for patients suffering from serious diseases. The focus is on cancer. Based on its leading expertise in antibody, protein and peptide technologies, MorphoSys, together with its partners, has developed and contributed to the development of more than 100 product candidates, 28 of which are currently in clinical development. In 2017, Tremfya(R), marketed by Janssen for the treatment of plaque psoriasis, became the first drug based on MorphoSys' antibody technology to receive regulatory approval. Headquartered near Munich, Germany, the MorphoSys group, including the fully owned U.S. subsidiary MorphoSys US Inc., has over 400 employees. More information at www.morphosys.com.

Incyte Forward-looking Statements

Except for the historical information set forth herein, the matters set forth in this press release contain predictions, estimates and other forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements regarding: whether tafasitamab will be approved for use in humans anywhere in Europe, the U.S. or elsewhere or will be commercialized in Europe, the U.S. or elsewhere successfully or at all; whether tafasitamab will be effective in the treatment of the indications discussed in this press release; and the expectations, timing and potential results of further development activities involving tafasitamab. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including unanticipated developments in and risks related to: obtaining regulatory approval for this planned collaboration; research and development efforts related to the collaboration programs; the possibility that results of clinical trials may be unsuccessful or insufficient to meet applicable regulatory standards or warrant continued development; other market or economic factors, including other scientific developments; unanticipated delays; the effects of market competition; risks associated with relationships between collaboration partners; the impact of governmental actions regarding pricing, importation and reimbursement for pharmaceuticals; and such other risks detailed from time to time in each company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Incyte's annual report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending March 31, 2020 and MorphoSys' Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Each party disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

MorphoSys Forward-looking Statements

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the MorphoSys group of companies, including the expectations regarding the licensing agreements for tafasitamab, the further clinical development of Tafasitamab including the L-MIND and Re-MIND studies, interactions with regulatory authorities and expectations regarding regulatory filings and possible approvals for tafasitamab as well as the potential future commercialization of tafasitamab. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgment of MorphoSys as of the date of this release and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which might cause the actual results, financial condition and liquidity, performance or achievements of MorphoSys, or industry results, to be materially different from any historic or future results, financial conditions and liquidity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, even if MorphoSys' results, performance, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which it operates are consistent with such forward-looking statements, they may not be predictive of results or developments in future periods. Among the factors that may result in differences are MorphoSys' expectations regarding the licensing agreements for tafasitamab, the further clinical development of tafasitamab including the L-MIND and Re-MIND studies, interactions with regulatory authorities and expectations regarding regulatory filings and possible approvals for tafasitamab as well as the potential future commercialization of tafasitamab, MorphoSys' reliance on collaborations with third parties, estimating the commercial potential of its development programs and other risks indicated in the risk factors included in MorphoSys' Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these uncertainties, the reader is advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of publication of this document. MorphoSys expressly disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements in this document to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements, unless specifically required by law or regulation.

References

1. Sarkozy C, et al. Management of relapsed/refractory DLBCL. Best Practice Research & Clinical Haematology. 2018 31:209-16. doi.org/10.1016/j.beha.2018.07.014.

2. Skrabek P, et al. Emerging therapies for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Current Oncology. 2019 26(4): 253-265. doi.org/10.3747/co.26.5421.

For more information, please contact:

Incyte

Media Contacts:

Catalina Loveman

Executive Director, Public Affairs

Tel: +1 302 498 6171

cloveman@incyte.com

Ela Zawislak

Director, Public Affairs

Tel: + 41 21 343 3113

ezawislak@incyte.com

Investor Contact:

Dr. Michael Booth

Division VP, IR & Global Responsibility

Tel.: +1 302 498 5914

mbooth@incyte.com

MorphoSys

Media Contacts:

Dr. Anca Alexandru

Associate Director, Corporate & IR

Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-26738

anca.alexandru@morphosys.com

Dr. Verena Kupas

Associate Director Corporate

Communications & IR

Tel: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-26814

verena.kupas@morphosys.com



Investor Contact:

Dr. Julia Neugebauer

Director Corporate Communications & IR

Tel.: +49 (0) 89 / 899 27-179

julia.neugebauer@morphosys.com

Additional features:

Document: https://eqs-cockpit.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=CPKUEVJDTM

Document title: Media Release

SOURCE: MorphoSys AG





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/590724/MorphoSys-and-Incyte-Announce-the-Validation-of-the-European-Marketing-Authorization-Application-for-Tafasitamab




PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 20:25:14

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 980 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Kaya Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KAYS), announced that it has released fiscal year 2019 results of operations by filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 with the SEC. KAYS 2019 10-K highlights include the following updates:Launch of Kaya Brands International, Inc.General: As the first "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis company to operate inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company and after six (6) years of operations in Oregon, perhaps the most competitive cannabis market in the United States, KAYS has formed Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI"), to serve as the vehicle from which KAYS will leverage its operational experience and expand operations into select and targeted global markets.Greek Cannabis License Issuance: KBI's first EU Project is a joint venture cultivation-for-export cannabis project with Athens based Greekkannabis PC ("GKC"). GKC was recently issued its Cannabis Installation License by the Greek Government, permitting the commencement of construction of a planned 470,000 square foot Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Processing Facility on 15 acres of land in Thebes, Greece. The Company estimates total farm production, once completely constructed and operating at full capacity, to be at a minimum of approximately 225,000 pounds of medical cannabis annually, which is targeted for export to the European Union and other select markets.Greenegev, Israeli Medical Cannabis Project: KBI has been invited to participate in Greenegev, the first cannabinoid ecosystem, which is currently under development in Yerucham, Israel. KBI is currently evaluating a potential site for construction of a medical cannabis production facility which would be designed to leverage Israel's depth of cannabis research and advanced agricultural practices. Greenegev is intended to bethe equivalent of a "Silicon Valley" for medical cannabis being developed with the full support of the Israeli Government - including grants, licensing assistance and public/private initiatives. Moreover, the Israeli government has recently approved the growth and production of medical cannabis for export. Private sector partcipants in Greengev include companies such as Perrigo, a NYSE traded Irish pharmaceutical company which recently began expanding into the cannabis and CBD sectors.For more information on our Greek and Israeli projects, please access this link:KAYS intends to maintain a majority ownership of KBI, but is also considering, in conjunction with its advisors, various strategies by which KBI can enhance its value to KAYS shareholders. Potential strategies under consideration include a dividend of a portion of KBI's common stock to KAYS shareholders or otherwise spinning off KBI as a separately trading public company. There can be no assurance given as to whether or when KAYS will deterimine to implement a specific strategy, if ever, and to successfully implement any strategy selected."We have spent the past 24 months developing the opportunities that will we believe that will allow KAYS to take advantage of potential foreign expansion opportunities, without waiting for development of domestic regulatory cohesion, which has inhibited growth for companies in U.S. cannabis industry, despite their ceployment of significant capital resources. commented KAYS CEO Craig Frank. "Rather we have expended comparatively less capital resources to secure in-depth operational experience that we anticipate can now be leveraged in environments more welcoming to an emerging cannabis industry. Both Greece and Israel have demonstrated the willingness to becomeglobal centers of cannabis excellence and we believe that KAYS, through KBI, has the opportunity to become be a visible and leading player in the primary and lucrative cannabis markets now emerging. As we see the so-called industry leaders pulling back from their massive acquisition and "lead by size" strategies where hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted, we believe the more considered and paced strategy we have always embraced - gain knowledge, gain experience, then execute - will now prevail as the more reasoned and ultimately more successful model." COVID-19 Operational ResponseAll of our Kaya Shack retail cannabis stores and Kaya Farms production facilities in Oregon continue to be fully operational and the Company is working closely with local and state authorities to ensure it is following or exceeding the stated guidelines related to COVID-19. Please follow this link to see a video of how we are operating with our Covid-19 inspired safety enhancements to protect our employees and serve our Kaya Shack medical and recreational marijuana customers via in-store sales, curbside pickup and delivery from our signature Kaya Delivery Vehicles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6TpVuFzxM8 2019 Results by the Numbers.Revenues- We had revenues of $1,014,266 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to revenues of $1,136,599 for the year ended December 31, 2018, a decrease of 10% due to the closing of a non-performing store as we looked to reduce expenses and consolidate operations as we transition to international operations.Operating Expenses- Total operating expenses were $2,264,883 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $2,870,627 for the year ended December 31, 2018 as we were able to reduce our salaries and professional Fees significantly.Debt Restructuring- At December 31, 2019 we had approximately $7.2 million in convertible debt due between January 1, 2020 and 2022 which we had accumulated over the past six years to finance the development of our cannabis operations and our public company overhead. We are pleased to confirm that as of January 1, 2020 we have refinanced approximately $6.8 million of this debt so that no interest and principal payments are due until January 1, 2024 and we are in the process of negotiating with the remaining debt holders to further reduce those obligations as well so that we may concentrate on utilizing funds raised through future securities offering to pay down some accumulated professional fees and operational expenses and target the balance for expansion and building the Company as we move forward.A copy of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, complete with pictures, store information and product testing
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org (https://compare-autoinsurance.org/) is a top auto insurance brokerage website, providing car insurance quotes online from trustworthy agencies all over the United States. This website offers car insurance info about different coverage types, available discounts, and money-saving tips.

The number of vehicles that are running on the United States roads has dramatically increased in the past decades. Likewise, the number of traffic accidents also increased. The need for drivers to have financial coverage is greater than ever. In order to find cheap car insurance, drivers must carefully navigate the insurance market. The best way to find cheap car insurance is by using online quotes.

Insurance quotes provided by the car insurance companies will ask data about the driver's identification details and info regarding the car he drives. Information like car make, model, year of production, value as new, VIN, and mileage, is typically required. A quick online search will show the drivers who are the most significant car quotes sites. In order to get the best results, drivers should choose to use the sites that look familiar or more established.

Car insurance companies carefully analyze car owners driving records. Traffic violations, DUI driving, and other details from a driving record can significantly affect the insurance premium. Not adding these details when completing a questionnaire is pointless, as insurance companies already have access to all of this data. Insurance companies may also use other factors like the credit score when they determine the premium.

Car owners can tweak their coverage and raise the deductibles in order to get lower insurance rates. They can also modify some coverage limits, in order to get better rates. Furthermore, some companies offer discounts for getting quotes online.

Check all available discounts. Insurance companies offer different discounts for their drivers. The discounts can vary in value, and how long they last. For example, one insurer will provide a 15% discount for six months, while another insurer will provide a 10% discount for 12 months for the same service. Other insurance companies may offer discounts that other insurers don't. It's recommended to do careful research on the market.

When drivers are talking with the auto insurance company directly, they have a lot of chances to cut down that initial car insurance policy quote to an offer that is more affordable. Quick quotes do not usually take preferred driver discounts, safety features, and other cost-lowering factors into account, and with some good self-representation or cost limiting tools, car owners could come out with a lower-priced policy.

For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

Compare-autoinsurance.org iis an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

"Car insurance quotes will help you customize the policy and get the coverage you need at better prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

CONTACT:

Company Name: Internet Marketing Company

Person for contact Name: Gurgu C

Phone Number: (818) 359-3898

Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz

Website: https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590660/Cheaper-Car-Insurance--How-To-Use-Online-Car-Insurance-Quotes-And-Find-Affordable-Coverage
China achieves all 2019 quantitative targets, but tough tasks lie ahead

Global Times

Source:Ma Jingjing Published: 2020/5/20 0:04:22

As China's annual "two sessions" will kick off on Thursday, the State Council, the country's cabinet, revealed on Tuesday that all the 38 quantitative targets listed in the 2019 government work report have been achieved.

For major economic goals, last year's government work report set a GDP growth rate range of 6 percent to 6.5 percent for 2019 and newly added urban jobs of over 11 million, with an urban unemployment rate of below 4.5 percent.

Eventually, the country's GDP growth rate reached 6.1 percent, with 13.52 million jobs created and an unemployment rate of 3.62 percent.

Last year, China's tax and fee cuts totaled over 2.3 trillion yuan ($281.43 billion), slightly higher than the initial goal of 2 trillion yuan.

In terms of improvement of people's lives, a total of 11.09 million Chinese people were lifted out of poverty in 2019, 290,000 kilometers of roads were built or restored in rural areas and mobile network service fees were lowered by 41 percent year-on-year - all of which outperformed the goals.

China also achieved quantitative targets in other areas including ecological protection.

Despite better-than-expected performance amid downward economic pressure in 2019, the abrupt outbreak of COVID-19 poses huge challenges for China this year, especially as 2020 marks the end of China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee held in March urged efforts to achieve this year's economic and social development goals and tasks including building a moderately prosperous society in all aspects and eradicating poverty.

Li Daokui, a professor with Tsinghua University, told the Global Times in a recent interview that the country's GDP growth has to reach 5.5 or 5.6 percent this year in order to double per capita income in 2020 from what it was in 2010.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee will start on Thursday, followed by the National People's Congress session on Friday, during which the 2020 government work report will be delivered.

Wan Zhe, chief economist at China National Gold Group Corp, told the Global Times that a comprehensive economic target involving GDP, unemployment and CPI may be set this year to guide economic activities, and a GDP range of 2-3 percent would be appropriate.

"There is uncertainty about whether the Chinese economy can achieve growth of 3 percent this year if the global pandemic situation continues to deteriorate," she said.

Wan said the country's fiscal deficit may be raised to 5 percent to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the economy.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A 42-year-old man who sued claiming his throat cancer was allegedly allowed to spread unidentified and untreated died just days before his case was to come before the High Court.

John Beirne, the High Court heard today, passed away on Monday just days after the pleadings were issued in the case in which he is suing the HSE over the care he received at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross today gave permission for Mr Beirnes father Michael to take over the action.

Oisin Quinn SC for Mr Beirne told the court that Mr Beirne had passed away on Monday. The pleadings in the case had been issued last Friday and Mr Beirne had been transferred to a hospice from hospital.

Counsel said the hospital had apologised to Mr Beirne. The case, he said, was in relation to an alleged failure to be recalled for further investigation.

Counsel said the HSE had been moving the case along expeditiously with mediation planned in the case for later this week or next week.

John Beirne, a groundskeeper at Carton House and of Leixlip Park, Leixlip, Co. Kildare, had sued the HSE.

On December 31, 2012, Mr Beirne was taken by ambulance to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown complaining of vomiting and haematemesis.

He underwent a gastroscopy and multiple biopsies were taken and they showed low grade dysplasia, He was discharged on January 2, 2013, with a plan for further assessment of the oesophagus.

On February 12, 2013, he had a further gastroscopy and more biopsies. It is claimed, as there was insufficient pathology to rule out malignancy, it was determined Mr Beirne should undergo a repeat scope or gastroscopy.

It is alleged Mr Beirne was not scheduled for and did not undergo any further investigation and in particular he did not undergo any further investigation and in particular any further gastroscopy which it was claimed had been deemed necessary.

In September 2019, following an urgent referral he was diagnosed as having oesophageal cancer.

It is claimed there was an alleged failure to take any adequate measures to protect Mr Beirne from the risk of developing the cancer and a failure to refer him for a gastroscopy.

It is further alleged that his cancer was allowed to develop and spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until he was diagnosed with oesophagal cancer in around September 2019 .
New Delhi, May 20 : Amid the political heat over Congress requisitioning buses for the stranded migrant workers, the party planned to arrange buses from May 13 and had arranged over 1,400 buses within three days and also secretly arranged over 300 buses near the border districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Senior party leaders said that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is also party in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh was keeping a close tab on preparations being made by the party to arrange the buses for the stranded migrant workers, who have been walking hundred of kilometers on foot, bicycles, rickshaws, or carrying their parents, children on their shoulders.

The present build-up by the Congress has not come out of the blue.

A Congress leader, who was part of the team in arranging the buses and looking after the entire operation, wishing not to be named, told IANS, "Planning to provide the buses for the migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh was made on May 13. And on the same day the party discussed the plan with Priyanka Gandhi and a go through was received." He said, within three days, the party arranged the list of over 700 buses from Rajasthan's districts like Bharatpur, Dausa, Udaipur, Alwar and Jaipur.

He said the party had kept in reserve over 350 buses in Haryana, over 300 in Delhi and 300 in Uttar Pradesh.

Explaining the procedure of arranging the buses, the Congress leader, "We contacted the bus operators, who operated buses in several districts of these states." He said, some of the operators had two, three, 10, 15 or 50 buses and they provided buses to us.

"Through this we had arranged over 1,400 buses in less than three days time for the migrant workers," he said.

"We hired them on rent on a per day basis," he said, adding that then the list of the buses were prepared and sent over to the Uttar Pradesh government.

And till date an amount of Rs 4.8 crore need to be paid to the bus operators. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had entered in a bitter war of words with the opposition Congress over the issue of buses to transport migrant labourers.

However, in the middle of this ongoing political slugfest, the party with Priyanka Gandhi leading the charge in the state outsmarted the mightier regional outfits like Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, to occupy the larger space of opposition politics.

The party leader further said that on May 16 they gave a letter from Priyanka Gandhi to the Uttar Pradesh government and also sent 500 buses to the Mathura border.

"However, that day the government said that we are capable as we have over 12,000 buses," he said, adding that the buses were then returned on May 16.

However, the party received a letter on May 18 to send the list of 1,000 buses to the state government.

"When they asked for the list of buses on May 18, we sent the list within two hours and by midnight on May 18 we prepared 1,112 buses. But again on late May 18 night they wrote to bring the buses to Lucknow and then on May 19 they asked to bring buses to Noida and Ghaziabad," he said.

"So we brought the around 500 buses to the Rajasthan-Agra border on May 18 and the rest of the buses from Haryana and Delhi reached Noida-Delhi border," he said.

Riding on bus politics, the Congress gave the momentum to the party workers in the state. Priyanka Gandhi, immediately after the first few days of the lockdown started working out on strategy.

"Just two days after the national lockdown came in force on March 25, she had gone into a video conference with her state unit leaders, handing the task to organise free kitchens for those in distress," another senior party leader from Uttar Pradesh said.

He said, she also became the part of the many of the WhatsApp group to monitor the works of providing food and ration to the people in distress across the state. It was Priyanka Gandhi's idea to form the highway patrol team of the party to provide help to the migrant workers walking on foot to their native places.

Meanwhile, on a number of occasions she also wrote letters to Adityanath, making a series of suggestions about steps required to help daily wage labourers, farmers and poor people in the state.

In her letter to the Uttar Pradesh government, she also expressed the desire on part of the Congress party to volunteer in the relief and assistance operations.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
A forest fire that burned about 2,107 acres in the Winslow Wildlife Management Area on the border of Gloucester and Camden counties has been 95% contained, officials said Wednesday morning.

No one has been injured and the fire is too far from populated areas in Monroe and WInslow townships to pose a threat to homes or businesses.

The blaze broke out shortly before 1:30 p.m. Tuesday before being spotted by a New Jersey Forest Fire Service observer at the Blue Anchor Fire Tower, according to a Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman.

Fueled by high winds that gusted to more than 40 mph and relatively low humidity the fire later crossed the Great Egg Harbor River.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is working on through the air and on the ground to fully contain the fire. About 50 firefighters remain on the scene.

A large forest fire broke out in the Winslow Wildlife Management area in Camden and Gloucester counties on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Photo: Department of Environmental Protection

Smoke might be visible for an extended period while firefighters work to contain the wildfire and motorists in Winslow and Monroe townships should be cautious of smoke, firefighters and fire vehicles working in the area, officials said.

Firefighters made substantial progress since 8 p.m. Tuesday when the blaze had already burned more than 750 acres and was only 10 percent contained.

The Winslow Wildlife Management Area spans more than 8,931 acres, according to the DEP.

Though the fire is almost under control, there remains an elevated risk of wildfire spread on Wednesday in much of New Jersey through early evening due to low relative humidity, gusty easterly winds, and dry fine fuels, according to the National Weather Service. The enhanced risk of fire includes the following counties: Sussex, Warren, Morris-Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Ocean-Cumberland, Atlantic and Cape May.

Easterly winds of 15 mph in the immediate area of the fire might gust as high as 30 mph on Wednesday.

The forest fire was the second in three days in the Pinelands. On Sunday afternoon, firefighters from the Whiting Fire Company and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service battled a 100-acre blaze in Manchester.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Ola cab drivers talk with each other as they wait for passengers by a roadside in Amritsar.

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola is laying off 1,400 employees to help it weather the coronavirus crisis.

The company, which counts Uber backer SoftBank as an investor, said its revenues had plunged 95% in the past two months as shelter-in-place measures dried up demand for its taxi app.

Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal described the downsizing as "the toughest decision I have ever taken."

"I have personally spent significant time, reviewing and revisiting every single aspect of this exercise as each one of the impacted individuals has played an important role in building Ola and are the most talented and passionate people I have come across," he said in an email to staff Wednesday.

"These decisions are not reflective of anyone's performance and are purely a function of the uncontrollable circumstances that we have been faced with."

The cuts only affect Ola employees in India and will see reductions in its mobility, food delivery and financial services units. Aggarwal said there would be no further layoffs afterward.
We all suffer some form of professional bias. If you run a weight loss clinic, you might feel as if the whole world is morbidly obese because that is what you see. (Might be true.) If you are a mental health therapist, you might think the whole world is neurotic or psychotic. If you are a policeman accustomed to arresting criminals, you often have a jaded eye and are wary of the public. As an example, a policeman friend of mine, when eating at a restaurant, insists on being seated at a table against an outside wall. He locates his position at the table so that he has a full view of the entrance. He tries not to be too obvious that he is always, seemingly casually, scanning the dining room and entrance for any suspicious behavior.

Physicians are as prone to bias as anyone else. I have had several COVID-19 patients, and all have survived. Only one has lingering symptoms. But the vast majority of my practice is healthy, and my outlook tends to be "healthy." We see a lot of reports about beleaguered critical care doctors and nurses taking care of the morbidly and mortally ill COVID-19 patients, and our sympathy and respect for these professionals is genuine. I wish their anguish could be alleviated. I imagine that these caretakers have a gut feeling that the whole world is dying from this scourge. But it is not. We are now on the downside of this pandemic, and we must not continue to spread terror to the public. It is time to free all of America from incarceration.

I have a law enforcement analogy to demonstrate our current state. If you live near a prison and a murderous felon escapes, a general call is made to the public to go home, lock the doors, and stay inside, admitting no intruders. Sometimes the police go door to door to enforce this edict for the common good. We gladly comply to restrict our freedom for the sake of curtailing this threat. Once the criminal is apprehended, we demand our freedom back.

What we have now is slightly different. It is like living in a dense population area, and the police have announced that they have arrested the worst street criminals. But because there could be and probably are other criminals on the street, waiting for victims, everyone should remain locked up at home to prevent these potential crimes. Some are allowed a work release program but must return to confinement every day. We are told we cannot return to normal until all of these would-be criminals are found and eliminated. Of course, that is impossible.

We need to release the incarcerated normal Americans. Most Americans are smart enough to avoid dangerous places where the felons (virus) lurk by careful social distancing. And there is safety in numbers (eventual herd immunity). And don't forget concealed carry (personal protection equipment  PPE) as the last defense.

But is it safe to release the public? Some people will be accosted. There will always be some bad guys and bad viruses. We cannot change that; it is the cost of freedom.
(CNN)  The University of Cambridge has said it will scrap all face-to-face lectures until mid-2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, becoming the first major education institution to officially scale back its operations for the whole of the next academic year.

A spokesperson for the prestigious British university said it expects social distancing measures to be in place throughout the upcoming year.

It will continue to make lectures available online, and some small-group teaching may take place if participants can maintain a safe distance, but students will not be able to attend lectures in person.

"The University is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the University has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year," a University of Cambridge spokesperson said in a statement.

"Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements," the university's statement added. The decision will be reviewed if guidelines around social distancing change.

Cambridge and Oxford, the UK's two leading universities, rely far more on smaller group teaching than large lectures  so the move will probably not be as disruptive as it would be at most institutions.

But it demonstrates the dilemma facing universities around the world, many of which have been forced to shut their campuses and move classes online in recent months.

That situation has created uncertainty for people preparing to start their studies.

In the UK, university semesters begin in September. The traditional "freshers' week" period at the start of the year sees students mixing in accommodation halls, bars and clubs, but it is seems likely that such activities will be discouraged this year.

On Monday, the University of South Carolina in the United States made changes to its fall semester in preparation for the likelihood that Covid-19 cases surge during cold and flu season this fall and winter.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Cambridge University to scrap face-to-face lectures for entire year due to pandemic"
Idris Elba has trademarked his own name as he prepares to launch his lifestyle brand with his wife Sabrina.

The actor, 47, and his partner, 30, are said to have submitted applications with the Intellectual Property Office earlier this year for Sable Labs and their podcast Coupledom.

One application for their lifestyle brand suggests the couple will make dozens of products, including soaps, aftershave, cosmetics like lipstick and mascara, and bubble bath, among others.

Application: Idris Elba has 'trademarked his OWN name as he prepares to launch beauty brand Sable Labs and podcast Coupledom with wife Sabrina'

Another list of products sees the pair venture in medical items such as medicated acne treatment, dermatological products, nutritional supplements and treatment of hair loss, The Sun reports.

It was claimed that Idris requested to trademark his name and made the applications for the brand through his UK firm IE7 Holdings Limited, which he also uses for his music business, clothing brand, and production company Green Door Pictures.

MailOnline have contacted Idris' representatives for comment.

The couple aim to make Sable Labs a 'global community that celebrates partnerships of all kinds - romantic couples, business partners, creative duos, long standing friends, family ties and much more.'

Project: According to the publication one application for their lifestyle brand suggests the couple will make dozens of products, including soaps, aftershave, and cosmetics

Idris and Sabrina launched their first project, a podcast hosted by the actor and model couple named Coupledom, in February.

Speaking on their podcast, they explained the ethos behind their new brand and answer in-depth questions about their relationship.

Idris said: 'We've started something called Sable Labs - that's Elba's backwards!

'We believe if we can create a Coupledom community, we can share our experiences and help each other communicate better, and achieve more.'

Sabrina continued: 'We'd love to explore couples and relationships of all kinds under the topic of Coupledom - which is two people coming together to make a shared dream a reality.

The business of love: Idris and Sabrina launched their first project, a podcast hosted by the actor and model couple named Coupledom in February.

'My hope is that by listening to other partnerships, people will recognise themselves and their own relationships, finding common ground that they can apply to their own lives.

'We hope that Coupledom becomes an inspiring space to help one another grow.'

The Coupledom podcast is the first project to launch from Sabrina and Idris' joint partnership and will see the duo drill down into questions such as how did they meet, when did they 'know', why do they work and what lessons have they learnt from each other.

The couple have been married for just over a year, exchanging vows at the Ksar Char Bagh hotel in Marrakesh in front of 150 guests in April 2019.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Onondaga County today reported two more deaths due to the coronavirus in local nursing homes, bringing the countywide death toll to 105.

The loss of life is just painful, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said during his daily coronavirus briefing.

McMahon also noted that its not clear when the deaths occurred since the county receives its information on nursing home deaths from the state. The county also doesnt have any demographic information on the nursing home deaths.

Its unknown whether the individuals had underlying medical conditions that would have made them more susceptible to the virus.

We dont know enough about these, McMahon said. We just dont have the information.

Hospitalizations due to the virus rose to 70, up from 67 on Monday. Hospitalizations in the county have been climbing steadily since totaling 52 on May 9.

The number of people in intensive care units increased to 19, up from 16 yesterday.

But McMahon noted that hospitals in the county have not been overwhelmed during the pandemic. Coronavirus patients account for just 4% of the total hospital capacity in the county.

McMahon also said 12 of the people currently hospitalized are well enough to be discharged, but they havent been yet because theyre nursing home residents. Those individuals cant be returned to nursing homes unless they test negative for the virus.

It sometimes takes weeks for that to happen, even though a person is no longer sick with symptoms, McMahon said. The county is talking with the state on ways to resolve the situation.

Certainly, we want to get those folks back to their homes who dont need to be in the hospital, but related to hospital capacity, were in excellent shape, he said.

As of Tuesday, the county has 1,649 confirmed cases of the virus. Thats up 35 from Monday.

Of the new cases, 13 resulted from infected individuals spreading the virus to others in their households. Another five were found in senior living facilities.

Seventeen of the new cases resulted from spread of the virus in the community at large. Thats up from eight on Monday.

McMahon said he was satisfied with the numbers, given the increased activity and better weather in recent days.

Remember now, were doing so much testing that some of these community spread numbers may be asymptomatic individuals too, he said. Were still comfortable.

Onondaga County alone sent 944 tests to labs yesterday. The Central New York region, which also includes Oswego, Madison, Cortland and Cayuga counties, must maintain a seven-day average of new tests per day of 775 to continue its phased restart of businesses.

The regions average is now 1,438, McMahon said. The region began reopening on Friday after meeting all state requirements.

The virus screening site at the Syracuse Community Health Center remains open to anyone who wants a test, McMahon said. The county is also planning new rounds of mobile testing at other locations in Syracuse and in southern Onondaga County, he added.

Case breakdown by municipality (confirmed/recovered)

Camillus: 54/34

Cicero: 57/33

Clay: 125/93

DeWitt: 62/52

Elbridge: 2/2

Fabius: 2/2

Geddes: 89/29

LaFayette: 5/3

Lysander: 31/26

Manlius: 64/54

Marcellus: 7/4

Onondaga: 123/34

Otisco: 5/5

Pompey: 24/21

Salina: 74/48

Skaneateles: 15/15

Spafford: 2/2

Syracuse: 884/387

Tully 2/2

Van Buren: 22/6

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

NY didnt count nursing home coronavirus victims for weeks; then, a stumbling rush for a death toll

Churches will be the last places to reopen in NY, alongside stadiums, concert halls

Onondaga County coronavirus death toll over 100 after new data from NY state

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
An extremely severe cyclone packing winds of up to 190 kmph roared into West Bengal Wednesday, dumping heavy rain and leaving a trail of destruction that left at least two people dead, officials said.

After making landfall at 2.30 p.m. between Digha in West Bengal and and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, cyclone Amphan cut a swathe through the coastal areas, flattening fragile dwellings, uprooting trees and electric poles. At least 6.58 lakh people were evacuated in West Bengal and Odisha before the cyclone struck.

The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph, the weather department said.

ALSO WATCH Cyclone Amphan: 41 teams on ground in Odisha, Bengal, says NDRF chief

Two women were killed in Howrah district and Minakhan area of North 24 Parganas district due to uprooting of trees, an official said.

NDRF chief S N Pradhan told a press conference in New Delhi that 20 teams of the federal disaster response force had already begun road clearing operations in Odisha, while the 19 units deployed in West Bengal were shifting people to safety.

Quoting figures made available by the two states, Pradhan said over 5 lakh people were evacuated in West Bengal and more than 1.58 lakh in Odisha.

TV footage showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in Digha, close to the landfall site.

Thick sheets of rain blurred the vast coastline in the two states and surging waters engulfed mud-and-thatch houses, flattening them in a trice.

Heavy machinery was moved in to clear the roads blocked by falling trees.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra, who jointly addressed the media with Pradhan, said gale-strength winds speeding at 160-170 kmph were pounding South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts and could be gusting up to 185 kmph.

He said the eye of the monster cyclone, the most explosive part of the cyclonic system, had touched the land, triggering copious rain in the three districts. The eye of the storm itself was 30 km in diameter, he said.

Mohapatra said the intensity of the rain and winds accompanying it could deceptively look like ebbing away briefly, but will surge afresh once the rear sector of the storm has reached the landmass.

The whole cyclonic system will have reached the land by 7 pm, he said.

Reports arriving in Kolkata from North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore said roofs of thatched houses were blown away, and twisted electric poles and broken and uprooted trees bore testimony to the devastation. Streets and homes in low lying areas of Kolkata were swamped with rainwater.

Mohapatra said the storm will reach Kolkata in all its fury later in the evening and winds blowing at 110-120 kmph, and gusting at 135 kmph, coupled with downpour, will batter the capital city.

Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, has left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its destructive path over the Bay of Bengal.

Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

The rains and high-velocity winds will ebb away in Odisha by late Wednesday night by when the cyclone will likely have caused massive damage to standing crops, plantations and infrastructure, Mohapatra said.

He said tidal surge of up to five metres could occur in North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts that could submerge areas in a radius of 15 km.

The strong winds and rain could continue till tomorrow in West Bengal, he said.

The turbulence will likely extend to Assam and Meghalaya, triggering heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday.

Mohapatra said since the time the depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on May 20 till the cyclone made the landfall, the IMDs predictions about the path it will take and the timing was accurate and helped the disaster response machinery strategise and execute the plans to minimise the damage effectively.

The cyclonic storm will get weaker while crossing over Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal later tonight before entering Bangladesh as a deep depression and dissipating. PTI AMR SKN PNT SK SK VJ VJ VJ
BarcelonaNeither the coronavirus nor the Constitutional Court taking the matter into its hands have changed the position of the Public Prosecutor regarding Jordi Cuixarts case. On Monday the Public Prosecutors Office opposed the Catalan leaders demand to be released from prison as part of an appeal urging Spains Constitutional Court to review the Supreme Courts ruling in the case of the 2017 independence bid. Omnium Cultural, the grassroots group led by Jordi Cuixart, reacted by stating that PM Pedro Sanchez has missed his last chance to thwart the violation of Cuixarts rights before we take the case up with European justice and they remarked that the Prosecutor continues to oppose the release of the Catalan political prisoners despite the PSOE-Podemos coalition government in Madrid.

Cuixarts freedom was one of the requests that the leaders legal team had included in the appeal lodged with the Constitutional Court with a view to securing at least a temporary release while the court is considering his case in detail. Just before the deadline set by the court had expired, the Public Prosecutor rejected Cuixarts request because she believes his prison sentence is too long to justify a suspension.

In an eight-page statement the Prosecutor begins by arguing that, as a general rule, appeals do not lead to the suspension of a convicts sentence and that the only exception in the law is when not doing so would place the appellant at a disadvantage. In other words, only when the damage would be so significant that by the time the Constitutional Court ruled in his favour, it would be too late to prevent it. The Public Prosecutor does not believe the case of the president of Omnium Cultural falls into that category.

In her statement the Prosecutor stresses the need to consider the gravity of Cuixarts actions and their social impact, the length of the prison sentence imposed on him and the time remaining before its completion, as well as the flight risk and the possibility that the victims may be rendered defenceless. The Prosecutor emphasises that we find the gravity of the sentence to be the most relevant of all these circumstances. On this point, the document refers to a five-year prison sentence as drawing a line between major and less serious crimes in the Spanish criminal code. As a general rule, the Constitutional Court does not suspend a court ruling whenever a defendant has been sentenced to five or more years in prison, unless it is an exceptional case, she claims.

The Prosecutor believes that Cuixarts case is not exceptional and that the nine-year prison sentence he received rules out a hypothetical suspension. In order to argue for a suspension of his prison sentence, the president of Omnium Cultural noted that he has spent nearly three years in prison now, that there are no victims as a result of the actions for which he was prosecuted and, furthermore, that the PSOE-Podemos coalition government have announced that the crime of sedition [which Cuixart was found guilty of] will be reviewed in the future.

However, the Prosecutor dismisses this last argument, even though she is an appointee of the coalition government currently in office in Spain. She claims that it is a hypothetical circumstance and that any benefits for the defendant would come into effect once a ruling is handed down. The Prosecutor also mentions that the Constitutional Court is expected to expedite the handling of an appeal whenever a prison sentence is involved and, therefore, a final judgement should be passed before long.

Cuixart and the other Catalan political prisoners with the exception of Oriol Junqueras and Raul Romeva, who will follow suit soon have lodged an appeal against the Supreme Courts ruling that found them guilty of sedition.

Among the rights that have been violated, Cuixart claims that he was refused the right to be tried by the court which the law stipulates (his defence team have argued that he should have stood trial in Catalonia, not Madrid); that he was denied a fair and impartial trial and that the conviction for a crime of sedition is a violation of his right to demonstration and freedom of expression. As a result, they claim that his right to be free has also been trampled on, as he has been imprisoned for a long time.

The Spanish Constitutional Court is the highest-ranking court of law that one must appeal to before being able to take matters with the European Court of Human Rights.
Vaccines that protect people from infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae, which kills up to 1 million children ever year worldwide, train the immune system to recognize the pathogen's thick sugar capsule. Pneumococcus capsules are not only the active ingredient in vaccines; they're also key to the pathogen's virulence. But different strains have different capsules, which means vaccine researchers need to identify all capsule types.

This week in mBio, pneumococcus experts at the University of Alabama at Birmingham describe a newly-found capsule -- the 100th to be identified since the pathogen was first discovered in the late 19th century. Microbiologist Moon Nahm, M.D., who led the study, said identifying new capsules is critical to keep up with the rapidly changing bacteria and update vaccines that can save lives.

Current pneumococcal vaccines contain 10-13 different types of capsules, and they cause a person's immune system to produce antibodies against those capsules. "If you get rid of the capsules, then the bugs cannot cause the infection," Nahm said.

But pneumococcus is a moving and constantly evolving target. As vaccines vanquish some capsules, new ones emerge that can shield the virus from the immune system. As a result, the vaccines become less effective, and the pathogen still poses a serious threat, even to immunized children. Nahm likened the pursuit of a pneumococcus vaccine to an ongoing game of whack-a-mole: Even as it protects people against known capsules, new ones pop up.

"Pneumococcus is smart," said Nahm. "It's critical for scientists to know about different capsule types." In the last decade or so, Nahm's lab in Birmingham -- recognized as a reference lab by the WHO -- has identified 10 new capsules. His research focuses on finding ways to make vaccines both more effective and less expensive. (The current pneumococcal vaccine costs about $100 per dose, putting it out of reach for many children in low-income countries.)

Nahm and his collaborators discovered the new capsule after being contacted by the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing (GPS) project. With funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GPS researchers had sequenced the genomes of more than 20,000 pneumococci strains. When those researchers found strains with capsule genes they didn't recognize, they sent the strains to Nahm's group, which identified the new and 100th capsule structure.

Notably, Nahm and his team discovered that some of the genes responsible for the new capsule came from oral streptococci, germs that live in the mouth and nose. Oral streptococci rarely cause diseases and are usually thought to be benign (though they can cause cavities). The connection suggests that the pathogenic pneumococci can capture advantageous genes from other, less harmful bacteria.

That ability may help the pathogen hide even better in the body. Nahm said diagnostic tests will need to differentiate between the genes in benign bacteria, and those in streptococci. "We have to improve our diagnostic assays in the future to avoid false positives," he said. That connection may also affect vaccine research. "If we don't know which gene is coming from which species, then we could get the vaccine design wrong."
First Deputy Head of the Delegation of Ukraine to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Oleksiy Reznikov has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready for a new meeting in the Normandy format, and the Ukraine has taken every step to fulfill the agreements reached during a summit in Paris in December 2019 unlike Russia.

"I think it could be held even in the format of a video conference. Only a political will of all four leaders is needed. I can say for sure that the president of Ukraine is ready for this meeting and these talks. Discussions at various levels and an inventory are being held today to check whether all sides have fulfilled the agreements they had reached in Paris on December 9," he said on the Ukraine 24 TV channel on Tuesday.

Reznikov also said that he personally suggested Head of the Delegation of Russia to the TCG Boris Gryzlov to hold such an inventory.

"For example, let's see if representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have access to detention facilities today. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation did not fulfill this agreement, although its leader, President Vladimir Putin was present [at the summit] and confirmed that they were ready to do this," he said.

Reznikov recalled that an agreement has not been reached in the opening of two humanitarian checkpoints on the contact line in Donbas.

"By the way, Ukraine on its part did everything necessary in Zolote. No repairs have started on the other side, although we guaranteed security," he said.
Eros Now original series "Metro Park" is all set to roll out a special "quarantine" edition, wherein actors of the show, including Ranvir Shorey and Omi Vaidya, have shot episodes from home.

The new edition of the series, written by Ajayan Venugopalan, will feature five episodes of 3-5 minutes each.

The show, which debuted last year, chronicles the story of a fictitious Gujarati family settled in New Jersey, USA.

The quarantine special had actors shoot their portions independently at their residence. It also stars Purbi Joshi, Pitobash Tripathy and Vega Tamotia.

"Shooting for 'Metro Park - Quarantine Edition' has been truly exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time because it is entirely shot from home by the cast, which is turning into the new normal in the times of COVID-19.

"I'm hopeful that fans will enjoy watching these specials especially made for them," Ranvir said in a statement.

Ridhima Lulla, chief content officer, Eros Group, said the team is excited to put together the special edition amid difficult times.

"We are aiming to deliver exciting and unique content for our viewers world over, which they can binge watch and enjoy during the lockdown," she added.

Directed by Abi Varghese and Venugopalan, "Metro Park - Quarantine Edition" will stream from May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syracuse, N.Y.  Crowds havent been a problem at the Central New York Regional Market since the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the state.

That changed last weekend on a near-perfect spring day.

Shoppers came to the regional market in droves on Saturday, filling the Syracuse markets sheds as they picked up plants and produce. The crowds made it impossible for people to stay 6 feet apart. Not everyone wore masks.

So this weekend, the market plans to make some changes.

Onondaga County Health Commissioner Indu Gupta and her team went to the crowded market on Saturday, County Executive Ryan McMahon said Tuesday during his daily coronavirus briefing. They saw the market needed to work on social distancing and improve communication, he said.

The county health officials shared their observations with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the countys spokesman said.

Amanda Vitale, director of the CNY Regional Market, said the markets staff is putting up more signs to encourage social distancing. Theyre also looking into ways to direct crowds and prevent walkways from getting clogged up, she said.

In the meantime, Vitale encouraged shoppers to visit the weekly Thursday market which is less crowded. The market is at 2100 Park St.

Thats a great opportunity for people to come and shop without a crowd, she said.

McMahon made a request to future shoppers: Wear a mask.

Theres no reason when youre at the farmers market not to be wearing a mask, he said. I would ask you to do it as a neighborly thing.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Syracuse gym owner desperate to reopen: I dont know how to make myself heard

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 07:56 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd91e195 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,mudik-ban,mudik,Idul-Fitri,idul-fitri-exodus,transportation-ministry,coronavirus,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia Free

The government will tighten its monitoring of the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) ban as the Islamic holiday, which falls on May 24 and 25 this year, approaches, the Transportation Ministry said.

We have to be prepared for more people trying to travel. Therefore, we will add more personnel to safeguard the checkpoints, Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

The mudik ban, which is based on Transportation Ministerial Regulation No. 25/2020 signed by acting minister Luhut Pandjaitan on April 23, applies to all types of mass transportation as well as to private vehicles and is seen as crucial to prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus from spreading from the epicenter of Jakarta and West Java to other regions of the country.

Read also: Jokowi calls for caution in easing of PSBB after mudik ban relaxation

Violators will either be stopped or turned back. Buses that have been allowed to operate will be given a special sticker.

After the holiday ends [] we will continue to monitor the roads and will have tow trucks on standby. We will also spray incoming vehicles with disinfectant, Adita said.

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.

The government, however, has been adamant that the mudik ban is still in effect despite relaxations on restrictions.
A week after a renewed round of fighting began between the forces of the internationally recognised government of Yemen and the forces of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), neither side has scored significant progress. Both sides also refuse to divulge their losses in lives and materiel, although local sources report escalations in the ongoing exchanges of fire.

It is still hard for either side to budge from their current positions, STC Commander Mohamed Abdel-Hadi told Al-Ahram Weekly. He said that government forces were ensconced in the heights of Al-Shaykh Salem and were still unable to break through to Zinjibar, the capital of the governorate of Abyan, which is held by STV forces. There is probably a line of mines that theyll have to deal with, too, he added. STC forces are also fighting to keep government forces from entering the port city of Aden.

The STC has accused the government, which it describes as an alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda, of starting to mobilise a military offensive against Aden several weeks ago. Towards this end, they had begun to amass forces in Shoqra, a coastal town northeast of Zinjibar. In response, the STC declared self-rule in southern Yemen, although in practice the autonomy only applies to Aden governorate.

The outbreak of hostilities appears to have angered Riyadh which had brokered a power-sharing agreement between the two sides in November and is now frustrated by the continued escalation. Neither side of the conflict in the south has the political will to end the military escalation and reactivate the political settlement, a source close to the government, in Riyadh, told the Weekly.

Tensions between the government and STC grew more heated when the former implied that the STC was fostering terrorist activities. After gunmen in two speedboats attacked a British-flagged tanker off the coast of Hadhramaut in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, 17 May, the governments Minister of Information Muammar Al-Aryani said: The terrorist attack against a ship off the southern coast of Yemen confirms the continuation of terrorist activities targeting international shipping lines in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and the mounting threat to global trade. He asked the STC government in Aden to hand control over the coast to government forces, even though the attack occurred over a thousand miles away.

STC Vice President Hani Bin Buraik responded that there was no question of the STC handing over control of the ports in Aden to the government. From our bitter experience with the government we have learned how handing the coast guard from a Hadhramaut elite to the Defence Ministry of Hadi, Mohsen and Al-Maqdashi has given terrorists free rein off our coasts, Bin Buraik said, referring to Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar and Minister of Defence Mohamed Ali Al-Maqdashi.

So far, the Saudi-led Arab Coalition has taken no formal position on the developments. However, observers maintain that Riyadh wants to punish the STC for having acted unilaterally and violating the Riyadh Agreement. They also believe that the self-rule government in Aden will not be able to handle two battles simultaneously, one being the military confrontation against Yemeni government forces and the other being the battle against coronavirus which comes on top of other epidemics that have ravaged the southern port city.

At least four epidemics have been declared in the city and they are claiming dozens of lives by the day, STC Commander Mohamed Abdel-Hadi said. The health crisis was aggravated by floods that swept the city several weeks ago, cutting off electricity, destroying essential infrastructure and facilitating the spread of disease. The combination of all this has fuelled popular anger against everything, Abdel-Hadi said.

Observers doubt that the two sides will return to the Riyadh Agreement that was concluded 5 November 2019. According to a STC source, the dispute settlement committees that had been formed in accordance with that agreement have not met for five months. The source, who had taken part in the negotiations as an observer, told the Weekly, Only three meetings were held. And these were between the [Yemeni] government committee and the Saudi committee. The Southern Transitional Council committee did not participate.

The STC source believes that both sides are showing signs of a desire to back out of the agreement which is not in our interests right now. Ultimately, the STC will only get three government portfolios. It will only be an administrative partner with the government while the president will be the central authority and control appointments, including the governors of the southern provinces.

In this sources opinion, Riyadh is currently intent on weakening the STC which wants to regain the level of control it had while the UAE was still involved on the ground in Yemen.

Riyadh probably wants to put that era behind it, he said. As for the Hadi government, it got the green light to launch a military offensive to settle scores and pursue the political agendas of its components. He added that those agendas are at odds with the aims of the STC which ultimately seeks secession.

Other sources in Aden as well as in Riyadh confirmed that the Saudi-led Arab Coalition had given the Yemeni government a green light to go on the offensive. They told the Weekly that the government could not have begun to amass forces, move them towards the coast of Abyan and then escalate fighting without Riyadhs approval, even if Riyadh publicly called on both sides to show restraint and adhere to the agreement. They believe that Riyadhs purpose is to promote a new balance of powers on the ground so that it can assert a tighter grip on the south. One source added: After the current Yemeni government performs its required role towards this end, it too will be put out to pasture while the STC will have been militarily and politically broken.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A 31-year-old man has been remanded in custody charged with the murder of David 'Daithi' Douglas in a shooting Dublin four years ago.

The 55-year-old was fatally wounded after he was shot six times in front of his daughter while working at his partners shoe shop on Bridgefoot Street in Dublin on afternoon of July 1, 2016.

Douglas, from Killala Road, in Cabra in north Dublin, was rushed to St Jamess Hospital, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Lee Canavan, 31, who is of no fixed address, appeared before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court today.

He was charged with murder of Mr Douglas and also criminal damage to a car three days later at Strand Road, Sandymount, in Dublin.

On Tuesday, he was extradited from the United Kingdom on foot of a European Arrest Warrant and arrested by gardai upon his arrival at Baldonnell Aerodrome.

Detective Garda Mark Kelly told Judge Hughes that the accused was taken to Kevin Street in station in Dublin. His reply to the charges was no comment.

There was an application for a remand in custody. The district court does not have jurisdiction to consider bail in a murder case.

Defence solicitor Tracy Horan said she anticipated that the book of evidence will be ready to be served next Wednesday. She asked the court to direct that he will be held on remand at Mountjoy Prison instead of Portlaoise Prison.

Detective Garda Kelly had the same application and said security arrangements were in place.

Judge Hughes agreed to the request and to direct medical attention for the accused in custody. Mr Canavan's solicitor said he had been receiving treatment for tumours.

Mr Canavan, dressed in a navy tracksuit and wearing a face-mask, did not address the court. Ms Horan also said the case will be sent forward for trial to the Special Criminal Court.

Judge Hughes granted legal aid after hearing the accused was unemployed and has no means. He remanded him in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court next Wednesday.

Three men have already been jailed by the the Special Criminal Court for their roles in the killing.

"Fat" Freddy Thompson, 38, of Loreto Road, Maryland, in Dublin, was charged with the murder of David Douglas. In August 2018, he was convicted and sentenced to a mandatory life sentence.

Getaway driver Gareth Brophy, 25, with an address at Reuben Walk in Dublin pleaded guilty last December to helping facilitate the murder of Mr Douglas. In January he was handed a 10-year sentence.

In November 2018, Nathan Foley, then aged 22, of Rosary Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to helping a criminal organisation carry out the murder of David Douglas. He was jailed for six years.
Critical Lawmaker In Iran Sentenced To Prison At The End Of His Term

Radio Farda May 19, 2020

An outspoken member of Iran's parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi, says a Tehran court of appeals has upheld a decision, sentencing him to 21 months in prison, and a 100 million rial (roughly $2400) fine.

"The court had previously set a date for July 18, but it unexpectedly issued its ruling today," Sadeqi tweeted on Monday, May 18.

The lower court had sentenced Sadeqi last February.

Mahmoud Sadeghi (Sadeqi) had lambasted the former head of the Judiciary and current Chairman of Expediency Discernment Council, Ayatollah Sadegh Amoli Larijani, saying, how the cleric could hold high public office while during his tenure there were so much corruption in the Judiciary.

Sadeghi was referring to the case of Akbar Tabari, the Judiciary's Deputy Chief Executive Officer during Larijani's term as the Chief-Justice of the Shi'ite clergy-dominated Iran.

Speaking at a press conference on July 16, 2019, the Judiciary spokesman, Gholam Hossein Esmaili, said Tabari was arrested for "exerting influence on some legal cases" and "having unlawful and unethical involvement" in several lawsuits.

Widely known as "the judiciary's strongman in the shadows," Akbar Tabari, was the director of finance and then deputy head of the Judiciary for administrative affairs for more than two decades.

Furthermore, in a-well-publicized open letter to Larijani in 2016, Sadeghi who is a reformist member of parliament from Tehran, demanded that Larijani offer a public explanation about his bank accounts. According to some reports at the time, huge sums of money had been deposited in dozens of bank accounts in the Chief Justice's name instead of the Judiciary's accounts.

Sadeqi's criticism was generally interpreted as questioning the Islamic republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's authority who had appointed Larijani as Chief Justice.

Khamenei replaced Sadeq Larijani with Ayatollah Ebrahim Raeesi as Chief Justice but appointed him as the chairman of the influential Expediency Council in January 2019. The council offers advice and counsel in the country's most vital matters to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It is also the body that mediates between the parliament and the Guardian Council.

Renowned for not mincing his words, Mahmoud Sadeghi was disqualified to retain his parliamentary seat in last February's national elections.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary Media Center said Mr. Sadeghi was not convicted for his allegations about Larijani's accounts, but on other unspecified charges raised by private plaintiffs and public prosecutors.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/critical- lawmaker-in-iran-sentenced-to-prison-at-the- end-of-his-term/30621050.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Korn Art, 38, shoulders sticks of sugarcanes to load onto an ox-cart at a farm in Kandal province, Cambodia in a file photo.

A Chinese sugar company with a large long-term land concession in Cambodia came under fire from NGOs Tuesday for leasing parts of the concession to local villagers, collecting rent instead of engaging in the activities stipulated in its contract with the Cambodian government.

The Hengfu Group Sugar Industry, the mother company of five local subsidiaries in Cambodia, was awarded a 70-year concession in 2011 spanning 400,000 hectares (1,544 square miles) in Preah Vihear province in return for promising to invest U.S. $1 billion.

The Cambodian government held an opening ceremony for a factory on the concession in 2016, where Prime Minister Hun Sen noted that the companies invested $360 million for stage one of the development scheme.

But by charging rent to villagers that live there instead of using the land for sugar production, the company is in breach of contract, NGOs say.

The Chinese companies should return the land concession back to the government, and the government should return the land to the villagers, most of whom are from indigenous minorities, Lor Chan, the Preah Vihear provincial coordinator for The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association told RFAs Khmer Service.

Many Cambodian villagers are leasing land from the Chinese companies, he said.

Lor Chan added that following the concession, the local villagers filed complaints against the companies that are still pending.

It is illegal. They breached their land concession contracts with the government. The companies have no legal ground to lease land to villagers, he said.

The concession impacted thousands of villagers from 25 villages in three districts in the province, according to Phek Sophoan, of the Ponlok Khmer Organization, which advocates for the human rights of indigenous people living in the provinces highlands.

Phek Sophoan told RFA that outside villagers and government officials are also leasing the land as opportunists, taking advantage of the situation to encroach on land that should belong to the highlanders.

The companies were awarded the land concession for sugar plantations. So when they are out of business, they must return the land back to the government so the people who used to cultivate it can do so again, he said.

The companies suspended operations due to internal problems, but promised to resume in 2020, according Preah Vihear Provincial Agriculture Department Director Peung Tryda. The director stated this some time after they suspended operations. RFA attempted to contact him Tuesday, but he could not be reached.

RFA reached Preah Vihear Provincial Governor Prak Sovann, but he refused to comment about the situation.

Farmers divided

Local farmer Yeay Sok, told RFA that she leased 20 hectares (50 acres) of land at 200,000 riels ($48.70) per hectare per year from the companies to cultivate rice. She said she paid half first and will pay the rest after harvest.

Yeay Sok, who has already planted on five hectares, said she thinks the cost of leasing the land is fair to the farmers.

Many Cambodians are leasing land from the Chinese, she said, adding that people from Kampong Cham and Prey Veng provinces have come to lease parts of the concession with annual contracts.

If they let us, we will continue to lease the land next year, she said.

Yeay Sok said she had no idea why the companies stopped cultivating their sugar plantations, adding that there are now local cattle grazing where the sugar cane was once planted.

But an indigenous Kui villager who refused to be named because of security concerns told RFA that he lost a six hectare communal plantation to the companies in 2012 and believes they shouldnt be allowed to rent out the land now.

It was my land. They took it because they said the government gave them [the rights]. But now why stopped [planting sugar] so they are leasing the land to people and I dont think thats fair, the villager said.

He argued that the companies need to return the land, which has been in his family for generations, now that they are out of business.

So Cambodians are no longer in charge of the land, and Chinese own it. Its very strange, he said.

RFA contacted Lan Feng Cambodia, one of the subsidiaries, but company representative Y Heng declined to comment.

Economic land concessions (ELCs) have been at the heart of land disputes between the government and its citizens as residents are often forced off their land so that it can be exploited.

Prime Minister Hun Sens government has issued concessions to more than 2.1 million hectares of Cambodian land to investors, including major Chinese and Vietnamese companies and local firms with ties to the governing Cambodian Peoples Party (C.P.P.), according to a 2015 report by the human rights group LICADHO.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Ciena Corporation CIEN recently announced that Telefonica UK, part of the global telecommunications group Telefonica, S.A. TEF, will deploy a technology from the former to migrate its legacy traffic to a new network. The transition will enable the U.K. carrier to augment network automation capabilities and gain greater control over its operations while reducing costs and improving reliability quotient.



Per the deal, Telefonica UK will leverage Cienas 6500 Packet Transport System (PTS) to shift its legacy Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure to a next-generation Adaptive IP network. Powered by WaveLogic coherent optics, the 6500 Packet Optical platform offers a robust infrastructure that is highly scalable and cost-effective. This will facilitate the carrier to better address the evolving customer demand for data-intensive applications across a single, converged packet-based transport network. This, in turn, will enable the company to enhance real-time visibility and proactively take adequate steps to address any potential issue.



Meanwhile, the deal would increase the scope for Cienas customer engagement and boost sales, leading to a recurring revenue stream. The companys top line is expected to benefit from rising demand for packet-optical transport and switching products, integrated network, and service management software. The company has been diversifying its footprint in datacenter connectivity. This has enhanced its reach to a broader end-to-end optical and data-equipment market.



Ciena is increasingly investing in the data and optical fiber market in order to cash in on the tremendous growth opportunity presented by rising bandwidth demand from network service providers. Moreover, network upgrades by telecom carriers to meet increasing demand bode well for the companys long-term growth prospects. Currently, the company is one of the leading suppliers of 40G and 100G optical transport technology.



In addition, Ciena is making efforts to expand its Web Scale IT Architecture in the enterprise market by launching products like chipsets, metro architecture and mobile backhaul solutions. Fiber Deep technology represents a big opportunity for the company, going forward, driven by the strong adoption of its products among all major cable operators in the global market. We believe Cienas strong product portfolio will boost its top line in the long run.



The company remains confident about its business model and ability to achieve the three-year financial targets on the back of its diversification, global scale and innovation leadership. The company is augmenting its Packet Networking portfolio with new Adaptive IP capabilities, coherent optics and purpose-built hardware platforms to enable service providers to capitalize on 5G.



Ciena currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader industry are United States Cellular Corporation USM and Telenav, Inc. TNAV, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



United States Cellular delivered a positive earnings surprise of 104.1%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.



Telenav delivered a positive earnings surprise of 108.3%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.



Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?



Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.



Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.



See the pot trades we're targeting>>



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



Ciena Corporation (CIEN) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Telefonica SA (TEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report



United States Cellular Corporation (USM) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Telenav, Inc. (TNAV) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
A woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband in Sydney's north-west on Wednesday had sought an apprehended violence order against him almost four weeks ago.

Emergency services were called to a home on Ramona Street in Quakers Hill about 6.30pm on Wednesday following a phone call from the woman's brother who found his sister with a knife wound to the throat.

A forensic officer at a home in Quakers Hill where a woman was fatally stabbed on Wednesday night. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Kamaljeet Sidhu, 27, died at the scene.

"Police attended immediately, located the brother outside and had a conversation. They entered into the unit and found the accused located in the hallway, immediately outside of the bedroom, with a female deceased on the floor," NSW Police Superintendent Jennifer Scholz said on Thursday.
The response to protect Northern Ireland's care homes from Covid-19 could have been handled differently, one of the most senior NHS officials has said.

Dr Michael McBride, Northern Ireland's chief medical officer (CMO), has rejected concerns raised about policies relating to care homes in Northern Ireland.

However, appearing at the Stormont health committee on Wednesday, Dr McBride said health officials are willing to review the response to date and said lessons will be learned.

In a fractious exchange between committee chair Colm Gildernew and Dr McBride, the CMO said: "I think in terms of could we do more or could there have been more that could have been done, I think there will come a time for us to look back and examine all that we have done to this point in time.

Read More

"There absolutely will be learning, make no shadow of a doubt about that, we now know more about this virus than we did at various points, weeks and indeed months ago - and undoubtedly there will be learning and there will be things which we may have done differently. I mean again I am very happy to acknowledge that."

There will always be an opportunity to look back and ask could we have done more Dr Michael McBride

He continued: "In terms of what we did do and the steps we did take, I think that we took graduated steps at appropriate points in time.

"I think our response from the outset has been comprehensive, I think it's been supportive, I think it's been detailed.

"There will always be an opportunity to look back and ask could we have done more."

He added that "the tragic consequences of this virus is that it preferentially attacks the frail, the elderly and those with underlying conditions".

"I think that the impact on our care home sector could have been much worse had we not taken the steps at the time that we took those steps."

Dr McBride's comments came after Sinn Fein MLA Mr Gildernew asked whether he believed "everything was done to ensure resilient surge plans were put in place within care homes".

Mr Gildernew subsequently asked Dr McBride whether it was a mistake to discharge Covid-positive hospital patients into care homes.

While Dr McBride acknowledged there was a policy to free up hospital beds ahead of the surge, this was done to ensure the best possible care would be available to people seriously ill with Covid-19.

"I don't think any of us sitting in this chamber today, looking at what was emerging across Europe, the people who were dying for not being able to access care, felt that it was anything other than appropriate that we ensured that we had the capacity within our healthcare system to provide acute care," he said.

On Wednesday, Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey said Dr McBride would have a role in deciding when restrictions on sporting events would end.

She said she was also engaging with sporting officials in England, Scotland and Wales on what sorts of measures will be required.

"And we will be engaging with the chief medical officer (Dr Michael McBride) and the health minister (Robin Swann) as we start to move through," she said.

"So we're not going to sit about, we're not waiting until we get to step five, we're proactively looking at these issues at the moment, we're working with the sporting codes to see what measures could be put in place to minimise risk," she said.
File image

India has recorded 1,06,750 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, which includes 3,303 deaths, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest update.

Of these, 61,149 are active cases while 42,298 people have recovered.

The data was updated at 8.00 am on May 20 on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's website.

Follow LIVE updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here

With 37,136 COVID-19 cases, Maharashtra has reported the highest number of infections, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,448), Gujarat (12,140) and Delhi (10,554 ).

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 Maharashtra government on May 19 eased some restrictions in orange and green zones, but continued most restrictions in red zones.

However, in red zones such as Mumbai and Pune, e-commerce companies can now deliver non-essentials. Autos, taxis, continue to be prohibited in red zones, and private offices will have to remain closed.

According to a PTI report, a record 1,08,233 samples were tested across the country on May 19, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted so far to over 24 lakh.

S. No. Name of State / UT Total Confirmed cases* Cured/Discharged/Migrated Deaths** 1 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 33 33 0 2 Andhra Pradesh 2532 1621 52 3 Arunachal Pradesh 1 1 0 4 Assam 142 41 4 5 Bihar 1498 534 9 6 Chandigarh 200 57 3 7 Chhattisgarh 101 59 0 8 Dadar Nagar Haveli 1 0 0 9 Delhi 10554 4750 168 10 Goa 46 7 0 11 Gujarat 12140 5043 719 12 Haryana 964 627 14 13 Himachal Pradesh 92 47 3 14 Jammu and Kashmir 1317 653 17 15 Jharkhand 231 127 3 16 Karnataka 1397 544 40 17 Kerala 642 497 4 18 Ladakh 43 43 0 19 Madhya Pradesh 5465 2630 258 20 Maharashtra 37136 9639 1325 21 Manipur 9 2 0 22 Meghalaya 13 12 1 23 Mizoram 1 1 0 24 Odisha 978 277 5 25 Puducherry 18 9 1 26 Punjab 2002 1642 38 27 Rajasthan 5845 3337 143 28 Tamil Nadu 12448 4895 84 29 Telangana 1634 1010 38 30 Tripura 173 116 0 31 Uttarakhand 111 52 1 32 Uttar Pradesh 4926 2918 123 33 West Bengal 2961 1074 250 Cases being reassigned to states 1096 Total number of confirmed cases in India 106750# 42298 3303 *(Including foreign Nationals) **( more than 70 percent cases due to comorbidities ) #States wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation #Figures are being reconciled with ICMR

Globally, nearly 49 lakh infections and more than 3.23 lakh deaths have been reported due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here
The pizza is excellent. Opening a new restaurant to serve it, at this exact moment in history, is challenging.

Its an awkward time, said Jeff LaCour, looking out over a sometimes-bustling, sometimes-quiet dining room of coastal Alabamas first Blaze Pizza, which opened Wednesday in the Legacy Village shopping center near the intersection of Dauphin Street and I-65.

Blaze, which already has restaurants in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, is a purveyor of fast artisanal pizza. Patrons order from a list of standard pizzas or pick and choose their toppings at a counter akin to the assembly line in a sandwich shop. By the time they hit the register to pay, their pie is on its way into the maw of an oven lined with open flames. With in seconds the cheese begins to melt, the sauce begins to bubble and the thin crust begins to crisp.

We like to have the guests pizza to them in eight minutes, said LaCour.

Thats the fast part. The artisanal comes from fresh dough made in-house daily and proprietary ingredients with an emphasis on no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners.

The "Green Stripe," featuring pesto, chicken, red peppers and arugula, is among the signature pizzas at Blaze Pizza.

Theres also some art to the selection of signature pizzas you can choose if you dont want to build your own. The Green Stripe (highly recommended) features a pesto drizzle over chicken, red peppers, garlic, mozzarella and arugula. The Hot Link gives you spicy red sauce, jalapeno, sausage, black olive, red onion, banana pepper and mozzarella. The BBQ Chicken tops chicken, mozzarella, red onion, banana peppers and gorgonzola with a barbecue sauce drizzle. While theyre a little bigger than what you might think of as a personal pizza, the thin crust keeps them in a sweet spot where theyre just small enough for one person to eat, or just big enough for two to split. (The signature pizzas range from 660 to 930 calories.)

Basic 11-inch pizzas run from under $6.65 to $8.65. The full menu, available at https://www.blazepizza.com/, includes larger pizzas, salads, desserts and appetizers. Life Mode options include keto, vegetarian and vegan selections. Online ordering for delivery and curbside pickup is available through the site and an app.

The process of bringing this to Mobile took a while to play out. LaCour, his wife Maureen and partner A.J. Venatta run LaCour Hospitality, which operates six Moes Southwest Grill locations: two in Baldwin County, two in Mobile, two in coastal Mississppi.

The LaCours stumbled across Blaze Pizza few years ago when visiting the Disney Springs complex in Orlando. The kids loved it, said Jeff LaCour. We loved it. They started making inquiries.

The dialogue was slow until it wasnt. After a year or two of not much movement, LaCour said, The next phone call was, Can you and your wife come to California in two weeks?

However, as a veteran franchise owner/operator, the partners were well aware that even when things are moving fast they can take a while. COVID-19 hadnt been heard of when they zeroed in on their new location. It takes a good 14 months from getting an architect to getting open, LaCour said.

The opening initially was planned for March 26. Like many other plans, it was put on hold by the coronavirus shutdown. It definitely slowed us down about two months, LaCour said Wednesday.

It also pushed their opening into an unusual situation where restaurant patrons were just getting a chance to return to their old favorites after a two-month shutdown. So much for the advantage of novelty.

Here again, having some local background helped. LaCour said that the outreach efforts done by his Moes Southwest Grill restaurants over the years, particularly the relationships with school communities, provided a database of potential Blaze customers.

Weve leaned a lot on our marketing efforts over the years, he said.

Like many restaurants, Blaze is touting a regimen of measures to help keep patrons from spreading or contracting the coronavirus. At this store on opening day, the most visible signs of that were the masks worn by the army of employees behind the counter, and the fact that a staff member had been stationed to operate what otherwise would have been a self-serve drink fountain.

Blaze Pizza's Meat Eater features pepperoni, meatballs, red onion and mozzarella.

Its a good crowd, LaCour said, looking out over the room. Hed have liked it to be bigger, sure. But he said that with or without a pandemic, he knows it takes a while to establish a new place.

And youd better have a realistic view of the ups and downs. The shutdown hit the Southwest Grill stores hard, as one might expect. As of April 1, business was down 60% to 70% across the board, LaCour said. Now its down 20% to 30%. Hell breathe a little easier, he said, when business is back to about 85% of pre-epidemic levels.

As stressful as that struggle to return to normalcy might be, at least it comes with a sense of what normal should be. The prospect of finding a comfort zone with a brand-new place is more daunting. I wouldnt want to be doing this as our only restaurant, he said.

LaCour remains optimistic about the plan of opening more Blaze stores, which was the pre-epidemic plan. But first theres work to be done. He spent half his time Wednesday behind the counter. Venatta was on hand as well and Maureen LaCour was in back learning to make the dough.

Its a journey, he said of the time it takes a new restaurant to hit its potential. It really is a three-year process. You better work in your business or have deep pockets.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

The Nifty50 has fallen by about 10 percent so far in May, partly weighed down by dismal results from India Inc. in March quarter and muted management commentary for the rest of the financial year.

Most analysts expect Nifty to remain range-bound in 8000-9900 band based on the analysis of potential earnings cuts for FY21 and FY22.

Earnings continue to remain under pressure and our analysts have cut earnings estimates; Autos by 23-108% (ex-TTMT); Financials by 9-70%; IT Services by 8-20%; Consumer Staples by about 4-5%; and Energy by 10-30% for FY21 and an average 10% cut for FY22, Amit Shah - Head of India Equity Research - BNP Paribas told Moneycontrol.

We observe, however, the street has been behind the curve in terms of earnings cut, and that can further weigh on the market in the near term, he said.

Shah expects the market to be range-bound in the near term with some downside risk in the range of 8000-9900. "Having said that, we think the worst is behind us and we do not see the market testing the March 2020 lows," he added.

We have collated a list of stocks from various brokerage houses and analysts which have slashed their target price on stocks post Q4 results:

Nippon Life India AMC: CLSA cuts target to Rs 300

CLSA maintained its buy rating on Nippon AMC but slashed its target price from Rs 380 to Rs 300 earlier. The company posted a sharp drop of 97.6 percent in its net profit at Rs 3.72 crore.

The global investment bank is of the view that volatility will remain which could impact the ability to regain market share. The asset under management (AUM) is down 12 percent led by weak performance in debt, liquid & equity funds.

Volatile markets in March reversed the market share gains. CLSA slashed its FY21/22 earnings by 16 percent but expect 16 percent AUM CAGR over FY20-22.

AU Small Finance Bank: Morgan Stanley cuts target to Rs 2155

Morgan Stanley maintained its overweight rating on AU Small Finance Bank post-March quarter results but slashed its 12-month target price to Rs 2155 from Rs 2270 earlier.

The near-term challenges outweigh long-term opportunities, said the note. The company trades at a significant premium to peer small finance banks and private sector banks like ICICI Bank. The company has few levers in terms of capital raise/stake sale in Aavas.

Cummins: Jefferies cuts target to Rs 320

Jefferies downgrades the stock to underperform from Hold post-March quarter results, and also slashed its target price to Rs 320 from Rs 435 earlier. The company reported about a 30 percent drop in net profit in Q4.

The international brokerage firm is of the view that exports could further drop post the FY20 decline. Excess supply and weak domestic demand would imply price competition. Further de-rating is on the cards as medium-term roe drops below 15 percent.

ICICI Prudential Life: Credit Suisse cuts target to Rs 440

Credit Suisse maintained its outperform rating on ICICI Prudential Life post March quarter results but slashed its target price to Rs 440 from Rs 525 earlier. Private life insurer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance posted a 31.5 percent year-on-year decline in its March quarter (Q4) consolidated net profit at Rs 178.73 crore due to a drop in net investment income and provisions.

However, the company posted a 21 percent YoY growth in the value of the new business (VNB) to Rs 1,605 crore in FY20.

Credit Suisse slashes FY21/22 EPS estimates by 20 percent. The VNB/EV Estimates were also cut by 12%/5%. The stock trades at 1.7x FWD EV.

Biocon: Motilal Oswal cuts target to Rs 305

Motilal Oswal maintained its neutral rating on Biocon post-March quarter results but slashes its target price to Rs 305 from Rs 320 earlier.

Biocons 4QFY20 results were considerably affected due to subdued performance of the Biologics segment owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the company remains confident of achieving its target of USD1b sales by FY22 (from USD270m in FY20), led by new launches and increased market share in existing products.

L&T Technology Services: Edelweiss cuts target to Rs 1394

Edelweiss Securities Ltd maintained its buy rating on L&T Technology Services post-March quarter results but slashed its 12-month target price to Rs 1394 from Rs 1885 earlier.

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) reported a USD revenue decline of 2 percent on a QoQ basis in Q4FY20. The management refrained from guiding for FY21 but mentioned they expect revenue to slide in Q1FY21 and the recovery to take place thereafter.

While we remain bullish on the long-term prospects of the fast-growing ER&D and believe LTTS is in a pole position to benefit thereof, the near-term pain from COVID-19 forces our hand to cut LTTSs EPS by 15% each for FY21E and FY22E, said the note.

LTTS had just started recovering from its worst phase in Telecom & HiTech, but COVID-19 and the crash in oil prices, respectively, have once again derailed the process, and that is a cause for worry.

M&M Financial Services: Investec cuts target price to Rs 230

Investec Bank maintained its buy rating on M&M Financial Services post-March quarter results but slashed its target price to Rs 230 from Rs 400 earlier.

We believe MMFS does not face a dilution risk as it is well capitalised (Tier-1 @ 15.4%) and has strong operating profitability (5% to assets). It does not face liquidity challenges and should be a beneficiary of reduced competitive intensity, said the note.

MMFS is trading at 5x times its normalised EPS (FY22E). Given this construct, we retain BUY on the stock while highlighting that it is cyclical and near terms, earnings are likely to remain depressed, said the note.

CDSL: ICICI Securities cuts target to Rs 260

ICICI Securities maintained its buy rating on CDSL post March quarter results but slashed its 12-month target price to Rs 260 from Rs 275 earlier.

CDSL is a balanced play on market growth with non-market linked revenues providing steady earnings with total cash of Rs7.2bn and free cash of Rs4.4bn lending business stability.

The near-term challenges include weak outlook on market-linked revenues and rising cost profile, which offset an otherwise healthy FY20 revenue performance. We expect revenue/PAT to witness CAGRs of 2.3%/0.6% between FY20-FY22E. Growth is expected to be lower due to decline in market-linked revenues in FY21E, said the note.

Factoring-in the lower earnings growth, lost opportunity in growth drivers like NAD being transferred to Digilocker and SEBI allowing eight other entities to undertake E-KYC using Aadhar, ICICI Securities slashed its forward core multiple EPS from 30x to 25x.

Zensar Technologies: Investec cuts target price to Rs 140

Investec Bank upgraded Zensar Technologies to buy post-March quarter results but slashed its target price to Rs 140 from Rs 180 earlier.

Zensar reported a revenue decline of c.1.9 percent on a QoQ basis in USD terms in Q4FY20 after a 6 percent sequential decline in Q3FY20. Q1FY21E is also likely to see a decline due to Covid-19 led demand issues.

We model in 11% revenue decline in USD terms in FY21E followed by a 9% growth in FY22E. We cut our FY21E/FY22E EPS estimates by 10%/32%. The stock currently trades below its FY20 book value of Rs92, said the note.

The management sees no risk of impairment to goodwill and hence we believe potential downsides on the stock are low, it said.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd: Edelweiss cuts target to Rs 5136

Edelweiss Securities maintained its hold rating on Maruti Suzuki post March quarter results but slashed its 12-month target price to Rs 5136 from Rs 5208 earlier.

Maruti Suzuki (MSIL) reported 8 percent higher-than-expected adjusted Q4FY20 EBITDA of INR16.7bn (down 26% YoY) due to gross margin improvement.

Going ahead, we believe the performance will be driven by i) availability of finance; ii) pricing discipline (retention of commodity benefits, lower discounts); iii) cost control, and iv) demand revival (low probability).

We are cutting FY21/22E core EPS by 50%/26% to factor in weak demand, but raising the target multiple from 25x to 27.5x, as sharp earnings cut cycle is now largely behind, said the note.

Incrementally earnings would be more sensitive to pricing discipline rather than a volume decline, it said. While MSILs franchise remains undisputed, an unexciting product cycle could weigh on market share/margins.

: The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Mumbai, May 20 : SEBI on Thursday allowed the listing of mutual fund schemes which are in the process of winding up.

In a circular, the securities market regulator noted that as per mutual fund regulations, there are several steps with respect to winding up of mutual fund schemes before the scheme ceases to exist. During this process, such units can be listed and traded on a recognised stock exchange, which may provide an exit to investors, it said.

"The units of Mutual Fund schemes can be listed in the recognised stock exchange. Accordingly, the units of Mutual Fund schemes which are in the process of winding up in terms of Regulation 39(2)(a) of MF Regulations, shall be listed on recognised stock exchange, subject to compliance with listing formalities as stipulated by the stock exchange," it said.

However, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that pursuant to listing, trading on stock exchange mechanism will not be mandatory for investors, and rather, if they so desire, they may avail an optional channel to exit provided to them.

Initially, trading in units of such a listed scheme that is under the process of winding up, shall be in dematerialised form.

Asset management companies shall enable transfer of such units which are held in form of Statement of Account (SoA) or unit certificates.

The stock exchange shall develop a mechanism along with registrar and transfer agent (RTA) for trading and settlement of such units held in the form of SoA or unit certificate.

The AMC, its sponsor, employees of AMC and trustees shall not be permitted to transact -- buy or sell -- in the units of such schemes that are under the process of being wound up. The compliance of the same shall be monitored both by the Board of AMC and Trustees.

The circular shall come into force with immediate effect and stock exchanges desirous of offering this facility, will have to submit the detailed operational modalities to SEBI, within next seven days.

The move will allow Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund as it is in the process of winding up six credit funds due to liquidity issues amid the coronavirus crisis.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) ("Forum") is pleased to announce the 2020/2021 exploration plans on its Janice Lake Sedimentary Copper/Silver Project, located 55 km southeast of the Key Lake uranium processing facility in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The focus of this years' exploration program will be to evaluate the regional copper/silver potential of this 52 km long sedimentary basin in preparation for an extensive summer and winter drill campaign.

Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC) Proposed 2020/2021 Exploration Program

A 110km winter haul road was completed to the site of the Burbidge Lake Drill Camp on the Janice Lake property in March. Permits are in hand for construction of a 50 person drill camp this summer.

The 2020 exploration program will commence as soon as practical and will be based out of the same camp as in the 2019 program*.

A 2,000 metre diamond drill program this summer will test regional drill targets prioritized by the permitted Mapping and Orientation programs. The permit application for the 2020/2021 RAB and diamond drilling program has been submitted to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.

A Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drill rig will be used as a prospecting tool to drill short holes into the bedrock on copper showings, structural, geophysical, geochemical and boulder train targets developed by the mapping and prospecting program.

A mapping and prospecting team will systematically map the 52km extent of the property (see Figure 1) initially on 2km wide traverse lines this summer with more detailed follow-up in prospective areas.

Orientation surveys over the Jansem and Janice targets will be completed this summer including downhole logging of the 2019 holes, an Induced Polarization survey, vegetation and soil surveys and a regional AMT survey to understand basin architecture.

Engagement with local communities is well advanced and ongoing.

* Due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns, the work plan will be dependent on RTEC's ability to safely and effectively access the project area.

Rick Mazur, President & CEO commented, "Rio Tinto intends to commence operations as soon as possible by adjusting its planning while remaining committed to the original program to explore Janice Lake. They have an industry leading health and safety protocol and will undertake this program with the utmost in care for the employees, contractors and communities engaged in this project. I am particularly looking forward to the regional focus of copper mineralization at Janice which has never been undertaken before on this property."





To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4908/56170_figure1.jpg

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 has granted 1,150,000 options and not 1,500,000 options as disclosed in the Company's news release of May 11, 2020. All other terms remain the same.

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 AMERICA

Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO

mazur@forumenergymetals.com

Tel: 778-772-3100



UNITED KINGDOM

Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi, Director

burnsstb@forumenergymetals.com

Tel: 074-0316-3185



To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56170
Mel C is reportedly in talks with the BBC to secure her own radio show with the network.

Sources have claimed Sporty Spice, 46, was approached by the broadcaster after impressing bosses with her DJ set on Scott Mills and Chris Stark's Radio 1 show earlier this month.

An insider said: 'Mel had a Zoom meeting with one of the BBCs top brass shortly after her gig on Scotts show because they saw so much potential in her.'

New career? Mel C is reportedly in talks with the BBC to secure her own radio show with the network

The musician is thought to be keen on following in the footsteps of Baby Spice Emma Bunton, who hosted Heart Breakfast from 2013 until 2018 with Jamie Theakston.

The source added to The Sun: 'She not only has an incredible background in the industry, shes got a wealth of music knowledge which bosses think the audience would lap up.

'She has done the occasional presenting job for Radio 2 in the past but they are looking at her getting a permanent slot. Its early stages but Mel has said shed be open to offers and would love to see if she could get on board.'

Exciting: Sources have claimed Sporty Spice, 46, was approached by the broadcaster after impressing bosses with her DJ set on Radio 1 earlier this month (pictured in February)

Inspiration: The musician is thought to be keen on following in the footsteps of pal Emma Bunton, who hosted Heart Breakfast from 2013 until 2018 with Jamie Theakston (pictured)

They also claimed future listeners could even expect appearances from Emma, Mel B, Geri Horner and Victoria Beckham on the show.

The BBC is surely looking to fill up a newly-vacant spot after presenter Maya Jama 'made the difficult decision not to continue her contract'.

BBC declined to comment when approached by MailOnline. MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mel.

The report came after the brunette beauty revealed the Spice Girls still have a group chat after reuniting - sans Victoria - for an acclaimed reunion tour in Summer 2019.

She's gone! The BBC is surely looking to fill up a newly-vacant spot after presenter Maya Jama 'made the difficult decision not to continue her contract' (pictured on May 2)

Speaking to Scott and Chris, Mel 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.'

The songstress 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.'

Starry guest list: Insiders also claimed future listeners could even expect appearances from Emma, Mel B, Geri Horner and Victoria Beckham on the show (pictured together)
SACRAMENTO  A proposal to cap the tax break for California homeowners to raise money for homelessness programs has died without receiving a vote.

Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, pulled his bill to limit the mortgage interest deduction on Tuesday, a day before it was set to be heard in the legislative committee on housing that he chairs.

The move indicates that Chius measure lacked support among enough members of the committee to pass. Because it raised taxes, the bill ultimately would have required a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature, a heavy lift even before the coronavirus pandemic pushed California into an economic crisis.

Were holding the bill today because theres not yet consensus on what will generate the most funding during this time of pandemic and massive budget deficits, Chiu said in a statement. But the conversation will continue about why our state subsidizes the purchase of vacation homes for the wealthy while tens of thousands continue to suffer on our streets. Nothing could be more emblematic of the inequality plaguing California and our nation.

The measure, AB1905, would have eliminated a state tax deduction for interest paid on the mortgage for a second home, a change that would have cost about 175,000 California taxpayers an average of $1,000 per year, according to Franchise Tax Board estimates.

The board projected that the bill would generate about $230 million annually, which Chiu proposed to set aside as dedicated funding for shelters, permanent supportive housing and other homelessness services. The homeless population in California increased by 16% last year, to more than 151,000 people.

The bill originally also would have capped the deduction for primary homes to the interest paid on the first $750,000 of a loan taken out since Jan. 1, 2018, conforming to a change made by President Trump and congressional Republicans in their 2017 tax overhaul. California now allows homeowners to deduct the interest on up to $1 million in mortgage debt.

But Chiu removed that provision Thursday, amid opposition from the California Association of Realtors and its local affiliates across the state. In a letter to Chius housing committee, the association wrote that the bill would reduce the value of homes and make reselling them more difficult.

This was the second time that Chiu tried to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction for second homes. His 2017 proposal to fund affordable housing passed three committees before dying on the Assembly floor without a vote.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
Triggering lockdown a week earlier could have saved the lives of more than 30,000 people in the UK, according to a shock study.

The staggering claim was made by a mathematical sciences expert who predicted how different scenarios could have affected the progress of the outbreak in Britain.

He suggests that starting the lockdown, which has now been going for eight weeks, a week earlier on March 16 could have limited the number of deaths to 11,200.

Data yesterday confirmed at least 44,000 people had died with COVID-19 across the UK by mid-May, with the death toll set to keep rising in coming weeks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent the country into lockdown on March 23, 58 days ago, banning people from meeting up with others or making unnecessary trips out of the home.

Britain was one of the last countries in Europe to put the rules in place - Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Austria, Spain and Italy had done it days or weeks earlier.

Dr John Dagpunar, from the University of Southampton, suggests the UK's decision came too late and thousands of people have died as a result.

He said in his paper 'literally, each day's delay in starting lockdown can result in thousands of extra deaths... it does pose the question as to why lockdown did not occur earlier?'

Detailed statistics show that more than 44,000 people have already died with COVID-19 in the UK, but this study from the University of Southampton suggests that number could have been kept to 11,200 if lockdown was introduced earlier

The study suggested that a lockdown which began a week earlier - on March 16 - would have led to a total of 11,200 people dying and just two per cent of the population catching the virus (98 per cent susceptibility)

A second model, which most closely aligns with what is happening in the UK right now, suggests that six per cent of the population get infected and around 39,000 people die. The demand for hospital beds is considerably higher than in the previous estimate. Britain is known to have more than 44,000 deaths already so this estimate is still too low

UK'S CORONAVIRUS DEATH TOLL WAS AT LEAST 44,000 A WEEK AGO At least 44,000 people have now been killed by COVID-19 in the UK, devastating statistics have confirmed. The Office for National Statistics figures, released yesterday, lumped almost 10,000 extra fatalities on top of the Department of Health's official count of 34,796 at the time. The DH count only includes patients who have tested positive for the virus. ONS data, which only covers England and Wales, confirmed 39,071 people had died with the coronavirus in all settings by May 8. The figures include patients whose death was suspected to be from COVID-19. At least 1,211 further people were known to have died in English hospitals between May 9 and May 17, according to the NHS, taking the England and Wales total to 40,282. In addition, National Records of Scotland - the equivalent of the ONS north of the border - counted 3,213 deaths by May 10, and Northern Ireland's Statistics Agency, NISRA, added 599 up to May 13. This takes the total for the UK to at least 44,094. But the actual number, taking into account more recent counts from Scotland and Northern Ireland, will be even higher. The ONS revealed that excess deaths - the number of people who have died above the average amount expected for this time of year - has now almost hit 55,000. That figure includes direct and indirect victims of COVID-19, such as people who may have missed medical treatment because hospitals were overloaded. Advertisement

Dr Dagpunar's study considered the number of people infected with the virus, its rate of reproduction, hospital bed and staff capacity, and the proportion of patients who die, among other factors.

He calculated the death rate to be one per cent, and the pre-lockdown reproduction rate (R) to be 3.18, meaning every 10 patients infected a further 32.

The paper estimated that 4.4 per cent of all patients need hospital treatment, 30 per cent of whom will end up in intensive care.

Of the intensive care patients, a hospital stay lasts 16 days on average and half of them go on to die.

Of the other 70 per cent, a hospital stay averages eight days and 11 per cent die.

Running these factors through an algorithm based on the timing of the UK's outbreak, Dr Dagpunar suggested that the March 23 lockdown could have resulted in a total of around 39,000 deaths.

Britain is known to have passed this grim landmark number already, suggesting that the study's estimate of fatality rate, virus R rate, or another factor, is too low.

If lockdown had been started a week earlier, on March 16, the model suggested, there could have been a 'very large reduction' in deaths, limiting them to around 11,200.

The virus would have infected four per cent less of the population in this scenario (two per cent compared to six per cent), the study said, and the demand for hospital beds would have been lower.

Dr Dagpunar said: 'In hindsight [this] clearly illustrates that earlier action was needed and would have saved many lives.'

He said the number of people who would go on to die in the scenarios was 'extremely sensitive' to the timing of the lockdown.

The study suggests that an earlier lockdown would have led to smaller peaks in deaths and demand for hospital beds

Dr Dagpunar's research showed a sharper, higher peak in deaths and demand for hospital beds in the UK's current situation, in which the lockdown began on March 23. The total death toll for this model (39,000) has already been exceeded, however

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

Dr Dagpunar added: 'Literally, each days delay in starting suppression (lockdown) can result in thousands of extra deaths.

'The same is true for premature relaxation, acknowledging that the rate of decline is less than the rate of growth, so the effect although severe is not quite as strong.

WHEN DID OTHER COUNTRIES GO INTO LOCKDOWN AND HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED IN THEM? An report published in March by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team outlined the dates on which various countries in Europe started their lockdown measures. Each is listed below, alongside the COVID-19 death toll for each country, as of May 20. The numbers on their own do not suggest a direct link between the timing of lockdown and the number of people who died, showing that other factors come into play. The most comparable countries in size to the UK are France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Austria: March 16; 633 deaths

Belgium: March 18; 9,150 deaths

Denmark: March 18; 561

France: March 17; 28.022

Germany: March 22; 8,193

Italy: March 11; 32,169

Norway: March 24; 233

Spain: March 14; 27,778

Sweden: No lockdown; 3,743

Switzerland: March 18; 1,883

United Kingdom: March 24; 35,341 Advertisement

'These conclusions are the incontrovertible consequence of the exponential growth and decline of a managed epidemic.

'As the UK attempts to manage the relaxation of measures from this first wave, a more sophisticated model might inform strategies that... combine shielding and segmentation of the population.

'These can then be put alongside the economic and other negative effects of prolonged suppression. The political decisions can then be well informed.

'At the time of writing on 17 May some 55 days after the lockdown of 23 March, the total deaths were 34,000 and rising, which is perhaps quite close to the [39,000] scenario considered... it does pose the question as to why lockdown did not occur earlier?'

An early lockdown would have dramatically reduced the demand for hospital beds, the study showed - from around 36,000 to 10,000 at the outbreak's peak.

Intensive care wards could have had to deal with almost 9,000 fewer patients (3,350 compared to 12,000 at the peak).

And the outbreak would have peaked earlier, meaning the outbreak could have come to an end sooner.

The late lockdown, however, was a better performance than 'unmitigated spread', in which the government would have done nothing and 638,000 people could have died, the study suggested.

Dr Dagpunar's paper was published on the website medRxiv without being checked by other scientists or journal editors.

Polls of Brits show around two thirds of people think the government took too long to put the UK in lockdown.

But other experts say ministers 'lost sight' of the evidence and rushed into lockdown, praising Sweden for holding its nerve and not shutting down the economy.

Surveillance studies have shown the crucial R rate had already began to drop before the draconian measures were introduced.

And other data suggested transmission had peaked after the softer social distancing measures to curb the outbreak were rolled out on March 16.
BGR

Our Sun isnt quite as old as other stars out there. However, scientists are already trying to pinpoint exactly when the Sun will die. Of course, it isnt as simple as throwing out a date. After all, were working with a massive ball of energy that weve still barely managed to scratch the surface of  The post Scientists think they figured out when the Sun will explode and kill us all appeared first on BGR.
In 2019, the World Bank warned that a growing debt wave made emerging markets and developing economies vulnerable to a sudden global shock, which would trigger a downturn in these economies, posing risks to globalgrowth. With COVID-19 that sudden shock has arrived. While world leaders are working to preempt the crisis, African nations are seeking relief directly from a major creditor: China.

This bilateral approach will likely prove ineffective. A sharp increase in Chinese lending to the worlds poorest countries over the last decade has contributed to over half of them, most in Africa, being at high risk of debt distress. But Chinas problematic lending practicessecrecy about its loans, demanding payment in commoditiessuggest that Beijing, on its own, is unlikely to provide terms beneficial to its debtors. Instead, the United States should lead a coordinated, multilateral campaign of debt forgiveness predicated on radical transparency, including from China.

Estimates made using World Bank data indicate 20 percent of African government debt is owed to China. But that data is incomplete. Chinas rise as global creditor, as Harvards Carmen Reinhart put it, has also meant that there are a lot of hidden debts.

Many Chinese loans are made by state-owned banks at commercial rates, rather than by the Chinese government itself, and unreported to the World Bank. And China is not a member of the Paris Club, an organization of creditor states which tracks official lending. The true level of Chinese debt in the world, thus, is unknown.

Reinharts research suggests that about half of all Chinese lending, roughly $200 billion dollars, is hidden. This would mean that emerging markets and developing markets owe more to China ($384 billion) than to the 22 members of the Paris Club ($246 billion).

Chinese debt is not only hidden, but often backed by public-sector assets as collateral. Default can result in China assuming control of critical infrastructure, as happened with the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota. In some cases, payment may be due not in money but in commodities. Venezuela is believed to owe China debts denominated in barrels of oil.

This, then, will be a debt crisis with Chinese characteristics. The usual responserelief from debt owed to Paris Club government lenders or bilateral negotiations by Chinas debtors to restructure their debtwill not only prove ineffective, but counter-productive.

Any action by the Paris Club alone, based on available, but inaccurate, financial data, will leave potentially larger Chinese debts unaffected. Debtor countries could still either be forced to pay hidden debts owed to Chinese banks or default on those loans, forsaking their infrastructure or commodities.

Any agreement with China, whether bilateral or even through the G-20, for example, that only addresses government-to-government debts would also provide little relief, since many of Chinas loans are made through state-owned banks.

A new approach, therefore, is necessary. One that expands the types of both creditors and debt involved. China must be included in a coordinated international debt relief strategy. And all debts owed by the debtor nation, whether to Paris Club members and multilateral lenders or not, whether to sovereign governments or to state-owned banks or other entities, and whether payable in money or in commodities, must be taken into account.

The United States should take the initiative to create this new approach. It should propose to expand the Paris Club or create a new, larger organization of creditors. And it should call for this group to write down substantially, e.g., by 90%, the sovereign debt of low-income countries. A key condition, however, must be the inclusion of debts owed to state-owned enterprises as well as to states themselves. Loans that require repayment in kind must also be included, since these requirements will detract from the states future revenues. New reporting and transparency standards for future lending should be adopted at the same time.

China will likely balk at these provisions, preferring to negotiate restructuring its loans bilaterally and in secret. But a multilateral forum in which global action is predicated on Chinese cooperation is the only way to force Beijing to come clean on its lending practices.

Developing countries that have undergone a change in government, Sudan for example, perhaps Venezuela eventually, could further pressure China by invoking the notion of odious debt, i.e., debt contracted for the benefit of those in power rather than the people. This would challenge the legitimacy of their debt to China, potentially leading Beijing to prefer multilateral negotiations over legal proceedings.

Even before the pandemic, there was concern that Chinese lending practices were creating debt traps, which might pressure debtor nations to align with Chinese foreign policy ambitions or turn over key resources or facilities. The current financial crisis presents an opportunity to put the spotlight on these practices, to free developing countries from crushing debt and Chinese coercion, and develop new, transparent standards for international lending.

Abram N. Shulsky and Blaise Misztal are Senior Fellow and Fellow, respectively, at the Hudson Institute.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The body of a 19-year-old Santa Fe resident was found in Abiquiu Lake on Wednesday morning, a day after he drowned.

The Rio Arriba County Sheriffs Office received a call around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday that someone had drowned at the lake. Deputies and rangers of the Army Corps of Engineers searched for the body until around midnight, said Capt. Lorenzo Aguilar, spokesperson for the Sheriffs Office.

The New Mexico State Police dive team arrived early the next morning and soon found the body of Marques Barrazas of Santa Fe.

Aguilar said Barrazas was at the lake with friends who were swimming to a point in the lake far from the shore and back again. Barrazas had trouble reaching the shore.

Two of his friends jumped in to try and assist him to get him to shore, but were unsuccessful and he went under, Aguilar said in a phone call Wednesday.

Although the official cause of death has yet to be determined, Aguilar said it appears to be an accident.

The drowning came days after the Corps of Engineers reopened parts of Abiquiu Lake to vehicle traffic on May 16. Since then, the lake has been packed with visitors almost every day, Abiquiu Operations Project Manager John Mueller said.

Mueller said Barrazas and his friends were swimming in an area near Canones that Corps rangers dont patrol because it borders private land. That lack of supervision can cause problems.

I would say that (that area) has potential to be unsafe, Mueller said. Its not a Corps of Engineers day-use area with park rangers that we can manage and control.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for rangers to ensure visitor safety, especially as hundreds of people crowd the shores of the lake, Mueller said.

Ive got to make sure my staff is protected before they can protect anybody else, he said.
Bartender Rebecca Strapp (left) and manager Angelica Preso (right) talk to customers at the sidewalk walkup at Garage Passyunk on May 14 as they awaited passage of a cocktails-to-go bill. Read more

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Gov. Wolf had already signed legislation to approve cocktails-to-go. He is expected to sign the bill this week.

Pennsylvania bars and licensed restaurants will likely be able to sell cocktails for takeout soon.

In advance of Gov. Tom Wolfs expected approval, bartenders prepared to pick up their shakers after two months and go to work. Though bar stools and dining room seats must still remain empty, business owners are hoping to see an income boost for a sector of the economy imperiled by the coronavirus shutdowns.

New Jersey on Friday approved similar legislation, allowing bars to sell cocktails of up to a pint for takeout or delivery.

Wolf said Tuesday that he would sign the bill.

Honestly, this should have happened six weeks ago," said Nicole Marquis, who reopened Charlie was a sinner, her vegan cocktail bar in Center City Philadelphia, last Wednesday in anticipation of the signing, because drinks account for 55% of sales. Restaurants and bars are the lifeblood of this city, and right now were bleeding out.... With the full reopening of bars not even on the table yet, this feels like our only shot."

Pennsylvanias cocktail-to-go rule is intended as temporary, extending only until businesses are able to reach 60% of seating capacity. It applies to licensees with a restaurant (R) or hotel (H) license that have lost more than 25% of average monthly sales during the pandemic, and allows them to serve sealed containers of mixed drinks in servings of 4 to 64 ounces before 11 p.m. The drinks may not be delivered.

(It should be noted that Pennsylvanias definition of temporary has wiggle room. The legislature passed a 10% tax on liquor sales to raise money for relief after the Johnstown flood of 1936. Fifteen years later, the tax was raised to 18% and was made permanent.)

Alcohol accounts for virtually all sales at many bars, and a sizable chunk of sales at restaurants. Beer sales have been allowed during the shutdown for takeout and delivery.

Not all bar owners are jumping at the chance to sell drinks to go. The rule says meals must be served. Rose Capozzoli at Rays Happy Birthday Bar in South Philadelphia, not known for any menu of substance, said she wants to see what others do before selling to-go drinks, since most of her business consists of $4 shot-and-beer specials. The 4-ounce drink minimum, she said, may throw things off  unless, she said with a laugh, I do two shots. Under the rule, mixed drinks may not be plain shots, however, and must be mixed on the premises.

The 4-ounce minimum was added to the bill by the House delegation from Philadelphia to prevent stop-and-go stores from selling shots the wrong way, said Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, which helped draft the bill.

Operating a takeout-only model is not sustainable for many restaurants; however, this legislation provides another tool for licensees to weather the challenges this crisis has presented, said John Longstreet, who heads the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. The legislation received bipartisan support: Rep. Kurt Masser, a Republican who serves Montour and parts of Northumberland and Columbia Counties, championed the issue, which started as a reform bill introduced by Rep. Perry Warren, a Democrat who represents part of Bucks County.

Drinks must be sold in a sealed container, which simply means that a cup with sipping holes or an opening for straws must be capped with an additional seal.

Many bars and restaurants are selling mixed drinks out of plastic takeout containers that might otherwise be used for soup or rice. Others use disposable pouches resembling intravenous bags. John Brandt-Lee, owner of Avalon in Bryn Mawr and West Chester, labels his the Fauci Pouchy, after the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Five years ago, Jason Evenchik, who owns a half-dozen bars and restaurants, bought the trademark for the name Fun Bags from a Wisconsin winery and was among the first publicans in the area to sell drinks in pouches at the bar. The location of Garage Passyunk at Ninth Street and Passyunk Avenue, across from takeout cheesesteak meccas Pats King of Steaks and Genos, may put Evenchiks business at an advantage. (For the record, Garages idea of food is Cup Noodles  your choice of pork, shrimp, or chicken.)

Which raises another issue: Open containers of alcohol are still prohibited in Pennsylvania. They should save the drink for consumption on private property, said Moran, of the tavern owners group. We dont want people walking down the street drinking one.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said 33 states plus the District of Columbia now allow restaurants and/or bars to sell cocktails to go, bottled spirits to go, or both.
Wildfire on Wednesday gutted the Abuja headquarters of the Nigerian postal service (NIPOST)

According to reports, the fire incident started around 9am while the staff of the agency had resumed to commence the days work.

Further reports indicated that the fire was put out and prevented from escalating.

Read Also: UNILAG Student In Hot Battle With NIPOST Over Missing Diamond Ring

Advertisement

The fire affected the second floor of the building located in the Garki area of the city.

Before the arrival of fire fighters, residents and staff were seen throwing things including stones at the building in a bid to put out the fire.

The incident happened about a week after all members of staff of the agency were directed to resume work.
Seasoned journalist, Kwesi Pratt has taken a jab at the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over their assertion that the party will win this year's elections by virtue of their performance; not on the basis of a new voters' register.



The Electoral Commission's decision to compile a new voters' register has stirred controversies from the camps of the two major political parties in the country, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the NPP.



NDC Rejects New Voters' Register



The NDC National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Identification Authority (NIA) saying they want to collude with the governing party to arrange the deceitful outcome of the 2020 elections.



According to him, the Commission's quest to compile a new register is a grand scheme to favour President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party to rig the elections.



The NDC alleged that the EC wants to achieve this aim by disenfranchising 11 million Ghanaian electorates, hence the Commission's plan to use only the Ghana card and passport for the registration exercise.



''The exclusion of the voters ID card from the requirements of registration for the national ID card by the Akufo-Addo government, was part of a well-calculated scheme to disenfranchise a good number of Ghanaians from acquiring the national ID card (Ghana card), which was to be used subsequently, as one of the registration requirements in the new voters register plan they had long hatched.



As we predicted, the Ghana Card registration process by the NIA has been very slow such that till date, the process which commenced with a pilot late 2017 and was supposed to be completed in one year, has been able to register only 11,062,055 out of about 19 Million Ghanaians (15 years and above) who are eligible to be registered. Even more bizarre is the fact that, out of this 11 million Ghanaians who have been registered, only 7,074,048 have been issued with cards (per NIAs own website https:nia.gov.gh) as at 2nd May, 2020)'', the NDC National Chairman said in a press conference on Thursday, May 14, 2020, adding that ''the objective is to disenfranchise a significant number of persons in NDC strongholds in furtherance of the Jean Mensa-led ECs grand scheme to rig the 2020 general elections for the New Patriotic Party".





The NPP, responding to the opposition party's claims, says they have no interest in manipulating the EC and NIA to do favours for them.The party explained that Ghanaians know their track record and their victory in the election is primarily contingent on the achievements of President Nana Akufo-Addo.Recounting some achievements of the governing party which include Free SHS through which about 1.3 million school children have gained enrolment into various educational institutions, job creation and high employment rate as well as the government's support and efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic among other good works of the President are enough for the NPP to have a landslide victory in the December polls."So we do not need the EC to rig the elections in our favour. NPP will win the election based on our soundtrack record'', Mr. Peter Mac-Manu said.Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on 'Kokrokoo' on, Kwesi Pratt questioned the logic in the New Patriotic Party's support for the EC to compile a new voters' register if they are certain to win the elections based on their achievements.Mr. Pratt asked why would they bother to pick an argument with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the registration exercise because to their Campaign Manager, Mr. Mac-Manu, the NPP doesn't need a new or old register to emerge victors.''If that is the case, then what's the meaning of all this noise? If we use the old or new register for the elections, NPP will win . . if it is possible to organize free and fair elections leading to the victory of NPP, what is the problem?'' he quizzed.Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission (EC) says their decision to use the Ghana Card and passport as the legal documents for the voters registration exercise is to aid in the elimination of unqualified names in the register.The EC added; Furthermore, an applicant who does not have the Ghana card or passport may resort to obtaining two guarantors to facilitate their registration and therefore the exclusion of the Voter ID as a requirement will not lead to suppression of votes."The Electoral Commission wishes to assure all stakeholders at all levels of its determination to deliver free, fair and credible Presidential and Parliamentary Elections on December 7, 2020 as mandated by law.''

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 landfall process of cyclone 'Amphan' commenced at 2.30 pm on Wednesday between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, the Met department said.

The landfall process will continue for about four hours, it said.

"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal," the Met said.

The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph, it said.

Heavy rain and gale wind have affected several districts in the Gangetic West Bengal since morning and the intensity of the downpour and wind increased gradually with every passing hour.

At 3.05 pm, wind speed at Dum Dum airport was recorded at 76 km per hour, the Met said.

The system is likely to move north-northeastwards after landfall and pass close to Kolkata in its eastern side causing extensive damage and flooding of low-lying areas of the city, the Met department warned.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
San Antonio, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - MIRAGE ENERGY CORPORATION (OTC Pink: MRGE) / NORTHERN HEMISPHERE LOGISTICS, INC. announces it has signed an agreement with "EL SINDICATO NACIONAL DE INFRAESTRUCTURA" for the support and cooperation of the union for the various projects CENOTE ENERGY S. de R. L. de C.V. for storage, WPF MEXICO PIPELINES S. de R. L. de C. V. all pipelines and NORTHERN HEMISPHERE LOGISTICS, INC. in reference to the Isthmus project.

PROJECTS:

CENOTE ENERGY S. de R. L. de C. V. - First under ground natural gas storage facility first phase 52 BCF of working gas storage with the capability of storing up to 786 BCF once full developed as demand by customers dictate.

WPF MEXICO PIPELINES S. de R. L. de C. V. - 42" diameter pipeline interconnected to proposed storage facility with interconnects to Station #19 and Los Ramones all on Mexico's National Pipeline System. Including interconnecting and rehabilitating a existing 48" pipeline running all the way to the Isthmus Corridor thus bringing abundant supply of natural gas to the southern region of Mexico. Approximately 1000 miles.

INFRAESTRUCTURA NACIONAL INTEGRADO DE GASODUCTOS



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_002full.jpg

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE LOGISTICS LOGO



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_003full.jpg

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE LOGISTICS, S. A. P. I. de C. V. - Includes rehabilitating dock facilities at Coatzacoalcos Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico side with new monobouys. Rehabilitating 30" & 48" lines running from Coatzacoalcos to Salina Cruz Oaxaca, dock and monobouys in the Pacific side, this including the pumping stations along the track and tankage on both side of the Isthmus.

PORTS



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_004full.jpg

EUROPEAN - US PORTS



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_005full.jpg

ROUTES BETWEEN ISTHMUS CORRIDOR vs. PANAMA CANAL



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_006full.jpg

INTERCEANIC HYDROCARBON CROSSING SYSTEM



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6732/56213_5056b134341d89b2_007full.jpg

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future financial performance. We intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors for such statement. We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Any forward-looking statements represent management's best judgement as to what may occur in the future. However, forward-looking statements are subject to risk, uncertainties and important factors beyond our control that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from historical results of operations and events and those presently anticipated or projected.

SOURCE: Mirage Energy Corporation

http://www.mirageenergycorp.com/

Office: 210-858-3970

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56213
Major (Rtd) Kwadwo Boakye-Djan was on Tuesday questioned by officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in relation to comments he made about the Electoral Commission (EC) on a radio programme.



The comments were made in a radio interview on an Accra-based Okay FM.



In the said interview, he said the rumpus surrounding the compilation of a new voters register could plunge Ghana into chaos.



The CID officers were said to have questioned him in his house on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 due to health issues.



This was after he reportedly refused to honour an earlier invitation.





Subsequently, police officers visited him for preliminary questioning.



According to the police, they chose to formally question him today at his home due to his health condition.







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
President Trump, pictured with coronavirus advisors Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, is minimizing COVID-19 losses and misrepresenting the country's success at fighting it. (Associated Press)

On Tuesday, the number of confirmed deaths in the United States from COVID-19 neared 92,000. By the end of next week, the number is likely to rise past 100,000. It will be an arbitrary milepost, but still a painful one.

Will President Trump pause and ask the nation to mourn? Will he set aside an hour to console families that have lost loved ones?

Not if he sticks to his usual practice. Instead, hell look for a way to blame someone else  and blunt the numbers impact with statistics of his own making.

After all, this is a man who built a 58-story apartment building, named it Trump Tower, and advertised that it had 68 floors.

This is a man who has claimed that he won the presidency in a landslide when his electoral vote margin was well below the historical average.

This is a man who often claims his poll numbers are the best for any Republican president in history when he actually has a firm hold on sixth place among the six GOP presidents since World War II.

This is a man who, only last week, claimed that he had appointed 280 federal judges; the true number is 193.

Flagrant misuse of statistics has been Trumps pattern during the coronavirus pandemic too  beginning in February, when he predicted that the number of confirmed cases in the country, then 15, would be close to zero within a couple of days.

The number is now over 1.5 million, but the president is still predicting good news ahead.

The number of Coronavirus cases is strongly trending downward throughout the United States, with few exceptions, he tweeted this week. Actually, the number of new cases is declining in the Northeast, but there's no strong downward trend in most of the country.

The presidents favorite statistic this month has been the number of tests given. Over 11 million tests, and going up fast. More than all countries in the world, combined, he tweeted Monday.

But Trumps comparison was wildly wrong.

His 11 million tests (now over 12 million) are not even close to the total for the rest of the world. Russia, Germany and Italy combined have done more than 13 million tests; the rest of the world has done at least 30 million.

Story continues

Still, the president isnt sure he likes tests as a measure  because tests bring bad news.

We have more cases than anybody in the world, he noted last week. Why? Because we do more testing. When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didnt do any testing, we would have very few cases.

In any case, the real measure of any countrys success at quelling the pandemic is its death rate  the number of people who die per 100,000 in the population.

Trump has claimed falsely that the United States is winning by that benchmark, too.

Germany and the United States are the two best in deaths per 100,000 people, he said last week. To me, thats perhaps the most important number there is.

But hes wrong. Germany and the United States arent the two best on any list of countries.

In the Group of 7 advanced democracies, the United States is in fourth place, behind Japan, Germany and Canada. Plenty of smaller countries have lower per capita death rates.

So whats Trump going to say when the number of U.S. deaths exceeds 100,000?

He may question the number. Conservative pundits including Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh have suggested that the casualty toll has been inflated to make the president look bad.

But theres no data to suggest thats true. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal governments top infectious disease scientist, says its a conspiracy theory.

If anything, most evidence suggests that the current tally is probably an undercount. Medical officials in New York and California say some deaths early in the pandemic werent attributed to COVID-19 because there werent enough testing kits to spare on victims who had expired.

Instead, the president has already tried out a newly invented statistic: the number of lives he claims to have saved because the terrible death toll is still below early worst-case forecasts.

We would have lost 2 million, 2 1/2 million, maybe more than that, he said. Well be at 100,000, 110,000  the lower level of what was projected.

Never mind that the worst-case forecast, from Imperial College London, assumed that nobody would practice any social distancing at all. And never mind that Trump has frequently said all such models were bunk.

Hes finding that forecast useful now because it helps him move the goalpost.

Heres the problem: Our death tally is still the highest in the world. Even if China and other authoritarian countries are fudging their figures, the U.S. death rate compares badly to other democracies from Japan to Canada.

America is first in the world in deaths, first in the world in infection, William J. Burns, the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Financial Times last week. We stand out as an emblem of global incompetence.

Unfortunately, hes right. Some numbers dont lie.
The number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases crossed the 5-million mark on Wednesday, according to a compilation of figures by Worldometer, as the pandemic continued to devastate the globe where close to 325,000 people have now died due to it and millions more find themselves unemployed and at the risk of poverty.

The latest million took 12 days, compared to 11 days that it took for the number to go from three to four million infections. Several countries, particularly the ones that were the hardest hit in early April such as Italy and Spain, have crossed their peaks and are reopening slowly, but officials have warned of a second wave that it may lead to.

The total number of infections is now equivalent to the population of New Zealand.

Also on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern about the rising number of new coronavirus cases in poor countries, even as many rich nations have begun emerging from lockdown.

The global health body said 106,000 new cases of infections of the coronavirus had been recorded in the past 24 hours, the most in a single day since the outbreak began.

We still have a long way to go in this pandemic, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. We are very concerned about rising cases in low and middle income countries.

Data of fatality and recovery rates on Worldometer suggests that globally, the deadliest stage of the current phase may have passed. On Wednesday, the fatality rate was 14.23% and the recovery rate was 85.77%. Such low proportion of deaths and high proportion of recoveries were last seen before March 24.

Brazil, Russia and India are emerging as the new hot spots of the disease. The US, where lockdown protocols have been less strict than most nations, added 20,289 cases on Tuesday to remain on top of the list of countries recording new cases.

In less than five months since the disease was first reported - local media in Chinas Wuhan wrote about a mystery respiratory illness on December 31 - much of the world has now come to terms with a new reality in which social distancing is compulsory, masks are increasingly mandatory and much of leisure activities - travelling, dining out and events such as concerts and sport - may be too dangerous till researchers find a vaccine.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 01:10:52|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The four EU members of the UN Security Council -- Belgium, Estonia, France and Germany -- plus Poland, which has just left the council, on Wednesday warned against Israel's planned annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.

The five countries expressed grave concern over Israel's plan to annex parts of the West Bank as stated by the prime minister when presenting his government to the Knesset (parliament) on May 17 and as envisaged in the coalition agreement signed earlier.

"We strongly urge Israel to refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory and would be, as such, contrary to international law," said the five countries in a joint statement.

"International law is a fundamental pillar of the international rules-based order. In this respect, we recall that we will not recognize any changes to the 1967 borders, unless agreed by Israelis and Palestinians," said the statement.

The two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital for both states, is the only way to ensure sustainable peace and stability in the region, it said.

The five countries congratulated the new government in Israel and looked forward to continuing to work with the Israeli government in a constructive and comprehensive way.

They showed their willingness to support and facilitate resumed direct and meaningful negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians in order to resolve all final-status issues and achieve a just and lasting peace. "We stand ready to engage immediately with the new government and with all relevant stakeholders," said the statement. Enditem
Reuters reported on the development after it saw a copy of a letter written by Capital Returns Management principal Ronald Bobman, which was addressed to Watfords board of directors.

In the letter, Bobman said that Watford has no inherent competitive strengths or core competencies. The principal added that Capital Returns Management only saw unprofitable underwriting and investment results coming from Watford.

The best course of action, I suspect, Bobman said in his letter, is for the company to be sold, possibly to a runoff specialist, or alternatively, to forgo its ratings and self administer its runoff.

He added that Watford has fallen horribly short of expectations since its establishment in 2014.

According to Reuters, Watfords portfolio has lost 13% since January; in comparison, its peers portfolios lost on average just 3.7%. Watfords stock price has also dropped 53% since January, versus its peers average 29.1% loss.

In March, Watford Holdings announced that its CEO, John Rathgeber, would retire. Rathgeber will remain on the companys board of directors and continue to serve as a senior advisor. He was succeeded by Jonathan Levy, then-president of Watford.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 15:42:33|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SYDNEY, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of frontline doctors and nurses in Australia will take part in a widespread clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine, a controversial drug that has been claimed to defend against COVID-19.

Announced on Wednesday and codenamed, the study COVID SHIELD will be led by Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, and funded by the Australian government.

Co-leader of the study, Professor Ian Wicks from the Royal Melbourne Hospital told Xinhua that hydroxychloroquine had been trialed before as a treatment for COVID-19, but the study was the first to test the drug as a preventive measure against the virus.

"As far as we are aware, it is the first double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to test for prevention," he told Xinhua. "We are hopeful this Australian trial will provide a definitive answer to this question."

During the four-month trial period, half of the 2,250 participants will be given hydroxychloroquine, while the other half will receive a placebo tablet.

Fellow co-leader of the study, Professor Marc Pellegrini from WEHI, described the multi-center, randomized, double-blind study, as "gold standard" in design.

"The trial is focused on our frontline and allied healthcare workers who are at an increased risk of infection due to repeated exposure caring for sick patients. Our aim is to help people stay safe, well and able to continue in their vital roles," Pellegrini said.

Earlier this week, the United States President Donald Trump revealed that he had been taking hydroxychloroquine himself for a number of weeks, despite inconclusive evidence to its effects and concerns for potential public misuse.

However, the drug has been widely prescribed by doctors in the past 50 years to treat diseases like malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, meaning that potential side effects are largely known and manageable within a clinical setting.

"Rheumatologists are very comfortable with the drug's safety profile. Like any medication, hydroxychloroquine has certain side effects, but fortunately, these are well known and quite uncommon," Wicks said.

"The medical specialists conducting COVID SHIELD are highly experienced in using hydroxychloroquine in the clinic. All participants will be screened based on rigorous selection criteria and closely monitored throughout the trial to ensure safety." Enditem
WASHINGTONNew York City has been North Americas grim natural laboratory for coronavirus. So when New Yorks governor says the citys experience shows the benefits of wearing a mask, its worth taking note.

Wednesday, at roughly the same time that Canadians were hearing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam advising people to wear masks to protect from COVID-19. , New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo was talking about what he said was their amazing effectiveness.

What shocks me to this day, and I would have lost a lot of money on this bet  how do front-line workers have a lower infection rate than the general population? Cuomo said at his daily COVID-19 press conference. How can it be? he asked. Theyre wearing the mask. The mask works. Those surgical masks work.

Jon Zelner, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, disagrees with Cuomos explanation for front-line workers lower infection rate. That is a totally unreasonable conclusion to draw from these data, he said. He pointed out front-line workers have higher testing rates, which lead to lower infection rates showing up  among other possible explanations. But still, he says, wearing a mask is a good idea.

I dont think we need to wait for this sort of evidence to conclude that it is a worthwhile activity, particularly for preventing transmission from infectious but asymptomatic individuals by absorbing droplets that otherwise might be dispersed into the air, he says.

Likewise, infectious disease expert Jeffrey Shaman of Columbia University says Cuomos conclusion doesnt follow from the evidence he cited, but he also agrees that use of face masks is effective and very important for helping control the virus.

Cuomo began requiring New Yorkers to wear masks in public in mid-April, and on Wednesday was announcing a public service ad campaign urging people to wear them. Other U.S. jurisdictions have mandatory mask-wearing orders for those shopping or otherwise interacting with others.

Though widely observed, these guidelines have been sometimes controversial. Threats of violence have accompanied objections to mask restrictions, and at least one shooting death followed a request by a store security guard for a shopper to put on a mask.

Canadians seem less likely to react so violently, but anyone looking to the U.S. for advice might land on a conclusion similar to that currently offered by Canadian public health officials. Theres not enough evidence to draw absolute conclusions.

But health experts increasingly agree that wearing a mask when youre out among other people is useful, especially if everyone does it.
Laurence Fox took advantage of the new lockdown rules on Monday as he enjoyed a pint with a friend in in Primrose Hill, London.

The actor, 41, seemed in good spirits as he sipped on a takeaway beer from the local pub and puffed on a cigarette whilst sitting in the street.

The new lockdown rules allow people to spend as much time as they like outdoors and meeting up with one person outside of their household at a time as long as social distancing is maintained.

Chilling out: Laurence Fox took advantage of the new lockdown rules on Monday as he enjoyed a pint with a friend in in Primrose Hill, London

Laurence kept things casual on the outing, donning a navy T-shirt and jeans and sunglasses.

The White Lines star has been spending lockdown at his London home with photographer girlfriend, Sara McKinnon.

His children - Winston, 11, and Eugene, eight - from his first marriage to Billie Piper also spend time at his swanky city apartment.

Taking it easy: The actor, 41, seemed in good spirits as he sipped on a takeaway beer from the local pub and puffed on a cigarette whilst sitting in the street

Rules: The new lockdown rules allow people to spend as much time as they like outdoors and meet up with one person outside of their household at a time with social distancing

A source told The Mail On Sunday: '[Laurence] has had a good feeling about [Sara], it is delightful to see him happy after everything he has been through.'

Half-Kuwaiti Sara previously dumped Laurence over his controversial race rant on Question Time in January.

The actor split from the dual-heritage photographer and fashion designer, 39, shortly after his TV appearance, but the pair reconciled later in the year.

Casual: Laurence kept things casual on the outing, donning a navy T-shirt and jeans and sunglasses, whilst his friend opted for all black

Solo: The White Lines star has been spending lockdown at his London home with photographer girlfriend, Sara McKinnon, but she did not join Laurence on the outing

Laurence told the Sunday Times magazine that Sara ended the relationship after the incident and said his comments 'caused a lot of stress for his family'.

The star had said during the interview, conducted at his flat pre-lockdown, that he was dating Telegraph journalist Madeline Grant, who also appeared on the panel during that fateful night on Question Time.

Laurence was famously a guest panellist on Question Time when an audience member called him a 'white, privileged male' and he called her description of him 'racist'.

Household: Laurence's children - Winston, 11, and Eugene, eight - from his first marriage to Billie Piper have also spent time at his swanky city apartment

He had entered into a debate about how Meghan Markle is portrayed in the media, sparking a race row about white male privilege while on Question Time.

The actor had called possible bias coverage towards the Duchess of Sussex 'boring' and accused an audience of racism for calling him a white privileged male.

Laurence also said in the Sunday Times interview that he had fallen out with his brother-in-law, half-Nigerian comedian Richard Ayoade, 42, who is married to his sister Lydia.

Sip and see: Laurence quenched his thirst with a pint from the Princess of Wales pub

Pub service: Laurence had to take his pint to go as the lockdown rules mean the pub has to operate solely as a takeaway service

He revealed he didn't attend Sunday lunch at their house for a few weekends, as a result of their feud but they have since become friends again.

He said: '[He] was furious. He told me I have never encountered racism. I responded. "Yeah, of course I have". I've encountered racism from black people towards me, when I was working in Kenya [as a safari driver] for seven months.

'It's the way you're spoken to. Racism can be deferential.'

In the limelight: Laurence hit headlines back in January when he appeared on Question Time and claimed it was 'racist' to be described as a white privileged male

Laurence has had a very chequered love life over the years.

He was married to actress Billie, the mother of his two children, from December 2007 - May 2016 and has said he surprised he didn't twig 'how inappropriate they were for one another sooner.'

She is now living with rock star Johnny Lloyd and they have a daughter Tallulah, together.

In December 2016, before his divorce was finalised, he split from Vogue Williams, 34, after a brief romance, saying they would 'remain friends.' She is now married to Spencer Matthews, 31.

In August 2018, Laurence and DJ Lilah Parsons, 32, called it quits following a 10-month romance, due to 'clashing work schedules'.

Back in February, he said he would never date a woman under the age of 35 because they are 'too woke'.

He also revealed he once dumped a partner because she liked a pro-#MeToo advert made by shaving firm Gillette, although he didn't reveal who that was.
Zara has baffled customers with its questionable campaign shots - including one which features a model submerged in water and another standing on a stove.

British shoppers have taken to Twitter to complain about the Spanish clothing giant's bizarre model snaps, which showcase the High Street store's Spring-Summer 2020 garments.

In one shot, shared widely on social media, a model can be seen donning a black dress with strappy green kitten heels while crouching on top of an oven - and ducking her head so as not to hit the extractor fan.

Posting a screenshot of the fashion retailer's website, one Twitter user wrote: 'What is Zara playing at, why is sis standing on the stove?'

Zara has baffled customers with its questionable campaign shots, which sees one woman submerged in water (pictured right) and another standing on a stove (pictured left)

Another odd snap shows a woman kitted out in an orange trouser suit resting mid-air against some white bookshelves (pictured)

Another odd snap shows a woman kitted out in an orange trouser-suit while resting mid-air against some white bookshelves.

Sharing the image online, a customer penned: 'Zara has the weirdest clothes website. Like why is sis moving like spider man.'

A third captured a model slouched forward on a couch in what appeared to be the Child's Resting Pose yoga position.

Meanwhile, another image which intends to advertise a 15.99 pleated dress depicts a woman submerged in water - which covers the garment completely.

Shoppers took to Twitter to complain about the Spanish clothing giant's bizarre model snaps, which showcase the High Street store's Spring-Summer 2020 garments (pictured)

A model in a light blue dress leans forward as she is photographed from the side, seen left, while a woman sits with her legs in the air while showcasing a pair of jeans, pictured right

Another image (above) captured a model slouched forward on a couch in what appeared to be the Child's Resting Pose yoga position

Eyebrows were raised at the questionable campaign imagery, with some customers complaining that the odd poses left them unable to see all aspects of the garments.

'Why I believe shopping online at Zara should be an Olympic sport,' one person wrote,' while a second commented: 'Zara's models "modelling" clothes might just be the best thing ever.'

A third questioned: 'Why is the Zara app so hard to navigate and on top of that you've got the models moving mad?'

'Zara advertises their clothing on their models like they don't want you to see it' a fourth shopper wrote on Twitter.

MailOnline contacted Zara for comment.
Former Secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon has described the appointment of professor Ibrahim Gambari as the chief of staff to President Buhari as a great asset to the country and Africa.

Ban Ki-moon made this known in his congratulatory message to the new presidential gatekeeper.

Read Also: Seun Kuti Shares Old Newspaper Of Gambari Backing Execution Of Dele Giwa

A copy of the message was made public by Lauretta Onochie, presidential aide on social media.

Advertisement

I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your recent appointment as Chief of Staff to H.E. Pres. @MBuhari of Nigeria. Your appointment is a great asset not to the President of Nigeria but also your country Nigeria and Africa in a broader sense- Ban Ki Moon

Former UN Chief.
This presidential campaign, more than most, has been largely about the president. Donald Trump's reelection campaign has dominated TV and digital spending, gotten front-page placement for its attacks on Joe Biden and crowded out most of what the Democratic nominee is saying.

What has been missing so far is much clarity on what the president would do in a second term. The coronavirus pandemic has reshaped the election and the president's ambitions, with a drumbeat of good economic news replaced by pledges to "reopen and recover" from disaster. Yet even before the crisis, the president's reelection campaign offered surprisingly few clues about the next four years. Appointing conservative judges was key, as was finishing construction of a border wall. But any broader domestic agenda or bills that the next Congress would be asked to pass are harder to see.

In one January interview, at the Davos economic forum, Trump floated a "very big" middle-class tax cut for 2021 if "we win the House back," suggesting the details could come in 90 days; in another interview there, he told CNBC he would "take a look" at changing Social Security. Ninety days came and went without a tax plan, and the Social Security line, which clashed with the campaign's position, has not reappeared since. "We've done really well with health care, but we're coming up with a plan that's going to be fantastic," Trump added, though no plan has emerged.

While the president has repeatedly floated an idea, then abandoned it - a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, a post-midterm tax cut - the pandemic threw any firmer plans into disarray. "New Heights," one of the last Trump TV spots to run before the pandemic, recapped the job growth and defense investments of the first three years and promised that "the best is yet to come," the slogan that Trump would repeat at the end of his winter rallies.

But before that, the pitch for a second term was to keep up every project from the first term. Previous presidents have gotten more specific. George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the last two presidents to face reelection, used their election-year State of the Union addresses to preview some possible second-term agenda items. Bush pitched a "personal retirement account" in Social Security and a push to "reform our immigration laws," while Obama made the tax-the-rich argument that would define his 2012 campaign and suggested a "peaceful resolution" with Iran over its development of nuclear technology.

This year's much-watched, memorable State of the Union address offered fewer coming attractions, in keeping with the president's message: The country had never been better off, and it would be folly to change course.

The administration, Trump said, wanted to send the first man to Mars - a familiar promise that Bush and Obama made, too - and enact the "groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians" being rolled out by the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It would sign legislation "finally banning the late-term abortion of babies" and advance "health-care price transparency," one goal stymied by Democrats and one already underway.

In the same speech, the president talked up three pieces of legislation by name: the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunities Act, the Advancing Support for Working Families Act, and the Justice for Victims of Sanctuary Cities Act. But none of the bills got much traction afterward, topping out at 15, six and 15 co-sponsors, respectively, and they have not been front and center in the campaign since then.

The broad, less-specific Trump agenda makes for a dramatic contrast with Biden's campaign. That's not wholly unusual; incumbent presidents tout what they've done so far, while challengers have to come up with ideas attractive enough to peel voters away. Joe Biden's campaign, which did not release as many plans as some Democratic rivals, has published agenda items from a first-year passage of an immigration bill to a health-care plan that expanded on the Affordable Care Act and added new ways to pay for it.

The Trump campaign's 2020 site does not have its own issues page and directs voters instead to a micro-site, PromisesKept.com, which breaks the president's record into 14 categories. Part of it is out of date, like an "economy and jobs" section that features pre-pandemic numbers; unemployment at "its lowest point in 50 years," and a tally of new jobs ends in January. Part of it stops short of campaign rhetoric, like a "health care" section that does not mention a Trump promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act; there's a reference to a repeal of its insurance mandate but not to a Trump-backed lawsuit that argues the entire ACA must be nullified without that mandate. The list of triumphs is heavy on deregulation, something the president can do completely by himself. What could be deregulated next? It's unclear, and absent from recent messaging, which has focused on attacking Biden.

Matt Schlapp, a Trump ally who served as Bush's White House political director, recalled that the 2004 campaign was criticized for not offering more specific policies for a second term. Those it did offer, such as expanded homeownership and Social Security changes, were sold as part of an "ownership society," an idea that was front and center in campaign messaging but arguably moved fewer votes than the war on terror or the attacks on John Kerry.

"I remember sitting in strategic meetings at the White House and being quite concerned that we were going to talk a lot about this ownership society," Schlapp recalled. "I thought it was fuzzy. And obviously, the whole idea of everybody owning a home didn't turn out to be that sound, policy-wise."

Trump, according to Schlapp, was unusually well positioned for a second term. That wasn't because a particular priority was being teed up for 2021; it was because Democrats had thrown the book at Trump already, with the sort of investigations and probes that usually bedevil second-term presidents.

"What are they possibly going to do to hobble a second term?" Schlapp asked.

The second-term potential is frequently described that way: a president unleashed to do what he's been good at and his opponents largely helpless to stop him. Donald Trump Jr., the president's oldest song and most active social-media warrior, frequently shares a meme of an anti-Trump protester howling at the moment he was sworn in, with a calendar that tells critics that they're only halfway through an eight-year presidency.

In the short term, as the campaign works to discredit Biden for swing voters, a specific second-term agenda has been replaced by the immediate need to recover from the pandemic. On Monday, with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina in the White House to talk up the economic opportunity zones created by the 2017 tax cut, the focus was on what Trump had already done; the assumption was not that he needed to do more, but that in a second term, everyone would see the benefits.

"Oh my gosh, 2021 is going to be amazing," Scott said.

"You rebuilt this economy, all right?" economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Trump. "We got hit by the virus. You'll rebuild the economy again."

- - -

In the states

It's primary day in Oregon and Idaho, where the partisan stakes look low and where one safely Republican district will find out its candidates for the November election.

That's Oregon's 2nd District, where 11 Republicans are fighting it out to succeed Rep. Greg Walden. Knute Buehler, the party's unsuccessful 2018 nominee for governor, came into the race with name recognition and fundraising prowess. But that race put a spotlight on his pro-abortion-rights views, a liability in a conservative district; Buehler would be just one of two pro-abortion-rights Republicans in the House, joining former Democrat Jeff Van Drew, who switched to the GOP last year.

But Buehler has benefited from the size of the field, and first-time candidate Jimmy Crumpacker has captured conservative endorsements over rivals with more elected experience. Democrats ran a credible challenger in 2018 but have a five-way contest between little-known (and poorly funded) candidates now. Similarly, while four Republicans are competing to challenge Sen. Jeff Merkley, the national party has ignored the race, after briefly boosting Merkley's 2014 challenger.

Oregon's four Democratic members of Congress all have primary challengers, though none who've attracted the attention of national liberal groups that have focused on intraparty races elsewhere. None of the Democratic incumbents are seen as vulnerable in November, though Republican veteran Alek Skarlatos - one of the Americans who stopped a terrorist attack on the 15:17 to Paris train five years ago - has raised enough money to make the NRCC's watch list.

The race with the biggest repercussions for liberals? Arguably, the contest for Multnomah County district attorney, the latest battle between traditional prosecutors and criminal justice reformers. Mike Schmidt, the director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, is running as a reformist against Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight.

Democrats are not investing heavily in Idaho's federal races this year, with sacrificial lambs competing in both House districts and 2018 gubernatorial nominee Paulette Jordan favored in the U.S. Senate primary. Jordan, who would have been the state's first Native American governor, earned national attention in that race.

But she lost it by 22 points, and the campaign ended with frustrated Democrats asking why she spent heavily on consultants while running few ads. She has raised just over $100,000 for this race, and in the final week, her campaign manager quit and mysteriously criticized "the integrity of some of the people Ms. Jordan has chosen, from out of state, to work on her campaigns." Republicans have not won a Senate race in Oregon since 2002; they have not lost one in Idaho since 1974.

- - -

Ad watch

President Trump,"Truth Over Facts." The Trump campaign has had plenty of fun with Joe Biden's verbal stumbles, but a new micro-site steps it up. In the style of a History Channel documentary, the Trump campaign "investigates" a March speech in which Biden tripped up, then skipped, over the first lines of the Declaration of Independence. "You know the thing!" Biden said. In this video, the gaffe inspires a "quest" to find out whether Biden revealed the existence of a second Declaration of Independence.

Theresa Greenfield,"Knock." The DSCC-backed Democrat in Iowa has an unimpressive electoral record, ending her 2018 House bid after a campaign manager forged some of her ballot petition signatures. She has reintroduced herself as a Senate candidate with the same biography but a more competent rollout; she's running, she says, because the early death of her husband in a work accident taught her the value of Social Security benefits.

Alliance to Combat Extremism,"Valerie Plame Extreme." A new group launched to stop the former CIA agent from winning a safe-seat Democratic House primary, the Alliance's first ad practically jumps off the screen. "Is she running to represent New Mexicans," a narrator asks, "or white supremacists?" The question's accompanied by swastikas being superimposed over Plame's eyes, before a rundown of the praise white nationalists gave Plame for a tweet that copied the headline of an article blaming "America's Jews" for foreign policy blunders.

- - -

Poll watch

2020 election in Virginia (Roanoke, 563 registered voters)

Joe Biden: 51% (+3) Donald Trump: 39% (-1)

The commonwealth has dropped off even the most optimistic Republicans' maps; suburban voters around Richmond and Washington have moved too decisively toward Democrats to make the state competitive. What's interesting here is that Biden's favorable rating has declined slightly since the last poll, in February, and the president's favorable rating has increased a bit, a negative 22-point rating transforming to a negative 13-point rating. A change in attitudes simply didn't change voters' preferences. And as in other states, the president's pandemic-era bump is far smaller than the governor's, as Ralph Northam's approval rating and favorable rating have both jumped by 19 points.

- - -

Joe Biden's futile battle against geese honks continued this week, when a Monday call-in to an AAPI conference was occasionally drowned out by their noise. "God almighty," Biden said, before returning to his basic message: He'd restore decency and reject racism. "You deserve better than a president who aggressively and childishly insults an Asian-American reporter," Biden said.

President Trump continued holding events at the White House, often expanding beyond the coronavirus focus, and met with Senate Republicans at their Tuesday lunch and with farmers about the food supply. "We're going after Virginia, with your crazy governor, we're going after Virginia," Trump said. "They want to take your Second Amendment away. You'll have nobody guarding your potatoes."

- - -

Dems in disarray

Democrats met Monday night for debates in two very different races - the June 2 primary for Iowa's Senate nomination and the primary for New York's 14th District, currently represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Both got testy, with well-funded challengers to Ocasio-Cortez and to DSCC-endorsed Theresa Greenfield using much of their time to warn that the party couldn't afford them.

"I . . . built a progressive business to provide paid family leave that has 65 percent of our leadership being women," perennial candidate Eddie Mauro said in his opening statement for the Iowa debate. "And when times were tough, during the last Great Recession, I took a pay cut. Then we have a single worker. Others in this race can't say the same."

That was a shot at Greenfield, whom Mauro is also attacking on the airwaves for layoffs at the business she founded. Mauro, who has largely self-funded this campaign and two unsuccessful races for lower offices, had previously released internal polling that found voters viewing Greenfield less favorably when they learned about the layoffs and viewing retired Navy Vice Adm. Michael Franken less favorably when told that he'd voted only twice in Iowa and owned a home in Virginia.

Greenfield ignored Mauro, while Franken, who has raised less money but picked up the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, fired back and touted the reason he'd bought the Virginia home, which was to work for the Obama administration.

"This is what's done in the Navy," he explained. "I've moved four continents, over 28 moves. It was 2012 when I purchased that house, just to correct the record." At another point, Franken struggled to recall the details of the Cares Act, and Mauro emphasized that he had "read the bill." But throughout, Franken and attorney Kimberly Graham, who has modeled her challenge off the Bernie Sanders campaign, appeared more comfortable than Greenfield and Mauro, the candidates with a bit more electoral experience. (None of the four have won elections, but Franken and Graham have never tried.)

"Who won Iowa?" Graham said when challenged on electability, referring to the February presidential caucus. "You could argue that was Bernie Sanders. So, I think that says a lot about where a lot of Iowans think this country needs to go."

There were no electability questions in New York, which gave former CNBC anchor Michelle Caruso-Cabrera her first real chance to confront Ocasio-Cortez. Caruso-Cabrera repeatedly called the incumbent "divisive" and ineffective and brought the conversation back, several times, to a vote Ocasio-Cortez missed during an illness, accusing her of going "MIA" and of hiding out in a "luxury apartment in D.C. with a Whole Foods in the lobby." Ocasio-Cortez grew more irritated as the night went on.

"No one's ever seen this person before," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Who are you? Like, where is your family from? Where have you lived? No one has seen you in this community before."

Caruso-Cabrera, who is not from the district, argued that she would better represent it by voting more reliably with Democrats. Some of her attacks fell flat, such as an argument that Ocasio-Cortez was hypocritical to favor higher taxes because "her mother moved to Florida to avoid the taxes in New York." But Ocasio-Cortez brought the conversation back to the reasons she'd voted occasionally against party leadership.

"When people say divisiveness and all of this stuff, listen, not all Democrats are the same," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Some Democrats believe in not protecting immigrant rights. Other Democrats believe that we should subsidize Big Pharma and health-care corporations. I'll be very honest about that. But we can come together. That's the reason I [went] with Vice President Biden and tried to push and try to see what our possibilities for our next term are," a reference to the task force Biden had already added her to.

New York's primary, slotted for June 23, will continue to feature a presidential contest at the top of the ballot, after the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld a decision to reinstate it, overruling the decision of the state's election board to cancel it.
WASHINGTON  It sounded like a great deal: The White House coronavirus task force would buy a defense companys new cleaning machines to allow critical protective masks to be reused up to 20 times. And at $60 million for 60 machines on April 3, the price was right.

But over just a few days, the potential cost to taxpayers exploded to $413 million, according to notes of a coronavirus task force meeting obtained by NBC News. By May 1, the Pentagon pegged the ceiling at $600 million in a justification for awarding the deal without an open bidding process or an actual contract. Even worse, scientists and nurses say the recycled masks treated by these machines begin to degrade after two or three treatments, not 20, and the company says its own recent field testing has only confirmed the integrity of the masks for four cycles of use and decontamination.

Nurses in several places across the country now say they are afraid of being at greater risk of acquiring COVID-19 while using N95 masks, which they say often dont fit correctly after just a few spins through a cleaning system that uses vapor phase hydrogen peroxide to disinfect them.

The nurses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution from their employers or the government, said they believe the machines, which are made by the Battelle Memorial Institute and have been promoted by President Donald Trump, were rushed into service as a shortcut to acquiring and manufacturing protective equipment.

Its a fairy tale, said one nurse in Connecticut who works at a hospital where masks are run through the Battelle decontamination system. Its being done because we dont have the policies in place to do what needs to be done, and people are going to be hurt because of it.

As Trump has pushed to find silver-bullet solutions to the pandemic during an election year, the speedy decision to activate the machines reflects yet again the problematic decision-making of the White House task force. As a series of NBC News articles have shown, its leaders have looked past financial costs, potential harm to the public and the risk of getting ghosted by bidders in order to give Trump a steady stream of deals to announce, often with major companies.

Story continues

Theyre always swinging for the fences hoping that one time theyll hit a grand slam and not worrying if they strike out, said one administration official familiar with the work of the task force. Theyre gambling that theyll win one time, and if they dont theyll just deflect, which is what we see inside all the time.

In weeks of interviews, email exchanges and text messages over the last month with scores of people involved at all levels of the coronavirus response  senior White House officials to front-line responders, career federal officials to scientists working in the field, corporate CEOs to front-line responders  a picture of the task forces methods has come into ever-sharper focus. Working without external oversight, it has pumped billions of dollars into hard-to-trace contracts for COVID-19 supplies that often dont pan out as advertised.

White House officials have said often that the president is doing everything he can to protect the nation from the twin emergencies of the disease and its effect on the economy, and Trump and his lieutenants have routinely justified waiving safety and contracting rules by pointing to the need to speed supplies to the front lines of the fight. But critics say Trump has prioritized political ends at the expense of sound science and contracting practices that are designed to protect the public.

They keep saying these recycled masks are still safe after all these cycles, but we dont know that, said a nurse in Pennsylvania, whose hospital has used Battelles system. What we do know is that there are not enough masks for medical workers and there are very real consequences if we get sick.

Battelle stands by its 2016 study of its technology, which used manikins rather than human subjects to determine whether masks lost their fit or were permeated by particles after 20 uses, according to company officials who responded to NBC News inquiries in an email. But the company also said it has only verified the purity of masks for four uses in field testing at Massachusetts General Hospital since the machines were built to respond to a pandemic. That puts health care workers in the position of being the first living experimental test subjects.

To date, Battelle has received and tested samples representative of four actual use cycles from MassGen, Will Richter, Battelles principal research scientist, said. The goal of this assessment is to determine the impact of actual wear.

The pursuit of an all-of-the-above approach to finding medical solutions and equipment to slow the spread of the virus has perversely wasted time, money and opportunity, according to critics within the administration who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity because they fear losing their jobs.

But some lawmakers, former government officials and a handful of current administration officials have spoken publicly in ways that echo and amplify those concerns.

Its just outrageous, Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska who served as defense secretary under President Barack Obama, said in a telephone interview with NBC News. Over the course of the last few weeks, what this administration has done, how they have done it with contracts and everything, theres no transparency, theres no accountability.

Image: Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file)

Battelles sanitizers were mobilized by a task force designed to execute on Trumps demands, despite reservations about safety and cost.

On March 29, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, slammed the Food and Drug Administration for limiting a waiver of safety regulations for Battelle, which is based in his state. DeWine had lobbied heavily for the waiver in the first place and was upset that the use of Battelle machines was going to be restricted.

At the time, Trump was highly sensitive to criticism from the nations governors, having said that week that they should be appreciative of the use of his power to help their states. DeWine went to bat for Battelle, which needed looser rules so that its machines could be deployed outside its main facility and used on more than 10,000 masks a day, according to the FDA and DeWine.

The upbraiding of the administration drew headlines, and DeWine said Trump promised him the ruling would be changed. The president even pressured the FDA on Twitter. The broader waiver lifting the limit was announced by the FDA within hours, and DeWine showed his appreciation by thanking Trump and FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn for intervening.

FDA spokesperson Brittney Manchester said that Battelle had originally asked for permission to decontaminate 10,000 masks per day at a single site and that the initial emergency waiver written March 28 covered that. The FDA revised the language after it "learned" the company wanted to use its machines "at an unlimited number of sites with no ceiling on the number of [masks] that may be decontaminated per day," Manchester said.

Spokespeople for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, who chairs the task force, declined to answer any of NBC News questions about the waiver for Battelle, the federal contract and the safety of masks cleaned by the companys machines. But with the newly revised waiver in hand, Battelle worked with the task force so it could sell its machines to the government.

Technically, the Defense Logistics Agency, an arm of the Pentagon working with the task force, gave Battelle a contract letter, which allows for details of a deal to be finalized after the work starts. When DLA officials submitted a legally required justification explaining the parameters of the deal this month, they wrote that the "maximum dollar value" is now $600 million.

The company says it might not hit the cap.

As demand ebbs and flows at various sites across the country, Battelle will adjust its staffing accordingly and will bill the government only the actual costs incurred, company spokesperson Katy Delaney said. If the contract costs are less than the ceiling cost, then the government will not spend up to the ceiling.

DLA spokesman Patrick Mackin said the $187 million of extra room is there for flexibility."To date, the value of the contract remains at $413M," he said in an email. "The maximum value of the contract is $600M in the event we need to make any adjustments in the support provided by Battelle during the period of performance."

The task forces deployment of mask sanitizers, several other versions of which have been given an emergency greenlight since Battelles went into service, are now part of a transition to a focus on boosting the economy, because the administration insists they reduce the need to supply fresh masks to health care workers. The president himself has said workers have all the equipment they need.

On May 6, Trump told a group of nurses at the White House that reports of PPE shortages are fake news, and on May 14, he said he was winding down an airlift program that brought equipment into the U.S. from overseas because were very stocked up.

But thats inconsistent with the experience of many front-line workers, according to Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents the second-largest number of nurses of any union in the country.

Theres still a shortage of PPE, she said, which means that health care workers have little choice but to use masks sanitized by the Battelle machines even though they really believe that N95s should be used once and thats it.

Its not ideal she said of the sanitization. Is it better than nothing? Yes.

In fact, Weingarten asked top union officials to create a supply chain for personal protective equipment and kept the operation a secret for several weeks until the first batch of masks, face shields and other items began to arrive earlier this month. She said she feared that the shipments would be seized or rerouted by the administration.

Unproven and expensive

When task force leaders convened at FEMA headquarters on April 8, they faced a conflict over whether to proceed with Battelles contract despite the sharp price spike.

Trump clearly wanted the mask sanitizers to be deployed rapidly. It had only been 10 days since he tweeted his support for the FDA waiver, which allowed masks cleaned by the machines to be used in health care facilities and freed the company from existing federal quality-assurance regulations.

But from April 3 to April 8, the price had skyrocketed from $60 million to $413 million. An Ohio-based nonprofit corporation that pays top executives more than $1 million a year and spent $350,000 lobbying Congress and federal agencies from Jan. 1 to March 30, Battelle raised the price for each machine from $1 million to $6.8 million due to the inclusion of operating costs for six months, shipping, and logistics tails to be covered up front, according to a summary of the decision-making meeting that was circulated to task force members and obtained by NBC News.

The logistics tail, a term the military uses to describe the chain of goods and people supporting combat troops in war, broadly refers to the costs of providing supplies and administrative support for a project. The additional $353 million over six months for the logistics tail, which includes the price of employing and training technicians, is equivalent to the retail value of 278 million new N95 masks.

In addition to operating the machines, maintaining them and shipping masks back and forth to health care systems, Delaney said each site requires things like portable restrooms, showers, protective equipment and in some cases very large tents to house the operations.

Battelle has performed countless billions of dollars worth of work for the federal government since its participation in the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb. Much of its work is classified because the company manages eight nuclear labs for the Department of Energy. Battelle also offers private-sector customers in various industries a wide variety of services, including assisting with FDA approval for e-cigarettes. While it enjoys the tax exemptions of a nonprofit, it is a well-established player in the elite spheres of energy and defense contracting, and employs more than 27,000 people.

The company had a powerful customer in the president, and the seven-fold difference between the original estimate on April 3 and the price on April 8 appears to have bothered only one of the senior officials with a seat at the task forces decision-making table, according to the summary of the debate.

That was Air Force Brig. Gen. John Bartrum, a consultant to the HHS department who oversees the agencys financial resources, and he raised a formal objection to the task forces board. He said the government should consider buying 10 of the machines and supporting operational costs for $80 million or $100 million. He advocated for taking time to re-evaluate whether it made sense to go in for the full load, according to the summary of the April 8 meeting.

His concern was consistent with those of a wide variety of federal experts on budgeting, contracting, epidemiology, disease testing, vaccine and drug-therapy development, and public health who have pushed higher-ups to step back and reconsider White House priorities  or at least take more care with taxpayers money.

For example, Dr. Rick Bright, who was the head of the federal agency in charge of developing vaccines, testified before Congress last Thursday after filing a whistleblower complaint alleging he was moved from his position in retaliation for objecting to the presidents insistence on purchasing hydroxychloroquine. The drug, which the White House pushed the task force to acquire in tens of millions of doses and which Trump said Monday he has been taking himself, has not been proven to treat COVID-19, and the FDA has issued warnings about its misuse.

But many experts voices are being drowned out by the task forces rush to please a president whose response to the threat of coronavirus was slow and whose recommended remedies have included ingesting disinfectant.

Inside FEMA headquarters, Bartrum was met with resistance by the supply chain unit of the task force, which had recommended the deal in the first place, on the basis that the machines would allow front-line workers to use the same mask up to 20 times. The figure cited was based on Battelles study of its own product. The supply chain unit chief, John Polowczyk, has been known to brag that he has a blank check from the president and doesnt care what his group has to spend to acquire goods, according to the person familiar with the task forces work.

Polowczyk wasnt present for the meeting, which included senior HHS department, Pentagon, FEMA and National Security Council officials, according to the minutes obtained by NBC News. Members of the presidents National Security Council staff joined the discussion by videoconference.

Bartrum was outgunned. The task force board  FEMA Director Pete Gaynor and HHS Department Assistant Secretaries Robert Kadlec and Brett Giroir  sided with Polowczyks team and ordered the purchase to move forward, according to the summary. (Kadlec also clashed with Bright over hydroxychloroquine.)

In a concession to Bartrum, the board said federal agencies should work with Battelle to see if there might be a way to deploy the machines in phases. Two days after the meeting, Battelle and the Defense Department announced the $413 million deal. Over the course of less than two weeks, Battelle had won the emergency waiver from the FDA, struck a deal with the task force, renegotiated that agreement to bring in nearly seven times as much money and released the news to the public.

In justifying the contracting decisions, which ended up raising the cap by another $187 million, Pentagon officials wrote that under normal conditions, an acquisition with this level of complexity and dollar value would take approximately one year to complete under full and open competition procedures based upon Agency experience.

If anyone on the task force questioned the companys statement about the number of times its cleaning machine could treat masks for safe use was reasonable, it was not recorded in the summary of the meeting. Bartrum declined NBC News request for an interview through an agency spokesperson.

Retired Adm. Ken Carodine, who worked on logistics at the Pentagon, said in a telephone interview that defense-contracting officials frequently negotiate with companies that bid for work at one price and then jack up the total almost overnight.

The goal is to never leave, he said of the practice defense companies use in raising prices to cover employing their workers on government projects for as long as possible. If anybody should understand the cost of building personal protection equipment and understanding what the entire cost cycle looks like, its Battelle.

Carodine lamented that Pentagon officials routinely refer to defense contract changes of hundreds of millions of dollars as budget dust and said that Trump removed a key safeguard with his recent firing of inspectors general who had the power to investigate aspects of the coronavirus response.

The last person whos going to take a look is the inspector general, he said.

Real world effects

Five days after the deal became public, an NIH-led study concluded that the hydrogen peroxide vapor method of decontamination is only safe for three cycles.

The study, conducted out by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is run by Dr. Anthony Fauci, used different methods than Battelles, according to Dr. Seth Judson, a University of Washington internal medicine resident who worked on the evaluation. The NIH version employed special technology to measure exposure of the virus inside masks and tried to replicate how they would maintain their fit on real people, as opposed to the manikins used in Battelles study.

Since the exposure and testing procedures are different, it is difficult to compare the results, but I think the quantitative testing on people reflects a closer to real world situation, Judson said in an email to NBC News. Health care workers such as myself may wear these masks for long periods of time, and degradation is seen as masks are repeatedly donned and doffed.

Battelle agrees that its 2016 study, which did not convince the FDA to approve its technology for commercial use until the president stepped in, didnt use the same methodology as the NIH version.

The 2016 study simply reports visual inspections of masks, Richter, the company scientist, said. Filtration studies are performed using a TSI 8130A, the industry standard for aerosol performance evaluation.  Testing continues to build a data bank on different makes and models of masks.

After that study was published, Battelle said, it won approval for a real-world test of its technology.

The overall conclusion from this study was that three cycles of decontamination did not adversely impact the fit performance, the company said.

Battelles system is already in use by over 400 hospitals across California alone, according to state records, and several other companies have won FDA waivers to deploy mask-sanitizing machines since Battelle was granted its exemption.

Front-line health care workers in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Idaho and Virginia who have used masks decontaminated by the Battelle system told NBC News they are concerned about their own safety.

We are worried about how effective our masks are and if well end up catching COVID, said one Virginia nurse, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. More young healthy health care workers are getting it than the general population because we are exposed to a higher viral load.
As enterprises in one of the Gulfs richest economies take to remote working, their employees are at risk of falling into traps set by online scammers, who are finding new ways to exploit the confusion surrounding the pandemic.

In the Middle East, the UAE is among the countries that are most vulnerable to these attacks. As of January 2020, the country had 9.73 million internet users, with an internet penetration rate of 99 percent, according to consultancy DataReportal.

Reliance on the internet has increased exponentially since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, which has sent scores of users scurrying to online platforms for everything from grocery purchases to money transfers.

To protect users from fraud and cybercrime, the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), Abu Dhabi Police, and Dubai Police launched the countrys first national fraud awareness campaign last month.

The initiative, which is expected to run till the end of the year, seeks to raise awareness on different kinds of cyberscams, including SIM swap fraud, phishing, vishing, lottery scams, and email redirection fraud.

Authorities issues warnings about cyberscams

This is a serious threat to society that must be addressed, particularly under these challenging circumstances where fraudsters are taking advantage of the fear and uncertainty created by the COVID-19 outbreak, UBF chairman AbdulAziz Al Ghurair said in a statement.

Reports of fake offer letters meant for medical practitioner roles have been doing the rounds, and so have been phishing emails that promise airline ticket refunds to customers. The growing number of cases forced Dubais flagship airline carrier Emirates to put out an alert on its website urging customers to practice caution.

Weve been alerted to recent email phishing attacks that contain the subject Your flight is cancelled: collect your refund. These are not emails sent from Emirates, the company said.

Instances of fraud are not new in the country.

From the beginning of 2019 up until February this year, the Abu Dhabi Police arrested multiple criminal gangs including 142 fraudsters who were involved in vishing attacks  phishing attacks that try to lure their target via SMS message and voice calls. The fraudsters were posing as bank employees and asking customers to disclose their bank details and personal information.

Last year, a local bank was held responsible by Dubais authorities for a SIM card swap fraud that cost a customer AED 4.7 million (US$1.3 million) in life savings. This type of scam occurs when criminals exploit a weakness in two-factor authentication and verification in which the second step is a text message (SMS) or call to a mobile phone number.

Phishing poses risks for enterprises

Enterprises in the country are also at risk of being compromised by hackers.

Cybersecurity firm Mimecast released a report last year, which includes insights from 1,025 global IT decision makers. In the UAE, the report found that phishing or impersonation attacks  emails that impersonate a trusted individual or firm  increased by 75 percent, with 77 percent of those organizations having taken a direct hit in the form of loss of customers, financial loss, and data loss.

Globally, phishing attacks were the most prominent type of cyberattack, the Mimecast report says, with 94 percent of respondents having experienced phishing and spear phishing attacks in the previous 12 months and 75 percent citing seeing an increase in phishing attacks over the same time period.

Meanwhile, Gulf countries, and in particular Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are increasingly becoming the targets of sophisticated cyberattacks that are aimed at stealing personal data and, in some cases, exposing state secrets.

UAE-based cybersecurity firm Dark Matter said in a report that breaches in the Middle East are widespread, frequently undetected, and increasingly appear to be state-sponsored.

This comes against the backdrop of growing technology adoption by enterprises and institutions in the Middle East. The regions online marketplaces have been expanding with an annual growth of 12 percent, and the number of users with access to the internet is rising particularly since the 2011s Arab spring, according to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

However, some countries have taken steps to secure their vital infrastructure and data against potential attacks. For instance, UAEs National Cybersecurity Strategy involves the implementation of a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework that will cover all types of cybercrimes, secure existing and emerging technologies and protect small and medium enterprises against most common cyber threats.

Saudi Arabia has set up a National Cybersecurity Authority, which works closely with public and private entities to improve the cybersecurity of the country in order to safeguard its vital interests, national security, critical infrastructures, high-priority sectors, government services and activities. The Kingdoms oil resources and location in a region rife with geopolitical tensions have long made it an obvious target for cyberattacks.
The Washington Post

"Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears.

- - -
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a resolution that provides for the reopening of 66 checkpoints on the borders with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Moldova.

The relevant decision was made at a government meeting on Wednesday, May 20, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The Interior Ministry has developed a draft regulation, which provides for the resumption of traffic through 66 checkpoints on the borders with the European Union and the Republic of Moldova. The implementation of the project will resume full traffic on the borders with the Republic of Poland, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Moldova," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

At the same time, according to the minister, the checkpoints on the borders with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus will be temporarily closed due to the epidemiological situation in these countries.

As Ukrinform reported, since March 17, Ukraine has temporarily closed checkpoints across the state border for international passenger rail, air and road traffic (for buses).

As of May 20, Ukraine had 19,230 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases, including 354 new infections in the previous day.

ish
When residents in Gustavus, Alaska, want to get to the nearest city, they take a seven-hour ferry ride to Juneau. That hasn't happened recently in the remote hamlet of 446 people because the town's only dock is closed for repairs.

So neighbors have been very grateful for the one grocery store in town, and its owner, Toshua Parker.

About once a week, Parker - owner of Icy Strait Wholesale - rises before dawn to catch the early tide with one or two crew workers on his 96-foot, converted military landing craft, slowly heading 50 miles through the rough waters of the Icy Strait to Juneau.

Parker has the lone boat in town that can make the trip because it doesn't require a dock.

Once there, Parker pulls out his town's shopping list - including special requests from residents - and picks up everything from eggs to prescriptions at the smallest Costco store in the world. Then he'll stop by other stores in Juneau for items his neighbors need, including hunting ammunition, lumber and tools.

After his haul is loaded onto the boat, Parker stays overnight with the merchandise, then returns home on the high tide the next morning to restock the shelves in his store, nicknamed ToshCo, with up to $20,000 worth of products. He charges a small markup on the items he buys, he said.

For 10 years, Parker, 39, has functioned as a lifeline of sorts for Gustavus, a rustic tourist town on a 37-square-mile plain adjacent to Glacier Bay National Park.

Gustavus is accessible only by private plane or a boat specially equipped for rough, icy terrain. And the town grocer's regular trips to Juneau have never been more important, as locals don't have another means to get groceries unless they hire an expensive charter service.

"He's definitely simplified life for all of us," said Leah Okin, 51, a native of England who moved to Alaska 27 years ago and now manages the Gustavus Visitors Association. "We all look out for one another and Toshua is no exception."

In normal times, visitors start arriving in the warmer weather months for sightseeing, though this year the economy will take a hard hit.

About the same time that the coronavirus outbreak started in the United States, the only boat dock in Gustavus was shut down for four months of repairs, said the town's volunteer mayor, Calvin Casipit, 59.

Combined with a drop in ferry service to the isolated region due to state budget cuts, "a storm of disruption came to our fairly quiet and uncomplicated lives," he said.

Kelly McLaughlin, 38, runs the Fireweed Gallery Coffee and Tea House, the town's only coffee shop/art gallery/drive-through. She relies on Parker to keep her supplied with milk, cream and coffee beans for her roaster.

"Tosh starts his days at my shop over a cup of coffee most mornings," she said. "We're all super lucky to have him and his freight service. Anything I need, he's happy to get it for me."

Parker, who grew up in Gustavus - his great-grandfather was the first homesteader, in 1917 - used to fly to Juneau with his dad, Lee Parker, to buy groceries for the store his family started a decade ago, he said. But as his store and clientele grew, he could no longer fit his cargo on a two-seater plane.

He used the ferry for a while, but soon thought it was risky to rely on the state-run ferry system, which has a budget dependent on the price of oil.

About two years ago, Parker decided to buy his landing craft to haul goods between Juneau and Gustavus.

"It was a big gamble, but I'm glad now that I was looking ahead and did it," he said. "I'm acutely aware, though, with all that's happened - the dock closing, the ferry not coming, the pandemic - that there's a lot riding on that boat. Whatever would we do without it? We'd be cut off, I'm afraid, because it would be really expensive to charter something."

Gustavus residents are relieved for his foresight, but Parker said keeping the shelves and refrigerators full at the town's only market is a group effort.

"I have a lot of help," he said. "My wife works in the store and stays up late to order things (online) for everyone, and I have 15 employees who all pitch in."

Historically, tourists begin arriving after Memorial Day to stay in lodges in the region over the summer, but not this year. Alaska has around 400 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 30 of those in the Juneau area. The first phase of the state's stay-at-home order was lifted in April.

"It's going to be a rough season - tourism and oil is pretty much all we have for an economy," Parker said. "A lot of people are going to be hurting, so I'm glad that we can at least keep everyone in town supplied with food and whatever else they need."

Last fall, Parker bought a second landing craft, about 20 feet shorter than the first one. It might come in handy, he said, if he gets a request like the one he had when he first opened Icy Strait Wholesale.

Parker was broke, he said, and needed some drywall. He found a man who would do his drywall work in exchange for Parker picking up a pig in Juneau for the man's farm.

Parker has vivid memories of the night he slept on the boat with a 300-pound porker.

"We had to use a crane to lift him in a crate onto the boat," he said. "You can imagine how that went over. I can now tell you with certainty: Pigs don't like to fly."

Thankfully, Parker said, nobody has recently made that kind of request.

"Most people want milk, canned goods and toilet paper," he said with a laugh. "I can handle that."
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Benny Mawel and Alya Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura and Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 07:20 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd91dfa4 1 National Papua,boven-digoel,palm-oil,assault-case,assault Free

A Papuan man has died shortly after allegedly being hit by a police officer while making a complaint against a palm oil company he believed was responsible for knocking down his banana plantation in Asiki village, Boven Digoel regency, in Papua.

The incident began after the man, identified as Marius Betera, visited the company, PT Tunas Sawa Erma (TSE), on Saturday at 11 a.m. local time to report on the felling of his banana farm, located within the TSE's plantation complex, according to a chronology of events provided in a report by Merauke Archdiocese's Secretariat of Justice and Peace and the Pusaka Foundation.

At the company's office, Marius met TSE's supervisor, identified as A, and complained that he had not been notified prior to the felling. Normally, the company would notify residents who owned farms before clearing the land so that they could collect their harvest first.

The companys director, Vinoba Chandra, sent a statement to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, disputing this claim. Vinoba said the company had informed Marius about the plan to vacate the land in February this year. In the clarification letter, Vinoba said the land planted with banana trees by Marius belonged to TSE and Marius in fact was a former employee, not from that village but from the Tanah Merah area in the regency. He resigned in 2019 and the company let him live in the companys housing complex, Camp 19, in Jair district, Boven Digoel, the statement said. The company claimed Marius did not hold any customary rights to the land.

The report the Post received said the company called a police officer, identified only as MY, to confiscate the machete that Marius had brought with him. The officer arrived and struck Marius on the neck, the side of his head and kicked him in the stomach, according to the report.

Boven Digoel Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsurijal told the Post that an employee at the company, alarmed at the sight of Marius carrying the weapons, called the police for help.

Vinoba, however, denied that the company had called the local police. In reality, the company never specifically called the local police in relation to the victims visit to our office, Vinoba said.

Marius, who was in pain, asked the officer to stop beating him. TSE's employee and its security staffers also reportedly witnessed the violence.

After leaving the company's office, Marius visited a nearby police station to report the abuse against him, but he could not file a complaint as the officer was not there and so decided to return home.

Feeling ill, Marius went to a clinic within TSE's complex at 1 p.m. local time. Marius collapsed upon arriving at the clinic and died shortly afterwards.

According to the report, Marius' family demanded that the Boven Digoel Police hold the police officer responsible for the abuse and demanded the company dismiss the supervisor and security staffers for letting the violence take place. The family also asked that customary fines be paid.

Petrus Canisius Mandagi, current acting head of the Merauke Archdiocese, condemned the incident, saying that Papuans were humans and they "should not be subjected to violence, let alone be killed".

He demanded authorities conduct a thorough investigation and enforce the law. The police should protect everyone, not just the people who work at the company," Petrus said.

Separately, Boven Digoel Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Syamsurijal said police had arrested the police officer who allegedly attacked Marius and asked the family of the victim to file an official report.

The post-mortem examination found that [Marius] died of a heart attack. The perpetrator, however, will be charged with persecution and be given an internal sanction for violating ethics, he told the Post on Tuesday.

Editors note: We updated this article to add the clarification from PT Tunas Sawa Erma.
The number of people who have benefitted under the Centres Ayushman Bharat Scheme has crossed the one crore-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

It would make every Indian proud that the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore, he wrote in a series of tweets, adding that the initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives.

It would make every Indian proud that the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives. I congratulate all the beneficiaries and their families. I also pray for their good health.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

The PM spoke about his interaction with the 1 croreth beneficiary of the health insurance scheme  Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya who is the wife of an army personnel - in a telephonic interview.

During my official tours, I would interact with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries. Sadly, that is not possible these days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary. Here is what we discussed. https://t.co/vsUOEEo5pM  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

The prime minister also spoke about the benefits of the scheme and lauded the healthcare workers associated with it .

He said that one of the biggest benefits of the scheme is portability as the beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they are registered but also in other parts of India.

One of the biggest benefits of Ayushman Bharat is portability. Beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they registered but also in other parts of India. This helps those who work away from home or registered at a place where they dont belong.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

He appreciated the efforts of doctors, nurses among others in ensuring the scheme helps the poor and downtrodden.

I appreciate our doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat. Their efforts have made it the largest healthcare programme in the world. This initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

Prime Minister Modi had launched the Centres flagship health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat Scheme on September 23 in Ranchi that aims to provide 5 lakh hospitalisation cover to up to 107.4 million poor and vulnerable families.
The World Bank Group has again raised an alarm that the growing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and shutdown of many advanced economies could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty.

The World Bank Group President, David Malpass, said the situation erases much of the recent progress recorded in poverty alleviation around the world.

He said these prospects were what compelled the World Bank Group to move swiftly and decisively to establish emergency response mechanisms that allow donor groups and organisations to rapidly expand help programmes in 100 countries, home to 70 per cent of the worlds population.

To return to the path of global economic growth, Mr Malpass said the groups goal must be rapid and flexible to tackle the health emergency.

He said the objective must also be to provide cash and other expandable support to protect the poor, maintain the private sector, and strengthen economic resilience and recovery.

Since March, the World Bank said, it delivered record levels of support to help countries protect the poor and vulnerable, reinforce health systems, maintain the private sector and bolster economic recovery.

This assistance, the largest and fastest crisis response in the Bank Groups history marks a milestone in implementing the Bank Groups pledge to make available $160 billion in grants and financial support over a 15-month period to help developing countries respond to the health, social and economic impacts of COVID-19 and the economic shutdown in advanced countries, it said on Tuesday.

Of the 100 countries, 39 are in Sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly one-third of the total projects located in fragile and conflict-affected situations, such as Afghanistan, Chad, Haiti, and Niger.

The group said the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) have also fast-tracked support to businesses in developing countries, including trade finance and working capital to maintain private sectors, jobs and livelihoods.

Mr Malpass said the groups support through grants, loans and equity investments would be supplemented by the suspension of bilateral debt service, as endorsed by the banks governors.

The eligible countries for International Development Agencies (IDA) that request a forbearance on their official bilateral debt payments, the World Bank President said, would have more financial resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and fund critical, life-saving emergency responses.

The bilateral debt-service suspension being offered will free up crucial resources for IDA countries to fund emergency responses to COVID-19, Mr Malpass said.

Nations should move quickly to substantially increase the transparency of all their governments financial commitments. This will increase the confidence in the investment climate and encourage more beneficial debt and investment in the future.

The groups operations in 100 countries aim to save lives, protect livelihoods, build resilience, and boost recovery by strengthening health systems, monitoring and prevention, particularly in low-income countries and in fragile and conflict-affected situations.

The health response programmes address emergency containment and mitigation needs for COVID-19, including strengthening countries health systems to treat severe cases and save lives.

The group also establishes and supports efforts in fragile and conflict-affected situations as a priority, given the rapidly growing number of cases in some of these countries.

The World Bank President said disbursement of financial supports are already ongoing to Senegal ($20 million) and Ghana ($35 million) including funding to strengthen disease surveillance systems, public health laboratories, and epidemiological capacity for early detection.

Again, the bank is also leveraging countries existing social protection systems to help families and businesses restore income, preserve livelihoods, and compensate for increasing prices and unexpected medical expenses.

These safety nets are needed to augment with safe, direct food distribution, accompanied by key information on nutrition, social distancing, and hygiene.
Updated  Donald Trump and his top spokeswoman were unable to explain how Michigan officials' sending mail-in ballot applications to their residents "was done illegally," as the president claimed before also threatening to withhold federal aid dollars for the key 2020 battleground state.

"If people mail in ballots there's a lot of illegality," Mr Trump told reporters Wednesday afternoon. But he declined to offer a single piece of evidence to support his claim; voting experts have found very little fraud in US elections even though Republican officials continue making such claims as mail-in voting typically favors Democratic candidates.

That came hours after he used a morning tweet to pan Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson while also  falsely  contending absentee ballots had been sent to 7.7 million voters in the state, which Mr Trump needs to keep in his column to win a second term.

"Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election," Mr Trump tweeted. "This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!"

Only that is not what residents there got in the mail.

They were instead sent applications for mail-in ballots. Mr Trump, hours later, deleted the original tweet and posted a new one stating Michigan residents were sent applications  but he stuck with his threat to withhold federal dollars.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters the president's tweet was "meant to alert" Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Russell Vought, his budget chief, that any voter fraud would cause him to try withholding the aid monies.

But by 5 p.m., the president said he doubts his threat to withhold federal funds will be necessary, partially walking back his threat.

Ms McEnany, who is an attorney, also was unable to describe what laws the president was alleging were broken.

Instead, she cited a study led by former President Jimmy Carter (a Democrat) and former Secretary of State James Baker (a Republican) that stated mail-in voting "could" spawn voting fraud.

The president, like Ms McEnany moments earlier, declined to clearly explain what kinds of federal dollars Mr Trump is thinking of blocking if he decides Michigan has erred in its mail-in ballots efforts.

Mr Trump came under almost immediate criticism after posting the initial tweet.

Daniel Goldman, who was House Democrats' lead counsel during their impeachment inquiry of the president, noted "that the president's attempted extortion of states was anticipated" during that probe.

"In fact, it was a hypothetical" scenario laid out to witnesses that was "designed to show how absurd that would be," according to Mr Goldman. "The absurd has sadly become reality."

Steve Vladeck of the University of Texas Law School, said "federal law makes it a crime to hold out appropriations in order to interfere with individuals' exercise of their right to vote:"
According to a draft notice of the hearing, Grimm is expected to brief the panel about her offices work related to the coronavirus pandemic. The briefing will address HHS IGs recent report on hospital challenges in the pandemic, planned work on other aspects of the Administrations coronavirus response, and HHS IGs role as a member of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, it said.
The President of Portugal Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was recently spotted in a supermarket wearing a face mask and queuing up like any other citizen and maintaining social distancing norms.

The photo of President Sousa queuing in a supermarket in the municipality of Cascais near the capital Lisbon has been widely shared on social media after being posted on Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.

Portugal has been easing the lockdown norms since May 3 and cafes and restaurants reopened on Monday with 50 percent capacity after many weeks of closure.

Both Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa are trying to send a message of normalcy as the Covid-19 curbs are being eased gradually. Costa was seen enjoying breakfast at a pastry shop on Monday in Sao domingos de Benfica.

Prime minister Costa and speaker of parliament Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues then shared lunch together in a restaurant in Lisbon.

Portugal has recorded 1,247 coronavirus deaths so far 29,660 cases of infection. The country declared a state of emergency on March 18 when the death toll was just two, with around 642 confirmed cases. It has conducted 370,000 coronavirus tests since March 1, one of the highest testing rates worldwide.

Even before the state of emergency was imposed, the government closed schools and nightclubs, banned gatherings of large groups, suspended flights to Italy and halted tourism with Spain.
New Delhi, May 20 : Indian armed forces have accused Chinese's People's Liberation Army of blocking patrols and unnecessarily erecting tents and deploying forces at Sikkim and Ladakh inside Indian territory on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries.

It all started after Chinese Army objected to India constructing a critical road near north of Pangong Tso (lake) on its side in eastern Ladakh. The Chinese side then suddenly started increasing the deployment over the region, which led to a face-off.

Indian forces too have increased deployment, sources said.

The Indian side clearly maintains that it is building the road link in its area in the same way as the Chinese side has done in the area under its control.

The two sides disengaged in Ladakh on May 6, a day after the troops came to blows. However, the situation remains tense, sources said.

The Chinese troops have increased their deployment in the Galwan Valley, far away from Pangong Tso (lake), which is also a face-off point.

To resolve the issue, top Indian military officers and Chinese counterparts are in talks. But Indian forces have maintained that construction work on the Indian side will continue.

In Sikkim, some Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured during a face-off along the boundary May 9. It took place at Naku La sector in Skikim, ahead of Muguthang, a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres. Around 150 soldiers were present when the confrontation took place. Later, it was resolved at the local level.

Indian Army officially said that there were two incidents of face-off, which were marked by "aggressive behaviour by both sides," resulting in minor injuries to troops, after which both sides disengaged after dialogue and interaction at local levels.

Reacting to the development, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday claimed that "the Indian Army crossed the line across the western section of the Sino-Indian border and the Sikkim section to enter the Chinese territory".

The statement said the Chinese side had taken up the matter with India, asking it to "immediately withdraw the personnel across the line, restore the status quo of the relevant areas, strictly restrict the frontline troops, observe the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and the agreements signed by the two sides, and jointly maintain peace and stability in border areas." The Ministry of External Affairs has not yet reacted to the Chinese statement.
Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will attend a video conference of opposition parties that has been called by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on May 22. This is the first time Thackeray will formally attend a meeting of opposition parties after it parted ways with former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last year.

The Congress has called the meeting on Friday afternoon, during which political parties are expecting to discuss the current situation in the country, including the governments handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the migrant issue, and the governments economic package.

A senior Shiv Sena leader confirmed that Thackeray and party MP Sanjay Raut will participate in the meeting. Uddhav Thackeray will be attending the meeting as most issues are surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and measures. We are in the opposition and not a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). We are running a coalition government with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the state. So it is no surprise that he [Thackeray] is attending the meeting, said the Sena leader.

Sena has not entered the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

In January, the Thackeray-led party had skipped all meetings called by Sonia Gandhi to discuss the political situation in the wake of violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University and protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Days later Thackerays son Aaditya, who is now a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

Thackerays decision also assumes significance in the context of political developments in Maharashtra. The state unit of BJP has started mounting pressure on the Thackeray government over its handling of the Covid-19 crisis in Maharashtra, which has the highest number of cases in the country. The Sena-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (in alliance with NCP and Congress) has claimed good coordination between the Centre and the state in tackling the outbreak, but many within the government have blamed the Centre for its poor handling of the migrant issue.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Sudhir Suryawanshi By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray issued an order on Tuesday stating that he will be the final authority to take any decision and those decisions of his cannot be changed at the local level.

After facing criticism over decisions taken by different authorities in the state that created confusion among the people, the government has come up with this order.

According to the notification issued by the state chief secretary Ajoy Mehta, henceforth the district collector and municipal commissioners cannot change the decision taken by the state government without permission from the state chief secretary.

Earlier there was lots of confusion over the state orders as the local authorities overruled the state orders under epidemic diseases act 1897.

State chief secretary recently ordered to allow the stand-alone shops to function as part of easing the lockdown but many district collectors used their power and refused to implement it. In Pune, collectors allowed people to work in industries, but the police department did not give travel permits for those who wanted to go for work. That created a lot of chaos and confusion. Therefore, to streamline and have clarity in government, this decision was taken, said a senior government official.

Senior Congress leader read this order differently. He said that this is not empowering the chief minister but giving extra powers to the state chief secretary.

"Why is there a requirement of permission from chief state secretary to do anything? The district collectors are local authorities who can understand the situation better way, so they should be allowed some of the normal decisions. If there is a policy decision, then they can seek the state chief secretary permission," he said adding that by taking this decision chief secretary will be super chief minister of Maharashtra.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis also met governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari complaining that the Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray had failed to control the situations.

The COVID 19 positive cases and deaths are on the rise in Maharashtra. As the leader, he has lost control and putting his failure blame to administrative officers that are very unfortunate, Ashish Shelar, senior BJP leader said.
Floodwaters from two breached dams in Michigan on Wednesday flowed into a sprawling Dow chemical complex and threatened a vast Superfund toxic-cleanup site downriver, raising concerns of wider environmental fallout from the dam disaster and historic flooding.

The compound, which also houses the chemical giants world headquarters, lies on the banks of the Tittabawassee River in Midland, where by late Wednesday rising water had encroached on some parts of downtown. Kyle Bandlow, a Dow spokesman, said that floodwaters had reached the Dow sites outer boundaries and had flowed into retaining ponds designed to hold what he described as brine water used on the site.

The Superfund cleanup sites are downriver from the century-old plant, which for decades had released chemicals into the nearby waterways. The concern downriver, according to Allen Burton, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Michigan, is that contaminated sediments on the river floor could be stirred up by the floodwaters, spreading pollution downstream and over the riverbanks.

You worry about the speed of the current, this wall of water coming down the river, he said. It just has a huge amount of power.
She first started modeling at just 15 and signed to an agency the following year.

And during her career Rosie Huntington Whitely came to represent major brands including Victoria's Secret, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana.

The 33-year-old model took fans down memory lane Tuesday night, as she shared the first polaroids that were taken of her in 2003.

Memory lane: Rosie Huntington Whitely took fans down memory lane Tuesday night, as she shared the first polaroids that were taken of her in 2003

The then teenager posed for the shots after signing to Model Management at just 16.

Over a set of young fresh-faced photos she wrote: 'Just came across these - the first polaroids ever taken of me back in 2003 in London at my first agency.'

Adding: 'Bringing back so many special memories.'

In the photos she wore a baby blue tank, and had her blonde hair swept back into a messy bun showing off her bone structure.

First snaps: Over a set of young fresh-faced photos she wrote: 'Just came across these - the first polaroids ever taken of me back in 2003 in London at my first agency'

The UK born beauty shared a second set of polaroids in different outfits, apart of another modeling profile.

In those she wore a black, long-sleeve tee and left her shiny hair down near her face.

For a third outfit, she wore a blue graphic tee, a denim mini skirt and black sheer tights.

After signing to her first agency she quickly shot for Teen Vogue and made her catwalk debut at just 17 alongside Naomi Campbell.

Rising star: After signing to her first agency she quickly shot for Teen Vogue and made her catwalk debut at just 17 alongside Naomi Campbell

Just a few years later in 2006 she signed to Victoria's Secret and went on to be one of the brand's Angels.

Other brands she has modeled for include Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Escada and Versace.

Rosie became more widely known in 2011 when she starred in Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, alongside Shia LaBeouf

Happy couple: Rosie and Jason Statham, shown in 2019 on Instagram, started dating in 2010 and have been engaged since January 2016

She has been dating actor Jason Statham, 52, since 2010.

They got engaged in January 2016 when Jason proposed with with a five-carat Neil Lane-designed ring.

Together, they welcomed a son, Jack, in 2017.

Rosie recently returned from Milan Fashion Week where she sat front row at Versace's Spring 2020 show.
Chinese doctors are seeing the coronavirus manifest differently among patients in its new cluster of cases in the northeast region compared to the original outbreak in Wuhan, suggesting that the pathogen may be changing in unknown ways and complicating efforts to stamp it out.

Patients found in the northern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative, Qiu Haibo, one of Chinas top critical care doctors, told state television on Tuesday.

Patients in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases before they spread, said Qiu, who is now in the northern region treating patients.

The longer period during which infected patients show no symptoms has created clusters of family infections, said Qiu, who was earlier sent to Wuhan to help in the original outbreak. Some 46 cases have been reported over the past two weeks spread across three cities -- Shulan, Jilin city and Shengyang -- in two provinces, a resurgence of infection that sparked renewed lockdown measures over a region of 100 million people.

Scientists still do not fully understand if the virus is changing in significant ways and the differences Chinese doctors are seeing could be due to the fact that theyre able to observe patients more thoroughly and from an earlier stage than in Wuhan. When the outbreak first exploded in the central Chinese city, the local health-care system was so overwhelmed that only the most serious cases were being treated. The northeast cluster is also far smaller than Hubeis outbreak, which ultimately sickened over 68,000 people.

Still, the findings suggest that the remaining uncertainty over how the virus manifests will hinder governments efforts to curb its spread and re-open their battered economies. China has one of the most comprehensive virus detection and testing regimes globally and yet is still struggling to contain its new cluster.

Researchers worldwide are trying to ascertain if the virus is mutating in a significant way to become more contagious as it races through the human population, but early research suggesting this possibility has been criticized for being overblown.

In theory, some changes in the genetic structure can lead to changes in the virus structure or how the virus behaves, said Keiji Fukuda, director and clinical professor at the University of Hong Kongs School of Public Health. However, many mutations lead to no discernible changes at all.

Its likely that the observations in China dont have a simple correlation with a mutation and very clear evidence is needed before concluding that the virus is mutating, he said.

Northeast Differences

Qiu said that doctors have also noticed patients in the northeast cluster seem to have damage mostly in their lungs, whereas patients in Wuhan suffered multi-organ damage across the heart, kidney and gut.

Officials now believe that the new cluster stemmed from contact with infected arrivals from Russia, which has one of the worst outbreaks in Europe. Genetic sequencing has showed a match between the northeast cases and Russian-linked ones, said Qiu.

Among the northeast cluster, only 10% have turned critical and 26 are hospitalized.

Over 100 Million in Chinas Northeast Face Renewed Lockdown

China is moving aggressively to stem the spread of the new cluster ahead of its annual political gathering in Beijing scheduled to start this week. As thousands of delegates stream into the capital to endorse the governments agenda, Chinas central leadership is determined to project stability and control.

The northeast provinces have ordered a return of lockdown measures, halting train services, closing schools and sealing off residential compounds, dismaying residents who had thought the worst was over.

People should not assume the peak has passed or let down their guard, Wu Anhua, a senior infectious disease doctor, said on state television on Tuesday. Its totally possible that the epidemic will last for a long time.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
New Mexico company Sivage Homes is building a new subdivision in Los Lunas, a news release said.

The Homes at Inspiracion subdivision, part of the larger master planned Community of Fiesta, will offer houses starting at $189,990, with floor plans that range from 923 to 1,868 square feet, the release said.

With demand for quality homes, Sivage is meeting this need by delivering an extension of the Los Lunas lifestyle with a focus on design and value, Sivage Homes President Michael Sivage said, according to the release. With many people now working from home, high speed internet access, access to open space and trails, and located within a short commute to Albuquerque, Inspiracion is a great place to live, work and play.

The subdivision  one of three that will eventually comprise the Community of Fiesta  is near I-25 east off Main Street in Los Lunas, near Highline Street, according to information provided by Sivage Homes. The full planned community will have 1,200 homes when complete.
Hyderabad, May 20 : Leading vaccine maker Bharat Biotech on Wednesday announced that it has signed an exclusive deal with Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia to develop a new vaccine candidate for Covid-19 invented at Jefferson.

The novel vaccine was developed using an existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus proteins. This is in part because this vehicle or carrier vaccine is known to produce a strong immune response, and is approved for the whole population including children and pregnant women, Bharat Biotech said in a statement.

Infectious Diseases expert Professor Matthias Schnell's lab developed the vaccine in January this year, and has recently completed preliminary tests in animal models.

The vaccine showed a strong antibody response in mice receiving the vaccine. The researchers are currently testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected the next month.

"Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development," says Prof Schnell - a coronavirus expert who directs The Jefferson Vaccine Institute and chairs Jefferson's Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

"We are particularly excited about this technology since the basic proof of concept has been established while using it for other pandemic infectious diseases. Bharat Biotech is committed to global public health and will be involved in an end to end development of the vaccine including comprehensive clinical trials to achieve commercial licensure," said Dr Krishna Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of Bharat Biotech.

Under the license agreement, Bharat Biotech gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jefferson's vaccine across the world excluding countries such as USA, Europe, Japan etc, where Jefferson continues to seek partners.

With support from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Bharat Biotech aims to get into human trials as soon as December 2020.

Of the 90 or so coronavirus vaccines in development, about 25 per cent use an established vaccine to act as a carrier or vector for the target virus, in this case, the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 spike protein.

"Since we know the immune system reacts to the rabies vaccine with a strong response when we add the coronavirus component, we expect to see that level of protection, and immune memory, carry over to the SARS-CoV-2 viral protein as well," says Prof Schnell.




South Korea's new virus cases rose by the most in nine days Wednesday amid looming mass infections at a major hospital in Seoul and a steady rise in nightclub-linked cases.







The country added 32 new coronavirus cases, raising the total caseload to 11,110, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Of them, 24 were local infections.







The daily new infections mark the largest since May 11, when the number hit 35.







Concerns about yet another cluster of infections emerged, as four nurses working at Samsung Medical Center, one of the country's five major general hospitals, were infected with COVID-19.







Health authorities said more related cases are likely to spring up, as transmission routes are unknown.







Contact tracing is being conducted to determine whether the source of infections originated in the hospital. A study is under way into 623 people who came into contact with the infected nurses.







Cases tied to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon also continued to increase steadily. The total caseload linked to the Itaewon cluster reached 187 as of Tuesday.







Health authorities remain alert over further community spread as high school seniors began to return to schools.







South Korea switched to an "everyday life quarantine" scheme on May 6 to enable citizens to carry out social and economic activities under quarantine rules.







The education ministry went ahead with school reopening as scheduled amid a letup in Itaewon-linked infections.







The country, meanwhile, added eight imported cases and reported no additional deaths, with the total death toll staying at 263.







The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,066, up 128 from the previous day. (Yonhap)


In March 2020, Washington gave telehealth a shot in the arm by bending long-standing Medicare reimbursement rules for physicians and other health care professionals who use technology to remotely examine and treat Medicare patients at home.

The Trump administration now allows Medicare to reimburse doctors for telehealth at the same rate as office visits. The idea is to motivate doctors to use telehealth to care for patients and not invite them into medical offices and hospitals that may be brimming with those suffering from the highly contagious coronavirus.

Telehealth was already an option allowed by many private Medicare Advantage plans, which are alternatives to traditional Medicare. The five biggest insurers selling Medicare Advantage plans, which serve about one-third of Medicares more than 60 million beneficiaries, have offered telehealth for several years.

Traditional Medicare, on the other hand, set strict limits for where and when telehealth would be covered. Until 2019, Medicare paid for telehealth services only if they included both audio and video interactions between patient and provider. Even then, the coverage was often limited to rural areas, and the patient had to already be in a Medicare-approved facility, not at home.

After Congress eased some of the restrictions, patients can now be at home to consult with doctors and other medical specialists using telehealth.

However, Medicare beneficiaries aren't afforded any price breaks for virtual visits, for which they currently pay 20% of the doctors fee on top of a deductible. For most telehealth services, the agency said on its web page for fees, youll pay the same amount that you would if you got the services in person.
Against the backdrop of a



controversy over the quality of the ventilators developed by a private firm for COVID-19 patients in Gujarat, the state government on Wednesday said they are certified by an accredited laboratory and fit to use.

The 'Dhaman-1' ventilators were developed by Rajkot- based firm Jyoti CNC which had "donated" 866 of them to the state government last month in view of the acute shortage of such equipment, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

However, a row erupted recently when the Ahemedabad civil hospital wrote to the government stating that the 'Dhaman-1' ventilators were not up to the mark, and sought sophisticated machines.

Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda had accused the government of "playing with the lives" of COVID-19 patients by purchasing "sub-standard" ventilators having no approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI).

However, Ravi sought to put the controversy to rest.

"'Dhaman-1' ventilators are as good as other such machines. They are certified by a Centrally accredited laboratory," the senior bureaucrat told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Responding to the allegations over its quality and alleged violation of norms, Ravi said since a ventilator is not a drug formulation, it does not require any approval from the DCGI.

"Instead of creating a controversy, we should appreciate Jyoti CNC for coming forward at a time when there was an acute shortage of ventilators to treat coronavirus patients. This machines were put to use only after receiving the performance and safety certificate from EQDC following intensive testing," Ravi said.

The Electronics and Quality Development Centre (EQDC) is a laboratory approved by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).

"Even Puducherry (administration) and the Maharashtra government have expressed their interest in purchasing 'Dhaman-1'. We have also learned that the Centre, through a nodal agency, placed an order to purchase 5,000 Dhaman-1 ventilators," said Ravi.

When asked about the letter of the Ahmedabad civil hospital, Ravi said it had demanded high-end ventilators for critical patients.

"It (the letter) was an additional demand as part of a precautionary measure. There is no major difference in the performance of 'Dhaman-1' and other ventilators," she said.

As on Tuesday, Gujarat's tally of COVID-19 cases stood at 12,141 and fatalities at 719. Of the 6,379 "active" cases, 49 patients are in a critical condition, Ravi had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In this photo from March 20, 2020, Delaware County Council Chairman Brian Zidek addressed efforts to confront the emerging coronavirus pandemic. The county had no health department. Two months later, it has the highest per-capita rate of COVID-19, exceeding that even of neighboring Philadelphia. Read more

So this is what consequences look like: Delaware County, population 560,000, now has the Philadelphia regions highest 14-day rate of COVID-19 cases nine weeks into a painful lockdown and its economy may remain in limbo because of this, even as numbers are easing elsewhere.

This is what you get after decades of Republican rule that resisted calls to create a health department.

This is the black-and-white portrait of wreckage created by years of ideological myopia: A half million Pennsylvanians in possibly the most populous county in the United States with no health department now unable to rescue themselves from a mess in the making for generations.

You hate to write about these I-told-you-so moments. But here we are. And it is terrible, any way you cut it.

When I first warned about this prospect in a March 11 column, the worry was mostly hypothetical: How would such a densely and highly populated county under fairly new Democratic control wrestle the emerging pandemic without a health department?

Everywhere else in Southeastern Pennsylvania  Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties  there were health departments with boots on the ground working to contain the monster that would soon lead to stay-home orders across the country.

Now we have our answer: Not well at all.

Nursing homes, we learned through the first-ever release of institution-specific numbers Tuesday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, have been a locus of devastation across the suburbs. But in Delaware County some facilities reported downright terrifying numbers.

As many as 40 people died of the novel coronavirus at a single long-term care complex in Broomall. At county-owned Fair Acres in Middletown, 29 have died.

While the numbers were not super in the other suburban counties, at least they had health departments. Those agencies can run year-round efforts to address infection control in schools, hospitals, and other institutions.

In Delaware County, what we have seen instead is a pandemic that remains unwieldy even three months after the initial phase.

Just consider how differently things have gone in neighboring Bucks County, which has an 85-person-strong health department in place. They, too, are struggling with high numbers of cases and deaths in long-term care facilities. This is uniformly the case across the region. But they have a handle on things.

We have staff in place who do case contact [investigations] for all kinds of diseases  70 reportable diseases, whether its salmonella or any other foodborne illness, or an outbreak of MRSA, whooping cough, chicken pox, Bucks County physician and head of the department David Damsker told me Tuesday. Hes led the office for 12 years.

We have staff. We have relationships in Bucks County with all of the schools already, Damsker continued. Also, theres the Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership, a consortium of all six hospitals in Bucks, all the CEOs, plus some community members, plus me. We meet six times a year. ... We were able to jump on this pretty early.

The only way to rein things in at this point in a place like Delco, he surmised, is to have people working furiously to identify where infections are and work to contain them. Bucks has had such a team from Day One and is building it out even more, he said.

The Chester County Department of Health in recent weeks became deputized as Delcos de facto health department after efforts brokered by the Wolf administration and prodding from Delaware County. But officials in that office did not respond to my or my Inquirer news colleagues requests this week for interviews.

You need to do a case investigation on every case and know where these cases are coming from, Damsker said. If youre just counting cases, you dont know where to focus.

In the earliest stages of the outbreak in March, Delco was at the mercy of the state Health Department, which was responding to suspected COVID cases in the county with staff at offices two hours west in Harrisburg. For weeks, the state was withholding from local officials even information as basic as the municipalities where new cases were being found.

"Delaware County started behind the 8-ball to begin with, said State Sen. Tim Kearney, who won Republican Tom McGarrigles Swarthmore seat in 2018 in an electoral wave that culminated in flipping control of county government to Democrats in November 2019.

Even Montgomery County next door, with a massive health department of its own, garnered early resources that Delco is still struggling to get. Namely: a federally funded testing site.

Montgomery County has more people in long-term care facilities than we do," Kearney said of the regions first COVID hot spot, "but they also had a county plan to deal with it.

Because it was first out the gate, Montco got a federal testing site early on. Far more densely populated and impoverished Delco continues to toil without one even though officials say theyve been requesting one for weeks.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

The time has come to urgently demand resources from the state and federal government. It is time also for detailed public updates from the proxy Chester County officials now in charge of cleaning up this mess.

Send tests and PPE and bodies and expertise and money. Because it is time to fix what others broke.
Expected to Add Incremental $2-4 Million Annual Revenue

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 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 officially launched its updated websites.

Pacific Ventures Group

https://pacvgroup.com

The Company forecasts that its increased online efforts are expected to generate an additional $2 - 4 million annual revenue.

Ms. Shannon Masjedi, Pacific Venture Group's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Now that we have integrated our businesses together, this final piece to connect them in the virtual online world, was expedited and more important than ever, given the current COVID-19 pandemic. Our world as we know it has been altered and more and more business is shifting online. Part of our growth strategy for the next 12 months is to increase our online presence, which includes linking these websites to promote cross-sell opportunities among our clients. We look forward to continually updated and improving our online assets and seek innovative ways to drive web traffic and awareness, which will result in increased revenue."

San Diego Farmers Outlet

https://sandiegofarmersoutlet.com

Seaport Meat Company

https://www.seaportmeat.com

SnoBar

https://snobarcocktails.com

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/590634/Pacific-Ventures-Group-Launches-Updated-Websites-to-Improve-its-Online-Presence
Washington: In an alert that appeared aimed squarely at Iran, the U.S. Navy issued a warning on Tuesday to mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures.

The notice to mariners, which was first reported by Reuters, follows U.S. President Donald Trumps threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass Navy vessels.

"Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a U.S. naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat," according to the text of the notice.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the U.S. militarys rules of engagement.

The Pentagon has stated that Trumps threat was meant to underscore the Navys right to self-defence.

The Bahrain-based U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that its notice was designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation.

It follows an incident last month in which 11 Iranian vessels came close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, in what the U.S. military called dangerous and provocative behaviour.

At one point, the Iranian vessels came within 10 yards (9 meters) of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui, the U.S. military said.

Trumps threat followed that incident, which Tehran, in turn, said was the fault of the United States.

The head of Irans elite Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by threatening to destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.

The back-and-forth is just the latest example of razor-sharp tension between Washington and Tehran, which has steadily escalated since 2018 when Trump withdrew from Irans 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Animosity reached historic heights in early January when the United States killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Iran retaliated on Jan. 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq, causing brain injuries among U.S. troops at one of them.

Close interactions with Iranian military vessels were not uncommon in 2016 and 2017. On several occasions, U.S. Navy ships fired warning shots at Iranian vessels when they got too close.

But Iran had halted such manoeuvres before the April incident.
Outdoor spaces have begun to reopen while the coronavirus pandemic carries on, bringing up an important question for Oregonians eager to get back outside: Do you need to wear a face mask while hiking?

As hiking trails and other outdoor space reopen across Oregon, some researchers and medical experts, as well as state park officials, now recommend hikers carry face coverings with them, and to wear them whenever in close contact with people from outside their household.

Advice varies based on individual risk factors and the outdoor environment in question, but what the recommendations come down to is this: Hikers should cover their faces when passing others on the trail, while hiking with friends or family they dont live with, or any time they encounter large groups of people.

While not always necessary, a face mask is now considered to be a smart precautionary item to bring with you on outside. Hikers are already accustomed to carrying essentials like first aid kits and extra clothing  face coverings and hand sanitizer are common sense additions to any day pack.

Richard Corsi, a Portland State University dean, has studied the spread of COVID-19 through both large and tiny droplets in the air. Corsi previously recommended people stay 20 feet away from each other when theyre outdoors, much farther than Oregons mandate for six feet of social distance.

Corsi said the risk of infection is determined by the concentration of viruses, multiplied by breathing rate and time of exposure. That risk is low when outdoors (especially when theres wind) but it can be amplified by heavy breathing or loud talking while near others on a hiking trail, he said.

Its easy to get lured into a false sense of security outdoors. Hiking is often an activity that takes us away from other people and puts us in places where researchers say viruses are hard-pressed to survive. But low risk doesnt mean no risk at all.

A recent study of coronavirus cases from China showed that outdoor transmission is rare, but not impossible. Of the 7,234 cases of coronavirus studied by the University of Hong Kong, Southeast University and Tsinghua University, exactly one was determined to be spread outdoors, among two men talking together outside in a village.

There are very few documented cases of people transmitting the virus outdoors, Corsi said. I dont think that this is a major risk while hiking, because your exposure time is so short.

But Corsi said the low risk shouldnt deter people from taking precautions. Its easy enough to keep a face mask around your neck and pull it up when passing others, he said.

People return to Tryon Creek State Natural Area in southwest Portland, one of the first Oregon state park sites to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

That jibes with advice offered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, which has released several public health recommendations as part of its phased reopening of park sites across the state.

We advise people wear a face covering any time they cant maintain at least six feet of distance from people who are not already in their household, parks spokesman Chris Havel said. That means you ought to cover your nose and mouth when passing someone headed the opposite direction on a trail.

That strategy is also recommended by Paul Nicolazzo, director of the Wilderness Medicine Training Center based in Winthrop, Wash. Nicolazzo said he carries a cloth face mask in his pocket when he hikes the remote trails near his home, and puts it on if he encounters other people.

Does it make sense to carry a face mask with you or some other face covering? Absolutely, Nicolazzo said. I have it on my person, then its very easy to pull it out.

Simple face coverings like bandanas are another good solution, since they can be tied around the neck and pulled up over the nose and mouth when passing others on the trail. Still, more fitted face masks are best when walking along relatively flat trails through crowded park sites like Silver Falls, Tryon Creek or Smith Rock state parks.

The easiest way to stay healthy is to avoid outdoor spaces where a lot of people congregate, Nicolazzo said. But even if youre expecting to find solitude, you can be still surprised by a sudden rush of other people, whose behavior you cant control.

Its not always easy to control our own behavior. When caught up in the beauty of a natural space, we can stand close to strangers at a viewpoint or start up conversations on the trail. Its especially risky when hiking with friends or family who dont live with us, an instance when wearing face masks becomes even more important as we gravitate toward social interaction, Corsi said.

Inhaling the breath of a passing hiker wont likely transmit the coronavirus, but odds increase if that person coughs, sneezes, shouts or spits in your direction. Children could be a danger as well, he said, especially young ones who might not have a good grasp on physical boundaries.

Nicolazzo added that anyone who is willing to help injured or sick hikers on the trail should carry one face mask for themselves, and another for the injured person. Face masks should be used whenever administering first aid.

And while hiking might not carry a huge risk of infection, using restrooms at trailheads and day use areas certainly does.

Aside from all the commonly touched surfaces, viruses can be widely spread by a single toilet flush. Each flush can spread up to 500,000 particles into the air, Corsi said, including large and small droplets that can spread viruses to bathroom walls, stall doors and onto rolls of toilet paper.

Restrooms at many outdoor spaces in Oregon have remained closed, even as parks and trails have begun to reopen, as the risk of transmission in public restrooms remains high both for visitors and the rangers tasked with cleaning them on a regular basis.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department asks people to bring their own hand sanitizer, soap and water, as well as toilet paper and trash bags in case restrooms are closed. People should also learn how to relieve themselves responsibly in nature, if need be, and be prepared to pack used toilet paper out with them.

State parks visitors should carry face masks too, the parks department said, because while the risk of catching or transmitting the coronavirus outdoors remains low, that doesnt mean hikers should throw caution to the wind.

I think people should invoke the precautionary principle and think, why should I take a chance? Corsi said. The risk is going to be very low, but why should you take that risk?

--Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has announced that security cooperation agreements between the Palestinians and Israel  with the U.S. as a guarantor  were now null and void in light of the looming threat of Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank.

Abbas, at a meeting in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Tuesday night, said that that the State of Palestine is absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones."

Under Israel's newly announced coalition government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be able to bring forward plans to annex parts of the West Bank for approval by the government and/or parliament from July 1, after consultations with his former rival, Benny Gantz, now deputy prime minister.

The occupied territory was captured in the 1967 Six-Day War, and Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered to be illegal by most of the international community.

Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon responded Wednesday to Abbas announcement by saying that Israel was trying to apply sovereignty in regions that have been approved by the Trump administration.

Ending ties with Israel will ultimately hurt the Palestinians far more than it harms Israel," he added in a statement.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was not sure what to make of Abbas announcement.

But I regret that he's decided to abrogate these agreements, he told reporters.

It is not the first time that Abbas has said that the Palestinian Authority he has led for 15 years should exit existing international agreements in response to Israeli actions. But his repeated insistence that America was no longer an appropriate arbiter between the two sides comes after a series of U.S. decisions that have angered and disappointed the Palestinians.

Image: Benjamin Netanyahu (Debbie Hill / Reuters file)

The Trump administration, spearheaded by President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has pushed a much-maligned peace proposal. Since then, some U.S. officials have offered qualified support for Israeli annexation plans.

Story continues

A senior U.S. administration official told NBC News last month that Washington's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank was conditional on the Israeli government negotiating with the Palestinians along the lines set forth in Trump's peace plan.

Trump, who has embraced Netanyahu as one of his closest allies, has also moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and halted funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which has supported Palestinian refugees for decades. Washington has also recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.

And on April 27, Netanyahu said he was confident that the Trump administration would recognize Israeli sovereignty over parts of the occupied West Bank within months.

The issue could become a major factor in a foreign policy face-off between the two men competing in this years U.S. presidential election.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Partys apparent nominee in November, said on Tuesday that he would reverse the Trump administrations actions in the region, arguing that the U.S. should restore diplomatic relationships with the Palestinian Authority.

Analysts said that the most significant near-term impact of the announcement from Abbas would be a potential end to security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and in particular intelligence sharing.

The public demand has been there to cancel and remove security coordination for a very long time, said Mustafa Barghouti, an activist who serves as the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political movement against Israeli occupation. We could be moving in the direction of a nonviolent uprising against the Israeli occupation.

Dr. Bassem Naeem, a senior official of Hamas, a militant group that is the main political force inside the Gaza Strip and rival to the Palestinian Authority, said the decision represented good steps in the right direction.

He added, though, that Abbas had made similar statements in the past, and action was now needed, rather than just words.

Whats happening today on the ground is very, very serious, he said.

Willem Marx reported from London and Lawahez Jabari from Jerusalem.
Colombian official: We do not expect to resume international air travel or to reopen land borders before August 31.

Colombia on Wednesday followed in Argentinas footsteps and imposed one of the toughest travel bans in the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic, saying no international passenger flights will be allowed until August 31.

Argentina took a similar drastic step this month, although it also banned domestic flights. Colombia has banned domestic flights only until the end of June so far.

Argentinas decision sparked outrage among that countrys airlines, but so far the government has not changed its mind.

Until Aug 31 we do not expect to resume international air travel or to reopen land borders, Colombias Transport Minister Angela Maria Orozco said in an interview with Blu Radio on Wednesday.

Latin America has imposed stricter travel restrictions than most regions to fight coronavirus. In addition to Colombia and Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador and Panama have also grounded all flights and repeatedly extended those bans as the disease has spread. Cargo flights are allowed.

Colombias decision is a blow to its largest carrier, Avianca Holdings, which this month filed for bankruptcy in a US court. Avianca said in a statement the government had not yet notified it about the new ban.





Avianca had earlier hoped to resume flying in June. The carrier is in a delicate situation as its entire passenger fleet is currently unable to fly due to restrictions in several countries. It is, however, operating cargo flights, but those represent a small percentage of the companys revenue in normal times.

The carrier has a limited amount of cash to keep the operation afloat while earning little revenue, which has prompted it to seek government aid that has yet to materialise.
Srinagar, May 20 : Two Border Security Force (BSF) troopers were killed on Wednesday during a weapon snatching attempt by militants in J&K's Ganderbal district.

Police sources said that motorcycle-borne militants attacked two BSF troopers with pistols and snatched their service rifles.

"The area has been surrounded for searches to trace the assailants. A general alert has been sounded in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts to nab the militants," police sources said.
A PUB that was banned from delivering pints by gardai has come up with an ingenious solution to bring delight to their thirsty customers.

Gardai in Clontarf had clamped down on the popular Pebble Beachs idea of a pub on wheels, for health and safety reasons.

They had been delivering pints freshly poured from a keg in the back of a van to households across Dublins northside.

But now, co-owner Mark Grainger has come up with an ingenious alternative which allows freshly pulled pints in proper glasses to be expertly delivered to draught deprived punters  and also satisfies Garda health concerns.

Expand Close Mark Grainger takes a drinks delivery order at the Pebble Beach, Clontarf Pic: Mark Condren / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mark Grainger takes a drinks delivery order at the Pebble Beach, Clontarf Pic: Mark Condren

So much so, the seaside hostelry is out the door with orders since it began its unusual service last weekend.

Expand Close Mark Grainger delivering pints of Guinness from the Pebble Beach, Clontarf. Pic: Mark Condren / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mark Grainger delivering pints of Guinness from the Pebble Beach, Clontarf. Pic: Mark Condren

Read More

It was innovative and, in fairness, I hadnt got my ps and qs right and the guards informed me of that, says Mark of his initial keg on wheels routine.

They told me we would have to do some tweaking with it if we wanted to do that and get our licensing right. Perhaps they were concerned about compressed gas being in the jeep, or whatever.

They asked me to stop and I obliged  we have a fantastic relationship with the guards through all our four generations in the pub business and I want my son Sean to have the same relationship going forward.

So we did stop and we asked their advice about doing it from the public house Pebble Beach. They advised us on a number of things, including saying the we should have a sealed cap to put on the pint glasses.

Expand Close Mark delivering pints of Guinness from the Pebble Beach pub Pic: Mark Condren / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mark delivering pints of Guinness from the Pebble Beach pub Pic: Mark Condren

Mark (53) made some enquiries and approached a local firm who has now made him thousands of seals which fit correctly onto glasses and allows them to be transported without spilling.

The idea is fantastic and Im going to take it a step further. I know if we got a prototype and got it right, its possibly the future of the business going forward  that you will have to go to the customers at the weekend, because we wont fill our pubs again until we get a vaccine, he stresses.

Until then you have to be innovative I think. Thats why Im going to go and maybe source one of these and get it all togged out and do a really snazzy job.

He adds: My claim to fame is that I can turn this pint glass of Guinness upside down and the beer wont fall out.

Numerous pubs around the country are now allowing a take-out service, whether they are serving pints in plastic glasses or selling bottles.

But Mark insists there is nothing like a freshly pulled pint in a proper glass.

The difference with us serving it and other pubs is that they are serving them in plastic glasses, he explains.

We are serving in the actual glass, you would pull the beer in and we are putting the sealed cap on it that we developed ourselves.

Its quite innovative because the cap grips the top of the pint glass, sucks it and seals it, so it means the head doesnt really move.

So when the product leaves the pub here we get it to the client, maybe within five minutes, because we stay in Clontarf. They are amazed. They take the cap off and the head stays the same.

Its very hard to hold a head on a pint if youre not sealing it properly. If youre putting those plastic things on it the head goes all over it.

I dont think you can serve it in a presentable way unless you have the sealed cap.

The glasses are also chilled beforehand and then thoroughly cleaned after usage.

First of all, we wash them at over 60 degrees in temperature, he points out. Then, naturally enough, you let them cool down and you rotate them. Then they go into our glass chillers. We also use PPE masks and gloves when serving and collecting them.

The pub charges 6 a pint, plus an extra refundable deposit of 2 a glass. They also insist the seals be returned. Mark and his brother Paddy, the other owner of Pebble Beach, are part of the well-known Grainger publican family in the capital.

An uncle of theirs owns Graingers on Hanlons corner in Phibsboro and a first cousin the Manor Inn in Swords, while distant cousins own other hostelries across the city.

Pebble Beach had employed 18 full-time and part-time staff before the lockdown and hope to re-employ most of them when the new venture is in full fling.

Mark maintains that the pints are still fresh when theyre delivered within a ten minute radius of the pub.

We are delivering to people who are our customers, and who we havent seen for a while, so its nice to touch base and keep in touch.

We are also getting out to our elderly customers and they are missing going for their pint and reading their paper, he notes.

Mark hopes that the pub will reopen with social distancing in August, but it will still never be as full as it used to be until a vaccine is found.

Beggars cant be choosers, wed be just happy to get the doors open and create a bit of employment in the community again, he says.

- Sunday World
BOSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross), is promoting the health and well-being of seniors during the COVID-19 public health emergency by expanding access to telephone and virtual care, waiving costs on COVID-19 related treatment, and more.

"We want our Medicare members to know we're here for them during this incredibly challenging time," said Ken Arruda, vice president for Medicare markets at Blue Cross. "Our members' health, safety, and ability to get the care they need are our top priorities. We're here to provide seniors with important information on changes to their Medicare benefits, answers to questions about seeking health care services and treatment, and regular advice from our expert clinicians on ways to stay healthy and safe."

Since early March, Blue Cross has taken steps to expedite access to care and provide additional support to Medicare members for the duration of the Massachusetts public health emergency. Enhanced benefits include waiving member costs for:

COVID-19 testing when ordered by a doctor or other health care provider

Medically necessary COVID-19 treatment at doctor's offices, ERs, and urgent care centers for members in our Medicare Advantage, Managed Blue for Seniors and Medex' plans, in accordance with CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines

Inpatient treatment of COVID-19

Telephone and video visits with clinicians about any health care matter so members can see their doctors from the comfort and safety of their homes for the duration of the Massachusetts public health emergency

public health emergency Members who receive COVID-19 treatment from out-of-network providers. For all other out-of-network treatment, Medicare Advantage members will only have to pay their in-network cost-share amount. Medex Choice and Managed Blue for Seniors will have to play applicable out-of-network costs for all non-COVID-19 services.

Additionally, Blue Cross prescription drug plan members can get early refills of maintenance medications with a valid prescription, including a 30-day supply at a retail pharmacy or a 90-day supply through mail order.

Blue Cross clinicians advise seniors to take the following steps to address ongoing and new health care concerns during the public health emergency:

If you have a chronic condition, stay in contact with your health care provider by phone or video to manage your condition, and continue taking your medications - many pharmacies now offer prescription delivery services, so you don't have to leave your home.

stay in contact with your health care provider by phone or video to manage your condition, and continue taking your medications - many pharmacies now offer prescription delivery services, so you don't have to leave your home. If you are feeling lonely, sad, anxious or isolated , you can speak with a therapist via phone or video link  find out how.

, you can speak with a therapist via phone or video link  find out how. If you notice new symptoms , call your health care provider. You can also call the Blue Cross Nurse Care Line at 1-888-247Blue (2583). This service is provided at no cost to members. Common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, unexplained fatigue, confusion, and loss of taste or smell.

, call your health care provider. You can also call the Blue Cross Nurse Care Line at 1-888-247Blue (2583). This service is provided at no cost to members. Common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, shortness of breath, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, unexplained fatigue, confusion, and loss of taste or smell. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call 911 and go to your local emergency department. Please note that emergency departments remain open during this time and often are kept separate from areas with COVID-19 patients to minimize the spread of the virus. Clinicians are available to treat you.

Blue Cross' Medicare member services team is available to address questions and concerns between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, at (888)494-8333. Additional information can be found in the Blue Cross Coronavirus Resource Center.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, affordable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Related Links

http://www.bluecrossma.com


Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that 24 new cases of coronavirus were detected in the state, taking the total number of positive cases presently under treatment to 161.

Till Wednesday, 666 people have become positive in the state.

"Of the 24 new cases, 12 came from abroad, and 11 from within the country. We had pointed out yesterday itself that we are going forward precariously. Lockdown norms are now in place and may be stringent measures have to be taken in certain areas, as more and more people from outside the state as well as from abroad are coming. The first flight from abroad came on May 7. The next day there were only 16 positive cases here and after that new positive cases have been increasing daily and today it's 161," said Vijayan.

"Covid-19 came into our state not because of the fault of anyone. The need of the hour is where the disease is and then we do the planning to see it does not spread and that's our objective. We took a strong stand on the entry of people and nothing else needs to be looked into it. I say this because some vested interests are spreading canard. Many who arrive do not have the disease, but some have it. It's here, where we should be alert and it's for that we are taking strong measures," said Vijayan.

"Our diaspora is our own dear and near ones and none should ever feel that we are against such people. Here, some sections are trying to create unnecessary friction over this and our appeal to all is none should try to create any fissures," added Vijayan.

The chief minister also cleared the air over the conduct of examinations for higher classes.

"Examinations to class 10 and 12 have now been charted and all arrangements have to be ensured by the education authorities for the smooth conduct. There were some confusion on it but today the Centre has given the sanction for it," added Vijayan.

He urged the people in isolation and quarantine to diligently follow the guidelines.

"Today, there is no vaccine or medicines as yet and hence we have to be extremely careful as cases here are increasing by the day. Those in isolation and quarantine have to maintain strict discipline," said Vijayan.

He pointed out that at present there are 73,865 people under observation in homes while 533 are in various hospitals.

The total hotspot areas continue to be 33.
South Korean actor Lee Min Ho is loved by so many because of his flawless portrayal of known characters in several Korean dramas.

Because of his acting prowess and charismatic looks, the shows that he starred in weren't only rendered a success nationally but were also international hits. Even at a time where he had hiatus due to his mandatory military service, he came back and continued his career flawlessly. Now, he is the lead actor in Netflix's fantasy-romance drama The King: Eternal Monarch.

Not only is he talented in acting, but he is also humble and quite a funny guy, as seen in his interviews. So, if you are not much of a Lee Min Ho fan, we think it's high time for you to stan one of the most bankable actors in the industry by watching some of his best works.

Starting us off is one of the most beloved Korean dramas in Asia and practically started Lee Min ho's career, Boys Over Flowers. Lee Min Ho played the character of Jun Pyo, a handsome, wealthy, and arrogant guy and the leader of a male group called F4. He is very much rude to a girl named Geum Jan Di, portrayed by Ku Sye Hun, which sometime in the series, Jun Pyo realized that he actually has feelings for her. Then, Jun Pyo did everything to win Jan Di, and their love story remains one of the best. Ever.

Second is Personal Taste, wherein Lee Min Ho played the role of Jeon Jin Ho, who helps a woman named Park Gae In, played by Son Ye Jin, who has financial problems. Park Gae In moves in with him, who secretly has feelings for her, but she thinks he is gay. Jeon Jin Ho becomes Park Gae In's emotional support, and Jeo Jin Ho continues to have feelings for her but doesn't know how to act on it.

The third is also a favorite: The City Hunter. He played the role of Lee Yoon Sung, who goes undercover to complete a revenge mission for his father. And while doing so, he meets Kim Na Na, played by Park Min Young, and they both form an alliance to fulfill the same mission. Later on, they develop a strong connection with each other. The action-packed drama received national and international success and is one of the most thrilling love stories to be produced in Korean drama history.

Fourth is utterly one of the most heart-fluttering series: The Heirs! The story revolves around struggling Cha Eun Sang, portrayed by Park Shin Hye, who meets Kim Tan, played by Lee Min Ho, in the U.S. They both return to South Korea and attended an elite school, wherein Kim Tan continues to pursue Cha Eun Sang's heart. This is absolutely romantic to watch and filled with a rollercoaster of emotions. You also get to see how much Lee Min Ho has grown in his acting career.

And last but not least, The Legend of the Blue Sea. Lee Min Ho played Heo Jun Jae, a con artist who takes advantage of people for money. He meets Shim Chung, played by Jun Ji Hyun, who is quite different, unique, and unbeknownst to him, is a mermaid. Heo Jun Jae realizes that he has feelings for Shim Chung, and he is willing to do whatever in order for him to be together with her. Its an absolute favorite and very romantic.

Don't forget to watch The King: Eternal Monarch, which will surely be added to the very long list of Lee Min Ho's binge-worthy series.

Which one of these Lee Min Ho dramas is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
U.S. authorities have arrested a former Special Forces soldier and another man wanted by Japan on charges that they enabled the escape of former Nissan Motor Co boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said that former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, helped Ghosn last year flee to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan over alleged financial wrongdoing.

Japan had in January issued arrest warrants for both men along with a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with faciliating the Dec. 29, 2019 escape.

The Taylors are scheduled to appear by video conference before a federal judge later on Wednesday.

Michael Taylor, front right, and George Antoine Zayek (rear), were caught on CCTV at Istanbul Airport in Turkey while allegedly helping Carlos Ghosn flee from Japan to Lebanon

The case which the former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn allegedly hid in while fleeing from Japan, where he was being held under house arrest, via Turkey to Lebanon

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said that former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor (left and right) and his son, Peter Taylor, helped Ghosn last year flee to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan over alleged financial wrongdoing

Carlos Ghosn's escape to Beirut Billionaire businessman Carlos Ghosn was first arrested on 19 November 2018 for questioning over allegations of false accounting. On 21 December 2018, he was re-arrested on suspicion of shifting to Nissan personal losses of US$16.6 million related to a personal swap contract in October 2008. In March 2019, Ghosn was granted a request for bail in a Tokyo court, subject to stringent conditions.

On 30 December 2019 it emerged that Ghosn had fled Japan for Lebanon while out on bail. Ghosn later confirmed these reports through a statement which claimed that he would 'no longer be held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system where guilt is presumed, discrimination is rampant and basic human rights are denied.'

Despite being under 24 hour surveillance, it is understood Ghosn left his Tokyo apartment at around 14:30 on 29 December and joined two men at a nearby hotel before the three of them boarded a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka and arrived at a hotel near Kansai International Airport just after 8pm.

A few hours later, two men left the hotel carrying large containers, including an instrument box which Ghosn had squeezed himself into. The men boarded a Bombardier Global Express private jet with Turkish registration TC-TSR. The large box carrying Ghosn was never x-rayed or checked by customs officials, because it was too big to fit inside the x-ray machine.

The plane departed Kansai Airport at 11.10pm local time, arriving at Istanbul Ataturk Airport at 5.26am on the morning of December 30. Within an hour of the plane's landing, a separate private jet left for Beirut. Advertisement

Lawyers for the men could not be immediately identified.

Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, at the end of last year, while he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.

The Brazilian-born multi-millionaire was arrested in November 2018 and spent months in prison and under house arrest.

He was being monitored 24 hours a day with restricted access to internet when he fled to Beirut on December 24.

It is believed he first boarded a bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, where he was picked up by a private jet flying to Istanbul.

He is understood to have eventually arrived in Beirut on December 30.

Four pilots, two other flight attendants, and an airline executive have already been charged in connection with his escape.

Micheal and Peter Taylor are suspected of taking Ghosn from his Tokyo home to a hotel in Osaka, western Japan, and hiding him inside a musical instrument case before taking him to Kansai airport where they allegedly helped him evade a security inspection.

CCTV emerged in January showing Michael Taylor, who became a security consultant after leaving the military, and Zayek at Istanbul airport as Ghosn, 65, changed planes en route to his final destination.

The warrants are the first official confirmation of the reported details about how Ghosn slipped past security and jumped bail shortly after Christmas.

Ghosn has refused to confirm or deny the various reports on how he gave Japanese authorities the slip

The escape of the high-profile suspect, who had been under house arrest on bail, left Japanese officials red-faced and they have demanded Ghosn returns to face trial.

Ghosn was arrested in November 2018 and faced four charges of financial misconduct, which he denies.

Ghosn claims there was a plot against him and that he had no chance of a fair trial.

A team of 15 private security contractors hatched a plot to smuggle Carlos Ghosn out of Tokyo and onto a private jet to Lebanon via Turkey

Ghosn was under house arrest on bail in Tokyo when he fled the country. He is pictured here in April last year being released from jail to await trial on 65million corruption charges

He has said he did not believe he would get a fair trial, and accused Nissan executives opposed to his plans to integrate the firm further with its French partner Renault of effectively cooking up the charges against him.

Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with Japan.

Turkish prosecutors in January said Taylor senior and Zayek accompanied the former Nissan boss on the first leg of his journey from Osaka to Ataturk Airport, a smaller airfield in the Turkish capital, on a private jet.

They claim Ghosn changed aircraft on foot before taking a second private plane to Beirut, while his accomplices went across town to Istanbul's main airport.

Taylor and Zayek then checked in and went through security, where the CCTV images were taken, before boarding a separate commercial flight to Beirut.

Turkey has arrested five people as part of its investigation into the escape, including employees of MNG, the private jet firm used by Ghosn.

The firm says its aircraft were used illegally in the escape and has filed a criminal complaint.

Turkish police released an image of the music case, used to carry speakers, that Ghosn was said to have been smuggled inside as he made his daring escape bid to Lebanon via Istanbul.

Taylor, who used to be a U.S. Special Forces counter-terrorism specialist, is now a private security contractor who has protected powerful people and companies, as well as secretly helping the U.S. government.

The 59-year-old has previously rescued hostages and is said to be well known in the private security contractor world.

Taylor's company, American International Security Corp., was once hired by the New York Times to help rescue one of its reporters, David Rohde, after he was kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The reporter was held in Pakistan for seven months before managing to escape himself in 2009.

Taylor also served a 14-month prison sentence in Utah in 2012 after pleading guilty to wire fraud in a multimillion-dollar military fraud scheme.

He was arrested after allegedly calling an FBI agent and asking him to stop a federal investigation into his security company.

He has now claimed that Hollywood has approached him for a new movie about his daring escape

Ghosn is now holed up inside a mansion in Beirut with wife Carole (pictured, security outside) and says he plans to fight for justice from the country

Taylor was being investigated over a bid-rigging scheme to get $54 million Defense Department contracts.

Taylor, who denied any wrongdoing and claimed he was a legitimate businessman, took a plea deal.

When he was released from prison in 2015, the government gave him back the $2 million they had seized from him.

Speaking in an interview in January, Ghosn said he had been approached by Hollywood to make a movie about his dramatic escape from Japan while hidden in a music case.

Speaking in an interview, he suggested a film on his escape is in the works after rumours previously spread of him meeting with Birdman producer John Lesher and working with Netflix.

In an interview with CBS News, Ghosn revealed how closely-guarded details of his escape were and said that he had planned the daring operation himself.

He said: 'Oh, I knew that I was taking risk. I knew I had to work by myself only with people who are going to operate, you know?'

He also refused to comment on the people who helped him escape, adding that he felt no guilt over dodging Japanese authorities.

Ghosn added: 'I wouldn't say I'm fugitive of justice; I'm fugitive of injustice.

'I don't feel bad about it, because the way I've been treated, and the way I was looking at the system, frankly, I don't feel any guilt.'

Ghosn claims he fled Japan to escape a 'brutal and ruthless' legal system where 99 per cent of cases end in conviction - claims that he repeated at a lengthy press conference last Wednesday.

But he was slammed by the media, officials and even his protege who said that 'the real reason he ran away is because he was afraid of being found guilty.'

Ex-Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, 66, dismissed his former boss's claims as Japan's justice minister said his allegations were 'baseless' and urged him to return and fight his case in court.

Mr Saikawa, who rose through the ranks at Nissan under Ghosn's guidance, added: 'I feel like I have been betrayed again.'

The country's media also rounded on him with one commentator saying he can't be trusted 'because he fled illegally abroad.'

During an emotional two-hour press conference in Beirut in January, Ghosn claimed a fair trial was impossible under Japan's justice system and that he was interrogated for eight hours a day without a lawyer.

He also claimed prosecutors threatened to go after his family if he didn't confess.

Ghosn has been banned from foreign travel by Lebanon after he fled to the country from Japan while awaiting trial for corruption.

Judicial sources in Beirut, where the former Nissan executive is hiding out, said early this year that the ban will be in effect while they investigate whether to put him on trial.

It comes after authorities took 65-year-old Ghosn for questioning over an Interpol 'red notice' issued by Japan.

'The state prosecution issued a travel ban for Ghosn, and asked for his file from the Japanese authorities,' a judicial source said at the time.

'According to what is inside the file, if it appears that the crimes he is accused of in Japan require being pursued in Lebanon, he will be tried.

'But if it doesn't require being pursued under Lebanese law, then he will be free.'
Im hearing a lot of grief and loss, said Lauren Hunter, a counselor who works in two public schools in Los Angeles as part of the Cedars-Sinai Share & Care program, which provides mental health services to at-risk students in 30 county schools.

But the challenges hard-wired into online learning present daunting obstacles for the remote guidance counselors office, particularly among students from low-income families who have lost jobs or lack internet access at home. And mental health experts worry about the psychological toll on a younger generation that was already experiencing soaring rates of depression, anxiety and suicide before the pandemic.

Not every kid can be online and have a confidential conversation about how things are going at home with parents in earshot, said Seth Pollak, director of the Child Emotion Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Until the coronavirus outbreak, Maellen Johnson, 16, a sophomore at Libby High School, had visited her guidance counselors office nearly every school day since the seventh grade, when the counselor pulled her aside after hearing she was having suicidal tendencies. Their relationship, Maellen said, helped her overcome those feelings, and the office became her refuge from the stress of classes and family drama.

It was just a peaceful place, Maellen said. She always offered comfort and safety.

Now, Maellen texts her counselor at least once a week, usually to vent about the struggles of being stuck at home with her brother, her mother, her mothers fiance and his two children in the house they have shared since November. The communication has helped her cope, she said, but texting is hardly a good substitute. Its just easier to let out all those anxieties when youre actually talking face to face, she said.

Some educators, dissatisfied with the limitations of technology, have found ways to visit students during the pandemic.

Emily Fox, a social emotional specialist at a primary school in Chillicothe, Ohio, uses Zoom to meet with her students. Many of the children are being raised by grandparents, she said, while some have been traumatized by family addiction. She said she worried about suicidal ideation and attempts by students as young as kindergartners, a problem even before school closed.




A new move by the Rwandan government has seen to the importation of five humanoid robots in order to reduce the exposure of health workers to COVID-19 patients.

Naija News understands that the robots would assist in both patient screening and delivery of foods and drugs to those suffering from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

Daniel Ngamije, the countrys health minister, who broke the news yesterday while adding that the robots have been given Rwandan names  including Akazuba, Ikizere, Mwiza, Ngabo, and Urumuri  and would also act as video-conferencing links between patients and doctors.

We need additional robots for other duties like disinfection in public space and we are working to get them, the minister was quoted to have said.

The Minister said the robots which were manufactured by a Belgium company has quite a number of abilities, which includes; the ability to screen 50 to 150 people per minute.

Naija News learnt that they would also be able to record and store patient data, alert health workers to abnormalities, and warn people who arent wearing masks or are wearing them improperly.

As of May 19, Rwanda has recorded 308 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, 203 recoveries and no deaths, according to Worldometer.

Share this post with your Friends on
Republican political operatives are recruiting 'pro-Trump' doctors to go on television to prescribe reviving the U.S. economy as quickly as possible, without waiting to meet safety benchmarks proposed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

The plan was discussed in a May 11 conference call with a senior staffer for the Trump reelection campaign organized by CNP Action, an affiliate of the GOP-aligned Council for National Policy. A leaked recording of the hour-long call was provided to The Associated Press by the Center for Media and Democracy, a progressive watchdog group.

CNP Action is part of the Save Our Country Coalition, an alliance of conservative think tanks and political committees formed in late April to end state lockdowns implemented in response to the pandemic. Other members of the coalition include the FreedomWorks Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council and Tea Party Patriots.

A resurgent economy is seen as critical to boosting President Donald Trumps reelection hopes and has become a growing focus of the White House coronavirus task force led by Vice President Mike Pence.

Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign communications director, confirmed to AP that an effort to recruit doctors to publicly support the president is underway, but declined to say when the initiative would be rolled out.

'Anybody who joins one of our coalitions is vetted,' Murtaugh said Monday. 'And so quite obviously, all of our coalitions espouse policies and say things that are, of course, exactly simpatico with what the president believes. ... The president has been outspoken about the fact that he wants to get the country back open as soon as possible.'

One of the apparent supporters is Dr. Simone Gold who claims the lockdown could lead to 'millions' dying in a 'mass casualty event'

Support: The call was with Mercedes Schlapp, a Trump campaign senior adviser. 'Those are the types of guys that we should want to get out on TV and radio to help push out the message,' Schlapp said on the call.

During an emergency such as the current pandemic, it's important that the government provide consistent science-based information to the public, said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiology professor at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert and a member of the White House's coronavirus task force, has been among the most visible government experts warning that lifting lockdowns too quickly could lead to a spike in deaths.

El-Sadr said having doctors relay contradictory information on behalf of the president is 'quite alarming.'

'I find it totally irresponsible to have physicians who are touting some information that's not anchored in evidence and not anchored in science,' El-Sadr said. 'What often creates confusion is the many voices that are out there, and many of those voices do have a political interest, which is the hugely dangerous situation we are at now.'

Murtaugh said the campaign is not concerned about contradicting government experts.

'Our job at the campaign is to reflect President Trump's point of view,' Murtaugh said. 'We are his campaign. There is no difference between us and him.'

On the May 11 call, Nancy Schulze, a GOP activist who is married to former Rep. Dick Schulze, R-Pa., said she had given the campaign a list of 27 doctors prepared to defend Trumps reopening push.

'There is a coalition of doctors who are extremely pro-Trump that have been preparing and coming together for the war ahead in the campaign on health care,' Schulze said on the call.

'And we have doctors that are ... in the trenches, that are saying "It's time to reopen.'

The idea quickly gained support from Mercedes Schlapp, a Trump campaign senior adviser who previously served two years as the presidents director of strategic communications.

'Those are the types of guys that we should want to get out on TV and radio to help push out the message,' Schlapp said on the call.

'They've already been vetted. But they need to be put on the screens,' Schulze replied.

Schlapp's husband agreed the president is getting criticized for not appearing to follow the advice of public health experts.

Matt Schlapp is chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference attended by conservative luminaries.

'The president's going to get tagged by the fake news media as being irresponsible and not listening to doctors,' Matt Schlapp said on the call.

'And so we have to gird his loins with a lot of other people. So I think what Nancys talking about ... this is the critical juncture that we highlight them.'

Matt Schlapp told AP on Monday that he stood behind what he said on the leaked call.

'There is a big dynamic in the national media that will not give President Trump any credit,' he said. 'It's important to get the message out there that most people recover from corona.

'Most people are not in mortal danger with corona and that we can safely open up the economy.'

As several Republican governors moved last week to lift their state lockdowns, the National Ensemble Forecast used by the CDC to predict COVID-19 infections and deaths saw a corresponding increase.

Stalwart: Matt Schlapp, Chairman of the American Conservative Union, said deploying doctors to talk up reopening would help his re-election. 'The president's going to get tagged by the fake news media as being irresponsible and not listening to doctors,' Schlapp said on the call

The CDC now forecasts the U.S. will exceed 100,000 deaths by June 1, a grim milestone that previously was not predicted to occur until late in the summer.

As of Tuesday, more than 1.5 million Americans had tested positive for COVID-19, with more than 91,000 deaths reported nationwide.

Experts, including Fauci, have said that is likely an undercount, with the true number being much higher. Meanwhile, Trump has suggested, without providing evidence, that the official death toll from the virus is being inflated.

Schulze, who was working to organize the pro-Trump doctors, did not respond to messages from AP seeking comment.

But after the AP contacted the Trump campaign seeking comment for this story, a Washington public relations firm that frequently works for conservative groups distributed an open letter to Trump signed by more than 400 doctors calling the state coronavirus lockdowns a 'mass casualty event' causing 'millions of casualties' from alcoholism, homelessness, suicide and other causes.

'It is impossible to overstate the short, medium, and long-term harm to peoples health with a continued shutdown,' the letter said.

'Losing a job is one of life's most stressful events, and the effect on a person's health is not lessened because it also has happened to 30 million other people.

'Keeping schools and universities closed is incalculably detrimental for children, teenagers, and young adults for decades to come.'

The first signature on the letter was Dr. Simone Gold, an emergency medicine specialist in Los Angeles who is listed as a member of the Save Our Country Coalition on the group's website.

She has recently appeared on conservative talk radio and podcast programs to advocate for the use of hydroxychloroquine, which she says she has prescribed to two of her patients with good results.

Gold told AP on Tuesday she started speaking out against shelter-in-place and other infection control measures because there was 'no scientific basis that the average American should be concerned' about COVID-19.

Like the president, she is advocating for a fast reopening, and argues that because the majority of deaths so far have been the elderly and people with preexisting conditions, younger people should be working.

Gold denied she was coordinating her efforts with Trump's reelection campaign.

'But put this in there: I'm honored to be considered,' she said.
SAN ANTONIO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lt. Gov Dan Patrick will serve as the commencement speaker on Friday at the Cornerstone Christian Schools (CCS) graduation ceremony. The school has been granted permission by the state to hold an outdoor commencement ceremony for their 84 graduating seniors. Special social distancing measures will be in place in order to ensure the health and safety of all participants.

"We are thrilled to be able to offer our seniors the opportunity to participate in a traditional graduation ceremony. They have worked hard to secure their diplomas and we have worked hard to ensure they are able to participate in this time honored tradition in an appropriate manner given the novel coronavirus pandemic," said Pastor John Hagee, Senior Pastor of Hagee Ministries, of which CCS is a part.

"These young men and women will go out into the world with a solid faith-based education. They will achieve great things, and I am very excited that we will be able to offer them a proper send off," he added.

A host of social distancing measures will be in place during the ceremony. These include, but are not limited to, holding the event outdoors at the school's stadium, limiting the total number of individuals in the venue to no more than 25 percent of the stadium's capacity, seating both graduates and guests six feet apart, limiting graduates to four guests, having diplomas placed on a table with graduates wearing gloves to take possession of them, and staggering the departure and arrival of all individuals.

"I couldn't be more proud of our students and faculty, as well as those staff who have worked to enable us to hold this ceremony in a manner that ensures everyone is safe and our graduates' achievements are acknowledged. And I am extremely grateful to Lt. Gov. Patrick for agreeing to be our commencement speaker," said Pastor Matt Hagee, Lead Pastor of Hagee Ministries.

Cornerstone Christian Schools (CCS) is the premier Christian school of Texas, serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. CCS was established in 1993 as a ministry of Cornerstone Church to partner with Christian families in fulfilling their divine responsibility to educate their children. The school's mission is to provide a Christ-centered learning environment where every child will be developed spiritually, intellectually, physically, and socially to their maximum potential.

SOURCE Hagee Ministries

Related Links

http://www.jhm.org


People who returned from other states to Himachal Pradesh are our own and there is no need to look down upon them, a senior Himachal Pradesh police officer has said.

The plea comes after several residents have started blaming those who are returning from other states for the recent spike in the novel coronavirus cases in the state.

Twelve people, who had recently returned from Mumbai, have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), taking number of confirmed infections in the state on Wednesday to 105, including 50 active cases, officials said.

Deputy Inspector General (Northern Range) Santosh Patial urged the people to act in a sensible and compassionate way.

In his message posted by the Kangra superintendent of police on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Patial said: "The Himachalis who have come from outside the state are our own people who had gone out in search of job and other sources of livelihood."



"Majority of them are hand to mouth or slightly better than that. There is no need to look down upon them," he said.

The COVID-19 situation is an unparalleled human crisis and people should try to help the returnees wherever possible. They would have suffered a lot had they stayed outside the state, the DIG said.

"We, as a state, are definitely capable of taking care of our people and we will take care as well," the officer said.

"The crisis will be over, but our conduct towards our own people who have come outside the state will definitely leave a lasting impression on their minds and future generations," Patial added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The leakage of multiple intelligence of plot to kill the Madagascan President, Andry Rajoelina over his controversial herbal cure for Covid-19 is very worrisome. Information I am getting from sources among leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FKJM) suggests that the populace, especially the elites and religious leaders, are aware of the leaked plot to kill their President for bringing a cure for Covid-19 and destroying the multi-trillion-dollar vaccine businesses of multinational pharmaceutical alliances and concerns.

Church leaders in Madagascar have told me that they cannot understand why the WHO is against their small country, harassing their scientists, disparaging their claims, trying to poison their herbal remedies, instead of seeing them as partners in progress. They believe that God will not allow them to suffer another political crisis that came to an end since Andry Rajoelina became President.

A close top international diplomatic source had hinted me earlier in the month that the Madagascan Presidents alleged cure for Covid-19 will bring him in conflict with the cabals that want to control the vaccine world and he hopes African leaders be strategic enough to rally around Rajoelina when it starts. Another top security intelligence source with one of the Western nations, last week told me that a challenge of the WHO, the type Rajoelina is doing, is an invitation to national chaos and mourning and expressed concerns that the dispute over the Madagascan organics be resolved before the Madagascan President is seen as a dangerous obstruction

These two credible diplomatic and intelligence sources are among the international network of people that had always given us credible information from the time we fought corruption and insecurity during Jonathan era in 2011, through when we covered the activities of Boko Haram, including when they terrorized Abuja, Kano etc. and when Western powers decided that Jonathan must leave Aso Rock, till just recently when the plot to depose Sanusi as Emir of Kano was sealed. Therefore, getting hinted from these sources that a serving President could be eliminated was very worrisome.

Yesterday I got a report obtained by the Nigerian voice news outlet of a group claiming possession of intelligence of an attempt to assassinate the President of Madagascar. The group, in a statement, said

The attention of the Pan-African Unity Movement Against Second Slavery (PANUMASS) has been drawn to credible leaked intelligence about possible murder of the constitutional President of Madagascar, Dr. Andry Rajoelina , for not giving up to his countrys herbal medicinal cure for Corona virus pandemic. From credible intelligence gathering and information available, apart from the assassination of African leaders by enemies of African people, there has also been a hate campaign of destruction meted on African scientists, particularly traditional healers.

The Pan-African Unity Movement Against Second Slavery (PANUMASS) would vigorously condemn any plot this time to destroy an African leader. This deplorable act, to single out the Madagascar leader for assassination, for no crime other than for fighting to save the African population, is condemn-able.

Today again, the President of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina is the target for assassination to cover the deception surrounding COVID-19 virus pandemic, and WHO (World Health Organisation) conspiracy to kill millions of Africans. Reports in a Tanzanian newspaper that WHO attempted to bribe President Andry Rajoelina $20 million dollars to poison Madagascars medicinal cure for COVID-19 is unfortunate.

There is already a leaked intelligence making the waves, about a big plan to assassinate the Madagascan President in a desperate attempt to destroy the cure for COVID-19. According to the leaked intelligence, WHO is under pressure from big pharmacy companies and governments to stop Madagascars herbal cure

We urge African leaders not to be lured into WHOs misrepresentation and racist attacks against President Andry Rojoelina. We urge Madagascar not to stop treating people who are suffering from this deadly pandemic. Its high time Africans extend solidarity with Madagascar in the fight for bringing an end to COVID-19. WHO should understand that the entire Africa and blacks everywhere are behind President Andry Rojoelina, and that no destructive force from outside will come to Africa in harming this great leader. African leaders, through the African Union (AU) should do everything to protect the Madagascan leader from evil people. They have been killing Africas great leaders for their stand in bringing developments to the African content. This is the time Africa should stand as one for peace, stability, development and prosperity

The group based in Freetown, Sieraleone has Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh, a former Presidential candidate, as its Interim President.

African leaders should wake up! Satanists and vaccinists wants millions to die and the continent turned to testing ground for all sorts of experiments. I have explained all these in the following write-ups

1. Corona Virus: Church leaders abandon God-Suspends Masses, Deliverances, Anointing

2. Corona Virus: Jesus not Coming Soon, More Pandemics Coming

3. Coronavirus: Illuminati and Chinese Deadly Blow

4. Coronavirus: Illuminati Rattles Vatican, Canterbury

5 Forced Vaccination Bill: Illuminati Hijacks Nigeria's Parliament, Covid-19 Team

6 Forced Covid-19 Vaccinations and Bill Gates Media Handlers

I urge all Africans, Christians, Muslims, Pagans to intercede and outcry so that those bent on eliminating the Madagascan President will jettison their plot. We have lost Pan Africanists to all manners of vagaries by those who detest African self-renaissance; Patrice Lumumba of Congo, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, among others, are African leaders cut down because of their Pan African mindset, leaving us with clueless, corrupt and wicked elements that looted the continent and instituted poverty.

In July 2014, after Muhammadu Buhari, escaped assassination attempt masterminded by Boko Haram members within the then ruling party, killing over ninety persons at Kawo junction, Kaduna, I wrote a piece titled PDP Boko Haram: Before They Kill Buhari and Brew another Civil War and warned the assassins that

If Buhari had been assassinated, the northerners will abandon the PDP Boko Haram members among their people and descend on Igbo businessmen and women and slaughter them in their tens of thousands, the Igbos will in turn slaughter back some northerners and another civil war will start. In the event of a Buhari assassination, Muslims will rise up against Christians in anger and Christians will respond promptly, leading to another religious conflict in Africa's most populous nation.

Lets pray and outcries before they kill the Madagascan President due to his countrys organic cure for Covid-19 to pave way for predicted millions of pandemic casualties in Africa.

Obinna Akukwe , columnist via [email protected] , @obinnaakukwe
Aerial view of water from a broken Edenville Dam seen flooding the area as it flows towards Wixom Lake in Michigan, U.S. in this still frame obtained from social media video dated May 19, 2020

Reuters

Heavy rainfall has caused the failure of two dams in Michigan, prompting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency.

"Please, get somewhere safe, now," Whitmer said in a Tuesday evening address. "This is serious and it is time for people to take action."

"Our community is facing almost certain devastation by morning," stated the official Twitter account for the County of Midland.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Parts of Michigan could be under nine feet of water by Wednesday morning after two dams failed in the wake of heavy rainfall, according to state and local officials.

"Please, get somewhere safe, now," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a Tuesday evening address, declaring a state of emergency and calling up the National Guard. "This is serious and it is time for people to take action."

"This is unlike anything we've seen before," she added, saying downtown Midland, Michigan, which is located about an hour and a half north of Lansing, could be under nine feet of water by morning.

The Edenville Dam on Wixom Lake failed Tuesday afternoon, followed by the breach of the downstream Sanford Dam. Video was captured of the Edenville Dam being breached:

"Over the past several days parts of Michigan have experienced heavy rainfall," Whitmer's emergency declaration notes. "As a result, the Edenville and Sanford Dam structures along the Tittabawassee River in the county of Midland have failed."

The declaration also temporarily suspends the COVID-19 emergency order for the city and county of Midland.

Thousands of residents have already been evacuated, Whitmer said, with local officials predicting that the worst is yet to come.

"Our community is facing almost certain devastation by morning," stated the official Twitter account for the County of Midland.

The National Weather Service issued a warning to local residents, according to a local news report.

Story continues

"Life-threatening flash flooding of areas downstream from the Edenville Dam along the Tittabawassee River," the warning stated.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Insider
Redeployment of US Nukes to Poland Would Be Direct Violation of Russia-NATO Agreement, Lavrov Warns

Sputnik News

12:29 GMT 19.05.2020(updated 14:35 GMT 19.05.2020)

Russian officials have already repeatedly warned in the past that its Eastern European neighbours' decision to host US-made strategic systems, including components of America's Aegis Ashore missile defence system, make them targets for Russia's strategic nuclear response in the event of a war.

The redeployment of US nuclear weapons from Germany to Poland would be a direct violation of the Russia-NATO founding act of 1997, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

"This would be a direct violation of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations between Russia and NATO, in which NATO undertook not to place nuclear weapons in the territory of new members of the North Atlantic Alliance, either at that moment or in the future...I doubt that these mechanisms will be implemented in practical terms," Lavrov said, speaking to reporters following a videoconference-based meeting of the Council of Baltic Sea States on Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the redeployment of US nuclear weapons from Germany to Poland would serve to further damage already-strained Russia-NATO relations and escalate tensions.

"We hope that Washington and Warsaw recognise the dangerous nature of such statements, which exacerbate an already difficult period of relations between Russia and NATO, and threaten the very basis of European security, weakened as a result of unilateral steps by the United States, first and foremost through their exit from the INF Treaty," Zakharova said.

"The US could make a real contribution to strengthening European security by returning American nuclear warheads to US territory. Russia did so a long time ago, returning all its nuclear weapons to its national territory," she added, referring to the 90s pullout of Soviet and Russian nuclear weapons from Central and Eastern Europe.

The Russian officials' comments follow remarks by US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher last week indicating that "if Germany wants to reduce its nuclear sharing potential and weaken NATO, maybe Poland, which honestly fulfils its obligations, and understands the risks on NATO's eastern flank, could use this potential at home."

Mosbacher's comments came in the wake of an ongoing debate inside Germany's coalition government on whether US nuclear weapons should be removed from the country's airbases. The SPD, Germany's second-largest party and member of the CDU-run governing coalition, brought up the subject of US-NATO nuclear sharing arrangements in early May, with party leader Rolf Mutzenich arguing that nukes on German soil "do not heighten our security," but "just the opposite," make it more vulnerable to attack. CDU officials poured cold water on the idea, suggesting removing the nukes would "undermine trust" between Berlin and Washington.

Dangerous Escalation

The prospect of moving NATO nuclear weapons hundreds of kilometres eastward toward Russia's borders would threaten to escalate tensions between the nuclear superpowers, because, just like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the placement of US nuclear weapons in Turkey during the Cold War, it would lead to a dramatic reduction in the possible response time Russian officials would have in the event of a war, thereby risking the accidental triggering of nuclear Armageddon. At the same time, under conventional military calculations, it would heighten the temptation by NATO to carry out a first strike against Russia to try to avoid or limit a Russian counterstrike.

Russian officials have already repeatedly voiced concerns over the deployment of US Aegis Ashore missile defence system components in Poland and Romania, warning that the MK-41 missile interceptor launchers could easily be converted to fire offensive nuclear-tipped Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets inside Russia. Last year, Washington formally withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, a 1987 agreement which prohibited Moscow from developing, building or fielding ground-based nuclear-capable missiles in the 500-5,500 km range, and began testing of a new generation of Tomahawk Land Attack cruise missile immediately afterwards.

Moscow has responded to US and NATO actions, including the tearing up of treaties and the expansion of the alliance to Russia's borders, by developing half-a-dozen next-generation strategic systems designed to assure strategic stability by guaranteeing a Russian nuclear response in the event of conflict. President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have also indicated that Russia is ready to begin talks on saving the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) immediately and without preconditions. That treaty, now the last major arms agreement between the nuclear superpowers, is threatened with expiration in early 2021 unless it is renewed.

In his remarks Tuesday, Lavrov noted that Moscow is still waiting for the US to propose specific date to discuss issues of strategic stability "and everything else related to nuclear arms control with the participation of relevant representatives of defence ministries and security services."

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A police officer in a protective suit sprays disinfectant on a tent intended for a mass religious gathering in Indonesias South Sulawesi province that was canceled at the last minute amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, March 19, 2020.

The emergence of clusters of coronavirus infections from recent mass religious gatherings in Indonesia brings about concerns that the pandemic could increase intolerance and communal tensions, a Jakarta-based think-tank says in a new report.

The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict examined several clusters of infections that emerged from mass events organized in the country by the Tablighi Jamaat group, a global Islamic missionary group, and the Indonesian Bethel Church (GBI), a Protestant Pentecostal network.

Large gatherings of two religious organizations, one Muslim, one Christian, became super-spreaders of the COVID-19 virus in Indonesia, raising concerns that the pandemic could lead to an increase in religious intolerance, heightened communal tensions or localized outbreaks of violence, IPAC said in its 19-page study released on Tuesday.

Despite a few close calls, the think-tank said, no serious trouble had occurred as of mid-May, partly because of efforts by local leaders of the involved groups to defuse tensions.

In general, the clusters carried the highest risk of triggering tensions where there was a previous history of trouble and the virus became a new dimension of an old pattern, IPAC said.

As an example, it cited tensions that rose after a group of Tablighis returned to troubled Papua province from a mass religious gathering in Gowa, a regency in South Sulawesi province. The event was cancelled at the last minute in mid-March because of concerns that the large crowd of worshipers could be a source for the rapid spread of the virus.

For indigenous Papuans, the arrival of the Tablighis in the largely Christian region in far-eastern Indonesia played into unease left over from an earlier incident when a group of Tablighis had been mistaken for terrorists, and likely into migrant-indigenous tensions as well, according to IPAC.

The Tablighi Jamaat movement came under scrutiny after a mass gathering it held in Malaysias capital in late February emerged as a source for hundreds of coronavirus infections in more than half a dozen countries.

A planned similar gathering in Gowa regency has been blamed for more than 1,000 infections across 22 of Indonesias 34 provinces, with an additional 42 cases in Thailand and 12 in Malaysia, IPAC said.

About 18,000 people, including 465 from 10 other countries had arrived in Gowa before authorities forced organizers to cancel the event on March 18.

The phenomenon of religious super-spreaders has produced some stigmatization, particularly of Tablighis, but not violence. The fact that Tablighis generally have such good relations with the government undoubtedly helped, IPAC said.

It faulted the Indonesian government for not acting earlier to ban mass gatherings.

Anti-Christian hate speech

Last month in West Java province, Gov. Ridwan Kamil said that more than 200 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the city of Bandung had attended a gathering of the Bethel Indonesia Church in Lembang, a hilltop just outside the provincial capital. A priest and his wife died after testing positive for the virus.

Also in April, 41 students living at a Bethel Theological College dormitory in Central Jakarta tested positive as well, forcing other occupants to be quarantined.

The Bethel cluster produced a rash of untrue anti-Christian hate speech suggesting, in one posting, that 10,000 pastors linked to GBI and another Pentecostal group were Indonesias silent killers, the report said.

But the outbreak in the dormitory did not lead to any organized action by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), a vigilante group known for its anti-vice raids and whose headquarters is near the seminary.

Rizieq Shihab, the groups leader who is now based in Saudi Arabia, is a graduate of the Bethel junior high school and turns out to feel very warmly toward his alma mater, the report said.

Both the Tablighi Jamaat and GBI have stopped their preaching activities and gatherings but a stigma around them as super-spreaders of the coronavirus could last beyond the pandemic, IPAC said.

Stay at home as much as possible

National police spokesman Ahmad Ramadhan said he had not seen the IPAC report, but urged people not to engage in vigilantism.

Communities must work together to prevent the spread of COVID-19, he told BenarNews.

Achmad Yurianto, spokesman for the governments coronavirus task force, declined to comment on the report, but said the public should follow the governments health guidelines and not travel at the end of Ramadan to avoid spreading the virus.

Because often we dont know who is sick. Stay at home as much as possible, Yurianto told BenarNews.

The Eid ul-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of Ramadan, falls on May 24 this year.

On Wednesday, Indonesia recorded 693 new coronavirus cases, the countrys highest jump in a single day, bringing the national tally to 19,189, Yurianto said.

Twenty-one additional deaths were reported overnight, taking the total number of fatalities to 1,242, he said.

On Monday, Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo ruled out easing COVID-19 restrictions soon, amid public criticism following signs that the government was easing measures to curb the spread of the virus in order to keep the economy running.

Some shopping centers in the greater Jakarta area have reopened, while traffic has been busy again in recent days ahead of Eid.

The capital, Jakarta, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with more than 6,000 cases.

Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan announced overnight that the so-called large-scale social restriction around the pandemic, known locally as PSBB, which first came into force on April 10, would be extended in the nations capital until June 4.

This could be the final period of PSBB if we are disciplined. Dont let us extend again, Anies told an online news conference.
Retired couple Joy and John Taylor have always been careful spenders and savers.

But since lockdown began, the pair have used their time at home to give their finances a thorough review, saving themselves close to 800 over the next year.

Their biggest victory was almost halving their monthly TV, phone and broadband bill without having to change provider.

They have also reduced their energy bill and pocketed a 175 switching bonus by moving their main current account to a different bank.

GoCompare has seen a 20% rise in the number of customers comparing deals recently

And the couple are not the only ones to use lockdown as an opportunity to give themselves a money makeover.

The number of people switching energy supplier using Comparethemarket.com soared 183 per cent earlier this month compared with before the virus hit.

And broadband switches were up 30 per cent in March compared to the month before.

GoCompare also says it has seen a 20 per cent rise in the number of customers comparing deals in the past four weeks compared with the same period last year.

Home management site Hoppy saw energy switches almost double in April compared with March, while 66 per cent of broadband switches in March occurred after lockdown.

Joy and John, from Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, had tried in the past to negotiate a better deal for their TV, broadband and phone bill with provider, Virgin Media, with no success.

Changes: Hoppy saw energy switches almost double in April compared with March

At 73 a month, they knew they were paying too much. So when a leaflet advertising a similar deal and costing just 36 with rival firm Sky came through their door, they decided to haggle down the price.

Joy, 61, says: 'We told Virgin we were thinking about moving to Sky. The threat worked and Virgin immediately offered us a number of cheaper packages.'

The couple also realised they had been paying for TV channels they didn't need and could make a further saving by opting for a slightly slower broadband speed.

At the end of just a ten-minute phone call they had shaved 30 off their monthly bill  saving 360 a year.

Then it was on to energy. The Taylors, who have two children, have been with Npower since they got married in 1984.

John, 64, used to work for the company, and the pair stuck with the firm out of loyalty. Now, however, they were keen to move to a greener supplier.

These deals can often be more expensive, but after searching on comparison sites MoneySuperMarket and Comparethe market, the couple found a renewable tariff with Pure Planet that was 10 a month cheaper  a saving of 120 a year.

The only compromise is they must manage their account via a smartphone app.

Joy, a former civil servant, then spotted that NatWest was offering a 175 switching bonus for moving her current account from Yorkshire Bank.

She applied online and the account was up and running within seven days. The cash will be paid in June. The bank's offer has since been withdrawn.

Joy has also cancelled her 144-a-year gym membership after taking up running during lockdown.

Mother-of-three Victoria Tagg, 38, has saved more than 800 a year on her household bills, too.

Broadband switches were up 30% in March compared to the month before on one website

Using comparison website GoCompare, she discovered she could reduce her monthly energy bill by nearly 48 a month if she switched from Npower to Orbit  a 574 a year saving.

She then found a new internet deal with a faster connection for 20 less a month, moving from Sky to Plusnet  a 240 a year saving.

Victoria, from Neath, Port Talbot, is also making savings at the supermarket by swapping branded goods to own-label, which cuts her shopping bill by around 15 to 20 each time.

'Finances are a concern for a lot of people at the moment, so I wanted to make sure we were in the best position we could be,' she says.

Both Victoria and the Taylors have home insurance that is not yet up for renewal, but they intend to switch when the time comes.

Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at A.J. Bell, says: 'With so many people seeing their income cut, it's more important than ever to make sure that you're not overpaying for your bills.

'Even a small reduction in the cost of your bills each month can help compensate for any income you've lost.

'If you have more spare time during lockdown it can be a lucrative switch.'

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 : One of Kerala's most popular sons -- superstar Mohanlal who has crossed numerous milestones in a career spanning four decades -- is turning 60.

Winner of five national awards, for those in the industry he is Lal, but those who consider him near refer to him as 'Laletten'.

According to the Malayalam almanac, his birthday was on Tuesday but according to the Christian calendar it falls on Thursday.

Already celebrations have begun, but in a low key manner on account of the lockdown norms in place.

By now, his Fans Associations have delivered the traditional Kerala Sadya (lunch) to his dearest friends at their homes.

The star is locked up at his Chennai residence and is busy on his mobile connecting with his close friends who have been with him since his glittering screen career began way back in 1978, when he did his first film 'Thiranottam' .

Speaking to IANS, his closest friend who has been with him since their college days, leading producer Sureshkumar who has produced six blockbusters said, not a day passes by without them having a chat on the mobile.

"It was just the other day when I told him that Priyadarshan (ace director) and I have already turned 60 and he also will soon. I said though we are 60, we feel like we are 18, soon he corrected me and said not 18 but 16. Such is Lal and let me tell you, we continue to be as naughty as in our heydays," said Sureshkumar.

Sureshkumar's family includes his yesteryear actor wife - Maneka, elder daughter Revathy,- who is an assistant to Priyadarshan and worked with the superstar and his national best actor award winning younger daughter Keerthi, who has acted with Lal.

"We are a family, each one of us have worked with him in one or the other way. My wife has been his co-star in a number of films, the younger daughter was his co-star, while the elder one has worked with him in a few films behind the scenes. We know him inside out and we all wish him a great year ahead and an extremely busy greater career," said Sureshkumar.

The trio of Lal, Sureshkumar and Priyan began their careers together and catapulted each other to great heights through films like "Aram + Aram Kinnaram", "Poochekuoru Mukuthi".

By now he has acted in over 340 films, which include other south Indian languages too. But for the first time in his career, he has been sitting idle ever since the lockdown began.

Jagdish, a co-actor in many of Lal's memorable films like "Hey Auto" and numerous others said Mohanlal is a superlative actor and one who can go to any extent to make his character stand out.

"We have had a great working career extending to more than three decades and today I am his deputy in the AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artists) where he is the president. We wish him all the best," said Jagdish.

Even during the lockdown, last month Lal interacted with State Health Minister K.K.Shailaja and about 250 health professionals across Kerala and appreciated their great service to the society.

The highlight of the nearly one hour long interaction was when he sang a hugely popular Malayalam film song, "lokem muzhuven sukem pakeran ayi snehadeepeme mizhi thureku" from the film 'Snehadeepame Mizhi Thurakku' which released in 1972 and is directed by P. Bhaskaran.

The superstar profusely thanked each and every health worker who is doing yeoman service for society and pointed to them that the coming days are crucial for the state.

Popular Malayalam director Tulasidas who has directed 34 films which include two popular Lal films said he has been fortunate to work with practically all leading stars in the industry.

"I will say, when it comes to Lal, he is the easiest to work with as he has no hang ups and interacts with everyone including the light and food boys. A highlight is that on the sets he always addresses the director as only 'Sir' and he does not give any tension to anyone in the sets. And another feature is if by any chance he is having any tension, it's also evident on his face. He called me last week to find out how I am managing the lockdown. I did wish him then in advance," said Tulasidas.

Mohanlal's film, directed by Priyadarshan, "Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham" is currently held up on account of the lockdown.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Territorial Army as a (Hon) Lt.Colonel.

One of the first films that he is scheduled to do after the lockdown ends is produced by his closest aide, Antony Perumbavoor, and is a sequel 'Drishyam -2', the first one released in 2013 turned out to be one of the all time biggest grossers.

And now all eyes are on his debut directorial venture "Barroz', which is a 3 D film and is expected to go on the floors next year. Portugal has been shortlisted as the location for the shooting.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Emergency Department (ED/A&E) nurses and doctors have warned the HSE and the Minister for Health that hospitals must not return to overcrowding as Covid-19 measures are eased.

The warning is contained in an unprecedented joint statement issued by the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine (IAEM) and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

The organisations represent frontline nurses and doctors in emergency departments across the country.

Their statement cautions that the problems of the past may emerge again as the health service gradually ramps up non-Covid-19 activities.

They warn that overcrowding and understaffing may lead to increased infection risk, poor patient outcomes, and unsafe workplaces.

The joint statement calls for measures to counteract this, including:

- Retention of access to private hospitals until a vaccine is secured.

- Immigration and travel priority for migrant health professionals.

- A commitment that no recruitment embargoes will apply to doctors or nurses.

- Extra priority and decision-making powers in the community to avoid unnecessary emergency department referrals.

- A working group to urgently look at staffing issues in the health service.

IAEM President, Dr Emily OConor, said: We need to reset care in Irelands Emergency Departments and allow care continue to care for those patients that need EM expertise in a way that is safe for patients and staff.

INMO General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha, said: Overcrowding, understaffing and COVID-19 pose a triple threat to patients and staff alike.

Emergency department and hospital overcrowding is always unacceptable, but it is exceptionally dangerous when added with the risk of COVID-19 infection.

We have never seen trolley overcrowding figures as low as the past few weeks. We must build on that and resist any return to the problems of the past.

In the short term, that means keeping the extra capacity of the private sector, prioritising immigration of migrant health professionals, and no more recruitment embargoes. We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past, she said.



The full statement, sent to the HSE and Minister for Health, below:

Joint Statement from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Irish Association for Emergency Medicine

As healthcare professionals, we have been to the forefront of providing expert care at the frontline of the fight against the COVID-19 virus.

The healthcare service will gradually return to providing more non-COVID-19 services. We are concerned that, without action, conditions may worsen, and the problems of the past may return.

We share four essential aims:

1. Emergency Departments and hospital wards must not become reservoirs of healthcare-acquired infection for patients

2. Emergency Departments and hospitals must not become crowded again

3. Emergency care must be designed and resourced to look after vulnerable patients safely

4. Emergency Departments and hospitals must be safe workplaces for all staff

To achieve to these four aims, the INMO and IAEM jointly call for the following:

A. A permanent increase in bed capacity: in the short term this will involve retention of access to private acute hospitals and their services until (a) the majority of the population is immune to COVID-19 and (b) the health services have the capacity to deliver COVID and non-COVID care. A maximum occupancy rate of 85% across hospitals will be necessary for patient safety.



B. Adequate staffing to ensure good patient care despite staff sickness and the reduced productivity related to use of PPE. This should include prioritised immigration and travel arrangements for nurses and doctors, a renewed recruitment campaign and terms and conditions that would make the HSE an employer of choice. No further recruitment embargoes should apply to nurses or doctors.

C. A high-level working group, to report within one month of the formation of a new government, to examine and set the nursing, midwifery, and medical workforce priorities for the health service over the coming year. This would examine the staffing deficits experienced by these essential front-line workers, set out where additional staff are needed and prioritise services to fully return to work.



D. That staff health and safety is not compromised, ensuring the ongoing provision of adequate PPE and intensive mental health supports.

E. Universal provision of supports needed for decision-making by clinical teams in the community to ensure care is delivered as close to the patient as possible and that unnecessary referral to Emergency Departments are avoided.

F. Investment in expanding Community Intervention Teams and maximising care in the community to ensure adequate capacity for step-down, recovery and rehabilitation allowing acute hospitals return to their core purpose.
Kendall Jenner will pay out a $90,000 settlement after being sued for her 2017 Instagram post advertising the infamous Fyre Festival.

A string of lawsuits was filed against Jenner and other celebrities who promoted the festival by a bankruptcy trustee who is recovering money for its investors.

Jenner, 24, has denied any liability related to the lawsuit but a settlement was reached after mediation with trustee Gregory Messer late last year.

According to documents filed on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the model, who has 129 million Instagram followers, was paid $250,000 for her post that promoted the controversial failed event.

Kendall Jenner, 24, was sued for her Instagram post promoting Fyre Festival, the disastrous 2017 event that was the subject of both a Hulu and Netflix documentary. A settlement for $90k was filed in a Manhattan court on Tuesday but she has denied any liability related to the lawsuit. It was filed by a bankruptcy trustee recovering money for the festival investors

Kendall Jenner is to hand over a $90k settlement after being sued for this Instagram post promoting the controversial Fyre Festival. She was paid $275k for the now-deleted 2017 post

She was later paid a further $25,000 by Fyre Media Inc., the company of festival founder Billy McFarland, for the now-deleted post.

The lawsuit accused Jenner of having shown a 'clear lack of good faith' in the festival because she failed to show she was remunerated for her Instagram post.

It said she also neglected to 'inform their fans and followers that they ultimately decided not to attend the Festival because of problems with the Festival of which they and their agencies were uniquely aware'.

Worlds apart: The luxury accommodations promised to Fyre Festival wound up being hastily constructed tents not the tranquil event advertised in Jenner's Instagram post

Emily Ratajkowski, Blink-182 and Migos were among the other models and musicians sued in the series of lawsuits filed in August 2019.

They are aimed at retrieving as much money as possible for investors of the disastrous Fyre Festival, which had been marketed as a luxury music festival in The Bahamas.

Founder McFarland is said to have raised $26million that was invested into a viral social media campaign.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the trustee is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars which were paid to the various musical acts and models who were scheduled to appear during the April 2017 festival.

Intended headline act, Blink-182, is being sued for the return of $500,000.

Model Emily Ratajowski was named in lawsuits filed in August 2019 by the Fyre Festival trustee, who is seeking the return of the money they were paid to promote the festival

The trustee also filed lawsuits asking for the return of money paid to performers, including Blink-182 (drummer Travis Barker pictured left) and Migos (member Offset pictured right)

Jenner was initially being asked to give back the $275,000 she received before Tuesday's settlement was announced.

Ratajkowski, meanwhile, is being pursued for the $300,000 she received for her Instagram post.

Multiple lawsuits were also filed against the talent agencies who represent other music acts who were scheduled to appear at the festival, according to Variety.

They were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, which were then supposedly distributed to the artists who were set to appear on stage.

The lawsuits claim that the money transferred to the music acts and celebrities should be returned because the funds were all part of Fyre Festival organizer McFarland's plan to defraud festival investors.

McFarland pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges in March 2018 and is currently serving six years in jail.

Rapper Ja Rule (left) and Fyre Festival founder McFarland (right) are seen here in a behind-the-scenes picture from the Netflix documentary, Fyre. They promoted the festival but it quickly became a disaster and was the subject of two documentaries on Hulu and Netflix

The festival was actually a disaster as festival-goers discovered once they arrived at the island

He has also been ordered by the court to repay more than $26 million in restitution.

The festival was set to take place over two weekends on an island in the Bahamas and was touted as 'the cultural experience of the decade'.

The Fyre Festival was promoted by McFarland and rapper Ja Rule but went disastrously wrong as the island itself didn't have the infrastructure to support the partygoers, who were stranded with nowhere to sleep and barely anything to eat.

The buzz around the festival fell apart immediately when attendees showed up and started posting photos on Twitter of bad food and unfinished festival grounds.

It was the subject of two documentaries on Hulu and Netflix, which premiered in January 2019.

Jenner was sued for her part in the slick advertising campaign which caused the festival to become an instant viral hit before it began.

She has previously said that she learned from the Fyre Festival experience.

'You get reached out to by people to, whether it be to promote or help or whatever, and you never know how these things are going to turn out, sometimes it's a risk,' she told the New York Times.

'I definitely do as much research as I can, but sometimes there isn't much research you can do because it's a starting brand and you kind of have to have faith in it and hope it will work out the way people say it will.'
On May 19, China's Finance Minister and Governor for China at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Mr. Liu Kun, nominated incumbent AIIB President Jin Liqun as candidate for a second term in the position.

The AIIB was initiated by President Xi Jinping on behalf of the Chinese government in October 2013 and was officially founded on Dec. 25, 2015. On Jan.16 and 17, 2016, the Opening Ceremony, Inaugural Board of Governors Meeting and Inaugural Board of Directors Meeting were convened in Beijing, China, where Mr. Jin was elected as the inaugural president for a term of five years.

Over the past four years, while upholding the core values of "lean, clean and green", and advancing international, rule-based and high-standard operations, the AIIB has also supported infrastructure connectivity and facilitated regional economic cooperation and integration. The number of its members has currently expanded from the initial 57 to 102, covering Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Oceania. The AIIB has approved 71 projects, with a total commitment of USD 14.27 billion, covering energy, transportation, finance, water and urban sectors.

The Articles of Agreement of the AIIB stipulate that the President of the Bank shall be elected through an open, transparent and merit-based process and the President shall be a national of a regional member. According to the Rules for the Election of the President approved by the Board of Governors, the AIIB launched the process for election of the 2nd President today (May 19, 2020) and will elect the President at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors to be held on July 28, 2020. The term of the newly elected President will commence on Jan. 16, 2021.
Covid-19 Update (29) - Students to receive an additional 15GB of data for next 15 days

The four telecommunications companies agree to extend the provision of data to students for another 15 days.

Wits University has negotiated with the four telecommunications companies to extend the provision of data to students for another 15 days. This means that students whose numbers are registered on the self-service portal will automatically receive an additional 15GB of data (5GB daytime and 10GB night express) from 21 May 2020 until 5 June 2020 in order to continue with the academic programme online.

The University is in the process of establishing a long-term solution for staff and students from 6 June 2020 onwards.

Please direct any data-related queries to DataHelp@wits.ac.za

We wish you all the best with your studies.

SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM

20 MAY 2020
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio House sent to the Senate on Wednesday a bill that would require police to screen domestic violence victims to determine whether they are at risk for murder by their abusers.

House Bill 3, a bipartisan measure known as Aishas Law, passed 94 to 0.

Under HB 3, victims would be referred to domestic violence survivors programs where they could get help in housing, job training, child care or other resources.

Among other changes, HB 3 provides $150,000 for police training. It creates a new crime of domestic violence aggravated murder -- when abuse ends in homicide, and increases penalties for reckless strangulation.

The bill is named for Aisha Fraser, who was a sixth-grade teacher in Shaker Heights before she was murdered in November 2018 by her ex-husband, former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge and state lawmaker Lance Mason.

In September, Mason was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing her 59 times. He will first be eligible for parole after 35 years.

He had been previously convicted of abusing Fraser. Studies show that in domestic violence, homicides can be correlated to certain kinds of abuse.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Janine Boyd, a Cleveland Heights Democrat, and Sara Carruthers, a Cincinnati-area Republican.

I was asked once if I thought that because Aishas murderer had formerly been a judge and a state legislator if that would make it harder to pass Aishas Law, Boyd said. My response then resounds in me today, and that is, no one is above the law. His previous titles remain irrelevant. He was a person who tortured his children by brutalizing their mother in front of them. He ultimately murdered her, leaving them without a mother or father, and leaving her parents and entire community devastated and heartbroken.

Other coverage:

Ohio House expected to vote on Aishas Law on Wednesday

Ohio Senate rejects House plan to limit Dr. Amy Actons authority

Ohios Aishas Law shows the complexities, detours of legislative process
The town of Norwich, Kansas  population 450  is about to get even smaller.

The Headrick sextuplets, whose birth made national headlines in 2002, graduated from Norwich High School, and come fall, the siblings will be heading off in different directions.

It's understandable that their parents, Sondra and Eldon Headrick, are experiencing a range of emotions.

The Headrick sextuplets at six-months old. (Travis Heying of the Wichita Eagle)

Headricks (Travis Heying of the Wichita Eagle)

I cant even put into words how proud we are of them, Sondra, 51, told TODAY Parents. But at the same time, you know, were a little sad.

Sondra said she finds comfort in knowing that the 18-year-olds are continuing their education in Kansas.

Ethan is headed to Wichita State University to study technical networking, while Sean will major in cyber security at Cowley College. Grant, who is the most outgoing of the boys, is taking a gap year.

Hes going to continue working and figure out what he wants to do next, Sondra explained.

Jaycie, the class salutatorian, will study elementary education at Pratt Community College. Her sisters Melissa and Danielle are attending Hutchinson Community College for graphic design and animation, respectively.

040512sextuplets (Travis Heying of the Wichita Eagle)

Melissa and Danielle wont be roommates but they want to be on the same floor so they can check on each other, Sondra said. The girls are really extremely close. Theyll stay up late talking about everything.

Sondra predicts that the first couple of days will be an awakening for Ethan, Sean, Grant, Jaycie, Melissa and Danielle.

Theyve always been together, she said.

Miracle babies

Sondra and Eldon, who are also parents of 22-year-old Aubrianna, were desperate to expand their family in 2001.

The couple tried intrauterine insemination (IUI), where doctors inject sperm into the uterus, but the first two attempts were unsuccessful.

On September 12, 2001, one day after the 9/11 attacks, they went in for their third IUI procedure.

It was our last chance, Sondra revealed, noting that they were not considering IVF.

A few weeks later, fertility specialist Dr. David Grainger informed Sondra and Eldon they were having sextuplets.

Story continues

The Headrick sextuplets as newborns. (Travis Heying / Wichita Eagle)

BIRTHDAY (Travis Heying of the Wichita Eagle)

We were in his office and he goes, This has never happened to me before, and I was thinking, What has never happened? I had a lot of things going through my mind, Sondra recalled. Then he said, Youre having multiples. I told him, Ive always wanted twins.

Thats when Grainger smiled and started counting heartbeats on the sonogram, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Sondra and Eldon were in shock.

They gave us options and a lot of material to read about higher order multiples and the outcomes, Sondra said.

The pair spent two weeks deliberating. At the time, only about a dozen sextuplets had survived as full sets, according to the Associated Press.

The Headrick sextuplets today. (Travis Heying of the Wichita Eagle)

We did a lot of thinking, Sondra said. "But I just knew that it would work out. I had great doctors and I believed in them. I believed that God would take care of us.

Sondra was 31 weeks along in her pregnancy when she welcomed the sextuplets via C-section on April 6, 2002. The smallest, was Sean who weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces, while Grant, the largest was born at 3 pounds, 11 ounces.

"They were healthy," Sondra said.

The Headrick clan was complete.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) ranked first in the Public Administration Reform Index (PAR Index) in 2019 with 95.4 out of 100 points.

Illustrative image

This is the fifth consecutive time the central bank has led ministries and ministerial-level agencies in the rankings.

The index score of the 17 ministries and agencies averaged 85.63 percent this year, up 2.95 percent against 2018, with no ministry recording below 80 percent and 16 posting higher indexes than in the previous year.

Fifteen reached 100 percent in the category of one-stop-shop mechanism, which was included in the index for the first time.

With 90.09 percent, the northern province of Quang Ninh topped the index for the third consecutive time. It was followed by the capital city of Hanoi with 84.64 percent, while Ho Chi Minh City was seventh with 83.56 percent.

The average index score was 81.15 percent, up 4.23 percent from 2018 and the highest for the last four years.

Sixty-two cities and provinces posted improved performance, compared with just 19 in the previous year.

The Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS) was 84.45 percent, up nearly 1.5 percent against 2018 and nearly 2.3 percent against 2017.

The district level received the highest score (85.53 percent) while the provincial level received the lowest (83.35 percent). Among 16 service sectors, transport secured the most satisfaction from people and organisations (88.45 percent), while land and environment were evaluated worst (79.06 percent).

The SIPAS among 63 cities and provinces ranged from 73.81 to 95.26 percent, with 41 of them posting higher indexes.

People and organisations hope for diverse forms of information access to public services, more simplified administrative procedures, and a shortened public service supply time.

Speaking at a ceremony to announce the indexes, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh lauded the efforts of ministries and localities in administrative reform.

He also pointed out limitations in the task, saying that leaders of certain ministries, agencies, and localities have yet to display a sense of responsibility for promoting reforms to create changes in State management and spur socioeconomic development.

The Deputy PM urged ministries, agencies and localities to step up administrative reform, revamp professional inspections, and enhance online administrative services.

It is necessary to promptly implement tasks and solutions to push ahead with administrative streamlining and recovering production and business post-COVID-19, he said./.VNA
A ceiling poster advertising the census hangs in Kirkwood Mall. A floor decal is pasted nearby -- banner advertisements that were part of Bismarcks monthslong efforts to make sure residents arent undercounted in the 2020 census.

With fewer people visiting malls due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in North Dakota, Bismarck City Planner Will Hutchings said he feels the messaging has been less effective than anticipated.

Still, although COVID-19 has impacted the Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committees plans to advertise and delayed plans to reach "hard-to-count" populations, Burleigh County is the county with the highest response rate in North Dakota, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Burleigh County has a 73.9% response rate -- the highest self-response rate among North Dakota counties and 67th in the nation. Lincoln has the seventh highest self-response rate in the state, while Bismarck ranks at 16, according to the same data.

Meanwhile, North Dakota, with a 58.9% self-response rate, is 26th in the nation, just below the 59.6% national average. In 2010, North Dakota's final census self-response rate was 78%, while Burleigh County recorded a 77.7% response rate.

To many state and local government officials, a high self-response rate will ensure North Dakota won't miss out on the $675 billion in annual federal funding that will be allocated to schools, hospitals, roads and other programs across the country.

U.S. residents have been able to fill out an online census form for the first time in its over 200-year history.

About 65% of people who responded to the census in Burleigh County filled it out online, the bureaus data shows. Hutchings, who also heads the Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committee, said he thinks the new online-only option has caused more people to respond to the census, which happens every 10 years.

The census has adapted over the years and providing an online option for completing the census has really moved it into the next century and made it easier than ever to do, he said.

Still, three central areas spanning East Boulevard Avenue to the end of Airport Road are showing self-response rates ranging from 62.1% to 63.6% -- the lowest response rates in Bismarck, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2010, the same three areas had the lowest response rates in North Dakota's capital city. But in the 2020 census, an area around Burnt Boat Drive also has a self-response rate of 63.7%, which is 15 percent less than the area's final self-response count in 2010.

The Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committee is attempting to improve these numbers by providing census 2020 posters to businesses and organizations in the areas with lower self-response rates.

The other way that we do this is through our partnership with Bismarck Public Schools," Hutchings said, adding that information is distributed by teachers and school staff.

Delays to plans

The Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committees plans have been delayed due to COVID-19.

Census takers are tasked to visit the homes of people who have not responded to the census and help them fill it out. They were scheduled to begin visiting neighborhoods from March 12 to July 31. Census takers are now scheduled to visit homes from August 11 until October 31.

The Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committee also planned for census takers to count people who are unrelated and living together in a facility, like dormitories and homeless shelters, between April 2 to June 1. The committee has pushed back its start date for what it calls In-Person Group Quarters Enumeration to a later date, Hutchings said.

At this time, the census has not been able to identify when it makes the most sense to start that effort up again. Theres just waiting on what that revised schedule will be, he said.

The Bismarck-Burleigh Complete Count Committee also scheduled census takers to count people using services such as soup kitchens, shelters and food banks from March 30 to April 1. But those plans were also delayed due to COVID-19.

Census takers were also scheduled to count people experiencing homelessness outdoors, Hutchings said, but thats been delayed as well, he said.

So the census takers typically will count people in parks, benches and under bridges. The same as the service-based enumeration, Hutchings said. That is going to have to wait while the census decides when its safe to put the employees and the enumerators back on to that task.

Morton County

Meanwhile, Morton County has the second-highest self-response rate in North Dakota at 68%. Mandan is ranked 25th in the state.

The Morton Mandan Public Library's Bookmobile program primarily brings library materials, such as books, magazines and DVDs, to rural areas, but its staff has also led census efforts in Morton County. Decorated with a census banner and playing a census advertisement on its speakers, the bookmobile has been visiting rural Morton County cities including Flasher, New Salem and Hebron weekly.

The bookmobile usually visits Morton County's outlying cities monthly, said Morton Mandan Public Library Assistant Director Monica DeCarlo, but "with schools being closed, it's actually given us some flexibility with our schedule," DeCarlo said.

The library canceled plans for staff to bring tablets for people to complete the census on the bookmobile, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Instead, the bookmobile's driver is referring community members to staff who guide them over the phone in completing the census.

Reach Andy Tsubasa Field at 701-250-8264 or andy.field@bismarcktribune.com.

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Britain's universities face a 760million funding black hole as a fifth of prospective students say they may defer their studies for a year due to the impact of coronavirus.

A-Level students say they could push back going to university by 12 months or skip it altogether with lectures set to move online with no cuts to fees of up to 9,250-a-year, a survey revealed today.

The study, by the University and College Union (UCU), shows up to 20 per cent could defer for a year, which would mean there would be 120,000 fewer students joining in autumn.

Experts from consultancy firm London Economics say even a 17 per cent drop in prospective students would cost the sector 763m in lost tuition fees and teaching grants, the Guardian reports today.

It comes as Cambridge became the first university in the world to axe all face-to-face lectures until summer 2021 due to 'rigid social distancing.'

Cyclists and pedestrians move along Trinity Street past St Johns College, University of Cambridge (file photo from 2014)

And other top universities, including Oxford, Edinburgh, Manchester and Cardiff, are planning a mixture of on-campus and remote lectures from the start of the academic year until January at the earliest.

Many teenagers are also unhappy that they will also miss out on a freshers' week and living in halls because campus' are being shut down until the coronavirus pandemic passes.

Undergraduates currently in university are also threatening to delay finishing their degree for a year because most of further education will go online until 2021 at the earliest.

But students will still be expected to pay full fees approaching 10,000 despite most of their degree learning coming via a laptop in a move that has been branded 'daylight robbery'.

One who was set to go to university this September tweeted: 'I won't pay full fees for online classes and no uni experience' while a second year wrote: 'If my uni suspends teaching I'm so tempted to defer and go out and get experience or get a job to pay the last year without loans. I'm not paying 9,250 for Powerpoints and Zoom seminars'.

Another undergraduate said: 'Come September everyone just defer, university is an experience that needs to be enjoyed to the fullest. 9K+ per annum to sit behind a computer at home, nope'.

There is uproar among people due to go to university - or already there - pledge to defer or not go at all

One critic said: 'As a second going third year student I am going to comment on why you should defer if you can to make sure you have the first year you deserve. First year at uni is such a brilliant experience'.

Some said there was a class gap, because elite universities, often with wealthier students are going online, while former polytechnics such as Bolton will continue as normal in September with students having to wear masks and 'virtual' freshers' weeks.

How are the UK's top universities going to hold lectures? University of Cambridge  lectures online until September 2021 - but 'it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person' University of Oxford  Mix of online and campus lectures University of Edinburgh - Online lectures for 'some time to come' University of Cardiff - online lectures with review in next academic year University of Kent: Mix of online and campus learning University of Manchester: Online lectures until January 2021 Advertisement

Online lectures are likely to continue at the for 'some time to come,' the Vice-Chancellor of University of Edinburgh warned today.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4 Peter Mathieson said: 'Having hundreds of students packed into in lecture theatres would probably not be safe or possible'.

He added that at Edinburgh:'We haven't talked about a fully online model. Lectures may be online and we were doing that anyway  we're very good at that, but actually small-group teaching will continue'.

Cambridge University, Britain's second oldest university said that because social distancing appeared to be likely to continue for a long time, 'there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.'

The institution, which prides itself on academic rigour, did not say how it would continue to maintain the highest standards with students kept at range.

Other universities, including Oxford, Edinburgh and Cardiff, are planning a mixture of on-campus and remote lectures from the start of the academic year.

A spokesman for Cambridge told the MailOnline: 'Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements.

'This decision has been taken now to facilitate planning, but as ever, will be reviewed should there be changes to official advice on coronavirus.'

BBC presenter Mary Beard, a professor of classics at the prestigious university, has sided with angered students over the decision.

Prof Beard tweeted this morning: 'I am rather on the Cambridge students side over moving all lectures online next year (though I don't shed quite so many tears about some aspects of Freshers week!) but it IS complicated. (What is meant by 'lectures' for a start).Wd have been nice to hear someone explain rationale.'

Students are very unhappy about the situation - with some also claiming it is becoming a c;ass issue

The University of Oxford said students will have face to face teaching and research supervision from September, but 'high quality online activities' will be delivered 'where necessary'

The University of Oxford's Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, Prof Martin Williams, set out plans for the first term of the academic year to Oxford students earlier this week, saying: 'Face-to-face teaching and research supervision will be complemented by high quality online activities where necessary, delivered by Oxford's world-leading academic staff and drawing on the exceptionally rich resources available through our colleges, laboratories, libraries and collections.

The University is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the University has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.

It comes after the Office for Students said university chiefs had to give students 'absolute clarity' about what their future 'campus experience' would be.

Universities are still able to charge full fees while offering online courses.

Cambridge is the first to take such a dramatic step, although the University of Manchester had announced last week it would be going online for at least the first (autumn) semester.

Students from across the country have raised concern over the decision.

A history student tweeted earlier today: 'If Cambridge university goes online for the next academic year, how many others will also do the same? This is such a confusing and uncertain time.'

Another added: 'I don't want to spend 9,250 to be taught on Zoom.'

Almost all campuses have been closed since April, offering classes online, and graduating students have been notified there will be no traditional ceremonies.

A University of Edinburgh spokesman said: 'We intend to provide outstanding education for all of our students, wherever they are in the world.

'Travel restrictions may prevent some students from being on-campus, so we intend to use a hybrid approach - a blend of on-campus teaching with online elements that allows everyone to continue with their programmes.'

Cardiff University's spokesman said: 'Whilst it's still early to provide absolute clarity on what this will look like for individual students, there is likely to be a combination of on-campus provision and online learning.'

In a leaked email obtained by Cambridge's Varsity newspaper, Head of Education Services, Alice Benton wrote to Senior Tutors on Tuesday to inform them of the decision.

Ms Benton wrote that 'rigid social distancing' was 'highly likely' throughout the next two semesters.

Lectures will be live streamed and will also be recorded and uploaded for students to view in their own time.

The email adds that preparations are underway to ensure 'the delivery of lectures online will be of the best possible quality.'

It also adds that by keeping the lecture theatres free, departments will be able to use them for teaching smaller groups and allowing for ample social distancing.

Ms Benton's email added that the decisions have been made 'on the understanding that it may be possible to roll back from this position should social distancing measures be lifted and large gatherings permitted later in the academic year.'
NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday filed an FIR against Congress leader Pankaj Punia over an alleged derogatory tweet by him in context of the migrant workers' plight. The FIR was filed at the Hazratganj police station.

The UP Police filed the FIR on a complaint made by one Ashish Singh.

Punia, an AICC member, had made a highly condemnable, insensitive and objectionable remark against the Hindu and the Sangh Parivar.

In his tweet, Punia also criticised UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his handling of migrant workers' crisis.

A complaint in this regard has also been filed in Ghaziabad.

Slamming the tweet, many Netizens have demanded that Punia`s account be suspended.

Punia's tweet came after the buses arranged by the Delhi Congress for transporting migrants were stopped at the Noida border.

Congress leaders alleged that the Gautam Buddha Nagar administration was not allowing the vehicles to enter.

Several senior Congress leaders - Rajeev Shukla, Sushmita Deb, Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary and Rajiv Satav - had reached the flyway along with many others.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Shukla said party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has already asked the BJP government to use, if that party wants to, their own banners and posters. "Then where is the problem?" Shukla asked, adding there were no motorbikes among the vehicles.

Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary said, "We are waiting for the Uttar Pradesh government`s permission. And as promised by Priyanka Gandhiji, we have come here with the buses to hand them to the state government.''

On Tuesday evening the UP government arrested state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu along with several others after they sat in protest near the Agra border.

On Tuesday as the tiff escalated, Priyanka Gandhi, who is also in-charge of the eastern UP, said that out of 1,049 buses, 879 have been found fit by the state government and that the party would provide 200 more buses on Wednesday.

She also urged the UP government not to delay the bus services for the stranded migrant workers willing to go back to their homes.
Park Chan Kyong, a journalist in the Republic of Korea who worked for French news agency AFP for 35 years, has expressed his admiration for late President Ho Chi Minhs endless love for the Vietnamese people.

President Ho Chi Minh meets farmers in Thai Nguyen Province in 1954. He was praised for his simple life and endless love for the Vietnamese people by foreign friends.  VNA/VNS File Photo

Park told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that he learned about President Ho from his fathers stories about a leader who devoted his life and efforts to national independence and reunification.

After reading books on the President, the journalist decided to travel to Vietnam with his wife after Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) established diplomatic ties in 1992.

President Ho is the symbol of the relentless struggles for national independence and the reunification of the Vietnamese people, he said.

He cited documents recently found in Paris as saying that the President had befriended some Korean Provisional Government officials in 1920.

The Vietnamese leader took a long trip from Chongqing to Shanghai (China) to meet his Korean friends and congratulate them after the Korean Peninsula was liberated from the Japanese fascists at the end of World War II, he added.

A Korean who loves Vietnam, Park is keen to join the Vietnamese people in celebrating President Hos 130th birthday (May 19).

Vice President for the Americas and the Caribbean from the International Democratic Women's Federation Elizabeth Tortosa, who is the wife of secretary-general of the Communist Party of Venezuela Jesus Faria Tortosa, shared her memories of meeting President Ho Chi Minh in 1965.

Tortosa arrived in Vietnam as part of a campaign calling for the release of her husband who was in bad health in prison. She recalled that during a meeting with President Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, the President inquired about her husbands health and expressed his support for his release.

I was impressed by the simple style, wisdom and revolutionary modesty of the President, she said.

The meeting was one of her biggest political lessons, and President Ho Chi Minh was among the great revolutionary leaders of the 20th century, she added.

Foreign media spotlight

Artistic Director and Founder of Bangladeshs Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre Pooja Sengupta shared the Bangladeshi peoples feelings for President Ho Chi Minh while the Ciudad Caracas newspaper of Venezuela highlighted the late leaders enormous contributions to Vietnams revolution in recent articles.

In her article, Sengupta, who choreographed a play on Ho Chi Minhs life that was staged in September 2019, said President Ho Chi Minh was admired by a large number of Bangladeshi people who viewed him as a dedicated politician.

He travelled around the world to seek international support for national liberation and reunification in Vietnam, she wrote, noting that he was also one of the few world leaders who succeeded in the struggle using both the pen and revolutionary actions.

Recalling the production of the Ho Chi Minh play, Sengupta said her crew studied the leaders life via books, newspapers and documentaries before they wrote the script.

Reenacting the whole life and career of President Ho Chi Minh in just 40 minutes was difficult, and creating a work for the international audience was even harder, she said.

This put great pressure on the crew, Sengupta said, adding they had received considerable support from the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh during the production. Artists from the Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre and students from the Turongomi School of Dance worked enthusiastically to perform the play.

Meanwhile, an article published by Venezuelas Ciudad Caracas newspaper reviewed milestones in the Vietnamese leaders life, highlighting his leadership role in the historic August Revolution in 1945 that led to the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which is now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and heralded an era of freedom and independence for the country.

The article also talked about the revolutionary morality of President Ho Chi Minh, who was a role model of simplicity and devotion for the sake of the nation. It affirmed that his thoughts became the ideological foundation for the Communist Party of Vietnam and the lodestar for the countrys revolution.

According to the newspaper, the national liberation cause led by President Ho Chi Minh gave Vietnamese culture a deserving stature as he was always aware of the critical importance of culture and selectively acquired the cultural quintessence of the nation and humankind. Given this, he was honoured by UNESCO as a hero of national liberation and a great man of culture of Vietnam in 1987.

Besides, the President always exerted efforts to enhance solidarity and seek solutions to liberate humankind, the article wrote, describing his life as a noble symbol of the revolutionary spirit, independence, patriotism and love for the people and justice. VNS

Uncle Ho in the heart of overseas Vietnamese in Laos Despite being born in foreign countries and having never met Ho Chi Minh, overseas Vietnamese in Laos and Thailand always pay special respect to Uncle Ho.
Thank you for subscribing!

By signing up to this free newsletter you agree to receive occasional emails from us informing you about our products and services. You can opt out of these emails at any time.
Lucknow, May 20 : In view of reports of a possible locust attack in Uttar Pradesh, the Department of Cane Development has started farmer awareness campaign to protect the sugarcane crop from locust or grasshoppers in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Cane Commissioner, Sanjay Bhoosreddy has issued instructions to all departmental officers and scientists of Sugarcane Research Centers to conduct awareness campaign among farmers to protect the sugarcane crop from these pests in the state.

According to an official release, all the officers and employees of the department have been told to visit the villages regularly and to make the farmers aware of the problem. They have been asked to take adequate precautions to thwart the possible attack of the grasshopper insect.

Instructions have been given to distribute pamphlets, handbills and publish pest prevention measures in daily newspapers, write pest prevention measures on the walls of all offices and warehouses and to convey information to all the farmers.

"We are distributing pamphlets and handbills and seeking help from newspapers to make farmers aware of the problem. We are asking farmers to spray pesticides as soon as they find locusts in the fields. They should also inform the concerned officials so that we can prevent the attack," he said.

Farmers have been advised to clear the grass on boundary of fields to protect it from grasshoppers, as it lays eggs in the grass. Grasshoppers are afraid of noise and in the event of their large scale presence, farmers should beat drums, plates, etc. so that they flee away.
London, May 20 : There is one player and two staff workers at Watford besides Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan who are among the six people found postive for coronavirus in tests conducted by the English Premier League.

Burnley said Woan was "asymptomatic" and "currently safe and well at home", reports BBC Sport.

"He will remain in close communication with club personnel regarding his re-engagement in training once he is clear of the virus," the club added.

There were as many as six positive tests for coronavirus across three Premier League clubs on Sunday and Monday, the league said in a statement on their official website on Tuesday.

"The Premier League can today confirm that, on Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May, 748 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.

"Of these, six have tested positive from three clubs," the statement read.

"Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days.

"The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and oversight.

"No specific details as to clubs or individuals will be provided by the Premier League due to legal and operational requirements," it further said.

The Premier League plans to restart in June after games were stopped due to the global pandemic. The clubs have returned to training in small groups since Tuesday.
Ann Graham is Haringey's director of children's services who has been praised for her work trying to reform the department since she took over in April 2018

A High Court judge has slammed the council shamed over the deaths of Baby P and Victoria Climbie for failing to tell a father of two boys that their mother was dating a convicted paedophile.

Mr Justice Hayden spoke of a 'litany of failure' at Haringey Council in north London, which was criticised after the deaths of eight-year-old Victoria in 2000 and Peter Connelly in 2007.

In a written ruling, the judge explained how a mother of two boys had become involved with a man convicted of child sex offences after she separated from their father.

Council staff, who learned of the relationship as the result of an anonymous call, initially failed to appreciate the significance of the risk this man posed, he said.

Mr Justice Hayden said council workers did not immediately inform the boy's father about the sex offender's involvement with his former partner, a failure he said 'defies comprehension'.

Haringey Council also been accused of failing to safeguard Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, who was found dead in his cot at 17-months-old

Mr Justice Hayden spoke of a 'litany of failure' at Haringey Council in north London, which was criticised after the deaths of Victoria Climbie (pictured) in 2000 and Peter Connelly in 2007

'I regret to say that social services failed in any way adequately to assess the information that was at their disposal, or easily attainable, in order to conduct a professional risk assessment,' he said.

'There appears to have been a collective professional amnesia in respect of the good practice established in evaluating the risk of child sexual abuse, gathered over the last 30 years.'

The judge said lawyers representing Haringey had asserted that deficiencies identified in the social work team involved were 'not representative' of council practice and children's services more generally.

'I profoundly hope that is correct,' said the judge. 'This team simply lost sight of the most basic of child protection and safeguarding procedures.'

Mr Justice Hayden, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court (pictured) in London, made his criticisms in written rulings published following private hearings

Mr Justice Hayden  who said he had never had to make such severe criticisms of the behaviour of social workers  this week ruled that virtually no details of what happened may be made public.

Although the judge allowed the council to be named, he ordered that the names of the social workers responsible for destroying the children's lives must be kept secret to preserve the children's privacy.

Heads of Haringey council children's services The Director of Children's services in Haringey is Ann Graham, who reportedly joined the council in April 2018. A council's Director of Children's Services is responsible for the leadership, strategy and effectiveness of the local government's child services. Following an Ofsted inspection in October 2018, child services were rated 'required improvement', but did praise Graham in its report. According to a diagram showing the organisational structure at Haringey council, the Director of Children's services is part of the organisation's senior management team, reporting to its Chief Executive - Zina Ethridge. In addition to the Director of Children's services, Haringey Council has a Cabinet Member for Children and Families - Councillor Zena Brabazon. Brabazon - a Labour Councillor who was re-elected in May 2019 - is also the deputy leader of Haringey council. Council cabinet members 'take most of the decisions about what the council does' according to Haringey Council's website. Brabazon's responsibilities include adoption and fostering, early years and childcare, looked after children and care leavers, safeguarding children, schools and education, services For children with disabilities and additional needs, and 16-19 Education, according to the website. Advertisement

Lawyers representing the council said social services managers had a 'real concern' about what had happened and a 'determination that there should be a full investigation'.

Haringey Council has been heavily criticised in the past over the death of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, who was killed in 2000 after months of abuse at the hands of her great-aunt Marie-Therese Kouao and Kouao's boyfriend Carl Manning.

It has also been accused of failing to safeguard Peter Connelly, known as Baby P, who was found dead in his cot at 17-months-old in 2007.

The child had suffered more than 50 injuries and was visited more than 60 times by social workers from Haringey Council, doctors and police over an eight-month period.

Mr Justice Hayden, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, made his criticisms amid the most recent scandal in written rulings published following private hearings.

He said: 'I do not think that I have ever had to criticise a local authority to the extent that I have found it necessary to do in this case.

'This social work team, within this local authority, disregarded fundamental principles of safeguarding and child protection.

'The nature and extent of the failings, as well as their persistence, can only give real cause for public concern.'

He said the boys' father had become angry and frustrated with the council's 'delays and shortcomings'.

The man's 'irritations' had been 'ventilated trenchantly and unambiguously' to council staff and, the judge said, some of that behaviour was hard to justify.

He said at one stage social workers had 'declined' to speak to or meet the man.

'I am not convinced that was a proportionate response or a sensible one,' said Mr Justice Hayden.

'It created difficulties of a different kind and contributed, in due course, to the local authority making some fundamental errors in which they fell considerably short of their obligations to safeguard and protect the children.'

Haringey's director of children's services is Ann Graham, who has been praised for her work trying to reform the department and for delivering a 'significant increase in pace and re-focus on plans to address identified priorities' since she took over in April 2018.
Advertisement



The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has flagged-off a Community Sensitization Campaign and Palliative Support Program against COVID-19 on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. The program, a community-driven initiative of the Force, is aimed at supporting families within the policing communities adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic prevention lockdown and other regulations.

To drive this initiative, the IGP has appointed a Commissioner of Police, CP (Dr) Aisha Abubakar who is presently the most senior female police officer in the Force to coordinate other female police officers in accomplishing this noble task. CP (Dr) Aisha Abubakar is the Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Force Animal Branch. A veterinary doctor par excellence, she holds a PhD in Veterinary Epidemiology and presently, the President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria. She also holds a UNESCO award for Women in Science and a National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM).

The initiative which is a brain-child of serving female Police officers shall involve visits to local communities in the States across the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Team shall carry out sensitization and enlightenment campaigns on the prevention of COVID-19 pandemic. It would also engage in the distribution of palliatives and relief materials including food items, beverages and other essentials to families of junior police officers and the civil populace. In the FCT, the Team will be visiting Kurduma, Galadimawa, Keti, Kabusa, Garki and Deidei areas as part of the flag-off.

The IGP while noting that there is a thin line between abject lack and crime, commends the female police officers for the laudable initiative and their personal and collective sacrifices (material and financial) stating that they have proven for a fact that they are indeed true Mothers, Aunties, Sisters and worthy Ambassadors of the Force.
Against the backdrop of increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing, Israels ties with China are being closely scrutinized by the American administration. According to reports on May 19, the United States has been asking its allies, Israel included, to eliminate its ties with China in sensitive areas with security risks. The issue was also discussed during the May 13 visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Israel.

In his meetings in Israel, Pompeo warned Israel against the Chinese participation in infrastructure projects, hinting at a tender for building a huge desalination plant in the south of Israel (Sorek 2 near Ashdod). But recent reports say the United States is also scrutinizing Israeli ties with China involving other spheres. For instance, a May 18 report by Bloomberg suggests that Israeli academics' ties with Chinese counterparts are also on the US radar, particularly academic projects involving technology research and development.

The United States has been pressuring Israel the past few years to more closely review and tighten control over foreign investments in sensitive areas. Following that pressure, Israel established in 2019 a special committee to restrict Chinese investments in Israel. But according to an unnamed US senior official, Israel must now take more concrete actions to reduce its sensitive ties with China. The Jerusalem Post quoted the official as saying, I dont think polite deflection will cut it anymore. This is a high priority for the US.

Reluctance of Israeli officials to speak about the issue reflects the tight spot Israel finds itself in. Over the past 20 years, Israel has worked hard to expand its trade relations with China, opening the Chinese market to Israeli products and attracting Chinese investments. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited China in 2017, and the two countries agreed to elevate their relationship to an innovative comprehensive partnership.

A report on Israel's Army Radio said the United States recently rejected an Israeli demand for indemnity over reducing trade ties with China; the Jerusalem Post said US officials it spoke with denied knowledge of such a request.

It is clear that the United States is increasingly expressing its dissatisfaction over Israeli ties with China in areas related to academic research in the field of technology, Chinese involvement in Israeli infrastructure projects, Chinese investments in key Israeli companies and Israeli export of high-tech to China.

The United States is particularly concerned about Chinese investment in Israeli technologies in the domains of artificial intelligence, satellite communications and cybersecurity. The administration worries that these commercial technologies could be transformed for other uses. In that respect, the entry of the Chinese company Huawei into the Israeli market certainly caused discomfort in Washington. In 2019, then-national security adviser John Bolton encouraged Israel to take a tougher stance against the Chinese telecommunications equipment companies ZTE and Huawei. Chinese investment in the Haifa port and its involvement in the construction of the Ashdod port are also reasons for ongoing American concern.
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA is naming its next-generation space telescope currently under development, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, NASA's first chief astronomer, who paved the way for space telescopes focused on the broader universe.

The newly named Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope  or Roman Space Telescope, for short  is set to launch in the mid-2020s. It will investigate long-standing astronomical mysteries, such as the force behind the universe's expansion, and search for distant planets beyond our solar system.

Considered the "mother" of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, which launched 30 years ago, Roman tirelessly advocated for new tools that would allow scientists to study the broader universe from space. She left behind a tremendous legacy in the scientific community when she died in 2018.

"It is because of Nancy Grace Roman's leadership and vision that NASA became a pioneer in astrophysics and launched Hubble, the world's most powerful and productive space telescope," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "I can think of no better name for WFIRST, which will be the successor to NASA's Hubble and Webb Telescopes."

Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who worked with NASA on the Hubble and WFIRST space telescopes, said, "It is fitting that as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, NASA has announced the name of their new WFIRST telescope in honor of Dr. Nancy Roman, the Mother of Hubble  well deserved. It recognizes the incredible achievements of women in science and moves us even closer to no more hidden figures and no more hidden galaxies."

Who Was Nancy Grace Roman?

Born on May 16, 1925, in Nashville, Tennessee, Roman consistently persevered in the face of challenges that plagued many women of her generation interested in science. By seventh grade, she knew she wanted to be an astronomer. Despite being discouraged about going into science  the head of Swarthmore College's physics department told her he usually dissuaded girls from majoring in physics, but that she "might make it"  Roman earned a bachelor's degree in astronomy from Swarthmore in 1946 and a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1949.

She remained at Chicago for six years and made discoveries about the compositions of stars that had implications for the evolution of our Milky Way galaxy. Knowing that her chances of achieving tenure at a university as a woman were slim at that time, she took a position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and made strides in researching cosmic questions through radio waves.

Roman came to NASA in 1959, just six months after the agency had been established. At that time, she served as the chief of astronomy and relativity in the Office of Space Science, managing astronomy-related programs and grants.

"I knew that taking on this responsibility would mean that I could no longer do research, but the challenge of formulating a program from scratch that I believed would influence astronomy for decades to come was too great to resist," she said in a NASA interview.

This was a difficult era for women who wanted to advance in scientific research. While Roman said that men generally treated her equally at NASA, she also revealed in one interview that she had to use the prefix "Dr." with her name because "otherwise, I could not get past the secretaries."

But she persisted in her vision to establish new ways to probe the secrets of the universe. When she arrived at NASA, astronomers could obtain data from balloons, sounding rockets and airplanes, but they could not measure all the wavelengths of light. Earth's atmosphere blocks out much of the radiation that comes from the distant universe. What's more, only a telescope in space has the luxury of perpetual nighttime and doesn't have to shut down during the day. Roman knew that to see the universe through more powerful, unblinking eyes, NASA would have to send telescopes to space.

Through Roman's leadership, NASA launched four Orbiting Astronomical Observatories between 1966 and 1972. While only two of the four were successful, they demonstrated the value of space-based astrophysics and represented the precursors to Hubble. She also championed the International Ultraviolet Explorer, which was built in the 1970s as a joint project between NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the United Kingdom, as well as the Cosmic Background Explorer, which measured the leftover radiation from the big bang and led to two of its leading scientists receiving the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Above all, Roman is credited with making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality. In the mid-1960s, she set up a committee of astronomers and engineers to envision a telescope that could accomplish important scientific goals. She convinced NASA and Congress that it was a priority to launch the most powerful space telescope the world had ever seen.

Hubble turned out to be the most scientifically revolutionary space telescope of all time. Ed Weiler, Hubble's chief scientist until 1998, called Roman "the mother of the Hubble Space Telescope."

"Nancy Grace Roman was a leader and advocate whose dedication contributed to NASA seriously pursuing the field of astrophysics and taking it to new heights," said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA's associate administrator for science. "Her name deserves a place in the heavens she studied and opened for so many."

What is the Roman Space Telescope?

The Roman Space Telescope will be a NASA observatory designed to settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics. The telescope has a primary mirror that is 2.4 meters (7.9 feet) in diameter and is the same size as the Hubble Space Telescope's primary mirror. The Roman Space Telescope is designed to have two instruments, the Wide Field Instrument and a technology demonstration Coronagraph Instrument. The Wide Field Instrument will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, allowing it to capture more of the sky with less observing time. The Coronagraph Instrument will perform high contrast imaging and spectroscopy of individual nearby exoplanets.

The WFIRST project passed a critical programmatic and technical milestone in February, giving the mission the official green light to begin hardware development and testing. With the passage of this latest key milestone, the team will begin finalizing the mission design by building engineering test units and models to ensure the design will hold up under the extreme conditions during launch and while in space.

NASA's Fiscal Year 2020 Consolidated Appropriations Act funds the WFIRST program through September 2020. It is not included in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget request, as the administration wants to focus on completing the James Webb Space Telescope.

For a statement from Nancy Grace Roman's cousins, Laura Bates Verreau and Barbara Brinker, go to:

https://go.nasa.gov/2WREEtz

For more information about the Roman Space Telescope, go to:

https://www.nasa.gov/roman

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


(Natural News) Has the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) won? It would seem as though Americas response to the pandemic has been far worse than the virus itself with politicians racing to see who can trash the Constitution the fastest, plunging our once great nation into the same totalitarian paradigm as communist China.

While China was the first to impose extreme draconian measures to supposedly reign in the novel virus, the United States has been more than happy to carry the torch of authoritarianism much further than many probably anticipated, setting a chilling precedent as the rest of the world looks on in horror.

What was once thought to only occur only in dictatorships has quickly spread around the world in the name of keeping people safe. And perhaps no group is prouder about what has been accomplished than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which we now know is orders of magnitude more threatening than any virus.

Human rights activist Chen Guangcheng said it right when he recently called on the world to come together to confront the CCP, contending that it is the biggest and most serious virus of all.

Speaking with William Saunders on Faith and Laws Friday Forum, Chen emphasized that the time is now for the world to recognize the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to all humanity. And now that many of the CCPs doctrines are manifesting here in the West right before our very eyes, his statements ring truer than ever with each passing day.

In China, dissidents are not allowed to express their opinions vocally, for fear that they might be arrested or worse. Peaceful protest is largely a no-no in China, and thanks to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) it is also becoming a no-no in some places here in the states, particularly in leftist enclaves where governors are telling people that they cannot gather to speak out because that breaks social distancing guidelines.

China also does not like human reproduction and has put extreme measures in place to restrict people from having babies. Well, the same thing is now happening here in the United States as some doctors are reportedly chastising their patients who wish to get pregnant, warning them that doing so is not acceptable due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Coronavirus is also a virus of the mind

In many ways, the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is a virus both of the body and of the mind because the fear it is generating among some is fueling a type of hatred against the freedoms and liberties this country has long cherished. Suddenly it is no longer acceptable to go to church or to spend time in nature, at least not without everyone wearing masks and being six feet apart at all times.

The types of things that freedom-minded folks used to only hear about taking place in some faraway land are suddenly becoming commonplace here in America, in other words. A mass surveillance police state the likes of which communist China only could have dreamed about implementing here in the U.S. is now being welcomed and even demanded by many of our own citizens thanks to fear and paranoia about the pandemic.

Oh, come on, many of them argue, it will not last forever! Except that it will if history is any indicator. As it turns out, those who become drunk on power tend not to give it back, in this case defying the rights of the American people that, sadly, are no longer unified in a common understanding of what those rights even entail.

No matter how nice the free world tries to be, dictators will not change, Guangcheng warns about how authoritarians need to be treated. The reality you have to face is that dictators see you as the enemy. And its not only the people directly ruled by dictators who face harm, as you now see from the coronavirus.

For more related news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) ranks first in market share by megawatts for gas turbine orders in 2020 according to data obtained from McCoy Power Reports.

First quarter global orders of 2,638 MW brought MHPS market share to 28.5% globally. This increase in gas turbine market share was largely responsible for worldwide order booking increasing 19.7% during MHPS fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.

The extremely competitive global gas turbine market has moved in our direction with a clear preference for our JAC gas turbines, which are more reliable than competitors gas turbines while providing record-setting fuel efficiency and output, said Ken Kawai, MHPS President and Chief Executive Officer. Sales of MHPS gas turbines in both the advanced class and aero-derivative segments have gained momentum as utilities, independent power producers and municipalities around the world seek to lower their electricity cost through our unique combination of proven reliability and world class performance.

MHPS J-Series gas turbines first entered commercial operation in 2011 and hold world-record reliability at 99.5%. In addition, they deliver combined cycle efficiency greater than 64%. The installed fleet of J-Series gas turbines recently achieved one million hours of commercial operation worldwide, which is nearly double that of competitors similar sized gas turbines.

Boosting MHPS first quarter 2020 market share was an order for the first two renewable-hydrogen-capable JAC gas turbines for the Intermountain Power Agency in Delta, Utah. Dan Eldredge of the Intermountain Power Agency said, "We chose MHPS' JAC power trains because they offered the best overall solution for our power generation equipment requirements, including the fuel flexibility that will enable us to meet our incremental goals toward 100% carbon-free power generation by 2045. With MHPS' tools and support, we expect to reliably provide cleaner power for decades to come."

Forty-five J-Series gas turbines are in commercial operation, and total ordered capacity exceeds 25 GW globally. One hundred and four units have been technically selected in Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Peru, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.

The marketplace has recognised our efforts through a wave of technical selections and orders placed, said Junichiro Masada, Senior Vice President, Co-Chief Technology Officer, and Deputy Head of Turbomachinery Headquarters, MHPS. And we continue to improve our technology. For example, we recently synced to the grid in Takasago, Japan, and reached full load with the latest 60 Hz enhancement of the JAC, demonstrating record-setting output and combined cycle efficiency. Competitors are years away from entering operation with a gas turbine of this size or efficiency. In addition, we recently demonstrated a significant performance enhancement of the FT4000 at our test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The FT4000 aero-derivative gas turbine, with multiple active projects in North America and internationally, has tripled its global footprint in the past two years and captured significant market share in its class since the purchase of PW Power Systems (PWPS) in 2013. The PWPS FT4000 first entered commercial operation in 2015 and delivers industry-leading simple cycle efficiency, start time and ramp rate.

We are proud that our technology has launched us to global leadership in the competitive gas turbine market, said Ken Kawai, President and Chief Executive Officer. We value the contributions of our employees around the world who are focused on bringing advanced technologies and energy solutions to the marketplace for affordable and reliable power supplies. We remain committed to enabling a decarbonised economy and helping to resolve the challenges facing our global society. -- Tradearabia News Service
Follow Tuesday's ongoing coverage of the flood.

Dams along the Tittabawassee River system are holding up, though substantial flooding is still happening throughout the area.

Midland County 911 sent out a series of Nixle alerts shortly after midnight on Tuesday reporting an "imminent dam failure" in Edenville. The alerts said all Edenville, Sanford and Jerome residents who live along the waterways need to evacuate.

Residents in those immediate areas were also notified by sirens and emergency vehicles with loudspeakers driving through residential areas announcing the evacuation order.

Stacey Trapani, spokeswoman for the Four Lakes Task Force  the organization currently seeking to purchase Wixom, Sanford, Secord and Smallwood lakes and their dams from Boyce Trusts  said the flooding was caused by the excessive amount of water caused by rainfall overwhelming Edenville and Sanford Dams.

"Mother nature just put out too much for anything to handle," Trapani said. "What happens is (the water) picks its own path, a little bit like a river, and it takes the path of least resistance and starts going around (the dams) and gets out in any way it can."

Edenville and Sanford dams are both still in operational condition and continue to see significant levels of spill.

Lisa Hall, Midland County 911 director, said the decision to send out the alerts was made after 911 consulted with Boyce Hydro  the current owner of the four dams along the Tittabawassee River  and community partners including local fire departments, law enforcement, emergency management departments and county governments.

"(911) was receiving information from Boyce Hydro and our public safety partners, and we worked together to make some decisions on how to best protect the community and notify them of the potential impact for the rain events we were having, and the impact that having on the dams," Hall said.

Hall said there is a difference between a dam "failure" that implies structural damage to the dam, and a failure to control and contain the overflowing waters. The "imminent failure" warning in the initial alerts referred to the latter scenario  Hall clarified there was no structural damage recorded to either the Edenville Dam or Sanford Dam.

Shelter spaces have been set up at Meridian Jr. High School, located at 3475 N. Meridian Road in Sanford, and Coleman High School, located at 4951 N. Lewis Road. The Midland County 911 Facebook page says residents on the east side of the lakes can go to Meridian, and residents on the west side can go to Coleman.

The shelters are being run by the Red Cross with help from the Midland County Health Department and local fire departments. Hall said Red Cross is taking measures to promote "social distancing" within the shelters due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a press release, Midland County Emergency Management and public safety officials will continue to monitor the flooding to determine when it is safe for residents to return to their homes. Information on when residents can safely return will be provided through local news media, Midland city and county official social media and Nixle notification.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, the Tittabawassee River level was at 28.46 feet and rising, the release states. The river is expected to crest at 30.6 feet by 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Voters in the metro-area communities of Tigard, Canby, Wilsonville and Happy Valley largely approved a bevy of funding and operational measures for education, law enforcement and city-level elected officials Tuesday.

In Tigard, voters approved a property tax levy of 29 cents per $1,000 of assessed value to provide about $2 million per year for local police. The measure will pay for eight more patrol officers and one more school resource officer.

The Tigard Police Department in its pitch said department staffing remained stagnant despite the citys bursting population growth over the last 25 years. Tigards population grew some 10% from 2010 to 2018, according to U.S. Census data.

Some 47,244 people lived in the Washington County city in 2010. By 2018, that figure grew to 52,368.

Canby voters approved a measure proposed by the school district that will $75 million in bonds for several construction projects.

The measure, which will tax property at $2.14 per $1,000 of assessed value, replaces measures passed in 2000 and 2005 that expire this year and in 2025, respectively.

The new measure will pay for security upgrades across the district, accessibility updates on several campuses and the replacement of a wing at Canby High School.

It remains unclear whether a $65 million bond measure put forth by the Centennial School District to fund a slate of construction project has been approved by voters. Fifty-two percent have voted yes, according to a preliminary vote tally at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

There were about 300 votes separating the yes and no camps on partial returns Tuesday evening.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

The new tax would replace an existing one at the rate of $1.19 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Bond funds would pay for security upgrades across the district. Several buildings also require roof maintenance, district officials said in their pitch, which the measure also would finance.

If approved, the Centennial district would also use some of the bond money to convert Oliver Elementary into a middle school. The process calls for library renovations as well as the installation of locker rooms and dedicated classrooms for lessons in science and technology.

In neighboring Happy Valley, voters said no to paying the city mayor a $750 stipend to offset costs associated with running the office.

And in Wilsonville, a measure to establish term limits for the mayor city councilors was passed by voters, 59% to 41% in partial returns tallied as of 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The measure will cap a city politicians time in office at 12 years every two decades.

--Eder Campuzano

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Government announces timeframe for IMF memo signing

21:50, 20.05.20 2474

Ukraine is set to submit for consideration by the IMF Executive Board letter of intent of the Government and the National Bank, as well as a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy.
KYODO NEWS - May 21, 2020 - 14:31 | All, World, Japan

U.S. authorities on Wednesday arrested a former Green Beret and his son for allegedly assisting former Nissan Motor Co. boss Carlos Ghosn in escaping from Japan late last year while he awaited trial on financial misconduct charges.

Michael Taylor, a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, and his son Peter Taylor have been wanted by Japan for their involvement in the dramatic escape of the fallen auto industry executive in late December.

Japan, which has an extradition treaty with the United States, is expected to make a formal request for the handover of both men.

The two, arrested in Massachusetts, appeared before a district court judge via video link on Wednesday from the location where they are being detained. They wore orange jumpsuits as well as face coverings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Related coverage:

Nissan eyes suspending 10,000 jobs abroad over coronavirus outbreak

Japan says Lebanon agrees on need to resolve case of Carlos Ghosn

Japan to send vice justice minister to Lebanon over Carlos Ghosn

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hassink said that Japan is moving forward "as quickly as possible" with submitting a formal request to extradite the Taylors, without giving a specific date.

In Tokyo, Takahiro Saito, deputy chief of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said in a statement released Thursday, "We are making preparations so we can swiftly request their extradition."

Court documents offered details of how Ghosn, who was initially arrested by Tokyo prosecutors in 2018 and released on bail in April the following year, was able to sneak out of Japan by hiding inside a large black box that was brought in by Michael Taylor and another man, George Zayek, who is also wanted by Japan.

The two allegedly traveled on a private jet from Dubai to Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 29, the day of the escape, carrying two large black boxes which looked like they were for music equipment.

The two then headed to Tokyo, where they met Ghosn and Peter Taylor, who was already in the Japanese capital. Peter Taylor then separated from the group and got a flight to China, while the other three went to Osaka Prefecture, the documents said.

Michael Taylor and Zayek arrived at Kansai International Airport with luggage, including the two black boxes, one of which contained Ghosn. The baggage passed through the security check without being screened and was loaded onto a private jet.

The jet departed for Turkey, with the two men and Ghosn aboard. Two days later, Ghosn, who holds Brazilian, French and Lebanese nationality, made a public announcement that he was in Lebanon, where he spent his childhood.

In the months leading up to Ghosn's escape, Peter Taylor traveled to Japan at least three times, first in July 2019, and met with Ghosn at least seven times, according to the documents.

The 66-year-old former Nissan chairman faces trial on allegations he misused company funds and understated his remuneration by billions of yen for years. He has denied the allegations and said he fled Japan to escape what he described as a "rigged" justice system.

The Japanese government has been requesting Ghosn's extradition through Interpol, but Lebanon has indicated it is unlikely to hand him over. Japan does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon.

As for the Taylors, the court is expected to decide whether or not they are extraditable. The U.S. State Department will then decide whether they should in fact be extradited.
Photo: (Photo : unsplash/Adrien Olichon)

On Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson announced that they would discontinue selling talc-based baby powder in the US and Canada after doing a consumer product portfolio reassessment related to COVID-19.

According to the US healthcare conglomerate, the action would cause a decrease in product sales in the coming months, even though they would continue selling existing inventory. Consumers file around 16,000 lawsuits because they said that the talc products of J&J caused their cancer. The majority of the lawsuits are pending before a judge in New Jersey.

Allegedly, the company's talc products are contaminated with a known carcinogen called asbestos. J&J, however, is confident that their talc-based powder is safe, citing the decades of scientific studies that they had.

A New Jersey judge ruled that plaintiffs can go forward with their claims, for they allege that the company sells cancerous talc products, but they should face limits on expert testimony that will be allowed in trials.

J&J claims their talc products are safe

After the discovery of trace amounts of asbestos by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), J&J said they found no asbestos in their Baby Powder after testing in December. In October, the company had to recall one lot of their Baby Powder as was tested by the FDA.

J&J said in a statement that in North America, the demand for talc-based Baby Powder has been decreasing due to changes in the habits of consumers and because of the misinformation about the safety of their products. The company also added that the constant barrage of litigation advertising was also a factor.

Asbestos in J&J talc products

Reuters found from 1957 and 1958 consulting lab reports that J&J talc had impurities. The contaminants were described as fibrous and "acicular," which meant that it looked like needles or tremolite. Asbestos is one of the six minerals that have that naturally occurs with those descriptions.

During the early 2000s, many reports by scientists at J&J, supplier of J&J, and other outside labs had similar findings. They identified contaminants such as asbestos in talc and finished products, and their description of "fiberform" or "rods" all match those of asbestos.

Late in 2018, Reuters reported that it had been known that J&J sells products with asbestos in their talc for decades. From 1971 to the early 2000s, raw talc and finished powders of the company were sometimes positive to small amounts of asbestos based on internal company records, trial testimony, and other evidence.

Repeatedly, J&J keeps saying that their talc products are safe to use because they have decades of studies that prove that their talc-based products are free from asbestos and do not cause cancer.

Johnson & Johnson said that it would still sell its products with cornstarch in North America and products with both cornstarch and talc in the other markets across the globe.
South Korea's new virus cases rose by the highest number in nine days Wednesday amid looming mass infections at a major hospital in Seoul and a rise in nightclub-linked cases, Trend reports citing Yonhap.

An uptick in virus cases put health authorities on higher alert over further community spread as high school seniors began to return to schools following a monthslong school closure over the pandemic.

The country added 32 new coronavirus cases, raising the total caseload to 11,110, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Of the new COVID-19 cases detected Tuesday, 24 were local infections.

The daily new infections mark the largest since May 11, when the number hit 35.

Concerns about yet another cluster of infections emerged, as four nurses working at Samsung Medical Center, one of the country's five major general hospitals, were infected with COVID-19.

Health authorities said more related cases are likely to spring up, as transmission routes are unknown.

Contact tracing is being conducted to determine whether the source of infections originated in the hospital. A study is under way into 623 people who came into contact with the infected nurses.

Cases tied to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon also continued to increase steadily. The total caseload linked to the Itaewon cluster reached 187 as of Tuesday.

Health authorities remain vigilant against further community spread at a time when more schools are set to reopen in the coming weeks.

The education ministry went ahead with phased school reopening as scheduled amid a letup in Itaewon-linked infections.

South Korea switched to an "everyday life quarantine" scheme on May 6 to enable citizens to carry out social and economic activities under quarantine rules.

The country, meanwhile, added eight imported cases and reported no additional deaths, with the total death toll staying at 263. The fatality rate was 2.37 percent.

The total number of people released from quarantine after full recoveries stood at 10,066, up 128 from the previous day.

The country, with a population of more than 50 million, has carried out 776,433 tests since Jan. 3, including 10,859 the previous day.
A gymnasium sits empty at the KT Murphy Elementary School on March 17, 2020 in Stamford, Connecticut.

Getty Images/John Moore

Jury selection for a Montana criminal trial will occur in a middle school gymnasium because it's the only space large enough to safely accommodate dozens of people.

The entire trial may occur in the gym, according to The Wall Street Journal, and officials will take safety measures like implementing temperature checks and providing masks and hand sanitizer.

Courtrooms across the country have postponed all but the most essential proceedings, but officials are trying to come up with creative solutions to uphold defendants' constitutional right to a speedy trial.

Earlier this week, a Texas court held the country's first virtual jury trial via Zoom software, and other courtrooms are undergoing remodeling to better allow for social distancing.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Kootenai Valley officials in Montana will select jurors for a domestic assault trial in a middle school gymnasium because it's the only space in the county that's large enough to safely gather dozens of prospective jurors, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The proceedings begin June 9, and the entire trial may well occur in the gym, where those involved will be subject to temperature checks and be provided with masks and hand sanitizer, The Journal reported.

The pandemic has posed a major challenge for courtrooms across the country. They've suspended jury trials indefinitely, but cannot do so forever. Criminal defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial under the Sixth Amendment, so officials have been forced to get creative.

"You have some absolute constitutional rights that defendants have  a jury of 12 people, from their community, in a timely fashion," District Court Judge Matthew Cuffe told The Journal. He added that prospective jurors also "have the right to a clean, healthy, and safe environment."

Courts have struggled thus far to balance those two rights, and judges have mostly opted to postpone criminal trials. But as the months go by and states begin to reopen, officials are under increasing pressure to find other ways to safely resume courtroom proceedings.

Story continues

A view shows the courtroom after the initial extradition hearing for Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga, at the Paris courthouse, France, May 20, 2020.

Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes

A Texas court, for instance, held what was believed to be the country's first virtual jury trial amid the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, according to Reuters. But the trial via Zoom was for a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case, and the one-day proceeding ended with a non-binding verdict.

In Oregon, Deschutes County officials even spent $10,000 to remodel a courtroom to allow the jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and judges to stay at safe distances from one another, according to The Bulletin.

In Manhattan, one federal court has scheduled a criminal trial for the first week of September. Officials there are planning to implement a number of safety measures, such as expanding the jury box, limiting elevator use, and installing plexiglass barriers around witness stands, The Journal reported.

It's unclear if courts will start holding criminal trials virtually, and defense attorneys have already raised a number of concerns about the idea  including whether virtual trials would jeopardize defendants' Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses, and whether jurors and witnesses would even have access to high-quality internet or the necessary technology.

Read the original article on Insider
To the Editor:

The recent exchange of commentaries between Don Siegel and Chris Carrick raise important points about the need for realism in our discussions around achieving a stable climate (We cant make enough renewable energy to avert climate disruption, April 22, 2020; Renewable energy is doable, and necessary, May 4, 2020; Wishful thinking wont replace fossil fuels, May 13 2020). Regardless of the specifics about the resources needed to implement renewables on a massive scale, Siegel is correct to point to the role that nuclear energy and natural gas must play, at least in the near term, in order to meet our climate goals.

Environmentalists often object to these technologies usually for reasons unrelated to their global warming mitigation potential, however. For example, waste disposal and public safety issues are often raised as objections by climate advocates to nuclear energy projects, and, similarly, the local environmental impacts of hydrofracking for natural gas are also raised by opponents.

It must be recognized in climate change policy debates that laws and regulations exist to address more localized impacts associated with energy generation and energy development projects. What we dont have is a meaningful climate change policy at the federal level, which is absolutely essential if we hope to achieve our climate goals.

Economists, scientists, and policy experts are in broad agreement that a carbon tax is the best first step and single most effective policy tool for climate change mitigation. A gradually increasing carbon fee would introduce a powerful, predictable market signal that would result in a shift toward green energy sources and, importantly, toward greater energy efficiency, while also allowing for a perhaps temporary but inevitable role for emissions-free and lower emissions fuels such as nuclear and natural gas. All of us should be able to agree to support such a policy.

Patrick Whitford

Syracuse

How to submit letters and commentary to Syracuse.com
The law in England has shifted to an opt-out system for organ donation (NHS Blood and Transplant/PA)

A new organ donation law aimed at boosting the number of transplants has been praised for giving hope to people waiting on life-saving operations.

Most adults in England are now automatically considered organ donors, after a change in legislation which was brought about thanks to campaigning by a young boy who got a new heart from a nine-year-old girl who died after a car crash.

Max and Keiras law sees a shift to an opt-out system, whereby those aged 18 and over are deemed to have given consent to donate their own organs when they die, unless they explicitly state otherwise or are in an excluded group.

For many people like me, who are waiting for an organ, the law change is a sign of hope Transplant patient Faizan Awan

Keira Ball saved four lives, including that of Max Johnson, also aged nine at the time, after her father allowed doctors to use her organs for transplants following a crash in 2017.

It is hoped the law, which takes effect from Wednesday, will lead to an additional 700 transplants each year by 2023, and spark conversations around organ donation.

Faizan Awan, one of thousands of people across the UK awaiting a transplant, said: For many people like me, who are waiting for an organ, the law change is a sign of hope and a transplant would dramatically change my life in a number of ways.

With the new law coming into effect, it is now more important than ever to talk about organ donation and get the conversation going amongst our family and friends.

Organ donation law is changing in England on 20 May. You still have a choice if you want to be an organ donor, and families will still be involved in the process.



Watch our update on the law change and the impact of COVID-19.  pic.twitter.com/ScFoahVah2  NHS Organ Donation (@NHSOrganDonor) May 15, 2020

Anthony Clarkson, director of organ and tissue donation and transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), said: We hope this law change will prompt all of us to consider whether or not we would want to donate our organs and encourage us all to register and share our decision with our family and friends.

He added that people should be aware they will still have a choice on whether or not to donate, and reassured the public that families will still be consulted, and faith, beliefs and culture will continue to be respected.

Mr Awan, 33, from Blackburn, is waiting on his third kidney transplant, having received one as a child and, after that failed, another when he was a teenager.

He has been on the waiting list for the past two and a half years.

He said: This will be my third transplant and will be the most complicated yet as it will need to be a near perfect match  which means it needs to come from my own community.

This means it is incredibly likely I will be waiting for a while as the Asian community are underrepresented as donors on the NHS organ donor register.

He urged people to look into organ donation and see how it can work alongside religious and cultural beliefs.

Acknowledging the increased effect of Covid-19 on people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, Kirit Modi, honorary president of National BAME Transplant Alliance, said his organisation is working closely with NHSBT to carefully consider and work to address any disproportionate impact on BAME patients.

The number of transplants taking place across the UK recently has dropped dramatically due to the coronavirus pandemic, with figures from NHSBT showing that just 99 such operations were performed in April compared with 244 in March.

NHSBT said it is working closely with transplant centres who are considering re-opening their programmes in a phased return to normal as NHS services are scaled up again.

Health minister Lord Bethall said earlier this week that while the law comes into force on Wednesday it may not come into practice straight away due to the limitations of Covid.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: Today we celebrate a milestone for organ donation as we move to a new system of deemed consent in England which will mean hundreds more lives could be transformed each year.

I want to pay tribute to Max, Keira and everyone else who campaigned for this change.

The law change has been widely welcomed by charities including the British Heart Foundation and Kidney Care UK.

A similar law was introduced in Wales in 2015, while Scotland is due to have such a measure in place by autumn 2020.

Northern Ireland continues to have an opt-in system.
Dortmund, May 20 : Borussia Dortmund midfielder Emre Can has ruled out any potential switch to English giants Manchester United because of his close links with their rivals Liverpool.

Can spent four seasons at Anfield before moving to Italian heavyweights Juventus on a free transfer. Due to packed midfield in Turin, Can saw first team chances hard to come by and forced through a move to Germany in the January transfer window.

During his unsettled stint in Italy, he was briefly linked with a shock move to Old Trafford but he has now made it clear he will never play for the 20-time English champions.

Speaking about comparisons between Dortmund's rivals Bayern Munich and Manchester United, Can stated both are top clubs but stated he will never don the jersey of the 'Red Devils'.

"The comparison fits," Can told German outlet SportBild. "Both are record champions and have huge strength. In addition, big names like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Owen Hargreaves played for both clubs.

"But I would never play for United because of my time in Liverpool. My heart won't let me do that. The rivalry between the clubs is really huge." Can's club Dortmund recently returned on the pitch as they thumped cross-town rivals Schalke 4-0 in their first Bundesliga match after resumption of the league, which was halted abruptly due to coronavirus pandemic in March.
Ajay Kumar Lallu was dragged and removed by the police from the Agra-Rajasthan border in Uncha Nangla area where he had staged a sit-in protest.

Agra: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu was on Wednesday granted interim bail till 16 July by an Agra court in connection with the protest by the party leaders over the issue of movement of buses arranged by Congress for migrant labourers.

The court granted bail to Lallu, Vivek Bansal and Pradeep Mathur and asked them to file a personal bail bond of Rs 20,000 each.

They were arrested in connection with a case registered under Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant Sections of the Epidemic Act in the Fatehpur Sikri Police station.

Earlier, an FIR was also registered against Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's personal secretary Sandeep Singh and party's Uttar Pradesh chief Lallu in Hazratganj Police station of Lucknow on Tuesday.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress chief was dragged and removed by the police from the Agra-Rajasthan border in Uncha Nangla area where he had staged a sit-in protest demanding that buses his party had arranged to ferry back migrants to their homes, be allowed to enter Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking at the forum, Dung highlighted ASEANs proactive and timely efforts as well as its close coordination with partners in containing the COVID-19 pandemic and minimising the socio-economic impacts caused by the disease.

He affirmed that, together with the anti-pandemic efforts, Vietnam will cooperate closely with ASEAN member nations and partners, including Australia, to maintain ASEANs normal activities through the use of teleconferencing, continue accelerating cooperation orientations and priorities set for 2020, and accelerate the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Vietnam will also work to strengthen ASEANs mechanisms, develop the Mekong Sub-region, and expand partnerships for peace and sustainable development and towards the post-2025 ASEAN Vision, Dung added.

He proposed some orientations for ASEAN-Australia cooperation in combating COVID-19, ensuring mutual support for citizens affected by the pandemic in each country, alleviating the diseases negative socio-economic impacts, and preparing post-epidemic recovery and development plans. Dung stressed the need to effectively utilise the existing development cooperation programmes under the ASEAN-Australia framework in these efforts.

In the present difficult time, countries should uphold solidarity, build trust in the rule of law, and ensure a peaceful, secure and stable environment for the facilitation of cooperation between nations, the Vietnamese official emphasised.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung speaks at the forum. (Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

The annual forum at the Deputy Foreign Ministerial level took place in a teleconference format for the first time after it was postponed due to the impact of COVID-19, instead of going ahead in Australia in March as initially scheduled. The event aimed to evaluate cooperation and discuss measures to boost the ASEAN-Australia partnership, including joint response to the pandemic, as well as discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern.

ASEAN countries and Australia shared their concerns about the complicated developments and the rapid spread of COVID-19 and updated each other on measures and experiences in coping with the disease. On that basis, the two sides agreed to promote the sharing of information and experience, the provision of technical assistance, and the building of healthcare capacity and the ability to cope with future outbreaks, while also committing to support each others citizens who are affected by the disease, exert efforts to minimise its socio-economic impacts, and coordinate policies to prepare post-epidemic recovery plans.

Australia affirmed that it attaches importance to ties with ASEAN, welcomes the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, supports ASEANs centrality in the regional structure, and backs ASEAN as a coordinating centre for efforts to cope with COVID-19 in the region. The Australian side also reiterated its commitment to supporting and creating favourable conditions for ASEAN citizens and students working and studying in Australia during the current difficult period.

ASEAN highly appreciated Australias willingness to help strengthen the capacity of preventive medicine to cope with disease, asking Australia to actively support and contribute to ASEANs COVID-19 Response Fund and its regional medical supplies reserve.

ASEAN and Australia attached great importance to and pledged to facilitate their strategic partnership, especially in the present difficult time, in order to promptly overcome the challenges and difficulties caused by the pandemic and further accelerate bilateral relations and cooperation. The two sides agreed to continue accelerating the implementation of the ASEAN-Australia Action Plan between 2020-2024, affirmed their support for an open, fair, rules-based international multilateral trading system, and advocated the prompt upgrade of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2020.

At the meeting, participants exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, emphasising the need to maintain regional order based on laws; to ensure peace, stability, security and the rule of law in the region; and to refrain from acts of further complicating the situation, especially in the context that countries are focusing their efforts and resources on fighting the coronavirus disease.
One of the patients who was recently discharged after recovering from COVID-19 in Delta State, has alleged that the virus is a scam in Nigeria.

The patient who is a 36-year-old woman, was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 on April 17.

According to her, She refused to believe the test result, but was taken to the COVID-19 Isolation/Treatment Center in Warri where she was kept for 17 days. She was discharged after reportedly testing negative for the virus.

Upon her discharge, the patient spoke to journalists and insisted that she never received or saw her COVID-19 test results. She claimed that COVID-19 is a scam in Nigeria because her family members who were in close contact with her were not infected.

She said: It was an audio result that I got. They called me to tell me that I was positive but did not give me any result. Before I was taken there I already said the virus is not in this country. We cannot curb its spread if it is in this nation. The disease may be in the western world, but not here. Keeping me there (Isolation Center) was against my wish.

The markets are crowded; if it is here more people would have been affected. The banks are also crowded. Its a scam in this nation. I am a witness. I have been there. I may have stayed at the isolation centre, but I do not see myself as a COVID-19 patient.

My friend who was with me before I was admitted is living his normal life. He is fine. His test was negative. How about my family at home? When I was sick my mother was the one bathing me and even slept in the same room with me many times. She is almost 70 and still living her normal life. Imagine the close contact she had with me.

They did not plan the drama before they went on stage. They would have quarantined my family. The reports that the doctors that attended to me were all tested positive for COVID-19 are all fabricated stories.

Source  LIB
Advertisement

Lions who were both born into captivity have found happiness together after their rescuers decided to introduce them to one another.

King of the jungle Luke and lioness Phuku defied the odds to form a strong bond at Love Lions Alive sanctuary in Free State, South Africa, after meeting earlier this year.

The pair were introduced despite Luke spending the first five years of his life in a 5ft by 5ft box and barely socialising with other lions at a particularly cruel circus in the Ukraine.

Phuku was born into captivity in a petting zoo. She was weaker than the other lions and suffered from a hip condition common in captive breeding. Despite being with other lions, she was often attacked by older males and was cautious when she first met Luke.

But Line Rise and Andi Rive, who run the sanctuary and care for 24 big cats all rescued from captivity, say the pair were soon headbutting and grooming each other just like domestic cats.

King of the jungle Luke (left) and lioness Phuku defied the odds to form a strong bond at Love Lions Alive sanctuary in Free State, South Africa, after meeting earlier this year

Andi said Phuku was so weak physically when she came to the sanctuary she couldn't run, jump or even grab food with her paws properly.

She said: 'We didn't think we were ever going to put Phuku with another lion because they would hurt her because she was so physically compromised.

'We had Luke come along and he wasn't able to move all that well either, because he had lived in a box all these years.

'And we were watching them and thinking maybe this is Phuku's only chance, in that here is another lion who also isn't physically capable.

'But Phuku's movement was already changing substantially, she can run now which she couldn't do at all before. And Luke too was getting stronger.

The pair were introduced despite Luke spending the first five years of his life in a 1.5m by 1.5m box and barely socialising with other lions at a particularly cruel circus in the Ukraine

Line Rise and Andi Rive, who run the sanctuary and care for 24 big cats all rescued from captivity, say the pair were soon headbutting and grooming each other just like domestic cats

'We had a point when we thought it was now or never because if they get too strong then they might hurt one another.'

Andi, who runs the sanctuary entirely on donations, said there was one window of opportunity.

Andi Rive (left) and Line Rise from Love Lions Alive sanctuary

She said: 'We saw them starting to hang out by the fence together, they were communicating through the fence, and so we watched and waited.

'But if it doesn't work out with able bodied lions it can mean death, and these two could still do a lot of damage.

'It was a little bit tense, Phuku at first was a little bit defensive because she had previously been with males who had hurt her.

'Luke had no idea what was going on, he had never been with another lion as far as we know, but we watched every movement ready to separate them if we needed to.

'But we have been lucky with them. Just like a domestic cat they headbutt and lick one another. And just like a domestic cat, or even a human couple, they have these little spats, but with lions it is very much louder.

'Neither is more dominant, one gets the food first sometimes, or the other one does, and it's all very good.

'Phuku is spayed so this isn't about breeding, and it isn't the end game for us for all the lions to have partners.

'We just really don't want them living alone because they are such demonstrative social and gregarious animals.'

Line said with vets' bills, medication and food it costs over 160-a-month to care for each big cat at the sanctuary.

After she outgrew the petting zoo Phuku was moved. But in September last year the site was raided by poachers. They poisoned five other lions before butchering them for body parts.

Andi, who runs the sanctuary entirely on donations, said there was one window of opportunity to introduce the pair after they started communicating through the fence that separated their enclosures. She realised they could still do a lot of damage to each other, and Phuku was defensive at first, but they were 'lucky' and the lions became close

The poachers came back twice more before she was finally rescued and taken to the Love Lions Alive sanctuary.

In Ukraine, the charity Warriors of Wildlife had rescued Luke and brought him back from the brink of starvation before securing his passage to Africa in February this year - also to the Love Lions Alive sanctuary.

And now in the past few weeks something remarkable has happened.

After some 'flirting' through the fences of their huge enclosures, rescuers realised Luke and Phuku might have found a happy ending together.

Despite the positive signs putting them in the same space was still incredibly risky, with each capable of killing the other if things went wrong.

Lionel de Lange and his partner Anya Masyach (pictured), from Warriors of Wildlife, rescued Luke in Ukraine. So far, the couple have taken 13 captive lions from the eastern bloc state back to sanctuaries in Africa. Lionel said Luke and Phuku's bond was particularly amazing because Luke had always been alone

But amazingly as these heart-warming photographs show, Phuku, aged five, and six-year-old Luke found love against all the odds.

Lionel de Lange and his partner Anya Masyach, from Warriors of Wildlife, rescued Luke in Ukraine. So far, the couple have taken 13 captive lions from the eastern bloc state back to sanctuaries in Africa.

Lionel said Luke and Phuku's bond was particularly amazing because Luke had always been alone.

He said: 'It makes me feel so happy to see Luke and Phuku now knowing they'll never be alone again. They are like Simba and Nala from the Lion King.

Phuku (right) was so weak physically when she came to the sanctuary she couldn't run, jump or even grab food with her paws properly. Luke was also quite weak when he arrived since he had only been in a small cage before

'It's actually very surprising these two have found one another. Despite being in a circus with other lions, Luke lived a solitary life, as soon as he was out of the ring, he was back in his tiny 1.5m by 1.5m cage.

'Luke is going on six and Phuku is around five, and at that age already they are very set in their ways, so socialising them was still very dangerous.

'We were so happy when they formed a bond, I think Luke wanted some companionship, there was no aggression, it was as if they knew one another and it was really, really special.

'It'll be the two of them now together for the rest of their lives.'

After some 'flirting' through the fences of their huge enclosures, rescuers realised Luke and Phuku might have found a happy ending together. As these heart-warming photographs show, Phuku, aged five, and six-year-old Luke found love against all the odds

Despite the positive signs putting them in the same space was still incredibly risky, with each capable of killing the other if things went wrong. The pair now share a close bond and even bicker like domestic cats and human couples

Anya, whose work is vital with translations and getting Ukrainian owners of the animals to release them, said: 'It is amazing, from seeing Luke in a small cage all alone and looking very sad to not only having a second chance at life, but in a beautiful enclosure as well, was great.

'And now to have Phuku with him makes what we do even more special. '

Warriors of Wildlife rely entirely on donations needing 250 a month to feed just one lion they rescue. They need to raise tens of thousands of pounds to relocate the big cats to South Africa.

Love Lions Alive have now started an adoption programme where people can sponsor their big cats including Luke and Phuku and help care for them into the future.
The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Attafuah, has described as mere conjectures, speculation and supposition claims by the opposition NDC that it is scheming with the Electoral Commission (EC) to rig the 2020 elections for the ruling NPP.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) had accused the NIA of conspiring with the EC to rig the 2020 general elections for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

But on Citi TVs Face to Face with Godfred Akoto Boafo, Prof Attafuah said he was greatly offended by the unsubstantiated claims.

He remarked that the thought of conspiring to rig an election never crossed his mind.

His office has also formally denied the claims by the NDC in a statement.

It is deeply offensive for your integrity to be assailed on no grounds other than mere conjectures, speculation and supposition. There is no iota of truth [in the allegations]. It is not something I have ever dreamt of.

He also said he was surprised by the attempts to construct an image of Ken Attafuah as an evil person involved in a criminal enterprise to deprive the citizenry of their fuel and determination.

He also said such accusations were insulting to the Board of Governors of the Authority.

According to him the NDCs allegations imply that NIA Board of Governors would either sit idly and blindingly allow me and my management to lead this organization into an evil conspiracy to rob the good people of this country of their free will and choice.

Prof. Attafuah stressed that the accusations are mind-boggling that such allegations lowered the bar of politics in Ghana adding that we are not aiding the enterprise of statecraft and good governance.

Reason for NDCs allegations

The NDC had said the NIA and the Electoral Commission were conspiring because of purported disparities in the registration for the Ghana Card in different regions.

This is of concern to the NDC because the EC has presented a Constitutional Instrument to amend C.I 91 to make the Ghana Card and passports the only form of identification registering onto the electoral roll.

The EC also plans to begin a new voters registration exercise.

With these in mind, addressing the media on May 14, 2020, the National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, alleged that the National Identification Authority prioritised the Ashanti Region during its registration exercise since the region is noted to be an NPP stronghold.

He said the NIA deployed a number of its equipment to the region in a bid to capture more people so the NPP could get more voters to be captured onto the new electoral roll.

---citinewsroom
Journalist organisations together with media company associations and the Indonesian Press Council have called on the government to support the media, which has been adversely affected by the pandemic. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has backed its affiliate the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia in calling for a relief package to ensure the viability of media companies in the global health crisis.

AJI is part of a task force, consisting of 12 other organisations, which issued a statement on May 15 outlining different ways to support media companies in this crisis. The statement called on central and local governments to allocate funds to media organisation to ensure their survival in the Covid-19 pandemic.

The statement proposed the government subsidize 20 per cent of the paper procurement and 30 per cent of monthly electricity bills. The media task force also proposed a low-interest loan and suspension of premium payments of employment social security and national health insurance.

The task force also urges the government to maximise tax from global companies operating in Indonesia such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Microsoft.

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a downturn in the operation of media companies in the country. Indonesian journalists face salary cut s and layoffs. As of May 17, AJI Jakarta chapter with the Legal Aid for Press Institute have received 89 reports claiming violations of their employment rights. When combined with working condition reports from outside Jakarta, this number would increase significantly.

Abdul Manan, the chairman of AJI Indonesia, said AJI supports the stimulus plan announced by the task force on media sustainability to help media and media workers during the pandemic. Media plays an essential role in tackling the global health crisis, therefore the government need to launch the relief package to ensure the media can continue to keep the public informed and safe, and to hold the government to account, Manan added.

The IFJ said: IFJ has launched Global Platform for Quality Journalism, including proposals for strong and immediate global stimulus plans to support media workers most affected by this health crisis. IFJ has backed AJIs efforts to ensure the survival of independent and accurate reporting particularly during the pandemic.
MSNBCs Joe Scarborough says that President Trump is acting like he doesnt want to be re-elected as the coronavirus pandemic continues. The Morning Joe host said Trumps latest recommendation about taking the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine endangers lives and will cost him votes come November.

Ive got to say, this is a man who  from the very beginning of his administration  has acted like he doesnt want to be re-elected and Im dead serious about that. He does things every day that only cause more problems for himself, Scarborough said on-air Tuesday.

Scarborough suggested that by telling vulnerable people to take the drug  which has not been proven to prevent or treat the coronavirus and, in some studies, has been associated with death in at-risk populations  Trump is deliberately trying to distract the electorate and squash his chances at a second term.

Also Read: Trump Rages Against Fox News' Neil Cavuto Over On-Air Hydroxychloroquine Warning

When the President of the United States actually says hes doing something  which, let me assure you, he is not doing. Let me assure you: The President of the United States is not taking hydroxychloroquine, Scarborough argued, saying Trumps statement doesnt jive with past behavior hes personally witnessed.

Scarborough said that hes known Trump a long time and during the one meal they shared, Trump wiped and sanitized his hands compulsively.

Hes not taking something that his own administration has said will kill you, that his own FDA said will kill you, that the VA said will kill you, insisted Scarborough, a former GOP congressman. He went on to point out doctors and Fox News Neil Cavuto, too, have warned against taking the drug for purposes not related to the treatment of lupus or malaria. (Trump lashed out at Cavuto Monday night for his warning.)

Read original story MSNBCs Joe Scarborough: Trump Is Acting Like He Doesnt Want to Be Re-Elected (Video) At TheWrap
The enemy frequently used 120 and 82 mm mortars

On May 19, Russian mercenaries opened fire in Donbas combat area six times. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported that on Tuesday evening.

In Donetsk region, the enemy opened fire from grenade launchers. They attacked Ukrainian positions near Bohdanivka, Krasnohorivka and Taramchuk.

In Luhansk region, pro-Kremlin armed gangs attacked Ukrainian military emplacements near Novotoshkivske and Orikhove. They used mortars of various calibers.

None of Ukrainian soldiers were wounded or killed in action. No new cases of infection with Covid-19 were observed in the military. The enemy casualties are being specified.

On May 18, pro-Kremlin militants attacked the Ukrainian positions 11 times and used weapons of prohibited calibers. This was reported by the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation.

Militants fired at the positions near Bohdanivka (Donetsk region) with 82-mm caliber mortars and large-caliber machine guns; grenade launchers, large-caliber machine guns and small arms were applied in the area of Taramchuk, Krasnohorivka and Shyrokyne.
In the single-day highest COVID-19 figure in Jharkhand, 27 more persons on Wednesday tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the total number of cases to 272, officials said.

The Director of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr D K Singh, said that 18 cases were from Garhwa district while five persons were found infected in Koderma district.

Garhwa district Civil Surgeon N K Razzak said all the 18 persons, who came from outside the state, were in quarantine centres after they returned.

Giridih Civil Surgeon Dr Awadhesh Kumar Sinha said two persons,who had returned from Surat in Gujarat and put up in a quarantine facility, tested positve for the virus.

Hazaribag Deputy Commissioner Bhuvnesh Prasad Singh said t one person, who returned from Mumbai, tested positive to the infection.

Gumla district Civil Surgeon Dr Vijaya Bhengra said that one returnee from Maharashtra tested positive for the infection.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The mother of a man who went on a stabbing rampage in South Hedland earlier this month has apologised to the community her son traumatised and said she does not blame police for shooting him dead.

Ashley Fildes, 34, was shot multiple times by officers at South Hedland Square on May 3 after the asphalt worker started stabbing people at random.

Seven people were injured in the frenzy, most of them shoppers.

The attacker's final moments were captured on camera, but this is not the way Jennifer Fildes wants to remember her son, whose funeral was yesterday.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

Trend:

As part of the cooperation of E-Gov Development Center of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the Azerbaijani President, the countrys Republican Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange, as well as relevant government agencies, an electronic auction system has been created, the agency told Trend.

The auction was launched as a pilot program.

Now auctions will be held through the Electronic Auction Center portal (https://eherrac.gov.az/). Creating a new system will also positively affect the development of the property market, the agency added.

All types of payments (participation fee and deposit) required during the participation in the auction are transferred online through the ASAN Pay system.

The system draws up protocols for auction winners. These protocols are sent in the appropriate order to the information systems of the ministry of justice, ministry of internal affairs and the Real Estate Services Place under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy.

During the coronavirus-related quarantine regime in the country, the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations initiated a number of innovative projects.

As part of the cooperation between the E-Gov Development Center and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a system was created for obtaining permits and monitoring during the special quarantine regime.

For more convenient informing citizens about public services, the center launched the ASAN Bot application.
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 (4:56 pm) - Score 1,173

The state aid supported Superfast Northamptonshire project has confirmed that, since the start of their Phase 3 roll-out with UK ISP Gigaclear in 2017 (here), the local coverage of ultrafast-fibre broadband has connected 10,000 premises (we think they mean premises passed) and superfast broadband now covers over 98%.

As we recall, the Phase 3 contracts with Gigaclear aimed to provide broadband speeds of up to 1Gbps to over 6,336 premises by the end of March 2019, although this completion date was later delayed by some of the ISPs earlier problems with planning and resources (here). On top of that Gigaclear has a big commercial deployment in the area, which was expected to take their total coverage to around 25,000 premises.

NOTE: Local Local FTTP coverage is now 11%, up from 0.4% in 2015, but this also includes work by Openreach Virgin Media and others.

Otherwise some 6.58m of public money has been invested in Phase 3 (4.9m from the county council and 1.68m the Governments Broadband Delivery UK programme), while Gigaclear itself has invested 3.65m.

Catherine Warren, Gigaclears Regional Manager for the East Midlands, said: This is an enormous achievement. Connecting rural communities to ultrafast internet is an incredibly complex task and were proud to have hit this milestone. We lay our fibre cabling below ground for longevity and to decrease environmental impact and visual blight. In rural environments, that means working with heavy duty equipment on very small roads, negotiating wayleaves on private property, navigating river and rail crossings, and, of course, working to minimise visible indications of our presence in what are often very beautiful environments. These challenges are why rural Northamptonshire has gone so long without decent broadband, other providers simply werent willing to go there. Although COVID-19 has slowed us down, we are continuing to work to connect further properties in Northamptonshire where safe to do so, as our work is considered essential by government. This situation has highlighted just how vital ultrafast connectivity is to modern life.

Jason Smithers, Northamptonshire County Councillor, said: I am delighted with the progress that Gigaclear has made connecting many of our rural communities with futureproof full-fibre broadband, as part of the Superfast Northamptonshire project. This infrastructure is proving more vital than ever as more people need to work, and undertake other activities, from home. It will also play a pivotal role in stimulating an economic recovery in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

End.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

#COVID19

At reader request, Ive added this daily chart:

The data is the John Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. I have changed to a logarithmic scale for US States and territories.

Here is the state COVID cases by day in linear form. If I were the governoir of Florida (or Georgia) I might indeed take the view that one of these things is not like the others, especially if I were business-oriented. The nest ten days to two weeks will tell. Readers?

As Florida begins to reopen state businesses, data shows no significant drop in COVID-19 case numbers [ABC]. As more Florida businesses and services reopen across the state this week, health data has shown that the number of coronavirus cases has continued to rise at a relatively stable rate. Health department representatives said the states Rapid Emergency Support Team, which is comprised of local sheriffs and health professionals, is being deployed to long-term care facilities to ensure residents are tested and properly treated. The Florida National Guard will assist local counties with testing services, the health department said.  More:

1/ Daily confirmed cases In Florida & Metro Areas, using 7-day rolling average. Tick marks indicated May 4th, when statewide phased re-opening started. pic.twitter.com/sDDahFEZAU  Raj Mehta, MD (@raj_mehta) May 19, 2020

And from the same thread:

Agree increased testing plays a role. But if daily case growth increases on a log-scale (i.e. 50->100->500), then i will start to worry.   Raj Mehta, MD (@raj_mehta) May 19, 2020

But would Taleb say that worry comes too late?

* * *

See Vice, How to Read the Coronavirus Graphs:

Quantities that grow exponentially, when depicted on a linear scale, look like curves that bend sharply upward, with the curve getting constantly steeper. On a log scale, exponentially growing values can be depicted with straight diagonal lines. Thats the beauty of plotting things on log scales. Plots are meant to make things easy to understand, and we humans are much more adept at understanding linear, straight-line behavior. Log plots enable us to grasp exponential behavior by transferring the complexity of constantly steepening curves into the simplicity of an exponentially increasing scale. On a log scale, we want to constantly be making the line more and more horizontal. The general concept of flattening is still a good one, but its never going to curve down. And so what we should be looking, and hoping for is a trend toward horizontal.

Politics

But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51

They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune

They had learned nothing, and forgotten nothing. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord

* * *

2020

Biden (D)(1): Joe Biden Is Pivoting to the Left. What? Why? [Slate]. Joe Biden ran as the most centrist candidate in the Democratic primary. Ultimately, despite the egghead objections of out-of-touch left-liberal bloggers, this strategy worked, and he recovered from a strong early push by Bernie Sanders to (presumptively) win the nomination. Having solidified his hold over his party, he is offering something to the younger and more economically insecure voters who were skeptical of him during the primary under the cover of associating himself, during a historic crisis, with the president who won WWII and pulled the country out of the Great Depression. Its a win-win, except for the superrich, but theyll get plenty of chances to talk Biden out of all this communist stuff if he actually gets elected. This is still America, after all.  Run to the left in the primary, pivot right in the general. Oldest play in the book. Interesting on how Biden may see himself, however. Sanders (D)(1): First as Tragedy, Then as Farce: The Collapse of the Sanders Campaign and the Fusionist Left [Michael Tracey and Angela Nagel, American Affairs].Well worth reading in full. A taste: why would the portion of Democratic primary voters animated by this suite of issuesimpeachment, Ukraine, Russian interference, and so forthbe inclined to vote for Sanders in the first place? They had plenty of other options (Warren especially) who were more in keeping with their affluent liberal proclivities. But in fruitlessly catering to this demographic, Sanders jettisoned another quality that gave his campaign an aura of excitement in 2016, when he exuded the sense of being distinct from the rest of the mainstream Democratic Party. Four years later, there he was, participating in the obligatory anti-Trump sweepstakescompeting with the other candidates over who could inveigh the most vociferously against Trump. While Sanders never lost what always came across as a genuinely felt populist fervor against the billionaire class, he often sounded like he was half-heartedly reading from the script of a liberal afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome when he would go through the motions of listing Trumps various crimes: racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, etc., etc., etc. After four exhausting years of this from all liberal quarters, many of those who chose Bernie over Hillary last time were neither convinced nor impressed.  I think the most interesting data point is right at the beginning: Sanders lost rural Iowa. Thats absurd, for 2016 Sanders. In 2020, Buttigieg won it. Warren (D)(1): Shockingly, Warren backtracks on #MedicareForAll again: Warren's full answer on Medicare for All here. It's closer to Biden's rhetoric than Bernie's [ACA improvement firsteventually single payer]. It's also potential preview for Biden world on how she'd answer that question given their disagreement during the campaign. pic.twitter.com/HoYx1OykaO  Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) May 19, 2020 Those words might as well have been crafted by Pelosi. * * * Will 2020 Be Another Blue Wave Election Year? [FiveThirtyEight].  This is just an interesing, fun discussion. And speaking of Allan Lichtmans famous (and successfully predictive) keys, from Lichtmans Facebook page (sigh) on May 1: I am officially changing Key 4. Third party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign, from TRUE to UNDECIDED, based on Justin Amashs likely candidacy. That leaves us currently with 4 Keys down and 5 undecided. See the pinned post on this page for where the Keys stand today. Lets be really clear, I have NOT made an official prediction yet. You need 6 Keys down for that and there are 4 Keys down and 5 undecided. But now Armash is not running. So Im guessing that is 5 keys down, so by Lichtmans system, the election is still too close to call. Which is pretty amazing, considering a pandemic and a Depression.

Realignment and Legitimacy

Dems Aim To Subsidize the Opponents of Progressives Change [Andrew Perez, Too Much Information]. [The Democrats stimulus bill] would reserve 25 percent of existing PPP funds for nonprofits, and set aside half of the money for nonprofits with less than 500 employees, which House Democrats described as small nonprofits. After the Democratic Policy Center and a few independent media outlets spotlighted this giveaway late last week, House Democrats did make some changes to the provision. They added language barring PPP loans to 501(c)(4) groups that make political expenditures, which are generally known as dark money groups. Thats a good move. They also included perfunctory language blocking lobbyists compensation from being covered by PPP loans, but this is fairly meaningless, given the entire purpose of D.C. trade associations is to influence policy. Big lobbying groups still get free money. None of the changes negate the underlying point  Democrats are intent on using the coronavirus crisis as a justification for siphoning money from mom-and-pop small businesses and giving it to Washington lobby groups whose political action committees have delivered more than $191 million to current Members of Congress in the last two decades.  Yes, the Center for American Progress is a non-profit. So, if you feel good about bailing out Neera Tanden, vote for the bill! (I have thought a lot what the institutional structure of the Democrat Party really is, and I think NGOs are part of the party, much as the outer moat and walls of a castle are part of the castle; I lkeep saying Euthanize the NGOs for a reason. (The oddly unanimous abandonment of #MeToo by Democrat NGOs in the case of Joe Biden is telling in that regard. I mean, come on, man.) So, in my view, the Democrat Party would in essence be bailing itself out with PPP, which is pretty shameless, when you think about it. Why the Government Keeps Screwing Up On Coronavirus So Badly [Vice]. Deck: Believe it or not, theyre not trying to get us killed. Well.From the UK: It is not that the government is trying to get us all killed. To the contrary, despite spectacular failures, it is trying to get the disease under control. And unlike some US Republicans, it doesnt dare ask us to die for capitalism . But it is a capitalist party above all. It exists to conserve an economy that had to be shut down, and now needs to be overhauled. Thats why it was so late to act in the first place, why its biosecurity plans are so insipid and why it is making this unforced error of prematurely sending us back to work.  It doesnt?

Stats Watch

At reader request, I added some business stats back in. Please give Econintersect click-throughs; theyre a good, old-school blog that covers more than stats. If anybody knows of other aggregators, please contact me at the email address below.

No statistics of interest today.

* * *

On the Spotify-Joe Rogan Deal and the Coming Death of Independent Podcasting [Matt Stoller, BIG]. To explain Spotifys strategy, I analogized the current podcast market to the web in the mid-2000s. As the web used to be, today podcasting is an open market, with advertising, podcasting, and distribution mostly separated from one another. Distribution happens through an open standard called RSS, and theres very little behavioral ad targeting. Im asked on fun weird podcasts all the time; podcasting feels like the web prior to the roll-up of power by Google and Facebook, with a lot of new voices, some very successful and most marginal, but quite authentic. So what is Spotify trying to do? First, Spotify is gaining power over podcast distribution by forcing customers to use its app to listen to must-have content, by either buying production directly or striking exclusive deals, as it did with Rogan. This is a tying or bundling strategy. Once Spotify has a gatekeeping power over distribution, it can eliminate the open standard rival RSS, and control which podcasts get access to listeners. The final stage is monetization through data collection and ad targeting. Once Spotify has gatekeeping power over distribution and a large ad targeting business, it will also be able to control who can monetize podcasts, because advertisers will increasingly just want to hit specific audience members, as opposed to advertise on specific shows.  Ugh.

Todays Fear & Greed Index: 52 Neutral (previous close: 48 Neutra;) [CNN]. One week ago: 39 (Fear). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated May 20 at 12:29pm.

The Biosphere

Cold War satellites inadvertently tracked species declines [Science]. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit in 1957, the United States responded with its own spy satellites. The espionage program, known as Corona, sought to locate Soviet missile sites, but its Google Earthlike photography captured something unintended: snapshots of animals and their habitats frozen in time. Now, by comparing these images with modern data, scientists have found a way to track the decline of biodiversity in regions that lack historic records.  In this article, marmots. Nice!

Health Care

Why do some COVID-19 patients infect many others, whereas most dont spread the virus at all? [Science]. Most of the discussion around the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has concentrated on the average number of new infections caused by each patient. Without social distancing, this reproduction number (R) is about three. But in real life, some people infect many others and others dont spread the disease at all. In fact, the latter is the norm, Lloyd-Smith says: The consistent pattern is that the most common number is zero. Most people do not transmit. Thats why in addition to R, scientists use a value called the dispersion factor (k), which describes how much a disease clusters. The lower k is, the more transmission comes from a small number of people.  Estimates of k for SARS-CoV-2 vary. But in a recent preprint, Adam Kucharski of LSHTM estimated that k for COVID-19 is as low as 0.1. Probably about 10% of cases lead to 80% of the spread, Kucharski says. If k is really 0.1, then most chains of infection die out by themselves and SARS-CoV-2 needs to be introduced undetected into a new country at least four times to have an even chance of establishing itself .Meatpacking plants are likely vulnerable because many people work closely together in spaces where low temperature helps the virus survive. But it may also be relevant that they tend to be loud places, Knight says. The report about the choir in Washington made her realize that one thing links numerous clusters: They happened in places where people shout or sing. And although Zumba classes have been connected to outbreaks, Pilates classes, which are not as intense, have not, Knight notes. Maybe slow, gentle breathing is not a risk factor, but heavy, deep, or rapid breathing and shouting is.  Must read. (I had thought of nursing homes as quiet, however. Does understaffing lead to shouting?)

Early data show Moderna Covid-19 vaccine generates immune response [STAT]. [C]andidate vaccine for Covid-19 developed by the drug maker Moderna appears to generate an immune response similar to the response seen in people who have been infected by the virus and recovered, the company said Monday.. The data were limited and from only a small number of participants in the trial, led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. But they are still likely to be seen as encouraging.  Especially by Mr. Market, at least temporarily.

Leaked Pentagon memo warns of real possibility of COVID-19 resurgence, vaccine not coming until summer 2021 [Task & Purpose]. The Defense Department should prepare to operate in a globally-persistent novel coronavirus (COVID-19) environment without an effective vaccine until at least the summer of 2021, according to a draft Pentagon memo obtained by Task & Purpose. We have a long path ahead, with the real possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19, reads the memo, authored for Secretary of Defense Mark Esper but not yet bearing his signature. Therefore, we must now re-focus our attention on resuming critical missions, increasing levels of activity, and making necessary preparations should a significant resurgence of COVID-19 occur later this year.'

Failed State

Michigan sheriff says Gov. Whitmers stay-at-home order is akin to mass arrest [Mlive]. Riffing on the location, Leaf called Owosso barber Karl Manke, who opened despite the governors order, a little version of Rosa Parks, and asked the crowd to imagine what wouldve happened if Parks never sat in the front of the bus. The two-and-a-half hour rally protesting the stay-at-home order to curb the COVID-19 pandemic was peaceful and filled with musical interludes between speakers. Among the crowd members was a man hawking Trump 2020 flags, a woman dressed as Whitmer but with an Adolf Hitler mustache penciled on and a person holding a sign of Bill Gates with a syringe that reads him as saying, Your body, my choice.'  Thats a clean shot at Bill Gates, I must admit. (Its also a clean shot of what it means to have a body under capitalism if you dont have any capital, not that the fun house mirror of right-wing pollitics reflects that idea, particularly.

Class Warfare

Jamie Dimon Says Virus Is a Wake-Up Call to Address Inequalities [Bloomberg]. This crisis must serve as a wake-up call and a call to action for business and government to think, act and invest for the common good and confront the structural obstacles that have inhibited inclusive economic growth for years, the chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote in a memo to employees ahead of the banks annual shareholder meeting Tuesday.  Perhaps Jamie, too, hears the faint, far-off sound of blades being whetted

Zeitgeist Watch

The Worst Is Yet to Come [Farhad Manjoo, New York Times]. For as long as I can remember, I have identified as an optimist. Like a seedling reaching toward the golden sun, Im innately tuned to seek out the bright side. The coronavirus and our disastrous national response to it has smashed optimists like me in the head. If there is a silver lining, well have to work hard to find it. To do that, we should spend more time considering the real possibility that every problem we face will get much worse than we ever imagined. The coronavirus is like a heat-seeking missile designed to frustrate progress in almost every corner of society, from politics to the economy to the environment. It is all these things and something more fundamental: a startling lack of leadership on identifying the worst consequences of this crisis and marshaling a united front against them. Indeed, division and chaos might now be the permanent order of the day.  I think many readers were expressing the smashed in the head feeling the other day; for me, the idea that I need to treat anybody within six feet of me as potentially lethal is hard to take. But I think Manjoo is mis-identifying the more fundamental problem as leadership. If you want a splendid example of bad leadership, look at McClellan in the Civil War. But despite McClellan, there was no doubt that the Union had the operational capability to win the war. Does the United States have the operational capability to crash #COVID19, as First World countries like South Korea and Taiwan have done? Im dubious. And that, for me, is the most disorienting feeling of all. Im an American. Americans are supposed to be able to do things.

News of the Wired

Losing Touch: Another Drawback of the COVID-19 Pandemic [The Scientist]. It had been seven weeks since Id touched another human being. Touch is the most powerful safety signal of togetherness, says Steve Cole, a psychiatrist and biobehavioral scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. When we get lonely and isolated our brainstem recognizes that suddenly we are in insecure territory and flips on a bunch of fight-or-flight stress responses without us even knowing it, Cole says. Theres all sorts of things in our social world that lead us to calculate that we are either safe or unsafe. You can think of physical touch, supportive and affectionate touch, as the most fundamental signal that youre with somebody who cares about you . . . a fundamental signal of safety and well-being.'  If only Silicon Valley could somehow intermediate touch!

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here . Todays plant (IM):

IM writes: As the sun swings around to the northwest, we get these sunsets from time to time. Its hard to say if this photo privileges the plant or the sunset morereaders?

* * *









: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:

Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated.

If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!
Slain terrorist Junaid recruited Kashmir youth into Hizbul in exchange for drugs

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: In a major hit, the Indian security forces shot dead top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, Junaid Sehrai.

Junaid, the sone of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman, Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai was killed in an encounter that took place at Nawa Kadal in Srinagar's downtown area. Ashraf Sarai, who is a hardliner was elected after his predecessor, Syed Ali Shah Geelani relinquished his post in 2018. Sehrai was the general secretary of the organisation since its formation in 2004.

Prior to joining the Hizbul Mujahideen, Junaid would mastermind stone-pelting attacks on the security forces. He would lead to mobs and create disturbances in various parts of the Valley. The main intention of these acts would be to disturb anti-insurgency operations, IGP of the Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar said.

Hizbul terrorist wanted in murder of RSS functionary shot dead

However, later Junaid decided to take up arms and joined the Hizbul Mujahideen. He was made the divisional commander for Central Kashmir, which covered Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts.

In the Hizbul Mujahideen, he had several roles. He was involved in several grenade attacks on the security forces. He was also active in smuggling narcotics and distributing them among the youth. He would supply drugs to the youth and in exchange would ask them to become overground workers of the Hizbul.

He has been on the hit-list for sometime now as he was able to actively recruit said, a security official told OneIndia. Moreover, he had started to play a bigger role within the outfit after several top commanders of the Hizbul were killed. His killing comes two weeks after the killing of Riyaz Naikoo, who was leading the outfit in the Valley.

On Tuesday, the security forces received a specific tip-off regarding the whereabouts of Junaid and his associate Taqiq Ahmed Sheikh. A joint team of the CRPF and the Jammy and Kashmir police's special operation group launched a cordon and search operation. The residents in the area were evacuated first before launching the operation. During the final assault, a terrorist hurled a grenade, in which two CRPF personnel were injured, DGP of J&K, Dilbagh Singh said.

All set for the kill, why Armys hit-list has most terrorists from the Hizbul Mujahideen

Following this, the hideouts were bombed which resulted in the killing of both the terrorists. The DGP said that there are not more than 240 terrorists active in the Valley.

14 are in central Kashmir, Singh said while adding that 73 have been killed in the year 2020. 95 terrorists have been arrested so far this year.
(CNN)  Hungary has banned people from legally changing gender, in a move rights groups said could lead to further intolerance and discrimination against the LGBTQ community in the country.

The parliament voted Tuesday to stop transgender and intersex people from changing their gender on identity documents.

Lawmakers voted -- with 134 votes in favor, 56 votes against and four abstentions -- to define gender on the basis of "sex at birth," as registered on a birth certificate.

Amnesty International researcher Krisztina Tamas-Saroy said in a statement published online: "This decision pushes Hungary back towards the dark ages and tramples the rights of transgender and intersex people. It will not only expose them to further discrimination but will also deepen an already intolerant and hostile environment faced by the LGBTI community."

Hungarian rights group Hatter Society said the law violated a constitutional fundamental right and had been opposed by the European Parliament and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It said LGBTI organizations were now requesting the law be sent for review to the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court is the principal organ protecting the democratic state through the rule of law, and decides on the constitutionality of acts of parliament and other cases.

While Hungary is a member of the European Union, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been forging his own path in recent years, passing a rash of laws that EU leaders have warned will undermine the country's democracy.

However, the government defended the law, telling CNN in an emailed statement that the law "does not affect men's and women's right to freely experience and exercise their identities as they wish.

"In no way does the relevant section of the bill that some people criticize prevent any person from exercising their fundamental rights arising from their human dignity or from living according their identity, just as the state cannot normatively instruct anybody what to think."

Earlier this month, Hungary dropped points in a ranking of European countries for LGBTI rights by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) because of "policies targeting LGBTI communities."

Darienne Flemington, co-chair of the ILGA-Europe executive board, said the then proposed ban on legal gender recognition was among "alarming signals of how governments with strong authoritarian tendencies are emboldened by the crisis to further limit the rights of vulnerable groups and minorities."

Hungary currently recognizes legal unions for same-sex couples, but the ruling Fidesz party and its leader, Orban, oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Coca-Cola faced a backlash from politicians and conservative activists in Hungary last August after running ads that included images of same-sex couples kissing and holding bottles of Coke.

At least one leading politician from the Fidesz party and conservative media outlets called for boycotting Coke products or banning the ad campaign.

In 2018, the Hungarian State Opera canceled a third of its performances of the stage musical "Billy Elliot" for this month and July amid criticism by a pro-government media outlet.

But a 2017 poll by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association found that more than 60% of the country's residents believe equal rights should be afforded to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Hungary bans people from legally changing gender"
A police officer in Madhya



Pradesh's Betul district was suspended on Wednesday after he allegedly told a lawyer, a victim of police thrashing, that he had been mistaken for a Muslim.

The action against police sub-inspector B S Patel followed media reports about his alleged comment which suggested that the lawyer faced thrashing because he was thought to be belonging to the minority community.

Deepak Bundele, the complainant, had alleged that he was stopped by police when he was going to Betul district hospital on March 23, when restrictions on movement had been imposed in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

He told the police that he was going to hospital for treatment, but he was beaten up mercilessly, he alleged.

He managed to reach hospital somehow. Later, he filed complaints with several authorities, seeking registration of an FIR against the policemen who had assaulted him.

Bundele told media that local police were now presssurising him to withdraw the complaint and he was denied CCTV footage of the area where the incident took place under the Right to Information.

Investigating officer B S Patel visited his house on May 17 to record his statement, the lawyer said, claiming that Patel told him that "the cops (who allegedly thrashed him) mistook you as a member of the minority community due to your beard."



Bundele shared an audio clip of the purported conversation with Patel with the media.

After the audio clip came out, Superintendent of Police D S Bhadoriya suspended Patel.

Confirming the action, Additional Superintendent of Police Shraddha Joshi said, "He allegedly made a comment which should not have been part of the police investigation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as New Jersey gradually reopens, residents will be asked to wear face coverings and practice social distancing in public until theres a vaccine or effective treatment for the coronavirus, Gov. Phil Murphy stressed Tuesday.

This is the reality, Murphy said during his daily coronavirus briefing in Trenton. Were not mandating you wear a mask, but we are strongly encouraging you to do that, and staying apart from people. I think thats the new norm.

Murphy has started scaling back his near-lockdown orders in recent days as signs continue to show the COVID-19 outbreak in New Jersey is slowing and the economy continues to suffer. He has allowed state and county parks to reopen with social-distancing restrictions, permitted nonessential retail businesses to offer curbside pickup, and said beaches, boardwalks, and lakes can be open this summer with guidelines.

Under the governors orders, face coverings are required to enter stores and eateries that are open. They are recommended in outdoor areas.

On Monday, Murphy outlined a broader multi-stage reopening plan and said the state is currently in Stage 1. He didnt provide hard dates for when stages 2 (additional activities allowed, with restrictions) and 3 (most activities allowed, with restrictions) will happen. But he said Stage 2 could happen within weeks if the downward coronavirus trends continue.

Through all of it, Murphy said, residents should wear face masks, practice social distancing, wash hands thoroughly, disinfect workspaces, and limit gatherings. No mass gatherings will be allowed.

Murphy also said the state can move past Stage 3 and into a new normal only after theres a vaccine or widespread effective treatment.

He was asked Tuesday why hes referring to post-vaccine life as a new normal and not back to normal." Dont Americans, he was asked, live normally even though the flu claims tens of thousands of lives each year?

Murphy noted that COVID-19 could return in the future or something else could infect the world. He also compared it to how the Sept. 11 attacks changed some things permanently.

And I think this is going to change some things permanently, the governor said, pointing to how some people might avoid hand-shaking after this and that large gatherings of tens of thousands of people may take a while to return.

Murphy did say a vaccine or even a treatment will help.

But I think theres gonna be certain habits  the basic stuff  that were not gonna shake any time soon, he said. Thats a personal opinion. That doesnt mean necessarily its mandated.

Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled a multi-stage reopening plan for New Jersey.

Edward Lifshitz, medical director of the state Department of Healths communicable disease service, said its unclear yet what residents will expect when it comes to the coronavirus in the future.

Weve accepted as a nation that 30 to 50,000 or so people are gonna die every year from the flu, Lifshitz said. We certainly have no accepted as a nation that 30 to 50,000 or even 3 to 500 would die every year from terrorist attacks. So weve accepted different risks and rewards and different steps we have to take to meet that level. Exactly what will be the level that society has accepted as a whole will move towards, what freedoms will be given up in order to minimize the risk of death, I cant answer that.

In his latest reopening step, Murphy announced Tuesday that auto dealerships and bicycle shops in New Jersey can conduct in-person sales again starting Wednesday morning.

He also said restaurants may be able to serve diners outdoors and nonessential businesses could let shoppers in stores within a matter of weeks."

The governor emphasized Tuesday that residents should not expect him to announce new reopening plans every day. But, he added, we are constantly war-gaming a whole range of decisions.

If the curves keep going in the right direction, well continue to try to take those steps as responsibly and as quickly as we think we can, Murphy said.

As for whether residents should drive after 8 p.m.? State officials said there has never been a hard curfew in places, but Murphy advised people not to go out after that time.

Were still stay-at-home 24 hours a day if you can, he said.

New Jersey, a densely populated state of 9 million residents, announced 162 new deaths attributed to COVID-19, with 1,055 new cases, on Tuesday.

The state has reported at least 10,586 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, with at least 149,013 total cases, since the outbreak started March 4. Only New York has more deaths and cases among American states.

About 41% of deaths have been of residents or staff at longterm care facilities, including nursing and veterans homes. Meanwhile, more than half of all victims have had underlying medical conditions.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Officials have said the number of daily new cases, deaths, and hospitalizations in the state continues to drop after two months of near-lockdown orders. There were 977 COVID-19 patients in New Jerseys hospitals as of 10 p.m. Monday  the first time that number has been below 1,000 since the state started tracking hospitalizations in early April.

Meanwhile, nearly 1.1 million New Jersey residents have filed for unemployment since mid-March, and many say theyve been waiting for weeks to get paid and have struggled with the states busy phone and online systems.

The state government is predicting $10 billion in tax revenue losses through next year, and Murphy has warned of massive public-worker layoffs if the state doesnt get more federal aid.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
The BBC drama has been touted as the network's sauciest show, thanks to its eye-watering 41 minutes worth of sex scenes across its 12 episodes.

And Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones reveals she's 'proud' of the sex scenes between herself and co-star Paul Mescal as they were portrayed with equality on screen.

In an interview with Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast this week, the 21-year-old actress, who plays Marianne Sheridan, opened up on the intimacy between Marianne and Paul's character Connell Waldren and adds that she doesn't see sex scenes as 'raunchy'.

Proud: Normal People star Daisy Edgar-Jones reveals she's 'proud' of the sex scenes between herself and co-star Paul Mescal as they were portrayed with equality on screen

The hit BBC one drama has had everyone talking over recent weeks, in particular over the amorous moments between the two protagonists.

Discussing the sensual moments between the two Irish teens in the adaptation of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel, Elizabeth discussed the default 'male gaze' on television, adding that it was 'refreshing' to see the camera gaze 'equitably distributed' between Daisy and Paul, 24.

And Daisy told how the equality between herself and Paul and the way their characters' intimacy was portrayed was something that she was 'most proud of' in Normal People.

She said: 'That's one of the things I'm most proud of in the whole series is that sense of equality between Paul and I and is the representation of intimacy between Marianne and Connell.

So close: In an interview with Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast this week, the 21-year-old actress, who plays Marianne Sheridan, opened up on the intimacy between Marianne and Paul's character Connell Waldren and adds that she doesn't see sex scenes as 'raunchy'

'I remember before the show actually aired, I had a few nasty comments on my Instagram because it was talked about a lot that there was to be quite a few raunchy scenes. I remember reading that because I thought it was interesting because I don't really think of those scenes as raunchy or explicit because I really don't think they are.'

She continued: 'I remember seeing those comments and thinking, 'oh gosh, am I going to get a lot of flack for doing those scenes and for having nudity?' But since the show has come out, I have had nothing.

'None of my friends have even mentioned the strangeness of watching because I think those scenes are done so beautifully by Lenny (Abrahamson, who directed the first six episodes) and by Hetti (Macdonald) who directed the second block and by all the creatives. I'm so proud of them.'

Interview: That's one of the things I'm most proud of in the whole series is that sense of equality between Paul and I and is the representation of intimacy between Marianne and Connell.

Daisy added that she and Paul were helped along in those scenes by an intimacy coordinator, adding that they couldn't have got through the scenes without her assistance.

'We were really lucky that when we filmed them, we had a wonderful intimacy coordinator called Ita O'Brien and she is just amazing,' she explained. 'We couldn't have done any of those scenes without her!

'I think it has to be the gold standard now that those scenes require somebody to look after you because it properly is a stunt and not just physically but mentally.

'Because it's a vulnerable place to put yourself in you want to feel that you have complete autonomy and control because at the end of the day, you are playing a character.

Sex scenes: I thought it was interesting because I don't really think of those scenes as raunchy or explicit because I really don't think they are'

'It is your body and you want to feel that it is handled with care and that people aren't just exploiting you. I'm so glad that that wasn't the case.'

She continued: 'Ita would always make sure that Paul and I always discussed the boundaries and what we were both comfortable and not comfortable with.

'We would agree touch as by we would say 'this area is fine, but please stay off this area or I don't feel comfortable with this'. And then we'd discuss what the emotional beats are of the scene.

Meanwhile, Daisy revealed that when herself and Paul firts did their chemistry read-through for their characters, it was important that they had 'creative chemisty' too so as to portray 'honest and rare' connection between Marianne and Connell.

Assistance: Daisy added that she and Paul were helped along in those scenes by an intimacy coordinator, adding that they couldn't have got through the scenes without her assistance

Young love: 'It is your body and you want to feel that it is handled with care and that people aren't just exploiting you. I'm so glad that that wasn't the case'

She said: 'I think Lenny was looking for a creative chemistry where you are able to communicate as characters in a way that is in sync with each other and it's so important for Marianne and Connell that they have this special way of communicating that is really rapid and flowing.

'It's really interesting because I think a lot of the show is about miscommunication but actually I think those two characters when they are properly speaking, are able to speak in a way that's so honest and rare and something I really seek in relationships I have because it's beautiful.'

The star added that she and Paul have a 'wonderful friendship' that she'll 'treasure forever' following filming and is so glad she's got him 'in this madness' that is their newfound fame.

Meanwhile, Paul recently joked that his baffled by the popularity of Connell's chain, adding that he'd be 'embarrassed' if the chain's Instagram account (which boasts 140k followers) gets a higher follower count than his own.

Friends: The star added that she and Paul have a 'wonderful friendship' that she'll 'treasure forever' following filming and is so glad she's got him 'in this madness' that is their newfound fame

The actor told Nick Grimshaw on Radio 1: 'It's slightly terrifying. I'd be slightly embarrassed if the chain account took over my follower count.

'But it's probably going to happen at some time so I better just reconcile that fact. The chain will always be more popular than I am.

'I think it's just so funny because it's a chain. I'm not going to abuse anybody who thinks chains are sexy but I wore chains and necklaces before I definitely didn't get the attention that this chain is getting.

'So, hopefully, we're doing a good thing for chains all around the world and we'll see them getting the correct respect they deserve. We've been sleeping on chains for far too long in my opinion.'

Elsewhere, the BBC programme's Costume designer Lorna Mugan told Vogue.co.uk: 'Daisy and Paul both love clothes, so Paul probably got a little bit cheated in that sense. He insisted on wearing the chain from the novel, and he never took it off during filming.'

Watch Normal People on BBC Three, or on Stan in Australia.
The coronavirus pandemic has devastated tourism in an alpine valley of northwestern Pakistan that had barely recovered from years of Taliban control and the military operations that displaced the regions entire population a decade ago.

Hoteliers, restaurateurs, and others who work in tourism in Swat Valley, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, say the coronavirus pandemic has effectively killed incomes as tourists avoid visiting the region famous for its natural beauty and unique cultural heritage.

Our hotels have been shut for more than two months. We really dont know when we will be able to reopen, Zahid Khan, the president of the hotel association in Swat, told Radio Mashaal.

Khan says tourism in Swat had grown in recent years after reclaiming its former glory, creating jobs and new revenue streams. He estimates the regions tourism industry lost nearly $45 million in business between 2007 and 2010. After their emergence in Swat in 2005, the Taliban had imposed harsh rule by 2007. A military operation to oust them from the region in 2009 also forced its estimated 3 million residents to flee.

The tourism industry now employs up to 15,000 people while the number of hotels and other businesses has increased, he said. If the crisis continues, we are likely to increase our losses.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis and foreigners flocked to Swat to enjoy its cool weather, whitewater rivers, glacial lakes, pine forests, Buddhist heritage, and the towering Hindu Kush Mountains.

Shireenzada Badr, the head of the tour operator association in Swat, says they had witnessed a remarkable growth in tourism before the coronavirus pandemic.

We were booming and raking in increasing profits. We had closed the previous year on a high note, he told Radio Mashaal. We were getting visitors year-round, even outside of the [summer] season.

Kamran Afridi, director general of Khyber Pakhtunkhwas culture and tourism office, says the region has already suffered more than $1 million in losses since growing coronavirus cases pushed the authorities to impose a lockdown in March.

Losses will not be immediately recouped. Even a gradual reopening under rules devised by the government will not immediately translate into attracting tourists, he told Radio Mashaal. The fear [of the coronavirus] is likely to keep away middle- and upper-class tourists from [the southern seaport city of] Karachi and [the eastern province of] Punjab.

Afridi says a government committee is currently probing the exact amount of losses to tourism. He says the committee's findings will help the government to give aid to entrepreneurs most affected by closures and loss of business.

Saad Bin Owais, a spokesman for the government's tourism department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says the authorities are now working to create standard operating procedures to safely reopen tourism.

But on May 18, Pakistans Supreme Court effectively ended the remaining measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus by ordering the government to open businesses seven days a week including shopping malls in a southern province. In a written order about ending the lockdown, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed claimed that the coronavirus is not a pandemic in Pakistan and that the lockdown was swallowing money.

New coronavirus cases and deaths, however, are on the rise. As of May 20, the country had registered more than 45,000 coronavirus cases. COVID-19, the disease caused by a coronavirus infection, has killed nearly 1,000 people.
The 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA) opened the ninth session in Hanoi on May 20 morning.

The opening sitting of the 14th-tenure NA's ninth session on May 20 morning (Photo: VNA)

The opening sitting was broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the NAs TV channel.

The session will be held online from May 20 to 29, and deputies will gather at the NA building in Hanoi for plenary meetings from June 8 to 18.

The legislature is set to spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing 6 others.

Deputies will also deliberate and vote on some important drafts such as the resolution on the law and ordinance making programme for 2021, adjustments to the law and ordinance making programme for 2020, resolutions ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), a resolution recognising and permitting the enforcement of rulings issued by dispute settlement agencies under the EVIPA, and another on Vietnams joining of the International Labour Organisations Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labour.

During the ninth session, the NA will also consider and make decisions on some socio-economic and State budget issues.

The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard.

Notably, questions-and-answer sessions will not be organised at plenary meetings as usual, but NA deputies will send written queries to ministers and other Government members.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong (third right) and leaders of the Party and State at the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and leaders of the Party and State at the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA)





Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and National Assembly deputies at the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA)



Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan attend the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA)





The opening sitting is broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the National Assemblys TV channel (Photo: VNA)



The session will be held online from May 20 to 29, and deputies will gather at the National Assembly building in Hanoi for plenary meetings from June 8 to 18 (Photo: VNA)





The legislature will spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing 6 others (Photo: VNA)

The legislature will spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing 6 others (Photo: VNA)





Deputies will also deliberate and vote on some important drafts (Photo: VNA)



National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivers a speech at the session (Photo: VNA)





Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presents a report on fighting Covid-19 and economic recovery measures (Photo: VNA)



The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard (Photo: VNA)





The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard (Photo: VNA)



Q and A sessions will not be organised at plenary meetings as usual, but National Assembly deputies will send written queries to ministers and other Government members (Photo: VNA)
Thousands of homeowners who fall into arrears on their mortgage due to the Covid-19 crisis face being denied access to a key debt deal mechanism unless the law is urgently changed.

Current legislation governing personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs) requires debtors to have been in arrears on January 1, 2015.

This means debtors who find themselves insolvent as a result of the pandemic will be excluded from seeking debt write-downs through PIAs, the Association of Personal Insolvency Practitioners (APIP) has warned parties involved in government talks.

APIP estimates as many as 300,000 people could become unable to meet their debt obligations due to the crisis.

"Without the necessary changes, we face an additional 300,000 people who are unable to fully avail of the provisions of the legislation," APIP chairperson Claire Kelly said in letters to Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Green Party.

"In particular, debtors will be blocked from asking the courts to review their PIA proposal, purely for the reason that their insolvency was not caused by the recession 10 years ago, but by one now."

The warning came as a study published yesterday by NUI Galway's Centre for Housing Law, Rights and Policy found a fresh mortgage arrears crisis was "inevitable" due to the pandemic.

PIAs were one of a number of debt resolution mechanisms introduced after the last economic crash.

They are designed to return debtors to solvency while keeping them in their home in the vast majority of cases.

They allow for an agreed settlement of a secured debt, a debt backed by an asset, up to 3m, and an unsecured debt with no limit.

Use of the mechanism has become increasingly common, with 1,055 arrangements approved in 2019 and 959 the previous year.

Publicity of high-profile cases, such as that of celebrity couple Frank McNamara and Theresa Lowe, has led to more debtors seeking advice.

Personal insolvency practitioner Mitchell O'Brien said APIP was calling for 10 changes to be made to the personal insolvency regime.

As well as seeking changes which would allow people who have recently fallen into arrears to be eligible, it is also seeking the elimination of another "gateway clause", the 3m secured debt cap, as well as the appointment of full-time personal insolvency judges.
So far, citizens of Ukraine and other non-EU member countries are banned from entering the Schengen area; the restrictions is to expire on June 15

Open source

The Ukrainian government has begun working to resume the international air traffic connection with foreign countries. A source in the diplomatic service told that to the Ukrainska Pravda news agency.

According to the interlocutor, Ukraine is not going to wait for the offers from other states. Instead, it begins negotiations on this matter on its own.

"We've got to open-air traffic (...), including that with EU member countries, taking into account the other sides' decisions to lift the restrictions", the interlocutor said. He explained that it only makes sense to restore flights when citizens "can enter the respective state and have the opportunity to return to Ukraine with regular flights".

The source also said that the Ukrainian embassies in foreign countries were instructed by the government to start negotiations on this issue.

So far, citizens of Ukraine and other non-EU member countries are banned from entering the Schengen area; the restrictions is to expire on June 15. So long, it remains unknown whether the EU plans to extend the travel ban.
OTTAWA - Canada's public health experts are now fully recommending Canadians wear non-medical face masks in public when they aren't sure they will be able to keep their distance from others.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wears a mask at a repatriation ceremony for the six Canadian Armed Forces members killed in a helicopter crash off of Greece during Operation Reassurance, at CFB Trenton, Ont. on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. Trudeau says a national recommendation on when and where Canadians should be wearing face masks is coming later today. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

OTTAWA - Canada's public health experts are now fully recommending Canadians wear non-medical face masks in public when they aren't sure they will be able to keep their distance from others.

Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health officer for Canada, said Wednesday the recommendation comes as stay-at-home orders are lifting in different provinces and more people are going outside, riding public transit, or visiting stores.

"This will help us reopen and add another layer to how you go out safely," Tam said Wednesday in her daily briefing to Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic.

She stressed that a face mask is not to replace other measures like physical distancing, handwashing and staying out of public places when you can. And she said people should see it as a way to protect other people, noting when two people are both wearing masks, they are each protecting the other.

"It is an added layer of protection," she said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The advice is slightly stronger than the suggestions over the last couple of weeks that people should consider wearing a face mask in public and comes with a national consensus of all federal and provincial chief medical officers of health.

It is a complete turnaround from her advice seven weeks ago that people who are not sick should not be wearing a face mask at all. Canadian officials were reluctant to suggest face masks early in the virus outbreak for a number of reasons, including the need to ensure medical-grade masks were restricted for use by front-line health workers. There were also fears that wearing masks would prompt people to touch their faces more often and stay apart from others less often.

Tam also said initially it was believed the novel coronavirus was only spreading from people showing symptoms. That understanding has changed, as it is now known people without symptoms can transmit the virus to others.

She said in future respiratory outbreaks, wearing face masks might become a normal part of the public health response. She did not suggest she regrets recommending against using face masks earlier. She said the tried-and-true public health measures of testing, contact tracing, handwashing and physical distancing have worked to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Canada.

The new recommendation remains specific to non-medical masks, often made of cloth. There has been an explosion in the production of such masks this spring. Old Navy now sells face masks in its online shop and Vistaprint, an online printing company, has added face masks to its promotional items like business cards, mouse pads and coffee mugs.

Tam began to shift the advice in early April, and over the last week or so, several provinces specifically told people they should begin wearing non-medical face coverings when in public. Wednesday was the first time there was a national consensus on the matter.

Mask wearing became a normal activity in a number of places around the world, including Hong Kong and South Korea, almost as soon as the new coronavirus appeared. More than 50 countries have now made wearing one mandatory, including the Czech Republic, Venezuela and Spain,which enacted such a rule just this week.

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.

Canada is not making it mandatory, said Tam, though local health officials can do so if they believe it warranted, particularly in places where community transmission of the virus is continuing.

The shift in advice came Wednesday with the sight of more MPs and cabinet ministers arriving in masks on Parliament Hill for the weekly in-person COVID-19 committee sitting. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he will be wearing a face mask whenever he feels he can't stay two metres away from others outside his home. He arrived on the Hill in a mask Wednesday afternoon and wore it into the House of Commons before taking it off for the sitting. He put it back on when he left.

"That's my personal choice that is aligned, I think, with what public health is recommending," he said. "I think we all need to adjust to what works in our circumstances and keep safety at the forefront of what we're doing."

Tam said accessibility is one of the considerations regarding mandatory mask use, because not everyone can wear a mask. Some disabilities make wearing a mask very hard, such as people who are hearing-impaired and rely on lip-reading from an interpreter to communicate.

"Please be very aware of those with different types of cognitive, intellectual disabilities, those who are hearing-impaired and others," she said. "So just be patient, and don't assume that someone who isn't wearing a mask or is wearing something different doesn't have an actual reason for it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.
NEW YORK - Royal Caribbean lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter after the coronavirus forced its entire fleet to port.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this June 20, 2016 file photo, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Empress of the Seas heads out of PortMiami, in Miami Beach, Fla. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, reported a first-quarter loss of $1.44 billion, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

NEW YORK - Royal Caribbean lost $1.4 billion in the first quarter after the coronavirus forced its entire fleet to port.

Wall Street, however, overlooked the massive loss Wednesday, focusing instead on bookings for next year.

The Miami cruise company said that bookings for 2021 are within historical ranges.

Shares jumped 3% at the opening bell, though they remained volatile and fell by an equal amount within an hour.

Videos broadcast from cruise ships were among the first images the world had of the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

Carnivals Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama, Japan, in early February and its 3,700 passengers and crew were quickly quarantined, with hundreds aboard infected. Other ships suffered the same fate.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a no-sail order to cruise companies on March 14. The CDC said infectious diseases can easily spread when crew members from a ship with an outbreak transfer to other ships. It notes outbreaks of COVID-19 on cruise ships also pose a risk because passengers can spread the disease into communities across the world after disembarkation.

Shares of the three major cruise lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines, have plunged between 60% and 75% this year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises suspended its global operations on March 13, a day before the CDC order went into effect, and was forced to cancel 130 cruises during the quarter. It plans to resume at least some cruises on June 12.

We understand that when our ships return to service, they will be sailing in a changed world," said CEO Richard Fain. "How well we anticipate and solve for this new environment will play a critical role in keeping our guests and crew safe and healthy.

On a per-share basis, the company lost of $6.91. Losses, adjusted for asset impairment costs and non-recurring costs, came to $1.48 per share. Projections from Wall Street analysts were all over the map, but Royal Caribbean fell short of almost all of them.

Revenue was just over $2 billion down from more than $2.4 billion the in the same period last year.
The Centre is facing an insurmountable task of compensating the states for loss in revenue due to implementation of GST as compensation requirements are likely to go up 50 per cent in 2020-21.

According to finance ministry sources, the per month compensation requirement for states will go up from Rs 14,000 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 20,250 crore in 2020-21.

Also Read: Need to keep govt revenue in mind, says FM Sitharaman on tax cuts

The centre is already struggling to fully compensate the states for dues in 2019-20. It has not paid to states the compensation for December 2019 to March 2020 as their compensation requirements far outpace the collections. According to the government sources, on an average, the monthly GST compensation cess requirement in 2019-20 was to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore, while the cess collection average was only in the range of Rs 7,000 to Rs 8000 crore per month.

In 2020-21, the finance ministry estimates that the average monthly compensation requirement will be as high as Rs 20,250 crore. And going by the Compensation Cess collected in the last two years - Rs 95,000 crore 2018-19 and Rs 97,000 crore in 2019-20 - it is unlikely that Centre would be able to make good for the revenue loss states face in 2020-21.

The Centre has paid Rs 120,498 crore in compensation to states till October-November, and the dues for the four months to March are still pending. The dues for October-November (Rs 19,950 crore) were paid in February 2020.

It is to be noted here that the GST law provides that the gap between the protected revenue of the states and the GST revenue actually collected should be paid to states as compensation. The protected revenue is calculated at 14 per cent growth per annum on the base year figure of 2015-16 of the taxes subsumed in GST.

Given this precarious situation, the GST Council, the body which takes GST related decisions, is left with a few options to meet the compensation gap. One of the options is to either bring more items under the cess base by expanding the base of GST cess items or to increase cess rate on the existing items. According to finance ministry estimates, any increase in compensation cess on few items could only yield about Rs 2000-3000 crore a year.

Other options left were to either forego full cess compensation which was increasing at 14 per cent per annum or to go ahead with whatever compensation is available. One more option was to raise the tax rate on items by rationalisation of rates by shuffling slab rates.

The members of the GST Council have also suggested options like payment of compensation cess from the Consolidated Fund of India or through borrowings from the market.

Also Read: Cabinet approves Rs 3 lakh cr funding for MSMEs, special liquidity scheme for NBFCs

Also Read: Govt will make sure banks lend money to smaller businesses: Sitharaman
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a series of measures announced in the government's fiscal stimulus package worth Rs 20 lakh crore. Among the key proposals approved today include additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers; a special liquidity scheme for non-banking financial companies and housing finance companies; allocation of foodgrains to migrants; adoption of auction methodology of coal and lignite mines; and a formalisation scheme worth Rs10,000 crore for the unorganised sector's micro food processing enterprises.

#Cabinet, chaired by PM @narendramodi approves a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme - "Scheme for Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (FME)" for the Unorganized Sector on All India basis with an outlay of Rs.10,000 crore. #CabinetDecision a K.S. Dhatwalia (@DG_PIB) May 20, 2020

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13 announced a slew of economic measures to support stressed Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and allocated Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including MSMEs, which she said would benefit 45 lakh units. The free foodgrain scheme, applicable for the next two months, will benefit about 8 crore migrants. The move will cost the government Rs 3,500 crore . The government had also announced auction of 50 coal blocks in the country, while allowing private players to bid too.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: Every sector will benefit from Rs 20 lakh crore package, says Sitharaman

Principal Spokesperson KS Dhatwalia said the Cabinet also approved the issuance of the Jammu And Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020, in the relation of J&K Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act. A scheme to bring about blue revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries section in India also got the Cabinet nod.

Also read: Atma Nirbhar Bharat a 'responsible package', will put money in poor's hands: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Cabinet also approved modifications in the existing 'Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme' - a portfolio guarantee for purchase by PSBs of bonds or commercial papers (cps) with a rating of AA and below. The government has also extended the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana up to March 31, 2023, beyond March 31, 2020. This will provide old-age income security and support to senior citizens. The government also approved the interest waiver of Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 12 announced the mega fiscal stimulus for the country facing an unprecedented economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it was aimed at making India a "self-reliant nation".

Also read: Lockdown 4.0 Coronavirus Live Updates: Rajasthan reports over 100 new COVID-19 case; India's tally-1,06,750
Epidemiology is full of puzzles. In 2003, the World Health Organization feared that SARS would return in a devastating wave that fall, but instead it was extinguished. In 2009, experts worried that the H1N1 flu would be a lion, but it turned out to be a kitten. Random luck shapes outcomes along with biology; some officials took reckless risks this year and got away with them, but that doesnt make the actions prudent.

Youve got to have a lot of humility with these viruses, Professor Osterholm said. I know less about viruses than I did 10 years ago.

In the spirit of that humility, let me relay some advice from public health experts.

First, dont swoon at every vaccine announcement. Remember that even when we get a vaccine that is proven both safe and effective, we will have to manufacture it on a huge scale  especially if each person requires more than one dose  and that will be a monumental task. Even if we make enough vaccine, we may be held back by shortages of syringes, needles and glass vials.

It could take up to two years to produce enough vials for U.S. vaccine needs, Rick Bright wrote in his whistle-blower complaint concerning his removal as a senior official for pandemic response.

Second, gather more data. In many places in America, there appears to be virtually no coronavirus, so those localities probably could safely reopen just about everything  if we could identify them and if we had rigorous surveillance so we could be ready to clamp down on an outbreak the moment it began.

Yet a majority of counties still dont have a coronavirus testing site, and in some places the public isnt using the testing capacity we have. So we should ramp up testing sewage for the coronavirus. Sewage often tests positive before human cases turn up, so it offers a critical early detection system. If Pakistan can conduct widespread virus testing of its sewage for polio, the United States can introduce widespread sewage testing for the coronavirus.

Third, cautiously open some schools. Not everyone agrees with this, but theres some research and some practical evidence from the experience of Denmark, Australia and Taiwan that schools can open without adding much to risk.
Starting 21 May, all general hospitals in Egypt will provide coronavirus testing, Egypts Health Minister Hala Zayed announced on Wednesday.

During the weekly cabinet meeting headed by PM Mostafa Madbouly, Zayed announced that 320 hospitals will be receiving patients suffering COVID-19 symptoms.

The hospitals will conduct clinical examinations as well as run blood tests and chest x-rays, and if the test results come back negative, the patient will be discharged with medications for the symptoms. If the tests come back positive, a PCR test will be conducted and the case will be evaluated to determine if it is mild, moderate or severe, Minister Zayed said.

Patients with mild symptoms will be isolated at home and will be given masks, disinfectants and some medicines.

The patient will be followed up on remotely through a new electronic system, the minister said, adding that the ministry has been implementing the home isolation system for mild cases since 14 May.

Moderate cases will be sent to youth hostels or university dorms, a measure the health ministry adopted since early May.

The severe cases, which are subdivided into high, extreme and critical, will be sent to a quarantine hospital, the minister said.

Egypt has recorded 14,229 cases of coronavirus so far, including 680 fatalities and 3,994 fully recovered patients.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Schools have reopened and buses are running as usual in the country, which has gone for a month without seeing community transmission of the coronavirus, he said, adding that investor interest - which shrivelled up early this year - is picking up again.

The Ngoc Son Temple in downtown Hanoi is sterilised to prevent the COVID-19. (Photo: VNA)



Vietnams export of face masks and test kits, meanwhile, could help cushion the larger economic impact of the pandemic, he wrote.

The article quoted Trent Davies, a Vietnam-based international business advisory manager at consultants Dezan Shira & Associates, as saying that everything was put on hold in the first month or two of the COVID-19 outbreak, but now his company is already receiving inquiries from interested investors about doing business in Vietnam.

Being ahead of the curve, the ASEAN Chair [Vietnam] is in good stead to lead and shape regional responses to the pandemic, Dr Huong Le Thu, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, was quoted as saying.

No country can recover on its own, but those in better shape and that emerge from this crisis relatively earlier will be in a better position - and also have strategic bandwidth - to take some leadership initiative, she said.

Meanwhile, Japanese economics newspaper Nihon Keizai on May 19th published an analysis by Chief Market Economist Ueno Yasunari from Mizuho Securities highlighting the effectiveness of Vietnams measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Vietnam has a population of 97 million people but has only reported some 300 infections and zero fatalities, showing that the countrys way of containing the virus was more effective than elsewhere, he wrote.

What made Vietnam succeed was quarantining infected people from the early days and aggressively tracing those with whom they had contact, he explained./.
FitBodies, a specialty gym in Springfield, opened Monday even though that is not yet allowed under Gov. JB Pritzker's plan to reopen the state.

"As far as I'm concerned, we are essential," said Chris Schmulbach of Williamsville, who owns the business with his wife, Kendra.

Schulbach called the two-year-old business a "bootcamp-style gym" that works with nutrition, one-on-one training as well as small classes.

Usual class size is 20, he said, but in the re-opening, it has been cut to nine. Instead of the usual six classes a day, there are four, he said, "so we have plenty of time in between classes to sanitize, clean, do everything we need to do ... to keep everything as safe as possible."

Schmulbach is among business owners across the state who have objected to Pritzker's "Restore Illinois" plan by opening before getting the go-ahead from the state. He said that Greenville lawyer Thomas DeVore sent letters on behalf of Schmulbach and the business informing the Sangamon County Department of Public Health of the opening.

"I got a letter back from my attorney saying to ...go ahead and open," because there was no response from the health department over 48 hours, Schmulbach said.

DeVore has represented others objecting to Pritzker's shelter-in-place order, including Riley Craig Shaffer, owner of Bow + Arrow Salon in Springfield, which opened Tuesday.

It is a misdemeanor for a business to violate a public health order, and Pritzker reinforced that with a rule promulgated last week which the governor said gives authorities a "lighter enforcement mechanism" involving a citation. A misdemeanor can be punishable by a fine and jail time.

Jeff Wilhite, spokesman for Sangamon County, said Tuesday that no action had yet been taken by the county health department against Bow + Arrow or FitBodies.

Under the governor's reopening plan, phase three could come as early as May 29. Under that phase, barbershops and salons could open following Illinois Department of Public Health safety rules; and health and fitness clubs could provide outdoor classes and one-on-one personal training, also following safety rules.

"I definitely think there's some businesses that shouldn't be open," Schmulbach said Tuesday. But he said smaller hair salons and fitness centers that don't have hundreds of people visiting daily can safetly operate.

Keeping people healthy through exercise and good nutrition makes his business essential, Schmulbach said.

"Exercise is very, very important right now for our mental health," he said, including fighting depression. "We're just killing people left and right by not letting them exercise."

He said he understood the state's first 30 days of the stay-at-home mandate, "but it comes to a point where, you know, enough is enough."

While more businesses could open May 29 under the governor's plan, he said, "there was no reason for us to wait any longer."

He said he is conservative and not a fan of Pritzker.

"I think he's overstepping his boundaries as a leader and as the governor," he said.

Pritzker has said the orders he's put in place are designed to save lives. More than 96,000 people in the state have been infected with coronavirus, and more than 4,200 have died.

Schmulbach, 47, a Springfield native and Lanphier High School grad, said he spent much of his career as a professional Motocross and Supercross racer, and later taught kids to race dirt bikes.

In late 2016, when he owned a CrossFit gym in Sprinfield, he developed a brain tumor that required immediate surgery.

"After I had surgery, we closed because it took me about a year to recover," he said. "Once I recovered, we had sold everything, and I literally started this business ... selling memberships at Starbucks. I'm passionate about this place. I will not give up. I'll go down fighting."

Schmulbach said he doesn't wear a mask because his surgery left a nasal passage blocked. But he also said he doesn't believe a mask helps prevent spread of coronavirus -- the Centers for Disease Control says they do -- and he said he thinks it is a personal right "not to wear one if I don't want to wear one."

Sangamon County has seen more than 300 people test positive for COVID-19, and 27 people die -- most who were residents of The Villas East nursing home in Sherman.

In a nursing home, Schmulbach said, "It's sad, but ... if one person is affected ... it's just going to spread like wildfire."

He doesn't see the same thing happening at his business.

"Ninety-five percent of my members are very, very healthy," he said. "They are warned not to come here if they have a cold, if they feel sick."

"I put every last dime I have in this business," he said. "If we didn't open soon, we were in the process of possibly having to close. I'm just not doing that."

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
The mandate of the provinces commission into long-term care should be expanded to look at how frail seniors are treated in the entire health system, says the president of the Ontario Hospital Association.

The pandemic has overwhelmed all parts of the health system, not just long-term care, and seniors have paid the highest price, Anthony Dale said, adding that the federal government should be involved in the commissions work.

The pandemic has reminded us what can be done when there is a sense of true crisis and urgency. This is the biggest mobilization of health-care resources since veterans returned home from World War II, he said.

Lets build on the momentum with the leadership of both the provincial and federal levels of government and revolutionize seniors care, he added.

Health system sectors  including long-term care, hospitals, home care and community care  are interconnected. What happens in one can affect the others, Dale explained.

Long-term care is linked to wider questions about accessibility of appropriate services for seniors, he said.

The way forward should involve expanding home care, he argued. Home care allows seniors to stay in their own homes. They receive assistance from visiting nurses, personal support workers and others.

Ontario Long-term Care Minister Merrilee Fullerton announced Tuesday the creation of an independent commission to examine the impact of the pandemic on nursing homes.

Dale said the federal government should be involved in any kind of examination because the system of transfer payments from Ottawa to the provinces needs to be overhauled to better support the provision of health and social services.

Frail seniors have been bouncing around the health system since the pandemic started. They were among the patients cleared out of hospitals in mid-March to make way for an expected surge of COVID-19 patients.

Then, when the pandemic slammed long-term care homes, frail seniors were transferred back to hospitals.

The pandemic is far from over but its already clear that its devastating impact is being felt primarily by the elderly, Dale said.

Hospitals have long struggled with a high level of alternative-level-of-care (ALC) patients. These are typically frail seniors who have received acute care and are ready for discharge. But they are stuck in hospital beds because other parts of the health system  including long-term care and home care  are at capacity.

This causes a shortage of beds in hospitals. There arent enough inpatient beds for patients initially admitted through ERs. The result is hallway healthcare.

Dale said hallway healthcare isnt appropriate at the best of times: In a pandemic, it can be absolutely deadly.

The pandemic has laid bare societys reliance on chronically congested hospitals, he said.

While all parts of the health system are overburdened, hospitals are the safety net, he said, explaining that people end up going to emergency departments when they cant get their healthcare anywhere else.

Hospitals are once again experiencing capacity pressures, Dale warned, noting that the number of ALC patients is on the rise.

According to the Ontario Hospital Association, there were 5,200 ALC patients in hospitals on March 1. The number fell to 4,000 by April 9 due to efforts to make space in hospitals for COVID-19 patients. But by May 13, the number had gone up again to 4,900.

We can no longer accept the growing number of seniors being admitted to hospitals and languishing as ALC patients. We need action from all levels of government to put an end to this terrible dysfunctional cycle, Dale said.

Hospitals are now faced with the extremely difficult challenge of dealing with competing demands, Dale said. In addition to caring for the growing number of ALC patients, they have been ordered by the province to reserve 15 per cent of their acute-care capacity for COVID-patients.

At the same time, they have begun to ramp up elective surgeries and some scheduled cancer surgeries, which were cancelled in mid-March.

This (resulting) risky situation means that this is not a moment for half measures. This is a moment for powerful change in Ontarios health care system.
Memorial Day weekend is expected to bring large crowds to Alabamas Gulf Coast beaches. But already, the beaches have been active places requiring lifeguards to get involved in over 11,000 preventative actions to stop situations from becoming too dangerous.

Its like 4th of July out there almost every day, Melvin Shepard, the head of the citys beach rescue, said Tuesday. There are a couple of days where its not bad, but for the most part, its been jammed pack.

No one has been ticketed at the beach for violations of the states health order, which requires strict social distancing on the beaches requiring people to be at least 6 feet apart from others except for those in your household group, Shepard said.

According to a report provided by Gulf Shores Beach Rescue covering the first 20 days of May, attendance at Gulf Shores beaches was at 722,385 people. The beach boundary extends from the Gulf Shores-Orange Beach city line and encompasses the popular Gulf Shores Public Beach area. The boundaries extend west to the Little Lagoon Pass and toward unincorporated Fort Morgan. The total coverage area is about eight to nine miles, according to Shepard.

Beach patrols have had to respond to 11,418 preventative action calls involving actions taken by a lifeguard that stopped a situation from becoming dangerous, according to Shepard.

According the records, there have been 18 people rescued by lifeguards, and 361 minor first aid calls. Lifeguards have also had to attend to 87 missing person cases and 166 public assists in which lifeguards or beach rangers assist a visitor to or from the beach with items. Lifeguards have also reported 22,035 personal contacts with beach visitors, which involves them talking to visitors about various things such as places to eat, access beach walking mat locations, etc.

Of the 18 beach rescues, Shepard said 13 occurred between May 3-9. There have been no drownings in Gulf Shores.

Gulf Shores has 28 lifeguards and four beach rangers.

The beach rangers, according to Shepards report, have reported a total of 326 tent violations on the beaches, 243 alcohol violations, and 209 glass violations. Glass bottles are prohibited on the public beaches, and tents are required to be removed daily from the beaches under the Leave Only Footprints program.

Other violations include: 391 violations in which someone has dug a large hole in the beach sand, 81 dog/animal violations, 84 other police matters.

Shepard said the citys beach rescue division is completely staffed headed into Memorial Day weekend. He said that none of his employees were furloughed during the beach closure that lasted from March 20 until April 30.

Bushwackers and souvenirs: How Alabamas beach businesses prepare for a surge of visitors

Alabama beaches reopening Thursday; limited to gatherings of fewer than 10 people

Alabama tourism: Big business knocked down by coronavirus

Alabama water parks looking to reopen
The EU intends to halve the use of pesticides in the industrial complex to protect the environment and human health, Reuters reported.

If the corona-crisis has taught us anything, it is that we have to recalibrate our relationship with the natural environment, we have to become more resilient, EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said.

This initiative envisages a 50% reduction in the use of chemical pesticides, 20% in mineral fertilizers, and a 50% reduction in the use of antibiotics and their substances in livestock and fish farming by 2030. The European Commission also intends to set a hard limit of 25% of all agricultural land in the EU, which must be transferred to 100% organic agriculture. To carry out these measures for European farmers, the European Commission intends to use the shocks of the current crisis of the coronavirus.

If this strategy receives the approval of the European Parliament and all 27 EU states in the EU Council, then its implementation should begin in 2021. The European Commission provides that from 2021, when the next seven-year budget cycle (2021-2027) begins in the EU, most of the agricultural subsidies within the Common Agricultural Policy will be provided organic agriculture development projects.

The implementation of this strategy can significantly improve the quality of agricultural products and reduce its harmful effects on human health. It will reduce human addiction syndrome to antibiotics when consuming substances containing antibiotics accumulated in the tissues of domestic animals. This process leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the medical use of antibiotics and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

The EU environmental lobby is actively supporting this strategy, while the agricultural lobby is struggling to slow down its implementation. The problem is that the implementation of these requirements will simultaneously lead to an increase in the cost of agricultural products and significantly increase the complexity of its production, which will require either attracting a large number of new workers to the low-paid agricultural sector or purchasing expensive equipment.

If the implementation of this strategy does not lead to the bankruptcy of the European agricultural complex due to an increase in the cost of production, the result will be an increase in consumer prices for products and the disappearance of excess agricultural products produced in the EU. But this will create a large number of low-quality jobs with minimal wages and a low educational threshold for workers in anticipation of the sharp jump in unemployment that the European Commission expects in the EU in the second half of the year.

The long-term result of the implementation of this strategy will be an increase in the veterinary and phytosanitary standards of the European agricultural market. This will allow Brussels to almost completely block the access of foreign products to this market even from those states with which the EU has free trade deals.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

I get mad at Christians a lot, for a whole lot of reasons. But I think its most often when I see them acting out without using reason at all.

Have you ever heard the phrase, Christians are so heavenly minded that theyre no earthly good? It hits home way too often. I regularly see people of my faith preaching about what they believe but failing to contribute to the here and now in a thoughtful way. Ever meet religious people who seem to base everything on their feelings, even to the point of being absurd? Me too, and Im a Christian. These things have become way too normal. Its made me more appreciative than ever for folks who can be sensible about what they believe and offer a sensible accounting for their faith.

And thats why Im going to miss Ravi Zacharias. So will a whole lot of the church.

Scrolling through Instagram, I see photo after photo of Ravi Zacharias. Many have noted his passing Tuesday. Whats unusual about Ravi showing up on my social media so much is who is on my Instagram feed. At Vanderbloemen, we serve a whole lot of folks that dont usually attend the same conferences, align with the same denomination, or even know one another. Its one of our distinctives  to try to serve the whole church. And no matter what corner of the church I looked at (and I see all of them), I saw a tribute to Ravi Zacharias.

We are in an age of more profound polarization than any in recent history. Dr. Zacharias ability to cross denominations, tribes, and lines was uncanny and is worth noting. And it is one that a scant few have replicated. He may not be as well-known as Billy Graham, but his followers were equally diverse within the Christian faith.

Why did so many different kinds of Christians love Dr. Zacharias? He was a friend to all, which always helps. But he was opinionated, and loud in those opinions. In todays politically correct world that doesnt win friends and influence people.

What made Ravi so loveable, and will end up making him so memorable, was his mind. Dr. Zacharias famous broadcast, Let My People Think, was dedicated to engaging the mind into the faith of Christianity. It couldnt have come at a better time.

He began his work in Vietnam, ministering to soldiers in the war. And in an age of high emotions, where many were ruled by how they felt about a matter, Dr. Zacharias noticed a real gap in the area of Christian thinking. Apologetics, the art of logically defending the faith, had fallen to the wayside in those days. Dr. Zaharias began, particularly in the early 1980s, to focus almost exclusively on making his faith make sense.

History shows us that people who take time to think through their faith forge a lasting legacy. I believe the same will be said of Ravi Zacharias.

In the late fourth and early fifth century, Romes longstanding Empire was crumbling, the Huns were poised to sack the capital, and emotions were the currency of the day. Augustine came along and coined the famous phrase, believe so that you may understand. He devoted his writing to making sense of the faith in an age of insensibility, and it became a cornerstone of Western Christianity.

In the 13th century, most of Aristotles writings had been lost to the Western world. Over the next century, they were recovered and translated into Latin. Thomas Aquinas became one of the chief scholars of Aristotle and became a leading thinker in the church. This was during an age of enormous polarity, during the height of the Crusades and religious friction. His writing changed the church forever. Nearly every pope since his time has quoted him, and John Paul II said, the Church has been justified in consistently proposing St. Thomas a master of thought and a model of the right way to do theology.

In a war-torn Europe, C. S. Lewis, a skeptic turned Christian, made regular logical apologies for his faith, and his account of his journey, Surprised by Joy, continues to be a favorite recommendation by Christians to skeptical friends.

Many others could be listed, but the pattern is clear: the world longs to know that faith can make sense. Anyone can show blind faith. It doesnt take much to be led by emotion. But to have a faith that seeks understanding is rare. To have a faith that can explain how to understand is remarkable.

Rest well, Dr. Zacharias. Our loss is heavens gain, but your work will help a world of restless hearts find rest in a God who truly makes sense. Thanks for letting us think.
Climate change is causing some really strange occurrences on our planet. From the increase in speed and intensity of cyclones to the slow rising of sea level.

However, new research reveals that ice-clad sections of coastal areas of Antarctica have turned green, and some other shades of orange and red.

AFP by Getty Images

Already global warming was causing the most severe heatwave ever recorded in Antarctica, but now it's leading to some really weird ice melting behaviour that's frankly unprecedented.

Antarctica's ice changing colour

This is according to a study published in Nature Communications, where a team of scientists looked at green snow on the Antarctic peninsula for the very first time.

They took the help of satellite imagery from European Space Agency captured between the year 2017 and 2019 and fused them all together with their discoveries in a trip to Antarcticas Ruder bay, Adeliade island as well as the Fildes Peninsula and King George Island.



Matt Davey a professor at the University of Cambridges Department of Plant Sciences said in a conversation with Gizmodo Earther, We identified 1,679 separate blooms of green algae on the snow surface. We focused on the green blooms as these were the most visible from space.

As temperatures got warmer than normal, algae spores started germinating on the Antarctic surface which is entirely snow. In fact, these were visible even from space. Along with green algae, researchers also saw snow turning into colours like red and orange.

All these blooms were mostly spotted around the snow on the Antarctic coastline -- this has also become the fastest-warming part of the continent due to climate change.

Research reveals that most of the algae concentration occurs in areas where wildlife is commonly seen as animal faeces help algae to thrive. They found 60 percent of teh blooms near penguin colonies.

Nature Communications

It's not all bad news, at least for now

While researchers dont really know the effects of the green show, there are some benefits from it. It helps in sucking carbon out of the atmosphere -- as much as a car driving a million miles would create. Sadly, comparing it to the CO2 present in the atmosphere already, the impact is minuscule.

Davey further stated, I would say that the blooms are certainly not enough to help get rid of the excess carbon dioxide from human-caused emissions.

There is one apparent danger to this. A few months ago when green patches started emerging in snow-clad regions of Greenland, they found it to increase the absorption of sunlight, causing faster meltdown of ice, which basically means quicker sea level rise and thats clearly not a good thing.
Around 80 firefighters were sent to a fire at a block of flats in southeast London on Wednesday evening and were battling the blaze into the night.

Flames could be seen roaring through the flat on the sixth-floor, and also spreading to the roof, as thick plumes of smoke rose above the rooftops.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted at 7:52 p.m. on Wednesday that fire engines had been called to the flats on Childers Street in Deptford.

In a statement released after their initial tweet, the fire brigade said that a total of 12 fire engines had been called to the scene.

At 9:24 p.m., almost two hours after the fire brigade were first called at 7:26 p.m., it tweeted that crews were making 'steady progress' fighting the fire at the scene, finally announcing at 12:28 a.m. on Thursday that the fire was under control, and had been since 12:02 a.m.

Around 80 firefighters have been called to the scene of a fire in Deptford, southeast London, where a sixth-story flat and its roof have gone up in flames (pictured)

'Two people left the affected flat and firefighters evacuated the rest of the block as a precaution due to the amount of smoke,' said Station Commander Emma Carr, who was at the scene.

'This was a challenging incident due to the fire being in a roof hatch and firefighters worked hard to bring it under control.

'Aerial ladder platforms were used to tackle the blaze in the roof from height,' she added.

Pictured: Flames coming off the roof of the sixth floor flat in Deptford, south east London

Pictured: Firefighters at the scene fight the fire as hoses line the street delivering water

In videos and images shared online by bystanders, flames could be seen engulfing the top of the block of flats and its roof as people gathered outside.

The fire trucks could also be seen in the street with their blue lights flashing, as fire fighters battled the blaze.

Some images showed a tall crane rising above rooftops, spraying water down onto the fire from above.

A drone was reportedly used by firefighters to give an aerial view to assist those working to get the blaze under control.

Nearby residents were able to capture footage of the first from the homes. The footage showed large flames rising from the roof of the flats

One person at the scene tweeted: 'Just went for an evening walk with my kids and witnessed a fire block on flames in Deptford, South East London.

'Another block of flats on fire in London Disappointed but relieved face. Praying all the occupants are safe,' she added, and also shared a video of smoke billowing out from the rooftop.

Half the sixth floor flat and its roof were alight, but images have shown that the fire brigade appeared to be getting the blaze under control.

Left: The fire, pictured from a nearby block of flats, could be seen engulfing the roof of the building. Right: Local residents stand on the streets watching as the fire rages on the roof of the flats

Fire crews used cherry pickets to get above the flats and spray water down on them to tackle the blaze

Emergency responders pictured on the streets below the fire. Over 80 firefighters reportedly arrived on scene to put out the blaze

After first being called about the fire at 07:26 p.m, crews from Deptford, New Cross, Greenwich, Old Kent Road, Lewisham and surrounding fire stations arrived at the scene, the London Fire Brigade said.

Initially, the LFB tweeted saying that eight fire engines and 60 firefighters had been called to the fire, but reinforcements were sent in after the initial report.

The fire brigade's statement said that it received a total of 35 calls about the fire from people in the vicinity.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted on Wednesday evening saying eight fire engines and 60 firefighters had been sent to the blaze on Childers Street, Deptford

Almost two hours after the fire crews were first called to the scene, the London Fire Brigade tweeted that crews were making steady progress in tackling the blaze

Left: Smoke rises from the roof of an apartment block in Deptford, as fire crews spray water up from the road. Right: Residents of an adjacent block of flats lean out of their windows watching as fire crews tackle the blaze
President Donald Trump threatened to withhold funding for Michigan, a crucial 2020 swing state, unless its leaders abandon plans to send applications for absentee ballots to all voters as partisan tension over voting by mail intensifies.

Trump issued the threat in a tweet Wednesday morning that didn't mention an unfolding flooding disaster in the state that could require federal aid. Michigan's secretary of state announced Tuesday that all of the state's 7.7 million registered voters will receive an application to vote by mail in August and November elections, citing the coronavirus pandemic.

The president incorrectly said that the state was sending absentee ballots to state residents, rather than absentee ballot applications. He subsequently issued a similar threat against Nevada, which he said is considering a plan to provide mail-in ballots for its residents.

The threats come as many states are considering expanding access to remote voting amid the coronavirus pandemic, especially after Republicans in Wisconsin refused to do so and held its April 7 primary in person. A number of voters and poll workers later were infected with Covid-19.

Mail-in voting has become a partisan battleground, with Trump leading Republicans in arguing that it is "ripe for fraud" and benefits Democrats, although there is no evidence for either claim. Trump himself voted by mail in Florida's primary election earlier this year.

Trump's belief that voting by mail increases fraudulent voting could lead to him claiming the Nov. 3 general election is illegitimate if he doesn't win, leading to lengthy court battles and dragging out the final result.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said the measure was to ensure that no one in the state "has to choose between their health and their right to vote." About 1.3 million people in Michigan are already on the permanent absentee voter list. "We are fulfilling our responsibility to provide all voters equal access," Benson said.

In 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved an initiative to allow voters to request absentee ballots without an excuse, among other election changes. The application to vote absentee can already be downloaded from the Secretary of State's website.

Trump has regularly criticized Michigan's Democratic governor and spurred on anti-lockdown protests in the state, which is one of the most important in this year's election. The governor, Gretchen Whitmer, is a potential running-mate for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, as is Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

Kellyanne Conway, speaking to reporters at the White House on Wednesday suggested Whitmer was encouraging absentee ballots for political reasons.

"First of all, the governor of Michigan should receive one of those absentee ballot applications because she's very busy auditioning for the next job as Biden's VP when she's denying so many Michiganders to go back to their own job," she said.

Trump's threat comes as the state copes with flooding after the failure of a pair of dams near Midland, Michigan. The deluge led Midland-based Dow Inc. to activate its local emergency center. Whitmer said that downtown Midland could be under nine feet of water by Wednesday.

"The president is there for the Michiganders who are suffering from the flood, suffering from covid, a very hard-hit state, and he certainly is welcome to question why millions and millions of absentee applications are going out. What is everybody afraid of?" Conway said.
Six employees of a private clinic



here and a taxi driver have been put on mandatory 14 days quarantine as a lady gynaecologist running the dispensary tested positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru.

District Medical Officer Dr V Jayashree said the gynaecologist had returned to Karnataka a fortnight ago and tested positive while she was on quarantine there.

Six staff members of the clinic at nearby Thamarassery and the taxi driver who dropped her inBengaluruon May 5 have been asked to go on quarantine, she said.

Patients had visited the clinic, belonging to the gynaecologist and her doctor husband, till April-end.

Sources said the district administration is trying to figure out thecontacts of the gynaecologist, including pregnant women, for being quarantined.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two senior members of the states congressional delegation sent a scathing letter to the head of the Oregon Employment Department on Wednesday, excoriating her agency for its repeated lapses in paying jobless benefits to laid-off workers and for failing to update workers on the status of their claims.

The lack of communication and transparency surrounding the administration of their benefits is what makes unemployed Oregonians overwhelmed and frightened, Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Sen. Ron Wyden wrote in their letter to department director Kay Erickson.

The two Democrats said Congress approved additional benefits as a lifeline for Oregonians during the coronavirus epidemic, a lifeline that has been out of reach for tens of thousands because of indefinite delays in paying benefits.

Failure to clearly communicate and get unemployment benefits out in a timely manner is failing all of us, Blumenauer and Wyden wrote.

The employment department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

Nearly 400,000 Oregonians have applied for jobless benefits since the middle of March, when the coronavirus outbreak began in earnest. The jobless rate was at an all-time high in April, 14.2%.

The crisis has overwhelmed the employment department, which relies on computer systems from the 1990s. The state has acknowledged that its systems routinely give improper guidance and incorrectly deny claims, issues that have to be resolved manually.

The department says nearly 50,000 regular claims remain unprocessed  some dating back to March. And thousands of other claims are unresolved from self-employed workers and contractors who are newly eligible for benefits.

The employment departments phones are hopelessly overloaded  the average hold time spiked to more than 3 hours last week. Most calls never get through and those that do are usually disconnected before callers reach anyone to help with their claims, according to employment department data.

Thats left tens of thousands of Oregonians without any source of income during the pandemic.

Erickson, the department director, has refused several weeks of requests for interviews to explain the fiasco. One of her deputies, David Gerstenfeld, is due to testify next week to a legislative committee.

In their letter, Blumenauer and Wyden wrote that they are sympathetic to the pressures facing the department given the unprecedented volume of jobless claims. But they said they cannot understand why the department isnt doing a better job telling workers what to expect.

Waiting on hold is always frustrating, but waiting on hold to try to find out when you can get a check to buy groceries, medicine and pay for essentials, only to be disconnected, is not acceptable, Blumenauer and Wyden wrote. It is not understandable, nor acceptable, that (the department) has made only limited attempts to do the massive, outward-facing, ongoing communication the public needs to answer Oregonians numerous and justified questions.

Gov. Kate Brown has been largely silent on the crisis at the employment department, except for a brief Twitter apology last month. Her office didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter from Blumenauer and Wyden.

But other Oregon leaders have become increasingly vocal in urging action to address the departments failings.

Oregon House majority leader Barbara Smith Warner called for bold action last week to address the claims backlog and dysfunctional phone system.

Oregon Senate Republican leader Fred Girod noted Tuesday that state auditors had warned repeatedly of problems in the employment department, and that the federal government had funded an $86 million systems upgrade in 2009  most of which is still waiting to be spent on a project that isnt due to wrap up until 2025.

There is no excuse for this bureaucratic failure on a problem that should have been avoided with ample time and resources, and the responsibility rests with Governor Brown and the Oregon Employment Department, Girod wrote. The people of Oregon deserve better.

-- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway |

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.




Good Morning, Nigeria, Welcome To Naija News Roundup Of Top Newspaper Headlines In Nigeria For Today Wednesday, 20th May 2020

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to deploy military personnel to some troubled states in the country.

The lawmakers who made the call during Tuesdays plenary also commended the President for ordering military action against bandits in Katsina State but noted that some other states also needed such strong and decisive actions.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olus government has revealed that nine Coronavirus patients have been discharged in the state.

The development was revealed on Twitter on Tuesday by the ministry of health in the state.

Nigerians have been warned by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, to prepare for the worst, as the Federal Government works to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria.

Ehanire stated this while speaking on Tuesday, during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

A former Presidential aide, Tanko Yakassai, has described President Muhammadu Buhari as an incompetent leader ruling Nigeria.

The elder stateman further stated that the Presidents inability to fix some of the issues he met when he took over power has shown him as an incompetent leader.

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading a bill which seeks to establish a Food Reserve Agency in the country amid Coronavirus in Nigeria.

Naija News reports that the bill which was sponsored by Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), is to ensure food security for Nigeria in order to avert any form of emergency food crises in the future.

Kogi State has only conducted one COVID-19 test since the outbreak of the coronavirus infection in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in the report published by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday where it revealed the number of COVID-19 tests conducted around the country.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has dropped the charged against the two pilots of Caverton Helicopters, Samuel Ugorji and Samuel Buhari.

Recall that the two pilots were remanded by the Chief Magistrate D.D. Ihua-Maduenyi of a Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt remanded after they were charged on four counts for violating the Executive Order of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

Following complaints by different lecturers that the salaries they have been receiving, since the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), is lower than their initial pay, the Federal Government have explained why.

Recall that the lecturers complained about not receiving full salaries in February, March and April, demanding explanations.

The Presidency on Tuesday disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a planned military operation to flush outs bandits in the northwest states of the country.

The military operation is codenamed Operation Accord.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, on Tuesday, noted that research carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health, revealed that some sanitizers in circulation are not up to standard.

Ehanire revealed this while speaking at the media briefing of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 in Abuja today.

Thats the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.

Share this post with your Friends on
A pilots' union chief has told MPs airlines are 'taking advantage' of the coronavirus crisis' impact on the industry in order to cut thousands of jobs.

Brian Strutton, general secretary of Balpa, told MPs that carriers are looking to take advantage of the crisis.

Up to 12,000 jobs at British Airways could be axed, while Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic have announced their own plans to make thousands of staff redundant.

IAG, which owns British Airways, has said it does not expect demand for air travel to recover before 2023, while Gatwick Airport has said it could take up to four years.

Giving evidence to the Commons Transport Select Committee, Mr Strutton said: 'I believe that airlines are exaggerating the problem.

As British Airways planes are grounded at airports across the UK, pilots' union Balpa has said airlines are 'exaggerating' the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the industry

Brian Strutton, general secretary of pilots' union Balpa, answered questions from the Transport Select Committee on Wednesday

'The predictions that some of the airline leaders are saying, of up to a five or six-year recovery, is not in line with industry standard predictions.

'Last week, Iata, the International Air Transport Association  which is usually the touchstone for these things  issued its new projections, and said that by the end of 2022 we would be back to 2019 levels.

'Were in a trough at the moment, we will be coming out of it over the next two-and-a-half years, and I think that airlines are egging the pudding too much to take advantage of the crisis to make changes and downsize their workforce unnecessarily.'

Virgin Atlantic has warned it could stop operating from Gatwick Airport and more than 3,00 jobs after passenger demand dropped amid the Covid-19 crisis

Mr Strutton went on: 'We have threats of job losses starting on the 15th of June.

'The one immediate thing that needs to be done is those knee-jerk decisions taken now  in isolation by different airlines  need to be called out, need to be stopped.

'Government should be saying, "its not the right time to be taking those decisions whilst we work out a holistic way forward for the industry".'

Last week it was revealed senior British Airways cabin crew are facing a staggering 55 per cent pay cut with salaries slashed to 24,000 in yet another blow to the airline industry.

Aviation minister Kelly Tolhurst said the threat of job losses 'keeps her up at night' on Wednesday, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has previously said his airline would be forced to shed 3,000 jobs

The news comes as thousands of British Airways customers are still owed refunds despite the airline suspending most flights in March.

Diana Holland, assistant general secretary for transport at the Unite union, told the committee that she is extremely concerned about the future of the aviation industry.

How coronavirus has affected UK airlines Flybe: Europe's largest regional airline collapsed on March 5 after months on the brink, triggering 2,400 job losses and left around 15,000 passengers stranded across the UK and Europe. British Airways: The International Airlines Group, which also includes Iberia and Aer Lingus, said on March 16 that there would be a 75 per cent reduction in passenger capacity for two months, with boss Willie Walsh admitting there was 'no guarantee that many European airlines would survive'. The company has since said it wants to reduce the number of staff by 12,000. easyJet: The airline with 9,000 UK-based staff including 4,000 cabin crew grounded its entire fleet of 344 planes on March 30. The Luton-based carrier said parking all of its planes 'removes significant cost' as the aviation industry struggles to cope with a collapse in demand. Loganair: The Scottish regional airline said on March 30 that it expects to ask the Government for a bailout to cope with the impact of the pandemic. Jet2: The budget holiday airline has suspended all of its flights departing from Britain until April 30. A number of Jet2 flights turned around mid-air last month while travelling to Spain when a lockdown was announced in the country. Virgin Atlantic: The airline said on March 16 that it would have reduced its lights by 80 per cent by March 26, and this will go up to 85 per cent by April. It has also urged the Government to offer carriers emergency credit facilities worth up to 7.5billion. Ryanair: More than 90 per cent of the Irish-based airline's planes are now grounded, with the rest of the aircraft providing repatriation and rescue flights. Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said his airline would be forced to shed 3,000 jobs while seeking pay reductions of up to 20 per cent by those who remain. But Ryanair has since said it plans to operate 1,000 flights a day this summer - restoring 40 per cent of its flights from July 1, despite indefinite travel restrictions. Advertisement

She said: 'If there isnt revenue coming in to the industry its not just the airlines (affected), its the airports, its everything down the line and of course all the people that work there.

'We are extremely worried about the future, and thats why we need to come together now to look at what plan we have to restart, to rebuild confidence.'

Ms Holland acknowledged that there may be 'temporary changes' to jobs, pay, terms and conditions, but stressed these must not be decimated for the future'.

She added: 'This is about all of us.'

Aviation minister Kelly Tolhurst told MPs that she has been contacted by many aviation workers in recent weeks, and the threat of job losses 'keeps me awake at night'.

She went on: 'I am under no illusions to the impact and the concern that those individuals will be feeling at that time, and what the consequences could be for some of them.

'My priority is very much how we work with industry and all stakeholders in that restart and recovery process.

'It is my top priority. There are many, many challenges, some which will be not easy to overcome.

'But ultimately we need to work together as an industry and internationally, in order to get our planes up and flying again, our airports working, and also keeping our workforce in work.'

At the start of May Virgin Atlantic announced 3,150 jobs could go and operations may cease at Gatwick Airport.

The company said uncertainty over when flying will resume as well as 'unprecedented market conditions' as a result of the coronavirus pandemic had 'severely reduced revenues'.

Virgin Atlantic's chief executive Shai Weiss said: 'We have weathered many storms since our first flight 36 years ago, but none has been as devastating as Covid-19 and the associated loss of life and livelihood for so many.

'However, to safeguard our future and emerge a sustainably profitable business, now is the time for further action to reduce our costs, preserve cash and to protect as many jobs as possible.

'It is crucial that we return to profitability in 2021. I wish it was not the case, but we will have to reduce the number of people we employ.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 15:42:02|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HANOI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The ninth session of the 14th National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam opened here on Wednesday in the form of video conference, to discuss important social-economic issues besides regular legislative work.

"First, the NA will review additional social-economic and state budget reports for 2019, and discuss reports on the implementation results of development and budget plans in early 2020," NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said at the sitting's opening ceremony held online.

Ngan noted that 2020 is the last year of the five-year socio-economic development plan 2016-2020, calling NA deputies to research, analyze thoroughly, discuss carefully to identify effective directions and solutions to recover the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to the achievement of goals and targets of the five-year plan and creating conditions for development in the next period.

"Second, the legislative body will discuss and adopt 10 laws and a number of resolutions, and review six draft laws," she said.

In addition, the NA will also vote to ratify three international agreements, namely the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and another on Vietnam's joining of the International Labor Organization's Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labor.

Third, the NA will conduct thematic oversight on the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, noted Ngan.

Presenting a report to the top legislature, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that as impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the country were severe, the 6.8-percent economic growth target set for 2020 is hard to be achieved. Hence, the government suggested that the NA adjusts the target, besides such indicators as budget collection, budget deficit and public debts.

The NA session will be held online until May 29, and deputies will gather at the NA building in Hanoi for plenary meetings from June 8 to 18, Vietnam News Agency reported. Enditem
Nepal has imposed curfew in Kapilavastu district in view of the increasing number of Corona positives in the country. In Kapilvastu alone, 21 people have been infected. Nepal has now sealed the international border with India's escalation till May 31. So far, 357 Corona positives have been found in Nepal. In this, 36 have gone right to their homes. Two people, including a woman, have died.

CM Yogi says this to prevent road accidents

According to Dr. Sameer Kumar Adhikari, co-spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal, a woman from Sindhupalchok district and a young man from Banke district have died. The Chief District Magistrate of Kapilvastu, Long Narayan Paudel said that the interim border of Dong, Puthan, Rupandehi in Kapilvastu district adjoining Siddharthnagar of India has also been sealed.

Uttar Pradesh government accused of not understanding the pain of labours

A total of 106 people of Nepal have been quarantined at various four places in Siddharthnagar district. 40 people have been kept in the ashram method school. 25 people are in increase, the other two are in schools. Due to the border seal, Nepali citizens will have to wait for their return home. Kapilvastu MP Abhishek Pratap Shah says that this is the second biggest disaster in Nepal after the earthquake. Nepal has lost billions of rupees due to this. The tourism industry has suffered a major setback due to the deepening of the Corona crisis. Tourist places in Nepal including Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Lumbini are lost. 70% of the economic source is the hotel and tourism industry.

Schrader, Ryan Courser earn party nominations for Oregon's 5th
<! Doctors attending to Coronavirus patient >

No fewer than eight doctors are confirmed to have tested positive to coronavirus disease in Zamfara, the states branch of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has said.

The NMA Vice-Chairman in the state, Dr Mannir Bature, made the disclosure during a chat with journalists in Gusau on Wednesday.

He said: Out of about 80 confirmed cases recorded so far in the state, 10 per cent are doctors who came into contact with the virus in the line of duty while trying to save lives especially at emergencies.

We are however happy to note that out of the number, sixty per cent have been discharged from hospital while the remaining are fast responding to treatment, he said.

Bature also said 30 other doctors who came into contact with their infected colleagues went into self isolation in order to curb further spread of the virus in the state.

This situation has seriously caused negative impact on the performance of doctors in the state, especially in this period of the pandemic because we only have a total of about 300 doctors in the state, including those at the Federal Medical Center, Gusau, those at state government health facilities and those in private practice.

This is partly why as an association we proposed to the state government under the leadership of Governor Bello Matawalle to engage more doctors and other health personnel as well as sponsor the training of indigent students in medicine so as to boost the number of doctors and improve the healthcare indices of the state, he stated.
Ellen Amoah

20.05.2020 LISTEN

A General Arts student in Form Two at Kumasi Girls' Senior High School, Ellen Amoah, has had her lower lip bitten off by a 'violent' Form Two student of Islamic Senior High School in Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital.

The suspect, Itikan Hussein, also 17, has since been arrested by the police at Suame.

Narrating the sad incident to DAILY GUIDE, the victim, who could hardly speak, said she had lived in the same vicinity with the suspect at Bohyen, a suburb of Kumasi for the past two years.

The suspect, she alleged, had tried to fight her ever since her family relocated to Bohyen about two years ago, claiming I do not really know the crime I have committed against her.

On Wednesday, May, 13, this year, Itikan allegedly rained insults on the victim and her younger sister all day and vowed to beat the two sisters wherever she met them.

At about 9:30 pm the same day, the suspect started a quarrel with the younger sister of the victim called Akua and when the victim who was attending to the call of nature at a public toilet got to the scene, the suspect turned to her (victim) and began to insult her too.

I collected 50 pesewas from my mum to attend to the call of nature and when I got out, I saw Itikan insulting my sister so I told her to escort me to the toilet. As soon as I said this, Itikan called me 'sickler, you are the one I am looking for, she recounted.

She claimed before she could utter a word, Itikan and her other sister rushed on them and started beating them while their mother was allegedly standing nearby watching them fight.

The victim said the mother of the suspect allegedly held her hands at the back while her daughter punched her repeatedly.

I felt a sharp pain on my lower lips and when I said 'Itikan has bitten off my lips, the suspect's mother told me she wished her daughter had chewed off my mouth', the victim alleged.

The victim was later rescued by her brother, Richard Amoah, who rushed to the scene and took her sister home.

She was rushed to the County Hospital at Abrepo for treatment after which her brother lodged a formal complaint at the Suame Police Station where the statements of both the victim and the suspect had been taken.

Meanwhile, a source at the police station that confirmed the incident said the suspect would be given a police enquiry bail before she would be arraigned.

---Daily Guide
The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation

Washington: The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

On 1 April, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the US received nearly 275,000 unique registration requests for the Congressional mandated 85,000 H-1B visas for foreign technology professionals, of which more than 67 per cent are from India.

The National Foundation for American Policy said that the findings of its new research should give pause to policymakers considering imposing additional restrictions on the H-1B programme.

The Trump administration has been planning new restrictions on the H-1B visas premised on the argument that foreign-born scientists and engineers harm the job prospects of US college graduates.

Click here to follow LIVE news and updates on stock markets

There is little reason to think doing so will help American workers, the think-tank said in its latest research.

The H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, according to new research. On the contrary, the evidence points to the presence of H-1B visa holders being associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates, the report said.

Further, the results suggest that, if anything, being in a field with more H-1B visa-holders makes it more likely that US-born young college graduates work in a job closely related to their college major, it said.

The study uses data from 2005 to 2018 to examine how the number of approved petitions to hire the H-1B visa-holders as a share of college graduates within each of 22 occupations affects the unemployment rate and earnings growth rate in those occupations.

An increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa within an occupation, on average, reduces the unemployment rate in that occupation, the report said.

The results indicate that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa in an occupation reduces the unemployment rate by about 0.2 percentage points.

The findings suggest the presence of H-1B visa holders boosts employment among other workers in an occupation. The results provide no evidence that the H-1B programme has an adverse impact on labour market opportunities for US workers, it added.

The report also said that a larger share of the H-1B visa-holders, therefore, may push up wages and wage growth for US workers. While critics often allege that H-1B visas reduce wages or suppress wage growth, this finding of the opposite is consistent with research showing that the H-1B visa-holders earn at least as much as similar US workers, if not more.

The results further indicate that the H-1B visa-holders do not adversely affect US-born college graduates during the early years of their careers. Having more approved total or initial H-1B petitions, on average, reduces the unemployment rate within a major-occupation for recent graduates.

It provides no evidence that recent college graduates have worse labour market outcomes if there are more H-1B visa-holders in jobs closely related to their college major, the report said.

Noting that the results of the research indicate that the H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, the report said that the H-1B programme is small relative to the size of the college-graduate workforce, likely accounting for at most two per cent of highly educated US workers.

The H-1B visa-holders are concentrated in computer-related occupations but account for only a small share of workers in information technology (IT) jobs. Despite the H-1B programme's small scale, the visa category is important to the US economy and to employers that use it to fill gaps in their workforce.

The presence of the H-1B visa-holders increases innovation, productivity and profits at H-1B employers and boosts total productivity and innovation in the United States.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - Altamira Gold Corp.'s (TSXV: ALTA) (FSE: T6UP) (OTC PINK: EQTRF), ("Altamira" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the second environmental permit required for the trial mining licenses with respect to claim 866.070/2004 for its advanced Cajueiro gold project in northern Mato Grosso state in western Brazil. Highlights are as follows:

As recently announced, permits are in place for the construction of a 1000t/d processing plant at the Cajueiro gold project which is fully funded and expected to commence during H2 2020

The publication of a second environmental permit at the Cajueiro project area gives Altamira the right to extract additional material from a larger area including all of the Crente resource

The second environmental permit has now been presented to the ANM mining authorities in Brazil and the Company is awaiting the approval of the second Trial Mining License, which will allow Altamira to process a total of 100,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year

Michael Bennett, Altamira Gold's President and CEO commented, "The publication of the second Environmental License on our flagship Cajueiro project is yet another important milestone for the Company as we advance towards trial mining and gold production during late 2021 and demonstrates that Brazil has in the last twelve months accelerated it's mining and environmental permitting system. The second bulk sampling license will enable Altamira to produce 100,000 tonnes of ore during the initial year of mining and will help to reach the goal of achieving short term cash flow."

On 27th April 2020, Altamira announced a US$6M gold forward purchase agreement deal with Metalstream Inc. to fund the construction of a 1,000 tonne-per-day processing plant and commence mining of the oxide resources at the Cajueiro project. Prior to this recent announcement, the Company has made a number of important advances in the project permitting process and announced receipt of an environmental permit for the first (claim 866.160/2007) of a total of four licenses on 16th October 2019. Granting of the environmental permit is an important requisite step for the granting of a Trial Mining License and on 16th January 2020 a Trial Mining License was issued for license 866.160/2007.

Story continues





Figure 1 Map showing claims covering the Cajueiro project area

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/56191_02fe1a4e74d1ea6c_001full.jpg

The new environmental permit (claim 866.070/2004) covers the northern part of the Crente deposit (Indicated resources of 2.6Mt @ 1.31 g/t gold representing 58% of the total Indicated resource at Cajueiro, and Inferred resources of 3.4Mt @ 1.28 g/t gold representing 27% of the total Inferred resource) and paves the way for the issuance of the second Trial Mining License which is anticipated later this year (see Figure 1).

Two additional environmental permit applications are currently pending, which cover the Baldo and Matrincha resource areas and will pave the way for the granting of two additional Trial Mining Licences. The granting of two additional Trial Mining Licenses at Cajueiro will allow Altamira to increase production to a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year.

Altamira's most recent NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate was completed in October 2019 by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. ("GRE"), and totals 5,661,000t @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz of gold (Indicated) and 12,665,000t @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz of gold (Inferred). The resources are confined to an area of approximately 285 ha whilst the total area comprising the Cajueiro concession area amounts to 28,559 ha and hosts numerous untested targets.

A production decision at Cajueiro is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, and as a result there is increased uncertainty and there are multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with this production decision. These risks, among others, include areas that are analyzed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves, more detailed metallurgy and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts. In accordance with NI 43-101 and the companion policy to that instrument, Altamira cannot provide any guidance either in terms of anticipated gold production or net cash flows.

Chief Financial Officer

The Company is pleased to welcome the appointment of Ms. Soraia Morais as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), effective immediately. Ms. Morais replaces Michael O'Brien. The Board would like to thank Mr. O'Brien for his efforts on behalf of the Company.

Ms. Morais is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CMA with over 15 years of experience in accounting and financial management. She started working in the resource sector in 2009. Prior to that, she accumulated an extensive business background including managing her own business and spending 5 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers Brazil. She is a dual citizen of Canada and Brazil and fluent in English and Portuguese, with working knowledge of Spanish. She has a Diploma in Accounting from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences from Brazil.

Qualified Person

Guillermo Hughes, P. Geo., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Altamira Gold Corp.

The Company is focused on the exploration and development of gold projects within western central Brazil. The Company holds 11 projects comprising approximately 290,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated 7 to 10Moz of placer gold. The Company's advanced Cajueiro project has NI 43-101 resources of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz in the Inferred Resource category.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

ALTAMIRA GOLD CORP.

"Michael Bennett"

Michael Bennett

President & CEO

Tel: 604.676.5660

Toll-Free: 1-833-606-6271

info@altamiragold.com

www.altamiragold.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56191
Austin Channing Brown has said on many occasions that the state of racial injustice in America means that doing nothing is no longer an option. Her comments are particularly poignant for White Christians and the churches that they occupy.

We need look no further than a few short weeks ago at the murder of Ahmaud Arbery to see the atrocities of racial injustice in this country. Ahmaud is one name among countless of other un-armed black men and women who have been unjustly targeted and murdered by white people who believed that these black men and women were not permitted to be in the space they were occupying.

(https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/unarmed

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-08-15/police-shootings-are-a-leading-cause-of-death-for-black-men)

So, in response to her call to do nothing, this is my something. I am hosting a series of conversations with African American leaders in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.

This week, I converse with my friend Dr. Steven Moore. He is an English professor who teaches undergraduate, graduate, and honors courses at Abilene Christian University. He is the author of The Cry of Black Rage and a best-selling childrens book called Theodore Thumbs and the sequel Theodore Thumbs and the Yellow Balloon.

Here is a portion of our conversation.

Kelly: What is the first thing that you felt, thought and did after hearing about Ahmaud Arbery?

Steven: After hearing about the tragic death of Ahmaud Abrey, I immediately felt immense sadness, frustration, anger, disappointment, and loss. I was heartbroken that another Black soul, another Black body would be buried beneath the soil. I wondered why another unarmed African American with so many rich gifts and talents was killed. There is a staggering number of our Black brothers and sisters who might have become scientists, lawyers, teachers, or business leaders that have died needlessly, who have died because of the color of their skin.

Image: Personal photo

Kelly: What angers you about the race conversation in churches?

Steven: What angers me about the continuing conversation of race in our churches is that too many of my White Christian brothers and sisters remain silent on this issue. When we see national coverage of unarmed Black men and women being killed, some White Christians pause briefly and reflect on the absurdity of each situation. However, too soon they return to posting pictures of their petunias or photos of their smiling children playing hopscotch on the streets that were eerily quiet just hours before because of the tragic news of an unarmed black boy being killed. Could these White Christians at least say something about the unarmed black boys body lying in the street with his blood pouring into the cracks? While posting pictures of summer flowers on Facebook or on social media, they need to use their white influence and their white privilege to speak out against racial injustices.

I am also angered whenever White ministers do not boldly address racism or racial incidents from the pulpit. Think about this: how many White ministers you know have spoken something about the sickening unnecessary death of Ahmaud Abrey? Furthermore, my White brothers and sisters need to educate themselves and read from such authors as Race Matters by Cornel West, Killing Rage, Ending Racism by bell hooks, Im Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown , The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White People by Michael Eric Dyson, White Fragility: Why Its So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo. After reading and studying, they will become aware of the overwhelming statistics that prove that Blacks are still oppressed today because of racism. My fellow Christians need to use their White influence and get involved politically to change the laws and practices that continue to leave Blacks behind bars. They need to use their White privilege to visit school boards and urge them to develop a diverse curriculum. They need to use their power to eliminate racism at the core of many organizations and structures today. I want my White Christian brothers and sisters to remember that your prayers and worship are in vain when you do nothing to seek justice and to help those who are being oppressed (Isaiah 1:12-17).

Kelly: What gives me hope?

Steven: I praise God that I have hope because of the shed blood of my risen Savior. I remind myself that All things are possible with God (Mark 10:27). I believe that God can soften the hearts and open the eyes of all people so that we can join the crusade and eliminate racism in our world.

Want Steven to come and speak at your event? https://www.rrgconsult.com/copy-of-jim-davis-keynote-speaking

Find the full conversation between Steven and I on video here: https://youtu.be/r1k6HTGbrWM
Nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens have been brought home after being stranded in India due to travel restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The repatriation was the result of coordination between Vietnamese and Indian authorities, Vietnamese representative offices in India, and national carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Passengers aboard the flight included children under the age of 18, the elderly, sick people, pregnant women, students, Buddhist monks, stranded tourists, and those whose visas had expired but could not leave the country.

Their flight landed at Can Tho International Airport, located in the Mekong Delta, on Wednesday morning.

All passengers and members of the flight crew were required to follow certain safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

After completing immigration procedures and filling out health declaration forms at the airport, the Vietnamese citizens were brought to a local quarantine camp for a mandatory 14-day isolation period.

Multiple flights have been operated over the past weeks to bring home Vietnamese citizens who had been stranded in other countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 540 citizens were evacuated from the United States and Europe last weekend; their flights landed in Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnam will continue arranging for flights to bring home its citizens in the coming weeks, depending on the pandemic situation, the countrys quarantine capacity, and the demand for repatriation of Vietnamese citizens in foreign countries.

The number of COVID-19 patients in Vietnam remained at 324 as of Wednesday morning, with 264 having recovered. No deaths from the disease have been reported.

No new infections in the community have been documented in the Southeast Asian country for the past 34 days.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Hills Steve Clemons interviewed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield on May 19, 2020.

Screenshot/The Hill

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said in an interview with The Hill on Tuesday that the nation is ready to begin reopening if it adheres to CDC guidelines.

Over the weekend, the CDC released a 60-page document outlining how states can begin to lift lockdowns safely.

Speaking to The Hill, Redfield said that community-based transmission that "overwhelmed the public health departments in late February, March, and April" was decreasing.

Still, Redfield said that as the US begins to reopen, it will need to enhance its contact tracing and testing capabilities in the months ahead as the US transitions into winter.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield said on Tuesday that the US is ready to begin to reopen but warned that the country needs to prepare for the months ahead by investing in rapid testing and contact tracing.

The CDC released a 60-page document over the weekend with guidelines on how states can begin to reopen safely, including enhancing social distancing measures in schools, minimizing customer contact at bars and restaurants, and lowering capacity on public transportation.

During an interview with The Hill, Redfield said that the nation is ready to begin reopening if it adheres to CDC guidelines.

"CDC is putting out guidance," Redfield said. "I want to clarify that the community-based transmission, the community to community transmission that overwhelmed the public health departments in late February, March, April  that's really coming down."

Redfield said that the CDC and state public health systems are now focused on "fighting outbreaks" within certain communities, like nursing homes, or events, like weddings.

"We're going to continue to do that over the summer," he said.

Story continues

Still, Redfield said that as the US begins to reopen, it will need to enhance its contact tracing and testing capabilities in the months ahead as the US transitions into winter.

"In the fall/winter, we're going to need a much more robust [contact tracing] workforce because we're going to make the mission that we're going to stay in containment," he said. "I believe we're going to get there. The testing has to be readily available, and it's increasing."

In order to enhance US public health infrastructure, Redfield said that the US needs to invest in the "modernization of our data system," "laboratory resilience" for testing, and a "public health workforce" to monitor contact tracing and vaccine distribution.

"We need to have them in place for the fall and winter as we confront both COVID and flu," he said.

Redfield said states are going to be required to present a plan that "will be due at the end of May" outlining their plans for continued testing and contact tracing. According to Redfield, those plans will include "aggressive surveillance" of the disease spread and a tripling of the current number of contact tracers from 30,000 to 100,000.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to jumpstart the US economy after months of coronavirus stay-at-home measures put into place by state governments, and all 50 states have started easing restrictions. Georgia, South Carolina, and Montana have fully lifted restrictions, and others including Texas, Maine, and Illinois have partially reopened. Several states, including Arkansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, never issued statewide stay-at-home orders.

But experts have warned that reopening too quickly could see a resurgence of the virus in a second wave, a particular concern for the US which has seen over 1.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 91,000 deaths across its 50 states.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Video communication service Google Meet passed 50 million downloads on the Play Store recently.

According to Mashable, touched 5 million installs in March, and soon passed 10 million downloads in 20 days.

Due to the social distancing measures caused by Covid-19 pandemic  instead of booking meeting rooms, people are now sending invites for Google Meet and hold meetings and conferences virtually via digital means.

As a result, more and more people have been downloading group video calling applications to meet their work requirements.

As per a recent report by Android Police, the Google-owned video calling app had 10 million downloads towards the end of March. As of May 17, the number of downloads increased significantly. This is contrary to the early attention which was received by Microsoft Teams and Zoom in the very beginning. A spike has been witnessed since Google made the application easily accessible to people.

Moreover, the company has made the service free of cost for everyone. However, it was earlier meant only for enterprises and students who used the group video calling application for educational purposes, and it eventually propelled people to download this app when compared to its competitors. It has also been integrated with Gmail and can be seen on the left sidebar panel of Gmail.
Annie Glenn, the widow of astronaut and US Senator John Glenn and a communication disorders advocate, died Tuesday of complications from Covid-19. She was 100.

Glenn died at a nursing home near St Paul, Minnesota, said Hank Wilson, a spokesman for the Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.

At the time of John Glenns death in 2016, the two had been married 73 years. She had moved out of the apartment they shared in Columbus in recent years and gone to live with her daughter, Lyn, according to Wilson.

Annie Glenn was thrust into the spotlight in 1962, when her husband became the first American to orbit Earth. She shied away from the media attention because of a severe stutter.

Later, she underwent an intensive programme at the Communications Research Institute at Hollins College, now Hollins University, in Roanoke, Virginia, that gave her the skills to control her stutter and to speak in public.

By the time 77-year-old John Glenn returned to space in 1998 aboard space shuttle Discovery, Annie showed she had become comfortable in her public role when she acknowledged that she had reservations about the retired senators second flight.

John had announced one year before that he was going to retire as a senator, so I was looking forward to having him as my own because I had given him to our government for 55 years, she told a NASA interviewer.

Her career in advocacy for those with communication disorders included service on the advisory boards of numerous child abuse and speech and hearing organisations. The Annie Glenn Award was created to honour individuals who overcome a communication disorder.

Defense Secretary William Cohen honoured Annie Glenn with the Department of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1998. He called her a hero in her own right and praised her for being a strong voice for children, speech and communications, and the disabled. In 2009, Glenn received an honorary doctorate of public service from Ohio State, where she served as an adjunct professor of speech pathology in the Department of Speech and Hearing Science. The department bestows an Annie Glenn Leadership Award annually.

Glenn was born Anna Margaret Castor on February 17, 1920, in Columbus. She met her husband while they were children growing up in New Concord. She was offered an organ scholarship to The Julliard School, but World War II began and John proposed  so she decided to stay with him, according to a biography on the Glenn Colleges website. The high school sweethearts attended Muskingum College and were married in 1943. They had two children, David and Lyn.

The Glenns served on the board of trustees of the college, now Muskingum University, and Annie Glenn was named a distinguished alumni fellow in speech communications at the school.

A virtual memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2020, at 11 am EDT. The service will be officiated by the Rev. Amy Miracle, pastor for the Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus. The memorial will be virtual with no parishioners or guests in attendance due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

She is survived by her two children.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A bride has shared her horror after she found out her mother was wearing a white dress to her wedding, dubbing her mum's look 'more bridal' than her own.

The CEO of the Australian fashion label Showpo, Jane Lu, from Sydney, documented her experience of discovering her mother's wedding outfit on Tik Tok, explaining that she only found out on the morning of the big day.

'This is my dress from Showpo. I just went to look at my mum's dress,' Jane said on the video as she unzipped a dry cleaning bag with her mother's outfit inside.

'It's more bridal than mine!' she exclaimed, as her friends giggled in the background.

Scroll down for video

A bride has shared her horror after she discovered her mother wore a white dress to her wedding, dubbing her mum's look 'more bridal' than her own (Jane Lu pictured at her wedding)

Showpo CEO and founder Jane Lu, from Sydney, documented her experience of discovering her mother's wedding outfit on Tik Tok, explaining that she only found out on the morning of the wedding (Jane pictured on the morning of her wedding and her mum at her wedding)

One of Jane's friends cheekily asked the 33-year-old fashion CEO whether Jane's mum was 're-marrying Frank and renewing her vows' because of the look of her dress.

Jane said: 'My dress was quite simple... hers looked way more bridal!' as she pointed towards her mother's lacy outfit.

Jane added the hashtags #weddingfail and #motherofthebride to her video.

Jane said while she opted for quite a 'simple' dress (pictured on her wedding day, her mother's choice was much more elaborate and 'bridal' in its look

The video has racked up an impressive 165,000 views already, with many commenting to say that Jane looked like a 'guest' at her own nuptials (Jane pictured with her bridesmaids)

The video has racked up an impressive 165,000 views online, with many commenting to say that Jane looked like a 'guest' at her own nuptials.

'My mum did the same! Her dress was even whiter than mine! I didn't care though! It was like "whatever",' one woman posted.

'I would be FURIOUS. Would not talk until she apologised,' another added.

A third said Jane was a 'good daughter' because she would have 'thrown wine all over it' when she saw the dress.

'I would just have had it dyed and surprised her,' another added.

Jane tied the knot last October, at a lavish ceremony at Seargents Mess in Mosman, Sydney, surrounded by her closest friends and family (the couple pictured on their wedding day)

Wanting their wedding to be 'big and fun' Jane and James included stunning pastel displays in their reception florals and table settings, as well as the arbour they stood before to say 'I do'

Jane tied the knot last October, at a lavish ceremony at Seargents Mess in Mosman, Sydney, surrounded by her closest friends and family.

The CEO of Australian fashion label Showpo wed the CFO of the multi-million dollar company, James Waldie, wearing a $299.95 wedding dress from her own brand.

The 33-year-old, who started Showpo eight years ago, chose to wear the 'Fairy Tale Gown', which launched as part of their Wedding Shop earlier this year.

Her bridesmaids, who were all wearing various shades of pale pink, had also chosen their ensembles from the Showpo racks.

'After launching our Wedding Shop this year it would be crazy of me not to wear Showpo,' Jane told FEMAIL at the time.

'I was so lucky to be able to have the exact dress I wanted as I worked closely with our in-house designers here.'

The CEO of Australian fashion label Showpo wed the CFO of the multi-million dollar company, James Waldie, wearing a $299.95 wedding dress from her own brand (pictured)

Her bridesmaids, who were all wearing various shades of pale pink, also chose their ensembles from the Showpo racks (pictured before they changed into their bridesmaid dresses)

The married couple met while on an exchange trip to Sweden in 2008, with James bending one knee on a romantic gondola ride in Queensland a decade later.

Wanting their wedding to be 'big and fun' Jane and James included stunning pastel displays in their reception florals and table settings, as well as the arbour they stood before to say 'I do'.

'Our laid-back personality was also reflected in the theme and styling of the event,' Jane said.

'I really didn't think I'd be one of those brides who say my wedding day was the best day of my life but it really was. Everything was perfect and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face all day.'
This is the moment Rolls-Royce's chief executive smirked while discussing 9,000 aerospace job losses in a disastrous BBC TV interview this afternoon.

Warren East, 58, stared off camera as he was questioned by the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire over the number of job cuts to the aerospace giant's workforce in the UK.

It follows Rolls-Royce saying today it plans to cut at least 9,000 jobs in the latest blow to the aviation industry, as it continues to be hammered by the coronavirus crisis.

The Derby-based manufacturer, which has 52,000 employees worldwide, said it had been forced to conduct a 'major reorganisation' of the business to adapt to a fall in demand for its engines as planes remain grounded.

Warren East, 58, pictured staring off camera as he was questioned by the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire this afternoon over the number of cuts to the aerospace giant's jobs in the UK

Rolls-Royce's chief executive pictured during the BBC interview, in which he appeared to smirk while being questioned over the number of civil aerospace job losses in the UK

Discussing the number of civil aerospace job losses in the UK, Ms Derbyshire began: 'So just under 3,000 in civil aerospace in the UK, not cuts, the total out of the 8,000.

'Of those 3,000, how many will go?'

The chief executive appeared to smirk and look off-camera, before replying: 'Approximately two thirds of our total civil aerospace workforce is in the UK, and so that's a good first proxy for the number of people who will be unfortunately losing their jobs in the UK.'

The BBC host asked: 'But it is thousands of job losses?'

Mr East confirmed: 'It is thousands of job losses, there's nothing we can do about that. I mean the scale of this is terrible.'

The interview sparked backlash amongst social media users, with one tweeting: 'If youre a CEO doing a live BBC interview: 1) dont have someone distracting you 2) dont laugh while announcing 9,000 job losses.'

One commented: 'Simply unprofessional. No excuse for this level of performance.'

Another wrote: 'Oh wow.'

A third added: 'How ridiculous and unprofessional!'

Rolls-Royce employs 24,000 staff in the UK, around 16,000 of whom are aerospace engineers. However, it is not yet fully known how many jobs will be cut here.

During the BBC interview, Mr East confirmed there will be 'thousands of job losses' in the company's UK civil aerospace sector, adding: 'I mean the scale of this is terrible'

BBC presenter Ms Derbyshire, above, asked: 'It is thousands of job losses?' Mr East sparked backlash online after smirking and staring off camera during the interview

Rolls-Royce said the cuts could result in 700 million in savings towards an overall aim of 1.3 billion in annual savings.

It said it will also cut spending across its plant, property and other areas to strengthen its finances.

Mr East earlier said: 'This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it.

'Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.

'Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.

'But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.'

Rolls-Royce CEO, Warren East - pictured in 2018 - said the job cuts were necessary to protect the company's future amid the huge slump in demand for the company's plane engines caused by coronavirus

The job losses would mostly take place in its civil aerospace business, the company said, as it started consultations with unions.

Market strategist Bill Blain, from Shard Capital, said: 'The thousands of jobs being cut by Rolls-Royce is a tragedy, but it will dwarfed by the impact felt across the UK small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

'Rolls Royce sub-contracts work to a multitude of SMEs across the UK, some quite specialist. This is the problem the UK is facing. When one big company contracts, the ripple effect is felt across the nation.

'The Chancellor will need to come up with a long-term package to help these highly specialised and focused companies while they innovate new products and find new customers.'

The global aviation industry has taken a battering from the impact of coronavirus, with most airlines only going ahead with a handful of flights.

Britons have been warned against all but essential travel, in line with many other countries, while the prospect of a compulsory two-week quarantine for people returning to the UK could put even more people off flying.

It is estimated that 140million fewer passengers will take to the air this year, hitting the sector with an estimated 21.1billion in lost revenue.

Rolls-Royce said it expects the job losses from its global workforce of 52,000 as part of a 'major reorganisation' of the business to adapt to a fall in demand. Pictured is one of the company's Trent XWB being built at its factory in Derby in 2016

Rolls-Royce's rival, Airbus, revealed in April it is 'bleeding cash' and feared its very existence was under threat.

Airbus employs 13,500 people in the UK, including in Broughton, North Wales, and Filton, Bristol, where wings for commercial aircraft are designed, tested and built.

Both Airbus and Rolls-Royce have lobbied the government on behalf of Virgin Atlantic, a customer, after Sir Richard Branson's airline asked for a 500m bailout.

Meanwhile, senior British Airways cabin crew are facing a staggering 55 per cent pay cut with salaries slashed to 24,000.

Airline bosses wrote to employees outlining the potential new salaries, and announced they are consulting unions over possible job cuts, with 4,700 jobs on the line.

Crew numbers could be nearly halved from 1,860 to 971 and main crew numbers risk being cut from 12,402 to 8,591 as the airline grapples to stay afloat amid strict travel restrictions.

Elsewhere, Tui is cutting up to 8,000 jobs, while 16,000 face the axe at plane maker Boeing and 3,000 at Ryanair.
Masked waiters served a trickle of customers sitting safely apart at newly-opened cafes while some pupils returned to school at staggered times during Portugals start of a second phase of exit from coronavirus lockdown.

Still, an abundance of rules to prevent a new wave of infection - such as capacity limits for restaurants - showed life was still far from normal.

On the cobbled, pedestrian streets of Lisbon, usually packed with tourists on a sunny May day, businesses competed for the few Portuguese customers heading out for lunch.

Its been complicated, said Miguel Mendes, manager of a normally packed cafe and restaurant off busy Rua Augusta, which was serving a dozen people on Monday after surviving on takeaways for the last two months.

We made less in a week than we would on one good summers day, added Mendes.

A 20-minute tram ride down the road, staff equipped with masks and visors at famous custard tart shop Pasteis de Belem squeezed sanitiser onto the hands of customers, at least spared the usual long wait by the lack of tourists.

Tourists were 50% of our clientele, at times more, CEO Miguel Clarinha said. But what matters is having customers, and our Portuguese customers are very important to us.

Emboldened by the slowdown of cases - now at 29,209 confirmed with 1,231 deaths - the governments second phase also includes opening kindergartens, shops up to 400 square metres, museums and art galleries.

Portugals tourism-dependent, export-oriented economy suffered huge losses under lockdown, with gross domestic product (GDP) contracting 3.9% between January and March compared to the last quarter of 2019.

Some 115,000 people have lost jobs.

BRUTAL IMPACT

The effect of the lockdown on our economy has been brutal, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Monday outside the central Lisbon restaurant he had chosen for his first meal out.

The Socialist government is discussing with opposition parties further stimulus after so far providing 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) worth of credit and funding for salaries, as well as suspending rents for vulnerable households and cash-strapped firms until September.

But credit lines and rent will need to be repaid, and businesses fear they will not make enough in coming months to cover costs and pay back debts, let alone make a profit.

The truth is that it is not enough. And the expenses are always there ... water, electricity, said Jorge Costa, manager of Leitaria restaurant.

Students in the last two years of high school returned for face-to-face classes from the morning, lining up outside school gates for temperature checks before going in.

These safety measures make sense. You have to have them because we need face-to-face classes to prepare for exams, said Bernardo Cruz, 17, as he waited to get in to Dom Pedro V Secondary School in Lisbon.

Gloved and masked staff handed out face gear to students who had forgotten theirs.

Ive been dying to get back to classes ... we are used to understanding looks, expressions, added maths teacher Dulce Sousa at the same school. I hope they learned something online but nothing substitutes a teacher.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. )

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Cartoon the elephant found the best way to relieve an itch was to rub her entire body against a tree.

The 58-year-old Asian elephant scratched thick mud off her ams and legs before giving her head a good rub against a branch in a heartwarming video.

Fiona Hardie shot the footage at the new Samui Elephant Sanctuary in Koh Samui, Southern Thailand.

Cartoon the Asian elephant found the best way to get at an itch was to scratch her head against a branch in Koh Samui, Southern Thailand

She uses the tree to scratch behind her ear, rubbing her jaw against the bark to clean herself

The 58-year-old, mud-covered elephant scratches her whole body against a tree in a hilarious way

Cartoon lifts her front left leg up to scratch her armpit before sliding her whole body down the tree to get at her back leg.

She gives her leg a scratch before turning around to start rubbing behind her right ear.

Clearly enjoying herself with her mouth hanging open, she scratches her head up and down.

She then walks towards the camera, rubbing her head against a branch while scratching her back leg at the same time.

Cartoon starts her scratching session by lifting her front leg up to relieve an itch in her arm pit

She slides her whole body down the trunk before doing the same with her hind legs, making sure not to miss a spot

Australian-born Fiona, who now lives in Hong Kong, said: 'Other than feeling pure joy, for me, it's really thinking about how Cartoon must have felt.

'I believe elephants have the presence of mind to understand their situation. I love that she can just be an elephant, just how it should be.'

Cartoon was rescued from a working life giving rides to tourists and will live out her retirement in comfort at the Sanctuary, with Asian elephants capable of living to 80 years of age.

Australian-born Fiona Hardie, who now lives in Hong Kong, took the video and says she loved seeing Cartoon act so naturally

Fiona runs social media platform Elephant Stories with Fiona, a Facebook page 'dedicated to the love of elephants as sentient beings'.

She said: 'I love this video. It gives me the opportunity to witness natural behaviour by observing them, for example, watching them scratch.

'Every elephant has a story. I love to share this in the hope we can all understand more about these sentient animals.'
Dignity Health Mark Twain Medical Center View Photo

San Andreas, CA  Five students found their college fund a grand richer thanks to the Mark Twain Hospital Foundation Volunteers.

The group announced its 2020 high school scholarship recipients this month. A total of five graduating seniors, three from Calaveras High School in San Andreas and two from Bret Harte in Angels Camp, received a $1000.00 scholarship.

Those chosen came from a pool of 50 applicants. The selection process compiled information regarding the students grade point average, community service, and interest in pursuing a healthcare-related career. The scholarships were issued to Jimena Citlali and Gabrielle Hutchens students of Bret Harte and

Jade Kesterson, Nicholar Tanner Saliski and Makenna Miller from Calaveras. All relay that they plan to major in some type of healthcare-related field.

Anyone that may be interested in volunteering or supporting the foundation can contact Julie Eckardt-Cantrall

at 209-754-2624 or via email at MTMC-Foundat ion@dignityhealth.org. To make a donation to the fund, click here.
A contact tracing programme involving all confirmed positive cases of Covid-19 has started in Northern Ireland.

The region has become the first of the four devolved nations to launch the plan, with all new positive cases now being traced.

Finding all the people someone has been in contact with once they have tested positive for Covid-19 is seen as a key part in preventing the spread of the disease, according to the Public Health Agency (PHA).

This is another example of the herculean work right across the HSC system to fight back against Covid-19 and keep people safe, said Health Minister Robin Swann.

The battle against the virus is a long-term challenge and contact tracing will have a very important role as part of that.

Dr Jackie Hyland, Consultant in Health Protection at the PHA, said contact tracing at this stage involves new ways of working given the scale and the fact that new evidence is continually emerging about the illness.

We have teamed up with colleagues in the university sector and Health and Social Care Trusts to put in place all the necessary logistics, he said.

We are now rolling out contact tracing further and working with the public to support people who may have been exposed so they can get tested and self-isolate to help prevent spread of infection.

We are progressing our plans for scaling up the second phase of the Northern Ireland contact tracing service, informed by the learning from the current pilot programme. This work involves testing all aspects of the programme.

From May 14 we have been undertaking contact tracing for all confirmed positive cases of Covid-19.

Testing is also now available to everyone in Northern Ireland aged over five with symptoms, which will form an important part of the contact tracing programme.

The number of staff currently required changes each day in line with workload, but we have sufficient staff trained and available to manage contact tracing and meet demand.

The Department of Health is also taking forward work around digital solutions that can support the wider contact tracing programme when it goes live.

The land border with the Republic of Ireland is an important factor in the spread of infectious diseases and therefore contact tracing.

There are well-established systems in place to work with colleagues in the Republic on contact tracing and management of infectious diseases, and the health service is working at pace to develop new, more efficient ways of working collaboratively to reduce the spread of Covid-19, and help protect cross-border travellers.

For now contact tracing is being carried out exclusively by telephone and in a similar manner to the method used at beginning of the pandemic.

Our very first case was an individual who landed in Dublin Airport then travelled to Northern Ireland back to their home and we saw the Public Health Agency and the Health Service Executive actually working together to do that contact tracing, so were taking that approach to begin with, the Health Minister said.

Mr Swann said he had spoken to his counterpart in the Republic, Simon Harris, on Tuesday morning regarding the development of a contact tracing app and he was also monitoring progress on digital technology within the NHS.

Were still looking to see which will be the best fit for Northern Ireland, he said, adding that two apps could be used in Northern Ireland until a bespoke app could be created.

He had previously said that his preference would be for a single app which would work across the British Isles, but if different apps were used they would be compatible.

Contact tracing was suspended in Northern Ireland in mid-March. A pilot programme resumed on April 27 and Mr Swann said he expected the contact tracing service to be in place for the next year at a minimum.

The Executive, guided by health experts, now believes the focus on contact tracing can help limit any impact of a second wave of Covid-19.

On Tuesday evening, a virtual meeting to discuss the ongoing response to coronavirus on both sides of the border took place between Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis, the First and Deputy First Ministers Arlene Foster and Michelle ONeill, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and the two health ministers.

In a joint statement, Mr Coveney and Mr Lewis said they discussed the respective plans for emerging from lockdown given the importance of implementing consistent approaches wherever possible and strong collaborative arrangements.

Strong data-sharing arrangements North/South would be a necessary part of the easing of restrictions, they said.





What is contact tracing?

Contact tracing aims to identify and alert people who have come into contact with a person infected with coronavirus.

The process starts with someone who has been tested positive for Covid-19 being asked to list all the people theyve recently been in prolonged contact with.

A contact tracing team member will then phone these contacts and talk to them about their risk of infection. Everyone who has the infection and who is a close contact will have to self-isolate. To be successful in contact tracing people need to provide their phone number when they get a test.





Why is it important?

Contact tracing has been credited with helping to lift restrictions in other countries, like South Korea, when combined with stringent testing measures.

The most important element is speed.

The five-stage process  sampling, testing, communication to a positive case, contact tracing and contact quarantine  all needs to be done in a 72-hour window to be effective in preventing spread.





Why was it halted?

Contact tracing was halted by the UK government on March 12, though that proved to be a controversial move as many experts believed it was key to slowing the spread of the virus. The government was subsequently accused of not having the capacity to run it effectively.

On April 27 the Department of Health in Northern Ireland restarted an enhanced contact tracing pilot, which, it says, is now operating five days a week. Its felt by the Executive that it could prove crucial in limiting the impact of any second wave of coronavirus.

That service is set to be expanded to operate over seven days soon.





How does it operate in Northern Ireland?

For now, Northern Ireland is relying on telephone contact, but the speed of the process should increase dramatically if a mobile phone app becomes available.

The process is off to a slow start and on May 20 the Health Minister said 58 staff were trained and working on contact tracing. On that date there were said to be 24 more tracers in training with a further 800 volunteers having come forward to join the list.

In April Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael McBride had said he estimated 300 to 600 staff would be needed for contact tracing to work efficiently.





Is a contact tracing app likely to be used?

The development of an app to speed up the process of contact tracing is seen as key to maximising the impact of the scheme, but that has raised questions over whether Northern Ireland should be involved with the UK or on an all-Ireland basis.

At the moment the UK and Irish governments are working on separate apps, but Health Minister Robin Swann said no decision has yet been made on the best way to proceed.

The app would be able to identify people the patient may not know  like fellow passengers they have been in contact with on public transport or in supermarkets.

But there have been concerns about privacy, particularly in Northern Ireland where security workers who may be reluctant to use it over fears their personal details could be compromised.





Should contact tracing be organised on an all-Ireland basis?

Addressing media earlier this week, the Health Minister insisted there needed to be a clarity of message.

And while a single app that works across both the UK and the Republic of Ireland would be the best solution for Northern Ireland, the logistics of that are proving problematic. Northern Ireland might have to settle for a compromise, if it can be agreed, that would see UK app compatible with one in the Republic, arranged as part of the memorandum of understanding between authorities north and south of the border.

Since Ireland is one geographical area, and if contact tracing is to be a long term project, then it makes sense to have an all-island approach.





Is this likely to be a long term project?

The NI Executive has maintained that contact tracing is a crucial component for ending the lockdown, and that wider surveillance of the virus in the community is necessary.

The system is expected to be in place for at least a year, possibly longer.


remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. For example, the Portale Sardegna S.p.A. (BIT:PSA) share price is down 32% in the last year. That contrasts poorly with the market decline of 17%. Portale Sardegna hasn't been listed for long, so although we're wary of recent listings that perform poorly, it may still prove itself with time. On the other hand, we note it's up 8.5% in about a month.

See our latest analysis for Portale Sardegna

Because Portale Sardegna made a loss in the last twelve months, we think the market is probably more focussed on revenue and revenue growth, at least for now. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Portale Sardegna grew its revenue by 6.3% over the last year. While that may seem decent it isn't great considering the company is still making a loss. Given this lacklustre revenue growth, the share price drop of 32% seems pretty appropriate. In a hot market it's easy to forget growth is the life-blood of a loss making company. But if you buy a loss making company then you could become a loss making investor.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

BIT:PSA Income Statement May 20th 2020

Balance sheet strength is crucial. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

We doubt Portale Sardegna shareholders are happy with the loss of 32% over twelve months. That falls short of the market, which lost 17%. That's disappointing, but it's worth keeping in mind that the market-wide selling wouldn't have helped. With the stock down 5.0% over the last three months, the market doesn't seem to believe that the company has solved all its problems. Given the relatively short history of this stock, we'd remain pretty wary until we see some strong business performance. 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. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Portale Sardegna .

Story continues

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on IT exchanges.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
How To Praise God Listen to Dr. Harold E. Salem now on OnePlace.com
Two days after doctors and paramedics staged a protest over substandard masks, a video circulated by four Class-4 staff members who tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) alleging mistreatment at the hospital, has caused fresh embarrassment to authorities.

In a two-minute video shot on Wednesday morning, the Class-4 contractual employees said they were being treated like untouchables.

The staff members who had tested positive on May 18 and 19 said, Despite being paid a meagre salary (Rs 4,500 a month), we continued to serve Covid-19 patients. However, little did we know that once we become infected we will be treated like second-class citizens by the regular staff members of the hospital.

The patients bolted the door of their room to register their protest.

SUBSTANDARD FOOD

They alleged that the food being served was substandard.

We had to arrange milk from outside after tea was not offered to us for the entire day. But the staff refused to deliver it to us. If we are treated in such a way then one can imagine the plight of regular patients. We were not even given bed sheets, said the protesting staff employees.

The video shows the four women weeping while narrating their ordeal.

Neither the senior medical officer (SMO) of the hospital nor any other staff member has visited us since our diagnosis, said the Covid-19 positive employees.

Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said, We are a family here and irrespective of being senior or junior, everyone has the right to be treated equally. The four employees contracted the virus while serving patients and it is regrettable that they had to protest to raise the issue of unfair treatment.

I have directed SMO Dr Geeta Kataria to look into the matter and provide employees with all the necessary items, said Dr Bagga.

NOT A ONE-OFF INCIDENT

This is not the first time that lack of facilities have triggered a protest at the civil hospital.

Earlier, patients in the isolation wards had protested against the hospital authorities for not providing them with bedsheets while pilgrims who had returned from Nanded had protested against the poor quality food being offered to them.
Mumbai, May 20 : Listed companies have been asked to disclose the material impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their business, performance and financials.

In an advisory, which comes into immediate effect, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked listed entities to give details of the impact on the companies, both qualitatively and quantitatively, to the extent possible and disseminate the same.

Sebi has pointed out that while such a lockdown and disruption is unforeseen and beyond the control of the entities, such events can lead to distortions in the market due to the gaps in information available about the operations of a listed entity.

The market regulator has observed that many listed entities have made disclosures under LODR Regulations, primarily intimating shutdown of operations owing to the pandemic and the resultant lockdown.

Some listed entities have provided information ralated to actions taken towards sanitation, safety etc.; the number of entities which have disclosed the financial impact of Covid-19, however, is small.

Citing the global experience, Sebi said that listed entities around the world have been making disclosures regarding the impact of the pandemic, including that on financial conditions and results of operations, future operations, capital and financial resources, liquidity, assets, internal financial control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, demand for products/services etc.

Regulators have encouraged timely reporting as well as complete and accurate disclosure of the impact, as far as possible.

Sebi has given an illustrative list of information that listed entities may consider for disclosing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their businesses.

It has also asked for disclosure of existing contracts/agreements where non-fulfilment of the obligations by any party will have significant impact on the listed entity's business.

Additionally, while submitting the financial statements under Regulation 33 of the LODR, listed entities may specify/include the impact of the pandemic on their financial statements, to the extent possible, Sebi said.

"When listed entities disclose material information related to the impact of Covid-19, they should not resort to selective disclosures, keeping in mind the principles governing disclosures and obligations of a listed entity as prescribed in the LODR Regulations," Sebi warned.
BASEL, Switzerland

May 19, 2020

Susan Murphy

Othmar Pfannes

Switzerland

Germany

Japan

Singapore

Miles Fisher-Pollard

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Genedata, the leading provider of enterprise software solutions for biopharmaceutical R&D, today announced the release of Genedata Imagence 2.0, the latest version of its award-winning enterprise software for high-content screening (HCS) image analysis. Leading biopharmaceutical companies are rapidly adopting Genedata Imagence for speedier development and broader roll-out of imaging assays in their R&D workflows, leveraging it as the first enterprise solution to automate the analysis of HCS images with deep learning.Genedata Imagence 2.0 sets new benchmarks for HCS. It now offers full end-to-end automation, reducing the time spent on image analysis by an order of magnitude. Allowing incremental learning and knowledge preservation, it enables the analysis of complex phenotypic assay formats without extensive expert input, and the transfer of gained knowledge to new experimental setups when meaningful, thus advancing HCS assays into production much more quickly than with classical analysis pipelines.This latest version of Genedata Imagence has been further optimized for use of distributed computing resources, allowing computing power to be scaled up when needed; in particular, the parallelization of image analysis steps results in massive time and cost savings. Genedata Imagence 2.0 is also fully interoperable with Genedata Screener for HCS. Similar to other components of the Genedata Biopharma Platform, it can be deployed using on-demand cloud computing service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS).Genedata is continuously extending its partnerships with innovative technology providers through its Genedata Ready-to-Run program for full compatibility and integration between the Genedata Biopharma Platform and laboratory instruments and robots. Several Ready-to-Run partners, including Molecular Devices, now offer their technology optimized for use with Genedata Imagence."As a world-leading provider of high-performance automated imaging solutions, we are excited to offer deep learning data-rich answers with advanced image-based feature extraction to our customers," said, President of Molecular Devices. "From the perspective of being an instrument manufacturer, Genedata's Ready-to-Run program has allowed additional image analysis capabilities we otherwise would not have been able to offer. Our ImageXpress Micro high-content imaging system customers can now easily implement walk-away, automated image analysis workflows, while gaining deep insights with Genedata's Imagence and Screener software in much less time.", Ph.D., CEO of Genedata, said "We are excited about the latest release of our highly innovative Genedata Imagence platform, which has already won several awards for the value it brings to biopharma R&D. Acting on the feedback we have received from some of our users, we have now further improved the workflow automation and usability of the software." Dr. Pfannes continued, "We are also delighted that innovative technology providers such as Molecular Devices have recognized the value of partnering with Genedata and look forward to extending our partnership further to the benefit of our joint customers in the biopharma industry."About Genedata Genedata transforms data into intelligence with innovative software solutions and domain-specific consulting services that automate complex, large-scale experimental processes and enable organizations to maximize the ROI in their R&D, spanning early discovery all the way to the clinic. Founded in 1997, Genedata is headquartered inwith additional offices in, the UK, and the US. http://www.genedata.com LinkedIn | Twitter | YouTubeContactGenedata Public Relations Phone: +41 61 511 85 61 pr@genedata.comDisclaimer The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties related to contract cancellations, developing risks, competitive factors, uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for products and services, development of markets for the Company's products and services. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.All product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.SOURCE Genedata AG
BRUSSELS, May 19 (Reuters) - The European Commission will present next week a recovery plan that will exceed 1 trillion euros in a mix of grants and loans, the Commission's Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Tuesday.

Dombrovskis, speaking at a press conference after a meeting of European Union finance ministers, welcomed a proposal put forward by France and Germany on Monday for a 500 billion euro economic recovery fund to disburse grants to the regions and sectors worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But he said the Commission would be bolder.

"Our ambition is not to increase the financing capacity in the range of hundreds of billions, but rather by a figure exceeding a trillion euros," he said.

"Of course in this case we are talking about both in loans and grants. That's the level of ambition we are discussing the context of our recovery instrument proposal," he said. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski)
Mumbai, May 20 : Franklin Templeton Trustees have appointed Kotak Mahindra Bank to assist in the monetization of assets in the six schemes being wound-up.

Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Pvt. Ltd., as advised by SEBI pending unitholder vote, and as desired by the Trustees for the duration of the winding up period, today announced the appointment of an independent advisor to work together with Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd (the AMC), to assist the Trustees in monetizing portfolios of the six schemes that are being wound up.

The Trustees have appointed Kotak Mahindra Bank, who, through its Debt Capital Markets team, will work closely with the Franklin Templeton Trustees, to assist with all portfolio actions in these six schemes that are being wound up. These actions will be limited to the schemes namely Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund.

Sanjay Sapre, President, Franklin Templeton, India, said, "Franklin Templeton is committed to ensuring an orderly and equitable exit for all investors at the earliest possible time, and we will partner with the Board of Trustees and Kotak Mahindra Bank to ensure an efficient wind-up of these schemes, while preserving maximum value for our investors. Franklin Templeton has a long history of over 25 years in India and the firm remains fully committed to our clients and our business in India." Sujata Guhathakurta, President - Debt Capital Markets, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, said, "Kotak Mahindra Bank is pleased to take on this assignment and is looking forward to working closely with the Trustees and the AMC to assist them in wind-up of these schemes."
Pennridge to vote on one textbook; further review on other one
The Alabama Securities Commission on Wednesday issued an emergency cease-and-desist order to a man the agency said encouraged Alabamians to spend their coronavirus stimulus checks on penny stocks touted by him.

But Mark Baxter, who also used the alias Mark Marrow, is not registered with the commission and was pushing stocks not registered with the ASC, prompting the agency to issue Tuesdays emergency order barring him from soliciting the sales of stocks and other securities in Alabama.

Baxter, who did business out of Pennsylvania, targeted Alabamians and others in 49 states and two countries on Craigslist, where he promised profits of $6,000 a week by trading sub-$1 a share stocks that turned out to be scams, the commission said.

Among Baxters prospective investors were an Alabama man who said he could invest his and his friends stimulus checks into the stocks recommended by Baxter.

COVID-19 investment schemes are a significant threat to Alabama investors. The national emergency created by COVID-19 has created an environment that makes people particularly vulnerable to the claims of fraudsters," said ASC Commissioner Joseph P. Bord. "Cyber-criminals need to know that the ASC is dedicated to effectively protecting investors from COVID-19 investment scams.

The commission cautioned Alabamians to do due diligence on any investment opportunity, and encouraged residents to call the ASC at 1-800-222-1253 to find out whether a financial professional is registered with the agency.
If there's one thing that political analysts of the center-left and center-right agree on, it's that President Trump aspires to govern as an authoritarian.

Even those who partially break from the consensus, like The New York Times' Ross Douthat, concede that Trump has "authoritarian instincts" that he nonetheless fails to act on in a consistent or effective way. In my own partial dissent from the prevailing view, I have described a presidency marked by weak governance paired with great strength in manipulating a segment of right-wing public opinion. Rather than becoming an authoritarian in the present, I've claimed, Trump is laying the groundwork for an autocratic presidency of the future  and he's being aided in this project by members of his party (like Attorney General William Barr) who have begun to advocate for a president unbound by various forms of oversight by Congress and investigation by law enforcement.

But what if even this misstates the true character of what's going on in our politics in 2020? What if the very structure of constitutional argumentation  forcing litigants on both sides of a conflict to make their claims in terms of generalizable principles that apply equally to all parties  leads us to misunderstand the true aims of each side? I'm increasingly convinced that this is the case  and that Trump's troubling actions and the arguments made to justify them are less an expression of support for an authoritarian presidency as such than a confession that growing numbers of Republicans think theirs is the only party in the country capable of exercising legitimate political rule.

That still might mean Republicans are growing enamored with autocratic rule. But it would not be an affinity based on a principled commitment to enhancing the institutional powers of the presidency  powers that presidents of both parties would legitimately get to wield. It would instead be based on weaponized partisanship, with those enhanced powers reserved for Republicans alone.

Story continues

Consider the arguments made before the Supreme Court earlier this month by Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow in favor of "temporary presidential immunity." With Trump facing three House committees looking to obtain financial records from his business dealings before and during his time in the White House, and subpoenas from a grand jury in New York City seeking similar information, Sekulow claimed that the president should be protected, not only from criminal prosecution but also from criminal investigation while holding the presidency. Sekulow's arguments were aimed primarily at Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney overseeing the grand jury investigation, but lawyers for the Justice Department made similar arguments focused specifically on the legitimacy of the House investigating wrongdoing of a sitting president as a precursor to possible impeachment.

Is it at all plausible that Sekulow believes that all presidents enjoy immunity from criminal investigation? Just six years ago, when the president was a Democrat, he seemed to be far more concerned to "stop the imperial presidency," to halt the "executive power grab," and to assert that "President Obama isn't a king." It's certain possible that Sekulow's views of executive power have changed dramatically in the intervening years, though I submit it's far more likely that he simply operates with two views of executive power, depending on which party holds the White House.

Now, of course, Trump may well lose at the Supreme Court. We don't yet know how the court's conservative majority will rule on the scope of presidential immunity from criminal investigation. Though we also know that conservative lawyers, very much including the lawyer currently serving as attorney general of the United States, are fond of making arguments about the constraints that Congress has placed on the presidency, "smothering" its "constitutional authority." It would not be at all surprising for several of the high court's conservatives to extend this view to cover immunity from congressional investigations of criminality.

But would this mean that the Supreme Court had moved a few more steps in the direction of transforming the presidency into an autocratic office? Only if the immunity extended to Trump were recognized as legitimate by Republicans in Congress and in the courts the next time the presidency is held by a Democrat  and especially by a Democrat who tests norms intended to restrain corruption at the head of the executive branch.

How likely is such parity in application of principle? Less than zero. If you doubt it, think back to the contempt in which Presidents Clinton and Obama were held by congressional Republicans. Or the string of investigations to which they were subjected throughout their time in office. Or the vitriol that Trump and the conservative media establishment hurl constantly at Democrats even when they control just one of two houses of one branch of the federal government.

Or ponder Trump's firings of a string of executive branch inspectors general in the months since his impeachment acquittal. This is the president all but declaring that he will no longer permit legal oversight of himself or members of his Cabinet by independent investigators. From now on, he and his administration will simply do whatever they want. How has his party responded? Aside from some modest grumbling from Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine, and Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Republicans have said little about these actions. The chance that they would react with the same wan unconcern to such an egregious flouting of independent oversight by a Democratic president is patently ludicrous.

Call it situational authoritarianism  or the substitution of tribalistic partisanship for constitutionalism. Either way, it's an illustration of the Republican Party's evolution away from the fundamental liberal presumption that both parties in our politics need to accept democratic accountability  and toward a system in which Republicans get to enjoy power and legitimacy they have no intention of extending to their political opponents.

Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.

More stories from theweek.com

Trump's lethal aversion to reading

Republicans are up in arms about Flynn's 'unmasking.' He was reportedly never masked in the first place.

Global COVID-19 cases top 5 million. A 5th of them are in the U.S.


America can be proud of many things: our innovation, generosity and entrepreneurial spirit are unsurpassed. Yet when it comes to our nation understanding one of the greatest gifts ever given to humanitythe Biblewe're moving from dumb to dumber, and it's no laughing matter.
File Photo

Chandigarh: In continuous efforts to help the needy people during Covid-19, Chandigarh Police is fully committed to extend full cooperation and remain on toe 24X7 to counter any emergency situation in the City.

PhotoToday, HelpReach platform, which has been co-founded by two teenagers- Nehmat Sandhu and Saumya Lamba, student of Strawberry Fields High School extended invaluable support to the Chandigarh police force by donating 150 PPE kits.

Advertisement

The items were handed over to The Director General of Police, UT, Chandigarh, Sanjay Baniwal, IPS, by Nehmat Sandhu and Saumya Lamba, alongwith three core members- Aanya Malik, Aadya Batra and Hazel Garg of HelpReach platform at Police Headquarter, Sector-9, Chandigarh. Manoj Kumar Meena, IPS, SP, Headquarters was present on this occasion.

Photo

HelpReach is a platform that aims to help the needy in these tough times. Through, HelpReach they wish to bring a change in the maximum number of lives possible.

Advertisement

Sanjay Baniwal, IPS, DGP/UT, Chandigarh, appreciated the gesture and thanked the members of HelpReach platform for their valuable support.


US redeployment of nukes to Poland would violate NATO accord: Russia

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 5:08 PM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the redeployment of US nuclear weapons from Germany to Poland would be a direct violation of a Russia-NATO agreement.

The top Russian diplomat made the comment during a presser held following a meeting of the Council of Baltic Sea States, which was held through videoconferencing on Tuesday, Sputnik reported.

Lavrov stressed that the redeployment of the American weapons to Poland would violate the Russia-NATO founding act of 1997.

"This would be a direct violation of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations between Russia and NATO, in which NATO undertook not to place nuclear weapons in the territory of new members of the North Atlantic Alliance, either at that moment or in the future," the Russian foreign minister said.

He also expressed doubt that that mechanism was being "implemented in practical terms."

Russian officials have time and again warned in the past that the provocative decision made by some Eastern European neighbors of Russia to host US-made strategic systems, including parts of America's Aegis Ashore missile defense system, will make those countries possible targets for Russia's strategic nuclear response in the event of a war.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the redeployment, warning that the move would further damage the already-strained relations between Russia and NATO and would escalate tensions.

"We hope that Washington and Warsaw recognize the dangerous nature of such statements, which exacerbate an already difficult period of relations between Russia and NATO, and threaten the very basis of European security, weakened as a result of unilateral steps by the United States, first and foremost through their exit from the INF Treaty," she said.

The landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) between the US and Russia collapsed last year after Washington pulled out. The INF had banned all land-based missiles with the range of up to 5,500 kilometers.

The withdrawal from the agreement came after Washington accused Moscow of secretly violating it. Russia, which repeatedly rejected the allegation, stopped implementing the INF after the US pullout.

Elsewhere in her remarks, Zakharova urged Washington to return its nuclear warheads from Eastern Europe to US territory for the sake of boosting security in the continent, adding that Moscow had taken that step "a long time ago."

She referred to the 1990s pullout of Soviet and Russian nuclear weapons from Central and Eastern Europe.

Comments by Lavrov and Zakharova came three days after US Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher indicated that the US might redeploy the atomic weapons in Germany to Poland.

The US has been deploying missiles in Eastern Europe and near Russia's western borders, a provocative move repeatedly denounced by Moscow.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






In brief: Microsoft's crusade to update older elements and features of Windows 10 continues today, but not in the form of a traditional OS update. The company has released a new utility for its PowerToys tool collection called the "PowerToys Run launcher."

PowerToys, for those who don't know, is an open-source, Microsoft-managed suite of software tools designed to enhance the Windows 10 experience and boost productivity for power users. The Run launcher is the latest addition to this toolset, and it aims to improve upon the basic Run implementation.

Activated by pressing Alt+Space (by default, but you can change the shortcut at will), PowerToys Run has a new interface that can dynamically show command results based on what you've typed into the search box. It can run software and plugins, open specific files, and overall do just about everything you'd expect it to do.

However, it does so with a sleeker, easier-to-use interface, and thanks to the open-source community, it could gain some exciting functions down the line. That might mean direct web search support (like the standard Windows 10 search bar), or even entirely new plugins.

If you decide to try PowerToys Run, Microsoft encourages you to offer feedback on the utility, whether that comes in the form of a bug report or a feature request. The company acknowledges that the Run launcher isn't perfect, so bugs and glitches should be expected.

The other major addition included in the latest release of PowerToys is "Keyboard Manager," which, as the name suggests, provides users with an accessible way to remap the various keys on their keyboard. The interface is relatively simple, but the core functionality doesn't differ much from what you might find in software like Corsair's iCUE or Logitech's G-Hub (minus the fancy RGB controls, of course).

If you'd like to take the latest PowerToys features out for a spin, you can download the installer for release 0.18.0 right here.
Vietnam has recorded no new cases of COVID-19 infections in the community for more than 30 days. Quarantine has been lifted in high-risk areas and social distancing measures relaxed.

Vietnamese people nationwide are now back to the new normal.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first emerged in Wuhan, China, last December. The outbreak quickly became a global threat, spreading to hundreds of countries and territories around the world. Many countries were forced to close their borders, suspend flights, and impose curfews to curb the spread of the virus.

The outbreak hit Vietnam early on. In late January, a Chinese man from Wuhan passed the coronavirus on to his Vietnam-based son. Vietnam was considered to be among the countries most vulnerable to the outbreak, given it shares a 1,430-km border with China where travel and trade are brisk and has a large population of 97 million people. It quickly recognised the severity of the threat, however, and took prompt action and devised timely measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Vietnam had reported 324 cases of COVID-19 infections as at May 18, or just under three cases per million people - among the lowest rates in the world. Notably, 264 COVID-19 patients, or more than 80 percent of infections, have recovered and been discharged from hospital, and fatalities stand at zero. The key to such impressive achievements include the determination and active involvement of the Party, the State, and the Government, effective control and prevention measures, and social consensus and support.

Vietnam stands firm amid Covid-19 outbreak

Strong political determination

While people across Vietnam were celebrating the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) in late January, the Politburo along with the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, and the Government had already recognised COVID-19 as an urgent problem and mobilised the entire political system to deal with the threat.

On January 27 (the third day of Tet), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared at a Government meeting that a fight against coronavirus was looming, as the virus had emerged from China and will soon spread to Vietnam, he said.

With a spirit of prevention is better than cure, the Prime Minister emphasised that fighting the pandemic is like fighting an enemy, some economic benefits must be sacrificed to best protect the health and lives of the people, and no one will be left behind.

This declaration has since been praised by international media for its soundness, decisiveness and bravery, saying that early warnings and the implementation of strong prevention and control measures  more drastic than those recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO)  right at the beginning helped Vietnam effectively control the spread of the virus in the community.

The international media has repeatedly mentioned the slogan Lets fight the pandemic as if fighting an enemy, which aroused national awareness and solidarity.

John MacArthur, the country representative of the US Centers for Disease Control and Preventions in neighbouring Thailand, praised Vietnams response and attributed it to the countrys political commitment early on at the highest level. And that political commitment went from the central level all the way down to the hamlet level, he noted.

Meanwhile, The Diplomat, one of the leading journals in international politics, devoted many pages to praising Vietnams anti-pandemic work. Some articles said through preventive measures, the Communist Party of Vietnam has affirmed its leadership role.

Russias Sputnik news agency, meanwhile, ran an article saying that the declaration of a nationwide epidemic when the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 200 proved that the Vietnamese Government had acted at the right time. Moroccan media outlet Hespress commented that Vietnams success laid in quickly recognising the crisis and immediately announcing it to the public.

Effective preventive measures

In mid-January, Prime Minister Phuc issued a warning about the spread of COVID-19 and called on every Vietnamese citizen to be ready to cope with the outbreak.

Vietnam quickly established the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and created response scenarios at different levels while devising and effectively implementing the consistent principles of prevention - detection - quarantine - localisation (zoning off pandemic-hit areas) - stamping out the disease, and the four on-site motto: on-site leadership, on-site forces, on-site resources, and on-site logistics.

Kidong Park, WHO Representative in Vietnam, greatly appreciates the four on-site motto, saying it helped the country respond quickly and reduced overload at centrally-run hospitals.

Social distancing was the next firm measure the Government adopted when the country detected a source of cross-infection within the community. With the instruction of staying inside the locality and at home, social distancing helped minimize the movement of people and limited gatherings - the basic causes of the rapid spread of the disease and which placed many countries in a severe situation from which they are yet to emerge.

Former Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine Tran Dac Phu said that instead of conducting massive tests, Vietnam shifted its focus to quarantining patients and retracing their steps to determine with whom they had been in contact.

Massive testing is good, but it depends on the resources of each country, he said. It is important to identify who may have been in contact with an infected individual or who has returned from an area hit by the epidemic.

In addition to the thorough search for those who had contact with COVID-19 patients, Vietnam also set up concentrated quarantine areas with support from medical students and retired health workers. Vietnam is a mobilisation society, said Carl Thayer, Professor Emeritus at the University of New South Wales. It is a one-party state; it has large public security forces, the military, and the Party itself; and its a top-down government thats good at responding to natural disasters.

One of the secrets behind Vietnams initial success in slowing the spread of the virus was clear communication and information transparency, together with strong technological support. The Government used social media and information technology to promote information on fighting COVID-19, provide the latest information on the outbreak as well as preventive measures for adoption, and quickly rectify information that proved to be false, while systematically collecting information and identifying suspected COVID-19 clusters as quickly as possible.

Widespread public consensus

It is clear that Vietnam has successfully controlled the disease by this time, due to its strategy of mobilising society as a whole, including the army, security forces, authorities at all levels, and individuals to become involved in the battle against COVID-19 - similar to its history of fighting colonialism and imperialism.

The broad public consensus was what German financial adviser in Vietnam, Manuel Wendle, mentioned often in an interview with Germanys Die Oberbadische newspaper when asked about the factors that helped Vietnam successfully control the outbreak.

According to Wendle, Vietnam found public consensus on epidemic prevention and control measures, he said, which were then undertaken from the grassroots to the central level.

Though such measures could not simply be adopted in other countries, Vietnam proved that if political decisions are widely welcomed by the public then epidemic prevention and control measures will be successful, he added.

Vietnam is not the most powerful country in the world but in the fight against COVID-19 it secured among the highest levels of trust from its citizens. With an index score of 77, Vietnam has been ranked second globally and first in Southeast Asia in terms of its peoples satisfaction with the Governments response to COVID-19, according to a recently-released study of over 23 countries and territories by the Singapore-based social research agency Blackbox Research and the Toluna Company.

Ninety-four percent of Vietnamese people feel that keeping the public informed about the pandemic worked in managing the disease, according to the study, contributing to the countrys excellent performance.

David Black, Founder and CEO of Blackbox Research, said Vietnams impressive score reflects the countrys swift and strict measures to clamp down on the spread of the virus as well as its regular and transparent communications with the public on ongoing investigations.

Vietnams effectiveness in curbing the spread of the virus led to a heightened level of trust and confidence among its citizens in their leaders, especially when we compare the country with some of its Southeast Asian neighbours, who have at times struggled with testing, contact tracing, and dealing with new clusters, he said.

No one left behind

Vietnam Airlines crew members ahead flight to bring home Vietnamese citizens from Europe (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese people have the most confidence in their Governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic out of 45 countries and territories. According to the largest public survey on COVID-19, conducted by the Berlin-based Dalia Research, 62 percent of respondents in Vietnam said their Government is doing the right amount in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate is testament to the confidence Vietnamese people have in their Governments reaction to the pandemic.

The Government had taken proactive steps in protecting its population and indeed made sure that no one was left behind in the fight against COVID-19. Vietnam added 190,000 tonnes of rice to its reserves to ensure it has enough food amid the outbreak, and launched a relief package worth 61.58 trillion VND (2.6 billion USD) to help those most affected.

The confidence among the population helped boost their sense of responsibility and cooperation with the Government. Many organisations and individuals voluntarily made contributions to help with the fight. Charity campaigns included rice ATMs, or rice dispensers, for vulnerable populations. The initiative was immediately lauded by international media, including major news agencies such as CNN and Reuters.

A machine giving out free rice sounds too good to be true, a CNN article reviewing the initiative said, but these rice ATMs have been set up around Vietnam to help those who need it the most.

The Diplomat also ran an article explaining why the Vietnamese Government secured such confidence from its population. It has always given top priority to ensuring public health, it wrote, while the USs liberationnews.org said Vietnams success so far is not simply a miracle. It is the result of a heavily-planned economy with a socialist government that puts people over profits.

Role model in the fight against COVID-19

Despite being a developing country with limited resources, Vietnam devised affordable measures and effectively controlled the outbreak. Its efforts have been constantly lauded by the WHO and international media as a role model for other countries to follow.

WHO Representative in Vietnam Kidong Park expressed his appreciation of the countrys close coordination, transparency, and information sharing with the agency regarding activities and measures to prevent and control the pandemic, including case counts and cases of recovery. He said he felt safe in Vietnam, and commended its rapid and effective response.

Meanwhile, the Geneva-based World Economic Forums website ran an article entitled Vietnam shows how you can contain COVID-19 with limited resources, saying the country has effectively responded to the COVID-19 outbreak and stood out as a beacon of how to contain the outbreak with little resources.

An article posted on Russian news website zen.yandex.ru also said that Vietnam has been a role model in adopting measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 amid limited conditions.

Professor Todd Pollack, a Harvard Medical School infectious disease specialist who leads a health initiative in Hanoi, said Vietnams handling of the pandemic has been strikingly transparent. It also has an enormous capacity for mass mobilization (not to mention a long history of it). Its no coincidence that the government calls its campaign against COVID-19 the Spring General Offensive of 2020 - an obvious echo of the General Offensive, General Uprising of 1968, also known as the Tet Offensive.

Remaining well-prepared

It can now be said that Vietnam has basically beaten the COVID-19 pandemic at this stage. Its achievements have been lauded by international media as a miracle in the context of many other countries struggling to curb the outbreak.

However, Prime Minister Phuc warned that the outbreak remains a complex issue in many countries and a vaccine is still to come. Vietnam has loosened its social distancing orders, but is still deploying a range of measures for the new normal.

Vietnam also focused on protecting Vietnamese citizens abroad, especially those with expired labour contracts and those stuck at international airports after countries enforced flight bans to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated with relevant agencies to do what it can to protect Vietnamese overseas.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, Vietnam continues implementing solutions to prevent imported infections. All persons entering the country are subject to quarantine for 14 days and are tested at least twice.

Surveillance and the early detection of infections in the community has been kept in place in order to zone off and stampe out outbreaks immediately, Long said, adding that capacity to cope with the pandemic has continually been strengthened, especially among medical staff caring for and treating COVID-19 patients. Vietnam has also proactively produced equipment, instruments, medical supplies, ventilators, and medicine for domestic use.

Deputy Prime Minister Vo Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, confirmed that Vietnam is ready to share information with and contribute initiatives and lessons learned in disease prevention and control to the international community, especially underdeveloped and developing countries./. VNA
(CNN)  A desire to steal money continues to be the leading motivator behind cyber attacks, according to Verizon's annual Data Breach Investigations Report.

The report, released Tuesday, appeared prescient after EasyJet announced the same day that hackers stole personal data on 9 million customers, including the credit card details of more than 2,000 people.

Verizon's report found that 86% of the data breaches it analyzed from 2019 were for financial gain  up from 71% in the year prior  and many of them were conducted by organized criminal groups. Other motivators include espionage, ideology and so-called "secondary" motivators, such as a desire to steal intellectual property or trade secrets.

The report analyzed 32,002 security incidents and 3,905 confirmed breaches reported by 81 organizations from a range of industries around the world.

"Every year I am surprised by the number (of financially motivated attacks)," Sowmyanarayan Sampath, president of global enterprise for Verizon Business Group, told CNN Business. "If you look at most of the news that's out there, you see state actors, espionage, trade secrets, but most of these breaches are people wanting to steal money from you."

Those financially motivated attacks include direct theft of a person or company's money, such as through their bank account, or financial information, as well as theft of information that could be sold (on the dark web, for example). The category also includes ransomware attacks, which accounted for 27% of the malware incidents the report analyzed. Such attacks can cost companies anywhere from around $1,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The majority of breaches  at least 67%  were caused by one of three common issues: credential theft, social attacks such as phishing, and human errors like leaving a password written somewhere others can see. Credential theft is often easy because people have poor "password hygiene," using weak passwords or the same password across multiple websites, Sampath said.

"If you have common passwords for many sites, and one site gets exposed and that information is available on the dark web, (bad actors) will go through and try different sites to see what opens up," he said.

As use of cloud computing grows, attacks on web applications, such as online email or remote collaboration systems, are another growing way hackers carry out breaches. Web application attacks doubled over the past year to 43%, according to the report.

Companies may want to be on even higher alert for potential cybercrime these days, with so many employees working from home. Remote workers likely use web applications more often to access company information and servers, and could be more vulnerable to phishing schemes, which Sampath said have proliferated in recent weeks.

Protecting company computer networks when so many are working from home requires "a major mindset change," Sampath said. He added that whereas companies have long thought of enacting cybersecurity measures as building a moat around a castle, when employees aren't working from a centralized office space, it's even harder to identify where the "castle" is. Instead, he said, companies should adopt a "zero trust" approach to security.

"Everyone touching your network has to be authenticated," Sampath said. "Every application, every bit of data that comes in, you verify it ... You just have to do a lot more to check, (including) multi-factor authentication, identity management, encryption."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Cyber attacks are increasingly all about financial gain, report says."
The upcoming Google Pixel 4a and Pixel 5 could be priced at US$349 and US$699, respectively as indicated by a recent Google Opinion Rewards survey. While the Pixel 4a pricing makes it a good alternative to the iPhone SE 2020, it remains to be seen if the "Premium" Google Pixel 5 can withstand the continued onslaught of Android flagship killers or even the upcoming iPhone 12.

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 Google Pixel 5 may be cheaper than the current Pixel 4 by US$100 if a recent Google Opinion Rewards survey is anything to go by. The survey asked users what would their choice be if a Google Pixel phone and a Premium Google Pixel Phone were the only options available. The Google Pixel phone was indicated as having a price tag of US$349 (US$14.54 per month) implying that this could very well be the Pixel 4a that is slated to launch in the coming weeks. The Premium Google Pixel Phone, on the other hand, was shown to be priced at US$699 (US$29.13 per month) and this is very well likely to be the upcoming Pixel 5.

A Pixel 4a priced at US$349 could offer an excellent alternative to what is probably the best budget smartphone at this time, the US$399 Apple iPhone SE (2020). The more interesting part, however, is the US$699 pricing for the Pixel 5. At this price, the Pixel 5 definitely undercuts most flagship Android offerings available. But here's the catch. The Pixel 5 is rumored to sport just a Snapdragon 765G 5G and not the flagship Snapdragon 865 SoC, which would lead many to consider it as an upper mid-range device and not a true flagship.

Further evidence that the Pixel 5 will be powered by the Snapdragon 765 comes via XDA Senior Member cstark27. While analyzing the pre-installed EUICCGoogle APK in Android 11 Developer Preview 4, cstark27 discovered that the APK was updated with a reference to Google's upcoming devices as evidenced by the presence of a new line in the "modem_model_mappings_json" string pointing to a "g7250" modem. The reference to this g7250 modem implies that the SoC could be a Snapdragon 765, 765G, or the 768G as all three are pin and software compatible.

Android Police Editor-in-Chief David Ruddock also claimed on Twitter that his sources confirmed that the Pixel 5 would indeed be powered by the Snapdragon 765 and that there would be no Google phone with a top-tier CPU this year.

With increasing evidence pointing to an upper mid-range SoC for the Pixel 5, is Google right in pricing the device at US$699? Yes and no. Yes, when compared to previous Pixels but no when compared to the competition. While most popular Android flagships including the OnePlus 8 are on par or above this price, they also feature flagship SoCs and possibly larger batteries than the Pixel 5 would offer. Heck, even the much cheaper Poco F2 Pro outclasses the Pixel 5 in terms of sheer specifications. However, the Pixel will always have the advantage of better cameras and a robust stock Android experience.

At a US$699 price, the Pixel 5 would also have to face competition from the Apple camp particularly from the iPhone 11. The iPhone 11 is powered by the A13 Bionic  a vastly more powerful SoC than anything that the Android camp offers. The iPhone 11, however, loses out on areas such as the display (it is still a great LCD panel) and the lack of a telephoto lens. The upcoming iPhone 12 will further widen the performance gap, offer much improved cameras, and may even retail at a lower US$649 price point for the base model with 128 GB storage.

It is still early days to speculate on how exactly the market would respond to the Pixel 5. The sales for the Pixel 4 haven't really been encouraging with only two million units being sold in the first six months. The overall experience matters more than just mere specs, and Google definitely has perfected this art over the past few years. That being said, with the increasing proliferation of Android flagship killers and Apple's new found trend of competitive pricing, Google will have to offer enough differentiation to make the Pixel 5 stand out from the crowd either in terms of features or via further reductions in price.

Buy Google Pixel 4 XL now on Amazon
Over the past few months, many of us in Montana have taken stock of the essentials in our lives. A University of Montana public lands survey conducted after COVID-19 restrictions went into effect makes clear that Montanans overwhelmingly consider wild public lands as essential, for several reasons. Among them: wild public lands enable our wildlife to thrive and boost our opportunities to hunt, fish and view wildlife.

Perhaps nowhere in the state do these reasons ring truer than in central Montana, where some of the last remaining intact grasslands in the U.S. serve as the most productive big game habitat in North America. Big game, especially elk, thrive here because there are so few roads and other kinds of development.

But that could very well change under a final resource management plan (RMP) the Bureau of Land Management released in February for the 650,000 acres of public lands in central Montana administered by the Lewistown Field Office. The RMP opens 95% of this area to oil and gas development.

The Lewistown Field Office tried to release a better plan in 2016 based on input it gathered from Montanans, especially hunters. As part of that input, the office identified 200,000 acres in this area as having wilderness characteristics, mostly lands adjoining the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument. A 2016 draft of the Lewistown RMP proposed protecting half of those 200,000 acres to protect wildlife.

The final draft released in February protects none of those acres, and instead opens them up to oil and gas leasing.

Its clear that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who oversees the BLM, tailored the final Lewistown RMP for the benefit of the oil and gas industry. He did so at the expense of not just our wildlife and our outdoor way of life, but our outdoor recreation economy as well.

According to a study that Headwaters Economics conducted in 2016, big game hunting accounts for nearly $4 million in economic expenditure in four different hunting districts within the Lewistown planning area, with $3.8 million coming from elk hunting alone. This makes hunting one of the largest economic drivers in the county, one that Lewistown and other communities in this part of the state can-not afford to lose in a post-pandemic economic recovery.

What makes Bernhardts move to open central Montana to oil and gas leasing all the more infuriating is that there is little oil and gas potential in this part of the state.

Then why he is doing it?

So that oil and gas companies can pay next to nothing on oil and gas leases, making it easy for them to bolster their portfolios and make their companies look more attractive to investors.

Companies get away with this outdated practice thanks to a loophole in the law that allows them to buy leases off the shelf at bargain-basement prices if those leases go unsold during auctions. Once oil and gas companies hold a lease, it means they can manage their public land parcels as they see fit, and that can mean destroying wild-life habitat and locking the public out.

Currently, more than 260,00 acres of public lands in Montana are controlled by mostly out-of-state and foreign oil and gas companies that exploited this loophole.

Unfortunately, its unlikely that Bernhardt is going stop selling out our public lands to his oil and gas buddies. Our best bet then for protecting wildlife in central Montana is for Congress to close this loophole allowing private companies to control public lands for their own financial benefit.

Please join us in asking our congressional delegation to do just that.

Jamie Wolf is the vice president of internal affairs for the Montana Wildlife Federation. Tony Bynum is a hunter and professional outdoor photographer based in northcentral Montana.

Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
A high rise in number of handling, cargo and export operations marked the performance of Omani ports in the first quarter of 2020.

This is at a time direct import from global destinations also saw a boost, thanks to tremendous efforts exerted by Asyad Group, which linked the Sultanates ports with regional counterparts.

Working in cooperation with other government departments concerned, Asyad launched a promotional campaign targeting international routes and showcasing a range of competitive incentives, including facilitation of customs and clearing formalities.

In the first quarter of 2020, Omani ports received a total of 16.6 million tonnes of general and liquid products, of them 12.1 million were general goods and 4.5 million as liquid derivatives.

As for containers, the Sultanates ports received a total of 1.4 million standard containers (TEUs) during the first quarter of 2020.

As many as 2,500 vessels visited the Sultanates ports over the first three months of 2020.

In terms of imports, a total of 35,000 vehicles and equipment were received, in addition to a total of 588,300 heads of cattle.

Under current circumstances of coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Asyad offered all possible incentives to secure local market requirements for livestock from different Asian, African and European countries. As a result of direct and consistent import, the Sultanates markets enjoy abundance in display.

Eng. Said bin Hamoud al-Maawali, CEO of Oman Dry Dock and Oman Shipping, said that his company transported more than 22,000 containers along its route with Indian ports. He added that Oman Shipping continued to operate its fleet in full swing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Al-Maawali explained that the company allocates four container carriers and operates three direct shipping lines, saving the time and money of investors. The companys fleet, which consists of 56 carriers, reaches out to 200 different ports in the worlds continents. By the beginning of 2020, four new dry bulk carriers joined the companys fleet.

First quarterly results of the Port of Sohar point to 18% increase in dry bulk handling, in addition to 2% increase in liquid product handling the number of ships that called on the Sultanates ports over the first three months of 2020 increased by 4% to 852 vessels, compared to the corresponding period in 2019. This coincided with a 15% rise in port operations for the same period while ship operations increased by 90% during the first quarter.

Mohammed bin Oufait al-Shanfari, Manager at Port of Salalah, said that container handling operations in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 28%, compared to the corresponding period last year. The volume of import also increased, to keep pace with the rising demand for foodstuff (vegetables, fruits).

Port activity at Salalah also saw an 18% rise, while imports increased by 13% and container handling volume surged by 23%.

Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Abri, CEO of Asyads Marafi, said that more than 50 direct voyages were operated with Bandar Abbas port and Jasek Port of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the launch of the regional maritime route. The number of vessels increased to 14, said al-Abri, adding that Marafi increased the number of direct import voyages from country of origin through the operation of a number of vessels used exclusively for the transport of various types of vegetables and fruits by using large deep-cool containers in cooperation with government departments concerned. -- Tradearabia News Service
New laws passed in Queensland Parliament on Wednesday may help solve one of the country's most infamous crimes.

Fifteen people were murdered in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub fire bombing in Fortitude Valley around 2am on March 8, 1973.

Onlookers mill around the wreckage of the burned out Whiskey Au Go Go night club, Brisbane.

Two career criminals were convicted of putting two 23-litre drums of diesel fuel in the downstairs nightclub foyer before lighting it.

In 2017, Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath announced a second inquest into the massacre would be held following the convictions of Vincent O'Dempsey and Garry Dubois for the murders of Barbara McCulkin and her two daughters 43 years ago.
Investors with investments of $30 million, rather than $100 million as previously envisaged, will be able to have access to the investment nanny tool, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Wednesday.

According to him, the corresponding requirement is outlined in the bill on investment nannies, which will soon be registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

"We lowered this limit. The investment nanny is a special VIP manager, who will be attracted to any investor in Ukraine who has invested $30 million and more," Zelensky said.

He said that such investment support will concern, first of all, Ukrainian investors.

"There is further improvement in the conditions for income tax. If an investor invests in Ukraine, $10 million and more in privatization will remain," Zelensky said.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP)  El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's fight with the other two branches of government continued Tuesday amid the COVID-19 pandemic after he suffered another defeat in the constitutional court and threatened to veto legislation passed overnight by the congress.

When the country's state of emergency expired last week, Bukele extended it via executive decree Saturday night for 30 days. On Monday the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court ruled he couldn't do that.

Then attention turned to the Legislative Assembly, which does have the power to extend the state of emergency, but passed legislation that Bukele found unacceptable.

Bukele promised to veto the assembly's bill, which would have loosened some of the his harshest measures, such as confining people caught violating the stay-at-home order to containment centers for 30 days.

Bukele heaped criticism on the court and the congress via his Twitter account. He accused the court of decreeing that COVID-19 would destroy El Salvador.

El Salvador has reported about 1,500 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 30 deaths.
The second suspect wanted in a drug delivery overdose case that occurred in Upper Allen Township in March was arrested on May 20, according to the Upper Allen Township Police Department.

Police worked with the U.S. Marshalls Office to find 28-year-old Andrei Burkett of Mechanicsburg. He was wanted on charges of drug delivery resulting in death, delivery of a controlled substance, and criminal use of communication facility.

Burkett, and Clayton Carroll, are accused of delivering drugs to a resident in the township on March 22, which led to a drug overdose death. When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive person. The Cumberland County Coroners Office confirmed that the person had died from drugs.

Carroll was arrested on May 1. Burkett is currently at Cumberland County Prison.

His bail is set at $125,000. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 1.

More

Semantics wont set you free, U.S. court tells would-be killer

Pa. man recently released from prison killed estranged wife, himself: police
Imperial Valley News Center

The United States Continues to Lead the Global Response to COVID-19

Washington, DC - Through the American peoples generosity and the U.S. Governments action, the United States continues to demonstrate global leadership in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The American people have given more than $10 billion that will benefit the global COVID-19 response, and we continue to ensure that the substantial U.S. funding and scientific efforts on this front remain a central and coordinated part of the worldwide effort against COVID-19.

Months into fighting this pandemic at home and abroad, the United States continues to lead a global responsebuilding on decades of leadership in life-saving health and humanitarian assistance.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the U.S. Government has committed more than $900 million in State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) emergency health, humanitarian, economic, and development assistance specifically aimed at helping governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fight the pandemic. This funding, provided by Congress, will save lives by improving public health education; protecting healthcare facilities; and increasing laboratory, disease-surveillance, and rapid-response capacity in more than 120 countries.

The United States has mobilized as a nation to make this an impressive global effort. Working with the private sector, we have begun to fulfill President Trumps commitment to provide ventilators to our partners and allies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The first shipment of ventilators donated by the United States, through USAID, arrived in the Republic of South Africa on May 11, 2020. Our foreign assistance funding to date for the response to the COVID-19 pandemic includes an initial $23 million specifically to provide ventilators to some of these partners and allies. We expect to make future additional purchases and shipments of ventilators and related supplies.

The COVID-19 assistance to-date from the State Department and USAID includes the following:

Nearly $300 million in emergency health assistance from USAIDs Global Health Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious-Disease Outbreaks and Global Health Programs account. These funds prioritize interventions to mitigate the pandemic and prepare communities in developing countries affected and at-risk of COVID-19.

Nearly $300 million in humanitarian assistance from USAIDs International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account. This assistance supports case management and keeps essential health services operating; provides risk communication and community engagement programs; supports infection, prevention, and control efforts; provides safe water and hygiene items; and strengthens local capacity and coordination by working with existing health structures and with others in the humanitarian community. These funds prioritize populations affected by ongoing humanitarian crises, particularly displaced people, because of their heightened vulnerability, the elevated risk of severe outbreaks in camps and informal settlements, and anticipated disproportionate mortality in these populations.

More than $150 million from the Economic Support Fund (ESF) account. These funds promote American foreign-policy interests by financing shorter-term mitigation efforts and addressing the second-order impacts of the pandemic in the long term, across a variety of sectors.

Nearly $160 million in humanitarian assistance from the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account, provided through the State Departments Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. These funds help international organizations and NGO partners address challenges posed by the pandemic in refugee, IDP, and host communities as well as other among migrants and other vulnerable people.

This assistance from the State Department and USAID does not include hundreds of millions more being provided by other U.S. Government Departments and Agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Defense (DoD). New COVID-19 foreign assistance is provided in addition to the more than $100 billion in global health funding and nearly $70 billion in overseas humanitarian assistance provided by the United States in the last decade alone.

In addition to this direct funding from the U.S. Government, our All-of-America approach is helping people around the world through the generosity of American private businesses, non-profit groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, and individuals, who have now provided more than $4.3 billion in donations and assistance globally, more than any other nation.

To meet the most urgent needs, U.S. Government Departments and Agencies are coordinating efforts to prioritize foreign assistance to maximize the potential for impact. The United States is providing the following assistance through the State Department and USAID:

Africa:

Angola: $570,000 for health assistance is helping provide risk-communications and water and sanitation, and prevent and control infections in key health facilities in Angola. This assistance comes on top of long-term U.S. investments in Angola, which total $1.48 billion over the past 20 years, including over $613 million for health assistance.

Benin: $1.5 million in health assistance will help Beninois respond to the outbreak by funding the coordination and planning of outbreak-response activities, strengthening surveillance and rapid-response capabilities, and risk-communications and engagement with communities. This assistance joins $1.72 billion in total assistance for Benin over the past 20 years, over $364 million of which was for health.

Botswana: $1.5 million in health assistance to address the outbreak. Funding will support risk-communications and community engagement, with a focus on the most vulnerable populations, the procurement of essential health commodities and logistic support, and strengthening case-management and the prevention and control of infections in key health facilities. This assistance builds on nearly $1.2 billion in total assistance in Botswana over the last 20 years, over $1.1 billion of which has been for health.

Burkina Faso: Nearly $7 million in health and humanitarian funding will go toward risk-communications, water and sanitation, preventing and controlling infections in health facilities, public-health messaging, and more. This includes $2.5 million in health assistance, $1.5 million in IDA humanitarian assistance, and nearly $2.8 million in MRA humanitarian assistance, which will help protect the health of vulnerable people in Burkina Faso during the pandemic. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $2.4 billion total in Burkina Faso, including over $222 million for health alone.

Burundi: More than $3 million in total funding for the response to COVID-19 includes $2 million in health assistance and more than $1 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help protect the health of vulnerable people. The health assistance will improve the planning and coordination of response activities, the strengthening of surveillance and rapid-response capabilities, strengthening capacities for case-management and the prevention and control of infections, and the training of health workers. The United States has invested more than $997 million in total assistance for Burundi, including more than $254 million for health, over the past 20 years.

Cameroon: Nearly $8 million for health and humanitarian assistance will help provide infection-control in key health facilities, strengthen laboratories and surveillance, prepare communities, and bolster local messaging. This includes $6.1 million for health and IDA humanitarian assistance from USAID, in addition to nearly $1.9 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support refugees, IDPs, and host communities. This assistance builds upon more than $960 million in total U.S. investment in the country over the past 20 years, over $390 million of which has been for health.

Central African Republic: More than $10 million in humanitarian assistance, including $6.5 million in IDA humanitarian assistance that will go toward risk-communications, preventing and controlling infections in health facilities, and safe water supplies, and more than $3.5 million in MRA humanitarian assistance that will help protect the health of vulnerable people in the Central African Republic during the pandemic. The U.S. Government has provided $822.6 million in total in the Central African Republic over the last 20 years, including $4.5 million in emergency health assistance in Fiscal Year (FY) 2019.

Republic of Congo (ROC): $250,000 in health assistance will address the outbreak, by supporting the coordination and planning of response activities, risk- communications and community-outreach activities and the training of health workers in protocols for preventing and controlling infections in health facilities. The United States has invested in the Republic of Congo for decades, including more than $171.2 million in total U.S. assistance over the last 20 years, over $36.9 million of which has been for health.

Chad: More than $3.5 million in humanitarian assistance, including $1 million from the IDA account for preventing and controlling infections in health facilities, raising community awareness of COVID-19, and improving hygiene, and nearly $2.6 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help protect the health of vulnerable people in Chad during the pandemic. This new assistance builds upon the foundation of nearly $2 billion in total U.S. assistance over the last 20 years, including more than $30 million for health.

Cote dIvoire: $3.2 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by financing risk-communications and community engagement; the training of health care providers in protocols for preventing and controlling infections in health facilities and the appropriate management of cases of COVID-19 and influenza-like illnesses; and ensuring these facilities are appropriately supplied with essential health commodities. Funding will also finance the training of health workers in critical community-level surveillance techniques, such as case-finding and contact-tracing. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $2.1 billion in long-term development and other assistance in Cote dIvoire.

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): More than $26 million in total including $16 million for health and IDA humanitarian assistance that will improve the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, and support improved awareness of COVID-19, including by working with religious leaders and journalists on risk-communication messaging. More than $5 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will help protect vulnerable people in the DRC during the pandemic. The $6 million of health assistance funding will support supply-chain management and logistics, as well as the procurement of essential health commodities; strengthening critical disease-surveillance activities, including community-based surveillance, contact-tracing, and case-finding; strengthening practices to prevent and control infections at health facilities and train health workers, as well as community-based efforts to improve access to water and basic hygiene materials, with the direct distribution of kits to households to prevent infections. Health assistance also will support mobilizing thousands of volunteers in targeted, high-risk Provinces to conduct risk-communications and community-engagement activities. Finally, approximately $5 million in ESF will go toward distance and alternative education for Congolese children and youth so they can continue to learn and maintain protective routines and social connections while schools remain closed across the country. This builds upon more than $6.3 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $1.5 billion for health.

Djibouti: $750,000 in total, including $500,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak and $250,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to assist vulnerable migrants and host communities as they deal with the pandemic. Health assistance will support strengthening the capacity for testing, supply-planning, supply-chain management and the distribution of urgent health commodities needed for COVID-19. The health assistance also will fund risk-communications and community-outreach activities, the training of health workers to implement protocols to prevent and control infections in health facilities and manage cases of COVID-19; and disease-surveillance and rapid-response protocols and functionality. The United States has already invested more than $338 million in Djibouti over the last 20 years.

Eswatini: $1.1 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by bolstering Eswatinis emergency health response, which could include the procurement of supplies, contact-tracing, laboratory diagnostics, and raising public awareness. This assistance builds upon the foundation of U.S. Government investments in the Kingdom, which total more than $529 million assistance over the last 20 years, including more than $490 million for health.

Ethiopia: More than $23.4 million in assistance to counter COVID-19, including $3.4 million for health and $7.5 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for risk-communications, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, disease-surveillance, contact-tracing, and coordination; $7 million in ESF that will support continuing operation at a major industrial park in Hawassa to preserve critical jobs,; and more than $5.6 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for vulnerable people, including refugees, migrants, and host communities. The health assistance will support strengthening outbreak-response capabilities, including community-based surveillance for case-finding and contact-tracing; strengthening laboratory diagnostic capacity; and optimizing case-management and practices to prevent and control infections in health facilities. Health assistance will also fund risk-communications and community-engagement activities. This assistance is in addition to the United States long-term investments in Ethiopia over the past 20 years of more than $13 billion in total assistance, over $4 billion has been for health alone.

Ghana: $1.6 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by strengthening outbreak-response capabilities, including community-based surveillance for case-finding and contact-tracing; improve laboratory diagnostic capacity; optimize the management of COVID-19 cases and the prevention and control of infections in health facilities; and promote risk-communications and community-engagement activities. This new assistance builds upon $3.8 billion in total U.S. Government investments in Ghana over the last 20 years, including over $914 million for health.

Guinea: $1.3 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by financing risk-communications and community-outreach activities, the training of health workers to implement protocols to prevent and control infections in health facilities; and disease-surveillance and rapid-response protocols and functionality. The United States has invested nearly $1 billion in total assistance in Guinea over the last 20 years, including over $365.5 million for health.

Kenya: Nearly $4.4 million for health and humanitarian assistance, including $3.5 million in health and IDA humanitarian assistance to bolster risk-communications; prepare health-communication networks and media for possible cases; and help provide public-health messaging for media, health workers, and communities; and $947,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance for refugees and host communities. This assistance specific to COVID-19 comes on top of long-term U.S. Government investments in Kenya, which total $11.7 billion over the last 20 years, including more than $6.7 billion for health alone.

Lesotho: $750,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak by strengthening outbreak-response capabilities, including community-based surveillance for case-finding and contact tracing, strengthening laboratory diagnostic capacity, and optimizing case-management and the prevention and control of infections in health facilities. The health assistance also will finance risk-communications and community-engagement activities. This new assistance builds upon decades of U.S. investments in Lesotho, which total more than $1 billion over the last 20 years, including more than $834 million for health.

Liberia: $1.3 million for health assistance will provide critical aid for all 15 Liberian Counties (emergency operation centers, training, contact-tracing, hospitals, and community health care), support quarantine efforts, and provide village-level support. The United States has helped lay a strong foundation for Liberias response to COVID-19 through more than $4 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $675 million for health.

Madagascar: $2.5 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by strengthening laboratory capacity for diagnostics; deploying mobile laboratories for decentralized diagnosis; improving regional and District surveillance, including data systems and the training of community health volunteers in contact-tracing; promoting risk-communications and community-engagement activities, including a staffed hotline, mass-media campaigns and prevention messages; the training of health professionals infection and prevention control training, procurement of essential health commodities, and improvements in waste management. The United States has invested more than $1.5 billion in total assistance for Madagascar over the last 20 years, including over $722 million for health alone.

Malawi: $4.5 million in health assistance to address the outbreak. Funding will support the COVID-19 response and preparedness activities at the district level, including surveillance activities, strengthening infection and prevention control practices, screening at points of entry, and case management. Funding will also support risk communication and community engagement, including radio and social media campaigns; and technical assistance to optimize supply chain logistics and management. The United States has provided more than $3.6 billion in total assistance for Malawi over the past 20 years, including more than $1.7 billion for health.

Mali: More than $8.4 million in assistance for the response to COVID-19, which includes $2.4 million for health assistance and $2 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for risk-communications, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, and coordination; and more than $4 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable in Mali during the pandemic. Health assistance will support risk-communications and community engagement, including by establishing community communication networks with modern and traditional and to call on citizens to counter misinformation and rumors, as well as support to the Ministry of Healths National Hotline; strengthening diagnostic networks and disease-surveillance systems, optimizing real-time surveillance to accelerate the detection and investigation of cases and contact-tracing and train and mobilize existing community-surveillance, early-warning and emergency rapid-response teams to report infections and assist ill persons in getting prompt and appropriate care. The health funding also will finance activities to prevent and control infections at priority case-detection points (including points of entry to Mali along high-traffic cargo routes) and public and community health facilities, including through the procurement of equipment and supplies to prevent infections and manage medical waste. This new assistance builds upon decades of U.S. investments in Mali, which total more than $3.2 billion over the last 20 years, including more than $807 million for health.

Mauritania: $250,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak by financing risk-communications and community-engagement activities, strengthening supply-chain management and logistics, and improving the prevention and control of infections in health facilities. The United States has provided more than $424 million in total assistance over the last 20 years for Mauritania, including more than $27 million for health, which builds a strong foundation for their pandemic response.

Mauritius: $500,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak under the national response strategy for COVID-19, including by strengthening coordination and logistics; developing and disseminating risk-communications and prevention materials at the community level; strengthening protocols for the prevention and control of infections in health facilities; disseminating case-management guidelines and training health workers in their use; improving surveillance and rapid-response protocols and functionality; and expanding laboratory capacity. This new assistance builds upon the foundation of more than $13 million in total U.S. Government investments over the past 20 years, including more than $838,000 for health.

Mozambique: $6.8 million, including $4.8 million for health assistance and $2 million in IDA humanitarian funding will finance risk-communications and community engagement, including mass-media prevention messages; water and sanitation; and the prevention and control of infections in key health facilities in Mozambique. The health assistance also will fund the training of health workers in case-management and ensuring health facilities are prepared to respond to the outbreak. The United States has invested nearly $6 billion in Mozambique over the past 20 years, including more than $3.8 billion for health.

Namibia: $750,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak by improving laboratory capacity for diagnostics and technical assistance in supply-chain management and logistics. This new assistance comes in addition to nearly $1.5 billion in total U.S. Government investments to Namibia over the past 20 years, including more than $970.5 million in long-term health assistance.

Niger: Nearly $5.4 million in assistance includes nearly $800,000 million for health assistance and $2 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for risk-communications, the prevention and control of infectious diseases in health facilities, and coordination; and more than $2.6 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support vulnerable people in Niger during the pandemic, including refugees, and vulnerable migrants, and host communities. This assistance comes on top of more than $2 billion in total U.S. Government investments for Niger in the past 20 years, nearly $233 million for health alone.

Nigeria: More than $30.3 million in assistance, which includes more than $3.3 million for health assistance and $23 million in IDA humanitarian funding for risk-communications, water and sanitation, infection-prevention, and coordination; and nearly $4.1 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for vulnerable people. This assistance joins more than $8.1 billion in total assistance for Nigeria over the past 20 years, including more than $5.2 billion in U.S. health assistance.

Rwanda: $2.2 million in assistance for Rwandas response to COVID-19 includes $1.7 million for health assistance that will help with disease-surveillance and case-management, and $474,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to support refugees and host communities in Rwanda. This comes on top of long-term U.S. Government investments in Rwanda that total more than $2.6 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $1.5 billion for health.

Senegal: $3.9 million in health assistance to support risk-communications, water and sanitation, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, public health messaging, and more. In Senegal, the U.S. has invested nearly $2.8 billion in total over the past 20 years, nearly $880 million for health.

Sierra Leone: $1.7 million in health assistance to address the outbreak by strengthening surveillance activities, case-finding, contact-tracing, risk-communications, community engagement, and the management of cases of COVID-19 at health facilities. This assistance joins decades of U.S. investments in Sierra Leone, totaling more than $5.2 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including nearly $260 million for health.

Somalia: More than $17.1 million, including $12.6 million in IDA and $4.5 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for the response to COVID-19 will fund risk-communications, the prevention and control of infectious diseases in health facilities, case-management, and more, including for refugee returnees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities. This assistance comes in addition to $5.3 billion in total assistance for Somalia over the last 20 years, including nearly $30 million for health.

South Africa: Approximately $8.4 million in health assistance to counter COVID-19 will fund risk-communications, water and sanitation, the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, public health messaging, and more. The United States has also pledged to send up to 1,000 ventilators to South Africa, the first 50 of which arrived on May 11, 2020. This assistance joins more than $7 billion in total assistance by the United States for South Africa in the past 20 years, nearly $6 billion invested for health.

South Sudan: Nearly $21.8 million in assistance for South Sudans response to COVID-19 includes $13.4 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for case-management, the prevention and control of infections, logistics, coordination efforts, risk-communications, water, sanitation and hygiene; $2.75 million in health programming; and more than $5.6 million in MRA humanitarian assistance that will support refugees, IDPs, and host communities in South Sudan during the pandemic. The health assistance will fund expanding the training of health workers and peer educators on proper practices to prevent and control infections in health facilities to protect communities and patients, particularly those at high risk or who are immunocompromised; strengthening capabilities in health facilities and in the community to manage and refer cases of COVID-19. The health assistance also will fund expanding efforts to address community concerns, including by tracking and combating rumors, misconceptions, and grievances. This funding builds upon past U.S. investments in South Sudan totaling $6.4 billion over the past 20 years, including more than $405 million for health.

Sudan: More than $24.1 million in assistance includes $16.8 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for strengthening laboratory capacity, disease-surveillance and contact-tracing, case-management, risk-communications, case-management, disease-surveillance, the prevention and control of infections, and water, sanitation and hygiene; $5 million in ESF for cash assistance to vulnerable families adversely affected by COVID-19; and more than $1.3 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable people. The United States has invested more than $1.6 billion in total assistance for Sudan over the last 20 years, of which more than $3 million was for health.

Tanzania: $3.4 million for health assistance funds the strengthening of laboratory capacity for optimal diagnostics, risk-communications, water and sanitation, the prevention and control of infections, public health messaging, and more. The United States has invested more than $7.5 billion total in Tanzania over the past 20 years, nearly $4.9 billion for health.

Uganda: $3.6 million in assistance includes $2.3 million in health assistance to address the outbreak and nearly $1.3 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support refugees and host communities in Uganda during the pandemic. The health assistance will strengthen the prevention and control of infections and case-management practices in health facilities, including by training health workers in new protocols; promote risk-communications and community engagement, including materials and messages to address most vulnerable groups; and improve management systems to ensure the accountability and availability of, and access to, health commodities, essential medicines, and health supplies in health facilities to maintain the continuity of services. This assistance is provided in addition to the nearly $8 billion in total U.S. Government investments for Uganda over the last 20 years and nearly $4.8 billion for health.

Zambia: $3.4 million for health assistance will fund risk-communications, water and sanitation, the prevention and control of infections, public health messaging, and more. This new assistance joins $4.9 billion total U.S. Government investments for Zambia over the past 20 years, nearly $3.9 billion in U.S. health assistance.

Zimbabwe: Nearly $5 million, including nearly $3 million for health assistance and $2 million for IDA humanitarian assistance will help to prepare laboratories for large-scale testing, support case-finding activities for influenza-like illnesses, implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry, and more. The health assistance will fund the strengthening of laboratory capacity, the prevention and control and management of cases of COVID-19 in health facilities, including hand-washing stations, screening centers, preparing hospitals to be ready to treat COVID-19 patients, training health workers, and setting up alternative care-delivery points. Funding also will also support the training rapid-response teams, community health workers and volunteers; and risk communication and community engagement. This new assistance builds on a history of U.S. investments in Zimbabwe  nearly $3 billion total over the past 20 years, nearly $1.2 billion of which was for health.

Regional Efforts in the Sahel: $5 million in ESF will strengthen the efforts of partner governments and civil society to manage and respond to COVID-19 with transparent communication and response. These investments will cover Burkina Faso, Niger, The Gambia, Chad, and Mali.

Regional Efforts in West Africa: $5 million in ESF will go towards conducting information campaigns with local authorities and communities and engaging community groups, community radio stations, and local media actors to develop targeted messaging in local languages. This assistance will also engage citizens in local-led advocacy, dialogue, and inclusive behavior change. These investments will cover Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Togo, Benin, and Guinea.

Regional Sub-Saharan Africa Humanitarian Assistance: More than $6 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable people during the pandemic.

Asia:

Afghanistan: More than $18.7 million in U.S. assistance specifically provided for Afghanistans COVID-19 response includes more than $5.6 million for health and IDA humanitarian assistance to support the detection and treatment of COVID-19 for IDPs, and nearly $3.1 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for Afghan returnees. In addition, the United States has redirected $10 million in existing resources to support the United Nations Emergency Response Plan for COVID-19 to conduct disease-surveillance, improve laboratories, manage cases of the disease, prevent and control infections in health facilities, engage with local communities, and provide technical assistance to the Government of Afghanistan.

Bangladesh: More than $25.7 million in assistance includes $10.3 million for health and IDA humanitarian assistance to help with case-management, surveillance activities, infection prevention and control, risk communication, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, and more than $15.3 million in MRA humanitarian support for vulnerable people during the pandemic, including refugees and host communities. This builds upon nearly $4 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, which includes more than $1 billion for health.

Bhutan: $1 million in total assistance for COVID-19 response includes $500,000 in ESF to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to generate income for those affected by COVID-19. It also includes $500,000 in health assistance to strengthen diagnostic laboratory capabilities and clinical case-management, provide virtual training for health care providers and lab personnel, and design and produce risk-communications materials. This assistance builds upon more than $6.5 million in total U.S. Government investments over the past 20 years, including $847,000 for health.

Burma: Nearly $13.5 million total, including approximately $6.5 million for health and $4.8 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, case-management, laboratories, risk-communications and community engagement, as well as water and sanitation supplies, including assistance to IDP camps that are facing water shortages. This also includes nearly $2.2 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable people and host communities during the pandemic. This assistance comes on top of long-term U.S. Government investments in Burma that total more than $1.3 billion over the past 20 years, which includes more than $176 million for health.

Cambodia: More than $11 million in total assistance for the response to COVID-19 includes $5 million in ESF for relief and job-skills training for vulnerable people, such as returning migrants, and expanded efforts to counter trafficking and protect children. It also includes more than $6 million in health assistance to help the Cambodian Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, communicate risk, support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. The U.S. Government has invested more than $1.6 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, which includes more than $730 million for health.

India: Nearly $5.9 million in health assistance to help India slow the spread of COVID-19, provide care for the affected, disseminate essential public health messages to communities, strengthen case-finding and surveillance, and mobilize innovative financing mechanisms for emergency preparedness and response to the pandemic. This builds on a foundation of nearly $2.8 billion in total assistance to India over the last 20 years, which includes more than $1.4 billion for health.

Indonesia: $11 million includes more than $9 million in health and IDA humanitarian assistance to help the Indonesian Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. It also includes nearly $1.5 million in MRA humanitarian assistance for refugees, vulnerable migrants, and their host communities. The U.S. Government has invested more than $5 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $1 billion for health.

Kazakhstan: More than $3.1 million for health assistance will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This new assistance builds upon U.S. investments of more than more than $2 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years, including $86 million for health.

Kyrgyz Republic: Approximately $900,000 for health assistance will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. The United States has invested nearly $1.2 billion in total assistance for Kyrgyzstan over the past 20 years, including more than $120 million for health.

Laos: Nearly $4.5 million for health assistance is helping the government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. This assistance builds upon U.S. Government investment in Laos over time, including more than $348 million over the past decade, of which nearly $92 million was health assistance.

Malaysia: $1.2 million total includes $1 million in health assistance that will fund the prevention and control of infections in health facilities, community engagement, disease-surveillance and contact-tracing systems, bolster risk-communications, and more in response to COVID-19. It also includes $200,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. This assistance builds upon a foundation of decades of U.S. investment in Malaysia, totaling more than $288 million over the past 20 years, including more than $3.6 million for health.

Maldives: $2 million in ESF will support the expansion of social-protection services led by local civil-society organizations (CSOs) and assist them to advocate effectively for COVID recovery policies. Funding will provide technical assistance to the government to develop effective economic, fiscal, monetary measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. investments in Maldives include more than $30 million in total assistance since 2004.

Mongolia: Nearly $1.2 million for health assistance is helping the Mongolian Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. The United States has invested more than $1 billion in total assistance for Mongolia over the past 20 years, including nearly $106 million for health.

Nepal: $7.3 million in total assistance includes $2.5 million in ESF to support local governments and disaster-management committees to respond to the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, and will provide small grants to the private sector and CSOs to enable economic recovery, mitigate food insecurity, and address the needs of vulnerable populations. It also includes $4.8 million for health assistance that is helping the Nepalese Government to conduct community-level risk-communications, prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, and more. Over the past 20 years, U.S. Government investment in Nepal totals more than $2 billion, including more than $603 million for health.

Pacific Islands: Nearly $12.2 million total in assistance includes $5 million in ESF to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to combat disinformation and hate speech and to protect the rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups. Small grants also will be available at the community and national levels to increase their resilience and ability to respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19. This total also includes $4.7 million for health assistance, which is helping governments prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness; and $2.5 million in IDA humanitarian assistance to support risk-communications, the prevention and control of infectious diseases in health facilities, logistics, coordination efforts, and more. Over the last 20 years, the United States has invested over $5.21 billion in assistance to the Pacific Islands. Over the last decade, the United States has invested more than $620 million for health for the Pacific Islands.

Papua New Guinea (PNG): $3.55 million for health assistance is helping the Government of PNG prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, and support technical experts for response and preparedness, risk-communications, the prevention and control of infectious diseases in health facilities, and more. The United States has invested over $108 million total in Papua New Guinea over the past 20 years, including more than $52 million for health.

Pakistan: Nearly $18 million in total new assistance for Pakistans response to COVID-19 includes a $5 million contribution by USAID to the agreement between the Department of International Development of the United Kingdom with the Government of Pakistan to support its emergency cash-assistance program. USAIDs contribution will support about 66,000 vulnerable families affected by COVID-19; $10 million in health assistance to strengthen monitoring and better prepare communities to identify potential outbreaks, including funding for the training of healthcare providers and other urgent needs; and nearly $2.9 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable people in Pakistan. U.S. long-term investment in Pakistan over the past 20 years includes more than $18.4 billion in total assistance, which includes nearly $1.2 billion for health alone.

The Philippines: More than $15 million in total COVID-19 assistance includes $5 million in ESF to provide grants and skills training to heavily affected sectors and communities; facilitate access to credit for micro and small enterprises; and support the efforts of the national government to improve crisis-management and procurement and promote a regulatory environment that enhances the resilience of communities and businesses;. In addition, about $6.5 million in health assistance and $2.8 million in IDA humanitarian assistance will help upgrade laboratories and specimen-transport systems, intensify case-finding and event-based surveillance; improve community-level preparedness and response; and support Filipino and international technical experts in risk-communications, the prevention and control of infectious diseases in health facilities, the promotion of handwashing and hygiene, and more. Finally, $875,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance will support vulnerable people during the pandemic. The United States has invested more than $4.5 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, which includes $582 million in the Philippines health assistance.

Sri Lanka: More than $5.8 million in total assistance includes $2 million in ESF to increase social services for areas and populations most affected by the COVID-19 crisis, address the specific threats to social cohesion, and mitigate negative economic impacts; $2 million in additional ESF for strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises and increasing womens economic participation; and $1.3 million in health assistance to help the Sri Lankan Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, conduct risk-communications, prevent and control infectious diseases in health facilities, and more. Finally, $590,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance will support vulnerable people during the pandemic. Over the past 20 years, U.S. assistance in Sri Lanka has totaled more than $1 billion, which includes $26 million for health.

Tajikistan: Approximately $866,000 for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. This support builds on more than $1 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, which includes nearly $125 million for health.

Thailand: More than $6.5 million for health assistance will help the Thai Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, promote risk-communications, prevent and control infectious diseases in health facilities, and more. $730,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance will support surveillance and response capacity in all nine camps on the Thailand-Burma border hosting refugees from Burma. This new assistance builds upon long-term U.S. Government investments in Thailand of more than $1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, which includes nearly $214 million for health.

Timor-Leste: Almost $1.1 million for health assistance is helping the Government of Timor-Leste prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. The United States has invested more than $542 million in total assistance for Timor-Leste since independence in 2002, including nearly $70 million for health.

Turkmenistan: Approximately $920,000 for health support has been made available to help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has collaborated closely with the Government of Turkmenistan and local partners to implement bilateral and regional programs totaling more than $207 million, including over $21 million in the health sector.

Uzbekistan: Approximately $3.9 million in health funding is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. This COVID-19 response assistance builds on more than $1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $122 million in the health sector alone.

Vietnam: Nearly $9.5 million in total assistance for response to COVID-19 includes $5 million in ESF, which will bring much-needed resources to bear immediately, including to support private-sector recovery by enhancing access to finance for businesses; improve firms capacity during an expected surge in demand; and working with the Government of Vietnam to bolster its relief interventions. It also includes $4.5 million in health assistance to help the Government prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for preparedness and response, conduct community education and engagement, prevent infections in health-care settings, public health screening at points of entry, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $1.8 billion in total assistance for Vietnam, including more than $706 million for health.

Regional Efforts in Asia: $2 million in ESF will provide essential services to vulnerable migrants in Central Asia stranded across the region as a result of border closures and ensure their safe return home in accordance with their own wishes and the help of NGOs and national governments. Additionally, $800,000 in health assistance is helping governments and NGOs across the region prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, promote risk-communications, prevent and control infectious diseases in health facilities, and more. Furthermore, nearly $2.8 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support vulnerable people in Southeast Asia and $425,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance will help vulnerable people in Central Asia during the pandemic. In addition to historic bilateral support to individual countries in the region, the United States has provided more than $226 million for health assistance regionally, and in total more than $3 billion in development and other assistance provided regionally over the last 20 years.

Europe and Eurasia:

Albania: More than $2 million for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. Over the last 20 years, the United States has invested more than $693 million in total assistance to Albania, including more than $51.8 million for health.

Armenia: $2.7 million for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. The United States has invested more than $1.57 billion in total assistance to Armenia over the past 20 years, including nearly $106 million for health.

Azerbaijan: Nearly $3.6 million in total assistance includes $3 million in health assistance which is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. It also includes $565,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance that will help vulnerable people and host communities during the pandemic. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $894 million in total assistance to Azerbaijan, including nearly $41 million for health.

Belarus: $1.7 million for health funding is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. This new assistance comes on top of decades of U.S. investment in Belarus, totaling more than $301 million over the past 20 years, including nearly $1.5 million for health.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: $2.2 million for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. The United States has invested more than $1.1 billion in total assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past 20 years, including $200,000 for health.

Bulgaria: $500,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak. This new assistance builds on longstanding U.S. assistance for Bulgaria, which totals more than $558 million in total assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $6 million for health.

Georgia: $2.7 million for health funding is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. The United States has provided more than $3.6 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, including nearly $139 million for health.

Greece: Nearly $2.9 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts for migrants and refugees in Greece. This new assistance builds upon a foundation of U.S. support for Greece, which totals more than $202 million in total investments over the last 20 years, including nearly $1.8 million for health.

Italy: U.S. support includes $50 million in economic assistance implemented by USAID to bolster Italys response to COVID-19. USAID is expanding and supplementing the work of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and faith-based groups responding to the pandemic in Italy and mitigating its community impact. USAID is also working with the Italian government to purchase health commodities and working to support Italian companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kosovo: Nearly $1.6 million in health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This assistance to combat COVID-19 is in addition to long-term U.S. investments, which total over $772 million in total assistance in Kosovo over the past 20 years, including more than $10 million for health.

Moldova: Nearly $2.2 million for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This COVID-19 assistance builds upon U.S. investments of more than $1 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, including nearly $42 million for health.

Montenegro: $300,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak. This new assistance joins long-term U.S. investment in Montenegro totaling more than $332 million, including more than $1 million for health.

North Macedonia: $1.5 million for health assistance is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $738 million in total assistance for North Macedonia, including nearly $11.5 million for health.

Romania: $800,000 in health assistance to address the outbreak. In addition, the U.S. Government fully funded an operation by the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) to transport personal protective equipment (PPE) from South Korea to Romania. The United States has invested in Romania for decades, totaling nearly $700 million in total U.S. assistance in the last 20 years, including more than $55 million for health.

Serbia: More than $2 million for health assistance is helping: expand testing, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance; deploy additional technical expertise for response and preparedness; bolster risk communication and community engagement; and improve hygiene practices in the home. The United States has invested more than $1 billion in total assistance to Serbia over the past 20 years, including nearly $5.4 million for health.

Turkey: Nearly $5.7 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and host communities in Turkey. This new funding is in addition to the $18 million for Syrian refugee assistance inside Turkey announced March 3, and builds upon nearly $1.4 billion in total U.S. assistance to Turkey over the past 20 years, including more than $3 million for health assistance, helping lay the foundation for the current response.

Ukraine: $15.5 million in total assistance includes $13.1 million in health and IDA humanitarian assistance that will improve the ability of local health care institutions to care for the sick and combat further spread of COVID-19 while increasing public communication to lower contagion risk. These funds will also mitigate secondary impacts such as loss of livelihoods and public services to vulnerable populations, including conflict-affected communities in eastern Ukraine. It also includes $2.4 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support vulnerable populations during the pandemic. The United States has invested nearly $5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine over the past 20 years, including nearly $362 million for health.

Regional Efforts in Europe and Eurasia: $5 million in ESF will empower civil society actors to safeguard democratic institutions and ensure citizens are heard during the pandemic. Funding will also assist civil society organizations to provide citizen oversight over their governments efforts to respond to COVID-19.

Latin America and the Caribbean:

Argentina: $300,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and host communities. This funding is in addition to U.S. funding for Argentina over the past 20 years, $95.1 million total including nearly $696,000 for health.

Bahamas: $750,000 in health assistance will increase risk communication and community engagement, infection prevention and control, surveillance and rapid response, and strengthen case management. This assistance comes in addition to decades of U.S. investment in the Bahamas, including nearly $143.1 million in total assistance over the past 20 years, $264,800 of which was for health.

Belize: $300,000 in previously announced health assistance to address the outbreak and improve operational capacity and case-management. This assistance builds upon past U.S. investment in Belize, which totals more than $120 million over the past 20 years, including nearly $12 million for health.

Bolivia: Nearly $900,000, including $750,000 in previously announced health assistance to build capacity in COVID-19 diagnostics and improve epidemiological surveillance; and $130,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and host communities. This assistance joins long-term U.S. investment in Bolivia, including nearly $2 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, which includes $200 million for health.

Brazil: Nearly $3.5 million, including $2 million in new health funding that will provide immediate support to vulnerable communities of the Amazon including risk communication and community engagement, infection prevention and control, water and sanitation activities, and surveillance and rapid response; $500,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and host communities; and $950,000 in previously announced ESF to incentivize private sector investments in mitigating non-health COVID impacts on rural and vulnerable urban populations. This assistance builds upon past U.S. investment in Brazil, which totals more than $617 million over the past 20 years, including nearly $103 million for health.

Chile: $20,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees and host communities. U.S. assistance to Chile totals $105.9 million over the 20 past years, including $914,000 for health.

Colombia: Nearly $13.2 million in assistance for Colombias response to COVID-19 includes $8.5 million in previously announced IDA humanitarian assistance that is helping surveil the spread of the virus, provide water and sanitation supplies, manage COVID-19 cases, and more; and nearly $4.7 million in new and previously announced MRA humanitarian assistance, which will support efforts to help vulnerable people during the pandemic, including refugees, internally displaced persons, and host communities. In Colombia, the United States has invested nearly $12 billion in total assistance over the past 20 years, which includes approximately $32.5 million in health assistance.

Costa Rica: Nearly $900,000 in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $800,000 in new health assistance and $80,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities. U.S. funding in support of Costa Rica over the past 20 years totals $207 million, including $19.2 million in health assistance.

Dominican Republic: Nearly $3.7 million in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $275,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for refugees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities. This funding is in addition to $1.4 million in previously announced health assistance to address the outbreak, which is supporting epidemiological analysis and forecasting, contact-tracing, as well as pandemic surveillance; and $2 million in new ESF to address critical needs in the areas of social protection, psychosocial support, education, water and sanitation, and food security in vulnerable communities. . The United States has invested in the Dominican Republics long-term health and development through more than $1 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, which includes nearly $298 million for health.

Ecuador: More than $8.5 million in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $540,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response effort for refugees and host communities. This assistance is in addition to the previously announced $2 million for health assistance that will increase testing capacity, implement risk communications and infection prevention activities, and strengthen clinical management; and $6 million in IDA humanitarian assistance that will provide support to transportation and logistics, as well as risk communication and community outreach efforts. Over the last 20 years, the United States long-term commitment to Ecuador includes more than $1 billion in total assistance, of which nearly $36 million for health assistance  helping Ecuador respond to other major public health challenges such as Zika and Malaria.

El Salvador: Nearly $4.6 million in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $2 million in previously announced ESF to address second-order COVID-related impacts in El Salvador through job creation and increased access to credit, both critical factors in driving illegal immigration to the United States, and nearly $2.6 million for health assistance to address the outbreak. Support will include infection prevention, control, and case-management. Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested in El Salvadors health and long-term development through more than $2.6 billion in total assistance, which includes $111 million for health.

Guatemala: More than $2.4 million in previously announced health assistance for Guatemala will strengthen the health institutions to respond to COVID-19 in the areas of infection prevention and control, surveillance, risk communication, and clinical case-management. U.S. long-term investment in Guatemalas health and development includes more than $2.6 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, which includes $564 million for health.

Guyana: $350,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response effort for refugees and host communities. This assistance comes in addition to the regional COVID-19 response efforts in the Caribbean. Regionally, US assistance totaled $840 million total over the past 20 years, which includes $236 million for health.

Haiti: $13.2 million in previously announced health and IDA humanitarian assistance for Haiti will support risk communication efforts, improve water and sanitation, prevent infections in health facilities, manage COVID-19 cases, strengthen laboratories, and more. The United States has invested nearly $6.7 billion in total assistance, including more than $1.8 billion for health in Haiti over the past 20 years.

Honduras: More than $2.4 million for health assistance for Honduras will help the Government respond to the epidemic through focused support in the areas of lab strengthening, improved disease surveillance, and clinical management of COVID-19 cases. Some of these funds will also target infection control in migrant-receiving communities. The United States has also invested nearly $1.9 billion in total assistance, which includes $178 million for health, for Honduras over the past 20 years.

Jamaica: $1 million in total health funding includes $300,000 in new funds supporting coordination, infection prevention, control, and management, risk communication efforts, and surveillance. This assistance builds upon U.S. investments of nearly $619 million total over the past 20 years, including nearly $87 million for health.

Mexico: More than $1.8 million in MRA humanitarian funding will support COVID-19 response efforts for refugees, asylum seekers, vulnerable migrants, and host communities in Mexico. U.S. long-term investment in Mexico has helped build the foundation for Mexicos COVID-19 response  this adds up to nearly $4.8 billion in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $61 million for health.

Nicaragua: $750,000 in health assistance will provide training on infection prevention and control, pandemic management, and support for targeted communication and community engagement activities and community case management for the most at-risk populations for COVID-19.

Panama: $825,000 in total response, including $750,000 in previously announced health assistance to optimize health system capacity to care for COVID-19 patients; and $75,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for refugees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities. The United States has a history of investing in Panamas health and long-term development with more than $425 million in total U.S. assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $33.5 million for health.

Paraguay: Nearly $1.4 million in total response, including $1.3 million in previously announced health assistance to support risk communication efforts, infection control and prevention, clinical case-management, laboratory capacity strengthening, and surveillance; and $95,000 in MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for refugees and host communities. U.S. investment in Paraguay is long-term and totals more than $456 million total over the past 20 years, including more than $42 million for health.

Peru: Nearly $6 million in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $415,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for refugees and host communities; $3 million in previously announced ESF for addressing the economic impacts of COVID-19 and preventing backsliding on shared, top-level development and security issues, including the fight against the drug trade; and $2.5 million in previously announced health assistance to provide technical assistance and training in surveillance, infection prevention and control, risk communication, and community engagement. The United States strong history of investing in Perus health and long-term development has laid the foundation for Perus response, with more than $3.5 billion in total U.S. assistance over the last 20 years, including nearly $265 million for health.

Trinidad and Tobago: $250,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for refugees and host communities. This assistance comes in addition to the regional COVID-19 efforts in the Caribbean, and historic assistance. Regionally, U.S. assistance totaled $840 million total over the past 20 years, which includes $236 million for health.

Uruguay: $600,000 in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $500,000 in new health assistance for facilitating risk communication and community engagement, providing hygiene and medical supplies for health care facilities, and mitigating the secondary effects of the outbreak by continuing access to social-protection programs, and $100,000 in new MRA humanitarian assistance to support the COVID-19 response for migrants, refugees, and host communities. This assistance comes in addition to the more than $22 million in U.S. assistance provided to Uruguay over the past 20 years.

Venezuela: More than $12.3 million previously announced total humanitarian assistance to the Venezuelan people is helping surveil the spread of the virus, provide water and sanitation supplies, manage COVID-19 cases, and more. In Venezuela, the U.S. has invested more than $278 million in total long-term assistance over the past 20 years, including more than $1.3 million in direct health assistance. In the last year, the U.S. provided additional lifesaving humanitarian assistance and development programming inside Venezuela that are not captured in COVID-19 response amounts.

Regional Efforts in Central America: Nearly $850,000 in previously announced MRA humanitarian assistance will support regional efforts to respond to the Central America migration crisis to help vulnerable people in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras during the pandemic.

Regional Efforts in the Caribbean: $2.2 million in total health funding, including $500,000 in new funding to help 10 Caribbean countries (Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago) scale up their risk communication efforts, provide water and sanitation, prevent and control infectious diseases in health facilities, manage COVID-19 cases, build laboratory capacity, and conduct surveillance. This builds upon decades of strategic U.S. investment in the region, including more than $840 million total over the past 20 years, which includes $236 million for health.

Middle East and North Africa:

Algeria: $2 million in health assistance to support Algerias response to COVID-19 and mitigate its impact on Algerian society by strengthening risk communication and community engagement approaches under the Government of Algeria Preparedness and Response Plan.

Iraq: More than $44 million in COVID-19 assistance for Iraq includes more than $33.1 million for health and IDA humanitarian assistance that is helping prepare laboratories, implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance for influenza-like illnesses, and more. The funding includes more than $10.8 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to assist vulnerable people during the pandemic, including refugees and host communities. This new assistance builds upon long-term investment in Iraq, which adds up to more than $70 billion in total U.S. assistance in the past 20 years, including nearly $4 billion in the health sector alone.

Jordan: More than $8.4 million in assistance includes more than $6.9 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to support response to COVID-19 efforts to help vulnerable people in Jordan, including refugees and host communities, and $1.5 million in health assistance, which will support infection prevention and control to stop the spread of the disease, as well as laboratory strengthening for large-scale testing of COVID-19. The United States also is spearheading donor support to the Government of Jordan, coordinating life-saving assistance and prioritizing investments to respond rapidly now and to plan ahead as the threat evolves. Our investments in the last 20 years alone total more than $18.9 billion in total assistance, including more than $1.8 billion for health.

Lebanon: $13.3 million in assistance for Lebanon includes $5.3 million in IDA humanitarian assistance for response to COVID-19 activities targeting vulnerable Lebanese, such as supporting private health facilities to properly triage, manage, and refer patients; ensure continuity of essential health services; carry out risk communication and community outreach activities, and increase access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. $8 million in MRA humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts to help refugees and host communities in Lebanon. This assistance builds upon the nearly $4.9 billion in bilateral assistance, including more than $187 million for health assistance, that the U.S. has provided for Lebanon in the last 20 years. In addition to the bilateral funding, the U.S. has provided more than $2.3 billion in humanitarian assistance to respond to the Syria crisis in Lebanon.

Libya: $12.4 million in response to COVID-19 includes $3.5 million in ESF to help municipalities to formalize their crisis response functions, develop emergency management plans, and train teams in Crisis Emergency Response. In addition, assistance will expand key public awareness, education, and guidance messages during the COVID-19 crisis. It also includes $6 million in IDA humanitarian assistance being provided for Libya to support risk communication, improve case-management, bolster coordination for an effective COVID-19 response, and strengthen infection prevention and control; and nearly $3 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable people during the pandemic, including refugees, vulnerable migrants, and host communities.

Morocco: Nearly $7.7 million in total response to COVID-19 funding includes $4 million in ESF to support socio-economic recovery among marginalized and vulnerable populations in urban and rural populations through a cash relief program; and $3.7 million for health assistance that is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. This assistance builds upon long-term U.S. investments in Morocco adding up to more than $2.6 billion in total assistance over the last 20 years, including $64.5 million for health.

Syria: More than $31 million in humanitarian assistance for the response to COVID-19 in Syria supports risk communication, disease surveillance, water, sanitation and hygiene programs, infection prevention and control. This assistance joins decades of U.S. investments for the Syrian people, including more than $10 billion in humanitarian assistance for people in need inside Syria, Syrian refugees, and host communities since the beginning of the conflict. A number of U.S. sanctions exemptions and authorizations apply with respect to the provision of humanitarian assistance, including medicines and medical supplies, throughout Syria.

Tunisia: $600,000 for health assistance will help prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk communication, and more. The United States has invested more than $1.3 billion in total U.S. assistance for Tunisia over the past 20 years, including more than $7 million for health.

West Bank/Gaza: $5 million in IDA humanitarian assistance is helping provide immediate, life-saving assistance in the West Bank.

Yemen: More than $2.5 million in humanitarian assistance will support COVID-19 response efforts to help refugees, vulnerable migrants, internally displaced persons, and host communities. In the past 20 years, the United States has provided nearly $4 billion in total assistance for Yemens long-term development, including nearly $132 million for health.

Regional Efforts in the Middle East: $3 million in MRA humanitarian assistance to help vulnerable people during the pandemic.

Global:
More than half or 53 percent of COVID-19 patients in Austin, Texas are Latinos while 38 percent who died due to the virus still came from the Latino community according to a recently published article.

Latinos Were Hit Hard in Austin, Texas

34 percent of the total population in Austin, Texas are coming from the Latino community. But more than half of people who get infected by the virus both in Austin and Travis County are coming from Latino community.

There are many factors why Latinos are hit hard in Austin and Travis. Few of these could be their nature of work, lack of health information about the virus due to the language barrier, proper treatment due to their immigration status, and more.

Jill Ramirez, president and CEO of the Latino HealthCare Forum, said: "In speaking with people, many don't really understand what an infectious disease is. They thought it was a myth. If there is a lot of misinformation on Facebook, it gets passed on in our community and becomes a fact. Consequently, we don't see people follow the CDC guidelines"

Ramirez has observed that many are still not following the health and safety guidelines set by the CDC like the mandatory use of face mask and the stringent observance of social distancing. This could lead to an increase of COVID-19 cases and death toll if this continues.

The Latino HealthCare Forum is just one of the Latino groups asking Austin Mayor Steve Adler and the City council to look into and address the disproportionate impact of the virus most especially in the Hispanic and Latino community.

53 percent of all COVID-19 patients in Austin and Travis are Latinos and 38 percent of those who died due to the virus still came from the group. Additionally, 66.1 percent of those who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 related illnesses were Hispanics and Latinos.

Hispanic Leaders Asking the Officials to Step Up and Address the Issue

The Latino leaders issued a public call on Monday after the virtual call they held with Mayor Adler to raise their concerns. However, during the virtual call, it seems for them that the city Mayor did not understand the urgency of their request.

Paul Saldana, the co-founder of the Hispanic Advocate Business Leaders Association, said: "The numbers have been increasing the last two weeks. More specific, the last two weeks have been quite alarming for a lot of people in the Latino community."

Saldana said that to address the problems of Latinos, the actions should be culturally relevant and bilingual. It should be taken into account that there are 25 Latino subcultures in the city and many Latinos will listen to the information if it is in a language where most of them can understand, Spanish.

Saldana explained: "Mayor Adler was not receptive. He pushed back. He said, 'I don't know if it's something we need to do.' It's something he'd have to talk to the city manager about."

Meanwhile, Austin is one of the earliest cities that respond to the threat brought by COVID-19 by canceling its major revenue generator ordered the shelter-in-place and the closure of bars and restaurants.

Read related article:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  Six hospitals were ordered to explain why they denied emergency care to patients amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said on Wednesday.

Duque said show cause orders were issued to the following facilities: Northern Caloocan Doctors Hospital, Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center, FEU Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation, Bermudez Polymedic Hospital, Skyline Hospital and Medical Center and Grace General Hospital.

"Ang DOH kaagaran naman pinaimbestiga itong mga ospital at nagpadala ng show cause order para ipaliwanag ng anim na ospital," Duque told the Senate in a hearing held online.

[Translation: The DOH immediately ordered an investigation on these hospitals and sent show cause orders asking them to explain.]

He said that three of the hospitals have responded, while the rest may face criminal or administrative charges from the health facilities oversight board if they do not reply.

"Bukas magco-convene sila (oversight board) para alamin kung ito ba ay nararapat na sampahan ng criminal case or (if we will) file administrative sanctions against these hospitals," he said.

[Translation: The oversight board will convene tomorrow to discuss if it will file criminal or administrative charges against these hospitals.]

Hospitals and doctors who reject patients may also have their license to operate or practice revoked, the secretary said.

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered to investigate facilities who have been refusing COVID-19 patients, saying he received reports that nine hospitals have denied admission.

The Health department also stated in its previous memorandum that public and private hospitals are not allowed to refuse patients not allowed to refuse patients who need medical assistance.
Canadian law enforcement has levelled terrorism charges against a teenager who belonged the burgeoning INCEL, or involuntary celibate, movement and was allegedly involved in the murder of a woman in Toronto this February.

This is a precedent setting action and the first time ever that a killing or violence related to INCELs has been formally described as terrorism. Experts believe that this action will help broaden the application of terrorism charges in other instance that are motived by ideology.

The 17-year-old charged with terrorism has not been named since he is a minor. In a rampage on February 24, the youth allegedly murdered 24-year-old Ashley Noell Arzaga at the Crown Spa in the city, while also injuring two others. The charges laid against him now are defined as first-degree murder - terrorist activity and attempted murder.

Terrorism comes in many forms and its important to note that it is not restricted to any particular group, religion or ideology, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Toronto Police said in a joint statement. They added that the attack was inspired by the Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremist (IMVE) movement commonly known as INCEL.

Canadian national broadcaster CBC described the INCELs as a misogynistic online movement where participants typically express frustration toward women over their own lack of sexual success, and sometimes threaten violence against them.

Violence related to INCELs has increased in recent years. In 2018, Alex Minassian, also inspired by INCEL, used his van to run over and kill 10 people. Sixteen others were injured in the incident.

Minassian, 25, declared himself to be a soldier in the INCEL rebellion. He was charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Canadian authorities had said that the majority of the victims were women, ranging in age from their mid-20s to early 80s.

The outlet Global News noted that such attacks have happened in Florida in November 2018 and Texas in June last year.
Local officials will give an update on flooding conditions and evacuation procedures Wednesday afternoon.

Officials from Midland County Emergency Management, the City of Midland and the Midland County will provide an update to the public regarding ongoing flooding conditions in Midland County, and current evacuation procedures due to the Edenville and Sanford dam failures.

The press conference will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the Midland County Law Enforcement Center, located at 2727 Rodd Street.

Questions from media will not be taken during this press conference. Members of the media will be granted access to the inside of the Law Enforcement Center.

The press conference will also be streamed live via the Midland County Emergency Management page (www.facebook.com/MidlandCountyEmergencyManagement), and viewable from the City of Midland, Michigan  Municipal Government Facebook page (www.facebook.com/cityofmidlandmi).

- Processed by Mitchell Kukulka, Mitchell.Kukulka@mdn.net
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are building their new life in Los Angeles after stepping down as senior members of the royal family. However, while they may be happy to get what they want, a royal expert warned that it won't be easy.

A Whole New World

Prince Harry left his life in the U.K. to start a new one with his wife Meghan and son Prince Archie in the U.S. While his wife was blamed by the media for the decision, Prince Harry also wanted the change in order to protect Markle and his son from the "same powerful forces" that ruined his mom.

Nonetheless, speaking to FOX News, royal historian Marlene Koenig cautioned the couple -- Prince Harry specifically -- about the new life they are walking on.

"For Harry, this is a new world. Yes, they have security, but the trappings of a royal life were left in the U.K. so for Harry, now sheltered in a very nice house, will soon - once quarantine is lifted - find a whole world outside the front door," Koenig said.

Moreover, as their new life in America unfolds before them, royal author Leslie Carroll warned the couple that they will be up against new challenges.

"As much as Harry has always enjoyed America as a visitor, it will be a challenge for him to live in the states permanently if that becomes the Sussexes' decision," she explained.

America may promise them a fresh new start, but the reality of it all will slowly sink in. For Harry, he will be dealing with days when he wished he never left home.

"It's still early days; so we'll see how things eventually end up. Challenges facing the couple will be Harry's inevitable home sicknesses for his family back in the U.K., and the equally inevitable issues of finances and taxes. No couple, whoever they are, likes those discussions!" Carroll added.

Caroll further emphasized that these financial issues are real and Harry and Meghan have to deal with it themselves. Perhaps the only consolation, according to the expert, is that the couple has always been known to be communicative to each other.

"But what Meghan and Harry seem to have to go for them is a healthy ability to communicate, which experts say is the most important thing for a healthy marriage."

The American Dream

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to uproot their family from the U.K, they were scrutinized heavily. Meghan, in particular, was questioned for her real intentions. However, they still pushed through their plan and even moved to the U.S. to start a private and financially independent life.

Koenig, for her part, went on to highlight that despite the limitations of the coronavirus pandemic, both Prince Harry and Meghan were still able to do a little bit of charity work in Los Angeles. They have also remained in touch with the patronages they support.

"At some point, they will put down roots, but being in quarantine does put a damper on the plans they may have been ready to announce regarding their new nonprofit, Archewell and other [projects]," Koenig said.

"They appear to be thriving, but I also suspect that they are chafing at the bit, and want to get started on whatever projects they are considering."

As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle embark on their new life in America, their fans hope that the royal couple will soon find the happily ever after that they deserve.
A woman in South Carolina has been charged with the third-degree assault and battery of an 11-year-old girl who she wrongly accused of stealing mail.

Skhylur Davis - who is black - was collecting letters for her grandmother Alice Patterson on May 11 when 38-year-old Elizabeth Shirey - who is white - assumed she was up to no good.

Shirey approached a group, which included three other juveniles, grabbed Davis and attempted to pull the mail out of her hands.

When Shirey realized it didn't belong to her she attempted to rectify her actions by apologizing and offering the little girl cookies.

Scroll down for video

Skhylur Davis was collecting her grandmother's letters when Elizabeth Shirey, 38, pulled her arms and tried to grab the mail near their homes in South Carolina

Pictured are the multiple mailboxes in the Aiken area where the incident happened on May 11

Grandmother Alice Patterson said: 'We're hurt, we're upset, and we're angry. She's angry and hurt. She was violated.' She is pictured with attorney Justin Bamberg in a video conference

In a news conference with WRDW, Davis said at that point Shirey's husband approached them and said: 'If you were a different type of guy, then this would have been another story.'

Davis said in the news conference that he didn't use any other word but that 'you don't have to think about what type he meant'.

Police responded to the scene and issued a citation to the woman. She wasn't taken into custody due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Davis' lawyer Justin Bamberg said it was important to raise awareness of the incident because of the many cases of unprovoked violence against African Americans and because of the child's young age.

Bamberg mentioned the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was killed by two white men in Georgia on February 23 after he peered into a building site while out jogging. The suspects have claimed they believed Arbery to be a burglar when he was spotted looking at the incomplete structure.

Bamberg told the Augusta Chronicle that Davis is aware of that incident and thinks it's sad black people are prejudged in such a negative way.

The little girl said in the news conference that past incidents against black people influenced her demeanor in the situation.

'I wasn't scared because in this type of situation, you need to do anything but be scared,' David said. 'It shouldn't be like this and it's wrong.'

Alice Patterson has lived in the middle class area of Aiken (pictured) for about a year now

When Shirey realized the mail didn't belong to her she attempted to rectify her actions by apologizing and offering the little girl cookies, an incident report claims

Alice Patterson has lived in the middle class area for about a year and said she usually sends her granddaughter down Whitemarsh Drive to get the mail.

She said what happened to her granddaughter is unacceptable and recalled prejudice aimed at her as she grew up.

Shirey was issued a citation but was not taken into custody

'We're hurt, we're upset, and we're angry. She's angry and hurt. She was violated,' Patterson said. 'Growing up in the south, we had to endure this; our parents had to endure this. It's 2020. We will not have our children go through what we had to go through.'

The attorney said the family isn't interested in a civil lawsuit but wants the criminal justice system to deal with the case in hope it will mean progress in America.

'Now, where are we at as a society -- forget race, forget ethnicity, forget gender, forget sexual preference -- where are we at as a society when an 11-year-old child has to be cognizant of that when she's interacting with a grown woman?' Bamberg said.

'Most importantly, this is bigger than just Mrs. Shirey and what happened. This is a small piece of a much larger puzzle, we want people to understand that you need to think before you act.'

'People need to stop judging other people based on what they look like, based on the color of their skin. We want the criminal justice system, in this instance in Aiken County, to make an example out of [the woman] to deter other people from ever doing the same thing again.'

The child said she couldn't be scared because 'in this type of situation, you need to do anything but be scared'. She is pictured in a Zoom video conference with attorney Bamberg

Bamberg added: 'There are zero reason to prejudge people the way we are seeing people being prejudged in America.'

Shirey's court appearance is set for July 15.

Aiken leaders have expressed support for the child.

During the press conference, District 5 Councilwoman Andrea Neira Gregory told Davis: ' I just want you to know that we are proud of you. I can tell that based on what your attorney said that you are an amazing young lady and your family has a lot of reasons to be proud of you.

'Keep your head up, this will pass, but we are appreciate the awareness you are creating in our society, specifically, the city of Aiken, where this should have never be tolerated.'

Mayor Rick Osborn said: 'All people deserve to be treated justly, all people deserve to be treated fairly and all people deserve to be treated equal. No person should have concerns about walking down a street in Aiken.

'Our children should be care-free when they are playing in a public park. No one should be treated differently because of race, gender or any other reason.'
The world indeed is a global village filled with so much misery. We have failed to understand the dynamics of nature because we have beclouded our minds with worldly things and wickedness, and self-centeredness has become the order of the day.

As a little boy growing up in my small town in the Volta Region of Ghana, I heard about a lot of bad things our leaders did which resulted in Coup detat , revolutions and all kinds of inhuman activities which led to successive overthrow of governments. This was not only peculiar to my motherland Ghana, but with many other countries in Africa.

The first question that comes to my mind while thinking about the past is what lessons have we learnt from those days as most of the countries under military governance are now reverting to democratic rules? We have heard of our leaders steal our monies and transfer them to foreign accounts. Our leaders refuse to improve or invest heavily in our educational institutions because they have stolen enough to give their children quality education in schools abroad, so apparently, why should they care? Our national wealth is spent privately by our leaders and their privileged children, in the UK, the USA, Canada, Dubai, Switzerland, et al.

Despite all the mineral resources that our motherland is endowed with, our leaders failed woefully to invest in the health sector and upgrading our hospitals. Today, with all the wealth we hear that we have, we are unable to provide quality healthcare. Again, they do not care, because taxpayers money is readily available to airlift them to foreign countries for better healthcare delivery.

The second question that bugs my mind is, what happens to those who do not have access to the taxpayers money to enable them airlift themselves for better healthcare delivery and quality education? Ghana has become a country where everything is politicized and opportunities are created and given depending on the political party one belongs to and which political party is in power.

My heart bleeds every time I wake up to see our leaders who are supposed to be thinking and taking excellent decisions on our behalf, on television, engaging in arguments which in the long run bring no benefit to the country, but for a select few who we have given the privilege to be in authority.

Under the Imposition of Restriction Act, 202 (Act 1012) our President acted within his power to pronounce LOCKDOWN, violation of which will occasion penalty well defined in the Act. It brings me to my next question: Why the imposition of restriction Act? Was it necessary?

The answer is simple. We woke up one day to the update that there is an outbreak of a virus called CORONAVIRUS in Chinese province of Wuhan. Little did we know that the said virus could travel and affect people all over the world, not excluding our beloved country Ghana. Out of that outbreak, most countries in the world are affected, with staggering death rates, even in the so called superpower countries of the world.

The world was not prepared for such a pandemic as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has described it, our brothers and sisters especially those in Europe began to return home, and this eventually imported the virus into our country. This forced His Excellency the President to act looking at the number of affected persons and number of death recorded so far.

As I write this piece, Ghana has close its borders, seaports and airports. Those who were able to enter the country before the closure are quarantined awaiting testing. Ghana is not the only country that has closed its borders. Other countries have done same, and it would be difficult for anyone to enter those countries. This is where my biggest concern or question is: We failed to develop our own. Our healthcare facilities in the country are not up to those in developed countries where our leaders normally run to for medical care. Their monies are locked up in those countries as nobody can cross the border and enter those countries now. If they fall sick under this lockdown, are they ready to share or attend our medical facilities which is unusual about them?

I think God is teaching our leaders some important lessons. We need to desist from the politics of self-centeredness. Successive governments fail to continue the work of their predecessors which has brought us to where we are today, with so much avoidable loss.

Projects and infrastructures that Kwame Nkrumah started before his death are still incomplete because we failed to buy into his ideology. This is the same story with J. J. Rawlings, J. A. Kuffour, J. E. Attah-Mills and J. Mahama. Currently a lot of work start before J. Mahama lost the 2016 Presidential elections, are still standing incomplete. Even those he completed and could not commission before he left office have almost become white elephants.

What lessons are we learning from this Coronavirus saga? I urge our leaders to have the country at heart and shun the personal and parochial interest which currently drive their decisions and actions. I am urging those seeking political offices to make it a point of duty, to take up any pending developmental project started by their predecessors and complete same for the glory of our motherland.

Long live Ghana

Stay safe

Adhere to all the precautionary measures
(Natural News) President Trump has confirmed that, from a federal perspective, coronavirus vaccines will not be forced upon people who dont want them. In statements made last Friday, he said that, Not everyone is going to want to get it and that the vaccine would only be for those who do want it, reports LifeSiteNews.

This is relief, for now, as Trump had previously announced he was going to mobilize the military to distribute and administer the vaccine. Using the military to administer vaccines sounds like coercion would be involved at some point, since theres no shortage of civilians in America who can and will administer vaccines (pharmacists, nurses, doctors, etc.) without needing any help from armed soldiers.

Governors may still require mandatory vaccines at the state level

Even if Trump does not push for mandatory vaccines at the federal level, governors may require vaccines at the state level. And this means America will likely be divided into vaccine SLAVE states vs. anti-vaccine FREE states.

In the vaccine slave states, your body is owned by the state which can demand you submit to an unlimited number of forced injections, no matter how risky or dangerous the vaccine might be. (Operation Warp Speed guarantees that vaccines will be released while still in the experimental phase, transforming Americans into human guinea pigs for Big Pharmas mad medical experiments.)

In the anti-vaccine free states, governors will respect the individual decisions of citizens who are recognized as the rightful owners of their own bodies. Anti-vaccine free states will likely be states that lean more conservatives, while vaccine slave states will of course be the states run by Democrats and progressives.

This means that citizens who live in progressive states like California and New York are about to experience the full meaning of progressivism, which essentially requires you to surrender your individual freedoms, liberties and even your body to the whims of the corrupt state. In centuries long ago, kings asserted their divine right to rape anyone they chose, and today, Democrat governors will assert the same right to medically rape anyone living under their jurisdiction.

Because forced vaccines are medical rape.

Employers might require coronavirus vaccines for all employees

In the same way that Democrat-run states may demand mandatory (forced) vaccinations of everyone, employers might also demand that all their employees be vaccinated, even against their will. Weve already seen examples of this type of coercion in the medical field, where doctors and nurses who have refused to be vaccinated against the flu, for example, are fired and denied employment.

Its not difficult to imagine this also being applied to daycare workers, school teachers, food industry workers and other sectors of the economy. Employers are likely to demand vaccines for everyone as a way to reduce their own perceived liability in case they are sued by another worker who contracts the coronavirus while at work. Corporations need to be able to say, We did everything possible to prevent infections, including issuing vaccine mandates for all their employees.

Thus, just because President Trump isnt pushing vaccine mandates (at the moment), it doesnt mean your governor, or state health department or employer wont try to jab you against your will.

Mandatory vaccines, of course, are medical rape. They violate your body against your consent, injecting you with foreign substances that may cause injury or death. We can fully expect Californias Gov. Newsom to come out as a medical rapist who demands the power to violate the body of every man, woman and child living in the State of California.

As these medical rape programs are rolled out, we fully expect to see people fleeing the vaccine slave states and escaping to free states where they can say no to toxic, experimental vaccines that contain dangerous, unproven ingredients. Those who stay behind and try to survive the vaccine mandates will, of course, likely find themselves infertile or dead within a year or two. Depopulation has been the plan from the very beginning. And tyranny. What an amazing coincidence that the biological weapons release, the extended lockdowns and the mandatory vaccines just happen to accomplish all the globalists top goals, all at once.

Stay informed by reading Pandemic.news.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Insight

Global Covid-19 Analysis on Caviar Market is the salted eggs of more than 25 fish species which mainly contents beluga, SEVRUGA and OSETRA. It is mainly obtained from sturgeon caught in the Caspian SEAAN and it is considered as expensive, but after the collapse and vanishing of the Soviet Empire, the stocks came dangerously close to extinction due to uncontrolled fishing of local fishermen just to survive. Now the price of caviar are even higher and likely to continue in upcoming years. Russian Beluga type has emerged as the most prized caviar compare available in the market. Large caviar farms around the world are found in Italy, Israel, France, the US and Uruguay.

Caviar is mainly obtained from Sturgeon fish caught in the Caspian Sea and it is considered expensive, but after the collapse and vanishing of the Soviet Empire, the stocks came dangerously close to extinction due to uncontrolled fishing of local fishermen just to survive. Now the prices of caviar are even higher and likely to continue increasing in the upcoming years. Russian Beluga caviar is hailed as the most prized caviar compared to other caviar types available in the market. Large caviar farms around the world are found in Italy, Israel, France, the US, and Uruguay.

Major Key Players

Majority of the players in the Covid-19 Analysis on Caviar Market are concentrated in the Europe region in terms of supply, however caviar is in more demand in the Asia and North America region. To get edge over the competitors, the companies are focusing onto increasing the production capacity of high-quality caviar. Introduction of vegan caviar by few companies will change the market dynamics in the upcoming years.

The key players profiled in the Covid-19 Analysis on Caviar Market are as Sepehr Dad Caviar Gmbh (Germany), DELICATESSEN SNAILEX s.r.o. (Czech Republic), AMANGUL TULBERGEN (Istanbul), The Caviar Co. (U.S.), CAVIAR BLANC (Portugal), LABEYRIE (France), and VODNY MIR (Ukraine) among many others.

Access Full Report Details and Order this Premium Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/caviar-market-2707

Latest Industry Updates

Dec 2017: The demand of vegan caviar made from seaweed is increased in North America region especially in developed countries like U.S. and Canada.

Nov 2017: Polijana is Croatias largest freshwater fish company is going to increase its production capacity. Polijana is famous for production of beluga caviar.

Nov 2017: The Department of Environment sent out an advisory Tuesday alerting people that they cannot import caviar to Cayman without arranging for the appropriate CITES permit. All importers or traders in products affected by the CITES regulations must be registered with the Department of Commerce and Investment when renewing their Trade and Business License.

Nov 2017: Iran caviar exports decrease, output expected to rise. More than 557 kilograms of caviar worth over $1.37 million were exported from Iran during the seven months to Oct. 22, registering a 9% and 6.6% decline in weight and value respectively compared with the similar period of last year, figures released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration showed. The declining sturgeon population and the ban on their fishing have also caused a downtrend in Irans caviar exports.

Read more details at: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/infographics

NOTE: Our Team of Researchers are Studying Covid19 and its Impact on Various Industry Verticals and wherever required we will be considering Covid19 Footprints for Better Analysis of Market and Industries. Cordially get in Touch for More Details.
WEST MICHIGAN  This spring has brought mix of rain, snow and sunshine. And, as always, hope for the warmer days of summer ahead.

From Lake Michigan sunsets to the life cycles that make spring synonymous with new life, beauty abounds in the Great Lakes state. But among the beauty is also the danger nature poses, as many Michiganders have seen heavy rains causing the rivers and lakes swell resulting in flooding across communities.

MLive photographers across West Michigan shared some of their favorite photographs they created this spring that shows the vast beauty of West Michigan.

If you are reading this in your Facebook app, use this link to view the entire gallery of photos.

This spring has been notably different from prior years, as people across the state have adapted their way of living amid the coronavirus pandemic that has swept the nation.

They have adjusted how they socialize, how they get their farm-fresh groceries and feel that spring breath of fresh air on their faces. Communities have rallied around graduating seniors and children celebrating their birthdays. Others have donated supplies, food and protection equipment to those in need.

The Michigan Air National Guard put on a show across several Michigan cities earlier this month to honor front-line workers. We have seen people decorate their yards and businesses with signs of hope and encouragement for their friends and neighbors in these trying times.

Also on MLive:

Kzoo loves you: Signs of hope spotted across Kalamazoo during pandemic

Heavy rain storms wash out streets, flood basements, submerge docks in Muskegon

Northern Michigan businesses welcome challenge of reopening just before Memorial Day
The leader of the Taliban said on Wednesday that militants were committed to a landmark deal with the US, despite being accused of carrying out thousands of attacks in Afghanistan since it was signed.

In a rare message released ahead of the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan next week, Haibatullah Akhundzada urged Washington "not to waste" the opportunity offered by the deal to end America's longest war.

"The Islamic Emirate is committed to the agreement... and urges the other side to honour its own commitments and not allow this critical opportunity to go to waste," Akhundzada said in a statement, using the name the Taliban called Afghanistan when they were in power.

After months of negotiations, the Taliban and US signed a deal in February which stipulates Washington will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by next year in return for security guarantees.

"I urge American officials to not afford anyone the opportunity to obstruct, delay and ultimately derail this internationally recognised bilateral agreement", the reclusive leader said.

Akhundzada hails from the Taliban's traditional bastion of Kandahar, and was appointed head of the group after a US drone strike killed his predecessor, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in 2016.

Mansour had succeeded Mullah Omar, the one-eyed warrior-cleric who founded the group.

Akhundzada is a hardline religious scholar and a former head of the Taliban court system.

In his message he outlined the political system he envisaged for Afghanistan after the exit of foreign troops.

"The objectives of our jihad... are freedom of our country and to establish an Islamic system," he said. "Every male and female member of society shall be given their due rights."



During their previous rule in 1990s, the Taliban had implemented harsh Islamic punishments like public executions and amputations.

Men were forced to grow beards and women had to be fully covered. They had also banned girls above 10 years from going to school.

US President Donald Trump's administration has made it a priority to end the war in Afghanistan, and in a bid to pull out foreign forces US officials have been pushing the Taliban and government leaders to hold peace talks.

The talks have stumbled, but the Afghan government was strengthened over the weekend by the announcement of a power-sharing deal between President Ashraf Ghani and his former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who will lead negotiations with the Taliban.

Under the US accord the Taliban pledged to stop attacking cities and foreign troops, but militants have continued to target Afghan forces in the provinces.

Analysts say the Taliban have been emboldened by the deal, and Afghan government officials have reported more than 3,800 attacks since it was signed, killing 420 civilians and wounding 906.

The US official who brokered the deal with the Taliban said last week the militants had kept up their end of the bargain -- even if recent violence violated the spirit of the accord.

"The Taliban have implemented their agreement not to attack the coalition forces," said Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan.

His remarks came after a horrific attack against a maternity hospital in Kabul that killed dozens -- including mothers and infants -- and a suicide bombing at a funeral.

The Taliban denied involvement in the attacks, but President Ghani blamed them and the Islamic State (IS) group for the bloodshed.

"They've committed not to carry out attacks in 34 major cities, and they haven't done that, based on our assessment," Khalilzad said of the Taliban. "But we believe that they're in violation of the spirit" of the deal, he said, adding the hospital attack was carried out by IS.

Khalilzad arrived in Kabul and met with Ghani on Wednesday, officials said.

Following the recent attacks the government ordered security forces to switch to an "offensive" posture against the Taliban.

They responded by vowing to increase attacks against government forces. The United Nations has warned that the spike in violence has led to increased casualties among civilians.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President of StrategiCareStaffing, Elmer Alegado, explains how you can start a successful career as a CNA.

LATHROP, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / A certified nursing assistant (CNA) plays a vital role in the healthcare system by providing basic care to patients. They work under the supervision of a registered nurse (RN) in a variety of facilities, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, private homes, assisted living facilities, and physical rehabilitation centers, among others. Elmer Alegado, a healthcare professional with over 25 years of experience in the industry, explains the responsibilities of a certified nursing assistant and what it takes to become one.

A certified nursing assistant is responsible for many essential tasks. Elmer Alegado explains that CNA's are the one taking the vital signs of the patients such as blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory rate and temperature. Elmer Alegado goes on to explain that certified nursing assistants also help the patient in their activities of daily living (ADL) such as bathing, grooming, dressing, feeding, ambulation, transferring and toileting.

Certified nursing assistants must have specific characteristics to be successful in the role due to the nature of the position. Elmer Alegado notes that a CNA must be caring, compassionate, and trustworthy. Patients will be in vulnerable conditions and must be treated with dignity and respect at all times. According to Elmer Alegado, a certified nursing assistant must also be empathetic and patient to connect with patients and provide outstanding care.

Many young adults who are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare start by becoming a CNA. According to Elmer Alegado, it is a much quicker process to become a certified nursing assistant compared to the investment of a four-year college degree. CNA applicants must complete specialized training and pass a competency exam. Elmer Alegado explains that the outlook for this career choice is positive.

CNA training varies according to state guidelines. However, applicants can expect to complete the training process in as little as four to sixteen weeks. Elmer Alegado notes that training courses are available at community colleges, hospitals, vocational schools, and the Red Cross in addition to his company, StrategiCareStaffing, located in California.

After the training process, candidates must take the CNA certification exam. All 50 states require a passing score before an applicant is considered to be a certified nursing assistant. Elmer Alegado notes that there are many practice tests available to help students prepare for the real deal. Plus, some states allow students to work for up to four months before taking the test so that they can apply practical life skills to the exam.

According to Elmer Alegado, the certified nursing assistant exam is broken down into two parts: a clinical test and a written assessment. In some instances, students will be asked to bring a volunteer to the exam for role-playing scenarios to demonstrate mastery. Elmer Alegado notes that students should be prepared to answer up to 70 questions on a variety of topics related to the role of a certified nurse assistant. Results are shared the same day, and the test can be taken multiple times.

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590686/Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-Becoming-a-Certified-Nursing-Assistant--Elmer-Alegado
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - One person is dead after a shooting in Kansas City, Kansas late Monday, police said. It happened at 11:19 p.m. along Metropolitan Avenue just east of South 12th Street. Police said when then they arrived at the scene, the victim was still fighting for their life.
An employee of a Westman-based private health-care business recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to internal messages obtained by The Brandon Sun.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Daughter on Call CEO Gail Freeman-Campbell is pictured behind the wheel of a staff vehicle in 2018. (File)

An employee of a Westman-based private health-care business recently tested positive for COVID-19, according to internal messages obtained by The Brandon Sun.

However, the business owner, CEO Gail Freeman-Campbell, denies that one of her employees tested positive for the virus.

Daughter on Call is a health-care business that sends home-care workers into the community in Brandon and Westman to care for seniors.

It also operates several personal care homes in the region.

The Sun was originally contacted on May 14 by a former Daughter on Call employee, saying the organization had a COVID-19 case among its employees and another worker had been exposed. The caller said she was a friend of the COVID-19 patient.

That evening, the Sun was contacted by two additional people, a now-former employee of Daughter on Call and a former health-care aide at the organization whose employment was terminated last week, also saying an employee had tested positive.

Those who spoke to the Sun and forwarded us information did so anonymously for fear of backlash.

"In general, she is not letting the public know, or not even the staff," the now-former employee said of Freeman-Campbell. This now-former employee said she officially resigned Tuesday due to the pandemic.

When reached by the Sun on the afternoon of May 15, Freeman-Campbell denied anyone at the company had tested positive for COVID-19.

"Its rumour; I heard it too," she said. "All my staff are healthy, all my people we look after are healthy, Im healthy."

That evening, following our conversation with Freeman-Campbell, the Sun was forwarded a series of internal messages the employee who would later resign had received. The messages, signed "Gail," said a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

The following is the first message, which was received at 7:32 p.m.:

"On May 10th, I was informed that one of our community staff members tested positive for covid-19. She contracted it from her partner, and he got it from his workplace. I immediately called the 2 families of the clients that she worked with and advised them to call health links.

"I then called every employee who had contact with this staff member and told them to call health links."

A second message followed at 7:36 p.m.:

"All of the above people were also contacted by Public Health who directed several of them to be tested. All of those who were tested have came back NEGATIVE.

"I did my best to keep this employees confidentiality as she does not need to have guilt directed at her. We also had one elder admitted to the hospital and because he had a temperature and trouble breathing he was tested for covid.

"We KNOW he did not have contact with the employees or anyone else with symptoms."

A third message came at 7:40 p.m., stating health inspectors are making "surprise visits to check up on our cleaning and isolation procedures.

"We legally have to allow them in to do the job. If they show up on your shift, please text the work phone and inform us. We are essential workers. Many of us would like not to work until this is over but the reality is that our elders need us. Proud of you all! Gail."

The Sun called Freeman-Campbell again on the evening of May 15, after receiving these messages. She denied sending the text messages.

"I cant confirm that. I dont know what message you received or where you received it from," she said. "I dont text my staff."

A former staff member said the phone number associated with the messages comes from AxisCare, a service Daughter on Call uses to communicate with employees to let them know their work schedule or important information.

They said only Freeman-Campbell and office staff have access to the system, which sends messages to employees phones.

Calls to the number could not be completed.

A Brandon Sun reporter viewed the message chains in person during the weekend to confirm them and to take a video. Above the May 15 messages in the chain, a message with the employees work schedule accessible on AxisCare was visible in the chain of messages.

The former employee whose employment was terminated said that on May 7, still employed by Daughter on Call, she went to relieve the person who eventually tested positive for the virus, at a private residence. At the time, she said the person looked very ill.

"Ive never seen someone look like that, thank God she had a mask on.  This happened Thursday (May 7), the lady she was taking care of, we get so physically close with them taking care of them, if the client gets this, shes dead."

She said she was told by Freeman-Campbell on May 10 that she could have been exposed and should self-isolate, adding she went into self-isolation that day.

She then had an upset stomach so was tested on May 14, she said, which later came back negative.

But the previous day, before she said she was tested, she received a text message from a phone number the Sun verified is associated with Daughter on Call, asking her to come back to work. She refused, saying she didnt feel comfortable yet. She then received a text message saying she was "terminated."

Reached again on Tuesday, she said she had not heard anything further from the company or received a new work schedule.

Health-care aides now have to answer a series of COVID-19-related questions before starting work, according to an earlier text message sent through AxisCare and signed "Gail & Marlene," received at 10 a.m. on May 15 by the anonymous employee who resigned on Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Sun was sent a screenshot from the phone number associated with AxisCare  the same number used to send the message confirming a COVID-19 case at Daughter on Call  saying that three other employees were experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and being tested. When reached Tuesday afternoon, Freeman-Campbell said that message was only sent to one person  the employee who resigned that day.

"I purposely sent that out to one employee, and now I know who that employee is. No, we dont have three people, we have nobody infected, all our staff are healthy, all our people are healthy but I have a problem employee, apparently."

 dmay@brandonsun.com, with files from Kyle Darbyson
Midland residents living within the evacuation zone relocate to a temporary shelter at Midland High School as floodwater continues to rise on the Tittabawassee River after the Edenville Dam breached Tuesday, May 19, 2020.

See our ongoing coverage of the flood for more information.
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
More COVID-19 patients are expected to recover within the next three weeks, the Ghana Health Service has assured.



According to the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma Aboagye, the recoveries will involve patients who are without underlying health conditions.



Speaking at a bi-weekly press briefing on the national COVID-19 update in Accra yesterday, he said research had shown that most infected persons without underlying health conditions recovered after three weeks if health care and medication were administered on time.



That, Dr Aboagye explained, accounted for the many spontaneous recoveries recently.



Observing protocols



The Head of Disease Surveillance at the GHS, Dr Franklyn Asiedu Bekoe, said investigations into the Obuasi and Tema case hikes had proven that preventive protocols, such as social distancing and wearing of face masks, were not adhered to.



Other factors included the lack of treatment and isolation centres at Obuasi despite it being a densely populated area.



Consequently, he said, efforts were being made by the government to provide those centres with the facilities.



Mass transmission



As part of measures to break mass transmission of the virus, the Director-General said the government had begun a mass voluntary testing of high risk populations, such as taxi drivers and food vendors.



Dr Bekoe said enhanced contact tracing had also started in high risk communities in Obuasi and its environs.



We are going to carry out enhanced contact tracing in the very high-risk areas. Obuasi has very densely populated areas like the central market, Anyinam and Wawaso. That is a way of trying to address surveillance and contact management in Obuasi, he said.



According to Dr Bekoe, 72 per cent of all cases recorded in the area occurred within four days  April 21 to April 25, 2020.



A trader, who has since been identified, is said to have infected 17 people.



Obuasi is one area where population density is high. Although AngloGold Ashanti has a prominent hospital, they did not have a treatment facility. Many people do not also wear face mask, neither do they have a holding facility, he said.



Tema situation



On the situation in Tema, Dr Bekoe said an additional 162 staff at a fish-processing factory in the industrial town tested positive for the coronavirus disease, bringing the total number of infections at the facility to 695, from a total of 1,300 tested.



And out of the 695 who were infected at the factory, 624 representing 95 per cent had since tested negative for their first test after treatment and were awaiting their second test results to be declared fully recovered.



Dr Bekoe said investigations showed that social distancing was not observed at various areas at the factory, such as the canteen and in the staff bus.



He said the lack of a hand cleaning facility close to its biometric clock-in devices was also identified as a factor in the spread of the disease.

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
London: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has flagged new measures to protect British technology in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, after being urged by a Conservative MP to rethink his decision to allow China's Huawei to build Britain's 5G networks.

Johnson dramatically shifted his tone after a growing backlash among his own MPs against Chinese investment following the COVID-19 crisis.

Conservative MP Richard Drax used Prime Minister's questions to urge Johnson to copy France's review of defence supply chains because of concerns China is buying up companies at risk of going bust during the pandemic.

Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Credit:AP

"Does my right honourable friend think it might be wise to consider doing the same thing here in addition to rowing back from his plans to allowing Huawei to roll out 5G?" Drax asked Johnson.
The following information, provided by the Montgomery County Police Department, shows selected offenses reported to police. Crime reports may be based on preliminary information that is subject to change as a result of further investigation.
Follow Tuesday's ongoing coverage of the flood.

Linda Haas, who lives on North Homer Road at Carroll Creek, said the Tittabawassee River is about a half-mile from her house. She was visited by firefighters Monday night who told her of probable flooding.

"It's a wait and see," she said early Tuesday afternoon about evacuating. "I haven't tried to leave. Evacuation was left at our discretion knowing in the case of an emergency (firefighters) couldn't get to us."

Water is still up in her backyard, she said, but it has gone down in her side yard. A farmer's field nearby is flooded.

Haas remembers flooding in 2017, which brought the river about two feet higher than what is forecast for Tuesday's 30.6 feet crest.

"I left on a Saturday morning and the fireman took me across in a boat. (A church friend) picked me up at the firehouse and I stayed with (his family) so I could be at church for (our pastor's) last service. What a memory!"

Judy Howard, who lives in the Saxton Point Subdivision, with Sanford Lake on one side and Black Creek on the other, said firefighters knocked on her door at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. She and her husband, Barney, were on their way to Clare by 5 a.m. with two other neighbor couples.

They arrived back home at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday

"West River Road north of us is closed off and we anticipate the south end will most likely flood over at the bridge at the Black Creek cut later today so we will not be able to get out," she said Tuesday morning. "We will have become a small island. We have everything we need for several-plus days. We are high enough above the lake so (we're) not worried about flood water reaching our house. (We) didnt sleep much last night so napping off and on today."

Howard said this is the first time they have been evacuated in 40-plus years living there.

"It was a really scary experience."

Kathy Morrow, who lives near Curtis Road bridge at Curtis and Water roads in the Sanford area, has been living in her house on the Tittabawassee River for two months.

She was awake in the wee hours of Tuesday when the alerts sounded.

"I figured the alarm would be in regards to flooding. I was surprised that it was actually for an evacuation."

Shortly after the alerts, firefighters came through evacuating everyone.

She stayed the night at her daughter's house near the business district of Sanford.

Back home Tuesday morning, Morrow said water was up to the bottom of the hill in the backyard.

In Midland, Christina Thompson, who lives on Sugnet between Saginaw and Jefferson, said on Tuesday morning she has water seeping along the edges into her basement. She had the weep tiles cleaned and is hoping that helps.

"The water isnt coming up through the drain, which is what Im most worried about." Thompson said. "That may happen later Tuesday/Wednesday as we get closer to cresting. There are so many that are way worse off than me right now."
Last month, Google made its popular video conferencing platform Meet free for all users, in a bid to help the millions of people working from home. Now, Google is reportedly preparing to launch a new background blur feature that will help people working from home to hide their messy rooms.

9to5 Google reportedly spotted the APK teardown of the Google Meet version 41.5 for Android, which has already started rolling out on the Play Store but is limited to only certain countries. Android users in India can download and update Google Meet version 41.0 via Google Play Store.

While the new feature will be a welcome addition to the platform, it is by no means the first to do so. One of Google Meets biggest competitors, Microsoft Teams already has had the feature for years now. It gives you the option to blur backgrounds by giving the video a bokeh effect. Another Google Meet competitor Zoom allows users to customize the background during a video call. Even Google Duo has its own background blur option as portrait mode.

Google Meet recently surpassed over 50 million downloads on the Play Store. Last month, the company detailed several new upcoming features that are designed to create a better user experience on the platform. These will include better low-light video performance, layout improvements, and more. Meet was made free to everyone with a Google account and not just education and enterprise customers via G Suite.

Also Read: Facebook Messenger Rooms vs Zoom vs Microsoft Teams vs Google Meet: How the top video conferencing solutions stack up
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 3:42PM

Ruby Rose plays Bruce Wayne's cousin Kate Kane on Batwoman (Photo courtesy of The CW, Warner Bros. TV, Berlanti Productions)

The CW deals with a tough challenge as its lead star Ruby Rose leaves Batwoman ahead of the production of its second season. According to The Hollywood Reporter, production company Warner Bros. is looking to recast the role before the show's scheduled return in early 2021. The announcement of Rose's departure came two days after the show's season finale. Batwoman was geared to be The CW's anchor for its Sunday night programming.

The comic-based show made TV history as the first scripted live-action series to have a lesbian superhero lead. It was essential to the producer Greg Berlanti, showrunner Caroline Dries, and the production team that the part went to a member of the LGBTQ community. Rose, Warner Bros. TV, and Berlanti Productions didn't disclose her reason for leaving the show, but all parties had kind words to say about each other in released statements.

"I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season," said Rose. "This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a successI am truly grateful."

The CW, Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions said jointly, "Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best. The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman's second season and long-term future, and wealong with the show's talented creative teamlook forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months."
A policeman speaks to an Ola employee outside its office in Mumbai

BENGALURU (Reuters) - SoftBank Group-backed Indian ride-hailing company Ola will cut 1,400 jobs, or about 35% of its workforce, as it navigates a strict coronavirus lockdown that has halted 95% of its business, company chief Bhavish Aggarwal told employees on Wednesday.

Launched a decade ago in Mumbai, Ola has been fighting for dominance with Uber <UBER.N> in dozens of Indian cities. It also has operations in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, partnering with around 2.5 million drivers.

Both ride-hailing companies have been hammered by a two-month-long lockdown that has kept 1.3 billion Indians indoors and halted app-based cabs and rickshaws. Local media reports said Uber has cut 700 of its estimated 2,000-2,500 employees.

The U.S. firm, which has sold both its Chinese and South-East Asia businesses to local rivals, on Monday made more job cuts that meant it has reduced staffing by more than a third globally since the start of the crisis.

Uber declined to say whether it has cut jobs in India.

"The prognosis ahead for our business is very unclear and uncertain. It is going to take a long time for people to go out and about like before," Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola's co-founder and CEO, said in a note to employees on the company's blog.

Sources at SoftBank's Vision Fund, which holds stakes in both Uber and Ola, said it previously considered pushing for a merger of the two companies, but abandoned the idea due to concerns it would create a monopoly and be vetoed by regulators.

Ola joins a list of local start-ups, including the local franchise of another SoftBank-backed <9984.T> venture, WeWork, restaurant aggregator Zomato and food delivery service Swiggy that have laid off employees in recent weeks.

Analysts say many were ripe for stripping down after feasting on a boom in private equity funding seeking to cash in on India's growing middle class and fast-growing cities.

(Reporting by Chris Thomas and Anirban Sen in Bengaluru; Editing by Patrick Graham and Arun Koyyur)
The Trump administration has reportedly inked a $1.3bn deal with a North Dakota construction firm aiming to build 42 miles of border wall after its CEO praised the president in multiple interviews with conservative media.

While Fisher Sand and Gravel was initially passed over in its bids to secure the governments recent border wall contract, it won the deal after CEO Tommy Fisher took to Fox News and other networks closely watched by President Donald Trump to celebrate his efforts along the US-Mexico border.

The contract was the largest ever awarded in what has become a historically expensive infrastructure project, according to the Washington Post, amounting to more than $30m on average per mile for 42 miles in total of border wall construction in Arizona.

Fisher Sand and Gravel was also previously awarded another $400m contract that has become the subject of an audit by the US Department of Defences inspector general, the newspaper reported on Tuesday, following concerns from Democrats about how the deal was made with the White House administration.

The Corps of Engineers confirmed the deal had been made with the construction firm, telling the Washington Post in a statement: Each project cost is contingent upon its unique characteristics such as geotechnical, topographical, hydrological and hydraulic, underground utilities, final real estate access, and the cost of materials and labour.

Raini Brunson, spokesperson for the Corps of Engineers, also appeared to provide a defence for the staggering price tag, saying the contract includes a series of projects within a geographical area with more complex terrain.

The latest contract was first reported by the Arizona Daily Star. It came after Mr Fisher pitched his firm on conservative outlets and right-wing programmes like The Ingraham Angle on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, where he responded to a growing backlash about the presidents vow to build a big, beautiful wall spanning the entirety of the nations southern border.

During that interview, the CEO promised his construction company could build Mr Trumps wall faster than any other firm.

I guarantee  no different from Tom Brady  that once we get in we never come out, and if we dont perform, the president can fire us, he said. Thats how comfortable and confident I am when people see what we really offer.

The deal reportedly became more expensive after the president demanded the border wall be painted black, a decision that added an estimated $500m to the total cost.

Mr Trump has reportedly heaped praise on Mr Fisher and his construction firm in White House discussions, while claiming the black paint would singe migrants if they attempted to climb the security fencing.

It speaks volumes to the administrations lack of transparency that they didnt announce this award  the largest ever  and we continue to learn about contracts to companies without a proven track record from the media, Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement to the Washington Post. Given the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing investigation into Fisher, the administration should pause construction and contracting decisions until the investigation has concluded favourably and it is safe to resume nonessential construction projects.
Saying that restrictions enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19 infringed on constitutional rights, roughly 60 demonstrators gathered outside the Montana Capitol Wednesday protesting the state's response to the virus.

Organizers set up a microphone and speaker system in the bed of a truck and participants took turns expressing their disagreements with how the state has handled the global pandemic.

Some demonstrators were armed and others were holding signs, most of which specifically called out Gov. Steve Bullock by name.

On March 28, Bullock enacted travel restrictions and a stay-at-home order as the novel coronavirus spread in Montana.

As part of the first phase of a staggered reopening plan, Bullock lifted the stay-at-home order for individuals on April 26 and for many nonessential businesses on April 27, while keeping certain social distancing requirements in place.

Churches were allowed to open April 26 with limited capacity. Bars, restaurants, breweries, distilleries and casinos were allowed to open at reduced capacity on May 4.

Schools were allowed to reopen May 7, though many school districts have opted to keep their buildings closed for the remainder of the school year.

Gyms, theaters and museum were allowed to reopen at limited capacity May 15.

On Tuesday Bullock announced the second phase of reopening the state's economy could proceed on June 1, including lifting of a 14-day quarantine for anyone coming from out of state.

As a state, Montana has the lowest per-capita COVID-19 numbers in the nation.

Protests against restrictions put in place by governors have taken place in several states including one in Montana last month that drew several hundred people to the Capitol.

Health experts continue to advise against congregating in large crowds and promote social distancing and wearing masks in public to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Alcohol sales have gone up during the coronavirus pandemic, and people have been flocking to services like Drizly and other alcohol door delivery apps and websites to avoid having to visit the liquor store during lockdowns and quarantines.

Google has also seen a big jump in searches for cocktail recipes, ostensibly because when youre at home drinking more, you might get a little bored with the same old concoction and decide its time to spice up your Whiskey Sour into a Lions Tail. Roar!

The search engine sent out a list of the most uniquely searched cocktails" by state. This doesnt mean the most searched for cocktail by state, but the one that state is searching for significantly more than other states.

New Yorkers are searching for exactly what youd expect them to: a Manhattan. Although, we have to dock points for creativity. Come on guys, Montanas over there looking up Blue Hawaiians.

Heres the full list of what all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are drinking on lockdown:

Alabama  Hurricane

Alaska  Whiskey Sour

Arizona  Paloma

Arkansas  Frozen Daiquiri

California  Paloma

Colorado  Hurricane

Connecticut  Margarita

Delaware  Screwdriver

Washington, DC  Old Fashioned

Florida  Cuba Libre

Georgia  Sazerac

Hawaii  Lemon Drop Martini

Idaho  Kamikaze

Illinois  Manhattan

Indiana  French 75

Iowa  Kamikaze

Kansas  Screwdriver

Kentucky  Lily

Louisiana  Bushwacker

Maine  Margarita

Maryland  Kamikaze

Massachusetts  Old Fashioned

Michigan  Cosmo

Minnesota  Oliveto

Mississippi  Painkiller

Missouri  Gin and Tonic

Montana  Blue Hawaiian

Nebraska  Old Fashioned

Nevada  Grasshopper

New Hampshire  Old Fashioned

New Jersey  Manhattan

New Mexico  Old Fashioned

New York  Manhattan

North Carolina  Bushwacker

North Dakota  Kamikaze

Ohio  Boulevardier

Oklahoma  Black Russian

Oregon  Old Fashioned

Pennsylvania  Whiskey Sour

Rhode Island  Cosmo

South Carolina  Tequila Sunrise

South Dakota  Screwdriver

Tennessee  Buschwacker

Texas  Paloma

Utah  Cape Cod

Vermont  Cosmopolitan

Virginia  Old Fashioned

Washington  Old Fashioned

West Virginia  Kamikaze

Wisconsin  Grasshopper

Wyoming  White Russian

Want to try one or all of them? Try one of these alcohol delivery services and skip the trip to the liquor store. Best of all, some of them even work with your favorite retailers, so you can keep your business local:

Drizly.com  Drizly works with local stores, such as Pascales Liquor Square in DeWitt, NY, so you can shop their shelves using your smartphone or computer to order beer, wine and liquor at the touch of a button. Shop craft beers, wine by region, trending liquors and even extras like soda, energy drinks and snacks.

Minibar  Download Minibars free mobile app for easy liquor shopping on your smartphone. Shop by cocktail recipe and try a perfect new cocktail.

Delivery.com  Delivery.com works with local restaurants, liquor stores and even laundromats to deliver what you need right to your door. Plug in your address, search for your wine, beer or liquor of choice, and Delivery.com will arrange the order from the nearest vendor. You can specify a preferred vendor as well.

MORE CORONAVIRUS

Updated CNY restaurant takeout list: Reopening starts, but to go is still the only way to go

Four more New York bars suspended for coronavirus violations; statewide total now 14

Someday restaurants in CNY will reopen. What will that look like?

Cheers! Are you drinking more while under quarantine? (poll)

Oswego bar, Binghamton brewpub lose liquor licenses for violation of coronavirus order
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) -Outcrop Gold Corp. (TSXV: OCG) ("Outcrop") is pleased to provide an update on exploration and current drilling in progress at the Santa Ana high-grade silver-gold project located in Colombia.

"It is very encouraging to see significant amounts of coarse vein-boulders on soil lines where veins were projected between workings. Whereas previously the El Dorado vein zone had been only projected - it is now clearly mappable where soil lines consistently encounter the mineralized vein-boulders", comments Joseph Hebert, Chief Executive Officer. "And our first four holes at depth in La Ivana have all intercepted mineralization similar to that encountered in the phase one shallow drilling."

Drilling Progress:

The initial objective of current drilling in progress is to define the La Ivana discovery to a depth of 300 metres to build a model of bodies of high-grade mineralization within the vein that can be used to advance other targets on the property and also grossly estimate potential in approximately 14 km of projected vein zones on the project.

Four new drill-holes have been completed and the fifth is in progress for a total of 503 metres of drilling. There are significant intervals of quartz-sulfide veins with sulfide-rich halos in the first four holes. Epithermal textures are expressed as colloform, banded quartz and breccias. Massive sulfides are common within vein intervals. Assays are expected over the coming weeks and will be released as they are received. Representative vein intervals are shown in photo 1 and photo 2 below:

Figure 1: SALPDH-14 Sulfide-rich section of 0.8m composite of vein plus strongly mineralized sheeted veinlet halo.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6343/56226_17973044b4f68a28_002full.jpg

Figure 2: SALPDH-16 1.0-meter vein with massive sulfide (pyrite-sphalerite-galena) in center with closed spaced carbonate- quartz veinlets plus 2% pyrite in hanging wall contact.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6343/56226_17973044b4f68a28_003full.jpg

After the La Ivana high-grade zone is delineated to depth, drilling will move successively to nine prioritized targets - the first being the El Dorado vein system. Drilling resumed on May 5th, 2020 and will continue into the first quarter of 2021 providing continuous news flow. This program will include approximately 120 planned core holes for a total of 13,000 metres.

Target Advancement:

The vein system consists of north-northeast trending veins, linked by northwest trending veins. Detailed soil sampling and trenching is expected to reveal the general limits of ore-shoots to guide drilling.

Approximately 2.5 linear kilometers soil lines totaling 239 samples and 27 metres of manual trenches of observed vein zones in saprolite have been completed. Mapping concurrent with soil sampling in the El Dorado has demonstrated that the trace or projection of veins will often be revealed by abundant in-situ or near in-situ vein boulders. In the case of the El Dorado vein boulders can be traced through several seventy-five metre spaced lines. These boulders show sulfide or sulfide oxidation that will be sampled and will also be used to site trenching to map and sample sub-cropping veins. Preliminary trenching in the Megapozo target shows vein and veinlets zones that composite up to 1.5 metres wide. Near in-situ vein boulders are shown in photos three and four below.





Figure 3: Near in-situ vein boulders mapped along soil lines reveal surface expression of previously unmapped veins.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6343/56226_17973044b4f68a28_004full.jpg

Figure 4: Near in-situ vein boulders mapped along soil lines reveal surface expression of previously unmapped veins.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6343/56226_17973044b4f68a28_005full.jpg

Map 1: Nine primary target zones on Santa Ana illustrated (planned soils in blue and green, completed soils in orange). El Dorado, Megapozo and Roberto Tovar will be next areas of exploration drilling.

To view an enhanced version of Map 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6343/56226_17973044b4f68a28_006full.jpg

About Santa Ana Project

The Santa Ana project comprises 3,538 ha located in the Municipality of Falan, Tolima Department, Colombia, approximately 15 km southeast of the of the town of Mariquita, and 190 km from Bogota, Colombia's capital city. The Santa Ana project covers a significant part of the Mariquita District where mining records date to at least 1585. The Mariquita District is the highest-grade primary silver district in Colombia. Under colonial Spanish era control of the mines, silver grades were reported to be among the highest in Latin America with the fourteen mines of Santa Ana producing average smelter returns of 4,300 g Ag/t from veins averaging 1.4 m wide.

Historic mining depths support a geologic and exploration model for a composite mesothermal and epithermal vein system having mineralization that likely extends to great depth. At Santa Ana it is unlikely that there is sharp elevation restriction common to high-grade zones in many epithermal systems with no mesozonal component.

At least eleven principle vein zones are recognized on the project that cumulatively provide up to 14 km of strike length - La Ivana (including the La Porfia vein system), Roberto Tovar (Royal Mines, including the Santa Ana vein system), El Dorado, Morales, Pollera, Guanabanera, San Antonio, Palomos, Murillo, Culebra and Megapozo. The zones commonly each contain multiple parallel veins. The veins can show both high-grade gold and high-grade silver mineralization. Silver-gold ratios are variable - probably related to local prevalent styles of gold mineralization as free gold, sulfide-associated gold and possible silver-gold alloys. Higher grade gold-silver intercepts commonly show from 1.1% to 3.8% zinc associated with sphalerite. Native silver is observed locally.

Outcrop discovered a new high-grade gold and silver vein system at La Ivana (News Release dated March 2, 2020). La Ivana had never been drilled before and for the nine holes reported in Phase 1 drilling the average downhole intercept length is 0.52 m with a weighted average grade of 21.7 g Au/t and 1,329 g Ag/t. The weighted average for equivalent gold is 36.9 g Eq Au/t and the weighted average for equivalent silver is 3,224 Eq Ag/t. Highlights included:

1.0 metre of 21.3 grams gold per tonne and 4,680 grams silver per tonne

0.50 metre of 58.1 grams gold per tonne and 876 grams silver per tonne

0.50 metre of 5.8 grams gold per tonne and 1,445 grams silver per tonne

0.61 metre of 29.0 grams gold per tonne and 1,675 grams silver per tonne

0.58 metre of 36.2 grams gold per tonne and 325 grams silver per tonne

0.85 metre of 21.4 grams gold per tonne and 373 grams silver per tonne

About Outcrop Gold

Outcrop is a gold prospect generator active in Colombia acquiring gold exploration projects with world-class discovery potential. Outcrop performs its own grass roots exploration and then employs a joint venture business model on its projects to maximize investor exposure to discovery and minimize financial risk. Outcrop has seven primary projects in Colombia with three at an advanced stage of exploration. Outcrop will conduct focused drilling on flagship properties such as Santa Ana to create its own catalysts for value creation and to receive full value for future joint ventures or dispositions.

Qualified person

The technical information in this news release has been approved by Joseph P Hebert, a qualified person as defined in NI43-101 and President and Chief Executive Officer to the Company.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Joseph P Hebert, Chief Executive Officer

+1 775 340 0450

joseph.hebert75@gmail.com

www.outcropgoldcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "we believe", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Outcrop to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including: the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, capital expenditures and other costs, financing and additional capital requirements, completion of due diligence, general economic, market and business conditions, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, political uncertainties, and the state of the securities markets generally. Although management of Outcrop have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Outcrop will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56226
>>> Three more COVID-19 patients discharged, total recoveries up to 263

Authorised agencies of the two countries, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand, and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines worked together to arrange a flight bringing them home.

Those repatriated included children, pregnant women, sick people, students made homeless due to universities and dormitories being closed, the elderly, workers whose employment contracts expired, and tourists trapped in the country.

Vietnam Airlines took measures to ensure security and safety on the flight and prevent the spread of the disease. All were given check-ups and put in quarantine upon landing.

To implement directions from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, local authorities, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad, and domestic airlines will continue to work together to bring Vietnamese citizens stuck overseas home.

Vietnam has remained clear of COVID-19 community transmission for 33 straight days as no fresh case was confirmed on May 19 morning, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The national count now stays at 324, including 184 imported cases, with the latest four among this group were confirmed on late May 18.

Accordingly, among the patients are the two flight attendants on a repatriation flight from Russia, which landed in the Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on May 13.

Meanwhile, the two others were repatriated citizens on a similar flight from the US to the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on May 16.

The patients, along with all passengers on the flight, were immediately quarantined upon arrival.

So far, 263 COVID-19 patients in Vietnam or 82% have been given the all-clear. Among 61 patients still receiving treatment, two have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, and six negative at least twice.
As of May 18, all primary, middle and high school students in Luohu, a total of 129,278 to be exact, had returned to campus, starting their new semester delayed for about three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.







Under the careful arrangements of the education bureau and district schools, all students and faculty members entering school must have their temperature monitored several times a day even if their COVID-19 test result is negative.





Zhao Jiaoyan, director of the student guidance center of the Luoling Foreign Language School, said the school had worked hard, with cooperation of parents, to ensure the health of every student.





According to Li Jiangning, chair of an association of teachers and parents, the students finish their classes in four batches so as to avoid large gatherings; some parents have volunteered to help disperse the crowds after school as soon as possible.





The first class of the new semester covered the COVID-19 pandemic, helping raise student awareness of self-protection and keeping fit.





Hong Yuechang, a teacher of the Luoling school, said students will not be tested for what they have learned from the previous online education courses the school provided over the past two months so as to help them re-adapt to campus life as soon as possible.





Without seeing each other for months, some students found they had even forgotten the names of their classmates and teachers.








Recent reports of dumped milk and euthanized pigs due to processing backlogs caused by COVID-19 have many Canadians concerned about the food supply chain, a survey out of Dalhousie University has found.

So-called farmgate waste has been in the news recently as some producers have had to dispose of animals and food products that cannot be accepted by processing plants. In an effort to discover how Canadians feel about the practice, the universitys Agri-Food Analytics Lab, in partnership with research firm Caddle, drew a measured sample size of 1,567 Canadians between May 11 and 13.

The national survey was funded by Caddle and Dalhousie University and approved by the universitys ethics board, said lead author and Dalhousie professor in food distribution and policy Sylvain Charlebois. The margin of error was +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, and the polls were conducted via Caddles app.

Overall, the survey found Canadians are increasingly concerned about food security during COVID-19, a concern that is amplified by news of farmgate waste.

Farmgate waste occurs when a product such as dairy or pork is disposed of at the producer level  for example, milk is dumped or animals are euthanized. This occurs when supply outpaces demand, as is happening right now due to the global pandemic.

Charlebois says the decision to throw out food products is often made by marketing boards, at least when it comes to supply-chain managed industries such as dairy, poultry and eggs.

Its not necessarily (the farmers) decision, they just comply, he said.

Supply-chain management is a system meant to curb production surpluses by giving producers production quotas, setting fixed prices for producers and supporting them when demand falls. It was first adopted in Canada for dairy in the 1970s and then later for poultry and eggs.

The survey asked Canadians whether or not they have access to enough food, and then asked a series of questions about farmgate waste, such as when they felt it appropriate to euthanize pigs, which is happening in the United States, or dump milk.

The survey found that compared to last year, more Canadians feel insecure about their food supply and are concerned about accessing enough food, said Charlebois, the lead author of the report. He said this increase in anxiety over food security is tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just over 48 per cent of the survey respondents said dumping milk should be illegal, while 53.5 per cent said euthanizing healthy pigs should also be illegal. Roughly the same percentage of respondents, 54.4 per cent, thought euthanizing chickens should be illegal.

However, 25.7 per cent said a pandemic was a reasonable situation in which to dump milk, 23.7 per cent said it was a good enough reason to euthanize pigs, and 24.4 per cent felt it was a good enough reason to euthanize chickens.

Forty-eight per cent of respondents said farmers should give their products to charity and should be compensated for it.

Charlebois said many Canadians may not understand how the food supply chain works, and dont necessarily realize that often the decision to dump or euthanize is not made by the farmer.

The report makes several recommendations based on the survey results and on recent news of farmgate waste.

It states that for commodities under supply-chain management  dairy, eggs and chicken  there should be more pressure for producers, processors and marketing boards to work together and find a solution other than food waste. Making it illegal to discard these commodities could provide this pressure, the report states.

COVID really has amplified this issue, said Charlebois, one of five researchers involved in the report. We recommend that boards are made accountable and responsible for the wastes (of) their commodities.

For commodities not under supply-chain management, such as the pork industry, making wastage illegal might not have the same effect, the report states, but there needs to be better coordination between processors and producers to avoid waste.

Charlebois thinks the pandemic could be a catalyst for change in these industries.

Its really a paradigm shift that needs to happen, he said. Its about caring for everyone in the value chain from farm to fork.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Chicken Farmers said the organizations members have not had to euthanize any birds during the pandemic, which they view as an unacceptable option, only to be used as a last resort.

Jean-Michel Laurin, CEO and president of the Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors Council which represents hatcheries and processors, said the Chicken Farmers of Canada, on whose board CPEPC is represented, had to make a one-time decision to ramp down their production by 7.5 to 15 per cent, depending on the province. This meant culling a certain percentage of eggs, he said, a decision CPEPC supported.

It was a one-time decision made to adjust the market, he said, and an unprecedented one he hopes wont have to be made again.

Laurin thinks this is an opportunity for Canadians to learn more about how their food is produced, including the supply-chain management of dairy, poultry and eggs.

He added in an email that he agrees with the reports point that the anchor point for any agri-food value chain strategies should be processing. He said both the governments Surplus Food Purchase Program and the donation of surplus food hinge on the processors, not the producers.

The Dairy Farmers of Canada told The Canadian Press in early April that farms across Canada have had to dump milk after demand from restaurants plummeted due to COVID-19.

At the time, David Wiens, vice-president of Dairy Farmers, told The Canadian Press that dumping milk is disheartening for farmers and said nobody could have predicted the fluctuation in demand that COVID-19 has caused the dairy industry.

The Canadian Dairy Commission and the Dairy Farmers of Canada declined to comment publicly on the Dalhousie report.

With files from The Canadian Press

Correction  May 20, 2020: An earlier version of this article stated that the Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors Councils members made a decision to cull a certain percentage of eggs. This decision was made by the Chicken Farmers of Canada, on whose board CPEPC is represented.
A salutary lockdown lesson has proved to be the importance of having a hobby or finding one. Take away our gyms, our cinema-going, our pub nights and our blow-dries and we're left with an awful lot of time to fill. Recent research from e-commerce platform Picodi revealed how Irish people's pastime pursuits have changed due to isolation with an increase in hobbies like puzzles and board games, as well as decorative arts, including origami and crochet, also on the up.

Google Trends indicates a spike in Irish searches for sewing machines and craft techniques, and a combination of factors, like rising to the challenge of making your own face mask as well as finding a rewarding way to spend all that extra time, means a needlecraft renaissance is now in full swing.

Reality show The Great British Sewing Bee, where amateurs compete to be crowned TV's best sewer and currently on screens for its sixth series, has also driven desire to start stitching. In short, there's never been a better time to get crafty.

All forms of sewing have much to recommend them according to devotees, who are hooked on the calming effects of needlework and how it can act as a tool for mindfulness. Craftwork is also very much in tune with the circular economy and its mantra of 'make, use, return'.

"Definitely, there's been a resurgence in the whole 'handmade' thing and it's a kick-back against fast fashion," says Brigid Rynne, owner of Wild Ireland Haberdashery in Miltown Malbay, Co Clare, and online store Sew Irish. She's recently had to take her shop offline from time to time because of the enormous volume of orders, just so she can process the backlog. The amount of people who want to make face masks at home are partly responsible for this demand, but she's also seen an upturn in other areas of her business and has had to increase her range of embroidery sets. Brigid, a dressmaker and seamstress who first took up a needle aged nine, says that sewing is therapeutic. "There's a tactile element in sewing. There's something lovely about the feel of the threads and the fabrics. It's doing something with your hands and concentrating. When I'm sewing, my husband despairs - the world could end around me and I wouldn't notice. It's a great escape for so many people and it's open to so many people."

Alice Brady, who teaches embroidery classes and workshops and who sells her work and embroidery kits on her website Be Alice, agrees that needlework is accessible.

"With embroidery, your equipment and materials aren't very expensive and it doesn't take up a lot of space and it's easy to do once you're just sitting on the couch," she says. Her online shop has been increasingly busy of late, and she outlines some of the benefits of embroidery as helping to slow you down and take your mind off things. "It's a very nice feeling. I think it really helps that so many people share different designs and styles on social media and that really keeps your interest," says Alice, who is the founder of the Dublin Sewcial Club, a monthly meet-up for stitchers of all abilities, which is currently on pause. She also stresses that embroidery is not as hard to master as people might think. "There are obviously more difficult elements to it but your basic stitches are quite easy to learn," she says.

Sligo-based, self-taught embroidery artist Chloe McGinty, who sells patterns and kits via her Etsy shop Chloe Jo Designs, wants to banish the notion that embroidery is something old-fashioned. "I wanted to make embroidery modern, because it's such a lovely hobby to do," she explains. "You don't have to get big equipment; you just need a hoop, thread and needle." She too stresses its meditative qualities. "You can kind of get lost in embroidery and you focus and concentrate on what you're doing. For mental health as well, it's a great thing to do to keep you away from your phone and the news for a few hours."

Ireland already has a longstanding and rich tradition of textile artistry. Limerick lace, which is made from embroidered lace on a machine-made net base, and Mountmellick work, a form of floral whitework embroidery dating from the early 19th century, both feature on Ireland's Intangible Cultural Heritage list of 30 unique practices.

According to Anne Jeffares, chairperson of the Irish Guild of Embroiderers, a renewed interest in needlecrafts has been ongoing since before the pandemic.

"You see it online and there's a lot more activity when it comes to craft and stitch and it's not just embroidery," she says. "There's a lot of information out there, and people can take it up quite easily."

The Guild, which has over 100 members ranging from beginners to those who have been refining their craft for three to four decades, celebrates its 20th birthday this year, an occasion that will be marked by the publication of a book this summer and an exhibition in dlr Lexicon in Dun Laoghaire. Embroidery has been traditionally seen as a 'women's work' and Anne, who teaches fashion and textiles at the Bray Institute of Further Education, says that it remains a predominantly female pursuit although she would love to see more men taking it up.

Getting away from her phone was precisely the reason that primary school teacher Clare Gallagher started doing cross-stitch, a type of counted thread embroidery as part of her New Year's resolution to stop scrolling. "Cross-stitch is a bit easier than standard embroidery because there are little holes in the fabric that keep your stitches absolutely uniform and there's no real skill set involved, so it's a nice craft for anyone to do," she says. "You really have to concentrate on it and you lose hours. It's a slow craft but you see the beautiful results the other side of it."

As a pandemic project, she recently opened an Etsy shop called SexyRexyStitch where she sells her patterns from her home in Dublin. "I wanted a Clockwork Orange cross-stitch and I couldn't find one I liked and I thought I could do the pattern for that myself. I did it on grid paper and I stitched it up and I thought, I should sell this one on Etsy, it's a lovely pattern. When the lockdown happened, I decided I was going to teach myself how to make cross-stitch patterns so I downloaded a programme and got busy on it, but I never would have had time to do this before. They're digital files so it's a very easy product to sell on Etsy - you just load them up and forget about it. It's fun and I'm just happy if somebody else likes them too."

The question is whether or not people who have recently picked up a needle and thread will continue after lockdown is over. Practitioners of sewing hope that they will. "There's a great joy in creating and there's a huge satisfaction," says Brigid Rynne. "I do think it's addictive and I think people will think, 'Maybe this is good for me, maybe I can put down the phone. It would be nice if that was the case. It would be so sad if all these people who started again were to just put the sewing machine back under the stairs."

Sew Simple: Tips from the experts

Learn the basics

"I think anyone can take up cross-stitch - the whole thing with any new craft is not to run before you can walk. With cross-stitch, don't go for something that looks like an oil painting for your first project. Do something simple, like make something with a bit a text, which is what I got into first. Then you'll gain more confidence."

- Clare Gallagher, SexyRexyStitch

Manage your expectations

"Your first piece isn't going to be a masterpiece. A lot of people will look at work I've done and say, 'Mine looks nothing like that' and I have to remind people that I have been doing this for years. You have to be willing to stick with it for a little while and hone your skills."

- Alice Brady, Be Alice

Keep at it

"You just need to practise. Some people think they're not creative and they can't do it. But with a bit of practice you realise that it's not as difficult as you thought."

- Chloe McGinty, Chloe Jo Designs
Freight sitting at Belfast Harbour where existing facilities will be used for checks

Checks will be needed on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK as part of Brexit but bureaucracy will be kept to a "minimum", the government has said.

The government on Wednesday published proposals on implementing Northern Ireland provisions in the EU Withdrawal Agreement designed to keep trade in agricultural and manufactured goods aligned with that of the Republic of Ireland.

Some infrastructure screening animal and food products at ports will be "expanded".

First Minister Arlene Foster welcomed the "clarity" from Westminster, but added: "Obviously I didn't like the protocol at all but we have to make sure we minimise it as much as possible.

Read More

"I'm very pleased to see it talks about the unfettered access from Northern Ireland into the rest of the UK market.

"There won't be any tariffs paid on goods that are moving between parts of the UK, there won't be any new customs infrastructure, that is good news as well. And that, of course, we'll benefit from any new trade deals."

Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill also welcomed the clarity provided in the paper as "helpful".

"I think that the EU will assess for themselves justifications that have been published by the British Government and then have to decide whether they're satisfied," she told Stormont's Executive committee.

"The report has just been published so we're going to read through it, but it confirms the British Government will be seeking to put in place border control posts at ports of entry for all categories of agri-food that are coming from Britain and elsewhere from outside the EU, so that's what the Executive is now going to have to engage on."

Northern Ireland will have to follow EU rules on agriculture and manufactured goods, ensuring access to its single market and keeping the border with the Republic free-flowing in a key concession maintaining a decades-old peace. Screening will be supported by electronic processes, the Cabinet Office added, once the transition period finishes at the end of this year.

Michael Gove, minister in charge of Brexit preparations, said: "Our proposals will deliver unfettered access for Northern Ireland businesses to the whole of the UK market; ensure there are no tariffs on goods remaining within the UK customs territory; discharge our obligations without the need for any new customs infrastructure in Northern Ireland and, finally, guarantee that Northern Ireland businesses benefit from the lower tariffs we deliver through our new free trade agreements with third countries."

The EU wants to avoid Northern Ireland being used as a back-door entry point to its market and has pressed for controls.

The UK's position paper said there will be some limited additional process surrounding goods arriving in Northern Ireland, using "all flexibilities and discretion". It physically checks under 1% of third country movements notified through customs declarations and the government said in this case the risk would not be as high.

Using "sophisticated" data on trade flows for goods entering Northern Ireland, it would work with Irish authorities to tackle smuggling with new technology.

There will be no new physical customs infrastructure but some existing entry points for agri-food goods will "expand" to provide for "proportionate" additional controls. The government will maintain existing facilities at Belfast Port, Belfast International Airport, Belfast City Airport and Warrenpoint Port.

Northern Ireland goods sales to Great Britain are worth 8.1bn, with purchases worth 10.5bn. Together that trade comprises 56% of the country's total external trade in goods.

There will be no tariffs on goods remaining within the UK customs territory under the position adopted by Britain for negotiation with the EU.

Businesses in Northern Ireland will have "unfettered" access to sell to the rest of the UK market under the plan.

What the protocol does not do, it says, "is create - nor does it include any provision for creating - any kind of international border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

"That means its provisions must entail the minimum possible bureaucratic consequences for business and traders, particularly those carrying out their affairs entirely within the UK customs territory," it adds.
WASHINGTON - A former employee at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center claims she was fired for raising red flags on social media about what she contends were a lack of safety precautions by the hospital against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

According to a lawsuit filed Friday in District of Columbia Superior Court, Sarah Cusick's social media posts also prompted the hospital's management to ask her to remove tweets, which she did.

"They called her in and said, 'We want you to remove the posts, this is hurting MedStar's brand,' " Cusick's attorney, Lynne Bernabei, told The Washington Post. "Essentially this is a whistleblower's claim."

So Young Pak, the hospital's director of media relations, told The Post the facility has not yet been served with the lawsuit.

On Wednesday, she said there were inaccuracies in a news release issued by Cusick's attorney and disputed the claim that Cusick was fired. "The associate has not been terminated," Pak said.

"In addition, we know that it is essential to keep our employees healthy, so that we can continue to provide the care our patients need," Pak said in a statement. "We have at all times followed CDC guidelines, as well as all executive orders relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the evolving nature of the disease, CDC and federal, state and local government have updated their expectations over time, and the hospital has likewise updated its practices to assure we minimize the spread of the virus."

Cusick began working at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in January 2018. According to her legal complaint, she was a hearing-and-speech assistant and her job entailed conducting newborn hearing screenings and assisting on speech language pathology diagnostics, as well as administrative duties.

The heart of Cusick's legal complaint stems from what she claims was a failure of the hospital's administrators to properly screen patients and others for covid-19 symptoms at the entrances to the facility. For example, by March 13, the hospital "had still not implemented any procedures for screening patients, visitors or members of the public upon entrance to the hospital, in clear violation of CDC recommendations," the lawsuit alleges.

Cusick claimed she made her concerns known to her higher-ups. But after a new protocol was introduced for screening people entering the facility on March 16, Cusick alleged the guidelines were ignored. She also said she observed as social distancing measures were not being enforced in the hospital's cafeteria.

The situation prompted Cusick to reach for her phone and tag the hospital in a Twitter post. "@MedStarWHC can we please follow @_DCHealth guidelines for eating in common areas?," she wrote on March 16 under a video she posted of the busy cafeteria, according to images provided to The Post.

A day later, Cusick again brought the issue up on Twitter, this time tagging the District's mayor.

"@MayorBowser why are cafeterias like this inside the hospitals not being held to the same standards as other public cafeterias/mass gatherings?," she wrote on March 17, according to an image. "Please help protect our healthcare workers and the public @MedStarWHC currently has an open door policy, this is a public access cafeteria."

With screening still allegedly not going on at the hospital's entrances, on March 18 Cusick recorded an interview on her phone with an unidentified security guard who acknowledged individuals walking through the entrances were not being checked at the security desk. Cusick uploaded the clip.

"I am posting this because I care for our patient safety," she wrote later. "I have spoken to my superiors during our briefing and advocated for multiple precautionary measures that are recommended by the CDC, WHO, and @MayorBowser and have not seen action on the 'frontlines.'"

According to the complaint, Cusick was called into a conference room that same day, where members of management told her she had violated "her social media contract and had violated patient and employee rights" under HIPPA.

"They further stated, tellingly, that it was inappropriate for Ms. Cusick to post things like this to social media because it made MedStar's 'brand' look bad."

In tears, Cusick agreed to delete the tweets and maintained "she had consistently voiced her concerns" to her superiors "to no avail," according to the lawsuit. Social media was a last resort to get management's attention, she claimed.

After the meeting, Cusick was forced to turn over her hospital identification badge, and all her subsequent work shifts were canceled, the lawsuit claimed.
Ozark killer Walter Barton maintained his innocence as he became the first US execution in 10 weeks since coronavirus lockdowns began in March.

Barton, 64, died by lethal injection of pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at 6:10 pm central time on Tuesday at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Centre in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

In his last statement released shortly before the execution, offender #990108 said: "I, Walter 'Arkie' Barton, am innocent & they are executing an innocent man!!"

The lethal injection went ahead after the US Supreme Court denied a request from Barton's defence team for a stay of execution.

Barton, 64, was sentenced to the death penalty for the murder of an elderly woman in a Missouri trailer park almost 30 years ago.

Trailer park operator Gladys Kuehler, 81, was found beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed 52 times in the town of Ozark, near Springfield, in 1991.

Barton, a former tenant of the trailer park, was living out of his car and visited Ms Kuehler's granddaughter and neighbour on the night she was killed.

While blood was found on his clothing, the Innocence Project had tried to stop the execution over the unreliability of blood spatter evidence.

Barton's case went through five trials including multiple appeals, mistrials, and overturned convictions until the Supreme Court denied the stay of execution and Missouri Governor Mike Parson declined to grant clemency.

He was the first person executed in the country since Nathaniel Woods was put to death in Alabama on 5 March.

The nationwide lockdown measures to slow the spread of coronavirus saw the delay of executions over the past two and a half months as states implemented social distancing measures throughout prisons.

Ohio, Tennessee and Texas postponed executions after defence lawyers claimed the coronavirus lockdowns kept them from the access needed to effectively petition for appeals or clemency.

Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Karen Pojmann told The Independent that everyone entering the prison were to have temperatures checked and be offered face masks, with witnesses socially distanced into three separate rooms at the state prison, which is about 60 miles south of St Louis.

There were seven witnesses for the offender, no witnesses for the victim, and two witnesses for the state in attendance.

"No staff or offenders at the facility have tested positive for Covid-19," she said.

"No staff or offenders at the facility have tested positive for Covid-19," Ms Pojmann said.
First version published on 17:32

BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19

Trend:

The Armenian government plans to hold an inauguration of the head of the occupant regime in Azerbaijan's Nagorno Karabakh region, in the region's Shusha city on May 21, Azerbaijans MP Azay Guliyev said at a meeting of the Parliament on May 19, Trend reports.

The question is, why is this clown show organized in Shusha? Because the show related to the so-called elections, which the Armenians organized there on March 31, was an epic fail. However, by holding the so-called inauguration ceremony, which the Armenians themselves do not recognize, the organizers show how two-faced they are, noted Guliyev.

Unlike in previous years, this time the Armenian leadership completely exposed itself, putting itself in a miserable position. All international organizations such as the UN, the EU, European Parliament (EP), OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs countries, OSCE PA, PACE, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), GUAM and almost all other international organizations, all leading countries of the world, without exception and unequivocally condemned this illegal action of Armenia, rightly called these "elections" illegitimate, said the MP.

All the mentioned organizations openly stated that in no case they recognize the result of the occupation, Guliyev stressed.

"However, the tough response of the world community to the so-called "elections" held this time in Nagorno-Karabakh was different, stronger and more organized than the protests at the "elections" show of illegal regimes in other countries. This was a severe blow to the aggressive and ethnic cleansing policies of Armenia for the past 30 years, to all the efforts of the world Armenians to recognize the fictional "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic." Even the country calling Armenia its outpost, without openly recognizing the "election" show, noted the importance of liberating the occupied regions of Azerbaijan," the MP added.

Unlike puppet and illegal regimes in other countries, no one recognizes the puppet regime created on Azerbaijani territory. This is the real result achieved by the Azerbaijani state and the president, diplomatic and political success. Therefore, Pashinyan, in such a shameful position, wants to organize such a show in Shusha in order to console himself, to forget the shame and political fiasco that he experienced in Munich, to revive the rating in society, the MP added.

The Armenians, holding the "inauguration" ceremony of the head of a structure not recognized by them, put themselves not only in a ridiculous position, but also once again demonstrate to the world their two-facedness. Therefore, I believe that without attaching particular importance to this provocation of the enemy, we must continue our journey, be stronger and more organized to liberate the occupied lands, the MP emphasized.

We must strengthen the army, unite more closely around the Supreme Commander. Since May 18, the Azerbaijani army has launched large-scale military exercises. I believe that the beginning of military exercises at this moment is an eloquent message for the enemy. I am sure that our army will again give the best answer to all the provocations of the enemy, as in April 2016, and the Azerbaijani soldier will put the last point in the conflict. Let no one doubt it, Guliyev added.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Wednesday he did not have the State Department IG fired as a form of retaliation  ridiculing the notion that he did so over a probe of his having staff do chores but confirming knowledge of another inquiry.

Pompeo faced the press for the first time since explosive allegations that he had the president fire IG Steve Linick in part over his probing Pompeo's use of taxpayer-paid staff to walk his dog and perform other errands.

'Ive seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean its all just crazy. Its all crazy stuff,' he said at the State Department.

'Ive seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean its all just crazy,' said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Wednesday

'I didnt have access to that information so I couldnt possibly have retaliated,' he said.

But then Pompeo said there is 'one exception,' and referenced another probe, following published reports that Linick also was investigating $8 billion in arms sales  which the Trump administration designated as an 'emergency' despite fierce opposition in Congress due to the Saudi war in Yemen.

'I responded to those questions with respect to a particular investigation. That was some time earlier this year as best I can recall,' he said.

'Its not possible for there to have been retaliation,' he said.

His quip referenced a series of reports on the growing list of matters the IG was looking into before Pompeo told President Trump the career official should be fired.

Two officials have now told NBC Linick was looking into whether Secretary of State Pompeo made the staffer carry out personal tasks, including booking dinner reservations for the Republican and his wife Susan, pictured in September 2019

Longtime Mike Pompeo aide Toni Porter has been identified as the government employee whose role allegedly doing personal business for the secretary of state was being probed by an inspector general

The ousted State Department inspector general was said to have been investigating claims Mike Pompeo, pictured, made a staffer walk his dog Sherman and pick up his dry cleaning

Pompeo gave no reason why he asked President Trump to the inspector general, Steve Linick, pictured

Then Pompeo attacked Sen. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose corruption case ended in a mistrial in 2015 and who was quoted in a report on lavish dinners Pompeo held at State Department headquarters.

'I dont get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted,' he said. Menendez and his House counterpart, New York Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, are both probing the firing of the IG.

Pompeo gave no reason for why he asked the president to fire the IG.

'In this case I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated. Frankly should have done it some time ago,' he said  then pausing while a handful of reporters in the room awaited more of an answer.

'Im happy to take one more,' Pompeo said, at an event with just a few questions and only two on the simmering controversy.

'Unlike others I dont talk about personnel matters,' he said. 'I dont leak to yall. Ill just say this. I cant talk. I cant give you specificity,' he said.

Pompeo admitted answering written questions in one IG probe, following reports he did so in an investigation of $8 billion in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries

What was State Department IG pushed out by Pompeo probing? Dog walking - Linick was reportedly investigating allegations Pompeo had his longtime aide Tori Porter walk his dog, Sherman, and perform other errands. Arms sales - Pompeo admitted he answered written questions in a probe, following reports Linick investigated $8 billion in emergency arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite congressional opposition. Parties - Pompeo, who had considered a run for the Senate from Kansas, staged lavish Madison Dinners at the State Department headquarters for allies, executives, and some diplomats. Failure to report workplace violence allegations - Linick was reportedly completing an investigation of Cam Henderson, the head of state's Office of Protocol, for allegedly failing to report an alleged workplace violence situation. Hdnersons former boss, Sean Lawler, was pushed out and accused of intimidating staffers and carrying a whip. Advertisement

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it was a 'reflection of the complete disregard for the truth of the Trump administration' that Pompeo would not agree to sit down with the IG as part of the probe.

'This is scandalous,' she said, accusing Trump of 'undermining our democracy' by taking action against four inspectors general officials at different agencies.

She referenced 'the parties, the public expense at his home'  a reference to a report he held numerous 'Madison dinners' for corporate officials and allies as well as diplomats at the elegant 8th floor State Department headquarters. Pompeo lives in subsidized housing although State has refused to say how much he pays in monthly rent.

Longtime Mike Pompeo aide Toni Porter has been identified as the government official at the center of an inspector general's probe into whether the secretary of state had a taxpayer employee walk his dog and perform other errands.

Porter served as Pompeo's district director when he was a congressman from Kansas. She then followed him to the CIA and on to Foggy Bottom.

The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday that Linick was investigating the role Porter, a senior advisor to Pompeo, played and 'whether she as a political appointee was conducting Pompeos personal business on government time,' according to the paper.

Politico reported that Linick also was completing an investigation of Cam Henderson, the head of state's Office of Protocol, for allegedly failing to report an alleged workplace violence situation. Her former boss, Sean Lawler, was pushed out and accused of intimidating staffers and carrying a whip.

Mike and Susan Pompeo's 'Madison dinners' revealed: Secretary of state hosted taxpayer-funded soirees for billionaires, stars and Republican power-brokers - and their contact details went to her private email

By Alice Cachia For Mailonline

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held lavish tax-payer funded dinners at the State Department hosting billionaire CEOS, Republican powerbrokers, Fox News anchors and showbusiness stars , it was revealed Wednesday.

The so-called Madison dinners were revealed by NBC News amid growing questions over Pompeo's use of taxpayer resources after he got Donald Trump to fire the State Department Inspector General who was investigating whether he got an aide to walk his dog.

Steve Linick was removed last Friday night amid his probe into whether Pompeo's long-term aide Toni Porter would order food and do laundry for him and his wife Susan, and walk his beloved dog, Sherman.

But the dinners represent a new front and could damage his relationship with Trump, as they might be seen as him building his own power base and donor network with taxpayer resources.

'If the president knew about any of this, he would have fired Pompeo months ago,' a senior Trump official told NBC News.

Receiving space: The John Quincy Adams State Drawing Room is where the Secretary of State greets guests for receptions

Reception venue: The Madison Dinners included a tour of the State Department's historic rooms, including the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room

Eat here: The intimate James Madison Dining Room is used for the meals

Formal invitation: the 6pm dinners are named for James and Dolley Madison who held salons - and according to one historian, paid their own expenses

Dressed for dinner: Mike and Susan Pompeo invited hundreds of stars, power brokers and billionaires to dine at the State Department - with their valuable contact details going to her private email address

Pompeo named the dinners after James and Dolley Madison, who were known for their entertaining when he was secretary of state.

NBC News said a total of around 500 had attended since he entered office in 2018 and until they were suspended in March because of coronavirus.

WHO'S WHO OF THE POMPEO'S GUESTS THE BILLIONAIRES AND THE DONORS Dan Cathy, Chik-fil-A chairman. Net worth $4.9 billion. Former major donor to anti-gay marriage groups Ken Langone, Home Depot CEO. Net worth $4.2 billion. Republican donor Paul Singer, hedge fund executive. Net worth $3.5 billion. Republican donor, owns conservative news site the Washington Free Beacon, which commissioned what became infamous 'golden showers dossier' Steve Case, AOL co-founder. Net worth $1.5 billion Harlan Crow, real estate tycoon. Republican mega donor and on boar of key lobby groups including American Enterprise Institute Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, pro-life lobbying organization THE FOX STARS Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade Laura Ingraham, 10pm host REPUBLICAN POWER BROKERS Karl Rove, George W. Bush campaign manager Chris Sununu, New Hampshire governor Lee Zeldin, New York congressman and Trump defender Matt and Mercedes Schlapp. He runs CPAC, she is a senior Trump campaign aide David Urban, Trump 2020 advisor Michael Steele, former Republican National Committee chairman turned Trump critic BIG BUSINESS Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon CEO Bill Miller, president of the American Gaming Association Joe DePinto, 7-Eleven CEO. Classmate of Pompeo at West Point SENIOR OFFICIALS Mark Esper, Defense Secretary* Steve Mnuchin, Treasury Secretary* Robert O'Brien, National Security Advisor* Wilbur Ross, Commerce Secretary* *Unclear if they attended SHOWBIZ AND SPORTS Dale Earnhart Jr., NASCAR Reba McEntire, country stare Peter Ueberroth, former MLB commissioner Steve Cannon, Atlanta Falcons owner. Classmate of Pompeo at West Point DIPLOMATS Princess Reema bint Bandar, ambassador from Saudi Arabia Stavros Lambrinidis, ambassador from the European Union Azmil Mohammed Zabidi, ambassador from Malyasia SUPREME COURT JUSTICES Neil Gorsuch (Trump appointee) Samuel Alito (Bush appointee) SUSAN POMPEO'S PERSONAL GUESTS Niall Ferguson, British-American Stanford University historian Dr. Larry Beamer, Wichita surgeon Advertisement

Among those to attend were significant Republican donors including billionaire Ken Langone, the founder of Home Depot founder, Paul Singer, the hedge fund billionaire, and Texas real estate billionaire Harlan Crow.

In the State Department's most glittering rooms they rubbed shoulders with Reba McEntire, the country star, Dale Earnhardt Jr, the NASCAR star, and Fox News' Brian Kilmeade and Laura Ingraham.

Also on the list were Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito, and New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu, the British-American conservative celebrity historian Niall Ferguson, and Dan Cathy, the Chik-Fil-A chairman, a major donor in the past to efforts to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage.

The dinners had attracted the scrutiny of the State Department's lawyers, who advised that to qualify for taxpayer funding they had to further the aims of foreign policy.

Records reveal 29 per cent of guests are from the corporate world, and a quarter from the media or entertainment industries.

Close to a third work in politics and 14 per cent were diplomats or foreign officials, NBC said. Records show no Democrats from the House or Senate have ever been invited.

The liaison between officials and Pompeo's office was Porter.

Porter served as Pompeo's district director when he was a congressman from Kansas. She then followed him to the CIA and on to Foggy Bottom. The investigation began after 'multiple complaints' to an IG hotline, though these did not come from Porter herself.

Trump defended Pompeo on Monday after the story exploded  although neither mentioned it during a cabinet meeting Tuesday.

'He's a high quality person, Mike. He's a very brilliant guy,' Trump said at the White House Monday.

'And now I have you telling me about dog walking, washing dishes and you know what, I'd rather have him on the phone with some world leader than have him wash dishes because maybe his wife isn't there or his kids aren't  you know,' Trump said.

Linick had also allegedly made an inquiry to the protocol office about Pompeo's lavish dinners shortly before Trump fired him last week, believed to have been at Pompeo's request.

While Madison was well known for inviting foreign diplomats over for dinner, her 'certainly paid his own entertainment expenses' Kevin Gutzman, a professor at Western Connecticut State University who wrote a biography of Madison said.

Since Pompeo, 56, took over in 2018, he has held around two dozen of the dinners.

Despite being taxpayer-funded and organized, extensive contact information is also emailed to Susan Pompeo's personal account.

Such information is hugely valuable to a politician building a network of influential friends and financial benefactors.

Major players in Republic politics, including former Bush strategist Karl Rove and David Urban, a lobbyist and political consultant on Trump's 2020 advisory committee, have been invited to the dinners.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have all been invited, though it is not known whether all of them attended.

Pompeo and his wife have also hosted national security adviser Robert O'Brien, Raytheon CEO Thomas Kennedy and Princess Reema bint Randar, the Saudi ambassador to the US, a seating list for a January dinner seen by NBC revealed.

Big Republican names: Mercedes Schlapp, part of a Washington D.C. power couple with husband Matt and a Trump campaign advisor was a guest; so too was Chris Sununu, the Republican governor of New Hampshire

In November the pair allegedly hosted former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, American Gaming Association President Bill Miller and Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the influential anti-abortion rights lobbying organization the Susan B. Anthony List.

The Malaysian ambassador and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., a key defender of Trump during the impeachment proceedings, finished off the list.

Longtime Mike Pompeo aide Toni Porter has been identified as the government employee whose role allegedly doing personal business for the secretary of state was being probed by an inspector general. She is also a key figure in the 'Madison dinners'

Chik-fil-A Chairman Dan Cathy, a major donor to campaigns against same-sex marriage, Fox News host Laura Ingraham, the EU ambassador and power couple Matt and Mercedes Sharp attended a dinner in May last year, NBC news said.

The dinners are not disclosed on Pompeo's public schedule, lending weight to what some critics say is yet evidence of using government resources for potential political or personal gain.

Invitations seen by NBC news describe the gatherings as an 'intimate evening' inspired by secretary of state James Madison who 'hosted dinners that gathered thinkers and leaders to share ideas on the future of America and the World.'

An official invite says: 'Through the Madison Dinner Series, Secretary Pompeo honors their wisdom in seeing the value of building relationships and sharing intellectual thought to enrich our country and to further our diplomatic goals.'

The evening usually starts at around 6pm, where officials greet guests arriving at the Harry S. Truman Building, sources said.

They are given a walking tour upstairs before being served pre-dinner cocktails. Either Pompeo or his wife give a welcome toast, and the conversation is informal with no specific topic or theme, NBC reported.

The menu changes to reflect the season, and an events checklist reveals a harpist is brought in to serenade the cocktail hour with a photographer arranged to snap a group photo in front of the fireplace.

One dinner attendee told NBC news: 'It's not the secretary of state of the United States. It's more like Secretary Mike and Susan.'

Guests tend to leave at around 9pm and are gifted a journal and pen which are custom-embossed with Madison Dinner logos.

Hundreds of these were ordered in 2018, officials said, at $23.75 for each pen and $8 for each journal.

Sources said concerns were flagged to the State Department's legal adviser when the dinners started. They said the adviser responded and said events hosted by Pompeo should be related to foreign policy.

Several committees on Capitol Hill have also been looking into the dinners, the sources told NBC News.

American country singer Reba McEntire (left) is one of the many guests from the entertainment industry to have attended a dinner, alongside Dale Earnhart Jr.

Fox stars: Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade and Ingraham Angle host Laura Ingraham were both at the dinners

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, recently sent a letter to the State Department.

The report comes just days after Steve Linick was fired as the State Department's inspector general

'I am concerned by allegations that the Secretary appears to be using those taxpayer resources to host large domestic-focused political gatherings that serve little-to-no foreign policy purpose', he wrote.

The letter demanded a 'complete accounting' of funds used for the dinners as well as copies of comments Pompeo may have made, NBC reported.

The involvement of Pompeo's wife - who is not a government official - and manner in which he has carried out the dinners have raised concerns.

The dinners are funded from the State Department's Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Service Appropriation, known as the 'K Fund'.

The fund can be used for 'confidential requirements in the conduct of foreign affairs as well as other authorized activities that further the realization of U.S. foreign policy objectives,' according to the State Department's website.

Current and former officials said State Department officials work to ensure a significant proportion of foreign dignitaries or officials attend, but cost estimates are not circulated to those working on the events.

Sources claimed that the bill for the evening likely costs several hundreds of dollars per plate, with the total cost of the dinners believed to be at least six-figures, NBC News said.

The gatherings also sidestep the normal procedure for official events for the secretary, when a activity sheet is sent out from the officer notifying other officials of plans.

Those familiar with the dinners said they are instead arranged informally, which means there is no co-ordination with desks overseeing specific regions of the world.

State Departments handling specific areas could therefore be entirely oblivious to ambassadors attending the dinners, meaning follow up to ascertain what was discussed could be entirely missed.

Susan Pompeo plays an integral role in the Madison Dinners.

Emails seen by NBC news show her communicating directly with state officials, arranging guest lists and dates in diaries for dinners, as well as selecting menu choices.

Former officials said each secretary is given permission to decide how involved their spouses should be, and no regulation prohibits them from the role of de facto social secretary.

Morgan Ortagus, State Department spokeswoman, said the dinners are 'a world-class opportunity to discuss the mission of the State Department and the complex foreign policy matters facing our exceptional nation.

Evening program: DailyMail.com mocked up the schedule for a Madison Dinner

She added that Pompeo 'has benefited greatly from these gatherings as he has gained knowledge listening to his guests from all across the political spectrum and all around the world.'

'Foreign policy-focused social gatherings precisely like these are in the finest tradition of diplomatic and American hospitality and grace,' Ortagus said.

'The Secretary looks forward to continuing these Madison Dinners as they are an important component of the execution of his duties as Secretary of State.'

Trump critic Michael Steele and former Republican National Committee Chairman who attended one of the dinners said they are not 'unusual'.

The evening was in line with Pompeo's diplomatic role, and he added: 'There's no big deal there.'
The Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that could ban many Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. exchanges or raising money from American investors without adhering to Washington's regulatory and audit standards.

The bill, sponsored by Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, would require companies to certify that "they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government." Alibaba, an e-commerce giant based in China, saw its U.S.-listed shares fall more than 2% on the news.

Though the law could be applied to any foreign company that seeks access to U.S. capital, lawmakers say the move to strengthen disclosure requirements is aimed principally at Beijing.

The White House declined to comment.

"The Chinese Communist Party cheats, and the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act would stop them from cheating on U.S. stock exchanges," Kennedy, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote Tuesday afternoon on Twitter. "We can't let foreign threats to Americans' retirement funds take root in our exchanges."

Specifically, the statute would require a foreign company to certify it's not owned or manipulated by a foreign government if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to audit specified reports because the company uses a foreign accounting firm not subject to inspection by the board. If the board is unable to inspect the company's accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities are banned from trade on a national exchange.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is the nonprofit body that oversees audits of all U.S. companies that wish to raise money in the public markets.

The bill's passage via unanimous consent around noon reflects the growing anger among U.S. lawmakers toward China, its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak and what many American regulators say is a persistent disregard of American financial disclosure standards.

"Hopefully, this is a wake-up call to China to bring itself into conformity with the rest of its world and allow transparency into the audits of its companies," Clete Willems, a former Trump administration trade advisor and a partner at Akin Gump, told CNBC.
The Senate has asked the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, expedite action towards the completion of the Ajaokuta steel complex

It also appealed to Ministry of Transport to complete the Ajaokuta-Okaba rail line to facilitate the operations of the Ajaokuta steel plant.

These are some of the resolutions adopted by the lawmakers on Tuesday.

The resolutions were sequel to the deliberation of a motion titled: the Ajaokuta steel company: A panacea to the diversification of the Nigerian economy, sponsored by Yakubu Oseni.

Ajaokuta

The Senates call for the completion of the steel plant is one of many as both individual and civic groups have, over the years, emphasised the importance for the plant to Nigerias economy.

The Ajaokuta steel company in Kogi State was envisaged to serve as the bedrock of Nigerias industrialisation.

The idea of having a steel industry was conceived in 1958 by the federal government. Preliminary market studies were carried out and studies were initially directed towards the feasibility of establishing rolling mills.

However, because of the growing awareness of the availability of iron ore in Agbaja, Udi and other areas of the country, emphasis later shifted to establishing an integrated steel plant.

The Ajaokuta steel had reached 98 per cent completion as far back as 1994 but not produced a single steel till date after it was abandoned. It has the capacity to become a major producer of industrial machinery, auto-electrical spare-parts, shipbuilding, railways and carriages.

A bill seeking $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account to fund the completion of the plant was passed by the eight Senate.

It is, however, one of the many bills from the eight assembly rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Buhari had said his reason for rejecting the Ajaokuta Steel Company Completion Fund Bill is that appropriating $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account is not the best strategic option for Nigeria at this time of budgetary constraints, and the nation cannot afford to commit such an amount amid competing priorities.

He also said the bill which seeks to make an appropriation of revenues to fund public expenditure, should be consolidated in the annual Appropriation Act, such that these proposals pass through the traditional scrutiny that budget proposals are subjected to by the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the National Assembly.

The motion

Leading Tuesdays debate, Mr Oseni noted that a working steel plant is always the bedrock of industrialisation for any developing nation hence of the pillars of the Nigerian Industrial Plan (NRIP) launched in 2014.

Employment generation for the first phase commissioning of the steel plant will yield 10,000 direct technical staff and 500,000 indirect jobs, he said.

He said without developing a steel industry, Nigeria will continue to export raw steel at a very cheap price and import the finished steel and allied products at exorbitant prices as it is with oil.

Nigeria imports over N2.3 billion of steel and allied products every year. Our steel industry will, therefore, be a tangible foreign exchange and saver for our fragile economy.

A completed Ajaokuta Steel Plant in no doubt will present huge benefits to our bid for common diversification. It will be a huge foreign exchange earner and saver for the country and employment generation thereby help greatly in reducing the current wave of youth unrest, kidnapping, and banditry in the country, he said.

While he commended the president for inaugurating a presidential committee on the implementation of the steel plant, he urged the panel to commence work.

The Senate thereafter urged the Senate leadership and the Committee on Solid Minerals and Steel Development to undertake an assessment oversight on the complex after the COVID-19 lockdown.
Washington: The head of NASA's human space flight programme has abruptly resigned after making a "mistake" a week before the first launch of astronauts from US soil for a decade.

Resigned: Douglas Loverro at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Credit:NASA

Doug Loverro was overseeing future astronaut launches and NASA's mission, known as Artemis, to land humans back on the moon by 2024.

On May 27, two NASA astronauts are due to take off on a SpaceX rocket for the International Space Station.

The resignation happened just two days before Loverro was due to lead a "launch readiness review" meeting.
Authorities in search of three Costa Maya fishermen for leaving coronavirus quarantine centre

Costa Maya, Q.R.  Police in Belize and Mexico have begun a search operation for three Mexican fishermen who escaped from a Belize quarantine centre.

The three fishermen, who are from the town of Xcalac just south of Mahahual, were detained by Belize authorities last week for entering Belizean territory. The trio accidentally entered the neighboring territory while fishing and were found without mouth masks or any of the necessary sanitary measures.

They were detained by Belize Coast Guard officers and placed in a quarantine centre in the town of Corozal where they had remained since Thursday. However, Belize authorities report the trio escaped.

Gabriel V., Noel G.A. and Arturo P.C. were being held here in a quarantine centre in Corozal

As of Tuesday, authorities say Gabriel V., Noel G.A. and Arturo P.C. left the quarantine centre where they were being held until test results were determined. In accordance with the provisions established by the Belizean government, when found, the three will be turned over to the court for the disclaimer of responsibility, since it is still prohibited to enter or leave the country due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Belize authorities have reported that the fishermen are suspected carriers of coronavirus and put inhabitants of both Belize and Mexico at risk. Mexican authorities were alerted in the event they try to return to Xcalac.
Hong Kong: $10,000 payout an appropriate sum

The Government considers that the $10,000 to be disbursed to residents under the Cash Payout Scheme is an appropriate amount, after having thoroughly examined all the counter-cyclical and mitigation measures and their financial impact on society.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui made the statement in response to questions from legislator Paul Tse in the Legislative Council today.

The Financial Secretary announced in the 2020-21 Budget that the scheme will disburse $10,000 to each Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above to encourage local consumption and relieve people's financial burden.

The cash disbursement is expected to benefit about seven million people, Mr Hui said, adding that preparation work for the scheme has reached its final stage.

The Government strives to start registration at the end of June and start making payments within July. The majority of eligible citizens will receive payment by the end of August.

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Growing American sales helped revenues at retailer Watches of Switzerland grow nearly 6 per cent in the last financial year despite seeing UK sales plunge 30 per cent in the thirteen weeks to April 26 due to the coronavirus.

The British seller of luxury Swiss watches registered a 5.9 per cent sales rise to 819.3million on the back of US business shooting up 22.9 per cent to 222.7million from 185.3million the previous financial year.

Domestic revenues meanwhile only increased by 0.6 per cent to 591.2million as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the Leicestershire-based firm to shut all its British and American shops.

Though its physical stores closed, Watches of Switzerland's online sales went up 45.8%

Chief executive Brian Duffy said the company was due to achieve double-digit sales growth before the disease financially impacted them.

However, he said demand had remained 'strong' and that the online sales performance had been 'ahead of our expectations.'

In the six weeks leading up to April 26, e-commerce transactions went up 45.8 per cent. But in the month of April, they rose 82.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2019 as it decided to stock more of its products online that had previously only been available in physical stores.

Watches of Switzerland deals in some of the most famous watch brands on the planet, including Rolex, Cartier, Patek Philippe, Omega and Tissot.

Its luxury timepieces formed the overwhelming majority of its takings at 686.4million, which was the only category to report a surge in purchases.

The luxury jewellery, and fashion and classics divisions, by contrast, declined by 5.4 per cent and 11.5 per cent respectively, though they only form a noticeable minority of the firm's receipts.

Watches of Switzerland sells Patek Philippe (L) and Rolex (R) watches among other brands

Business at the company's American stores is gradually resuming. Establishments in Georgia and Florida have already reopened, and according to Brian Duffy, the experience of staff and customers in those states has 'been positive.'

But with air travel expected to remain severely restricted for some time and many consumers still set to shun shops after lockdowns, the group said trading would remain under pressure.

'As we look ahead to a post-lockdown environment, we are anticipating a prolonged period of lower traffic, particularly in airports, with e-commercecontinuing to gain importance,' said Mr Duffy.

Watches of Switzerland has fifteen showrooms across the UK, including on some of London's most prime shopping destinations, including Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street, and the Royal Exchange on Threadneedle Street.

Six of the company's boutiques are situated at Heathrow Airport, which has seen passengers numbers crawl to a virtual standstill due to travel restrictions imposed by countries to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus.

These include three Rolex showrooms in Terminals 2, 3, and 5. Another store is located at Gatwick Airport, which recently warned that it could take up to four years to recover to its pre-coronavirus passenger numbers.
OAKLAND, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dark Heart Industries (DHI) today announced the launch of a line of premium cannabis flower for retail consumers grown exclusively from Dark Heart genetics. The first batch of 3.5-gram flower jars of Blue Dream and Lemongrass were stocked on the shelves of select dispensaries on May 20. The product lineup, including whole-flower pre-roll five-packs and premium jarred flower, will be made available across the California market beginning in June.

DHI's consumer product line uniquely bridges the gap between breeder, grower, and consumer. "We want to give consumers the best of the most beloved cannabis strains grown by some of California's finest farmers," said DHI CEO Dan Grace. "We also want to introduce consumers to exciting new, and often rare, strains to explore and fall in love with."

The premium flower line offers three distinct categories to meet consumer preferences. Dark Heart Legends delivers market-favorite strains restored to their original glory. Dark Heart Headstash offers new emerging strains destined to become modern classics. Finally, Dark Heart Breeder's Choice are exotic, limited-edition offerings with spectacularly unique characteristics, selected directly from their breeding program.

This consumer offering compliments the storied genetics sold to California growers and the plants DHI sells in dispensaries to retail customers. For the first time ever, consumers will have the opportunity to purchase live plants and high-quality flower of the strains they love most by the name they trust: Dark Heart.

Aundre Speciale of CBCB in Berkeley, one of California's pioneering dispensaries, said, "We are proud to be a launch partner with Dark Heart for their new cannabis line. This union represents a long-standing relationship of legacy cannabis companies. It also underscores the value of commitment to the plant and a desire to provide the best products to the consumer that both companies share. We look forward to being a continuing part of the evolution of cannabis."

Dark Heart Industries is a leading California-based cannabis genomics, diagnostics, and applied biotechnology company established in 2007. Its core mission is to provide disease-free, premium genetic material to customers. After opening the first tissue culture lab in Oakland, CA, Dark Heart diagnosed and cured hop-latent viroid (HpLVd), a pathogen that greatly reduces crop yields in cannabis. Today, the company is pioneering the cannabis "Green Revolution," an effort to improve plant health, crop yields, and production efficiency through biotech, breeding and plant science research and development. Dark Heart's new facility is based in Half Moon Bay, CA.

Contact:

[email protected]

Related Files

DHI CPG Product Shot.jpg

SOURCE Dark Heart Industries
A photo of Mishka Peart: Facebook

A mother and stepfather have been arrested after abandoning their six-year-old child on a street in Queens, New York.

Mishka Peart, a local woman who spotted the child while she was driving, said the little girl was wearing a cloth surgical mask and was carrying a trash bag and a smaller, reusable bag. Ms Peart saw the girl - whose name is Emma - standing at the corner of a busy intersection.

Ms Peart picked up the girl and drove her to a nearby park, where she was able to contact police.

The girl's parents - Patrice Chambers, 29, and Ms Chamber's boyfriend, Mark Pamphile, 28 - were arrested and charged with child endangerment, child abandonment and endangering the welfare of a child.

"How does this happen?" Ms Peart said Tuesday in a video she took while driving the little girl to the police station. "How is it that this woman has a daughter and leaves her like this?"

Ms Peart told the New York Daily News that she saw Emma running in the street trying to pick up her clothes that had been scattered when they were tossed from her mother's car.

She recalled seeing Emma staring at her as she waited for a light to change, so Ms Peart pulled over and asked the little girl where she was going.

"I asked her where she was going and she said 'I don't know.' I said, 'Where are your parents?"

Emma said she didn't know and that "they drove off and left [her]."

According to a police report detailing the incident, the mother and stepfather drove off and tossed the little girl's belongings out of the window of their car as they sped away.

Mr Pamphile allegedly called the girl's father and told him to go find her because she was "crying like a little b****."

Later, when he was arrested for child endangerment, Mr Pamphile attempted to skirt responsibility for leaving the girl on the side of the road.

"This kid is her kid," he told police. "This kid is not my kid, not my problem, not my responsibility."

Story continues

Ms Chambers claimed that she and Mr Pamphile first attempted to drop Emma off at her father's house, but her father said Ms Chambers was lying and provided surveillance video footage from his house to prove the couple had never stopped by the house.

Ms Chambers and Mr Pamphile were released from jail without bond. They face up to four years in prison if they're convicted. Emma was turned over to child welfare services in Suffolk County and will be sent to live with a relative, according to an official.

Read more

Child abuse may be going unreported during lockdown
UK Jobless Claims Surge by Record Amount as Pandemic Hits

LONDONUnemployment claims in Britain jumped by a record amount in April to their highest level since the 1990s, underscoring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy even as government programs sought to keep workers on payrolls.

Treasury chief Rishi Sunak downplayed the chances of a swift recovery in a parliamentary hearing. He couldnt, in short, pledge to secure every job or business, noting that immediate bounce back isnt a given.

Obviously, the impact will be severe, he said. We are likely to face a severe recession the likes of which we have never seen.

Jobless claims surged by 856,000 in April to 2.1 million, the highest since 1996 and an increase of 69 percent from the month before, the Office of National Statistics said on May 19. The figures covered only the first weeks of the lockdown, said Jonathan Athow, a statistician at the ONS.

As bad as it was, economists suggested it could have been much worse. The government created a job retention program to prevent millions of people from being laid off by effectively putting them on the government payroll. Britains Treasury said on May 19 that 8 million people have been put on furlough lists and an additional 2 million self-employed people have applied for income support.

The fact unemployment hasnt already shot up far higher given the huge fall in GDP and temporary closure of around a quarter of businesses is a good result for the government, said Andrew Wishart, an economist at Capital Economics. He said that reflects the fact so many people have been furloughed, rather than being made redundant.

The government wage support scheme is due to ask employers to share costs from August, so job losses could accelerate if employers decide that their businesses cant survive and give up.

Among the sectors hit hardest were hospitality and construction. Job vacancies also dropped sharply, with the number of empty posts falling by 170,000 to 637,000 in the three months to April compared with the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate was at 3.9 percent in March, the last month for which full labor market statistics are available. Experts predict it will rise toward 10 percent by the fall.

Economist Kallum Pickering of Berenberg bank said that would mean an increase in the number of unemployed workers to around 3.3 million from about 1.35 million in Marchfar exceeding the previous peak of 2.7 million in October 2011 in the wake of the financial crisis. Others think it could rise far higher, especially if there is a second peak of the virus.

An unemployment rate peak of 10 percent would still be well below the rate in the U.S., where the jobless rate hit 14.7 percent in April and is forecast to rise further.

The British government also announced on May 19 it was quadrupling the size of loans available to larger businesses that have been affected by the coronavirus crisis, many of whom have already used the job retention scheme to put workers on furlough.

The Treasury said companies will now be able to receive up to 200 million pounds ($245 million) under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, from 50 million pounds before. The scheme is available for firms with an annual turnover of more than 45 million pounds.

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chamber of Commerce, said the change will help ensure that more businesses of all sizes get access to the finance they need to help weather this unprecedented economic storm.

By Danica Kirka
Press Release

May 20, 2020 Statement of Senator Cynthia Villar on the Webex meeting Clarification on the Webex meeting The middle class are the backbone of the Philippine economy and I recognize the workers' contributions to the country and their families. The intention of my questions yesterday was to clarify reports about the middle class workers who remain employed but have been included as among the beneficiaries of the Social Amelioration Program of the government. Congress has intended the SAP funds to benefit the poor and the unemployed. Lawmakers made sure that we were clear about the targeted beneficiaries of the cash assistance. The workers who continue to receive their salaries during the quarantine were excluded as eligible beneficiaries because they did not lose their income even amid the strict quarantine setup. My statements during the hearing yesterday was not in any manner meant to be an affront to the hardworking middle class of the country. I might have framed my questions and statements in such a manner that made it seem I was insensitive to the plight of the middle income sector. I am NOT. I am concerned and I lookout for the welfare of the middle income workers. If I have offended anyone with my statements, I humbly apologize.
Chennai, May 20 : The Indian space agency has got the patent for its method of manufacturing highland lunar soil simulant or simply lunar/moon soil.

As a part of its Moon landing mission Chandrayaan-2, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had to prepare an artificial moon surface so that the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover could be tested.

On May 18, the Indian Patent Office granted patent to ISRO for an invention as to the method of manufacturing highland lunar soil simulant.

The patent is valid for 20 years from the date of filing the application, i.e., May 15, 2014. The inventors are: I. Venugopal, S.A. Kannan, Shamrao, V. Chandra Babu (all from ISRO), S. Anbazhagan, S. Arivazhagan, C.R. Paramasivam, M. Chinnamuthu (all from the Department of Geology, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu) and K. Muthukkumaran from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu.

"The surface of the earth and that of the moon are entirely different. So we had to create an artificial moon surface and test our rover and lander," M. Annadurai, who retired as Director, U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), formerly ISRO Satellite Centre, had told IANS.

Importing lunar soil like substance from the US was a costly affair and ISRO looked for a local solution as its need was about 60/70 tonnes of soil.

Many geologists had told ISRO that near Salem in Tamil Nadu, there were "anorthosite" rocks that would be similar to the features of moon soil or regolith.

The ISRO finalised to take the "anorthosite" rocks from Sithampoondi and Kunnamalai villages in Tamil Nadu for moon soil.

Annadurai said the rocks were crushed to the required size and moved to Bengaluru where its Lunar Terrain Test Facility was located and the test bed was created.

As per the patent papers filed, the invention relates to a lunar simulant prepared from a terrestrial analogue and a method for producing and manufacturing it.

The simulant is almost equivalent to the regolith of the lunar highland region and comparable with Apollo 16 return samples.

The lunar soil simulant can be used for scientific studies of lunar terrain relating to mobility/trafficability of rover for scientific explorations or for the study of geo-technical/mechanical properties of lunar soil for understanding the engineering behaviour of lunar regolith or to carry out fundamental research work (theoretical and experimental) to postulate a broad design philosophy for realising civil engineering structures on the Moon surface, and to make a pathway to lunar locomotive engineering.

Lunar exploration requires a full understanding of the physical and chemical properties of lunar surface soil as most of the building materials have to be produced out of the regolith for human settlement on the Moon.

As per the papers filed by ISRO, compositionally, the lunar soils fall into two broad groups: The highland soils, which are developed on anorthositic bedrock, and mare soils, which are developed on basaltic bedrock. Mare soils can be further sub-classified as to high or low titanium content soils.

Highland soils are relatively enriched in aluminium and calcium, while mare soils are relatively enriched in iron, magnesium and titanium. The use of lunar simulants is focused on physical characteristics of the lunar regolith for undertaking landing and transportation activities.

"There are more than 30 lunar simulants that have been produced to date, some of which have been exhausted," ISRO said.

Most of the countries produced simulants representing the lunar mare region.

The lunar highland crust occupies 83 per cent of the lunar surface. However, only limited number of simulants represent the regolith of the lunar highland region, ISRO said.

According to the Indian space agency, most of the future missions propose for soft landing on the lunar highland region. Hence, there is an urgent need for a bulk quantity of lunar soil simulant, which represents the highland lunar crust.

The lunar soil simulant of the present invention is exclusively manufactured to represent the lunar highland region. The regolith of the lunar highland region is mainly derived from anorthositic rock formation.

The present simulant produced and manufactured in bulk quantity exactly from similar rock samples identified and picked out from the Sittampundi Anorthosite Complex, India.

Moreover, the invention satisfied all aspects, including mineralogy, bulk chemistry, grain size distribution and geo-mechanical properties.

As the mission to land the Vikram moon lander safely failed earlier, India is planning a similar mission going forward.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Avocados are a known ingredient in Mexican cuisine. However, what makes this fruit amazing is beyond the flavorful and nutritious dishes prepared with them. They are a part of the history of a culturally rich and diverse country. In the past, Mexico had used this nutritious fruit as a form of payment, according to an article. This guacamole star ingredient had only evolved into an equally important commodity that is now rocking almost every kitchen in the world.

With many people from different parts of the world shifting into healthy lifestyles, they have turned to the power fruit from Mexico, the avocado as their go-to food. Packed with nutritional benefits, there is no doubt that this incredibly healthy fruit had helped Mexico be known in different parts of the world.

Here are some amazing facts you need to learn about this super fruit:

The Only Fruit That Ripens While Still Attached on The Tree

According to an article, avocados can ripen either while attached to the tree or removed from it. The article states that the amazing fruit is the only fruit in the world that can mature while still attached to the tree.

Mexico Produces The Largest Volume of Avocados

Mexico is famous for producing the largest volume of avocados in the world, says the article. It was first grown by farmers in the Southern part of Mexico and currently, it stands as the world's top supplier of avocados. Also, it is the birthplace of 70 percent of non-grain vegetables.

They are Berries

The avocado is a fruit. However, have you ever wondered what type of fruit? Based on an article, the avocado is a berry.

They Thrive Because of Human and Herbivores

Based on the article, avocados can thrive through humans and herbivores. It is through humans and herbivores that the flesh of the fruits gets eaten and its seeds are thrown in different places that allow the tree to grow.

Spanish Explorer's Love for Avocados

Years in the past when Spanish explorers arrived in Mexico, they were able to survive by consuming avocados, according to an article.

'Avocado' Is Not The Sole Name of the Fruit

The avocado was given its name in 1969 by an Irishman. Also, he named the tree of the avocado fruit as the 'alligator pear tree.'

It Became a Popular Food in the United States of America in the 1950s

The avocado had reached popularity in the 1950s. It means that it was only recently the United States had grown a liking to the fruit and incorporate it in many dishes.

Check these out:

The Aztecs Love Avocados

The Aztecs had admired this incredible superfruit for its ability to self-pollinate, according to an article. Based on the article, the Aztecs sees the avocado as frutis that symbolizes fertility with its ability to pollinate on itself.
Rajasthan government has allowed the opening up of offices located in shopping malls and educational institutes for non-academic activities amid the easing of prevailing lockdown restrictions, which were enforced since end-March to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the viral outbreak is under control in the state, which has led to the opening up of economic activities in line with the latest guidelines issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last Sunday.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Gehlot also reviewed the restrictions under lockdown 4:0, which was enforced from Monday till May 31.

Additional chief secretary (home), Rajiv Swaroop, said that the offices of all educational institutions have been allowed to open for non-academic work. Though shopping malls have not been allowed to open, offices located in them have been permitted to resume their operations, he added.

Chief secretary-level talks are being held with Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra to operate inter-state bus services in a bid to ferry migrant workers back home.

Also read: In biggest single-day spike, India records over 5,611 Covid-19 cases

Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agrawal said that the movement of stranded migrant workers would considerably ease, as 23 trains would bring back many over the next five days.

The CM has appointed Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as in-charge for 11 districts, where there have been a spike in Covid-19 positive cases because of the arrival of migrant workers. The nominated officers have been urged to come up with an action plan to improve healthcare facilities, including institutional quarantine, in these 11 Covid-19-hit districts.

The state government has appointed Bhaskar A Sawant for Pali and Sirohi; Naveen Mahajan for Jodhpur; Muktanand Agarwal for Jalore; Omprakash for Barmer; Nareshpal Gangwar for Nagaur; Samit Sharma for Sikar, Ashutosh AT Pendenekar for Udaipur; KK Pathak for Bhilwara; Praveen Gupta for Bikaner; and Bhawani Singh Detha for Rajsamand.

Rajasthans director-general of police (DGP) Bhupendra Singh has warned that those found violating social distancing norms would be booked under the Rajasthan Epidemic Ordinance.

He said challans have been issued to 8,134 for not wearing face masks in public places; 1,201 challans for those selling goods to people who were not wearing face masks; 73 for spitting in public places; 64 for selling tobacco products; and 2,525 for violating social distancing norms.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A team of physicists at the University of Bristol has developed the first integrated photon source with the potential to deliver large-scale quantum photonics.

The development of quantum technologies promises to have a profound impact across science, engineering and society. Quantum computers at scale will be able to solve problems intractable on even the most powerful current supercomputers, with many revolutionary applications, for example, in the design of new drugs and materials.

Integrated quantum photonics is a promising platform for developing quantum technologies due to its capacity to generate and control photons - single particles of light - in miniaturized complex optical circuits. Leveraging the mature CMOS Silicon industry for the fabrication of integrated devices enables circuits with the equivalent of thousands of optical fibres and components to be integrated on a single millimetre-scale chip.

The use of integrated photonics for developing scalable quantum technologies is in high demand. The University of Bristol is a pioneer in this field, as demonstrated by new research published in Nature Communications.

Dr Stefano Paesani, lead author explains:

"An important challenge that has limited the scaling of integrated quantum photonics has been the lack of on-chip sources able to generate high-quality single photons. Without low-noise photon sources, errors in a quantum computation accumulate rapidly when increasing the circuit complexity, resulting in the computation being no longer reliable. Moreover, optical losses in the sources limit the number of photons the quantum computer can produce and process.

"In this work we found a way to resolve this and in doing so we developed the first integrated photon source compatible with large-scale quantum photonics. To achieve high-quality photons, we developed a novel technique - "inter-modal spontaneous four-wave mixing" - where the multiple modes of light propagating through a Silicon waveguide are non-linearly interfered, creating ideal conditions for generating single photons."

Together with colleagues at the University of Trento in Italy, the team based at Prof Anthony Laing's group in Bristol's Quantum Engineering Technology Labs (QETLabs) benchmarked the use of such sources for photonic quantum computing in a heralded Hong-Ou-Mandel experiment, a building block of optical quantum information processing, and obtained the highest quality on-chip photonic quantum interference ever observed (96% visibility).

Dr Paesani said: "The device demonstrated by far the best performances for any integrated photon source: spectral purity and indistinguishability of 99% and > 90% photon heralding e?ciency."

Importantly, the Silicon photonic device was fabricated via CMOS-compatible processes in a commercial foundry, which means thousands of sources can easily be integrated on a single device. The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Hub in Quantum Computing and Simulation and the European Research Council (ERC), represents a major step toward building quantum circuits at scale and paves the way for several applications.

"We have solved a critical set of noises that had previously limited the scaling of photonic quantum information processing. For example, arrays of hundreds of these sources can be used to build near-term noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) photonic machines, where tens of photons can be processed to solve specialised tasks, such as the simulation of molecular dynamics or certain optimisation problems related to graph theory."

Now researchers have devised how to build near-perfect photon sources, over the next few months the scalability of the Silicon platform will allow them to integrate tens to hundreds on a single chip. Developing circuits at such a scale will make it possible for NISQ photonic quantum machines to solve industrially-relevant problems beyond the capability of current supercomputers.

"Furthermore, with advanced optimisation and miniaturisation of the photon source, our technology could lead to fault-tolerant quantum operations in the integrated photonics platform, unleashing the full potential of quantum computers!" said Dr Paesani.

###

Paper:

Near-ideal spontaneous photon sources in silicon quantum photonics by S. Paesani et al in Nature Communications.
Recently, Lee, 60, used his position to scrutinize the citys mental-health-care system. At several criminal hearings involving defendants with mental illnesses, Lee ordered leaders from St. Elizabeths, the Districts psychiatric hospital, as well from the citys Department of Behavioral Health, to appear and explain the treatment of patients. In 2017, Lee held a contempt hearing for the agency after learning it had failed to provide numerous jailed defendants with court-ordered psychological evaluations to determine whether they should be transferred to a hospital for more extensive treatment. Supervisors at the time told Lee the agency was too understaffed to keep up with the court-ordered evaluations.
Joe Biden laid into two generations of Trumps Tuesday night at a virtual town hall hosted by Yahoo News.

The presumptive Democratic nominee went after Donald Trump Jr. for sharing a meme on Saturday that suggested Biden was a pedophile. 'It's sick, it's sick, it's sick, but he is his father's son.'

The ex-veep had a lot to say about President Donald Trump's coronavirus response, but he also called him 'petty' for not wanting to hang President Barack Obama's portrait in the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden took on two generations of Trumps during a virtual town hall with Yahoo News. He went after Donald Trump Jr. for social media posts that suggested he was a pedophile. He also hit President Trump for not wanting to hang President Obama's portrait

Donald Trump Jr. posted this meme to Instagram over the weekend that featured Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden and an alligator, calling him a 'pedophile.' Trump Jr. commented that 'there's definitely way too many Creepy Joe videos out there!'

Once a New York Times reporter pointed out Donald Trump Jr.'s social media feed he said that the emojis on the Instagram post calling Joe Biden a pedophile meant that he was 'joking around'

Yahoo News' Brittany Shepherd (left) asked Joe Biden (right) about memes produced by Donald Trump Jr. that insinuated Biden was a pedophile. Shepherd said they reminded her of 'Pizzagate,' which was difficult for Hillary Clinton to push back on because it was so farfetched

Joe Biden also brought up an NBC News report that said President Trump would not be hosting President Obama at the White House for the traditional portrait unveiling. Biden said the snub was 'venal' and 'so petty'

NBC News reported Tuesday that the ceremony that usually takes place in a president's first term when his predecessor's portrait is unveiled won't be happening, as Trump doesn't plan to extend the invitation to Obama.

Obama, however, also has no interest in attending, NBC News said.

Biden had been asked by Yahoo's Brittany Shepherd about 'Obamagate,' the nebulous term Trump has been using to pin the origins of the Russia probe on top brass of the previous investigation.

'This is a pattern: diversion, diversion, diversion. Don't speak to whatever the issues before us are,' Biden began. 'My God, "Obamagate,'" the former vice president scoffed.

He then segued to Trump's portrait snub.

'And he also by the way just said, I read, he's not going to allow President Obama's picture to be hung in the White House as long as he's president,' Biden continued. '. That's another inducement for you to make sure he's not president beyond January 20.'

'Come on, this is so venal, so petty,' Biden said. 'The greatest crime? I mean my Lord,' the presumptive nominee continued, returning to 'Obamagate.'

Shepherd then asked the candidate about posts by Donald Trump Jr. Trump Jr. had featured a meme on his Instagram page that showed an image of Biden saying 'See you later, alligator!' An alligator responded with, 'In a while, pedophile!'

When it was screenshot by a New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin, Trump Jr. wrote back, 'The 3 emojis in the caption should indicate to anyone with a scintilla of common sense that Im joking around.'

Shepherd told the former vice president that it reminded her of 'Pizzagate,' a conspiracy theory that revolved around 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton running a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of a D.C. pizza place - which doesn't have a basement. 'Pizzagate' was difficult for the Clinton campaign to push back on because it was so farfetched.

Biden agreed that Trump Jr. was trying to 'get something going on the internet.'

Biden said it was a Trumpian tactic: 'Like his father says, if you way it enough people will believe it.'

'No, I don't want to get down in the mud with these guys,' he continued. 'I mean, look, people know who I am. That good news is the bad news - they know me. They know my faults, they know my talents, they know me, so it's hard to lay on me some of the things that are totally out of sync with anything in my whole life that anyone has ever said in ther life.'

'But this is bizarre,' Biden said, of Trump Jr. floating this idea that he can't be around kids.

He alluded to the fact that people knew him when answering questions about Tara Reade, the former staffer who's said she was allegedly sexually assaulted by Biden in 1993.

Biden told Shepherd and Yahoo Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman that he hasn't watched any of Reade's interviews, including her first big television interview with former Fox News Channel and NBC News host Megyn Kelly.

'The truth is this never, ever, happened,' Biden said again, repeating the denial he first made on 'Morning Joe' and that his campaign said when the accusation was first made. 'And what I'm reading now online and I'm seeing in the national press, apparently there's a lot of other people who are wondering whether or not it happened.'

'It's not my role to ascribe a motive to anything that she's done or not done, except to assure you it never, ever, ever happened,' Biden said.

The virtual town hall was supposed to be a talk about food policy - and Biden was joined by Jose Andres, the D.C.-based restaurateur and chef, whose non-profit World Central Kitchen is working to feed people during the coronavirus pandemic.

While Biden talked food security, including worrying about meat processing plant workers saying, 'No worker's life is worth me getting a cheaper hamburger.'

The interview was supposed to be about food insecurity, and thus included Chef Jose Andres (bottom right) as well. Biden told Yahoo's Brittany Shepherd (top right) and Daniel Klaidman (bottom right) that he found Presidnet Trump 'irresponsible' for not wearing a mask and for promoting the unproven drug hydroxchloroquine

He really hit Trump hard on the president's recent messaging efforts.

Biden complained about the president's refusal to wear a mask while insisting on taking the unproven anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to prevent getting COVID-19.

'Don't worry about it, I don't need a mask,' Biden said was Trump's sentiment. 'Without my mask I can't walk outside my house because the Secret Service is out there, they're all wearing their masks, they're all getting tested.'

'Come on. It's irrresponsible,' he said.

As for taking hydroxychloroquine, 'It's like saying maybe if you injected Clorox into your blood it may cure you.'

'Come on man, what is he doing? What in God's name is he doing?' Biden asked.

'There's no serious medical personnel out there saying to use that drug, it's counterproductive, it's not going to help,' the former vice president added. 'But the president decided that's an answer. So what do you think people are going to be doing? You think they're not going to use it?' Biden asked.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 17:04:21|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ANKARA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Four members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed by Turkish airstrikes in northern Iraq, said Turkey's defense ministry on Wednesday

"Four PKK terrorists were neutralized in Metina region of northern Iraq after they were detected by reconnaissance and surveillance activities," the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkey's anti-terror operations continue without let-up, the ministry noted.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in statements to imply terrorists in question surrendered or killed or captured.

Turkish security forces have long been conducting operations against the PKK in southeastern Turkey and in northern Iraq where the group has hideouts.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, launched a 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state which cost the lives of more than 40,000. Enditem
Wednesday morning began with a new hope for the shopkeepers on Laxmi Road, one of the oldest market places in Pune, during the fourth phase of Covid-19 lockdown which allowed resumption of a large number of economic activities.

As per the new directives issued by Pune municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad on Tuesday, public transport, cabs, autorickshaws, malls, salons, restaurants and cafes are not allowed to function in Pune which is a Covid-19 red zone.

According to the directives, establishments selling electronics, computers, mobiles, clothes, hardware, stationery, laundry services, home appliances and offering tailoring services can be opened on certain days of the week. Masks are mandatory in public places and shops have to close for business after 7 pm. Housemaids have been allowed to resume duty in non-containment areas.

A large number of shutters went up and shops opened up after remaining closed for more than two months. Laxmi Road, Bajirao Road, Tilak Road and J M Road were among the prominent shopping area in west Pune which were slowly limping back to life on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, Pune registered 3,747 Covid-19 positive cases and 207 deaths. The number of micro-containment zones in the city was reduced from 69 to 45. However, 19 new areas were added to this list ahead of lockdown 4.0.

Dhiraj Parmar, proprietor of D K Traders, a clothes shop on Laxmi Road said, Today after almost 60 days we are opening our shop. We are doing the cleaning and checking of stocks. We will ensure proper social distancing. Our main problem is the absence of our employees who have gone back to their villages.

Mahendra Bora, a cloth merchant said business had been hit badly. We have given salaries to our staff, most of who have gone back to their states and are not willing to come back this year. It is going to be difficult for us to run our shop without them, he said.

Yogendra Ashtekar, owner of Yogendra Ashtekar Jewellers on Laxmi Road said he was opening his shop after 65 days. He said apart from following all the guidelines, they were ensuring footwear sanitisation of every customer along with hand sanitisation, he said.

More relaxations have been offered in the neighbouring industrial town of Pimpri-Chinchwad. Most commercial establishments and industries in rural and urban area, private construction sites, private offices, government offices, IT companies, courier and postal services and home delivery of food in non-red zones were allowed to open.
Candidates appearing for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2020 will be able to edit their online application as well as change the examination centre from 20 to 22 May. The provision to make changes in the Karnataka CET 2020 online application form will open from 6 pm on 20 May (Wednesday).

Candidates appearing for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2020 will be able to edit their online application as well as change the examination centre from 20 to 22 May. The provision to make changes in the Karnataka CET 2020 online application form will open from 6 pm on 20 May (Wednesday).

Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) has identified 75 new examination centres to conduct CET and the list has been shared on the website. KEA has asked the students to verify the newly identified examination centres list and change their earlier place of CET 2020 "if they are interested."

Candidates can choose the centre closest to them. The decision has been taken for the convenience of students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The candidates can enter three examination places of their choice in the order of priority," KEA said. Students will be allotted the place based on the priority of the examination and the seat availability in the centre.

Candidates can change or modify the information furnished in the CET 2020 online application as per their eligibility, KEA added. To edit the online application form, candidates will have to log in to the official website of KCET and enter their user ID and password.

Karnataka (CET) 2020 will be held on 30 and 31 July.

The entrance test was earlier scheduled to be held between 22 and 24 April but was postponed due to nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

Karnataka CET is held for determining the merit for admission to the first year of full-time courses for government share of seats in engineering, technology, B Pharma, 2nd year B Pharma, Pharma-D courses and farm science courses.

According to a report by The New Indian Express, Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said that KCET 2020 will help students planning for admission into engineering colleges across the state.
Emma Palmer-Cooper, a co-investigator in the project, has not yet published findings that show that many people turn to crafting during times of stress, but has anecdotally observed that this is true. Our findings have shown that the more actively engaged you are to a craft, the more often you do it, the more there are benefits, she said, noting that she and her colleague, Anne Ferrey, are focused on studying the positive effects of crafting during working hours, and the effects on those who are furloughed because of the pandemic.
A 55-year-old man tested



coronavirus positive in Chandrapur city of Maharashtra on Wednesday, taking the number of such patients in the district to three, health officials said.

However, the number of active patients in the district is only two now as one COVID-19 patient has now tested negative, the official said.

"The man who tested positive today is a resident of Durgapur, Panchsheel Nagar in Chandrapur city. However, his daughter, who had returned to Chandrapur from Hyderabad, has tested negative," civil surgeon, Dr Nivruti Rathod, said.

"She had returned to Chandrapur on May 13 and was sent to institutional quarantine. However, she had stayed at her house with the family for a night before being quarantined," he said.

On May 18, the swab samples of all her and her five family members were taken for testing. On Wednesday, the results of four of them were shared with the authorities.

"Of the four, her father has tested positive. He has been admitted to the Civil Hospital. However, his daughter, wife and a minor boy have tested negative. Results of two other family members are awaited," Rathod said.

The district's first coronavirus patient, a resident of Krishna Nagar in Chandrapur city, has now tested negative, the district information office said in a statement.

Another patient, a 23-year-old woman, had tested COVID-19 positive in the city's Binba Gate area on May 13. She would be tested on May 25 and 26 now, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Greenpeace report said Amazon, Microsoft, Google undermining their own climate pledges by partnering with Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil.

Google said it will honour all existing contracts with its customers, but didnt specify what companies. Greenpeaces report says Microsoft appears to be leading the way with the most oil and contracts, offering AI capabilities in all phases of oil production. Amazons contracts are more focused on pipelines, shipping and fuel storage, according to the report. (Photo | Flicker)

Washington: Google says it will no longer build custom artificial intelligence tools for speeding up oil and gas extraction, separating itself from cloud computing rivals Microsoft and Amazon.

The announcement followed a Greenpeace report Tuesday that documents how the three tech giants are using AI and computing power to help oil companies find and access oil and gas deposits in the U.S. and around the world.

The environmentalist group says Amazon, Microsoft and Google have been undermining their own climate change pledges by partnering with major oil companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil that have looked for new technology to get more oil and gas out of the ground.

But the group applauded Google on Tuesday for taking a step away from those deals.

While Google still has a few legacy contracts with oil and gas firms, we welcome this indication from Google that it will no longer build custom solutions for upstream oil and gas extraction, said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA.

Google said it will honour all existing contracts with its customers, but didnt specify what companies.

Greenpeaces report says Microsoft appears to be leading the way with the most oil and contracts, offering AI capabilities in all phases of oil production.

Amazons contracts are more focused on pipelines, shipping and fuel storage, according to the report. Their tools have been deployed to speed up shale extraction, especially from the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico.

Some of the contracts have led to internal protests by employees who are pushing their companies to do more to combat climate change.

Amazon declined to comment on the Greenpeace report, but pointed to wording on its website that said the energy industry should have access to the same technologies as other industries. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Actor Hagen Mills has died in an alleged attempted murder-suicide in his Kentucky home at the age of 29.

According to Deadline, Mayfield Police Chief Nathan Kent revealed officers responding to a call on Tuesday night were met by 34-year-old Erica Price, who had been shot in the arm and chest.

Hagen Mills allegedly shot the mother of his child, Erica Price. Photo: Facebook

Hagen Mills is pictured here at the "Sprawl" Los Angeles special screening in 2012. Photo: Getty Images

Price alleged she had been shot by Mills, who had then reportedly turned the gun on himself.

Mills, who starred in the TV series Baskets and the 2013 movie Bonnie & Clyde, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Price's mother and the couple's young daughter were in the house at the time of the shooting but werent hurt.

When Price entered the residence, she was shot by Mills, before he turned the gun on himself, police said. Prices mother and daughter were not physically injured during the incident.

Hagen Mills in the 2013 movie Bonnie & Clyde. Credit: YouTube

Price was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition.

Mills had been arrested earlier this year in March and charged with first degree rape and sodomy as well as possession of methamphetamine according to Daily Mail.

Mills and Price began dating in 2012, four years before welcoming their daughter together.

If you are concerned about the mental health of yourself or a loved one, seek support and information by calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978, or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Jeyhun Alakbarov  Trend:

Azerbaijan Railways CJSC has developed plans for work in the post-pandemic period, the company told Trend.

The agency is ready to fulfill any requirements in order to protect the health of citizens. After the resumption of passenger traffic, special instructions will be given to protect the health of passengers and train crews, the company said.

It is likely that in order to keep social distance and in connection with the sale of seats in wagons, some changes will be introduced in the rules of passenger transportation. Such a practice has been already introduced in some countries. Azerbaijan Railways CJSC is also ready to take any measures to protect the health of citizens, the company said.

Taking into account the sanitary and epidemiological situation due to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), the preventive measures taken by other states, as well as the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO), a decision was made to extend the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan until 00:00 on May 31, 2020. Thus, with the exception of cargo transportation, the ban on the arrival and departure from Azerbaijan by land and air remains in force.
Priti Patel today warned that people who cough in the faces of key workers during the coronavirus outbreak could see their prison sentence doubled.

The Home Secretary confirmed she is considering increasing the punishment for such offences from one year to two years.

There have been numerous reports of people coughing in the faces of emergency service workers on purpose in recent weeks.

Ms Patel said anyone found guilty of such an assault must face the 'full force of the law'.

Priti Patel, pictured in Downing Street on May 14, said today sentences for assaults on emergency workers could be doubled

A new law introduced in 2018 increased the maximum sentence for the offence of common assault or battery on an emergency worker from six to 12 months.

But a rash of offences during the current crisis has prompted Ms Patel to weigh up whether the current punishment is enough of a deterrent.

During an appearance on LBC Radio this morning, Ms Patel was asked what should happen to people who cough in the face of police officers and other essential staff.

The Home Secretary replied that they 'will feel the full force of the law'.

Asked what that actually means Ms Patel said: 'And thats rightly so. Well weve seen some people be convicted and rightly.

'So going through the magistrates courts, going through the court process, well being arrested...'

Pushed on whether the sentences should be increased, Ms Patel said they could soon be doubled.

Replying to host Nick Ferrari, she said: 'So Nick you know that I am looking at that right now.

'Were on our fourth piece of legislation in four weeks. We are doing more, particularly around assaults on key, on emergency workers and on police officers.

'Im looking to double the sentences and were going to do that. Ive been absolutely clear with the police about that.

'I speak to the police about this every single week. We are going to do that.'
Highly decorated Doria brings new global creative vision to the expanding network

NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Havas Health & You (HH&Y) announces today the appointment of Icaro Doria as Global Chief Creative Officer for the network. In his new role, Icaro will drive the vision and strategy for the global network's various creative agencies as well as lead the HH&Y global creative council. Starting May 26, 2020, he will report directly to Donna Murphy, Global CEO of HH&Y.

Icaro most recently served as U.S Chief Creative Officer for ARNOLD Worldwide, where he was known for challenging traditional creative approaches and pushing for innovation across new platforms. He will continue to act as a member of the Havas Global Creative Council where he helps to drive creative objectives at the company's most senior level. Prior to joining Havas, Icaro formerly acted as Chief Creative Officer of DDB New York and as a founder of Wieden and Kennedy's Sao Paulo office. Icaro has judged and won the industry's major creativity and effectiveness awards several times over, including 42 Cannes Lions, 68 Clios and 30 D&AD Pencils.

As HH&Y's Global CCO, Icaro will work to expand the network's creative offering, and bring fresh vision to the company's expansive health and wellness client portfolio, "The health and wellness categories have fascinated me for a long time, and have profound importance right now and in the future. I am excited to join Havas Health & You to help elevate collective and personal wellbeing by bringing the best that contemporary creative storytelling has to offer, while partnering with the companies who are leading this crucial mission around the world," said Icaro.

"Inspiring new ways of thinking and acting is greatly impacted by creative excellence," adds Donna Murphy, "Icaro brings exceptional acumen and leading consumer brand experience to our global leadership team. This talent, in partnership with our existing bench in strategy, partnership and innovation, puts us in a position to help bring health and wellness brands to the forefront of consumer dialogue, which is exactly where we believe they need to be in the future. We're delighted to have Icaro on board and know that he will help us to continue to drive great impact in our industry."
Pritzkers plan requires 28 days of monitoring public health data in four regions of the state before each can transition to the third phase as soon as May 29. In that new phase, gatherings of 10 people or fewer would be allowed for any reason, fitness and health clubs could offer one-on-one training and outdoor classes, barbershops and salons could reopen with restrictions as could manufacturing businesses, offices and retailers.
: The Madras High Court on



Wednesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to accommodate stranded migrant workers in shelters, homes and other places before transporting them to their home states.

Passing interim orders on a PIL of an advocate Thilakraj, the court also ordered the state government topublish the list of identified shelters by Wednesday itself.

A Division Bench of Justice M. Sathyanarayanan and Justice Anita Sumanth, in its order, said, "This court can take judicial notice of the fact that on arterial roads, the migrant workers are exhibiting their anxiety to reach a railway station and not maintaining the social distancing and they do not possess masks."



Therefore, the bench said, the immediate concern of the state government is to accommodate them in homes/identified places and it shall be made available in the public domain by today itself.

The bench heard the submission of the Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan for the Centre and pleader for the Tamil Nadu government Jayaprakash Narayan.

The petitioner submitted that though some standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the form of various administrative instructions have been put in place to deal with the issue, there are other issues yet to be addressed by the Central and state governments.

Elaborating on the issues, he said there was no list of shelters wherein migrant workers can be accommodated and registration of such workers for transport trough trains to their home States though available in the website, the language used for uploading the information is only in English and not in the languages such as Hindi, Odiya, Bengali or Bojpuri.

The petitioner suggested better coordination between the state government and the Ministry of Railways as to the schedule of trains originating from Chennai to various states for transporting the workers.

On this, the bench issued notice to the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government and ask them to reply by May 26.

The judges directed that information on the registered migrants, the departure time of the trains to various states shall also be made available in the websites of the Ministry of Railways as well as the Revenue and Disaster Management of the government of Tamil Nadu.

To this, the Centre and state government agreed and have given an undertaking in this regard.

The state government pleader submitted that as per the order of the Union Home Ministry, a GO was passed by the state government and also appointed Dr Atulya Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary to government, Revenue Disaster Management Department, as the nodal officer for the movement of the migrant workers.

Besides, a team of officers has also been constituted to work with the nodal officer and the Standard Operating Procedure is going on smoothly.

Assistant Solicitor General of India G Rajagopalan, representing the Centre, submitted that the Ministry of Railways is operating a number of Shramik Special trains to transport the migrant workers and though some of the States are refusing to permit the entry for the migrant workers, it is for the state government concerned to coordinate with the other states and as and when the request is made, the Ministry of Railways is ready to provide the special trains.

The bench, passing the interim order, posted the matter for further hearing to May 26.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The ruling New Patriotic Partys (NPPs) General Secretary, John Boadu has rubbished the press conference organized by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) about the exclusion of birth certificate and the current voters ID as a requirement needed for the new voter registration.



The NPP Chief Scribe described the opposition NDC as being hypocritical, crying over spilt milk when they deliberately refused the invitation of the Electoral Commission to join an IPAC meeting to discuss the issues they have now raised in their press conference after two months.



Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, John Boadu narrated that the Electoral Commission (EC) in the said IPAC meeting set two agenda to discuss the registration of voters and any other business.



Recollecting the structures put in place by the EC to adhere to the social distancing protocols in order to have a fruitful IPAC meeting, John Boadu said the political parties were divided into two barges to have a morning and afternoon sessions.



Those political parties scheduled for the morning session were; NPP, NDC, PPP, CPP, LPG, PNC, GCPP and GUM. Little did we know that when the NDC took the invitation, they had written back to EC that they would not attend the meeting and yet when we met, NDCs Deputy General Secretary, Otokunor was there. When we were about to start the business of the day after the opening prayer and introduction, Otokunor raised his hand and insulted all of us and left the meeting, he narrated the ordeal.



Peter Boamah Otokunor insulted all of us as if to say we are all not sensible agreeing to attend the IPAC meeting. The EC Chair asked him to withdraw what he said but he refused and walked out," he indicated.



He, however, mentioned that per the discussion at the IPAC meeting, the EC saw the need to make some changes in the Constitutional Instrument (CI) they had laid before Parliament for amendment; thus, they withdrew the CI from Parliament and made some changes to meet the demand of all the political parties that were present at the IPAC meeting.



The NPP General Secretary reminded the opposition that their idea of including birth certificate as an evidence of identification of a registrant is non-starter as it has been taken out since 1995; indicating that the CI 91 does not have birth certificate as a required material for registration.



He stressed that the CI 91 (13) which is before Parliament seeks to use passport, NIA Card and guarantors as the only mode of identification for the new voters registration, doing away with Driver's License and the current Voters Identification Card.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
Mumbai:

A 150-metre long underground British era bunker which had been closed for several decades was discovered by Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao inside the Raj Bhavan complex at Malabar Hill here.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to visit the bunker today, a Raj Bhavan official said.

Rao accompanied by his wife Vinodha visited the bunker today, after which the Governor expressed his intention to consult experts from various fields to preserve it.

The Governor had directed to get the bunker opened after he was informed by old-timers three months ago about the presence of a tunnel inside the Raj Bhavan.

On August 12, the staff of the Public Works Department at Raj Bhavan broke open a temporary wall that closed the entrance to the bunker on the eastern side, the official said in a statement.

Instead of an underground tunnel, an entire barrack with 13 rooms of different sizes was found.



The bunker opens with a 20-ft tall gate and a ramp on the western side. There are long passages and small to medium rooms on either side, he said.



The bunker spread over an area of over 5,000 square feet has rooms bearing the name Shell Store, Gun Shell, Cartridge Store, Shell Lift, Pump, Workshop etc. There are also scores of Lamp Recesses in the gangway.

Even though the bunker was apparently closed after independence, it was found to be surprisingly intact.

Interestingly the entire underground bunker has a drainage system and inlets for fresh air and light, the official said.

According to the history of Raj Bhavans in Maharashtra, Raj Bhavan, formerly known as Government House served as the residence of British Governors since 1885 when Lord Reay turned it into a permanent residence.

Prior to 1885, the Malabar Hill residence served as the Summer Residence of the British Governors. The Government House at Parel served as the Governors residence before 1885.
" " Whether Pocahontas wanted to marry John Rolfe in Virginia isn't really known. Library of Congress

When Disney released the "Pocahontas" film in 1995 and its follow-up "Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World" in 1998, the studio added music and animation to what was already a recognized narrative. The mythical tale of the woman known as Pocahontas included clashing cultures brought to the brink of war, a daring rescue, two love stories and religious conversion, all wrapped up in 90-minute packages with happy endings.

Considering the momentous changes brought by early Native American and European contact, the truth about the real Pocahontas is not only different, it's also significantly more complex.

"The story of Pocahontas is the story of a young woman whose life was coopted by the colonizers to spread the gospel of European civility," says Dr. Darren R. Reid, assistant professor at the school of humanities at Coventry University in England. In brief, Pocahontas can be explained as a young woman who was captured by the English, married to a colonizer and died young far away from home after being placed on display. Or she can be described as a young Algonquin woman who made decisions in her life on her own terms, who chose to convert to Christianity and chose to marry an Englishman and travel to England.

In that sense she is an "empowered indigenous actor," Reid says. Viewing the story of Pocahontas that way reminds us of how important indigenous agency is. "Native Americans were not passive agents in their own history."

What neither of these Disney versions includes is a focus on a love story between Pocahontas and John Smith, first of all because it would have been indecent. So if Pocahontas was not the woman portrayed in the Disney film, who was she?

" " The story of Pocahontas saving John Smith from being murdered by her fellow tribesmen is likely embellished. Library of Congress

Advertisement

The Real Pocahontas

Let's start with the basics. Pocahontas wasn't her name; her formal name was Amonute, and her more familiar name was Matoak (also Matoaka or Meto-aka). Pocahontas was either a nickname or way of describing her and is translated as something like "mischievous girl."

That she was the daughter of Wahunsenaca (Chief Powhatan), who was chief of an alliance of about 30 Algonquian-speaking tribes in Virginia, is true, although calling her a princess misrepresents the way political office descended in Native American societies. That occurred matrilineally and the identity of Pocahontas's mother is unknown, according to Daniel K. Richter's book "Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America." Pocahontas also may not have been her father's favorite of his approximately 30 children from many wives.

Born in 1595 or 1596, Pocahontas would have been about 11 or 12 years old when 27-year-old John Smith and the English settlers arrived in 1607 to found Jamestown. The story that she had a close relationship with Smith and saved his life after he had been captured by throwing herself across his body just before he was clubbed to death is implausible and disturbing considering their age difference. It was also one Smith left out of his initial recounting of his time in Virginia. He didn't mention it until his 1624 book, published when Pocahontas had already died. Historians now believe that the story was either made up entirely or that Smith misunderstood a ceremony meant to bring him into the Algonquian community, albeit in a subordinate role.

While Pocahontas was reported to have visited the Jamestown settlement with parties taking food and messages from Powhatan to his "English tributaries," she was described by Jamestown residents as a "youngster wearing the non-garb traditional for children in her society," according to Richter's book. She was also known for doing cartwheels.

About a year after Smith left Jamestown  according to some sources due to a gunpowder injury, although Richter asserts in his book it could have had more to do with colonists' revolt against his leadership  Pocahontas is reported to have married Kocoum, the younger brother of Chief Japazaw of the Potowomac.

Meanwhile, relations between the Powhatans and the English colonists had gone downhill over issues like English demands for food tribute and land claims. During this time of discord, Pocahontas was lured onto the ship of Englishman Samuel Argall and held captive while Argall pressed Powhatan for the release of English prisoners and weapons. While kept in captivity from 1613 until 1614, Pocahontas was put under the supervision of Deputy Gov. Thomas Dale and the tutelage of Rev. Alexander Whitaker, who instructed her in Christianity.

" " Pocahontas did convert to Christianity, though whether it was on her own accord is also still up for debate. Library of Congress

Advertisement

Pocahontas and John Rolfe

It was that year that she also became acquainted with John Rolfe, who had recently arrived in the colony with a plan to plant tobacco. Whatever Pocahontas's feelings for Rolfe, he wrote to the governor "confessing his attraction to Pocahontas and suggesting a diplomatic marriage to seal an alliance," Richter wrote. The marriage brought nearly a decade of peace between the settlers and the Native Americans, according to History.

Upon her conversion to Christianity, Pocahontas took the name Rebecca, and she and Rolfe had a son, Thomas. However, tribal oral traditions dispute her marriage to Rolfe because she was already married to Kocoum, with whom she is said to have also had a son. Additionally, questions have been raised about the timing of Thomas' birth and Pocahontas' marriage to Rolfe  specifically whether Rolfe was his father. Tribal records show that while in captivity, Pocahontas confided in her sister that she had been raped, and that she suspected she was pregnant. Gov. Dale may have been her son Thomas' true biological father.

A couple of years after marrying Rolfe, Pocahontas (now Rebecca), husband, son and about a dozen Powhatans traveled to England. There, she reencountered Smith, whom she thought was dead. At that time, Smith regaled the infamous rescue story for the first time. Pocahontas was received at court by King James I, although her presence did not meet the approval of some of the courtiers.

As the party set sail to return to the Americas the following spring, Pocahontas had become too ill to make the journey. In March 1617, she died and was buried in Gravesend at the parish church.

Her father Powhatan died the next year, and any peace brought by Pocahontas' marriage to Rolfe soon dissipated. In 1622, a series of coordinated attacks by Powhatan's successor resulted in the killing of more than 300 English settlers in one day. For their part, the English turned their focus to "expulsion of the savages," as Virginia Gov. Sir Francis Wyatt stated.

Advertisement

Why the Story of Pocahontas Matters

The mis-telling of the story of Pocahontas goes beyond Disney getting it wrong, because the story in the films in multiple ways mirrors the narrative that had been accepted for many years.

" " This image shows Pocahontas wearing European clothing and holding a quill. The image was meant to be pro-European, pro-"civilization" propaganda. Library of Congress

"Over time, millions of people would be exposed to a literary version of a real-life character," Reid says. "Her image is fundamentally coopted by the English." In a well-known artwork of Pocahontas from her lifetime, she's depicted wearing European clothing and holding a quill. In reality, Native Americans on the Eastern Seaboard were non-literate. The quill is a symbol of the civilizing process. A contemporary viewer would have understood the image as evidence that the colonists had a successfully "civilized a savage," therefore the English actions in the Americas were justified.

Still in circulation today, the Pocahontas image is pro-European, pro-"civilization" propaganda, explains Reid. When that romanticized version of the Pocahontas story was rediscovered and re-popularized during the 19th century as part of American mythology, it could be used as justification for continued continental expansion and destruction of indigenous Americans, from the 1830 Indian Removal Act to the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre.

As for Disney's telling of her story, there are actually a few factors to defend. Reid reminds that the films depict Pocahontas' powerful nature: She's no princess waiting for a man to save her. In fact, it's the other way around. Writing in The Atlantic, Sophie Gilbert recognizes that while the movies' content are problematic, it was the first time the studio had "based an entire picture around an adult female, let alone a woman of color."

HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article.

Now That's Interesting The Native Americans held John Smith prisoner shortly after his arrival, during which time his notes show he interacted with Pocahontas, each learning the others language, according to Camilla Townsend, author of "Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma."
Should we pull the plug on our marketing because of coronavirus? If I had a dollar for every time a credit union CEO has asked me that over the past few weeks, Id be able to retire. The answer is: NO! History has demonstrated time and again that cutting marketing during times like this will leave your credit union atrophied (and possibly non-existent) after recovery begins.

Flashback to the recession of the early 90s, during which both Pizza Hut and Taco Bell took advantage of McDonalds decision to deeply cut its advertising and promotional budget. Coming out of the recession Pizza Hut increased sales by 61% and Taco Bell sales grew by 40%. And McDonalds? Sales declined 28%.

Prior to that during the energy crisis of 1973-75, the U.S. government issued its first miles-per-gallon report in which Toyota Corolla was second to Honda Civic in fuel efficiency. Because Toyota was experiencing strong sales, when the economic downturn hit, the temptation was to drop its ad budget. Toyota, wisely, resisted and stayed the course with its long-term strategy. By doing so, Toyota surpassed Volkswagen as the top imported car maker in the U.S. by 1976 as the economy turned around.

As far back as 100 years ago, Post was the market leader in the ready-to-eat cereal category. During the Great Depression, Post made big cuts to its advertising budget, while rival Kelloggs doubled its advertising spend. Kelloggs invested heavily in radio and introduced a new cereal called Rice Krispies, featuring Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Kelloggs profits grew by 30%, overtaking Post, a position it has maintained ever since.

Warren Buffet said it best: Only when the tide goes out will we see whos been swimming naked. The brands that fail to maintain their presence in the market, engage consumers, and solidify connection with their members and community will be exposed in the recovery.

As YMCs 30 plus client credit unions continue full steam ahead with their strategic marketing plans, pivoting to address members needs and adjusting to remain relevant with the new challenges, I have no doubt well see theyve got full coverage. These credit unions will ride the tide stronger, alongside Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Toyota, and Kelloggs. Overcome your fears to seize the opportunity to reach out and help members. Its credit unions philosophical imperative and smart business.

Your Marketing Co is a CUES Premier Supplier Member.
The US Supreme Court is seen in Washington, DC, on May 4, 2020.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked House Democrats from obtaining grand jury materials gathered during former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The stay will give the court time to decide whether to hear the Trump administration's expected appeal of lower court rulings that directed the Justice Department to hand over the grand jury materials to the House Judiciary Committee.

If it takes the case, the high court would have the final say in the matter.

Lawyers for the the Democrat-led panel said that the materials are needed for an investigation into President Donald Trump, which "did not cease with the conclusion of the impeachment trial."

The Judiciary Committee has already won two lower court cases as part of its efforts to obtain the grand jury materials.

Grand jury materials are normally kept secret, but can be made public through the courts in connection with judicial proceedings. House Democrats successfully argued before a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that an impeachment trial qualifies as a judicial proceeding.

While Trump was acquitted in his Senate trial in February, Democrats said they could draw up new articles of impeachment if the Mueller documents reveal fresh evidence.

Mueller had investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as possible coordination between the Kremlin and Trump's campaign and possible obstruction of justice by Trump himself. Mueller did not find evidence to support Trump-Russia collusion, but highlighted multiple instances of possible obstruction in his final report.

The Trump administration earlier in May had asked the Supreme Court to put a hold on the D.C. federal appeals court's ruling for the House panel. Chief Justice John Roberts on May 8 issued that hold, and the full court kept that stay in place in its order Wednesday.

The order sets a June 1 deadline for the Trump administration to formally ask the high court to review that ruling. If the court denies the appeal request, the stay will be lifted and the lower court ruling will effect.

-- CNBC's Tucker Higgins contributed to this report.
A person who worked on a farm where mink are bred to export their fur contracted the coronavirus from the animals, Dutch Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten said in a letter to parliament.



Outbreaks on mink farms in the Netherlands were first reported in April, when keepers noticed some animals having difficulty breathing, prompting a wider investigation.



In her letter, Schouten acknowledged that earlier advisories from her office that people could infect animals, but not the other way around, was wrong. But she said the Netherlands Institute for Public Health still assesses as minimal the chance of transmission outside of the animals stalls, Reuters reported.



Her letter did not specify details of the affected workers condition.
An accomplished immunologist and bacteriologist, Dr. Nash retired as a professor and the associate director of the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease Control at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler in 1999. Attaining this position in 1992, he considers his work sponsoring and developing the aforementioned pulmonary disease center to be the absolute highlight of his career. The Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease Control was initially opened to support physicians treating tuberculosis, providing these medical professionals with a place to conduct research and present lectures to physicians and other professionals in the area.

Joining the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler as an associate professor in 1972, Dr. Nash further flourished as the director of the hybridoma core from 1985 to 1992. Alongside this tenure, he contributed his skills as an adjunct professor to the University of Texas at Tyler beginning in 1975. Prior to his work in Texas, Dr. Nash served as a senior research scientist with the World Health Organization in Lausanne, Switzerland from 1971 to 1972.

An associate professor in the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1970 to 1971, Dr. Nash was notably selected by the U.S. Agency for International Development to teach a six-week immunology course at a medical school in Vietnam in 1970. Previously, he had been active as a postdoctoral fellow at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium from 1968 to 1970 and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1967 to 1968. Advising young, aspiring professionals to stick to their ideas, Dr. Nash emphasizes the importance of conducting all of the necessary research, writing and studying to understand how to assemble ideas to make them useful to colleagues.

Pursuing his early education in a boarding school in Newport for 5 years, 5 years in Essex Junction, VT and Ludlow, MA and 4 years at Classical High School in Springfield, MA. Dr Nash then earned a Bachelor of Arts at the American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1961. Becoming fascinated with the field of immunology, he continued his academic efforts with a Master of Science from Boston College in 1963 and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1967. Throughout his studies and career, Dr. Nash has been motivated by such mentors as Dr. John Schwab, a professor the University of North Carolina, and Professor Joseph Heremans at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), who was one of the top people operating in the field internationally.

For excellence in his career, Dr. Nash has been the recipient of a number of honors and accolades over the years. Recognized as a Marquis Who's Who Top Professional, he has previously been featured in the first edition of Who's Who in Science and Engineering and the 23rd edition of Who's Who in the South and Southwest. Furthermore, Dr. Nash has been presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor conferred by Marquis Who's Who.

Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to Joseph Nash and Bernadette K. Valley, Dr. Nash has a large extended family in Canada as well, which included his grandparents. Happily married to Mary B. Campbell since 1963, he is also the proud father of one son, Brendon A. Nash. In his free time, Dr. Nash maintains his eBay store, bkwrmdon, where he sells books on a wide range of topics, collectable stamps and other items.

SOURCE Marquis Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.marquiswhoswho.com


Metal nanoclusters have been served as an emerging class of modular nanomaterials owing to their atomically precise structures, fascinating properties, and potential applications. The subject of cluster-based supramolecular assembly represents one of the most dynamic areas and has emerged recently as a new "growth point" in the nanocluster science. Such assemblies originate in different types of inter-cluster interactions such as chemical bonding, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, van der Waals, * * *  and C-H* * *  interactions. On one hand, these cluster-based aggregates typically display enhanced performance (e.g., stability and fluorescence) relative to their constituent cluster building blocks owing to the synergy from the cluster-linker-cluster assembly system. On the other hand, the precise structures of nanoclusters allow for the atomic-level understanding of inter-cluster interaction modes, and such knowledge further guides us to controllably constitute hierarchically assembled cluster-based nanomaterials. However, up to the present, the controllable assembly of cluster nano-building blocks in different arrays remains challenging.

In a new paper published in the National Science Review, scientists at the Anhui University (China) and Nanjing University (China) reported the hierarchical self-assembly of atomically precise nanoclusters. On the basis of the Ag29(SSR)12 cluster nano-building framework (where SSR is 1,3-benzene dithiol), Professor Manzhou Zhu and his coworkers selectively constructed the cluster-based 1D linear chains, 2D grid networks, 3D superstructures in the presence of different solvent-conjoined Cs+ cations. Crystal structures of these cluster-based assemblies have been successfully determined. Besides, the hierarchical self-assembly of these Ag29(SSR)12 nano-building blocks has not only been observed in their crystalline state, but also in their amorphous state, with the help of the aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM (high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscope).

"Such Ag29-based assemblies manifest distinguishable optical absorptions and emissions in both solutions and crystallized films; such differences originate from their different surface structures and crystalline packing modes," they state, "Furthermore, the surface areas of these cluster-based assemblies are evaluated, the maximum value of which occurs when the cluster nano-building blocks are assembled into 2D arrays. The 2D-array assembly endows the best gas storage capability of these cluster-based frameworks."

"This work presents an exciting example of the hierarchical assembly of atomically precise nanoclusters by simply controlling the adsorbed molecules on the cluster surface," they add, "and we believe that this work will shed light on more future works touching upon the supramolecular chemistry of metal nanoclusters."

###

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1532141, 21631001, 21871001 and 21803001), the Ministry of Education, the Education Department of Anhui Province (KJ2017A010), and 211 Project of Anhui University.

See the article:

Xiao Wei, Xi Kang, Zewen Zuo, Fengqi Song, Shuxin Wang and Manzhou Zhu

Hierarchical structural complexity in atomically precise nanocluster frameworks

Natl Sci Rev, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwaa077

a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa077">https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaa077

The National Science Review is the first comprehensive scholarly journal released in English in China that is aimed at linking the country's rapidly advancing community of scientists with the global frontiers of science and technology. The journal also aims to shine a worldwide spotlight on scientific research advances across China.
Actors Lawrence Fishburne and Nick Jonas will headline the upcoming action thriller "The Blacksmith" from AGC Studios.

Pierre Morel, the director of Liam Neeson's 2008 blockbuster "Taken", will helm the project from a screenplay by Ben Ripley of "Source Code" fame, reported Variety.

The project is based on critically-acclaimed 2011 graphic novel from Kickstart Comics by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman.

Jonas will portray Wes Loomis, a 'Blacksmith' who is the intelligence community's go-to weapons expert.

"When his clandestine lab is destroyed and his colleagues murdered, Wes must go on the run with only his unique set of technological skills and the help of a brilliant, young CIA analyst Noelle Hazlitt to keep him alive.

"They seek out Mather (Fishburne) a retired blacksmith and Wes' mentor, to guide them on a journey that keeps this improbable pair one step ahead of their pursuers," the official logline read.

The project will be produced by Jon Shestack in collaboration with Kickstart Productions' Jason Netter and Jeremy Stein.

Stuart Ford, AGC Studios chairman and CEO, will serve as executive producer alongside Linda McDonough, Samantha Shear and Bob Sobhani.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 18:13:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BLANTYRE, Malawi, May 20 (Xinhua) -- It is a well-known fact that a friend in need is a friend indeed. For China and Malawi, the saying sounds more vibrant during this troubling time of COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries have continually expressed their sound bilateral relationship in a number of ways as the pandemic continues.

Since the onset of the outbreak, the Chinese government and partners have been making significant contributions in helping Malawi towards the fight against COVID-19.

As part of its contribution towards the fight against the virus, on April 24, China through its embassy in Malawi donated a large quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) to Malawi's major hospitals.

The donation saw a number of major hospitals in the country getting a relief from the shortage of PPEs in its health facilities across the country.

In March, China also donated assorted medical supplies to Malawi to enhance the prevention of the pandemic.

During an event in Lilongwe, the Chinese ambassador to Malawi Liu Hongyang emphasised that China is in full support of the measures that the government of Malawi had put in place in efforts to prevent the virus.

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma also donated a good number of medical supplies to Malawi. The supplies were delivered at the Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe from Addis Ababa by an Ethiopian plane.

China has been the major player in trying to help Africa and Malawi in particular as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in most African states. Perhaps, more countries and other organizations need to join China in the fight.

As Malawi's Minister of Disaster Management Affairs and Public Events, Everton Chimulirenji puts it, the Chinese donation to Malawi is always timely and of great importance.

It's hoped that the relation between Malawi and China will continue to rise for the longest time in terms of helping each other especially in times like these. Enditem
Two security forces personnel were injured when militants fired upon them in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Wednesday, police said.

The militants fired upon a security forces party in Pandach area of Ganderbal in central Kashmir, a police official said, adding the two personnel were injured.

The injured personnel have been shifted to a hospital, the official said.

The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rio de Janeiro: Brazil's daily death toll from the new coronavirus has jumped to a record 1179, as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy.

Given the record death toll, US President Donald Trump said he was again considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

People mourn their relative at a Manaus cemetery where hundreds of COVID-19 victims have been buried. Credit:Getty Images

The country overtook Britain on Monday with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazil's confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.
 Idorsia successfully completes the offering of 11 million new shares with gross proceeds of CHF 330 million

Allschwil, Switzerland - May 20, 2020

Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA, "Idorsia") today announced that it has successfully placed 11 million new shares (the "Offer Shares"), corresponding to 8.4% of Idorsia's currently issued share capital, by way of an accelerated book-building process. The net proceeds from this offering will help Idorsia to prepare to launch its first commercial product and continue to fund the development of its other attractive and late-stage pipeline candidates including aprocitentan, clazosentan and lucerastat, as well as its diverse early-stage and preclinical pipeline.

Andre C. Muller, Chief Financial Officer, commented:

"I am very pleased with the way this round of fundraising has gone, to the point where we increased the amount offered. We saw great demand for the newly created shares from very high-quality investors who focus on true value creation and buy-in to our long-term strategy to invest in a broad pipeline of innovative drugs."

Idorsia placed 11 million new registered shares of CHF 0.05 par value each at CHF 30 per new share (the "Offer Price"). The Offer Shares, corresponding to 8.4% of Idorsia's currently issued share capital, will be issued from Idorsia's existing authorized share capital excluding subscription rights of existing shareholders. It is anticipated that the listing and the admission to trading of the Offer Shares according to the International Reporting Standard of SIX Swiss Exchange will become effective on or around May 22, 2020. The Offer Shares will rank pari passu with the existing shares.

In connection with the offering, Idorsia agreed to a 90-day lock-up period. Jean-Paul and Martine Clozel, the principal shareholders of Idorsia, purchased 28.4% of the Offer Shares at the Offer Price in order to maintain their current shareholding and have agreed to a lock-up period of 180 days after the listing of the Offer Shares, subject to customary exceptions.

Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") and Credit Suisse acted as Joint Bookrunners in connection with the offering whilst Octavian acted as a selling agent.

Notes to the editor

About Idorsia

Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into one of Europe's leading biopharmaceutical companies, with a strong scientific core.

Headquartered in Switzerland - a biotech-hub of Europe - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery and development of small molecules, to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team, a fully-functional research center, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to bringing R&D efforts to business success.

Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 800 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets.

For further information, please contact

Andrew C. Weiss

Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil

+41 (0) 58 844 10 10

www.idorsia.com (http://www.idorsia.com)

This press release is for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute or form a part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Japan, or any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and may not be offered or sold within the United States of America except pursuant to an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. There will be no public offering of any of Idorsia's securities in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction.

The offers referred to herein, when made in member states of the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the United Kingdom, is only addressed to and directed to "qualified investors" within the meaning of Article 2(e) the Prospectus Regulation ("Qualified Investors"). For these purposes, the expression "Prospectus Regulation" means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market, and repealing Directive 2003/71/EC, and includes any relevant delegated regulations.

For readers in the United Kingdom, this announcement is only being distributed to and is only directed at Qualified Investors who are (i) outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) ("Investment professionals") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (iii) certain high value persons and entities who fall within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("High net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Order; or (iv) any other person to whom it may lawfully be communicated (all such persons in (i) to (iv) together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.

The offering of the securities in Switzerland is exempt from the requirement to prepare and publish a prospectus under the Swiss Financial Services Act ("FinSA") because such offering is made to professional clients within the meaning of the FinSA only. This press release does neither constitute a prospectus pursuant to the FinSA nor a prospectus within the meaning of art. 652a of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the listing rules of SIX Swiss Exchange Ltd, and no such prospectus has been or will be prepared for or in connection with the offering of the securities.

Information to Distributors: Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within: (a) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"); (b) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II; and (c) local implementing measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the Shares have been subject to a product approval process by each underwriter established in the EEA or the United Kingdom, which has determined that the Shares are: (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II; and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, Distributors should note that: the price of the Shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment; the Shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the Shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom.

The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the Offer. Furthermore, it is noted that, notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, the Managers established in the EEA and the United Kingdom will only procure investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties. For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the Shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Shares and determining appropriate distribution channels.

Barclays and Credit Suisse ("Banks") are acting exclusively for Idorsia and no-one else in connection with the offerings. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the offerings and will not be responsible to anyone other than Idorsia for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the offerings, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein. Each of the Banks and their respective affiliates may have engaged in transactions with, and provided various commercial banking, investment banking, financial advisory transactions and services in the ordinary course of their business with the Company and/or its affiliates for which they would have received customary fees and commissions. Each of the Banks and their respective affiliates may provide such services to the Company and/or its affiliates in the future. Barclays is authorized by the Prudential Regulatory Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to Idorsia and its business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Idorsia to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Idorsia disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Attachment
INDIANAPOLIS, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The head of the nation's largest veterans organization called on the White House to extend federal orders to thousands of members of the National Guard whose current deployments in coronavirus relief efforts fall one day short of the 90-day period required to obtain many benefits including home loans, education and retirement.

"Highly unfair and disturbing," is how American Legion National Commander James W. "Bill" Oxford described the plan to award those deployed credit for 89 days of federal service. "I served many years in the North Carolina National Guard. I know the caliber of these outstanding men and women who leave their homes and literally risk their lives so communities across America can be safe during national emergencies," Oxford said. "The coronavirus pandemic has been devastating for many people. We would be far worse off if we did not have the National Guard setting up field hospitals, cleaning nursing homes and delivering emergency supplies. An 89-day deployment strongly suggests a decision based on accounting rather than what's needed to truly respond to this emergency. The American Legion is calling for the president to fix this."

The American Legion, www.legion.org, is the nation's largest veterans service organization and was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national defense, the care and wellbeing of U.S. military veterans, patriotic youth programs and Americanism.

Media contacts: Indianapolis: John Raughter (317) 630-1350, [email protected]; Washington: Paul Harris (202) 263-2991, [email protected]

SOURCE The American Legion

Related Links

http://www.legion.org


Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - Pharmadrug Inc. (CSE: BUZZ) (OTC: LMLLF) ("Pharmadrug" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent (the "Letter of Intent") dated May 20, 2020 with Interrobang Ltd. doing business as Super Smart (herein referred to as "Super Smart") which outlines the general terms and conditions of a proposed transaction (the "Proposed Transaction") that will result in Pharmadrug acquiring all of the issued and outstanding common shares (the "Super Smart Shares") and other securities of Super Smart.

Overview of Super Smart

Super Smart is an early-stage retail company focused on consolidating the fragmented Dutch smartshop market. Smartshops are retail establishments in The Netherlands that specialize in the sale of psychoactive substances including psychedelic truffles, which are an underground grown version of magic mushrooms that have psilocybin and are legal in The Netherlands. Super Smart will seek to acquire smartshops and deploy disciplined business expertise, retail best practices and consistent branding across multiple locations to capture in market share and improve margins in this rapidly growing segment. Super Smart's management team is well suited to pursue the smartshop consolidation strategy and brings a proven track record in retail, marketing, brand building, web sales and customer education. Current members of the Super Smart management team include:

Harry Resin - Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Resin has been worked in the cannabis industry for the last seventeen years. He first served as a supply chain consultant to the coffee-shop industry in Amsterdam and then as a founding member of an original Amsterdam seed company. This early participation in the cannabis industry also led to consulting work with Amsterdam's smartshop industry. Mr. Resin has also served as a staff writer for High Times and also wrote for numerous cannabis publications including Cannabis Now, Skunk and a Medical Cannabis Journal.

Joshua Kasakevich - Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Kasakevich is an experienced entrepreneur with a track record in the apparel and fashion industry. Mr. Kasakevich has strong skills in the areas of business development, brand building, corporate strategy, business planning, advertising, and retail sales.

Super Smart's fit into Pharmadrug

The Company views the Proposed Transaction as a complementary acquisition of a proposed business which the Company anticipates will be synergistic with Pharmadrug's existing European cannabis distributions business. The Company currently operates as a Medical Cannabis distributor in Europe and views psychedelics as part of the emerging natural based medicine trend. The Company is fully committed to its business in Germany and considers it to be the hub of its business activities in Europe. As mentioned in the press release dated April 24, 2020, German operation are seeing volume growth and the company expects volumes to continue to grow with plans to introduce medical cannabis under its own brand in the next 3 to 6 months. The acquisition of smartshops in The Netherlands is seen as a move towards vertical integration of its existing cannabis business insofar as smartshops act as retail outlets for cannabis products such as CBD products and cannabis paraphernalia. Furthermore, the Company believes the acquisition provides an opportunity to expand its existing operations into the psychedelics space as permitted by law. Management believes the Proposed Transaction is also a platform to potentially acquire synergistic assets.

More information about Super Smart is available on their website at slimwinkel.com

The Proposed Transaction

The Letter of Intent is to be superseded by a definitive agreement (the "Definitive Agreement") between Pharmadrug and Super Smart with such agreement to include representations, warranties, covenants and conditions typical for a transaction of this nature. The Proposed Transaction is subject to, among other things, receipt of all applicable shareholder and regulatory approvals, the final approval of the Exchange and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the conditions described below.

It is anticipated that the Proposed Transaction will be completed by way of a three-cornered amalgamation pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company will amalgamate with Super Smart such that, following completion of the Proposed Transaction, Super Smart will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company.

It is expected that at the time of the closing of the Proposed Transaction Super Smart will have approximately 44,000,000 Super Smart Shares issued and outstanding together with $2,500,000 principal amount of senior secured convertible debentures (the "Super Smart Debentures"). The Super Smart Debentures shall bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum from the date of issue and payable monthly in cash and shall rank pari passu with one another and senior to all other indebtedness. The Super Smart Debentures shall mature on the date (the "Maturity Date") which is three (3) years from their issuance (which is anticipated to be on or about closing of the Proposed Transaction). Super Smart will have a right to prepay or redeem a part or the entire principal amount of the Super Smart Debentures at par plus accrued and unpaid interest at any time by providing written notice of the date (the "Redemption Date") for such redemption to the holder at least a minimum of 30 days and a maximum 60 days' prior to the Redemption Date.

Each Super Smart Debenture will be convertible into units (each, a "Unit") at the option of the holder at any time prior to the close of the third business day prior to the earlier of: (i) the Maturity Date, and (ii) the Redemption Date at a price of $0.05 per Unit with each Unit consisting of one Super Smart Share and one-half of one Super Smart Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Super Smart Share at an exercise price of $0.05 for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance of the Super Smart Debentures. In the event that the Super Smart Shares have a closing price on such exchange on which the Super Smart Shares may be traded at such time of greater than $0.15 per share for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, Super Smart will be able to cause the Super Smart Debentures to be converted into Units. The terms of the Super Smart Debentures will provide for the issuance on conversion of the Super Smart Debentures of equivalent securities of Pharmadrug in place of the securities of Super Smart following completion of the Proposed Transaction.

It is proposed that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on the basis that each Super Smart Share will be exchanged for one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Pharmadrug Share"). Assuming that Super Smart has 44,000,0000 Super Smart Shares and $2,500,000 principal amount of Super Smart Debentures outstanding at the time of closing of the Proposed Transaction the security holders of Super Smart and the Company will hold 47% and 53.0%, respectively, of the fully diluted share capital of the Company following completion of the Proposed Transaction.

It is expected that all Pharmadrug Shares (including Pharmadrug Shares issued upon conversion of Super Smart Debentures and the exercise of Super Smart Warrants) issued pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, except those issued to U.S. persons, will be freely tradable under applicable Canadian securities legislation.

Conditions to the Proposed Transaction

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent including, among other things:

the satisfactory completion of due diligence investigations by each of Pharmadrug and Super Smart;

the receipt of all required approvals by the respective boards of directors of Pharmadrug and Super Smart;

the receipt of approval of the Proposed Transaction by shareholders of Super Smart;

the receipt of all required consents, approvals and authorizations of any regulatory authorities, including, without limitation, the Canadian Securities Exchange, as applicable; and

the receipt of all required consents and approvals of third parties.

Management and Board of Directors

The Company does not anticipate reconstituting its executive management team or Board of Directors in connection with the Proposed Transaction. It is expected that current members of the Super Smart management team will join the Company and occupy roles as senior business unit managers.

The Company also announces that David Posner has resigned from the board of directors and the Company's Chief Executive Officer has been appointed by the board of directors as Mr. Posner's replacement. David Posner has stepped down to pursue other ventures. We thank him for his past contribution to Pharmadrug and wish him well with all his future endeavours.

Debt Restructuring

The Company also announced that it is planning to restructure the outstanding $400,000 principal amount convertible note due in November, 2020 (the "Convertible Note") and the $600,000 short term promissory note (the "Promissory Note"), owing by the Company to the holders thereof. It is anticipated that the Convertible Note together with the accrued interest thereon will be exchanged for $400,000 principal amount of 12% convertible notes ("Replacement Notes") that mature on the third anniversary of their issuance and will be convertible into Units at the holder's option at a deemed issue price of $0.07 per Unit.

Each Unit will be comprised of one Pharmadrug Share and one Pharmadrug Share purchase warrant with each such warrant being exercisable into one Pharmadrug Share at a price of $0.07 per share at any time on or before the third anniversary of its issuance.

The Company anticipates that $400,000 principal amount of the Promissory Note together with the accrued interest thereon will be exchanged for $400,000 principal amount of Replacement Notes and the remaining $200,000 principal amount of the Promissory Note will convert into Units at a deemed issue price of $0.07 per Unit.

The Company also anticipates converting approximately $200,000 in payables into Units at a deemed issue price of $0.07 per Unit.

The foregoing debt restructuring is subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

Holders of $200,000 principal amount of the Convertible Notes, $400,000 principal amount of Promissory Notes and $120,000 of the payables are held by insiders of the Company. The restructuring of the debt will therefore constitute a related party transaction under applicable securities laws. CEO Daniel Cohen holds $200,000 principal amount of the Convertible Notes and $200,000 principal amount of the Promissory Notes. COO Howard Brass holds $200,000 principal amount of the Promissory Notes.

The Company will be relying upon the exemptions in sections 5.5(b) (Issuer Not Listed on Specified Markets) and 5.7(1)(a) (Fair Market Value Not More Than 25 Per Cent of Market Capitalization) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101.

The restructuring is being completed to improve the financial situation of the Company and the Company believes that restructuring the debt in this manner will provide it with additional financial flexibility to pursue its business plans. The independent members of the board of directors of the Company have reviewed and approved the terms of the restructuring.

Further Information

At the present time the parties have entered into a non-binding letter of intent but have not yet entered into any binding agreement with respect to the Proposed Transaction but are in the process of negotiating the terms of such transaction and completing their respective due diligence. At this time there is no certainty that the Proposed Transaction will be completed in the near future or at all. As discussions with respect to the Proposed Transaction proceed the Company will provide further updates.

Termination of Prior Letter of Intent and Repayment of Loans

In connection with the execution of the letter of intent for the Proposed Transaction the board of directors have decided to terminate the letter of intent set forth in the Company's press release dated February 7, 2020. In connection with such termination the Company intends to repay the $250,000 following completion of the Proposed Transaction.

About PharmaDrug Inc.

PharmaDrug Inc. is building an internationally focused cannabis business focused on Europe. The Company owns 80% of Pharmadrug GmbH, a German medical cannabis distributor, with a Schedule I European Union narcotics license allowing for the importation and distribution of medical cannabis to pharmacies in Germany and throughout the EU.

For further information, please contact:

Daniel Cohen, CEO

dcohen@pharmadrug.co

(647) 202-1824

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. Forward looking statements in this press release relate to the potential to complete the Proposed Transaction and the timing thereof, the integration of the Smart Shop business and the completion of the debt restructuring. 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 locate additional supply of medical cannabis, owning interests in companies or projects that are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under United States federal law; changes in laws; limited operating history, reliance on management, requirements for additional financing, competition, hindering market growth; regulatory and political change. 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56214
Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Snow this morning will taper off and give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. Much colder. Morning high of 38F with temps falling to near 25. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 100%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Low 19F. Winds light and variable.
The president stresses the criminals must be punished.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Interior Minister Arsen Avakov should bring the case of journalist Pavel Sheremet's murder to an end.

"Avakov is not my child's godfather or my close friend. On the contrary, some of his allies are definitely not my friends. Is he a strong minister? Yes. Is the situation complicated now? I think yes. But his responsibility today is Sheremet's case. And yes  he began this case, he must bring it to an end, until the result, so that all those responsible are punished," Zelensky said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoRFE/RL: Lawyers of Ukrainian army medic suspected in Sheremet murder case say they have 'proof' of her innocence

As UNIAN reported earlier, Sheremet was assassinated in a car blast in the center of Kyiv on the morning of July 20, 2016.

On December 12, 2019, police said they suspected five persons of complicity in the crime: former Donbas war volunteer and musician Andrii Antonenko, army volunteer and pediatric surgeon Yulia Kuzmenko (nom de guerre "Lysa," or "Fox"), nurse with a paratrooper unit Yana Duhar, and a family couple of army volunteers Inna Hryshchenko ("Puma") and Vladyslav Hryshchenko ("Bucha").

Law enforcers claim that the goal of the Sheremet assassination was to destabilize the social and political situation in Ukraine.

Antonenko, Kuzmenko and Duhar were notified of suspicion on December 12, 2019. The court decided to remand Antonenko and Kuzmenko in custody, while Duhar was placed under house arrest during hours of darkness.
Amid rumors that Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) class 10 exam results will be announced on Wednesday, BSEH secretary Rajiv Prasad said that the news was fake. Rajiv said that few people, including some media houses, have been running fake news that class 10 results will be declared on Wednesday.

No official date of result has been decided yet and results will be declared after proper announcement. The result is likely to be announced in the end of this month. Even many people have shared the link for class 10 result which is also fake, the board secretary said.

The Haryana board had postponed the exams for class 10 and 12 on March 19 in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in the country. Nearly 7.41 lakh students enrolled for class 10 and 12 board exams in the state this year.

Teachers evaluated copies at home

Rajiv Prasad said that nearly 6,000 teachers had evaluated class 10 board copies at home by April 22. After evaluating the copies , the teachers had handed over the same to BEOs at 39 centres in the state. We are ready to declare result anytime in the end of May, he added.

However, nearly 3.71 lakh students were eagerly waiting for class 10 result to be out at 4pm today. Students blamed social media users for spreading fake news. Many class 10 students were seen worried after they came to know that board is not declaring result on Wednesday.

Vikas Kumar, a resident of Bhiwani said that his parents told him that the board is announcing class 10 results on Wednesday. I was waiting for the result throughout the day, but now I am disappointed after hearing that the board is not going to announce result today. Today, I realised that the trend of fake news is so harmful, he said.
Lucknow, May 20 : Leader of Opposition in the UP Assembly Ram Govind Chaudhary has written to Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit urging him to ensure the release of Samajwadi Party MP Mohd Azam Khan, his wife Tazeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam on compassionate grounds on the occasion of Eid.

All three have been lodged in Sitapur jail since February.

In his letter, Ram Govind Chaudhary said Azam Khan was unwell while his wife had recently suffered a fracture when she fell down in the jail.

Last week, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had urged Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to release the family from jail during Ramzan, but the government did not respond.

Yadav had said that the Khan family should be allowed to observe fast during the holy month of Ramzan.

"Azam Khan is a leader of stature and has been a former legislator and former minister. He is MP from Rampur. His wife Tanzeen Fatima is also a legislator. Khan has set up an educational institution, the Jauhar University. Besides, Khan and his wife are unwell," Yadav had said.

He also slammed the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government for pursuing the politics of vendetta alleging that a number of false cases had been registered against the Khan family.

The Samajwadi leader has made several attempts to get anticipatory bail, but all his requests have been declined.

The trouble started for Azam Khan in July last year when more than 88 cases were lodged against him and his family.

Khan has also been booked for offences like stealing books and goats.
Facebook is coughing up for another fine. This time the social network is handing over CAD$9 million (US$6.5 million / 5.3 million) to Canada as part of a settlement over the way it handled users personal information between August 2012 and June 2018. According to Canadas independent Competition Bureau, Facebook made false or misleading claims about the privacy of Canadians personal information on Facebook and Messenger and improperly shared data with third-party developers.

According to the Bureau, Facebook gave the impression that users could control who could see and access their personal information on Facebook platform when using privacy features. However, Facebook did not limit the sharing of users personal information with some third-party developers in a way that was consistent with the companys privacy claims. Furthermore, Facebook also allowed certain third-party developers to access the personal information of users friends after they installed certain third-party applications. Facebook said it had canned this practice in 2015, but the Bureau found evidence that it continued into 2018 with some developers.

In a statement to Reuters, Facebook said it did not agree with the finding, but wanted to resolve the matter quickly. Although we do not agree with the Commissioner's conclusions, we are resolving this matter by entering into a consent agreement and not contesting the conclusions for the purposes of this agreement, a spokesperson said.

The fine is the latest in a long line of penalties Facebook has been dealt for the way it handles user data. In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved the data of some 87 million Facebook users worldwide  the company has faced multiple fines, including a record $5 billion from US regulators in January.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Biocon Biologics is well on track to achieve its FY22 revenue target with new approvals and key regulatory approvals of its facilities in place, Christiane Hamacher, CEO & Managing Director of Biocon Biologics told Moneycontrol in an email interview.

Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, is banking on its biosimilar portfolio and a strong pipeline of future launches to reach its $1 billion revenue target by end of FY22

The company Tuesday said it has received the certificate of GMP compliance from EMA for multiple Biologics Drug Substance (DS) and Drug Product (DP) manufacturing facilities at Biocon Park, Bengaluru. These facilities manufacture Bevacizumab, Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim and secondary packaging of Insulin Glargine for EU markets.

Hamacher also spoke about scaling up biosimilar business, new launches, recent operational challenges faced by the company on account of COVID-19 lockdown and fundraising plans.

What is your state of preparation in terms of manufacturing capacity to achieve your FY22 revenue milestone of $1 billion?

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

We currently have adequate capacity to cater to increased market share or to anticipated regulatory approvals of our biosimilars in various jurisdictions. We are pleased with the latest EU GMP certification for multiple biologics Drug Substance and Drug Product manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru. This approval will support the penetration of Trastuzumab and Pegfilgrastim in Europe and further enable the approval of biosimilar Bevacizumab in the EU.

Also, we received USFDA's approval for enhanced manufacturing capacity for two of our key biosimilar products, Trastuzumab and Pegfilgrastim, in FY20.

These approvals will enable us to scale up capacity multi-fold and address the growing market opportunities in the US.

Additionally, the first phase of our state-of-the-art, new 250,000 square feet Drug Substance facility for monoclonal antibodies at Bengaluru has been commissioned in late FY20 and is undergoing qualification. This facility once fully ready for commercialization will expand our capacities significantly and will enable us to address the growing patient needs across markets.

You had spoken about operational challenges related to COVID-19 impacting your biosimilars business in Q4FY20. What kind of challenged did you face? Are these issues behind you?

In terms of operational challenges, we largely faced logistics issues in India, as well as, in shipping our products out of India across the world because of disruptions in distribution channels and logistics movement due to COVID.

We faced these logistics issues at the beginning of the lockdown in India, in March. The situation has now begun to improve after the relaxation provided by the government in early May, which allows for unhindered movement of goods vehicles across the country. We have also seen imports for raw materials gradually normalise. Outbound logistics have also now improved. Having adequate inventory of key raw materials to sustain operations during the period of the lockdown has helped us tide over this challenging period. Our strong performance in first three quarters enabled us to post a robust 29 percent growth in FY 20.

Do you have any immediate plans for fundraising in Biocon Biologics? Can you share any visibility on the timelines for your IPO?

A. We started the value unlocking process for Biocon Biologics in FY20 when Activ Pine LLP, an affiliate of True North Fund, made the private equity investment of $75 million in Biocon Biologics. This was a primary equity infusion for a 2.44 percent stake at an equity valuation of $3 billion and an enterprise valuation of $3.5 billion on a pre-money basis. The fundraise met our immediate requirement.

As indicated earlier, we may consider additional investments to fund the groups funding requirements over the medium term. While there is intent to list the Biocon Biologics, however it would be early to comment on specific IPO timelines.

Do you see the setback to your revenue growth in Q4FY20 impacting your FY22 revenue goal?

A. We dont see any impact on our revenue goal for FY22. Biocon Biologics has reported strong revenue growth of 29 percent at Rs 1,951 crore for the full year FY20 on the back of excellent performance in three consecutive quarters. Going forward, we expect to maintain the upward trajectory by capitalizing on the new global opportunities.

Five molecules from our portfolio of 28 have been commercialised globally (Trastuzumab, Pegfilgrastim, Glargine, rH-Insulin, Bevacizumab).

In the US, Pegfilgrastim and Trastuzumab have been commercialised. Market share of our two biosimilars in the US has sustained. We expect Pegfilgrastim and Trastuzumab sales to pick up with new contracting in the US. We remain on track for commercialisation of Semglee (Glargine) in the US in mid-2020.

We have received US FDA approval for our Malaysia manufacturing facility after pre-approval inspection for Insulin Glargine. We also received a favourable US District Court decision with respect to our ongoing patent litigation for Insulin Glargine. Glargine is a $2.2 billion market in the US and we believe this product will be an important contributor to our growth in FY21 and beyond.

Recent launches of Pegfilgrastim in Canada and Australia have added to our oncology portfolio with Trastuzumab in both countries. In Australia and Canada, the potential market Fulphila can address is estimated to be $74 million.

Better penetration of Trastuzumab and Pegfilgrastim and launch of Glargine in near term, along with Bevacizumab and Aspart in the long term, will make US, the biggest driver of our growth going forward.

Our BLA for Bevacizumab is currently under review with the US FDA and EMA. We are also on track with the development of Insulin Aspart for the global markets.

We expect Pegfilgrastim and Trastuzumab sales to gain traction in many markets across Europe. With respect to Glargine, we are starting to see some nice market penetration in certain parts of Europe, and our partner will build on this experience to expand in other countries.

Are you on track on your Insulin Glargine launch plans in the US? How do you see the competitive landscape for the product in the US?

In most of the world (MoW) markets, our biosimilars business continues to do well. In Latin America, we hold registrations for our biosimilar Trastuzumab in over 10 countries and during FY20 we commercialized it in many of these markets.

A. We are on track to launch Semglee (Insulin Glargine) in the US in mid-CY20. We look forward to the launch of Semglee in the US market, which represents a great opportunity given that there is only one biosimilar glargine currently available. We are uniquely positioned as we are an early mover in the Glargine space, which has limited competition in the United States. It is not a crowded market with 5- 6 players.

In general, we should expect more disciplined approach to pricing and limited competition. Insulin Glargine is a $2.2 billion market and we believe this product will be an important contributor to our growth in FY 21 and beyond.
Major General (Retired) Kashmiri Lal Rattan, the architect of one of the bravest battles of the 1971 war fought to defend Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, took his last breath on May 16, senior Indian Army officer said on Wednesday. Image Source: IANS News

Major General (Retired) Kashmiri Lal Rattan, the architect of one of the bravest battles of the 1971 war fought to defend Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, took his last breath on May 16, senior Indian Army officer said on Wednesday. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 20 : Major General (Retired) Kashmiri Lal Rattan, the architect of one of the bravest battles of the 1971 war fought to defend Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir, breathed his last on May 16, a senior Indian Army officer said on Wednesday.

Major Gen. Rattan, a Maha Vir Chakra awardee, passed away at his home in Uttar Pradesh's Noida on May 16.

In 1971, then Lieutenant Colonel Rattan heroically defended the strategically important town Poonch against numerically superior Pakistani force 49 years ago.

This battle was fought hundreds of kilometres from Bangladesh.

After India joined the war on behalf of then East Pakistan on December 3, 1971, Pakistan attacked the western front. Pakistani brigades comprising 5 Frontier Force Rifles, 7 Pakistan Occupied Kashmir battalions and 51 Punjab Regiment were given the task of capturing two pickets -- 405 and 406 of Banwat Heights -- and also the helipad in Poonch, which were held by the 6 Sikh.

Lt Col Kashmiri Lal Rattan was commanding a battalion of the Sikh Regiment at Poonch. His battalion was assigned the task of holding a feature, which was the key to our defences in this sector.

From December 3, 1971, to December 6, 1971, the enemy launched a series of fierce attacks in strength against the defended area. On each occasion, he positioned himself in the most threatened locality, and unmindful of the heavy enemy shelling and small arms fire, moved from bunker to bunker encouraging and inspiring his men to beat back the enemy attacks inflicting heavy losses.

Throughout this war, Lt Col Rattan displayed conspicuous bravery and exemplary leadership. The battalion suffered eight casualties and 33 were wounded.

For action, he was awarded Maha Vir Chakra for his courage, leadership and dedication to the service. The gallant action earned the unit numerous laurels, including the Theatre Honour of Jammu and Kashmir and Battle Honour 'Defence of Poonch 1971'.

He was commissioned on December 10, 1955 in 4 Sikh Battalion at Ambala. For initial six years, he served with 4 Sikh Battalion and subsequently joined 6 Sikh Battalion at Meerut Cantt on the re-raising of the unit in 1962.

He served in almost all the appointments before his command. He took over the command of the unit on April 10, 1970.

He relinquished the command of the unit on July 12, 1972. He again commanded the unit at Dhana (36 infantry Division) from June 2, 1975 to December 16, 1975. Before his retirement, he served as Provost Marshal in the Army Headquarters from 1986 to 1987.

Colonel K.S. Virk said, "The unforgettable memories of the battle for Defence of Poonch under his brave and dynamic leadership will be cherished throughout our life."
Michigan doctor, Yasser Awaad, who is accused of misdiagnosing epilepsy in more than 200 children has surrendered his medical license and will pay a $5,000 penalty

A Michigan doctor accused of misdiagnosing epilepsy in more than 200 children surrendered his medical license and agreed to pay a $5,000 penalty under a settlement accepted Wednesday by state regulators.

'A great day for patients that was long overdue,' said attorney Brian McKeen, who has won two trials so far over Dr Yasser Awaad's treatment of children.

A disciplinary panel at the Michigan Board of Medicine accepted the agreement during a meeting held by video conference. There was no immediate response from Awaad's attorney to a request for comment.

The attorney general's office filed a complaint against Awaad in 2018, years after he treated children as a pediatric neurologist at Oakwood Healthcare in Dearborn, which is now part of Beaumont Health.

'Between 1997 and 2007, (Awaad) misdiagnosed approximately 250 patients as suffering from epilepsy or seizure disorders, based on electroencephalograms that were either not performed or not interpreted properly,' the complaint said.

'Some of these patients were also misdiagnosed as having attention deficit disorder or other autistic spectrum conditions.'

According to a complaint, Awaad (right, in June 2019) 'misdiagnosed approximately 250 patients as suffering from epilepsy or seizure disorders, based on electroencephalograms that were either not performed or not interpreted properly'

Children were given medication that was unnecessary and sometimes harmful, the complaint said, and their actual conditions weren't addressed.

Awaad agreed with regulators that the allegations could be treated as true to resolve the complaint.

He said he has not actively practiced medicine in Michigan since 2007.

McKeen represents dozens of patients who have accused Awaad of malpractice.

During one trial last year, he said the doctor was running a 'gravy train of fraud' by repeatedly ordering expensive EEG tests.

Awaad's attorney told jurors that it was 'outrageous and preposterous' to claim Awaad intentionally harmed Mariah Martinez when she was nine years old.

Harry Sherbrook said there was more to diagnosing epilepsy than EEGs.

The jury awarded more than $3million to Martinez, although a judge reduced it to $846,000 because of state caps on malpractice claims.

Among his accusers are Mariah Martinez (left) and Kevin Patelczyk (right). Martinez claimed she was misdiagnosed when she was just nine years old. Patelczyk said he became suicidal after being misdiagnosed with epilepsy when he was in high school

Among his accusers is also Kevin Patelczyk, who claimed Awaad diagnosed him with epilepsy when he was in high school.

'I got very depressed. Life was becoming very limited,' Patelcyzk told the Free Press in 2014. 'I wanted to be done.'

Patelcyzk told the news site that he was hospitalized for two weeks in a psychiatric unit. He later joined a class action lawsuit.

'Our story needs to be heard,' Patelczyk said. 'We were victims of a crime and we deserve some justice.'

In a third case in October, a jury awarded nearly $2.8million to a former Awaad patient. That verdict will likely be reduced, too.
Meredith Blake | Los Angeles Times

When Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff in the landmark Roe vs. Wade case, came out against abortion in 1995, it stunned the world and represented a huge symbolic victory for abortion opponents: "Jane Roe" had gone to the other side. For the remainder of her life, McCorvey worked to overturn the law that bore her name.

But it was all a lie, McCorvey says in a documentary filmed in the months before her death in 2017, claiming she only did it because she was paid by antiabortion groups including Operation Rescue.

"I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they'd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. That's what I'd say," she says in "AKA Jane Roe," which premieres Friday on FX. "It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress."

In what she describes as a "deathbed confession," a visibly ailing McCorvey restates her support for reproductive rights in colorful terms: "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that's no skin off my ass. That's why they call it choice."

Arriving in an election year as the Supreme Court is considering a high-profile abortion case with the potential to undermine Roe vs. Wade and several states across the country have imposed so-called "heartbeat laws" effectively banning the procedure, "AKA Jane Roe" is likely to provoke strong emotions on both sides of this perennial front in the culture wars.

Director Nick Sweeney says his goal was not necessarily to stir controversy, but to create a fully realized portrait of a flawed, fascinating woman who changed the course of American history but felt she was used as a pawn by both sides in the debate.

"The focus of the film is Norma. That's what I really want people to take away from the film  who is this enigmatic person at the center of this very divisive issue," he says. "With an issue like this there can be a temptation for different players to reduce 'Jane Roe' to en emblem or a trophy, and behind that is a real person with a real story. Norma was incredibly complex."

Sweeney started making the film in April 2016, frequently visiting McCorvey in Katy, Texas. At first, he says, she was reticent, "but when she realized when I was not involved in the abortion debate she was very happy to open up." Over the course of the time they spent together, McCorvey recounted details of her difficult upbringing  marked by abuse, neglect and a stint in reform school  turbulent personal life, including a short-lived teenage marriage, and a decades-long relationship with girlfriend Connie Gonzalez.

"I thought she was extremely interesting and enigmatic. I liked that her life was full of these fascinating contradictions," says Sweeney, who also interviewed figures on either side of the abortion issue who were close to McCorvey, including attorney Gloria Allred and Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister and former leader of Operation Rescue.

McCorvey comes across as funny, sharp and unfiltered, with a broad performative streak. She rattles off lines from "Macbeth" and jokes, "I'm a very glamorous person  I can't help it, it's a gift."

The documentary includes scenes of McCorvey on election night 2016  a few months before she died of heart failure at age 69  expressing her support for Hillary Clinton. "I wish I knew how many abortions Donald Trump was responsible for," McCorvey muses. "I'm sure he's lost count, if he can count that high."

"She had a kind of sly wit," says Sweeney, recalling the many hours he spent with her in Katy, going on doughnut runs or sitting in a park, where she'd make him pick magnolia flowers.

But there is also great sadness, particularly surrounding her relationship with Gonzalez, which she renounced after her conversion in 1995.

The film explores one of the great ironies of McCorvey's life story: Although she helped make abortion legal, McCorvey herself never had an abortion. She was pregnant with her third child when, in 1970, she signed an affidavit challenging laws in Texas which prohibited abortions except to save a mother's life. As an impoverished, uneducated woman lacking the means to travel out of state or obtain an illegal procedure, she was an ideal plaintiff for the lawyers who tried the case, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee.

"I know how I felt when I found out that I was pregnant and I wasn't going to let another woman feel that way  cheap, dirty and no good," McCorvey says in the film. "Women make mistakes, and they make mistakes with men, and things happen. It's just Mother Nature at work. You can't stop it. You can't explain it. It's just something that happens."

But it would take three years before the Supreme Court would render a verdict, by which time McCorvey had long since given birth to a girl who was given up for adoption. (Her second child had also been given up for adoption; her first child was raised by her mother.) McCorvey remembers learning of the decision in the newspaper and receiving a phone call from Weddington saying they'd won. "Why would I be excited? I had a baby, but I gave her away. It's for all the women who come after me."

"AKA Jane Roe" also shows how McCorvey was held at arm's length by abortion rights proponents. After a decade of anonymity, McCorvey went public in the 1980s and began granting interviews, and was depicted in the Emmy-winning TV movie, "Roe vs. Wade," starring Holly Hunter. But to the leaders of the abortion rights movement, the inconsistencies in her story  for a time McCorvey claimed she had gotten pregnant as the result of a rape, then said she had been lying  and lack of polish made her a less-than-ideal poster girl for the cause.

In 1995, she was working at a Dallas abortion clinic that was targeted for demonstrations by Operation Rescue, a militant organization known for extreme tactics such as blockading clinics (the group is now known as Operation Save America). She struck up an unlikely friendship with Flip Benham, an evangelical minister, who baptized her in a backyard pool, and for the next two decades of her life was a fixture at antiabortion protests and in documentaries. In 1998, she published a second memoir, "Won by Love," detailing her change of heart on abortion. As Benham recalls with evident pride in "AKA Jane Roe," McCorvey also took part in demonstrations where he burned the LGBT flag and the Quran.

Despite her visible role in the fight against abortion, McCorvey says she was a mercenary, not a true believer. And Schenck, who has also distanced himself from the antiabortion movement, at least particularly corroborates the allegations, saying that she was paid out of concern "that she would go back to the other side," he says in the film. "There were times I wondered: Is she playing us? And what I didn't have the guts to say was, because I know damn well we were playing her."

Schenck expresses regret at targeting McCorvey, someone whose vulnerabilities could be easily exploited, he says. What we did with Norma was highly unethical. The jig is up.
Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

How have you and your significant other been doing lately?

For many, the quarantine was a boon to their relationships initially, with couples reporting that the extra time together had been an overall positive across the first two weeks of the shutdown.

Since then, however, a survey by the team at True Public reports around a 20% drop in satisfaction as events place an increasingly large strain on peoples relationships.

While those results could certainly be better, True Public notes that the more concerning statistic is that 57% believe there will be a dramatic increase in divorce once the quarantine passes. It would appear that, for many, the strains associated with COVID-19 are expected to continue long after life begins to resume some semblance of normalcy.

Its not too late

Perhaps that outcome shouldnt come as much of a surprise.

I wonder, though, if the reason that so many of us seem to be struggling with our mental and relational health during this pandemic is, at least in part, because our relationship with God mirrors the results of that study.

For many of us, the first two weeks and the extra free time (assuming it wasnt taken up by homeschooling kids) might have meant more consistent time spent in Gods word and in prayer. If so, you likely felt that the shutdown was an overall positive for your walk with the Lord.

However, is the same true now, or have the concerns and weights of the pandemic begun to nudge out Gods presence in your life?

The good news is that its not too late.

Whether youve grown apart from your spouse, roommate, friends, or even the Lord over the last couple of months, know that God stands ready to help you heal all of those relationships.

Id recommend starting with him, though, as we were designed to function best in community with others when were strong in our communion with the Lord.

So make it a point the get back to a more consistent time of prayer and carve out space to read his word.

And if the people in your life are starting to drive you nuts and you feel like you just need a break, take it to God.

Im guessing the one who spent three years wandering around Israel with the same twelve guys probably knows a thing or two about the stress youre feeling, and hed love to talk with you about it.

This piece was originally published at the Denison Forum
Life is scheduled to come back to at least 10 research labs at the University of Connecticut as early as Wednesday and dozens more are in the process of getting clearance to open.

Studies into cancer, bone healing, nervous system disease, concrete and paving, material integrity and aquaculture, which all came to an abrupt halt in March when the state shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, have been approved to restart, all at the main campus at Storrs and the UConn Health Center.

Regional campuses, including Stamford, have had limited activities throughout the shutdown to maintain critical research infrastructure such as plants, cell lines and equipment, administrators said. Those activities are basically to ensure that no critical infrastructure is completely lost from inactivity.

At a virtual town hall Monday, UConn President Tom Katsouleas called the resumption of research a first step back to normal.

As questions flooded the town hall message board about the availability of personal protective equipment, testing and other safety precautions, UConn officials told staff there is not a one-size-fits-all plan.

We have instituted a safety plan model in combination with guidelines from the state and CDC, said Wesley Byerly, a UConn associate vice president for research integrity and regulatory affairs.

The plan requires labs and research programs to minimize personnel density and allow for distancing based on state and CDC guidelines and establish specific cleaning and disinfecting requirements in addition to what the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests.

Everyone returning to work in the lab must first complete an online COVID-19 safety training course. They must wear a cloth face covering or mask. Labs must keep logs documenting who is on the premises.

Byerly said he expects no compliance problems.

In all, about 60 projects are in the pipeline to reopen at UConn.

UConn research is a $260 million annual enterprise, according to the university.

During the town hall, attendees asked where the PPE was coming from and who was paying for it. The equipment will come from the university and not grants; the university intends to have enough masks so researchers can use a fresh one each weekday they are in the lab, they were told.

Some staff asked about testing for COVID-19. That is not part of the protocol, they were told.

To start, there will be staggered seating and staggered shifts.

Altogether, there are about 700 grant-funded researchers at UConn.

The reopening schedule is based largely on the projects readiness to resume research, administrators said.

The research falls into three broad categories: lab, field and research involving human subjects.

Research related to COVID-19 that required lab access was never halted, Byerly said.

The need to pause research activity has resulted in a significant disruption to many of our programs, Byerly said. Time-sensitive research like seasonal field work is particularly impacted.

Downstate, at the University of Bridgeport, research will also start to resume this week.

Khaled Elleithy, interim dean of the College of Engineering, Business and Education, said there are at least five research projects involving four faculty and half dozen Ph.D. and graduate candidates set to resume in his college.

They were slowed down by the closure, Elleithy said. Students are very eager to get back and continue their work and finish their projects.

One project, started during the pandemic, looks at how shopping cart handles can be made germ free between uses.

Others involve epilepsy seizure detection, HVAC cooling system design, robotics and object recognition to aid in security.

In Health Sciences at UB, a large proportion of research remained active despite the campus closure, according to Mark H. Pitcher, director of health sciences research.

Only a few studies were delayed due to the pandemic, Pitcher said.

Mostly delayed were projects that involved the recruitment of subjects from UBs student population or clinic patients for in-person research. Those cannot resume until full access to campus is restored, he said.

We expect that biomedical studies involving laboratory analysis of biological samples or access to electronic health records will resume shortly, Pitcher said.

Overall, UBs College of Health Sciences has about 40 active studies along with at least five biomedical research projects underway within Biomedical Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck
Controversial hiplife artiste, Barima Sidney says he will still campaign for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) come 2020 so that the party can continue its good works.

The 'Scent No' hitmaker, who says he has no regrets campaigning for NPP in 2016, declared that he was proud of the achievements of President Akufo-Addo so far and would vote for him in the upcoming presidential election.

President Nana Akufo-Addo's NPP has done its best since it took over the affairs of state. He needs to be praised for his achievement so far, he said.

According to him, taking a look at the economy for instance, he believes the government has done well, adding that the Akufo-Addo administration has largely delivered on most of its promises.

The hiplife artiste, who was heavily involved in the NPP campaign in 2016, mentioned that the introduction of the free SHS program by the NPP government was a laudable initiative which had opened doors for the poor in society to have access to quality education.

I believe the NPP has done so well and they need to be applauded. I have no regrets taking that bold step to campaign for them, he told Rainbow Radio in an interview monitored by BEATWAVES.

The 'Eboboba' hitmaker, who is currently working on a number of projects in Ghana and Liberia, commended the government for the establishment of the Creative Arts Council with the potential of transforming the creative arts industry.

He however, urged Ghanaians to support the President to deliver his visionary plans for the betterment of Ghana's sinking economy.

New Singles

The hiplife artiste in an interview with BEATWAVES disclosed plans of releasing three danceable new singles which were expected to receive massive airplay.

He hinted that he would release the first single on August 10 followed by the remaining two singles which would be released before December. All three songs are good for public consumption.

He said it's been a while since he dropped something for his fans and Ghana at large, adding that this year he has a surprise package for his fans.

The music videos for the three singles, according to him, will soon be ready and will be aired on all the local television networks in the country to promote the songs.

Born Sidney Kofi Ofori, he began his musical career with Native Funk Lords in 1994, before he formed Nananom with late Omanhene Pozo and Ohemaa.

He released his first album, 'Tinana', in 2001, followed by 'Abuskeleke' in 2003.

In 2004, Sidney released 'Scent No', a controversial song that educates the people about sanitation.

Sidney resurfaced in 2005 with another controversial hit album, 'Obia Nye Obia'.

Sidney has also been involved in various educational campaigns. 'Give Them the Pen, Not the Gun' is a single song dedicated to all child soldiers in the world especially in Africa; it features Dr. Kaunda, his lyrical mate and King Ayisoba.

In 2012 he released 'Frso Ye No Saa' album with two hit tracks: 'Enk yie' and 'Awuchie Kpng'.

Some of his songs are 'Africa Money', 'Kyere Me', 'I See You Cher', 'Monhye Nkom', 'Africa Money', 'Ma Sweetie', 'Paanoo Shew', 'Colour TV', 'Piti Odo Nsuo', 'Ehye Mu', 'Mind Da Gap', 'Obaa Kokoo', 'Ibi So', 'Hu Me Mobo', 'Child Soldier', 'Adukrom Nsuo', 'Nkwaraa Yi' and 'Underground'.

----Daily Guide
Sophie Kasaei appeared to flout the UK's coronavirus lockdown rules as she invited her dad over to her home.

Taking to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, the Geordie Shore star, 30, who has been living between her family home and her new pad, revealed Keivan visited her abode to help her make a traditional Iranian dish.

'We've got a visitor!', the media personality said as her father came through the door with a bag of Anjoman Rice before he prepared food.

Breaking rules? Sophie Kasaei appeared to flout the UK's coronavirus lockdown guidelines as she invited her dad over to her home

The Newcastle native seemed pleased to see the chef after spending time apart, with the brunette shouting with delight: 'Middle Eastern rice!

'Dad has come over to show us how to make this rice, this is called Tah Dig, this is the best ever. And then here, it's not very Persian, we got this curry made with greek yoghurt and curry powder.'

It is unclear whether the pair were two metres apart from each other during their meeting, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Brits can visit a grandparent, a girlfriend or a boyfriend from outside their household if they maintain a distance and remain outdoors.

A representative for Sophie told MailOnline: 'Sophie has been in lockdown with her dad at their family home, which is a short distance from her new home where she lives alone.

She's got company: Taking to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, the Geordie Shore star, 30, revealed Keivan visited her abode to help her make a traditional Iranian dish

'Sophie has been between the 2 locations during lockdown, mainly staying with her dad. They have been together throughout lockdown and are therefore part of the same household. There has been no rule breaking.'

According to the guidelines, the government states that only children under 18 can be moved between their parents' homes, in the case where they do not live in the same household.

The social distancing rule states people, excluding those who live together, should stay 2m (6ft 6in) apart from other people in a bid to tackle the deadly virus.

The nation has had to avoid meeting up with loved ones since March 16, a week before the full lockdown came in on March 23.

The TV star recently moved into her South Tyneside home, while her doting parent still owns Mambo Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar in South Shields.

Yummy: 'We've got a visitor!', the media personality said as her father came through the door with a bag of Anjoman Rice before he prepared food

Doting: The Newcastle native seemed pleased to see the chef after spending time apart, with the chef cooking Tah Dig for his daughter

Earlier this week, Sophie shared an honest YouTube video with followers discussing how comparing herself to others affected her mental health.

In her first ever upload, the brave star told fans that 'since isolating' she has had time to reflect on true happiness.

The Off The Rails Boutique owner described how starting out on the reality show made her try and be someone she was not and said 'deep down' she was 'fighting a losing battle.'

Addressing her fans, she said: 'I think growing up and being in the industry young I had a lot of pressure to be like other people, I really compared myself to others so much.

Candid: Earlier this week, Sophie shared an honest YouTube video with followers discussing how comparing herself to others affected her mental health

'I always thought everyone was better than me I always made excuses I thought I'd just settle and be less.

'That's the mindset I had for a while and as I have got older I've realised that it is not the mindset to be having.

'As I've got older, I've realised you don't need to be competitive with people, there is no reason to be competitive with people around you.'

Sophie shot to fame on Geordie Shore in 2011 when she was 21 and appeared on seven seasons on the show.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh



Koshyarion Wednesday asked the state administration to consider incentivising COVID-19 frontline workers and prepare specialmeasures for containment zones.

Koshyari asked the government to prepare itself for challenges considering the likely coronavirus situation emerging in the state in the months of June and July, a Raj Bhavan statement said here tonight.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said the Centre feels the spike in coronavirus cases will be higher by May-end and in June, and added that the virus spread has been controlled to a large extent in Maharashtra.

The government should keep enough medical facilities, doctors, medical staff and beds ready considering the likely case load in June and July, the Raj Bhavan statement quoted Koshyari him saying at a meeting.

Presiding over a high-level review meeting with senior government officials at Raj Bhavan, the Governor asked the government to take special measures for COVID-19 containment zones like Dharavi, which has so far recorded 1,378 cases.

He asked the government to keep a dashboard providing handy information about availability of beds, doctors, nurses and para-medical staff for the entire state so that the same could be deployed wherever required, the statement said.

The government should think of incentivising frontline workers like sanitation workers, police, health workers, ward boys, among others, who are doing good work in the battle against COVID-19, Koshyari said.

The Governor asked the administration to make sure that non-COVID-19 patients do not suffer anywhere in the state for want of medical facilities.

At the meeting, a presentation on the COVID-19 situation in Mumbai was made by municipal commissioner I S Chahal, the statement said.

Additional chief secretary (Health) Dr Pradip Vyas apprised the Governor about the governments preparedness to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

The Governor also took a review of transportation of migrant workers to their home states and the status of relief camp set up for them.

Thackeray was scheduled to attend the review meeting, but instead Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta and other senior officials participated in the meet on his behalf, a CMO statement said.

Maharashtra has so far recorded 39,297 coronavirus cases and 1,390 fatalities, the highest for any state in the country. Mumbai alone accounts for 24,118 of the total infections and 841 deaths.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has traced an outbreak that infected 35 worshippers and killed three back to an Arkansas children's church event in March.

Meanwhile, newly reopened churches in southern states Texas and Georgia are being forced to shut their doors for a second time following new COVID-19 outbreaks among churchgoers and religious leaders.

Both the Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle in Ringgold, Georgia, and Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Houston, Texas, announced they are shutting in-person worship services indefinitely not long after they reopened following a relaxation to state lockdowns.

Fears are now mounting that church events could be hotbeds for the virus, after the CDC investigation revealed the pastor and his wife at Greers Ferry First Assembly of God in Arkansas contracted the virus at a church event attended by out-of-town missionaries and the virus then rippled through the congregation and the wider community.

The CDC has sounded a warning to faith organizations to work with local health officials to reopen safely to prevent renewed outbreaks among their members and communities.

A CDC investigation has revealed the pastor and his wife at Greers Ferry First Assembly of God in Arkansas contracted the virus at a church event in early March and the virus then rippled through the congregation and the wider community

The CDC report released Tuesday warned of the risk of transmission among churches, as it traced what it described as a 'high COVID-19 attack rate' among attendees at Arkansas church events back in March.

While the CDC does not explicitly name the church, the details it describes in its report are identical to an outbreak at Greers Ferry First Assembly of God in the rural Cleburne County area of Arkansas

More than a third (38 percent) of all churchgoers at Greers Ferry First Assembly of God contracted the deadly virus, amounting to 35 of all 92 worshippers of the close-knit congregation being infected and three being killed.

There was also another 26 confirmed cases and one death in the wider community linked to the church.

The outbreak can be traced back to a three-day 'Kids Crusade' church event held on March 6 to 8, which welcomed missionaries Thomas and Angela Carpenter and a child from out of town.

More than a third (38 percent) of all churchgoers at Greers Ferry First Assembly of God in the rural Cleburne County area of Arkansas contracted the deadly virus

The outbreak can be traced back to a three-day 'Kids Crusade' church event held on March 6 to 8

The three-day event welcomed missionaries Thomas and Angela Carpenter (pictured) and a child from out of town. The Carpenters later tested positive for the virus

The three-day event included several indoor sessions held by the Carpenters including competitions where children collected things from the hands of adults as well as a buffet style meal prepared by several church members.

It was after this event that the first two cases emerged in the county, with the pastor Mark Palenske, 56, and his wife Dena, 57, both showing symptoms for the virus days later and later testing positive.

But before the pastor's symptoms emerged, he attended a Bible study group on March 11.

The church shut the following day when he became ill.

After the church event the first two cases emerged in the county, with the pastor Mark Palenske, 56, and his wife Dena, 57, (pictured) both showing symptoms for the virus days later and later testing positive

All 35 confirmed COVID-19 cases and three deaths among the worshippers had attended one of the two church events.

Most people affected were aged 19 and over.

The CDC contact tracing study states that the couple were likely infected at the children's event and the pastor then spread the virus further at the Bible study group.

The missionary visitors at the children'e event also began showing symptoms on March 9 and 10 and tested positive for COVID-19, indicating they likely brought the virus to the county.

By March 24, the small rural Cleburne County had recorded the second-highest number of cases in the whole state.

As states ease lockdowns, several churches have reopened their doors to in-person worship.

Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle told the Christian Post Monday it is closing its doors for a second time out of 'extreme caution', after several members of the church tested positive for the virus - even after social distancing measures were introduced.

Catoosa Baptist Tabernacle in Georgia has closed its doors for a second time out of 'extreme caution', after several members of the church tested positive for the virus - even after social distancing measures were introduced when it reopened last month

The church had reopened to in-person worship in April 26, after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp eased the stay-at-home order and allowed gyms, bowling alleys and hair salons to reopen.

Measures were put in place to reopen safely including spacing seating six feet apart, having doors open so people didn't need to touch doorhandles, and attendees being dismissed in stages so social distancing could be maintained.

Only around 25 percent of worshippers returned to the church in person after it reopened with most continuing to join via live-stream.

However, it has now shuttered after it learnt that some of its families were 'dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 virus.'

The Holy Ghost Parish in Houston made the similar decision to reclose last week following a renewed outbreak among church members and the death of one of its priests

Father Donnell Kirchner, 79, was diagnosed with pneumonia before he died. It has not been confirmed if he tested positive for COVID-19 but numerous church members have now tested positive including five of the seven members he lived with

'Our hearts are heavy as some of our families are dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 virus, and we ask for your prayers for each of them as they follow the prescribed protocol and recuperate at home,' the church said in a statement to the Christian Post.

This comes days after the Holy Ghost Parish in Houston made the similar decision to reclose last week following a renewed outbreak among church members and the death of one of its priests.

Father Donnell Kirchner, 79, was diagnosed with pneumonia before he died.

It has not been confirmed if he tested positive for COVID-19 but numerous church members have now tested positive including five of the seven members of the religious order who lived with the deceased priest.

The new outbreak came after the church began welcoming worshippers through its doors again on May 2 as Texas lifted its lockdown restrictions.

The renewed closures and new cases shows the challenges in reopening churches safely - with many elements of worship involving human contact such as handshaking.
The Court certainly does not mean to minimize the concerns that the Sheriff has raised and the risks to his deputies and employees, but the law requires a showing of immediate and irreparable harm if the relief sought is not granted, Jasica said in his order. The evidence before the Court, at least on the limited temporary restraining order record, does not support a finding of irreparable injury or harm.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in AnaptysBio, Inc. ("Anaptys" or the "Company") of the May 26, 2020 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in AnaptysBio stock or options between October 10, 2017 and November 7, 2019 and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : www.faruqilaw.com/ANAB. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

[email protected]

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those who purchased Anaptys common stock between October 10, 2017 and November 7, 2019 (the "Class Period"). The case, City of Hallandale Beach Police Officers et al v. Anaptysbio, Inc. et al., No. 3:20-cv-00565 was filed on March 25, 2020, and has been assigned to Judge Thomas J. Whelan.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and misleading statements regarding the purported efficacy of etokimab, and by touting data from the Company's Phase 2a trial in peanut allergies as showing a "remarkable efficacy result" and describing the drug as having a "pretty profound efficacy" in its treatment of patients with atopic dermatitis based on AnaptysBio's Phase 2a trial data for that indication.

Specifically, on March 26, 2018, after the markets closed, the Company issued a press release, which it also filed on Form 8-K with the SEC, announcing data from an interim analysis of a Phase 2a trial for etokimab in adult patients with peanut allergy. The press release reported that six of 13 patients (or 46%) improved their peanut tolerance to a cumulative 500mg at day 14 after a single dose of etokimab compared to zero of three patients (or 0%) dosed with placebo. Based on the "positive" data from the study, the Company announced its plans to continue development of etokimab in a multi-dose Phase 2b trial in moderate-to-severe baseline peanut allergy patients.

Later that day, however, an analyst from RBC Capital Markets issued a report questioning the reliability of the Company's Phase 2a peanut allergy data. The report stated that "[etokimab's] response rate in an [intent-to-treat] population does not appear to be meaningfully differentiated" relative to the placebo. Specifically, the report explained that since AnaptysBio excluded two patients from each arm of the trial due to having mild symptoms, the difference between the etokimab-treated arm and the placebo arm was only approximately 7% on a 500mg tolerated cumulative dose intent-to-treat responder analysis basissignificantly less than the 46% response rate of etokimab-dosed patients over placebo-dosed patients the Company reported from its subgroup analysis. When considering the patients the Company excluded from its trial data analysis, seven of 15 patients (or 47%) improved their peanut tolerance to a cumulative 500mg at day 14 after a single dose of etokimab compared to two of five patients (or 40%) dosed with placebo.

On this news, the Company's stock price fell from $113.83 per share on March 26, 2018 to $107.52 per share on March 27, 2018: a $5.31 or 5.54% drop.

Then, on June 21, 2019, an analyst from Credit Suisse issued a report that questioned the veracity of the Company's Phase 2a atopic dermatitis data because of patients' use of topical corticosteroids as a rescue therapy during the study.

On this news, the Company's stock price fell from $67.02 per share on June 20, 2019 to $59.24 per share on June 21, 2019: a $7.78 or 11.61% drop.

Finally, on November 8, 2019, the Company announced "very disappoint[ing]" data from its ATLAS trial, a Phase 2b multi-dose study which evaluated the efficacy of etokimab in approximately 300 patients with moderate-tosevere atopic dermatitis. Specifically, AnaptysBio revealed that each of the etokimab dosing arms "failed to meet the primary endpoint of the trial, which was demonstration of statistically greater improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) relative placebo at week 16." The Company also revealed that, as a result of this data, it had postponed the initiation of its Phase 2b etokimab clinical trial in asthma.

On this news, the Company's stock price fell from $36.16 per share on November 7, 2019 to $10.18 per share on November 8, 2019: a $25.98 or 71.72% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding AnaptysBio's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Related Links

www.faruqilaw.com


Barack Obama would beat Donald Trump if he could run for president again by more than 10 per cent if an election were held today, a poll revealed Wednesday, as tensions between the former president and successor spiked this month.

The survey, taken May 18-19, shows that there is still significant public support for the former president over the current White House resident by a margin of 54 per cent to 43 per cent.

Progressive public relations consultant, Eric Schmeltzer, took $4,500 out of his own pocket to personally commission the poll with Public Policy Polling to see who would win in a head-to-head matchup among 1,223 registered voters.

Only 3 per cent of respondents said they were not sure if they would vote for the current president or former.

The results are not surprising, considering Obama consistently polls as one of the best-liked public figures in America and the most popular Democrat.

The show of support for the former president also comes as he has become more outspoken about his disapproval of Trump recently  specifically in regards to his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Barack Obama would beat Donald Trump with a margin of 54 per cent to 43 per cent if he were able to run against him for president in 2020, a poll released Wednesday found

The poll results come as tensions between the two have spiked this month as Obama has waged more public criticism on his successor and the president has claimed the Obama administration committed a crime in starting the Russia probe in 2016

In the last week or so, Trump has also waged accusations against his predecessor, claiming he committed some undefined crime regarding the investigation and prosecution of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Trump has bashed Obama and former Vice President and presumed Democratic nominee Joe Biden after it was revealed that they received a briefing informing them the FBI was investigating the then-incoming National Security adviser.

He has dubbed the incident on Twitter as 'Obamagate,' claiming the unspecified crime, related to the 2016 Russia probe, is 'worse than Watergate.'

Trump has demanded that his Republican allies in the Senate call former Obama officials to testify  and has even said Obama and Biden should have to face Congress.

While Republicans snubbed the idea earlier this month, they seemed to switch the script this week and embrace the president's notion  especially as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cannot afford any tension with Trump in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump demanded on Twitter that McConnell 'get tough' with Democrats and launch an investigation into the 2016 Russia probe that took center stage during his campaign for president.

Just three days after that tweet, McConnell gave in, claiming Trump 'was treated like a hostile foreign power by our own law enforcement' during his campaign and start of his presidency and claimed the investigation was fueled by 'wild theories of Russian collusion.'

A few hours later, Senate Republicans hosted Trump at the Capitol for their first party lunch in two months, where the president largely discussed his reelection campaign and boasted of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

He also used the unannounced visit with Republicans to urge them to stick together as the election approaches in November  and even suggested they act more like Democrats in their united front.

Republican committee chairmen now plan to follow the president's lead in approving a series of subpoenas for both testimony and documents, according to Politico, which could target Obama administration officials.

The probes could also go after the former vice president's son Hunter Biden  who was at the center of the Democrats' Ukraine investigation that ultimately led to Trump's impeachment.

The flip appears to be a GOP strategy to end any public disagreements within the party in the six months leading up to the presidential general election.

'I just think that everybody realizes that our fortunes sort of rise or fall together,' South Dakota Senator John Thune, the party whip, said. 'One thing we have to do is to make sure that we are united on our agenda and make sure that there's not separation between the White House and Republicans in Congress.'

Democrats are unbothered by Republicans and Trump making Obama a centerpiece of his reelection campaign due to the popularity of the former president.

They have provided nearly no public rebuttal to the president's attacks against his predecessor.

During a private call, which had audio leaked earlier this month, Obama called Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic 'chaotic' and said the rule of law in America was lost the day the Justice Department dropped charges against Flynn  even after he had pleaded guilty.

Obama also used a televised commencement address to the graduating high school class of 2020 to call Trump a 'little kid,' without using the president's name directly.

These recent comments are a rise from Obama's usual decision to remain silent on his successors actions in office.
The last time I hugged my mother and kissed her goodbye, she was sitting in her soft brown chair that would recline if only she could remember which button to press. Her blue eyes looked resigned as I started to leave, and I heard her emit a soft sigh. I turned back and kissed her again, promising Id be back the day after tomorrow, as always. Whenever I let more than a day or two go by without seeing her, she grew depressed, so I tried hard to put some routine into my visits that she could count on.

Our routine was upended the next day. My mothers nursing home, Jewish Senior Services in Bridgeport, called to let me know that the Mystery Book Club I ran on Tuesdays was being put on hold. Family members and volunteers were being asked to stay away out of an abundance of caution. The state of Connecticut was determined not to allow the COVID-19 virus to savage its nursing homes as it had in other parts of the country.

Since then, my daily telephone calls with my mother have taken on more urgency as she continually seeks reassurance that things will go back to normal soon. At first, she sounded almost chipper, assuring me that she was fine. But when she says things like that, Im never sure whether to believe her or not. Despite her Alzheimers, shes entirely capable of fooling me into thinking that all is right with the world so that I dont worry. And for the first few weeks, her life remained relatively normal, except for the one small detail that no visitors were allowed in to see their loved ones. The recreation team still engaged everyone in group activities. My mother was still winning at bingo and chair bowling, and she was still eating her meals in the communal dining room of her house. Since Im a volunteer and visit my mother often, I know a lot of the staff who went out of their way to reassure me that my mother was doing well.

But as more time passed and the number of coronavirus cases rose among residents and staff, communal activities were halted. Residents were confined to their rooms for their own safety. Despite the compassionate care I know she receives, my mothers anxiety has ratcheted up and she pleads with me to tell her how much longer this is going to last. Evenings are the hardest. One night her favorite CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) called me. My mother was feeling unusually anxious and the CNA thought it would help for her to hear my voice. Another night my mother called me frantically; she didnt know where she was. That had never happened before, and I called the nurses station in alarm. Within minutes, her CNA called from her room. She put my mother on the phone with me so I could soothe her.

More than six weeks have passed since that devastating call from JSS asking me to stay home. It feels like an eternity. COVID-19 is extremely contagious and has descended on my mothers nursing home like the plague that it is. They have now tested everyone and learned that 40 residents to date are positive although, surprisingly, not all were symptomatic. Eighteen have died. Fifty-six members of the staff in almost every part of JSS have tested positive, and several are in the hospital. Many more have been out of work, although some have been tested and cleared, and are thankfully returning to work.

Most people dont realize that approximately 80 percent of nursing home residents are on Title 19 (Medicaid). JSS is no different. At JSS, a total of 330 residents live in individual houses with 14 people in each one. Each house has two CNAs to care for 14 people and generally two nurses cover three houses, or 42 people. No volunteers are allowed in the building, so staff is really on its own, working tirelessly to care for their elderly patients who depend on them so completely.

The situation is incredibly challenging. JSS needs financial assistance to pay staff, hire additional staff, and buy more masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment. They have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from programs that have been closed or reduced. They created this website link to make it easier to donate: https://jseniors.org/donations/capital-campaign-donations/

As I write these words, I brace myself against the fear that refuses to let go. It creeps up my back and down my arms when Im sitting on the couch or on a chair in front of my laptop. It disturbs my sleep so much that I feel like a somnambulist during the day.

If I feel like this, I can only imagine how the nurses, CNAs and other staff must feel caring for such vulnerable people. And yet, they get up every day and go to work, putting any fear for themselves high up on a shelf until its time to go home again. One of my mothers nurses, who maintains her sense of humor in all situations, laughingly shared that she strips naked in her garage every night before entering her home. She hopes none of her neighbors have glimpsed her through their windows.

I have no idea how this will end. I only wish that Id held my mother tighter and stayed with her longer on that fateful evening over six weeks ago. Life changes in an instant. How I wish Id remembered that.

Michele Kellner Perkins lives in Weston.
Patna: Migrants queue up to board special buses to return to their native places during the fourth phase of the ongoing nationwide lockdown imposed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, in Patna n May 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Patna: Migrant workers arrive to board special trains to return to their native places during the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown imposed to mitigate the spread of cornavirus, in Patna on May 20, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, May 20 : The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration sent 52,000 migrants and students back to their hometown by 25 trains and 540 buses, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Wednesday.

While a total of 22,364 migrants and students were sent to their native places in Bihar by 16 trains, a total of 11,530 people were sent to Uttar Pradesh in 8 trains and one train with 1,474 passengers left for West Bengal.

Apart from the rail route, 540 buses were also involved in carrying 16,200 passengers back to their homes in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief minister Manish Sisodia earlier in the day, confirmed an IANS report that more than four lakh people have registered at the Delhi government's website for going home and transportation is being arranged for around 65,000 migrants.

Around 25 trains left from Delhi for different states on Wednesday carrying 37,500 migrants back to their hometowns, with 11 trains being sent to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"Around 65,000 people have been sent back to their homes until now. We are also seeking permission from other states to send migrants back to their hometowns. As soon as we get the permission, we would arrange trains for those states." Most such requests have been received from migrants of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh who account for 1,95,746 and 1,84,997 people respectively, said Sisodia.




Legend has it that Karuppanna Swamy appeared from the right hand of Lord Vishnu and hence also known as Kaianaar. Kai means hand.





The temple of Karuppanna Swamy is just outside the village as he is the guardian of the village. He will be standing on a raised platform mostly under a tree.

He is generally depicted with large eyes and moustache, and holding a sword, bow and arrow, sickle or a club. He is with two arms and has dark skin tone. In some instances, Karuppanna Swamy will be standing along with 7 virgin goddesses (kanniyamar), hunting dog, lion, horse and other animals.

Different Names of Karuppanna Swamy

Sangili Karuppan  Holds Iron Chain

Cappani Karuppan  Holds a noose

Pathinettam Padi Karuppan at Azhagar Kovil near Madurai guards the village temple

Aladi Karuppan  When he is under a banyan tree

Mavadi Karuppan  When he is under a mango tree.

Karuppanna Swamy is worshipped by all Hindus and the priests are from different castes depending on the region. A particular Karuppanna Swamy is a particular village will have attained cult status and he will be worshiped vigorously by the villages especially during the annual festival.





The main offerings include flowers, local fruits, lamp and clothes. In some regions during festival and important ritual, he is offered goat, rooster, and alcohol. Various intoxicating objects are also offered to the deity.

Annual Festival

The clan of the priest plays a key role during the annual rituals and festivals. A fortnight or month before the annual festival a person chosen from the clan of the priest becomes oracle. On the chosen day, the oracle enters into a state of trance and address the audience as the direct messenger of Karuppanna Swamy. Social, family, financial and other issues are settled by the words of the oracle.





The annual festival is usually a three day affair. Villagers do not go outside the village once the festival begins. But people from nearby villages and towns visit the village to offer prayers to Karuppanna Swamy.

Karuppanna Swamy Worship Around The World

Tamilians who have settled around the world have taken Karuppanna Swamy with them. Thus we have him worshipped in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, South Africa and in the various islands in the Caribbean in the name of Dee Baba, Mangadu Karuppu, and Sangili Karuppan.

Karuppanna Swamy, or Karuppusamy, is a very popular Hindu village deity in Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Trichy districts of Tamil Nadu. He is the guardian deity of the village and destroyer of evil spirits haunting the village. He is one of the 21 folk deities associated with Aiyanar.
(Natural News) STUPID-19 is a disease that makes people lose their minds when they try to deny the existence of the coronavirus pandemic. Today, STUPID-19 has struck the Governor of Georgia.

In what must be the most outrageous example of data fakery and government fraud weve seen yet, the Republican Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, has been caught red-handed releasing a misleading coronavirus infection trend chart that scrambled dates to create the false impression of a steady decline in coronavirus infections.

The graph, shown below, was released by the Georgia Department of Health and covers Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnet and Hall counties, appearing to show a steadily declining infection trend for all five counties over time.

But it turns out the x-axis of the chart used scrambled dates that were obviously hand-picked to create the false appearance of a downward trend over time. Normally, a chart that presents an x-axis of time would use sequential segments of time, not scrambled days or months that are picked solely to produce an apparent visual trend. But if you look closely at the x-axis below, youll see the chart begins with April 28th, then goes to April 27th, April 29th, May 1st, April 30th, May 6th, May 4th, etc.

In other words, Georgia scrambled the x-axis, choosing data from dates that would create a visual downward trend, even as the state claimed the chart showed data over the last 15 days. Technically it did, but not 15 sequential days.

Chronology be damned. Georgia wants to prove the coronavirus is no big deal, and theyre willing to travel back and forth through time, if necessary, to reinforce that point.

Heres the big picture of the chart, which claims to present data over the past 15 days and the number of cases over time. (I guess technically they didnt promise the time would be sequential)

And heres a zoomed-in version showing you some of the dates along the x-axis:

Notice how the dates are all scrambled, sort of like Brian Kemps STUPID-19 brain.

We give Kemp one thumbs up for effort, but another thumb up his ass for stupidity. Only in a Republican-led denialism state where numbers, math and charts are apparently befuddling to the guy in charge would we end up with this hilariously lame attempt at public deception.

Oh, and the Governors communications director, Candice Broce (@Candicebroce) must have undergone a frontal lobotomy before posting this indecipherable explanation on Twitter that tries to justify the obvious fraud. See if you can make any sense of this:

The x axis was set up that way to show descending values to more easily demonstrate peak values and counties on those dates. Our mission failed. We apologize. It is fixed.

This graphic has been the subject of much head scratching by the @AJCInteractives team today. https://t.co/FS69vasFxR  Pete Corson (@petecorson) May 10, 2020

Wait, whah? To more easily demonstrate peak values and counties on those dates?

Oh dear God, please tell me these arent the people in charge of the great State of Georgia.

I mean, with numbers and dates and colored bars and math and sh#t, sure it can all get confusing when youre suffering from STUPID-19, but as my way of offering public assistance to the brain-dead leaders of Georgia, might I suggest counting on your fingers and toes, which will at least get you to 20 unless youve had a horrible barefoot mowing accident of some kind.

And if you can count to 20 without getting confused, heck, you should run for Governor and try to displace the current governor who cant seem to count to 15 (days).

Kinda makes you wonder how these people are supposed to lead an economy recovery, doesnt it? Maybe the economy of Georgia will achieve a sharp upward trend but only if you rearrange the dates in just the right way

See more stories about real-life science clowns at ScienceClowns.com.
Mark Musselman brings a chair to the front of his house from the back yard, wading through floodwater, Tuesday, May 19, 2020 in Edenville, Mich. (Katy Kildee/Midland Daily News via AP)

Flooding Hits Parts of Midwest, With Evacuations in Michigan

EDENVILLE, Mich.People living along two mid-Michigan lakes and parts of a river were evacuated on May 19 following several days of heavy rain that produced flooding and put pressure on dams in the area.

Two Midland-area schools were opened for evacuees, and more than 50 roads have been closed. The evacuations in Michigan followed days of heavy rains in parts of the Midwest that also brought flooding to Chicago and other parts of Illinois, as well as Ohio and other states.

The water is very high, said Catherine Sias, who lives about a mile from one of the dams located in Edenville, Michigan. Last night, emergency responders came door-to-door to make sure everybody got out. We have mild flooding every year, but this is unusual.

Sias, 45, has five cats and two dogs and was about to check into a hotel that allowed pets when she learned it was probably safe for people not living in low-lying areas to return home.

Im on the high bank, about 20 feet up, she said. A lot of people are having a harder time. Most of them are going to be dealing with flooding in their homes.

Some residents, like Jon St. Croix, went to shelters set up in area schools.

We were laying in bed when I heard sirens, St. Croix told the Midland Daily News. A fire truck was driving around, broadcasting that (we needed) to evacuate. Its a scary thingyoure sleeping and awake to sirens.

St. Croix, 62, his wife, and a next-door neighbor were among more than a dozen people sheltering in one school. Their home wasnt flooded, but St. Croix said he had seen flooding in the area.

Volunteers at the schools said about 120 vehicles were in the parking lots of a couple of schools and about 30 people had been staying on cots inside, according to WNEM-TV.

About a dozen people hunkered down overnight at a school in Sanford but had left by early afternoon on May 19, said Tom Restgate, an American Red Cross safety officer.

The cots inside the school were spread out to observe social distancing recommendations to fight the spread of COVID-19, Restgate said.

Heavy rains also caused flooding in parts of northwestern Indiana, including Crown Pointthe Lake County seatwhere about seven inches fell over the weekend.

Floodwaters swelled quickly on May 17 when one inch (2.54 centimeters) of rain fell within 15 minutes, swamping streets and sending water into basements and homes, including Mayor David Urans residence.

Those waters receded on May 18, but Uran and many other residents were continuing to clean up the watery mess on May 19, said Urans chief of staff, Greg Falkowski.

He got between 2 and 3 feet in his basement, so thats what hes working on right now, Falkowski said in the afternoon on May 19.

In Chicago, water that flooded some areas downtown was receding on May 19, but Larry Langford, a fire department spokesman, said that he didnt expect power to be restored at the iconic Willis Tower for days because the rains caused the buildings subbasements to fill with as much as 25 feet (7.6 meters) of water. The building was closed to tenants and visitors.

And in DuPage County, west of the city, a search for an 18-year-old woman who was swept away by a surging DuPage River on May 15 remained suspended on May 19 because the water remained too high and the current too swift to conduct the search safely.

Tony Martinez, a spokesman for the DuPage Forest Preserve District, said the area of the river where the woman was swept is typically about 25 feet wide remained 200 yards wide.

We hope to resume searching later this week, he said.

The driver of a pickup truck in mid-Michigan had to be rescued by first responders after the vehicle was swept away on a flooded road in Tittabawassee Township, WNEM-TV reported.

School buses and dump trucks were called out on May 19 in southwest Ohio to help evacuate people trapped in flooded areas in a commercial area with dozens of businesses in suburban West Chester Township.

By noon, West Chester Township spokeswoman Barb Wilson said a dozen people had been taken to a nearby high school, while other people were able to make it out of the flooded area in their own vehicles.

There were no injuries reported immediately in the area just off Interstate 75 north of Cincinnati.

Flood warnings in Michigan were issued following widespread rainfall of up to four inches (10.2 centimeters) since May 17, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy runoff pushed rivers higher.

A lot of the rainfall came and hit the Saginaw Valley over the last 48 hours, meteorologist Andrew Arnold said on May 19. For the most part, the rain is over.

The weather system was moving into Indiana, Ohio, parts of Illinois, and the Tennessee Valley, Arnold said.

More flooding was forecast for parts of the Tittabawassee River, which was at 26.5 feet (8.1 meters) on May 19. It was expected to crest in the morning on May 20 at about 30 feet (9.1 meters). The flood stage is 24 feet (7.3 meters).

Midland County 911 sent out a series of alerts saying the Edenville and Sanford dams were at risk of failing, and those living near Sanford Lake, Wixom Lake, and other area waterways should evacuate.

Midland County Emergency Management later said that the dams were structurally sound. It said water flowing through the dam spill gates couldnt be controlled, however, so evacuation measures remained in place.

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam due to noncompliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.

The Edenville Dam was rated in the unsatisfactory condition in 2018 by the state, while the Sanford Dam received a fair-condition rating.

Both dams are in the process of being sold.

There were 19 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor conditions in Michigan in 2018, ranking 20th among the 45 states and Puerto Rico for which The Associated Press obtained condition assessments.

Just to the north in Gladwin County, the weather service issued a flash flood warning for the Cedar River below the Chappel Dam. And other parts of the state saw isolated flooding following heavy rains in recent days.
Millions of people were being moved to safety as one of the fiercest cyclones in years barrelled towards India and Bangladesh on Tuesday, but with evacuation plans complicated by coronavirus precautions. "Amphan" is expected to pack winds gusting up to 185 kilometres (115 miles) per hour when it hits eastern India and Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon or evening, and with a storm surge of several metres, forecasters said. Bangladesh authorities fear it will be the most powerful since cyclone Sidr devastated the country in 2007, killing about 3,500 people -- mostly due to a deluge of sea water sweeping in. Junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said Tuesday that they have already evacuated several thousand people from low-lying areas. "We will evacuate up to 2.2 million and try to keep casualties at zero," Rahman told AFP. To ensure social distancing in view of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of cyclone shelters has been doubled by using schools, with masks compulsory, Rahman said. "We are also keeping separate isolation rooms in the shelters for any infected patients," he added. Yamin Chowdhury, an official in Bangladesh's Barisal province, said the coast guard was helping to bring back thousands of people from remote islands. Fishing boats have been ordered to return to shore and all ports and fish landing stations shut down. "Coastal dwellers in Bangladesh are facing an impossible choice," Snigdha Chakraborty from aid group Catholic Relief Services (CRS) said in a statement. "There is limited space in existing evacuation shelters and people who have been on COVID-19 lockdown might hesitate to leave their less-sturdy homes to go to a central a- and possibly crowded a- shelter." She warned of "grim days ahead", with poor sanitation, limited access to safe water and health facilities. The coronavirus lockdown had also cut off many people's income and eaten up their cash reserves, she added. - Diggers and chainsaws - In India, West Bengal state official Manturam Pakhira said more than 200,000 people were being evacuated from coastal districts and the Sundarbans, a vast mangrove forest area. "Authorities are also supplying masks and sanitisers and making arrangements so that they can maintain safe distance from each other," he said. Arjun Manna, who works for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the Sundarbans, told AFP that loud speakers were urging locals "to wear a mask and maintain social distancing in the shelters". In Odisha state, relief commissioner Pradeep Kumar Jena told AFP that 20,000 people have been evacuated, with 600 disaster teams "pre-positioned" and contractors standing by with diggers and chainsaws. "We will evacuate more people depending on the situation. No one will be allowed to stay in huts with thatched roofs in coastal areas," Jena said. He too said that in order to ensure social distancing, additional temporary shelters have been identified, with the state ready to house 1.1 million people if needed. "We have made arrangements for soap, water tanks for hand washing and face masks. We are also educating people about the need to cover their mouths," he said. - Modi prays - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he was praying for everyone's safety after chairing a virtual meeting on preparations Monday. Bangladesh's low-lying coast, home to 30 million people, and India's east are regularly battered by cyclones that have claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in recent decades. In 1999, the eastern Indian state of Odisha was hit by a super-cyclone that left nearly 10,000 dead. In 1991, a typhoon, tornadoes and flooding killed 139,000 in Bangladesh. While the storms' frequency and intensity have increased -- blamed partly on climate change -- deaths have fallen thanks to faster evacuations and more shelters.
Tiffany Trump Graduates From Law School

President Donald Trump on May 20 posted a tweet to send his congratulations to Tiffany Trump, the fourth of his five children, in support of her graduation from law school. Tiffany Trump took part in virtual commencement ceremonies, along with the rest of the class of 2020, from Georgetown Law School on Saturday.

Great student, great school, the President wrote in the tweet. Just what I need is a lawyer in the family. Proud of you, Tiff! A White House official told CNN, Trump has invited his daughter to the White House on Wednesday to congratulate her in person.

Tiffany Trumps mother, Marla Maples, who lives in New York, told CNN of Trumps academic accomplishment, Im so grateful. She has worked so hard. Maples also posted a lengthy video on her Instagram account on Tuesday evening, praising her daughters commitment to humanity and her study of ethics, saying at times Trump went several days without sleep to study. Im sure so many of you related, but always hard on us moms who love you so & and have prayed you through it (prayer hands emoji) @tiffanytrump and daddy @realdonaldtrump. Lara Trump, Tiffany Trumps sister-in-law, the wife of Eric Trump, also posted on her Instagram account on Tuesday evening, congratulating her and calling the moment bittersweet because of the CCP virus pandemic and being unable to celebrate in person.

Tiffany Trump and Lara Trump (then Lara Yunaska) at the Republican National Convention along with then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Ivanka Trump, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 20, 2016. (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

On Saturday, Tiffany posted to her Instagram account a video the law school made honoring graduates, writing, Congratulations to my fellow Georgetown Laws Class of 2020! We did it! We are now #Georgetownlawyers!

Tiffany Trump enrolled in Washingtons Georgetown Law School in 2017. Per Maples, she finished her final law school exams in May. Tiffany has not commented on what her next steps will be, career-wise, or whether she intends to take the bar exam. In an interview with ABC in 2016, prior to the presidential election and shortly after her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, her fathers alma mater, Tiffany Trump said she was interested in eventually joining the Trump family real estate and hospitality business.

One of Tiffany Trumps former Georgetown Law classmates told CNN the first daughter appeared to have a relatively normal academic experience while a student at Georgetown Law, considering her father is the President. However, it was always clear when she was on campus because two black sedans would be parked for hours outside the main campus security gate; protocol for children of the President includes full-time United States Secret Service protection.

Most of the students just ignored her, said the former classmate, noting Tiffany Trump blended in without much fanfare. The only difference is that her agents always attended classes with her, but she maintained a very low-profile.

Tiffany Trump lived in an off-campus apartment in Washington while school was in session. Shes had an occasional presence at the White House, mostly for family events. She is consistently photographed at the annual White House Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon ceremonies, as well as various Christmas celebrations. She attended the first Trump administration White House Easter Egg Roll. Since her father took office, Tiffany Trump has been part of the Trump family section of the gallery when the President delivers his annual State of the Union Address to Congress. But she has had very little of the ubiquitous public presence of Trumps three eldest children, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump, and it is unclear whether Tiffany Trump intends to hit the campaign trail with her siblings, virtually or otherwise, as the 2020 election season ramps up.

Tiffany Trump is among a handful of political offspring being celebrated with virtual commencement ceremonies this week. Audrey Pence, the youngest child of Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence, graduated Monday from Yale Law School. Pence, who is residing at the Vice Presidents official residence during CCP virus, held a virtual celebration with family Zoom-ing in, Kara Brooks, Karen Pences communications director, told CNN. Brooks said the vice president, second lady, and Audreys fiance, Daniel Tomanelli, celebrated with Audrey at the Vice Presidents residence. Audrey Pence wore the vice presidents law school graduation hood in homage to her father. He also gave Audrey her grandfathers first-semester law school books.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to give the commencement address on Wednesday afternoon to the graduating class of Columbia University Law School via the schools YouTube channel. Bidens granddaughter, Naomi Biden, who like Tiffany Trump, received her undergraduate degree in 2016 from the University of Pennsylvania, is part of Columbia Law Schools 2020 graduating class. She is the eldest daughter of Bidens son, Hunter Biden, and his ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times staff contributed to this report
Advertisement

Press Statement

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the revelation of over N48

billion fraud in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has,

again, exposed the monstrous corruption, sleaze and cover-ups going on

in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.

The party says the confession by the queried former Permanent Secretary

of the ministry, Dr. Umar Bello, that the duplicitous purchase of an

ordinary carcass building for a humongous cost of N7.044 billion passed

through the Federal Executive Council (FEC) further exposes the rot that

has permeated the Buhari administration.

The PDP holds that such revelation has again shown how the corrupt cabal

in the Buhari Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have

been pillaging our national treasury and fleecing our nation of billions

of naira through fraudulent transactions in various ministries,

departments and agencies, while parading before Nigerians as saints.

Nigerians were shocked by reports of how funds meant to service the food

security system in our country is being plundered by those in power,

resulting in the crippling of our agricultural sector thereby creating

attendant hunger and starvation in our land.

The PDP described as shameful that the FEC, under President Buharis

watch, is being fingered in financial manipulations and procurement

sleazes in the Agric ministry including the alleged disappearance of N48

billion contractors fund, over N7billion duplicated payments, diversion

of N9.1billion worth of drilling rigs to unnamed private individuals,

purchase of carcass building for N7.044 billion, in addition to

misapplication of billions of naira meant for strategic grains, rural

grazing area settlement funds and other food production intervention

schemes.

The fraud in the Ministry of Agriculture has further exposed how

officials of the Buhari administration and corrupt APC leaders have

turned government ministries and agencies into their Automated Teller

Machine (ATM) just as the case of exposed looting of billions of naira

in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Federal Inland

Revenue Services (FIRS), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

among others.

It is even more distressing that the corrupt cabal continues to enjoy

official cover while, in some cases, allowed to sacrifice their fronts

to conceal their tracks.

The PDP therefore rejects this attempt at cheap scapegoatism and demands

that the Buhari Presidency should immediately speak out and conduct an

open investigation that will expose all those involved in this huge scam

in the Ministry of Agriculture as well as recover the stolen funds.

Moreover, the PDP calls on the National Assembly as well as the Economic

and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately commence

investigation into the behemoth of fraud in the Federal Ministry of

Agriculture and Rural Development.

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan

National Publicity Secretary
Visitors browse at the display of Expedia during the International Tourism Trade Fair in Berlin.

Expedia reported its first quarter earnings after the bell on Wednesday, continuing to show the financial devastation the coronavirus is having on the travel industry.

Executives said during the company's earnings call that Expedia was seeing slight recovery and some greenshoots in May, but was still far from normal. Shares initially dropped on when the report was released, before gaining more than 4.5% in after-hours trading.

Here's what the company reported:

Loss of $1.83 per share

Revenue: $2.21 billion

The company's Q1 revenue decreased 15% year over year, Expedia reported. Expedia's adjusted net loss was $285 million for the quarter, up 545% year over year.

Expedia's lodging revenue decreased 10% in its first quarter, on a 14% decrease in room nights stayed, which it said was partly offset by a 5% increase in revenue per room night. Air revenue dropped 56%, which Expedia said was driven by a 41% decrease in revenue per ticket and a 26% decline in air tickets sold. Expedia also noted that advertising and media revenue decreased 23% in Q1.

"In January, gross bookings growth was positive, as COVID-19 modestly impacted results, with the virus largely limited to the Asia Pacific region," the company wrote.

"In February, gross bookings declined year over year as the virus spread, particularly into Europe by later in the month. During March, with COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic, including significantly impacting North America, our largest region, cancellations exceeded new bookings, and total gross bookings were negative for the month."

Wall Street had anticipated a loss per share of $1.23 on revenue of $2.20 billion, based on Refinitiv consensus estimates. However, it's difficult to compare reported earnings with analyst estimates for Expedia's first quarter, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to hit global economies and makes earnings impact difficult to assess.

Travel has dramatically slowed across the globe as governments ask people to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus. Expedia last month announced it was raising $3.2 billion in new capital to strengthen its financial flexibility and liquidity positions amid the pandemic.

"I think we learned a lot and we will be in much better shape in the future," CEO Peter Kern said.

Kern also brought up the company's reliance on performance marketing during its earnings call. Before the pandemic, Expedia had warned of the impacts from weakened visibility in Google search results.

Changes in the Google's search algorithm lessened its visibility on search results, causing a heavier reliance on paid advertising. Expedia and its peers, like Booking Holdings, spend heavily on Google, since so many travelers search for trips with terms like "flight to London" or "hotel in San Francisco."

"We've not been disciplined about it," he said. "We've chased unhealthy growth over the years, and Google and other performance marketing channels have tried to disintermediate us, and we've made some not terribly smart choices along the way."

Company executives said it was seeing week-by-week improvement throughout all of its sectors, but declined to give specific numbers.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.
President Donald Trumps declaration that he was taking a malaria drug of dubious effectiveness to help fend off the coronavirus will likely be welcomed in India.

Trumps previous endorsement of hydroxychloroquine catalyzed a tremendous shift in the South Asian country, spurring the worlds largest producer of the drug to make much more of it, prescribe it for front-line health workers treating the virus and deploy it as a diplomatic tool, despite mounting evidence against using the drug for Covid-19.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Trump said Monday that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a measure of protection against the virus. The US Food and Drug Administration, however, has cautioned against using it outside of hospitals because of the risk of serious heart problems.

Suhhil Gupta, a pharmacist in New Delhi, said Tuesday that Trumps announcement shouldnt carry any weight in India.

Hes not a pharmacist. His statements are not relevant to the field, Gupta said.

Still, Indias policy on the decades-old drug, used to prevent malaria and treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, drastically changed after Trump tweeted in March that the drug, used together with an antibiotic, could be game changers in the fight against the pandemic. Indias health ministry quickly approved it as a prophylactic for health care workers and others at high risk of infection, and as a treatment for critically ill patients.

Officials in Mumbai even drew up a plan to administer hydroxychloroquine to thousands of slum dwellers as a preventive measure against the virus.

Indian health officials have declined repeated requests for comment, limiting communications to daily health briefings, the last of which occurred May 11.

The rules say that drugs such as hydroxychloroquine be used only after a rigorous scientific and ethical review, continued oversight by an ethics committee and ensuring informed consent  none of which happened with hydroxychloroquine, according to Dr. Amar Jesani, a medical ethics expert.

The Mumbai proposal was ultimately shelved amid questions of the ethics of administering the malaria drug without first subjecting it to clinical trials. Still, the Indian government has recommended more and more people use it, contravening 2017 rules for emergency use of untested drugs, Jesani said.

India initially banned hydroxychloroquine exports, but lifted the ban after Trump threatened retaliation. At the same time, Indias government ordered manufacturers to ramp up production from 1.2 million to 3 million pills a month  causing company shares to skyrocket. From the US to Australia, sales jumped.

Officials have even said that Indian plantations could increase the growing capacity of cinchona trees, whose bark contains the compound quinine, which has been used to treat malaria since the 1860s. Quinine can also be made synthetically.

The Indian government itself purchased 100 million hydroxychloroquine pills, according to government data, to distribute to states and donate to countries including Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Dominican Republic.

India is the worlds largest producer of generic drugs, a fast-growing industry that has brought down pharmaceutical prices globally. During the HIV/AIDs crisis, India played a similar role as in the coronavirus pandemic, boosting global supplies of life-saving drugs.

The problem this time, experts say, is that the hydroxychloroquine hype is based on a flimsy study, with little to no evidence that it prevents or treats Covid-19.

Still, a sharp rise in demand has reduced supplies for patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Indias hurried guidance has also impeded scientific trials that could determine whether the benefits of taking hydroxychloroquine outweigh the risks.

We should do a trial. I think that is the right way to come to answer on this question. But the (government) made our job harder, said Dr. Bharath Kumar, whose team has proposed a trial.

Meanwhile, evidence against using hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus is growing.

A US study of 368 patients in veterans hospitals, the largest study yet examining the malaria drugs value as a coronavirus antidote, found no benefits and even more deaths among those given the drug.

The Indian governments own assessment of 19 drugs found that hydroxychloroquine wasnt the most promising. A task force noted that while hydroxychloroquine was readily available, the strength of scientific evidence for the mechanism of action was fairly low.

With more than 101,000 cases and 3,163 deaths, the coronavirus hasnt yet overwhelmed Indias limited health care system. But thats starting to change in some hot spots as a stringent weeks-long nationwide lockdown begins to ease, allowing for greater mobility of the countrys 1.3 billion people.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Maharashtra, the coastal state in central India bearing a third of Indias virus caseload. The states medical education and research agency has been administering hydroxychloroquine to patients in public hospitals and clinics, according to court records.

Agency chief Dr. Tatyarao P. Lahane said protocols set by Indias government were being followed and declined to answer further questions.

Dr. Shriprakash Kalantri of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Maharashtra said the government was recommending hydroxychloroquine for off label, or unapproved, use, meaning that patients must be told that there is a small but significant risk that it might harm you.

If there is no evidence backed by solid clinical trials, then why are the scientific bodies pushing this drug and giving an impression to the public that this is a magic bullet and this is your last hope? Kalantri said.
>>> Female scientists honoured for influenza, forestry research



>>> Vietnamese female scientists conquer influenza viruses

The award ceremony was held on May 19 by the Vietnam Womens Union Central Committee to celebrate the 130th birthday anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh.

The Kovalevskaya Award was named after the Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya and started to be presented in Vietnam in 1986. It is the first national award for female scientists.

The prestigious annual award is given to organisations and individuals who are female scientists and have excellent achievements in research and applying science into life, bringing benefits in different fields including economy, society and culture.

Since 1986, the award has been presented to 19 organisations and 48 individuals in various fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, medicine and information technology.

The Kovalevskaya Award 2019 was given to female scientists of the Influenza Laboratory of the Virus Department under the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha, Director of the Forestry Research and Development Institute under the Thai Nguyen University.

Research of the female scientists of the Influenza Laboratory helps ease the burden caused by influenza.

Orientation for the research was defined since 2003 when the SARS epidemic occurred in Vietnam. Since then, the team, led by Associate Prof. Le Thi Quynh Mai, joined surveys, took samples and conducted diagnosis of patients under treatment at the Vietnam-French Hospital since March 2003.

With experiences from the SARS epidemic, the team continued to undertake research on A/H5N1 bird flu on people in the country at the end of 2003.

At present, the anti-virus medicine Oseltamivir-Tamiflu was assessed as the most effective medicine for A/H5N1 and H1N1 treatment that has not been replaced or supplemented by any other medicine.

They also successfully isolated the new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), making Vietnam one of four countries to successfully isolate this virus.

Associate Prof. Dr. Ha was given the award after her research on breeding, propagation and intensive cultivation of trees. She also has researched propagation and rearing of non-timber forest products and medicinal herbs, application of molecular biology and molecular biochemistry and developing a number of precious local medicinal plants.
Lots of Tucsonans got sick in late January or early February and have spent the last couple of months wondering if they had COVID-19.

The culprit everyone points their finger at: The gem show. The annual Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, which runs for two weeks usually starting in the last days of January, attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world, and we interact with them at restaurants, hotels, theaters, at the shows themselves.

Its so common that people pass around sicknesses at the show that its long been nicknamed The Germ Show.

But thanks to genetic sequencing and antibody testing, we can start to come to a pretty strong conclusion about whether COVID-19 arrived in Tucson then and circulated along with the cash and fossils. The best information so far: It probably did not.

Your sickness, if you got sick then, was probably just a flu or another common illness.

That conclusion comes from a variety of sources. One of the most interesting is the genetic sequencing done by Michael Worobey, a friend of mine who heads the University of Arizonas department of ecology and evolutionary biology.

By analyzing the genetic mutations of the virus from samples taken in Arizona, Worobey and colleagues can trace back when the initial clusters of infection were happening here. These mutations happen in the novel coronavirus at a pace of one every two weeks, he said.

We have evidence that if youre as generous as possible, there could be an Arizona cluster that goes back as far as mid-February, he said. We think later February and March is more likely for when the first productive transmission clusters got started.
CHICAGO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Veterinary Monitoring Equipment Market by Type (Vital Signs Monitor, Anesthesia Monitor, ECG Monitor), Target Area (Respiratory diseases, Weight Monitoring), Animal Type (Dogs, Cats, Equines), End User (Veterinary Clinic), Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Veterinary Monitoring Equipment Market is projected to reach USD 570 million by 2025 from USD 326 million in 2019, at a CAGR of 9.8%.

Download PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=130961889

Growth in this market is driven by the increasing focus on animal health among pet owners, the growing prevalence of diseases among companion animals, growing companion animal population, rising demand for pet insurance, growing animal health expenditure, and the rising number of veterinary practitioners & income levels in developed economies.

By type, vital sign monitors are expected to account for the largest share of the veterinary monitoring equipment market.

Based on type, the veterinary monitoring equipment market has been segmented into vital sign monitors, anesthesia monitors, capnography & oximetry systems, ECG & EKG monitors, MRI systems, and other equipment. In 2018, the vital sign monitors segment accounted for the largest share of the global veterinary monitoring equipment market. Growth in this segment is mainly driven by the increasing focus on companion animal health coupled with the need for continuous monitoring to prevent serious illnesses, increasing pet care expenditure, and technological advancements such as wireless monitors being introduced in the market.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Veterinary Monitoring Equipment Market"

155 - Tables

37 - Figures

193 - Pages





The increasing adoption of small companion animals is driving the growth of the small companion animals segment.

Based on animal type, the veterinary monitoring equipment market is segmented into small companion animals, large animals, and other animals (zoo animals, aquatic animals, and exotic animals). The small companion animals segment accounted for the largest market share in 2018. Increasing adoption of companion animals, increased focus on safety, increased expenditure on animal health and preventive care, aging pet population, and advancements in animal health products are the major factors driving the growth of this market segment.

Veterinary clinics form the largest end-user segment in the veterinary monitoring equipment market.

Based on end user, the veterinary monitoring equipment market is segmented into veterinary hospitals, veterinary clinics & diagnostic centers, and research institutes. Veterinary clinics & diagnostic centers accounted for the largest share of the veterinary monitoring equipment market in 2018. The increasing pet population across the globe, increasing awareness regarding pet insurance, rising disposable income, and the increasing number of private practices are supporting the growth of this market segment.

Get 10% Customization on this Research Report:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=130961889





In 2018, North America accounted for the largest share of the veterinary monitoring equipment market.

In 2018, North America dominated the global veterinary monitoring equipment market, followed by Europe. The large share of North America can be attributed to the increasing population of companion animals, rising veterinary healthcare expenditure, growing population of livestock (due to the high and growing consumption of meat and dairy products), and growing penetration of pet insurance in the region.

Prominent players in the veterinary monitoring equipment market include Smiths Group plc. (UK), DRE Veterinary (US), Digicare Biomedical Technology (US), Midmark Corporation (US), Medtronic plc. (Ireland), Bionet America, Inc. (Korea), SonoScape Medical Corporation (China), Hallowell EMC (US), MinXray, Inc. (US), Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging Ltd. (UK), Esaote S.p.A (Italy), Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Belgium), Nonin Medical, Inc. (US), Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. (China), Covetrus, Inc. (US), Vetland Medical Sales & Services LLC (US), Masimo Corporation (US), Burtons Medical Equipment Ltd. (UK), Vetronic Services (UK), and IMV Technologies (France).

Browse Adjacent Markets: Medical Devices Market Research Reports & Consulting

Get Special Pricing on Bundle Reports:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/RequestBundleReport.asp?id=130961889





Browse Related Reports:





Veterinary Equipment and Disposables Market by Product (Consumables, Anesthesia Machines, Ventilators, Patient Monitoring, Oxygen Masks, Infusion Pumps), Animal (Cats, Dogs, Equines, Bovines), End User (Hospitals, Clinics) - Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/veterinary-equipment-disposables-market-14169630.html

Companion Animal Diagnostics Market by Technology (Immunodiagnostic, Clinical Biochemistry, Hematology, Urine Analysis), Application (Clinical Pathology, Virology, Bacteriology, Parasitology), Animal (Dog, Cat, Horse), End-User - Global Forecast to 2025

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/companion-animal-diagnostic-market-173823870.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Aashish Mehra

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com

Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/veterinary-monitoring-equipment-market.asp

Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com

Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/veterinary-monitoring-equipment.asp

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg
The government announced a fiscal package to provide relief to various segments and support the Indian economys fight against covid-19. With the announcement of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the government has tried to balance between immediate relief measures and structural reforms in various sectors. Although the details of the INR 20 lakh crores (~10% of GDP) package, which followed in five tranches, shows that the tilt is more towards providing credit/liquidity facility and medium-to-long term spending/reforms, rather than the much needed direct stimulus spending to revive consumption.

A host of the measures announced are focused on farmers, lower segment of the society, MSMEs, and the rural sector. Steps already announced, such as supplying food grains, gas cylinders, cash transfer, will provide some immediate respite to the poor, including migrants and farmers. The farm sector will be injected with additional liquidity via emergency working capital and Kisan credit card scheme. Much of this is dependent on how well small and marginal farmers are able to utilize additional credit. Increased allocation for MGNREGS will provide immediate employment boost to migrants and laborers. This should have a positive impact on rural consumption demand. EPF support to business and workers will provide some immediate relief.

Measures announced for the Medium Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) will significantly improve the availability of credit. A 100% credit guarantee cover to banks and NBFCs on principal and interest should incentivize them to lend, but credit demand by MSMEs may see a muted response as the outlook for business activity remains weak. Loans will have a moratorium of twelve months on principal repayment, although the interest burden would increase. The revised definition of MSMEs to benefit setups from a long-term perspective.

The government also announced a special liquidity scheme for NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs as they are finding it difficult to raise money in the debt markets. Under this scheme, the investment will be made in both primary and secondary market transactions in investment-grade debt papers. This, along with Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0 for NBFCs/HFCs/MFIs, will ease concerns on the supply side, i.e. availability of credit. These measures will provide liquidity support and help in easing current stress in the NBFC space. RBI has also announced various measures to provide adequate liquidity to the banking system. Despite the combined efforts of the government and the RBI, risk-averse sentiment prevails, and banks continue to park chunk of money with RBI. From the credit demand side, businesses and individuals would be less keen on utilizing credit facility amid poor economic and business outlook.

Liquidity injection for DISCOMs should help in reducing the financial stress and improve distribution efficiency. Housing sector boost via an extension (up to March 2021 from March 2020) of Credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Affordable housing scheme) may not deliver desired results as the demand for residential projects could see a major hit.

Private sector participation in the coal and mineral sectors will improve efficiency and reduce import dependency. FDI limit in the defence manufacturing under automatic route will be raised from 49% to 74%. This should help in bringing down defence import bill over the long term.

The government is working on the next phase of Ease of Doing Business reforms relating to easy registration of property, fast disposal of commercial disputes, and simpler tax regime for making India one of the easiest places to do business. The government should act soon on this front as India could benefit from global manufacturers shifting hubs away from China/South Korea.

The government announced suspension of fresh initiation of insolvency proceedings under IBC up to one year, depending upon the pandemic situation. The central government will exclude the covid-19 related debt from the definition of default under IBC to trigger insolvency proceedings. This should provide some relief in the current stressed market conditions.

The government will work towards the Privatization of PSEs in non-strategic sectors. The number of enterprises in strategic sectors will be only one to four, and others will be privatized/ merged/ brought under holding companies. This would help the government in consolidating PSEs, release capital, and improve overall efficiency.

Other schemes such as Agri infrastructure fund, micro food enterprises, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund, extension of ESIC coverage and few others  are long drawn in nature and may not help on an immediate basis as a direct fiscal boost.

State net borrowing limits increased to 5% from 3% for FY2020-21. States have so far borrowed only 14% of the limit, whereas 86% of the authorized borrowing remains unutilized. The borrowing will be linked to specific reforms  universalisation of One Nation One Ration card, Ease of doing business, Power distribution and Urban local body revenues. Given that states usually borrow heavily in the later part of the year, we may see SDL spreads widening with the increased borrowing.

Fiscal budget at a glance  Tax revenue would see a significant shortfall in Q1 FY21 with muted business activity in Q1 FY21. Non-tax revenue could also see low realization  dependent on Air India, privatization of IDBI bank and LIC stake sale. Telecom spectrum dues may also be lower than budgeted. Petrol and diesel excise duty hike should fill in some gap. The government will be much more selective with budgetary spendings; particularly, capital expenditure may see a drop with the announcement of measures to fight against covid-19. The government has already announced additional market borrowing as one of the means to finance the fiscal gap. There may be further additional borrowing via dated securities or short-term instruments if the revenue collection worsens in the coming months. Market estimates suggests fiscal deficit to be in the range of 7%- 8% of GDP for FY2020-21.

The package announced has got a limited impact on boosting consumption demand in the short term. Market estimates suggests that the direct impact of reforms comes to around just 1% of GDP. To a large extent, the measures announced do not address the current stress in sectors such as hospitality, aviation, tourism, autos, real estate, etc. The reform measures announced would have a positive impact over the coming years, but the near term support largely remains unaddressed.

How Are We Positioned?

When markets are moving steadily higher, participants often take a long-term perspective to justify investment decisions. However, when markets tumble, the opposite is often truethey focus on the very short-term instead of the next decade. We remain focused on assessing market attractiveness across asset classes over the next ten years. The global growth slowdown amid the covid-19 outbreak casts doubt on the Indian growth story in the near term. However, over the medium to long term, productive capacity should return, reviving economic growth. Accordingly, our estimated 10-year valuation implied return is driven by a suitably strong trend growth and improving earnings for the Indian markets.

We at Morningstar follow a well-reasoned and principled framework for investing with one of our seven investment principles being were valuation-driven investors.

In the last couple of months, the portfolios underwent a major rebalancing activity. We decided to add equities with excess cash and debt to allow us to take advantage of better opportunities as equity market valuations saw improvement. We continue to review the markets, and our valuation implied return forecasts. Across all four portfolios, we are now slightly overweight domestic Large- cap equity, and our underweight position in domestic Mid and Small-cap equities is narrowed further with improving valuation-implied return forecasts.

On the international equity front, we have made adjustments via rebalancing weights to keep the allocation in line with the target. Based on our valuation-driven asset allocation approach, we are underweight U.S. equities as compared to our neutral or benchmark weight as U.S. equities continue to rank amongst our least favored country/region, due to high valuations on the back of a strong bull run over the last ten years up to 2019. Europe and Asia ex-Japan are relatively more attractive than U.S. equities, and we continue to remain overweight in Europe and Asia ex-Japan as compared to our benchmark allocation.

On the fixed-income side, we continue to favor medium-long term debt over cash and short-term debt as the real rates remain relatively attractive. Lately, corporate bond spreads have widened and are trading significantly above their long-term averages (+2 std. deviation from the historical mean)  reflecting a risk-averse sentiment despite adequate liquidity in the banking system. The risk premia across rating profile, (including AAA-rated issuers) increased amid weak business outlook and deteriorating willingness to lend to corporate borrowers. This, along with strong redemption pressure from mutual fund investors amid a flight to safety, led to a further rise in spreads. Although liquidity support announced by RBI and the government should improve the market sentiment. We are evaluating the credit segment, particularly the AAA and AA corporate bonds, given high credit spreads.

In this unique economic situation, we are actively reviewing our views across asset classes and portfolio positioning.
Our Divisions

Copyright  2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics.
The members of the House of Representatives have called on the executive branch to set up a strategic N15billion Coronavirus Emergency Fund for Nigerian Universities and Tertiary Institutions.

The lower legislative chambers expressed that this initiative should be carried out as a palliative for the impact of Coronavirus pandemic on academic, research and administrative operations.

Also Read: Bill Gates Denies Offering $10 Million For Passage Of Health Bill By Reps

The House made the call as part of its resolutions at plenary on Tuesday.

Advertisement

This was in response to a motion moved by Hon. Steve Azaiki over the suspension of academic activities at tertiary institutions as a result of the COVID-19.

According to Azaiki, the structure of Nigerias university and tertiary institutions may never remain the same especially in the absence of an effective therapy or vaccine for the COVID-19 as well as mass testing and even a new strategic infusion of federal funding.

The reps also urged Nigerian Universities and Tertiary Institutions to launch a Coronavirus Student Emergency Fund, where indigent and vulnerable students can apply for student emergency grant to assist them recover from the economic impact of the COVID19 pandemic.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Berlin  Wed, May 20, 2020 14:52 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd93cc1c 2 News Italy,Germany,travel,tourism,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio is appealing to Germans to shed their coronavirus fears and spend their holidays in Italy this summer.

Italy is planning to reopen to European tourists from early June and scrap a 14-day mandatory quarantine period as part of a phased exit from its coronavirus lockdown.

"Come and visit our beaches, our sea, our mountain villages, enjoy our cuisine. We are ready to welcome you with a smile," Di Maio said in an interview with Germany's leading Bild daily due to be published Wednesday.

The government enforced an economically crippling shutdown in early March to counter a pandemic that has so far killed more than 32,000 people in Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries in the world.

The shutdown halted all holidaymaking in a country heavily dependent on the tourism industry.

Di Maio said Italy was "ready to receive tourists from Europe with the necessary security", citing a significant drop in coronavirus cases.

"From mid-June to September it will be possible to travel in Italy without any problems," he said, adding that "clear health protocols are in place in the accommodation facilities".

Germany still has a warning in force until mid-June against taking foreign holidays despite the easing of regulations among European partners.

But Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has indicated Germany will be prepared to ease the travel warning sooner for Europe than for other countries.

With the tourism sector reeling, the European Commission last week urged EU countries to gradually reopen shuttered internal borders and to treat each member state according to the same criteria.
Rolls-Royce is to cut 9,000 jobs from its workforce as the aerospace giant navigates the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The job losses will affect the companys civil aerospace business, plus its central support functions, and could result result in 700m in savings, Rolls-Royce said.

The firm, which supplies engines for large aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350, is targeting an annual cost savings of 1.3bn.

It said it will also cut spending across its plant, property and other areas to strengthen its finances.

Chief executive Warren East said: This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it.

Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.

Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.

But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

Air travel has slumped since March as countries have closed borders and restricted travel to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Airlines have subsequently been forced to cancel flights and ground planes, hurting Rolls-Royce which earns revenues from the number of hours its engines fly.

The company, which employs 52,000 people globally and has its headquarters in Derby, also suggested the job cuts could lead to a closure of factories.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr East said: We are reviewing our footprint because, obviously, when you wind an operation down below a certain level then it becomes uneconomic, so that might be possible.

He said the firm had not yet decided exactly where the job losses will be, and will now begin the process of consulting with unions.

Mr East added: Its fair to say that of our civil aerospace business approximately two-thirds of the total employees are in the UK at the moment and thats probably a good first proxy.
Engine maker Rolls-Royce said Wednesday it plans to cut some 9,000 jobs globally as it grapples with the collapse in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company based in Derby, England, employs 52,000 people overall, and didn't specify which regions would take the hardest blow. CEO Warren East said most of the cuts will take place in the civil aerospace business, where two-thirds of UK employees work. Negotiations are set to begin with unions.

Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce,'' East said. But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

The company immediately came under criticism, however, since it has furloughed some 4,000 workers under a government programme to pay some of the wages of people affected by the crisis. The unions insisted taxpayers deserved a more responsible approach to a national emergency.

The that Rolls-Royce is preparing to throw thousands of skilled, loyal, world-class workers, their families and communities under the bus during the worst public health crisis since 1918 is shameful opportunism,'' said Steve Turner, assistant general secretary of Unite. This company has accepted public money to furlough thousands of workers.'' The reorganization will lead to cuts resulting in some 700 million pounds ($856 million) in savings with an overall aim of 1.3 billion pounds in annual savings.

The cuts at a big supplier for the aviation industry are a dark signal for Britain's overall economy. Thousands of jobs in a wider pipeline support operations at Rolls-Royce.

It also suggests that government efforts to cushion the COVID-19 blow won't be enough for aviation. Leaders in the sector have been appealing for help.

Airlines around the world have grounded their fleets amid pandemic restrictions on travel and received government-backed rescue loans. Carriers and planemakers like Boeing are cutting jobs heavily as they expect lasting damage to aviation.

Rolls-Royce warned earlier this month that flying hours for its engines dived by 90 per cent in April.

This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it,'' East said. Our airline customers and air-frame partners are having to adapt and so must we.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Intense shelling of civilian-populated areas and key infrastructure in and around the Libyan capital of Tripoli has escalated over the past several weeks, despite a 24-hour curfew enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the Libyan health ministry announced that seven more civilians were killed and 17 others injured when shellfire launched by the Libyan National Army (LNA), under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, struck a shelter in the Fornaj district of the Libyan capital for people previously displaced by the conflict. Among those killed in the Saturday artillery barrage was a five-year-old boy from Bangladesh.

Libya has been the scene of a bloody civil war since the NATO-led bombing and assassination of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. For nearly a decade, armed factions serving as proxies for foreign interests have been carrying out a protracted fight that has led to the division of the country into two competing power centers. The LNA, which controls vast swaths of eastern and southern Libya and is aligned with an influential faction within the House of Representatives, a rival parliamentary body that relocated to the eastern city of Tobruk near the Egyptian border in 2014, is being armed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France and Russia.

Until recently, the LNA had scored a series of military successes since initiating its Western offensive last year to overthrow the UN-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is based in Tripoli. The GNA is being backed by Italy and Turkey.

The United States has backed both sides in the conflict. While initially supporting the GNA government immediately following the 2015 Skhirat Agreement, the Trump administration has recently signaled support for Haftar, a former Gaddafi general and long-time CIA asset, after his forces launched their offensive to take Tripoli.

Saturdays shelling followed a previous attack on May 8, in which LNA artillery fire struck the Port of Tripoli, the Mitigia International Airport and a coastal road close to the residences of the Italian and Turkish ambassadors, killing at least three, including one civilian. That same week, five other civilians were reported killed and 46 others injured in similar attacks. In late April, LNA artillery fire struck the Royal Hospital in Tripoli resulting in extensive damage to its intensive care unit and prompting an evacuation of patients and staff.

In one of the bloodiest attacks to take place during the year-long siege of the Libyan capital, 53 migrant men and boys were killed and 130 others injured last July when an LNA airstrike hit the Tajoura Detention Center, a migrant holding facility located on the outskirts of Tripoli, where over 600 refugees, who had been attempting to reach Europe, were imprisoned under inhumane conditions.

For its part, the GNA government forces have recently stepped up their efforts to retake two strategic footholds controlled by Haftar loyalists in the western part of the country.

Last month GNA forces began a counteroffensive to recapture the al-Watiya airbase, a strategic LNA foothold located southwest of Tripoli, from which Haftars forces have been launching air raids against the area in and around the capital. The GNA counteroffensive was prepared for by weeks of aerial bombing carried out using newly acquired armed drones supplied by Turkey. The GNA has also recently intensified its airstrikes against the city of Tarhouna, a critical operations center along LNA supply lines extending from Bani Walid, located southeast of the capital.

A UN report released earlier this year found that since the beginning of the LNAs western offensive through the end of last year, at least 287 civilians were killed and 369 others injured. Airstrikes have accounted for 60 percent of civilian deaths.

Libya possesses substantial oil and natural gas deposits, the majority of which are located in fields within the Sirte Basin to the east, an area that saw intense civil war fighting in 2016, and the El Sharara and El Feel fields within the southwestern Murzuq Desert.

There is an extensive network of pipelines that connect the oil and gas fields in the south to export terminals along the northern coast. Due to its crippled industrial infrastructure and limited processing capacity, much of Libyas domestic oil consumption is dependent on refined oil that is reimported from countries like Italy.

The civil war in Libya is fueled by a complex interplay between the competing interests of international energy monopolies on the one hand, and local power struggles to control oil and gas export revenues on the other.

The Italian energy giant ENI, through its joint venture with Libyas National Oil Corporation, (NOC) controls the el-Feed oil field along with other concessions in the Ghadames Basin in the southwest of the country, as well as critical export and refining facilities in the north to which oil and gas extracted from French, Spanish, Austrian and Norwegian-controlled sites within the el-Sharara field, also in the southwest, must be transported through existing pipelines. Until recently, this had given Italian interests significant leverage over their international competitors.

Additionally, while nearly two thirds of oil and gas production in Libya takes place in territory currently controlled by the LNA in the east, export revenues are collected by the UN-recognized GNA government in Tripoli.

The recent sharp plunge in international oil prices has only exacerbated tensions. In January, the LNA began a systematic blockade of export terminals and pipelines in the west in an effort to deny the GNA government critical export revenue. Oil production has dropped significantly since the beginning of the blockade from an estimated 1.2 million to 300,000 bpd, with an estimated loss of $1.4 billion in revenue to the NOCs coffers.

Adding further complexity to the situation, Turkeys intervention into the conflict on behalf of the GNA is rooted in broader regional conflicts within the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara, which has significant investments in Libya, recently signed a maritime border demarcation agreement with the GNA government to obtain rights to offshore drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, a highly contested area with newfound deposits from which Turkeys neighbors are attempting to exclude it. The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), which includes Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Italy and Egypt, is attempting to position itself as a major player in the European energy market, while marginalizing Turkish influence in the region. The formation of the EMGF also poses a direct challenge to Russian natural gas interests in the European market.

The mounting toll in terms of civilian casualties in Libyas protracted civil war represents yet a further indictment of the fraudulent humanitarian pretexts advanced by pseudo-left academics and parties to justify their support for imperialist intervention. They portrayed the 2011 US-NATO bombardment of Libya and use of Al Qaeda-linked militias as proxy ground forces as a crusade for democracy and human rights. In fact, it was a war for regime change and plunder that shattered Libya society, killed tens of thousands and now could cost the lives of many more because of the countrys unpreparedness in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police have rescued 14 health workers who were held captive at a hotel in Mexico City in a 'virtual kidnapping' by criminals who threatened them via video chat and phone calls.

The physicians were part of a group who had traveled from Monterrey to treat coronavirus patients at a temporary hospital.

The Mexican Social Security Institute said the workers were threatened via phone or video calls, with the criminals claiming they had control of the hotel surveillance cameras and warning the workers they would be attacked if they tried to leave.

The criminals also called the workers' relatives and 'informed them that they were holding their family members and if they didn't deposit a certain quantity of money, would do them harm,' according to the prosecutor's office.

Health workers in Mexico City are reunited with their family members Tuesday after they spent 14 hours kidnapped in two hotels

A team of health workers meet their family members Tuesday after they were rescued by the police from their captors, who forced them to get naked and threatened to harm them

The group was woken up at about 2am local time and told to report to a room in the Dos Mundos Hotel to meet with the nursing department's director.

But they were ambushed by a single armed man wearing a military uniform, according to a 28-year-old nurse, who identified himself as Enrique in an interview with Mexican news outlet Milenio.

The doctors then received a series of video calls from gang members who demanded money, and claimed that there were gunmen outside their rooms and snipers watching the hotel.

'There was only one [gun man] and there were two virtual calls, but I don't know if it was fear or if they were really outside, because they told us that they were watching us, that they had snipers who were allied with the government,' Enrique said.

The victims, who were held for 14 hours, were forced to get naked and reveal their financial information.

The gunman took Enrique to a local ATM and forced him to withdraw $14,700 from one bank account and $2,200 from a second account.

The gang then received $5,200 that Enrique's mother had deposited into his account from the United States.

The Mexico City prosecutor's office is looking into whether staff at two hotels assisted a gang with Tuesday's kidnapping

The workers were eventually found in two hotels in the Tacubaya district by cops who were searching for another kidnap victim.

The Mexico City prosecutor's office was looking into whether the hotels' staff had played any type of role in assisting the gang members, who according to Enrique were part of a cartel, whose name he could not remember.

Some of the health workers who were kidnapped were held at Ambos Mundos Hotel in the Mexico City district of Tacubaya

A temporary medical facility has been set up on the grounds of the Hermanos Rodriguez Racetrack in Mexico City, where patients who are sickened with COVID-19 are being treated

The Social Security Institute said the kidnapping didn't immediately appear to be part of the harassment and sometimes attacks on health workers by people fearful of the new coronavirus.

The captured physicians were brought in to Mexico City to work at a temporary hospital that was set up at the Hermanos Rodriguez Racetrack.

Health officials said Tuesday that 20 percent of the more than 54,300 confirmed infections in Mexico involve health workers.
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) today announced the recipients of its 30th annual Courage in Journalism Awards. Marking 30 years of exceptional courage in reporting, this year's winners include Jessikka Aro of Finland's Yle; imprisoned Egyptian multimedia journalist Solafa Magdy; Yakeen Bido, a freelance broadcast journalist in Syria; and, Uighur journalist of Radio Free Asia, Gulchehra Hoja.

"Right now, the pursuit of truth, and the need for diverse journalism, is at a critical high," said the IWMF's Executive Director Elisa Lees Munoz. "This year's Courage in Journalism Award winners remind us that those who tell the world's most vital stories, whatever the risk may be, are our true heroes. We congratulate Jessikka, Solafa, Yakeen and Gulchehra for your spectacular work and uncommon bravery."

Jessikka Aro reports from the frontlines of Russian information warfare, conducting courageous investigations inside troll factories while enduring incessant attacks and sexual harassment. Committed to stories of human rights and social unrest, Solafa Magdy was arrested in Cairo in November 2019 for her reporting and is still imprisoned under deteriorating conditions. Yakeen Bido broadcasts from one of the most dangerous environments on earth  Idleb  and is the first woman to appear on-camera from the city to document the price of war on the vulnerable. Having lost everything except for her life, Gulchehra Hoja reports on Uighur detention camps in China. Her entire family faces constant government surveillance, harassment and have endured numerous detentions.

"I am extremely honored to receive the Courage in Journalism Award," says Hoja. "I hope this recognition will encourage fellow journalists and many others to stand up for justice and truth." Bido adds, "This award is a symbol of courage not only for me, but for all women working in the press." She continues, "It is an honor to have my name among the other winners  women who sacrifice their personal freedom in order to face social injustice."

About the 2019 Courage in Journalism Winners

Jessikka Aro (Finland)

Journalist, Yle  @JessikkaAro

Jessikka Aro's focus as a journalist  Russian information warfare  is a self-proclaimed, "life's calling." In 2014, Jessikka launched a project on Kremlin-related trolls, their impact on Finland and freedom of speech. Since then, Jessikka's reporting with the Finnish Broadcasting Company has received numerous awards and taken her to troll factories in St. Petersburg. However, the past six years have also brought crude attacks from pro-Russia activists. Even though she was forced to flee her home for two years in 2016, the sexual harassment and death threats do not dissuade Jessikka. Her book, "Putinin Trollit," was published last September, and in 2019 she received the International Women of Courage Award, which was rescinded by the U.S. Department of State, reportedly because of Aro's criticism of the Trump administration on social media.

Read more of Jessikka's story here.

Solafa Magdy (Egypt)

Multimedia Freelance Journalist

Solafa Magdy is a multimedia reporter based in Cairo. Her reports have covered political transition and social unrest in Egypt, minority rights, women's rights, education, human rights, refugees and sexual harassment in Egyptian society. Her work has appeared in Alroeya (UAE), TRT World, Mada Masr and BBC Egypt. An expert in mobile journalism, she is the founder of Everyday Footage, a school that trains young women journalists and researchers in mobile reporting. Solafa has been imprisoned in excruciating conditions since November 2019, when she was abducted and detained following a raid of independent news outlets in Cairo. She has been jailed in pre-trail detention without access to a fair trial, exceeding what is lawfully prescribed in Egyptian law.

Read more of Solafa's story here.

Yakeen Bido (Syria)

Broadcast Freelance Journalist  @AlhasanMahar

Yakeen Bido spent her early years in Idleb moving between her hometown and latakia during the onset of Syrian war in 2011. Following her studies in sociology, Yakeen returned to Idleb, and for five years she's reported on political, military and humanitarian issues enduring violent interrogations, smear campaigns and multiple arrests. Syria ranks 174 out of 180 countries in the RSF 2020 Global Press Freedom Index, but Bido continues to report on-camera  she is the first woman to broadcast from the region. Risking her life from the frontlines, Yakeen faces death threats from Assad regime-supporters due to her identification as a woman and role as a journalist.

Read more of Yakeen's story here.

Gulchehra Hoja (Xinjiang region of China)

Broadcaster, Radio Free Asia  @GulchehraHoja

When Gulchehra Hoja began reporting for Xinjiang TV, pressure to promote the Communist Party led her to Radio Free Asia (RFA), which offered the only autonomous Uighur-language news outside of China. After joining RFA in the U.S., Gulchehra was sent a "red notice" from China, banning her from returning home. Today, two dozen of her family members  among an estimated 800,000 to 2 million Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in detainment  face "cultural genocide," according to Gulchehra. Categorized as "re-education" facilities, these detention camps in Xinjiang also include crematoriums. Following Gulchehra's risky interviews with escapees, prison guards and other officials, she testified in front of the U.S. House of Representative's Committee on Foreign Affairs on the dangers of reporting on human rights.

Read more of Gulchehra's story here.

Celebrating 30 years of the Courage in Journalism Award, the IWMF would like to thank Bank of America, our National Presenting Sponsor for the 14th consecutive year, for its commitment to journalism, the IWMF and the pursuit of press freedom. Support and funding for the Courage in Journalism Awards sustains critical programs, including direct support for the IWMF's Emergency Fund, which supports female journalists in crisis.

About the International Women's Media Foundation

Founded in 1989, the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) is the only global non-profit organization that offers emergency support, safety training, grants, skills building and reporting opportunities specifically for female journalists. We are making more women-produced reporting possible and work tirelessly to ensure a greater diversity of voices represented in the news industry worldwide. Follow the IWMF on Twitter at @IWMF, on Facebook at @IWMFPage and Instagram on @TheIWMF.

SOURCE The International Women's Media Foundation

Related Links

www.iwmf.org


This franchise profile gives key insight into the Nothing Bundt Cakes with a mention of key takeaways as a conclusion. The profile provides a consolidated and up to date information about the company, including the financial performance and/or number of stores owned and franchised by it.

Report Scope:

The scope of this franchise profile report is precise and covers the companys background along with its present performance in the market. The major sections of the profile include: overview, products offered, recent developments and strategies undertaken, challenges faced, business strategy and analysis, and financial information. The report also includes revenue forecasts, presence of franchisee stores, market forecasts and key people of the company.

The report concludes with any other important information about the company and key takeaways.

Request for Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11703

Report Includes:

 An overview of the franchise profile on Nothing Bundt Cakes

 Insights into recent developments, key takeaways, business strategy, franchise cost analysis, along with growth forecast by revenue

 Snapshot of major company events since its inception

 Tabular form of company offered food items by product category

 Information on total number of franchises present and states with the maximum number of franchises

Summary

More Info of Impact Covid19@ link: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/11703

Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded in 1997 in Las Vegas, Nev. by Debra Shwetz and Dena Tripp. The company has a presence in the United States and Canada, with 292 bakeries operating as of February 2019 and another 13 franchises signed and expected to be operational by the end of 2019. The company is looking to sign more franchises across the United States in 2019. The company is well -known for its handcrafted recipes, ingredient mix and the imaginative decorations. The company adopted a franchise model in 2007 and in 2008 opened its first franchise in Poway, Calif. In the last decade the company has expanded its franchise business to over 292 branches across the United States and Canada.

We started Nothing Bundt Cakes with the goal of providing the highest quality cakes to guests with exceptional service  Dena Tripp, co-founder of Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Having SPM full time as part of our marketing mix will be a great asset for our bakery owners as we continue to grow nationally  Steve McGehee, chief marketing officer, Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Request for Report Discount: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11703
THE fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic should play to DCC's strengths as the diversified distribution group looks to expand and broaden its geographical range with acquisitions, according to chief executive Donal Murphy.

The Irish group, which is already active in 20 countries across Europe, North America and Asia, distributes fuel, electronics and health and beauty products.

DCC has spent 3.3bn (3.68bn) on acquisitions in the last 26 years. It currently has 1.7bn (1.9bn) of cash on its balance sheet and 350m of committed facilities. Its net debt to ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) ratio is just 0.1 times.

It also committed yesterday to paying a final dividend of 95.79p per share, up 2.6pc on the figure last year. Shares in the company, which are listed in London, were up 5.7pc by late morning, giving DCC a 6.2bn (6.9bn) market capitalisation.

Pressure

"We've always maintained a strong balance sheet because we believe the best time to be buying businesses is when it's not a sellers' market," Mr Murphy told the Irish Independent.

"Clearly the current environment will put a lot of pressure on people and that should play into our strong spot.

"We've more platforms for capital deployment than we've ever had.

"We're very proactive in terms of looking for the opportunities, but we do want to extend a bit geographically. We'll continue to build out the business geographically into new markets and within the markets that we're in."

The group committed 170m (190m) to acquisitions in the period. It bought US firm Amerilab Technologies in March for $85m. Amerilab is a contract manufacturer of effervescent nutritional products. It also bought contract manufacturer Ion Labs in Florida.

Mr Murphy was speaking as DCC published a strong set of full-year results for the 12 months to the end of March.

The group's revenue slipped 3.1pc to 14.7bn, while its adjusted operating profit was 7.3pc higher at 494.3m (552.3m).

The company said that it has continued to trade robustly and profitably during the pandemic.

While fuel sales have declined, sales of health products have risen. Sales of some technology items also performed well. DCC is a major distributor of heating oil, commercial fuel and owns petrol stations in France and Sweden. It is also a major LPG distributor.

Mr Murphy said the collapse in oil prices in recent weeks is ultimately beneficial for the group, but has an overall marginal impact.

"It's not that material," he said. "Lower oil prices, from where we sit, are better for our customers - it's cheaper for them, it reduces credit risk so we kind of like lower oil prices. It can also be helpful from an M&A perspective because it puts pressure on the big oil companies."

Mr Murphy said that fuel demand in Sweden, where there was no mandatory lockdown, had remained relatively stable during the past number of weeks.

In France, where there was a stringent lockdown, there was a big impact on fuel demand, he said.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened up about becoming a grandfather for the first time.

The Terminator stars daughter, Katherine, and her husband Jurassic World actor Chris Pratt, are set to welcome their first child together later this year.

Speaking about his daughters pregnancy during an appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the 72-year-old said: Can you believe that? That is really exciting news that Katherine now [to] be pregnant and have a babyI dont know when exactly, but sometime this summer.

And, inevitably, Im really looking forward to playing around with whatever it is, she or he, and have some fun. This is a unique experience.

Recommended Natalie Portman shares rare photograph of children on Instagram

Arnold continued to rave about his future grandchild and admitted that the babys impressive lineage has not been lost on him.

The babys gene pool will include Schwarzenegger blood coupled with that of his ex-wife Maria Shriver, who is the niece of Robert, John and Ted Kennedy, as well as Chris bloodline.

Think about this for a secondTheres three gene pools here. You can do Kennedy, Schwarzenegger and Pratt," Arnold said.

We can do anything, we can solve the Cuban missile crisis, we can go and kill predators with our bare hands, and we go and train dinosaurs.

The Twins star continued: I mean think about it. That is a lot of power here! Worst thing is, if this kid ends up with my accent. Thats what we dont want.

Arnold also shared his tips for parenthood, adding: Its so much fun being a dad and the trick of it, as you know, is communication.

The baby is Katherines first child and will be a younger sibling to Chris seven-year-old son Jack, from his marriage to actor Anna Faris.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star recently opened up about Katherines pregnancy journey, including her strange cravings.

Speaking on Extra with host Billy Bush, Chris explained: Pickles and ice cream. I never thought I would like them so much.

Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt are expecting their first child together this summer (Getty Images)

Can I be honest with you? I found myself complaining the other day about a little bit of low back and hip pain and how Ive gained a little weight in quarantine and she just looked at me sweetly.

He continued: I was like Oh, right, right, I dont really get to complain about that to you right now, do I?
"This location is an important addition to the Charleston-area because our service is one way to stay vigilant in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by using a disinfectant on your car's interior," said, Carl Howard, COO of Autobell Car Wash, Inc. "This is a crucial time in our country, and businesses like Autobell have to step up to win the fight against this terrible virus."

The Interior Disinfectant service will eventually become an optional a la carte service, but is currently provided free with the purchase of an interior cleaning to all customers, as well as a free service without purchase for first responders and government workers with a government-issued ID.

In keeping with the company's commitment to the environment, the Johns Island store was built using an AquaBio system, with the ability to reclaim and purify up to 100% of wash water, with an output quality better than most utilities. Autobell offers a variety of interior and exterior services as part of their business model.

ABOUT AUTOBELL 

Charlotte, NC-based Autobell Car Wash is America's fifth-largest car wash company, with 87 locations in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland. Founded in Charlotte by the late Charles Howard Sr., the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019 and remains privately held and operated by subsequent generations of the Howard family. Autobell employs more than 3,000 team members and washes approximately 5 million cars annually. For more information, visit autobell.com.



SOURCE Autobell Car Wash

Related Links

https://www.autobell.com


Extremely severe cyclone 'Amphan' hurtled towards Indian shores on Wednesday, triggering downpour in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, uprooting trees, flattening fragile dwellings and forcing the evacuation of over four lakh people, officials said.

Kolkata/Bhubaneswar: Extremely severe cyclone 'Amphan' hurtled towards Indian shores on Wednesday, triggering downpour in coastal Odisha and Gangetic West Bengal, uprooting trees, flattening fragile dwellings and forcing the evacuation of over four lakh people, officials said.

Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, has left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its path over the Bay of Bengal.

More than 1.25 lakh people have so far been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas of Odisha and the exercise is still underway in some places like Balasore, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said in Bhubaneswar. More than three lakh people were removed to safer places in West Bengal.

Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

Though the storm lay about 120 km east-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, 125 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and nearly 220 km south of Kolkata, its effects are already in evidence in the two states.

'Amphan' is likely to make landfall somewhere between Digha and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh close to the Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, between afternoon and evening of Wednesday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The intensity near the centre of the storm was 170 kmph to 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph, the weatherman said, adding gale-force winds of 110-120 kmph will slam Kolkata when the cyclone passes over it later in the day, before weakening further into a cyclonic storm over Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal.

It will turn into a deep depression while advancing to Bangladesh and dissipate further.

The NDRF, the federal disaster response force, has deployed a total of 41 teams, including reserves, in the two states for relief and rescue operations. Each team consists of 45 personnel. The disaster response force of the two states, besides fire and police personnel have also been deployed.

A team of Indian Navy divers has been stationed at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district with specialised equipment and can be rushed for rescue missions as and when required, a defence spokesman said.

Streets in Kolkata were mostly deserted and the local authority has advised that markets, which had opened following relaxations in the lockdown regulations on Monday, should remain shut.

The West Bengal capital has been alternately experiencing drizzle and downpour since early Wednesday morning.

The cyclone, officials fear, will cause large-scale damage to crops and plantations, and disrupt electricity and communication lines.

The Eastern Railway (ER) has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express train scheduled for Wednesday. The New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on Thursday has also been cancelled, railway officials said.

A Bhubaneswar report said the cyclonic system is being continuously monitored with the help of Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Vishakhapatnam, Paradip and Gopalpur.

Special Relief Commissioner of Odisha PK Jena said reports of trees getting uprooted and huts being damaged and blown away have been received from several districts.

The impact of the cyclonic storm will be experienced in the state till late afternoon in parts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts.

'Amphan' has visited the state a year after cyclone Fani barrelled through vast parts of Odisha on 3 May, claiming at least 64 lives and destroying vital infrastructure.
The President of Portugal has been snapped casually queuing in a supermarket while wearing a face mask and maintaining social distancing measures.

A photo of Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa queuing in a supermarket in the municipality of Cascais near the capital Lisbon has been widely shared on social media after being posted on Sunday.

According to local media, both Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa are trying to send a message of normality to Portuguese citizens as the country starts lifting its COVID-19 lockdown measures.

Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa queuing in a supermarket in the municipality of Cascais near the capital Lisbon on Sunday

Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

On Monday, cafes and restaurants reopened with 50 percent capacity after many weeks of closure and Costa visited one of Lisbon's most popular cafes in the district of Benfica.

He told reporters: 'I really missed taking coffee outside. The nice weather helps!'

The prime minister added: 'The freedom to go outside has increased.'

Portugal's prime minister, Antonio Costa was also seen out and about on Monday, enjoying breakfast at a pastry shop in Sao domingos de Benfica, Lisbon, with president of the parish council Antonio Cardoso and his assistant secretary of state Tiago Antunes.

Prime minister Costa and speaker of parliament Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues then shared lunch together in a restaurant in Lisbon.

Portugal's Prime Minister, Antonio Costa (2-L), exchanges views with the president of the parish council Antonio Cardoso (R) and his assistant secretary of state Tiago Antunes (3-L) during breakfast at a pastry shop in Lisbon, 18 May 2020

Portugal's Prime Minister, Antonio Costa (C), and the president of the parish council Antonio Cardoso (L), arrive for breakfast at a pastry shop in Sao domingos de Benfica, in Lisbon, 18 May 2020

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, right, and Speaker of Parliament Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues have lunch at a restaurant in Lisbon, Monday, May 18, 2020

According to reports, Costa then enjoyed lunch with representatives of Portugal's Hotel and Restaurant Association who suggested 11 proposals to help revitalise the hard-hit sector following two months of lockdown.

Meanwhile, the Directorate-General of Health of Portugal said that there has been an increase of 223 in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours and 16 new deaths bringing the total to 1,247.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Wed, May 20, 2020 13:00 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd934e44 2 Science & Tech Mars,United-Arab-Emirates,space Free

After sending its first astronaut to space last year, the United Arab Emirates is to launch a probe to Mars in July, state news agency WAM announced Tuesday.

The unmanned probe, named Hope, will be "the first interplanetary exploration undertaken by an Arab nation", it said.

WAM said the probe would be launched on July 15, at 2051 GMT, from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center, using a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries platform.

It is set to make a 495-million-kilometer journey to reach and orbit the Red Planet.

Last September, Hazza al-Mansouri made history as the first Emirati in space.
Minor Cabinet reshuffle announced ahead of Tsai's new term

ROC Central News Agency

05/19/2020 04:45 PM

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) The Executive Yuan on Tuesday announced a new Cabinet with only minor changes to the original ministerial lineup, one day before President Tsai Ing-wen () starts her second four-year term in office.

The minor reshuffle saw no changes at the nation's defense, foreign, transportation, interior, health, justice, economic and finance ministries, among others, the Executive Yuan announced.

The handful of newly-appointed ministers included National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin (), who replaces Chen Mei-ling ().

Kung, 56, is currently a minister without portfolio, and previously served as deputy NDC minister and deputy economics minister.

The new minister of Science and Technology is Wu Tsung-tsong (), who is currently also a minister without portfolio and previously taught theoretical and applied mechanics at National Taiwan University. Wu takes over the post from Chen Liang-gee ().

Incumbent Hakka Affairs Council Minister Lee Yung-de () will become the nation's new Minister of Culture with the departure of Cheng Li-chiun ().

Lee's position at the council will be filled by his deputy, Yiong Cong-ziin ().

In addition, incumbent Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairman Huang Tien-mu () will be promoted to chairman after his predecessor Wellington Koo () was appointed Taiwan's new National Security Council secretary-general.

Taiwan's current top representative to Thailand Tung Chen-yuan () will become Overseas Community Affairs Council Minister with the departure of Wu Hsin-hsing ().

Huang Chih-ta (), the current head of Premier Su Tseng-chang's () office, will be promoted to minister without portfolio, according to the Executive Yuan.

The new Cabinet will officially assume office Wednesday following a swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Office presided over by President Tsai, which is slated to be held after Tsai's own swearing-in ceremony earlier in the day, according to the Executive Yuan.

(By Ku Chuan, Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Bala Nandgaonkar has asked the state government to provide capsigrenades and chilli sprays to deal with violent agitations.

Nandgaonkar, in his letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, said it is necessary in view of the repeated attacks on the police force. Police personnel are being attacked and this is needed to instil fear in those elements, said Nandgaonkar.

He said that these grandees will deter such elements and boost the morale of the police force.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Elderly home turns to wearables for contact tracing, sidestepping Apple-Google limits A photo illustration provided by CarePredict shows an individual wearing the company's Tempo wearable wristband

By Paresh Dave

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - When a senior living facility in Amarillo, Texas suspected a nurse may have caught the novel coronavirus this month, it had a list within five minutes of staff and residents the nurse could have infected.

High-tech wristbands worn by The Legacy at Town Square's 35 workers and 49 residents expedited contact tracing, the otherwise pain-staking process of interviewing patients to determine who crossed paths with them.

The nurse tested negative an hour later and Legacy did not have to isolate or test others. But its experience shows how wristbands and other wearables have emerged as tools to automatically record encounters between people at places that can mandate their use.

Facilities with quick contact tracing following infections in the coming months will be better positioned to ward off outbreaks and stay open, according to epidemiologists.

"It makes you ready to make the best operational decisions at a moments notice," said Joseph Walter, executive director at LifeWell Senior Living's Legacy facility.

Australia, Singapore and other governments have sought to enable smartphones to record people's contacts. But data privacy rules imposed by smartphone software makers Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> Google limit the utility of smartphone-based systems, while many employers do not let workers carry phones because of security and safety considerations.

Manufacturers are hawking wearables online priced as low as $4.

The Legacy in Texas uses technology from CarePredict, a startup that added contact tracing functionality to its system for elderly care homes when the pandemic struck.

CarePredict's Tempo bracelets function as a call button to summon staff, a digital room key, and a health and activity tracker. More than 20 care facilities in the United States have the devices, which cost about $1 per day per user, according to CarePredict.

Story continues

The wristbands use infrared light to connect to beacons on a wall in each room, creating a record of who has been near whom, where and for how long.

Walter said the system has proved accurate over the last two years for tracking residents' activities at The Legacy, but its reliability in contact tracing is yet to be seen.

Setting up beacons and special-purpose devices like CarePredict's Tempo may be too costly and complex for some facilities. But wearables that communicate with each other through Bluetooth signals may be more suitable, and software development company Myplanet and automaker Ford Motor Co <F.N> are among those testing popular Bluetooth-based fitness trackers and smartwatches from companies such as Fitbit Inc <FIT.N> and Samsung Electronics Co <005930.KS>.

One of Myplanet's experiments found that companies hoping to reduce costs and hassles by allowing workers to use existing gadgets will face connection challenges because of variances in the devices' Bluetooth technology, said Greg Fields, who is leading the Toronto-based firm's contact tracing efforts for its multinational clients.

Apple and Google soon plan to release contact tracing technology to smooth out some of the connection issues on phones, and device makers are confident that the tech giants will do the same for wearables, said David Su, CEO at Atmosic, a Silicon Valley-based wireless chip company.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment on the speculation. While Apple-Google technology would improve reliability in contact tracing, devices that use it would need access to the internet and a government-authorized contact tracing app.

Ford conducted a small test of pricey smartwatches that alert wearers when they are standing closer than guidelines allow, but they too require Wi-Fi, which is sometimes unavailable in sprawling plants, Ford manufacturing chief Gary Johnson told Reuters.

The automaker also is testing chips on identification badges, he said, and those could track sustained encounters or issue reminders to keep distance.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis and Joseph White; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Lisa Shumaker)
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has asked the Auditor-General to follow constitutional procedures by presenting his reports to Parliament and desist from leaking it to the press.



He said the Auditor-General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevos continuous disregard for constitutional procedures was worrying and added that leaking reports to the press, disturbs the work of Parliament at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).



This, he said was because, media discussions on the issues in the report, denies the persons mentioned in the report the opportunity to defend or offer explanations when they are implicated.



In addition to that, he said the only alternative for such persons, is to resort to the courts to clear their names and when that happens before the Public Accounts Committee looks at the report, it disturbs the work of the committee, since the court cases have to conclude before the committee is able to look at it.



Hon Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said depending on how the court decides on the issues, Parliament is sometimes unable to do anything about the report after the court cases.



He said the PAC ought to investigate and allow people mentioned in the report to defend themselves or offer explanations but when it is leaked, it denies the persons mentioned in the report the opportunity to offer explanations before the PAC sits on the matter.



To Hon Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, even though the Auditor-General has previously distanced himself personally from the leak to the press, it was about time Mr Domelevo showed leadership and ensures that his office follows the constitutional processes.



He made the argument in a radio interview with Accra based Okay FM on its morning show programme monitored by Graphic Online on Tuesday morning [May 19, 2020].



He was called to react to a decision by the Auditor-General to reject a request for an audit verification to be conducted in order for the payment of salary arrears for over 200 former Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Fourth Parliament.



The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs said, his argument was not to suggest that Mr Domelevo was not doing his work well since that was for the public to judge.



But he said the Auditor-General as a leader of his office should ensure that the processes and procedures laid out in the constitution are respected.



He said it is for the public to judge whether Mr Domelevo was doing his work well but insisted the processes and procedures ought to be followed.



He said the circumstances under which President John Mahama two days before he exited office appointed Mr Domelevo, has created the impression that he [Domelevo] was deliberately appointed to torment and disgrace government officials in the present government, and therefore Domelevo should try and work in a manner that will help dispel that suspicion and prove his quality as befitting the office.



He said his continuous resort to not following the constitutional procedures as to how he should go about his work was worrying.









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 black bear was recently spotted running along a fence by SpinTech and La Perla ranches in Zapata County.

READ MORE: How coronavirus is affecting Laredo by zip code

A video shared on Facebook that shows the bear running has gone viral.

Because this black bear is showing signs of being neither conditioned to human food trash nor habituated to human presence, there are currently no black bear behaviors in need of correction. At the moment, this black bear is simply a wildlife species, native to the state of Texas, that is acting in a manner that any native wildlife resource is expected to act, said said Eric P. Garza, a certified wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Garza added that the sighting is considered rare.

We have limited recent records of black bears in Zapata County, but I would say black bear sightings in any border county of South Texas should be considered rare instead of unusual as all of Texas is considered historical black bear range, he said.

Garza said the bear is likely from the mountains near Monterrey, Mexico as that is the closest population to Western South Texas. Garza said that many young male bears naturally leave their home population in search of unoccupied habitat once they separate from their mothers.

He added that the entire southwestern Texas border is within a three or four day travel distance for a black bear from known populations in Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Any of our rural or remote areas along the border are potential locations for black bear sightings but due to the rural nature of border counties located north and northwest of Starr County, they have more potential for black bear sightings than counties with higher and or denser human population, Garza said.

Curious people may want to take the trip to try to spot the bear. Should people encounter the bear, there are a variety of responses that would be considered proper if someone were to encounter a black bear.

The proper response depends on what the black bear is doing, how close it is to you and how the black bear is reacting to human presence. In most situations one can back away slowly without turning your back to the animal and leave the area, Garza said.

If a black bear is attempting to get away from humans the best course of action is to let it run away and do not follow the animal. If the black bear is not shying away from human presence or is getting into trash cans to eat then backing away from the animal and allowing the black bear time and space to leave the area is best.

Garza added that once the black bear leaves, all food trash, pet food, and small animals should be either kept inside or secured in a way that the black bear cannot get to them.

Most of all black bear-human conflicts can be resolved by removing what the black bear wants from the area. Black bears can be excluded from livestock and wildlife feeders or other sensitive areas through the use of electric fencing, he said.

READ MORE: Here is what you can expect for your next tattoo appointment in Laredo

In 2012, a black bear was found dead along U.S. 83 in southern Webb County. Garza said there have been at least 3 roadkill black bears in Southern Webb County and multiple other sightings along the border since 2012.
A former Minister of Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, has advised government to be cautious in easing the ban on schools, places of religious worship among others.

His comments come at a time when there is a vigorous debate in the public space about the appropriate time for schools to reopen, given the circumstances of COVID-19.

Speaking on the Floor of Parliament, the Wa West MP called on the Government to resist the temptation of lifting the ban at the risk of a new wave of cases.

My position on this matter is very clear; We have to hasten slowly because in France when they opened the schools, they had to close them again. No one knows how this disease can be effectively managed.

The scientists are still trying to find out the true nature of the disease and how it can be confronted and therefore if we rush and release all of us into a market place situation where everyone is doing what they want to do, we are likely to have an increase in respect to this disease, the legislator said.

Some teacher unions and the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations have kicked against the proposed reopening of schools.

The council says re-opening schools at this time will not serve the interest of students especially when the cases of coronavirus in Ghana keep increasing.

Four Teacher unions ; Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Tertiary Education Workers' Union and Coalition of Concerned Teachers in a statement also registered their opposition to the intended reopening.

Schools in Ghana have been closed since March 2020 as part of efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

---citinewsroom
By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to fire the State Department's inspector general, saying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked him to do so and dismissing suggestions that Pompeo faced a probe by the ousted official. Democratic lawmakers said on Monday Trump might have fired the watchdog, Steve Linick, because he was investigating U.S.

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to fire the State Department's inspector general, saying Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked him to do so and dismissing suggestions that Pompeo faced a probe by the ousted official.

Democratic lawmakers said on Monday Trump might have fired the watchdog, Steve Linick, because he was investigating U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia. Congressional aides have also said Linick was probing whether Pompeo misused a taxpayer-funded political appointee to perform personal tasks for himself and his wife, such as walking their dog.

The president, a Republican, told reporters he did not know Linick and heaped praise on Pompeo, who has become one of Trump's most trusted cabinet members.

"You mean he's under investigation because he had somebody walk his dog from the government?" Trump said with incredulity when told by a reporter about the accusations against Pompeo.

"I didn't know about an investigation. But this is what you get with the Democrats. Here's a man supposed to be negotiating war and peace with major, major countries ... and the Democrats and the fake news media, they're interested in a man who's walking their dog. And maybe he's busy and maybe he's negotiating with Kim Jong Un," Trump said, referring to the North Korean leader.

Trump said he would prefer his secretary of state to focus on his job rather than menial tasks.

"I'd rather have him on the phone with some world leader than have him wash dishes, because maybe his wife isn't there, or his kids," Trump said about the top U.S. diplomat. "It's terrible. It's so stupid. You know how stupid that sounds to the world? Unbelievable."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Richard Chang)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter claims the risk of children catching coronavirus is 'unbelievably low'

The risk of children catching coronavirus is 'unbelievably low', according to one of the UK's top experts.

Eminent statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter said data has also shown that teachers do not have a greater risk of becoming infected.

The University of Cambridge professor's testimony comes amid an explosive row over the reopening of schools next month.

Boris Johnson has faced ferocious backlash for the plan to get children in reception, year 1 and year 6 back to school, with at least 13 councils refusing to reopen amid safety fears for pupils, teachers and parents.

Bur Professor Spiegelhalter pointed out that just one out of 7million children aged four to 14 in England and Wales has died from COVID-19.

He also claimed children carry just a fraction of the viral load compared to adults, which significantly reduces their ability to fall ill or infect others.

Professor Spiegelhalter told the BBC: 'There have been, based on the data so far, extremely low risks to children. Out of 7million five to 14-year-olds in England and Wales, so far the number of death certificates revealed with Covid on it is one.

Children of essential workers socially distance whilst in lesson at Kempsey Primary School in Worcester, as plans for more children to return next month hang in the balance

Holywell Village First School in Northumberland has revealed its social distancing plans when schools reopen after lockdown - but at least 1,500 primary schools have already said they will not reopen fully

'There will be more [that haven't been confirmed], but there is still an extremely low risk. Of course we must remember this group of kids are staggeringly safe in general, less than one in 10,000 die every year. Nobodys ever been safer in the history of humanity than this group of kids.'

Professor Spiegelhalter said that at least one child had died from a rare inflammatory illness linked to coronavirus, but reassured parents that the risk of the complication would now be 'much lower now the epidemic in the community is under control.'

Which councils have refused to obey the Government and open primary schools on June 1? Opposed Brighton and Hove Slough Teesside Solihull Stockport Bury Liverpool Hartlepool Wirrall Calderdale Birmingham Bradford Leeds Have expressed 'reservations' but are leaving it to schools Wakefield Barking and Dagenham Redbridge Bristol Southampton Newcastle Advertisement

Asked about whether teachers and parents were being put at risk by schools reopening, the Cambridge professor said data suggested not.

He added: 'The Office for National Statistics analysed Covid risks by occupation - some have higher risks, including bus drivers and care home workers.' But teachers were not included in this category, he said.

'Of course people are anxious about the rest of the family, but in healthy young parents aged between 20 and 40, there have only been about 30 death so far out of 30,000 who dont have existing conditions.

'There's about a three in a million chance of risk of death. That's a measurable risk, but in a sense it's a manageable risk... it's not overwhelming at all.'

Professor Spiegelhalter also condemned a German pre-published study that suggested children carry the same viral load of COVID-19 as adults.

Because youngsters get much more mild symptoms, the results raised fears children could become super-spreaders.

However the statistician said the data clearly had been misinterpreted because it actually showed children have just a quarter of the viral load of adults.

He added: 'One of the big problems with this epidemic is that claims are being rushed out. Peer -review [when other scientists scrutinise research] has just disappeared from scientific analyses and yet they get a lot of media coverage.

'It is widely claimed that children have got the same viral load as adults, from a German study.

'If you look at that study it shows that is clearly not the case, children have about a quarter of the viral load according to the study. It's a very poor statistical analysis.'

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's plans to reopen schools on June 1 appeared to be collapsing today after at least 13 mainly Labour councils refused to comply.

It was revealed that up to 1,500 English primary schools are now expected to remain closed in 12 days' time despite millions of children being at home for more than eight weeks.

Justice Minister Robert Buckland admitted this morning that the June 1 reopening date may now not be 'uniform' across England - as the Prime Minister's pledge descended into chaos amid mass dissension from school staff, unions and local councils.

MailOnline can reveal that parents who want to send their children back to school claim they have been shamed by other parents and teachers who claim they are being 'hung out to dry' by the

A survey of 20,000 parents by Childcare.co.uk found that 62 per cent of the parents believe it wont be safe to return to school or any form of childcare until at least September.

A further 10 per cent stated they dont think it will be safe until October 2020.

Millions of parents are in limbo as it remains unclear if children in reception, year 1 and year 6 will be returning to school full time in less than a week.
A 37-year-old Malaysian, Punithan Genasan has been sentenced to death in Singapore via Zoom call for his role in a 2011 heroin transaction.

While rights groups have criticised the use of Zoom in capital cases, Fernando said he did not object to the use of video conferencing for Fridays call since it was only to receive the judges verdict, which could be heard clearly, and no other legal arguments were presented.

California-based tech firm Zoom did not immediately respond to a request for comment made via its representatives in Singapore. The Attorney Generals Chambers, the public prosecutor, referred Reuters news agencys questions to the Supreme Court.

Many court hearings in Singapore have been adjourned during a lockdown period that started in early April and is due to run until June 1, while cases deemed essential have been held remotely.



Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drugs and has hanged hundreds of people  including dozens of foreigners  for narcotics offenses over past decades, rights groups say.

Singapores use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division. HRW has also criticised a similar case in Nigeria where a death sentence was delivered via Zoom.

Countries with recorded executions for drug-related offenses include China (which classifies figures as a state secret), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Singapore also retains the mandatory death penalty, in certain circumstances, for murder and drug trafficking, contrary to international safeguards and restrictions on the use of the death penalty.

According to Amnesty International, two persons were executed in Singapore for drug-related charges in 2019, while two others were hanged after being convicted of murder.

This case is another reminder that Singapore continues to defy international law and standards by imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking and as a mandatory punishment, Amnestys death penalty adviser Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement. This must end now. At a time when global attention is focused on saving and protecting lives in a pandemic, the pursuit of the death penalty is all the more abhorrent.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
By Sun Xingwei and Du Shuguang

Beijing, May 20 -- Recently, the Logistic Support Department of China's Central Military Commission (CMC), together with seven national ministries and commissions, jointly issued a notice on the pilot program for regionally centralized procurement of military non-staple food in Zhejiang Province, Zhangzhou City in Fujian Province, Qingdao City in Shandong Province, Hubei Province, Hainan Province, and Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region.

A chief of the Military Energy Bureau of the CMC Logistic Support Department said that, the pilot program serves as an important move to promote the reform of the military food supply. The move aims to break the traditional supply mode of self-contained procurement for various brigades and regiments and to build a new mode with features that troops propose demand, local government sets up a platform, and qualified enterprises undertake the supply responsibility. It will involve multiple aspects, including the operating mechanism, organization, supervision, supplier selection, supply chains at wartime, food security, confidentiality in the supply of military non-staple food, etc.

Military non-staple food is an important material support for combat capability. The move to maximize the use of social resources by depending on regionally centralized procurement is bound to free troops from the cumbersome supply affairs to focus more on combat readiness, thus conducive to realizing the goal of building a strong military in the new era.

Meanwhile, the pilot program will also facilitate local economic development and poverty alleviation. The precise demand proposed by the military is handed over to the local government, in line with the principle that anything can be fulfilled locally could be entrusted to local governments.
- Dr. Bogee came into contact with a patient who later tested positive for COVID-19 at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital

- She was hospitalised in the intensive care unit for 20 days

- She shares her ordeal with the disease in a documentary

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

Dr. Gillian Bogee is a paediatrician in charge of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital.

In an exclusive interview with Joy News, Dr. Bogee says her dream was always to become a medical doctor since childhood. And by Gods grace, she is living her dream.

She also revealed that taking up a job in the Upper East region of Ghana has taught her a lot and made her a better doctor and person.

Watch video below:

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Ghanas cases hit 6,096

Dr. Bogees says she came into contact with a COVID-19 patient on March 29, 2020, and started showing symptoms of the pandemic on March 31.

I actually got in contact with a suspected case in the ward on the 29th of March.

She said initially she self-isolated till her situation got worse.

"I thought I was going to die," she narrated.

She was subsequently airlifted to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for critical care.

READ ALSO: Kumepreko Demo: Akufo-Addo, Kweku Baako, et al celebrate 25th anniversary

Dr. Bogee was hospitalized for 20 days until she tested negative twice for the COVID-19 before she was discharged.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the latest update from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on COVID-19 indicates that Ghana has recorded 178 new cases to increase the caseload to 6,096.

The GHS released the new update on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. The death toll still stands at 31 with 19 more recoveries recorded, making the total 1,773.

The total number of tests administered as of May 19, 2020, was 184, 343.

Health benefits of Dawadawa and Kontomire | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: WHO releases list of African countries with highest cases of COVID-19

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
The number of COVID-19 patients in Goa grew to 51 on Wednesday after five more persons tested positive for the infection, officials said.

The tally of active cases in the state is 44 as seven patients had recovered in April, they said.

The state was declared a green zone on May 1, after all the seven COVID-19 patients previously found had recovered. However, the coastal state has witnessed a rise in the number of cases over the last few days.

"Five more persons tested COVID-19 positive in the state on Wednesday, taking the tally to 51. Of them, 44 are active patients as seven patients had recovered and discharged from the hospital (in April)," a senior health department official said.

"One of the five persons that tested positive on Wednesday is a crew member of a ship, who arrived in Goa along with his colleagues in a chartered flight," he said.

The state on Wednesday received the first batch of 336 people, who worked as crew members on different ships. They arrived in two different flights from Italy, after which their samples were collected and taken for testing at the laboratory.

"The first flight carrying this particular crew member (who tested positive) arrived at 10.30 am. All of them were sent to a quarantine facility on their arrival," the official said.

Talking to reporters about the four other patients, state Health Secretary Nila Mohanan that three of them had returned from Maharashtra, while another one from Delhi.

"The condition of all the patients is stable," she said.

The Goa government has already set up in Margao a special hospital for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Earlier during the day, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that the bed capacity of ESI hospital has been increased from 60 to 170 with additional back up of 30 beds.

"...We also have a back up facility of adding another 30 beds which will take it up to 200 beds in a span of an hour, if needed," Rane said in a tweet.

So far, 10,136 samples have been tested in the state. Of them, 595 were tested on Wednesday, the health bulletin said.

Goa's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases: 51; new cases: five; deaths: zero; discharged: seven, active cases: 44; people tested so far: 10,136.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Childcare settings may operate a pod system with small groups of children being looked after by the same carers in the same room, the Minister for Children has said.

It has been 10 weeks since schools and creches were closed to stop the spread of Covid-19 and the Government has yet to confirm what date they will reopen.

Katherine Zappone told the Dail on Wednesday that Ireland will look towards the Norwegian model of childcare.

Children under six cannot do social distancing. Attempts at social distancing would be traumatic for kids and adults that care for them.

Expand Close Minister for Children Katherine Zappone briefs the media (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland/PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Minister for Children Katherine Zappone briefs the media (Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland/PA)

For the phased reopening we will be referring to the Norwegian model among others and how this might apply to Ireland. As a starting point it is important to acknowledge that children under six cannot do social distancing. Attempts at social distancing would be traumatic for kids and adults that care for them.

Young children have had enough to cope with, without having further abnormality thrust on them as we emerge from the crisis. Regular hand-washing will be the norm in creches.

Ms Zappone said childcare could operate in pods: This would mean small groups of children with the same childcare professional, in the same room with the same toys every time they are there.

She said her department is examining how many children a childcare practitioner will care for.

Face masks for children would not be mandatory and it may not be practical for childcare workers, she said.

Minister for Children Katherine Zappone says it may not be possible for children in creches to wear masks.



"It may be the case that children would not use them consistently without a degree of re-enforcement or coercion. This would not be desirable." pic.twitter.com/r3CCysyyGP  Aine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) May 20, 2020

Our initial preliminary advice is that the wearing of face masks for children under six is unlikely to contribute to improved infection control. It may be the case that children would not use them consistently without a degree of re-enforcement or coercion. This would not be desirable.

The initial thinking in relation to adults working in childcare centres wearing masks is that it may not be practical, this will be considered and further explored.

She said there is no way to avert all risk when it comes to reopening all childcare settings but measures will be put in place to minimise risk.

With public health input, we are working to develop the safest and most pragmatic way to deliver this vital service, she added.

We will minimise the risk. There will be an incident of transmission but we can manage this  not prevent it.

Asked why only six out of more than 4,000 childcare providers signed up to the Governments childcare scheme for healthcare workers, she said: My own personal view is that the fear among childcare workers about going into the homes of healthcare workers became larger as time went on and that is one of the things that inhibited them signing up.

Fewer children will attend creches once they reopen and there may be less demand among parents for childcare services, she said.

Childcare settings would reopen on a phased basis and there will be a reduction in the numbers of children attending, she added.

Initially, there will be a reduction in the numbers that will be cared for in settings.

We are not fully aware if there will be the same demand for childcare as there was before the pandemic so we will be doing a survey of parents and childcare providers to get the facts to find this out.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is all set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on May 22. Dr. Harsh Vardhan would succeed Dr. Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the chairman of the executive board.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is currently at the forefront of Indias battle against COVID-19, is all set to charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on May 22 as per the recent reports. The meeting of the Executive Board will be held on May 22 and comprises of a total of 34 qualified members elected for three-year terms. Reports also reveal that Dr. Harsh Vardhan would succeed Dr. Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, who is currently handling the same position in the 34-member WHO Executive Board.

The proposal to nominate Indias nominee for the board was signed on Tuesday by World Health Assembly as per the reports. Moreover, Dr Harsh Vardhan taking over the post seems to be a formality as the decision of he becoming Indias nominee as WHOs South-East Asia group was decided last year that India would be elected for a three-year term beginning May.

It is not a full-time assignment as the minister is only required to chair the meeting of the Executive Board. The meets will be held twice a year. The main meeting is usually scheduled in January and the second is in May after the Health Assembly.

Also Read: Railways to run 200 non-AC trains daily from June 1, says Union Minister Piyush Goyal

The most important functions of the Executive Board is to give effect to the policies and decisions of the Health Assembly, to give advice, suggestion and to facilitate its work. On Monday, Harsh Vardhan while addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly via video-conferencing said that India is leaving no stone unturned in taking necessary steps on time to control the spread of coronavirus. He added that the country has done quite well and will continue to work confidently in the coming months.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
With a $100,000 contribution from Bank of America, the Worcester Together fund eclipsed $6.7 million since it was created to aid those in the city amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement of the grant to the Worcester Together fund came Wednesday morning. The fund represents a partnership between the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the United Way of Central Massachusetts.

The United Way distributes money to applicants with an immediate need for assistance. The Greater Worcester Community Foundation is focused on measures extending beyond the near future, through the response and into recovery from the pandemic.

Phase two of the fund, which includes providing aid for recovery, has started.

Of the $6.7 million raised so far, more than $2 million has been awarded to 111 nonprofits in the Worcester area that are responding to needs resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Worcester Together is honored to be included in Bank of Americas national response to the COVID-19 outbreak, President and CEO of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation Barbara Fields said in a statement. All gifts to the fund support a wide range of response and relief efforts including emergency food and shelter and technology supports for the elderly and non-English speakers.

The contribution is part of $100 million in support Bank of America has committed to local communities around the world facing the challenges created by the pandemic.

Local partners are rising to the occasion as they are called to provide additional support for the populations they serve amid the coronavirus pandemic, Central Massachusetts President of Bank of America Edwin Shea said in a statement. As the impact becomes more widely felt, and as the need becomes more critical, we will continue to support the increasing demand for resources and services in our community.

Anyone interested in contributing to the Worcester Together fund can do so at www.greaterworcester.org and www.unitedwaycm.org.

Related Content:
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Danone (DANOY.PK) said its Board will recommend at the AGM that the company becomes the first listed company to adopt the 'Entreprise a Mission' model created by French law in 2019. The Board also confirmed dividend payment for 2019, in line with original recommendation. The company's 2020 AGM will be held on June 26th, 2020. The Board of Directors also accepted Emmanuel Faber's proposal to reduce by 30% his fixed remuneration for the rest of year 2020. The Members of the Board of Directors have decided to give up their entire compensation for the second half of 2020. 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.
Advertisement

British billionaire Sir James Dyson has unveiled the sole prototype of his companys electric car that was cancelled for being too risky.

The aborted N526 Dyson electric car, which Dyson piled 500 million of his own money into before pulling the plug, is a 16-foot-long seven-seater, electric SUV.

The 2.6 tonne-vehicle features an aluminium body, quiet-running tyres and quick-charging battery cells that would have provided enough power to drive 600 miles on a single charge.

Britains richest man scrapped his bold plan to market the Tesla-rivalling electric car last October after years of development work by his private company.

Dyson, who topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time at the weekend with an estimated wealth of 16.2 billion, said his engineers had developed a 'fantastic electric car' but that it wouldnt be able to make money.

The car, that was supposed to go on sale next year, would have needed to be sold for at least 150,000 per unit for the company to break even.

Sir James Dyson, the richest man in Britain with an estimated wealth of 16.2 billion, standing in front of the supposed Dyson car prototype

Electric cars are very expensive to make  the battery, battery management, electronics and cooling are much more expensive than an internal combustion engine, he told the Times at the companys research centre in Wiltshire.

It was not a vanity project at all  when we started in 2014 we had good technology and a very efficient car with a long range.

It was viable, but when, later, other companies started producing electric cars at a loss, it became too risky for us.

'Theres huge sadness and disappointment. Ours is a life of risk and of failure  we try things and they fail. Life isnt easy.'

The car has three rows of seats, seating seven in total, that are aimed to cut out back pain for its passengers. James Dyson said the design differs from armchair-style seats in other cars

The model, currently sitting under dust sheets at the companys centre in Hullavington, Wiltshire, features a slick white exterior shell and three rows of racing-car style reclining seats on the inside.

In front of the drivers seat, key dashboard information  including speed dial and sat-nav instructions  floats like a hologram so the driver never has to take their eyes off the road.

Round headrests give each of the firmly upholstered seats the look of a lollipop, according to the Times, with a perfectly circular head rest.

Dyson said: I hate those armchair-style seats that you sink into, because theres never enough lumbar support and you get back pain.

Sir James Dyson - a prominent advocate for Brexit - confirmed last year that production of electric cars and the firm's headquarters would be relocated to Singapore

BENEFITS OF SOLID STATE BATTERIES Batteries have three main components - the anode, cathode and electrolyte. This electrolyte is typically a chemical that separates the anode and cathode and moves the flow of electrical charge between the two. The charge is created by chemical reactions on the electrodes and the majority of batteries found in phones and EVs. Li-ion batteries use a liquid electrolyte and because lithium is a highly-reactive element it stores a large amount of energy. But this liquid electrolyte is often flammable and has been blamed for batteries bursting into flames when overheated, for example. Dyson's SSBs are based on the same Li-ion technology but replace the liquid electrolyte with a coating of non-flammable metal. This makes them safer for the consumer and the environment, more robust - liquid electrolytes can be easily damaged - and able to be used at higher temperatures. Advertisement

In all, the vehicle measures around 16 feet in length, 6.5 feet in width and 5.5- feet in height.

The four wheels are bigger than on any other mass-produced model on the market, at around three foot, and include quiet-running tyres that give low rolling resistance for economy yet excellent ride, said Dyson.

One of the cars main selling points is its solid state lithium ion batteries, developed by subsidiary Sakti3, which Dyson acquired in 2015.

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) store 50 per cent more energy than current models, giving the car faster charging and a longer range than other EVs on the market.

Since the decision to end production on the car, Dyson now plans to manufacture SSBs for other car makers.

Many of the 500 people working on the car have stayed on to drive research into batteries, robotics, air treatment and lighting,' Dyson said.

Other people are developing solid-state batteries. We may be the first. If what were doing turns out to be suitable for other people, then thats an option, Dyson said.

The Dyson car would have had to cost around 150,000 to break even  which was not commercially viable for a company not solely focused on producing vehicles.

Companies including BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover are making losses on every electric car they sell but they subsidise costs with sales of traditional petrol and diesel cars, according to the 73-year-old inventor and entrepreneur.

I dont have a fleet  Ive got to make a profit on each car or Id jeopardise the whole company. In the end it was too risky, he said.

Dyson's car project received funding from the UK government as it was believed new R&D headquarters at Hullavington Airfield in Wiltshire would boost jobs in the town

The car, for which blueprints were revealed last year, had been forecast to be available for buyers from 2021.

On whether he would pick up production of the car in the future, he said: I wouldnt say no, but the commercial circumstances would have to be right.

Dysons centre at Hullavington, previously an RAF base, had been the subject of a 250 million renovation as a development and test site for the car.

The car project received funding from the UK government as it was believed the new R&D base would boost jobs in the town

It was here where the company was planning to develop ventilators for the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic, before they were sourced from elsewhere.

In the Times interview, Dyson also said he believed government plans to ban sales of all fossil-fuel cars by 2035 is absolutely doable, saying that he 'hates diesel' engines.

A prominent Brexit supporter, Dyson sparked controversy in 2018 when he revealed that production of the electric cars would be relocated to Singapore, along with the firm's headquarters.

Dyson still backs the decision on the basis that Asia is the fastest-growing market in the world and already accounts for half of the companys sales.

Asians love new technology, that latest thing, and absolutely get design.

If you are designing things for people in Asia, you should be in Asia.
Isiolo Principal Magistrate Evanson Ngigi has released on bond a suspect who was caught transporting marijuana with a reported street value of Sh1.5 million.

The accused, Mamo Tege, was arrested in Isiolo town over the weekend by officers working on a tip off from members of the public. He was arrested shortly after he had picked the shipment from another vehicle that had arrived from Moyale on Friday.

The weed which was destined for Nairobi had been stashed under one of the back seats, under the bonnet, and in the spare tyre of a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.

The vehicle also had a fake medical personnel sticker to allow the suspect to pass through the heavily manned road blocks undetected.

The driver also presented to the police two letters which differed in appearance and in serial numbers.

Mr Tege appeared before Magistrate Ngigi on Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.

The suspects lawyer, Kiogora Mugambi, sought reasonable bail terms for his client saying it would be challenging for the accused to raise the sureties as the land registries and NTSA offices where he could get approval for motor vehicle log books are closed.

But the prosecution opposed his release on cash bail, arguing that due to the nature of the offence, the accused could abscond court sessions.
Its May, the weather is turning nice, and seniors are re-planning graduation. It might seem to some the perfect time to throw a party.

But given the coronavirus pandemic, Airbnb is warning its guests that if they do so in one of the properties listed on their platform, even if the listing is classified as event-friendly, they could face a ban from the service. Or worse.

We want to be very clear -- not only will we ban guests who attempt to throw an unauthorized party in a Portland Airbnb listing, we will be cooperating with the Portland Police Bureau in any investigations relating to parties and violations of public health mandates, an Airbnb spokesman said in a statement.

Usually, the company has allowed its hosts to set rules for their own properties, even allowing parties. But since stay-home orders have gone into effect across much of the country, Airbnb has temporarily disabled the event-friendly search option on the platform and forbidden hosts from allowing large gatherings.

It is also proactively removing listings that have authorized parties listed under their House Rules, the company said.

While some Oregon counties have been authorized to begin relaxing distancing guidelines, Multnomah County still has a ban on social gatherings.

As government and health authorities relax mandates and guidance pertaining to social distancing, we will evaluate these policy adjustments and provide updates for our community, the company said. The safety of our hosts and guests is our priority.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Greg Shepherd and Paul Knightley show off their parenting skills in a daddy day care special on The Mummy Diaries, set to air on Wednesday.

The one-off episode will celebrate all the head-in-hands and funny moments of dads' Paul and Greg from the past seven series.

A teaser clip of the special looks back at Greg, 33, helping Nelly, five, to brush her teeth, picking out her shoes, and her first day at school.

Undercover: Greg Shepherd and Paul Knightley show off their parenting skills in a daddy day care special on The Mummy Diaries, set to air on Wednesday

Meanwhile, another flashback shows Paul, who is dad to Rosie, two, and Paul, four, and his girlfriend Sam Faiers at loggerheads over a cheese toastie.

Mummy Diaries fans will remember when Paul threw a tantrum because the cheese was undercooked, with Sam firmly telling him 'do it yourself then'.

Other segments included in the trailer were Billie's hen-do, when Paul and Greg followed Sam and Billie's step-dad Dave on a first date, and Arthur, three, saying 'Dada'.

Aww: The one-off episode will celebrate all the head-in-hands and funny moments of dads' Paul and Greg from the past seven series

Doting dad: A teaser clip of the special looks back at Greg, 33, helping Nelly, five, to brush her teeth, picking out her shoes, and her first day at school

The Mummy Diaries have already aired specials on Sam and Billie and the children.

Earlier this month, Billie discussed how her family are finding life in lockdown as the UK plunged into yet another week indoors.

The former TOWIE star, 30, and her husband Greg described the experience as 'testing' however, said they are enjoying more time spent as a family.

Glamour: Other segments included in the trailer were Billie's hen-do, when Paul and Greg followed Sam and Billie's step-dad Dave on a first date, and Arthur, three, saying 'Dada'

Sweet: Nelly puts her thumbs up for her first day of school

The mum-of-two told OK: 'Naturally, weve had our moments. Theres definitely highs and lows being all together with no space but were actually handling it really well.'

Billie shared that her younger son does not know what is going on however, Nelly was well prepared from teachers at school who explained the pandemic to her.

She told the publication that she has new questions her parents every every day.

Greg also shared: 'It is lovely. I am grateful for more time with them, but it has been testing. Its well out of routine for us. Were just constantly trying to find things for them to do.'

The Mummy Diaries Extra: Daddy Day Care, Wednesday at 9pm on ITVBe.
EDWARDSVILLE  A new exhibit by the Madison County Historical Museum examines womens suffrage and now is online.

In Illinois, women were given the right to vote in select races in 1913. On election day, they were given a separate ballot, sometimes called the little ballot, which was placed in a separate collection box. Newspapers sometimes reported the womens vote. On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution was passed, granting women the full right to vote. The little ballot was retired and, since then, Illinois women have been given the same ballot as men.
Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Deputy Education Minister in charge of Basic and Secondary Education, says the Ghana Education Service (GES) is currently engaging stakeholders on a possible reopening of schools.



Schools were closed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as part of the measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.



The president placed a ban on all gatherings including political rallies, church service and large funerals over the pandemic.



Regarding a possible reopening of schools, Dr Adutwum told Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise Show on 3FM Wednesday, May 20, that the decision, apart from the assessment and engagement by the GES, will also largely depend on health considerations.



He said: The GES has started engagement, they will be meeting with teacher unions and other groups to solicit their inputs.



Of course the critical decisions wont come from education, it will come from health, just like in the US where the Centre for Disease Control (CDC ) gave a broad stroke of a kind of a policy and said this has to prevail, this has to be there.



So that whether public or private you cant just wake up and say you have reopened schools without meeting certain requirements that will be transparent so that a parent will have confidence.



This is not a monologue, it has to be a dialogue because you have so many people involved in here.



GES is not blindfolded by the reality of the situation and of course they cannot just jump and reopen schools without a thorough analysis at the highest level of government.



I dont think anyone is going to reopen schools where there is no veronica buckets, there are no running water so we are gathering ideas and concern.

Source: 3news









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

Featured Video
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:31:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NANJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Police in east China's Jiangsu Province have captured four suspects for smuggling a total of 1.038 tonnes of sperm whale teeth products in a recent case, local customs authorities said Tuesday.

After receiving a tip-off in June last year saying a man surnamed Sheng from the city of Zhangjiagang is suspected of smuggling a batch of endangered animal products, Zhangjiagang Customs conducted a home search and seized 3.5 kg of ivory scraps and 2.7 kg of sperm whale teeth products.

The follow-up investigation uncovered another three suspects and their purchase and sales channels, with a total of 1.038 tonnes of smuggled sperm whale teeth products involved.

Further investigation is underway. Enditem
Maxine Dexter, a critical care pulmonologist who has taken on a high profile during the COVID-19 pandemic, won a competitive four-way Democratic primary to represent the greater Bethany area of Washington County and part of Northwest Portland.

As of 10 p.m., Dexter had won 40% of the votes counted, versus her nearest competitor, Christina Stephenson, at 28%.

Dexter is vying to replace longtime legislator Mitch Greenlick. He held House District 33, a highly educated, high-income district with an overwhelming Democratic edge in voter registration, for 17 years before announcing earlier this year that he would retire due to health issues. Greenlick died Friday.

The race featured four strong candidates, including a legislative staffer, a doctor, a college professor and a lawyer. In early results, Dexter was leading her nearest competitor, Christina Stephenson, with 40% versus 28% of the vote.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

Dexter, 47, a critical care pulmonologist at Kaiser hospitals, was an early and outspoken advocate for the governor to take decisive action by closing schools and preventing the spread of coronavirus. Her first priority as a legislator, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive, is to work to make healthcare universal and affordable and decouple it from employment. Her largest contributions came from political committees representing hospitals, doctors and long-term care facilities.

Dexter will face Republican Dick Courter, a forestry consultant, in the November election. Courter ran unopposed in the Republican primary and says hes running for the seat because of runaway taxes and fees; lack of government transparency; super majority leadership, and a lack of voter approval for controversial bills.

-- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
After just one season, Ruby Rose shocked fans of her announcement to leave her lead role as CW's "Batwoman," just ahead of the show's update that they will have a second season.

In a statement, the former "Orange Is the New Black" star said, "I have made the very difficult decision not to return to 'Batwoman' next season."

"This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew, and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and Los Angeles," she continued.

In a joint statement of Warner Bros. Television, CW and Berlanti Productions thanked Ruby Rose for her contribution to the success of the first season of the show and wished her all the best.

They also added that they are "firmly committed to Batwoman's second season and long-term future."

"Batwoman," which was is being filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, just finished its first season just days ago. The show, just like the others, was forced to end its production early amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CW said that the show is not expected to return with a second season until 2021.

Though nobody mentioned the elephant in the room, sources told Deadline that Ruby Rose leaving the show is not related to the stunt injury she sustained during the filming of the first season, where she was left paralyzed and required emergency surgery.

However, Deadline mentioned, "Doing a network drama is one of the hardest acting jobs, and not everyone is well equipped to handle the intensity and long hours involved."

The article also mentioned how Ruby Rose and the entire team were not happy, "to a point where no one could this going for another season."

"It was not a good fit, and the studio and the star opted to part ways."

The first season of "Batwoman" had an average 0.5 rating among adults 18-49 after seven days of delayed viewing, as per Variety. The show's first season averaged 1.7 million viewers in Live+7, which places it as the network's most third show, following "The Flash" and "Arrow."

Though it is still unknown who will be the next "Batwoman," one "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actress hints that she wants to take over the role of Ruby Rose.

Stephanie Beatriz, who is a regular in the sitcom as police detective Rosa Diaz, wrote on her Twitter, "*reads everything about Batwoman.*."

She also said she had already dyed her hair red last month.

But Ruby Rose isn't the first Hollywood star to leave behind a leading role in a V show.

Many actors also had to decide to leave their shows.

Emily Bett Rickards of "Arrow" announced her departure from the show by writing a poem about her character.

Danai Gurira of "The Walking Dead" left the show during the 10th season of the series.

Nicolette Sheridan, the actress who played Fallon Carrington's mother, Alexis, announced she would be leaving the show to spend time taking care of her mother, who was sick.

READ MORE: Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green Split: Machine Gun Kelly The Real Reason?
Elizabeth Nguyen has felt the physical and emotional impacts of acne since she was a teenager, but after prescribed medication only provided a short-term solution she chose a holistic approach to treat her skin.

The 23-year-old school teacher from Sydney told FEMAIL she was suffering from cystic acne but over the past two years has used Chinese herbal medicine and other natural remedies to clear up her complexion.

'I started taking a brand called Zilch, which helped heal my cystic acne within weeks, but I also looked at the foods I was eating, how much sleep I was getting each night, exercising to increase blood circulation, stress levels and skincare,' she said.

'I tried taking prescribed antibiotics and birth control pills when I was younger, but this only helped as a short-term fix rather than a long-term solution,' she said.

Liz has also learnt that acne is often an indication of 'internal imbalances' relating to immune and gut health.

Elizabeth Nguyen (pictured) has felt the physical and emotional impacts of acne since she was a teenager, but after prescribed medication only provided a short-term solution she chose a holistic approach to treat her skin

The 23-year-old school teacher from Sydney told FEMAIL she was suffering from cystic acne but over the past two years has used Chinese herbal medicine (pictured in 2017)

When asked how acne has previously impacted her self confidence, Liz said in high school she was infatuated with her self image and often compared herself to other girls.

Liz said in high school she was infatuated with her self image

During her mid-teens she said the 'most damaging' emotional aspect was receiving negative comments from others which made it feel like she was constantly 'walking on egg shells'.

'Receiving insensitive or unsolicited advice was the most damaging part because it feels like you have to fix yourself,' she explained.

'Emotionally I felt so inadequate; I felt like I was never good enough, I was hard to look at, and because of that I started losing my bubbly, confident identity.'

During her mid-teens she said the 'most damaging' emotional aspect was receiving negative comments from others which made it feel like she was constantly 'walking on egg shells'

How Liz has been treating her acne by using a holistic approach and Chinese herbal medicine Liz has been using the brand Zilch Exercising regularly Removing dairy, fatty meats and caffeine from her diet Getting enough sleep each night Implementing a good skincare routine that works for her skin Managing her stress levels Advertisement

Liz said as her confidence and self esteem levels dropped, she avoided drawing attention to herself.

'I was so obsessed with the way I looked because I thought my outward appearance would equal my worth and value, but that's not the case at all,' she said.

But since sharing her journey on social media and talking to others, Liz has transformed her mindset and learnt to embrace her skin and acne scars.

Since sharing her journey on social media and talking to others online, Liz has transformed her mindset and learnt to embrace her skin and acne scars

When discussing the physical impacts, Liz said she experienced facial pain, irritated and inflamed skin that turned red, as well as stomach cramps and digestive issues

When discussing the physical impacts, Liz said she experienced facial pain, irritated and inflamed skin that turned red, as well as stomach cramps and digestive issues.

The symptoms of acne vary depending on each individual and the issues their body is experiencing.

'The skin is the largest organ in the body and is usually a good indication of what's going on internally with your gut or immune health,' she said.

Liz said the 'most important thing' is communicating with others about acne to receive support and understanding that there is always a way to treat it

Over the last three years Liz has shared her skincare journey on Instagram and has developed a following of more than 24,400 people.

Liz said the 'most important thing' is communicating with others about acne to receive support and understanding that there is always a way to treat it.

'If you're at a point when you feel that nothing works, remember you just haven't found what option works for you yet,' she said.

'There is always a solution because your body and skin are capable of healing.'

Now Liz has a positive attitude towards her skin and has gained a wealth of knowledge towards treating her acne which she shares with thousands of others online.
Editors note: This is one of a 12-part series introducing this years YWCA of Alton Women of Distinction honorees, who will be recognized at the 30th annual Women of Distinction ceremony. The events previously scheduled date of May 28, at the Commons at Lewis and Clark Community College, has now been rescheduled to Thursday, Sept. 17, due to current stay-at-home orders surrounding COVID-19. For more information, visit www.altonywca.com.

ALTON  After retiring five years ago as a laboratory supervisor at Memorial Hospital Belleville, registered nurse Robyne OMara began to lead new causes.

Not that she hadnt been involved in activism before. She had. But retirement allowed her the time to take it to a whole new level, and she throws her all into causes she believes in.

For the 15 years she spent at Bellevilles Memorial, one of her goals was to remove obstacles so her staff could do their job. She tried to ensure change in inequities involving diversity, race, age and gender.

For 20 years, she was a manager for the American Red Cross, involved in disaster relief, witnessing many eye-opening experiences following events such as massive flooding and hurricanes.

OMara grew up in Caseyville, lived briefly in California and several years in St. Louis. But she and her wife, Lynne Burnett, have made Godfrey their home for the last 30 years, and have been together for 40.

Advocating for marriage equality was one of OMaras earlier causes. She and Burnett were one of 25 plaintiff couples in the Lambda Legals Illinois marriage lawsuit that helped change the inequity of marriage rights in Illinois. The new law went into effect June 1, 2014.

The day that happened, words cant even say how it felt to me, OMara said.

And though the couple had a civil union license since 2011, OMara said they got the upgrade, and were married in September 2014.

She feels the real start of her current level of activism  which is practically the equivalent of a full-time job  was following the verdict in a St. Louis police shooting case.

I just cant be passive about injustices, she said. To me, its morally wrong to see things happen and not try to change them.

She has also lobbied in Springfield, Illinois, with the Sierra Club for environmental issues, including the states clean energy bill and Clean Energy Jobs Act, for civil rights and against monetary bonds for people held in jail awaiting trial simply because they are unable to afford the monetary bond for their release.

She became a legal observer with the American Civil Liberties Union, to help make sure civil liberties are upheld.

We are a deterrent if something is going on where arrests or violence is expected, OMara explained.

She works with the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America, also advocating for asylum seekers. She is a precinct committeeperson in Godfrey, and has worked on two political campaigns.

OMara said receiving the Women of Distinction recognition is humbling.

All of these other women are so amazing, and its so nice to be included, she said. I have so much respect for the mission of the Y. The advocacy work I do is certainly not to be noticed. Its about all of us.

OMara graduated with a bachelors degree in business management from Lewis University in Chicago, and an associate of arts and sciences in registered nursing from St. Louis Community College-Forest Park.
A total of 21 persons are reported to have recovered from the Coronavirus disease in the Ketu South Municipality.



Health officials confirmed 22 positive cases in the Municipality after tests were conducted on some people who entered the country illegally through unapproved routes.



Mr Elliot Edem Agbenorwu, Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that there was full recovery for all 21 cases recorded by May 01, 2020 and that the current active case was recorded from another illegal traveler.



On May 04, security officials arrested some eight persons for illegal entry and were later quarantined with their samples taken.

We also had reports from hotel owners on two illegal travelers who beat security and were lodging at their places. So, out of the test on those ten, one tested positive to Coronavirus, the only active case now in the Municipality and is being sent to the isolation centre for treatment.



The MCE said the Assembly was not relenting on efforts at containing the spread of the virus, saying, it had mounted road blocks at strategic places to screen travelers and have also distributed Veronica buckets and nose masks to communities around.



He called on the residents to adhere to all safety protocols to defeat COVID-19 and urged the media to continue to preach the message especially on mask wearing.



Mr Joseph Kwami Degley, the Municipal Director of Health Services said the Directorate in collaboration with the Assembly had embarked on enhanced testing as part of measures to contain the virus.



He said people were unwilling to have their samples taken due to fear of being stigmatised and called for a stop to stigmatisation, which he said could derail the fight against the virus.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Advertisement

Travellers descended on Wickham in Hampshire despite the official cancellation of this year's horse fair due to the coronavirus crisis.

Around 25 caravans parked up overnight close to the small town in Hampshire, but were disappointed to find a heavy police presence in the area, reportedly stopping travellers from trading their horses.

The organisers of the annual Horse Fair confirmed it would not take place this year to help contain the outbreak of COVID-19.

Hampshire Constabulary told MailOnline that a small number of people had come to Wickham for the event, despite it being cancelled, but left shortly afterwards.

Two men ride on a pony and trap in Wickham, Hampshire, on May 20, despite the horse fair's official cancellation

Around 25 caravans parked up overnight close to the small town in Hampshire (some of the caravans pictured)

The horse fair itself dates back to the year 1269 and has been running annually for almost 800 years

A heavy police presence in the area is reportedly stopping travellers from trading their horses

Winchester City Council and Hampshire Constabulary confirmed they fully supported the decision 'to ensure the health of all members of the community.'

There were fears earlier this month that the royal charter for the fair would be cancelled if no-one attended this year's event, but this was debunked by the local council.

A council statement said: 'We are aware that concern has been expressed that the royal charter for the fair requires that some people must attend every year to preserve the right to hold the annual event and would like to make clear that this is not the city council's interpretation of the charter rights.

Wickham Horse Fair's Royal Charter The Wickham Horse Fair traces its origins back to when Roger De Syres obtained a royal charter from King Henry III to have a weekly market in 1269. Over the years this turned into an annual fair. It takes place on May 20 each year and attracts crowds of more than 1,000 people. The cancellation of the fair this year halts a nearly unbroken record in place since 1269. There were fears in May that the royal charter for the fair would be cancelled if no-one attended this year's event, but this was debunked by the local council. A council statement said: 'We are aware that concern has been expressed that the royal charter for the fair requires that some people must attend every year to preserve the right to hold the annual event and would like to make clear that this is not the city council's interpretation of the charter rights. Advertisement

'Therefore, the right to hold the event in future years will not be affected by its cancellation this year and there is no requirement for anyone to 'maintain' the charter.'

'Please do not to come to Wickham on May 20 to attend the event, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, remember - stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.'

The fair is one of two highlights of the horse-riding calendar which also includes the famous Appleby Horse Fair which usually takes place in June.

The Appleby event has also been officially cancelled.

The event near Fareham, near Portsmouth,usually attracts over 1,000 visitors.

As part of festivities at the fair, participants and visitors sell horses and some will take part in the horse run. There's also a funfair and market stalls.

The horse fair itself dates back to the year 1269 when Roger De Syres obtained a royal charter from King Henry III and has been running annually for almost 800 years.

Superintendent Alison Heydari of Hampshire police said: 'Wickham Horse Fair has been cancelled this year following the Coronavirus outbreak.

'The decision was taken following consultation between representatives from the event and local authorities, including Hampshire Constabulary, Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council.

'A small number of people came to Wickham today for the event before leaving shortly afterwards. No further incidents have been reported.'

The travellers' appearance in Wickham comes days after other travellers moved onto a picturesque nature reserve in West London, sparking heated opposition from residents.

Eight caravans and motorised homes, plus an assortment of other vehicles have been illegally camped out on Ham Lands nature reserve in Ham, south west London for the past week.

Locals living close to the beauty spot, at the heart of the 'best village in London', say they have been told by Richmond upon Thames council that the new arrivals cannot be removed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

They were told that the government had asked councils to allow travellers to stay on council-owned land, to enable them to access vital healthcare during lockdown - provided that they adhere to the law.

There were fears that the royal charter for the fair would be cancelled if no-one attended this year's event, but this was debunked by the local council

The caravans parked up in glorious weather near to an empty children's playground

A man checks his trailer in Wickham on May 20 as police and bystanders watch on in the town centre

Many of the caravans parked with large gaps between them as people sat outside enjoying the good weather

A horse box makes it's way through the streets of Wickham. Police are reportedly stopping travellers from trading horses

The event near Fareham, near Portsmouth,usually attracts over 1,000 visitors (pictured police keeping watch)

The fair is one of two highlights of the horse-riding calendar which also includes the famous Appleby Horse Fair which usually takes place in June

As part of festivities at the fair, participants and visitors sell horses and some will take part in the horse run
Conservationists in Cambodia believe efforts to save a rare species of turtle are paying off, with more hatchlings found this year than in the previous three years combined.

23 newly-hatched Royal Turtles were found in three nests on two sandy beaches in Koh Kong Province, according to the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

While one of the two beaches is used every year for nesting, it's the first time turtles have nested on the other beach since 2007, it said.

WCS released video showing a team measuring the hatchlings, close to where they were found, then taking them to a conservation centre.

The IUCN, the global authority on the status of species, lists the Royal Turtle as critically endangered.

Properly known as the Southern River Terrapin, it was thought to be extinct in Cambodia until 2000, when a small population was found in the Sre Ambel river.

Since then, local hunters have been employed to search for and protect nests rather than harvesting them, according to WCS.

This community-based programme has been helped, they said, by government legislation to protect the turtles' habitat from sand-dredging.

The Royal Turtle is one of the world's 25 most threatened freshwater turtles and tortoises. It is also Cambodia's National Reptile.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 06:36:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

"That is who we are. It's about others before self."



HOUSTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Personal protective equipment (PPE) from China was donated to hospitals and health centers in the U.S. state of Texas on Monday.

The donation, 10,000 masks and 10,000 gloves, was dropped off in local hospitals in the Houston and Dallas areas where medical workers are striving to save COVID-19 patients' lives on the frontline.

Organized by International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas), a free public charter school with many locations throughout Texas, the donation was purchased with the fund raised by the students from IL Texas' sister schools in China.

Representatives from International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas) Houston area and HCA Houston Healthcare West pose for a group photo at the donation handover ceremony in Houston of Texas, the United States, May 18, 2020. (Photo by Chengyue Lao/Xinhua)

On Monday morning, 4,000 masks and 4,000 gloves were donated to the HCA Houston Healthcare West. IL Texas Houston area Superintendent Matilda Orozco told Xinhua at the ceremony that the school raised money for China a few months ago when China was seriously impacted by COVID-19. This time, its sister school students raised money to buy PPE for medical facilities in the United States.

"That is who we are. It's about others before self. And during this time, that's the most important thing we got to think about is helping each other out and being there for each other," said Orozco, adding that students from China also sent warm wishes and encouraging poems to American students of ILTexas.

International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas) Houston area Superintendent Matilda Orozco (L) introduces the donation to representatives from HCA Houston Healthcare West in Houston of Texas, the United States, May 18, 2020. (Photo by Chengyue Lao/Xinhua)

Representing the hospitals to receive the PPE, Megan Marietta, CEO of HCA Houston Healthcare West, said this was the first donation they received from China which made it more special.

"I think this is a wonderful gift. It's wonderful to see students focused on servant leadership at such a young age. And this will certainly help our employees and our staff here at the facility," she said.

A staff member of International Leadership of Texas (ILTexas) Houston area carries the donation to HCA Houston Healthcare West in Houston of Texas, the United States, May 18, 2020. (Photo by Chengyue Lao/Xinhua)

ILTexas opened its first school in 2013 with over 2,500 students, making it the largest first-year charter in the history of Texas. Since 2013, the district has grown from two schools in North Texas to 19 schools with more than 19,500 students across north and south Texas.

ILTexas has close ties to China. It operates sister schools in China. ILTexas, with a trilingual curriculum of English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, employs many Chinese teachers and educates Chinese international students.

"School students and administrators are finding new and different ways to prove global leadership begins right here at home. We are all in this together," read the school's press release for the donation. 
New Delhi, May 20 : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its ex-post facto approval for the Jammu and Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020, on specified domicile conditions for all levels of public sector jobs in the region.

The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the order issued under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The Jammu and Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020, was notified by the Union Home Ministry on April 3. The order has further modified the applicability of domicile conditions for all levels of jobs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act (Act No. XVI of 2010), an official statement said.

However, the government note did not mention any further details. The Cabinet nod came almost a month after the Central government in a historic decision changed the Jammu and Kashmir domicile rules, issuing an order declaring that all civil servant jobs in the newly created UT will be reserved for its residents.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had announced it through a Gazette notification making changes in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, 2010.

As per the order, the civil servant will be a "domicile of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir".

This was the second change in the Jammu and Kashmir domicile rule. The Narendra Modi government in a similar notification on April 1 had redefined the domicile rule for government jobs in the newly-created UT through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020.

According to the notification, anyone who has resided in J&K for 15 years or has studied in the state for seven years, and appeared in either Class 10 or Class 12 examination, will be eligible for domicile certificates. This would allow them to apply for gazetted and non-gazetted government jobs.

The J&K administration had on Monday issued new rules allowing people belonging to West Pakistan, Valmikis, women marrying outside their communities, non-registered Kashmiri migrants and displaced people to get domicile status.

As per the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020, the children of such people in these categories can now also get jobs in the Union Territory.
Droplets of saliva can travel as far as six metres even in low wind speeds of 4kmph, a new study has found, indicating that current social distancing guidelines of two metres may be insufficient to stop a Covid-19 patient from transmitting the disease.

The study, published in the Physics of Fluids journal under the American Institute of Physics, used a three-dimensional model to investigate the transport, dispersion, and evaporation of saliva particles from a human cough.

The scientists found that when the wind speed is approximately zero, the saliva droplets did not travel 2 metres, which is well within the social distancing recommendations.

However, at wind speeds varying from 4 km/h to 15 km/h, the saliva droplets were seen to travel up to 6 metres with a decrease in the concentration and liquid droplet size in the wind direction.

Even with a slight breeze of 4 km/h, saliva travels 6 metres in five seconds. Therefore, depending on the environmental conditions, the 2 m social distance may not be sufficient, so crowed places will be affected, said Dimitris Drikakis, co-author of the study, in an email to HT. If the wind speed is 15kmph, the droplet travelled 6 metres in 1.6 seconds.

To study how saliva moves through air, the scientists created a computational fluid dynamics simulation that examined the state of every saliva droplet moving through the air in front of a coughing person.

Their simulation considered the effects of humidity, dispersion force, interactions of molecules of saliva and air, and how the droplets change from liquid to vapour and evaporate. The analysis involved partial differential equations on 1,008 saliva droplets and solving approximately 3.7 million equations.

The purpose of the mathematical modelling and simulation is to take into account all the real coupling or interaction mechanisms that may take place between the main bulk fluid flow and the saliva droplets, and between the saliva droplets themselves, said Talib Dbouk, co-author of the paper.

The scientists considered an environment of 20 C for the fluid, 50% relative humidity, 15 C at the ground, and 34 C for the human mouth.

We aimed to approximate as much as possible a real situation in winter/spring seasons. Further investigation is required to quantify the effects of ground surface temperature as well as relative humidity and ambient air temperature, the study said.

The scientists agreed that more studies needed to be done to understand the behaviour of fluid droplets in indoor environments, where air conditioning significantly affects the particle movement through air.

We need to understand the droplet evaporation more deeply, especially at different environmental conditions. It is work in progress, said Drikakis.

It is worth investigating the behaviour of saliva in indoor environments, where air conditioning systems may have significant effects on the movement of particles through the air, he added.

Transmission of the coronavirus through speech and cough droplets, especially in public spaces and crowded environments, has been a major area of concern for policy makers and governments. Globally, research has shown that the virus spreads easily in an aerosol form, and even through speech.

Experts said that this study added to earlier literature that under normal conditions, micro droplets can easily travel up to a distance of about 6 meters.

Ajit Mohan Srivastava, a professor at the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, said that normal outside conditions with motion of vehicles, especially during summers in India, have winds changing directions, even having upward drifts resulting from the hot ground. Such drifts will make the droplet cloud fly higher, and hence travel to larger distances (even larger than 6 metres), he said.

One should realize that these droplets resulting from coughing, sneezing, or even talking or breathing are micro droplets quite like the droplets in clouds, fog and mist (size varying from tens to hundreds microns). We all have seen how fog, mist, or cloud, can keep floating in the air, even rising higher with slight upward wind drift. Imagine that all these droplets are carrying infection for the case of coughing from an infected person, he added.

One important distinction for India, he said, was that with much higher temperatures (until rains start), droplet evaporation will be much faster than in the study of the paper. Thus smaller droplets will evaporate away, hopefully making transmission less effective. In places like Delhi, where humidity is much lower than the 50% considered in the study, again droplet evaporation will be stronger, hence transmission less effective. But in coastal places, where humidity is generally very high, evaporation will be much less effective, so transmission will be more effective, he said.

The most important distinction, according to him, was that when people are walking around and vehicles moving, wind pattern is never uniform or horizontal. Any change in wind direction, especially upward drifts may dramatically increase the droplet transmission distance. In this situation, I will not rule out the possibility that droplet clouds can float in the air for very long time, basically travelling every where inside the room.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Your browser does not support the audio element.

A daughter in Hanoi who left home for two years due to frustration with her parents frequent rows were found by private investigators who tracked her down by delving into her eating habits.

Thuy, the missing daughter, was a sophomore at the Hanoi University of Pharmacy.

She applied for academic suspension and left home with a single text message saying, Please dont find me.

Her parents are in charge of a large company with operations in Bac Ninh and Hai Duong Provinces in the north of Vietnam.

Thanh, the father, was a strict patriarch who called all the shots in the family.

According to him, his daughter was very well behaved and was a high achiever at school.

Her parents first believed it to be a case of abduction, but they came to believe it was definitely her will to leave as no demands from kidnappers ever appeared.

They reported the issue to the local police department and even made use of media channels, hoping their daughter would return one day.

They fell into despair as two years passed with no word of their daughters fate.

The parents also thought that she could have left home following the call of love, but police efforts to pry into her relationships in school, the neighborhood, the local clubs, and her favorite places did not produce any leads as to her whereabouts.

Her best friend confirmed that Thuy did not have a boyfriend.

Then, one day as the Lunar New Year was approaching, the maid of her house received a phone call from a strange number.

Please tell my parents that Im fine, the person on the other line said.

The trace

Detective Minh, the person in charge of the search, was meticulous as he approached the case since he only had a few clues to go on, including a photograph of the target and the date of the phone call from number 0883xxx.

During meetings with his clients, the investigator learned little about the girl as her father could not provide any useful information.

Digging deeper into their familys affairs, he found that Thanh had the habit of bringing work home and yelling at his wife, who often reacted with quiet tears.

The wife eventually filed for divorce after local officers came for reconciliation procedures. Thuy was a witness to all of it, and she left right after the quarrel.

Intuition told the detective that she simply ran away from her familys issues. His team agreed with his assessment that such runaways usually do not stray far from their home.

They concluded that their target was still likely within the boundaries of Hanoi. The only clue left was the phone number provided.

Although the number was registered to a temporary SIM card, Minh was able to use his contacts to figure out that the call was made from the Lu Temple area in Hoang Van Thu Ward, Hoang Mai District.

They asked local police for help providing information, but they hit a dead end as none of the Thuy's registered were the one they were seeking.

They spent the next week knocking on every door around the Lu Temple zone; however, their efforts seemed to be in vain.

The lonely snail eater

Two days before the deadline for the case, the investigators had to rethink their strategy. They believed that Thuy simply passed by the Lu Temple area but did not actually live there.

Unfortunately, that would make it impossible to trace her.

The head detective asked his partner, When are you most homesick?

Midnight. Before bedtime, he replied.

But that did not match the time of her phone call.

Well, when Im having some coffee or a roadside snack, another agent said.

With a glimmer of hope, Minh questioned Thuys best friend in college, Linh Dan, who gave him a definitive lead: she said that Thuy and her friends usually stopped for snails at a roadside stand on Dinh Cong Thuong Street.

According to her friends, the missing girl was quite a snack lover, frequently buying sausage sticks, grilled pork sticks, or stir-fried snails.

The detectives spent their remaining time checking snail places around Lu Temple. Their plan was to visit the snail stand and have a bite at 4:00 pm.

The area around Lu Temple in Hanoi, Vietnam was carefully searched by the investigative team hoping to find a female undergraduate missing for two years. Photo: Vu Tuan / Tuoi Tre

On the third day of snailing,' their efforts bore fruit: a lone girl stepped in, ordered one bowl of snails and one cup of lemon tea, and sat by herself.

Candid photos of her were sent to the other members of their team, who confirmed that it was their target. They had found Thuy.

The investigators tailed her to a shared tenement near Truong Dinh Market in Hoang Mai District after she left the eatery.

Around 7:00 am the next morning, Thuy left the tenement for work, with one detective following her.

It turned out that she had been working at a pharmacy on Giai Phong Street, near Bach Mai Hospital.

The team contacted her parents, who had a tearful reunion with their daughter, touching the hearts of the investigators.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Aerospace engine maker Rolls-Royce has announced plans to cut some 9,000 jobs globally as it grapples with the collapse in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company employs 52,000 people overall, and it is not immediately clear where the cuts will fall.

The reorganization will lead to cuts resulting in some 700 million pounds ($856 million) in savings with an overall aim of 1.3 billion pounds in annual savings.

Chief executive Warren East says the company must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 (2:58 pm) - Score 2,861

The Isle of Man Government (British Crown Dependency) has agreed to invest 10m with local ISP Manx Telecom in order to help them extend the coverage of their gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband network from 25% (10,000) of local premises today to 99% by around the end of 2025.

The latest development follows last years 255.9m acquisition by Basalt Infrastructure Partners II LP (here), which at the time was said to have placed the operator into a much stronger position to invest in FTTP and 5G mobile upgrades.

Manx has actually been busy conducting a gradual deployment their 1Gbps capable ultrafast full fibre broadband network since 2017 (here) but, thanks to the support of Basalt and the local government, they now intend to go much further.

Th new 10 million contract will see Manx Telecom become responsible for the delivery of wholesale FTTP in 9 intervention zones across the Island, which is focused upon difficult to reach areas that would normally be classed as commercially unviable without support from public funding.

Gary Lamb, Manx Telecom CEO, added: The company has already invested heavily in fibre broadband infrastructure and, by the end of 2019, its fibre network was within reach of 10,000 premises on the Island. We have always supported the expansion of this network as part of our commitment to keep the Isle of Man at the forefront of digital technology and we welcome the opportunity to work with the Isle of Man Government to roll-out fibre to all parts of the Island, including rural areas. The Isle of Man Government has rightly recognised that a world-class telecommunications infrastructure is vital to meet the needs of businesses and the general public, encouraging economic growth and social inclusion. We look forward to working together on this project that will future-proof the Islands telecoms for years to come and enable us all to take advantage of emerging digital developments.

Laurence Skelly MHK, Minister for Enterprise, said: As has been witnessed with the current global situation, it is an absolute necessity to have a strong telecoms infrastructure now more than ever, and the Isle of Man Government is determined to support the development of a telecoms infrastructure that is fully inclusive and meets the needs of both businesses and the public, now and into the future. I am delighted to see that the process to rollout the National Broadband Plan will accelerate the delivery of fibre broadband around the Island, continuing to support the businesses and individuals as we adapt and persevere through this rapidly changing situation. This rollout will give the majority of the Islands residents more opportunity to access fast, reliable internet. It is an absolute necessity to have a strong telecoms infrastructure in our modern society and Manx Telecom has demonstrated it has the experience and capability to deliver the Governments ambitious target. These improvements to the Islands fibre broadband will support enhanced online services and align with the Governments carbon neutrality policy by promoting more widespread remote working, which has been proven over the recent months to be not just required, but essential to the way we work.

End.
Hobby Lobby sues auction house Christies alleging deceptive sale of Gilgamesh Dream Tablet

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Arts-and-craft retailer Hobby Lobby, led by billionaire evangelical Steve Green, has filed a lawsuit against renowned British auction house Christies for deceiving the company about the legality of the sale of a rare cuneiform tablet it acquired for display in the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

The rare cuneiform tablet, which bears a portion of an epic Sumerian poem known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, is now the center of forfeiture proceedings started Monday in New York by ICEs Homeland Security Investigations office. Authorities argue in a civil complaint that the poem, which is considered one the worlds oldest works of literature and originated in the area of modern-day Iraq, was unlawfully acquired by The Museum of the Bible, which is chaired by Green.

In their lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Hobby Lobby argues that Christies and a dealer identified as John Doe deceived the company about the legality of the sale of the tablet and is seeking the return of the $1,694,000 it spent to acquire it in 2014 along with interest and attorney fees, the Daily Beast reported.

The Museum of the Bible confirmed the lawsuit in a statement to The Christian Post Tuesday and noted that they have been cooperating with federal authorities to ensure the artifact is returned.

We support the Department of Homeland Securitys efforts to return this Gilgamesh fragment to Iraq. Christies, the source of the item, is now the subject of a lawsuit filed by Hobby Lobby, which loaned the item to us, the museum, which opened in 2017, stated.

Before displaying the item in 2017, we informed the Embassy of Iraq that we had the item in our possession but extensive research would be required to establish provenance. We have continued these private discussions with Iraqi officials. We announced previously that we would be assisting in the return of items to Iraq and Egypt, and we have cooperated with Homeland Security on all of these matters.

The 254-year-old Christies has denied the allegation by Hobby Lobby that the auction house "intentionally left Hobby Lobby with the erroneous impression" that the tablet had been legally brought into the U.S. in 1981, when, in actuality, it had been illegally imported to the U.S. in 2003.

A Christie's spokesperson told Fox Business that Hobby Lobbys lawsuit "is linked to new information that has come to light regarding an unidentified dealers admission to government authorities that he illegally imported this item, then falsified documents over a decade ago in order to perpetrate an illegal sale and exploit the legitimate market for ancient art."

The spokesperson said the auction house was unaware of the fraud prior to getting involved with the sale of the tablet.

"Now that we are informed of this illicit activity pre-dating Christie's involvement, we are reviewing all representations made to us by prior owners and will reserve our rights in this matter," Christies said. "Any suggestion that Christie's had knowledge of the original fraud or illegal importation is unsubstantiated."

Authorities explained that in 2003, a U.S. antiquities dealer purchased an encrusted cuneiform tablet from a Middle Eastern antiquities dealer in London. Experts in cuneiform later recognized the tablet as a portion of the Gilgamesh epic after it was imported and cleaned.

In the epic, the protagonist describes his dreams to his mother and she interprets the dreams as foretelling the arrival of a new friend. She tells her son, You will see him and your heart will laugh, authorities noted.

The antiquities dealer later sold the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet with a false provenance letter in 2007, stating that the tablet had been inside a box of miscellaneous bronze fragments purchased in a 1981 auction. The false provenance letter traveled with the tablet and was provided to the auction house by a later owner. The auction houses antiquities director spoke with the antiquities dealer as part of their due diligence and the dealer informed the auction house that the provenance would not withstand scrutiny and should not be used in connection with a public sale.

The auction house went against that advice, however, and told Hobby Lobby, which purchased the tablet in a private sale in 2014, that it had been acquired at an auction in 1981, according to Homeland Security.

When Hobby Lobby asked for more details in connection with the purchase and the museum expressed discomfort with the provenance in 2017, the auction house told them that the antiquities dealer had confirmed the details of the provenance. The auction house did not share the false provenance letter and the antiquities dealers name with Hobby Lobby and the Museum.

The Museum of the Bible would later cooperate with authorities in investigating the origins of the tablet.

Whenever looted cultural property is found in this country, the United States government will do all it can to preserve heritage by returning such artifacts where they belong, Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement Monday. In this case, a major auction house failed to meet its obligations by minimizing its concerns that the provenance of an important Iraqi artifact was fabricated, and withheld from the buyer information that undermined the provenances reliability.

In 2017, Hobby Lobby agreed to pay $3 million and forfeit thousands of biblical cuneiform tablets and clay bullae to settle a civil complaint the U.S. government filed against the company.
The Federal Council

Bern, 20.05.2020 - The coronavirus pandemic has had severe repercussions for the media; advertising revenue has fallen dramatically. Given the particular importance of the media for democracy in Switzerland, a number of broadly backed motions were submitted during the extraordinary session of Parliament requesting immediate financial assistance of CHF 57.5 million. The Federal Council consequently adopted two emergency ordinances at its meeting on 20 May.

The complete text is available in German, French and Italian. Please click on the desired language above in the Navigation Menu.

Address for enquiries

Federal Office of Communications OFCOM

Press service

+41 58 460 55 50, media@bakom.admin.ch

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC

https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html



Federal Office of Communications

http://www.ofcom.admin.ch




UPDATE: Defiant N.J. gym shut down by state, owners vow to sue Murphy

The New Jersey man who has gotten national attention for opening his Bellmawr gym in defiance of the states shutdown orders is now facing some backlash after word circulated online that he also broke the law 13 years ago in an incident that cost a young man his life.

Ian A. Smith was a 20-year-old Stockton University student in 2007 when he drank 10 to 12 beers and in the morning ran a stop sign, killing Kevin Ade, 19, of Galloway Township, according to 6ABC reports at the time. He pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, court records show.

Smith, co-owner of Atilis Gym, addressed the incident in an Instagram video Wednesday, saying he was responding to a lot of postings about a tragedy in the past that I was the cause of.

Smith and partner Frank Trumbetti have reopened their gym for three days, arguing the state shutdown of gyms is unconstitutional and that they can take steps to keep members safe, like taking temperatures and limiting capacity. For each of the three days, they and patrons have been cited by police for violating Gov. Phil Murphys executive order. A Gofundme pledging to pay their legal fees had raised over $40,000 by Wednesday afternoon.

Smith said the fatal crash in 2007 happened after he had been drinking at his dorm room at night and didnt realize when he got up in the morning that he still had alcohol in his system. Its something that I accept full responsibility for. And to anyone out there who hates me, you are completely justified in doing so, but I do want to set the details straight, Smith said in the video.

My actions caused the death of a young man and broke the hearts of an entire community, and thats something theyll never ever fully recover from, he said. Theres nothing I can do except try to live a good life and give back and promote as much love and positivity in the world as I can.

But some members of Ades family said that while they hoped Smith would turn his life around, his decision to reopen his gym  despite the governors executive order and the risk it poses to members  shows he has not.

It shows he has no regard for the law, said Robert Henchy, Ades uncle.

He drove drunk, killed somebody, gets probably one of the lightest sentences Ive ever seen, said Henchy, a retired Absecon police officer. And now 13 years later, youre out defying the law once again. I just dont get it. He already killed somebody and now hes going to put other peoples lives in jeopardy by opening the gym.

Beth Henchy, Robert Henchys wife and Ades aunt, said she doesnt want to be angry with Smith, but she feels his actions now show he still does not value others lives.

I used to drive in my car and say, I forgive. I forgive Ian Smith, hoping if I said it, I would feel it, she said in an interview Wednesday. And then I look at this and... Im angry again.

Beth Henchy, a radiology technician at a South Jersey hospital, said she understands how much small businesses are suffering now. But as she and her family members work in hospitals, law enforcement and other essential jobs, she just cant agree that opening a gym is that essential, especially given the risk asymptomatic gym members could spread the virus.

Maybe he should come hang out with me and my coworkers dealing with COVID-19 patients, she said. As were holding someones hand as they take their dying breath.

She said one positive thing has come out of the development: people have started to make donations in her nephews name to The HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, which has honored Kevin Ade as one of the victims of drunk driving who died too young.

Ade, a 2006 graduate of Absegami High School, was attending Atlantic Cape Community College at the time of his death and dreamed of being a radio deejay.

At 19 years old, Kevin Ade was killed by a drunk driver, leaving his family to mourn his loss and carry on his... Posted by HERO Campaign on Wednesday, April 15, 2020

James Mermigis, an attorney representing Atilis Gym, declined to comment for this story. Attempts to reach Smith for comment were unsuccessful.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
On the eve of Memorial Day Weekend, local health officials in San Francisco and Berkeley moved to allow sport fishing boats to operate out of those cities  so long as they abide by a lengthy list of rules designed to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

Eager to take advantage of the new allowance, several party boats set out into San Francisco Bay on Tuesday as a means of preparing to host recreation anglers during the holiday weekend.

Were out on the bay today, wiping the dust off, said Erik Anfinson, skipper of the Bass-Tub out of Fishermans Wharf, as he cruised near Alcatraz on Tuesday. It feels so good to be out of the house, breathing in the fresh air. Well make our first trip for salmon on Saturday.

For vessels launching from San Francisco and Berkeley, the new rules limit the number of people aboard such that at least 6 feet of space can be maintained between guests at all times. Also, rod holders on boat decks must be placed at least 6 feet apart and fishing equipment cannot be shared. Hand-shaking or physical contact is off limits. Bathrooms must be sanitized after each use and hand sanitizer must be available throughout the boat and at each rod station.

Everybody is taking the orders very seriously, said Scott Sutherland at Berkeley Charter Boats. We can make this work, Sutherland said. Its going to be a good summer.

Sutherland and Anfinson said the first changes include using credit cards, not cash, for all payments, and limiting passenger counts on boats to 9 to 12 people rather than the typical load of more than 20. Sutherland said that he and many captains would sanitize the railings, tables, bait trays and other places that customers might touch.

On Monday, Sutherland said the New Easy Rider ventured out the Golden Gate with 9 anglers, who caught their 2-fish limits and returned with 18 salmon weiging up to 20 pounds. The California Dawn, also out of Berkeley, had 19 halibut and 6 striped basstook for 12 anglers, Sutherland said.

Rules for sport fishing, boat ramps and access to parks across the Bay Area remain a patchwork. County health departments set their respective standards independent of each other. Other counties have not yet given the green light for party boat fishing, including Alameda, which is home to a large sportfishing fleet in Emeryville.

San Mateo County

In San Mateo County, Tom Mattusch of the countys Harbor Commission and captain of the Huli Cat, said a commission meeting Wednesday night would determine the next steps for salmon fishing out of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Since the salmon season opened on May 1, only private boats with slips in the harbor have been able to fish out of Half Moon Bay.

On Wednesday evening, the San Mateo County Harbor Commission will consider allowing sales of salmon at Johnson Pier at Pillar Point Harbor, easing party boat restrictions and reopening boat ramps. Mattusch anticipated off-the-boat sales of salmon from commercial vessels at Johnson Pier could be approved. In anticipation of the sale of salmon, stripes for social distancing have already been painted on the walkway at Johnson Pier.

The biggest concern, Mattusch said, is reopening the boat launch at Pillar Point Harbor. During 3-day weekends in the past, parking filled early at Pillar Point Harbor and lines of vehicles towing boats extended onto the shoulders of Highway 1, and caused others to park in residential areas in El Grenada, he said.

On Monday, Mattusch took his boat out to check a crab pot and found 58.4-degree water at the Half Moon Bay Weather Buoy, and saw many big molas (ocean sunfish) and humpback whales. The humpback whales are an indicator for a sea that is full of food, likely juvenile anchovies.

North Bay

In the North Bay, Marin County Parks, which manages 16,000 acres of land, reopened parking this week for 35 open space preserves. They include Stafford Lake, Mount Burdell, Baltimore Canyon, Bothin Marsh, Ring Mountain and Cascade Canyon, according to a list provided by rangers.

In addition, local harbor districts and park districts reopened two boat ramps, at Loch Lomond Harbor in San Rafael, and at Black Point on the Petaluma River, each which provide boating access to San Pablo Bay.

At the Marin Watershed lands, including at Bon Tempe and Lagunitas lakes, all parking remains closed, with access permitted only for those arriving on foot or bicycle.

Across the greater Bay Area, all access roads, parking and campgrounds remain closed at State Parks, and at most parking and staging areas for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco and the Marin Headlands.

In East Bay counties, watershed lands managed by the East Bay Municipal Utility District, including for San Pablo and Lafayette reservoirs, and Contra Costa Water District for the Los Vaqueros Watershed, remain closed to all access. Most parks operated by the East Bay Regional Park District are open.

On the Peninsula, San Mateo County Parks has reopened 13 of its 23 parks, and the Midpeninsula Open Space District has reopened all of its 26 preserves.

For complete, up-to-date information on the status of specific parks and beaches in the Bay Area, visit the Chronicles park tracker, here.

Tom Stienstra is The Chronicles outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @StienstraTom.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has admitted it would reflect badly on Ireland if creches and schools here were the last to reopen in Europe.

The admission by Mr Varadkar comes as the Government scrambles to secure the reopening of childcare facilities, after a deal collapsed last week on the care of essential health workers children.

Mr Varadkar raised concerns that other European countries were opening schools and creches much earlier.

According to sources, he said that the new target here to reopen some creches by the end of June would take a lot of work. He said this could be difficult for the sector with social distancing rules and fewer providers and staff available.

There are also worries about children with special needs and the July provision which supports them, which has yet to be agreed by education authorities, Mr Varadkar said.

In June, many schools across Europe will be open, he told colleagues, and some in the North and Britain have remained open throughout the crisis.

Members said Mr Varadkar insisted that he doesn't want Ireland to be the last country reopening its creches and schools as it would reflect badly on us as a society if we were the last people in Europe.

The meeting heard concerns that some parents are at their wits end trying to balance work and look after children, with Senator Tim Lombard saying this is a major gap in the Government's roadmap to exit lockdown.

Meanwhile, Children's Minister Katherine Zappone is struggling to secure a new plan for childcare after cover for essential health workers collapsed last week. She held an early years forum sub-committee meeting last night, amid hopes something can be agreed for the new target date of June 29, when the Government say childcare facilities will start to reopen.

But providers are doubtful this can happen. Elaine Dunne, chairwoman of the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, which represents 1,400 childcare groups, said parents and staff are reluctant to commit to the reopening of facilities because of Covid-19 health risks.

Ms Zappone's spokeswoman said a plan to reopen facilities is still being discussed and that it is unclear if care will be initially for one day a week or more. The concerns around insurance cover for facilities and levels of pay for providers are being examined, she said.
MEDORA, N.D. - A bison had to be put down after injuring a woman visiting the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, the National Park Service said.

Officials said the 55-year-old woman from Watford City was hiking around a bend on the Buckhorn Trail on Monday afternoon when she encountered a bull bison on the trail. The bull charged, striking the woman in the face and knocking her down.

The woman called 911 while on the ground, and a U.S. park ranger responded and found the bull still standing near the woman. The bison did not respond to hazing measures and was showing increasing signs of aggression, so the ranger shot the animal.

The woman was flown to Minot and treated for broken vertebrae and facial fractures.

Park staff remind visitors that bison may appear docile, but are large, powerful and fast-moving. Park regulations require that visitors stay at least 25 yards (23 metres) away from large animals such as bison, elk, deer and horses.
President Donald Trumps angry demands for punitive action against the World Health Organisation were rebuffed on Tuesday by the organiations other member nations, which decided instead to conduct an impartial, independent examination of the WHOs response to the coronavirus pandemic

Washington: President Donald Trumps angry demands for punitive action against the World Health Organisation were rebuffed on Tuesday by the organisations other member nations, which decided instead to conduct an impartial, independent examination of the WHOs response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a four-page letter late on Monday, Trump had threatened to permanently cut off US funding of the WHO unless it committed to major, substantive improvements within 30 days. It was a major escalation of his repeated attempts to blame the WHO and China for the spread of the virus and deflect responsibility for his handling of a worldwide public health crisis that has killed more than 90,000 people in the United States.

But representatives of the organisations member nations rallied around the WHO at its annual meeting in Geneva, largely ignoring Trumps demand for an overhaul and calling for a global show of support in the face of a deadly pandemic.

The outcome left the United States isolated as officials from China, Russia and the European Union chided Trump over his heated threats even as they acknowledged the need for a review of how the WHO performed as the virus spread from China to the rest of the world.

Public health experts noted that Trumps threats to withdraw from the organisation and halt funding ignored the reality that any such moves would require the consent of Congress, something many analysts said was unlikely.

But the presidents continued attacks on the WHO, experts said, threatened to hobble the organisation at a critical moment and seriously damage international efforts to combat the virus, especially in poorer countries that depend heavily on the agency.

Just when the world was trying to come together over an unprecedented health crisis, its all splintered apart, said Lawrence O Gostin, the director of the ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. This kind of disruption and setting global health on fire by the Trump administration is going to cost lives.

Virginie Battu-Henriksson, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, said it was the time for solidarity, not the time for finger pointing. Valentina I Matviyenko, speaker of the Upper House of the Russian Parliament, said Moscow would stand behind the WHO, adding that there was certainly no reason to perform a mock trial or any kinds of investigations or to destroy the useful things that have been accumulated for decades by mankind.

The resolution approved by WHO members without objection promised a comprehensive evaluation of the organisation that would review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19.

In a statement, the White House sought to claim victory, suggesting that the resolution amounted to a mandate to investigate Trumps concerns about the origins of the virus.

But the document, which was sponsored by scores of US allies but not the United States, fell far short of the condemnation of the WHO that Trump issued in his letter on Monday night. Officials at the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Trump has railed against the WHO for weeks as his own political and public health crisis at home has intensified, saying the organisation is in the thrall of China, where the virus originated. In his letter Monday night, he said the WHO was responsible for many deaths because it failed to challenge the version of events provided by President Xi Jinping of China regarding the origin of the virus and its initial spread.

As the source of the outbreak, China has a special responsibility to pay more and to give more, John Ullyot, a spokesman for Trumps National Security Council, said in a statement before the meeting.

The president accuses the global health group of failing to act quickly and aggressively enough against the virus, in effect denouncing the organisation for the very missteps and failures that have been levelled at him and his administration. Public health experts have said the presidents public denials of the viruss dangers slowed the US response, which included delayed testing and a failure to stockpile protective gear.

Foreign policy experts said Trumps attacks on the WHO provided a strategic opening for China, which announced Monday that it would spend $2 billion in the global fight against the pandemic, and served mainly to undercut the interests of the United States by angering its closest allies.

Weve been actively alienating them, which is not a good competitive strategy on our part, said Thomas J Christensen, director of the China and the World programme at Columbia University and a former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Were weakening our own diplomatic profile around the world, and strengthening Chinas.

Trumps criticism about the WHOs cosiness with China was particularly ironic given his praise for the country early in the pandemic, when he was trying to complete negotiations on a trade deal.

Besides his accusations, Trumps letter also contained a number of falsehoods and misleading statements. One of them was that the WHO consistently ignored credible reports of the virus spreading in Wuhan in early December 2019 or even earlier, including reports from the Lancet medical journal.

But in a statement on Tuesday morning, The Lancet pointed out that the journal published no report in December 2019 referring to a virus or outbreak in Wuhan or anywhere else in China. The journal said its first reports about the virus were published on 24 January, just six days before the WHO declared an international emergency.

Trumps attacks on the WHO are at the centre of the presidents appeal to his core supporters  a message that his political advisors intend to highlight as Trump fights for a second term this November. To many of the presidents supporters, the WHO and other international organisations are to blame for lost jobs, low wages and economic uncertainty.

And as Trump seeks reelection, he will need to convince a broad part of the electorate that he is not responsible for the tens of thousands of deaths and economic calamity caused by the virus. Creating enemies out of the WHO and the Chinese government could be an effective way of blunting what is sure to be fierce criticism from Democrats this fall about his handling of the pandemic.

The WHO resolution approved on Tuesday did not provide specific direction to investigate one of Trumps central allegations against the global health group: that it was too credulous in believing Chinas assertions about the virus and its leaders denials that it was not created in a Chinese lab.

Scientists who have studied the genetics of the virus say that the overwhelming probability is that it leapt from animal to human in a non-laboratory setting, as was the case with HIV, Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

China did not object to the resolution, but Xi said Monday that any such inquiry should wait until the health crisis is brought under control.

At the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the WHO would have to clean up their act.

They have to do a better job, he said. They have to be much more fair to other countries, including the United States, or were not going to be involved with them and well do it in a separate way.

In a closing statement Tuesday that marked the end of the two-day assembly, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, reiterated his support for an investigation into the organisations handling of its response to the virus and highlighted the need for cooperation.

COVID-19 has robbed us of people we love. It has robbed us of lives and livelihoods. It has shaken the foundations of our world, he said. It threatens to tear at the fabric of international cooperation. But it has also reminded us that for all our differences, we are one human race, and we are stronger together.

Michael D Shear and Andrew Jacobs c.2020 The New York Times Company
Kim Kardashian West is not afraid to show off her wild side while under lockdown.

The 39-year-old reality star wowed her 171 million Instagram followers on Wednesday, as she told fans she was 'all dressed up with nowhere to go' in a series of racy snaps.

However, despite claiming to be 'dressed up' it was more a case of stripping down, as Kim appeared to be wearing just her underwear, underneath a pair of cowboy-style white leather chaps.

Yee-haw! Kim Kardashian West wowed her 171 million Instagram followers on Wednesday, as she admitted she was 'all dressed up with nowhere to go' in a series of racy snaps.

The mother-of-four squatted down as she posed alongside a luxury car that featured a metallic chrome gloss finish.

Kim has been returning to her racy roots on Instagram lately, after posting a series of shots in her SKIMS underwear line.

However, it appears to be going against her pledge to cover up 'a little' in remarks that she made last year after getting serious about her law career.

Working it: The mother-of-four squatted down as she posed alongside a luxury car that featured a metallic chrome gloss finish.

Ready for her close-up: The series of shots included this one of her bra

Just hanging out: Kim struck a series of poses for the impromptu shoot on Wednesday

In an interview with Vulture last November, Kim admitted that she had tried to purposefully cover up and dress less sexy, particularly on her social media pages.

Kim explained: 'I don't know if its the fact that my husband has voiced that sometimes too sexy is just overkill and he's not comfortable with that. I listen to him and understand him.'

However, she said that at the the end of the day, the rapper 'always gives me the freedom to be and do what I want.'

Are you REALLY all dressed up though? Kim's caption certainly appeared to be playful

Kim then said in the interview that she herself found her own Instagram feed to be inappropriate when shown around her children.

'But I have kind of had this awakening myself. I realized I could not even scroll through Instagram in front of my kids without full nudity coming up on my feed pretty much all the time. And I definitely contributed to that.'

She added: 'I mean, one of my most iconic covers was the Paper magazine (Winter 2014) one, when I was all oiled up and ripping my dress off. I also did think, like, Okay, I'm here in the White House.'

Model behaviour: Kim has been showing off her figure while modelling her underwear brands SKIMS

'...and then the next day I was posting, like, a crazy bikini selfie. And I was thinking, I hope they dont see this. I have to go back there next week.'

Kim met with President Trump last July to lobby for Alice Johnson, who was serving a life sentence in prison, but later freed.

The star has been tackling criminal justice reform for some time now, which is the subject of new docu-series The Justice Project.
The influential reach of the 'prince of painting' and his followers

In Raphaels lifetime, early 16th-century artists and art aficionados could encounter Raphaels art via prints. For those who were unable to travel to Rome or Florence where his art flourished, or who didnt have access to his art in private or ecclesiastical collections, these prints took his fine art to them.

Raphael realized the power of printmaking to effectively show his classically inspired designs of complex, multifigured compositions to an international audience. Indeed, he may have been the first artist to use printmaking as a marketing tool.

Il Morbetto (The Plague), circa 1512/1513, by Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael. Engraving sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 7 11/16 inches by 9 15/16 inches. Gift of W.G. Russell Allen, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Engraver Marcantonio Raimondi made engravings for Raphael, and after Raphael meant that he copied from or was influenced by Raphaels designs. According to art historian Giorgio Vasari, Raimondi started working with Raphael after Raimondi made a copper engraving of Raphaels drawing Lucretia, a beautiful lady from ancient Rome.

Raimondis Lucretia was rendered with such diligence and in so beautiful a manner, wrote Vasari, that when Raphaels friends showed the engraving to him, he immediately saw the potential of printmaking for publishing and disseminating some of his designs to a wider audience.

Raphaels drawing The Judgement of Paris was one of the first engravings Raimondi executed for him, around 1510, and one where Raimondis skill with the burin (an engraving tool) shone through. The engraving was done in such a manner that amazed all of Rome, Vasari wrote. The engraving marked the beginning of a fruitful endeavor for both Raphael and Raimondi.

Raphael owned the plates that Raimondi engraved for him, and he tasked an assistant to market and sell the prints. After Raphaels early death in 1520, Raimondi continued to make engravings after Raphaels designs.

So remarkable was Raimondis work that Vasari included Raimondis biography in his book Lives of the Artists, the only printmaker biography in the edition.

Prints by Design

Two fine examples of Raimondis engravings are The Massacre of the Innocents and Apollo on Parnassus. Both designs are of historic subjects.

Raphaels drawing The Massacre of the Innocents was rendered specifically to be made into an engraving to show his virtuosity; it acted as a calling card of sorts. The drawing depicts the biblical story of Herod, who ordered all male infants in Bethlehem murdered. The scene, although ancient, is set in contemporary Rome, with the Ponte Fabricio in the background.

The Massacre of the Innocents, circa 1511, by Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael. Engraving sheet (trimmed within plate mark); 11 1/16 inches by 17 1/16 inches. Print Purchase Fund, Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

In The Massacre of the Innocents print, made around 1511, Raimondis stunning engraving shows Raphaels exquisite ability to capture a dreadful scene and yet somehow imbue it with beauty, grace, and harmony. Even though the drawing is clearly macabre, Raphaels multiple figures move as if engaged in some serene dance. The print is known as one of the best works of the Raphael-Raimondi partnership.

In Raphaels famous fresco The Parnassus, the artist depicted the Greek god Apollo on his sacred Mount Parnassus, which is also the home of the Muses. Mount Parnassus was renowned as a place of great learning, so Raphaels vision of this sacred place is a community where all manner of ancient wise men and the Muses gather together. The fresco is in the Raphael Rooms, previously the papal apartments, in the Vatican Museums.

The Parnassus, 1511, by Raphael, in the Raphael Rooms at the Vatican Museums. (Public Domain)

Apollo on Parnassus, 1515/1520, by Marcantonio Raimondi after Raphael. Engraving sheet: 14 1/2 inches by 19 1/16 inches. Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

The fresco differs from Raimondis engraving Apollo on Parnassus executed around 1515 or 1520. In the engraving, putti (naked baby boys) fly high, holding laurel-leaf wreaths. Raimondis Apollo holds a lyre rather than a viola as in Raphaels fresco, for example. And although the main composition of the scene is similar in both, many of the figures postures and positions differ slightly.

Both of these engravings are part of a wider exhibition: Raphael and His Circle at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington. The exhibition offers an interesting insight into Raphaels followers and the artists in his workshop, who not only worked alongside him but who also helped foster his fame across Europe.

Raphael and His Circle

The NGA is home to the finest collection of Raphaels work outside of Europe. But with the world celebrating 500 years since the great artists death in 1520, some of the pieces in the NGAs collection have been loaned to the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome for the worlds largest Raphael retrospective: Raphael 15201483. Nevertheless, the NGA commemorates the celebrated artist with a fascinating exhibition consisting of 26 prints and drawings, including 10 engravings by Raimondi. Many of these works on paper are not normally on display due to their fragility.

Of note are four drawings by Raphael from the NGAs own collection. All are preparatory drawings for important works, and together they show Raphaels skill and development. His drawing Saint George and the Dragon is an important preparatory study. The drawing was overlooked by many when it came up for auction due to its poor condition, said exhibition curator Jonathan Bober in the audio of the exhibition press preview. Bober is the Andrew W. Mellon senior curator of prints and drawings at the NGA.

Saint George and the Dragon, circa 1506, by Raphael. Brush and brown ink heightened with white over black chalk, incised with stylus; 9 5/8 inches by 8 inches. Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Bober explained that former NGA curators Andrew Robison and Margaret Morgan Grasselli realized the importance of the work: Certain details in the drawing, such as the play of light, are seen in the final painting. Therefore, it was this drawings design that was transferred by a fine stylus to the cartoon that was then transferred to the final painting.

The Madonna and Child With Saint John the Baptist, circa 1507, by Raphael. Black chalk with traces of white chalk, outlines pricked for transfer; 36 15/16 inches by 26 3/8 inches. Purchased with funds from The Armand Hammer Foundation, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

The exhibition includes three other drawings by Raphael: a cartoon for the final painting of the Belle Jardiniere (The Virgin and Child With St. John the Baptist), a detailed study of the prophets Hosea and Jonah, and a well-known study for some of the frescoes in the church of Santa Maria della Pace in Rome.

The Prophets Hosea and Jonah, circa 1510, by Raphael. Pen and brown ink with brown wash over charcoal and blind stylus, heightened with white gouache and squared for transfer with blind stylus and red chalk, on laid paper; 10 5/16 inches by 7 7/8 inches. The Armand Hammer Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Eight Apostles, circa 1514, by Raphael. Red chalk over stylus underdrawing and traces of leadpoint on laid paper, cut in two pieces and rejoined; laid down sheet: 3 3/16 inches by 9 1/8 inches. Woodner Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington. (National Gallery of Art, Washington)

Nine drawings by Raphaels closest followers and collaborators show how his later work became more collaborative. Together, the drawings show the beginning of mannerism. Four of the drawings are by one of his closest collaborators, Giulio Romano, who took over the direction of Raphaels workshop when Raphael died.

By expanding his circle of collaborators, not only did Raphael increase his creative output, but he also circulated his virtuosity to an ever increasing circle of viewers. And exhibitions like this one ensure that Raphaels renown continues as his work delights people 500 years on.

The exhibition Raphael and His Circle runs at the NGA through June 14, 2020. The exhibition can also be viewed remotely via a virtual tour on the NGA website. To find out more, visit NGA.gov
This item first appeared in the Axios China newsletter. Subscribe here.

For those of you who like to look at things from both sides, you'll likely enjoy the latest book by Singaporean former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani.

The big question: "Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy" (Public Affairs, March 2020) starts with a question no U.S. politician dares address publicly: "What strategic changes will America have to make when it no longer is the world's dominant economic power?"

Key takeaways: Mahbubani examines both China's and America's biggest strategic mistakes.

Mahbubani says China's biggest error in its dealings with the U.S. was alienating the U.S. business community, once China's loudest supporter in Washington, through years of predatory practices such as forced technology transfer.

And America's biggest mistake was launching a geopolitical contest with China "without first working out a long-term strategy."

Flashback: I asked Mahbubani what he thought the Obama administration's biggest mistake was.
We are a manufacturer of pellets from the husks of sunflower.We produce pellets from the husks of sunflower - this is a product obtained by the collapse of sunflower seeds. The product is widely used in agriculture, and also through granulation (pellets) is widely used as bio-fuel. Every month we produce about 4000 tons of pellets from the husks of sunflower and sells them both to private domestic heat and power plants, and to the central power plants of the EU countries.

We can export to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and other EU countries,

FOB port Rostov

Packing big run 1000 kg

We work on the terms of FOB, FSC

Price 26 Euro Ton FCA

Shipment Belgorod
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The government of Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced that an investigation has been opened into the deaths of 12 people last week during a counter-terrorism operation in the east of the country
10:36 PM IST

At least 10-12 persons killed in Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told televsion reporters that at least 10-12 persons have been killed in Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal. She also said that two districts - South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas - have been "totally devastated".

"There are 5 lakh persons in relief centers. Several areas are totally cut off and cannot be reached yet. We have no information yet - it will take at least 3-4 days to assess the damage," Banerjee said.
In early 2020 Libyan GNA (Government of National Accord) forces captured a base belonging to a Berber militia allied with the LNA (Libyan National Army) and found several Chinese GP6 155mm laser-guided artillery shells. These were apparently obtained from the UAE (United Arab Emirates) which has supported the LNA since 2013, via air transport or by road from Egypt. The GNA has received support from Qatar and Sudan. Sudan has withdrawn its support and Qatari support was limited to weapons and ammo flown in. The Libyan civil war began in 2012 when Islamic terror groups and dozens of major militias throughout the country fought for control after the overthrow of the Kaddafi dictatorship in 2011. Islamic militias controlled the eastern cities of Tripoli and Misrata. A previous elected H0R (House of Representatives) government is based in the eastern cities of Tobruk and Benghazi and its LNA controls over eighty percent of the country. The rival, UN-backed GNA government called in the Turks in late 2019. This Turkish intervention has been condemned by most Arab nations. Russia sent in spare parts and technicians to refurbish a lot of the Russian made, Cold War era, combat vehicles and artillery the LNA was using. Initially, the UAE supplied light aircraft and Chinese made armed UAVs (similar to the American Predator). Turkey brought in their own UAVs, which were also similar to the Predator. The UAE has supplied many other types of military equipment to the LNA but has never provided details because technically Libya is under a UN arms embargo which was violated from the start by smugglers and later nations.

But how did the Chinese laser-guided shells get to Libya? The UAE is known to have bought the GP6 from China but where did China get the idea from? The design of the GP6 is based on the Russian 1990s 152mm Krasnopol shell which in turn was based on the 1970s American 155mm Copperhead laser-guided shell. China bought a manufacturing license for Krasnopol in 1997 and, dissatisfied with its performance, developed their own version, the GP1, which were effective 20 kilometers from the gun. This led to an improved (more capable and resistant to jamming) GP6 shell that is good up to 25 kilometers.

By the 1990s Russia had developed a 155mm version of Krasnopol and by early 1999 sold a hundred of these to India. These guided shells were used in the late-1999 war between India and Pakistan near Kargil, high in the Himalayan Mountains along their border. India bought that initial lot of Krasnopol 155mm shells and laser designators for evaluation. When the fighting broke out in Kargil, the army used Krasnopol and found that these shells were only worked about 25 percent of the time when used against targets high in the frigid mountains. The shells were also incompatible with some of the 155mm howitzers the Indian Army used. Russian and Indian artillery officers agreed that Krasnopol was not effective in high mountains. Russia had tested Krasnopol at sea-level and the 2,500 meter high mountains of the Northern Caucasus. The Kargil fighting was in mountains three to four times higher and much colder. Russia fixed these problems and sold thousands of additional Krasnopol shells to India. France evaluated these improved Krasnopol shells in 2001 and found they did work with Western 155mm howitzers and laser designators. China noted the Kargil problems and avoided those early problems and are now exporting more laser-guided shells than Russia.

The U.S. found the Copperhead too expensive and not worth the effort in actual combat. Troops were still eager to have a workable guided shell and in 2007 the U.S. put a 155mm GPS guided shell into service. A decade later there were two types of GPS guided shells in service and both proved very effective in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. As with other GPS and laser-guided weapons the laser-guided shells are more accurate. This did not bother the Americans who had plenty of laser-guided weapons and have steadily improved the accuracy of their GPS guided shells. One disadvantage of laser-guided shells is that to work they require someone near the target (on the ground or in the air) to aim a laser at the target so the shell can home in on the reflected laser light. That has not proved to be a major problem but the GPS guided shells have become the favorite for the artillery crews that use them and the ground troops who call in artillery fire. The GPS shell means far fewer shells have to be fired to hit a target and that a target can be hit with the first shell. This is a major advantage because after the first shell lands the enemy takes cover and subsequent shells are much less effective. The GPS guided shells is also a lot safer for friendly troops who can be closer to the target without danger of being hit. In Libya the GP6 shell made the LNA forces a lot more effective when fighting in urban areas.
Before you read this article, pause for a moment and look at the nail on your little finger. That's about the size of a new species of seahorse discovered in the waters of Sodwana Bay, South Africa, which falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site, in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Hippocampus nalu grows to a maximum size of just 2cm. It is the first pygmy seahorse ever discovered in African waters. Our team has conclusively demonstrated that Hippocampus nalu is physically and genetically distinct from the seven known species of pygmy seahorses. Its nearest relatives are found more than 8,000 km away in the Pacific Ocean.

Seahorses are threatened all around the world. Many species are at risk of becoming extinct because of human activities such as bottom trawling, over-fishing, and habitat destruction. As a result, several species are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . However, to date no pygmy seahorses are considered threatened  because we simply do not know enough about them. By discovering more species, and learning more about these tiny creatures, scientists can offer advice on how best to protect them.

Pygmy seahorses can also provide an important boost for tourism: scuba divers love these small species and are willing to travel far and wide for a chance to see them. If coastal communities and scuba divers alike are taught about the best ways to protect these species and others in the oceans, there can be huge economic and social benefits.

The most astonishing part of this discovery is that it didn't start in a laboratory, or with keen scientific minds assessing the likelihood of finding a pygmy seahorse in African waters. Instead, it began with a photograph.

Tracking the seahorse

Dr Louw Claassens and Dr Dave Harasti arrived in Sodwana in early 2018 looking for an entirely different animal: a seahorse-like species called a pygmy pipehorse . But then a local dive guide named Savannah Olivier showed them a photograph of a very small seahorse. The scientists recognised it as a pygmy seahorse, which are supposed to live an entire ocean away. South Africa is home to four other seahorse species, but this was the first time a pygmy seahorse had been observed in South Africa, let alone Africa.

Nine months later Louw returned to Sodwana Bay, this time accompanied by Dr Richard Smith, a pygmy seahorse expert. They, with Olivier, found a pair of the tiny pygmy seahorses along a rock face at about 15m depth. The little creatures were grasping on to slivers of algae amid raging surging seas. The reefs of Sodwana Bay are exposed to the swells of the Indian Ocean, very unlike the more sheltered coral reef settings in the tropical Pacific where the other known pygmy seahorses are found.

Later they even found a tiny juvenile measuring just a centimetre in length, which was dwarfed by a diver's finger. An adult male Hippocumpus nalu. Copyright Dr Richard Smith

Finding the seahorses was only the first step in describing the new species. The rest of the team now got to work. Graham Short, a researcher at the Australian Museum and California Academy of Sciences, compared the mystery seahorses with other pygmy seahorse species by looking at their characteristics under a microscope, as well as a powerful CT scanner. Dr Mike Stat, a geneticist from Australia, used genetic methods to test how distinct it was from other species. Through combined team efforts, we confirmed that the Sodwana pygmy seahorse was a new species and could give it an official scientific name.

The name nalu has three layers of meaning. In the local isiXhosa and isiZulu languages it means here it is, to show that the species had been there all along until its discovery. Nalu is also the diver Savannah Olivier's middle name. Finally, nalu means surging surf, wave in Hawaiian, which hints at the habitat the species lives in.

More to learn

The discovery of the Sodwana pygmy seahorse is exciting for more than just its scientific value. It provides new insights into the global distribution of these tiny fish and paves the way for further exploration in other locations. Only a handful of research publications focused on the ecology of pygmy seahorses exist, so anything we can learn more about these critters will help the future conservation of this unique group.

Finding a species like Hippocampus nalu also shows how little we know about Africa's marine biodiversity, and how much more is left to discover. It highlights how important the observations of keen amateurs are to help scientists. If a keen fisherman did not consider a strange looking fish caught off the south coast of South Africa worth sharing with Marjory Courtney-Latimer in 1938, the discovery of the coelacanth , a living fossil, might never have happened.

Similarly, without a diver's sharp eyes and an expert's initial questions, the world would still not know that the Sodwana pygmy seahorse exists. As scientists, being open to questions from the general public not only helps inform non-scientists, but can also help us make new discoveries.

Graham Short works for Australian Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.

David Harasti, Louw Claassens, and Maarten De Brauwer 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.

By Maarten De Brauwer, Research fellow, University of Leeds And

David Harasti, Adjunct assistant professor, Southern Cross University And

Graham Short, Research Associate, Australian Museum And

Louw Claassens, Research Associate of Zoology and Entomology, Director of the Knysna Basin Project, Rhodes University
The Japanese Ground Self Defense Force currently uses the Howa Type 89 assault rifle. On December 6, 2019, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that plans had started to get a successor. Its done! The Type 20 assault rifle, so named since it is being introduced in fiscal 2020, was displayed to the media on May 18 at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces new Howa Type 20 assault rifle (Picture source: Japan newspaper website)

The Howa Type 20 was designed to be more resistant to water and corrosion, improving its use in amphibious operations on the remote island chain, which stretches about 1,200 kilometers from the Osumi islands in Kagoshima Prefecture to Yonagunijima island in Okinawa Prefecture.

Howa Machinery Ltd. in Aichi Prefecture, which made the Type 89 one generation ago, also manufactures the Type 20. One rifle costs about USD 2,606 (280,000 yen). The Defense Ministry will spend about 900 million yen to purchase about 3,000 of the weapons in the fiscal year 2020. The GSDF troops will begin receiving them from fiscal 2021.



The Howa Type 20 looks very similar to modern assault rifles produced today in Europe and the United States. The new 5.56-mm assault rifle Type 20 is about 78 cm long and weighs about 3.5 kg. It seems, that Type 20 is a gas-operated weapon with a short-stroke piston design similar to the German-made Heckler and Koch HK-417. It uses standard NATO magazines. It features a foldable buttstock, which provides a more compact weapon that can be used for Close-Quarters Battle (CQB).



The Howa Type 5.56mm assault rifle includes rear and front iron sights that are fully adjustable and foldable. A Picatinny rail is mounted on the top of the receiver and additional rails are mounted on each side at the front of the weapon, as well as under the barrel. A full range of accessories can be mounted on the top receiver as Red dot sight or scopes. It can be also fitted with a grenade launcher mounted under the barrel.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force conduct small arms weapons training aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu (LHA-5) in 2012. The soldiers are armed with the Howa Type 89 assault rifle (Picture source: U.S. Navy)

The Howa Type 89 assault rifle is the current assault rifle of the GSDF

The Howa Type 89 Assault Rifle, referred to as the type 89 5.56mm rifle, is an assault rifle used by the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Coast Guard's Special Security Team units, and the Special Assault Team. It has never been exported outside Japan due to its strict anti-hardware export policy. It was introduced to replace the Howa Type 64 battle rifle in frontline units.

The Type 89 can accept magazines designed for the M16 series of rifles. However, the magazine produced specifically for the Type-89 uses a follower that has a special shape to hold the bolt open after the final round is spent. If an M16 series magazine is used, the bolt will not lock back after the final round is expended.

Type 89 rifle ammunition is interchangeable with the 5.5645mm SS109/M855 round used by the U.S. Military and NATO. Along with the 7.6251mm round used in the Type 64 rifle, this allows for interchangeability with ammunition stockpiles of U.S. forces stationed in Japan. Since the ammunition developed for the Type 89 rifle is produced in Japan, it is head stamped with the sakura mark of the Self Defense Forces instead of the typical NATO circle-cross used on the SS109/M855 round.
MACKINAC ISLAND, MI  Somewhere in Time turns 40 this year.

The cult classic fantasy romance starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer tells the story of Richard Collier, a Chicago playwright who uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.

Filmed largely on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979, the film holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many Michigan residents and frequent island visitors.

Lansing resident Mary Hammerstein remembers that summer from yesteryear fondly. As a youngster looking for a summer job, she lived on the island while working at the Hotel Iroquois, checking in guests, and taking reservations.

It was a wonderful job, she said. I didnt make a ton of money, but I fell in love with the island. I go back every year to this day.

During her time on the island, Hammerstein got an up-close look at the making of the film by getting up around 5 a.m. and sneaking near the set where filming was taking place. There she saw Reeve and Seymour, both of whom would strike a pose for her when they spotted a camera in between takes.

She recently shared several of those photos on Facebook, much to the delight of film fans and Mackinac Island lovers everywhere.

Grand Hotel shares treasured Somewhere in Time photos ahead of special weekend event

It was very odd seeing a semi-truck going down Main Street, she said, recalling the summer of 1979. They usually blocked off filming locations but being someone who had been on the island I knew how to get around the barricades. I took many photos from a ledge behind one of the buildings. If I had taken a step forward, I would have been in the water. I was surprised they didnt throw me out, but both of the actors were wonderful.

Hammerstein said Reeve and Seymour were rarely spotted on the island outside of shooting, but that they did come to the Iroquois to watch fireworks one night. She wasnt working, but according to her colleague, they came to the front desk to ask for a blanket.

When her coworker asked for an autograph, Christopher signed Janes name, and Jane signed Christophers. Thats how she heard the story, at least.

Hammerstein said shes watched Somewhere in Time a few times since it was released in 1980 but added that its not her favorite. Still, she can see the appeal due to the popularity of its stars and its history on Michigans crown jewel of tourism.

Its got a huge following, she said.

Jane Seymour dishes on Mackinac Island love during her Somewhere in Time weekend

Here is a closer look at Hammersteins photos from the set of Somewhere in Time, taken during the summer of 1979.

Christopher Reeve practices his rowing in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

The set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

The set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour pose in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour pose in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Plummer on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

The set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.

Chairs belonging to Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.

Makeup is applied to Jane Seymour on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour pose in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve takes in the Great Lakes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour pose in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein

Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour pose in between takes on the set of "Somewhere in Time" on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1979.Mary Hammerstein
Women screamed as the attacker rained heavy hammer blows on the face, head and arm of the Virgin.

A man today smashed Michelangelos Pieta in Saint Peters Basilica with a hammer, breaking the Virgins left arm and damaging an eye, the tip of the nose and the back of the head.

A tourist took this picture of Laszlo Toth raining hammer blows on Michelangelo's Pieta.

First published in The Age on May 22, 1972

The sound of the blows on the marble rang out so loud in the basilica that some women believed a bomb had exploded.

The man was seized by the angry crowds and had to be saved from a beating by blue-clad Vatican security men.

The work, which stands in a side chapel near the entrance of the basilica, is one of the Vaticans artistic treasures and one of Michelangelos finest sculptures. It is considered priceless.

The statue represents the Virgin with the dead Christ lying in her arms. It dates from 1499.

Police said a man, apparently an Austrian had been detained.
She announced last month that she's expecting her first child with wife Kate Brooks.

And Michelle Hardwick showcased her growing baby bump in a pretty green maternity dress as she posed for an Instagram snap on Tuesday.

The Emmerdale actress, 44, joked 'What has become of me?' as she donned maternity wear and baked brownies while keeping herself busy during lockdown.

Bumping along nicely: Michelle Hardwick showcased her growing baby bump in a pretty green maternity dress as she posed for an Instagram snap on Tuesday

Beaming to the camera, Michelle carefully cradled her baby bump as she held aloft a tray full of freshly-baked brownies in her other hand.

The star, who plays vet Vanessa Woodfield in the ITV soap, looked radiant in the snap, with her freshly-washed blonde tresses falling loosely over her floral-print frock.

Captioning the image, she wrote: 'Ive baked brownies and Im wearing a floral maternity dress. What has become of me? #adventuresinpregnancy #wethairdontcare.'

Michelle also took to Instagram stories where she revealed her excitement at already receiving a baby gift, which included a white blanket and framed artwork.

Parents-to-be: The star, who plays vet Vanessa Woodfield in the ITV soap,announced last month that she's expecting her first child with wife Kate Brooks (pictured in April)

In April, the soap star confirmed her pregnancy in a sweet announcement shared on Instagram, in which she debuted her growing bump.

Michelle is due to give birth to her child with her Emmerdale producer wife Kate in October.

Taking to Instagram, Michelle shared a photo of her and Kate posing together with their dog Fred.

Funny: The Emmerdale actress, 44, joked 'What has become of me?' as she donned maternity wear and baked brownies while keeping herself busy during lockdown

Goodies: Michelle also took to Instagram stories where she revealed her excitement at already receiving a baby gift, which included a white blanket and framed artwork

She was seen wearing a leopard print top and cutely placing a hand on her stomach, while Kate gestured down towards Michelle's baby bump.

The photo was captioned: 'Fred's big brother duties commence in October.'

Michelle added the hashtag: '#BabyBrooks.'

The soap star and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year.

They tied the knot at Elvis Presley's home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee in September 2019.

Happy couple: The soap star and Kate first went public with their relationship in October 2018 and announced their engagement just two months later in December that same year

Michelle confirmed the pair had wed on Instagram and told fans: 'In over 100 degrees heat, on Tuesday 10th September, I became Mrs Brooks,' adding the hashtags: '#graceland #chapelinthewoods #memphis #nextstopnashville.'

Michelle's marriage to Kate is her second. She previously wed ex-wife Rosie Nicholl in 2015, after two years together.

They later announced they were divorcing in 2017.

At the time, Michelle had addressed her split with Rosie in interviews and admitted the former couple had 'drifted apart'.
Though the first round of retail stores approved by the province began taking steps to reopen on Tuesday, some business owners in our region have already been preparing for attending to customers and making sales during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

And while all business-owners who spoke to CBC News said they're taking steps to prevent the spread of coronavirus, not all plan on following the same rules or even opening on the same day.

Pam Johnston, owner of Audrey's Closet and Company in Windsor, explained that her store had a "very soft opening on Tuesday," having avoided announcing the store's reopening on social media.

Vince Robinet/CBC

"I did have one customer [Tuesday] afternoon, who had called me during the closing about something she'd seen in the window," said Johnston, whose business is a women's consignment clothing store.

"So she came in and tried on a pair of boots, so that was good."

Johnston said she plans on slowly reopening her store, and will pay attention to the COVID-19 numbers reported by the federal and provincial governments.

WATCH | Pam Johnston talks about reopening her Windsor clothing store:

Though she described reopening her business as "intimidating," Johnston added that she's taking "every safety precaution" to protect herself and her customers, including enforcing six-foot distance markers, asking all clients to wear gloves when they enter, as well as making sure that everyone is aware of maximum occupancy.

"I really don't get more than three or four people in the store at a time anyway, and my clientele is very respectful, so I don't foresee a real problem," she said.

COVID-19 makes it difficult to source some products bought abroad

Shannon Gilbert  who owns Flowers by Design in Windsor  said the ongoing pandemic has made it difficult to source products like roses from Ecuador and Colombia.

"There's certain things that we still can't get," Gilbert said. "Tulip season's already done  we have to depend on the local tulips, which are done."

Story continues

Gilbert's store was closed between late March and late April, previously reopening for curbside pickup and no contact deliveries.

Vince Robinet/CBC

"We reopened at the end, just so that we had a chance to get ready for Mother's Day," Gilbert said, adding that her business was able to rely on a strong web presence established before the pandemic struck.

"There are some adjustments that we have to make as far as what's available, but fortunately for us, this kind of business  it was easier for us to transition back."

Gilbert added that she didn't install Plexiglass shields in her business, instead choosing to wear masks around customers to protect against coronavirus.

WATCH | Shannon Gilbert shares her reopening plans:

"If somebody wants to wander in, we'll have hand sanitizer available and we will keep the number of people in the store limited," she said.

"We want everybody to stay safe. We're glad that we can all get back to work and hopefully some sense of normalcy."

Customers following rules, continuing to stay safe

Despite the COVID-19 rules that remain in place, some business owners like Mary Ann Peloza  who co-owns the Cheeky Monkey record shop in Sarnia  said they're pleased with Tuesday's sales.

"There was never a time when there wasn't someone in here," Peloza said. "We had a lot of people making up for lost time. Overall, we had a really excellent day business-wise and personally seeing a lot of friends we haven't seen in a long time."

For her part, Peloza said customers also respected physical distancing rules, even though "it wasn't really an issue, because we are a very large floor space."

LISTEN | Mary Ann Peloza talks about reopening a record store amid COVID-19

Peloza added that plastic shields have been installed at the front counter to protect both customers and employees.

"We do have a table right at the front door with hand sanitizer," she said. "Everyone that walks in, we asked them to please make use of it and everyone complied."
Moustafa 'Michael' Ibrahim has been sentenced to 30 years' jail for his role in a conspiracy to import more than 1.9 tonnes of illicit drugs from the Netherlands in 2017.

He is the third person jailed in relation to the syndicate, in which he conspired to import more than 1.7 tonnes of MDMA, 136 kilograms of cocaine and 15 kilograms of methylamphetamine into Australia.

Michael Ibrahim has been sentenced to 30 years' jail. Credit:Edwina Pickles

At the time the 42-year-old told an associate, "I'll move anything you want ... be your f---king right-hand man."

But what an unwitting Ibrahim did not know was that the associate was an undercover police operative, and the operation to import hundreds of millions of dollars worth of drugs a "sham arrangement" directed by police.
New Delhi, May 20 : The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a scheme to promote a Blue Revolution in the country through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries, was cleared by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

With a target of doubling the income of fishermen, fish farmers and fish workers by 2024, the Scheme will be implemented during a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the PMMSY will address the critical gaps in the fisheries sector and aid it in realising its potential.

It will help in augmenting fish production and productivity at a sustained average annual growth rate of about 9 per cent to achieve a target of 22 million metric tons by 2024-25 through sustainable and responsible fishing practices, said the Ministry.

The scheme also aims to improve availability of certified quality fish seed and feed, traceability in fish and including effective aquatic health management and help in creation of critical infrastructure including modernisation and strengthening of value chain.

The PMMSY, a 5-year scheme, will be implemented as an umbrella scheme with two separate Components namely (a) Central Sector Scheme (CS) and (b) Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

The entire project/unit cost will be borne by the Central government (i.e. 100 per cent central funding). Wherever direct beneficiary oriented i.e. individual/group activities are undertaken by the entities of the Central government including the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), the central assistance will be up to 40 per cent of the unit/project cost for general category and 60 per cent for SC/ST/Women category, said the Ministry.

In the northeastern & Himalayan states, the Centre will contribute 90 per cent of the scheme while state' share will be 10, but in other states, the Centre's share will be 60 per cent and state's share 40 per cent.

In Union Territories, 100 per centfinancial assistance of the scheme will be given by the Centre.
The First Response Team have uncovered 100 bodies in mass grave in Raqqa, that is believed to contain the victims of the Islamic State reports Zaman Al-Wasl.

About 100 bodies have been exhumed from a mass graves in eastern Raqqa province, the First Response Team said Tuesday.

Yaser al-Khamis, head of the local rescue group, said the corpse toll of the new mass grave in Tel Zaidan is expected to reach 200.

The exhuming of the grave began on Apr. 13, 2020, and most of victims are young men, according to the forensic crew.

Since the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Raqqa in 2017, forensic teams have begun to lift bodies that are believed to have been buried there during the four-month campaign to liberate the city.

So far, 5,600 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves in the areas of the al-Rasheed Stadium, the zoo, the Bedouin neighborhood, and the ancient mosque.

In 2014, regime forces found a mass grave near Tabqa air base, containing the bodies of 60 troops killed by ISIS in 2014.

Activists said the victims in the mass graves were not only killed by ISIS, but also by the US-led International Coalition airstrikes and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The SDF has been the main partner of the US-led coalition against ISIS in Syria, helping drive the jihadists out of swathes of northern and eastern Syria.

ISIS has been largely defeated in the country but has continued to carry out ambushes, assassinations and bombings and still poses a threat along its border with Iraq.

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.
By Michael Erman and Ankur Banerjee

(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration awarded a contract worth up to $812 million for a new U.S. company to manufacture drugs and drug ingredients to fight COVID-19 on American soil, aiming to end dependence on other countries.

The administration has been looking to build up the ability to produce drugs and their raw materials in the United States after the global pandemic exposed the industry's dependence on China and India for its supply chain.

"For far too long, we've relied on foreign manufacturing and supply chains for our most important medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients while placing America's health, safety, and national security at grave risk," Peter Navarro, director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, said in a statement.

Navarro for months has been advocating that Trump issue an executive order to require federal agencies to buy U.S.-made medical supplies and pharmaceuticals.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services said it had awarded a four-year, $354 million contract to privately-held Phlow Corp to make COVID-19 drugs, other essential drugs and their ingredients. The contract - which is for generic drugs, not more complicated products like vaccines - can be extended to a total of $812 million over 10 years.

Phlow, which was incorporated in January, said the contract will help it contribute to a national stockpile of pharmaceutical ingredients for essential medicines.

The company is run by Eric Edwards, who previously founded the drug company Kaleo Pharmaceuticals with his twin brother. He said in an interview that Phlow initially reached out to the U.S. health department last November, to tell them that they were working to build U.S. drug manufacturing capacity.

After COVID-19 hit, Edwards said Phlow focused on drugs for the virus and reached out to Navarro's office and government agencies.

Story continues

"We said, 'You're going to have a problem.' The supply chain was already vulnerable, with all of these drug shortages before COVID-19," he said.

The company submitted a proposal on drug manufacturing in response to an open request from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, one of the HHS agencies overseeing COVID-19 vaccine and drug development, he said.

Phlow has already started making pharmaceutical ingredients and finished dosage forms for over a dozen medicines to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19-related illnesses, including medicines for pain management, sedation for ventilators, blood pressure support for critical patients and antibiotics.

All pharmaceutical products will be made in the United States, according to Phlow's website. The company said it is working to build advanced manufacturing capability in Virginia, as well as sterile manufacturing facilities for injectables.

It has partnered with generic drug manufacturer Civica Rx, chemical company Ampac Fine Chemicals and Virginia Commonwealth University's Medicines for All Institute. It said it has already delivered over 1.6 million doses of five essential generic medicines to treat COVID-19 patients to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile.

Edwards' previous company Kaleo was criticized for high prices, including a $4,500 price tag on Evzio, its device to treat painkiller overdoses. Kaleo lowered the price for federal and state government agencies as well as patients without government or commercial insurance

A Phlow spokesman said Edwards never had any control over drug pricing during his tenure at Kaleo and is committed to providing low-cost generic drugs.

(Reporting by Michael Erman in New York, and Ankur Banerjee and Saumya Sibi Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio)
Queenslands Chief Health Officer is calling for even more people to be tested for coronavirus, as she stands firm on border closures with southern states.

One new case was recorded in Queensland on Wednesday, taking the states cumulative total to 1058, just 12 of which are considered active, with four of those people being treated in hospital.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young says September is still the likely earliest any border restrictions would be lifted Credit:AAP/ Dan Peled

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the closure of international and domestic borders was a major factor in how the state had managed to control the spread of COVID-19.

"We have not seen, since that decision was made, any further cases here in Queensland due to people from NSW or Victoria coming into Queensland," Dr Young said.
Australians are reluctant to explore their own country. Thats the stereotype. But when it comes to Sydneysiders, the cliches get crueller. As one internet commentator once put it: If youre from Bondi you spend half the year in Europe, a quarter in Bali and the other quarter trying to seduce your au pair.

Though this is anecdotal at best (from a Melbourne hipster at worst), the point remains: given the choice, most Sydneysiders will flee to sun-drenched France or the sexiest spots on The Italian Riviera before renting a caravan and trudging round the Jenolan Caves.

Especially in July and August, the most frigid months of the year down here, the consensus seems to be: hit the slopes, hit Europe, bail to Bali or bunker down in the office and amass as much leave as possible for warmer times.

Anything but holiday (unless youre skiing) in NSW

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sally Mustang (@sallymustang) on Sep 21, 2018 at 2:09pm PDT

This year, as The Bat Kiss brought all kinds of travel to a screeching halt in March, even Jenolan was off the cards. But now, after Tuesdays announcement travel will be allowed inside NSW in just two weeks, many people are a lot more inclined to take that leave their companies have been pushing them for.

Of course the main issues  like tourist hotspots in underserviced areas feeling anxious about further outbreaks  have been covered by the tabloids. But wed like to draw attention to a more light-hearted issue.

Sydneysiders guiltiest holiday habit domestically.

While we already know many Sydneysiders would rather sip oat milk flat whites at an Australia-themed cafe in Barcelona than slurp instant coffee outside a bakery in Jervis Bay, the pandemic is set to expose a secondary sin: their penchant for always holidaying  or at least being seen to holiday  even domestically, in places that all look the same.

How do we know this? Apart from being guilty ourselves, the hashtag Travel NSW speaks for itself. Of the 44,914 Instagram posts, at the time of writing, with the Travel NSW hashtag, wed argue 99% of them fall into just four categories.

Beachside bliss

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Daily travelling inspiration! (@traveling.expe) on May 19, 2020 at 12:40pm PDT

 unruly luxury (glamping, wine, etc.)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Your Vibe Attracts Your Tribe (@thevibetribegroup) on May 18, 2020 at 2:57am PDT

 recently single

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Charlotte (@charlottepedneault) on May 19, 2020 at 3:49pm PDT

 and ~intrepid~ (look at this quirky watering hole we are the only ones to ever find etc.)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Beautiful Port Macquarie (@beautifulportmacquarie) on May 7, 2020 at 9:11pm PDT

Not to mention cynical journalists Kangaroos who just watch the world go by and snort.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Peach Farm  (@the_peachfarm) on May 11, 2020 at 12:14am PDT

Though not every Travel NSW hashtag was posted by a Sydneysider, of the 7.54 million people who live in NSW, 5.23 million of them live in Sydney. So its safe to say, if the Travel NSW hashtag has an aesthetic, Sydneysiders are probably to blame.

Your swag (and DSLR) await.

Read Next
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 13:43:30|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HANOI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Natural disasters in Vietnam have killed 15 people and caused economic losses of more than 3.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (139 million U.S. dollars) so far this year, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

Natural disasters destroyed nearly 1,700 houses and damaged some 54,200 as of Monday, daily newspaper Vietnam News cited a report by the committee as saying on Wednesday.

Extreme weather has been witnessed since the beginning of the year, including more than 100 hailstorms in 31 provinces and cities. In late April, the temperature in the capital Hanoi dropped to 16.5 degrees Celsius, the lowest at the same time of year in five decades. More disasters are forecast to strike Vietnam towards the end of the year, according to the committee.

In 2019, natural disasters in Vietnam left 132 people dead or missing and caused economic losses of 6.2 trillion Vietnamese dong (269.6 million U.S. dollars), according to the country's General Statistics Office.

Disasters are estimated to cost Vietnam 1 to 1.5 percent of GDP annually, said the committee. Enditem
DUBLIN, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "E-Commerce Fraud Detection Platforms, Part 2: Vendor Assessment" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The transition from in-store to remote buying is expected to continue rapid growth around the globe over the coming 5 to 10 years. E-commerce adds a risk dimension to transactions that demands strong preparation by payments industry participants. The rapid growth, combined with an increasingly sophisticated fraudster universe that dynamically adapts to societal and business changes, poses a critical threat requiring strategy and ongoing investment. This research investigates solutions for managing e-commerce fraud, taking a closer look at key vendors of solutions that can help merchants and financial institutions protect their assets.



This report, E-Commerce Fraud Detection Platforms, Part 2: Vendor Assessment reviews some of the key vendors providing fraud management solutions for merchants to combat the ever present and growing online threat of payments fraud. The report provides a detailed assessment of five key vendors that participated in a survey and phone interviews of executives and adds a secondary, high-level review of more than two dozen other vendors providing solutions in this market space.



There are multiple vendors supporting payments fraud using a variety of tools, many of which are point solutions designed for specific points in the e-commerce transaction journey, so our goal was to drill down into the vendors who are embracing the vision of an end-to-end e-commerce fraud management platform that covers not only in-session risk but full account behavior recognition.



Highlights of the report include:

A detailed primary assessment and comparison of five e-commerce fraud management vendors, based on questionnaires and interviews of company executives.

A secondary, high-level value review of 36 additional vendors across the space.

An evaluation framework with 25 attributes across five categories, used as the assessment tool and guide for vendor responses.

Individual category scorecards for each vendor and group summaries, along with a segmentation review for merchant priorities.

Key Topics Covered



1. Executive Summary



2. Introduction



3. Vendor Assessment Overview

Qualifying Vendors for This Study

Assessment of Vendors Participating Directly in the Study

4. Vendor Profiles



ACI Worldwide

CyberSource

Kount

Riskified

Signifyd

5. Assessment Summary: All Vendors

Using the Criteria to Help Select a Solution

6. Overview of Other Fraud Detection Solution Vendors

Secondary Assessments

7. Conclusions



8. References

Related Research

Endnotes

Companies Mentioned



Authenteq

BAE Systems

Behaviosec

BioCatch

Bolt

Bottomline Technologies

Chargebacks 911

ClearSale

CyberSource (Visa)

Cyxtera (Easy Solutions)

Ethoca (Mastercard)

Experian

Featurespace

Feedzai

FICO

FraudLabs

Guardian Analytics

ID Analytics

Idology

Illumio

InAuth (Amex)

Jumio

Kount

LexisNexis

Mitek

Neustar

Nice Actimize

Nuance

NuData (Mastercard)

OnFido

PayFone

PayPal Order Filters

Pelican

Radial

Ravelin

Riskified

RSA

SAS

Shape Security (F5)

Sift (Sift Science)

Signifyd

Simility (PayPal)

Socure

Stripe Radar

ThreatMetrix (LexisNexis Risk Solutions)

Trulioo

Veridium

Verifi (Visa)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/q5av7f

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


A container ship from China Shipping Line is loaded at the main container port in Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 13, 2007. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

China Drops Out of Top Three Foreign Investors in Germany

BERLINChina last year dropped out of the top three foreign investors in Germany for the first time in more than a decade, official German data seen by Reuters showed on May 20, as the Chinese regime focuses on boosting the domestic economy.

Figures compiled by Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), a government institution, reveal that China is now the fourth-largest contributor of foreign direct investment to Germany, behind the United States, Britain, and Switzerland.

GTAI managing director Robert Hermann linked the drop to an economic strategy promoted by the Chinese government that focuses on stimulating the domestic economy with investments in infrastructure as well as in research and development.

Investors rest on a chair in front of screens showing stock market movements at a securities company in Beijing on May 14, 2019. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

The Chinese government regulates capital exports, Hermann said. Its increasingly focused on boosting investments domestically.

The data showed that the United States remains the largest investor in Germany with 302 projects last year, followed by Britain with 185 and Switzerland with 184.

China, which was the third-largest investor in Germany in 2018, dropped to fourth place for the first time since 2009, when GTAI started compiling the data.

Britain rose from fourth place to become the second-largest foreign investor in Germany as companies alarmed that Brexit will hamper access to the European Unions single market set up affiliates in Europes largest economy.

A woman walks past an electronic board showing Hong Kong share index outside a local bank in Hong Kong, China, on Feb. 27, 2020. (Kin Cheung/AP Photo)

The data showed that 1,851 foreign companies moved to Germany last year, 10 percent less than a year earlier. But the number of jobs they planned to create almost doubled to 42,000.

Foreign car and battery makers are driving the job boom created by foreign direct investment, Hermann said.

U.S. electric car maker Tesla plans to build its European factory outside Berlin. Chinese carmaker Geely wants to set up an innovation center south of Frankfurt, and Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) is planning a factory in eastern Germany.

GTAI expects foreign investments to fall this year as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic sinks the world economy into a recession.

By Rene Wagner. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
Arculus, the Ingolstadt, Germany-based startup that has developed a "modular production platform" to bring assembly lines into the 21st century, has raised 16 million in Series A investment.

Leading the round is European venture firm Atomico, with participation from Visionaries Club and previous investor La Famiglia. Arculus says it will use the injection of capital to "strengthen product development, broaden customer base and prepare for a global rollout".

As part of the investment, Atomico partner Siraj Khaliq is joining the Arculus board. (Khaliq seems to be on a bit of a run at the moment after quietly leading the firm's investment in quantum computing company PsiQuantum last month.)

Founded in 2016, Arculus already works with some of the leading manufacturing companies across a range of industries. They include Siemens in robotics, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, Viessmann in logistics, and Audi in automotive.

Its self-described mission is to transform the "one-dimensional" assembly line of the 20th century into a more flexible modular production process that is capable of manufacturing todays most complex products in a much more efficient way.

Instead of a single line with a conveyor belt, a factory powered by Arculus' hardware and software is made up of modules in which individual tasks are performed and the company's robots -- dubbed "arculees" -- move objects between these modules automatically based on which stations are free at that moment. Underlying this system is the assembly priority chart, a tree of interdependencies that connects all the processes needed to complete individual products.

That's in contrast to more traditional linear manufacturing, which, claims Arculus, hasn't been able to keep up as demand for customisation increases and "innovation cycles speed up".

Explains Fabian Rusitschka, co-founder and CEO of Arculus: "Manufacturers can hardly predict what their customers will demand in the future, but they need to invest in production systems designed for specific outputs that will last for years. With Modular Production we can now ensure optimal productivity for our customers, whatever the volume or mix. This technological shift in manufacturing, from linear to bespoke, has been long overdue but for manufacturers looking ahead at the coming decades of shifting consumer buying behaviours it is mission critical to survival".

Story continues

To that end, Arculus is making some bold claims, namely that the company's technology increases worker productivity by 30% and reduces space consumption by 20%. It also reckons it can save its customers up to 155 million per plant every year "at full implementation".

Siraj Khaliq, Partner at Atomico, says the manufacturing sector "is huge and the inefficiencies are well known".

"We estimate that the auto industry alone could save nearly $100bn, were all manufacturers to adopt Arculus's modular production technology," he tells TechCrunch. "And beyond auto, their technology applies to any linear/assembly line manufacturing process - in time perhaps a tenfold greater market still. We've already seen the Covid-19 crisis hugely boost interest in the wave of startups democratizing automation, as companies try to build resilience into their supply chains. If you're an exec thinking through this kind of thing right now, the way we see it, using Arculus's technology is just common sense".

Asked why it is only now that assembly lines can be reinvented, the Atomico VC says a number of building blocks weren't in place until now. They include cheap, versatile sensors, reliable connectivity, "sufficiently powerful compute resources", machine vision, and "learning-driven" control systems.

"And even if the tech could have been deployed, the motivation doesn't come until you buckle under the pressure of increasing product customisation," he says. "High-speed linear production lines are pretty efficient if you're only producing one thing, ideally in one colour. But as this has become less and less the case, the industry reacted by incrementally improving, such as adding sub-assemblies that feed into the main line. You can only go so far with that... to be really efficient you've got to start fresh and be modular from the ground up. That's hard".

Meanwhile, Arculus also counts a number of German entrepreneurs as previous backers. They include Hakan Koc (founder of Auto 1), Johannes Reck (founder of GetYourGuide), Valentin Stalf (founder of N26), as well as the founders of Flixbus.
A marriage party returned to Himachal Pradesh from West Bengal after 56 days as it had remained stranded there due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Bridegroom Sunil Kumar (30) said the 17-member "baraat" boarded the Kolkata-bound Gurmukhi Superfast Express train at the Nangal Dam railway station in Rupnagar district of Punjab on March 21.

When they reached Kolkata the next day, March 22, the country was observing a 'janata curfew' on the appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to slow down the spread of coronavirus.

Kumar's marriage with Sanjogita was solemnised as per schedule at Kashipur village in West Bengal's Purulia district on March 25, the day when the first phase of the nationwide lockdown began.

The party, along with the bride, was set to begin its return journey on March 26 and had already booked the tickets.

But a complete lockdown, including suspension of rail services, meant that it had to stay put at a dharamshala for the next over 50 days.

Kumar's in-laws made arrangements for their stay at the Kashipur dharamshala, providing every possible help, he said.

"We contacted West Bengal helpline numbers but to no avail. Then, we contacted Himachal Pradesh minister Virender Kanwar who made available dry ration for us," Kumar, an electrician, said.

The ordeal ended on May 14 when the "baraat" boarded a bus at Malda for Himachal Pradesh after getting e-passes from the state government.

The bus had brought some Malda residents from Solan district.

On their way back to Himachal Pradesh, the travellers cooked food themselves while covering the over 1,850-km journey in about 55 hours.

"It seems as if we are back to heaven," Kumar told PTI on phone from a quarantine centre at a hotel in Bador in Una district.

The 18 members, including bride Sanjogita Kumari Mandal, have been placed under quarantine in a hall in the hotel, just five kilometres away from their Proyian Kalan village in Bangana tehsil.

"My father, three sisters, a maternal aunt, four kids and other close relatives were part of the baraat. Most of them say they will never forget this extraordinary marriage."



"My mother Raj Kumari did not go to West Bengal. I could not see her even after my return to Himachal Pradesh after eight weeks due to fear of the virus. I want to see her from a distance if possible," he said.

"Our samples will be taken for testing for coronavirus in the next few days and we will be allowed to go home after 14 days in quarantine," Kumar said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A piece of on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is built for your business today, but because it is customised it becomes stagnant the day it goes live. If you need to pivot quickly, its hard to do so, Burt says.

According to Burt, with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) you configure the technology to fit your business, but importantly dont customise the software itself, ensuring that new upgrades can be made seamlessly and regularly applied in much the same manner as apps on your phone.This way you are able to take advantage of new technology such as innovation around machine learning or IoT without the costly disruption of an ad-hoc IT project. This is why business that have adopted SaaS are so much more agile than their competitors whose businesses are constrained by their yesteryear systems.

Taking advantage of technology when returning to work. Credit: Getty.

Burt is a former CFO who says Oracle is well positioned as it gets to see in real-time how its SaaS products are being used. As a result the cycle for the roll out of product improvements is much shortened and the improvements themselves are highly relevant to its users.

Senior managers see how technology is changing their lives on a personal level but when they walk into a corporate space, they can see those same impactful investments havent been made in business, Leonard says.

Theres a huge distinction between buying big pieces of IT kit and SaaS. A CFO doesnt need to be a technology expert, its about looking at the obvious and understanding that agility and adaptability are key.

SaaS is not static, youre buying a seat on the train and the train is always moving, Leonard says.

For Lara Ariell who is the CFO at New Zealands Inland Revenue Department, the need for something simple drove her to seek a SaaS solution. Her department is taking a leading role in the New Zealand governments wider digital transformation program to develop or find a common process model that can be used across government.

Speaking at Oracles Modern Cloud Day Sydney event, Ariell who has been in finance and government for more than two decades said, Im not a technologist. I have never led a transformation program before but Id read a lot of reports of what not to do.

Its not often you replace your enterprise support services. Our goal with everything we did was if that could be used across other agencies we would try and do it.

It was important to create something that was customer-centric, agile and intelligence-led in our front office but it wouldnt be that unless the back office was as well, Ariell said.

What the Oracle SaaS implementation was able to do was accelerate the departments digital transformation as we were able to move from a heritage system that was highly customised to a standard best practice off-the-shelf business process.

We adopted our software not adapted it and our people adapted to use it.

Furthermore, Ariell said SaaS has freed us up a bit to focus on the stuff that really matters.

She said it is a starting point and the user interface continues to evolve and this evergreen solution means younger people are attracted into government because the technology is keeping pace with their expectations.

And a simpler system that can be used anytime, anywhere and on any device has sparked plenty of engagement internally.

In the week we went live we expected 750 users going into the system but by the end of the week we had 5000 users, Ariell said.

And it was not only engagement, with the new tool we were able to reduce our budget process from three months to three weeks and our team were then able to talk the board through the budget live and in the system, she said.

It has been a very positive process.

As for advice to CFOs, dont be special and unique if you dont have to be, dont overcomplicate things.
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Findit, Inc. a Nevada Corporation (OTC PINK:FDIT) owner of Findit.com, a full service social networking management platform which provides online marketing services, is now accepting Sezzle at checkout on UrbanCBDCollective.com

Findit Inc, owner of UrbanCBDCollective.com provides topical lotions and oils to its customers with easy check out is now accepting Sezzle. Sezzle provides payment terms to customers at check out that helps spread payments out over a designated period of time.

Findit saw this is as an opportunity to assist our customers during COVID-19 that still want to use the topical lotions and oils but may have been hit with financial hardship.

Many of our customers see benefits in using the lotions and oils offered on Urban CBD Collective and by offering them payment options, we are hopeful this will keep our customers in a position to continue to use our products.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YraCYGbBB-c

Urban CBD Collective is also in the process of making hand sanitizer available in various sizes. Currently, we are offering 4oz spray bottles of hand sanitizer that were made available to us through one of our clients and we're offering them through Urban CBD Collective at prices that we hope are courteous to our consumers during this time period.

Findit is exploring launching its own line of hand sanitizer and has already acquired 2 domains, created a logo and has found multiple suppliers of hand sanitizer. Once Findit has locked in prices on certain quantities, we will make this available to our customers including both individuals and businesses.

With new payment options in purchasing CBD topicals on Urban CBD Collective, we hope this assists any customers who require payments being spread out. Please feel free to share this article with friends and family who may be looking for CBD topicals and oils at considerate prices with payment options.

About Urban CBD Collective

At Urban CBD Collective, we are committed to sustainability and are passionate about the potential medicinal benefits of CBD. We are committed to leading the industry in bringing you high quality hemp cannabidiol (CBD) products informing the CBD community about the natural potential medicinal benefits of cannabidiol.

Who We Are

We are Urban CBD Collective, your best source for premium quality cannabidiol (CBD) products online. Based in Atlanta GA, we come from a wide variety of backgrounds but our commitment to quality, affordable CBD products ties us together.

All of our CBD products are sourced from locally grown and regulated hemp, which after extraction is tested for quality by independent laboratories. Our business at Urban CBD Collective is based around creating a superior product that makes your life better.

What Is In Urban CBD Collective's CBD Oil?

What makes our products the best in the industry? At the core of our products is CBD (cannabidiol), which is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid found within hemp. Our hemp is grown within its own microclimates to preserve the integrity and quality of our extracted CBD oil- we then infuse only the highest quality MCT oil to ensure you experience the purest CBD product possible.

WHY Buy Urban CBD Collective?

Customer happiness and commitment to quality is at the core of our business and we bring those ideals forth in all of our products.

Simply put, we offer high-quality products you can trust, for yourself and your loved ones. We never compromise on quality, and provide third party lab results in an effort to remain transparent about the validity of our claims.

We are aware that buyers are faced with multitude of substandard, low-quality products in a largely unregulated marketplace, and we work every day to ensure YOU have access to high quality products at an affordable price. We provide industry-best knowledge and education with the BEST customer care you'll find from a CBD company.

About Findit, Inc.

Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increase in brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTC Pinksheets.

Safe Harbor:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed.

CONTACT:

Clark St. Amant

404-443-3224

SOURCE: Findit, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590691/Findit-Inc-Owner-of-UrbanCBDCollectivecom-Is-Now-Accepting-Sezzle-at-Checkout
A source at Renault's works team reports that there is "no rush" to decide the identity of Daniel Ricciardo's replacement for 2021.

On the face of it, the team may be seen to be in crisis, with big-name signing Ricciardo defecting to McLaren and the parent company struggling financially amid the corona crisis.

Groupe Renault has secured a EUR 5 billion state-guaranteed loan to see it through the global crisis, with the French magazine Auto Hebdo surmising: "In this context, Formula 1 may be regarded as a frivolous expense."

But a source close to the F1 team says that while the carmaker may be struggling, the situation is "not so bad" at the Enstone and Viry-based team.

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel - both multiple world champions - are linked with Ricciardo's 2021 seat, but so too is Renault junior Christian Lundgaard.

The team source says Renault is in "no rush" to make a decision.

New Formula 2 driver Lundgaard's manager Alessandro Bravi agrees.

"Christian's full focus must be on Formula 2," he told BT magazine, referring to the 18-year-old Dane who is Renault's top academy driver.

"Formula 1 is the goal of course, but it is too early to talk about 2021. There is no stress - we have enough time," Bravi insisted.

(GMM)
Cases with inter-state travel history continued to haunt Karnataka, as the state reported 67 new COVID-19 positive cases and a fatality, taking the total number of infections to 1,462 and the death toll to 41, the health department said on Wednesday.

"Fifty two out of these 67 cases newly confirmed for coronavirus infections have an inter-state travel history.

Among them, 51 are from neighboring Maharashtra and one from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh," Minister S Suresh Kumar, who is the spokesperson for COVID-19 in Karnataka, told reporters here.

He said "...we are facing problems because of import (of cases) from other states."



As Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa recently stated, movement of people from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu has been stopped for the time being until space in cleared in the quarantine centres, which has mostly people from these states after duly testing them, Kumar said.

Asked about the impact of the Centre's decision to withdraw consent of states for operating Shramik trains carrying migrants on Karnataka's deciding to prohibit entry of people from three states, he said ".. we have to look into it.

Now we have stopped direct trains and by-road movement from these states. We will examine regarding Shramik trains and how to go about it."



Meanwhile the fatalities in the state rose to 41 with the death of a 43-year-old man from Bengaluru Urban.

The deceased had a history of hypertension and myocarditis with also inter-state travel history Vellore in Tamil Nadu, the health department bulletin said.

He was admitted at a private hospital in Bengaluru on May 18 and died today.

According to the bulletin, as of May 20 evening, cumulatively 1,462 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 41 deaths and 556 discharges.

Out of 864 active cases, 849 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 15 are in Intensive Care Units.

Thirteen patients, who have recovered, were discharged on Wednesday.

The 67 confirmed positive cases include 21 from Hassan, Bidar-10, Mandya-8, Kalburagi- 7, Udupi- 6, Tuamakuru, Raichur and Bengaluru urban- 4, and one each from Yadgir, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada.

Bengaluru urban district still tops the list of positive cases with a total of 250 infections, followed by Mandya 168 and Kalaburagi 134.

Among discharges too, Bengaluru urban tops the list with total of 128, followed by Mysuru 88 and Belagavi 64.

A total of 1,66,781 samples were tested so far, of which 8,182 were tested on Wednesday alone.

So far 1,64,199 samples have reported as negative, and out of them 7,952 reported negative on Wednesday.

The Minister said one Rajdhani express arrived in Bengaluru with 180 passengers and swab tests were conducted on 22 of them at the railway station



They included six children, a pregnant woman and 15 people aged above 60 years.

A total of 94 passengers arrived by flight and no one is symptomatic, he said.

Meanwhile, 24 police personnel in the city have been quarantined after two people who were detained at their station in connection with a theft case here, tested positive for COVID-19.

The personnel, attached to the Hebbagodi police station here, have been sent to an institutional quarantine centre, police said on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi/IBNS: India on Wednesday hit back at Nepal and asked it to respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity after the Himalayan nation triggered a boundary row with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory.

In response to media queries on the revised map of Nepal released today by Government of Nepal, the Official Spokesperson of India's Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava, said, "The Government of Nepal has released a revised official map of Nepal today that includes parts of Indian territory. This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence."

"It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," he said.

Nepal has come out with a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory, triggering a border dispute with India.

Nepalese Foreign Ministry earlier expressed regret over inauguration of a faster route for pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, as it said that the road traverses Lipulekh, over which it lays claim.

Srivastava said: "Nepal is well aware of Indias consistent position on this matter and we urge the Government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues."

Oli said in Parliament that Nepal would "bring back at any cost" the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh area.

Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli earlier shocked everyone when he said in their Parliament that "virus from India looks more lethal than Chinese and Italian" referring to coronavirus spread.

"Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing," Oli said on Tuesday as quoted in media.
A full federal appeals court on Monday set aside last months groundbreaking decision by a panel of that same court that found a U.S. constitutional right to a basic minimum education guaranteeing access to literacy, and it will hear new arguments in the case.

The order by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, in Cincinnati, was brief but loaded with implications for the 2-1 ruling by a panel that sided with Detroit schoolchildren whose lawsuit challenged deplorable conditions stemming from a long period of control of the citys school system by the state of Michigan.

A majority of the judges of this court in regular active service has voted for rehearing en banc of the case known as Gary B. v. Whitmer, the order says . Accordingly, it is ordered, that the previous decision and judgment of this court are vacated, the mandates are stayed, and these cases are restored to the docket as pending appeals.

The order indicates that a member of the full 6th Circuit requested a poll of the active judges, and at least nine of the 16 members of the court listed on the order voted for the reconsideration.

After the April 23 decision by the panel that there is a 14th Amendment due-process right to a basic minimum education, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, and the plaintiffs announced a settlement of underlying lawsuit. The settlement promised payments of $280,000 to seven original plaintiffs, $2.7 million to the Detroit district for literacy programs, and a promise to propose legislation to provide nearly $95 million for Detroit literacy over a longer term.

Lawyers representing the schoolchildren said last week that they believed the settlement would dissuade or disallow the full 6th Circuit court from reconsidering the panel decision. But a lawyer representing the Republican-controlled Michigan Senate and House of Representatives, which had filed a motion seeking rehearing , said the full 6th Circuit would not be constrained from reconsidering the case.

The full 6th Circuits action will likely lead to a new round of briefing and oral arguments, which could take weeks or months.

[UPDATED May 20 2:50 p.m.]

Lawyers for the schoolchildren appeared to stand by the view they expressed last week that the settlement ended the case and blocked the full 6th Circuit from reconsidering the panel decision.

Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, a Los Angeles public interest law firm that represents the children, said in an interview that the rehearing order would not affect the settlement.

The settlement is rock solid, he said. The community and the students struggled for years and they won.

Further, the settlement means theres no case left for the full 6th Circuit to reconsider, Rosenbaum said. Im not aware of any case that has settled that has proceeded to a judicial hearing.

John J. Bursch, a lawyer representing the Michigan legislature in an attempt to intervene in the case to oppose the panels decision on a right to access to literacy, said the full 6th Circuit was within its authority to reconsider the case.

The grant of rehearing by the full 6th Circuit means the panel decision is vacated, so it is no longer precedent that would bind anybody in the 6th Circuit, Bursch said.

To the extent the plaintiffs and the governor were trying to lock in this ruling so there would be a guarantee of a minimum level of education, that has failed, he said. This ruling is gone.

Bursch noted that with the governors office declining to defend against the lawsuit, two groups have stepped in to try to do so--the Michigan legislature on one hand and two members of the state board of education on the other. He expected the 6th Circuit to allow at least one of those groups into the case for the rehearing arguments.

Rosenbaum acknowledged that the full 6th Circuits order vacates, or sets aside, the groundbreaking panel decision but that the achievements of the lawsuit would not be diminished.

The decision was vacated but the words will never disappear, he said.
United Way of Midland County is spearheading local volunteer efforts during this week's historic flooding event.

United Way content manager Lindsay Henry said people who want to volunteer should visit the "flood relief" portal on United Way's website at eportal.unitedwaymidland.org/2020flood. This is where people can sign up to receive volunteer opportunity alerts and learn about volunteer opportunities in the local area, Henry said.

United Way and the Midland Area Community Foundation have collaborated to create a flood response fund, donations to which will used Midland County long-term recovery group in consultation with Midland County Emergency Management. The fund's website can be found at www.midlandfoundation.org/fund/floodrelief/.

In the wake of this devastation, our top priority right now is gathering a pool of people that are ready and willing to fulfill needs and volunteer opportunities that will best serve our neighbors, said Holly Miller, executive director of United Way of Midland County, in a press release. Midland is a strong community. We will overcome these trying times, and we will do it by uniting together.

Henry advises anyone seeking more resources and information to visit the "Midland County Disaster Resources" webpage at www.211nemichigan.org/covid-19.html. The site was launched earlier this year by 211 Northeast Michigan as a resource for Midland County residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

211 is a free 24/7 hotline that can be reached by phone, email or text. The hotline connects people to resources and agencies they might need in a quick and confidential manner. While 211 is a nationwide program, the organization has had a strong presence in Michigan that began in Midland County in 2009.

Sarah Kile, 211 executive director, said the organization has seen a large increase in calls on Wednesday, and other Michigan 211 centers are helping with the volume.

"Compared to where we were earlier this week, our call volume has more than tripled since (Wednesday) morning," Kile said.

Many callers have been asking for information about shelter locations, as well as where to donate or volunteer. Kile said 211 is still open to take "typical" calls about local resources and agencies.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei in January 22, 2020. Sam Yeh | AFP | Getty Images

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen rejected China's "one country, two systems" model and said that both sides need to find "a way to coexist." "Cross-strait relations have reached a historical turning point. Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences," Tsai said at her inauguration on Wednesday. "We will not accept the Beijing authorities' use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle," Tsai added. She also pledged to "engage in dialogue with China." Mainland China claims Taiwan as a province with no right to its own diplomatic representation. The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled over self-governed Taiwan. In response to Tsai, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said that "reunification" of Taiwan with the mainland is a "historical inevitability" which "cannot be stopped by anyone or by any force," state news agency Xinhua reported. China "will never tolerate any act of splitting the country, and will not tolerate any external forces interfering in China's internal politics," reported Xinhua citing Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson, Ma Xiaoguang. The relationship between Beijing and Taipei has been frosty since Tsai, a politician from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, took office in 2016. China cut off official dialogue with Taiwan after she won her first election. Beijing has also actively pursued Taiwan's few allies, persuading them to switch diplomatic ties to China instead.

We have made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past four years ... We will continue these efforts, and we are willing to engage in dialogue with China. Tsai Ing-wen

Most recently, Beijing opposed Taiwan's participation as an observer in an important World Health Organization meeting. Taiwan had been lobbying to join the meeting, saying it wants to share its success in containing the coronavirus outbreak. "Faced with changing circumstances, I will hold firm to my principles, adopt an open attitude to resolve issues, and shoulder my responsibilities as president," Tsai said, according to an official translation of her speech. "I also hope that the leader on the other side of the Strait will take on the same responsibility, and work with us to jointly stabilize the long-term development of cross-strait relations," Tsai added, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Cross-strait tension

After a resounding victory in January's elections, Tsai heads into her second and final term in office with a strong mandate. Capitalizing on Taiwanese fears about eroding freedoms if they voted for a leader who was China-friendly, she supported protesters in Hong Kong to highlight concerns about Beijing's encroaching pressure on civil liberties in the territory, a Chinese special administration region.

After her re-election, China ramped up its military drills around the island. "In the face of complex and changing cross-strait circumstances, we have made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past four years, gaining approval from the international community," Tsai said during her inauguration speech in Taipei. "We will continue these efforts, and we are willing to engage in dialogue with China and make more concrete contributions to regional security," she said. China's pressure on Taiwan will only increase, said Michael Boyden, managing director at Taiwan Asia Strategy Consulting. Taiwan will have to find a way to have constructive talks with China in the next four years under Tsai's leadership, as the pressure on Taipei  whether it's economic, military or diplomatic  "is only going to intensify in my opinion," Boyden told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Wednesday. And Xi may be "president for life, but he is not immortal," he pointed out. "He wants to be the Chinese leader who resolves the Taiwan issue. He certainly does not want to be the Chinese leader who let Taiwan slip away, so the pressure is only going to intensify."

(Xi Jinping) wants to be the Chinese leader who resolves the Taiwan issue. He certainly does not want to be the Chinese leader who let Taiwan slip away, so the pressure is only going to intensify. Michael Boyden Managing director, Taiwan Asia Strategy Consulting

Even though ideology has always trumped economics for the DPP, Tsai's administration should find a way to engage in talks with Beijing, Boyden said. That is as Taiwan's export reliant economy is going to suffer this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Taiwan posted 1.54% GDP growth in the first quarter of 2020  its weakest in nearly four years. China is Taiwan's largest trading partner. Tsai's success at the polls point to Taiwanese endorsement of her stance toward the island's relationship with China. Younger generations in particular see themselves as Taiwanese  rather as both Taiwanese and Chinese  in terms of national identity, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.

International ties
Lucknow, May 20 : The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given the nod to the greenfield project, the much-awaited construction of Jewar airport in Noida.

In a tweet, S.P. Goyal, principal secretary to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said, "Glad to share that Zurich Airport International AG has got the security clearance for development of Noida international airport." The project has been awaiting the MHA nod, after the environment ministry gave its approval following the response of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the agency which is piloting the project.

The Swiss firm AG International had on November 29 emerged as the highest bidder to develop the Jewar airport on the outskirts of Delhi, outbidding competitors like Adani Enterprises, DIAL and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holding.

The entire project will be spread over 5,000 hectares and estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore.

The airport, the third in the national capital region after Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport and Ghaziabad's Hindon airport, is touted to have six to eight runways.

The Uttar Pradesh government has set an aggressive deadline for the completion of the Jewar airport project, targeting operationalisation of its first phase by 2023. The first phase of the airport would be spread over 1,334 hectares and cost Rs 4,588 crore.

Sources said that implementation of the project would take place in four phases, with the last phase scheduled for completion by 2040.

The Jewar airport in Greater Noida would be able to handle over 160 million passengers per annuum making it the largest airport in India.
Domestic airline operations will resume from airports across all major cities in the country from 25 May, even though the existing lockdown to contain covid-19 remains in place till 31 May.

"Flight operations will resume from all major Indian airports, including ones located at tier one cities," said a government official, under the condition of anonymity.

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier on Wednesday tweeted that flight operation will resume in a calibrated manner from 25 May.

All airports and airlines have been informed to be ready to recommence operations, the minister said on twitter adding that standard operating procedures (SOPs) for passenger movement are being separately issued by the ministry of civil aviation.

However, the minister didn't mention the names of airports, which will operate flights during initial stages, after the resumption of domestic flight operations.

Hardeep Singh Puri had in an interview to a magazine, earlier in May, stated that the government couldn't limit flight operations only between green zones, which had limited number of covid-19 cases. Most tier one cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, and others fall under the red zone with high number of covid-19 cases.

India suspended all flights since 25 March when the government first imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain covid-19. The lockdown has since been extended thrice, every fortnight, from the initial announcement date. The latest and fourth phase will run till 31 May.

"It is a positive news," said said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of CAPA-Centre for Aviation, adding that resumption of domestic flight operations come at a time when there is significant escalation in covid-19 infections in the country.

"So the real test begins (now). Expect modest resumption (in flight services)," Kaul added.

Spokespersons of airlines like IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, GoAir, and Air India were not immediately available for comments.

"We are awaiting full clarity from MoCA (ministry of civil aviation) with regards to this," said an AirAsia India spokesperson.

Many airline officials learned about the resumption of domestic flight services from minister's tweet. However, airlines want the government to allow operations between bigger cities, many of which have huge number of covid-19 positive cases.

"We found out about the resumption of domestic air services from the minster's tweet as we haven't been officially informed by the ministry yet," said a senior official with a no-frill carrier.

"If airlines are only allowed to operate between smaller towns, and not major tier I cities, huge losses could be expected," the official added requesting anonymity.

On Wednesday, the Union home ministry in an order also amended the lockdown guidelines, which had earlier prevented air travel. The ministry has now deleted "domestic air travel of passengers" from the list of prohibited activities.

Recently, Indian carriers have reopened bookings for passenger flights from 1 June even before the government announced its plans to resume flight services from 25 May. Tickets between trunk routes like New Delhi-Mumbai, Kolkata-Mumbai, New Delhi-Bangalore, are put up for sale on airlines websites and online travel websites. However, airlines and online travel agents were yet to put up flight tickets on sale for travel between 25-31 May on their respective platforms on Wednesday evening.

The grounding of operations due to covid-19 induced lockdown hurt airlines dearly. The Indian aviation industry may require funding of up to 35,000 crore till 2022-2023 as profitability will take a hit due to sharp fall in revenues and higher fixed costs during lockdown period, credit rating agency, ICRA said last week,

Indian carriers are estimated to report a 44% decline in revenue in 2020-21, as compared to the previous year, while the industry's net debt may rise to 46,500 crore by 2021-22, ICRA added.

"Its a positive step much awaited by airlines and the OTAs - we look forward to the detailed SOPs and guidelines. The industry now needs to collaborate and focus on advertising all the confidence building measures that will reassure travelers to get back on a plane," said Aloke Bajpai, chief executive and co-founder, ixigo.

"Reopening domestic flights will give a big boost to our economy and kickstart the recovery of the travel industry which was the most affected during the lockdown," Bajpai added.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Topics
A San Antonio H-E-B employee has tested positive for COVID-19, the grocery chain said Monday.

The employee was last working in the McCreless Market H-E-B Plus store, located at 4100 S. New Braunfels Avenue, on May 5. H-E-B said it has deeply cleaned and sanitized multiple times since then and all employees who may have been exposed have been notified. It is unclear when the employee tested positive.

READ MORE: The latest news and features about coronavirus in San Antonio

"As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, our H-E-B family of more than 120,000 Partners has not gone unaffected," H-E-B said in a news release.

This is not the first positive case for an H-E-B employee in the region. Five others in San Antonio tested positive and another at a store in New Braunfels in May.

H-E-B said they are continuing to practice good social distancing and requiring that masks are worn inside their stores.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:
The government has transported over 78,902 residents of J&K who were stranded outside the UT due to lockdown, back to their hometowns through covid special trains, buses and flights.

Likewise, the first train carrying 1,184 outbound migrant workers left from Katra for Chhatarpur in MP. The outward movement for 16,399 people stranded in Lakhanpur has been done till date.

So far, the government has evacuated 61,354 residents of J&K stranded in other states and UTs through Lakhanpur, besides bringing back about 17,047 people through special trains at Jammu and Udhampur railway stations. Also, 501 passengers including students were brought back through special flights.

Around 1,862 stranded passengers had entered through Lakhanpur between May 19 and 20. On Wednesday, 961 passengers reached Jammu railway station in a covid special AC train. About 1,861 passengers have reached Udhampur railway station from Bengaluru, Habibganj and Bholapur in three special trains.

So far, seven trains have reached Jammu with a total of 6,469 stranded passengers belonging to different districts while 10,578 passengers have reached Udhampur in 13 special trains.

A special train carrying about 1,100 passengers from Ahmedabad is expected to reach Udhampur.

As per official communique, of the 61,354 returnees evacuated through Lakhanpur by Wednesday morning, 13,694 are from Punjab, 19,775 from Himachal Pradesh, 21 from Andhra Pradesh, 6,051 from Delhi, 1,297 from Gujarat, 2,403 from Rajasthan, 3,588 from Haryana, 110 from Chhattisgarh, 3,117 from Uttarakhand, 666 from Maharashtra, 3,996 from Uttar Pradesh, 42 from Odisha, 244 from Assam, 917 from Madhya Pradesh, 88 from Dehradun, 946 from Chandigarh, 666 from Telangana, 42 from Karnataka, 56 from Tamil Nadu, 239 from Bihar, 120 from West Bengal, 26 from Jharkhand, three from Nepal and 3,247 from other states and UTs.
Multiple federal agencies worked together to create a website designed to assist Americans who are facing problems making mortgage or rent payments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mortgage and Housing Assistance website has information from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Veterans Affairs. All are working to protect citizens who may be facing housing insecurity as a result of reduced income or other issues tied to the current national emergency.

Experts say that the long-term financial well-being of a majority of Americans is at risk as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and that risk will remain even after the nation reopens.

Since there are many different assistance programs available from both federal and state agencies, finding out just what your options are can be daunting and time consuming. The joint website was created with this in mind. Some of the services and information offered on the website include:

Help with learning about mortgage relief options

Instructions on how to request forbearance or mortgage relief

Guidance on what to do if you've received a mortgage relief option

Special protections for renters

Special programs and protections for veterans and military members

How to avoid scams and bad actors

Along with providing information about how to avoid foreclosure or eviction, the website also provides links to several sources of assistance and instructions on how to contact them in your local area. This includes federally approved housing counselors, reputable credit counseling organizations and free legal resources.

The VA also has detailed information designed to help borrowers with VA Guaranteed Home Loans who may be facing financial hardships.

The new website will help those experiencing financial or housing insecurity be aware of, and receive, all the new benefits for which they are eligible.

Get the Latest Financial Tips

Whether you're trying to balance your budget, build up your credit, select a good life insurance program or are gearing up for a home purchase, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com and get the latest military benefit updates and tips delivered straight to your inbox.
Kolkata Police personnel, angry over their deployment in city areas where they claimed that the chances of contracting COVID-19 were high, allegedly gheraoed and damaged the vehicle of an officer of the force on Wednesday, prompting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to reach the spot and assure them to look into their demands.

Over 500 personnel of the Kolkata Police Combat Force are protesting at the Police Training School complex on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road since late Tuesday night.

Sources said they gheraoed the vehicle of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Combat Battalion, Col Nevendera Singh Paul, when he tried to initiate a dialogue with them and vandalised his vehicle.

"We are being sent on duty to high-risk areas. There are several policemen who have been infected with the virus. This cannot go on," an officer of the combat force told PTI.

Banerjee, who is personally monitoring the situation arising out of Cyclone Amphan, stepped out of her vehicle ignoring high winds and a drizzle, and spoke to the protesting policemen.

"I assure you that after Cyclone Amphan gets over and the coronavirus situation eases a little, I will personally come here, look into every detail and plan how to keep you and your families healthy. I will come here and talk to you personally.

"Please keep in mind that during our time (her government's tenure), I personally look into the treatment of a constable if he falls ill. I also make sure that they are getting the best of the best medical facilities.... I had even arranged for airlifting a policeman for medical assistance," she told the agitating policemen.

Stating that she took care to provide a job to the next of kin of a policeman if he lost his life while on duty, Banerjee, who is also the state home minister, said, "Rest assured, the government will do everything for your good."



She said the government is aware that several policemen have fallen ill due to COVID-19 while on duty during the pandemic.

"The government has announced a life insurance for COVID-19, which also includes the police force. We have also announced an insurance of Rs one lakh for those falling ill due to the disease and I have given instructions to disburse the money to the victims. We must not forget about their needs and that they should have a proper schedule," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said.

The agitating policemen urged Banerjee to look into their demand for changing the deputy commissioner.

When contacted, a senior Kolkata Police officer said a probe has been launched to ascertain the facts.

"An investigation is underway. There can be disappointment among the policemen regarding the duty schedule, but no acts of indiscipline will be tolerated," he said.

At least seven policemen have so far been infected with COVID-19 in West Bengal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Aura Blue Galaxy S20+ 5G has arrived in Europe. The new color variant of the Samsung flagship is now available for pre-order in the Netherlands. This particular variant was so far only available in South Korea and the United States.

In the Netherlands, the Aura Blue Galaxy S20+ 5G will be exclusive to T-Mobile and Tele2. The handset is priced at 1,099 for the 128GB variant. Unfortunately, it is not available in any other memory configurations as yet, reminiscent of how the Aura Blue Galaxy Note 10+ had a limited availability last year. The storage capacity is expandable by up to 1TB via a MicroSD card, though.

Both T-Mobile and Tele2 will open general sales for the Aura Blue Galaxy S20+ 5G on May 29. This phone should also be available to purchase from Samsung Netherlands online store. The company has yet to list the new color version.

Advertisement

Interestingly, Samsung also recently launched an Aura Blue color variant of the Galaxy Buds+. The new version is currently available in the US only, exclusively from Best Buy.

Aura Blue Galaxy S20+ launches in the Netherlands

Every year, Samsung tends to launch new color options of its flagship smartphones a few months after the initial launch. The Galaxy S20 series is also getting the same treatment.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 series, which includes the vanilla S20, the S20+, and the S20 Ultra, earlier in February this year. The Galaxy S20+ initially arrived in Cosmic Black, Cosmic Gray, and Cloud Blue color options in the Netherlands.

Advertisement

It is now getting an Aura Blue paint job, which is a much darker shade of the blue color. The Galaxy S20 family also comes in Cloud White and Cloud Pink colors, but the S20+ gets neither.

Reports earlier suggested that all three Galaxy S20 models will get a Cloud White exterior. The S20 Ultra did get one, as promised, but the vanilla S20 and the S20+ havent yet. As is usually the case, it largely depends on how well a particular color variant does in terms of sales.

In terms of specs, the Galaxy S20 features a big 6.7-inch 32001440 pixel resolution WQHD+ display with a centered punch hole. The display offers a 120Hz refresh rate and comes with an embedded ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor.

Advertisement

The European version of the Galaxy S20+ runs on Samsungs 7nm Exynos 990 processor, with 12GB of RAM. It packs a 4,500mAh battery that supports 45W fast charging via USB Type-C.

For photography, the handset features a 12-megapixel primary, a 64-megapixel 3x optical zoom telephoto lens, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a Time-of-Flight sensor on the back.

The front camera is a 10-megapixel sensor and it supports 4K 60fps video recording. The rear cameras can record 8K videos at 30fps.
DALLAS, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) was selected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide Research Laboratory Support (RLS) for the EPA Office of Research and Development at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. With a maximum potential award to Jacobs of $100 million over a five-year base period, the contract went into effect April 1, 2020.

Jacobs has successfully supported the EPA on the RLS contract since 2015 and will continue to deliver sustainable solutions in demanding and frequently changing environments. With the award of this EPA RLS follow-on contract, Jacobs will continue to provide technical, analytical, research and development and logistical technology support to help the EPA in its mission to protect human and environmental health.

"This work aligns with Jacobs' focus on creating a more sustainable world, and we are pleased to have again been selected by the EPA to provide scientific research assistance in support of their vital mission," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions Senior Vice President Steve Arnette. "We look forward to continuing our support to the EPA in evaluating technologies needed to provide clean air and water, and to identify, mitigate and remediate environmental threats in the U.S. and around the world."

Jacobs will provide support in alignment with the agency's research priorities, including decontamination and repercussion management of hazardous contaminations of buildings and outdoor areas; atmospheric sciences and human exposure; air quality simulation modeling; and development and validation of measurement methods, source emission characterizations, and data collection and reporting requirements.

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 27, 2019, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

SOURCE Jacobs

Related Links

http://www.jacobs.com


Two persons hailing from Odisha



were arrested for allegedly smuggling diamonds worth around Rs 20 lakh in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, police said on Wednesday.

As many as 125 pieces of rough diamonds were seized from their possession, they said.

Acting on a tip-off, police arrested the duo on late Tuesday evening from Jadapadar village under the Mainpur police station area, Gariaband SP Bhojram Patel told PTI.

On receiving inputs about two men moving in Jadapadar in search of customers to sell rough diamonds, a team of the Mainpur police swung into action, he said.

The police team intercepted the suspects and recovered 125 pieces of diamonds of different sizes worth around Rs 20 lakh and a small weighing machine from their possession, Patel said.

The arrested persons were identified as Jokho Ram (56) and Vikas Manjhi (25), natives of Nuapada district in neighbouring Odisha, he said, adding three mobile phones and a motorcycle were also seized from them.

Prima facie, it seems they had illegally brought the diamonds from the diamond-rich belt of Gariabands Deobhog area," the SP said.

Deobhog is located around 200km from the state capital Raipur.

A case has been registered in this connection and further probe was underway, Patel added.

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

May 20, 2020 Hontiveros questions DOH's claim of 'flattening the curve' "We have to be honest. Dapat kumpleto at reliable ang mga datos." This was the statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros during Wednesday's Senate Committee of the Whole as she questioned the Department of Health's claim that the Philippines is 'flattening the country's coronavirus curve', especially that confirmed COVID-19 cases have grown to 12,942 as of today, May 20, 2020, and the country is not reaching its testing target of 20,000 per day. "Gaano ka-reliable ang datos na naging batayan para masabing na-flatten na ang curve kung 'yung demonstrated testing capacity natin ay parang off-target at paiba-iba kada linggo?" the senator asked government representatives on the country's response towards COVID-19. Hontiveros cited a study from Johns Hopkins University stating that "flattening the curve involves reducing the number of new COVID-19 cases from one day to the next. This helps prevent healthcare systems from becoming overwhelmed." The senator said that if that decrease in cases is how we can measure the 'flattening of the curve', then the DOH should also communicate if we are indeed decreasing the number of cases daily. "It's a simple measure that is also easily understandable by many. We need to be consistent in our data, and more importantly, in the data we relay to the public. Napaka-confusing na pa-iba-iba ang lengguwahe at measures of success natin," the senator said. Hontiveros also stressed that consistent and accurate data will better assist the government in its decision-making. "Lahat dapat ng ginagawa natin laban sa COVID-19 ay ayon sa tama at reliable na mga datos. We need to ground our policies on the real situation," she urged. The Senator also expressed concern on the possibility of another strict lockdown. "Hindi pwedeng mag-ease tayo ng lockdown pagkatapos balik na naman kasi mali pala ang ating basa sa sitwasyon -- because we did not test enough people, because we did not meet our target of 20,000 tests per day," she said. "Mahirap sabihin na we have flattened the curve without real and reliable data. We have to be honest: have we really? Let's be clear on our benchmarks and indicators," she added. "We cannot afford a second or third wave, lalo na kung hindi pa pala tayo tapos sa first wave," Hontiveros concluded.
Choung Woong Ahn, 74, died by suicide at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield. (Priya Patel)

The way Choung Woong Ahn's family sees it, the 74-year-old South Korean immigrant should not have been in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center when he took his last breath.

Lawyers for Ahn had submitted three requests for his release amid the coronavirus pandemic. All were rejected, the most recent by a U.S. district judge on May 13. On Sunday, he died by suicide.

From the perspective of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ahn was exactly where he should have been.

He spent eight years at Solano State Prison in Vacaville for attempted murder with a firearm. After his sentence was served, he was transferred to the immigrant detention facility in Bakersfield in February for deportation proceedings.

Ahn's criminal history made him too much of a public threat to qualify for release, according to ICE. Spokesman Jonathan Moor said that ICE has gone through a deliberative process for COVID-19 "to make sure that only the people who absolutely need to be in detention" remain there.

Ahn, who arrived in the U.S. from South Korea as a permanent resident in 1988, had health issues including lung cancer, diabetes, hypertension and a history of heart attacks, his family said. They said keeping a man of his age and with his infirmities in detention was cruel while COVID-19 bears down on so many people in such institutions.

Hunger strikers at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield captured by drone during a sit-in protest on April 10. (California Committee for Immigrant Liberation)

Correctional and detention facilities are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks. More than 900 inmates in a federal prison in Lompoc contracted the virus, the worst outbreak in the federal prison system. And in San Diego, 151 detainees at Otay Mesa Detention Center have tested positive and one has died, the largest outbreak in the immigration detention system. No cases have yet been confirmed at Mesa Verde.

Just before a scheduled immigration court hearing last week, Ahn was taken to a local hospital for severe chest pain, where he tested negative for COVID-19. He returned to Mesa Verde the next night.

Young Ahn, 66, said his brother pleaded to be returned to the general population but was told he needed to stay in quarantine isolation for 14 days. In protest, he began refusing meals.

Story continues

Choung Woong Ahn had a history of suicide attempts, according to a court document and his lawyer.

"If they knew he had a suicidal mind, then he shouldnt be put in an isolation room all by himself" Young Ahn said.

Choung Woong Ahn called his brother several hours before his death. They talked about preparing for his court hearing, which had been rescheduled for Tuesday. He told Young Ahn, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

According to a court declaration, Choung Woong Ahn fired a shot at two men who came to the aid of a woman whom he beat and threatened to kill at a dry cleaning business. The bullet missed and lodged in a wall. Sheriff's deputies labeled the incident in October 2011 as domestic violence-related.

"These are mandatory detentions based on what Congress has outlined for us, including Mr. Ahn's case," Moor said. "Based on the nature of what his conviction is, I would have to say that was the primary reason why."

But Choung Woong Ahn's lawyer, Priya Patel with Centro Legal, said his death is a systemic failure by ICE, the private prison company GEO Group, which manages the facility, and California officials who have oversight over detention facilities.

Patel said she thought, given his age and medical issues, the federal judge would agree with her perspective about his case.

She said he had expressed fear about getting coronavirus. He had been watching the news and knew how dangerous the situation was and that he was vulnerable.

"There were many, many ways it could have been prevented," she said. "On a pretty micro level, he shouldnt have been unmonitored in segregation. And also, on a macro level, he should've been released."

ICE said the death is under investigation.

"ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such cases," said Moor.

Young Ahn said his brother finished high school in South Korea and worked as a real estate developer until a new government limited development and his business tanked. A few years later, his older sister petitioned for him to join her in California, where he dedicated himself to selling luggage at flea markets.

Another sister who lives near San Jose visited Choung Woong Ahn nearly every weekend after he went to prison. Two weeks ago, ICE had requested her address and phone number to keep on file.

She had arranged for him to live with her and purchased some clothes and shoes for him in case he was released during the pandemic. But Young Ahn said the family had also begun longer-term planning for his deportation and to help him resettle in South Korea.

Young Ahn said he's angry about the way his brother died.

"Some people say, 'Well he has a criminal record.' But he paid his due, OK?" he said. "He served the full term. He has a lot of remorse, a lot of regret."
Burl Cain, the legendary and controversial former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola who quit in 2015 amid probes into his business dealings, has been hired to lead the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced the move Wednesday.

Cain, 77, spent more than two decades at the helm of Angola, where he drew national attention for launching religious inmate-rehabilitation programs and presiding over a relatively peaceful era in what was once perhaps the nations most notorious prison.

But his downfall as warden was abrupt, prompted by a series of reports in The Advocate newspaper that raised questions about private real-estate dealings with relatives and friends of favored inmates, an apparent violation of Louisiana Department of Corrections rules.

Cain denied any wrongdoing but was facing dual probes into the deals at the time of his retirement.

Cain will take over a prison system marred by violence in recent months, including deadly fights at several facilities in January and February that left at least a dozen inmates dead and prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to open a civil-rights investigation into the agency.

Reeves, a Republican who took office in January, told reporters that he had "full confidence" in Cain's ability to change the culture" in the state's "broken" prison system, according to a reporter with the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal newspaper.

Reeves, asked about the cloud under which Cain retired from Angola, said his staff did "extensive research" into the ex-warden's background and contended that the allegations against Cain "were basically dropped."

"Those allegations were unfounded," Cain said Wednesday, according to the newspaper. "There were no crimes committed."

Cain's reputation for having tamed Angola through Christian ministry  which he's touted in speeches all over the world  helped land him the new gig.

"Angola was once known as the bloodiest prison in America," Reeves said on Wednesday while introducing Cain. "Then a man named Burl Cain entered the picture. He brought faith, security, safety, dignity and pride to the prison. They went from beatings to Bible study.

Many observers question whether Cain deserves as much credit as he takes for staunching the bleeding at Angola, a sprawling plantation once plagued by horrific violence. Abysmal conditions led the federal courts to take oversight of the prison in the mid-1970s and a federal consent decree beginning in 1983.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

By the time Cain arrived, things had already improved significantly.

Shortly after becoming Angola's warden in 1995, Cain struck a deal with the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to privately fund seminary courses for inmates at the maximum security lockup, allowing them the opportunity to earn college degrees and become religious ministers to other prisoners.

The success of that program, which Cain has credited with tamping down violence at Angola, drew considerable national attention to the prison and helped make Cain perhaps the nation's most famous jailer, renowned for his firm beliefs in both tough law-and-order punishment and the power of the Christian gospel.

After his retirement, Cain founded a nonprofit group  called the Global Prison Seminaries Foundation  and continued traveling around the world to promote his "moral rehabilitation" approach of offering theological training to prisoners.

Cain will take over a corrections department that was upended in recent years by a massive federal corruption investigation that took down former Commissioner Christopher Epps, who'd been caught by the FBI arranging kickbacks in deals with for-profit prison contractors.

Epps, who resigned in November 2014, eventually pleaded guilty to taking millions in bribes in exchange for lucrative state contracts and is now serving a nearly 20-year federal prison sentence. The corruption scandal also ensnared a number of others, including several Mississippi politicos and four Louisiana businessmen who'd offered kickbacks in exchange for deals.

Cain, who once flirted with running for governor, was widely considered to wield enormous clout within the Louisiana Department of Corrections and was viewed as one of the state's most powerful individuals.

Throughout his career in Louisiana, Cain was also dogged by allegations of impropriety, nepotism and by controversy surrounding a number of side business deals involving inmate labor that appeared to skirt state ethics rules. Even some allies regularly likened Cain to Boss Hogg, the rapacious county commissioner from "The Dukes of Hazzard" television show.

Among the questionable deals was a short-lived private business deal to have prisoners at Angola scrape off the labels from expired canned food, slapping a new date on the cans and reselling the goods in foreign countries with looser food safety regulations. That deal was scrapped after drawing scrutiny from a federal judge.

An audit released in 2017, about a year after his resignation, found that Cain benefited from free labor and helped himself to nearly $20,000 in freebies while running the prison. But the district attorney in West Feliciana Parish, Sam D'Aquilla, referred the matter to the state's inspector general for further investigation.

+11 Exclusive: Audit says Burl Cain benefited from free labor, nearly $20K in other freebies At least 10 correctional employees helped renovate the private home of Burl Cain, the storied former warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiar

West Feliciana DA opts against grand jury, punts critical Angola audit to state inspector general A recent investigative audit that said several employees of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola  including longtime former warden Burl

Cain's eldest son, Nate Cain, also served as a prison warden in Louisiana, running the Avoyelles Correctional Center in Cottonport. But Nate Cain was also ousted around the same time as his father, resigning in late 2015 amid mounting investigations into misspending and other misconduct at the prison he oversaw.

Federal prosecutors later charged Nate Cain  along with his now ex-wife, Tonia Bandy  with numerous counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. Nate Cain pleaded guilty to reduced charges in the middle of his trial in 2019 and is currently serving a 3-year prison sentence at a federal facility in Kentucky.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Trend's exclusive interview with UK Prime Ministers Trade Envoy, Baroness Emma Nicholson

Question: How has the COVID  19 Pandemic affected the UK-Azerbaijan trade turnover since the closure of borders?

Answer: The UK-Azerbaijan trade and investment partnership remains strong, in particular the UKs continued commitment to Azerbaijans energy sector and wider economy, with BP continuing to invest in new exploration and development activities during this difficult time.

With Azerbaijan Airlines scheduled flights expected to resume at the earliest opportunity, we are looking forward to travelling to Azerbaijan once again, as well as receiving the large number of Azerbaijani students that study in the UK each year, to take up their school and university placements.

During this time, it remains of paramount importance that our two countries continue to explore opportunities in all sectors, not only oil and gas, but also Healthcare, Agriculture, Tourism, Education and Retail, among others. I, together with the British Embassy in Baku, stand ready to help in any way I can to support this and look forward to furthering some of these initiatives in the near future.

Q.: How should the two countries offset their losses if any?

A.: There has never been a more critical and challenging time for the international community to work together to respond to the deep global health and economic crisis.

Such a response includes working together to minimise economic disruption through the development of new sectors, encouragement of further creative thinking and the introduction of improved and more cost-effective methods of working.

This includes a continued focus on environmental issues, improvement in primary healthcare care infrastructure and personnel, more support for the disadvantaged, particularly in areas such agriculture and education, the digitalisation of various industries and the encouragement of more collaborative research and development.

Together, the UK and Azerbaijan can work closely on all these areas to our mutual benefit.

Q.: What are the lessons learned from the outbreak of this disease, which came out to be a test for the world infrastructure? How should UK and Azerbaijan arrange their communications so as to get out of such situations with minimal losses?

A.: The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that disease outbreaks do not respect borders, therefore we need a fully coordinated international response. It is only by working together that we will prevent future waves of infection and end this pandemic as quickly as possible.

So, Im proud that the UK is taking a leading role globally, and has committed up to 744 million (AZN 1.5bn) for the international response to coronavirus, including our pledge of 388 million (AZN 800mn) for the vital research and development of vaccines, treatments and tests.

In addition, the UK will be hosting the Global Vaccine Summit in June, which will focus on how we continue to ensure Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has the funds needed to deliver vaccines against diseases in the worlds poorest countries, and how we ensure fair access for all new coronavirus vaccines.

Azerbaijans support for the global effort, such as your financial contributions to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is extremely welcome, and I hope that you will also support this vaccines initiative.

Were also working closely with Azerbaijan on the health response in the country. Last month, together with the WHO, the UK co-funded the development of www.azercovid19.org, an online training platform enabling hospital personnel to access new training resources and interact with fellow professionals. This is helping medical staff quickly acquire the essential skills needed in the fight against coronavirus in Azerbaijan.

Q.: Many experts suggest that the world will not be the same during the post-pandemic period. How do you see the relations between UK and Azerbaijan during the post-pandemic period?

A.: Relations between our two countries are strong and will continue to grow. Just this month, the UK Deputy Foreign Minister Morton and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov discussed a number of key areas for cooperation in the coming months and years, including securing a UK-Azerbaijan bilateral agreement which will further strengthen the excellent ties between our two countries.

As hosts of COP26 next year, the UK will also be working closely with Azerbaijan to find solutions to climate change. The UK and Azerbaijan have strong existing ties in the energy sector and we want to take this cooperation to the next level as we work in partnership to develop renewable energy opportunities. Our diplomatic engagement will also continue and we look forward to the next round of the UK-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue and the Joint Inter-government Commission happening at the earliest opportunity.

Working together will ensure that countries can return more resilient, innovative and economically dynamic. As Trade Envoy, I look forward to exploring what opportunities there are to achieve this together.

I wish to finish by bidding all readers good health and happiness.
A man wears a face mask along the Venice Beach boardwalk. (Getty Images)

I've been paying close attention to the way Angelenos are responding to changes in Mayor Eric Garcetti's Safer at Home order. Last week, after he opened beaches to active recreation like swimming, surfing and walking, I wandered down to the sand and found that people were flouting the no-sunbathing edict. I questioned in my last column whether the rule even made sense.

But then came the weekend, and with it spectacular weather. Hordes of people descended on the beach, and traffic was a nightmare because the public parking lots are still closed.

I strapped on my cotton mask, got on my bike, and rode over to the mostly empty Venice Pier parking lot to see how things were going. At the south end of the lot, three mounted Los Angeles police officers sat on their horses, looking toward the Palos Verdes Peninsula, at dozens and dozens of Angelenos lolling on the sand, picnicking and sunbathing, in clear violation of the mayors latest order, which bans passive beach recreation.

I rode up next to the officers and asked whether theyd given any citations. The officer closest to me gave me a look that made me think Id asked a very silly question.

No, he said, that would be unconstitutional. Like forcing people to wear masks.

I rode home and tweeted about the encounter.

Just now, south of Venice Pier. Three mounted LAPD officers, looking south toward a beach full of sunbathers, which is against @MayorOfLA 's order. "Have you given any citations?" I ask. Cop laughs. "No. That would be unconstitutional. Like forcing people to wear masks."   Robin Abcarian (@AbcarianLAT) May 16, 2020

One of the first people to respond to my tweet was Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson, a former head of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, who teaches political governance. She was disturbed by the officer's assertion that ordering people to wear masks didn't pass constitutional muster. This is neither encouraging nor correct," she wrote. "Shall I send over a quick handout on state police powers?

Story continues

My feed soon became a battle zone between people who support stay-at-home orders and those who passionately believe they are an infringement on our rights. Lots of people seemed to think that I was urging the police to arrest innocent sunbathers. Many called me Karen, the insult du jour lobbed at entitled, middle-aged white women who seem to feel rules shouldn't apply to them. Many of my critics went even further.

Do you realize how similar you sound to a legitimate Nazi during the Holocaust? one guy asked.

Others chastised me for trying to get a hard-working cop in trouble. Many wanted the police officers name so they could thank him, or send him money.

In truth, all I was trying to do was point out that there is a rather dramatic disconnect between the law and how it is being enforced.

I understand our mayor prefers to have a consensus model, and he talks about coming from a place of love and compassion, but if it's important enough to be mandatory, it would have to have some teeth," Levinson told me Monday. "It raises an existential question: Why have a law if you don't enforce it?"

By Tuesday, my tweet had been liked 11,000 times and retweeted nearly 4,000 times.

I turned for answers to the two Los Angeles officials who could explain whats actually going on: the mayor and the chief of police.

Im disappointed to hear that the officer gave you that account, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore told me Monday evening. Beach and mask rules aren't unconstitutional, he said, and the reason police were sent to the beach was to tell those men and women who were on the beach sunbathing that they have to leave, and stand by until they leave.

Generally, he said, If you ask some people to go, and they see people leave, others will follow. They dont want an encounter with law enforcement.

Police are deliberately not meting out punishments, however, because this is only the first week of the newly relaxed rules, because they understand that people are going stir crazy at home and because they dont want a public relations fiasco on their hands.

If we take a strong, more enforcement-oriented position, said Moore, we jeopardize the publics trust.

He ticked off what the critiques would almost certainly be: You guys are being heavy-handed. Is this necessary? You are endangering the officers. Its just a money grab by the state. (Violating the mayors order is a misdemeanor, and carries the possibility of a six-month jail sentence, a $1,000 fine or both.)

Garcetti, for his part, acknowledged that enforcement of his order is essentially on hold as the public grows accustomed to the new normal.

As Ive said from the beginning, he said Monday in a Zoom meeting with the Times editorial board, we are not going to turn this into a police state, or turn to enforcement as our first move.

The mayor and the chief talk frequently about how to encourage people to abide by the Safer at Home order. Both told me that no citations have been written, and both hope that none will have to be.

But they also believe that just having the law on the books is important symbolically.

My first priority is getting a culture of accepting that this [coronavirus] is there, and I dont think you build a culture by starting wars over enforcement, Garcetti said.

However, he said, if it appears that people aren't taking the mandated precautions and coronavirus infections are spiking in the city, police will probably have to get more strict. Lives, after all, are in the balance.

"Decisions I made are going to cause this percentage of more people to get infected, and some percentage of them probably to die. That's a heavy responsibility to have. I don't want people being handcuffed, you know, on Venice Boardwalk because there's not a mask, and I don't want them completely ignoring it."

He and Moore have considered the idea of giving officers masks to hand out. "And if they have somebody who says FU and all that, like, whatever. We'll train, we'll learn ... maybe we will [give tickets] sometimes. But a week into this that's not the right move."

For black-and-white thinkers, this approach may seem unacceptable.

For those of us who see the many shades of gray in this pandemic moment, it seems exactly right.

@AbcarianLAT




Advertisement

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland sparked fury today by admitting that ministers 'chose' to protect the NHS over care homes because there was not enough coronavirus testing capacity.

Mr Buckland gave the clearest statement yet that a decision was made to prioritise the health service when the outbreak was at its most ferocious.

More than 11,000 people are now believed to have died in care homes since the disease started running rampant, around a quarter of the UK's total toll. The government has been heavily criticised for sending patients back to homes from hospitals without tests, and not putting routine screening in place for staff and residents.

Mr Buckland fuelled the row this morning by conceding the government had to make a 'choice' about where to deploy testing capacity - which was languishing at a few thousand a day in early March, although it has now been ramped up to over 100,000.

'I think we needed to make a choice about testing and we did decide to focus upon the NHS,' he told Sky News. 'The issue with care homes is that we've got many thousands of different providers, different settings, there have been lots of examples of care homes that have mercifully stayed infection free, but sadly far too many cases of infection and then death.'

Shadow care minister Liz Kendall said the remarks amounted to a concession that 'ministers did not give care homes the protection they needed at the start of this pandemic'.

'Social care and the NHS are both equally important in the fight against this virus and are inextricably linked. One cannot be prioritised above the other,' she said.

Care England chief Martin Green said it was a 'significant' statement from Mr Buckland and he hoped the government will 'learn lessons'.

The spat came after Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, highlighted the role capacity had played in key decisions at the daily media briefing last night.

Dame Angela said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to contact trade individual cases, which happened on March 12, 'took account of the testing that was available'.

'With the testing we had the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital... it was the right thing to do at the time,' she said.

She said the 'scientific advice would be that you need to have a rapid and reliable testing system'. Asked if that was now true, Dame Angela replied: 'I think it is getting better.'

Mr Buckland fuelled the row this morning by conceding the government had to make a 'choice' about where to deploy testing capacity - which was languishing at a few thousand a day in early March, although it has now been ramped up to over 100,000

Boris Johnson was out for some exercise near Downing Street before PMQs today as the coronavirus crisis rages on

Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to track individual cases 'took account of the testing that was available'

How the UK's testing regime chaos collapsed into chaos - and the fateful day No 10 halted community testing before the pandemic's peak The UK's testing regime is under the microscope after ministers appeared too slow to act while today the UK still has no fully functioning trace and trace app despite already easing the lockdown. March 12 is viewed as the lowest point of the crisis when the Government dropped community testing despite experts around the world warning that testing every case was the only way to cut infections and save lives. The Government has been damned by MPs for still not explaining who took the decision - or exactly why - although a lack of capacity and a lack of control over the virus' spread are the likeliest answers. This is how the testing scandal has unfolded: January 31: First confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK are two Chinese nationals staying in York while sightseeing. The Department of Health pledges to test anyone who becomes ill with the virus. February 1: China reports asymptomatic cases of coronavirus, making the testing of health workers crucial because they could be spreading the virus unknowingly. An outbreak of COVID-19 had already swamped the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. A British man on board would later die. February 21: As the virus continues to spread across the globe, the UK Government experts conclude at a meeting that the disease is still only a 'moderate' threat to the UK. Yet in Lombardy, Italy, clusters of cases began to emerge before the north of the country was engulfed completely. March 3: South Korea manages to reduce the number of Covid-19 infections to 851 on March 3 by effectively tracking people infected with COVID-19 using an app and testing. By the end of March there would be less than 20 cases per day. Doctors urge other countries to adopt their model. March 11: Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is 'rolling out a big expansion of testing' but fails to give a timetable and says 1,215 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK. March 12: 24 hours later Boris Johnson was accused of mixed messages after saying that health workers will no longer test people for the virus in their homes, only when they are admitted to hospital. Anyone with symptoms, but able to care for themselves at home, would not be tested and it marked the end of the policy to 'contact trace' everyone with symptoms on, as the government's response moves from 'containment' into a 'delay' phase. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: 'It is no longer needed to identify every case, so we will pivot testing capacity to identify people in hospitals with symptoms to ensure they don't pass it on.' Critics have said that this is the day the Government lost control and conceded defeat on testing as cases increased and they didn't have the capacity to test every person. Downing Street has always refused to say who took the fateful decision to halt testing in the community on March 12, with many claiming it was this decision that led to it sweeping through communities and care homes. March 13: Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance suggests the strategy is not to 'suppress' coronavirus completely but 'reduce the peak' as up to 60 per cent get infected. He says that means the UK will 'build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease'. March 16: Boris Johnson urges Britons to follow 'social distancing' guidelines as well as isolating when they have symptoms, in a change of policy after modelling found the death toll could be much higher than previously estimated. The WHO warns on slow progress with testing, saying you 'cannot fight a fire blindfolded' and urges countries to 'test, test, test'. March 17: There was more confusion as Patrick Vallance tells a Commons committee testing numbers should be higher. 'I think we need a big increase in testing, and that is what I am pushing for very hard.' March 18: Amid growing criticism, the PM declares that there will be a big expansion of tests from under 5,000 a day to 25,000. He also sets an ambition of 250,000 tests a day, although this includes potential mass antibody tests for whether people previously had the disease. March 21: Downing Street sends an email to research institutions begging for machines needed to process testing samples. No10 denies this was the first time it had raised the idea. March 27: Mr Johnson and Matt Hancock announce they have tested positive for coronavirus. Prof Whitty goes into self-isolation with symptoms. March 29: Cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Michael Gove hail news that the UK is now carrying out 10,000 tests a day. April 1: It emerges that the UK has still not carried out 10,000 tests in a day, despite apparently having the capacity to do so. In Germany a single lab in Cologne was carrying out 10,000 tests itself. Germany would soon ramp up to 500,000 tests a week. April 2: Matt Hancock sets a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. At the same time a goal of 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April is quietly dropped. April 5: The PM's official account causes confusion by tweeting that the target is for 100,000 people to be tested a day, rather than 100,000 tests as other ministers have suggested. Many people need more than one test in a day for clinical reasons, such as to confirm results. April 6: Mr Johnson is admitted to hospital as his symptoms fail to subside and would later spend days in intensive care. April 30: Mr Hancock declares victory with 122,000 tests in a day. However, it emerges that the government has been counting tests posted out but not actually completed. That is despite Mr Johnson and others stating the numbers are for tests 'carried out'. The numbers tumble below the target again in the following days, although the government insists capacity remains in place. May 5: Trials of an NHSX app to track who has been in proximity to infected people begin on the Isle of Wight. Chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance admits ramping up testing earlier would have been 'beneficial'. May 18: It emerges the app will not be ready for national use by 'mid-May' as planned, although Downing Street insists track and trace can start without it. Mr Hancock announces that everyone over the age of five displaying coronavirus symptoms can now apply for a test, although key workers and patients will be prioritised. May 19: A furious blame game erupted over who was to blame for coronavirus blunders on testing and care homes were down to 'wrong' science advice. The Science and Technology Committee found hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of capacity for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'. The Department of Health and Public Health England have been pointing the finger at each other. Advertisement

The Commons Science Committee said yesterday that hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'.

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with checks reserved for hospital patients and health staff.

The ability to detect and crack down on cases is seen as crucial to getting the economy up and running, with unions warning workplaces and schools cannot be safe until the regime is in place.

The committee hit out at Public Health England for the 'pivotal decision' to shun smaller labs and failure to make a 'rigorous assessment' of countries such as South Korea and Germany that had successfully ramped up testing.

But PHE chief Duncan Selbie shot back that it was 'not responsible' for the testing strategy, which 'has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He insisted 'any testing facility with the right technology and containment' could have carried out checks after security restrictions were lowered on March 3.

Health select committee chairman Jeremy Hunt told Boris Johnson today to be more transparent to show whether politicians have been given the right advice by scientists.

Swathes of evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has not been published, while other parts have been released with a long time lag and sections blanked out.

'The only way to resolve this is to publish the scientific advice ministers were acting on,' Mr Hunt told the Times.

'We can't possibly know whether government was following the science if we don't know the advice they were given. If you publish the advice it gives a chance for other scientists to scrutinise it.'

In a letter to the PM, committee chairman Greg Clark identified a series of lessons to learn from the UK's handling of the outbreak.

He said capacity must 'urgently' be built up for contact tracing, a key tactic in helping ease existing lockdown measures.

Mr Clark said: 'Testing capacity has been inadequate for most of the pandemic so far.

'Capacity was not increased early enough or boldly enough. Capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity.'

Mr Hancock announced on April 2 that he wanted to reach 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of the month.

The goal was reached for the first time on April 30 but sparked accusations the figures had been inflated, as they included tests which had been posted out but not completed.

The milestone has been reached a handful of times since.

Mr Clark said PHE had repeatedly failed to answer questions over the 'pivotal' decision to ignore mass testing in favour of other tactics.

He said: 'The decision to pursue an approach of initially concentrating testing in a limited number of laboratories and to expand them gradually, rather than an approach of surging capacity through a large number of available public sector, research institute, university and private sector labs is one of the most consequential made during this crisis.

'From it followed the decision on March 12 to cease testing in the community and retreat to testing principally within hospitals.'

He said the decision meant that residents in care homes and care home workers could not be tested at a time when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant.

Mr Clark wrote: 'Had the public bodies responsible in this space themselves taken the initiative at the beginning of February, or even the beginning of March, rather than waiting until the Secretary of State imposed a target on April 2, knowledge of the spread of the pandemic and decisions about the response to it may have made more options available to decision makers at earlier stages.'

But in a statement to the BBC, Mr Selbie said the testing strategy was not PHE's responsibility.

'PHE did not constrain or seek to control any laboratory either public, university or commercial from conducting testing,' he said.

Downing Street rejected the criticism over testing.

'We set up the largest diagnostic testing industry in British history from scratch in a matter of weeks,' the PM's spokesman said.

'The PM is hugely grateful for the hard work and expertise of the UK's world-leading scientists,' the spokesman said.

No10 also disowned Cabinet minister Therese Coffey after she blamed government blunders on coronavirus testing and care homes on 'wrong' science advice.

Pushed on whether the government had made mistakes, Ms Coffey said ministers could 'only make judgements and decisions based on the information and advice that we have at the time'.

'If the science advice at the time was wrong I am not surprised people think we made the wrong decision,' she said.

Asked about Ms Coffey's intervention, the spokesman pointedly said 'ministers make decisions, scientists advise'.

The Science committee identified concerns over the transparency of its Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency) membership amid concerns political interference could affect the guidance.

The report, based on evidence sessions with experts including Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, and Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, found the approach to dealing with asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19 was 'unclear'.

Separately, a care home chief blamed delayed advice and testing during a 'critical' period for having spread coronavirus throughout homes.

Barchester Healthcare chief executive Dr Pete Calveley, who said around two thirds of his homes have had Covid-19 cases, told the BBC yesterday: 'We've had several weeks where their first reaction was to protect the NHS, where they wanted to discharge a lot of clients from hospital to make sure there was capacity for what they anticipated was a surcharge.

'And that meant a lot of people being discharged from care homes rather quickly who hadn't been tested and often we've seen where we've been doing large testing of care homes where asymptomatic staff, and particularly residents, are actually positive and therefore are freely moving through the home are infecting other residents and staff without anybody knowing about it until too late.'

Dr Calveley said there was a 'critical' period of up to four weeks before testing was available and advice was issued for staff to wear professional masks and isolation for new admissions.

'None of that advice came out until it was probably too late,' he said.

One former minister told the Telegraph the government's handling of the crisis was reminiscent of the famous Morecambe and Wise sketch featuring Andre Previn, the pianist and composer.

The MP said: 'It's like when Previn turns to Eric and says: 'You're not playing the right notes' and Eric grabs him by the lapels and replies: 'I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order'. Everything has been the wrong way round.'

On the plan for a 14-day quarantine period on arrivals to the UK, they added: 'That should have happened at the beginning of the crisis, not at the end.'

Ms Coffey defended the Government's coronavirus testing record as having improved from a 'standing start'.

Responding to the Commons Science and Technology Committee's criticism, she told BBC Breakfast: 'We had a small amount of capacity at the very start, it was solely based on Public Health England's capability of being able to have about 2,000 tests a day.

'We had little capacity early on, I recognise that, we have got a lot of capacity now.

'I think from pretty much a standing start, roughly in about mid-February I think it was, to get to a capacity and actual tests being done of 100,000 within about six weeks, I think is pretty full-on and actually I think something we can look on with pride.'

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey appeared to pass the buck in a round of interviews yesterday, saying science advice might have been 'wrong'
(Newser)  A South Dakota city that was among the earliest to be hit by a major coronavirus outbreak in a meatpacking plant is planning a parade to thank workers, who organizers say have been unfairly stigmatized. Organizers of Wednesday's event in Sioux Falls say they hope hundreds of people will show up to hold signs of thanks outside a Smithfield Foods pork plant that closed after hundreds of employees were infected with COVID-19, the AP reports. Mayor Paul TenHaken is among those planning to attend. Parade organizer Natalie Eisenberg says it's an attempt to bring a positive message to the employees and reach out as neighbors. They will also be paying for a billboard to thank the employees.

story continues below

"We wanted them to feel the warmth of the community around them and make them smile," Eisenberg says. Some workers and advocates for immigrants were angered when Gov. Kristi Noem appeared on Fox News on April 13 and seemed to place blame on the living situations of Smithfield employees, many of them immigrants. Other elected officials made similar remarks. Noem later said she meant only that the focus of health officials had shifted to stopping infections in the community after the Smithfield plant closed. "We certainly thank them for their work and their dedication providing for our nation's food supply," she said at a press briefing on Tuesday.

(Read more South Dakota stories.)
(Photo : REUTERS/Yara Nardi) A luthier works on a part of a violin in his workshop as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rome, Italy May 20, 2020.

As nations around the world relax restrictions on coronavirus, people learn that "the new normal" is anything but that.

Several truths have emerged: schools, workplaces, public transit, pubs, and restaurants are all on post-lockdown life's front lines. How each of those main sectors handles social distance and tamp down on anticipated new outbreaks will decide the everyday life shape for millions as researchers work to produce a vaccine.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Coronavirus Infected all Monkeys in Oxford Vaccine Trial

Europe, United Kindom

In Britain, the House of Commons leader said parliament members should come back to London to work in person on June 2 after weeks of remote work. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the decision recognizes "the need for business to continue." According to Associated Press (AP), authorities are likely to limit the number of people allowed into the small chamber, where lawmakers sit on long benches, shoulder to shoulder.

In Italy, where good food is a vital part of life, once-packed restaurants and cafes face a substantial financial hit as they reopen with stringent social distancing rules. This year's losses are projected to pile up to  30 billion ($32 billion), AP reported.

"We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before," lamented chef Raffaele di Cristo, who now must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. "Everything is changed. Slowly, slowly, we will try to understand and to adapt to this coronavirus."

Corsi reopened with half its tables removed for business Monday to ensure the mandated 1-meter (3-foot) spacing between the tables. Hand sanitizing gel was placed at the entrance, and a new ordering system was introduced so that customers could read the menu on their phones.

Some shops in Italy have lamented a shortage of gloves driving customers away. On Wednesday, May 20, Veneto Gov. Luca Zaia said he would amend the rules on wearing gloves in clothing stores and shoe shops and then remove the sanitizing gel.

On the same day, Slovakia reopened theaters, cinemas, and shopping centers, but with new tourist numbers limits, even though COVID-19 had just 28 deaths.

Cambridge has become Britain's first university to implement virtually and streamed online classes until the summer of 2021. Other institutions took on various tacks.

France limits its primary school spaces and gives priority to the children of essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while secondary schools remain closed.

As beaches reopened in Barcelona, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked lawmakers to support a plan to extend the state of emergency of the nation by another two weeks to June 7. The main opposition in Spain, the conservative Popular Party, dismissed the move.

Asia, other parts of the world

In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitizers. Wearing masks were required for students and teachers, and plastic partitions were installed around desks at some schools.

Aircraft engine supplier Rolls-Royce revealed plans Wednesday to slash 9,000 jobs as it deals with the air travel crash. Those jobs generally come with good salaries and benefits, and losing them is a sharp blow to local communities.

Some companies are quick to adapt to new realities. Safari operators in Kenya have resorted to sharing live broadcasts on social media in the hope that attention to the endangered species and other species will not fade.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Afghan Girls Create Ventilators With Car Part for Coronavirus Response

Many governments are in fierce disagreement over what the new normal should be, including those in scores of US states.

While infection rates in Asia and much of Europe have been falling, the pandemic in Latin America is still spiking. Brazil became the third worst-hit nation in the world this week, with more than 250,000 confirmed cases despite minimal monitoring. In Lima, Peru's capital city, patients with coronavirus fill up intensive care beds.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the pandemic in Africa, where the virus has entered every region, might drive millions into extreme poverty. Guterres said that for the struggling nations, Africa needs more than $200 billion and an "across-the-board debt standstill."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A Pakistani man accused of killing his two teenage cousins after a video of the sisters surfaced on social media showing them kissing a man was arrested Wednesday, a local police official said.

The killings took place last week in North Waziristan, a former tribal area that served as a Taliban stronghold until recent years. The video, filmed about a year ago, went viral last week and allegedly angered the sisters' cousin, who accused them of damaging the family's honor.

The arrest came following a five-day manhunt launched in the region to find and arrest Mohammad Aslam, who fled after allegedly killing the sisters last week, said Shafiullah Gandapur, a district police chief in North Waziristan.

Police had arrested the man seen in the video kissing the two sisters and he is suspected of posting the video on social media. Gandapur said the video angered the girls' cousin Aslam, who is now accused of shooting the girls dead.

We are also questioning the father and brother of the two girls to determine whether they played any role in the murder, he said.

So-called honor killings are a significant issue in Pakistan, a conservative Muslim country where nearly 1,000 women are killed by close relatives each year because of actions perceived as violating conservative norms on love and marriage. The incidents have continued even though the country's parliament in 2016 made legal changes to mandate a 25-year prison sentence for anyone convicted of an honor killing.

Kissing in Pakistan is illegal and couples engaging in such displays of affection are usually detained, only to be released after paying a requested sum of money to avoid charges.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's independent human rights commission in its annual report gave a failing grade to the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, charging that too little was done to protect the country's most vulnerable, including women and children.

Law enforcement agencies in Pakistan are often corrupt or refuse to take the word of a woman over a man in Pakistan's deeply male-dominated society. In April, a powerful cleric who has the ear of the prime minister blamed the global coronavirus pandemic on women who dress immodestly.

The remarks triggered outrage on social media.

Pakistani authorities have reported over 45,800 cases of coronavirus, including 985 deaths.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One Ohio preschool teacher was able to make an annual tradition a very special moment for her students and their families amid social distancing.

Fairborn Primary School teacher Sarah Key said she wanted to mark a special occasion for her students. Every year, she is typically in charge of organizing a district-wide preschool graduation that celebrates the children, according to Key.

PHOTO: A graduate smiles behind a window in Fairborn, Ohio. (Courtesy of Eryc Perez de Tagle)

MORE: Kelly Ripa and more celebrity parents honor their kids as 2020 graduates

As a preschool kid, Im sure its really hard to understand why you cant go to school, why you can't see your friends. I just wanted to give them some sort of normalcy, said Key, who decided to figure out a way to safely have a socially distanced ceremony for each of her 13 students.

Key said she reached out to her friend Melissa Bautista, who is a part-time photographer, to see if she could take graduation photos.

[Melissa] said, Youre not going to believe this, but her friend [is] a huge photographer in New York and is staying with [her] because of the social distancing, said Key.

Eryc Perez de Tagle, lifelong friends with Bautista, is a well-known wedding and lifestyle photographer in New York City. While between apartments, hes staying with Bautista and her family in his Ohio hometown.

PHOTO: Behind-the-scenes of a graduation cap throw for one preschool student in Fairborn, Ohio. (Courtesy of Eryc Perez de Tagle and Sarah Key)

When I heard about [the graduation], I was like, Oh, this is going to be amazing and I think we can be able to tell a really cool story about the kids and sheltering in place, said Perez de Tagle. [We wanted to make] this really cool, beautiful imagery around graduation and the children embracing quarantine.

On May 11 and May 12, with the help of Bautista, Perez de Tagle and her teaching assistants, Key organized 13 individual 30-minute graduation photo shoot sessions for the students and their families.

PHOTO: Behind-the-scenes of the school bus photo in Fairborn, Ohio. (Courtesy of Eryc Perez de Tagle and Sarah Key)

We would go [to the shoot], and Sarah brought a gift bag with a balloon and a graduation cap, said Perez de Tagle. All the kids were just so excited to see her.

Story continues

And what resulted from the visits were small but mighty graduation photos capturing the intimate ceremonies.

PHOTO: A student poses on a bench in a graduation cap in Fairborn, Ohio. (Courtesy of Eryc Perez de Tagle)

MORE: Watch the moment college students learn anonymous donors have paid off their student debt

I was thinking it was just going to be a quick little photo, but they went above and beyond, said parent Amanda Tassy, whose sons name is Jordan Downing. My son is really attached to [Sarah] ... when he saw her and the other teachers, he just had the biggest smile.

PHOTO: Two brothers hug their mother behind a window in Fairborn, Ohio. (Courtesy of Eryc Perez de Tagle)

Safety was an important aspect of the shoot and photographers and teachers stayed six feet apart and wore masks, according to Bautista. The shoot was free to all families but donations were collected with a portion going to a local food bank in Dayton, Ohio, said Perez de Tagle.

To see the smiles on their faces, it is so priceless, Key said, while tearing up. I just wanted to make a special moment for my kids and their parents.

Preschool teacher hosts individual graduations and photo shoots for her 13 students originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com
As in the United States, the coronavirus has hit ethnic minorities disproportionately hard here. Britains Office of National Statistics found that black people were more than four times as likely to die of covid-19 as white people in England and Wales, while people of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin were more than three times as vulnerable as their white counterparts.
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday defiantly defended the firing of an inspector general who had investigated his conduct, and he issued a broadside against a Democratic senator to counter criticism that he had used diplomatic resources for his personal advantage.

In seething comments to reporters, Mr. Pompeo said he wished he had recommended earlier that President Trump dismiss the State Departments inspector general, Steve A. Linick. He called it patently false that his request sought to retaliate for inquiries into his potential misuse of government resources or the Trump administrations decision to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over Congresss objections.

But he refused to explain why he wanted Mr. Linick fired, as Mr. Trump ordered on Friday night. Mr. Linick has been locked out of his office, despite a law mandating a 30-day waiting period for Congress to raise objections.

The investigations have fueled concerns that Mr. Pompeo has used the State Department to further his political ambitions, including a possible future presidential campaign. Over the last two years, Mr. Pompeo has privately met with political donors and supporters while on official State Department travel, and used speeches and interviews in Iowa, New Hampshire and other important election states to advance foreign policy.
China has launched a Twitter offensive in the COVID-19 information war, more than doubling its number of official government tweets since January and in recent days using the platform to spread a conspiracy theory that the virus came from a U.S. government lab.

"The #US keeps calling for transparency & investigation. Why not open up Fort Detrick & other bio-labs for international review? Why not invite #WHO & int'l experts to the US to look into #COVI19 source & response?" the spokesperson for China's Foreign Affairs Ministry wrote in a May 8 tweet that has been liked more than 4,000 times.

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, is where the military houses and researches infectious diseases.

The Chinese have pushed out 90,000 tweets since the start of April from 200 diplomatic and state-run media accounts as part of an offensive in the COVID-19 information war, according to data collected by the Hamilton 2.0 dashboard of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a tool that aggregates accounts connected to the Chinese government.

Bret Schafer, the digital disinformation fellow at the alliance, based in Washington, D.C., has been tracking China's increasing social media output for months.

According to Schafer's analysis, Twitter output from China's official sites has almost doubled since January, and the number of diplomatic Twitter accounts has tripled, to 135, up from just 40 accounts this time last year. Many tweets are in English or Mandarin, but the diplomatic accounts are often in the language of an embassy's host country.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

The Chinese accounts "have become more aggressive, more conspiratorial, and the ones who have done that are their most popular accounts and have by far the most engagement," Schafer said.

The Twitter account for the Chinese Embassy in France "has significantly more followers than the embassy in Poland, for example, because the embassy in France has been a driver of the most aggressive content," he said.

Story continues

The Fort Detrick conspiracy theory has been tweeted about more than 30 times from official Chinese diplomatic and state-run media accounts in the past two months, according to the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

One of the first Chinese officials to tweet about the Fort Detrick conspiracy theory was Zhao Lijian, the spokesman and deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's Information Department, who has a history as one of China's most prolific officials on Twitter. On March 12, he tweeted, "It might be the US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan."

The next day, he tweeted, "Further evidence that the virus originated in the US," linking to a post on Global Research, a Canadian blog with pro-Kremlin leanings. The blog post argued that the virus could have originated in the U.S. and possibly leaked from Fort Detrick.

The blog post has since been taken down, but a cached version can be found online. The author of the post did not respond to a request for comment.

Chinese embassy accounts in France and Jordan retweeted Zhao, and in the past two weeks activity on Twitter around the conspiracy theory has accelerated.

On May 8, Hua Chunying, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, tweeted the demand to investigate Fort Detrick. The tweet was picked up by at least nine other Chinese diplomatic accounts in the two days afterward, according to Schafer, including Zhao's and the Foreign Affair Ministry's official Twitter account. China's ambassador to Venezuela also tweeted out a Spanish translation.

Zhao's March 13 tweet has been retweeted 12,600 times and liked 20,000 times.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have suggested that the virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, China, and could have been man-made, although the scientific consensus is that it was not man-made. The U.S. intelligence community has said it is still examining whether the virus began through contact with infected animals or whether it was the result of an accident at a lab in Wuhan, although animal-to-human transmission is still seen as more likely.

On Tuesday a state-run media account for the China Global Television Network (CGTN) released an animated video on Twitter mocking Pompeos remarks about the origins of the virus. The minute and a half long video, made to look like a video game, is called "Pompeos Credibility Test." It had only been retweeted and viewed on Facebook several hundred times at the time of publication.

China's use of Twitter to push the Fort Detrick conspiracy theory is a "counterpunch" to White House rhetoric, according to China watchers.

Related: "We know the Chinese government censor both the traditional media and the social media very, very tightly," said professor Steve Tsang.

"Obnoxious and childish as this is, it should be noted that such Chinese statements have generally mirrored earlier American statements. Rhetorically, China is counterpunching  not throwing the first blow," said Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center, a Washington think tank.

"The primary goal of this rhetoric is to demonstrate to Chinese domestic constituencies that the Communist Party is not lying prostrate before American accusations," he said.

When asked by NBC News in April about official government accounts spreading conspiracy theories, China's vice minister of foreign affairs, Le Yucheng, said, "The source of the virus is a complex issue that has to be studied by medical expert and scientists, rather than political figures."

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in March that it was "completely ridiculous and it's irresponsible" for a Chinese government official to suggest that the U.S. military was involved in spreading the virus.

An Army spokesperson called the Fort Detrick conspiracy theory "false" and said, "The work at Fort Detrick supports the whole-of-government effort to combat COVID-19 and other viruses."

Propaganda war

The Fort Detrick conspiracy theory is just one example of the new, aggressive way China is fighting the COVID-19 propaganda war.

Official government accounts have flooded social media with messages and images touting the COVID-19-related aid China sends around the world.

Xinhua, the official state-run news agency, puts out a steady stream of COVID-19-related content on Twitter, and on April 30 it posted a two-minute video titled "Once Upon a Virus" mocking the U.S. response to COVID-19 and hailing China's. It has been retweeted almost 26,000 times and liked 50,000 times.

Image: Fort Detrick, Maryland (Andrew Harnik / AP file)

China previously focused on amplifying positive messaging around China and censoring damaging and critical information, but now the Chinese have learned from Russian disinformation campaigns, according to experts tracking both countries' online messaging.

"Like Russia did in the 2016 election and with Brexit, China is taking this opportunity to destabilize liberal democracies through disinformation campaigns aimed at exacerbating already existing societal fault lines," said Mollie Saltskog, an intelligence analyst at The Soufan Group, an intelligence and security consultancy based in New York.

"The apparent increase in China's disinformation capabilities, coupled with its affinity for using Russia's tactics, has worrying geopolitical implications, especially as it relates to a solidifying Sino-Russian alignment," Saltskog said.

Saltskog said it remains debatable how effective China's campaign is at persuading populations in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere, noting that Chinese-led disinformation campaigns that spread an anti-U.S. narrative in African countries were not received well by the local population.

Zhao's March 12 tweet stating that the U.S. Army might have brought the virus to Wuhan mirrored Trump's aggressive Twitter style. "Be transparent!" Zhao demanded. "Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!"

Schafer said, "Diplomatic language fails on Twitter."
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

May 20, 2020: Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Report by Material, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023 is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, united Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).

The report firstly introduced the Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Download sample Copy of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-roll-to-roll-printing-devices-market-research-report-2019/request-sample

The report includes six parts, dealing with:

1.) Basic Information;

2.) Asia Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Market;

3.) North American Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Market;

4.) European Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Market;

5.) Market Entry and Investment Feasibility;

6.) Report Conclusion.

View summary of this report @ https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-roll-to-roll-printing-devices-market-research-report-2019

Table of Contents

Part I Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Industry Overview

Chapter One Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Industry Overview

1.1 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Definition

1.2 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Classification Analysis

1.2.1 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Main Classification Analysis

1.2.2 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Main Classification Share Analysis

1.3 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Application Analysis

1.3.1 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Main Application Analysis

1.3.2 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Main Application Share Analysis

1.4 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Industry Chain Structure Analysis

1.5 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Industry Development Overview

1.5.1 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Product History Development Overview

1.5.1 Roll-to-Roll Printing Devices Product Market Development Overview

About Radiant Insights

Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions.

For More Information, Visit Radiant Insights

Contact:

Michelle Thoras

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Radiant Insights, Inc

Phone: 1-415-349-0054

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@radiantinsights.com

Blog URL: http://consumergoods691.wordpress.com
ALBANY  The day the Capital Region began to reopen its economy Wednesday, Albany County reported an uptick of 71 positive cases - with more than half of those numbers being reported from a private nursing home where tests were administered at the end of April.

The new data released by the county brought the total number of confirmed cases to 1,552  but just 385 of those are active cases.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said the Teresian House residents made up 42 of the 71 cases.

"The Teresian House had a private contracting company come in and test all the residents and workers there ... about two weeks ago," McCoy said Wednesday at his daily briefing. "We were bracing for that."

A spokesman for Teresian House, Paul Larrabee of Corning Place Communications, said the private tests the nursing home conducted on about 180 residents were done three weeks ago on April 29, and that they only have two current active cases at the facility  both residents who are being treated for pneumonia and had tested positive for COVID-19 more than two weeks ago.

Larrabee disputed any characterization that there has been a recent surge in new cases at Teresian House, saying the nursing home has been diligent in reporting its new cases daily to the state Department of Health. It does not report numbers directly to Albany County.

"I cannot speak to Mr. McCoy's characterization  but there are no new cases of COVID-19 at the Teresian House," Larrabee said in an email. "In fact, virtually all individuals, with the exception of two, are resolving, and have served the 14-day quarantine under isolation protocols. Each room at Teresian House is an individual room  facilitating isolation and containment."

Albany County spokeswoman Mary Rozak said any discrepancies in figures could be the result of a delay in cases being reported to the county health department by the state.

In an earlier round of testing on April 18, which was done by the Albany County health department, 60 residents were tested at Teresian House. Those tests were conducted on residents who may have had contact with a staff member who had tested positive, the nursing home spokesman said.

Teresian House has had 71 residents test positive for COVID-19, Larrabee said. He said he couldn't comment on the number of staff who have tested positive because it is a moving number that changes depending on who has quit or who has been newly hired into the facility.

Shaker Place, the county-run nursing home, currently has 19 residents and seven employees who have tested positive. A total of 14 residents have died. Thirty-three residents have recovered from the virus.

Albany County lost two more residents to COVID-19 overnight, a woman in her 80s and a woman who was over 100. The county's death toll from the virus reached 72. McCoy estimated about 65% of the county's COVID-19 deaths have come from nursing homes.

County officials do not expect the spike from positive test results at Teresian House to have an impact on hospitalization rates and other metrics the region must meet to remain open and move on to the second phase of reopening in two weeks.

At least 14 residents of Teresian House who contracted COVID-19 have died.

Earlier: State investigating Teresian House after COVID-19 infections, deaths

Despite Wednesday's data from Teresian House, the county's numbers were overall optimistic. There were 37 new recoveries, with a total of 1,026 and a recovery rate of 66.1%  up from Tuesday's 53.5% recovery rate. There were three fewer people hospitalized and two fewer people in the intensive care unit, bringing the hospitalization rate down to 1.73%.

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

"It's still a great day here because we get phase one," McCoy said. "(COVID-19) is out there still but we're doing great things here. Help us continue to keep the numbers low by continuing to do the right stuff."

The Capital Region, which also includes Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Washington, Warren, Columbia and Greene counties, is tracking coronavirus cases in a regional "control room" where data will be sorted to determine if the rate of infections is remaining under control and if subsequent stages of reopening can continue.

Retail, wholesale trade, agriculture and manufacturing businesses went back into business Wednesday as part of the state's reopening plan. McCoy said phase two could start June 3 if there is no spike in hospitalization rates or deaths.

Below are the latest coronavirus statistics for the Capital Region broken down by county.

Albany County Total cases:

1,552 (+71) Total deaths:

72 (+2) Currently hospitalized:

27 (-3) Recovered:

1,026 (+13) Total tested:

18,663 (+697) Tested positive:

8.3% Columbia County Total cases:

353 (+0) Total deaths:

29 (+1) Currently hospitalized:

18 (-1) Recovered:

165 (+1) Total tested:

2,958 (+107) Tested positive:

11.9% Greene County Total cases:

252 (+2) Total deaths:

17 (+0) Currently hospitalized:

4 (-1) Recovered:

231 (+19) Total tested:

2,104 (+189) Tested positive:

11.9% Rensselaer County Total cases:

482 (+6) Total deaths:

28 (+0) Currently hospitalized:

6 (+0) Recovered:

339 (+22) Total tested:

2,792 (+292) Tested positive:

17.3% Saratoga County Total cases:

434 (+2) Total deaths:

15 (+0) Currently hospitalized:

6 (+0) Recovered:

349 (+5) Total tested:

9,302 (+267) Tested positive:

4.7% Schenectady County Total cases:

624 (+6) Total deaths:

29 (+1) Currently hospitalized:

17 (-1) Recovered:

579 (+7) Total tested:

7,832 (+392) Tested positive:

8% Warren County Total cases:

223 (+1) Total deaths:

29 (+0) Currently hospitalized:

2 (+0) Recovered:

142 (+0) Total tested:

3,238 (+102) Tested positive:

6.9% Washington County Total cases:

192 (+0) Total deaths:

13 (+0) Currently hospitalized:

- Recovered:

169 (+26) Total tested:

2,139 (+66) Tested positive:

9%

Source: Case data per counties; test data per NY COVID tracker

Note: Number in parentheses is the daily change. Hospitalization data reflects number of residents hospitalized, with the exception of Schenectady County, which includes non-residents who are hospitalized within the county.
By Balazs Kaufmann and Krisztina Fenyo

SZADA, Hungary (Reuters) - Like many business owners, Jozsef Richter has had to shut his circus during Hungary's lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, but he has found another way of entertaining visitors while respecting social distancing rules.

People can now see around 100 circus animals from the comfort of their own cars in his Szada Safari Park, which opened its gates on Wednesday. The five-acre park is a short drive east of Budapest.

The animals include camels, elephants, giraffes and even two "zonkeys" - a cross between a circus zebra and a donkey.

"I have long dreamed of creating such a park but it would have been very hard to operate it alongside the circus," Richter said. "Now... we have had to close for several months so I thought this would be the time."

Visitors are queuing up already to see the animals, which Richter said are all accustomed to human proximity and attention.

Camels poke their heads through car windows for sticks of carrot. Giraffes and elephants also reach in to help themselves to veggie treats.

"People stay in their cars, there is no (human-to-human) contact," Richter said. "The animals are docile and used to people."

The park also throws a financial lifeline to his business. The entrance fee for adults is 2,000 forints ($6.25) and for kids 1,500 forints.

"This helps us survive (closure)," said Richter. "Reserves could run out... This is better than relying on charity or asking for help, and we keep our audience entertained."

"I think the animals also enjoy getting little treats and being in the limelight again."

One of the first visitors to the park, seven-year-old Ildiko Nandori, said she enjoyed the visit: "It was good because we could go near and even touch the animals."

(Writing by Marton Dunai; Editing by Gareth Jones)
- Congratulatory messages are pouring in for Margarete O. Winckler after she graduated from law school in both Sweden and the United States

- The lady took to Twitter to talk about her achievement and how she was able to do it

- Black people are known for academic excellence, and Margarete has joined the list of people making the black race proud

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

A lady identified as Margarete O. Winckler has achieved what is commendable and worth celebrating. The lady graduated from law school in both Sweden and the United States.

She took to her Twitter page to make the disclosure, and congratulatory messages poured in after she tweeted about her achievement.

Explaining to a Twitter user how she did it, Margarete wrote: "I started with my LLM in uppsala university, Sweden which is 4,5 years. Then on my third year, I got a scholarship to Penn State and studied 1 year whilst doing my Swedish from a distance (the thesis and special courses)."

READ ALSO: Ga people carried the Ark of Covenant from Israel to Ethiopia - Historian

In other news, a pair of Milwaukee twin sisters identified as Arianna and Arielle Williams got accepted into 38 schools - receiving more than $1,000,000 (N389,480,000) in scholarships.

The twin sisters are graduating seniors at Dr Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy, with Arianna currently ranked the top student in her class and her sister close behind.

The duo are waiting to be officially named valedictorian and salutatorian of their school.

READ ALSO: Lady celebrates 50th birthday looking like an 18-year-old in heartwarming pictures

Arianna told WDJT: "This is not really a completion for me, I'm just getting started."

Her sister added: "Yeah, I feel partially relieved."

They have both been accepted into 38 universities but they chose to attend Marquette University in Wisconsin where they will be studying nursing.

Their school administrator, Judith Parker, said: "We couldn't be more proud of their growth, choices and their ability to persevere with joy in the face of obstacles.

"They have traveled, organized community service projects, met Michelle Obama and represented our school inside of our walls and throughout our city. We are proud of them and the entire Class of 2020 and excited for the next chapter in their lives as they take this same drive to college."

In another interesting report, Doris Obenewaa Darko, a Ghanaian food vendor, holds two degrees in Mathematics & Actuarial Science after painfully fending for herself since she finished high school.

Narrating her story in an interview, Doris indicates that she holds a bachelor's degree in Mathematics after which she went ahead to study for an MSc in Actuarial Science, both at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Doris grew up in Koforidua-Kukurantumi and had her primary education in Rose's School Complex after which she attended Akim Commercial College JHS, all of which are in New Tafo Akim.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Yenkasa: "We have families to feed, we can't stop the Okada business" - Riders lament | #Yencomgh

Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
The unmasking issue appears to be part of an effort by the president and his allies to tar former president Barack Obama with what Trump says was an unfounded criminal investigation into potential conspiracy between Russia and Trump associates  or what he now calls Obamagate. Obama is expected to be one of the most effective advocates for his former vice president, Joe Biden, in his bid to unseat Trump this fall.
For more than a year, we at the Diaper Bank of Connecticut had been carefully planning how to build critical infrastructure that will help us expand our reach in the state.

The need was clear: one in three Connecticut families struggles to afford diapers, which can cost more than $100 a month. Safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and its Women, Infants and Children program dont cover the costs of diapers, and babies in low-income families can spend a day or longer in a single diaper, leading to serious health and abuse risks.

With precious state funding allocated last year, we started on our way to bringing diapers to more families, something weve been striving to do for years. Because even as hard as we work, and as great as our agency partners are in helping us get diapers into communities, we havent been able to meet the growing need. Finally, weve begun on the path to expansion.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

As the world turned upside-down, families that previously were able (or barely able) to make ends meet now find themselves in dire need of diapers as unemployment soars and household budgets shrivel. Families that have long struggled to afford basic necessities now find it seemingly impossible to keep up with the barrage of expenses they face amid this fresh flood of financial uncertainty.

Its a scary time for all of us, and particularly for parents and caregivers living near or below the poverty line. People who have never needed The Diaper Bank before are now turning to us for help.

So, weve shifted into overdrive. Between the end of February and early May, we bought three truckloads of diapers to distribute; thats about 750,000 diapers. We are expediting our planned expansion roll-out, partnering with nonprofit agencies in areas of Connecticut we previously didnt reach. And we continue to expand our online ordering capacity, buying as many diapers as we can.

These historic times have made even clearer what we already knew: the infrastructure needed to expand our services is essential. It involves more than just forming new partnerships with agencies that serve families in need, which in itself is a huge task. It also entails all of the logistics, how we actually get diapers into the hands of those who need them  a process thats more complex than many people realize. Its meaningful but challenging work.

But amid the despair and desperation we hear from families, and the frustrations that come with a faster-than-anticipated expansion, were heartened by the surge in support weve gotten from donors and would-be givers. Led by advocacy efforts of the National Diaper Bank Network, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst are urging the U.S. Senate to support low-income families and front-line workers who urgently need diaper assistance during this pandemic.

On a local level, we hear from people every day  by phone, email and social media  who want to help. Often, theyre not sure how.

In typical times, were fortunate to have volunteers host diaper drives at offices, stores and other sites throughout our coverage area. These days, diaper drives are still doable, but only virtually. Its also possible to make one-time or recurring monetary donations online at thediaperbank.org or by contacting our office.

Monetary donations are the best way donors can help our cause. With the money you donate, we are able to leverage our strategic partnerships to buy large quantities of diapers in the most cost-effective way. Donations dont have to be huge to have a significant impact: $25 can provide a baby with a months supply of diapers; $100 can keep four babies in clean diapers for a month.

In these uncertain times, The Diaper Bank is forging ahead, growing our network to get more diapers to more families. Our families need us more than ever, and our work has never been more important. Expansion isnt happening exactly the way we planned but it is happening, and for that were grateful. Its been a long time coming.

To support The Diaper Bank of Connecticut, visit thediaperbank.org or contact us at info@thediaperbank.org.

Janet Stolfi Alfano is executive director of The Diaper Bank of Connecticut, which is headquartered in North Haven.
Electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. (AP)

Hyderabad: A group of Indian scientists who have been working on understanding changes happening to the Coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has found that some structures of the virus are undergoing changes that show that the virus, in India, is diverging from the Wuhan strain.

Scientists also cautioned that the overall low testing rate in the country and a smaller number of genome submissions are emerging as major bottlenecks in the assessment of the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in India.

According to Dr Syed E Hasnain, vice-chancellor of Jamia Hamdard and a former head of the city-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, the group studied approximately 4,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences available in public databases, including strains sequenced in India.

Other studies focused majorly on the genomic aspect of the virus. Our study evaluated both genomic as well as functional aspects of the virus in the Indian and global scenario. Large-scale analysis revealed significant changes in some proteins of the virus. We also focused on conserved proteins that can be targeted as potential diagnostic and intervention candidates, Dr Hasnanin said.

The study by Jamia Hamdard, a deemed to be University in New Delhi, the United Kingdom-based BioInception Labs Pvt Ltd., an R&D company focused on drug discovery and diagnostics, and Hyderabad based Envirozyme Biotech Pvt Ltd. (India), an applied R&D biotech company, started looking at possible reasons why India, having the second largest population in the world, reported just 2 per cent cases and 0.9 per cent mortalities of the worldwide cases of Covid-19.

While global death average is 40 deaths per million, as on May 17, in India it was 2 per million. We began investigating possible reasons for this, Dr Hasnain said.

Dr Hasnain explained that open reading frames (ORF) are responsible for protein production in an organism. SARS-CoV-2 has 12 ORFs and based on the mutational analysis of these ORFs, they found that their data suggests crucial mutations in Indian isolates, which may affect infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in the Indian population. The Indian samples of the virus revealed that they were closer to the virus variations in China, Kuwait, Spain, Norway and Canada, indicating that these strains travelled from these countries into India.He said their study indicated that delayed restrictions enforced by India could have resulted in the different strains of virus coming into India, particularly from European hotspot regions.

More such studies are required to understand the pathogens outbreak dynamics, which will eventually lead to mitigation of the disease. The low sampling rate and a smaller number of genome submissions are major bottlenecks in assessing evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in India. We hope the government will work to increase the sampling rate as well as genomic submissions for further studies, he said.

A rapid and diverse sequencing of viral strains will help researchers find better diagnostics probes leading to higher sensitivity and specificity, improved drug efficacy and broad-spectrum Covid-19 vaccines, Dr Hasnain said.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Googles Pixel phones never had the fastest chipset and that was by choice. The original phones used a Snapdragon 821 down-clocked to 820 speeds. The Pixel 2 and 3 also used underclocked chipsets, Snapdragon 835 and 845, respectively. The Pixel 4 was the first model to run its chipset at stock speeds.

Theres mounting evidence that the upcoming Pixel 5 wont even bother with an 800-series chip and use the Snapdragon 765 instead. To be clear, it could be any of the 765, 765G and 768G since they are all just different bins of what is essentially the same hardware (differing mainly in the CPU and GPU clocks).

The latest evidence comes from XDA Senior Member cstark27 who dug out the information out of a leaked Google Camera 7.4 APK. The info confirms that the sunfish model  the Pixel 4a  will use a Snapdragon 730 while redfin and bramble (presumably Pixel 5 and 5 XL) will use one of the 765 variations.

The Pixel 4a is reportedly aiming for a $350 price for the 128GB version (and possibly $300 for the 64GB one), which compares favorably against the $400 iPhone SE with 64GB storage. The S730 chip has very nearly the same CPU and GPU (though obviously at lower clock speeds) and an older modem compared to the Snapdragon 765. Early benchmarks show solid performance, comparable to the Galaxy Note10 Lite. Not bad at $350.

However, the Pixel 5 is expected to cost twice as much, $700. Which may be $100 less than the Pixel 4 launch price, but that phone sold so poorly that two high-ranking members of the Pixel team departed the company. So, even if the 5 uses the latest Snapdragon 768G (which we doubt, given Googles history with chipsets), it will be a tough sell.

Source
The World Health Organization on Wednesday reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases, as US President Donald Trump proposed hosting world leaders for the annual G7 summit as a sign of "normalization." Trump, who is seeking to revive the battered US economy and his political fortunes ahead of the November election, again lashed out again at China, saying its "incompetence" was responsible for "this mass Worldwide killing." The WHO, another frequent Trump target, said that 106,662 virus cases reported to the UN agency on Tuesday -- the most in a single day since the outbreak erupted in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December. As the global death toll topped 325,000 and the number of cases neared five million, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very concerned" about the situation in low- and middle-income nations. As the number of cases rises, and the United States added more than 1,500 deaths in the past 24 hours, Trump said the country was "Transitioning back to Greatness" and he may host the G7 summit in June at Camp David. "I am considering rescheduling the G-7, on the same or similar date, in Washington, D.C., at the legendary Camp David," he said on Twitter. "The other members are also beginning their COMEBACK. It would be a great sign to all -- normalization!" White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said a face-to-face summit, rather than one by videoconference as had been planned, would be a "show of strength and optimism." G7 countries -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- take turns organizing the annual gathering. French President Emmanuel Macron's office said he would attend the summit if "health conditions allow." German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would "wait and see what happens." - Promising studies - There was encouraging news on the scientific front Wednesday, as two studies on monkeys offered hope that humans can develop protective immunity to the virus. Researchers reported progress from one study which looked at a prototype vaccine, and another on whether infection with COVID-19 provides immunity against re-exposure. "We demonstrate in rhesus macaques that prototype vaccines protected against SARS-CoV-2 infection and that SARS-CoV-2 infection protected against re-exposure," said senior author Dan Barouch of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Many governments see the development of an effective vaccine as the only surefire way to fully reopen their economies without risking increased death tolls. Latin America has seen infections surge and, in some cases, countries have reinstated lockdown measures that had been eased. Brazil has been hardest hit, rising to the third-highest number of cases in the world. Peru, Mexico and Chile have also seen steady increases in infections. Health officials in Brazil reported 1,179 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, the first time the daily toll exceeded 1,000, but far-right President Jair Bolsonaro remains bitterly opposed to lockdowns, having described them as unnecessary over a "little flu." With the outbreak in the world's sixth-largest country expected to accelerate until early June, Bolsonaro has refused to accept experts' advice, pressing regional governors to end stay-at-home measures. And like Trump, he has promoted the use of anti-malaria drugs against the virus despite studies showing they have no benefit and could have dangerous side effects. There are worrying signs in Argentina too, with authorities in Cordoba having to backtrack on easing lockdown measures following a sharp spike in infections. Peru saw its case count shoot past 100,000 and deaths top 3,000. - Europe hopes to save tourism - Europe is meanwhile hoping the worst is behind it, with the number of new cases and deaths on a steady decline. The global death toll now stands at more than 325,000. More than 93,400 deaths have occurred in the United States, the hardest-hit country, according to Johns Hopkins University. Lockdown measures are being eased in many parts of Europe, with residents enjoying some of their old freedoms. "I haven't seen the sea for two months," said Helena Prades at a beach in Barcelona. "We just really wanted to hear the sound of the waves." As Spain emerges from one of the world's toughest lockdowns, face masks are now mandatory for anyone aged six and over in public where social distancing is not possible. European officials are scrambling to try to save the summer tourism season, which is crucial for the continent's economies. European Union tourism ministers held a virtual meeting on Wednesday as Greece announced plans to restart its travel season. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said seasonal hotels could reopen from June 15 and international flights would resume from July 1. In Italy, airports were given the green light to reopen from June 3, including for international flights. - Gradual reopening in Asia - Countries in Asia have also been gradually reopening, with South Korean students lining up for temperature checks and given hand sanitizer as they returned to school after two months off. And India said domestic air travel will resume on May 25 after a two-month shutdown, even as the world's second-most populous country reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus infections, with 5,611 new cases in 24 hours. Nearly 107,000 cases have been reported in India and more than 3,300 people have died, with experts predicting that infections will peak in June-July. burs/cl/sst
Etisalat has chosen Silicon Valley-based Roambee Corporation to deliver IoT solutions for monitoring goods, assets and workers in the region.

Enterprises in construction, logistics, manufacturing, public transportation, and other industries are looking to improve visibility of their workers and leased or rented equipment in the field to improve utilisation and productivity.

This solution enables these companies to digitally transform their operations with ease.

In Middle East & Africa, timely logistics is critical to bring essential commodities ranging from foods & beverages, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and industrial goods via road, rail, air, and ocean from around the globe.

The Etisalat and Roambee joint solution offers real-time location, accurate arrival time predictions, and live condition analytics (temperature, humidity, and handling data) to minimize unpredictability and make supply chains more efficient.

This preferred partnership is set to eliminate IoT adoption hurdles by offering an "out-of-the-box" service that bundles readily-deployable sensor hardware, IoT connectivity, IoT platform, actionable analytics, and 24x7 control-tower monitoring to mitigate business risk.

With zero upfront investment and a completely managed service model, enterprises can start monitoring their goods, assets, and workers in less than $1 a day.

Alberto Araque, Vice President of Etisalat Digital said: "Together we can provide industry specific solutions for utilities, construction, facilities management, warehousing, distribution & logistics with optimisation and efficiencies to guide the digital transformation for companies with connected worker, asset, and condition monitoring needs."

Adli Dehelia, Vice President & Managing Director of Roambee for Middle East, Turkey, and Africa said: "Our partnership with Etisalat is a testimony to our efforts and focus on our enterprise-centric IoT strategy in the region. We have simplified the IoT solutions by uniting the core strengths of our respective companies. Enterprises can now start small and grow their usage as they start realizing the value of actionable data." -- Tradearabia News Service
When recovering after a crisis like COVID-19, resilience should be a key consideration for people, countries and businesses, said Adriano Lanzilotto, operations vice president and client service manager for FM Globals London operations. The 2020 FM Global Resilience Index provides a strong indication of how a countrys business environment may fare during the recovery phase, and how quickly organizations in that country might be able to bounce back from the economic damage caused by COVID-19. This insight can be vital for making significant decisions as they establish or relocate facilities, expand supply chains and engage new markets.

FM Global also pointed out that conventional business risks such as political upheavals, cyberattacks and natural catastrophes continued to pose threats.

Unfortunately, a devastating global situation like COVID-19 does not stop other disasters from occurring, Lanzilotto said. With this in mind, it is critical that businesses are diligent and make use of data-driven risk-and-resilience analysis, coupled with appropriate engineering-led loss prevention, to preserve a companys value and growth opportunities throughout these difficult times.

Top 10 countries for resilience

The indexs top-ranked regions are:

Norway Switzerland Denmark Germany Sweden Finland Luxembourg Austria Central United States Eastern United States

Both the US and China are divided into three regions with differing natural hazard exposures, FM Global said.

Norway took the top spot in the survey for the second consecutive year, supported by strong economic productivity, a stable political environment, low corruption, high natural hazard risk quality and robust corporate governance, FM Global said.

The United Kingdom ranked 13th in this years survey, and ranked highly for a variety of drivers of resilience including supply-chain visibility (No. 4), quality of infrastructure (No. 11), and natural hazard risk quality (No. 12).

Bottom 10 countries for resilience

The least resilient regions in the survey are:

Haiti Venezuela Ethiopia Chad Lebanon Iran Mozambique Mali Nepal Nicaragua

A major climber in this years index was Taiwan, which shot up 14 places to 29th, based on improvements in its urbanization rate, natural hazard risk quality, and the quality of its transport and utility infrastructure. Taiwans urbanization rate saw substantial improvement, moving the country up 42 places in that metric.

Nicaragua, meanwhile, saw the biggest drop, falling nine places to 121st place due to increases in cyber and political risk.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaking with attendees at the 2015 Iowa Growth & Opportunity Party at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 31, 2015. (Gage Skidmore/[CC BY-SA-2.0 (ept.ms/2utDIe9)])

Graham Requests Names of Officials Who Unmasked Trump Campaign, Transition Team

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday requested the names of any Obama-era officials who may have sought to unmask the identity of people associated with the Trump campaign or transition team around the time of the 2016 presidential election.

The request comes after Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell on May 13 released a list of 39 Obama administration officials who submitted requests to unmask the identity of former Trump administration national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn from Nov. 8, 2016 to Jan. 31, 2017.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey were among the names on the list.

Given the extensive number of requests for the unmasking of General Flynns name during this short time period, it raises the question of whether these or other officials sought the unmasking of the identities of other individuals associated with the Trump campaign or transition team, Graham wrote in a letter (pdf) to Grenell and Attorney General William Barr.

Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC to DNI Grenell, AG Barr: Provide Committee with Names of Officials Who Unmasked Trump Campaign, Transition Teamhttps://t.co/OKwnfU0T2o  Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) May 19, 2020

Graham is requesting a list of names of any officials who requested to unmask the identities of people associated with the Trump campaign or transition team, including but not limited to, President Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka Trump, his son-in law Jared Kushner, as well as former Trump campaign associates Corey Lewandowski, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Sam Clovis, Chris Christie, Carter Page, and George Papadopoulos.

Graham is also seeking from Grenell and Barr an explanation as to why the list that the Office of the DNI released on May 13 did not contain a record showing who unmasked General Flynns identity for his phone call with then-Russian ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak.

Flynns conversations with Kislyak in late December 2016 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 pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI, but in January 2020, Flynn sought to withdraw his guilty plea, with his lawyers arguing that he had been entrapped by the FBI in the interview.

Former national security adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn arrives for his sentencing hearing at U.S. District Court in Washington on Dec. 18, 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

The DOJ filed a motion to dismiss the case against Flynn on May 7, saying that the FBI had an insufficient basis to question Flynn and that his statements were not material to the FBIs broader counterintelligence investigation into allegations of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, code named Crossfire Hurricane. Robert Mueller, who took over the investigation in May 2017 after 22 months did not ultimately find sufficient evidence to establish any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election.

On Tuesday, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) expanded their request to Grenell to encompass information surrounding all unmasking requests of the Trump campaign by Obama administration officials dating back as early as January 2016. The two Republicans had earlier sought for names of Obama-era officials who were behind the unmasking of Americans around the time of the 2016 election through January 2017. Grenell had forwarded the Flynn unmasking list to the senators on May 13.

We write now both to reiterate our request for the declassification of additional information related to the unmasking of Americans around the time of the 2016 election, but also to expand the scope of our request to include information as early as January 2016, Johnson and Grassley wrote on Tuesday (pdf). Based on our investigation and recent press reports, we are increasingly concerned that the surveillance of U.S. persons affiliated with the Trump campaign began earlier than the opening of the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation in late July 2016.

Graham earlier announced on May 14 a new probe into Crossfire Hurricane and said that the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin holding multiple, in-depth congressional hearings regarding all things related to Crossfire Hurricane starting in early June.

Graham is seeking authority to subpoena documents for 53 top Obama administration officials, as part of the committees FISA abuse investigation and oversight of the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane investigation, he announced on Monday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss the subpoena authorization on May 21 and vote on the matter on June 4.
Matcha, bao buns and mochi are just a few examples of treats from the East that have found a cult-like following in the UK. And, according to some, theyre just the start as the likes of citrus fruits yuzu and calamansi, pandan leaves and sweet adzuki bean paste seek to make inroads with UK foodies.

This isnt matcha do about nothing. While green tea might not be everyones cuppa, experts believe there are opportunities for these flavours to find a home, particularly in bakery.

Asian flavours tend to have a healthy and natural perception that resonates well with consumers, explains Natalie Drake, bakery category manager, Synergy Flavours, who highlights the Insta-worthy qualities their often pastel colours and floral nature can bring to desserts.

Pair this with the highly anticipated postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and we would expect the flavours of Japan to grow even further in years to come.

A trip to Londons Chinatown displays the vast array of options for these flavours, from an ube bilog at Mamasons (see box out, p29) to Durian mille crepe cakes at Kova Patisserie, or pandan & coconut macaron ice cream sandwiches from Yolkin.

However, their success often depends on fusion of east meets west  to introduce consumers to new concepts and flavours.

If its Asian flavours that bakers want to focus on, these would be best placed within a recognisable UK bakery format, such as doughnuts, cakes or pastries. Its all about pairing the familiar with the unfamiliar, Drake adds.

She cites Mintel research that shows 35% of consumers are interested in trying unusual flavours or ingredients when featured in familiar formats.

Try Japanese black vinegar sesame cupcakes filled with yuzu curd or apricot and wasabi muffins for an edgy take on traditional sweet bakery flavours

Dawn Foods highlights experimentation by artisan chocolatier William Curley with unorthodox flavours such as apricot and wasabi, or Japanese black vinegar and yuzu in his products. These flavours can be transposed into bakery too  Japanese black vinegar sesame cupcakes filled with yuzu curd or apricot and wasabi muffins for an edgy take on traditional sweet bakery flavours, says Jacqui Passmore, marketing manager UK and Ireland at Dawn Foods.

Waitrose embraced cherry blossom  known as sakura  this Easter by pairing its delicate floral notes and subtle sweet cherry flavour in egg-shaped chocolates. Synergy expects this to gain popularity, even naming it as its global inspiring flavour for 2021.

Matthew Bratt, patisserie chef at Puratos UK, believes coconut blossom and jaggery, an unrefined sugar product with a caramel-like flavour, could also work. But other flavours may be a step too far. Many of the most popular flavours in Asia  sweet products such as sweetcorn, bean paste and ube  are products that, in the UK, are more often associated with savoury dishes. These are still proving to be a challenge for the UK consumer, he believes.

However, consumers looking for something a little different can be enticed with clementine flavours instead of orange, or yuzu over a simple lemon, adds Passmore.

Drake says bakers looking for something more adventurous will have a growing interest in lychee, Japanese plum, seaweed, the aforementioned sweet adzuki bean paste, and Hokkaido (Japans answer to Jersey milk) which can be used to make milk bread. Red bean is already appearing in some London bakeries as a filling for croissants and cakes, she adds.

Meanwhile, floral tea flavours are also likely to be used in treats. More delicate Asian flavours such as jasmine and white tea are gaining popularity, says Passmore.

So, while travel is off the cards right now, heads are still turning east for inspiration.

Sourcing is trickier due to coronavirus The Covid-19 crisis means some ingredients may prove more difficult to come by as the supply chain is impacted. We are already seeing disruptions to the supply chain as logistics and shipping are both affected by the ongoing coronavirus situation, says Tasneem Alonzo, managing director, Lahde brand by EHL Ingredients. She notes export restrictions on rice and wheat, which will affect the worlds supply, not just the UK, with delays already experienced on white rice flour and basmati rice among others. The dried ingredients supplier is also expecting a shortage of products from China such as garlic, ginger and sunflower seeds. Bakers, food producers and manufacturers will certainly need to review their current supplies and order ingredients to cover customer orders as the UKs lockdown continues, Alonzo says, adding that EHL is working to fulfil orders and keep prices stable. We are in extraordinary times and its difficult to predict exactly how the situation will pan out, she concludes.

Asian-inspired bakery in the UK

Ube Bilog, Mamasons

Mamasons Dirty Ice Cream, found in Londons Chinatown, is renowned for its unusual but delicious flavours. It utilises ube  a native Filipino purple yam  in several of its menu items. Most notable among these is the Ube Bilog. Priced at 6.50, the bilog is essentially a hot ice cream sandwich, which sees a scoop of ice cream placed in a milk bun called a pandesal and toasted.

Pandan Doughnuts, Crosstown Doughnuts

For the past couple of years, London-based Crosstown Doughnuts has celebrated Chinese New Year with its limited-edition Pandan Doughnuts. For these, its signature sourdough is infused with fresh pandan leaves to deliver a pandan flavour as well as a green-tinted hue. Each doughnut is then filled with a coconut cream custard and topped with pandan icing and

desiccated coconut.

Black Sesame Lantern, Yolkin

Macaron and ice cream sandwich specialist Yolkin sought to embrace a number of flavours for Chinese New Year 2020, which celebrated the incoming Year of the Rat. It sold a four-pack of macarons, comprising a pandan-flavoured panda, a rat-shaped macaron with lychee filling, a black sesame lantern, and a jasmine tea-infused macaron with the Chinese phrase Fook, which represents good fortune and happiness.

Mille Crepe Cakes, Kova Patisserie

Japanese fusion dessert specialist Kova Patisserie opened its third site in Chinatown in summer 2019. Its best-selling mille crepes range are described as having a light and unique texture. Theyre comprised of layers of French crepes with flavoured cream in between. Variants include familiar flavours such as vanilla and chocolate, but also extend to matcha and Earl Gre
Xis chance to cast himself as indispensable

President Xi Jinping of China has seized on the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity in disguise  a chance to redeem the Chinese Communist Party after early mistakes let the pandemic spin out of control.

Its a crucial week for Beijing, with the annual meeting of the National Peoples Congress starting Friday. Our correspondents looked at how Mr. Xi is maneuvering to strengthen his rule.

Shaping the narrative: Beijing is focusing on the disarray in the U.S. and other countries as China appears to have its outbreak under control. It is a dramatic turnaround from only months ago, when Mr. Xi faced a shaken public whose frustration even censors could not fully silence.

What Mr. Xi wants: To restore the pre-pandemic agenda, including his pledge to eradicate extreme poverty this year, while cautioning against complacency that could lead to a second wave. If he succeeds, he could chart a path to another term.
Like many Winnipeggers, Marcelo Matos has spent the last couple months working from home. With all the extra time spent indoors, Matos has been dreaming up plans for a home office space  a plan he was able to put in action Tuesday as IKEA reopened its stores in four major cities across the country with strict social-distancing rules.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Like many Winnipeggers, Marcelo Matos has spent the last couple months working from home. With all the extra time spent indoors, Matos has been dreaming up plans for a home office space  a plan he was able to put in action Tuesday as IKEA reopened its stores in four major cities across the country with strict social-distancing rules.

"This desk, some footrests and some chairs," Matos said on his way out of the store. "I was (waiting for) IKEA to open so I can get my home office operating."

IKEA stores across the country closed proactively March 18 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, spokesperson Kristin Newbigging said in an email Tuesday. All staff were retained, and the locations in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Quebec City were able to welcome them back, with PPE provided, for Tuesday's grand reopening.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Marcelo Matos said he tried ordering products online after the IKEA closed, but found it would take up to six weeks to receive them.

Lineups were long on opening day as crowds of more than 50 expectant shoppers wound through the fenced space outside the store entrance. Staff ushered small groups through the revolving doors, no more than two shoppers per group, to ensure enough room in the store for appropriate social distancing. Capacities in the store are limited, evaluated in real time and can change throughout the day, Newbigging said, meaning long lines and long waits during busier hours.

Still, for shoppers like Matos, the wait was worthwhile to finally outfit his home office space. He said he tried ordering products online after the IKEA closed, but found it would take up to six weeks to receive them. He shopped around at other stores too, but ultimately decided to wait until IKEA reopened its doors.

Newbigging said during the two-month shutdown online sales reached an "unprecedented" level, which led to delays for some would-be customers, and left many looking forward to wandering through the unending store aisles once again.

Anne-Marie Allan and her husband have been waiting to get to work on a bunkhouse and shed for their property in Victoria Beach.

"We needed to get the sink from IKEA and, of course, I've been trying to order online and it's been impossible," Allan said, wheeling a full cart out of the store.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS New health and safety measures at the store include strict two-metre social distancing guidelines, including floor and sidewalk decals to keep people lining up properly separated.

"The only reason I'm here today is because we're doing this building at the cabin, otherwise I would not be at IKEA."

Allan said she arrived with a list of necessities, but in typical IKEA fashion left with more than she was expecting.

"When I went inside and I found out how well organized it was  and not that many people  then I got the other things that I'm going to eventually need for this, too," she said.

New health and safety measures at the store include strict two-metre social distancing guidelines, including floor and sidewalk decals to keep people lining up properly separated, as well as frequent sanitization of surfaces, plexiglass screens at checkout counters and hand sanitizer provided throughout the store. Staff and third-party vendors are also temperature-checked upon entering the building.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "We needed to get the sink from IKEA and, of course, I've been trying to order online and it's been impossible," Anne-Marie Allan said.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The restaurant and play area remain closed, for the time being. The IKEA bistro is open for takeout only, and seating has been removed from the dining area.

Matos and Allan said they found most shoppers working hard to respect health-and-safety guidelines, and found the store's sprawling layout made social distancing easier to manage.

"I think it's pretty good  people are respecting the social distancing, sometimes there's no way to keep two metres away but it's fine," Matos said. "I think people are trying to not touch everything like we used to do."

There's no word yet on when the rest of Canada's IKEA locations will reopen their doors. Newbigging said the company is working with local and provincial health authorities to ensure stores open in a responsible manner and that all health-and-safety regulations are met.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca
A landmark court ruling has confirmed some "casual" workers are actually entitled to paid leave, bolstering a set of class action lawsuits seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from employers.

It has also reignited claims from employer groups that casual workers across the economy will be able to "double dip" by claiming both annual leave and casual loadings typically worth 25 per cent of their pay, which one industry group said could cost employers up to $8 billion if those workers' annual leave had to be paid out.

CFMMEU national president and mining secretary Tony Maher has hailed the court's decision as an end to the "permanent casual rort". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The Federal Court found on Wednesday that "casual" workers who worked regular and predictable shifts with a firm advance commitment to work were not casuals despite how they were described in employment contracts and therefore were entitled to paid annual, sick and carer's leave.

Mining union national secretary Tony Maher, whose union had intervened in the case, said the decision was "fantastic", saying it rebuked employers who called their workers casuals but employed them on full-time hours.
Even amid a lockdown to prevent a deadly pandemic from spreading, Indias metro cities are seemingly chockablock. Heavy traffic jams have been witnessed in Mumbai, as well as on Delhi-Gurugram, and Delhi-Noida borders.

The news of traffic woes has been coming in since the coronavirus lockdown was extended by the Centre, albeit, with more relaxations allowing the movement of public and private transport.

For live updates on coronavirus, click here

In states like West Bengal and Delhi, bus and cab services have been allowed already, with certain restrictions in place. Besides, both private and government offices have been allowed to resume operations, meaning more people are hitting the streets now.



Heavy Traffic Jam on WEH again today. There Goes the Social Distancing in drains. Bikers are Plying double seats Ambulances getting stuck. With the number of cases in Mumbai God Save us. #mumbai #mumbaitraffic @MumbaiPolice pic.twitter.com/2NjpKZouyg

 Chirag.P.Bhatt (@chiragbhattdnce) May 19, 2020



Welcome back to Delhi#Lockdown4

DND traffic jam pic.twitter.com/VZjHGKvaMn  Pooja (@reporter_pooja) May 18, 2020



Delhi seems to be back to its old ways. Relaxation of lockdown has invited so many vehicles on the street that the Yamuna Bridge at ITO is witnessing a traffic jam. #lockdownindia#CoronaPandemicpic.twitter.com/TTWREDF1DH

 Muhammad Wajihulla (@wajihulla) May 19, 2020

Social media platforms have since been flooded with pictures of traffic jams, and it would be unfair to say everyone has been complaining about the glimpse into normalcy this is offering.
Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubak...

Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, has urged Muslims across the country to pray in their respective homes during the forthcoming Eld-Fitri festival, if that is what the situation requires.





Abubakar in a statement signed by Professor Salisu Shehu, Deputy Secretary-General, NSCIA, gave this advice in view of the current coronavirus pandemic.





T he Eld-Fitri festival which signifies the end of the one-month of Ramadan fast is billed to take place on Saturday if the Ramadan fast is 29 or Sunday if the Ramadan fast will be 30. he Eld-Fitri festival which signifies the end of the one-month of Ramadan fast is billed to take place on Saturday if the Ramadan fast is 29 or Sunday if the Ramadan fast will be 30.





Our correspondent recalls that Muslims in their large number usually troop out to observe the two-Rakah Eld-Fitri prayer in large congregation during the Eld-Fitri festival, but many are wondering what the situation will be due to the coronavirus pandemic.





The Sultan has however cautioned Muslim faithfuls not to panic again but observe the Eld-Fitri prayer in their respective homes on Saturday or Sunday if that is what the situation requires.





Abubakar in the statement obtained on Wednesday, advised Muslims to be law-abiding in all circumstances while praying to Allah fervently.





He insisted that people all over the world at large and Nigeria in particular are under intense pressure, but despite the challenges, Muslims still have reasons to thank Allah because every bad situation could be worse.





He said, The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), under the leadership of its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammad Saad Abubakar, CFR, mni, expresses profound thanks to the Almighty Allah for the opportunity of witnessing the glorious month of Ramadan, 1441 A.H.





Despite the challenges ravaging the world on account of the Coronavirus pandemic, the worst in a century, Muslims still have reasons to thank Allah because every bad situation could be worse. This is why only those who are thoughtful are grateful and so we are. In appreciating Allah for the privilege of life, health and His innumerable blessings, we beseech Him to forgive our late brethren, especially those we lost in this challenging period, and grant them Al-Jannah Firdaws.





As the Prophet (SAW) once observed, he who does not appreciate people cannot appreciate Allah (Sunan Abii Daaud). The Council, therefore, thanks the entire Muslim ummah for complying with the given advisory on COVID-19. Except in very few and negligible cases, the reports from all over the Federation indicate that Muslims conduct themselves obediently and adhere to the regulations of the Council regarding the serious situation of the moment. Leadership is trust and the Council acknowledges the trust the Nigerian Muslim ummah have in His Eminence that they will not be led in the wrong direction.





For the purpose of emphasis, the fundamental purpose of Shariah or divine guidance, popularly construed as Islamic Law, which is a more befitting interpretation of its component, fiqh, is security. In Islam, this security operates at five cardinal levels, otherwise referred to as maqaasidus shariah or objectives of shariah. These are the security of religion, life, intellect, procreation and property.





These objectives of shariah are necessities for existence in every human society and every society is duty-bound to protect them. The steps taken to contain COVID-19, including restrictions in the observance of our cherished religious activities, are in furtherance of the letter and spirit maqaasid shariah. Every discerning Muslim is aware that the prevailing doctrine of necessity due to Coronavirus is not just a Nigerian issue, it is a global matter of concern.





Meanwhile, as the month of Ramadan is gradually coming to an end and the Eid-ul-fitr is approaching, it is crucial to reiterate that we are living in unusual times when almost everything normal has become abnormal, including social gatherings and large congregational prayers. Therefore, Muslims are enjoined to note that Eid-ul-fitr is not a compulsory religious activity (fard) and at no point should it be observed if doing so will undermine the fundamental purpose of shariah: security, a multifaceted concept which includes personal, community, national, environmental and health components, among others.





Muslims should, therefore, act according to the established protocol in their various communities and locations in Nigeria during the forthcoming Eid-ul-fitr. In places where restrictions have been lifted from congregational prayers, Muslims should observe their Eid prayers while still taking necessary safety measures regarding personal hygiene, facial masks and social distancing. It is even advisable that in such places, massive gatherings at one Eid ground in a big city should be avoided. Rather the Eid could be performed in area-Mosques to avoid unmanageable crowds. However, in places where the ban on large congregational prayers and socio-religious gatherings is still in force, Muslims are directed to be law-abiding while appreciating that intentions supersede actions and actions are judged on the basis of intentions, as Prophet Muhammad said (Buhari and Muslim).





Muslims are advised to be law-abiding in all circumstances while praying to Allah fervently in their various homes, if that is what the situation requires, to forgive our sins and heal the world from destructive and disruptive diseases like Coronavirus. Certainly, people all over the world at large and Nigeria in particular are under intense pressure and the sooner the pandemic is over, the better for us all.





In wishing our brothers and sisters happy Eid-ul-fitr in advance, we urge the Muslim ummah to let the lessons of Ramadan regarding faith, patience, self-discipline, devotion, steadfastness and righteousness continue to guide their conviction and conduct beyond the glorious month. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His chosen servants. May Allah be glorified at the beginning and the end and in all circumstances.Taqabbala Llaahu minnaa wa minkum!.
Police seek suspect trying to use stolen credit card

Hendersonville police are seeking the identity of woman who tried to use a stolen credit card to get cash.

The Hendersonville Police Department is asking for the publics assistance in identifying a suspect who they say attempted to use a stolen debit card and drivers license to fraudulently obtain money.

On Friday, May 15, the unidentified female was caught on camera at a local bank attempting to get cash. She was driving a black Nissan Armada with a stolen South Carolina tag FWS932. She appeared to be wearing a wig to disguise her appearance. Anyone with information on the suspects identity is asked to contact Detective M. Durner at (828) 697-3046. Tips may also be submitted through the Hendersonville Police Department App, which can be downloaded in the iOS App Store or Google Play Store by searching Hendersonville PD.
Representational image

An Air India flight carrying 145 people stranded in London, landed at Vijayawada Airport here on Wednesday, as part of the biggest ever off-shore evacuation drive of Indian citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission.

The international airport in Visakhapatnam received two flights, one from Manila (Philippines) and the other from Abu Dhabi with 166 and 148 passengers respectively on Tuesday night, airport authorities said.

The national carrier from London arrived via Mumbai at the Airport at 8 AM, Vijayawada Airport Director G Madhusudhana Rao said adding this was the first flight received after the lockdown was enforced across the country including Andhra Pradesh.

"As per protocols all the passengers were checked and sent to quarantine with the help of the state government. Immigration and customs clearance was done here only. The flight landed as an international transit flight," the official told PTI.

"We have set up five medical counters for screening of the passengers. Also we have set up counters district-wise for the convenience of the passengers," he said. Visakhapatnam Airport Director Raj Kishore said the aerodrome received two Air India flights, one from Abu Dhabi and the other from Manila (Philippines) on Tuesday night as part of Vande Bharat Mission.

According to him, the Manila flight landed in Vizag Airport via Mumbai at 9.50 PM, while the Abu Dhabi flight arrived at 8.30 PM. He said all the passengers were screened thoroughly and sent to quarantine as per their choice, either paid or state- run facilities. "None of the passengers was symptomatic," Kishore said.
Mosleys attorney Victor Henderson said his client had stopped his truck on the side of the road so he could get out to organize its contents and confirm he had what he needed for his trip to an unspecified destination.
SUPERIOR, Colo.  As the display time ticks toward 7 a.m., Jeff Mitchell swipes his iPhone's screen. Again. And again. And again.

"Here we go," says Mitchell, 43, as the app on his phone finally shows his first assignment: an order of toilet paper, fresh fruit, sparkling water, onions and juice for a customer shopping at Costco.

Only, the customer isn't really doing the shopping  she's paid to give the work and the risk to Mitchell, who slips on a mask and rolls an orange flatbed cart into the membership-only warehouse store as it opens early exclusively for Instacart shoppers like him.

Across the country, many of the 500,000 Instacart shoppers like Mitchell are simultaneously doing the same thing: checking the app, loading up carts and delivering groceries to Americans remaining isolated in their homes. Even though he's aware of the dangers, Mitchell grinds out order after order to pay child support for his two children, and to hopefully earn enough to move out of his in-laws' home and into an apartment with his wife.

"The stimulus only went so far," he says. "I'm getting bills taken care of right now, and a lot of people are going in the opposite direction, falling behind. Ive never been ahead and had money in savings. And during this pandemic Ive finally been able to do that."

Instacart shopper Jeff Mitchell scans the shelves for the correct kind of peanut butter ordered by a customer inside a grocery store in Boulder County, Colorado. Instacart shopping is his full time job.

Striking workers demand safety gear

Instacart was popular before the coronavirus hit, but stay-at-home orders have supercharged demand for the grocery delivery and pick-up service. At the same time, the company headquartered in San Francisco has benefited from a new workforce created by the collapse of other gig-style jobs like Uber and Lyft, along with the other 36.5 million Americans who've lost their jobs or been furloughed, according to the latest unemployment claims.

Mitchell used to be one of those Uber and Lyft drivers, bringing in $70,000 annually working the bar-closing shift in nearby Boulder, a college town full of wealthy out-of-state students attending the University of Colorado. He started working as a driver because the warehouse job he used to have barely covered his bills, and Uber and Lyft allowed him to earn a lot more.

Story continues

But his wife hated the hours he worked, and he didn't like how many miles he was putting on his car or dealing with rowdy drunks at 2 a.m. He migrated to Instacart as the pandemic began spreading and as the coronavirus lockdowns grew stricter, Mitchell's earnings went up: some days he was making about $400.

It didn't last. As more out-of-work Americans joined the Instacart shipping ranks, competition drove his pay down to the point where some days there's no work at all. He now earns roughly $30 for each shop-and-delivery he completes.

"Monday, I took it off," he says, sitting in the parking lot awaiting the day's first order. "Mondays have gotten really bad, so I didn't even bother getting out of bed."

Mitchell shops for Instacart full time, supporting the two kids, 18 and 14, he had with his first wife and a girlfriend. He dreams of buying a home for his new wife.

His work also helps the hundreds of customers he serves reduce their risk from the virus, even if it means increasing his own.

The conflict between demand for Instacart's service and the safety concerns of its shoppers prompted a smattering of protests around the country in April and May. Instacart says order volume was up 300% in April compared to the same month last year, and the number of shoppers has leapt from about 200,000 in mid-March to about 500,000 today.

Mitchell didn't strike, and he has not yet received the safety gear Instacart has promised for every one of its shoppers. The company says it has shipped out "hundreds of thousands" of the kits, which include hand sanitizer, masks and gloves.

He has reason to be concerned for his health: Three years ago he suffered a "widowmaker" heart attack, leaving him vulnerable to coronavirus infections, which have disproportionally killed people with preexisting health conditions.

"I'm just hoping to God I don't get sick," he says.

Mitchell's days all start pretty much the same: He makes the 30-mile drive from Fort Lupton, where the median household income is about $47,500, to the upscale Boulder suburb of Superior, a former coal-mining town home to sprawling suburban mansions, tech workers, doctors and rocket scientists, where the median household income is about $120,000 annually.

Every morning, he waits for the Instacart app to begin populating with orders. Each order tells him how many items it contains, how far he'll have to drive, and most importantly, how much he stands to earn.

While waiting for those first orders of the day, he reminisces about past orders and tips: The day before, he delivered an $800 order to a woman who gave him a $100 tip. Those are the good days, he says.

He swipes his iPhone's screen to find his next assignment. Again. And again.

Pork, beef, chicken supply declining

As each order comes in, Mitchell plunges into a store and gets to work, grabbing a cart and hustling through the aisles, iPhone in hand.

Most orders follow a predicable pattern. Customers want bread, milk, toilet paper, fruits and veggies, beef, pork and chicken. At this point, Mitchell has local grocery stores at least partly memorized, allowing him to put an item into his cart every 70 seconds on average.

Instacart shopper Jeff Mitchell's iPhone displays the amount of money he would earn for accepting shopping assignments in Boulder County, Colorado.

Top-rated shoppers (the app shows a leaderboard based on speed) average about 38 seconds between putting each item in their cart. The faster he shops, the more money he can potentially make, so Mitchell avoids stores that are crowded or out of certain items. While he usually starts his days at Costco, he'll bounce between as many as five other stores in a single day.

As he zips up and down the aisles, Mitchell scans each item with his iPhone's camera. Anything he can't find either gets replaced with something else or refunded, which he tries to avoid because it brings down his earnings for that delivery.

Customers decide their tip amount when they place their order, and can lower it if they think he's too slow or raise it if they think he worked extra-hard for them. That's created a situation called "tip enticing" or "tip baiting," where customers offer a generous tip to encourage a shopper to take their order, and then lower it upon delivery. Mitchell says he's only had that happen once, when a man in a particularly wealthy area of Boulder offered a $75 tip on a grocery order but then slashed it in half once he'd delivered to the four-story home.

A big part of the challenge for Mitchell is figuring out whether "2 Brussels sprouts" means 2 pounds or two sprouts. He's also got to make sure he's grabbing the right kind of blue corn tortilla chips, organic strawberries or yogurt, given that packaging can change. He consults store workers frequently, asking one to track down cored pineapple and another to help him find wonton wrappers tucked into the corner of an open-topped cooler.

Instacart shopper Jeff Mitchell carries shopping for a customer after picking up her order at the Costco in Superior, Colorado.

The Instacart app often assigns him to do shopping for two or even three customers simultaneously in the same store, so he orders deli meat and cheese from the counter before weaving off through the aisles to find clementines and a particular kind of sausage before looping back to the counter to collect them, nestling the plastic packages amidst the salsa containers and crackling bags of tortilla chips.

Mitchell quickly reviews each order before accepting it to avoid any containing items he knows are already sold out for the day. Right now, many stores are short on basics: yeast, flour and sugar, and increasingly, chicken, pork and beef, and he doesn't want the shortages to hurt his earnings.

The grocery store workers and the other customers wear masks and keep at least 6 feet apart. But Mitchell is still touching the same carts, scales and items as other shoppers, every act potentially increasing his risk of getting sick.

SUBSCRIBE: Help support quality journalism like this.

Helping others stay safe

Mitchell hustles back to his car, piling the groceries into the truck before consulting his iPhone for directions. As he winds his battered Pontiac Grand Prix through a tree-lined neighborhood of new homes, Mitchell explains that he tries to maintain distance from other people while working and always wears the mask his wife got him. Opportunities to wash his hands are few.

He pulls up alongside an $850,000 home where a young mom in yoga pants is strapping a toddler into a stroller between the family's two parked Lexus SUVs. She points to where she wants the bags dropped, and Mitchell hustles through the garage door.

Instacart shopper Jeff Mitchell checks the shopping app for his next assignment after delivering groceries for a customer in Boulder County, Colorado. Instacart shopping is his full-time job.

Seeing customers in person is a chance to make a good impression and possibly increase his tip. Before the pandemic, he'd often carry groceries upstairs for his older clients. Now his interactions with customers are limited almost entirely to a shouted "thanks" as he delivers the plastic bags to doorsteps. Most don't even say hello.

That's fine with Mitchell, whose face is buried in his phone as he walks away from the home. He swipes the screen to find his next assignment. Again. And again.

The U.S. has the highest coronavirus death toll in the world, with more than 84,000 deaths since February. In Boulder County, testing has confirmed about 800 infections and 57 deaths. But Mitchell suspects fear of the virus is overblown. He says he isn't worried about dying from COVID-19.

All the same, he doesn't want to lose out on wages if he gets sick. As far as he's concerned, taking safety precautions is a small price to pay for the opportunity to keep working. He says he's worked far worse jobs that paid a lot less.

"I don't have a lot of skills. As long as there's work, I'm taking advantage," he says.

There are always more hours to work. He swipes his iPhone's screen to find his next assignment. Again. And again.

SUBSCRIBE: Help support quality journalism like this.

Americas Food Chain: Who feeds the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic?

As many of us across America have hunkered down in our homes under safer-at-home orders, someone else has had to venture out day after day to keep the country fed.

To get the food from the farm to our tables, they continue to work  sometimes without the protections were told are crucial to guard against the coronavirus  to pick the oranges, slaughter the pigs, truck the goods and cook the food, so America can continue to eat.

Through an occasional series of intimate portraits in the coming weeks, USA TODAY Network journalists are shining a light on their lives and work.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Online grocery shopping puts workers at risk, but pays well for some
The rupee depreciated by 14 paise to 75.80 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as headwinds due to US-China trade tiff and worries over the second wave of coronavirus infection weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows, US-China trade tiff and concerns over coronavirus pandemic weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.60, but pared the initial gains to finally close at 75.80, registering a fall of 14 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 75.66 against the US dollar.

During the trading session, the domestic unit witnessed heavy volatility and saw an intra-day high of 75.60 and a low of 75.86.

Domestic bourses were trading on a positive note with the benchmark Sensex trading 427.29 points higher at 30,623.46 and broader Nifty rising 149.60 points to 9,028.70.

"The COVID-19 vaccine-trials temporarily excited the market. But there are headwinds due to ongoing US-China trade tiff and worries over second wave of infection. Also, Reliance rights issue has opened today, and we can see some FII participation in it in coming days which may limit the fall in rupee," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services.

Gupta further noted that "technically, The USD/INR spot is trading in a very tight range of 75.25-76, and we expect it to remain in this until there are major cues. Either side breakout will give further clarity over the trend".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reopening the economy is a priority for all of us. That includes public health experts as well as protesters, who may differ on how fast and loose that reopening occurs. Regardless of those differences, everyone wants to see jobs and commerce coming back.

For now, the counties of this region remain in the state Department of Healths red phase of reopening, meaning non-life-sustaining businesses are shut down until at least June 4.

However, once counties move into the yellow phase, many more businesses will be allowed to reopen. When coronavirus cases subside, the state may begin moving counties into the green for a full reopening.

In this unprecedented time of pandemic, no one knows for certain what comprises the best path to reopening and recovery. As businesses walk that fine line, we are pleased to see a number of entities providing leadership and assistance.

 Rebuilding Berks is a three-pronged initiative introduced this week by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance to help local businesses prepare for reopening and manage the evolving coronavirus environment.

Jim Gerlach, president and CEO of GRCA, described the effort as a living, breathing effort because the needs of the county will continue to change. Rebuilding Berks is described as a roadmap for businesses to plan for reopening and details tools, programs and services to jump start operations.

The website is set up to assist businesses with finding resources for financial aid, workplace readiness and data.

The site also promises to help employers understand and comply with the changing Centers for Disease Control and Protection guidelines as well as state regulations and industry-specific guidelines. The idea, according to Gerlach, is businesses work together and share best practices for safely navigating COVID-19 in the workplace.

 In Delaware County, 1,059 small business owners have applied for the Delco Strong Small Business Support Grant Program. Some of them will start to receive assistance in the next 10 days.

With $1.5 million from the Delaware County Redevelopment Authoritys gaming revenue and $250,000 from the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund, the program is geared to provide grants of up to $7,500 to small businesses of 50 employees or fewer to cover the costs of rent or mortgage for three months and inventory.

We are working with our partners  and really striving to do the right thing for our businesses here and for our Main Streets and for our commercial corridors that we need to keep going and supported during this crisis, Delaware County Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said, announcing that a secod round of funding will follow.

 In Montgomery County, nearly 3,000 small businesses have applied for $5 million in grant funds under the second round of the MontcoStrong Small Business Grant Program.

This is nearly double the amount of applications we received in round one. In round one we received 1,520 applications, county Commissioner Vice Chairman Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr.

Businesses in each of the countys 62 municipalities applied for grants and 87-percent of the businesses have operated for three or more years, according to Lawrence. Forty-nine percent of the applicants identified as minority- or women-owned business enterprises and 4-percent identified as veteran-owned businesses, Lawrence said. Grants are expected to range between $9,000 and $20,000.

Funding for the $5 million MontcoStrong program is coming from the Delaware Valley Regional Economic Development Fund and federal CARES Act.

 Shop Small to Win Big is a grass-roots initiative to keep attention focused on small businesses on the Route 422 corridor of Montgomery and Chester counties.

The initiative, a repeat of an earlier contest, was organized by Chris Lerch, director of marketing for SportsPlex Management Group, which owns the 422 SportsPlex in Pottstown. Lerch came up with the idea to do something to help small business owners that were being affected financially by the spread of the virus.

The program takes gift cards donated by area businesses in the 422 corridor and offers them as a prize for a contest in which entrants make purchases between May 18 and May 24 of at least $50 from participating businesses. Entrants submit their receipts, and a winner is chosen to receive $50 gift cards from all the participating businesses, worth at least $4,500. Second and third place winners will split the remaining cards, worth at least $2,250 to each winner.

The participating businesses saw sales from the receipts totaling $80,309.89 in the first round. That total represents sales the businesses  which are either closed or operating differently than usual  might not have seen otherwise.

The government grant dollars can only go so far to get businesses back on their feet. These programs also offer some guidance, resources and new ideas that will help make reopening a success story, one we can all agree is needed.
Dominic Raab said he couldn't be more specific than "coming weeks"

Schools could reopen before the coronavirus tracking app has launched, Dominic Raab has conceded.

The Government had been planning to roll out the app, which is currently being piloted in the Isle of Wight, by the middle of May. It is a key part of the "track and trace" programme, which underpins the Prime Minister's roadmap out of lockdown.

But asked if the app will be ready in time for 1 June, when schools and shops start to reopen, the Foreign Secretary could only confirm it was the intention to roll it out "in the weeks ahead", stressing he could not say more at this stage.

However from today anyone aged five and over with coronavirus symptoms will now be eligible for a test, Matt Hancock told MPs. The Health Secretary also revealed an "army" of 21,000 contact tracers has been hired.

Read more below.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Antivirus Software Market is anticipated to achieve significant revenue share by 2023. Anti-virus software protects and secures the user's computer from malware or threats while browsing several websites simultaneously. Using signature-based detection methods such as real-time scanning, rootkit, and heuristic detection methods scan the systems files, memory, and OS to avoid getting infected with a malware attack.

Growth in cybercrime across the globe will thrust product demand in the near future. In addition, rising use of paid antivirus software by individuals, increasing demand for smartphones by the young populace, and growing awareness among consumers regarding effects of virus attack as it may sneak private or vital data from the system. This, in turn, will show a positive impact on overall business outlook in the coming years. Also, the rise in number of bank frauds and hacking, antivirus industries are offering payment security to prevent such frauds. This, in turn, will boost business outlook in the coming years.

Factors such as availability of third party or pirated antivirus software in the market will pose a major threat to product demand in the forecast period. Also, high cost for updating and presence of substitutes will restrain industrial growth. The recent trend in the industry is partnerships between telecom and antivirus software vendors, thus, driving overall industry growth.

Based on applications, the antivirus software industry is categorized into government users, individual users, and enterprise users. Geographically, the industry is categorized into Middle East & Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Globally, North America is anticipated to account for the largest revenue share and continue its dominance over the forecast period. The high growth is attributable to the presence of key players and rising investment by populace to protect private data. The U.S. is a major consumer in this region owing to government initiative for cybersecurity.

Please click here to download the sample pdf and find more details on "Global Antivirus Software Market" Report 2025.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness the fastest growth in the coming years on account of growing number of SMEs and large enterprises and rising demand for secured enterprise data systems. India and China are the major consumers in this region. Thus, presence of key manufacturers such as Cheetah Mobile and Qihoo 360 in China will propel product demand in the forecast period. Also, manufacturers like Microsoft Corporation, Symantec Corporation, and McAfee, LLC are planning to invest in Europe and Asia Pacific in the forecast period. Thus, these regions are expected to hold maximum industry shares in the forecast period.

Prominent players of the antivirus software market include Microsoft, Symantec, Comodo, McAfee, Quick Heal, Trend Micro, Panda Security, AVG, Kaspersky, Avast Software, Qihoo 360, ESET, Avira, ESET, GDATA Software, Bitdefender, F-Secure, and Fortinet. These players are continuously investing in R&D activities to develop novel technologies to gain a significant industry share in the forecast period. In addition, these manufacturers are collaborating with domestic vendors to raise their industry revenue in regional markets.

Antivirus software detects, prevents, and removes malicious programs. In the context of China-US trade war and global economic volatility and uncertainty, it will have a big influence on this market. Antivirus Software Report by Material, Application, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023 is a professional and comprehensive research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea and China).

The report firstly introduced the Antivirus Software basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

Access 165 page research report with TOC on "Global Antivirus Software Market" available with Radiant Insights, Inc. @: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-antivirus-software-market-research-report-2019-2023

Market Segmentation:

The major players profiled in this report include:

Symantec



McAfee



Trend Micro



AVG



Avast Software



ESET



Bitdefender



Fortinet



F-Secure



G DATA Software



Avira



Qihoo 360



Kaspersky



Panda Security



Quick Heal



Comodo



Microsoft



Rising

On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-

Type I



Type II

On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Antivirus Software for each application, including-

Individual Users



Enterprise Users



Government Users

Browse reports of similar category available with Radiant Insights, Inc.:

Business Process Management Market

Accounting Software Market

Database Assessment Service Market

Enrollment Management Software Market

About Radiant Insights, Inc.:

At Radiant Insights, we work with the aim to reach the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Our representatives strive to understand diverse client requirements and cater to the same with the most innovative and functional solutions.

Contact:

Michelle Thoras.

Corporate Sales Specialist

Radiant Insights, Inc.

Phone: +1-415-349-0054

Toll Free: 1-888-928-9744

Email: sales@radiantinsights.com

Web: https://www.radiantinsights.com

Blog: https://radiantinsightsinc.blogspot.com/
New Delhi [India], May 20 (ANI): India has conducted over 25 lakh COVID-19 tests till 12.30 pm on Wednesday, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).



"Till 12.30 pm today, 25,36,156 COVID tests have been conducted in the country. Yesterday, 1,07,609 tests were conducted. The daily figure of testing since the past two days is going above one lakh," said R Gangakhedkar, head scientist, ICMR, during a press briefing today.

India has a total of 555 labs for COVID testing, which are currently active, of which, 391 labs come under ICMR-network and 164 are in the private sector.

Out of 1,07,609 tests, 89,466 tests were conducted at the ICMR labs while 18,143 tests were conducted at private labs, he said.

Health Ministry's Joint Secretay Lav Aggarwal said India is focusing on a stringent implementation of containment measures, preventive actions in terms of hand, hygiene, respiratory hygiene and environmental sanitation and following physical distancing, which is key to containing COVID-19 spread.

India's count of coronavirus cases on Wednesday soared to 1,06,750 including 42,298 recoveries and 3,303 deaths, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. There are 61,149 active cases. (ANI)


Angola's oil exploration evaporates as COVID-19 overshadows historic reforms FILE PHOTO: Kaombo Norte floating oil platform is seen at night off the coast of Angola

(Refiles May 20 story to clarify Mayer Brown is a global firm)

By Noah Browning, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Libby George

LONDON/LAGOS (Reuters) - The coronavirus pandemic has done in a handful of months what even a 27-year civil war did not: it has brought oil drilling to a halt in Angola, Africa's second-largest oil producer.

The consequences could be grave for a poor country that relies heavily on oil revenues and is saddled with debts that exceed its economic output.

The halt in oil exploration, which has not been previously reported, could represent a setback for one of the most ambitious economic reform drives on the continent, aimed at cleaning up corruption and attracting foreign money. It comes as Angola seeks buyers in its push to privatise state energy assets, which is central to the reform process.

An oil price crash last month to two-decade lows has prompted all international energy majors operating in Angola - Total, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Eni - to idle or ditch their drilling rigs, according to company sources, Refinitiv ship-tracking data and industry experts.

France's Total, responsible for almost half of Angola's oil output, told Reuters it would not drill for more oil for now due to the coronavirus crisis, instead focusing on current production.

"We have suspended all our drilling activities like all other operators in Angola," it said.

Sarah McLean, senior analyst at IHS Markit, said it was the first time since its records began in 1984 that Angola had not had a single rig drilling. The Londonbased information provider had expected at least 10 rigs to be operating there by the end of 2020, the highest number for any African nation this year.

The Angolan finance ministry and president's office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment, nor did state oil giant Sonangol, which works in partnership with the foreign oil majors.

DAMAGED, DOCKED, DORMANT

Angola's prospects looked bright going into 2020.

Story continues

Energy majors increased their exposure to Angola in the wake of reforms to investment laws by President Joao Lourenco, who took power after almost four decades of rule by Jose Eduardo dos Santos, and greater transparency at Sonangol.

They planned to operate more drilling ships in Angola than anywhere on the continent to tap tantalizing new offshore discoveries this year.

Then COVID-19 struck.

As global demand fell off a cliff amid lockdowns, oil companies lopped billions from planned spending.

Angola, with its relatively high-cost offshore fields, was among the first on the chopping block. Reduced demand from the virus's first victim, China - the top destination for Angolan oil - also hit the southern African country hard.

Total, in a bad portent, had already cancelled one drill ship after a March 7 technical problem. The vessel is now parked off the Canary Islands, according to Refinitiv tracking data.

The French producer has since idled three other drill ships; Transocean Skyros and Maersk Voyager were sent to docks at the capital Luanda while Seadrill West Gemini lies dormant at Walvis Bay in Namibia, the tracking data shows.

Total did not comment on specific ships, but said it hoped to restart gradually "as soon as the situation allows".

U.S. major Chevron cancelled its contract with rig supplier Valaris, in late March, and parked the drill ship, Valaris 109, in the capital. A Chevron spokesman said it would continue "cost-managed production" at existing fields.

Meanwhile, two offshore discoveries which Italy's Eni described as "significant" last year are now on ice, the company told Reuters.

American firm ExxonMobil and Britain's BP, the other oil majors in Angola, have also cancelled planned drilling until at least 2021, according to industry sources.

Exxon and BP declined to comment.

SELLING 'THE OCTOPUS'

Any time would be bad for Angola's drilling to dry up.

Yet the crisis comes at a key juncture for its reform drive, which it is counting on to help improve living standards for the population of over 32 million. According to the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative's global poverty index, about a third of Angolans live in "severe poverty".

The country is seeking to attract investors for a sweeping privatisation programme of state assets including energy assets like parts of Sonangol, but also a swathe of other interests like ports, banks and telecoms firms.

The programme, launched last August, had already got off to a rocky start.

Angola has yet to sell any major assets of Sonangol, which its petroleum minister described as a sprawling "octopus". Several assets scheduled for sale last year have meanwhile yet to be tendered, while the only announced purchases have been of a slaughterhouse firm and farm complex which netted $35 million from local buyers in April.

Angola was aiming to shed smaller assets before privatising 30% of the whole Sonangol group via an IPO in 2022. That timeline, always ambitious, now seems unlikely, according to Nick Branson, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft.

"The idea of a Sonangol IPO just seems hopelessly optimistic," he said.

"There are so many moving parts and such a lack of appetite for these sort of transactions anyway. Look at how long it took Saudi Aramco," he added, citing the long struggle by Saudi Arabia to privatise their state oil firm amid flagging prices.

Despite its problems, Angola has announced the tendering of state-owned bank BCI and parts of Sonangol's ports and logistics businesses in recent weeks.

Goncalo Falcao, a Brazil-based partner in global law firm Mayer Brown, which advises potential buyers on aspects of the privatisation drive, said the government would not settle for a fire sale.

"It's still to be seen how many competitive bidders emerge," he said, noting the state could postpone tenders if it deems offers too low.

"They're trying to send a message that, okay, we're struggling, but we will continue going forward with our plans because we're a reliable country and we've made a huge effort to make our companies transparent and reduce corruption."

SERVICING DEBT: $9 BLN A YEAR

President Lourenco has been seeking to tackle a troubled legacy after Angola clawed its way out of a 1975-2002 civil war, one of the world's longest. The country is ranked as one of the world's most corrupt, in 146th place on a list of 183 countries, according to Transparency International.

After he took power in 2017, he moved to remove dos Santos's children from key roles. Dos Santos's daughter, Isabel, had been running Sonangol, while his son, Jose Filomeno - now on trial - had run the sovereign wealth fund.

Despite Angola earning praise for its anti-corruption drive, the economy - which draws a third of state revenues from oil - was in a precarious position before the pandemic.

The country received a record $3.7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund last year. It also owes billions to China and holds the largest single bilateral debt burden in sub-Saharan Africa, where it is the number 3 economy.

Its debt-to-GDP ratio has climbed to the highest in around two decades, above 100%, and servicing its borrowings eat up $9 billion a year.

"The Angolan state owns a major universe of companies - telecom companies, water companies, electricity," said Falcao of Mayer Brown. "I wouldn't say they are desperate, but keen to make revenue, and they think a good investment opportunity six months ago would still be a good investment today."

(Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Paris, Stephen Jewkes in Milan, Karin Strohecker Ron Bousso and Julia Payne in London; Editing by Pravin Char)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:57:40|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

By Ndalimpinga Iita

WINDHOEK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- As Namibia battles COVID-19, the country's youth are denting losses and filling socio-economic challenges through community engagement, consultative approaches and innovation.

At a far-flung village in Oshana region in the northern part of Namibia, Tuuliki Erastus, a youth volunteer, visited various households. She is disseminating information on COVID-19, and other prevention devices to dwellers. Erastus is one of the 44 trained youth volunteers under the country's National Youth Council disseminating information in 484 communities in selected 121 constituencies countrywide.

The intervention forms part of the Youth Response to COVID-19 programme, rolled out this week by the council.

The aim is to provide factual information on COVID-19 to dwellers and impart best safety and hygiene practices, said Emma Kantema-Gaomas, Deputy Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service.

The youth are equipped with the COVID-19 community engagement toolkit, whose content covers the introduction of COVID-19 as well as chapters on the symptoms, transmission and prevention. The toolkit, designed collaboratively by the Namibian government and development partners, also includes messages and infographics to promote dialogue on the virus.

Absalom Itamalo, the acting chairperson of Oshana regional Youth Forum, said that the campaign is done at the grassroots level to shun myths about COVID-19.

"Every community needs to be actively involved in response to COVID-19," he said.

Meanwhile, Afriyan, a local not-for-profit organization also partnered with the National Youth Council on the campaign to sensitize young Namibians on sexual and reproductive health as well as provide psychosocial support to address health and hygiene gaps resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Luciano Kambala, the Namibia Secretary-General at Afriyan, following the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Namibia, local youth are not keen on visiting health facilities to access sexual and reproductive health services. The organization infused its menstrual and hygiene "free low" campaign into the " Youth response to COVID-19" programme.

"It is for this reason that in addition to giving factual information in communities, youth volunteers are handing out hand sanitizers, face masks and sanitary pads. This is because some people cannot afford basic goods due to loss of income during this period, yet their needs remain the same," he said.

The youth efforts are not limited to information dissemination and psychosocial support. On the agricultural front, the youth sector also embarked on a mobilization drive to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on local subsistence farmers and micro-level producers.

Haikali Ndatulumukwa, executive chairman of Youth in Agriculture Initiative, said that since the announcement of stringent measures by government in March this year, the forum engaged various stakeholders and negotiated access to markets for local producers during the lockdown period March 27 to May 4 this year.

"We established youth clubs to operate as cooperatives at the regional level, who then coordinate the stock of fresh produce from all farmers. The produce was then sold in bulk to the national Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency, which has access to the broader market chains," he said.

According to Ndatulumukwa, the efforts have been instrumental in generating an income for farmers during the hard-hit economy, and further advocating for local production sale.

"We also mobilized funds and invited young people with grains to supply for the wider market," he said.

So far, according to Ndatulumukwa, they managed to sell 90 percent of the yields and produce it coordinated through the cooperative.

In the interim, the door-to-door campaign is set to transform society through behavioural change and conduct towards hygiene and health.

Kantema-Gaomas said that the project is a fascinating, crisis-driven acceleration of behavioural change, and a valuable lesson learned from times of crisis is that they also produce important catalysts for change.

"During this difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is our duty as young leaders to work towards social change. We have to be the leaders that our world needs who act as catalysts of change in our communities and families," Kantema-Gaomas said.

"The current situation forces us to think and innovate. Looking into the future, we are seizing the opportunity to reform the agriculture sector. These include advocating for consideration of equity-based funding schemes instead of collateral on loans, which left many farmers indebted and robust mechanization," said Ndatulumukwa.

For Afriyan, Kambala said that the organization would be maximizing on new forms of collaboration, as well as further infusion of campaigns for a wider reach and healthy society.

Namibia has recorded 16 cases of COVID-19, of which 14 cases have recovered. Enditem
The function was jointly organised by the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Hanoi chapter, and the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam.

In her speech, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association Nguyen Thi Thu Giang highlighted the huge contributions made by the Cuban hero to Cubas struggle for national independence at the end of the 19th century as well as to the Vietnam  Cuba friendship.

She noted that the similarities in the two countries aspiration for freedom and independence have laid a firm foundation for their bilateral friendship.

For her part, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera reviewed Jose Martis life and career as well as the shared ideas on the national struggle for independence of President Ho Chi Minh and the Cuban hero.

She expressed her hope that the young generations of the two nations will nurture their special solidarity and friendship.

Vietnam and Cuba are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2020 with a wide range of activities, including an exhibition of pictures on the bilateral ties, and the inauguration of a mosaic picture on Yen Phu ceramic street in Hanoi.

Born on January 28, 1853 in Havana, Jose Marti was a prominent thinker, cultural figure and a resilient revolutionary in Cuba and Latin America in general. He led the Cuban struggle for independence in late 19th century and died on the battlefield on May 19, 1895.
A viation designers who overhauled the last British Airways Concord cabin are creating anti-coronavirus partitions to help keep economy passengers socially distanced.

It comes after criticism that some airlines still operating were failing to ensure social distancing for infection control and were still cramming in passengers onboard.

The lightweight modules would physically separate people sitting in the aisle and window seats, being secured using the planes seat belt buckles and two armrests.

The partitions, called the Isolate Screen Kit, have been blueprinted by Hammersmith & Fuham-based firm Factorydesign with the aim of being quick to build following physical prototyping.

They would be made from an acrylic-type material in either a clear or opaque finish with a window, be about as high as the seat back and include a space odds-and-ends trays or cupholders.

Partitions would ensure passengers can isolate on planes

The partitions have been designed for easy removal so passengers from the same group could sit together but strangers could be isolated.

Each unit would weigh about 5kg and is meant for easy disinfecting.

They offer the added bonus of quelling passive-aggressive encroachments in the fight for the armrest.

The firm also designed Virgin Atlantics Upper Class Loft sky lounge in its A350 aircraft and upgraded the last cabin for the British Airways supersonic Concord, including lightweight seats modelled on luxury fixtures in Aston Martin cars.

Adam White, director of Factorydesign, said the concept had yet to be tested but the firm was negotiating with a number of people interested in discussing manufacture using techniques such as 3D printing.

He said: We wanted something that could be done in two months and installed in minutes.

It essentially can be held in by a lap strap, like a booster seat in the car for the kids.

We wanted something that provides a genuine barrier and helps the airline to space people out, but also importantly when a passengers gets on and sees this before they fly, theyll get some kind of reassurance.

Everyone is hyper-sensitised to being too close, and theres a significant psychological issue to overcome, which we believe our Isolate concept addresses.

Passengers would be able to have a partition between them

It comes after Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye warned earlier this month of the challenges keeping customer far enough apart.

He said: Its just physically impossible to socially distance with any volume of passengers in an airport.

Mr Holland-Kaye suggested measures that could include temperature screening, face masks being worn and less contact between passengers and airport workers.

EasyJet has suggested the airline could leave its aircraft middle seats empty when flights eventually resume, a move opposed by budget carrier rival Ryanair.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in the Senate subway area of the Capitol before President Donald Trumps State of the Union address in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Sen. Ernst Introduces Bill Denying Millionaires Eligibility for CARES Acts Extra $600 Jobless Benefit

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said on May 20 shes introducing legislation to stop millionaires from being able to collect the extra $600 per week federal unemployment benefit that Congress included in its most recent CCP virus relief measure.

While the additional assistance was really for folks who had lost their only income, the money we have discovered can also be claimed by millionaires under the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Ernst said in a telephone conversation with reporters.

Theres no financial limitations for eligibility for these new benefits, she added, saying as a result, many wealthy coastal elites and millionaires may be making off with money paid out of the pockets of essential workers and taxpayers across the country, Ernst said.

So, think about it for a moment, weve got essential workers, many of them working long hours on the front lines of the pandemic and putting their lives at risk having their tax dollars taken out of their wallets and put into the pockets of millionaires who arent working, she continued.

Thats just not right. If you are lucky or industrious enough to be making millions and find yourself temporarily out of work, you sure dont need an extra $600 a week from taxpayers to get by, Ernst said.

Everybody who pays into the unemployment insurance funds in their state of residence should be eligible for benefits under such programs, but not for the federal benefit thats funded with general tax revenues, she added.

That means we may be paying more than $2 million a week to millionaires not to work, she said. With a $4 trillion deficit, we cannot afford to be subsidizing the lifestyles of coastal elites and millionaires who are between jobs.

Based on Congressional Research Service (CRS) and other analyses, Ernst said there could be approximately 3,000 such high-income individuals receiving the federal dollars.

Ernst said her bill will require applicants to certify that they arent receiving annual incomes of $1 million or more before they can qualify for the $600 additional weekly unemployment compensation from the federal government.

Ernst named the millionaire eligibility under the CARES Act as the latest recipient of her SQUEALS Award given regularly to spotlight waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal budget.

Congress approved the CARES Act on March 27 and President Donald Trump signed it shortly thereafter. Unemployment in the United States was 14.7 percent in April due to the social distancing lockdown and closing of nonessential businesses begun in mid-March.

The measure was the third such bill passed by Congress and signed by Trump since early February, when the first U.S. death was recorded from the disease that originated in Wuhan, China, in 2019.

Now what should come as no surprise to anyone is that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives did nothing to fix this issue in their new $3 trillion political wishlist, Ernst said.

She was referring to the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, narrowly approved last week by the House on a 208199 vote that included more than a dozen Democrats joining Republicans in opposition. Only one Republican, Rep. Peter King of New York, supported the proposal.

The House bill extended the $600 weekly benefit an extra year with no changes in eligibility. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate as well.

Asked by The Epoch Times if she plans to seek support for her bill from among Democrats who opposed the HEROES Act, Ernst said, I will be speaking with them, and noted that two Iowa Democrats, Reps. Cindy Axne and Abby Fenkenauer, were among those opposing the Pelosi measure.

I believe there will be some commonsense Democrats who will see the necessity of doing this, Ernst said.

Contact Mark Tapscott at Mark.Tapscott@epochtimes.nyc.
Ghana's Parliament has approved the nomination of four persons to the Supreme Court bench following the recommendation by its Appointments Committee.

The nominees of the President were Justice Clemence Honyenuga, Justice Isifu Omoro Amadu Tanko, Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu and Emmanuel Yonny Kulendi.

President Akufo-Addo submitted the names of the four persons to Parliament in March 2020 for consideration.

These nominees are to replace some Justices on the Apex Court bench who are due for retirement.

The report of the Committee runs contrary to earlier media reports that the Minority will withdraw their support for the approval of Justice Honyenuga for endorsing the President's second term bid in his capacity as a traditional ruler.

The Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, had, for example, said he was shocked at the responses of Supreme Court Judge nominee, Justice Clemence Jackson Honyenuga when he appeared before Parliament's Appointment Committee.

Appearing before the Committee, Justice Honyenuga apologised and explained that his praise-singing of President Akufo-Addo ahead of the 2020 elections were not necessarily to endorse the President but rather to wish him well.

Justice Honyenuga failed to secure unanimous approval from the Appointments Committee of Parliament when he appeared before it for vetting. The committee voted on a 10 to 7 approval.

Speaking on the Floor of Parliament today, Wednesday, May 20, 2020, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, suggested that his side had moved past the comments.

I do not think that anyone should want to hold this against him beyond I am sorry and I apologise except that I would urge that ethical standards and ethical values must be held at its highest level; at the level of the Supreme Court.

---citinewsroom
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2020/Bunz-Kidz-Childrens-Sleepwear-Sets-Recalled-by-Stargate-Apparel-Due-to-Violation-of-Federal-Flammability-Standard-Burn-Hazard

Recall Summary

Name of Product: Bunz Kidz Children's Sleepwear Sets

Hazard: The children's sleepwear sets fail to meet the federal flammability standard for children's sleepwear which requires sleepwear to be either snug-fitting or flame resistant, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.

Remedy: Refund

Consumers should immediately take the recalled sleepwear sets away from children and contact Stargate Apparel for a full refund.

Consumer Contact:

Stargate Apparel toll-free at 866-351-0193 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at [email protected] with "Product Recall" as the email subject or online at www.stargateapparel.com and click the Contact link on the upper right hand corner of the homepage for more information.

Recall Details

Units: About 6,600

Description:

This recall involves Bunz Kidz-branded children's sleepwear sets consisting of a robe, top and pants. The sleepwear sets were sold in sizes 2 through 12. The 100% micro polyester fleece robe and pants are white with allover pink star print and the 100% polyester top is pink with Dream in Glitter printed onto the chest in gold. The robe has long-sleeves, a shawl collar, two side seam pockets and a sewn-on tie located at the waist and the pants have an elastic waistband. Bunz Kidz is printed on a blue sewn-in label and style numbers L23846, L43846 or L73846 and GPU numbers 2017-246, 2017-446 or GPU 2017-746 are printed on another sewn-in label.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Sold At: Boscovs, Century 21, JC Penney, Macy's, Marshalls and TJ Maxx other stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com and Walmart.com from August 2017 through December 2019 for between $24 and $48.

Distributor: Stargate Apparel, of New York

Manufactured in: China

Footer

About U.S. CPSC:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals  contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

For more lifesaving information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC or sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline

Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:

800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)

Times: 8 a.m.  5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime

Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

Media Contact

Please use the phone numbers below for all media requests.

Phone: 301-504-7908

Spanish: 301-504-7800

Recall Number: 20-125

SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Related Links

http://www.cpsc.gov


Huaxin Cement acquires ARM Cement's Tanzanian unit

20 May 2020

The Tanzanian unit of Kenya's ARM Cement has been sold to China's Huaxin Cement, according to its administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Huaxin is expected to invest US$116m into Maweni Limestone Ltd to settle liabilities and another US$30m to complete a plant construction and upgrade.

"Securing a suitable investor with the ability to make the requisite investments and inject much-needed capital to boost Maweni's operations [...] was a top priority [...] given Maweni's dire financial situation," said Muniu Thoiti, one of the PWC administrators.

ARM Cement was put under administration in 2018 by some of its creditors over a US$190m debt and its shares were suspended from the Nairobi bourse. In Tanzania, the company has around 1.6Mta of capacity from two plants.

Published under
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) congratulates Joseph Duncan of Fredericktown for becoming the latest state record holder under alternative methods for gizzard shad.

Duncan was bowfishing on a private pond in Madison County April 19 when he shot a 3-pound, 9-ounce fish. The previous record was a 2-pound, 13-ounce fish shot in 2019 on Bull Creek.

It was a surprise to get a state record that day because I wasnt targeting shad at all, laughed Duncan. We were actually doing some grass carp control that day, but Im pretty excited about it. It was only a matter of time before one of us shot a shad. We saw some pretty big ones in there!

The shad was weighed on a certified scale in Madison County. Its the 6th state-record fish recorded for 2020.

Ive caught other record fish before, but this is the first time Ive actually gotten one in the books, said Duncan. Its really bragging rights and not a fish you mount  especially after its been shot! But now Ive got a game going with my friends to shoot the world record gizzard shad. Im betting its in that pond.

Missouri state-record fish are recognized in two categories: pole-and-line and alternative methods. Alternative methods include: throwlines, limb lines, bank lines, jug lines, spearfishing, snagging, snaring, gigging, grabbing, archery, and atlatl.

For more information on state-record fish, visit http://bit.ly/2efq1vl.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
BRIDGEPORT  Marcus Brown, a 29-year-old two-term city councilman, took the Democratic nod for the 22nd State Senate District away from incumbent Sen. Marilyn Moore at Tuesdays party nominating convention.

Brown received 43 of the 53 votes cast, or 81 percent, to Moores 10 votes and almost 19 percent. Despite her low total, Moore qualified for the Aug. 11 primary.

Im not disappointed, said Moore. After seeing the names of the Bridgeport representatives, I expected to lose ... Every single one of the Bridgeport representatives voted for Marcus.

Brown, a junior at the University of Massachusetts, said he was ecstatic over the size of his win and said he must now focus on the primary.

Its going to be different this year, he said, adding that the coronavirus pandemic is going to require creativity to reach the voters. Well be doing phone calls, mailings, emails ... I cant let the virus stop me from discussing the issues with the voters. I want them to hear my ideas.

Among the issues he believes will be important in August and November is how the state deals with what could be an enormous deficit.

A tax increase is not something we need at this time, Brown said.

Before the convention, Brown said, he contacted all the delegates  even those he knew were supporting Moore.

I didnt take anything for granted, he said. I wanted to build a relationship with all the delegates. I want them to be part of my team in November.

Brown must now defeat Moore, who in the past has defeated an incumbent and a party-endorsed candidate to get and retain her seat. The 22nd District includes part of Monroe, all of Trumbull and most of Bridgeport

In 2014, she defeated Sen. Anthony Musto in a primary then took the seat in the election. Despite being the incumbent, in 2016 she had to defeat Tom McCarthy, then the City Council president, in a primary to regain the partys endorsement.

Last summer, Moore narrowly lost a mayoral primary to Mayor Joseph Ganim.

I pride myself in the work I do, Moore said. I address the issues that are unpopular and work to protect all people in the state.

She said she prides herself on helping pass a law that increased the minimum wage to $15. Lately, she said, she has focused on helping nursing homes weather the pandemic and strengthening the 2Gen model designed to help disadvantaged, low-income families sustain themselves by ensuring that both children and parents receive services they need to succeed.

I go to Hartford every day with the intention of lifting people up without hurting anyone else, Moore said. I missed only one vote in six years. I stand on my reputation.

Moore, 73, and a lifelong Bridgeport resident, is the deputy president pro tempore of the state Senate. She is the Senate chair of both the Human Services and General Bonding committees and vice chair of the Committee on Children.
(Newser)  A company favored by President Trump, which is the subject of an ongoing Defense Department inspector general review, has been awarded the biggest border wall construction contract yet, valued at $1.275 billion. CEO Tommy Fisher of North Dakota-based Fisher Sand and Gravel pushed his companys design on conservative news outlets including Fox News, paid $145,000 to lobbyists, donated to Trumps Republican allies, and invited officials with the US Army Corps of Engineers to view construction of a privately funded wall, report the Arizona Daily Star and Washington Post. Trump reportedly urged Corps officials to award wall contracts to Fisher last year, though its design didnt meet federal standards. This contract, given to the lowest bidder out of a pool of contractors, covers 42 miles of wall in segments near Tucson.

story continues below

Fisher was also awarded a $400 million contract to build 31 miles of wall near Tucson in December. The Defense Department's inspector general later launched an audit in response to a request from Congress, per CNN. House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson said there were "concerns about the possibility of inappropriate influence" and specifically mentioned federal procurement laws. In a statement, the Corps says all procurement laws were followed for both awards. The latest, awarded May 6, gives an average cost per mile of $30 million, compared to $20 million for other wall projects in the area, though the Post reports there are "significant engineering complexities." CNN notes Fisher has faced "more than $1 million in fines for environmental and tax violations," though it maintains those issues are resolved. (Read more border wall stories.)
Imperial Valley News Center

Life according to COVID

Imperial, California - Life is returning to normal in a somewhat comic way as the COVID lockdown eases in some parts of the country, reports the Association of Mature American Citizens.

Take South Carolina, for example. The state is allowing restaurants to open as long as they adhere to safe-distancing guidelines. Customers at eateries must be seated at least six feet apart, notwithstanding the fact that it can make the restaurant look kind of empty. So the owners of the Open Hearth restaurant in Greenville, S.C., Paula Starr Melehes and her husband, came up with a fun way to stick to the rules. "Instead of using scary, yellow tape or roping off the empty tables, they have employed blow up dolls to fill the gaps. Theyve dressed them up and seated them at what you might call safe-distancing tables so the paying customers dont feel so isolated.
E asyjet has warned customers to be on alert for phishing emails after nine million had their email addresses and travel details exposed in a cyber attack.

Hackers are believed to have accessed details of bookings made between mid-October 2019 and early March 2020 , as well as credit card details of 2,000 customers.

The carrier said it became aware of the breach in January and took immediate steps.

It apologised and said all those affected will be contacted in coming days.

It added it had no evidence that personal data had been misused.
The flu vaccine will not stop you from getting the coronavirus but it's still important to get it. It will help you fight off other respiratory viruses like the flu and you will avoid visits to the doctor, where there are sick people. Many people think the flu vaccine will make you sicker. There are also those who believe that it contains toxic mercury.

In today's episode of Pasha, Marietjie Venter, head of the Zoonotic, Arbo and Respiratory Virus Programme and professor in the Department of Medical Virology, University of Pretoria, discusses  and busts  some common myths about the flu vaccine.

Read more: Coronavirus pandemic: why a flu jab is a good idea in countries heading into winter

Photo: A yield road sign with Flu Season Ahead By ulegundo Shutterstock

Music Happy African Village by John Bartmann, found on FreeMusicArchive.org licensed under CC0 1 .

electronic-music-loop-001-Accurate time by Frankum found on Freesound licensed under Creative Commons

By Ozayr Patel, Digital Editor
The Rivers State Government said it has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause a breakdown of law and order in order to declare a State of Emergency.

The Rivers government said this in a statement by its information commissioner, Paulinus Nsirim.

The commissioner did not name the Rivers indigenes it claims are trying to instigate the plan.

However, the state governor, Nyesom Wike, has been having a running battle with his predecessor and current transportation minister, Rotimi Amaechi.

Both men, once allies, have been at war since the build-up to the 2015 general elections.

While Mr Wike is of the PDP, Mr Amaechi is a member of Nigerias ruling party, APC.

Read the full statement by the Rivers commissioner below.

The Rivers State Government has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause a breakdown of law and order in order to declare a State of Emergency.

These persons whose attempts to declare State of Emergency in the State since 2015 have never succeeded because of Gods intervention.

They did everything within their powers to ensure that the 2019 Governorship Election results were not announced but also failed.

As the build up for the 2023 elections and jostle for Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets is gathering momentum, they want to use COVID-19 to create a crisis as if the State is at war with the Federal Government.

They have decided to create unnecessary tension as if indigenes of Ahoada, Eleme and Port Harcourt are fighting with Northerners not to carry out their legitimate businesses.

People forget history quickly. Since 2015, there have been farmers/herdsmen clashes in Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba, Ebonyi, Cross River, Kaduna, Yobe and Bornu States.

Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, states like Enugu, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Kaduna States have been intercepting lorries carrying human beings instead of foodstuffs.

This is the same thing that the Rivers State Government is doing to protect the State from COVID-19.

Bandits have been killing innocent people in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States and indigenes of these States no matter their political differences are working together to protect their States.

But here in Rivers State, instead of supporting our efforts, these Abuja politicians are busy looking for a State of Emergency because they want to acquire power.

We are alarmed at these hideous plots against our State. Rivers State has never fought a war with strangers or neighbours.

Our fight against COVID-19 is to protect the lives of everyone living and doing business in the State.

We are aware that some shameless politicians are playing politics with COVID-19.

No wonder one of the respected chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had to expose their plan to use COVID-19 to launch into the politics of the State.

This is what we see in the lives of ungodly, dangerous and power hungry people who claim to love the State.

After their clandestine meetings they have voted huge sums of money to entice and recruit gullible persons to carry out their plan.

Advertisements



All patriotic Rivers State indigenes are hereby placed on alert to resist the devilish plans of these unpatriotic elements who connive with enemies of the State to cause confusion.

As a State, we have always defeated these sadists and with God on our side, we shall overcome them.

Paulinus Nsirim

Commissioner for Information and Communications
EDWARDSVILLE  With all of the things people have to worry about at home and at work over the past two months, hackers have used the time to create new problems.

Some Edwardsville residents believe they have fallen victim to identity theft involving their credit card information.

I have heard about the potential increase in data breaches that might occur from the current situation with everyone working from home, etc., but we have not noticed an increase in reporting of credit card hacks, said Maj. Michael Fillback of the Edwardsville Police Department.

However, we have seen a little uptick in email scams related to the current crisis. Emails are being sent to people trying to get them to click on attachments or requesting gift cards.

Fillback said a lot of times, the email appears to be from a trusted source such as a friend, co-worker or legitimate business, but are not.

The request may make it sound like they need the recipients to purchase gift cards and send the barcodes to them for a legitimate reason, he added.

More Information AARP of Illinois offers nine affordable ways for people to guard their personal data:  Get a credit report check from annualcreditreport.com  Restrict access to your credit report by putting a security freeze on it  A lesser version of a security freeze is adding a fraud alert to your account(s)  Buy a locking mailbox  Make your telephone number unlisted  Use prepaid debit cards  Put vital information on a computer thumb or jumpdrive  Get free credit monitoring  Buy and install protection software for your computer(s) Visit www.aarp.org for more information on combating identity theft See More Collapse

Fillback encourages everyone to try to verify the source of emails and phone calls before providing any information to someone.

Do not be pressured into providing personal information just because someone demands it or threatens you, Fillback said. The Internal Revenue Service, police departments and other legitimate businesses will not contact you by phone or email and demand personal information or threaten you with arrest if you do not provide it.

Fillback said at any point if people are uncertain about the origins of a call or email you should attempt to verify the validity of it by contacting the business at a telephone number you can look up on your own. In the event you do provide personal information to a scammer, you should look to notify your credit companies, banks, credit unions and place a fraud alert with the credit bureau(s).
Cyclone Amphan Live Tracker : The extremely severe cyclone Amphan is hurtling towards India. The MeT department has said that the landfall process of cyclone Amphan commenced at 2.30 pm between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh on Wednesday. The landfall process will continue for about four hours, it added. The meteorological department said that today 3.05 pm, wind speed at Dum Dum airport was recorded at 76 kmph. The cyclone has caused heavy rainfall and uprooted trees. Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts. Besides, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Special Express train had to be ran on a diverted route, skipping the Bhadrak-Kharagpr line due to the cyclone Amphan on Wednesday. NDRF chief S N Pradhan said about4.5 lakh people had been evacuated from the vulnerable area in West Bengal and Odisha ahead of the Amphan landfall.

Also read: Amphan Cyclone Landfall Today: Time, speed, list of cities, states to be affected by super storm

Check out all the latest updates on Cyclone Amphan on BusinessToday.In live blog

9.33 pm: Cyclone Amphan updates: Wind speeds reach 113 kmph in Kolkata

India Meteorological Department reported that wind speeds in Kolkata were recorded at 113 kmph as Cyclone Amphan passed through the city. This is unheard of in recent history.

8.33 pm: Cyclone Amphan damage assessment in Odisha

Odisha government has asked district collectors to submit damage assessment reports in the wake of Cyclone Amphan within 48 hours, reported IANS.

7.57 pm: IN PICTURES: NDRF teams clear trees uprooted due to Cyclone Amphan in Odisha

7.46 pm: NDMA releases 'Red Message' for West Bengal coast after Amphan landfall

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has released a 'Red Message' for West Bengal coasts along with warnings for West Bengal, Odisha and adjoining states after Super Cyclone Amphan made landfall earlier today.

7.33 pm: WATCH: SUVs rock as Cyclone Amphan hits Sundarbans

7.32 pm: Twitterati shares visuals of Cyclone Amphan from Kolkata

7.27 pm: Cyclone Amphan reaches Kolkata

7.22 pm: Cyclone Amphan in North 24 Parganas

Visuals from North 24 Parganas show strong winds and heavy rainfall as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall.

#WATCH West Bengal: Rainfall and heavy winds in North 24 Parganas as #CycloneAmphan made landfall. pic.twitter.com/noHLgqJhPX  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

7.12 pm: Amphan super cyclone news

Around 6.58 lakh people have been evacated in West Bengal and Odisha before Cyclone Amphan made landfall earlier today, PTI reported. So far, two people have died due to he cylcone, the news agency further said.

6.51 pm: Cyclone Amphan latest updates

Wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph likely to prevail over Howrah, Hoogli and Kolkata over the next 3 hours and decrease thereafter, reported Prasar Bharti News Services. Wind speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph over West Medinipur, Vardhman and Murshidavad is expected during next 3 hours, which will decrease later, it added.

6.38 pm: Cyclone Amphan latest video

Strong winds and heavy rainfall lash Digha in East Medinipur district of West Bengal.

Digha in East Medinipur witnesses high tide and strong winds as #CycloneAmphan is expected to make landfall today. #WestBengalpic.twitter.com/NFXoTjW1Wtpic.twitter.com/93d71c7yH6  Rahul Gupta (@RahulPk1732629) May 20, 2020

6.32 pm: Arvind Kejriwal shows solidarity with people suffering from Cyclone Amphan

Our solidarity and support with the people affected by the cyclone. Praying for everyone's safety and well-being. #CycloneAmphan  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 20, 2020

6.25 pm: Cyclone Amphan latest update

The cyclone system is very likely to continue moving towars North-northeast directions with a wind speed of 150-160 kmph gusting to 175 kmph during next 2 hours, reported Prasar Bharti News Services.

6.14 pm: Visuals of Cyclone Amphan from West Bengal

Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico, shares a video of heavy rainfall and storm West Bengal and prays fo everyone's safety. Super Cyclone Amphan has made landfall near Sunderbans and is movinf towards Kolkata.

Scary visuals coming in from West Bengal. My prayers for everyone there. #CycloneAmphan#StaySafe



pic.twitter.com/JbbC9vqps9  Harsh Mariwala (@hcmariwala) May 20, 2020

6.07 pm: Amphan cyclone live video

Visuals from Digha after Cylone Amphan made landfall

Digha right now  #CycloneAmphan heading towards bengal now..lets pray for all our safety  pic.twitter.com/0x9OCaRI4w  Sahini (@sahini_bose) May 20, 2020

6.04 pm: Cyclone Amphan NDRF deployment

Here's how NDRF teams have been deployed in preparedness for Super Cylone Amphan

5.56 pm: Heavy rainfall lashes Kolkata as Cylone Amphan closes in

Twitter was abuzz with videos of very rainfall in Kolkata as Super Cylone Amphan made neared the city. The cyclone made landfall near Sunderbans earlier today,between Digha and Hatiya islands.

5.47 pm: Cyclone Amphan warning

India Met Department has warned about maximum wind speed of 155-165 kmph in South and North 24 Parganas and in East Medinipur districts due to Cyclone Amphan. The cylone has made landfall near Sunderbans.

5.34 pm: India Met Dept shows position of Cyclone Amphan

IMD released charts depicting the status of Cyclone Amphan between Digha and Hatiya islands, close to Sunderbans.

Maximum speed of 155 - 165 kmph expected in South and North 24 Parganas and in East Medinipur districts



- DG, @Indiametdept#CycloneAmphanUpdate#CycloneAmphanpic.twitter.com/RhBonk7Ofq  PIB India #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIB_India) May 20, 2020

5.28 pm: Cycline Amphan makes landfall

Images from West Bengal-Bangaldesh coast as Cyclone Amphan makes landfall:

- SUCS AMPHAN is crossing West Bengal coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sunderbans. Landfall process commenced at 2:30 PM. It will continue and take 2-3 hours to complete. pic.twitter.com/mO7DSqXT6d  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 20, 2020

5.24 pm: Cyclone Amphan to hit Kolkata

By this evening, Cyclone Amphan is expected to reach Kolkata. The cyclone is currently crossing West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha and Hatiya islands.

5.22 pm: Cyclone Amphan preparedness

20 NDRF teams have been deployed on ground in Odhisha and 19 teams have been deployed in 6 districts of West Bengal, said NDRF DG SN Pradhan. 24 teams are on standby for air-lift and evacuation and they are ready to operate at 15 minute notice, he added.

5.11 pm: Cyclone Amphan updates

Cyclone Amphan is crossing West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha and Hatiya islands and is expected to reach Kolkata by this evening. Windspeed is expected to 160kmph. Winds at 110-120kmph are expected to blow in Kolkata, Howrah, Hoogly districts. Maximum windspeed will be observed in Medinipur, South and North 24 Parganas from 155-185 kmph.

5.08 pm: Cyclone Amphan latest status

Cyclone is entering West Bengal coast near Sunderbans right now, informed IMD DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra. Heavy to very heavy rainffall is expected in coastal Odhisha and we are witnessing heavy rains there. Wind speed has increased from southern to northern districts.

5.04 pm: Cyclone Amphan latest updates

Cyclone Amphan is about to make landfall and NDRF has begun its landfall and post landfall roles, says BDRF DG SN Pradhan. The next 24 hours are crucial, he further says.

4:30PM: Torrential rain continues in Balasore, Odisha. Several trees uprooted under the impact of gusting wind speed due to cyclone Amphan.

4:20PM: NDRF keeps 24 additional alert teams on stand-by as Amphan makes landfall in India

A total of 24 additional alert teams on stand-by, for airlift, have been kept ready, NDRF chief said on Wednesday. The stand-by can get ready in 15 minutes and be airlifted, he added.

4:15PM: More than 5 lakh people evacuated from West Bengal: NDRF chief

NDRF chief, SN Pradhan, on Wednesday said that over 5 lakh people have been evacuated in West Bengal and 1,58,640 people in Odisha.

4:10PM: NDRF's 20 teams, 19 teams deployed in Odisha and West Bengal

In view of cylone Amphan, NDRF's 20 teams in Odisha, and 19 teams in West Bengal have been pre-positioned in consultation with the respective state authorities. Based on experiences during cyclone Fani, the NDRF teams are equipped with tree cutters/pole cutters for post landfall restoration process.

4:05PM: High Wave alert for West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar (Source: ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services)

West Bengal: High waves in the range of 3.5-7.3 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 along the coast of West Bengal from Digha to Bakkhali.

High waves in the range of 3.5-7.3 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 along the coast of West Bengal from Digha to Bakkhali. Odisha: High waves in the range of 3.0-6.0 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 along the coast of Odisha from Gopalpur to Chandipur.

High waves in the range of 3.0-6.0 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 along the coast of Odisha from Gopalpur to Chandipur. Andhra Pradesh: High waves in the range of 3.0 - 5.2 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 off the coast of Andhra Pradesh from Nellore to Srikakulam.

High waves in the range of 3.0 - 5.2 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 08:30 hours of May 21 off the coast of Andhra Pradesh from Nellore to Srikakulam. Andaman: High waves heights in the range of 3.0-4.5 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 23:30 hours beyond 10 km off the coast of Andaman Islands between ten degree Channel to Coco Channel.

High waves heights in the range of 3.0-4.5 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours on May 20 to 23:30 hours beyond 10 km off the coast of Andaman Islands between ten degree Channel to Coco Channel. Nicobar: High waves heights in the range of 2.8-4.3 meters are forecasted during 13:30 hours to 23:30 hours May 20 beyond 10 km off coast of Nicobar Islands between ten degree Channel to Great Channel.

3:50PM: Super cyclone Amphan is hovering around 105 km away from Digha's coast line. The cyclone is around 185 km away from Kolkata. Amphan is around 90 km away from Sagardweep. The windspeed of the cyclone is around 190 Km per hour now. In the last 6 hours, the cyclone has moved around 27 km towards the coastline.

 :        105         185     90      190   6      27  pic.twitter.com/EAftUT5f9a - AIR News Kolkata (@airnews_kolkata) May 20, 2020

3:40PM: Amphan about 65 km east-southeast of Digha

Super cyclonic storm Amphan is about 65 km east-southeast of Digha, West bengal. "Landfall process commenced since 2:30 PM. It will continue for about 4 hours. The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal," IMD said. The system is likely to move north-northeastwards after landfall and pass close to Kolkata in its eastern side causing extensive damage and flooding of low-lying areas of the city.

3:30pm: High waves in the range of 3.5 - 7.1 meters are forecasted on Wednesday, which will last till 23:30 hours on May 21 along the coast of Andhra Pradesh from Durgarajupatnam to Baruva, according to Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (ESSO).

3:20PM: NDRF team clears uprooted trees at Digha, West Bengal

#CycloneAmphan: Uprooted trees being cleared by NDRF personnel at Digha in East Midnapur District of #WestBengalpic.twitter.com/ILhfkHrChk - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 20, 2020

3:10PM: West Bengal-bound special train from Himachal Pradesh cancelled

A West Bengal-bound special train scheduled to depart from Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday was cancelled due to cyclonic storm Amphan. A new date will be announced soon. Amphan is likely to make landfall somewhere between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh in just a few hours.

2:55PM: As cyclone Amphan approaches towards India's shores, heavy rainfall and wind blows at Sagardweep in West Bengal

WATCH VIDEO:

2:50AM: Glimpses of Super Cyclone Amphan at Digha today morning at 10.00 am

WATCH VIDEO:

2:45PM: Woman delivers baby girl in fire service vehicle in Odisha

A woman gave birth to a girl inside a fire service vehicle in Odisha's Kendrapara district on Wednesday amid the raging cyclone 'Amphan', an official said. Both the mother and the newborn are healthy and have been shifted to Mahakalpada government-run community health centre.

2:30PM: All flyovers and elevated corridors were closed to vehicular traffic in Kolkata in view of Amphan.

All flyovers and elevated corridors were closed to vehicular traffic in #Kolkata in view of the approaching 'extremely heavy #cyclonic storm' #Amphan, expected to make a landfall somewhere between East Midnapore's Digha & Hatiya Island in #Bangladesh on Wednesday.#CycloneAmphanpic.twitter.com/VUZYSe7MCZ - IANS Tweets (@ians_india) May 20, 2020

2:15PM: According to All India Radio, Paradeep wagon maintenance shed roof blown away due to strong winds of Amphan.

Odisha: Paradeep wagon maintenance shed roof blown away due to strong winds of Super Cyclonic Storm #Amphanpic.twitter.com/xqYO1rxLEp - All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 20, 2020

2:05PM: According to India Meteorological Department, cyclonic storm Amphan over Northwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of 29 kmph during past 06 hours and lay centred at 11:30am today as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over Northwest Bay of Bengal near latitude 20.6 degree North and longitude 88.0 degree East, about 140 km east-northheast of Paradip (Odisha), 125 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal), 125 km nearly south of Sagar Islands and 125 km southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh).

1:50PM: Super cyclone Amphan centered at 12:30 pm as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal about 95 km south-southeast of Digha, West Bengal, IMD said.

#CycloneAmphan centered at 12:30 pm as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal about 95 km south-southeast of Digha, West Bengal: Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) pic.twitter.com/OZECXUYTwm - ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1:43PM: Super Cyclone Amphan are creating strong tidal waves in the Bay of Bengal. Digha, West Bengal. Waves have already breached the guard walls and is gradually entering the main lands. Announcements are going on in the area to alert the locals.

1:40PM: Bhubaneswar-New Delhi special express trains to run through diverted route

Due to super cyclone Amphan, the special train which left for New Delhi from Bhubaneswar on Wednesday will run on a diverted route skipping the Bhadrak-Kharagpr line. The train took the diverted route of Sambalpur City- Jharsugud-Rourkela-Tatanagar instead of the normal route via Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli

1:20PM: Odisha evacuates 1.5 lakh people; West Bengal 3.3 lakh

The NDRF director on Wednesday said that Odisha and West Bengal have evacuated nearly 1.5 lakh and 3.3 lakh peopl, repectively, in the wake of cyclone Amphan.

The NDRF has deployed a total of 41 teams for the rescue operation. As many as 15 teams are in active deployment and five are in reserve for seven districts of Odisha. Whereas, nine NDRF teams are actively deployed and two in reserve for six districts of West Bengal.

Super Cyclone #Amphan is crossing West Bengal Coast between Digha&Hatiya close to Sunderban. The forward sector of wall clouds has entered into the land. Landfall process will continue and take 2-3 hours to complete: IMD in a bulletin issued at 4:30 pm; Visuals from Digha pic.twitter.com/DfSq4kVC17  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1:10PM: Super cyclone about 170 km south of West Bengal's Digha

Cyclone Amphan lay centred about 170 km south of West Bengal's Digha as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over west central Bay of Bengal.

According to the MeT department, Amphan is likely to weaken and move through Nadia and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal as a cyclonic storm and then into Bangladesh as a deep depression on Thursday morning.

The MeT department has warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore district.

1:05PM: The Jogeshganj, North 24 Paraganas people shifted to a shelter, as cyclone Amphan is expected to make a landfall in just a few hours.

#CycloneAmphan from Namkhana in South 24 Pargana, West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/WsTEzTEoFx  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 20, 2020

1:00PM: Cyclone Amphans hits Kendrapara in Odisha

As super cyclone Amphan hits Kendrapara, Odisha, distressed people are being kept and served food in the multipurpose cyclone shelter, according to PIB.

Indian Coast Guard ships and aircrafts are kept standy for deployment to undertake area scan, search & rescue and relief efforts relating to Amphan.

12:50PM: Bangladesh shifts over 2 lakh people to shelters

Bangladesh has shifted over two million people to storm shelters, so far. Authorities have already raised the alert level to 'great danger' for some districts in the country as the cyclone was approaching the country's coastline.The Bangladesh navy has deployed 25 ships as part of three-tier efforts to conduct emergency rescue, relief and medical operations in the aftermath of the super cyclone Amphan. The country's army has prepared 18,400 packets of relief materials and formed 71 medical teams. The air force will assess the possible damage by using six transport aircraft and 22 helicopters.

Also read: Cyclone Amphan update: Bangladesh shifts 2 million people to storm shelters

12:45PM: Cox Bazar Rohingya camps raise 3rd warning flag under cyclone preparedness programme. People asked to stay indoors till cyclone is over in Bangladesh, according to AIR news.

12:40PM: Cyclone Amphan is about:

-140 KM East-Northeast of Paradip (Odisha)

-125 KM south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal)

-125 KM nearly south Of Sagar Island

12:25PM: High velocity wind blows in Balasore

Watch video: Cyclone Amphan moved near the coastal areas of Balasore, Odisha with a wind speed of 80 kmph on Wednesday morning.

Steamers, boats tied together at Chandpalghat, Kolkata for safety #Amphan@PIB_India@DDBanglaNews@airnews_kolkatapic.twitter.com/Nb0Ym3IjCQ  PIB in West Bengal  #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIBKolkata) May 20, 2020

12:20PM: Trees uprooted in Odisha

Watch video: As the cyclone Amphan intensifies, trees are uprooted in the gusting wind speed of around 100 kmph in Balasore, Odisha .

West Bengal: Villagers and livestock in Jogeshganj, North 24 Paraganas being shifted to a shelter, as cyclone Amphan is expected to make a landfall today evening pic.twitter.com/792B2p8ld5  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

12:15PM: Amphan could bring 4-6 metre high waves:IMD

According to IMD, storm surge could be 4-6 meters of seawater which will enter land area. A total of 41 teams have been deployed in Odisha and West Bengal to provide safety to people.

12:10PM: Cyclone Amphan to make landfall by evening; next 6-8 hours crucial

Odisha's Special Relief Commissioner, on Wednesday, stated that the next six to eight ours will be very crucila as cyclone Amphan is likely to make landfall on Wensday. Cyclone Amphan is lying 110 kilometres south-east from Pradip (Odisha). It is moving t an average speed of 18-19 kmph. Landfall is expected near Sunderbans in West Bengal by late eveing today.

12:05PM: Navy on high alert for relief efforts in the wake of cyclone Amphan:

The Estern Naval Command (ENC) is monitoring the developments on cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. Several ships have been kept on standby to proceed to affected areas to provide logistic support, and to undertake evacuation.

The ENC is coordinating with Odisha and West Bengal government to augment rescue and relief operations as needed.

11:55AM: Super cyclone Amphan: Wind blows at around 100 kmph in Odisha

Wind speed has picked up near coastal Odisha. According to NDRF Chief SN Pradhan, the wind isblowing at around 100 kmph at Paradip. However, th wind is not that strong in West Bengal. More than 1.25 lakh people have so far been evacuated from low-lying coastal areas and the process of evacuation was still underway in some places, like Balasore on Wednesday morning.

11:50 AM: Cyclone Amphan update: Heavy rainfall, winds pound Odisha

As super cyclone Amphan hurtled towards the coast, heavy rainfall coupled with high velocity winds pounded coastal Odisha. Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday (May 19).

11:40AM: Amphan is very likely to move north-northeastwards across northwest Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal - Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans during afternoon to evening hours of today, the May 20 with maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.

11:30AM: AMPHAN about 120 km east of Paradip (Odisha) at 10:30 am. To cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (west Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sunderbans. Landfall process to commence from afternoon: IMD

Cyclone #Amphan moving near the coastal areas of #Balasore, #Odisha with a wind speed of 80 kmph today morning. pic.twitter.com/85Io3KDGzD  Prasar Bharati News Services (@PBNS_India) May 20, 2020

11:20AM: Cyclone Amphan--Do's and Don't:

Before cyclone:

1. Ignore rumours, stay calm and don't panic.

2. Keep your mobile phones charged to ensure connectivity.

3. Listen to radio, watch news for weather updates.

4.Keep documents and valuables in water-proof container.

5.Prepare an emergency kit with essential items for safety and survival.

6.Secure your house; carry out repairs; don't leave sharp objects loose.

7.Untie pets, to ensure their safety.

During and after cyclone:

1.Switch off electrical mains, gas supply.

2.Keep doors and windows shut.

3.If your house is unsafe, leave early before the onset of the cyclone.

4.Listen to radio/transistor.

5.Do not enter damaged buildings.

6.Watch out for broken electrical poles, wires, and other sharp objects.

7.Drink boil/chlorinated water.

8.Seek a safe shelter as soon as possible.

11:10AM: Gale Wind, speed reaching 100-110 kmph gusting to 125 kmph, prevailed along & off north coastal Odisha districts and 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph prevailed along & off south coastal Odisha.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall occurred at isolated places over north coastal districts of Odisha in the past 24 hour.

11:05AM: The Super cyclone Amphan over Northwest Bay of Bengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of 22 kmph during past 06 hours and lay centred at 8:30 am on May 20: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Twitter.

As the #SuperCycloneAmphan intensifies, Big Trees are uprooted in the gusting wind speed of around 100 kmph in #Balasore,#Odisha .(Video:@DDOdiaNews)@PIB_India@MIB_India@PIBHomeAffairs@Indiametdept@NDRFHQ@ndmaindia@SRC_Odisha@pcsarangi@dpradhanbjp@PradeepJenaIASpic.twitter.com/LaOvHqVFFP  PIB in Odisha #StayHome #StaySafe (@PIBBhubaneswar) May 20, 2020

10:55AM: Govt sets up 24X7 control room

Howrah Municipal Corporation has released a 24x7 helpline numberfor all those people who are stranded. People can cal at, 033-2637-1735.

Apart from this, Howrah Municipal Corporation has set up 24x7 control rooms at all borough offices and bally sub-offices. State and National Disaster Management teams have been deployed at the spot. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 37 teams in the coastal areas of Odisha and West Bengal.

Also read: Cyclone Amphan update: Govt releases helpline number, sets up 24X7 control rooms

10:50AM: CYCLONE AMPHAN DAMAGES EXPECTED

Odisha (Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore, Jajpur and Mayurbhanj)

Total destruction of thatched houses/ extensive damage to kutcha houses.

Bending/ uprooting of power and communication poles.

Major damage to Kutcha and Pucca roads. Minor disruption of railways, overhead power lines and signalling systems.

Widespread damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards, falling of green coconuts and tearing of palm fronds. Blowing down of bushy trees like mango.

Small boats, country crafts may get detached from moorings.

Also read: Amphan Cyclone landfall date: Time, speed, place, states to be affected

10:45AM: CYCLONE AMPHAN DAMAGES EXPECTED

West Bengal (east Medinipur, south & north 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hoogli, Kolkata districts)

Extensive damage to all types of kutcha houses, some damage to old poorly managed Pucca structures.

Extensive uprooting of communication and power poles.

Disruption of rail/road link at several places.

Extensive damage to standing crops, plantations, orchards.

Blowing down of palm and coconut trees.

The uprooting of large bushy trees.

Large boats and ships may get torn from their moorings.

Also read: Cyclone Amphan to make landfall in West Bengal, Odisha today; heavy rainfall, damages expected

10:35AM: Indian Coast Guard ships and aircraft are kept at stand by for deployment to undertake area scan, search & rescue and relief efforts

Also read: Cyclone Amphan lay centered around 240 km south of Bengal's Digha

10:30AM: Power Ministry puts in place adequate arrangements to face cyclone Amphan

Union Ministry of Power has stated that it has put in place adequate arrangements/preparedness to handle power supply situation in the wake of cyclone Amphan. The National Load Desptach centre (NLDC) and Eastern Regional Load Despatch centre (ERLDC) of POSOCO have been nominated as the main control centres.

24x7 Control Rooms have been set up at Bhuvneshwar and Kolkata by PGCIL and NTPC. Also, PGCIL has set up a 24x7 Control Room at PGCIL Headquarters/Manesar.

Emergency Restoration Systems (ERS) (32 at 400 kV and 24 at 765 kV) along with adequate man power have already been placed at key locations which will be used in case any transmission tower collapses and transmission lines disrupted, power ministry said.

10:20AM: WATCH: Very strong winds at Odisha's Kendrapara

SUCS AMPHAN about 120 km east of Paradip (Odisha) at 1030 IST of 20th May. To cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (west Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sunderbans. Landfall process to commence from afternoon. pic.twitter.com/x4KEhmsSmZ  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 20, 2020

10.15AM: Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express cancelled

The departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express on Wednesday and 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express has been cancelled due to super cyclone Amphan. The train would remain cancelled tomorrow as well.

The Met department in an advisory asked for stoppage or diversion of train movements owing to damage likely to be caused by the super cyclonic storm.

10.10AM: Kolkata airport operations suspended

The Kolkata airport director, on Wednesday, informed that all operations, including special flights, which were operational in view of COVID-19 pandemic, have been suspended till tomorrow, 5 AM.

10.05AM: West Bengal govt mounts one of its biggest evacuation exercises

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said more than three lakh people from three coastal districts have been moved to safety and all steps are being taken to deal with cyclone Amphan.

The state has put the coastal districts of East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, including the Sundarbans on high alert.

9.55AM: Assam govt issues 'high alert' over cyclone Amphan

The Assam government has directed the state disaster management authority to set up a control room to deal with the situation. In its latest bulletin, the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted very heavy rainfalls in the western districts of Assam on Thursday(May 21).

9.50AM: Cyclone Amphan about 120 km east-southeast of Paradip, Odisha

Amphan to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sunderbans. Landfall process to commence from the afternoon, the IMD said.

9.42AM: Digha in East Medinipur witnesses high tide and strong winds as cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall today.

watch video:

#CycloneAmphanUpdate



The Super #CycloneAmphan over Northwest #BayOfBengal moved north-northeastwards with a speed of 22 kmph during past 06 hours and lay centred at 0830 hrs IST of today, the 20th May, 2020 as an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm. @IMDWeather#Odisha#WestBengalpic.twitter.com/tyiXvQDznx  NDMA India (@ndmaindia) May 20, 2020

9.38 AM: Cyclone Amphan in Odisha

The Fire Department rushed to clear the road blockage that has resulted from the Cyclone Amphan in Odisha.

#WATCH Very strong winds at Odisha's Kendrapara, as cyclone 'AMPHAN' is expected to make landfall near Sunderbans in West Bengal today evening. pic.twitter.com/AHD2Wuo0ky  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

9.35 AM: Amphan cyclone to make landfall. Wind speed across Odisha:

Paradip at 102 kmph

Chandbali at 74 kmph

Bhubaneswar at 37 kmph

Balasore at 61 kmph

Puri at 41 kmph

9.30 AM: IMD calls Cyclone Amphan extremely severe

The IMD said that Cyclone Amphan has centred as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over Northwest Bay of Bengal. It centred today at 6:30 am.

#WATCH Digha in East Medinipur witnesses high tide and strong winds as #CycloneAmphan is expected to make landfall today. #WestBengalpic.twitter.com/sxmX9Jt3Yw  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

9.25 AM: Amphan cyclone in Odisha

Cylcone Amphan is expected to make landfall in Odisha today. The impact is already visible as strong winds and high tides are witnessed in Chandipur.

Odisha: Fire Services team clearing road blockage near R&B office in Bhadrak to facilitate the movement of vehicles, essential commodities, and emergency service personnel. #CycloneAmphanpic.twitter.com/jE2P9eAtqz  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

9.20 AM: Shelter camps set up in Odisha

Odisha is one of the most-impacted states. The state has set up 1,704 shelter camps so far and evacuated over 1.1 lakh people.

#SuperCycloneAmphan centered at 6:30 am today as an extremely severe cyclonic storm over northwest Bay of Bengal, about 125 km nearly south-southeast of Paradip: India Meteorological Department (IMD) pic.twitter.com/Nt7LvOfRHC  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

9.15 AM: NDRF teams deployed

Nishit Upadhyay, NDRF 2nd Battalion Commandant said that 19 NDRF teams have been deployed in West Bengal. Six teams have been deployed in South-24 Parganas, four teams each in East Midnapore and Kolkata, three teams in North-24 Parganas, and one team each in Hooghly and Howrah.

9.10 AM: 1,620 shelter camps set up in Odisha

9.00 AM: West Bengal CM on Cyclone Amphan

"All precautionary measures are taken to deal with any eventuality arising out of the super cyclone. I had a word with Union Home Minister Amit Shah regarding it. At least three lakh people have been evacuated from three coastal districts of the state and moved to relief shelters,"Mamata Banerjee said during a presser on Tuesday.
A 40-year-old farm labourer died of hunger and dehydration while walking from Pune to his village in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, over 360 km away, the police said on Wednesday.

IMAGE: Migrant workers walk along a road for their native places, during ongoing COVID-19 lockdown, in Ghaziabad, on Wednesday. Photograph: Atul Yadav/PTI Photo

Pintu Pawar's dead body was found on Monday at Dhanora in Beed district, 200 km from his village, said assistant inspector Dnyneshwar Kuklare of Ambhora police station.

"The post-mortem was done later and it was found that he died due to exhaustion due to excessive walking, hunger and dehydration around May 15," the official said.

Pawar, who worked as sugarcane cutter in cane fields, was native of Dhopte Pondul village. He was visiting his parents at his sister's house in Pune when lockdown was imposed, and got stuck there.

According to his sister Kaveri Jadhav, he became restless as lockdown continued and decided to walk home. He left Pune on May 8.

Pawar reached Ahmednagar on May 14. As he did not have a mobile phone, he contacted his family by using someone else's phone.

Dhanora, where his body was found, is 30 to 35 km from Ahmednagar. The death came to light when someone complained of foul smell from a roadside shed, the police said.

Pawar's last rites were performed by officials of the Dhanora gram panchayat and police after consulting his family members, the police official said.

"My son who is seven years old keeps asking everyone when will his father return," said Chandrakala Pawar, Pintu Pawar's wife.

"He even calls up relatives on phone and asks the question....He is yet to understand the truth," she said.

Chandrakala and her husband were last together at Shirol where they were working as labourers.

"We were away from home for around four to five months. We were about to return to our village. My husband told me that he will meet his parents in Pune and return. That was our last conversation," she said.

"Our son's future is now my biggest concern," she added.

Kaveri, Pawar's sister, said she and her parents 'begged' him not to undertake the journey on foot.

"As the lockdown continued, he became very restless, saying he wanted to go home as he had not seen his son for six months," she said.

"I told him I would pay for fare, but he was adamant on going on foot with a group of migrants from Parbhani. I and my parents begged him not to go walking but in vain," she added.

"He called me from someone else's phone a few times. But not once he complained that he was unwell. When I asked about food, he said he got food packets on the way," Jadhav said.

"I should not have allowed him to leave," she said.
Carrie Duran didn't have to scrounge too much when her rent came due in April. The 48-year-old single mother covered the bill with the $1,200 federal stimulus check she received that month.

But May soon would prove to be much tougher. Her hours working for a local nonprofit had been cut dramatically. She wasn't receiving unemployment benefits in her home state of New Hampshire. She had three kids to feed, a daughter with Down syndrome to support, a car payment that hounded her so much that creditors called her five times on Mother's Day alone -- an ever-growing list of responsibilities competing for her attention and her ever-dwindling bank account.

"You have to think about what is the most important thing," Duran said, "and a roof over our head is the most important thing."

As the coronavirus pandemic threatens to lapse late into the year, many families in New Hampshire and across the six-state New England region are coming to a similar, scary realization: It's never been easy to afford a home or apartment here, and it's about to become even more difficult.

With unemployment skyrocketing -- and some federal financial aid weeks away from running dry -- millions of local residents newly find themselves at risk of prolonged financial hardship, perhaps even staring down the once-unfathomable prospect of homelessness. Despite the U.S. government's efforts to halt evictions and extend $3 trillion in aid, many say they fear falling behind on their rent or mortgage and lack the means to put off some of those payments until their bank accounts -- and the broader economy -- are in better shape.

The financial burdens have troubled not only local families but economists and lawmakers, who see in the making a potential crisis more than a decade after a wave of foreclosures swept millions of Americans out of their homes. In New England alone, roughly 380,000 area homeowners and renters are at risk of falling behind about $540 million in payments each month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, which found the region is one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Boston Fed cautioned its numbers hinge on the availability of state and federal financial support, including the enhanced unemployment benefits and one-time stimulus checks Congress authorized in March. Economists said the data offer a cautionary tale -- for New England and the rest of the country -- about the financial devastation on the horizon if the pandemic outpaces the U.S. government's response.

President Donald Trump told Republican senators on Tuesday he wanted to allow the enhanced unemployment benefits to expire in July.

"If we don't see a dramatic resumption of employment, and we don't see an extension of those unemployment insurance benefits, then the scenario quickly looks much closer to our worst-case scenario," said Jeffrey P. Thompson, a vice president and economist at the Boston Fed.

Duran, for her part, ultimately worked out an arrangement with the property managers overseeing Harriman Hill, a low-income housing community in Wolfeboro she's long called home. She'd cover a fraction of the rent due on her three-bedroom place this month, then deal with the remainder later. But Duran said she fears she may have no choice but to seek help again perhaps in June and July and August, adding to a growing financial burden that she knows someday is going to come due.

"I think I'm not the only one who's going to be in this boat," Duran said. "We're going to be playing catch up for a long time."

In New England, the economic carnage arrived almost as quickly as the coronavirus outbreak that caused it. The unemployment rate among the six states in the region -- Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont -- surged immediately, later outpacing the national average, the Boston Fed found in an earlier May report.

Roughly one-third of Rhode Island's labor force sought unemployment benefits by mid-April, leaving the small state with the country's highest rate of joblessness at the time, federal labor data show. In Vermont, the job cuts ravaged the local services industry, largely given the dramatic decline in tourism and hospitality. These workers made up nearly 80 percent of the earliest claims for unemployment support in the state, according to U.S. indicators.

Nationwide, 36.5 million have sought unemployment checks since the pandemic began. Yet three of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates in the United States in the final week of April belonged to New England, the Labor Department found Thursday. Experts say the job cuts have hit low-wage workers without college degrees the hardest, threatening their livelihoods most.

"It's a depression for them. It's a recession everyone else," said Brian Kench, dean of the College of Business at the University of New Haven.

For the past year, Marlene Rojas had been working in a local Boston hospital, helping to shuttle patients in wheelchairs around the facility -- until she found herself among the ill, officially diagnosed in April with covid-19.

Rojas, 40, had already exhausted her sick leave, the result of having to care for her two children as a single mother. So she holed up for weeks without pay in her two-bedroom home in Boston's immigrant-heavy Chelsea community, she said, suffering through the physical anguish of a high fever, sore throat and the other hallmarks of the disease.

Slowly but surely, Rojas got better, but her finances didn't, after the contractor that employed her laid her off. Now, Rojas, who came to the United States from Mexico roughly two decades ago for work, said she is struggling to obtain unemployment -- and unsure what comes next.

"I'm worried about how I'm going to pay my rent, how I'm going to pay for food, for the kids, for me and my bills," she said. A local organization, called Neighborhood Developers, is helping her afford rent for the next few months on her two-bedroom home. But, she still stressed: "I worry."

Many of these vulnerable families have benefited greatly from state and federal support. Evictions and foreclosures largely are paused, and homeowners can postpone payments on certain mortgages, such as those backed by Fannie Mae. Unemployed workers across the country have additional dollars of federal stimulus at their disposal.

The actions so far have helped stave off an historic foreclosure crisis, experts say. In New Hampshire, for example, roughly 70 percent of mortgages are "federally connected some way," said Dean Christon, the executive director of the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. He said the extent to which federal lawmakers' efforts benefit homeowners here and across the country ultimately will depend on how repayment options are implemented and enforced.

But renters increasingly represent a growing concern. Some families may be able to postpone sending monthly checks -- but only for so long. Many renters simply may not earn enough money to catch up quickly on missed payments, especially if they are forced to pay them later in a lump sum at risk of eviction. That puts a strain on the landlords who own those properties in the first place, adding to the potential for a housing crisis unless the government authorizes additional aid.

"If you're a household trying to make the math work, it was already a tight budget before," said Stefanie Coxe, the executive director of the Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts. "Now, it's even tighter."

In her state, for example, about 11 percent of working homeowners had struggled to pay both their rent and their basic costs of living even before the coronavirus took root, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Among renters, nearly 21 percent found themselves under financial duress, the group previously found. If workers do not get their jobs back, or the federal government does not extend additional support, it could leave an estimated 96,500 rental households in need of about $90 million in monthly assistance just in Massachusetts alone, according to MAPC.

"All of this temporary relief comes to a close and phases out unless something is done," said Tim Reardon, the research director of the group, adding: "There is a risk even during the next three months that we're going to see a worsening of the inequities we see in the housing market.

For some in the region, that moment has already arrived.

Outside Providence, Shanira Villafane had been saving for months, eagerly anticipating the day that she, her husband and their 9-year-old daughter could move out of a local shelter and into their own apartment. She recently had banked her federal stimulus check to pay for the costs of the move, and Villafane enrolled in a Rhode Island program that provides housing assistance to low-income families.

But the coronavirus soon upended her plans. Villafane, 26, said it quickly became hard to find reasonable apartments. Not only that, she worried about her ability to afford them over the long term, especially after the grocery store where she works slashed her hours. Taking on a second job wasn't much of an option, either, as Villafane labored to help her daughter through the slog of home school -- all the while toiling to complete her own coursework for a GED.

That meant Villafane is stuck in limbo, she said, at least for the time being.

"God forbid my job shuts down," she said. "I want to stay where I'm at . . . even if it's driving me crazy here."

The plight facing renters and homeowners recently has caught the attention of Washington, where Democratic lawmakers have put forward new legislation authorizing $100 billion in new federal funds to help renters. "This pandemic has shown us how vulnerable working families are to a single financial setback, and renters need relief now," said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), its chief author, in a statement.

But the bill is caught up in a fierce back and forth between lawmakers about how best to respond to the coronavirus. Many in the party, including top Trump administration officials, recently have signaled they would prefer to allow prior federal relief packages to run their course before authorizing perhaps trillions of dollars in new funding, threatening for now to scuttle any new housing relief.

Nationwide, states such as Nevada and cities including Philadelphia have sought to implement their own programs to help homeowners maintain their rent. Many, including Massachusetts and others in the New England area, long have allotted millions of dollars toward trying to keep people in their homes. But local experts and economists say that their local governments alone cannot bear the full costs of helping people stay afloat, particularly at a moment when cities and states are facing a cash crunch of their own. The Boston Fed, for one, warned in a new report this week that the "real impact to households has come from federally provided benefits."

"Right now, we have all of these band aids in place, and we're really grateful for them, but they're just bandaids," said Elissa Margolin, the director for Housing Action NH, which advocates for low-income housing in the state.

The story in New Hampshire is one mirrored across the region, added Margolin, with tens of thousands of families who were already at risk of falling behind on rents they may never be able to pay. "Add to that significant job losses in the sector that is made up of mostly renters -- so, hospitality, lodging, restaurants, retail -- and you have a perfect storm for an evictions crisis."
Your browser does not support the audio element.

Doctors in Vietnam have just managed to transplant a liver donated by a brain-dead woman into a man, the second organ transplantation in the Southeast Asian country in less than a week.

The liver transplant started to be done at the University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City late Monday and finished early Tuesday, the hospital said Wednesday.

The recipient is H.V.L., a 37-year-old man who lives in the city and has been treated for liver fibrosis at the medical center.

The hospital said that it had been informed by the Vietnam National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation (VNHOT) and Viet Duc University Hospital in Hanoi of a brain-dead liver donor on Monday.

The donor from the capital had succumbed to a fatal disease and was confirmed to have brain death.

Her liver proved to be suitable for L., doctors found, believing that he would have a good prognosis with an organ transplant.

Doctors began harvesting the liver from the brain-dead woman at 7:00 pm on Monday.

The liver was airlifted from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on board a Vietnam Airlines flight at 8:00 pm.

The plane arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the southern city past 10:00 pm.

An ambulance was deployed to take the organ to the University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City within ten minutes, with support from local traffice police officers.

The liver transplantation began the same night and doctors managed to complete it at 5:30 am on Tuesday.

L. is in stable health, with the liver functioning well in his body, the hospital said. The patient is being monitored at the institution.

A funeral for the donor was organized in Hanoi Wednesday afternoon.

She was a 62-year-old retired teacher, who an acquaintance said had done a lot of charity work to help students in the capital city when she was alive.

She decided to donate her liver before passing away, the VNHOT said, adding that she was the oldest organ donor in Vietnam.

The woman had fought her disease for a month at Viet Duc University Hospital but she lost the battle eventually.

We dont often accept organs from donors of over 60 years of age, except for their cornea, a VNHOT representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

But the retired teachers liver could meet transplantation criteria.

The liver transplant has been the second organ transplantation in Vietnam in the past week.

A heart was transplanted into a patient at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on May 13.

The heart had been transported from Hanoi by air the same day.

For the last five years, there have been fifty flights delivering donated organs between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and the central city of Hue, according to data obtained by Tuoi Tre.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Analysts say Taiwans first female leader faces greater Chinese pressure and more belligerent action in second term.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen has never been more popular.

As the territorys first female president takes oath on Wednesday for a second term in office, her approval ratings are at a record high and Taiwans international standing is growing over its successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The self-ruled island of 23 million people has recorded just 440 cases and seven deaths despite its close proximity to China, the origin of the respiratory disease that has now killed more than 320,000 people globally. With early screening and an effective trace and quarantine campaign, Taiwan has avoided the type of stifling lockdowns seen elsewhere, thereby cushioning its economy from the catastrophic slumps expected in many other countries.

But still, the next four years will prove to be challenging for Tsai.

Cross-strait relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its own, are at an all-time low. And experts say calls for a formal break with Beijing are only likely to grow inside Taiwan, while the islands export-driven economy is expected to contract as much as 4 percent as the pandemic curbs demand in key markets.

The challenges are immense, said Natasha Kassam, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute in Australia. As President Tsai looks forward to the next four years, she will need to demonstrate the same competency and preparedness that she has shown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With swift and decisive action, Tsais government managed to check the new viruss spread early on. Taiwan began screening arrivals from China in early January, soon after reports emerged of a respiratory illness in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. An aggressive contact tracing and quarantine effort followed, allowing the island to avoid the tolls seen in other countries.

Plaudits and tensions

Taiwans successful response has won Tsai plaudits across the world, but the boost to its global status has only worsened relations with China.





The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated tensions that already existed in the Taiwan Strait, said J Michael Cole, a Taipei-based analyst at the Global Taiwan Institute, a US think tank.

Chinas cover-ups in the early stages of the epidemic in Wuhan, contrasted with Taiwans openness and rapid response to the virus, has been noticed globally, and the Chinese Communist Party resents that. Beijing is therefore expected to try to undermine the strategic gains that Taiwan has made since January by acting in an even more belligerent fashion.

These frictions, according to observers, are rooted in the islands ambiguous status.

Taiwan, as we know it today, is the result of the Chinese civil war, which Chinese nationalists lost to Mao Zedongs Communists. Led by Chiang Kai-shek, the nationalists fled to Taiwan in 1949 and set up the Republic of China (Taiwans official name) on the island. The nationalists initially intended to retake the mainland, but ultimately abandoned that dream. They never declared independence, however.

With its own military and foreign ministry, Taiwan also has its own distinct identity. A recent survey showed that two-thirds of the islands population do not identify as Chinese. Another poll from October last year showed nearly a third of the Taiwanese people favour independence, while some 25 percent said they favour maintaining the ambiguous status quo.

But reunification is an issue of legacy for Chinese President Xi Jinping. The most powerful leader since Mao, Xi sees reclaiming Taiwan as a mission that would assure his place in history. In a 2019 speech, he outlined his grand vision of One China, warning Taiwan that any effort to assert full independence would be met by armed force.

Support for democracy

Tsai responded by telling China to show Taiwan respect. The island was already an independent country called the Republic of China, Taiwan, the 64-year-old former lawyer insists. She reiterated that message in her inaugural address on Wednesday, while also calling for dialogue and peaceful co-existence.





But Chinese officials responded by accusing Tsai of separatism  a view long held in Beijing.

Since Tsais election in 2016, China has cut off official communication with her government and convinced at least seven countries to transfer diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing. It also sought to squeeze Taiwans economy by preventing individual Chinese tourists from visiting the island.

Ironically though, observers say it was Chinas actions  both in Taiwan and in Hong Kong  that assured Tsai her resounding victory in the January election. She had been trailing in opinion polls early last year  amid anger over wage stagnation and pension reforms  when protesters in Hong Kong took to the streets to denounce Beijings increased interference in the territorys affairs.

Tsai was quick to offer her support to Hong Kong. We stand with all freedom loving people of Hong Kong she said in a Twitter post in June. In the same tweet, she said Taiwans hard-earned democracy must be guarded and went on to reject the one country, two systems model which ties Beijing and Hong Kong together.

As long as Im president, one country, two systems will never be an option, she wrote.

Tsais firm stance in the face of Xis warnings and the crackdown in Hong Kong helped her secure the highest number of any leader in the territorys history. She called her re-election a message to China to respect Taiwans sovereignty, but since then, Beijing has only intensified its military and diplomatic pressure on Taipei.

In recent months, Chinese military aircraft have crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait at least three times, while a Chinese aircraft carrier and five warships sailed close to Taiwan through the Miyako Strait in April. Beijing has also reportedly threatened to cut off all economic ties with the African kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, if it does not break off relations with Taipei.

Tsai can expect Beijing to bring greater pressure to bear on Taiwan, Cole at the Global Institute for Taiwan said, adding that he expected the military and diplomatic action to be accompanied by ramped up political warfare efforts to erode and weaken Taiwans democracy and ability to function as a coherent state.

US steps up support

The pandemic, however, has created diplomatic openings that could help Taiwan deal with China, he said, namely pushing it closer to the United States.





Washington is Taiwans security guarantor and has seized on the opportunity to boost the islands international status at a time when US-China ties have deteriorated amid disputes over trade relations and the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, US President Donald Trump signed a law that requires his country to press for Taiwanese recognition in international forums  a move Chinese state media slammed as support for Taiwanese separatism.

But Bonnie Glaser at the US-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the tools the US has to help Taiwan are limited mainly because of Taiwans isolation on the international stage. At present, only 14 nations recognise the territory.

Yet Tsai is still likely to face pressure from some of the radical elements of her own party, who would like her to seize the opportunity to press more pro-independence measures, added Glaser.

That is certain to strain cross-strait relations even further. But Glaser, who heads the CSISs China Power Project, said conflict remains unlikely, arguing Beijing would be unwilling to risk a military confrontation with the US.

Despite the uncertainty ahead, Glaser said she has faith in Tsais ability to lead Taiwan.

Shes a very good listener. Shes very calm, very cool. And she has enormous skills as a negotiator, the analyst said, noting Tsais lead role in negotiating Taiwans accession to the World Trade Organization in 2002.

US approval for the sale of the torpedoes came the same day that Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen took her oath of office for a second term [Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via EPA]

She will stand her ground in preserving a position despite the fact she is widely criticised. And I respect that, Glaser continued, referring to Tsais decision to push through much-needed pensions reforms despite widespread opposition. And when she makes mistakes, shes also able to recover from them. If you look back on her first term, there were points where she had very low support in public opinion. But she was able to come back.

Still, Glaser cautioned: It will be difficult for any leader to handle all of the challenges that Taiwan faces. The hurdles are enormous, regardless of how capable a president is.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, on May 13, 2020. (Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images)

Hybrid Model Could Work, Says PM as Parties Negotiate House of Commons Return

OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeau is suggesting the House of Commons could resume business during the COVID-19 pandemic using a hybrid model, in which some MPs are physically in the chamber while others participate virtually.

Trudeau suggested he is open to the idea Wednesday as the governing Liberals were in the midst of negotiations with the four main opposition parties to determine in what form Parliament may or may not return next week.

I think theres a lot of interest in a hybrid Parliament model where some people will be there in person, where others will call in via videoconferencing screens, Trudeau said.

I think there are ways of making it work and ensuring that MPs from every corner of the country get to participate and make sure their citizens are reflected in the debates that go on in Parliament and not just those who live in the National Capital Region.

Obviously, these are discussions that continue but there are models that are effective out there that we should look at adapting for Canadian use.

He noted that the United Kingdom has adopted a hybrid model to keep its parliament functioning during the pandemic.

Both the Conservatives and NDP are also promoting the idea of a hybrid Parliament.

As the Liberal government expands the financial supports designed to blunt the impact of the pandemic, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party wants more transparency on where those dollars are going.

He said thats what is driving his partys point of view in the talks about Mondays scheduled return of the House of Commons, which has been largely adjourned since mid-March.

We want to make sure that money that is being put out by the government goes directly to workers, that it is tied to jobs, that it is tied to employment, Singh said.

To do that we need to get back to a more normal operation of Parliament.

A special COVID-19 committee has been sitting three times a week as a stand-in for normal Commons proceedings.

But the pause on normal parliamentary proceedings is set to expire on Monday, unless the four recognized parties in the House of Commons can come to some kind of agreement on how to extend it.

Singh said his party is still fine-tuning its proposal for the talks, but the New Democrats are eyeing a hybrid model similar to what is now being used in the U.K.

The principle that we would want to operate on is that MPs are not limited from their access to representing their constituents so that they are able to be in some way representing their people, the people that elected them, he said.

The Conservatives also support the hybrid approach, which Singh said has been presented as an option to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he thinks a deal can be reached, but he has given the Liberals a list of demands before his party will agree to any modifications to the plan for Parliament.

He said Wednesday his party is looking for improvements to a number of existing support programs, among them those that help with businesses fixed costs, as well as the commercial rent subsidy. He also wants the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and student aid programs amended so recipients can also take jobs.

We dont want the government to say, Oh yes, were going to do it,' Blanchet said.

We want the government to say, This is what were going to do, this is when, this how, and this is how much it is going to cost. And in that case well say OK, now youre being true to your word.'

Both the Commons and Senate have met several times to pass emergency aid legislation, doing so in single-day sittings with close to the minimum number of members required under the procedural rules of Parliament.

There are a handful of House of Commons committees still meeting as well, entirely virtually.

The current special committee meets twice a week virtually, and once in person.

A review of the minutes from the first six meetings reveals that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has attended three, while Trudeau, Singh and Blanchet have each attended four.

Blanchet said if MPs are going to continue in-person sittings, there needs to be enforcement of the number of MPs present to keep everyone safe.

He said his party isnt committed to any particular approach for a return. He noted that there are about four more weeks of Parliament before the scheduled summer break, so maybe the easier solution would be the bestcarrying on with the current thrice-weekly meetings of the special COVID-19 committee.

I feel the easiest solution is making a strong and trustworthy agreement to go on as we do now but if we do not, its pretty easy also to be here five days a week but in a very limited number of MPs.

The Bloc is also demanding that Parliament make up the time its lost during the pandemic, sitting for at least four weeks during the summer. Trudeau did not rule out the idea Wednesday.

By Stephanie Levitz and Joan Bryden
Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faced calls Wednesday to testify before Congress over his firing of an internal watchdog, as he brushed off allegations against him as "crazy stuff."

Inspector General Steve Linick, who was dismissed Friday evening, was said to be investigating claims that Pompeo asked an employee to walk his dog, pick up dry-cleaning and make dinner reservations for him and his wife.

Lawmakers said Linick was also probing President Donald Trump's declaration of an emergency that let Pompeo bypass Congress to sell $8.1 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies.

"I've seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean, it's all just crazy, crazy stuff," Pompeo told reporters.

"I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated. Frankly, should have done it some time ago," he said.

Pompeo refused to elaborate on the reasons for sacking Linick, saying only that appointees serve at the pleasure of the president.

He said he responded in writing to questions from Linick in one investigation -- "sometime earlier this year, as best as I can recall" -- but did not disclose details.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top-ranking Democrat, said that Trump's dismissal of Linick -- the fourth time since April that he has sacked an inspector general -- was part of his "undermining our democracy."

"I think it's a reflection of the complete disregard for the truth of the Trump administration," Pelosi told reporters. "This is scandalous."

"He should come up and testify," she said of Pompeo.

- 'Fake emergency' -

Pelosi voiced particular concern over arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which has faced criticism even from some Republicans over its offensive in Yemen in which schools, hospitals and other civilian targets have been hit.

Pompeo skirted around congressional objections by saying there was an emergency with Iran, which supports Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Story continues

"They declared a fake emergency in order to initiate the sale," Pelosi said, "and that may have been part of the investigation."

By law, Congress also has 30 days to review firings of inspector generals. Democratic lawmakers have demanded that the administration hand over documents on Linick's dismissal by Friday.

Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who frequently spars with Pompeo, has also proposed toughening rules to restrict dismissals of inspectors general to explicit reasons such as misuse of funds.

Pompeo sharply criticized Menendez, saying: "I don't get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted... a man about whom his Senate colleagues, bipartisan, said basically that he was taking bribes."

Menendez was accused of using his office to do favors for a friend, such as helping his girlfriends obtain US visas, in exchange for gifts such as a luxury hotel stay as well as campaign donations.

The New Jersey senator steadfastly proclaimed his innocence and was acquitted on several counts in January 2016, after which prosecutors dropped remaining charges.

He hit back Wednesday that Pompeo should "focus on answering questions" about a firing he said could be illegal.

"The fact that Secretary Pompeo is now trying diversion tactics by attempting to smear me is as predictable as it is shameful," Menendez said.

Pompeo is a stalwart ally of Trump and one of the few aides never to clash publicly with the mercurial president.

He has pressed a hawkish foreign policy, encouraging a drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in January and promoting a theory, discounted by mainstream scientists, that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory.
They found that external electric or magnetic field modulates the structure of these peptide molecules, thereby preventing aggregation

Guwahati: In what may be a major breakthrough, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have worked on out-of-the-box ideas that can help prevent or reduce short-term memory loss associated with Alzheimers disease.

Informing that a research team headed by Prof. Vibin Ramakrishnan, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering and Prof. Harshal Nemade, Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT Guwahati have made this breakthrough, Prof Ramakrishnan, who participates in worldwide efforts in finding cures for the disease said that approximately hundred potential drugs for treatment of Alzheimers disease have failed between 1998 and 2011, which reflects the gravity of the problem.

Pointing out that the studies on neurochemical principles of Alzheimers, explores new ways to prevent accumulation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain, that are associated with short-term memory loss due to Alzheimers disease, the researchers said that the IIT Guwahati team has found interesting methods such as application of low-voltage electric field, and the use of trojan peptides to arrest aggregation of neurotoxic molecules in the brain.

The scientists are assisted by research scholars Dr Gaurav Pandey and Mr. Jahnu Saikia in their work, and the results of their studies have also been published in reputed journals such as ACS Chemical Neuroscience, RSC Advances of Royal Society of Chemistry, BBA and Neuropeptides.

It is significant that the development of a cure for Alzheimers disease is important especially for India, which has the third highest number of Alzheimers patients in the world, after China and US, with more than four million people falling prey to the memory loss associated with it.

While current treatments only alleviate some of the symptoms of the disease, there is no disruptive therapeutic approach yet that can treat the underlying causes of Alzheimers.

In 2019, the IIT Guwahati scientists found that application of a low-voltage, safe electrical field can reduce the formation and accumulation of toxic neurodegenerative molecules that cause short-term memory loss in Alzheimers disease.

They found that external electric or magnetic field modulates the structure of these peptide molecules, thereby preventing aggregation.

Referring that a defining hallmark of Alzheimers is the accumulation of Amyloid beta peptides in the brain the researchers invented methods to reduce the accumulation of these peptides, in order to arrest the progression of Alzeimers.

Upon exposure to electric field, we could retard the degeneration of nerve cells to an extent of 17  35 per cent. Objectively, this would translate to about 10 years delay in the onset of the disease, said Prof. Ramakrishnan.

Working further in this area, the scientists have also explored the possibility of using Trojan peptides to arrest aggregation of these neurotoxic molecules. The idea of using Trojan peptide comes from mythological Trojan Horse used as subterfuge by the Greeks in the battle of Troy.

The researchers have designed Trojan peptides by adopting a similar approach of deceit to impede the aggregation of the amyloid peptide, arrest the formation of toxic fibrillar assemblies, and reduce poisoning of nerve cells that leads to memory loss, the team of researchers revealed this in a statement.

Our research has provided a different path that may extend the onset of the Alzheimers disease. However, it would take testing in animal models and clinical trials before bringing in such new therapeutic approaches into human treatment said the project coordinators here on Wednesday. (EOM)
WASHINGTON  The nations environmental watchdog may investigate federal enforcement of water policy in California after Democratic lawmakers accused the Trump administration of irregular interference targeting San Francisco, according to a letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But the investigation would not come until this fall at the earliest, if it happens at all, the letter said.

The inspector general for the Environmental Protection Agency was responding to a request from the San Francisco Democrat and San Mateo Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier to look into the agencys decision to issue a notice of violation to San Francisco for allegedly discharging waste into the bay and ocean.

Speier and Pelosi asked for the probe last year, saying the EPAs action raises serious questions about the possibility of an abuse of enforcement authority.

California Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris also requested an investigation, and the letter shared with The Chronicle said all four Democrats were getting the same response.

The EPA notice of violation came after President Trump made unfounded claims that drug needles and other waste from streets tied to San Franciscos homelessness problem were washing into storm drains and into the ocean.

Its a terrible situation  thats in Los Angeles and in San Francisco, Trump said in September. And were going to be giving San Francisco, theyre in total violation, were going to be giving them a notice very soon.

Two weeks later, the EPA issued its citation. Administrator Andrew Wheeler told the city to fix the alleged violations or face possible administrative, civil or criminal penalties.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed noted that the city has a combined sewer system that ensures that all debris that flow into storm drains are filtered out at the citys wastewater treatment plants. She called Trumps remarks ridiculous assertions.

In his letter to Pelosi, EPA Inspector General Sean ODonnell, a Trump appointee, said his office was considering a project to review aspects of the EPAs oversight of state water enforcement that could include California, as well as other states in fiscal year 2021, which starts this October.

ODonnell said that the Government Accountability Office may also be looking into the topic and that the two offices were coordinating to avoid duplication. He said his office would confirm if an investigation was opened.

Trumps comments and the EPAs actions to cite San Francisco over water quality came amid an escalating feud between the agency and California. Local officials were surprised by EPAs action, saying they had been in regular contact with the regional office of the agency and were never informed they might be in violation of pollution rules.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
By Gabrielle Wanneh

The nations first-ever remote Advanced Placement exams are going on this week, amid complaints about technical glitches, a lawsuit, and concerns about potential cheating.

The College Board is reporting, however, that after the first few days of testing, most students were able to complete and submit their exams, with less than 1 percent of the 2.9 million test-takers being unable to do so. The board has said it considers the small percentage of incomplete tests a success for such an unprecedented testing experience.

But it wasnt enough to dissuade students, families, and test-equity advocates from filing a lawsuit seeking that the organization score the answers of those who couldnt submit their exams during the first week of testing, as well as over $500 million in compensatory damages and an unset figure in punitive damages.

The biggest concern for many of the test-takers who were unable to submit their tests is that they must take them again.

Sixteen-year-old Dominic Verry, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Ky., encountered difficulties with uploading photo submissions of his work for his AP Calculus BC exam, which he had been preparing for since late February.

Verry initially tried to submit photos of his work from his phone, then from his laptop. Nothing worked, however, and the test eventually timed out. He said hell have to retake the exam in June.

I felt really good about this exam, Verry said. I felt it was the best work that I had done in a while, so I was pretty mad when I couldnt turn it in.

What happened to Verry is not an anomaly among students who werent able to submit their AP exams, as swarms of complaints and concerns regarding similar technical issues had been presented on social media and to the College Board over the course of the first week of testing.

Other technical errors include not being able to submit answers when the time for a question ran out, problems logging into the testing platform, and issues with Internet connectivity.

In response to the many reports, the College Board introduced a back-up submissions process on Sunday meant to provide students who are unable to submit their exam through the standard process with the ability to email their submissions instead.

Effective since Monday, the new process will be available for students throughout the remaining testing dates and through the makeup period. To ensure the security and validity of exams, however, students who couldnt submit their exams during the first week will have to wait until June to benefit from this option.

JoonWoo Park, 16, is another junior from Paul Laurence Dunbar who, like Verry, was unable to submit his answers for the AP Calculus BC exam. After having to adjust to the rapid switch to online learning for his regular schoolwork earlier this year, Park had been looking forward to finishing up his school year after taking this test and two other exams.

Park said that he understood that this was the College Boards first try at online testing and that problems were expected to happen, but hes still not too thrilled about having to continue studying for another test even after school ends.

Im glad that theres a second chance, but Im not looking forward to taking it again, Park said. Its just stressful. After my last exam, I thought I would be done with school.

In Franklin, Tenn., Paige LaRock, 16, a junior at Battle Ground Academy, is also not looking forward to retaking her AP Chemistry exam well after the last day of classes, which was last Friday. The summer has already begun for most of her friends, while shell have to continue preparing for her exam.

LaRock was unable to submit photos of her work for the first part of the exam before time ran out.

I took pictures of my test and sent it to my laptop, LaRock said. They downloaded to my laptop, but nothing would upload onto the College Board website. I exhausted every option, and nothing would work.

In response to the new backup submissions feature, LaRock added that there should have been a backup plan put in place at the beginning.

The technical problems came on top of early concerns about potential cheating, as students took the tests at home rather than in supervised school settings.

Right before testing began, Trevor Packer, the College Boards head of Advanced Placement and instruction, announced that a ring of students had been barred from registering for the AP exams on Twitter, after it was discovered they were planning to cheat. Critics said the organizations focus seemed to lie more on the potential for student cheating rather than on ensuring that the exams would fair, equitable, and technically sound.

The College Board rushed untested AP computerized exams into the marketplace in order to preserve the testing companys largest revenue-generating program after schools shut down this spring, even though they were warned about many potential access, technology and security problems, said Bob Schaeffer, interim executive director of the advocacy group FairTest, in a press release announcing the lawsuit on Wednesday.

While the College Board could now be facing more appreciable consequences for any technical defects, student advocates are worried some of the same problems will plague SAT exams administered by the organization later this year.

It blows my mind that they just forget the fact that theyre mission is to be supporting and providing opportunities to students, said Merrit Jones, president of the advocacy group Student Voice. I just dont think that theyre putting students needs first.

Photo: iStock/Getty Images
The terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have been hit by the coronavirus and some Kashmiris undergoing training in those camps could die of COVID-19 as "nobody bothers about them", J&K Director General of Police Dilbag Singh has said.

Citing an intercepted phone-call made by a trainee from his PoK camp to his family in Kashmir, Singh said there are fears that the desperate terrorists would try to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir and spread the deadly virus in the Valley.

The revelation has come as intelligence agencies, too, say Pakistan is pushing militants infected with COVID-19 into Kashmir.

"There are reports that somebody from a training camp in Pakistan, where he is being trained, made a call to his family members here (Kashmir), telling them that some of the trainees from Kashmir have been infected by the coronavirus," the DGP told PTI in an interview.

"He was telling them that some of them would die of the coronavirus in the training camps and nobody bothers about them," he said.

The phone-call has raised serious concerns that those who crossed the border would try to return due to the outbreak in the camps.

"They are infected with coronavirus and if they come to this side (Kashmir), they will pass on the infection to other cadres. This is a very serious concern," he said.

Pakistan has reactivated at least 20 terror camps and another 20 launch pads along the Line of Control and increased its efforts since October last year to ensure infiltration of as many terrorists as possible into Jammu and Kashmir.

The camps and launch pads, with at least 50 terrorists in each, were reactivated after remaining shut for months following the bombing of a CRPF bus in Pulwama in February 2019 and the subsequent retaliatory bombing of terror camps in Balakot by the Indian Air Force.

The DGP said 250 to 325 terrorists were waiting on the launchpads to cross over to Jammu and Kashmir, where over 240 terrorists are already operating in hinterlands.

On Wednesday, four terrorist associates of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba were arrested in Budgam district and arms and ammunition were seized from them, police said.

The police chief also said the burial process of terrorists have been changed to avoid crowds due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The bodies of terrorists are being buried away from crowds," he said.

"We don't want a large number of the people to unnecessarily gather. That was a serious violation of COVID-19 (protocols), so we revised our drills," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Suriname's President Desi Bouterse remains confident his party will hold onto power, but the opposition accuses it of corruption and over-spending (AFP Photo/FLORENCE LO)

Paramaribo (Suriname) (AFP) - The tiny South American nation of Suriname holds legislative elections next week despite the coronavirus pandemic, and amid corruption scandals and tough economic times.

Some 380,000 registered voters will cast ballots on May 25 to elect the 51-member national assembly, with safety measures in place to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19.

Suriname, a Dutch-speaking country on the northeast shoulder of South America, has had very few coronavirus cases and only one death.

But while the last of its first 10 cases was reported at the end of March, Health Minister Antoine Elias said that an 11th case, a Brazilian, tested positive on Saturday.

The Brazilian allegedly entered the country illegally alongside eight other men, who are all being held in quarantine.

Until this latest case, all previous infections had been declared cured.

Last week, the government started easing lockdown measures -- introduced in March -- opening up businesses but keeping land borders with French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west closed.

Voters will be required to maintain social distances and wash hands at the 649 polling stations, mostly located in schools.

There are 17 parties contesting the 51 seats.

Opposition figures have complained about potential fraud with polling stations being staffed exclusively by members of President Desi Bouterse's ruling National Democratic Party, and about a bloated electoral roll that allegedly includes people who died years ago.

The independent electoral bureau (OKB) chairwoman Jennifer van Dijk-Silos demanded that Interior Minister Mike Noersalim "clean up the list."

She also called for transparency and demanded that authorities inform the public about virus safety measures.

"People will not show (up) to cast their vote if they have no confidence that when they enter the school premises that they will not be infected," Van Dijk-Silos said.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, only the Organization of American States and Caribbean Community will act as election observers, with the European Union forced to cancel its mission.

Story continues

Political parties have been unable to hold rallies due to lockdown measures but have turned to internet debates via Zoom, live Facebook sessions and car parades using loudspeakers.

Campaigning has been overshadowed by a slew of corruption scandals, including involving the central bank, and the dire economic outlook.

The country of fewer than 600,000 people depends heavily on mining and fishing.
BURNSVILLE, Minn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In recent months, millions have watched as COVID-19 made its way around the world. With it, has come economic instability and unchartered waters for many businesses. The bullion and collectible coin industry has seen extraordinary fluctuations in premiums and demand as buyers and sellers try to navigate a very difficult environment. With supply chains disrupted, shortages have been created on products that were previously plentiful. Industry veterans at Asset Marketing Services have been keeping a close eye on the market during these unprecedented times.

"In the 40 years that I've been working in the precious metals and collectible coin industry, I have never seen a market quite like this one. It's very difficult to compare this time to any other; even the economic crisis of 2008 didn't compare to the surge in demand, premiums, or supply chain disruptions we've seen," said Bill Gale, President and CEO.

In early March, the stock market took a swift downward turn with the onset of COVID-19 in the United States. Many large financial houses such as banks, financial institutions, and individual investors sold their precious metal contracts to cover margin calls. It was this rapid selling that caused the price of metals to plummet with silver falling over 35% in one week alone.

The spot price of silver remained low throughout April, however, increased investor demand paired with disruptions in supply chains due to Mint closures caused a substantial shortage in the availability of collectible coins and bullion. This sudden shortage resulted in many large distributors paying significantly higher premiums for inventory.

"As I sourced bullion products to accommodate the increased demand we experienced from our customers, I found that the shortage was systemic. I couldn't easily source the most common of products, like American Silver and Gold Eagles and Canadian Silver and Gold Maple Leaf coins. When I was able to locate them, they were at much higher premiums," said Barry McCarthy, Precious Metals Buyer.

Industry giants, including the United States Mint, are also feeling the effects of COVID-19. In an effort to increase health and safety measures for Mint employees, the production of American Silver Eagles was temporarily shifted to the Philadelphia branch from April 8 to April 20.

In the last few weeks, silver and gold have seen a dramatic turnaround since the COVID-19 impacts began back in mid-March. As seen in the charts, silver and gold both hit their lowest spot prices on March 19 and have since been experiencing a steady increase.

As many investors continue to flock to physical precious metals, the question remains whether the supply will be able to keep up with the demand.

"Although the market is changing every day, our team is closely monitoring spot prices, stock levels, and premiums so that we can continue to provide our customers with the best prices in the industry. Our goal is to ensure our customers are taken care of during this unprecedented time," said Andrew Salzberg, Vice President of Product Development.

Media Contact:

Kelsey Knight, Director of Digital Marketing

Phone: 941-467-7969

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

silver-prices-large-dip-shown-in.png

Silver Prices: Large Dip Shown in Mid-March

The Price of Silver: Graph showing price changes over the past few months including dramatic mid-March low.

gold-prices-large-dip-shown-in-mid.png

Gold Prices: Large Dip Shown in Mid-March

The Price of Gold: Graph showing price changes over the past few months including dramatic mid-March low.

SOURCE Asset Marketing Services
LOS GATOS, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, NetLine Corporation released its annual 2020 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers, a comprehensive research presentation distilled from 12 months of first-party content consumption and demand data. The Report translates the content-consumption patterns generated by millions of B2B buyers into actionable insights that marketers can leverage and act upon in their demand generation-centric content marketing initiatives.

Loaded with more than 16 million GBs of data, the Report provides an analysis of more than four million content downloads from 2019.

By powering the largest content-centric lead generation platform, NetLine is uniquely positioned to deliver real-time B2B content engagement information with unrivaled insights. Supported by this first-party buyer-engagement activity, the 2020 Report arms marketers with pertinent and practical insights to make real-world decisions.

Compared to last year's report, half of all job levels saw an increase in consumption time relative to the Consumption Gap  the span of time between initial content request and consumption. While it is not a complete increase across the board, this trend reverts back to what NetLine observed in its 2018 Consumption Report, which showed an increase of time to consume content. In addition, days between additional content requests rose again, slightly, for the third consecutive year, continuing to emphasize the need for marketers to have a greater impact with each engagement.

In this volume, NetLine's research revealed dozens of remarkable observations into the direct behaviors of B2B buyers. Here are a few key highlights:

66% of all active B2B professionals are at or above the Manager level, illuminating the curiosity of Senior-level employees.

Senior Directors are the fastest job level to consume content requested.

Both C-Suite and Executive VPs employees took 16% longer to consume content requested.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days of the week to reach B2B audiences.

CEO and founder of NetLine Corporation Robert Alvin lauds the company's ability to analyze more than four million first-party leads to better inform B2B marketers. "In operating the largest B2B Buyer Engagement platform on the web, where first-party users are constantly engaging with and consuming business and technical content pieces, NetLine is in a one-of-a-kind position to understand what audiences truly want," Alvin says. "By producing the only at-scale resource available, we're providing B2B marketers with fully permissioned data they can depend on to create their own successful lead generation campaigns."

By starting with first-party insights delivered in a compact, non-linear design, marketers can target and reach the high-quality, in-market professionals their organizations need to succeed. As every marketing dollar matters and is measured, the 2020 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers gives business leaders the facts they need to inform and support key decisions and drive ROI.

To download the 2020 State of B2B Content Consumption and Demand Report for Marketers, click here.

About NetLine Corporation:

NetLine Corporation empowers B2B marketers with the reach, technology, and expertise required to drive scalable lead generation results and accelerate the sales funnel. Operating the largest B2B content syndication lead generation network, NetLine reaches 125 million unique visitors and processes more than 700,000 leads monthly across 300 industry sectors. NetLine's AudienceTarget technology drives prospect discovery, quality customer lead acquisition, and buyer engagement from real prospect intent as professionals consume content directly across the network. Superior quality, on-demand access, and advanced campaign reports enable all clients to achieve lead generation success. Founded in 1994, NetLine is privately held and headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Successful B2B Marketers Start with NetLine. Visit www.netline.com.

Related Images

netline-corporation-reveals-the.jpg

NetLine Corporation Reveals the Cover for The 2020 Content Consumption Report

Loaded with more than 16 million GBs of data, the Report provides an analysis of more than four million content downloads from 2019.

SOURCE NetLine Corporation

Related Links

http://www.netline.com


Fantome Island

NITV marks Reconciliation Week 2020 next week with programming highlighting this years theme In This Together.

From Monday May 25th to Mabo Day on Wednesday June 3rd, the channel will air a selection of dedicated programming, premieres and news highlights.

Tanya Orman, NITV Channel Manager said, This year is really special as we cross the 20-year mark since the Walk of Reconciliation, and it is important for us to reflect on the past two decades and take a note of how we have progressed as a nation. There could not have been a better reminder than the last couple of months that we all have a role to play as we inch forward as a successful nation, that we are all in this together. As Australias dedicated home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content, we always feel pride in informing and educating Australians about our shared histories and achievements through extraordinary Indigenous stories of struggle, courage and celebration. We continue to do so with this years Reconciliation Week offerings.

Fire Keepers of Kakadu

The special programming kicks off with Australias longest-running Indigenous current affairs program Living Black on Monday May 25 at 8.30pm where host Karla Grant speaks with Senator Patrick Dodson, the Father of Reconciliation, about his life and career. Senator Dodson also reflects on the reconciliation process, was it worthwhile, did it achieve what it set out to do and where are we as a nation in terms of Treaty, Voice to Parliament and Truth-telling.

On Wednesday May 27 at 8.30pm, Rachael Hocking and John-Paul Janke from NITVs flagship current affairs program The Point explore how, 20 years on, COVID-19 has brought a new dimension to Reconciliation Week. This will be followed by another special episode of Living Black on Thursday May 28 at 7.30pm to mark the 20th anniversary of the Walk of Reconciliation. The program pays tribute to the Reconciliation Movement, started 20 years ago when almost 300,000 Australians walked across bridges across the country including Sydney Harbour Bridge on May 28, 2000 to come together to support reconciliation and to explore and acknowledge the nations shared history.

In line with this years theme, NITV will also bring attention to the environment, its beauty and the issues. Kicking off with paying tribute to Country through Bamay on Saturday May 30 at 9pm. From the Torres Straits to Tasmania, and everywhere in between  Bamay is a showcase of Australias most stunning landscapes. This will be followed by a dedicated 8pm environmental slot from June 1 to 4. Fire Keepers of Kakadu an Indigenous Australian documentary, follows the oldest surviving culture on Earth, the Bininj people of Kakadu, as they fight to preserve their 65,000-year-old practice of maintaining biodiversity and controlling the intense and dangerous bushfires of Australia, premieres on Monday June 1. Airing Tuesday June 2 is Warburdar Bununu: Water Shield a landmark film co-produced by Borroloola elders, set in the late 70s, to expose the threat to their homelands from mining development. Followed by Saving Seagrass, an exploration of the priceless environment of Roebuck Bay, Western Australia  the traditional lands of the Yawuru people  now under threat on many fronts, airing on Thursday June 4.

On June 3, NITV celebrates Mabo Day with both linear and On Demand offerings. WIK vs Queensland at 9.30pm on NITV gives a powerful insight into the High Courts decision to grant native title to the Wik people in 1996 and the dramatic political and cultural fallout that followed. SBS On Demand will stream Mabo: Life of an Island Man an award-winning documentary about the private and public stories of a man so passionate about his family and home that he fought an entire nation and its legal system.

This year NITV also celebrates the works of award-winning Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton. Highlights include the world premiere of The Beach on Friday May 29 at 7.30pm in a special three-event TV event across NITV, SBS and SBS On Demand. The special slate include Sweet Country and Green Bush on Thursday May 28 at 8.30pm and 10.25pm respectively; The Point Special: Warwick Thornton at 10.30pm and The Payback at 10.45pm on Friday May 29; She Who Must Be Loved on Saturday May 30 at 7.35pm; and We Dont Need a Map and The Point: Warwick Thornton is Here on Sunday May 31 at 8.05pm and 9.35pm respectively.

Viewers will be able to enjoy additional titles on SBS On Demand to stream anywhere, anytime including Milpirri  Winds of Change, Fantome Island Willandra Wisdom Walk, Utopia, Vote Yes for Aborigines When the River Runs Dry, Treetime Stories, Bamay, Thalu and Songlines on Screen.
An armed police officer stands guard in London. (Getty)

Tough new sentencing laws would see the most dangerous terrorist offenders jailed for a minimum of 14 years.

Under the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill, due to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday, terrorists will also have to spend up to 25 years on licence after their release.

Those handed extended determinate sentences would have to serve their whole term in jail and would be denied early release.

This would apply to anyone found guilty of a terror offence where the maximum penalty is two years or more.

The measures come after recent terror attacks in London Bridge and Streatham from two people who had been released from prison after being convicted on terror offences.

Police secure the area in Streatham after a terror attack in February. (AP)

The bill will also seek to restrict the movements of suspected terrorists being monitored by security services indefinitely, while terrorists could also be made to take a lie detector test to prove they have reformed and are not planning another attack.

The proposals are among measures the government wants to introduce to disrupt terrorist activity and keep terrorists behind bars for longer.

Ministers have described the bill as the largest overhaul of terrorist sentencing and monitoring in decades.

But campaigners have warned it is a move to bring back controversial control orders in all but name.

Read more from Yahoo News UK

Government quietly tweaks 'stay alert' messaging

Stunning garage door artwork hails NHS staff as 'the real superheroes'

Mark Zuckerberg warns of dangers of 'China-style regulation' of internet

Control orders were introduced as part of 2005 anti-terrorism legislation. Signed by the home secretary, they put a suspect under close supervision, described by some as similar to house arrest, with restrictions on who they meet and where they go.

They were repealed and replaced with measures known as Tpims (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) in 2011, which the government said was a less intrusive system that addressed concerns about civil liberties, with time limits and a higher test to be met for one to be brought into force.

Story continues

Tributes to Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, on London Bridge, who were both stabbed to death by 28-year-old convicted terrorist Usman Khan in 2019. (PA)

A Tpim notice can involve measures like an enforced curfew, tagging, living away from an address or area and restrictions on overseas travel.

They are seen as the strictest monitoring tool available for security services to use against people they believe to be involved in terrorism or who present a threat, but cannot be prosecuted or deported.

The changes could see courts allowed to renew Tpims indefinitely, subject to review, rather than lasting for a maximum of two years.

The bill also seeks to lower the standard of proof for imposing a Tpim, so the home secretary would need reasonable grounds for suspecting someone is, or has been, involved in terrorist activity, rather than basing the decision on the balance of probabilities.

Justice secretary Robert Buckland said the government was pursuing every option to tackle terrorism, adding: Terrorists and their hateful ideologies have no place on our streets.

Home secretary Priti Patel said: The shocking attacks at Fishmongers Hall and Streatham revealed serious flaws in the way terrorist offenders are dealt with.

Home secretary Priti Patel said the government was delivering on its promise to crack down on terrorism. (PA)

We promised to act and today we are delivering on that promise.

However, the proposals have been condemned by human rights group Liberty, which said the presumption of innocence hangs in the balance.

Policy and campaigns officer Rosalind Comyn added: This legislation not only authorises people being locked up indefinitely, it also poses a threat to fundamental pillars of our justice system

The fact this bill is being issued during a pandemic, when Parliament is not operating at full capacity or able to deliver normal levels of scrutiny, should be a cause of concern for all who care about the future of our democracy and justice.

Shadow justice secretary David Lammy gave cautious support to the proposals, but said: Labour will look in detail at the changes proposed in this bill. We will work constructively with the government on measures that reduce the chances of those who commit terrorist offences from reoffending.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK
As deaths mount, once proud US science agency is politicised in Trump administration response to coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Jackson is a public health scientist who led the environmental health at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for nine years

He directed the CDCs response to the September 11, 2001, attacks and proudly watched the agency win battles against smallpox, Legionnaires disease, and swine flu.

Nowadays, Jackson and his fellow public health scientists are dismayed by the CDCs muddled response to the coronavirus pandemic.

This is the kind of thing the CDC has been preparing for. I expected they would be functional and they werent, Jackson told Al Jazeera.

There should have been hands-on, omnipresent leadership from day one while this thing was breaking, said Jackson, a retired professor at the University of California Fielding School of Public Health.

Instead of leading, the CDC and many of its scientists have been sidelined by President Donald Trump and its director, Dr Robert Redfield, creating a politicised and diminished role for the agency. Inside the CDC, morale among the agencys bright and idealistic scientists has tanked, Jackson said.

In my conversations, privately, the level of morale is very bad. It is very low, Jackson said.

Troubles between President Trump and the CDC began on February 25 when Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned that the virus was spreading in the US and shutdowns would be required.

The stock market, already in free fall because the virus had spread to South Korea and Italy, plunged further. En route back to Washington, DC, from a visit to India, Trump was angered by the news. Messonniers message contradicted what the president had been saying.

They were furious, and they basically silenced and marginalised her and Redfield was totally intimidated, Jackson said of White House officials.

A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. [File: Tami Chappell/Reuters]

Trump quickly announced the establishment of a taskforce to be led by Vice President Mike Pence and brought in Dr Deborah Birx from the US State Department to work with Dr Anthony Fauci in leading the response to the pandemic. Redfield was included, but his role has been secondary, critics of the taskforce said.

For public health officials nationwide, the secondary role of CDC scientists in the White Houses policy decisions is visible and problematic, said Dr Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association in Washington, DC.

Right now, the White House is controlling the message, controlling who says it, Benjamin told Al Jazeera. The CDC has not held a public briefing since early March.

White House aides created friction with CDC officials by delaying for more than month publication of detailed guidelines from the CDC on how to reopen US businesses, schools, restaurants and public spaces. Edited guidelines were eventually posted on May 14 without notice or explanation from the CDC. More detailed guidance was delayed until May 19.

They rolled out their more complete guidance last night in the middle of the night when nobody could see it, Benjamin said.

Normally, they would have pulled together a call with all the state and local health officers and told us it was coming. There would have been a news conference to say, Listen, this is the best way for America to get back to work. They didnt do it, Im clear, because they werent allowed to, he said.

Dr Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, holds onto CDC guidelines for the phased Opening Up America Again during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC [File: Carlos Barria/Reuters]

An earlier draft of the CDC reopening guidance was shelved by a White House political nominee, according to reports by The Associated Press news agency.

Redfield and the CDC drew criticism from Democratic politicians at a May 12 Senate hearing on the Trump administrations response to the pandemic.

Senator Chris Murphy blasted the Trump administration for failing to bring forward public guidance from scientists at the CDC on reopening. The delay would cost lives, Murphy said.

There have been other reports of White House interference with the CDC.

Trump and his White House team are pushing the CDC to change how it collects data from states on COVID-19 deaths, the Daily Beast reported on May 13. The changes would revise downward the number of cases reported, according to five CDC officials who spoke to the news outlet.

Some in the White House, including Birx and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have begun to take aim at Redfield, according to a report in The Washington Post. In a recent taskforce meeting, Birx and Redfield engaged in a heated exchange about the accuracy of the CDCs work.

Theres nothing from the CDC that I can trust, Birx reportedly said.

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services, in a move linked to Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, issued a $10.2m contract to a private company to collect data from states on hospital capacity and COVID-19 deaths. The data was already being collected by the CDC.

The CDCs epidemiological work around infectious diseases is stellar. It is second to none. So, the idea that the CDC would be out counting cases and deaths is exactly their job, and they are damned good at it, said Jackson.

This latest thing, where the presidents son-in-law goes out and finds a company to figure out how to undercount deaths is appalling, he said.





The conflict between the Trump White House and the USs leading public health agency prompted an unusual editorial in UK-based medical journal The Lancet, rebuking the Trump administration.

Punishing the agency by marginalising and hobbling it is not the solution, The Lancet wrote on May 16.

Only a steadfast reliance on basic public health principles like test, trace and isolate will see the emergency brought to an end, and this requires an effective national public health agency, The Lancet wrote.

The proof will be in the case data and death rates experienced in states outside of the New York City region, experts said. While case numbers are declining in the New York area, they are rising in the rest of the US, even as Trump and Republican governors push to reopen.

What is really important moving forward is that we need transparency on the metrics for success or failure with these various reopening plans on a national level, a state level and a local level, Dr Thomas Tsai, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health told Al Jazeera.
Rather than banning TikTok, one must have honest conversations around the cultural issues that are being reflected on the social media platform, and develop societal solutions

Editor's Note: The Indian government, on 29 June, banned 59 mobile apps. The Ministry of Information Technology said that these apps are engaged in activities which are "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. The list of apps included TikTok, Weibo and others.

***

We need to talk about TikTok, the wildly popular video-sharing app. TikTok is huge. Its owner ByteDance, from China, is the worlds most valued startup with an estimated market cap of $100 billion. In the quarter ending 31 March, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times  the highest number of downloads for any app in a quarter, surpassing even WhatsApp or Facebook.

The social media app is apparently available in 141 countries, in 39 languages, boasts of the highest social media engagement rate and has 800 million active users worldwide. But it is India  TikToks fastest-growing and largest market accounting for over 30 percent of the apps total downloads  where all the action is. Already, the app has been downloaded 611 million times in India. There are close to 200 million monthly active users and the company hopes to increase it by another 100 million by the end of 2020.

According to a data analytics firm, Indians spent over 5.5 billion hours on TikTok in 2019. In December last year, the time spent on TikTok in India was more than the next 11 countries combined.

The reach, scale and level of engagement make TikTok Indias most influential app that seems to have (quite speedily) broken through the access barriers of ethnicity, age, class, gender, geography and even socio-economic status in a way that other social media apps cannot dream of.

The non-anonymous format of the video-creation app  where the user must put oneself out there as the medium to create and share content  makes TikTok a more honest platform where self-consciousness takes a backseat. It is also a platform where the real meets digital lives  a segregation which is possible in other social media apps. Certain platforms such as Twitter and Reddit offer anonymity, and even in those based on real identities  such as Facebook or Instagram  one may curate or create a virtual version of oneself that could be a little different from the reality.

In TikTok, that is not possible. As sociologist and columnist Pratyasha Rath writes, In TikTok, non-anonymity hits you in the face. It is a medium where your body and your face are your ticket to expression. Unlike Twitter, where it is your words and your views. Slightly like Instagram but where the level of your uppityness is what matters. So, there are no anonymous users. And there are very little of manicured expressions. Because, unlike in the Instagram world, TikTok has people who do not have the time and importantly the money to create a better version of themselves at all times.

This popularity, level of engagement and most importantly, equitability, make TikTok a true social media platform for the masses, and that is where the problem begins.

First, it is owned by a firm in China  a country known for surreptitious harvesting of personal data and infamous globally for data espionage through its tech firms. We know about Huawei and the risks it poses to national security, but it is interesting to note that TikTok, too, has been the subject of a class-action lawsuit filed in the US where it has been accused of illegally and secretly harvesting vast amounts of personally identifiable user data and sending it to China.

TikTok has a feature where users may create videos and keep it private in a draft folder if it is unintended for sharing. According to the lawsuit, not only has the app transferred data to Chinese government through a backdoor, it also surreptitiously took user content, such as draft videos never intended for publication, without user knowledge or consent.

These are serious charges that forced TikTok, at least in the US, to open a transparency centre in its Los Angeles office.

Second, TikTok is another tool for Chinas warped sense of censorship. It meticulously removes all reference and opinions that it deems are detrimental to Chinese national interest but has little regulatory or censorship control over pornographic, violent or child-abuse content.

Tiktok censors posts in India that mention China or Tibet, but allows violent content including videos that glorify acid attacks. Its like hidden medicine in a dog's food bowl - Chinese propaganda amid tons of fun videos. #BanTikToklnlndia https://t.co/bnIoZAB6HH  Palki Sharma (@palkisu) May 19, 2020

In fact, TikTok was briefly banned in India last year for encouraging pornography and making underage users vulnerable to sexual predators. Since this app is used mostly by millennials, this is an area of particular concern. Third, despite being once rapped on the knuckles, TikToks enforcement of community guidelines remains suspect. It has courted controversy of late and its app rating has also taken a severe beating after a spate of disturbing videos emerged in public sphere where users were seen creating and distributing content that mocked at, normalised or even glorified rape, sexual assaults and acid attacks on women, violence, animal abuse, sexualised representation of children, terrorism, religious conversion of Hindus and a lot of other disgusting imagery.

TikTok Video of Mujibur Rehman Glorifying Rape Surfaces Online, Rekha Sharma Urges Government of India to Ban Video Sharing App @TajinderBagga @sharmarekha #BanTikToklnlndia #MujiburRehman #TikTok https://t.co/IJkQMlBL06  LatestLY (@latestly) May 19, 2020

This video is enough to justify why #tiktok should be banned.

They're showing that Hindu girl may get converted but muzlim girl won't.

This is what chinese app is spreading in our country.

#bantiktoklnlndia #bantiktok#tiktokexposed #tiktokdown #tiktokban #tiktokrating pic.twitter.com/rwAYwJN8sS  Gal Jammu Di (@GalJammuDi) May 19, 2020

Some of the content floating around is so depraved in nature that it is unfit for reference. The abusive content has led the National Commission of Women to file a complaint against a user and there have been widespread protests and outrage against the platform and sustained call for TikTok to be banned in India. On Twitter, #bantiktokindia was a top trend for several days and still continues to be among top three trends in India. The company has been forced to defend its community guidelines but it is evident that its regulatory mechanism is either broken or non-functional.

TikTok is a platform that celebrates creativity & expression. We aim to create a positive in-app environment that brings people and communities together and request all our users to respect this intent. Read our Community Guidelines for more info: https://t.co/dI8keEdBSF pic.twitter.com/dgD4BzekvY  TikTok India (@TikTok_IN) May 19, 2020

It brings us to the point central of the debate. Given the depraved content being created on the platform, should TikTok be banned in India?

The answer is an emphatic no. Banning TikTok is not only pointless, it could even be counterproductive. There are two problems with this approach. First, banning is an inefficient form of censorship when it comes to cultural problems. As one Twitter user has pointed out, it barks up the wrong tree.

Stop making a value system problem a technology problem. #TikTok #tiktokban  Manasa Manjunath (@ManeeManjunath) May 19, 2020

As has been pointed out earlier, compared to all other social media platforms, TikTok is more inclusive and cuts across social, economic and other social access barriers. It is a more representative mass medium and mirrors perhaps to a greater extent the cultural churning that largely stays outside the elitist bubble of a Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat.

If TikTok reveals the thought process and content-consumption habits of an India where sexual violence is normalised, misrepresentation and abuse of women appears acceptable, then we must step outside our bubble and confront the deeper and corrosive cultural problem.

It's worth noting that much of the content on TikTok that reflects a version of toxic masculinity (slapping a women after getting rejected, for example) also features women as equal and enthusiastic participants. Therefore, the issue resists a straightforward critique and demands better analysis.

It isnt an urban-rural divide. The mindset that causes users to create and share such content is also reflected perhaps to a lesser degree in other platforms. The lewd messages targeting underage girls or gang-rape banter in Instagram or Snapchat group conversations is indicative of the same outlook. TikToks format and user base has made the subterranean issue more mainstream. This is exactly why any ban on the app will be pointless. Unless the root cause is addressed, the content will simply move to another enabling platform.

Not to forget the fact that a bulk of the tools that users in TikTok employ to show their creativity is drawn from Bollywood content that has long legitimised violence and sexual abuse of women. So, logically, Bollywood should also be banned. Banning a tech platform for a value-system issue misses the wood for the trees.

Second, banning comes with its own set of problems. If one tech platform is banned for its content (whatever may be the reason), authorities may use the same logic to ban another platform which they dont like.

The answer, therefore, lies not in banning TikTok but pressing it hard to put in place a better regulatory mechanism, holding it accountable for instances of omission, and taking legal and penal action against every user who violates the law of the land. More importantly, we must have honest conversations around the cultural issues that are being reflected on TikTok, and develop societal solutions. There is no quick fix.
Tensions continue to simmer in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where India and China have deployed additional troops, days after scores of Indian and Chinese soldiers were involved in a tense face-off along the India-China boundary.

People familiar with developments, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said both sides have deployed additional troops, especially in Galwan Valley region of the Ladakh sector. India bolstered troop levels after the Chinese side brought in reinforcements, they said. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has pitched close to 100 tents and erected temporary positions in Galwan Valley as part of efforts to establish a presence there, the people said. It has also strengthened its presence in the area opposite Demchok, they said.

Responding to a question from Hindustan Times, Chinas foreign ministry, in a statement in Mandarin, said the Indian Army was obstructing normal patrols and operations of Chinese border troops. While there was no official word from the India side on Tuesday, the external affairs ministry previously said it remained committed to maintaining peace along the border with China and noted that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the boundary.

Tensions flared after scores of soldiers from the two countries clashed near Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh on the night of May 5-6, while about 150 soldiers were involved in another standoff in north Sikkim on May 9. Several soldiers from both sides were injured in these confrontations.

The people cited above said there had been no more confrontations after both sides activated border management mechanisms but the situation continues to be tense, especially in Galwan Valley. The Indian Army responded to the Chinese build-up by deploying additional troops, they added.

In the past, the Chinese side usually patrolled this area but now theyre entrenched in the region, said one of the people cited above. The face-off began after the Chinese side objected to the construction of a road, north of Pangong lake, located well within Indian territory, he added.

The statement from Chinas foreign ministry said: Chinas position on the China-India border issue is consistent and clear. The Chinese border troops are committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity in the China-India border areas and have exercised great restraint.

The troops, the statement said, will firmly safeguard Chinas territorial sovereignty and security.

The tensions with China come against the backdrop of an escalating India-Nepal border row. Nepal has protested against Indias construction of an 80-km road leading to Lipulekh, which is claimed by Kathmandu. New Delhi has rejected the protest and said the road, built to facilitate pilgrims travelling to Kailash Mansarovar in China, is completely within the territory of India. Nepal was also irked when Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane, without naming China, said Kathmandu was protesting against the road at someone elses behest.

Chinas state-run Global Times daily reported that the troop deployments in Galwan Valley constituted the strongest military response to Indias illegal trespassing incident along the border since the Doklam standoff. The 73-day faceoff at Doklam in 2017 took bilateral ties to a fresh low and relations were put on an even keel only after the first India-China informal summit at Wuhan in 2018.

A second person familiar with developments said the strategic guidance from the top leadership of both sides for better management of the border did not appear to have percolated to the ground level on the Chinese side. Last week, the Indian Army chief Navarane described border face-offs as temporary and short
Capital will fund completion of preclinical studies and initiation of the first clinical trial in patients suffering from stress urinary incontinence caused by sphincter insufficiency



Dr. Friedrich Hillebrand and Dr. Louis Geslin join Board of Directors

GRENOBLE, France, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UroMems, developer and manufacturer of the electronic artificial urinary sphincter (eAUS), today announced the raising of 16 million, which included a combination of equity and debt financing. The proceeds of the financing are expected to fund ongoing preclinical studies and the initiation of the first clinical studies of UroMems eAUS device, which is being developed for the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI).

The eAUS is an active implantable medical device which compensates for sphincter insufficiency in patients with SUI. Protected by over 80 patents, it is based on the latest technologies in embedded intelligent systems and software.

The financing round was led by Hil-Invent GmbH, with co-investor Financiere Arbevel. Existing UroMems investors, including Wellington Partners, Bpifrance, via its FABS fund, Cita Investissement, Supernova Invest and btov Partners also participated in this financing, as well as the Companys founders. The debt financing was provided by a syndicate including Bpifrance, BNP Paribas, Caisse dEpargne, Credit Agricole and Banque Populaire.

We were able to accomplish a tremendous amount with the proceeds of our Series A, which was completed in 2016, said Hamid Lamraoui, CEO and co-founder of UroMems. That capital enabled us to complete development of the eAUS device and all industrialization processes necessary to pursue clinical development of the technology. This additional capital will allow us to initiate the first phase of our clinical development program. We are grateful for the support of Hil-Invent and Financiere Arbevel, as well as the continued confidence of our Series A investors.

Pr. Pierre Mozer, co-founder of UroMems and Urological Surgeon at Paris Hospital added, SUI is a highly prevalent condition. It has a major impact on a patient quality of life and is currently treated using products that have not seen meaningful advancement in decades. The results of our preclinical studies were very encouraging and give us confidence as we prepare to launch our clinical trials in the near future.

According to the National Association for Incontinence, approximately 200 million patients suffer from incontinence worldwide. Of these, 75-80% are women and the majority suffer from SUI. UroMems eAUS aims to address a major unmet need in a market estimated at $2 billion per year.

In connection with the financing, Friedrich Hillebrand, PhD, President of Hil-Invent and Louis Geslin, PhD, Private Equity Portfolio Manager at Financiere Arbevel, have agreed to join the Companys Board of Directors.

Dr. Hillebrand has more than 40 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, covering a range of disciplines including Research and Development, Manufacturing and Quality, Business Development, Marketing and Sales. In addition to his role at Hil-Invent, he currently serves as president of EVER Pharma. Previously, he was CEO of EBEWE Pharma, where he was involved in several significant M&A transactions including the $1.2 billion sale of the EBEWE Oncology business to Novartis. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Technical University of Vienna.

Dr. Geslin joined Financiere Arbevel in 2016 as an equity analyst in the healthcare sector and has co-managed the Arbevel Life Sciences Crossover I fund since 2018. Before joining Arbevel, he held positions of increasing responsibility at prominent European venture capital funds, including Seventure Partners, Advent Life Sciences and Bpifrance. Dr. Geslin began his career in the hospital sector at Hopital Timone and Institut Paoli-Calmettes. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of NG Biotech and Imactis. He holds a PhD in Pharmacy and is a graduate of the ESSEC French Grande Ecole program.

We were impressed with the quality of the device and its potential to address a major unmet need among both patients and surgeons, said Dr. Hillebrand. UroMems is managed by a team of highly skilled engineers, medical technology experts and entrepreneurs who brought the device to industrial maturity. The fact that the company has its own manufacturing capacity ready to scale is a significant competitive advantage that will be an important element of its go-to-market strategy.

Dr Rainer Strohmenger, Managing Partner at Wellington Partners added, We are very excited to have Hil-Invent and Financiere Arbevel on-board for the funding of this great venture. The company has achieved multiple critical milestones since its last round of funding, which we believe speaks to the potential of UroMems to be a disruptive force in this large market.

About UroMems

Founded in 2011 by Pr Pierre Mozer, Hamid Lamraoui and Stephane Lavallee, UroMems focuses on designing, developing and commercializing active implantable medical devices. UroMems is highly innovative and focuses on clearly identified clinical unmet needs, not only for their prevalence but also for their negative impact on patients quality of life. Since the inception of the company, significant investments have been made for the development of the UroMems first product. This includes a 12 million series A financing round led by Wellington Partners, Bpifrance via FABS Fund, Cita Investissement, Supernova Invest and btov Partners. The company is based at the heart of the French Alps, in the city of Grenoble, representing one of the most dynamic regions in Frances Medtech industry. For more information, please visit www.uromems.com

About eAUS

The eAUS is an electronic artificial urinary sphincter designed to overcome the limitations of current solutions by optimizing safety and performance, patient experience and surgeon convenience.

Corporate:

Email: media.relations@uromems.com

Media: Ryo Imai / Robert Flamm

Burns McClellan

212-300-8364, ext. 155 / 212-300-8364

rimai@burnsmc.com / rflamm@burnsmc.com

Investors: Lee Roth

Burns McClellan

212-213-0006, ext. 331

lroth@burnsmc.com
Digging up the past can lead to questions, possibly even answers if we are lucky, about the present. Regardless of what is answered or not, it can make for fascinating viewing on the small screen. The viewers know something of value will be unearthed, but what exactly? And will the body of evidence raise even more questions?



Well, an ancient tomb in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, is the subject of a new documentary series about unearthing the past.

The Legend Hunters, a five-part documentary, was debuted on April 28 on streaming platform Youku, with a new episode being released each week.

After being buried for more than 700 years, this tomb-belonging to an unnamed couple from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279)-became the source of many questions when it was excavated in 1986.

These included: Why haven't the bodies rotted after seven centuries? And what caused the couple's death?

This year, new research on the buried couple has commenced, after another X-ray scan on them. However, before archaeologists wind up the whole story by answering all the questions, viewers can get involved themselves, as they become armchair researchers.

"We chose this site because it has so many mysteries," Liu Yang, producer of The Legend Hunters, says in a phone interview with China Daily.

"We think it will be great if we can develop it into some interactive product, like solving a case."

Liu says his team has combed through information on nearly all of the major Chinese tomb excavations since the 1980s.

The production team finally chose this one in Fuzhou, because they believe the case has the potential to be "a thriller".

"Like peeling an onion's multiple layers", viewers will see new facts thrown up to challenge their opinions.

Viewers may not have to physically pick up shovels and dig, but they will still face the choices real archaeologists do.

When viewers watch the documentary, questions will be frequently asked, such as "Will you take the coffin back to the lab, or do you prefer to open it now?" There is little time to ponder. "Do you want to first study the coffin, or the liquid inside?" And then it must be identified which leads to the question: "What kind of liquid do you think it is?"

Viewers' responses will lead to different narrative storylines of the documentary.

They will also be rated and, based on the answers, they will be labeled as "professional" archaeologists or just amateurs.

Mini mobile games are mixed into The Legend Hunters as a way to explain archaeological methodology and the science relevant to this site.

The intact tomb is like a time capsule, a portal that can transport modern viewers to the past.

The mystery of the well-preserved bodies is actually easily explained. The bodies were embalmed with, and soaked in, mercury inside the coffin. Because the water table in Fuzhou is high, a well-sealed coffin soaked in water is like being protected in an airless vacuum, as Lin Guo, a former leading archaeologist of the site, explains in the documentary.

While the plot moves in different directions, no matter which path of research viewers follow or how many detours they make, all will be revealed in the end.

"Wherever you walk, the destination is still the same in this documentary," says Zhang Wei, a supervisor who is in charge of Youku's documentary channel.

"But we'll try something more after this first step. The interactive mode can be open-ended.

"Your choices and interests will lead you to thoroughly different fields. It's like academic studies."

The production squad of The Legend Hunters includes a wide range of talent and skill. On one hand, there is a team producing traditional archaeology-themed programs, who have over a decade's experience in the field. On the other, there are the IT engineers and mobile game designers in their 20s.

Innovation requires a comprehensive understanding of the subject, Liu says.

Only when you have a solid foundation of knowledge can you bring a fresh perspective and a modern approach to explaining it with the creativity it deserves, Liu adds.

Zhang agrees with Liu.

"Creative storytelling methods can give documentaries a new appearance to hook the younger generation. It's how we embrace this time of 5G, which demands technical breakthroughs," Zhang says.

"Documentary is no longer a one-sided communication," he adds.

"However, in spite of new formats, something has never changed: We have to include a reflection of humanity and history from multidimensional perspectives."
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom  Wed, May 20, 2020 16:01 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd9468d5 2 People Neil-Gaiman,New-Zealand,Scotland,police,author,Amanda-Palmer,Britain Free

British writer Neil Gaiman has apologized for traveling from New Zealand to his home on the Scottish island of Skye in breach of coronavirus lockdown measures, saying "I did something stupid".

An extremely apologetic post https://t.co/3e01yKH0MK WARNING: CONTAINS ME pic.twitter.com/IiYOdm2nR3  Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) May 19, 2020

Police spoke to Gaiman, author of American Gods and Good Omens, about his actions after he revealed he had made the 11,000 mile trip to Britain, flying into London and then driving to his home on Skye at the start of the month.

His "selfish" actions were criticized by Ian Blackford, the lawmaker who represents the area and the Scottish National Party's leader in the Westminster parliament.

"I want to apologize to everyone on the island for creating such a fuss," the author wrote on his website.

Read also: Neil Gaiman reveals 'cast of your dreams' for 'Sandman' audio drama, starring James McAvoy

"I also want to thank and apologize to the local police, who had better things to do than check up on me. I'm sure I've done sillier things in my life, but this is the most foolish thing I've done in quite a while."

Gaiman said he had returned from New Zealand when the lockdown was eased there because he and his wife had agreed they "needed to give each other some space". His wife Amanda Palmer is an American musician and performance artist.

Scotland maintains stricter lockdown conditions than England, including telling its citizens to stay at home and advising against cross-border travel.

Ten residents of a care home in Skye's main town of Portree have died of COVID-19.
New details and background in the February 23 murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia are surfacing on a daily basis. The owner of the property which Arbery entered on the day he was killed has explained that Arbery and Travis McMichael, who shot the victim twice in the chest, had a similar confrontation nearly two weeks earlier, on February 11.

On the day that Arbery was shot and killed he was recorded on a surveillance camera looking at a home under construction in the neighborhood. The McMichaels, who chased Arbery in their pickup truck and shot him three times, told police responders that they were following a burglary suspect, and had solid firsthand probable cause to perform a citizens arrest.

The evidence that they claimed showed Arbery as a burglar suspect was the surveillance footage recorded at this nearby property, which is owned by Larry English.

English has a motion detector set up that pings his phone whenever the surveillance system detects movement. He told reporters that he had never shared his surveillance video with the McMichaels, whom he did not know.

On February 11, English, who lives 90 miles away from his property, was alerted by his surveillance system of an intruder, now identified as Arbery, and asked a neighbor, Diego Perez, if he recognized the person. Perez later that evening armed himself and walked up the road, where he encountered Travis McMichael already on the scene in his pickup truck. Neither Perez nor English have made it clear how Travis was alerted to this incident.

Travis saw him in the yard, and Travis stopped, Perez told reporters. He confronted [the man] halfway into the yard. He said [the man] reached for his waistband, and Travis got spooked and went down the road. Travis then apparently left and came back with his father, Greg McMichael, after calling the Glynn County Police Department.

The police report from that evening states that English had an ongoing issue with an unknown black male continually trespassing on the property. When the police spoke to English directly, he told them that he believed the man had not taken anything and was only trespassing. Elizabeth Graddy, an attorney who represents English, has stated that the latter has never used the word burglary to describe any of the incidents with Arbery, since nothing has ever been stolen from the property.

Attorneys for Arberys family say that the surveillance video taken on February 23 shows that Arbery was not doing anything wrong, as he did not cause any kind of property damage and left of his own accord. Graddy told reporters that even if there was a robbery the English family would not have wanted a vigilante response.

Videos and descriptions of Arbery, who at that time was not known to residents, were circulating on a neighborhood Facebook page and on the social application Nextdoor. Perez has stated that he did not see Arbery again until February 23, when he was bleeding from gunshot wounds in the middle of a nearby road. Perez is listed on the police report as a witness to the killing.

English has since publicly released surveillance videos from his property, and these show that multiple people, not just Arbery, trespassed at the home under construction. Between October 25 and February 23, according to Graddy, 11 surveillance clips recorded on different dates show multiple sets of intruders. These include a man and a woman, two small children, and another unidentified male.

In recent days, another video has emerged that shows a November 2017 police stop involving Arbery, where an officer attempted and failed to shoot him in the chest with a taser. The video shows that Arbery was sitting in his car in a public park when a police officer pulled up behind him and asked him to get out of his vehicle and explain what he was doing before checking him for weapons.

The video then shows a second police officer arriving on the scene and Arbery refusing to allow the officers to search his car. A panicked Arbery then reached for his car door, and the second officer, who was pointing a taser at the young mans chest, pulled the trigger. The taser audibly fired but failed to strike Arbery, after which the officer demanded that Arbery lie down on the ground.

This is one of many incidents involving Arbery and local law enforcement officers that has emerged over the past two weeks. The WSWS reported last week that at least one of those incidents involved Greg McMichael, who was a former police officer and retired investigator in the local prosecutors office.

Attorneys Franklin and Laura Hogue, who will represent Greg McMichael in the upcoming trial, held a press conference in Macon, Georgia on Friday, at which they stated that there is more than one video of the February 23 shooting. There are a number of photographs, there are a number of records. All of those will have to be assimilated, and importantly, time-lined, so that every single second, our hope is, will put together the truth of what happened on the 23rd [of February].

At this time, no additional information has emerged on what these images show or who recorded them. McMichaels attorneys also did not explain what discrepancies exist between these images and the video released to the public in early May. We believe strongly that we will not try this case in the media.  The facts that matter will come out in the courtroom, where they need to come out, where they can be cross-examined and evaluated by a jury.

The Hogues also revealed that Travis McMichael will have a different legal strategy and team. Our client has not been charged the same as his son. Hes been charged as a party to the crime.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-19 19:28:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

File photo taken on Aug. 22, 2018 shows then Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane is interviewed in Maseru, Lesotho. Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Tuesday announced that he would finally be stepping down from office. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

JOHANNESBURG, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane on Tuesday announced that he would finally be stepping down from office.

"I come before you today to announce that the work that you assigned me may not be over but the time to retire from the great theatre of action, take leave from public life and office has finally arrived," he addressed the nation on national TV from the capital city of Maseru.

His resignation comes after a coalition he was leading was disbanded in parliament last week, paving way for a new coalition and a new prime minister.

For months, the 80-year-old had been under pressure to leave his position after being accused of involvement in the 2017 murder of his former wife, Lipolelo Thabane. His current wife is also a suspect in the murder case.

Current Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro would be sworn in to take over from Thabane who pledged support to him.

Thabane would remain the leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party. Thabane became the Prime Minister in 2017 and his term was set to end in 2022. He also held the office from June 2012 to March 2015. Enditem
China imposed an 80 per cent tariff on Australia despite officials knowing allegations that farmers dumped barley were bogus.

The Federal Government complained to China's Commerce Ministry they were not given sufficient time to argue against the tariffs amid the dumping allegations.

Australia was given 10 days on May 8 to make their claim against the tariffs being enforced.

The government argued China International Chamber of Commerce officials admitted they had 'no evidence' farmers were selling the grain below the cost of production in Australia when they launched the investigation, according to AFR.

On Monday China announced the 80.5 per cent levy on barley exports would start on Tuesday

According to the publication, China was also challenged over factual errors, inconsistencies and inaccurate findings in its claim.

Chinese officials did not visit Australia to verify the subsidisation allegations and failed to provide information on the margins for individual producers.

The submission reportedly argued Chinese officials established the 'normal value' of barley by looking at the export price to Egypt.

The Australian Government also disputed claims funding for Murray Darling water projects amounted to a subsidy for barley farmers.

More than 10,000 pages of evidence was submitted to China amid the claims of dumping, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

But on Monday, China announced the 80.5 per cent levy on barley exports would start on Tuesday.

Australia sends between half and two-thirds of all its barley to China, making the tariff decision a massive blow to the $600 million a year industry.

Diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing have soared after Australia pushed for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus.

Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann said the tariffs would have a huge impact on the industry.

'Most growers are completely gutted with the news,' he told Sky News on Tuesday.

Diplomatic tensions between Canberra and Beijing have soared after Australia pushed for an inquiry into the origins of coronavirus. Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping

'It's really a bitter blow to the Australian economy as well.'

He said farmers would lose $500 million in value out of the current crop, which most growers have just finished planting.

National Farmers' Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said China's claims were completely false.

'It is particularly devastating after the time that Australian farmers have had in the last number of years with droughts, floods and fires,' he told ABC News Breakfast.

China's Ministry of Commerce announced the tariffs late on Monday after an 18-month investigation, with Australia-China relations taking a hit over a range of issues during that period.

'The investigating authority has ruled that there was dumping of imported barley from Australia and the domestic industry suffered substantial damage,' the ministry said in a statement.

The tariffs come a week after China banned meat imports from four Australian abattoirs.

Beijing's ambassador in Canberra has also raised the prospect of consumer boycotts over the coronavirus inquiry.
NASA will name its newest space telescope for pioneering astronomer Nancy Grace Roman - marking the first time in the agency's 62-year history that one of its major billion-dollar programs has been named for a woman.

Roman, who overcame obstacles that women faced in her male-dominated field and at NASA to become the agency's first female executive and its first chief astronomer, is a "fitting" eponym for the project, astronomer Heidi Hammel said Wednesday. Her championing of space-based observatories gave her the nickname "Mother of Hubble."

With the new telescope, NASA is "taking her child and making it even more powerful," Hammel said. "It's widening the Hubble vision."

Until Wednesday morning, the Roman Space Telescope had been named WFIRST, for Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope. Still under development at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the telescope, identical in scale to the Hubble Space Telescope, will study dark matter, dark energy, distant planets and the evolution of the universe. Its launch target is the mid-2020s.

In a statement released by the agency, former senator Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., a champion of the Hubble and the Roman, said the decision is fitting as the nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage: "It recognizes the incredible achievements of women in science and moves us even closer to no more hidden figures and no more hidden galaxies."

Roman, who died in December 2018 at 93, joined NASA months after its founding. She had a doctorate in astronomy, earned nearly a decade earlier at the University of Chicago. Even after leaving the agency in 1979, she remained an advocate for the Hubble.

"I was told from the beginning that women could not be scientists," she said in an interview late in life.

Julie McEnery, deputy project scientist for the new telescope, said Roman was "somebody I really admired, and it makes me excited and proud to be associated with a mission that's named after her. This is something that I'm going to enjoy day after day after day as the mission continues."

As NASA's first chief astronomer, Roman oversaw the creation of the agency's earliest orbiting observatories. "Looking through the atmosphere is like looking through a piece of old stained glass," she wrote in the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. She knew an observatory in the sky would allow scientists to see objects farther and fainter than they ever had before.

In the 1970s, Roman set up a steering group for what would become the Hubble telescope. She spent untold hours writing testimony for Congress and convincing budget offices of the project's importance. With its 7.9-foot mirror and $4.5 billion price, the Hubble was far bigger and more costly than any space telescope ever launched. Skeptics wondered whether such an instrument was possible - and even if it was, would it be worth the cost?

"You simply had to be solid in your vision and persistent, and [Roman] had those qualities," Hammel said.

The agency has struggled to escape the gravity well of a storied history dominated by white males. Dan Goldin, NASA administrator in the 1990s, famously lamented that its culture was "too stale, male and pale." The agency that put 12 white males on the moon had historically consigned women and racial minorities to second-tier roles.

NASA's most ambitious effort today is a plan to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024. That program is named Artemis, after the Greek goddess who was the twin sister of Apollo.

Last year, a telescope in Chile operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, and initially called the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, was renamed for Vera Rubin. She also was a trailblazing astronomer, renowned for her research showing that galaxies were certain to contain dark matter that cannot be detected through direct observation.

If space scientists have neglected women in the naming of spacecraft, they have at times been downright hostile to women seeking to join their ranks. When NASA was established in 1958, many astronomy programs did not admit women. Observatories had no women's restrooms. Rubin famously made her own lavatory at Palomar Observatory by pasting a paper cutout of a skirt to a bathroom door. Women were barred from research presentations and scholarly clubs.

As recently as 2018, a sweeping report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that half of women in science had experienced harassment. The problem is especially bad for women of color; a 2017 survey of female space researchers found that 40% of nonwhite respondents had felt unsafe in their workplaces due to racism and sexism.

In an essay for the journal Science, Roman wrote of the hurdles she faced during her early career: A high school guidance counselor scoffed at her request to take advanced algebra, asking, "What lady would want to take mathematics instead of Latin?" And the physics department chairman at Swarthmore College, where she earned her bachelor's degree, said he usually tried to talk women out of his program but conceded that she "might" make it.

"But I am glad I ignored the many people who told me that I could not be an astronomer," Roman wrote. "I have had a wonderful career in a field that I love."
A 17-year-old boy who killed a woman at an "erotic" spa in Toronto was motivated by "incel ideology", say police. Charges against the teen, anonymous due to his age, were upgraded to terroristic murder as a result.

He was already facing first-degree and attempted murder charges, but the development means police believe the incident was terrorism-related. In a joint statement, the RCMP and Toronto Police Service said their investigation had determined the attack "was inspired by the Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremist (IMVE) movement commonly known as INCEL." "As a result, federal and provincial Attorney Generals have consented to commence terrorism proceedings, alleging that the murder was terrorist activity  and the attempted murder was terrorist activity."

Often lost in discussion of incels is the fact that the "involuntary" part is rarely truthful. Incels have idealized expectations of dating and sexual partners rooted in their catastrophically bizarre ideology, and their raging narcissistic egos cannot accept anything less. Sex, to them, is exclusively a measurement of the self.
Advertisement

Coronavirus infections could reach as high as 5.4 million in the US in the next two months and more than 290,000 Americans could die if social distancing isn't adhered to, according to a COVID-19 forecast model.

The ominous forecast from the University Of Pennsylvania's Wharton School model accounts for all states fully reopening without any social distancing measures.

In comparison, the model predicts nearly 4.3 million cases and 230,000 deaths by July 24 if states reopen but individuals maintain their social distancing efforts.

If states only partially reopen by lifting stay-at-home orders but social distancing measures are still adhered to, the model forecasts 3.1 million infections and 172,000 deaths.

The best case scenario, which would involve each state maintaining lockdown restrictions as of May 17 with social distancing measures still in place, there could still be 2.8 million infections and 157,000 deaths.

The majority of US states had already lifted COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by mid-May.

Meanwhile, a separate model from the UMass Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence is projecting that deaths will surpass 113,000 by mid-June.

FULL REOPENING WITH NO SOCIAL DISTANCING: The University Of Pennsylvania's Wharton School model predicts 5.4 million infections and 290,000 deaths by July 24 if all states fully reopen without any social distancing measures. It also predicts 4.6 million job losses and a 0/7% GDP decline in this scenario

The modeling average projection, compiled from nine models from separate institutions, predicted roughly 22,000 more Americans will succumb to the virus over the next 25 days.

'The new forecast for cumulative US deaths by June 13 is about 113,000, with a 10 percent chance of seeing fewer than about 107,000 and a 10 percent chance of seeing more than 121,000,' Nicholas Reich, director of the center, said.

The specific ensemble forecast average is 113,364 deaths by that date.

Currently, there are more than 1.5 million cases and over 92,000 deaths across the United States.

The latest projections come as most US states take steps - some minor, some more substantial - to re-open their shuttered economies and communities while facing the challenge of instilling confidence among Americans that it is safe to begin returning to normal.

The White House released guidelines last month on phased re-openings that included criteria which individual states were expected to meet before they began returning to normal, including a downward trajectory of new cases over a 14-day period.

Several states have been accused of re-opening despite failing to meet the specific criteria.

FULL OPENING WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING: The model predicts nearly 4.3 million cases and 230,000 deaths by July 24 if states reopen but individuals maintain their social distancing efforts. There would be 4.1 million job losses and a 3.3 percent GDP decline in this scenario

PARTIAL REOPENING WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING: If states only partially reopen by lifting stay-at-home orders but social distancing measures are still adhered to, the model forecasts 3.1 million infections and 172,000 deaths. In this scenario, there could be 1.2million job losses and a 4.2 percent drop in GDP

A separate model from the UMass Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence is projecting that deaths will surpass 113,000 by mid-June. The modeling average projection, compiled from nine models from separate institutions, predicted roughly 22,000 more Americans will succumb to the virus over the next 25 days

Hopes of curtailing the pandemic have proven elusive.

Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump said the United States would lose 'anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people'.

On April 10, he predicted coronavirus deaths across the country would be 'substantially below the 100,000' figure and perhaps even as low as half that.

Deaths in the US are lower per million than eight European countries despite having the highest total number of deaths in the world, but America is lagging behind on testing with only three percent of the population having received tests, data shows.

For every 1 million residents, 280 have died from the virus in the US which is 0.028% of the population.

That is less than half the rate in Belgium where 797 per 1million died (0.08% of the population), and Spain, where 594 per 1million have died (0.06%). Italy and the UK are third and fourth with death rates. In Italy, 0.05% of the population died and in the UK, the number is 0.053%.

In addition to death and infection predictions, the Wharton model also forecasts the economic effects of states reopening.

The model forecasts a total of 294,000 job losses by the end of July and a 6.4 percent drop in the GDP compared to 2019 if lockdown measures in place by May 17 and social distancing is maintained.

In comparison, there could be 1.2million job losses and a 4.2 percent drop in GDP if states only partially reopen and 4.1 million job losses and a 3.3 percent GDP decline if they completely reopen.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which is among the model relied on by the White House, revised its death toll projection downwards on Tuesday to 143,357 by August

The institute's director Chris Murray told CNN the downward forecast was, in part, due to the increasing number of Americans who are wearing masks when they go out. Some 40 percent of Americans said they wore a mask always when they left home

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which is among the model relied on by the White House, revised its death toll projection downwards on Tuesday.

The model lowered its projected death toll by 3,700 to a total of 143,357 by August.

The institute's director Chris Murray told CNN the downward forecast was, in part, due to the increasing number of Americans who are wearing masks when they go out.

'We were pretty surprised. We were expecting to probably go up because of the big surge in mobility,' Murray said.

'If you dig deeper and look into the fraction of people in different states who are wearing masks, we think that is the key difference there, both their behavior and mask wearing.

'Forty percent of the US wears the mask all the time; about 80 percent wears a mask sometimes. And that is probably helping separate the rise in mobility.'

According to IHME's data, in most of the northeast, California, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado and Arkansas, more than 80 percent of residents said they sometimes or always wear a mask when leaving home.

In only four states did fewer than 60 percent of residents say sometimes they wore them; South Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

Every other state's, between 60 and 80 percent of residents said they sometimes wore them.

Only in some northeastern states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Maine did more than 60 percent of residents say they always wore them.

US coronavirus deaths per capita are lower than eight European countries despite having the highest numbers in the world but only 3% of the population has been tested

US deaths are lower per million than eight European countries despite having the highest total number of deaths in the world, but America is lagging behind on testing with only three percent of the population having received tests.

When weighing the death toll up against America's enormous population of around 328million, then comparing the per capita rate to other European countries, the US slips to number eight on the list of the worst affected countries.

For every 1million residents, 280 have died from the virus in the US which is 0.028% of the population.

That is less than half the rate in Belgium where 797 per 1million died (0.08% of the population), and Spain, where 594 per 1million have died (0.06%).

Italy and the UK are third and fourth with death rates. In Italy, 0.05% of the population died and in the UK, the number is 0.053%.

France (0.04%) Sweden, (0.04%), the Netherlands (0.33%) and Ireland (0.32%) come next, before the US.

But the population scale, while positive when examining the comparatively few deaths there have been in the US, also highlights how far behind the country is on testing.

The US has carried out a higher number of tests than anywhere else. As of Wednesday morning, 12.67million had been done and 1.5million were positive.

That impressive number shrinks when folding it into the country's population size. Only around 3 percent of the US population has been tested.

Data compiled by Statistica on Wednesday shows how the US has performed a higher number of tests than any other country in the world. The UK has done the second highest number of tests and Italy has done the third highest

The testing rates per capita however reveal that the US is the eighth best in the world because its population is so much larger than other countries. Spain has done the most per capita, followed by Portugal. The US still beats Germany, Canada and France

While the US has the highest number of deaths, its death per capita ratio is ninth in the list of worst impacted countries. Belgium tops the list

Spain (6.5%), Portugal, (6.49%), Belgium (6.22%), Qatar (5.78%), Russia (5.14%), Italy (5.13%), the UK (4.09%), Switzerland (4.05%), and Belarus (3.97%) are all ahead.

It flies in the face of remarks from President Trump who said earlier this month that the US was testing at 'nearly double the rate of any other country'.

The US still outperforms several other countries.

The Netherlands has tested just 1.77 percent of its population and Sweden, according to the data, has tested just two percent of its population.

Sweden drew criticism for its decision to stay open. It had a lower case count than many other European countries - potentially due in part to its comparatively low testing numbers - and it had a higher than average death toll.

The infection rate among those tested in America is around 12.4 percent. The death rate, when calculated as the percentage of those who test positive who die, is more than 6 percent.

The true death rate is far lower because there are countless undetected, undiagnosed cases of the virus and have been for months.

The numbers are all self-reported and in some countries, have been questioned.

Russia, for example, reported suspiciously low case numbers and death counts for weeks despite sharing a border with China, where the virus originated. Now, the country is reporting 309,000 cases and 2,972 deaths from its population of 147million.

For weeks, it was reporting having fewer cases than Luxembourg, a country with a population of just 628,000.

It's unclear where China, where the virus originated, sits on the list of testing in the world's worst affected countries.

Mexico, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Ecuadro and Iran are among the worst but the Netherlands and Sweden were also lower than expected.
While Chianti is the best-known Tuscan wine, there are other options worth your attention. And most use sangiovese as their foundation, includ
Geneva

Facing the most disruptive pandemic in generations, the technocratic halls of the World Health Organization are now the scene of pitched battles in an increasingly bitter proxy war between China and the United States.

At the U.N. health agency's annual assembly this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined by video conference to offer more money and support. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump railed against the WHO in a letter accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak with China  and threatening to permanently halt U.S. funding, which has been its main financial lifeblood for years.

Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Health and Human Rights at Georgetown University, said the withdrawal of the U.S. from the global health world would mark a seismic political shift.

"What the U.S. is doing is acting like a bully, making an existential threat to the WHO, and my worry is if the U.S. ever made good on that pledge, the world would splinter," he said. "This is giving an enormous political prize to China because China has long been looking for a chance to shine on the global stage."

A U.S. exit would likely weaken the global health agency and leave the U.S. and China to each fund their own projects, Gostin said.

At the assembly that ended Tuesday, European Union leaders tried to strike a middle ground between the two rivals, and the agency's director-general simply tried to keep the focus on fighting the disease  not each other.

The assembly's opening day Monday was book-ended by two very different messages. On one side, Xi, serene beside the Chinese flag and a landscape mural, called in to say that China would offer $2 billion over two years to help with the COVID-19 response and economic fallout. He vowed that any vaccine against the disease developed in his country would be made a "global public good."

On the other, Trump threatened to cut U.S. funding to the WHO for good unless the agency commits to "substantive improvements" in the next 30 days, in a letter to agency Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. It's not clear what those improvements are.

"I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America's interests," Trump wrote.

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

The U.S. is the biggest WHO donor, providing about $450 million a year.

Europeans looked on aghast.

"Watching the World Health Assembly today was observing the post-American world," tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"A confident and assertive China with clear strategic approach. A EU trying to rescue what's left of global cooperation. And a disruptive U.S. more keen on fighting China than fighting COVID-19," Bildt said.
Drilling in the Arctic has been back in the headlines this week with some fresh controversy. The Trump administration has long seen the development of oil and gas assets in Alaska as economically beneficial, and has carried out an environmental assessment that determined that drilling in part of Alaskas Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would have a negligible impact on the surrounding environment. Many Alaskan oil industry insiders and employees would certainly be very happy to see the return of oil development and oil jobs to the state, which has seen a massive decline in what was once one of its most key economic sectors. Bringing oil money back to Alaska would not only boost the local job market, it would also help the state put a dent in its massive debt from outstanding oil tax credits-- the state owes almost $1 billion to oil companies after the oil industry has all but dried up. But not everyone in Alaska is thrilled about the possible return of oil. Environmentalists and Inuit activists have fought long and hard to keep the Arctic protected. Greenpeace pleads with the public to keep offshore oil in the ground for good, citing the impossibility of cleaning up Arctic oil spills and the threat to global warming, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says that The Arctic Ocean is one of the most pristine and fragile places left on the planetand its in trouble, before slamming the Trump administration for pushing for the removal of crucial Arctic protections.

When it comes to the touchy subject of drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic, there is almost nothing that is not controversial. Perhaps the reactions of the oil industry and Greenpeace are anything but shocking, but now a new development has stirred up fresh Arctic drilling controversy from a far less expected source: investment banking.

Related: Oil Industry Faces Looming Threat Of Involuntary Outages

Lets start at the beginning. Back in May 2018, Last September, the Trump administration announced that it intended to open up the 19.3 million-acre ANWR, which had long enjoyed environmental protections that outlawed drilling, to oil and gas exploration. Not even a global pandemic was able to slow that plan, as summed up by InsideClimate News April 8 headline In Alaskas North, Covid-19 Has Not Stopped the Trump Administrations Quest to Drill for Oil.

Then, later that month, a major development caused both uproar and celebration. In late April, Morgan Stanley revised their Environmental and Social Policy Statement to assert that they would no longer financially support oil and gas exploration in Arctic Refuges, stating: We will not directly finance new oil and gas exploration and development in the Arctic, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The statement also addressed the banks existing business in the Arctic, albeit with fewer concrete commitments, saying: Transactions in the Arctic region will require escalation and senior management approval, and we will be prudent in the transactions we undertake.

This made Morgan Stanley the fifth of six major U.S. banks to announce that they would not fund any future oil drilling in Arctic refuges, bringing the total list of major Arctic drilling divesters to Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup--five of the six biggest banks in the country.

Even though these banks declarations have been accused of being largely symbolic in a time that oil prices are through the floor and the markets are drowning in a huge oversupply of crude, the headlines earned by these high-profile divestment decisions caused political uproar.

Related: 33% Of North Sea Oil Is Now Too Expensive To Extract



In an exclusive interview with Axios, United States Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette compared current banking restrictions in the Arctic to redlining--the historic racist financial practices that kept (and, in some cases, continues to keep) communities of color trapped in poverty. "For years and years and years, banks would not lend money, insurance companies would not write policies in minority areas in the country. Redlining is the term used all throughout those debates. We didnt want banks redlining certain parts of the country. We dont want that here. I do not think banks should be redlining our oil and gas investment across the country," Brouillette was quoted by Axios.

While Brouillette cited his past work at USAA to back up his claims, experts have been quick to contradict the Energy Secretary's statements as both inappropriate and inaccurate. Even some Republican politicians took offense to the comparison. Redlining had to do with race and race is specifically constitutionally protected as an area you cant discriminate against, Tony Fratto, a former top official in the Bush administration, was quoted by Axios. There is no similar protection for businesses.

As politicians and pundits argue back and forth, however, the reality remains that there is not much the Trump administration can do to change these banks approach. Theyre private institutions, and the vast majority has clearly drawn a line in the snow when it comes to drilling in the Arctic.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Cork-based Apple contractor involved last year in exposing Apples Siri grading system for improving the voice-recognition technology, has written to European data protection commissioners to complain about a lack of sanctions against the tech giant.

Thomas Le Bonniac, who worked on grading Siri to improve its accuracy by listening to some customers recordings, says that he is disappointed no firm action has been taken by privacy regulators against Apple.

I listened to hundreds of recordings every day, from various Apple devices (eg. iPhones, Apple Watches, or iPads), he wrote. These recordings were often taken outside of any activation of Siri, in the context of an actual intention from the user to activate it for a request. These processings were made without users being aware of it, and were gathered into datasets to correct the transcription of the recording made by the device.

The system recorded everything...names, addresses, messages, searches, arguments, background noises, films, and conversations. I heard people talking about their cancer, referring to dead relatives, religion, sexuality, pornography, politics, school, relationships, or drugs with no intention to activate Siri whatsoever.

I am extremely concerned that big tech companies are basically wiretapping entire populations despite European citizens being told the EU has one of the strongest data protection laws in the world. Passing a law is not good enough: it needs to be enforced upon privacy offenders.

Apple apologised last year for not declaring that it was grading the Siri technology with human workers. It altered the activity so that only people who opt in to the grading practice may have some voice commands checked for accuracy.

Apple was one of a number of big tech firms that had to apologise over the same issue.

Amazon, Google and Facebook all received public censure last year for having workers listen in to recordings from their voice recognition technology.

The tech firms all say that they need to do this to make sure that the software is accurately understanding our voice commands.

But reports have emerged that some of the recordings include intensely personal moments of intimacy or conflict.

As a result of our review, we realise we havent been fully living up to our high ideals, and for that we apologise, said Apple in a previous statement on the matter.

Graham Doyle, assistant Data Protection Commissioner, said that the Irish privacy office had taken action on the issue.

We engaged with Apple at the time [last year] and the company implemented changes, which can be seen with consent now required. We continue to engage with the company on this.

A spokesman for Apple declined to comment on the matter.
Gaia Herbs pivots to manufacture hand sanitizer

BREVARD  Gaia Herbs, a leading natural herbal products brand in the United States, has increased production and is using its alcohol-based operations to manufacture CDC-approved hand sanitizer in response to the covid-19 situation.

The sanitizer will be donated to local community first responders including health care workers, farmworkers, government officials and other essential employees.



The first batch of donations will comprise a total of 217 one-gallon bottles and 3,000 two-ounce bottles. Donation deliveries were recently made to Transylvania County Public Safety, SAFE Inc. of Transylvania County, Sharing House Transylvania Christian Ministry, Safelight Hendersonville and Pardee Hospital. Additional hand sanitizer donations will be made over the next few weeks to other area organizations.



Designated as an essential business in North Carolina, Gaia Herbs recently shifted many aspects of its operations in order to best support the changing needs of its customers, employees, and community while continuing to manufacture trusted herbal products.

These are unprecedented times, and its more important than ever for businesses to support their local communities, said Angela McElwee, president and CEO of Gaia Herbs. Gaia Herbs has a long history of working with food-grade alcohol as part of our herbal extraction process, so when the critical need for and shortage of hand sanitizer became clear, it was an easy decision to create a product that meets all CDC requirements. We are donating our entire first production run to help protect those who are helping others, as we appreciate and recognize their hard work and dedication to selflessly serving our community.



We began seeing inflated prices as we worked to source hand sanitizer for our own employees and recognized that we were uniquely suited to help address this need  not just for our own team, but for other businesses and community members as well, said McElwee. As a Certified B Corporation, Gaia Herbs is committed to using business as a force for good. This hand sanitizer donation represented an additional way to use our capabilities to make a positive impact and help to protect the health of our local community.



Gaia Herbs produced a one-gallon, peppermint antiseptic hand rub and a two-ounce, peppermint hand sanitizer spray. Both products help reduce bacteria, are for use when soap and water are not available, and contain alcohol antiseptic of 80 percent, meeting all CDC requirements. Like all of Gaia Herbs products, the herbal hand sanitizers are brought to life without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides or genetically modified ingredients.



While this initial batch of herbal sanitizers was produced solely for donation purposes, Gaia Herbs will also be producing a CDC-approved lemon herbal hand sanitizer to sell, providing a stable source of this critically needed product from a trusted company. The lemon herbal hand sanitizer will utilize organic ingredients and is expected to be available on the gaiaherbs.com website in early July. It will initially be sold in six-packs of two-ounce bottles for $29.99. Gaia Herbs will also feature a free gift with purchase promotion in July on their website in which all orders will receive a free two-ounce bottle of lemon hand sanitizer for a limited time, while supplies last.



All of Gaia Herbs products are sold through natural and independently owned health food stores across the nation as well as through gaiaherbs.com and other trusted online retail sites. To find a store, visit gaiaherbs.com/stores. Based in Brevard, Gaia Herbs opened a production and distribution facility in Mills River last year.
Researchers examine the effectiveness of consuming hemp oil extracted from the whole Cannabis plant using a chronic neuropathic pain animal model. Researchers at The University of New Mexico (UNM) showed that legal Cannabis hemp oil reduced mechanical pain sensitivity 10-fold for several hours in mice with chronic post-operative neuropathic pain.

Distinguished from its still largely criminally prohibited cousin, "hemp" refers to Cannabis plants with less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per mass. Hemp is now federally legal to produce and consume in most regions throughout the United States (U.S) as a result of the Hemp Farming Act, proposed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2018.

This major breakthrough in cannabis prohibition now enables millions of Americans the ability to access a natural, effective, and relatively safe alternative option for treating chronic pain. Conventional pharmacological drugs, namely opioids, are driving the leading form of preventable deaths and conventional medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

The University of New Mexico has conducted a series of recent studies testing the effectiveness and safety of consuming the Cannabis plant, but this is the first study measuring the therapeutic potential of legal hemp oil with low THC levels.

"Cannabis plants with low THC are still psychoactive, but tend to result in less psychedelic experiences, while still offering profound and often immediate relief from symptoms such as pain, anxiety, and depression," says co-researcher, Dr. Jacob Miguel Vigil, associate professor in the UNM Psychology Department.

Using a chronic neuropathic pain model that exposes mice to post-operative neuropathic pain equivalent to several years of chronic pain in human clinical patients, the researchers were able to examine how hemp oil influences momentary pain sensitivity to the affected region. For several hours after Cannabis consumption the mice demonstrated effective pain relief, approaching the mechanical pain sensitivity of naive control mice that did not undergo the surgical operation.

"Our lab utilizes a unique nerve injury model mimicking human neuropathic pain that has allowed demonstration of hemp's reversal of the pain related behavior" said one of the lead investigators, Dr. Karin N. Westlund, Department of Anesthesiology, their article titled "The Therapeutic Effectiveness of Full Spectrum Hemp Oil Using a Chronic Neuropathic Pain Model," published in the journal Life.

Studies in animals can be superior to clinical trials because they circumvent human biases and expectancy effects, or perceptual and cognitive reactions to enrollment in cannabis-themed experiments. Several studies measuring the effects of cannabis in humans observe patients reporting psychedelic experiences, whether or not they received the active cannabis agent, otherwise referred to as the 'placebo effect.'

The study examined the effectiveness of "LyFeBaak" hemp oil, produced by Organic-Energetic Solutions, which has been available for legal purchase in New Mexico since 2019. "We grow hemp that is optimized to potentiate the plants utmost health and vitality through hypermineralization techniques, rather than merely plants that are grown in a state of fight-or-flight, which unfortunately is common in the cannabis industry. These techniques have enabled us to produce hemp products that patients swear are effective for treating dozens of mental and physical health conditions. The new changes in hemp laws are now allowing us to test these claims," adds co-author and hemp grower, Anthony L. Ortiz.

"Hemp plants contain numerous therapeutic constituents that likely contribute to analgesic responses, including terpenes and flavonoids, which in theory, work together like members of a symphony, often described as the entourage effect," says fellow researcher, Jegason P. Diviant. Several clinical investigations have shown that medications based on synthetic cannabis analogues and isolated compounds tend to offer lower reported symptom relief and a greater number of negative side effects as compared to whole plant, or "full-spectrum" Cannabis flower and plant-based extracts.

The authors do caution that few studies exist on the long-term use of hemp oil, due mostly to historical federal prohibition laws in the U.S. "However, this is an extremely exciting time in modern medical discovery, because the average citizen now has legal access to a completely natural and effective medication that can be easily and cheaply produced, simply by sticking a seed in the ground and caring for it as you would any other important part of your life," says Vigil.

###

This investigation was supported in part by private donations from individuals to The University of New Mexico Medical Cannabis Research.
As countries are re-opening even amid the ongoing novel coronavirus battle, experts are warning everyone of the imminent second wave of the virus, and it does seem to be happening with countries that re-opened too soon, such as China and South Korea.

Recovered People Testing Positive for COVID-19 Again

Besides new cases of COVID-19 emerging, it appears as though some recovered patients in South Korea tested positive for the viral infection for a second time.

The news of the possibility of re-infection sparked fear, but it now seems like those who tested positive for a second time can have a sigh of relief as some experts say they may not be infectious.

In a report by Bloomberg, scientists from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are finding evidence that patients who tested positive once more for the COVID-19 aren't capable of transmitting the virus, unlike the first time they were infected.

In addition, the researchers have also discovered that they are forming antibodies that could prevent them from falling ill from the SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus.

Read Also: COVID-19: All Monkeys in Oxford Vaccine Trial Were Infected By Coronavirus

Not Infectious

The result came after the South Korean researchers studied 285 patients that were seemingly re-infected from the virus as they tested positive again despite previous negative results, which means they should have recovered.

The "re-infected" patients weren't able to spread any lingering infection they have.

Perhaps the most interesting thing of all is that the samples of the pathogens gathered from them can't be cultured in a laboratory.

With that, the researchers believe that these people were shedding either dead or noninfectious particles.

"There have been no secondary infections from people who came in contact with the relapsed patients so far," said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official. "We have not found evidence that those cases are contagious."

In a report by FOX News, South Korean health officials will be removing those who have recovered from COVID-19 from being considered as infectious, thanks to the evidence they found.

Instead, these people will be referred to as "PCR re-detected after discharge from isolation."

Read Also: Coronavirus Symptom: Hand-Tingling Might be a Symptom of COVID-19 and Should Not be Ignored

Proof of Coronavirus Immunity

In addition, the new protocol regarding them states that there will be no need for additional tests after a patient has been discharged from isolation.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have built a reputation that they are unable to distinguish dead and living virus particles, which is why those who recovered have tested positive once again.

Basically, the PCR tests conducted to them were picking up "inert viral genetic debris left over from the previous infection."

This could be good news for countries hoping to re-open after their attempt at flattening the curve.

It could also help with antibody debates as some experts are looking for proof that immunity is possible with the formation of COVID-19 antibodies, which are found in recovered patients.

They also don't know how long immunity will last.

Nevertheless, recent research from a biotech company in collaboration with the University of Washington School of Medicine found an antibody in a former SARS patient that could block SARS-CoV-2.

The person recovered from SARS 17 years ago.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A woman who was catfished by her best friend for two years sent heartbreaking text messages to her loved ones before taking her life after she believed her partner ended their relationship, a coroner has ruled.

From 2011 to 2013, Renae Marsden thought she was in love with a man named Brayden Spiteri - a supposed jailbird behind bars for killing his best friend in a motorcycle accident.

But her best friend and one-time fling, Camila Zeidan, created the identity in a bid to continue her intimate relationship with Ms Marsden, who was 20 at the time.

After the friends had a heated argument, Zeidan - posing as Brayden - broke up with Ms Marsden via text message.

Ms Marsden had planned to marry the fake identity and was so devastated she drove to The Gap in Watsons Bay on August 5, 2013 and ended her life, a coronial inquest determined.

Renae Marsden, 20 (left) died by suicide at The Gap in Sydney's east on August 5, 2013 after her best friend Camila Zeidan (right) 'catfished' her

Ms Zeidan leaves the NSW State Coroner's Court after the Renae Marsden Inquest in February. Coroner Elaine Truscott said on Wednesday that Ms Zeidan was 'unable to tolerate Renae being in an intense relationship' with anyone else

She sent three text messages in the moments before her death - to her mother, Zeidan and Brayden.

Messages between her and Brayden can't be retrieved due to technological limitations.

Ms Marsden's message to Zeidan read: 'I'm sorry... you will always be my bestfriend I hope one day you can forgive me I love you xoxo.'

The message to her mother, Teresa, read: 'I'm sorry for everything and the pain I will now cause you. When you need to talk to me just call my name and I'll be there.

'I need you to be strong for me.'

The inquest heard Ms Marsden had struggled with her mental health in the past, and had in September 2012, overdosed on medication.

Ms Marsden's relationship with Brayden was 'emotionally intense and difficult' and involved coercion and manipulation - even from behind bars.

Zeidan - through Brayden - was able to control Ms Marsden's friendships and relationships throughout the two-year courtship.

These are pictures of the man Renae believed was Brayden. But they depict another person who had no idea of how his photos were being used

A picture of Zeidan (right) and Cameron Lang (left), who she said was her ex-boyfriend named 'Brayden' in a fake story told to Ms Marsden

The inquest heard she was motivated to create the fake persona because she was jealous of Ms Marsden's other connections and wanted to be in an intimate relationship with her.

'Camila was unable to tolerate Renae having an intimate relationship. She would become jealous, possessive and abusive,' Coroner Elaine Truscott concluded.

This is the heartbreaking final text message Renae Marsden sent her mother, Teresa, after she was allegedly deceived for years by 'catfish' Camila Zeidan

'She complained to Renae that she did not like being ''second-best''.'

Throughout the course of their friendship, Ms Marsden told her cousin that Zeidan could be physically abusive, and would 'push, punch and leave bruises' on her.

Ms Marsden sought comfort in Brayden when she and Zeidan argued, thus the latter was able to control and coerce Ms Marsden into responding in a way which was beneficial to her.

Ms Marsden and Brayden engaged in phone sex. The young woman complained when she sent intimate pictures and videos and they weren't reciprocated.

Her attachment to Brayden led her to break off her engagement to another man in early 2013 when her fiance gave her an ultimatum.

On the day of Ms Marsden's death, there is no way to know what transpired between her and Brayden.

Zeidan (left, in green) created the character of Brayden so she could maintain an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden (left and white, and right)

Ms Marsden's brother Jake Marsden , parents Teresa and Mark Marsden and brother Luke Marsden (L-R) were all present in court on Wednesday to hear the concluding statement

'Brayden' contacted Ms Marsden's mother (messages pictured) after he broke off their relationship

While she was still at work, she showed a colleague a message sent from Brayden which read: 'I think I need a break and so do you.'

She began crying and shaking, and left work early. Phone records show she made a 90 second call to Goulburn Jail, where Brayden claimed he was housed.

It is not clear what transpired during that phone call, and police have never recovered the 91 other messages between Ms Marsden and Brayden from that day.

Later in the day, Zeidan, still posing as Brayden, sent a message to Ms Marsden's mother, Teresa, warning that the 20-year-old was threatening to end her life.

'Sort your daughter out... threatening to kill herself,' the message read.

Teresa confronted her daughter about the messages, and was reassured that she was 'doing okay' and was not contemplating ending her life.

Tragic: Renae Marsden is pictured right with her mother Teresa left - who received a heartbreaking final text

The Marsden family and their supporters leave the Lidcombe Coroners Court following Wednesday's findings

After her mother left the house, she then gathered her belongings, including a burner phone she used to speak with Brayden and a Valentine's Day card he wrote her, and drove to The Gap.

Police believe she threw her phone into the water and jumped minutes later. Her body was never recovered.

By August 26, 2013, investigators had concluded Zeidan, who is now 27, and Brayden were one and the same.

They confronted her with their theory, but Zeidan denied it. The next day, she was admitted to hospital. Her family were concerned she would seriously self-harm.

On September 23, Zeidan finally confessed to her part in the rouse. But she said Ms Marsden was always aware that she was Brayden, and that the duo had concocted the fake relationship together.

Zeidan told the inquest Ms Marsden was in on the rouse because their families would not approve of their lesbian relationship.

But Ms Truscott said there was no evidence the women were intimately involved at the time.

This is the collage of Brayden Spiteri which Renae Marsden carried around with her

Teresa Marsden comforts her daughter Monique Marsden following the coroner's findings

The coroner said she does not believe the claims, though Zeidan never strayed from the story for the rest of the coronial inquiry.

The evidence instead demonstrated the catfishing allowed Ms Zeidan to free herself of the jealously she felt whenever Ms Marsden was in a relationship with a man.

In her concluding remarks, Ms Truscott said she believed Ms Marsden died not knowing Brayden's true identity.

'I am of the view that Renae likely did not learn... she had been catfished by her best friend,' she said.

'Catfishing' - the practice of creating fictional online love personas - is not a criminal offence in New South Wales.

The Marsden family has campaigned for law reform to specifically address catfishing.

Ms Truscott said it was unclear whether catfishing like that which Renae experienced would be covered by current laws against using mobile networks to menace, harass or offend.

Tradesman Cameron Lang revealed in February that he is the man in the photo used to catfish Ms Marsden - and he had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news

The photos Ms Marsden saw of 'Brayden' were actually a tradesman named Cameron Lang, who had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news.

'It's daunting... [I'm] shocked in a way because I've now got an image put out there that's an image no one wants to be associated with,' he told A Current Affair in February.

Zeidan told Ms Marsden that Brayden was her ex-boyfriend who was supposedly behind bars over a motorcycle accident in which his best friend had died.

To make her story more convincing, she showed Ms Marsden a photo of her with the man she said was Brayden.

While Mr Lang confirmed it was him in the photo, he has no memory of meeting Ms Zeidan.

'It is me in the photo, but I personally had nothing to do with any of the girls. Either of them. Just my face was used.'

'I don't remember ever meeting [Camila Zeidan] anywhere, at any point.'

He said the photo was likely taken at a bar or club during a night out many years ago.

If you or anyone you know need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more

Apple may launch an augmented reality line of smart glasses in the spring of 2021, according to Jon Prosser, host of the video blog Front Page Tech.

The new peepers will be called Apple Glass and sell for US$499, with prescription lenses costing more, Prosser claimed.

Both lenses are displays that support gesture interaction.

The glasses will work in conjunction with an iPhone.

Early prototypes supported the LiDAR sensor for 3D scanning and wireless charging, said Prosser.

Apple originally planned to unveil the specs at its fall event, but it may postpone the announcement until March 2021, with release planned for late 2021 or early 2022, he added.

These rumors have been building up for quite some time, but this is the most cohesive information weve had on this so far, said George Jijiashvili, senior analyst at Omdia, a research and consulting firm in London.

I think Apple has been working on AR glasses behind closed doors, and they will release them because they have all the right pieces to make it work, he told TechNewsWorld.

Phone Dependency

Incorporating gesture control into the glasses is a good move, observed San Jose, California-based Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research, a high-tech research and advisory firm.

Gesture control allows the Apple Glass to be controlled without resorting to using a controller that is easily lost, he told TechNewsWorld.

Gesture control is a key control method in Microsofts HoloLens today, Krewell added.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

At this stage of smart glasses development, pairing them with a smartphone is an important design choice, noted David MacQueen, executive director for the global wireless practice at Strategy Analytics, a research, advisory and analytics firmbased in Newton, Massachusetts.

The only way to get the price point down to a consumer-friendly level is to offload as much of the processing power, sensors and such to a paired phone, he told TechNewsWorld.

Nreal and Samsung teased similar smartphone paired AR glasses at CE earlier this year, MacQueen added.

Most smart devices depend on a smartphone, at least for initial setup, said Julie Ask, principal analyst at Forrester Research, a market research company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A smartphone dependency will permit the glasses to be wireless like AirPods or similar devices, she told TechNewsWorld.

No Content Worries

Content long has been a major hangup for devices taking consumers to virtual realms, but that doesnt seem to be the case with Apple.

If you asked me about anybody but Apple, Id say content would be an issue, but because its Apple, its going to be less of an issue, said Tuong Nguyen, senior principal analyst at Gartner, a research and advisory company based in Stamford, Connecticut.

Apple isnt going to be launching only a piece of hardware, he told TechNewsWorld. Theyll launch a piece of hardware that extends their overall ecosystem and ties into any existing services that they have.

Apple doesnt launch a single product. They provide ecosystems of experience, Nguyen added.

Content will not be an issue for the glasses by the time theyre released, predicted Eleftheria Kouri, research analyst at ABI Research, a technology advisory company based in Oyster Bay, New York.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

I am expecting that initially Apple will rely on available AR applications before developers familiarize themselves with the device and build new applications, she told TechNewsWorld.

Apples ARKit developers kit already supports numerous AR applications, including gaming, product visualization, educational content and more, which will be available for the AR smart glasses, too.

It is anticipated that Apple will leverage Apple TV and Apple Music, allowing users to broadcast content in the AR device, Kouri said.

Similarly, users will be able to play AR games from Apple Arcade, she added. Also, it is expected that the integration of the LiDAR sensor in the latest iPad Pro and upcoming iPhone 12 Pro will enrich the available AR applications and better prepare consumers for the AR smart glasses.

Surprising Price

Among the first wave of apps for the glasses would be room modeling apps  how this piece of furniture will look in that corner of the room; information on outdoor objects like buildings and monuments; navigation apps; and how to apps, Forresters Ask said.

What weve seen on the phone is a lot of Pokmon GO clones, marketing, and AR used as a gimmick. To make these devices take off, we really need to see AR applications move beyond that, to give consumers a real reason to use the glasses, Strategy Analytics MacQueen said.

It doesnt surprise me that one of the most popular iPhone apps is a simple measuring tape, he noted. Thats something that offers genuine utility to an end user.

The pricing of Apples AR glasses  assuming Prossers information is correct  surprised many Apple watchers.

Everyone expected the price to be higher, Omdias Jijiashvili said. If you look at similar devices, theyre selling from $1,500 to three grand. $499 is a very attractive price, but it depends on how much capability the smart glasses have.

Quest Killer?

The $499 model of the glasses will be a basic edition, ABIs Kouri said.

The basic edition will be an assistive reality device with monocular vision that will not support embedded cameras and spatial understanding, she predicted.

An assistive reality device without embedded cameras will be a socially acceptable one which will allow users to familiarize themselves with AR smartglasses and not be concerned about privacy issues and video recording in public places, Kouri explained.

Apple also is working on a virtual reality headset along the lines of Facebooks Occulus Quest, according to Prosser.

Apple wouldnt compete with a headset, Gartners Nguyen said. Theyre competing with an experience.

Theres also an opportunity to resonate with a business audience, he added. With Oculus, Facebook has focused on games and movies. Theres still an opportunity for Apple, as well as anyone else in the market, because its still in its early days.

Although some reports have maintained that Apple will release its VR headset ahead of its AR glasses, Jijiashvili doubts that will be the case.

I think Apple will focus on AR in the near term, he predicted, and VR is something further in the future.
Ministers are facing increasing pressure from council leaders and teaching unions to reconsider their plans to open primary schools in England to more pupils from next month.

Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has joined a number of local authorities in advising its schools against reopening more widely to reception, year 1 and year 6 pupils from 1 June amid safety concerns.

Solihull Council, believed to be one of the first Conservative-led local authorities to question the governments proposed start date, has warned that some school places may not be ready for the first week of June.

It came as a poll from teachers union NASUWT suggested that only 5 per cent of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, has written to Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, saying the union remains unconvinced that wider reopening of schools from 1 June is appropriate or practicable.

The survey, of nearly 29,000 NASUWT members across England, found that around nine in 10 teachers believe that social distancing will be impossible, or will present major issues and a similar proportion are not confident that the proposed measures will protect their health or the health of pupils.

It also found that 87 per cent of teachers believe that PPE is essential to protect staff against the virus.

Dr Roach said: The results of our survey underscore the fact that the government has thus far failed to win the trust and confidence of teachers about the safety of reopening schools.

It is now imperative that the government takes every available opportunity to provide the necessary assurances that teachers are seeking.

The union leader called for all the scientific evidence from the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to be made available to teachers and school as soon as possible.

It came as education unions said they were due to meet Mr Williamson as part of a weekly conference on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on schools.

Last week, Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), told teachers not to attend any planning meetings about schools reopening from 1 June.

In a Zoom meeting with union officers, held on Thursday, Dr Bousted said: The timetable is reckless. The timetable is simply not safe, it is not fair, it is not feasible.

Calderdale Council became the latest Labour-led council in the north of England to advise its schools against a wider reopening from 1 June, following similar actions from Bury, Liverpool and Hartlepool.

Sefton Council will suggest schools reopen from 15 June to allow time for an appropriate risk assessment, the Merseyside local authority has said.

A number of local authorities in England have acknowledged safety concerns among parents and teachers over the date, but they have not urged all their schools to reject the proposed time frame.

Leaders of Birmingham City Council have sent a letter to parents and school staff saying that they will only support schools opening to more pupils when it is safe to do so.

The statement says: We recognise that for some schools, opening to more pupils safely may not be possible on June 1, while parents and guardians must also feel reassured.

It adds: We trust that head teachers will make the right decisions for their school communities.

Stuart Guest, head teacher at Colebourne Primary School in Birmingham, has told parents that he does not plan to open more widely on 1 June because the risks are too great.

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

In a letter to families, Mr Guest wrote: We would still be endangering the lives of my staff and the community we serve if we rushed a wider opening.

John Edmunds, professor of infectious disease modelling at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said the decision to reopen primary schools is a political decision but he said it may be that children are less likely to transmit coronavirus to others.

He told the House of Lords science and technology committee: Clearly the decision to open primary schools or not, is a political one, its not a scientific decision. Scientists can offer some advice.

It looks like the risk to children is low, and that the vast majority dont have significant symptoms.

He added: So the risk to others may be relatively low, but overall you have to weigh up those risks with other things, risks to community, clearly we cant keep children off school forever, and so on and so forth.

The actual decision, and weighing all of those things, needs to be done by politicians.

On Monday, former Labour prime minister Tony Blair said Boris Johnsons administration was right to start reopening schools as he said some children will have received no education at all during closures.

A Department for Education spokesperson, said: We want children back in schools as soon as possible because being with their teachers and friends is so important for their education and their wellbeing.

Plans for a cautious, phased return of some year groups from June 1, at the earliest, are based on the best scientific and medical advice. The welfare of children and staff has been at the heart of all decision making.

We have engaged closely with a range of relevant organisations, including the unions, throughout the past eight weeks, including organising for them to hear directly from the governments scientific advisers last Friday, and will continue to do so.

Press Association
A man walks by a homeless encampment on Venice Boulevard under the 405 Freeway. A federal judge has ordered the city and county of Los Angeles to relocate thousands of homeless people living near freeways starting on Friday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

A federal judges sweeping order to move thousands of homeless people away from freeways in Los Angeles is drawing objections from advocates and Mayor Eric Garcetti who fear it could lead to confrontations with police and endanger the health of those living on the streets during the coronavirus outbreak.

In the order issued last week, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter called for the relocation of up to 7,000 people living near overpasses, off-ramps and on-ramps, saying they face severe health risks from tailpipe emissions and car crashes.

If carried out, it would mark a major shift in policy in a city and county that have seen a record number of people living in tents and makeshift shelters in recent years. Following a series of court rulings and legal settlements, efforts to clear encampments from sidewalks and other public spaces have been heavily restricted.

Tom Crump hands out free lunch to a homeless woman on Venice Boulevard under the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

The order is set to take effect on Friday. On Wednesday, city and county officials will present the judge with plans for how they will respond to his order.

In recent days, Garcetti and others have voiced fears that Carter's order, depending on how it is carried out, could result in homeless people being moved, but not into housing or shelters. Doing so, the mayor said, is of particular concern during the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised state and local governments in April against clearing homeless encampments as doing so could "cause people to disperse throughout the community"  increasing the potential spread of the virus among people who are especially vulnerable to dying of COVID-19.

"There's ethical issues. There's health issues. And then there's just logistical issues," Garcetti told The Times. "I don't know who could enforce this besides a law enforcement officer. I don't think I want those images. That's not good for us. That's not good for the people who are traumatized on the streets."

Story continues

Garcetti and others involved in addressing the region's homelessness crisis said Carter's order took them by surprise.

Tracy, a homeless man, applies medicine to his leg along Figueroa Street under the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

The order is part of an ongoing legal battle initiated by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a group of downtown business owners and residents who allege that the city and county have failed to protect the public and provide adequate shelter for people living on the streets.

The issue of encampments along freeways emerged in the case last month after city officials proposed using a Caltrans property at 16th and Maple streets  part of which is under the 10 Freeway  to house homeless shelters made of pallets. Homeless advocates questioned the wisdom of that proposal, pointing to the health risks posed by vehicle emissions.

Studies have found that those who live near high concentrations of traveling cars and trucks  and are living in housing  are more likely to experience asthma, breathing problems, diabetes and other medical issues, said Ed Avol, professor and chief of the environmental health division at USCs Keck School of Medicine.

Being near vehicle emissions is problematic for a whole range of health reasons that just begin with the lungs and go on to brain issues, heart issues, and metabolic issues, not just for children but for adults, he said.

A man walks by a homeless encampment on Venice Boulevard under the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

The proposal for pallet shelters on the Caltrans property was scuttled after city and state officials also raised concerns about whether emissions from the freeway rendered the site unsafe.

Carter responded by questioning why anyone, whether they are in shelters or not, should be permitted to live near such high traffic locations. He warned that arguments about air quality would spark questions about "why isn't every underpass being cleared." The judge also argued that such locations also are dangerous because of the potential collapse of an overpass during an earthquake.

"The court has continued to learn from the parties, as well as other participants in hearings and conferences, it has become clear that many homeless individuals face an additional, immediate health hazard as a result of camping near freeway overpasses, underpasses, and ramps," he wrote.

Carter, who has repeatedly visited skid row and other encampments across the region, has said he wants the parties to offer a host of alternatives and is willing to shape his edict based on their proposals.

Kenny Welch, 57, of Los Angeles, builds a living structure under the 110 freeway during the coronavirus pandemic. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Pete White, executive director of the antipoverty group Los Angeles Community Action Network, said he is definitely worried that an order to clear encampments would mean enforcement from LAPD and the county Sheriff's Department. White said it's also not clear where homeless people would go if they had to be relocated.

"I believe Judge Carter is really invested in getting something done," said White, whose group has intervened in the case being heard by Carter. "The danger with simply getting something done is that oftentimes you forget about the nuance and the fact that details matter."

So far, Carter's court has served as a freewheeling clearinghouse for discussions on the city and county's responses to both the homelessness crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Garcetti, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and many other local politicians have shown up to testify as the judge has pushed for permanent solutions.

The order could test the limits of Martin vs. City of Boise, a federal ruling on homelessness by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which concluded that it's unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping on the sidewalk when there arent enough shelter beds or housing units available as alternatives.

The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ruling to stand in December, leaving in place limits on the ability of cities and counties across California and the West to enforce anticamping laws without increasing the capacity of shelters.

Carter said he would allow the city and county to enforce their anticamping laws if they provided alternative places for people to bed down for the night homeless shelters, hotel rooms, RVs, parking lots and other locations. He also argued that because public health and safety is involved, he has the authority to act.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, city and county officials have secured more than 3,300 hotel beds, more than half of which are occupied. Garcetti also has set up about 1,000 emergency shelter beds in converted city recreation centers. Still, those two strategies have served only a fraction of the region's homeless population of nearly 60,000.

Sarah Dusseault, chairwoman of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, said her agency is focusing not on people near freeways, but on finding hotel rooms for the 15,000 homeless people who are 65 or older or have health conditions, such as respiratory problems or diabetes, that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus, regardless of where they live.

That effort, she said, is already "a heavy lift."

"We have to stop the spread," Dusseault said. "We have to keep people safe and that's our primary focus."

Mark Ryavec, president of the Venice Stakeholders Assn. and a longtime critic of the city's handling of homelessness, questioned Carter's decision to focus on areas near freeways. Homeless people set up camp at overpasses because the concrete structure provide protection that other outdoor areas do not.

"Its shelter from rain, from night dew, from heat," he said.

Attorney Shayla Myers, who represents White's group and other homeless advocates, said last week in court that freeway overpasses are areas where people "survive on a sidewalk" and comply with federal laws requiring room for wheelchairs to pass. While she acknowledged the concerns about tailpipe emissions, she said overpasses might still be better than what's presently available.

Myers, who works for the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, said any federal order on freeway encampments would need to ensure that homeless residents are not sent to places where they face greater exposure to COVID-19 or are quickly uprooted again.

"People are going to keep going back to the underpasses and overpasses if they're still being displaced in other places," she said.

Garcetti said city officials intend to present their ideas to Carter this week and try to get a better understanding of his wishes. The ultimate goal, he said, is to get people into housing.

"Don't get me wrong. Living under gas fumes is not good," Garcetti said. "But there's 100 health concerns we have on the streets. This is one of them."
(Alliance News) - Aircraft leasing firm Amedeo Air Four Plus Ltd on Tuesday noted Thai Airways International Public Co Ltd's announcement of a reform plan and said it is seeking to protect its legal position during the reorganisation process.

Thai Airways is to implement its reform plan "through the business reorganisation chapter under the auspices of the Central Bankruptcy Court of Thailand and the Bankruptcy Act", according to a Thai Airways release.

However, Thai Airways stressed that it "will not be dissolved or go into liquidation or to be declared bankrupt" and will instead move closer to its objectives through reorganisation. Thai Airways said the law "provides equitable protection to all relevant stakeholders" and it will conduct its business alongside the reform plan.

Amedeo said: "The board awaits news of Thai Airways' reform plan and looks forward to it emerging as a stronger airline from this crisis. In the interim the board and the asset manager, Amedeo Ltd, are engaging with English legal counsel as well as Thai legal counsel to protect the company's legal position in relation to the business reorganisation process."

Amedeo made rent deferral arrangements with Thai Airways which is does not expect to be executed during the restructure proceedings, though it "will maintain the benefit of the in principle agreement in place for Thai Airways".

Shares in Amedeo were untraded on Wednesday, last quoted at 26.75 pence.

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Usually, the third week of the month is a quiet one. However, it appears that there are geopolitical processes occurring that should be monitored.

There are Fed events on the economic calendar for this week. Could you comment on those?

Its been a busy week for the FED Chair. Ahead of the Monday open, Powell provided the markets with assurances that the FED had plenty of ammo left to steer the U.S economy out of the current meltdown.

The markets then focused on Tuesdays testimony, which was given alongside Mnuchin.

Powell gave the markets another dose of reality, stating that the U.S economy would unlikely to recover until the end of 2021.

Sundays speech had delivered riskier assets a boost, while Tuesdays testimony weighed on risk appetite.

Mid-week, the focus is on the FOMC meeting minutes. Will there be any talk of negative rates? The markets will be looking for whats in store and when the next move will come

In reality, however, the FED may need to hold off until lockdown measures have been removed. An impact assessment of both fiscal and monetary policy delivered to date would be needed at a minimum.

The Markets appear to be looking at all the hints about the upcoming actions of the Fed, as forecasting those is a top priority.

Meanwhile, how are Crude Oil Prices doing?

Its been another positive week for crude oil prices. At the start of the week, the news of an oil tanker armada heading for China delivered a boost.

An easing in lockdown measures has also provided crude with support along with the pullback in crude oil production.

Production had been at a record high ahead of the cut in output, however, which could become an issue down the road.

Its been a great month, however, with WTI and Brent up by close to 50%. Prices are still down by close to 50% year-to-date, however.

Theres a long way to go, however. While lockdown measures continue to ease, demand globally will need to ramp up to deliver continued support.

Story continues

In addition to Jerome Powell and the Fed, the market participants should watch out for a Trump announcement.

In the meantime, the coronavirus is still present and impacting the global economy. How is the easing of the lockdown going on?

The U.S government and member states have continued to ease lockdown measures in a bid to revive their respective economies.

Some have been able to make bolder moves, with Italy removing borders controls for people entering and leaving within the EU.

U.S President Trump has also remained adamant that the opening of the U.S economy is a must, irrespective of the impact on COVID-19 numbers.

It does remain to be seen, however, whether there will be a marked pickup in consumption, travel, and activity in general.

We can expect some caution near-term that will likely limit any material improvement in consumption.

It is a start, however, and at a minimum, the downward trend in new coronavirus cases will need to continue. This is a must for the markets to continue to have a more positive economic outlook.

It appears that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Anything to mention in regards to economic data releases?

On the economic data front, expect the markets to continue to brush aside March and April figures. Both months were an economic right-off, with extended lockdowns in place.

Prelim private sector PMI numbers from the Eurozone, the UK, and the U.S will draw plenty of attention later in the week, however.

The markets will get a sense of whether there has been any impact from the initial moves to ease lockdown measures.

We saw Chinas private sector PMIs see a sharp rebound in response to the easing of measures.

For the U.S, service sector activity will need to see a marked improvement. For the EU, the markets will likely forgive another month of dire manufacturing PMIs. After all, the global supply chain remains broken.

Service sector PMIs will need to pick up from record lows, however, as non-essential businesses began to open earlier in the month of May

For the UK, the numbers are likely to continue to remain particularly week as lockdown measures continue to weigh.

As we mention the UK, how are the negotiations continuing between the EU and the UK?

Till now, Brexit negotiations have made very little progress. The EU has even threatened to take the UK to court over a breach of freedom of movement rules.

In itself, the threat is a reflection of just how dire relations have become.

Boris Johnson continues to refuse to extend the transition period that leaves the chances of a hard Brexit in place.

We have seen the Pound bounce around as a result but could slide to sub-$1.20 levels by next month.

A blueprint needed to be in place by June for the UK government to continue talks.

Fisheries and trade remain 2 key areas and, for the Pound to find any support, progress is going to be needed

This article was originally posted on FX Empire

More From FXEMPIRE:
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 20, 2020 | 03:51 PM | FRANKFORT

Beshear announced a $300 million award to city and county governments as part of the CARES Act. The funds will be administered by the Department for Local Government, and can be used for reimbursements of expenses used to comply with public health guidelines.





To apply, local governments with COVID-19 related expenses from March 1 until December 30, 2020, will need to fill out an application with expense documentation, which is available on the DLG website at the link below, beginning Thursday at 8 a.m.





The funding is going to be allocated to the local governments based on approximate poppulation size as recorded in the most recent census.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has outlined specific guidelines and examples of eligible reimbursements below:





1. Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID19;

2. Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020; and

3. Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on Dec. 30, 2020.





Some of those eligible reimbursements may include the purchase of personal protective equipment for health and safety employees; expenses for communication and enforcement by governments for COVID-19-related public health orders; expenses for food delivery to nursing homes and vulnerable populations; improvements necessary for public employees to telework to comply with public health precautions; expenses for disinfection of public spaces and facilities; and payroll expenses for public safety, public health, health care, human services and similar employees who dedicated substantial time to mitigating or responding to the public health emergency.





Additional information can be found at the link below.

Governor Andy Beshear has announced that local governments will be eligible to receive even more CARES Act funding.

On the Net:
China imposes punitive duties on Aussie barley, more products could be probed

Global Times

By Chu Daye and Wang Bozun Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/19 21:13:41

Australian seafood, dairy products may be 'next in line'

More Australian products, including seafood and dairy goods, could run into trouble in China after Beijing slapped an 80-percent tariff on Australian barley after a two-year antidumping and countervailing probe, Chinese experts said Tuesday.

Concerns are rising on probes of other Australia products, with a Bloomberg report Tuesday citing Chinese sources claiming that Australian wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy products are in danger of being targeted by China.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) Monday announced antidumping remedy measures against Australia's annual $1.5 billion barley exports to China, and there have been suggestions by some Australian officials about bringing the barley trade dispute to the WTO.

Yu Lei, a chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries at Liaocheng University, said there might be more actions by China if the Australian government continues to harm China, describing the barley tariff as a "mild reminder."

"Trade should be independent from politics, but it's hard to completely divide them in reality," Yu told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Yu said China and Australia became strategic partners in 2013, and upgraded the relationship into a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2014, "but what Australia has done in recent years is not what a partner should do."

"China's move could also be interpreted as a mild warning to Australia that it should think about what a trade partner should do," Yu said.

Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said on Monday that "there is no trade war" between China and Australia and there is rising demand for iron ore from China.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday that China's decision to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Australian barley was based on investigations conducted in strict accordance with Chinese laws and WTO rules.

Australian government has been making political noises, demanding an independent inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak in China, in its purposeful effort to smear and stigmatize China.

Li Guoxiang, a research fellow on agriculture at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Tuesday that Australian dairy products and seafood are more vulnerable to investigation due to a supply glut in China.

According to Rural Bank of Australia, Australian seafood exports totaled $1.4 billion in 2017/18, and $658 million of that went to China.

Australia's Department of Agriculture said about 65 percent of Australian agricultural products are exported, with the majority going to China, Japan and the US. Beef, wine, wool and barley are among China's major imports from Australia.

Chinese experts told the Global Times that Australia could bring the matter to the world trade body. However, "it will take a minimum of two years for such a dispute to produce a result there," said Feng Jun, a senior consultant and WTO expert based in Shanghai.

Some Chinese grain merchants are on alert over the barley tariffs, which make Australian barley far less competitive in China.

Chinese barley importers may turn to France, Canada, Ukraine and Russia since Australian barley has lost its appeal, Ma Wenfeng, a senior analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultancy, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

A manager at Shandong Province-based grain importer Huamao Fodder voiced concern to the Global Times after hearing about the anti-dumping and countervailing tariffs on Australian barley.

"I will have to turn to Ukraine or Canada to import barley instead of Australia, as the tariff rates are too high," he said.

Ties between Australia and China have deteriorated as the Australian government has taken unfriendly moves against China, setting barriers for Chinese investment and blocking Huawei's 5G from the market.

Yu said that although China is Australia's biggest agricultural products buyer, the sector only accounts for 15 percent of Australia's exports to China, suggesting more sectors could be affected if strained bilateral ties continue.

Australia's largest exports to China are minerals, with iron ore, coal and natural gas accounting for a combined $20.88 billion in 2019, according to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Some countries, including India, stand to benefit if China curbs imports of Australian minerals, experts said.

India's iron ore exports rose 154 percent to 30.82 million tons in fiscal year 2019, which ended on March 31, with China becoming the largest buyer for the South Asian country, industry news site csteelnews.com reported on Friday.



NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






DECATUR  Police say two suspects are being sought for a shooting Monday afternoon in the 2200 block of East Olive Street.

According to police, five gun shots were heard in the area around 3:03 p.m. where the two suspects described as black males their early 20s wearing face coverings were seen exiting a vehicle, firing shots and running back inside. The vehicle then fled east on Logan Street.

Crime Stoppers is offering $500 or more for information that may lead to an arrest.

Police say one of the shooters is described as approximately 6-feet-tall, medium complexion and thin build. He was wearing a face covering, white hooded sweatshirt and black pants. The other suspect is approximately 5 feet, 8 inches, thicker build and wore a face mask, dark colored clothing and bright blue shoes.

A description of the suspect vehicle is a tan Jeep Cherokee with an off-colored front driver side rim, according to police.

The Decatur Police Department in a statement said a gun-shot victim on scene was dropped off at a local hospital, an incident likely related to the shooting in the area of East Olive.

Anyone who can help identify the owner of the vehicle or has information about the shooting incident is asked to contact the Decatur Police Criminal Investigations Division at (217) 423-2734. Anonymous tips can also be placed through Crime Stoppers at (217) 423-8477.

Mug shots from the Herald & Review

Contact Garrett Karsten at (217) 421-6949. Follow him on Twitter: @GarrettKarsten

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
The bacon butty has been named the nation's best loved sandwich - pushing the simple cheese filling from its top spot.

Bacon  with no condiments or salad  was chosen by nearly a quarter of adults as the best sandwich filling.

Second in the survey of 2,000 people by Warburtons was egg mayonnaise followed by sausage, cheese and pickle and tuna and mayonnaise.

The results show a shift in tastes, with a similar study from 2018 seeing a plain cheese sandwich top the chart, followed by ham and cheese - which have now slipped to 17th and sixth place, respectively.

The bacon butty (pictured) has been named the nation's best loved sandwich - pushing the simple cheese filling from its top spot

Top 30 best sandwich fillings of 2020 compared to 2018 Top 30 of 2020: Bacon Egg mayonnaise Sausage Cheese and pickle Tuna and mayonnaise Ham and cheese Cheese and tomato Chicken and bacon Chicken and stuffing Egg and cress BLT Fish fingers Prawn salad Tuna and sweetcorn Smoked salmon and cream cheese Ham, cheese and pickle Plain cheese Tuna and cucumber Corned beef Coronation chicken Crisps Ploughman's Ham salad Ham and mustard Brie and bacon Salmon Beef and horseradish Chicken tikka Pulled pork Roast beef salad Top 30 of 2018: Cheese Ham and cheese Ham salad Sausage Cheese and onion Egg mayonnaise Tuna mayonnaise Chicken salad Chicken mayonnaise Cheese and pickle BLT Chicken and stuffing Cheese and tomato Egg and cress Plain ham Bacon - with ketchup Ploughman's Bacon and sausage Tuna salad Prawn mayonnaise Chicken and bacon Fish finger Ham and mustard Tuna and cucumber Ham, cheese and pickle Bacon - with brown sauce Coronation chicken Turkey salad Jam A Christmas sandwich Advertisement

And among the best loved condiments to enjoy with sandwiches were pickle at 40 per cent, ketchup with 37 per cent and mayonnaise at 55 per cent.

It also emerged that when it comes to preparing the perfect sandwich, 'white, medium sliced bread with the crusts left on and cut into squares', is the top choice.

A spokesman for Warburtons, which commissioned the 2018 and 2020 studies, said: 'However you prepare it, or whatever you fill it with, there's something that can't be beaten about a good old British sandwich.

'It's interesting to see bacon top the list as we're all craving comforting, simple and hearty meals as social distancing continues.'

The results show a shift in tastes, with a similar study from 2018 seeing a plain cheese sandwich top the chart, followed by ham and cheese (pictured) - which have now slipped to 17th and sixth place, respectively

Second in the survey of 2,000 people was egg mayonnaise (pictured above). In 2018, the filling was awarded sixth place

In third place this year was the plain sausage sandwich, improving from the fourth spot it was given in 2018 (stock photo)

Cheese and pickle (pictured) came in fourth. The study also found that it's not just sandwiches being enjoyed more by the nation, as a third of adults are eating more toasties now than they did before the UK's lockdown, with cheese the most popular filling
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global snus market size is expected to reach USD 3.70 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 5.5% over the forecast period. Increasing adoption of snus in order to promote less harmful tobacco products is a major factor promoting the market growth.

For instance, in March 2020, TOBACCO harm reduction advocates launched an Asia-wide education and information campaign and urged the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Department of Health (DOH) to promote the use of safer smoke-free alternatives. The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) aims to curb the smoking epidemic in Asia Pacific and inform smokers about the existence of safer alternatives, including snus.

Key suggestions from the report:

Based on product, the portion segment was valued at USD 2.01 billion in 2019. The new generation product has gained popularity owing to the ease of use it offers to its consumers in contrast to the loose snus as well as other tobacco products

Asia Pacific dominated the market and accounted for more than 55% share of the global revenue in 2019. This is attributed to increasing penetration of the product owing to growing demand for less harmful tobacco products in countries, such as China , South Korea , and Japan

Middle East and Africa is expected to be the fastest growing market in the years to come owing to improvement in economic indicators in African countries, including Nigeria , Kenya , and Ethiopia .

Read 80 page research report with ToC on "Snus Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Loose, Portion (Original, White)), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, CSA, MEA), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/snus-market

Growing preference for products has stimulated manufacturers to launch new products. For instance, in July 2019, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. launched velo, a tobacco free snus product, which contains nicotine extracted from tobacco plants. The company expects that the product will attract a large set of consumers owing to the convenience, flavor, and enjoyable experience it offers. The product is a part of company's "modern oral portfolio".

Similarly, in April 2020, Swedish Match announced its expansion in seven additional U.S. markets with its General Swedish snus. The product is available at convenience stores and tobacco outlets across New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Denver, Nashville, and Ohio. The product is available in two flavors, including Nordic Mint and Classic Blend. These markets experience serious smoking restrictions, and thus is expected to open new avenues for snus products. The product is expected to fulfil consumers' demand for discrete, satisfying alternatives to traditional smokeless tobacco and cigarettes. Furthermore, in May 2018, NZ Smokeless Tobacco Co. launched NZ SNUS. The company sells the products through its online platform.

Grand View Research has segmented the global snus market on the basis of product and region:

Snus Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Loose



Portion



Original





White





Others

Snus Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

North America



U.S.



Europe



Sweden





Russia





Norway



Asia Pacific



India





Indonesia





Bangladesh



Central & South America



Middle East & Africa

& List of Key Players of Snus Market:

Swedish Match AB



British American Tobacco



Altria Group, Inc.



AG Snus



Burger Sohne Sweden AB



Dacapo Silver AB



Fiedler & Lundgren



GN Tobacco



Gordito Ou



Gotlandssnus



Nordic Snus AB



Skruf Snus

Find more research reports on Alcohol & Tobacco Industry, by Grand View Research:

Premium Lager Market - The industry is driven by increasing demand among customers for lager beer on account of its authentic taste, visual appearance, brand story, and smooth experience.

Heated Tobacco Products Market - It is driven by the steady decrease in cigarette sales with rising demand for potentially reduced-risks products. Presence of low level of nicotine and chemicals Heat-Not-Burn (HNB) products is anticipated to further fuel the demand.

Clove Cigarettes Market - The growth is attributed to increasing product launches driven by the growing demand for machine-made clove cigarettes.

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: +1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:24:26|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Abdul Haleem

KABUL, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and his political rival Abdullah Abdullah inked the much-awaited patch-up accord on Sunday, bringing an end to the political impasse stemming from last year's controversial presidential polls in the militancy-battered country.

Afghanistan's fourth presidential election since the end of the Taliban's reign was held on September 28 last year and Ghani's victory was announced on February 18 this year.

Abdullah, however, rejected the result and took the oath of office on March 9, the same day Ghani was sworn in for a second term.

With the mediation of Afghan elders and politicians, both rivals on May 17 signed a power-sharing deal titled "Political Agreement," under which Ghani would remain president and Abdullah would head the High Council for National Reconciliation and lead peace talks with the Taliban outfit to find a negotiated solution to the country's endemic conflict.

According to the agreement, Abdullah, who had served as Chief Executive, a post equal to that of prime minister, in the previous administration, has the right to appoint half of the new government's Cabinet members.

Afghan observers have cautiously welcomed the power-sharing deal as a step towards strengthening the establishment and initiating peace talks with the Taliban from a united platform.

Singing the praises of the Political Agreement as being a "welcoming step to end political instability and enhance government functionaries' abilities to perform their duties properly," political expert Hamidullah Arefi told Xinhua that almost all the ministries are currently run by acting ministers.

Arefi, chief of the state-run Daily Kabul Times newspaper, added that inking the political agreement would enable the president to appoint ministers and form a capable Cabinet.

However, Arefi said with pessimism that Abdullah's new mission to lead the peace talks with the Taliban would be very difficult, stating, "The armed group has refused dialogue with the government in the past and won't talk in the future unless the government secures the upper hand on the battle ground."

"Tasking Abdullah with leading the peace process is a challenging assignment. However, it is still a welcome step towards encouraging the Taliban to return to the negotiating table," Arefi said.

"Taking steps towards ending differences within the government and making a strong and united voice against the Taliban is a positive step," he added.

The Political Agreement has come to fruition amid an escalation of fighting as the Taliban outfit, after inking a peace deal with the United States on February 29 in Doha, has intensified activities in Afghanistan.

Taliban militants in their latest high profile attacks targeted a military base in the eastern Paktia region and stormed a counter-intelligence agency in the neighboring Ghazni province recently, claiming the deadly attacks were a response to president Ghani's order to resume offensives against the insurgents.

Afghan forces have maintained a defensive position since the U.S.-Taliban peace deal was agreed in Doha in late February, which facilitated the release of 5,000 Taliban detainees in exchange for 1,000 Afghan troops detained by the Taliban, and paved the way for intra-Afghan dialogue.

However, as a result of deadly attacks on a maternity hospital in Kabul and a funeral ceremony in Nangarhar last week, which president Ghani blamed on the Taliban leading to the ordering of security forces to resume offensives against the militants, the prisoner swap deal has been disrupted.

"The political agreement signed on Sunday is a significant step towards paving the way for peace and taking practical step towards achieving peace," political analyst and former parliamentarian Salih Mohammad Registani told local media.

However, Registani maintained, "reaching peace with the Taliban group is possible but very difficult as the armed group demands replacing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and ignores women's rights, which are both unacceptable."

Meanwhile, the Taliban spokesman in Doha's liaison office, Suhail Shaheen, without mentioning the Ghani-Abdullah political agreement, wrote on Twitter: "Things taking place in Kabul are only a repetition of the past failed experiences and the solution to the Afghan issue lies in the implementation of the Doha Accord." Enditem
The parents of a woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband say she was the victim of domestic abuse and that the two staying home during the coronavirus outbreak was not safe for their daughter.

Lissa Weimelt and Bill Pew, whose adopted daughter Maria Pew Fury, 28, was allegedly murdered by her husband John Pew Fury, also 28, say he was controlling and that the two married after an intense and fast moving relationship.

The heartbroken parents add that they believe the couple staying at their Minnesota home during the coronavirus outbreak was not safe for their daughter.

'You know that was not a safe place to be,' Weimelt says. 'It further isolated her.'

Scroll down for video

Lissa Weimelt (right) and Bill Pew, whose adopted daughter Maria Pew Fury, 28, was allegedly murdered by her husband John Pew Fury, also 28, say she was the victim of domestic abuse and that the two staying home during the coronavirus outbreak was not safe for their daughter

The parents say John Pew Fury was controlling and that he and their daughter Maria married after an intense and fast moving relationship

Joshua David Fury, 28, was charged with second-degree murder for allegedly strangling his wife Maria, by putting a plastic bag over her head and burying her body

The parents are now inspired by their daughter's passing to start a domestic abuse nonprofit to help victims in their daughter's memory, NBC News reports.

The organization is being called 'Maria's Voice'.

'This is something we can do. It's a call to action about domestic violence and its in Maria's voice,' said Pew.

Joshua David Fury, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly strangling Maria, by putting a plastic bag over her head and burying her body.

He had reported her missing on Thursday April 30, but her body was found two days later.

Authorities charged him after finding his Maria's remains buried in a crawlspace in the home.

'You know that was not a safe place to be,' Weimelt says about her daughter and her husband staying home because of the coronavirus outbreak while she was at risk of domestic violence. 'It further isolated her'

Investigator interviews with Maria's family, friends and mother found that the couple was having marital problems and Fury was 'controlling and possessive'. 'The things that I am faulting myself for now,' Weimelt (right) says. ''Run, my God, run!' Why didn't I say that?'

Joshua David Fury had reported Maria missing on Thursday April 30, but her body was found two days later. A missing persons poster made after Maria's disappearance is pictured

Police were dispatched to the couple's Maple Grove home on the 11000 block of Red Fox Drive after Joshua claimed Maria had vanished and they found her cellphone inside.

A two-day large-scale search was launched with teams on the ground and searching by helicopter.

Police served a search warrant on May 2 at the couple's Maple Grove home where sniffer dogs detected human remains in a crawl space that was no more than four feet tall and had a dirt floor in the basement.

Police served a search warrant on May 2 at the couple's Maple Grove home (pictured) where sniffer dogs detected human remains in a crawl space that was no more than four feet tall and had a dirt floor in the basement.

A second search warrant allowed police to dig in the crawl space and her body was found about a day later in the middle of the night after hours of digging.

Police found the preliminary cause of death to be asphyxiation from a plastic bag taped over her head and nose.

Investigator interviews with Maria's family, friends and mother found that the couple was having marital problems and Fury was 'controlling and possessive'. Maria's mother said her daughter was going to leave him.

'The things that I am faulting myself for now,' Weimelt tells NBC News. ''Run, my God, run!' Why didn't I say that?'

The grieving mom says adopting Maria was like winning the 'parenting jackpot.'

The parents recalled their daughter enjoying an active lifestyle, riding snow mobiles, horses and four-wheelers.

Maria also had been a cheerleader, says her dad, who described her as 'always smiling.'

Maria also had been a cheerleader, says her dad, who described her as 'always smiling'

Weimelt and Maria pose in an image posted on Facebook

Pew is pictured with Maria in an undated image broadcast on NBC News

NBC News reported that it contacted 35 domestic violence organizations in 19 states, and that some were reporting call volumes from victims had doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'We know that the coronavirus is a pandemic, but so is domestic violence, Weimelt says, adding that she and her husband can do their part to fight the abuse with their new organization.

'We're just parents with a broken heart,' says the mom. 'But we can do something and we're going to do something to stop domestic violence.
(Photo : REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo) FILE PHOTO: A view of the Supreme Court building against the backdrop of the skyline of Singapore's central business district May 27, 2016.

A man was sentenced to death in Singapore through Zoom video call for his role in a drug deal. The city state's first case, where capital punishment was delivered remotely.

According to Straits Times, a Malaysian man, Punithan Genasan, has been found guilty of being complicit in drug trafficking. His attorney said he was considering an appeal.

Here's what happened

Back in 2011, Genasan facilitated the sale of 28.5 kilograms of heroin before leaving the country for Malaysia, which has a zero-tolerance policy for illicit drug use. Officials deported Genasan in 2016, found guilty, and sentenced to death last Friday via a Zoom call between officials from the High Court, the man, and his legal team.

"For the safety of all involved in the proceedings, the hearing for Public Prosecutor v Punithan A/L Genasan was conducted by video-conferencing," a spokesperson for Singapore's Supreme Court said to Reuters.

While rights groups criticized Zoom's use in capital cases, Genasan's attorney did not object to the use of video conferencing for Friday's call to receive the judge's verdict. No other legal arguments were put forward.

California-based tech company Zoom did not immediately respond to a request for comment made via its Singapore representatives. The public prosecutor, the Chambers of the Attorney General, referred questions to the Supreme Court.

Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy on illicit drugs. It has hanged hundreds of people - including thousands of foreigners - over the past decades for narcotics offenses, The Guardian reported.

"Singapore's use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so," Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division told The Guardian.

Amnesty International's death penalty advisor Chiara Sangiorgio said: "Whether via Zoom or in person, a death sentence is always cruel and inhumane."

She added the said case is another reminder that Singapore "continues to defy international law and standards by imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking."

ALSO READ: Chinese Scientist He Jiankui Who Created World's First CRISPR Babies May Face Death Penalty

Court hearing through Zoom?

Most Singapore court trials were adjourned during a lockout phase that started in early April and is expected to last until June 1. However, cases considered necessary were heard remotely.

The use of Zoom has skyrocketed since most of the western world was put on coronavirus lockdown in late February through March. This has led to questions about what the software is, and is not fit for handling business. Companies like Google and SpaceX - including the Indian Government - have banned employees from using Zoom out of security concerns. New York school districts and teachers all over Singapore were also prohibited from using the app.

Particular problems involve an automated attention-tracking feature to upticks in "Zoombombing," in which uninvited guests break in and disrupt meetings, frequently with hate-filled or obscene content.

ALSO READ: Video Calling Service Zoom Sued by Own Stakeholder For Not Revealing Privacy, Security Breach

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
If military leaders had properly studied the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq upfront, the wars might have been more successful, said a Marine two-star general who oversees the service's training and education command.

That's one of the reasons the Marine Corps has its first new doctrinal publication in nearly two decades. The 81-page doctrine lays out a path for creating a culture of learning throughout Marines' careers -- driven, in part, by missteps military leaders have made during the country's longest wars.

Read next: Group Threatens to Sue VA over Nazi Symbols in National Veterans Cemeteries

The effort was led by Maj. Gen. William Mullen, who led troops in Fallujah, Iraq. Mullen co-wrote a book about how U.S. forces had captured that city in 2003, only to have it retaken by insurgents. The U.S. took Fallujah back in 2004, but it fell into the Islamic State group's control a decade later.

Lessons from the Vietnam War, Mullen told reporters Tuesday, should have better informed strategy after 9/11.

"The frustrating part was we had similar problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I kept thinking to myself, 'We really have learned much,'" he said. "So that goes back to ... how do we get Marines to understand the why behind learning?"

Warfare is growing only more complex, Commandant Gen. David Berger wrote in the foreword to the new learning doctrine, and Marines must not neglect their professional skills.

"The nature of war carries a combination of fear, uncertainty, ambiguity, chance, horror and, above all, friction that Marines must prepare to counter," Berger said. "Marines must seek out education and training opportunities that simulate these conditions."

The learning doctrine has four chapters centered around the warfighter. It includes sections on problem solving, professional expectations, creating good learning environments, and the role leaders play in promoting professional learning through example.

The need for learning doesn't end at a certain rank, Mullen said. While some of the headline-grabbing scandals during Iraq and Afghanistan involved junior troops mistreating prisoners or corpses, he said mistakes were made at much higher ranks, too.

"Intellectual demands get greater as you get more senior in rank," he said. "Unfortunately, you got less time to prepare for those things, so if you don't have a base ... of knowledge and experience that gives you the wisdom to deal with those things, you're behind already."

That's a message Mullen pushed in the fall when he gave a presentation to Marines on the importance of professional military education. He cited Army Gen. William Westmoreland, who commanded U.S. forces in Vietnam for four years and has been criticized for losing the war.

Westmoreland, Mullen said, failed to figure out the type of war they were fighting and how to win it.

"And we almost did it again in Iraq," he said. "... Too many people went there with a vision in their mind of what they wanted to do, the type of fight they wanted to fight, regardless of the reality on the ground. Some people would say the same thing is going on in Afghanistan."

Marines can no longer count on having the technological edge on the battlefield, Mullen said, as equipment gets easier to make and get. Now, they must maintain the intellectual edge.

The Marine Corps is revamping some of its PME courses to train its warfighters to think on their feet and rethinking the role professional development should play in promotions.

"The entire emphasis is pushing toward challenging them on tactical decision-making, getting Marines to understand the principles of what we're talking about in [the new learning doctrine]," Mullen said.

"You've got to be on top of these things," he added. "The more competitive you are, the better you are, the more chance you have of moving up in this organization. If you can't figure that out, you're rapidly going to find out you're no longer a part of this organization."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Marines and Sailors Could Soon Get College Credit for Military Education
Suicides among law enforcement officers, which soared last year, have slowed markedly in the first months of 2020 as the deadly coronavirus pandemic has put increasing demands on officers to enforce local shutdown orders and placed them at risk of contracting the virus, according to data gathered by a police advocacy group..

Officer suicides are down nearly 30% so far this year, compared to the same period in 2019  a drop from 89 deaths to 63, according to Blue H.E.L.P., which relies on data submissions from family members, law enforcement agencies and online searches.

While the group is at a loss for a definitive explanation for the sudden, but welcome, lull, analysts suggest that the increased need for public services during the health emergency, and a corresponding wave of goodwill for those who provide it, may be helping to sustain the most vulnerable.

Hoquiam Police Officer Phillip High committed suicide Jan. 14, as law enforcement officials across country sound alarm on rising officer suicides.

"We don't know why the numbers are going the way they are going," said Karen Solomon, president and co-founder of Blue H.E.L.P. "It could be that people are not reporting like they normally would because of the virus. Or it could be that the pandemic has created a sense of purpose and need for helpers that can make a difference."

Before COVID-19, law enforcement and health officials had been sounding the alarm about the suicide threat stalking the ranks of police departments across the country.

The New York Police Department, faced with a spate of deaths last year, declared a mental health crisis. The Chicago Police Department grappled with rising numbers of its own.

'Crisis point': The life-saving lesson suicidal people can teach a world in pandemic

In February, Attorney General William Barr, in a speech to the nations largest association of police chiefs, referred to staggering statistics gathered by Blue H.E.L.P., which reported 228 suicides in 2019, a 44% increase from the year before.

The data, which the group acknowledges is likely incomplete, also highlighted a stunning lack of research on why law enforcement officers take their own lives. Though many institutions track police officer deaths in the line of duty  from fatal shootings to heart attacks  there has been no national repository for tracking and analyzing officer suicides.

Story continues

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund for years has tracked deaths in the line of duty. The group does not recognize suicides as line-of-duty deaths, but analysts have attributed job stress and exposure to trauma as contributing to officers' mental decline.

An urgent need for tracking

A provision in the government's spending bill in December directed the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics to start tracking officer suicides. A status report, which was due to be delivered to Congress in March, has been delayed.

More: More and more Americans are dying by suicide. What are we missing?

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said the increasing pressures faced by police during the pandemic make such a tracking system an even more urgent priority for the federal government.

"Law enforcement officers are now not only exposed to the tremendous stress and trauma that comes with protecting our communities, but also the added anxieties brought by COVID-19," Shaheen said.

"The coronavirus pandemic has only increased stress and uncertainty for law enforcement officers who have experienced additional calls for assistance, significant on-the-job risk of exposure to the virus and potential job loss as states and municipalities face revenue shortfalls."

John Violanti, a University of Buffalo professor of epidemiology and environmental health, supports the creation of national repository having reported that the risk of suicide among law enforcement officers is 54% greater than other American workers. The finding was based on an analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data ending in 2014.

While he does not regard Blue H.E.L.P.'s data as a scientific representation of the problem, he said the group's most recent findings  while surprising  could be attributed to the recent outpouring of public support for nurses, doctors firefighters and police who are required to work through the pandemic.

'Isolation is a big trigger': Feelings of suicide are amplified amid a pandemic

Therapy: We tell suicidal people to go to therapy. So why are therapists rarely trained in suicide?

"Police and all first responders are now looked on as heroes," Violanti said. "But at some point that is going to go away."

And when that goodwill begins to fade, Violanti, a former New York state trooper, and Solomon said there is concern that the suicide numbers may spike again.

"We're putting officers in a very bad place, in increasing positions of strain," Violanti said, adding that local shutdown orders have required police to make arrests at churches, backyard parties and other unlikely places for violations of such things as mass-gathering prohibitions.

"It's a lot to ask of police; I think (the numbers) are going to go up," he said.

'So much trauma'

Molly High is more than familiar with the pain endured by officers and their families before and after such losses.

High has little doubt that her husband's exposure to the most disturbing side of policing had something to do with his suicide in January.

During more than two decades in law enforcement in Idaho and Washington state, Phillip High, 53, investigated arson, reconstructed deadly vehicle collisions and once was swept up in a shootout.

"There was so much trauma," Molly High said.

"See a therapist": Why are therapists rarely trained in suicide?

Getting help: How to find a therapist if youre suicidal

In retrospect, High said her husband's private nature masked mounting distress that she now thinks may have taken hold four years ago. "I just thought he was stressed; I didn't recognize it at first," she said.

Set to retire Feb. 29, Phillip High was working on another master's degree to prepare for a second career in counseling first responders. But last year, he seemed to fall into a steep spiral, increasingly isolating himself at work and at home.

After work, his wife said, he would retreat to his study to watch television. He was often sick to his stomach. He couldn't eat; he couldn't sleep. There were times when he couldn't find the words to express his distress.

"He totally shut down," she said.

In early January, the couple found help in Salt Lake City, where Phillip High spent four days being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. He returned home encouraged that the treatment was helpful, but he quickly sank into depression as his wife looked for long-term care.

Two days after returning from Utah, Phillip High killed himself.

This month, Molly High had planned to travel to Washington, D.C., in commemoration of National Police Week, a tradition that had deep meaning for the couple and their ties to law enforcement. The coronavirus emergency changed all that, but the message she had planned to share there with spouses and family members of police officers who have taken their own lives remains just as relevant.

Officer Phillip High photographed in DC during National Police Week 2018

"We're trying to bring awareness to this issue," she said. "The job did kill these men, but nobody wants to acknowledge that."

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police suicides down during coronavirus pandemic after soaring numbers in 2019
Authorities are asking for help solving a November shooting that left a man dead behind the wheel of his car in Northeast Portland.

Thomas Richard Osborn, 48, died Nov. 2 of multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said. He was involved in a brief disagreement with a group of people at a 7-Eleven convenience store at Northeast 21st Avenue and Broadway shortly before the shooting, according to authorities.

The shooting occurred across the street from the Swift Lounge, a popular late-night neighborhood watering hole and weekend breakfast joint in the historic Irvington area.

Crime Stoppers of Oregon said people can submit tips online, by calling 503-823-4357 or by using the P3 Tips mobile application.

Crime Stoppers offers rewards of as much as $2,500 for information, reported to the nonprofit, that leads to arrests in unsolved felony cases. Tipsters can stay anonymous.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 05:48:16|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Muslims wearing face masks attend a night prayer during Laylat Al-Qadr at the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt, on May 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)



--Turkey's COVID-19 cases rise to 151,615;

--Iran's tally of infections hits 124,603;

--Egypt reports record daily rise of 720 cases, 13,484 in total;

--Lebanese PM warns full closure for 2 weeks.

CAIRO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, soared to 151,615 on Tuesday, while Iran's tally surged past 124,000.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed 1,022 new COVID-19 cases and 28 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, as the death toll surged to 4,199.

In addition, 112,895 patients had recovered from COVID-19 in Turkey, while 882 were being treated at intensive care units and 455 intubated, Koca tweeted.

Iran reported 2,111 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, bringing the tally of confirmed cases to 124,603. The death toll from the virus climbed to 7,119 after 62 deaths were confirmed overnight.

Saudi Arabia registered 2,509 new coronavirus cases, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the kingdom to 59,854. Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus reached 329, after nine more deaths were reported.

The kingdom also registered 2886 new recoveries on Tuesday, increasing the total number of recoveries to 31,634.

Women wearing face masks walk at a bazaar in Tehran, Iran, April 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)

Qatar's Health Ministry announced 1,637 new cases of COVID-19 infection, increasing the tally of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 35,606.

It added that 735 patients recovered from the coronavirus, bringing the total recoveries to 5,634, while the fatalities remained at 15.

Kuwait reported 1,073 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths, raising the total infections to 16,764 and the death toll to 121, the Kuwaiti Health Ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 11,962 patients are receiving treatment, including 179 in intensive care units, it added.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 873 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 25,063.

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention said that 1,214 patients fully recovered from the virus, taking the tally of the UAE's recoveries to 10,791, while the death toll rose to 227 after three fatalities were added.

Egypt on Tuesday recorded 720 new COVID-19 cases, in the biggest single-day rise in the coronavirus infections since the country reported its first case in mid-February.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt jumped to 13,484, as the death toll rose to 659 after 14 fatalities were added, Egyptian Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said.

Egypt also reported a record daily recoveries of 302, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 3,742, the spokesman said.

Israelis enjoy the beach in central Israeli city of Tel Aviv during a heatwave amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on May 19, 2020. (Xinhua photo)

In Israel, the number of active COVID-19 cases dropped to 2,946, falling below 3,000 for the first time since March 27.

The tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Israel rose to 16,659 after 16 new cases were reported, while the recoveries from the virus rose by 182 to 13,435.

The death toll from the virus rose from 276 to 278, while the number of patients in serious condition dropped from 52 to 50.

Earlier Tuesday, the Israeli ministry announced that restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Israel will reopen doors on May 27.

The reopening will be under restrictions, including keeping distance between people, taking temperature at the entrances and applying hygiene measures.

In Morocco, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 7,023 after 71 new cases were recorded, including 193 deaths and 3,901 recoveries.

Iraq's Health Ministry recorded 57 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 3,611. So far, up to 131 people have died from the respiratory disease in Iraq, while 2,366 others have recovered.

A health worker checks a traveler's temperature before he enters Sanaa as precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19, in the southern entrance of Sanaa, Yemen, May 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

Lebanon's total number of COVID-19 infections increased by 23 cases to 954 on Tuesday, while the death toll remained unchanged at 26.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab warned that he will order full closure of the country for two weeks if people do not take serious precautions against the virus.

The Lebanese cabinet agreed on Tuesday to end the academic year for schools and cancel official exams amid the increase in COVID-19 infections.

Jordan's Health Minister Saad Jaber said that 20 new COVID-19 cases were registered in Jordan, bringing the total number of cases to 649.

The minister said the current pandemic situation is under control and more economic sectors are opening up.

Tunisia reported five new imported COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to 1,043, including 46 deaths and 819 recoveries.

The Libyan National Center for Disease Control announced three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the war-torn country to 68, including three deaths and 35 recoveries. 
Oil stocks are hurting. Just look at Exxon Mobil Corporation, widely regarded as the highest-quality business in the industry. Shares are down more than 30% since the year began. The stock price is back to levels not seen since 2004!

The stock market is starting to notice. Value investors are clamoring to buy blue-chip oil stocks at a multi-decade lows. Dividend investors are salivating at the juicy dividends. Exxon, for example, now yields 7.8%. Even growth investors are getting involved, betting that oil prices could double or triple from todays depressed levels.

Should you join the crowd and buy oil stocks?

Hold your horses

The future is decidedly not bright for oil stocks. Population growth has slowed to a crawl across many regions of the earth. In some developed countries, many of which represent huge demand drivers for energy, populations are actually decreasing.

Combine a shrinking population with the advent of renewables and we get a bleak picture for long-term oil demand.

The supply side of the equation is no brighter. Oil prices originally collapsed in 2014 following the rise of cheap U.S. shale production. Breakeven prices plummeted. Suddenly, a vast number of projects could produce profitably at prices below US$30 per barrel. Oil sands projects in Canada only contributed to the glut.

Over the next few years, oil majors like Exxon and Chevron Corporation want to develop mega-projects with breakevens as low as US$15 per barrel. Thats a level unheard of outside oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia.

While the next few decades will be bumpy, well likely see a slowdown in demand with continued supply surges. These factors will keep oil prices low for the foreseeable future. Thats bad news for oil stocks.

If you want to bet on energy but dont want these long-term challenges working against you, the choice is clear.

Replace oil stocks with this

The downturn of any industry almost always results in the upturn of another industry. The demise of horse travel fueled the rise of the automobile. Falling paper consumption has been paired with a dramatic rise in electronic media consumption. For energy, the long-term fall of oil will be coupled with an equally impressive increase in renewable energy demand.

Story continues

Over the last five years, Bloomberg estimates that $1.5 trillion was invested in renewable energy deployments. The next five years of investment will experience $5 trillion in investment. Clean energy spending should surpass $10 trillion cumulatively in the decade to come.

All of this capital spending will be a direct hit to oil stocks, but its a boon for renewable asset owners like Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (TSX:BEP.UN)(NYSE:BEP).

Brookfield already owns more than $50 billion in clean energy assets. Its portfolio is diverse, spanning hydro, wind, solar, and battery storage projects. Better yet, the company has a proven track record of success. Management aims for annual returns between 12% and 15%. For two decades, the company has exceeded that aggressive benchmark.

What makes Brookfield such a great bet versus oil stocks? Oil companies need to generate returns from legacy assets, many of which are decades old. Brookfield is dealing with a blank slate. It can position itself for the future energy landscape, not the past.

The company is particular adept at early stage projects where the risk-return profile is asymmetric. For example, it recently bought Spanish renewable assets on the cheap thanks to regulatory uncertainty. Yet the project has 100% contracted cash flows, mitigating the downside potential.

Brookfields management anticipates its growth runway to last several decades. Its time to ditch oil stocks and invest in a company prepared for the century to come.

The post Forget Oil Stocks: Buy This Instead appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

More reading

Fool contributor Ryan Vanzo has no position in any stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020
Question: How has the COVID  19 Pandemic affected the UK-Azerbaijan trade turnover since the closure of borders?

Answer: The UK-Azerbaijan trade and investment partnership remains strong, in particular the UKs continued commitment to Azerbaijans energy sector and wider economy, with BP continuing to invest in new exploration and development activities during this difficult time.

With Azerbaijan Airlines scheduled flights expected to resume at the earliest opportunity, we are looking forward to travelling to Azerbaijan once again, as well as receiving the large number of Azerbaijani students that study in the UK each year, to take up their school and university placements.

During this time, it remains of paramount importance that our two countries continue to explore opportunities in all sectors, not only oil and gas, but also Healthcare, Agriculture, Tourism, Education and Retail, among others. I, together with the British Embassy in Baku, stand ready to help in any way I can to support this and look forward to furthering some of these initiatives in the near future.

Q.: How should the two countries offset their losses if any?

A.: There has never been a more critical and challenging time for the international community to work together to respond to the deep global health and economic crisis.

Such a response includes working together to minimise economic disruption through the development of new sectors, encouragement of further creative thinking and the introduction of improved and more cost-effective methods of working.

This includes a continued focus on environmental issues, improvement in primary healthcare care infrastructure and personnel, more support for the disadvantaged, particularly in areas such agriculture and education, the digitalisation of various industries and the encouragement of more collaborative research and development.

Together, the UK and Azerbaijan can work closely on all these areas to our mutual benefit.

Q.: What are the lessons learned from the outbreak of this disease, which came out to be a test for the world infrastructure? How should UK and Azerbaijan arrange their communications so as to get out of such situations with minimal losses?

A.: The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated that disease outbreaks do not respect borders, therefore we need a fully coordinated international response. It is only by working together that we will prevent future waves of infection and end this pandemic as quickly as possible.

So, Im proud that the UK is taking a leading role globally, and has committed up to 744 million (AZN 1.5bn) for the international response to coronavirus, including our pledge of 388 million (AZN 800mn) for the vital research and development of vaccines, treatments and tests.

In addition, the UK will be hosting the Global Vaccine Summit in June, which will focus on how we continue to ensure Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has the funds needed to deliver vaccines against diseases in the worlds poorest countries, and how we ensure fair access for all new coronavirus vaccines.

Azerbaijans support for the global effort, such as your financial contributions to the World Health Organisation (WHO), is extremely welcome, and I hope that you will also support this vaccines initiative.

Were also working closely with Azerbaijan on the health response in the country. Last month, together with the WHO, the UK co-funded the development of www.azercovid19.org, an online training platform enabling hospital personnel to access new training resources and interact with fellow professionals. This is helping medical staff quickly acquire the essential skills needed in the fight against coronavirus in Azerbaijan.

Q.: Many experts suggest that the world will not be the same during the post-pandemic period. How do you see the relations between UK and Azerbaijan during the post-pandemic period?

A.: Relations between our two countries are strong and will continue to grow. Just this month, the UK Deputy Foreign Minister Morton and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Mammadyarov discussed a number of key areas for cooperation in the coming months and years, including securing a UK-Azerbaijan bilateral agreement which will further strengthen the excellent ties between our two countries.

As hosts of COP26 next year, the UK will also be working closely with Azerbaijan to find solutions to climate change. The UK and Azerbaijan have strong existing ties in the energy sector and we want to take this cooperation to the next level as we work in partnership to develop renewable energy opportunities. Our diplomatic engagement will also continue and we look forward to the next round of the UK-Azerbaijan Strategic Dialogue and the Joint Inter-government Commission happening at the earliest opportunity.

Working together will ensure that countries can return more resilient, innovative and economically dynamic. As Trade Envoy, I look forward to exploring what opportunities there are to achieve this together.

I wish to finish by bidding all readers good health and happiness.
KYODO NEWS - May 20, 2020 - 22:59 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

The Tokyo metropolitan area and Hokkaido are set to remain under a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus even after the government decides Thursday to remove three western prefectures from the list, government officials said Wednesday.

The government plans to reassess the situations in Hokkaido, Tokyo and its three surrounding areas -- Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa -- next week, but the emergency declaration will be lifted in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will make a formal decision on Thursday after hearing opinions from health experts.

The expected removal will bring the total number of prefectures outside the emergency zone to 42. Despite a recent downtrend in newly reported cases, Tokyo, Kanagawa and Hokkaido are still above the government threshold of 0.5 new cases per 100,000.

For that to happen, the government will also look into whether residents in those prefectures would have proper access to medical services and virus tests.

Abe ended the state of emergency last week in 39 prefectures and local governors have eased business suspension requests.

Tokyo reported five new cases Wednesday, taking the total to 5,075, the highest among the country's 47 prefectures.

Japan has reported over 17,000 cases, including 700 from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo in February.

"Tokyo is densely populated so we need to carefully consider (whether to lift the emergency) because infections could rapidly spread," an official with the prime minister's office said.

Economic revitalization minister Yasutoshi Nishimura has said the remaining eight prefectures should be divided into groups depending on their proximity and close economic ties.

The lifting of the emergency for the Tokyo area will likely come later even as two of the group -- Chiba and Saitama -- have already satisfied the below 0.5 criterion, according to the officials.

Related coverage:

Over 3 mil. jobs could be lost in Japan due to coronavirus

Japan receives mere 2,900 foreign travelers in April

Noise complaints on rise in Tokyo as stay-home campaign drags on
MilesTek's new lead-free, lab-rated cables feature an operating temperature range of -40C to +80C, PVC-jacketed 0.242" O.D. twinaxial cable and are available in off-the-shelf lengths of 0.3 meters. This new cable series features both 78 Ohm assemblies and 124 Ohm assemblies to address a wide range of applications.

Connector options in this series include 2 and 3 slot and lug, TRB & TRS plugs and jacks, bulkhead-style jacks, insulated and non-insulated connector options as well as versions with a blunt cut ends. Additionally, select models feature rugged bend reliefs that stand up to demanding applications.

"Many of our military and civilian customers now require products that are RoHS-compliant. These new cables are not only lab-rated, boasting a wide temperature range, but they are also RoHS and REACH-compliant. Our goal is to provide our customers with a broad offering of RoHS-compliant MIL-STD-1553 products that are all in stock and available for same-day shipping," said Mark Blackwood, Product Line Manager.

MilesTek's new RoHS/REACH-compliant, lab-rated cables are in stock and available for immediate shipment.

About MilesTek:

MilesTek designs and manufactures a broad range of MIL-STD-1553B and Ethernet connectivity products to address Military Avionics, Aerospace, Industrial and government applications. In addition to a wide selection of off-the-shelf products, MilesTek can custom manufacture cable assemblies and harnesses. MilesTek is headquartered in Lewisville, Texas and is ISO-9001:2015 certified. MilesTek is an Infinite Electronics brand.

About Infinite Electronics:

Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions, serving the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Infinite's brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, Aiconics, KP Performance Antennas, PolyPhaser, Transtector, RadioWaves, ShowMeCables, INC-Installs and Integra Optics. Infinite Electronics serves a global engineering customer base with deep technical expertise and support, with one of the broadest inventories of products available for immediate shipment.

Press Contact:



Peter McNeil

MilesTek

17792 Fitch

Irvine, CA

978-682-6936

SOURCE MilesTek

Related Links

https://www.milestek.com


Key Highlights

MSMEs demand extension of moratorium on all loans till March 31, 2021

Indian Industries Association (IIA) claims government entities owe Rs 500 crore to its members

Industry body IIA wants government officers to be accountable for delays

Payment cycle of receivables has also gone up adding to their woes.

Peeved over lacklustre response to their proposals, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have made fresh demand for direct cash support for salary payments, beyond interest free loans and freeze on loan repayment till March 2021.

"We request you to recommend to Minister for Finance to extend Covid19 Regulatory Package till 31st March 2021 and instruct Secretary - DFS (Department of Financial Services), Governor, RBI and Indian Banks' Association (IBA) to give relief to MSME sector," SME Chamber of India President Chandrakant Salunkhe has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Soon after the announcement of nationwide lockdown, the RBI had on March 27 allowed banks and financial institutions to offer a three-month moratorium on all term loans. Since the moratorium relief is available till this month only, industry has demanded the freeze on repayments to continue.

The RBI had announced Covid-19 Regulatory Package providing relief for rescheduling of payments for both term loans and working capital facilities. It also provided easing of working capital financing.

Grappling with lockdown challenges, the smaller firms want the government to speed up payments of dues owed by public sector enterprises (PSEs).

Many MSMEs in manufacturing sector have opened their factories following relaxations in Lockdown 4.0 but are facing tepid demand, labour shortage and liquidity crunch. The payment cycle of receivables has also gone up adding to their woes.

Sanjay Kaul, Chairman (taxation and banking) of Lucknow-headquartered Indian Industries Association (IIA) said that personal accountability should be fixed for delays in payments due from the government. He claimed that both central and state entities together owe Rs 500 crore to the members of the industry body IIA.

Kaul said that government officials must be made accountable for such delays in payments. "Once officers are made accountable, the delays would be substantially cut down. In case the government entity claims shortage of funds for the delays, question must be asked why the order had been placed in absence of funds," he said.

The small and medium firms which contribute nearly 30% to the GDP and provide jobs to 12 crore workers are currently facing the worst crisis. With deepening impact of coronavirus on economy, many of them are staring at truncated capacity or even closure in worst cases.

Most of the MSMEs are currently operating with 25-50% capacity. In case the demand does not pick up and sales remain low they are likely to continue with lower capacity which means more job losses.

"We are operating at much lower capacity. Besides demand issues, we are also facing problems in supplying finished products as local authorities are not issuing inter-state movement passes," said CS Goel, Managing Director of Goel Engineers which manufactures perforated sheets in its factory in Faridabad.

Also Read: Cabinet approves Rs 3 lakh cr funding for MSMEs, special liquidity scheme for NBFCs

Also Read: Need to keep govt revenue in mind, says FM Sitharaman on tax cuts

Also Read: Govt will make sure banks lend money to smaller businesses: Sitharaman
"Seeking a job online is more convenient and it feels more relaxed doing an interview by video," said Li Xiang, who graduated this year and has recently secured a job through an online platform.

The Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee interviews candidates online on April 29, 2020. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

In fact, universities in China have gone out of their way to help this years graduates get jobs through online channels amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Peking University officially launched an online job fair system at the beginning of the spring semester. By April 23, it had hosted seven online job fairs, with each attracting an average of nearly 200 companies.

By April 16, the students of Peking University had submitted 12,000 resumes through the online system and did interviews via video over 3,500 times, according to Zhang Yong, deputy director of the Student Career Center of Peking University.

Companies have also come up with innovative ways of attracting talents online. Huangpu District and the Development District of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province, rolled out a live broadcast to attract talents in the bio-pharmaceutical field on April 10.

During the live broadcast, recruiters from companies would outline job descriptions, salaries, benefits and career prospects to job seekers through PPTs or videos.

Back at the end of February, www.ncss.cn, a public employment service platform for college graduates operated by the Ministry of Education, joined forces with other job platforms such as Zhaopin.com, aiming to provide recruitment services for college graduates 24 hours a day and all year round.

One of the main advantages online recruiting activities have over offline fairs is that they allow job seekers to click and enter the activity at any time, and submit resumes by scanning QR codes or through the platform channels.

With the help of big data, the online recruiting system can match job descriptions from companies with the resumes of job seekers, which will boost information channels between the two parties and improve accuracy in recruitment, according to Liu Ri, editor-in-chief at Maimai, a career and social-networking platform.

It also encourages online job fairs to bring a better experience for recruiters and job seekers, such as enabling participants to send text and real-time comments or communicate through microphones, said Zhang Yong.
You are here: China

The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, will hold a press conference on Wednesday, one day before the opening of its annual session.

Guo Weimin, spokesperson of the third annual session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, will brief journalists on the session and take questions.

The live-streamed press conference, scheduled for 3 p.m., will be held by video link due to concern of COVID-19 prevention and control and public health protection, according to the secretariat of the session.
The top UN official in Libya warned Tuesday that the war in the north African country will intensify, broaden and deepen because of increasing foreign intervention and the massive influx of weapons, military equipment and mercenaries to both sides.

Acting UN special envoy Stephanie Williams said the escalation will have devastating consequences for the Libyan people who are getting lost in the mix, their voices crowded out.

She urged the UN Security Council to apply consistent and credible pressure on those regional and international actors that are fuelling the conflict.

Williams' video briefing to the council came a day after forces allied with Libya's UN-supported government wrested control of a key military base on the outskirts of the capital Tripoli from eastern-based forces under commander Khalifa Hifter who have been trying to capture the city of two million since April 2019.

Loss of the al-Waitya airbase in Tripoli's southwestern desert reaches was a heavy setback for Hifter's forces.

Hifter's push on Tripoli has led mainly to a stalemate but the loss of the al-Waitya airbase in Tripoli's southwestern desert was a heavy setback.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed.

The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups. The turmoil in the oil-rich country has steadily worsened as foreign backers increasingly intervene despite pledges to the contrary at a high-profile peace summit in Berlin earlier this year.

Williams called on Berlin participants to urgently back a halt to the inflow of military support from abroad, which violates a UN arms embargo.

Turkey has sent armoured drones, air defences to prop up the embattled Tripoli government while Hifter's forces are backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russian mercenaries.

Syrian militants with links to extremist groups, meanwhile, are fighting on both sides.

Libya's UN Ambassador Taher Al-Sunni told the council that government forces captured a number of Russian-made air defense systems at the al-Waitya airbase on Monday, destroyed UAE armored vehicles, and found tons of high-tech weapons.

And before that, we shot down several long-range drones made in China, he said.

Al-Sunni said government forces and their allies have also killed and captured UAE-recruited mercenaries from Chad, Sudan and Syria and those sent by Russia's Wagner Group.

The escalation in fighting comes despite increased international pressure on both sides to return to negotiating a political settlement and to halt the violence over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Libya has reported at least 65 cases of COVID-19, including three deaths.

But Tripoli-based Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord Fayez Sarraj vowed after Hifter's forces were routed from the airbase on Monday to liberate all cities and regions in Libya.

Ambassador Al-Sunni went further, telling the Security Council: We assure you that the efforts to defeat the aggressor will continue with all our might and by all means to extend the state authority over all the country.

The Libyan envoy accused Hifter of rejecting every peaceful solution and delegating himself as the ultimate rule and tyrant of the country," stressing said his hands are stained with the blood of the innocent." Those who have been betting on him have lost their bet, Al-Sunni said.

He has taken himself out of any dialogue for peaceful solution. Al-Sunni said that's why the government is now calling on Hifter's supporters to put down their weapons and surrender, and side by our nation so we can end this cycle of conflict and sit for dialogue and reconciliation.

During the council meeting, Acting British Ambassador Jonathan Allen and US Ambassador Kelly Craft called for a halt to the transfer of military equipment and personnel to Libya, singling out Wagner Group mercenaries.

UN experts monitoring sanctions against Libya said in a report obtained by AP earlier this month that between 800 and 1,200 mercenaries provided by the private Russian security company to support Hifter have acted as an effective force multiplier. Wagner Group activities continue to exacerbate the conflict," the UK's Allen said.

Alluding to Russia and the UN arms embargo resolution against Libya, he added: I want to urge all Security Council members to abide by the resolutions of this council, which they themselves have voted for.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council Moscow is concerned about reports of growing violations of the arms embargo and said: We believe the supply of arms and mercenaries should be stopped.

Nebenzia said the Russian government has no legislation controlling private military companies and accused the UN experts of basing their findings on sources of dubious quality, and of deliberate falsifications about weapons, with the aim of discrediting Russia's policy in Libya.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Osun State Western Nigeria Security Network, Operation Amotekun has arrested another 10 Chinese, 1 Ghanaian, and three locals for illegal mining across the state.

According to The Nation, the expatriates were arrested on Tuesday at four illegal mining sites in Atakunmosa West local government area of the state.

The four illegal mining sites raided are; Itagunmodi, Igun and Ariye 1&2.

The operation was carried out by Amotekun corps in collaboration with the State Joint Task Force (JTF) and lasted for two hours at the four illegal mining sites.



The Director-General of Amotekun, Osun State, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, said, the operation was part of the commitment of Governor Adegboyega Oyetolas administration to rid the state of economic saboteurs.

Those that were arrested are eleven expatriates, including 10 Chinese and 1 Ghanaian as well as three locals

The DG commended the JTF comprising Nigerian Army, Air force, Navy, Police, DSS, NSCDC and Immigration for their cooperation with Amotekun corps to make the operation a success.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Xtalks Life Science Webinars

Dry powder inhalation (DPI) drug products are rightfully developed with efficacy and safety in mind to serve critical patient needs. However, as early drug development progresses to clinical development, the ability to efficiently manufacture these products becomes a more important determinant of eventual commercial feasibility.

Whether a DPI product can be manufactured at scale is dependent upon a variety of factors from chemical and physical properties of the formulation to manufacturing conditions.

In this webinar, these factors will be examined as sources of potential process risk. A case study will demonstrate the impact drug formulation can have on processing, product behavior, and performance. Strategies for mitigating process risk will be presented to avoid revisiting formulation development and the corresponding delays that can result.

Join Justin Lacombe, PhD, Vice President, Operations, Experic in a live webinar on Monday, June 8, 2020 at 11am EDT (4pm BST/UK).

For more information or to register for this event, visit Inhalation: Connecting Formula to Filling.

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/
An almost complete 300,000-year-old elephant skeleton with eight-foot tusks has been recovered from a former mine in Germany.

The Eurasian straight-tusked elephant, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, died by the shores of an ancient lake before its corpse was scavenged by carnivores.

Human ancestors are thought to have eaten from the carcass, as 30 small flint flakes and two long bones used for sharpening tools were found among the remains.

It was then covered over by water-saturated sediment, which has preserved it since the start of the Middle Palaeolithic era.

Found in Schoningen, Lower Saxony, the elephant is the latest find from the treasure trove deposit. It has previously yielded three skeletons of sabre-toothed cats and 300,000-year-old wooden hunting spears.

Eurasian straight-tusked elephant died by the shores of a lake in Schoningen, Lower Saxony

Pictured above is a composite photograph of the find. Archaeologists suggested the elephant had died due to old age, although they didn't rule out human hunting

The mammal - which was larger than today's African elephant - stood 10-foot tall and weighed 6.8 tonnes, according to archaeologists from the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution at the University of Tubingen, who made the find.

They also identified it as a female, and said it was an older individual due to its worn teeth.

A complete lower jaw, large bones from three of the four legs, numerous vertebrae, ribs and all five delicate hyoid bones from the animal's neck were also recovered from the remains.

It is thought the elephant died due to old age rather than human hunting, although the researchers have not completely discounted this.

Head of the excavation, Jordi Serangeli, said that although human ancestors were accomplished hunters there was no reason for them to go after such large and dangerous prey.

Head of the excavation, Jordi Serangeli, wipes sediment away from the elephant's foot

Straight-tusked elephants were a part of their environment, and the hominins knew that they frequently died on the lakeshore, he said.

'The Stone Age hunters probably cut meat, tendons and fat from the carcass.

What human ancestor was in Germany 300,000 years ago? Human ancestors had reached Europe by this time, although it would take at least another 250,000 years for modern humans to arrive. Early Neanderthals may have been in the area at this time. Their lineage was first established in the continent 100,00 years before the elephants death, according to the Natural History Museum, with early fossils found in Swanscombe, Kent, and Sima de los Huesos, Spain. The species was capable of making stone tones and is thought to have been able to use wooden spears, which would have placed it in the area 400,000 years ago. Neanderthal at the Natural History Museum Homo heidelbergensis, which Neanderthals evolved from, may also have been in the area at the time. Evidence for the species dates back to 700,000 years ago, although it was on the cusp of extinction by the elephants death. This species also used tools. Advertisement

'We do not seek to rule out that extremely dangerous elephant hunts may have taken place, but the evidence often leaves us in some doubt.'

Numerous bitemarks were left on the elephant's bones betraying the presence of scavengers.

Ancient human tools at the site suggest sharpening took place. Archaeologist Barbara Alvarez found micro flakes embedded in the two long bones, and was able to refit two small flakes into grooves, confirming this.

Tracks from a small herd of adults and youngsters have been found less than 350 feet from the remains, lending weight to the view other elephants were in the area.

'The heavy animals were walking in parallel by the lake shore,' said Flavio Altamura, from Sapienza University of Rome who analysed the tracks,.

'Their feet sank into the mud, leaving behind circular tracks with a maximum diameter of about 23 inches.'

When the elephant was alive, evidence from sediments at Schoningen suggest the climate was very much like it is today but with a wealth of animals similar to the Serengeti.

The lake shores were populated by at least 20 large mammals including lions, bears, sabre-toothed cats, rhinoceroses, wild horses, deer and large cows.

Further detailed analysis is being undertaken at the Technische Universitat Braunschweig, the University of Luneburg and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, to see if more can be learnt about the environment at the time.

Many exquisite finds have been made at the Schoningen site previously, which provide clues as to the environment at the time and human evolution.

A model of a straight-tusked elephant foraging with its calf is pictured above

Perhaps the most famous find are the eight wooden throwing spears from the Middle Palaeolithic, which were associated with 1,600 animal bones, mostly from horses.

They have been attributed to both Neanderthals and Homo heidelbergensis, the two human ancestors believed to be in the area at the time.

The latest excavations were financed by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony.
By Aftab Ahmed and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India would provide 20 trillion rupees ($266 billion) in fiscal and monetary measures to support an economy battered by a sweeping 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% of India's 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 Indian rupees ($22.6 billion) 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.

"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," said Sandip Sabharwal, a Mumbai-based fund manager.

"It doesn't 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.

Story continues

ECONOMY SLOWING, SPENDING RISING

Even before the pandemic, India's growth was slowing and public finances were strained because of poor tax collection and higher spending.

Last month, the ratings agency Fitch said India's 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."

(This story fixes Indian rupee conversion rate against dollar in 4th para and typo in 7th para of story from May 12)

(Additional reporting by Alasdair Pal and Devjyot Ghoshal in New Delhi, Swati Bhat in Mumbai; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Kevin Liffey)
Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Minister of Health Paulette Lenert held a press briefing about the recent coronavirus developments and the national exit strategy earlier this Wednesday.

Key points The recent virus developments are positive and give hope, Xavier Bettel and Paulette Lenert agreed. Despite new infections remaining low, Bettel stressed that "the battle against the virus" is not over yet. In his words, it is a "path of responsibility and solidarity" that we need to embark on to defeat the pandemic. Xavier Bettel unveiled further support packages for ailing companies and businesses that were hit hard by the restrictions. This new "relaunch plan" boasts a 700-800 million package in addition to the previous financial aids. There will for instance be a recovery and solidarity fund to lessen the blow to badly affected sectors such as HORECA and tourism. Cross-border workers will also receive a voucher for an overnight stay in a Luxembourg hotel or accommodation in order to support local tourism and the hotel industry. Companies counting up to 250 employees will receive a direct financial aid of 1,000 per employee in June, 750 per employee in July, and 500 in August. This financial aid is non-refundable and tax-free. Short-time working schemes are also maintained in sectors that were severely impacted by the pandemic.





Landlords of commercial premises will receive significant tax advantages if they reduce rent prices for shops and other businesses. The government also decided that rent prices for private individuals cannot be increased until 31 December. There will also be a legal framework to maintain leave for familial reasons. Students will also be happy to learn that deadlines for financial support applications (Cedies) have been postponed.

Xavier Bettel explained that the government was joining efforts with the Chamber of Deputies, opposition parties, and other key players such as trade unions to bring to life a new pandemic law for Luxembourg before the state of emergency expires on 24 June.





Minister of Health Paulette Lenert explained that the recent developments give reason to be cautiously optimistic. She reiterated the importance of respecting hygiene and social distancing recommendations to prevent the worst-case scenario of a second infection wave. The temporary care centres in Ettelbruck and Grevenmacher will close on 29 May due to dwindling patient numbers. The advanced care centre in Esch (Rockhal) will presumably close on 15 June. The same holds true for the one at Luxexpo. Lenert stressed that the infrastructure would remain in place so that the centre could reopen if need be. It remains unclear whether or not restaurants and bars will be able to reopen on 1 June. More details are expected next Monday. There is no concrete update on potential border reopenings in France and Belgium. Earlier we covered the press briefing with live ticker updates.
BMS Group, the London-based specialist re/insurance broker, announced the appointments of Dominic Addesso as non-executive chairman and LoriAnn Lowery-Biggers as an independent non-executive director of BMS Intermediaries Inc., the groups U.S. reinsurance intermediary arm.

Addesso and Lowery-Biggers also join as independent non-executive directors of BMS Investment Holding Co., the holding company for BMS Group, effective immediately.

Addesso brings more than 41 years of experience in the re/insurance market to BMS. His most recent role was as president and CEO of Everest Re Group, a position he held from January 2014 to the end of 2019 when he retired.

Starting in June of 2011 he assumed the duties of president of Everest Re Group, leading group operations, after serving as chief financial officer since 2009. Prior to Everest, he held various roles at Munich Re America beginning in 1997 including president of U.S. Treaty. Addesso first began his insurance career in 1978 at Selective Insurance after attaining his CPA designation while at KPMG.

Lowery-Biggers has over 30 years of global financial and insurance experience, most recently as group chief marketing officer at The Navigators Group, Inc., which she joined in 2009 as president of the groups field operations. Lowery-Biggers was also president of Lloyds of London, North America, leading its business operations across the U.S. and Canada. She previously held senior positions at Wells Fargo Insurance Services and Marsh and McLennan Cos.

Lowery-Biggers is currently CEO of BellaVaughan, Inc. and serves as a non-executive director at Protective Insurance, Co., CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Co. and Brown and Riding. She is also a board member of several non-profit organizations, including A21, an anti-human trafficking group. She is also a recipient of the Mother Teresa Harmony Award.

The appointments of Dom and LoriAnn are testament to our determination in attracting industry leading talent and to the scale of our ambition in North America, said Nick Cook, CEO at BMS Group.

Doms distinguished career in the reinsurance market will contribute greatly to our business as we continue to invest and grow in this sector. LoriAnn is a highly respected leader with a global reputation and extensive market relationships. The opportunities created by these hires are evident to us, and I look forward to working with them and Pete Chandler, our U.S. CEO, in growing our business.

Source: BMS

Topics USA Reinsurance
The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

View Results
Big mining companies that rely on indigenous workforces or operate near remote communities have acted fast to curb the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a public health crisis that could damage their reputations.

From Australia's outback to Canada's Arctic wilderness to the Andes, mining firms have changed rosters to stop outsiders infecting remote communities, paid staff with potential health issues to stay at home and given food to indigenous families so they don't have to shop in nearby mining towns.

Investors already weighing up holdings in miners because of their contribution to climate change say a bad outbreak of COVID-19 among indigenous communities near mining operations might also make them reassess their investment decisions.

Norway's $1 trillion wealth fund blacklisted some of the world's biggest miners last week over their carbon emissions and EY has ranked miners' social licence to operate as the greatest risk to the industry for the past two years.

In Australia, mining companies are one of the biggest employers of Aboriginal people, who have an average life span nearly 10 years shorter than other Australians and can be at elevated risks of heart and kidney diseases and diabetes.

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

Mining companies typically fly staff from big cities to work in remote areas in a practice known as FIFO, or fly in fly out.

South32 said it had strictly separated FIFO staff at its manganese mine GEMCO in north Australia from residential workers who are interwoven with the local Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt - and expects to keep the measures in place for months.

"We work in close proximity to several indigenous communities who have vulnerable people. It's absolutely essential we get it right," said Jo-Anne Scarini, vice president of operations at the mine.

ISOLATION MEASURES

Australia, which is among the countries most successful in fighting the spread of COVID-19, had just over 7,000 cases as of May 18 and 99 deaths. It does not separate out data for cases among Indigenous people, who make up 3.3% of the population.

Because of the risk to people with underlying health issues, Australian mining giant BHP made all employees over 65 work from home but lowered that to 50 for higher-risk employees such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - and asked all its contractors to do the same.

"(We) are actively encouraging them to take the steps we are taking to support our own high-risk employees during the COVID-19 pandemic," BHP said in a statement.

Rival Rio Tinto has adopted a similar policy and is also administering antibody blood tests and temperature checks before staff fly to remote sites to reduce the risk of anyone infecting the mainly indigenous communities near mines.

Australian iron ore miner Fortescue assesses its workers' health on a case by case basis, rather than focusing on groups within its workforce, Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines told Reuters, adding that it had distributed care packages including items such as hand sanitisers to remote communities.

In the Arctic Canadian territory of Nunavut, a predominately indigenous region mostly made up of Inuit, miners slowed their operations to limit the risk of an outbreak.

Gold miner Agnico Eagle, Nunavut's largest private employer, initially sent home its First Nations employees, who make up about a fifth of its 2,500-strong workforce, before scaling back operations and halting exploration.

It also instituted onsite testing and screening for COVID-19, as well as teleworking for all positions at its three Nunavut sites that could be done remotely, the company's communications director Dale Coffin said.

In Peru, MMG Ltd has given food and care packages to 6,000 families in the Apurimac region around its vast Las Bambas copper mine in the Andes to discourage them from going to town for provisions and potentially exposing the community.

A spokeswoman for the Australian-based miner said there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus at Las Bambas as yet.

There has been an outbreak, however, at Peru's Antamina mine which is owned by BHP and commodities trading giant Glencore. More than 200 cases were discovered in April during testing of staff and contractors and mining has been halted.

BRAND HAS SUFFERED

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment analysts say they are watching mining companies closely to see how they cope with the coronavirus crisis, mindful of the potential risks to their reputations.

"An outbreak would attract further scrutiny over miners' COVID response from local authorities and civil society," said Ziggy You, ESG investment analyst at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which holds shares in mining companies.

"In case of a major outbreak, we would carry out an assessment of both its financial and social impacts and factor that into our investment decisions," he said.

Paul Mitchell, global mining & metals leader at EY, said the safety culture instilled in mining companies had helped stop the coronavirus from spreading.

"It is true that the 'brand' of mining has suffered in recent years," he said. "When we talk about safety these days we talk about zero harm so it does go beyond 'accidents' to thinking about health and wellbeing."

In Canada, Ojibway Chief Duncan Michano of the Pic River First Nation said Barrick Gold continued to pay workers at its Hemlo mine after the First Nation locked down its Ontario community for several weeks in April to protect it from the pandemic.

But community members who lived off the reserve and worked at the mine were upset not to be offered the same option to stay home without losing pay, he said.

They were mollified by the protective measures Barrick implemented, he said, calling the whole situation a compromise.

"We tried to close (the mine) down altogether but we don't have any legal means to do that," Michano said. "The province declares it an essential service so they can do what they want."

For some indigenous workers, stopping work is not an option. The Tahltan First Nation in Canada's British Columbia province opted to work with Australia's Newcrest Mining to keep the Red Chris copper-gold mine open, said Chad Day,president of the Tahltan central government.

There were fears a shutdown would throw 120 locals out of work, exacerbating social problems, Day said. "It wasn't an easy decision."
Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more

Merchants will be able to sell products on Google Shopping at no charge, thanks to changes that will take effect soon.

Previously, they had to pay per click, but the cost was not fixed. There was no minimum, but they had to set a maximum for ad spend and Google would stop displaying their ads once the maximum was reached.

Starting next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free product listings, said Bill Ready, Googles president of commerce.

Existing Google Merchant Center and Shopping Ads users will be enrolled in the new program automatically; Google will streamline the onboarding process for new Merchant Center users over the next few months.

The changes will take effect in the United States before the end of the month. Google plans to expand them globally before the end of the year.

Google also is launching a new partnership with PayPal to let merchants link their accounts, in order to speed up onboarding and improve search quality, Ready said.

Further, Google is working closely with many existing shopping platform partners, including Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce.

Shopify Chief Product Officer posted this enthusiastic tweet:

Excited to work with Google to get all Shopify merchants on Google Shopping for FREE. Coming to the US by the end of this month. https://t.co/8D3v7TtRpo

 Craig Miller (@craigmillr) April 21, 2020

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Google is just another channel for big e-commerce platforms because it integrates with them, notedMark Lewis, CEO of Netalico Commerce.

Shot in the Arm for SMBs

Now SMBs and smaller retailers can potentially list more products without fear of running up the cost, observed Liz Miller, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

Opening up Google Shopping also helps expand the size and scope of Googles marketplace, adding more opportunity for discovery and delight, which is certainly a perk of browsing broad search terms on something like Amazon, Miller told the E-Commerce Times. Who knew you needed a tea strainer that looks like a manatee had you not searched for tea?

That will let Google expand the base to upsell into showcase shopping ads or more engagement-based premium ads, she noted.

Its also a way to add opportunity in a category where revenue has begun to lag, Miller remarked.

As Google was seeing more opportunity in their cost per engagement models across things like Showcase, you had a situation where more house ads were taking up residence in the Listings, she said. Why not open up, increase the perceived size of your virtual mall, and expand the sales opportunity by approaching these new listings in the marketplace with ways to make their placement deliver even better results?

Opening up Google Shopping gives SMBs another sales channel for their products, Netalicos Lewis told the E-Commerce Times. Particularly as it becomes harder and harder to rank on Google organically, anything you can do to highlight your products on Google is a good thing.

However, removing barriers to entry  such as cost  is a mixed blessing, because it could increase the competition on Google Shopping and decrease the overall quality of the listings, he cautioned.

That said, if Google can maintain the quality of the listings, that will provide a valuable opportunity for Google to act as an e-commerce search engine  something which Amazon has been dominating lately, noted Lewis.

Fending Off Amazon

Opening up Google Shopping is likely a response to losing so much e-commerce market share to Amazon, Lewis suggested.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Almost half of nearly 1,000 Internet users aged 13 and above said they typically would go to Amazon first when shopping for a product, according to a survey conducted last year. For those who normally shopped online, that figure was 58 percent.

Amazon is now the go-to e-commerce search engine because it has such a wide selection of products, Lewis remarked.

The coronavirus pandemic has boosted business at Amazon, which had to hire 100,000 new workers last month and now plans to add another 75,000.

Amazon restricted online shipments of nonessential products to its warehouse for a month beginning in March, in order to make room for products such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer due to skyrocketing demand because of the pandemic.

It resumed accepting nonessential product shipments last week.

In another move that hurt Google, Amazon sharply cut its purchases of Google Ads.

Further, Amazon has been attracting online ads at Googles expense.

Fight for the Ad Market

Facebook and other players are nipping at Googles heels as well.

The online ad market includes players like eBay, who are looking to deliver greater impact, scale, scope and analysis of audience and buying behavior and intention, Miller pointed out. This is where new formats and more content-driven, image-driven and carousel-style formats have come into play.

Google has made smart moves in their partnerships, especially in helping big retailers tie in with point-of-sale inventory management solutions, so local feeds become more easy to manage and maintain, she continued.

While Amazon is driving advertising to drive e-commerce specific business, Google can go beyond and can also drive local sales, which will certainly become even more important when businesses start to reopen and look for speedy recovery, Miller said.

That may be crucial. U.S. spending on search advertising will fall by between 9 percent and 15 percent in H1, 2020, according to eMarketer.

Twitter pulled back from its ad sales projections for March, which analysts believe fell by about 20 percent.

Facebooks ad sales have weakened in countries aggressively fighting COVID-19, the company acknowledged.

Its likely Google ad sales also have been hit.

However, online ad sales were falling before the pandemic, Miller said, and the coronavirus just accelerated the fall.
Right on time, true to the mystery of the migration cycle - the loons show up and without our bidding (but with the help of our floating signs), take over their territories, build nests, fight off intruders, lay eggs and raise chicks.

The average number of chicks in Montana (including Glacier National Park) has recently hovered between 40-50 chicks a year. But, our loons outdid themselves last year by raising an unheard of 75 chicks!!! (We didn't believe the reports at first and had to go back and make sure that number was correct). Last year produced perfect nesting conditions with cooler, rainy weather that reduced human presence on the lakes but didn't flood. So, in about three years, 7-14 three-year-old sub-adults will return to Montana from the west coast and begin their search for a lake and a partner.

While we are thrilled to have this success, as strange as it sounds, we really don't want this to happen every year. Loons are a "density-dependent" species. There are only so many territories and there only can be so many loon pairs. In a healthy loon population, about 40 percent should be sub-adult singles who spend about three years looking for the right lake and partner. In areas with huge numbers of suitable and available nesting lakes (like Saskatchewan), these singles find their place, but in Montana, where good loon lakes are more finite, a large number of singles disrupt nesting by picking fights with resident loons, to the point that chick numbers drop.

However, thanks to nature (and our floating signs), last year we had a banner year.

Does this mean that we are done...that we can all go home? Absolutely not!

We won't have a rainy, cool spring every year. We must maintain the placement of signs and monitoring of loons. This requires interns hired by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. Interns require money.

For about 10 years MLS has benefitted greatly by monies generated from the sale of vehicle licenses plates featuring the beautiful "Loons of the Swan Valley" by Monte Dolack. In the face of declining government revenues, we have been able to pick up the financial slack to insure that the loon work continues.

However, the 2019 Montana Legislature enacted a law that each non-profit must sell a minimum of 400 plates per year to maintain their plate. MLS has done this in every year but one and we aren't that far over 400 that we feel completely confident we will sell 400 each year. One low year is all it takes to lose our beautiful plate with the initial investment of $4,000 and the essential monies required to maintain the wildlife interns. Further, if we lose the license plate we have to wait four years to reapply and pay a $5,000 application fee.

But, as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, it's difficult to encourage you to financially support Montana's loons. But if you need to replace your Montana vehicle license plate please obtain or renew the Montana Loon Society plate. Also, please talk to your local Montana politicians about modifying the license plate law to say something like "over a three-year period, each nonprofit must maintain an average of 400 plates sold," or that the state provide an adequate grace period each year.

In the meantime, be thankful that "sheltering in place" allows us to be outside, relishing the dependable seasonal cycles of Earth. Please be well, be safe, be healthy and spend some good social distancing time with the loons on your favorite loon lake and THANK YOU!

2019 Blackfoot/Clearwater Loon Ranger Report

Story Keely Benson, Blackfoot/Clearwater (Ovando/Seeley Lake) Loon Ranger

Thirteen lakes are watched for loons in this combined area. In the Blackfoot, Upsata Lake hatched two chicks. In the Clearwater, Seeley, Hidden and Summit Lakes had two chicks each. Rainy Lake had one. Clearwater Lake had no known nest attempt and Lake Alva nested on the island with signs put out, but no known chicks. Placid Lake also produced one chick but it was hatched after July Loon Day, so it didn't make the official count. The female on Placid Lake was originally banded in 1996, so she is now 28  30 years old. So it was a successful season with nine chicks counted on July Loon Day.

Swan Loon Ranger Report

Story Sage Staven/Mark Ruby, Swan Geographic Area

The Swan area had five nesting pairs of which four produced chicks. Pierce, Loon (Kraft Creek) and Loon (Ferndale) had two chicks each. Based on 20 years of records, Holland Lake is new nesting territory. The pair nested in a shallow bay on the north shore less than 20 yards from the Holland Falls trail. Despite the busy hiker activity through nesting season, the birds successfully nested and raised one chick. So, seven chicks were counted in this area on the July Loon Day survey.

To quickly see how our Blackfoot and Clearwater loon neighbors faired last year, take a look at the included chart. Bumps and dips naturally occur in loon numbers. Nationally, one in four nests fails naturally. In Montana, flood years are a major cause in the drop in chicks, but not all areas flood the same year. It is only cause for concern if numbers drop and drop without bounce-back. Even with these dips and rises on local lakes, chick numbers in Montana have remained roughly the same, with an average forty-one chicks per year, which is considered a viable loon population. 2019 was an above average year due to a cool, rainy spring that did not cause flooding, but helped the loons successfully nest and hatch chicks.
A day after three unidentified armed men looted Rs 10.9 lakh from a branch of IndusInd Bank at Sohian Kalan village in Majitha sub-division, the rural district police on Wednesday shutdown 32 branches of a number of banks. The police said these branches did not follow the security norms as prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to a police release, the banks closed were two branches of the Axis Bank; two of the National Bank; ten branches of the Punjab National Bank; six branches of the Cooperative Bank; seven of the HDFC Bank; one of the ICICI Bank; one of the Union Bank; one of the IDBI Bank and two of the IndusInd Bank.

SSP rural Vikramjit Singh Duggal said, These branches were not following the guidelines of the RBI. Most of the branches were running in small rooms and some of them had no guard. He added no bank branch in rural district would be allowed to run if it did not follow prescribed security norms.

Majitha DSP Jogeshwar Singh Goraya said the branch had five employees, but only two were present at the time of the incident. There was no customer in the bank when the robbery took place. The bank neither had a guard nor CCTVs. This is against RBI guidelines, the DSP added.

Punjab National Bank lead district manager Pritpal Singh said, We have informed out senior authorities about the issue. He added that he did not know if branches of other banks had also been closed as well.

Strap/Blurb

Police action came a day after Rs 11 lakh dacoity at a private bank branch in a village; branches ordered to shutdown did not have security as per RBI norms, say police
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 14:09 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd9393ab 1 Business Indonesia,healthcare,hospitals,telemedicine,Siloam-hospital,pondok-indah-hospital,Mitra-Keluarga-Hospital Free

Many major hospital operators in Indonesian have launched their own teleconsultation services to tap into the growing telemedicine market in the country, which has been further accelerated by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Siloam Hospital chief information officer Ryanto Marino Tedjomulja said the hospital chain had launched its online outpatient services or teleconsultation on April 13 in partnership with Aido Health, an online healthcare provider.

This service is meant to support the social distancing program, he said in an email correspondence on Friday, adding that patients who were unable to go to a hospital could also use the service to consult with a doctor.

As of now, the program has more than 300 medical specialists, Ryanto noted.

The hospital operator, which currently runs 36 hospitals across Indonesia, started its digital program about two years ago and launched its own application called MySiloam in August last year.

In the two months before the COVID-19 pandemic, that is from December 2019 to February, the number of MySiloam downloads had increased threefold, Ryanto said, explaining that users sought information about COVID-19 and doctors schedules on the hospitals digital platforms.

Aside from teleconsultations, Siloam has also adopted teleradiology, in which radiological images such as X-rays, CTs and MRIs can be distributed across its hospital networks. The hospital is now working on a plan to use telemedicine to help monitor patients conditions remotely, Ryanto said.

Telemedicine will become part of the new normal. It is here to stay.

According to Market Data Forecast, the telemedicine market in the Asia Pacific is projected to grow from US$8.51 billion in 2019 to $22.45 billion by 2024.

A report by Bain & Company, titled "Asia-Pacific Front Line of Healthcare Report 2020", says that the healthcare landscape in the Asia Pacific will expand at a rate almost double than that of the rest of the world by representing a more than 40 percent of the growth in global healthcare spending over the next decade.

The report, which surveyed more than 1,800 consumers and over 250 physicians across the Asia Pacific region, finds that there is a growing interest in preventative health, convenience and ownership over health care, indicating a prospective market in the long-term adoption of telemedicine.

In comparison to practices in three to five years ago, 59 percent of consumers expect their doctors to answer questions through phone and messaging services rather than waiting for the next appointment, 59 percent say they monitor their health using technology and 54 percent schedule appointments through mobile apps, the report shows.

It is no surprise that industry players who focus on developing and offering telemedicine services are growing their user base fast, especially during the outbreak.

Telemedicine platform Alodokter has been downloaded by more than 5 million users on Googles Play Store and has more than 33 million active users as of March. Meanwhile, Halodoc has been downloaded more than 1 million times and has more than 9 million monthly active users.

Hospital operators are attempting to get a portion of the growing number of digital consumers, especially as patient visits to hospitals decrease amid the pandemic.

Pondok Indah Hospital Group chief executive officer Yanwar Hadiyanto told The Jakarta Post in a statement on Friday that the teleconsultation service the hospital launched in May had been met with enthusiasm from its patients.

The group, which runs three hospitals in Greater Jakarta, also has an app called RSPI Mobile to help patients schedule their doctor appointments.

He explained that the use of telemedicine would grow, in part due to uncertainties over the conclusion of the outbreak, but that its growth would be dependent on regulations imposed by the government.

However, it is hard to fully replace face-to-face on-site consultations with doctors, understanding that there is a limitation in physical examinations that can be done [by using the app], he said.

Mitra Keluarga investor relations Aditya Widjaja also noted a similar challenge.

Mitra Keluarga Group, which has 24 hospitals under its wing, has also branched out to include teleconsultations because of the outbreak. But the additional service was also offered to counteract a decline in outpatient visitors to their hospitals, Aditya said in a statement on Tuesday.

When asked by the Post about the future integration of other telemedicine services in its group, Aditya answered it may still be far into the future as at the moment, Mitra Keluarga Hospital's teleconsultation services were largely focused on accommodating recurrent patients.
M Cecil Smith will be the dean of SIUs new School of Education

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  M Cecil Smith will become the dean of Southern Illinois University Carbondales reorganized School of Education on July 13 pending approval of the SIU Board of Trustees.

Smith is currently graduate program coordinator and professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and Human Development within the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Meera Komarraju, SIUs provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, says Smith brings deep experience to the position.

Our students, faculty and staff will benefit from his extensive teaching, administrative and research experience in the field of education, she said. His expertise, experience at two different universities, collaborative synergy and focus on student success will ensure that we continue preparing excellent teachers.

Extensive experience

Smith served as associate dean for research and graduate education at West Virginia from 2013 to 2018 before assuming his current position with the university.

His new position at SIU marks a return to Illinois. Between 1988 and 2013, Smith held various positions at Northern Illinois University, beginning as an assistant professor in educational psychology, counseling and special education. He subsequently served as a faculty associate in gerontology, fellow in the Social Science Research Institute, associate professor and professor. He also served as acting co-director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Language and Literacy at NIU.

During those years, Smith said he became familiar with SIU and its academic reputation through family members and colleagues who are alumni or who have worked at the university. Now, he is very eager to be dean of the School of Education during the reorganization transition.

I am delighted to be asked to serve as the first dean for the new School of Education, Smith said. I thank interim Chancellor Dunn and Provost Komarraju for placing their trust in me to lead the Schoolparticularly during this very difficult time, he said. I am eager to work with the School of Education leadership team, faculty, and staff to help our students to be safe and healthy. As we do so, we will ensure that they receive a rigorous education that prepares them for careers and lifelong learning opportunities with the ability to thoughtfully participate in our democratic society.

Leadership vision

Smith has a strong record as a researcher and has launched academic centers. He said he has been successful in working collaboratively with faculty, students and staff, both as a faculty member and administrator. He added that he is eager to continue to work in unison with others at SIU to position the university as a leader in the field of education.

This is my vision, my mantra for SIUs School of Education: Always learning, always leading, Smith said. My goal is to work with the faculty and staff to assure we have a high-quality, rigorous program and that we position SIU as THE leading school for students who want to obtain a teaching degree.

Smith said he also wants to revitalize and enhance the schools existing community partnerships and establish new relationships.

First-generation scholar

Smith has something in common with many SIU students.

I was a first-generation college student, and I appreciate that many students at SIU Carbondale are also the first in their families to attend college, he said. As my college education opened new pathways for me that led to countless opportunities for growth, I am confident that the same will hold true for our students.

Smith completed his doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds a masters degree in post-secondary/agency counseling with emphasis in adult development from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and a bachelors in education  English/secondary from Wichita State University.

Smiths research work, particularly in the areas of adult learning, literacy and continuing education, has been extensively published.

Im very eager to get to campus and I look forward to working with the faculty and staff, launching new initiatives, revitalizing programs and welcoming students back in the fall, Smith said.
The Canadian Armed Forces are turning to the U.S. military for assistance in recovering a downed Cyclone helicopter off the coast of Greece. Six Armed Forces members died when the Cyclone helicopter went down, with the wreckage now under about 3,000 metres of water. The remains of two Armed Forces members on board have been recovered along with the voice and flight-data, while four others are missing and presumed dead.

READ | Mount Everest Visible From Kathmandu For The First Time In Decades, See Exclusive Pictures

READ | WHO Member Countries Agree To Independent Probe Of UN Agency's COVID-19 Response

Lt.-Gen. Mike Rouleau said that the Canadian military secured US Navy support within nine days of the deadly crash and Canadian aircraft began transporting US experts and deep-submersible technology to the region as of May 15.

He added that Canada does not possess the technological capability to recover wreckage from the depth - 3,000 meters - where the remains of the helicopter lie.

Canadian investigators and the experts from the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Office of the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) experts are expected to begin the recovery mission next week. The investigation, despite the assistance of US personnel, will be led by Canadian forces members, Rouleau said. The Canadian helicopter fleet has been placed on an operational pause while experts assess the cause of the accident.

"Speed in this search and recovery is very important for a number of reasons," Rouleau said Monday while addressing media. "The first is for the families. The second relates to our [Canadian Armed Forces] ethos  we do not leave our fallen behind. And the third is, the environment will degrade [crash] evidence over time."

The CH-148 Cyclone Helicopter went down as it was approaching HMCS Fredericton in the Ionian Sea following a surveillance training mission on April 29.

READ | Cyclone Amphan Live Updates: Bengal Evacuates 3L People, Assam Issues 'high Alert'

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases Cross 1 Lakh As Many States Ease Lockdown Restrictions
In their opinion: Congress must act now to ensure a safe presidential election
Green Party deputy leader Catherine Martin has confirmed she will give "serious consideration" to contesting the party's forthcoming leadership election.

Her comments will only add to pressure on party leader Eamon Ryan who is now in a battle to retain control of his newly expanded party.

She insisted that her "focus remains on the crucial government formation talks".

"I believe it is important that government formation talks fully conclude uninterrupted and that any leadership campaign happens subsequently, she said.

Her statement follows the call from four Read More: Cork party councillors for her to contest the leadership position. A contest for the leadership must happen within six months of a General Election under party rules.

The letter from councillors Oliver Moran, Lorna Bogue, Liam Quaide and Colette Finn, details of which were published in the Irish Examiner on Wednesday morning, said Mr Ryan is no longer the right person to lead the party.

Cllr Bogue, defending her decision to back Ms Martin, said there is Read More: nothing House of Cards" like about a move by four Cork councillors to encourage Catherine Martin to challenge for the leadership.

Ms Bogue insisted that they are just trying to do what is right for the party.

Cllr Bogue says that the Green Party constitution mandates that a leadership election must occur within six months of a General Election.

She said the people who wrote the constitution could never have foreseen a situation where the country would be six months from an election and without a Government.

"Unfortunately (the leadership election) is not a time of our choosing. In the middle of (Government) negotiations is definitely not the best time to be doing this. It is something that is mandated by our constitution that we have to have one (a contest) within six months of a General Election.

"It has to be held and done and dusted in six months so we have to open up nominations and that takes a few weeks for those to be left open. June or July we will be having the vote."

In an interview with the Opinion Line, on Cork's 96FM, Cllr Bogue emphasised that it was not a question of them having no confidence in Mr Ryan.

"We are all very grateful to Eamon and we think he has done a really brilliant job over the last ten years bringing us to the position where we currently are at. If you think a week is a long time in politics ten years is a very long time
So-called "white lies" -- telling a spouse you like their sub-par cooking, or praising a friend's unflattering haircut -- serve a purpose. But they can cause problems in the workplace, where honest feedback, even when it's negative, is important.

Women are more likely to be given inaccurate performance feedback, according to new research by Lily Jampol, Ph.D. '14, and Vivian Zayas, associate professor of psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

In their paper, "Gendered White Lies: Women Are Given Inflated Performance Feedback Compared to Men," Zayas and Jampol find that underperforming women are given less truthful but kinder performance feedback compared to equally underperforming men.

White lies are told to preserve relationships, avoid harming the other person or to present one's self in a positive light, among other reasons, Jampol said. Though they often reflect benign intentions, in some contexts they can be problematic.

"Given that developmental performance feedback is a ubiquitous and important process in most workplaces and of many people's working lives, access to fair and accurate feedback should be available to anyone needing improvement, regardless of his or her social group," the authors wrote. "Here we have exposed one factor that may, to a certain degree, impede this access -- being a woman."

The study adds to a robust body of research showing gender differences in performance evaluations. Previous research has shown, for example, that women are described more warmly and with more positive words than men in narrative performance reviews, while being evaluated more negatively on more objective, quantitative measures of performance. Women are praised for their work while being allocated fewer resources than men. Women also report receiving less negative feedback from managers.

advertisement

The primary aim of this new study, Zayas said, was "to provide empirical evidence that there is a greater propensity to positively distort information, or tell white lies, to women during person-to-person feedback."

The researchers used two studies to test this hypothesis.

In the first, which measured participants' perceptions of another person's actions, participants read a hypothetical manager's assessment of an employee's poor performance. Then they read what feedback the manager chose to give directly to the employee. Participants were randomly assigned to read different feedback statements, ranging from truthful feedback, which was the harshest, to the least truthful statement, which was also the nicest.

Study participants were asked to guess the employee's gender based on the feedback the manager had chosen to give.

"Participants overwhelmingly guessed that an underperforming employee who had been told a white lie -- the least truthful, but the nicest feedback -- was a woman," said Jampol, a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist at ReadySet, a consulting firm in Oakland, California. "This finding suggests that participants believe that this is a likely occurrence in giving feedback."

The second study examined whether the participants themselves were more likely to tell white lies to an underperforming woman, compared with a man.

advertisement

For the second study, the researchers asked participants to grade two poorly written essays, with the writers identified solely by their initials, AB or SB; their genders were not known. Given that participants did not know the gender of the writers and the evaluation was done privately, their grades represent how they truly evaluated the essay.

After submitting their grades, study participants were asked to provide feedback directly to each writer over chat, so that the writer could improve. At this point, the writers' names (Andrew or Sarah) were revealed, revealing that one was a man, the other a woman. Participants submitted a grade to each writer, as well as substantive comments to improve their essays.

Participants were more likely to tell white lies to the woman writer, inflating Sarah's grades nearly a full letter grade higher than from their initial private evaluation. They also gave her more positive comments than they gave Andrew. In contrast, the man's in-person feedback was statistically indistinguishable from the participants' undisclosed evaluations of his work.

The studies reveal a potential obstacle to equality, Jampol and Zayas said.

This research was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the American Psychological Association.
We recognize that this award is an opportunity to show the newest branch of the DOD that PSSC Labs is a partner they can rely on to solve really complex problems with very, very limited risk.

The U.S. Space Force is ramping up! As part of this massive effort to create a fifth branch of the Department of Defense, Space Force is seeking innovative ideas to solve new problems  enter Space Force Pitch Days. Pitch Days connect those government agencies that need rapidly deployed technologies around Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IOT), High Performance Computing (HPC) and Big Data with companies that are nimble enough to deliver complete solutions on time and on budget. Government agencies are granted the authority to award on the spot contracts, which significantly reduces the procurement process and expedites the time to delivery.

Earlier this year, PSSC Labs took part in a Pitch Day hosted by the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Florida. The company is ideally suited to meet the governments stated technology goals having delivered nine PowerWulf ZXR1+ HPC Clusters to the 45th Space Wing for Range Safety Analysis. These systems are used in both classified and unclassified environments at the 45th Space Wing.

We knew our long and successful history at the 45th would make our Space Force Pitch a strong contender, begins Alex Lesser, PSSC Labs Vice President. Over the past decade PSSC Labs has ensured the safety of government and civilians during any missile launch not only at the Eastern Range but across the United States.

The company is ideally suited to deliver on PSSC Labs HPC and big data platforms for various government agencies and various sectors, from defense to public health. In conjunction with a close IT solutions partner, we worked to anticipate the technology needs of our government and created proposal that focused on a weather data ingestion and display platform that was built on our hardware with SAS software, a business intelligence, statistics, and analytics software stack. Among several hundred submissions, ours was just one in six that would be given the chance to pitch at the U.S. Space Force Pitch Day.

PSSC Labs choose to partner with two other prominent organizations to offer Space Force a solution around Weather Data Ingestion. The stated goal is to deliver a single dashboard to help operators monitor and anticipate launch conditions. This would be accomplished through the use of a high-performance computing platform, artificial intelligence and graphical tools to simplify interpreting the data. Space Force awarded the contract to deliver the solution immediately stating that PSSC Labs record of successful deployments to the 45th Space Wing played a big role in the decision.

Mr. Lesser explains the significance of the award, We recognize that this award is an opportunity to show the newest branch of the DOD that PSSC Labs is a partner they can rely on to solve really complex problems with very, very limited risk.

The platform is expected to be delivered within the next few weeks depending upon base regulations due to Covid-19 protocols. Once deployed, the 45th Space Wing will better understand and act to benefit the mission and public safety.

About PSSC Labs

For technology powered visionaries with a passion for challenging the status quo, PSSC Labs is the answer for hand-crafted HPC and Big Data computing solutions that deliver relentless performance with the absolute lowest total cost of ownership. We are true innovators offering high performance computing solutions to solve the worlds most demanding problems. For 25+ years, organizations of all sizes and from a variety of sectors rely on PSSC Labs computing systems. We are proud to support many departments within the United States government, Fortune 500 companies, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.

All products are designed and built at the companys headquarters in Lake Forest, California.
The Mumbai police recovered 217



bags of wheat worth lakhs, which were being diverted to black markets and arrested two persons in the western suburb of Dahisar, an official said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch's unit-12 conducted a raid at Kandarpada in Dahisar on Monday and found 217 bags of wheat procured from the Food Corporation of India's (FCI) godown, the official said.

Bags with FCI tags were being replaced with other bags and sold in the black market, he said.

Further investigations revealed that the wheat was meant to be supplied to ration shops and sold at controlled rates, while the accused were instead trying to sell the food grains in black market at an inflated cost, he said.

The police have seized 217 bags of wheat, weighing 50 kg each, valued at Rs 2.71 lakh, the official said, adding that a truck used in the crime was also confiscated.

The police arrested Dahisar residents Sujitkumar Rajbhar (28) and Dinanath Yadav (39) and a probe was underway to track down others involved in the racket, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Treasury Designates China-based Mahan Air General Sales Agent

U.S. Department of the Treasury

May 19, 2020

WASHINGTON  Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating China-based Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited for acting as a general sales agent (GSA) for or on behalf of Iranian airline Mahan Air. This is the seventh designation of a GSA to Mahan Air since 2018. Mahan Air is designated under counterterrorism authorities for providing support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), as well as under a counter proliferation authority that targets weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters.

"The Iranian regime is using Mahan Air to support an illegitimate and corrupt regime in Venezuela, just as it has done for the regime in Syria and for terrorist proxy groups throughout the Middle East," said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. "We will not hesitate to target those entities that continue to maintain commercial relationships with Mahan Air."

For years, Mahan Air flights have transported terrorists and lethal cargo throughout the Middle East, including to Syria to prop up the murderous Assad regime. Mahan Air is currently operating charter flights to Venezuela for Iranian technicians and technical equipment, using materials sourced from China. This scheme supports the illegitimate Maduro regime's efforts to revive its energy production, languished by its corruption and mismanagement. The Government of Venezuela is reportedly paying for this support with gold bars directly from the Central Bank of Venezuela  gold that belongs to the Venezuelan people.

Mahan Air was designated in October 2011 pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 for providing financial, material, or technological support for or to the IRGC-QF. Mahan Air has transported IRGC-QF operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds abroad in support of the IRGC-QF's regional operations and has also moved weapons and personnel for Hizballah. Since the onset of the Syrian civil war, Mahan Air has routinely flown fighters and materiel to Syria to prop up the Assad regime, which has contributed to the regime's atrocities and displacement of civilians. In December 2019, the Department of State designated Mahan Air pursuant to E.O. 13382, a counter proliferation authority targeting weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters.

SHANGHAI SAINT LOGISTICS LIMITED

Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited is Mahan Air's cargo GSA in Shanghai, providing services such as freight booking for Mahan Air flights between China and Iran. GSAs are third parties that provide services to an airline. These services range from sales, financial, administrative, and marketing support to freight reception and handling.

Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Mahan Air.

Today's action marks OFAC's seventh designation of a Mahan Air GSA, following previous designations in 2018 and 2019, and provides another warning to the international aviation community of the sanctions risk for individuals and entities that choose to maintain commercial relationships with Mahan Air and other designated airlines. Those in the airline industry should conduct due diligence to avoid performing services, including GSA services, for or on behalf of a designated person, which may be sanctionable. Such activities may include freight booking, reservation and ticketing services, procurement of aircraft parts and equipment, maintenance contracts, airline grounds services, catering, interline transfer or codeshare agreements, and refueling contracts.

On July 23, 2019, OFAC issued an advisory to inform the civil aviation industry of potential exposure to U.S. government economic sanctions for providing unauthorized support to or for designated Iranian airlines, many of which, including Mahan Air, are involved in facilitating the Iranian regime's support to proxy militias and groups it supports.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all dealing by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve property or interest in property of blocked or designated persons.

In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited may themselves be exposed to designation. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for individuals and entities designated in connection with Iran's support for international terrorism or any Iranian person on OFAC's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons could be subject to U.S. correspondent account or payable-through account sanctions.

Identifying information on the entity listed today.

####

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A Bay of Plenty MP says the recent Environment Court decision about the Motiti marine reserve sets a precedent about who manages fish takes in New Zealand.

Todd Muller says the Ministry of Primary Industries is the appropriate body to decide whether an area has constraint on a fishery rather than a regional council, which is what the Environment Court has ruled.

The decision has directed the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to implement new rules in its Regional Coastal Environment Plan to protect three reef systems near Motiti Island and complete scientific monitoring to inform future integrated marine management solutions.

This means the taking of fish will be prohibited around three specific reef systems near Motiti Island.

The rules will apply to everyone, including customary, recreational and commercial fishers.

Todd says it sets a precedent because now anyone who has a different view from MPI about fish takes and sustainability of the fish biomass in any area in New Zealand, can have recourse with the council about their obligations to protect an area.

The idea which this particular court case has tested and proved according to the Environment Court is that actually it should be the purview of the regional council, I think is wrong.

I think we need to reflect on what we need to do to change the law to make sure that it is back with the Ministry of Fisheries (MPI).

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller. File image/SunLive.

He has started a petition requesting the Government change the law to stop the fishing ban being applied to the reefs around Motiti Island and that the accountability for managing fishing stocks be returned to the Ministry of Fisheries (MPI).

He also wants there to be wider consultation with recreational fishers, iwi, Motiti whanau and the wider Bay of Plenty community in future.

In my opinion, there was very little to no opportunity for the average local Bay of Plenty resident to participate in the process as they would normally do if a regional council was proposing to widen their brief or mandate.

Because the changes have been directed by the Environment Court the normal process of a council proposing changes in their plan then giving time for community consultation has not occurred.

The average recreational fisher never got an opportunity to participate into what has become now a firm ruling that there should be a no take zone in those three reefs and I just think that's poor process.

BOPRC regulatory services general manager Sarah Omundsen says the Motiti Protection Area was proposed by the Environment Court in response to an appeal by the Motiti Rohe Moana Trust rather than being proposed by the regional council and being consulted on with the community.

Due to the unique way this decision has come about, and the complex nature of the court cases, parties would have had to join the appeal process to get involved in the court proceedings.

We do understand that both court processes are unfamiliar for the general public, particularly in terms of marine protection areas and prohibiting fishing activities.

A map showing the protection areas around Motiti. Image: Forest and Bird Facebook.

As a regional council, this is new territory for us to implement and we appreciate some peoples frustration.

Moving forward we are looking at ways of making sure people are kept informed of progress on the Motiti Protection Area.

Regional council is now preparing minor amendments as directed by the court including addressing how to appropriately monitor and enforce the areas, says Sarah.

Once these are confirmed by the court the plan will be updated and then sent to the Minister of Conservation for approval which is a requirement for coastal plans, she says.

When this has been approved the public will be notified of the changes and the rules will become operative and enforceable and it is expected to take a number of months before the rules are implemented, says Sarah.

Funding for the enforcement will come from the regional councils Annual Plan and existing Long Term Plan budgets, she says.

We are looking into how we can be most efficient and effective with our resources, particularly in light of the COVID-19 situation.

This involves determining how we can collaborate with the Ministry of Primary Industries, Department of Conservation and Department of Internal Affairs.

The next formal review of the Regional Coastal Environment Plan is planned for 2029, which is the standard plan and review cycle, says Sarah.

When the plan is up for review there will be public consultation and an opportunity for people to provide feedback on the protection areas.

The three Motiti Protection Areas include: Motiti Protection Area 1 Coastal Marine Area Otaiti (Astrolabe Reef), Te Porotiti, o Karapu and Te Papa (also known as Brewis Shoals), Motiti Protection Area 2 Coastal marine area around Motunau (also known as Plate Island), Motiti Protection Area 3 Coastal marine area around Motuhaku (also known as Schooner Rocks or Schooner Island).

More information on the protection areas can be found here.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:39:57|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China's industrial economy is expected to continue recovery in the second quarter with progress on business resumption and policy incentives in place to unleash domestic demand, an official said on Wednesday.

Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, said 99.1 percent of Chinese industrial enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.82 million U.S. dollars) had resumed production as of Monday.

About 95.4 percent of employees in such enterprises had returned to work, he said.

The ministry has ramped up efforts to fast-track work and production resumption across the complete industrial chain, said Miao.

Leading enterprises are encouraged to lend a hand to their upstream and downstream enterprises while supportive measures are taken to smooth transportation, he continued.

Noting that the auto sector, pivotal in propping up the national economy, has borne the brunt of the COVID-19 epidemic, Miao said the ministry has taken multiple steps to help relevant enterprises overcome difficulties.

The epidemic will only have a temporary impact on the auto sector and the upward trend of the industry in the long term has not changed, he said. Enditem
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce claims social distancing is unnecessary on planes as there is a 'low risk of contracting coronavirus' because of the air filters.

Last month the airline restricted passengers from sitting in the middle seat in domestic travel to ensure space between travellers, to reduce the chances of a spread of COVID-19.

But Mr Joyce is looking to change the social distancing measures as he believes there is little evidence of passenger to passenger transmissions.

Scroll down for video

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce claims social distancing is unnecessary on planes as there is a 'low risk of contracting coronavirus' because of the air filters

Last month the airline restricted passengers from sitting in the middle seat in domestic travel to ensure space between travellers, to reduce the chances of a spread of COVID-19

'Because the cabins pressurised, 99.9 per cent of all viruses, all bacteria, are filtered through medical-grade filters, they are usually in operating theatres and the air is extracted every five minutes from the cabin. The air circulates from top to bottom,' he told the Today Show.

'Everybody in an aircraft is facing the same direction with a barrier of a seat in front of them. The medical advice and the medical evidence shows there is a very low risk of transmission of COVID-19.'

Mr Joyce said measures such as thorough cleaning of the aircraft would help passengers feel 'confident' to travel.

'There's been no known transmission of COVID-19 passenger to passenger or passenger to crew, and there's huge tracking been done on that in this country,' he said.

His comments come as the company prepares for domestic air travel to resume with new hygiene measures brought in to reduce the risk of spreading the deadly illness.

Before take-off, customers will check in online or through an app and will be strongly encouraged to use the self-service bag drop.

Travellers will be given a face mask for peace-of-mind and sanitising wipes to clean their seat belt, tray and armrest.

Passengers will also be asked to avoid moving around cabin and staggered boarding and disembarkation will be implemented to avoid crowding.

Travellers will be given a face mask for peace-of-mind and sanitising wipes to clean their seat belt, tray and armrest

Before take-off, customers will check in online or through an app and will be strongly encouraged to use the self-service bag drop

Qantas has been lobbying the government for social distancing rules to be exempt on domestic aircraft once restrictions are relaxed.

Limiting passenger numbers would ultimately hurt the company's bottom line, which has already taken a massive hit since the pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said leaving the middle seat vacant would have heavy financial impacts and should not be recommended.

Planes need to have 77 per cent of seats filled in order for the airline to break even, says the IATA.

Social distancing would mean airfares would need to rise by 54 per cent in the Asia Pacific region just to keep an airline afloat, the association claims.

The airlines will roll out the 'Fly Well' program from June 12 as Australian states and territories prepare for the return of domestic travel

Qantas' ban on middle seats followed the surfacing of a photo in mid-April showing a packed flight from Townsville in far north Queensland to Brisbane.

No one was wearing a face mask on the one hour and 45 minute flight.

Virgin Australia also blocked off seats to allow distance between passengers on domestic flights.

Air New Zealand said only around half the seats would be filled after resuming domestic flights to ensure social distancing.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trumps enthusiastic embrace of a malaria drug that he now says he takes daily  and the resulting uproar in the news media  appears to be interfering with legitimate scientific research into whether the medicine might work to prevent coronavirus infection or treat the disease in its early stages.

The drug, hydroxychloroquine, which is also widely used to treat lupus and other autoimmune diseases, has shown no real benefit for hospitalized coronavirus patients and may have contributed to some deaths, recent studies show. Some bioethicists are even calling for the Food and Drug Administration  which has warned that the drug can cause heart problems  to revoke an emergency waiver it granted in March to accept millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine into the national stockpile for use in hospitals.

But specialists  including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the governments top infectious disease expert  say the jury is still out on whether the drug might help prevent infection or help patients avoid hospitalization. Trumps frequent pronouncements and misstatements  he has praised the drug as a game changer and a miracle  are only complicating matters, politicizing the drug and creating a frenzy in the news media that is impeding research.

The virus is not Democrat or Republican, and hydroxychloroquine is not Democrat or Republican, and Im just hopeful that people would allow us to finish our scientific work, said Dr. William ONeill, an interventional cardiologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, who is studying hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic in health care workers.

The worst thing in the world that would happen, he added, is that at the end of this epidemic, in late September, we dont have a cure or a preventive because we let politics interfere with the scientific process.

On Tuesday, Trump added to the uproar. Addressing reporters on Capitol Hill, he called the research on hospitalized patients a Trump enemy statement. Later, at the White House, he said he decided to take hydroxychloroquine after his valet tested positive for COVID-19  and intended to do so for a little while longer because he viewed it as a worthwhile line of defense and was very curious about it.

Its gotten a bad reputation only because Im promoting it, the president added. If anybody else were promoting it, they would say its the best thing ever.

Last week, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci leads, announced a 2,000-patient study to determine whether hydroxychloroquine, when combined with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19, joining more than 50 other clinical trials involving hydroxychloroquine that are continuing in the United States.

Although there is anecdotal evidence that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may benefit people with COVID-19, we need solid data, Fauci said in making the announcement.

Other researchers around the country said the controversy was depressing enrollment in their clinical trials.

People who had already enrolled would say, Now Im afraid, I want to disenroll,  said Deneen Vojta, the executive vice president for research and development at UnitedHealth Group, the insurance giant, which is conducting a smaller study of hydroxychloroquine alone.

In a draft letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, obtained by The New York Times, members of a research consortium complained that negative media coverage of hydroxychloroquine  in particular the studies showing it might have harmed hospitalized patients  directly correlated with a drop in enrollment in trials run by institutions including the University of Minnesota, the University of Washington, Columbia University in New York and Henry Ford Hospital.

Inside the White House, the presidents trade adviser, Peter Navarro, who is an enthusiast for hydroxychloroquine and has worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to steer 19 million pills from the stockpile to 14 coronavirus hot zones around the country, said hydroxy hysteria in the news media  not Trump  was to blame.

Has the medias war of hysteria on hydroxychloroquine killed people? Navarro asked in an interview. If the scientific evidence does indeed prove that the medicine has both prophylactic and therapeutic value, the answer is yes.

While Navarro complained that fake news and bad reporting had resulted in a dramatic drop in demand for hydroxy at hospitals, Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and chief executive of NYC Health and Hospitals, the nations largest municipal health system, said hospitals and doctors became less interested in hydroxychloroquine after the FDA approved another medicine, remdesivir, for treatment of COVID-19.

Scientists have worried about politics impeding their research since long before Trump took office. But perhaps no president in modern history has gone to the lengths that Trump has to promote a specific, unproven medicine  and then announce he is taking it himself.

Even Trumps favorite television network, Fox News Channel, has been critical. Its senior managing editor for health news, Dr. Manny Alvarez, called the president highly irresponsible for taking the drug.

In doing so, Trump may lead people to overestimate the potential that it would help them  which is entirely unproven  and to underestimate the risks, which are known, said Jesse L. Goodman, a former chief scientist at the FDA who is calling for the agency to revoke its waiver. I think that right now this drug should be used really only in the context of clinical trials.

But the presidents promotion of the drug is making even that difficult.

Dr. Adrian Hernandez, who directs the Clinical Research Institute at the Duke University School of Medicine and has enrolled 550 health care workers in a clinical trial to study whether hydroxychloroquine is effective as a prophylactic, said Trumps promotion of hydroxychloroquine may have hurt public health.

When Trump first began talking up hydroxychloroquine, Hernandez said, he faced questions about whether his study should be weighted toward giving the drug to more people than were receiving placebo.

When he started, he said, two-thirds of more than 12,000 health care workers who have signed up for a coronavirus registry were willing to participate in his study. Now, only half are.

When we have this playing out in the media instead of the scientific and clinical communities, people dont know what the right answer is, and so they will use what they hear the most through the media, Hernandez said. So its a pingpong match, in terms of, is it good one day? Is it bad one day?

Hernandez and others, including ONeill, say that no study  even those conducted in hospitalized patients  has produced definitive results about hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus, although several have suggested it could be harmful especially to patients with underlying heart conditions.

An analysis of veterans treated with hydroxychloroquine found that 28% of them died, compared with 11% who had routine care. A small study in Brazil was halted after patients taking a high dose of chloroquine  a predecessor to hydroxychloroquine that researchers consider less safe  developed irregular heart rates that increased their risk of a potentially fatal heart arrhythmia.

Dr. Christine Johnston, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington who is hoping to enroll 630 people in a trial examining the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in those recently infected, said many of her patients conflated the Brazil study with her drug. She, too, has seen a dip in enrollment.

People put these things together in their minds, but they are actually very different, she said.

On April 24, the FDA issued a warning about hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, cautioning against their use outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems. An FDA spokesman, Michael Felberbaum, said in a statement that the agency was continuing to evaluate all emergency use authorizations issued during the coronavirus crisis to determine whether they continue to meet the statutory criteria for issuance.

More recently, a large observational study of 1,446 patients at NewYork-Presbyterian-Columbia University Hospital in New York City, published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine, found no clear benefit or risk to hydroxychloroquine.

The authors concluded that randomized controlled clinical trials  studies in which half the patients are given placebo, half are given the drug, and neither the patients nor doctors know who is getting what  are needed.

Studying it is exactly the right thing to do, said Aaron S. Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who is among those calling for the FDA to revoke the waiver. And heck, if it turns out there is some activity, then great.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
K Shivakumar By

Express News Service

MYSURU: Bombay se aaya mera dost, Dost ko salam karo was a super hit song from the 1977 Hindi film Aap ki Khatir.

This also used to be the mood in KR Pet and Nagamangala villages all these years as relatives and friends would warm up to those who arrived from Mumbai during vacations or for festivals.

Cut to 2020. The increase in the number of positive cases from those with travel history to Mumbai is causing people in Mandya district to be wary of these corona carriers.

The count has touched 71 cases on Tuesday alone.

We are not traitors and are not coming back here because we dont have food or shelter back in Mumbai. We have our roots in Mandya and are rejoining our families. We went to Mumbai several decades ago and have made our life there. We have contributed to the development of Mumbai and also the economy of Karnataka and Mandya district, say those coming from Mumbai to their native villages in Mandya district.

The fact is that of the nearly 8,000 who have returned from Mumbai to KR Pet and Nagamangala, only 160 have tested positive till date. Manje Gowda, a relator and vice-president of Mumbai Kannada Sangha, said that they are thankful to Maharashtra for giving them economic status and education to their children.

But we have not given up our love for Karnataka and Mandya. People should extend moral support to help people come out of Covid-19 instead of blaming them, he said. Naganna, a hotelier in Mumbai and native of KR Pet, said that those arriving from Mumbai are not treated well.

There is no problem in Maharashtra as dhabas are serving food, people are giving free water bottles and healthcare facilities are available on the highways. The problems start once they enter Nipani in Belagavi district as the people have to stand in queue and wait for three-four hours to complete the formalities, he said. Suresh of Kythanahalli lived in Thane for more than 10 years.

He owns hotels in Bengaluru and KR Pet. He said that many of those in quarantine blame their long wait at Nipani checkpost where thousands of people and vehicles cross the inter-state border.

They claim that this maybe the epicentre of the spread of the virus. Deputy Commissioner M V Venkatesh said that they are not worried over the rising positive cases as the district COVID hospital has 200 beds and is fully geared up to convert hostels into hospitals.

He said that they have already tested 8,000 people and will continue to test more and keep people under quarantine.
USS Kidd Conducts Crew Swap, Transitions to Next Phase of COVID-19 Response

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS200519-02

Release Date: 5/19/2020 7:15:00 AM

From Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- The Navy has transitioned into the next phase of its aggressive response to the COVID-19 outbreak on board the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG 100).

On May 18, the Navy transferred nearly 90 confirmed healthy Sailors from quarantine onto the Kidd to replace the caretaker crew that has been aboard since the ship arrived in San Diego.

Prior to the transfer, the Navy re-tested 100 percent of the crew. The test results informed decisions about who to transfer and who should remain in quarantine or isolation.

Military health professionals will continue to monitor all crew members for symptoms.

"Our number one priority is to protect the health of our force and our families. By doing that, we also help to protect the health of our communities where we serve," said Vice Adm. Richard Brown, Commander, Naval Surface Forces. "Before we clear any Sailor to return to the ship, they must receive two separate negative test results. We're focused on the health and safety of Sailors, and ensuring the full recovery of Kidd's crew.

Kidd arrived at Naval Base San Diego April 28 to receive medical care for its Sailors and clean and disinfect the ship, following a COVID-19 outbreak while underway. A number of Sailors remained onboard the ship to operate essential services, while other crew members and anyone who tested positive were removed from the ship to isolation or quarantine, as appropriate. The next phase of the recovery is another step toward ensuring the ship is safe to get underway to continue deployment.

"I want to thank the amazing team that has supported us  from Vice Adm. Brown to our most junior crew member," said Cmdr. Nathan S. Wemett, commanding officer of USS Kidd. Everyone's resiliency and hard work is paying off, but the recovery process is not over. We must remain focused and vigilant throughout the entire process to maintain our health and readiness in order to get back to sea."

The cleaning of the ship and care for the crew is expected to continue for approximately two more weeks. The Navy will test all Kidd crew members again before the ship resumes its deployment.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:07:58|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RABAT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The European Union and Morocco have signed a finance agreement amounting to 100 million euros (110 million U.S dollars) to upgrade the North African country's health system, a statement by the EU delegation in Rabat said Wednesday.

This amount will support the financing of health system, back the post-coronavirus crisis solutions, and help the health sector to be more resilient to possible future health crises, the statement read.

As part of the EU's emergency support to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, this finance agreement aims to improve the quality and safety of care, support the human and financial management of the health system and back the implementation of health services, it added.

On March 27, the EU allocated 150 million euros to support the Moroccan budget as part of an aid package for Morocco to cope with COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
CATHLAMET  Most of the parking spots on Main Street in Cathlamet were filled Monday afternoon, an unusual sight in most Washington towns these days.

A handful of residents milled about at the local market and pharmacy late in the afternoon. A few others ate lunch at Marias Place, dining out for the first time in months.

But the barber shop and nail salon remained closed, even though they could take customers by appointment if they wanted. And the rooms at the Hotel Cathlamet still sit empty for want of out-of-county visitors.

The businesses are trying to figure out the happy medium of having people come in again, said Stephanie Moonen, director of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce. Finding the new normal could take a long time.

Wahkiakum County got a little glimmer of hope last week when Gov. Jay Inslee allowed the rural community to move ahead of the state in his four-phase plan for reopening, Moonen said. After a nearly two-month business shutdown, local restaurants and retailers were allowed to reopen at limited capacity.

However, Wahkiakum business representatives say advancing in the so-called Safe Start Washington plan isnt the end-all solution to the economic troubles caused by the coronavirus.

Even in the best case scenario, all businesses cant return to full capacity for another six weeks. In a community where seasonal tourism helps offset losses in the logging and fishing industries, losing that much of the summer months could be fatal.

Some are scared that with the slow phasing, they wont make it to the silver lining, the end of the tunnel, whatever it looks like at Phase 4, Moonen said. Small towns like this could dry up.

Then theres the question of COVID-19 spread. If the countys case count rises, Wahkiakum risks losing its variance approval from the governor and getting set back to Phase 1.

There is some pressure associated with being one of a few counties that has advanced to phase two. But I do believe that county and local government officials are moving forward cautiously and keeping our residents health and safety as a top priority, said Jackie Lea, Wahkiakum Port District 1 manager.

Like many other local businesses, the Elochoman Marina was hit hard by the shutdown, Lea said. Managers laid off workers and canceled reservations and events near the start of the shutdown. Revenues dropped about $25,000 compared to 2019, she said.

Parts of the marina will reopen in Phase 2, she said, but the port is remaining cautious. Cabins, for example, will not be rented at this time.

We expect our customers and visitors to practice social distancing and we are encouraging them to wear masks. We are limiting restroom use to one person at a time and have only opened one restroom facility, Lea said. Any and all camping, including RV stays, is being limited to every other site, unless they are all family members, in order to maintain compliance with distancing guidelines.

Also open again are Marias Place, Patty Cakes and the Video Store.

Some people are extremely cautious. They wear gloves upon entering the door, said Carla, the owner of the Video Store. (She asked that her last name not be published.)

The shutdown completely shuttered Carlas combination DVD rental and antique store, she said. Her cash flow dropped to zero, she said.

Financially it was devastating to say the least. How do you pay your bills without cash flow? Carla said. If it had continued, I dont know how I could have done month two.

When the governor OKed retailers to offer curbside pickup services, Carla jumped on it. Shortly after, the county moved to phase 2, and the Video Store planned to open for walk-in customers, too.

After they say youre in phase 2, there are still hoops you have to jump through, such as adopting a procedure for retail activity, Carla said. She posted hers on the front door, so customers know to grab gloves from the counter before browsing for movies.

Im so thankful for the customers that support this business, she added. A video store isnt a requirement anymore.  So its purely the support of the people keeping us open.

Richard Erickson, office manager of the Villa at Little Cape Horn, said he wrote a letter encouraging county commissioners to urge the state to let them reopen sooner. Although the Villa cant reopen to guests until Phase 3, advancing in the plan shortens the wait time, he said.

The B&B has been dead stopped since March he said. All the guests scheduled to visit this summer canceled.

Hopefully in June we get to Phase 3 and the governor allows non-essential travel. Then we sit and wait for people to make reservations.  We hope that enough (people) will come in July, August, September that we can shekel away a few bucks to make it through. But we dont know. We live with uncertainty, Erickson said.

Whether guests return is largely up to personal preference, said Laurel Waller, owner of Hotel Cathlamet. She worries that people will be too scared to rent a room at her place once shes allowed to reopen.

How long will it take people to trust going out, to trust going anywhere, let alone sleeping in a place? she said. In my opinion, its the people that will decide when we come back online, so to speak. You cant force anybody across a hesitancy thats based on safety or fear.

So far shes lost 78 reservations made at the Hotel Cathlamet for the summer so far. That represents 187 nights of business ranging from March 6 to Aug. 8, she said.

The total income for the cancelled reservations would have been $15,513 assuming no extensions were made while the guests were here, she said.

That includes about $1,300 of resale and lodging tax, which would have flowed to state and local governments.

Is the town dependent on tourism? No. But tourists make a difference, said Waller, who also serves on the Town Council.

Moonen, the chamber director, said businesses started to diversify and emphasize tourism when logging and fishing took a hit. State plans to protect the marbled murrelet sea bird restricted logging, and fish runs are struggling.

Erickson added that the town was well on its way to becoming a tourism destination before COVID.

The last two or three years weve had really great momentum. Our shops were doing well.  Almost every storefront was full.  The fairs and festivals and Bald Eagle Days last year set a record. And we got a brewery five years ago, Erickson said. People were loving it. They were sitting out at the marina. The boats were all coming back.  and then this hit.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
According to federal court documents, Rainone became an informant for the feds in 1989 after he thought Patrick was setting him up to be killed. He was taken into witness protection, but he later refused to cooperate with authorities after an explosive device damaged his mothers porch, according to court records.
LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh from publishing their recent book, Own the AI Revolution, which was launched at the United Nations' AI for Good Summit, authors Michael Ashley and Neil Sahota are introducing a new podcast today titled Changing the Story, which will feature conversations with thought leaders, who are transforming our world.

The Changing the Story podcast will dive into the myriad ways society can continue to thrive, now and in the future, through the confluence of art, technology, culture and innovation. The free form and casual format is intended to provide a wide range of ideas and share actions already in motion to move the collective conversation toward positive change.

"Numerous notable individuals have signed on to appear in the bi-weekly series, including United Nation officials, best-selling authors, environmental/sustainability advocacy group leaders, futurists, a director of a cutting-edge art collective , and a California State Senator," according to Mr. Sahota.

"Each podcast will appear on Youtube, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Sound Cloud, and other channels," said Mr. Ashley, "as we want to share people's stories with a broad audience to generate more hope and action in the world."

About Neil Sahota: Neil Sahota is a futurist and leading expert on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other next generation technologies. He is the author of Own the AI Revolution (McGraw Hill), selected by Soundview as a 2019 Best Business Book. He works with the United Nations on the AI for Good initiative. Sahota is also an IBM Master Inventor, former leader of the IBM Watson Group, professor at the University of California/Irvine and president of Althena Systems, Inc., a professional, scientific and technical consulting company. His work spans multiple industries, including legal services, healthcare, life sciences, retail, travel, transportation, energy, utilities, automotive, telecommunications, media, and government.

About Michael Ashley: Michael Ashley co-wrote the best-selling book Own the AI Revolution with Neil Sahota. He has written over twenty books and four overall best sellers. Prior to founding his own content company, he was a screenwriting consultant to Disney. Using the power of words, he helps his clients share their story to grow their brands.

SOURCE Neil Sahota
Chandigarh, May 20 : Setting aside speculations over dissent within the government, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said he discussed the dynamically evolving Covid situation with some of his party colleagues and MLAs.

The Chief Minister had invited them for an informal lunch, during which discussions were held on the prevailing Covid crisis and the prolonged lockdown in the state.

In view of the social distancing norms and stringent Covid-related safety protocols in place, the Chief Minister's office said Amarinder Singh had invited only a handful of party leaders and members, namely state party chief Sunil Jakhar, Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Randhawa and MLAs Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Pargat Singh and Sangat Singh Gilzian.

The leaders shared with the Chief Minister their suggestions on the Covid pandemic and the problems faced by the state due to the resultant lockdown.

Amarinder Singh welcomed the suggestions and said he would take them into account as the state moved towards more relaxations and revival of economy.

Discussions were held on the situation on the ground across districts, particularly in the context of the large number of people returning to Punjab from abroad and other states.

The party leaders congratulated the Chief Minister on the various steps taken to keep the spread of the pandemic under check, the smooth wheat procurement operations, the augmentation of health and testing infrastructure and the overall handling of the situation by the state government.

Expressing pleasure at meeting them, Amarinder Singh said, in a statement, that he was also happy to spend time with party leaders and members, whose opinion he valued in all critical matters.

He assured them of all possible measures by his government to minimise the impact of Covid, reiterating that his priority was to save lives.

At the same time, the state government was also striving to restore some normalcy to alleviate the sufferings of the people, he said.

The Chief Minister later said the party leaders had also raised the issue of the Chief Secretary and the alleged excise revenue losses, to which he responded that he was apprised of the issue and was personally looking into it.
Five children have been tragically orphaned after their father died following a long battle with Covid-19.

Miguel Plangca, originally from Ozamis City in the Philippines but a long-time resident of Allenwood North in Kildare, Ireland, died last week after a 41-day battle in intensive care with the virus.

His five children, Stephanie, Mikee, Michael, John and Chekie, face life without parents after losing their mother, Gilceria, to cancer six years ago.

Well-wishers reading their story have so far raised over 13,000 in just four days to offer support to the youngsters, who are currently being cared for by their auntie, Fely Moore.

Scroll down for video

Tragedy: Miguel Plangca, 55, pictured with four of his five children before his death from Covid-19. The Filipino, who'd lived in Kildare, Ireland, for 20 years succumbed to the virus after 41 days in intensive care

Plangca's teenage daughter Mikee shared this photo on her Facebook account, paying tribute to her dad, saying: 'You fought a good fight, Papa'

In a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook, Plangca's teenage daughter Mikee wrote: 'You fought a good fight papa. Thank you for everything. We will miss you. We love you!'

She thanked well-wishers for raising money to support the siblings, saying: 'The love and support that weve been receiving is unbelievable.

'THANK YOU to the 2 person who helped us set up the GoFundMe page and for the continuous support from everyone. God bless us all.'

Many of those responding to Mikee's comments asked the teenager to 'stay strong'.

One, Bherdelle JP Saturinas-Conol, wrote: 'Stay strong Ate Mikee Plangca. You are now the strength of your siblings, know that you're not alone, we're here for you.'

Mikee told her followers on Facebook that she was grateful for the support the family is receiving, saying: 'The love and support that weve been receiving is unbelievable'

Pictured at New Year in 2019, four of Plangca's children with their aunt Fely Moore, who will now take care of them

For nearly 20 years, the children's father worked on the packaging line at the Bird's Eye factory in the town of Naas and would regularly send money back to his extended family in the Philippines.

The Philippine Consulate in Dublin paid tribute to the father-of-five, saying: 'Miguel was a quiet but very giving man who was well loved and will be deeply missed.'

The Go Fund Me account urges people to donate to help the four children, saying: 'Please continue to pray for them and all those who are affected by the pandemic!'

To donate to the family, visit Gofundme.com
Reckless claims: US President Donald Trump has been taking anti-viral drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure, despite it not being approved and having side-effects. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

US President Donald Trump emphatically defended himself yesterday against criticism from medical experts that his announced use of a malaria drug against the coronavirus could spark wide misuse by Americans of the unproven treatment with potentially fatal side-effects.

Mr Trump's revelation a day earlier that he was taking hydroxychloroquine caught many in his administration by surprise and set off an urgent effort by officials to justify his action. But their attempt to address the concerns of health professionals was undercut by the president himself.

He asserted without evidence that a study of veterans raising alarm about the drug was "false" and an "enemy statement", even as his own government warned that the drug should be administered for Covid-19 only in a hospital or research setting.

"If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape," Mr Trump said.

That was an apparent reference to a study of hundreds of patients treated by the Department of Veterans Affairs in which more of those in a group who were administered hydroxychloroquine died than among those who weren't.

"They were very old. Almost dead," Mr Trump said. "It was a Trump enemy statement."

During a Cabinet meeting, he elicited a defence of his practice from other officials, including VA Secretary David Wilkie who noted that the study in question was not conducted by his agency.

But the drug has not been shown to combat the virus in a multitude of other studies as well. Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no Covid benefit from hydroxychloroquine. Two new ones published in the medical journal 'BMJ' reached the same conclusion.

Mr Trump said he decided to take hydroxychloroquine after two White House staffers tested positive for the disease, but he already had spent months promoting the drug as a potential cure or preventive despite the cautionary advice of many of his administration's top medical professionals.

"This is an individual decision to make," Mr Trump told reporters during a visit to Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans. "People are going to have to make up their own mind. I think it gives you an additional level of safety."

He later claimed: "It's gotten a bad reputation only because I'm promoting it."

Many studies are testing hydroxychloroquine for preventing or limiting coronavirus illness but "at this point in time there's absolutely no evidence that this strategy works", said Dr Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University in Atlanta.

"My concern is, the president has a big bully pulpit ... maybe people will think there's some non-public evidence" that the drug works because Mr Trump has chosen to use it, he said. "It creates this conspiracy theory that something works and they're not telling me about it."

Addressing concerns that Mr Trump's example could lead people to misuse the drug, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that "tens of millions of people around the world have used this drug for other purposes", including malaria prophylaxis. She emphasised, "You have to have a prescription. That's the way it must be done."

The drug is also prescribed for some lupus and arthritis patients.

Mr Trump said his doctor did not recommend hydroxychloroquine to him, but that he requested it from the White House physician.

That physician, Dr Sean Conley, said that, after "numerous discussions" with Mr Trump, "we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks".

The Food and Drug Administration warned health professionals last month that the drug should not be used to treat Covid-19 outside of hospital or research settings due to sometimes fatal side-effects. Regulators issued the alert, in part, based on increased reports of dangerous side-effects called in to US poison control centres. Mr Trump dismissed reports of side-effects, claiming, "What has been determined is it doesn't harm you. Very powerful drug, I guess, but it doesn't harm you."

He added: "I've had no impact from it."

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said last night: "The decision to take any drug is ultimately a decision between a patient and their doctor."

As research started to emerge that hydroxychloroquine was not helpful, and even potentially harmful, in battling Covid-19, the president's public rhetoric in support of the drug had faded.

But his private hopes had not, according to three White House officials and Republicans close to the White House not authorised to speak publicly about private discussions.

Mr Trump also lashed out at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling her a "sick woman" who has "a lot of mental problems" after she questioned Mr Trump's use of the drug because he is 73 and "morbidly obese".

Her comments were followed by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who told MSNBC that Mr Trump's move was "reckless, reckless, reckless".
Los Angeles County Public Health director Barbara Ferrer (L) and Mayor Eric Garcetti (R) speak as they arrive for a press conference in Los Angeles on March 4, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

LA County Businesses Worry About Extended Stay-at-Home Orders

Panic ensued in Los Angeles County on May 12 when comments by Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer received wide publicity: stay-at-home orders would with all certainty be extended for the next three months.

County officials have since clarified that those comments were taken out of context and the county aims to relax restrictions in the coming months. On May 19, officials announced the goal of a broad, safe reopening of the county by July 4.

They also announced that some businesses, including pet groomers and car washes, could reopen immediately.

But many small-business owners remain confused and worried about how the next few months will look.

A pedestrian walks past a closed Nickel Diner in Los Angeles on May 7, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

L.A. County has had more reported COVID-19 deaths than the rest of the state combined. So business reopenings may look different there than in the rest of California.

If its extended, theres no way I will be able to stay in business, Ashley R., who owns a salon in the county, told The Epoch Times. She reopened in defiance of stay-at-home orders on May 15, but isnt serving as many customers and lives in fear of reprisal.

She received a warning from the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology that it may take disciplinary action against the licenses of any salons that open early.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped pay her four employees in the short-term, but that money runs out this week, she said on May 19.

She gave birth on Feb. 1.

I have hospital bills to pay, she said. I cant just not pay them.

Fear of Being Shut Down

Another business owner in the county, who preferred not to be identified, has also been operating while fearful of reprisal.

Hes pretty sure his business falls into the category of essential services, as a light manufacturing shop, but he remains wary.

On May 12, the same day the county was hit with headlines about another three months of staying at home, four police cars pulled up to his shop.

An officer entered and asked if he was open.

I said, No, were closed. [The officer] looked very relieved. I think I said just what he wanted to hear.

Most businesses remain closed along the Third Street Promenade shopping street in Santa Monica, Calif., on May 8, 2020. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Before he left, he said, Do you mind locking the door? The owner said he would, but of course, I didnt lock it. Its been unlocked ever since.

It was after that encounter that he looked up whether he fits in essential services or not. He had already been visited by officers one time before that. His employees were off work for eight weeks before he brought them back.

Not Going to Be a Renegade

Vic Parrino, owner of Colombos Italian Restaurant in Eagle Rock, in LA County, told The Epoch Times he needs to get back to full-service to make ends meet.

I am not going to be a renegade, he said. I cant afford to lose my liquor license.

Initially, when the mayor ordered the complete shutdown on March 15, we were told we were going to be able to reopen by April 15. Then it was April 19. And now, it looks like it might be August or later.

I dont think the PPP money will last into August.

People walk past empty stores and restaurants in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 8, 2020. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

The restaurant has been in his family since 1954, and in recent months, his gross sales have fallen by about 95 percent.

Hes not sure what investments will be necessary to open the dining room. Installing plexiglass dividers between booths would cost him all he earns on takeout in a week.

We dont know whats going be required yet, Parrino said.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D., today, May 20, announced the formation of a special Tourism Recovery Taskforce with an Independent Chair, dedicated to spearheading economic recovery for the tourism sector.

Minister Ross said: Tourism is our countrys largest indigenous employer and central to the economic and social health of the nation. The tourism sector has been near decimated by the current crisis. The vast majority of people working in this sector have either been laid off or are availing of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. There is a real risk that our communities, towns and cities will not recover from this devastating loss of income, employment and business.

"This cannot be allowed to happen.

"In order to ensure that the tourism sector can emerge from this pandemic ready for business, we need to plan early, plan well and plan together. To this end I am pleased to announce the formation of a dedicated Tourism Recovery Taskforce, made up of leaders from varying sections of the industry, who will work together to deal with the many challenges ahead in a dynamic and innovative manner.

"They will be chaired by Ruth Andrews [CEO of ITOA Ireland, Chair of ITIC, and Special Advisor to AVEA] and have agreed to lend their services voluntarily in order to support the industry at this critical time. I hope that the Taskforce will do its work quickly and efficiently and be in a position to report back to Government by the end of the summer.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D. said; In so many areas of rural Ireland in particular, tourism plays an important role in providing employment and economic opportunity. That employment and economic opportunity is now under serious threat and we must respond with determination to protect the tourism industry.

"This Taskforce will work to ensure that Irish tourism recovers strongly through a strategic and well formulated plan. I wish all of the Taskforce members and the wider stakeholders the best in the challenging times ahead and look forward to working with them all to emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.

The Taskforce will engage with stakeholders in the tourism sector through a series of consultative meetings and written submissions, so that the views and experiences of all are taken into consideration. All new and innovative ideas for recovery will be considered. The Departments Tourism Division will provide the secretariat to the Taskforce.
It is nothingburger that landed with a thud, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said

Recordings of phone calls of the fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States, were heavily edited. The representative of the Biden campaign headquarters, Andrew Bates, commented on the published materials, The Washington Post writes.

The Biden campaign viewed the release of the tapes as a continuation of a long-standing Russian effort to hurt the former vice president, pointing to the role that RT, the Russian state-controlled news network, played in promoting the tapes and Derkachs ties to Russian interests.

They heavily edited this, and its still a nothingburger that landed with a thud, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said.

Whereas, Donald Trump Jr., the presidents son, posted one of the recordings on Twitter hours later and implied impropriety by Biden. Yikes!!!! This is not a perfect conversation,  Trump Jr. wrote.

Yikes!!!! This is not a perfect conversation



An audio recording of a conversation between Joe Biden and Petro Poroshenko on May 13, 2016 - YouTube https://t.co/7R2YxzDpGM  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) May 19, 2020

In one clip, Biden congratulates Poroshenko on approving a new prosecutor general.
Richter joins the CoC from Allianz SE, where she currently serves as head of digital regulation. A lawyer by training, Richter joined Mondial Assistance (now Allianz Partners) in 2000 as general counsel. Since then, she has served as head of Distribution & Solutions Legal Europe for Allianz Global Investors and head of regulatory management for Allianz SE. In her new role as global head of the CoC, Richter succeeds Emy Donovan, who left AGCS last year.

Cyber is the top global risk in the Allianz Risk Barometer 2020 and a significant opportunity for insurance, but, at the same time, it also requires central governance, steering and control to realize sustainable growth, Sepp said. I am delighted that someone of Catharinas background and ability will now take the Cyber Center of Competence to the next stage.
NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

Lake Resources invites North American and European based individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations in OTC's Conference on VirtualInvestorConferences.com

Thursday May 21, 2020  10:30am ET (NYC), 3:30pm GMT ( London ).

LINK: https://www.tinyurl.com/May21VICPR

Lithium explorer and developer Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE; OTC:LLKKF) today announced that Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, will present live at OTC's Virtual Conference on VirtualInvestorConferences.com on Thursday May 21 at 10:30am ET (NYC), 3:30pm GMT (London).

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system, check to expedite participation and receive event updates. Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

Lake Resources aims to commission a lithium chemical project within three years, for the electric vehicle market specifically by:

Producing a high purity lithium product, in demand by Tier 1 lithium-ion battery makers;

Producing a sustainable ESG benefit, with a small environmental footprint by using an efficient, disruptive, innovative technology from Silicon Valley;

Developing a large expandable resource in the Lithium Triangle, home to the world's lowest cost lithium production; and

Producing a premium-priced product in preferential demand with low impurities.

Significantly, Lake's technology partner, Lilac Solutions, is backed by leading global sustainability investors including the Bill Gates -led Breakthrough Energy.

The recent Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) recently released on Lake's Kachi Lithium Brine Project by Tier-1 engineering firm Hatch demonstrated:

a long life, low cost project with high margins, using conservative forward lithium prices, producing 25,500 tpa LCE for 25 years from less than 20% of the current resource;

the new technology is commercial and cost competitive compared to evaporative brine producers at US$4100 /t LCE with clear options to reduce opex and capex further;

/t LCE with clear options to reduce opex and capex further; a much higher EBITDA margin vs evaporators ( US$465m in 1st 3 yrs) because of a consistent, high purity product that is able to secure a premium price, due to the bifurcation of pricing between premium products for batteries and low quality supply.

Follow Lake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lake_Resources

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lake-resources/

Website: http://www.lakeresources.com.au

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly-traded companies to meet and present directly with investors. A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

About Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE)

Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE, Lake) is a lithium exploration and development company focused on producing sustainable, high purity lithium by developing its flagship Kachi Project, as well as three other lithium brine projects and a hard rock project in Argentina, all owned 100%. The leases are in a prime location among major producers within the Lithium Triangle, where 40% of the world's lithium is produced at the lowest cost. Lake holds one of the largest lithium tenement packages in Argentina (~200,000Ha) which provides the potential for security of supply, and scalable as required.

Lake considers it is in a strong position to benefit from the market opportunity in electric vehicles and the batteries that power the energy revolution due to:

1. High Purity Lithium Carbonate samples (99.9%) with very low impurities, recently produced from the pilot plant using a direct extraction process (ion exchange), which can achieve premium pricing;

2. Increased Engagement with Off-takers as larger samples are produced, anticipated from Q2 2020 onwards, for off-takers to commence qualification testing to then engage to assist in financing;

3. Kachi Project PFS, which shows a large, long-life low-cost potential operation with competitive production costs at the lower end of the cost curve similar to current lithium brine producers. The Kachi project has a resource (announced Nov 2018) considered large enough for long term production and could be potentially scaled to a much larger project as required as leases cover an area 10 times Manhattan.

4. Sustainable and Scalable Future Lithium Production, demanded by the larger Electric Vehicle makers and an increasing number of battery/cathode makers, who need to show both the quality and provenance of battery materials for ESG/sustainability and carbon footprint reporting. The direct extraction process reinjects brine once the lithium has been removed using ion exchange beads without affecting the chemistry. This means a much smaller footprint and less water usage because evaporation ponds are not used.

The Kachi project covers 70,000 ha over a salt lake south of FMC/Livent's lithium operation in Catamarca Province. Drilling confirmed a large lithium brine bearing basin over 20km long, 15km wide and 400m to 800m deep. Drilling over Kachi produced a maiden indicated and inferred resource of 4.4 Mt LCE (Indicated 1.0Mt, Inferred 3.4Mt) (refer ASX announcement 27 November 2018).

A direct extraction technique has been tested in partnership with Lilac Solutions, supported by Bill Gates  led Breakthrough Fund and MIT's The Engine fund. A pilot plant module being commissioned, has shown 80-90% recoveries and lithium brine concentrations over 60,000 mg/L lithium. Battery grade lithium carbonate (99.9% purity) has been produced from Kachi brine samples with very low impurities (Fe, B, with <0.001 wt%). Test results have been incorporated into a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The Lilac pilot plant module in California will produce samples for downstream participants in Q2 2020, prior to being transported to site to produce larger battery grade lithium samples. Discussions are advanced with downstream entities, mainly battery/cathode makers, as well as financiers, to develop the project.

The Olaroz, Cauchari and Paso brine projects are located adjacent to major world class brine projects either in production or being developed in the highly prospective Jujuy Province. The Olaroz-Cauchari project is located in the same basin as Orocobre's Olaroz lithium production and adjoins the Ganfeng Lithium/Lithium Americas Cauchari project, with high grade lithium (600 mg/L) with high flow rates drilled immediately across the lease boundary.

The Cauchari project has shown lithium brines over 506m interval with high grades averaging 493 mg/L lithium (117-460m) with up to 540 mg/L lithium. These results are similar to lithium brines in adjoining leases scheduled for production in late 2020 and infer an extension and continuity of these brines into Lake's leases (refer ASX announcements 28 May, 12 June 2019).

Significant corporate transactions have occurred in adjacent leases with development of Ganfeng Lithium/Lithium Americas Cauchari project as Ganfeng announced a US$397 million investment for 50% of the Cauchari project, together with a resource that had doubled to be the largest on the planet. Ganfeng then announced a 10-year lithium supply agreement with Volkswagen on 5 April 2019. Nearby projects of Lithium X were acquired via a takeover offer of C$265 million completed March 2018. The northern half of Galaxy's Sal de Vida resource was purchased for US$280 million by POSCO in June-Dec 2018. LSC Lithium was acquired in Jan-Mar 2019 for C$111 million by a mid-tier oil & gas company with a resource size half of Kachi. Orocobre has completed in April 2020 the acquisition of all shares in Advantage Lithium, valued at around C$75 million, which holds leases next to Lake at Cauchari. These transactions, except for the Advantage deal, imply an acquisition cost of US$55-110 million per 1 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) in resources.

For more information on Lake, please visit http://www.lakeresources.com.au/home/

SOURCE VirtualInvestorConferences.com

Related Links

http://www.virtualinvestorconferences.com


MACKINAC ISLAND, MI - Emphasizing the need to put peoples health and safety first, Mackinac Island city officials decided today theyll be sticking to their original plan: working toward reopening the island to visitors safely and gradually starting May 29, once Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-home order ends.

The island is not encouraging any guests this weekend ahead of Mondays Memorial Day holiday, and ferry boats will not be running between Mackinac and the mainland on Saturday and Sunday. Local residents are also being strongly encouraged to remain on the island until the stay-home order is lifted.

Whitmers announcement this week that retail, restaurants and bars in the Upper Peninsula and part of Northern Lower Michigan will be able to open this Friday with limited capacity raised a flurry of questions among business owners at Michigans top tourist destination.

After a brief discussion today during an online Mackinac Island City Council meeting, city leaders decided to hold firm to their May 29 reopening date. They believe it will be safer from a health standpoint for residents and guests alike in this coronavirus era. It will give city staff the time needed to address issues like public bathrooms, social distancing guidelines and infrastructure updates.

The island has been closed to non-residents and all but essential workers since the states stay-home order began in mid-March. In the last couple weeks, construction projects have been allowed to resume on the island, as they have elsewhere in the state.

Mayor Margaret Doud said Wednesday that a slow, controlled re-opening is going to be the best way to proceed. She said she wants to make sure the island gets it right the first time, as there will be extra eyes on tourism hot spots.

We have come a long way since the middle of March, said said, adding it has not been easy, but everyone has pulled together. If we open too soon ... its not going to work.

Doud says she wants to make sure the island doesnt have to take a step backward and shut down again.

Mackinac is a very special place and we are all in this together and we will get through this together.

Star Line CEO Jerry Fetty, who had made tentative plans for a few weekend ferry boat runs when he heard Whitmer was loosening restrictions beginning Friday, told island officials he will abide by their wishes and not run boats on Saturday and Sunday. Star Lines schedule will resume next Monday.

Island officials did note that a few restaurants have reached out, saying they will be ready to reopen under the governors new guidelines on Friday.

While we are thrilled to see the Michigan economy starting to reopen, which is a very positive sign for Mackinac Islands 2020 season, we are first and foremost committed to welcoming visitors to the island the right way and at the right time, said Tim Hygh, Mackinac Island Tourism executive director. "Our priority is the health of our residents, workers and guests. The success of the islands tourism season is dependent on making proper preparations, training staff for new protocols and the like. For those reasons and in accordance with the Governors Stay Home, Stay Safe order, Mackinac Island businesses will not be open to visitors for Memorial Day weekend, and ferries will not be running.

Island businesses that choose to open prior to May 29 will do so to serve the islands workers and residents.

A city task force recently released COVID-19 re-opening guidelines for island businesses, and have been having webinars with leaders of the local hotels, restaurants and stores to help them prepare for reopening. Topics include sanitizing practices, how to set up social distancing, safely bringing employees onto the island, and what to do if an employee starts showing coronavirus symptoms.

Most island hotels and lodging spots have pushed back their 2020 season opening dates. For a full list that is updated regularly, check the Mackinac Island Tourism website.

READ MORE

Sheplers to begin ferry service to Mackinac Island May 29

Michigan islands warn they are not a safe haven from coronavirus

Northern Michigan businesses welcome challenge of reopening just before Memorial Day
AMES, Iowa - Moving more and sitting less was a challenge for many of us, even before states started issuing stay-at-home orders. Despite disruptions to our daily work and exercise routines, there are some subtle changes we can make at home to help improve our mental health.

New research, published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that substituting prolonged sedentary time with sleep was associated with lower stress, better mood and lower body mass index (BMI), and substituting light physical activity was associated with improved mood and lower BMI across the next year. Jacob Meyer, lead author and assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, says light activity can include walking around your home office while talking on the phone or standing while preparing dinner.

"People may not even think about some of these activities as physical activity," Meyer said. "Light activity is much lower intensity than going to the gym or walking to work, but taking these steps to break up long periods of sitting may have an impact."

Meyer and colleagues used data collected as part of the Energy Balance Study at the University of South Carolina. For 10 days, study participants, ranging in age from 21 to 35, wore an armband that tracked their energy expenditure. Meyer, director of the Wellbeing and Exercise Lab at Iowa State, says the data allowed researchers to objectively measure sleep, physical activity and sedentary time, rather than relying on self-reports.

In addition to the benefits of sleep and light physical activity, the researchers found moderate to vigorous activity was associated with lower body fat and BMI. Given the negative health effects of prolonged sedentary time, Meyer says the findings may encourage people to make small changes that are sustainable.

"It may be easier for people to change their behavior if they feel it's doable and doesn't require a major change," Meyer said. "Replacing sedentary time with housework or other light activities is something they may be able to do more consistently than going for an hour-long run."

Getting more sleep is another relatively simple change to make. Instead of staying up late watching TV, going to bed earlier and getting up at a consistent time provides multiple benefits and allows your body to recover, Meyer said. Sleeping is also unique in that it is time you're not engaging in other potentially problematic behaviors, such as eating junk food while sitting in front of a screen.

Something we can control

Making these subtle changes was associated with better current mood, but light physical activity also provided benefits for up to a year, the study found. While the research was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meyer says the results are timely given the growing mental health concerns during this time of physical distancing.

"With everything happening right now, this is one thing we can control or manage and it has the potential to help our mental health," Meyer said.

As states start to ease stay-at-home restrictions, Meyer is looking at changes in physical activity and sitting time with potentially interesting results for those who regularly worked out prior to the pandemic. Preliminary data from a separate study show a 32% reduction in physical activity. The question he and colleagues hope to answer is how current changes in activity interact with mental health and how our behaviors will continue to change over time.

###

Laura Ellingson, Western Oregon University; Matthew Buman, Arizona State University; Robin Shook, Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City; Gregory Hand, West Virginia University; and Steven Blair, University of South Carolina, all contributed to the research published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim has been jailed for at least 18 years over a conspiracy to import drugs and tobacco into Australia.

Moustafa 'Michael' Ibrahim was facing a maximum possible sentence of life in jail after pleading guilty to eight charges relating to illegal importing rackets.

He was on Wednesday sentenced by District Court Judge Dina Yehia to 30 years in jail with a non-parole period of 18 years.

With time already served, Ibrahim will be eligible for release in August 2035.

The underworld kingpin had claimed to have been setup by undercover police who offered him 'a door' to get drugs into Australia, but Judge Yehia dismissed his claim.

Moustafa 'Michael' Ibrahim (pictured with wife Caitlan Hall), brother of Kings Cross nightclub boss John, has been jailed for at least 18 years over a conspiracy to import drugs and tobacco into Australia

Michael (left) was bullied at school and received 'beatings from his older brothers'. He is seen with his mother Wahiba, brothers John and Fadi. It is not suggested any of his family members had any knowledge of his crime

'The offender was not a reluctant or unwilling participant or naive,' she said.

'The offender was a trusted and respected participant in the enterprise expecting significant financial gain.'

Ibrahim's wife Caitlan Hall wrote a letter to the court telling of her 'anguish' after he was shot in a drive-by attack on their city home in 2015.

The court also heard that Ibrahim had struggled at school and was bullied, while also receiving regular 'beatings from his older brothers'.

In sentencing, the court heard how Ibrahim's mother Wahiba, 72, was now suffering from a number of medical conditions and would be unable to visit him behind bars.

'There is a real chance that his mother will never see her son as a free man,' Judge Yehia said.

Ibrahim pleaded guilty to eight charges over the illegal drug and tobacco importing rackets.

The 41-year-old was involved in two syndicates which attempted to import 1797 kilograms of MDMA, 136kg of cocaine and 15kg of ice into the country.

Ibrahim was arrested in Dubai in 2017 and - along with several other members of the group - subsequently pleaded guilty

During a sentencing hearing before Judge Dina Yehia last month, defence barrister Bret Walker SC said the groups were spurred on to attempt to import such a large quantity of drugs by the undercover police operative.

Members of the group were introduced to the officer who offered them a 'door' to import illegal goods into Australia without detection by law enforcement.

Ibrahim was arrested in Dubai in 2017 and - along with several other members of the group - subsequently pleaded guilty.

Mostafa Dib was sentenced to at least 12 years for his part in the conspiracy, while former real estate agent Ryan Watsford last year received at least four years in jail.
Sanagar Ali Twitter page

Islamabad: Pakistan and its all-weather ally China's move of building the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in the Gilgit-Baltistan region may cause a major ecological disaster, experts have warned.

Making things complicated the reservoir of the dam, to be constructed on top of the Central Asian faultline, media reports said.

The Pakistani government recently signed a Rs 442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam.

Planning to generate 4,500 mw of power, the dam, which will become the world's largest concretized dam, is set to be constructed on the River Indus.

Warning the authority, a letter written by the original designer of the dam, General Butt, in 2004 to then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf stated as quoted by The Economic Times, I shudder at the thought of earthquake effects on Bhasha. Dam-burst would wipe out Tarbela and all barrages on Indus; which would take us back to the stone-age.

In a September 2018 letter addressed to the then chief justice of Pakistan, one of the USs foremost design and infrastructure firms, AECOM, also alerted the country's authority against the proposed Diamer-Basha dam.

If Wapda decides to proceed with this concept, the cost would be exorbitant and construction time would exceed ten years. The project risk associated with an RCC dam is extremely high due to the transportation issue and seismic profile found at the location of the project. In summation, for practical and economic reasons the RCC dam should not be recommended for the DBD project," The Economic Times quoted the letter.

M Alam Brohi, a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan, wrote in his op-ed titled 'The construction of Diamer Bhasha Dam: A new controversy at hand' as published in Daily Times: "Renowned engineers have serious technical reservations to the construction of the dam. They say, the site of the dam lies at the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates and is traversed by fault lines and will be prone to earthquakes. The Dam will be one of the highest concrete filled dams with a height of 922 feet."

"A concrete filled dam anywhere in the world higher than 620 feet remains vulnerable to such tremors, cracks and leakage. The project is estimated to cost slightly over $14billion. As it has happened in all the big projects in Pakistan, the cost of the dam will escalate by 98% reaching $28billion by the time its construction is completed," he said.

"This will be an unbearable drain on Pakistans GDP of around $320 billion. Our past record supports this argument. The Neelum-Jhelum cost overrun was 500%. The Nandipur, the Jinnah Solar Park in Bahawalpur and some other mega projects were also marred by exorbitant cost escalations," he said.

The Chinese state-run firm holds 70 per cent and the FWO, a commercial arm of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, 30pc share in the consortium, reports Dawn News.

The project will include construction of a diversion system, main dam, access bridge and the 21MW Tangir hydropower project.

The eight million acre feet (MAF) reservoir with 272-metre height will be the tallest roller compact concrete (RCC) dam in the world, reported Dawn News.

Diamer-Bhasha dam project chief executive officer Amir Bashir Chaudhry and authorised representative of China Power Yang Jiandu signed the agreement on behalf of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and the joint venture, respectively.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 05/19/2020



ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

couple Loren Goldstone and Alexei Brovarnik will star in a : What Now? special on TLC next month that will feature intimate moments leading right up to when they welcomed their first child.TLC has announced : What Now?: Loren & Alexei's Birth Special will air on Monday, June 1 at 10PM ET/PT.TLC shared the news in a promo that aired during Monday night's episode of : Self-Quarantined."We're going to be parents any day now," Loren cried in the promo. "This virus just adds extra layers of stress."Loren was then shown having an ultrasound, and the technician revealed, "Maybe she have C section today."'s official Twitter account also teased on Monday night, "#90DayFiance faves Loren and Alexei share the biggest moment of their lives...Monday June 1 at 10/9c."Loren and Alexei's special on TLC will air right after the finale of : Self-Quarantined.While it was originally announced as a five-episode limited series, TLC has extended : Self-Quarantined for two additional episodes and its one-hour finale will now air on June 1 at 9PM ET/PT.The extended season of : Self-Quarantined also resulted in TLC pushing back the premiere of : The Other Way's second season, which had previously been scheduled to debut on June 1.Season 2 of : The Other Way will now therefore premiere on June 8 with a special two-hour episode at 9PM ET/PT on TLC.Earlier that evening, TLC will also wrap up : Before the 90 Days' currently-airing fourth season, with Part 2 of the Tell-All special airing June 8 at 7PM ET/PT.Loren and Alexei's son Shai was born on April 14 at 4:26PM at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, FL, weighing five pounds and 10 ounces. He came a little early considering he wasn't due to arrive until this month.Loren and Alexei appeared on Season 3 of followed by the first two seasons of : Happily Ever After?.Loren and Alexei met on her birthright trip to Israel. She was the staff leader and Alexei was the medic, and she found him "incredibly handsome."The pair kept in touch once Loren returned to the United States, and then she visited him five times in one year -- which resulted in an engagement.Once Alexei got approved for the K-1 visa and traveled to America, the couple got married during his 90-day visit in September 2015. They also subsequently had a second ceremony in Israel in July 2016 so both of their families could celebrate and witness their union.After having tense conversations about their ideal timeline for having their first baby, the couple ultimately agreed to start trying for a child in Fall 2019.Loren and Alexei apparently got pregnant right away and announced they were expecting Baby No. 1 in late October 2019, just one month after they celebrated four years of marriage.Two months later, the couple shared Loren was pregnant with a baby boy "We were a smidge surprised needless to say, but we wouldn't have it any other way! And we just can't wait to meet our son this May! #teambrovarnik #babybrov #May2020 #boymom #letthebalaganbegin #blessed," Loren captioned a slideshow of photos from the couple's gender reveal party, which took place in December 2019.Loren and Alexei then had more to celebrate in January 2020 when Alexei officially became an American citizen Loren and Alexei currently appear together on : Pillow Talk, which features former cast members offering commentary on the reality franchise's current episodes.Part of Loren and Alexei's pregnancy journey was also featured on the April 20 episode of : What Now?.The fourth season of : Before the 90 Days currently airs on Sunday nights at 8PM ET/PT on TLC, followed by : Self-Quarantined, which premiered April 20 , on Monday nights.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
The government-owned Jemundo apartment complex in Sidoarja, a city in Indonesias East Java province, is home to more than 330 Shia Muslims who were uprooted by religion-based violence, May 18, 2020.

At a government-owned apartment complex in the Indonesian city of Sidoarjo, near Surabaya, children play in the yard as their parents sit together and talk to pass the time.

They are among more than 330 residents here who belong to Indonesias Shia Muslim minority and were forced to flee their village on nearby Madura Island in 2012, after an attack by neighbors from the Sunni majority left one person dead.

Now, the leader of the uprooted community who was formerly imprisoned for alleged blasphemy, says he sees a glimmer of hope that the Shia will soon be able to live again in Sampang, their home regency.

Our intention has always been to return to our home village, Tajul Muluk, who is a cleric, told BenarNews. We hope it wont be delayed until next year. The local government needs to provide certainty.

Tajul said the community continued to communicate with religious and community leaders in Sampang and regency chief Slamet Junaidi had recently expressed willingness to allow the displaced Shia residents to return there.

On Aug. 26, 2012, hundreds of Sunni residents, armed with machetes and sickles, attacked the Shia community on Madura and torched their homes. The attack killed a 45-year-old woman and seriously injured several people.

It culminated years of problems that Shia residents of the island had faced from government officials and religious authorities, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). A similar attack occurred in December 2013, but with no fatalities.

Many Sunnis consider Shiism to be a deviant sect but, in 2012, Madura security officials attributed the violence to a conflict within a religiously prominent family, members of which were both Sunnis and Shias.

According to HRW, in 2009 Tajul had a disagreement with his younger brother that led the sibling join an anti-Shia campaign in Madura.

In July 2012, a local court sentenced Tajul to two years in prison after finding him guilty of spreading deviant teachings causing public anxiety and blaspheming Islam. The term was later raised to four years after prosecutors appealed for a longer sentence.

During his trial in Madura, some witnesses testified that the cleric had taught that the current Quran was not an authentic text; Muslims should pray only three times a day instead of five; and the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca was not obligatory.

Tajul is one of more than 150 people, mostly members of religious minorities, who have been convicted under Indonesias Blasphemy Laws since it was enacted in 1965, Human Rights Watch said.

The law is designed to protect the six religions recognized by the Indonesian state  Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. But in practice, it has been used against members of religious minorities deemed to have blasphemed Islam.

In one of the most prominent cases prosecuted under the law, in 2017 a court sentenced Jakarta Gov. Basuki Ahok Purnama, a Christian, to two years in prison after finding him guilty of blasphemy for comments in an edited video of a public speech by him that were deemed as blasphemous toward Islam.

Shia women bring laundry to their apartment in Sidoarjo, East Java province, May 18, 2020. [Yovinus Guntur W./BenarNews]

Cramped apartments

At the Jemundo apartment blocks in Sidoarja, where the displaced Shia live, each family, which typically has six to eight members, occupies a 30 square-meter (323 square-foot) flat.

Before maintenance work earlier this year, the complex had been in a state of disrepair for more than five years. Residents described it as dilapidated and squalid.

In its 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom, which it published last year, the U.S. State Department noted the case of the uprooted Indonesian Shia community.

More than 338 Shia Muslims from Madura remained displaced on the outskirts of Surabaya  after communal violence forced them from their homes in 2012, the report said.

The State Department noted that the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), the countrys top clerical body that is funded by the government, had called upon mosques to increase compassion and tolerance instead of hatred and hate speech, in the wake of attacks carried out in 2018 against religious minority groups, including Ahmadi Muslims.

But Intolerant groups also used MUI fatwas to justify actions against religious minorities and other vulnerable groups, even though the fatwas lacked legal standing, the report noted.

Individuals affiliated at the local level with the MUI used rhetoric considered intolerant by religious minorities, including fatwas declaring Shia and Ahmadis as deviant sects, it said. Shia and Ahmadi Muslims reported feeling under constant threat from intolerant groups.

There are an estimated 2.5 million Shias in Indonesia, but most of them keep their beliefs secret, citing fears of being persecuted or estranged from their families.

In March 2020, representatives of the Shia community in Sidoarja went to the office of East Java Gov. Khofifah Indar Parawansa to demand that they be allowed to return for good to Madura and that a 2012 gubernatorial regulation on the monitoring of deviant sects be revoked. Both Madura and Sidoarja are in East Java province.

Khofifah, who did not see the protesters, sent a senior official to meet with the Shia group at their apartment complex, but his office has since taken no concrete action to meet their demands, Tajul said.

So far, there has been no response from the governor, Tajul said.

A member of the provincial legislative council, Hari Putri Lestari, said the governor needed to address the plight of the displaced Shia.

The governor should be responsive to their needs, she told BenarNews.

Officials at the governors office could not be immediately reached for comment.

Slamet Junaidi, the regent of Sampang, met with the Shia community in their apartment complex in early May and assured them that there would not be any discrimination against the religious minority if they returned to the island.

Talks with religious and community leaders in Sampang about accepting the Shia residents were ongoing, he also said.

We continue to maintain communication with the Shia community, Slamet said at the time.

Not accustomed to living on handouts

In Sidoarjo, other residents have treated the Shias relatively well, despite some suspicion from locals at the beginning of their stay here, Tajul told BenarNews.

So far there has been no discrimination. Praying in the mosque is safe, he said, adding that Shia and Sunni neighbors had previously visited each other on Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

However in 2018, the government of Sidoarja stopped allowing Shia children to attend pre-school, forcing the community to provide early childhood education independently, he said.

Many Shia residents make a living as farmers and selling food, including traditional Madurese satay, to supplement a monthly stipend of 709,000 rupiah (U.S. $48) they receive from the government. Some others do odds jobs, including in construction.

We are not accustomed to living on handouts. The thing that we have in mind most is returning to our home village, Tajul said.

He said the community had no problems accessing basic government services, such as obtaining ID cards, marriage certificates as well as papers for their properties back home.

The coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile, has not affected the Shia community much, although some of its members have complained about losing income, Tajul said. The city government has helped out the Shia by supplying them with masks and food during the public health crisis, he said.

We are village people who consider diseases to be normal. So we are not too consumed with this COVID-19 thing. We believe that our lives belong to God, the Shia leader said.
Four Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels alongside U.S. Naval Forces in the Gulf

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In an alert that appeared aimed squarely at Iran, the U.S. Navy issued a warning on Tuesday to mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being "interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures."

The notice to mariners, which was first reported by Reuters, follows U.S. President Donald Trump's threat last month to fire on any Iranian ships that harass Navy vessels.

"Armed vessels approaching within 100 meters of a U.S. naval vessel may be interpreted as a threat," according to the text of the notice, which can be seen here (https://bit.ly/3cZppV3)

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the U.S. military's rules of engagement.

The Pentagon has stated that Trump's threat was meant to underscore the Navy's right to self-defense.

The Bahrain-based U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that its notice was "designed to enhance safety, minimize ambiguity and reduce the risk of miscalculation."

It follows an incident last month in which 11 Iranian vessels came close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, in what the U.S. military called "dangerous and provocative" behavior.

At one point, the Iranian vessels came within 10 yards (9 meters) of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui, the U.S. military said.

Trump's threat followed that incident, which Tehran, in turn, said was the fault of the United States.

The head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards responded to Trump by threatening to destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.

The back-and-forth is just latest example of razor-sharp tension between Washington and Tehran, which has steadily escalated since 2018, when Trump withdrew from Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Story continues

Animosity reached historic heights in early January, when the United States killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad.

Iran retaliated on Jan. 9 by firing missiles at bases in Iraq, causing brain injuries among U.S. troops at one of them.

Close interactions with Iranian military vessels were not uncommon in 2016 and 2017. On several occasions, U.S. Navy ships fired warning shots at Iranian vessels when they got too close.

But Iran had halted such maneuvers before the April incident.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler and Tom Brown)
Republican Lawmakers Demand Planned Parenthood Return 80 Million in Paycheck Protection Funds

After the news broke Tuesday evening that Planned Parenthood received federal funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), many Republican lawmakers voiced their objections.

Planned Parenthood facilities received millions in pandemic aid funds from the PPP, and the federal government is now requiring the organization to pay them back.

Thirty-seven Planned Parenthood affiliates applied for and obtained a total of $80 million in loans from the PPP, Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight revealed Tuesday.

Taxpayer money should never support an abortion or prop up an industry thats sole purpose is ending life. Pay it back, said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) Wednesday.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) all demanded that Planned Parenthood return the funds. Rubio and Hawley called for an investigation, warning that criminal prosecution may be appropriate.

Rubio, who has served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said Planned Parenthoods violation of PPP rules was obvious.

There is no ambiguity in the legislation that passed or public record around its passage that organizations such as Planned Parenthood, whose parent organization has close to half a billion dollars in assets, is not eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program, Rubio said.

He added: Those funds must be returned immediately. Furthermore, the SBA should open an investigation into how these loans were made in clear violation of the applicable affiliation rules and if Planned Parenthood, the banks, or staff at the SBA knowingly violated the law all appropriate legal options should be pursued.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) says that businesses of more than 500 employees are not eligible for the PPP funds.

When asked to comment on the Planned Parenthood issue, an SBA spokesperson told The Epoch Times, The SBA does not comment about individual borrowers.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA) itself has more than 600 employees. The largest of the loans was $7.5 million distributed to the Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties in California.

Planned Parenthood is the nations largest abortion provider with close to 350,000 abortions performed each year and holds nearly $2 billion in net assets. It is not eligible for PPP loans.

Planned Parenthood did not immediately return The Epoch Times request for comment.

Yet another example of the #PPP program being misused. Floridas taxpayers should not be footing to bail out a huge organization like Planned Parenthood. This money should be returned immediately.https://t.co/nt6zuKtUEf  Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 20, 2020

Late Tuesday evening, Hawley wrote on Twitter: The money needs to be recovered and if anybody knowingly falsified applications, they need to be prosecuted.

Lankford criticized Planned Parenthood for taking money away from legitimate small businesses.

Planned Parenthoods budget of over one billion dollars a year and the explicit Small Business Administration affiliation rules made it clear from the start of the program that Planned Parenthood was not and is not eligible for a small business Paycheck Protection Program loan, Lankford wrote. Like other large organizations that returned monies they were not eligible for, Planned Parenthood should immediately repay the American people the money they took from deserving small businesses and non-profits.

Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), wrote Wednesday, Planned Parenthood has been caught taking $80m in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds intended for small biz. But PPP is intentionally structured so @PPFA cant use small biz loans as an abortion slush fund So howd they get the money? FRAUD.
The Central Tibetan Administration brought home the first batch of 15 stranded Tibetan students stuck in Vadodara in the latest evacuation in the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, an official said on Wednesday.

CTA is also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile with its headquarters in Dharamshala.

Tibetan Health MinisterChoekyong Wangchuk, who's also the chair of the CTA COVID-19 Task-Force said, Earlier this month, Tibetan students studying in Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), Baroda were notified by the university authorities to vacate the hostel and return to their home states as part of the state's measures to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19."



As the students turned to the CTA for help, the department of the government immediately sprang into action, he said.

He added that, so far, the administration has been able to bring back 87 students from Vadodara to their home states.

The first batch comprising 29 students safely reached Dehradun on May 10. The second batch of two students reached Mainpat, Chattisgarh on May 12. In the third batch, 10 students reached Leh in Ladakh on May 17. The fourth batch of 27 students heading to Arunachal Pradesh reached their homes on May 18.

Of the total 19 students from the fifth batch, 15 arrived here at Dharamshala on Tuesday and four were received at Delhi on Monday, the minister added. All students are being put on 14-day quarantine period in their native places.

Wangchuk added that the task-force gave each student a thermometer to monitor any symptoms of COVID-19. The students were safely lodged into the quarantine facility which was divided into separate quarters for boys and girls and a stocked-up kitchen with a cook to provide the students with healthy meals.

An official advised the students to abide by the quarantine norms and additionally advised them to chant prayers to calm their mind.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
KAMPALA  IOM Uganda staff on Tuesday, May 19 donated several items to the Missionaries of the Poor in Kisenyi, Kampala, to help the charity mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donated items include; matooke, salt, cooking, sugar, soap, rice among others.

Individual staff members collected UGX 4,692,000 for this cause, responding to last months call by UN Resident Coordinator Rosa Malango to all UN personnel in the country.

RC Malango and IOM Uganda Chief of Mission Sanusi Tejan Savage, as well as Staff Association President Peter Nzabanita, formally handed over the items to the beneficiaries.

The team was warmly received by Brother Moses Kobwemi, the Superior of the Missionaries of the Poor in Uganda.

Mr. Savage said We know that our donation is a drop in the ocean compared to your needs, but we hope you will kindly accept it as our humble recognition of your noble work

Kobwemi thanked the IOM Uganda for running to help them out.

When we heard that the children were coming back from school because of COVID, we were very worried [about how to cater for them]..then Peter [IOM] came out of nowhere said Kobwemi.

Related
Channel Seven revealed international model Chad Hurst as one of the housemates to star in the upcoming season of Big Brother, this week.

However, Chad failed to mentioned his X-rated past when he boasted about appearing in Vogue Australia in his first promotional video.

As uncovered by TV Blackbox on Wednesday, Sydney-based Chad previously posed for a full frontal nude shoot, which can be described as anything but family-friendly.

He kept that quiet! An X-rated photo shoot starring Big Brother housemate and international model Chad Hurst (pictured) has leaked ahead of the show's premiere on Channel Seven in June

Chad stripped naked to pose for digital magazine Beautiful in 2013, when he was 21.

In the X-rated photos, he is captured holding his private parts while reclining on a leather sofa.

Some have speculated the picture leak may have been orchestrated by Seven or producers Endemol Shine Australia to build interest in the reality TV series, but this seems very unlikely.

Not family friendly: Chad stripped naked to pose for digital magazine Beautiful in 2013, when he was 21. In the X-rated photos, he is captured holding his private parts while reclining on a leather sofa

'I don't think that's true. They're known as the "roast chook" family network. This goes completely against their brand and this would be major problem for Seven,' former TV producer Rob McKnight told The Ben, Rob & Robbo Show on Wednesday.

Mr McKnight continued: 'If he had been vetted properly I don't think he would be on the show. I hope they don't minimise him, I hope they don't edit him out.'

After he was announced a Big Brother housemate, many of the pictures were removed from the internet.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment.

Discussion: Some have speculated the picture leak may have been orchestrated by Seven or producers Endemol Shine Australia to build interest in the reality TV series, but this seems very unlikely

International model: Chad boasted about appearing in Vogue Australia in his Big Brother promo

Chad's past comes as many Australian reality television stars are making lucrative careers out of selling their own naked pictures on subscription website, OnlyFans.

The newest Big Brother housemate has amassed 100,000 Instagram followers working as an international model, splitting his time between Los Angeles and Sydney.

Big Brother Australia will premiere on Channel Seven in June.
Riot police were deployed in force as youths set cars ablaze in some low-income housing estates in the Paris suburbs overnight, amid tensions heightened by the coronavirus lockdown.

The latest unrest in the banlieues - high-rise, low-income neighbourhoods - flared after an 18-year old died last weekend in a motorbike accident in the suburb of Argenteuil, northwestern Paris.

An investigation into the death of Sabri Choubi was ongoing, said the prosecutor's department for the district of Pontoise, which handles judicial matters for Argenteuil.

It added that initial findings did not show Choubi's motorcycle had been in a collision with a police car, as some of the victim's associates had alleged.

Officials at the Paris police department could not be immediately reached for comment on the unrest overnight, but the AnonymeCitoyen twitter feed and residents in the suburb of Argenteuil posted videos and photographs of burnt out cars and riot police in the area.

Residents in the nearby suburb of Bezons also posted videos on Twitter of a large fire, though it was unclear what was burning.

A video captured in the Bezons neighbourhood and shared by a Twitter user by the name of 'le copilote' reads 'Starfullah (sic)', may god forgive in Arabic, as cars are set alight

France's banlieues are frequently flashpoints of anger over social and economic inequality and allegations of heavy-handed policing.

In one video a group of hooded youths can be seen setting off fireworks in the Bezons neighbourhood before setting cars alight and leaving them to burn - another fire can be seen to have spread to a nearby tree.

A caption on the video shared by a Twitter user by the name of 'le copilote' reads 'Starfullah (sic)', may god forgive in Arabic.
PHILADELPHIA  Students with autism are illegally being denied an education during the government-ordered coronavirus school shutdown, a class-action lawsuit filed this week alleges.

The outcome of the lawsuit, filed this week in federal court in Philadelphia on behalf of two Bucks County children, could potentially affect thousands of disabled students.

At its heart is a claim that Gov. Tom Wolf failed to name as "life-sustaining" services that provide in-person education to nonverbal and partially verbal children with autism  kids for whom online instruction and services are ineffective.

Also named are Education Secretary Pedro Rivera and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which collectively have broken state and federal law and deprived severely disabled children of their right to a free and appropriate public education, according to the suit.

Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (Photo by Dan Zampogna/Commonwealth Media Services)

The suit comes as challenges mount against districts' handling of special education services during the pandemic. A class-action suit was filed in Hawaii last month. In New Jersey, some districts initially asked parents to waive legal rights before special education students could receive remote special education services, but a state education department order reversed that, saying the request was illegal.

Betsy DeVos, the federal education secretary, opted not to ask Congress for a waiver exempting schools from special education laws during coronavirus closures.

Before the pandemic closed schools  Wolf ordered all Pennsylvania schools shut for in-person instruction on March 16, and extended the closure for the remainder of the school year on April 9  James and Brennan, both 7-year-olds with autism attending school in the Central Bucks School District, spent 32-1/2 hours receiving educational and therapeutic services. At school, they receive one-on-one services from a range of teachers, aides and service providers.

Each now receives just over an hour per week total of online services. The children, both of whom use devices to communicate, are identified only by first names because their families seek privacy.

Both boys are regressing, with their education at a standstill, said James J. Pepper, the lawyer representing the families.

"As things stand now, online learning is the only option for school districts, and it's not cutting it for these kids," Pepper said. "They are not receiving an education, and the state is responsible."

Some private providers of educational services for children with autism are deemed life sustaining and are providing one-on-one services amid the pandemic, according to the suit.

The families do not fault Central Bucks, whose teachers and therapists the suit lauds as having made "heroic efforts" to help both boys through online learning. But their disabilities mean that even such efforts cannot enable nonverbal and partially verbal children with autism to receive the education they are guaranteed by state and federal law.

The pandemic is affecting all Pennsylvania public school students' education negatively, but most children are resilient and can recover lost ground easily; the stakes are highest for children like Brennan and James, Pepper said.

"It is literally impossible for nonverbal and partially verbal children to receive the education they are legally entitled to through online learning," said Pepper. "And because of this, the defendants have left my clients and thousands of other children like them on the side of the road."

The suit seeks compensatory damages, as well as a change directing the classification of services for nonverbal and partially-verbal children as life sustaining.

A spokesperson for the state education department  who said officials had not received the suit yet  said he could not comment on pending litigation.

By Kristen A. Graham, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

More:

Pa. students expected to return to school in fall, ed chief says

Gov. Tom Wolf talks about COVID-19 and reopening Pa.: Were going to have to behave differently

The most critical test: Can we find the infected, so everyone else can get back to work, school and life?
Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker has downplayed an emergency rule that could mean misdemeanor charges for anyone who violates the governors stay-at-home order by operating a business, Republicans remain opposed the rule.

Pritzker said the rule was meant to be a less punitive way to get businesses to comply than revoking licenses or seeking business closures.

We dont want to have to pull licenses from people, Pritzker said. We dont want to have to shut a business down. What we want is for people to comply and we want to give them this type of citation as an alternative.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Pritzker said the rule now in effect wouldnt be that severe.

Well again, this is a citation, youve heard of a traffic citation, Pritzker said. This is another kind of citation.

State Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, said a Class A misdemeanor is not a citation. He also said prosecutors decide on criminal charges and judges determine sentences for convictions, not the governor.

Wheeler said he is prepared to move to suspend the rule in a commission meeting today. He said the governor needs to work with the legislature.

Let us put together a piece of legislation that makes it a petty offense, or a business offense, so it is completely taken away from being a regular person going to have to deal with jail time.

Wheeler said the fact that the rule is in effect for 150 days, which puts its sunset into the second week of October, contradicts the governors reopening plan allowing businesses to open in phases. Phase 3 could come as early as the end of this month.

These restrictions will be reviewed by the department in coordination with the different stages of the Restore Illinois plan and the latest public health guidance and metrics, the Illinois Department of Public Health said Friday in documents attached to its filing.

If the rule is not blocked today by the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said there should be a court challenge.

A few weeks ago we saw an overreach with the administration with the work comp commission and they will suffer the same fate with this rule change if that is going to be implemented, which I think it was a few days ago, but a court will throw it out, Durkin said.
In more troubles for the auditing fraternity, an investor survey has found that 57 per cent large investors and sell-side analysts do not have any faith in the Big-4 audit firms as they have lost credibility.

According to a survey by Institutional Investor Advisory Services of 63 large investors and sell-side analysts numbering 89, conducted online between April 13-21, as much as 57 per cent of each of them have found "the Big-4 audit firms having lost their credibility with investors and are therefore open to move beyond them if they were banned".

Between qualified and unqualified accounts, 73 per cent support qualified accounts because they feel that at least they got to hear auditor concerns and if they asked for lean accounts, the risk was that the auditors would be muzzled.

It can be noted that ever since Satyam Computers scandal that came out in January 2009 the audit world, especially the Big Four, have been under fire from the regulators.

While market watchdog Securities and Exchange Board had banned PwC in 2018 from auditing listed companies for two years in the Satyam scam, the Securities Appellate Tribunal quashed the ban and the Sebi challenged it.

In June 2019, the Reserve Bank barred SR Batliboi & Company, an affiliate of EY, from carrying out statutory audit of commercial banks for a year after it found several lapses in the books of Yes Bank.

In the IL&FS case, Serious Fraud Investigation Office charged Deloitte Haskins & Sells and BSR and Associates (part of the KMPG network), for their failure in not disclosing the true financial health of IL&FS Financial Services and are looking at banning them from undertaking audits after they got some reprieve from the Delhi High Court.

In the CG Power fraud, the NCLT had thrown out the report prepared by Viash Associates, terming it as unprofessional and full of ifs and buts.

On top of these, there have been frequent resignation of auditors, creating doubts on the quality of the audits that is being presented to investors and also many instances of divergent audit reports.

It can be noted that in the US, auditors cannot publish qualified results. But only 23 per cent support moving to the American model by shifting our accounting standards also move in the same direction and insist on unqualified accounts.

This is despite 77 per cent of them believing that "only unqualified accounts are true and fair" as one get to hear auditor concerns.

Meanwhile, the survey also has found that 78 per cent of the investors, who normally clamour for dividends, in the poll preferring company retaining cash and fortifying their balance sheet this year as the economy is in shambles.

Similarly, 57 per cent of them also see promoters subscribing to warrants as a sign of confidence in the company and its operations.

However, equity dilution remains a concern for investors with 46 per cent of them being uncomfortable if dilution exceeded 5 per cent without disclosure regarding how funds will be used and 30 per cent putting this threshold at 10 per cent.

A vast majority - as much as 87 percent - support dual class shares, a class of shares that doesn't find much support among investors in most other geographies.

As much as 87 per cent are less supportive of promoter rights being embedded in the articles of association and periodically being voted on, as they have a more sanguine view about rights of private equity firms being embedded in the articles of association.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 09:05:29

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 830 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

US National Institutes of Health Launches Phase IIB clinical trial to study Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin as a treatment for COVID-19 as US President Trump announces he is using HydroxychloroquineVANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Codebase Ventures Inc. ("Codebase" or the "Company") (CSE:CODE)(FSE:C5B)(OTCQB:BKLLF) an investment company, is providing an update on its strategy toward the development of a transdermal delivery system for hydroxychloroquine.In addition to the previously announced trials underway in relation to hydroxychloroquine's (HCQ) ability to prevent and or treat COVID-19, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have launched a Phase IIb double blind clinical trial to study hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin treatments in patients with COVID - 19.1"The main objective of the study is to determine whether hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death due to COVID-19. Additionally, investigators will evaluate the safety and tolerability of the experimental treatment for people with SARS-CoV-2 infection."2 The trial is being sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH.3Concurrently, US President Donald Trump announced that he is taking hydroxychloroquine.4Codebase recently acquired 49% in a private pharmaceutical company which has recently filed for two US provisional patents for transdermal delivery and oral mucosal delivery of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. The private pharmaceutical company has a lab services agreement with Reformulation Research Laboratories Inc. (RRL), which has led the development of the patent applications and the underlying technology.As previously announced, the Company is not making any express or implied claims that HCQ or CQ has any effect in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 at this time. Developing a transdermal or oral mucosal delivery of these drugs should lead to the lessening of the dosage required and the common side effects felt by current users of these drugs for their on-label treatment for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and malaria.About Codebase Ventures Inc.Codebase Ventures Inc. is an investment company, led by technology and business experts who invest early in great ideas in sectors that have significant upside, including the cannabis sector. We operate from the understanding that technology is always evolving, bringing early opportunities for strategic investments that can deliver the exponential returns to our shareholders. We seek out and empower the innovators who are building tomorrow's standards with platforms, protocols and innovations - not just products. We invest early, support those founders, take their ideas to market, and work tirelessly to help them realize their vision.For further information, please contact:George Tsafalas - Ivy LuInvestor RelationsTelephone: Toll-Free (877) 806-CODE (2633) or 1 (778) 806-5150E-mail: IR@ codebase.ventures Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward Looking StatementsCertain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. 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 forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.SOURCE: Codebase Ventures Inc.
Researchers are preparing to trial hydroxychloroquine on Australian health workers to protect them against coronavirus as Donald Trump has revealed he is also taking the drug.

Hydroxychloroquine, a drug commonly prescribed to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, has been touted as a possible prevention or treatment for COVID-19.

But there are also warnings it can be dangerous after reports COVID-19 patients who used it as a treatment developed serious heart rhythm problems and rapid heart rates which can be fatal.

Researchers from Melbourne's Walter and Eliza Hall institute will run a four month trial, called COVID SHIELD, on around 2,250 hospital and healthcare workers from around the country.

Australian researchers are conducting a study on 2,225 health care workers from across the country to see whether hydroxychloroquine is effective in preventing the contraction of COVID-19. Pictured is a medical worker administering a coronavirus test in Bondi on May 15

For the duration of the experiment, half of the workers will be given hydroxychloroquine, and the other half will be given a placebo.

Some oversea studies have shown the anti-malaria drug can prevent COVID-19 from entering cells in lab conditions, while others have cast doubt on its ability to treat patients once they have already been infected.

The Australian study aims to test how effective it is at preventing someone from contracting the disease.

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he has been taking the drug despite his own government's warning that it should only be administered for COVID-19 in a hospital or research setting.

In April, the US's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of the drug's side effects, and that it has 'not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19'.

Royal Melbourne Hospital rheumatologist Ian Wicks, one of the researchers leading the Australian trial, said the drug's side effects were uncommon.

US President Donald Trump (pictured) on Tuesday boasted he had been taking hydroxycholoroquine for more than a week after hearing it had been successfully prevented COVID-19 in one study

Hydroxychloroquine (pictured) is a drug, usually taken as a tablet, that is commonly prescribed to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

'Rheumatologists are very comfortable with the drug's safety profile,' Professor Wicks told ABC News.

'The medical specialists conducting COVID SHIELD are highly experienced in using hydroxychloroquine in the clinic. All participants will be screened based on rigorous selection criteria and closely monitored throughout the trial to ensure safety.'

A day after Donald Trump made the revelation, the FDA softened its stance on the drug, saying the decision to take the prescription drug is between a patient and their doctor.

Meanwhile in response, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesperson said 'It is not something which our own medical experts are recommending.'
New Delhi: Nawazuddin Siddiquis wife Aaliya on Wednesday joined Twitter to disclose some shocking facts, as claimed by her in a statement. The move comes just two days after Aaliya revealed that she has sent a legal notice to Nawazuddin seeking divorce and maintenance.

Aaliya had confirmed to Zee News in an exclusive conversation on Monday that there are problems in their marriage and she alleged those are serious ones and she could not take it up further. She, however, did not reveal what exactly were the issues between her and Nawazuddin. She had also categorically mentioned about Nawazuddins brother Shamas Siddiqui and said that the problems were because of both of them.

In able to protect his own wrongs, Nawazuddin and his team are trying to attack my reputation. I will show the world what is the truth behind the whole thing. My simplicity is not my weakness. Do follow me on Twitter and I shall be disclosing some shocking facts, she said in a statement earlier today.

Meanwhile, a tweet from a Twitter profile purporting to be Aaliyas reads, This is Aliya Siddiqui. I am forced to put the truth concerning me on Twitter so that there is no miscommunication. Let the truth not be silenced by misuse and abuse of power. Truth cannot be bought or be manipulated with.

This is Aliya Siddiqui. I am forced to put the truth concerning me on Twitter so that there is no miscommunication. Let the truth not be silenced by misuse and abuse of power. Truth cannot be bought or be manipulated with.  AaliyaSiddiqui2020 (@ASiddiqui2020) May 20, 2020

The second tweet on the timeline is a clarification on her alleged affair with some other man, which she claims to have been reported in the media. Aaliya claims the reports are false and manipulative.

To begin with, let me clarify that I am not into ANY RELATIONSHIP with any MAN; and any media report which make such claims, are absolutely false. It appears that some section of the media have manipulated with my photograph to make such ridiculous claims to divert attention, read the tweet.

To begin with let me clarify that I am not into "ANY RELATIONSHIP" with any MAN; and any media report which make such claims, are absolutely false. It appears that some section of the media have manipulated with my photograph to make such ridiculous claims to divert attention.  AaliyaSiddiqui2020 (@ASiddiqui2020) May 20, 2020

Nawazuddin and Aaliya have been married for over 10 years and are parents to two children. Aaliya had alleged that the problems have been there for several years, basically due to Nawazuddin and Shamas, but most of the time, she thought of not exaggerating it. However, she has now decided to end the marriage and sought a divorce.

Later, when Zee News contacted Shamas and asked him about the development, he said he knew nothing about it.

Shamas revealed that he got to know about the legal notice through news and because it is a legal matter now, he can't comment on it.

Aaliyas lawyer had sent Nawazuddin a legal notice via email and WhatsApp on May 7, but his response is awaited.

Nawazuddin is currently in his hometown in Uttar Pradeshs Budhana. He was issued a pass to travel to Budhana from Mumbai amid lockdown restrictions. The family is currently under quarantine.
Fighting continues but not in a very organized or intense fashion. In April there were about a thousand combat related casualties (dead and wounded) nationwide. Most of these were fighters, not civilians. The Saudis have reorganized their depleted (by the UAE and Sudan withdrawing troops this year) ground forces and used their air power mainly to keep the rebels from concentrating forces to carry out any major attacks. This month the violence is down a bit as all Yemenis try to cope with disease (cholera and covid19) as well as food shortages and worsening poverty. Then there is the political stalemate as Shia rebels grow weary after six years of fighting without much to show for it. Southern separatists are further complication matters.

Southern Discomfort

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) has been in charge of security (and aid delivery) in the south since 2015 and has supported the formation of the STC (South Transitional Council). This group is composed of southern tribes that want autonomy but claim they are willing to fight and defeat the Islamic terrorists as well as the Shia rebels first. Aidarous al Zubaidi, the STC leader, is seen as more popular in the south than Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, the last and current elected president of united Yemen. Hadi has only briefly visited Yemen a few times since 2015 and spends most of his time in the Saudi capital. This is for Hadis safety given the number of assassinations going on in Aden, where the Hadi government was moved to in 2015. The Saudis and the UAE do not agree on dividing Yemen once more but for the moment it is more convenient to support the STC and efforts to defeat the Iran backed Shia rebels. After that, who knows?

The basic problem is that too many Yemenis dont want to be Yemenis. The country was a patchwork of independent tribes and cities when the English East India Company took control of some Yemeni ports in the 1830s and 40s to support ships going from Britain to India. The Ottoman Turks still controlled most of northern Yemen until 1918, when the Ottoman Empire collapsed. Britain took over from the Ottomans and established the borders of modern Yemen. But Yemen was still not a unified country. When the British left Yemen in 1967, their former colony in Aden became one of two countries called Yemen. The two parts of Yemen finally united in 1990, but a civil war in 1994 was needed to seal the deal. That fix didn't really take, and within a decade the north and south were pulling apart again.

The corruption and lack of unity are related to the fact that Yemen has always been a region, not a country. Like most of the rest of the Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa (Northeast Africa) region, the normal form of government, until the last century or so, were wealthier coastal city-states, nervously coexisting with interior tribes that got by on herding or farming (or a little of both). This whole "nation" idea is still looked on with some suspicion throughout the region. This is why the most common forms of government are the more familiar ones of antiquity as in kingdom, emirate or modern variation in the form of a hereditary dictatorship.

Yemen is still all about the tribes. The national government is a bunch of guys who deal with foreigners and try to maintain peace among the tribes. Controlling the national government is a source of much wealth, as officials can steal part of the foreign aid and taxes, mostly on imports or royalties from meager oil exports.

This lack of nationalism means a lack of cooperation or willingness to act in the public interest. Much of the Yemeni agricultural crisis is caused by the fact that Yemen's economic situation has been rapidly deteriorating since the late 20th century. This is largely because the government has done nothing to address the problems of overpopulation, water shortages and Khat. That last item is a narcotic plant that is chewed fresh, requires a lot of water to grow, and is worth a lot of money when smuggled into Saudi Arabia where it is illegal.

There is little willingness to cooperate. Feuding, fighting and blaming others for the mess are the preferred methods for dealing with the problems. Before oil was discovered in Arabia nearly a century ago. Yemen had long been the most powerful and populous part of Arabia because it was the only part of Arabia with regular rains, thanks to the annual monsoon. Most of the oil deposits were at the north end of the Persian Gulf and Yemen lost out there. Yemenis had long despised the less affluent Arabs to the north, but since oil arrived the Yemenis have become despised and they did not take it well. Resentment, envy and a sense of entitlement have combined with the lack of unity to produce Yemen that is a nation in name only. Few others in the region have much sympathy for the Yemenis who are seen as the main cause of their own problems and the main obstacle to solving them.

The concept of a unified Yemen was largely created by Cold War politics and how Britain handled a threat to their seaborne trade in the early 19th century. That was when Britain took control of Aden. This was partly to shut down the many pirates operating out of there, and increasingly going after British ships traveling between Asia (India, Southeast Asia and China) and Britain. Only Aden was needed but the British made deals with the tribes that occupied most of the southern Yemen coast and had long depended on Aden and other southern ports for supplies and such. Britain made Aden and the smaller southern ports more prosperous with new trading opportunities and provided more benefits for the interior tribes. Most importantly the tribes still had their autonomy, as well as British protection from outsiders. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and over the next few decades larger, more efficient, steam-powered metal vessels supplanted and replaced wooden sailing ships. That meant a lot more trade moving past and Aden and South Yemen became more prosperous.

When the British left in 1967, as part of the widespread abandonment of colonies by European nations, there was some unrest and fighting in the newly independent South Yemen. This was because Aden was much less religious and traditional with a better educated population, and it was no surprise that Aden and some other South Yemen cities were dominated by local communists. From 1970 until the fall of European communism in 1989, South Yemen was a communist state, subsidized by the Soviet Union, and the only such one in the Arab world.

Most of that enthusiasm for communism was centered in Aden and its suburbs. This is where most of the South Yemen population lived and where an even larger proportion of its GDP came from. A few other coastal cities had the same type of population and political attitudes, giving the urban population control of politics as well as the economy. The tribal minority out in the desert and semi-desert inland areas was much more religious and traditional. But over the centuries the urban and tribal populations had learned to get along and respect each others customs.

It was different in northern Yemen, where the urban population was not as dominant and the tribal population was economically better off and about as religious and conservative as their southern counterparts. The problem was the northern and southern tribes saw each other as foreigners. This is a common situation in tribal cultures, which includes the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. Yet even then there was some enthusiasm for a united Yemen in the north and south.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union (and European communism) in 1991, the Russian subsidies for the south stopped and unification was suddenly much more appealing. After a few years of haggling, and occasional fighting, Yemen was united by 1994. At that point, there were still factions in the north and south who believed unity was overrated and two Yemens was the way to go. That is no longer the case, not with most of the population surviving on foreign food aid. Many of those hungry Yemenis have to pay Shia rebels for this free food. The foreign aid NGOs and the UN complain about this but the Shia rebels are armed and dangerous and the UN is not. Not armed that is.

There is resistance to admitting that Yemen is a failed state, one of those areas (like Somalia and Afghanistan) that were never united for long and are basically several smaller entities that are not really interested in unity with their neighbors who are supposed to be their countrymen. And then there is the corruption problem.

Foreign Irritations

Since mid-2019 the balance of combat power has shifted as the government coalition lost a lot of their ground troops. This was because the UAE (United Arab Emirates) withdrew most of its forces in late 2019 because of disagreements with Saudi Arabia over strategy and fears in the UAE that Iran might attack. The UAE is a smaller country and has fewer troops than Saudi Arabia. The UAE is also more vulnerable (geographically) to Iranian attacks. The Saudis also lost troop contributions from other Moslem states and have not been able to replace them. This stalled the long, slow, methodical and successful government offensive which had pushed the rebels back. The rebels, encouraged by the steadfast and effective support from Iran, held on. The major weapon the Shia rebels had was Saudi fear of an Iran dominated Yemen.

The Saudis have many reasons to fear Iran. Historically the Iranians have always been more effective militarily and that factor is still present. While the Iranians have a tradition of recruiting the most capable men to be officers, the Saudis, and Arabs in general are wary of professional military personnel, especially officers. Its mostly about fear of a military takeover and the Saudis have crippled their own military by valuing loyalty over competence when it comes to officers, and many troops as well. As a result, the Saudis do not have a lot of troops they can trust to do well in a foreign war. Air Force pilots are another matter but you cannot win a ground war from the air. On the ground, the lack of more talented and experienced ground commanders in Yemen has hurt the Saudis in ways they wont admit.

The Saudis have a bigger problem with the fact that the rebels are backed by Iran which continues to pay whatever it takes to smuggle in some weapons despite Saudi efforts to tighten the sea, air and ground blockade. Severe Iranian cash flow problems in 2020 have reduced the flow of military aid to the Shia rebels. Yemen is unique in that it is a nation with a disproportionate number of skilled smugglers, many of them willing to work for whoever will pay. If you cant pay the smugglers they still have plenty of customers who can.

This new situation puts Saudi Arabia in a difficult position. Efforts to negotiate an end of the Yemen war proved unsuccessful as Iranian control over the Shia rebels could not be significantly reduced, at least not yet. The Iranians are determined to maintain their presence in Yemen and on the Saudi border. From there the Iranians can continue to launch attacks on the Saudis, who do not want to commit the ground forces necessary to take control of the adjacent Yemeni provinces that are the homeland of the Shia rebels. The Saudis also have to maintain sufficient forces in northeast Saudi Arabia, where most of the oil is and the Iranian threat has been a problem for decades. At this point, the best thing the Saudis can hope for is that the religious dictatorship that has ruled Iran for decades will collapse and be replaced by friendlier and less threatening rulers.

May 18, 2020: In the south (Abyan Province) government troops fought back when STC forces once more sought to drive all government troops out of the province. There were some casualties on both sides.

May 17, 2020: In the south (125 kilometers off the coast) two pirate speed boats tried to seize a British chemical tanker. The armed guards on the tanker fired on the approaching speedboats and the pirates fired back. There was some bullet damage to the tanker, including some glass that was shattered on the bridge. The armed guard on the tanker was more accurate and disabled one of the speedboats and the other one also stopped to deal with that. It was unclear if the pirates were from Somalia or Yemen. Some of the Islamic terror groups in Yemen has tried to rob or seize ships off the coast.

May 15, 2020: In central Yemen (Baida province) Shia rebels staged several attacks on government positions but were repulsed. The army counterattacked and pushed some Shia forces back. The government believes the Shia forces are weakened by the recent deaths of some senior combat leaders as well as diseases (cholera and covid19.) The rebels deny they have medical problems but the reports coming out of rebel-held territory says otherwise. Many supporters of the rebels are getting fed up with the war that seems to be a stalemate made worse by increasing economic problems.

Further south (Taiz and Dhalea provinces) Shia rebels fired on government and STC forces but did not attempt to advance. This fighting has been going on for about a week but to no effect.

In the north (near the Red Sea port of Hodeida) government forces seized a shipment of ammunition intended for the rebels. Smuggling has become more difficult for the rebels because Iran is short of cash and there are more factions seeking to find and seize smuggler goods headed for rebel territory.

May 7, 2020: In central Yemen (Marib province) a senior rebel combat commander, Mohammad al-Hamran, was killed while leading his Hezbollah trained brigade in battle. Iran recognized Hamran as an exceptional commander and provided him with additional equipment and advisors. The Hamran led brigade was considered the elite unit of the Shia forces.

May 5, 2020: In the north, outside Saana, the Shia rebels fired two ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia but both missiles failed and landed inside Yemen, far short of their targets. There has been a notable decline in quality control for the Iran supplied ballistic missiles the rebels continue to use. Iranian arms smuggling efforts have also been less energetic, and effective, in 2020.

May 2, 2020: So far this year there have been more than 100,000 new cases of cholera in the south, where there have also been unusually heavy rains and flooding. Southern Yemen is the only part of the Arabian Peninsula to get adequate (for widespread agriculture) rainfall and thats largely because of the annual monsoon rains. Some years the monsoon delivers too much water and there is a lot of flooding. There have also been a growing number of covid19 deaths in Aden, the largest city in the south.

April 25, 2020: The UAE declared that it would not support self-rule by the southern separatists (the STC). The UAE is the chief financial supporter of the STC and going against the openly declared UAE policy would leave the STC broke and more vulnerable. The UAE wants the STC to comply with the November 2019 Riyadh Agreement that was supposed to bring peace to the separatist south and between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The separatist south would be recognized and have autonomy. But the south would also remain part of united Yemen. Saudi troops would be stationed in the south to handle operations against the Shia rebels and to monitor compliance of the agreement. Much of the agreement was not implemented. The STC complained that the UAE was not providing enough cash and other aid. The STC played down the fact that there were STC factions demanding independence for the south.

April 23, 2020: A two week Saudi-sponsored ceasefire ended without the Shia rebels participating. The Saudis had proposed the ceasefire so more attention could be directed at covid19 and other health and welfare problems. The rebels insisted they had no such problems.
[May 20, 2020] JASA and Vesta Healthcare Announce Partnership to Support Homebound New Yorkers and Their Caregivers During COVID-19

Vesta Healthcare, a 24/7 technology and clinical services organization, dedicated to supporting caregivers and connecting their insights to the rest of the care team, announced today a new pro-bono partnership with JASA, a leading non-profit serving older adults and a licensed home care agency, to support high needs New Yorkers during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Vesta is offering Vesta for Caregivers, their digital tools and clinical program, including a COVID-19 specific module, to JASA clients and their caregivers free of charge. The program serves as an early warning system to support preventative intervention and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and other health events. Vesta for Caregivers creates a specific client risk profile based on a client's health history and current conditions. This risk profile creates an individualized Care Pathway that is designed to address common trends or "red flags" in health status. The program guides the JASA Home Health Aide and the member's other caregivers such as family members, friend, or the members themselves through a series of questions targeted at specific health conditions faced by the member as well as questions about common COVID-19 symptoms. Vesta also checks for needs around food, anxiety, social isolation and other personal needs. In addition, the program supports remote patient monitoring to detect real-time changes to relevant physiologic readings. Real-time health alerts are sent to caregivers and clinicians, notifying them of changes in the behavioral or functional status of the member based on data collected by the app. JASA, one of the most trusted non-profits in New York City, serves 40,000+ older adults. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, JASA has continued to provide critical, life-sustaining services to clients throughout the city including home care, home-delivered meals, housing, caregiver support, and legal, health, and mental health services. With the temporary suspension of in-person congregate programs such as senior centers, JASA has also continued to provide forums of engagement for older adults through virtual programs and telephone visiting procedures to combat the effects of social isolation on homebound older adults. "Our mission has always ben to help older New Yorkers age safely in their own homes and remain in the community. Older adults and healthcare workers need more support than ever as we try to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and manage care remotely," said Kathryn Haslanger, CEO of JASA. "By partnering with Vesta Healthcare, we are able to provide more tools to our Home Health Aides as they support vulnerable clients, and enable clients and their caregivers to better access the care and services they need."



Vesta's program includes access to 24/7 monitoring, with a team of nurses, social workers and other clinicians available via telephone, video and other virtual technology to receive and respond to alerts as well as provide triage support to JASA clients and their caregivers. Vesta's clinical team updates JASACare, JASA's integrated care services team, if symptoms or warning signs suggest additional intervention is needed. It also identifies when a client needs non-clinical supports from JASA and other community-based partners, such as meal delivery. Caregivers are able to act with greater confidence, which is a huge benefit to aides, clients, and their families. "Vesta Healthcare and JASA are committed to supporting the wellbeing of the New York community during this unprecedented time. We are proud to be able to support JASA's aides, residents, and their families, ensuring they have 24/7 access to the services, proactive monitoring and connection to the healthcare they need to remain as safe and healthy as possible both now and ongoing" said Randy Klein, CEO of Vesta Healthcare. "Through our partnership, we are expanding access to telehealth and creating a model for care delivery that virtually connects the care team at a time when people need it most."

About Vesta Vesta Healthcare is an industry-leading technology and clinical services organization, dedicated to connecting caregiver insights to the rest of the care team. Vesta Healthcare proactively identifies the need for additional resources in the home and provides 24/7 telehealth support for caregivers and care recipients, with a focus on high-need, frail senior populations. Vesta partners with home care agencies, health plans, and providers to create value-based population health programs that emphasize clinical quality, improved health outcomes and personalized engagement. Vesta Healthcare is headquartered in New York, NY. To learn more visit www.vestahealthcare.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter (News - Alert). About JASA JASA is the go-to agency serving older adults in New York City, providing critical services to over 40,000 people annually. Founded 50+ years ago, JASA is a leading expert and innovator in aging services that recognizes the diversity among the aging population and honors older adults as vital members of society. JASA's life-changing support services, interventions and partnerships promote aging with a purpose and provide autonomy for older adults to remain in their homes and communities. JASA operates ten affordable housing properties, is a licensed home care agency and offers a breadth of integrative services citywide spanning free legal services, health and mental health services, home-delivered meals, social programming at senior centers and community trainings on elder abuse, peer health support, caregiver assistance and more. For those interested in helping to support JASA's critical, life-sustaining work during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.jasa.org or follow @JASASeniors on Facebook (News - Alert), Twitter and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005514/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A fast and efficient technology which can identify somebody with a fever could become part of Australias new normal as the country slowly starts easing coronavirus restrictions.

Thermal imaging cameras may become as common place as security cameras in the future, given the technology can detect high temperatures in humans, meaning potential coronavirus cases.

In a Nine News report, it was stated nursing homes, shopping centres, offices, hotels and airports are some of the industries considering installing thermal imaging cameras to identify potentially risky people during the pandemic.

Hikvision provides contactless ways of checking a persons temperature. Source: Hikvision

The report featured a Chinese-based video surveillance company called Hikvision, which offers the technology and sells it as a flexible product choice for a multitude of scenarios on their website.

The thermal cameras detect skin surface temperature to achieve rapid and safe preliminary screening, the company promises, advertising that the Hikvision cameras can register a persons temperature in just one second.

I think we'll see them everywhere pretty much, Gary Hickey from Hikvision told Nine News.

While a fever is one of the symptoms of the coronavirus, not all those with the virus get a fever, some may show other symptoms while others are entirely asymptomatic.

The World Health Organisation warns that while thermal scanners are effective at detecting people with a high fever, the products cannot detect if a person has COVID-19, pointing out there are many reasons as to why a person may have fever.

While Sydneys St Vincents Hospital has already rolled out the Hikvision devices, Latrobe Regional Hospital and global logistics company DHL have also implemented thermal cameras from Advent Security.

Latrobe Regional Hospital praised the Advent Security technology in a press release claiming it greatly supported our COVID-19 screening strategy.

Story continues

While thermal cameras cannot detect COVID-19, they would be utilised in high-traffic areas to detect people with a. fever. Source: AAP

Canberra Airport has also installed thermal imaging cameras, with the hope to reassure air passengers by adding an extra layer of security, according to the Canberra Times. It is up to the airline and the person identified to decide what happens if they are found to have a fever, not the airport.

While the new technology may be radical to Australians, it has been used in other parts of the world for some time and is becoming more commonplace in light of the pandemic.

Due to the previous epidemics, like SARS and H1N1, Asia has utilised this technology for quite some time at places like airports and rail stations.

The technology has already been widely used in Asia, and St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney has already installed it. Source: Nine News

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
Hundreds of buses massed by the Congress on the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh for migrant workers turned back Wednesday evening, signalling an end to the party's standoff with the UP government that also led to the arrest of its state unit president.

In a video message, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the party is taking back the 1,000 buses it had arranged if the Uttar Pradesh government didn't want to use them to help stranded migrant workers return home.

Vadra said the buses will remain at the UP border till 4 pm, when it would be 24 hours since they were brought there.

If you don't want to use them, it doesn't matter. We shall send them back, she said, adding that the party had turned back some buses a few days earlier as well.

Her message was put out minutes before the 4 pm deadline given Tuesday night.

An hour and a half later, a police official in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district said the buses had started returning from the border.

In Lucknow, UP Congress spokesperson Lallan Kumar confirmed this later.

Congress workers held a dharna at the party's Uttar Pradesh headquarters, displaying banners and placards, over the denial of permission for the buses by the state's BJP government.

Lallan Kumar said similar dharnas were held at party offices in other districts.

They were also protesting over the arrest, initially on Tuesday evening, of UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu.

Lallu was arrested in Agra for violating lockdown rules when he led a protest over the buses being stopped at the Rajasthan-UP border.

An Agra court granted him bail on Wednesday. But the party said he was later rearrested in connection with another FIR registered at a Lucknow police station.

Lallu and Priyanka Gandhi's personal secretary Sandeep Singh are charged with cheating and forging documents in the Lucknow FIR registered on Tuesday.

The UP government claimed the list submitted by the Congress contained unsafe buses and registration numbers of vehicles like autorickshaws, cars and trucks.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma repeated the allegations on Wednesday, while calling the Congress offer to send buses a political stunt.

He said about 460 buses mentioned in the Congress list of 1049 buses were fake, implying that the state government could not make use of them.

He said 297 of the buses were junk, an apparent reference to the government claim that they lacked either insurance papers or fitness certificates. Ninety-eight vehicles in the list submitted to the state government by the Congress are cars, ambulances and three-wheelers, he said.

"Should we run the unfit buses and put the lives of the migrant labourers at risk? he said.

Sharma claimed that the buses belonged to roadways corporation of Rajasthan, where the Congress is in power. How can the resources of a state government be utilised by a political party? he said.

Before appearing to call off the standoff, Priyanka Gandhi urged the Yogi Adityanath government to make use of the buses, saying it could put BJP banners on them if it wanted.

Addressing migrant workers, she said the party will stand by them. We will help you to the best of our ability.

Apart from the buses at the UP-Rajasthan border, the Congress also brought 200 buses to Noida, another gateway to the state.

Police said they were turned away as they did not carry permits to enter Uttar Pradesh.

Congress leader Rajiv Shukla, present there, was also asked to go back to Delhi, Gautam Buddh Nagar police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  The cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, and Cebu are eyeing to test 46,000 households or 10 percent of the cities' total households in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in these areas, an official said Tuesday.

"Yung [The] 46,000 households is equivalent to 10 percent of the entire households in the tricities," Assistant Secretary Jonji Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas said Tuesday at the Laging Handa briefing. "One per household ang dapat itest [should be tested]. Sa ngayon [For now], Cebu City is at 50 percent of their test. Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu are almost hitting 100 percent."

He added they are targeting a "sweeper test" in Cebu City.

"Para lang yung mga konti yung mga test na ginawa sa Cebu City ay mabalikan yung mga barangay na 'yun at magkaroon ng test para we will get 100 percent," he explained but added the DOH has told them a 70 percent threshold would be enough.

[Translation: So that those areas in Cebu City which only had a few tests done, we could go back to those barangays and conduct tests so we can reach the 100 percent.]

Gonzales said they hope to hit their target in the next three days.

At a press conference on Monday night, Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia said Cebu City recorded 33 new cases while Cebu Province has 10 new infections. Lapu-Lapu City, on the other hand, had five new cases while Mandaue City listed three new infections.

With the new cases announced, Cebu now has a total of 2,049 COVID-19 infections.

In April, the Philippines rolled out its first wave of the "progressive" expanded testing, where high-risk patients have been prioritized. These are people showing severe flu-like symptoms; the elderly, those with pre-existing health conditions, and pregnant women with mild symptoms; and healthcare workers with respiratory symptoms.

To date, the country has recorded over 12,000 cases of the infectious disease.

Stringer Dale Israel contributed to this report.
Clean energy firm ACME Solar has terminated solar energy projects with 600MW power generation capacity in Rajasthan, which it bagged at historic low tariff of Rs 2.44 per unit in 2018.

The company has filed a petition with the CERC, seeking directions to Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) not to encash bank guarantees and letters of comfort submitted by the company and to return them back, showed a copy of an order of the power regulator.

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) heard the matter and issued an interim direction to "SECI and PGCIL not to take any coercive measure against" the company till the next date of hearing.

The CERC has also asked the company to keep the letter of comfort and bank guarantee valid.

The matter is still sub-judice in the CERC and the notice for further hearing on the case would be issued.

The SECI, which is the nodal agency for conducting auctions for solar projects, had floated a tender for setting up of grid-connected solar PV Projects for 3,000 MW capacity on February 27, 2018.

ACME Solar bagged two 300 MW solar power projects under the auction and inked power purchase agreements (PPAs) with SECI. The company terminated the PPAs on May 4, 2020 on account of the force majeure events.

These force majeure events are -- status quo orders by the Rajasthan High Court qua land on which Fatehgarh Substation was to be constructed, outbreak of COVID-19 and its adverse impact on manufacturing facilities of suppliers since December 2019 including lockdown in China and India, and delay in commissioning of associated transmission network elements by other Transmission Service Providers.

J Sagar Associates (JSA) is representing ACME in proceedings pertaining to termination of solar PPAs with SECI and Discoms due to delays and disruption caused by COVID.

"The ensuing lockdown in China and India have not only delayed construction of these projects but also made it impossible to access critical equipment including solar panels from China.

"With Chinese manufacturers unable to commit to a firm timeline and uncertainty over resumption of supplies, most projects will be delayed beyond the scheduled commissioning date. COVID related disruptions will also impact cost of such projects. That coupled with the decrease in power demand and financial health of discoms may have a significant impact on growth in the renewable sector," Vishrov Mukerjee, Partner at JSA said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Story updated on Wednesday, May 20, at 8:15 p.m. to reflect new voting tallies.

Sen. Shemia Fagan of Portland won the Democratic nomination for secretary of state Wednesday, edging out longtime lawmaker Sen. Mark Hass.

The Oregonian/OregonLive mistakenly called the race for Hass late Tuesday. After more results came in Wednesday, it was clear he came in second by about half of a percentage point.

Jamie McLeod-Skinner, a natural resources consultant from Central Oregon, finished third in the states highest profile primary race.

Hass has promised to push for same-day voter registration and supports taking the once-a-decade job of redrawing the states electoral map away from the Legislature and having an independent redistricting commission handle it instead.

The results reflected the extreme competitiveness of the race, despite Fagan jumping in less than three months ago -- after former Oregon House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson dropped out amid questions over her use of campaign funds. Williamson had pinned her candidacy on being the most left leaning candidate and Fagan took up that mantle.

Public employee unions quickly lined up behind Fagan, spurning Hass over his votes to trim public pension costs and skipping over McLeod-Skinner, who lacks a state-level voting record.

The unions overwhelmingly bankrolled Fagans campaign, allowing her to raise more than her two opponents combined. Hass top contributor was environmental nonprofit founder Richard Roy who gave him $50,000, and McLeod-Skinner raised the most of the three candidates in small donations of $100 or less: $84,000.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

With no incumbent in the race, all three candidates faced the challenge of building name recognition with voters. The grew more difficult when the coronavirus pandemic hit Oregon just as the primary shifted into high gear in the spring and Fagan, Hass and McLeod-Skinner were forced to quickly adapt their campaigns to the states social distancing orders.

Hass, a former television journalist who now works in advertising, started out with some name recognition thanks to his years speaking to voters in the Portland area and Willamette Valley, first as a reporter and then as a lawmaker for 20 years in the House and Senate. He promised that as secretary of state, he would create an office of elections cybersecurity, push to allow same-day voter registration, add climate change impacts to audits of state programs and advocate for ranked choice voting.

Hass cited his record championing big ideas that are now Oregon law, such as full-day kindergarten and a $1 billion-a-year business tax passed in 2019 to boost public education. As coronavirus wreaked havoc on the states health and economy, he touted his leadership experience during previous economic downturns as a key selling point.

Fagan is an employment lawyer who served four years in the House and two in the Senate, where she pushed Senate President Peter Courtney to allow floor votes on liberal policy priorities even if they lacked enough votes to pass and helped muscle through a statewide rent control law. She focused on connecting with voters based on her background of being raised by a single dad while her mother struggled with drug addiction, then going on to graduate from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Sen. Shemia Fagan, pictured at a rally of Democrats, public employee union leaders and climate activists at the Capitol in February, came in second Tuesday in the Democratic primary for secretary of state. Beth Nakamura/Staff

Although Fagan didnt lay out a clear policy platform, she concurred with Hass and McLeod-Skinner on a number of issues. For example, she agreed with Hass that Oregon should try out ranked choice voting. She pointed to her endorsements from groups such as Planned Parenthood and the League of Conservation Voters as reasons for voters to pick her, and said she was proud to receive huge financial contributions from unions because these are the very people that were calling heroes.

Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who drew strong support from rural Oregon Democrats in the secretary of state primary, rides on horseback in the Pendleton Round-Up Parade last September. She came in third Tuesday.

McLeod-Skinner, a natural resources consultant who serves on a statewide environmental board and local school board, sought to distinguish herself as the Democratic candidate who could connect with both rural and urban areas of the state. She pointed to her competitive 2018 race against U.S. Rep. Greg Walden in the sprawling and strongly Republican 2nd congressional district and promised to represent the entire state, saying during a City Club of Portland forum in March thats a voice that needs to be heard in Salem.

Fagan will go on to run against Republican nominee, Sen. Kim Thatcher of Keizer, in the general election. The current secretary of state, Republican Bev Clarno of Redmond, was appointed to the role after the death of Dennis Richardson and pledged not to run for an elected term.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Analysis banner

Business Insider

President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered global criticism.

Getty

Recent polling suggests Europeans are turning away from the US under President Donald Trump's leadership.

Public opinion toward America has declined in major European countries since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Seventy-six percent of Germans in a new poll said their view of America had deteriorated because of the crisis.

Roughly equal numbers of Germans in the poll favored maintaining close relationships with China and the US in a head-to-head matchup.

One poll last week found that just 2% of French people trusted Trump to provide world leadership.

China is exerting growing political, diplomatic, and financial power across Europe.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump is presiding over the deterioration of the US's position on the world stage as European countries increasingly look toward China as a future global leader.

This shift is apparent in a series of recent opinion polls that found European sentiment toward the US to be in decline since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

New polling published in Germany this week found that an overwhelming majority of Germans said they had a worse opinion of the US because of the pandemic.

The survey found that 76% of Germans said their view of the US had deteriorated because of the pandemic, compared with 36% who said the same of China.

The poll found:

Germans were largely split when asked whether they favored maintaining close relations with China or the US.

37% of Germans said it was more important to maintain close relations with the US, compared to 36% who said the same of China.

That was a big drop from a poll last year, when 50% of Germans said maintaining US relations was the priority, compared with just 24% who said China.

In a separate question, just 10% of Germans saw the US as the country's most important global partner, down from 19% last year. Six percent said the same of China, down 1 percentage point from the year before.

Story continues

Separate polling conducted in the UK also found a deterioration in Britain's view of the US since the pandemic began.

Asked at the end of last month whether Britain should forge a stronger relationship with Europe or with the US, 35% of Brits told the pollsters YouGov that Europe should be the priority, compared with just 13% who said the US.

That's a net shift of 6 percentage points toward Europe since early November and came despite Britain's exit from the European Union in January.

The shift comes amid global shock about recent interventions by President Donald Trump on the coronavirus pandemic.

The president's comments speculating that disinfectant might be used to treat coronavirus patients caused widespread disbelief and horror in many European countries.

"Over more than two centuries, the United States has stirred a very wide range of feelings in the rest of the world: love and hatred, fear and hope, envy and contempt, awe and anger," the Irish Times columnist Fintan O'Toole wrote last month in response to Trump's comments.

"But there is one emotion that has never been directed towards the US until now: pity."

Reports that Trump had attempted to buy exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine being developed in Germany also triggered anger on the continent.

Trump's behavior has highlighted already widespread negative feelings in Europe toward the president, with one survey last week finding that just 2% of French people trusted Trump to lead the world.

Europe is ignoring Trump's threats about China

Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Reuters

This shift is also seen in the behavior of European governments, which appear increasingly willing to ignore Trump's threats about forging closer ties with China.

A series of European countries are working on deals with the Chinese telecoms company Huawei to develop their 5G networks, despite increasingly aggressive threats from the White House.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who Trump was said to have hung up on in a moment of "apoplectic" fury earlier this year for defying the president's threats on Huawei, is pushing ahead with plans to allow the company 5G development rights.

Several other European countries are also pushing ahead with similar deals despite threats from the Trump administration of a new trade war.

Beijing is also demonstrating an increasing ability to wield diplomatic pressure on Europe, even when it counters the wishes of Washington.

The European Union recently removed references to a Chinese campaign of "global disinformation" from an official report into propaganda spread by foreign powers, following diplomatic pressure from Beijing.

As Trump withdraws, China opens its coffers to the world

Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Getty

Europe's reluctance to criticize China may be due in part to the increasing economic dominance of Beijing.

A recent report by the investment bank GP Bullhound suggests that since the European tech markets reopened, China has caught up with the US in terms of investment in European tech companies for the first time since 2018.

China's investment extends to critical scientific investment as well.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported this week that Huawei had invested 5 million into a new tech center at Imperial College London.

The investment has triggered controversy because scientists at Imperial have been central to advising the UK government's response to the coronavirus crisis.

What is clear is that with the global economy heading for a deep recession, European governments, public institutions, and companies are increasingly turning toward China for support and investment.

And with public opinion toward the US deteriorating in Europe under Trump's leadership, China's resurgence could well come at America's cost.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Description

GIS  20 May, 2020  20 May, 2020 : The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as well as sugar cane and small planters representatives met the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy, this morning, in Port Louis, for a pre-budget consultative session.

Around 20 representatives of the furniture, metal, and jewellery SMEs and small planters participated in the meeting, including the Camp Diable Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society, Association Planteurs de lEst, Association des Petits Planteurs, Top Nature Co Ltd, and the Mauritius Cooperative Agricultural Federation.

In a statement after the meeting, the different stakeholders stated that the meeting with the Finance Minister was very fruitful and positive. According to them, the different recommendations made will help to further improve and consolidate the different sectors which have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. They expressed optimism that the various proposals will be taken on board in the forthcoming Budget.

Recommendations

Several issues and propositions were voiced out by the representative. The SME representatives proposed, amongst others, for the extension of Wage Assistance Scheme till December; the application of a levy on imported goods so as to encourage the population to buy locally-made products; extension of moratorium for the repayment of loans; and training in digital applications so that SMEs are able to keep pace with the latest technologies.

Sugar cane planters representatives proposed for the VAT Refund Scheme to be maintained on agricultural equipment, machinery and other associated accessories; VAT on agricultural equipment like sprayers, farm tool equipment, seed trays to be waived; and levy on herbicide to be reduced. They also proposed that cane planters receive a minimum net rate of Rs 25 000 per tonne of sugar indexed with the cost of living for harvesting season 2020.

As regards vegetable planters, they suggested the setting up of the Central Wholesale Market and a virtual platform to help sellers sell their products online. They insisted that it is imperative to improve the countrys self-sufficiency in terms of agricultural production, hence, the need to train more agro-entrepreneurs, enhance technology exchange and capacity building.

#ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris

Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov
The data will be available on the website until 30 June.

The Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection (IBPS) has announced provisional allotment under reserve list for CRP Clerks, Probationary Officer/Management Trainee (PO/MT) and Specialist Officer on its website - https://www.ibps.in.

Candidates who have appeared for the IBPS CRP Clerks-VIII, CRP Probationary Officer/Management Trainee (PO/MT)-VIII and CRP Specialist Officer-VIII recruitment process can visit the official website and check their results. The data will be available on the website until 30 June.

To check the score, candidates will have to enter their registration number or roll number, followed by password or date of birth in (date/month/year) format and then the captcha.

According to a report by The Times of India, the provisional allotment has been prepared after the completion of the interview process, depending on the vacancies needed to be filled during the financial year 2019-2020.

Those who have been shortlisted will be provisionally allotted to one of the participating organisations, based on the merit-cum-preference basis.

The reserve list contains 10 percent of the vacancies under each category, subject to the availability of candidates. As per a report in Jagran, the list does not guarantee provisional allotment to/recruitment by the participating organisations.

If the participating organisations come up with more vacancies, provisional allotment will be conducted for the candidates in the reserve list.

Heres how to check the results:

Visit the official website - https://www.ibps.in/

On the top of the page, select the recruitment examination that you appeared for

You will be directed to a new page where you have to provide your log-in credentials

Enter captcha and press login

Your results will be displayed on the screen.

Direct link to check your result:

IBPS provisional allotment under reserve list for CRP Clerks-VIII - https://ibpsonline.ibps.in/crpclk8sep18/rescl8krla_may20/login.php?appid=723d0a704e2d09adb974b81aa6a71d76

IBPS provisional allotment under reserve list for CRP PO/MT-VIII - https://ibpsonline.ibps.in/ibpsot8aug18/respa8pora_may20/login.php?appid=f23869c4175472e27d9e6433a04f813c

IBPS provisional allotment under reserve list for CRP SPL-VIII- https://ibpsonline.ibps.in/crpspl8nov18/ress8ppla_may20/login.php?appid=b639ff10bc2abe5f2a17e063cc175827
Cyclone 'Amphan' lay centred about 240 km south of Digha in West Bengal on Wednesday morning as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, the Met department said here.

The intensity near the centre of the storm was 170 to 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph, the Met said.

'Amphan' is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha and Hatiya, close to the Sunderbans during the afternoon to evening of Wednesday with a wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph as a 'very severe cyclonic storm', the Met department said.

West Bengal has evacuated more than three lakh people to safer places as the cyclonic storm 'Amphan' roared towards the coastal areas of the state, officials said.

The Met department, which has issued an "orange message" for West Bengal, warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

The Met department has advised that all establishments and markets remain closed in Kolkata and adjoining areas and movement of people be restricted on May 20.

There is likely to be disruption of rail and road link at several places, uprooting of communication and power poles, extensive damage to all types of 'kutcha' houses and some damage to "old badly managed pucca" structures and potential threat from flying objects, the weatherman warned.

There is also likelihood of extensive damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards and blowing down of palm and coconut trees, the Met said.

The weatherman has advised diversion or suspension of rail and road traffic in the districts which are likely to be affected.

The Eastern Railway (ER) has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express for Wednesday.

The departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express on Wednesday and 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on May 21 would remain cancelled, the ER said.

Wind speed along and off the coastal areas of West Bengal will reach 75 to 85 kmph with gusts up to 95 kmph from Wednesday morning along and off districts of North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, Regional Met director G K Das said.

"It will gradually increase thereafter becoming 110 to 120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph over West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph over the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore of West Bengal from the afternoon to night of May 20," he said.

Under its impact rainfall will occur in most places over the districts of Gangetic West Bengal on Wednesday, with heavy to very heavy downpour with extremely heavy rain at a few places in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, he said.

"Storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3 to 4 metres over low lying areas of East Midnapore district of West Bengal during the time of landfall," he said.

The Indian Navy has dispatched a diving team for providing assistance to the West Bengal government in relief operations, a Defence official said.

The diving team from Vishakhapatnam has brought specialised equipment along with them which can be used for rescue in case of flooding and have been positioned at the Naval Service Selection Board at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Convicted mastermind of 1998 murder of Russian MP seeks for parole

 RAPSI

17:51 20/05/2020

ST. PETERSBURG, May 20 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - Mikhail Glushchenko, a former State Duma lawmaker sentenced to 17 years in prison for the murder of fellow parliamentarian Galina Starovoitova has filed a petition for parole, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts has told RAPSI.

The citys Dzerzhinsky District Court will hear the motion on May 25.

In August 2015, the Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg convicted and sentenced Glushchenko to jail. The court also imposed a 300,000-ruble (about $4,500) fine on him. However, he is still held in a detention center of the regional directorate of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Starovoitova was killed in St. Petersburg in November 1998. Her assistant Ruslan Linkov was wounded in the attack.

Eight suspects, including Yury Kolchin, a former employee of Russias military intelligence service (GRU), were charged with taking part in the assassination. In June 2005, a court in St. Petersburg sentenced all the men to prison terms varying from 11 to 23.5 years.

In 2004, a witness in the murder named Glushchenko as one of its masterminds.

As part of his plea agreement, Glushchenko reportedly agreed to testify against Vladimir Barsukov, who is believed to be a leader of one of the countrys most powerful criminal syndicates.

Barsukov, who changed his name from Kumarin earlier, went on trial on charges of attempted murder. He was sentenced in November 2009 to 14 years in prison for illegal corporate raiding, extortion and fraud, among other crimes. The sentence was reconsidered in March 2012, and Barsukov received 15 years in prison.

Glushchenko was also charged in another criminal case with extortion and sentenced in March 2012 to eight years in prison.
BENZIE COUNTY -- Music education is continuing the best it can in a virtual format in Brian Parent's band classes at Benzie Central this spring.

Parent is finishing up his second year directing band at Benzie Central for students in sixth through 12th grade. He said that one of his main goals in teaching right now is to keep his students playing as much as possible, but in a virtual environment, that is easier said than done.

"I think a lot of the kids miss the interaction with their teachers, because it's something they are used to and look forward to. I certainly look forward to it," Parent said. "The whole thing about band is interacting with the students. When the class is online, it's not really that fun. There's not a lot of interaction."

"A band piece is meant to be played together," Parent continued. "There are a lot of components of musicianship that are lost because we don't have the ability to meet together."

As Parent alluded to, there is no real way to play together as a band in real time. So much of playing in a band is playing off each other, and that simply cannot be done in front of computers, especially with the lag times they would face.

Parent has instead turned to programs such as SmartMusic (which has been made free to students and teachers during the pandemic) to provide students the best approximation of playing with a real band.

As part of this effort, Parent gives students a weekly assignment, and then they must submit recordings of themselves playing the assignment with the SmartMusic program.

Parent then sends them feedback on their performance and makes himself available each week for office hours over Google Meets for students who have further questions or just want to chat.

This is effective to a degree, but Parent said that not being able to work with students in real-time in a face to face setting makes this much more difficult.

"Band is very hands on. It's intellectual, but it's also very hands on, especially with beginners," Parent said.

"You can hear in the recordings if they are struggling with something, and you can try to explain it to them in their feedback, but sometimes that gets lost because you can't physically show them and model what they need to do."

Another challenge has been the fact that many students in the district lack reliable internet access.

This means that teachers like Parent have been forced to use other means to reach them.

"Our big thing at Benzie is making sure that we reach every student educationally and make sure we can give them some sort of education, whether that's in the form of written work that I mail home or some form of online work," Parent said.

For students who cannot regularly do virtual assignments, Parents mails out packets to students on topics like music history and music theory.

Students then send in their completed packets back to school, where they are scanned and sent to Parent so he can evaluate the student's work.

This learning is not just for students who cannot access the internet. Antonio Ramirez, a senior member of the jazz band, said he has done a lot of work studying the history of jazz through Parent's assignments.

While this and the weekly music assignments actually lead to more work than some of Ramirez's other classes, he said he enjoys it.

"I enjoy studying. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment," Ramirez said. "It makes me feel like I'm doing something and learning something. I also kind of worry that if I don't do, it will reflect on me badly."

Ramirez said he is missing many things about school, such as times with his friends and being able to chase a school record in track, but when it comes to band class, he said he was really disappointed to miss out on the final band concert.

At that concert, he and fellow seniors Chandler Holley, Tyler Iverson, Paige Lamoreaux, Ryan McDonald and Alex Myers would have been honored for their years of dedication to the band and would have been given the opportunity to deliver a short speech the band and members of the audience.

Ramirez said this was something to which he had really looked forward.

"I had a lot to say about the band and my experiences," Ramirez said. "I wanted to talk about my experiences in band, what I've been through and what music has meant to me  Not only did I learn a lot, but I met so many friends. They are going to be lifelong friends, because I connect with people so much through music."

"If there were younger people in the audience, I would have encouraged them to do music, because it's not just about learning music. It's about the people you meet if you pursue that music," Ramirez continued. "It was just a really good journey what music brought me."
WASHINGTON - Many Americans may be staying in this Memorial Day weekend, but President Donald Trump is hitting the road, set to visit Baltimores Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

The White House says the president and first lady will participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at the site on Monday to honour the American heroes who have sacrificed their lives serving in the US Armed Forces. The hoisting of the American flag after the fort defended Baltimore Harbor during the War of 1812 inspired the poem that came to be known as The Star-Spangled Banner.

Trump has sought to ramp up his travel schedule as he looks to demonstrate that the nation is reopening after economically devastating shutdowns were put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. The virus has infected more than 1.5 million Americans and cost more than 92,000 U.S. lives.

The visit is set to come just over a week after Maryland began to lift some of its stay-at-home restrictions because of the coronavirus, though safer-at-home guidelines remain in place.

The Trumps are to be joined by Defence Secretary Mark Esper; Interior Secretary David Bernhardt; Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and military ceremonial units.

Trump was also considering travel next week to Florida to view the launch of the first U.S. manned spaceflight since the retirement of the space shuttle, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday. Hosting Vice-President Mike Pence in his state, DeSantis said, Youre going to be there. I think the big guy is going to be there.

Trump marked Memorial Day last year aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in Japan, where he was on a state visit. He participated in ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in his first two years in office.
Figures from five key business sectors in Northern Ireland react to the latest Covid-19 support measures announced by Finance Minister Conor Murphy.

The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium said the announcement that most retailers will be exempt from paying rates this year could be a "saving grace".

"After staff costs, business rates are our industry's biggest expense," director Aodhan Connolly said.

"The additional month break for all rates payers will be some small consolation to the larger grocery retailers who face higher costs and lower demand as a result of social-distancing measures which have cost over 5m.

"It is disappointing they did not garner a similar rates break to Great Britain, though we do appreciate the minister paying tribute to the retailers who have kept Northern Ireland fed throughout this crisis."

Big boost in times of unprecedented travel challenges

Brian Ambrose, chief executive at Belfast City Airport, said the inclusion of funding to support Northern Ireland's airports was a much needed boost towards economic recovery.

The airport will benefit from rates relief until March 31 next year.

Expand Close Chief: Brian Ambrose of Belfast City Airport / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Chief: Brian Ambrose of Belfast City Airport

While it has remained open, it has been operating with a significantly reduced flight schedule to facilitate essential travel only, and the industry has come under severe economic pressures.

"The Finance Minister's welcome announcement comes at a time when Northern Ireland's airports are facing unprecedented challenges," he said.

"The Executive recognise the importance of air access in the recovery of our economy as today's statement testifies."

Many charities still unsure what help they will get, if any

Nora Smith, chief executive of charities umbrella group CO3, said many charities remain in desperate need of assistance.

Any commitment to funding for the charitable sector is, of course, welcome, she said.

Expand Close Questions: Nora Smith of CO3 / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Questions: Nora Smith of CO3

In recent weeks, we have heard that 15.5m is set aside for a Covid Charity Fund. However, we have had no detail on eligibility criteria or when it will open.

Charities in Northern Ireland are losing millions of pounds. For the vast majority of them who are not in receipt of any public funding, nor eligible for any grants mentioned to date, the situation remains the same, with most unsure of what support they will get, if any.

Income scheme is welcome news for substitute teachers

Teachers union NASUWT said the income support scheme for substitute teachers provides much-needed relief.

The unions national official in Northern Ireland, Justin McCamphill, said: Thousands of substitute teachers have lost out on the opportunity to work through the school closures. The hard reality is that schools simply could not function without these teachers.

Expand Close Relief: Justin McCamphill / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Relief: Justin McCamphill

Substitute teachers and their families are in crisis and many cannot pay their bills, heat their homes or feed their families. They have watched as other workers in the private sector, the self-employed and local government workers have been granted furlough payments while they had to wait desperately for this news.

Support 'met with genuine relief' by NI's hotel industry

The NI Hotels Federation said the rates relief until March 21 next year was a welcome step forward for the industry hardest hit by the Covid-19 crisis.

This support recognises the catastrophic effect on the hotel sector and wider tourism industry and greatly appreciates the response from the department of targeted sectoral support, said CEO Janice Gault.

Expand Close Welcome: Janice Gault / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Welcome: Janice Gault

There was anxiety of an impending rates bill against a background of no trade income and fast-reducing cash reserves. Todays news has been met with genuine relief by local hoteliers.

The department used an innovative approach in reaching this decision to identify those most affected by the pandemic.
Crowds of people were seen gathering outside a San Francisco bar over the weekend seemingly ignoring social distancing rules.

Video shows crowds of people standing close to each other outside of a Marina District wine bar on Friday. Only a few of the patrons had on face masks.

By Saturday, however, police were parked along Chestnut Street to ensure a group did not convene outside the bar again.

Scroll down for video

Video shows crowds of people standing close to each other outside of a Marina District wine bar on Friday. Only a few of the patrons had on face masks

Nate Welch, owner of Howells wine bar, said he appreciated the quick action taken by police.

'We can only control the small square footage of space in front of us,' Welch explained to the NBC Bay Area. 'So if someone is ten feet down the way and they decide to stop while they're drinking a to-go Margarita or something like that, I have no control over that. So luckily the San Francisco Police came around to disperse that.'

Welch has posted signs reminding people to take their drinks home after picking up to-go orders.

By Saturday, police were parked along Chestnut Street to ensure a group did not convene outside the bar

Nate Welch, owner of Howells wine bar, said he appreciated the quick action taken by police and shared he had signs posted advising on what to do

San Francisco has a stay-at-home order in effect until May 31. On May 4, the city allowed construction to resume and for some outside businesses to reopen.

For San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani, the behavior exhibited by those who were out drinking is cause for concern.

'The fact that people weren't wearing masks, and they were so cluttered together, I'm like oh my god no. It was very upsetting,' she said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has branded phots and videos of NewYorkers out drinking at bars as a blatant 'violation' of social distancing measures

Clusters of people stood outside bars, sat down on sidewalks, and in some cases, even planted themselves down in chairs in the streets outside a number of hotspots across the Upper East Side, the East and West Villages, and in Greenpoint, Brooklyn over the weekend

Stefani worries people are growing complacent and has called on the police force to to crack down more on those violating safety rules.

San Francisco joins other cities cracking down more on those violating social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

Clusters of people stood outside NYC bars, sat down on sidewalks, and in some cases, even planted themselves down in chairs in the streets outside a number of hotspots across the Upper East Side, the East and West Villages, and in Greenpoint, Brooklyn over the weekend.

In what Mayor Bill de Blasio has branded a blatant 'violation' of the city's social distancing orders, revelers were seen downing beers and frozen margaritas in lively scenes that lasted long into the evening.

De Blasio singled out the Upper East Side as having a 'particular problem' across the mid-May weekend

Bar 2A in NYC is seen above serving to-go drinks to customers on Tuesday

'I'm not comfortable at all with people congregating outside bars,' de Blasio said during a Sunday press briefing of the lively scenes. 'That violates what we're saying about social distancing. That puts lives in danger.'

Police officers will be asking groups outside businesses to disperse, de Blasio added, and anybody who refuses may be given a summons. 'Get your drink and Go home,' the mayor warned.

For restaurants in New York - which was deemed the country's coronavirus epicenter in March - offering cocktails and wine for takeout amid a state-wide shutdowns and bans on in-restaurant dining has been become a critical strategy to avoid permanent closure.

The city's lockdown orders have thrown the jobs of more than 150,000 people working in restaurants and bars into jeopardy.

De Blasio singled out the Upper East Side as having a 'particular problem' across the mid-May weekend. At least one UES restaurant served customers on premises, a blatant violation of March's statewide emergency order, according to NBC New York.

On Saturday, Baltimore authorities dispersed large crowds that gathered in Fells Point. They used a helicopter to break up the crowd in Broadway Square

On Saturday, Baltimore authorities dispersed large crowds that gathered in Fells Point. They used a helicopter to break up the crowd in Broadway Square shortly after 7pm, WJZ reports.

While Maryland has lifted its stay-at-home order as of Friday, several counties - including Baltimore City, Prince George County and Montgomery County - have extended theirs due to high cases and hospitalizations.

'Helicopters and the sirens were going off and we were like what happened,' resident Doneyse Bell said. 'We thought there was a fight or something.'
Your browser does not support the audio element.

In Vietnam, committed first responders exert themselves to save others from the harrowing effects of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). During this slight lull in the fight against the pandemic, they were able to sit down with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and relate some of the bizarre and uplifting stories from the front line.

During their lengthy struggle, some miracles did occur:

Patient No. 161, the oldest recorded COVID-19 case in Vietnam at the age of 88, was listed as one of the six most complicated infections in the country.

Hospitalized with hemiplegia and circulation distress to the point that ventilator intervention was required, the patient successfully pulled through critical conditions and recovered on May 5, thanks to the direct consultation from the Ministry of Healths professional council in cooperation with her hospitals management board.

Patient No. 19, another COVID-19 case who went through three instances of respiratory failure, has also started to recover after receiving treatment from Vietnamese physicians.

A 24/7 regime of dedication to the patient

I received the assignment to assist our branch in Dong Anh District during the height of the epidemic, when the ER admitted two patients in a critical condition and eight others in a severe state, Dr. Tran Van Bac, deputy chair of emergency response (ER) at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases (NHTD) in Hanoi, said, recalling memories of his first days confronting COVID-19.

COVID-19 was quite new then. Standard medications were not effective, so we had to improvise our treatments to lift the patients out of danger.

Vietnamese facilities were also tasked with tending to foreign COVID-19 patients diagnosed in the country, piling even more work onto the clinics.

Many foreign patients refused to cooperate with their doctors, including rejecting face masks or conforming to their home countrys doctrine on epidemic prevention rather than Vietnams.

Some foreign patients also declined the provided food rations prepared by the hospitals, forcing the staff to go the extra mile to supply them with the food of their choice.

Some of them are senior citizens with underlying conditions like diabetes, breast cancer, and acute seizures, which stacks more hardship on our treatment, Bac said.

Regardless of the case details, we always provide our best effort.

The biggest challenge to healthcare workers is the erratic development pattern of the disease. Patients can go from seemingly healthy to respiratory failure within one day.

For critical cases, whether it is day or night, we cant afford to leave them unattended for a single minute, Bac said.

We strive to hold a steady front line for others. The fact that there are no fatalities so far has solidified a positive outlook for the general public to depend on those who are at the forefront of COVID-19 control and prevention."

In terms of the doctors involved in the direct treatment of COVID-19 patients, they understand the risk of contagion more than anyone else. Once completing their shift, they have to self-isolate, eat and sleep away from others to protect themselves, their families, and their surroundings, an ER doctor at the NHTD told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

"While keeping distance, they do feel pity for themselves. The sentiment is one that only the insiders are able to fully understand.

Taking off the medical gown after a 12-hour shift, Dr. Pham Van Phuc from the intensive care unit of the NHTD reveals the imprinted marks of mask wire on his face.

My nose hurts, the bridge of my nose is swollen, he complains.

On warm days, our suits are soaked in sweat, hand skin dries and peels because we wear rubber gloves constantly and wash our hands too much.

At the time of your correspondents' interview in late April, Phuc said he had not returned home since March 15  the day two critically ill patient were transferred to his department.

Dr. Pham Van Phuc from the intensive care unit of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam

One of them is patient No. 19; the other is a British man referred to as patient No. 20. In the first two weeks under his care, the two patients had had a positive response to treatment, but they still required 24/7 observation.

We are deeply worried about patient No. 19, who keeps us all on the edge of our seat. For a short while on April 4 she was taken off extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and exhibited positive signs of recovery, yet at 1:00 am on April 5, her condition suddenly turned for the worse and she has been through respiratory failure three times since, Phuc recalled.

After consulting the health ministrys professional council, Phuc and his colleagues put patient No. 19 on ECMO after performing resuscitation procedures to the best of their ability. It took nearly an hour and the patient was able to be stabilized.

Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach, director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, confirmed a total of 145 COVID-19 cases were admitted to the hospital during the three months ending April, with five critical cases that required ventilators.

At the time of writing, the institution only housed 37 active COVID-19 cases. Three of them had made a full recovery after being in a critical condition and were expected to be discharged soon. The other two critical cases were stabilizing and expected to recover.

Special duty task force for a special patient

43-year-old pilot, 1.8 meters tall, weight 100 kilograms, severe fever with lung lesion, obesity. This was the brief description sent to the doctors of Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HHTD) of patient No. 91, a British national diagnosed with COVID-19 in Vietnam.

Doctors in charge at the hospital could immediately tell from experience the complications awaiting them in this case.

The test results confirmed their suspicions: the significantly high concentration of viral load found in the patients body compared to other patients, coupled with his current state of obesity, poses a serious threat to his life. On top of that, his body exhibits a 'cytokine storm'  an immune response where the body starts to attack its own cells and tissues rather than just fighting off the virus.

As the treatment process continued, patient No. 91s situation fluctuated wildly between positive and negative COVID-19 test results.

Patient No. 91s case then became the subject of national and international scrutiny, and Nguyen Thanh Phong, chief of the infectious disease department at HHTD, began to feel the stakes in the most direct sense.

The world is watching us since we have maintained such a low infection rate and prevented any deaths so far. As medical practitioners, we have to keep the patient alive so that Vietnams global reputation can be kept intact, Phong said.

The most advanced equipment has been mobilized from Vietnams medical system to keep patient No. 91 out of danger.

A task force of unprecedented scale has also been assembled with 12 physicians and 20 nurses alongside two ECMO specialists working back-to-back shifts to take full-time care of the patient.

A cyber working group has also been formed with participation from top-tier professionals in intensive care, infectious diseases, hematology, microbiology, and clinical pharmacy. They stay on constant duty to respond to changes in the patients development and settle on an optimal treatment protocol.

In the first few days of treatment, patient No. 91s low appetite stood out as a major concern, not to mention his agitated state of mind, which was an issue most vividly displayed when he entered the low-pressure chamber.

This is where Ha Mai Thanh Hien, Nguyen Thi Bich Tram, Pham Thi Tuyen, and other nurses had to step in to talk the British pilot down and convince him to cooperate with his caretakers. They contributed hours to dealing with the patient and his frustration, helping him eat, take pills, and follow instructions given for treatment.

After two months of treatment, patient No. 91 remains in a critical condition despite the grandiose efforts from Vietnams medical system. He will require a lung transplant to recover as only ten percent of his lungs still function. Until then, the battle for the Britons life continues.

[We do feel] confused and disturbed, though those feelings shall pass after a while. When Im on the job, all the fear vanishes, and the only thing I perceive is a sense of diligence to avoid infection and take care of the patient.

The bodies keep distance, the minds keep close

During his 23 years of practice, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Phong of the HHTD has never witnessed a grand spike in national solidarity such as the one in response to COVID-19.

This kind of thing only happens once in a practitioners lifetime. I feel like COVID-19 has moved beyond the story of each doctor and amalgamated into a shared concern of the whole medical profession, Dr. Phong said.

For physician Nguyen Van Vinh Chau of the NHTD, his experience in extinguishing other dangerous epidemics, including multidrug-resistant typhoid in 1993, H5N1 in 2005-06, and H1N1 in 2009, does not compare to the sentiments felt in the fight against COVID-19.

I see people becoming dearer and supporting each other under one shared cause of defeating the disease, Chau said.

People from all demographics of the society have come forward to show us affection, which gave us the mental strength to ditch feelings of lonesomeness.

Also receiving inspiration from the community is 30-year-old physician Phan Minh Phuong, chair of clinical operation at COVID-19 Treatment Hospital in Can Gio, an outlying district of Ho Chi Minh City.

Managing two front lines of the epidemic  Cu Chi Makeshift Hospital and Can Gio COVID-19 Treatment Hospital  means the work never stops for Phuong.

There are days that she feels like passing out from admitting cases and listening to complaints. She once stayed overnight processing work for two big groups going into mass isolation.

All hardships are domitable as long as I keep pushing ahead. In the end, I can see myself change a tiny bit toward the better, Phuong said.

In the midst of pressures, complaints, and unjust demands in the isolation wards, Phuong felt blessed to have words of encouragement coming from friendly patients.

Some students coming back from South Korea cheer me like, Go doctors! Lets defeat the epidemic! Its funny and inspiring at the same time.

Small gestures like these are the ones that helped to invigorate the doctors' spirit in this challenging time.

After hours of dealing with the disease, Phuong hopes to see people passing by on the street, painting, playing instruments, and enjoying the sight of flowers.

Phuongs wishes, as well as millions of others, are set with fingers crossed in a near future, where this global pandemic is defeated for good.

The diaper-changing experts

In his four years working as a nurse, Ngo Dinh Tu, from the ER department of the NHTD, never expected such a prolonged period away from his home. He has not left the hospital since January 30.

My parents asked me to take leave, stay home, and even switch jobs when they heard there were COVID-19 cases in my hospital, Tu said.

He assured his parents about the safety precautions in place for him to continue working.

During phase 1 of the epidemic in Vietnam, Tus department focused on admitting, scanning, and triaging patients. The work stacked much higher in the second phase, where medical staff had no choice but to pull all-nighters to tend to ventilator-dependent and elderly patients.

Long hours in medical gowns and personal protective equipment proved to be extremely uncomfortable, with many healthcare professionals citing heat and sweat as issues, according to Dr. Pham Van Phuc from the intensive care unit at the HHTD.

As no relatives of the patients are allowed inside, the nurses must step in to undertake all care work for them, from feeding and showering even to changing their diapers. This dedication has earned them the endearing title of 'the diaper-changing experts' from other medical staff.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap, ER chair at the NHTD, said that the hospital is maintaining required protection processes and providing protective supplies for nurses at high risk of contagion.

We are encouraging each other to do our best.

Dr. Nguyen Trung Cap, head of the ER department at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, Vietnam

Gratitude to the comrades in white

When the negative test result arrived, words failed to express [my gratitude] to the doctors. To be honest, I could not recognize any of their faces since they were all gowned up in white during my treatment, professed patient No. 219, who received treatment from the NHTD.

The only thing I discerned was their dedication when checking up on me, asking me whether I felt sick or was able to eat, she said.

Her mother, also known as patient No. 161, is slowly recovering after falling critically ill from COVID-19. Her sister-in-law, patient No. 162, has also been lifted out of danger and is displaying positive responses to treatment.

Our family would like to bow down to show gratitude to the comrades in white, she said.

Another patient treated at Can Gio COVID-19 Treatment Hospital shares the sentiments toward the emergency professionals.

Thank you all for taking care of us with great diligence and warmness. We would like to wish the doctors great health and safety to fend off the disease till its end.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Image: Shutterstock

When it comes to quality education, India doesn't have to look too far. Neighbouring Bangladesh has a few lessons to offer to India.Bangladesh is significantly smaller than India. When it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, it had a population that was largely poor and little industry. Every year, floods and typhoons would ravage the country, which would suffer grievous loss of life and money.But today, most countries are watching this nation. Its growth to relative prosperity has been astounding. For instance, while India is still struggling with garment exports at around $1 billion, Bangladesh has already gone beyond $32 billion.This unexpected development has also been seen in the field of education.Contrary to the popular narrative that Bangladeshis are coming to India for jobs, the opposite is happening now.As opportunities spring, some Bangladeshis are moving back.In fact, in 2019, 3,600 Indians went to Bangladesh for higher studies, with500 of them in enrolling in medical courses.What this means is that this tiny nation has been building capacity for higher education and is even attracting students from India. It also means that India hasn't been able to build the capacities its people need.And, Bangladesh has managed to do this at a fraction of money when compared to India. Bangladesh spends less on education as a percentage of GDP than India. It spends 40 percent of the money allocated for education on primary education, which is what India does too.It did spend more on primary education earlierit was 53.74 percent of the allocated expenses in 1993. The country's success, however, lies in not the amount of money it spends but how it manages the funds.That can explain why its literacy rate is a high 74 percent, and not just in terms of numbers. Bangladesh's parameters are closer to the global definition of literacy than India's.Anyone who can read and write their name is defined as literate in India. Effective literacy in India is far lower.India's literacy rate was 74.37 % in 2018 but it could be close to around 40 percent if one goes by Pratham's Annual Status of Education Report . In 2018, only 44.2 percent of the boys in Class5 could read the books meant for Class 2, the NGO's latest report says. The score declined from 53.1 percent in 2008.Poor quality of primary education in India has deleterious effects on the rest of the educational structure. It compels politicians to clamour for the normalisation of results at the board level examinations -- in case too many students fail. They invariably do.A lack of understanding of basics not only takes a toll on students but even teachers in higher classes. And, no college can undo the damage that 10-12 years of bad school education inflict on a child it ends up in wasted years and even unemployment So, what does Bangladesh do?First, it does not tie itself into knots over language. At all levels of schooling, students can choose English or Bangla as the medium of instruction.Private schools tend to teach in English while government-sponsored schools often opt for Bangla. Both students and parents thus know which language the child should opt for.Then there is decentralisation of school management.Non-government schools at higher secondary have school management committees (SMCs). At the intermediate college level, governing bodies (GBs), formed as per government directives, take care of non-government institutes.They are responsible for mobilising resources, approving budgets, controlling expenditure, and appointing and disciplining staff.A constant watch on outcomes at each level ensures that the quality of education is good.One more advantage that Bangladesh enjoys is that students do not have to suffer substandard teachers.There is reservation for the underprivileged student but not for teachers.While teachers of non-government secondary schools are recruited by SMCs, teachers of government schools are recruited centrally by the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) through a competitive exam.Thus, one can forgive the poor investment in education, which appears to be a key reason for India's low ranking on human capital development but poor teaching and non-existent monitoring of outcomes are unpardonable.One of the big reasons for the reelection of Arvind Kejriwal as the Delhi chief minister earlier this year was his commitment to school education. He spent 26 percent of Delhi's funds on education, unlike 3.1 percent for the government of India.But, more importantly, he focussed on outcomes. His government paid attention to parent-teacher meetings to identify and weed out teachers who did not perform.With better management of schools and improved infrastructure (because of better funding), children are learning better too. Not surprisingly, one comes across anecdotal evidence of parents moving their children from private schools to (not-so-expensive) government schools.If India does not want to be left behind by Bangladesh, or others, it must focus on primary education first. That creates more employable people, which leads to better wealth generation. And it needs to build medical colleges and focus on merit and excellence as well but that is for another day.(Series concludes)Original Source:
India and Bangladesh on Wednesday added five more ports of call that would augment bilateral trade and provide stimulus to the economic development of the new locations and their hinterland.

The five new ports of call in Bangladesh side are Rajshahi, Sultanganj, Chilmari, Daudkandi and Bahadurabad, while in Indian side are Dhulian, Maia, Kolaghat, Sonamura and Jogigopha, the Daily Star reported.

Bangladesh's Shipping Secretary Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das signed the addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade here, the report said.

Under the protocol, presently there are six ports of call. They are Kolkata, Haldia, Karimganj, Pandu, Shilghat and Dhubri on Indian side and Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashuganj and Pangaon on the Bangladesh side.

Further, two more extended ports of call Tribeli (Bandel) and Badarpur on Indian side and Ghorasal and Muktarpur on Bangladesh side have been added through this addendum.

Now, total ports of call are 11 and there are two extended ports of call in both countries. The Inclusion of Jogigopha in India and Bahadurabad in Bangladesh as a new port of call will provide connectivity to Meghalaya, Assam as well as Bhutan.

Jogigopha also becomes important, since a multimodal logistics park is proposed to be established there, said Indian High Commission in a statement.

The Protocol on Transit and Trade through inland waterways of India and Bangladesh, which was first signed in the year 1972, was last renewed in 2015 for five years with a provision of its automatic renewal for a further period of five years.

During the discussions between India and Bangladesh at shipping ministry level meetings held in October, 2018 in New Delhi and in December, 2019 in Dhaka, key decisions were taken on the extension of protocol routes, inclusion of new routes, and declaration of new ports of call to facilitate trade between the two countries.

These decisions have been made effective with the signing of the Second Addendum to the Protocol.

The number of Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes is being increased from eight to 10 and new locations are also added to the existing routes.

The operationalisation of Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi route and its extension up to Aricha (270 km) will help the augmentation of infrastructure in Bangladesh as it would reduce the transportation cost of stone chips/aggregate to the northern part of Bangladesh through this route.

Further, it will also decongest land custom stations on both sides, said the statement. The Indian High Commission said as a "path-breaking" development, both sides have agreed to introduce trade between Chilmari (Bangladesh) and Dhubri (India) through the use of shallow draft mechanised vessels.

This initiative will allow export of stone chips and other Bhutanese and Northeast cargo to Bangladesh and easy access for the traders to the hinterland of Bangladesh, enhancing the local economy in Bangladesh and the lower Assam region of India.

Under this Protocol, inland vessels of both the countries can ply the designated protocol route and dock at ports of call in each country, notified for loading/unloading of cargo.

"There has been significant improvement in the movement of cargo vessels in an organised manner on the protocol route carrying both the transit cargo to Northeast region of India and vice-versa and export-cargo to Bangladesh," it said.

The other potential cargo for movement is fertilisers, cement, food grains, agricultural products, contThe Indian transit cargo is mainly coal, fly-ash, POL and ODC for power projects ainerised cargo etc.

On the other hand, the export cargo from India to Bangladesh is mainly fly-ash, which is to the tune of 30 lakhs MT annually. Around 638 inland vessels (including 600 Bangladeshi flag vessels) completed with approximately 4000 loaded voyages annually.

"It is expected that these additions to the protocol will greatly facilitate bilateral trade, with improved reliability and cost effectiveness for the business community and the people of both the countries," the Indian High Commission said.

Excellent connectivity provided by the existing and the newly-added protocol routes is all the more pertinent in the present COVID-19 scenario as it will be instrumental in providing economical, faster, safer and greener mode of transport, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A controversial new work of fiction carves out a parallel life for Hillary Clinton, one in which she turns down Bill's proposal and makes her own quest for political glory as a single woman - but not before being accused of sexual harassment and murder.

New York Times Bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld, whose new book Rodham was released yesterday, admits that some of the novel's 'preposterous' plotlines might leave the former First Lady more than a little shocked at how her life turned out in the writer's imagination.

Sittenfeld, 44, sends history careering off course in the 421-page book, imagining how Bill Clinton's 1992 bid to be president might have nosedived without Hillary by his side, meaning Trump would never have made it to the White House either.

While Cincinnati-born writer Sittenfield says she hopes the former First Lady will make the new book her chosen bedtime reading at some point, she admits there are sections of it that are likely to make Hillary wince.

Scroll down for video

What if? Hillary Clinton is the subject of a new novel by Cincinnati author Curtis Sittenfeld which imagines a different, fictional life for the former first lady

Published on Tuesday by Random House, Rodham carves out a life for Hillary Rodham in which she refuses to marry Bill and sets her sights on the White House as a single, childless woman

What would Hillary make of it? Sittenfeld admits that some of the plot lines are 'preposterous' in her work and that some of it is also 'wishful thinking' on her part

Much of the first chapter, The Catch, doesn't meddle too much with fact.

It sees Hillary fall deeply in love with an outspoken Arkansas student, described by Sittenfeld an 'leonine', while the pair are both studying at Yale in the early Seventies.

After a stint in San Francisco, Hillary heads back to Fayetteville and Bill begins his political dreams that he hopes will one day lead him to the White House.

So far, so good, with the early plot line very closely mirroring Hillary's early years; in reality she met Bill at Yale Law School, and then the pair moved to Oakland, California together during the summer of 1971, where Hillary had secured an internship at a law firm.

After the pair graduated from Yale, Bill asked Hillary to marry him and move to Arkansas, his hometown, however she delayed making a decision, and instead focused on her own legal career in Washington, D.C.

But when she failed the District of Columbia bar exam, and passed the Arkansas bar exam, she agreed to move to be with Bill in Fayetteville, where she took up a position at the University of Arkansas in the School of Law.

In her book, it is at this point that Sittenfeld puts the handbrake on reality and veers off into fiction, with the heroine of the book deciding to flee her boyfriend's home state.

In the book, a young female aide alleges that Hillary once asked her to 'kneel on the floor of the taxi and shave her legs for her', saying the incident left her 'humiliated and violated'...

The fictional story - which delves into the couple's imagined sex life in graphic detail at times - sees Hillary finding out in the early days of her relationship with Bill that he is a sex addict, and the fictionalized version of his character has a number of illicit affairs behind Hillary's back.

After learning of his indiscretions with other women, Hillary ditches would-be president Bill and heads out on her own.

By the second chapter, set in 1991, Hillary is living in Chicago and has established an impressive career as a law professor, before she starts taking the first steps towards the White House.

It's not all plain sailing, as you might imagine.

Later in the book, there's a clinical approach to other liaisons with suitors she meets, including the cringe-worthy line: 'The wisdom of procuring not only lubricant but also condoms occurred to me.'

In the first chapter of the fictional work, Hillary does indeed fall for a young 'leonine' Bill Clinton...but refuses his proposal of marriage

Other far-fetched plot lines in the book include Hillary being accused of both murdering her ex boyfriend and also enjoying a clandestine relationship with a long-term female friend

The heroine of Sittenfeld's novel does follow Hillary's real-life trajectory in trying to be the first American woman to hold office

And, by the final chapter, Hillary is dragged over hot coals in a courtroom over an alleged sexual harassment charge dating back two decades.

In the book, a young female aide alleges that Hillary once asked her to 'kneel on the floor of the taxi and shave her legs for her', saying the incident left her 'humiliated and violated.'

Elsewhere in the book, Sittenfeld's version of Hillary stays single, and is accused of both murdering her ex boyfriend and also enjoying a clandestine relationship with a long-term female friend.

Curtis Sittenfeld told Associated Press that she's an admirer of the First Lady and wouldn't mind if she read her work

Rodham is Sittenfeld's second imagined portrait of a famous woman.

Her first, American Wife, was based on the life of Laura Bush and was published in in 2008.

Explaining how she came to write up Clinton's life as a piece of fiction, Sittenfeld told the Associated Press: 'I was definitely an admirer of Hillary before I started the book, but writing from her perspective made me feel closer to her.

'I realize that closeness is NOT mutual - we've never met. But she feels very familiar to me now in terms of the trajectory of her life, her relationships, her syntax, so when I see clips of her or hear her voice, I think, 'Oh, thats my Hillary.'"

Explaining how she'd feel if Clinton read her work, which she describes as 'an act of imagination, creativity' and 'to some extent wishful thinking, the author says: 'If Hillary wants to read the book, she's very welcome to and I'd be happy to hear her feedback (even if she thinks parts of it are preposterous), and if she doesn't want to, I don't blame her.'

She said she was inspired to write a fictional account because it gave her 'the chance to ask not "What do the American people think of Hillary?" but "What does Hillary think of the American people?"'

FACT FROM FICTION: HOW HILLARY AND BILL CLINTON'S MARRIAGE SURVIVED THE LEWINSKY AFFAIR On December 19, 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath after he failed to come clean about an affair he was having with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Earlier this year, Bill spoke of his gratitude that Hillary did not leave him after the affair - but concedes his wife has 'paid' for the decision. Hillary and Bill Clinton, before his impeachment, pose with daughter Chelsea after her graduation from Sidwell University The couple had 'painful' marriage guidance sessions after his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky in 1998 but have stayed together Holding back tears, the former president said: 'I was so grateful that she thought we still had enough to stick it out. God knows the burden she's paid for that.' In the recent documentary on Hulu about Hillary Clinton, Bill claimed the affair with Lewinsky was one of the 'things I did to manage my anxieties'. The former President suggested that he had the fling with the ex-White House intern while he was in office because it helped with his own issues. Bill reveals that at the time he met Lewinsky the pressure of the job made him feel like a boxer who had done 30 rounds and he looked at Lewinsky as 'something that will take your mind off it for a while'. The former First Lady and Secretary of State candidly reveals that in the aftermath of the scandal the couple underwent 'painful' marriage counseling. Advertisement

Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld is out now and published by Random House Books
London: Hidden treasures will be taken from inside the wreck of RMS Titanic for the first time after the US government and leading British archaeologists were defeated in a landmark court case.

In an order released on Tuesday, a US judge granted permission for a salvage firm to cut into the vessel and retrieve a Marconi wireless set known as the "voice of Titanic".

It sent out Titanic's frantic distress signals as it sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912.

The Titanic's communications room, which contained the coveted Marconi wireless.

The controversial project revealed by the London Telegraph earlier this year had been fiercely opposed by the UK and US governments, as well as leading archaeologists who argued the wreck was a mass grave and should be left in peace.
This is the bizarre moment the coastal water level in Sicily dropped like a plug had been pulling out of a bath due to an incredible natural event.

The phenomenon, known as a meteorological tsunami, was filmed at the port of San Leone on the southern side of the Italian island.

Meteotsunamis are generated when rapid changes in air pressure cause the displacement of a body of water.

Known locally as a 'marrobbio', the video footage shows the water level at the port decreasing quickly.

Local media said that the stones on the seabed and the bottom of boats were visible.

According to the environmental group Mareamico who posted the clip on social media, the 'marrobbio' phenomenon often takes place in spring and autumn, but it was the first time it had been seen off the coast of Agrigento.

A Mareamico spokesperson said: 'A marrobbio is a natural phenomenon that usually takes place off the coast when there is a sudden change in pressure and currents.

The coastal water level in Sicily was filmed dropping like a plug had been pulling out of a bath due to an incredible natural event known as a meteorological tsunami

'In the past few days, there have been strong currents that have suddenly changed direction to the west.

'The sea level reduces like this after an earthquake or before a tsunami, but Sicily has not reported any incidents of these off the coast in recent days.'

According to local media, the phenomenon was also reported in other parts of Sicily as well as the Pelagie Islands and the sea level returned to normal after a short period of time.
Over 3,000 students on Wednesday



appeared for the Goa Board's Class 12 Marathi examination which was earlier postponed after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Social distancing norms were followed while conducting the examination, the board's chairman Ramakrishna Samant said.

The students were asked to use hand sanitiser before entering the examination halls and wearing masks was compulsory for them, he said.

"Total 3,823 students were eligible for appearing in the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) examination today," Samant said.

The examination was held hassle-free and almost all the students appeared for it, he said.

As per some pictures released by the state government, students maintained social distancing and wore masks in the examination halls.

The HSSC Marathi exam was earlier supposed to be held on March 20, but was postponed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Since the state was declared a green zone on May 1 after all the seven COVID-19 patients previously found recovered, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant earlier this month said the HSSC and SSC examinations would be held after the third phase of the lockdown ends on May 17.

The state board accordingly announced that HSSC examinations will be held from May 20 to May 22 (for two pending papers), while the SSC (Class 10) exams for all papers will be held from May 21 onwards.

However, since the last week, coronavirus cases were again detected in the state.

As of now, there are 41 active COVID-19 cases in the coastal state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Botswana is investigating the unexplained deaths of a dozen elephants in the country's northwest.

Samples have been taken from each of the dead animals and has been sent to government laboratories for analysis.

Poaching has already been ruled out because all the dead animals were found with their tusks, the country's tourism minister said.

Botswana is investigating the deaths of at least 12 elephants in the country's Okavango River Delta - ruling out poaching because the animals still had their tusks (file image)

Locals have been instructed not to eat the animal carcasses amid suspicions they could have been poisoned, state-run Daily News said.

Wildlife officers doubt the elephants were deliberately poisoned, but may have accidentally ingested poisonous plants.

A search is under way for more dead pachyderms.

In October 2019, Botswana reported that more than 100 elephants died from a suspected anthrax outbreak.

Anthrax, a deadly poison, can live in soil or on plants in a dormant state for years.

After being ingested by an animal the cells then wake up and start reproducing, producing toxins which can prove fatal.

Locals are being told not to eat the carcasses amid fears they may have been accidentally poisoned with anthrax. A similar outbreak of the disease last year killed 100 elephants (file)

Preliminary investigations then suggested the jumbos were dying from anthrax whilst some died from the effects of drought.

With unfenced parks and wide-open spaces, Botswana has the world's largest elephant population, boasting more than 135,000 animals -- about a third of the African continent's total.

Leading conservation Elephants Without Borders last year warned of surging elephant poaching in parts of Botswana, estimating that nearly 400 were killed across the country in 2017 and 2018.

In February this year the government auctioned off seven elephant hunting licenses after it controversially lifted a hunting ban saying the move would not threaten the elephant population.

The hunting season was supposed to open in April but it was put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Islamic State group erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq's conflicts, declaring itself a 'caliphate' after conquering a giant stretch of territory.

Its territorial rule, which at its height in 2014 stretched across nearly a third of both Syria and Iraq, ended in March with a last stand by several hundred of its militants at a tiny Syrian village on the banks of the Euphrates near the border with Iraq.

But the militants have maintained a presence in both countries, and their shadowy leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had continued releasing messages urging them to keep up the fight.

Here are the key moments in the rise and fall of the Islamic State group:

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi - who was also known as Caliph Ibrahim - released a propaganda video in 2014 where he addressed Muslim worshipers at a mosque in Mosul

April 2013 - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announces the merger of his group with al-Qaeda's franchise in Syria, forming the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

January 2014 - Al-Baghdadi's forces overrun the city of Fallujah in Iraq's western Anbar province and parts of the nearby provincial capital of Ramadi. In Syria, they seize sole control of the city of Raqqa after driving out rival Syrian rebel factions, and it becomes their de facto capital.

February 2014 - Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri disavows al-Baghdadi after the Iraqi militant ignores his demands that IS leave Syria.

June 2014 - IS captures Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and pushes south as Iraqi forces crumble, eventually capturing Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and reaching the outskirts of Baghdad. When they threaten Shiite holy sites, Iraq's top Shiite cleric issues a call to arms, and masses of volunteers, largely backed and armed by Iran, join militias.

June 29, 2014 - The group renames itself the Islamic State and declares the establishment of a self-styled 'caliphate' in its territories in Iraq and Syria. Al-Baghdadi is declared the caliph.

July 4, 2014 - Al-Baghdadi makes his first public appearance, delivering a Friday sermon in Mosul's historic al-Nuri Mosque. He urges Muslims around the world to swear allegiance to the caliphate and obey him as its leader.

August 2014 - IS captures the town of Sinjar west of Mosul and begins a systematic slaughter of the tiny Yazidi religious community. Women and girls are kidnapped as sex slaves; hundreds remain missing to this day.

August 8, 2014 - The U.S. launches its campaign of airstrikes against IS in Iraq.

September 22, 2014 - The U.S.-led coalition begins an aerial campaign against IS in Syria.

January, 2015 - Iraqi Kurdish fighters, backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, drive IS out of several towns north of Mosul. In Syria, Kurdish fighters backed by U.S. airstrikes repel an IS onslaught on the town of Kobani on the border with Turkey, the first significant defeat for IS.

April 1, 2015 - U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retake Tikrit, their first major victory against IS.

May 20, 2015 - IS captures the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, where the extremists later destroy archaeological treasures.

February 9, 2016 - Iraqi forces recapture Ramadi after months of fighting and at enormous cost, with thousands of buildings destroyed. Almost the entire population fled the city.

June 26, 2016 - Fallujah is declared liberated by Iraqi forces after a five-week battle.

July 3, 2016 - IS sets off a gigantic suicide truck bomb outside a Baghdad shopping mall, killing almost 300 people, the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

October 17, 2016 - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces the start of the operation to liberate Mosul.

Iraqi Army soldiers celebrate as they hold an IS flag, which they captured during a raid on a village outside Mosul in November 2016

November 5, 2016 - The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces launch Operation Euphrates Wrath, the first of five operations aiming to retake Raqqa, starting with an encircling of the city.

January 24, 2017 - Al-Abadi announces eastern Mosul has been 'fully liberated'.

May 10, 2017 - SDF captures the strategic Tabqa dam after weeks of battles and a major airlift operation that brought SDF fighters and their U.S. advisers to the area. The fall of the dam facilitated the push on Raqqa, about 25 miles away.

June 6, 2017 - SDF fighters begin an attack on Raqqa from three sides, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes.

June 18, 2017 - Iraqi forces launch battle for Mosul's Old City, the last IS stronghold there.

June 21, 2017 - IS destroys Mosul's iconic al-Nuri Mosque and its 12th century leaning minaret as Iraqi forces close in.

July 10, 2017 - Iraqi PM declares victory over IS in Mosul and end of the extremists' caliphate in Iraq.

October 17, 2017 - SDF takes full control of Raqqa after months of heavy bombardment that devastates the city.

September - December, 2017 - Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power and Iranian forces, recapture IS territory on the western bank of the Euphrates River, seizing the cities of Deir el-Zour, Mayadin and Boukamal on the border with Iraq.

Isis lost its hold over Mosul in July 2017 but the city suffered severe bombing

August 23, 2018 - IS leader al-Baghdadi resurfaces in his first purported audio recording in almost a year; he urges followers to 'persevere' and continue fighting.

September 10, 2018 - SDF launches a ground offensive, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, to take the last territory held by IS in Syria's eastern province of Deir el-Zour.

March 23, 2019 - SDF declares the complete capture of Baghouz and the end of the Islamic State group's territorial 'caliphate'.

October 27, 2019 - President Donald Trump announced that al-Baghdadi was killed during a US. Special Ops forces raid on his hideout in northwest Syria. Trump said the 'violent terror leader' died after running into a dead-end tunnel, and detonating his suicide vest, killing himself and three of his children.

- Source: Associated Press
Target on Wednesday reported that online sales for the first quarter more than doubled, but said that coronavirus-related costs sent profits plunging 64 percent.

Target's quarterly online sales surged 141 percent, due to panic buying in the coronavirus crisis, but the company set aside nearly $500 million for hazard pay and safety standards at stores.

Net income of $284 million was down from $795 million for the same period last year, but still beat analyst expectations, and Target's stock jumped more than 1 percent in pre-market trading.

'Last quarter was unlike anything I've ever seen,' Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell told reporters. 'It was intense, it was volatile, it was stressful for our guests and the country.'

A customer wearing a mask carries his purchases as he leaves a Target store during the coronavirus pandemic, in Brooklyn last month. The company reported earnings on Wednesday

The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday that comparable-store sales, which include online purchases, rose 10.8 percent for the three-month period that ended May 2.

That was fueled by a 12.5 percent jump in the number of items customers bought with each trip to the store as families made major restocking runs, but fewer of them.

The pandemic has widened an already growing rift between companies that deftly followed consumers online, and those that have struggled.

J.Crew, Stage Stores, Neiman Marcus, and J.C. Penney have all sought bankruptcy protection in recent weeks.

A years-long campaign by Walmart and Target to challenge Amazon online was, as it turns out, a dry run for the pandemic.

Target had already transformed its 1,800 stores into distribution hubs, putting it in a better position than even Amazon to keep supplies flowing.

To protect from the coronavirus a social distancing spot is painted on the floor while shoppers wait in line at a Target store in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles last month

Target's stores were directly involved in supplying goods for 80 percent of online sales. Same-day services, such as curbside pickup at stores for things ordered online, nearly tripled.

The company has 5 million new users on its website, and 2 million have begun relying on Target's services like curbside pickup for things ordered online.

However, with online orders come higher costs, as Target had to select and pack items for shipping or pickup.

Target picked up market share in all five of its merchandise categories, Cornell said. Sales of items like furniture and electronics surged 20 percent. It was the same for groceries.

Clothing sales, a high-margin category for retailers, slipped during the quarter, but that business began to rebound at the tail end of the quarter. Cornell cites government stimulus checks for that late bump in discretionary spending.

It is unclear if other retailers, particularly those that are still closed, saw the same uptick with the arrival of those checks.

As with other retail companies operating in a pandemic, costs soared as well. Target spent and additional $500 million on things directly related to the outbreak.

An employee in a face mask and latex gloves cleans the doors to a bank of freezers in a Target store on May 17 in Brighton, Colorado. Costs associated with cleaning jumped for the company

The company has bumped up hourly pay for workers by $2, hazard pay that will be extended to July 4. Target also spent money to sanitize stores and warehouses, new protections for workers and signage for customers to ensure social distancing.

Cornell said those costs will be the new reality going forward.

'There is going to be a premium on creating a safe sanitized shopping environment,' he said. Shopping while minimizing human contact is the new normal, he said, referring to drive-up and curbside pickup.

Target reported an 11.3 percent increase in revenue, which hit $19.62 billion for the quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $19.02 billion.

Net earnings slid 64 percent to $284 million, or 56 cents, or 59 cents when adjusted for non-recurring events. That's far better than the per-share profit of 44 cents that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet.
The government directed to provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased.

Etawah (Uttar Pradesh): Six farmers were killed and one injured after the pickup truck in which they were traveling collided with another truck in the Friends Colony area of Etawah on Tuesday night.

"The farmers were going to the market to sell jackfruit. The injured person has been admitted to Saifai Medical College," said R Singh, Superintendent of Police.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the death of six people in Etawah. He has directed to provide financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured, the Chief Minister's Office stated.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party has also announced that it will provide financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the farmers killed in the accident.
A powerful cyclone ploughed inland after crashing into the coasts of India and Bangladesh, where more than 2.6 million people fled to shelters in a frantic evacuation made more challenging by the coronavirus pandemic. Cyclone Amphan, the equivalent of a category 3 hurricane, was packing sustained winds of up to 170 kilometres (105 miles) per hour with maximum gusts of 190 kph (118 mph).A satellite image released by NASA shows Cyclone Amphan over the Bay of Bengal in India. Amphan has intensified into a super cyclone and expected to make landfall near Sundarbans, south of Kolkata. (Image: AP)
Ricki Ruiz, a Reynolds School Board member whose day job is community services coordinator for the city of Gresham, defeated William Miller to become Democrats choice to represent House District 50, which spans East Portland and Gresham.

As of 10p.m., Ruiz had won 65 % of the votes counted, versus Millers 34%.

The two young community activists  Miller is 27 and Ruiz 25, and both were raised in the area  staked out similar positions in the race. 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. They both support climate change legislation.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

Ruiz says that during two terms on the Reynolds School Board, he has built strong ties, trust and transparency with constituents across East Multnomah County and especially in the City of Gresham. He believes Oregon public schools and community colleges need more funding for trades to support the next generation of the Oregon workforce.

Ruiz will now 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.

-- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A federal domestic violence inquiry, launched in the aftermath of the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, has ended before schedule and without accepting submissions or holding public hearings.

The three-month anniversary of their deaths in Camp Hill was marked on Tuesday with a virtual memorial through social media, because of COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings.

Hannah Clarke and her children - Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 - died after the children's father set fire to their car. Credit:Stacey Roberts - Facebook

Ms Clarke and the children died after a car fire lit by her estranged husband, who is believed to have doused the car in petrol with the family inside. He died at the scene from self-inflicted stab wounds.

In the days after the murders, a Senate committee launched an inquiry into "domestic violence with particular regard to violence against women and their children" and it set August 13 as the reporting date.
: Despite the COVID-19 lockdown,



devotees of Lord Venkateswara at the famous hill shrine of Tirunala will soon be able to receive the sacred 'laddu prasadams' at subsidized prices in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and all district headquarters in Andhra Pradesh, a top TTD functionary said here on Wednesday.

TTD Board Chairman Y V Subba Reddy said that this followed repeated requests from devotees, who have been barred from darshan of Lord Venkateswara on the hills since March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The date of arrival of theTirupati Laddu in the respective places would be communicated in three days, he said, adding that devotees who wished to purchase more laddus for free distribution among other faithul in these TTD specified regions could contact the Deputy Executive Officer on 9849575952 and Potu Peishkar on 9701092777.

The Laddu, which is priced at Rs 50 each, would be sold at subsidized price of Rs 25 as a token of gift to the devotees in the COVID-19 lockdown period, he said.

The laddus will be made available at TTD information centres and TTD marriage halls in these areas, he said.

Interestingly,e-hundi cash offerings by devotees fetched a record income of Rs1.97 crore in April this year against Rs 1.79 crore during the same month last year, an increase ofRs 18 lakh, he said.

Reddy also categorically denied media reports and social media messages that TTD was facing a financial crunch and was unable to pay salaries to the TTD staff.

He said salaries had been paid for the past two months and would be given for May and June also.

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

The BJP's Madhya Pradesh unit is likely to give majority of tickets for the upcoming Assembly bypolls to those Congress members who switched over to the saffron party, helping it topple the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in the state.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, BJP's MP president VD Sharma said that those who resigned as MLAs are strong contenders for tickets to the by-elections since they "sacrificed a lot".

"These are people who had left their ministerial berths and posts as MLAs to save Madhya Pradesh from corruption and poor administration. I would not be wrong in saying that these people had sacrificed themselves and their posts for the state. For this reason, all of them are in consideration for the candidature," Sharma said.

Both BJP and Congress are readying themselves for bypolls to 24 Assembly seats.

Earlier in May, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath had said that Congress will come back to power in the state after the bypolls.

"When by-elections are held, voters will speak their mind. We will win 20-22 seats. Will the (BJP) government last then?" Nath had said.

Nath admitted that he had been wrong in believing that Congress MLAs would not shift their loyalties to the BJP. However, he said the defectors would lose face in the by-elections because the voters in their constituencies know that they are "bought".

Even though the dates for the by-elections are yet to be declared, BJP has begun preparations for the crucial elections.

"We have strengthened the organisation online. Shakti Kendra and booth-level meetings have begun. We work round the year. We will reach people through online mediums, and door-to-door campaigns will be done by keeping physical distancing and following other health measures," Sharma said.
The Nepal government has released a revised political and administrative map showing Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory

Kathmandu: The Nepal government on Wednesday released a revised political and administrative map showing Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory, a day after Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Oli said the areas belong to the country and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts.

During a televised press conference, Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal unveiled the new map.

Addressing Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there.

Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Oli on Monday endorsed the new map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as territories of Nepal.

The new map has been updated in the schedule of Nepal's Constitution and coat of arms and will be kept at government offices, Aryal said, adding that it will be tabled in its parliament for necessary constitutional amendment.

The move comes weeks after Nepal foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives.

Nepal's ruling Nepal Communist Party lawmakers have also tabled a special resolution in the Parliament demanding return of Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh to Nepal.

Aryal said that the Nepal government will hold dialogue with India on the matter and the issue will be resolved through diplomatic efforts.

She also expressed belief that (India will) consider the matter in a positive manner.

The new map includes 335-km land area including Limpiyadhura in the Nepalese territory, officials said, adding that technicians at the Survey Department prepared the map with accurate scale, projection and coordinate system.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory  India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Gyawali last week summoned the Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to him to protest against the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

"The recently inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand lies completely within the territory of India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had said on 9 May.

Indian Army chief General MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.

The 80-KM-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 KM along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month.

Nepal has raised objection to the inauguration of the road, saying the "unilateral act" was against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, officials said.

India and Nepal are at a row after the Indian side issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border in October last year.

The tension further escalated after India inaugurated the road link connecting Kailash Mansarovar, a holy pilgrimage site situated at Tibet, China, that passes through the territory belonging to Nepal.




Haiti - COVID-19 : Intervention of Minister Clement at the 73rd World Health Assembly





Ar the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (AMS), which for the first time since the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was held in videoconference on May 18 and 19, Dr. Marie Greta Roy Clement, the Minister of Public Health of Haiti in her intervention decalred :



Extract from Minister Clement's speech :

"Madam President,



[...] Like most countries, Haiti has adopted measures to prevent and control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even before the manifestation of the disease in the territory, the Haitian authorities have developed, according to the directives of the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization, a preparation and response plan.



March 19, 2020, following the confirmation of the first case https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html , the authorities immediately decreed a state of health emergency throughout the national territory.



In the same vein, a scientific cell https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30384-haiti-politic-creation-of-a-scientific-cell-to-manage-the-covid-19-crisis.html , a multisectoral management commission https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30472-haiti-news-zapping.html have been set up. Barrier measures have been strengthened and finally additional resources have been mobilized for the implementation of the plan.



[...] However, it must be recognized that due to the weakness of its health system, Haiti is unable to cope on its own with the many challenges linked to the pandemic. International solidarity and cooperation are more than ever essential.



Madame President,



This Covid-19 pandemic has underscored for us the need for strong and resilient health systems, based on international solidarity as the foundation of global health security and universal health coverage.



In this regard, Haiti fully supports the international platform aimed at accelerating the development and equitable distribution of tests, treatments and vaccines as well as strengthening the health systems of the most vulnerable countries.



[...] Finally, Haiti offers its condolences to all the victims of Covid-19 and takes this opportunity to express its solidarity with health workers, governments and people affected by the pandemic.



Haiti is convinced that, by pooling our resources and our knowledge, we will be able to overcome this unprecedented global health crisis.



Thank you for your attention."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30816-haiti-flash-the-epidemic-is-progressing-in-the-country-596-cases-and-22-deaths.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30814-haiti-covid-19-daily-report-may-19-2020.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30472-haiti-news-zapping.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30384-haiti-politic-creation-of-a-scientific-cell-to-manage-the-covid-19-crisis.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















What if you could spend the next three months doing nothing but lying around reading escapist fiction, with a margarita or a bowl of cherries or a massive Toblerone bar  or all three  at your fingertips? If there were ever a time to distract yourself with the dismaying and often preposterous predicaments of characters unlucky enough to be the protagonists of thrillers, that time is now. The more outrageous, the better.

Switching identities with someone sounds so alluring, particularly now that were stuck at home with nothing but our own diminishing resources. Lets get out of here! But of course all that means is trading one set of problems for another, as Julie Clark reminds us in THE LAST FLIGHT (Sourcebooks Landmark, 311 pp., $26.99).

Read More

At Kennedy Airport and on the run from her charismatic, abusive husband, Claire Cook impulsively accepts the offer of a woman named Eva to swap lives. In a variation on the classic Freaky Friday scenario, Claire flies in Evas place to Oakland; Eva takes Claires spot on a flight to Puerto Rico. But the Puerto Rico-bound plane crashes, spinning the novel in an intriguing new direction. (It also seems great for Claire, since she is now officially dead.)

The plot runs on two tracks. Going back in time, it fills in Evas past  her rough childhood, her triumphant acceptance to college, how it all went off the rails so spectacularly. (As is so often the case, a bad man had something to do with it.) And in the present, it takes us along with Claire to Berkeley, where she is confronted by the complications in Evas life. A further twist: It seems that Eva might not have boarded the doomed plane after all, and Claires vindictive husband suspects that his wife is still alive. Trying to figure it out for herself, Claire Googles Can you scan onto a flight and not get on it?, as we all would.

Aitor Diago/Getty Images

Its hard to become engrossed in a book just now, with so much noise crackling inside and outside of our heads, but The Last Flight is thoroughly absorbing  not only because of its tantalizing plot and deft pacing, but also because of its unexpected poignancy and its satisfying, if bittersweet, resolution. The characters get under your skin.

If youre sick of who you are, you might be equally sick of where youve been living for the past few months. But be glad youre not holed up in sleepy Grotto, Iowa, which embodies the three rules of small-town thriller life: 1. Placid communities are actually claustrophobic hotbeds of murderous intrigue. 2. Your neighbors are creepy sex pests. 3. All the law-enforcement officials are totally compromised by conflicts of interest.

Heather Gudenkaufs THIS IS HOW I LIED (Park Row, 336 pp., $28.99) visits the unsolved murder of 15-year-old Eve Knox, whose body  beaten, asphyxiated  was found in a grotto in Grotto back during Bill Clintons first term. Twenty-five years later, the victims long-lost bloody shoe turns up, and the past rushes into the present to wreak havoc on Eves friends and enemies, none of whom seem to have managed to leave town in the ensuing quarter-century.

As with actors forced to double up on roles in a regional theater company, each character plays multiple parts in the ensuing drama. Maggie, Eves best friend, who discovered her body, is now the detective assigned to the reopened case, which was originally investigated by her father, then the police chief and now increasingly senile. Nick, Eves violent boyfriend, peaked in high school and now runs the towns gift shop.

There are enough red herrings to form their own little school in the corner of the pond. As the complicated web of relationships and pathologies is revealed  wait until you hear about Nola, Eves sister, and her highly unpleasant hobby  the story shifts into high gear. Throughout it all you feel terribly sorry for Eve, whose unhappy last day on earth is revealed in flashbacks interspersed with the present-day narrative. She is the nicest person in the book, but an awful lot of people had motives to kill her.

Evoking the great Agatha Christie classics And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, Lucy Foleys clever, taut new novel, THE GUEST LIST (Morrow/HarperCollins, 305 pp., $27.99), takes us to a creepy island off the coast of Ireland, where a young couple are about to get married.

They seem so glossy and perfect. Jules is the beautiful, scarily competent editor of an online fashion magazine, and Will is the hot, charming Bear Grylls-ish host of a popular reality TV show called Survive the Night, which involves him being left alone in various dangerous situations after dark, and having to use his cunning and survival skills to return to safety. He and Jules look so good together. They barely know each other. What a great start to a marriage.

Foley builds her suspense slowly and creepily, deploying an array of narrators bristling with personal secrets: Jules, the bride; Olivia, her fragile sister; Johnno, the troubled best man; Hannah, whose husband is an old and suspiciously close friend of Jules; and quiet Aoife, the suspiciously judgmental and tightly wound wedding planner.

What sadistic acts did Will and his bro-y groomsmen regularly commit at their horrible boys boarding school  and why is Wills father, the headmaster of that school, so cold toward his son at the wedding? Why do people keep bringing up Lord of the Flies? Is it really a good idea to have a wedding on a possibly haunted island full of ancient bodies buried in the peat, especially with a major storm brewing?

We know from the flash-forwards dotted throughout that someone will be murdered during the wedding reception. Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters pasts. They are all clues. When the murder finally happens  when the identity of the victim is revealed  it makes total sense. The only question is why no one did it sooner.

London Stills, via Alamy

THE CHOICE (Putnam, 366 pp., paper, $16), Gillian McAllisters almost unbearably tense novel, divides its narrative into alternative stories, Sliding Doors-style, playing out two possible futures in one persons life. Its such a fascinating thought, how a moment can change everything. Both scenarios begin when Joanna Oliva, a young woman walking home from a bar at night, pushes a threatening man who seems to be following her down a set of stairs in London.

In the first scenario, Joanna resuscitates him and seeks help  concealing vital details about what happened but still facing the possibility of life in prison. In the other, she leaves the man to die, and is driven to virtual madness by the weight of her conscience and the burden of concealment.

The Choice is less a conventional thriller than a morality tale, a granular exploration of secrecy and guilt  how they corrode, how they poison a psyche  in the manner of Crime and Punishment or The Tell-Tale Heart. Following Joanna as she grapples with her conscience, its hard not to have every shameful secret from your own past come flooding back. Its times like this that I wish I were Catholic and could go to confession for quick absolution. (The thought passes quickly.)

A lot of the tension reverberating through The Choice has to do with the psychic interplay between Joanna and her rigidly moralistic husband, Reuben. What will she tell Reuben, and when? How will she handle his response? Is she really right to think of him as some sort of moral arbiter of behavior?

As the book turns the screws, it becomes almost physically difficult to read. I was so grateful to McAllister for providing some degree of relief, some redemption for Joanna  and for us.

Women are dying at an alarming rate on the streets of Los Angeles in Ivy Pochodas THESE WOMEN (Ecco/HarperCollins, 352 pp., $27.99), but nobody is paying much attention: They are sex workers, street people, marginal citizens of color. But if women are the victims in this intricate, deeply felt, beautifully written novel, they are also its heroes.

The story unfolds through the perspectives of five characters, all women, with overlapping and interweaving histories. Their voices sizzle and sparkle; each of them helps advance the plot, and each brings to it her own particular pain and her own particular tragedy. All are haunted by birth and circumstance.

City streets at night. David McNew/Getty Images

Dorian, who owns a fried-fish shack in South Central and is especially kind to women on the stroll, as she thinks of them, wants more than anything else to keep everyone safe. She is broken, ruined by the murder of Lecia, her beloved daughter, after an evening of babysitting some years earlier.

Julianna, the child Lecia was babysitting that night, has grown up to become Jujubee, a dancer at a sketchy nightclub who is built for a world of jiggling and taunting, of sauntering and displaying but who has the eye of an artist and a hunger to escape to something better. She also has a phone full of searing, beautifully composed photographs that she longs to show the world.

Then theres Marella, Juliannas neighbor, whose puritanical views about morality and sexuality and women have (among other things) instilled in her an uncontrollable rage that erupts from time to time. The story of her mother, Anneke, who has been keeping her own dark secrets for decades, follows along after Marellas.

But the best character, the character who stays with you long after you have read the last word of this provocative book, is a diminutive, damaged, brilliant police detective named Essie. Tormented by guilt after a terrible tragedy in her past, she has been overlooked for promotion, passed over in the department, scoffed at by her male colleagues who refuse to listen when she says a serial killer is at work. She knows that someone has the blood of 17 women on his hands.

Kimberly McCreights latest book is called A GOOD MARRIAGE (HarperCollins, 390 pp., $27.99), but every marriage in the story, set among the snobs, poseurs and wannabes in tony Park Slope, Brooklyn, is dreadful. The characters look as if their lives are perfect, but their greatest skill is their ability to conceal the adultery, substance abuse and financial ruin percolating underneath. (Thats the hardest part about marriage, one character observes. Somebody elses problems become your own.)

Lets start with Zach Grayson, a superrich businessman, and his gorgeous, much younger wife, Amanda, whom we meet early in the book lying in a deceased heap at the bottom of the stairs in her elegant brownstone, covered in blood. (We will soon hear, in intermittent chapters, how she spent her last week or so on earth.)

Dave Sanders for The New York Times

Amanda is lovely and anxious; Zach, squirrelly and conniving. When we first meet him, he is in jail and calling Lizzie Kitsakis, an old law school classmate who also lives in Park Slope, begging for her help in defending him on his incipient murder charge. Unfortunately, because it is about to get really complicated, she ends up taking the case.

Lizzies marriage is nothing to post about on Facebook, either. Her husband is smart and loving, but he is also a falling-down drunk with a propensity for unemployment and a habit of forgetting where hes been during his benders. Meanwhile, Zach and Amandas friends among the fellow parents at Brooklyn Country Day are wrestling with their own demons, some of which will emerge at Maude Lagueuxs notorious Sleepaway Soiree. Its the sex party of the year, full of sanctioned adulterous fun.

Secrets pile up like cars on the freeway, some of them exiting onto service roads that lead nowhere. Who is stalking Amanda? What is the story with Amandas shadowy friend Carolyn? Who is behind the malicious hacks into the computers of the parents at the kids school? What is the mystery Lizzie is so anxious to conceal? And why is Zach such a tool?

McCreight is particularly deft at parsing the small but telling details of life among Park Slopes elite, as when Amanda fails to understand that the ladies of Park Slope prefer calculated indifference in matters of dress, a contrast to the glossy perfectionism of their Manhattan counterparts.

Park Slope moms were beautiful and fashionable and fit, but they were above caring too much about silly things like fashion, McCreight writes. Amanda needed to master the application of the exact right amount of concealer and precise coating of mascara to appear flawlessly barefaced.

Its not a reason to kill anyone, but Amanda just never fit in.

Meanwhile, be glad you are not Chris Cowley, a hapless young associate at a fancy corporate law firm in New York. At the beginning of Patrick Hoffmans CLEAN HANDS (Atlantic Monthly Press, 288 pp., $25.99), Chris gets drunk and then, still apparently hung over, has his cellphone stolen in Grand Central Terminal as he goes to work the next day.

No bonus for him! (Especially after an investigator examines a video of the incident and sees what looks like a suspicious split-second interaction between Chris and the pickpocket.) Not only is the cellphone unlocked and not password-protected, if such a thing is even possible, it also contains a trove of highly confidential and compromising documents related to a sensitive case the law firm is working on.

Topics covered include a failed merger, a shell corporation in Oman, collusion and bond-price manipulation. (Handily for the thieves, the documents are not hard to find on the phone, being as how they are labeled hot docs.)

The stolen phone passes through various layers of New York City criminality until it reaches Avi Lessing, one in a series of middlemen of varying intelligence, who decides to copy the compromising files onto his own hard drive. What a great idea! He would come to regret that decision more than anything hed ever done in his life, Hoffman notes.

Valencia Walker, the no-messing-about former C.I.A. operative hired by the firm, brings an elaborate arsenal of threats, promises, violence, subterfuge and charm to bear as she plays the various factions against one another. It becomes increasingly clear that the whole thing is far more complicated, with much higher stakes, than most of the pawns in this grand chess game understand.

The fun is in the details. A lot of characters find themselves in places they would rather not be, feeling paranoid, anxious and compromised by things they wish they had not done. Chris, the associate who started the whole thing, has perhaps the hardest time coming to grips with what a sorry turn his life has taken. One day youre home doing a little work, the next youre involved in a criminal conspiracy, he muses.

At one point, a shadowy figure on the subway warns him to appear less depressed so as not to bring suspicion upon himself, an encounter that inevitably brings him to a new low of despair.

He used to go out to clubs and hook up with random dudes, make out with them, Hoffman writes. He used to send text messages to his friends and go out for brunch. He used to listen to podcasts and watch movies and cook food and go out to dinner. What happened to all that? What happened to exercising, yoga classes, bicycle riding, farmers markets? Was that life completely over?

Apparently so.
A group of backpackers have found themselves stranded on a remote and idyllic Pacific island due to the coronavirus pandemic, but are making the most of their isolation.

While most far-flung travelers and expats scrambled back to their home countries when the coronavirus pandemic began to spread around the world, a hardy group of international backpackers chose to stick it out on Lord Howe Island, 600 kilometres off Australia's east coast.

The island has shut its doors to tourists, leaving little-to-no employment opportunities for the young travelers, some of whom are stuck without sufficient funds to fly to Australia and pay for accommodation there.

Backpackers stranded on a remote pacific island with incredible views have been adopted by locals and are enjoying isolation. Pictured is Californian woman Julia Donath

A small group of young backpackers chose to stay on the tiny Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea off Port Macquarie when the coronavirus pandemic began

The picture-postcard Pacific island has white sandy beaches, crystal blue clear waters and a warm-subtropical climate, and a permanent community of only 350 people.

Mauricio Auguin and his girlfriend Paula Nas, both from Chile, were supposed to leave the island this month.

'Our boss provide us housing, so we can stay here for free  working for accommodation,' Mr Auguin told the ABC.

'Coming back to the mainland before our plane back [home] would be very risky because of the cost  housing and food maybe would be more expensive for us.'

The backpackers have received a warm welcome from locals who are happy for them to stay longer.

'We're not Australians and they're doing very nice things with us, and so we're really grateful for that,' he said.

Californian woman Julian Donath (pictured top right with other backpackers) had plans to complete a four-month dive master training internship on Lord Howe Island when she arrived in February

The island has white sandy beaches, crystal blue clear waters and a warm-subtropical climate, with a community of only 350 people. Pictured: Staff at Pro Dive Lord Howe Island

But the couple are still eager to get home and are nervous about making the trip back to Chile.

Californian woman Julian Donath had planned to complete a four-month dive master training internship on Lord Howe Island when she arrived in February.

But two months into the training the island shutdown and closed its borders.

Ms Donath said the reality of what was happening and the coronavirus pandemic didn't hit until the island completely locked down.

Ms Donath said the reality of what was happening and the coronavirus pandemic didn't hit until the island completely locked down

Ms Donath (right) was given just two days to decide whether she was going to stay on the island and see out the pandemic, or book an emergency flight home

She was then given just two days to decide whether she was going to stay on the island and see out the pandemic, or book an emergency flight home.

Initially she had planned to go back to the United States because the pandemic was unpredictable.

'I had friends who packed in a span of 20 minutes and left the island right away  definitely some panic setting in,' she said.

Ms Donath described it as a 'max exodus' of the island with most people packing up and leaving within just one week.

She was advised by the US Embassy it would be in her best interest to go home but the young woman decided to stay behind on the island.

Community members have been worried about the backpackers' safety and assured they have been taken care of

Australia's Lord Howe Island (pictured) has been named fifth in the world's Top 10 Regions list in Lonely Planet's Best In Travel 2020 book

Chilean hospitality workers Alexis Yoli and his partner Denisse Leyton were planning on going to the mainland during the off-season, which runs from May to September.

Now the couple have been forced to stay on the island indefinitely.

Ms Leyton said the uncertainty has been a 'rollercoaster', and the difficulty of weighing up official advice to return home.

But with uncertainty about visas a small group of people have chosen to stay as Ms Yoli believed it was the couple's best option.

The island was ranked fifth in the world's Top 10 Regions list in Lonely Planet's Best In Travel 2020 book.

Roughly 600km off the New South Wales coast, the remote island is known for its white sand beaches, subtropical forests and crystal clear waters filled with coral reef

Despite being just 11km long and 2km wide, Lord Howe Island is home to some of the world's best hike and cycle trails, as well as world-class scuba diving and snorkelling spots

Sitting between Australia and New Zealand, the island is hailed as an 'unspoiled paradise' just a two-hour flight from Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport.

Lonely Planet lauds Lord Howe Island as a 'shining example of sustainably managed tourism', as it allows just 400 visitors at any one time.

Despite being just 11 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide, the island is home to some of the world's best hike and cycle trails, and boasts world-class snorkelling and scuba diving sites around the nearby Admiralty Islands.

Nearly two thirds of the island is a protected 'Permanent Park Preserve'.

Lord Howe is also a desirable fishing destination thanks to a ban on commercial fishery, with the surrounding waters being home to over 500 species of fish and 90 forms of coral.
Sanders suspended his campaign on April 8 after concluding that he had no feasible path to victory against Biden and didnt wish to extend his run in the midst of a pandemic. He soon endorsed Biden, but said he wished to remain on the ballots in the states yet to vote so that he could add to his delegate total at the convention. The point, Sanders and his supporters have said, is to gain leverage over the party platform and other important decisions.
- Ruby Rodriguez is one of the most prominent actresses and hosts in the Kapuso network

- Recently, she revealed on social media that she was rushed to the hospital

- The showbiz personality did not disclose the name of the medical facility where she is confined at

- Her young daughter posted an emotional message regarding the situation of the actress

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Ruby Rodriguez recently revealed on her social media account that she was rushed to the hospital.

KAMI learned that based on her much-talked-about post, the prominent Eat Bulaga host suffered a stomach ailment.

She uploaded a photo that showed the kind of treatment that she is receiving while inside a medical facility.

Hate this but she wrote.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

A few moments after she made the said post, she uploaded a screenshot of the Instagram story of her 22-year-old daughter.

According to Rubys child, she is really feeling guilty because she could not be with her mother in times of difficulties.

The celebrity then responded by telling her daughter to stop worrying already because she was given antibiotics.

Now that Im here, I cant be with her. I spent 20 mins crying because I felt guilty about not being by my moms side, her child quipped.

Baby Im confined na, dont worry nabigyan na ako fast drip ng antibiotic, Ruby replied.

In a previous article by , Ruby and her family were considered as persons under investigation (PUIs) following the death of Dr. Sally Gatchalian.

Ruby Rodriguez is a prominent showbiz personality in the Philippines. She already appeared in many films including My Little Bossings and Si Agimat at Si Enteng Kabisote.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

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!

Isa ka ba sa may ka-quaranFLING? Sa quaranFLING, may leveling daw ang landian. True kaya 'to? Dahil sa ECQ, usong-uso ito. Kung sayo ba to nangyari, aasa ka ba dapat o hanggang May 15 lang kayo? Ano masasabi nyo?  on HumanMeter!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
University managements across Australia are escalating their cuts to campuses, jobs, pay and conditions in response to last weeks national COVID-19 heads of agreement struck with the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).

Employers have welcomed the opportunity to slash wages by up to 15 percent, and still impose forced redundancies and eliminate thousands of casualised jobs via the deal. At the same time, a number of the 39 public universities have decided to continue imposing their attacks outside the NTEUs national framework.

Either way, the employers are exploiting the NTEUs unprecedented offer of pay cuts to step up the drive to inflict the burden of the worsening global pandemic on the backs of university workers and students. They are taking full advantage of the unions role in suppressing the outrage and resistance of university workers while the NTEU pursued its backroom talks for six weeks on the sacrifices it volunteered to impose on its members.

On top of destroying the livelihoods of thousands of casual and contract teachers and professional staff, universities are unveiling campus closures and further job losses. Central Queensland University this week said it was shutting down three campuses at the Sunshine Coast, Yeppoon and Biloela and cutting its workforce by nearly 200 through voluntary separations, while warning of further unspecified cost reductions.

Some managements, including at the largest universities, are confident they can individually carry out whatever attacks they want, with the unions help, via existing NTEU enterprise bargaining agreements (EBAs) or variations to them.

In its statement, the University of Melbourne said it shared many of the NTEUs framework principles but did not need to resort to the measures permitted by the national deal, such as stand downs, forced leave, forced reduction of hours, large pay cuts of up to 15 percent and deferral of incremental progression.

Instead, we remain committed to working collaboratively with the Union, and our workforce, to explore measures to fend off the real and present risk to jobs, and to the viability and success of the University.

Likewise, University of Newcastle vice chancellor Alex Zelinsky told staff last Friday the management would not participate in the national deal but would instead liaise with staff, including union representatives, to determine the most appropriate measures for the university.

Other universities that have indicated they may not sign up to the national deal with the NTEU include Sydney, Macquarie, Murdoch, Central Queensland, Sunshine Coast, Flinders, Edith Cowan, University of Technology Sydney and the Australian Catholic University. They will seek their own deals with NTEU branches, utilising or modifying EBAs that have already allowed them to axe jobs and conditions.

By April, one-third of casuals at the University of NSW had reported they had lost work. This reportedly cost them an average $626 a week, and 42 percent were working unpaid hours. Correspondingly, the NTEU has permitted full-time staff to be pressured into working overtime so that the casuals can be laid off.

This ongoing collaboration by the NTEU with the employers further exposes the fraud of the day of action proposed for tomorrow by the NTEU and the pseudo-left groups, which are trying to prop it up in the face of the anger of university workers over its sellout.

Protests, such as car cavalcades to government offices, are planned on the basis of the slogan, directed to federal Education Minister Dan Tehan: You have one job Dan! Save higher ed. NTEU members are being urged to send selfies (self-portraits with placards) and messages carrying that slogan to the union, for it to relay to Tehan.

The reality is that Tehan is doing exactly the job he has been assigned by the Liberal-National government and the political establishment as a whole: That is, to use the pandemic to accelerate years of funding cuts, initiated by the Labor-Greens government of 2010 to 2013, and accompanying measures to transform universities into business corporations serving the interests of the corporate elite.

While pleading with Tehan and the government for a rescue package, the NTEU is underscoring its ongoing agreement with the underlying corporate agenda of completely turning tertiary education into a lucrative revenue-generating industry, while servicing the narrow job training requirements of big business.

That is the true meaning of another NTEU day of action slogan: Were not going to let our sector hit the wall without a fight. This sector is Australian capitalisms third highest export earner, bringing in more than $30 billion a year, much of it from full fee-paying international students.

As for without a fight, that corresponds to the pleas of the pseudo-left groups, such as Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative, which have implored the NTEU leadership to at least appear to put up a fight against the government and the cuts in order to contain the outrage of university workers and students.

Aware of the widespread hostility to the NTEUs agreement, these groups have felt compelled to advocate a no vote when the union puts the deal to a proposed national plebiscite of its members. At the same time, they are promoting the day of action and advising the very same union that has orchestrated this attack to put on a show of resistance in order to try to keep a political and organisational grip over university workers.

Socialist Alliances Green Left Weekly this week anxiously fretted that the NTEU had not led with a general fight for jobs across the sector, opting to focus on collaboration through negotiation. It said if the union conducted a social and industrial fight, that would provide the NTEU with opportunities for organising, mobilising, building student and community support and securing a better outcome.

In the same vein, Socialist Alternatives Red Flag insisted that, despite the NTEUs support for wage-cutting, university workers had to rally behind the union, because: If youre on the side of workers, then you support unions. It suggested modest protest actions to throw some sand in the gears of the processes that are reducing our wages and conditions and to increase the unions ability to engage in sustained strike action.

This is a cynical cover for the unions. For the past three decades, ever since the unions enforced the prices and incomes Accords and enterprise bargaining assault of the Hawke and Keating Labor governments of 1983 to 1996, the unions have systematically suppressed strikes to their lowest level for a century.

In response to the global capitalist breakdown triggered by the pandemic, the unions are now taking their class collaboration to its logical conclusion, summed up by Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus, who vowed to give the employers everything they want.

Irreconcilably opposed to these anti-working class apparatuses and their pseudo-left satellites, the Committee for Public Education (CFPE) and the Socialist Equality Party advocate the formation of Action Committees of workers and students at universities, independent of the pro-capitalist trade unions, to oppose these attacks.

We call for a unified struggle against the assault on jobs, pay and conditions and for the basic social right to free, first-class education for all students, including international students, and full-time jobs for all university workers.

This means a struggle to completely reorganise society along socialist lines, including the allocation of billions of dollars to public education, instead of big business and the wealthy elite being bailed out by huge stimulus packages.

A video of the CFPEs May 17 forum [link] The COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in the universities is available on the CFPE Facebook page. Education workers can contact the CFPE via the Facebook page or its Twitter account, @CFPE_Australia, or email the SEP at sep@sep.org.au.

The author also recommends:

Australian Committee for Public Education holds successful online meeting on pandemic crisis

[6 April 2020]

Australian pseudo-left groups try to rescue university union from outrage over sellout deal

[14 May 2020]

Australian university union agrees to unprecedented pay and job cuts

[13 May 2020]
The RSS-affiliated workers organisation BMS on Wednesday held a countrywide protest against dilution of labour laws and demanded immediate payment of wages to labourers for the coronavirus-triggered lockdown period.

Thousands of Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) workers staged demonstrations on roads, in front of their houses and at government offices against non-payment of wages during the lockdown period, massive job losses, increase in working hours from 8 to 12 hours, the trade union said in a statement.

The protest was also against the unilateral changes in labour laws in 14 states and against unbridled privatisation of public sector undertaking, it said.

The BMS demands the Government of India consider the plight of the workers and issue stringent directions for the payment of wages immediately.

It also asked the government to intervene and halt changes in the labour laws by state governments, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 06:45:26|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LA PAZ, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Bolivia's interim president, Jeanine Anez, on Wednesday fired Health Minister Marcelo Navajas for his alleged role in a kickback scheme involving the purchase of 170 Spanish-made ventilators at inflated prices for COVID-19 patients.

After Navajas was arrested by the police earlier in the day, Communications Minister Isabel Fernandez broke the news to the media.

"The president has decided to remove Marcelo Navajas as Health Minister to avoid any interference in the work of the justice (department) and impeding the investigations," said Fernandez.

Current Deputy Health Minister Eydi Roca will "temporarily fill the position," she added.

Other officials under investigation for taking part in the scheme have also been fired, said Fernandez.

Two officials were arrested on Monday, including the head of the Health Ministry's legal department, Fernando Valenzuela, and the executive general director of the AISEM, the agency in charge of procuring medical equipment, Giovani Pacheco.

Two advisers from the Inter-American Development Bank, who approved the purchase, were also arrested on Wednesday.

Justice Minister Alvaro Coimbra pledged there will be no impunity.

"It doesn't matter whether (the accused) is minister, deputy minister or director, they are going to be tried," he said. Enditem
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
Islamabad, May 20 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Shaheen Raza who had contracted coronavirus passed away on Wednesday at Mayo Hospital in Lahore.

Raza had reportedly shown symptoms of the deadly virus a few days ago. She was being treated by private doctors before being shifted to the District Headquarter Hospital, and then eventually to Mayo Hospital, where she succumbed to the disease, reported the Express Tribune.

According to Gujranwala Deputy Commissioner Sohail Ashraf, who confirmed the MPA's death, the legislator's health had deteriorated over the weekend and she had been on the ventilator.

Mayo Hospital administration informed that Raza had been admitted to the hospital's isolation ward three days ago in a critical condition. The MPA was a diabetes patient and suffered from blood pressure related ailments.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family by the hospital administration on Wednesday.

Prior to the symptoms and subsequent treatment, Raza had reportedly been inspecting various quarantine centres.

Raza was the only PTI member from Gujranwala district in the Punjab Assembly.

Other lawmakers including Pakistan Peoples Party MPA in the Sindh Assembly Saeed Ghani, and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser of the PTI have contracted the virus but this is the country's first recorded death of a legislator due to COVID-19.
The John A. Kufuor Foundation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alluvial Agricultural Limited and the Ghana Rice Interprofessional Body (GRIB) to provide support to about 50,000 rice farmers in the country.

As part of the agreement, Alluvial Ghana will provide mechanization, as well as credit and input services to members of GRIB to help them expand on production. Planting and harvesting services, as well as seed and agro-input supply, will also be provided.

Chief Executive Officer of the John A. Kufuor Foundation Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah signed the agreement on behalf of the foundation. Von Kemedi who is Chief Executive Officer of Alluvial Agricultural Limited signed on behalf of the company and Nana Adjei Ayeh who is president of the Ghana Rice Inter-Professional Body signed on behalf of GRIB.

The objective of the agreement is to provide easy and affordable access to the above-listed services which are currently scarce and too costly for smallholder rice farmers to afford. Talks with financial institutions to provide concessionary financing so farmers can procure agro-inputs and mechanization services are also ongoing.

The John A. Kufuor Foundation is expected to play a facilitating and coordinating role in ensuring that the parties to the agreement work towards the stated goals.

The initiative falls within the foundations socio-economic development goal which focuses on agriculture-led growth and job creation. In view of this, the foundation consistently seeks to build broad-based partnerships with public and private institutions both locally and internationally to deliver needed socio-economic reforms.

This support for rice farmers is coming at a time when the industry is struggling with various challenges along the value chain, including low mechanization. According to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana has a deficit of 27, 133 tractors.

The agreement will go a long way to alleviate the burden of rice farmers who are in dire need of these services to boost Ghana's rice production, supply, and consumption. In keeping with modern agricultural trends, the introduction of state-of-the-art mechanization equipment will aid proper land preparation and planting protocols which will drastically improve yields. Additionally, the mechanization services will reduce pre-harvest and post-harvest losses.

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is a major partner in this project.
The Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), The Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU), The Dutch Research Council (NWO) and Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, have formed a novel partnership that includes publishing and reading services as well as the joint development of new open science services for disseminating and evaluating knowledge. The partnership runs until 31 December 2024.

In December 2019, the research institutions and Elsevier signed a framework agreement. During the past four months, both parties carefully developed this into a unique agreement. In parallel the Dutch Research Institutions established an independent expert Taskforce on responsible management of research information and data to determine the conditions and rules under which metadata of public research output can be (re)used and enriched by all public and private organizations. Following the advice of the Taskforce, a set of collaboration principles was agreed, including data ownership (researchers and/or institutions own their own research data), enduring access to data and metadata, vendor neutrality, interoperability, and institutional discretion on the use of the services.

This has led to the agreement that VSNU, NFU, NWO and Elsevier are pleased to announce today, and which comprises:

Open Access Publishing and Reading services. This is a national deal that covers reading rights to quality, peer-reviewed content across Elseviers extensive portfolio of journals and supports the aim of 100% open access publishing for all members of the consortium. From today, 95% of Dutch articles published in Elsevier journals can be made immediately open access through this agreement. The vast majority of Elseviers journals already offer an immediate open access option and, as part of this agreement, the company has committed to work towards immediate open access options across all remaining titles. Open Science Services for Research Intelligence and Scholarly communication. Elsevier will work with the Dutch partners to co-develop new services that help disseminate and evaluate knowledge. The parties will undertake a number of pilot projects to refine and adapt these services to meet the needs of the Dutch Research Institutions and to support the broader ambition of public engagement with science. These pilots will be conducted according to the collaboration principles as mentioned above.

Chief-negotiator/President of Delft University of Technology Tim van der Hagen said: This deal is a breakthrough in our ambition for 100% open access in the Netherlands and a prelude to a public knowledge base for information about scientific output.

Enabling Open Access to research results has been a core mission for NWO since 2003. This agreement is a giant step in our collective ambition to provide 100% Open Access for all publicly funded research in the Netherlands. It is fully aligned with the principles of Plan S and a major breakthrough for open science in general. Stan Gielen, NWO President

NFU / CEO of Amsterdam UMC Hans Romijn, said: This is definitely a game changing agreement in open access publishing in medicine from both national and international perspectives, considering the large impact and the volume of Elsevier journals. This will certainly contribute considerably to the advancement of research, and, most importantly, better treatments for our patients.

This agreement, the first of its kind globally, is a testament to the forward-thinking nature of the Dutch research community. We are delighted to partner with the Dutch community in advancing science and health outcomes through more open, reproducible and collaborative scholarly communication and knowledge systems. Kumsal Bayazit, CEO of Elsevier

Philippe Terheggen, Managing Director, Elsevier Journals, added: This collaboration underscores our firm commitment to open and frictionless access to knowledge by everyone. Almost all our journals already offer immediate open access options and we are working to find a sustainable path for extending this to all our titles.
In connection with the release of Golden Ocean's first quarter 2020 results in the morning (CET) of Wednesday, May 27, 2020, a teleconference/webcast will be held as described below:

Teleconference and webcast

A conference call will be held at 03:00 P.M. CET (09:00 A.M. New York Time) on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. The presentation will be available for download from the Investor Relations section at www.goldenocean.bm (under "Presentations") prior to the teleconference/webcast.

In order to listen to the presentation you may do one of the following:

a. Webcast

Click the "Webcast" link on www.goldenocean.bm

b. Conference Call

PARTICIPANTS DIAL IN TELEPHONE NUMBERS

International Dial In/UK Local #: +44 (0) 2071 928000 United Kingdom (toll free): +44 (0) 8003 767922 Norway Toll Free #: 800 518 74 USA #: +1 631-5107-495

Participants will be asked for their full name & Conference ID. The Conference ID is 5059523.

Please download the presentation material from www.goldenocean.bm in order to follow the presentation slides while listening to the conference.

REPLAY DETAILS (available for 7 days)

Replay Access Number: 5059523 International Dial In/UK Local #: +44 (0) 3333 009785 Norway #: +47 21 03 42 35 USA #: +1 917-677-7532

Participant list information required: Full Name & Company

May 20, 2020

Hamilton, Bermuda

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements of section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Police stumbled on a cannabis farm with an estimated street value of up to 40,000 being cultivated inside two neighbouring suburban semis while investigating a gang attack.

Officers in Crumpsall, Manchester rushed to the scene following reports a man was being beaten up in the street by four masked attackers.

But when they arrived to find the assailants and victim had vanished, they began knocking on doors to speak to witnesses.

They then inadvertently uncovered 110 marijuana plants being grown across various rooms in the two adjoining three-bedroomed semi-detached properties.

Police stumbled on a cannabis farm (pictured) with a street value of up to 40,000 being cultivated inside two neighbouring suburban semis while investigating a gang attack

Pictured the adjoining semis where the cannabis farm was being cultivated in Manchester

Hydroponic equipment had been used to help grow the drug and both houses had been fitted with an illicit electricity supply to avoid large energy bills.

Officers arrested an Albanian immigrant hired to look the factory as he hid in a bedroom of one of the properties.

The exact valuation of the cannabis farm was not possible but the plants could have yielded 41,000 worth of cannabis depending on the strength of the drug.

Albanian immigrant Endri Velaj, 28, (pictured) was jailed for 12 months after he admitted producing cannabis

At Manchester Crown Court, Endri Velaj, 28, was jailed for 12 months after he admitted producing cannabis. He will face deportation from the UK after his release from jail.

The raid occurred last March 4 after police got a 999 call about the attack in Holland Road where semis are worth are around 250,000 each.

Prosecutor Kate Gaskell said: 'The reports were of a man being attacked outside Number 42 by four unknown men in balaclavas. Police attended the address and there was no answer when they knocked at the door.

'But they then gained entry through a rear door and found a cannabis farm inside.

'No people were present in the property and police began to make house to house inquiries and attended Number 40, the adjoining semi-detached property and gained access through a rear insecure door.

'They found a cannabis farm spread across four rooms and the defendant was found in the front upstairs bedroom.

The exact valuation of the cannabis farm was not possible but the plants could have yielded 41,000 worth of cannabis depending on the strength of the drug

'Officers also seized 450 cash and two mobile phones. In all 110 plants were found at the address as well as equipment needed to enable cannabis production. The electricity in the property had been bypassed.

'An exact valuation was not possible due to deterioration to the plants. However, having looked at similar set-ups in the past an estimated 1.65kg-4.12kg was estimated based on plants that were mature and flowering. There were 55 plants in the living room.

'A valuation statement was made which says there were different strains of cannabis. In lower potency strains 1.65kg can be valued at 3,000-5.000 and 4.12kg would be worth 12,000 to 20,000.

'In higher potency strains 1.65kg would be worth 6,000 to 8,000 and 4.12kg would be worth between 24,000 and 32,000. The officer said if these were street deals they could be worth between 16,500 and 41,200.

'The operation was capable of producing a significant amount of drugs for commercial use which suggests a degree of sophistication and awareness by the defendant of the scale of this and a level of trust was afforded to him.'

In mitigation defence barrister Michael Barmer said: 'The defendant was made aware that the defence of modern slavery may be available to him but he was unwilling to help the authorities for fear of reprisals.

'He has expressed willingness to return to Albania as soon as possible. He had a degree of vulnerability which could be exploited by a criminal gang.

'He said he had been promised legitimate work and didn't want to refuse it as he was worried about his mother and sister in Albania.

'The money he was given was given to him by gang masters for food and supplies and was supposed to last him two months. He has no hand in bypassing the electricity and it was set up like that.'

Sentencing, Judge Anthony Cross QC told Velaj: 'This was a sophisticated operation in which the electricity had been bypassed and a significant amount of cannabis was grown.

'However, I accept you had a lesser role in this. While I do not accept you were a modern slave I do accept you were more vulnerable to threats of violence.'
When the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, called the chamber back into session two weeks ago, he did not do it to debate legislation regarding Covid-19 or other essential, time-sensitive business. Rather, as usual, he seemed mostly interested in having the Judiciary Committee consider confirming judges  this time most significantly Justin Walker, Mr. McConnells protege, to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

This isnt a surprise. The majority leaders major priority for the last three years has been to confirm President Trumps judicial nominees. Most of them have ties to the Federalist Society.

Despite having served for only six months as a federal district judge in Western Kentucky, a post for which the American Bar Association rated him unqualified because of his lack of trial or litigation experience, Judge Walker, 37, will no doubt be confirmed. (The A.B.A. now says he is qualified because of his legal scholarship and analytic ability.) He would be the youngest judge seated on the appeals court in Washington since 1983.

No doubt the urgency of his confirmation grows out of his full-throated defense of Brett Kavanaugh, for whom he served as a law clerk, at the Senates Kavanaugh hearings in 2018, and Judge Walkers history in conservative legal circles, including the Federalist Society, which he joined his first year in law school.
[May 20, 2020] Numerated Launches Forgiveness Automation After Partnering with 70+ Banks to Originate 5% of Paycheck Protection Program Loans

Numerated, the financial technology company making it easy to purchase financial products from banks and credit unions, announced today it has expanded its platform to automate Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness. As of today, more than 70 banks and credit unions have used Numerated to launch digital lending for the Paycheck Protection Program, speeding approvals for $16 billion in relief funds to more than 170,000 American small businesses and their 2.2 million employees. Many small businesses that applied for Paycheck Protection Program relief funds at banks using Numerated were able to go from application start to Small Business Administration approval in as few as 10 minutes, completely digitally and often with same-day funding. These banks consistently reported being able to approve 6 to 8 times the volume of loans using Numerated than they were submitting applications through their traditional back office systems and the SBA's web portal. "As the CARES Act was being drafted, we realized our digital lending technology could bring relief to businesses across the country. We knew we could provide a fast, simple, and scalable solution for banks to get capital to their communities," said Dan O'Malley, co-founder and CEO of Numerated. "While I'd like to pause for a moment to recognize the herculean efforts of our team and the nearly 25,000 dedicated bank employees who used our platform these past several weeks, our job is not done. We're heads down partnering with more banks to automate the forgiveness component of the program." Numerated is a three year-old fintech that provides financial institutions with a digital front end for their business banking products-including digital application, digital lending and digital account opening solutions. Financial institutions using Numerated range in size from $80 million to over $150 billion in assets, and the company is partnering with many of them on forgiveness. This includes one of the top business banks in the country, $29-billion Pinnacle Bank based in Nashville, Tennessee.



"We needed to help as many businesses as possible keep their employees paid during the pandemic, so we turned to Numerated to launch a fast and simple digital experience for the Paycheck Protection Program," said Hugh Queener, Chief Administrative Officer of Pinnacle Bank. "The decision to partner with Numerated was easy, because they were unique in automating the entire end-to-end origination process. Standing up a new technology platform in a matter of days is unheard of in our industry. Thanks to our partnership, we made it happen and disbursed $2.4 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans to over 14,000 businesses in five states. Quite simply, we could not have done it without Numerated. We look forward to continuing our work together for the forgiveness phase." Without digital lending technology, financial institutions processed Paycheck Protection Program loans manually or in combination with their existing back office systems. Lenders using Numerated, however, offered borrowers a fully-digital experience while empowering their teams with end-to-end process automation-including the ability to speed and scale approvals through the platform's API integrations with data providers, e-sign platforms, and the SBA.

With funding for the Paycheck Protection Program winding down, banks are preparing for the complex forgiveness component of the program. "We developed a loan forgiveness solution that allows banks to say to their customers, 'we've made this complex process as easy as possible,'" said O'Malley. "Many banks stood up digital lending for the first time during this pandemic, and we want to ensure that same rapid, responsive service continues through to forgiveness and beyond as banks move to offer digital buying experiences across a wider set of their products." Numerated dramatically simplifies forgiveness for banks and borrowers, from pre-filling forgiveness requests and automating calculations through to digital documents and SBA validation. The solution is compatible with Paycheck Protection Program loans originated on and off its platform. To learn more about Numerated's lending and forgiveness solutions for the Paycheck Protection Program, visit go.numerated.com/ppp. About Numerated Numerated makes it easy for businesses to purchase financial products from banks and credit unions. Financial institutions using Its digital lending and sales platform create award-winning digital application, digital lending, and digital account opening experiences powered by rich data integrations and artificial intelligence. Numerated was recently recognized as "2020's Best Overall FinTech Software" by FinTech Breakthrough and "2020's Most Innovative Industry Partner" by Barlow Research. Numerated is chosen by top business banks, including Bremer Bank, Dollar Bank, Eastern Bank, MidFirst Bank, People's United Bank, Pinnacle Bank and more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005722/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Republican Jim Bognet went on Tucker Carlsons Fox News show last week to promote his candidacy for Congress in northeast Pennsylvania.

Following a standard GOP playbook, Bognet tied the districts Democratic incumbent to high-profile national Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But Bognet spent the bulk of his airtime criticizing another politician over his response to the coronavirus pandemic: Gov. Tom Wolf.

Lets open the economy back up in a safe way and stop having lectures every day from Gov. Wolf, whos been a horrible leader, Bognet said. ... Why hasnt he been talking to the business owners that are auctioning off equipment because they need to feed their family? Instead hes stuck in his office in Harrisburg. Its disgusting.

Bognet posted the interview on Facebook and paid to promote the video, which has been seen as many as 45,000 times, according to Facebook data.

Every two years, Republican congressional candidates spend millions of dollars on campaign ads portraying their opponents as puppets of Pelosi, who has led the House Democratic caucus for more than a decade and is deeply unpopular among Republicans. Theyre still doing that. But during a spring primary season overshadowed by the pandemic and the debate over reopening the economy, governors have been thrust into the national political spotlight  and, for some, into fights with Trump.

In Pennsylvania, that means Republicans have increasingly focused their ire on Wolf ahead of the June 2 primary, especially after he condemned local officials and businesses as cowardly for planning to reopen without state authorization. Wolf warned such businesses could face penalties and threatened to withhold federal coronavirus relief aid from counties that violate his stay-at-home order.

Wolf has authorized 37 of Pennsylvanias 67 counties to move to the yellow phase of his reopening plan, permitting most business to reopen. An additional 12 counties will reach that stage on Friday.

 READ MORE: When will we reopen? How Pennsylvania decides whats in the red, yellow, and green phases.

By attacking Wolf, Republicans like Bognet can signal to GOP primary voters that they are closely aligned with President Donald Trump, who during a visit to Pennsylvania last week urged Wolf to move more quickly in reopening the state. Standing with the president is paramount for Republicans in areas like Pennsylvanias 8th Congressional District, which Trump carried by almost 10 points in 2016. Northeast Pennsylvania will also be crucial to Trumps own reelection prospects in November.

Pushing for reopening isnt the focal point of competitive GOP congressional campaigns  issues like illegal immigration and Chinas handling of the pandemic are getting more attention. But especially on social media, wading into the reopening debate offers campaigns a chance to tap into anti-lockdown energy thats engaging potential voters, Republicans say.

Trumps eldest son, Donald Jr., stirred the pot last week by writing an opinion article for Breitbart News with the headline Gov. Wolf Is Threatening Pennsylvanians to Cover for His Own Failings.

The Republican base has certainly been more inclined to say lets move this along, lets have some kind of organized reopening,  said Chris Russell, a South Jersey-based GOP consultant who is advising Dean Brownings campaign in Pennsylvanias 7th District, in the Lehigh Valley.

If theres going to be any kind of wave of blowback against the governors, youre going to see it from a Republican primary voter first, Russell said.

 READ MORE: Fact-checking Trumps claim that Gov. Tom Wolf is keeping parts of Pa. closed that are barely affected by coronavirus

It remains to be seen how the strategy may work in the general election. About 7 in 10 Pennsylvania adults approve of Wolfs handling of the coronavirus outbreak, including 51% of Republicans and those who lean Republican, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted from late April to early May. In addition, 76% of adults said Pennsylvania was either handling business restrictions about right" or moving too quickly to ease them. Just 23% said the state was moving too slowly to lift restrictions.

Just 45% of Pennsylvania adults approved of Trumps handling of the outbreak, the survey found, while 54% disapproved.

For now, Wolf  a second-term Democrat who generally keeps a low profile and who, unlike some other governors, has not criticized Trump  is a popular GOP target.

These Republican candidates are in a race to the dark corners of our society, going for the vote of conspiracy theorists, COVID-19 deniers, and ReOpen protesters," said Beth Melena, a spokesperson for Wolfs political team.

So good luck to them in November, Melena said in a statement. "The vast majority of Pennsylvanians approve of the job Governor Wolf is doing because hes been a thoughtful, responsible leader protecting our health and safety during these tough times.

Browning, the Republican running in the Lehigh Valley, invoked the Constitution as he circulated a petition on social media to reopen the state.

WE THE PEOPLE of the Lehigh Valley hereby declare it time for you to reopen the State!" reads a Facebook ad paid for by his campaign.

Browning is running against businesswoman Lisa Scheller, and the winner will face Democratic Rep. Susan Wild in the general election. Trump narrowly lost the district to Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Russell, Brownings adviser, said that from late March to mid-May, there was significant movement among the GOP base to the idea that OK, this cannot continue indefinitely. The economic pain here is real and its starting to hurt people.

Youre going to see a continued embrace of this freedom argument, he said, that its time to get back, that there are certain acceptable levels of risk.

In the Bucks County-based 1st District, GOP challenger Andy Meehan has been holding rallies outside the Trump Store, a strip-mall storefront that sells Trump face masks in Bensalem. But Meehan hasnt raised enough cash to pay for much advertising in his primary campaign against incumbent Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.

Teddy Daniels, a Republican running against Bognet in the 8th District, ran a Facebook ad telling voters he was fighting for your right to earn a living."

I am standing up to liberal Governor Wolf who refuses to open up Pennsylvania, the ad says.

Parts of the district have become coronavirus hot spots. A meat-packaging plant in Hazleton temporarily closed after the virus infected almost 20% of employees, and an Amazon distribution center has also seen an outbreak.

 READ MORE: Meat inspectors are terrified their job is a coronavirus death sentence and they dont even have face masks

In another ad, Daniels posted a photo of himself attending a rally in Harrisburg to protest Wolfs stay-at-home order.

Mike Marsicano, another Republican in the race, paid for a Facebook ad last week featuring a photo of Wolf that declared: Governor Wolf Needs To Go. That ad has been seen as many as 125,000 times, according to Facebook.

And Bognet ran another ad linking to an interview he gave to Breitbart News, saying Wolf should either resign or be impeached if he doesnt open up the state quickly and safely.

The winner of the primary will face Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright.

Barney Keller, a consultant for the Bognet campaign, said Wolf had insulted business owners by saying they were selfish for planning to reopen before receiving state approval. I think Jim has earned a lot of respect from voters by standing up for them, Keller said.

Bognet, he added, was the only leading Republican who has consistently been with President Trump, and thats a message were going to be talking about in the final weeks of the campaign.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Mardika Parama (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20 2020

Communications and Information Minister Johnny G. Plate has urged digital companies to improve their cybersecurity systems following recent reports of data breaches on Indonesias largest e-commerce platforms.

The minister said on Friday that Indonesias digital economy was under attack and that companies needed to routinely increase their investments into cybersecurity.

There were large scale attacks on our digital industry recently. Im asking all companies to maintain their security systems to protect their applications and overall business, Johnny said during online digital talent event Grab Ventures Velocity, held by ride-hailing giant Grab.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Contentsquare, a Paris, France- and NYC-based provider of an experience analytics platform, raised $190m in Series D funding.

The round, which brought total funding raised to date to $310m, was led by BlackRocks Private Equity Partners team, with participation from existing investors Bpifrance (through their Large Venture fund), Eurazeo Growth, Canaan, GPE Hermes, Highland Europe, H14 and KKR, most of whom participated in this round. Sapiance Capital Limited is also providing credit to the company. In conjunction with the funding, Nathalie von Niederhaeusern from BlackRock is joining Contentsquares Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to invest in innovation, including AI- based and predictive analytics, and expand its business across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Middle East.

Led by Jonathan Cherki, Founder and CEO, Contentsquare provides a platform that analyzes customer behavior through billions of anonymous web, mobile and app interactions, in respect of data privacy laws such as EU GDPR and California CCPA, and transforms this knowledge into intelligent recommendations for users to increase revenue, engagement and growth. By integrating a set of data including content, UX, product, pricing, acquisition channel and technical performance, the platform provides insights and AI- powered recommendations for improving digital results across the entire customer journey. The solution is used by more than 700 enterprise customers such as American Express, Best Buy, Dell, Ikea, LVMH, T-Mobile, Salesforce, Sephora and Toyota.

Contentsquare now analyzes 10 trillion consumer interactions including $1.4B of eCommerce sales per day, and has over 600 people in 8 offices in Paris, Munich, London, New York, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and Singapore. In 2019, the company acquired Clicktale, an experience analytics company, and Pricing Assistant, an innovative merchandising and pricing solution.

FinSMEs

19/05/2020
The United States and Russia have the two highest numbers of cumulative, confirmed coronavirus cases in the world.



As of May 20, the United States also has the highest official death toll.



Russia, however, is ranked 19th for its reported number of coronavirus fatalities, and its statistics are increasingly under scrutiny from experts who suspect something's not quite right with Moscow's methodology.



Is the United States overcounting its coronavirus deaths? Is Russia undercounting?



Most countries around the world try to adhere to the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) for classifying coronavirus deaths: "a death due to COVID-19 may not be attributed to another disease (e.g. cancer) and should be counted independently of preexisting conditions that are suspected of triggering a severe course of COVID-19."



In other words, if a person has a heart condition, then acquires the coronavirus, and later dies, it should be classified as a coronavirus death. The same for diabetes or respiratory illnesses like pneumonia.



"When studying the pandemic, you should count as much as possible, then you can classify the cases otherwise later on," said Steven Van Gucht, a virologist at Belgium's main public health institution, Sciensano.



Experts say there is a mix of explanations why coronavirus fatality statistics vary, some a function of long-standing, institutional practices and traditions within countries, some potentially a function of politics.



According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. institution whose database on infections is considered one of the most authoritative, differences in mortality numbers can be caused by things like the number of tests performed in a population: The more testing there is, the more people with milder cases are identified, and this then lowers the ratio of cases to fatalities. Also, the older or sicker a population is, the higher mortality rates are likely to be. And each country's health-care system is a factor. The number and quality of hospitals and doctors, for example, affects how infected patients are treated and whether they recover.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- the lead government agency for health and disease responses -- says its statistics are based on numbers entered into the National Vital Statistics System, from all 50 U.S. states.



Among the statistics' shortcomings are the lag time: Several weeks can elapse before a COVID-19 death will be processed, coded, and tabulated, and then be reflected in national figures.



Call It COVID-19



In Russia, there's a more fundamental issue, with mounting evidence that the deaths of many people infected with the coronavirus have been attributed to other diseases or conditions. Yelena Malinnikova, the Health Ministry's chief of infectious diseases, argued on May 4 that the low mortality was due to testing and quick detection.

Russia has been praised for its wide national testing program, with more than 7.5 million tests conducted.



But Russia's official figures, already under scrutiny, drew more attention earlier this month when news media including The Moscow Times, The New York Times, and the Financial Times, examined preliminary fatality rates for Moscow for April, and discovered they were markedly above average. That has prompted angry denunciations from the Foreign Ministry.



Russia's WHO representative has also downplayed doubts about the country's tallies.

Mikhail Tamm, an associate professor of Moscow State University and Moscow's Higher School of Economics, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that there was a twofold discrepancy in such deaths in some Russian regions, as local agencies tally and report statistics.



In Moscow, Tamm noted, the city Department of Health said that more than 60 percent of patients infected with the coronavirus were not included in the death statistics. The coronavirus was considered only a "catalyst" for the development of other diseases.



Whether that is a deliberate political decision -- perhaps to minimize the perception that Russia is suffering disproportionately -- is an open question.



"We can say that there are several factors" in Russia's unusually low fatalities, Tamm said, "but only one of them, which the Moscow authorities openly wrote about, allows us to assess how great an understatement [it] is."



Death Rates, Death Counts



Other countries whose overall coronavirus numbers have come into question include Iran, which as recently as early April was one of the leading countries for confirmed cases. Last month, the country stopped publishing provincial figures, even as authorities noted "a rising trend or the beginning of a peak" in eight regions.



As of May 20, the country had reported 7,119 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University database, which relies on reports from countries' governments for its figures.

On the flip side are countries like Belgium, which is only seventh in the ranking of deaths, with 9,108, but instead has the world's highest fatality rate: 79.50 per 100,000 people.



By comparison, the U.S. rate is about one-third that: 27.61. Russia's is 1.88 per 100,000 people.



A Belgian government spokesman, Yves Van Laethem, earlier this month tried to dispel perceptions that the country was exceptionally ravaged by the disease. The reason is that authorities track "excess deaths" for the period that the coronavirus has been in the country.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) on Wednesday said it has received Rs 15 crore from the Uttar Pradesh government as the first tranche towards the UP Start-up Fund.

The initial corpus of the fund, set up to promote start-ups in the state, has been kept at Rs 1,000 crore.

The fund will be professionally managed by Sidbi, a release said.

"Uttar Pradesh government's 'UP Startup Fund' is the very first state fund to be operationalized. We believe this step will give a fillip to the deserving startups in the state, Sidbi's chairman and managing director Mohammad Mustafa, said in the release.

The UP Startup Fund will be in the form of Fund of Funds.

In this model, the fund will not be invested directly into startup companies, rather it will participate in Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved alternative investment funds.

Sidbi also said it has donated Rs 5 crore to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wendell Baker, 63, has been cleared for release by the Parole Board

A sex attacker who raped a pensioner in her own bedroom before leaving her tied up in a cupboard has been cleared for release after serving seven years in prison.

Wendell Baker, 63, assaulted 66-year-old Hazel Backwell in 1997 after breaking into her home in Stratford, east London, while she slept.

Ms Backwell, who died in 2002, was bound with flex before being beaten beyond recognition, raped and finally locked up while her attacker ransacked her home.

Baker initially walked free from court but was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years in 2013 after fresh evidence was unearthed.

But the Parole Board yesterday cleared the rapist for release at an oral hearing, insisting that the decision was taken with 'great care' and 'public safety' at the forefront of the panel's minds.

Walthamstow resident Baker's savage attack cut lasting psychological scars on his victim, who was robbed of happiness in her final years and 'died with a very sad a broken heart,' her family said at the time.

Ms Backwell was found by chance by neighbour George Walpole the evening after the rape, 'terrified' and thinking she was going to die.

Baker went on trial in 1999, but walked free when the judge threw out DNA evidence.

But he was hauled before court more than a decade later, in 2013, when forensic investigation found a 'one in a billion' match.

Ms Backwell, who died in 2002, was bound with flex before being beaten beyond recognition, raped and finally locked up while her attacker ransacked her home

A change in the law in 2005 allowed a person cleared of a serious offence to face retrial in certain circumstances, but when the case was reviewed in 2007, it was found that much of the evidence had been lost or destroyed.

The case was then reopened in 2009 and Jamaican-born Baker, from Walthamstow, north east London, but of no fixed address, was arrested in 2011.

He was once again brought to trial, under the new double jeopardy laws, and found guilty by a unanimous jury.

The judge ordered Baker spend 10 and a half years behind bars, but this was later reduced by two years, making him eligible for parole last week.

A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Wendell Baker following an oral hearing.

'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public after release and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

'The panel will have carefully looked at a whole range of evidence, including details of the original case, and any evidence of behaviour change.

'We do that with great care and public safety is our number one priority.'
A pharmacist displaying a box of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) tablets in his store in Hyderabad, India, on April 28, 2020. (Noah Seelam/AFP via Getty Images)

Taking Hydroxychloroquine Ultimately a Decision Between a Patient and Their Doctor: FDA

A day after President Donald Trump admitted to taking a regimen of hydroxychloroquine and zinc to lower his COVID-19 risk, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appeared to soften its stance on widespread use of the anti-malarial drug, saying the decision should be made by a patient and their doctor.

The decision to take any drug is ultimately a decision between a patient and their doctor, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told The Hill in a statement on Tuesday. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are already FDA-approved for treating malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The FDA last month cautioned against using hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, outside hospital or ongoing clinical trial because of sometimes-fatal side effects. The agency said the drug can cause abnormal heart rhythms or create a rapid heart rate.

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can cause abnormal heart rhythms such as QT interval prolongation and a dangerously rapid heart rate called ventricular tachycardia, the FDA said in an April 24 statement.

Therefore, we would like to remind health care professionals and patients of the known risks associated with both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. We will continue to investigate risks associated with the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 and communicate publicly when we have more information.

Regulators issued the alert, in part, based on increased reports of dangerous side effects called in to U.S. poison control centers.

Calls to centers involving hydroxychloroquine increased last month to 96, compared with 49 in April 2019, according to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers provided to The Associated Press. It was the second month of elevated reports involving the drug, following 79 calls in March. The problems reported included abnormal heart rhythms, seizures, nausea, and vomiting.

The presidents physician, Sean Conley, confirmed Monday in a letter released by the White House that he and Trump decided that he should take the drug as the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.

Conley did not disclose in his letter how long the president had been taking the drug for, or what his current dosage is.

President Donald Trump speaks about the food supply chain during the CCP virus pandemic, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 19, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Just hours earlier, Trump said during a roundtable event at the White House that he had been taking hydroxychloroquine daily as a preventative measure for about a week and a half.

The drug, which has been on the market for decades, has been touted by Trump as a possible treatment in fighting the CCP virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged last year in Wuhan, China.

I happen to be taking it, Trump told reporters Monday. A lot of good things have come out. Youd be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers.

Conley noted that two weeks ago, White House staff had tested positive for COVID-19. On May 8, Vice President Mike Pences press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus.

Both Pence and Trump were subsequently tested for the virus, and both were cleared.

The president is in very good health and has remained symptom-free, Pence wrote. He receives regular COVID-19 testing, all negative to date.

Trump said he consulted Conley on taking the drug to the president, after which Conley did not object to prescribing it.

In consultation with our inter-agency partners and subject matter experts around the country, I continue to monitor the myriad studies investigating potential COVID-19 therapies, and I anticipate employing the same shared medical decision-making based on the evidence at hand in the future, the presidential physician added.

There have been several clinical trials to see whether the drug is effective in fighting the virus. A recent study conducted by New York Universitys School of Medicine found that a combination of hydroxychloroquine and zinc has been effective in some virus patients.

And a new trial evaluating the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin against the virus has started, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House pandemic task force, announced last week.

The president defended his use of the drug on Tuesday, after medical experts raised concerns that his announced use of the drug against COVID-19 could spark wide misuse by Americans.

What has been determined is it doesnt harm you. Very powerful drug, I guess, but it doesnt harm you, he said. Ive had no impact from it.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at the White House that she had spoken with the FDAs Hahn about hydroxychloroquine.

He told me that it has a good safety profile but should always be prescribed in the context of a doctor prescribing it to their patient, so that is ultimately how the decision should be made, McEnany said Tuesday. Its ultimately how President Trump made his decision.

Jack Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MCS (MyCoinStory), the next-generation Bitcoin perpetual contract trading platform, announced the Jackpot Bitcoin Deposit Event until this August 27. The event offers a bonus of up to 30% of the deposit amount, and anyone can in two ways. 10% of every deposited amount is given to the depositor as a bonus that can be used for trading during the event. Also, a bonus of up to 20% of the deposit amount 
NEW DELHI - One of the most powerful cyclones in decades slammed into low-lying coastal areas of India and Bangladesh on Wednesday, marking its path with destruction and leaving at least 14 dead, according to local officials.

Cyclone Amphan snapped power lines, blew roofs off buildings, destroyed crops and uprooted trees after making landfall. It brought lashing winds of up to 115 mph and surging waters as high as 16 feet.

The storm - which had been classified as a "super cyclone" - weakened as it approached land but remained an extremely potent storm, with the capacity to inflict enormous damage.

Four people were reported killed in Bangladesh as of Wednesday evening, including a 5-year-old boy and a 75-year-old man who were struck by falling trees, as well as a volunteer who drowned while helping people to evacuate, police said.

Nearly 3 million people evacuated their homes and moved to shelters as the storm barreled toward the coast, according to authorities in the two countries. Both India and Bangladesh are grappling with rising numbers of novel coronavirus infections, and some evacuees had expressed misgivings about spending hours in close quarters in emergency shelters because of the possibility of contagion.

Some of the worst damage appears to have occurred in the vast delta of three rivers that sits at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal where India and Bangladesh meet, an area that is home to mangrove forests and tigers.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal, said two districts in the delta had been ravaged by the storm, with homes and crops destroyed, communications snapped, power cut and bridges unusable.

Banerjee told reporters that at least 10 people in the state had died, according to the Indian Express newspaper. The storm is a "disaster bigger than covid-19," she said.

As the storm came ashore, millions were plunged into darkness. In the eastern Indian state of Odisha, more than 3 million people were without electricity, according to an update from a disaster relief official. There were also reports of power outages in parts of Kolkata, one of India's largest cities, which was directly in the path of the storm.

Kolkata, whose metropolitan area is home to nearly 15 million people, experienced torrential rain driven by winds of up to 70 mph. Officials there had urged residents to stay at home.

Cyclones - the tropical equivalent of hurricanes - are becoming increasingly common in the waters off India's eastern coast, a phenomenon that some experts say could be linked to rising ocean temperatures. In each of the past two years, there was an "above normal" number of cyclones, the Indian government said.

The region has witnessed some of the world's deadliest storms, including a cyclone in 1999 that killed 10,000 people in India. A cyclone in 1970 left half a million dead in Bangladesh.

Both India and Bangladesh have invested in a system of emergency shelters that has allowed them to weather several major cyclones in recent years with comparatively fewer deaths than in the past. Cyclone Amphan marks a crucial test for the two countries.

Of particular worry is the cyclone's devastating storm surge.

Waters were expected to rise as much as 16 feet higher than normal tides, causing potentially deadly flooding and destruction up to 10 miles from the coast. Indian authorities predicted extensive damage to dwellings with thatched roofs and to electricity poles and communications infrastructure. They also cited the danger from flying objects in the high winds.

Images from the coast of Odisha and West Bengal on Wednesday showed driving rain, howling winds and toppled trees as the storm neared land. Authorities in Odisha were investigating a report that an infant died when a mud wall collapsed due to heavy rain, said Pradeep Jena, a senior government official overseeing the relief effort.
This might be as good as it gets for Tsai Ing-wen.

Tsai is riding high as she starts to her second term as Taiwans president Wednesday in Taipei. Besides a record approval rating and a so-far successful effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Tsai has benefited from an upswing of support from the US and its allies.

The next four years could be more challenging for Tsai, 63, as the democratically ruled island finds itself at the center of an increasingly fraught relationship between its giant neighbor China and the US. Taiwans export-dependent economy also faces the risk of its first recession in more than a decade as overseas demand collapses.

Tsai is slated to lay out her agenda for give a speech at 10 a.m. local time after an inauguration ceremony pared down to prevent another coronavirus surge. Shell pledge to build core industries including 5G and other information and communication technologies, bio-technology, medicine, defense and renewable energy, the Taipei-based Liberty Times reported Wednesday, without saying where it got the information. Shes also expected to maintain her opposition to unification with China, stressing democracy and dialogue in dealing with Beijing.

Taiwans relationship with the US will continue to warm up as the US-China relationship continues to break down, Stephen Tan, president of the Taipei-based Cross-Strait Policy Association, said via telephone. As long as the US-China relationship remains tense, cross-strait ties wont improve. All Taiwan can do, and Tsai is expected to do, is to avoid being provocative and changing the status quo, but also not giving in.

High Point

The event marks another historic high point for Tsais Democratic Progressive Party, which has grown over the past four decades from a loose band of pro-independence dissidents to become Taiwans dominant political bloc. A landslide election victory in January reaffirmed the DPPs control of the executive and legislative branches and left the Kuomintang -- who ruled Taiwan for much of the time since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 -- stuck in the opposition.

Tsai begins her second term with an approval rating of 61%, the highest since she took office in May 2016, according to a survey by broadcaster TVBS released Monday.

The DPPs rise has upended efforts to by Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his countrys economic might to draw Taiwan toward a unification deal. Tsai, who views Taiwan as a sovereign nation, was expected to repeat her rejection of Xis bottom line that both sides belong to one-China.

Beijing has given up on hoping for demonstrations of sincerity from Tsai -- partly because they set the bar too high and partly because they dont believe she is sincere anyway, said Jonathan Sullivan, director of China programs at the University of Nottingham. None of the moderation that Tsai has shown has been good enough to negate the preordained opinion in Beijing that she is an independence wolf in status-quo sheeps clothing.

In her first term, Tsai repeatedly benefited from Donald Trumps feuding with China, holding an unprecedented phone call with the US president in December 2016 and securing Taiwans first American fighter jet deal in three decades. Tsais support for pro-democracy protests in the former British colony of Hong Kong last year helped her consolidate her China-skeptic base and secure re-election.

The Trump administration threw its weigh behind an international campaign to grant Taiwan access to the World Health Assembly earlier this week. And while the attempt ultimately failed, it highlighted the lengths to which the US was willing to go to back a greater international role for Taiwan.

Since Tsai came into office in 2016, Beijing has persuaded seven former Taiwanese allies to switch ties to the Peoples Republic of China. Taiwan is now officially recognized by just 15 countries, mostly small states in Latin America and the Pacific. Tsai has also made little progress in securing a bilateral trade deal with the US

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo congratulated Tsai in a statement Tuesday, saying America has long considered Taiwan a force for good in the world and a reliable partner. The two sides have a shared vision for the region -- one that includes rule of law, transparency, prosperity and security for all, he said.

Higher Stakes

The stakes for Tsai could rise in her second term, as disputes between Washington and Beijing prompt predictions that the two sides are headed toward a new cold war. While Tsai had so far avoided any moves that might prompt an aggressive response by Beijing, she may face greater demands from the DPPs pro-independence wing after its recent electoral success.

One figure to watch is Tsais incoming vice president, Lai Ching-te. Lai, a former premier who has described himself as an independence worker, is a much more outspoken advocate for a formal break from China than either Tsai or his predecessor, Vice President Chen Chien-jen.

Tsais speech comes just two days before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is scheduled to deliver his annual report to the National Peoples Congress in Beijing, a platform that Chinese leaders have often used to deliver pointed message to Taiwan. Last year, Li vowed that China would resolutely oppose and deter any separatist schemes or activities seeking Taiwanese independence.

Beijing will continue to employ a mix of its carrots and sticks approach with Taiwan, but with an emphasis on the latter, said Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute. Indeed, most indicators point to China ratcheting up its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan.

Although Taiwan has avoided a coronavirus outbreak like those in China or South Korea, Tsai faces many of the same economic concerns as Taiwans neighbors. Growth in the first quarter cooled to the slowest pace since 2016, an increasing number of economists forecast the economys first contraction since 2009.

And Taiwans companies could also suffer collateral damage from Trumps efforts to push back against Chinese influence, such as new US rules barring any chipmaker using American equipment from supplying Huawei Technologies Co. Taiwans biggest company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., gets an estimated 14% of its revenue from Huawei.

In the next four years, Taiwan faces a variety of threats from China and some from the United States, said Ashley Feng, a research associate with the Center for a New American Security. Opportunities for China and Taiwan to cooperate over the next four years are limited and shrinking.
President Donald Trump has tweeted his heartfelt congratulations to his youngest daughter Tiffany after she graduated from Georgetown Law  while joking that having a lawyer in the family is 'just what he needs'.

The 73-year-old took a break from posting about national issues and affairs in order to pay tribute to his 26-year-old daughter, who graduated from the prestigious school over the weekend in an online ceremony.

'Congratulations to my daughter, Tiffany, on graduating from Georgetown Law,' Trump wrote, adding: 'Great student, great school. Just what I need is a lawyer in the family. Proud of you Tiff!'

Proud dad: President Donald Trump has tweeted his congratulations to daughter Tiffany after she graduated from Georgetown Law over the weekend

Tribute: The 73-year-old praised Tiffany, 26, as a 'great student' in his tweet, and joked that having a lawyer in the family is 'just what he needs'

His joke about needing a lawyer comes just a few weeks after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, was reportedly denied a promised early release from prison, where he is currently serving a three-year criminal sentence.

Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion, campaign finance violations, and making false financial statements in August 2018.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) had previously informed Cohen that he would be getting out of the federal minimum security prison in Otistville, New York, early due to the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyers said.

However, on May 1, it was revealed that his early release had been halted  just after reports that Trump Organization lawyer Charles Harder wrote to Cohen to assert that his non-disclosure agreement prohibits him from writing a tell-all memoir as he is intending.

When asked at the time whether President Trump intervened to stop Cohen's release, new White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany replied, 'No, absolutely not.'

The president's tweet congratulating his daughter was posted just days after the law school grad celebrated the end of her three years at Georgetown, where she began studying in the fall of 2017 after taking a year off following her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016.

Next steps: Tiffany, pictured earlier this year, has given little insight into her plans after law school  however, she needs to pass the bar exam before she officially becomes a lawyer

Looking ahead: In 2016, Tiffany hinted that she might be interested in joining the Trump Organization in the future, although she has not given any more detail about her plans

Though Tiffany wasn't able to receive her diploma in person due to the pandemic, she still celebrated her achievement on Instagram this weekend - and was congratulated by her billionaire boyfriend Michael Boulos.

But while the President and first daughter are taking this time to celebrate, Tiffany still has one important step left before actually becoming a lawyer: passing the bar exam.

Typically, this would next be held in July, but many states are delaying the exam until the fall due to the pandemic.

After Tiffany passes the test, it's anyone's guess as to Tiffany's future plans, as she certainly has numerous options available to her  and is known for being tight-lipped about her life.

It's not even known where the first daughter will choose to settle down. While she could stay in the D.C. area near her father and older sister Ivanka, she may also move to New York to be near her mother, Marla Maples.

Tiffany already has an apartment in New York City, which her dad purchased for her after her graduation from Penn.

What it might have looked like: Tiffany's ceremony was held online, but a fan account shared this image edited to show what she'd would look like in her graduation robes

Something different: Classes had moved online in March. Tiffany now has to take the bar exam to officially be a lawyer

Or she may not live near family at all. Her boyfriend is based in London, and Tiffany could decide to move across the pond to live with him, or at least nearby.

Tiffany shared a video that Georgetown created for its law graduates, writing: 'Congratulations to my fellow Georgetown Law's Class of 2020! We did it!'

There are quite a few career tracks she could take, too, as there are many ways to practice law.

She may not practice law at all, though, and might opt to put her education to use in a different way, perhaps following in her sister Ivanka's footsteps and working for her father in the White House, or taking on a role in his company.

Until now, the first daughter has provided few clues as to her future plans, avoiding the press and posting sparingly on social media.

Ahead of her first year at Georgetown, she hinted to Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos that she might join The Trump Organization after getting her law degree.

'Of course, I'm interested. I'm applying to law school though so I like to bring  a different kind [of] skill set to the company,' she said.

Back in September, she marked her first day of her last year at the institution with a photo outside  a photo that would be tricky to recreate now due to the pandemic.

Georgetown Law moved to virtual learning on March 16, with classes meeting online at their normally scheduled day and time.

The beginning: Back in September of 2017, Tiffany had proudly showed off her study setup as she began her first year

On Instagram on Sunday, Tiffany shared a video that Georgetown created for its law graduates, writing: 'Congratulations to my fellow Georgetown Law's Class of 2020!

'We did it! We are now #Georgetownlawyers,' she added.

Her boyfriend, billionaire heir Michael Boulos, also congratulated her on the social media.

'Congratulates Tiffy!' he wrote. 'You've come a long way to get to this point and after all the hard work and sleepless nights, you more than deserve it, it's only the beginning now, love you honey and congrats again!'

According to the Georgetown Law website, the university held a ceremonial degree conferral on Saturday, and on Sunday paid tribute to graduates with a celebratory video.

Degrees will actually be conferred on June 4.

The school also promised to hold a future event for the students to 'come together safely to celebrate the Class of 2020' in person.

Flashback: Tiffany was able to don her cap and gown when she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016

Looks different now: Her whole family turned up to celebrate her that day four years ago, but were unable to do so this time due to the pandemic

Earlier this month, Tiffany's mom Marla revealed that Tiffany had finished her final law school exam while sharing a photo of the flowers her daughter had given her for Mother's Day.

'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 was visible in the photo, and in the note, she expressed how she wished 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].'

Marla admitted in February that she can't wait for Tiffany to officially be finished with law school, explaining during an appearance on Carlos & Lisa show on BeondTV that Tiffany is always telling her that she is 'studying'  so she was looking forward to when her daughter was done so she could 'see more of her.'
NEW DELHI (AP)  A powerful cyclone was moving toward India and Bangladesh on Tuesday as authorities tried to evacuate millions of people while maintaining social distancing.

Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall on Wednesday afternoon, and forecasters warned of extensive damage from high winds, heavy rainfall, tidal waves and some flooding in crowded cities like Kolkata.

The cyclone had winds of 220-230 kilometers per hour (136-142 miles per hour) and is forecast to weaken before it makes landfall around Indias West Bengal state and Bangladesh.

It is the second super cyclone on record that has formed over the Bay of Bengal, said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Indias meteorological chief. The first was a devastating 1999 cyclone in Odisha state that left nearly 10,000 people dead.

This type of cyclone can be disastrous, Mohapatra said.

Videos and photos from India and Bangladesh showed families near the coast or in other flood-prone areas being evacuated to cyclone shelters. Some carried bags with their belongings, and all had their faces covered to protect against the virus. Officials went from village to village with loudspeakers warning people of the storm.

Evacuations are necessary, warned Mohapatra, pointing out that tidal waves could move 25 kilometers (15 miles) inland along the many rivers that crisscross the Bengal delta.

Authorities in Bangladesh warned that the cyclone could flood vast swaths of southwestern and southern areas. Junior Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman said more than 50,000 people had already been evacuated in Satkhira district, which was devastated by a 2009 cyclone.

Masks and other safety equipment to guard against the coronavirus were being distributed to the evacuated people, he said.

Rahman said he ordered local authorities to prepare thousands of shelters to protect up to 2.2 million people.

Authorities suspended all river transport, including ferry service, across the delta nation, crisscrossed by more than 130 rivers.

Story continues

Amphan's winds were whirling as far as 700 kilometers (435 miles) from its eye as it approached land. It is forecast to pass between the seaside resort town of Digha in Indias West Bengal state and Hatiya Island in Bangladesh with a weaker wind speed of 165 to 175 kph (102-108 mph).

Several districts in West Bengal will feel the brunt of the storm, Mohapatra said. Flooding is a risk in Kolkata due to crowding and poor drainage, and the storm surge could raise river levels in the Bengal delta, he said.

Fishing trawlers and boats in the Bay of Bengal have been told to take shelter until further notice.

After reaching land, the cyclone is expected to move away fast and weaken by Thursday.

The eye of the storm is likely to pass through the Sunderban mangrove forests, one of the largest tracts of mangroves in the world. They are likely to absorb some of the impact, officials said.

Debasis Shyamal, a fisherman in Digha, said evacuations had yet to start, but people were staying indoors.

We are mentally prepared for the cyclone, but there are some concerns about social distancing, he said.

___

Alam reported from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Associated Press writer Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi contributed to this report.
One of Western Australia's worst pedophiles has a girlfriend in the Philippines who hopes to get a visa so she can be with him, a court has heard, but he was 'a bit' embarrassed initially to tell her about his past.

Michael Alexander McGarry, 59, is serving an indefinite jail sentence after being declared a dangerous sex offender in 2009 for repeatedly abusing young girls.

He was also handed a 12 month sentence in the District Court of WA on Wednesday for twice inciting a young female relative to engage in sexual behaviour with another relative in the 1980s, and masturbating while they complied on one occasion in a park.

McGarry was made eligible for parole, although Judge Wendy Gillan acknowledged it 'may well not have any practical effect' on his total time behind bars.

Michael Alexander McGarry, 59, is serving an indefinite jail sentence after being declared a dangerous sex offender in 2009 for repeatedly abusing young girls

The court heard the father-of-six, who also has numerous grandchildren, was introduced by a family member to the Filipino woman about five years ago and had developed 'an emotional relationship' with her via Skype, but they had not yet met physically.

'He said it was a bit embarrassing at first to disclose his past to his partner, but he sent all the material to her so that she can peruse it without him putting the gloss (in) if he were to verbally inform her of his offending,' McGarry's lawyer Patti Chong said.

The woman had 'developed' support for McGarry, Ms Chong said, and he sent her money, including for her adult daughter's education.

McGarry was made eligible for parole, although Judge Wendy Gillan acknowledged it 'may well not have any practical effect' on his total time behind bars

'His partner is hoping to get a visa to come to Western Australia to be with the offender,' Ms Chong said.

'He's resolved never to reoffend if he's ever released. He says ... he's sick of his past life and recognises that unless he adheres to conditions and supervision requirements and treatment plan if he's released, he will probably die in prison.

'The new family has given him much hope that he will be able to lead a crime-free life and be able to comply with any orders.'

McGarry's next DSO review was scheduled for February, but will be pushed back as a result of his latest sentence.
Angela Paljor By

Express News Service

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a slew of relaxations for the fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown, but the shutters of barbershops, spas and salons are to remain closed in the national capital.



With almost all industries already hit badly by the lockdown, this comes as yet another blow for the beauty and make-up industry.

Blown dry

While this announcement was being made, the sanitisation team of Lucullan Studios at GK I was cleaning the premises and the equipment. Director Neha Sharma said they were ready to open shop; PPE kits, masks, gloves, and face shields had been ordered; and the special roster was in place for the employees, though she was hesitant whether its the right time to start operations.

There was no mention of any restrictions for salons, spas and barbershops in the MHA guidelines.

Even Germany opened its salons on May 4 under strict conditions, after the coronavirus forced them to shut their doors for six weeks. But here, we have to wait for another 15 days or more, for who knows what might come next. Even if we start operations, we cant check whether our employees will come from containment zones. No matter how many precautions you take, both employees and customers are at risk, says Sharma.

While the industry is no doubt hit, keeping the shutters closed will directly affect the livelihood of many.

The salons have already suffered a huge loss and with it the livelihood of those associated with the industry is at stake, says Agrika Kalra, founder Luxury Salon & Academy in Shalimar Bagh East.

Jageshwar Thakur, who used to run a barbershop since 2001 under a tree in Vasant Vihar, says, I have been sitting idle at home throughout the lockdown. In between, I got request calls from my customers living nearby for a hair cut or shave. If they insist too much, I take my bicycle to their homes with my equipment and safety gear like mask, gloves and sanitiser to provide them the service. I have exhausted my savings on the expenses. We are a family of six and it is becoming difficult for us to survive.

Celebrity make-up expert Aashmeen Munjaal says this announcement is a big blow to hairdressers, beauticians, many who belong to small families.

They dont have big investments to keep them going. But now its getting tough for the owners as well. With us not earning at all, we can only support the staff for a few months. However, whatever the government is doing is for our welfare, says Munjaal, who calls for the need to work as per the guidelines given by the government.

As a hairstylist, Mayank Narang has his priorities set.

I have always given first priority to hygiene when I offer my services to my clients. And now, with the need to be hygienic is so high, we service providers should be equipped with hygiene gadgets like mask, gloves, shoe covers, sanitising spray, etc, says Narang.

Suggestions & solutions

Shahnaz Husain, founder, chairperson and managing director of The Shahnaz Husain Group, adds,

Last couple of months have been particularly tough on our business. Having said that, we fully understand the reasons behind this decision and fervently hope the scenario will improve in a few months. However, even after the restrictions are eased, salons and barbershops will have to adhere to the strict hygiene and safety guidelines laid down by the government of India, given the nature of our business, which involves close contact with clients. Regaining consumer trust will be a challenge. Going forward, use of gloves, sanitisers, masks and social distancing will be an essential part of our safety procedures.

Dr Blossom Kochhar, Founder of Blossom Kochhar Aroma Magic & Chairperson of Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies, calls for the opening of the business.

Open the businesses in a very systematic way. The work must resume for people to know and put into practice of doing things correctly, says Kochhar, who, being the Co-Chairperson of the Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council, has along with the other representatives submitted a list of guidelines to the government for the salons to follow to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Various aspects need to be considered when opening a salon, such as restricting cross-contamination by using disposables and also separate equipment for each client besides sanitising literally everything in a salon, says Kochhar, adding, The clients should be allowed in a salon through appointments and only a limited number of people should be allowed in a given space at a time. There must be enough time in between appointments so the place and equipment are sanitised. Masks and PPEs should become the new ordinary, thorough checkup of the clients health before they enter the salon, and many such guidelines have been submitted. If people follow such guidelines and adhere to the rules, running the salon business in such times is very much doable.

Proposed guidelines

Clients should be allowed in a salon through appointments, and only a limited number of people should be allowed at a time.

There must be a time in between appointments so the place and equipment are sanitised.

Masks and PPEs should become the new ordinary, and a thorough checkup of every client must be done before they enter the salon.

(With inputs from Nikita Sharma)
Studying bacteria in a petri dish or test tube has yielded insights into how they function and, in some cases, contribute to disease. But this approach leaves out crucial details about how bacteria act in the real world.

Taking a translational approach, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology imaged the bacteria that cause tooth decay in three dimensions in their natural environment, the sticky biofilm known as dental plaque formed on toddlers' teeth that were affected by cavities.

The work, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that Streptococcus mutans, a major bacterial species responsible for tooth decay, is encased in a protective multilayered community of other bacteria and polymers forming a unique spatial organization associated with the location of the disease onset.

"We started with these clinical samples, extracted teeth from children with severe tooth decay," says Hyun (Michel) Koo of Penn Dental Medicine, a co-senior author on the work. "The question that popped in our minds was, how these bacteria are organized and whether their specific architecture can tell us about the disease they cause?"

To address this question, the researchers, including lead author Dongyeop Kim of Penn Dental Medicine and co-senior author Marvin Whiteley of Georgia Tech, used a combination of super-resolution confocal and scanning electron microscopy with computational analysis to dissect the arrangement of S. mutans and other microbes of the intact biofilm on the teeth. These techniques allowed the team to examine the biofilm layer by layer, gaining a three-dimensional picture of the specific architectures.

This approach, of understanding the locations and patterns of bacteria, is one that Whiteley has pursued in other diseases.

advertisement

"It's clear that identifying the constituents of the human microbiome is not enough to understand their impact on human health," Whiteley says. "We also have to know how they are spatially organized. This is largely under studied as obtaining intact samples that maintain spatial structure is difficult."

In the current work, the researchers discovered that S. mutans in dental plaque most often appeared in a particular fashion: arranged in a mound against the tooth's surface. But it wasn't alone. While S. mutans formed the inner core of the rotund architecture, other commensal bacteria, such as S. oralis, formed additional outer layers precisely arranged in a crownlike structure. Supporting and separating these layers was an extracellular scaffold made of sugars produced by S. mutans, effectively encasing and protecting the disease-causing bacteria.

"We found this highly ordered community with a dense accumulation of S. mutans in the middle surrounded by these 'halos' of different bacteria, and wondered how this could cause tooth decay," Koo says. "

To learn more about how structure impacted the function of the biofilm, the research team attempted to recreate the natural plaque formations on a toothlike surface in the lab using S. mutans, S. oralis, and a sugar solution. They successfully grew rotund-shaped architecture and then measured levels of acid and demineralization associated with them.

"What we discovered, and what was exciting for us, is that the rotund areas perfectly matched with the demineralized and high acid levels on the enamel surface," says Koo. "This mirrors what clinicians see when they find dental caries: punctuated areas of decalcification known as 'white spots.' The domelike structure could explain how cavities get their start."

In a final set of experiments, the team put the rotund community to the test, applying an antimicrobial treatment and observing how the bacteria fared. When the rotund structures were intact, the S. mutans in the inner core largely avoided dying from the antimicrobial treatment. Only breaking up the scaffolding material holding the outer layers together enabled the antimicrobial to penetrate and effectively kill the cavity-causing bacteria.

advertisement

The study's findings may help researcher more effectively target the pathogenic core of dental biofilms but also have implications for other fields.

"It demonstrates that the spatial structure of the microbiome may mediate function and the disease outcome, which could be applicable to other medical fields dealing with polymicrobial infections," says Koo.

"It's not just which pathogens are there but how they're structured that tells you about the disease that they cause," adds Whiteley. "Bacteria are highly social creatures and have friends and enemies that dictate their behaviors."

The field of microbial biogeography is young, the researchers say, but extending this demonstration that links community structure with disease onset opens up a vast array of possibilities for future medically relevant insights.

Dongyeop Kim was a research associate at Penn's School of Dental Medicine's Department of Orthodontics and is now an assistant professor at the Jeonbuk National University (Korea).

Hyun (Michel) Koo is a professor in Penn's School of Dental Medicine's Department of Orthodontics in the divisions of Community Oral Health and Pediatric Dentistry.

Marvin Whiteley is a professor of biological sciences, the Georgia Tech Bennie H. and Nelson D. Abell Chair in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar co-director in Emory-Children's CF Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Koo, Kim, and Whiteley's coauthors were Penn Dental Medicine's Rodrigo A. Arthur, Yuan Liu, Elizabeth L. Scisci, and Evlambia Hajishengallis; Georgia Tech's Juan P. Barraza; and Indiana University's Anderson Hara and Karl Lewis.

The work was supported in part by the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (grants DE025220, DE018023, DE020100, and DE023193).
(Newser)  Raids on clandestine labs in Myanmar resulted in drug seizures that were "truly off the charts," authorities say. AFP reports that the raids on dozens of labs in remote Shan state between February and April unearthed hundreds of pounds of heroin and raw opium, along with the largest quantities of synthetic drugs ever seized in Southeast Asia. More than 1,100 pounds of crystal methamphetamine was seized, along with 200 million methamphetamine tablets. But authorities say the most disturbing find was nearly a thousand gallons of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid linked to tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the US alone. Investigators believe production of synthetic drugs has flourished in the area following a crackdown in China.

story continues below

"Organized crime and drug syndicates look for business environments where theres government dysfunction or limited government control, as well as easy access to the chemicals," says Jeremy Douglas, the regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Southeast Asia. "Shan State hits every mark." Counternarcotics officials say this is by far the largest fentanyl find ever made in the region, which already dominates meth production. Authorities believe the fentanyl was likely destined for the US, which is the biggest market for the drug, the New York Times reports. Douglas warns that Asian crime syndicates might see the coronavirus "as a business opportunity to move in on Mexican syndicates" and take over the North American market. (Read more fentanyl stories.)
The first Air India aircraft carrying Canadians of Indian origin back to the country landed at Vancouver International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. The flight will return to New Delhi on Wednesday night as the first-ever rescue mission for Indians stranded in Canada due to the Covid-19 pandemic begins.

Describing the flights arrival as a historic first, Indias Consulate in Vancouver in British Columbia said the repatriation flight will commence on May 20.

Indias High Commissioner to Ottawa Ajay Bisaria tweeted that he was delighted to welcome the first Vande Bharat Mission flight to Canada. He added that the flight was full as it also brought Indo-Canadians home. Hope to bring every citizen home in these and future flights, he said.

Delighted to welcome first @airindiain special flight in Canada this morn. It came full. First ever rescue mission for Indians in Cda starts from #Vancouver tomorrow. Hope to bring every citizen home in these and future flights. Thanks @cgivancouver, working round the clock. https://t.co/rImuGGjtwx  Ajay Bisaria (@Ajaybis) May 19, 2020

Family members of some of those who arrived in Vancouver thanked the Indian Government and Air India for the flight. Gobind Shergill tweeted that his wife had arrived, and that she was very impressed by all the safety measures taken by all authorities.

The Vande Bharat Mission is the Indian governments repatriation programme to bring back Indians stranded abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are nearly three lakh Indians in Canada, according to estimates, and the five Air India flights that have been scheduled from Vancouver and Toronto will take more than 1400 of those with compelling reasons back to India.

The flight from Vancouver will cover Delhi and Amritsar. It will be followed by flights from Toronto on May 21 and 22 that will take passengers to Delhi and Amritsar, and Bengaluru and Hyderabad, respectively. On May 24, another flight will depart from Vancouver for Bengaluru and Hyderabad, while the last planned trip, from Toronto on May 25, will go to Ahmedabad and Jaipur.

Passengers arriving in Canada are expected to enter mandatory self-isolation for a period of 14 days, and those returning to India will also be placed in quarantine for that period and then tested for Covid-19.
Cyclone Amphan roared into West Bengal around 20km east of Sagar Island in the Sunderbans on Wednesday, packing winds gusting to a top speed of 185 kmph, triggering torrential rain and leaving a trail of devastation across a wide swath of the state, from deltaic regions to the urban neighbourhoods of Kolkata.

Amphan, the most severe storm in the Bay of Bengal since the Odisha super cyclone of 1999, made landfall between 3.30pm and 5.30pm, flattening houses, uprooting trees and electric pylons, causing rivers to swell and breach their embankments, and killing at least three people in two states according to initial reports.

Two women died in West Bengal; both crushed by falling trees in Howrah district and in the Minakhan area of North 24 Parganas. Earlier in the day, a two-month-old baby was killed in a wall collapse on Wednesday morning after heavy overnight rains in neighbouring Odishas Bhadrak district.

Its an intense and devastating storm. It is a multi-hazard scenario with heavy rain, strong winds and tidal surge all at the same time. It must have inundated large areas, said M Mohapatra, director general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

At least 658,000 people were evacuated in West Bengal and Odisha before the cyclone struck.

The destruction may be massive, which cannot be assessed at the moment, as the storm will remain in West Bengal as a cyclone until Thursday morning. It crossed the state and Bangladesh coasts by 7pm on Wednesday and moved north-northeastwards, IMD said in a bulletin.

The losses will be at three levels  loss to life and property because the storm was tremendous; loss to basic infrastructure, which will take months to leap back to normalcy, and thirdly, loss to livelihoods due to saline water intrusion and large-scale inundation. I have received reports of embankment breaks from Sagar Island, Ramganga, Hingalganj and a few other places. Many embankments are seeing overtopping of water because the rivers have swelled up, these will break in days, said Tuhin Ghosh, director of the School of Oceanographic Studies at Jadavpur University.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said a task force constituted to assess the damage will meet on Thursday. She advised people in shelter homes not to step out for the next 12 days, saying there has been a huge devastation. Bridges and embankments in the Sunderbans have been damaged, she said.

Described by weather scientists as a very severe cyclonic storm bordering on an extremely severe cyclonic storm, Amphan packed winds with a speed of 155 to 165 kmph, gusting to 185 kmph. A storm is described as an extremely severe cyclone when wind speeds reach between 167 and 221 kmph. A super cyclone of the 1999 Odisha kind, which killed 9,000 people, packs a wind velocity of more than 222 kmph.

If you consider Amphans intensity during its lifetime, then it is the most intense since the 1999 super cyclone. But the 1999 cyclone made landfall as a super cyclone; this one weakened marginally during landfall, said Mohapatra.

IMD had forecast a storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above the astronomical tide that was expected to inundate low- lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and parts of East Midnapore district during landfall. Extremely strong winds of 100 to 120 kmph lashed Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, according to IMD.

Experts said residents of the deltaic areas of the Sunderbans could face an impact on their livelihoods for years to come because of large-scale inundation and saline water intrusion onto their lands.

Saline intrusion will make soil infertile and damage crops. The soil may not be suitable for agriculture for three to five years. After cyclone Aila (in 2009), there a layer of salt had settled on the soil, Ghosh added.

Meteorologists and climate scientists had said on Monday the intensity of Amphan was 145 knots or 270 kmph. The wind speed makes it the strongest cyclone ever in Bay of Bengal, passing the 1999 Odisha cyclones wind speed of 260 kmph, tweeted meteorologist Eric Holthous, based on data from the US-based Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, said the Bay of Bengal recorded sea surface temperature of 32 to 34 degrees Celsius prior to the formation of cyclone Amphan. Record warming of the ocean surface may have led to very rapid intensification of Amphan from a category 1 to category 5 cyclone in just 18 hours.

Subol Maity, a resident of Rakshas Khali in South 24 Parganas, said thousands of mud-brick houses had been razed and that his family had lost everything   our farms, our homes, our cattle. I dont think there is anything left to survive with, he said.

Cyclone Amphan struck the country at a time it is struggling to control the spread of the coronavirus disease. Rescue workers in both Odisha and West Bengal said the fear of being infected by Covid-19 in cyclone shelters made many people refuse to be evacuated, with the authorities having to resort to force to move them to safety.

In West Bengal, some evacuees said they would rather die in their own houses than risk infection in cyclone shelters. There were some people who refused to move to cyclone shelters. We first tried to convince them. When it didnt work we used force, said a block development officer in South 24 Parganas.

National Disaster Response Force chief SN Pradhan told a press conference in New Delhi that 20 teams of the federal force had already begun road clearing operations in Odisha while the 19 units deployed in West Bengal were shifting people to safety.

Quoting figures made available by the two states, Pradhan said over 500,000 people were evacuated in West Bengal and 158,000 in Odisha, where the rains and high-velocity winds is expected to weaken by late Wednesday night.
People planning to visit whanau, family and friends in Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals are reminded of the DHBs Alert Level 2 Visitor Policy.

The focus at Alert Level 2 continues to be on protecting everyone from the risk of exposure to COVID-19, at the same time the BOPDHB recognises the important role of visitors in the healing process.

In the Emergency Department, Intensive Care Unit, Coronary Care Unit, High Dependency Unit and Acute Care Unit, the general principle is one nominated visitor per patient who can make one visit per day.

BOPDHB Incident Management Team Incident Controller Bronwyn Anstis says the DHB has had to differentiate between specialised areas such as ED, ICU, HDU and acute care and more general areas of the hospital.

Often patients in these specialist areas are vulnerable or immunocompromised or have conditions that may mean they would be more greatly affected if they were to contract COVID-19.

"They are being cared for by highly trained, highly skilled staff, who we also need to ensure are protected from any potential risk of exposure.

And like all areas of the hospitals, we are required to ensure safe social distancing for all and this is more challenging to do so in these specialist areas, hence our restriction on visitor numbers.

We appreciate it has been a difficult time for people who have family, whanau and friends who are in hospital.

"We are very grateful to the public during this time for their understanding and helping us to ensure that priority is given to the needs and care of the patients, and the safety and security of staff.

In other hospital areas, each patient may have one visitor at a time, but more than one person is able to visit during the day.

Each visitor can only visit once per day.

People attending an outpatient appointment may be accompanied by a support person.

The visitor policy for our maternity units differs from other areas of the hospital, and is shown below.

In the Maternity Ward:

 One nominated support person during labour and birth.

 Postnatal and antenatal women can have their nominated support person plus one other nominated visitor (this must be the same person each day and not visiting at the same time as the support person).

 No overnight stays will be permitted unless the woman is in labour and for early post-natal support.

 In the Special Care Bay Unit (SCBU) mother plus one nominated support person may visit daily, but only one person at a time is to be with the baby.

No visitors are allowed for any patients confirmed with COVID-19, or suspected or probable for COVID-19. Visiting hours are from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week. And remember the golden rule: be kind.

Appropriate screening will take place for all visitors before they are allowed to enter the facility to ensure they are well.

All visitors will be required to complete the visitors register on entry and exit of the hospital for contact tracing purposes, and will be provided with a visitor sticker.

Clinical Nurse Managers/Clinical Midwife Managers or Duty Nurse Managers will consider additional requests on a case-by-case basis for compassionate reasons.

BOP and Lakes DHBs have created a new website to help address any COVID-19 questions. The website has the latest health updates relating to COVID-19, plus answers to frequently asked questions. You can find it at: covid19.bopdhb.govt.nz

Enquiries to the BOP HEALTH COVID-19 response team can be emailed to: bopcovid19@bopdhb.govt.nz
20.05.2020 LISTEN

New York, May 19, 2020 -- In response to todays decision by a Beninese appeals court to shorten journalist Ignace Sossous sentence to six months imprisonment and a six-month suspended sentence, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement:

Todays appeals court decision may shorten journalist Ignace Sossous unjust sentence, but it does not free him, and is still a stain on Benins press freedom record, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. The decision to keep a journalist behind bars amid the coronavirus pandemic simply for quoting a public official sends a chilling message to the local media community and signals to the world that the press is not free in Benin.

Authorities arrested Sossou, a reporter with the privately owned Benin Web TV news website, on December 20, 2019, and sentenced him to 18 months in prison and a fine of 200,000 West African francs ($337) in relation to social media posts quoting a Beninese public prosecutor, Mario Metonou, according to CPJ research.

Todays decision shortened his jail term but maintained the fine, according to Prisca Layo Ogoubi, one of Sossous lawyers, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app, and a report by Benin Web TV.

He is due to be released on June 24, according to that report.

In early April, CPJ and 80 other organizations wrote to African heads of state, including Beninese President Patrice Talon, calling for the release of all jailed journalists in order to mitigate COVID-19-related health risks.
President Donald Trump complained that his three oldest children had been 'unmasked' in intelligence reports on his Inauguration Day in 2017, leading to questions about why Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump would be featured in them in the first place.

Trump made the charge about unmasking - which is when an anonymous name in an intelligence report is revealed - to Republicans senators during a closed-door lunch on Capitol Hill Tuesday, The New York Times reported.

It's unclear why Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump would be listed in intelligence reports on the 2016 campaign.

President Donald Trump complained that his three oldest children had been 'unmasked' in intelligence reports on his Inauguration Day

It's unclear why the names of Ivanka Trump or her brothers Don Jr. and Eric would be in an intelligence report on the 2016 presidential election

The Trump family on Inauguration Day in the presidential box at the Capitol - Eric Trump is to the far left in the back, Ivanka Trump is in the middle next to Tiffany Trump, with Don Jr next to her

Vice President Mike Pence and Karen Pence with President Donald Trump, his children, their spouses, and first lady Melania Trump at one of the inaugural balls

President Trump has accused former President Barack Obama of 'spying' on his 2016 campaign. The FBI was conducting a counterintelligence investigation into Trump's campaign to see anyone in that effort was coordinating, wittingly or unwittingly, with Russian officials trying to influence the election.

The president's grumbling came as Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's closest allies on Capitol Hill, sent a letter to acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell and Attorney General William Barr Tuesday, asking for any inquiries made by Obama administration officials that would have unmasked major players associated with Trumps campaign in the weeks after Trump won the 2016 election.

Inauguration Day was the last day the Obama administration had the power to make such a request although that power ended at noon when Trump took the oath of office.

All three of Trump's eldest children played a role in the president's campaign, whether it was helping out with staffing it or campaigning for their father.

Graham's list includes Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Corey Lewandowski, Paul Manafort, Stephen Bannon, Kellyanne Conway, Sam Clovis, Chris Christie, Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, according to The Washington Post.

Graham chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over such matters. His request follows Grenell's declassification of the names of Obama officials who requested during the transition period that former National Securit Adviser Michael Flynn's name be unmasked.

That list of names included then U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power, former Vice President Joe Biden and then FBI Director James Comey.

'Given the extensive number of requests for the unmasking of General Flynns name during this short time period, it raises the question of whether these or other officials sought the unmasking of the identities of other individuals associated with the Trump campaign or transition team,' Graham wrote.

Trump has dubbed the unmasking 'Obamagate' in an attempt to gin up controversy around the move. Unmasking is not illegal and is a common practice in administrations.

The 2016 election and its fallout - including the investigation into Russia's role in that contest - was a hot topic for the president at the lunch with senators.

President Trump gets a hug from Tiffany Trump as Don Jr, Ivanka, and Eric look on during Inauguration Day

Sen. Lindsey Graham (right), one of Trump's closest allies on Capitol Hill, is seeking more information about 'unmasking'

Trump's complaint comes after the names of Obama administration officials who requested former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's name be unmasked were revealed

'We talked about the investigations into Russian involvement in the 2016 election and his concerns, which youve heard before which many of us share, about using the institutions like the FBI and the DOJ and others to undermine an incoming president,' Republican Senator John Cornyn told Politico.

Last week Graham took a pass on President Trump's call to haul in Obama for sworn testimony about what Trump calls 'Obamagate.'

'I am greatly concerned about the precedent that would be set by calling a former president for oversight,' Graham said Thursday after Trump put out the idea on Twitter. 'No president is above the law. However, the presidency has executive privilege claims against other branches of government.'

Graham pointed to the 'unusual times' as he summed up the state of play  even as he prepared to launch hearings into the Mike Flynn prosecution and the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller.

A sitting president is accusing his predecessor 'of being part of a treasonous conspiracy to undermine his presidency, Graham said. 'We have the former president suggesting the current president is destroying the rule of law.'

Trump has pulled Obama into the 2020 election after it was revealed Biden was one of the officials who requested Flynn be unmasked.

Meanwhile, Obama, over the weekend, criticized President Trump in all but name during a televised commencement address for high school seniors.

Obama panned 'so-called grown-ups, including some with fancy titles and important jobs' who do 'what feels good, what's convenient, what's easy.'

'That's how little kids think,' he added, 'which is why things are so screwed up.'

He did not mention Trump by name but his meaning was clear.

As for the Flynn unmasking, a National Security Agency document signed by Director General Paul Nakasone lists Biden as among those who requested and may have received information on Flynn in the final days of the Obama administration or were otherwise involved in his unmasking.

The new unmasking document appears to reveal which official or officials ordered Flynn's name be 'unmasked' from intelligence reports, although it also includes hedging language. U.S. citizens have their names blacked out in such reports, although certain officials have the authority to unseal the information.

Trump last week pointed to comments by Biden that he didn't know details of the Flynn prosecution. 'He said he knows nothing about anything,' Trump said. 'And then it gets released today that he's the big unmasker.'

Trump has pulled Barack Obama into the 2020 election after it was revealed then Vice President Joe Biden was one of the officials who requested Flynn be unmasked

President Trump has called the unmasking controversy 'Obamagate' to try to implicate Barack Obama of wrongdoing but unmasking is not illegal and is a practice used by many administrations

In Biden's case, he gained access to the documents on January 12, 2016  a little over a week before he left office.

He is listed among a group of 'recipients who may have received Lt. Gen. Flynn's identity in response to a request processed between 8 November 2016 and 31 January 2017' to unmask an identity to unmask a name in an NSA intelligence report.

But the memo also refers to Biden as among a group of 'principals'  although it still stops short of confirming he ever saw the information.

'While the principals are identified below, we cannot confirm they saw the unmasked information. This response does not include any requests outside of the specified time-frame,' according to the memo.

Flynn's calls with former Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak got picked up by U.S. intelligence intercepts during the transition, and became part of the Russia probe.

Flynn would later plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his undisclosed Russia contacts  although the Justice Department last week took the extraordinary move of seeking to drop the case. A federal judge is awaiting 'friend of the court' documents relating to the controversial case.

Trump's outburst came amid another signal that Flynn's case was far from over. Judge Emmet Sullivan has appointed an outside retired judge, John Gleeson, to provide arguments against the government's latest position dropping the charges against Flynn. Gleeson will also be charged with exploring whether Flynn should face perjury charges  a felony.

Under unmasking  which became a heated topic during the House Intelligence Committee's own Russia probe  the process begins when government officials are provided access to documents with classified information blacked out.

Certain senior government officials are granted the authority to seek 'unmasking' of individuals whose names are blacked out. Names are obscured to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens. To do so, they must put in a request to the classifying authority  in this case, the National Security Agency, which picks up information through a wide net of electronic surveillance.

Such requests are relatively routine  and are meant to provide a fuller understanding of the document at hand. However at the time of seeking an unmasking, the U.S. official does not know the identity of the 'masked' person.

If the request clears the agency's review process and is justified, the requesting official is provided access to the information. The government records who makes such requests and when, providing the opportunity to look back after the fact.

'Each individual was an authorized recipient of the original report and the unmasking was approved through NSA's standard process, which includes a review of the justification for the request,' the document said, indicating the spy agency signed off on the disclosures after a review.
SINGAPORE, May 20, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - OmniSci, the pioneer in accelerated analytics, announced today that the company posted its highest-ever revenue for a quarter, closing deals with major new customers, strengthening key partnerships, and expanding the company's global reach. OmniSci's strong Q1 performance provides significant momentum for Q2 and beyond.Following the company's expansion into Europe last year, in April, OmniSci expanded into Asia to meet growing global demand for its analytics capabilities. The company brought Joseph (Joe) Lee on board as VP of Global Sales and welcomed Herfini Haryono, former CTIO at PT Telkomsel and CIO at Indosat Ooredoo in Indonesia, to the team as VP of Industry Verticals. These experienced executives and their teams have already signed the first customers in the region and are providing local support to new and existing customers.The company's revenue growth was fueled by major wins with new and expansion customers, including Procter & Gamble, HERE Technologies and the utility company Avangrid. OmniSci also announced a deeper partnership with Z by HP to accelerate data-driven workflows and make the Z8 - the world's most powerful workstation - even more appealing by offering it preloaded with the OmniSci platform, giving data scientists instant access to unprecedented analytics power."It's been incredible to see how leading organizations in both the commercial and public sectors are adopting our platform to gain an analytical edge," added OmniSci CEO and Co-Founder Todd Mostak. "Whether in telco, retail and CPG, utilities, or government, our customers need speed-of-thought answers from ever-growing volumes of data. The OmniSci accelerated analytics platform empowers them to leverage all of that data with unprecedented agility, and to make better, more timely business decisions than ever possible with legacy tools. We see a tremendous opportunity ahead to expand the market's idea of what is possible when it comes to analytics, and in the process, help build a more data-driven world.""OmniSci's mission - to make analytics instant, powerful, and effortless for everyone - has never been more relevant. These results show that their technology is meeting that goal," said Kristina Serafim, Managing Director, Verizon Ventures. "As one of our portfolio companies, we support OmniSci's mission to find insights in data at the heart of the most pressing challenges."In OmniSci's first quarter, the company also engaged in the public fight against COVID-19, providing their platform to research teams across the country through the OmniSci for Good program. Every federal, state and local government is working to cope with COVID-19 and the massive amounts of data involved, and OmniSci helps these organizations make smarter, data driven decisions. Working closely with data partners including X-Mode, SafeGraph, and Veraset, OmniSci showcased through blogs and videos how data can be used to address the core challenges of the next phase of the COVID-19 fight, including hotspot detection, social distancing, and logistics.Demand within OmniSci's community of developers, researchers and users also grew in the first quarter. When the virus outbreak made in-person events and conferences unsafe, the OmniSci team pulled together two virtual summits on short notice, to keep their active community well connected. These virtual events included dozens of hours of fresh content, and were attended by more than 1,000 people. The next virtual summit is scheduled for May 19-20, 2020, featuring more new demos, webinars and on-demand sessions."OmniSci is growing quickly and globally by delivering strong business outcomes for our clients," said Joe Lee. "We are committed to continuing to bring the best solution and support to our clients while we continue our global expansion. We have a unique solution for interactive geospatial analytics that is very valuable in the telecommunications industry, and plugs a significant gap in current big data environments."About OmniSciOmniSci is the pioneer in accelerated analytics. The OmniSci platform is used in business and government to find insights in data beyond the limits of mainstream analytics tools. Harnessing the massive parallelism of modern CPU and GPU hardware, the platform is available in the cloud and on-premise. OmniSci originated from research at Harvard and MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). OmniSci is funded by GV, In-Q-Tel, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), NVIDIA, Tiger Global Management, Vanedge Capital and Verizon Ventures. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more about OmniSci at www.omnisci.com.Source: OmniSciCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Tractor has launched an advertising fund to offer support to South Africa's SME's most severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The fund consists of R5m in media value to assist businesses in promoting themselves during these difficult times.

Tractor currently owns one of the largest DOOH (digital-out-of-home) networks across South Africa including 20 Roadside Digitals and 90 Pedestrian Screens located at BP Forecourts. The metropolitans covered include Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and East London.This pandemic has affected businesses severely, threatening the very survival of most SMEs. Having been downgraded to Level 4 lockdown and with Level 3 on the horizon, this means that while many sectors can open up, companies need all the assistance they can to rebuild their businesses to pre-lockdown conditions.For local smaller independent shops, this is an incredibly difficult time to overcome the financial strain this pandemic has left them with, says Simon Wall, Tractor Outdoor CEO. Businesses need to continue to market themselves and we are more than happy to assist these businesses and help tell their stories as well as alleviate some of that stress through this fund. If we can leverage our network to help keep businesses and local economies going, or kick-start them even, then that can only be a good thing.The SME support fund is open to all SMEs affected by coronavirus, and those taking part must be open for business in the short term. Each campaign will be displayed between May and July based on availability through these times, with the layout and supply of creative to be supplied by the businesses themselves.It is our civic duty as a media business to assist those in need. We are reaching out to small and medium businesses that desperately need to promote themselves during these tough times and want to assist them. Furthermore, we want to encourage the rest of the industry to provide aid by utilising OOH networks to promote local businesses that make up the backbone of our economy, says Remi du Preez, Commercial Director at Tractor Outdoor.SMEs can register their interest for the fund via this webpage by completing the online application form https://www.tractoroutdoor.com/smesupportfund or contact us for more information and we will be in touch.
Beed : , May 20 (IANS) A 40-year-old farm labourer was found dead midway while walking from Pune to his native village around 400 km away in Parbhani district in Maharashtra, police said here on Wednesday.

According to Ambhora Police Station incharge Dnyaneshwar Kuklare, Pintu Pawar's body was found on Monday near Dhanora village in Beed district.

"The body was highly decomposed, indicating he may have succumbed much earlier. We also found some packets of biscuits and snacks in his bag. The body has been sent for autopsy to ascertain the cause of death," Kulkare told IANS.

According to preliminary investigations, Pawar hailed from a village in Manwath tehsil of Parbhani and worked as a seasonal sugarcane cutter in Pune.

After the lockdown was enforced on March 25, he stayed with his brother in Pune, but decided on May 8 to return to his village on foot.

He reached Ahmednagar after four days and contacted his family to inform them of his location before starting for Beed.

Pawar continued walking till he reached Dhanora in Beed and took a break to rest near a tin hut there, with over 200 km yet to be covered.

On Monday, locals complained to the police about stench in the shed's vicinity. Later, police found Pawar's body.

"The autopsy report is awaited. Meanwhile, since the body was in a very bad condition, the Dhanora villagers cremated it after informing the family members," Kuklare said.
The Northern Ireland Consumer Council received almost five times as many complaints about airlines during the coronavirus crisis compared to the same period last year.

Most of the grievances concerned difficulties in obtaining refunds for cancelled flights.

The Consumer Council said the number of complaints and queries had surged from 131 between March 1 and May 13 in 2019 to 615 during the same period this year.

The data also showed that 475 out of 615 issues were about refunds for cancellations.

Richard Williams, the Consumer Council's head of transport policy, said the watchdog had forced airlines to return over 100,000 in refunds to consumers affected by cancelled flights.

DUP MP Gavin Robinson praised the organisation for its work and called on airlines to issue timely refunds.

Expand Close Concern: Gavin Robinson Kevin Scott / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Concern: Gavin Robinson

"People are entitled to refunds and payment within 14 days," he said. "Airlines have a responsibility to make sure their customers aren't adversely affected by their inability to refund cancellations and if they're struggling they need to talk to Government."

Ulster Unionist MLA Andy Allen said it was time airlines "stepped up to the plate" with regard to issuing refunds.

Expand Close Andy Allen Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Andy Allen

"Airlines need to act responsibly and give hard-pressed consumers their money back," he said.

"A number of people have contacted my constituency office after being impacted by cancelled flights.

"It's important that airlines act responsibly to support their customers."

He added: "Covid-19 is no one's fault, and while I appreciate that airlines aren't to blame for the cancellations, they do need to give more support to their customers and improve the flow of information during these difficult times."

The revelation comes as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport Kelly Tolhurst and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today face the Westminster Select Committee on Transport to explain the Government's policy on airline refunds.

Mr Williams confirmed that between March 1 and May 13 this year, the 615 contacts about airlines represented "a 369% increase compared to the same period last year", or 4.7 times more.

"Of these, 475 were in relation to difficulties in obtaining refunds for cancelled flights," he said. "In this period, the Consumer Council has managed to get airlines to return over 100,000 in refunds to consumers affected by cancelled flights."

Mr Williams said the pandemic has caused "an unprecedented crisis" for both the aviation industry and for airline passengers.

"Whilst airlines are facing an uncertain future, we are seeing large numbers of consumers worried about losing money as airlines struggle to fulfil their legal obligation to provide refunds," he said. "This recommends that vouchers should guarantee a cash refund if unused after 12 months or if the airline goes bust.

"We believe that with these guarantees, vouchers would be more attractive to many consumers and could ease the financial pressure on airlines; however, the bottom line of a cash refund must remain an option for those consumers that need it."

The Consumer Council is on Freephone 0800 121 6022 or email contact@consumercouncil.org.uk
The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Centre to respond to a plea seeking that Muslim women be allowed to enter mosques across the country claiming that such restrictions were "unconstitutional" and violative of the right to equality and gender justice.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde, hearing the matter through video-conferencing, agreed to hear the petition which has sought setting aside of directions or 'fatwa' restraining Muslim women from entering the mosques.

Besides the Centre, the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, issued notices to others including the Ministry of Minorities Affairs, National Commission for Women and All India Muslim Personal Law Board and sought their responses on the plea.

The plea, filed by a Pune-based Muslim women, has referred to the constitutional provisions and said there should not be any discrimination against any citizen on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

"It is very unfortunate that not a single political party or a chief minister, women included, has thought of advancing the interest of Muslim women by providing them access to mosques that receive monetary aid from taxpayers' money," the plea has claimed.

The petition has alleged that the legislature has failed to ensure the dignity and equality of women in general and Muslim women in particular.

"Despite the observation of this court for the past few decades, the goal of 'Uniform Civil Code' remains an elusive constitutional goal that the courts have fairly refrained from enforcing through directions and the legislature has dispassionately ignored it," it claimed.

The plea alleged that Muslim women are being discriminated against as they are not allowed to enter and pray in the main prayer hall of mosques in violation of Articles 14 (equality before law) and 2l (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

It has sought a direction to permit women to pray in the 'musalla' "without being separated by a barrier, including in the front and in mixed-gender congregational lines".

It has sought to declare the practice of prohibiting entry of Muslim women in mosque in India as illegal, unconstitutional and being violative of constitutional rights.

"There is a well-established proliferation in media now a days about the 'burqa clad' who are thoroughly victimised and need great protection measures through the liberal rights discourse," it said.

The plea said there is nothing in the Holy Quran and the Hadith that requires gender segregation.

It said that a life of dignity and equality is the most sacrosanct fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution and it prevails above all other rights available under the laws of India.

It said that women are allowed to enter mosques that have a separate space for them, but most mosques in India do not have this facility.

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


Nanadie Well Drilling Hits High Grade Supergene Copper-Gold

Perth, May 20, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to announce excellent reverse circulation ("RC") drilling results from the 100% owned Nanadie Well Cu-Au prospect 100km southeast of Meekatharra in the Murchison Mineral Field of Western Australia (Figure 1*).Commenting on the Nanadie Well project, Horizon Managing Director Mr Jon Price said:"While our focus remains firmly on growing our gold business in the Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie regions, we see significant potential for value creation at Nanadie Well for copper, PGEs and gold. On the back of the geological review and drilling results, we will assess the next steps for the project including retention, further joint ventures or divestment."During the December Quarter 2019, Horizon announced the Nanadie Well and Stark projects returned to the Company on a 100% basis and conducted a review of previous work undertaken over the last 4 years.To ensure the tenure remained in good standing and to follow up a number of historic high grade copper and gold supergene zones intercepted from previous drilling, the Company completed 14 Reverse Circulation (RC) holes for 1,046m to a maximum depth of 50m.The project covers part of the northwest trending belt of Archean mafic and metasedimentary units with demonstrated prospectivity for both magmatic copper-nickel-PGE mineralisation and lode gold mineralisation. The oxide mineralisation comprises malachite/azurite which often forms a zone of localised supergene enrichment. The ore below 40m depth is mostly fresh, disseminated fine grained chalcopyrite within a sequence of basalts/amphibolites, felsic volcanics and dolerite.The drilling results are extremely encouraging with previously unknown, high grade gold hits being discovered at Nanadie Well. Highlights include:- 6m @ 1.48% Cu and 4.11g/t Au from 38m including 1m @ 3.85% Cu and 23.3g/t Au from 43m (NRC19009)- 12m @ 2.16% Cu and 2.16g/t Au from 20m including 1m @ 3.70% Cu and 30.15g/t Au from 31m (NRC19010)- 6m @ 2.35% Cu and 1.57g/t Au from 4m including 1m @ 4.89% Cu and 4.00g/t Au from 7m (NRC19012)- 13m @ 1.02% Cu and 0.63g/t Au from 25m (NRC19008)- 6m @ 4.79% Cu and 0.36g/t Au from 1m depth (NRC19005)- 7m @ 1.49% Cu and 0.11g/t Au from 95m (NRC19001)Better gold and copper grades appear to be related to supergene concentration process and are typically observed in discrete, narrow bands (1-5m) in the lower oxide-transitional weathering zone.Sporadic, thin (1-2m) Cu-Au gold shoots have previously been drilled in the southern area and typically average about 1-2 g/t Au. Most of the historic follow up holes did not target the transitional boundary but were set back and angled deeper looking for copper sulphides and possibly missed potential supergene zones.Much of the prospect shows signs of having a stripped laterite profile with fresh rock often encountered at shallow depths and amenable to soil geochemistry. Intermin Resources (2012) outlined a 500m long, significant 50ppb Au soil anomaly within a broader >1.0 km, 10ppb Au halo to the south (Figure 2*). Several spot highs (up to 194 ppb Au) have not been drill tested.At the Stark prospect, 1.2km to the Southeast of Nanadie Well, drilling intercepted thin zones of copper and low grade gold and PGE's at depth. Better results included:- 4m @ 1.90% Cu and 0.32 g/t Au (and 0.32 g/t Pt-Pd) from 194m (NRC18008)- 2m @ 3.27% Cu and 0.55 g/t Au (and 0.19 g/t Pt-Pd) from 157m (NRC15001)Collectively these results suggest that Nanadie Well and surrounds have a much higher and genuine copper, and importantly, gold prospectivity than previously thought. In addition to the drilling, Horizon lodged a mining lease application (M51/887) over the Nanadie Well and Stark Cu-Ni-PGE prospects. Another 1 year extension on E51/1040 was also granted.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Horizon Minerals Limited

Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed.

Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.

Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage.
Integrated company to play a lead role in emerging psychedelic assisted therapy and research space

VANCOUVER, May 20, 2020 /CNW/ - With momentum building for the use of psychedelic assisted therapies in addressing the growing problems of mental illness, addiction and trauma, Vancouver-based Numinus Wellness Inc. began trading today on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol NUMI as one of the first in-market, fully integrated companies in the psychedelic space in North America.

"This is an exciting day for all of us at Numinus," says CEO Payton Nyquvest. "We are on a mission to help address the universal desire to heal and be well. We are looking for like-minded investors who share our belief that new approaches and new ways of thinking are needed to supplement existing options."

Numinus has put a value chain in place comprising three pillars that will be key to the company's growth:

Numinus Wellness plans to offer physical locations where psychedelic-assisted therapies can take place once approved by regulators. The company's near-term goal is to identify a suitable location and build a purpose-built, flagship wellness centre to conduct psychedelics-assisted therapies in a safe, controlled therapeutic environment when approved by regulators and governing bodies  a process we are helping to support. Numinus Wellness provides a full suite of therapeutic services through a wellness centre in Vancouver ; however, psychedelic-assisted therapies are not currently provided.

plans to offer physical locations where psychedelic-assisted therapies can take place once approved by regulators. The company's near-term goal is to identify a suitable location and build a purpose-built, flagship wellness centre to conduct psychedelics-assisted therapies in a safe, controlled therapeutic environment when approved by regulators and governing bodies  a process we are helping to support. Numinus Wellness provides a full suite of therapeutic services through a wellness centre in ; however, psychedelic-assisted therapies are not currently provided. Numinus R&D is creating partnerships with leading research groups to advance practice and understanding in the space.

is creating partnerships with leading research groups to advance practice and understanding in the space. Numinus Bioscience is licensed by Health Canada to test, sell, distribute, and eventually conduct research on psychedelic substances. Sustainable cannabis revenue driven by our testing operations provides us a foundation for growth  differentiating us from others in the psychedelics space.

"We are excited about the future of psychedelics and our focus will solely be on its therapeutic use," says Nyquvest. "Psychedelics will move forward in a therapeutic and research context, where the application of these substances will only happen in safe, controlled treatment environments. Numinus has these pieces in place today."

The efficacy of psychedelic therapies are gaining attention. Johns Hopkins University recently announced the Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, a first-of-its-kind $17-million research centre designed to study compounds like LSD and psilocybin for a range of mental health problems, including anorexia, addiction and depression. In 2017, the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to MDMA for the treatment of PTSD, and MDMA is currently in the final research phase required by the FDA before deciding whether to approve MDMA as a legal prescription treatment for PTSD in the US. British Columbia's BC Centre on Substance Use has attracted leading researchers in the field to advance evidence-based research into the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.

About Numinus

Numinus is a Vancouver-based health care company helping to support the universal desire to heal and be well. Numinus believes the societal costs of mental illness, addictions, trauma and unmet human potential are much too high. New approaches and new ways of thinking are required to supplement existing options, including the application of psychedelic assisted therapies when approved by regulators. Numinus Wellness operates a stand-alone centre offering patients integrative health solutions to help heal, connect and grow. Psychedelic assisted therapies will be part of this offering but will only be available for treatment once approved by regulators and governing bodies  a process Numinus is helping to support. Numinus R&D is creating partnerships with leading research groups to advance practice and understanding in the space. Numinus Bioscience is licensed by Health Canada to test, sell, distribute, and eventually conduct research on psychedelic substances. Sustainable cannabis revenue driven by testing operations provides us a foundation for growth. For more information visit www.numinus.ca .

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, dependence on obtaining and maintaining regulatory approvals, including acquiring and renewing federal, provincial, municipal, local or other licenses and any inability to obtain all necessary governmental approvals licenses and permits to operate and expand the Company's facilities; engaging in activities which currently are illegal under Canadian federal law and the uncertainty of existing protection from Canadian federal or other prosecution; regulatory or political change such as changes in applicable laws and regulations, including federal and provincial legalization, due to inconsistent public opinion, perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry, bureaucratic delays or inefficiencies or any other reasons; any other factors or developments which may hinder market growth; the Company's limited operating history and lack of historical profits; reliance on management; the Company's requirements for additional financing, and the effect of capital market conditions and other factors on capital availability, including closing of the financings contemplated herein; competition, including from more established or better financed competitors; and the need to secure and maintain corporate alliances and partnerships, including with customers and suppliers. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risk factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other risk factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. The Company has no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information or for any other reason except as required by law.

SOURCE Numinus Wellness Inc.

For further information: Investor Inquiries: [email protected]; Media Inquiries: Emily Edwards, NATIONAL, [email protected], 604-842-6490; General Inquiries: [email protected], 1-833-NUM-INUS (1-833-686-4687); Pour investir et obtenir des renseignements generaux en francais: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom, [email protected]; 888-585-6274

Related Links

https://numinus.ca/


New Delhi: The Union cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the distribution of free foodgrains to migrant workers, moving to ease the distress of those left stranded in transit by the lockdown imposed on March 25 in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

The cabinet also approved a new Special Liquidity Scheme for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) to improve their liquidity. It also gave its approval to an emergency credit line guarantee scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises and small entrepreneurs to borrow an additional Rs. 3 lakh crore.

According to an official statement released after the cabinet meeting, around 80 million migrants would be eligible to receive 5 kg of foodgrains per month for May and June free of cost

It would entail an estimated food subsidy of about Rs 2,982.27 crore. Expenditure on transport and handling charges and dealer margins will account for about 127.25 crore more.

The cabinet approved a finance ministry proposal to launch a new liquidity scheme for NBFCs and HFCs.

The direct financial implication for the Government is Rs. 5 crore, which may be the equity contribution to a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Beyond that, there is no financial implication for the government until an underlying guarantee s invoked.

An SPV would be set up to manage a stressed asset fund (SAF) whose special securities would be guaranteed by the government and purchased by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The proceeds of the sale of such securities would be used by the SPV to acquire short-term debt of NBFCs/HFCs. The scheme will be administered by the department of financial services, which will issue the detailed guidelines, the statement said.

The cabinet also gave its nod to additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and small entrepreneurs. Under the scheme, the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited will offer a 100% guarantee for the loan amount. A corpus of Rs. 41,600 crore shall be provided by government, spread over the current and the next three financial years.
DES MOINES, Iowa - Strong concern about a second wave of coronavirus infections is reinforcing widespread opposition among Americans to reopening public places, a new poll finds, even as many state leaders step up efforts to return to life before the pandemic.

Yet support for public health restrictions imposed to control the viruss spread is no longer overwhelming. It has been eroded over the past month by a widening partisan divide, with Democrats more cautious and Republicans less anxious as President Donald Trump urges states to open up our country, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll finds that 83% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will lead to additional infections, with 54% saying they are very or extremely concerned that such steps will result in a spike of COVID-19 cases.

Oh, Id like to get my hair and nails done. Its one of those little pleasures you take for granted, said Kathy Bishop, a 59-year-old billing specialist who had pneumonia two years ago. But Im just going to suck it up. Its not worth the risk.

Bishop lives in the western suburbs of Columbus, Ohio, a state where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is among the state chief executives leading a gradual reopening of businesses such as salons, barbershops, restaurants and bars. But even after nine weeks spent at home, Bishop is among the solid majority of Americans who support rigorous criteria for economic reopening that goes beyond wearing masks in public places and continued social distancing.

About 8 in 10 Americans say that its essential to reopening for people to return to self-quarantine if they are exposed to the virus. Roughly 6 in 10 also say having widespread testing for the coronavirus in their area is essential to reestablishing public activities, along with requiring people to keep 6 feet (1.8 metres) apart in most places and to wear face masks when theyre near others outside their homes.

Nearly as telling as the publics appetite for rigorous precaution: Close to half say it is essential that a vaccine be available before public life resumes. A third say thats important but not essential.

Taken together, the findings suggest that while some Americans are anxious to get back to business as usual, most dont see the country returning anytime soon to what once was considered normal. Instead, Americans largely envision a protracted period of physical distancing, covered faces and intermittent quarantines ahead, perhaps until a vaccine is available.

Joe Yeskewicz, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, said he believes a vaccine is a must for his town of 23,000 south of Boston to fully reopen. Hes among the nearly 8 in 10 Americans who dont expect one to be ready before the end of the year.

It is so novel, so unpredictable and so terribly, terribly contagious, the 76-year-old retired teacher and college professor said of the virus. The vaccine predictably could take years because it has to undergo a vigorous testing program for it to be effective and safe. Regardless of the optimism, this is going to take a while.

The latest AP-NORC survey was conducted over this past weekend, before Mondays news of positive results in a clinical trial of a potential vaccine. It found that a solid majority of about 6 in 10 Americans are in favour of requiring people to stay in their homes except for essential errands, with about a third of the country strongly behind that approach.

While still resolute, support for such measures to contain the coronavirus has slipped in the past month  80% were in favour of stay-at-home orders in April. The new survey found that 69% now favour restricting gatherings to 10 people or fewer, down from 82% in April.

Those declines are largely driven by changes in attitudes among Republicans, as Trump and several GOP governors have aggressively pressed for and moved ahead with reopening businesses and public places. Some people in Wisconsin headed straight for the local tavern last week after the conservative-controlled state Supreme Court upheld the GOP-controlled legislatures appeal of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order.

Just 45% of Republicans now say they favour stay-at-home orders, while about as many are opposed. A month ago, 70% of Republicans backed them. Among Democrats, 78% favour stay-at-home orders, down from 91% in April.

Only about a third of Republicans say they are very or extremely concerned about the possibility of additional infections if restrictions are lifted, compared to three-quarters of Democrats.

Peggy Dullum, a 65-year-old Republican and retired state health care worker from suburban Sacramento, California, said she once supported strict lockdown measures to contain the virus. But she now thinks they have outlived their purpose.

If theyd have opened all retail, it would have spread out social activity rather than congesting it in those few retail locations where people crowded without masks, Dullum said. Make everybody wear a mask, instead of making it voluntary, and we probably could have kept the economy moving at a solid pace during the second month.

But Yeskewicz, the Democratic-leaning independent from Massachusetts, shakes his head  including at the small but vocal pockets of protesters, at times armed and brandishing Confederate flags, who complain that leaders who back continued safety measures are doing so out of anything but concern for public health.

We cant just arbitrarily restore privileges simply because people are so desperate they cant stand it any more, Yeskewicz said. Its not about peoples rights being violated. They are trying to keep you alive, you bozos!

___

Fingerhut reported from Washington.

___

The AP-NORC poll of 1,056 adults was conducted May 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

___

Online:

AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/
Anuradha Shukla By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Amidst high job loss numbers quoted by the industry and analysts, the Prime Ministers Office has asked various ministries to submit the details of job losses in different sectors. Sources in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) said that an internal mail has been sent from the PMO which, besides other things, has asked to submit the exact assessment of job loss numbers during the lockdown period.

There have been many reports that claim high number of job losses. While the ministry is not denying job loss, the PMO wants the exact quantum of loss of both formal and informal jobs, so that it can initiate steps accordingly, said a senior official from the MSME ministry.Officials claimed that similar mails have been forwarded to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Ministry of Textiles, among others.The officials have been asked to submit the report by June 15.

The PMOs direction to the ministries comes after the unemployment tracker survey released by the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) on Tuesday said 27 million youths in the age group of 20-30 years lost their jobs in April.

Unemployment may rise to 35 per cent from 7.6 per cent, resulting in 136 million jobs lost and a total of 174 million unemployed. Poverty alleviation will receive a setback, significantly changing the fortunes of many, putting 120 million people into poverty and 40 million into abject poverty, a recent report by international management consulting firm Arthur D. Little has said.

Representatives of employment-intensive sectors such as exports and hospitality have warned of more reduction in employment in their respective segments, if the Central government does not take immediate steps to boost businesses.

Big digits

According to the unemployment tracker survey released by the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) on Tuesday, 27 million youths in the country falling in the age group of 20-30 years lost their jobs in April
'Why has this turned out to be one of the greatest humanitarian crisis that has caught the Centre and the states in a bind with no answers to this unexpected tsunami?' asks Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).

IMAGE: A migrant worker's child drinks water while the infant's mother waits in a queue in Ahmedabad for transport. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

India has faced one of the biggest migrant movements at a time when the nation is in a lockdown due to coronavirus.

This mass migration of over 80 million people has created a major humanitarian crisis that is unprecedented in magnitude, never seen in this country's history.

As per the 2001 Census, there were approximately 81 million migrant workers spread across the length and breadth of the country.

The majority of the migrant workers come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha Jharkhand and Rajasthan. This number would have increased dramatically in the last 19 years and this figure could be anyone's guess.

To move close to 80 million people from one part of the country to another in the absence of exact details of their destination makes this problem even more complex.

There are no planning figures available with labour ministry as to how much food, water, transport and medical aid is required at which location since the bulk of the migrant workers come from unorganised sector.

To feed 80 million people, the government is required to cater approximately 50,000 tons of food grains on a daily bases, 40 crore litres of water daily (@ 5 litres per person), and would require minimum 10,000 doctors to provide basic medical aid.

The government required approximately 67,000 trains with the carrying capacity of 1,200 passengers per train.

IMAGE: Migrants travel in a truck to their villages, Patna, May 17, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

Why has this turned out to be one of the greatest humanitarian crisis that has caught the Centre and the states in a bind with no answers to this unexpected tsunami?

All efforts by the Centre and state governments seem too small and too late.

The question is could this have been managed better with available management tools?

Or those who are at the helm of the affairs has little or no idea to handle such humongous crisis?

This is certainly a major crisis but could have been managed had we put in place systems and procedures with the help of technology.

Inability to fix this problem even after two months of the lockdown is indicative of the inefficiency and lack of expertise in contingency planning on part of the labour ministry.

Today all efforts are aimed to neutralise the arrows but no efforts are being made to target the archer.

Some questions come up about what the labour ministry is doing. The government allocates approximately Rs 7,700 crore per year to the labour ministry.

Do we need such a ministry if it has failed those for whom this ministry was created?

IMAGE: Migrants wait to board a train at Howrah station, May 17, 2020. Photograph: Ashok Bhaumik/PTI Photo

What could have been done and should be done so that such a crisis do not reoccur?

<ul">

Digital mapping and registration of every migrant worker and updating data periodically should be done and linked to Aadhar.

It must be made compulsory for employers to notify the labour department on a monthly basis and same must be updated at the state and Centre level.

Had this data been available these workers could have been provided food, and even evacuation could have been planned.

The labour ministry would have been able to inform the railways, food and health ministries about the number of trains required for each destination and the daily requirement of food and medical supplies.

It must be made compulsory for employers to notify the labour department on a monthly basis and same must be updated at the state and Centre level. Had this data been available these workers could have been provided food, and even evacuation could have been planned. The labour ministry would have been able to inform the railways, food and health ministries about the number of trains required for each destination and the daily requirement of food and medical supplies. Once the data was available these people could have been informed online or by SMS the date and time of departure of the train in which each individual was slotted to move to her/his home state.

This would have reduced the chaos and unnecessary rush at railway stations and bus stands.

People could have been prevented to move on foot and the loss of lives that is taking place on a daily basis could have been avoided.

This would have reduced the chaos and unnecessary rush at railway stations and bus stands. People could have been prevented to move on foot and the loss of lives that is taking place on a daily basis could have been avoided. Mobilisation plan with logistical support could have been made with the help of Artificial Intelligence-based models.

The government would have been in control of the situation and could have supervised the entire process in a smooth manner without any chaos.

The government would have been in control of the situation and could have supervised the entire process in a smooth manner without any chaos. With an AI-based model, the government would have updated the states for provision of medical supplies, food and transport at the final destination.

Quarantine facilities at each de-boarding station could have been established. The states could have also made adequate arrangements for food and health emergencies.

For example, if 10 million people exited Delhi and Mumbai that means the daily supply of food in these cities would drop and rise at other destinations.

Quarantine facilities at each de-boarding station could have been established. The states could have also made adequate arrangements for food and health emergencies. For example, if 10 million people exited Delhi and Mumbai that means the daily supply of food in these cities would drop and rise at other destinations. Availability of updated data about migrant workers would have assisted government agencies to make direct transfers of cash.

Though such a model would also have some slippages, that could be managed if details are accurately updated.

The labour ministry must get its act together and draw out a plan to create a database so that migrant workers can be managed better at least in the future.

It is a highly complex ministry and need professionals to manage this. Had the labour ministry made efforts to digitise its database, India would not have been embarrassed globally.

IMAGE: Migrants travel in a truck in Patna, May 18, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo

The mismanagement and insensitive attitude during such a crisis often creates disaffection among the people and if the television news channels are to be believed, a majority of migrant workers have gone back unhappy.

The government needs to set its house in order and bring major reforms in the labour and agriculture sector.

Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd) is a Distinguished Fellow at the United Services Institute of India and a frequent contributor to Rediff.com.

Production: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
A 40-year-old farm labourer



died of hunger and dehydration while walking to his native place in Maharashtra's Parbhani district from Pune, police said on Wednesday.

Pintu Pawar was found dead on Monday at Dhanora village in Beed district, located about 200 km from his native place, Ambhora police station's assistant inspector Dnyneshwar Kuklare told PTI.

"The postmortem was later done and it was found that he died of excessive walking, hunger and dehydration around May 15," the official said.

The victim was a native of Dhopte Pondul village in Manwat tehsil of Parbhani. He used to work as a sugarcane cutter but after the lockdown came into force, he went to stay at his brother's place in Pune, he said.

However, he decided to return to his native village in Parbhani and set off on foot from Pune on May 8.

He later reached Ahmednagar on May 14. Since he did not have a mobile phone, he contacted his family in his native village that day by using someone else's phone.

From there, he walked another 30 to 35 km till Dhanora and took rest under a tin shed there, the official said.

On Monday, some passersby complained of foul smell emanating from the shed and alerted the police.

Later, the police reached the spot and found Pawar dead, the official said.

Following the postmortem, his last rites were performed by officials of the Dhanora gram panchayat and police after consulting with his family members, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As restaurants, department stores and other local businesses grapple with operating at half occupancy (or less) to comply with social distancing guidelines, airlines are packing customers to near capacity on a reduced number of flights.

Why it matters: The practice shows how a lack of a national policy allows certain companies  like airlines  to continue to put Americans at risk for exposure to COVID-19 while other companies miss out on revenue by adhering to local regulations.

"If you look back at SARS in 2003, this issue of planes being a spreader of the virus has been well-known," Paul Tharp, an attorney specializing in negligence and liability at North Carolina's Arnold & Smith law firm, tells Axios.

Unless Congress passes rules shielding the airlines from liability  as Senate Republicans have discussed  they could face a complicated legal situation, Tharp adds.

How it works: In March, many airlines reduced the number of flights they offered by as much as 90% through the end of May, and as travel demand has picked up, they've simply loaded new passengers onto the few remaining scheduled flights.

They could reinstate laid off pilots and restart flights in order to accommodate newly increased demand, but have chosen not to.

"Airlines have very significant flexibility to adapt their route networks even during this extraordinary period," a Department of Transportation spokesperson tells Axios.

The big picture: Policymakers have created local ordinances for land-based businesses and public transit services that require new layouts to reduce the number of people.

Airlines have had no such oversight  and they're seeing fewer customers simply because fewer people want to fly.

As a result, they've created a patchwork of rules that are often merely suggestions.

Delta, for example, instituted a rule "capping seating at 50% capacity in first class and 60% capacity in the main cabin and keeping middle seats blocked."

American Airlines, on the other hand, has a policy to "not assign 50% of main cabin middle seats or seats near flight attendant jump seats." However, it does not put a hard cap on bookings and maintains the right to "use those middle seats when necessary."

American's representatives have told passengers that flights will only be booked at 50% capacity, but is not enforcing that cap and has been operating flights with nearly every seat filled.

United said it will allow passengers to rebook or receive a travel credit if they end up on flights that are close to full capacity.

What they're saying: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent a letter this week to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urging her department to issue uniform national social distancing guidelines for the aviation sector.

The guidance "should clearly lead the airlines to either keep middle or adjacent seats open, or limit capacity of aircraft to a level that allows adequate social distancing," she says.

Her letter referenced many outraged tweets from passengers on packed flights.

By the numbers: The aviation industry has been the economic sector most impacted by the lockdown in terms of activity.
By Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor, who was Assistant Director-General for Economic and Social Development, Food and Agriculture Organization, and who received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought in 2007. Originally published by Inter Press Service

Economic growth is supposed to be the tide that lifts all boats. According to the conventional wisdom until recently, growth in China, India and East Asian countries took off thanks to opening up to international trade and investment.

Such growth is said to have greatly reduced poverty despite growing inequality in both sub-continental economies and many other countries. Other developing countries have been urged to do the same, i.e., liberalize trade and attract foreign investments.

Doha Round Dead in Water

However, multilateral trade negotiations under World Trade Organization (WTO) auspices have gone nowhere since the late 1990s, even with the so-called Doha Development Round begun in 2001 as developing countries rallied to support the US after 9/11.

After the North continued to push their interests despite their ostensible commitment to a developmental outcome, the Obama administration was never interested in completing the Round, and undermined the WTOs functioning, e.g., its dispute settlement arrangements, even before Trump was elected.

To be sure, the Doha Round proposals were hardly developmental by any standards, with most developing countries barely benefitting, if not actually worse off following the measures envisaged, even according to World Bank and other studies.

GVC miracle?

According to the World Banks annual flagship World Development Report (WDR) 2020 on Trading for Development in the Age of Global Value Chains, GVCs have been mainly responsible for the growth of international trade for two decades from the 1990s.

GVCs now account for almost half of all cross-border commerce due to multiple counting, as products cross more borders than ever. Firms creative book-keeping may also overstate actual value added in some tax jurisdictions to minimize overall tax liability.

WDR 2020 claims that GVCs have thus accelerated economic development and even convergence between North and South as fast-growing poor countries have grown more rapidly, closing the economic gap with rich countries.

Automation, innovative management, e.g., just-in-time (JIT), outsourcing, offshoring and logistics have dramatically transformed production. Labour processes are subject to greater surveillance, while piecework at home means self-policing and use of unpaid household labour.

WDR 2020 Out of Touch

WDR 2020 presumes trends that no longer exist. Trade expansion has been sluggish for more than a decade, at least since the 2008 global financial crisis when the G20 of the worlds largest economies and others adopted protective measures in response.

GVC growth has slowed since, as economies of the North insisted on trade liberalization for the South, while abandoning their own earlier commitments as the varied consequences of economic globalization fostered reactionary jingoist populist backlashes.

Meanwhile, new technologies involving mechanization, automation and other digital applications have further reduced overall demand for labour even as jobs were off-shored. Trump-initiated trade policies and conflicts have pressured US and other transnational corporations to on-shore jobs after decades of off-shoring.

Nonetheless, WDR 2020 urges developing countries to bank on GVCs for growth and better jobs. Success of this strategy depends crucially on developed countries encouraging offshoring, a policy hardly evident for well over a decade!

As the last World Bank chief economist, albeit for barely 15 months, Yale Professor Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg recently agreed, the world is  retreating from globalization. Protectionism is on the rise  industrialized countries are less open to imports from developing countries. In addition, there is by now a lot of competition.

The Covid-19 crisis has further encouraged on-shoring and chain shortening, especially for food, medical products and energy. Although the Japanese and other governments have announced such policies, ostensibly for national security and other such reasons, Goldberg has nonetheless reiterated the case for GVCs in Covid-19s wake.

Trade Does Not Lift All Boats

After claiming that economists have argued for centuries that trade is good for the economy as a whole, Goldberg has also noted that trade generates winners and losers, with many losing out, and urges acknowledging the evidence rather than trying to discredit it, as some do.

Following Samuelson and others, she recommends compensating those negatively effected by trade liberalization, claiming sufficient gains generated by open trade that the winners can compensate the losers and still be better off without indicating how this is to be done fairly.

Compensation and redistribution require transfers which are typically difficult to negotiate and deliver at low cost. Tellingly, like others, she makes no mention of international transfers, especially for fairly redistributing the unequal gains from trade among trading partners.

Interestingly, she also observes, There are plenty of examples, especially in African countries, where wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few even when the tide rises, only very few boats rise. Growth doesnt trickle down and doesnt improve the lot of the poor.

Unlikely Pan-Africanist

After decades of World Bank promotion of the East Asian miracle for emulation by other developing countries, especially in Africa, Greek-born American Goldberg insists that what worked for growth and poverty reduction in China will not work in Africa today.

Echoing long time Bank critics, she argues, If trade with rich countries is no longer the engine of growth, it will be more important than ever to rely on domestic resourcesto generate growth that does trickle down and translates to poverty reduction.

Instead, as if supporting some contemporary pan-Africanists, she argues, Africa needs to rely on itself more than ever. The idea that export-led industrialization as it happened in China or East Asia is going to lead growth in Africa becomes less and less plausible.

She argues that the African market is a very large market with incredible potential. It has not been developed yet. So, regional integration might be one path forward. Rather than opting for global integration, which may be very hard to achieve these days when countries are retreating from multilateralism, it might be more feasible to push for regional trade agreements and create bigger regional markets for countries goods and services.

Acknowledging We are still a very long way from there because most countries are averse to this idea  they see their neighbors as competitors rather than countries they can cooperate with, not seeming to recognize the historical role of the Bank and mainstream trade economists in promoting the free trade illusion and discrediting pan-Africanism.
TANAISTE Simon Coveney has said the EU is sceptical of the British governments suggestion that there is no need for new customs infrastructure on either side of the Irish Sea after Brexit.

Mr Coveney was responding after the British government ruled out any new customs posts at ports in the North and Great Britain in a new paper setting out how the post-Brexit Northern Ireland protocol would be implemented.

The protocol was agreed as part of the Brexit withdrawal deal last year. The British government acknowledges that more infrastructure will have to be put in place to increase inspections on animals and agri-food, but crucially the document states that there will be no construction at points of entry where no plant or animal health checks are currently carried out.

Mr Coveney told RTEs Six One News: I think the really tricky area will be around customs and I think there will be a lot of sceptical people in the EU, when they hear the British government saying there will be no new physical infrastructure around customs.

Mr Coveney said the protocol was clear that the EU will be entitled to have a presence to ensure the protocol is being implemented. While the North will be legally part of the UK customs territory under the protocol it will need to operate the rules of the EU customs code to protect the integrity of the blocs single market.

But the British paper envisages a system that would presume that goods moving from Great Britain to the North are to remain there.

This is likely to become a key sticking in technical talks on the protocol between officials in London and Brussels in the coming weeks. Mr Coveney warned that he did not want the North to get dragged back into the spotlight of Brexit internationally in a way that is divisive and and causes standoffs:

He added: I think the British governments paper today is a step forward, but I suspect some elements of it are going to need negotiation, particularly on customs.

Cabinet Officer Minister Michael Gove said that at the heart of the British governments proposals was a consensual, pragmatic approach that will protect the Belfast Agreement

DUP leader Arlene Foster, whose party voted against the Brexit withdrawal deal, welcomed the commitment from the British government that there will be no new physical customs infrastructure and that they see no need to build any such infrastructure.

But Sinn Fein said that the protocol should be implemented in full and said it was clear that the British government is planning border control posts and checks at ports of entry for agri-food goods. It again highlights the fork-tongued approach the British government have adopted through all this, its Brexit spokesman MP Chris Hazzard said.

Mr Coveney said he was confident that an agreement on implementing the protocol and an EU-UK trade deal without tariffs and quotas can be reached.

Negotiators are in a race against time with Boris Johnsons government refusing to countenance asking for an extension to the trade talks beyond the end of this year, which it must do by the end of June.
Earlier this month, itelbpo moved quickly to launch its WAH operations in Canada and tap into the country's bilingual (French & English) workforce. "Canada is a multicultural and diverse society with a highly educated workforce. It is also known for having low rates of workforce attrition," commented itelbpo's Founding Chairman and CEO, Yoni Epstein."We've been eyeing the destination for a while, but decided to move quickly in order to respond to increasing demand for French-language speakers."

itelbpo acquired a robust work-at-home platform in 2017, which has been largely dedicated to growing a coast-to-coast network of at-home agents across the United States. Since the COVID pandemic, the company has successfully leveraged its capabilities to facilitate WAH in the Caribbean for much of its onsite staff. Now, with the global workforce adjusting to social distancing protocols and widespread public health concerns, it is clear that the GIG economy will only continue to grow. With a strong North American pipeline for back-office and customer experience services in industries, such as financial, insurance, online retail, utilities, travel & tourism, logistics and healthcare, the timing is right for itelbpo to bring its WAH platform to Canada.

About itelbpo

Founded in 2012 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, itelbpo is now a global business, and the region's largest home-grown business process outsourcer. With 8 facilities in 5 countries (Jamaica, The Bahamas, Mexico, Saint Lucia) and a robust network of U.S.-based work-from-home agents, itelbpo delivers customized contact center solutions across multiple channels and industries. They are renowned for their commitment to employee experience = customer experience (EX=CX). For more information on itelbpo, please visit www.itelbpo.com

SOURCE itelbpo

Related Links

http://www.itelbpo.com


Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai attend inaugural celebrations at the Taipei Guest House on May 20, 2020. (Taiwan Presidential Office)

Taiwan President Begins Her Second Term by Rejecting Chinese Rule

TAIPEI, TaiwanPresident Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for her second term in office on May 20, telling Beijing that she will continue to engage in cross-strait talks but Chinas proposal of one country, two systems model is off the table.

Here, I want to reiterate the words peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue. We will not accept the Beijing authorities use of one country, two systems to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle, said Tsai in her inaugural speech.

The model is currently used in Hong Kong since the citys sovereignty was handed over from Britain to China in 1997, whereby Beijing promised to preserve freedoms not enjoyed in the mainland. However, the city has seen the encroaching influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in local politics and education.

As @ChingteLai & I prepared to take the oath of office, I reflected on the responsibilities of my second term & the urgency of our mission. I am more determined than ever to fulfill that mission, & lead #Taiwan on the path to greater democracy, prosperity, peace & security. pic.twitter.com/6jUE1jasYD   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 20, 2020

Beijing has proposed the idea of using this model to govern Taiwan, as it views the self-ruled island as its territory, despite the fact that Taiwan has its own military, currency, and democratically-elected officials.

Beijings proposal has been overwhelmingly rejected in Taiwan. According to a March poll by Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council, a government agency that deals with cross-strait affairs, 90 percent of 1,089 locals surveyed said they objected to the model.

Meanwhile, 76.6 percent said Beijing was unfriendly toward the Taiwanese government, and 61.5 percent said Beijing was unfriendly toward Taiwanese peopleboth of which were all record highs in the past 15 years.

We have made the greatest effort to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait over the past four years, Tsai said, before adding that she will continue to engage in dialogue with Beijing in the next four years, so that the two neighbors can find a way to coexist over the long term.

Tsai said she will also continue to fight for Taiwans participation in international organizations.

Amid the current pandemic, the issue of Taiwans participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) has gained urgency, given the islands enormous success in containing the spread of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

It was recently blocked from taking part in a virtual meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA)the WHOs decision-making bodywhich commenced on May 18.

Taiwan took part in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016. After Tsai was first elected into office, Beijing has blocked the island from further participation.

For 8 years, Taiwan held observer status at the @WHO World Health Assembly  until Beijing interfered. Later this week, the WHO Executive Board will vote on reinstating that status. We will be watching closely to see if the Board, led by India, chooses global health, or politics.  Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 19, 2020

Tsai also said she will continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with our allies, and bolster ties with the United States, Japan, Europe, and other like-minded countries.

We will also participate more actively in regional cooperation mechanisms and work hand-in-hand with countries in the region to make concrete contributions to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, Tsai said.

Currently, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but considers the island a key ally in the Indo-Pacific region.

United States

A number of U.S. officials sent congratulatory messages to Tsai, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. According to Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this also marks the first time in history that a sitting U.S. secretary of state sent well wishes for Taiwans presidential inauguration.

Support for Taiwan in the United States is bipartisan and unanimous, as demonstrated by the recent enactment of the TAIPEI Act which strengthens our overall relationship and supports a closer economic partnership, said Pompeo in a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed the TAIPEI Act into law on March 27, a bill that mandates increased American support for Taiwan internationally.

With President Tsai at the helm, our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish, Pompeo concluded.

Thank you @SecPompeo for your well wishes. The Taiwan-US partnership is strong & full of promise. I look forward to furthering our friendship based on our many shared values & interests. https://t.co/9GM4tcriB9   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 19, 2020

Chinas hawkish state-run media Global Times, in an editorial published on May 20, expressed anger at Pompeo for congratulating Tsai, in particular how he addressed Tsai directly as President.

The editorial accused Washington and the Tsai administration as being narcissistic, while boasting that Beijing could mobilize more international resources than the two combined.

It also denounced the United States as being naive in voicing support to Taiwan, since Beijing could continue to pressure the Tsai administration by sending fighter jets and warships close to the island.

The world is watching democracy in action as President @iingwen is sworn in for her second term. I hope Beijing one day learns from Taipei to respect human rights and basic freedoms, and have genuine concern for the world.  Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) May 20, 2020

Joseph Bosco, a former China country desk officer at the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, in an interview with The Epoch Times sister media NTD just before Tsais inauguration, said the relationship between Taiwan and the United States has never been stronger.

For this reason, for the short term, I think China will continue to exert pressure and try to intimidate Taiwan and to deter the United States, Bosco said.

Bosco recommended more U.S. military activities to support Taiwan.

He explained: We should increase the number of both naval operations and air operations through the Taiwan Strait. We should also continue with the freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and increase those as well.

During the current pandemic, Beijing has continued its sable-rattling tactics against Taiwan with a series of military operations near the island. In response, U.S. military jets and warships have stepped in to show support for Taiwan, including most recently the sailing of U.S. destroyer USS McCampbell (DDG 85) through the Taiwan Strait on May 13.

Bosco added that the United States should make it clear explicitly that it will defend Taiwan in the event of a conflict with China.

I think more and more countries are realizing that China is a danger to the world in so many different ways. And the pandemic is just the most recent and dramatic example of that, Bosco said.

Bosco applauded Taiwans response to the pandemic, saying it has been open, transparent, responsible, and competent, while China is just the opposite in all those areas.

I think it is inevitable that Taiwan will become at least an observer and ultimately a full-fledged member of the World Health Organization because it has earned it in so many different ways, Bosco concluded.

Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced after Tsais inauguration that about 263 officials from a total of 47 countries and international organizations sent their congratulations to Tsai and Vice President William Lai.
WINNIPEG, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canada Life Reinsurance is pleased to announce that it has entered into a long-term longevity reinsurance agreement with NN Life covering 5.3 billion of in-force liabilities. Close to 82,000 of in-payment defined benefit pensioners will be reinsured by Canada Life Reinsurance under this agreement.

Jeff Poulin, Global Head of Canada Life Reinsurance said this agreement is another example of Canada Life Reinsurance's strength as a partner for reinsurance longevity transactions globally.

"I'm pleased that despite a significantly altered work environment due to Covid-19, Canada Life Reinsurance and NN Life's teams worked together to complete this major transaction," said Poulin. "It will allow us to further expand and diversify our global longevity business in 2020 and beyond."

Derek Popkes, Chief Operating Officer at Canada Life Reinsurance, agreed, adding, "Canada Life Reinsurance remains focused on delivering for our clients in these challenging times. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with NN Life. Our commitment to the Dutch market and our strong financials make us a good partner in the Netherlands."

Canada Life Reinsurance offers a range of innovative risk and capital management solutions for life, health and non-life risk to insurers, reinsurers and pension funds globally.

About NN Life

NN Life is a subsidiary of NN Group. NN Group is an international financial services company, active in 18 countries, with a strong presence in a number of European countries and Japan. With all its employees, the Group provides retirement services, pensions, insurance, investments and banking to approximately 18 million customers. NN Group includes Nationale-Nederlanden, NN, NN Investment Partners, ABN AMRO Insurance, Movir, AZL, BeFrank and OHRA. NN Group is listed on Euronext Amsterdam (NN).

About Canada Life Reinsurance

Canada Life Reinsurance is a division of The Canada Life Assurance Company and includes certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The Canada Life Assurance Company is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc.

About Great-West Lifeco Inc.

Great-West Lifeco is an international financial services holding company with interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses. We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower Retirement, Putnam Investments and Irish Life. At the end of 2019, our companies had approximately 24,000 employees, 197,000 advisor relationships, and thousands of distribution partners  all serving our more than 31 million customer relationships across these regions. Lifeco and its companies have over Can$1.5 trillion in consolidated assets under administration as of March 31, 2020 and are members of the Power Corporation group of companies. Lifeco trades on the Toronto (TSX) Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GWO. To learn more, visit greatwestlifeco.com.

SOURCE Canada Life Reinsurance
Reacting to Nepal incorporating parts of Indian territory in its official map on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs slammed this "unilateral act". Maintaining that this move was not based on historical facts and evidence, MEA official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava observed that this was contrary to the understanding between the two countries to resolve boundary disputes through dialogue. He made it clear that India shall not accept such an "artificial enlargement" of territory. Thereafter, he urged the Nepal government to respect India's consistent position on this matter. Srivastava expressed hope that the Nepalese leadership would create a positive dialogue to resolve boundary issues.

Read: After Nepal Claims Indian Territory In Its New Political Map, PM KP Oli Defends Inclusion

Here is the MEA spokesperson's statement:

"The Government of Nepal has released a revised official map of Nepal today that includes parts of Indian territory. This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India. Nepal is well aware of Indias consistent position on this matter and we urge the Government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues."

Read: China Urges India And Nepal To Resolve Kalapani Dispute With Bilateral Cooperation

Nepal vows to reclaim territories

On Monday, Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli chaired a Cabinet meeting in which the new map of the country featuring the Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura was approved. Earlier in the day, Nepal Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal unveiled the aforesaid political and administrative map of the country. Mentioning that the new map had been updated in the Constitution and will be kept at government offices, he promised that requisite legislation would be tabled in the Parliament.

Moreover, he exuded confidence that India would positively consider the issue. Addressing the Parliament on May 19, the Nepal PM claimed that India had made Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura "disputed" by stationing its Army there. He vowed to reclaim these territories from India through diplomatic efforts.

Read: COVID-19: Nepal Extends Nationwide Lockdown Until June 2

As per reports, Nepal's new map has been drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and the then British Indian government and other relevant documents. The row originally started when India issued a map in October 2019 incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border. In May 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand. This will serve as a link road to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet. Nepal had raised serious objections to the inauguration of this road.

Read: Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli Calls For Strong Vigil Along Country's Southern Border As Corona Cases Rises
A police officer keeps watch as demonstrators gather outside of the Thompson Center to protest restrictions instituted by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker in an attempt to curtail the spread of the CCP virus in Chicago, Illinois on May 1, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Illinois State Police Wont Arrest Anyone for Violating Executive Orders

Illinois state police officers wont arrest people for violating Gov. J.B. Pritzkers executive orders.

No individual will be arrested or taken to jail for a violation of the Executive Orders or emergency rules, the Illinois State Police said in a statement.

Officers are focusing on urging voluntary compliance with the orders and will not issue criminal misdemeanor penalties against individuals for violation of the orders or rules.

But officers may apply the rules to corporations, LLPs, or other business entities, the statement continued.

We encourage all citizens to continue to do their part to maintain public health as we move forward in the days ahead with Reopening Illinois, police added.

Pritzker, a Democrat, filed emergency rules last week that make opening a business against his orders a class A misdemeanor.

Violators could be fined up to $2,500 and receive up to one year of jail time.

State officials compared the possible citation to getting a traffic ticket and said no one would get arrested, though a court appearance would be required.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces a stay-at-home rule to combat the spread of the CCP virus during a news conference in Chicago, Ill., on March 20, 2020. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)

State lawmakers disagreed, alleging an overreach of Pritzkers authority.

It will be a dark day in Illinois when we charge small businesses with a jailable crime for salvaging their livelihoods. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said in a statement.

Lawmakers said Pritzker didnt announce the change during his daily briefings on the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

The 12-person Joint Committee on Administrative Rules was set to vote on whether to block the new rules, but Pritzker withdrew them before a vote could happen.

Staff from the Illinois Department of Public Health, according to the Journal Star, told the committee that the order was withdrawn.
Apple was accused of mass wiretapping users through Siri's voice assistant.

A former Apple contractor Thomas le Bonniec asked the European regulators to take measures against the company, The Guardian reported.

He noted that despite a public apology from the American corporation, it continues to record and analyze user conversations, thereby violating the basic civil rights of the population. According to him, the corresponding letter was sent to all offices of European regulators involved in monitoring the collection and storage of data.

I am extremely concerned that big tech companies are basically wiretapping entire populations despite European citizens being told the EU has one of the strongest data protection laws in the world. Passing a law is not good enough: it needs to be enforced upon privacy offenders, Le Bonniec noted.

He worked as a subcontractor for Apple in its Cork offices, transcribing user requests in English and French, until he quit in the summer of 2019 due to ethical concerns with the work.

They do operate on a moral and legal grey area, he told the Guardian at the time, and they have been doing this for years on a massive scale. They should be called out in every possible way.

The recordings were not limited to the users of Apple devices, but also involved relatives, children, friends, colleagues, and whoever could be recorded by the device. The system recorded everything: names, addresses, messages, searches, arguments, background noises, films, and conversations. I heard people talking about their cancer, referring to dead relatives, religion, sexuality, pornography, politics, school, relationships, or drugs with no intention to activate Siri whatsoever.

These practices are clearly at odds with the companys privacy-driven policies and should be urgently investigated by data protection authorities and Privacy watchdogs. With the current statement, I want to bring this issue to your attention, and also offer my cooperation to provide any element substantiating these facts. Although this case has already gone public, Apple has not been subject to any kind of investigation to the best of my knowledge.

In August 2019, Apple announced the termination of the practice of saving and listening to user interaction records with Siri. The company also noted that all recorded appeals are impersonal. At the end of July, The Guardian reported that Siri audio recordings contain confidential information, and a voice assistant can work and record the user's speech constantly.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is at the forefront of India's battle against COVID-19, is set to take charge as the chairman of the WHO Executive Board on May 22, officials said on Tuesday.

Vardhan would succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the Chairman of the 34-member WHO Executive Board.

The proposal to appoint India's nominee to the executive board was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly on Tuesday, officials said on condition of anonymity.

His taking over the post seems to be a formality after the decision that he will be India's nominee as the WHO's South-East Asia group had unanimously decided last year that India would be elected to the executive board for a three-year-term beginning May.

Vardhan would be elected at the Executive Board meeting of the World Health Organisation on May 22, the officials said.

The chairman's post is held by rotation for one year among regional groups and it was decided last year that India's nominee would be the Executive Board chairman for the first year starting Friday.

It is not a full time assignment and the minister will just be required to chair the Executive Board's meetings, an official said.

The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a member state elected to do so by the World Health Assembly.

Member States are elected for three-year terms.

The Board meets at least twice a year and the main meeting is normally in January, with a second shorter meeting in May, immediately after the Health Assembly.

The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.

Addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly via video conferencing on Monday, Vardhan had said India took all the necessary steps well in time to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

He had asserted that the country has done well in dealing with the disease and is confident of doing better in the months to come.

India is set to take over the chairmanship of the Executive Board amid growing calls, including by US President Donald Trump, to investigate how the coronavirus originated in China's Wuhan city and subsequent action by Beijing.
We stand shoulder to shoulder with the tourism sector plus details of second round of resilience fund opening mid-June

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

This afternoon the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales Ken Skates MS gave a statement to the Senedds Plenary session that included details of a second phase of economic resilience fund opening mid-June, along with a firm commitment on the tourism sector saying Welsh Government stands shoulder to shoulder with the sector.

The Minister opened by detailing the level of support given so far, stating: As we approach the summer season, we are all aware of the impact coronavirus is having on the tourism and hospitality sector.

One of the more recent concerns that has been raised with me is the issue of prompt payments to small businesses.

I urge all large organisations, both in the public and in the private sector, to play their part in supporting those smaller businesses by making payments on time.

Our package of support is the most generous for businesses anywhere in the UK, and it includes a 100 million loans scheme to help more than 1,000 businesses through the Development Bank of Wales; a 400 million economic resilience fund grant scheme, which, for phase 1, has attracted more than 9,500 applications, with over 6,000 offers already made to date, worth in excess of 100 million; and also, of course, the non-domestic rates-based grant support for small businesses and businesses operating in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, awarding to date 51,100 grants worth more than 626 million. Its a total package of 1.7 billion, worth 2.7 per cent of gross domestic product.

The Minster explained that the economic resilience fund would be reopening: On 27 April, we paused the economic resilience fund to give us an opportunity to consider where further support could make the biggest impact, not only to help those businesses we havent already reached, but also to consider what support all businesses will need through the ongoing rescue phase, as well as into the restart and recovery phases, as lockdown measures are eased in line with last Fridays framework.

That work is advancing well and we are finalising the details of the next phase of the economic resilience fund.

I expect to reopen the economic resilience fund eligibility checker for new applications by the middle of June, allowing companies time to prepare their applications. Following that, I expect to open for full applications later in the month.

This will enable access to the remaining 100 million of the 300 million already approved and allocated to support microbusinesses, small and medium sized enterprises and large businesses.

The Minister explained phase two of the fund will operate in the same way as phase one, but with an update to the micro scheme. This will enable limited companies that are not VAT registered to access the fund, something that so many small businesses have been calling for.

The Minister added: In addition, we are also working with our partners in local government to develop further support proposals for those not yet reachedfor example, start-up businesses. Weve also supplemented the Governments discretionary assistance fund, which supports people who are recently employed but not eligible for the job retention scheme, as well as the self-employed.

Responding to a question from Helen Jones MS about tourism businesses and the need particularly for them to be able to have their safe return to work guidance as soon as possible, Skates said: I can give my assurance that Ill be publishing the criteria as soon as I possibly canfull criteriaand Ill be making a statement to Members.

Can I say that we stand shoulder to shoulder with the tourism sector right now? It has never been through such uncertain times as its going through right now, and we wish to support the sector in every way we can, alongside the UK Government, who obviously have far deeper pockets and the ability to support the sector with financial resource.

On the same topic he added later: In terms of the tourism industry, we have asked UK Government to consider a VAT holiday in the tourism sector. I think this could be very beneficial, particularly in the recovery period.
The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Noepe Joint Border Post at Akanu have intercepted 27 West African nationals trying to use the border into neighbouring Togo.



The foreign nationals, 14 Nigerians and 13 Nigerienes were on a DAF truck with registration number ZUR 100 ZY.



Assistant Inspector, Mr Felix Klu-Adjei, Volta Regional Public Affairs Officer of GIS, who briefed the Ghana News Agency said the group was intercepted at about 1230 hours on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.



He said the truck carrying a cargo of onions entered Ghana through the Akanu border three days ago and heading towards Accra to discharge the load.



The Public Affairs Officer said the truck pulled up at the Akanu border and upon a search at the departure gate the 27 passengers were found and arrested.



Mr Klu-Adjei said Port Health officials examined the passengers and were later escorted to the GIS headquarters in Accra for further investigations.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
NoPa, Upper Haight

Photo: Patrick Traughber/Twitter

With sheltered San Franciscans eager to cycle, walk and run outdoors, the shared bikeway on the Panhandle has gotten crowded of late.

Now, after pressure from District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has proposed a new parking-protected bikeway to run alongside the Panhandle path.

Construction will start next month on the bikeway, which will occupy seven blocks of Fell Street (between Baker and Shrader). No information on a potential completion date was available.

According to Supervisor Preston's legislative aide, Preston Kilgore, the project will be "a temporary emergency response to COVID-19," allowing westbound cyclists to fully bypass the interior of the Panhandle. It will ultimately deposit them near the entrance to Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive, which is also car-free during the shelter-in-place.

Kilgore says that that the Panhandle path will still be open to cyclists heading west. "However, we expect there to be less bicycle traffic as a result of the protected bike lane on Fell," he said.

Existing and proposed layout of Fell Street. | Image: SFMTA

According to the SFMTA's website, the southernmost of Fell Street's four travel lanes  bordering the Panhandle  will be given over to the curb-adjacent bikeway. The bikeway will be designated with paint and protected with collapsible bollards.

Fell, a one-way street, has both northern and southern parking lanes. The southern lane will be moved away from the curb, with approximately 12 of the 136 parking spaces on that side removed. The spaces are needed to create turning lanes and visibility zones.

"We have an opportunity to try some innovative projects during this time of low car traffic on our streets, and we are pleased to partner with SFMTA to make a protected bike lane on Fell a reality," Preston said in a statement.

With the bike lane pitched as an emergency measure, it's unclear whether it would be removed once the pandemic ends  or if construction would even begin if the shelter-in-place order expires on May 31, as currently planned.

Story continues

Kilgore declined to comment on the lane's potential permanency, or the conditions under which it would be removed once in place.

But if constructed, it's likely that the new bike would have long-term support from pedestrian and cyclist advocacy organizations, who hailed the move after it was announced.

"Now's the time to move ahead with pilot projects that are quick and affordable solutions to create safe space for social distancing, and to also move our city closer to Vision Zero," Walk SF executive director Jodie Medeiros said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia will no longer use flogging as a punishment for certain crimes, according to a circular issued to the courts today.

Prison or fines or both will be some of the alternative sentences to replace flogging. Courts will hear and evaluate cases and make most sound decisions regarding each case, the Justice Ministry said on Twitter.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya reported that Minister of Justice Waleed al-Samaani informed the courts that flogging could no longer be used for tazir offenses where the punishment is not specifically outlined in the Quran or hadith.

It was first reported in late April that the ultraconservative kingdom would be ending tazir flogging in cases where judges have discretion over the punishment.

Saudi judicial authorities have used flogging as a punishment for a range of lesser crimes, including public intoxication and harassment. In 2014, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam.

Amnesty International has documented the flogging and torture of imprisoned Saudi activists, including Loujain Alhathloul, who fought for the right for women to drive in the kingdom.

The move to limit flogging follows a decision from King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud last month to end the death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes committed when they were minors. Instead of executions, courts can hand out a maximum penalty of 10 years in a juvenile detention center, according to a royal decree.

These changes should be merely a starting point for a complete and transparent overhaul of Saudi Arabias criminal justice system, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said at the time.

Rights organizations say Saudi Arabias use of corporal punishment, due process violations and strict interpretation of sharia law have made it one of the worlds worst human rights violators. Still, the kingdom has taken recent steps aimed at reform and extending women's rights.
Understanding how disinformation metastasizes is vital to the digital campaign world that were living in. To map out how this conspiracy theory spread, I turned again to my colleague Ben Decker, a researcher who works with The New York Times and helps us make sense of all the digital noise.

Attaching a -gate suffix to a political nemesiss name may seem obvious. But the rapid, viral and organic spread of Obamagate followed an increasingly common playbook for those seeking to sow chaos and confusion. This conspiracy theory starts with a grass-roots groundswell, often within conspiracy-minded message boards, and bubbles on Twitter (where like-minded accounts only really talk to each other). But then it gets picked up by a widely followed Twitter account (usually one with a verified blue check mark) and is amplified by other verified partisan accounts. Then the mainstream media notices, and its off to the races.

Here is a step-by-step look that Ben and I put together of how the rise and spread of the Obamagate conspiracy has played out.

2017: The embers burn

Usage of Obamagate spiked in March 2017, after Mr. Trump had been in office for less than two months, when he falsely tweeted about his phones having been wiretapped. The phrase was used by partisan media outlets like Breitbart and in conspiracy communities like QAnon as a means of describing the deep state and pinning the blame on Mr. Obama for any troubles that befell Mr. Trump.

Search interest in the phrase peaked again in January 2018 amid news reports about the investigation by the special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. The #obamagate hashtag was eventually tweeted by Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, on Feb. 2, and showed up later that month in a QAnon post on 8chan.
Ultratech Cement jumped 3.07% to Rs 3,545 after consolidated net profit surged 204.79% to Rs 3,243 crore on 13.07% decline in net sales to Rs 10,579 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.

Profit before tax (PBT) fell 4.21% YoY to Rs 1,461.97 crore during the quarter. Current tax expense fell 22.10% to Rs 246.61 crore during the period under review. The result was announced during market hours today, 20 May 2020.

Consolidated net profit surged 141.89% to Rs 5,815 crore on 1.40% increase in net sales to Rs 41,476 crore in the year ended March 2020 (FY20) over the year ended March 2019 (FY19). PAT includes a one-time tax gain of Rs 2,112 crore. PBT rose 51.14% to Rs 5242.30 crore in FY20 over FY19.

EBITDA skid 1% to Rs 2,639 crore in Q4 March 2020 as against Rs 2,672 crore in Q4 March 2019. EBITDA margin stood at 25% in Q4 March 2020 as against 22% in Q4 March 2019.

Consolidated sales volume tumbled 16% to 21.44 million tonnes in Q4 March 2020 over 25.43 million tonnes in Q4 March 2019. Consolidated net debt stood at Rs 16,860 crore in Q4 March 2020 as against Rs 22,111 crore in Q4 March 2019 and Rs 18,625 crore in Q3 December 2019. During the year ended 31 March 2020, the company has reduced its Net Debt to EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and ammortization) ratio to 1.7x from 2.83x as of the year ended, 31 March 2019.

Due to COVID-19 outbreak, the firm operations across locations were shut down in line with the government directives. The construction activity across the country was halted, which is normally at its peak in the month of March, leading to an adverse impact on the company's operations during the quarter ended 31 March 2020. However, select activities were allowed to operate from 20 April 2020, by the Government of India. The firm resumed its operations at its establishments after obtaining necessary government approvals and ensuring compliance with the statutory guidelines. The company has now adopted the provisions of the standard operating procedure announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Meanwhile, the scheme of demerger for acquiring the cement business of Century Textiles and Industries became effective from 1 October, 2019. The plants have been ramping up production month on month touching average capacity utilisation of over 80% during the quarter ended March 2020. The firm has put in place a cost reduction plan to bring the operations in line with its existing standards. 65% of sales from the acquired Century Textiles and Industries plants during the quarter were under the UltraTech brand. Brand integration is underway and is expected to reach more than 80% by Q3FY21. The quarter witnessed a remarkable improvement in operating margin. The overall integration is likely to be completed by end of Q3 FY2021.

The board recommended a dividend of Rs 13 per equity share. Meanwhile, the board had also approved the issuance of redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs), from time to time, in one or more tranches, on private placement basis, within the borrowing limits approved by the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held on 18 July 2019.

UltraTech Cement manufactures a range of products that cater to construction needs from foundation to finish, including Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Portland Blast Furnace Slag Cement (PSC), Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC), white cement including white cement-based products and ready-mix concrete.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wearing a mask in Wisconsin may not yet have garnered the type of partisan vitriol seen in Washington, D.C., but that may be changing. The mask has begun to be seen as a symbol, on the right, of blindly submitting to government authority, and on the left, a sign of compassion.

When I see somebody thats 20, 30 years old, and in their late teens  I think its more of a political thing for them, said Tim Garcia, a 41-year-old project manager from Beaver Dam who supports President Donald Trump. In their eyes, I think it shows that it makes them think that they care more about the well-being of other people, to try to stop this whole thing.

Guidance on mask-wearing from public health experts has at times been confusing.

Today, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth face mask in public settings in areas with significant community-based transmission where social distancing is hard to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies or a busy street. The CDC began recommending public mask-wearing after studies showed that COVID-19 can be spread by people showing no symptoms.
HOUSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ThoughtTrace, Inc., a leading Document Intelligence and Contract Analytics software provider, announced today that it has closed a $10 million financing led by McRock Capital, along with Chevron Technology Ventures and existing investor, Altira Group. Scott MacDonald, Co-founder & Managing Partner from McRock will join ThoughtTrace's Board of Directors.

"We are extraordinarily excited to have both McRock and Chevron join the team. McRock brings a great background in the industrial space, which we see as a great fit. In the case of Chevron, they went from being a new customer in 2019 to an investor in 2020," said Nick Vandivere, ThoughtTrace CEO. "With the new capital raise, ThoughtTrace will accelerate its investment in creating AI with unparalleled speed and accuracy, grow strategic partnerships and platform integrations, and add to its existing team of talented professionals, all of which will bring further value to the growing ThoughtTrace customer-base."

ThoughtTrace's AI-powered Document Intelligence platform enables organizations to uncover valuable information buried in contracts and documents in a fraction of the time and cost it would take using traditional review methods. In addition to massive productivity gains, companies that have harnessed this power have drastically reduced OPEX, minimized corporate risk, and even discovered new opportunities worth millions to the bottom line.

Since the 2017 initial product release serving the domestic energy sector, ThoughtTrace has seen aggressive growth year-over-year through expanding energy offerings as well as moving into new vertical markets. Today, the ThoughtTrace technology is trained by subject-matter-experts to serve a wide array of industries including manufacturing, real estate, technology, legal, finance, telecommunications, oil and gas, and renewable energy.

Quotes from investors:

"As the digital strategy of industrial companies becomes even more important in the current market climate, being able to use AI software to discover critical information in thousands of unstructured text documents quickly and cost effectively is transformational," said Scott MacDonald, Co-founder of McRock Capital. "ThoughtTrace allows a company to expand the data analytics from a physical asset to the documentation that governs that asset such as a Power Purchase Agreement for renewable energy."

"Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV) pursues externally-developed technologies and new business solutions that have the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy. ThoughtTrace fits that mandate with the potential to automate the complex, time-consuming, and document-intensive workflows required for our ongoing business operations," said Barbara Burger, President, Chevron Technology Ventures.

"ThoughtTrace is one of those rare technology companies, actually delivering value through Artificial Intelligence and truly reinventing how complex documents are managed. This powerful platform's ability to distill meaning and insight from complex documents has unlocked hundreds of millions of dollars of value across industrial sectors," said Sean Ebert, Partner at Altira and ThoughtTrace Board Member. "We're thrilled to partner with McRock and Chevron Technology Ventures to help ThoughtTrace advance this mission, as we share similar cultures and an unabating commitment to customer success," added J.P. Bauman, Principal at Altira and ThoughtTrace Board Member.

Highlighting the company's momentum, in 2019 the ThoughtTrace platform identified 163 million industry-specific facts out-of-the-box, powering better decisions for customers ranging from Fortune 10s to SMBs. ThoughtTrace, Inc. was also awarded several accolades, including Great Places to Work, Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces in Houston, announced as a finalist for the IACCM's Innovation & Excellence Award, and secured the highly respected SOC II Type II Compliance.

About McRock:

McRock is the first dedicated Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) venture capital fund manager focused on the intersection of sensors and software in large industrial markets and smart cities. The McRock team has a unique background of building high-growth venture-backed IIoT companies while also having worked in the power, water, oil and gas industries. McRock is backed by several leading institutional investors and global corporations including Cisco Systems, Caterpillar, Shell, Mitsubishi and Electricite de France (EDF).

Visit www.mcrock capital.com and follow on Twitter @McRockCapital

About Chevron Technology Ventures:

Formed in 1999, Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), operating as a division of Chevron U.S.A. Inc., pursues externally-developed technologies and new business solutions that have the potential to enhance the way Chevron produces and delivers affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy. CTV fosters innovation, supporting vibrant startup ecosystems and championing technology integration internally. Through its investment portfolio and internal use pipeline that trials technologies for use within Chevron, CTV has supported a wide range of innovative companies that are helping to shape the future of energy.

About Altira Group:

Altira Group LLC provides venture capital funding for carefully curated technology products, software and advantaged service offerings that help meet the modern and complex challenges of today's oil and gas industry. Since its founding in 1997, Altira has invested over $1B with partners in over 55 companies. Its Fund VI partners include a select group of U.S. super-independent oil and gas companies that help accelerate the growth of Altira's portfolio companies by serving as large, fast-adopting customers. The Altira team has over half a century of combined experience building successful technology companies. Please visit www.altiragroup.com for more information.

About ThoughtTrace:

ThoughtTrace creates the only industry-specific Document Intelligence and Contract Analytics platform that delivers value on day one with minimal training and setup. Leveraging AI/ML as a complement to human expertise, the ThoughtTrace platform identifies critical obligations in contracts exponentially faster and with greater accuracy than traditional methods. The ThoughtTrace platform reads, organizes, and surfaces data that gives users operational agility, actionable insights, and decision-making superpowers. Learn more at www.thoughttrace.com.

SOURCE ThoughtTrace, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.thoughttrace.com


Pamela Anderson is lending her bombshell sex appeal to a new webcam-based social media platform.

Pammy, 52, posted a sultry bedroom shot of herself in lingerie on Instagram Wednesday, plugging her new role as the creative director of Jasmin.com.

An offshoot of adult webcamming service LiveJasmin, this site sells itself as a place where users can communicate directly with influencers and discuss anything from travel and fashion to dating and relationships.

New gig: Pamela Anderson, 52, is lending her bombshell sex appeal to a new webcam-based social media platform called Jasmin.

The Barb Wire star is expected to host regular virtual conversations with experts in the fields of relationships, intimacy, and sex positivity.

Speaking about her new gig to Good Morning America, she said: 'I love the concept, I love the idea of trying to connect people.'

'I feel like its one of those things where users and influencers can talk about anything and its direct communication looking into somebodys eyes - I kind of take social media to another level.'

Getting to work: The Barb Wire star is expected to host regular virtual conversations with experts in the fields of relationships, intimacy, and sex positivity.

Starlet: Speaking about her new gig to Good Morning America , she said: 'I love the concept, I love the idea of trying to connect people.'

Pamela also got personal in the interview, saying: 'I'm always in love and brokenhearted at the same time. My mother tells me so much its never going to change.'

In February this year, the actress split from movie producer husband Jon Peters after only 12 days of marriage.

The pair married on January 20th during a private ceremony, where Anderson's sons Brandon, 23, and Dylan Lee, 22, who she shares with ex Tommy Lee, were in attendance.

Over: Pamela Anderson and movie producer Jon Peters split less than two weeks after their wedding in Feburary this year

Pamela's first husband was rock star Tommy, to whom she was wed from 1995 until 1998.

The blonde bombshell was also married to Kid Rock from 2006 until 2007. And she was wed twice to Rock Salomon; from 2007 until 2008 and then again from 2014 to 2015.

Salomon was Paris Hilton's co-star in her sex tape 1 Night In Paris
The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave approval for a new central scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for providing credit-linked subsidy to 2 lakh micro food processing units across the country

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave approval for a new central scheme with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for providing credit-linked subsidy to 2 lakh micro food processing units across the country.

The 'Scheme for Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises' was announced as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore Atma Nirbhar package to tackle the economic slump resulting from COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the scheme, meant for the unorganised sector, the expenditure will be shared by the central and state governments in the ratio of 60:40, an official statement said.

Cabinet approves a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme  Scheme for Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises for the Unorganized Sector on All India basis with an outlay of Rs 10,000 cr  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 20, 2020

The scheme, to be implemented for five years till 2024-25, will provide back-ended credit-linked subsidy to 2,00,000 units. It will have a cluster-based approach, with a focus on perishables.

"There are about 25 lakh unregistered food processing enterprises which constitute 98 percent of the sector and are unorganized and informal. Nearly 66 percent of these units are located in rural areas and about 80 percent of them are family-based enterprises. This sector faces a number of challenges...," it said.

Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak

The challenges include inability to access credit, high cost of institutional credit, lack of access to modern technology, inability to integrate with the food supply chain and compliance with health and safety standards, it added.

"Strengthening this segment will lead to reduction in wastage, creation of off-farm job opportunities and aid in achieving the overarching government objective of doubling farmers' income," the statement said.

To encourage micro-enterprises, the government said it will provide a credit-linked subsidy for 35 percent of the eligible project cost with a ceiling of Rs 10 lakh.

The beneficiary contribution would be a minimum 10 percent and the balance will come from a loan. The government will provide onsite skill training and handholding for detailed project reports and technical upgradation.

The government will also provide a seed capital of Rs 4 lakh per Self Help Group (SHG) to provide loans to members to meet their working capital requirement and for buying small tools.

A grant will also be provided to FPOs (Farmer Producers Organisation) for backward/forward linkages, common infrastructure, packaging, marketing and branding.

The government said the scheme is likely to generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled jobs, benefit nearly 8 lakh micro-enterprises through access to information, better exposure and formalization. It will also enable them to formalize, grow and become competitive.

The scheme would be monitored by the central government's inter-ministerial empowered committee, while the state-level committee will sanction and recommend proposals for the expansion of micro-units and setting up of new units.

States will also prepare annual action plans for the implementation of the scheme. There would be a third-party evaluation and mid-term review mechanism, the statement said.

The government will set up a national level portal where applicants/individual enterprises could apply to participate in the scheme. All scheme activities would be undertaken on the national portal, it added.
The number of newly reported coronavirus cases worldwide hit a daily record this week with more than 100,000 new cases over the last 24 hours, according to the World Health Organization.

Almost two-thirds of the cases were reported in just four countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference Wednesday at the agency's Geneva headquarters. "We still have a long way to go in this pandemic."

The majority of new confirmed cases are coming from the Americas, followed by Europe, according to WHO's daily report. The U.S. reported 45,251 new cases on Tuesday, according to the agency. Russia had the second-most reported cases Tuesday at 9,263, according to WHO.

There are now close to 5 million global cases and roughly 325,000 deaths since the virus emerged in Wuhan, China, less than five months ago, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The WHO has been warning world leaders that there can be "no going back to business as usual" following the Covid-19 outbreak, which has upended economies and wreaked havoc on nearly every country around the globe.

The agency has told countries that they will need to manage around the coronavirus for the foreseeable future as cases level off or decline in some countries, while peaking in others and resurging in areas where the Covid-19 pandemic appeared to be under control.

While social distancing measures put in place in numerous countries to slow the spread of the coronavirus have been successful, the virus remains "extremely dangerous," WHO officials have said. Current data show "most of the world's population remains susceptible," they said, meaning outbreaks can easily "reignite."

The new record in cases comes as President Donald Trump threatens to permanently pull funding from the agency.

During the press briefing, WHO officials said they are worried their emergency programs will suffer if Trump follows through on his threats.

Most funding from the United States goes directly to the program that helps countries all over the world in "all sorts of fragile and difficult settings," said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program.
San Francisco, May 20 : Apple and Google on Wednesday announced to release their Exposure Notifications System (or contact tracing technology) to help public health agencies make their Bluetooth-based COVID-19 apps effective while protecting user privacy.

About 22 countries on five continents have requested and received access to the application programming interface (API), with more expected to join in the coming weeks, the tech giants said in a joint statement.

"Starting today, our Exposure Notifications technology is available to public health agencies on both iOS and Android. What we've built is not an app - rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install," said Apple and Google.

Each user gets to decide whether or not to opt-in to Exposure Notifications and the system does not collect or use location from the device.

"If a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, it is up to them whether or not to report that in the public health app. User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps," said the companies.

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted: "Technology can help health officials rapidly tell someone they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Today the Exposure Notification API we created with @Google is available to help public health agencies".

With these updates, public health agencies (PHAs) around the globe can begin to deploy apps that make use of exposure notifications.

The API released on Wednesday "is the result of feedback the joint project team received from hundreds of conversations over the past five weeks with PHAs, NGOs, academics, government officials and privacy experts in America and dozens of countries across five continents".

The API will allow PHAs to define what constitutes an exposure event and will allow them to determine the number of exposure events an individual has had.

"The API will allow PHAs to factor transmission risk of positive cases into their definition of an exposure event and a combination of the API and data that users voluntarily choose to input into the app allows PHAs to contact exposed users", said Apple and Google.

Exposure Notification has the specific goal of rapid notification, which is especially important to slowing the spread of the disease with a virus that can be spread asymptomatically.

On April 10, Google and Apple announced a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of COVID-19 through contact tracing, with user privacy and security core to the design.

Both the companies provided developers with new resources to help them make exposure notification apps, including user interfaces (UI) and sample code for both iOS and Android.
Voters in swing states are sharply divided along partisan lines over the coronavirus pandemic with just under six months to go before Election Day, according to a new CNBC/Change Research poll. Democrats and Republicans in the key electoral states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin disagree over whether there is likely to be a second wave of Covid-19 cases and who is to blame if there is. Republicans were far more likely to say that corporations should be shielded from liability if their customers or employees contract the virus and sue, while Democrats said they were taking more precautions, such as wearing masks and avoiding restaurants. The survey polled 5,408 likely voters in battleground states from Friday to Sunday and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points. The data sheds new light on the battle between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, which is being waged in the shadow of the worst public health crisis in living memory. Some of the data in the survey is good news for the president. In a hypothetical match-up, Trump holds a narrow, 48%-46% lead over Biden among all the battleground voters surveyed, including a 41%-32% lead among independents. He also leads Biden 51%-40% in who would do a better job handling the economy. The two are in a statistical tie over who would do a better job handling coronavirus. But the survey results also showed that independents are far more likely than Trump to be concerned about a potential second wave in coronavirus infections and will blame Trump if it does. Among both Democrats and independents, the most common word used in responses to the survey was "incompetent." In contrast, Republicans used words like "good," "great," "best," and "excellent."

Second-wave worries

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Democrats and independent voters in the swing states are far more likely than Republicans to be pessimistic about the prospects of containing the pandemic. While 71% of Republicans think that things are getting better, only 12% of Democrats and 35% of independents think the same, with two-thirds of Democrats and 42% of independents thinking things are getting worse. Nearly 8 in 10 Democrats say they have "very serious" concerns about coronavirus, while only 1 in 10 Republicans thinks the same. Those views are consistent with a partisan divide in concern about a possible second wave in infections. Public health experts have warned of a possible resurgence in Covid-19 cases once containment measures are eased. Some Asian nations have already experienced an uptick in infections that in some cases have caused authorities to reimpose restrictions. Trump has projected optimism, pledging that a vaccine will be distributed by the end of the year and that Covid-19 will "go away" eventually even if there is no vaccine. The divergence in views is stark: 99% of Democrats say that there is at least a 50-50 chance of a second wave in U.S. infections before the end of the year, with 94% telling pollsters that it will probably or definitely happen. On the other hand, 38% of Republicans said a second wave will probably or definitely not appear, with 41% saying there's a 50-50 chance. More than 8 in 10 independents see at least a 50-50 chance of a second wave this year, with 37% saying there will definitely be one and 19% saying it is probable.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

If there is a second wave, swing-state voters are divided over who should be blamed. Democrats overwhelmingly said the two people or groups most responsible would be Trump and states that reopened their economies too soon, while Republicans said it would be the fault of China and Democrats. In a possibly worrisome sign for the president, a plurality of independents agreed with Democrats and said it would be mostly Trump and the states' fault, though by a less significant margin.

Republicans side with Trump on masks

Trump has refused to wear a mask in public  even while visiting a factory making masks and despite the fact that he has said he is taking an unproven anti-malarial drug to prevent infection. The survey shows that Trump is not alone among Republicans. Less than half of Republicans said they are wearing a face mask in public, while more than 9 in 10 Democrats said they were doing so. Sixty-three percent of independents also said they were wearing a face mask in public. Republicans also have less favorable views of those who wear masks in public. While 92% of Democrats said they had somewhat or very favorable views of people who wear face masks in public, only about 1 in 4 Republicans said the same thing. More than 3 in 10 Republicans said they have somewhat or very unfavorable views of people who wear masks in public, compared with 1% of Democrats. Among independents, 50% expressed somewhat or very favorable views of mask-wearers, and 21% had unfavorable views.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to take other steps in response to the coronavirus as well, including hand washing, avoiding restaurants, canceling trips, delaying large purchases and storing food. Republicans are more likely to approve of people protesting stay-at-home orders. About three-quarters of Republicans have somewhat or very favorable views of the protesters, in comparison with just 4% of Democrats. Independents view the protesters less favorably than Republicans and more favorably than Democrats, with 38% saying they have somewhat or very favorable views and 46% expressing somewhat or very unfavorable views.

Should businesses be protected from lawsuits?

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards
An urgent meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group will be held in Minsk, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

"Today, by the way, due to the statement by Mr Pasechnik [head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic], he has written a letter today and he is calling an urgent meeting of the Minsk contact group, he has addressed this letter to Ms Grau [OSCE Special Representative]," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Published in partnership with The Fuller Project, a non-profit newsroom that reports on issues impacting women.

When Fawzia Rawof heard gunfire and screams, she knew there were only three options: run, hideor die.

The doctor and midwife supervisor at a 55-bed maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi, a neighborhood in southwest Kabul, was no stranger to the militant attacks that routinely rocked the area and the rest of Afghanistan.

Just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 12, unidentified gunmen stormed her government-run hospital. They moved methodically past the emergency ward and the operating room toward their target: a bustling pink-walled maternity ward supported by Doctors Without Borders filled with midwives, women, and newborn babies.

There was no time to think, to hesitate. Colleagues and patients rushed around Rawof, clambering over each other in desperation. She ran to another room to hide, but the door was locked. So was the next door. The third door opened, but the room full of people, also in hiding, wasnt safe. Bullets can tear through walls, through doors, with frightening ease. Around her, people jumped from first-floor windows.

Finally, Rawof found an open room where other colleagues were hiding that seemed safe. It wasnt a heavily-fortified room that could withstand gunfire or bombs, but the door was thicker than most. Someone locked the door behind her. She hid. The gunmen pounded on the door.

They were screaming and telling us to open the door: If you dont open, we are going to shoot, Rawof recalls.

She said a prayer as the militants sprayed gunfire into the maternity ward, where women huddled their newborn babies close. This is our death now, she remembers saying.

A security officer carries a baby from a hospital that came under attack in Kabul on May 12. | Jim HuylebroekThe New York Times/Redux

Rawof survived. But on the other side of the door, gunmen killed at least 15 mothers, two children, and one MSF midwife, according to MSF. Afghan officials have said the attack left 24 people dead in total.

Story continues

No group has claimed responsibility. The Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for the violence. Zalmay Khalilzad, chief U.S. negotiator for the U.S.-Taliban peace talks, has said that the U.S. government believes the Islamic State is responsible. Regardless of who carried out the attack, MSF Afghanistan program director Frederic Bonnot has said that the gunmens intent was clear: They came to kill the mothers.

Since 2014, the maternity ward, run by Doctors Without Borders, known in French as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has been a lifeline for pregnant women in Dasht-e-Barchi who cant afford or access life-saving medical care. Women knew they could trust the highly trained midwives and medical professionals who had delivered over 5,000 babies since January alone.

But on that bloody morning in May, the very things that made the maternity ward successfulits dedication to women, support and staffing from an international organization, affiliation with the Afghan government, and location in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchimade it a target.

The May 12 attack has dealt a devastating blow to Afghanistans years-long internationally-backed efforts to support womens health across the war-torn country, and further instilled fear in the medical community and the women it serves.

The attack comes at a time when the future of womens health efforts in Afghanistan is already complicated: the coronavirus pandemic has further limited access to already strained health services, months of political infighting led the U.S. to cut a billion dollars in aid that props up the Afghan economy and security forces, and controversial U.S.-brokered peace negotiations with the Taliban have proven, so far, deadly and unsuccessful.

On Friday, Rawof said her colleagues received the call they had all feared: MSF was suspending its medical services at the hospital following the attack. It was a necessary but difficult decision, MSF country director Filipe Ribeiro said in an interview with the Associated Press. Women and children in Kabul are now deprived of a fundamental health care service they need, in a context where access to essential care is already limited, he said.

Health advocates in Kabul and across Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women, are now left trying to figure out how to best support women when health efforts are under threat by both militants and a deadly, invisible virus.

Bullet holes line the wall of the maternity hospital, after gunmen stormed the facility on May 12. | Rahmat GulAP

The recent violence targeting women and womens health advocates could deter women from seeking help, says Maryam Bahram Azimi, a gynecologist at the maternity ward in Kabuls Isteqlal Hospital.

Naturally, women are afraid, she said. And they dont want to go to the maternity wards [for] their pregnancy. But this is very dangerous for the mother and the child and the mortality rate of the mothers and the children will [increase].

The added hurdle of coronavirus, which has infected a large number of Afghan health workers, has made accessing safe medical care that much more difficult, and frightening. Some clinics have shut down entirely, with women being told to seek at-home midwife support instead of coming to clinics. Afghanistan will likely face a health disaster due to coronavirus, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said in a recent report.

Afghanistan has seen notable advancements for women across the country since 2001, when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan partially under the premise of liberating women, though tens of thousands of Afghan women still lack access to basic health care and many must travel long distances to seek routine care. One of the most obvious advancements is the drastic increase in midwife support to women during childbirth, largely made possible due to millions of dollars in foreign funding.

In 2002, Afghanistans maternal mortality rate was one of the worst in the world. A survey commissioned by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF found that 1,600 women died due to childbirth complications  many of them avoidable  out of every 100,000 live births.

Since then, the maternal mortality rate has plummeted to around 638 maternal deaths (compared to 19 in the United States, and 2 in Sweden) per 100,000 live births as of 2017, though collecting accurate data proves challenging when large swaths of the country are controlled by militants. (Whether or not Afghanistans maternal mortality rate is accurate has been called into question in recent years.)

The drop in maternal mortality can be partly attributed to the fact that Afghanistan and the international community have invested heavily in a coordinated campaign to train, deploy, and support thousands of midwives across Afghanistan in the last two decades. Some of these midwives work in government hospitals and maternity wards like the one attacked on March 12. Others, supported by international organizations and the Afghan government, cross into militant-controlled areas of the country to help support women during childbirth who might otherwise give birth alone.

Even still, violence has hindered advancements in maternal health access.

When planning and implementing health-related programmes, MSF noted in a March report, international donors and local stakeholders must acknowledge that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has not improved, and in some areas has worsened in recent years.

Without the MSF-run maternity ward in Dasht-e-Barchi, women will have to seek out other public or private medical facilities that offer varying levels of care and availability.

The maternity ward, for now, is not accepting patients. In a country where there are an estimated four doctors for every 10,000 people, reports Reuters, the closure of one maternity ward is no small thing.

Women are coming for registration day and night, says Rawof, only to be turned away. They really need MSFs help.

Families of newborns wait outside the Ataturk hospital to see their children in Kabul on May 13, a day after they were rescued following a deadly attack on another maternity hospital. | Rahmat GulAP

Health workers have routinely come under attack in Afghanistan, though the March 12 attack has been met with particular horror, due to the target killings of pregnant women, mothers, and babies. In July 2018, militants attacked a midwife training center in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least three. In January 2018, gunmen disguised as medical workers armed an ambulance and killed over a hundred people in front of Kabuls Jamhuriat Hospital. On Tuesday, Afghan forces attacked a clinic in the embattled city of Kunduz, reportedly destroying the clinics emergency ward.

Nor is it the first time MSF, specifically, has suspended its medical activities. The international medical charity pulled out of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2009 following the brutal targeted killing of five MSF staff members in the northwestern province of Badghis.

In 2015, a U.S. gunship fired 211 shells at an MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 42 people, including 14 MSF staff members. The U.S. military claimed it had received intelligence that the hospital housed Taliban fighters. MSF pulled out of Kunduz following the attack, only partially returning in 2017.

The security situation has long dictated access to medical care in Afghanistan, and whether or not international organizations are willing to take on the risk to help save womens lives.

Health workers need international partners, says Azimi, the gynecologist, who says she and her colleagues continue their work out of love for their country.

Rawof, too, says they have no choice but to go on, even if clinics close and medical efforts are restricted.

Weve [received an education] to serve our people, she said. To help mothers and their children.

When Rawof exited the hospital in her uniform in the afternoon of May 12, after security forces rescued staff and patients hiding inside, she saw women from the neighborhood standing on their balconies.

Their hands were raised in the air. They were praying for her.

May Allah save you all, she recalls them saying.

Sophia Jones is managing editor of The Fuller Project. Khwaga Ghani contributed reporting from Kabul.
Jamal was picked up by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Kambaa Immigration Inland Checkpoint in the Upper West Region for entering Ghana through an unapproved route during the pendency of imposition of restrictions on travels into the country.

He pleaded guilty for violating the Imposition of Restriction Act, 2020 (ACT 1012) and was convicted on his own plea by the Court presided over by Mr. Emmanuel Essandoh to a fine of 2,000 penalty units (GH24,000.00) or in default serve four years in prison.

A statement issued and signed by Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta, Head of Public Affairs, was copied to the GNA to this effect.

According to the prosecution the conviction secured against the Malian was appropriate, and that, it would deter others from entering the country illegally.

The statement said "We pleaded with the court for stiffer punishment so as to deter others especially foreign nationals from breaching travel restrictions in this period of 'new normal'".

Jamal has however paid the fine and has been handed over to the Operations Unit of the GIS for further action to be taken.

The facts, as presented by the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), were that on March 30, 2020, Jamal was arrested at Kambaa Immigration Checkpoint by personnel of the Upper West Regional Immigration Command for illegally entering into the country through unapproved route during the pendency of the Imposition of Restriction on travels to Ghana.

According to the statement of the prosecution, Jamal was quarantined and examined for COVID-19 at the Wa General Hospital which proved negative and was subsequently referred to the National Headquarters of the GIS in Accra for further investigations.

The statement said investigations revealed that Jamal had his wife and two children residing in Accra, and also trades in Sugar, maize and other related products.

The prosecution said prior to the imposition of restrictions on travels to Ghana by the Government to help curb the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, Jamal made a business trip to Mali in the month of March this year.

The statement said in his quest to enter the country, notwithstanding the restrictions imposed on travels, he engaged the services of a motor rider, to convey him from the border of Burkina Faso to Ghana's border through an unapproved route in Hamile in the Upper West Region.

The statement said the convict continued on his journey to Accra but was arrested at the Kambaa Immigration Checkpoint at Nandom, also in the Upper West Region.

The statement said Jamal admitted to the offence and after investigations he was charged for violating the restrictions imposed on travels to Ghana.

---GNA
20.05.2020 LISTEN

Introduction

Presently and until we are completely out of this pandemic era, personal protective equipment (PPEs), alcohol-based hand sanitizers, soaps and tissues are the major items that will continue to be in high demand. The Ghana Health Service and the World Health Organization recommends regular and thorough cleaning of hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or washing with soap and water. This is in addition to practising good respiratory hygiene (cough and sneeze into bent elbow or tissue which should be disposed of immediately and appropriately). Other items include test kits and other very important clinical gadgets required by hospitals for examining and treating suspected and confirmed patients respectively.

The need for these items coupled with the positive giving attitude of our society has made donations one main eye-catching social activity in this era of COVID-19. The willingness and interest to donate shows how committed some persons are in ensuring the up-keeping and wellbeing of others. The act fulfils the Godly principle of be each others keeper. To this end, many patriotic and philanthropic Ghanaian individuals, organizations and agencies have donated several items including cash in support of the fight against COVID-19. Several of these donations have been done all over the country. These donations have mainly been given to communities or institutions within an area, district or region of interest to the donor. It is also true that in some cases, donors have acted upon the request of the recipient community, agency and/or institution. Donations are sincere sacrifices of others, therefore, their equitable and appropriate distribution, use and the transparent accounting for are very important.

It is also worthy of mention that aside these donations, the Government of Ghana has established a COVID-19 National Trust Fund 2020 to receive donations to enable Government meet the added needs and necessities of the citizenry as a result of the pandemic. The establishment of the Fund follows the passage of the COVID-19 National Trust Fund Bill on Thursday 2nd April under the Certificate of Urgency by the parliament of Ghana. So, the situation in the country regarding donations is two-folds, i.e. donations received by the Trust Fund and donations presented directly to the needy communities, individuals, organization or agency as identified by the donors. All eyes will be on the president and the managers of the fund to render apt accounting for all donations made. It is therefore not surprising that during one of His national addresses on 6th April, the president notified the citizenry that the Fund had accrued GH 8.75 million. Further to that, the Chairperson of the Fund announced on 11th May, 2020 that the Fund has received GH 44, 900,000.00 in addition to other items including vehicles.

Unlike this fund, who is monitoring and accounting for all the donations made across the country to communities, institutions and agencies by private donors and some state agencies? As much as these donations are private, thus, not from Governments funds, there is the tendency of Government not monitoring its use and ensuring accurate accounting for same. However, the pandemic has taught the country a lot of beautiful lessons. For instance, Government in accounting for the number of useable ventilators in the country was quick to add those available in private hospitals. This emphasizes the need to be nationalistic in all necessary matters. Besides, donors often remark Government alone is unable to provide all the needed resources required for the fight against COVID-19. This means that in the view of the donors, they are supporting the Government through the donations they provide to communities, SMEs, organizations etc. You will recall that on 19th April, 2020, the President in his address to the nation was emphatic in his appreciation of the contribution of individuals and private organizations to communities, groups and agencies. The gesture of the President further applauds the action of donors as a nationalistic character and attitude.

It, therefore, beats imagination that praise is given to the donors but no national monitoring and accounting are attached to the donations received. It remains a fact that at the peak period of the donations which were largely spontaneous, there was little time to immediately issue a national directive regarding the profiling, assessment, management, distribution, use and accounting for same. This is not to suggest that the local agencies, communities and organizations that received such donations did not have requisite structures to manage the donations. Notwithstanding, the absence of a national information base on all of such donations be it to private companies, communities and/or state agencies could inhibit consistency of information, fairness in resource

distribution and inhibit critical national assessment. The worse of all is that the donations could be diverted by some unsympathetic officials, community leaders among others for their personal interest.

The gap

The sporadic manner of the donations could cause uneven distribution of the resources needed to curtail the impact of the pandemic. Subsequently, wastage, misuse and abuse could ensue in the places, health facilities and agencies where there are excess resources. Moreover, failure on the part of Government to effectively monitor and ensure proper accounting for donations could result in the recipients later accusing Government of not providing them with the requisite pandemic ready materials. All donations are in support of the Governments initiative. Therefore, the Government should be interested in monitoring all of such donations. It is instructive to note that all donors

Another important matter for consideration regarding the items donated is the cost donors attach to the donated items. For instance, these items are worth so much Ghana cedis. How does the recipient immediately verify the veracity of the claim? It is always easy to verify the amount of cash. However, which mechanism has been used in affirming the cost and quantities of items as indicated by the donor(s)? Is it the case that what the donor said or says is admitted as the actual fact? In my view, it is prudent to ascertain the actual cost and quantity of all donations as and when received. Doing this will ensure that reliable data is made available and also deny donors the laxity of attaching outrageous costs to the items donated.

It is still unclear whether Government is prepared with data to show a nationwide thorough accounting for all donations made across the country both to the National Trust Fund and to communities, agencies and institutions.

My Call

I argue that as managers of the COVID-19 pandemic, Government should monitor and ensure strict accounting for whatever resources individuals and private organizations donate to communities, state and/or private agencies. This would enable the Government to oversee the use

and management of such donations. It would also ensure equitable resource distribution to health and other needy facilities.

The information gathered from such monitoring will be useful in assessing the actual cost and expenditure of the pandemic to the country. Besides, monitoring donations would ensure accurate determination of when to, which resources, how much and which health facility, community and or organization to support and with what.

It would also offer the opportunity to verify the veracity of the claim of donors regarding the cost of items donated. This will also help in estimating the future cost of similar pandemics on the society and economy for which the country must prepare. Moreover, it will also enable the Government to quantify the added contribution from several individuals, agencies and organizations that were not presented into the COVID-19 Fund.

Proposal

The Government must collate comprehensive information on all donations of items and cash made to communities, agencies, groups and/or organizations due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation through collaboration with the media should create a profile for a regular update on donations made across the country.

Additionally, Government representatives in all districts and regions must be able to follow all donations made within their communities to organizations, communities and individuals. This will enable the representatives to assist the Central Government with information and advice the National Trust Fund regarding where to focus additional support.

Dr. Bismark Quarku Parker

Center for Social Science Research, Kumasi Technical University
Correction appended

Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smiths second bid to secure a seat on the Portland City Council appeared headed to a runoff Wednesday night, although her opponent is uncertain.

Smith secured nearly one out of every five votes cast as of 11:30 p.m., more than any other candidate looking to fill the remainder of the term of late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish.

Who Smith may face in the runoff was too close to call.

It could end up being Dan Ryan, who was holding a firm grasp on second place, with about 17% of the vote. Tera Hurst was third with almost 14%, edging out Julie DeGraw and Sam Chase, who each garnered about 12% of the vote in early returns.

The truth is, in a crowded field like this, it was probably the biggest mystery about how it was going to turn out," said Ryan, who said he was cautiously optimistic hed make the runoff against Smith.

Eighteen candidates were on the May 19 ballot in a special election to complete the term of Fish, who died of cancer Jan. 2 after more than 11 years on the council.

The run-off election of the top two candidates will occur Aug. 11. The winners term will end Dec. 31, 2022.

It appears Smith will be among the final two competing for the position.

A former Multnomah County commissioner, Smith mounted an unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2018, when she lost to Jo Ann Hardesty.

Smith this year campaigned as a progressive candidate who championed jobs and housing programs during her time as a county commission. Her pledge to continue focusing on jobs and housing landed an endorsement from the union that covers Portland area grocery store workers.

Ryan, a former Portland Public School board member, may end up facing Smith in the runoff.

Ryan led education nonprofit All Hands Raised for 11 years, stepped down in 2019 and is now a consultant. He has pledged to help lead the city out of the coronavirus crisis, calling on his experience bringing people together to address educational issues.

Ryan said he felt good Tuesday night that his campaign had brought so many people from across the city together, and Portland voters are ready to stop the divisiveness and really include more voices at the table.

Hurst was trailing Ryan for a shot at the runoff.

Hurst served as a chief of staff to Mayor Charlie Hales before he was replaced by current Mayor Ted Wheeler. Hurst now leads Renew Oregon, an environmental nonprofit. She has pledged to focus on safety net programs to ensure people have safe housing and stable jobs. Her former boss, Hales, backed her in the race, as did Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pedersen.

DeGraw, a nonprofit consultant, and Chase, who is leaving his position on the Metro council, were each running just behind Hurst.

Note: A previous version of this story misstated Dan Ryans current occupation.

-- Everton Bailey Jr. and Brad Schmidt
Ukraine To Use Separatist Interviews As Evidence Of Role In MH17 Downing

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service May 19, 2020

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) says it will use a journalist's interview with former separatist figures as evidence of crimes committed during the war in the east of the country, including the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17).

The SBU announcement on May 19 relates to two interviews published by Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Gordon on his YouTube channel in which ex-separatist leader Igor Girkin, also known as Strelkov, and the former top prosecutor in Russian-annexed Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya, divulge information that prosecutors say could be used against them.

"All the information voiced in these interviews is already being analyzed in detail by the [SBU] staff for its use as additional evidence of the Russian Federation's seizure of Ukrainian territory and the actual beginning of the war in the east of our state," the SBU said.

Girken, a former colonel in Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), was the so-called defense minister of a Russia-backed separatist group in the Donetsk region when MH17 was shot down in July 17, 2014, by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from separatist-controlled territory.

In the interview published on May 18, Girken said that as the military commander in the area he felt "indirect responsibility" for the downing of the passenger jet, but that his forces didn't fire the missile that killed all 298 passengers and crew on board.

Dutch investigators have linked Girken and two other Russians and one Ukrainian to downing the jet on its way from the Netherlands to Malaysia. In March, a Dutch court began criminal proceedings against the four separatist figures, who are believed to be in Russia. Dutch officials believe the missile was secretly transported across the Russian border into Ukraine.

Russia denies any role in the tragedy.

Another interview Gordon published with Poklonskaya on May 11 may also be used by the SBU to build its case against the ex-prosecutor of annexed Crimea between 2014 and 2016

Poklonskaya, now a deputy in the Russian State Duma, is wanted in Ukraine for "actions committed with the aim of forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power."

Both interviews caused a stir in Ukraine, with some accusing Gordon of spreading Russian and separatist propaganda.

In particular, the European Solidarity Party called on the SBU to launch an investigation into Gordon "for inciting hostility, supporting terrorism, and undermining Ukraine's sovereignty."

In a twist to the story, Gordon said in a video statement on May 19 that he had interviewed Poklonskaya and Girkin "in collaboration with the Ukrainian secret services."

The SBU responded that the interviews were conducted at Gordon's "initiative."

Gordon said flash drives of the interviews were sent to The Hague, where the testimonies could be used in international court cases against Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in the east of Ukraine.

With reporting by UNIAN and Ukrinform

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-to-use-separatist -interviews-as-evidence-of-role- in-mh17-downing/30621434.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






(TNS)  Gov. Gina Raimondo on Tuesday rolled out the cellphone tracing technology Rhode Island will use in coming weeks and months to help monitor the coronavirus and swiftly corral outbreaks so the state can continue slowly reopening.The technology, which uses GPS tracking, comes in the form of a free app that people can use to share with Health Department officials where they've been for up to 20 days if they come down with the respiratory disease.Swiftly contacting the friends and relatives of those with the disease and informing them that they were exposed and should self-quarantine is key to preventing further spread, health experts say.With the GPS technology, the app's "location diary" automatically records where people have been and could make it easier for participants to remember who they associated with. But participants at any time can shut off the location tracking or delete their location diary.Participants never give their name or address, only their zip code, and are only identified by an ID number. If health officials do inquire about their friends and associates their names are not added to the phone data, said Kristine Campagna, who is leading the Health Department's tracing efforts.In the hopes of attracting more people to use the technology, health officials have also included on the app a list of resources people in self-quarantine can use, as well as regular health symptom monitoring and medical advice.The app -- which arrives on your phone as a white "Crushcovid RI" icon -- becomes available Tuesday, in English and Spanish, along with a list of frequently asked questions such as who will have access to the data.Speaking about the phone technology last week, the governor said, "Privacy and data protection are paramount. We want voluntary compliance. No one will be forced to do this. This is opt-in only. I hope everybody opts in, but I'm never going to force you to, which means I have to give you confidence that if you opt in, your data is safe."Raimondo said only the Department of Health will have access to the data, not even the company providing the digital link between individual phones and those health officials doing the contact tracing."The department only gets it if the person gives permission and then they only keep it for however long it is necessary to complete the case investigation. So that is weeks, not months; then it is automatically destroyed."
The Deftones have canceled a summer tour that would have come to Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The group was scheduled to play Agganis Arena in Boston on Aug. 14 and the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Aug. 24.

The tour was scheduled to begin in Hungary on June 3.

Due to current regulations, and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, we must reschedule our North American tour dates, the band said in a statement released on Instagram. Were currently rescheduling the dates for 2021."

It would have been the bands first full summer tour since 2017.

Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster.
By PTI

KOLKATA: West Bengal on Tuesday mounted one of its biggest evacuation exercises by moving more than three lakh people to safer places as the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' roared towards the coastal areas of the state, officials said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said more than three lakh people from three coastal districts have been moved to safety and all steps are being taken to deal with any eventuality arising out of cyclone 'Amphan', which was scaled down from a super cyclone to an extremely severe cyclonic storm after it lost some of its steam on Tuesday afternoon.

Banerjee said she spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the day about the impending natural calamity in the state.

During cyclone 'Bulbul' in 2019, the state government had evacuated 1.8 lakh people, she told a press conference here during the day.

There are around 100 cyclone shelters spread across the coastal districts of North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas, officials said.

ALSO READ | Bangladesh orders overnight evacuation of vulnerable people as cyclone 'Amphan' approaches

"Most of the cyclone shelters are already full with quarantined migrant workers who have returned due to the lockdown forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. So we are using schools and colleges as shelters," an official said.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has distributed more than two lakh masks among the evacuees and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits have been handed out to the State Disaster Relief Force personnel, who have been deployed in the vulnerable areas, a senior official said.

North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts are two COVID hotspot districts due to high prevalence of positive cases.

The state has put the coastal districts of East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, including the Sundarbans on high alert, Disaster Management Minister Javed Khan said.

The Meteorological (MeT) Department has issued an "orange message" for West Bengal and warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

The impending cyclone has already triggered mild to medium rainfall in several parts of the state.

The wind speed and the intensity of rain is likely to increase gradually as the cyclone 'Amphan' system crosses the West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West bengal and Hatia Islands in Bangladesh in the afternoon or evening of Wednesday, the MeT Department said.

The cyclonic storm will have maximum sustained wind speed of 155 kmph to 165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph, it said.

The MeT Department has advised all establishments and markets to remain closed in the city and adjoining areas and restriction on movement of people on May 20.

There are high chances of disruption of rail and road link at several places, uprooting of communication and power poles, extensive damage to all types of kutcha houses and some damage to old poorly managed pucca structures and potential threat from flying objects, the weatherman said, There is also likelihood of extensive damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards and blowing down of palm and coconut trees, the MeT office said.

The chief minister said that she along with senior government officials would directly monitor the situation in the state and that she would herself stay put at the state secretariat on Wednesday.

She feared that cyclone 'Amphan' might cause most of its devastation in the coastal South 24 Parganas district and announced several helpline numbers.

On Wednesday, rainfall will occur in most places in the districts of Gangetic West Bengal with heavy to a hefty downpour at a few places in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore,North and South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, regional MeT office director G K Das said.

"Storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3 to 4 metres over low lying areas of East Midnapore district of West Bengal during the time of landfall," he said.

In view of the situation, the Indian Navy has dispatched a team of divers to assist the West Bengal government in relief operations, a Defence official said.

The state government has also formed rapid response teams to ensure that tigers from Sundarbans in South 24 Parganas district do not stray into nearby human settlements after the landfall.

Chief wildlife warden Ravi Kant Sinha said a control room has been set up at Gosaba to monitor the situation in the mangrove forests round-the-clock.

Haldia Petrochemicals Limited (HPL) and Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) refinery in East Midnapore district are on high alert, while Kolkata Port Trust has issued warnings to mariners and stopped movement of all vessels to and from its docks to prevent any damage to port assets and merchant ships, its official said.
[May 20, 2020] PAIRELATIONS, LLC Expands Practice With the Offering of Extensive Crisis Communications Services During COVID-19 Pandemic

PAIRELATIONS, LLC, an independent consulting firm providing public and investor relations as well as marketing communications and awards services from offices in Denver and New York City, announced today expansion of its services to include crisis communications, focused specifically on COVID-19. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005040/en/ Susan J. Turkell, Founder and CEO, PAIRELATIONS, LLC (Photo: Business Wire) In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, PAIRELATIONS has been diligently assisting companies as they navigate the new landscape through the provision of strategic crisis communications. These services aid in helping these entities manage their communications during this uncertain period when it is more important than ever to reach all constituents. For decades, PAIRELATIONS has supported companies through various crises. This experience in the areas of both crisis communications and crisis management well positions PAIRELATIONS to assist companies with a range of communications support, including, but not limited to, drafting and ensuring the delivery of key, consistent messages, managing media inquiries, conducting media relations, developing both internal and external communications for various constituents and audiences, promoting donations and much more. To this end, PAIRELATIONS is offering a one-time complimentary planning session (prospective or new clients only), to help guide companies on their communications strategies during this unprecedented time. In the one-hour session, PAIRELATIONS will map out a customized strategy for companies wishing to receive guidance on leeraging appropriate communications tools as they navigate the COVID-19 landscape.



"During these unprecedented times, many businesses are striving to finds ways to address the challenges they are facing and appropriately communicate with their key audiences. PAIRELATIONS can help create a strategic plan for operating amid this uncharted territory. We can guide companies in appropriately communicating with their constituents at the right time, in the right manner and via the right vehicles. It is imperative to keep up communications all the time, but it couldn't be more critical right now in the midst of this current worldwide crisis situation," said Susan Turkell, PAIRELATIONS' founder and chief executive officer. Contact PAIRELATIONS for more information about the complimentary crisis communications session. Follow PAIRELATIONS on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.

About PAIRELATIONS, LLC Denver- and New York City-based PAIRELATIONS, LLC is a communications consulting firm serving clients nationwide. Through its service offering of public relations, investor relations, marketing communications, crisis communications and management, digital media and awards submissions, the Company works with clients to increase awareness of their entities across a spectrum of third parties. This includes helping organizations earn recognition through customized awards submission services. It relies on its vast network of both investment community and media contacts to successfully perform these services, leveraging relationships that have been cultivated over the course of more than 25 years in the industry. As a full-service firm, PAIRELATIONS customizes its campaigns and responds to the distinct needs of every client with a highly personalized touch. For more information, please visit us at www.pairelations.com or follow PAIRELATIONS on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005040/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 19:40:26|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday expressed strong indignation and condemnation over congratulations by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other officials to Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration.

According to a statement released by the ministry, Pompeo has called Tsai "Taiwan's president" and hyped up the U.S.-Taiwan "partnership" in his statement on Tsai's inauguration. Some U.S. officials and politicians also sent video congratulations to Tsai.

"The above-mentioned moves constitute a severe violation of the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and a serious interference in China's internal affairs. China expresses strong indignation and condemnation over such moves," said the statement.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, it said.

According to the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America signed in December 1978, the United States of America recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.

"The words and deeds aforementioned severely violate the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and brazenly go against the commitments made by the U.S. government itself," said the statement.

They have sent wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces, thus seriously damaging peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as China-U.S. relations, it said.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and China's core interests, the statement said, adding that the Chinese government and people are firmly resolved in opposing secessionist activities of "Taiwan independence" forces, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, standing against any foreign interference in China's internal affairs and striving for national reunification.

"We'd like to warn the U.S. side that 'Taiwan independence' has no way out. Indulging and supporting such forces is doomed to fail," said the statement, adding that any action that undermines China's core interests and interferes in China's internal affairs will meet vigorous countermeasures by China and will not stop the historical trend of China's reunification.

The statement said China urges the United States to correct its mistake immediately, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, sever official links and cease improving substantial relations with Taiwan, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop any words and deeds undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and China-U.S. relations.

"China will take necessary countermeasures against the above-mentioned erroneous moves of the United States. The consequences arising therefrom shall be taken by the U.S. side," said the statement. Enditem
HIGH-profile Green activist Saoirse McHugh has joined other grassroots members in encouraging Catherine Martin to make a bid to become party leader.

Four Green councillors wrote to Ms Martin asking her to put her name forward for a forthcoming leadership contest.

Now Ms McHugh, who rose to prominence in recent election campaigns, has said she also hopes Ms Martin  the partys deputy leader - will enter the race.

Mayo-based Ms McHugh stopped short of declaring that she would support either Ms Martin or current leader Eamon Ryan.

She said she would be very happy if Ms Martin was elected but also praised Mr Ryan for rebuilding the party after its 2011 General Election wipe-out.

Ms McHugh said: I think that whoever runs in it and whoever wins, the exercise itself will be good for the party.

I think leadership elections do provide an opportunity for a conversation about the future of the party.

She said there will be additional pressure in relation to a leadership race given that it falls as the Green Party are engaged in government formation talks.

But she said thats inevitable as under the partys constitution it has to hold a leadership contest after each general election.

Under the party's constitution the Greens are required to hold a leadership contest after each general election.

Ms McHugh told Independent.ie: Theres no point in having a leadership election if theres no challenge.

I do hope Catherine Martin goes for it. I do think she would be a very competent leader.

She pointed to Ms Martins work in setting up the womens caucus in the Dail and legislation she has successfully passed.

Ms McHugh also said: Eamon has brought us so far since 2011 and added: Going in a new direction or having a new leader doesnt say anything bad about the current leadership.

She said both Ms Martin and Mr Ryan have their qualities".

She added: I would wait to see what their campaigns would look like. Im not declaring yet.

The four councillors urging Ms Martin to run are Cork-based Lorna Bogue, Colette Finn, Oliver Moran and Liam Quaide.

They said the party needs a new leader who will "fight for all of our futures".

"The coming leadership election will be set against the backdrop of the negotiations for a programme for government, and regardless of the outcome of these talks, we will need a leader who we trust to do the right thing for the country and the party," the councillors said.

"As you know, the party will soon open nominations for the position of party leader. While we hesitate to ask you to take on an additional role at this time, we believe you are the right person to lead the Green Party into the new decade," they wrote.

"In February Ireland voted for change. We believe, with your style of leadership, your convictions, and your work ethic, that you are the right person to lead the Green Party," they added

Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, Mr Moran said Mr Ryan did an "absolutely amazing job" over the last ten years but said the party is "now in an entirely different place". He said Ms Martin "resonates" with young people and can "connect" with rural Ireland as she grew up in Monaghan.
Many of the IGs who oversee 73 federal agencies probably arent very popular with their colleagues, either. Government workers complain about nitpicking and prolonged reviews. A summons to the IGs office can be an invitation to months of scrutiny and potential recrimination. But most public servants accept that this intrusive scrutiny comes with the job of spending the publics money. Trump seems different in that regard. He acts more like an owner than a temporary steward.
A Conroe man was arrested by constables deputies last week after he was allegedly found with hundreds of peoples credit cards and counterfeit driver licenses in a case apparently being investigated by a federal agent.

In the course of a local law enforcement investigation, Travis Arthur Brown, 39, was also allegedly found in possession of more than 40 grams of methamphetamine and tools used for drug distribution, along with a couple of misdemeanor warrants. He was arrested a second time last week after bonding out and being found carrying even more meth, according to Montgomery County Precinct 2 Constables Deputy Tom Wolff.

Brown is facing one count of possession of a controlled substance, between 1 and 4 grams, a third-degree felony, according to public information available Tuesday afternoon. He is also being charged with another undisclosed felony from an arrest warrant, according to jail records.

Around 6:15 p.m. Thursday, constables deputies responded to a family disturbance call on Florida Park in the River Plantation subdivision. No violence or violent threat was found by deputies, but Brown was taken into custody after he was found to have arrest warrants on him. As he was being taken into custody, Brown was found with 3 grams of meth, along with a check he allegedly stole from a neighborhood mail box, according to the Pct. 2 Constables Office.

Refusing to allow deputies to search his room, they returned with a search warrant as Brown was being booked at the Montgomery County Jail. Deputies seized thousands of pieces of mail from hundreds of people, including credit cards, credit card statements, retirement account information and fraudulent Texas drivers licenses, according to Precinct 2.

They also confiscated a large commercial-grade printer, an ID card printer, blank checks, computers and external memory sticks. Also seized, were 40 grams of meth and marijuana, pills, scales, drug-packaging material, as well as about $2,000 in cash, according to the constables office.

Deputies learned a federal agent has been investigating stolen mail in the area. The constables office is working with federal law enforcement to return all mail and notify everyone affected. Additional charges against Brown are expected as the investigation continues, according to Precinct 2.

On Friday after Brown had bailed out of jail, another disturbance call was made out of his home and responding deputies stopped him as he was leaving the subdivision. Deputies found 3 grams of meth and took him into custody, Deputy Wolff said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, he remains at the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond, according to jail records.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

twitter.com/jrgzztx
- Magufuli said President Uhuru called him to resolve the rising border tension between Kenya and Tanzania brought by controversy over COVID-19 pandemic

- He asked the Ministry of Transport and regional commissioners to hold diplomatic talks with their Kenyan counterparts and come to a truce

- Magufuli further urged his people to continue working and build the Tanzania economy which was he said was growing rapidly

Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli has called for peace talks between Kenya and Tanzania to calm the border tension that has been building up in recent days.

Magufuli urged Ministry of Transport and regional commissioners in the two countries to hold diplomatic talks so that business could go on as usual without hindrances.

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother buried in Bungoma

Magufuli said Uhuru had called him so that the two could resolve the border rows. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: Brazil records over 1000 COVID-19 deaths in 24 hours

Speaking at Singida, Tanzania on Wednesday, May 20, the head of state said the East Africa Community needed to continue working together and refrain from rows in the face of the pandemic.

"I call on the officials in those border points including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organise for the talk in the course of this week because these issues are trivial," he said.

READ ALSO: Francis Atwoli says Musalia Mudavadi is undisputed Luhya political kingpin

He also revealed President Uhuru Kenyatta recently called him with an aim of solving the rising border tension.

Magufuli further urged Tanzanians to continue working hard to build the economy which he said was growing rapidly.

"One day, the disease will also disappear from our country. Let us not worry or fret and I am glad to see even most of you are not scared. You have not worn masks and neither have I, because our God is alive," he said.

READ ALSO: Mhubiri aliyedai kuwaponya wagonjwa wa COVID-19 aaga dunia kutokana na ugonjwa huo

Magufuli urged his people to continue building the economy. Photo: John Pombe Magufuli.

Source: Facebook

The border tensions emerged after Uhuru closed the border with Tanzania over high numbers of coronavirus cases among truck drivers from Tanzania.

On Sunday, May 17, Magufuli said he would not close borders since he respected his neighbours and wanted their economies to flourish.

Arusha Regional Commissioner Mrisho Gambo claimed 19 truckers who had tested positive at the Namanga border tested negative in the country's national laboratory.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

My wife pushed me to marry another woman - Pastor Habil Were | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 16:02:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

by Maria Spiliopoulou

SOUFLI, Greece, May 20 (Xinhua) -- For several centuries, the history of Soufli, a small town in northeastern Greece close to the Evros river that marks the country's national border with Turkey, has been interlinked with a delicate product: silk.

The local silk industry, which has survived numerous challenges over the past decades, reached a critical junction recently, some of the last remaining producers told Xinhua in recent interviews.

SURVIVING CHALLENGES

"Silk was brought here from China. The Byzantines brought it. According to historians, it was Emperor Justinian I who brought it around 550 A.D. The Byzantines loved this product. It was also a symbol of wealth and aristocracy. Only a few people would use silk, mainly the nobility at the palace," George Tsiakiris, owner of the Tsiakiris Silkhouse and president of the Association of Professionals, Craftsmen and Traders of Soufli, explained.

In 1453 A.D. Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, and the Byzantine Empire, the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces, came to an end -- but silk production had strong roots there.

It survived the collapse of an empire, industrialization, the arrival of cheap synthetic materials, such as nylon and rayon in the 1960s, followed by the decline of the Greek textile industry, as well as the acute debt crisis, which erupted in Greece ten years ago testing all households and businesses, Tsiakiris noted.

Successive generations of residents of Soufli grew up cultivating the trees silkworms are being fed with, nurturing the cocoons and creating high-quality silk, said Tsiakiris, a fourth-generation silk professional. His great grandmother was a weaver. His father and uncle established the Tsiakiris Silkhouse in 1954.

The local industry flourished in the 19th century and Soufli's silk was exported to Milan and Lyon, he told Xinhua.

Silk production was the backbone of the local economy for the largest part of the 20th century, it was on its deathbed by the mid-1990s and the last major financial crisis, which lasted until 2018, was the last blow, he said.

Today, only two factories, including the one owned by the Tsiakiris family, and three smaller silk houses remain active, employing a few dozen people.

During the financial crisis, an effort was launched to revive Soufli's silk industry. Greek fashion brands and designers started using Soufli's silk products in their creations and Tsiakiris and his colleagues explored new opportunities for cooperation beyond Greece's borders.

"CRISIS WAS A GOOD TEST"

"The years of the crisis were a very good test for us. On the one hand, our stamina was tested, on the other hand, we were given the motive, we were forced to look abroad and search for new partnerships and make Soufli's silk fashionable again, because it was out of fashion," he explained.

"Today, we can proudly say that we have kept silk alive all these years. There is great interest today in silk. I think we are at a juncture and I believe that the current momentum prompts us to progress," Tsiakiris told Xinhua.

"Soufli would always rely on domestic clients. Gradually we see in the past 2-3 years that Soufli has started to receive foreign visitors as well. We see Scandinavians, we see Chinese, just a few for now, we see people from France, Spain, Portugal, entire Europe," said Giorgos Bouroulitis, another silk maker representing Bourouliti Silk House and the association's tourism committee.

"The crisis years were difficult for Soufli. Silk is a luxury product and like it happened with all luxury products once the crisis started people cut back on all things that were unnecessary," he said.

Greece formally exited the bailout era in the summer of 2018, but the average Greek is still struggling to make ends meet and the COVID-19 impact on the Greek economy only adds to the gloomy image.

"The financial situation in the country is not helpful for a product which has a high cost, which is expensive. However, there are people who are still choosing it and like it," Bouroulitis told Xinhua.

HOPING MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL JOIN IN

"I am the youngest in the sector currently. I hope more (young people) will join in. I wish they will join, it is a necessity. Older generations taught us what they should. I hope people will continue to work on this," he said.

In order to promote and preserve the rich local tradition in silk production and inspire a few younger people to continue it, the Tsiakiris family has established one of the local museums dedicated to Soufli's silk industry.

George Tsiakiris is also director of the "Art of Silk Museum," which is housed in a renovated neoclassical building erected in 1886.

"We created this very beautiful space with one purpose -- to introduce visitors to the art of silk, show them how silk is made. We have already welcomed over 100,000 visitors during the 11 years of operation. This has given a lot to this region," he told Xinhua. Enditem
(CNN Philippines, May 20)  Malls in Cavite will reopen at 10 a.m. Wednesday, two days after they were temporary closed due to mall visitors' failure to follow physical distancing rules.

The shopping centers will close at 5 p.m., as earlier discussed with mall operators.

Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla announced in a Facebook post that only residents with quarantine passes can go to the malls.

The governor said after his dialogue with mall operators on Tuesday, it has been resolved that it is their responsibility to manage the people who are waiting outside the malls.

On Sunday, Remulla signed an executive order implementing the temporary closure of malls in their province. Cavite shifted from a strict enhanced community quarantine to a more relaxed general community quarantine on May 16.

Under the GCQ guidelines, malls and commercial centers can reopen, but only for non-leisure stores. They are also subject to physical distancing and other health protocols
The release of both the sworn testimony of those involved in creating and disseminating the Russia collusion hoax and the documentation outlining how General Flynn was framed has confirmed that President Obama was fully involved in and aware of the treasonous effort to use the power of government to undermine the Trump campaign, marginalize the Trump presidency, and destroy General Flynn.

The most astounding aspect of this entire sorry spectacle is that in a nation with a 244-year history of constitutional republicanism and a free press, a President and his confederates felt so emboldened that they orchestrated what amounts to an attempted coup in what is undoubtedly the greatest political scandal in American history.

So certain were the Obama collaborators they would not only succeed in emasculating President Trump, but they would never be held accountable that one of the prime collaborators, James Clapper, Obamas Director of National Intelligence, unabashedly revealed to Anderson Cooper of CNN in July of 2018 the following (which was completely ignored and buried by the mainstream media):

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, including Special Counsel (Robert) Muellers investigation. President Obama is responsible for that. It was he who tasked us to do that intelligence community assessment in the first place.

Reading between the lines, Obama not only ordered the review but would have been fully aware of the use of the Steele Dossier. A totally fabricated document which was the pretext and sole basis of the intelligence assessment, FISA applications and the justification for the Mueller investigation.

President Obama, as he has done throughout his political career, tacitly encouraged his aides and minions to leak to their accomplices in the media any negative, and oftentimes fabricated, whispers about his political rivals. The Obama Administration holdovers in the new Trump Administration, having been steeped in this duplicity, would also be part of the grand strategy of marginalizing President Trump utilizing an incessant drumbeat of fabricated leaks about Russia, collusion, and Trumps supposed ineptitude in order to frame public opinion and intimidate the Republicans in Congress.

During the entirety of the Obama presidency, the Republicans and the mainstream media never held him to account for any scandals that presaged the Russia collusion imbroglio. These include the Fast and Furious cover-up, the use of government agencies to spy on various reporters and news outlets, illegally hacking into the computers in the Senate in order to snoop on and intimidate various senators, and the IRS targeting of conservative organizations in order to undermine their voice in elections.

Obama Administration Cabinet, July 2012

Official White House photo by Chuck Kennedy

The egregious, overt and illegal attempt to obliterate Donald Trump and subvert the Constitution was conceived and put into motion by President Obama and his fellow perpetrators because they felt certain that a feckless Republican Party would never fully probe Obamas motives or actions. Additionally, Obama was confident a sycophantic mainstream media would never seriously investigate a conspiracy initiated by him, whom they idolized, and they would, in fact, abet the plot to destroy Donald Trump, whom they loathed.

Since 1989 and the election of George H.W. Bush, a majority of Republicans elected to national office have chosen to worship the twin gods of civility and compromise rather than vigorously defend and promote liberty, free enterprise and limited government. Meanwhile, their political adversaries, the Democratic Party and the Left (now one and the same) had no such compunctions, as they were determined to achieve their ends regardless of the means.

In conjunction with their accomplices in the mainstream media, Democrats quickly ascertained that any outrageous accusation on their part, such as that Republicans are determined to starve children, would eventuate in the near complete surrender of any opposition to their proposed policies. Further, rather than support their colleagues in the Party who were oftentimes the victims of specious and malicious accusations, the spineless elites in the Republican Party willingly sacrificed their members on the altar of civility and faux integrity.

On the other hand, in an effort to show a willingness to compromise when in control of either or both Houses of Congress, the Republicans inevitably slow-walked or initiated cursory investigations of any Democrat wrongdoing.

The recently released sworn testimony of Obamas collaborators, wherein to a person they admit there was no Russian collusion, took place when the Republicans controlled the House of Representatives. Yet, with this testimony in-hand, Speaker Paul Ryan and Chairman Trey Gowdy publicly proclaimed the FBI and various intelligence agencies did nothing wrong and refused any request by other Republicans on the investigative committees to issue subpoenas to further expose the conspiracy. Both men also remained steadfast in their support of Robert Mueller and his probe despite the sworn testimony of the Obama co-conspirators.

In the Republican controlled Senate, the Intelligence Committee under the Chairmanship of Richard Burr essentially exonerated the intelligence community of any wrongdoing by solely focusing on the question of whether Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 election in order to assist the Trump campaign and ignoring mountains of evidence that the various intelligence agencies were determined to spy on and undermine the Trump campaign.

The failure to pursue a thorough and complete investigation to publicly expose the truth allowed the Mueller probe to extend beyond Election Day 2018, costing the Republicans the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi being installed as Speaker, the Ukraine impeachment fiasco, and never-ending investigations of President Trump and his Administration.

Because of Republican fecklessness nearly 53% of all Americans and 77% of Democrats as of April 2020 still believe the Steele Dossier proved that there was collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign. Barack Obama and his henchmens faith in the spinelessness of the Republicans in Congress was well placed.

Complicit in skullduggery were the adoring minions in the mainstream media. Not only were they in the thrall of Obama, but as Donald Trump repeatedly singled them out for their bias and penchant for misreporting during the campaign, they were determined to flex their influence and join in the Obama attempt to destroy him as they breathlessly waited for any leak from their trusted sources. Any story or leak no matter how salacious or false or unproven was banner headlines and fodder for endless cable news coverage.

The obviously inane accusation that Donald Trump was a traitor and beholden to Vladimir Putin was quickly seized upon without any question or justification.

In a little over three years, the Washington Post published nearly 24,000 stories about Trump, Russia and collusion. The New York Times published over 18,000 stories. CNN on its website published 11,500 stories. The wire service Associated Press, which supplies over 1300 local newspapers and broadcasters with news articles, published nearly 12,500 stories. All told there were probably more than 100,000 stories published in the media, over 90% of which were anti-Trump with virtually no criticism or disclosure of the Obama Administration and their machinations.

Among CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, PBS and NBC, it is estimated that over 20,000 broadcast hours were spent on the Russian collusion narrative again virtually all anti-Trump as many of the Obama collaborators were retained as contributors on these networks. Barack Obamas faith in the cooperation of the mainstream media was also well placed.

Standing athwart this onslaught was President Trump, his Twitter account, impartial investigative bloggers, conservative leaning websites, talk radio, a handful of tenacious Republican members of the House and the opinion hosts on Fox News.

Without Donald Trumps resolve and tenacity, along with the determination of his small cadre of stalwart allies, the Obama coup attempt might well have succeeded in so marginalizing the Trump presidency that he would have been abandoned by the Republicans in Congress and, in all likelihood, been forced to resign. No other Republican president since Abraham Lincoln, with the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, would have been able to survive and turn the tables on his tormentors.

Nonetheless, Barack Obama and his henchmen would not have been emboldened in their machinations to undermine an election and then overthrow a presidency if it were not for the fecklessness of the Republican Party and the blind eye as well as the overt support of the mainstream media. His de facto co-conspirators.
Jordan Pimentel could grow flowers in sand, find water in a desert, and light a match in a rainstorm, but even she found it hard to stay positive when school was closed, classed were moved online, prom was canceled, and graduation was postponed. COVID-19 ended her senior year at The Woodlands High School in a way she never prepared for.

The class of 2020, across the country, isnt going to be able to celebrate the milestones that classes before them took for granted. But so many seniors are making the best of a bad situation and Pimentel is an example of that attitude.

PHONE DATA: Texas receives 'F' grade in social distancing scoreboard

Jordan's heart is huge, her humor is contagious, and enthusiasm is immeasurable  I consider myself beyond blessed to have been able to work with her for four years, said Kristen Gartner, the student council adviser at TWHS.

Pimentel was voted most likely to brighten your day by her peers. When students couldnt return to school, Pimentel started recording weekly announcements for the schools Facebook page from her home, with messages of encouragement and daily challenges to spread positivity.

Disappointment and frustration

But the disappointment and frustration are there, even through her positive attitude.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas Medical Center leaders support latest phase of Abbotts reopening of Texas

No one really got closure when we left for spring break and never went back, she said. We didnt know it was going to be our last time at school so we were like Okay, bye. Ill see you after spring break. And then we never ended up going back.

She knows there are fellow students shell never meet now, others she may never talk to. She loves her school and she misses it. Its impossible not to hear the strain in her voice when she talks about saying her goodbyes differently if she could do it over again.

Pimentel is a well-known face around school. Shes been involved with student council since her freshman year and is the class president for the class of 2020. As such, she was going to be giving a speech at graduation. Due to the virus, her speech was pre-recorded and will be played at both the 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. graduation ceremonies on June 2.

PHOTOS: Houston's graduating class of 2020 looks to the future after coronavirus derailed their senior year rites of passage

More Information GRADUATION DAY Going to a graduation? Send a snapshot of your graduation day events by email to courierfeatures@hcnonline.com. Submissions will be considered for use in a photo gallery in The Courier. See More Collapse

While working on her speech over the last few weeks, she chose to focus on the idea of perseverance. She doesnt want the current situation to overshadow her fellow graduates and all that theyve accomplished.

Rise above

Ive learned to rise above, she said. Youre bigger than this moment or that moment, you can be so much more than you think you can. Just know that everything happens for a reason and that were going to get through it together.

While filming it gave her the opportunity to do multiple takes, it just wasnt the same as giving it in person.

Some parts of my speech were funny and I didnt know when to pause for laughter because there was no audience, she said. That was definitely not what I was expecting.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

Pimentel is not afraid of public speaking. In fact, talking to her school at pep rallies loud enough to make your ears ring are her most cherished memories from her senior year before the pandemic.

TWHS is splitting the graduation into two ceremonies to be able to meet the requirements set out by Gov. Greg Abbott and its upsetting to Pimentel that she wont be graduating with her entire class as she had anticipated.

Its nice that were actually having a ceremony, it would be a lot more upsetting if we were doing it completely online, she said.

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Montgomery County Fair queen perseveres through pandemic

To maintain safe social distancing, CISD is limiting the number of graduation tickets to four for each student. What was going to be a whole crowd of Pimentel supporters is now down to immediate family only.

Taking flight

Before COVID-19, Pimentel was having a pretty great senior year. As part of student council, she was excited to be planning prom, something she had been looking forward to since freshman year.

A lot of people dont realize how big of a role student council has in events like that, she said. Its just so cool having such a huge part in something that people dont really know about.

Next year, Pimentel will be attending Louisiana Tech University to study professional aviation. Her goal is to become a commercial pilot. She found her love of flying through a program called Young Eagles that takes students up in the air and gives them the opportunity to take control for a bit. Shes working on her private pilot license now.

I like being able to see the earth from a different perspective, she said.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
The big news is some live blues are back. Richard Badowski Blues Band has a gig at the Brass Horse Cafe on Sunday. The band will be there from 3-7 p.m. to entertain you while you eat. This will be outside, and all rules apply with social distancing. There will be a marked area in the parking lot. You are welcome to bring chairs and a small table. Tables need to be 8 feet apart. The band will be on the patio. If done right, they will keep having bands.

As the blues community is maintaining a cautious approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. As decision time draws near many of the festivals and events are being canceled or going virtual. While not an ideal situation, one does have the opportunity to keep the blues in your life and support the musicians whose gigs have been put on hold.

On the local level, the latest to cancel was the 2020 Stafford Springs Blues Festival. One of the states growing festivals, like many others it will be taking a year off.

In light of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, this summers Green River 34th Annual Festival has been postponed until July 2021. Before you choose to refund your ticket purchase, consider the following: Do nothing and keep your 2020 Green River Festival ticket and it will automatically be upgraded to a Festival Faithful ticket for 2021. The Festival Faithful ticket includes a number of perks. Or you can obtain a full refund for your 2020 Green River Festival ticket.

The June 7 edition of Harmonica Collective Online will feature Jason Ricci and Winslow Yerxa with very special guest instructor Charlie Musselwhite.

The 2020 Collective was scheduled for the spring in Florida, but was cancelled due the Coronavirus epidemic. Ricci and Yerxa have decided to take the Collective online as a 2-hour monthly workshop, with a special guest expert instructor each month. This live, online version of the legendary Harmonica Collective is available to subscribers for permanent, repeated review.

The Jason Ricci/Winslow Yerxa Harmonica Collective has been an institution since its inception several years ago. In 2018, after a brief hiatus, the revival of the Collective was held in New Orleans. The Harmonica Collective Online is at: https://www.harmonicacollectiveonline.com/

Some future events are coming up. The GCBA Houston Blues Festival and Lone Star Blues Festival have joined forces to become the GCBA Lone Star Blues and Heritage Festival. The 2020 festival will be a three-day event, to be held Sept. 18-20 at the VFW Post 2427 Fairgrounds in Tomball, Texas.

The 2020 festival headliner is Lone Star legend Jimmie Vaughan. Other confirmed acts include Benny Turner, Buddy Whittington and Eric Johanson.

The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise is now booking its #35 Southern Caribbean trip for October 25 to November 1, 2020. Starting from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, it fills fast. Visit Reservations or call 816-753-7979.

Once again, I want to draw attention to Who's Playing Where. This is a once-a-day e-mail listing music activities, mostly in around Fairfield County and into Westchester County, NY. Jamie at Juniper Pond Media puts a big effort into keeping people informed. Not all blues, it is keeping the music alive.

Some of the weekly show to mention include: Tuesday at Noon, the FTC Stay at Home Series; Wednesday at 8 p.m., the John Lamb Show Live with call in requests and chat; Thursday at 7:30 p.m, a Jam hosted by Ed Train; and Thursday at 8 p.m., FTC Swamp Family TV with Tedeschi Trucks Band. Most shows are available on Facebook.

From the Blues Foundation: Unlike the Blues Music Awards, we have decided to postpone the Blues Hall of Fame Inductions until BMA week in 2021. We felt it was too important to our inductees to receive this highest blues honor and once in a lifetime tribute with their family and friends surrounding them, so we are forgoing any sort of virtual event and looking forward to celebrating with them next year.

We'll still be curating special cases to honor them as soon as it is safe to return to the Blues Hall of Fame so future visitors can learn of their blues legacies leading up to the big festivities to come.

Of course, in the midst of celebration and joy, we must remain cognizant that this pandemic has seriously impacted our blues family with many finding their main source of income, live music, put on hold indefinitely. The Blues Foundation continues to make a difference by providing resources for basic living needs such as housing and utilities to professional full-time blues musicians through our newly established COVID-19 Blues Musician Emergency Relief Fund. The need remains great and resources are limited, so if you are able, we would so appreciate your generosity in making a donation so we can continue this important work. Any amount can help, and all donations will go towards helping musicians, with none going to any administrative or other costs associated with managing this fund. Visit blues.org, click on the donate button, and choose the COVID-19 Fund.

NPR has compiled where music industry businesses and workers can apply for emergency financial assistance on the local and federal level. Resources for Music Businesses and Industry Workers in Need Admist the Pandemic. Go to https://www.npr.org/2020/03/20/818539329/resources, then click on Resources For Music Businesses And Industry.

http://bluesbeatnews.wordpress.com/. Any questions or comments should be sent to Domenic Forcella at TWBlus@aol.com.
Photo: A three-barrel 12.7mm caliber rotary machine gun developed by China is mounted on a light armored vehicle. Photo: China Central Television

China's newest Gatling-style machine guns are expected to provide light combat vehicles, motor boats, and helicopters with heavier firepower.

One model features six 7.62mm caliber barrels and can shoot 6,000 rounds per minute, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

The independently developed weapon, comparable to the US-made Minigun, has been used on various combat vehicles including light armor tanks and quad bikes, according to CCTV.

China recently finished developing a more powerful version. With three -12.7mm caliber barrels, the upgrade has the highest round-per-minute at 2,000, and a bigger cartridge that can hold 400 bullets, making it more powerful than regular large-caliber machine guns, CCTV said.

Last year, China revealed the Z-20, the country's most advanced utility helicopter. The chopper is expected to become the main combat aircraft of the Chinese Army's aerial assault brigades, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Sunday.

The Chinese-made Gatling guns could be installed on the Z-20, which would allow it to provide firepower support for assault ground troops, the report also said.
Singaporean Foo Ching Guan, 32, was charged under the Infectious Diseases (COVID-19  Stay Orders) Regulations 2020. (PHOTO: Wan Ting Koh / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  Three men and a woman pleaded guilty and were sentenced on Wednesday (20 May) for either breaching their Stay-Home Notices (SHN) or quarantine orders.

One man had left his house to buy a shaver a day before his quarantine order was to end, while another had visited a friend to settle a money-related issue.

Foo Ching Guan

Foo Ching Guan, 32, was jailed for four weeks after he pleaded guilty to one count of breaching his SHN. The Singaporean had returned from Thailand on 17 March and was issued an SHN to last until 31 March.

The court heard that Foo, who is unemployed, stood as guarantor for a friend, Lee Quan Hui, four months ago and was asked by the unlicensed moneylender to settle the loan by 28 March. Lee had said that he would settle the loan, but did not.

The loanshark called Foo, threatening to disturb his family. Foo was concerned that his mother, who recently had a stroke, would be alarmed.

On 29 March, at about 4am, Foo decided to visit Lee at Sengkang Central via a Grab car transport. He did not wear a mask as he set out of his house. After meeting Lee, the duo had a heated argument in which Lee punched Foos head.

At about 5am, Foo called the police for assistance, and revealed to the police officers that he was on an SHN and had just returned from Thailand. Foo then flagged a taxi to go home. He had remained outside his residence for some two hours.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Ti-Ting sought seven weeks jail, stating that Foo had no reason to have to look for his friend at 4am that morning.

Foo, who was unrepresented said, he chose to go at 4am as it would be less crowded.

I did not go anywhere else, I went directly to his house, the illegal moneylender sent someone to check out my place I have no choice but to approach (my friend), And my mother just had a stroke and cannot give her another blow, I wanted to go to this place to settle this matter, he said.

Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy

Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy, a 35-year-old Indian national, was fined $3,500 after he pleaded guilty to breaching his quarantine order.

Story continues

Vardireddy was issued a quarantine order after he came into a contact with a colleague he knew as Moses, who had tested positive for COVID-19. He was issued two quarantine orders  from 16 to 20 February, 12pm, and from 16 to 25 February, 12pm  in which he was to remain in his flat at Compassvale Close.

A day before his quarantine order was to conclude, Vardireddy left his rented room to go to CompassOne Shopping Mall to buy a shaver, as he was scheduled to return to work on 25 February and did not want to appear untidy.

He did not want to shave the next day as he believed it was inauspicious for Hindus to shave on Tuesdays. As such he went to a shop called Venus Beauty at the mall and bought a shaver. He left his house at about 8.10pm and returned some 20 to 25 minutes later.

A few minutes after Vardireddy left his unit, an auxiliary police officer appointed by Certis Cisco visited the residence and was let in by the landlord, who informed him that Vardireddy was not around, after a short search.

The officer waited for 15 minutes but Vardireddy did not return in this time. Vardireddys landlord told him about the visit upon Vardireddys return.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim sought a $6,000 fine for Vardireddy.

Despite being given quarantine order, he deliberately breached order for no good reason except that he was eager to return to work clean shaven, said the DPP, adding that Vardireddy could have asked someone else to buy a shaver for him or gone to a less crowded destination.

Unrepresented, Vardireddy said that he had tested negative for the virus and felt that the risk of spreading virus is very low. He added that he had worn a mask when he left his house.

Siti Wan Su'Aidah Samsuri, 25, seen arriving at the State Courts on 21 April 2020. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

Siti Wan SuAidah Samsuri

Siti Wan SuAidah Samsuri, 25, was fined $4,000 after pleading guilty to breaching her SHN, with another similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing. The Singaporean had returned from Australia on 25 March and was served with an SHN valid until 8 April.

However, instead of remaining in her Woodlands residence, the former flight attendant left on 30 March to buy groceries with her husband at a supermarket. She also went to a minimart to buy cigarettes.

She was outside of her house, without a mask, for 15 to 20 minutes. When she returned home, enforcement officers were waiting outside her residence and a police report was made.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sanjiv Vaswani sought a $4,000 fine, pointing out that Sitis husband could have bought her groceries on her behalf.

Mitigating in person, Siti said, At that point of time the Government said that if you are not feeling unwell you shouldnt wear a mask, that is why I did not wear a mask.

Siti pleaded for a lighter fine, stating that she had been let go from her job and had two young children.

I just started my part time job. I also like to apologise I know it was a mistake, she said.

Teo Say Leong

Teo Say Leong, 64, was jailed for four weeks after he admitted to one count of breaching his SHN. Another four counts of a similar nature were considered for his sentencing.

The Singaporean was issued an SHN after he returned from Indonesia on 20 March. His SHN was effective from 20 March to 3 April. He had also arranged for a friend to deliver food to him daily.

However, on 29 March, Teo went to a coffeeshop to buy food without a reasonable excuse, leaving his residence at Jalan Sultan. After purchasing his food, Teo went to an open area to consume his food. He did not wear a mask.

When he returned home at 1.57pm, enforcement officer were present outside his residence and later lodged a police report.

Teo had also left his residence between 6am and 8am daily from 23 to 26 March to exercise for around an hour each time.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Related stories:

COVID-19: 2 Singaporeans, 1 American charged for breaching Stay-Home Notices

COVID-19: 2 foreign nationals charged with violating quarantine orders

COVID-19: Man, 64, charged for leaving flat 5 times while on SHN
Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

NORWALK  City officials are asking for the publics help reporting any issues they notice as some businesses begin to reopen with limitations following closures due to COVID-19.

With Phase One starting May 20, we are heading into some uncharted territory. Outdoor dining will occur, the mall will be open, and offices will have more people reporting to work. All of these are normal, but these activities now will be operating under strict guidelines to protect the health and safety of employees and the public, said Mayor Harry Rilling. If an employee has a concern with their place of work, they should report that issue to the State of Connecticut via 2-1-1. If a member of the public sees an issue with a local establishment, please contact the Norwalk Police Department so we can follow up. I ask for everyones continued patience and cooperation in the days and weeks ahead.
Karen and Larry Buford of Midland are grateful to have a place to stay at an emergency shelter at Midland High School after evacuating their home on Sturgeon due to the widespread flooding in the area.

The Bufords were told by the National Guard to evacuate their home on Wednesday morning. At that point, they had about three feet of water in their basement, with water coming through the floor drain.

The sump pump was working. As fast as it was coming in, the sump pump was taking it back out, Karen said at the MHS shelter.

The Bufords heard about the flooding on the news on Tuesday night, but they didnt realize the local impact until they took their dog out Wednesday morning and saw the roads flooded. Within 15 minutes, they were on their way out.

So we packed really quick and got in the truck. Im grateful for that, Karen said. It was probably for the best.

Also at the shelter, Jill Charters, of Midland, sat in the cafeteria finishing breakfast. She was at work when she heard the emergency alert to evacuate Tuesday night and drove back to her home in Woodland Place Apartments.

She grabbed her electronics, her purse, her boyfriend and her pets before coming to Midland High.

We were driving around, seeing what was going on and looking at the water, Charters said.

Charters hasnt heard about the status of her apartment yet. She is grateful to the volunteers at Midland High, who have provided cots, food and masks.

I would like to go home and see the damage. Not knowing is whats bothering me right now," Charters said.

In the school gym, a few volunteers talked with the shelter residents and handed out facemasks. One of the volunteers, Wendy Franz of Midland, stopped to help one woman adjust the straps of her mask so they didnt bother her ears.

Franz praised the Midland Public Schools staff for their organization and their compassion for those displaced by the flood.

It came together so quickly. Everyone was so calm and cooperative, she said.

A MidMichigan Medical Center nurse came off of her shift at midnight Tuesday night and went right to the shelter at Midland High to assist people staying there through the night.

This is just one example of the support that MPS Superintendent Michael Sharrow said been pouring out from the community since the shelter opened Tuesday at 6 p.m. to accommodate area residents who had to evacuate their homes due to the flooding.

By one estimate, 10,000 Midland residents need to evacuate due to the flooding. Many surrounding communities have been hit hard as well.

About 100 people stayed inside the high school's large gymnasium overnight and another 30 to 40 stayed in their cars in the parking lot, Sharrow said.

"The community had brought in so much water and food by 9 last night," Sharrow said. "They've been bringing in toiletries and towels. People are just fabulous. Volunteers have been coming in off the street and wanting to help.

"A nurse was coming off her shift at midnight and came here and worked through the night," he continued, noting that many elderly residents and residents with disabilities are among those staying at the shelter. "We would have been in trouble (trying to care for) that vulnerable group without that nurse.

"Now they've made a shift of nurses that are going to be with us all the way through (until the shelter is no longer needed)."

The shelter also benefited from a donation of cots from Camp Rotary in Clare, which were then assembled by a group of local veterans, Sharrow said.

"We definitely have more capacity since we got those additional cots," he said. were hearing we might pick up some more in a while here.

Sharrow said he's also been told that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is going to visit the MHS shelter at some point on Wednesday during her visit to Midland.

The shelter will be open as long as it is needed, Sharrow said.

"We're going to keep it open as long as they need it open," he said. "We're fully committed."

Plenty of food and supplies are available at MHS.

"This morning we fed (the shelter residents) through Chartwells (which is the food service contracted by MPS)," Sharrow said. "That worked out well. Chartwells is going to prepare the meals all the way through."

A food bank will be delivering a truck of food to the school on Wednesday night, he said.

"So we should have food from here on out," Sharrow said.

Many MPS staff members and other community members have been helping to operate the shelter, the superintendent said.

"Several principals showed up this morning. Board members have been there," Sharrow said. "United Way volunteers have been there. Our staff has been tremendous."

Sharrow could not think of anything that the shelter needed for the time being, including volunteers.

"We have so many supplies of every kind. We do not have any needs right now," he said.

"We've got enough volunteers. We've been given food, donations, games for kids to play, pillows, blankets, sheets. We're in a pretty good position right now."

In terms of Midland Public Schools itself, Sharrow said that many MPS staff members have had to evacuate from their own homes.

Because of that, not enough bus drivers were available for food to be distributed as normal to families on Wednesday morning at the district's elementary schools and MHS.
In a recent letter 17 of New Mexicos 109 mayors supported all of Gov. Lujan Grishams actions in fighting COVID-19. They declared their commitment to stay the course until this deadly disease is fully defeated.

We appreciate those mayors and the concerns they have for their communities. We also share the desire to protect the lives of those in our cities and throughout our great state. It is wrong, however, to assert that by advocating for a responsible reopening of our economies that we do not care about the health and safety of our constituents.

First and foremost, we want all New Mexicans to be healthy and safe. Thats our top priority; however, due to the governors lack of strategy, New Mexico is suffering. For more than a month now every New Mexican and business owner has agreed to the shared sacrifice ordered by the governor. We have all acknowledged that by working together we can minimize and hopefully defeat COVID-19. Yet, it seems like local businesses are the ones doing most of the shared sacrifice.

We have watched while customers flock into the big-box stores  out-of-state, giant corporations  while locally owned small businesses fold and the unemployment rate skyrockets.

These 17 mayors say nothing has changed since social distancing began. Wrong. Every day shoppers crowd into the big-box stores. By the end of that business day, the money they spent in those stores leaves the state forever. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been deposited into out-of-state bank accounts for these major corporations, never to return to New Mexico. Ever.

Meantime, our local businesses are collapsing, closing and local economies may never recover. We can responsibly have social distancing at all businesses. The rules need to be fair. The 17 mayors stress to keep the governors course, that a change would be as if a boxer dropped his fists and raised his chin in the middle of a round. Lets clarify: New Mexico is about to be TKOd.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. Many of these mom-and-pop businesses  restaurants, bars, salons and gyms  remain shuttered, tens of thousands seek unemployment benefits, and the trickle-down impact of closed doors has put our states operating budget in a free fall. Add the oil prices crash and the total stoppage of tourism and you have an economic and fiscal health catastrophe developing in New Mexico.

Our state budget has been hit hard  recent official estimates say we may have a $1.5 to $2 billion shortfall. In their letter, those 17 mayors stated theres a temporary cost to our economy. But some families have lost everything, and many of New Mexicos most fragile Main Streets no longer show vestiges of economic life. This current course by the governor demonstrates little leadership and offers no carefully crafted long-term strategy. People who live in counties with no cases of COVID-19 are forced to drive into population centers where they face exposure. We are nearing the point that not moving forward with an economic plan from city, state and federal leaders would be a dereliction of duty.

It is time now to lay out the plan to reopen. Yes, we agree with the other mayors that were all in this together, but we need responsible and fair decisions from the Roundhouse, and a sensible, coordinated strategy that truly considers our states future.

Tell us your plan, governor, or well soon see a KO.

Mayors for reopening

This letter was also signed by Mayors:Martin Hicks, Grants

Dennis Kintigh, Roswell

Richard Rumpf, Magdalena

Edna Trager, Elephant Butte

Ernest Sanchez, Clayton

Deb Stubblefield, Williamsburg

Jake Bruton, Tijeras

Barry Green, Melrose

Ted Hart, Moriarty

David Trujillo, Lovington

Billy Hobbs, Eunice

Nathan Dial, Estancia

Andy Nunez, Hatch

Mitch Daubert, Dexter

Durward Dixon, Elida
After months of lockdowns, European leaders are preparing to lift some coronavirus-related travel restrictions and allow tourism to resume - cautiously.

"Our message is we will have a tourist season this summer," European Union Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told the BBC last week, "even if it's with security measures and limitations."

Those E.U. measures include updating health protocols for hotels and public transit and expanding contact tracing between member states. The goal, according to a news release from the European Commission, is "to help the EU tourism sector recover from the pandemic, by supporting businesses and ensuring that Europe continues to be the number one destination for visitors."

There are regulations, chief among them that non-European tourists will have to wait until at least June 15 to begin their visits. But much of the loosening of restrictions will be left up to individual nations - France and Ireland, for example, have agreed to allow travel among them without requiring a 14-day quarantine in the final destination.

Here's what other countries on the continent, along with a few top non-European travel destinations, are planning.

- - -

Spain

In the Spanish beach town of Canet d'en Berenguer, outside Valencia, officials are accounting for social distancing with a system allowing beachgoers to book appointments on the sand via mobile app.

The beach will be divided into a grid of socially distanced sites, with staggered arrival times and the option to choose either a morning or afternoon slot (but not both). In all, the restrictions will allow for a maximum of 5,000 people per day, about half of the beach's normal capacity.

"This summer will be very different," Canet d'en Berenguer Mayor Pere Joan Antoni Chorda told CNN. "There'll be more space between your neighbor. Like a 'business-class' beach."

- - -

Iceland

When Iceland reopens its borders June 15, it will require all visitors to either take a covid-19 test, agree to a two-week quarantine or present official documentation of a recent negative test for the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Regardless of which option they choose, tourists will have to download a contact-tracing app. Iceland has tested more than 13% of its population of about 360,000 people, a higher rate than any other country in the world.

"Iceland's strategy of large-scale testing, tracing and isolating have proven effective so far," tourism minister Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir said in a statement.

Iceland has reported 10 coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began.

- - -

Greece

Greece will open to tourists a bit later, starting July 1, but the nation's usual packed nightlife scene probably won't be a part of it. Solo or socially distanced small-group activities, such as kayaking and boating, will be encouraged instead.

"The tourism experience this summer may be slightly different from what you've had in previous years," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told CNN. "Maybe no bars may be open, or no tight crowds, but you can still get a fantastic experience in Greece - provided that the global epidemic is on a downward path."

Every international traveler to Greece will have to enter through Athens and submit to a health screening, which includes a rapid covid-19 test.

- - -

Mexico

Beaches across Mexico will open to tourists starting in June, with phases of reopening continuing through July and August. Los Cabos, the tip of the Baja California peninsula that includes popular spring break destination Cabo San Lucas, will allow for limited travel beginning June 1 as health screenings and enhanced sanitation measures ramp up to accommodate more tourists late into the summer.

The Los Cabos tourism board said it will look to open many of the area's hotels and, eventually, the international terminal at its airport, if the new safety protocols reduce the spread of the virus. Cancun and Riviera Maya will also reopen in phases, though the U.S. State Department's has a "Level 4: Do Not Travel" advisory for the area.

"For those looking further to international destinations, the overarching theme [in online searches] seems to be relaxation and beach time, with Mexico and the Caribbean dominating the list," an Expedia spokeswoman told Travel + Leisure.

- - -

Australia and New Zealand

On the other side of the world, Australia and New Zealand are experimenting with the idea of a "travel bubble" that would allow tourists to travel freely between the countries, which have both had relatively few deaths. The bubble, however, would apply only to residents of the two countries,

"Our Number 1 focus at the moment is making sure that both our countries are in the position where we're domestically managing covid-19 to a point where we can with confidence open borders," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said at a recent news conference.
Central American migrants seeking asylum, some wearing protective face masks, return to Mexico via the international bridge at the U.S-Mexico border that joins Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Saturday, March 21, 2020. Mexico and the U.S. are restricting travel over their busy shared border as they try to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

AP Photo/Christian Chavez

The Trump administration is extending a ban on "non-essential" travel at the borders with Canada and Mexico.

"Our efforts over the last several months to limit non-essential travel have been successful and now is not the time to change course," Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement.

Leading public health experts say the ban on asylum-seekers has no basis in science.

"The nation's public health laws should not be used as a pretext for overriding humanitarian laws and treaties that provide life-saving protections to refugees seeking asylum and unaccompanied children," they wrote.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Trump administration on Tuesday extended restrictions on "non-essential" travel at the US borders with Canada and Mexico, including a ban on asylum-seekers that experts say has nothing to do with protecting public health.

"Our efforts over the last several months to limit non-essential travel have been successful and now is not the time to change course," Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement.

The travel restrictions, which apply only to land ports, do not prohibit US citizens and permanent residents from entering the country, nor persons traveling for work, attending school, transporting goods, or receiving or providing medical treatment.

Tourists traveling by land are prohibited, however, as are those seeking refuge from poverty or violence.

That latter prohibition could end up being indefinite, according to a May 13 report in The New York Times. A draft public health order from Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would extend border restrictions until the CDC determines that the "further introduction of COVID-19 into the United States has ceased to be a danger to the public health."

Story continues

That policy itself, critics charge, is what poses a threat to public health, and not just in the United States.

In a May 18 letter to Dr. Redfield and Alex Azar, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, more than three dozen of the US's eminent public health experts argue that there is no justification  beyond politics  for extending travel restrictions to asylum-seekers.

Signatories, including the deans of Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and George Washington University's Milken Institute of Public Health, say that migrants could be safely processed with the help of social distancing and proper sanitation procedures, arguing they should be allowed to self-quarantine upon admission, as opposed to being held in any "mass quarantine" setting.

"The nation's public health laws should not be used as a pretext for overriding humanitarian laws and treaties that provide life-saving protections to refugees seeking asylum and unaccompanied children," the experts wrote.

Indeed, tourists traveling by plane or ship pose a far greater danger of spreading contagion, they note, yet are not barred (unless they have recently visited China, Iran, the United Kingdom, or the European Union).

"The rule is thus being used to target certain classes of noncitizens," the letter states, "rather than to protect public health."

US immigration policy during the pandemic has also exacerbated the threat of the coronavirus elsewhere, according to the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders.

"Despite the risk of contagion and the implications for people's health, the US has continued to organize flights to deport migrants and asylum seekers to their countries of origin," Marc Bosch, the group's coordinator for Latin America, stated earlier this month. In one Mexican town, the group said, at least 15 people contracted the coronavirus from a recent deportee.

"It's clear that the Trump administration isn't basing its border security and immigration policy decisions on legitimate public health concerns," Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, said in a May 19 statement. "This is a push to implement an extreme anti-immigrant agenda, no matter what kind of humanitarian catastrophe it causes."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
This is the moment a robotic dog tries its metal paws at herding unruly sheep on a farm in New Zealand.

Spot gathered together the animals before pushing them through the field, with the help of two biological sheepdogs.

Developed by Boston Dynamics, it can reach speeds of up to 3mph and costs less than a car, which average 30,000, to lease, according to reports.

It has been heralded as the future of farming.

Spot gathered up the sheep in New Zealand with the help of two sheepdogs (pictured above)

The robot was seen helping the dogs to keep the sheep together. It appeared they were preparing to move them between fields

The clip, which could offer a glimpse into the future of livestock care, also shows the robot marching through an orchard, along a road and navigating its way down a grassy verge.

'The use of autonomous robots in agriculture is increasing the efficiency of food production,' said Rocos, which published the clip.

'Robots, like Spot from Boston Dynamics, increase accuracy in yield estimates, relieve the strain of worker shortages and create precision in farming.'

The video has been viewed more than 103,000 times since it was released.

Spot runs for 90 minutes before needing a battery change, is rain protected, and can withstand temperatures from -20C to 45C, according to the Boston Dynamics website.

The video also showed the robot marching through an orchard, shown, and making its way along a grassy verge

It costs less than a car to lease, which average around 30,000, and has a top speed of 3mph

The machine, which has also been offered for work on building sites, in mines, and in healthcare, can carry up to two stone.

And in a recent announcement, Boston Dynamics said it can be controlled from any location due to their partnership with cloud-based software platform Rocos.

It can be purchased on lease through an 'early adopter programme' which costs less than a new car, reports Spectrum.org.

'Our general guidance is that the total cost of the early adopter program will be less than the price of a car - but how nice a car will depend on the number of Spots leased and how long the customer will be leasing the robot,' said the company's business developer, Michael Perry.

Spot Spot robot by Boston Dynamics Battery life: 90 minutes Top speed: 3mph Rain protected?: Yes Temperature tolerance: -20C to 45C Where work?: Farms, construction sites, mines, healthcare, public safety and more Weight it can carry: up to two stone Cost: Less than 30,000 Added features: Can have robotic arms attached and can be controlled from any location. Advertisement
P olice have arrested another three men after a student was shot dead in the street as she walked to a Lidl supermarket.

Aya Hachem, 19, who studied law at the University of Salford, was on a main road in Blackburn when she was hit by one of several shots on Sunday.

Two men aged 31 and 35 have been arrested on suspicion of murder and a 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

They were all detained in the Blackburn area on Tuesday evening and remain in custody.

Police launched a major investigation after Aya was killed. They do not believe she was the intended target of the attack, which took place in broad daylight on a busy main road in the town centre.

Emergency services rushed to the scene but she later died in hospital.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Three other men from Blackburn aged 39, 33 and 36 were arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and remain in custody.

Her former headteacher at Blackburn Central High School, Diane Atkinson, told the BBC: She fled a war-torn zone as a refugee and came to the UK looking for a better life.

She arrived with very little English and was soon inducted with BCHS, as we call ourselves, the family, and Blackburn.

And she was a very, very intelligent young lady who very, very quickly picked up the command of English and worked incredibly hard to become the very, very best person she could be.

Senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Andy Cribbin, from Lancashire Constabularys Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT), said: While we have now arrested a number of people as part of this investigation, our inquiries are very much ongoing and we continue to have a large team of officers and staff working around the clock to find out who was responsible for Ayas death.

Our determination to get justice for her family remains undimmed.

Our thoughts are very much with Ayas loved ones and her family are being supported by specially trained officers.

I would like to thank those who have come forward to assist the investigation so far and I would continue to ask that anyone who has any information, however insignificant they may think it is, to get in touch.

This is an absolutely tragic loss of a young life and we need to find out what happened  you may hold the key to help us do that so please dont hesitate to contact us.

Police released a photo of the Toyota Avensis that they believe was used in the shooting / PA

We know a number of videos of the incident are on social media and it is important that, if people are aware of any footage, that they formally report this to us if they havent already done so as they are potential evidence.

We would also ask people, even if they are well intentioned, not to share these videos out of respect for Aya and her family.

Similarly, I would urge people not to speculate online about the cause of or motivation for the incident and to instead share what they know with us, as their information could prove vital.

A number of people were travelling in the light green/silver Toyota Avensis from which the shots were fired close to the Lidl store.

The vehicle, with the registration number SV53 UBP, was abandoned a short time later in nearby Wellington Road and seized for forensic examination.

Anyone with footage is asked to submit it to police us via the major incident portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020120E05-PO1.
The Louisiana Senate has agreed to change the rules for lawsuits over car wrecks, aiming to limit damage claims against insurance companies and other businesses.

The Senate voted 29-8 for the bill by Republican Sen. Kirk Talbot of River Ridge. The Republican-led tort reform effort is a priority of business lobbying groups.

The proposal would require use of jury trials more frequently, so lawyers have to argue damage claims to more people than a single judge; cap certain damages that can be awarded; limit when insurance companies can be sued directly; and increase the time accident victims can file lawsuits to provide more time for settlement negotiations.

Supporters say the bill would force down Louisianas car insurance rates, which are second-highest in the nation. They say Louisianas legal climate encourages too many car wreck lawsuits, driving away insurance companies and pushing up premiums.

Opponents say the changes would keep people from getting money needed to cover their medical bills and could drive up costs for courts.

The measure assumes insurance companies would drop premiums for private passenger policies by 10% a year after the changes take effect in 2021. But it includes a provision allowing companies to avoid rate cuts.

Senate Bill 418 heads to the House for debate, where a similar bill won committee support.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Auto Louisiana Politics
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:21:57|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian defense minister on Wednesday warned the United States off any threats against the Iranian oil tankers carrying fuel to Venezuela.

Any threats for the tankers will trigger Iran's harsh response, Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Causing any insecurity to the oil tankers and maritime trade routes is in violation of the international law and will draw reaction of international institutions and countries, said Hatami.

"Our policy is also clear, and we won't tolerate any disturbance for our tankers," he noted.

Ali Rabiee, spokesman for Iran's government, said on Monday that Iran was ready for the worst-case scenario over U.S. threats against the shipment of Iranian fuel to Venezuela.

The remarks by the Iranian officials came after the White House announced last week that the United States was considering measures it could take in response to Iran's shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela. Enditem
Around 80 firefighters are tackling a blaze at a block of flats in south-east London.

Plumes of smoke were pictured rising from the tower block in Deptford on Wednesday evening.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted: Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters have been called to a fire at a block of flats on Childers Street, the London Fire Brigade tweeted.

In a later update, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said around 80 firefighters and 12 fire engines were at the scene.

"Half of a flat on the top floor of a six-storey block and half of the roof are alight, a statement said.

"The Brigade's 999 Control Officers have taken 35 calls to the fire. The Brigade was called at 1926".

The cause of the fire is currently unknown, the statement added.

Station Commander Emma Carr, who is at the scene, said: Two people left the affected flat and firefighters evacuated the rest of the block as a precaution due to the amount of smoke.

There are no reports of any injuries at this stage.

This is a challenging incident due to the fire being in a roof hatch and firefighters are working hard to bring it under control.

Aerial ladder platforms are being used to tackle the blaze in the roof from height.
(ANSA) - Rome, May 20 - Regional Affairs Minister Francesco Boccia said Wednesday that the government had won the first battle against the coronavirus in making Italy safe again.

"We have won the first battle with the virus and have returned the country to safety," Boccia told a House committee.

"The contagion rate R has gone down from 3.5-4 to 0.5.

"We are starting again from this patrimony".

Boccia said monitoring of the epidemic was "working very well".

He said that in phase two of the emergency, the regions would be responsible for "what and how to reopen".

He said that inter-regional travel would be possible again from June 3, "but not between high-risk regions".


HOUSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Simon Bolivar Foundation Inc. (Simon Bolivar Foundation), the non-profit, private foundation of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, is awarding up to $278,380 from its COVID-19 Small Grants Program to ten 501(c)(3) charitable organizations for the ongoing development of health-focused projects in Venezuela. These organizations join the program's earlier grantees, bringing the number to 15 nonprofit organizations for a total donation of $475,343 in grants to help Venezuelans in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The beneficiaries include American Initiatives for Social Development Foundation, A Better America Foundation as fiscal sponsor for Ascardio, Big Little JC Organization, Universidad Simon Bolivar Alumni Association of America Inc. as fiscal sponsor for Code for Venezuela, Action of Solidarity Inc. as fiscal sponsor for Convite, Primeros Auxilios Ulandinos, Saludos Connection as fiscal sponsor for Programa de Atencion al Adulto Mayor, I Love Venezuela as fiscal sponsor for Ven Da Tu Mano, Sociedad Amigos del Hospital de Especialidades Pediatricas, among others. These organizations were selected by the Simon Bolivar Foundation from a pool of 30 applicants through a competitive review process administered by an experienced advisory committee.

"We completed this extraordinary round of our Small Grants COVID 19 program in record timing, thanks to the quick response we received from charitable organizations from the Venezuelan diaspora. Their willingness to help address these health-related challenges speaks volumes about their continued commitment to Venezuelans in need, and we are sure these projects will make a significant difference in the fight against the pandemic and beyond," said Mariela Poleo, president of the Simon Bolivar Foundation.

The selected projects focus on minimizing the coronavirus effect in a country that is already enduring a complex humanitarian emergency further complicated by a rapidly deteriorating public health system and include the following programs: supply of personal protection equipment and medicines, sponsoring of local production of face shields, training for first responders and emergency services personnel, and equipment such as an ambulance and testing material.

Other initiatives target vulnerable populations by supplying food, nutritional supplements, sanitation materials, and access to telemedicine. Together, these projects will translate to direct benefits for more than 36,000 individuals, 6,500 health professionals, serve 73 soup kitchens and community centers, and seven hospitals in nine Venezuelan cities throughout the country.

"We would like to express our appreciation for the donation approved by the Simon Bolivar Foundation to our institution, it encourages us to continue working during this worldwide challenging situation that is the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for trusting us," affirmed Bartolome Finizola Celli, Medical Director of Ascardio.

In addition to the Small Grants program, the Simon Bolivar Foundation has also awarded more than $125,000 to other nonprofit organizations for pandemic efforts in Venezuela through its Emergency Relief Fund, and it has successfully organized four knowledge transfer webinars on COVID-19 related issues.

Final awards for the grantees are contingent on full due diligence and execution of the grant agreement.

About the Simon Bolivar Foundation

The Simon Bolivar Foundation is the 501(3) non-profit, private foundation of CITGO Petroleum Corporation. The Foundation supports initiatives, leverages existing resources and invests in organizations to meet the immediate and long-term health needs of the most vulnerable individuals particularly in and from Venezuela with a special focus on the health and well-being of children and their mothers.

About CITGO

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation is a recognized leader in the refining industry with a well-known brand. CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. With approximately 3,400 employees and a combined crude capacity of approximately 769,000 barrels-per-day (bpd), CITGO is ranked as the fifth-largest, and one of the most complex independent refiners in the United States. CITGO transports and markets transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products and supplies a network of approximately 4,700 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and the District of Columbia. CITGO Petroleum Corporation is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc. For more information, visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO Corporation

Related Links

http://www.CITGO.com


Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Choi Ji-won (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network)  Wed, May 20, 2020 18:04 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd9517ed 2 Entertainment Jeonju,film-festival,South-Korea,film Free

Jeonju International Film Festival organizers announced that eight films will compete in the international competition category this year, during an online press conference streamed Monday on Navers V Live channel.

All eight films are either first or second films by rising directors with unique visions and styles.

The lineup of finalists include the first feature-length title from Chinese director Gao Ming Damp Season and Uruguayan director Alex Pipernos surrealistic fantasy film Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine. While Argentine-born Clarisa Navas One in a Thousand, among the finalists, tells the love story between two girls in a ghetto area, Adam by Moroccan filmmaker Maryam Touzani expands on the friendship of two single mothers. Two films combining features of fiction and documentary -- Spanish filmmaker Luis Lopez Carrascos The Year of the Discovery and Portuguese director Catarina Vasconcelos The Metamorphosis of Birds -- along with Belgian director Zoe Wittocks first feature-length drama Jumbo and Japanese director Nakao Hiromichis self-reflection film Obake are also on the list.

The eight films will be screened during the festival period from May 28 to June 6, along with the 11 titles in the Korean Competition, 25 titles in the Korean Competition for Shorts and three films of the Jeonju Cinema Project -- Jeonju IFFs signature category featuring experimental films produced with Jeonju IFF funding.

Read also: Jeonju film fest to open in late May without audience

Meanwhile, the organizing committee of the Jeonju IFF previously announced this years festival would be scaled down, with most of the event held behind closed doors and held online, due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The online screenings will be held on an OTT platform only inside South Korea, with payment required for individual films, a public relations official from the Jeonju IFF said. More details on the online screenings will be announced on Thursday.

The committee is also planning offline screening of the key titles June 9 - Sept. 20 at theaters in the Jeonju area.

Topics :

This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Abbas has threatened before to abandon the complex web of agreements that has for decades divided control over the disputed territories between Israel and the elected Palestinian Authority  most recently after the debut of the Trump peace plan in January. It was unclear Tuesday whether on-the-ground coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security units would be interrupted.
With the number of beneficiaries under government's flagship Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY scheme crossing one crore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said it was a proud moment for every Indian.

"In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives. I congratulate all the beneficiaries and their families. I also pray for their good health," he said.

During my official tours, I would interact with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries. Sadly, that is not possible these days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary. Here is what we discussed. https://t.co/vsUOEEo5pM Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

Modi praised the efforts of doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat. "This initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden," he said.

Also read: Cabinet approves Rs 3 lakh cr funding for MSMEs, special liquidity scheme for NBFCs

Explaining the advantages under Ayushman Bharat, the Prime Minister said one of the biggest benefits was "portability". "Beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they registered but also in other parts of India. This helps those who work away from home or registered at a place where they don't belong," he said.

Prime Minister said he was unable to interact with the Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries owing to the current situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic. He, however, talked over the phone with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary of the Ayushman Bharat.

Notably, all Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries are entitled to free treatment of coronavirus in designated government hospitals for free.

Also read: Coronavirus impact: MSMEs demand loan moratorium till March 2021


The Amiri family arrived in the United States more than a month ago, but the children are still waiting for their first day at school. Their father, Mahmood, has not been able to find a job. He and his family moved to Utah about a week after states began ordering schools and businesses to close to try to stop the coronavirus from spreading.

The Amiris are refugees from Afghanistan. Because of concerns about the virus, they have yet to visit a local mosque to meet other Muslims.

Starting a new life in America is never easy for refugees. It is more difficult during a pandemic, especially after the government suspends the financial aid to help them resettle.

Coronavirus restrictions have affected refugee families in the same ways as anyone else. Take job losses and childcare issues, for example. But many refugees are facing language barriers and lack extended family or close friends in their new communities.

Mahmood Amiri, his wife and their four children arrived in Salt Lake City on March 24. They had waited three years for permission to go to the United States. When that permission came, they ignored warnings that moving overseas during the pandemic would be dangerous.

For them, it was worth the risk. Amiri feared the Taliban would target his family if its supporters learned that he worked for the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

Aid groups have turned from training refugee families for work and school to showing them how to request aid for jobless workers or do schoolwork online. They are spending emergency money to pay for housing and food for families after losing federal financial support.

Krish OMara Vignarajah leads the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, known as LIRS. The non-profit service is among nine groups that work with the United Nations to help refugees resettle in the United States. LIRS has given emergency aid to more than 215 families facing job losses.

OMara Vignarajah says refugees, like the Amiris, who arrived over the past few months are in difficult situations. She said many do not have the work history required to qualify for unemployment and other kinds of assistance from the U.S. government.

Ana Lucia Ibarguen and her three children arrived in Claxton, Georgia, last July after fleeing violent crime in Colombia. She and her 20-year-old son began studying English and working at a center that provides clothing to the very needy. Then, the coronavirus appeared. The crisis left them without jobs or a school to study the language.

She and her son have requested unemployment assistance but have yet to receive any money. He got $1,200 from the federal program to help those affected by the pandemic. They used the money to pay for their housing in May. But they do not know how they will pay for anything in June if they cannot get work.

Its very hard. Everything changed from one moment to the next, Ibarguen said in Spanish.

The COVID-19 crisis has not left all refugees without work. Some continue in jobs that put them at risk of infection, like driving taxis, restaurant service, and meat processing.

In Aurora, Colorado, P.J. Parmar sees many of those workers outside his office, where he wears head-to-toe protective cover. Parmar is a doctor who serves only refugees. He told The Associated Press that 45 percent of his patients have tested positive for the virus. One has died, and two others are very sick.

That high rate is understandable considering that refugees often live in crowded homes with other families, making social distancing impossible, Parmar said. They also share crowded vehicles over long distances to get to work.

Inside those vehicles, Parmar said, when one coughs, they all cough.

The Amiris said Catholic Community Services of Utah is paying for their food and housing and that they feel safe. But that does not mean it has been easy to be trapped in their small two-bedroom home near Salt Lake City.

The Amiris do not have a television or car. The parents try to entertain their children  ages 15, 13, 6 and 3. But they are restless and want to explore their new city.

Utahs public schools were already closed when the family arrived. The children know little English and struggle without in-person help from teachers.

Amiris cousin, who lives nearby, and Catholic Community Services are helping him look for a job.

Most refugees find work in three to six months, but the insecurity linked to the pandemic makes it harder, said Aden Batar of the Catholic aid group.

The unknown, thats what were worried about, not knowing how long this pandemic is going to go on.

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

mosque -n. a building that is used for Muslim religious services

pandemic -n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

qualify -v. to have the right to do, have, or be a part of something

positive -adj. the result from a test that shows that a particular germ, condition, or substance is present

cousin -n. a child of your uncle or aunt; also a person who is related to you but not in a close or direct way

cough -n. to force air through your throat with a short, loud noise often because you are sick

entertain -v. to amuse (someone)
Brazilian researchers show that the virus can infect different placental regions and that collection and storage methods should be taken into consideration to ensure that the results are trustworthy and representative

Shortly after the explosion in microcephaly cases caused by Zika virus in Brazil in 2015-16, several scientific studies were published with evidence that the pathogen is capable of crossing the human placenta, the organ that keeps the fetus connected to the mother's body during pregnancy. From then on, the states began following a protocol established by the National Ministry of Health requiring collection of placental samples to help diagnose the disease in women with symptoms during pregnancy.

However, according to a group of Brazilian researchers at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) who have studied emerging viruses with Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP's support, the official protocol in place nationwide should be reformulated. As they recently reported in Frontiers in Microbiology, it is crucial to ensure that samples are representative and properly stored and transported to obtain trustworthy results in detecting the virus in the placenta.

The report concludes that Zika virus can indeed infect different regions of the placenta in pregnant women, such as the umbilical cord, amniotic membrane, chorionic plate, chorionic villi and basal plate.

This discovery suggests that diagnostic tests should take several placental regions into consideration to assure adequate representativeness and more accurate results. "The protocol currently in force says each sample should be 1 cubic centimeter in size but doesn't specify the placental regions to be analyzed," said molecular biologist Jose Luiz Proenca Modena, who heads the Emerging Virus Research Laboratory (LEVE) at UNICAMP's Institute of Biology and is one of the authors of the report.

The study analyzed 17 placental samples from women who gave birth at the Women's Hospital (CAISM) run by UNICAMP. Fourteen tested positive for Zika virus using a real-time PCR kit developed by the researchers. The PCR method detects RNA from the virus in the samples tested.

"We collected four fragments from all placental regions for each patient, including the umbilical cord," Modena said. The women had symptoms of the disease during pregnancy, such as fever and rash, or delivered babies with microcephaly in 2016 or 2017. According to Modena, the collection of several placental fragments increases the chances of detecting Zika because some regions of the placenta contain more viruses than others.

The researchers were surprised to find that placental samples from the same patients tested negative when analyzed using the health ministry's protocol by the Adolfo Lutz Institute (IAL), the main reference laboratory for epidemiological surveillance in the state of Sao Paulo. "This problem highlights the urgency of changing the currently required method," Modena said.

In response to inquiries by Agencia FAPESP, IAL's press office stated that placental samples continue to be tested in compliance with the official protocol, and there are no plans to change this procedure at the moment. For Modena, the urgent need to increase laboratory testing to detect the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 will hinder efforts to change the protocol in the short run.

"The coronavirus pandemic will probably delay moves to reformulate the diagnostic test to detect Zika virus in placenta," he said. Modena has had to interrupt his normal research activities to join the efforts of the task force set up by UNICAMP to halt the spread of COVID-19 (read more at: agencia.fapesp.br/32998/).

Talks about adjustments to the placental test protocol with the Ministry of Health began at the end of 2019 but have also had to be suspended, he said.

For Maria Laura Costa do Nascimento, a professor in UNICAMP's School of Medical Sciences and a coauthor of the Frontiers in Microbiology article, while many research projects have been redirected in response to the emergency posed by the pandemic, a systematic protocol must be established as soon as possible to ensure that placental samples are collected in the appropriate manner. Evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted from mother to fetus has not yet been found, but reliable studies of its behavior in the placenta are few and far between, she said.

The UNICAMP group planned to use the knowledge acquired from their research on Zika virus to study viral load in placental samples from women infected by SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy.

"The placenta is a very important organ for diagnosing several diseases, including Zika," Nascimento said. "About 70% of those infected are symptomatic or exhibit mild symptoms, so that they take longer to go to a doctor." The probability of a positive test result after the acute stage of infection is negligible, she added. The virus can be detected for up to five days in blood and eight days in urine, counting from the date of infection. In the placenta, however, traces of the virus can be detected months after the start of infection.

According to the Ministry of Health, 2,054 cases of Zika were reported in Brazil in the first three months of this year.

The researchers acknowledge that changing the protocol is no easy task. Collecting a larger number of samples from specific placental regions will make testing more expensive, for example.

"It's one thing to extract a placental fragment at random and store it in a freezer at -20 C, as the protocol requires now. Collecting four or five specific fragments and storing them at -80 C is quite another," Modena said.

According to Nascimento, the challenge will be guaranteeing that Brazil's maternity hospitals have the requisite technical staff trained to perform a more complex procedure and the equipment to store samples properly until they arrive at the reference laboratory responsible for diagnostic testing.

"It's complicated to work with samples collected during or just after childbirth, especially when the procedure hasn't been scheduled in advance and is performed by rosters of hospital duty personnel," Nascimento said. "These professionals would have to be trained to collect specific placental fragments, ensuring sample quality and representativeness, as soon as possible after the baby is delivered."

###

About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at http://www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at http://www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.
In these unprecedented times, it has grown ever more crucial for businesses to support their employees as people, and not just as workers.

Working parents are under an enormous amount of pressure. Currently, Statista reports that a full 38 percent of employees have been asked to work from home. Theoretically, the request is a best-case scenario; with remote working capabilities, businesses can keep achieving, and employees can keep earning without fear of job loss. But a lot of people have kids  and during the coronavirus crisis, the vast majority of working parents are forced to juggle their professional to-do lists with their parenting responsibilities.

Related: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs limited screen time for their kids

Working from home isnt so easy when youre also tasked with being the sole caretaker for your children all day. The risk of contagion prevents working parents from enlisting their usual sources of help during the workday; grandparents, babysitters, friends and neighbors are all out of reach. This lack of support makes it exponentially more difficult for employees to execute their usual workload. As journalist Corinne Purtill puts the matter in an article for the New York Times, The only thing more distracting than working at home with kids is having an actual elephant in your living room.

But for some, the distraction isnt only having the kids at home  its needing to educate them, too. Nationwide, the vast majority of schools have shut down for at least the next few weeks. Nine states have shuttered academic institutions until the end of May; eight have closed for the remainder of the academic year. Many parents, including those in my home state of New York, have been suddenly tasked with supporting their kids through untested remote learning programs.

Its stressful because I am receiving six to seven emails from my daughters school each day, working parent Stephanie Caudle told the New York Post of her experience. I often stress if Im doing it right and if my child is going to fall behind because I am currently juggling so much.

Businesses need to be conscious of the multiple responsibilities working parents hold during the average workday. Now more than ever, company leaders must be thoughtful, empathetic and responsive to the needs of those they rely on to drive their business forward.

Here are a few steps you can take.

Be exhaustive when rethinking your expectations.

You may think you know what to expect from your remote workers  but do you? Sit down with your HR representative to figure out how task allocation and hourly expectations might change for working parents during the pandemic. How much work can parents realistically complete during a workday at home? What support might they need to complete their assigned to-do lists? Establishing a fair baseline for working expectations will save everyone involved from unnecessary stress and overwork down the road.

Related: 5 Reasons Why Kids Make Amazing Entrepreneurs

That said, dont limit your thinking to a baseline. Be exhaustive in your thinking; brainstorm through various COVID-19 scenarios. What, for instance, would you do if an employee is caring for a sick relative and can only put in so many hours? What will you need to do if you need to furlough teams? Be specific in your thinking  the last thing you want is to inadvertently put stress on your business or employees because you failed to plan for adverse outcomes.

Proactively provide employees with information about leave policies.

We live in uncertain times. Employees need to know what their options are if they do get sick or need to care for an ill family member. Company leaders should proactively provide information both on their own leave policies and the aid provided by recent legislation.

The federal government passed an aid package that includes funding to support sick workers and those who need to care for children who are at home due to coronavirus closures. The legislation provides workers at companies of under 500 employees ten days of immediately-available paid sick leave during the pandemic. It also establishes a new federal paid leave program for working caretakers. Eligible workers can receive benefits for a month, receiving two-thirds of their average monthly earnings up to a cap of $4,000.

Work with your human resources department to explain available supportive measures to working parents and assist individual workers with their paperwork if need be. Dont only think of your full-time employees, either  also provide information to any temporary or part-time workers that aid in your operations.

Learn how to be flexible.

What allowances can you make for your employee base? Can you give them more sick time outside of federal benefits? Is there a way to provide some working parents the opportunity to go part-time or have flexible working hours?

Some companies have already taken such measures. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, Google has given employees who are caring for children or family members two additional weeks of leave in the event of any school or care facility closure. If they use that two-week allotment, affected staffers still have the option to use their usual four weeks of paid leave.

Related: 10 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Actually Get Work Done While ...

Obviously, those privileges are considerable  and not feasible for many smaller companies. However, there are smaller measures that company leaders can take. Work with your team to institute flexible working arrangements and provide support to those who can no longer handle their full workload. Above all else, treat your employees as people first; recognize that they have worries and need empathetic support now more than ever before.

We are going to have to be patient and understanding of ourselves, our kids and each other, one New York Times journalist wrote of the remote-working paradigm shift. The challenge economically will be whether employers are able to do that too.

I believe that we can, if only we try hard enough.

Related:

6 Predictions for How This Crisis Will Impact Small Businesses Long-Term

Secrets From a Navy SEAL on Courage During Crisis

Why Every Franchise Should Pivot Right Now



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Parkland Health Mart Pharmacy announced on their Facebook page Monday that the Fredericktown location has been approved as one of five pharmacies in the state to have a drive-thru testing location for COVID-19.

In order to receive a free COVID-19 test you will need to visit www.doineedacovid19test.com

Once on the site you will need to scroll down, click on Missouri and then select Parkland Health Mart Pharmacy-Fredericktown to register for the test.

"You must bring your registration voucher with you when you arrive," Parkland Health Mart Pharmacy said in their post." All testing is done from your vehicle. There will be a special area marked off in our parking lot for you to use, and staff will be available to help guide you through the process."

Testing is taking place May 19-22 and May 26-29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day, while the supply of testing kits lasts.

Parkland Health Mart Pharmacy Business Manager Debbie Hamby said the test is a self-administered nasal swab that is completed from your vehicle.

"On the website, you'll be able to look at qualifying symptoms that make you eligible for the test, view a video of how the test is administered, as well as view testing locations and register for an appointment time," Hamby said.

Doineedacovid19test.com says the program is part of the public-private partnership announced March 12 and eTrueNorth is working in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, state and local officials, and pharmacy and lab partners to open testing sites in areas of need.

eTrueNorth says 95% of the U.S. population lives within 5 miles of a pharmacy. They said their vision is a future where consumers can access healthcare services at their local pharmacy.

"The entire process is designed to be as safe as possible," Hamby said. "When you pull into our parking lot for your test, you'll pull in to designated parking spots. One staff member will be outside to assist you, and they will be wearing full PPE, gown, gloves, face shield and mask."

Hamby said those coming to be tested will follow written prompts while the necessary information is collected before they are instructed to lower the window slightly for the test kit.

"You'll self-administer the test, seal everything back up in the bag and drop it into a tote," Hamby said. "It's all a very minimal contact situation. We will ship the kits off via FedEx to be processed and the patient will be notified of the results within two to three days."

Hamby said Health Mart Pharmacies have been working in collaboration with the Department of Human Services to be able to provide local testing sites.

"We are very fortunate to have our Fredericktown store be chosen, since they are in an area with little to no competition from big box pharmacy chains," Hamby said. "It's also a more rural area that is trying to meet the needs of a relatively under-served part of the state."

Hamby said tests are not limited to people in the Fredericktown area and can assist anyone in the Southeast Missouri area.

"That's why they have made it easy to jump online for the registration process," Hamby said. "All you have to do is drive to the store, remain in your vehicle, and we will assist you from there!"

Parkland Health Mart Pharmacy has locations in Fredericktown, Desloge, Farmington, Ironton and Piedmont.

"We are a fun place to do business with and we pride ourselves in delivering a top-notch customer experience at all time," Hamby said. "Visit us only at parklandrx.com or find us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with what is happening in our stores."

Victoria Kemper is a reporter for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-783-3366 or at vkemper@democratnewsonline.com

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The Covid-19 economic shockwaves will mean house builds will fall far short of what is required this year and next, storing up more problems for prices and rents in an already dysfunctional property market, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has warned.

The think-tank has, for the first time, put numbers on the huge dampening effects on house building and house prices, even as building sites start to reopen this week following two months of lockdown.

Under a scenario whereby the economy recovers quickly from the Covid-19 shock, ESRI economists Matthew Allen-Coghlan and Kieran McQuinn forecast 18,000 houses will be built this year and 28,500 next year.

Under its sluggish scenario, only 15,000 new houses are built this year and 20,000 in 2021.

The figures compare with the 21,000 houses built last year and fall far short of the 35,000 annual house builds the ESRI and other economists have long said are required to come anywhere meeting demand. Under its V-shaped recovery scenario, house prices, by the first quarter in 2021, are unchanged from a year earlier, but have slumped 12%, under a sluggish scenario.

Prof McQuinn said: Arguably, the greatest impact of Covid-19 on the Irish housing market over the longer-term may well be on the supply side of the market.

Meanwhile, a breakthrough agreement between Germany and France will help reboot Europes Covid-19 devastated economy and fewer Irish people will lose their jobs, experts have said.

The Merkel-Macron agreement paves the way for the European Commission to detail next week how a 500bn package of new money will be deployed to help European businesses and households.

Fergal OBrien, director of policy at Ibec, said the package will eventually reach main street here.

Ben Tonra, professor of international relations at UCD, said it was a sweet, sweet agreement.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Head of the Baku City Executive Authority Eldar Azizov has said that it is possible to apply system of electronic permits to regulate residents visits to beaches after the easening of the coronavirus lockdown.

Work is underway to prepare rules regarding the use of beaches, Azizov said addressing the briefing of the Operational Headquarters on May 18.

"In this regard, we think about the electronic system. Before leaving the house, a citizen can order a place through the electronic system, he added.

He said that beaches will be opened soon as the country relaxed the quarantine regime restrictions on May 18.

He noted that residents will be required to observe social-distancing at the beaches.

Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24. As of April 4, residents were required to obtain SMS permits to leave their places of residence for two hours per day. On May 18, the country lifted the restriction on the citizens movement, abolished the SMS permit system and opened a number of recreatinonal places.

As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus- related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
President Trumps firing of the State Departments internal watchdog amid sensitive investigations of a top lieutenant revives a familiar conundrum of his administration: Many of our governments guardrails depend on an unwritten sense of propriety that our current president does not possess.

Trump was right about canning Steve Linick, the State Department inspector general, in one respect: He has the power to do so. That raises obvious questions about a system that entrusts oversight of the executive branch to officials whose employment is at the whim of the chief executive.

Inspectors general enjoy a measure of protection and therefore efficacy to the extent that presidents value being seen as ethical or fear their political support depends on it. Trump has no regard for that perception, and his fellow Republicans in Congress as well as his political base have failed to punish him for it. And so we have another system for enforcing presidential accountability that doesnt work anymore.

Inspectors general have played an important role in exposing Trump administration abuses such as former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitts expenses, mistreatment of immigration detainees and the presidents efforts to bully the Ukrainian government into opening an investigation of his political rival Joe Biden. The Republican-controlled Senates eagerness to excuse the latter scandal emboldened Trump to reject further such internal scrutiny and purge the administration of anyone who might not pass his loyalty test.

Last month, Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general who helped expose the Ukraine affair, became the first of five top watchdogs fired by Trump as the nation has been in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic. The following week, the administration ousted the Pentagons acting inspector general, Glenn Fine, who was expected to head oversight of pandemic stimulus spending.

Earlier this month, Trump replaced Christi Grimm, the top watchdog at the Department of Health and Human Services, after her office reported on severe shortages of pandemic response supplies. The Transportation Departments acting inspector general, Mitch Behm, whose office was investigating whether Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells wife, gave preferential treatment to projects in their home state of Kentucky, was demoted on Friday. That was also the day Trump fired the State Department watchdog.

Linicks office was investigating arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as allegations that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a government employee handle personal chores for him and his wife, including walking their dog, picking up their dry cleaning and making restaurant reservations. Trump left little doubt as to the reasons for the inspector generals sacking when he said it was requested by Mike.

The presidential purge of inspectors general has few precedents: Barack Obamas firing of a single inspector general of an obscure agency amid an investigation of his friend, then-Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, was fiercely criticized in 2009; George W. Bush forced out two in 2002; and Ronald Reagan fired a host of holdover inspectors upon taking office in 1981, rehiring some after lawmakers protested. Trump has been brazen enough that even a few Republican senators have objected, but theyve given him little reason to believe theyre serious.

If they are, they should support legislation to protect inspectors general by giving them seven-year terms during which they could be fired only for cause, not at will. Regrettably but realistically, we can no longer count on anything less than the law to constrain our leaders.

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.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for international action to help Africa deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

"These are still early days for the pandemic in Africa, and disruption could escalate quickly. Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative, now and for recovering better," said Guterres in a video message for the launch of a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on Africa, according to Xinhua news agency.

Ending the pandemic in Africa is essential for ending it across the world, he said.

"We are calling for international action to strengthen Africa's health systems, maintain food supplies, avoid a financial crisis, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings," said Guterres.

African countries should also have quick, equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment, that must be considered global public goods, he added.

He repeated his call for a global response package amounting to at least 10 percent of the world's gross domestic product. For Africa, that means more than 200 billion US dollars as additional support from the international community, he said.

Guterres reiterated his call for a comprehensive debt framework, starting with an across-the-board debt standstill for countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults.

African countries should work to silence the guns and address violent extremism. Political processes and elections in the coming months offer potential milestones for stability and peace. Women and youth must be empowered, said the UN chief.

He warned that the pandemic threatens African progress. "It will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease. Already, demand for Africa's commodities, tourism and remittances are declining. The opening of the trade zone has been pushed back, and millions could be pushed into extreme poverty."

The virus has taken more than 2,500 African lives. Vigilance and preparedness are critical, he said.
Nishat was given an extended prison sentence of 10 years and five months

Abdul Nishat, 23, from Leeds, has been jailed for more than six years for grabbing a woman on her way home and trying to rape her in an alleyway

A 'grinning' Afghan asylum seeker has been jailed for more than six years for grabbing a woman on her way home and trying to rape her in an alleyway.

Abdul Nishat, 23, of Harehills, Leeds, committed the crime outside the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, on November 30, 2019.

Nishat was given an extended prison sentence of 10 years and five months by a Leeds Crown Court judge today.

Prosecutor, Soheil Khan said the woman, aged in her twenties, was grabbed by Nishat as she walked past the University of Leeds' Parkinson building.

'Mr Nishat walked in front of her with a big grin on his face and then got her in a tight bear hug,' Mr Khan told the court.

'She began to struggle, telling him to stop and get off her. He said nothing in response but kept hold of her.

'He then dragged her - her feet scraping the ground - towards the alleyway and then pushed her against the wall with some force.'

Nishat removed some of the woman's clothes and attempted to rape her, Mr Khan said.

The woman's screams made passers-by aware and Nishat fled the scene at around 2am. Mr Khan said the woman had pre-existing mental health problems.

'The month following this attack has been the hardest of her life,' Mr Khan, reading the victim's statement, told the court.

Nishat committed crime outside University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, on November 30, 2019

'She described completely losing her mind. She has struggled to deal with what happened.

'She describes having a meltdown, crying and screaming, thinking of harming herself, all the while pretending there is nothing wrong with her.'

CCTV footage discovered by police showed Nishat touching another woman's shoulder in Hyde Park earlier on the night of the attempted rape last year.

Nishat, who has been in the UK for five years, previously admitted attempted rape but pleaded not guilty to kidnap.

Judge Christopher Batty returned a not guilty verdict on the charge of kidnap after the pleas were accepted by the prosecution, the court heard.

Mitigating, Richard Reed, said: 'He had been drinking and taking an enhancing drug to stimulate his libido.'

Prosecutor, Soheil Khan said the woman, aged in her twenties, was grabbed by Nishat as she walked past the University of Leeds' Parkinson building (general view of building above)

'Having gone through so much trauma and ending up in this country and behaving like this, he is deeply ashamed and bitterly sorry,' Mr Reed continued.

'He originates from Kabul in Afghanistan and his father was killed for political reasons when he was only two years of age.

'He (Nishat) has been imprisoned and tortured and subsequently has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.'

Nishat has been imprisoned for six years and five months and will serve an extended licence term of four years. He will also appear on the sex offender register for life.

'You pushed her to the floor, removed her lower clothing and tried to rape her,' Judge Batty told Nishat.

'She was terrified. She knew what you were wanting to do and she was powerless to prevent it.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:39:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

VALLETTA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Migration forces Malta to carry a "disproportionate burden," with one percent of its population being migrants who arrived on the island in 2019 and so far this year, the government said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the government reiterated that the small Mediterranean island was being left alone to deal with the influx of migrants into Europe.

The government said that 3,405 irregular migrants arrived in Malta last year "as a result of human smuggling through the central Mediterranean route." It said that to date 610 pledges for relocation have been received but only 88 of them were actually honored. The rest, 2,795, remained the sole responsibility of Malta.

The government said that only eight percent of migrants who arrived in Malta since 2005 had been relocated to other member states despite arrivals exceeding 21,000.

Since January, 1,222 irregular migrants have arrived in Malta. It said that migrant arrivals through the central Mediterranean route have increased by 438 percent in the first three months of the year and 300 percent in April.

"While Malta has respected to the full its international and European obligations, the principle of European solidarity, which is also enshrined in European legislation, is not being adhered to," the government said.

The Maltese government has recently rented two large boats, usually used to take tourists on tours around the island, to temporarily house around 160 migrants until a European solution is found. The boats are berthed some 13 nautical miles away, just outside Malta's territorial waters, local media reported. Enditem
In the middle of the busiest season of his career, working 100 hours a week to rally the countrys medical response to coronavirus, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins has been awarded the worlds top honor in faith and science.

This years $1.3 million Templeton Prize goes to the American geneticist and physician who led the Human Genome Project and established the BioLogos Foundation, an organization that promotes harmony between the Christian faith and evolution.

Its a bit overwhelming, Collins, 70, said in an interview with Christianity Today. The timing is pretty stunning because Im totally immersed right now to try to develop treatments, vaccines, and testing for COVID-19.

The governments leading expert in biomedicine was selected for the prestigious award based on his research and service as a scientist, official, and public intellectual.

In a statement, Heather Templeton Dill, president of the John Templeton Foundation and the granddaughter of its namesake benefactor, said Collins has encouraged greater curiosity, open-mindedness, and humility among scientists and religious believers with the aim of illuminating a pathway toward, as he has written, a sober and intellectually honest integration of the scientific and spiritual perspectives.

Appointed by President Barack Obama in 2008 and asked to remain by President Donald Trump, Collins is the longest-serving NIH director.

If my calling was to try to use the tools of science to reduce the human suffering, this is an amazing job, said Collins, who was enlisted last week to join the White House coronavirus task force. The job is probably the best job in the world to make those dreams come true.

During the pandemic, he has been working from his home office in Maryland, where he has a copy of Psalm 46 printed out on by his desk: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Prior to his NIH role, Collins was known for his groundbreaking genetics research, as well as his intellectual arguments reconciling God and science and his willingness to foster discussion around the two.

He became a Christian during his medical residency, but like many scientists, he stayed quiet about his faith early on. As his career grew, he became more outspoken about his beliefs.

You always are a little worried that someone will conclude from that youre not as rigorous with your science, he said. By the time I got the opportunity to say more, I felt I was less likely to suffer the consequences.

Collins pioneered a technique in genetics called positional cloning to identify genes responsible for diseases including cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntingtons disease, and Hutchinson-Guilford progeria syndrome, a rare form of premature aging. He also led the Human Genome Project from 1990 to 2003, which mapped the 3 billion DNA letters that make up the human genome and remains the largest biological collaboration project in history.

As the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Collins balanced meetings at the White House and with congressional leaders, top-level scientists, patients, and trainees in any given day, according to Praveen Sethupathy, who was mentored by Collins for his post-doctorate.

I was amazed at how he gave each and every one of these activities his complete effort and full attention, said Sethupathy, now associate professor of biomedical sciences and the director of the Center for Vertebrate Genomics at Cornell University. He treats every person, young or old, educated or not, with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings  his humble posture toward others speaks the loudest and gives the most life to people around him.

Georgia Dunston, a geneticist who worked with Collins at the Human Genome Project, applauded his efforts to champion the work of black and minority researchers.

Francis really appreciated not only doing the science but the perspectives [diversity offers], the kinds of questions you ask and how you approach it are just as important as doing the work, said Dunston, who helped establish the National Genome Center at Howard University, the only program of its kind on a historically black campus, with Collinss support.

Because of his interest in researching type 2 diabetes, Collins helped secure funding to obtain DNA samples from Africans in Nigeria and Ghana, which furthered Dunstons goal of understanding the disease among African Americans.

Dunston said she enjoyed being able to be open about her own faith with him while working on the Human Genome Project. She told CT she was impressed by his boldness while he worked at the genome institute and likened him to Paul being not ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16).

Collinss public engagement around faith and science began to pick up after a 2003 lecture series at Harvard Memorial Church. Each night, 600700 students packed in to hear him speak, and they still had questions when it was over. Most were not believers, said Collins. I thought, Wow. Theres a real hunger for this.

At the time, the science-religion conversation was dominated by extreme voices: new atheists that belittled the intellectual rigor of faith, and fundamentalists who saw mainstream science, particularly evolution, in contradiction to Scripture. Collins believed he could help people see that an intellectual synthesis is possible.

I think of God as the greatest scientist. We human scientists have an opportunity to understand the elegance and wisdom of Gods creation in a way that is truly exhilarating. When a scientist discovers something that no human knew before, but God didthat is both an occasion for scientific excitement and, for a believer, also an occasion for worship, he said in a 2001 CT interview.

It makes me sad that we have slipped into a polarized stance between science and religion that implies that a thinking human being could not believe in the value of both.  I find it completely comfortable to be both a rigorous scientist, who demands to see the data before accepting anybodys conclusions about the natural world, and also a believer whose life is profoundly influenced by the relationship I have with God.



In 2006, Collins wrote The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, which argues that belief in God can be an entirely rational choice and that the principles of faith are, in fact, complementary with the principles of science. It became a bestseller and was published in 24 languages.

After such positive reception, Collins and his wife, Diane Baker, a founding faculty member and director of the genetic counseling program at the University of Michigan, founded BioLogos in 2007. Not long after, he stepped down to take the job at the NIH.

Franciss vision in starting BioLogos was to influence not only the content of the national conversation so that there is more scientific, philosophical, and theological depth, but also the tone and tenor of the dialogue so that there is greater civility and mutual respect even in disagreement, said Sethupathy, now a board member at BioLogos.

Collinss position leading the government agency requires additional sensitivity in how he speaks publicly about his faith. He said he turns down most invitations and clears the rest of his talks with the government ethics office.

He recently addressed questions about faith in the pandemic in online chats hosted by BioLogos, including one this week with evangelical leader Tim Keller.

Collins says he still feels heartache for young people in a crisis of faith and continues to receive emails from high school and college students who contact him while searching for footing amid the skepticism toward science they have been taught in their faith communities.

They are very concerned about the collapse of something that is deeply important to them, he said. They worry their biblical perspective will fall apart when confronted with scientific evidence that the Earth is billions of years old. Despite all he is juggling, Collins responds. I just feel like this is something too important when someone else is pouring their heart out to me.

In addition to his own book, he recommends other resources released by BioLogos. If theres a way that we can actually give them some hope and reassurance that this is not a requirement that you do not have to pick one or the other, then I have done something useful, he said.

In the past 10 to 15 years, pastors tell Collins, the debate over the origins of the earth hasnt seemed as divisive. It is less the case that a church gets blown apart for disagreeing with the young-Earth perspective, he said.

The last time Pew Research surveyed people about evolution in 2019, in fact, most Christians thought that humans evolved and that God had a hand in it. And in a recent poll from the National Association of Evangelical (NAE), leaders agreed that it is acceptable to have different views. This is a not a salvation issue. Christians can disagree with how to interpret, said Collins. Thats encouraging. At the same time, theres still a long way to go.

Francis Collins and I dont see eye to eye on some of the details about how science and Christianity fit together. But, he has always been willing to take the time to enter into gracious dialogue with me, publicly, and one on one. said Fuz Rana, vice president of research and apologetics at Reasons To Believe, which promotes scientific evidence for an old Earth but not human evolution.

Rana recalled meeting with Collins during a last-minute trip to Washington, DC. His willingness to spend time with me when he didnt have to demonstrated to me his genuine commitment to build bridges with people with differing perspectives than his, Rana said.

Collins said if he ever leaves government service, hell return to writing for a faith audience, starting with an update to The Language of God.

For now, though, I love the job because I am so excited right now about the pace of scientific progress, particularly in biomedicine, he said. We have the opportunity to solve mysteries I didnt think wed solve in my lifetime.

In addition to the current efforts to battle COVID-19, Collins has a front-row seat as researchers work to address widespread cancers with immunotherapy, use gene editing to cure sickle-cell disease, and develop a vaccine that really works for HIV.

Collins will formally receive the Templeton Prize in a virtual ceremony later this year.

The Templeton Prize recognizes individuals whose achievements ask the big questions about the universe and humanitys place in it. Other Christians who have won the annual award include physicists John Polkinghorne (2002), Freeman Dyson (2000), and Paul Davies (1995), as well as philosopher Alvin Plantinga (2017).

The prize has also honored global religious leaders Billy Graham (1982), Mother Teresa (the inaugural award in 1973), and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (2013). Last years Templeton Prize went to physicist Marcelo Gleiser, an agnostic who encourages the religious to embrace the mysteries of science and faith.

Christianity Today is also a recipient of Templeton Foundation funding.

[ This article is also available in catala. ]
Europes second top court on Wednesday rejected a challenge by the operators of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines against European Union rules on gas adopted by the bloc last year, saying these do not affect them, Reuters reports.

Nord Stream 2, designed by Russias Gazprom to increase direct shipments to Europe, will carry gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

The operator last year took its case to the Luxembourg-based General Court, seeking to annul an EU gas directive amendment that includes a requirement for pipelines not be owned directly by gas suppliers and for at least 10 percent of capacity be made available to third parties.

The general court today dismissed its appeal.

Concerning both Nord Stream 2 AG and Nord Stream AG, the General Court finds that they are not directly concerned by the amending directive, judges said in a statement.
Investigators claim former US Special Forces soldier and his son helped Carlos Ghosn sneak out of Japan to avoid trial.

United States authorities on Wednesday arrested a former Special Forces soldier and another man wanted by Japan on charges that they enabled the escape of former Nissan Motor Co boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said that former US Green Beret Michael Taylor, 59, and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, helped Ghosn last year flee to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan over alleged financial wrongdoing.

Japan had in January issued arrest warrants for both men along with a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with facilitating the December 29, 2019 escape. The Taylors are scheduled to appear by video conference before a federal judge later on Wednesday.

Lawyers for the men could not be immediately identified.

Ghosn fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, while he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.

The former corporate titan has previously said he was subjected to inhumane prison conditions in Japan, which he also accused of fabricating charges against him to destroy his reputation.

During a news conference in Lebanon back in January, Ghosn characterised allegations that he misappropriated Nissan company funds and property as an attempt at character assassination.

US legal papers recount the details of Ghosns escape, including his departure from Japan hidden in a large black box on board a private jet.

The Japanese embassy in Washington, DC and Nissan did not immediately comment on the arrests.

Federal prosecutors asked the judge to order both of the men arrested today to be detained.

The very offence for which Michael Taylor is charged in Japan demonstrates his aptitude for hatching escape plans on a grand scale and his blatant disrespect for bond conditions, the government said.

Earlier this month, Turkish prosecutors prepared an indictment charging seven people, including four pilots and two flight attendants, over Ghosns escape via Istanbul to Lebanon.

After Japan submitted requests for the mens arrest, the Justice Department obtained warrants on May 6.

US law enforcement learned Peter Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut departing on Wednesday with a layover in London and he was arrested by US marshals as was Michael Taylor in Harvard, Massachusetts.
Police in Gilbert, Arizona, have released footage showing the former husband of Lori Vallow telling police in early 2019 that she had lost her mind" and had threatened him.

The body-camera footage shows Charles Vallow speaking to police about his wife on January 31, 2019, months before Loris children, Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua Vallow, 7, went missing. She was subsequently arrested and charged in connection to their disappearance.

Charles is seen asking Gilbert police to conduct a welfare check at their home in the footage, telling officers he returned from a work trip to find his truck was missing from where he parked it, and he no longer had keys to get inside their house.

Shes psychologically gone, something has happened to her, Charles says of his wife in the footage. Shes lost her mind, I dont know how else to say it. Were LDS, she thinks shes a resurrected being and a god, and a member of the 144,000, he said, adding, She took all the money out of her bank account today, and our truck is gone from the airport. She went to the airport and got it.

Vallow says his wife made several threats against him, including threatening to murder him. She said youre not Charles, I dont know who you are or what you did with Charles, but I can murder you now with my powers.

Vallow also expresses concern for their two children. I dont know what shes gonna do with them. I dont know if shes going to flee with them, if shes going to hurt them.

The video shows police officers getting into the home through the garage, but they do not find Lori or the children inside. Lori showed up at the Gilbert Police Department hours later, telling officers she caught her husband cheating and that he stole her purse, local media reported.

Charles Vallow filed for divorce in February 2019. In July 2019, Charles was shot to death by Alex Cox, Loris brother, according to police in Chandler, Arizona.

In September, Lori moved to Rexburg, Idaho, with the children. Investigators say Tylee was last seen on September 8 at Yellowstone National Park on a family trip, and JJ was last seen on September 23 at his school in Rexburg, local media reported.

Lori Vallow was arrested in Hawaii in February 2020 and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, Maui Now reported. She was extradited to Idaho in March. Credit: Gilbert Police Department via Storyful
The county cast about 60 percent of the states ballots in 2016 and gave Trump a 3.5-point advantage. It thus sent shock waves through the state, said Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), when a poll conducted earlier this month not only showed Trump seven points behind Biden statewide but an astounding 13 points behind in Maricopa, which includes Phoenix and its suburban cities and towns. Stanton, former mayor of Phoenix, told me it was a break with the states political history for a Democrat to be up more in Maricopa than he is statewide.
War crimes investigators request transferral of genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga to United Nations custody for trial.

Felicien Kabuga, indicted on charges of genocide related to the 1994 Rwandan massacre of some 800,000 people, appeared before a French court on Wednesday, four days after his arrest following a quarter of a century on the run.

In his first appearance in public in more than 20 years, the octogenarian was brought into the court in a wheelchair, dressed in jeans and a blue jumper and wearing a face mask.

Kabuga is accused of bankrolling and arming the ethnic Hutu militias that waged the 100-day killing spree against Rwandas Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Rwandas most wanted fugitive, he was arrested on Saturday in a Paris suburb.

His lawyers said in a statement before the hearing that Kabuga had the right to be presumed innocent and opposed being transferred from France to a United Nations tribunal that handles crimes against humanity based in Tanzania.

Defence lawyer Laurent Bayon told the court Kabuga wished to be tried in France.

The court will decide whether to hand Kabuga to the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. The international court is based in The Hague, the Netherlands and Arusha, Tanzania.

The IRMCTs chief prosecutor told Reuters news agency the court had already requested Kabuga be transferred to UN custody.

Kabugas voice was weak, but audible, as he confirmed through an interpreter his identity and parents names. He gave his date of birth as March 1, 1933.

Kabugas arrest marked the end of a more than 20 years long hunt that spanned Africa and Europe.

A one-time tea and coffee tycoon, he is accused of being a main financier of the genocide, paying for the militias that carried out the massacres, as well as importing huge numbers of machetes, according to the UN tribunals indictment.

He also co-owned Radio Television Milles Collines, whose radio station broadcast anti-Tutsi messages that fanned the ethnic hatred.

The United States had placed a $5m reward on his head.

The French court granted a request by the defence to defer the hearing and set the next date for May 27.

Exiting the courtroom, Kabuga raised his fist as several relatives including one son voiced encouragement.
A 20-year-old migrant labourer



from Assam, who had lost his job due to the COVID-19-enforced lockdown, allegedly committed suicide at a slum in Gujarat's Surat city on Wednesday, police said.

Sunil Rijajagan Maheli was found hanging from the ceiling of his tenement in the Bhestan locality in the morning, inspector D K Patel of Pandesara police station said.

"The deceased, who was living with other Assamese labourers, had lost his job and had stayed behind even as others left for their home state," the official said.

An investigations was underway to ascertain the exact reason for the extreme step, but prima facie it appears he was depressed after being out of job due to the lockdown and unable to go back to his native place, he added.

Lakhs of migrant labourers, who lost their livelihoods due to the lockdown, have been returning to their home states by any means possible and several such workers have lost their lives in their attempt to reach their native places.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
North Korea will have a shortage of some 860,000 tons of food this year, according to an estimate by the Unification Ministry here on Tuesday.

State media have lately been urging people to "increase agricultural output."

That has sparked fears of another famine in the North this year because it has trouble importing food amid a border lockdown due to the coronavirus epidemic on top of economic difficulties already caused by drawn-out international sanctions.

"North Korea naturally had trouble importing grains since it closed borders in late January," a ministry official said.

Last year, the North produced about 4.64 million tons of grains, about 15 percent less than the 5.5 million tons of grains it normally needs to feed its people. It already suffers a chronic shortage of some 1 million tons of food every year that is usually made up by China.
Los Angeles, May 20 : Pop star Nick Jonas and "The Matrix" actor Laurence Fishburne will co-star in the action thriller "The Blacksmith", based on the graphic novel by Malik Evans and Richard Sparkman.

Director Pierre Morel will be helming the movie from a script by Ben Ripley, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Jonas will be seen essaying the role of Wes Loomis, aka The Blacksmith. He is a weapons expert for the intelligence community. When his secret lab is destroyed and his colleagues are murdered, Loomis has to run to save his life. He seeks help from his mentor, the retired blacksmith Mather (Fishburne), to guide him.

"The Blacksmith" is expected to begin production later this year.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fell in love at the right place at the right time. Their extravagant exchange of "I dos" gave everyone hope that fairytales do come true.

A Love Unfolding

In her recent interview with FOX News, royal expert Leslie Carroll shared her thoughts about Harry and Meghan's romance.

As she witnessed their love flourish from courtship to marriage (which she shared in her book "American Princess: The Love Story of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry"), Carroll expressed her belief that the two will find new hope for their love in the U.S.

Away from the British tabloids that heavily criticized them, Carroll expects Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to find their new-found life liberating. For them, it will be like getting to rewrite a whole new chapter in their love story.

When Meghan and Harry got engaged in 2017, Meghan became a crowd favorite. The royal couple toured Britain with crowds that simply adored her. The British press welcomed her as a breath of fresh air to the royal tradition -- a biracial woman who has empowered others with her projects and endeavors.

However, it wasn't long after they got married that everything changed. Suddenly, everything about Meghan's life was a story to be told. Meghan was criticized for everything that she did, but that only made Prince Harry love her even more.

"They always have each other's backs, literally. Meghan was called out by the British press for often placing her hand on Harry's back during royal walkabouts during their early appearances as a couple," Carroll said.

While everyone thought it was her way of manipulating her man, it was apparently Meghan's gesture of reassurance. She wanted Prince Harry to know that she's just there to support him.

"And yet, she was vilified in the tabloids for being a handsy American, ignorant of royal protocol. [But] Meghan 'gets' her man. She understands Harry's trauma with regard to the press and paparazzi," Carroll said.

Now, Carroll believes that the royal couple will finally have their happily ever after. Their life in the U.S. will have its own share of drama, but there is nothing that the two cannot surpass together.

"Everything they do, they do together," said Carroll.

The Perfect Match

Prince Harry and Meghan are trying to put down new roots in the U.S. While it may be a struggle at the moment due to the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic, being in a new country has provided the couple with a fresh new start they both need.

Carroll added why the royal couple is a perfect match for each other.

"Apart from, or in addition to, the obvious mutual physical attraction, they want the same things -- to make the world a better place for humanity, especially women and children," she said.

"They want to be able to use their voices and the platform that their place in society afforded them, to amplify their message and enlarge their visions."

Carroll also explained how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's background helped them write a perfect love story together.

"Both attended progressive private schools. Both were raised by warm, compassionate, affectionate mothers who deeply felt that it was imperative to teach their children that some people may have less than you do -- but they are not less than you are," the expert furthered

Their mothers, and Doria Ragland and the late Princess Diana, have also taken extra steps to show their children that the world needs more kindness.

"Both Doria and Diana took their children to food kitchens and homeless shelters so their offspring could put a face to the hungry and needy -- to understand they were people, not numbers. Both Meghan and Harry learned before they were teenagers to give back: generously, freely, openly."

Sure enough, theirs was like a match made in heaven.
The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

On April 1, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the US received nearly 275,000 unique registration requests for the Congressional mandated 85,000 H-1B visas for foreign technology professionals, of which more than 67 per cent are from India.

The National Foundation for American Policy said that the findings of its new research should give pause to policymakers considering imposing additional restrictions on the H-1B programme.

The Trump administration has been planning new restrictions on the H-1B visas premised on the argument that foreign-born scientists and engineers harm the job prospects of US college graduates.

There is little reason to think doing so will help American workers, the think-tank said in its latest research.

The H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, according to new research. On the contrary, the evidence points to the presence of H-1B visa holders being associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates, the report said.

Further, the results suggest that, if anything, being in a field with more H-1B visa-holders makes it more likely that US-born young college graduates work in a job closely related to their college major, it said.

The study uses data from 2005 to 2018 to examine how the number of approved petitions to hire the H-1B visa-holders as a share of college graduates within each of 22 occupations affects the unemployment rate and earnings growth rate in those occupations.

An increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa within an occupation, on average, reduces the unemployment rate in that occupation, the report said.

The results indicate that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa in an occupation reduces the unemployment rate by about 0.2 percentage points.

The findings suggest the presence of H-1B visa holders boosts employment among other workers in an occupation. The results provide no evidence that the H-1B programme has an adverse impact on labour market opportunities for US workers, it added.

The report also said that a larger share of the H-1B visa-holders, therefore, may push up wages and wage growth for US workers. While critics often allege that H-1B visas reduce wages or suppress wage growth, this finding of the opposite is consistent with research showing that the H-1B visa-holders earn at least as much as similar US workers, if not more.

The results further indicate that the H-1B visa-holders do not adversely affect US-born college graduates during the early years of their careers. Having more approved total or initial H-1B petitions, on average, reduces the unemployment rate within a major-occupation for recent graduates.

It provides no evidence that recent college graduates have worse labour market outcomes if there are more H-1B visa-holders in jobs closely related to their college major, the report said.

Noting that the results of the research indicate that the H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, the report said that the H-1B programme is small relative to the size of the college-graduate workforce, likely accounting for at most two per cent of highly educated US workers.

The H-1B visa-holders are concentrated in computer-related occupations but account for only a small share of workers in information technology (IT) jobs. Despite the H-1B programme's small scale, the visa category is important to the US economy and to employers that use it to fill gaps in their workforce.

The presence of the H-1B visa-holders increases innovation, productivity and profits at H-1B employers and boosts total productivity and innovation in the United States.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(TNS)  They call it 'Picnic Court' in Prattville, Ala., where respondents line up on the lawn of the Autauga County Courthouse to have their matters handled virtually.It's all part of the response to the coronavirus, and the limits placed on the number of folks who can go into public buildings. Tuesday is was child support court. Referee Walter Hayden, who presides in the cases, was set up in Courtroom Two.Folks having cases heard lined up on the sidewalk for their turn under a blue canopy set up on the shady side of the courthouse. The docket kicked off at 8 a.m. with a long line stretching because of the social distancing requirements. By mid-morning the crowd had slackened off, as people waited in their cars to be called to appear."I think it's gone well," Circuit Clerk Deb Hill said. "Everyone seems to be patient and in a good mood. They are working with us."There were a few technological glitches as the signal faded out from time to time as folks talked into a computer screen."Can you see me now?" was a phrase Hayden oft repeated.It was the second lawn docket in Prattville. Two weeks ago Autauga District Judge Joy Booth held traffic court, to a much larger gallery."I didn't know what was going on," Melanie Bradford said. She drove by the courthouse on that day and wondered what all the fuss was about. "I guess you have to do what you have to do."One advantage of the two virtual court days was each occurred in good weather. Although a few times stiff breezes Tuesday sent paperwork wafting away, setting up a mad scramble for the retrieval.The Alabama Supreme Court re-opened in person court proceedings on Friday. But presiding circuit judges had the authority to push that date back. Autauga Circuit Judge Ben Fuller ruled courts in Autauga, Chilton and Elmore counties will open back up May 26.The high court has suspended jury trials until Sept. 14.The local courts are scrambling to adjust to the weeks-long suspension of in-person court proceedings, said Chief Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson. During the period, there were eight weeks of criminal trials missed, and a grand jury session in Elmore County delayed in the three circuit county. Three high profile capital murder cases are in limbo, essentially delayed until next year."It's been a struggle, but I think we have a good plan in place for when we re-open," he said. "It's difficult because victims and their families have been waiting for justice. And defendants have been waiting as well, wanting the opportunity to clear their names."
Worcester officials on Wednesday announced 105 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the citys total to 3,661 cases.

That amount of new cases is higher than what has been reported in days earlier this week. On Tuesday, the city announced 34 new cases, and on Monday, 54 new cases. City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said this larger amount was because of a backlog with the Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network (MAVEN) database.

Some of these cases that were reporting today are cases that could be a week or two old that are just getting cleaned up and refreshed in the system, Augustus explained during a press briefing. We shouldnt read too much into these cases in terms of a significant spike from yesterday. They do help us accurately reflect the total number of positive cases to date but arent necessarily a spike since yesterday.

The city manager said hes been told that there could be a few more days with artificially high case counts.

Augustus also said Wednesday that there has been an environmental concern at the Quality Inn, which has had rooms reserved as part of a state-run service for people who have coronavirus but cannot isolate. The 12 people who were at the hotel have been moved to another state-run program at a hotel in Northampton.

The city manager said the information was developing and that he could not be more specific regarding the concern at the facility. Augustus said city inspectional services personnel are going to follow-up at the hotel.

The state will likely look for another hotel in Worcester to assist coronavirus-positive individuals who cant isolate, Augustus said. MassLive has reached out to the state seeking more information.

Between UMass Memorial Health Care and Saint Vincent Hospital, there are 231 inpatients with coronavirus on Wednesday, four fewer than Tuesday. Of those patients, 87 are in the intensive care unit, the same number as Tuesday.

The two systems have seen 232 patients die from illness related to coronavirus, which is four more since Tuesday.

A total of 290 employees of the systems have tested positive for the virus.

At the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, there are 71 patients on Wednesday, with five admissions and four discharges.

In towns around Worcester, there are 254 coronavirus cases in Shrewsbury, 71 in Holden, 77 in Grafton, 121 in Leicester and 201 in Millbury.

The DCU Center field hospital discharged its last patients on Wednesday morning, said Augustus. While the facility could be used again if there is another surge in coronavirus patients, Augustus said officials are discussing when the facility could go back to its intended use for events.

Related Content:
[The stream is slated to start at 11:30 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

The World Health Organization is holding a briefing Wednesday on the coronavirus, which has infected more than 4.9 million people worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar chastised the World Health Organization for its response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying the United Nations' health agency failed to obtain information about the virus when the world needed it.

"In an apparent attempt to conceal this outbreak, at least one member state made a mockery of their transparency obligations, with tremendous costs for the entire world," Azar said, in an apparent reference to China.

President Donald Trump issued a warning Tuesday to WHO, saying the international agency needs to "clean up" its act or the United States won't "be involved with them anymore."

In a statement to CNBC on Tuesday, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said, "WHO acknowledges receipt of the letter from the President of the United States. We are considering the contents of the letter."

 CNBC's Sam Meredith and Berkeley Lovelace Jr . contributed to this report.

Read CNBC's live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.
MP Andriy Derkach published audio records, which, may witness the influence of Joe Biden on Petro Poroshenko

The Prosecutor Generals Office put the information about audio records revealed by MP Andriy Derkach to the United register of pretrial investigation, as Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

The investigation was opened due to the state treason and abuse of power or position.

The flash drive with audio records provided by MP Andriy Derkach will be attached to the criminal proceeding. The records contain voices similar to the voices of the fifth president of Ukraine, former Vice President of the U.S. Joe Biden and former U.S. State Secretary John Kerry.

On May 19, non-affiliated MP Andriy Derkach published a few audio records of the talk of then ex-president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Head of the U.S. State Department John Kerry. According to the MP, they may witness the influence of Joe Biden on Petro Poroshenko.
He is pushing to restore the pre-pandemic agenda, including his pledge to eradicate extreme poverty by this year, while cautioning against complacency that could let a second wave of infections spread.

He must do all this while the country faces a diplomatic and economic climate as daunting as any since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.

If you position yourself as a great helmsman uniquely capable of leading your country, that has a lot of domestic political risk if you fail to handle the job appropriately, said Carl Minzner, a professor of Chinese law and politics at Fordham University.

So far, Mr. Xi has largely succeeded in rewriting the narrative in China. The disarray in other countries, especially the United States, has given him a reprieve from domestic political pressure by allowing officials to highlight Chinas lower death toll, despite questions about the accuracy of the numbers.

The Trump administrations withholding of funds from the World Health Organization also handed Mr. Xi a chance to appear munificent when he pledged $2 billion in assistance.
[May 20, 2020] AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings for Kentucky Growers Insurance Company

AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to "a-" from "bbb+" of Kentucky Growers Insurance Company (KGIC) (Lexington, KY). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) has been revised to stable from positive. The ratings reflect KGIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The rating actions reflect KGIC's strengthened risk-adjusted capitalization over the past five years, accompanied by a continuation of favorable trends in key metrics of balance sheet strength such as policyholders' surplus growth, underwriting leverage and liquidity measures. The ratings reflect KGIC's adequate operating performance, driven by metrics of total operating earnings (pre-tax return on revenue; return on surplus; operating ratio), each of which is solidly in line with the personal property industry composite five-year average. The ratings also reflect KGIC's business profile, which is limited by its geographic concentration in Kentucky, which exposes results to frequent and severe weather-related events, as well as potential judicial, economic, competitive and regulatory challenges. KGIC's ERM framework is developed, and risk management capabilities are appropriately commensurate with the complexity of the business. Such capabilities include maintaining a comprehensive reinsurnce program, which partially mitigates the impact of weather-related catastrophe losses.



This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005848/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
President Donald Trump threatens that he plans to permanently cut off funding to the World Health Organization and the membership of the U.S., according to a recently published article.

President Trump Put Into Halt Funding for the WHO

President Donald Trump ordered last month to halt the funding for the World Health Organization last month following the reports circulated in different media outlets that the organization is keeping the blame of COVID-19 away from China.

In fact, Republican lawmakers even wrote a letter addressed to Tedros, the Director-General of WHO, questioning his nature of the relationship with the Chinese government. There was also a part of the letter on why the organization posted on their social media account that there was no human-to-human transmission of the virus when in fact Taiwan warned them already about it.

Meanwhile, White House Economic Adviser Peter Navarro warned the organization also that Pres. Trump is very serious about cutting the fund to the organization. Navarro also added in his statement that Tedros is one of the proxies of the Chinese government.

The United States is the biggest single donor of WHO. They are contributing $400 million every year compared to the $40 million from China. The U.S. even plans to contribute an amount of $893 million in the current two-year period.

However, because Trump is concerned whether the$400 million funds given by the United States have been put the best use possible, he ordered to stop the funding.

President Trump Threatens to Stop the Funding and its Membership

This time, it's not only the fund that Pres. Trump will cut off but also the country's membership if the WHO will not adopt major substantive improvements within 30 days.

Trump made a demand letter address to the Director-General of the organization on Tuesday. Trump accused the WHO of "repeated missteps" on how it handles the pandemic and demanded the organization to demonstrate independence from China.

In his letter, the POTUS wrote: "My administration has already started discussions with you on how to reform the organization. But action is needed quickly. We do not have time to waste."

Moreover, the letter also includes allegations that WHO disregard the early warnings that could somehow stop the spread of the virus if it was only investigated during its early stage. Meanwhile, Trump did not list in his demand letter the actions that WHO needs to take to satisfy his demands.

President Trump Restore Funding to the WHO

Days ago, Trump has somehow changed his mind and announced that instead of stopping to give funds to the WHO, he will partially restore the funding. However, the amount is equivalent to the contribution given by China.

In Trump's letter he wrote: "Despite [its] shortcomings, I believe that the WHO still has tremendous potential, and want to see the WHO live up to this potential, particularly now during this global crisis."

He also added: "That is why I've decided the United States will continue to partner and work with the WHO. China owes a massive debt to the entire world, and it can start with paying its fair share to the WHO."

Read related articles:
Bengaluru, May 20 : An Air India Express flight from Muscat, Oman, landed here with 179 Karnataka returnees, comprising 115 passengers for Bengaluru and 64 for Mangaluru, said an official on Wednesday.

"IX-818 Boeing 737 landed at the city airport at 6.31 p.m. 115 passengers, including 2 infants, disembarked here, while 64 flew to Mangaluru," the airline official told IANS.

The airline staff and the state government officials received the returnees at the arrival terminal and gave them masks to wear and sanitizer to wash hands.

All passengers were screened with thermal device though only Covid-19 asymptomatic persons had been flown back.

After completing formalities, including immigration check and filling the self-declaration form, the returnees were taken in state-run buses in batches for the 14-day institutional quarantine in hotels and resorts across the city.

Passengers had to download the mandatory quarantine app on their mobile phones before leaving the airport for contact tracing.

The flight was the third to the southern state in the second phase of the Vande Bharat Mission.

Air India is operating flights to repatriate thousands of Indians, including distressed workers, migrants, students, senior citizens and tourists, stranded overseas since the government suspended international flights on March 23 and enforced an extended lockdown on March 25 to combat Covid-19.

The first flight in the second phase landed on Monday night at Mangaluru, with 177 returnees from Dubai, the UAE. The second flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia landed here on Tuesday evening with 94 returnees.

The remaining flights to Karnataka will land in Bengaluru over the next 13 days till June 3 from 12 more destinations.
ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen's Saudi-backed government reported outbreaks of the new coronavirus in three more southern provinces on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases in areas under its control to 65, with 10 deaths.

The Aden-based government's coronavirus committee said nine new COVID-19 cases had been confirmed, including for the first time in the provinces of Abyan, al-Mahra and Shabwa, where one person died.

Four more infections were reported in Aden, the government's interim seat, taking the total there to 39.

Yemen is divided between the internationally recognised government based in the south and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement headquartered in the north. The Houthis ousted the government from power in the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.

The World Health Organization says it fears COVID-19 could rip through Yemen as the population has some of the lowest levels of immunity to disease compared with other countries. Minimal testing capacity has added to concerns.

The five-year war has shattered Yemen's health system and left its population weakened by hunger and disease. Around 80% of the population, or 24 million people, rely on humanitarian aid and 10 million are at risk of starvation.

The Aden government has now reported infections in seven provinces under its control, stretching from the Red Sea in the west to the Omani border in the country's east.

The Houthis have so far reported only two infections, with one death, from the novel coronavirus, both in Sanaa.

The Aden government reported Yemen's first case on April 10 in a southern port town and there have been almost daily announcements of new cases over the past 12 days.

The United Nations said on Monday the recent sharp rise in cases indicated the virus had been circulating undetected for weeks, increasing the likelihood of a surge in cases.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobnari; Writing by Dahlia Nehme, Ghaida Ghantous and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Gareth Jones and Pravin Char)
LONDON  Cambridge on Tuesday became the first British university to move all student lectures online for the coming academic year, underscoring the far-reaching changes the coronavirus is forcing on higher education institutions around the world.

The 800-year-old university said in a statement that it was likely that social distancing will continue to be required during the next academic year, which begins in October and concludes in the summer of 2021. The university said that the decision will be reviewed if official coronavirus guidance changes.

Lectures will continue to be made available online and it may be possible to host smaller teaching groups in person, as long as this conforms to social distancing requirements, the university said.

That suggested that other important aspects of teaching, such as tutorials and smaller group classes, might be permitted to take place face-to-face. Officials believe that these sessions could be possible with participants sitting at a safe distance from each other.
Thanks for reading. This is Matt Bungard signing off. We'll be back tomorrow with more live, free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is what you need to know from today:

We'll continue our live coverage of the pandemic overnight and into Thursday in a new blog, which you can read here. Thanks for joining us.
Imperial Valley News Center

USDA, FDA Strengthen U.S. Food Supply Chain ProtectionsDuring COVID-19 Pandemic

Washington, DC - As the COVID-19 pandemic response continues, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have been working around the clock on many fronts to support the U.S. food and agriculture sector so that Americans continue to have access to a safe and robust food supply. As a next step in carrying out Executive Order 13917, the USDA and FDA today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to help prevent interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities, including fruit and vegetable processing.

This is an important preparedness effort as we are approaching peak harvesting seasons, when many fruits and vegetables grown across the U.S. are sent to be frozen or canned. The MOU creates a process for the two agencies to make determinations about circumstances in which the USDA could exercise its authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA) with regard to certain domestic food resource facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods, as well as to those that grow or harvest food that fall within the FDAs jurisdiction.

While the FDA will continue to work with state and local regulators in a collaborative manner, further action under the DPA may be taken, should it be needed, to ensure the continuity of our food supply. As needed, the FDA will work in consultation with state, local, tribal and territorial regulatory and public health partners; industry or commodity sector; and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to chart a path toward resuming and/or maintaining operations while keeping employees safe.

We are extremely grateful to essential workers for everything they do every day to keep our pantries, refrigerators and freezers stocked. All of the food and agriculture sector -- whether it is regulated by the USDA or FDA -- are considered critical infrastructure, and it is vital for the public health that they continue to operate in accordance with guidelines from the CDC and OSHA regarding worker health and safety. As we work to get through the current challenge together, we remain committed to workers safety, as well as ensuring the availability of foods, and that our food remains among the safest in the world.

Additional Information

On April 28, 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 13917, Delegating Authority Under the Defense Production Act with Respect to the Food Supply Chain Resources During the National Emergency Caused by the Outbreak of COVID-19, delegating the powers of the President under the DPA to the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure continuity of operations for our nations food supply chain. The Executive Order gave the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to utilize the DPA if needed to require the fulfillment of contracts at food processing facilities. The MOU makes clear that the FDA will work with stakeholders to monitor the food supply for food resources not under the USDAs exclusive jurisdiction in order to prevent interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities.

This action is another in a series of proactive steps the USDA and FDA have taken to maximize food availability following unprecedented disruptions the COVID-19 pandemic has caused to food supply chains that have been established and refined for decades.

Supporting Industry and Protecting Frontline Workers

Our nations food and agriculture facilities and workers play an integral role in the continuity of our food supply chain.

The USDA and FDA have been working to ensure that frontline workers in food facilities and retailers that have remained on the job during this crisis have the information and resources they need for business continuity and to continue working safely, which includes mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19. We continue to provide information and update frequently asked questions on both the FDA and USDAs websites.

We will continue to work with facilities and farms, CDC, OSHA, and state, tribal, and local officials to ensure facilities and farms are implementing practices consistent with federal worker safety guidelines to keep employees safe and continue operations.

We are working with our federal partners who have the authority and expertise over worker safety to develop information on protecting worker health. We are also working with other federal partners to assist the food and agriculture industry in addressing shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), cloth face coverings, disinfectants and sanitation supplies.

Monitoring and Securing Human and Animal Food Supply Chains 24/7

Throughout the pandemic, the USDA and FDA have been closely monitoring the food supply chain for shortages in collaboration with industry and our federal and state partners. We are in regular contact with food manufacturers and grocery stores.

We have issued guidances to ensure regulatory flexibility to safely reroute food that typically would be bought in bulk by food facilities and restaurants, like eggs and flour, directly to consumers.

Food Safety Reminders for Every American

As we continue to respond to COVID-19, we want to remind consumers that there is no evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted by food or food packaging, as well as the importance of taking precautionary food safety steps to protect against foodborne illness pathogens such as Salmonella and E. Coli.

With respect to the safety of food across the U.S., both the USDA and FDA continue to use their respective authorities, including conducting inspections, as appropriate. The agencies also continue to monitor foods for hazards, work with industry on any potential or reported issues in their facilities, and conduct food recalls when appropriate. This applies to both domestically produced food and food that is imported from other countries.

Unlike foodborne gastrointestinal (GI) viruses like norovirus and hepatitis A that often make people ill through contaminated food, foodborne exposure is not known to be a route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.

With respect to foodborne pathogens, the CDC, FDA and FSIS continue to work with state and local partners to investigate foodborne illness and outbreaks. During this coronavirus outbreak, we will continue to operate to prepare for, coordinate and carry out response activities to incidents of foodborne illness in both human and animal food.
The Chief Justice and the presidents of all the courts have decided, pending further health advice, to limit all physical court sittings to no more than two hours.

The decision was made arising from health advice given on Tuesday to the Houses of the Oireachtas concerning persons who may be in the same room, even though practising social distancing, for more than two hours.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly, president of the High Court, read a statement in court today on behalf of the Chief Justice and presidents of all the courts, arising from what had happened in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

It stated the Courts Service was unaware, until the matter became public on Tuesday of what appears to be additional safety considerations beyond those already published.

It said the plans which had been devised by the judiciary and the Courts Service to expand the number of physical court hearings had taken full account of all published advice.

The Courts Service has sought further urgent advice on this matter as it clearly has the potential to affect the conduct of court hearings or sessions likely to involve judges and registrars, together with others, being in a courtroom for more than two hours in a day, the statement said.

Pending receipt of that advice, the court presidents have determined that all court sittings will last for no more than two hours a day, it was stated.

That decision will not affect remote hearings which will continue as planned, it added.

All those attending court now have to leave their contact details with the court to aid Covid-19 tracing.

In the High Court today, registrars took details on all those who attended court including barristers, solicitors and press.
[May 20, 2020] eBaoCloud InsureMO is Now Available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace

SHANGHAI, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- eBaoTech Corporation today announced the availability of eBaoCloud InsureMO in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. eBaoTech's customers can now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform, with streamlined deployment and management. eBaoTech is a global leading digital insurance solution provider with insurance industry clients from over 30 countries. eBaoTech's Insurance Middle Office platform  eBaoCloud InsureMO (InsureMO) is a containerized industry middleware based on microservices architecture. The platform contains common APIs needed to manage the whole life cycle of General, Life and Health insurance policies, such as quotation, illustration, underwriting, payment, and claims. This platform can seamlessly integrate with external applications and services such as OCR, voice recognition, payment and location by API calls. InsureMO also supports third parties to develop APIs and register on InsureMO. Currently, over 3,000 products frm over 120 insurance companies across more than 10 countries have been configured on eBaoCloud InsureMO.



Rajat Sharma, Corporate Vice President and Head of Sales and Strategy commented, "eBaoTech is a leading global Insurance technology provider with a mission to make Insurance easy. InsureMO is eBaoTech's Insurance middle office platform, delivering a robust 3V proposition (Massive Volume, Velocity and Variation) to the Insurance ecosystem (Carriers, Brokers, Affinity channels, Fintech, e-Commerce, etc.). With an increase in Digital Transformation projects in the Insurance sector globally and to address the growing market demand, we are making InsureMO available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace as one of our global customer reach strategy." Sajan Parihar, Senior Director, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp said, "We're pleased to welcome eBaoTech's InsureMO to the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, which gives our partners great exposure to cloud customers around the globe. Azure Marketplace offers world-class quality experiences from global trusted partners with solutions tested to work seamlessly with Azure."

The Azure Marketplace is an online market for buying and selling cloud solutions certified to run on Azure. The Azure Marketplace helps connect companies seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions with partners who have developed solutions that are ready to use. About eBaoTech

eBaoTech is a digital solution provider to the global insurance industry and our mission is to "make insurance easy". We do business in more than 30 countries globally, serving over 200 carriers and numerous agents, brokers, InsurTech's and others in the insurance ecosystem. Digital insurance is the coming wave and the insurance industry is moving into the API economy. eBaoTech provides solutions and services that enable digital insurance. eBaoTech has been dedicated to insurtech innovation since its founding in 2000. In 2001, eBaoTech developed world's first browser/server based insurance core system suite, leading the advent and adoption of Java-based 3G insurance IT. In 2015 eBaoTech launched the world's first distributed, cloud-native and microservices based 4G insurance platform that provides a complete set of insurance APIs across an insurance policy's full lifecycle. eBaoTech offers a cloud based solution that enables digital insurance and enterprise level core system insurance software. We make insurance easy. eBaoTech Digital Solutions eBao Cloud is a family of products based on open API Insurance platform that provides real time connectivity and transactional capabilities to insurers, traditional channel partners, affinity partners, and InsurTech startups. eBao Software includes core system suites for Life, P&C, and Health Insurers as well Re-Insurers. More information, please visit www.ebaotech.com. SOURCE eBaoTech

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
>>> More support for people affected by COVID-19

Speaking at a webinar held by the Prime Ministers Advisory Council on Reforming Administrative Procedures and the World Bank on May 19, the senior government official said that the process also creates more monitoring channels to ensure the transparency of ministries, agencies and localities in handling administrative procedures.

Citizens and businesses can also monitor the process and at the same time the Government Office can also accompany, urge, monitor and rectify issues and difficulties as they arise, he added.

According to the minister, from only eight public service groups provided at its opening last December, up until now, the National Public Service Portal has provided 395 online public services, including 232 ones dedicated to businesses, with some groups seeing a large frequency of implementation and effective services, such as registering/announcing promotion, applying for certificates of origin of goods, paying fines regarding administrative violations in the field of transport and procedures related to insurance and tax.

The portal also helps businesses save a lot of time and cost as administrative procedures of all ministries, sectors and localities can be performed therein. It is expected that the total social cost saved when implementing online public services is about nearly VND6.5 trillion each year, of which, the portal alone contributes over VND3 trillion.

Minister - Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung speaks at the event. (Photo: baochinhphu.vn)



Minister Dung said that as of May 18, the portal has recorded 37 million visits, over 142,000 registered accounts, including 1,149 enterprises' accounts (in March and April, the number of accounts doubled with an average increase of 22,000 accounts a month), and over 7.5 million records synchronised, along with over 71,000 applications being processed through the portal. It has received over 11,000 calls from people and businesses and completed the handling of nearly 4,500 responses and proposals.

In order to support people and businesses facing difficulties due to COVID-19, from May 12, the portal has provided six additional public services to provide said support. Minister Dung added that providing public services to support people and businesses in difficulty because of the pandemic not only helps shorten the time to disburse financial supports from the governments VND62 trillion bailout package, but also helps to monitor negative acts and misrepresentation in the work.

Expressing his excitement at Vietnam's success in curbing the global COVID-19 epidemic, the World Bank Vietnam Country Director, Ousmane Dione, said that its time to highlight the lessons learnt from the need to digitise and provide public services quickly.

Proposing to speed up the digitisation process, Dione said that COVID-19 is a wakeup call for business leaders to accelerate this work, saying that enterprises operating in an online environment will experience less disruption.

According to the World Bank official, the government should simplify business processes and act as a launching pad for the digitisation process.
These days our country faces the twin challenge of feeding lakhs and lakhs of poor people driven out of work in urban areas due to the coronavirus pandemic and ensuring the safe return of these labourers and keep them in quarantine centres for 14 days as per the protocol laid down by Health Authorities before they are allowed to reach their homes in rural areas.

The other day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that the central government has released Rs 11,000 crore to states as part of the Centres contribution to State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) to deal with the situation which includes provision of cooked food thrice a day to lakhs of poor migrant workers.

Depending on which side of the political spectrum they represent, hearts of representatives of all political parties bled for the poor and destitute representing the soul of India!

This was mostly in response to visuals played by the electronic media. Some of these reports were focused on the plight of migrant labourers put up in quarantine centres in several states who had not been provided proper food or clean water. Others put the spotlight on the migrant labourers traversing on foot with their families in tow in the scorching summer with little or nothing to eat.

We have also seen how some of the gurdwaras across cities, NGOs, volunteers associated with various organisations have also chipped in and used the community kitchen infrastructure and the well-established supply chain to serve quality food to a large number of urban poor and migrant labourers.

But state agencies have mostly faltered in their efforts to serve cooked food in this time of crisis despite their efforts. No government wants people walking hundreds of kilometres to their homes in rural areas. Or the arrangements made at quarantine centres crumbling under pressure playing out on national television. Yet this happened. Why?

The short answer is that Indias administrative system is not designed, trained or equipped to undertake this task. Despite 73 years of Independence, the revenue department and the district administration headed by the Collector are ill-equipped to perform this task. Even when clear orders along with substantial funds are released to set up relief centres or quarantine centres, the district authorities generally zero in on school buildings  ubiquitous primary school buildings in rural areas and government secondary school buildings and such other infrastructure in urban areas. These generally have one India Mark II handpump and a set of 4 toilets for children with or without running water facilities in rural areas, and perhaps piped water supply and some more toilet sets in secondary schools in urban areas. There may be ceiling fans and tube lights but electricity supply in rural areas would largely be erratic. There is certainly no facility for cooking food for hundred or more persons who may be lodged there.

Now apart from making arrangements of procuring folding cots, bedding etc from the local tent house, the urban and village level functionaries also have to procure cooking vessels, gas cylinders, gas stove and trained cooks and their helpers who will stay and prepare food apart from arranging cooking material ranging from wheat flour, rice, pulses, salt, cooking oil, vegetables, tea, sugar, milk and the like. Lighting arrangements also need to be made at the place where food will be cooked for hundreds of persons and tens of cooks and helpers will stay. If only, all these could be done at the click of the button.

In a vast and diverse country like ours, we need to institutionalise the system of running community kitchens because we keep facing problems of this kind in varying degrees every now and then. In rural areas, community kitchens with mechanised cooking facilities must be set up by the government in each gram panchayat under the control of Gram Panchayat. This facility can be used to prepare mid-day meals for school children and children attending Anganwadi centres which also now double up as pre-school centres. So every day, this panchayat community kitchen can be used to provide cooked food to children attending anganwadi centres, schools and may be, just about anyone who is prepared to pay Rs 10 for a meal. Gram panchayats should receive subsidised grains and funds earmarked for conversion cost under the mid-day meal scheme and Mission Poshan. It should be the responsibility of the gram panchayat to ensure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach in the village. This facility will also come handy when a region faces natural disasters such as floods or the pandemic being faced today. Organising community kitchens in urban centers will have to be set up similarly under the municipal authorities.

It is time to empower and strengthen community and local governments to enable them effectively respond to natural disasters be it floods, earthquakes or health pandemics. Old ways have to give way to new one.

(VS Pandey is a former IAS officer. He retired as secretary, department of fertilisers in the Government of India)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti and Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 17:06 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd94e4bc 1 Business Indonesia,Garuda,global-sukuks,extension,cashflow,problem,flights,disruption,COVID-19 Free

Publicly listed national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is asking for a three-year extension on US$500 million worth of global sukuk (global Islamic bonds) due on June 3 to address a major liquidity problem caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The proposal was submitted to the Financial Service Authority (OJK), the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) and the Singapore Stock Exchange (SSE) on Tuesday.

The airline will formally ask for approval from bondholders to extend the Islamic bonds during their meeting, which will be held at the end of the grace period on June 10.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant impact on the airlines financial performance. However, we are optimistic that we will be able to pull through this difficult situation and adapt to a new normal, Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra said in a statement on Tuesday.

With the extension, Garuda will be able to strengthen its liquidity and improve its overall financial performance, he said.

Garuda Indonesia booked $3.25 billion in short-term liabilities last year, including $498.9 million in sukuk bonds, according to its 2019 financial report. Flight disruptions caused by emergency measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 have dealt a major blow to the countrys airlines, including Garuda.

According to a letter available on the IDX website signed by Garuda finance director Fuad Rizal, Garudas flight traffic dropped by 83 percent year-on-year (yoy) in April as the government banned flights between major cities in the country.

The number of passengers decreased by 45 percent in the January to April 30 period, compared to the same months last year. Travel restrictions imposed by several countries also led to a 95 percent decline in international flights.

Flight disruptions have impacted the companys financial condition, with operating revenue decreasing by 89 percent in April compared to that in the same month in 2019. The outbreak has also led to negative cash flows as a result of a 47 percent increase in the companys trade payable arrears  or $236 million  during the first quarter, from the last quarter of 2019, the statement read.

To cope with the difficult situation, Garuda Indonesia will receive a capital injection of Rp 8.5 trillion from the government.

Analyst and the head of research of MNC Sekuritas, Edwin Sebayang said Garudas request for an extension was necessary and inevitable. However, the decision may also lead to a downgrade in the companys credit rating.

Going forward, Edwin said Garuda must be very careful in maintaining its cash flow and had to apply strict cost efficiency measures for the next two years. Edwin estimates that in the next two years, the aviation industry would face a tough recovery as passenger demand would slowly return to normal and a decline in revenue would likely continue.

Thus, Garuda must implement cost efficiency measures because it also has more debts, either from bank loans or from other bonds, he said on Tuesday.

Edwin said that in the future, Garuda must only focus on profitable routes within the country and across Asia instead of insisting on operating long-haul but unprofitable flights such as Jakarta-Amsterdam or Jakarta-London.

Garuda must change the way it does business. It must put aside its pride and focus on routes that can turn a profit and avoid those that would only incur losses, he said.
At least 18 fighters were killed on Wednesday as the Yemeni government army defeated an attack by the Houthi rebels in the central province of Bayda, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

The Houthi attack targeted the positions of the government forces in Kaniyah area in northeast of Bayda.

The fighting lasted hours, leaving at least 14 rebels and four soldiers killed and dozens from both sides injured, the source told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah television reported that their military positions in Kaniyah area were attacked by five airstrikes without giving further details.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, center, walks through the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, March 22, 2020.

The first U.S. auction of a 20-year Treasury bond in 34 years was met with strong demand, showing the market is open to the government's plan to extend the average maturity of its debt.

The government sold $20 billion of the issue, priced to yield 1.22%. There were $50 billion in orders for the bond.

"The auction went very well. Demand was very robust. This shows that the Treasury made the right decision to bring a new 20-year to market rather than an ultra-long bond," said Jon Hill, senior fixed income strategist at BMO.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this week the U.S. plans to increase its issuance in the 10-year, 20-year and 30-year bonds to extend the length of time the U.S. has to pay off its debt. He said the Treasury considered ultra-long 50- and 100-year bonds but ruled them out based on a lack of demand.

The U.S. budget deficit is expected to swell to more than $3 trillion this year, as the government spends on stimulus to fight the impact of the coronavirus.

"In the beginning of the crisis, they issued over $1 trillion worth of bills, and now they want to term out that issuance, rather than borrow for a month or two at a time, borrow for a couple decades at a time," said Hill.

The new bond is expected to appeal to big investors looking for longer duration securities, like pensions and insurance companies.

The yield is about 50 basis points above the benchmark 10-year yield. The 10-year fell to 0.68% after the auction. The 30-year bond yield fell to 1.39% from 1.42% before the auction. Yields move opposite price.

Hill said the security was well-priced going into auction. Dealers took 24.6% of the issue, while direct bidders, which include insurance companies and big U.S. investors, received 14.7%. Indirect bidders, which include foreign entities, took 64%.

The new bond should be attractive to foreign investors who find U.S. Treasurys to be a better-yielding alternative to their own sovereign debt, much of which has negative yields.

The 20-year was yielding about 1.218% just before the 1 p.m. ET auction.

The Treasury first announced its plans for a 20-year bond at the beginning of the year, when the deficit was expected to run at about $1 trillion. Wells Fargo now expects the federal deficit to total $3.4 trillion for fiscal year 2020, and $2 trillion in 2021.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticised anti-antisemitism on the left: REUTERS

Joe Biden has issued criticism against those whose condemnation of Israeli politics veered towards antisemitism.

Criticism of Israels policy is not antisemitism, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president told donors on Tuesday. But too often that criticism from the left morphs into antisemitism.

It comes as Mr Bidens presidential campaign considers how he can appeal to progressives on the left of the Democratic party, and younger voters in particular, who criticise Israels treatment of Palestinians.

Mr Biden, who was asked about antisemitism among sections of the left in the US and UK, said that whilst antisemitism was the mother of all conspiracy theories, Americans had not heard enough about the dangers of the Holocaust happening again.

So many people forget, said Mr Biden, its almost hard to believe.

Arguably, we havent heard enough about the Holocaust because people are still trying to deny its horrible reality, said Mr Biden on the call transcript sent to The New York Times.

On Monday, his campaign published an action plan on tackling antisemitism in the US that alleged Donald Trump had emboldened antisemitism on the right.

[We have to] fight the pernicious, persistent evil of antisemitism at every level. We need an unequivocal denunciation of this kind of behaviour starting with the president, continued Mr Biden. Whatever the source, right, left or centre.

People are walking into the state legislative body and in front of her driveway carrying assault rifles, Nazi banners and Confederate flags, he added. The president is not saying a word.

The Democrat, who assured donors that his commitment to Israel is absolutely unshakable, admitted that he was disappointed with Prime Minister Benjamin turning so, so far to the right.

According to a pool report of the call, Mr Biden called on Israel to stop the threat of annexation of West Bank territories because it will choke off any hope of peace between Israel and Palestinians.

Story continues

Mr Biden reportedly pledged to restore US diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority, which have come undone during the Trump administration.

He would not, however, move the United States Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem after Mr Trumps controversial decision in 2018.

That move was criticised within academic circles and beyond, and amongst those who have boycotted Israel through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Mr Bidens campaign states that the BDS movement, which Congress condemned last year, singles out Israel  home to millions of Jews  and too often veers into anti-Semitism, while letting Palestinians off the hook for their choices.
Azerbaijani IT company, Sumaks Technologies LLC, has introduced a device for monitoring public distance, Executive Director of the company, Javid Mammadov, told local media.

The device is intended for employees of government agencies, catering facilities, plants and other structures where violation of social distance is most likely to occur, Mammadov noted.

Due to the softened COVID-19 quarantine regime in the country, the number of cases of social contact of people at workplaces is increasing. A device equipped with special sensors instantly signals when there is a violation of the established social distance of two meters, he said.

Mammadov also noted this device will be offered to various organizations.

In 2020, the company will continue to work on the following projects: Avtomaks GPS tracking system, ERP (enterprise resource planning), and Scroller Management.

The devices manufactured by the company were used in various fields such as advertising, transport and the ERP.
Tori Geib was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer the week of her 30th birthday. Soon after, she underwent surgery on her spine that left her unable to return to work as a hospital catering chef  and without her employer-based health insurance.

I had to retire from my job at 30 years old, Geib, 34, told Al Jazeera. Being in an entry-level position, you dont have a lot built up. Going on disability, I lost my insurance from my employer, and I made just over the amount that you needed to qualify for the Medicaid programme, so I was uninsured my whole first year of treatment.

Geib did not know she had lost her insurance coverage until the pharmacist rang up just one of the drugs she needed to take each month to survive, and told her it came to $11,000 out of pocket.

Before you know there are programmes out there that can help, the first thing that goes through your mind is: Can I afford to survive? Geib said. Without the assistance programme, I would have gone through my entire yearly salary within about three months to pay for my medication. Just the one medication was $11,000 per month, and over that first year, I was on 13 different medications.

For people like Geib, who are living with metastatic cancer, the pandemic  and the economic fallout it has already caused  are just two more hurdles in an already long, stressful and costly journey.

Tori Geib was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer the week of her 30th birthday [Credit: Tori Geib]

The struggle to afford prescriptions

Most new cancer drugs in the US are priced at more than $100,000 per patient per year, according to the National Cancer Institute, with some price tags reaching $400,000. But while the National Cancer Institute found that 90 percent of people in the United States believed cancer drugs are too expensive, costs have continued to rise  and so have patients anxiety levels.

Before the pandemic, 24 percent of US adults said it was difficult to afford all of their prescription drugs, according to a poll by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), and that number doubled for people whose prescriptions cost more than $100 a month.

People with a lot of health problems are much more likely to say that they have problems affording their prescription medicine, and the flip side of that, too, is we see people making decisions about how and whether to take prescription drugs based on the cost, Liz Hamel, KFFs vice president and director of public opinion and survey research, told Al Jazeera.

Pre-pandemic, Hamel said, three in 10 people said they had not filled a prescription, had skipped doses or taken an over-the-counter drug instead of the one a doctor prescribed and they did those things specifically because of the cost they had to pay.

Now, amid the coronavirus crisis, over half of people in the US said they have lost a job or had their income reduced due to the coronavirus, a KFF poll found, and 29 percent said they have fallen behind on bills or struggled to afford expenses like food or health insurance coverage since February.

Already, there had been a huge increase in deductibles for employer-sponsored health insurance plans, Hamel said.

We see people making decisions about how and whether to take prescription drugs based on the cost. Liz Hamel, KFF's director of public opinion and survey research

And with those higher-deductible plans, sometimes it only takes one medical emergency to really put people in either a significant amount of medical debt or in a situation where they cant afford the treatment that they need, said Julie Kennerly-Shah, the assistant director of pharmacy at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center  Arthur G James Cancer Hospital and Richard J Solove Research Institute.

As lockdowns continue, more and more people are out of work and losing their health insurance. Some 20.5 million jobs were lost in April alone, and those who became unemployed in the last two months would fill all 30 sport stadiums 16 times over, an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found.

A KFF analysis found 26.8 million people became newly uninsured after losing their jobs, some of whom may be eligible for Medicaid or insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But gaps in coverage exist, and that means the number of people who may need help paying for their medication is likely to rise, too.

For people like Tori Geib who are living with metastatic cancer, the pandemic  and the economic fallout it has already caused  are just two more hurdles in an already long, stressful and costly journey [Credit: Tori Geib]

Donating cancer drugs

A programme run by the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center  Arthur G James Cancer Hospital and Richard J Solove Research Institute is hoping to help by allowing patients to directly donate their unused cancer drugs to those in need.

The first-of-its-kind programme receives donated pills, which undergo an eight-point inspection before being added to a repository and re-dispensed, said Kennerly-Shah. And there is a real need for them.

More and more evidence is showing us that the financial toxicity that patients experience after a diagnosis of cancer can be just as stressful and as challenging as the medical or physical experience, Kennerly-Shah told Al Jazeera. A recent study actually showed that at year two post-cancer diagnosis, almost 50 percent of patients have depleted their life savings.

That was true pre-pandemic, and Kennerly-Shah expects demand for reduced-price drugs to grow as stay-at-home orders are lifted, and the economic fallout from the virus continues. The programme has taken extra precautions during the COVID-19 crisis by sanitising bottles and quarantining them for 14 days before re-dispensing them.

With the economic uncertainty with COVID-19, repository programmes that increase patient access to affordable cancer medications are even more important, Kennerly-Shah said.

Typically, once drugs leave the pharmacy, they cannot be recollected and redistributed. So, even if a metastatic cancer patient like Geib has a months supply left of an $11,000 drug, it goes in the rubbish.

The Ohio programme changes the rules to allow bottles that have been opened to be donated, and hopes to become a model for other cancer centres across the country. Geib said she plans to donate her unused oral chemotherapy drugs soon.

To be able to give that to another patient so they can use it, rather than just having to throw that away, it really helps the whole community, she said.

Now on her eighth line of treatment, the COVID-19 crisis has limited Geibs options. Clinical trials that could have been a good fit have been suspended, she said, and at the outpatient centre near Columbus, Ohio, where shes currently receiving IV chemotherapy, everyone wears masks and patients cannot bring a support person in with them.

Any time you have the experience of knowing you have to switch treatments, the panic sets in, Geib said. Its not only about, will my insurance cover this? But in the environment of COVID-19, you have the question of, will I have access to what will give me the best chance of survival when I need it? The anxiety of the unknown road in treatment is amplified.

Ohio has seen more than 24,000 confirmed cases and more than 1,300 confirmed deaths from the coronavirus so far, and immunocompromised people are at higher risk. But Geib continues to stay hopeful even amid the health and financial challenges she faces.

I know Im overall very lucky to have all the support that I do, she said. There are patients who are choosing to forgo treatment or wondering if they will be paying for groceries or medications.
Cyber attackers, including foreign governments, are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to try to hack the computer systems of hospitals and medical services, the Australian government has warned.

Organised criminal networks are also using the COVID-19 outbreak to step up computer hacking efforts, with a spike in coronavirus-related "phishing" emails and SMS messages embedded with malicious links or documents.

State actors are trying to hack computer networks.

While not naming any particular country, the Australian government said it "calls on all countries to cease immediately any cyber activity".

China has previously been blamed for cyber attacks on key Australian networks. Although the Morrison government has never publicly confirmed it, senior government sources have said Australian intelligence determined China was responsible for the malware attack on the Australian Parliament's computer network in January 2019.
China denounced Secretary of State Michael Pompeo for referring to Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen as "president," vowing to "take necessary countermeasures" in response.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a statement by Pompeo congratulating Tsai on her second term as president "seriously violated" the one-China principle and agreements that underpinned the establishment of relations between the two sides. While the U.S. has carefully crafted interactions with Taipei to avoid recognizing its government, Pompeo's statement Tuesday referred to Tsai as president and called Taiwan a "force for good in the world and a reliable partner."
It is not just another busy working day for Tawhida Yassine AbdelGhaffar, a prominent paediatrician who chairs the Yassine Abdel Ghaffar Charity Center for Liver Diseases and Research.

It is a day where she has to see and examine a number of new patients who have been referred for treatment from several doctors and hospitals. But it is also a day where she has to call upon all her engagement skills to communicate with a number of patients she has been treating but who are not making it to their follow-up visits because of the coronavirus.

Treating children in general requires a lot of direct communication, a lot of contact and a lot of building confidence and showing care; this is so much more the case for children with acute and chronic problems, especially those with liver diseases who have to go through a very strict routine to maintain a good health condition and who have to follow a long path of medication, which is often against the nature of children, who tend to decline this kind of commitment, AbdelGhaffar said.

This means that every time she is talking to one of her patients on the phone to follow up on their case, she needs to engage in an excessive exercise of sensibility to compensate for the observations she normally makes when she is with the patient in the examination room, and she also has to ensure her voice is filled with affection and compassion, which she would be otherwise pass on to her patients via smiles and small talk.

This is not always an easy endeavour given that a successful telephone consultation depends not just on the doctor but also on the patient. Very young patients whose parents are not at ease in managing a medical follow-up conversation become a very challenging exercise for this experienced doctor. Most of the patients who depend on the charity service of the centre are not privy to the sophisticated smart phones and fast internet that allows for communication through video-calls that would otherwise make a distance medical consultation easier.

I spend a thorough half hour revising the file of every patient before starting a telephone call, and I take very detailed notes, but obviously at times it becomes very challenging, especially if children start getting irritated with the long treatment or the many restrictions, AbdelGhaffar said. Then again, she added, it was an inevitable decision to reduce the medical visits as much as possible and to keep them as far apart as possible, to avoid putting her patients in harms way.

Since COVID-19 became established in Egypt, in late February or early March, AbdelGhaffar has been very precise about appling a strict set of guidelines to all the medical staff of the centre. All doctors, nurses and workers are uncompromising about using protective gear and about carefully monitoring their own health to make sure that they do not become carriers of infection. Doctors and nurses have been introduced to the guidelines of safe medical examination and doctors offices have been re-arranged in line with the maximum possible degree of distancing, to make sure that patients coming in, always with a parent, are not sitting too close to one another or to the doctor. Patients appointments are also managed so as to prevent any large groupings in the waiting rooms.

Still, AbdelGhaffar has requested that all patients who receive medical treatment at the centre be spared from coming to the premises unless absolutely necessary. Patients who do their first check-up are not allowed to do it by phone.

This is not at all possible; the patient has to be thoroughly examined. We try to do the maximum possible to spare our patients from a commute and direct contact with many people as possible, but there are things that cannot be compromised and those we do under very strict safety measures, she said.

Patients with liver diseases fall squarely within the high-risk groups. Also, not all the patients who access the charity service at the centre, located in eastern Cairo, are residents of Greater Cairo. Many patients have to travel from far-away governorates to visit the centre, mostly by public transport, which forces them away from the essential requirements of social distancing and puts them at higher infection risk.

In general care is part of treatment; this is so much the case when we deal with children; we have to sustain the care and keep a rigorous follow-up with the patients to make sure that they are receiving adequate instructions, she said. This meant that, in addition to the scheduled phone calls, AbdelGhaffar has to make herself accessible to answer queries from patients or parents of patients through WhatsApp or text messages.

Obstetrician and gynaecologist Magued Abou Seada has also been counting on the telephone consultations and WhatsApp texting to manage a good part of his patients. Gynaecology patients who are not suffering pressing conditions have been asked to delay their consultations.

In principle we declined the number of patients who come to the clinic to make sure that there is no overlap at the waiting room and that I dont have to see a large number of patients on the same day, he said. Pregnant women were advised to double space the intervals of their check-ups, unless otherwise found necessary, and they are not admitted to hospital for delivery until it is absolutely necessary.

To make up for this, Abou Seada agreed to begin something he had previously not thought of: telephone consultations. In general, Abou Seada, like many other doctors, is not comfortable managing his cases on the phone. He believes that a patient has to be properly examined to allow a doctor to make a sound judgment on the case. But with the risk of COVID-19, this seasoned doctor had found a way to re-work his management of phone calls with his patients.

Patients with quick questions send messages, and if it is his assessment that they are in a good place to manage written instructions, he texts the instructions. If he worries that the patient might not be comfortable handling texted instructions he answers through a scheduled phone call. Other patients who need a more thorough follow-up to allow the doctor to ask several questions and to take detailed notes are scheduled for a longer telephone chat.

Quite an exhausting exercise and a very different style of practice of medicine, to be honest, he said.

Carving out a niche

For doctors working in large private medical centres, the management of distant medical service seems to have been taking a more integral part. Neurologist Ramez Reda, of the neurology and sleep disorder centre NeuroMed, says that his distance-management of cases through video calls is proving quite convenient for many patients who have been too worried to leave their otherwise secure confinement to access medical services.

For patients suffering neurological disorders, Reda said it is often too difficult to count on voice calls to help patients. I usually observe facial expression, eye and lips movement, body posture and so on; so video calls have proven very useful, he said. This, he added, also applies for the increasing number of patients who suffer sleep disorders due to the anxiety caused by COVID-19.

Requests for video call visitation are made through the call centre and schedules are decided upon the convenience of both doctors and patients. A tele-medical visitation is usually booked for around 30 minutes. Online medical visitations are designed to allow sufficient intervals to allow time for a possible internet drop.

Mostly, Reda has been resorting to calls via Zoom app, which do not require a very large bandwidth and allow for good quality videos. And it has been working well, he said. Other applications that are particularly tailored for a doctor-patient consultation, like Doxy, are also finding their way into the daily work of NeuroMed.

Ramez himself has been exploring the wide range of applications. And while some applications are more tailored for medical services that allow for doctors to send prescriptions and to carefully inspect reports of x-rays and blood tests, he said that the priority now for doctors is to opt for the application that is the easiest for patients to use. To compensate, he added, the doctor would then write a prescription and have it sent by WhatsApp, and if a patient needs some tests, the centre will provide this service at home under strict safety measures.

Plastic surgeon Omar Naggari also has to depend on the video-calls to follow up with his patients. For him, telephone calls serve very little, so if a patient is not coming to the clinic for the check-up, his centre will have to schedule a video call upon the consent and the convenience of the patient.

The telemedicine practice, Naggari said, has found its way slowly but surely. Around late February/early March, patients of the Yes Clinic were receiving phone calls to cancel their appointments  except for the very necessary cases, who were allowed to do their visitation under the strict guidelines of protection and distancing.

In the following weeks, Naggari provided group guidance to his patients through online streaming sessions. And he was managing patients very specific queries through brief phone calls or messages. However, six weeks down the road, patients of the Yes Clinic were demanding to make plans.

To be able to help my patients make plans I have to see them, so we opted for video calls for elementary consultations, and then I have to decide priorities and to schedule visits in line with the strict social distancing regulations, Naggari said. Once patients receive the required service, then the follow-up is managed as much as possible through the online consultation service that is now available through the centres hotline.

Reda and Naggari have both sensed a growing ease on the part of their patients with the online service and they both expect it to continue to be part of medical practice in Egypt over the long-term.

Ultimately, nothing takes place of the visitation and direct doctor-patient relationship, but if we put the situation of the pandemic aside and consider the case of a patient who lives in Upper Egypt very away from the clinics of our centre in Cairo then he might be more comfortable doing one follow-up consultation online and then comes for the following visitation, Reda said.

He added that the fact that medical care is now managed in part through insurance companies or through corporate or syndicate subscriptions make it a lot more manageable for medical centres to administer medical fees through these companies and agencies.

Some patients are also finding this growing trend quite useful. Nevine, a 40-year-old depression patient, has been more comfortable doing her session with her psychiatrist from home.

In the beginning of this coronavirus situation we decided to suspend my sessions for two to three weeks and agreed that I would call her once a week instead of going to her for a brief chat, Nevine said. However, as the concern over COVID-19 was increasing rather than declining and her psychiatrist was not feeling very comfortable depending on the phone calls, the two decided to resort to Zoom.

It has actually worked quite well. It spares me from having to drive for an hour from where I live to the clinic and another hour back to my home, she said.

Home care

Accessing health care at home has all but completely disappeared from the map of medical services in Egypt for around 30 years. However, during the past few years, with growing demand, some doctors have opted to reintroduce it.

Mahmoud Chanawani is a paediatrician who decided to close down his Maadi clinic and to do only home care over the past five years. The decision, he said, was prompted by growing number of requests for house calls, especially in cases where children are really young and get really ill in the middle of the night, past the working hours of any clinic. Chanawani had also been wanting to cut down on working hours after close to 40 years of practice.

Still, his style of practice has been influenced by the coronavirus. Parents, he said, are as concerned about their children seeing a doctor as they would be concerned to take their children to a clinic, because while the child is spared from any possible contact in the waiting room of a clinic, they would still be seeing a doctor who sees other patients.

And like doctors who were seeing fewer patients in their clinics to reduce the chance of contamination for themselves and for their patients, doctors working in home care were also worried for their safety and that of their patients, because house visits might reduce the risk a bit but the risk is always there, he said.

And just as Chanawani opted to reduce the number of visits he makes to keep them in the strictly necessary range, the patients of children are more and more opting for telephone consultations.

For a paediatrician it is not unusual to receive a call from a parent to consult on a sudden illness of a child, he said.

Chanawani tries to manage as much as possible through the phone and at times he asks parents to send him pictures of the children through WhatsApp, or if it becomes possible, he opts for a video call. He would only opt for a house visit if he finds it truly necessary and if the parents requested it.

There is one situation that Chanawani would feel obliged to decline a house visit, he said -- if I suspected it was COVID-19  but luckily I have not come across any cases so far.

Mohamed Khater, a geriatric physician, has decided since the launch of the Seniors Clinic a few years back that home care is simply an integral part of providing medical help to the elderly. With elderly people a particularly high-risk group for the coronavirus, Khater has now decided that his patients would be spared even home visits unless it was found necessary, and that telemedicine would be part of home care.

The resort to online medical consultation is decided, Khater said, upon a set of measures that would allow the doctor to be able to provide the right and timely medical help for the patient.

If we are talking about a patient that we are already following or a patient who calls with symptoms that are not perceived in any way to be life-threatening, then we ask if the patient is in condition to manage an online consultation, Khater said.

Otherwise the centre would send a doctor to promptly examine the case at home and decide upon consultation with a more experienced team whether the patient could be treated at home or needs to be taken to a hospital. In some cases, Khater added, the online consultation helps some patients avoid an unnecessary ordeal of going out, or the need to receive a doctor at home. And, he added, in some cases the video call allowed the doctor to promptly instruct the patient not take a medical situation lightly and to head to the nearest hospital.

The experience of the past weeks, Khater argued, is likely to encourage more and more medical facilities, in the private zone, to make room for home care medicine.

I think there is a practice that is being established now with the home care medicine whereby doctors are acting within a system that allows them to do their job properly and to be spared from any unfortunate situation regarding their medical choices or medical fees, because this is mostly happening through medical centres rather than individual clinics, he said.

For Samar, who has been delaying regular check-ups for her parents, who both suffer from chronic diabetes and heart conditions, the home care service that she was introduced to through a friend proved very useful. However, she argues, it is perfectly good and perfectly purposeful but it is also very expensive  Im not sure how people without sufficient means could benefit from it.

According to Nabil Meheri, a doctor with long expertise in health insurance systems, the right to home visits when necessary should certainly be incorporated in the health insurance plan that the government has initiated. Today, Meheri added, with the experience of the pandemic, this plan needs to be revisited to consider all possible ways of providing health care for people in challenging situations while keeping the doctors and medical teams safe.

In general, I think we have some crucial questions to ask today about the impact of the pandemic on the practice of medicine in a way that would be safe for patients and doctors, Meheri said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation announces 2020 fellows

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the most promising innovators in science and technology, has announced the 2020 recipients of the Hertz Fellowship.

The Hertz Fellowship supports the research of PhD students who demonstrate the greatest potential to tackle the most urgent problems facing society. This year's fellowships will fund 16 researchers whose goals range from developing drugs more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, to advancing artificial intelligence to creating a carbon-neutral future.

One of the most prestigious awards of its kind, the Hertz Fellowship supports five years of graduate research and the freedom to pursue innovative ideas, wherever they may lead. Hertz Fellows also receive lifelong professional support, including mentoring and networking within a connected, influential community of more than 1,200 leaders in science and technology, each of whom has been awarded the Hertz Fellowship since 1963.

"The pursuits of our 2020 Hertz Fellows embody the type of bold, risk-taking research that the Hertz Foundation has supported for almost six decades," said Robbee Baker Kosak, president of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. "By funding innovative thinkers and connecting visionary researchers across generations, geography, and disciplines, we create the conditions for our fellows to have an exponential impact on the most pressing problems facing our nation and world."

Selected through a rigorous process, including in-depth interviews with some of the nation's top scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, the newest Hertz Fellows were selected from a pool of more than 800 applicants from 24 universities across the nation.

"We strive to identify young researchers with the vision and drive to achieve the breakthroughs that are needed today in science and technology," said Philip Welkhoff, senior interviewer and member of the board of directors at the Hertz Foundation, as well as the malaria program director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "As a society, we benefit tremendously from empowering them with the freedom to leap into the unknown and explore the possibilities."

The 2020 class joins a community of fellows whose transformative research and daring innovation impact our lives every day. Hertz Fellows are developing a drug therapy to restore hearing, data-driven methods to detect cyber threats, technology to genetically eradicate invasive plant species, and immunotherapy to support universal organ transplants. They've uncovered contraband nuclear weapons, created hack-proof drones for the military, and proven the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

Many Hertz Fellows are currently focusing their work on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Anna Bershteyn is co-principal investigator in a clinical trial to determine if the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 from developing in people who've been recently exposed to the virus. In work published in Nature, Cheri Ackerman and Cameron Myhrvold collaborated on the development of diagnostic technology that can simultaneously test 1,000 samples for 160 different viruses.

Over the foundation's 57-year history of awarding fellowships, Hertz Fellows have established a remarkable track record of accomplishments. Their ranks include two Nobel laureates; two MacArthur Fellows; eight recipients of the Breakthrough Prize; and winners of the Turing Award, the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Technology, and the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award. In addition, 43 are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and 12 have been included in Forbes magazine's "30 under 30" list. Hertz Fellows have founded more than 200 companies and hold more than 3,000 patents.

Introducing the 2020 Hertz Fellows

Fellows are listed along with their graduate institution and field of interest.

Alexander (Sasha) Alabugin (California Institute of Technology; Chemistry) - Alexander Alabugin aspires to advance energy science by characterizing and controlling elementary transactions of small molecules, protons, photons, and electrons. His goal is to unravel inorganic reaction mechanisms with techniques ranging from x-ray absorption to electron resonance and Mossbauer spectroscopy. A senior in chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alexander is also a fellow of the National Science Foundation.

Daine Danielson (University of Chicago; Physics) - An Eckhardt Graduate Scholar in the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, Daine Danielson envisions a world in which a global network of neutrino-based nuclear monitoring technologies is used to root out clandestine weapons manufacturing, reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and war. His research explores the phenomenology of fundamental particles and fields, developing novel applications toward nuclear security and nonproliferation, and deepening our understanding of the natural world. Cofounder and chief architect of the medical education platform Whitekoat, Inc., he holds a bachelor's in computational physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of California, Davis.

Alyssa Dayan (University of California, Berkeley; Computer Science) - Alyssa Dayan hopes to further our knowledge about intelligence and cognition while enabling smarter new technologies that can help the world. A machine learning research scientist on the research and development team at Uber Advanced Technologies Group, where she works on simulation and prediction for autonomous vehicles, she received a bachelor's in mathematics with computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018.

Marisa Gaetz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mathematics) - Exploring the numerous connections between physics and representation theory, Marisa Gaetz conducts research with potential applications for quantum mechanics. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a minor in philosophy. Outside of her research, Marisa works to improve diversity and inclusivity within the mathematics community. A leader of the MIT Prison Education Initiative, she also focuses on using education and technology to improve the criminal justice system and reduce mass incarceration.

Jakob Grzesik (Stanford University; Electrical Engineering, Physics) - By connecting engineering design and fundamental physics, Jakob Grzesik hopes to create new quantum-based technologies to address problems in energy, computation, and communication. A senior completing dual degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics at Rice University, Jakob aims to apply his growing expertise in optical properties of nanoscale materials to develop novel photonic technologies for applications in quantum computation, communication, and energy.

Hannah Lawrence (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Computer Science) - Hannah Lawrence is interested in developing theoretical foundations for new algorithms at the interface of machine learning, data science, and signal processing, with potential impact in drug development and other applications. She is particularly interested in broadening our understanding of how structure and scientifically informed priors can be incorporated into learning problems and frameworks. Currently a research analyst at the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Flatiron Institute, Hannah is a 2019 graduate of Yale University with a bachelor's in applied mathematics and computer science.

Isaac Metcalf (Rice University; Materials Science) - Isaac Metcalf hopes his research can help push the nation and world toward a carbon-neutral future. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Isaac is graduating with dual degrees in physics and materials science. He will join the Materials Physics for Energy Management group at Rice University, where he plans to focus his research on increasing the efficiency and stability of two-dimensional perovskite photovoltaics.

Nolan Peard (Stanford University; Physics) - Nolan Peard is interested in light-matter interactions and their applications in chemistry and quantum optics. He is particularly interested in the potential of optical techniques to control quantum states of molecules and their interactions, enabling fundamental understanding of chemistry that may be used to create materials and molecules with new capabilities. He is graduating with dual degrees in physics and music from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Maya Sankar (Stanford University; Mathematics) - Maya Sankar is interested in researching combinatorics and graph theory, particularly studying extremal problems and their ties to theoretical computer science. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is graduating with dual degrees in mathematics and computer science and a minor in music.

Jillian Silbert (Harvard University; Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering) - Combining computational and experimental methodologies in her biological research, Jillian Silbert believes that interdisciplinary work is the key to furthering scientific knowledge and crafting creative solutions to environmental and health issues. She plans to study interactions within the bacterial communities and applications of microbiology research to current environmental and biomedical issues. Jillian graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2018, with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and a minor in quantitative and computational biology. She studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the National Center of Biotechnology in Madrid.

Vikram Sundar (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Computational and Systems Biology) - By tackling difficult questions in computational structural biology, Vikram Sundar hopes to help scientists develop drugs more quickly, cheaply, and effectively. He plans to combine his knowledge of physics and machine learning to tackle problems ranging from understanding protein/ligand binding for drug discovery to designing proteins with specific functions. Vikram received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in physics from Harvard University in 2018 and a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Churchill Scholar, in 2019. He is currently an AI resident at Google.

Constantine Tzouanas (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Biological Engineering) - Constantine Tzouanas's long-term goal is to engineer biological systems to address pressing needs, from organ transplants to environmentally responsible chemical production. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, he is pursuing a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics with a concentration in biological engineering. He graduated summa cum laude from Rice University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in bioengineering and a minor in neuroscience.

Nico Valdes Meller (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Physics) - Nico Valdes Meller hopes that a more profound understanding of networks can help us be better prepared for the technological revolutions to come. Aiming to work at the interface of theoretical physics and its applications by studying field theory, gravitation, and quantum information, Nico will pursue his PhD after completing a one-year master's program at Perimeter Scholars International. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Chile.

Sophie Walton (Stanford University; Biophysics) - By exploring the limits and capabilities of biological systems and such fundamental processes as evolution, Sophie Walton hopes to further the applications of biophysics research. A senior at California Institute of Technology, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in bioengineering.

Maxwell Wang (Carnegie Mellon University/University of Pittsburgh; Machine Learning and Neuroscience) - An MD/PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Maxwell Wang is conducting research with the goal of understanding how brain networks change during neuro-interventions, such as deep brain stimulation, and to link these changes to end-points such as symptom improvement and adverse side-effect profiles. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he began taking math courses at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, when he was in fifth grade and published his first research paper while a young teenager.

Katherine Xiang (Harvard University; Physics) - The role of physics in biology motivates Katherine Xiang to understand the natural world better, particularly in energy flow and transport in biological systems. A senior at Johns Hopkins University, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics, biophysics, and mathematics.

###

About the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation identifies the nation's most promising innovators in science and technology, and empowers them to pursue solutions to the world's toughest challenges. Launched in 1963, the Hertz Fellowship is the most exclusive fellowship program in the United States, fueling more than 1,200 leaders, disruptors, and creators who apply their remarkable talent where it's needed most--from improving human health to protecting the health of the planet. Hertz Fellows hold 3,000+ patents, have founded 200+ companies, and have received 200+ major national and international awards, including two Nobel Prizes, eight Breakthrough Prizes, the National Medal of Technology, the Fields Medal, and the Turing Award. Learn more at https:/ / HertzFoundation. org .

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Nearly 4.9% people tested had reported positive for coronavirus during the last 24 hours, with Bihar reporting 112 cases during this period, taking the overall tally in the state to 1607, said health officials during a media briefing here on Wednesday.

The Covid-19 case percentage during the last 24 hours was higher than the average 3% people to have reported positive for the virus as against 53,361 samples tested so far, said Bihars health secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh on Wednesday.

The infection rate used to hover around 2.5% against samples tested until recently.

Singh attributed the spike in infections to testing of symptomatic people, tapping contacts of those who had tested positive for Covid-19 and going for random testing of migrant workers.

He said 788 migrant workers, who reached Bihar after May 3, have so far tested positive for the virus. Of them, 249 people, which accounted for 31.59% of the migrants testing positive, had returned from Delhi; followed by 187 (23.73%) from Maharashtra and 158 (20.05%) from Gujarat.

Migrants now accounted for over 52% of Bihars total Covid-19 cases, given the fact that 58 workers, who returned to the state before lockdown 3.0 (from May 4-17), had also tested positive for the virus.

Altogether, 571 patients had recovered so far, after 37 people were cured and discharged from different health facilities during the past 24 hours, said Singh. Nine people, who contracted the virus, have died in the state so far.

The case recovery rate was 36% in the state. This had slid from around 55%, as recorded prior to the home-coming of the migrant workers in large number by Shramik Special trains, operating from May 2.

Bihar expects to receive around 12 lakh migrant workers more by the end of this month. It has already received around 6.10 lakh migrant workers till Tuesday, as per data shared by Anupam Kumar, secretary, Bihars information and public relations department.

Of the cases reported today, Khagaria accounted for 15, followed by Bhagalpur (12), Banka (11), Madhubani, Nalanda and Darbhanga (6 each), Supaul (2) and one each in Gopalganj and Katihar, as per information shared earlier in the day through a tweet by Sanjay Kumar, Bihars outgoing principal secretary, health. By afternoon, Kumar had been transferred to the tourism department in the same capacity.

Kumar had maintained absolute transparency in dissemination of information, putting state data on coronavirus in public domain through his Twitter handle (@sanjayjavin).

He would upload Covid-19 bulletins in the morning, besides sharing data on testing of samples, case doubling rate, contact tracing of those who tested positive  giving a peek into the super-spreaders, case recovery rate; testing of migrants, bifurcating the state they had come from; and also instantaneously share information about death of an individual who had contracted Covid-19. He used to update information about new cases even in midnight, as soon as results came in from Bihars 14 testing laboratories.

The last update on Covid-19 he posted was around 11am on Wednesday. The state health department or the State Health Society, Bihar, did not have any update after 5.30pm.

Patna topped with 167 cases, followed by Munger (133), Rohtas (91), Begusarai (82), Nalanda (78), Madhubani (79), Khagaria (70), Buxar (64), Gopalganj (64), Bhagalpur (59), Jehanabad (58), Banka (51), Siwan (45), Kaimur (44), Nawada (41), Bhojpur (38), Katihar (35), Purnea (31), Muzaffarpur (30), Supaul (27), Aurangabad (26), West Champaran (25), Sheikhpura (24), Darbhanga (22), Saharsa (22), Madhepura (20), East Champaran (19), Arwal (17), Samastipur (16), Vaishali (15), Jamui (15), Lakhisarai (14), Kishanganj (14), Saran (14), Gaya (11), Sitamarhi (9), Sheoar (5), Araria (4).

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
San Francisco, May 20 : As Covid-19 impacts every aspect of the healthcare system, Microsoft has announced a dedicated Cloud for Healthcare, its first industry-specific cloud offering which is now available in public preview and through a free trial for the next six months.

According to the company, Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will bring together capabilities for customers and partners to enrich patient engagement, connect caregiving teams, and improve collaboration, decision-making and operational efficiencies.

"Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare will support capabilities such as the new Bookings app in Teams, now generally available to customers across industries to help schedule, manage and conduct business-to-consumer virtual appointments," said Tom Mcguinness, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Health, Microsoft.

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare offers enhanced patient engagement, empower health team collaboration and improve operational and clinical data insights.

Healthcare organisations can use Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare to extend the value of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, and Azure IoT to deploy consumer-friendly patient experience, connected physician and referral management and enhance patient engagement portals.

"As we've seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians also need greater flexibility and convenience in how they are able to connect with patients. Today we are announcing general availability of the Bookings app in Teams, which enables healthcare providers to schedule, manage, and conduct provider-to-patient virtual visits within Teams," said Microsoft.
This year's graduates face mixed fortunes in the jobs market as business and industry count the cost of Covid-19 and deal with ongoing disruption to normal operations.

Some companies are pulling graduate recruitment, some will have smaller numbers and delayed starts, although, elsewhere, prospects are bright.

One high-profile casualty is Irish Distillers' Jameson International Graduates Programme, a three-year sales and marketing internship that recruits between 10 and 30 graduates annually.

It is the first time in the 29-year history of the programme that Jameson will not have a new intake of graduates, but a spokesperson said with the spread of Covid-19 globally, it would not be possible.

Global analytics software company First Derivatives, a major graduate employer, said its intake this summer will be "relatively small".

The Newry-based firm will "see how the market evolves" in deciding how many school and university leavers it takes on.

"Although the numbers will be relatively small, I am expecting as we go through the summer that we will be taking in graduates," First Derivatives CEO Seamus Keating said.

Meanwhile, KPMG, Ireland's largest private sector recruiter of graduates and one of the Big Four accountancy firms, confirmed it was going ahead with 400 graduate recruits, in line with previous years.

A spokesperson said the programme, which typically starts in the autumn, might start one month later.

In the communications sector, it's also business as usual at Vodafone, which confirmed it was taking on 40 graduates.

At the business organisation Ibec, which runs a graduate recruitment programme for a number of big-name companies, head of education and innovation policy Claire McGee said any impact would be broadly reflective of labour market trends.

She said: "In the sectors that have experienced the highest level of disruption, such as non-food retail, tourism, and specific programmes that focus on business development for international trade, there will be a significant impact as these businesses comply with Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing.

"In other industry sectors, graduate programmes, like all business activity, will be under review to determine how they can proceed in line with new working arrangements."

But Ms McGee said Irish businesses still relied on a strong, graduate talent pipeline and this would be more pressing as the economy begins to reboot.

College careers services also have their fingers on the pulse and Cathy Savage, senior manager at UCD's Smurfit School Careers Network, said the impact on the class of 2020 was "unclear". She said all employers had said the situation was fluid and they would respond as necessary.

Ms Savage said while larger professional services firms had placed a freeze on experienced hires so that they could understand the impact of Covid-19 on their business revenues, "it appears to be business as usual in terms of graduate recruitment with all firms planning to start graduates in September".

In technology companies, she said it depended on the sector, with those connected to travel or tourism having stopped recruiting, those connected to e-commerce or healthcare continuing to recruit, and some recruiting regardless.

Unsurprisingly in a pandemic, Ms Savage described the pharma sector as strong.

"Typically, our students secure roles between July and February, therefore, if we see an easing of restrictions around social distancing late summer, the students could be well placed between November and January.

"However, compared to last year our students will face significant challenges with their job search as competition for roles intensifies."

She couldn't predict what the recruitment market would look like between September 2020 and February 2021.

Trinity College Dublin's director of careers, Orla Bannon, said the situation was evolving but, at the moment, was a mixed picture.

She said areas that were relatively stable as of now in terms of graduate employment included finance, professional services, law and IT, while broader sectoral areas such as retail, tourism, hospitality and aviation had been badly impacted by the pandemic.

University of Limerick's head of careers, Gavin Connell, who is co-chair of the Association of Higher Education Careers Services (AHECS), said while some employers "hit the pause button", there were "sectors where things are booming".

He said retail and hospitality were experiencing difficulties, "but they always find a way of bouncing back".

IT and pharma were buoyant and other areas where there was a spike in interest for graduates included marketing, supply chain/logistics, property management and project management for construction, he said.

With social distancing and other health restrictions, many graduates who get the call will face virtual interviews and online inductions.

AHECS is among the partners in the NextStepSupport.org initiative from recruitment services provider Group GTI, an online resource to help students understand their employment prospects and assist in developing skills such as for virtual interviewing.

Do you know a doctor, nurse, caring neighbour, shop worker or someone else excelling on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19? Nominate them for our Frontline Star of the Week award HERE
"One More Political Prisoner Is Still Waiting To Be Released"-McAllister - GeorgianJournal
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced it would stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, saying demand had dropped in the wake of what it called misinformation about the products safety amid a barrage of legal challenges

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday announced it would stop selling its talc Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, saying demand had dropped in the wake of what it called misinformation about the products safety amid a barrage of legal challenges.

J&J faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers and their survivors claiming its talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos, a known carcinogen. Many are pending before a US district judge in New Jersey.

I wish my mother could be here to see this day, said Crystal Deckard, whose mother Darlene Coker alleged Baby Powder caused her mesothelioma. She dropped the suit filed in 1999 after losing her fight to compel J&J to divulge internal records. Coker died of mesothelioma in 2009.

In its statement, J&J said it remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnsons Baby Powder, citing decades of scientific studies.

J&J has faced intense scrutiny of the safety of its baby powder following an investigative report by Reuters here in 2018 that found the company knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its talc.

Internal company records, trial testimony and other evidence show that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company's raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos.

The Reuters article prompted a stock selloff that erased about $40 billion from J&Js market value in one day and created a public relations crisis as the blue-chip healthcare conglomerate faced widespread questions about the possible health effects of one of its most iconic products.

J&J has also been the target of a federal criminal investigation into how forthright it has been about its talc products safety, an investigation by 41 states into its baby powder sales, which it disclosed in April, and an investigation into health risks of asbestos in talc-containing consumer products by a Congressional subcommittee.

US Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, who led the Congressional inquiry, described J&Js decision to stop selling talc baby powder as a major victory for public health, adding: My Subcommittees 14-month investigation revealed that Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that its product contains asbestos. In response to evidence of asbestos contamination presented in media reports, in the court room and on Capitol Hill, J&J has repeatedly said its talc products are safe, and do not cause cancer.

Apart from the baby powder controversy, the company revered by millions of consumers and one of the most trusted brands in America, more recently has faced a series of legal and reputational challenges.

J&J has said it has been named as a defendant, along with other drugmakers, in more than 2,900 lawsuits alleging the companies improperly promoted addictive opioids.

In August, an Oklahoma judge rendered the first verdict in that litigation, ordering J&J to pay $572.1 million to the state for its part in fueling an opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing addictive painkillers.

J&J is appealing the Oklahoma judges ruling and has denied it caused the opioid crisis.

Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said it had stopped shipping talc baby powder when the COVID-19 crisis led to limits on shopping and manufacturing, and that now it would wind down North American sales. Demand for talc-based Johnsons Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising, it said in a statement.

Sold continuously since 1894, Johnsons Baby Powder now accounts for only about 0.5 percent of its US consumer health business, the company said. But it remains a symbol of the companys family-friendly image.

An internal J&J marketing presentation from 1999 refers to the baby products division, with Baby Powder at the core, as J&Js #1 Asset, grounded in deep, personal trust and a 2003 internal memo described it as a sacred cow, Reuters reported.

Christie Nordhielm, a professor of marketing at Georgetown, said it appears J&J made its decision to withdraw from the market while consumers are preoccupied with the pandemic. Its a nice time to quietly do it, she said, adding it will minimize the reputational hit.

Shares of J&J were unchanged in after-hours trading following the disclosure.

We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the Company in the courtroom, Johnson & Johnson said. All verdicts against the company that have been through the appeals process have been overturned.

Krystal Kim, one of 22 women with ovarian cancer whose case in St. Louis resulted in a 2018 jury verdict of $4.69 billion against J&J, said the decision was a step in the right direction. J&J has appealed that verdict.

Nevertheless, J&Js legal challenges likely will continue, some lawyers said. In April, a New Jersey judge ruled that thousands of plaintiffs who allege J&Js talc products caused cancer can go forward with their claims, but face limits on what expert testimony would be allowed in trials.

Just taking it off the shelf today doesnt end the litigation by a long shot, said Loyola Law Professor Adam Zimmerman.

Asbestos is known to cause cancer that emerges decades after exposure. Cases involving asbestos-containing products removed from the marketplace long ago continue to be litigated very actively to this day, Zimmerman said.

Many of the lawsuits allege Baby Powder caused plaintiffs mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs and other organs commonly caused by asbestos.

Just as J&J vows to continue fighting vigorously in the courts, we look forward to meeting them there as we continue to pursue justice for our clients, said Chris Placitella, one of the lead lawyers representing plaintiffs in the cases consolidated in a New Jersey federal court.

J&J said it will continue to sell cornstarch-based baby powder in North America, and will sell both its talc and cornstarch-based products in other markets around the world.
Flight operations will resume on May 25 with one-third the schedule, with most airports expected to be open for service, senior officials said.

Top executives of all airlines are expected to meet officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and industry regulator DGCA, on May 21 to chart out the details.

The government has decided on re-open the skies from May 25. Flights were suspended from March 25, when the first phase of the national lockdown was announced to limit the outbreak of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

"If an airline had 21 flights between Delhi and Mumbai, according to the summer schedule, it will now be able to operate seven," said a senior official from the industry.

The official added that once the schedule is finalised, airlines will begin to accept bookings. At the same time, he added that it is not yet clear if airports in red zone will open from May 25.

The fourth phase of the lockdown ends only by May 31. Moreover, Delhi and Mumbai - the two busiest airports in the country - fall in red zones.

The airlines though have welcomed the move to resume operations.

"While the SOP for resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport," said SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh, in a statement.

Even with one-third the schedule, it will be logistical challenge for airlines to resume operations within five days.

While bringing back the aircraft into operations will not be a big issue - thanks to the detailed maintenance protocol - there are other logistics issues.

"The issue is to travel from home to airport, especially with few cabs plying. Also, with much of the migrant workforce traveling, getting drivers could be a problem," said a senior executive.

Also, the pent up demand may initially fill up seats, but with COVID-19 cases still on the rise, it may take some time before passenger traffic normalises.
Western Sky Community Care has given $15,000 for Albuquerques rental assistance program and to help buy food for families in need during the COVID-19 outbreak in New Mexico.

The organization also kicked in 500 care packages for seniors.

I am so grateful to see our community stepping up in big ways to support those who need it most, Mayor Tim Keller said in a news release. A huge thanks to Western Sky for coming through to help us continue to provide lifelines to families who need it.

Tony Hernandez, president and CEO of Western Sky, said in a statement that by providing food, shelter and daily essentials during these trying times, the city is giving our residents comfort and hope.

The money will be distributed by the citys Family and Community Services with $10,000 for rental assistance and $5,000 to buy food boxes distributed through the departments Health and Social Service Centers.

The items donated for seniors include body lotion, alcohol pads for diabetics, facial tissues and laundry detergent.

For more information on Senior Affairs services, call the Senior Information Line at 505-764-6400 or visit cabq.gov/seniors.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
The four Australian meat processing plants banned from exporting to China had compliance issues dating back to 2017, although the same Chinese customs data showed two New Zealand processors were not punished for similar beaches of strict Chinese import regulations.

The conflicting outcomes reflect the complexity of the global food trade regulation as well as the pitfalls of diplomacy at a time when China finds itself facing repeated calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, including from Australia.

The Australian plants had repeated export compliance issues relating to more than 6,000kg of beef sent to Chinese ports last year, with problems starting since March 2019, mainland customs data showed. They had also been banned for four months in July 2017 for similar offences, namely mislabelling.

The most recent export records obtained by the South China Morning Post show the defective frozen and chilled beef products from the banned Australia plants  Kilcoy Pastoral, JBS Beef City, JBS Dinmore and Northern Cooperative Meat Company  were sent mainly to Shanghai, which is notoriously strict with import compliance, according to Chinese beef importers.

The errors  mislabelling, mismatched health and goods certificates, and the export of goods that had not yet met import protocols  occurred between March 2019 and February 2020.

Nearly 80 per cent of the violations were recorded at the port of Shanghai, while only a small portion of exports in the other commonly used ports, Tianjin, Dalian and Qingdao, did not comply with Chinese standards.

Last week, the Chinese government announced the suspension of exports from the four plants, a move that raised suspicions in Australia that China was using technical requirements to punish Canberra for its political position in leading the call for an international inquiry over the origins of the coronavirus.

On Monday night, the Chinese government also proceeded with its plans to impose a tariff on imports of Australian barley by confirming an 80.5 per cent anti-dumping duty. Chinas Ministry of Commerce said its 18-month investigation concluded that the dumping of cheap Australian barley had hurt the domestic market.

Story continues

JBS Dinmore was one of four meat processing plants banned from exporting to China. Photo: EPA-EFE

Earlier on Monday, Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said he had yet to arrange a phone call with his Chinese trade counterpart. Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan later said that communications between the two countries had been ongoing, without providing any details.

Several importers based in Hong Kong, the town of Humen in Dongguan province and Shanghai said the bans were not surprising as the four factories were known for their sloppiness even though they supplied some of the best beef in China.

The importers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the errors had not been quickly addressed and that it was widely accepted among Chinese importers that products from the four factories would likely arrive with issues.

But they also said food imports into China were subject to very tough regulations and it was common for some goods to fail to comply.

No single plant can comply fully on every single carton, its really impossible

Hong Kong-based importer

Many exporters have struggled to maintain a perfect record, particularly at the port of Shanghai, a main market for premium beef. Other ports have less onerous rules to compete with big ports like Shanghai, they said.

But it is hard for exporters to get around Shanghai, which has the lions share of Chinese demand for beef, as the choice of port was not up to the exporter but to the buyer or importer, said a Hong Kong-based importer who brings mid-to-high-end beef into Shanghai, Guangzhou and Zhengzhou.

And its not just the labelling, but the yields on the cuts werent 100 per cent either, he said. Theres nothing wrong with the cows they were using, but sometimes they would slice the meat in a way that would leave a cut in the middle making it hard to cook, or had less meat.

No single plant can comply fully on every single carton, its really impossible.

Another importer from Shanghai, who supplies five-star restaurants and hotels in the Chinese financial hub, said the Chinese government had sent letters to the plants and industry groups in Australia and had kept one eye closed to keep the trade going.

An importer from Humen said representatives from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), which is responsible for Australian red meat quality and marketing, could not come up with a solution, either.

The MLA is just a bridge and ultimately it is down to the individual factories  maybe selling beef into China had become too easy for [meat processors], he said.

The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC), the industry group that represents the four factories, previously stated that it took the concerns seriously and was working with the Australian government to rectify the problems, although it declined to comment further on the latest developments.

The MLA also declined to comment, deferring to the AMIC, while the four individual processing plants did not respond to requests for comment.

In contrast, two New Zealand meat processors with the highest volumes of beef exports and frequency of transactions to China in 2019 were also hit with the same labelling and certificate breaches for over 37,000kg of beef; however, they were not banned from importing into China.

China customs did not respond when contacted with an inquiry about bans on New Zealand meat processors.

Given its dependence on China as a customer  23 per cent of its overall exports including nearly 50 per cent of its beef exports  New Zealand has chosen to rely on soft diplomacy when dealing with China.

New Zealand never uses a fist, and in any case, our fist is too small

Stephen Jacobi

New Zealand businesses approach their trade with China with an attitude that the customer is always right, said New Zealand International Business Forum and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council (New Zealand) chief executive Stephen Jacobi.

New Zealand never uses a fist, and in any case, our fist is too small, Jacobi said.

We just dont deal with other countries in that way. We have to match our diplomacy to our size and our influence, and that gives rise to a different approach in these things.

I think that the careful diplomatic approach has served New Zealand extremely well over the years.

It was not that long ago we parted company with the United States about military alliances in [the Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty from 1951 and that] shows that we stand up for things we believe in, but we do so in a way that preserves our key interests and relationships.

In the past week there has been strong criticism of New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters attack on China for not supporting the call for Taiwan to join the World Health Organisation, saying that he had not been careful enough with his words, Jacobi said.

On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said while New Zealand supported the independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, it was not interested in joining a witch hunt targeted at China, reiterating New Zealands strong relationship with China.

New Zealands approach to dealing with China has always been pragmatic and respectful, and no different to its dealings with other countries, Jacobi said. The country also understands Chinese rules on food importation are understandably strict given the failure of private Chinese enterprises in producing reliable food products, Jacobi added, such as during the melamine milk formula scandal in 2008.

In food trade in particular, things dont always go right, but the key is to put them right as quickly as you can

Stephen Jacobi

We come from a political system which is based on trust where the way you achieve the outcome is less important, but in China and many other places, its more around the prescriptive way of getting to the outcome and that can often be a huge source of disagreement between regulatory bodies and businesses, Jacobi said.

In food trade in particular, things dont always go right, but the key is to put them right as quickly as you can.

The New Zealand Meat Industry Association agreed, saying the industry as a whole understood the need to comply with rules.

The industry is committed to complying with the provisions of the agreed China/New Zealand meat protocols so as to ensure Chinese consumers continue to have the opportunity to purchase and enjoy New Zealand beef and sheep meat, chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said.

Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Australian beef exporters banned by China are repeat offenders, but New Zealand firms escape sanctions, customs data shows first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
As healthcare organizations continue to navigate and push forward through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention is slowly starting to focus on what the new normal will look like in the months ahead as team members return to the workplace and hospitals resume elective procedures. To support the transition, Tipton Health Communications has added two additional webinars focused on preparing and adjusting for life in a COVID-19 world.

The webinars will be held on June 2 and June 9. For more information and to register, please visit tiptonhealth.com/webinars.

Employee Communications Essentials in the "New Normal" Hospital Environment

June 2, 12:30  1 p.m. EDT

Erin DiGirolamo, MPH, senior manager of Internal Communications and Digital Workforce Strategy at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and Phil Ellingsworth Jr., strategic communications manager at Tipton Health Communications, will discuss the best practices for nurse communications in a hospital environment forever changed by the pandemic.

How Nurse Autonomy Helped Hospitals Manage the Crisis (and Will Help Build the New Normal)

June 9, 12:30  1 p.m. EDT

Judi Hahn, director of Professional Practice and Nursing Education at Yale New Haven Hospital, will outline how nurse autonomy and nursing professional governance was key to helping hospitals manage the COVID-19 crisis. She also will touch on how autonomous nurses will help build the "new normal of healthcare after the pandemic is behind us.

Tipton Health Communications continues to add webinars that try to help make sense of a complex world following the pandemic.

For more information on these upcoming webinars and the experts leading them, please visit tiptonhealth.com/webinars. Here you can also view recordings of our past sessions.

About Tipton Health Communications

Tipton Health Communications is a leading provider of executive nurse consulting and mentoring; nursing excellence program development; and Magnet, Pathway to Excellence and Practice Transition Accreditation Program consulting support to the nations hospital and healthcare systems. In addition, Tipton Health supports clients nationwide with award-winning communications services, including employee communications, human resources communications, public relations, marketing communications, intranet and Internet design, graphic design, and strategic communications. For more information, please visit tiptonhealth.com.

Tipton Health Communications products and services are neither sponsored nor endorsed by the ANCC. ANCC Magnet Recognition, ANCC National Magnet Conference, Institute for Credentialing Innovation, Magnet, Magnet Recognition Program, The Magnet Prize and Pathway to Excellence Program are registered trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Journey to Magnet Excellence and Pathway to Excellence in Long Term Care are trademarks of the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that companies who take federal taxpayer dollars to survive coronavirus should be required to rehire the same number of staff they had before the crisis.

'It would be such a scandal if corporations now took taxpayer dollars and then laid off workers and reopened,' the Democratic governor said during his daily coronavirus press briefing yesterday.

'If you take government funds, you must rehire the same number of employees you had pre-pandemic.  Don't think taxpayers are going to pay you to lay off employees.'

'If you want to lay people off, if you want to get lean, if you want to restructure, fine,' he added.

Pictured: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives a press briefing yesterday. Cuomo has said that businesses ought to hire the same number of staff they lay off during the coronavirus crisis

'But don't use taxpayer money to subsidize it and don't think taxpayers are going to pay you to lay off employees and then wind up with an unemployment problem at the end of the day.'

As a state governor, Cuomo doesn't have an ultimate say on how federal dollars are spent.

His suggestion has also been lambasted by members of the business community as making little sense to the economic reality caused by the crisis.

Tilman Fertitta, the CEO of dining and hospitality business Landry, told CNBC that Cuomo knows 'nothing about running businesses.'

After noting that he's a 'fan' of the governor, he added: 'You can't hire everybody back. Our business is not coming back for years.'

Tilman Fertitta, chairman and CEO of Landry's Inc., speaks during a meeting with restaurant industry executives about the coronavirus response, in the State Dining Room of the White House, on Monday in Washington, as White House senior adviser Jared Kushner listens

Fertitta told the broadcaster that Landry's had already given up its claim to the Paycheck Protection Program in the hopes of freeing up money for smaller businesses.

He said that his payroll is usually $150million per month and the current restrictions on large businesses accessing federal funding is leading to his employees being unfairly treated.

'Because you work for Landry's and you work for Tilman Fertitta, you don't get to come back to work? That's really unfair,' Fertitta said.

'Because I'm not getting the money. The people at the corporate office aren't getting the money. It's strictly for Landry's employees of all of our different concepts, and my people deserved to be treated just as good as everybody else.'
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Sofia, Bulgaria  Wed, May 20, 2020 10:32 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd929f33 2 News Bulgaria,travel,tourism,coronavirus,COVID-19,travel-restriction Free

Bulgaria and its neighbors Greece and Serbia on Tuesday agreed to ease travel restrictions imposed to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

Travelers from Greece and Serbia on business trips or with family ties, and diplomats, humanitarian and transport workers will be allowed to enter Bulgaria from June 1 without undergoing a 14-day quarantine, said Bulgarian Premier Boyko Borisov.

From June 15, the same will apply to tourists, the Foreign Ministry added.

The agreement between the three countries is reciprocal and follows a video meeting between the state heads of the neighbors, as well as Romania.

In Romania, the parliament has yet to decide if it will introduce a similar reciprocal easing, Borisov said.

Bulgaria banned the entry of foreigners in March due to the coronavirus epidemic. Cargo traffic was still allowed to pass through the country.

To date, the Balkan country of seven million people has reported fewer than 2,300 cases and 112 deaths.

Under the new rules agreed Tuesday, travelers from Greece and Serbia will be required to fill in a declaration that they are coronavirus symptom-free.

Borisov said he was holding similar talks with Austria and Germany.

Nine EU states, including Germany, said Monday they were in favor of "progressive" cross-border movement, "provided current positive trends continue leading to comparable epidemiological situations in countries of origin and of destination".
Webinar

Many countries have started to put in place plans to restart their economies and ease travel restrictions. The hospitality industry is gradually opening its doors. However, what we will find is that new procedures and systems need to be implemented, while guests' expectations have changed, challenging properties to rethink their operations and marketing strategies.

Going back to normal is not an option, but the disruption caused by the pandemic might just offer the right opportunity for the industry to introduce the bold changes necessary to adapt to the challenges of climate emergency and become more resilient.

This panel, organized by Wayaj under the Sustainable Hospitality in Progress initiative, will bring together several professionals from the hospitality industry to discuss:

What hotels around the world have learned during the pandemic

How these insights can be leveraged to speed up the recovery and build more resilient organizations

Why sustainability must play a central role in the industry's recovery plans

How will sustainable practices affect RevPAR

Wayaj is a sustainable travel platform designed to provide tools and information to help travelers and travel operators make better choices in the fight against climate emergency. Founded in 2017, it currently lists more than 400 eco-friendly hotels worldwide.

Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8354002892846083339?source=Hospitality.net

Panelists:

Brian Dass, Chief Strategist & Technology Officer - Wayaj, Moderator

Brian Dass is an accomplished travel & hospitality industry executive with over twenty-five years experience developing innovative, scalable technologies for the hospitality, travel & tourism, wellness, insurance, healthcare and financial industries.

In his distinguished career, he has held multifaceted senior management roles in hotel operations and he pioneered and founded two highly successful hospitality technology startups, developing complex CRS & CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, reservation & booking engines and cutting edge mobile applications for clients around the world. His company's were acquired by TravelClick and Pegasus solutions respectively.

Jose Luis Alonso Martinez, Managing Director - Muralto Madrid Princesa

Passionate about hospitality, technology and exploring the world with his family, during his career Jose Luis Alonso Martinez has worked in hotel operations, sales, front desk, F&B at top international hotel companies such as Forte Hotels Group, Melia Hotels International, and Accor Group.

His professional growth has been propelled by a keen interest in technology applied to hotel operations combined with a focus on guest satisfaction. In recent years, sustainability has also become a prominent objective of his management.

Since 2007, he has been Managing Director at the Muralto Madrid Princesa Hotel & Apartments, in central Madrid, where he has been able to reduce the carbon footprint by 16% and he's planning an extensive renovation to achieve Gold LEED Certification in 2021.

Jordi Castello, Professor of Tourism Market Structures & Sustainability at Ostelea, Tourism Management School

Jordi Castello has over 30 years of experience in the tourism and hospitality industry. In the last 10 years, he has been focusing on sustainability applied to hotels and destination management. Since 2017, he has been advising on the implementation of the "Committed to Biosphere" labels in projects promoted by the Barcelona Province and by the City of Barcelona aimed at implementing innovative management solutions. He is also a Certified Partner of Earthcheck, one of the world's leading environmental certification and benchmarking programs.

Jordi Castello is currently teaching Sustainability, International Market Structures, Tourism Planning in the Master Program at Ostelea, Tourism Management School and at CETT - University of Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy.

Webinar: A Holistic Approach to Hotel Reopening After COVID-19. Because Going Back to Normal Is Not an Option is organized by
Small City in Alabama Files for Bankruptcy Amid Pandemic

A small city in Alabama, which for years has struggled to make ends meet and has seen several businesses close due to the pandemic, on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy.

Fairfield, which some 11,000 people call home, registered a Chapter 9 filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham on Tuesday, Bloomberg reports.

It struggled for years to mend its ailing finances, with Bloomberg reporting that Fairfield authorities said in the filing that the city had exhausted its options.

The city has faced a substantial decline in revenues in recent years due to economic forces beyond its control, a resolution from the city reads, The Hill reports.

Mayor of Fairfield Eddie Penny told The Birmingham News that our expenses greatly exceeded our revenues, so were just seeking a fresh start, referring to the purpose of a Chapter 9 filing, which is to provide a financially distressed municipality protection from creditors while it develops a plan for restructuring its debts.

Fairfield has between 200 and 999 creditors with $1 million to $10 million in liabilities, according to The Birmingham News.

Typically, municipal debts are adjusted either by extending debt maturities, reducing the amount of principal or interest, or refinancing the debt by getting a new loan. In the 60-plus years since Congress established a federal mechanism for the resolution of municipal debt, there have been fewer than 500 municipal bankruptcy petitions filed.

While it is unclear what role virus-driven business closures had on the citys finances, Fairfields mayor told The Birmingham News that several businesses in the city had shut down due to the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease caused by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, the novel coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan and spread rapidly across the globe.

The outbreak has battered economies worldwide. In the United States, a staggering 20.5 million people lost their jobs in April. After states began implementing stay-at-home orders in March, more than 36 million people have filed jobless claims, Labor Department figures show.

This precipitous drop in economic activity has caused a level of pain that is hard to capture in words, as lives are upended amid great uncertainty about the future, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in prepared remarks ahead of a Senate hearing Tuesday about the governments multi-trillion-dollar economic relief programs to help American businesses and families impacted by the pandemic.

Around 20 percent of Fairfield residents live below the poverty line, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the city is located in Jefferson County, which itself went bankrupt in 2011.

A 2010 census cited on Fairfields official city website says that the per capita income for the city of Fairfield was $18,221, while about 22.2 percent of families and 24.2 percent of the population live below the poverty line. About 40.5 percent of that population is under age 18 and 21.7 percent is age 65 or over.
Job

Title: Programme Assistant (Programme

Support Social Protection)

Organization: United

Nations World Food Programme (WFP)

Duty Station:

Uganda

Grade: SC5



About US:

The UN World Food

Programme (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency against world hunger. It

is the largest and longest serving humanitarian agency in Uganda. Currently WFP

focuses on three priority areas: Saving lives in Emergencies; Building

Resilience through Predictable Safety Nets; Improving Nutrition &

Mother-and Child Health; and Supporting Small Holder Farmers to Access Markets.

WFP has operations in various parts of the Country.

Job Summary:The Programme Assistant (Programme Support Social Protection) will be part of

WFP Ugandas Country Strategy Plan and direction is to engage with local

district governments (DLGs) and other partners to enhance programmes that

translate resilience objectives into the design of programmes, and to back them

up with the necessary investments in institutional capacity to ensure effective

delivery. This position will contribute to this strategic direction in

supporting DLGs expand comprehensive social protection programmes, build

resilience and programmes capacity to deliver outputs well. The function will address vulnerability as

multidimensional and the hungry poor are exposed to a range of risks that go

beyond climate shocks. Programmes that aim to build resilience need to apply a

comprehensive approach to reducing risks, which include slow-onset changes

related to the climate as well as social, economic and health risks.

This function is

important to WFPs contribution to the District Local Governments in Northern

Uganda specifically the SIDA Programme. With core activities involving

strategic engagement with DLGs, this role will be critical in ensuring that the

social Protection & Resilience Unit has the needed inhouse administrative

support for effective roll out the SIDA programme in West Nile Region

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



Support

social protection and resilience staff with a wide range of administrative

actions also related to human resources, work programming/ planning,

budget/financial management and procurement and partnership tasks of the

Programme Unit.



Coordinate

and assist in the preparation of budget performance. Monitor, track spending

and provide analysis between approved budgets and actual expenditures and

commitments to ensure that planned financial resources are used effectively;

and prepare or customize financial reports based on WFP corporate system

generated reports.



Manage

the Social Protection Unit with respect to communications, meetings and

workflow; identify complex or sensitive subjects, and contact, for special

treatment as well as priority issues that need to be brought to the

supervisors attention.



Respond

to complex queries from a variety of sources by producing targeted information

or by re-directing to the most appropriate source.



Prepare

and/or consolidate unit reports, documentation including the production of

forms, tables and charts; prepare complex correspondence, briefing notes and

other documentation as requested.



Prepare

and maintain partnership agreements as well as process PODA and payments.



Supervise

and guide the social protection unit in the different administrative services

including finance, programme, procurement, travel, human resources activities

and/or other related areas.



Brief/debrief

and inform staff on rules and regulations, policies and practices and

documentation required to their specific area of responsibility.



Provide

information and guidance to staff at all levels within the social protection

unit to ensure understanding of intent and deadlines.



Coordinate

with other service units and liaise frequently with specialized staff at the

duty station of assignment and outside the duty station. I.O.WUG01.SA.007



WBS

UG01.05.051.CSI1/SA, grant 70000777



Assess

and recommend improvements to procedures and practices, to contribute to the

effective delivery of business support services.



Process

and approve delegated administrative actions in accordance with WFP rules and

regulations.



Perform

other related duties as required.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



The

ideal applicant for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Programme

Assistant (Programme Support Social Protection) job placement should possess a University

Degree in one of the following disciplines: Business Administration, Finance,

or other related fields



Four or

more years progressively responsible experience in budget management,

administrative work, procurement, human resources, or any related fields.



Solid

analytical, writing skills, and communication skills. Effective verbal and

written communications skills in English.



Ability

prepare and monitor a budget as well as analyse and interpret financial data

Ability to proactively identify and recommend areas for improvement to the

design and delivery of specialised services.



Ability

to work independently with initiative and strong problem-solving skills.



Ability

to build relationships with a variety of individuals across functions and

capable of working with team of people from different cultures and backgrounds.

A team-orientation is essential.



Strong

prioritization, time management skills and able to work under pressure.



Experience

in coordinating the work of others and self, training and supporting others.



Experience

in conducting analyses and developing financial and budget reports.



Ability

to maintain confidentiality.



Knowledge

of WFP administrative policies and procedures considered an asset.



Experience

using MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint and other WFP software an asset.



Team

spirit and excellent interpersonal relations.



Previous

experience working in Northern Uganda is highly desirable.

Competencies:



Programme

Lifecycle & Food Assistance: Can facilitate implementation of food assistance programmes under

guidance using basic understanding of principles and good practices of

programme design, implementation and monitoring.



Transfer

Modalities (Food, Cash, Vouchers): Demonstrates ability to facilitate, under guidance, food assistance

programme implementation that deploys full range of transfer modalities with an

understanding of basic principles guiding modality selection and

implementation.



Knowledge

of Specialized Areas: Understands

basic technical concepts and data and their relevance to food assistance

programmes.



Emergency

Programming: Displays capacity

to provide inputs into the development, implementation and realignment of high

quality emergency programmes.



Strategic

Policy Engagement w/Govt: Understands

and applies basic principles of engagement with government counterparts at the

national or local level.

NB: Female

applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially

encouraged to apply

How to Apply:

All candidates who

desire to join the United Nations World Food Programme are encouraged to submit

their applications online at the link below.

Click

Here

For more of the

latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or

find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline
China's upgraded tracking vessel Yuanwang 6 is sailing to the Pacific Ocean from a port in East China's Jiangsu province for multiple maritime missions of spacecraft monitoring, May 20, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

NANJING -- China's upgraded tracking vessel Yuanwang 6 is sailing to the Pacific Ocean from a port in East China's Jiangsu province Wednesday for multiple maritime missions of spacecraft monitoring.

The vessel's last voyage to the Pacific was 22 months ago.

Yuanwang-6, commissioned in April 2008, represents the third generation of the country's Yuanwang space-tracking ships. After completing a monitoring mission of the Chang'e 4 relay satellite in July 2018, the vessel has undergone maintenance and maritime calibration tests.

Yang Bianjiao, captain of Yuanwang 6, said the upcoming mission will test the vessel's new equipment and improvement in measuring and controlling operation, laying foundations for future missions including the Mars exploration and Chang'e 5 lunar probe launch.

Crew members have examined facilities and conducted a series of training programs and tests before the voyage to improve their emergency response capabilities.
Additonal reporting by Eamon Quinn and Cianan Brennan

Ireland will continue in the acute emergency phase of the Covid-19 crisis for "most probably years", with "further waves an ever-present danger," according to the Secretary General of the Department of Health.

Jim Breslin, who is due to appear alongside the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Tony Holohan, and HSE Chief Executive Officer, Paul Reid before the new Oireachtas Special Covid Committee today, will tell TDs in his opening remarks, that: "This is not a 1, 2 or even a 3-day storm, after which we move to the recovery phase.

"The acute phase of this crisis will definitely be measured in months and most probably in years, rather than days."

He will also tell the committee that Ireland's health service has been "tested to the limits but not overwhelmed" however "there is much more work to do, in particular in improving test turnaround times" and "the deaths we have experienced in our long-term care facilities are the most difficult aspect of our experience with Covid-19".

Meanwhile, the Munster economy will take "a lot longer" to recover from the national Covid-19 jobs slump even as the return to work got underway yesterday for many builders and some retail staff, a leading economist has warned.

Jim Power said that, paradoxically, the return to work would lay bare the regional divides that have long scarred the economy because so much economic activity and high-paying jobs were concentrated in the Dublin and east coast region compared with other locations.

We will see in Munster that the improvement will take a lot longer than in Dublin or the east coast for example because there is much more of an economic dependency on tourism and hospitality, he said.

Look at County Clare, look at County Kerry, and County Cork where tourism is an incredibly important part of the economy and tourism is going to take a long time to get back.

His comments come as new Government figures show that the number of people availing of some sort of emergency or unemployment payment reached a new peak since the onset of the crisis in March.

The number of people on the 350-a-week payment fell by 5,000 in the week to 585,000, while the number on the wage-support scheme rose by 7,800 to 464,000, according to figures from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

Including people on Aprils official unemployment count, the figures mean that 1.26 million, or a new record of 66% of the entire private sector workforce, are receiving some sort of Covid-19 or unemployment payment.

A further four people have died from Covid-19, bringing the overall death toll to 1,547 in Ireland, the lowest death toll seen since March 27.

Just two of the deaths were recent, with the other two dating from April.

Meanwhile, 88 further cases were reported, bringing the total number of confirmed to 24,036.
The wreck of the Titanic beneath the north Atlantic

A United States judge has ruled that a salvage firm can retrieve the Marconi wireless telegraph machine that broadcast distress calls from the sinking Titanic.

US District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith agreed that the telegraph is historically and culturally important and could soon be lost within the rapidly decaying wreck site.

She wrote that recovering the telegraph "will contribute to the legacy left by the indelible loss of the Titanic, those who survived and those who gave their lives in the sinking".

Distress

Judge Smith is the maritime jurist who presides over Titanic salvage matters from a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.

Her ruling modifies a previous judge's order from 20 years ago that forbids cutting into the shipwreck or detaching any part of it.

Judge Smith's order is a big victory for RMS Titanic Inc, the court-recognised salvor, or steward, of the sunken liner's artefacts.

The Belfast-built Titanic was crossing the Atlantic to New York when it hit an iceberg and sank in April 1912, killing all but about 700 of the 2,208 passengers and crew.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which represents the public's interest in the wreck site, fiercely opposes the recovery of the telegraph.

NOAA argued in court documents that it is most likely surrounded "by the mortal remains of more than 1,500 people" and should be left undisturbed.

The company said it plans to exhibit the telegraph with stories of the men who tapped out distress calls to nearby ships "until seawater was lapping at their feet".

"The brief transmissions sent among those wireless operators, bursts of information and emotion, tell the story of Titanic's desperate fate that night, the confusion, chaos, panic, futility and fear," the company said.
It was a campaign video that reached seemingly every Democratic corner of the internet: former U.S. president Barack Obamas 12-minute endorsement of his former vice-president and indictment of the current president. On Obamas Facebook page, one of the most popular destinations in politics with 55.3 million followers, his endorsement of Joe Biden was viewed more than four million times.

But another Facebook page, run by twin brothers who immigrated from Mexico, reached substantially more eyes. Their reposting of Obamas endorsement, with a simple BREAKING text over the video, clocked more than 23 million views.

Meet Rafael and Omar Rivero, the co-founders of Occupy Democrats, the social-media mavens of the left who are quickly emerging as a counterweight to the dominance of right-wing online sites.

In a presidential race playing out on iPhones and screens more than any in history, in part because of the coronavirus pandemic, these digital entrepreneurs can drive the political conversation online and influence how candidates are seen as much as a campaigns well-funded digital advisers can.

The twins, 33, started the Occupy Democrats Facebook page eight years ago and, combined with an accompanying website, they have reached a digital dominance rarely seen among liberals  one that keeps pace with viral news sites and regularly outperforms U.S. President Donald Trumps own page, as well as the Daily Caller, Fox News and other right-wing websites or personalities. What was once a hobby between gigs has grown into a full-fledged, full-time operation with five additional staffers.

Over the past month, nearly half of the 40 top-performing videos on Facebook that mention Trump were from Occupy Democrats. They have had a top-10 performing post on Facebook regularly for months. A video they recently posted called The Liar Tweets Tonight, sung by a choir of individually recorded voters to the tune of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, was viewed 41 million times, among the most-watched videos on Facebook over the past month.

Democratic voters are tired of the Democratic Party kind of taking barrages from Republicans on the right on social media and Trump himself, taking that lying down and not fighting back, Omar Rivero said. So we fight back with the truth. But we make sure that we punch them in the mouth with the truth.

Though they claim not to have taken tactics from the right, there are some clear commonalities between the Occupy Democrats posts and some of the right-wing sites that have mastered the art of writing shareable copy that acts like gasoline on a social media outrage fire  amplified by anger-inducing adjectives contextualizing the news, or an all-caps BREAKING to introduce a post.

They also are relentless in their posting on Facebook. On Sunday, a relatively slow news day by the Trump-era pandemic standards, the Facebook page published 80 items, a mix of original, text-heavy memes; cross-posts from Bidens social-media pages; commentary with links to mainstream news stories and videos; and links to original posts on the Occupy Democrats website.

It has helped them earn 25 million more interactions than Trumps page, and 63 million more interactions than Bidens over the past 30 days on Facebook, according to CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool.

Occupy Democrats is a rare bright spot for a party and political wing that once was proudly the party of tech, but has since ceded nearly every digital stronghold to the right. As Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is moving headlong into a general election with a digital operation that is dwarfed by the Trump campaign, the Occupy team has started to step in.

I think one of the big mistakes of 2016 was not immediately embracing Hillary as a change agent and as someone to get excited about, Rafael Rivero said.

Rafael also wanted to prove that, yes, Biden could indeed go viral.

On the same day Sen. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign, Rafael started the Ridin with Biden 2020 page, employing meme tactics, social-media copy and video promotion similar to those that power the central Occupy Democrats page.

An Avengers-esque meme of Biden, Jill Biden, Obama and Michelle Obama striding across the White House lawn overlaid with the text When America Was Great reached 2.2 million viewers.

Soon, the Ridin With Biden page was outperforming the campaigns own account, with their own content.

A digital video ad released by the Biden campaign received more than one million views on Facebook, a successful showing for most campaigns. But on Ridin With Biden, it got 8.6 million views, with little added window dressing than text on the video that read: Holy cow  this Biden ad is GOOD.

When the Occupy page shared the live video of Hillary Clinton endorsing Biden, the live viewership jumped from 15,000 to 25,000 in a matter of minutes.

Democratic campaign operatives note that these types of booming online communities benefit from being a bit rougher around the edges.

Theyre able to say things that are not quite as polished as what the parties are going to produce or what the Biden campaign is going to produce, or any campaign, said Kenneth Pennington, a Democratic digital strategist who was Sanders digital director in 2016. But its kind of the unvarnished, unpolished stuff that actually does really well online because people are seeking that kind of authentic sass.

Pennington added that these types of pages can help boost a campaign as well, crediting a different Facebook page  The People for Bernie Sanders  as one of the reasons Sanders catapulted from a no-shot candidate into an online sensation that raised $230 million (U.S.) in 2016.

While the social-media dominance of Occupy Democrats may surprise some, social-media experts note that there has always been a liveliness among liberal groups online, but they just get less attention.

Whitney Phillips, a media studies and communications professor at Syracuse University, said the reported distress on the left about losing the edge on social media wasnt the full picture. The framing is maybe not fully representing all of the activity and all the vibrancy thats happening on the left because all the stories get written about what Ben Shapiro is up to, she said, referring to the popular conservative writer.

Occupy Democrats does try to give readers their vegetables, too. A post about Sen. Mitch McConnells comments on the newest Democratic proposal for a coronavirus relief package, for example, included highlights from the Democratic proposal.

People clicked to be mad about McConnell, but while they read about that, they learn about what the Democrats are doing, said Colin Taylor, the editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. In this kind of outrage-heavy online sphere, its kind of hard to get peoples attention with the more wonky stuff.

The groups origins date to the movement that informs its name  and a dissatisfaction with it. The Rivero twins found themselves in Zuccotti Park back in 2012, when the Occupy movement had camped out in lower Manhattan and quickly garnered a national news profile. Both brothers were drawn to the ideals of the movement  economic equality, social justice and addressing climate change  but they saw the Occupy movements leaderless ethos as a critical failure, and one that would never allow it to grow.

I looked around and thought, wow, theres not a single Occupy congressman, Omar Rivero said. In the end, were not pulling the levers of power. So I thought, well, you know, maybe we should try to make Occupy a force that not only helps Democrats, but also keeps them honest. Similar to what the Tea Party is doing to Republicans.

Omar started the Facebook page after leaving a job at an investment bank  working for the man at a bank  heavy in debt to both the federal government and his mother after earning an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and a masters degree from ESCP Europe. In between side gigs cleaning short-term rental apartments, and sometimes while cleaning, he continued to build an audience. But he needed help with the visuals.

Omar turned to his twin brother, who was running his own real-estate rental business in Miami at the time, to put his graphic design background to use and join the effort.

My mom staged an intervention, literally, with my aunt and uncle, Rafael said. They thought, you guys got the scholarships to Swarthmore and Cornell, and you guys are throwing all that away to focus on something called a Facebook page.

But with Rafael making memes, the page began to grow. Quickly. The two moved to California and lived in a friends pool house. When the demand for content grew beyond the twins capabilities, they posted hiring ads on Craigslist. Taylor, a former line cook who blogged on the side, was their first hire, and the pool house soon doubled as the Occupy newsroom, now with multiple writers churning out dozens of posts a day, building both the Facebook page and the website into traffic machines.

They survived the reorientation of the Facebook algorithm after the 2016 election  which pushed down independent, less verified sites in favour of more mainstream news content  by repeatedly boosting and sharing mainstream news articles, introduced with their own spin. Though they had to lay off a few writers in the wake of those Facebook changes, they have kept churning out content.

And, of course, countless memes.

The memes and videos are what generate the most engagement, and Occupy Democrats white-and-yellow text on a black background both grabs the eye with its harsh colour contrast and conveys a sense of urgency. Distilling the news into a single shareable photo that remains on Facebook has quickly caught on, particularly among older users.

But with this new-found power, the Rivero brothers want to expand and build a broader network with other Democrats.

Were not only the largest political network on Facebook, but were the largest partisan political network on Facebook, Omar said. And I think that the Democrats should take advantage of that.

Read more about:
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.

Approving Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed cuts to education funding could jeopardize the Los Angeles Unified School District's ability to reopen campuses this fall, a top district official warned on Tuesday.

LAUSD officials unveiled projections showing the district stands to lose more than $500 million -- about 7% of its overall revenue -- if California lawmakers enact steep funding cuts to cope with cratering state revenues in the coming weeks.

But reopening campuses would likely increase school districts' costs, especially if parents or health officials demand face masks, protective gear, more frequent sanitation or perhaps even more staff in order to maintain social distancing on campuses.

"The notion that schools can continue to operate safely in the fall with a decreased state budget is not realistic," deputy superintendent Megan Reilly said in prepared remarks before the L.A. Unified School Board on Tuesday.

She added: "We cannot, in good conscience, risk the health and safety of our students and staff by returning to the classroom prematurely and without the funding for the necessary precautions."

Page 10 of LAUSD Board Budget Update - May 19 2020



Contributed to DocumentCloud by KPCC Documents of Southern California Public Radio  View document or read text



'ANY RETURN TO SCHOOL WILL COST MORE'

Reilly isn't the first California school official to point out this disconnect, but her comments perhaps mark the first time an LAUSD official has stated so plainly that funding cuts would put a return to classrooms at risk.

"We all recognize there is no substitute for learning in a school setting," LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner said Tuesday.

That said, Beutner added, "Any return to school will cost more ... Everyone who is there -- students, staff, families -- will need to be provided with the appropriate protective equipment. School facilities will have to be sanitized top to bottom. Student needs will be greater."

icon

DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS

Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines.

Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Reilly and Beutner's comments prefaced a bleak presentation on the uncertain financial challenges facing LAUSD.

But LAUSD Chief Financial Officer David Hart also noted that the estimated $500 million revenue hit is not inevitable:

For instance, the governor's budget does promise roughly $4.4 billion in additional federal aid for schools to help backfill the cuts. Hart did not include this money in his forecast because he was unable to get a reliable figure for how great a portion LAUSD would receive if the legislature approves the governor's proposal.

Newsom himself has also said that if the federal government comes through with a new relief package for state and local governments, the cuts he proposed to California's main K-12 funding formula would roll back.

Page 13 of LAUSD Board Budget Update - May 19 2020



Contributed to DocumentCloud by KPCC Documents of Southern California Public Radio  View document or read text



UNCERTAIN TIMES AHEAD

Still, Hart's presentation showed a period of financial uncertainty lies ahead.

Every June, California school districts are required to approve budget plans not only for the upcoming year, but for the two years after that as well.

Hart said that the district already forecasted budget deficits that would approach $1 billion by June 2023. State funding cuts would likely make this problem worse. Through a combination of belt-tightening, more exact budget-writing and federal relief, Hart painted a scenario in which LAUSD could winnow this shortfall down to $450 million without layoffs.

LAUSD's budget forecasts have proved to be overly pessimistic for years. The school district has amassed healthy reserves -- estimated at $811 million before the pandemic -- all while officials have warned funds would run out.

That said, part of the reason LAUSD has avoided shortfalls is because the state has come through with one-time funding. With an estimated $54.3 billion deficit through 2021, California may not be in a position to come through with additional funding.

Some board members took Hart's forecast with a grain of salt.

"I'm not going to worry about Year 3 at all," said school board member Jackie Goldberg, referring to the dire 2022-23 budget forecast. "Here's why: we have no idea what Year 3 will be like."

That said, "I think we have to worry about Year 2."
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has announced a commitment by the airline CEOs on its Board of Governors to five principles for re-connecting the world by air transport. These principles are:

1. Aviation will always put safety and security first: Airlines commit to work with our partners in governments, institutions and across the industry to:

 Implement a science-based biosecurity regime that will keep our passengers and crew safe while enabling efficient operations.

 Ensure that aviation is not a meaningful source for the spread of communicable diseases, including Covid-19.

2. Aviation will respond flexibly as the crisis and science evolve: Airlines commit to work with our partners in governments, institutions and across the industry to:

 Utilise new science and technology as it becomes available, for example, reliable, scalable and efficient solutions for Covid-19 testing or immunity passports.

 Develop a predictable and effective approach to managing any future border closures or mobility restrictions.

 Ensure that measures are scientifically supported, economically sustainable, operationally viable, continuously reviewed, and removed/replaced when no longer necessary.

3. Aviation will be a key driver of the economic recovery: Airlines commit to work with our partners in governments, institutions and across the industry to:

 Re-establish capacity that can meet the demands of the economic recovery as quickly as possible.

 Ensure that affordable air transport will be available in the post-pandemic period.

4. Aviation will meet its environment targets: Airlines commit to work with our partners in governments, institutions and across the industry to:

 Achieve our long-term goal of cutting net carbon emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2050.

 Successfully implement the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

5. Aviation will operate to global standards which are harmonised and mutually recognised by governments: Airlines commit to work with our partners in governments, institutions and across the industry to:

 Establish the global standards necessary for an effective re-start of aviation, particularly drawing on strong partnerships with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

 Ensure that agreed measures are effectively implemented and mutually recognised by governments.

Re-starting air transport is important. Even as the pandemic continues, the foundations for an industry re-start are being laid through close collaboration of the air transport industry with ICAO, the WHO, individual governments and other parties. Much work, however, remains to be done. By committing to these principles, the leaders of the worlds airlines will guide the safe, responsible and sustainable re-start of our vital economic sector. Flying is our business. And it is everyones shared freedom, said Alexandre de Juniac, Iatas Director General and CEO. - TradeArabia News Service
Images taken by US Cold War satellites have revealed the impact of farming on wildlife in the former Soviet state of Kazakhstan.

Pictures from the American Corona programme show that 50 years of agricultural expansion in the region has negatively impacted ground squirrels.

High-resolution photos from the spy satellites happened across the burrows of bobak marmots, a key species in the ecosystem of the former Soviet republic.

Comparison with modern satellite photos reveals a 14 per cent decline in marmot burrows between 1968 and 2017.

Scroll down for video

 Slide me  Images taken by US Cold War satellites (left) have been compared with modern looks at the same land (right). Researchers found a decline in the number of bobak marmot burrows in a 23,000 square mile region of north Kazakhstan. Yellow circles are individual burrows

Pictures of what is now modern-day Kazakhstan by the American Corona programme show that over 50 years agricultural growth in the region has negatively impacted ground squirrels. Catalina Munteanu, lead researcher of the study, found the number of marmot burrows has dropped by 14 per cent between 1968 and 2017

Over the last half a century, farmers have expanded their range and infringed upon the natural habitat of the keystone species.

To map the long-term impact of this human expansion, researchers from the Humboldt University Berlin turned to declassified spy images as an unexpected source of data.

They were taken in 1968 and 1969 by the US as part of reconnaissance missions and declassified in 1996, after the fall of the Iron Curtain and five years after Kazakhstan gained independence.

American intelligence forces were scouring nuclear weapons but the German scientists were not interested in war, they were looking for marmot burrows.

A 23,000 square mile (60,000 square km) corner of northern Kazakhstan was focused on and the images from the 60s compared with modern images taken between 1999 and 2017.

As well as revealing the loss of biodiversity, the study also found that marmots are homebodies and live in the same burrows for several generations (stock)

Declassified U2 spy plane photos expose hidden archaeological spots around the world Declassified cold war photographs taken by American U2 spy planes that flew over the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960 have revealed previously hidden archaeological sites. The black and white photographs, released by the CIA last year, show a range of areas of ancient importance, ranging from sites along the Nile in Egypt to the city of Allepo in Syria and the Assyrian city of Nimrud in modern day Iraq. The images have revealed details including prehistoric mass-kill hunting traps in eastern Jordan, irrigation systems of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in northern Iraq, and marsh communities in southern Iraq. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University used the images, taken from 70,000 feet (13.2 miles / 21km) above the Earth. The photographs were taken during a mission code-named CHESS and were declassified in 1997, but weren't digitally scanned or indexed. Advertisement

Catalina Munteanu, lead researcher of the study, found the number of marmot burrows has dropped by 14 per cent between 1968 and 2017 in this study area area, roughly half the size of England.

This was driven mostly by the conversion of wild regions into arable land. The study found that, over 50 years, grassland was reduced by around six per cent.

In contrast, cropland increased over the study period, but more than a third of the land was still fallow or abandoned.

The researchers say the land was rapidly converted to farmland following crippling food shortages in the wake of World War Two.

In the regions of the 23,000 square mile study area that were converted to farmland, burrows declined by around 60 per cent.

As well as revealing the loss of biodiversity, the study also found that marmots are homebodies and live in the same burrows for several generations.

'I was really surprised to find that the marmots were using the exact same burrows for half a century long,' Dr Munteanu told New Scientist.

Marmots only have a lifespan of around six years, which means around eight generations of the animals lived in the same burrows.

The full findings are available in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
MIDLAND, MI  Flood waters have begun flowing over the top of the impoundment at Midland Countys Sanford Dam, though the dam itself remained in place late Tuesday. If the dam fails, it could result in flooding in the nearby city of Midland.

Midland County Emergency Management confirmed late Tuesday, May 19, that water was flowing over the earthen embankment of the dam after another dam failed upstream and sent a torrent of water into Sanford Lake. Thats a few miles northwest of Midland.

Officials warned Tuesday that Sanford Dam could soon fail.

The flooding was caused by two days of heavy rainfall in mid-Michigan.

Edenville and Sanford residents were asked to evacuate by Midland County Central Dispatch around 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Residents in certain areas near the Tittabawassee River in Midland were also told to evacuate due to flooding danger.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to issue an emergency declaration for the Edenville Dam collapse.

Midland County Emergency Management will post flood updates as they are made available.

Read More

Gov. Whitmer plans to issue emergency declaration for Edenville Dam collapse

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Midland County residents urged to leave homes due to imminent dam failure

Roads closed across Mid-Michigan counties due to flooding
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstan and the Netherlands discussed investment project implementation of the Farm Frites company (the Netherlands), Trend reports with reference to the press office of Kazakhstans Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The discussion took place within the framework of purposeful work on attracting foreign investment to the Kazakhstan market carried out by the ministry in cooperation with government bodies.

Investment project is aimed at construction of the integrated plant for manufacturing of fries, which will cover construction of the plant itself, a raw materials farm, development of a seed base for further import substitution of elite potato seeds.

The projects processing capacity is to be 140,000 tons of potatoes, whereas manufacturing capacity will be 70,000 tons of product a year. The project is being implemented in Kazakhstans Zhambyl region with creation of 400 jobs. The projects launch is planned for 2021.

The topic of construction was first discussed during the meeting between Kazakhstans Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov with investors from the Netherlands in Dec. 2019.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called for stability in relations with China in her inaugural address Wednesday but said she would not accept Beijing's political terms that would downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo.

Reelected by a landslide late last year, Tsai said relations with Beijing had reached a historical turning point and that peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue should form the basis for contacts between the sides as a means to prevent intensifying antagonisms and differences.

Tsai said Taiwan would also work to increase its participation in international society, even as Beijing seeks to shut it out and poach allies away from the self-governing island democracy it claims as its own territory.

We will not accept the Beijing authorities' use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo," Tsai told an audience at the baroque Taipei Guest House in the center of the capital.

Those in attendance were separated according to social distancing guidelines and some wore masks to guard against the spread of the coronavirus.

Tsai represents the ruling Democratic Progressive Party which advocates Taiwan's formal independence, something Beijing says it will use force to prevent.

Her election to a second, four-year term came after the repression of pro-democracy protests in the nearby Chinese semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong solidified public opinion in Taiwan against moves toward accepting rule by Beijing.

The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and Beijing has cut off ties with Tsai's government over her refusal to accept its demand that she recognize the island as a part of China to be unified with eventually under the one country, two systems" policy enacted in Hong Kong.

Beijing's diplomats have prevented Taiwan from joining international gatherings such as the World Health Organisation and reduced its number of diplomatic allies to a handful, while its military has boosted patrols and exercises aimed at intimidating the island's population.

In her speech, Tsai emphasized the need to boost national security, including against non-traditional threats such as cyber and cognitive" warfare, defined partly by the use of disinformation on social media.

Tsai, 63, is a former law professor and unique in being the only modern woman leader in Asia to rise to the top without being part of a political dynasty.

Attending Wednesday's speech were diplomats from Taiwan's remaining 15 formal diplomatic allies and representatives of the US and other major nations that maintain strong but informal ties with Taiwan.

The US is the island's main source of military support against China's military threats and a key advocate for its participation in international gatherings.

Prior to her address, congratulatory remarks from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were read out praising Tsai's courage and vision in leading Taiwan's vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world.

The United States has long considered Taiwan a force for good in the world and a reliable partner, Pompeo said in the statement.

We have a shared vision for the region one that includes rule of law, transparency, prosperity, and security for all.

The US support comes amid rising frictions between Washington and Beijing over trade, technology and allegations of Beijing's mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic that began last year.

At the same time, Washington has increased military sales to the island of 23.6 million and Congress has passed legislation promoting closer political and economic ties.

Despite Beijing's attempts to isolate it diplomatically and vastly reduce numbers of Chinese tourists visiting the island, Tsai has overseen steady growth in Taiwan's high-tech economy and enacted social reforms, including making the island the only democracy in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.

Reforms, including reductions in civil service pensions had sparked a backlash and Tsai had appeared vulnerable to a challenge from the pro-China Nationalist Party candidate.

However, her support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong in the face of an often-violent police response helped lift her poll figures. Many see China's autocratic Communist Party as eroding Hong Kong's civil liberties and Taiwanese voters have strongly rejected any moves toward political accommodation with Beijing.

Poll results released by the US-based Pew Research Center last week found that 66 per cent of island residents view themselves as Taiwanese, 28 per cent as both Taiwanese and Chinese and 4 per cent as just Chinese.

The telephone poll of 1,562 people, conducted last fall, has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

Among respondents under 30, fully 83 per cent said they don't consider themselves Chinese.

Another 2.3 per cent of Taiwan's people are members of indigenous groups who are not ethnically Chinese.

A former Japanese colony, Taiwan was handed to China in 1945 but split again from the mainland when Mao Zedong's Communists swept to power on the mainland in 1949. The rival Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled to Taiwan, 160 kilometers (100 miles) across the Taiwan Strait from China's east coast.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The award ceremony for the 32nd annual Molieres awards, the French theatre equivalent of the cinema industry's 'Cesar', will be presented for the first time on prime time television in June.

The news is a welcome boost for the cultural industry, greatly affected by the restrictive lockdown measures in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Jean-Marc Dumontet, president of Les Molieres association and owner of several Parisian theatres revived the competition some years ago after a three year break (2011-2013) and has faced his fair share of challenges.

The 2019 awards ceremony was briefly interrupted by some 'gilets jaunes' yellow vest protesters angry over budget cuts to the sector, shouting slogans at Culture Minister Franck Riester.

Dumontet is now dealing with trying to keeping theatre alive in the face of the coronavirus epidemic.

"This 32nd Molieres ceremony is here to remind us that continuity is important after such a big break," he said.

"It's there to help us project towards life 'post-covid' even if we are living in complete uncertainty. It's there to celebrate theatre and live performance which represent such an important part of our society," he explained.

He told AFP that television channels have previously been reluctant to broadcast theatre awards seeing them as 'not mainstream' enough.

However, that is about to change as public channel France 2 prepares to host the gala evening from 9pm on 23 June from the Chatelet theatre in central Paris.

Although details of the evening are still being worked out, two elements are sure. There won't be an audience, due to Covid-19 restrictions, and the host is to be comedian and actor Bruno Solo.

In all there are 19 categories in the Les Molieres, including theatre for young audiences, humour, musicals, best actor and actress and plays by a living francophone author.

Award categories

The Molieres awards are named after 17th century French playwright, actor and poet, born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language, whose plays have been translated into many languages.

In the public theatre category, La Mouche (The Fly) based on a work by George Langelaan directed by Christian Hecq and Valerie Lesort, at the Bouffes du Nord got nominations in six categories including best public theatre play, and best actor and actress.

Hecq, who happens to be one of President Emmanuel Macron's favourite actors, stars in a comic adaptation of the famous science-fiction story where a scientist fuses with a fly during teleportation.

RFI met with Christian after a show in January this year and witnessed first hand how much the French public adore theatre.

In the category for best actress in the public theatre domain, Isabelle Adjani, who plays the lead role in Opening Night, by John Cassavetes, is up against Isabelle Carre in Details de Lars Noren.

The other favourites of this year's crop include Electre des bas-fonds by Simon Abkarian at the Theatre du Soleil (five nominations), followed by La Puce a L'Oreille by Georges Feydeau at the Comedie-Francaise (four nominations) and Contes et Legendes by Joel Pommerat at the Amandiers de Nanterre (three nominations).

In the private theatre category, it's a close call between Une histoire d'amour by Alexis Michalik (four nominations), Rouge by John Logan with Niels Arestrup (five nominations including best actor) and Marie des Poules - gouvernante chez George Sand, by Gerard Savoisien (four nominations including best actress).
Aryan Bose (name changed) was asked to go home by a hospital in Central Mumbai earlier this week after he was not showing any symptoms of the novel coronavirus and his vitals were stable. He was admitted there for only four days and had earlier stayed in another hospital in the eastern suburbs of the city from where he hails, for another four days.

So, Bose could go home within eight days and no diagnostic test was conducted on him before he was let off. The relaxed guidelines from the Centre now allow patients to go home earlier if they feel better. Asymptomatic patients in the city are ...


AMSTERDAM (dpa-AFX) - Dutch consumer confidence declined to the lowest since 2013 as households were more negative about economic climate amid coronavirus, or Covid-19, pandemic, data from the Central Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.



Another report showed that the unemployment rate rose to the highest level in five months in April.



The consumer confidence index fell to -31 in May from -22 in April. The score was far below the 20-year average of -5 points and reached its lowest level since 2013.



The economic climate sub-index decreased to -52 in May from -31 in the previous month. Assessment of the past economic situation declined significantly, while consumers' opinion on the future economic situation hardly changed.



The indicator for willingness to buy remained unchanged at -17 in May.



Households' assessment regarding their financial situation for the next 12 months hardly changed. However, consumers felt that it was unfavorable to make large purchases.



Another report from the statistical office showed that the ILO jobless rate increased to a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent in April from 2.9 percent in March.



This was the highest rate in five months and the largest monthly increase in the unemployment rate since 2003.



The number of unemployed persons rose to 314,000 in April from 273,000 in the previous month.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Geneva

Facing the most disruptive pandemic in generations, the technocratic halls of the World Health Organization are now the scene of pitched battles in an increasingly bitter proxy war between China and the United States.

At the U.N. health agency's annual assembly this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping joined by video conference to offer more money and support. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump railed against the WHO in a letter accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak with China  and threatening to permanently halt U.S. funding, which has been its main financial lifeblood for years.

Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Health and Human Rights at Georgetown University, said the withdrawal of the U.S. from the global health world would mark a seismic political shift.

"What the U.S. is doing is acting like a bully, making an existential threat to the WHO, and my worry is if the U.S. ever made good on that pledge, the world would splinter," he said. "This is giving an enormous political prize to China because China has long been looking for a chance to shine on the global stage."

A U.S. exit would likely weaken the global health agency and leave the U.S. and China to each fund their own projects, Gostin said.

At the assembly that ended Tuesday, European Union leaders tried to strike a middle ground between the two rivals, and the agency's director-general simply tried to keep the focus on fighting the disease  not each other.

The assembly's opening day Monday was book-ended by two very different messages. On one side, Xi, serene beside the Chinese flag and a landscape mural, called in to say that China would offer $2 billion over two years to help with the COVID-19 response and economic fallout. He vowed that any vaccine against the disease developed in his country would be made a "global public good."

On the other, Trump threatened to cut U.S. funding to the WHO for good unless the agency commits to "substantive improvements" in the next 30 days, in a letter to agency Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. It's not clear what those improvements are.

"I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organization that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America's interests," Trump wrote.

The U.S. is the biggest WHO donor, providing about $450 million a year.

Europeans looked on aghast.

"Watching the World Health Assembly today was observing the post-American world," tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"A confident and assertive China with clear strategic approach. A EU trying to rescue what's left of global cooperation. And a disruptive U.S. more keen on fighting China than fighting COVID-19," Bildt said.
This article contains spoilers for Mrs. America.

Although it doesnt end until next week, Mrs. America climaxes in many ways with its penultimate episode, Houston, which brings both supporters and opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment together at the National Womens Conference of 1977. The seriess central figure, Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett), stays away, but her disciples are out in full force, including Alice Macray (Sarah Paulson), whose dedication to her longtime friend has been strained by the anti-ERA movements increasingly rightward turn. Over the course of the episode, Alice, a composite character invented for the show, is exposed to people shes only seen from afar, and findswith the help of a few cocktails and some off-label drugsthat theyre not the demonic figures Schlaflys painted them as.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Its a key moment for the series, which, while its true sympathies are never in doubt, has worked to empathize with Schlafly and her followers, and for Paulson, who plays Alices broadening understanding in fits and starts rather than as a sudden consciousness-raising epiphany. Paulson talked to Slate about Alices journey, the upcoming election, and just what was in that drink. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Slate: Houston is a big episode for your character, and its a big episode for Mrs. America. The opposing sides of the ERA movement have encountered each other on televised debates, but this is really the first time theyre all under the same roofwhich meant that it was also the only chance for some of the actors playing on opposite sides to work with one another. Was it something you were looking forward to all through the shoot?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Sarah Paulson: Cate [Blanchett] and Melanie [Lynskey] and I just kept looking at each other and saying, Do you think theyre having more fun on the other set? Because we never got to see them. Many of us knew each other from working on other things or from doing theater in New York, and it was this wonderful opportunity to be together, but we could never really see each other because any time we had a night off on the old countermovement side, the feminists were working, and so they couldnt hang out and drink with us because they had to be up early, and vice versa. So [Houston] was a wonderful opportunity. The eighth episode we actually shot last, so it was the last time a lot of us were all together, and it was the endgame for some of the characters, too.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Alice is a character who was invented for the show, but she has one of its most interesting character arcs. Shes a true believer, and shes been there from the beginningshe keeps reminding people she was the one to tell Phyllis about the ERAbut shes not a zealot. There are things that make her uncomfortable, like accepting support from the Ku Klux Klan, and lines she wont cross. Theres a moment in the episode where she tells a reporter that most women in the U.S. dont want equal rights, and when the reporter cites a poll that overwhelmingly says the opposite, Alice has no idea what to say. Its not just that she doesnt have a talking point ready; its as if shes never considered that a position she thinks of as the lunatic fringe is actually solidly mainstream. Is Alice that sheltered? Who was she to you?

Advertisement

Advertisement

Its very important to me. I had less to do in the beginning of the series, but I knew there was going to be an episode about Alices journey, so I tried to lay as much track as I could that preceded it, so you would believe and understand where I end up at the end of that episodeand then, once people see Episode 9, why that ending happens the way that it does. I didnt want her to be an extremist in any sense. She absolutely is devoted to Phyllis and thinks that Phyllis is the smartest person in the room, and its true. When Phyllis shines her light on Alice, she feels that she is of value in the world in a way that is very, very special to her and makes her feel like she matters. Shes always had a bit of anxiety about her intellect and feeling a little bit subpar in that arena, and at the same time, Phyllis interest made her feel like maybe she was capable to go out and represent the countermovement. She would give the speech and she would be the face of it and she could do this. But to me, Alice represents hope personified, or openness personified. Even in the beginning, she doesnt want to go too far. To be extreme, for Alice, is just incongruous with what she really believes. I think goodness is her engine.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

It was very interesting to me, and I think very important to everybody creatively involved, that this episode was not going to be an opportunity to show how being a liberal is the way to be, and that you can take a person who had a very narrow view of the world and put her in an environment that is expansive. She was able to really be present and bear witness to all of that. And she is different because of it. But its not an opportunity to say, Oh, I see the light, and now I reject everything I have ever been taught, told, or believed in. Its just more of an assimilation or an integration of what shes seen, because these women were only, in her mind, the enemy. They were trying to take something away from her that she valued, which was her place in the home. And thats what she felt this [ERA] movement was about. And she had a limited understanding of it because oftentimes we only feed our brains and our hearts the things that support the things that we already think. I think she was absolutely a victim of that, at her own hand. But once she has seen for herself that the women on the feminist side are human beings with their own wants and desires and feelings that are as integral to their sense of self as hers are, it is impossible for her to go forward and not remember that. But its not a big jump to Alice having her eyes opened and now shes a liberal. I dont think thats what happens there.

Advertisement

Advertisement

That comes to a head in the extraordinary scene you have with Julie White, where the two of you have drinks at the convention. Alice feels like shes found a kindred spirit, another Christian woman whos come to Houston to express her political convictions, and looks positively snakebit when she realizes that Julie Whites character is there because shes a member of NOW. For you, whats going through Alices head at that moment?

Advertisement

I think its pure fear. A lot of times when we are most afraid, the thing that comes up first is anger. And its in righteousness and the horror of being misledeven though, in fact, she wasnt misleading me. She was just being both things: She is a woman of great faith, and she also wants equal rights for women.

Advertisement

I dont even remember what was in that cup, but it was vile. It was a great acting challenge.  Sarah Paulson

How can these things coexist? How can she be both of these things? That has never occurred to Alice. There is a very black-and-white way of thinking that she has subscribed to for most of her life. Now it is about, for Alice, seeing the gray and being comfortable with it and accepting it and relishing it, as opposed to being so, so frightened of it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Did you decide what the Christian pill that Julie White gives Alice is?

I cant remember what Dahvi [Waller, Mrs. Americas showrunner] said. Im such a square. I was asking her, Is it a Percocet? Or a Vicodin? Or a Quaalude? And she said no, no. I think it was something that one takes to relax. Like a Xanax type of thing? A relaxant. Alice had, of course, been drinking more than she usually drinks, and the combination of the Xanax and the booze sent her down the proverbial rabbit hole.

Advertisement

One too many pink ladies.

Exactly. Believe me, when I looked that up, I was like, What is she drinking? There is milk in it? Milk? Who drinks a cocktail with milk in it? Its absurd. I mean, Im all for a Kahlua and cream, but that makes sense cause its also a Haagen-Dazs flavor. And of course they couldnt make a real one. I dont even remember what was in that cup, but it was vile. It was a great acting challenge. If it looked like I was enjoying that cocktail, I was doing my job well.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Speaking of ingredients, theres a moment in Houston where your character has an emotional breakdown, but the only dialogue is a recipe for stuffing that shes giving out over the phone. What was shooting that scene like?

Advertisement

Well, the thing about this episode in generalJanicza Bravo, who directed it, is so wonderfulis that Episode 8 was always its own thing. The production was coming to a close. People were so tired. It may have even been 2 in the morning when we were shooting that scene, and I remember thinking, How am I going to do this? I dont know how Im going to do this. How am I going to have this breakdown while talking about the recipe for pecan stuffing? But, at the same time, given where we were in Alices story, I just could relate to feeling so out of your depth and being so frightened of all the newness being thrown at you and sort of having to question everything that you built your house on. Everything that your foundation is made of has all of a sudden been taken away, brick by brick. And it was late enough and I was tired enough and I was frightened that I wouldnt be able to pull it off, so I could absolutely relate to it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

I remember thinking, How am I going to have this breakdown while talking about the recipe for pecan stuffing?  Sarah Paulson

I thought it was pretty clever and wonderful the way that Dahvi allowed Alice to have a moment that would be really, really honest to herand to not have some kind of emotional breakdown with a stranger, but to have it with her mother, talking about something that really brings her a great deal of joy, which is making a big Thanksgiving dinner. To have that be the moment, with the sound of her mothers voice and the call of home, that was so moving to me. Even when I read it, I cried. When we were shooting, I kept thinking to myself, Remember when you read it and you cried? Just do that! Cry now!

Advertisement

After wandering the convention hall, stealing food from a lesbian rights gathering, and stumbling into a screening of Jeanne Dielman, Alice finally gets back to her hotel room, only to come face to face with Gloria Steinem. Shes too spent to do much more than stare, so its a tiny moment, but theres so much packed into it. How do you convey that much importance in such a simple encounter?

Advertisement

I think it was such an extraordinarily clear juxtaposition between watching the way Phyllis handles a meeting with a group of people who are so devoted to her and to a movement versus watching Gloria do the same thing with a group of women right in front of her eyes, with such generosity of spirit and such genuine interest in other peoples thoughts and concerns and worries.

Advertisement

And any time youre in a room with someone like Rose Byrne, where they did such an incredible jobits very easy for me to watch her and think, Is that Gloria Steinem? And there was an element of I cant believe Im in the same room with you. Weve been shooting the thing for five months, and I havent seen you at all. So life was imitating art.

Advertisement

The story of Mrs. America takes place more than four decades ago, but its a work that was designed to be released now, several months before an election in which the issues it deals with are very much in play. And a lot of hopes are pinned on the existence of women like Alice Macray, conservative voters with a conscience who decide that the movement has gone too far. Do you think those voters exist?

I do think theyre out there. I hope theyre out there. I hope people are able to not only focus on where they align politically in terms of parties, and really think about where they align morally, from a civic-minded perspective, from a justice perspective. If those things are guiding you, I dont know how there cant be a potential restructure in your mind and your heart about what one would do when it comes time to put pen to paper in November. If were allowed to vote by mail in November.

For more of Slates culture coverage, listen to the latest episode of Working, an interview with actor Alison Wright.
WASHINGTONDonald Trump says hes contemplating whether to resurrect plans to invite G7 leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to a summit at the Camp David presidential retreat next month.

The U.S. president has tweeted about holding the meeting on or near the original June 10-12 timeline at the famous rural retreat, which is in Maryland about an hours drive north of the U.S. capital.

Trump says with the U.S. easing physical-distancing restrictions and reopening businesses, an in-person G7 meeting would send a signal to the world that life is gradually recovering from the COVID-19 crisis.

Asked about the idea, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says its important that G7 leaders keep the lines of communication open, whether on a virtual basis or in face-to-face meetings.

He says the federal government will connect with the Trump administration to discuss options.

Security experts, however, say they are skeptical that world leaders would be willing to attend the meetings in person, given the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus.
New Delhi, May 20 : The first meeting of the 15th Finance Commission's committee on 'Fiscal Consolidation Roadmap' is scheduled to be held on Thursday, through video conferencing.

An official statement said that one of the Terms of Reference (ToRs) of the 15th Finance Commission is to make recommendations on the fiscal consolidation roadmap of the Central and state governments, taking into account their responsibility to adhere to appropriate levels of debt and deficit levels, while fostering higher inclusive growth, guided by the principles of equity, efficiency and transparency.

In pursuance of this term of reference, the Finance Commission constituted a committee to review the fiscal consolidation roadmap March 18 under the chairmanship of N.K. Singh, who is also the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission.

A major mandate of the commission is to work out the fiscal consolidation roadmap for the period, 2021-22 to 2025-26.

This task has been complicated by the extraordinary situation caused by the spread of the pandemic and the concomitant fiscal compulsions on the Central and state governments.

Responding to the situation, the Union government has given additional borrowing space of 2 percentage points of GDP to the state governments, apart from the 3 per cent that was already available.

"In order to take stock of the emerging fiscal scenarios and to chart the way forward, an online meeting of the aforesaid committee has been scheduled for tomorrow," the Finance Commission statement said.

The meeting is likely to be attended by N.K. Singh, Ajay Narayan Jha and Anoop Singh, members of the Finance Commission among others.
A man who assaulted his sister and later threatened to shoot her and her husband has been jailed for 21 months.

Father-of-two Christopher Maguire (42), of Moatview Close, Priorswood, Dublin, pleaded guilty to production of an article, assault and making threats to kill or cause serious harm at Killester Avenue, Killester, on May 10 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of intimidating a witness at Harry Byrnes pub, Howth Road, Clontarf, last September 6.

His previous convictions were for offences including false imprisonment and having drugs for sale or supply.

Detective Garda Anthony O'Shea told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that gardai arrived at Maguire's father's house and were met by his sister, Nicola Byrne, who told them she had lost a nail on her right hand in a scuffle with her brother.

Det Gda O'Shea said the scuffle had been over an argument about Ms Byrne taking Maguire's phone.

By the time gardai arrived, Maguire's father had convinced him to hand over a kitchen knife he had produced.

While being arrested, Maguire made threats to his brother-in-law David Byrne, saying he would "have you taken care of - I'll cut the hair off your head".

As he was being led from the house, Maguire said he needed to grab something first, reached into a sofa and said "sawn-off shotgun".

Gardai believed this was "probably a nasty joke".

Gda Ciaran McCabe told the court that on the date in September, Maguire entered the pub and told his sister he had bought a gun "from colleagues he knew" and he planned to kill himself unless she dropped the charges.

Pub

Gda McCabe said Maguire later spotted Mr Byrne in the pub and threatened to shoot him and Ms Byrne.

When he was later arrested he was found to be in possession of a Stanley knife.

The court heard that in 2018, Maguire received a three-year suspended sentence in the Special Criminal Court for false imprisonment dating from 2015.

Det Gda O'Shea agreed with John Moher, defending, that his client sustained serious injuries in 2016 when he was shot numerous times.

Jailing Maguire, Judge Nolan: "It seems this defendant is a serious man who has a serious effect on people."
GeneXpert testing platform for TB repurposed to accelerate testing for Covid-19

Efforts to test for Covid-19 in SA have been boosted through repurposing the Cepheid GeneXpert Systems, originally designed to test for tuberculosis (TB).

The first batch of GeneXpert machines began testing for Covid-19 ahead of Freedom Day on 26 April 2020.

The combined efforts of joint staff in the Division of Haematology and Molecular Medicine at Wits University and the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), along with the National Department of Health (NDoH) has enabled the National Priority Programme (NPP) division to now also support Covid-19 testing in record time.

The NPP division enables the NDoH to provide increased access to patient testing and treatment  now also for Covid-19. Professor Wendy Stevens, Head of Haematology and Molecular Medicine in the School of Pathology at Wits leads the NPP division, which aims to provide affordable, accessible HIV and TB diagnostic services that yield accurate, reliable, relevant and timely results.

These services and results align with NDoH strategy and are based on current scientific knowledge and international norms. Through efficiently leveraging existing resources, including the GeneXpert platform, the NPP division can now also respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

There is no doubt that the GeneXpert System will make a massive difference in testing capacity, provided that there is constant access to reagents and the appropriate human resources support. The GeneXpert System is simple to run, with the bigger machines accepting up to 80 cartridges at a time.

It is forecasted that if all the Covid-19 testing sites are operational on a 24-hour basis, up to 15 000 additional tests can be conducted daily from these machines alone. The data collected from the testing sites will provide valuable insight into the spread of the virus and hopefully contribute to a greater understanding of it in the South African context.

Xpert diagnostics for Covid-19

The GeneXpert platform has been used extensively in South Africa to test for TB for almost a decade. The initial rollout took 18 months to complete. Now, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the NHLS has utilized its existing TB footprint and condensed the escalation of testing into just one month.

The NHLS has been responsible for the implementation and programmatic monitoring of TB through GeneXpert since 2011. Developed by American-based company Cepheid, these systems are distributed to 166 laboratories in South Africa, with more than 325 machines ranging in size and capacity, the smallest no bigger than a desktop computer. More than 17 million TB tests have been conducted to date  1.7 million positive cases and more than 100 000 drug-resistant cases have been detected.

Thanks to the GeneXperts ability to test an array of assays (including HIV), GeneXpert instruments are now being used to test for the presence of Covid-19. Cepheid released their Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 cartridge on 21 March 2020, following emergency Federal Drug Administration approval, to support the scale-up of testing. Training material has been distributed to all users.

To detect Covid-19, the machines are loaded with the test cartridges containing a combination of a patients specimen (e.g., pharyngeal swab) and chemical reagents, thereby enabling detection of certain genetic material. Once a cartridge is loaded, it produces a result within 45 minutes.

Xpert project management

With experience gained in managing the GeneXpert Programme for TB testing since its inception, Ms Puleng Marokane, the GeneXpert Project Manager within the NPP division of the NHLS, has been tasked with ensuring the smooth rollout of Covid-19 testing nationwide.

Marokane explained that successful implementation of the system was only possible if all the parameters were in place. The system would have to be loaded with Covid-19-specific software, and cartridges validated to ensure they could produce the requisite results. Although laboratory technicians have used GeneXpert Systems before, it was important that they adapted to the new Covid-19 interface.

Online training in this regard focused mainly on the new cartridge, processing and result interpretation, whilst emphasising Good Clinical Laboratory Practice. This was guided by a standard operating procedure (SOP) developed by the NPP and used across all test sites.

This was not an easy job [in lockdown]. We had to rely on everybodys experience with GeneXpert to ensure they could load the software themselves. Our task then was to try to cover all nine provinces. We were hoping to implement testing in a phased manner, but because this is an emergency, it is not always possible, said Marokane.

Once technicians had familiarized themselves with the system, they were able to begin the cartridge verification process. A limited number of reagents were ordered centrally and were sent through to specific sites. Verification panels were developed by SmartSpot, a manufacturing company co-founded by Professor Stevens and Professor Lesley Scott in the School of Pathology at Wits, to aid with diagnostic testing.

Covid-19 sample verification was kept to a minimum due to a shortage of reagents  all that was required was to confirm the system could produce a positive or negative result. To date, eight of the testing sites have passed the verification process and have gone live for testing.

Testing and training in challenging times

Marokane and her team have worked tirelessly to ensure operational stability of the system. However, a project of this scope is not without challenges. South Africas national lockdown impedes the shipment of reagents, the vital component required to meet the kind of daily testing numbers the health ministry is hoping to achieve. At the time of writing, an additional 10 000 reagents were received from Cepheid. But with South African borders being closed indefinitely, access remains an issue.

Some staff members have expressed concern about their personal safety during the testing process. The NPP, through the NHLS, is working closely with safety departments: virtual training is being rolled out for NHLS staff; SOP material has been made available to advise laboratories on processing the test method, as well as sample disposal; and the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been provided in line with government regulations.

All that is left to do at this stage is to monitor the implementation processes. We want to ensure users are comfortable using the tests, added Marokane.
20 May 2020

Clean Invest Africa

CASA Investment Update

Clean Invest Africa plc (AQSE: CIA) is pleased to provide an investor update regarding its current holding in the CoalTech Group of Companies.

Highlights

Formal cooperation agreement with a Southern African based business which shows 4 promising opportunities in neighbouring African countries.

CASA to resume limited operations.

Completion of 3 testwork programs producing in excess of 12tonnes of bulk sample of dried, waterproofed pellets for 3 local clients.

Future testwork and production of various anthracite samples for both local and overseas based clients.



Background

CASA to resume limited operations

The original 3 week Lockdown Directive announced by the South African Government was subsequently extended past the original deadline of 16thApril 2020 with no specific end date in mind. The Lockdown will now be lifted gradually in phases, which will depend on the levels of infection in the country, and may differ from area to area. As such, CASA applied for, and was granted Essential Service Provider status, which allows the company to resume limited operations, whilst at the same time still adhering to the broader lockdown regulations. On the back of this Essential Service Provider status, all CASA staff have been issued with certificates to allow them to travel to and from site. The start up of the plant and associated testwork programs will be based on the following schedule:

Site specific lockdown requirements (monitoring/screening of staff, health protocols etc) to be in place by 18th May 2020 . Critical equipment arriving back on site during week starting 18th May 2020 . Completion of testwork program producing 350kg of dried, waterproofed pellets for delivery to local client by 29th May 2020 . Completion of testwork program to produce a 10kg sample of dried, waterproofed pellets for subsequent preliminary quality control testwork, prior to the completion of a 6t bulk sample of final product. Deadline still to be confirmed with the locally based client. Completion of testwork program to produce a 6t bulk sample of dried, waterproofed pellets. Deadline still to be confirmed with the locally based client. Planning and initiation of testwork and production of various anthracite samples for both local and overseas based clients.

In the meantime, the CASA team has been working remotely during the lockdown, mainly on further developing Marketing and Business Development Opportunities, and as such have entered into a formal cooperation agreement with a Southern African based business which shows 4 promising opportunities in neighbouring African countries:

Three "captive" plants producing pellets for the client using the client's feed material (Two in Zimbabwe and one in Swaziland ) A plant producing pellets for a proposed 300MW Power Plant ( Swaziland )

CASA are confident, notwithstanding the long lead times, that they can turn these types of opportunities into commercial contracts and expand further in both South Africa and via Coaltech, globally.

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to expected or anticipated future events and anticipated results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, competition for qualified staff, the regulatory process and actions, technical issues, new legislation, uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans, uncertainties resulting from working in a new political jurisdiction, uncertainties regarding the results of exploration, uncertainties regarding the timing and granting of prospecting rights, uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to execute and implement future plans, and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors.

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement.



ENQUIRIES:

Company

Clean Invest Africa PLC

Filippo Fantechi - Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: +973 3 9696273

Corporate Adviser

Peterhouse Capital Limited

Guy Miller

Telephone: 020 7220 9795
Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan has reiterated his belief that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has no good intentions for the country.



The NPP, last week, accused the opposition party of praying for a high number of COVID-19 cases to be recorded in Ghana due to their continuous backlash against the ruling government.



On Wednesday's edition of 'Kokrokoo' on PEACE FM, Kwamena Duncan reacted to suggestions of 'cooked' recovery figures.



"Cooked figures? . . . This can only be bellied by a desire for an Armageddon out of COVID-19. From the word go, that has been their wish".



He further described as 'discouraging', comments from Special aide to former President John Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari.



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
It's been over six months since Microsoft's HoloLens 2 started shipping to customers -- now, the company says it's aiming to bring the augmented reality headset to more countries by the end of the year. That includes Spain, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Additionally, Microsoft plans to let customers buy HoloLens 2 from its online store starting this summer.

According to Microsoft's director of Mixed Reality, Greg Sullivan, the company is accelerating its plans to open up the HoloLens 2 market after seeing plenty of strong demand. That makes sense, since an AR headset is one of the few ways companies can collaborate during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it's also being used for remote learning: Case Western Reserve University sent Hololens 2 units to 185 first year students for anatomy courses.

"They redesigned their anatomy courses and literally rebuilt classrooms to support this joint collaborative, shared holographic experience," Sullivan said, describing Case Western's early HoloLens implementation. "In pandemic land, they're all at home, so they realized, 'We've got all the pieces in place to continue this collaboration and do it remotely.'... They conducted the anatomy classes remotely and it was really successful."

Microsoft is also implementing new features to make the HoloLens 2 experience better for businesses and developers alike. Azure Spatial Anchors can help render 3D models across HoloLens, iOS and Android, which helps services like Spatial's remote conferencing. Azure Remote Rendering, meanwhile, can pipe in higher quality 3D assets from the cloud that the headset couldn't possibly render on its own.

Check out all of our Build 2020 news here!
","heading":"","fullWindow":false,"fullBleed":false,"showFullBleedOnMobile":false,"headColor":"","type":"html5mobile","textColor":"","mobileImageUrl":"","bgColor":"","imageUrl":"","registeredOnly":false,"linkUrl":"","aodaTitle":"","internalScroll":false,"displayStyle":"small-up"},{"text":"I started listening to JRE a couple of years ago, at the nudging of Jordan Peterson. At first, I was not exactly keen to hear interviews that were longer than The Irishman. I also tumbled into this spoken word clubhouse with extreme prejudice, remembering Rogan mostly as the host of Fear Factor.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Really? The goof who cackled as contestants ate maggots is now interviewing people like Edward Snowden?","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"It made no sense. Then it totally made sense.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"type":"textBreakPoint","insertAt":"contentMiddleBreakPoint"},{"text":"On Fear Factor, Rogan often looked like he was having an out-of-body experience, like he wanted to be someplace else. But when he straps on those oversized headphones and grins into his podcasting mic, hes clearly in his element. Hes omnipresent. He has a knack for getting his guests to loosen up, which is to say, open up. ","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Rogan could do a five-hour interview with Talking Elmo and it would be riveting.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"This licensing deal with Spotify has created a buzz in the podcasting world. It reminds me of when Howard Stern left terrestrial radio and went to SiriusXM in 2006, three years before Rogan started his podcast. So while the vast majority of podcasters are unlikely to ever sign $100-million contracts, are there lessons to be learned from Rogan?","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Yes. Whats most fascinating about the success of JRE is that, according to conventional wisdom, it shouldve been dead on arrival. Doesnt everyone have an attention deficit disorder these days? And, yet, whether hes breaking down nutrition during the pandemic or mock-listening to ghost stories from Tom Papa or getting Elon Musk to explain that insane baby name, the martial-arts enthusiast clearly has a black belt in conversation. ","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. In this sense, JRE is the antithesis to network news, talk shows and even late-night comedies, which for decades have operated under the working assumption that segments need to be punchy and succinct. Rogan has proven this to be a lie. If a host is open-minded and engaging, lots of people will gladly ride shotgun down a long-form highway for hours and never once ask, Are we there yet?","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Another lesson for podcasters and content producers? Woke is increasingly an unsafe space if you want to build an audience. Please dont cancel me for pointing this out. But straight talk that is unfiltered by PC catechisms and unafraid of outrage mobs is precisely why millions gravitate toward JRE with an otherworldly level of engagement.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Rogan tells you what he truly believes, not what he thinks he should be saying.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"I may often disagree. But I never doubt his sincerity. In this partisan age, it also does not hurt that Rogan is tough to pin down politically, which may explain why he is attacked by those on the left and the right. ","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"type":"relatedStories","relatedStories":[{"url":"/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is.html","assetId":"dce37946-b024-4312-90e1-dfd253d5111b","headline":"Vinay Menon: On his anniversary with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry should celebrate by remembering who he is","abstract":"Having moved to Hollywood, Prince Harry needs to find a role for himself, writes Vinay Menon.","image":{"origImageSize":"1200x964","lastmodified":1589914732840,"alt":"In this Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020 file photo, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave after visiting Canada House in London. Having traded Britain for Tinseltown, Harry must settle on a path for himself, writes Vinay Menon.","url":"/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg","sizes":{"1:1":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/cXXuXtncYKnp25I1EM7f-lW9oNU=/100x100/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg"},"3:2":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/VvxXj1d53CRFBHTKCbGD-kUPeVo=/114x76/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg","medium":"https://images.thestar.com/LKRTsgD72asZrzPE5ZpiKEh_Cy4=/330x220/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg","large":"https://images.thestar.com/dafh2cBMW50e1km2MTMt89Ea8iM=/690x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg"},"21:9":{"large":"https://images.thestar.com/3Vb84yKy6FyjldW7jZDn29Qq4rA=/1080x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/19/on-his-anniversary-with-meghan-markle-prince-harry-should-celebrate-by-remembering-who-he-is/sussexes.jpg"}}},"labels":{"section":"Entertainment","trust":{"name":"Opinion","link":"https://www.thestar.com/trust/glossary.html","description":"Based on the authors interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events.","type":"trust"},"special":null},"enableConversations":true,"enableLivechat":false,"publishedepoch":1589914680000},{"url":"/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump.html","assetId":"7df39815-9570-4eaf-8ab9-131baa69a747","headline":"Vinay Menon: Even the Grim Reaper wore a mask  and he was responsible for fewer deaths than Donald Trump","abstract":"I blame Donald Trump for the antimask lunacy that has stormed the culture wars down south. Is a mask a guarantee against contracting or...","image":{"origImageSize":"1200x799","lastmodified":1589572541913,"alt":"","url":"/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg","sizes":{"1:1":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/jgNmDZbGN-3q11U5wXanns5_U-o=/100x100/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg"},"3:2":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/2sYu1XAoAM4v5M-XhGUBCZwJfLM=/114x76/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg","medium":"https://images.thestar.com/RqqBmsKPWx2FzKF1PZLRGaGFYjs=/330x220/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg","large":"https://images.thestar.com/bx7SWOt37HgVzadVKxZckvIS_PE=/690x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg"},"21:9":{"large":"https://images.thestar.com/4Jo37MSBrNPZHUxzMqX8VZSlGO0=/1080x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/15/even-the-grim-reaper-wore-a-mask-and-he-was-responsible-for-fewer-deaths-than-donald-trump/trump_mask.jpg"}}},"labels":{"section":"Entertainment","trust":{"name":"Opinion","link":"https://www.thestar.com/trust/glossary.html","description":"Based on the authors interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events.","type":"trust"},"special":null},"enableConversations":true,"enableLivechat":false,"publishedepoch":1589572541677},{"url":"/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how.html","assetId":"828266d5-891f-461f-9092-9038064ed0cc","headline":"Vinay Menon: Time has stood still for Vera Wang and its time for her to tell us how","abstract":"The pandemic has robbed us of valuable time, time we could get back if Ms. Wang would just tell us how she got trapped in her 20s, writes Vinay...","image":{"origImageSize":"640x472","lastmodified":1589397659249,"alt":"Vera Wang claims the secret to ageless beauty is work, sleep, a vodka cocktail, not much sun. But photos of her posing outdoors cast serious doubt on the not much sun business, writes Vinay Menon.","url":"/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg","sizes":{"1:1":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/9GgW4knMJI4wDTKZfdJGCP6JHig=/100x100/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg"},"3:2":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/GxNMtfhJC55TXkaQxVlRRDPyGdY=/114x76/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg","medium":"https://images.thestar.com/zMGvTPWnP3J4PU3R-EcSdt_7Aqo=/330x220/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg","large":"https://images.thestar.com/ppO5sllZniFdCfIBCVDLrsI96Y8=/690x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg"},"21:9":{"large":"https://images.thestar.com/hku9FHXjoRZJCH01uA5-r6Y-cm4=/1080x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/13/time-has-stood-still-for-vera-wang-and-its-time-for-her-to-tell-us-how/verawang2.jpg"}}},"labels":{"section":"Entertainment","trust":{"name":"Opinion","link":"https://www.thestar.com/trust/glossary.html","description":"Based on the authors interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events.","type":"trust"},"special":null},"enableConversations":true,"enableLivechat":false,"publishedepoch":1589395509136}]},{"text":"And that brings us to the final lesson podcasters can glean from Rogans success: there is no substitute for hard work. The sheer volume of content Rogan has produced over the last 11 years is nuts. That he also does standup, MMA commentary and seems to have more hobbies than most of us have socks is even nuttier.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"type":"cta","buttonText":"Sign Up Now","buttonLink":"/emails.html?nsrc=article-inline-firstup-generic","description":"Start your morning with everything you need to know, and nothing you don't. Sign up for First Up, the Star's new daily email newsletter.","title":"Get more of what matters in your inbox"},{"text":"If Joe Rogan Experience were a body of water, it would be larger than the Pacific.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"I try not to gush in this space because in newspapering, as in podcasting, gushing is boring and boring is the only real sin.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"But Im gushing today because its great to see someone get rewarded for rising to the top by never caring about the bottom. For more than a decade, Rogan has not deviated from his POV, or his vision for podcasting.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"type":"textBreakPoint","insertAt":"contentEndBreakPoint"},{"text":"He didnt sell out this week. The corporate world finally bought in.","type":"text","isParagraph":true,"isHeading":false},{"text":"Vinay Menon is the Stars pop culture columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @vinaymenon","author":{"janrainUuid":"da27236e-2c5d-4dca-9d12-5ef3cb32607a","author":"Vinay Menon","facebookmeta":"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vinay-Menon/599184160176867","photo":{"origImageSize":"1200x720","lastmodified":2700061000,"url":"/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg","sizes":{"1:1":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/NVuhcem0RaWarNiU-40M5t_ntb4=/100x100/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg"},"3:2":{"small":"https://images.thestar.com/m6RNfa0ukhYSXMkGWni8-UJyCD4=/114x76/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg","medium":"https://images.thestar.com/WNCxXCssIP4Y_4PwvB3lh-bWQuA=/330x220/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg","large":"https://images.thestar.com/M-1aoKrIE63aqisAP2yNBvVe0pk=/690x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg"},"21:9":{"large":"https://images.thestar.com/dW4p3fFMjnlmZIEzAw2X98yql70=/1080x460/smart/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg"}}},"location":"Toronto","tag":"menon_vinay","credit":"Entertainment Columnist","twitterId":"vinaymenon","email":"vmenon@thestar.ca"},"authorPageUrl":"/authors.menon_vinay.html","type":"endnote","isLast":true},{"type":"shareBar"},{"type":"trustbar"},{"type":"conversations"}],"assetTags":["convos","business","smg_opinion","life","podcast","ot2","joe_rogan","smg2_entertainment","menon_vinay","nicrt1","_100_million","spotify","entertainment"],"seoKeywords":"joe rogan,podcast,Spotify,$100 million,NICRT1,OT2,smg_opinion,smg2_entertainment,convos,entertainment,life,business","excludeInRecommendations":false,"promo":[],"tier":"tier1","related":{"pubdays":0,"strategy":0},"personalizationMetadata":{"subsection":"Opinion","description":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. Another lesson for podcasters? Woke is an increasingly unsafe space if you want to build an audience, writes Vinay Menon. ","hasImage":true,"section":"Entertainment","asset_id":"412f3a05-21ed-40ac-a686-a453dfa9f385","title":"Joe Rogans $100-million deal with Spotify has valuable lessons for all podcasters","type":"article","thumbor_image":"{\"imageid\":\"G6UV2JPG.3\",\"origImageSize\":\"1200x860\",\"lastmodified\":1590005495120,\"fullWindowMainart\":false,\"forceoriginal\":false,\"caption\":\"Joe Rogan is the undisputed champ of podcasting, pulling in an estimated 190 million downloads per month - nearly five times the population of Canada, writes Vinay Menon.\",\"source\":\"GETTY IMAGES FILE PHOTO\",\"type\":\"image\",\"credit\":\"\",\"mainartSize\":\"medium\",\"url\":\"/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/20/joe-rogans-100-million-deal-with-spotify-has-valuable-lessons-for-all-podcasters/joerogan.jpg\"}","published_time":"2020-05-20T19:07:00Z","trust_label":"OPINION","last_modified":"2020-05-20T20:11:34.833Z","inHouseArticle":"true","image":"https://images.thestar.com/ReYrqXtUJ1GVRfTtLfSWNGAOxOA=/1280x1024/smart/filters:cb(1607343723433)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/20/joe-rogans-100-million-deal-with-spotify-has-valuable-lessons-for-all-podcasters/joerogan.jpg","enableLivechat":"false","images":"https://www.thestar.com/assets/img/thestar-ribbon.png","noShow":"false","enableConversations":"true","abstract":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. Another lesson for podcasters? Woke is an increasingly unsafe space if you want to build an audience, writes Vinay Menon. ","smg_tag":"opinion","url":"https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/20/joe-rogans-100-million-deal-with-spotify-has-valuable-lessons-for-all-podcasters.html","site_name":"thestar.com","enableLivechatadmin":"false","publisher":"https://www.facebook.com/torontostar","author_names":["Vinay Menon"],"authors":"[{\"author\":\"Vinay Menon\",\"photo\":{\"origImageSize\":\"1200x720\",\"lastmodified\":2700061000,\"url\":\"/content/dam/thestar/columnist_logos/Menon_Vinay_logo2012.jpg\"}}]","smg2_tag":"entertainment"},"seoHead":"Joe Rogans $100-million deal with Spotify has valuable lessons for all podcasters","headline":"Joe Rogans $100-million deal with Spotify has valuable lessons for all podcasters","subheadline":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. Another lesson for podcasters? Woke is an increasingly unsafe space if you want to build an audience, writes Vinay Menon. ","shortSeoGoogleHead":"Joe Rogans $100-million deal with Spotify has valuable lessons for all podcasters","removeInterestedInFlag":true,"canonicalUrl":"https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/opinion/2020/05/20/joe-rogans-100-million-deal-with-spotify-has-valuable-lessons-for-all-podcasters.html","seoDescription":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. Another lesson for podcasters? Woke is an increasingly unsafe space if you want to build an audience, writes Vinay Menon. ","enableConversations":true,"enableConversationsPoseQuestion":true,"publishedepoch":1590001620000,"lastmodifiedepoch":1590005494833,"disableAds":true,"abstractVisible":true,"poseQuestion":"Are you a fan of Joe Rogan's podcast? Why do you think he's so successful? ","abstract":"Rogans ability to get others to talk about anything  and more important, get people to listen in  obliterates any argument against deep dives, even for shallow topics. Another lesson for podcasters? Woke is an increasingly unsafe space if you want to build an audience, writes Vinay Menon. ","relatedLinks":["

Vinay Menon: On his anniversary with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry should celebrate by remembering who he is

Vinay Menon: Even the Grim Reaper wore a mask  and he was responsible for fewer deaths than Donald Trump

Vinay Menon: Time has stood still for Vera Wang and its time for her to tell us how
The number of coronavirus cases



in Maharashtra's Amravati district rose to 134 after 19 more people tested positive for the disease, a health official said on Wednesday.

Among the new patients were 11 females, including a 10-year-old girl from Patipura and an 84-year-old woman from Masanganj locality of the city, and eight males, he said.

Out of the new cases, seven were reported from Masanganj, including five members of a family who were in institutional quarantine after a man from the family tested positive for the disease two days ago, the official said.

Masanganj has so far reported 20 COVID-19 cases, while Patipura has reported four cases.

Besides, Paradise Colony, Sindhunagar, Belpura and Shivnagar, Nandgaon Peth have till now reported two cases each.

Some other areas of the district have also reported COVID-19 cases, the official said.

Thirteen patients have so far succumbed to the disease in the district, the official said, adding that no new death was reported on Wednesday.

Till now, 62 patients have been discharged after recovery.

As of now, there are 57 active cases in the district while two patients have been referred to Nagpur, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five civilians have been killed during encounters with Houston police this past month, turning heads in the local criminal justice community and inciting calls for reform from minority advocacy groups.

Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Tuesday defended the agency and urged the public to look at each case individually. In the most recent encounters, they said, the officers actions appeared to be justified under the departments use-of-force policy.

What we have to respond to is the actions of individuals, Acevedo said. It saddens me that people look at race. What we need to look at is that behavior.

The repeated explanations didnt satisfy some of the advocates who called in to a Houston City Council public forum to raise red flags about the apparent uptick of officer-involved shootings. All five of the people shot and killed by police were black or Hispanic.

We are targeting our men and boys of color, Monique Joseph, Houston field officer for Texas Advocates for Justice, said during the meeting.

Criminologists acknowledged the spate of shootings as significant, and possibly a fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. They were hesitant, however, to label them as a trend.

Its difficult to know whether any increases in incidents are flukes that could be balanced out by fewer shootings later in the year, said Kevin Buckler, professor of criminal justice at University of Houston-Downtown.

The end of the Great Recession in 2009 also coincided with a jump in Houston police shootings, lending some credence to hypotheses that a poor economy can lead to rises in crime, he said.

Its hard to completely connect the dots, but there does seem to be something there, Buckler said. A reasonable person could connect those things together.

Marginalized communities are already oversaturated with police in times that arent fraught with social change, said Howard Henderson, founding director of the Center for Justice Research at Texas Southern University. During an event like a pandemic, that presence increases as people spend more time in their communities and experience heightened psychological problems.

Youre not seeing a spike, Henderson said. What youre seeing is an increase thats the result of an increase of (police) interactions.

The first fatal shooting in April was one that Acevedo said has resulted in the most questions. Nicholas Chavez, 27, died after lawmen unleashed a barrage of gunfire while he was on his knees, according to a video of the incident.

The 14-minute encounter in Denver Harbor began on April 21 when neighbors reported seeing Chavez jumping fences and threatening bystanders with an object that was later identified as a piece of rebar. The Houston Police Officers Union later said Chavez had been stabbing himself with the steel and was trying to commit suicide by cop.

Acevedo said at least four officers shot the man with lethal rounds as he started charging  at them.

One more officer-involved shooting occurred less than a week later, and three others followed in May.

Christopher Aguirre, 28, had been shooting at random at a home in the 7900 block of Lane Street on April 27 when officers arrived and he moved to the front porch, police said. He eventually raised his gun at officers, and three of them opened fire, according to the Houston Police Department.

Adrian Medearis, 48, was being arrested May 8 on a DWI charge and was killed by the arresting officer after he allegedly grabbed the policemans fallen stun gun.

On May 14, 30-year-old Rayshard Scales died in a police encounter after a lawman responded to reports of a man brandishing a firearm near Scott Street and Corder Street. Scales continued to advance on the officer even as he stepped back around his police car, Acevedo said. The man reached for what appeared to be a pistol in his waistband, and the officer fired multiple times.

The chief has denied a witness allegation that the deceased man raised his hands in the air before being shot, and confirmed that Scales had a BB-gun  a replica of a 9-mm pistol.

In the most recent shooting on Saturday, 38-year-old Randy Lewis was killed by police moments after witnesses said he fatally stabbed a woman.

Community members took notice as the deaths piled up. More than 20 people gathered outside HPD headquarters Monday to protest Scales death, and a handful of people spoke about the spate of officer-involved shootings at the Tuesday city council forum.

Turner said he had personally reviewed some of the videos, and in some cases, called in family members to review the footage themselves. Most of the videos individually back the officers accounts, the mayor said.

As is the case in all officer-involved shootings, the cases will be brought to Harris County grand juries, according to the district attorneys office.

Every single life in this city is important. Every single person deserves to be treated equally by the law and by law enforcement, Turner said. I dont want the facts to get lost and we just conflate every single thing together.

Dav Lewis, president and founder of the group 2nd Chances Life, and others said that argument is beside the point  people of color are dying in police shootings, and white people are not.

Acevedo addressed the criticism on Tuesday afternoon, and added that most of the officers involved in the fatal police shootings are also people of color.

Black and Hispanic people are dying every day in this city disproportionately as victims of violent crime, he said. Our officers dont decide who they go after in terms of race.

Acevedo alluded to the pandemics possible effect on the frequency of officer-involved shootings  a point which Henderson affirmed. More people are at home under debilitating conditions, and officers are dealing with changed street policing conditions and understaffing, he said.

Theres going to be more shootings, Henderson said. Theres just no way around that.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
SHELTON, CT / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 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 strong effectiveness against infection by an ACE2-utilizing coronavirus in an animal model has been observed for the drug candidates it is developing against SARS-CoV-2 to treat COVID-19 spectrum of diseases.

NanoViricides is developing an animal model for coronavirus infection using hCoV-NL63 as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease. HCoV-NL63 is a circulating human coronavirus that causes a disease that is similar to SARS-CoV-2, but much milder. Both viruses utilize the same cell receptor, namely ACE2, to gain entry into the cell. Because it causes a mild disease, hCoV-NL63 can be used in BSL2 environments, and the Company believes it is a useful surrogate for development of therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

In this lethal direct-lung-infection model, animals in all groups developed lung disease which later led to multi-organ failures, a clinical pathology resembling that of the SARS-CoV-2. Reduction in loss of body weight at day 7 was used as the primary indicator of drug effectiveness. Rats were infected directly into lungs with lethal amounts of hCoV-NL63 virus particles and then different groups were treated separately with five different nanoviricides drug candidates, remdesivir as a positive control, and the vehicle as a negative control. The treatment was intravenous by tail-vein injection once daily for five days, except in the case of remdesivir wherein it was by tail-vein injection twice daily.

Animals treated with the five different nanoviricides showed significantly reduced body weight loss. The body weight loss was only 3.9% for the best nanoviricide candidate, ranging to 11.2% for the potentially least effective one, as compared to 20% in the vehicle-treated control group, in female animals (n=5 in each group). Male animals treated with the same nanoviricides also showed significantly reduced body weight loss. The body weight loss in male animals was 8.0% for the best nanoviricide candidate and ranged up to 10.9% for the potentially least effective one, as compared to 25% in the vehicle-treated control group (n=5 in each group). In comparison, remdesivir treatment led to a body weight loss of 15.2% in females and 18.6% in males in this study (see below). Smaller numbers mean less loss in body weight compared to starting body weight in the group, and indicate greater drug effectiveness.

The strong effectiveness of nanoviricide drug candidates in this model is consistent with the effectiveness observed in cell culture studies against infection of both hCoV-NL63, which was used in this study, and hCoV-229E, another circulating coronavirus that uses a distinctly different receptor, namely APN.

Thus this study corroborates the previous cell-culture effectiveness reported by the Company and provides confidence to the Company that these nanoviricides drug candidates may be expected to result in a clinical candidate to be pursued in human clinical trials.

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 a rational basis to scientists indicating 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.

The Company believes that these nanoviricides drug candidates are potentially superior to favipravir, based on cell culture studies and may be superior to remdesivir based on the results of this study, however, a definite conclusion to that effect cannot be drawn. 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 trials, NanoViricides plans on conducting studies to further determine the effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, perform drug development studies for safety/toxicology, and request a pre-IND Meeting with the US FDA for regulatory guidance.

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. HCoV-NL63 can be studied in a BSL2 lab whereas SARS-CoV-2 currently requires a BSL3 or BSL4 facility.

The striking difference in weight loss between the two sexes in this animal model was remarkable. It has been widely reported that men are more likely to suffer severe infection and fatalities from SARS-CoV-2 than women in the current pandemic. This feature was replicated in our animal model study indicating that biological sex differences are the driver of the differences in the severity of infection by the coronaviruses that utilize the ACE2 receptor.

The various receptors used by different coronaviruses 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/590650/Strong-Effectiveness-of-NanoViricides-Drug-Candidates-Observed-in-an-Animal-Model-of-Infection-by-an-ACE2-using-Human-Coronavirus
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to launch a nationwide study to track how the novel coronavirus is spreading across the country.

The study, which is set to begin in June or July, will test tens of thousands of blood samples from donors to identify antibodies developed by the body in response to the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

We have selected sites to give a broad geographical distribution throughout the country, said Dr. Graham Simmons, a researcher with the nonprofit Vitalant Research Institute, which is leading the first stage of the study.

The study will be conducted by experts at the Vitalant Research Institute, a nonprofit that runs blood donation centers and test samples. They aim to test blood samples from 1,000 donors in each of the 25 metropolitan areas, testing for antibodies that can show the real extent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

What are antibody tests?

Antibodies are proteins generated and secreted by the B cells, which bind to foreign invaders in the body, such as bacteria and viruses. The term antibody pertains to its function since it binds to an antigen.

When the body detects a foreign invader like a virus, the first response of the immune system is to send out macrophages, which engulf the invaders or antigens and process them biochemically. The chemical process provides a blueprint used for the development of an immune response that produces antibodies.

Antibodies are specialized proteins that are designed in a way that they respond to specific antigens. When a person gets infected with the same antigen in the future, the body then has the capability of fighting it off.

During an infection, the immune system mounts a nonspecific attack, which means that the bodys general fighters, such as enzymes, phagocytes, and chemicals that increase body temperature to produce fever, are deployed to attach the invader. Eventually, the body sends out Y-shaped molecules called antibodies to target and kill the virus.

Molecular model of antibody taking part in immune defense. Image Credit Kateryna Kon / Shutterstock

An antibody test detects these molecules to determine if a person has been infected in the past. This test can also help track the extent of the outbreak in a particular place or country, helping health officials devise plans to tackle once it resurfaces in the future.

Monitoring the pandemic

Health experts are monitoring the pandemic, but with the help of the new CDC study, it will be easier for them to determine and better understand where an outbreak is spreading. It can help guide decisions on restrictions and lockdowns needed to contain it.

At present, Dr. Michael Busch, the director of the nonprofit Vitalant Research Institute is leading a preliminary version of the study, which is being funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The current research is testing the first 36,000 samples. Soon, they plan to ramp up testing to cover all the metropolitan areas.

The CDC antibody study will take samples for 18 months to see how the antibodies evolve. The scientists will first test the blood from 1,000 people from each metropolitan area for 12 months. Then, they will check the blood from another 25,000 donors at the 18-month mark.

Lack of a national plan

The study came after public health officials have complained that the CDC has lagged on research to tackle the spreading virus. So far, the novel coronavirus has infected more than 1.52 million in the United States, with at least 91,000 reported deaths.

New York remains the state with the highest number of cases, topping 352,000, which is higher than the cases in other countries, such as Russia and the United Kingdom.

The CDC study offers some reassurance that the health agency is working to address the pandemic. The results will help provide a bigger picture of the virus spread in the country, as well as help the government to devise plans to help contain it.
The coronavirus spread has not brought about any noticeable changes in bilateral cooperation in the sphere of civil nuclear power engineering, the Russian ambassador to Tehran said, Mehr news agency reports.

The Russian and Iranian sides stopped personal contacts at the highest level amid the coronavirus spread but stepped up telephone diplomacy, Russias Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan told TASS on Tuesday.

"Personal contacts stopped and telephone diplomacy intensified," he said in an interview timed for the centenary of the Russian-Iranian relations.

As the Russian diplomat pointed out, "this is very important but this option cannot replace the effectiveness of personal meetings." "Despite all the difficulties, we are seeking to make the most of the remaining possibilities," he added.

Despite the coronavirus, trade between Russia and Iran continues, the Russian diplomat said. "A transport link via the Caspian Sea exists and freight auto transport remains. Fruits and vegetables are imported from Iran into Russia and we are issuing multiple visas to Iranian drivers," he said.

The main change in bilateral trade and economic cooperation caused by the pandemic has been the impossibility of visits by Russian and Iranian delegations, the envoy said. "Thus, a meeting of the inter-governmental commission was planned in Vladikavkaz in June. Considering the current situation, it will hardly be held."

The coronavirus spread has not brought about any noticeable changes in bilateral cooperation in the sphere of civil nuclear power engineering, the Russian diplomat said.
WHO adopts draft resolution

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/20 0:08:40

US, Australia and Taiwan island 'failed to besiege' Chinese mainland

A resolution on identifying the zoonotic source of the coronavirus and evaluating the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVID-19 response have been agreed by all the member states, including China, the US and Australia, at the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting on Tuesday.

A few days ago, the WHA meeting was widely considered as one with rising conflicts and divisions as more countries would target China and the WHO, seeking Beijing's culpability over the coronavirus outbreak - a malicious political attempt led by countries like the US and Australia. However, the two-day meeting closed with the majority of countries agreeing on a resolution co-sponsored by China, showing the global consensus reached on joint efforts in fighting the COVID19 disease and evaluating WHO's response in an comprehensive and objective way, experts said.

They noted that such consensus also rejected political bias led by some Western politicians, and major proposals highlighted by the resolution are in line with the consistent position of the Chinese side, which some Chinese analysts said could be seen as a diplomatic victory for Beijing.

The US, Australia and the island of Taiwan have become the largest losers at this year's WHA meeting, as they were either isolated or abandoned by the global community for continuing to politicize the pandemic and diverting the joint efforts in fighting this battle, some Chinese experts said. More than 120 countries agreed to a resolution carrying two key messages - identifying the zoonotic source of the coronavirus and evaluating the WHO's COVID-19 response, which was officially passed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

The resolution also sent a clear message to the world that countries are sharing the consensus of taking the anti-epidemic battle as the top priority, recognizing the leading role the WHO has played, and evaluating the WHO's COVID-19 should be impartial and justified led by scientists and professionals.

The WHO voted and passed a seven-page resolution on COVID-19 response, after over 120 countries reportedly formed a coalition to come up with a draft paper, first proposed by the EU and later supported by countries like Australia and Russia. The resolution calls for support from all countries for their request to implement a multi-sector action plan in strengthening their health systems against the COVID-19 pandemic, working collaboratively at all levels to developing and scaling up effective and affordable diagnostics, therapeutics, medicine and vaccines, according to the paper seen on the WHO website.

The resolution also called for the use of existing mechanisms to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19. However, this initiative has been misinterpreted by some Western politicians and media outlets as being a probe into China's initial handling of the outbreak, first hyped up by countries like Australia.

By approving the resolution, the global community rejected the move of politicizing both the pandemic and the WHA meeting led by some Western politicians including Australian officials and American hawks by ignoring the Australia-backed probe targeting China, while not even mentioning the issue relevant to the island of Taiwan in its meeting agenda, no matter how hard Washington has been trying to push Taiwan's membership in the meeting with the aim of challenging the sovereignty of the China.

Three losers

In a complete and sharp contrast to China, which offered a series of proposals at the WHA meeting, including providing $2 billion over two years to help this battle, making China's COVID-19 vaccines global public goods when available and working with G20 members, the US has become the biggest loser for being isolated and marginalized, reflecting its failure in global governance, some Chinese analysts said, noting that such incompetence was amplified after it failed to besiege China at the WHO with the help of two of its biggest pawns - Australia and the island of Taiwan.

Contrary to China's commitment to the global anti-epidemic fight, US President Donald Trump escalated his "blame game" toward China and the WHO - an old-fashioned tactics used by some US politicians over the past few months in diverting public attention on their mishandling of the unprecedented public health crisis in the US.

Trump tweeted a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday, in which he harshly criticized the organization's "dependence" on China in its decision-making process and COVID-19 response. Trump also wrote in the letter that if the WHO "does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days," he will make the temporary freeze of US funding to the WHO permanent and reconsider its membership of the organization.

"Trump got frustrated as he believes the WHO failed to accomplish the mission to help him pass the buck to China, and this is why he threatened to freeze its funding to the WHO," Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday. "The angrier he is, the more incompetent he becomes in handling the crisis," Li said.

Besides furious attacks, the US government has been trying to bring the matter of Taiwan into the WHA to provoke the Chinese mainland, which, however, was doomed to fail no matter how hard some US lawmakers and officials like US State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus tried to support the island and challenge the universally accepted one-China principle.

The attempt to push for proposals related to Taiwan at the WHA by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the island of Taiwan once again failed the moment the WHA announced it would not discuss such proposals.

Only state members of the WHO have the right to attend the WHA. However, the DPP and pro-independence groups in the island of Taiwan have been working hard to push for Taiwan's attendance at the WHA "as an observer" since 2017.

Compared to previous years, Ms Keva Bain from the Bahamas, president of this year's WHA, was more "decisive and clear" about not discussing Taiwan-related proposals, experts said.

An insider familiar with this year's WHA said that so far, more than 160 countries have reiterated their support to the one-China principle and more than 50 countries sent letters to WHO General-Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to oppose the Taiwan-related proposal.

Chinese mainland analysts said that the separatist DPP in Taiwan thought that it has found the "big brother" - the Trump administration - and it has paid a huge amount of money to flatter the US. But the "big brother" is not as reliable as they have thought, since all efforts they paid to challenge the one-China principle in the WHA failed, as always.

"They just don't get it. If they really want to be a WHA observer, the most effective path is through Beijing, not through Washington. That's why they are wasting money by begging the wrong boss but offend the one who can really help," a Beijing-based observer said, who requested anonymity. "What a hilarious behavior!"

The third loser was Australia, which has been actively pushing for a so-called independent inquiry into the origins of the crisis in recent days, aimed at China. Australia's act was widely believed to be instigated by Washington. Some Australian politicians, including Australia's foreign minister Marise Payne, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, have been in a bullish mood, as some media reports said, in criticizing China for its lack of transparency, and vowed to stand up for their values.

Failed attempts

Some Australian media outlets see this as a move aimed at further pressuring China and seeking to hold Beijing accountable for the outbreak, calling on Beijing to face overwhelming global pressure at the WHA meeting.

"This is a totally different thing from the so-called independent inquiry pushed by the Australian side," Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a routine press conference on Tuesday on the resolution approved by the international community. Along with other countries, China has been actively taking part in the negotiations on this resolution, which clearly recognizes and supports the leadership of the WHO amid the pandemic, he noted.

Some Chinese netizens also mocked Australia's attempts as it has been trying to become a "martyr" for defending so-called independence and transparency while its ideas were denounced by the global community. By following the steps of some US hawks who harshly attack China over coronavirus, "it seems that Australia, this giant kangaroo that serves as a dog of the US, will hit a deadlock with China on trade disputes in sectors like coal and beef. Hopefully, the US will compensate it!" one netizen said in a Weibo post on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, on the matter of Taiwan, some politicians and US media praised the island for preventing the pandemic and using this as an excuse to support the island to attend the assembly. But they ignored the fact that Taiwan has fewer infected cases simply because the mainland and shared all the information it got to the island at the earliest time, and Taiwan's necessary technical cooperation with the WHO have never been interrupted, Chinese analysts noted.

"Taiwan is an island which was almost automatically locked down from the mainland as it can connect with the mainland only by air and sea. And due to the worsening cross-Straits relationship, people-to-people exchanges between the two sides have been mostly suspended, so it is not hard for Taiwan to keep the number low," said Li Xiaobing, a Taiwan studies expert at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times previously.

Compared to other Chinese provinces, Taiwan did not have the best performance. For instance, Jiangsu Province with more than 80 million people, about three times more than Taiwan's population, has only 51 confirmed cases and all were cured with zero deaths as of Monday, according to the latest data released by the Jiangsu provincial government website.

But Taiwan has 440 confirmed cases and seven deaths, according to Taiwan's public health authority.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the mainland also shared epidemic-related information and technologies with Taiwan 155 times as of Monday, and 16 groups of 24 experts from Taiwan have taken part in technical activities organized by the WHO since 2019.

Netizens from the mainland and island of Taiwan ridiculed the DPP for "betting on the wrong horse." "US President Trump and his administration have been haunted by the failure to control the virus domestically and are busy blaming China and the WHO. Why does the Taiwan authority rely on 'a partner' who is threatening to withdraw from the WHO?" a netizen surnamed Liu said.

While all parties have reached consensus on a draft resolution after consultations with member states, the Chinese side called for initiating a review of the WHO-coordinated COVID-19 response at the appropriate moment with an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation process to review experiences gained and lessons learned, which is also a routine practice for the WHO.

For instance, the WHO previously conducted a post-epidemic evaluation of the H1N1 response and Ebola.



NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian Mi-8 Military Helicopter Crash Kills Three in Moscow Region

Sputnik News

18:50 GMT 19.05.2020(updated 20:03 GMT 19.05.2020)

According to Russia's Defence Ministry, the accident happened at around 8 p.m., local time.

A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter crash-landed outside Klin, in the Moscow region, on 19 May at around 8 p.m. local time, the country's defence ministry said. The helicopter crew of three died of their injuries.

"The entire crew of the aircraft, consisting of three people, died during the crash of the Mi-8 helicopter," a spokesman for the emergency services said.

The search team found both flight data recorders at the crash site, the spokesman said.

"Both black boxes were discovered  a flight data recorder and an on-board voice recorder," he said, adding that both black boxes were in satisfactory condition.

Following the incident, a commission of the Russian Aerospace Forces' command was deployed to the scene.

No further details were immediately available.

The Mi-8 helicopter made a hard landing on Tuesday evening while performing a training flight some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city of Klin. The flight was being carried out without live ammunition. According to preliminary information, the crash could have be caused by a technical malfunction.

A Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address








NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - Johnson & Johnson will stop selling its talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in the United States and Canada, as demand fell amid mounting consumers lawsuits that claimed the talc products caused cancer.



The move comes after years of litigation where the company has been ordered to pay billions of dollars in compensation.



But, the company has consistently defended the safety of its talc products.



The healthcare giant said it will wind down the commercialization of talc-based baby powder, which represents about 0.5% of the total U.S. Consumer Health business, in the U.S. and Canada in the coming months. But retailers will continue to sell existing inventory.



The company added that the move is part of a reassessment of its consumer products prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.



'Demand for talc-based Johnson's Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising,' the company said in a statement.



However, the company stated that cornstarch-based baby powder will remain available in North America.



The company added that both talc-based and cornstarch-based baby powder will continue be available in other markets around the world.



Johnson & Johnson said it remains fully committed to its Johnson's Baby brand.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
(Alliance News) - Marks & Spencer Group PLC on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in annual profit as the retailer deals with the Covid-19 pandemic.

"During the crisis we have all had to work differently, and customers have rapidly changed habits and may never shop the same way again. We intend to use the learning from the crisis and have drawn up our 'never the same again' agenda to accelerate transformation," M&S said.

In the 52 weeks to March 28, the FTSE 250-listed retailer reported pretax profit of GBP67.2 million, down 20% on the GBP84.2 million recorded in the same period to March 30, 2019.

The pretax profit figure included adjusting items of GBP335.9 million, with GBP212.8 million of this for costs and stock write-downs due to Covid-19.

Revenue was down 1.9% year-on-year to GBP10.18 billion from GBP10.38 billion. UK Food sales were up 2.1% to GBP6.03 billion, but this was offset by an 8.3% drop in UK Clothing & Homes sales to GBP3.2A billion.

On a like-for-like basis, food sales were up 1.9% while clothing & home sales fell 6.2% - the latter including an estimated 2.2% hit from Covid-19 in March.

Chief Executive Steve Rowe said the results reflect a year of "substantial progress" with some "green shoots" in its clothing arm in the second half.

"However, they now seem like ancient history as the trauma of the Covid crisis has galvanised our colleagues to secure the future of the business," said Rowe.

The Covid-19 crisis started to impact the business in the first week of March with reductions in Clothing & Home sales across all its markets. While Food sales were resilient, "we did not experience the stockpiling performance of the supermarkets", M&S noted.

M&S in a "Covid-19 scenario" is assuming a 70% decline in UK Clothing & Home revenue for the four months to July and only a gradual return to original budgeted levels by February 2021, which will hit annual revenue by GBP1.5 billion. In UK Food, it expects a 20% decline in revenue in the period to July with sales "level" thereafter.

"This scenario has been stress tested and even in the event of a longer and deeper impact on trading, the group maintains sufficient liquidity. Although we will be drawing on our available credit facilities in the coming year, under the scenario the business will have significant liquidity headroom throughout the next 18 months. We are pleased to note that in the first 6 weeks of the new year, sales and cash have substantially outperformed the scenario," M&S said.

M&S decided against paying a final dividend, and does not anticipate making any payout in its 2021 financial year.

Free cash flow in the period was GBP225.0 million, 61% lower than GBP580.8 million the year before.

Rowe added: "From the outset we recognised that we were facing a crisis whose effects and aftershocks will endure for the coming year and beyond: Whilst some customer habits will return to normal others have changed forever, the trend towards digital has been accelerated, and changes to the shape of the high street brought forward. Most importantly working habits have been transformed and we have discovered we can work in a faster, leaner, more effective way. I am determined to act now to capture this and deliver a renewed, more agile business in a world that will never be the same again."

Shares in Marks & Spencer were 6.9% higher in London on Wednesday morning at 91.72 pence each.

By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Journalist Ronan Farrow is under fire for his reporting methods. (Peter Kramer / NBC )

Investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, author of the hit 2019 book "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators," has come under scrutiny this week after the New York Times published a scathing critique of his Pulitzer Prize-winning methods.

On Sunday, New York Times media columnist Ben Smith pondered, "Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?," characterizing Farrow's renowned reporting as flawed and self-serving "resistance journalism."

The column focuses in part on "Catch and Kill," which explores Farrow's investigation into convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, as well as plots allegedly waged by Weinstein and NBC to bury Farrow's findings.

Smith's Sunday criticism of Farrow quickly caused a stir on social media, prompting responses from Farrow, New Yorker staffers, Weinstein accuser Ambra Battilana Gutierrez and even former "Today" show anchor Matt Lauer, who dismissed a rape allegation leveled against him in "Catch and Kill."

As the son of actress Mia Farrow and divisive director Woody Allen, Farrow, 32, was already born into fame before his influential journalism made him a household name  a rare feat in an industry that doesn't boast many nonbroadcast stars.

Farrow's 2017 New Yorker piece at the center of "Catch and Kill," titled "From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein's Accusers Tell Their Stories," helped propel the #MeToo movement forward and won Farrow the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, shared with the New York Times' Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey for their reporting on Weinstein.

In his takedown of the "rare celebrity-journalist," Smith also referenced Farrow's bombshell expose on President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, and speculated that Farrow might be "the most famous investigative reporter in America."

Here's a summary of what went down in the media frenzy.





Story continues

Smith comes for Farrow

While Smith praised Farrow's "ability to shine a light on some of the defining stories of our time," he also called the reporter's watchdog approach "misleading," warning of a "dangerous" and inherent "weakness of a kind of resistance journalism" that trades hard facts for drama.

"If you scratch at Mr. Farrows reporting in The New Yorker and in his 2019 best seller, 'Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators,' you start to see some shakiness at its foundation," Smith wrote in his May 17 column. "He delivers narratives that are irresistibly cinematic  with unmistakable heroes and villains  and often omits the complicating facts and inconvenient details that may make them less dramatic.

Ronan Farrow's "Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators" won a Pulitzer. ( Little, Brown and Co. )

"At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure, or he suggests conspiracies that are tantalizing but he cannot prove."

The piece went on to suggest that Farrow failed to corroborate key allegations of rape against both Weinstein and Lauer, who was fired from his post at NBC in 2017 after multiple women publicly accused him of sexual misconduct.

Smith also poked holes in Farrow's "Catch and Kill" claim that NBC buried his Weinstein story after getting blackmailed by Weinstein, who allegedly threatened to expose the not-yet-public accusations against Lauer.

NBC has denied killing Farrow's Weinstein story to protect Lauer, instead claiming that Farrow's reporting at the time did not meet the network's standard for publication.

"In Mr. Farrows telling, by the end of July 2017, he had nailed down the story of Mr. Weinsteins pattern of sexual predation, and the NBC brass had begun to shut him down," Smith wrote in his latest column. "He has said repeatedly that he had at least two women on the record for his story at the time he left NBC for The New Yorker.

"But NBC has disputed that claim, and an NBC employee showed me what he described as the final draft of Mr. Farrows script, as of Aug. 7. It had no on-the-record, on-camera interviews."





The New Yorker defends Farrow

After Smith's critique started to pick up viral steam, New Yorker editor Michael Luo rushed to his writer's defense Monday via a lengthy Twitter thread accusing Smith of omitting "detailed responses" from the New Yorker "that contradict the narrative he wants to tell."

(Smith's column does include comments from a couple New Yorker staffers, including editor David Remnick, who called Farrow's work "scrupulous, tireless, and, above all, fair," and writer Ken Auletta, who argued that Farrow "delivered the goods.")

2/ We provided detailed responses to Ben that contradict the narrative he wants to tell. They didnt make it into the column, so Ill outline some of them here.  Michael Luo (@michaelluo) May 18, 2020

"We take corrections seriously and would be happy to correct something if it were shown to be wrong. But Ben has not done that here," Luo tweeted after refuting several specific claims from Smith's column. "We are proud of [Farrow's] reporting, and we stand by it."





Farrow defends himself

Citing Luo's 16-part thread, Farrow tweeted "a few additional thoughts" Monday on Smith's remarks.

"Ben claims a central theme [in 'Catch and Kill'] was whether Weinstein threatened NBC with Lauer info," Farrow wrote in his own thread. "Not central, and not what the book says. The book establishes a pressure campaign against NBC, including talks between Weinstein and executives as they told me and my producer to stop reporting.

As to whether Lauer information was one of the many levers used, the book accurately describes the sources at AMI and NBC who say so, and NBCs contention that it wasnt. The book doesnt go beyond what the reporting revealed.  Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) May 18, 2020

"As to whether Lauer information was one of the many levers used, the book accurately describes the sources at [American Media Inc.] and NBC who say so, and NBCs contention that it wasnt. The book doesnt go beyond what the reporting revealed."

Farrow also disputed some other claims in Smith's piece, adding, "I stand by my reporting."

Weinstein accuser Gutierrez speaks out

Weinstein accuser and Filipino Italian model Gutierrez called Smith out on Monday for excluding her name from his New York Times essay.

"I'm tired of being written about without being named," Gutierrez said in response to a tweet from writer Laurence Pevsner, which noted that, "In his [Farrow] piece, [Smith] refers to [Gutierrez] as an 'Italian model' while he lists white survivors by name (like Lucia Evans) ... Why does [NYT] keep erasing the one woman of color from this story?"

Im tired of being written about without being named. https://t.co/BudbF6F7ij  Ambra Battilana Gutierrez (@AmbraBattilana) May 18, 2020

In his column, Smith admits that Farrow's original NBC investigation into Weinstein "did have one strong piece of reporting that Mr. Farrow took to The New Yorker: an audio recording of Mr. Weinstein appearing to confess to an Italian model that he had groped her."

Smith has not responded to Gutierrez's criticism.





Lauer attacks Farrow

In an unexpected twist, ousted NBC anchor Lauer piggybacked on Smith's buzzy column with his own 4,800-word critique, published Tuesday on Mediaite with the headline: "Why Ronan Farrow Is Indeed Too Good to Be True."

Matt Lauer is among Ronan Farrow's critics. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)

Lauer doubled down on his denial that he allegedly raped former NBC employee Brooke Nevils, as outlined in "Catch and Kill." Lauer previously disputed Nevils' rape account prior to the book's publication in 2019.

Lauer also accused Farrow of harboring bias against NBC after the "Catch and Kill" author left the network in 2017.

"I am not suggesting that everything Ronan has written in his book is untrue or based on misinformation, but it is clear that over the course of nearly two years he became a magnet and a willing ear for anyone with negative stories about the network and people who worked for it," Lauer wrote in his Mediaite column.





Nevils and Farrow dismiss Lauer

Likely reacting Tuesday to Lauer's latest attempt to invalidate her rape claim, Nevils simply tweeted, "DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender."

The acronym, coined by psychologist Jennifer Freyd, breaks down the stages of a predator's response to sexual misconduct allegations, resulting in the offender recasting himself as the victim and vice versa.

DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender  Brooke Nevils (@BrookeNevils) May 19, 2020

Farrow also addressed the disgraced broadcast journalist's essay Tuesday on Twitter, writing: "All I'll say on this is that Matt Lauer is just wrong."

"Catch and Kill was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 01:01:15|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

LONDON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- International collaboration is "the only way" to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as sharing best practice, data and helping less developed countries are vital to address the global crisis, a British scholar has said.

"I think collaboration with all countries is the only way to look at this, and that is coordination with all countries globally: sharing best practice, sharing systems, sharing accurate and timely and transparent data and information and that's the most important thing," said Mark Eccleston-Turner, a lecturer in law at Keele University, in an interview with Xinhua.

Specializing in the field of international law and infectious diseases, he said Britain, and other Western countries, should also look to help other countries strengthen their health systems to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, as opposed to adopting a unilateral approach.

Whereas Britain, China and the European Union (EU), among others, have agreed to a collaborative global effort to combat the coronavirus, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to permanently cut its funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) and reconsider the U.S. membership in the organization.

Eccleston-Turner believes the United States move would be a huge blow for any sign of international collaboration in the fight against the coronavirus.

"It's a big blow to multilateralism. It's a big blow to collaboration. When you look at something like a pandemic of this sorts, it's a public health emergency of international concern and what that means is it's an extraordinary event which warrants a coordinated international response."

The World Health Assembly (WHA), decision-making body of the WHO, opened its first-ever virtual session on Monday, calling for unity, a stronger WHO role and equity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the WHA, EU, Britain, China and others have endorsed the principle of making any COVID-19 vaccine produced in the near future globally accessible.

Eccleston-Turner said that is a very good thing, and it was fundamental that if Britain had successfully developed a vaccine, it would make it available for all.

According to a recent statement from the British government, the University of Oxford has agreed a global licensing agreement with AstraZeneca, a British-based pharmaceutical company, for the commercialization and manufacturing of their potential vaccine.

This means that, if the Oxford vaccine is successful, AstraZeneca will work to make up to 30 million doses available by September for people in Britain, as part of an agreement to deliver 100 million doses in total, the government said.

"The agreement will deliver 100 million doses in total, ensuring that in addition to supporting our own people, we are able to make the vaccines available to developing countries at the lowest possible cost," said Business Secretary Alok Sharma.

"The real point of collaboration, the real test of collaboration and a real test of the UK's role within the global community will be what happens if we develop a vaccine," Eccleston-Turner said.

He said there is important reasons for such collaboration.

"Number one is that a reservoir of COVID-19 anywhere in the world remains a threat to the rest of the world. Even if COVID-19 no longer exists in the UK, if it's endemic in other regions then it can very easily come to the UK and spread through Europe again -- and spread through what we think of the global north again," said Eccleston-Turner.

Secondly, Britain has a moral duty to share the vaccine with the world, he said.

"Individuals, regardless of wherever they live in the world, need equitable access to a vaccine against the coronavirus and just because we happen to live in a country that can afford this vaccine and can develop this vaccine doesn't mean that we should deny other people in the rest of the world this vaccine," he said. Enditem
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Christian Levaux and Clement Rossignol (Reuters) Brussels, Belgium  Wed, May 20, 2020 10:08 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd928943 2 News coronavirus,COVID-19,Europe,miniature,Belgium,travel Free

Visitors were back at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, London's Houses of Parliament and the Grand Place in Brussels on Monday, not flouting lockdowns but at the reopened Mini-Europe miniature theme park.

With many of the European Union's borders closed by the coronavirus pandemic, the park in Belgium hopes to give locals a taste of the tourism that lockdowns have made impossible.

Belgium began easing its 8-week lockdown on May 4 and reopened museums, zoos and open-air markets on Monday. Mini-Europe, with its 350 model landmarks, hopes its spacious, open-air park will be a draw.

"I saw on the television that Mini-Europe was restarting so I made the reservation online," said Kristof Meert, 38, at the attraction in Brussels with his two children.

Entry must be pre-booked and visitors must observe strict hygiene and social distancing measures.

Read also: 'Europe needs a break': EU plots to restart travel and tourism despite COVID-19

Even some of the miniature model people wore face masks, including tandem riders in the Netherlands - on a suitably stretched bike - and visitors were reminded to keep 1.5 metres apart - that's three crates of beer for figures in the Belgium section.

The London models mark Britain's departure from the European Union.

"At the bottom of Big Ben, we have added a small figure of (British Prime Minister) Boris Johnson campaigning for Brexit and there are demonstrators carrying an (EU) flag and saying ... 'we miss EU already," the park's founder and chief executive Thierry Meeus told Reuters.

Opened in 1989, the park received almost half a million visitors in 2019, but expects just 150,000 this year.

Meeus said with an area of 20,000 square metres, "welcoming 180 people per hour is very reassuring."
Debunking the reports about Class 10 result being declared on Wednesday, Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) secretary Rajiv Prasad said all such news was false as they were yet to decide the release date.

The BSEH secretary claimed that even some local media houses had run fake news regarding the declaration of the board result.

No official release date has been decided yet and the result will be declared through proper channels. The result is likely to be announced by the end of this month. Some people have shared a link for Class 10 result, but that is fake, the board secretary said.

The board had postponed the exams for classes 10 and 12 on March 19 in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 7.41 lakh students of both classes are enrolled for board exams in Haryana.

TEACHERS EVALUATED ANSWERSHEETS AT HOME

Prasad informed that nearly 6,000 teachers had evaluated the Class 10 board answersheets at home by April 22. After checking the copies, the teachers had handed over the same to BEOs at 39 centres in the state. We are ready to declare the result anytime by the end of May, he said.

Meanwhile, around 3.71 lakh Class 10 students, who were eager to see their board result at 4pm on Wednesday, blamed social media users for spreading fake news.

Vikas Kumar, a student of Bhiwani, said his parents told him that the board was going to announce the results on Wednesday. I waited for the result throughout the day, but now I am disappointed to hear that it was nothing but a rumour. Today, I realized that the trend of fake news can be quite harmful, he added.
Earlier this year, scientists announced that they had detected a second gravitational wave signal from a collision of two neutron stars the two merging stars were combined to form one binary object. Astrophysicists from Australia believe they have a theory, unstable case BB mass transfer, that could explain the phenomenon of the merger and formation of a binary object that is reportedly larger than any other binary neutron star system that has been formed through this process to date.

Over 3 times the mass of the Sun

As per reports, the combined mass of both the neutron stars was 3.4 times the mass of the sun, and while the event was completely unprecedented, a team of astrophysicists believes that they possibly have a theory that could explain the formation of the massive binary star.

GW190425 is very special. The total mass of the two stars is about 3.4 times that of our sun. Thats huge for these astronomical sources!



This discovery is a powerful testimony of the invisible universe we are discovering with gravitational-wave astronomy. pic.twitter.com/I1i56MU18W  Dr. Karan Jani (@AstroKPJ) January 6, 2020

As per reports, Isobel Romero Shaw from Monash University led a team from Australias ARC Center of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and proposed the theory. They believe that their theory can explain how two celestial objects with the mass of over three times that of our sun could have combined and it would also explain both the high mass of the binary object and why similar systems arent observed using traditional radio astronomy techniques.

Read: Have You Seen A Galaxy Rise?: Incredible Time-lapse Video Leaves Netizens Mesmerized

Read: Hubble Telescope Celebrates 30 Years With Portrait Of A Firestorm In A Neighbouring Galaxy

GW190425: the merger of a compact binary with total mass of about 3.4 Msun https://t.co/nt4D3Wy3OS pic.twitter.com/sVJXKBbUxT  EGO-Virgo (@ego_virgo) January 7, 2020

On the origin of GW190425: the progenitor of GW190425 could be a binary consisting of a neutron star and a helium star. It provides no evidence for or against the unstable mass transfer scenario. https://t.co/dLgOP2idlv pic.twitter.com/CwTPsO74w2  Francis Villatoro (@emulenews) January 22, 2020

According to reports, the merger of the two stars is being called GW190425. Shaw explains that the process of an unstable case BB mass transfer first requires a neutron star, which has a stellar partner. By this, he means a helium (He) star with a carbon-oxygen (CO) core. Once the helium cloud has expanded to engulf the neutron star, the stellar partner is then brought closer by the helium cloud. After the helium cloud dissipates, the two objects merge to form a binary object.

(Image Credit Twitter/@AstroKPJ)

Read: Sun In Lockdown Period? Here Are Details About The Solar Minimum Phenomenon

Read: Smite Patch Notes May 19: Final Boss Goes Live And Brings The New Galaxy Hero Chest
Mystery solved: IAF test flight behind sonic boom in Bengaluru

India

oi-Deepika S

Bengaluru, May 20: The loud noise heard over the city, triggering panic among the residents was the result of a routine Indian Air Force test flight.

"It was a routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside City limits. The aircraft was of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE)," a Ministry of Defence statement said.

The big Bengaluru boom sound mystery solved

The aircraft was far away from the city limits when this occurred. The sound of a sonic boom can be heard and felt by an observer even when the aircraft is flying as far away as 65 to 80 kilometres away from the person whose Test Pilots & Flight Test Engineers routinely test out all aeroplanes." it said.

#Update

It was a routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside City limits. The aircraft was of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) @IAF_MCC @SpokespersonMoD  PRO Bengaluru, Ministry of Defence (@Prodef_blr) May 20, 2020

"The sonic boom was probably heard while the aircraft was decelerating from supersonic to subsonic speed between 36,000 and 40000 feet altitude," it further added.

Earlier, netizens speculated whether it was an earthquake or an explosion, but it was neither.

The sound was heard across the city from Kempegowda International Airport off Devanahalli in the north to Kengeri and Electronic City in the South. Many people feared it could be a mild tremor as doors and windows shook after the noise.

However, the Commissioner of Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority Manoj Rajan ruled out the possibility of any earthquake and said it needed to be investigated.

The Bengaluru police commissioner Bhaskar Rao said there was no damage reported anywhere. He said he too came to know from media about the sound heard from the Airport to Hebbagodi here. However, there were no calls to the police control room regarding any damage.

"We have also asked the Air Force Control Room to check if it was a jet or supersonic sound. Bengaluru police are awaiting confirmation from the Air Force," Rao said in a statement.

Caught on camera: What was that mysterious 'boom' heard in Bengaluru? An exploding meteor?

The Indian Air Force later clarified that no training command aircraft was flying in the area. "However, ASTE and HAL could have been undertaking their routine test flying, which necessitates going supersonic at times".
AriZona Iced Tea By JACQUELINE LAUREAN YATES, ABC News

(NEW YORK) -- As people continue to practice safe social distancing as advised by health experts to help slow the spread of COVID-19, AriZona Beverage Company has the perfect way to help pass the time.



It has introduced a 1,000-piece puzzle that will not only keep you busy, but exercise your brain as well.



There has been increased interest in puzzles lately, highlighted by social media users as well as from celebrities showing off their finished pieces.



"Who needs a new QuaranTEA project!?" the beverage company captioned a photo on Instagram of its latest launch.



The puzzle, which sells for $10, has photos of the company's AriZona Lemon Tea cans.



"Upon completion, feel free to laminate this puzzle and hang it on your wall, break it down and put it away for another time or use it as a serving platter for some pizza," the company said in a statement.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Odisha: Nabarangpur fish farmers hail PMMSY package during lockdown

May 20,2020 | Source: Pragativadi

The fish farmers of Nabarangpur district have lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his Rs 20000 cr package under PMMSY during the lockdown. They have termed the financial package as most important as the government has set the target production of 70 lakh tonne in five years. This will create 55 lakh employment avenues in the sector.



The fish export will be doubled with the financial stimulus being given to the fishing community and farmers. Praising PM Modi for providing the fish farmers the much needed help and financial assistance, Irfan Khan of Taragaon in Nabarangpur district said he has taken up pisciculture in one hectare of pond and the package will greatly help him. Khan said the aid will help him to carry on his business as before. The lockdown has slowed down the activity, but PMs package has come as a balm on his wounds.



Khan further said the fish farmers of the district will benefit immensely from the PMs package. Under the PMMSY, the Centre has announced Rs 11000 cr for fishing and Rs 9000 cr for fishing harbor and cold chain. The fish farmers and their boats will be covered with insurance under the scheme.
Georgias President Salome Zurabishvili said she is in favor of direct dialogue with Russia however certain conditions are needed for that.

"In any case, I am for direct dialogue because countries have two ways: either a path of war or a path of dialogue. I know no other ways. If anyone knows a third way, let him tell it," she said in an interview with the Rustavi 2 television channel when asked whether she planned to maintain direct dialogue with Russia.

"That is why I have always been and will be in favor of dialogue. But dialogue for the sake of dialogue has never been a way out," TASS cited her as saying.



"There should be circumstances that will give us a possibility to do good to the country," Zurabishvili added.

Georgia severed diplomatic relations with Russia after the latter recognized Abkhazias and South Ossetias independence in 2008. Direct dialogue between the two countries is maintained only via meetings between Georgian prime ministers envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and member of Russias Federation Council upper parliament house and former deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin.
YEREVAN.  The Armenian side is closely following the ongoing military exercises in Azerbaijan, Armenias Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan told reporters on Wednesday.

He stressed that the Azerbaijani authorities, as before, ignored their international obligations, and began their military exercises without informing the international organizations.

In Balayans words, there is no tension on the borders of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). "If we feel that the security of Armenia or Artsakh has been threatened as a result of the military exercises, preventive measures will be taken immediately. The international community will understand, as we have warned about this in advance. There are no changes in our combat duty. In general, we expect everything from the adversary," he added.

At the same time, Gabriel Balayan noted that at the moment Armenia does not feel an immediate danger. "Appropriate measures will be taken in case of a threat; and you have already seen it," Balayan said, adding that most of the statements of the Azerbaijani leadership are intended for internal use.
So we want to clarify that (arrest) is not part of our effort, that if there is any sanction in place, it would not be anything beyond a fine that would be adjudicated in the civil court system or through some administrative system and not through the criminal courts, he said. I think its fair to say we would like to do it with a soft touch.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan shut down kindergartens, schools and universities since March 3 as part of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Despite the relaxation of the special quarantine regime on May 18, which allowed the re-opening a number of recreational places and lifting the restrictions on residents movement, educational institutions remained closed in the country as gathering of over ten people are prohibited.

It is unlikely that classes at educational institutions in Azerbaijan will resume before the end of the current academic year on June 15, Deputy Minister of Education Mahabbat Valiyeva said on April 30. She explained it by the difficulty to maintain social distancing between students in schools.

From the beginning of the closure of education institutions, Azerbaijan introduced online lessons for school and university students. Thus, all educational institutions in the country offer online classes.

Apart from this, a number of online projects have been initiated to help homeschooling.

On March 11, with the organizational support of the Ministry of Education, the "Lesson Time" project was launched, which is broadcast on the TV channels Mdniyyt ("Culture") and ARB Guns. The tele-lessons cover all classes, and short explanations of the lesson topic and assignments are provided.

Likewise, the "Virtual School" project was implemented within the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Microsoft, on April 2.

Each pupil, registered on the portal of "Virtual School", is assigned to the class corresponding to his age and is able to do homework prepared by teachers according to the themes of TV lessons.

This portal also provides an opportunity for online lessons. At the same time, students are able to use the "Chat" function to communicate with their peers through video and audio.

The country introduced nationwide quarantine regime on March 24.

As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus- related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Pro-lifers slam FX documentary's claim Jane Roe was paid to be pro-life: 'She was sincere'

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Pro-life activists, some of whom have known Norma McCorvey for many years, are rejecting a new documentarys claim that the woman behind the landmark Supreme Court abortion case Roe v. Wade was paid later in life to promote anti-abortion views.

FX on Hulu will officially release a documentary on Friday titled AKA Jane Roe." The documentary features a 2017 interview of the famed woman behind the 1973 decision near the end of her life.

A major point of controversy for the documentary is the claim that McCorvey famously went from being an advocate for abortion rights to becoming a pro-life activist in the 1990s only because she was paid.

What I can tell you is I had 22 years of conversations & experiences w her. She was sincere, Father Frank Pavone, who reportedly led McCorvey to convert to Catholic Christianity, wrote in a tweet.

Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, warned that people should wait to "see the unedited footage" and "hear all the conversations preceding it" before making judgments on McCorvey's alleged "deathbed confession."

In an excerpt of the film reviewed by media outlets, McCorvey stated:

I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and theyd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. Thats what Id say. It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress.

Calling her own words a deathbed confession, McCorvey reportedly said that she still supported legalized abortion. She was quoted as saying that if a young woman wants to have an abortion, thats no skin off my ass. Thats why they call it choice.

Filmmaker Nick Sweeney  whose other films include "The Sex Robots are Coming" and "Born in the Wrong Body"  began working on the documentary in April 2016, often visiting McCorvey and interviewing her before her death in February 2017, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Among other interviewees, Sweeney also spoke with Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister and former leader of the pro-life advocacy group Operation Rescue. Schenck has since distanced himself from pro-life activism.

For his part, Schenck said that McCorvey was indeed paid by activists out of concern that she would go back to the other side.

There were times I wondered: Is she playing us? And what I didnt have the guts to say was, because I know [pretty] well we were playing her, said Schenck, as reported by the newspaper. What we did with Norma was highly unethical. The jig is up.

But others who knew McCorvey have refuted the recent headlines suggesting that McCorvey was paid to be pro-life.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman said he knew her well and that she even lived with his family at one point.

"I saw her in unguarded moments and can verify she was 100 percent pro-life. She spent more years trying to overturn Roe v. Wade than she spent as a pro-abortion activist," he said.

"I knew her to be a straightforward, down-to-earth woman who was witty and kind. She loved children and adored my own five children. There is no way her Christian faith or her pro-life beliefs were false. The makers of AKA Jane Roe should be ashamed that they took advantage of Norma in the vulnerable last days of her life, then released their spurious movie after she passed away when she could not defend herself.

Cheryl Sullenger, a leader with Operation Rescue who knew McCorvey for many years, has called the headlines surrounding the interview out-of-context fake news.

I knew Norma personally and saw her during unguarded moments, said Sullenger to LifeNews.com. Norma was frank, and if she was in a mood, she could say things that were controversial.

But never did she ever show any hint of being anything other than 100% pro-life as long as I knew her," Sullenger continued. "This latest attack on her pro-life beliefs is nothing but out-of-context fake news.

Pavone said in another tweet that he had received text messages from McCorvey in 2016 about the interview with Sweeney and how he had paid for her involvement in the film.

Prior to these sentences she said, I sitting here broke and extremely upset. She was paid by him, Pavone stated in the tweet.

Kristan Hawkins, president of the Students for Life of America, took to Twitter to reject the deathbed confession claim. Hawkins wrote that McCorvey always spoke w/ passion about her pro-life convictions, which represented a huge & public shift from how she had been seen for so long.

The woman that I personally knew lived a painful & complicated life, but spoke directly about how she felt about it, Hawkins added.

Hawkins also questioned the source of the interview, pointing out that FX on Hulu had recently released a miniseries about the life of the longtime conservative leader and pro-life activist Phyllis Schlafly, who died in 2016 at the age of 92.

I also don't believe that [FX] is a good actor, when you consider that earlier this year, they went after the iconic Phyllis Schlafly, Hawkins argued. Tearing down pro-life champions won't work for those of us who have had the privilege of knowing the real people behind the headlines.

Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood staffer who has gained national attention for her conversion to the pro-life movement, tweeted that McCorvey was used by both sides of the abortion debate.

Johnson also argued that McCorvey was not mentally well near the end of her life, believing that the documentary filmmakers preyed upon that.
Investigators believe a gray haired man from Schuylkill County is behind a spree of cigarette carton thefts over the past two months across the Lehigh Valley.

Timothy Hill, 55, allegedly follows the same script each time: He asks for packs or cartons of cigarettes at stores and gas stations and, after they are placed on the counter, he then asks for other items. When the clerk turns to get the other items, Hill grabs the cartons and runs, police said.

Hill, whose last known address was in New Ringgold, is wanted on at least four retail theft warrants in Northampton County, but detectives say in court paperwork he has 12 similar incidents in seven different jurisdictions.

Palmer Township police Sgt. Timothy Ruoff called it a stealing rampage. Hills spree has run from April through at least May 3, and he started in Lehigh County and then worked his way over to Northampton County, investigators say.

Thefts in Northampton County include stores in Northampton borough, Bethlehem, Palmer Township, Wilson Borough and Easton. Ruoff said there are other similar incidents under investigation in South Whitehall Township, Macungie, Whitehall Township and by Pennsylvania State Police.

In surveillance footage, Hill has not been wearing a mask per CDC guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic, police said.

Hills alleged crimes include the following reported cigarette thefts:

April 4 at the Top Star gas station, 4141 Tilghman St. in South Whitehall Township

April 5 at the Exxon Uni-Mart, 1825 Route 309, in South Whitehall Township, and a store in Northampton borough, according to court paperwork.

April 10 at the Turkey Hill, 1140 Hellertown Road in Bethlehem.

April 11 at the Rite Aid at 1620 Main St. in Northampton borough, and then the Walgreens off of South 25th Street and Rudys Car Wash, 2500 Northampton St., both in Palmer Township.

The Walgreens theft would prove key to identifying Hill, police said. Hills license was expired, so the Walgreens clerk had to manually enter his date of birth, investigators said.

On April 12, Hill is accused of going back to South 25th Street in Palmer Township, and stealing a carton of smokes from the Rite Aid, which is across the street from the Walgreens hit the day before.

Twenty minutes after Palmer police issued a Be On the Lookout for the thief, Hill walked into the Rite Aid at 901 Northampton St. in Easton and asked for five cartons of Newport 100s, city police said.

The cartons were placed on the counter, Hill asked for additional items and, when the manager turned around, Hill grabbed the cartons worth $418 and took off, police said.

Surveillance footage from the Easton Rite Aid incident showed the thief was wearing the same clothing as the suspect in the Palmer Township Rite Aid theft, police said.

The most recent theft was May 3, when a man matching Hills description from the other thefts stole three cartons of cigarettes from the Family Dollar at 2423 Butler St. in Wilson Borough, borough police Chief Chris Meehan said.

The cigarettes were worth $274 total and the theft is still under investigation, Meehan said.

Charges have not yet been filed in the Wilson theft and anyone with information about the crime should contact Detective Daniel Pacchioli at 610-258-8542.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
Married At First Sight star KC Osborne witnessed a terrifying road incident in Melbourne on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old dance instructor and her mother were left shaken after seeing a man being hit by a truck and thrown across the street.

They rushed over to see if the man was okay and stayed by his side until paramedics arrived.

'We helped until the ambulance arrived': Married At First Sight star KC Osborne witnessed a terrifying road incident in Melbourne on Wednesday

'We quickly got out and helped until the ambulance arrived,' she told her Instagram followers. 'Thank god this man survived.'

KC added: 'It's just a reminder to people that life can change in an instant, so let s**t go that's not important and never take loved ones for granted.'

Just hours before witnessing the accident, KC had been enjoying a shopping trip with her boyfriend, Michael Goonan.

'Never take loved ones for granted': The 32-year-old dance instructor and her mother were left shaken after seeing a man being hit by a truck and thrown across the street

Michael and KC, who were paired with other people on MAFS, moved in together in Melbourne after dating for less than two months.

Their relationship officially began in mid-January, after they'd both separated from their on-screen spouses.

They shared phone calls and texts before meeting for a date.

They're not hiding anymore! Just hours before witnessing the accident, KC had been enjoying a shopping trip with her boyfriend, Michael Goonan (right)

In their first joint interview in April, Michael and KC told New Idea they planned to self-isolate together in Melbourne for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

Things appear to be moving fast for the couple, and Michael has already introduced KC to his two-year-old son, Connor.

The former Pussycat Dolls backup dancer described Connor as 'adorable' during an Instagram Q&A last month, but said she doesn't consider herself a stepmother yet.

Love nest: In their first joint interview in April, Michael and KC told New Idea they planned to self-isolate together in Melbourne for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:43:13|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RABAT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan health ministry on Wednesday announced 110 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of the confirmed cases in the country to 7,133.

The number of the recovered cases rose by 197 to 4,098, Mohamed El Youbi, director of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, said at his daily briefing.

Meanwhile, 194 deaths from COVID-19 have been reported so far, after one new fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours, El Youbi added.

The official underlined the stability of the coronavirus mortality rate in Morocco, which stands at 2.7 percent, noting the recovery rate rose to 57.5 percent.

Morocco on Tuesday extended the state of health emergency across the country until June 10.

Morocco recently received a medical donation from the China Development Bank to help the North African country's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation including respirators and medical protective masks, arrived on May 14 at Casablanca airport from China's capital Beijing. Enditem


I had a discussion with Hon Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri @OfficeofUT regarding current #Covid_19 situation in state & the challenges faced by the administration & preventive measures to provide relief to various sections. I have conveyed my suggestions on following topics.

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020

After having a detailed discussion with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the alarming COVID-19 situation in the state, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar took to social media on May 20 to share a host of suggestions that would help address some of the challenges being faced by the administration.

For live updates on coronavirus, click here



Some educational institutions are likely to collapse or close down due to financial losses. A study group or committee should be appointed to take timely measures to ensure that students,teachers & educational institutions are not harmed & process of education is not disrupted.

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020



The government has emphasized starting industries in the state by relaxing the conditions of lockdown. However, the guidelines for the effective execution for the same are not comprehensive enough.

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020



Earlier several incentive schemes were operational for industries in backward and underdeveloped areas. In the same vein, new policies for encouraging industrial growth should be released to attract new investment in the state.@CMOMaharashtra #letsfightcoronatogether

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020



The situation in the state will have to be restored by relaxing some of the conditions of lockdown. Arrangements should be made to convey the information about the level of relaxation to the public at a fixed time every day by the state government.@CMOMaharashtra

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020



Shops, offices, establishments in the private sector should be opened in a staggered manner with complete caution.@CMOMaharashtra#letsfightcoronatogether

 Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 20, 2020

In a series of tweets, Pawar, who is a part of Maharashtras coalition government, discussed how to help businesses, industries, educational institutes, private offices, among others to limp back to normalcy.
By Azernews





By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva has said that Baku and the mediators in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will not allow Armenia to protract the negotiation process.

Neither Azerbaijan nor the international community will allow Armenia to protract the negotiation process on the settlement of the conflict with artificial attempts, fraud and lies, Abdullayeva told AZTV channel on May 19.

Armenia must clearly understand that the negotiation process, in which Armenia and Azerbaijan have been involved for many years, involves international mediators, and the main purpose of this negotiation process is to eliminate the consequences of the conflict, the ministry spokesperson said.

The elimination of the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, including Lachyn, the withdrawal of the occupying forces from these territories and the restoration of the rights of our displaced people, that is, their return to their homes, their return to their property. This is the purpose of the negotiations. Armenias participation in negotiations is characterized by this, Leyla Abdullayeva stressed.

Abdullayeva stressed that Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territorial integrity has never been and cannot be the subject of discussion.

This has always been voiced by the head of our state many times and on the highest platforms, she added.

The sooner Armenia realizes this, the more progress we can make in resolving the conflict, she noted.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Boel gift expands Mason School international business initiatives

Fund cultivates global mindset among Raymond A. Mason School of Business students

When Nicolas Boel M.B.A. 89 was considering where to apply for graduate school, an international experience was at the top of his list.

My family believes in the importance of a U.S. education and having international business experience, said Boel, who is from Belgium. As a William & Mary student, I was grateful for the opportunity to discover a different curriculum and the U.S. culture and, of course, Southern hospitality.

When Boel and his wife, Valentine, arrived on campus as newlyweds in 1987, he was the only European in his class. Now, as a Business School Foundation board member and the chairman of Solvay, a family-owned global chemical company based in Brussels, Boel wants more business students to benefit from an international experience like he did.

This spring, the Boels made a generous commitment to support global business initiatives at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business. The Nicolas and Valentine Boel Endowment for International Business will enable Dean Larry Pulley to invest strategically in programs that cultivate a global mindset among undergraduate and graduate students.

We are so grateful to the Boels for giving us the opportunity to imagine the possibilities in global education at the Mason School of Business, said Pulley. Nicolas and Valentines generous support offers us remarkable flexibility to inject meaningful funding into some of our existing efforts and to plan for and kickstart new, exciting global educational opportunities.

In consultation with faculty and program teams, Dean Pulley will use the fund to support various curricular and co-curricular initiatives that give students exposure to international business issues and learning opportunities on campus and around the world, as well as enhance global and cultural understanding.

I believe education should be supported in every country, said Boel. William & Mary is a jewel, with amazing people and strong principles. It is important to support a place you know, a place where you believe in what they are trying to achieve.

One possible opportunity from the Boels support may be the expansion of the Mason Schools global immersion program, which is led by Professor Don Rahtz.

Private support is critical to creating the unique opportunities that will further distinguish the breadth and caliber of our international programs, said Rahtz, who was a young marketing faculty member when Boel attended W&M. Thanks to this generous gift, the next generation of Mason School students will be able to experience the rich diversity in international cultures through a variety of immersions and partnership programs with public and private sector entities in a complex and ever evolving global community.

It is exactly these kinds of efforts to increase global understanding that Boel hopes to advance at William & Mary.

William & Marys focus has always been on the student and how they can get the most out of their educational experience, said Boel. Through travel and understanding different perspectives and issues, students can build the important principles theyve learned into their careers and lives.

The Boels also see their support as part of a bigger picture.

I have always believed in diversity  the diversity of people and ideas, said Boel. It is important for students to know the facts and remain objective about what is happening in other countries and around the world. Through an international experience, students can use the knowledge they gain to make their own choices.

Boel continues, Improving global education and knowledge is a good thing for William & Mary. But, ultimately, supporting more open communication and global understanding is also a good thing for everyone  in the U.S., Europe and all international businesses.

Hear more about Boels experience working and leading on two continents in a podcast he recorded with William & Marys Raymond A. Mason School of Business in 2015, Adapting your Leadership Style.
She has come under fire for her decision to isolate in the Cotswolds.

Yet Victoria Beckham was not letting her critics get her down as she took to Instagram on Tuesday as she filmed a make-up tutorial, to show her followers which of the products from her eponymous cosmetics line she uses.

The former Spice Girl, 46, shared the video to her Victoria Beckham Beauty Instagram account, during which her kids could be heard in the background, while she used husband David's 940 Goyard washbag to rest her mirror.

Glam: Victoria Beckham was not letting her critics get her down as she took to Instagram on Tuesday as she filmed a make-up tutorial, to show her followers which of the products from her eponymous cosmetics line she uses

Victoria was giving followers an insight into her make-up routine by talking through the products she uses from her own line.

The tutorial was not for the fainthearted however as she used Satin Kajal Liner in Cocoa (20.00), Smoky Eye Brick (48.00). Cell Rejuvenating Priming Moisturizer (92.00) and Bitten Lip Tint (30.00) - totally 190.

She said in the video: 'This is me working from home. I've got my technical make-up mirror which I am balancing on David's wash bag. So many Zoom calls so trying to look my best. So this is me working from home in the bathroom!'

In one of the videos, she wrote: 'Kids making noise in the background'. Victoria is currently isolating with husband David and three of their four children at their 6million Cotswolds mansion amid the UK's coronavirus lockdown.

Oops! The former Spice Girl, 46, shared the video to her Victoria Beckham Beauty Instagram account, during which she used husband David's 940 Goyard washbag to rest her mirror

Noisy! Her kids could be heard in the background

They are with Romeo, 17, Cruz, 15, and Harper, eight, while their eldest son Brooklyn, 21, is in quarantine with his girlfriend Nicola Peltz in New York.

The Beckhams have attracted controversy during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, Victoria was met with public backlash following her decision to furlough her staff, which she has since reversed.

The star, whose family is worth 335million, had planned to use the Government's Covid-19 scheme to pay 80 per cent of the wages of some of her staff.

Oops: The Beckhams have attracted controversy during the coronavirus pandemic

The fashion brand, which employs 120 people, sent letters to 30 members of staff warning them that they were going to be furloughed under the Government's scheme for two months.

She told The Guardian: 'We will not now be drawing on the government furlough scheme. At the beginning of the lockdown the shareholders agreed with senior management to furlough a small proportion of staff.

'At that point we didn't know how long the lockdown might last or its likely impact on the business. The welfare of my team and our business means everything to me.'

Woah! The tutorial was not for the fainthearted however as she used Satin Kajal Liner in Cocoa (20.00), Smoky Eye Brick (48.00). Cell Rejuvenating Priming Moisturizer (92.00) and Bitten Lip Tint (30.00) - totally 190
A suicide victim was catfished by her ex-girlfriend who pretended to be a man for years to secretly maintain an intimate relationship.

Sydney woman Renae Marsden, 20, took her own life in Watsons Bay in August 2013 after her relationship with a fake man named 'Brayden Spiteri' broke down.

Her best friend and ex-girlfriend from high school Camila Zeidan, 27, was actually pretending to be 'Brayden' from 2011 to 2013, a Sydney coroner said on Wednesday.

Coroner Elaine Truscott said in her findings that Ms Zeidan created the character of 'Brayden' so she could maintain an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden.

'Renae did not want to be in a relationship with Camila Zeidan,' Ms Truscott said.

'Camila was unable to tolerate Renae being in an intense relationship ... and had complained to Renae she didn't like being second best.'

Ms Marsden was seen sobbing the day of her death after her relationship breakdown with Brayden, who she had intended to marry.

Renae Marsden, 20 (left) died by suicide at The Gap in Sydney's east on August 5, 2013 after her best friend Camila Zeidan (right) 'catfished' her

These are pictures of the man Renae believed was Brayden. But they depict another person who had no idea of how his photos were being used

Ms Marsden and 'Brayden' engaged in phone sex at times with the young woman complaining when she sent intimate pictures and videos they weren't reciprocated.

Her attachment to Brayden led her to break off her engagement to another man in early 2013 when her fiance gave her an ultimatum.

Besides a text Ms Marsden showed a co-worker, the communications between Ms Marsden and Brayden on the day she died remained unknown to all but Ms Zeidan, the coroner said.

The content of texts Ms Marsden sent and received on a second phone she used to communicate with Brayden between March and June 2013 was finally uncovered in 2019 due to advances in technology.

'(The communication) reveals the nature and progress of the relationship and contradicts Camila Zeidan's claim that Renae knew Brayden was not a real person,' Ms Truscott said.

Ms Zeidan told the inquest Ms Marsden was in on the rouse because their families would not approve of their lesbian relationship.

But Ms Truscott said there was no evidence the women were intimately involved at the time.

Ms Zeidan leaves the NSW State Coroner's Court after the Renae Marsden Inquest in February. Coroner Elaine Truscott said on Wednesday that Ms Zeidan was 'unable to tolerate Renae being in an intense relationship' with anyone else

Zeidan (left, in green) created the character of Brayden so she could maintain an intimate relationship with Ms Marsden (left and white, and right)

Tragic: Renae Marsden is pictured right with her mother Teresa left - who received a heartbreaking final text

The evidence instead demonstrated the catfishing allowed Ms Zeidan to free herself of the jealously she felt whenever Ms Marsden was in a relationship with a man.

'Catfishing' - the practice of creating fictional online love personas - is not a criminal offence in New South Wales.

The Marsden family has campaigned for law reform to specifically address catfishing.

This is the heartbreaking final text message Renae Marsden sent her mother, Teresa, after she was allegedly deceived for years by 'catfish' Camila Zeidan

Ms Truscott said it was unclear whether catfishing like that which Renae experienced would be covered by current laws against using mobile networks to menace, harass or offend.

The coroner's findings continue.

Ms Marsden is believed to have taken her own life at The Gap, in Sydney's east, on August 5, 2013 but her body was never discovered.

She was seen for the last time alive, on CCTV footage at The Gap, 13 minutes after mobile phone tower data showed she received a text from Brayden.

She exchanged several texts with 'Brayden' and Camila, but police have been unable to obtain the contents of them.

Renae chucked her phone over the cliff before she died, and Camila and Brayden's messages from that day could not be recovered by police.

Moments before Ms Marsden took her own life, she sent her mother Teresa a heartbreaking text.

'I'm sorry for everything and the pain I will now cause you,' Ms Marsden said.

'When you need to talk to me just call my name and I'll be there.'

This is the collage of Brayden Spiteri which Renae Marsden carried around with her

Tradesman Cameron Lang revealed in February that he is the man in the photo used to catfish Ms Marsden - and he had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news

The photos of 'Brayden' were actually of a tradesman named Cameron Lang, who had no idea his face was used in the scandal until he saw it on the news.

'It's daunting ... [I'm] shocked in a way because I've now got an image put out there that's an image no one wants to be associated with,' he told A Current Affair in February.

Ms Zeidan told Ms Marsden that Brayden was her ex-boyfriend who was supposedly behind bars over a motorcycle accident in which his best friend had died.

To make her story more convincing, she showed Ms Marsden a photo of her with the man she said was Brayden.

While Ms Lang confirmed it was him in the photo, he has no memory of meeting Ms Zeidan.

'It is me in the photo, but I personally had nothing to do with any of the girls. Either of them. Just my face was used.'

'I don't remember ever meeting (Camila Zeidan) anywhere, at any point.'

He said the photo was likely taken at a bar or club during a night out many years ago.

If you or anyone you know need help call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) -Smooth Rock Ventures Corp. (TSXV: SOCK) ("Smooth Rock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce initial results from the Phase I exploration program on the Giroux Project, located in Mineral County, Nevada, within the Walker Lane shear zone.

The Phase I program was designed to expand and provide confirmation of the previous regional geological mapping and sampling program by the property's lease owner that yielded significant results. Historical grab sampling result highlights include: 1.17% Ni, 1.6% Ni, 1.7 % Ni, 3.9% Ni. taken from outcrops, old workings and mine dumps. A previous Geophysical program was also completed on the Property, indicating several potential drill targets.

Key Highlights:

Initial prospecting of the polymetallic Giroux Project by the Company returned up to 1% Ni from an outcrop and 7.67 % Cu from an additional outcrop.

The presence of Cesium mineralization previously unknown to exist on the Giroux Project discovered in samples taken from an old mine dump on the Property.

A total of 24 samples were collected from outcrops, old workings and mine dumps. These samples focused on mineralized shear zones and associated jasperoids, the results are detailed in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Preliminary Prospecting Results.

Sample

Number Materia1 Au

g/t Ag

g/t Co

ppm Cr

ppm Cu

ppm Ni

ppm G-50 Mine Dump 0.561 2.42 2.7 646.9 72.5 38.8 G-52 Old workings 0.023 3.36 153.0 3084.4 1998.7 3568.9 G-65 Mine Dump 0.452 9.87 50.2 1612.1 2867.8 890.5 G-66 Old workings 0.278 6.33 18.7 2124.5 3108.2 1233.3 G-67 Old workings 0.286 4.11 6.2 445.6 100.3 197.0 G-76 Outcrop 0.008 1.29 230.9 3984.0 71.3 6493.4 G-77 Outcrop 0.049 2.22 815.5 4173.1 82.4 >10,000 G-82 Mine Dump 0.005 1.57 338.0 4925.7 60.2 7094.6 GC Outcrop 0.015 2.9 6.0 275 76,703 70.0 G-85 Mine Dump 0.118 2.43 45.7 3098.7 419.8 1636.2

As shown in the table above the Giroux property is polymetallic. The initial round of sampling and mapping was conducted to confirmed previous rock chip assays taken by the lease owner. Sampling focused on the common old workings which are located along mineralized shear zones with jasperoids lenses. These structural zones trend east west and contain high amounts of iron oxide and local barite. The area north of the main east west structure is covered by alluvium.

Of particular note was the presence of (Cesium) Cs in the initial assay results, previously unknown to exist on the property. Samples numbers G-69, G-82 and G-83 contained 10.9 ppm Cs, 21.3 ppm Cs and 14.2 ppm Cs taken from old mine dumps. This confirms the presence of Cesium mineralization on the Giroux property in the old mine dumps and warrants further exploration to discover the source rocks.

Cesium is extremely rare, only a few pegmatite mines produce cesium globally. The United States Department of the Interior included lithium, cesium and tantalum on its list of critical minerals (USGS website, dated May 18, 2018). The U.S. is heavily reliant on imports of certain mineral commodities that are vital to the Nation's security and economic prosperity. The United States is pursuing strategies, policies, and investment that reduce its rapidly growing dependence on foreign sources of critical minerals ("A Federal Strategy to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals," US Dept. Interior June 2019).

Cesium formate brines are used in heavy mud applications for high-pressure, high-temperature offshore oil drilling to lubricate drill bits and prevent blowouts (USGS commodity summary, February 2018). The cesium formate mud is rented to oil companies and recycled after use. Cesium isotopes are also used in atomic clocks, which are important in cellphone networks, Internet, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and aircraft guidance systems. Cesium clocks are accurate to about one second in 20 million years. Cesium bromide is used in infrared detectors, optics, photoelectric cells, scintillation counters and spectrophotometers. Cesium is also used in the glass for night-vision goggles.

The Company continues Phase I of the Giroux exploration program that consists of reconnaissance prospecting, geological mapping, surface trenching, sampling, and relocating historical workings. This reconnaissance program will provide accurate modern data to assist in the planning of the phase II drill program. Phase I is estimated to last for an additional two to three weeks, with phase II expected to begin following the compilation of the phase I results, later in 2020, pending drilling permits. Further results will be released as they become available.

The Giroux Project consists of 12 patented claims and 36 unpatented mining claims with a combined area of 390 hectares (965 acres), located 60 miles south southeast of Hawthorne, Nevada, less than 1 mile off a main state highway with easily accessible year-round access.

The Giroux Project is located within the Walker Lane shear zone and consists of sediments with numerous felsic intrusives. Silicified fault zones and trends have been explored and mined via shafts, pits, and adits. At least one shaft is reported to have a depth of over 700 feet. Of particular interest is the presence of an overthrust nickel bearing serpentinite formation. In addition to nickel mineralization, the property contains gold, copper, silver, as well as lead-zinc and barite mineralization.

The Property hosts the past producing Giroux Mine, the mine is reported to have produced high-grade nickel ore in the late 1800s (Mining Districts and Mineral Resources of Nevada, Lincoln, 1923). This places the Giroux Mine as one of two historical high-grade nickel producing mines in Nevada. Historical production of copper, silver, gold, zinc, and barite also exist on the property. The Giroux property contains numerous historical workings consisting of underground workings with multi-level vertical shafts, several adits at different sub-levels, open pits, and existing roads that provide access to the historical workings.

Seven miles east from the Giroux Project, along the trend in similar rock types is the past producing Candelaria Mine, one of the largest open pit silver mines in the history of Nevada. During the modern open pit mining, the metals of interest were silver, gold, zinc, copper, lead and antimony. The non-metals were barite. The Giroux Project is also located near past producing mines such as Marietta, Moho, Camp Douglas and Candelaria. The Giroux Property has been held by private interests throughout its history.

The Company's exploration programs are contingent on potential impacts from the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Proper social distancing protocols have been implemented for the safety of Company personal and contractors.

The scientific and technical content and interpretations contained in this news release have been reviewed, verified and approved by E. Gauthier, geol., Eng (OIQ), a consultant of the Company, and an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Alan R. Day"

Alan R. Day

President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Smooth Rock Ventures Corp.

(TEL)- (888) 909-5548, (FAX)-(888) 909-1033

Email: info@smoothrockventures.com

Website: www.smoothrockventures.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56157
The number of new homes forecast to commence in NSW next year is around half that in 2019, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk.

The Housing Industry Association says the shock caused by halting overseas migration, no international students and uncertainty over the domestic economy due to the coronavirus pandemic will trigger a 28 per cent fall in new home starts this financial year and a further 34 per cent in 2020-21.

Thousands of jobs are under threat in the home building industry. Credit:James Alcock

The association's latest industry update warns half a million jobs in residential construction are at risk across Australia, meaning at least 160,000 jobs in the NSW home building sector are under threat.

The employment slump in the sector caused by the coronavirus crisis is likely to last for several years, the report says.
Jaime King's estranged husband Kyle Newman has issued a statement after she filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against him.

'Kyle was deeply saddened by Jaimes attempt to obtain court orders based solely on false claims without providing him any opportunity to respond,' a representative for the 44-year-old director told TMZ this Tuesday.

'As a result, he was extremely pleased that the judge nevertheless permitted their children to remain in his care,' added Newman's spokesperson.

The way they were: Jaime King's estranged husband Kyle Newman has made a statement after she filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against him; pictured in 2018

'As Kyle continues to solo parent, as he has done throughout this pandemic, he remains entirely focused on putting the childrens stability and welfare first. Kyle wants nothing but the best for his whole family and hopes that Jaime can find the peace and help she needs.'

The statement comes a day after People reported that a judge had granted King's petition for a restraining order against her husband of 12 years.

The order, to remain in place until a court hearing to be held on June 8, comes after the actress filed for divorce and for a domestic violence prevention petition against the director.

A source told the magazine that King, 41, is 'distraught' over the situation.

Granted: The statement comes a day after People reported that a judge had granted King's petition for a restraining order against her husband of 12 years

News of King's filing came hours early on Monday, according to TMZ.

King has been married to Newman, 44, since 2007 after meeting on his film Fanboys, and together they share sons James, six, and Leo, four.

The couple's marriage had come under scrutiny lately after Jaime was seen out without her wedding band.

The duo were reportedly quarantining apart in recent days, with Jaime in California and Kyle in Pennsylvania with their children, according to Life & Style.

Split: The couple has been married for 12 years

Jaime and Kyle are 'taking some time apart to focus on themselves,' a source told the site.

'He's [Kyle] been staying with his family for months and is leaning on them for support,' the source added.

The couple had an instant connection that blew Jaime away.

'I don't know why, but some part of me was instantly connected to him, and I loved him so much,' Jaime told InStyle Weddings. 'It was intense. I never thought that would happen to me.'

As they were: Jaime has been married to Kyle since 2007 after meeting on his film Fanboys, and together they share sons James, six, and Leo, four (pictured 2019)

Family life: The couple with their two sons at the farmers' market in West Hollywood in 2019

They moved in together three months after first meeting, and married in November 2007 at the place they had their first date, the Greystone Park and Manor in Los Angeles.

The couple endured several trials over the course of their nearly 13 year long marriage.

Jaime was in Beverly Hills in 2018 when a man jumped onto her car with her son James inside, wrecking the windshield and leaving the pair shaken.

'I've had five miscarriages': Jaime has also been open about her struggles to have a family (pictured 2018)

'Dad life': Newman has reportedly been quarantining in Pennsylvania with their sons, and has been documenting his time with them in self-isolation on Instagram

The man, Paul Francis Floyd, was jailed for one year as a result of the attack, and was again sentenced to over four years in prison in 2019 after allegedly sending Jaime threats and explicit images following his initial release.

Jaime has also been open about her own fertility struggles.

The actress revealed she had suffered five miscarriages and was even diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome and endometriosis before finally having her first child.

'I've had five miscarriages, gone through five rounds of IVF and 26 rounds of IUD,' she told People in 2015. 'I was in severe pain all the time, emotionally and physically.'

Going solo: The actress was photographed without her husband at the release of Abrachshoes in Los Angeles in January 2020

Jaime went through five years of fertility treatments but eventually wound up getting pregnant naturally.

The couple welcomed their son Leo in 2015, but Jaime learned he had a heart defect when she was still pregnant.

The child was diagnosed with Transposition of the Great Arteries when he was 20 weeks old, and subsequently underwent major heart surgery.

No ring: King pictured without her wedding ring on in September 2019

Describing the ordeal, she told People, 'I was wheel-chaired to him every three hours, so I could breastfeed him and take care of him before he went into this huge surgery. It was a terrifying experience.'

Adding: 'But thank God for the medicine that we have now ... I knew how traumatic the experience was, how much post-traumatic stress disorder I had afterwards, and the trauma that I was experiencing before it. It's because I didn't know anybody that had gone through it and I didn't have people to talk to.

'I have a voice and I want to use that voice on behalf of my son - and I know that my son would want that. I've gotten thousands of letters from people and now I have a real community of people to talk to.'

Missing accessory: King wasn't wearing her ring in January 2020
And by coincidence, when Soileaus own debut, the story collection Last One Out Shut Off the Lights, gets released in July, both will have their first books available at the same time. Which, at the moment  particularly at this moment, with book stores settling for virtual author appearances  is not the best to spring a new writer on readers. In fact, its always tough. Sarah Hollenbeck, co-owner of Women & Children First bookstore in Andersonville  which was planning a big party for Valentine (but will opt now for a virtual gathering on May 26)  said: If you walked in the store right now, you would see a front table with stacks and stacks of debuts, books that were supposed to be big books for new writers. And now no one can discover them. Were happy that loss didnt happen for Elizabeth, but she had industry support and not everyone gets it.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Food banks around the world are experiencing dramatic increases in demand for food assistance driven by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more than ever, food banks need support. International Paper (NYSE: IP) is responding with one of its essential products  corrugated boxes. The company has committed to donating two million corrugated boxes to hunger-relief organizations.

This product donation will benefit hunger-relief organizations such as Feeding America and The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), among other relief agencies in communities where International Paper employees live and work.

"Our employees are passionate about supporting critical community needs, and we recognize that our boxes are essential for distributing food to people hit hardest by the pandemic," said Mark Sutton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our employees and our boxes are helping improve the ability of food banks to serve communities around the world."

Lisa Moon, president and CEO, The Global FoodBanking Network, agrees. "Many food banks have had to shift their model from serving daily hot meals to distributing food rations in boxes. International Paper's gift of two million boxes is extraordinary and desperately needed. Without boxes, we simply cannot get food to people," said Moon.

Increased Need around the World

Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, estimates that an additional 17.1 million Americans could face hunger in the next six months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Ensuring the health and safety of our staff, volunteers and our neighbors while serving our communities is Feeding America's top priority. We are tremendously grateful for International Paper for their donation of boxes  an essential component of food distribution during the pandemic," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America.

The Global FoodBanking Network believes the coronavirus pandemic could double the number of people facing life-threatening food shortages.

Calling on Others to Give

The company has launched a social media campaign  #HelpFillTheBoxes  to encourage those who are able to donate to food banks in their communities. Taking action in the fight against hunger during the pandemic can be as simple as volunteering at a local food bank or donating money or resources.

You can donate to Feeding America at feedingamerica.org or to The Global FoodBanking Network at foodbanking.org/covid19.

About International Paper

International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global producer of renewable fiber-based packaging, pulp and paper products with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa and Russia. We produce corrugated packaging products that protect and promote goods and enable worldwide commerce; pulp for diapers, tissue, and other personal hygiene products that promote health and wellness; and papers that facilitate education and communication. We are headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., employ more than 50,000 colleagues and serve more than 25,000 customers in 150 countries. Net sales for 2019 were $22 billion. For more information about International Paper, our products and global citizenship efforts, please visit internationalpaper.com.

SOURCE International Paper

Related Links

http://www.internationalpaper.com


This surprises absolutely no one.

But Samsung is going to be going online-only for the second Unpacked event of 2020. Instead of holding an Unpacked event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, like it has for the past two years, in August. It is instead going to be going online-only. Like every other major tech event has been forced to do this year, thanks to the ongoing pandemic.

As of right now, this is a rumor, coming out of South Korean media. Samsung has not made it official just yet. And that may not happen for another month. As Samsung doesnt usually send out invites for its events until about a month before the event.

Advertisement

Unpacked is forced to be online-only, because mass gatherings are banned

So mass gatherings are banned in most places right now, due to the pandemic. Most areas you cannot gather more than 10 people. Which means that Samsungs Unpacked event is basically done for, this year. As their events usually draw thousands of people.

And if you have been to any Unpacked events, youll know just how hard it is to move around inside the venue. Its just that packed. So theres no way that Samsung could do an event and adhere to CDC guidelines.

For those outside of the press, this doesnt really make much of a difference for them. As Samsung always streams its Unpacked events anyways. So going online-only for Samsung Unpacked doesnt really change much.

Advertisement

Expect more than a Galaxy Note 20 at this event

Typically, Samsung launches more than just the Galaxy Note devices at this fall Unpacked event. It also will debut a few other devices like tablets, smartwatches, etc.

However, this year, it is expected that Samsung is going to unveil the Galaxy Fold 2. And possible the lite version as well. Which is said to cost around $1100. So this would likely be the biggest, online-only event of the year. Both in terms of how many will watch, but also in terms of the products announced. Especially since Google has cancelled Google I/O.

This is a new normal that we all have to live with, including Samsung. And were all still adapting to everything thats going on in the world right now. But if this shows us one thing, its that companies dont need to put on big huge events to announce their brand new products. An online-only event does the trick too.
A shop worker wears a mask in London. (Getty Images)

Scientists have suggested a rolling cycle of 50 days of lockdown followed by 30 days of normality to help manage the coronavirus outbreak.

Britons have spent weeks cooped up indoors as government officials work to protect the NHS and save lives.

With the weather warming up and other countries opening their borders, lockdown fatigue has set in for many.

Severe concerns have also been raised about how the stay at home message is impacting the economy, with a huge rise in the number claiming unemployment benefits.

While many are keen for some form of normality, officials have warned this could risk a dreaded second peak.

To avoid this, scientists from the University of Cambridge have suggested we alternate between lockdown and breathing intervals.

Early research suggests the coronavirus is mild in four out of five cases, however, it can trigger a respiratory disease called COVID-19.

A woman wears a mask in Moscow. (Getty Images)

Coronavirus: Theres no simple answer

Our models predict that dynamic cycles of 50-day suppression followed by a 30-day relaxation are effective at lowering the number of deaths significantly for all countries throughout the 18-month period, said lead author Dr Rajiv Chowdhury.

This intermittent combination of strict social distancing, and a relatively relaxed period, with efficient testing, case isolation, contact tracing and shielding the vulnerable, may allow populations and their national economies to breathe at intervals  a potential that might make this solution more sustainable.

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

Officials often talk about how Britons will have to adapt to a new normal until an effective vaccine or treatment becomes available.

Social distancing in the forming of working from home, closing schools and isolating the highly vulnerable is known to help stem the spread of infection.

Story continues

This comes at the expense of job security and socialising, however.

Alternating strict restrictions with relaxed social distancing has been suggested as an alternative approach.

How long this would last and the ways in which different countries would adapt, however, was unclear.

To learn more, the Cambridge scientists modelled three scenarios across 16 countries, ranging from Australia and Belgium to India and Ethiopia. The UK and US were not included.

Scenario one modelled the impact of no measures.

As might be expected, the number of patients requiring intensive care would quickly and significantly exceed capacity in every country.

It may also result in 7.8 million deaths across the 16 nations, wrote the scientists in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

Under this scenario, the outbreak would be expected to last nearly 200 days.

The second approach modelled a rolling cycle of 50 day mitigation measures, followed by 30 days of relaxation.

Mitigation aims to reduce the number of new infections, but at a relatively slow rate, like by restricting public events.

This strategy would likely reduce the basic reproduction number to 0.8 in all 16 countries.

The basic reproduction number, or R number, is the number of people a patient statistically goes on to infect.

For example, if the number is three, every patient would be expected to pass the virus to three others.

When an R number is more than one, an outbreak grows. When it is less than one, an outbreak dies out.

Despite its benefits, scenario two is not projected to be effective beyond the first relaxation, when the number of patients requiring intensive care would exceed capacity.

This would be expected to result in 3.5 million deaths.

The pandemic would also last around 12 months in high-income countries and 18 months or longer in developing nations.

The final scenario involves a rolling cycle of strict 50 day suppression measures, followed by a 30 day relaxation period.

Suppression leads to a faster reduction in new infections by imposing strict physical distancing, like lockdown.

This approach would be expected to reduce the R number to 0.5 and keep intensive care demand within capacity.

Since more individuals would remain susceptible to the infection, it would be expected to result in a longer pandemic, lasting more than 18 months in all countries.

Significantly fewer would die, however, with just over 130,000 fatalities expected across the 16 countries.

The scientists found a strict three-month lockdown would reduce cases to almost zero in most countries, while looser strategies would take around 6.5 months to reach the same point.

They argued, however, prolonged restrictions would be unsustainable in most countries due to the impact on the economy.

Specifics of the lockdown cycle would need to be adjusted according to a countrys resources, added the scientists.

Our study provides a strategic option that countries can use to help control COVID-19 and delay the peak rate of infections, said study author Professor Oscar Franco from the University of Bern in Switzerland.

This should allow them to buy valuable time to shore up their health systems and increase efforts to develop new treatments or vaccines.

Theres no simple answer to the question of which strategy to choose.

Countries, particularly low-income countries, will have to weigh up the dilemma of preventing COVID-19 related deaths and public health system failure with the long-term economic collapse and hardship.

A woman wears a mask in Athens. (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 4.8 million cases have been confirmed worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Of these cases, over 1.8 million are known to have recovered.

Globally, the death toll has exceeded 319,000.

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 ward off infection by washing their hands regularly and maintaining social distancing.
An English teacher has shared a useful guide revealing the difference between British, American and Australian slang.

YouTuber Lucy Earl, 25, from Hertfordshire, vlogs under the name 'English With Lucy', which has amassed 4 million subscribers since January 2016.

With the help of Australian blogger Emma and American YouTuber Vanessa, Lucy has released a guide, which shows how the same words can have very different meanings across UK, US and Australia.

Some of the words proved more confusing than others, such as the British word for 'crisps' which is the same as the American word 'chips' while Australians use the word 'chips' to describe both potato chips and hot chips.

Different words and vocabulary in the UK, US and Australia British English Crisps Chips Biscuits Lorry Fringe Swimming costume The woods Toilet or bathroom Flat The shops Duvet Peppers Wellies Flip flops Petrol station Off licence Trousers Pavement Motorway Wife beater or vest Australian English Chips Hot chips Biscuits Truck Fringe Togs or swimmers Forest Bathroom Apartment Supermarket Doona Capsicums Gumboots Thongs Petrol station Bottle shop or bottle-o Pants Footpath Highway Freeway Singlet American English Chips French Fries Cookie Tractor Trailer Bangs Swimsuit or bathing suit Forest Restroom or bathroom Apartment Grocery store Comforter Bell peppers Rain boots Flip flops Gas station ABC store Pants Sidewalk Highway Interstate Wife beater Advertisement

Others include words which are different in each language, for example the British word 'duvet' is 'dooner' in Australia, and 'comforter' in American English.

Lucy explains that pronunciation and vocabulary are different in English, because it is not always a phonetic language, encouraging her viewers to read books in their native language while listening to them in English.

'We may all speak the same language', says Lucy, 'but we speak with different accents and different vocabulary, so this video is perfect for improving your vocabulary.

'English Isn't a strictly phonetic language the way a word is written in English may not give you an indication at all as to how it's pronounced in english.'

YouTuber Lucy Earl (left), 25, from Hertfordshire, who vlogs under the name English With Lucy shared a useful guide revealing the difference between British, American and Australian slang and vocabulary with the help of vloggers Emma (middle) and Vanessa (right). The British word 'duvet' is 'dooner' in Australia and 'comforter' in American English

Meanwhile the Brits say 'toilet' or 'bathroom', while in America the correct term is 'restroom'.

And, confusingly, the British word flip-flop means 'thong' in Australia, while a thong is underwear in America.

Elsewhere the British word 'off-licence' is Bottle shop or bottle-o in Australia, and ABC store in America.

And while we may wear 'wellies' to festivals in Britain, in Australia the term is 'gumboots' and in America the term 'rain boots' is used.
Priti Patel has buckled to pressure for more support for families of migrant NHS cleaners, porters and social care workers who die in the coronavirus pandemic, after a senior medical adviser hailed their contribution, saying: There are many, many heroes within the NHS, not just doctors and nurses.

Within minutes of NHS England medical director Stephen Powis impassioned tribute at the daily Downing Street press conference, the Home Office announced a U-turn on its policy excluding support staff and care workers from the offer extended to foreign-national doctors and nurses of indefinite leave to remain in the UK for their families if they die.

The lesser treatment for some of the NHSs lowest-paid workers  many of them employed by private companies under outsourcing arrangements  had been branded an outrageous scandal by the GMB union.

And when Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, was challenged on it at the No 10 briefing, he promised that ministers would look at the policy, which he said was was being kept under review.

Prof Powis said that decisions on immigration status were a matter for ministers, but added: As a doctor who has worked on the frontline for many years, I value the entire multidisciplinary team  everybody from porter to manager to administrator to nurse who absolutely work together as a team in managing this sort of crisis, but also the day-to-day care that the NHS provides.

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

Its often the doctors and nurses at the front who get the praise, but believe me there are a huge number of people working behind the scenes ... There are many, many heroes within the NHS, not just doctors and nurses.

Within minutes, Ms Patel issued a statement that all families and dependants of NHS support staff and social care workers who die as result of contracting coronavirus were being brought into the scheme, free of charge, effective immediately and retrospectively.

The home secretary had come under pressure to rethink the policy from Commons Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper, who told her in a letter it would be unthinkable to tell the family of someone who died as a result of looking after Covid-19 patients that they must leave the country.

In her statement, Ms Patel said: Every death in this crisis is a tragedy, and sadly some NHS support staff and social care workers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of saving the lives of others.

When I announced the introduction of the bereavement scheme in April, I said we would continue to work across government to look at ways to offer further support. Today we are extending the scheme to NHS support staff and social care workers.

We want to ensure families have the support they need and so this will be effective immediately and retrospectively.

Her announcement came shortly after prime minister Boris Johnson revealed that the deaths of more than 300 heath and care workers of all kinds have been linked to Covid-19.

Ms Cooper welcomed the U-turn, saying: The Home Affairs Committee has been pressing on this for weeks. It would be unthinkable to ask a family who had lost a loved one as a result of caring for people with Covid-19 to leave their home and the country when they have already given so much to the UK fighting against this awful virus.

But she said the support and care staff should now also be included in the offer of free one-year visa extensions offered to around 3,000 migrant NHS doctors, nurses and paramedics whose working visas expire before 1 October this year.

Why should those who care for and transport vulnerable patients and scrub the floors and door handles of the Covid wards be excluded from the NHS visa extension scheme? asked Ms Cooper.

The Government should now expand free visa extensions and waive the immigration health surcharge for care workers and low-paid NHS staff too. Making the lowest paid NHS and care workers pay thousands of pounds and wrestle with the UK immigration system while they are working to care for and support UK residents in the midst of this coronavirus crisis is unfair and wrong.

GMB organiser Lola McEvoy said: It doesnt bear thinking about what key workers families whove lost their loved ones have been going through, but when you add in the extra insecurity of not knowing if youll be deported, its unacceptable.

Welcoming the U-turn, Ms McEvoy said: Not only is it the right thing to do, its also an acceptance that  regardless who you work for, where you were born or how much youre paid  if you have fought frontline during this pandemic, you and your family will be supported and treated the same.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said the offer adds insult to injury by telling those risking their lives in hospitals that their contribution will only be recognised if they die.

That is not good enough, said Ms Jardine. The home secretary should give all foreign nationals working in the NHS and social care and their families the indefinite leave to remain in the UK, with no costs or bureaucratic hurdles. It is the very least she can do.
She has been showing fans how she maintains her incredible figure with her daily live workouts.

And Kate Ferdinand put her sensational physique on display as she modelled her new clothing collection with Very UK.

The former TOWIE star, 28, proved to be her own best advert for the line, and looked radiant as she posed in the pieces.

Own best advert! Kate Ferdinand put her sensational physique on display as she modelled her new clothing collection with Very UK

Kate's ample cleavage was highlighted by an animal print blouse in one shot, with a dress in the same pattern teasing a look at her tanned and toned pins.

The fitness fanatic also showcased her tiny waist as she slipped into a white PU midi shirt that flattered her curves.

Proving she looks equally as stunning dressed down as she does glammed up, the blonde bombshell also modelled loungewear.

Dressed to impress! The former TOWIE star, 28, proved to be her own best advert for the line, and looked radiant as she posed in the pieces

Favourite piece: The fitness fanatic showcased her tiny waist as she slipped into a white PU midi shirt that flattered her curves, admitting this was one of her favourtie outfits

Kate's new collection comes after she admitted to feeling 'anxious' and 'stressed' at the start of lockdown.

Speaking about her sense of style, Kate mused: 'dress for you and your shape, nobody else.

'If you dont feel comfortable and good about yourself then you wont be confident.'

Stunning: Proving she looks equally as stunning dressed down as she does glammed up, the blonde bombshell also modelled an array of loungewear among her chic dresses

Discussing where she gets her inspiration from and whether she follows trend, Kate continued: 'I like to scroll through Instagram and see whats going on just as much as the next person, but at the same time I know what I like and what I look good in.

'Theres some trends that I just know Id never get away with and thats totally ok!

'I do like to mix it up though, and fully admire people that really experiment with their style, its inspiring!

Candid: Kate recently admitted that she felt 'anxious' and 'stressed' at the start of lockdown due to a lack of routine (pictured with husband Rio Ferdinand)

Kate's new collection comes as she adjusts to life in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The reality star recently spoke to MailOnline about homeschooling husband Rio's three children Lorenz, 13, Tate, 11, and Tia, nine, during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Despite initially struggling with the lockdown, Kate has created an online community of support thanks to her candid Instagram updates, squat challenge and Ferdinand Fitness YouTube channel, which has helped her focus and realise she's 'not alone'.

Kate admitted that the lockdown period has made her aware of how much we all 'take stuff for granted' and her online presence has been like 'therapy' as she can talk to other people who are struggling with the current crisis.

She told MailOnline: 'I just think it's a little something for us to do everyday. At the beginning of lockdown, I felt a bit anxious and stressed, I didn't have a lot of routine.

'I know it sounds silly the squat challenge, it might only take you ten minutes but it just gives you a little something to do every day which can keep you focused. I think it's quite good, you feel like you're in a little community doing it together.

'What I love about Ferdinand Fitness we have been doing it with bottles of water, detergent, everyone can do it, you don't have to have all tech and equipment to all do it together. It gets you through this time.'
The Spanish government released on Wednesday the new rules concerning the obligatory use of face masks in public spaces. The personal protective equipment has been compulsory on public transportation in Spain since May 4, when confinement measures were eased to allow residents to go outside for exercise and for walks. But on Sunday, the central government and regional leaders struck an agreement to extend their use to all public spaces where social distancing cannot be respected.

According to the ministerial order, published Wednesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), face masks must be worn in the public street, in open-air spaces and any closed space that is for public use or that is open to the public, where it is not possible to maintain [an interpersonal] distance of two meters.

The new rules apply to everyone over the age of six. The use of face masks is also recommended for children between three and five years of age.

People wearing face masks on the streets of Terrassa in Barcelona on Monday. Cristobal Castro

The measure comes into effect on Thursday and, in principle, will be valid for the duration of the state of alarm, which is set to end on May 24 if the government does not secure congressional approval today to extend the extraordinary measure until June 7.

But there are exceptions to the new rules. According to the order, people with respiratory problems, or those who cannot wear masks for other health reasons or due to a disability, are exempt from wearing them. The order makes exceptions for cases where wearing a mask is incompatible with carrying out activities, due to the nature of the activity. The Health Ministry confirmed to Spanish radio station Cadena SER on Wednesday that running falls under this exception. This means that people do not need to wear a mask while going for a jog. The order also sets out exceptions for instances of force majeure.

Health Minister Salvador Illa announced on Wednesday that the central government will not be handing out masks to the public for free. Regional authorities may, however, decide to take this initiative. In Madrid, seven million face masks were distributed for free last week, although complaints that they did not meet European Union regulations and that they were not the correct type for use by the general public.

The order does not set out what type of protection must be worn. Instead, it recommends the use of hygienic or surgical masks that cover the nose and mouth in public spaces where social distancing is not possible. The central government has set the maximum cost of surgical masks (the most common type are blue on one side and white on the other) at 0.96 a unit. If a single-use surgical mask were to be used every day, the cost to each citizen would be around 29 a month. There are, however, surgical masks that can be worn for more than one day.

The new rules do not establish specific sanctions for those who refuse to wear a mask. Legal sources believe that, like the rest of the orders under the state of alarm, offenders will be subject to the Public Safety Law, also known as the Gag Law. Under this law, a person can be fined between 100 and 600 for minor breaches, and up to 600,000 for very serious offenses.

The issue of face masks has been one of the measures that has been subject to the most variations since the health crisis began. At first, authorities did not recommend that they be worn by people with no symptoms, then they did a U-turn and recommended that they should be used, before finally deciding that face masks would be compulsory on public transportation.

The change has coincided as more information is gathered about the coronavirus, and as Spain begins to deescalate the confinement measures that have been in place since March 14. With more people in the street, there is a greater risk of contagion, explained Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts. Another change is that there is now greater availability of face masks. Indeed, the Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had distributed 9.6 million masks among Spains regional authorities.

Do masks need to be worn while exercising? The use of face masks will not be obligatory while practicing sport or doing exercise, Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts, confirmed on Wednesday. Speaking at the governments press conference, the health expert said that it would be up to the individual to decide whether to wear a face mask while exercising. We have to be reasonable, he explained. If one is practicing a sport that requires a lot of effort it is very difficult to do that while using a mask. Simon explained that if a person was carrying out a sport that required an excessive effort that could not be done while wearing a mask, not using one would not have to be a big problem.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
RMS Titanic struck an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage in 1912, killing over 1,500

A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a salvage firm can retrieve the Marconi wireless telegraph machine that broadcast distress calls from the sinking Titanic ocean liner.

In an order released on Monday, US District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith agreed that the telegraph is historically and culturally important and could soon be lost within the rapidly decaying wreck site.

She wrote that recovering the telegraph "will contribute to the legacy left by the indelible loss of the Titanic, those who survived, and those who gave their lives in the sinking".

Ms Smith is the maritime jurist who presides over Titanic salvage matters from a federal court in Norfolk. Her ruling modifies a previous judge's order from the year 2000 that forbids cutting into the shipwreck or detaching any part of it.

Ms Smith's order is a big win for RMS Titanic Inc, the court-recognised salvor, or steward, of the Belfast-built liner's artefacts.

The firm recently emerged from bankruptcy and is under new ownership.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which represents the public's interest in the wreck site, fiercely opposes the mission, arguing that the telegraph is likely surrounded "by the mortal remains of more than 1,500 people" and should be left alone.
A Trump administration policy of quickly expelling most migrants stopped along the border because of the Covid-19 pandemic was indefinitely extended Tuesday, with a top US health official arguing that what had been a short-term order was still needed to protect the country from the virus.

The order issued by Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, authorizes Customs and Border Protection to immediately remove migrants, including people seeking asylum, as a way to prevent the potential spread of the virus while in custody.

President Donald Trump issued the initial 30-day order in March, and it was extended for another month in April. The new version notably has no fixed end date, though it says the CDC will review public health data every 30 days to ensure it is still necessary.

Administration officials have defended the policy amid criticism from human rights advocates who say the US is using health as a pretext to deny people the right to seek asylum and to enact immigration policies aimed at appealing to supporters of the president in an election year.

Click here for full Covid-19 coverage

Trumps goal is not to protect our health, its to sow division and advance his political agenda, said Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Under the policy, CBP has been sending Mexican and Central American migrants they encounter along the southwestern border back to Mexico in about two hours. It is turning people from other countries over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for rapid repatriation, removing people who might have remained in the country for months, or even years, to pursue asylum claims.

Human Rights First, a nonpartisan human rights organization, said the CDC order has already been used to block and expel thousands of asylum-seekers to dangerous places.

This new extension of the CDC order will end US refugee and child protections at the border indefinitely, endangering rather than saving lives, said Eleanor Acer, the groups senior director for refugee protection. There is little doubt that the Trump administration will wield this indefinite ban to expel and block asylum-seekers and children for many months or longer, possibly until this administration is no longer in office.

The US is also quickly expelling migrants encountered entering across the northern border with Canada, though there are far fewer than along the southwest.

Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf said in announcing the extension that the restrictions were one of the most critical tools his department has to prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people, DHS front-line officers, and those in their care and custody from Covid-19.

The previous order was due to expire Wednesday. Redfield said the new one would remain in effect until the danger of further introduction of Covid-19 into the United States has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health. He also noted that vaccines and treatment for the virus were still months away and that cases were increasing in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Canada, Mexico and the US shut their borders by mutual agreement to nonessential traffic in March to help control the spread of the virus.

Trump followed that up in April with an executive order that halted immigration to the US for 60 days in an effort to limit competition for jobs amid the economic collapse from the outbreak.

The president has long advocated restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration and has raised concerns for years about foreigners competing with American citizens for jobs. But he denied he was using the virus to make good on a long-standing campaign promise during an election year.

Also Tuesday, the Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to allow it to terminate an agreement that places limits on the detention of immigrant children.

Justice Department lawyer August Flentje told a panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in California that repeated border crises that are driven by irregular family migration required the government to adopt new rules and replace whats known as the Flores settlement.

In court filings, lawyers for migrants said ending the agreement would give ICE new powers to detain children and parents indefinitely and eviscerate their right to a neutral review of whether they are eligible for release.
Long made the remark while delivering a speech at the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA73), which took place in the form of a teleconference on May 18-19 due to the impact of the pandemic.

The official said that with high political determination and the motto fighting the pandemic like fighting the enemy, Vietnam has resolutely implemented many measures in a synchronous and flexible manner, thus effectively curbing the spread of the disease with no fatal cases.

Vietnam has actively shared information and experience on COVID-19 prevention and control, and always ensured information transparency with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other countries around the world via its focal point on International Health Regulations (IHR), he stated.

Long noted that Vietnam highly appreciates the technical assistance offered by the WHO in combating the pandemic through the issuance of recommendations and technical documents related to treatment, monitoring, infection control and testing, and the organisation of teleconferences to share information and experience on disease prevention and control.

Screenshot of the location at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Despite the huge losses caused by COVID-19, this was an opportunity for countries to reconsider their capabilities following the requirements of IHR (2005) including policies, surveillance, risk assessment, laboratory, infection prevention and control, clinical management, risk communication and resources, in order to propose recommendations to strengthen those capabilities in the near future, he said.

The agenda of WHA73 mainly focused on the topic of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, member countries voted to select the official members that will replace the previous ones on the WHO Executive Board. In the Western Pacific region where Vietnam is a member state of the WHO, the Republic of Korea has been elected to be an official member of the WHO Executive Board, replacing Japan whose tenure expires in 2020.

Many world leaders attended and delivered speeches at the WHA73, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and RoK President Moon Jae-in. It is time for the world to join hands to push back the pandemic by promoting technological advances such as vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, the leaders said, pledging to sponsor COVID-19 prevention and control funds via the WHO, the Global Vaccination Alliance (GAVI) and other multilateral organisations, so as to ensure everyone has access to testing, treatment and vaccine supplies once a vaccine for COVID-19 has been successfully developed.
When Norma McCorvey, the anonymous plaintiff in the landmark Roe v. Wade case, came out against abortion in 1995, it stunned the world and represented a huge symbolic victory for abortion opponents: Jane Roe had gone to the other side.

For the remainder of her life, McCorvey worked to overturn the law that bore her name.

But it was all a lie, McCorvey says in a documentary filmed in the months before her death in 2017, claiming she only did it because she was paid by antiabortion groups including Operation Rescue.

I was the big fish. I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and theyd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say. Thats what Id say, she says in AKA Jane Roe, which premieres Friday on FX. It was all an act. I did it well too. I am a good actress.

In what she describes as a "deathbed confession," a visibly ailing McCorvey restates her support for reproductive rights in colorful terms: "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that's no skin off my ass. That's why they call it choice."

Arriving in an election year as the Supreme Court is considering a high-profile abortion case with the potential to undermine Roe vs. Wade and several states across the country have imposed so-called heartbeat laws effectively banning the procedure, AKA Jane Roe is likely to provoke strong emotions on both sides of this perennial front in the culture wars.

Director Nick Sweeney says his goal was not necessarily to stir controversy, but to create a fully realized portrait of a flawed, fascinating woman who changed the course of American history but felt she was used as a pawn by both sides in the debate.

"The focus of the film is Norma. That's what I really want people to take away from the film  who is this enigmatic person at the center of this very divisive issue," he says. "With an issue like this there can be a temptation for different players to reduce 'Jane Roe' to an emblem or a trophy, and behind that is a real person with a real story. Norma was incredibly complex."

Sweeney started making the film in April 2016, frequently visiting McCorvey in Katy, Texas. At first, he says, she was reticent, "but when she realized when I was not involved in the abortion debate she was very happy to open up." Over the course of the time they spent together, McCorvey recounted details of her difficult upbringing  marked by abuse, neglect and a stint in reform school  turbulent personal life, including a short-lived teenage marriage, and a decadeslong relationship with girlfriend Connie Gonzalez.

"I thought she was extremely interesting and enigmatic. I liked that her life was full of these fascinating contradictions," says Sweeney, who also interviewed figures on either side of the abortion issue who were close to McCorvey, including attorney Gloria Allred and Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister and former leader of Operation Rescue.

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 26, 1989 file photo, Norma McCorvey, Jane Roe in the 1973 court case, left, and her attorney Gloria Allred hold hands as they leave the Supreme Court building in Washington after sitting in while the court listened to arguments in a Missouri abortion case. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)AP

McCorvey comes across as funny, sharp and unfiltered, with a broad performative streak. She rattles off lines from "Macbeth" and jokes, "I'm a very glamorous person  I can't help it, it's a gift."

The documentary includes scenes of McCorvey on election night 2016  a few months before she died of heart failure at age 69  expressing her support for Hillary Clinton. "I wish I knew how many abortions Donald Trump was responsible for," McCorvey muses. "I'm sure he's lost count, if he can count that high."

"She had a kind of sly wit," says Sweeney, recalling the many hours he spent with her in Katy, going on doughnut runs or sitting in a park, where she'd make him pick magnolia flowers.

But there is also great sadness, particularly surrounding her relationship with Gonzalez, which she renounced after her conversion in 1995.

The film explores one of the great ironies of McCorvey's life story: Although she helped make abortion legal, McCorvey herself never had an abortion. She was pregnant with her third child when, in 1970, she signed an affidavit challenging laws in Texas which prohibited abortions except to save a mother's life. As an impoverished, uneducated woman lacking the means to travel out of state or obtain an illegal procedure, she was an ideal plaintiff for the lawyers who tried the case, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee.

"I know how I felt when I found out that I was pregnant and I wasn't going to let another woman feel that way  cheap, dirty and no good," McCorvey says in the film. "Women make mistakes, and they make mistakes with men, and things happen. It's just Mother Nature at work. You can't stop it. You can't explain it. It's just something that happens."

Norma McCorvey, 35, the Dallas mother whose desire to have an abortion was the basis for a landmark Supreme Court decision a decade ago, takes time from her job as a house painter to pose for a photograph in Terrell, Texas on Thursday, Jan. 21, 1983. (AP Photo/Bill Janscha)ASSOCIATED PRESS

But it would take three years before the Supreme Court would render a verdict, by which time McCorvey had long since given birth to a girl who was given up for adoption. (Her second child had also been given up for adoption; her first child was raised by her mother.) McCorvey remembers learning of the decision in the newspaper and receiving a phone call from Weddington saying they'd won. "Why would I be excited? I had a baby, but I gave her away. It's for all the women who come after me."

"AKA Jane Roe" also shows how McCorvey was held at arm's length by abortion rights proponents. After a decade of anonymity, McCorvey went public in the 1980s and began granting interviews, and was depicted in the Emmy-winning TV movie, "Roe vs. Wade," starring Holly Hunter. But to the leaders of the abortion rights movement, the inconsistencies in her story  for a time McCorvey claimed she had gotten pregnant as the result of a rape, then said she had been lying  and lack of polish made her a less-than-ideal poster girl for the cause.

In 1995, she was working at a Dallas abortion clinic that was targeted for demonstrations by Operation Rescue, a militant organization known for extreme tactics such as blockading clinics (the group is now known as Operation Save America). She struck up an unlikely friendship with Flip Benham, an evangelical minister, who baptized her in a backyard pool, and for the next two decades of her life was a fixture at antiabortion protests and in documentaries. In 1998, she published a second memoir, "Won by Love," detailing her change of heart on abortion. As Benham recalls with evident pride in "AKA Jane Roe," McCorvey also took part in demonstrations where he burned the LGBT flag and the Quran.

Despite her visible role in the fight against abortion, McCorvey says she was a mercenary, not a true believer. And Schenck, who has also distanced himself from the antiabortion movement, at least particularly corroborates the allegations, saying that she was paid out of concern "that she would go back to the other side," he says in the film. "There were times I wondered: Is she playing us? And what I didn't have the guts to say was, because I know damn well we were playing her."

Schenck expresses regret at targeting McCorvey, someone whose vulnerabilities could be easily exploited, he says. "What we did with Norma was highly unethical. The jig is up."

By Meredith Blake, The Los Angeles Times (TNS)

More:

Body found on beach where WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard disappeared swimming in rip tide

Matt Lauer says Ronan Farrows work on him was shoddy and biased

Johnson & Johnson to stop selling talc-based baby powder in US, Canada
The late Gregory Tyree Boyce and his girlfriend

20.05.2020 LISTEN

Twilight actor Gregory Tyree Boyce, 30, and his Nigerian girlfriend, Natalie Adepoju, 27, have both been found mysteriously dead in their condo in Las Vegas.

According to the Las Vegas Medical Examiner's office, the couple were found dead on Wednesday but the news of their death was announced on Monday.

The medical examiner's office also stated that the cause of their deaths was yet to be revealed pending toxicology results.

A source who spoke to TMZ said a white powdery substance was found at the scene, but authorities are yet to confirm.

Boyce and his girlfriend were found after his cousin noticed his car was still at the house when he was supposed to be out for some errands. He was a person who loved life, was super positive and the life of the party.

He was one of my funniest friends in LA and made my experience there really memorable. I will definitely miss him, the source added.

However, Natalie's family while confirming her death in a statement described her as a loving daughter who would be dearly missed.

The statement reads, Natalie was a loving daughter, niece, sister, cousin, and friend.

She had so much life to live, and we are saddened that her life was cut short.

Natalie leaves behind her one and only baby boy, Egypt, her father, two brothers and one sister, and a host of family and friends who love her dearly.

She will be dearly missed.

Boyce was best known for his role as Tyler Crowley in the popular 'Twilight' movie.

The actor is survived by his 10-year-old daughter, Alaya.
The new streaming service HBO Max wont launch until May 27, but todays announcement that HBO Max will stream Zack Snyders directors cut of the 2017 Justice League movie has fans responding with glee. When Justice League was first released, it met with a mixed reception, and was seen as the product of a troubled post-production period. The movie brought together superheroes from the DC Comics world, including Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa), The Flash (Ezra Miller), Cyborg (Ray Fisher) and Superman (Henry Cavill).

But original director Snyder stepped away from the production due to a family tragedy. As Vulture reports, Joss Whedon then took over as director, completing the version of Justice League we all know and some of us love. But how close is it to Snyders original vision? Almost immediately, rumors swirled that Snyders edit of the film would have been much darker.

According to Vulture, the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign began in November of 2019, after Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot used the hashtag on Twitter. That started what the HBO Max press release calls global passionate fan calls to action and the #ReleaseTheSnyder Cut movement. As the release continues, Snyder surprised fans with the news this morning during a live online commentary of his film Man of Steel with Henry Cavill.

Related: HBO Max: How it compares to other streaming services, what it costs, shows, launch date

The release includes Snyder expressing gratitude to HBO Max and Warner Brothers for this brave gesture of supporting artists and allowing their true visions to be realized. Also a special thank you to all of those involved in the SnyderCut movement for making this a reality.

If you havent seen Justice League, or are otherwise oblivious to the DC Universe, heres the synopsis, courtesy of the HBO Max press release: "In Justice League, fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Supermans selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroesBatman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flashit may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions."

So, you know, just another day in the superhero world. Fans will have to wait a bit longer, though, since the directors cut of Justice League wont stream on HBO Max until 2021.

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A west Clare farmer arrested by Gardai the same day his mother was buried arising from a property dispute with a brother is now charged with causing significant structural damage to the disputed property.

In a new charge brought against John Morrissey (53) of Clonreddan, Cooraclare on Wednesday, he is charged with causing significant internal and external structural damage to the home/house of Mary Morrissey and Tom Morrissey at Alva, Cooraclare on December 13th last.

As part of the single criminal damage charge, John Morrissey is also charged with damaging the contents of the home/house of Mary Morrissey and Tom Morrissey.

John Morrissey - who celebrated his 53rd birthday in custody on Tuesday - is accused of demolishing the external garage of the home and damage to the septic tank of the property belonged to Mary Morrissey and Tom Morrissey.

Giving evidence of arrest, charge and caution at Ennis District Court today, Det Sgt John Farmer stated that John Morrissey made no reply to the new charge.

Det Sgt Farmer stated that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has recommended that the case be heard in the circuit court.

Those convicted of criminal damage in the circuit court can face prison terms up to 10 years.

Mr Morrissey has been on remand at Limerick prison over the past two weeks after Judge Patrick Durcan refused bail to the man concerning a separate criminal damage charge to a fuse box at the home of his brother, Tom Morrissey at Alva, Cooraclare on May 5th.

The Morrissey brothers mother was buried the same day and John Morrissey was arrested after the alleged criminal damage incident on the same day.

Concerning the new charge, Sgt Aiden Lonergan told the court that the new criminal damage charge is connected to the alleged May 5th offence.

Sgt Lonergan said that the origins of the two alleged incidents are the same.

Sgt Lonergan stated that the DPP has yet to give directions on the alleged May 5th offence but that the two charges may travel together.

When the first criminal damage charge came before the court two weeks ago, solicitor for John Morrissey, Stiofan Fitzpatrick told the court: It is obvious that this is a family dispute and a family matter and there is a lot of tension and strong feeling in relation to that.

He stated: My client believes that this isnt the property of his brother who is the complainant and he believes that this will be borne out in time when the estate is dealt with.

Mr Fitzpatrick stated that the property is owned by Mr Morrisseys late mother.

He stated: We dont know who that property has been passed onto. There is no information in relation to that.

Mr Fitzpatrick stated that John Morrissey farms all of the land surrounding the house.

Judge Durcan further remanded Mr Morrissey in custody to appear before the court next Wednesday, May 27th via video link.
[May 20, 2020] Futuri and ReelWorld Announce Strategic Partnership, Launch the Future of Interactive Programming: Tether

CLEVELAND and SEATTLE, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Futuri, the leading provider of cloud-based audience engagement software, and ReelWorld, the radio industry's leading jingle, imaging, and sonic branding company, today announced a strategic partnership that includes the launch of the new interactive programming platform Tether, designed to help programming teams create truly standout, engaging on-air moments with minimal drain on resources. The Tether system marries Futuri's powerful interactive programming technology -- the evolution of its groundbreaking LDR and #engage products -- with ReelWorld's world-class creative audio production. Key Tether features include: Listener Voting Sessions: Designed to create anticipation and excitement, and keep listeners tuned in, Tether helps programmers quickly build listener voting battles, takeovers, and more that boost audience involvement while programmers maintain total control. Turnkey Production: Each week stations receive new creative audio features from ReelWorld that include setups, recaps, and payoffs - all produced with their own station VO - that take the hard work out of bringing listener voting sessions to life. The Power to Customize: Tether's simple yet powerful audio editor lets stations quickly customize the content further or create their own features in seconds. Tether even lets stations upload their own audio for total creative freedom. Song Alerts and Playlist Social Integration: Automatic integration with social platforms and all major playout systems means stations can achieve maximum reach with minimal effort while keeping listeners connected. Data on all interactions, including music preferences, is available to all station users. Social Video: Each Tether audio feature is accompanied by a supporting video piece for station socials and websites to keep station programming top of mind even when listeners aren't tuned in. The strategic partnership between Futuri and ReelWorld was born from the like-minded companies identifying the need for broadcasters to differentiate their programming with solutions that marry standout creative with ROI-driven audience engagement technology, and are simple for stations to execute. Prep+, ReelWorld's all-inclusive show prep system, joined the Futuri portfolio in late 2019, and Tether is the partnership's first collaborative endeavor. "Tether is designed to make it easy to create meaningful connections with listeners and differentiate your station. Our goal in combining ReelWorld's world-class audio production with Futuri's innovative technology is to help our partner stations quickly create standout moments that deeply engage their audience on-air, online, and on socials. There are no better partners in this endeavor than Mike Thomas and ReelWorld, who are the best in their field, bar none," said Futuri Media CEO Daniel Anstandig. ReelWorld CEO Mike Thomas adds, "We've been big fans of Daniel and Futuri for years. They know the tech, research and listener engagement side of radio better than anybody else out there, just like ReelWorld knows a thing or two about making amazing jingles, imaging and sonic branding. With Tether, we were able to focus on our core strengths and join together to build a product that gives stations the best of both companies." Tether with ReelWorld audio is currently available for CHR, Country, Classic Rock, and Classic Hits formats, with more formats to be announced soon. Tether's core audience engagement features are available for all formats. For more information on Tether, visit futurimedia.com/tether or reach out to the following contacts: For ReelWorld

Craig Wallace

[email protected]

206.219.2663 For Futuri Media

Zena Burns

[email protected]

216.236.9020 About Futuri Media

Futuri is the leading provider of cloud-based audience engagement software for the enterprise. Brands rely on Futuri solutions to make their content more relevant, accessible, engaging, and results driven. Founded in 2009, Futuri holds 11 published or pending patents in 151 countries. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America's fastest-growing private companies for six consecutive years, Futuri is the only audience engagement platform that includes solutions for sales, marketing, and content teams. For more information, visit futurimedia.com About ReelWorld

ReelWorld is the radio industry's leading jingle, imaging and sonic branding company. Trusted by thousands of stations globally and heard by millions of listeners daily, ReelWorld has been creating innovative audio that keeps station brands relevant, on-trend and in the minds of their listeners for more than 25 years. ReelWorld content airs on the world's most influential radio stations, including:







New York: Z100, WLTW, CBS-FM, WWPR, WNYL Los Angeles: KIIS, KOST, KBIG, KYSR, KFI Chicago: WKSC, WBBM, WLIT Toronto: CHUM, CHFI, CKIS UK: BBC (Radio 1, Radio Scotland, Local Radio), Heart, KISS Sydney: 2DayFM, KIIS, Triple M

With teams in Seattle, WA and MediaCityUK, ReelWorld provides unparalleled levels of client service and proudly supports those who #makegreatradio. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/futuri-and-reelworld-announce-strategic-partnership-launch-the-future-of-interactive-programming-tether-301062587.html SOURCE Futuri Media

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
R olls-Royce is cutting at least 9,000 jobs in a bid to cushion the hit from Covid-19.

The UK aerospace giant said the job losses would come from its civil aerospace division, which makes plane engines for large passenger jets. The move will save 1.3 billion.

Warren East, chief executive of Rolls-Royce, said: This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it. Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we. Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.

But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

Coronavirus has dealt a heavy blow to the aviation industry as planes remain grounded around the globe.

Rolls-Royce said the major reorganisation of its business would allow it "to adapt to the new level of demand we are seeing from customers".

As well as the job losses, the company said it would cut costs in areas such as its plants and properties.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the government might step in / PA

The UK government has said it will look to step in and offer some help to employees.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said: "Clearly we will have to go to work with the employer to look at the options.

"All of us will be looking not just at Rolls Royce but at the whole sector and the implications of this for the supply chains as well, lets not forget them, to make sure we are doing everything we can in terms of plans and action to support what is a very high skilled part of our economy."
The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoards Dairyman.



Maryland dairy farmer Katie Dotterer-Pyle of Cow Comfort Inn Dairy, Union Bridge, spoke up for dairy during a live interview and teaser on Fox & Friends, Monday, May 18, reaching an estimated viewing audience of 2.5 million.

The interview portrayed farmers as essential heroes during this pandemic, and anchor Steve Doocy called out that Americas farmers have risen to the occasion.

Katie did a great job shining a light on the essential role farmers play today and everyday across the country, said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi. Hearing directly from dairy farmers goes a long way in building consumers trust that the milk and dairy products they purchase are safe and abundant.

Katie emphasized that farmers also work together to support local communities and make sure that milk and other dairy foods get to those in need. She also encouraged people to visit GENYOUthnow.org to learn more about and support the dairy communitys national efforts in getting school meals to local children.

GENYOUth, the national non-profit dedicated to supporting the development of healthy, high-achieving students, is helping get dairy products into the hands of families that need it, especially kids who are missing out on the nutrition they get in school meals.

In the same link as the interview the segment was immediately followed by an additional mention of the national marketing campaign Undeniably Dairy and a call to action to donate. Also, a 30-second spot which emphasizes dairy farmers essential role will continue to air across Fox News broadcast and social properties for the next three weeks.

Securing the news segment is a prime example of dairy checkoff staffs working together to share the story of dairy farmers and dairys essential nutrition in a variety of ways across an array of media channels.

For more information about dairy checkoff programs, call 315.472.9143.

About American Dairy Association North East

American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmers checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing more than 10,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc., the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com, or call 315.472.9143.
CHICAGO, May 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Midwest Bank and 101.9 THE MIX are pleased to announce that Flavia Lamberghini, owner of Apple Dental Care in Chicagos Logan Square neighborhood, has taken the top prize in the 2020 Inspiring Women in Business contest, a program that recognizes and celebrates women-owned businesses in the Chicago area, Quad Cities and Northwest Indiana. Lamberghini will receive $5,000 to invest in her business and another $5,000 to donate to a local nonprofit organization of her choice.

There are nearly 12 million businesses owned by women in the United States, employing about 8 percent of the total private workforce and adding tremendous value to our communities and the economy, said Cheri Rubocki, head of Branch Banking at First Midwest Bank. We are proud to recognize Flavia and all of the truly inspiring women nominated for this award. They are paving the way for future female entrepreneurs while making a positive impact in our communities.

In addition to running Apple Dental Care, Lamberghini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of the University of Illinois, where she trains and mentors dentists. Over the years, Lamberghinis business has grown exponentially, from a solo practitioner to a team of 21 dentists. She currently partners with Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Department of Public Health in the CPS-Dental Program to provide dental exams and cleaning to more than 50,000 children every year, regardless of socioeconomic background, coexisting medical conditions and ability to pay for the service.

Lamberghini also sponsors an annual dental mission trip to Panama, partners with the Red Cross to enhance the participation of parents in blood donation campaigns and has created an educational program for her employees who want to pursue their Dental Assistant State Certification.

It is an honor to be recognized for this Inspiring Women in Business Award. Not only does this mean so much to me, but more importantly, these additional resources provide a greater platform for me to better serve my community. My community is the driver behind Apple Dental Care and my true inspiration, Lamberghini said.

Story continues

First Midwest and 101.9 THE MIX would also like to congratulate the five runners-up of the Inspiring Women in Business contest who each receive $2,000 and another $2,000 to donate to a local nonprofit of their choice:

Brooke Rossi, owner of DesRochers Back Yard Pools & Spas  Wilmington, Illinois

Norma Serrano-Williams, owner of Excellence by Design  Crown Point, Indiana

Dr. Karen Eng, president and CEO of CSMI  Schaumburg, Illinois

Elizabeth Colon, owner of Metaphrasis  Chicago, Illinois

Mervet Nolte, owner of Sizzles  Lockport, Illinois

THE MIX is truly honored to recognize Flavia Lamberghini and her exceptional contribution to the community through her dental services for CPS and CDPH. This is truly a most inspirational example of making a difference in our community, said Jeff England, Vice President, Market Manager Hubbard Chicago.

First Midwest and 101.9 THE MIX received more than 1,300 nominations for this years award, with applications coming from all corners of the Chicagoland area, northwest Indiana, and the Quad Cities. Winners were evaluated on the three primary criteria: community involvement, inspiration to others and work-related accomplishments.

Visit www.inspirewomenbiz.com to read more about the winners.

About First Midwest

First Midwest Bancorp, Inc. (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.
The Java programming language celebrates its silver anniversary this week, with May 23, 2020, marking 25 years from the day Sun Microsystems first introduced Java to the world. The venerable language has remained popular with enterprises even as a slew of rival languages, such as Python and Go, now compete for the hearts and minds of software developers. But Java is not standing still, with a revamp designed to address longtime pain points now in the offing.

Arising out of the Oak project begun in 1991 and spearheaded by James Gosling, object-oriented Java gained fame for its write once, run anywhere portability, as the Java Virtual Machine supported multiple hardware platforms and operating systems, and Java applets could be run from a webpage. Java applets offered better performance than JavaScript for many years, but eventually fell out of favor with browser makers and were removed from Java in 2018.

Java became open source in late-2006. Stewardship of Java passed to Oracle when the company acquired Sun in January 2010. Oracle spun out the enterprise version of Java, Java EE, to the Eclipse Foundation in 2017, but still maintains the foundational Java standard edition. Standard Java is now being released every six months as opposed to a roughly three-year release cadence that had been common before.

Java still going strong

Java continues to rank among the top three programming languages in the most prominent language popularity indexesTiobe, RedMonk, and PyPL. Java had enjoyed a five-year stint as the top language in the Tiobe index until this month, when it was overtaken by the C language, thanks perhaps to the combination of Cs wide use in medical equipment and the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, Java represents a huge ecosystem and source of jobs. There were an estimated nine million Java developers worldwide in 2017, according to Oracle. A recent search of jobs site Dice.com found nearly 12,000 Java-related jobs in the USA, compared to roughly 9,000 jobs in JavaScript and 7,600 in Python. Plus, Java has spawned an enormous ecosystem of tools ranging from the Spring Framework to application servers from companies such as IBM, Red Hat, and Oracle to the JavaFX rich media platform.

Whats next for Java

The developers behind Javaincluding Oracle and the broader OpenJDK communityhave kept the platform moving forward. Released two months ago, Java 14, or Java Development Kit (JDK) 14, added capabilities including switch expressions, to simplify coding, and JDK Flight Recorder (JFR) Event Streaming, for continuous consumption of JFR data. Up next for Java is JDK 15, set to arrive as a production release in September 2020, with capabilities still being lined up for it. So far, the features expected include a preview of sealed classes, which provide more-granular control over code, and records, which provide classes that act as transparent carriers for immutable data. Also under consideration for Java is a plan dubbed Project Leyden, which would address longterm pain points in Java including resource footprint, startup time, and performance issues by introducing static images to the platform.

Javas day in the Supreme Court

Along its 25-year journey, Java has been at the center of two major lawsuits. The first was between Sun and Microsoft over Microsofts use of Java in Windows, which Sun argued broke the platforms compatibility pledge and license agreement. Microsoft agreed to pay Sun $20 million to settle the lawsuit in 2001.

More recently, a long-running intellectual property dispute has simmered between Oracle and Google over Googles use of Java in the Android mobile platform, with the case making it all the way to the United States Supreme Court. At issue is whether Oracle can claim a copyright on Java APIs and, if so, whether Google violates them.

The Supreme Courts ruling on these questions could impact not only the use of Java in the mobile world and beyond but all software development. Deliberations are on hold amid the current COVID-19 crisis.
U-Haul is offering 30 days of free self-storage and U-Box container usage to Midland County residents after floodwaters caused two dams to fail, leading to the evacuation of thousands of local residents.

Officials are warning that some areas could be under 9 feet of water by (Wednesday) afternoon, stated Scott Baker, U-Haul Company of Central Michigan president, in a Wednesday morning news release. Our neighbors are in serious need of a place to store their belongings. U-Haul supports the communities in which we do business, and well be offering clean and dry self-storage at no cost for a month.
The Supreme Court issued a stay on Wednesday denying House Democrats immediate access to secret grand jury materials from the Mueller report in order to give the Trump administration time to appeal a lower court decision.

Why it matters: Democrats say the material could help them determine whether President Trump obstructed the Mueller investigation, possibly requiring new articles of impeachment.

The big picture: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court earlier this month to temporarily block an appellate ruling that would force the Justice Department to release the grand jury testimony to Congress.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued to the Supreme Court that the release of the documents would cause irreparable harm to the executive branch.

Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee said in a filing this week that "the committee's impeachment investigation related to obstruction of justice pertaining to the Russia investigation is ongoing" and that the grand jury testimony may be relevant.

What to watch: The Supreme Court gave the Trump administration until June 1 to file its appeal.
Police say two boys sustained non-life-threatening injuries on Tuesday night after a shooting near Jane Street and Finch Avenue West.

A call reporting the shooting came in at around 10:45 p.m.

Const. Michelle Flannery told the Star that the boys were found with gunshot wounds to their legs and shell casings were found at the scene.

Both boys were transported to hospital, Flannery said, and the investigation is ongoing.

Police were then called to Don Valley Parkway and Eglinton Avenue East for reports of gunshots. There, they located a vehicle with bullet holes.

Later, police received a call that a person had been shot near Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue East. At that scene, a man was located with a gunshot wound.

Police also said on Twitter that, around midnight, a man walked into a hospital with gunshot wounds. The mans injuries were deemed non-life-threatening.
WOBURN, Massachusetts, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EarlySense, the global leader in contact-free, continuous monitoring solutions for the healthcare continuum, announced that JAMDA  The Journal of Post Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine has published the case report Early Identification of Acute Pulmonary Emboli Through the Use of Contact-Free Continuous Patient Monitoring. The report includes findings from a case study at Hebrew Home of Riverdale by RiverSpring Health showing that skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) incorporating contact-free, continuous patient monitoring (CFCM) can potentially aid in the early identification of acute changes in patient deterioration and rapid life-threatening treatment interventions.

The clinical poster was also presented at AMDA  The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine's 2020 Annual Conference, held virtually from April 2-5 2020.

"SNFs are faced with providing care for residents with increasing clinical complexity as residents are being discharged from hospitals to post-acute care earlier, and with multiple active co-morbidities," said poster author Dr. Zachary Palace, Medical Director at the Hebrew Home of Riverdale by RiverSpring Health. "In this case study, the Hebrew Home clinical team was able to use continuous monitoring data to be notified of an immediate change in patient condition and make informed and time critical clinical decisions about the patient's care."

In the case study, an 89-year-old male patient was admitted to a SNF for post-acute care following a hospital stay for pneumonia. During his recovery, the CFCM system alerted staff regarding an abnormal respiratory rate. Staff found the patient unresponsive and immediately initiated intravenous fluid therapy. The patient remained hypotensive and was emergently transferred to a hospital where he was diagnosed with bilateral pulmonary emboli. The patient successfully underwent pulmonary arteriography and catheter-directed thrombolysis, and afterwards was admitted to an intensive care unit for monitoring. Once medically stable, the patient returned to the SNF, where he completed his course of skilled rehabilitation and was afterwards successfully discharged home.

"EarlySense is on a global mission to raise the standard of patient care throughout the healthcare continuum via contact-free, continuous monitoring and predictive analytics," said Matt Johnson, CEO of EarlySense. "Although continuous monitoring is not currently the standard of care in long term and post-acute facilities, this study demonstrates its potential to play a pivotal role in providing health practitioners with the data necessary to identify acute changes of condition before they become critical."

About EarlySense

EarlySense is the global leader in contact-free, continuous monitoring solutions for the healthcare continuum. Used worldwide in hospitals and post-acute care facilities, the EarlySense system assists caregivers in early detection of potential patient adverse events, including code blue events resulting from cardiac or respiratory arrest, patient falls, pressure ulcers, preventable ICU transfers and hospital readmissions. The EarlySense system captures critical information from the patient, alerting caregivers of potentially adverse events early on. The company has partnered with leading global technology companies including Hillrom, Philips, Welch Allyn, and Mitsui. EarlySense is based in Ramat Gan, Israel and Woburn, Massachusetts.

For more information, visit www.earlysense.com.

Follow EarlySense on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook

Media Contact:

Ellie Hanson

Finn Partners

+1-929-222-8006

[email protected]

Company Contact:

Jaime Donahue

+1- 781-373-3228 ext. 212

[email protected]

SOURCE EarlySense
Every time Jerry Stiller opened his mouth on Seinfeld, it made me laugh.

Partly, it was the shock of what came out. Stiller, who died on May 11 at age 92, didnt speak so much as erupt. His bristling bass instantly changed the energy in the scene, adding ludicrous tension and unmuffled anger that came off as deliriously silly. Then there was his masterly comic rhythm, an old school rat-a-tat that got right to the point. But what really resonated was more personal.

As a kid watching this classic sitcom, I didnt know any New York stand-ups like Jerry Seinfeld, goofy copy editors like Elaine Benes or whatever the hell Cosmo Kramer was. But Stillers Frank Costanza was extremely familiar, with an energy and fashion sense instantly recognisable from the Florida contingent of my family. He didnt remind me of a specific relative so much as all of them yelling at each other at the same time, over chopped liver.

Stiller, it must be said, had an expansive career that included helping to invent improv comedy with the Compass Players in Chicago, a hit double act with wife Anne Meara, and memorable paternal roles in everything from the movie Hairspray to the sitcom The King of Queens.

But as often happens in remembrances like this, journalists tend to focus on his most famous role. Just as it annoyed me that headlines about the death of Brian Dennehy focused on Tommy Boy and First Blood, as opposed to his landmark lead performances in plays by Arthur Miller and Eugene ONeill, you might be irritated that this essay celebrates one supporting role toward the end of his career. If so, I ask of you one thing: kvetch about it, loudly.
Kumar Vikram By

Express News Service

DELHI: It's take-off time for domestic flights again, which will resume services from May 25.

All the social distancing norms will be enforced, but middle seats will not be kept vacant as airlines are already running on thin margins, Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said.

The 'calibrated' resumption comes two months after the services were shut due to the COVID-19 lockdown announced across the country.

"All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May," Puri said in one of his tweets.

"SOPs (Standard Operation Procedure) for passenger movement are also being separately issued by the Ministry of Civil Aviation," the Minister added.

Puri informed that he would not recommend a seat configuration where middle seats are kept vacant since it will add to the financial woes of the airlines.

While talking to a news channel, the minister cited experience gained during the flight operations under the Vande Bharat mission and said that middle seats were not kept vacant even on those flights.

Sources also hinted that the ministry did not want airfares to go up at this point of time. Keeping middle seats vacant will only raise airfares considerably, which may lead to protests from passengers.

While the government has said that operations will begin in a calibrated manner, it is most likely that airports in red zones may not open immediately.

Sources said that some of the busiest routes might see flight operations. But then some of the country's biggest and busiest airports, including Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, are in red zones.

ALSO READ | Mystery sound heard in many parts of Bengaluru rattles windows, public

Welcoming the decision, Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, "This resumption will go a long way in lifting the overall economic sentiment in the country. While the SOP for the resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much-awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport. SpiceJet is all geared up to resume operations post lockdown and is committed to providing the highest level of cleanliness and a safe, secure and healthy flying experience to its passengers and staff."



According to industry sources, most of the airlines have planned to utilise only about 30 percent of their fleet to start with and a further decision will be taken as per the demand and keeping in mind the zones.

Earlier this month, in a communication to airport managers across the country, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had asked all airports to be prepared to handle flight operations.

Passengers will not be allowed to carry cabin baggage and will have to fill up a questionnaire seeking their past travel history and other details.

Downloading Aarogya Setu app will also be required and flyers will have to reach airports at least two hours before the departure, as per the draft SOP.

Keeping three rows of the plane vacant to meet any medical emergencies is also proposed in the draft.

Green status on Aarogya Setu app, web check-in, and temperature checks for all domestic-, departing- and arriving passengers were also among the proposed measures in the draft SOP issued to stakeholders.



Airports should have an isolation zone in the terminal building as well as the airside for passengers showing symptoms.

Airports would have to put in place distance markings, disinfect all common areas such as lifts, escalators, chairs in seating areas, food and beverages and retail outlets. The availability of a moveable hand wash cart or alcohol-based hand sanitisers within the terminal should be ensured.

Besides, to ensure pilots remain proficient in operations, the DGCA has allowed approved training organisations for simulator utilisation only for pilots.
Residents living in nursing homes across the country may be having their stimulus checks stolen if their on Medicaid, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Lois Greisman, the FTC's Elder Justice Coordinator, said that the agency has received reports of facilities requiring residents to sign over funds to the nursing homes.

Greisman said that these facilities are claiming 'that, because the person is on Medicaid, the facility gets to keep the stimulus payment.'

Lois Greisman, the FTC's Elder Justice Coordinator, said that the agency has received reports of facilities requiring residents to sign over funds to the nursing homes

According to the CARES ACt, the stimulus payments count as a tax credit. Under tax law, tax credits don't count as 'resources' for federal benefits programs, including Medicaid.

This means that the government, or nursing homes and assisted living facilities, can not take the funds from people living there.

Greisman advised residents to get in contact with their local state attorney general in the event the facilities have already confiscated the checks.

According to the CARES ACt, the stimulus payments count as a tax credit. Under tax law, tax credits don't count as 'resources' for federal benefits programs, including Medicaid

The FTC has advised that family members talk with their loved ones about the status of the checks

'This is not just a horror story making the rounds,' Greisman added. 'These are actual reports that our friends in the Iowa Attorney Generals Office have been getting  and handling. Other states have seen the same.'

The FTC has advised that family members talk with their loved ones about the status of the checks.

They have also advised that family members reach out to facilities if need be.
Read more: Insurance broker hit with lawsuit over coronavirus exclusion clause

Washington Post reported that within this month, over 10 restaurants, bars, and bakeries in Washington  including the critically-acclaimed Gravitas and Pineapple and Pearls  have sued Erie Insurance Exchange, for denying pandemic-related business interruption claims.

I want to be there for my customers, Tiffany MacIsaac, owner of Buttercream Bakeshop and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told Washington Post. But if I could avoid doing that and just be home and know that I was safe, I mean its kind of a no-brainer because all of the rent and everything would be covered by the interruption insurance.

One of the attorneys representing the Washington restaurants, Michael C. Davis, explained that all-risk policies are meant to cover every single risk these restaurants could experience.

It doesnt matter whether the risk is listed. It doesnt matter if its a risk no-one ever heard of. It doesnt matter if its Martians coming down from Mars. Unless its specifically excluded, youve got to cover it. Thats the way all-risk policies work, and thats how they were marketed to restaurants, said Davis, an attorney with law firm Venable.

Davis and David Feinberg, another attorney with Venable, explained that the restaurants policies have broader business-interruption coverage than many. They specifically noted that the policies do not feature a virus exclusion  something that was widely adopted by carriers after the 2003 SARS outbreak. In addition, the plaintiffs policies also provide income protection and other payouts for business interruptions resulting from direct and accidental loss of or damage to covered property.

So you could have loss or damage, Davis pointed out. If you drop your iPhone and smash it on the floor and its cracked in half, yeah, its damaged. But if you leave it in an Uber, its lost. And thats whats happened to our restaurants: Weve lost the ability to use them, because its illegal under the government orders.

Read more: "Pandemics are fundamentally uninsurable events"

Since the lockdowns across America began, the number of restaurants filing business interruption claims has only increased. The insurance industry has responded by advocating for the federal government to step in and help businesses recover.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Tiola (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Wed, May 20 2020

A new structure within the Indonesian Military (TNI) is given its first test in conducting military operations other than war (MOOTW), as it assists the government to handle the pandemic.



The Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) was formed in September 2019, to organize the TNIs deployment into three theaters of operations  Kogabwilhan I, II and III  each responsible for overseeing the mobilization of combat units in Indonesias western, central and eastern parts, respectively.



Initially, attention on Kogabwilhan has been largely on its capacity to improve the TNIs readiness to maintain security at Indonesias borders.



However, its support of efforts to handle the pandemic has brought attention to its roles in non war military operations.



Kogabwilhan is positioned as one of the TNIs main operational commands (Kotama Ops), along with, among others, the Armys regional military commands; the Navys fleet commands; the Air Force operations commands; and the Marine Corps.



Although Kogabwilhan sits equally with the other Kotama Ops, it is the first responder in the event of an attack or emergency; and is authorized to mobilize units from other Kotama Ops under its command.



As such, Kogabwilhan is expected to improve interoperability between the Army, Navy and Air Force through an overarching operational command for them.



For instance, in its first major task to drive away Chinese vessels in waters off Natuna Islands last January, Kogabwilhan I mobilized combined assets from the Navys First Fleet Command and the First Air Force Operational Command.



It was the largest deployment in Natuna so far; and the operation demonstrated a more integrated command and control across the services.



The presence of Kogabwilhan I commander Vice Admiral Yudo Margono also reduced the posts dependence on the TNI commander, resulting in more flexibility for joint operations.



The creation of Kogabwilhan was also driven by a personnel logjam in the TNI  the significant surplus of high-ranking officers and colonels compared with the required number.



Apart from addressing external threats, Kogabwilhan also alters the dynamics of MOOTW. As the pandemic worsened, the government looked to the TNI to assist with logistical matters and additional healthcare support, as is always the case in emergencies.

______

Such diverse appointments not only demonstrate the efforts to embrace the Navy and Air Force leadership, but also encourage interservice cooperation.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
The Indian Railways' most powerful 12000 HP Made in India locomotive made its maiden commercial run between Deen Dayal Upadhaya and Shivpur stations in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, the national transporter said.

Built by French company Alstom under the government's Make in India programme at the Railways' Madhepura factory in Bihar, these engines are the highest-powered locomotives that will run on Indian rails.

All 800 of these locos are being manufactured indigenously while they have been designed at the company's engineering centre in Bengaluru.

The first train, consisting of 118 wagons, using the locomotive departed from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Station at 2:08 pm for Dhanbad division of East Central Railway,.

"The locomotive is capable of working on railway tracks with conventional OHE lines as well as on Dedicated Freight corridors with high rise OHE lines. The locomotive has air-conditioned driver cabs on either side.

"It is equipped with regenerative braking system which provides substantial energy savings during operations. These high horse power locomotives will help to decongest the saturated tracks by improving average speed of freight trains," the statement from Railways said.

As part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project of the Indian Railways, the Ministry of Railways and Alstom inked a Joint Venture worth Rs 25,000 crore in 2015.

The overall project is for manufacturing of 800 double-section electric locomotives of 12000 HP for freight service and its associated maintenance for a period of 11 years.

The scope also includes setting up of a manufacturing plant at Madhepura (Bihar) for building the e-locos and two maintenance depots at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Press Release

May 20, 2020 Villar To Fund PhP500M Expansion of Las Pinas General Hospital from 200-Bed to 500-Bed Capacity Senator Cynthia Villar is earmarking PhP500 million this year to fund the expansion of the Las Pinas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center (LPGH & STC) in order to increase its bed capacity from the present 200 to 500 beds. The construction of the additional eight-storey building is slated to be finished next year. Villar has filed Senate Bill No. 143 to implement the increase in the bed capacity of LPGH & STC and upgrade its service facilities and professional healthcare services. The proposed bill is set for committee hearing in the Senate on May 26 (Tuesday). The House Bill No. 6036 authored by Congw Camille Villar was passed March 2, 2020. The senator also channelled PhP144 million last year to LPGH & STC to purchase land and start building construction. She cited there is an urgent need to expand and upgrade public hospitals and health facilities in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that has increased the number of patients needing hospitalization. "We are in the middle of a healthcare crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic, according to global health experts themselves, is here to stay. But as it stands now, existing hospital facilities are not enough to meet the requirements. So, I believe increasing the bed capacity of government hospitals will be a big help to the people," said Villar. According to the analysis made by the UP Covid-19 Pandemic Response Team, if the country will not be able to "flatten the curve" or significantly reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus "the healthcare system will be overwhelmed way beyond their capacity as clearly seen in the relatively low number of hospital and ICU beds". Approximately 35,000 additional beds are required to accommodate the peak number of cases in an R0=2 scenario, where a COVID-positive person can infect two others. "The ECQ has been modified or relaxed in many areas and it will be lifted sooner or later, so we have to be prepared. Our facilities should be in place. In fact, as the testing become widely available, there will be more Covid-19 cases," Villar said. There are about 456 hospitals in the country with a total bed capacity of 67,119. Approximately 41% of these beds are in government-owned hospitals while the remaining 59% are in private hospitals. Villar cited that majority of existing hospital beds are being used for treating non-Covid patients, so local government units (LGUs) should really ensure the availability of more hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. Investment in healthcare facilities, she cited, is a must. "Once the expansion of LPGH & STC is completed, the facilities for Covid-19 and non-Covid patients can be separated to avoid the spread of the virus, one building each. That would also ensure that regular healthcare services are not disrupted," the senator said. She added that LPGH & STC is a DOH-operated hospital that serves the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces. Even when she was still the representative of her home city of Las Pinas, Villar prioritized the modernization of the then Las Pinas District Hospital. She authored Republic Act 9240 in 2004 that converted it into LPGH & STC and increased the bed capacity of the hospital from 50 to 200 beds. Since then, the upgrade and expansion of the hospital has been continuous making it among the most modern in Metro Manila.
Matt Lauer is speaking out about Ronan Farrow's best-selling book Catch and Kill, seven months after its release. The fired Today show host once again denied claims he raped anyone and questioned Farrow's "shoddy journalism." Farrow, meanwhile, is standing by his reporting.

Lauer wrote his rebuttal for Mediaite in a post titled "Why Ronan Farrow Is Indeed Too Good to Be True." It's the same website where he defended himself in October 2019. Lauer apparently planned to run his article weeks later, but "personal considerations at that time, and later news events impacting us all, delayed those plans." As for why he published the piece now, the former NBC star was emboldened following Sunday's New York Times article that criticized some of Farrow's journalistic methods.

Matt Lauer criticizes Ronan Farrow's reporting in Catch and Kill. (Photo: Getty Images)

"The Times story prompted me to move forward with my own findings," Lauer began.

"In late November 2017, I was fired from my job at the Today show after admitting to having a consensual, yet inappropriate relationship with a fellow employee in the workplace. NBC said it was a violation of company policy, and it ended my 25-year career at the network," he wrote.

"I say these words with sincerity and humility. I am sorry for the way I conducted myself. I made some terrible decisions, and I betrayed the trust of many people," Lauer continued. "If this story had ended there you would not be reading this. But, it did not end there. On October 9, 2019, I was falsely accused of rape."

Former NBC producer Brooke Nevils  who has also responded to Lauers rebuttal  spoke to Farrow for his book and claimed she was assaulted by Lauer at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. Lauer strongly denied this, categorizing their relationship as an "extramarital affair." Nevils admitted in Catch and Kill that she and Lauer had further sexual encounters when they returned to New York City, but said, "It was completely transactional. It was not a relationship."

In Lauer's post on Tuesday, he called Nevils's claim "one of the worst and most consequential things to ever happen in my life, it was devastating for my family, and outrageously it was used to sell books."

Story continues

Nevils lodged a complaint against Lauer to NBC, which ultimately resulted in his firing. She didn't use the words "rape" or "assault," which Lauer noted in his piece. He criticized the media for not challenging "the accusations against me."

Lauer went on to specifically criticize Farrow, saying his former colleague "was hardly an unbiased journalist when it came to anything to do with NBC, and he was rarely challenged as he dropped salacious stories in a daily marketing effort designed to create media attention for his book."

Lauer added, "I believe Ronan knew his work on Catch and Kill would receive little in the way of scrutiny, from the very beginning. Its the only way to explain why he was so willing to abandon common sense and true fact-checkingf in favor of salacious, and deeply flawed, material. I also believe that some of Ronans sources felt they could make outrageous claims to him, knowing he (and thus their stories) would not be doubted."

The former morning-show host laid out "four primary ways in which Ronan betrayed the truth in writing his book," Lauers primary issue being that he believes Farrow and the publishers of Catch and Kill didn't properly fact-check sources. (Lauer laid out his case in great length, which can be read in full on Mediaite.)

"Will anyone hold Ronan Farrow thoroughly accountable? I doubt it," Lauer concluded. "After all, the book tour is over. By marketing standards, it was a smashing success. As a search for the truth, at least with regard to my story, it was not."

He continued, "The questions Ive posed here are both professional and deeply personal. I ask people to consider how they would react if someone they loved were accused of something horrific and basic journalistic standards were ignored because of a desire to sell books. I also urge people to remember that there are two sides to all stories."

Lauer said he doubts Farrow will take this criticism "lightly, and he shouldn't."

"He may try to change the subject by leveling new claims against me. He may question my credibility, but I have raised issues here that others could have easily raised as well. He may try to enlist allies in an effort to attack me and correct his journalistic lapses, months after the damage has been done. Perhaps his publisher will also rush to his defense," Lauer wrote.

"Or maybe hell surprise me. Maybe hell simply stand up and say, I let a desire to sell books overwhelm my responsibility as a journalist. I should have done more to fact check these stories because errors like these come with a cost," he continued.

"In the meantime, I will continue to ask questions and seek answers, because ironically, I can thank Ronan for at least one thing," Lauer concluded. "He has reminded me how it feels to do the work I love."

Lauer probably isnt surprised by Farrows response. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, "Matt Lauer is just wrong."

All Ill say on this is that Matt Lauer is just wrong. Catch and Kill was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself.  Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) May 19, 2020

Farrow also defended himself on Monday after Ben Smith's Times article made him a trending topic, tweeting, "I stand by my reporting."

A spokesperson for the publisher of Catch and Kill, told Yahoo Entertainment in a statement, Little, Brown and Company fully supports Ronan Farrow and his reporting in Catch and Kill. Ronans dedication to a deep and thorough fact-check of his reporting, his commitment to the rights of victims and his impeccable attention to detail and nuance make us proud to be his publisher.

Farrow issued an additional statement on Tuesday evening, telling Yahoo Entertainment We called dozens of corroborators around the Lauer allegations described in the book, and more than a dozen around Brooke Nevils specifically.

Nevils also responded to Lauers claims Tuesday on Twitter:

DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender  Brooke Nevils (@BrookeNevils) May 19, 2020

DARVO is an acronym used to describe a common strategy of abusers. It says the abuser will deny the abuse, attack the victim and claim they are the real victim, reversing the victim and offender roles. It was coined by Jennifer Freyd, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon.

This storywas originally published on May 19, 2020 at 9:52 p.m. ET and has been updated to include

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Washington D.C., May 20, 2020 -The Securities and Exchange Commission will virtually host its 39th annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation on the afternoon of June 18, 2020. The Forum is a unique event where members of the public and private sectors gather to craft suggestions for policy impacting emerging businesses and their investors, from startups to smaller public companies.

This year the Forum will be a completely virtual event conducted via livestreaming and video conferencing and will highlight challenges faced by small businesses in the current environment as well as success stories from startups to small cap businesses across the country. The event will feature discussions about women-owned, minority-owned, and rural businesses and their investors, as well as the potential paths for the next generation of publicly-owned companies.

"The Forum provides an important opportunity for us to engage directly with the small business community, hearing first-hand from small businesses and their investors about their experiences in capital raising," said Chairman Jay Clayton. "Every year we take back valuable insights that shape our perspectives on capital formation and investor protection efforts."

This is the second year that the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation will host the Forum. "The Forum is an opportunity to spotlight the incredible passion and innovation of small businesses and to engage in a thoughtful discussion about the challenges that small businesses are facing as they look to raise capital. Our team is thrilled to bring together the entrepreneurial community in a virtual environment this year," said SEC Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation Martha Legg Miller. "We look forward to empowering small businesses and their investors across the country to share their perspectives on how we can improve capital raising policies."

This year the Forum will take place over a half-day beginning at noon ET, and, as always, will be free and accessible to the public. It will begin with a session highlighting perspectives and insights from thought leaders across the capital formation marketplace, followed by two consecutive sessions where participants will formulate capital formation policy recommendations for Congress and the Commission. Participants may register for this virtual event here.

Information on the full agenda and logistics, including speakers, panel topics, and policy deliberation sessions, will be announced in the coming weeks and will be available on the Forum website.

Members of the public are invited to suggest topics to be discussed at the Forum through the registration form or by contacting smallbusiness@sec.gov.
[May 20, 2020] MPHASE REPORTS RECORD THIRD QUARTER REVENUE AND FIRST PROFITABLE QUARTER IN COMPANY HISTORY

Gaithersburg, MD, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- mPhase Technologies, Inc. (OTC: XDSL) (mPhase or the Company) today reported record financial results for its third fiscal 2020 quarter and nine-month period ended March 31, 2020. In conjunction with this release, the Company is also providing additional details on its business initiatives for the remainder of calendar year 2020. For Q3/2020, management is noting the following items of importance: Net income totaled $1.4 million, achieving the first profitable quarter in Company history;

Earnings per share was a record $0.11 per common share, or $0.02 per common share on a fully diluted basis;

Revenue set a Q3 company record of $7.6 million, compared to zero revenue reported in Q3/2019;

Gross profit margin was 25.6%, on track with the trend for fiscal 2020;

Software development costs declined significantly to approximately $17,000 from $0.9 million during Q2/2020 as the Company continues to build out its experienced internal team and reduce its use of consultant developers;

Revenue mix consisted of 82% subscription, 11% service and support, and 7% application development and implementation; and

Shareholder equity increased to $2.6 million, an increase from $0.6 million at June 30, 2019 and a deficit of $1.8 million at March 31, 2019 We are very proud to achieve the first profitable quarter in company history only one-year after taking over mPhase, said CEO Anshu Bhatnagar. Weve guided to $30 million in annual revenue off of our critical testing business and are tracking to that forecast almost perfectly. We will be raising our guidance after we assess the timing of revenue from our acquisition of CloseComms Limited (CloseComms), which we announced just a few days ago. We are at the very beginning of the revenue cycle at CloseComms, so this will add a second stream of recurring revenue, which we believe will provide mPhase double digit sequential quarterly growth as deployments begin to increase. We also expect to generate growth in our core learning and testing business, so we are on the cusp of a new growth cycle at mPhase. Key items of interest for calendar year 2020 include: Based on positive response in the sales channel, CloseComms exects to announce deployments, pilots and other engagements with major quick service restaurants (QSRs) during the remainder of 2020;

The Travel Buddhi division continues to be on track for the launch of the next phase of its platform during Q1 of fiscal year 2021 (summer 2020);

The Learning Track division continues experiencing interest from potential new customers;

The mPhase team continues to grow and now includes more than 100 employees on three continents with the most recent acquisition of CloseComms;

The Company is currently exploring additional product initiatives across all divisions, with the goal to add additional revenue streams before the end of the calendar year.



As previously reported, mPhase continues to experience only modest disruption from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Based on current sales activity across its divisions, the company expects continued growth through the remainder of fiscal and calendar year 2020. However, as the Company cannot predict the scope or duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the event of any negative financial impact to its results of operations, such impact cannot be reasonably estimated but could ultimately be material and last for an extended period of time.

About mPhase Technologies mPhase is a technology driven, innovative development company that creates and commercializes products and applications that impact everyday people. The Company is assembling industry-leading teams specializing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, software, consumer engagement, and other advanced technologies. Additional information can be found at the mPhase website, www.mphasetech.com. Please follow us on twitter: @mPhase_Tech for the latest updates. Safe Harbor Statement 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 these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our 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 Companys 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, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contacts: Investor Contact:

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
A long-mooted $6 billion gas pipeline connecting Western Australia to the east coast is back on the agenda, part of a raft of energy sector changes floated as the federal government looks to gas to save the nation.

Connecting the east and west via South Australia was supported by former WA premier Colin Barnett, and a new report to the government on resurrecting the national economy says it should potentially be included in an urgent three-stage plan to expand the pipeline network.

A pipeline connecting WA to the east coast via South Australia could be back on the table. Credit:James Davies

The National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, formed in March to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, has looked at ways to kickstart recovery and formed a taskforce to investigate growing manufacturing.

WAtoday has obtained copies of a May 14 draft interim report and presentation spruiking a gas-powered recovery. The documents focus on growing advanced manufacturing, and creating a competitive domestic gas market through expansion and support of the industry.
With people keeping indoors and venturing out only for urgent needs, drivers of paratransit vehicles like autorickshaws, e-rickshaws and taxis struggle to find passengers and make ends meet.

The compulsion to follow social distancing norm and sanitise the vehicles to combat coronavirus have only added to their financial woes, the drivers say.

"I started at around 8 am from Preet Vihar. I did not find any passenger for two hours. A woman and her daughter met me near the Nirman Vihar Metro Station, but I had to say no to them because of the government-announced one passenger norm, auto driver Abhay Kumar said on Wednesday.

Under lockdown 4.0, the Delhi government has allowed transport services in the city by limiting the number of passengers for various categories of vehicles.

Autorickshaws and e-rickshaws have been allowed to carry one passenger only. Taxis, cabs, Gramin Sewa, Phat-Phat and eco-friendly sevas can carry only two passengers.

"It is a tricky situation for auto drivers. While most are not getting any passengers due to coronavirus fear, in many cases they are forced to deny passengers numbering 2-3 due to fear of action," Rajender Soni, general secretary, Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh said.

Hari Prasad, who runs an autorickshaw near ITO, said it is very difficult to survive under the current situation.

The problems are many--lack of passengers, social distancing norms and increased expenses to keep the auto sanitised.

"I had taken this auto on rent. I used to earn on an average around Rs 400-500 every day. I have now taken a loan to survive with my family during lockdown, add to it the mandatory cost of fuel, rent and sanitiser. I thought I would get passengers, but in last two days I earned just Rs 400. I do not think I can continue this anymore," he said.

Soni said the government should pitch in to help the drivers of paratransit vehicles and revise the social distancing norms.

"The government has allowed only one passenger in an autorickshaw which should be changed to at least two for autos and three for taxis," he said.

Rashtriya Rajdhani Kshetra Auto Drivers Union Secretary Anuj Rathor also demanded that the government allow more passengers in autos and taxis.

"Safety from coronavirus is important, but you cannot force them to provide services by facing losses. They are already broke due to joblessness in the past two months. The government should either compensate them or allow to carry more passengers," he said.

E-rickshaw driver Naushad said he took out his vehicle on Tuesday but thought better to wait for a few more days before working again.

"Yesterday was a very bad day. I hoped to earn some money but instead spent it from my pocket. I paid Rs 100 for charging the e-rickshaw and went to the Tuglaqabad Metro Station in the morning. I returned back with just Rs 20 in the evening, he rued.

People are not coming out due to the fear of contracting coronavirus. Many have also lost jobs and have nowhere to go, he said.

The drivers of last-mile connectivity vehicles like Gramin Sewa, Eco Sewa, Phat Phat Sewa, RTVs among others had similar stories to share.

"Such vehicles mostly cater to lower middle class people, including daily wagers and factory workers, many of whom have gone back to their home states. Drivers of these vehicles do not earn much as the fares are low and they cover short distances," Chandu Chaurasia, vice president, Capital Drivers Welfare Association said.

He also added that the government should revise the social distancing norms and extend financial help to those running the paratransit vehicles.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 16:16:08|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

WINDHOEK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- While the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown has closed many doors to the labor force in Namibia, the printing and design world opens a window for some Naminian young people with entrepreneurship.

T-shirt, jacket and other clothing printing for resale to larger companies has been the bulk of business for Fillemon Shuuya under his own brand Feelingz Nation, which has helped him navigate the difficult time of the coronavirus outbreak.

According to him, his business has run well and gained a certain reputation among young customers. "Our brand is recognized locally and internationally," the 25-year-old told Xinhua.

The statistics graduate from the University of Namibia, who came to the national capital Windhoek from the small northern town of Ondangwa, said he turned to the clothing industry partly because he could not find a full-time job.

"My desire to grow in the business is inspired by Namibia's popular musician King Teedee who also runs a clothing line which has blossomed outside his music business," Shuuya added.

One of the biggest business challenges for him so far, he said, is to deal with clients who order products but do not pay.

Entrepreneurship is also Jansen Nghilunanye's answer to unemployment, particularly at a time when COVID-19 shutdowns have increased job losses everywhere. Data show the current youth unemployment rate runs as high as 40 percent in Namibia.

Nghilunanye is a 22-year-old student nurse who created the Mojah Vibes clothing line not long ago. He said his main problem now is to strike a balance between school time and making money to support himself and family members.

Currently, he earns a weekly average of 850 Namibian dollars (about 57 U.S. dollars).

With optimism and confidence about the prospect of his business, Nghilunanye said, "Local brand owners should keep pushing because without pain there is no gain."

He said young people should stay focused and never give up if they want to find a lasting solution to unemployment.

Kuushomwa Gerson, a student at the International University of Management, launched his own printing business while taking a gap year from the university in order to make money to pay for his tuition fees.

Gerson said he started his company with money from selling his smartphone.

"I got a smartphone as a gift from my grandmother when I completed grade 12, and because I needed money to start my brand I sold the phone and used the money," said the Namibian young man, who plans to open his own printing shop to save operating costs.

Encouraging newcomers to be innovative and go further in the printing and design world, Shuuya said, "In this type of business, one cannot be stuck at one stage, you need to be on the lookout for new opportunities and be aware of your market as well as set goals for yourself."
In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have demonstrated that penguins in Antarctica emit copious amounts of nitrous oxide via their feces. So much so, that the researchers went "cuckoo" from being surrounded by penguin poop.

More than 1600 kilometers east of the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica lies the Atlantic island of South Georgia.

Here, king penguins live in huge colonies. Their days are spent chomping on krill, squid and fish, feeding their chicks and producing 'guano', which means poo in penguin. Nothing mind-boggling about that, you might say.

However, there is something very special about the comings and goings of king penguins. Tremendous amounts of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, are released via their guano, according to a 2019 study completed by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and their colleagues.

"Penguin guano produces significantly high levels of nitrous oxide around their colonies. The maximum emissions are about 100 times higher than in a recently fertilised Danish field. It is truly intense - not least because nitrous oxide is 300 times more polluting than CO2," explains Professor Bo Elberling, of the University of Copenhagen's Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management.

Besides being a strain on the climate, nitrous oxide has an effect very similar to the sedative laughing gas used in the dentist's office. Bo Elberling explains:

"After nosing about in guano for several hours, one goes completely cuckoo. One begins to feel ill and get a headache. The small nitrous oxide cylinders that you see lying in and floating around Copenhagen are no match for this heavy dose, which results from a combination of nitrous oxide with hydrogen sulphide and other gases."

How penguin poop turns into nitrous oxide Penguins' favorite foods are fish and krill, both of which contain large amounts of nitrogen absorbed from phytoplankton in the ocean.

Once penguins have filled their bellies, nitrogen is released from their feces into the ground. Soil bacteria then convert the substance into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

"It is clear to us that the level of nitrous oxide is very high in places where there are penguins -- and thereby guano -- and vice versa, lower in places where there is none," explains Bo Elberling.

Knowledge of how penguin droppings affect the Earth and atmosphere is highly relevant in the fight against climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Elberling continues:

"While nitrous oxide emissions in this case are not enough to impact Earth's overall energy budget, our findings contribute to new knowledge about how penguin colonies affect the environment around them, which is interesting because colonies are generally becoming more and more widespread."

He concludes by asserting that, "we should learn from this in relation to Danish agriculture, where large quantities of nitrous oxide are emitted by nitrogen fertilisers in fields. One of the things we can learn, for example, is how and when to fertilise vis-a-vis the optimal conditions for soil bacteria to produce nitrous oxide."

###

Their recent study is published in the scientific journal, Science of the Total Environment.
An elderly woman received a rude shock when she went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and found a carpet python inside.

The woman called snake catchers to her home in Wynnum West, in eastern Brisbane, to rescue the 1.52m carpet python last month.

Bryce Lockett, from Snake Catchers Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan and Gold Coast, said the woman was shocked when he arrived at her home.

The woman called snake catchers to her home in Wynnum West, in eastern Brisbane, to rescue the 1.52m carpet python last month

'He was probably looking for food,' he told the Courier Mail.

'I flushed the toilet a few times and he came out. I was going to take a video but he started moving so I had to act fast.'

Mr Lockett fished the snake out of the toilet and released it into nearby bushland.

He said he believes the snake entered the home through a broken pipe.

Mr Lockett said there have been an increase in callouts to homes amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He now averages six calls a day.

'More and more people are at home so they've got more time to notice snakes in their backyard or around the house,' he said.

Bryce Lockett, from Snake Catchers Ipswich, Brisbane, Logan and Gold Coast, said the woman was in a state of shock when he arrived at her home
Chennai, May 19 (IANS) As many as 688 persons tested positive for coronavirus in Tamil Nadu over the past 24 hours, taking the total tally to 12,448, said the State Health Department.

In a statement, the Health Department said 688 persons tested positive including those who came from Dubai (23), Maldives (1), Kuwait, Dubai and Malaysia (13 initially tested negative and later turned positive), Maharashtra (49) and Kerala (1).

Three Covid-19 patients lost their lives taking the total death toll to 84.

The number Covid-19 patients who were cured and discharged on Tuesday was 489 and the total is 4,895.

According to the government, a total of 10,333 samples were tested taking to total over 3.48 lakh to date. Testing of 887 samples is under process.

The state capital Chennai continued to see the highest number of infections at 552, taking the total tally to 7,672.

The number of infected children in the age group 0-12 went up to 747.

The total number of active cases in Tamil Nadu stands at 7,466.

--IANS

vj/prs
Seen is the House of Sharing located in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, where five surviving victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery are residing. The facility is facing accusations of embezzlement of public donations. / Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



The House of Sharing has become the second social welfare organization purported to be dedicated to supporting Korean victims of Japan's wartime sex slavery, to be accused of embezzling public donations and failing to properly care for the surviving victims.



Five surviving victims including Lee Ok-seon, 93, are currently residing at the House of Sharing facility in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province.



Kim Dae-wol, an official at the House of Sharing, along with six other staff, claimed in a statement, Tuesday, that the organization has been promoting itself as a professional nursing facility dedicated to caring for the surviving victims who were forced to serve Japanese soldiers in brothels during World War II, but in fact has never offered proper medical treatment or welfare services.






Kolkata, May 20 : All flyovers and elevated corridors were closed to vehicular traffic in Kolkata in view of the approaching 'extremely heavy cyclonic storm' Amphan, expected to make a landfall somewhere between East Midnapore's Digha and Hatiya Island in Bangladesh on Wednesday. The landfall is expected between afternoon and evening.

Police sources said that all flyovers have been barricades with guardrails. Movement of vehicles was suspended on AJC Bose, Maa and Park Street flyovers in the state capital.

Several districts of West Bengal started experiencing strong winds and heavy rain as Amphan (pronounced as UM-PUN) approached closer to the state's coastal belts on Wednesday afternoon.

Heavy rain started in areas like Namkhana, Frazerganj, Sagar Island, and Kakdwip in Kolkata's adjoining South 24-Parganas district and East Midnapore's coastal part Digha and Haldia.

Strong winds with heavy rain had already started in various south Bengal districts since this morning as the cyclonic storm currently lays 120-km south-southeast of Paradip in Odisha, 90-km south of Digha and 190-km of the state capital Kolkata.

Met Department sources said that it can wreak havoc in coastal districts of East Midnapore, South 24-Parganas and North 24-Parganas. Besides, the storm may cause heavy damage in other south Bengal districts like West Midnapore, Murshidabad, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata as well.

Eastern Railway (ER) sources said that the departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express has been cancelled in view of cyclone Amphan on Wednesday. Similarly, 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on May 21 will also remain cancelled.

West Bengal disaster management authorities are keeping a closed watch on the situation. A control room has been opened at the state Secretariat Nabanno.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also formed a task force, spearheaded by state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha, which is monitoring the relief and rescue operations in cyclone Amphan.

At least seven National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in six West Bengal districts, including East Midnapore, West Midnapore, South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas, Hooghly and Howrah.

At least 12 NDRF teams have also been kept on stand-by as the cyclonic storm is likely to hit a large part of the coastal districts with "very heavy rainfall".

Besides West Bengal, a warning has also been issued for Odisha, Sikkim and Meghalaya till Thursday.
The Gautam Budh Nagar administration on Wednesday released clarifications to the guidelines issued by it for the fourth phase of the Covid-19 lockdown.

The move comes soon after some residents welfare associations (RWAs) complained that certain key issues like movement of domestic helps and maintenance staff have not been addressed.

The district administration had released fresh guidelines on Wednesday morning.

The guidelines have allowed the public transport and street vendors and e-commerce to operate. Besides, markets and industries can resume their operations.

The clarifications released later say that any activity which is not prohibited is treated as permitted and service personnel such as maids, drivers and electricians are allowed, except for any movement in or out of containment zones and within them.

Consent of both the house resident and service personnel is must. RWAs can only impose restrictions to the extent of enforcing guidelines like wearing masks or sanitisation, etc. RWAs can set up internal system to regulate number of people entering the lift or social distancing and they have to balance community hygiene with convenience of individual residents, said an order from the district administration.

During the third phase of the lockdown, the district administration had asked the local RWAs to come up with solutions to problems like entry of domestic helps or maintenance staff in consensus with the residents.

In the absence of clear guidelines, it becomes a problem for the RWAs. If we come up with any decision without administrative backing, there is a huge risk of opposition from the residents, said KK Jain, secretary general, Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations.

The fresh guidelines also prohibit cross border travel to Delhi. However, residents are facing problems because of it as several people have to travel from Noida to Delhi or vice versa for professional commitments.

More than that, sometimes close relatives have to see each other and businesses have to run. Residential bodies are in no position to take all decisions specially if there is no backing from the administration, said Colonel (retired) Shashi Vaid, chairman, Arun Vihar RWA.

A senior police officials said that in case of RWAs do not act in accordance with administration guidelines and interest of the residents, action can be taken against them though people are advised to sort out internal matters amicably.
The village staff is proposing to make First Street westbound only from Garfield to Washington streets and allowing restaurants on the block to set up tables on the street in front of them. To offset the loss of parking spaces, parallel parking spaces on the south side of First Street by the Garfield Crossing building will be converted to diagonal spaces, which allow more cars to park in the same amount of space.
The suspension of a female journalist in Imo State has taken a strange turn.

A joint action committee of three workers unions, which includes the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Imo State on Monday submitted a letter to the Commissioner for Information in the state, Declan Emelumba, disowning Vivian Ottih, a suspended editor with the government-owned IBC Orient FM radio station.

Mrs Ottih, who is the chairperson of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in Imo State, was suspended indefinitely from her job at the IBC Orient FM a few days ago for taking to Facebook to request her three months unpaid salaries and the wages of her co-workers.

Officials of the Imo State government said Mrs Ottih should have used other channels instead of Facebook to request for her salary, and that her action was an embarrassment to the government.

Abandoned?

The unions said in their letter to Mr Emelumba, We hereby disassociate ourselves from Mrs Vivian Ottihs publication and any other related matter therein.

Apart from the NUJ, the Radio, Television, and Theatre Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) are part of the committee. So also is the Nigeria Union of Civil Service Secretarial and Stenographic Workers (NUCSSAW).

The joint committee said they were aware of why all the workers in the Imo Broadcasting Corporation are being owed their February, March, and April salaries, and the efforts the state government was making to resolve the issue.

They said the suspended journalist did not follow the laid down rules and regulations which require her to pass through the Union, the Director-General (of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation), and the Commissioner for Information and Strategy before going to the press to publish her grievances.

The committees letter to the commissioner was signed by Ike Igbokwe, Chikodi Agu, and Hyginus Nwachukwu, the chairman, secretary, and the treasurer respectively.

Defence

PREMIUM TIMES spoke with the committees secretary, Mr Agu who said the committee was okay with what Mrs Ottih wrote, only that she did not follow due process.

Mr Agu said Mrs Ottih did not inform the union before she took to Facebook.

We are not condemning what she (Ottih) did. If we say we are condemning her, it means the government is not owing us.

Mr Agu also said the committee went to the commissioners office on Monday to appeal for the recall of Mrs Ottih. PREMIUM TIMES, however, pointed out to him that there was no place in their letter where such appeal was made to the commissioner.

Mr Agu expressed surprise that their appeal was not captured in a letter he had co-signed. Is it not there? He asked the PREMIUM TIMES reporter who spoke with him.

Meanwhile, the information commissioner, Mr Emelumba, had told PREMIUM TIMES the government was not responsible for the delay in payment of the salary. He said the management of the Imo Broadcasting Corporation refused to submit the workers BVN and bank account details as directed by the government.

Mr Emelumba said the government wanted to pay workers salary centrally in order to eliminate ghost workers, instead of allowing the various establishments to collect bulk money from the state government to pay their staff as was done in the past.

The commissioner, in response to a PREMIUM TIMES question, said the government did not sanction the management of the corporation over the delay to avoid being accused of being insensitive.

The commissioner said he sent out a statement last week giving the parastatals a deadline to comply with the government directive.

IBC has complied anyway; I think they are about getting their salary if they have not gotten it.

Not true

The workers are yet to get their salaries, three days after the commissioner spoke with PREMIUM TIMES.

On Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES spoke again with Mr Emelumba who said he personally intervened on Monday to see to it that the workers get their salaries.

When I went into the matter we found out that the management as of yesterday they had not even complied.

PREMIUM TIMES asked Mr Emelumba why the state government was reluctant to sanction the management of the corporation for the delay.

Advertisements



Punishing them does not solve the problem of getting the workers salaries, he said.
Advertisement

You've seen the hit show  now rent the villa (once the lockdown lifts).

It turns out that the seaside abode used as the Ibizan home of Marcus in trending Netflix series White Lines is available to rent on Airbnb  for around 1,100 a night.

And here we take you through the keyhole  and around the pool  of this most enticing of abodes.

The seaside abode used as the Ibizan home of Marcus in trending Netflix series White Lines is available to rent on Airbnb  for around 1,100 a night. The picture above is from the Airbnb listing

On-screen version: The villa as seen in White Lines, which has taken Netflix by storm

The real-life villa is actually called Villa Can Pirata and is located in Cala d'Or in Majorca.

It can accommodate 10 guests and boasts four bathrooms.

The listing says: 'Fantastic seafront luxury villa with pool, direct access to the pier and to the swimming area.

'It features one bedroom in the main house, three more bedrooms in the guest area, private terraces, a porch with lounge and dining area, and wonderful views of the sea.'

The real-life villa is called Villa Can Pirata and is located in Cala d'Or in Majorca

The listing says: 'Fantastic seafront luxury villa with pool, direct access to the pier and to the swimming area'

Villa Can Pirata can accommodate 10 guests and boasts four bathrooms

Good restaurants and bars are nearby, the listing adds.

The reviews that have been posted for it so far have been very positive.

'Elisabeth' said: 'Beautiful views and scenery and very charming house. Very easy and a short walking distance to restaurants, shops and grocery markets, although Cala D'or is very touristy and we tried to explore other cities for more authenticity and classic Mallorcan buildings etc.

The villa boasts wonderful views of the sea, with good restaurants and bars nearby

The reviews that have been posted for Villa Can Pirata so far have been very positive

Airbnb reviewer 'Christopher' said: 'A beautiful house and location. Friendly and accommodating service. Wish we were still there'

Guests can scamper down these steps - straight to the glistening warm waters of the Mediterranean

'Everything you need is, however, within a short walk and it's a great place for families with or without children. We would love to come back sometime.'

And 'Christopher' said: 'A beautiful house and location. Friendly and accommodating service. Wish we were still there.'

Netflix describes White Lines as a 'thrilling series from the creator of Money Heist' in which 'the body of a legendary Manchester DJ is discovered 20 years after his mysterious disappearance from Ibiza'.

It continues: 'When his sister returns to the beautiful Spanish island to find out what happened, her investigation leads her through a thrilling world of dance clubs, lies and cover-ups, forcing her to confront the darker sides of her own character in a place where people live life on the edge.'

Reviewer 'Elisabeth' said: 'Beautiful views and scenery and very charming house. Very easy and a short walking distance to restaurants, shops and grocery markets'

Netflix describes White Lines as a 'thrilling series from the creator of Money Heist'
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Ivany Atina Arbi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 09:43 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd9262f7 1 National Human-Rights-Watch,defamation,journalists,human-rights,land-dispute,South-Kalimantan,palm-oil Free

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the South Kalimantan Police to drop a defamation charge against a blogger who published articles about a land dispute between the indigenous Dayak ethnic group and a palm oil company owned by businessman Syamsudin Andi Irsyad aka Haji Isam, in the province.

Blogger Diantara Putra Sumedi, who is also the former editor-in-chief of local media platform banjarhits.id, has reportedly been detained since May 4 following the filing of a defamation report by a person named Sukirman, who claims to be a representative of the Dayak people.

According to a statement issued by the HRW, Diantara published an article in November last year on the land dispute, in which Sukirman was quoted as saying that he planned to file a lawsuit against the palm oil company.

Sukirman denied mentioning a plan to file a lawsuit and filed a police report against banjarhits.id and Kumparan, a Jakarta-based media platform that sponsored and provided the platform for Diantaras articles.

The Jhonlin Group followed up by filing a report with the police. The company also filed a complaint with the Press Council.

The council issued a statement on Feb. 5 that censured Diantara for publishing unverified stories. It also ordered Kumparan to provide space for the company to respond, as the stories were deemed unethical and racially insensitive for creating tension between the Dayak and Bugis ethnic group, of which the Jhonlin Groups founder is a descendent of.

Kumparan responded by taking down the stories on Feb. 11 and terminating its collaboration with Banjar Hits. However, Kumparan reported that Jhonlin Group did not use its right to respond.

Read also: South Kalimantan journalist dies while being detained on defamation charges

On May 4, the South Kalimantan Police detained Diantara and charged him for reportedly committing defamation. If found guilty, Diantara could face a maximum punishment of six years in prison. A police spokesperson said Diantara had been detained over concerns he might publish more stories about the land dispute.

The human rights organization slammed the polices decision to detain Diantara, saying criminal charges for alleged defamation were disproportionate punishment and frequently abused by the police.

"Threatening a writer with prison time for criminal defamation has a chilling effect on freedom of speech for all journalists," HRW senior researcher Andreas Harsono said in a statement, adding that civil defamation was a more proportionate response to such allegations.

According to the rights groups analysis, the country's criminal defamation laws contain vague language that allowed "retaliation against journalists and others" who reported allegations of corruption, fraud or misconduct against powerful interests, among other things.

The HRW highlighted other cases in which journalists and human rights defenders covering or defending parties in land disputes had been arrested under various laws, in addition to criminal defamation.

Another South Kalimantan-based reporter, M. Yusuf, was detained in 2018 for allegedly inciting hate speech against a Jhonlin Group subsidiary. He died five weeks later while in police custody.

Yusufs wife, Arvaidah, claimed the police had ignored her pleas for medical care for her husband, as Yusuf had stomach and cardiovascular illnesses. Her request for Yusufs release on account of his medical condition was also rejected.

The police and aggrieved companies should stop bringing criminal defamation charges to intimidate, detain or prosecute journalists and other people exercising their freedom of speech, Andreas said.

He added that such defamation cases should be taken to the Press Council and only be taken to the police if the petitioners were dissatisfied with the councils decision, as stipulated in a 2017 memorandum of understanding between the council and the force, Andreas went on to say. (vny)
Processes on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum following the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK Government has said.

Some checks supported by electronic processes will be needed on agri-food movements from Britain, building on what is already happening at ports like Larne and Belfast, ministers acknowledged.

Implementation of rules designed to keep Northern Irelands land border with the Republic of Ireland and the EUs internal market free-flowing will not involve new customs infrastructure, a document published by the UK Government today added.

There will be no tariffs on goods remaining within the UK customs territory under a position adopted by Britain for negotiation with the EU.

Businesses in Northern Ireland will have unfettered access to sell goods to the rest of the UK market under the plan.

The Northern Ireland protocol was drawn up as part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement with Brussels, and the paper published today elaborates on how Britain intends to implement it.

It says: Some checks will be needed, supported by relevant electronic processes, in line with the island of Irelands existing status as a single epidemiological unit, building on what already happens at ports like Larne and Belfast.

What the protocol does not do is create  nor does it include any provision for creating  any kind of international border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

That means its provisions must entail the minimum possible bureaucratic consequences for business and traders, particularly those carrying out their affairs entirely within the UK customs territory.

The Northern Ireland part of the Brexit deal is supposed to be implemented even if a trade agreement cannot be struck with the EU before the end of this year.

Businesses in Northern Ireland are expecting to undergo checks on goods being brought in from the rest of the UK.

That is because the North will continue to follow the EUs rules on goods.

Northern Ireland is expected to continue to enforce the EUs customs codes at its ports to preserve the free-flowing border with the Republic.

The UK Government has said it will develop border control posts (BCPs) at Northern Irelands ports.

Todays document added: There will be unfettered access for Northern Irelands producers to the whole of the UK market and this will be delivered through legislation by the end of the year.

No tariffs will be paid on goods that move and remain within the UK customs territory.

Implementation of the protocol will not involve new customs infrastructure  with any processes on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland kept to an absolute minimum so that the integrity and smooth functioning of the UK internal market is protected.

European Commission priorities include procedures and formalities in Northern Ireland for goods traded with Great Britain involving live animals and agri-food due to its strict rules on entry into its single market.

It has said discussions on the EUs presence in Northern Ireland need to be advanced as a matter of urgency.

The British Government has disputed any need for a permanent office.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in DouYu International Holdings Limited ("DouYu" or the "Company") of the May 26, 2020 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in DouYu stock or options pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's July 16, 2019 IPO and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here : http://www.faruqilaw.com/DOYU. There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]

CONTACT:

FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP

685 Third Avenue, 26th Floor

New York, NY 10017

Attn: Richard Gonnello, Esq.

[email protected]

Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all those who purchased DouYu American Depository Shares ("ADSs") pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's July 16, 2019 Initial Public Offering ("IPO"). The case, Liang v. DouYu International Holdings Limited et al., Docket No. 2:20-cv-02747 was filed on March 24, 2020.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (1) DouYu's risks related to its top streamers had materialized, including that: (a) a top streamer was actively misrepresenting herself on DouYu's platform; and (b) the costs associated with retaining top streamers was swelling; (2) DouYu did not ensure that all of its products were fully compliant with current regulatory requirements before those products became available on line; and (3) key interactive features of DouYu's "lucky draw" were noncompliant with current regulatory requirements, requiring DouYu to remove them from operations, which negatively impacted user engagement activity and caused disappointing financial results.

On July 31, 2019, Mic.com also published a story, titled "Popular Chinese DouYu streamer revealed to be much older thanks to livestream glitch" (the "Mic Article"), on the glitch that revealed the true identity of Qiao Biluo whose DouYu users "fawned over the videos and photos that she uploaded . . ., which showed a young woman posing, playing games, and talking to the camera."

According to the Mic Article, "the revelation caused a considerable amount of drama, with many of her male subscribers expressing outrage that they had been tricked. They left the stream in droves, unsubscribed from her account and pulled donations."

On July 29, 2019, the day before the incident was first reported, DouYu ADSs closed at $10.08 per ADS. After the market absorbed all this information, on August 6, 2019, DouYu ADSs closed at $7.84 per ADS: a drop of $2.24 or 22.22%.

Then, on August 11, 2019, Bloomberg published an article from the South China Morning Post, profiling Liu Mou ("Liu"), a top streamer who plays exclusively on DouYu and purportedly contributed as much as 3% of DouYu's revenues in the second quarter of 2019 alone. In addition to explaining how DouYu lives and dies on virtual gifts from fans, with "[n]inety-one per cent of Douyu's revenue [coming] from virtual gifts" in the previous quarter, the article warned that "the cash burn on marketing and retaining top performers has caused investors to question the business model." [Emphasis added.] Using Liu as an example, the article noted how "Douyu pay[s] top gamers like Liu at least $4 million a year to retain them exclusively" and gives them half of whatever money was spent on "virtual gifts [bestowed upon them] from followers[.]"

On this news, the price of the Company's ADSs fell from $9.93 per share on August 12, 2019 to $8.84 per share on August 13, 2020: a $1.09 or 10.98% drop.

Then, on October 15, 2019, J.P. Morgan announced in an analyst report that DouYu had temporarily removed its "lucky draw feature in late Aug 2019," before "reinstat[ing]" it "on Oct 10," which, according to J.P. Morgan, "will cause its 3Q19 revenue to decline 1.5% QoQ . . ., 5% below the low end of company's 3Q19 guidance . . . and 7% lower than current Bloomberg consensus." [Emphasis added.] According to J.P. Morgan, which characterized the suspension of luck draw features as a "headwind."

On this news, the price of the Company's ADSs fell from $7.47 per share on October 15, 2019 to $7.12 per share on October 16, 2019: a $0.35 or 4.69% drop.

Finally, on November 27, 2019, DouYu released its third quarter 2019 financial results. During the Q&A portion of the earnings call held the same day, the Company addressed the temporary removal of its "lucky draw" features.

On this news, the price of the Company's ADSs fell from $7.84 per share on November 27, 2019 to $7.46 per share on November 28, 2019: a $0.38 or 4.85% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding DouYu's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP (www.faruqilaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

SOURCE Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP

Related Links

www.faruqilaw.com


Brent Jaffe, 33, was released from the Washington D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) at the end of March after filing a motion citing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus. Jaffe was most recently housed in the Central Treatment Facility (CTF), one of three D.C. correctional facilities, where he witnessed the DOCs initial response to the pandemic, and the CTFs first confirmed case.

While he remains under house arrest, Jaffe has maintained relationships with people still incarcerated and hopes to raise awareness of their concerns. There are now 180 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the D.C. DOC.

Caroline BrehmanCQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

Every morning the news was on the TV in our cellblock. We were watching, but there was a sense of disconnect from the virus at first  like it wasnt real or wasnt really going on.

The first thing that made us take notice was when colleges sent all their kids home from campuses, and said they werent [reopening] after spring break. Thats when everyone was saying, dang, this corona things real.

In my cellblock were pretty much out all day. [Corrections officers] unlock our cells at 9 oclock in the morning and then, other than a period between 2:30 and 5 in the afternoon for count, were out until 10 p.m.. Theres about 50-plus people living in our unit  theres no legitimate way to practice social distancing. So after the shock of what was going on started to wear off, there was a sense of fear. Anytime someone coughed, you were concerned about it.

The D.C. DOC did not immediately respond to TIMEs request for comment, though a coronavirus prevention page on the DOCs website states that the DOC is following guidance from DC Health and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to make health and safety decisions with regard preventing the spread of COVID-19 among staff and residents in its facilities.

Story continues

The page lists measures undertaken to prevent COVID-19 transmission, including screenings and quarantines, a cleaning regime, PPE provided for prison workers, and a new bar of soap [provided to each inmate] every week, free of charge.

I asked my lawyer to file a motion for my release on COVID-19 grounds. The judge was actually very receptive  it was very clear, in my opinion, [that he] was trying to get the government to agree to any options to get me out of jail. But the prosecutor said, As soon as theres a first case, well be more inclined to let people out As of right now, DOC has been doing an amazing job.

Keep up to date on the growing threat to global health by signing up for our daily coronavirus newsletter.

Now at that point, its true there were no positive tests in the D.C. DOC. Of course, its also questionable how many people had been tested. And what were the incentives to tell someone you [were feeling sick]? So you can get locked in a cell 24 hours a day by yourself? Youd get put in confinement, basically in lockdown like you broke some sort of rule. Thats a disincentive to letting personnel know that youre experiencing symptoms.

Members of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's entourage walk past an inmate's cell as she tours D.C. Central Jail on September 14, 2015. | J. Lawler DugganThe Washington Post/Getty Images

A few days after my hearing, a kitchen worker in my cell block came back from his shift early  hed refused to work because hed heard one of the other people in the kitchen had tested positive. He said that correctional officers had found out at roll call and told him that morning.

That same day, the judge issued an order releasing me on house arrest. So the D.C. DOC complied with reporting when the first case was confirmed, but the government was sitting there so adamantly arguing about what a great job they had done [at my hearing] when those people that tested positive three days later were probably already [infected]. And the judge was like, Theres a 14-day incubation period. By the time the first person gets tested positive, its going to be a little bit too late. But then, of course, he ended up not making his ruling that day either.

Now I hear friends and family complaining about being stuck inside, and Im like, O.K., I have the solution to your problem: Go get yourself a workout mat. Go lay it in your bathtub and live there for a couple of days, then let me know how nice it is to [move around] the rest of your house. And thats not to mention the phone and the Internet and the comfortable bed.

At first, the only thing that DOC officials had done was implement a policy where theyd come over the loudspeaker every two hours and say, Its time to start your sanitation process. But the sanitation process was a joke. There wasnt access to proper chemicals.

When I was released, on March 26, nothing else had changed. At the beginning of the next week though, DOC officials started doing what they called a modified lockdown. Inmates are not on real lockdown, but for all purposes, theyre still spending 23 hours a day in their cell now.

A sign pleading for help hangs in a window at the Cook County jail complex in Chicago, Illinois on April 9, 2020. | Scott OlsonGetty Images

I know of multiple people who have tested positive; Ive talked with friends still inside and they say things are getting worse by the day. One told me that four people have been infected in their unit alone, and [that guards] brought one inmate back from quarantine without a mask and they still allowed her to rec with others. Some guards have apparently not been wearing masks either.

Another friend said [their unit] has been quarantined for two weeks due to an outbreak of the virus on the block  and that officers are afraid to work because people have been hospitalized. [They said] that its scary to be living in such close proximity to the virus.

I can only imagine how it feels being in there as things get worse and worse. Its crazy to me that governors and prison officials who have the authority to release individuals under whatever laws are permitted arent [freeing more] at-risk people. Youve got people dying.

Im hoping that this pandemic will increase the speed of the criminal justice reform movement in the U.S.  the number of people that we incarcerate compared to other countries just doesnt make sense. I think it will serve as a good way to humanize prisoners; compassionate releases, or older people that have long sentences, getting all these people out. I hope there will be a lot more positive attention as opposed to the negative connotations that usually go with [incarcerated people].

As told to Josiah Bates.

Please send tips, leads, and stories from the frontlines to virus@time.com.
A day after BJP leader Devendra



Fadnavis demanded the Maharashtra government declare a financial package like the Centre did, state minister Jayant Patil on Wednesday took a dig at him, saying he expressed lack of confidence in the Modi regimes Rs 20 lakh crore COVID-19 economic stimulus.

Patil also criticised Fadnavis for targeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar for writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centres Rs 20 lakh crore special package.

The Water Resources Minister said the advice of Fadnavis, on whom Pawar should write a letter to, is not required and asked the BJP leader to not play when the fight against COVID-19 is on.

With Fadnavis meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari time and again, Patil said the BJP leader should instead see Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and collectively fight the battle against COVID-19.

Patil hailed the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their efforts in containing the spread of the disease.

Our friends (Fadnavis) demanded a package by the state government like the one Centre announced. This demand, in a way, is expressing distrust in the Centres package, Patil told reporters during a press conference online.

The Modi governments package is of Rs 20 lakh crore. There should be no problem in taking for granted that that package will give relief to all the people, he added.

The senior NCP minister, whose party is a key constituent in the Sena-led government, asked the Centre to share with the state around Rs 11,000 crore of pending dues.

We are trying to resume economic activities, but we should also get our dues from the Centre, he added.

Patil further said Pawar speaks with the chief minister on the phone or meets the latter in person to discuss the COVID-19 crisis.

Since, the prime minister is away (in Delhi), Pawar writes letters to him, Patil added.

Letters are written to those who are away. Hence, our friends (Fadnavis) should not advise us what Pawar Saheb should do and what he should not, Patil quipped.

Stating that Fadnavis in the past met Koshyari for political reasons, Patil said it is not the time to play politics, but to fight the disease collectively.

But some people are playing in Maharashtra and are being restless, Patil said and advised these people to refrain from playing

Patil said Fadnavis, a former chief minister, should make suggestions to the state government on tackling the COVID-19 crisis instead of pestering the Governor.

It is not right in the given circumstances to pester the Governor time and again and demoralise the state machinery.

"I am sure, Devendra Fadnavis will meet the chief minister or the deputy chief minister instead of the Governor, Patil added.

To a question about BJP leader Subramanian Swamy reportedly asking Thackeray to snap ties with the Congress and NCP or else the two parties will destroy the Sena president in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, Patil said, Confusion is being created, the state government is being defamed and politics is being played."



"Swamys tweet shows what is the plan from gully to Delhi," Patil quipped without elaborating.

He said the Maharashtra government has handled the coronavirus situation properly.

Patil said the state government and the BMC have helped migrant workers, are making available beds for COVID-19 patients on a big scale and provided 330 ambulances to ferry patients to hospitals in Mumbai.

The minister said, 4.26 lakh migrant workers have returned to their respective native states by 320 trains. As many as 187 trains have departed to UP, 44 to Bihar, 30 to Madhya Pradesh, 15 to Jharkhand and 13 to Rajasthan. From Mumbai alone, 150 trains departed."



Patil said a sum of Rs 75 crore has been spent from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund on tickets and for arranging trains to other states to transport migrant workers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The humble herb is a kitchen powerhouse. Let it shine in this zesty, chimichurri-inspired sauce

Parsley is the unsung hero of the kitchen. Tasted on its own, it has a generic herbal flavor, but I have never been in a commercial kitchen that didnt use it liberally in everything from stock to salads because of its magical ability to make anything it touches taste better.

There are a few dishes that feature parsley as the core element, such as tabbouleh, and many variations of parsley-based sauces. Brazil, Argentina, France, Italy, and Afghanistan all have their own versions of a parsley sauce that can turn a simple steak or pastry into a regional specialty. So its about time this hero got some praise.

Parsley is thought to come from the Mediterranean region and has figured in the areas history in both sinister and uplifting ways. The botanical name Petroselinum comes from the Greek word for stone, informed by the fact that the plant grows well in rocky areas. The Greeks made wreaths for graves with it and considered it a symbol of death. The Romans didnt cook with it either, but used it for covering up putrid smells and bad breath. Between the two cultures, it had some unpleasant associations.

Jewish communities took a more favorable view of parsley, seeing it as a symbol of spring and using it in Passover celebrations. And both Charlemagne and Catherine de Medici were champions of it, giving the herb a rebirth of respectability.

Americans know parsley mostly as a garnish, but in Middle Eastern food it is given more prominence. The traditional Lebanese dish of tabbouleh is often seen in the States as a bulgur wheat salad with some parsley and mint tossed in, but the traditional preparation leans heavily on the parsley with the bulgur as backup. The result is an herbaceous, emerald-green salad that is a perfect accompaniment to hummus, grilled veggies, or labneh cheese.

Perhaps the most underutilized purpose for parsley is as a sauce. Basil pesto has hoarded all of the attention for herb-based sauces for a few decades, but I think it is time to show off parsleys attributes as an all-purpose condiment.

Chimichurri, the Argentinian sauce of parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano, and red pepper, is among the most well-known. The French make a similar sauce, called persillade, with parsley and garlic, and the Italians have salsa verde, which is parsley, capers, anchovies, and garlic. The Italians also make gremolata, parsley, garlic, and lemon, to go over traditional osso buco. In Afghanistan, they make a parsley-centric sauce to go with savory pastries called bolani.

The parsley sauce I make is a variation of all of these, depending on what other herbs are looking good at the time and what Im planning on making for dinner. I started making chimichurri years ago to go with grilled steak, but found it was even better on sauteed potatoes. Since then, the chimichurri has morphed into a malleable sauce that goes with anything. If Im serving chicken, I might add lemon and rosemary. If the entree is grilled pork, I may steer toward cilantro and extra garlic.

The additions vary, but every batch of chimichurri starts with a base of at least one full cup of large-leaf parsley, and there is never any left over because we slather it over everything. I have also found that while a basil pesto can go wrong in 10 different ways, the parsley sauce always tastes good, no matter what I put in it.

Chimichurri redux. (Courtesy of Cider Mill Press)

Chimichurri Redux

I could have called this salsa verde, or any of the names given to parsley-based sauces, but chimichurri sounds the best. The one variable is the herb other than parsley. I listed rosemary, but you can use cilantro, basil, thyme, dill, or any combination. Thyme, rosemary, and oregano have strong flavors, so use them sparingly, but basil, cilantro, and dill can be tossed in liberally. Use this on anything: grilled steak, steamed corn, roasted potatoes, ricethe list is endless.

Makes 1 cup

1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 garlic clove

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Leaves from 1 sprig fresh rosemary or preferred herb

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 strip lemon zest

1 tablespoon capers

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

Place all of the ingredients, except for the oil, in a food processor and puree until it nearly smooth, scraping down the work bowl as needed.

With the food processor running, slowly add the oil and puree until emulsified.

If not using immediately, refrigerate and allow it to come to room temperature before serving.

Excerpted with permission from Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook by Laura Sorkin, published by Cider Mill Press.
(TNS)  As Midland County grapples with flooding that collapsed one dam and overtopped another, plus evacuations of people and businesses, Dow officials have implemented the chemical companys flood preparedness plan.The plan includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site and evacuation of all but essential staff, according to company officials, who announced the move at 12:23 a.m. Wednesday, May 20, via the Dow in the GLBR [Great Lakes Bay Region] Facebook Page Also on Wednesday morning, Midland County Central Dispatch reported a dike at Poseyville had broken and residents on Ashby between Poseyville and Patterson roads must evacuate west. Officials reported the update in a NIXLE text alert at 6:36 a.m. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency declaration late Tuesday and sent the National Guard to help after the Edenville Dam collapsed and water flooded over the top of the Sanford Dam following heavy rains. She also urged residents in evacuation zones to get out immediately.A flash flood warning in Midland County prompted MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland to implement its incident command team late Tuesday night to make plans to ensure the safety of patients and staff.We have been working alongside local agencies, watching closely the rapid changes that have been occurring due to the flooding, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland President Greg Rogers said in a statement. We have transferred a few patients that were identified by their physician and have no plans for evacuation of the Medical Center.MidMichigan Health President and CEO Diane Postler-Slattery added in a statement, Our leadership team is onsite monitoring the situation as it evolves. We will continue to follow our Flood Preparedness Plan and respond to any changes in a controlled and timely manner.2020 MLive.com, Walker, Mich.Visit MLive.com, Walker, Mich. at www.mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX: MND, OTCQB: MNDJF) is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held today in Toronto, Ontario. All of the resolutions presented at the Meeting were approved by the shareholders, with the votes cast by proxy representing 82.17% of the total shares outstanding as of the proxy cut-off date, May 15, 2020.



Election of Directors

The number of directors was fixed at seven members and each of the seven nominees listed in the Company's management information circular dated April 3, 2020 (the "Circular") were re-elected to the Company's Board of Directors. Abraham Jonker remains the lead independent director and Bradford Mills continues as Chair. The vote was conducted by a show of hands. Results of the votes cast by proxy are set out below.

Resolution Votes Cast by Proxy For % For Votes Cast by Proxy Withheld % Withheld Abraham Jonker 74,245,710 99.55 334,224 0.45 Amy Freedman 74,401,831 99.76 178,103 0.24 Bradford A. Mills 74,542,716 99.95 37,218 0.05 Dominic Duffy 74,555,651 99.97 24,283 0.03 Peter R. Jones 74,542,314 99.95 37,620 0.05 Robert Doyle 74,542,861 99.95 37,073 0.05 Terrell Ackerman 74,540,756 99.95 39,178 0.05

Appointment of Auditors

Ernst & Young LLP was re-appointed as the auditor of the Company to hold office until the close of the next Annual Meeting of the Shareholders, or until their successor is otherwise appointed, and the directors were authorized to fix the auditor's remuneration. The vote was conducted by a show of hands. Results of the votes cast by proxy are set out below.

Resolution Votes Cast by Proxy For % For Votes Cast by Proxy Withheld % Withheld Appointment of Auditors 74,832,277 99.98 16,414 0.02

Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan

The resolution to approve the Company's Omnibus Equity Incentive plan was passed. The vote was conducted by a show of hands. Results of the votes cast by proxy are set out below.

Resolution Votes Cast by Proxy For % For Votes Cast by Proxy Against % Against Approval of Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan 74,247,524 99.55 332,410 0.45

For Further Information:

Dominic Duffy

President and Chief Executive Officer

Edison Nguyen

Manager, Analytics and Investor Relations

Contact:

647.260.1566

About Mandalay Resources Corporation:

Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia and Sweden, and care and maintenance and development projects in Chile. The Company is focused on growing production at its gold and antimony operation in Australia, and gold production from its operation in Sweden to generate near-term cash flow.
For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here.

A team of Stanford Medicine scientists is trying to determine if a drug previously given to hepatitis patients can keep people whove just tested positive for the coronavirus out of the hospital.

The researchers have launched a clinical trial of a drug called interferon-lambda that will recruit 120 patients who have been recently diagnosed with mild COVID-19, according to Stanford Medicines website.

Interferon-lambda is a manufactured form of a naturally occurring protein, which, based on laboratory results and animal testing, may help control respiratory diseases such as influenza and SARS. Cell receptors for the drug are located in the linings of the lungs and intestine  the two main organs targeted by COVID-19  and the liver.

The drug was given to more than 3,000 people infected with hepatitis viruses in previous clinical trials.

The best-known COVID-19 treatment to date is Gilead Sciences experimental drug Remdesivir, which has received emergency Food and Drug Administration approval. The drug made headlines last month when White House health adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci reported that human trials had encouraging results.

But Remdesivir is restricted to hospitalized patients, and 80 percent of those contracting COVID-19 are outpatients for whom no drugs have been proven safe and effective.

The Stanford scientists want to see if interferon-lambda can not only make hospitalization unnecessary, but also help patients recover faster and stem viral shedding, which would reduce transmission to family members and the community.

Trial participants will be randomly separated into two groups at Stanford Heath Care and given injections of either interferon-lambda or a placebo. They will be monitored for 28 days for symptoms, disease severity, viral shedding and hospitalization rate.

Dr. Prasanna Jagannathan, who is leading the study with another Stanford Medicine expert in infections diseases, Dr. Upinder Singh, said interferon-lambdas safety profile "appears to be excellent."

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE:

Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here.



Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate
How should I continue to set clear deadlines with students and also show them a little grace during this difficult time?

This is probably the most difficult question teachers face right now.

So said Phil Bressler when I asked how he would respond to this question. Phil has taught high school social studies in Maryland for more than 20 years and is someone I turn to when I find myself in an instructional conundrum.

Great teachers, including Phil, typically hold their students to the highest standards while also providing unconditional support.

But what does that look like when your students are dealing with challenges you can only begin to imagine?

Ive been keeping the same expectations for students achievement, Phil says, but Im more flexible on how they get there. For instance, my students asked me to shorten classes from 50 to 40 minutes. So I did. And I now ask students to attend online classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only. On Tuesday and Thursday, there are taped lessons they can watch at their own timewhich gives them more flexibility. And students who miss the live classes for whatever reason can watch a recording.

This semester, Im making similar adjustments for my students and, like Phil, am giving them the benefit of the doubt on missed classes, as well as late assignments.

But I also think this is a time that we really need to support students, Phil says. I offer one-on-one meetings plus office hours. Sometimes I just reach out by email to see how students are doing. I have noticed even some of my best students just need some reassurance. And you know what? So do I. I let them know that.



Phil says that 95 percent of students are doing a great job under the circumstances. A couple who fell off track without any excuses came back on board when I contacted them. It is important for the students to feel you are concerned about them, not trying to punish them.

Heres how he sums up his thinking: My mantra right now is to err on the side of compassion. Dont worry that if you give kids an inch, theyll take a mile. Dont worry that the word will get out that you can hand things in late and all the kids will take advantage of you. I dont see that happening.

Like Phil, I dont think a little grace with deadlines and attendance sends the message that anything goes. Instead, it says that well all learn what we need to learn, even if how we get there may be a little different from what wed expected.

Angela Duckworth, the founder and CEO of the education nonprofit Character Lab , is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. You can follow Character Lab on Twitter @TheCharacterLab .
He's been spotting making the most of sunny weather during lockdown, enjoying regular outdoor workouts.

And on Tuesday Shia LaBeouf, 33, headed out for a jog in his Pasadena neighborhood.

The actor sported bright pink shorts for the run, which showed off his his extensive collection of leg tattoos.

Time to work out: On Tuesday Shia LaBeouf, 33, headed out for a jog in his Pasadena neighborhood during lockdown

Shia has tattoo portraits of Missy Elliott, Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Dr. Dre and Prince on his thighs, previously telling The Ellen Show in 2016: 'It's people I love.'

He demonstrated his eclectic taste in music by pairing his neon pink shorts with a t-shirt featuring heavy metal band Megadeth for his Tuesday jog.

Shia is currently quarantining in California with his wife Mia Goth, 26, after the couple reunited earlier this year.

Shia and Mia confirmed that they had reunited in March, when they were spotted kissing and being affectionate in public.

Inked: The actor sported bright pink shorts for the run, which showed off his his extensive collection of leg tattoos

Music fan: Shia has tattoo portraits of Missy Elliott, Biggie Smalls, Tupac, Dr. Dre and Prince on his thighs

Both were also witnessed with their wedding rings back on.

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.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 08:49:21|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland reported one new imported COVID-19 case Tuesday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 1,708, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.

The new imported case was reported in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the commission said, adding that two new suspected cases imported from abroad were reported in Shanghai.

Of the total imported cases, 1,662 had been discharged from hospitals after recovery, and 46 remained hospitalized with two in severe conditions, the commission said.

No deaths had been reported from the imported cases. Enditem


Lake to Webcast Live at OTC Virtual Conference

Brisbane, May 20, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Lake Resources ( ASX:LKE ) ( FRA:LK1 ) ( OTCMKTS:LLKKF ) to Webcast Live at OTC's VirtualInvestorConferences.com Thursday May 21, 2020 - 10am ET (NYC)- Lake Resources invites North American and European based individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentations in OTC's Conference on VirtualInvestorConferences.com- Thursday May 21, 2020 - 10am ET (NYC), 3pm GMT (London).- LINK: https://tinyurl.com/May21VICPR Lithium explorer and developer Lake Resources NL today announced that Steve Promnitz, Managing Director, will present live at OTC's Virtual Conference on VirtualInvestorConferences.com on Thursday May 21 at 10am ET (NYC), 3pm GMT (London).This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system, check to expedite participation and receive event updates. Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.To view further information, please visit:About Lake Resources NL

Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) (OTCMKTS:LLKKF) is a clean lithium developer utilising clean, direct extraction technology for the development of sustainable, high purity lithium from its flagship Kachi Project, as well as three other lithium brine projects in Argentina. The projects are in a prime location within the Lithium Triangle, where 40% of the world's lithium is produced at the lowest cost.



This method will enable Lake Resources to be an efficient, responsibly-sourced, environmentally friendly and cost competitive supplier of high-purity lithium, which is readily scalable, and in demand from Tier 1 electric vehicle makers and battery makers.
Kenneth Walz Joins Eaton Square At Popper and Company, we are excited to be bringing our deep industry expertise to Eaton Square and we look forward to helping grow the firms presence in life sciences and med-tech in the U.S. and globally, Ken Walz, Partner and Principal

Eaton Square is pleased to announce its growth on the East Coast of the US with the addition of Popper and Company, a biotechnology and medical technology-focused strategy and M&A advisory firm.

This is an important step for Eaton Square as it continues to grow in the United States, linking US and Asia Pacific healthcare innovators with capital and investors.

Popper and Company, founded in 2003 by Caroline Popper, MD and Ken Walz, helps clients in clinical diagnostics, medical devices, life science tools, and digital health, providing guidance on a variety of commercialization challenges.

The biotechnology and life sciences sector is key to Eaton Squares continued growth as a cross-border M&A and capital services firm. Given the current global environment, biotechnology is predicted to continue to be extremely active in M&A activity driven by initiatives from large global and regional pharmaceutical companies.

Eaton Square is focused on assisting clients to grow across the US and internationally. We believe the combination of Popper and Company with our existing Life Sciences and Healthcare capabilities significantly enhances our ability to assist clients in the US and Asia Pacific to undertake transactions and attract capital globally. Nick Weston, Managing Principal, Eaton Square.

We are looking forward to initiating global and regional cross-border solutions for pharma, biotech and med-tech sectors. These now include M&A, debt and equity solutions, strategy and advisory. This will give Eaton Square a strong biotech, healthcare, device and A.I. presence in the US and Asia Pacific, Bob Atwill, Eaton Square Principal.

At Popper and Company, we are excited to be bringing our deep industry expertise to Eaton Square and we look forward to helping grow the firms presence in life sciences and med-tech in the U.S. and globally, Ken Walz, Eaton Square Principal.

I am excited to welcome the Popper and Company team to enable us to service more clients looking to grow in the healthcare space. Their presence in the Baltimore/DC area will also strengthen our presence in the East Coast of the United States, Reece Adnams, Eaton Square CEO.

Joining the Eaton Square Biotech team are:

Ken Walz

Principal

Ken Walz has worked for more than 25 years in the biotech, diagnostics, and medical device industries in business development and finance roles and is particularly interested in the application of disruptive technologies to address inefficiencies in the healthcare system. He brings broad experience in commercial operations and strategy development and has extensive experience leading transaction processes. At Popper and Company, he assists clients in all aspects of strategy and corporate development including strategic partnership development, transaction process management, and health economic modeling.

Prior to Popper and Company, Ken held senior positions at MDS Proteomics and Becton Dickinson. Ken holds a BA in Economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and an MS in Finance from Loyola College of Maryland.

Caroline Popper, MD

Principal

Caroline is a physician with more than 25 years of hands-on operating experience within health care companies. She has managed a wide spectrum of diagnostics, device and drug discovery businesses in both Fortune 500 and start-up settings, at amongst others, Becton Dickinson, bioMerieux, and MDS. She co-founded Popper and Company with Ken Walz specifically to bring integrated strategic and operational expertise to healthcare clients. She earned her medical degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and completed post-graduate training in internal medicine and pathologist at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. She also trained in Health Policy and Health Economics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Eaton Square, a cross-border M&A and capital services firm, now has a total of 19 offices across the US, Canada, China & Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Israel.

If you would like to arrange a time to speak with our Life Sciences and Healthcare team, please contact them at:

Ken Walz  ken.walz@eatonsq.com

Caroline Popper  caroline.popper@eatonsq.com

Bob Atwill  bob.atwill@eatonsq.com

Nick Weston  nicholas.weston@eatonsq.com

Reece Adnams  reece.adnams@eatonsq.com
TELEMMGLPICT000217852679.jpeg

Terrorists face a total of 39 years in jail or subject to tough licence restrictions under a crackdown on the most serious offenders following the London Bridge and Streatham terror attacks.

Ministers will today lay before Parliament a bill requiring minimum sentences of 14 years for the worst terrorist offences such as plots where there was a likelihood of multiple deaths.

Judges will also be given powers to impose an extended licence period of up to 25 years during which the offenders can be recalled to jail for any breach.

Licence conditions range from restrictions on where they live and the electronic devices they use to bans on where they can travel, who they meet and who they contact.

Ministers are also proposing more suspected terrorists should be subject to Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs), where they are monitored round-the-clock with tight restrictions on contacts and movements.

They are to scrap the two-year time limit and allow them to be imposed indefinitely and lower the threshold of proof from the tougher 'balance of probabilities' to 'reasonable grounds' - a move that critics will say represents a revival of the controversial control orders.

TELEMMGLPICT000217845788.jpeg

Only five released terrorists are currently held on TPIMs which can cost up to 200,000 per person because of the manpower needed to monitor them.

The tighter restrictions have been introduced because of the decision to scrap automatic early release for all terrorist offenders after two freed from jail early - Usman Khan and Sudesh Amman - mounted attacks at London Bridge and Streatham before being shot dead by police.

Most convicted terrorists will now serve the full prison terms ordered by the judge including those on extended determinate sentences who were jailed for life.

There were concerns this created a cliff edge when they came up for release into the community, so requiring extensive licence conditions.

Story continues

Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, said: Terrorists and their hateful ideologies have no place on our streets. They can now expect to go to prison for longer and face tougher controls on release.

From introducing a 14-year minimum for the most dangerous offenders, to putting in place stricter monitoring measures, this government is pursuing every option available to tackle this threat and keep communities safe.

The maximum sentences for other terror offences including membership of a banned organisation will also be increased from 10 to 14 years and all freed terrorists will be required to spend at least a year on licence.

The new laws will also allow for convicted terrorist offenders to face lie-detector tests after evidence that Usman Khan managed to hide his murderous intent and continued belief in jihadist ideology from probation, prison and police officers.

Ministers also plan to close loopholes where offenders have helped terrorists but avoided being charged under terrorist laws such as a young gun-runner who claimed he did not know the weapons he provided were to be used in a terror plot.

Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said: The shocking attacks at Fishmongers Hall and Streatham revealed serious flaws in the way terrorist offenders are dealt with. We promised to act and today we are delivering on that promise.

Those who senselessly seek to damage and destroy lives need to know we will do whatever it takes to stop them.

The Bill follows emergency legislation passed in February which retrospectively ended automatic early release for terrorist offenders serving standard determinate sentences.

This forced them to spend a minimum two-thirds of their term behind bars before being considered for release by the Parole Board.
Native to New Zealand, keas, the worlds only alpine parrots, are unique in many ways. Theyre cheeky, remarkably intelligent, and playful.

While some natives love them, others view them as pests. Sadly, these beautiful and smart birds are now considered endangered, with only several thousand still flying across the kiwi skies. In September 2017, the Department of Conservation estimated their population to be 3,0007,000.

Referred to as the clown of the mountain, these remarkable birds display a level of intelligence previously seen only in humans. Research published in March 2020 in Nature of Communications has shown them being able to mix together two sources of information before making a decision. Thats something humans are very, very good at, said comparative psychologist Amalia Bastos, the lead author of the study, according to ABC Science.

The keas are curious birds and live in harsh environments with very little food around and thus have developed individual skills for survival. That means that theyre very explorative  they love new things, Bastos explained. Their core motto in life is to stick their beaks into things and see if it breaks, thats how they find food.

The research further showed that they laid out three different tasks for these smart birds to see if they could understand probability, and they noticed that the kea did show the ability of problem solving. However, Gisela Kaplan, professor of animal behavior from the University of New England, wasnt surprised by this. She said, Theyve been shown in a number of tests that theyre very quick to solve problems.

The kea is not just known for its intelligence but is also known to show compassion toward members of its own species. Out of that kind of group living has evolved a sense of caring for each other  even to the point of defending and consoling each other, added Kaplan.

Another interesting trait of the kea is its ability to spread emotions, such as the desire to play. A research team led by Raoul Schwing from the Messerli Research Institute found that In many instances, [] the kea were immediately animated to play, but not by joining ongoing play already happening, Schwing told National Geographic. Instead, they spontaneously started to play with the bird next to them, or played solitarily in the air or with an object.

The kea, which is olive-green in color, has a brilliant orange color beneath its wings, and is said to be about 48 centimeters (19 inches) in length, was named the Bird of the year in 2017 in New Zealand.

Some believe that it is the inquisitive nature of the bird that could be one of the causes of its decline. One of the most interesting things about kea is they are one of the few wild species that seek out humans, Tamsin Orr-Walker, chair of the Kea Conservation Trust, told the Guardian. That is really rare, and it is that inquisitive nature that is getting them into trouble because a lot of the ways humans interact with them is endangering their survival.

(Lua Carlos Martins/Shutterstock)

According to an article published in North and South, New Zealands monthly current affairs magazine, farmers considered the kea as villains because they attacked sheep; thus, the government put a bounty on the kea for a century. More than 150,000 keas were shot before this bounty was removed, and they were protected in 1986. However, in the last 20 years, reports indicate that their number has declined, with their risk status raised from vulnerable to endangered.

In November 2019, a Kea Summit was held at Te Anau, a town in South Island of New Zealand, with the aim to bring people from the country and beyond to discuss present current knowledge on kea status, threats, and conservation measures. Various speakers outlined the cause of their decline. Some reasons included lead poisoning from eating building material, being hit by cars in tourist areas, many people still shooting them because they are considered a nuisance, and predators such as stoats and feral cats.

However, according to North and South magazine, there has been some positive news for those who are working hard to save these intelligent birds, which is the return of the kea to the Kepler Track, a sign theyre recovering in parts of Fiordland.
Taipei: Taiwan wants dialogue with China but cannot accept its proposal for "one country, two systems", President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday after being inaugurated for her second and final term in office.

In a speech after being sworn in during a ceremony broadcast live on Facebook, Tsai said relations between Taiwan and China had reached a historic turning point.

"Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences," she said.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen raises her hand during an inauguration ceremony at the Presidential office in Taipei on Wednesday. Credit:Presidential Office/AP

"Here, I want to reiterate the words 'peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue'. We will not accept the Beijing authorities' use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle," she said.
Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar says he is happy that his consignment of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) kits were sent to city-based Cama Hospital.

The actor had recently announced that he will be donating 1000 PPE kits for the healthcare professionals leading the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

He has also partnered with celebrity shout-out platform Tring to raise money for additional 1000 PPE kits.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Farhan shared pictures of the consignment boxes ready to be sent to the hospital.

"Happy to share that our consignment of PPE kits leaves for the Cama Hospital, Mumbai. Lots of love & gratitude to all who contributed. This will help keeping our medics at the frontline safe! Jai Hind," he wrote.

The actor had earlier, on May 12, said that the first batch of PPE kits were on its way to Vakola Police Station from the factory and had urged people to contribute more towards the initiative.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UPDATE: Driver, 22, in crash near Northampton County line dies, coroners office says

A driver of a sedan crashed just after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday on Route 412 just on the other side of the Northampton County border in Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania State Police report.

Emergency radio reports said the man was unconscious and trapped in the truck, which state police said wrecked near Route 212. The closest cross street was Walnut Lane.

The man was eventually flown for treatment to St. Lukes University Hospital in Fountain Hill, police said.

Firefighters from Lower Saucon Township assisted at the scene, a Northampton County emergency dispatch supervisor said.

There was some initial confusion about in which county the crash occurred, with responses coming from both sides of the border.

Troopers from the Dublin barracks are investigating.

The scene was cleared just before 8 a.m.

This post was updated to correct the type of vehicle.

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

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Findit, Inc. a Nevada Corporation (OTC PINK:FDIT) owner of Findit.com, a full service social networking management platform which provides online marketing services, is featuring Findit member Titan Roofing, a professional roofing company in Charleston SC that also offers wholesale metal roofing fabrication services.

Findit Inc offers online marketing services to general contractors as well as roofing companies, pool installers, flooring companies, and other types of subcontractors. Once a contractor signs on with Findit for one of our online marketing plans, Findit does not take on another company that offers a similar service in the same location. This prevents companies that offer the same services in the same area from competing with one another, which is something that often happens with other online marketing firms that are doing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and other types of traditional online marketing.

With Findit, our focus is to create organic content that creates tangible sustainable search results along with sharing to social networking platforms to help build your brand in the local communities that you offer your services in. Titan Roofing of Mount Pleasant and Charleston South Carolina has been a client of Findit for several years. Findit has focused on over 10 locations in South Carolina that Titan Roofing provides services to under search terms residential and commercial shingle and metal roofing installation and repairs.

In March of 2020, Titan Roofing acquired the proper equipment to create custom metal roofs for roofers and builders and began offering wholesale metal fabrication services, that includes but is not limited to: roofing, walls in bathrooms and bedrooms, backsplashes in kitchens and other metal sheet fabrication for various commercial and residential structures.

Since Findit started their including these services in their campaign in March, about 2 months ago, Findit has created several videos that feature the services that Titan Roofing now offers when it comes to metal fabrication. These videos include the machine that Titan Roofing uses to create custom metal sheets, the Cidan K25-30 Combi. Findit also created location pages for Titan Roofing that are on Titan Roofing's website, titanroofingsc.com.

Story continues

The structure of Titan's online marketing campaign with Findit is a similar structure that we offer all of our existing clients and potential clients at Findit that are looking to increase their organic search results and their social media presence. The results are tangible and sustainable. Check out the results we have helped Titan Roofing get by doing a search in Google for metal roofing fabrication Mount Pleasant', metal roofing fabrication Charleston', and other areas that you will see under the location tab on their website.

You can visit Titan Roofing online and reach them at 843-647-3183 to get your free quote. Visit them on Findit at findit.com/metal-roofing-fabrication-services-charleston

Any general contractors or subcontractors that are looking to increase their overall online presence can contact Findit by calling us at 404-443-3224. We can provide you with all of the information regarding what we offer our other clients in similar fields as you and discuss with you how we can help achieve your online marketing goals and objectives.

About Titan Roofing

All roofing companies are not equal. Titan Roofing, LLC is a fully licensed, bonded, and insured roofing contractor and is proud to offer same day and emergency services. We have been in this business for 28 years serving residential, commercial, homeowners associations, and real estate professionals on the East Coast. We have built a solid reputation by putting our customers first.

QualityProfessionalismTimely Completion

Clients demand it  we supply it. Titan Roofing, LLC has grown to be one of South Carolina's most competent residential roofing and commercial roofing contractors since its inception in 2001. The successful completion of several federal, municipal and privately funded projects requiring a high degree of professionalism and quality workmanship is testament to Titan's performance.

Titan Roofing has a fleet of service vehicles and journeyman roofing staff that can handle any size roofing project. From tune-ups to complete roof replacements, our estimators are dedicated to giving you "complete satisfaction" service, and we guarantee all of our work in writing, as well as a 10-year guarantee on all re-roofing projects. We accept all major credit cards, payment through escrow, homeowners' insurance, and also offer financing.

Call us when you encounter your next roofing problem. In most cases, we are able to perform an estimate for you on the same day, and our estimates are always free of charge. Regardless of what type of roof you are looking to install, here at Titan Roofing, "We Top Em All."

About Findit, Inc.

Findit.com which is a Social Media Content Management Platform that provides an interactive search engine for all content posted in Findit to appear in Findit search. The site is an open platform that provides access to Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines access to its content posted to Findit so it can be indexed in these search engines as well. Findit provides Members the ability to post, share and manage their content. Once they have posted in Findit, we ensure the content gets indexed in Findit Search results. Findit provides an option for anyone to submit URLs that they want indexed in Findit search result, along with posting status updates through Findit Right Now. Status Updates posted in Findit can be crawled by outside search engines which can result in additional organic indexing. All posts on Findit can be shared to other social and bookmarking sites by members and non-members. Findit provides Real Estate Agents the ability to create their own Findit Site where they can pull in their listing and others through their IDX account. Findit, Inc., is focused on the development of monetized Internet-based web products that can provide an increase in brand awareness of our members. Findit, Inc., trades under the stock symbol FDIT on the OTC Pinksheets.

Safe Harbor:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements regarding potential sales, the success of the company's business, as well as statements that include the word believe or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Findit, Inc. to differ materially from those implied or expressed.

CONTACT:

Clark St. Amant

404-443-3224

SOURCE: Findit, Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/590682/Findit-Features-Member-Titan-Roofing-of-Charleston-SC-and-Their-Metal-Roofing-Fabrication-Services




The group is known for hosting its Oldies Car Shows at Brusters during the summer and fall months. Many of Saturdays participants have been longtime members of the Brusters Cruisers.

Carol Feiste and her husband, Glenn, said they were honored to participate in the special event because it was a great way to show their appreciation for healthcare workers.

My husband Glenn and I own a 1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88, she said.

It has 36,000 original miles; we are only the third owners. We call her The Rocket! We wanted to participate in the Health Care Heroes Parade to thank all the healthcare professionals in our area.

Hospital administrators said the event was a great way to bring the community together during these challenging times to honor healthcare workers.

Lake Norman Regional Medical Center appreciates this tremendous outpouring of appreciation and support from Brusters Cruisers to pull together such a special display for our health care family, said Leigh Whitfield, director of marketing and public relations.

The Brusters Cruisers have hopes that Saturdays event will be the first of many special events to come. If you are want to participate in one of their classic car shows when NCs stay-at-home order is lifted, you can reach out to the group on Facebook for more information: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Brusters-Cruisers-Oldies-Car-Show- 106315426070759/about/.
As Ottawa and Queens Park team up to bring $900 million in commercial rent relief to small- and mid-sized businesses, Premier Doug Ford is warning greedy landlords to be reasonable to tenants.

Im trying to be fair, but dont push me, Ford said on the eve of Wednesdays announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

These big landlords want to take advantage of small little companies and people that are struggling. Im going to come down on them like theyve never seen before, the premier thundered.

However, Ford has resisted calls from small business groups to impose a moratorium on commercial evictions during the coronavirus crisis.

In Ottawa, Trudeau said a portal to apply for the new Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program would open Monday.

The prime minister said it provides forgivable loans to landlords so that they can reduce by 75 per cent the rent for small business tenants that have lost the majority of their revenue because of COVID-19 for April, May, and June.

Once this launches, youll receive your relief quickly. Our government, along with the provinces and territories, will cover 50 per cent of the rent. Were asking that landlords absorb 25 per cent and tenants pay the rest with the support of programs like the (Canada Emergency Business Account program.)

Trudeau said it is crucial that small enterprises not be evicted from their premises.

If many businesses arent able to make ends meet and do go under at this point, it will be a lot slower to pick up the economy and that will be bad for Canadians, he said.

But it will also be bad for landlords. It will also be bad for building owners who will see a slower regaining of economic activity.

Ford has also been urging landlords to be flexible  and pragmatic.

Im trying to avoid bringing down the hammer on these landlords. I want to make sure people work things out, the premier said.

Its not like they have a lineup of businesses waiting to get into their facility. Plus, they have to pay for the upkeep of the building, as well. So I think its a great proposal from the feds and ourselves, actually, to help businesses out, he said.

A message to all these landlords: dont force my hand. Dont force my hand. Work things out because Im trying to compromise here, said Ford.

Were giving you 75 per cent of what youre asking for. Nothing drives me more crazy than greedy landlords taking advantage of people and small business owners that are just trying to keep their head above water.

The Ontario Landlords Association has said in its internal survey of members, more than 60 per cent of tenants did not pay full rent on May 1.

We understand many tenants are facing financial difficulties. But do not put their financial problems on the backs of small residential landlords who are also suffering, the association said on its website.

The association said its polling suggests at least half of small landlords are going to sell if they cannot collect rent or evict non-paying tenants within the next couple of months.

This will hurt the entire rental stock of our province.
Senate Republicans moved on Wednesday to resurrect unsubstantiated claims that Joseph R. Biden Jr.s son helped a Ukrainian energy firm curry favor with the Obama administration when his father was vice president, voting over Democratic opposition to subpoena documents for an investigation that President Trump hopes to weaponize for his re-election campaign.

The party-line vote by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee was part of an emerging push by Republicans to use their Senate majority in ways intended to help Mr. Trump as he tries to rewrite the narrative of the Russia investigation to implicate his political rivals and divert attention from the coronavirus crisis.

Even as the committee acted, Republicans on the Judiciary Committee were preparing to begin pursuing subpoenas of their own on Thursday aimed at uncovering abuses by investigators studying the 2016 Trump campaigns ties to Russia, the first step in a series of televised hearings they have planned throughout the summer, at the presidents urging. Among those they want to call for testimony are James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director; James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence; Loretta E. Lynch, President Barack Obamas attorney general; and Denis McDonough, Mr. Obamas former chief of staff.

Republicans insist that their work is not about smearing Mr. Biden, but rather exposing potential wrongdoing and unwinding years of unfair attacks on Mr. Trump.
Two dams failed upstream of Dow Inc.'s Midland, Michigan, headquarters, forcing the chemical company to activate emergency plans with a potential surge of water headed toward its offices and a large industrial complex.

Dow "is implementing its flood preparedness plan which includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site," the company said. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is already managing a public health crisis in one of the states that has been hard hit by covid-19, announced an emergency declaration and told people to evacuate the area around Midland.

"In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under nine feet of water," Whitmer said. "To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable."

Dow said that "only essential Dow staff needed to monitor the situation and manage any issues as a result of the flooding remain on site." Other companies with operations at Dow's Midland complex include DuPont de Nemours Inc. and Corteva Inc. The companies are working together on their response, a Dow spokesperson said.

A variety of chemical and industrial products, including Styrofoam and pesticides, are made by the companies in Midland and the surrounding region by Saginaw Bay, the leg of Lake Huron that dips into Michigan's eastern side. Dow agreed last year to pay $77 million for environmental restoration projects to make up for pollution from the Midland plant, according to the Associated Press.

Dow rose 3.4% to $36.85 at 9:50 a.m. in New York, amid a broader rise in the stock market.

The Edenville Dam, at the base of nearby Wixom Lake, failed amid high floodwaters in the area, sending water gushing through a now-gaping hole near its spillway. A second one, the Sanford Dam at the base of Sanford Lake, had also failed, according to the National Weather Service, which issued an alert advising of "extremely dangerous flash flooding" in the area.

The Tittabawassee River that flows below those lakes, through Midland, crested at nearly 34 feet in a 1986 flood that saw Dow Chemical shutter nearly all of its local operations. Floodwaters in Midland are expected to reach nearly 4 feet higher than that on Wednesday, the Midland Daily News said.

The prospect of catastrophic floodwaters at an industrial plant stirs up some painful memories in Michigan, which has a history of problems with toxins slipping into ground water, especially PFAS compounds. The state's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy lists 91 sites with poisonous levels of the compound in the water.

In January, State Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit against 17 defendants, including DuPont and 3M Co., for contaminating sites in Michigan. The companies have denied liability and vowed to defend themselves.

Midland, a two-hour drive northwest of Detroit, is the very definition of a company town. Herbert Henry Dow arrived there in 1890 and founded the company, which is now the major employer for the city of more than 40,000 residents.
They fly at speeds of a mile a second or faster and maneuver in ways that make them extra hard to detect and destroy in flight.

President Donald Trump calls them a super-duper missile," though they're better known as hypersonic weapons. And they are at the heart of Trump administration worries about China and Russia.

For decades the United States has searched for ways to get ultra-fast flight right. But it has done so in fits and starts.

Now, with China and Russia arguably ahead in this chase, the Trump administration is pouring billions of dollars a year into hypersonic offense and defense.

The Pentagon makes no bones about their purpose.

Our ultimate goal is, simply, we want to dominate future battlefields, Mark Lewis, the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering for modernisation, told reporters in March.

Critics argue that hypersonic weapons would add little to the United States' ability to deter war. Some think they could ignite a new, destabilising arms race.

A look at hypersonic weapons:



Two things make these weapons special: speed and maneuverability. Speed brings surprise, and maneuverability creates elusiveness.

Together, those qualities could mean trouble for missile defenses.

By generally agreed definition, a hypersonic weapon is one that flies at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.

Most American missiles, such as those launched from aircraft to hit other aircraft or ground targets, travel between Mach 1 and Mach 5.

Trump occasionally mentions his interest in hypersonic weapons, sometimes without using the term.

In February he told governors visiting the White House: We have the super-fast missiles tremendous number of the super-fast. We call them 'super-fast,' where they're four, five, six, and even seven times faster than an ordinary missile.

We need that because, again, Russia has some. And last Friday, Trump told reporters, We have no choice, we have to do it, with the adversaries we have out there," mentioning China and Russia.

He added, "I call it the super-duper missile.

He said he heard it travels 17 times faster than any other US missile.

It just got the go-ahead, he added, although the Pentagon would not comment on that.

The Pentagon is pursuing two main types of hypersonic weapons.

One, called a hypersonic glide vehicle, is launched from a rocket.

It then glides to a target, maneuvering at high speed to evade interception.

The other is sometimes referred to as a hypersonic cruise missile.

Capable of being launched from a fighter jet or bomber, it would be powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet, or scramjet, enabling the missile to fly and maneuver at lower altitudes.

On March 19, the Pentagon flight-tested a hypersonic glide vehicle at its Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

It deemed the test a success and a major milestone towards the department's goal of fielding hypersonic warfighting capabilities in the early- to mid-2020s.

Unlike Russia, the United States says it is not developing hypersonic weapons for use with a nuclear warhead.

As a result, a US hypersonic weapon will need to be more accurate, posing additional technical challenges.

As recently as 2017, the Pentagon was spending about USD 800 million on hypersonic weapon programs. That nearly doubled the following year, then rose to USD 2.4 billion a year later and hit USD 3.4 billion this year.

The administration's 2021 budget request, which has yet to be approved by Congress, requests USD 3.6 billion.

Although this is a priority for Pentagon spending, it could become limited by the budgetary pressures that are expected as a result of multitrillion-dollar federal spending to counter the coronavirus pandemic.

Top Pentagon officials say it's about Russia, and even more so, China.

By almost any metric that I can construct, China is certainly moving out ahead of us, Lewis, the Pentagon research and engineering official, said Tuesday.

In large measure, that's because we did their homework for them.

Basic research in this field was published by the US years ago, and then we kind of took our foot off the gas, although the Pentagon is now on a path to catch up and surpass China, he added. China is pushing for hypersonic weapon breakthroughs.

It has conducted a number of successful tests of the DF-17, a medium-range ballistic missile designed to launch hypersonic glide vehicles.

According to a Congressional Research Service report in March, US intelligence analysts assess that the DF-17 missile has a range of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 miles and could be deployed this year.

Russia last December said its first hypersonic missile unit had become operational.

It is the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which Moscow says can fly at Mach 27, or 27 times faster than the speed of sound, and could make sharp maneuvers to bypass missile defenses.

It has been fitted to existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in the future could be fitted to the more powerful Sarmat ICBM, which is still in development.

As with other strategic arms, like nuclear weapons and naval fleets, for example, hypersonic weapons are seen by the Trump administration as a must-have if peer competitors have them.

But critics see hypersonic weapons as overkill and potentially an extension of the arms race that led to an excessive nuclear buildup by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Ukrainian port Odessa on the Black Sea will receive its first-ever crude oil cargo of WTI Crude from the United States, after the U.S. shipped its first oil to Ukraine just last year as it looks to wean off Russian oil and gas supplies after Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014.

A first cargo of WTI Crude to Odessa is set for arrival at the port on Wednesday, industry sources told Reuters. According to the sources, the tanker UMLMA carries 80,000 tons of WTI Crude to Odessa. Marine Traffic data shows that the UMLMA crude oil tanker traveled from Port Neches in the U.S. and was very close to Odessa, Ukraine, early on Wednesday.

This is not the first oil cargo of American crude oil to Ukraine, but it is the first WTI Crude cargo to Odessa, a month after the front-month WTI Crude futures dipped into negative territory a day before the contract expired.

Ukraines first-ever U.S. crude oil cargo was received in July last year, when a tanker carried 80,000 tons of Bakken crude to the port of Odessa.

Before today, the last U.S. oil shipment to Odessa was again another Bakken crude cargo in March this year.

Ukraine and some other countries in eastern Europe such as Poland have turned to buying American oil as they want to diminish the energy influence of their large neighbor Russia.

The entrance of U.S. oil into Odessa follows another first for US oil. The United States has also just sent the first cargo of U.S. crude oil to Belarus as part of a pledge made earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last Friday, while Belarus seeks to diversify its oil imports after a bitter spat with Russia over oil supply and prices this winter.

Despite the settling of the dispute, Belarus is still looking to diversify its oil import sources to cut dependence entirely on Russian oil supply. Earlier this month, Belarus welcomed the first cargo of crude oil from Saudi Arabia.

Belarus will continue to work with countries from which it had already bought oil, Azerbaijan and Norway, as well as its new partners Saudi Arabia and the U.S., First Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Krutoi, told the state news agency of Belarus, BelTA.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The number of vaccinations for kids in California dropped nearly in half this April compared to last April, following a worrying national trend as parents avoid doctors offices during the coronavirus pandemic, public health numbers show.

In April, the first full month after Californias mandated shelter-in-place order took effect, and as fears of a coronavirus surge swept the state, the number of children vaccinated for diseases such as chicken pox dropped more than 40% compared to April last year, the states public health department announced Monday, but it has not provided the number of vaccinations behind the plunge.

Nationally, use of vaccines plummeted by 2.5 million between early January and the end of April this year compared to the same time last year, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found.

Its so important that parents make sure their children are up-to-date on their immunizations, Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health said in a statement. During and after the pandemic, unvaccinated infants and children will be more vulnerable to dangerous diseases like measles and whooping cough.

Bay Area doctors told The Chronicle they fear the spread of preventable diseases during and after the pandemic if kids are not up-to-date on vaccines.

As the coronavirus pandemic spread in March, the CDC encouraged parents and doctors to keep up on vaccinations, with higher priority on kids under age 2 who are supposed to receive multiple time-sensitive shots.

In the Bay Area, with state and local shelter-in-place orders in place, pediatricians reported declines in vaccinations and parents said they were torn about whether to take their kids into a doctors office because they feared exposure.

At Juvvadi Pediatrics in Mountain View, Dr. Anita Juvvadi said her office called parents to say that babies under age 1 should still come in for time-sensitive vaccines, while older children could delay until May.

But when she started calling parents back to book appointments this month, some refused.

Were hearing a lot of resistance, Juvvadi said. Although families are beginning to come back in, theyre worried about exposing their child.

Juvvadi said her young patients vaccines  for measles, chicken pox, and hepatitis  are down by a third, and that means those illnesses could spread and spike over the summer.

The last thing we want during a pandemic is an outbreak of something thats totally preventable, Juvvadi said.

Local parents told The Chronicle they felt conflicted about the risk of exposing their children by leaving the house.

Kathryn Ghiraldini, a mother of two in San Rafael, started sheltering in place before the Bay Areas order on March 17. She felt fearful  especially about her newborn. At the end of March, her 2-month-old daughter was scheduled for four vaccinations.

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.

Ghiraldini asked a county-wide parent group for advice about what to do. She received numerous responses split between arguing for and against immediate vaccinations because of the risks of exposure.

It was weighing the two downsides, either possibly exposing a newborn to coronavirus, or not giving her vaccines in time and then exposing her to things that are actually worse, she said.

In the end, Ghiraldini chose what she felt was the lesser of two evils and took her baby in for the shots. The clinic in San Rafael assured her that children came in for vaccinations only in the morning, and that sick children came only in the afternoon, with cleaning in between.

Ghiraldini is now bracing herself for her daughters four-month appointment, coming up soon. She said that while fear about COVID-19 is high, she decided it was more important to continue getting shots for her child to prevent more serious diseases.

Dr. Dong Lin, a pediatrician with a solo practice in San Francisco, saw an 80% drop in patients since the Bay Areas shelter-in-place order. He followed CDC guidance and urged parents to bring in children under age 2 for shots, but told parents it would be all right to delay older childrens vaccinations by a couple of weeks.

You want to make strong recommendations (but) you also realize that people have their concerns, he said. Its a balance: the fear and the concern, the risks and benefits.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com
T his time Boris Johnson was ready. Twice he had been shown up by that swotty Sir Keir Starmer but not again, his face said, not this time.

All his defences at the ready. He had boned up on the stats. There were more traps in the House of Commons than on Home Alone. A few noisy backbenchers were there to cheer and Hancock was on the front bench to put the boot in. He had some choice quips to lob at the fancy-pants lawyer and his brilliant forensic mind.

And he had a big fat promise up his sleeve of 25,000 new track n trace officials by June 1, ready to carry out 10,000 traces each day.

This was the third meeting between the PM and the new Labour leader at Prime Ministers Questions (scoreboard so far, two-nil to Starmer). Anticipation was high on both sides, the pressure on both men.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer / PRU/AFP via Getty Images

Starmer began with a slow run-up, pointing out a contradiction between the Health Secretary who said last Friday that care homes had protective rings around them from the start, and the chief executive of Care England telling a select committee yesterday that potential carriers of coronavirus were discharged from hospitals into homes, possibly seeding the disease.

Government advice at the time was that negative tests are not required, said the Labour leader, asking: Whats protective about that?

The trouble with rhetorical questions is they invite a rhetorical answer. Sir Keir should have stuck to his lawyerly approach.

Johnson jumped up: As he knows full well, he began,  no-one was discharged into a care home this year without the express authorisation of a clinician  who had the interests of those patients at heart. As alibis go, a statement that medical advice was followed is robust, but Johnson was not finished.

He went on the attack: As I said to him last week, which he doesnt seem to have remembered, actually the number of patients discharged from hospitals into care homes was 40 per cent down in March from January. Moreover, there was a sharp reduction in deaths underway and surely Sir Keir ought to be paying tribute to all those who have helped to fight that epidemic.

Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson spar over care homes and contact tracing during PMQs

No blood drawn that time. Sir Keir rose a second time. I think the Prime Minister missed the point, he protested, though privately perhaps kicking himself for not being more precise in his question. The Care England boss, said Starmer, had described the Government commitment to test all residents as an announcement but not yet a delivery. He asked: Whats causing the continued delay in testing in our care homes?

Johnson leapt to his feet looking confident. He is simply in ignorance of the facts, he decried, before listing the reality that 125,000 care home staff had been tested and daily tests for Covid-19 would soar to 200,000 by June. The PM mused that perhaps the chief prosecutor was holding back evidence, since surely Starmer knew the UK was testing more people now than virtually any country in Europe.

Sir Keir glowered. A courtroom would not allow such cheek from the dock towards a senior QC. He protested again that Johnson had ignored the question, and seemed distracted by the Health Secretary calling out from the Tory frontbench. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle stepped in by robustly threatening to throw Hancock out of the chamber .

Starmer had now lost momentum and tried to rebuild his attack with damning statistics comparing Britains death toll (35,341 yesterday) and the numbers for Germany (around 8,000) and South Korea (under 300). The problem was the abandonment of tracing, said Starmer. Thats a huge hole in our defences, isnt it Prime Minister.

For a third time, the run-up was more impressive that the delivery. The question lacked the killer precision of previous weeks. Johnson was acid in reply, accusing Starmer of feigned ignorance about the progress on track and test plans. It was peculiar, said the PM, that the briefings to the Leader of the Opposition seemed to have been ignored.

Then the PM pulled out his secret weapon, an announcement, with lots of caveats about it being provisional, that by the first of June we will have 25,000 [trackers] and they will be capable of tracking 10,000 the contacts of 10,000 new cases a day. At present, said Johnson, only 2,400 new cases were found every day, so perhaps the Labour leader would abandon his slightly negative tone and support it.

Starmer glared. Thirty four thousand deaths isn't negative, he said, before correcting himself is negative.

Responding to the feigned ignorance jibe, he said the PM knew that for 10 weeks there had been no tracing at all in the UK. There was no getting away from that, he said, repeating the phrase. Starmer appeared taken aback that the PM had pre-empted his next question. Unfortunately for him, he did not have a spare and asked, lamely, whether a world beating contact-tracing system would be ready by June 1.

The Tory leader jumped to his feet with the joy of a batman watching the bowler fumble and offer an easy six.

The Right Hon gentleman appears to be in the unhappy position of having rehearsed his third or fourth question without having listened to my previous answer, he exclaimed, looking behind him to the near-empty benches in the hope of a rousing cheer from Tory MPs who, alas for him, were mostly watching on their screens at home.

Brilliant forensic mind, drawled Johnson, letting his mockery hang in the air for a moment, then boasting that his system would indeed be world-beating and repeating all the figures he had listed before.

If the House had been packed, the Tory benches would have been thundering in support. Like the scene in Zulu when the first wave of attackers is repelled, the few Tories allowed into the chamber were delighted.

This wasnt going to plan for Starmer, who switched his questioning to the anomaly that non-EU migrants who work in care services have to pay an annual charge towards the NHS. Many of them are risking their lives for us, he said. Does the PM think it is right?

Johnson replied gravely that he had thought long and hard about the issue. It was a sign of the PMs confidence that he gave a clear and unabashed answer, rejecting the idea of exempting carers from the NHS charge. It was, in fact, his most prime ministerial response of the day.

I do understand the difficulties faced by our amazing NHS staff, he said, noting that carers from abroad had frankly, saved my life.

But, on the other hand, we must look at the realities. This is a, a great national service, it's a national institution, it needs funding, and those contributions actually help us to raise about 900 million. It's very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources.

Sir Keir had an announcement of his own up his sleeve. Labour, he revealed, would put down an amendment to the Immigration Bill to exempt NHS and care workers from this charge.

Loading....

It was a fascinating moment. Far from sparking horror on the Tory benches, his amendment deepened the discomfort of Labour MPs from the battered Red Wall already unhappy about having to oppose a Bill that many of their constituents support.

This was not the ending that Starmer had hoped for. The defendant was by now walking away from the dock, punching the air, hugging his cronies, and plotting to foment rebellions on the Labour benches while dishing out a fat pay rise to NHS angels.

The rest of PMQs saw the Prime Minister distinctly cheery. He had more baubles for the crowd: a hint at a medal for Covid-19 heroes, and, for Tory hawks, a promise of to speak out about the buying up of UK tech by countries that may have ulterior motives...

Loading....

It was the clash that Johnson could not afford to lose. And like a political Houdini he pulled it off.

Next week, the House of Commons will be in recess for half term. By the time it comes back, the eerie, quiet Westminster landscape may have shifted in the PMs favour.

For the cry has gone out from No 10 for MPs to come back in force and, if successful, this may have been the last PMQs in a socially-distanced chamber.

No longer would the gothic chamber have the grave air of the courtroom where Sir Keirs previous attacks proved so effective.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

With the return of crowds, it would turn back into a circus, the natural home for a showman Prime Minister.
Chris Patten urged people to stand up for what they believe in (Vincent Yu/AP)

Hong Kongs last British governor, Chris Patten, has urged protesters not to lose faith over what he described as moves by Beijing to tighten its control over the semi-autonomous city.

The former British colony was returned to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems framework that gives it its own legal system and more freedoms than on the mainland. It has been rocked over the past year by huge rallies that exposed deep divisions between democracy-minded people in Hong Kong and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing.

The protests began over a now-withdrawn Bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to the mainland for trial, and continued for more than seven months over police conduct and perceptions that Beijing is tightening its controls over the citys affairs.

They shouldnt lose heart, they shouldnt lose their sense of dignity and decency and moderation Chris Patten

The demonstrations, which were largely peaceful at first, descended into occasionally violent clashes between police and protesters. More than 8,000 arrests were made.

They shouldnt lose heart, they shouldnt lose their sense of dignity and decency and moderation, Mr Patten said in an online interview organised by The Foreign Correspondents Club in Hong Kong.

I dont think you can kill or lock up or tear gas into submission the idea of freedom, said Mr Patten, who was Hong Kongs last governor before the city was returned to China and helped negotiate the terms of the handover. He has often been critical of developments in Hong Kong since then, saying the terms were violated.

Hong Kongs police force has been accused of excessive use of force during the demonstrations. Protesters have thrown petrol bombs in retaliation and occupied streets and college campuses, turning them into battlegrounds against the police.

Mr Patten urged people to stand up for what they believe in and vote in legislative elections in September.

He criticised a recent report by the citys police watchdog that exonerated officers use of force, and described the recent arrests of 15 pro-democracy activists on charges of unlawful assembly as outrageous.

Its a threat to Hong Kongs autonomy and to the one country, two systems, he said, adding that the arrests were an attempt to intimidate the rest of Hong Kong.

Mr Patten, who introduced some democratic reforms in Hong Kong towards the end of his tenure as governor, has urged Britain to speak up for the territory. Beijing last October accused him of being a black hand behind the protest movement after he called a regulation banning protesters from wearing face coverings absolute madness.

Mr Patten also hit out at Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, saying she was not performing her job with the greatest integrity as Beijing tightens controls over the city.

The government seem to be the mechanism through which the Communist leadership in Beijing runs Hong Kong and makes its decisions. Carrie Lam will have to live with her conscience, he said.
Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia has announced a forthcoming solo LP. Its an experimental ambient album called A New Found Relaxation, and hell self-release it on June 26. Listen to Temptation Reduced, The Eternal Spectator, and Touched by an Angel from the album below.

According to a press release, Krivchenia built the album out of several hundred smaller pieces, including field recordings, YouTube fragments, and exploratory knob-twisting. He assembled the record in spring 2019 while living in a small town in New Mexico.

Big Thief released two records last year: Mays U.F.O.F. (which was nominated for a Best Alternative Music Album Grammy) and Octobers Two Hands. In addition to his work on those LPs, Krivchenia also mixed and engineered Mega Bogs Dolphine, which came out in September. Krivchenia previously released a 2018 solo album called No Comment.

Read Pitchforks feature interview Big Thief Cant Stop Moving Forward.

A New Found Relaxation:

01 Temptation Reduced

02 In My Own Image

03 Loveless But Not Joyless

04 The Eternal Spectator

05 Idiot Passion

06 Touched by an Angel

07 Fountains of Youth

08 Unembarrassability

09 A Better Kind of Wrongness 10 Legendary Liquids

11 Head 2 Toe

12 Now I Walk in Beauty

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
A review of the scientific evidence into the risks presented by re-opening schools amid the coronavirus crisis has concluded that doing so is unlikely to spread the disease among children or adults.

The research, a systematic review of more than 47 separate studies, found that children are at a low risk of catching, spreading and suffering severe symptoms of the disease, and unlikely to infect their families or teachers.

The team of scientists at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institute, near Stockholm, in Sweden, concluded that keeping schools open is 'unlikely' to spread COVID-19.

They added that children are unlikely to catch it or to pass it on to their families.

Professor Jonas Ludvigsson, who led the review, told the Daily Mail: 'The vast majority of children do not get very sick from Covid-19 and deaths are extremely rare.

'So there's really no reason to close down schools and kindergartens to protect the children themselves.'

A review of the scientific evidence into the risks presented by re-opening schools amid the coronavirus crisis has concluded that doing so is unlikely to spread the disease among children or adults. Pictured: Children of essential workers socially distance whilst in lesson at Kempsey Primary School in Worcester

The Government had planned to begin a phased re-opening of schools from June 1, with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 going back first.

But this has been opposed by the National Education Union, which represents 450,000 teachers.

The union is demanding the Government provides scientific evidence to show that opening schools is safe.

Chiefs have also told teachers to demand detailed answers to at least 169 questions from their bosses on issues such as bin lids, coronavirus counselling and employing extra staff to clean paint brushes, scissors and glue sticks before agreeing to return to school.

However, the British Medical Association has performed a U-turn on its support for the teaching unions and said schools should reopen if it is safe to do so.

And leading World Health Organisation medic Dr David Nabarro has backed the phased return of schoolchildren saying: 'There will be risks but it's a case of balancing up the risks. You don't want children staying at home and missing out on school for a long time.'

The research, a systematic review of more than 47 separate studies, found that children are at a low risk of catching, spreading and suffering severe symptoms of the disease, and unlikely to infect their families or teachers. Pictured: Schoolchildren in France

The new study, which was published in the journal Acta Paediatrica, surmised that opening schools and pre-schools is also unlikely to impact COVID-19 death rates among older people.

They also found that the children in the reviewed studies generally only mingled with their peers and parents, rather than older people more at risk, such as grandparents.

Professor Ludvigsson said there had not been a single reported case in Sweden of a child or teacher catching COVID-19 in school.

The country's schools have remained open throughout the whole crisis.

He told the Daily Mail: 'The UK has taken a hard hit from Covid-19. But the main issue is to protect the people who may die  and they are the old and middle-aged people with risk factors such as severe obesity and diabetes.

He added: 'In Sweden a million children go to school each day and there have been no outbreaks in children or teachers.

'This tells us there is real world evidence that children are not very contagious.'

Among studies reviewed by Professor Ludvigsson, one - in China - looked at 66 family clusters of the disease.

The study did not find any examples of children being the first to be infected, which is known as the 'index case'.

The team of scientists at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Karolinska Institute, near Stockholm, in Sweden, concluded that keeping schools open is 'unlikely' to spread COVID-19

This suggests that children are not bringing infections home to their families.

Cambridge University statistician Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter said: 'There have been, based on the data so far, extremely low risks to children.'

He told BBC Radio 4's More Or Less: 'Out of seven million five to 14-year-olds in England and Wales, so far the number of death certificates that have been revealed has been one death with Covid marked on it.

'There will be more, there will be some coroners' reports coming in. But it's still an unbelievably low risk.'

He added that teachers do not appear to be at higher risk than many other professions.

They added that children are unlikely to catch it or to pass it on to their families

He also said that teachers did not appear to be at higher risk than many other professions.

Professor Maria Van Kerkhove, from the World Health Organisation task force for dealing with the virus said yesterday: 'Children are susceptible and can transmit as well, but seem to be infected by their parents from adults in their household.

'As authorities consider reopening schools, they must look at transmission intensity, can they be opened with safe physical distancing.'

Dr Peter English, the chairman of the British Medical Association's public health medicine committee, told the Daily Telegraph: 'The BMA wants schools to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so and the evidence allows  this could be before June 1 or after. A zero-risk approach is not possible.'

An NEU spokesman said: 'We want the wider opening of schools when Government provides the scientific evidence to show it is safe to do so.'
The political tussle on opening of liquor vends in Madhya Pradesh bubbled up on Wednesday as former chief minister Kamal Nath alleged that the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government was hell-bent on resuming operations of these shops despite the public and even the traders themselves being averse to it.

Naths tweet came shortly after a decision by the Sangam Liquor Traders Association of not opening the vends in Bhopal, citing safety reasons amid the coronavirus scare.

Hamid Khan, president of the association, confirmed this to News18. "We are of the view that these shops will reopen once things normalise and the Covid-19 scare subsides," Khan added.

The association members said they had met state home minister Narottam Mishra on Tuesday over their demands but could not get any assurance. "We demanded licence duty on the basis of existing sales but the minister did not offer any convincing reply," added Khan.

Traders are demanding that the licence fee should be lowered as shops were closed for well over one and a half months and also there is the fear that sales could be dismal amid lockdown prohibitions and they could end up paying a hefty fee.

Soon, Kamal Nath launched an attack on the state's BJP government over the issue.

School, colleges might be closed, people might not be getting medicines and milk, religious places are shut down, but liquor shops are being opened. These are the same people who while in opposition used to raise resistance against liquor and used to term liquor a threat to women, Nath said in a tweet.

"After coming to power, these people have turned into the biggest advocates of liquor," added Nath claiming that the state may be gripped by the novel coronavirus, "but they (BJP govt) want unhindered flow of liquor".

Amid lockdown 4.0, the Shivraj government has declared urban areas of Bhopal as red zones while rural areas now fall under green zones and are now witnessing opening of liquor shops.

The excise department also swung into action against 15 liquor shops which were to reopen on Wednesday and prepared a panchnama of these stores under section 8 of the Excise Act and after a week will serve notices to them for depositing bank guarantee.

BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said that liquor traders are required to operate as per the rules and regulations of the excise policy, failing which they could be subjected to action.

Agrawal said that the traders cant bully the government into accepting their demands and suggested that they (the traders) are working at the behest of someone else (the opposition).

The Congress party has been attacking CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for a while for pushing liquor sale despite the coronavirus threat.
The "Europe Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook, 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report gives a comprehensive analysis of the hand sanitizer market of the European region.

With the outbreak of pandemics around the world such as H1N1 Swine Flu, Influenza, Bird Flu, and the most recent one, COVID-19, people around the world have been affected by it, losing their lives. Moreover, to overcome its spreading, global organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have released measures to control it using hand hygiene maintenance. Hence, frequent washing of hands and hand sanitizing are necessary to overcome the disease spread.

Europe is one of the prime regions of the world with a world-class medical facility. Moreover, countries such as Italy and France are the top countries having classic medical facilities in a world comparison. People of Europe are also hygiene conscious and spend a part of their income buying hygiene products such as hand sanitizers. Hence, markets in Europe are very necessary for brands to sustain themselves in the global market.

The hand sanitizer market of Europe is expected to grow in succeeding years accounting for a market value of US 2.32 billion at the end of the year 2025. Thus, the market seems to achieve a considerable height in the next few years.

The primary economies of the European continent are Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Hence, the markets of these countries play an important role in the overall market formation. The major products demanded in the European market are the gel, liquid and foam hand sanitizers. Apart from these, spray hand sanitizers and other products such as hand sanitizing wipes are at a growing pace in the European market.

The leading market players of the Europe hand sanitizer market are Reckitt Benckiser, Procter Gamble, GOJO Industries, Caldrea, Cleenol, EO products and many other domestic and international companies.

Key Topics Covered

1. Executive Summary

2. Demographics Healthcare Spending

3. Global Hand Sanitizer Market outlook

3.1. Market Size By Value (Alcohol, Non-Alcohol)

3.2. Market Share

3.2.1. By Company

3.2.2. By Region

3.2.3. By Country

3.2.4. By Product Type

3.2.5. By Sales Channel

3.3. Global Gel Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

3.4. Global Liquid Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

3.5. Global Foam Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

3.6. Global Spray Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4. Europe Hand Sanitizer Market outlook

4.1. Market Size By Value

4.2. Market Share

4.2.1. By Country

4.2.2. By Product

4.3. Germany Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4.4. United Kingdom Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4.5. France Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4.6. Italy Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4.7. Spain Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

4.8. Rest of Europe Hand Sanitizer Market Outlook

5. Raw Materials and Manufacturing Process

6. Global Hand Sanitizer Market Dynamics

6.1. Key Drivers

6.2. Key Challenges

7. Market Trends and Developments

7.1. Increasing Trends of Using Natural Derivatives in Hand Sanitizers

7.2. Growth in Global e-Commerce Sales

7.3. Increasing Trends of Cosmetic Hand Sanitizers

7.4. Growth of Demand for Touchless Hand Sanitizer Dispensers

7.5. Increase in Demand due to International Pandemic COVID-19

8. Competitive Landscape

8.1. Company Profiles

8.1.1. 3M Company

8.1.2. Best Sanitizers, Inc.

8.1.3. Caldrea, Inc.

8.1.4. Chattem, Inc.

8.1.5. Cleanwell LLC

8.1.6. Cleenol Group Limited

8.1.7. Elyptol, Inc.

8.1.8. EO Products

8.1.9. GOJO Industries, Inc.

8.1.10. Henkel AG Company, KGaA

8.1.11. Hello Bello

8.1.12. Jao Brands

8.1.13. Kutol Products Company, Inc.

8.1.14. Procter Gamble

8.1.15. Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

8.1.16. The Clorox Company

8.1.17. The Honest Company

8.1.18. The Himalaya Drug Company

8.1.19. Unilever

8.1.20. Vi-Jon Laboratories

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y2zp99

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005542/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
Re: Public to get say on pot biz

Why is the West Kelowna council altering a zoning bylaw for a maybe, might be, could be cannabis grow operation in Kyle Court? There is no grow-op applicant at this time. That there might be is moot, though likely. But why is the council so ready to bend its bylaws for an unknown future marijuana development?

Official Community Plans exist for a purpose: to be followed. Why do communities create them, only to go around them or nullify them or ignore them, especially when these distortions of the plan are not in the public interest, but rather in the interests of special interest groups or individuals who will increase their wealth as a result? Well, for the tax revenue, of course. And because these special interest people are friends of those who can change the bylaws to give their friends a special advantage.

This is no murky water. This a flat abrogation of responsibility. This is a clear violation of public trust and accountability. This is just plain wrong. It reminds us of the newly intended city hall, yes, the one voted down in civic referendum not so long ago. This new edifice will arise, if it does, without public input. The council has discovered another way to circumvent public policy and its usual rules to again spit in the face of the voters, voters who will surely remove them from office, should their memories be long enough. One can only hope they will be.

The buildings which may house a new grow-op are already under construction. There will be six, any or all of which could be used by the grow operators, should they surface, even though, according to community rules, this should be a multi-tenanted site. That it is nervously close to Brookhaven Care Home has been neatly taken care of by a spurious technicality. Although the borders of each are within 110 metres of each other (150 metres being the legal minimum), the council is using the fact of the actual buildings being far enough away from the boundaries for the new site to be licit.

And the fact that there are trees between the two sites is apparently a sufficient odour filter should the distancing still be prohibitive. I have observed and felt wind for decades and never have I seen trees stop it from blowing right through them, although, admittedly, with less force than when they entered the trees.

Wind is a consideration should a grow-op be placed there and its strong odours allowed loose on the general public. There are several options for reducing or eliminating odours and these should be required should a grow operator emerge from this political maneuvering. It seems that an agricultural operation with the strong smells it produces should be a more rural area, the same as other farms with their manure and other strong odours which could make any urban area unpleasant to live in.

West Kelowna voters should flood the media and the council with letters and emails and phone calls of protest against this egregious distortion of our bylaws.

Lee Karvonen, West Kelowna
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 06:06:45|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

ISTANBUL, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of tea producers on Wednesday departed from Turkey's biggest city Istanbul to their fields in other provinces for harvest amid COVID-19 restrictions, local media reported.

The Hurriyet daily shared a video showing the aerial view of many buses leaving the main bus terminal in Istanbul in the morning with tea producers on board.

The Turkish government earlier announced that it would ease the domestic travel restrictions for those who have registered tea fields, which are mainly located in the Black Sea region.

Their journeys will last around 18 to 20 hours by buses, Hurriyet said, noting that they will be put under quarantine for 14 days in their respective provinces.

All the domestic flights of the Turkish airline companies were suspended as part of the measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, in his address to the nation on May 12, said that Rs 20 lakh crore for 2020 will be the size of Indias coronavirus disease (Covid-19) economic recovery package. It was evident that he liked how the 20s rhymed neatly. Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman, in a daily show over the next five days, attempted to provide the details of this package. By the end of the fifth day, it was clear that the FM realised there was a huge trust deficit in the package and mounted a pugilistic public defence, in the style of her previous avatar as a party spokesperson in a cacophonous television debate.

It also sparked an analysis frenzy on the gap between the PMs 20s and the FMs numbers. Was the true fiscal size of the package, Rs 1 lakh crore or Rs 1.68 lakh crore or Rs 86,000 crore? Is this fiscal or monetary, an expenditure or liquidity, a demand-side or supply-side measure? This was the debate among economists, analysts, commentators and even political news anchors.

The PMs farcical Rs 20 lakh crore for 2020 claim became the focal point for all discussions on what was supposed to be a serious recovery plan to help the nation bounce back from arguably the greatest economic devastation in independent India. Millions of migrants walking home, shuttered businesses and jobless Indians do not care two hoots if the package were Rs 20 lakh or Rs 2 lakh crores, as long as they get assistance immediately to survive. Alas, Indias Covid-19 economic recovery plan has descended into a struggle for media headlines more than helping a struggling economy. But, Indias political leaders and government administrators have a successful history of the reconstruction of the economy and society after a natural disaster. One example that will resonate best today is the story of Gujarats reconstruction after the devastating 2001 earthquake.

As the nation was celebrating its 51st Republic Day in 2001, Gujarat was hit by its worst-ever natural disaster  a 6.9 earthquake on the Richter scale. Around 20,000 people died, and 200,000 injured. A million homes, 12,000 schools, 1,200 clinics and 5,000 small businesses were destroyed. The economic impact was 3% of Gujarats GDP, even though the epicentre was not a major contributor to Gujarats economy. The Gujarat Disaster Management Authority was set up and tasked with rebuilding lives and livelihoods. An amount equivalent to 6.5% of Gujarats GDP and one-fifth of overall budget expenditure was immediately allocated for relief and rehabilitation. This was over the budgeted expenditure, for which money was borrowed. Gujarats fiscal deficit went from a budgeted 5.1% to 7.5% in FY 2001 and from 5.8% to 9.1% in FY 2002. (source: ADB) Food supplies, medical relief and cash compensation were paid immediately to the affected people. Livelihoods were restored through reconstruction activities which provided a stimulus to other sectors in the economy. This is what economists term as deficit spending in the wake of a crisis. In two years, Gujarats economy was back on track. No one knows this better than the then chief minister of Gujarat, who is now the prime minister.

Yet, it is befuddling that Modi is being diffident about deficit spending to cushion the economic shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps, the PM fears a potential downgrade of Indias sovereign ratings by international rating agencies if the fiscal deficit is allowed to balloon like it did in Gujarat. When the rating agency Moodys upgraded Indias ratings in November 2017, the Modi government read it as an endorsement to pursue fiscal prudence. In which case, it is important to remind the PM that the fiscal deficit is measured as a percentage of GDP, and GDP could decline precipitously if bold and appropriate measures are not taken now. So, if GDP declines much more than it should, then the fiscal deficit is going to look bad anyway, even if the government does not indulge in additional spending.

The need of the hour is to put a large chunk of money directly into the hands of the vulnerable. There is consensus among Indian industry too, some voiced publicly and most privately, that it is in their own interests to revive demand by putting money into peoples hands. It is reasonable if the governments position is that since it is just the beginning of the financial year and the crisis still has a long way to go, one can calibrate the need for deficit spending as the situation evolves. Regardless, the timidity of the governments response to todays needs of the suffering millions is inexplicable and unjustifiable.

Indias Covid-19 lockdown is the harshest and the longest among all countries in the world. It is then only logical that the adverse economic impact would also be the most severe in India.

Just as we have now realised that Indian genes or soil cannot escape the laws of science and prevent the spread of coronavirus, it is also important to recognise there is no escape from the laws of economics of the adverse impact of a lockdown. Infantile claims such as Rs 20 lakh crores for 2020 or that the coronavirus chain of infection will be broken in 21 days are not worth discussing seriously, in this grave fight against the coronavirus and its calamitous impact.

Praveen Chakravarty is a political economist and a senior office-bearer of the Congress

The views expressed are personal
MARINA DEL REY, Calif.

May 19, 2020

Hans Kastensmith

Gregg Church

Idaho

Idaho

Idaho

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Idaho Health Data Exchange (IHDE) is on the fast track to improve its ability to match patients records that come from different healthcare delivery settings. Identity management is at the heart of sharing health information and is essential to building the most comprehensive and accurate health record. Today, the IHDE announced its partnership with 4medica to implement and operate a powerful end-to-end cloud-based enterprise master patient index (eMPI) solution and sophisticated master data clean-up service to improve the health and lives of its patients statewide.IHDE is augmenting its current eMPI software to increase the accuracy of patient matches with the proven combination of 4medica Big Data MPI and 4medica 1% as-a-Service, a real-time, transactional cloud-based service that leverages innovative technologies, people and proven processes. The hybrid approach affordably, precisely and quickly assesses, normalizes and cleanses patient identity data to guarantee a 99 percent clean database, which is considered foundational for patient safety, data integrity and interoperability."As we onboard new technologies and processes to support new growth strategies, we're bringing 4medica aboard to provide the most accurate patient matching and identity information in the fastest and easiest way possible to our participants," said, Executive Director of IHDE. "We want our data quality to be transparent, sustainable, reliable and solid to help our provider community deliver the best quality care coordination and population health management in real time.""HIEs working at their fullest potential are powerful forces enhancing state efforts to improve care, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis," said, President of 4medica. "No single MP technology or referential matching service can solve every patient matching problem. With 4medica, medical professionals incan be confident of having the most up-to-date exact records at the right time to treat the right patients."Kastensmith noted that IHDE is contributing to holistic care by establishing new health data sources, such as those from various state departments, as well as incorporating behavioral health data. The ultimate goal is to giveproviders a well-rounded longitudinal medical record.is considered a rural state and hence we provide data exchange services to many critical access hospitals and rural community clinics," Kastensmith said. "We are excited to partner with 4medica to lower our duplication issues immediately and deliver a complete picture of a patient's medical history for better care and pandemic response purposes - regardless of the provider's location.""Whether the patient has a ski accident and is taken to a hospital ER or is diagnosed with the coronavirus, we want every clinician who treats that individual to have the most relevant encounter data to make the most informed treatment decision," he added.About Idaho Health Data Exchange The Idaho Health Data Exchange (IHDE) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) company. IHDE was created in 2008 as a result of the efforts of the Health Quality Planning Commission. The Commission was charged with promoting improved quality of care and health outcomes through investment in health information technology. IHDE is a Health Information Exchange (HIE) that enables doctors, nurses, labs, and other medical providers to securely access their patient's electronic health information quickly, 24/7/365, to improve the speed, quality, safety, and cost of patient care. For more information, visit: https://www.idahohde.org/About 4medica Guaranteeing an unprecedented 1% patient record duplication rate, 4medica solves data integrity and financial challenges to minimize patient safety and other clinical risks and achieve true clinical interoperability and transparency for patients. Our Big Data Management and Clinical Data Exchange cloud solutions help healthcare organizations facilitate patient identity management and data exchange to ensure the right data is captured at the right time, the first time. 4medica's Perfect Order for Perfect Payment ensures labs and imaging centers get paid by integrating high-volume revenue cycle management services throughout the entire order management process. 4medica has processed up to 6 billion clinical results representing more than 70 million patient identities. The company connects 40,000-plus physicians to hundreds of ACOs, HIEs, HINs, hospitals, health systems, laboratories, radiology imaging centers and payers nationwide. Learn more at http://www.4medica.com.SOURCE 4medica
Hollywood veteran Arnold Schwarzenegger has opened about his daughter, author Katherine Schwarzenegger who is expecting her first child with actor Chris Pratt, and he says he is looking forward to becoming a grandparent.

The of Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger's pregnancy broke last month. The couple tied the knot in June 2019 after dating for over a year.

The "Terminator" star revealed that the baby is due "sometime this summer" during Monday's at-home episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".

"That is really exciting that Katherine now, you know be pregnant and have a baby... And, inevitably, I'm really looking forward to playing around with whatever it is, she or he, and have some fun," he said.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, 72, said his future grandchild comes will have an impressive lineage.

His former wife, journalist Maria Shriver is the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family.

"I think this is kind of a unique experience. But I was just thinking about the gene pool. I mean, think about this for a second: It is part Kennedy and part you know, there's three gene pools here. You can do Kennedy, Schwarzenegger and Pratt," he said.

"I mean, we can do anything. We can go and solve the Cuban Missile Crisis, we can go and kill Predators with our bare hands and we go and train dinosaurs. I mean, think about this. That is a lot of power here," he added.

However, the Austrian-born American actor quipped the baby doesn't inherit his accent.

"Worst thing is if this kid ends up, you know, with my accent. That's what we don't want," he joked.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A larger number of foreign enterprises in China are resuming work and production thanks to the countrys continuous efforts to combat COVID-19.

Production is in full swing in Qingdao Pohang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd. in Xihaian (West Coast) New Area, Qingdao, Shandong province on February 27. The daily output of stainless steel products is maintained at the pre-epidemic level of 600 tons, and over 99 percent of the employees of the company have returned to work. (Photo by Yu Fangping, Peoples Daily Online)

A recent survey covering over 8,200 key foreign enterprises across China showed that 76.6 percent of them had recovered 70 percent of their capacity. The number stood at 81.2 percent for those in the manufacturing sector, and 66.8 percent for those in the service sector, according to the survey.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) recently issued guidelines on improving services for foreign enterprises, as well as attracting investments, stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment, and stimulating consumption. It also established a working mechanism with relevant departments and local governments to timely spot and address foreign enterprises difficulties in work resumption.

The ministry facilitated the work resumption of over 20 suppliers of key auto parts in central Chinas Hubei province, which effectively tackled the problems encountered by the auto sector that has a long industrial chain.

Besides, it also joined hands with the Civil Aviation Administration of China to match foreign enterprises demand with airline companies, so as to relieve the pressure on electronic enterprises.

The country has unveiled policies and measures to stabilize foreign investment and worked hard to facilitate and protect investment this year, which has continuously boosted the confidence of these enterprises, said Gao Feng, spokesperson of the MOFCOM, adding that a series of key projects have been contracted, or are in implementation.

Workers of Hebei Xinguang Carton Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in north Chinas Hebei province manufacture carton packaging machines for Indian clients on March 25. (Photo by Fu Xinchun, Peoples Daily Online)

Many local governments and relevant departments in China have introduced fiscal, tax, financial, social security and employment policies, in a bid to help the enterprises hit hard by the sudden COVID-19 crisis, especially medium, small and micro businesses. These preferential policies also apply to foreign entities.

It is stipulated in the Foreign Investment Law that all national policies on supporting the development of enterprises shall equally apply to foreign-funded enterprises in accordance with the law.

Regulation for Implementing the Foreign Investment Law of the Peoples Republic of China also makes clear that governments and their appropriate departments shall, in accordance with the law, equally treat foreign-funded enterprises and wholly Chinese-funded enterprises in such aspects as government funding arrangements, land supply, tax and fee reduction and exemption, qualification licensing, development of standards, project applications, and human resource policies.

Over 90 percent of the over 400,000 foreign enterprises in China are small and medium businesses, and most of them could benefit from these favorable policies.

China has a 500,000 foreign trade companies, and 84,000 of them are funded by foreign capital which account for 40 percent of the countrys total imports and exports. They are also the beneficiaries of the preferential policies.

Considering that some foreign enterprises may not fulfill their contracts or deliver the products on time due to the epidemic, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade are providing them with force majeure certificates to shield them from legal damages arising from the novel coronavirus disease.

Such certificates were recently issued to a US company and a South Korean company. They were engaged in a 7-million-yuan and a 5-million yuan contract, respectively, offering strong support for them to continue their contracts and negotiate with their partners over the delayed delivery.

Experiences are gained by local Chinese governments in facilitating the work resumption of foreign enterprises according to their own conditions.

A working mechanism was established in east Chinas Jiangsu province to coordinate efforts at provincial, municipal and county levels, which promoted the work resumption of enterprises on the supply chain of multinationals in the province, including Honeywell and LG Chem. A total of 118 foreign investment projects were signed during the pandemic response, whose total investments were expected to reach $14.36 billion.

Amid the ongoing efforts of preventing and controlling the COVID-19 disease, 118 foreign investment projects were signed, whose total investments were expected to reach $14.36 billion.

East Chinas Shandong province facilitated work resumption of 32 major suppliers of South Korean automaker Hyundai. It also sought help from 21 provinces and municipalities to follow the restoration of production of 202 companies that work closely with 46 foreign enterprises in Shandong.

Guangdong province established a direct communication mechanism between its governor and multinational companies, and responded to the appeals of over 50 foreign enterprises in the province. The mechanism enabled the province to closely follow the key projects under construction or negotiation, which greatly advanced the process of these projects.

Employees work on a production line of Nawon Machinery Co., Ltd. in Jimo district, Qingdao on March 30. (Photo by Liang Xiaopeng, Peoples Daily Online)

Visiting 720 regional headquarters of multinational companies and contacting nearly 70 percent of the foreign enterprises in the city, Shanghai effectively solved their problems in the supply of anti-epidemic materials, synergetic production resumption, logistics and financing.

East Chinas Zhejiang province also gave full play to its advanced internet industry and held multiple online investment and trade fairs ensure connection with foreign companies and continuation of projects. It recently inked 74 foreign investment projects on online platforms totaling $6.21 billion.
HARRISBURG, Pa., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from across Pennsylvania will come together to meet virtually with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Second Lady Gisele Fetterman on Thursday. This youth-led, youth-hosted town hall will provide an opportunity for participants to share comments about COVID-19 impacts on young people and their families; and ask questions about the afterschool and summer learning programs they rely on for academic help, extracurricular activities, service learning and career exploration.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

3:30  4:30 p.m. ET.

Press can attend Live Stream: www.facebook.com/psaydn

Youth can register to participate: https://bit.ly/PA-Youth-Register

Follow #StudentAdvocacy on social media for updates

WITH

Lt. Governor John Fetterman

Second Lady Gisele Fetterman

Student Emcee Sam Bisno, YMCA Youth in Government

Student Emcee Jhordan Price, Propel Schools

Student Emcee Taylor Koda, YMCA Youth in Government

Daevan Mangalmurti, YMCA Youth in Government

Afterschool providers and community stakeholders

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this virtual town hall will give Pennsylvania students an opportunity and platform to address questions directly with Lt. Governor John Fetterman and Second Lady Gisele Fetterman, who is involved in charitable organizations that focus on needs of youth in western Pennsylvania and across the state.

Afterschool programs, the facilitators of this event, help young people take a leading role in their own their own futures through career exploration, academic support and civic engagement. Afterschool programs are actively working to keep kids safe and engaged in learning, provide food for families in need and stay connected with caregivers and parents.

Town Hall Partners

Pennsylvania Virtual Youth Town Hall is presented in partnership by Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN), Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST), Pennsylvania School-Age Child Care (PENN SACCA), and Pennsylvania State Alliance of YMCAs Youth in Government Program.

About PSAYDN

The Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) promotes sustainable, high quality out-of-school time youth development programs through advocacy and capacity building to enhance the welfare of Pennsylvania's children, youth and families. PSAYDN is managed by the Center for Schools and Communities, a division of Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. More information is available at www.psaydn.org.

Media contact: Aylissa Kiely; [email protected]; 717-903-0219

SOURCE Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network (PSAYDN)

Related Links

http://www.psaydn.org


The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday passed for second reading a bill which seeks to establish a Food Reserve Agency in the country amid Coronavirus in Nigeria.Naija News reports that the bill which was sponsored by Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), is to ensure food security for Nigeria in order to avert any form of emergency food crises in the future.

Read more details here

President Buhari Makes Fresh Appointment

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Kashim Ibrahim-Imam as chairman, the board of trustees (BoT) of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

The appointment was made known in a letter by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.

Read more details here

Prepare For The Worst  Federal Government Warns Nigerians

Nigerians have been warned by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, to prepare for the worst, as the Federal Government works to curtail the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria.

Ehanire stated this while speaking on Tuesday, during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.

Read more details here
ADQ, one of the regions largest holding companies with a diverse portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabis non-oil economy, has launched Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), a new Dh1.1 billion ($299 million) venture fund located at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

AWI will target early-stage businesses in India and Southeast Asia, and help these start-ups set up global or regional headquarters in Abu Dhabis Masdar City.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, ADQ was established in 2018 as a public joint stock company. It holds a diverse portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabis economy, including utilities, tourism and hospitality, aviation, transportation, logistics, industrial, real estate, media, healthcare, agri-foods and financial services.

By basing their business in the UAEs capital, companies will benefit from the exceptional digital infrastructure already in place as well as highly advanced regulatory frameworks and other R&D (research and development) initiatives.

AWI will also help its companies gain market access to the UAE and the broader Mena region. The programme will be managed by New York-based Falcon Edge Capital.

On the new move, CEO Mohammed Hassan Alsuwaidi said: "As a national champion for the Abu Dhabi government, we are working to embed a performance culture across our broad portfolio that includes many of our emirates most important strategic commercial entities."

"To maximise our value creation and long-term impact on society, we will also take a leadership role by investing in new companies that are pioneering cutting-edge technologies and developing new and innovative business models," stated Alsuwaidi.

According to him, nurturing Abu Dhabis start-up ecosystem will attract entrepreneurial talent, create jobs and other opportunities, particularly for those working in data science, Artificial Intelligence and other knowledge-based industries.

AWI Fund will further encourage Abu Dhabis culture of entrepreneurship and help to promote its emerging position as a global innovation hub, in line with the Ghadan 21s accelerator programmes investment in Abu Dhabis economy, knowledge system and communities.

Mayank Singhal, the head of Venture Capital and Technology, ADQ, said: "With the launch of AWI Fund, we have the opportunity to invest in outstanding start-ups that will generate sustainable, long-term financial returns while also drawing young founders and teams to Abu Dhabi."

"We will aim to support them in ways that accelerate their development to create a new wave of winners in the tech landscape. These start-ups will also benefit from access to ADQs leading companies in sectors such as healthcare, food and agri-business, utilities and fintech," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The Jammu and Kashmir police said Wednesday that they have arrested a wanted Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist from Kishtwar who was allegedly involved in the killing of BJP leader Anil Parihar and his brother and an RSS functionary Chandrakant Sharma and his body guard in the last two years.

Police said Rustam Ali was arrested on Tuesday and handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is investigating the murders.

Kishtwars Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Harmeet Singh Mehta said, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Rustam Ali was involved in the killing of Parihar brothers, RSS leader Chandrakant Sharma and his bodyguard. He was arrested on Tuesday and handed over to the NIA, which has now shifted him to Jammu.

Sources said Rustam Ali was a close associate of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo who was killed in an encounter with security forces earlier this month.

The Parihar brothers were shot from point blank range in November 2018 and RSS leader Chandrakant Sharma and his body guard were killed in April 2019. All the murders took place in Kishtwar town.

Rustams arrest came two days after the killing of another Hizbul Mujahideen militant, Tahir Bhat, by security forces in Doda district.

While Tahir was said to have been assigned the task of recruiting local youth into militant ranks in Doda district, Rustam had allegedly been recruiting youth in adjoining Kishtwar district.

Tahir was also allegedly involved in the killing of RSS leader and his bodyguard.

After eliminating Tahir, security forces have now launched a manhunt to nab the oldest surviving terrorist, Jehangir Saroori aka Mohammad Amin Bhat as the crackdown against the terror outfit continues in Jammu and Kashmir.

This militant is hiding in the upper reaches of Marwah and Dachhan belt in Kishtwar district adjoining Doda district. He is the oldest surviving terrorist in J&K and carries an award of around Rs 50 lakh on his head that was announced by the police and NIA, said a senior police officer, requesting anonymity.
New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) reached out to the people with what it calls an Important Announcement.

UIDAI has made a series of tweets on resuming of Aadhaar services.

"IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Dear All, Our registrars are preparing for resuming of Aadhaar services wherever it is being permitted by the state/ district authorities as per the new guidelines of #Lockdown4 . 1/3," UIDAI tweeted.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Dear All,

Our registrars are preparing for resuming of Aadhaar services wherever it is being permitted by the state/ district authorities as per the new guidelines of #Lockdown4 . 1/3  Aadhaar (@UIDAI) May 18, 2020

It also wrote that people may check available appointment slots in their area on the Aadhaar app or on the website.

You may check available appointment slots in your area on the our appointment portal https://t.co/QFcNEqehlP or mAadhaar App. 2/3  Aadhaar (@UIDAI) May 18, 2020

Once services resume, social distancing in and outside the Aadhaar Kendra will be mandated, UIDAI wrote.

Pls follow the advisory issued by your local administration related to #Lockdown4 . Once services resume, social distancing in and outside the Aadhaar Kendra will be mandated. 3/3  Aadhaar (@UIDAI) May 18, 2020

In a major relief to rural population, UIDAI had in April allowed the Common Service Centre, an SPV (special purpose vehicle) under the Ministry of IT and Electronics, to start the Aadhaar updation facility at 20,000 centres that operate as Banking Correspondents (BCs).

The UIDAI has set the June deadline for start of work after CSCs with banking facilities upgrade their infrastructure and get other necessary approvals.

As per the Supreme Court order, the Aadhaar work through CSCs was discontinued in December 2018. Since then there has been a demand from the VLEs, running over 3.5 lakh CSCs, to start the Aadhaar enrolment work as they had invested in the Aadhaar kits and had trained manpower.

The CSCs had generated 20 crore Aadhaar cards, before it was discontinued.

With IANS Inputs
Guest Commentary

By Barinder S. Bhullar

Our world has changed significantly. We are in an incredibly unstable period. Governments and businesses around the world are turning their attention to the urgent need to restart the economy responsibly. The interplay of this present pandemic crisis and the second and third-order economic and social challenges that spin-off from it are challenging decision-makers to shift their thinking beyond traditional policy solutions.

In this context, it is time for both the Canadian public and private sector to welcome the perspectives of a younger generation of Canadians at the executive levels of Canadian trade. Canadians whose heritage of immigration and upbringing in Canada provide a vital bridge for success in navigating the world. The generation that intuitively understands the opportunities of the gig economy, that bridges the experience of baby boomers and millennials, that succeeds in a pluralist Canada, must be enabled to contribute to the prosperity of the country.

The data is clear: according to McKinsey, companies that embrace the dynamism and unique perspectives inherent in diversity are more competitive than their peers. It should come as no surprise that social diversity (that is, diversity in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, race, etc.) helps provide a wide range of experiences and insights that help give companies, businesses, and startups a competitive edge.

We will soon be embarking on a national debate defining the opportunities and risks for Canadian economic recovery. For Canada to realize true economic independence - that is, to define the crucial role that Canadian resources, manufacturing, innovation and expertise, strategic thinking  we will need to prioritize Canadian competitiveness in the global marketplace.

Taking stock of Canadian companies, boards, and executives today, it is clear that there are opportunities to better apply social diversity in order to succeed in the modern business environment. There remains the scant capacity to navigate global opportunity at the senior-most levels of corporate governance and leadership. The vast majority of medium-sized Canadian enterprises lack the confidence in advantaging themselves to the opportunities that 50 plus trade agreements Canada has established across the world.

Our country is in a unique position. The free trade agreements established with the USMCA and CETA position Canada as the sole country that serves as a portal to the Western developed world. Bilateral and multilateral agreements in the Americas, Africa and across the Indo-Pacific (particularly with the CPTPP) have created pathways to opportunities unprecedented anywhere in the world. While the potential to accelerate trade with a distinctly Canadian proposition to generate jobs, investment, and strategic partnerships for Canada does exist, it is up to Canadian enterprises to seize the opportunity. This is especially true in the post-COVID-19 economic order to come. Canadian industries will need to respond to the global economic reorder upon us, in which restructured supply chains across all aspects of global economic life provide real value for Canadian prosperity. What is needed is for Canada to embrace a model of global economic leadership, based on the inclusion of the best that Canada has to offer.

As an advisor to a Canadian Premier and her Finance Minister facing the vast opportunities our status as a Pacific nation affords us, I lamented the homogeneity of the executive class of the country. Many immigrants have arrived on Canadas shores seeking opportunity and refuge. They left behind a legacy of failed and failing states in search of long-term survival for the families they cherished, and opportunities for the next generation of Canadians.

Today, their children hail from every region of the world, are finding success across Canadian society, are raising Canadian families, and are untapped potential that ought to be seconded in the cause of Canadian competitiveness. Canadian businesses would be very well served by enlisting their insights, expertise and experience in shaping a post-COVID-19 economic order. As we encounter unprecedented global economic turmoil, Canadian prosperity would be well served to think beyond the United States for the economic success of our country, in fact, we have no choice but to engage in a global economic reorder.

To do so will require policy-makers and business leaders to tap into Canadas uniquely dynamic and diverse human capital advantages. There are young, smart, and talented individuals who are ready and able to usher in a new wave of Canadian prosperity; weve but to unleash them on our economy.

Barinder S. Bhullar is the former Director of Policy to British Columbia to Premier Christy Clark and published this article for the Macdonald Laurier Institute with the Sappani Fellows Program.
Pastor Florin Cimpean sings with his congregation at Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on Sunday, May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Chicago Pastor Who Saw Religious Persecution Under Communism Determined to Keep His Church Open

His defiance of city's stay-at-home orders draws both praise, criticism

CHICAGOIts hard to maintain your faith without a community, Abigail Cimpean said. Shes among the many religious faithful in Chicago who have defied stay-at-home orders to attend church recently.

Its not the same sitting at home and watching a sermon on the screen, she told The Epoch Times. As a community, we lift each other up.

The daughter of Pastor Florin Cimpean of Chicagos Philadelphia Romanian Church of God, shes grown up in the church.

Amid Chicagos stay-at-home orderswhich currently prohibit church gatherings of more than 10 peoplePastor Cimpean never stopped holding services.

He, too, grew up in the church. And his father was a pastor who disobeyed government orders to halt services. That was in Romania, and he was arrested for it.

I am not afraid. I grew up in communism, he told The Epoch Times.

The majority of his congregants are of Romanian descent, and many of them have firsthand experience of a crackdown on worship under communist rule; many of them fled to the United States in the 70s and 80s to seek freedom.

While Romanian churches in Chicago have been especially vocal on the issue of limiting worship amid the pandemic, many non-Romanian churches also have been defiant.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has warned the growing number of churches that seek to hold in-person services that they will be fined. She ordered no-parking signs to be set up around houses of worship on May 17 to discourage congregants.

A notice near Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago prohibits parking on May 17, 2020, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

A police car drives by Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Mayor Acknowledges Difficulties for Faithful

On May 18, Lightfoot held a virtual town hall tailored to members of black churches. Black people make up almost half of the reported COVID-19 deaths in Chicago.

This has been a very difficult time, a particularly difficult time for people of faith across the city because we have not been able to come together and commune with each other in houses of worship, she said at the meeting.

I talk with my mother every single day. She is a 91-year-old woman of faith. Part of our daily conversation is about when she would be able to go back to church, Lightfoot said.

Her church life is critically important to her health and well-being. And I know thats true for literally millions of Chicagoans. But we also know that coming together in these times poses risks, risks that we shouldnt be taking.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot at McCormick Place in Chicago, on April 3, 2020. (Chris Sweda-Pool via Getty Images)

Lightfoot said she wants to work with pastors to draft guidelines for reopening churches. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has placed gatherings of over 50 people, including in churches, in the last phase of his five-phase reopening plan.

That phase begins when a vaccine is developed, a treatment option is readily available, or there are no new cases over a sustained period.

The Chicago Tribunes editorial board questioned Pritzkers reopening plan in a May 6 editorial, saying that he is moving the benchmarks for victory from bending the infection curve to defeating the virus altogether.

Abigail Cimpean and others among the 80 or so congregants who attended the service on May 17the largest gathering at the church since the stay-at-home order startedspoke about the spiritual need for in-person gatherings.

Online Service Not the Same, Congregants Say

I need to be fed by sermons, Abigail Cimpean said. Its difficult for me to understand the Bible on my own. Following the service, she said, I feel His presence today.

Abigail Cimpean at Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on Sunday, May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Tom Gobelman, 88, held a Bible in his hand as he stood at the church and told The Epoch Times that he was there as an act of civil disobedience, to stand up for the U.S. Constitution.

He isnt a congregant of the church, but he was among several local residents who showed up in support of the churchs defiance.

Tom Gobelman stands outside Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Gobelman said he has Stone Age technology at home, so he goes to a friends house regularly for online sermons. But he finds virtual services lacking.

Its like a piece of candy with no sugar in it, he said.

A Nurse Protests

Two protesters stood outside the church to urge congregants to stay at home. One was Beverly Miles, a nurse who recovered from COVID-19 in early May.

Christopher Swanson (L) and Beverly Miles (R) protest congregants defiance of stay-at-home orders outside Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

I almost died of COVID-19. The virus is live and real, Miles told The Epoch Times. She was in daily contact with COVID-19 patients at her hospital when she contracted the disease.

Miles said that if any of the congregants show symptoms of COVID-19, nurses like herself will have no choice but to treat them. She feels that when the congregants put themselves at risk, they put nurses at risk, too.

It was personal to me, she said.

Christopher Swanson, the other protester, lives in the building across the street from the church. He held a sign that read, Good neighbors shelter in place.

This is not just about them. Its about us, Swanson told The Epoch Times. We are all in this together.

Another neighbor of the church, Karl Engle, who came out in support of Cimpean, said, Life is full of risks.

Karl Engle stands outside Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

The governor and mayor cannot take care of all the risks for me, Engle told The Epoch Times. Are they going to hold my hand when I walk so I dont fall?

When the city put up no-parking signs along the street surrounding the church, Cimpean said it drew more ire from the churchs neighbors. It affected not only the congregants, but also the residents who use the parking spaces on the street.

A local resident shouted at Cimpean on May 17, Go back to your own country!

Cimpean has found it hard, but he remains firm in his decision to stay open.

When Pritzker ordered pastors to close their doors in March, Cimpean still hosted about 20 congregants. When Pritzker said religious activity was essential, but each church could host only 10 people, the attendance at Cimpeans church grew to about 40, and now 80.

I didnt really want all the attention. I only want to open churches as a haven of hope for people, he said. I am under a lot of pressure in the last 48 hours.  [But] Im glad we didnt give in.

Precautionary Measures

Cimpean said he has taken care to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and state guidelines for essential businesses.

Congregants are spread out in the church to maintain social distancing. Each attendee needs to pre-register and fill out an application that outlines the guidelines for attendance. It tells congregants, for example, that they shouldnt attend if they have COVID-19 symptoms, work at a hospital, or are over the age of 65.

Congregants at Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on Sunday, May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Some questioned why essential businesses, including hardware stores and liquor stores, are not subject to the same 10-person limit as churches.

I dont understand why you can have up to 500 people at Menards [home improvement store], but only 10 people at a church, Bob Szontach told The Epoch Times. He lives near the church and is a Christian; he isnt a regular congregant but went to the church on May 17.

Congregant Ethan Ille, 18, told The Epoch Times the church is like his home.

Ethan Ille attends Philadelphia Romanian Church of God in Chicago on Sunday, May 17, 2020. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

While hes had a good life without major hardship, he felt something was missing until he started going to church regularly, Ille said. Faith has helped him be slower to anger, have more patience, and love others better.

This is my family. This is my home, he said of his church.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. (TSX: CF, "Canaccord Genuity") is pleased to announce that Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management has been selected by Morgan Stanley as its Canadian platform provider to support the entry of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management into Canada.

Canaccord Genuity will deliver a suite of wealth management solutions and technology, as well as custody and clearing services to Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada. Canaccord Genuity will also support the deployment of a self-directed on-line investing platform and portfolio management advisory solutions.

Canaccord Genuity has been a long-standing partner with Shareworks by Morgan Stanley, which offers stock plan consulting and administrative services to more than 350 Canadian companies comprising 70% of the companies listed on the TSX60. This represents more than 275,000 Canadian stock plan participants who hold more than US$17.5 billion in assets.

"We are very pleased to provide the platform for Morgan Stanley in the launch of their Canadian offering," said Stuart Raftus, President of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management in Canada. "It's a testament to the depth and breadth of Canaccord Genuity's capabilities, platform, and suite of services, which includes a wide range of wealth management solutions as well as custody and clearing services. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Morgan Stanley in support of this new venture."

Morgan Stanley's wealth management offering in Canada will include full-service Financial Advisors, virtual Financial Advisors, a discount self-directed investing solution and online investment management.

Brian McDonald, Head of Morgan Stanley at Work, said, "The creation of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada will add wealth management services to our comprehensive suite of workplace financial solutions. Taken together, these solutions will help to maintain and strengthen the competitiveness of Canadian companies by meeting the breadth of their employees' needs."

Laura Adams, Head of Institutional Distribution in Canada and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada, said, "Morgan Stanley's leading US wealth management platform has over $2.4 trillion in assets under management and is supported by more than 15,000 financial advisors. We're excited to expand our wealth management footprint into Canada with a solution that's tailored to the Canadian market."

Greg Gatesman, Co-Head of International Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, noted, "We are pleased to have Canaccord Genuity as our platform provider, delivering a suite of clearing, custody and wealth management solutions."

ABOUT CANACCORD GENUITY WEALTH MANAGEMENT

The wealth management operations of the Canaccord Genuity group (Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management) provide comprehensive wealth management solutions and brokerage services to individual investors, private clients, charities and intermediaries through a full suite of services tailored to the needs of clients in each of its markets. Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management has Investment Advisors (IAs) and professionals in Canada, the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Australia and has advisors in Canada who are registered in the U.S. We are driven by your success.

Since 2016, Canaccord Genuity has materially invested to support the growth of its wealth management businesses in all geographies. As a result of this growth, client assets have more than doubled to over C$70 billion, and Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management has become a stable and significant contributor to firmwide profitability and earnings.

ABOUT CANACCORD GENUITY GROUP INC.

Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. (TSX: CF) is a leading independent, full-service financial services firm, with operations in two principal segments of the securities industry: wealth management and capital markets. Since its establishment in 1950, the Company has been driven by an unwavering commitment to building lasting client relationships. It achieves this by generating value for our individual, institutional and corporate clients through comprehensive investment solutions, brokerage services and investment banking services. The Company has wealth management offices located in Canada, the UK, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Australia. Canaccord Genuity, the international capital markets division, operates in North America, UK & Europe, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

ABOUT MORGAN STANLEY

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals.

SOURCE Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.canaccord.com


Palestinian leader Saeb Erakat and Archbishop Gallagher talked on the phone. Benjamin Netanyahu is planning the annexation and is now supported by Benny Gantz. Trump is in favour as well. Christian leaders have long complained about the apathy of the international community.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  The Holy See is concerned about the possibility that occupied Palestinian territories will come under Israeli sovereignty, jeopardising the two peoples, two states solution and the peace process in the region.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, spoke by phone with Saeb Erekat, Chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, the Holy See Press Office reported.

For some time Benjamin Netanyahu, back at the helm of Israels government with his main rival Benny Gantz, has expressed plans to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, illegal under international law. Gantz, who opposed them during the election campaign, has come to accept them in order be part of the government. US President Donald Trump also backs annexation.

The Holy See has added its voice to that of the regions Christian leaders who accuse the international community of apathy in the face of a situation that can undermine peace.

Here is the communique issued by the Holy See Press Office.

Today, H.E. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, was contacted by telephone by H.E. Saeb Erekat, Chief negotiator and Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The latter wished to inform the Holy See about recent developments in the Palestinian territories and of the possibility of Israeli applying its sovereignty unilaterally to part of those territories, further jeopardising the peace process.

The Holy See reiterates that respect for international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions, is an indispensable element for the two peoples to live side by side in two States, within the borders internationally recognised before 1967.

The Holy See is following the situation closely, and expresses concern about any future actions that could further compromise dialogue, while also expressing its hope that Israelis and Palestinians will be soon able to find once again the possibility for directly negotiating an agreement, with the help of the International Community, so that peace may finally reign in the Holy Land, so beloved by Jews and Christians and Muslims.
The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation, a gender and disability-based organization working towards a socio-economic transformation of the vulnerable and the disabled has donated assorted food items to some 50 selected Muslims with disability.

The donation which targeted mainly disabled Muslims without any sources of income, was to help them celebrate with their families after the month-long fasting and prayers and also reduce their suffering during this period of COVID-19.

The items which included rice, tin tomatoes, cooking oils, spaghettis, sugar and hand sanitizers among others were sponsored by Direct Aid-Ghana, Kuwait based international humanitarian non-governmental organization operating in 31 countries throughout Africa and working towards provision of emergency aid to victims of violent conflict and natural disaster, water provision, health, education and human empowerment among many others.

Presenting the food items, the Executive Director of the Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation, Dr Otiko Afisah Djaba commended Direct Aid -Ghana especially the Countrys Manager, Sami Ahmed and the Administrator, Emmanuel Ablor for the support.

She called on other donor organisations both local and foreign to support the Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation to reach out to more vulnerable women and children, and persons with disability especially in this difficult moment of COVID-19.

Some of the beneficiaries expressed their deepest appreciation to Dr. Otiko Afisah Djaba and her partners for always fighting for and defending the interest of persons with disability. According to one Madam Mariama Iddrisu, a 54-year-old disabled woman with four (4) children, the impact Dr. Otiko Djaba and her Foundation had made in her life, her family and many other vulnerable women and PWDs could not be quantified.

She was optimistic that the food items would go a long way to relieve her and her children for the time being and prayed for more of such opportunities.

Meanwhile, the Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation led by its Founder and Executive Director, Dr Otiko Afisah Djaba embarked on home delivery of food items and COVID-19 preventive items to over 600 Persons with Disability in various parts of Greater Accra during the lockdown.

The items included bags of rice, cooking oil, tubers of yam, mackerel, eggs, tin tomatoes, gari and beans as well as hand sanitizers, detergent, toilet roll, bathing soap, sanitary pads, toothpaste and toothbrushes - with support from individual Philanthropists, UNFPA, Assemblies of God Church and Charismatic Evangelistic Ministry and were delivered to the PWDs right in their homes.

However, Dr Otiko Afisah Djaba who is also a Former Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection reiterated her call on Government to make persons with disability key beneficiaries of the Ghana COVID-19 Trust Fund and the Six Hundred Million Ghana Cedis stimulus package for small and medium enterprises.

She also appealed to all Ghanaians and most especially the PWDs to stay safe and alive by observing all the necessary COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Several Gurugram police personnel were injured on Wednesday morning after a group of migrant workers, who were allegedly trying to enter the Millennium City from Delhi amid the lockdown 4.0, which was enforced on Monday and will be in place till May 31 to contain the spread of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, started pelting stones at Salapur Khera village.

The incident took place at around 8.30am on Wednesday, when Gurugram Police authorities allegedly stopped the migrant workers from Delhi, who wanted to enter neighbouring Haryana.

Station house officers (SHOs) from Palam Vihar and Udyog Vihar police stations reached the spot to bring the situation under control.

In a video, which surfaced on a social media platform, a group of migrant workers could be seen standing in a narrow lane of Salapur Khera village. Several police officers were posted at the other end of the lane and some of them could be heard pleading with the mob: Dont throw stones. Lets just talk.

A police officer could also be seen consoling a group of men.
The Chinese SUV brand Haval, with help from Rays of Hope in South Africa, distributed 152 nutritious food parcels to the local community of Alexandra on Tuesday, May 12. Each food parcel is able to feed a family of five for a month, containing food items such as rice, cake flour and cooking oil.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Haval Family identified the threatening food crisis of unprecedented magnitude for all vulnerable South Africans. Recognizing the hardships the urban townships face in relation to food shortages, Haval jumped at the opportunity to provide aid to the South Africans experiencing desperate and starving circumstances.

Haval recognizes food security is an essential issue that must be taken seriously, as well as a priority, for South Africans. Due to the effects of the recent lockdown in South Africa, many local people are unsure of where to find their next meal. With the rapid increase of hunger in vulnerable areas, improving the availability of nutritious food is of utmost importance.

With Alexandra being on the doorstep of Havals HQ, they identified this community as being deeply affected during the crisis, with a dire need for food security. Haval reached out to Rays of Hope, a non-profit company and a public benefit organization in the heart of Alexandra, to serve as their partner on the ground to distribute food parcels in Alexandra, ensuring 152 local families remain well-nourished during this time.

Havalthe Great Wall Motors' professional SUV brand in Chinafirst hit the roads of South Africa in 2017 and has proved itself from South Africas toughest terrain to the urban streets.
The election is meant to usher in the first democratic transition in 58 years of independence for the nation.

Burundians have begun voting in a tense presidential vote, with the election commission calling for a peaceful vote despite simmering political violence and the coronavirus pandemic.

Burundians stood in long lines outside polling stations, which opened shortly after 6am local time (04:00 GMT), to elect not just their new president, but parliamentarians and local councillors, who in turn appoint the members of the Senate.

The election is meant to usher in the first democratic transition in 58 years of independence for the impoverished east African nation.

President Pierre Nkurunziza, whose government has repeatedly been accused of rights abuses, will step down after 15 years. His ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy  Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) party candidate, retired army general Evariste Ndayishimiye, is running against opposition leader Agathon Rwasa and five others.

We call on Burundians to massively go to vote and vote peacefully. We need good elections, Pierre Claver Kazihise, chairman for the election commission, known as CENI, said in comments aired by state broadcaster RTNB.

The voter is asked to leave after casting their ballot. No gatherings are allowed near polling stations.

Each booth has a blue ballot box for the presidential election, a green one for the legislative and red for the local.

The government has refused any observers from the United Nations or the African Union, accusing the latter of being too close to the opposition.

Social networks had been shut down from at least one hour before voting began, with access only possible via a virtual private

2015 elections

There was widespread international criticism of Burundis last election in 2015, when Nkurunziza ran for a third term.

His opponents said his participation violated a peace deal that ended the civil war and boycotted the poll.

The election sparked violent protests that drove hundreds of thousands of Burundians into exile.

The UN documented hundreds of killings as well as the torture and gang rape of opposition activists. Donors withdrew funding in protest.

The government denies accusations of rights violations.

Rwasa, like Nkurunziza a former rebel leader, warned of possible electoral fraud in his final rally on Sunday.

We know there is plan of election fraud, some are even intimidating people asking for their voter cards to vote for them, he said. All of that is worthless.





The United Nations and the African Union said in a joint statement on Sunday they remained concerned about reports of intimidation and violent clashes between supporters of opposing sides.

There will be few election monitors after the government said they would have to spend 14 days in quarantine to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The government expelled the national head of the World Health Organization (WHO) last week following public criticism that all parties were holding rallies despite the disease.

The country of 11 million people has reported only 42 coronavirus cases and one death.

Testing remains very low, however, with only 633 tests carried out, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19

By Tamilla Mammadova  Trend:

Georgia imported 802,768 tons of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons in a total amount of $136.8 million from Azerbaijan from January through April 2020, which is 545 tons less compared to the same period of 2019, Trend reports referring to National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).

In the reporting period, Georgia imported from Azerbaijan electricity worth $21.2 million.

Meanwhile, 8.5 tons of parts and accessories suitable for use with typing or calculating machines worth $11.1 million were imported by Georgia from Azerbaijan.

From January through April 2020, Georgia imported 41,870 tons of petroleum and petroleum oils worth $13.5 million from Azerbaijan.

In addition, Georgia imported 2,311 tons of copper ores and concentrates worth $5.9 million from Azerbaijan, which is 1,595 tons more compared to the same period last year.

Azerbaijan ranked third in Georgias commodity circulation in the reporting period.

From January through April 2020, the foreign trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to more than $367 million, which makes up 10.6 percent of the total trade turnover of Georgia.

During the reporting period, Georgia exported products worth $221.8 million to Azerbaijan, which comprises 9 percent of total exports from Georgia.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan exported products worth $145.1 million to the Georgian market, which is 14.5 percent of total imports to Georgia.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Jackson Township and its planning board, alleging the town enacted zoning ordinances that discriminated against the Orthodox Jewish community by preventing them from opening religious boarding schools in the town.

The two ordinances were passed by the townships council in 2017 and both expressly prohibit dormitories throughout Jackson, making it impossible for religious boarding schools to establish in the Township, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that the ordinances were introduced without providing any justification and were unanimously approved.

The lawsuit alleges the township and its planning board violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 and the Fair Housing Act.

Religious discrimination has no place in our society and runs counter to the founding principles of our nation, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. No religious community should ever face unlawful barriers or be singled out for inferior treatment."

The 27-page complaint filed in federal court Wednesday comes as tensions escalate between the Orthodox community and non-Orthodox community in the Ocean County town that neighbors Lakewood, which has one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities in the country. There are now about 500 Orthodox families in Jackson.

There are currently no yeshivas in Jackson, and the two ordinances have prevented them from being built. The lawsuit says members of the Jackson areas Orthodox community will be significantly inhibited in exercising their religious beliefs if they do not have access to yeshivas for full-time learning.

The DOJ complaint alleges that township officials created the ordinances in response to growing opposition from non-Orthodox residents.

The 2017 Ordinances were enacted in response to the growth of the Orthodox community and the complaints Township officials received from residents about the Orthodox community. the complaint says.

Mayor Michael Reina did not immediately respond to a message left at his office. The Planning Board did not respond to a request seeking comment on the lawsuit.

The complaint says the township did not demonstrate that ordinances to block private schools, including religious schools, in a variety of zones throughout town would impair any zoning goals for the Township. In fact, according to the complaint, the Jackson Township planning board has since approved, without requiring a variance, the plans for two non-religious projects with dormitory-type housing.

Using zoning laws to target Orthodox Jewish individuals for intentional discrimination and exclude them from a community is illegal and utterly incompatible with this Nations values, Eric Dreiband, the assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, said in a statement.

The township is facing multiple civil lawsuits filed by organizations alleging similar violations outlined by the DOJ Wednesday. In early 2019, according to the complaint, settlement discussions regarding the civil lawsuits occurred for several months. The township drafted new ordinances to override the ones used to restrict religious barding schools, but ultimately, it decided to engage legal counsel and to move forward in defending the lawsuit.

The DOJ informed Jackson Township officials in February that it was authorized to bring a lawsuit against the town. Last week, the township council voted to repeal the ordinances, but the repeal has not been finalized, according to the complaint.

The Department of Justice will use the full force of its authority to stop such anti-Semitic conduct and prevent its recurrence, Dreiband said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Joe Atmonavage may be reached at jatmonavage@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
Idyllically located in the center of Piazza dei Signori across from the Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, Italy, El Coqthe once traditional restaurant from Chef Lorenzo Cogois open for business and ready to present its recent other-worldly transformation as the region bounces back following the COVID-19 shutdowns.

Feeling that the restaurants menu and interiors no longer reflected his attitude and artistry, late last year Lorenzo, the youngest Michelin-starred Italian chef-owneran honor received in 2012 when he was just 25embarked on a revamp of his menu, while enlisting his friend, designer and artist Matteo Cibic, to reinvent the space. We are both living in Vicenza now, and we want to make the city a destination, explains Matteo.

Rodolfo Hernandez PH

Rodolfo Hernandez PH

Since 2016, when Lorenzo relocated El Coq from his hometown of Marano Vicentino to its current location, the interiors reflected a more modern design in line with its historic surroundings. Light woods were juxtaposed against pale gray walls, and sheer curtains welcomed an abundance of natural light. The tables with their white linen cloths, white plates, and the most minimal of floral centerpieces, marked a quintessential Michelin dining experience.

For his part in the rather dramatic metamorphosis, Matteothe nephew of designer Aldo Cibic who, along with Ettore Sottsass, was one of the founders of Memphisused Lorenzo as the key ingredient in his design. Lorenzos cuisine is influenced by his travels, and I liked the idea of creating a project based around his universe, he says. Matteo drew further inspiration from the life of another well-known Vicenza native, Antonio Pigafetta, the Venetian scholar who over 500 years ago circumnavigated the globe with Magellan and chronicled the voyage in his journal. In his record, Antonio described the [far] end of the world as a weird place with strange animals, smoke, and unusual vegetation, says Matteo. I tried to reimagine such a worldone without time. The designer, known for his colorful palette, playful aesthetic, and caricature-style objects, created a visual expedition within the five-table restaurant worthy of 15th-centuryor 25th-centuryexploration.

Story continues

As a companion to Lorenzos tasting menusof which there are three, ranging in duration from one to three hoursMatteo designed an interactive audio hourglass that chimes each hour and emits unusual melodies throughout the dining experience. Like the Sound Hourglass, all of the vases and table terrariums were created in ceramic with hand-blown glass by Matteo.

A number of furniture pieces were also designed by Matteo in collaboration with India-based brand Scarlet Splendour, including Gunpowder, a brass, leather, and denim horse sculpture that opens to reveal a bar, and his Madame Verdoux cabinet with lacework-inspired motifs and black leather interior. The custom-printed silk-satin wall coverings and draperies depict out-of-this-world landscapes, complete with hairy carnivorous plants, blackened rocks, and eyes spying from all corners of the room that could only come from the Italian designers quirky imagination. To punctuate the overall experience, he landed on a bluish-hued lighting that creates a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere.

According to Matteo, in the end, he delivered the unexpected result Lorenzo was looking for. He trusted me and pushed me to do something whimsical and very unique.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Photo Courtesy of Empower Cocktails

The Empower Cosmopolitan Martini beverage launches to wet the whistle of spirits-savvy women

The distilled drink industry is booming, with one report citing the global alcoholic beverages sector is poised to reach a whopping $1,684 billion by 2025. In this day and age, its a curiosity that this category doesnt put a more intensive focus on targeting women. In fact, the consumer spending power of women is getting more than its fair share of attention, including a recent Forbes.com story highlighting how this demographics escalating economic power and prowess is helping reshape markets.

In a piece of decidedly good news for spirits-savvy gals, theres a new company on the scene that clearly gets it: Empower Cocktails. This new drink industry disruptor is fully focused on the female consumer, with celebrating and empowering women at the forefront of its mission.

The beverage brand recently launched the first product in its ladies-focused line of ready-to-pour cocktail drinks: the Empower Cosmopolitan Martini. Ive had the pleasure of sipping and savoring this delicious elixir on multiple occasions and can tell you theyve duly hit the mark with its palate-pleasing flavor profile. Refreshing and not too sweet, this cocktail contains Sweet Potato Vodka, which is locally sourced from a family-owned farm in Northern California, as well as triple sec, cooling white cranberry and zesty lime. Just refrigerate and then pour when ready to enjoy. All thats needed is a martini glass and, if desired, a favorite garnish like lemon or lime zest or a maraschino cherry. The drink is 25 proof and even waistline-friendly, containing only 80 calories per three ounces.

Fabulous taste, aside, I do also appreciate the companys commitment to advancing the interests of women. Empowerment is not just the company's brand, it's a statement of love, action, and support for women on a global scale, said Tiffany Hall, founder of Empower Cocktails. As a woman-owned business, weve partnered with several non-profits that champion women's initiatives, including the Voss Foundation, Dress for Success Boston, Kicked it in Heels and the Metro-Manhattan Community Foundation ... just to name a few. In fact, Im proud that Empower Cocktails is further evolving into an intersectional platform that uplifts women of all backgrounds.

Commencing its highly anticipated rollout, the Empower Cosmopolitan Martini is now available online and in over 30 stores throughout Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

~~~

***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided or arranged at no cost to accommodate if this is review editorial, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way.***

Sources:

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/alcoholic-beverages-market

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bridgetbrennan/2020/02/10/how-womens-economic-power-is-reshaping-the-consumer-market/#7af3e6aaeb4a
In a phone interview this week, Gregory Meeks, also a New York congressman and the chair of the black caucuss political arm, defended the decision.

Gregory Meeks: Our criteria, when it comes to incumbents  it comes down to what theyve done while theyre in Washington. How have they voted on issues that are important to the Congressional Black Caucus? Whats their relationship with African-Americans in their district?

Astead Herndon: And none of that calculus changes if the incumbent is facing a black challenger?

Just like I would if there was a black incumbent against a white challenger, we go by the merits of what theyve done while theyre in Washington, D.C.

So would it be fair to say that incumbency, in the eyes of the C.B.C. PAC, is a higher priority than the question of racial representation?

No. We want someone who is voting and listening to the African-American community, thats whats important. We look at the voting record, and if youre an incumbent we can see that. Eliot Engel has voted in a way thats beneficial to his African-American community.
Addison, Texas, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lara Danziger-Isakov MD, MPH, Director of Immunocompromised Host Infectious Disease at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, has been elected President-Elect of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).

Dr. Danziger-Isakov will now serve a one-year term as President-Elect, followed by her term as ISHLT President beginning with the 2021 Annual Business Meeting to be held in Toronto in April 2021.

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to support ISHLTs development and serve our community, said Dr. Danziger-Isakov. I look forward to driving our new strategic plan and organizational structure, as we continue to expand our work and influence.

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is the worlds largest nonprofit multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with advanced heart and lung disease through transplantation, mechanical support and innovative therapies.

Dr. Danziger-Isakovs clinical interests include pediatric infectious diseases and infections in immunocompromised patients. Her research interests include outcomes related to infection after pediatric transplantation with an emphasis on pediatric lung transplantation. She is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dr. Danziger-Isakov earned her MD at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed her residency in Pediatrics at the Cleveland Clinic followed by a fellowship in infectious disease at St. Louis Childrens Hospital/Washington University in St. Louis.

###

About ISHLT

The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is a global, 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.. www.ishlt.org.

Attachment
A man who was stabbed during a fight Tuesday in Cumberland County was hospitalized with serious injuries, according to New Jersey State Police.

Troopers responded to a fight involving three people in the 900 block of Steep Run Road in Commercial Township just before 5 p.m.

Two of them were injured and all three were charged.

William Lapworth, 28, of Commercial Township, was stabbed and suffered serious injuries, police said. He was taken to Cooper University Hospital, Camden, where he was listed in stable condition.

He was charged with aggravated assault/attempt to cause bodily injury, aggravated assault/attempt to cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, assault by auto and two weapons possession offenses.

James Johnson, 27, of Millville, who was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries and released, was charged with aggravated assault with significant bodily injury, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and weapons possession offenses.

Mindy Gerner, 33, of Millville, was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and weapons possession offenses.

Johnson and Gerner were released pending court appearances.

The incident remains under investigation.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
MARQUETTE, MI  Northern Michigan University students will be expected back in class one week earlier than usual as administrators work to create a schedule with the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in mind.

In-person classes will begin at the Upper Peninsula university on Monday, Aug. 17, with the fall semester ending on Tuesday, Nov. 24  shortly before Thanksgiving, the university announced on Monday, May 18.

The updated fall schedule comes out of President Fritz Ericksons suggestion of an earlier start to hopefully avoid a late fall resurgence of the novel coronavirus, the release said. The NMU Board of Trustees agreed to the plan on Monday.

This will prevent students from traveling home for Thanksgiving week and returning to campus for the final two weeks of the semester, Erickson said in a statement. It's a proactive step designed to enhance safety for our campus and community.

The new schedule still fulfills instructional requirements for financial aid established by the U.S. Department of Education, he added.

Fall commencement is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 21, the release said. Final grades will be due from faculty on Nov. 30. There will be no designated final examination period; instructors will have discretion to schedule their exams.

Starting early and ending before Thanksgiving is part of our well researched, well thought-out, comprehensive effort to protect our student body, faculty and staff, Board Chair Steve Mitchell said in a statement.

The board is expected to announce additional safety procedures prior to the start of the semester, he said.

The spring semester schedule has not yet been announced.

RELATED: Students asked to return to one U.P. university by early August

NMUs approach to the fall semester mirrors that of fellow U.P. college Lake Superior State University, which was announced earlier this month. However, LSSUs semester will begin on Aug. 10 with plans to end before Thanksgiving. Its spring semester is planned for Jan. 19 to April 30 with no spring break to minimize travel that could lead to a virus outbreak.

Michigan Technological University, also in the U.P., will also hold in-person classes this fall.

READ MORE:

Eastern Michigan University planning to resume in-person operations for fall 2020 semester

Central Michigan University announces plans for face-to-face classes for fall semester

Tuesday, May 19: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Heres what can reopen in which Michigan counties under new state order

Stimulus payments coming to millions of Americans via prepaid debit cards

If second round of stimulus payments is approved, how much could you get?
MUMBAI: Banned CPI-M Maoists on Wednesday set four trucks on fire in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district. The home-grown CPI-M ultras have also called for a bandh in the Gadchiroli district today.

The bandh call given by the Naxals is likely to impact the normal life in the area.

Todays bandh has been called in protest against the recent killing of senior Naxal leader Surjanakka in an encounter with Gadchiroli Police near Jaravandi village on May 2.

The operation was launched following information that a group of 20 Naxals from Kasansur dalam was camping near Jaravandi. During the encounter, 48-year old Surjanakka, who was a member of the Gadchiroli divisional committee of CPI (Maoist), was killed.

Surjanakka had joined the Naxal movement in 1988 and was the wife of CPI(Maoist) Central Committee member Devji. She was involved in 144 crimes, including ambushes on police and civilian murders.

Police also recovered an AK-47 and a lot of explosives from the spot.

Surjanakka is the second Naxal leader to have been killed in encounters this year. The Naxal movement has received a major jolt with her death as she is the third DVC (divisional committee) rank cadre lost by the movement this year.

Earlier, DVC member Vilas Kolha had surrendered while another DVC member, Dinkar Gota, was arrested by the police.
U.S. highways have been emptier during the coronavirus pandemic, but they have also been more deadly, according to statistics released Wednesday.

The National Safety Council said preliminary data show that in March, when most Americans began to drive less because of pandemic-related stay-at-home orders, the fatality rate per mile driven went up by 14% compared with March 2019.

The traffic fatality data, compiled from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, confirm the alarming reports across the country that speeding and reckless driving during the health crisis are leading to a disproportionate number of crashes and fatalities.

"The risk on our roads has actually increased," said Ken Kolosh, the council's manager of statistics, who ran the data analysis. "Although an 8% decrease in deaths from one March to the next March is great news, that decrease should have been even greater if the risk on our roads had stayed the same. We should have seen closer to an 18% decrease in deaths."

The overall number of fatalities went down by 8%, according to the report, a decline that is attributed to shelter-in-place orders and other restrictions across the country.

The number of miles driven dropped 18.6% in March compared with the same month last year, according to the council. But the death rate per 100 million vehicle miles driven was 1.22 in March, up from 1.07 in March 2019, the organization said.

The surge in speeding and reckless behavior on the nation's roadways has alarmed police and road safety groups, and prompted increased patrolling on some highways and renewed calls for drivers to slow down.

As traffic volumes fell dramatically following the stay at-home orders, average speeds increased significantly above posted limits, more than doubling in some cities, traffic data show. Police agencies from New York City to Los Angeles reported more speed-related crashes. State troopers in Maryland, Virginia, California and Minnesota have reported writing more speeding tickets. Some drivers have been caught traveling at speeds topping 130 mph.

The National Safety Council numbers are the first official statistics confirming the trend, which experts think continued in April and this month.

"We really have to keep a very close eye on the trends going forward," Kolosh said. "Unfortunately, with the anecdotal reports of risky driving, we fear that the fatality rate per hundred million miles traveled is going to continue to be elevated."

Road safety advocates and police are urging people behind the wheel to slow down, not to drink and drive, and to wear seat belts.

About 40,000 people die on U.S. roads each year.

Over the Memorial Day three-day weekend alone, the council estimates 366 potential fatalities - the lowest number of fatalities for the holiday period since 2014, in part because fewer people are expected to travel.

Even with the 8% decline in fatalities in March, the council said road deaths were up 2% in the first quarter of 2020 compared with the same time period last year.
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, six leading state policy organizations joined Credential Engine to create the first State Policy Partnership focused on expanding credential transparency. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), Data Quality Campaign (DQC), Education Commission of the States (ECS), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), National Governors Association (NGA), State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), and Credential Engine will lead strategic state-level efforts in policy development, resource-building, and alignment.

Tens of millions of Americans will have to scramble to build new skills for a vastly different job market when the coronavirus pandemic eases. It's unfair to expect them to make smart choices without the information they need to sort through a confusing marketplace for work credentials after high school. In a September 2019 report, Credential Engine found that the United States has more than 738,000 unique credentials including diplomas, certificates, certifications, licenses, and degrees of all types and levels. The report called for more transparency in the education, training and jobs marketplace, from the competencies various credentials aim to convey to their relative value. This Partnership will build on work done to date in 16 states to build out the infrastructure to reveal the credential marketplace, increase credential literacy, and empower everyone to make more informed decisions about credentials and competencies and their value.

"State legislators are at the forefront of identifying and addressing how changes in work will affect their state's economies and workers," said Tim Storey, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures. "This Partnership will provide legislators with actionable information about innovation in education, the skills needed for success and the credentials that signal competence in the workplace."

"Governors are committed to building stronger pathways to economic opportunity for all of their residents. This State Policy Partnership is a vital, common-sense approach that will provide state leaders with the tools they need to demystify the world of professional credentials," said Amanda Winters, program director in the Economic Opportunity division of the NGA Center for Best Practices. "Through this partnership we're glad to support governors' ongoing efforts to build a marketplace for credentials that empowers learners and improves outcomes for businesses."

"This Partnership carries great potential to inform state policymakers in a new wayhelping to ensure the credentials available in their state align with the unique and evolving demands of their workforce," said Education Commission of the States President Jeremy Anderson. "We're excited to join the Partnership, which will put more actionable information into the hands of state education leaders, as well as employers and job-seekers."

Using a multi-pronged approach, the State Policy Partnership will collaborate with states to identify and capitalize on key opportunities to adopt and deliver credential transparency including awareness, inter-initiative alignment, data infrastructure, policy implementation, and sustainability. The Partnership will also work to support state efforts to better identify credentials of value, develop and disseminate models and lessons from leading states to serve as roadmaps, convene peer networks for governors, state boards, legislators, and agency heads to facilitate learning and shared efforts, and curate a collection of policy, communications, and technical resources.

"Education and economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the importance of ensuring that students and their families have information on the pathways available and potential outcomes of pursuing those credentials. Without transparency about the opportunities available to them and easy-to-find, actionable information about the skills needed for success in the workforce, students and families are left to make these life-altering decisions in the dark," said Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, president and CEO of The Data Quality Campaign. "Importantly, this partnership will advance and expand the amount of information available to families following the crisis and throughout recovery."

"Chiefs are committed to providing high quality career readiness pathways for all students," said Carissa Moffat Miller, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. "This partnership, part of CCSSO's ongoing career readiness work, will help guide state education leaders as they work with partners in business and higher education to identify credentials of value based on labor market information. This cross-sector approach will allow states to better support students and their families in making informed decisions on the opportunities and options available to reach their post-secondary academic and career goals."

"Credential Engine's State Policy Partnership represents a hopeful collaboration involving state policymakers to expand access to consequential information about postsecondary credentials. The work has implications for students and states, as education remains one of the most certain paths to a better life for states and their citizensindividuals, families, and entire communities. In addition to the considerable costs associated with pursuing postsecondary education (time and money), states will be challenged to achieve attainment goals and sustainable economic development without investing in their people," said SHEEO president Rob Anderson. "This State Policy Partnership is one systematic way to do just that. It's an investment in states' human capital. SHEEO is pleased to join with partner organizations to build credential literacy to the benefit of states and other stakeholders."

"State policymakers are searching for ways to help students and workers find the most efficient and cost-effective pathways to secure the right skills and credentials that lead to good jobs," said Scott Cheney, Executive Director of Credential Engine. "This Partnership demonstrates a first-of-its-kind commitment across a wide spectrum of education and workforce policy organizations to the idea that credential transparency is central to supporting these state efforts. With the proven technologies already in place, this Partnership is well-positioned to expand the capabilities of states to meet their educational and economic needs and make meaningful positive impacts for students and workers."

The announcement of the State Policy Partnership comes as Credential Engine has already garnered commitments to credential transparency from 17 state and regional partners since its official launch in December 2017. The Partnership will kick off efforts this year with select pilot partners and looks forward to growing state initiatives over the coming years.

Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to create credential transparency, reveal the credential marketplace, increase credential literacy, and empower everyone to make more informed decisions about credentials and their value. Credential Engine receives support from Lumina Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Walmart, Northrop Grumman Foundation, ECMC Foundation, Microsoft, the National Science Foundation, Siegel Family Endowment, and Google.org.

Credential Engine Contact: Scott Cheney [email protected]

Council of Chief State School Officers Contact: Carolyn Phenicie [email protected]

Data Quality Campaign Contact: Blair Mann [email protected]

Education Commission of the States Contact: Mandy Zatynski [email protected]

National Conference of State Legislatures Contact: Sunny Deye [email protected]

National Governors Association Contact: Amanda Winters [email protected]

State Higher Education Executive Officers Association Contact: Annahita Jimmerson [email protected]

SOURCE Credential Engine
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:



Turkmenistan discussed issues related to agricultural development with other Central Asian countries, Trend reports with reference to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.



The discussions were held between the ministers of agriculture of the Central Asian countries with the participation of representatives Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) via videoconference on May 19, 2020.

The agriculture ministers of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan made reports on the development of agriculture in the countries, as well as on implemented measures to ensure continuous food production.

The actions taken by the ministries of agriculture to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic on food security were also reviewed.

According to the ministry, the Turkmen delegation provided information about the country's agricultural policy. The measures taken in the country to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection and strengthen phytosanitary and veterinary control at the countrys state borders were highlighted.

FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia Vladimir Rakhmanin and Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia Viorel Gutu presented Food and Agriculture Organization's report on agricultural development and food security in Central Asia, which highlighted the need to maintain cooperation between the agricultural and food sectors of the region's countries.



FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Its main objective is to achieve food security for all and make sure that people have access to high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva
An Emmy-nominated Sydney cameraman has launched a foul-mouthed tirade after being sentenced for a raft of child sex offences.

Nathan Tomlinson, 39, was convicted in 2018 of 22 charges including having sex with two underage girls and producing and possessing child abuse material.

Tomlinson, 39, was convicted in 2018 of 22 charges including having sex with two underage girls and producing and possessing child abuse material.

In the Sydney District Court on Wednesday, Judge Penelope Wass jailed him for 13 years and six months with a non-parole period of eight years.

Tomlinson, of Mascot, who appeared via video link and spent most of the 90-minute hearing with his head in his hands, delivered an outburst as the judge left the courtroom.
Kolkata, one of Indias biggest and most historic cities, filled with graceful buildings hundreds of years old, sits directly in Cyclone Amphans path. By Wednesday afternoon, the streets were deserted.

No one is out there, said Jawhar Sircar, a retired government administrator who lives in the citys Gariahat neighborhood. He said the skies were gray and that it was drizzling outside, like London.

The precautions taken to reduce the spread of the coronavirus may have helped the city ready itself for the storm. Many of the 15 million or so people who live in the Kolkata metropolitan area had already been staying at home, obeying Indias lockdown rules.

Still, Kolkata officials were not taking any chances. They cleared out storm drains, shored up slum shanties with bamboo poles and removed objects like potted plants from roofs and balconies so they wouldnt turn into missiles.

In Kolkatas fancier neighborhoods, residents were being told to jam cloth into the rails of their sliding doors and windows  to make sure wind gusts didnt wrench them open  and to leave their parked cars in gear and with the emergency brake on so they didnt roll away.

Kolkata served as the capital of British India from 1772 to 1911, when New Delhi was chosen. It is usually spared the brunt of cyclones, as it lies more than 50 miles inland from the Bay of Bengal. The British wanted safety from the turbulent sea weather, Mr. Sircar explained.

By Wednesday afternoon, that turbulent weather was headed straight toward the city. Anand Sharma, the director of the India Meteorological Department, told NDTV that the bulk of the typhoon had moved a little further away from Kolkata, but that winds would batter the city until it reached Bangladesh on Thursday morning.
Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is not concerned about whether his films are seen in theatres or on a streaming platform as he believes that there are times when getting a proper release is in itself a huge achievement.

The actor's latest "Ghoomketu" is set to premiere on ZEE5 on May 22 after a series of delays. The film was completed in 2014.

Directed by Pushpendra Nath Mishra and produced by erstwhile Phantom Films and Sony Pictures Networks (SPN), the movie also features filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and actors Ila Arun, Raghubir Yadav, Swanand Kirkire and Ragini Khanna.

"When we were shooting this film, we shot it like how we shoot films for theatres. In today's time, I think OTT is the only way where people are able to watch films. So I don't personally think that it really matters to actors.

"And actors shouldn't be concerned about whether their films release on OTT or theatres anyway. The fact that our films are able to release is in itself a big thing," Nawazuddin told reporters in a virtual press conference.

The actor has been a long time collaborator of Kashyap as the duo have previously worked together on critically-acclaimed gangster movie "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Raman Raghav 2.0" and Netflix series "Sacred Games".

However, it is for the first time they have shared screen space as actors for a film.

Nawazuddin said it was an "interesting" experience because generally actors know where their co-stars will take a pause but it was difficult to predict the same with Kashyap.

"While it was a lot of fun, I was never able to consider him a character. I always felt he was Anurag. I would feel he might say, 'Cut' in between and because he is a director I also feared he would catch my mistakes. So there was a little fear when I worked with him as an actor," he said.

"Ghoomketu" is a comedy-drama told from the viewpoint of an inexperienced writer, played by Nawazuddin, struggling to make it big in the film industry in Mumbai.

When asked about his twenty years as an actor in the industry, Nawazuddin said he only started getting work in the last decade.

"The initial 10 years went by in struggle. My aim is just to keep on working, it doesn't matter if it's a small role. There are a lot of things that I still have to achieve in life."



The actor is in his hometown Budhana in Uttar Pradesh, where he travelled with his family amid the lockdown as his mother was unwell.

The 46-year-old actor said he has watched over 80 films ever since the coronavirus-forced lockdown started and believes his acting style will change once things are back to normal.

"It feels like there will be a new start for me once the lockdown is over," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New chapter: Gemma Barry and Liam Hanly, CEO of Eason, at the announcement of Dubrays sale to Eason in February

Bookseller Dubray Books paid out a dividend of 1.1m before the Barry family sold the business to Eason for an undisclosed sum.

New accounts for Dubray Books Ltd show that the business recorded post-tax profits of 581,946 in the 12 months to the end of August last. Profits were marginally down on the 587,598 made in the prior year.

Dubray - which records annual sales of over 9m - comprises of eight bookstores across the Greater Dublin Area and Galway and continues to operate under the Dubray brand as a stand-alone division within Eason following the February deal.

Subsequent to the end of last August, Dubray Books Ltd paid a 1.1m dividend to parent firm Finbar Investments, which is owned by the Barry family.

The shareholders of the company were Barry family members, Gemma Barry, Cormac Barry and Eoghan Barry.

On February 24th, Finbar Investments Ltd sold its shares to Eason Operations Ltd to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Eason company. A liquidator was appointed to Finbar Investments Ltd the same day, as part of a voluntary winding up of the company.

Accumulated profits at Dubray Books at the end of last August totalled 2.035m. The company's cash funds increased to 929,667 from 881,283 during the year while Dubray's workforce decreased to 85 from 92.

The profit last year took account of non-cash depreciation costs of 118,809. Pay to directors increased to 278,030 from 245,985 - made up of emoluments of 238,630, pension contributions of 15,160 and directors' national insurance of 24,240.

Commenting on the deal in February, Gemma Barry, said: "After nearly 50 years in business, the transition in ownership to Eason is a logical step for Dubray and it will secure the future of the Dubray brand as a specialist book retailer."

MD of Dubray, Maria Dickenson commented at the time: "This acquisition will be positive for the Irish book trade, ensuring that Irish publishing can continue to flourish with the support of local Irish-owned booksellers with wide customer appeal like Eason and the specialist credentials of Dubray."

Dubray's bricks and mortar stores are currently shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic but the firm continues to sell books online.

The business was boosted last year by the paperback release of Sally Rooney's publishing phenomenon 'Normal People', which was one of the best sellers here last year and has, according to Nielsen BookScan sold 46,861 paperback copies here clocking up a sales total of 450,118.
HIGHLAND PARK, N.J., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As mask wearing becomes more commonplace during the novel coronavirus pandemic, one central New Jersey audiology practice, The Hearing Center, is educating the public on how to ensure that those who are hard of hearing are not inadvertently left out of the conversation.

"Those with hearing loss are much more dependent on visual cues while communicating," said Eric Sandler, Sc.D., of The Hearing Center. "Our brains 'see' sound based on lip movement. Those cues are cut off visually when a mask is over your face."

Dr. Sandler demonstrating a clear mask.

Sandler and The Hearing Center are educating the public on the needs of those who are hard of hearing, whether they are diagnosed or not, and how wearing masks can have a serious impact on how others understand everyday conversation.

"Around 80 percent of people who have hearing loss are untreated, and they may only first realize they have an issue because of the masks," Sandler said. "It's not just those experiencing hearing challenges  everyone relies on visual cues in conversation."

While there are already some prototypes for masks with clear windows  and The Hearing Center staff is working on a model of its own  Sandler said there are certain environments where those masks may not be the best or safest option.

"The clear window can fog up with your breath, which defeats the purpose of see-through panels, especially because masks shouldn't be taken off, wiped, and put back on," Sandler said.

Until such a model is perfected and is widely available, Sandler recommends getting the attention of the person being spoken to before starting a conversation.

"Don't talk to the computer screen  face the person and speak directly to the individual in front of you, whether you work in a grocery store, a doctor's office, or anywhere else," Sandler said. "If you don't get their attention, they may not realize they're being spoken to at all." He also advised that patients can be asked to repeat back key points to make sure the intended message was understood.

Sandler also recommends utilizing talk to text apps, especially in medical settings where patients may not have a caregiver or family member to help them hear key information.

"Due to COVID-19, many doctor's offices, urgent care, emergency room, and hospital room settings are restricting visitors, which may mean that a hard-of-hearing individual may not have anyone to help advocate on their behalf," Sandler said. "A talk to type tool ensures that a patient gets every word you're saying, so they can make the proper decisions about their health."

Sandler said that navigating everyday conversation while wearing masks is a "new normal" that many may not even be aware is an issue, but through community education, Sandler and The Hearing Center can raise awareness and impart tips on how to navigate the new reality.

"These are strategies for the public to accommodate people with hearing loss in a world where people are wearing masks everywhere you go," Sandler said. "One of our goals is to make the public aware that there are steps you can take to help those who are struggling to understand everyday conversation."

The Hearing Center's Highland Park, Somerset, Clark, and Manalapan offices are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The audiology practice plans to reopen on June 8th with stringent COVID-19 infection control protocols. For more information about the practice or to receive updates on new opening hours and protocol, visit www.thcaudiology.com.

The Hearing Center is a full-service audiology practice for children and adults. Eric Sandler, Sc.D., is a sought-after speaker who delivers seminars at conferences around the U.S.

SOURCE The Hearing Center

Related Links

http://www.thcaudiology.com


Along with suspected patients of coronavirus, two dogs have also been quarantined at facilities in Bhopal and Tikamgarh districts of Madhya Pradesh.

In the Tikamgarh instance, the dog had to be taken to the quarantine centre along with 16 members and contacts of a family as they feared the pet would die alone at home. Meanwhile, the family in Bhopal quarantine centre agreed to shift to the facility only if their pet was allowed as well.

Two sisters from Tikamgarh, studying in Indore, had returned home on May 13 with two other girls. After taking their samples, authorities asked them to remain in home quarantine and their samples tested positive on Friday. The next day, the sisters were hospitalised and authorities reached their home to take their family members to the quarantine centre as well.

Since none of the neighbours agreed to keep the dog fearing the infection, the family requested the officers to allow them to take the pet. While senior officers initially rejected the demand, they later agreed. Those quarantined included the driver, the sisters friends, the house help, a milkman and others.

Meanwhile, at Bhopal's Mahaveer Medical College, which has been turned into a quarantine centre, the administration allowed the dog after the local family from Jahangirabad made the specific demand.

However, the dog on Tuesday night ate food packets meant for others, forcing them to request SDM Manoj Verma to bring in 10 additional packets.

After the officer asked for the reason, the inmates narrated their ordeal involving the dog, with some also fearing they may be bitten.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday announced the decision of the government to grant exemption from the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown measures to conduct board examination for classes 10 and 12. However, certain conditions will remain implemented like social distancing, face mask etc, for the safety of the students.

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Twitter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "Taking into consideration the academic interest of a large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th & 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask etc, for their safety."

Taking into consideration the academic interest of large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th & 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask etc, for their safety. pic.twitter.com/P4ULsmbPVv  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 20, 2020

Along with his tweet, Shah also attached a letter by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to all the Chief Secretaries of states describing the necessary conditions to conduct the examinations.

The letter stated that no examination centre will be permitted in the containment zone; wearing of face masks by teachers, staff and students will be mandatory; and there shall be a provision of thermal screening and sanitizer at the centres and social distancing in all the examination centres.

It added that in view of examination to be conducted by different boards, their examination schedules should be staggered and special buses may be arranged by the states and UTs for transportation of the students to the examination centres.

The letter also stated, "As you are aware, under the guidelines on lockdown measures, the opening of schools has been prohibited. As a result, annual board examinations being conducted by State Education Boards/ CBSE/ ICSE etc. for classes 10 and 12 have been suspended."

It added, "Requests have been received from the State Governments and CBSE for conducting the Board examinations and the matter has been examined in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Taking into consideration the academic interest of large number of students. it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board Examinations for Classes 10 and 12."
File Photo

New Delhi: The Ministry of Labour on Tuesday asked all departments of the Union government not to allow pregnant women and disabled employees for doing work.

PhotoThe Ministry of Labour has directed the Union Government Department not to allow pregnant women, disabled workers and employees already suffering from other ailments. This advice is given in view of the coronavirus.

Advertisement

The directive came at a time when 50 per cent of junior employees were allowed to start work a day earlier in the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic.

CoronavirusThe ministry said it had decided that government employees who were already battling other illnesses were being treated before the Lockdown took effect.

Whenever possible they should be exempted from roster duty after submitting the medical documents of the treating doctor.

Advertisement

Similarly, pregnant women and persons with disabilities cannot be included in the duty roster. The Ministry has issued these instructions to all Central Government Departments.
Rancher Ryan Kasko with his beef cattle, which are affected by a supply chain blockage caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks at meat-packing plants, in Coaldale, Alberta, Canada May 6, 2020. Picture taken May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Todd Korol

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as he looks to help U.S. ranchers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

The United States imports cattle from Mexico and Canada to supplement domestic supplies at lower prices and to slaughter in American plants run by companies like Tyson Foods Inc and JBS USA. Bans could reignite trade disputes.

"I read yesterday where we take some cattle in from other countries. We have trade deals. I think you should look at terminating those deals," Trump said. "We have a lot of cattle in this country."

Trump made the comments at a White House event held to discuss $19 billion in agricultural relief approved by Congress. He did not mention specific trade deals or countries when talking about cattle.

Live cattle imports come only from Mexico and Canada and are allowed under the terms of Trump's newly renegotiated North American trade pact.

"It was something I wish the president hadn't said," said Marty Smith, president of the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef Association, who attended the event. He added the suggestion may have resulted from a misunderstanding.

Oswaldo Chazaro, head of Mexican cattle confederation CNOG, said that while he respected Trump's opinion, many years had been spent developing an integrated beef market in which all consumers benefit.

"More thought should be given to keeping this healthy, balanced trade in both directions," said Chazaro.

He added about 1.2 million Mexican cows were sold to U.S. buyers last year, while Mexican firms are buying growing volumes of U.S. beef.

A potential ban could increase competition for U.S. beef exports if Mexico and Canada keep more cattle at home and process them, said Derrell Peel, livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University.

"Obviously, if we just ban Mexican and Canadian cattle, they're not going to take that kindly," Peel said.

Mexico's beef industry expects exports to the United States to grow by double digits this year after the pandemic hobbled American meat plants.

Last year, Mexico was the third-biggest foreign beef supplier to the United States, behind Australia and Canada.

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association described U.S.-Canada beef trade as both "integral" and "mutually beneficial" in a statement posted on its website.

Separately, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the Trump administration would provide aid to ranchers who had been forced to euthanize livestock.
Representative Image

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

A change of guard at an industry association is normally a matter of routine, but not at the Indian Steel Association (ISA).

On May 19, the ISA appointed Dillip Oommen, the CEO of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, as its president in an extraordinary board meeting. The circumstances were surely extraordinary.

The meeting had to be called after Tata Steel Managing Director & Global CEO TV Narendran had stepped down as the president on May 1, just a couple of months before the due end his tenure. It was probably the first time in the history of the association that a sitting president had stepped down.

Not just that. Tata Steel, the largest Indian steelmaker, also withdrew as a member of the Association, which plays a crucial role as a bridge between the industry and policymakers.

Narendran's resignation and Tata Steel's withdrawal point to a bitter divide among the industry players, say senior executives from the industry. "It was Tata Steel on one side, and the rest of the members, on the other," is how one senior executive explained it.

Responding to a query from Moneycontrol, Tata Steel spokesperson said:

"Tata Steel has withdrawn its membership from the India Steel Association (ISA) owing to various considerations. Accordingly, Mr. T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, has stepped down from his position as the incumbent President, ISA."

What were those considerations that prompted Narendran, and Tata Steel, to take the extreme step?

The all important mines

It all boiled down to one question:

What should be the association's response to the government's plan to advance the termination of captive mine leases to 2025 from 2030?

Tata Steel was against advancing the termination. On the other hand, the rest of the members, including JSW Steel, were for it, said a senior executive from the industry. Public sector company, SAIL and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel - earlier Essar Steel - are also part of the ISA.

It is a crucial issue for the Indian steel sector. And, it is not difficult to see why Tata Steel was against the move.

The company's very foundation and legacy are tied to the discovery of iron ore in India. It was the discovery of the raw material in the eastern part of India, that led Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Group, to set up India's first steel company.

For over a century, Tata Steel made the most of that first-mover advantage. The company, along with SAIL, were the only steelmakers in the country to have captive iron ore. The rest, including JSW Steel and Essar Steel, had to buy the all important raw material used in steelmaking, from the open market.

But, things changed when the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR Act) was amended in 2015. Consequently, by the beginning of 2020, points out a research note by CRISIL, mines with more than 640 million tons of iron ore have been auctioned in three years.

Moreover, earlier in 2020, the government proposed to terminate the captive mine leases by 2025, instead of the original timeline of 2030.

Tata Steel, which meets all its iron ore requirements from captive mines, will be the most hit. Not just that it will have to compete with the likes of JSW Steel - whose founder Sajjan Jindal has aggressively bid till now - and the bids have been extremely high. JSW Steel, for instance, will pay a premium of over Rs 130, for every Rs 100 of ore it produces from the mines in Odisha.

At rates as high as this, Tata Steel will lose its traditional advantage and its profitability will take a dent. For Narendran, whose second term at the helm gets over in 2023, maintaining the company's traditional advantage will be one his biggest priorities.
Interim U.S. attorney Timothy J. Sheas two most prominent actions have upheld the rule of law against attempts by federal prosecutors to subvert the criminal justice system for political ends. First, he objected to a seven- to-nine year sentencing recommendation for an elderly white-collar defendant. The only reason the line prosecutors recommended this sentence is that the defendant was Roger Stone. The Obama-appointed federal judge imposed a 40-month sentence. Second, Mr. Shea moved to dismiss the criminal charges for lying to the FBI brought against a former government official who thought the interview was an informal discussion with law enforcement officials. A former federal prosecutor and FBI agent, reviewing the prosecution, concluded that the charges were baseless because the FBI interview notes indicated the agents did not think the defendant was lying. The only reason the case was pursued is that the defendant was Michael Flynn and he was central to the political narrative that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russian agents.
SRINAGAR: Two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants, one of them serving as the outfits divisional commander, were killed in a 10-hour-long gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar on Tuesday. Five security personnel were injured, one of them critically, in the clash.

Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, termed it as a major success of the security forces combating a three-decade old insurgency in J&K and confirmed that among the slain is Junaid Ashraf Khan, son of prominent separatist leader and amir of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat party Muhammd Ashraf Sehrai who is a close confidante of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

The other militant killed with him during the fire fight in Srinagars densely populated Dana Mazaar locality has been identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh, a resident of southern Pulwama district.

Junaid went missing on March 23, 2018 after he left his Srinagar home to offer Friday prayers at a nearby mosque. Next day, the family reported the matter to the police but soon a photograph showing 26-year-old Junaid, who had done MBA from University of Kashmir, holding an AK 47 assault rifle went viral on social media. The message posted with it said that Junaid had joined Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the frontline indigenous militant group.

The fighting broke out overnight after the security forces laid siege to Dana Mazaar on receiving intelligence input about the presence of the militant duo in a private house which was being used as a hideout. Soon after the fighting ended, people in large numbers took to the streets to protest. The police used force to disperse them, which led to clashes between stone-pelting mobs and security forces in the neighbourhood, the witnesses said.

Some of the residents alleged that the security forces looted gold ornaments and other valuables from their home after they had fled to safety. The authorities strongly denied it and said that the security forces, in fact, evacuated several families to safety to avoid harm coming to them. It being a congested area, the J&K police together with the CRPF before launching the operation to flush out terrorists, evacuated people living in the nearby houses to safe locations, said a police officer.

A resident said that the security forces arrived in the areas at around 2 am. Shortly after the area was brought under siege, mobile internet and mobile telephony services, except on BSNL post-paid, were snapped in Srinagar. Fighting broke out between the holed up militants and the security forces, soon.

The locals said that the J&K police and CRPF fired bombs and also used automatic weapons in the fight assault against holed up militants, causing destruction of the private house and damage to a few more. The police sources confirmed that the house in which the militants were hiding was blasted. DG police said that two weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the site of the encounter.

Though several parts of Kashmir Valley, particularly southern districts, have witnessed encounters between the security forces and militants routinely, it was the first such clash in Srinagar. The last time the city witnessed a fire fight between security forces and militants was in October 2018, in which top Lashkar-e-Tayyaba commander Merajuddin Bangroo was killed along with his close associate Faiz Ahmed Waza and the owner of the house in which the militant duo was hiding.
<! Nigerian doctors attending to Coronavirus patient >

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The World Health Organisation, WHO, on Wednesday announced that 90,000 Africans are now infected with the deadly Coronavirus.

WHO Regional Office for Africa in Brazzaville, Congo, gave the update on its official twitter account @WHOAFRO.

The organisation added that 35,000 Africans inflicted with the virus had recovered and discharged.

It disclosed that 2,885 deaths had been recovered so far since the epidemic broke out in the continent.

Over 90,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on the African continent  with more than 35,000 recoveries and 2,885 deaths, it said.

In the figures released by WHO, South Africa topped the chat with 17,200 infections and 312 deaths, while Egypt, with 12,764 cases and 645 deaths came second and Algeria, with 7,377 cases and 561 deaths came third.

Morocco, with 6,972 cases and 193 deaths came fourth, just as Nigeria, with 6,401 cases and 192 deaths is fifth and Ghana, with 6,096 confirmed cases and 31 deaths came sixth.

Cameroon, with 3,529 cases with 140 deaths; Guinea, with 2,863 cases and 18 deaths; Senegal, with 2,617 cases and 30 deaths and Sudan, with 2,591 cases and 105 deaths came seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.

Some others are: Cote dIvoire, 2,153 cases and 28 deaths; DRC, 1,731 cases and 60 deaths; Somalia, 1,502 cases and 59 deaths; Gabon, 1,502 cases and 12 deaths, among others.
MINNEAPOLIS - A blood test may help predict which people with multiple sclerosis (MS) will get worse during the following year, according to a study published in the May 20, 2020, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"In a disease like MS that is so unpredictable and varies so much from one person to the next, having a noninvasive blood test like this could be very valuable, especially since treatments are most effective in the earliest stages of the disease," said study author Ali Manouchehrinia, PhD, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

The blood test looks for a biomarker called neurofilament light chain, a nerve protein that can be detected in the blood when nerve cells die.

The study involved 4,385 people with MS and 1,026 people matched for age and sex who did not have MS. The level of the biomarker in the blood was tested in all of the participants. The participants were followed to see which people with MS got worse during the following year and then which reached continued, increased levels of disability over a total of five years. They also looked at whether people with high levels of the protein were more likely to develop worsening of disability during the following years, and later a more serious stage of the disease, called secondary progressive MS.

The people with MS had an average of 11.4 picograms per milliliter (pg/ml) of the nerve protein in their blood compared to an average of 7.5 pg/ml for the people who did not have MS.

The people with MS with high levels of the protein were 40% to 70% more likely to have worsening disability during the next year than those with low levels of the protein. These results took into account other factors that could affect their risk of worsening disability, such as how long they had the disease and how often they were having relapses at the start of the study.

The people with high protein levels were also 50% more likely to reach either a level of moderate disability that affected daily activities but not walking ability, or significant disability that impaired walking but still meant people were able to walk without help or rest for 500 meters. A total of 525 people reached the moderate level of disability, or 16%, and 352 people, or 9% reached significant disability.

The researchers found that high protein levels were not consistently associated with a greater risk of more significant disability, defined as needing a cane or crutch to walk 100 meters, or with the risk of developing secondary progressive MS.

"These results suggest that elevated levels of these proteins measured early on in the course of the disease may help us to predict how the disease will develop and monitor how treatment is working," Manouchehrinia said. "More research is needed before a blood test could be used routinely in the clinical setting, but our results are encouraging."

He said that a limitation of the study was that the level of the nerve protein varied significantly and overlapped between the people with MS and the people without the disease, and it is likely that the levels are influenced by other factors, such as other medical conditions, that were not analyzed in the study.

###

The study was supported by the Swedish Municipality and County Council, Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, Biogen, Genzyme, Novartis, Swedish Research Council, European Union and other foundations.

Learn more about multiple sclerosis at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contacts:

Renee Tessman, rtessman@aan.com, (612) 928-6137

M.A. Rosko, mrosko@aan.com, (612) 928-6169
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has warned that Israeli annexations in the occupied West Bank would spell the end of all security coordination, as international opposition to the plans grows.

US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday became the latest high-profile figure to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to Jewish settlements and the strategic Jordan Valley, which makes up around 30 percent of the West Bank.

Palestinians say any annexation would put an end to their hopes of an independent state alongside Israel, the so-called two-state solution.

In a speech late Tuesday, Abbas said the annexation plans showed Israel was no longer abiding by peace accords between the two.

As such, he said, the Palestinian government was "absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones."

Abbas did not go into detail about the implications of such a step but it is his strongest card in a very weak hand as he seeks to pressure Israel to hold back.

The 85-year-old has made multiple previous threats to end security cooperation with Israel without ultimately following through.

A genuine end to security coordination could jeapordise the relative calm in the West Bank, where 2.7 million Palestinians live alongside more than 400,000 Israeli settlers.

Israel controls all access to the territory where Abbas's government is based and even basic tasks require coordination between the two sides.

Abbas even needs coordination to travel from Ramallah, where the government is based, to any other Palestinian city.

Tareq Baconi of the International Crisis Group think-tank said the Palestinian leadership had provided little clarity about what ending security coordination would mean.

"The impact isn't just freedom of movement, it is everything, even where food supply lines come from," he said. "It can't be dismantled overnight."

Story continues

In reality, he said, Abbas was seeking to build pressure on Israel to tone down annexation plans.

Hugh Lovatt, Israel-Palestine analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations, agreed.

"We have been here before, many times. Abbas has yet to follow through, emptying such threats of any potential deterrence," he said.

"Yet, as annexation looms his declaration should nonetheless be interpreted as one last desperate shot across the bow."

- International opposition -

Netanyahu has been emboldened by the staunch support of President Donald Trump, whose controversial peace plan released in January gave Israel US blessing to annex swathes of the West Bank.

But Trump's challenger in November's presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden, on Tuesday declared his opposition to annexation, saying it would undermine hopes for peace.

Under the coalition agreement Netanyahu signed with rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz, the two can bring annexation to cabinet for discussion from July 1.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, one of only two Arab states to have signed a peace deal with Israel, warned last week annexation would put it on course for a "conflict" with his country.

Britain, Germany and other European governments have also come out in firm opposition to the annexation plans.

Former Israeli ambassador to Jordan, Oded Eran, said Israel was wary of jeopardising relations with the king.

Netanyahu's centrist coalition partner Gantz is far less keen on annexation than the prime minister and could also hold it back, Eran said.
Another employee of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tested COVID-19 positive. SEBI has shut down its headquarters for five days from May 20-25.

SEBI will run their headquarters from NCL office premises during this time.

The SEBI official, who tested positive, had earlier worked in the Forward Market Commission and shifted to SEBI after FMC merged with SEBI. This is the second SEBI employee to test COVID-19 positive.

SEBI sent communications on May 19 late evening, saying, "As you may be aware, we have parallel office infrastructure at NCL Cooperative Society, Bandra Kurla complex, Bandra (East). The competent authority has advised that we should use the parallel infrastructure available with us to test our capability to function from said premises, in a short notice".

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

The communication further said, "Staff members who intend to work from office, may send their requests through the concerned Executive Director to CGM (FMD)/ED (Administration) for making necessary seating arrangements at NCL office premises. Only bare minimum staff members who are required to be physically present in the office may work from NCL office premises and the rest may operate from home".

This is the second time in May that SEBI is shutting down its headquarter buildings. Earlier, on May 8, it shut down its headquarters for three days for sanitisation after a junior officer had tested positive for COVID-19.

SEBI has been working almost in full swing from April 16. Even earlier, SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi was coming to office almost on a daily basis. Along with the SEBI chairman, whole-time members and respective executive directors and the chief general manager were also coming to the office.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here
20 May  Rhian Ramos recently admitted that she misses her family so much, having been away from them since the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) that was imposed early this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As reported on PEP, the actress who spoke to the media about her current well-being, stated that she has not seen mum Clara Ramos and sister Nadine Howell for the past two months, as she is currently in quarantine in Taguig with her businessman boyfriend Amit Borsok.

"My sister is in Makati with her husband, and my mum is alone in Alabang," she said.

Asked if she has been communicating with them every day, Ramos said that she tried to do so as often as she can with her mother, while she would speak to her sister at least once a week.

"But at least I know that they are only a few kilometres away, unlike when I was in New York City. When I was in New York, there was a big earthquake here in the Philippines, and then you know the feeling that you don't know the situation, and I was very worried for my family. So now at least we are in the same time zone," she said.

(Photo Source: Rhian Ramos Instagram)
The number of overseas visitors to Japan dropped 99.9 per cent in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said a report.

Only 2,900 foreign visitors people travelled to Japan in April, the largest drop on records dating back to 1964, said a report in Bloomberg citing the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Japan has imposed an entry ban to visitors from 100 countries, including China, the US and all of Europe.

With no end of the global pandemic in sight, Japans tourist sector is set for a prolonged slump, affecting revenue across a broad number of sectors.

Before the pandemic, tourism had been enjoying healthy growth rates. An estimated 31.9 million people visited Japan in 2019, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, the JNTO said.
Extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan' made a landfall at Digha in West Bengal on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction which led to the death of two persons in the state.

The cyclone with wind speed of 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph coupled with heavy rain hit the Digha coast in East Medinipur district around 2.30 pm, officials said.

Two women were killed in Howrah district and Minakhan area of North 24 Parganas district due to uprooting of trees, an official said.

The landfall process would continue for four hours, bringing in its wake heavy rain and triggering three-five metres of tidal waves, the MeT department said.

The cyclone barreled through coastal districts of West Bengal, unleashing copious rain and windstorm, blowing away thatched houses, uprooting trees, electric poles and swamping low lying towns and villages, officials said.

The cyclone's impact was felt in Kolkata as a medium to heavy rainfall was recorded, and several trees and electric poles were uprooted, causing power cut and road blockade in many areas.

Continuous downpour since the early hours of Wednesday led to waterlogging in some streets and low-lying areas of the metropolis.

The cyclone is likely to weaken and move through Nadia and Murshidabad districts as a cyclonic storm and then into Bangladesh as a deep depression on Thursday morning, the meteorological department said.

Despite losing its force since Tuesday, the storm that was earlier categorised as super cyclone' still had enough strength to ravage large parts of coastal Bengal with the Sunderbans, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, being badly hit.

The cyclone is still on and will continue for a few more hours. We are assessing the situation, a senior state official said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is camping at state secretariat Nabanna since Tuesday night, reviewed the situation and gave necessary instructions to her officials.

West Bengal has so far shifted more than 3 lakh people to safer places.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has distributed more than 2 lakh masks among the evacuees, and personal protective equipment (PPE) kits have been handed out to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel who have been deployed in the vulnerable areas, a senior official said.

North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts are two COVID-19 hotspots with a large number of positive cases reported.

The state has put the coastal districts of East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas, including the Sundarbans on high alert, Disaster Management Minister Javed Khan said.

A team of Indian Navy divers has been stationed at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district with specialised equipment and can be rushed for rescue missions as and when required, a defence spokesman said.

The cyclone, officials fear, will cause large-scale damage to crops and plantations, and disrupt electricity and communication lines.

The Eastern Railway (ER) has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express train scheduled for Wednesday. The New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on Thursday has also been cancelled, railway officials said.

Cargo and evacuation flight operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended till 5 am of Thursday due to the cyclonic storm, airport officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hong Kong: Cross-boundary student plan drafted

An initial implementation plan has been formulated on the feasibility of class resumption for about 2,500 cross-boundary secondary students, the Education Bureau said today.

The plan followed discussions between the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenzhen, the bureau said, noting that the Hong Kong SAR Government will remain vigilant in its preventive and control measures despite signs that the COVID-19 situation has eased in Hong Kong.

Noting that there are 27,000 cross-boundary students this school year, the bureau said health risks posed to the residents of Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be taken into account when considering whether and how they could resume schooling in Hong Kong.

With due regard to their learning needs, a range of issues related to immigration control, epidemic prevention and control policies and transport arrangements are also involved, it added.

Exemption from the 14-day compulsory quarantine and class resumption arrangement on a controlled basis should be granted for cross-boundary students, while the safety and health of students, teachers and the public is also of paramount importance.

In view of those considerations, the Government will explore the feasibility of class resumption by phases, with a pilot run involving about 2,500 cross-boundary students enrolled in Secondary 3 to 5 in the first phase.

These students, being relatively mature and with better self-care ability, can take care of themselves when travelling across the boundary and take transport without being escorted. The class resumption for them will therefore be smoother, the bureau said.

According to the initial plan, S3 to S5 cross-boundary students can travel via Shenzhen Bay Port or Futian / Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Port from Monday to Friday for attending school and returning home.

The limited opening of Futian / Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Port is only for the students' immigration clearance and is not applicable to other travellers.

To avoid unnecessary social contact, upon their arrival in Hong Kong the students will take school buses to school, then return to the boundary control points.

They will be subject to the health protection measures of the two places when travelling across the boundary every day, including temperature checks and submission of health declarations to Department of Health staff.

They also need to undergo the health and precautionary surveillance to be implemented by schools during school time, and present a negative nucleic acid test result with a validity of seven days to the Shenzhen authority.

As class resumption involves immigration control of the two places, epidemic prevention and control policies and transport arrangements, the Education Bureau will continue to co-ordinate with different parties to enable the first batch of cross-boundary secondary students to attend schools in Hong Kong as early as possible.

Since a number of the fine implementation details have yet to be finalised, the new arrangement may not come into effect on May 27. In the meantime, schools and teachers are advised to continue their support for students to learn at home by helping them and their parents through diversified modes of learning.

The Education Bureau has sent letters to all secondary schools and special schools with a secondary section requesting them to ask parents for the relevant information so that the departments concerned can consider as soon as possible the feasibility of the initial implementation plan.

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
20 May 2020

Type Media Article



The Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP) has been monitoring water quality in the river outlets of six catchments every 10 minutes for over 10 years. By Per-Erik Mellander and ACP team.



The Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP), funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, was introduced in 2008 to evaluate the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) of the Nitrates Directive in Ireland, and to provide scientific evidence for policy decisions.

The ACP has been monitoring water quality in the river outlets of six catchments every 10 minutes for over 10 years. There is a potential for each monitoring station, at the outlet of each catchment, to capture up to 420,000 data points per year. This wealth of water quality data is unique and has provided an improved understanding of catchment science; in terms of nutrient sources, pathways, delivery to water and impacts to aquatic ecology and how this is affected by farm management under the Nitrates Directive.

These monitoring sites also serve as an educational platform for visiting students and for engagement with farmers and stakeholders (Figure 1). Data can be viewed in real-time and data trends can be presented and linked to weather situations and farming events. In 2018, the ACP hosted over 40 groups visiting the monitoring sites.



Figure 1: Meeting at the monitoring site by the outlet of Timoleague catchment.

Out-door river laboratories

The experimental design of the ACP includes out-door laboratories in the catchments river outlets (Figure 2). These pump up water from the river for onsite analysis of total phosphorus and reactive phosphorus concentrations using an automated Phosphax analyser. The sites are also equipped with optical sensors that monitor the water for nitrate, carbon concentration, and turbidity. The turbidity is used to estimate the sediment concentration. Other sensors monitor the water temperature and electrical conductivity. Each site in the catchments river outlet is also equipped to monitor the river flow at the same time-interval as the hydrochemistry. The mass load of nutrients lost from the catchment in the river can be derived by multiplying the river flow with concurrent concentrations of nutrients.



Figure 2: High temporal resolution water quality monitoring equipment and site.

There is a weather station in the centre of each catchment that records rainfall and other standard meteorological parameters such as air temperature, soil temperature, relative air humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and wind direction. Some of those parameters are used to estimate the potential evapotranspiration. The latest daily data from the weather stations can be viewed and downloaded at: https://www.acpmet.ie/

What have we learned?

Near continuous monitoring of water quality assures us that we are not missing any events and minimises the risk of data being skewed by few samples. It has provided us with insights to water quality during both baseflow conditions and flow events throughout the year. Even subtle water quality changes linked to reduced soil P pressures have been detected. Long-time continuous data has also provided insights to the importance of how large-scale weather systems have influenced yearly nutrient concentrations in rivers, which helps with the interpretation of trends in water quality and their causes. High frequency time-series of nutrient mass load has facilitated the ACP to provide new analytical methods to both identify and quantify nutrient transfer pathways and to understand processes taking place along the pathways. It has also helped to validate soil P critical source area models in the catchments.

Near continuous water quality data has been useful to test other sampling schemes such as passive samplers designed for flow-proportional sampling, to develop optimal sampling strategies, and to develop or test low-cost proxy parameters. It has also been used to interpret low frequency sampling of pollutants for which techniques to monitor at high time resolution are not easily available/accessible, for example faecal indication organisms, pharmaceutical and pesticides.

In the new funding period of our programme (2020  2023) these data rich, but relatively small catchments areas, can be used to extrapolate to larger areas where less data is available. It is important to understand what the underlying causes of observed water quality trends are and it will be useful to build robust numerical models of the ACP catchments to extrapolate to future conditions and assess the impact of changing climate and farming scenarios. Another aim is to use the gained knowledge to build decision support tools for managing nutrients and to identify appropriate mitigation strategies.

Additional resources



At the outlet of each catchment, a wide range of parameters including water flow, phosphorus and nitrate are being measured on a near-continuous basis since 2009.



Programme Chief Scientist Per-Erik Mellander describes how the high resolution monitoring of the water quality increases the understanding of nutrient loss stating We have an outdoor lab  bankside analyser - that takes the sample from the stream and analyses it for phosphorous and nitrate ... and by now we have almost a decade of sub-hourly measurements in all the catchments.

View more videos from the Teagasc ACP team here | Follow @TeagascACP on twitter or the hashtag #TeagascJC
Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required!

Stay logged in to skip the surveys.
UN official says militants from Syria being sent to fight in Libya

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 2:29 PM

United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen says militants from the Arab country are being sent to Libya to fight on both sides of the conflict there.

"Let us remember that Syria's instability reverberates elsewhere, too  including as far as Libya, given reports of fighters being recruited in Syria in large numbers and sent to fight on both sides of that conflict," Pedersen said in an online UN Security Council meeting on Monday, Russia's TASS reported.

For the past six years, Libya has been split between two rival camps, namely the UN-recognized government, and another camp based in the eastern city of Tobruk, supported militarily by rebel forces under the command of a military strongman named Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar is supported by the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, and launched a deadly offensive to capture Tripoli, the seat of the government, in April last year. His forces haven't been able to advance past the city's outskirts.

Turkey has previously been reported to recruit and dispatch allied militants from Syria to fight on behalf of the Libyan government.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed the presence of those militants in Libya.

Last week, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Turkey-backed militant groups in Syria had sent teenage militants to Libya.

Libyan army defeats rebels near Tunisia border

On Tuesday, the Libyan army announced that it had retaken two towns from the rebels under Haftar's command near the Tunisian border.

According to a Libyan army statement carried by Turkey's state Anadolu news agency, the towns of Badr and Tij were liberated.

Footage from local media also showed Libyan military vehicles purportedly entering Badr.

A day earlier, government forces had retaken the strategic al-Watiya airbase, south of Tripoli.

Watiya was seized by Haftar's rebels in August 2014 and had been used as the strongman's headquarters ever since.

Libya plunged into chaos in 2011 when a popular uprising and a NATO intervention led to the ouster of long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber chief executive Louise Bennett. Photo submitted

Business leaders in Warwickshire have urged the Government to provide clear and early guidance to the leisure and hospitality sector so they can prepare to restart operations in the summer.

The call comes from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce on the back of the British Chambers of Commerces (BCC) latest Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker which was conducted between May 13 and May 15.

The latest survey showed that the majority of respondents (83 per cent) reported high levels of awareness of the governments new workplace guidance as sectors of the economy begin to reopen gradually.

Just over a third (37 per cent) of respondents said that they could fully restart operations by implementing the government guidance, while 45 per cent said they could do so partially. However, due to social distancing guidelines, it is likely that many firms will see a reduction in demand and will not be able to restart at full capacity.

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: The phased restarting of the economy is going to take time as health remains the number one priority and businesses are having to adapt to the new guidance.

The latest tracker shows that the majority firms returning to the workplace in the past week are aware of the guidance that has been issued by Government for them to operate safely.

The leisure and hospitality sector, it is hoped, will be able to begin to open up from July and wed urge Government to offer them clear, early guidance on the measures they will need to take in order for them to be able to get ready for that.

This sector is also going to require continued support because it is going to take time before it can get close to the kind of business being done before Covid-19 struck.

BCC Director General Dr Adam Marshall said: While businesses have welcomed the publication of official guidance on how they can reopen premises and restart operations, some sectors still require greater clarity from the government on when and how they will be allowed to do so. This is particularly the case for hospitality and leisure companies, which will not reopen before July at the earliest.

Companies at all levels of readiness to restart, of all sizes, and in every part of the UK will need sustained government support as they navigate the new normal with reduced demand and restrictions still in place. Many support schemes will need to be adapted and updated, but must not be withdrawn prematurely.
President Trump, Russia and OPEC have been hard at work trying to send oil prices higher. The regimes of all the countries are endangered if oil repeats its collapse in price.

Oil prices took an enormous nose-dive as the full effects of the first wave of the coronavirus and the resulting deadly disease COVID-19 forced tremendous shutdowns of activity around the globe. So when U.S. crude inventories suddenly declined for the first time since January, easing pressure on storage capacity, the black gold started to rally in price.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) U.S., crude stockpiles fell by 745,000 barrels last week, and gasoline stockpiles fell by 3.5 million barrels. Analysts who had been surveyed on their expectations by S&P Global Platts were expecting a 4.8 million-barrel increase in crude inventories with a 2.5 million-barrel decline in gasoline stockpiles.

The sudden decline in oil inventories was reported after the prior three weeks saw increases of 4.6 million, 9 million and 15 million, respectively.

The EIA also reported a 3-million-barrel drawdown at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub, reducing the risk of U.S. oil prices going negative again. Meanwhile, U.S. crude production fell slightly to 11.6 million barrels per day (bpd) from 11.9 million bpd in the prior week, and down sharply from a high of 13 million in March.









Fears of stockpile buildups overwhelming U.S. storage capacity sent West Texas Intermediate into negative territory for the first time last month, as oil traders grew desperate to unload futures contracts. Still, U.S. oil prices fell 1.9% to settle at $25.29 per barrel, and Brent crude dropped 2.6% to settle at $29.19 per barrel, as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned of downside risks to the economy.

The run-up in oil prices in our view at Wall Street Rebel is a con game and the result of market manipulation. Trumps adding to the U.S. national reserve, while Russia and OPEC are hiding negative numbers, has allowed a rally to take place when the supply-demand picture is likely to favor oil prices well under $20 a barrel. If the United States is forced into a second shutdown, the world price of oil could conceivably dip below $15 a barrel in our view.

The decision by OPEC+ members to make output cuts to reduce global supply by 9.7 million bpd earlier this month is not nearly enough to compensate for the tremendous glut in the world oil market. Especially when you consider the terms of the deal OPEC+ is scheduled to raise its oil production starting in July slowly. The first increase in production will reduce the organizations output cuts to 7.7 million bpd by the end of the year. Increasing production in July without world economic activity being fully restored to pre-pandemic levels is just going to set up  another oil market price collapse.

Saudi Arabia realizes this rally oil is a con job, evidenced by its assertion yesterday that it intends to cut another 1 million bpd from its production in June, bringing its total daily output down to 7. 5 million bpd. The danger of driving oil prices down to $15 bpd has even persuaded Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also to pledge to scale back production further.

The next OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for June 9-10, while Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak spoke on the phone today to discuss their continued commitment to the OPEC+ output cuts. the ministers said in a joint statement.

We are also pleased with the recent signs of improvements in economic and market indicators, especially the growth in oil demand and the ease in concerns about storage limits as various countries around the globe begin to emerge from their stringent lockdowns.

Our sister publication World Opportunity Investor that costs just $72 a year is about to recommend a leveraged oil play that we thing will jump 100% as the folly of this rally of oil continues. The rally in the price of oil is all mirrors at this point. Another big worry is Chinas suddenly locking down another 100 million people in response to a second wave of the coronavirus showing up in Northeast China.

Here in the United States, it appears that President Trump and his GOP sycophants are determined to escalate the U.S. China Trade War. A few minutes ago, The United States Senate approved by unanimous consent legislation that could bar some Chinese companies from being listed on U.S. stock exchanges amid increasingly tense relations between the worlds two largest economies.

The bill, introduced by Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, and Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, would require companies to certify that they are not under the control of a foreign government.

If the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is not able to audit the company for three consecutive years to determine that it is not under the control of a foreign government, the companys securities would be banned from the exchange. Senator Kennedy said on the Senate floor 

I do not want to get into a new Cold War; (all he wants is for) China to play by the rules.

The senators on both sides of the aisle understand that Chinas form of government makes it impossible for any company operating or founded in China not to be under the control of the government.

While the U.S. stock market hasnt reacted adversely to the Senate vote today, the potential for a new crisis is building that may not escalate to a Cold War but instead into a red hot military conflict.

We at Wall Street Rebel urge investors to close their long positions. This rally is going to come to an end and reverse violently if China isnt willing to play President Trumps game of chicken. In many ways, we are in the same position President Truman found himself in. He realized war with China could not be won without a thermonuclear war that would risk the extinction of humanity.





Why oil is up 80% in a month?








President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to hold up federal funds for two battleground states because they are trying to make it easier to vote during the coronavirus pandemic.

The president's tweets targeting Michigan and Nevada were his latest salvo against voting by mail, a practice that he has publicly worried will lead so many people to vote that Republicans will lose in November.

Trump began by targeting Michigan, erroneously describing Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's announcement Tuesday that she would send absentee ballot applications to every voter in the state.

Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election, Trump tweeted Wednesday. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path! Trump later made a similar threat against Nevada, which has actually sent ballots to voters for its June 9 state primary, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A federal judge recently cleared Nevada's decision to mail ballots, which were sent by the Republican secretary of state.

State of Nevada 'thinks' that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can't! If they do, 'I think' I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections, Trump tweeted.

It was not immediately clear what funds Trump was referencing. The states are paying for their elections changes through coronavirus relief spending measures the president signed into law. Trump tagged his acting budget director, his chief of staff and the Treasury Department on the tweets.

Trump's threats drew an immediate sharp response from Democrats, who alluded to impeaching the president for his threats to withhold aid from Ukraine if that country did not help his reelection effort.

Trump has gone Ukraine on Michigan and Nevada, threatening to cut off funding for their audacity to not make voters choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to vote," California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, said in a statement. We will not allow our democracy to become a casualty of this pandemic.

Trump has been vocal about his opposition to voting by mail, claiming the practice is ripe for fraud although there is scant evidence of widespread wrongdoing with mail-in voting. Trump himself requested a mail ballot for Florida's GOP primary last month and he has voted absentee in previous elections.

While Republicans insist that Trump's position on the issue is nuanced and not simply an effort to suppress Democratic votes, the president undermined those arguments Wednesday morning.

Benson noted Trump was objecting to her doing something that Republicans are also doing in other states. "'Hi! I also have a name, it's Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia,' she tweeted at the president.

On Monday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel portrayed the party's $20 million campaign against Democratic efforts to expand mail voting as principled stance to protect the sanctity of the ballot.

McDaniel said she had no objection to a system like the one Benson would announce the next day because there is a difference between sending all voters a form to request a ballot as opposed to the actual ballot.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 06:02:41|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SANAA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 fighters were killed on Wednesday as the Yemeni government army defeated an attack by the Houthi rebels in the central province of Bayda, a government security source told Xinhua.

The Houthi attack targeted the positions of the government forces in Kaniyah area in northeast of Bayda.

The fighting lasted hours, leaving at least 14 rebels and four soldiers killed and dozens from both sides injured, the source told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah television reported that their military positions in Kaniyah area were attacked by five airstrikes without giving further details.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem
Mathematics is a universal language of pattern. Equations articulate relationships. They speak to unassailable truths that stand beyond the vagaries of perception and interpretation. Every flat, right-angled triangle drawn before Pythagoras, and every one after, until eternity, satisfies the famous theorem that bears the ancient Greek philosophers name. There are no exceptions. Thats the nature of mathematical insight. And through its terse, pristine delineation of inflexible truth, mathematics offers us the comfort of reliability and the beauty of precision. Since my earliest introduction, I have felt the deep allure of these unchanging patterns. Patterns that are impervious to authority. Patterns that transcend all things personal.

It is a perspective I have found to be widely shared among those who practice mathematics or physics as a profession.

All the same, many more of us are drawn to patterns of a different sort, patterns conveyed through particular combinations of sounds and colors and shapes and textures and movements, yielding works of music or dance or film or painting or sculpture  patterns, that is, which emerge as creative human expression. These are patterns we value because of, not in spite of, their capacity to reflect thoroughly personal, deeply subjective responses to the infinite spectrum of human experience. As cave paintings, ancient figurines and archaic musical instruments attest, since the earliest glimmers of thought our species has intensely pursued and consumed such expression.

And that presents a puzzle.

I have little doubt that should we ever make contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence, they will understand our mathematics, especially the equations we have developed to explain the regularities of reality. After all, recognizing the patterns inherent in physical phenomena is central to survival. We have prevailed because we can sense and respond to the rhythms of the world. Every tomorrow will be different from today, but beneath the myriad comings and goings we rely on enduring qualities.

The sun will rise, rocks will fall, water will flow. The vast collection of allied patterns we encounter from one moment to the next profoundly influence our behavior. Instincts are essential, and memory matters, because patterns persist. While the specific environment of a distant intelligence may differ significantly from our own, it is likely that it, too, prevailed by developing a refined sense of pattern described with precision through some version of mathematics.
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) seems unhappy with critics who are suggesting that COVID-19 figures are 'cooked'



Background



Special aide to former President John Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari recently questioned the number of recoveries published by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).



During the weekend, the GHS released its latest figures on the disease and it showed a total of 1,754 COVID-19 patients recovering from the disease in Ghana.



Although some have expressed relief over the development, others have expressed skepticism about it. This has generated debate, especially on social media.



Overnight Recoveries?



In a tweet, she wondered how 790 COVID-19 patients recovered overnight in an update which indicated that Ghana had recorded 5,638 with 28 deaths.



How the hell did 790 more people recover overnight!!...We need to put these numbers to strict proof!! She tweeted.



Currently, the country's Coronavirus case count has shot up to 5,918 from 5,735 on Tuesday morning.



3 Weeks Recovery Rate



Hours after the tweet, the GHS responded by dismissing suggestions of 'cooked' figures.



The Director-General of the GHS, Dr. Patrick Kuma Aboagye speaking at a press briefing, Tuesday May 19, 2020 said; When it comes to recoveries as Ive been saying when someone is ill, if you do not dieat the end of the disease, within three weeks youll recover and Im sure some of us have the experienceso from the beginning when we had one, two, three, we were not expecting major recoveries in the first one month of which theyll come but as you have more cases, through data, you should expect more cases recovering. Thats why were having an exponential increase in the number of cases.



Critics Should Get Infected



Commenting on the issue on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' Tuesday, the Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary quizzed; "Cooked figures? Why do we do this to ourselves...The best option is to ask questions but to accuse authorities of massaging the numberswhat is your intention for everyone to get infected? Sometimes I wish such critics will get infected to see if the figures are real or not."









Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
Mumbai, May 20 : Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that the novel coronavirus will not be completely wiped out soon and it is imperative to "accept it as part of life" while limping back to normalcy.

"Coronavirus will not be completely eradicated shortly. It is necessary to accept it as part of life, beware of it, and create awareness among the masses about healthcare. In Japan, people wear masks and look after personal hygiene as part of their routine social life," Pawar said here.

He said the ongoing lockdown 4.0 has severely disrupted transport services and that necessary steps must be taken to gradually restore road transport within the state, besides planning for resumption of air and rail services.

The earlier situation must be restored in Maharashtra by relaxing some conditions of the lockdown, and arrangements made to convey information about relaxations to the people at a fixed time daily.

The NCP chief said he had discussed in detail the prevailing situation in the state with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the challenges faced by the administration, and the preventive measures required to provide relief to various sections of society.

"The presence of state ministers and officials needs to be reinstated to build public confidence about the situation returning to normal in Maharashtra. Appropriate instructions should be issued to the ministers and officials to be present at their workplaces," Pawar said, implying ministers and officials must be seen leading from the front.

With migrants having left the state in large numbers, the NCP chief pointed out that "new employment opportunities have emerged for the unemployed in Maharashtra," and an action plan would have to be drawn up on how to accommodate them in the industries.

Two days ago, Thackeray had made a similar plea to the locals in Maharashtra, exhorting them to exploit the employment opportunities available in different industries and help rebuild the state.

Referring to earlier incentive schemes for industries in backward and underdeveloped areas, Pawar said new policies for encouraging industrial growth should be released to attract new investments in the state.

The three-time former Chief Minister of Maharashtra also expressed concern at the apparent slowing down of operations in public and private ports which has hit international maritime trade.

"To increase imports, exports and inland shipping, consultations should be held with industrialists, entrepreneurs and expert officials in the field. Shops, offices, establishments in the private sector should be opened in a staggered manner with complete caution," the NCP supremo said.

Reiterating his plea to the people to exercise precautions like wearing masks, gloves, sanitisers, washing hands etc, Pawar called upon the Information Department to spread social awareness among the masses on the preventive measures to tackle Covid-19.

Among the senior most political leaders in the country, Pawar, 79, has served as union minister for many years and as an opposition leader appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Disaster Management Committee by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Advertisement

Masks are compulsory, gloves are advised and without a temperature check, there is no way you are getting in.

Australians embracing reduced COVID-19 restrictions are quickly discovering just how much things have changed since the March 22 lockdown as shopping centres try to entice customers back and stores reopen for the first time in two months.

Daily Mail Australia visited some of the big stores to see what retail looks like in a post-COVID-19 world. And what we found were hurdles and frustration.

Now, standing among trendy t-shirt-wearing and iPad-holding employees of the Apple store, are spray bottle-wielding cleaners.

Within just seconds of shoppers leaving the wooden tables of the 'Genius Bar' where iPhone problems are solved cleaners swoop in and disinfect every surface that was touched.

It was a similar story at other shops throughout Westfield Bondi Junction, in Sydney's east, with the new shopping reality in full swing - hand sanitiser stalls at every store entrance being the most obvious change.

There's already been outrage across Australia from shoppers who were refused entry into stores for not using sanister, but Daily Mail Australia only saw shoppers happy to adjust to the new normal.

Temperature checks are carried out in queues outside the store, while employees kept track of the customer numbers to keep the store under the 10 person capacity

Australians are adapting to a variety of changes in a post-coronavirus world such as masks, compulsory at all Apple stores

After having their temperature checked, customers must put on disposable face masks which are given to them by Apple

Spray and wipe wielding cleaners are now located throughout the store, wiping down tables as soon as customers depart

Stanchion barriers have been assembled outside Apple stores to help manage queues, although they still snake for a distance at most outlets

Patience was always necessary when trying to find a park on busy weekend - but now it has become a must just to enter a shop.

Long queues are now commonplace thanks to social distancing rules, which mean there are fewer people inside a store at any one time, and a greater distance demanded between those queuing outside.

Outside every store are floor markings to ensure customers remain at least 1.5metres apart. The same markings are present in queues for the registers.

At popular outlets such as make-up stores Sephora and Mecca, customers are also required to have their temperatures taken before they can enter.

Anyone with a fever is turned away.

Outside the Apple store at Broadway shopping centre, in inner Sydney, the queue stretched for more than 20 metres from the door to the escalator before lunch on Wednesday.

Customers standing at least two metres apart were handed blue face masks to wear, and were turned away if they refused to put one on.

An employee then checked their temperatures with a thermometer and only allowed entry to those without fevers.

Despite the vast amount of space inside the large store, only a handful of people were permitted inside at any time.

A queue snaked across Broadway shopping centre on Wednesday as shoppers waited for their turn to enter the Apple store

Multiple Apple employees stepped outside the store to manage the line of customers as it grew

Employees, customers, and security can be seen wearing compulsory face masks in the Apple store

Customers refrained from touching digital devices, which were purposely put on display to be interacted with prior to the pandemic

The rules are part of measures introduced by the company to reduce the risk of staff contracting COVID-19.

SHOPPING'S NEW NORMAL - Compulsory masks for staff and shoppers - but some stores will give them to customers for free - Staff required to wear gloves - Temperature checks before entry - Social distancing in stores and malls - Limits on the number of shoppers allowed inside stores - Long queues to enter shops and for those waiting to pay at cash registers - Hand sanitiser stalls outside store entrances - Teams of cleaners to sanitise and disinfect surfaces shoppers touch Advertisement

Apple announced the closure of its physical stores in March, directing its customers to online services instead as the coronavirus crisis worsened.

But as the infection rate began to slow CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple stores in Austria and Australia would reopen, but with new safety measures in place.

Some people see the safety measures as a good thing, but for others they are a pain.

Make-up giant Sephora requires also customers to have their temperature checked before they can enter the store.

There's also hand sanitiser available and, like all stores, there's a limit to the number of customers allowed inside at any one time.

Theresa Fagan told Daily Mail Australia the measures are ideal.

Ms Fagan, 32, is a nurse at a COVID-19 clinic in central Sydney, and she has seen first hand the detrimental impact the virus can have when precautions are not taken.

'It's non-invasive, the only thing that would be an issue is if you have a fever for another reason but then if that's the case you probably shouldn't be out shopping any way, especially not in this climate,' she said.

An Apple employee wearing gloves points to a phone as he explains its features to two young women

A woman standing in a line to enter Apple appeared unimpressed as she waited for a security guard to deliver the results of her temperature check

Apple employees wearing masks help guide customers through the store after strict social distancing measures have been implemented

A Sephora employee conducts a temperature check on a woman before she can enter the store

A security guard waits outside Target on Wednesday to ensure the store does not fill with too many shoppers

Floor markers have been set up in stores to ensure shoppers maintain a 1.5m distance

ONLINE SALES SURGE WHILE TRADITIONAL RETAIL STRUGGLES - Online sales will double after COVID-19 pandemic, and 20 per cent of retail stores could shut forever, new UBS report warns - Best placed retailers are JB Hi-Fi, Adairs, Kogan - Worst placed are Myer and Wesfarmers - Online sales expected to be 17 per cent of market by 2024, up from 11 per cent now, but could top 20 per cent - Retail spending fell by a record 17.9 per cent in April as virus hit demand - That followed a record increase of 8.5 per cent in March Advertisement

She said she hopes all stores introduce similar measures to lower the risk of a second outbreak in Australia.

Alana Juliet, 26, said she was escorted around the Mecca store by an employee when she went to buy a present for a friend over the weekend.

Tracy Terashima, 55, a make-up artist from Sydney, was also happy to endure the safety measures before entering Mecca to buy supplies for her next photo shoot.

'If it's the best way to keep the staff and other customers safe, I'm fine with it,' she said.

But not everyone was as thrilled about Australia's new 'normal'.

'It's annoying,' one woman said as she waited in line to enter the Apple store at Bondi Junction.

She held her blue mask in her hand until she reached the door. She wasn't going to wear it until she absolutely had to.

'It's inconvenient. This is the first time I've had to line up.'

There to pick up the new phone she had just purchased, she said she hopes a vaccine is found soon so the social distancing measures come to an end.

An Apple customer is seated away from an employee as he examines his mobile phone

A woman gets her temperature checked outside a Mecca Maxima on Wednesday. Those found to have a fever are not permitted to enter

An Apple spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia customers can expect delays in stores due to COVID-19 measures slowing down operations.

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 spokeswoman said social distance protocols mean a limited number of visitors in each store at one time so there may be a delay for walk-in customers.

The company recommend, where possible, customers buy online for delivery or schedule an in-store pick up. Customers should expect they may have to wait to enter our stores as we closely monitor the number of people inside.

Restrictions were slightly reduced last week after the federal government gave the green light for states to begin easing restrictions on their own timeline, with the curve of infection rates dramatically flattening across Australia.

New South Wales and the Northern Territory were the first to allow indoor dining, although a limit of 10 customers were permitted inside any venue at any one time.

South Australia is currently allowing cafes and restaurants to operate outdoor dining for up to 10 people, with all other states are expected to follow in the coming weeks..

An Apple employee speaks to two men waiting in line to enter the store

Women were pictured wearing masks in a queue to enter Chemist Warehouse

Customers were spaced out to comply with social distancing restrictions which are being further enforced by store capacity limits

The federal government has brought in a three step plan in the hopes to restart the economy by July.

The first step - which has already been taken by most states - sees gatherings of up to ten people allowed and the re-opening of cafes, and restaurants.

The second stage will allow for gatherings of up to 20 people. Gyms, cinemas, and beauty therapies can restart as well, while community sport and some inter-state travel will also be given the green light.

Working from home will still be encouraged where possible under steps one and two.

Step three involves opening up most of the economy with gatherings of up to 100 people and pubs and clubs back open.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mecca and Sephora for comment on their COVID-19 restrictions.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Republican congressman who represents Southeast Ohio wants the House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment inquiry of a federal judge overseeing the criminal case of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta says hell introduce a resolution seeking an impeachment inquiry of Judge Emmet G. Sullivan, arguing that Sullivan has far exceeded his authority in the case of Flynn, who admitted lying to the FBI but later withdrew his guilty plea. Sullivan appointed a third party attorney to present legal arguments against dismissing Flynns case after Attorney General William Barr declared the Justice Department was dropping charges against Flynn.

A statement Johnson released on Wednesday declared that Sullivan was was making his own rules, and pronounced it tyranny.

Judge Sullivan gets to interpret the law; but he does not get to say how to enforce the law," said Johnson. "Both parties in this case have made clear they want the matter dropped. Judge Sullivan appears to be attempting to continue this case as Sullivan v. Flynn, and that cant happen!

Flynn resigned as President Donald Trumps national security adviser in February 2017, after admitting he gave Vice President Mike Pence an incomplete account of his communications with Russias ambassador before Trump took office. Flynn later pleaded guilty to a felony count of lying to the FBI about his conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, but asked to withdraw the guilty plea this year after getting new lawyers and arguing he was entrapped.

Champaign County Rep. Jim Jordan, who is the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, has accused the Federal Bureau of Investigation of trying to entrap Flynn.

Sullivans refusal to dismiss the charges against Flynn has drawn widespread outrage from Republicans, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky arguing his conduct subverts our constitutional order in which the executive alone decided whether to prosecute cases.

No matter what Washington Democrats may try to claim, youre not crazy or a conspiracy theorist if you see a pattern of institutional unfairness towards this president, McConnell said Tuesday.

Attorneys for Flynn on Tuesday asked an appeals court to order Sullivan grant the motion to dismiss Flynns case and to reassign the proceedings to another judge to wrap them up.

This is an umpire who has decided to steal public attention from the players and focus it on himself, Flynns legal filing says. He wants to pitch, bat, run bases, and play shortstop. In truth, he is way out in left field.

Johnson opposed Democrats efforts to impeach President Donald Trump last year, arguing that Trump did not commit any impeachable offenses, that Democrats wanted to remove Trump even before he was sworn in, and that impeaching Trump would disenfranchise the 63 million Americans who voted for him.

This is nothing more than an attempt to bloody up President Trump less than a year before he faces reelection, Johnson argued at the time.

On Wednesday, Johnson said that even if Democrats who control the House of Representatives dont act on his request its still the right thing to do.

Judge Sullivan knows his efforts arent going anywhere either, because he doesnt have the authority to do what he is doing, Johnson continued. And I hope that Democrats on the Judiciary Committee will acknowledge that Judge Sullivan is wrong, and that a judge cannot also act as a prosecutor. They would certainly be upset over Judge Sullivans actions if the roles were reversed and a Democrat was in the White House.

More coverage:

Sen. Sherrod Brown clashes with Trump officials over COVID-19 response

Annie Glenn, widow of former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn, dies at age 100

Canadian border with U.S. likely to remain closed until June 21

Mismarked COVID-19 testing swabs from Clevelands U.S. Cotton confused state officials

House passes coronavirus package along party lines; Senate Republicans say they wont consider it

House approves proxy voting during coronavirus over objections from Ohio Republicans including Rep. Jim Jordan

Former Cleveland Clinic researcher charged with fraud for failing to disclose China ties

See which Ohio members of Congress are most and least bipartisan

U.S. senators grill White House coronavirus team on reopening plans

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
Click here to read the full article.

Road warriors. The term is taking on new meaning as sales reps who canvass the country visiting accounts are rethinking their selling strategies as the COVID-19 crisis continues.

Store visits have been replaced with Zoom presentations, while trunk shows and sales associate tech sessions are being put on hold as retailers and vendors find new, safer ways to do business.

Candy Herrington, southeast and southern sales rep for Lines of Denmark, which distributes Ilse Jacobsen and Rollie, has decided to resume store visits beginning in June, traveling by plane to Texas and Florida.

More from Footwear News

I will be playing it by ear, she said. The whole landscape of selling will be different. Some people will want to be seen [in store], while some will go to trade shows. We also have lots of tech materials people can access on our website in regards to product information and marketing materials.

Since Herringtons territory includes cities not as hard hit by the virus, travel will be less restrictive. Most of my territory is pretty open, not like New York and Chicago, so it could be easier, she said.

While Herrington will be making the retail rounds, she wont be hosting trunk shows at the present time due to social distancing issues. However, anticipating those rules will relax, shes currently coordinating with an account to move a trunk show originally scheduled for May to December.

At Emu Australia, the company has developed an alternative to traditional trunk shows typically presented by sales reps whose travel plans may be put on hold. According to Keith Barnett, president of North America, who oversees sales, its created pre-packaged kits to send to stores this summer providing an opportunity to hold their own Emu kids events in adherence to local safety guidelines.

Story continues

Stores will be able to integrate the brands global Wild Things promotion, offering young customers the opportunity to color its Little Creature face masks and try on Little Creature boots. In addition, the kits include gift-with-purchase items such books and stuffed animals.

Social media has also proven a valuable selling tool for Emu Australia. Prior to the pandemic, sales reps had created individual wholesale Instagram accounts to help drive regional business. We were ahead of the curve with social media, said Barnett. The importance and productivity of this initiative has been turbocharged due to COVID-19.

In lieu of store visits, reps are also turning to trade shows to connect with accounts. Bill Monahan, account manager for Camtrade Footwear and president of the Northwest Shoe Travelers, said he expects the groups August show in St. Paul to be well attended since most reps and retailers are located within a 250-mile radius and can drive to the event. However, he noted, its still uncertain if the convention center where the show takes place will have reopened by August.

Steve Mahoney, SVP of sales for Earth Brands, is taking a wait-and-see approach to trade shows. Were in a holding pattern to see how some of these regional shows develop, he said. On the one hand, we will rely on those even more than in the past, but its a very dicey situation, noting FFANY and MICAM Americas might move their summer show dates.

For retailers still hesitant about attending large-scale events, Earths reps are connecting with them through the use of technology. According to Mahoney the company will be turning its New York showroom and Waltham, Mass., headquarters into virtual showrooms with reps on hand to present the spring 21 line to customers through Zoom or Teams.

Like Mahoney, Glenn Heidkamp, president of sales for J. Renee Group, will be taking advantage of virtual selling, using its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, to present product. Weve already held two presentations for larger accounts, he said, adding, they get better each time. The company is also working on introducing a virtual B2B catalog. We have a lot of core items we run for multiple years, he explained  although even those are tweaked each season.

According to Heidkamp, since these presentations cannot always take the place of a store visit, this week he started traveling to accounts in the southeast, including his home state of Georgia where stores have reopened. However, he emphasized, My visits will not be to sell product. Im going to stores Ive known for decades to see how theyre doing since reopening.

Also checking in with customers is Hillary Hickmann, regional manager, footwear for Aetrex, who covers the western U.S. Right now, Im trying to stay connected with text and phone messages, but keeping things on the personal side, she said. I dont think my accounts would feel comfortable [seeing] someone who just got off a plane. They have enough to contend with keeping employees and their customers safe. I would not want to put one more worry up against them when theyre trying to do business in a new way.

Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Travelmania BHPian

Join Date: Apr 2020 Location: Kolkata Posts: 83 Thanked: 425 Times

In search of Happiness to Bhutan



Out of nowhere, my sibling recommended visiting happiness which we seldom find here. He began with a travelogue he got notification from my cousin who visited the spot a year ago. Honestly, it is Bhutan-The Land of Happiness or Land of Thunder Dragon whatever you say. Our group of five Members myself with the spouse, Debjit (brother) with the wife and little girl). Read some nice travelogues earlier, but in my case couldn't explore that way due to sudden decision to visit the place. Still, we pushed on.



There was no arrangement or a fixed schedule, I called Bhpian Atish Khettry (Hikersoul) concerning the entry rules and booking methodology. To my knowledge, I knew he visited Bhutan earlier. He helped me with a contact named Mr Vishal, who will make all the necessary game plans for stress-less travel.



On 20th December '19 late evening at 5 pm when we were setting our baggage into the vehicle, at that point, we still didn't know about our arrangements. Fingers crossed, predicting everything is excellent. After supper at Azad Hind Dhaba, we set off for our last stretch through Moregram, Malda Bypass, Raigunj, Dalkhola to reach Siliguri by 7.30 am. Here I have to specify two focuses. Initially, we confronted monstrous fog after Malda till Raigunj prompting low visibility after 80ft possibly. Followed a Bus to reach Raigunj consistently. Additionally, this time I picked Dalkhola rather than Botolbari route, because of odd hours.



Azad Hind Dhaba





Day 1: Checked in at Hotel Malisca in Siliguri. After some lazing, we took breakfast and began for Bengal Safari on Sevoke Road. It's an open zoo made by the state government for guests' amusement. Enjoyed the evening returned to the lodging to end the day.



Bengal Safari









Day 2: We started for Pheuntsholing on 22nd December '19 after fueling some energy in breakfast table. Our tour operator @Mr Vishal reserved our stay at Hotel Central. The hotel has been a recently revamped 3-star property, near the immigration office. The housetop restaurant amazed me with tasty food, prompt service and lovely ambience.

The required documents for Permit to entry in Bhutan are as follows:

1.One Passport Size Photograph

2.Passport/Voter ID Card (Xerox)

3.Birth Certificate for Children.

4.Car R.C. book

5.Insurance

6.Driving License of the driver

7.Pollution Certificate



After filling the forms, signed and submitted the xerox copy of self-attested documents to Mr Vishal for Permit.

Day 3: Bhutan was very packed because of the Christmas holidays. On 24th December, Monday we presented our papers. The permit office was overcrowded, so we needed to stand by long to get the documents stamped. Around 4 pm, we came out of the immigration office with all licenses (Human and Vehicle). Numerous cabbies began for Thimpu, yet we chose to remain back as it was close to sunset.

Distant hills drive around evening time on an untravelled highway isn't prudent as I believe. Kizom Cafe, an astounding pastry shop just opposite our inn, refreshed us with some snacks and expresso. Would suggest to fellow travellers not to miss this place while passing by Pheuntsholing. In any case, I should recall the terrific dinner that day at the housetop eatery in our hotel.



Central Hotel





Kizom Cafe















Day 4: As we lost a day in Pheuntsholing, we got up ahead of schedule to leave for Thimphu at 6 am. Although it was cold, despite everything, we were delighted in the first part of the drive to the capital city. We stamped our documents at specified intervals, but unfortunately, we couldn't find a single food kiosk open due to early hours and chilling climate. The way to Thimphu was very smooth, and seldom found any potholes. In the wake of coming to Thimphu, we got the essence of old-world appeal, mountains, conventional architecture, individuals, food and slow life of the citizens. The country has about 71% of forest cover that helps in maintaining and preserving the natural eco-system.







After crossing the butter, smooth main highway checked in at Hotel Lhaki Yangchak residency close to India House. It is situated bypassing the central part of the city. The property has sufficient space for parking. The rooms are large enough supported by a large room-heater and other present-day utilities of a hired accommodation.

After essential documentation at the reception immediately looked into the room. I had to rush for the further Permit to Punakha and Haa Vally from Thimphu immigration office. The owner of the inn Mr Dipan helped me a ton. Because of his college foundation from Kolkata, he had an adaptable behaviour to us as we were from Kolkata. He organised an agent to speed up the process at the immigration office.



Hotel Lhakhi Yanchak







After some light lunch, we left for sight scene around Thimphu. The hotel owner arranged a guide to assist us with the related significance of the spots we were visiting.



Spots :



1 National Memorial Chorten



2 Buddha Dodernma



3 Tashicho Dzong(Thimphu Dzong)



We started with the National Memorial Chorten. Built-in a Tibetian style as a commemoration to the third Bhutanese King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. Beautiful architecture with whitewashed walls and brilliantly layered golden rooftops.



The National Memorial Chorten













After taking a few snaps left for Buddha Dodermna. A giant Shakhyamuni Buddha statue on the top of mountains overlooking Thimphu city, built to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Fourth King of Bhutan. It was difficult to withstand the blowing cold breeze at the park. Mercury was ranging between 1C to 4C. Still proceeded onward and walked the entire area to take some delightful snaps of Shakhyamuni Buddha sitting tall to cool the world. After investing some energy there, we went to a spot from where the Thimphu Dzong was visible. Our guide requested us to hold up till nightfall to take the night enlightened Dzong. It merited hearing to him spoken by the photographs below.



Buddha Dodernma





























It was an unbelievable experience to drive around Thimphu city in the evening time. No sound of horns, traffic moving like a stream with no blockage or traffic jam. As if a piece of music on a violin is played at background when driving in Thimphu city. We returned to the hotel after investing some vigour at the local marketplace. Later after arriving at the hotel heard that our Permit to Punakha would be given on the following day morning when the immigration office opens.



It was winter and especially Christmas. A jamboree time to tourists. We planned to visit North India this time covering Lucknow, Amritsar, Dalhousie and Dharamsala. Be that as it may, due to unrest situation all over the northern part of the country taking our vehicle was not prudent. Our planned departure was on 20th December '19. On 19th December I sat with my family to get a last call to the goal. They curbed me from going towards North India.Out of nowhere, my sibling recommended visiting happiness which we seldom find here. He began with a travelogue he got notification from my cousin who visited the spot a year ago. Honestly, it is-The Land of Happiness or Land of Thunder Dragon whatever you say. Our group of five Members myself with the spouse, Debjit (brother) with the wife and little girl). Read some nice travelogues earlier, but in my case couldn't explore that way due to sudden decision to visit the place. Still, we pushed on.There was no arrangement or a fixed schedule, I called Bhpian Atish Khettry (Hikersoul) concerning the entry rules and booking methodology. To my knowledge, I knew he visited Bhutan earlier. He helped me with a contact named Mr Vishal, who will make all the necessary game plans for stress-less travel.On 20th December '19 late evening at 5 pm when we were setting our baggage into the vehicle, at that point, we still didn't know about our arrangements. Fingers crossed, predicting everything is excellent. After supper at Azad Hind Dhaba, we set off for our last stretch through Moregram, Malda Bypass, Raigunj, Dalkhola to reach Siliguri by 7.30 am. Here I have to specify two focuses. Initially, we confronted monstrous fog after Malda till Raigunj prompting low visibility after 80ft possibly. Followed a Bus to reach Raigunj consistently. Additionally, this time I picked Dalkhola rather than Botolbari route, because of odd hours.: Checked in at Hotel Malisca in Siliguri. After some lazing, we took breakfast and began for Bengal Safari on Sevoke Road. It's an open zoo made by the state government for guests' amusement. Enjoyed the evening returned to the lodging to end the day.Day 2: We started for Pheuntsholing on 22nd December '19 after fueling some energy in breakfast table. Our tour operator @Mr Vishal reserved our stay at Hotel Central. The hotel has been a recently revamped 3-star property, near the immigration office. The housetop restaurant amazed me with tasty food, prompt service and lovely ambience.The required documents for Permit to entry in Bhutan are as follows:1.One Passport Size Photograph2.Passport/Voter ID Card (Xerox)3.Birth Certificate for Children.4.Car R.C. book5.Insurance6.Driving License of the driver7.Pollution CertificateAfter filling the forms, signed and submitted the xerox copy of self-attested documents to Mr Vishal for Permit.: Bhutan was very packed because of the Christmas holidays. On 24th December, Monday we presented our papers. The permit office was overcrowded, so we needed to stand by long to get the documents stamped. Around 4 pm, we came out of the immigration office with all licenses (Human and Vehicle). Numerous cabbies began for Thimpu, yet we chose to remain back as it was close to sunset.Distant hills drive around evening time on an untravelled highway isn't prudent as I believe. Kizom Cafe, an astounding pastry shop just opposite our inn, refreshed us with some snacks and expresso. Would suggest to fellow travellers not to miss this place while passing by Pheuntsholing. In any case, I should recall the terrific dinner that day at the housetop eatery in our hotel.Kizom Cafe: As we lost a day in Pheuntsholing, we got up ahead of schedule to leave for Thimphu at 6 am. Although it was cold, despite everything, we were delighted in the first part of the drive to the capital city. We stamped our documents at specified intervals, but unfortunately, we couldn't find a single food kiosk open due to early hours and chilling climate. The way to Thimphu was very smooth, and seldom found any potholes. In the wake of coming to Thimphu, we got the essence of old-world appeal, mountains, conventional architecture, individuals, food and slow life of the citizens. The country has about 71% of forest cover that helps in maintaining and preserving the natural eco-system.After crossing the butter, smooth main highway checked in at Hotel Lhaki Yangchak residency close to India House. It is situated bypassing the central part of the city. The property has sufficient space for parking. The rooms are large enough supported by a large room-heater and other present-day utilities of a hired accommodation.After essential documentation at the reception immediately looked into the room. I had to rush for the further Permit to Punakha and Haa Vally from Thimphu immigration office. The owner of the inn Mr Dipan helped me a ton. Because of his college foundation from Kolkata, he had an adaptable behaviour to us as we were from Kolkata. He organised an agent to speed up the process at the immigration office.After some light lunch, we left for sight scene around Thimphu. The hotel owner arranged a guide to assist us with the related significance of the spots we were visiting.Spots :1 National Memorial Chorten2 Buddha Dodernma3 Tashicho Dzong(Thimphu Dzong)We started with the National Memorial Chorten. Built-in a Tibetian style as a commemoration to the third Bhutanese King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. Beautiful architecture with whitewashed walls and brilliantly layered golden rooftops.After taking a few snaps left for Buddha Dodermna. A giant Shakhyamuni Buddha statue on the top of mountains overlooking Thimphu city, built to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Fourth King of Bhutan. It was difficult to withstand the blowing cold breeze at the park. Mercury was ranging between 1C to 4C. Still proceeded onward and walked the entire area to take some delightful snaps of Shakhyamuni Buddha sitting tall to cool the world. After investing some energy there, we went to a spot from where the Thimphu Dzong was visible. Our guide requested us to hold up till nightfall to take the night enlightened Dzong. It merited hearing to him spoken by the photographs below.It was an unbelievable experience to drive around Thimphu city in the evening time. No sound of horns, traffic moving like a stream with no blockage or traffic jam. As if a piece of music on a violin is played at background when driving in Thimphu city. We returned to the hotel after investing some vigour at the local marketplace. Later after arriving at the hotel heard that our Permit to Punakha would be given on the following day morning when the immigration office opens. Last edited by Travelmania : 19th May 2020 at 07:46 .
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: The first flight carrying 143 Non Resident Telugus (NRTs) from London landed at Vijayawada International Airport on Wednesday.

The flight took off from London and landed first at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai and from there at the Gannavaram airport.

"Nearly 75 per cent of them have opted for paid quarantine so far. They will be taken in APSRTC buses to the select hotel, designated as paid quarantine facility," said President of AP Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS), Venkat S Medapati.

A total of nine APSRTC buses were arranged to shift the foreign returnees from airport to the quarantine facility.

The passengers were screened at London before boarding the flight and again after arrival. Their swabs were collected at the airport and sent for testing.

All the 143 returnees will be quarantined in Vijayawada for 14 days after which they will be taken to their respective districts. After dropping them at home, they will be monitored by health officials for a further period of 14 days.

The second flight is set to land from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at 10:45 pm today.
People have been obsessed with Paatal Lok since it first came out on 15th May 2020 on Amazon Prime. Since its release, the internet has been filled with raving reviews of the shows to an extent that they're calling it better than Sacred Games and Mirzapur.

 Amazon Prime

The OTT crime thriller follows the life of a Delhi-based prominent journalist Sanjeev Mehra (Neeraj Kabi) and a struggling cop named Hathi Ram (Jaideep Ahalawat). As their storylines intertwine in the most unexpected ways.



While Paatal Lok does not mention whether it has a source material that it has taken inspiration from, some people on the internet believe that it definitely has taken major inspiration from journalist Tarun Tejpals book The Story of My Assassins' and real-life events in general.

 Amazon Prime

Although, it's not an entirely lifted script from Tarun Tejpal's book, The Story of My Assassins, there are a couple of common pointers between the two. The book is based on the real-life incidents revolving around five hitmen who were captured by the Delhi police for conspiring the murder of Tejpal, this happened around two decades ago and made headlines in Delhi.



Tejpal had been incidentally accused in an infamous sexual assault case. Back then, he ran the investigative website Tehelka.com.

Just started reading it & even the character names of The Story Of My Assassins & Paatal-Lok are the same. Tejpal's book's assassins are Chini, Tope Singh, Chakku. The journalist who has an affair is Sara. The plagiarisers didn't even bother to change the names! Lazy and thieves. https://t.co/1z2WArVS87  Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) May 17, 2020

The plot of Paatal Lok is eerily similar to that of Tejpal's book: the assassination attempt on a famous journalist, the names of the assassins, the name of the journalist also match.

So what's the deal, is Paatal Lok not the Story of My Assassins or have they erased Tarun Tejpal's name from everywhere, press releases to credits?  Aditya Shrikrishna (@gradwolf) May 15, 2020

Surprisingly, for the Police's charge sheet in the book, an RJD MP and 10 others were charged for plotting to kill Tejpal, and Aniruddha Bahal, an editor with Tehelka. Tehelka was popular for its anti-establishment reporting and the police ascertained in the case that the possible murder of Tejpal and Behl would be inevitably attributed to certain political entities.

#PaatalLok 10/10 



Inspired by rape accused Tarun Tejpals book. Clear propaganda against the current Govt but that should not stop you from watching it.



The start cast and acting is perfect, best of 2020.



Respect @Jaiahlawat @nowitsabhi  Amey Bandodkar (@amey_9879) May 17, 2020

There are also reports that the creators wanted to distance themselves from Tejpal's narrative and he wasn't involved in the making of the show.

As much as I want to Paatal Lok, I cannot fathom with the fact that it is adapted from a book written by a molester.

Anushka, I expected better from you. :/  t (@TrushaMishra) May 17, 2020

Considering the current accusations against him, probably the producers did distance themselves from the source material.

 Amazon Prime

But this doesn't take away from the fact that other interesting similarities also include things like the main suspect in Paatal Lok, Hathoda Tyagi also happened to be the main suspect in the book, called Bhupinder Tyagi. Tejpal in his subsequent book went on to call him Hathoda Tyagi.



Read this excerpt from Tejpals book only if you've finished the show to see the jarring similarities that are obvious at this point.

"Sethiji said, They say he is the future king of western UP. His name is Hathoda Tyagi. Before he was nineteen hed killed his first five men by caving their skulls in with a hammer. Full brain-curry. Now, of course, he shoots people  through their ears, in their mouths, up their a****. Today he kills you, tomorrow your enemy. Like Sethiji gets up and comes to Patiala House courts every morning, he goes out every day and dispatches a few sorry souls to Yamraj directly. He works only for the big mafia dons now. When they want a big job done, they send for Hathoda Tyagi. You should be proud. Not just Sethiji, even the mafia thinks you are a big man!"

Meanwhile, in an interview with The Week, director Sudip Sharma known for films like NH10 and Udta Punjab revealed that indeed the book was one of the source materials for Paatal Lok's script.

"The basic plot is hugely inspired by the book. That was the starting point and one of the inspirations to write the story. Then, there were various other inspirations and things that we wanted to bring in. For me, there were several thematic and cinematic inspirations that I wanted to pursue with this show," he said.

So, what do you think is the real reason behind dissociating from Tejpal's book?
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Tiola (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Wed, May 20, 2020 09:45 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd92773a 3 Opinion COVID-19,pandemic,military,military-command,Kogabwilhan,Indonesian-Military,military-operation Free

A new structure within the Indonesian Military (TNI) is given its first test in conducting military operations other than war (MOOTW), as it assists the government to handle the pandemic.



The Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) was formed in September 2019, to organize the TNIs deployment into three theaters of operations  Kogabwilhan I, II and III  each responsible for overseeing the mobilization of combat units in Indonesias western, central and eastern parts, respectively.



Initially, attention on Kogabwilhan has been largely on its capacity to improve the TNIs readiness to maintain security at Indonesias borders.



However, its support of efforts to handle the pandemic has brought attention to its roles in non war military operations.



Kogabwilhan is positioned as one of the TNIs main operational commands (Kotama Ops), along with, among others, the Armys regional military commands; the Navys fleet commands; the Air Force operations commands; and the Marine Corps.



Although Kogabwilhan sits equally with the other Kotama Ops, it is the first responder in the event of an attack or emergency; and is authorized to mobilize units from other Kotama Ops under its command.



As such, Kogabwilhan is expected to improve interoperability between the Army, Navy and Air Force through an overarching operational command for them.



For instance, in its first major task to drive away Chinese vessels in waters off Natuna Islands last January, Kogabwilhan I mobilized combined assets from the Navys First Fleet Command and the First Air Force Operational Command.



It was the largest deployment in Natuna so far; and the operation demonstrated a more integrated command and control across the services.



The presence of Kogabwilhan I commander Vice Admiral Yudo Margono also reduced the posts dependence on the TNI commander, resulting in more flexibility for joint operations.



The creation of Kogabwilhan was also driven by a personnel logjam in the TNI  the significant surplus of high-ranking officers and colonels compared with the required number.



Apart from addressing external threats, Kogabwilhan also alters the dynamics of MOOTW. As the pandemic worsened, the government looked to the TNI to assist with logistical matters and additional healthcare support, as is always the case in emergencies.



While there are always concerns over military involvement in civilian affairs, their participation in natural and nonnatural disasters is inevitable and even expected, as they have logistical and structural capability in providing swift support.



In late March, TNI commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto ordered the formation of an ad-hoc unit called the Integrated Joint Task Command (Kogasgabpad) to coordinate operations related to COVID-19, and appointed Kogabwilhan chief I Margono as the head. Margono supervises four task forces to manage quarantine and healthcare facilities: the task force of Wisma Atlet COVID-19 makeshift hospital in Jakarta; the task force of Pulau Sebaru off Jakartas coasts; and the task forces in Riau Islands overseeing Natuna and Pulau Galang, the site of a new COVID-19 hospital.



Similar ad-hoc task forces have also been formed in response to natural disasters under the TNI Command. However, the TNI will likely continue to use Kogabwilhan to organize these task forces.



Kogabwilhans involvement in the virus outbreak marks notable trends: it underlines the units role as the first responder and improves inter-service cooperation across three TNI services. Previously, MOOTW were largely dominated by the Army.



This is understandable given the Armys vast and penetrating territorial command system, which allows the service to maintain a presence through 15 military commands (Kodam) across Indonesia, each with substructures down to the village level, a legacy of the authoritarian New Order.



For instance, following the natural disasters in Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara and Palu in Central Sulawesi, respectively in August and September 2018, the TNI formed two Kogasgabpad led by Army generals. Most of the unit members were drawn from the Armys Strategic and Reserve Command, with a small cohort from the Marine Corps.



They also worked closely with members of the Armys military subdistrict commands and the lowest level of the Armys territorial structure, the village supervisory noncommissioned officers (Babinsa).



However, the composition under the Kogasgabpad for COVID-19 was much more diverse, involving officers from the Army, Navy and Air Force. Margono himself is the former commander of the Navys First Fleet.



Although the Wisma Atlet and the Pulau Galang task forces are still headed by Army officers, the Natuna taskforce is led by the commander of the First Air Force Operation Command; while the Pulau Sebaru one is headed by the commander of the Navys First Fleet Command.



Such diverse appointments not only demonstrate the efforts to embrace the Navy and Air Force leadership, but also encourage interservice cooperation. Whether cooperation can really work also depends on the leadership.



So far, it is understandable that Kogabwilhan I is in charge of the COVID-19 task force, as most cases are in the nations western part. However, to anticipate future emergencies, attention must be paid to whether, and how, Kogabwilhan II and III will play equally significant roles.



Kogabwilhans existence does not mean the Army has lost its relevance. Many of its district and sub-district military commands are carrying out initiatives in handling the impacts and needs brought about by the pandemic albeit on a smaller scale, such as distributing supplies.



Additionally, the TNIs influence is not limited to Kogabwilhan alone. Other TNI officers are also involved in other bodies, such as Army general Doni Monardo, who simultaneously heads the national COVID-19 task force and the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.



However, overall, the creation of Kogabwilhan has been one of the most significant additions to the TNIs command structures in the past decade. Initiatives carried through Kogabwilhan also represent tangible efforts to improve the TNIs readiness and interoperability.



Future development of its roles will depend on the TNI leadership at all levels.



So far, under TNI commander Hadi, who comes from the Air Force, Kogabwilhan has been able to introduce more diverse appointments; and has been trusted to handle major operations. Nevertheless, it is too early to tell whether such norms will prevail under different circumstances.

______

Senior analyst at the Indonesia Program, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. The views expressed are her own.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
All throughout her life, Hightstown senior Tara Misiura has lived by the motto, See a need, fill a need.

There was nobody to play tuba in the school band? Misiura was ready to lug around the 35-pound brass instrument.

Who was going to be manager of the swim team? A then-excited freshman Misiura was on her way to the pool.

How was the church going to reach children when CCD classes were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic? Misiura was already uploading a virtual class to Youtube.

Who was going to tutor struggling underclassmen in German? Misiura wasnt just willing to do the tutoring, she was going to set the whole thing up.

The list could go on-and-on for a problem-solver that constantly stepped up to help anyone around her with no questions asked.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

Whats interesting about Tara is that she does the things that nobody else does, Hightstown German teacher Megan Peterson said. She is always the kid that has their hand up and asking what can she do. She is the kid that does all of this stuff but doesnt do it for the recognition. I can tell you that through 24 years of teaching, that is not always common.

It didnt take Peterson long to recognize Misiuras selflessness. That was something that Peterson appreciated beyond words and when she got her chance to help her student, she didnt hesitate to do so.

Misiura began taking German classes in middle school because she knew about Hightstown Highs German Exchange Program. She loved learning languages and loved traveling. It was a no-brainer.

Fast forward to her junior year.

Misiura heard about a scholarship for Mercer County high schoolers from the Ancient Order of Hibernians to visit the Gaeltacht in Ireland and learn Gaelic. Misiura, whose mother was born in Ireland, held a dual-citizenship between the U.S. and Ireland. The scholarship was made for her.

There was, however, one problem. The trip overlapped with the German Exchange Program that she had been waiting for years to be part of.

Misiura figured that Ireland wasnt an option, but Peterson had other things in mind.

When Misiura walked into German class, the application for the scholarship was on her desk. Misiura explained to her teacher that it couldnt work because of the dates, but Peterson assured her that theyd work it out.

Thats exactly what they did.

Misiura spent a few weeks with a family in Germany and then flew - for the first time by herself - to Donegal in Ireland to study the Irish language for three weeks.

I went through an entire journal writing about my experiences, Misiura said. I really think that I gained a huge amount of independence on that trip. Not in the sense that I never wanted to go home, but more in knowing that I could take care of myself. It taught me to be more open to change. I was separate from my life back home and it was that openness to the unknown that carried on throughout my senior year.

While she may have just realized it last summer, Misiuras openness to the unknown was always evident as she was an active member in Hightstowns drama club, theatrical performances, a member of Project Green, the Girl Scouts - where she published a childrens book - and with St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.

Following high school, Misiura will study at Stockton University where she plans to double-major in World Languages and Marine Science. Although her high school career is coming to an unusual end, Misiura was the first to admit that she cherished all of it.

I hope that I remember a lot from high school because its been one adventure after the next, she said. I hope that I remember the lessons that Ive learned and that I remember the people, who Ive been inspired by and become really close too. I also hope I can remember some of the stuff that I learned.

Nominate a Mercer County senior for our Class of 2020 profiles by emailing Richard Greco at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com.

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

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.

Richard Greco covers Mercer County news for NJ.com and may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Richard_V_Greco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The National Institute of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in the US said in a study published last week that one of the top contenders for coronavirus vaccine -- University of Oxford's candidate -- has not been able to prevent coronavirus infection. It comes as a big blow to researchers across the globe as the corona vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, was touted to be the top name in the race. However, the vaccine is able to reduce the severity of the infection.

Dr William Haseltine, a former Harvard Medical School professor said that all of the vaccinated monkeys treated with the Oxford vaccine became infected when challenged with the virus. "There was no difference in the amount of viral RNA detected from this site in the vaccinated monkeys as compared to the unvaccinated animals. Which is to say, all vaccinated animals were infected," said Haseltine, as reported in The Daily Express.

Also read: Ashwagandha crucial for coronavirus vaccine? IIT Delhi, Japan's AIST make fascinating discovery

Professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham Jonathan Ball said that the Oxford vaccine did not actually prevent the spread of the virus. He said that the viral load in the vaccinated and unvaccinated animals were identical, and added that if the same happened with humans then it would not stop the spreading of coronavirus. Ball also suggested that a revaluation of the human trials is warranted by this finding.

Adding to this, Professor Robin Shattock, head of mucosal infection and immunity at Imperial College London said that he does not believe that a vaccine could be made available before next year.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: Multiple trials show positive results but concerns about timeframe remain

Meanwhile, Business Secretary Alok Sharma commended Oxford University for its work on COVID-19 vaccine. He also said on Tuesday that a safe and workable vaccine is the need of the hour. He said that a new vaccine task force has been formed to coordinate the efforts of the government, academia and industry to this end.

The UK government has pumped in 47 million pounds and unveiled an additional 84 million pounds in funding to accelerate the work. The government said that the funding would help in mass production of the Oxford corona vaccine if the trials are successful.

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine update: PM-CARES funds India's efforts; Oxford sees some positive results

Also read: Coronavirus vaccine update: Moderna, Novavax lead race; Chinese firm builds largest vaccine plant
Fans were shocked when The CW announced that Ruby Rose would be leaving Batwoman.

And now it has been claimed that she and production had mutually agreed to part ways as she didn't like the long hours demanded of a lead television role.

TV Line reported on Thursday that the 34-year-old Australian star's shocking exit was not her sole decision but was more like a breakup.

An insider told the publication that she was distressed by the long hours demanded by a lead role

Scroll down for video

Moving on: Fans were shocked when The CW announced that Ruby Rose would be leaving Batwoman, as she is seen in September 2019

Interesting: TV Line reported on Thursday that the 34-year-old Australian star's shocking exit was not her sole decision but was more like a breakup, she is seen on the show with castmate Nicole Kang

The source also says that she did not enjoy living in Vancouver while shooting. They explained: 'It wasnt 100-percent her decision.

'It was a breakup. She wasnt happy working on the show, and did that make her fun to work with? No. So everyone decided it would be in the best interests of the show, and for all concerned, if they parted ways. It just wasnt a good fit.'

The shocking departure news was revealed on Tuesday which was just days after The CW's upfront presentation in New York and five months after the network renewed Batwoman for a second season.

Wow factor: The shocking departure news was revealed on Tuesday which was just days after The CW's upfront presentation in New York and five months after the network renewed Batwoman for a second season

The CW will move forward with plans for a second season as they look to recast the title character, according to Deadline.

The network also revealed last week that their lineup of original shows, including Batwoman, won't debut until January 2021, giving them ample time to find a new star.

Rose was first cast as Batwoman back in August 2018, when she joined The CW as part of the massive Arrowverse crossover.

The three-night crossover, which included characters from The CW's Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, aired in December, paving the way for the Batwoman spin-off series, which was ordered to series last May.

Crossover: Rose was first cast as Batwoman back in August 2018, when she joined The CW as part of the massive Arrowverse crossover

Batwoman kicked off its first season in October, with the first season including storylines where the superhero came out as a lesbian and sharing a kiss with Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy), before the 20-episode season ended on Sunday.

The Batwoman pilot was written by Caroline Dries (The Vampire Diaries) with Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter serving as executive producers, as they do on all the Arrowverse shows.

'I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season,' Rose said in a statement.

'This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles,' she added.

First season: Batwoman kicked off its first season in October, with the first season including storylines where the superhero came out as a lesbian and sharing a kiss with Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy), before the 20-episode season ended on Sunday

Rose went on to thank Dries, Berlanti and Schechter, stating she was 'beyond appreciative for the, 'incredible opportunity' and 'for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created,'

'Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success  I am truly grateful,' she concluded.

Neither Rose nor any of the producers would comment further on the reasons for her exit, but the producers stressed it was not related to the serious injury she sustained in the first season which nearly paralyzed her.

Opportunity: Rose went on to thank Dries, Berlanti and Schechter, stating she was 'beyond appreciative for the, 'incredible opportunity' and 'for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created'

Executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter confirmed they were moving forward with re-casting the title role, and that they would bring in a member of the LGBTQ community for the role.

'Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best,' said a joint statement from Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television.

'The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwomans second season and long-term future, and we  along with the shows talented creative team  look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months,' the statement concluded.
Dr. Martino Harmon, the senior vice president for Student Affairs at Iowa State, welcomes everyone to the start of the 2019 Transforming Gender and Society Conference organized by the ISU Women's and Gender Studies Program held in the Memorial Union on April 6, 2019. The conference touched on topics such as gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and age with people gathering from various colleges to speak and attend.
Employee benefits pre-funding programs can do more for your credit union than simply offset future benefits expenses. The credit unions that get the most value from pre-funding programs use the expanded array of allowable investments to balance their overall investment portfolioand, at the same time, they actively manage the program as they would any other potential income stream.

Pre-funding programs make use of expanded investment options allowed by the National Credit Union Administration and by many states. Investments that credit unions otherwise arent allowed to make under the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 703 (and Part 704 in some circumstances)such as certain corporate bonds, securities and insurance productsare allowable to offset expenses for, among other things:

health insurance plans;

supplemental executive compensation; and

group life and disability insurance.

When I work with credit unions that are considering employee benefits pre-funding programs, I often come across some misconceptions that are holding executives and boards back from using this strategy.
HERTFORD, United Kingdom, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural Branded by Women free virtual summit for women entrepreneurs and aspiring online business startups is officially slated to kick off on May 27 to 29, 2020. According to organizers, the highly anticipated event, created by top global entrepreneurs in business today, will showcase a range of talented women currently taking the business world by storm.

More information about the Branded by Women virtual conference can be found at https://brandedbywomen.com/.

Branded By Women Banner

Originally an exclusive in-person event in London, Branded by Women is now offered to the general community of entrepreneurs of all levels of experience. A completely free series of online webinars and keynote presentations for entrepreneurs, the three-day conference will feature a "star-studded" lineup of women leaders in business.

"We wanted to build a platform for women in business that allows them to inspire, learn and support each other in their entrepreneurial journeys," Danny McMillan, founder of Seller Sessions, the company behind the event, says. "This virtual summit is the perfect way to bring together women from all types of backgrounds who have successfully built up businesses, and who are reaping the rewards of their hard work and determination. They are ready to teach and share their expertise with entrepreneurs from all walks of life."

The event is an all-female cast of speakers, some of whom currently run successful 6, 7 and 8-figure online businesses. Participants will benefit from keynote sessions by 30-plus leading women in business, including a panel of well-known experts. The sessions will cover everything from branding, product launches, scaling and legal aspects of business to life and hardships of building successful companies, says McMillan.

Free to attend with more than 10 daily expert presentations segmented into Mindset, Marketing, and Mastery over the three days, those who would like to participate but are restricted in their schedules to listen to the content daily can unlock lifetime access to the event for 99.99.

"If you are unable to make sessions or you're unavailable to listen to all the content daily during the summit, you don't need to feel left out. We are offering this "All-Access Pass" to ensure you have lifetime access in your own time," McMillan notes.

Those interested in participating in the Branded by Women event can claim their free pass by visiting its official website at https://jo.my/bbw2020.

About Branded by Women

Branded by Women is a star-studded 3-day conference taking place from Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 May, 2020. By no means off-limits to male entrepreneurs, the event is designed for all women and men who aspire to run businesses, and for those who already run businesses and want to advance them. An empowering conference branded by women, for entrepreneurs and startups who mean business.

Spokesperson: Danny McMillan

Phone: 07595217325

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Branded by Women

Related Links

https://brandedbywomen.com


A senior US diplomat on Wednesday said Pakistan's commitment to peace has grown as it has started taking steps to curtail terrorist groups and their funding.

Alice G Wells, US State Department's top official for Central and South Asia, told reporters during a conference call that the suspension of security assistance by President Donald Trump in 2018 marked a fundamental change in the country's approach towards Islamabad.

The South Asia strategy made it clear that Pakistan needed to take decisive action against these groups, particularly those who support the conflict in Afghanistan and threaten regional stability, Wells said.

Since then, the United States has seen constructive steps by Pakistan to encourage the Taliban to advance the Afghan peace process, Wells said.

Pakistan has also taken initial steps towards curtailing other terrorist groups that threatened the region such as arresting and prosecuting (terrorists) and beginning to dismantle terrorist financing structures. As Pakistan's commitment to peace in the region has grown, we're seeing initial growth in our relationships, particularly in trade, she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
RTHK: Cyclone Amphan batters Bangladesh, India

Social distancing was futile for one frightened group of people fleeing Cyclone Amphan, who herded cows and chickens to a packed Indian evacuation bunker on Wednesday despite fears of coronavirus infection.

The shelter, west of Kolkata in Midnapore district, opened just before the strongest storm in decades collided into the nearby coast packing winds of up to 190 kilometres per hour.

Twenty people were cramped in one small room and only two were wearing facemasks, even though authorities had pledged to reduce crowding in shelters and make the wearing of protective gear compulsory.

"I don't think I have a mask," said Kavita Lahiri, who brought her three children to the concrete building but had to leave her two cows tethered outside.

Amphan is set to cut a devastating path through eastern India and neighbouring Bangladesh at a time when both countries are struggling to contain coronavirus outbreaks.

At least 650,000 people fled to evacuation shelters in India's West Bengal and Odisha states and an estimated 2.4 million were relocated on other side of the border ahead of the cyclone's landfall.

Authorities fear that migrant workers who recently returned from major cities could be carrying the virus to impoverished rural districts around the Bay of Bengal that now lie in the storm's path.

"Cyclone Amphan is the perfect example of how interconnected our crises are - with the poor having to cram into crowded cyclone shelters and put themselves at risk of catching the virus," said leading Bangladesh social activist Risalat Khan.

The West Bengal government said it had sent masks and sanitiser to evacuation centres, but at most shelters there was little sign of protective equipment.

Across the border in Bangladesh's Khulna district, more than 200 anxious villagers packed the Momtaj Begum school.

"We are worried because of the cyclone and the coronavirus," said 25-year-old Rumki Khatun as she cradled her infant son.

"The room is already packed and maintaining social distancing is impossible here. Only Allah can save us."

Bangladesh's junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said that Bangladesh had tripled its number of evacuation shelters to nearly 15,000 to help social distancing.

"People have been asked to wear masks. We have also made provision for soap and sanitiser," he added.

But many others in the storm's path said they would not leave their homes out of fear of catching the virus.

"We heard that the cyclone shelter near the police station is crammed with people," said Sulata Munda, a mother of four in nearby Shyamnagar district.

Her family and neighbours had all stayed behind as well.

"The village guard told us to leave. We fear the cyclone, but we also fear the coronavirus. Many of us did not go," she said.

The virus has claimed more than 3,000 lives in India and nearly 400 others in Bangladesh, according to official figures.

Experts say the low level of testing in both countries means the true toll is likely higher. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
A domestic cattle devouring injured male tiger has been captured outside Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR), an official said on Tuesday.

"The tiger was caught inside an agricultural field, 2 km away from the forest boundary. It's a 4-year-old male tiger," T. Balachandra, Conservator of Forests and Field Director, Project Tiger, Bandipur, told IANS.

The cattle-killing big cat had been terrorising the villagers for a month now outside the Kundukere part of the tiger reserve, which falls on the southeastern side of BTR and beside Bandipur.

"The tiger killed and ate 20 domestic cattle. It made its territory outside the forest near a human habitation," said Balachandra.

Kundukere is a critical tiger habitat within the reserve, along with Gundre, N. Begur, Moliyur, Ainur Marigudi, Hediyala, Maddur, GS Betta and Bandipur.

Injured in infighting with other tigers, the big cat's upper right side of the left leg was infested with maggots, and cellulitis was setting in.

"Maggots have formed and pus formation is there. Cellulitis is setting in and gangrene is the next stage if the injury does not heal," the forest official said.

According to Balachandra, the injury has enfeebled the tiger, rendering it hapless to hunt actively and forcing it to depend on domestic cattle for survival.

"This injury has disabled the tiger in its movement. It was not moving briskly. It was only coming in the night and eating the cattle. It was also not in a position to lift the cattle, it didn't have the strength," said the senior Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer.

He said the tiger could have transformed into a man-eater had it not been captured, considering its disability and injury.

After the capture, the forest department has shifted the big cat to Mysuru Koorgally for treatment.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve, an 874 sq km national park, was formed by integrating most of the forest areas of erstwhile Venugopala Wildlife Park established in 1941, and later enlarged to its current state in Chamarajanagar district, about 220 km southwest of Bengaluru.

The tiger reserve lists 28 species of mammals, including Royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, common leopard, bonnet macaque, Indian pipistrelle and barking deer, among others.
The Travel Industry Refunds Conundrum: Survival Versus Doing the Right Thing

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, leading disruptive influences in travel included alternative accommodations and artificial intelligence, but during the current crisis refunds and cancellations have shattered finances, travel policies, business models, and partner and customer relationships.

The fallout has triggered flexible cancellation policies, booking incentives, and some attempts at fence-mending.

Consider Airbnb, which saw reservations drop some 85 percent in early April. Citing healthy and safety reasons, the company opted to provide full refunds in the form of cash or vouchers for future travel to guests, outraging hosts who were left to cope with a loss of income they had counted on in the face of mortgage payments that came due. Adding kindling wood from a host perspective, guests can use the vouchers for future travel at any Airbnb-listed property, and arent limited to the location they cancelled.

Get the Latest on Coronavirus and the Travel Industry on Skifts Liveblog

Many hosts are so miffed that there is chatter about lawsuits and abandoning their Airbnb listings en masse.

But Airbnb is a two-sided marketplace, and the policy also drew fire from guests, who were forced to provide documentation that local governmental policies or personal health issues barred them from traveling in order to recoup cash or vouchers.

Airbnb established a $260 million fund to assist hosts, but they complained that the payments were tardy and the amounts paltry. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has been on a quasi-apology tour ever since, making a weekly video presentation to hosts, taking their prepackaged questions, and vowing to repair the relationship.

The Complexities of Selling Travel

Bruce Poon Tip, the co-founder and owner of adventure tour operator G Adventures, headquartered in Toronto, can appreciate the complexities of the travel marketplace when it comes to cancellations, refunds, and an array of supply chain relationships.

Story continues

His company takes tour bookings from travelers in some 160 countries, deals with what he says are tens of thousands of local operators, whether it is a boat tour company in the Maldives or horseback riding tour operator in Mongolio, and has to navigate an immense collection conflicting regulations around the globe related to coronavirus.

Referring to customers demanding refunds and suppliers reluctant to provide refunds to G Adventures for payments sometimes made a year in advance, Poon Tip said: There are so many variables when you are dealing with international tours that compound the issues. Weve been operating like this for decades as an industry and no one anticipated that the planet would shut down.

Although about 15 percent of its customers, who skew younger than those of many tour operators, have demanded cash refunds for Covid-19-related issues, G Adventures is providing travel credits worth 110 percent of what customers paid, Poon Tip said.

Poon Tip said most other tour operators have similar policies. We are getting hammered on social media for the first time in our 30-year history, he said.

He said sometimes customers are demanding refunds, saying they arent responsible for the coronavirus pandemic, and Poon Tip pleads for kindness, telling them he didnt start it either.

Poon Tip points out that a vast majority of customers book G Adventures tours through travel agencies, and the tour operator then begins to block out rooms or pay for local flights even though the big travel agency groups wont pay G Adventures until the end of the month when the customer actually takes the tours.

He said G Adventure tries to negotiate refunds or credits from local operators, but it is mostly applied toward future tours. Hes dealing with tens of thousand of local operators, often family run, with varying degrees of technology prowess, and dealing with multiple currencies.

The cancellation and refund issues are a unique conundrum because of the circular economy that exists in the travel industry, Poon Tip said. No one anticipated it would come to a full stop.

Business Model Tweaks

The looming threat of cancellations, meanwhile, has prompted online players from Google to Trivago to tweak business models. Both are offering advertising customers the ability to pay commissions when a guest actually stays at a property as an alternative to the foundational cost-per click.

Many advertisers feel burned because they paid millions of dollars to Google and other online players but the guests ended up canceling the stay because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The following sums up how various travel sectors handled cancellations and refunds:

Airlines

In the United States, the Department of Transportation required airlines to refund customers when the airline cancelled the flight or the flight was substantially delayed. While cancellations are a clear-cut issue, various airlines have been hedging on what substantially delayed means. Some airlines considered a substantial delay two hours, and others argued it could be four hours or more.

U.S. airlines are permitted to try to convince customers to take vouchers for future travel instead of refunds, but they must issue refunds for cancelled flights and substantially delayed flights if thats the customers preferred choice.

Delta has issued $1.5 billion in cash refunds to customers since January, including $182 million this month through May 19, CEO Ed Bastian said in an email to travel agencies.

European Union rules give passengers the right to cash compensation, but a dozen countries and the airline trade group, IATA, want the European Union to force customers to accept vouchers instead.

In Australia, Qantas appears to be allowing cash refunds for direct bookings, but it is a prolonged process. The airline automatically offers vouchers, and there are elongated phone wait times to get an agent to issue a refund.

Hotels

For existing reservations, including prepaid bookings, made through Marriott International, Choice Hotels and Intercontinental Hotels Group, for example, the chains allow changes and cancellations without a fee up to 24 hours prior to arrival up to June 30.

With some exceptions, new reservations made through Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham up to June 30 for any future stay likewise are subject to free changes and cancellations up to 24 hours before the stay although the reservations are subject to rate differences and availability.

In keeping with the flexible reservations and incentives trend, IHGs Book Now, Pay Later promotion allows payments to be made at the hotel and free cancellations up to 24 hours prior to scheduled arrival when booking are made direct. There is a 5 percent discount on Best Flexible Rate bookings made up to September 3, 2020 for stays made through the end of the year except for those in Greater China.

For hotel bookings made through online travel agency sites, the hotels refer guests to those businesses to seek compensation for cancelled stays.

Online Travel Agencies

There has been a ton of consumer frustration with the cancellation and refund policies of major online travel agencies, which are intermediaries or go-betweens connecting customers and partners.

If you tried to get a refund for a prepaid hotel booking made through an online travel agency, they would often tell customers the reservations were prepaid and there was nothing they can do, or they would refer the guests to the hotels.

In some cases the online travel agencies issued vouchers for future travel, or cash refunds in countries around the world that mandated cash refunds because of the pandemic.

Expedia offers an option to cancel a trip online or by submitting a form, but advises customers that receiving a refund is up to the discretion of the airline or hotel, for example.

By submitting this form, you are giving us permission to cancel your upcoming reservation, Expedia stated. However, submitting this form does not guarantee compensation. Any cancellations, credits for future use, or fees are at our travel partners discretion. Unfortunately, we cannot waive their policies or fees.

In some countries, such as Italy, which locked down all travel because of coronavirus, the government required hotels to pay refunds on prepaid bookings made through online travel agencies. These refunds were often processed through the online travel agencies, which waived commission payments from the hotels.

Booking Holdings, which began to feel the brunt of coronavirus cancellations in mid-March and received more cancellations than bookings that month, that its revenue took a $63 million hit in the first quarter for refunds provided on prepaid bookings.

Financial services firm Cowen stated in a research note that Expedia Group has substantially more prepaid reservations on its books because of its tilt toward the merchant model than does Booking Holdings. At the end of 2019, according to Cowens estimates, Expedia Group had around $5 billion in deferred bookings  prepaid bookings for future travel  compared with around $1.6 billion for Booking Holdings.

It was a much different dynamic in China, according to Alibaba in referring to its travel agency, Fliggy. Alibaba CEO Yong Zhang told financial analysts in February that in accordance with government regulations, Fliggy provided unconditional and penalty-free cancellations to our customers.

Latin America online travel agency Despegar allocated $12.5 million for bookings already cancelled, those expected in the second quarter, and even into the third quarter for bookings in Argentina, for example.

Short-Term Rentals

There was a wide disparity in the cancellation and refund policies of short-term rental providers.

Sonder, which leases apartments from developers and landlords, resisted providing refunds when coronavirus locked down much of the United States, and saved itself about $8 million in taking a tough stance, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sonder currently offers credits toward future reservations when bookings were made on Sonder.com. For third-party bookings, it refers guests to those intermediaries.

Airbnbs extenuating circumstances policy covers bookings made up to March 14 for stays through June 30, and gives guests the option for full refunds or travel credits, but they will be required to attest to the facts of and/or provide supporting documentation for your extenuating circumstance, the company said.

Airbnb reservations made after March 14 are subject to the hosts cancellations policies except when the guest or host can prove they are ill from Covid-19.

Expedias Vrbo initially took a cancellation and refund approach that was less guest-friendly than Airbnbs, or more even-handed toward the interests of guests and hosts, depending on your perspective. Vrbo urged hosts to issue 50 percent refunds and/or vouchers for future travel, but didnt require it.

Vrbos Covid-19 emergency policy urges hosts to offer full credits for the amount the guest already paid if the cancellation falls outside hosts usual cancellation window; encourages a partial refund, and Vrbo is refunding its traveler service fee on reservations that qualify.

Corporate Travel

Stewart Harvey, who heads BCD Travel in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the issue of coronavirus-driven flight cancellations is confusing for corporate clients because rules vary country to country. Clients want their cash back and dont view vouchers as practical or fair, he said.

As a follow-up, clients have asked for reports of how much money is due. Some of these clients want to put a financial value on the loss of that cashflow with those airlines, Harvey said. Its a heated discussion. Weve been asked to quantify all refunds by specific airlines now.

The major global distribution systems  Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport  agreed to implement an automated solution from the Airline Tariff Publishing Co. to override fare rules and waive change fees because of the pandemic, according to American Airlines.

In an email to travel agencies, Delta CEO Ed Bastian said: If you have travel booked through Sept. 30, 2020, or existing eCredits from flights March 1st through Sept. 30, 2020, there are no change fees to reschedule your trip through Sept. 30, 2022. In addition, tickets purchased between March 1 and May 31, 2020, can be changed without a change fee for a year from your date of purchase.

Travel Agencies

The American Society of Travel Advisors pointed to modest progress last month in terms of U.S. government policy on airline refunds and cancellations.

We are pleased to report that progress is being made on that front, albeit slowly, the trade group said in a statement. One sign of this progress was the notice issued earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Transportation clarifying that airlines remain obligated to refund passengers whose flights are cancelled by the airline, even when the flight disruption is outside of the carriers control. Many carriers are now easing other policies where ASTA has pushed for change, gradually making the air sector both more workable for travel agencies and more conducive to the traveling public.

But the trade group lamented tour operators and cruise lines sticking with rigid refund policies that hurt both travel agencies and their clients.

While this is painful enough, what is far more egregious from ASTAs perspective is the growing number of suppliers that have elected to change their refund, cancellation and commission policies retroactively, overwhelmingly to the detriment of advisors and consumers alike, the group said. This is simply wrong in every possible way. Withholding or denying refunds in breach of the terms and conditions that were in effect at the time of booking breaks the suppliers contract with the consumer.

The travel agent group has an issue with the timing of credits for future travel. In an email, said it once again calls on travel suppliers to do the right thing and compensate their trusted travel advisors for their part in making the sale  including vouchers or  [credits] for future travel  in a timely manner, meaning when issued, and not after the clients travel is complete.

Global distribution system Amdeus said May 11 that it is processing 2.5 million reaccommodation transactions from agents and corporations daily, and thats about 17 times the daily average pre-pandemic.

Cruises

Royal Carribbean is offering guests future cruise credits of 125 percent of the initial fare in lieu of cash refunds because of coronavirus-driven cancelled sailings, although through the end of April about 45 percent of guests have demanded refunds.

For cruises that havent been cancelled, Royal Caribbean introduced a Cruise With Confidence plan. Bookings made by August 1 for sailings for sailings taking place by April 30, 2022, can be cancelled up to 48 hours prior to the sailing for future cruise credits, for example.

Carnival Corp. stated on May 14 that about 38 percent of its guests have demanded refunds.

Carnival guests booked on sailings with a departure date between May and September 2020 may cancel up to 30 days prior to their sailing and receive a future cruise certificate that can be used to rebook a cruise within one year of the original sail date, according to CruiseCritic.

Norwegian Cruise Line brands are generally issuing credits of 125 percent of the initial cruise fare for future sailings taking place by December 31, 2022.

Tours Operators

For tours scheduled through June 30, G Adventures is issuing credits toward future trips worth 110 percent of the tour payment, including ancillary services such as hotels and prepaid activities, but excluding flights and travel insurance.

For tours booked up to June 30, 2021 and for travel through October 31, 2021, TUI is providing options for free cancellations and rebooking if done at least 14 days before departure.

Skift edit and research staffers Cameron Sperance, Madhu Unnikrishnan, Brian Sumers, Matt Parsons, Sean ONeill, Rosie Spinks, and Seth Borko contributed to this report.

Subscribe to Skift newsletters for essential news about the business of travel.
Conservative civic group members hold a press conference in central Seoul to denounced Yoon Mi-hyang, a lawmaker-elect of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Wednesday. Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is taking seriously the alleged misuse of funds intended for former sex slaves by one of its lawmakers-elect. Although for now it says fact-finding should come first, some party members are urging the DPK to investigate her immediately and take necessary actions if the allegations are proven true, as public sentiment against the ruling party grows.



Yoon Mi-hyang, former leader of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issue of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, has emerged at the center of a controversy for allegedly misusing the civic group's funds for personal gain, and not properly supporting the elderly victims of wartime sex slavery. Yoon won a National Assembly seat as a proportional representative of the DPK's satellite party, Civil Together, in the general election last month.



The DPK initially brushed off the allegations, but has started to take it seriously as more and more corruption allegations have emerged and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) said it could push for a National Assembly inquiry into the mounting accusations.



The party's official stance is to make a decision later after a fact-finding mission.






All 20 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stationed in Odisha have been deployed in the state, while as many units have been pressed into service in West Bengal for relief and rescue efforts in the wake of Cyclone Amphan, NDRF Director General SN Pradhan said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Pradhan said they are keeping a close watch on the "fast transforming" situation, and 24 teams from six battalions across the country are on standby.

The NDRF chief said its teams have to now function keeping in mind the COVID-19 threat and are equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE).

Over five lakh people have been evacuated in West Bengal while over 1.58 lakh have been taken to safety in Odisha, Pradhan said quoting data provided by the state governments,



He said 20 teams have been deployed in West Bengal, including one team for urban areas of Kolkata, while another unit has been kept in reserve.

The DG said all 20 teams present in Odisha have been deployed leaving none in reserve.

An NDRF team comprises around 45 personnel



"The situation is fast-transforming. It is a long haul. The duty of NDRF and other agencies does not end with landfall of the cyclone. Work actually begins after landfall in the form of relief and restoration," he said.

In Odisha, six teams have been deployed in Balasore, four each in Jagatsinghpur and Bhadrak, three in Kendrapada, and one each in Mayurbhanj, Jajpur and Puri, he said.

In West Bengal, among the districts most likely to be affected six teams have been deployed in 24 Parganas (South) and four in Medinipur (East) and three each in 24 Parganas (North) and Rajarhat.

"In areas where there is high pressure, four and above teams are deployed. Both states have NDRF battalions with Odisha commandant camping in Balasore while West Bengal commandant is camping in Kakdwip in 24 Parganas (South) which is on the route of the cyclone," he said.

The DG said 24 teams from six battalions across the country are on standby. "They are ready and can be airlifted within 15 minutes. They may not be necessarily needed during the cyclone but during relief and restoration process," he said.

He said the NDRF Headquarters and local commandants are working in coordination with the respective state authorities.

"All teams have wireless and satellite communications. We are not dependent on any communication system.

"It is another form of new normal, we have to handle disasters be it cyclone or floods during upcoming monsoon season considering COVID too. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 scenario, all teams are equipped with PPE,"he said.

"Based on experiences during Cyclone FANI, all the teams are equipped with tree cutters/ pole cutters for post landfall restoration, if the need arises," he said.

Extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' made a landfall at around 2.30 PM on Wednesday between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, the meteorological department said.

The landfall process, triggering copious rain and gusty winds, will continue for about four hours.

"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph," the weathermansaid.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Yiwu, a city in east China's Zhejiang province and one of the barometers for the health of the nation's exports, is experiencing the brunt of the economic impact from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.



Recent data from Yiwu's customs authority shows that the city's export value decreased by 14.7% year on year in the first quarter, with the total import and export value down by 13.3%.



Yiwu is home to the Yiwu International Trade City, the world's largest small commodity trade hub that has more than 70,000 tenants on a massive complex of over 4.7 million square meters. As the pandemic swept across the globe, businesses in the market complex began to face a significant lack of demand since April.

Like many other small, medium and micro enterprises (SMEs) that mainly sell to overseas customers in Yiwu, Wang Minfeng's hardware company is searching for ways to survive the difficult period.

Wang opened up his tools and hardware business even before the Yiwu International Trade City was established in 2001. He had gone through the SARS outbreak in 2003 as well as the 2008 global financial crisis, but neither to him could compare to the impact of COVID-19.

"We faced challenges from the domestic supply side at the beginning, and now difficulties from the overseas demand side," he said. "This year could be the hardest for foreign trade companies to survive."

Continuous difficulties

Yiwu reopened market relatively early, on Feb. 18, while implementing strict measures. To facilitate work resumption, the local government sent out charter vehicles and trains to pick up workers from outside the city, and provided free accommodation and reimbursed flight tickets to attract foreign merchants and more business.

Wang's company, which both makes and sells hardware, has a storefront in the Yiwu International Trade City complex. It resumed work as soon as the market complex reopened.

Though not seeing a significant increase of clients in number, Wang said demand in February was scarcely affected. The total order value during that month actually went up slightly compared with the same period last year.

However, the late return of some employees caused delays in production and a 50% drop in output compared to February 2019.

When production gradually resumed as the virus began to become contained in China, it started to ravage other countries. Wang said the mass shutdown worldwide amid the pandemic resulted in a drop in the demand starting in April.

A big order in late April placed from Libya thanks to an acquaintance saved the company from registering a 90% annual drop in revenue, according to Wang. However, he said this was rather lucky and unlikely to become a regular occurrence.

He became quite concerned in the last week of April that the company would have no production tasks to work on by mid-May. "The order shortage has a very big impact on SMEs like us," Wang said. He said he worries about a bad scenario that, without demand to sustain production, he would have lay off some workers at his company.

Expert suggestions

With supply chain and consumption both affected by the pandemic, foreign trade companies, especially SMEs that are generally vulnerable to risks, are facing major difficulties, said Hong Junjie, head of the School of International Trade and Economics at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE).

However, Hong said the good news is that the domestic market is big in itself and always there for trade companies to explore, suggesting them to include the domestic market into their targets.

Zhang Jianping, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation at China's Ministry of Commerce, shared a similar idea in a separate interview. He said, "The companies should diversify their market options after evaluating market risks according to the outbreak situation and trend."

Both experts also said they believe that the Belt and Road market has much potential to tap into. Hong said, "With a lot of efforts put into its construction, the Belt and Road has created more space for foreign trade."

According to customs data, China's foreign trade with economies related to the Belt and Road Initiative rose 3.2% on a yearly basis to 2.07 trillion yuan (US$291.36 billion) during the first quarter this year.

In terms of new methods of trading, the two experts highlighted the importance of the internet. Zhang said, businesses can promote products and services in a faster way through e-commerce platforms. Hong said he favors the roles of online marketing, e-commerce, and new technologies, and that they "can be applied to address difficulties in finding business channels in new markets and help to establish a direct connection with customers."
The tourism sector in Gippsland is losing more than $180 million a month as the coronavirus pandemic devastates businesses across some of Victorias most popular holiday destinations.

The combined impact of the pandemic and fires on the tourism sector amounts to about $750 million across Gippsland.

First the bushfires and now the pandemic have had a devastated economic impact on Gippsland's tourism sector. Credit:Getty Images

The emerging picture of economic devastation for tourism-dependent businesses in the region came as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged a push to coax visitors from across the nation to bolster her states economy.

Victorians are still banned from overnight stays within the state, although travelling for day trips is allowed.
Probe opened into deadly crash of military helicopter in Moscow Region

 flickr.com/ Dmitry Terekhov

11:43 20/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI)  A criminal case was opened after the crash of a military helicopter Mi-8 in the Moscow Region resulted in the death of three crew members, the Investigative Committees press service reported Wednesday.

The probe was launched over violation of flight rules led to grave consequences, the statement reads.

On the evening of May 19, the helicopter got off the airdrome in the Moscow Regions town of Klin. About 25 minutes later, the crew failed to establish communication. During the search it was found that the helicopter crashed and its crew members died, according to investigators.
If youve ever strolled down Delawares famed Rehoboth Beach Avenue, chances are good youve taken a little break on the iconic white benches.

Well, the benches are slowly returning just in time for Memorial Day weekend, typically the beginning of the tourist season for the popular vacation destination.

A Tuesday report in the Cape Gazette stated that city officials are replaced some benches along Rehoboth Avenue, to be helpful for visitors over the holiday weekend.

The benches along the avenue and Boardwalk were removed April 27.

After careful consideration, this decision was made to ensure we are taking all necessary steps possible to slow the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Paul Kuhns said in April when the benches were removed.

PennLives complete coronavirus coverage

On Tuesday, Delaware Gov. John Carney announced some lighter restrictions on state businesses, but many retail and restaurants owners are seeking more aggressive plans to reopen.

Recently, a group of GOP lawmakers sent a letter to Carney expressing the need for easing restrictions. Those lawmakers accused the Governors administration of favoring large and powerful businesses over the interests of local merchants.

Carneys plan calls for the initial phase of reopening on June 1, but many local businesses, particularly in beach communities, rely heavily on money spent during Memorial Day weekend.

Retail stores were allowed to operate by appointment only starting Wednesday.

On Friday, restaurants and bars will be able to apply for expanded outdoor seating when those businesses are allowed to reopen, with restrictions, next month.

Restrictions on swimming at Delaware beaches are scheduled to be lifted Friday, as well.

RELATED NEWS

Need a reservation to go to Hersheypark or Knoebels?

What will Pa. casinos look like when they reopen?
Having one child sit the Leaving Cert is a challenge but when you have quintuplets, it's a whole other ball game!

Ireland's only quintuplets - Conor, Cian, Rory, Amy and Dearbhail Cassidy - have had a year to remember, as have their parents, Veronica and Kevin. In August the quintuplets celebrated their 18th birthdays at the Rotunda Hospital, where they were born on August 16, 2001. The birth of the 'Famous Five' that year was national news - (rightly so as quintuplets are a one in every 55 million births natural phenomenon) - and saw the babies feature as tiny guests on The Late Late Show.

Bridgetown couple Veronica and Kevin were originally told that she was carrying just one child. At the following scan, consultants told them it could be twins or perhaps triplets. Then, at the 11-week scan, they confirmed it was quintuplets. Born on August 16, at just over 25 week's gestation in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), they weighed between 1lb 6oz to 1lb 11oz at birth.

The children remained in hospital until December of that year. Now fully grown, they each have their own distinct personalities.

Being under one roof for eight weeks has been a breeze, mostly, as they all get on famously, Rory told this newspaper. 'We do get along and this has brought us a little bit closer together as, literally, we can't do anything else but spend time in each other's company. Like all siblings we have our moments; it's not going to be harmonious all of the time.'

Up until March 12, they attended Bridgetown Vocational College, where Kevin works as caretaker.

When the school was closed, they were happy with how their studies were progressing.

Rory said: 'The mocks were pretty good. They gave us a good idea of where we stood and we were using them to progress on to the Leaving Cert in June. Then that day in March came along and everything was torn apart very quickly. If someone would have told us that this was the way it would end up at the start of the year I would have laughed.'

Describing the months of April and early May as 'messy' as there was no certainty as to the Leaving Cert start date, Rory said: 'We were led one way and then led the other and now we are in a new situation. It has not been an easy couple of months but it has been interesting. We have learned a lot.'

As for studying under one roof trying to attend Zoom class meetings and do online study, it posed big challenges.

'Luckily our broadband is fibre so it's good. We had our own areas where we were able to study, either in our rooms or at the kitchen table. We had three laptops, so two had to work on the phone. It wasn't ideal; we kinda worked at it the best we could.'

As for maintaining discipline and getting up early to study, there were varying results.

'I'll probably be shot for saying this but Cian had the most difficulty getting up in the morning.'

He said all five worked away on their studies, managing to ramp up their work as the days ticked down through March towards the Leaving Cert.

'I do really think we worked well, given the situation we found ourselves in. We worked until something changed then we adapted and worked until it changed again.'

For Rory, who is a keen athlete, running gave him head space and some of the siblings enjoyed long walks within the 2km radius.

Veronica kept them fed and their spirits up, while Kevin continued maintenance work at the school.

To pass the time, they enjoy family quizzes on Zoom.

'We have talked more and, like everyone, we have a bit more time to do things so we have benefited from that.'

When it was announced by Minister for Education Joe McHugh that the Leaving Cert had been cancelled in favour of calculated grades, there were five collective exhalations of relief in the Cassidy household. The mental toll of the past few weeks had been relieved, but there was also disappointment.

'There was an element of relief, but there was also an element of disappointment that our secondary school years were gone in the click of a finger and we won't get them back again.'

Having gone to school together since they were little children, first to Kilmore NS and later to Bridgetown Vocational College, the siblings will soon be going off to different universities, all going to plan.

Being in each other's company is all they have ever experienced.

'It's all we've ever known. For us it's normal even if it doesn't sound like normalcy. I think we'll definitely miss the school. We were six years there and we got used to going in every day. It becomes a routine, so [it's hard] especially how it ended. We left on March 12 and thought we'd be back in there in a week. We will miss the school, the teachers and our friends.'

Rory hopes to study Journalism in DCU or English and History in Maynooth. Amy is also hoping to expand her knowledge of the media with a Media & TV Production course. Conor aims to study Irish and Business at Maynooth and to go on to become a primary school teacher. Dearbhail wants to study Veterinary Nursing, while Cian is considering a career working with horses.

Rory and his siblings have accepted the minister's decision but would be happier if there was an option to sit the exams this summer or early autumn, so that they have a second pathway into third level this year.

Rory said: 'I have a concern as they are talking about a school profiling system possibly being used to factor in results from previous years in the school. I don't think that would be fair as it's your own work that should be assessed.'

As for two of the Famous Five being interested in pursuing careers in media, Rory admits that being in the glare of the media spotlight most of their lives may have factored into their interest in the career.

For now they are enjoying their time together, grateful for one another's company during these long summer days.

'Going to the Rotunda in August was a real eye-opener. It was really striking. They took us to the intensive care unit where we would have been and we walked around and saw mothers and babies and learned all about how we were born.'

After meeting the midwives and doctors who helped with their high-risk delivery, Conor, Cian, Rory, Amy and Dearbhail, were presented with a giant birthday cake and balloons to mark the occasion. When asked if the cake was finished, Rory laughed, saying: 'Well there are seven of us. Of course we did!'

We do get along and this has brought is a little bit closer together as literally we can't do anything else but spend time in each other's company.
Amaravati, May 20 : Andhra Pradesh reported 68 new cases on Wednesday morning, taking the overall tally of COVID-19 cases in the state to 2,407. The state nodal officer reported that 9,159 samples were tested during the 24 hours ending 10 a.m., Wednesday.

In line with the trend emerging over the past few days, on Wednesday too, a travel history to the infamous Koyambedu market in Chennai, was detected in 10 of the positive cases.

Six cases in Chittoor district, and four cases in Nellore district were found to have a travel history to the Chennai market. On Tuesday too, six of the 57 positive cases were found to have returned to Andhra Pradesh from the market which has been identified as the primary factor in the spread of COVID-19 cases in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The famous market in Chennai, has since been closed.

One death was reported from Kurnool during the past 24 hours, taking the overall death toll in Andhra Pradesh to 53. Meanwhile, 43 persons have been discharged from different hospitals, raising the number of cured cases to 1,639.

While the cumulative tally has touched 2,407 cases, the active cases currently climbed to 715 cases, from 691 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the cumulative tally of COVID-19 cases among returnees from other states rose to 153, with the addition of three cases from Tamil Nadu. However, the active cases tally stands at 128 with 25 persons discharged in this category.
S Lalitha By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: A goof-up by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has delayed the quarantine of passengers who arrived from New Delhi. They will be spending more days away from home.Fourteen passengers who arrived on May 16 were taken to a hotel on Infantry Road. But when three days passed by without a single health check-up, they began to think something was amiss.We were given good food and things were okay. But not a single doctor or nurse came to check if we had Covid-19 symptoms. By the third day (May 18), we realised something was wrong and called up the local police station, said a passenger.

Later in the evening, police arrived at the hotel along with BBMP officials. We were told by the officials that they had made a mistake. This hotel did not figure in the list available for quarantine purposes. So, everyone had to be shifted. We were then taken to another hotel near Richmond Circle, he said.

Another passenger, who boarded the train at Secunderabad, said, We are spending `5,000 a day as we need to take two rooms for our family. We did that in the first hotel and now we doing it the new hotel. Corona-related checks were done today (Tuesday) and I was told that my 14-day quarantine will begin now.

BBMP officials were apologetic over the mix-up. They told us not to disclose this to anyone. That is why we are scared to give our names. There is no clarity on when our 14-day will end now, he said.Another passenger said the new hotel was better than the previous one. However, we are keen on going home. Why are we shuffling between hotels now? Despite repeated calls over a period of two days to BBMP Special Commissioner Ravi Kumar, who is in charge of housing migrants at hotels, there has been no response.

Flight from Malaysia lands at KIA

The first flight to Bengaluru in Phase-II of Vande Bharat Mission of the Ministry of Civil Aviation reached Kempegowda International Airport at 6.44 pm from Malaysia. AI 1325 had a scheduled time of 7 pm. It left for Ahmedabad from here. A total of 142 passengers were on board the flight. 94 of them alighted at KIA while 48 more left for Ahmedabad.
Post-closing events

COVID-19 status update

Rebound capability confirmed

Regulatory News:

AudioValley, an international specialist in BtoB digital audio solutions (Paris:ALAVY) (Brussels:ALAVY) (ISIN Code: BE0974334667/Ticker: ALAVY) today announced the release of its annual results for financial year 2019 and provided a status update on COVID-19 with the publication of its first-quarter revenue and outlook.

2019 business activity: excellent growth momentum

2019 and 2018 data have been restated in accordance with IFRS 5 for easier comparison with 2020 data. In addition to published data, the Group also presented its like-for-like financial data restated for scope effects from the disposal of Storever in early December 2019, which can be read as if Storever was no longer consolidated in financial years 2018 and 2019. For information purposes, Storever (sold on 5 December 2019) generated revenue of 7,666k in full-year 2018 and 7,019k over the 11-month period in 2019. With this disposal, AudioValley was able to focus on its faster-growing 100% digital audio solutions.

On a like-for-like basis, the Group posted revenue growth of +29.6% to 22.0m. For the consolidation scope including Storever for the first 11 months of 2019, the Group generated revenue of 29.0m, up +17.8%.

Revenue

in k (audited

figures) Like-for-like Including Storever 2019 of

revenue

2019 2018 Change

2019/2018 2019 2018 Change

2019/2018 Targetspot 19,268 88% 14,157 +36.1% 19,268 14,157 +36.1% Storever 7,019* 7,666 -8.4%* Jamendo 2,694 12% 2,783 -3.2% 2,694 2,783 -3.2% Group total 21,962 100% 16,940 +29.6% 28,981 24,606 +17.8%

*Storever was sold in December 2019 and its business is not consolidated in December 2019.

Targetspot (88% of 2019 like-for-like revenue): 42.6% growth in H2

Sales momentum picked up in Q4 2019 for Targetspot, a solution designed to aggregate and monetise digital audio audiences (digital radio and podcasts). After growth of +28.6% in Q1 and +39.9% in Q3, the division generated revenue of 5,997k, an increase of +44.7% over Q4 2018.

This excellent performance over the year was fuelled by persistently robust business in the US (+30.1% to 14,126k) and Targetspot's rapid development in Europe (+55.8% to 5,144k). The sharp growth seen in Europe reflected very strong potential on a market still taking off at this point, coupled with the Group's winning strategy, leading to four new sales offices being opened in Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. All four markets confirmed their potential throughout the year, with major contracts signed with top-tier European digital audio players (SoundCloud, Deezer, etc.), whose impact was not yet fully realised in the past year.

Jamendo (12% of 2019 like-for-like revenue): turnaround still in progress

Jamendo, a platform where musicians can manage the rights to their work and licence their music, generated full-year revenue of 2,694k, a decrease of -3.2%. Although this performance fell short of the Group's target, it does not yet factor in the benefits of the measures taken during the year (Jamendo adopted "independent management entity" status, giving it greater control in terms of managing and monetising music rights, new CEO). In November, AudioValley purchased all non-controlling interests in the entity (28.84% of the share capital), underscoring its firm belief that the division can be turned around and achieve its strong growth potential.

2019 results, solid performances amid strong growth

Target of significantly improved current operating margins (before amortisation) achieved

AudioValley delivered excellent revenue growth (+29.6%) which, combined with a carefully managed rise in operating expenses (+20.9%), significantly improved the Group's operating income. In financial year 2019, Current operating income before amortisation came out at (548)k, improving 1,125k from the previous year, mainly driven by Targetspot's strong performances.

These figures were hurt, however, by the IFRS accounting treatment applied to the December 2019 disposal of Storever, whose performances over the first 11 months of the year are indicated separately under "Net income (expense) from discontinued operations

By recognising data for the Storever division in accordance with pre-disposal accounting methods, AudioValley was able to showcase the significant improvement in Current operating income before amortisation achieved by the Group in line with early 2019 targets. Incorporating the 11 months of business generated by Storever in 2019 would have resulted in Current operating income before amortisation of +1,283k, versus 99k in 2019 (with Storever consolidated in full-year 2018 and for 11 months in 2019).

Targetspot primarily responsible for EBITDA improvement

Targetspot saw its Current operating income before amortisation climb 1.3m, i.e. (0.2)m near breakeven in 2019. Given the ongoing negotiations with the main copyright collectives, the division reversed its copyright provisions by 0.15m in 2019 and 0.45m in 2018. Excluding the provision reversals recorded in 2018 and 2018, its gross margin stood at 8m, improving its gross margin rate from 39.6% in 2018 to 41.7% in 2019.

Jamendo breaks even despite limited sales momentum

Jamendo turned in a gross margin of 1,562k, with a gross margin rate of 58.0%. The division generated positive Current operating income before amortisation of 90k.

Operating income gradually improved in 2019 despite the substantial investments carried out, in line with the proactive growth strategy announced by the Group for its IPO (multiple sales offices opened in Europe and expanded teams, excluding Storever, up from 83 employees in 2018 to 101 in 2019 in a bid to ramp up development).

With the decision to dispose of Storever, the Group applied IFRS 5, recording the division's income and expenses under net income (expense) from discontinued operations. For the sake of comparison, financial year 2018 has been identically restated, segregating Storever's business under net income (expense) from discontinued operations.

In k IFRS (audited figures) 2019 2018 Change Revenue 21,962 16,940 +29.6% Cost of sales (12,223) (8,889) +37.5% Personnel expenses (6,998) (6,112) +14.5% Other administrative and commercial expenses (3,289) (3,612) -8.9% Current operating income before amortisation (548) (1,673) +1,125k Depreciation, amortisation and impairment (4,184) (3,384) +23.6% Current operating income after amortisation (4,732) (5,057) +325k Other non-current operating expenses (net) (44) (43) Operating income (4,776) (5,100) +324k Gain on disposal/revaluation of equity interest 7,091 Financial income 2,276 (1,328) +3,604k Income tax (260) 377 -637k Net income from continuing operations 4,331 (6,051) +10,382k Net income from discontinued operations 450 733 Net income 4,781 (5,318) +10,100k

IFRS 16, on the recognition of leases in the consolidated financial statements, came into force on 1 January 2019. AudioValley chose to apply IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective approach, without restating prior financial statements.

In financial year 2019, the Group posted Current operating income after amortisation of (4,732)k, an improvement of 325k after recognition of predominantly non-cash1 items totalling 4,184k, which can be broken down as follows:

2,721k for the 10-year straight-line amortisation expense on technology assets recognised under the price purchase allocation method applied after the acquisition of Targetspot, i.e. the Shoutcast streaming software and the Targetspot platform;

475k in depreciation expenses on property, plant and equipment recognised under IFRS 16; and

988k in depreciation/amortisation expenses on other assets, up 230k on the back of in-house developments.

AudioValley recorded a capital gain on disposal of 7,091k on Storever. In accordance with IFRS 5, Storever income and expenses were taken to net income (expense) from discontinued operations.

Financial income (expense) came out positive at 2,276k in 2019, versus a loss of (1,328)k in 2018. This figure included in particular a 4,400k capital gain on the discount received on Vivendi debt, a 1,334k accretion expense (non-cash) on the vendor credit granted by Vivendi for the acquisition of Targetspot, and a 578k interest expense including 84k stemming from the first-time application of IFRS 16.

Net income (expense) from continued operations amounted to 4,331k in 2019 versus a loss of (6,051)k in 2018.

Overall, the Group earned positive net income of 4,781k, versus a loss of (5,318)k in 2018.

Change in financial position

At 31 December 2019, shareholders' equity totalled 14,374k compared with 11,148k at end-December 2018.

The cash position ended the year at 1,866k versus 1,018k in 2018, with financial liabilities of 18.2m (down 5.3m).

In December 2019, AudioValley paid the first instalment owed to Vivendi (13m), pursuant to the agreement to prepay the outstanding debt under the terms of the vendor credit obtained on the acquisition of the majority stake in the Radionomy/Targetspot division. The nominal amount of the debt was 24.6m at 30 June 2019, spread over several annual instalments until 2025.

In March 2020, AudioValley negotiated for the final instalment of 3m to be paid to Vivendi by 30 September 2020 (instead of 31 March 2020).

With this agreement, paying the balance of the debt before September would entitle AudioValley to the initially negotiated discount (maximum discount of 35%, i.e. 8.6m).

In order to pay the final instalment to Vivendi and continue expanding its business despite the impact of COVID-19, the Company requires additional funding of around 6.5m. The Group is currently working with its advisors to arrange a deal, the details of which have yet to be finalised, but which depending on market conditions could take the form of a private placement, public offering, loan or a combination of the three. Based on the progress made thus far in terms of prep work, Management is confident that the Group will be able to raise the additional funds needed for business continuity purposes. AudioValley also plans to further its efforts to improve EBITDA and to limit WCR in a bid to optimise net cash flows generated by operating activities.

Post-closing events COVID-19 status update

Despite achieving solid growth momentum in January and February 2020, the initial confinement measures launched to combat COVID-19 have had an impact on business. Revenue began dropping in March due to the steep reduction or postponement of advertising expenditures budgeted for digital audio ads.

This decline should be viewed in light of the 4.6m in revenue earned in Q1 2020, which was stable like-for-like compared to Q1 2019. Targetspot posted revenue growth of +2.3% in Q1 to 4,027k despite the initial impacts of the crisis in March, thanks in large part to the excellent performance delivered in Europe, where revenue climbed +60.6% in the first quarter. Europe now accounts for 35% of Targetspot's total revenue versus 22% in Q1 2019. In North America, where COVID-19 began having an impact in March, Targetspot saw its revenue slide -14.2% to 2,633k. Jamendo, also significantly impacted in March, turned in revenue of 652k, down -11.4% in Q1 2020.

For the second quarter, revenue is expected to fall by around 35-40% year-on-year due to the sharp reduction or postponement of advertising expenditures budgeted for digital audio ads. Business should pick up little by little over the next few weeks as COVID-19 restrictions are gradually lifted.

In response to this situation, the Group has implemented measures to safeguard the health of its employees while continuing to do business (see press release of 7 April for detailed measures). Under the BCP, the Group was able to:

Broadcast all ad campaigns;

Stick to its R&D roadmap, with the launch of Passport Explore, the most advanced digital audio campaign management and optimisation platform on the market ( see press release of 23 April ); and

); and Continue the business initiatives aimed at exiting the crisis. Targetspot successfully entered into a partnership with Sonos for the exclusive worldwide monetisation of its radio streaming services (see press release of 29 April 2020) and won a 2-year contract with TuneIn for the exclusive monetisation of audio ad space on the streaming platform in five different European countries (see press release of 6 May 2020

Against this backdrop, the Group also set up a strict cost control structure to limit the impact on its operating income and cash consumption. Actions have been focused primarily on controlling payroll expenses, which account for almost 75% of the Group's fixed costs. Part-time work and other measures to reduce working hours have been implemented in all regions of operation. Combined with cuts to marketing and transport costs, these measures have already cut expenses by around 50%. Together, these measures have limited the impact of the business decline on profits and cash consumption.

Confidence in rebound capability confirmed

Now focused exclusively on 100% digital audio activities, AudioValley has secured a solid position in the industry, combining technology and international commercial coverage on a structurally buoyant market. The major commercial successes announced in recent weeks and the increase in the number of advertisers working with the Group (over 200) highlight the ongoing transition from traditional FM radio ad campaigns to digital audio media (smartphone apps, smart voice assistants, podcasts, video games, etc.) to tap into more detailed audience targeting. The advent of new players such as SONOS, a combination of more than 10 million homes worldwide, should further boost appetite for ad campaigns offering unprecedented access to target audiences.

The Group is thus very confident it will be able to emerge from this crisis and quickly return to the growth path by the end of 2020.

NEXT EVENT

First-half 2020 revenue

Monday July 27, 2020 (after market close)

1 non-cash: no impact on cash position

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005571/en/

Contacts:

AUDIOVALLEY

Sebastien Veldeman

+ 32 (0) 2 466 31 60

investorrelations@audiovalley.com

ACTIFIN, financial communications

Victoire Demeestere

+33 (0)1 56 88 11 11

vdemeestere@actifin.fr

ACTIFIN, financial press relations

Jennifer Jullia

+33 (0)1 56 88 11 19

jjullia@actifin.fr

investorrelations@audiovalley.com
The US high-profile support for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has become a new flashpoint in increasingly hostile US-China relations, with Beijing warning it will take action against Washington.

In three statements issued on Wednesday, mainland Chinas foreign, defence and Taiwan affairs departments lashed out at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing him of violating the one-China policy and interfering in Chinas internal affairs.

The warnings came after Pompeo congratulated Tsai at the official start of her second four-year term as the islands leader on Wednesday.

He addressed her formally as president and his comments were read out at the inauguration ceremony.

Her re-election by a huge margin shows that she has earned the respect, admiration, and trust of the people on Taiwan, Pompeo said.

Her courage and vision in leading Taiwans vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world.

As we look toward the future, I am confident that, with President Tsai at the helm, our partnership with Taiwan will continue to flourish.

In her inauguration speech, Tsai vowed to defend the island from threats, and said Taiwan would not accept Beijings one country, two systems proposal for cross-strait unification.

Thanking Pompeo for his high praise of the countrys democracy, Taiwans foreign ministry said it was the first time a US secretary of state had congratulated the islands president.

Several other senior US officials, including assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell and US deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger also offered their congratulations to Tsai through video clips, adding that the US would continue to cooperate with her in strengthening democracy and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

The mainlands foreign ministry soon issued objections, saying the comments violated the formal agreements underpinning US-China relations.

Story continues

In their congratulatory messages, certain US officials and politicians addressed Tsai Ing-wen as president and trumpeted the so-called partnership with Taiwan, the ministry said.

We have expressed our strong indignation and condemnation over this.

Calling Taiwan an inseparable part of China, the ministry said the US actions had betrayed their commitment that Beijing was the sole and legitimate government of all of China and sent a wrong signal to independence forces in Taiwan  something that would seriously endanger stability in the Taiwan Strait and damage US-China relations.

It vowed to take necessary corresponding actions for the mistake made by the US.

The defence ministry also stressed that the Taiwan issue was an internal matter for China.

The Chinese side resolutely opposes any countries having any official forms of contact and military exchanges with Taiwan, it said.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the State Councils Taiwan Affairs Office, said Beijing had firm resolution and full confidence that it would defeat any external forces in their attempts to interfere in Chinas internal affairs. It was also confident of upholding Chinas territorial integrity while steadily pushing for cross-strait unification.

Beijing considers Taiwan a wayward province that must be returned to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. It has been upset by what it views as growing attempts by the administration of US President Donald Trump to use the self-ruled island to counter the mainland, as the two countries tussle over trade, military influence and the recent coronavirus outbreak.

Ma also took aim at Tsai for refusing to acknowledge the 1992 consensus  a verbal understanding made in Hong Kong in 1992 that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait agree that there is only one China, though each can have its own interpretation of what that China stands for.

Tsai did not refer to the consensus on Wednesday, a departure from her 2016 inaugural speech when she said that she respected that there was a talk in Hong Kong in 1992 between Taiwan and China but neither side reached any agreement.

But Tsai did say that Taiwan was willing to engage in dialogue with Beijing and make more concrete contributions to regional security. She also said she would continue her cross-strait policy based on peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue  principles she stressed during her first term in office.

We will continue to handle cross-strait affairs according to the Constitution of the Republic of China and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, Tsai said, adding this had been her consistent position.

Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences, she said, stressing that cross-strait relations had reached a historical turning point.

Faced with changing circumstances, I will hold firm to my principles, adopt an open attitude to resolve issues, and shoulder my responsibilities as president. I also hope that the leader on the other side of the strait will take on the same responsibility, and work with us to jointly stabilise the long-term development of cross-strait relations.

Tsai also spoke about Taiwans efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, which have prompted the US, European Union, Japan and others to call for the islands inclusion as an observer at the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organisations decision-making body.

Over the next four years we will continue to fight for our participation in international organisations, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with our allies, and bolster ties with the United States, Japan, Europe and other like-minded countries, Tsai said.

Although we were once isolated in the world, we have always persisted in the values of democracy and freedom, no matter the challenges ahead of us.

Tsai was re-elected in January in a landslide that was seen as a public mandate for her administrations handling of cross-strait relations with Beijing and its strengthening of ties with the US.

Analysts said Tsais speech, though not provocative, was not acceptable to Beijing, given that it did not refer to the 1992 consensus.

Her speech about cross-strait relations actually carries less goodwill than what she had said four years ago because she simply omitted the part about the 1992 consensus, said Charles Chen, executive director of Washington-based Institute for Taiwan-America Studies, an opposition Kuomintang think tank.

Chen, who is also a KMT legislator, said Tsai had also lowered the importance of the cross-strait relations.

No mutual trust, no sharing of mutual interest and no communication mechanisms were mentioned [in the speech], he said, adding this would shut the door of cross-strait communications and rapprochement for four more years.

Sign up now and get a 10% discount (original price US$400) off the China AI Report 2020 by SCMP Research. Learn about the AI ambitions of Alibaba, Baidu & JD.com through our in-depth case studies, and explore new applications of AI across industries. The report also includes exclusive access to webinars to interact with C-level executives from leading China AI companies (via live Q&A sessions). Offer valid until 31 May 2020.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Beijing warns of action against Washington after Pompeo congratulates Taiwans Tsai first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
On his officiated visit to meet the migrant labourers  temporarily living in a government school-turned-shelter in south Delhis Sriniwaspuri  Gagandeep, a physiologist by profession, observed that 60% of the labourers were observing roza (fast furing Ramzan). In quarantine during the extended lockdown, these labourers were observing their religious practise, and were not really getting their morning meal, Sehri, which is supposed to be consumed quite early in the morning.

Gagandeep says, These people do get provided food from the arrangements made by the Delhi Government, but sehri is consumed in the morning and then fast is observed for the rest of the day. It was difficult for them to get food at the right time, to be able to continue fasting. So, to arrange some food in the morning, I approached my friend Irtiza Quraishi, who then connected us with Tarique Afaque.

The psychologist, who was visiting this transition centre for labourers, on the request of Delhi Police official Anant Kumar Gunjan  SHO at Amar Colony Police Station  adds, Afaque, who lives in Okhla, has since then been going to Nizamuddin at one OClock in the morning, every day; to bring sehri for these labourers.

I observed that the labourers dont have clothes and they were unable to sleep properly because of mosquitoes. So I also tried and managed to arrange clothes and mosquito coils for them, and even toys for the kids...

 Tarique Afaque, biking enthusiast

Afaque, who is part of a Delhi-based biker group, Royal Mavericks, credits his group for providing the necessary funds of this service. He adds, I have been collecting the sehri, and serving it at the centre since quite a few days now... When I was visiting the centre on the first day, I observed that the labourers dont have clothes and they were unable to sleep properly because of mosquitoes. So I also tried and managed to arrange clothes and mosquito coils for them, and even toys for the kids. But, the coils didnt work! Then I went looking for an electrician, and found one who agreed to arrange electric boards for operating liquid mosquito repellents... When I saw the migrants sleeping in peace, I had tears in my eyes.

And when comes the time of Iftar, evening meal post prayers, theres a nearby shopkeeper, Abdul, who takes it upon himself to come to the service of those wanting to break their fast. Gagandeep informs that Abdul distributes rusk in the evening.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
(TNS)  The Burlington County Health Department launched a news coronavirus-related mobile app to keep users up to date on health information and programs during the pandemic.On Monday, the county announced the new app that can be downloaded to smartphones and mobile devices for free. Officials said it would assist users with COVID-19 information, health resources and related social determinants of health."As part of Burlington County's commitment to the community, we are doubling down on our population health outreach efforts of the past and pledging to continue communicating what is available to meet the needs of the community during these challenging times," said county Health Department Medical Director Dr. Herb Conaway said.Officials said the app is the first of its kind for a New Jersey health department. After downloading the app, users can receive up-to-the-minute notifications on emergency issues from the health department, and stay alerted to other information.The app also includes a COVID-19 feature, with both CDC and local Burlington County information. App users can sign up for alerts from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) by going to Notifications under the Settings feature, officials said."The app is an exciting addition to the great work the health department is doing, and we many residents find it helpful. There is a variety of topics available such as information about communicable diseases, our animal shelter, COVID-19 clinics and events, and health department programs and services," Burlington County Freeholder Director Felicia Hopson said.As of Monday, Burlington County had 3,986 confirmed cases of the virus and 245 deaths, according to the state. Most of the deaths and a substantial number of the cases have involved residents of long-term care communities in the county.
The COVIDSafe app has been put to use just once despite the massive push by the promotional campaign by the federal government and led by Scott Morrison.

A confirmed coronavirus patient identified in Victoria on Monday was found to have been among the almost six million people with the app on their phone.

The person then agreed for their data to be accessed and anyone they have been in close contact with - who also have downloaded the app - will now be contacted.

The technology used for the app, touted by Morrison as Australia's 'ticket to freedom', continues to be plagued by 'technical issues', particularly when used on an iPhone.

The controversial COVIDSafe app has been put to use just once, despite the massive promotional campaign led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured)

Australians were told that downloading the COVIDSafe app (left) was vital to restrictions being lifted, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying that doing would get people 'back to the pub' (right)

Mr Morrison appealed for all Australians to download and keep the COVIDSafe app running in the background of their phone when the $1.5 million app was launched in late April.

'Every Australian will be safer if those health officers [the contact tracers] are able to contact you more quickly if you have been exposed to the coronavirus and, importantly, that means that you will be less at risk of infecting others if they can get to you fast.'

He later emphasised the importance of the app in the lifting of restrictions, saying if enough people downloaded the app it would lead to an 'early mark'.

But while the federal government has been trumpeting how crucial the app is there have been several issues, among them the lack of quality of the app with iphones.

Namely, bluetooth connectivity issues and the ability of the app to continue working in the background, mean iphones do not complete the digital handshake as well as androids.

This is problematic because more than 50 per cent of smartphone users are on iphone.

State governments have also reportedly been struggling to use the app as designed.

New South Wales' health department has reportedly had issues integrating the data into its contact tracing methods.

The state's chief health officer admitted this week that they were still 'evaluating' the data.

'We've actually had quite low case numbers over the recent week which I'm very pleased (about),' Dr Kerry Chant said.

The federal government has trumpeted just how crucial the app is and 5.9 million people have listened, but some health departments have reportedly been struggling to put it into use - with concerns over what that means for the further lifting of restrictions like gatherings (pictured)

Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services said they were hopeful the app would continue to be used rarely

'Obviously, with our cases that are in hotel quarantine, they don't actually have any contacts and that's one of the benefits of them.

'We are evaluating the use of the CovidSafe app, we will be using it in every new case identified where there are potential contacts.'

After putting the app to use for the first time, the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria said they hoped it would continue to be redundant.

'Access is strictly limited to trained public health officers carrying out contact tracing functions,' a spokesperson told The ABC.

'Victoria has legislated privacy obligations when handling citizens' private data or health data and these obligations will be adhered to.

'With only a small number of cases in Victoria, there have been few opportunities to use the app so far.

'We hope this continues.'
Hayford Osei

20.05.2020 LISTEN

An officer with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at Donkro Nkwanta in the Nkoranza South Municipality has allegedly brutalized a student of the University of Education, Winneba, (UEW) for allegedly flirting with his wife.

The victim, Hayford Osei, who suffered multiple cuts on his nose and mouth, is currently nursing his wounds.

The offending officer has been identified as Ebenezer Antwi, but the authorities at the Donkro Nkwanta Police Station refused to comment on the issue.

The only response they gave when DAILY GUIDE contacted them was that investigation was ongoing and they could not comment further.

According to information, Hayford's elder brother used to date the lady at the centre of the issue but broke up with her before the lady dated the police officer with whom she now has a baby.

However, sources say anytime she sees Hayford, she demands money from him because she used to be his elder brother's girlfriend.

On May 7, 2020, at about 11:00 pm, Hayford, who was doing online examination on his phone due to the closure of schools as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, said he received persistent calls from Serwaa demanding GH5 to buy pampers for her baby.

However, the persistent calls from Serwaa was disrupting his work on the phone, so he asked her to stop calling him and promised to give the money to her later in her house.

So, I went to her house at about 11:00 pm and she gave me a chair to sit on. But all of a sudden, somebody gave me a hefty slap on my face from behind. I fell down and the person continued to give me hefty blows till blood streamed on my face while the lady stood aloof for his husband to brutalize me. I lost my phone in the process. I had to run into the nearby bush to escape death, he narrated.

He said he lodged the case with the same police station where the suspect is stationed, adding I was afraid he might not receive justice so I reported the issue to the media as well.

---Daily Guide
Kansas City COVID Jobs Hiring

700 jobs coming to Kansas City metro as 2 companies grow with pandemic KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two companies are hiring for hundreds of positions as the coronavirus pandemic pushes for increases in health care and medical equipment. First, Kansas City-based Spring Venture Group, a tech-driven insurance company, plans to hire 400 employees during the next three months, the Kansas City Business Journal reported.

Keep Cowtown Pipes Clean

KC Water urges businesses to flush water lines as they reopen KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Some businesses have been sitting vacant for several weeks now, which could cause issues, especially for the water system. It's one of the reasons KC Water wants businesses to flush their water lines as they reopen.

Power Play Payout

Evergy pledges millions in COVID-19 battle Electric utility company Evergy is pledging $2.2 million to local relief efforts in the battle against COVID 19. The company says it's the largest focused charitable commitment they've ever made. "We know our communities and customers are dealing with nearly unprecedented uncertainties due to this virus," said Terry Bassham, Evergy President and CEO in a press release.

Downtown Demolition Starts

Historic Board of Education Building is Being Demolished Demolition of the historic former Board of Education building at 1211 McGee is expected to begin soon, although its owner remains open to finding a new home for the colorful mosaic murals adorning it by the late Arthur Kraft.

Kansas City Entrepeneur Shares Pandemic Pep Talk

Mogul of motivation: Paul Long channels hustle into finding what's good amid COVID-19 Im not scared at all about the future. Specifically because I know Im throwing good energy into the universe without the expectation that its going to come back to me, said Long, a Kansas City-based author, podcast host, public speaker, and founder and CEO of Fundamism  a corporate culture consultancy thats built around the fundamentals of a fun and optimistic lifestyle.

Corona Killed Retail

Pier 1 Imports to close all 540 stores after 58 years Pier 1 Imports is calling it quits. The bankrupt home-goods retailer has asked a court for permission to liquidate its remaining 540 stores once they reopen after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, ending a 58-year legacy of selling glassware, wicker furniture and other home decor.

Prez Trump Continues War Of Words With Speaker Pelosi

Trump rips Pelosi as 'a sick woman' over obesity jab, claims unproven coronavirus drug gives him 'safety' President Trump bashed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday as "a sick woman" with "mental health problems" after she suggested he should think twice about taking hydroxychloroquine since he's "morbidly obese" and could suffer serious side effects from the unproven coronavirus drug.

COVID Numbers Game Cont'd

Florida's scientist was fired for refusing to 'manipulate' COVID-19 data BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - The scientist who created Florida's COVID-19 data portal wasn't just removed from her position on May 5, she was fired on Monday by the Department of Health, she said, for refusing to manipulate data.

Corona Save The Planet???

Lockdowns trigger dramatic fall in global carbon emissions Carbon dioxide emissions have fallen dramatically since lockdowns were imposed around the world due to the coronavirus crisis, research has shown. Daily emissions of the greenhouse gas plunged 17% by early April compared with 2019 levels, according to the first definitive study of global carbon output this year.

Kansas Phase II Starts Friday

Kansas Rolls Back More Restrictions, But The Pool Won't Be Open For Memorial Day TOPEKA, Kansas - Starting Friday, Kansans can gather in slightly larger groups, take in a movie, go to an art museum and bowl a few frames. But concerts, festivals, summer camps and parades will remain shut down. And you still won't be able to get a drink at a bar.

Show-Me Hollywood Message To Grads With No Jobs Waiting

Brad Pitt sends message to Missouri State University graduates Missouri State University SOURCE: Missouri State University Missouri State University graduates received a special shout out from Springfield native Brad Pitt.Missouri State University President Clif Smart showed off the surprise on Twitter."Hi everyone. Brad here from quarantine with a shout out to the graduating class of Missouri State University. Yeah!

Fanboys Enjoy Football Dynasty Double Talk

Arrowheadlines: The Chiefs are in a strong position to repeat Chiefs: Can K.C. become first the back-to-back champ since the 2003-2004 New England Patriots? | CBS Sports The Chiefs defense should be improved under another year with Steve Spagnuolo. It's a unit that allowed just 10.4 points in the final five regular season contests last year and 51 points in the final 10 quarters of the postseason.

Right nowand her body of work inspire a quick peek at pop culture, community news and info from across the nation and around the world . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
TOKYO, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government is planning to offer financial aid to students here who are struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the Cabinet on Tuesday approving the program.

The Cabinet agreed to offer students who are suffering financially up to 200,000 yen (1,900 U.S. dollars) in cash as a means of support, as many students have lost part-time jobs or seen their hours cut back amid business closures across the country resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Overseas students here hurt by the pandemic are also eligible for the cash handout, under the government's plan, which will be funded by an extra budget that was enacted late last month.

From the extra budget, 53 billion yen (about 492 million U.S. dollars) has been allocated to finance the program and students at universities, graduate schools, junior colleges, vocational schools and Japanese language schools will be eligible for the support.

The students' schools will provide evidence to confirm their financial circumstances prior to the money being given out via the Japan Student Services Organization, an independent entity established to provide financial assistance to students.

The cash payout plan is in addition to, not instead of, the government's plan to offer all residents in Japan a one-off payment of 100,000 yen to help mitigate the downside effects on individuals and households brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan's education minister Koichi Hagiuda told a press conference on the plan to assist students financially that it was absolutely vital for students here to be able to continue their studies and not abandon their education.

"It's most important for students not to abandon continuing and advancing their education. We'd like to quickly provide assistance to all," Hagiuda said.
Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Montgomery County Fair Association has bestowed the crown upon its 2020 Fair Queen.

I still think about it and I still tear up because it was just so nice to sit there and be like, Im the fair queen whos not going to get a fair, but I have so much more than a fair, said 2020 Montgomery County Fair Queen Danae Lesner.

Normally, the new fair queen would be announced after a ride into a large, crowd filled Woodforest arena. But this year, the announcers booming voice and the communitys emotional cheers are absent from the now quiet, empty arena.

For the first time in its 63 years of supporting youth and education, the association had to cancel the annual Montgomery County Fair and Rodeo, set for March 27-April 5, due to the pandemic.

Hearing the fair was canceled was a heart breaker, Lesner said.

Keeping a custom

As the nation grappled with a public health crisis and economic woes, the fair association fought to hold on to the countys annual fair queen custom  a moment some little girls watch and dream of being a part of throughout their entire childhood, but only have one shot, their junior year in high school, to realize it.

Lesner, who grew up in Houston, said she did not know much about the fair until her mother married a Montgomery County man when she was 12 years old. Her stepfather taught her about the fair, which she began participating in by showing sheep. Over time, she began to participate in other contests, including showing rabbits and entering a photo competition.

It became an event she began to look forward to each year, where she could spend time with her family and friends, and show off the projects she worked all year on. The experience even sparked a career interest in the industry, possibly to become an extension agent or veterinarian.

Now I feel like I am part of this community, Lesner said. I give back to this community and I love this community. The fair is a second home to me. Its somewhere I feel safe. Even though theres only a week-long fair, its sometimes a year-long thing for me.

It wasnt until she was 14 and saw a girl from the Willis Independent School District participate in the crowning ceremony, that she knew that she could be the Montgomery County Fair Queen, too.

Then, I really developed the will to run, right then, Lesner said. Because every year after that I wanted to go watch the crowning. Thats when it really clicked for me, when I was 14, that I understood that they were part of the fair and they were people just like me.

Her chance arrived. Then, the pandemic hit.

The fair was canceled. And the shelter-in-place orders were put in place. School was canceled too.

In October, 17 participants, which eventually dropped to 15 participants due to the pandemic, began preparing and training with sessions on etiquette, interviews and speech. They would also participate in fair events, such as the Go Texan Parade in downtown Conroe in February, which promotes the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

But this year, with no fair, the participants would not be able to sit down and have the annual crowning day activities, such as breakfast with judges or the ride into the arena on Friday and Saturday night.

Each and every girl who was part of this competition had emotional moments whether it was just about the fact that the fair was canceled or the fact that we were missing out on parts of this competition, Lesner said. I know some of the girls were down because they were missing out on these experiences and they felt like there was no way to recreate these experiences for them.

Virtual participation

Instead, the remaining participants met with fair officials in virtual Zoom meetings. Fair Queen Committee Chairwoman Melissa Reagan even drove out to each of the participants homes, where speeches were recorded in front yards to practice social distancing. The video recordings were given to the judges, who were able to talk to the participants virtually.

The resiliency that these girls showed was absolutely amazing, said Reagan, who Lesner said immediately sent a message to the participants when the fair was canceled telling them not to lose hope and they will finish the competition.

On May 9, the fair live streamed the big announcement on Facebook through a Zoom meeting. The post showed a screen with small web camera windows displaying all 15 participants, some surrounded by family members in their living room and others sitting outside, and at least one wearing a crown on top of her cowgirl hat as the 2019 fair queen, Grace Hoegemeyer.

Lesner leaned on the edge of her seat, squeezing her mothers hand.

I was like: say it, say it, say it, I just want to know, she said. And he said Danae Lesner and I swear all I heard was the Da-. I heard Da- and I started screaming.

The public watched each girls reaction as they broke out in applause for the surprised Lesner, who jumped up and down and excitedly embraced her mother standing beside her.

I was screaming so hard my throat was hurting afterwards, Lesner said. I didnt even know how to respond to it, it was just like  I did it, I made it. Its this feeling of relief that we made it, the fair did something positive this year.

That this is something that we can look forward to and it was something that I had looked forward to since I was younger  I made it, I did this. I was really proud of myself and then I was just proud of everyone for completing the competition.

Crowning ceremony

Finally, the association held a small, private crowning ceremony for Lesner on Monday at the Montgomery County Fair Grounds within the arena. Lesner thanked everyone who supported the participants through the difficult process of trying to have a fair queen competition.

It has really shown me that people really do care, that people are sweet, and they are here to help each other, said Lesner, who was sponsored by Peaches Closet.

On Monday, the court stood at the queens side. The fair presented first runner up Makinzie Noska from Willis High School who was sponsored by Flip Flop Bling, second runner up Jensen Altom from Magnolia High School who was sponsored by Sunbelt Business Brokers, and Miss Congeniality Kara Lambert from Willis High School who was sponsored by Conroe Pediatric Dentistry.

And, staying true to the tradition, the fair queen and her court were all still awarded a scholarship.

The queen went home with a $3,500 scholarship, trophy, belt buckle, jacket and roses. She will serve as an official fair ambassador next year.

The first runner up will fill the queens boots if she is unable to fulfill her duties. She earned a $2,500 scholarship, flowers and trophy.

The second runnerup received a $1,500 scholarship, trophy, flowers and will join the first runner up as a delegate for the fair.

Miss Congeniality, who is selected by her peers, also received a $1,000 scholarship, trophy and flowers.

mellsworth@hcnonline.com
Study clearly shows that the Wasamac tailings are non-potentially acid generating (non-PAG).

Wasamac tailings could also lower the acidity at tailings sites of neighbouring mills (see the map).

Combined effect could improve the project's economic parameters and support the lower-CAPEX custom milling scenario.

MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION ("Monarch" or the "Corporation") (TSX:MQR)(OTC PINK:MRQRF)(FRANKFURT:MR7) is pleased to announce the results of a geochemical assessment of the Wasamac deposit tailings. Monarch retained Ecometrix Incorporated ("EcoMetrix") to assess the Wasamac tailings, including their geochemical characteristics, using the ore as a surrogate for the tailings, and the potential implications of storage and weathering in a typical tailing storage facility. The results of the assessment will provide the basis for scoping appropriate candidate tailings storage facilities for Wasamac.

The investigation of the Wasamac tailings was based on the results of metallurgical testing completed in 2018 and recent independent geochemical analysis of archived samples from the four Wasamac ore zones. The results clearly show that the Wasamac tailings are non-potentially acid generating (non-PAG), with very little to no tendency to generate net acidity. Moreover, they show that the tailings contain excess capacity to neutralize acid from external sources. This conclusion is founded on the abundance of calcium- and magnesium-carbonate minerals in the ore and tailings, which represent effective neutralization potential to consume any acid produced by the oxidation of the sulphide mineral, pyrite, that will be present in the ore and tailings.

This summary and the findings were taken from the NI 43-101 report: Geochemical Assessment of the Wasamac Tailings, published by Derek Amores, Ph.D., Heather Lindsay, M.Sc., P.Eng. and R.V. (Ron) Nicholson, Ph.D., P.Geo. at EcoMetrix on February 27, 2020, and filed today on the Corporation's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

"This study is of great interest to us, as it indicates that the Wasamac tailings will be significantly less harmful to the environment than if they were acid-generating," said Jean-Marc Lacoste, President and Chief Executive Officer of Monarch. "In addition, the potential to neutralize acid on existing tailings facilities from Wasamac tailings suggests that Wasamac could be an obvious economic choice for several mills (see the map)."

"The Wasamac feasibility study released in 2018 allocated $234 million for the construction of a mill and tailings facility (see press release dated December 3, 2018). The new option being considered to bring the ore to a new site for custom milling (see press release dated May 14, 2020) could significantly reduce this portion of the initial CAPEX for the construction of the mine," concluded Mr. Lacoste.

The technical and scientific content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Marc-Andre Lavergne, P.Eng., the Corporation's qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

ABOUT MONARCH GOLD CORPORATION

Monarch Gold Corporation (TSX:MQR) is an emerging gold mining company focused on becoming a 100,000 to 200,000 ounce per year gold producer through its large portfolio of high-quality projects in the Abitibi mining camp in Quebec, Canada. The Corporation currently owns over 330 km of gold properties (see map), including the Wasamac deposit (measured and indicated resource of 2.6 million ounces of gold), the Beaufor, Croinor Gold (see video), Fayolle, McKenzie Break and Swanson advanced projects, and the Camflo and Beacon mills. It also offers custom milling services out of its 1,600 tonne-per-day Camflo mill.

Forward-Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements in this press release involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Monarch's actual results, performance and achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied therein. Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Jean-Marc Lacoste

1-888-994-4465

President and Chief Executive Officer

jm.lacoste@monarquesgold.com

Mathieu Seguin

1-888-994-4465

Vice President, Corporate Development

m.seguin@monarquesgold.com

Elisabeth Tremblay

1-888-994-4465

Senior Geologist - Communications Specialist

e.tremblay@monarquesgold.com

www.monarquesgold.com

SOURCE: Monarch Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590550/Monarch-Gold-Receives-Excellent-Results-from-New-Tailings-Study-on-the-Wasamac-Gold-Project
Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, the General Overseer of Action Chapel International, says the fear of the novel Coronavirus is rather killing people than the virus itself.



Speaking to Paul Adom-Otchere on Good Evening Ghana, on Tuesday, May 19, the Archbishop indicated that there is a lot of uncertainty and fear spreading through humanity.



Apart from the virus killing people, one of the things that is also killing and destroying a lot of people is the fear of COVID-19 because the fear of COVID-19 is being spread and is causing depression and a lot of anxiety and uncertainty," he said.



The Archbishop informed the audience that most of his congregation call him to complain of nightmares, strange dreams, which a lot of them have never had before.



A lot of fear and panic and they are losing hope; they are losing faith because the word of God is what builds faith and gives hope of the things that God has saidso we need to keep hope alive; we need to keep faith alive because for without faith we die or do not exist, he stressed.



Archbishop Duncan-Williams urged the Christian community who believe that with their faith in the almighty God, it is impossible for them to contract the novel virus to apply wisdom to their faith.



I will say as a shepherd that we should follow all the protocols and do all the things that weve been told by science to do and still have faith that youll not get the virus and that even if you get it, it wont kill you, he noted.



He believes that everything has life in it and Christians have the potency to curse the life in Coronavirus, therefore, when a Christian contracts the virus, with faith it cant kill you.



The leader of the Charismatic ministry envisages that Christians all over the country will be praying in groups to avert the "calamity" facing the world at the moment because the scientists themselves are struggling with an answer, solution to the virus and if we leave everything to just the scientists and sit in our homes waiting to hear good news that this thing has just passed away and we are free, were going back to business, as usual, its not going to happen and the thing is an unseen enemy.



When asked whether there is a spirit behind the novel Coronavirus, the Archbishop answered in the affirmative but refused to name the kind of spirit behind it.



Archbishop Duncan-Williams quoted John chapter 10 verse 10 of the Holy Bible where the scripture indicates that The devil cometh only to steal and kill and destroy....



Look at what the virus is doing; it is killing, destroying and taking away peoples livelihood...It is creating a crisis in nations, amongst humanity that has never happened before. Look at the situation in America: over 30 million people are out of jobs, not only in America but all nations around the world, he explained.



Archbishop Duncan-Williams is famous for his charismatic preaching, prayers and reversal of "generational curses in the family bloodline" which he attributes to the cause of diseases.





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.

Featured Video
A staff member hangs the national emblem on the K3/4 train. (Photo/Yin Xingyun)

The K3/4 train running between Beijing and Moscow via Ulan Bator will mark 60 years of operations this month.

The route opened on May 24, 1960, and was China's first international train route. It remains perhaps the country's most famous international rail journey.

The total length of the railway is over 5,000 kilometers. The train has carried over 2 million passengers from more than 100 countries, witnessing friendly exchanges between people in China, Mongolia and Russia.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

The General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia has said even though he was registered by the National Identification Authority (NIA), he still has not received his Ghana card  one of the primary documents needed for the voter registration.

He wondered if he would be disenfranchised by the Jean Mensa-led Electoral Commission (EC) because of that.

The EC wants Parliament to legislate that only the Ghana card and passport be used as primaries documents for the voter registration exercise ahead of this years December general elections.

Already, the EC has submitted a Constitutional Instrument to the legislature to amend the relevant law or C.I. 91.

The NDC is kicking against the ECs decision to compile a new register of voters. Also, the party insists the majority of Ghanaians will be disenfranchised if the EC uses only the Ghana card and passport as proof of identity to register eligible voters.

Speaking on Dwabirem on CTV on Wednesday, 20 May 2020, Mr Nketia said although he registered for the Ghana card at Seikwa in the Tain district, he has not yet received his card.

Yes, I registered at Seikwa, Tain district, but as we speak, I dont have my Ghana card. As the General Secretary of the NDC, will the EC disenfranchise me? he asked show host Kwame Appiah Kubi.

Meanwhile, the EC has said reports that the compilation of the new register has been cancelled due to the outbreak of the coronavirus are false.

The Commission wishes to state that the compilation of the new register of voters has not been cancelled. Plans are far advanced for the successful take-off of the registration process, the EC said in a statement issued on 17 March 2020.

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.

---classfmonline
Indias rail network is reopening and millions in the Philippines are able to leave their homes again as countries around the world ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

The moves come despite a senior world health official warning that countries are trying to drive through this blind as they reopen because they have not set up strong systems to track new outbreaks of the virus.

In the United States, some of the leading experts on infectious diseases are due to speak via video link at a Senate hearing  a 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 US, its testing capabilities and perceived government failures.

(PA Graphics)

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 a select number of 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 countrys 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.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wearing a face mask (Ace Morandante/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)

Yet questions remain about how prepared many countries are to end lockdowns. The World Health Organisations 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.

Story continues

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.

Mr Ryan said: Shutting your eyes and trying to drive through this blind is about as silly an equation as Ive seen. And Im really concerned that certain countries are setting themselves up for some seriously blind driving over the next few months.

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.

(PA Graphics)

US 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 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.

Frances health minister has promised robust contact tracing and pledged that the country will test 700,000 people a week. On Monday, with progress unclear, the nations highest court ordered the government to take extreme care in protecting privacy rights, casting doubt on how to proceed.

Prisoners at a US jail tried to infect themselves with coronavirus after mistakenly believing they would be released if they tested positive for Covid-19.

Inmates at the North County Correctional Facility in Los Angeles are thought to have used hot water to raise their temperatures before a nurse checked them for symptoms of the disease. Within two weeks of footage being captured, around 30 prisoners tested positive, according to police.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said: 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.

President @realDonaldTrump has led a historic effort to ramp up testing nationwide, partnering with the private sector to accomplish more than government ever could alone. America has now conducted over 8 million tests in just a few months. Read more: https://t.co/A68ueVTJ02 pic.twitter.com/iZZI8j8QAw  The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 12, 2020

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 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 Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The three are in self-quarantine. They will be joined by Admiral Brett Giroir, the coronavirus testing czar at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 4.1 million people and killed over 286,000, including more than 150,000 in Europe and 80,000 in the US, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Experts believe those numbers understate the outbreaks true toll.
Governments must help citizens to wrench data back from companies owning it

Covid-19 has demonstrated how data can provide new sources of evidence for public policy-making.

Internet search histories are being used to detect unknown outbreaks and in many countries governments are using cellphone location data to track population movements and contain the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has also reminded us that data ownership is heavily skewed in favour of the private sector. Capturing, organising and analysing data is a multitrillion-dollar business and the most valuable data  private (often high-frequency and geolocated) data  belongs to banks, mobile network operators (MNOs), and tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon and Google/Alphabet.

In economic terms data is similar to roads, parks and clean air. First, it has high upfront costs and low marginal costs. Its expensive to set up a data collection system, but once its in place its cheap to collect the data. Second, data is non-rivalrous. It can be provided to additional users at little or even zero cost and it is not depleted as more people use it. This differs from other resources, such as oil or gas, where the use of one person prevents the use of the same oil or gas by another.

Finally, data has externalities. The use of data by one person affects the costs and benefits of others. We tend to focus on the negative externalities of data, as when private firms harvest our data and sell to third parties without our knowledge or consent. The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal is a case in point. We forget that data also has positive externalities. When different data sets are combined, new knowledge is produced and new value is created.

From a public policy perspective this suggests we should treat data the same way we treat roads, parks, and clean air: as a public good. To an extent we already do that. Most academic research is government-funded and national statistical services, such as Stats SA, collect and publish official socioeconomic and demographic data. However, the largest and fastest-growing repositories of data are held by private firms.

This gives them market advantage and allows them to expand beyond their core businesses. Google/Alphabet, through its Waymo subsidiary, is the market leader for autonomous vehicles, not because it knows how to build cars but because it has access to more location data than anyone else. Similarly, mobile network operators such as MTN and Vodacom, are making billions on banking and insurance, drawing on their knowledge about mobile phone users.

The concentration of data in the hands of private companies slows down innovation and growth. When a few dozen companies have access to the most valuable data only a few dozen companies can contribute to inventing new things. A recent report by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development suggests that if data were more widely shared many countries could enjoy gains worth 1%-2.5% of GDP.

Ironically, the technology and infrastructure upon which many of these companies base their success were developed with taxpayer money. Googles algorithms were developed with funding from the US National Science Foundation. The internet, touchscreen displays and GPS came out of the US defence department. It seems fair that the data they collect is made accessible to all of us.

Companies are already moving in the right direction. In April Microsoft launched an open data campaign and announced plans to create 20 data-sharing groups by 2022. Similar steps have been taken by Spanish bank BBVA and British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. However, they are the exception rather than the rule. Most companies still treat data as private property.

So what needs to be done? First, we must acknowledge that market forces alone will not solve the problem. Too much data is already concentrated in the hands of the private sector, and government intervention is needed if we are to benefit  collectively  from the data revolution.

In concrete terms, this means governments must adopt comprehensive policies that go beyond the protection of private information and promote equal access to data. No-one should be granted exclusive rights to public-sector data. A recent report from the Bennett Institute of Public Policy at Cambridge University even suggests private companies should be obliged to make their data accessible to third parties and ensure interoperability between platforms. The reduced incentive to invest in the data economy could be offset by issuing time-restricted licences similar to patents.

Privacy concerns will also have to be dealt with in more innovative ways. Restricting access and aggregating data are not the solution. Computation and encryption-based alternatives should be adopted. National statistical services could play a big role, which means their mandate should be expanded. In addition to their core functions, they could even serve as custodians of private data collected by others.

Covid-19 has made it evident that most governments are behind the curve. Their policies are inadequate and they do not have the mechanisms in place to systematically incorporate data in their policy-making processes. While the private sector has generally responded responsibly to the pandemic by sharing data and offering analytical capacity, it is unsustainable that our collective interests are left at the mercy of profit-driven firms. Policymakers need to act, and it is urgent.

This article was first published in the Business Day
Minority political parties in the country say they are preparing for December 2020 elections despite the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Among them is the Peoples National Convention (PNC) whose chairman, Bernard Mornah has disclosed how the partys flagbearer will be elected ahead of the 2020 polls.

We have resorted to the virtual phase where we are using the cloud to do most of our activities. Right now, we communicate, we hold meetings on the cloud and then we take decisions thereof. We have started to even conduct some conferences, that is regional conferences, on the cloud so that at the end of the day the person so elected from the various constituencies will now represent at the regional level and then the national delegates conference. What the PNC, as you are aware, is doing is that we are exploring the possibilities of doing a virtual national delegates congress without necessarily busing people to one location because our delegate count is almost four thousand. CPP manifesto

For the Convention People's Party (CPP), its General Secretary, James Kwabena Bonfeh says a team has been put in place to draft a manifesto for the December polls.

So the CPP is working, the CPP is functioning and I want to believe that when all is said and done we would be out there competing with a depth people-based manifesto which will resonate with the people of this country. We have maintained that, as the architects of the Republic Ghana, we know we are the best builders and that what the NPP and the NDC have sought to do are only going to mimic our yeoman example for which they have actually failed to copy very well.

LPGs preparations

Meanwhile, the Leader and Founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG) says the coronavirus pandemic has slowed its campaign activities ahead of the election.

Kofi Akpalo tells Citi News that, nevertheless, the party is in pole position to contest the election.

I will say we are ready for the election. It is just the COVID-19 that has caused us to hold up a little bit other than that we would have gone round the whole country by now to send our message of hope. Because the few people that we have been able to reach in the Volta Regionin the five Northern regionsthey have received us very well. We are ready; our team is ready, our logistics are ready, and everything is ready, we are just waiting for the president to come out and say we can now do social gathering and stuff like that and then we will take it from there but I can tell you for a fact that we are poised to win the election.

---citinewsroom
RINGWOOD, England, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As lockdown measures ease, returning to work across the United Kingdom is a cause of concern for many business owners looking to safeguard the health of their workforces. While COVID-19 remains a threat, efforts must focus on mitigating the threat of all diseases in the office environment to minimise further despair and disruption.

Legionella has long been a threat as a consequence of not carrying out regular checks of water and flushing systems. It thrives in 'Goldilocks' systems, where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold.

As most offices have been mothballed during the lockdown, there has been a halt on the normal flow of water usage, which has effectively left water sitting in pipes for weeks, posing a risk of Legionella.

Smarter Technologies Group, a specialist monitoring and surveillance engineering firm, has been working with building managers to reduce the threat of Legionella through the introduction of the company's combined automated flushing and temperature units. Placed on taps and shower fixtures, these units provide scheduled, automated temperature readings and flushing.

As well as this, most standard offices these days have showering facilities available to staff. While progressive management teams are mitigating the risks of COVID-19 by subdividing offices and introducing temperature checks, special attention should be given to these less obvious parts of the office too, which could prove fatal in other ways.

"We are concerned that basic risks such as Legionella, that are poorly understood in the wider business community, will be missed. Legionnaires' is a respiratory illness spread in the vapour mist from air conditioning units, taps and particularly showerheads. To avoid setting off a slew of problems, trained facilities management staff at all businesses need to check the shower blocks, especially since more people will be avoiding public transport by biking or jogging to work and therefore may need to use showers," explained Bradley Wingrave, CEO of Smarter Technologies Group.

"All of the normal issues linked to cleansing systems, air quality, temperature and pest control should be magnified. A staggered return to work may also overbear conventional systems as property managers contend with the concerns linked to the health of the workforce."

This is no doubt a unique period in our industrial history. That said, taking advantage of available technology may be the best way forward in keeping our people and workplaces safe and ensuring compliance with both existing regulations and the new guidance that is cascading down from the government.

For Editors:

Smarter Technologies Group - www.smartertechnologies.com

Smarter Technologies Group is a UK-based Crown Service Supplier providing monitoring and surveillance technology to various Government bodies. Smarter Technologies Group has significant experience in the commercial property sector, and has been working with landlords to ensure that premises are compliant and safeguards are put in place to provide early warning notifications that allow them to assess risk and pre-emptively mitigate threats to operations or personnel.

Contact Smarter Technologies Group:

Matthew Margetts,

e: matthew.margetts@smarterbusiness.co.uk,

t: +44 (0)7854955023
WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY  The Westchester Medical Center is one of 15 hospitals in New York that will allow visitors in, under a new pilot program coordinated with the re-opening of the state's economy following the new coronavirus outbreak's decline.

WMC is the only hospital in the Hudson Valley to become part of the program which Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced during his Tuesday briefing.



At his daily coronavirus briefing Tuesday, Cuomo delivered "good news" amid a "bittersweet reality," as the state continued to see downward trend in coronavirus-related hospitalizations, intubations, intensive care admissions and deaths.

A seventh New York region can begin phase one of reopening businesses.



The Capital Region satisfied its tracing requirement and can begin phase one of reopening May 20, Cuomo said. Long Island, Mid-Hudson and New York City will remain closed for nonessential business though the first two are closer.



New York state requires regions to have a new hospitalization rate under 2 per 100,000 residents to begin phase one of the reopening plan. The Mid-Hudson posted a rate of 1.74 per 100,000 as of May 18, the state dashboard reported Tuesday afternoon. The Mid-Hudson must reach a rate of fewer than 5 COVID-19 deaths in hospitals per day as well as have enough contact tracers lined up that everyone who may have been exposed to infected people can be warned to self-quarantine.



Additionally, Cuomo said local governments can decide whether to have small ceremonies for the Memorial Day holiday, an annual day of remembrance that honors those who died serving the United States during peace and war. He said he hopes the events will be televised and that vehicle parades are both appropriate and "should be encouraged."

"This is important to many, many families all across this state and the nation," Cuomo said.

This article originally appeared on the Pleasantville-Briarcliff Manor Patch
The firing last Friday of the US State Departments inspector general, Steve Linick, may have been driven by his probe into the Trump administrations declaration of a national emergency in a bid to push through $8 billion worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates without Congressional approval, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee charged on Monday.

The media had previously focused on reports of an investigation into US Secretary of State Mike Pompeos misuse of State Department resources and staff for his personal benefit, ordering aides to walk his dog and using government planes to fly himself and his wife to Kansas, where Pompeo has reportedly considered a run for the US Senate.

Linick, however, was investigating issues of a far more substantial character, involving a criminal US foreign policy and the Trump administrations riding roughshod over the US Constitution and the separation of powers to achieve its objectives.

I have learned that there may be another reason for Linicks firing, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Eliot Engel said in a statement Monday. His office was investigatingat my requestTrumps phony declaration of an emergency so he could send weapons to Saudi Arabia.

Engel added, We dont have the full picture yet, but its troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed. He demanded that the administration turn over all records from the inspector generals probe.

Senator Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican in the Senate, sent a letter to the White House Monday demanding a detailed reasoning for the firing of Linick, while warning that the inspector general should be free from partisan political interference from either the Executive or Legislative branch.

Linick is the fourth inspector general to be fired by Trump in the last six weeks. While it is within the presidents power to appoint and remove such figures at will, doing so to cover up criminal activity would itself constitute a crime.

Pompeo claimed that he knew nothing of Linicks investigation into his own activities, but had nonetheless asked Trump to fire the inspector general. I went to the President and made clear to him that Inspector General Linick wasnt performing a function in a way that we had tried to get him to, that was additive for the State Department ... Pompeo had refused to meet with the State Department IG to discuss the national emergency declaration over the arms deals.

The action taken by the administration in May 2019 invoked a provision of the Arms Control Act allowing the White House to bypass the normal 30-day congressional notification period for arms sales if the president declares a national emergency. This ensured that Congress could not put a hold on any of the arms deals with the Persian Gulf oil monarchies.

Both Democratic and Republican administrations have for decades poured billions of dollars of arms into Saudi Arabia, aiding the monarchy in both suppressing domestic opposition and playing a role as a pillar of reaction and US imperialist domination in the Middle East.

However, the vicious October 2018 murder of the influential Saudi journalist and former regime insider Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as well as unending reports of mass civilian casualties resulting from US-supplied Saudi warplanes dropping US-made bombs and missiles on Yemen, had created enough qualms in Congress to threaten at least a temporary snag in consummating the lucrative arms deals.

Concerns among both Democratic and Republican legislators stemmed from the fear that the blatant crimes of the Saudi regime, in torturing murdering and dismembering Khashoggi, and dropping bombs on funerals, school buses, hospitals and homes in Yemen, could hamper US efforts to cloak its imperialist interventions in the Middle East and elsewhere under the banners of human rights and democracy.

Legislation calling for an end to US support for the near-genocidal Saudi war against the people of Yemen, while winning support in both the House and Senate, was easily quashed by Trump, without sufficient votes in the Senate to override his veto.

Saudi Arabias war in Yemen began in 2015 and was waged with the indispensable aid of the Obama administration, which not only pushed through multi-billion-dollar arms deals, but also provided key logistical support from the Pentagon, including the mid-air refueling of Saudi bombers and the deployment of US warships to enforce a blockade aimed at starving the countrys population into submission.

While arms sales during Obamas second term in office rose to $36 billion a year, once the murderous war in Yemen was handed over to the Trump administration, it climbed to an average of $51 billion a year during his first three years in office.

The declaration of a national emergency one year ago to fast-track arms deals by precluding congressional oversight was justified in the name of countering Irans malign activities in the Middle East, while falsely casting Yemens Houthi rebels as an Iranian proxy force.

The determination to push through the arms deal at all costs was driven by both the profit interests of massive military contractors such as Raytheon, which has supplied most of the bombs that have killed Yemeni men, women and children, and the determination to strengthen the alliance with Saudi Arabia maintained by successive Republican and Democratic administrations as the centerpiece of an effort to build a common front between the Gulf oil monarchies, Israel and the US to isolate, destabilize and prepare direct military intervention against Iran.

The use of the fabricated national emergency to achieve these aims, along with the firing of the State Department inspector general for investigating these actions, lay bare the insoluble connection between the buildup to imperialist war abroad and the systematic dismantling of even the vestiges of democratic forms of rule at home.
By Express News Service

MALAPPURAM: Clearing the air around the Covid-19 infection of a 34-year-old pregnant woman who recently returned from Kuwait, which was widely reported as the first relapse case of the infection in Kerala, health authorities said she could not be considered a recovered case. As per the health records of the Alappuzha native, she was under treatment for Covid-19 in Kuwait and later tested negative there. However, before a repeat test was conducted, she got a chance to return to India.

The woman cannot be considered a recovered case. A person can only be declared as recovered after at least two consecutive samples test negative. She tested negative only once in Kuwait, said Malappuram DMO K Sakeena. There might be many reasons for the woman becoming positive in Kerala. Experts opine that she might have travelled to the state with the infection. The nurse landed in a special flight at Calicut airport on May 13.

The health authorities appreciated her for not hiding the history of Covid treatment in Kuwait. Considering her history, we admitted her to the isolation ward of the Government MCH, Manjeri, Sakeena said.K V Nandakumar, superintendent of the MCH, said a detailed study should be done to confirm whether the case is a relapse or reinfection.

The patients health condition is stable now, he said. The woman travelled with 192 expatriates to Kerala. Of them, six have shown symptoms of Covid-19. The information from the Health Department suggests that some people with the infection have also received permission to travel to the state from other countries. In a recent case, a pregnant woman and child (natives of Malappuram) returned from Kuwait in a special repatriation flight at Kochi airport on May 9.
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaking at the Taipei Guest House as part of her inauguration for her second term as in office in Taipei, May 20, 2020.

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen set the scene for her second term in office on with a vow that the democratic island would never accept rule by the Chinese Communist Party, signaling instead a cautious move towards constitutional reform.



Tsai said that any relationship with Beijing would have to proceed peacefully, on an equal footing -- an idea that is anathema to the Chinese Communist Party -- and with respect for Taiwan's democratic system.



"We will not accept the Beijing authorities' use of 'one country, two systems' to downgrade Taiwan and undermine the cross-strait status quo. We stand fast by this principle," Tsai said.



"Here, I want to reiterate the words 'peace, parity, democracy, and dialogue,'" said Tsai, who won a landslide victory in January for a second term as president of the 1911 Republic of China, which has controlled the four islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu since losing the civil war to Mao Zedong's communists in 1949.

She said Taiwan's parliament, the Legislative Yuan, would begin a

process of "constitutional amendments," beginning a dialogue to

achieve consensus on "constitutional reforms pertaining to government

systems and people's rights."

"This democratic process will enable the constitutional system to

progress with the times and align with the values of Taiwanese

society," Tsai said.

She said the first amendment would aim to lower the voting age from 20

to 18, a move for which there is already a broad consensus.

Tsai spent the first section of her speech praising the island's

response to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Thank you for your patience, and thank you for trusting the

government," she said. "You have shown the world Taiwan's commitment

to civic virtues, even in times of greatest distress."

"This is what solidarity feels like."

Beijing insists on 'reunification'

Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office said Beijing would stick to its insistence on "reunification," which it described as a "historical inevitability of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."



"We have the firm will, full confidence, and sufficient ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the office said in a statement responded to Tsai's speech.



In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated Tsai on her second term inauguration.



"I would like to congratulate Dr. Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of her second term as Taiwans President," Pompeo said. "Her courage and vision in leading Taiwans vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world."



Support for Taiwan in the United States is bipartisan and unanimous," he said. "We have a shared vision for the regionone that includes rule of law, transparency, prosperity, and security for all."



He said island's response to the pandemic had shown the world a model "worthy of emulation."



Chinas Foreign Ministry condemned Pompeos remarks, and said China would take "necessary countermeasures," without giving details.

Matt Pottinger, senior director of the U.S. National Security Council, spoke in Mandarin as he commended Taiwan's performance in handling the COVID-19 outbreak and congratulated Tsai on her second four-year term.

"The world has much to learn from Taiwan and the U.S. will continue to engage with Taiwan. We will continue to urge other countries and organizations, such as the World Health Organization, to put human lives above politics," Pottinger said in a video message from the White House.

Tsai's inauguration speech repeated her election campaign pledge that her government would only deal with China on an equal footing, and would continue to insist on its freedom, democracy and sovereignty in the face of threats of invasion -- which Beijing refers to as "reunification."



China has used diplomatic offensives, military threats, interference and infiltration to try to force the island to compromise its sovereignty, according to the Taiwan government and its security services.



Tsai said on the campaign trail that Taiwan would never agree to becoming part of the People's Republic of China in its current, authoritarian state, because the experience of Hong Kong had shown that Beijing's "one country, two systems" model isn't viable, because democracy and authoritarianism are unable to coexist within the same country.



Hong Kong crackdown fuels Taiwan fears

Public opinion polls have shown that the violent suppression of Hong Kong's anti-government protest movement has fueled fears for Taiwan's national security and democracy, and that only around 4.5 percent of Taiwan's 23 million people welcome the idea of Chinese rule.



Tsai has been a vocal supporter of Hong Kong protesters' aspirations for full democracy, and against the use of police violence and political prosecutions to target protesters, and argued during a presidential election debate that China is the biggest threat to Taiwan's way of life.



Retired Shandong University lecturer Feng Gang said Beijing appears to be deliberately nudging Taiwan in the direction of declaring a new sovereign identity unconnected to China.



"I think that the policy is to provide stimuli to send Taiwan towards independence," Feng told RFA. "This will free them up to do what they want to do."



"The chances of Taiwan actually acquiescing to [unification] at any point in the next three decades are looking pretty poor," he said.



Chinese academic Li Muyang said the Legislative Yuan constitutional amendment committee would pave the way for Taiwan to move still further from Beijing's notion of "one country, two systems."



"Tsai Ing-wen looks likely to set up a constitutional amendment committee which could be very important ... over the next four years," Li said. "Although there are no detailed parameters yet, the direction [she is going in] is clear to everyone. Taiwan may develop in a more independent direction."



Taiwan was ruled as a Japanese colony in the 50 years prior to the end of World War II, but was occupied by the 1911 Republic of China under the Kuomintang (KMT) as part of Tokyo's post-war reparation deal with the allies.



It has never been controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, nor formed part of the People's Republic of China.



The island began a transition to democracy following the death of President Chiang Ching-kuo in , starting with direct elections to the legislature in the early 1990s and culminating in the first direct election of a president, Lee Teng-hui, in 1996.



Reported by Qiao Long and Hsia Hsiao-hwa for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Chung Kuang-cheng for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has warned that the coronavirus pandemic threatens Africas progress and could push millions into extreme poverty.

He said in a video message launching a policy report on the Impact of Covid-19 in Africa that countries on the continent have responded swiftly to the crisis, and reported cases are so far lower than feared with more than 2,500 deaths.

The virus is present in all African countries with most recording fewer than 1,000 cases, the 28-page UN report said.

The relatively low numbers of confirmed cases have raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic, the report said.

Caution is warranted, however, as these are early days in the life cycle of a disease that is still not fully understood and where we have seen repeated patterns of first slow, then exponential growth in the number of cases.

#COVID19 threatens the important progress Africa has made in recent years to advance the well-being of the continents people.



Global solidarity with Africa is an urgent imperative  now & for recovering better.https://t.co/SF1YjkSenu pic.twitter.com/TMs4fVQN13  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 20, 2020

The UN said the low numbers could be linked to minimal testing and reporting, pointing to a World Health Organisation warning that the pandemic could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in 47 African countries in the first year, mostly depending on governments responses.

The WHO also warned that the socioeconomic impacts could `smoulder for several years, the report said.

Mr Guterres said much hangs in the balance.

He called for international action to strengthen Africas health systems, maintain food supplies, avoid a financial crisis, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings.

To help address the devastating economic and social consequences of the pandemic, Mr Guterres said Africa needs more than 200 billion dollars and an across-the-board debt standstill for African countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults.

In recent years, the UN chief has said economic growth in Africa was strong, the digital revolution had taken hold and agreement had been reached on a free trade area.

People affected by the coronavirus economic downturn line up to receive food donations at the Iterileng informal settlement near Laudium, southwest of Pretoria in South Africa today. Pic: AP

But he said already, demand for Africas commodities, tourism and remittances are declining and the opening of the trade zone has been pushed back.

The secretary-general said the pandemic will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease.

The UN urged that agriculture be declared a critical sector that should not be interrupted by Covid-19 related measures.

Mr Guterres commended what countries and the African Union have done to tackle the pandemic, saying most have deepened regional co-ordination, deployed health workers, and enforced quarantines, lockdowns and border closures.

They are also drawing on the experience of HIV/Aids and Ebola to debunk rumours and overcome mistrust of government, security forces and health workers, he added.

He said the United Nations has delivered millions of test kits, respirators and other supplies, reaching almost the entire continent.

While dealing with the pandemic, the UN report said maintaining peace and security in Africa remains paramount.

Mr Guterres has appealed for global ceasefires to tackle Covid-19 and he said it is essential for African countries to sustain their efforts to silence the guns and address violent extremism.
The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will be indefinitely extending the public health order it has used to seal the country's borders to unauthorized migrants, including asylum-seekers and unaccompanied children, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Authorities have used the directive to rapidly remove most border-crossers without proper documents to Mexico, Canada or their home countries and to bypass the immigration, asylum and anti-trafficking laws that govern the processing of migrants. More than 20,000 migrants were expelled from the U.S. southern border under the order in April and the last 11 days of March.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directive, which invokes sweeping authorities in a 1944 public health law, was first issued in late March and renewed for another 30 days last month. On Tuesday, CDC Director Robert Redfield extended the order once again. But he did not include an end date and instead decreed the order would be reviewed every 30 days.

"(The order) shall remain in effect until I determine that the danger of further introduction of COVID-19 into the United States has ceased to be a serious danger to the public health," Redfield wrote in the 12-page document published Tuesday.

Medical staff from Global Response Management takes samples from a patient suspected of contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at an isolation area of a hospital installed at a migrant encampment in Matamoros

Medical staff take samples from a patient suspected of contracting the coronavirus at an isolation area of a hospital installed at a migrant encampment in Matamoros, Mexico, on May 1, 2020. Daniel Becerril / REUTERS

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also announced on Tuesday it would continue to ban non-essential travel through the country's land borders with Mexico and Canada. The restrictions do not prohibit commercial traffic or affect U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Top administration officials have strongly defended the CDC order, saying it has allowed the U.S. to prevent the entry of potentially infected foreigners who could spread the coronavirus inside migrant holding facilities and exhaust the country's public health resources. Roughly 80% of those apprehended near the U.S.-Mexico border since the order took effect have been turned back within two hours, Homeland Security officials have said.

Story continues

Justifying the indefinite extension, Redfield warned that lifting the restrictions would lead to overcrowded ports of entry and Border Patrol stations, which he said could expose Homeland Security personnel and migrants to the virus. Redfield also cited the thousands of coronavirus cases in Mexico and Canada as reasons to continue the stringent measures.

A migrant woman bathes her son outside their tent at a migrant encampment, where more than 2,000 people live while seeking asylum in the U.S, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Matamoros

A migrant woman bathes her son outside their tent at a migrant encampment in Matamoros, Mexico, on April 30, 2020. Daniel Becerril / REUTERS

"At this critical juncture, it would be counterproductive to undermine ongoing public health efforts by relaxing restrictions on the introduction of covered aliens who pose a risk of further introducing COVID-19 into the United States," Redfield wrote.

According to the World Health Organization, Canada has registered more than 77,000 coronavirus cases and over 5,800 deaths, while Mexico has recorded nearly 50,000 cases and over 5,100 fatal infections. Meanwhile, more than 1.470 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.S. and approximately 90,000 have died.

Since officials have been operating under the public health authorities of the CDC order, they've largely stopped processing requests from migrants seeking asylum and other forms of refuge in the U.S., alarming human rights groups and immigrant advocates. The order has also overhauled the protections the U.S. has typically extended to children who are encountered by border officials without their parents or legal guardians. Like single adults and families, these migrant minors are also being rapidly removed from U.S. soil.

Between the CDC order's implementation in March and May 13, border officials allowed just 59 migrants to temporarily stay in the country to be interviewed by an asylum officer about their claims of being tortured if expelled, according to government statistics. Only two of those migrants passed the threshold needed to request protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which does not create a pathway to permanent status, unlike asylum.

Advocates have accused the administration of politicizing the global coronavirus crisis and using it as a way to further curtail the avenues unauthorized migrants have to seek safe haven at the country's borders.

"The president is hell-bent on exploiting a public health crisis to achieve his long-held goal of ending asylum at the border," said Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy at the American Civil Liberties Union, in a statement.

A CDC spokesperson did not say what the specific criteria is for the public health order to be terminated, despite multiple requests.

Texas Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro, who leads the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he will raise concerns about the CDC's order implementation during future budget negotiations. Asked if he would look to block the administration from using funds to enforce the directive, the Texas lawmaker said, "absolutely."

"My fear is that these decisions by the CDC have become politicized and that the CDC is bending toward the anti-immigrant sentiment of the White House," Castro said during a call with reporters Wednesday.

New York City testing ultraviolet lights to kill coronavirus on subways and buses

Tech giants clash with health officials over COVID-19 tracing app

Ex-teammate: I saw Lance Armstrong doping
The representative has shown a callous disregard for life, callous disregard for peoples health, Pritzker said. You just a doctor tell you why people wear masks in the first place. Its to protect others. So clearly, the representative has not interest in protecting others.
London: Social media has found its connect with science too. As bizarre as it may sound, Scientists have actually discovered a new species of parasitic fungus on Twitter.

Not only that, Scientists have named the fungus after the micro-blogging platform.

A study published in the journal MycoKeys, said that researchers spotted an image of an American millipede while scrolling through the site. While scrolling, they noticed a few tiny dots near the creature's head  something that has never been seen on the millipedes.

The parasitic fungus is now officially called Troglomyces twitteri (Latin name)

Fittingly, since the fungus was first noticed from my tweet, they've named the fungus in @Twitter's honor: Troglomyces twitteri! pic.twitter.com/ONab9gnIYK  Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) May 14, 2020

According to the study the research team discovered several specimens of the same fungus on a few of the American millipedes in the Natural History Museum's enormous collection -- fungi that had never before been documented.

A super cool story came out today! We finally have a species of ectoparasitic fungus known from millipedes in North America, thanks to @SReboleira's keen eyesight. https://t.co/KMaklHpn6t  Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) May 14, 2020

To everyone (including me!), it was as normal of a millipede photo as you can get. But if you're @SReboleira, you have AMAZING vision and a preternatural talent for spying tiny fungi. She saw something no one else did!  Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) May 14, 2020

But take a closer look and you can see tiny fungal bodies on the first ring of the millipede! Here's the fungus, circled in red (pic.twitter.com/kkfV5wftlL).  Derek Hennen, Ph.D. (@derekhennen) May 14, 2020

"I could see something looking like fungi on the surface of the millipede. Until then, these fungi had never been found on American millipedes. So, I went to my colleague and showed him the image. That's when we ran down to the museum's collections and began digging", said study Ana Sofia Reboleira from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Citywide, Golden Gate Park, Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset, Ocean Beach, Outer Richmond, Outer Sunset

Lindley Meadow, part of Rec & Park's 3,400 acres of potentially available land. | Photo: SF Rec & Park

Two San Francisco agencies  San Francisco Recreation & Parks, and the city's Real Estate Division  have been given two weeks to provide a list of city-owned property and parkland that can be used for "safe sleeping sites" for unhoused people.

The inventory is a result of legislation introduced earlier this month by supervisors Sandra Lee Fewer and Gordon Mar, who represent the Richmond and Sunset districts. It calls for Rec & Park to consider its lands as potential locations for semi-formal tent villages for unhoused San Franciscans.

"With the shelter-in-place order in effect, the shelter capacity in San Francisco has been significantly diminished," said Ian Fregosi, legislative aide to Sup. Fewer, via email. "The City has seen a corresponding increase of street homelessness and encampments."

Earlier this week, Fewer reached an agreement with Rec & Park general manager Phil Ginsburg to temporarily waive the requirement that Rec & Park lands be only used for recreation.

Rec & Park will now evaluate all of the department's open spaces and parking lots for viability as safe sleeping sites, producing a list of viable sites in the next two weeks.

The Real Estate Division will also consider non-park properties owned by the city, such as sites for future affordable housing developments. The deadline for the completed list of possible sites is Tuesday, June 2.

Fewer and Ginsburg's agreement obviates the need to pass additional legislation, and Ginsburg said that lands offered up by Rec & Park will "not interfere with the publics critically needed access to the outdoors during this health crisis."

Fregosi noted that any safe sleeping sites in the city's park system would be monitored, limited, and secured, and that the city will not "allow people to camp freely throughout parks."

Story continues

Tents on Masonic Avenue at Haight Street. Ad-hoc tent encampments across the city afford occupants no opportunity for safe spacing or sanitation.

The city's safe sleeping sites have evolved in the last month as a COVID-19 response for the city's unhoused, who otherwise have no access to basic sanitation or the ability to distance their tents safely.

Born partly out of frustration with the city's refusal to shelter a significant percentage of its homeless population in reserved hotel rooms, the safe sleeping sites will provide infrastructure and support  including bathrooms and other sanitation services, food and potable water, 24/7 staffing, and health and mental-health services.

So far, one sites has already been established around City Hall on Fulton Street, with room for about 50 appropriately distanced tents. Another is currently expected to open on the site of the former Upper Haight McDonald's by the end of the month, with room for 40 to 60 people.

But with only 1,115 of San Francisco's estimated 8,011 homeless residents staying in city-leased hotel rooms, it's likely that more than 100 safe sleeping sites would be needed to prevent COVID-19 spread, should they be sized similarly to the first two.
Trash continues to be a huge headache for the citizens of Mexico. Back in 2011 the local government of Mexico City closed off Bordo Poniente, one of the largest landfills on the planet which spans 927 acres of land. This was initially done to make Mexico "greener".

However, it has done more bad than good to the people of Mexico City. Almost a decade after, illegal dumping has increased in the capital and every now and then the city rushes to find a new dumping ground. There are 70 million tons of trash buried under Bordo Poniente which still poses a threat to residents as it can cause groundwater and soil pollution.

Mexico's infectious waste

As COVID-19 cases rise and the death toll increases by the day, Mexico faces another threat. The country has an increase in illegally dumped garbage. These include biomedical waste which can be infectious if not disposed of properly and an alarming number of discarded coffins.

With over 5,000 deaths in the country, crematoriums are out of their wits. A crematorium in Mexico City normally handles a maximum of three bodies a day, but since the coronavirus pandemic they are now having up to 20 bodies per day. And because of this there is a huge pile of coffins outside the city's crematoriums.

Coronavirus guidelines require dead bodies to be cremated; however to be transported to a crematorium they have to be placed inside a container, such as that of a coffin. After the body has been cremated, coffins can no longer be reused because bodily fluids may have leaked out already causing a mountain high pile of unwanted coffins.

A 2019 law allowed the re-use of coffins in Mexico only after they have been disinfected.

In Puebla state a warehouse was discovered to have 6,000 cubic yards of medical waste which almost reached the ceiling. The situation was so bad that the walls of the metal warehouse were on the verge of collapsing because everything was so tightly packed inside. Another 3.5 tons of biomedical waste was found in a forest in the town of Nicolas Romero. Somebody had been dumping medical waste in the woods where partly incinerated human tissue was found just lying around.

Check these out:

The Coronavirus is also creating a garbage problem

Personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves are to be disposed of after use. Piles of masks and gloves have been seen dumped improperly in major cities all across the globe, sadly most of these PPEs are seen washed up on beaches. If these protection gear are not disposed properly they could easily contaminate any area it comes in contact with.

In the Chinese province of Wuhan, the government needed to build a new medical waste plant during the peak of the outbreak because hospitals were producing six times more hazardous waste compared to before the pandemic began. Medical waste produced per day in Wuhan alone was 240 tons, the same weight of a fully grown blue whale.

Last April, the World Health Organization published guidelines on water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management during this pandemic.
Those in Lancaster County who have succumbed to COVID-19 ranged in age from their late 50s to their late 80s, and all have had underlying health conditions, Lopez said.

Similar statistics are reported statewide. Health officials said Nebraska has recorded 62 deaths at long-term care facilities, with 380 residents testing positive at 89 facilities.

"We have to remember these are individuals, these residents, who have really critical health needs in addition to their age," Lopez said.

Many of the cases in long-term care facilities have been confirmed in the last week, a span in which Lancaster County's overall cases have grown by about 300, according to the local Health Department.

In contrast to these new nursing home cases, Health Department contact tracers have linked 24 more Lancaster County cases to the outbreak at the Smithfield meatpacking plant in Crete, which is the largest source of county cases at 285, Lopez said.

The Smithfield Plant in Lincoln has 20 cases, and the Smart Chicken plant in Waverly has 15, she said.
Eric Gay, STF / Associated Press

Gov. Greg Abbott proceeded with allowing more Texas businesses to open this week even after the state recorded its worst day for COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

Plus, Texas Democrats and Attorney General Ken Paxton are battling it out in the courts over whether you should be able to vote by mail or be required to vote in person during the coronavirus outbreak.
As Gujarat battles a rising



number of coronavirus cases, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday sought people's participation in fighting the viral infection and announced launching of a week-long online campaign for the same.

Rupani said the campaign, to be run between May 21 and May 27, is aimed at making people aware about three basic rules to fight coronavirus - children and elderly citizens should remain indoors, not venturing out without mask and always maintaining social distancing.

The week-long campaign has been named 'Hu Pan Corona Warrior', which means "I am also Corona Warrior".

"Now, its a direct battle against coronavirus. We have to live with coronavirus and also fight against it.

"I urge people to remain vigilant. A week-long campaign will be launched from Thursday to spread awareness among masses about three simple rules to be followed by everyone to fight the pandemic," he said in a video message.

During this one week, celebrities and prominent citizens will address people and share their views about ways to fight the pandemic, said Rupani.

To spread the message, Rupani urged citizens to take selfies with grandparents and post them on social media platforms with hashtag 'HuPanCoronaWarrior'.

Barring containment zones, Gujarat has lifted a majority of restrictions on businesses and people's movement across the state in the fourth phase of the lockdown.

With 12,141 COVID-19 cases and 719 fatalities till May 19, Gujarat is one of the worst coronavirus-afflicted states in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Once dubbed as historic by him, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he now feels differently' about the trade deal he signed with China earlier this year.

He said this while once again venting out his frustration with the Beijing leadership, accusing it of letting coronavirus spread.

Till Tuesday, over 92,000 Americans have died and 1.5 million tested positive for coronavirus that has globally killed around 320,000 people.

The US and China had signed a deal in January to end their 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes on products worth nearly half a trillion USD.

Under it, Beijing agreed to increase its purchase of US goods by USD 200 billion in 2020-2021.

I feel differently now about that deal than I did three months ago, Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

We will see what all happens, but it's been a very disappointing situation. Very disappointing thing happened with China because the plague flowed in and that wasn't supposed to happen and it could have been stopped," he said.

Trump said he was very excited when the trade deal with China was signed.

But once the virus came in, once the plague, as I called it, came in, I said how did they let that happen? And how come it didn't go into other sections of China? Why did they block it from leaving Wuhan? But they didn't block it from going to the rest of the world, including the United States. Why is that? Beijing doesn't have it. Other places don't have it, he said.

Trump did not respond to questions on retaliation against China.

Meanwhile, top American senators continued to press the administration that rules of engagement with China needs to change post-coronavirus.

As we know, they unleashed this virus on America and the world with their classic communist cover-up, deception, continued propaganda campaign, costing now over 90,000 American lives, 35 million Americans losing their jobs so far, Senator Martha McSally said during a Congressional hearing.

We don't know who patient zero is, they destroyed samples, they silenced doctors, they kicked out journalists, they impacted international travel to seed this and their reckless behaviour continues to be the root of all this, she said.

As a result of coronavirus, the American economy has been thrown into recession; more than 36 million people have lost their job the worst ever after last century's great depression.

Many of the US states have now started opening up, after taking necessary precautions.

By conservative estimates, it will take several quarters for the economy to be back on track.

Trump in the last a few weeks has exuded confidence that the economy will be back on track next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Students will appear for pending class 10 and 12 board exams at the schools where they are enrolled instead of an external test centre, according to the HRD ministry.

Photograph: Sahil Salvi for Rediff.com Image used for representation purpose.

The ministry is also planning to declare the board exam results by July-end and evaluation process has already begun for exams which were conducted before the lockdown was announced.

According to the Central Board of Secondary Education officials, students will appear at their individual schools for the exams and not external test centres.

"Students will appear for the exams in their own schools and not external test centres to ensure minimum travel for them. Schools will be responsible for ensuring social distancing norms are followed and students will be required to carry their own sanitiser bottles and cover their face with mask," a board official said.

The information was also shared by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' in a live interaction with students aired on DD News on Tuesday night.

Usually, board examinations are held at designated test centres for students. This is to ensure minimum bias from schools for their students and to enable independent external invigilators to monitor the examination process.

The board on Monday announced the date sheet for the pending class 10 and 12 board exams, which will now be held from July 1-15 with strict distancing norms in place.

The exams were postponed due to the nationwide lockdown imposed on March 25 to contain the spread of COVID-19.

While class 12 exams will be conducted across the country, the class 10 exams are only pending in North East Delhi, where they could not be held due to the law and order situation in the wake of protests against the amended Citizenship Act.

The HRD minister said that efforts are being made to ensure that the result is declared by July-end.

"Efforts are being made to declare the result by July-end itself. Evaluation process has already begun for the board exams and will continue to be held simultaneously with pending exams. Teachers who are involved in the evaluation process will be exempted from delivering academic and administrative work for the tenure," he said in the interaction.

The CBSE class 10 and class 12 board exam evaluation is being carried out from home. Further, the HRD ministry had earmarked 3000 evaluation centres from where answer sheets would be distributed to teachers at their homes for evaluation and then collected.

Universities and schools across the country have been closed since March 16 when the Centre announced a countrywide classroom shutdown as one of the measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.

Later, a 21-day nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, which came into effect the next day. It has now been extended till May 31.

The board was not able to conduct class 10 and 12 exams on eight examination days due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Further, due to the law and order situation in North East Delhi, the board was not able to conduct exams on four examination days, while a very small number of students from and around this district were not able to appear in exams on six days.

The board had last month announced that it will only conduct pending exams in 29 subjects which are crucial for promotion and admission to higher educational institutions.

The modalities of assessment for the subjects for which exams are not being conducted will be announced soon by the board.

The schedule has been decided in order to ensure that the board exams are completed before competitive examinations such as engineering entrance JEE-Mains, which is scheduled from July 18-23, and medical entrance exam NEET, which is scheduled on July 26.
The Health and Human Services principal deputy inspector general, Christi Grimm, will testify before the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday about an April report that found "severe shortages in coronavirus testing kits and personal protective equipment in U.S. hospitals, a committee spokesperson confirmed to Axios.

Why it matters: President Trump targeted Grimm on Twitter after she published the critical report, tweeting on April 6: "Why didnt the I.G., who spent 8 years with the Obama Administration (Did she Report on the failed H1N1 Swine Flu debacle where 17,000 people died?), want to talk to the Admirals, Generals, V.P. & others in charge, before doing her report. Another Fake Dossier!"

Trump has since nominated assistant U.S. attorney Jason Weida to replace Grimm as HHS inspector general.

It's one of several steps Trump has taken to purge federal watchdogs for conducting oversight over his administration.

The big picture: Grimm's testimony could prove to be a rare moment of high-profile public scrutiny for the administration after the White House banned members of the coronavirus task force from testifying in the House during May.

Rick Bright, the former head of a top vaccine agency, testified to a House subcommittee this month that he was told his repeated warnings about the Trump administration's lack of preparedness for the coronavirus were "causing a commotion."

Grimm's appearance, which is being billed as a briefing rather than a hearing, will be conducted via teleconference.

Go deeper: House Democrats request IG probe into removal of top vaccine doctor
She inherits a Chicago public radio station that transformed itself into a local news powerhouse under her predecessor, Goli Sheikholeslami, who helped drive significant audience growth during her five years at WBEZ-FM 91.5. Sheikholeslami left to lead New York Public Radio in October, with Steve Edwards serving as interim CEO. Edwards will resume his role as vice president and chief content officer.
Holidaymakers could return to Spain from the end of June.

That's according to Spanish Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, who said in an interview on RTVE that overseas visitors will be able to enter the country, without quarantine, within several weeks.

"We hope to welcome Irish visitors back as soon as it is safe, and as the roadmap to recovery is progressing in Spain," Ruben Lopez Pulido, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office (STO) in Dublin, confirmed.

"The government of Spain and the Spanish Tourism Office (STO) are working to reactivate tourism from the end of June, without quarantines, as we finalise tourist experiences from safe origins to safe destinations," he added.

"The Canary Islands, and in particular Lanzarote for the Irish, are doing tremendously well in health terms, with no new cases for a month now with what will soon be, if not already, Covid-free."

Over 585,000 Irish visits were taken to the Canaries in 2019, the STO in Dublin says, and caseloads in Lanzarote (84) and Fuerteventura (45) in particular have given Irish travel agents and holidaymakers hope.

The news follows Italy's announcement that EU visitors, as well as those from the UK, Norway and Switzerland, will be able to enter the country without quarantine from June 3.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte called the move a "calculated risk".

We have to accept it, otherwise we could not restart," he said in a televised address announcing Italy's next steps. "We cannot wait for a vaccine.

Of course, holidays from Ireland are a non-runner until the lifting of official advice against "non-essential travel" and a relaxation of restrictions confining people to within 5km, and subsequently 20km, of their homes to July 20.

Quarantines, screening and health protocols all remain to be worked out before travel resumes, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it could be "months rather than weeks" before non-essential air travel returns.

Read More

Italy has suffered more than 226,000 cases and 32,000 deaths from Covid-19 to date, while Spain has more than 231,000 cases and 27,800 deaths.

Figures tailed off substantially during lockdown periods, however, and both countries have gradually been easing restrictions on life and business.

Italian shops reopened and movement within regions recommenced on Monday, with a one-metre social distance requirement between guests in bars, hotels and restaurants, and a 10sqm space allocated per umbrella on beaches.

Spain's two-week quarantine on international visitors is likely to expire on June 7, and it is now working on hygiene protocols and airport health measures to safely reboot tourism, subject to the public health situation.

"This is a crisis of confidence, and fear must be overcome by offering security," Lopez Pulido told the Irish Independent.

Expand Close Portugal's Algarve, with the new 'Clean & Safe' stamp (inset) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Portugal's Algarve, with the new 'Clean & Safe' stamp (inset)

The developments come after the EU last week advised that member states, or areas with similar rates of infection and comparably strong health systems, could begin opening borders between each other.

Throughout Europe, quarantine periods generally remain in place for arrivals, but Greece, Portugal, Cyprus and Iceland are among several countries now signalling that tourism could resume from June or July.

Portugal took another step towards its "new normal" this week, as museums, galleries, restaurants, cafes, churches and cultural centres reopened with hygiene and social distancing criteria in place.

Over 4,000 businesses have signed up for its 'Clean & Safe' stamp of approval, Visit Portugal says, with beaches and waterparks set to re-open from June.

Malta, another island destination with a low infection rate (569 cases), is in discussion with several countries about "safe corridors" for summer travel - including Austria, Norway, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

It has announced new tourism protocols for staff working in the holiday sector, including the display of 'Covid-19 compliant' stickers, a ban on buffets and the closure of indoor pools.

Sign up for our free travel newsletter!

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to 'Travel Insider', our free travel newsletter written by award-winning Travel Editor, Pol O Conghaile.
Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe - family handout/PA

Iranian authorities have extended Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe's furlough from prison pending a decision on whether or not she will be granted clemency, her family said.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, one of several British-Iranian dual nationals jailed in Iran, was among prisoners granted temporary release in March in response to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Her furlough was extended in April but had been due to expire today. She was informed of the extension in a telephone call with prosecutors late on Wednesday morning.

"Her furlough from prison has again been extended - until a decision has been made on her clemency. She was told no decision has been made on clemency," her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, said in March that many of those allowed out on furlough would be granted clemency so they would not have to return to prison. Mr Ratcliffe said his wife's Iranian lawyer had been pushing for a decision in her case on a weekly basis.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a mother of one from Hampstead, was arrested at Tehran airport in 2016 as she prepared to fly home after a holiday with her parents. She was jailed for five years for plotting to overthrow the government, a charge she denies.

She is one of several UK-Iranian dual nationals whose families believe have been fitted up on spurious charges for the purposes of "hostage diplomacy", or extracting concessions from the UK government on other issues.

Iran insists the case is a purely legal matter and denies her conviction was politically motivated.

Separately on Wednesday High Council for Human Rights said Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a British-Australian academic jailed since last year, is "healthy" and in regular contact with her family.

Iran confirmed Ms Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a University of Melbourne Islamic Studies lecturer, had been detained in September 2019, but her family have said she was arrested months earlier. She is serving a 10-year prison sentence for a spying conviction that she denies.

Story continues

Human rights activists said this month that she had attempted suicide multiple times and was upset with the Australian government's response to her detention. Her family said on Sunday that she in good health "considering her situation".

Richard Ratcliffe said: "Im not sure what will happen with clemency but I think it buys us a couple of weeks.

"I dont think the clemency decision can be stalled for too long, and there are clearly forces in Iran pulling in both directions. So it could go either way. But we will sleep more easily tonight."

Amnesty International welcomed the news of the extension but said there should be "no question" of Mrs Zaghari Ratcliffe returning to Evin prison.

Kate Allen, the rights groups' UK director, said: There are numerous reports of COVID-19 in Iranian jails, with detainees pleading for basic things like soap to help combat the disease."

With Nazanins long-term fate still apparently undecided, the UK Government must step up efforts do everything within its power to ensure her full and unconditional release.
By Trend

The construction of social services on modern, flexible and optimal mechanisms based on innovative approaches also contributes to the successes achieved in the social sphere in our country and the implementation of measures to support employment and social security in connection with the pandemic.

DOST Agency under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, established by decree of President Ilham Aliyev in 2018 as the main goal of the social reform program, is distinguished by its exemplary work to ensure citizen satisfaction, social justice, transparency, targeting, accessibility and equality.

The launch of an innovative service - the DOST project on the initiative of First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva after ASAN Service - is evidence that the social policy pursued in our country has become a tradition.On May 19, with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, the center DOST No. 3 of the Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, located in the Nizami district of Baku, was transferred to citizens.At the same time, the commissioning of the new DOST center is one of the steps taken to ensure the well-being and satisfaction of Azerbaijani citizens.

Having got acquainted with the recently commissioned DOST center, the president said in an interview with Azerbaijani television that Azerbaijan is also a leader in this area: The launch of the DOST centers is a vivid demonstration of the work done in the social sphere and reforms.The third center is already opening, and the first two centers are very successful. The level of approval of citizens reached 96 percent. The services provided here are, of course, a great innovation in the field of social security, and it is no coincidence that several countries have already applied to us for this experience, and Azerbaijan is ready to share its experience.

From the first day of the coronavirus pandemic, Azerbaijan has shown the world that it is able to cope with an invisible enemy at its own expense.In his interview, President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the work done in Azerbaijan on the prevention of coronavirus and the measures that need to be taken, noting that Azerbaijan is a country with great respect and high authority in the world.

Otherwise, we would not have been elected to the UN Security Council eight years ago with the support of 155 countries. Otherwise, we would not have been elected president by unanimous decision of the Non-Aligned Movement, by the decision of 120 countries.

Speaking as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement in 20192021, as a responsible member of the world community, Azerbaijan has focused on ways to overcome the scourge of our common home - the planet - with mutual support and joint efforts of the world.President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was always ready to share its positive experience in combating the pandemic with other countries: Work with coronavirus in Azerbaijan was carried out in the right direction from the very beginning, and the Azerbaijani people and international organizations see and appreciate this.Today I receive hundreds of letters a day from citizens. That is, I received thousands of letters from the first days of the pandemic, and all these letters are letters of thanks. Because really preventive measures saved us from big troubles. Again, everything is measured by comparison. 

Thanks to the foresight and timely decisions of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has successfully established itself in these difficult and difficult times, overcame all problems and became an example for the whole world. Ensuring the health of its citizens and their social protection has always been a priority for the Azerbaijani state. As the president noted: Azerbaijan is one of those countries that have always been open-minded, and the pandemic has once again confirmed this.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
NEW YORK - This is what normal will look like for the foreseeable future.

In Connecticut, restaurants are reopening with outdoor-only dining and tables 6 feet (2 metres) apart. In Beverly Hills, California, the rich and glamorous are doing their shopping from the curb along Rodeo Drive. And preschools around the U.S. plan to turn social distancing into an arts-and-crafts project by teaching kids how to create their own space with things like yarn and masking tape.

As the U.S. and other countries loosen their coronavirus restrictions, its back to business, but not business as usual. In fact, it is becoming all too clear that without a vaccine against the scourge, the disruptions could be long-lasting and the economy wont be bouncing right back.

In Italy, where good food is an essential part of life, once-packed restaurants and cafes are facing a huge financial hit as they reopen with strict social distancing rules after a 10-week shutdown.

Experts warned that as many as one-third of the countrys restaurants and bars could go out of business, up to 300,000 jobs in the sector could vanish and losses could reach 30 billion euros ($32 billion) this year.

We have to turn upside down all the activity that we did before, lamented chef Raffaele di Cristo, who must wear a mask and latex gloves as he prepares food at the popular Corsi Trattoria in Rome. Everything is changed.

Corsi reopened this week with half its tables removed to ensure the mandated 1-meter (3-foot) spacing. Hand sanitizing gel was placed at the entrance, and a new ordering system was installed so that customers could read the menu on their phones instead of listening to waitresses recite the specials.

In Connecticut, restaurants that reopened Wednesday for outdoor dining are required to rearrange workstations so that employees dont face one another, and stagger shifts and break times to minimize contact among them. Markers must be installed to encourage customers to keep their distance from one another.

In Glastonbury, Connecticut, the Max Fish restaurant opened for lunch with 16 tables on outdoor patios. Customers filled about half the tables in the early afternoon, and all the tables were reserved for dinner, general manager Brian Costa said.

Friends and retirees Debbie Lawrence and Jill Perry, who often ate out together before the outbreak, enjoyed a meal at Max Fish.

It was terrific. Its just wonderful to be outside, Lawrence said. But Im still a little leery of going to any stores.

At the Crab Shell Restaurant on the waterfront in Stamford, co-owner James Clifford held up a roughly 6-foot-long (2-meter-long) stick he said he used to make sure chairs werent too close together.

I just hope the outdoor people dont get greedy and they dont overstep their bounds, he said. Because if you cant get it right outdoors, how can you get it indoors?

In Fredericksburg, Virginia, one restaurant that recently reopened its patio has taken an extra step to reassure diners. The Colonial Tavern is taking staff members temperatures at the start of their shifts and posting the results for customers to see.

Some of new rules for dining out echo reopening guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are intended for child care centres, schools, day camps, mass transit systems, restaurants, bars and other businesses and organizations.

For example, the CDC suggests mass transit systems close every other row of seats and limit how many riders can be on a bus or train.

Amid the wave of reopenings, many Americans remain wary, according to a new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll says 83% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will lead to additional infections.

The poll also exposed a widening partisan divide on the topic, with Democrats more cautious and Republicans less anxious as President Donald Trump urges states to open up our country. Only about a third of Republicans say they are very or extremely concerned about additional infections, compared with three-quarters of Democrats.

About 5 million people worldwide have been confirmed infected, and over 325,000 deaths have been recorded, including over 93,000 in the U.S. and around 165,000 in Europe, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, based on government data. Experts believe the true toll is significantly higher.

With the virus far from vanquished, the reopenings could prove to be a stop-and-start, two-steps-forward-one-step-back process.

Ford temporarily halted production at two of its assembly plants Tuesday and Wednesday in Chicago and Dearborn, Michigan, after three autoworkers tested positive for the virus. Work was stopped to sanitize equipment and isolate those who were in contact with the infected employees.

Detroits Big Three automakers restarted their U.S. factories on Monday after a two-month shutdown.

Education, too, is facing radical changes.

Cambridge became the first university in Britain to cancel all face-to-face lectures for the upcoming school year, saying they will be held virtually and streamed online until the summer of 2021.

Other institutions have taken different tacks. The University of Notre Dame in Indiana will bring students back to campus but redesigned its calendar to start the semester early in August and end before Thanksgiving.

In South Korea, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors had their temperatures checked and used hand sanitizer as they returned Wednesday, many for the first time since late last year. Students and teachers were required to wear masks, and some schools installed plastic partitions around desks.

France is limiting spaces in its primary schools, giving priority to the children of essential workers and those in need. Some younger students even go on alternating days, while high schools remain closed.

Peoples gratitude at being able to shop or eat out again is mingling with worries about job security.

Business was slow at a Paris farmers market with a mixed mood among the masked, gloved vendors. A man selling peonies and petunias said he was glad to get out and see shoppers again, while a woman selling asparagus and tomatoes behind a makeshift plastic screen grumbled that her customers were buying less than usual.

British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce announced plans to cut 9,000 workers as it grapples with the collapse in air travel. In general, those jobs come with good pay and benefits, and losing them is a sharp blow to local communities.

___

Winfield reported from Rome and Collins from Glastonbury, Connecticut. Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
There are two aspects to the current imbroglio over the Justice Departments attempt to dismiss the Michael Flynn case, which U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan so far has rejected. The first is procedural -- whether Sullivan following Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure must dismiss. The second is substantive, whether the basis the government gave for dismissal is legitimate.

As is almost always the case, left and right are completely at odds on the issue. On the right the government and conservative analysts rightly point out that Sullivans refusal to dismiss must fail. There is no longer any controversy between the parties. Discretion to prosecute is an exclusively executive function in this country. The Constitution, common practice, and existing case law all overwhelmingly support this interpretation. Both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for Sullivans own District (the District of Columbia) have so ruled. Procedurally, hes fighting a losing battle and looks foolish for it.

Legal experts on the left know this, but see Sullivans quixotic fight as heroic, even if he is likely to lose in the end. Taking up the cudgel for the combative and attention-seeking jurist, any number of liberal lawyers claim that dismissal is an abuse of power, and Sullivan is right to refuse it. They maintain that the governments contention that Flynns statements to FBI agents in 2017 were not material to the underlying case (supposed Russian collusion by Trump officials) is false.

Of the two issues the materiality one is the more interesting, and in the long term perhaps the more important.

Ultimately, Sullivan will probably be forced to dismiss the case on procedural grounds, or it will be done for him. But if he is able to hold out, and he and his newly appointed pseudo-prosecutor John Gleeson want to contest the issue of materiality, they do so at the peril of Joe Bidens reelection chances and former president Obamas legacy.

The issue of materiality is essentially Obamagate, the scandal the left refuses to acknowledge. Was the FBI interview of Flynn conducted for legitimate purposes of pursuing the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into alleged Russian collusion, or as a means of entrapping Flynn in a process crime to get him out of the way to so as not to reveal other Obama administration abuses?

What happened next is complicated, but boils down to a decision by FBI upper management (with apparent coordination with the outgoing Obama White House and over the objections of lower-level FBI agents and acting Attorney General Sally Yates), to hastily arrange an interview with Flynn without informing the incoming Trump administration.

The purpose of this action, goes to the heart of the Flynn case, and the Obamagate allegations that the former president used the national intelligence community to spy on political opponents.

This presents a danger for the Democrats. If Sullivan intends to hold hearing on the dismissal motion, the principle substantive issue will be whether Flynns statements to the FBI were material to the case. Assuming Sullivan demands Justice Department and/or Flynns attorneys to prove that Flynns statements were not material, as the government now contends, they should have the opportunity to call witnesses in support of that contention.

The list of potential witness is long, beginning with the FBI agents who ran Crossfire Razor who wanted to close the case, up through rogue agent Peter Strzok, his paramour FBI lawyer Lisa Page, their bosses Andrew McCabe and James Comey, and their bosses, to include Sally Yates, and her boss, Barack Obama (and sidekick Joe Biden.)

Almost all these worthies, along with National Security Advisor Susan Rice met on January 5, 2017 (just after FBI agents submitted their dismissal memorandum but before it was approved) to discuss the status of the Russian collusion probe, whether and how much to reveal to the incoming Trump administration, and almost certainly what to do about Flynn. Its worth noting as well that Obama who carefully nurses grudges likely held one against Flynn, whom hed fired as head of the DIA for breaking with the President over policy.

Then shortly after that meeting, someone from the Obama administration leaked Flynns discussion with Kislyak to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, appearing in print January 12. Flynns interview occurred -- without notification to the Trump White House -- just two weeks after that.

If Democrats and the mainstream media are correct that there is no basis to Obamagate, then they should welcome hearings on the materiality issue.

Just before he was made Sullivans pseudo-prosecutor, Gleeson in a tendentious Washington Post op-ed argued that Sullivan

can appoint an independent attorney to act as a friend of the court, ensuring a full, adversarial inquiry, as the judge in the Flynn case has done in other situations where the department abdicated its prosecutorial role. If necessary, the court can hold hearings to resolve factual discrepancies.

This might well be a case of being careful what you wish for.

If Sullivan persists, the Justice Department and Flynns attorneys should take Gleeson up on his suggestion and demand Sullivan hold an evidentiary hearing on the materiality issue, then present a list of witnesses to do so, starting with the FBI agents who ran Crossfire Razor and ending with Biden and Obama. Any of them might be justifiably called to testify if thats where Sullivan and Gleeson want to take this. Somehow I think at that point Sullivan would agree to dismiss the matter, but if not, lets have at it.
The coronavirus is spreading like wildfire in Brazil, and the countrys oil industry could get dragged down with it. Brazil has the worst COVID growth rate of any G20 country: the pandemic is totally out of control, Raymond James wrote in a report, explaining its reason for downgrading its recommendation for Petrobras to Market Underperform.

Brazil just passed the UK to become the country with the third-largest number of COVID-19 cases, at over 270,000. Only the U.S. and Russia have more. Worse, the death rate is climbing fast.

The government of President Jair Bolsonaro has aggressively opposed lockdown measures and even social distancing recommendations. Brazil is the only major country in Latin America that hasnt had a national lockdown. Bolsonaro has downplayed the significance of the coronavirus, calling it a little flu.

Mass graves tell a different story. But when he was asked about the rising number of deaths, he said, So what? Im sorry. What do you want me to do?

Nightly panelaco protests, in which people bang pots and pans at their balcony windows, became a fixture in Sao Paulo even before the recent explosion in COVID-19 cases. The protests, which included chants of Bolsonaro out! highlight the growing political danger to the president.

Bolsonaros first health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, was highly popular. But after contradicting the presidents message on COVID-19, he was fired. His successor, lasted only a few weeks. The health ministry is a ship that has lost its way, Mandetta said on Monday.

Related: Natural Gas Drillers Face Price Meltdown As Storage Fills Fast

Roughly 18,000 people have already died from the virus in Brazil, and the number of cases continues to climb rapidly. The lack of widespread testing suggests the true number is even higher. The Wall Street Journal published a harrowing account of Brazilian nurses on the front lines. Suffering from a lack of equipment and a lack of direction from higher up, nurses are dying at an alarming rate.

Against this chaotic backdrop, it is perhaps unsurprising that Brazil is the country with one of the highest R number. The R number refers to the reproduction number, or how many people a given infected person spreads the virus to others. If the R number is under 1, the spread is slowing. Brazils was over 2, according to a May 9 article in The Lancet.

Outrage with the president is on the rise. Bolsonaro is now reeling from overlapping political, economic and health crises. To complicate matters further, Justice Minister Sergio Moro, who presided over the sprawling Lava Jato investigations from a few years ago, resigned in late April and accused President Bolsonaro of trying to fire the national police chief to interfere with investigations. The fight with Moro alone could sink Bolsonaro.

Related: The Worlds Most Controversial Oil Frontier Falls Out Of Favor With Big Banks



We see no way to avoid a national lockdown, and for a lengthy period, Raymond James said in a note. The investment bank said that Brazils COVID-19 response stands out globally for its extreme dysfunction, and the data is stunningly bad.

The countrys oil industry, and especially, Petrobras, will be hit hard. Petrobras has been directly impacted by the coronavirus, with over 261 workers at the company infected, as of late April. In mid-May, the company had to withdraw workers from an offshore platform because workers had been infected.

At first, Brazilian regulators suspended all oil and gas tenders scheduled for this year. Petrobras also sought to cut production, but then reversed course on higher demand in China.

But Brazil cannot simply ignore the coronavirus and simply carry on as normal, as Bolsonaro prefers. With the death toll climbing at a frightening rate, the political backlash is mounting. Lockdowns appear inevitable, Raymond James says, which would not only exacerbate pressure on Petrobras downstream segment, but also worsen macro conditions, with ramifications for the currency and sovereign credit rating, to which Petrobras is exposed.

By Nick Cunningham for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan is all set to take charge as the chairman of the WHO Executive Board on May 22. His appointment comes as India on May 19 was elected by the 73rd World Health Assembly to the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation for a period of three years. Nine other nations have also been elected to the Executive Board.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, who is at the forefront of India's battle against COVID-19, will succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the Chairman of the 34-member WHO Executive Board. As India was elected to the Executive Board, the country nominated Dr, Harsh Vardhan as the chairman. The proposal was signed by the 194-nation World Health Assembly.

India in Executive Board

India is among 10 nations that were elected by the 73rd World Health Assembly to the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation for a period of three years. The other members include Botswana, Colombia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Oman, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom. It was decided unanimously in 2019 that India will hold the chairpersons position this year after the WHOs South-East Asia group proposed New Delhi for the executive board for a three-year term.

READ | India among 10 nations elected by World Health Assembly to WHO Executive Board; Watch

Role of Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Briefing about the role of Dr. Harsh Vardhan, an official said that it is not a full-time assignment and the minister will be required to chair the Executive Board's meetings. As per reports, he will work closely with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He will also be responsible to implement the decisions and policies laid down by the World Health Assembly.

Addressing the 73rd World Health Assembly via video conferencing on Monday, Vardhan had said India took all the necessary steps well in time to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. He had asserted that the country has done well in dealing with the disease and is confident of doing better in the months to come. India also voted in favour of independent probe into the origins of Covid-19 and the UN body's role in combating it.

READ | COVID-19 doubling time in India improved to 13.6 days in last 3 days: Harsh Vardhan

Function of Executive board

The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals from the field of health, each one by elected by member states. The Board holds two meetings annually- the first one in January and a shorter meeting in May immediately after the World Health Assembly. The principal functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, to advise it and to facilitate its work.

READ | Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to represent India at WHO's 73rd World Health Assembly

Covid-19, WHO and India's crucial role ahead

India's appointment to the group comes at a time when the WHO member states have agreed for 'independently' investigate into COVID-19, its origin, and the response of the UN health agency. In the World Health Assembly (WHA), countries adopted a resolution calling for an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation of the global response of the virus outbreak and an inquiry into the actions of the WHO and timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the United States accusing China of 'hiding' facts and data about Covid-19, its suspension of funds to the UN body, and its threat to exit from the group even as China continues to reject all claims; experts say India's nomination will play an important role in the diplomatic relations between these nations.

READ | India's Health Min Dr Harsh Vardhan set to be WHO Executive Board chairman: Officials
(CNN)  The coronavirus pandemic could push as many as 60 million people into extreme poverty, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

The warning suggests deepening pessimism among economists about the scale and duration of the fallout from what the bank described as an "unprecedented crisis."

The World Bank, which provides loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries, predicted a month ago that this year would mark a historic step back for inequality, with the pandemic "likely to cause the first increase in global poverty since 1998."

It said in a blog post on April 20 that its "best estimate" was that 49 million people would be forced into extreme poverty, which the bank defines as having to live on less than $1.90 per day.

The worsening outlook is due to the outbreak shutting down economic activity and "erasing much of the recent progress made in poverty alleviation," World Bank President David Malpass said in a statement.

A recent surge of cases in some countries is also forcing the bank to deploy what it considers to be its "largest and fastest crisis response" ever. It said its emergency relief efforts had already reached 100 developing countries, which are home to 70% of the world's population.

The World Bank aims to help vulnerable communities by providing grants and loans to both individuals and businesses, as well as suspending debt payments for some of the world's poorest countries. Overall, it has pledged at least $160 billion to combat the virus so far.

Some of the world's poorest people are already starting to feel the pain.

Migrant workers across the globe have been losing their jobs as the pandemic stops work in various industries. As a result, the World Bank estimates that global remittances, or money sent home to families, could drop by 20%, or about $100 billion, this year.

Tens of millions of people in Africa may become destitute as a result of the crisis, human rights chiefs warned Wednesday.

"We cannot afford to stand idly by and hope this most viral and deadly of diseases bypasses Africa, which is home to many of the world's poorest countries who are simply not in position to handle such a pandemic," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Solomon Dersso said in a joint statement.

The World Bank said last month that it expected people in sub-Saharan Africa would suffer the most. Currently, 39 of the World Bank's 100 target countries are there, and at least 23 million residents of the region are projected to be heading for extreme poverty because of the coronavirus outbreak.

South Asia is also likely to suffer. In addition to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Bank economists said last month that India, one of the world's most populous countries, was estimated to see "the largest change in the number of poor," with about 12 million affected.

"The places where the virus is taking its highest toll depends primarily on two factors," analysts at the bank wrote in a blog post. "The impact of the virus on economic activity and ... the number of people living close to the international poverty line."

 CNN's Sarah Dean contributed to this report.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "World Bank says the pandemic could push 60 million people into 'extreme poverty'"
"Youve got Mark McGowan and Annastacia Palaszczuk really making outlandish statements about the other states that just aren't epidemiologically true and trying to score political mileage for keeping their states so safe.

"It is really hard for the Premier to justify our state border," Dr Golledge said.

Hollywood Hospital specialist Clay Golledge said the epidemiology of the coronavirus pandemic was the same in every state except for NSW.

Pressure is mounting on Premier Mark McGowan to ease WA's pandemic travel restrictions, with a leading infectious diseases expert calling on intrastate borders to be scrapped immediately and labelling the idea there are "clean states and dirty states" rubbish.

"Theyre beating the hell out of Victoria and New South Wales which is really unfair, they have borne the brunt of cruise ships and flights.

"NSW have had one case in two days out of 15,000 tests and theyre being called dirty states and infected states by the Premiers. We really need to open up the country, we've got to go forward and start the country moving internally."

Travel within the state is limited, with West Australians unable to move between four regions set up by the government, and there are still restrictions on arrivals from interstate, which the Premier has said will be in place for many months to come.

Dr Golledge said the implementation of intrastate borders was "to do at the time when it looked like it was going to get out of control because nobody knew which way it was going to go".

"But more by good luck than good management weve managed to bring things under control really quickly because we stopped importing the virus," he said.


The Rivers State Government has said it has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause breakdown of law and order in a bid to declare State of Emergency in the state.

A statement signed by Paulinus Nsirim, Commissioner for Information and Communications alleged that these persons whose attempts to declare State of Emergency in the State since 2015 have never succeeded because of Gods intervention.

The statement said the same persons did everything within their powers to ensure that the 2019 Governorship election results were not announced but also failed.



According the State government, As the build up for the 2023 elections and jostle for Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets is gathering momentum, they want to use COVID-19 to create a crisis as if the State is at war with the Federal Government.

They have decided to create unnecessary tension as if indigenes of Ahoada, Eleme and Port Harcourt are fighting with Northerners not to carry out their legitimate businesses.

People forget history quickly. Since 2015, there have been farmers/herdsmen clashes in Nasarrawa, Plateau, Taraba, Ebonyi, Cross River, Kaduna, Yobe and Bornu States.

The Statement further cited the fact that throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, States like Enugu, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Kaduna States have been intercepting lorries carrying human beings instead of foodstuffs.

This is the same thing that the Rivers State Government is doing to protect the State from COVID-19, the statement said.

Nsirim said that bandits have been killing innocent people in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States and that indigenes of these States, no matter their political differences were working together to protect their States.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Belarusian Opposition Leader Statkevich's Presidential Bid Rejected

By RFE/RL's Belarus Service May 19, 2020

MINSK -- The Belarusian Central Election Commission has rejected documents filed by the initiative group for prominent opposition leader Mikalay Statkevich to nominate him as a presidential candidate for balloting scheduled for August 9.

The commission said its May 19 decision was determined by Statkevich's "criminal record."

Statkevich ran against authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the 2010 presidential election.

Lukashenka, in office since 1994, was reelected in a vote that his critics say was rigged.

Statkevich was arrested after attending a large demonstration protesting the election results, and spent five years in prison after being convicted of organizing riots at a trial criticized by human rights groups and Western governments as unfair.

After his release, Statkevich was sentenced many times to short several-day jail terms for taking part in and organizing anti-government rallies.

Overall, initiative groups for 55 potential candidates have compiled and submitted documents to the Central Election Commission. So far, the commission has rejected 10 of them.

On May 15, the commission officially registered initiative groups for Lukashenka and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, Aleh Haydukevich.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarusian -opposition-leader-statkevich-presidential -bid-rejected/30620847.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






'The belief that FDI will shift from China appears to be a strategy of politicians to keep the media busy, chasing irrelevant news to ward off pressure and questions about the government's plans to deal with COVID,' observes Debashis Basu.

On April 28, while discussing the COVID-19 situation with chief ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi reportedly made the strange claim that many companies would exit China, and that India should be ready to attract investment by them.

After all, India has abundant manpower, skill, and an improved infrastructure, he said.

Soon, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari told a business channel: 'In the whole world, there is a hatred for China and the Chinese economy... this is a blessing in disguise... an opportunity for India and Indian investors and particularly the MSME (micro, small, and medium enterprises)... an opportunity for India and for foreign investment.'

A subsequent news report claimed: 'India has stepped up its game to attract investments from companies considering shifting from China.'

Invest India, a government arm to promote and facilitate global investment in the country, has already drawn up a list of close to 1,000 global companies for making investment pitches.

Another news item said India was developing a land pool nearly double the size of Luxembourg to lure businesses moving out of China -- an area of 461,589 hectares has been identified across the country.

The Assam government announced that it was planning to woo multinational companies willing to shift base from China, to set up production facilities in the state.

The orchestra is building up to a crescendo.

Suddenly BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh suspended almost dozens of labour laws, barring a few, for the next four years.

Since businessmen complain about onerous labour laws and that the 'inspector raj' flourishing under them hinders growth, the government believes suspending labour laws would attract billions of dollars.

Will it?

I would be surprised if there is even a tiny bump-up in foreign investment leaving China and coming into India, following COVID. Here are my reasons:

Anyone really leaving China?

Dr Subramanian Swamy, an economist and a China expert, points out that countries are not like kirana shops, offering the same products at marginally different prices, which may encourage buyers to shift from one to the other.

These decisions are not impulsive and not event-driven, and are far more complex.

Not surprisingly, when the American Chamber of Commerce in China did a survey in March, they found that more than 70 per cent of companies said they had no plans to relocate production and supply chain operations or sourcing outside China due to COVID-19.

The whole premise of foreigners leaving China in droves is false. What is the reason?

Foreign companies first went to China for massive supply chain efficiencies, labour productivity, and world-class infrastructure.

They are there also for the huge domestic market.

Not only does an epidemic not change that, China has actually reinforced its image of efficiency by the way it controlled COVID-19.

Alan Beebe, president of AmCham China, reminds us: 'China appears ahead of the global curve when it comes to restarting the economy following months of lockdown, and many of the reasons why companies are in China in the first place still hold true today.'

Businesses leaving China for India to get all excited? Not much evidence.

In fact, it is impossible for large interlinked businesses like autos to just get up and relocate themselves.

And even if some businesses leave China, why will they come to India?

India is unattractive for foreigners: In 2018, India dropped out of the top 10 destinations for foreign direct investment (on the AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index for the first time since 2015, when Southeast Asian economies enjoyed an FDI increase of 11 per cent (in 2018).

Then the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade last year revealed FDI in India declined in 2018-19, for the first time in six years.

No, India is not attractive by itself to foreigners.

There are many reasons for this -- all equally important.

It is not just land availability or stringent labour laws.

It is red tape, extortion, retrospective amendments, capricious changes in rules, tax terrorism, poor labour productivity, maddening delays at the ports, sovereign risk, and so on.

India is unattractive to even locals: Well, all this discussion about FDI is a joke because it is well known that even Indian businessmen who have a choice don't want to invest much in India.

Domestic investment has been sluggish for the past six years, as reflected in the capital goods sector.

This is because domestic demand has been weak, there is overcapacity, and public investment is low.

Hence, there is no incentive for domestic businesses to invest more.

India is, in any case, suffering from drought in private investment.

All three points, especially the last two, are well known.

So where did the belief that FDI will shift from China as well as the actions of BJP-ruled states spring from?

This appears to be a strategy of politicians to keep the media busy, chasing irrelevant news to ward off pressure and questions about the government's plans to deal with COVID.

It started with the prime minister telling chief ministers about the shift of FDI, which is supposedly an opportunity.

There was no basis for this. As if on cue, BJP-ruled states then jumped in and started making similar noises.

There is a delicious irony here we shouldn't miss.

The prime minister was quite happy to take credit for the FDI numbers in 2014-2015.

Then, when the numbers sagged, FDI dropped off the list of achievements.

Now, it is the states that are encouraged to attract FDI that is supposedly fleeing China even as various Union ministries will strew with thorns this path of attracting more FDI.

Debashis Basu is the editor of www.moneylife.in
A woman has been accused of attacking former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in a domestic violence incident at their Houston apartment, according to the Harris County District Attorneys Office.

Prosecutors say Leslie Caron, 40, injured Dewhurst on May 13 and May 17 after verbal arguments escalated and she became physical.

The couple, who have been dating a year, were at their apartment near River Oaks when Caron first got mad at the 74-year-old, authorities allege in court records. Prosecutors said Caron kicked him in the rib cage while he sat on the couch, left the residence and returned days later.

Another argument ensued, and Caron threw a pot at Dewhurst and kicked, struck, scratched and bit him, a prosecutor said during Carons probable cause hearing on Wednesday.

Dewhurst had chest pain and went to get X-rays, where he found he had two fractured ribs, court records show.

Caron denied assaulting her boyfriend and instead said he got injured while working outside, said Mary McFaden, division chief of the district attorneys offices family criminal law division. The professional fundraiser later accused the former politician of assaulting her on a previous occasion, which didnt appear to line up but will still be looked in to as part of the case, authorities said.

She was arrested Wednesday and is being held in jail in lieu of posting a $10,000 surety bond. Caron has been charged with injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony.

If she is released, she is restricted from having any contact with Dewhurst or going within 300 feet of his residence, according to court records.

Dewhurst, who served as Texas lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2015, issued a statement after Carons arrest.

Im not interested in filing any charges against Leslie, Dewhurst said in a written statement. Shes a remarkable woman with many fine attributes. I wish her all the best in life.

As of press time, Caron had not yet hired or been appointed an attorney.

The alleged assault is part of a small increase in domestic violence calls during the COVID-19 pandemic and an increased level of aggression in those cases, McFaden said.

Carons case is contrary to the stereotype of a traditional male abuser who seeks power over a partner, McFaden said.

This case just affirms and reminds us that there arent boundaries when it comes to intimate-partner violence, she said.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
Students applying to the University of Connecticut wont need to submit SAT or ACT test scores for the next three years. The school announced Wednesday that it will join a growing number of colleges around the country that have made the change since the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to interfere with students testing plans.

The states public flagship now joins many of Connecticuts private universities, including Fairfield, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac and Wesleyan, which had already waived the requirement for most applicants.

UConn will pilot the program for three years, with applicants for fall 2021 through fall 2023 able to opt out of sending their scores. At the end of that period, theyll make a permanent recommendation, said Nathan Fuerst, Vice President for Enrollment Management.

High standardized test scores as applicants have been predictive of student success at UConn, but lower test scores have not been as reflective of how the student will perform in college, Fuerst told the Board of Trustees Academic Affairs Committee in a phone meeting. Other factors, including grade point average, have been more predictive, he said.

He also pointed to the disparities between white students and minority students, and between high-income and low-income students. Research has shown that test scores are highly correlated to income, and there are apparent disparities found between White and Asian students versus African American and Hispanic / LatinX peers, UConn said in a news release.

Interim Provost John Elliott said the school has been considering the change for several years.

Examination dates for the SAT and ACT have been canceled since March, Fuerst said. In a typical year, 2 million high school juniors would have taken the test by now this spring, but currently, less than half as many have completed the tests, he said. Students have also experienced interruptions in their classes that prepare them for the exams, creating undoubtedly more disparities.

Students can choose to submit their scores, but will not be penalized if they do not include them in the application. The review processes for the honors program and merit scholarships will also be revised to include the test-optional policy.

In determining whether to make the change permanent, Fuerst said the university will review and compare student success rates for students who did and did not submit test scores, as well as the impact on access for first-generation, low-income and underrepresented minority students.

More News Studies on cancer, concrete and shopping carts resume

President Tom Katsouleas told the board that at other universities, the policy has resulted in larger and more diverse applicant pools.

UConns move follows dozens of others across the country that have made the change in the wake of the pandemic, including the University of California system, Cornell University, Boston University and Northeastern University. The university is the first in Connecticut to waive the requirement due to the coronavirus, but many private schools had already done so for many or all of their programs.

Many private, non-profit colleges have already adopted test-optional admissions policies - prior to the onset of COVID-19 -for the majority of undergraduate programs, said Jennifer Widness, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges. There are occasionally some programmatic exceptions at certain institutions, such as nursing and other health sciences.

The University of New Haven is test-optional for programs other than forensic science and the honors program, and Quinnipiac University is test optional for all programs other than the Schools of Health Sciences and Nursing.

Liz.teitz@hearstmediact.com
Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device: Via Apple Podcasts | Via RadioPublic | Via Stitcher

In the midst of the #MeToo movement in 2018, Bindu Bansinath wrote, How Lolita Freed Me From My Own Humbert, an essay about the sexual abuse she experienced as a teenager at the hands of an older man who was close friends with her parents.

When she was 15, Ms. Bansinath read Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita in an attempt to normalize her situation. Instead, the book provided a road map for an escape.

This week on the Modern Love podcast, Jameela Jamil reads Ms. Bansinaths essay. Ms. Jamil is a British actress known for her role as Tahani Al-Jamil on The Good Place. She is the host of the podcast I Weigh, which challenges accepted ideas about body image and weight.
$250,000: broadband state plan

$80 million: broadband infrastructure

$20 million: statewide hot spots

$16.7 million: personal protective equipment state stockpile

$7.5 million: nursing home testing

$15 million: statewide contact tracing

$19.9 million: statewide testing

$500 million: unemployment trust fund

$250 million: public and private hospital reimbursements

$13.4 million: summer reading/math intervention K-3 camp

$160 million: five days of K-8 academic instruction and intervention for social/emotional support

$12 million: reimbursement for meals handed out to students and cafeteria workers salaries

(TNS)  The state could spend $100 million on broadband and another nearly $16.7 million to increase the states stockpile of personal protective equipment, if lawmakers agree to approve recommendations from members of Gov. Henry McMasters COVID-19 task force.In addition, a subgroup of McMasters Accelerate South Carolina task force recommended Tuesday that the state invest in more medical testing, increase contact tracing to identify South Carolinians who may have contracted the respiratory disease and funnel $500 million into the states unemployment trust fund.South Carolina has received more than $2.7 billion from the federal government to help offset millions of dollars in spending related to fighting and recovering from the coronavirus. And, already, more than $196 million has been spent by colleges and universities, state agencies, the states technical college system, counties and cities to deal with the COVID-19 response.That figure, the group heard Tuesday, is expected to rise to more than $613 million through Dec. 30.But of the more than $2.7 billion, a large chunk of those dollars  $1.9 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act  has been the source of a power struggle between the governor and the S.C. Legislature.The states federal share of COVID-19 relief was given to governors to spend at their discretion.South Carolina lawmakers disagreed, adding into legislation to keep state government operating a measure that puts the $1.9 billion share into a separate account and treat it similarly to a budget bill allowing the General Assembly to have final say.McMaster signed what is called a continuing resolution on Monday , urging lawmakers to act quickly on the spending.These relief funds belong to the people of South Carolina, not politicians, and we must deliver them to where they are needed, McMaster wrote in his signing letter to S.C. House and Senate leaders. Consideration for their appropriation must be done expeditiously  but also wisely, transparently and with meticulous accountability.Specific to the $1.9 billion in aid, the Accelerate South Carolina group proposed spending $250,000 for a state broadband plan, $80 million for broadband infrastructure improvements and $20 million to buy mobile hot spots for 100,000 homes.It was ... believed by the group, a majority of the group, that if we were serious about broadband then we should seriously put some money on the line about broadband, said former state Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, who chaired the subgroup responsible for proposing how to spend the federal dollars.The group also recommended spending $16.7 million for a state stockpile of protective equipment; nearly $13.4 million for summer reading and math camps; $160 million for five additional days of kindergarten through eighth grade lessons and social and emotional support; and $250 million to reimburse public and private hospitals.The money is supposed to help state agencies and local governments recoup costs incurred because of COVID-19, and some of the recommendations proposed on Tuesday are duplications of proposals, for example, $19.9 million for statewide testing.State lawmakers already set aside $25 million for the Medical University of South Carolina to help with that.The need for local governments is great, Greenville Mayor Knox White told the group on Tuesday.But the COVID expenses are really adding up, White said. Theyre becoming serious.The subgroup recommended Tuesday that the state should hire an outside, third-party group to monitor and provide the governor monthly reports of how the states share is being spent.McMasters signing of the legislation on Monday also gives the states Department of Administration $1.5 million in state surplus dollars to oversee and ensure agencies and others are complying with the CARES Act federal aid guidelines.As part of its recommendations, the Accelerate South Carolina resource group said the federal dollars should only be used for eligible costs, and dollars should not be moved from one area to another without approval. Any of the states federal share that is not spent on Dec. 29 should be sent to the states unemployment trust fund, the group recommended.Somehow this money needs to get back to the entities that have spent the money, Ryberg said on Tuesday. Thats the agencies, municipal governments, the county governments. So, it needs to be getting back to them in a very timely fashion. ... Some of them dont have the luxury of deep pockets, like some other agencies might have.The governor will make the ultimate decision over the recommendations and whether to tweak them before sending them to the General Assembly for approval.State Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, said Tuesday he expects the Legislature to return to Columbia the second or third week of June to take up the $1.9 billion spending bill.Asked if thats how he expects the process to run, McMaster said, that is my expectation, too.Accelerate SC proposals for $1.9B spending
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is asking President Donald Trump to wear a face mask during a Thursday visit to the Rawsonville manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti Township.

In an open letter addressed to the president made public Wednesday, Nessel said her department wont act to stop Trump from entering the plant if he doesnt wear one - but she said he should honor state executive orders and Ford policy requiring facial coverings to limit the spread of COVID-19.

I ask that while you are on tour you respect the great efforts of the men and women at Ford  and across this state  by wearing a facial covering," Nessel wrote in the letter. Anyone who has potentially been recently exposed, including the President of the United States, has not only a legal responsibility, but also a social and moral responsibility, to take reasonable precautions to prevent further spread of the virus.

It is a Ford policy that visitors to its facilities don personal protective equipment such as masks, according to a company statement. But the Dearborn-based automaker said the White House has its own guidelines.

We have shared our policies and recommendations," the company said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. The White House has its own safety and testing policies in place and will make its own determination.

The president has previously said he would wear a mask if asked, a White House spokesman said. If he wears one, it would be the first time hes been seen in public with a mask, as he has declined to do so despite his administrations promotion of the practice, according to the Associated Press.

Michigans latest stay-at-home order requires people to wear a mask if they are medically able, although there is no civil or criminal charge associated with not wearing one. Businesses operating during the pandemic may refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask in an enclosed space, and are required to provide non-medical masks to employees.

The president is scheduled to tour a factory that has shifted efforts to produce ventilators and personal protective equipment to help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Ford began making ventilators at the plant during the week of April 20 and set a goal of producing 50,000 ventilators in 100 days at the facility.

Trump will also meet with national and Detroit-area African American leaders at the plant before touring the facility. A senior White House official told MLive this week the discussion will focus on how the Trump administration can help underserved populations and minority communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected black communities in Michigan.

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.

Related coverage:

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Trump to meet with Detroit-area black leaders before touring Michigan Ford plant

Trump asked to wear mask during Thursday trip to Michigan Ford plant

Trump planning Thursday tour of Michigan Ford plant where ventilators, PPE are made
- Francis Leo Marcos got arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation for allegedly violating the optometry law

- It was the NBI Cybercrime Division that arrested Marcos for a case filed against him in Baguio City

- NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Vic Lorenzo explained that Marcos allegedly distributed prescription eyeglasses without the required permit from the Philippine Association of Optometry

- Lorenzo added that there are also other cases against Marcos, including estafa, qualified human trafficking, and violence against women

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

Francis Leo Marcos has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly violating the optometry law.

According to ABS-CBN News (reported by Niko Baua) and GMA News (reported by Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas), it was the NBI Cybercrime Division that arrested Marcos for a case filed against him in Baguio City.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

In a report by Rappler (authored by Lian Buan), NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Vic Lorenzo opened up about the arrest.

He explained that Marcos allegedly distributed prescription eyeglasses without the required permit from the Philippine Association of Optometry.

Lorenzo added that there are also other cases against Marcos, including estafa, qualified human trafficking, and violence against women.

"Kasi parang nagdi-distribute siya ng mga eyeglasses without the approval and permission coming from the Philippine Association of Optometry.

"Tapos under investigation siya sa ibat ibang unit namin. Tsaka may mga estafa cases siya doon na finile against him," Lorenzo revealed.

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 Marcos gave his first interview after getting arrested.

Francis Leo Marcos is a social media star who became popular online for giving donations to the poor and urging other wealthy people to donate as well. His YouTube channel has over 1 million followers and he has fan pages on different social media platforms as well.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Created by Pope Francis, the commission is linked to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. It has a year to study, suggest and design new ways of social life and economic models. Greater agricultural production is needed. Because of coronavirus outbreak, 350 million children do not even get one meal a day. Caritas is helping more than 7.8 million people in 14 countries. Sanctions against Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Venezuela should be dropped whilst the debt of poor countries should be cancelled. Military spending should be diverted to food production.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  A press conference was held this morning in the Vatican on COVID-19, food crisis and integral ecology: the action of the Church. Card Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, was present, as were the Dicastery Secretary Mgr Bruno Marie Duffe, his Deputy Fr Augusto Zampini-Davies, and the General Secretary of Caritas Internationalis Aloysius John.

The Dicastery established a Vatican COVID-19 Commission to address the challenges created by the pandemic afflicting the planet. Its action will focus on three areas to prepare the future of the world: food, since hunger will increase for hundreds of millions of people; integral ecology, to come up with new economic models that are more respectful of human health and the environment; and charity for the marginalised through greater inclusiveness and solidarity.

In his introduction, Card Turkson highlighted how the pandemic has affected every aspect of human life and culture. The commission, created by Pope Francis, will rely on the help of other Vatican dicasteries and will last for at least a year.

Archbishop Duffe stressed that the pandemic revealed the "vulnerability" of every aspect of life: physical, ideological, planning, economic. For this reason, it is necessary to think and act in "solidarity" by imagining "new economic models" that connect the health, ecological, economic and social" aspects of the current crisis in order to find new solutions.

Fr Augusto Zampini-Davies spoke about hunger, a problem that already afflicts more than 800 million people. As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, 350 million children are now going hungry because they no longer go to school where they received their one meal a day.

In his view, the problem of food will get worse in the future as agricultural production and distribution break down. He warns that food Insecurity will lead to violence and more conflicts, which will in turn, [will] cause more poverty. Hence, it is necessary to encourage improvements in farming and divert funds from weapons to food production.

In his address Aloysius John spoke about how Caritas Internationalis reacted to increased needs generated by the coronavirus outbreak. The response includes providing food, distributing sanitary and health products, and helping people pay their rent.

Currently, Caritas is helping more than 7.8 million people in 14 countries, including Ecuador, India, Palestine, Bangladesh, Lebanon and Burkina Faso. Other projects are under study to provide support to an additional 840,000 people in difficulty.

For Aloysius John, the international community should also remove economic sanctions from countries like Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Venezuela so that aid can reach their populations. Likewise, the debt of the worlds poorest countries should be scrapped or at least the interest they have to pay this year should be cancelled. Donations to needy countries should continue and not be used for other purposes.
On May 30, Geely Philippines is bringing in a new modelthe Azkarrato the country. The upcoming crossover SUV is just the second model in Geelys local lineup after the critically acclaimed Coolray, further demonstrating the Chinese-owned companys intention to disrupt the market.

But with active quarantine measures placing a ban on large gatherings, Geely wont be holding a traditional car launch, and instead will be unveiling the Azkarra through its online channels. Make sure to save the date, as the company will be holding the first full-production digital automobile launch in the Philippines via the Geely Philippines website, as well as its official Facebook and YouTube channels.

geely

Known as the Boyue in its home market, Geely plans to showcase the Azkarra in full and bring viewers up close and personal with the details of the Azkarras design and engineering, from its elegant exterior to its premium interior, the company describes.

The Geely Azkarra is now available on pre-sale, with a starting price of P1.438 million for the 4x2 Premium variant and topping off at P1,598 million for the 48V Luxury hybrid variant with Electric Motor Synergy.

Based on the reports published by Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID), Geely is one of the top contenders in the B-segment SUVs as of March this year. From September 2019 to April 2020, Geely sold 524 Coolrays in all. Meanwhile, from January 2020 to April 2020, Geely sold 295 units of the sporty crossover.

Along with its success, the Chinese brand is also taking major steps in ensuring the safety of its vehicles against health risks such as the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the globe. Beginning 2020, all Geely cars rolling out of the assembly line will have N95-grade air purification installed.

GEELY N95

Geely is also doing its part in reducing the risk of infection around the globe by donating stockpiles of face masks to medical frontliners battling the viral crisis. The brand has just completed making a donation of 100,000 face masks in the country.

Story continues

The company initially donated 20,000 pieces of surgical masks to the country last March, meant for the country's medical workers.

Geely Automobile International Sales Company Deputy General Manager Jin Guangyu said that the company will continue to observe to the COVID-19 situation in the Philippines and cooperate with its local partners so it can effectively harness Geely Automobile's global resources to help the country in overcoming the pandemic.

Photos from Geely Philippines

Also read:

Volvo, Geely, Eye New Global Merger

BUYER'S GUIDE: 2020 Geely Coolray
Ongoing quarantine has most Californians still cooped up inside their homes.

But Jennifer Garner took a break from her indoors routine on Tuesday, by heading out into the sunshine for a bike ride around her Los Angeles neighborhood.

The 48-year-old screen beauty was decked out in head-to-toe black for the energetic outing.

Making a break for it: Jennifer Garner took a break from her indoors routine on Tuesday, by heading out into the sunshine for a bike ride around her Los Angeles neighborhood

The Alias star showed off her tremendous legs in dark leggings, while on her upper half she opted for a simple black long-sleeved T-shirt.

The Peppermint actress shielded her eyes against the Southern Californian glare with a pair of dark shades and covered her face with a mask as she rode, per CDC recommendations.

Jennifer covered her brunette tresses with a safety helmet as she rose the streets on her bicycle.

Biker chic: The Alias star showed off her tremendous legs in dark leggings, while on her upper half she opted for a simple black long-sleeved T-shirt

Garner's solo outing comes as her ex husband Ben Affleck's newest relationship apparently goes from strength to strength.

The Way Back actor has recently been dating Knives Out star Ana de Armas, 32, though she hasn't yet been introduced to the children.

Us Weekly reported Monday that she had been impressed with how well the exes have managed to co-parent.

'Ana thinks Ben is such a sweet and nice guy. [She] admires how he juggles so much between work, his kids and co-parenting with Jen,' a source said.

Ben 'splits his time [between Ana and his family] and, as always, the kids are the most important thing in his life,' they continued.

The insider also noted that the Hollywood star 'always makes sure he has time for [Ana] and that she is number one.'

Ben was previously married to Jennifer from 2005 until their separation in 2015. Their divorce was eventually finalized in 2018.
An national inquiry into domestic violence that was established after a man killed his estranged wife and three children in a crime that shocked Australia has finished three months early without taking evidence from witnesses or calling for submissions.

Rowan Baxter doused Hannah Clarke and their children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, in petrol and set them on fire during the school run in Brisbane before killing himself.

The Australian Senate's legal and constitutional affairs committee was tasked with a six-month inquiry into domestic violence after the horrific deaths of Ms Clarke and her children in February.

But its final report was delivered on Tuesday, three months ahead of schedule, without accepting submissions, holding public hearings or making any recommendations.

Rowan Baxter doused Hannah Clarke and their children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, in petrol and set them on fire during the school run in Brisbane before killing himself

The couple broke up late last year after more than a decade together. They were locked in a custody battle after Ms Clarke moved to the property with the children (pictured: Hannah Baxter with their three kids)

Grim aftermath: A burnt-out Kia Sportage is seen on Raven Street where Rowan Baxter murdered his three children and estranged wife by dousing them in petrol and setting them alight

Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright said it was a sad failure of regard for Australians killed by domestic violence.

'The report amounts to little more than a literature review, posing a number of obvious and often stated questions,' she said on Wednesday.

'This demonstrates a lack of commitment by decision-makers to address a serious community problem and a significant cause of death in Australia.'

Eleven women have been killed across Australia in domestic violence incidents since coronavirus restrictions were imposed in March.

Crossbench senator Rex Patrick, who initiated the inquiry, issued a dissenting report with one recommendation: the committee take a long hard look at itself.

'The committee failed itself, the Australian public, Hannah Clarke and her three beautiful children, Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey, and all victims of domestic violence, past, present and future,' he wrote.

Committee chair Kim Carr accused Senator Patrick of not showing up to meetings and seeking to take political advantage.

The Labor senator said Senator Patrick had referred the issue to the wrong committee.

'It is appropriate that the appropriate level of expertise be applied to this and not some half-baked measure,' Senator Carr told the ABC.

Women's Minister Marise Payne said she would look at the report before commenting.

Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright said it was a sad failure of regard for Australians killed by domestic violence. Pictured: Hannah Baxter (left) with a friend

Former NRL player Baxter was 'going crazy' and telling residents not to help his children before he stabbed himself to death. Pictured: Hannah and Rowan Baxter and their three young children

Burned-out wreck: Rowan Charles Baxter, 42, and his three children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, all died when the family's white SUV was set alight at Camp Hill

'I do know that Australian senators across the board, no matter where they come from in the parliament, take these issues very, very seriously,' she told ABC radio.

Senator Payne said the federal government was focused on working with states and territories to protect women and children during the coronavirus crisis.

Ms Wright said the number of women dying at the hands of current or former partners had not shifted since 2010.

'A valuable opportunity to examine and improve the programs that are working well to support and protect the vulnerable members of society has been lost,' she said.

During the February tragedy, Ms Clarke managed to escape the burning Kia Sportage but was scolded so badly her skin was melting off and she looked like 'someone in a war movie' as she tried to rescue her children.

The 31-year-old shrieked 'my children are in the car, save my children' as horrified neighbours forced her to roll over and sprayed water on her to douse the flames.

Left: Hannah Clarke pictured with her 'main man', son Trey in a beach snap. Right: Mrs Baxter on her wedding day with her husband

Former NRL player Baxter was 'going crazy' and telling residents not to help his children before he stabbed himself to death.

Ms Clarke was rushed to hospital where she died last night from her horrific injuries.

The shocking murder-suicide unfolded just metres from the home of Ms Clarke's parents on Raven Street in Camp Hill.

The couple broke up late last year after more than a decade together. They were locked in a custody battle after Ms Clarke moved to the property with the children.

Neighbours from the old family home 3km away in Carindale said the kids hadn't been to visit their father much since the separation.

Baxter took the marriage breakdown badly and was living as a virtual recluse with his dog at the former family home.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14
Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst cyclones over the Bay of Bengal, lay centred about 170 km south of West Bengals Digha on Wednesday. About 4.5 lakh people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas in West Bengal and Odisha ahead of the its landfall.

Amphan, termed as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, is expected to make a landfall at 4pm near Sunderbans in West Bengal. It is likely to move north-northeastwards after landfall and pass close to Kolkata in its eastern side, causing extensive damage and flooding of low-lying areas in the city, the Met department said. It has issued an orange message for West Bengal, warning of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

Watch | Super cyclone Amphan to hit West Bengal today, landfall likely near Sunderbans

Click here for Cyclone Amphan LIVE updates

There is also likelihood of extensive damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards, the MeT department added.

Also read: Woman delivers baby in fire service vehicle as cyclone Amphan pounds Odisha

Here are the top developments:

* Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that she, along with senior government officials, would directly monitor the situation in the state and would herself stay put at the state secretariat on Wednesday.

* The Bengal government has also formed rapid response teams to ensure that tigers from Sundarbans in South 24 Parganas district do not stray into nearby human settlements after the landfall.

* A team of Indian Navy divers has been stationed at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district with specialised equipment and can be rushed for rescue missions as and when required, a defence spokesman said.

Also read: Amphan likely to maintain intensity of cyclonic storm till May 21 morning

* Storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3 to 4 metres over low lying areas of East Midnapore district of West Bengal during the time of landfall, said officials.

* The Indian Coast Guard has deployed 20 disaster relief teams (DRT) along the eastern coast in view of cyclone Amphan. These teams will help in relief operations at short notice, the coast guard said.

* Cargo and evacuation flight operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended till 5 am on Thursday due to the cyclonic storm Amphan, airport officials said.

* West Bengal on Tuesday mounted one of its biggest evacuation exercises by moving more than three lakh people to safer places as the extremely severe cyclonic storm Amphan roared towards the coastal areas of the state, officials said.

* Heavy downpour coupled with high velocity winds pounded coastal Odisha, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said on Wednesday.

* A Bhubaneswar report said the cyclonic system is being continuously monitored with the help of Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Vishakhapatnam, Paradip and Gopalpur.

* Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday spoke to more than a dozen MPs from Odisha and West Bengal, and urged them to ensure all possible help to people in coastal districts in view of the impending super cyclonic storm Amphan .
A couple, wearing masks, was walking south along the dirt Santa Fe Trail in north Colorado Springs. A cyclist was pedaling north on the recreational trail, which ranks among our citys treasures.

The couple and the cyclist were 15 feet apart as they approached. As the cyclist drew close, the couple stepped 20 feet away, turned their heads and covered their masked mouths.

This is extreme caution.

Hour later, the cyclist walked into Walmart, where a sign requiring masks for customers was displayed prominently on the front door. Several unmasked customers, mostly youthful, roamed the aisles. Several unmasked shoppers, mostly youthful, were seen the next day roaming through Sprouts grocery store.

This is lack of caution.

In our strange coronavirus spring, the cautious and incautious must find a way to dwell together. Those terrified of the virus coexist with the skeptical. Those who believe COVID-19 death counts are understated make conversation with those who believe COVID-19 death counts are exaggerated. Those who want stay-at-home orders extended wave across the street at neighbors who yearn to roam free for drinks at bars and meals at restaurants.

I ask those who roam mask-free through stores to consider these truths:

You look indulgent and reckless. You stand out. You arent worried about your health. Thats obvious. But, please, show proper concern for the health of others, especially our most vulnerable.

Americans excel in many realms, but disagreement might rank as our greatest talent. We can disagree, it seems, on anything. And, trust me, we will find multiple ways to quarrel over handling the coronavirus crisis.

But we can agree on these crusades:

Lets eradicate those murder hornets.

And lets wear masks while shopping. Everyone. Young and old. Cautious and incautious.

Skeptics of the might of coronavirus represent only a minority slice of America, but they have a gift for making noise. Letters to the editor in The Gazette are dominated many days by skeptics. Skeptics/protesters have gathered at state capitols in Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. (A local skeptic protested my use of the word stormed to describe the capitol gatherings.)

Some of the protesters arrived armed, which was clearly meant to intimidate. Some waved Confederate flags.

At the Wisconsin capitol in Madison, speakers complained that police declined to install portable toilets for the convenience of those who attended the rally. Gov. Tony Evers had refused the organizers application for a permit.

But those making noise are clearly in the minority.

A national Yahoo News/YouGov poll in late April revealed over 70 percent of Americans, regardless of political party, are more concerned about lifting restrictions too quickly than lifting them too slowly.

A Colorado poll released this week revealed similar views. A survey by Democratic firms Keating Research, OnSight Public Affairs and Mike Melanson found 68% of Colorado residents support the new safer-at-home order with 21 percent against the measure. In the same poll, 80 percent of respondents favored requiring face masks for those shopping and working.

The message is clear: The majority of Americans, and Colorado residents, understand taking aggressive action against the coronavirus saved lives. Those actions carried a massive cost. Small business owners were devastated. Grandparents missed seeing their grandchildren. Loneliness multiplied.

And the march of death was slowed.

We cant remain this locked down forever. I get that. You have to eat. I have to eat. We must crawl back toward some semblance of normal.

But as we crawl, this much is clear:

When you go shopping, no matter your age or view of the might of The Virus, wear a mask.
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.

Dr Greg Cline

How has the trade industry been affected by Covid-19? Was trade halted during this time and what delays were experienced?

Humanitarian crises have significant implications for businesses. Covid-19 has caused a slowdown in world trade, disruption in global supply chains and put pressure on economic growth.

How will trade look like now that the economy is slowly opening  specifically from an import perspective?

With the virus affecting the global markets, what is the relationship with South Africas major trading partners like now, for example, China and the US?

With South Africas trade sector contributing 60% to the countrys GDP per quarter, it becomes critical to navigate these business waters with a risk-adjusted strategy. How have businesses been navigating the crisis and/or what steps can they put in place to implement strategies effectively?

In the trade industry... once we understand where demand is, we are going to see businesses adjust their operating models, redefine their product offering and become more rigorous in how they negotiate payment terms.

What does the new frontier of trade and importing look like going into the second half of the year?

Has this global crisis changed your view of the future of the trade and import sector in any way? Any opportunities you think will emerge as a result?

Any trends youve seen emerge as a result of the crisis?

Your key message to those in trade and import sector during this time?

Covid-19 has disrupted world economies and the trade industry is no exception. With the President opening the economy gradually, many industries must figure out how to operate successfully adapt to the "new normal". With South Africas trade sector contributing 60% to the countrys GDP per quarter, it becomes critical to navigate these business waters with a risk-adjusted strategy.Here, we chat to Dr Greg Cline, head of corporate accounts at Investec for your Business to get his take on how the crisis has impacted the trade industry:Humanitarian crises have significant implications for businesses. Covid-19 has caused a slowdown in world trade, disruption in global supply chains and put pressure on economic growth. China is South Africas largest supplier of imports so naturally there has been a big impact and trade severely dampened.Whats more, at the start of this pandemic there was also some confusion. Preference to essential goods needed to be given at the ports and there was a matter of the Road Freight Association understanding what was permitted in terms of the transporting of these goods from the ports through to the warehouse.As such, we saw many businesses in this space applying for permits to be able to operate while under Level 5 of the lockdown, however clarification and changes were needed here for there was a segment of the economy that was classified as essential goods but was not significant enough to affect or reduce the impending unemployment figures which we are now starting to see.As lockdown eases, most businesses have stock, but have either slowed down or paused their orders to ensure they dont have goods coming through that will just be sitting in a warehouse. There hasnt been an issue from the east with goods ready to ship, but because of the restrictions that have been sitting from port side in South Africa, there is anticipated backlogs and congestion.Additionally, the rand is also a big factor as it has devalued substantially, as such several businesses are waiting to see if the rand will recover before they order stock again.Most companies had reasonable success in collecting their debtors book in March, however in April we have seen a different story as given companies were not able to trade, their customer have not been able to pay  causing severe cash flow problems and as a result, a halt in our economy. This has forced companies to be creative in how they protect jobs with many suspending payments to their creditors to make payroll.Others have rationalised their staff complements and forced leave on their employees. However, in some cases, it was not possible to save all jobs where we saw and continue to see companies retrenching employees.The opening of the economy has had a marginal impact on trade. From an import perspective, we have seen a substantial decrease in trade in oil and petroleum-based industries such as automotive and associated parts. However, the economy hasnt opened up enough for businesses to create enough demand to be ordering and importing aggressively.Whats more, many companies are trying to preserve their cash flow given the uncertainly of the market, timeframes around the easing of lockdown levels and how much disposable income consumers will have. As such, there has been a definitive slow-down in the number of imports due to uncertainty and that the anticipated demand is not yet well understood.Countries are taking an introspective stance - focusing on saving jobs, implementing relief measures to preserve peoples livelihoods as well as ramping up on health and medical infrastructure. As a result, little focus has been placed on international trade relations outside of acquiring essential goods and medical supplies.For South Africa specifically, I think it is difficult to look outwards when you have not solved the issues that are plaguing so many in a poverty-stricken nation. Focus has rightly been placed on Government grants, payment holidays, trying to find a stimulus to create jobs.This is the main priority and while trade relations are an important piece of that puzzle, many countries are similarly battling their own internal challenges, and their economies have not fully reopened yet. Once we are in a space where we have passed the peak of this virus, more focus will turn to both inter-Africa and international trade.There are a number of strategies being put into place. Businesses have had to relook at number of areas with the biggest focus being on containing costs while diversifying into new product lines that can provide returns and at the same time produce some type of cash-flow for the business.As such, we have seen many businesses using this time to negotiate with creditors for additional payment terms, holidays or discounts and turning to digital channels to reach new customers and get product to market.We have also seen a new demand for Covid type loans  essentially, financial relief to cover operational expenses for the next few months. On the other hand, some businesses have opted not to take on such debt and have looked towards bespoke trade finance solutions to address their working capital pitfalls and frustrations.To be honest, no one really knows. Most of the cash flow projections that we are seeing are sitting at three months as there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment. Cost inputs and considerations are just not understood at this time and market volatility is rife.I certainly believe that consumer demand is going to be a big determining factor here, along with where the rand/dollar exchange rate and oil price settle. This will provide more insight into what imports and trade will look like in the second half of the year.Businesses tend to evolve over time to address what they believe is the new norm. So, understanding what is going to be those product categories and services that are important to consumers is where the opportunity lies, and no doubt businesses will move to capitalise on them  evolving as they must.In the trade industry for example, once we understand where demand is, we are going to see businesses adjust their operating models, redefine their product offering and become more rigorous in how they negotiate payment terms.There have been a number of trends emerge, however from my perspective, I think we are seeing and are likely to see the following: Increased use of digital channels for connecting, communicating and deploying services. We are also likely to see people and businesses become more comfortable with online forms or orders, where previously this wasnt the case. Substantial changes in business models  ones that take physical distancing and convenience into account. Change in mindset when it comes to the preservation of cash and regard for disposable income, along with prioritising spend.During this time many are adopting a wait and see approach, while some are unable to trade at all. As such, take the time to re-examine your relationship with your suppliers and customers.Make sure that you have negotiated equitable payment terms with your suppliers and at the same time, create an overall customer experience that will bring customers to your door. People are looking to engage, if it's not in a personal context, it is going to be in a virtual platform of some sort  so make sure your business is ready for the new normal.
The girlfriend of former Texas Lt. Gov David Dewhurst stands accused of breaking his ribs by kicking him during one of two vicious rows, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Leslie Ann Caron, 40, was charged with injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony in Texas. She is also accused of hit him with a pot, scratching and biting him during a second argument days later.

Dewhurst, 74, called Houston police Tuesday when X-rays confirmed his injuries, said Mary McFaden, the division chief of family criminal law at the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Caron was booked on $10,000 bond. McFaden said the charges might have been a misdemeanor if Dewhurst had been under the age of 65, but that the charges were elevated to a felony because of the age of the alleged victim.

Leslie Ann Caron, 40, was charged with injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony in Texas. David Dewhurst, 74, called Houston police Tuesday when X-rays confirmed his injuries, the Harris County District Attorney's Office

Prosecutors in Houston said Wednesday that the girlfriend of former Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was arrested on charges of injuring the longtime Republican officeholder in an alleged attack that broke two of his ribs

Political fundraiser Caron allegedly kicked Dewhurst on May 13 during an argument over him not calling a business partner. She allegedly scratched and bit him during another argument a few days later, according to prosecutors.

Caron made accusations that Dewhurst had physically hurt her in the past but police could not substantiate those claims, said Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorney's office.

It was not immediately clear whether Caron had an attorney. She is said to have denied the charges.

In a statement Dewhurst said: 'I'm not interested in filing any charges against Leslie. She's a remarkable woman with many fine attributes. I wish her all the best in life.'

The couple are thought to have dated for around a year. Prosecutors have the final say on charges.

Caron allegedly kicked Dewhurst on May 13 during an argument over him not calling a business partner, and allegedly scratched and bit him during another argument a few days later, according to prosecutors

Dewhurst served 12 years as lieutenant before losing his bid for a fourth term in 2014; he also ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 but lost in a primary runoff to Ted Cruz

Approached by Houston television station KTRK on Wednesday, Dewhurst said he was doing OK but declined further comment.

Dewhurst served 12 years as lieutenant before losing his bid for a fourth term in 2014. He also ran for U.S. Senate in 2012 but lost in a primary runoff to Ted Cruz.

Dewhurst was a powerful ally of Rick Perry, who was then the Texas governor.

Together they pushed through a business-friendly agenda in the Legislature that they claimed drove a booming Texas economy, laying the groundwork for Perry's failed campaigns for the White House.

A court hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
Alan Hall would do anything for you, a neighbour said

Gardai investigating the death of a man in Dublin at the weekend believe he may have been killed during a row.

It is understood officers are satisfied Alan Hall (44) suffered injuries to his head and neck.

Last night, Superintendent James Dalton, of Clondalkin Garda Station, said the preliminary results of the post mortem examination into the death were not being released for operational reasons.

"A post mortem was carried out at the city morgue by Dr Hansu," he said.

"Gardai at Clondalkin Garda Station are conducting a criminal investigation into all the circumstances."

A senior source said the main line of investigation was now to identify who caused the injuries to Mr Hall that were the cause of his death.

The 44-year-old is believed to have been from Coolock, but had been living on Bluebell Avenue for around two years.

He was described by neighbours as a "quiet but helpful" man.

He lived on his own in the end-of-terrace cottage where the fire was reported at 11.20am on Monday.

The alarm was raised by a neighbour who heard smoke and carbon monoxide detectors going off.

Dublin Fire Brigade brought the blaze, which was in the bedroom, under control.

However, when firefighters searched the house, they found Mr Hall dead in the bathroom with apparent injuries to his head and neck.

Supt Dalton appealed for anyone who was in the area between Sunday evening and Monday morning, particularly any motorists with dashcam footage, to come forward.

Neighbours said yesterday Mr Hall usually "kept himself to himself" but would sometimes have friends around to socialise.

Shopping

"He was a lovely fella. He would do anything for you. He had been shopping for someone the day before this happened," one neighbour said.

"I used to have a few drinks with him on special occasions and he was a nice lad. It's very sad."

The neighbour said Mr Hall was seen the day before the fire and did not have any visible injuries.

"If he was injured it was later, we think," the neighbour said.

There were some indications the back door of the house may have been open when the emergency services arrived.
Cyclone Amphan, the years first tropical cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal, slammed into the delta region between Digha in West Bengal and Bangladesh on Wednesday afternoon with wind speeds touching 165 kmph. The tropical cyclone became the first, since the devastating cyclone of 1999 that hit Odisha, to morph into a super cyclone as wind speeds crossed 220 kmph. The cyclone, however, made landfall as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, a tad less powerful than a super cyclone.

Even as Amphan (pronounced UM-PUN) is perhaps not the last cyclone to form over the Bay this year, its rapid intensification is a grim reminder of the dangers posed by a warming Indian Ocean, scientists said.

The sea surface temperatures (SST) are usually warmer over the Bay of Bengal as compared to the Arabian Sea. This summer, prior to the formation of Amphan, temperature over the Bay of Bengal ranged between 31-34 degree Celsius, which was above the normal levels. Scientists from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) said that anything above 27 degree Celsius quickens the formation of a cyclone after a low-pressure area develops.

The Indian government has been monitoring sea surface temperatures with the help of buoys and argo floats that are placed in the Indian Ocean. This initiative began from 2000 onward and the data is monitored by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

Dr Roxy Mathew Koll, scientist at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, said, Some of the buoys in Bay of Bengal registered maximum temperatures of 32-34 degree Celsius in the first two weeks of May. These are record temperatures driven by climate change  we have never seen such high values until now. These high temperatures can super charge a cyclone since tropical cyclones primarily draw their energy from evaporation at the ocean surface.

Prior to cyclone Amphans formation, the sea surface temperature seems to have increased aided by clear and calm skies, he added.

Amphan intensified from a Category-I cyclone to a Category-5 cyclone in less than 24 hours, thus generating higher wind speed in a short duration. Rapid intensification of a storm occurs if maximum sustained wind speed increases by 55 kmph in 24 hours duration. In the case of cyclone Amphan, it intensified at twice that rate between May 16 and May 17, and its intensity rose by 70 kmph, according to CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies).

The dangers of more powerful cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are amplified as it threatens large-scale devastation due to storm surges in the densely populated delta regions of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Storm surges lead to tidal waves that are as tall as 20 feet, that not only destroy everything in its path but also ruin livelihoods based on farming. The ingress of saline water also has a long-term impact on the regions groundwater.

The formation of Cyclone Amphan led to the evacuation of nearly 1 million people from Odisha and West Bengal from low-lying and vulnerable coastal areas. A 2019 study published in Nature, estimated that by 2050 around 36 million people in India and 42 million people in Bangladesh are at risk due to rise in sea-levels and annual storm surges.

The heat content of ocean is like fuel for tropical cyclones. When the sea surface temperature rises, it is highly conducive for the formation of cyclones. Ocean warming has been observed globally and more so in the Indian Ocean, said M Rajeevan Nair, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences told News18.com.

The reduction in carbon emissions across the globe also seems to have played a hand in additional warming of the sea. This lockdown has significantly reduced human emissions into the atmosphere. This decrease means that surface warming due to the removal of human-made aerosols has increased and atmospheric warming (due to those absorbing aerosols such as Black Carbon) has decreased significantly during this time. This surface warming extends over the waters in the Bay of Bengal, said Dr V Vinoj, Assistant Professor, School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar.

Therefore, the global warming effect which tends to increase the strength of cyclones, if any, is now amplified due to this human induced lockdown effect. This may be the reason why Amphan strengthened into a super cyclone, a second one only to the 1999 super cyclone. Vinoj added.
Palo Alto Network's 2020 JSAC Cybersecurity Summit gave viewers an insider's perspective on some of the challenges state government faces in the age of COVID-19.North Dakota CIO Shawn Riley, one of the Tuesday panelists, shared the unprecedented operations his team has gone through to secure a rapidly changing government."As COVID-19 became a very, very real pandemic for all of us, we all had to think really differently about how government is managed and how it's being delivered on a day-to-day basis," Riley said.And his job is particularly delicate. North Dakota's recent reorganizations have given the Department of Information Technology an expanded responsibility to protect and deliver security policy to all public entities throughout the state. This means navigating new problems, including securing teleworking environments for people who have never worked from home before, he said."In a period of about four days, we moved 250,000 people out of their environments and into either a telework or a teleschool environment," he said. The entire executive branch was moved in about 48 hours, 65 percent of which had never worked remotely before, he added."We stood up a new education system for all of K-12 in four days' time; we stood up contact tracing in six days' time for the entire state; contact monitoring for the entire state; a new data system in 24 hours," he continued.The speed at which these shifts had to be made were "unprecedented," he said. Hackers were very much aware of the opportunities they presented, and as a result the state government saw a precipitous rise in cyberattacks in the weeks after stay-at-home orders went into effect."Typically, we get 15 [million] to 20 million attacks a month against our front door," Riley said. "We went from 1,500 incidents that we were dealing with across the entirety of the system, to a little over 7,000 per week once COVID came in," he said.At the same time, the state rushed to implement a contact tracing program to a sometimes skeptical public. Questions about whether or not this data could be adequately protected were common, Riley said."Once you start thinking about security and privacy, instantly you have a huge swath of the nation who looks out and says, 'Wait a minute, what is Big Brother doing to me? What are you really tracking and what can you really get to?'" he said.The possibility of having this data fall into the hands of foreign actors has been a specific concern among those concerned with COVID-19-related data collection."The reality is that contact tracing is exceptionally benign information on the whole," Riley offered. "There are aspects of contact tracing that do check your location and manage locations, but in systems that we've enabled so far, you can't even get to that data yourself unless you have the code from your phone.""The reality is that this is good information that's helping to save lives," he added.
Penn State University has an army of its senior faculty and staff at work on figuring out how  not if  it can bring students and faculty back to its campuses in the fall.

University President Eric Barron said at this point, We are proceeding with the notion that our objective is to open in the fall for residential education and have the full Penn State that we love so much in operation.

During a virtual town hall meeting with faculty and staff on Tuesday afternoon, Barron acknowledged theres a lot of planning and strategizing that needs to go on between now and then to ensure the return to campuses can be done safely. But the plan is to announce a decision about that on June 15.

But Barron cautioned, If theres serious concerns, then we may have to rethink the plan. But we are operating as if we will [be returning] but well have these checkpoints to make sure we can do it safely.

Penn State, like nearly all colleges and universities across the state and nation, switched in the middle of its spring semester due to the coronavirus outbreak to remote instruction. It also is continuing with online instruction through the summer.

The university has formed several task and work groups to figure out how to return to in-person classes while minimizing the risk of transmitting COVID-19 to students, faculty, and staff.

Everything were doing is informed by public health and science, said university Provost Nick Jones. Were also scouring the national landscape for an understanding of what other institutions are thinking about.

He said the return to campus group he is working with is looking at the academic calendar, class schedules, classroom set-ups, blended learning possibilities that combine remote and in-person instruction, and safety protocols to minimize the risk of virus spread inside the classroom. But the greatest challenge in his view is mitigation efforts outside the classroom.

There, he said, there is less ability to control personal interactions in such places as residence halls, fraternities, off-campus housing, dining facilities, buses, student activity centers, lounges, coffee shops, and the library.

Each member of our university community  students, faculty and staff alike  must when we have an opportunity to return to in-person experience must commit themselves to not only their own well-being but the welfare of others, Jones said. Only through determination and commitment of students, faculty and staff alike will this undertaking succeed but if any university in this country can pull it off, Penn State is the one.

The university has ordered 500,000 masks and is purchasing 2,500 sanitizing stations to place at the entrance of every building and every classroom. Moreover, Matt Ferrari, associate professor of biology and researcher in the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, said they are considering offering testing to all employees and students who are asymptomatic to help prevent an outbreak. Along with that, they are looking at plans for isolating infected individuals, conducting contact tracing, and possibly, temperature screenings.

If an outbreak were to occur on one of our campuses we want to detect it really quickly," Ferrari said. Were operating as though this is something thats likely to happen so we want to be prepared for it.

Further, Damon Sims, vice president for student affairs, said they also need to collaborate with communities that host Penn State campuses where students live, shop and socialize to ensure there are not mixed messages being sent out to avoid an outbreak.

In the end, it is all going to depend on peoples willingness I think to go along with some change, Sims said. Were not really suggesting, I dont think any of us, that were returning people to what has been normal in the past, at least not initially. So everyone is going to have to embrace the idea that they are going to have to affect change in how they interact with one another and how they experience the college setting and the communities around the campuses.

While a lot does remain up in the air at this point, Barron was pretty firm in his statement about whether the university planned to discount student tuition for the fall semester  as was done for summer classes  in the event that some or all classes are offered online.

There is currently no plan to contemplate a change in tuition in the fall, Barron said. Were aiming to be residential. Thats the objective so that would only be natural. But even if theres some mixture of courses, this is par for the course for Penn State. A Penn State course is a Penn State course, all taught by faculty. Many students take online classes for the flexibility and theres not a different price structure for them.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
IT HAS been 480 days and counting that the Chuck E Cheese franchise in Trinidad has remained closed as children under 12 are still not allowed in safe zones.

In October, the Government drafted a safe zone policy that does not allow children under 12 to enter restaurants and other places of leisure.
Doctors to transfer British pilot to Cho Ray Hospital before lung transplant

Doctors at the telemedicine conference on Tuesday.  Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

The country's 91st COVID-19 patient, a British pilot, will be transferred to the intensive care centre in HCM Citys Cho Ray Hospital to have a lung transplant when the patient is healthy enough for the procedure.

The hospital has improved its intensive care centre to ensure the highest safety before receiving the patient for further treatment.

This was the conclusion made at a telemedicine conference of leading doctors in the country on Tuesday to find optimal ways to save the patient.

Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Health Ministry's Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, said the Association of Young Vietnamese Entrepreneurs and many donors were willing to cover all medical expenses of treatment and lung transplant for the patient.

Also at the meeting, the doctors said the second computed tomography (CT) scan of the critically-ill British pilot  the 91st patient  showed positive improvements. About 20 to 30 per cent of his lungs have recovered.

The patient still has to depend completely on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Without the support, he will die. If his lungs do not recover, the only way to save him is a lung transplant, Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, director of HCM Citys Hospital for Tropical Diseases said.

The patient has been on ECMO for 44 days. The patient has undergone two CT scans, one on Monday and another on May 13.

The first CT scan images on May 13 showed severe solidification and fibrosis of the lungs, making it difficult for oxygen to get into the patients blood. Only 10 per cent of his lungs were working.

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 on March 18 at HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. During two months of treatment, his condition has fluctuated with several changes in COVID-19 testing results.

Many Taiwanese experts arrive in Vietnam for work





The flight transporting 158 Taiwanese experts landed at Van Don International Airport on Tuesday

A flight with 158 Taiwanese experts coming to work in Vietnam landed at the northern province of Quang Ninhs Van Don International Airport on Tuesday.

This is the first time Van Don International Airport has received a flight from Taiwan. All passengers on the flight conducted by Eva Air were given a temperature check, had to wear a mask and fill in a health report.

They will be quarantined for 14 days as regulated.

Vietnam has served many flights transporting foreign experts who came to the country for work as well as those bringing Vietnamese nationals abroad to return home.

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Van Don International Airport has served 36 flights carrying Vietnamese people who repatriated and 20 other flights to bring foreign experts to the country for work, including 11 flights transporting South Korean experts.

Passenger without face mask reported at Cat Bi Airport

Vietnam Airlines have reported a passenger who did not follow face mask regulations on a flight from HCM City to Hai Phong.

The man booked a business class ticket on the VN1182 flight of Vietnam Airlines. As passengers are required to wear face masks, the flight attendants had asked the man to wear his mask several times but he refused to comply during the flight.

In the end, the crew members reported the man and transferred the case to the authorities at Cat Bi Airport. After landing in Hai Phong, the man was forced to leave the plane as a passenger whose service was refused.

According to Resolution 162 about administrative fines in the civil aviation industry, those who do not follow the guidelines on ensuring security, aviation safety and disease prevention by the crew members will be fined from VND1m to VND3m.

Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam said they were still implementing and monitoring Covid-19 preventive measures that are on par or tighter than the requirements from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport such as completing a medical declaration, taking body temperature, and refusing flights for passengers that have symptoms and reporting to the medical team at the airport.

Passengers must wear face masks in order to get through the security gate. They are also required to wear face masks during the flight.

No new community COVID-19 infections reported in Vietnam for 34 days

A woman has temperature checked (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam has gone 34 straight days without new COVID-19 infection cases in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

As of May 20 morning, the total infections in the country remained at 324, including 184 imported cases that had been quarantined upon their arrival.

More than 80 percent of the patients have recovered, and zero death has been reported, said the committees treatment subcommittee.

The most serious case is patient No.91 tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 five times.

Meanwhile, 60 positive cases are being treated at medical facilities across the country.

At present, 7,954 people having contact with patients or entering from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined for health monitoring, including 331 at hospitals, 5,187 at concentrated quarantine centres, and 2,427 at home./.

340 Vietnamese citizens brought home from India

All passengers and crew members must strictly follow preventive measures against COVID-19.



Vietnam's relevant agencies and representative offices in India on May 19-20 coordinated with Indian counterparts to bring home nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens.

Passengers on a Vietnam Airlines flight include children, the elderly, people with illnesses, pregnant women, students without accommodation due to school closures, stranded tourists, Buddhist monks and nuns attending training courses, and those with expired labour contracts.

As India is applying nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is difficult to carry out such flights.

The Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Mumbai guided Vietnamese citizens to conduct all necessary procedures, while actively working with the hosts authorised agencies to bring Vietnamese citizens home.

Passengers and crew members were quarantined upon arrival in the Can Tho international airport./.

AstraZeneca Company donates 400,000 medical masks to Vietnam

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long (second, left) receives the token of 400,000 medical masks from Nitin Kapoor, Chairman of AstraZeneca Vietnam (second, right). (Photo courtersy of the British Embassy in Vietnam)

The UK-based AstraZeneca Company has donated 400,000 medical masks to the Ministry of Health to support Vietnam's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The handover ceremony on May 19 was attended by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward, and Head of Trade Promotion, Economic and Political Affairs of the Swedish Embassy in Vietnam Johan Alvin.

We are touched by the lifesaving work of Vietnamese healthcare workers who have helped British nationals infected by COVID-19 in Vietnam, and continue to be reassured by the collective efforts of the Vietnamese government and people in responding to COVID-19, Gareth Ward spoke at the event.

This donation by AstraZeneca is a strong example of how the UK-Vietnam strategic partnership, celebrating this year its 10th anniversary, is driven forward by cross-sector partners, who want to make meaningful and long-lasting contributions to Vietnamese society, he said.

Nitin Kapoor, Chairman of AstraZeneca Vietnam, said: AstraZeneca truly appreciates Vietnams effective measures in fighting the pandemic.

The donations aim to enhance the effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention and add on the companys donation to fund the procurement of specified medical protection equipment for healthcare workers at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in March, he said.

Kapoor further noted that by leveraging digital engagement, his firm has connected more than 5,000 Vietnamese healthcare practitioners with global clinical expertise to equip them with the latest knowledge on COVID-19 as they continue to care for especially vulnerable patients with diseases such as asthma, diabetes and cancer.

AstraZeneca, a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company, has deep heritage in both Sweden and the UK, with strategic R&D, manufacturing and commercial operations based in both countries./.

Overseas Vietnamese support COVID-19 fight in homeland

Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in many countries have donated money to help with the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the homeland.

At a ceremony in Hanoi on May 19, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) Dang Minh Khoi handed over 4.6 billion VND (nearly 197,000 USD) presented by individuals and organisations of OVs to the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee.

Also at the ceremony, the COVA received 50,000 face masks that the VFF Central Committee sent to OVs in the US who are facing difficulties due to the pandemic.

Deputy FM Khoi said OVs all over the world have warmly responded to the call of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, the appeal of the Presidium of the VFF Central Committee and the directive of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and raised support for efforts to fight COVID-19 in Vietnam.

He stressed that the meaningful support reflects the tradition of solidarity, the patriotic spirit and the compassion of the OV community abroad.

President of the VFF Central Committee Tran Thanh Man announced that the VFF has so far received over 2 trillion VND worth of support in both cash and kind donated by agencies, businesses, organisations and individuals both in and outside the country.

Initial statistics of the COVA showed OVs have donated more than 34 billion VND and large volume of medical supplies as of May 19./.

ASEAN, China's friendship organisations hold video meeting on COVID-19

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga attends the special video meeting between friendship organisations of ASEAN member nations and China on May 19. (Photo: VNA)

Leaders of friendship organisations of ASEAN member nations and China held a special video meeting on May 19 to discuss response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ways to boost people-to-people exchanges in the new situation.

Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga shared Vietnams experience in combating COVID-19, with the motto fighting the epidemic like fighting the enemy kept in mind.

As the ASEAN Chair 2020, Vietnam has worked closely with other member states to contain the novel coronavirus through an unified, multi-sectoral and community-based approach, she said.

The ASEAN countries, in many ways, have cooperated closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and partners, including China, to produce prompt and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nga added.

She urged the countries to maintain a peaceful, stable and cooperative environment in the region to push back the epidemic and economic recession.

Solidarity and mutual assistance are the key for all countries to overcome this difficult time, she said.

Nga went on to say that VUFO is committed to coordinating closely with friendship organisations of the ASEAN nations to enhance exchanges and foster partnership between them and China./.

Japanese, Singaporean newspapers praise Vietnam's response to COVID-19

The Ngoc Son Temple in downtown Hanoi is sterilised to prevent the COVID-19.

Vietnam is now reaping strategic gains from its nimble response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tan Hui Yee, Indochina Bureau Chief in Bangkok, wrote in an article published in The Strait Times on May 18.

Schools have reopened and buses are running as usual in the country, which has gone for a month without seeing community transmission of the coronavirus, he said, adding that investor interest - which shrivelled up early this year - is picking up again.

Vietnams export of face masks and test kits, meanwhile, could help cushion the larger economic impact of the pandemic, he wrote.

The article quoted Trent Davies, a Vietnam-based international business advisory manager at consultants Dezan Shira & Associates, as saying that everything was put on hold in the first month or two of the COVID-19 outbreak, but now his company is already receiving inquiries from interested investors about doing business in Vietnam.

Being ahead of the curve, the ASEAN Chair [Vietnam] is in good stead to lead and shape regional responses to the pandemic, Dr Huong Le Thu, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, was quoted as saying.

No country can recover on its own, but those in better shape and that emerge from this crisis relatively earlier will be in a better position - and also have strategic bandwidth - to take some leadership initiative, she said.

Meanwhile, Japanese economics newspaper Nihon Keizai on May 19 published an analysis by Chief Market Economist Ueno Yasunari from Mizuho Securities highlighting the effectiveness of Vietnams measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Vietnam has a population of 97 million people but has only reported some 300 infections and zero fatalities, showing that the countrys way of containing the virus was more effective than elsewhere, he wrote.

What made Vietnam succeed was quarantining infected people from the early days and aggressively tracing those with whom they had contact, he explained./.

Vietnam yet to confirm COVID-19 patient infected while in Cambodia: Ambassador

Vietnam yet to confirm COVID-19 patient infected while in Cambodia: Ambassador hinh anh 1

Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh

Vietnam has yet to confirm when, where and how Patient 315 contracted the COVID-19, Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh has said.

Vietnam, therefore, has still yet to confirm that the patient was infected while he was in Cambodia, and it initially only searched for and quarantined 17 people who had close contact with the man after he returned home, the diplomat told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

On May 16, VNAs Viet Nam News quoted the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control as saying that the 39-year-old man returned to Vietnam from Siem Reap through southern Tay Ninh province on May 2 without any legal document.

On May 5, he tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 but on May 15 tested positive.

Though Vietnam has not yet affirmed that the patient became infected during his stay in Cambodia, it still quarantines suspected cases and announces part of the places he had travelled to so that those in contact with him can be alerted and report to Vietnamese authorities.

The Ministry of Health has been closely coordinating and exchanging information regularly with its Cambodian counterpart in an effort to fight the pandemic, Minh said.

We laud Cambodia for its efforts and achievement in successfully curing all the 122 of its COVID-19 patients and keeping the country clear of new cases for 36 days, as reported by the Cambodian Health Ministry, he said.

The Vietnamese Embassy and representative press agencies of Vietnam will hold a working session with the Cambodian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information regarding the pandemic, especially in the context of it being basically contained in both countries, the diplomat added./.

Clear, early communication contributes to success in COVID-19 fight: NZ Herald

Daily newspaper the New Zealand Herald recently ran an article on the factors that contributed to Vietnams successful fight against COVID-19, with the country not having recorded a community infection for more than a month.

It quoted an expert from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute as saying that the success is down to clear communication from the Government, which also came early.

Government warnings to residents were frank about the dangers of the coronavirus and the lack of broader medical and clinical resources if a large outbreak were to take hold, the expert said.

The article emphasised that massive, early, and large-scale testing also contributed to the countrys success.

Vietnam had only three labs in January that could test for COVID-19 but by April had 112.

The steps are easy to describe but difficult to implement, said Matthew Moore, a Hanoi-based official from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adding that Vietnam has been very successful at implementing them over and over again.

He has been trading information with the Vietnamese Government since the country reported its first cases in January and said the country had great confidence in its Government.

Vietnam has reported 324 COVID-19 cases to date, with no fatalities. Some 263 patients have recovered./.

Indonesia: No relaxation of large-scale social restriction policy

The Indonesian government has no plans to ease the enactment of the Large Scale Social Restriction (PSBB) policy in the immediate future, as the government is still focusing on the national mudik (homecoming) ban for the next two weeks to curb the spread of COVID-19, said President Joko Widodo.

Speaking at an online cabinet meeting on May 18, Widodo stressed that there is no relaxation of the PSBB policy, the public should not be mistaken that the government has begun to relax PSBB.

He asked the Chief of the Indonesian Police Force, General Idham Azis, as well as the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, Marshall Hadi Tjahjanto, to ensure the effective enforcement of the mudik ban.

The President has also reminded that the mudik ban is only applicable to limit the mobility of people, not goods.

According to Widodo, the government is preparing PSBB easing scenarios and continues to monitor disease developments before making a decision on the time for applying.

Previously, on May 15, President Joko Widodo called on Indonesians "to live" with the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the new normal.

As of May 18, Indonesia confirmed 18,010 COVID-19 patients. The disease killed 1,191 persons in the country, while 4,324 cases were cured./.
Flynn Judge Announces Plan That Will Prolong Case for Months

The federal judge presiding over the case of former Trump adviser Michael Flynn has laid out a schedule that would prolong the case for about two more months and perhaps beyond, even though the Department of Justice (DOJ) dropped the case two weeks ago.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan issued a scheduling order on May 19 that set an oral argument for July 16, when third parties invited by the judge would get a chance to voice their opinions on why the case shouldnt be dismissed and whether Flynn should be made to explain why he shouldnt be held in contempt of court.

According to Flynns lead lawyer, former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, Sullivans actions are irregular to the point of being eccentric.

The district judges orders reveal his plan to continue the case indefinitely, rubbing salt in General Flynns open wound from the Governments misconduct and threatening him with criminal contempt, she said in a May 19 emergency petition asking the District of Columbia federal appeals court to intervene.

Flynn, a former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying during an FBI interview. In January, the retired Army three-star general disavowed the plea and asked the court to allow him to withdraw it.

The DOJ moved to drop Flynns case on May 7, saying the FBI interview wasnt based on a properly predicated investigation and seems to have been undertaken only to elicit those very false statements and thereby criminalize Mr. Flynn.

Almost two weeks later, Sullivan still hasnt ruled on the dismissal.

Instead, on May 13, he appointed as an amicus curiae (friend of the court) former federal Judge John Gleeson to present arguments in opposition to the governments Motion to Dismiss, as well as to address whether the court should make the defense explain why Flynn should not be held in criminal contempt for perjury.

Gleeson, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton and left the bench for private practice in 2016, had an op-ed published by The Washington Post on May 11 accusing the DOJ of impropriety, corruption, and improper political influence for dismissing the case.

Powell is asking the higher court to order Sullivan to accept the case dismissal, cancel the Gleeson appointment, and assign the case to another judge.

Shes argued that, based on precedent, judges only have a ministerial role to affirm the prosecutors motion to dismiss, as its solely the power of the executive branch, not the judiciary, to prosecute or not to prosecute.

The district court has no authority to adopt the role of prosecutor or change the issues in the case by inviting or appointing amici to perform the investigation or prosecution that the court deems appropriate, she said.

Fifteen Republican state attorneys general sided with her on the issue, calling on Sullivan to approve the dismissal without delay and without irrelevant or personal comment.

A judge who abandons the bench for the prosecutors table can serve credibly in neither role, they said in a May 18 brief sent to the court (pdf).

Sixteen former members of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force disagreed in a May 11 brief to the court. Because Flynn pleaded guilty, they say, the process has already moved to sentencing and thus falls under the purview of the judiciary branch.

There are at least substantial questions as to whether factual representations in the Motion [to dismiss the case] are accurate and whether the Motion is made in good faith and consistent with the public interest, they said, opining that Sullivan has the right to appoint amici to review the matter.

While the case has been rife with government misconduct, according to Powell, she pointed out that the court is required to assume prosecutors are acting properly, unless theres clear evidence to the contrary.

There is nothing in this recordmuch less clear evidenceto undermine the presumption of regularity that attaches to the Governments Motion to Dismiss, she said.

Powell further argues that Sullivan is barred from appointing amici because process rules only delineate that option in civil cases and make no mention of it in criminal ones.

Sullivans reference to contempt for perjury likely refers to Flynns reiterating his guilty plea before the judge in 2018. Flynn said he only did so because his lawyers urged him to and because he was coerced into making the plea by the prosecutors threat to charge his son.

The district judge in this case has abandoned any pretense of being an objective umpiregoing as far as to suggest that a criminal defendant who succumbs to a coerced and unfair plea bargain should be prosecuted for contempt, Powell said in Flynns appeal.

Sullivan should be taken off the case, she said, because of his manifest confusion about the facts of this case and because of his decision to open the floor to amici, including appointing a biased and highly political amicus who has expressed hostility and disdain towards the Justice Departments decision to dismiss the prosecution.

She specifically referred to Sullivans gaffe during a Dec. 18, 2018, sentencing hearing, when he questioned the prosecutors about whether they considered charging Flynn with treason.

Arguably, you sold your country out, he told Flynn, before apologizing for getting the facts of the case wrong.

Sullivan is not only biased against Petitioner, Powell said, but also revels in the notoriety he has created by failing to take the simple step of granting a motion he has no authority to deny. This is an umpire who has decided to steal public attention from the players and focus it on himself.

He wants to pitch, bat, run bases, and play shortstop. In truth, he is way out in left field.

Sullivan and Gleeson didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.
A pair of studies conducted by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston has found that several vaccines produced antibody responses in test monkeys and prevented coronavirus infection.

Researchers sought answers to two urgent questions: whether vaccines will prevent the COVID-19 infection, also called SARS-CoV-2, and whether those whove recovered from COVID-19 are protected against reinfection if exposed again.

Now, a pair of new studies led by researchers at (the Boston hospital) suggests the answer to these questions is yes, at least in animal models, researchers said.

Dan Barouch, director of the center for virology and vaccine research at Beth Israel, and his colleagues were working on a number of candidate DNA coronavirus vaccines in January.

Researchers immunized 25 adult rhesus macaques, while 10 others in a control group received sham versions.

Three weeks vaccination, all 35 animals were exposed to the virus. In follow-up tests, the monkeys that were vaccinated with the coronavirus showed dramatically lower viral loads compared with the control group.

Eight of the 25 vaccinated animals demonstrated no detectable virus at any point following exposure to the virus, while the other animals showed low levels of virus, researchers said. Moreover, animals that had higher antibody levels had lower levels of the virus, a finding that suggests neutralizing antibodies may be a reliable marker of protection and may prove useful as a benchmark in clinical testing of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

The second study showed that that macaques recovered from COVID-19 and developed natural protective immunity against re-infection with the virus.

After exposing nine of the animals to the virus, researchers monitored viral levels while the macaques recovered. All nine were shown to have developed antibodies.

More than a month later, the creatures were exposed to the virus a second time.

Upon second exposure, the animals demonstrated near-complete protection against the virus, researchers said. These data suggest that animals develop natural protective immunity against the virus and the disease that it causes.

Related Content:
EDWARDSVILLE  Sam Lewis has a new stay-at-home project during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it could be a lifesaver for the people he is serving.

Lewis, a senior at Edwardsville High School, is making 3D printed masks to be given away free to medical personnel in the Edwardsville area. He came up with the idea after noticing a shortage of medical supplies, especially masks.

Lewis launched The Mask Project Edwardsville on March 26, and on April 1, he created a GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/f/themaskprojectedw?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet) to help raise money to produce the masks. A donation of $8 funds the production of two masks.

A friend of mine named AJ Apone started a similar thing (The Mask Initiative) in California, where they were hit a lot harder (by the coronavirus) than our area was, Lewis said. At the time, I was looking for a way to help people with and I realized it was possible to do this here.

Hopefully, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something cool.

The response to The Mask Project Edwardsville has been encouraging, both from donors and from the medical personnel who have received the masks.

As of Monday, the GoFundMe page had raised $1,600 of Lewis goal of $3,000, but other cash donations have boosted the total to approximately $2,200.

More Information LOOKING FOR HEROES Do you know someone who's been a community hero during the coronavirus pandemic? The Intelligencer wants to shine a light on everyday people doing great things during this crisis. If you know someone, send a note and photo to theintelligencer.news@edwpub.net to say who they are and what they have been doing. See More Collapse

To make the masks, you need a 3D printer and some filament, and you need a process in place to keep everything sanitized, Lewis said. The main thing for me starting out was making sure I had a nice clean area to work and getting the printer set up.

Once the masks started produced, we found some filters that would work, so we put the filters in and found different ways to attach them. We had some orders to fill right off the bat and then we started reaching out to different places. We talked to a lot of local nursing homes and filled a lot of orders for them.

The masks are not medical grade, but are effective, nonetheless. Every mask is 3D printed using PLA plastic filament. After printing, each mask is sprayed with a disinfectant to increase the cleanliness of the mask. Next, the first filter is inserted into the mask. Once the first filter is placed in the mask, the over-ear straps, along with the comfort clip, are attached.

Each mask is sprayed for a second time with a disinfectant. The masks come with one filter and six filter replacements and are enclosed in a vacuum-sealed package. Each package also contains a sheet regarding how to replace the filter along with general care suggestions.

The filters are rated to protect against dust/lint, mold spores, pollen, pet dander, bacteria, virus carriers, most smoke, and microscopic allergens.

You see a lot of people wearing bandanas or home-sewn masks and they work great, but this is an alternative to wearing the same mask every day, said Lewis, who is sometimes assisted by his father, Jeff Lewis. The filters we use are rated to last a month, and I recommend, based on use, that they are changed out every two weeks.

As of Monday, Lewis had produced 313 masks.

We can print nine shells a day, but I would like to be able to up that in the coming weeks, Lewis said. Were running as a non-profit, so all the money we get goes toward the masks.

After Lewis makes the masks, he personally delivers them to nursing homes, doctors, medical workers, and anyone else in the community who needs one.

Its great to be able to go and drop these masks off to different places. It makes them feel happy and it makes them feel safe, Lewis said.

A lot of people have really been grateful. Ive delivered some masks to The Cambridge House (an assisted living facility in Maryville) and everyone there has been extremely nice. They even sent some thank-you emails afterward, so it was great working with them as well.

Lewis plans to attend the University of Alabama at Huntsville, where he will major in electrical engineering with a minor in entrepreneurship.

Lewis received a 3D printer for Christmas and has been experimenting with it ever since. He is a member of the Edwardsville Technologies Robotics Team, which is part of a larger Edwardsville Robotics Club, a local 501c3 nonprofit offered to students between 9 and 18 years old.

It opened me up to a lot of different fields and a lot of the things you can do with 3D printing, Lewis said. Ive fallen in love with 3D printing and I would like to be able to start a 3D design business. Its a huge market and a lot of people have ideas, so it would be a way to go those ideas out there really fast.

Lewis has another business, Okeanos Bottle Company (https://www.okeanosbottle.com), which makes hydro dipped reusable water bottles, with 10 percent of the water bottle proceeds go to The Thirst Project to build sustainable water sources in Africa.

Ive been doing that for about a year and a half and its been going really well, said Lewis, who is also part of the Edwardsville CEO Program and the EHS Business Professionals of America (BPA) Club. We just made some EHS edition bottles as well to support the seniors.

If you see Lewis out in public, he will be wearing one of his masks.

He encourages everyone to wear a mask, regardless of the type.

Ive gone out to the story only a few times and I try to stay home as much as I can, Lewis said. I see some people who dont wear masks, but I think its crucial to wear a mask and have that shield so you can be a bit safer.
OCEAN CITY, NJ  When life gets tough, there's always ice cream. That means something different for the Hobby Horse Ice Cream Parlor, who closed last fall because of a fire and reopened last weekend during the coronavirus pandemic.

The fire occurred in the attic late at night Sept. 15. Although the damage was minimal, it prompted the Dukeman family to close their seasonal business earlier than originally planned.

Read more: Ocean City's Hobby Horse Ice Cream Parlor Catches Fire

But Michael and Ciara Dukeman knew there was always summer 2020, and there still is. As they reopen, they couldn't anticipate the summer 2020 challenges though.

"We were anticipating kind of going in and having a strong summer after the fire," Michael Dukeman told Patch. "And then obviously it was hampered by the virus."

The Fire

Michael closed the shop for the night Sept. 15, which became Hobby Horse's last day in business for its 26th year. He walked home on the rainy night to catch the end of the Eagles' Sunday Night Football game.



Then Michael got a call around 11:30 p.m. Some smoke rose from the building. Firefighters were present by the time he returned, and they extinguished the blaze in short time.

Despite the fire, the Dukeman's know luck struck their shop on 8th Street and Ocean Avenue.

"It was a woman walking her dog who saw it and called," Ciara Dukeman said. "It was around 11 oclock at night, so if it was a couple hours later, nobody wouldve been outside to see it."

The building was empty. If it happened later, with everyone more asleep, Michael thinks the whole block could've caught fire.

"I hate to say it, but it happened at the best time," he said.

The damage wasn't too bad, since the firefighters arrived quickly. But because of water damage, they needed a new roof and ceiling, renovated walls and more.

An exhaust band caused the fire, Michael says, and he believes they've been recalled since.

Story continues

The process took time. The Dukemans hired their good friend, Richard Butler, as their contractor. Butler died Jan. 15 at age 45.

"There have been a lot of hurdles," Michael said.

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about novel coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.



(Google Earth)

Ready to Return



Hobby Horse generally operates from May to October. A few days after the fire, they announced to customers they closed the shop early and looked forward to seeing everyone in the spring.



The spring brought the Dukeman's blessings but also more obstacles. Their baby, Patrick, was born in April. But last month, they didn't know if they would even reopen this summer, Ciara says.

As soon as the coronavirus and economic shutdown became reality in New Jersey, they searched for any assistance available. The Dukeman's applied for government loans and programs for businesses affected by the coronavirus, but no follow-up occurred.

"Since were part-time employees and seasonal, I dont know if they put us on the back burner and were going to more full-time businesses," Michael said. "Im not sure how they handled who got the money, but we didnt even get any responses."

They have a mortgage with a small bank in New York, but the bank didn't have any options for them. Michael recently went through a new program from a leasing company he's worked with, who received funds, so he's in the process of trying to secure aid the same way.

Nonetheless, Hobby Horse reopened last weekend with a new system. People can call in orders when they're outside the shop. They set up a table outside with a cash register and credit card machine.

Hobby Horse has a small building and a large parking lot. So they might stick with the system for a while.

To stay afloat, they're also offering a gift card deal. For every $50 in gift certificates purchased, customers will get a free $10 card.

But even in a new world with a new roof and a new baby, some things haven't changed. Some of Hobby Horse's customers have been there for 26 years, and the Dukemans are ready to welcome them back.

"I want to sell some ice cream," Michael said. "Its one of those things where everyone walks away with a smile."

Coronavirus closures and precautions have created a difficult climate for many businesses in Ocean City and throughout. Ocean City Patch created a business directory where owners can tell their customers whether they're open or closed, and how the coronavirus has affected operations.



Patch features the business directory every morning in our newsletter. Read more: Ocean City Businesses: Open or Closed? Let Your Customers Know



Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know



Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.

This article originally appeared on the Ocean City Patch
Two fresh cases were detected in Ludhiana on Wednesday. While one is a 27-year-old man, who is the son of 63-year-old the tyre factory unit manager who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, the other is a 30-year-old railway protection force (RPF) personnel who came from Delhi. As Punjab is not including non-residents of the state its tally, only the 27-year-old mans case has been added to the district tally, which now stands at 177.

The 27-year-olds father was found to be infected on May 7, while his mother and youngster brother tested positive the next day. So far, 19 persons having connection with the tyre factory, which includes 10 of it employees, have tested positive for the virus.

Sharing details about the fresh cases, civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said the RPF jawan had tested negative on May 11, but he was symptomatic. So we took another sample, which came out positive today. He is now in the isolation ward of the civil hospital, stated Dr Bagga. As of now, the number of infected RPF men stands at 48. Besides, two railway protection special force men are also Covid positive.

Meanwhile, the health department is still groping in the dark to locate the two men, aged 18 and 22, who had visited the flu corner of the civil hospital four days ago. After they tested positive, the health staff tried contacting them but found that their details, including phone numbers, were incorrect. Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said the men had stated that they lived in Prem Vihar Street No 1 and Shahi Bagh Colony Street No 11. He said that efforts were on to locate them.

Dr Bagga said till date, a total of 5,214 samples have been tested, out of which reports of 4,578 came out negative. Of the total 177 positive cases in the district, 125 have been cured and seven have died. There are currently 45 active cases in the district.
A new research study headed by Aarhus University in Denmark identifies how viruses avoid the body's immune system and cause infections and diseases.

Viruses have an exceptional ability to circumvent the body's immune system and cause diseases. The majority of people recover from a viral infection such as influenza, although the current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates how dangerous viruses are when there is no effective vaccine or treatment.

Professor and virologist Sren Riis Paludan from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University, Denmark, has been leading a research partnership between Aarhus University, the University of Oxford and the University of Gothenburg, which has brought us one step closer to understanding the tactics used by viruses when they attack the immune system.

Sren Riis Paludan heads a laboratory which carries out research into the immune system's ability to fight diseases caused by the herpes virus, influenza viruses and, most recently, SARS-CoV2, more commonly known as coronavirus.

In the new study, which has just been published in the scientific journal Journal of Experimental Medicine, the researchers have investigated how the herpes simplex virus circumvents the immune system in order to cause infections of the brain. This is a rare infection but one which has a high mortality rate among those who are affected.

"In the study, we found that the herpes simplex virus is capable of inhibiting a protein in the cells, known as STING, which is activated when there is a threat. When STING is inhibited, the body's immune system is also inhibited - the virus thereby puts the brakes on the body's brake, which is supposed to prevent us from becoming ill. Other viruses also make use of the same principle," says Sren Riis Paludan.

Sren Riis Paludan points out that though the study focuses on herpesviruses, there are parallels to the coronavirus. Interestingly, the same protein is also inhibited by many different viruses, including the coronavirus.

"This suggests that we have found an Achilles heel in the virus and the way it establishes infections in the body. Our results lead us to hope that if we can prevent viruses from blocking STING, then we can prevent the virus from replicating. That could pave the way for new principles for treatment of herpes, influenza and also the coronavirus," says Sren Riis Paludan.

He hopes that the research results can be used in the development of antiviral drugs and vaccines in the future.

"Previous studies have also shown that the coronavirus inhibits STING in the same way as the herpes virus. This suggests that we have found a common denominator for several types of virus, and that this is probably an important element in the development of treatment," he says.

###
The COVID-19 crisis all but sidelined most app-based forms of micro-transport, like sharable bikes and scooters. As a number of states and cities begin to ease restrictions and the public slowly becomes more mobile, operators are relaunching the devices for use.A project in Peachtree Corners, Ga., has deployed a fleet of about 100 scooters. What sets these apart from virtually all others, however, is their ability to be remote-operated, allowing the devices to be moved without having an actual person riding the scooter.The scooters are equipped with a system of cameras, sensors and other tech to allow them to be controlled by an off-site operator, which means the vehicles can be more easily gathered and redeployed without the need for staffing to locate the scooter, load it into a vehicle and bring it to another location. The scooters can also be guided to a riders front door for an even more seamless user experience.The analogy I like to use is, imagine if you had a taxi service where the taxi driver could only wait at the location of their last drop-off, for their next pick-up. Its comical, but thats how scooters work today, remarked Dmitry Shevelenko, co-founder of Tortoise, the San Francisco-based tech company providing the remote-operational abilities, speaking within March.The project to deploy the remote-operated scooters was set to launch in mid-March. Then came the novel coronavirus pandemic, sideling non-essential services. Prior to the outbreak, the Peachtree Corners City Council approved its Shared Micromobility Device Program Policy, which states, each micromobility device shall be equipped with self-locking and automated repositioning technologies.Peachtree Corners is also home to the Curiosity Lab , a 1.5-mile autonomous vehicle, city-owned test track, within a 500-acre office park, helping to establish the Atlanta suburb as a launchpad for next-generation transportation technology.The pilot project, a partnership among Go X, Tortoise and the city, will operate at the Curiosity Lab. Go X created the scooters and ride-hailing app.Beyond making the scooters easier to gather, charge and redeploy  along with clearing up sidewalk clutter  the Tortoise technology opens the door to expanding the applications and scalability for small, remote-operated, robot-like devices to serve any number of use cases ranging from deliveries to door-to-door mobility. These applications have been made all the more prescient in the last two months when the coronavirus altered so much of how Americans conduct their daily lives.Were a platform for moving all kinds of light electric vehicles. So our plan was always to power delivery carts and robots on the sidewalk, said Shevelenko in a recent interview withWere pretty aggressively accelerating around the use case of groceries, a sidewalk delivery cart, now that you have this pretty profound shift towards ecommerce for groceries, where people are ordering groceries from a grocery store maybe 10 blocks away from their house, because theyre afraid to go into the store.The scooters in Peachtree Corners can be fitted with a removable cargo container, transitioning the device into a temporary delivery robot.How the COVID-19 crisis reshuffles transportation is an issue of endless speculation, as prognosticators anticipate a possible decline in transit ridership out of fear of being in a closed-in space with other people. Transit operators have answered these worries with stepped up cleaning and sanitation, as well as other protocols like masks requirements.Scooter operators and micro-mobility advocates see an opening to attract new users, who are looking for an open-air ride. The company Scoot has announced it is redeploying its Bird scooters on the streets of San Francisco, starting May 20.The big story is, public fear, somewhat rightfully, of using public transit, said Shevelenko.Also yet to be known is the future of autonomous vehicle development and the technologies powering it.Edward Straub, executive director of the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium, sees the possibility for new use cases for AVs.We may see, for example, greater demand for deliveries, said Straub, during a Transportation Research Board webinar at the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine last week.As people adjust, it will impact things like the infrastructure and the regulations, he added. Were already seeing certain roads not being open to vehicles so pedestrians can maintain greater distribution. And if we do end up going back to shared and shared mobility in transit, will there be requirements for distancing and queuing on the sidewalks, and loading and unloading? Itll be interesting to see how these use cases play out, how the technology adapts.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

Two more people have succumbed to meningitis in the Upper West and Upper East regions.

This is according to the Minister of Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu.

With the update, the total number of deaths from the disease in Ghana now stands at 45, with over 315 people infected in both regions.

Giving an update on the outbreak in Parliament on Tuesday, the Health Minister said the lack of a vaccine for the particular strain of the disease has made its management difficult.

We have unfortunately recorded two more deaths since the last count two weeks ago, bringing the total number of deaths to 45 deaths. No death was recorded in both weeks 19 and 20, he said.

Some residents of the Upper West Region are calling on the government to release vaccines for the disease, believing that will be the surest way to halt the increasing spate of the endemic and its related deaths in the region.

But according to the Ghana Health Service, the current outbreak of meningitis in the region is caused by a new strain of bacteria that has no vaccine.

It, however, indicated that even though there is no vaccine for this strain causing the outbreak, there is an effective treatment upon early reporting and initiation of the said treatment.

---citinewsroom
The plethora of land-use appeals involving the city of Corvallis continue to sort their way through the legal system.

The three most recent decisions represent a pair of victories for the city and one case that might lead to a future appeal.

The most high-profile case involves Oregon State Universitys development sector swap that they hoped would lead to the construction of a 295-bedroom upper division and graduate residence hall on a block anchored by the corner of Monroe Avenue and Ninth Street.

The controversial plan was approved by the Corvallis City Council in September, but neighbors appealed the case to the state Land Use Board of Appeals in October.

LUBA rejected all 10 assignments of error in February, but the petitioners took the case to the state Court of Appeals.

On May 13, the court affirmed the LUBA decision without opinion. That decision started a 21-day clock should the neighbors choose to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Corvallis attorney George Heileg, who represented the neighbors, said it is not clear if the appeals will continue. One of the challenges, Heileg said, is that the Supreme Court rarely takes appeals court cases that are affirmed without opinion.

Here is a look at the other two cases:

Caldwell Farms

On May 11 the state Land Use Board of Appeals ruled 2-0 affirming the citys denial of an annexation agreement for the Caldwell Farms property along Southwest West Hills Road.

The decision was written by LUBA Chair Michelle Gates Rudd. She was joined in the 2-0 vote by Melissa Ryan. Board member H.M. Zamudio did not participate in the decision.

Developers hope to build housing on the 16.45-acre Caldwell Farms property, which currently is being used for grass seed farming. The Corvallis City Council denied the annexation agreement, which had been negotiated by city staff and the developers, on Sept. 16, 2019.

The appeal to LUBA noted three assignments of error. Rudd and Gates ruled against the developers on two of the assignments and preserved the third, with the upshot being LUBAs affirmation of the city decision.

The petitions have 21 days from the date of the decision to take the case to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

Annexations

On May 13 the Oregon Court of Appeals rejected a challenge from Corvallis, Philomath and the League of Oregon Cities to a 2016 state law that limited cities ability to forward annexation issues to the voters.

Corvallis was the first city in Oregon to enact such a rule, holding its first annexations vote in 1977. The city, with assistance from Philomath and the league, claimed that the state law violated the home rule provisions of the city charter. Corvallis City Attorney Jim Brewer participated in oral arguments in the case in Salem in July, 2018.

The three-judge panel of Presiding Judge Darleen Ortega and Judges Chris Garrett and Steven R. Powers disagreed with Brewer, however, noting that there is no conflict because the charter provision allows for annexations mandated by state law.

Corvallis has 35 days from May 13 to make a decision on an appeal.

Brewer, who advised the Corvallis City Council of the outcome at Monday nights meeting, said that an executive session would likely be required to discuss next steps for the city.

In an ironic twist, the existence of the appeal on the annexations law led the city to develop the annexations agreement format that was used in the Caldwell Farms case as a way to move forward while the issue remained before the courts.

Contact reporter James Day at jim.day@gazettetimes.com or 541-812-6116. Follow at Twitter.com/jameshday or gazettetimes.com/blogs/jim-day.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle today threatened to kick Matt Hancock out of the House of Commons after the Health Secretary interrupted Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs.

Mr Hancock was sat next to Boris Johnson on the Government frontbench as the premier was grilled by the Labour leader.

Sir Keir demanded answers on the Government's plans for coronavirus testing in care homes.

But he was repeatedly talked over by a seated Mr Hancock, resulting in a furious telling off from Sir Lindsay.

The Commons Speaker initially said he did not 'mind you advising the Prime Minister' but told him to be quiet when Sir Keir was speaking.

Mr Hancock then protested prompting Sir Lindsay to hit back and ask the Health Secretary: Sorry - do you want to leave the chamber?'

Sir Lindsay Hoyle today threatened to kick Matt Hancock out of the House of Commons after the Health Secretary repeatedly challenged Sir Keir Starmer during PMQs

Mr Hancock could be heard talking over Sir Keir as the Labour leader tried to ask Boris Johnson questions. Sir Lindsay told the Health Secretary: Sorry - do you want to leave the chamber?'

UK records 235 more coronavirus deaths The UK has recorded another 235 hospital deaths from Covid-19 today, taking the official total to at least 35,576. NHS England said 166 people had died in its hospitals, between the ages of 33 and 99, while 50 more victims were confirmed in Scotland, 14 in Wales and five in Northern Ireland. It comes as Public Health England testing data from yesterday shows that not a single case of COVID-19 have yet been diagnosed in London or the South East from swabs taken on Monday, May 18. Advertisement

Boris Johnson reveals 312 NHS and care workers have now died of coronavirus Boris Johnson today defended the government's decision to charge coronavirus care staff from overseas thousands of pounds to use the NHS, while also revealing 321 NHS and social care workers, many who were born outside Britain, have now died from Covid-19. The death toll among NHS staff has hit 181 and among care workers it is 131, he revealed in PMQs in the House of Commons this afternoon. 'I know the thoughts of the whole House are with their families and friends,' he said. But the Prime Minister came under fire from Labour MPs after he refused to back calls for care workers to be exempted from the Immigration Health Surcharge - saying the charge was 'right'. Advertisement

Sir Keir used PMQs to challenge Mr Johnson on the Government's approach to tackling the spread of coronavirus in care homes.

The Labour leader cited evidence given by care bosses which suggested that while ministers had pledged to ramp up testing staff and residents they were yet to actually deliver on it.

Sir Keir said the Government's own documents state every care home for over-65s will have been offered testing for residents and staff by June 6.

Mr Hancock could be heard challenging Sir Keir on what he said, as the Labour leader addressed him directly: 'The Health Secretary says he is wrong - I am quoting the Governments paper.'

Sir Keir then asked the PM what was causing the 'continued delay in routine testing in our care homes'.

Mr Johnson accused Sir Keir of being 'simply in ignorance of the facts because the reality is already 125,000 care home staff have been tested'.

The Prime Minister then praised Mr Hancock and said thanks to the hard work of the Health Secretary the Government will soon be able to conduct 200,000 tests a day.

Mr Johnson said 'actually now this country is testing more than virtually any other country in Europe'.

When Sir Keir replied, he accused the Prime Minister of failing to answer his question as Mr Hancock continued to talk over him.

Sir Lindsay then interrupted proceedings and said: Order, order. Secretary of State for Health, please.

I dont mind you advising the Prime Minister but you dont need to advise the Opposition during this.

Mr Hancock appeared to try to plead his case to the Commons Speaker, prompting Sir Lindsay to threaten to kick him out of the chamber.

Sir Lindsay said: Sorry - do you want to leave the chamber? We are on maximum numbers, if you want to give way to somebody else I am more than happy.

The current 'hybrid' arrangements in the House of Commons mean a maximum of 50 MPs are allowed to be physically present in the chamber so that social distancing rules can be adhered to.

The telling off comes a matter of weeks after Mr Hancock was accused of sexism for telling a female Labour MP to watch her 'tone' in the Commons.

Sir Keir and Mr Johnson repeatedly clashed over the Government's approach to tackling coronavirus in care homes

Matt Hancock under pressure over coronavirus response Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, has found himself at the centre of a number of controversies during the current crisis. Testing target: Mr Hancock set a target of 100,000 daily checks by the end of April. It subsequently emerged the number had not been recommended by the Government's panel of scientific experts. The Health Secretary claimed to have met the figure at the end of the month but the statistics showed home tests had been counted on the day they were posted rather than processed. PPE: Doctors, nurses and care home staff have repeatedly blasted the Government over shortages of protective equipment which they said is putting lives at risk. Ministers have insisted they are doing everything they can to boost supply of the vital kit. Social care: Mr Hancock has faced accusations of treating social care workers like 'second class citizens' when compared to their NHS colleagues. He has been attacked for failing to roll out testing to the sector quicker and for failing to improve PPE shipments sooner. He was also mocked after unveiling a new badge for the care sector only for people to point out it had already launched last summer. Lockdown exit strategy: The Health Secretary hit the headlines last month after a bad tempered interview with the BBC in which he suggested the public could not be trusted with a coronavirus 'exit strategy' because they might stop obeying lockdown rules. Sexism row: Mr Hancock was criticised by some MPs and accused of sexism at the start of May after telling a female Labour MP to watch her 'tone' in the Commons after she criticised the Government's coronavirus response. Advertisement

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, a former Labour deputy leader candidate who also works as an A&E doctor in the fight against the pandemic, had said the government's approach to the outbreak had 'cost lives'.

In response, an indignant Health Secretary told the Labour MP that she should 'take a leaf out of the shadow secretary of state's book in terms of tone'.

Dr Allin-Khan, who attends shadow cabinet meetings as the shadow minister for mental health, shared the exchange on social media and later tweeted she would not 'watch her tone' when challenging the Government.

The Health Secretary's comment sparked uproar among some MPs, with former acting Labour Party leader Harriet Harman branding it 'creepy'.

Mr Hancock has been one of the key players in the Government's coronavirus response, frequently taking charge of Number 10 press conferences and making major announcements.

But he has faced intense scrutiny over his handling of key issues, including testing, care homes and Personal Protective Equipment.

He is thought to have had a furious bust-up with Mr Johnson in recent weeks, raising questions over his Cabinet future.

There have been a string of embarrassing Government failures over the supply of PPE with senior sources previously suggesting Mr Hancock is 'on borrowed time' in the Cabinet.

One source claimed Mr Johnson had raised questions with Mr Hancock about his departments grip on the crisis, only for the Minister to plead: Thats not fair  give me a break.

On the issue of testing he was repeatedly attacked by Tory MPs for promising to hit a target of 100,000 tests carried out every day by the end of April.

It subsequently emerged the target was not recommended by the Government's panel of scientific experts.

The Health Secretary then claimed at the end of the month that he had hit the target.

But the statistics showed home testing kits had been counted on the day they were put in the post rather than when they were actually processed.

In recent days he has faced growing pressure over the bungled roll-out of the NHS coronavirus contact tracing app.

On May 12 the Health Secretary had said 'we're rolling out in mid-May' but yesterday he refused to set a date as Downing Street would only go so far as saying it would be made available nationwide in the 'coming weeks'.

The app is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight and it is viewed as an integral part of the Government's 'test, track and trace' programme which will help to prevent a second wave of the deadly disease.

Some in Whitehall believe Mr Hancock, pictured alongside Boris Johnson in November 2019, is being lined up as a 'fall guy' for the government's coronavirus failings

Number 10 has insisted it is 'possible' to do contact tracing without the app but many experts believe the UK will struggle to get back to normal without the technology being in place.

Meanwhile, there are growing questions over why the Government chose to develop its own app when other countries have adopted one put forward by Apple and Google.

Mr Hancock has also faced accusations of prioritising the NHS over care homes at the start of the outbreak with care workers claiming to have been treated like 'second class citizens'.

It was reported in April that Mr Hancock was being lined up as the 'fall guy' for the Government's coronavirus failures.

Inside sources said Mr Hancock had 'not had a good crisis' while a former Cabinet minister claimed some in Whitehall believed the Health Secretary had developed 'a sort of Messiah complex'.

Some believe Mr Hancock will be moved from the Department of Health before a widely-anticipated future inquiry is held into the Government's response to the outbreak.
Kinect @ Lynnwood's location offers accessibility to major employment and activity centers, including downtown Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond and Everett. It is strategically located less than 1,000 feet from the future Lynnwood City Center light rail station, which is expected to open in 2024 as part of Sound Transit's Lynnwood Link Extension project. Once completed, the transit system will provide residents with direct service to the University of Washington, downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The property is also proximate to Alderwood Mall as well as several retail and grocery options. Once completed, Kinect @ Lynnwood will offer a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, with ample parking and numerous community areas with tenant amenities.

"Kinect @ Lynnwood will offer new housing supply at affordable price points to the community, which we believe is critical as downtown Seattle's affordability challenges continue to increase," said B.J. Kuula, Managing Partner, ACG. "We anticipate this project's transit-oriented location will be an attractive option for renters seeking newly-built housing with convenient access to employment centers and retail options."

The Seattle Metropolitan Area is one of the fastest growing metros in terms of population and job growth, driving strong multifamily market dynamics in nearby communities like Lynnwood.

This investment marks Canyon's fourth joint venture equity investment into opportunity zones.

Over the last five years, Canyon has invested nearly $850 million in debt and equity in multifamily investments nationwide, supporting the financing of approximately $3 billion of project capitalization.

About Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC

Founded in 1991, Canyon Partners Real Estate LLC ("Canyon") is the real estate direct investing arm of Canyon Partners, LLC, a global alternative asset manager with over $22 billion in assets under management. Over the last ten years, Canyon has invested approximately $5.2 billion of debt and equity capital across over 180 transactions capitalizing approximately $13.9 billion of real estate assets, focusing on debt, value add, and opportunistic strategies. With over 28 years of experience, Canyon has established a broad menu of investment capabilities spanning property types, US regions, and project stages (including development, transitional, and distressed/workouts).

For more information visit: www.canyonpartners.com

About ACG

Founded in 1986, ACG is an experienced, vertically integrated, locally based real estate company that designs, develops, builds, acquires and manages multifamily properties. With a focus on suburban multifamily opportunities in the Western U.S., ACG has developed and acquired more than 80 properties totaling over 15,500 units across 10 states. ACG's current portfolio consists of approximately $1 Billion in assets under management.

For more information visit: www.acg.com

Media Contacts:

Canyon Partners Real Estate:

Kris Cole

Prosek Partners

310-652-1411

[email protected]

ACG:

B.J. Kuula

American Capital Group

(206) 709-7264

[email protected]

SOURCE Canyon Partners LLC

Related Links

http://www.canyonpartners.com


Joe Swash attends The Childline Ball 2018 at Old Billingsgate on September 27, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images)

Joe Swash has revealed the death of his grandmother Frances in a heartbreaking Instagram post sharing that he wasn't able to say goodbye to her due to restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus.

The Dancing on Ice winner posted a picture of himself and his relative, who holds his youngest son Rex in the snap.

Publishing to Instagram, Swash, 38, wrote: "Goodnight Nanny Fran. Sleep well. I miss you so much already. Im heartbroken. I wish I could have spent more time with you. I wish I could have seen you more before you left us. I wish I could have said goodbye."

Read more: Coronavirus survival stories give Kate Garraway hope

The father-of-two added that she would be "watching down" on himself and their family "forever more".

Swash went on to say it was "excruciating and cruel" that many people haven't been able to say goodbye to their loved ones amid the coronavirus pandemic which has seen limits on hospital visits and restrictions on funeral attendees.

"Thinking of all of those who have lost loved ones during this awful situation," he posted. "Thinking of all of the people who werent able to be by their loved ones side. Those who wont be able to say goodbye at their funerals. Its excruciating. And cruel. Sending so much love your way."

The former EastEnders actor did not disclose the cause of death.

Joe Swash and Stacey Solomon attends the ITV Palooza 2019 at The Royal Festival Hall on November 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

His girlfriend Stacey Solomon also shared a tribute, writing on her Instagram stories: "We love you to the moon and back."

Read more: Celebrity couples whove split in lockdown

Solomon, 30, had announced on Wednesday morning that she would be stepping back from social media ahead of posting the tribute. It comes as she also took time away from social media earlier in May, leading to speculation that she had split from Swash.

The mother-of-three vehemently denied any relationship struggles as she told her followers: "Some things aren't mine to share."
Editors note: This post originally said the Facebook Live was scheduled for Thursday. The live demonstration had to be rescheduled for next week.

When Dauphin County voters head to the polls for the primary June 2, they will see a new voting system.

It may seem overwhelming with all of the other changes, like new polling places and all of the coronavirus precautions, but you can tune in for a Facebook Live demonstration next week to see how easy the new system is.

Dauphin County Commissioner Mike Pries and Clear Ballots Levi Smith will be at the PennLive offices to give a demonstration.

Watch the live demonstration of the new voting system at on PennLives Facebook page. A time has not yet been scheduled.

This is your opportunity to ask them questions about the new system, too, by commenting during the Facebook Live session.

The new system asks voters to mark a paper ballot and then insert it into a high-speed scanner.

It is part of the terms of a settlement of a lawsuit filed against the commonwealth by 2016 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. The Pennsylvania Department of State informed counties last year they were required to select new voting systems with paper-verifiable ballots and have them in place by the primary.

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.
While most children infected with the novel coronavirus have mild symptoms, a subset requires hospitalization and a small number require intensive care.

A new report from pediatric anesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists and pediatricians at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, describes the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19, during the early days of the pandemic.

Published in the Journal of Pediatrics, the report compares 46 children between one month and 21 years old, who received care either on a general unit, or in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) at CHAM.

This is the largest single-center study from the United States to date to describe in detail the full spectrum of COVID-19 disease in hospitalized children.

Researchers found that children requiring intensive care had higher levels of inflammation and needed additional breathing support, compared to those who were treated on a general unit.

Of the children being cared for in the PCCU, almost 80% had Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), which is more commonly associated with critically ill adult COVID-19 patients, and almost 50% of children with ARDS were placed on ventilators.

On average, children in the PCCU stayed in the hospital four days longer than children on the general unit.

Researchers at CHAM and Einstein also found that while obesity and/or asthma was highly prevalent in children in this study, these complications did not increase the likelihood that a child would need enhanced levels of care.

We know that in adults, obesity is a risk factor for more severe disease, however, surprisingly, our study found that children admitted to the intensive care unit did not have a higher prevalence of obesity than those on the general unit," Jerry Y. Chao, M.D., M.Sc., Study Lead Author and Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein college of Medicine

Researchers also found that more than half of the children had no known contact with a COVID-positive person. This may reflect the fact that the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people and COVID19 may be more prevalent in communities with a high population density.

"Thankfully most children with COVID-19 fare well, and some do not have any symptoms at all, but this research is a sobering reminder that children are not immune to this virus and some do require a higher level of care," said senior author Shivanand S. Medar, M.D., FAAP., attending physician, Cardiac Intensive Care, CHAM, and assistant professor of pediatrics, Einstein.

"These preliminary findings contribute to our understanding of COVID-19 in pediatric patients, but more research is needed to determine how the virus truly impacts children."
B ank account holders - from the Baby Boomers to the Gen-Zs - are increasingly likely to look into digital banking, for convenience, control and cost-cutting.

When the UK introduced Open Banking in January 2018, it transformed the industry by requiring banks to let customers share their personal data with competitors. Since then, challenger banks have taken off.

Traditional high-street banks have begun developing apps on the sides - and several of them are pioneering - but for the digital challengers, branches are not even part of the equation.

This cuts back the red tape, and makes control one of the prime benefits of going digital. When you can witness every penny entering and leaving your account at the touch of a finger, spending is a wholly different game.

Digital banks will not require any branch visits / Getty Images

Budgeting is therefore a central feature of digital services. Banking apps typically come with push notifications, over-spending alerts and innovative auto-saving features.

The economic consequences of coronavirus have left almost nobody untouched. Budgeting is becoming an ever-more stringent requirement, and for many, digitising is the next obvious step.

If this is you, read on for a summary and comparison of the UKs leading challenger banks.

Monzo is fast becoming synonymous with digital banking, offering a comprehensive current account to people in the UK and US, as well as plus and business accounts.

The Monzo app provides you with real-time spending notifications, set spending targets which you can divide by category, and a bill tracker that notifies you if your regular direct debits are higher or lower than usual.

You can create quick and easy Monzo Pots if you are saving for something specific. These will set aside cash and hide it from your available balance. Something called Coin Jar will round up purchases over 1 and auto-extract the extra.

The Get Paid Early feature offers customers a salary advance.

In-app support chat is available, landing Monzo a solid customer score of 82% from Which?.

How Monzo's new feature will look in the bank's app / Monzo

There is no interest offered on current accounts, but savings accounts range from long-term savings of 500 or more (with interest rates of up to 1.25% AER) to easy-access short-term savings (with interest rates of up to 0.93% AER). Note, regular pots do not operate as savings accounts with interest.

Overdrafts are available, with fees between 19-39% EAR, depending on your credit score.

You can spend abroad for free, and enjoy fee-free ATM withdrawals within the EEA. Beyond that, you can withdraw 200 per month for free, but will incur a 3% charge if you go in excess of that.

Monzo is easy to access for anyone over the age of 16. It is fully licensed in the UK, meaning it is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which will guarantee up to 85,000 of your funds should the bank go bust.

You can create joint accounts on Monzo, but only if both parties are single account holders. You can also use Monzo to split bills and set up transactions.

More than 2 million people in the UK now use Monzo to spend and manage their money. (Beatrice Borbon) / Beatrice Borbon

It also has an iconic card.

WATCH OUT FOR: a maximum daily withdrawal amount of 400 per day, or 5,500 per month

BEST FOR: Clever budgeting

Simple analytics and live notifications help you track your spending via the app, where you can also disable payment features or lock and unlock your card. There is also the option to round up purchases and put spare change into investment accounts or cryptocurrencies

Convenient recurring payments can be established, while Open Banking allows you to view and manage all your bank accounts in one place on the Revolut app.

The app has a 24-hour support chat, and an automated phone line is also available.

Savings vaults offer interest rates of up to 1.05% AER (for premium customers), although current accounts have none.

Revolut now has over 7 million customers / Revolut

Since its launch in 2015, Revolut has achieved a global presence, celebrating 7 million customers in over 30 countries. As a result, you can spend and send money abroad free of charge, with only a few exceptions (including weekends, Thai Baht and Ukrainian Hryvnia). The standout feature is the ability to transfer up to 5000 overseas at wholesale price (the Interbank Exchange Rate).

You can split payments with people, even if they do not have the app.

Revolut can be used to access cryptocurrency and commission-free stock trading (for premium customers). Premium perks also include cashback, discount offers, higher withdrawal limits and free withdrawals overseas.

Revolut does not currently hold UK banking licences (meaning it is not covered by FSCS), but it is protected by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which means your money is backed up in a separate, licensed bank.

WATCH OUT FOR: After youve withdrawn 200 in a month, you will incur a 2% ATM fee

BEST FOR: International transfers and cryptocurrency exchanges

Starling boasts the UKs first app-only current account. Its a comprehensive service, complete with live notifications whenever you use your debit card, as well as spending insights and customised savings goals. You can automatically round up your transactions and pop the extra pennies into a savings account, as well as turning off certain spending functions (such as contactless), or even locking and unlocking your card in-app

24/7 in-all customer support is available with Starling Bank, which has an impressive customer score of 83% on Which?. It has been fully licensed in the UK since 2016.

Unusually for current accounts, you can actually earn a small amount of interest (0.05% AER, up to 85,000).

Starling also offers personal loans worth between 500 and 5000, and a pre-arranged overdraft of up to 5,000, with 15-35% interest, depending on your credit score.

Make money on your current account with Starling / PA

Cash withdrawals and card payments are free overseas (Starling goes by Mastercards exchange rates).

A Settle Up feature allows you to split bills and get paid back in seconds. Joint accounts are also available for two people, a relatively rare feature.

WATCH OUT FOR: maximum six cash withdrawals a day, with a 300 limit

BEST FOR: current accounts with interest

Atom is a much more focused service, available exclusively for UK customers. While it is fully licensed bank, it does not offer current accounts, specialising in savings accounts and mortgages. This is likely to change in the future, but as it stands, Atom is not an option for anyone looking to regulate their daily spending

Designed to make cash simple, Atoms primary product is its fixed savings account. This is very easy for anyone to open, whether they are looking to save 50 of 100,000. These are not easy-access accounts, however, and cannot be emptied until your money reaches maturity.

Annual interest rates range from 0.01%-1.45%, with room for growth, but you can also opt for (slightly lower) monthly interest rates.

Atom is a standout service for building savings / PA

Atom also focuses on mortgages and business loans: you can apply and manage everything in-app, as well as accessing a network of brokers for advice. This makes it unusual among digital banks, for offering the full functionality of traditional banks with remarkably little red tape.

Another unusual feature is the apps biometric security technology, requiring facial and vocal recognition, as well as a passcode. It also has unusual personalisation features, allowing you to name your own bank, design a logo and customise your colour palette.

WATCH OUT FOR: No current accounts

BEST FOR: Savings and mortgages
Aerial view of Hope Bay, Nunavut, where TMAC Resources gold mine is located, situated near tidewater in the Northwest Passage. (Timkal/CC BY 3.0)

Chinese Companys Bid to Buy Nunavut Gold Mine of Grave Concern: Security Expert

State-owned Chinese mining company Shandong Golds proposed takeover of a fledgling gold mine perched at the fringe of the North American continent poses risks for Canada on economic and national security fronts, says a former contractor for the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS).

I share the grave concern of a growing number of Canadians galvanized by the continuing and extensive involvement of the Chinese dictatorship in our economic lives, particularly in the post-COVID world, says David Harris, director of the intelligence program at INSIGNIS Strategic Research in Ottawa.

The threat posed by Beijing to Canadians well-being is highlighted by this recent initiative that seems to have a possible predatory flavour, given the way in which state-backed buyers are poised to take control of a very significant strategic and security-oriented resource.

TMAC Resources announced on May 8 that for US$149 million, or one-tenth the $1.5 billion cost to bring its Hope Bay mine to fruition, Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.one of the worlds largest gold producerswould buy the project located in northwest Nunavut pending federal government approval.

The deal has to be reviewed by Ottawa under the Investment Canada Act, in which foreign companies are subjected to more scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent opportunistic investment behaviour.

Gold has become a refuge for investors during precarious economic times, and for the past 20 years China has been expanding its reserves. Though Hope Bays gold production has been limited to date, Harris said the precious metals military utility and the mines location on the shores of the Northwest Passage present dual concerns.

Gold plays a significant role when it comes to certain nuclear-related operations, and thats not a minor issue given Chinas muscular military orientation these days, and theres the proximity question as a function of security, he said.

We have already noted the tremendous appetite China seems to have for securing varying degrees of control over a variety of dimensions of the Arctic.

Arctic Ambitions

In 2013, China gained observer status on the Arctic Council, a forum of eight nations whose territory traverses the Arctic including Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.

In 2018, the communist regime declared itself a near-Arctic state, but for years it had already been gradually establishing a presence in the region and engaging in energy cooperation with Russia. The regime is currently exploiting a North Sea shipping route across Siberia, and in December 2019 opened the 3,000 km Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline from Russias Siberian fields to northeast China.

A decade earlier, in 2008, Chinas Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group had acquired Yukon Zincs Wolverine mine outside of Ross River, Yukon, but after three years of operation through sagging commodities prices, it shuttered the mines operations in 2015.

In 2020, two years after Chinas near-Arctic state declaration, Jinduicheng, which bills itself as one of the largest molybdenum companies in the world, left Canadian taxpayers with a $25 million near-Arctic mess. The Yukon government appeared in the territorys supreme court this January seeking compensation from the defunct mines bankruptcy proceedings.

On Jan. 9, weeks before the Yukon government was in court, the United States and Canada finalized a Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals aimed at breaking Chinas supply stranglehold on 20 of 35 minerals critical for the strategic defence, aerospace, and communications industries.

The Action Plan will guide cooperation  to secure critical minerals supply chains for strategic industries and defence, reads a statement from Natural Resources Canada.

Overlaying Beijings mineral plays in Canadamost recently the pending Shandong purchase of Hope Bayis the regimes telecom giant Huawei, which is currently rolling out 4G to under-serviced communities across the Far North in conjunction with upstart Canadian telecom provider Ice Wireless.

While the United States has banned Huawei 5G from its telecom networks, Ottawa continues to mull over whether to allow the company a role in Canadas new 5G network. CSIS has taken a strong position against the idea, in stark contrast to the Communications Security Establishment, which believes any espionage or security concerns can be monitored and managed.

Our closest ally and economic partner, the United States, has taken decisive views on this matter, and on that measure alone, one would have assumed long ago that Huawei would have been cut off from involvement in Canada, Harris said.

Klondike Gold Fields

As TMAC shareholders prepare to vote this June on the Shandong sale, the Chinese regimes quest for gold in Canadas hinterland continues. Individual speculators from the communist country have been sniffing around the historic Klondike goldfields for placer claims, according to one longtime miner.

I met a bunch of them last summer actually, looking for mining ground, said Stuart Schmidt, a lifelong placer miner in the Klondike.

They were interested in some claims that I just bought and I toyed with the idea of selling, but instead I just decided to keep drilling them and not to sell.

China was the top producing-gold country in 2018, at 399.7 tonnes. Schmidts operations, which employ around 30 people, produce around 6,000 ounces per seasona mere drop in the nations gold bucket. Even TMACs Hope Bay mine produced barely a fraction of Nunavuts 365,000 ounces it recorded the same year. The majority of gold produced in the territory was at Agnico Eagles Meadowbank mine.

Different from hard rock mining that requires milling and chemical leaching to separate gold from ore, placer mining is a more accessible process that involves washing alluvial deposits from sediment trapped between bedrock and vegetation.

Schmidt suspects that the Chinese speculators hes encountered are playing on the psychology of their prospective investors in the same way that lured thousands of people to the Klondike during the famous gold rush at the turn of the 19th century.

If some promoter says hes found an incredibly rich property down this river valley near where Im workinglike Bonanza or Eldorado richIll probably look at him with a healthy degree of skepticism, he says. But if he tells me its halfway around the world in some exotic mountaintop, or some African savanna, Im more able to believe him.

Schmidt added: But if he says to Chinese investors back home that hes got some incredible place in the Klondike goldfields in northern Canada, and Canadians are all stupid, dont know what theyre sitting on, and we can go over there and make a lot of money, Im sure theres probably going to be some interest. Just like Canadian investors are interested in how theyre going to go to northern Brazil or Peru and make a lot of money mining gold.

Aside from Ottawas review, the sale of Hope Bay must be approved by two-thirds of TMACs shareholders as well as meet the approval of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, a business development organization that represents the regions Inuit.

Harris believes that the purchase should not go ahead.

When you ask me, What do I say about it? I am almost chilled to imagine. I would assume that on its merits, this thing would be shot down, but again that is based simply on an interpretation of the Canadian interest.

Richard Fadden, CSIS director from 2009 to 2013, told The Globe and Mail that the federal government should look at the proposed TMAC takeover with Canadas national interest in mind.
Kangra Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati on Wednesday said the relaxation in curfew hours will continue to be from 7 am to 2 pm daily in the district till further orders amid the nationwide lockdown. Shops will remain open during this period only.

Morning walks and running timings will remain the same as notified earlier from 5.30 am to 7 am daily but wearing of face masks is essential and ensuring of social distancing will be mandatory for all, including shopkeepers. They will have to mark circles outside their shops at a distance of 1.5 metres each, he said.

The DC said stamp vendors and documentation writers can work every Monday and Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm maintaining social distancing norms. Land registration can be done daily from 10 am to 2 pm daily every day at offices.

Salon and beauty parlour owners can open their outlets after getting the prescribed training from the notified authorities. Owners of these ventures will have to apply through the Labour Officer and will get training in their concerned sub-divisions. They will be allowed to open their salons and parlours after the training period, Prajapati added.

All government and private offices would function as per the MHA notification and all Class 3 and 4 employees would attend their offices on rotation basis. If any employee suffers from flu-like symptoms, health authorities ought to be intimated immediately and the office premise will be sanitised under such circumstances.

The deputy commissioner said a curfew pass was mandatory for going to other states and districts for which one can apply on the website of the district administration and avail an e-pass.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Irish Aid walks the talk, says OECD

Press release

The OECDs Development Assistance Committee (DAC) today published its latest peer review of Irish Aid, Irelands international development programme.

The report finds Irish international development to be strong, with many areas of excellence, saying that Ireland walks the talk in prioritising the furthest behind and is a leading advocate for multilateralism. The report says that the clear focus of Irish Aid enables Ireland to exercise leadership and make a visible difference.

Welcoming the report, the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Simon Coveney T.D. said:

I am pleased that the OECD report recognises the excellence of Irish Aid, Irelands international development programme. The report shows that, though we may be small, Ireland is a country that does things right.

COVID-19 reminds us just how interconnected our planet is and how we have to work together to resolve challenges. An effective multilateral system is central to that response and, more generally, is in Irelands interest. I was delighted to see the OECD recognise how the Irish Aid programme helps Ireland play a leading, constructive global role advocating for multilateralism and for poverty reduction, channelling our assistance to where it is needed most and making a visible difference.

Ciaran Cannon T.D., Minister for International Development and the Diaspora, added:

Irish citizens can be extremely proud of our international development programme, which is helping transform peoples lives around the world. Partnership is at the heart of Irelands approach, something highlighted by the OECD when it looked Irelands at partnership with Ethiopia.

Civil society organisations play a central role in the delivery of Irelands international programme and I was delighted that the OECD highlighted the strength of Irish Aids partnership with civil society.

ENDS

PRESS OFFICE

20 MAY 2020

Notes for Editors Irelands 2020 OECD DAC Peer Review is available on the OECD website at the following link - http://www.oecd.org/ireland/oecd-development-co-operation-peer-reviews-ireland-2020-c20f6995-en.htm. The peer review found that Ireland is a strong development partner, whose many areas of excellence and good practice could be shared with other donor countries. It highlights Ireland as a leading voice for sustainable development, Irelands development cooperation is characterised by support for multilateralism, excellent humanitarian assistance, and quality partnerships with civil society. A poverty focus and commitment to Least Developed Countries are cited as examples of Ireland walking the talk. The peer review also identifies areas where Ireland can build on its strengths and achievements to improve effectiveness. OECD DAC peer reviews typically take place every five years and are an important, robust mutual accountability mechanism and assessment of DAC members development cooperation. Irelands 2020 peer review was led by Australia and Slovenia as examiners, supported by the OECD DAC Secretariat team. The OECD peer review team travelled to Dublin, Limerick and Irelands Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during September 2019. The team interviewed Ministers, officials from across Government, NGOs, academics, trade unions and other stakeholders as part of their assessment. The recommendations provided in the peer review report provide useful inputs as Ireland continuously seeks to improve the quality and effectiveness of our international development approach.

 Previous Item | Next Item 
Actor Daniel Radcliffe has said that he texted his Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint to congratulate him on becoming a father. Grint and his longtime girlfriend Georgia Groome became parents earlier this month.

I texted him the other day, Radcliffe said during a virtual appearance on Watch What Happens Live with host Andy Cohen on Monday. Im so happy for him, Radcliffe said. Its very, very cool. It is also super weird for me to think that we are all of the age where we are having children, but we definitely are.

Andy jumped in, saying, Its weird for all of us. Daniel replied, Im sure it is, and added, I remember when I turned 30, a lot of people in my life were really depressed to find that that had happened.

Grint rose to fame after appearing alongside Radcliffe and Emma Watson in all eight Harry Potter films. He played Harrys best friend, Ron Weasley, in the movies.

Rupert Grint and Georgia Groome are delighted to confirm the birth of their baby girl, a representative said in a statement. We would please ask that you respect their privacy at this very special time.

Also read: Harry Potter actor Rupert Grint welcomes baby girl with girlfriend: Lil Ronniekins is growing up fast, say fans

Radcliffe has been in a relationship with actor Erin Drake, whom he met in 2013. Watson has been private about whom shes dating, and in a 2019 interview to British Vogue said, I never believed the whole Im happy single spiel. I was like, This is totally spiel. It took me a long time, but Im very happy. I call it being self-partnered.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The launching of GenTower Danang attests to Generalis long-term development commitment in Vietnam, particularly in the Central Coast and Central Highlands regions

The new office features premium and elegant customer service space, as well as a modern and professional work environment to meet the companys operating and expansion needs in the Central Coast and Central Highlands regions.

The opening ceremony of GenTower Danang on May 19 was attended by representatives from local management authorities, Generali Vietnams management, partners, staff, and distributors.

Generali Vietnam CEO Tina Nguyen gives opening remark speech

According to Generali Vietnam CEO Tina Nguyen, the investment in the new branch office reaffirms the companys commitment to long-term development in Vietnam, as well as in the Central Coast and Central Highlands regions.

We have been and will be forging ahead with our strategic plan to grow our business and expand our network while enhancing our services and customer experience in these regions, she noted.

With a prime location in the heart of Danang city, GenTower Danang offers customers convenient access to Generalis superior product and service offerings in a premium and professional environment, featuring elegant Italian-inspired design.

The new 1,200sq.m office is fully equipped with modern facilities, which aims to enhance work efficiency, inspire and motivate Generalis staff and distributors to strive for the best customer experience.

GenTower Danang features premium and elegant customer service space as well as a modern and professional work environment

Danang is a large municipality in Vietnams south central coast, an important economic, political, and cultural hub of Vietnams Central Coast and Central Highlands regions, as well as the whole country.

The presence of Generalis new GenTower Danang, in addition to approximately 20 GenCasa (agency offices) and customer service centres serving dozens of thousands of customers, reaffirms the companys strategic focus on growing its business in the Central Coast and Central Highlands regions, as well as across the country.

Generali Vietnam takes pride in its strong focus on improving customer experience and has received numerous awards.

With the opening of the new branch office and customer service centre GenTower Danang, the old branch office and customer service centre  also in Danang at Thu Dung Plaza in Hai Chau district  have ceased operation from May 16, 2020.

Generali Vietnam is a member of Generali Group, one of the largest global insurance and asset management providers from Italy.

In Vietnam, after nine years of operation, the company currently has a nationwide network of over 60 GenCasa and customer service centers, serving over 300,000 clients.

Generali Vietnam takes pride in its strong focus on improving customer experience and has received numerous awards: 2017 and 2018 Best Customer Service and 2018 Most Innovative Insurance Company by International Finance Magazine, 2017 Excellent Brand by Vietnam Enterprise Development Science Union and 2017 and 2018 Golden Dragon by the Vietnam Economic Times.
Washington  The new coronavirus relief bill passed by House Democrats includes $363 million over two years for Syracuse, part of an unprecedented bailout for hard-hit local governments across New York state.

Syracuse would receive about $242 million this year, and $121 million next year, according to estimates from House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office.

The initial $242 million in aid for Syracuse this year would almost equal the $253.3 million city budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year approved by lawmakers earlier this month.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh had written to Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on May 8, pleading for direct aid to cash-strapped local governments crushed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Walsh, reached Tuesday night, said the federal aid cant come soon enough. Syracuse faces fast-accelerating losses in revenue and new expenses linked to the combined health and economic crisis.

While $240 million to some people might sound like too much, the way things are changing its hard for me to say, Walsh told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. I cant overstate how much is at stake here.

Syracuse expects it will lose about $45 million in revenue between March and the end of June 2021, Walsh said, mostly from a decline in sales tax collections from shuttered stores and restaurants. The loss is up from about $30 million earlier this month.

To keep afloat, the city has furloughed 104 employees, dipped into reserves to cover an $8.9 million budget deficit for 2021 and ordered steep cutbacks to police overtime. Syracuse may also sell off city-owned real estate to raise an extra $3 million this year.

All told, New York state and its municipalities would receive $67 billion from the federal government to help offset their economic losses during the pandemic.

House Democrats approved the massive bailout Friday night as part of the $3 trillion Heroes Act. The bill passed by a vote of 208-199, with the support of 207 Democrats and one Republican, Rep. Peter King, R-Long Island.

McConnell said the Republican-controlled Senate is in no rush to take up the bill. Congress has passed four coronavirus relief bills since March as unemployment claims reached the highest level since the Great Depression. McConnell has suggested that hard-hit states should consider declaring bankruptcy.

McConnells comments prompted backlash from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other states that send more in tax revenue to the federal government than they receive in return. Cuomo called McConnells suggestion one of the really dumb ideas of all time.

The Heroes Act includes a $1 trillion relief package for state and local governments nationwide. Grants would be awarded based on a formula that favors those governments whose economies have suffered the greatest economic toll during the pandemic.

Cuomo has said New York needs $61 billion in federal aid to fill budget gaps left after the state shut down its economy for almost two full months.

The Heroes Act would provide the state with $34.4 billion in direct aid, according to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.

New York City, with the worlds highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths, would receive $17.2 billion in federal aid.

That would leave about $15.1 billion for cities, counties, towns and villages across the rest of New York state. The money would be paid out over the next two years.

Onondaga County would receive $172.6 million this year and $86.3 million next year, the second-largest total of any government in Central New York, according to estimates from Pelosis office.

Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, worked with Lowey to come up with the funding formula for the aid.

About 70% of the aid for cities, towns and villages would be paid directly to municipalities under a formula used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to distribute Community Development Block Grants. The grants are typically allocated based on population and poverty statistics in each community.

The remaining 30% of the aid for municipalities would be allocated through each state based on population.

If the Senate approves the House bill with the same funding levels and formula for distribution  an unlikely prospect  some New York cities and towns would see an infusion of federal aid that exceeds their annual budgets.

Clay, the largest town in Onondaga County with a population of about 60,000 people, has a budget of about $16.1 million this year.

Under the Heroes Act, Clay would receive $19.5 million in federal relief this year and $9.7 million next year.

Lowey, in a statement, defended the need for a such a large injection of federal aid to New Yorks state and local governments.

As the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, New York has acted aggressively and responsibly to protect the entire nation at a very high cost to our state and our communities, Lowey said.

She said the federal aid is absolutely necessary to protect essential health, public safety, education, and other jobs and services and to address an unimaginable economic impact from this pandemic.

Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, is among Republicans who support providing more aid to local governments. But he voted against the House bill Friday and said the measure stands no chance in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Katko called the Democratic bill a partisan stunt because it included some policies long opposed by Republicans. One provision would send federal stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants who paid federal income taxes. Senate Republicans also want the bill to protect businesses that reopen from liability lawsuits.

Walsh said he told Katko that he was disappointed that politics is hurting the process of approving urgently needed aid.

The mayor said the city could face a deepening crisis if the state is forced to cut its own funding to municipalities. Syracuse is due to receive a $61 million state aid payment in June, the first of the states fiscal year.

Walsh said the city will likely make contingency plans for short-term borrowing or more drastic cutbacks in case the states payment is late or reduced. He said thats why its important for Congress to act as soon as possible.

The how and the when are really important because theres only so much time that I can hold my breath before making some real difficult decisions, Walsh said.

He also had a message for McConnell and senators who dont see any urgency to help state and local governments.

This isnt about a bailout or mismanagement, Walsh said, noting Syracuse had a small budget surplus before the pandemic. This is about an unprecedented crisis beyond our control that only the federal government can help us with.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Hundreds of corellas are falling dead from the sky after a suspected poisoning.

Sarah King, from Caspers Bird Rescue, said residents have been left traumatised in Angle Vale, 31km north of Adelaide, following dead birds found everywhere.

'We've had hundreds of calls to pick up birds that have dropped dead from the sky over the past few days,' Ms King told 7NEWS.com.au.

Hundreds of corellas are falling dead from the sky after a suspected poisoning

She said in one incident involving 20 birds just two were still alive and she has had people leave the rescue due to the stress.

'They've almost got PTSD from what they're seeing,' she said.

'There's thousands on the verge of dying in the coming days.'

Ms King claims the birds were poisoned with a pesticide that causes muscle damage and can take up to three weeks to starve birds to death.

The RSPCA is investigating following a cruelty complaint.

There are codes of practices developed by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the Australian Government on how to manage 'pest' wildlife.

Sarah King, from Caspers Bird Rescue, said residents have been left traumatised in Angle Vale, 31km north of Adelaide, following dead birds found everywhere

She said in one incident involving 20 birds just two were still alive and she has had people leave the rescue due to the stress

This includes how many pest birds can be killed per metre of land they are interfering with.

Ms King has since set up fundraiser in order to cover the medical costs of caring for the corellas.

'As carers we are facing the horrific scenes every day with birds lining the streets, which we are just waiting to fall so we can hopefully help also,' she said.

Ms King has since set up fundraiser in order to cover the medical costs of caring for the corellas

'Birds needing amputations to have a second chance at life.'

She said money is needed to build aviaries to look after them.

'Please dig deep for these precious souls that face so many different and inhumane ways they are being culled.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Playford Council for comment.
Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said the coronavirus coming from India is 'more lethal' than those from China and Italy and blamed the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan nation on those sneaking into the country from India, as the total number of COVID-19 cases jumped to 427 on Wednesday.

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside.

"Many coronavirus infected patients have entered Nepal. The virus came from outside, as we did not have here before. We could not stop infiltration of people from outside the border," he said.

Oli said that the biggest challenge facing the country today is the rising number of coronavirus cases and blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals breaking the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India.

"The coronavirus coming from India are more lethal than those from China and Italy," he said.

"Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing," Oli was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

Oli's remarks came amid Nepal's border row with India after the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

He said the Nepal government has been following precautionary measures since early time to stop the spread of the virus.

"It is the main priority of the government to make the country free from coronavirus," he said.

There were 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.

Many of the confirmed coronavirus cases in Nepal are those who returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat gathering in New Delhi's Nizamuddin area in early March.

Foreign nationals, particularly from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan attended the Tablighi activities in Delhi.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Oli had 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.

The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been extended until June 2.

The coronavirus cases in Nepal on Wednesday rose to 427 after 25 new infection cases were confirmed, the health ministry said.

Two persons, a man and a woman, have died due to COVID-19 in the country so far.

Prime Minister Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to 'reclaim' them from India through political and diplomatic efforts, as his Cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the three areas as Nepalese territory.

Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal 'but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there. Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army', he said.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.

Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory -- India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of 'someone else', in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.
An elderly couple waits in a lineup outside a walk-in COVID-19 test clinic in Montreal on March 23, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson)

Its Very Lonely Here: Pandemic Rules Taking Toll on the Elderly

Cheryl Wahpoosewyan has not seen her father, Roy, since March. He lives in a care home in Regina, Saskatchewan.

We usually just talk over the phone. He usually calls me four or five times a day because Im the oldest out of my siblings, Wahpoosewyan tells The Epoch Times.

He just says, Its me again, being bored. Im so tired of being cooped up and not able to get out.

Roy has been in a care home since a stroke left him partially paralyzed more than 10 years ago.

In my mind, Ive got all kinds of mixed emotions. I miss my family, my grandkids, and my street friends, Roy says. I feel like this isolation is like Im in prison.

Roy was disappointed he couldnt join a special family gathering that occurred on Mothers Day, but he understands the reasons.

For my own safety and for the others that are out there, its better for me to be isolated, he says.

But its very very, very lonely here. Its very very scary. Im very worried and aware, and Im scared.

Roy and his daughter are among the many families separated by precautions designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, which arguably have caused more emotional pain for the sick and elderly than any other sector of society.

The same social distancing that keeps the virus away also prevents physical contact with loved ones, causing heartacheespecially for the elderly who feel isolated in care homes.

Jody Faiths 76-year-old mother was in hospital in Medicine Hat, Alberta, with cirrhosis of the liver due to complications from diabetes and medication when the lockdown began. Despite severely ailing health, she pleaded with her family to take her home from the hospital after a recent operation because they would never be allowed to visit.

My moms like, You have to promise that no matter what happens, theyre not going to keep me in here, says Faith.

She just said this over and over. I would rather die at home than die alone in the hospital. I dont care that they say that they will be taking better care of me. I cant be alone. I cannot be alone.

Faiths father is taking care of his ailing wife. The couples names are withheld as they are keeping their situation a secret.

Theyre not telling anybody the truth because what if people think theyre stupid for not staying in the hospital, Faith says. Theres this whole other sidethey dont want the judgment.

Jody Faith with her mother. (Courtesy Jody Faith)

Faith wishes her mom hadnt been forced to choose between hospital care and the presence of her family.

She cant eat anything, pretty much. She lives on one Ensure in the morning. If she were in the hospital, they probably would at least have an IV or something.

Despite her vulnerability, her mother insisted that Faith and her husband drive from Saskatchewan to visit on Mothers Day.

My mom says, Whats the worst thats going to happen. Im going to die if you come visit me? Faith explains. We didnt stay long because her doctor said we were allowed to have one person per hour. But my mom decided she would rather have us be there and be together than die alone.

In March, as Valerie Exner was leaving a nursing home in Melville, Saskatchewan, following a visit to her mother, Gladys McDade, an administrator told her this would be her last visit due to a policy that had been enacted just 10 minutes prior.

So that was kind of a slap because we didnt expect that, Exner says.

We did visit her twice through the window on her birthday. She turned 90. I had a huge party planned for her. I had to cancel everything, so that was hard.

Gladys McDade celebrates her 90th birthday at a nursing home in Melville, Saskatchewan, while her family members visit with her through the window. (Courtesy Valerie Exner)

The staff made McDade a cake, which Exner and other relatives ate on styrofoam plates just outside a window of the nursing home, with McDade on the inside. Exner retired after a long career at that very nursing home, but no exception could be made to visit her mother. Melville has less than 5,000 people and no cases of COVID-19.

I know she doesnt like it. She doesnt grasp, I dont think, the depth of the whole thing, Exner says, adding that separation from family has been tough on her mom, who was doing better before.

She started to get very sad.  Shes got a sadness about her. Its tough on her. Its hard on us but I think its even harder on her.

Exner herself is philosophical about the situation brought about by the pandemic and believes it should be used as a learning experience.

Theres a lesson in this for all of us. I think we have to slow down. And I think we need to appreciate each other more than we do. I think we need to think about our family and our friends and our neighbours, she says.

I dont think God brought this onto us, but Hes not removing it because I think we need to learn from this.
(Natural News) Close to 3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. After hitting record highs in early April, the number of claimants has declined steadily over the past six weeks, but the total number of people claiming unemployment as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is still disturbingly high at 36.5 million.

Experts warn that this number will continue to increase in the coming weeks.

The American economy is bleeding, and people are desperate for relief, which is one of the main reasons for the nationwide waning of support for the strict lockdown measures that scientists insist need to be eased with great care to prevent a second  potentially more deadly  wave of COVID-19 infections.

While economists and healthcare officials continue to present conflicting views about what is best for the country, the reality on the ground is that people cant make their mortgage payments, and some can no longer afford to feed their families.

President Trump has already signed the largest rescue package in U.S. history, known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, into law.

Now, the House has approved a proposal for a further $3 trillion in aid.

The Republican-controlled Senate has indicated that it will not approve the Houses so-called HEROES Act, but the White House has indicated that it would support handing out another round of stimulus checks. (Related: Coronavirus pushes unemployment to highest levels since the Great Depression.)

The largest bailout in U.S. history

As reported by Smart Asset, Democrats and Republicans were uncharacteristically cooperative in their efforts to get the initial $2 trillion CARES Act passed.

That legislation made provision for emergency financial assistance to individuals and businesses in distress as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

A further $484 billion in funding was later approved by the president to assist small business programs and healthcare providers. (Related: Massive fraud alert: Coronavirus recovery bill gives Fed control over $450 billion in SECRET  whos going to get this money?)

The first round of stimulus checks were provided for those who submitted income tax returns in 2018 or 2019 (whichever was the most recent), and paid out $1,200 for individuals or $2,400 for married couples, in addition to $500 for dependents. The checks were payable to individuals who earned upwards of $75,000 and couples whose earnings totaled less than $150,000 annually. The amounts payable were reduced on a sliding scale for those in higher income brackets.

The HEROES Act would provide yet another $3 trillion in relief funding, as reported by VOX:

The legislation, which includes over $900 billion in federal funding for states and cities, as well as another round of stimulus checks and an extension for expanded unemployment insurance, passed the House 208-199 predominately on party lines. 

Democrats note theyve moved quickly on this measure due to the urgency of the crisis. The bill, which also contains a $200 billion fund to cover hazard pay for frontline workers, is Democrats stake in the ground as negotiations continue.

While Senate Republicans have not expressed much interest in the bill, senior White House officials have indicated that the president would support the distribution of further stimulus checks.

As reported by CNBC, a statement from the White House added:

As President Trump has said, we are going to ensure that we take care of all Americans so that we emerge from this challenge healthy, stronger, and with economic prosperity, which is why the White House is focused on pro-growth, middle class tax and regulatory relief.

Clearly, the coronavirus pandemic has decimated the U.S. economy, and Americans are in dire need of assistance, but are these massive bailouts really the answer? Should the government be more focused on ways to provide long-term economic relief to the millions of Americans affected by the pandemic rather than handing them a check to tide them over for another month?

Keep up with all the latest developments at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

CNBC.com

VOX.com

SmartAsset.com

CNBC.com
T he leader of far-right political group Britain First has been found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act.

Paul Golding, 38, was stopped at Heathrow Airport on October 23 last year on his way back from Moscow in Russia by officers from the Metropolitan Police.

He refused to give the pin codes for an iPhone and Apple computer and was later charged with wilfully refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.

Golding denied the charge but was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Wednesday.

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ruled there was no doubt that Golding had failed to comply with requests for information, despite his obligations being explained to him and being warned over and over that if he did not he risked arrest.

Paul Golding was handed a conditional discharge / PA

She handed Golding a conditional discharge for nine months and ordered him to pay a 21 surcharge and 750 in costs.

Ms Arbuthnot said Golding had been lawfully questioned and that under Schedule 7 there had been no requirement for reasonable suspicion for the stop.

Giving evidence earlier, Pc Rory OConnor, a borders officer with the Met Police who questioned Golding, told the court that Schedule 7 enables accredited officers to speak to people in order to make a determination of whether they are or have been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

The officer explained that it also permitted police to interrogate, search and detain anyone for up to six hours at UK ports.

He said he had cause to examine Golding under the legislation and recalled him being initially agitated and clearly angry at being stopped, with him shouting at officers.

Prosecutor Samuel Main said that Golding was questioned for nearly three hours about his activities in Russia after flying out with two others on October 20.

The court heard that Golding said he was on a purely political trip after establishing friendships in Russia during an international congress on an earlier date.

Paul Golding told police he had been in Moscow under the invitation of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia / PA

He told officers that he had returned to the country under the invitation of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), which he described as a right wing, conservative, patriotic group who were not extreme.

Golding said they were a political party not a mob and if they incited violence then Britain First wouldnt touch them with a barge pole.

He said he had not met any representative of the Russian government, the court heard.

Golding, of Hodder Bank, Stockport, appeared in the dock wearing a grey suit, white shirt and red tie, and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and nationality.

English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, watched the proceedings in the courts public gallery.

Over the course of his three-day trip, Golding gave interviews to the media, met members of the LDPR and visited the Russian parliament, Mr Main said.

He also visited Moscows Red Square and laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Tommy Robinson arriving at court to show his support for Golding / PA

Golding was quizzed on the LDPRs policies which he said covered the issues of terrorism, Islamic extremism, immigration and family values.

He described Britain First as a patriotic, right-wing, conservative group who considered themselves as loyalist.

In clips of an audio recording of the interview played in court, Golding said the request for his pin codes was wildly inappropriate, completely unjustified, represented an abuse of police powers and was a political witch hunt.

Mr Main said he told officers they hadnt asked him about terrorism or criminality and he was simply a politician.

Golding added: I dont think think you have any grounds to suspect me of terrorism in any way shape or form.

Representing Golding, Abigail Bright said Britain First had never been a banned organisation.

She said Golding had been calm, compliant and respectful during questioning under what she claimed was a predetermined operation.

Paul Golding outside Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday / PA

Ms Bright said he was tired and had not wilfully disobeyed a lawful instruction and that evidence from officers left the court none too wiser as to whether they had screened against Schedule 7 being used in an arbitrary way.

Ms Bright had Pc OConnor confirm that he had no belief before Golding was stopped that he may have been involved in the preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

She highlighted that she had put to Pc OConnor that as a political leader there was a real possibility Goldings devices held sensitive information, for example membership lists.

As a politician, she said he was entitled to expect enhanced protection for his rights of speech, assembly, association.

Mr Main said that at no point had Golding mentioned there being sensitive material on his devices, which might have offered him some protection.

Britain First was deregistered as a political party in November 2017.
The niece of a Rosslyn Retirement Residence resident calls the homes treatment of her uncle disgusting.

On Friday, paramedics and hospital staff evacuated the King Street East retirement home, moving nearly all remaining residents to hospital after it became clear the home was facing a crisis  a severe staffing shortage and improper implementation of proper infection control procedures, city officials said. All but one of the 64 residents is now confirmed to have COVID-19, along with 20 staff.

Two residents have died.

Kathryn Januarys 68-year-old uncle was one of those removed. Her mother, his next of kin, only found out hed been moved and has COVID-19 when a nurse from Hamilton General called Saturday morning, she said. January said the nurse told her mother her brother was severely dehydrated and malnourished.

Its disgusting, January said of the condition her uncle was left in. This is disgusting what happened to these people.

With her uncle in such bad shape, he should have been taken to hospital much earlier, January says. Public health has said nine residents were already in hospital at the time of the evacuation.

The Spectator has repeatedly tried to reach those in charge at Rosslyn Retirement Residence but has not heard back.

Marissa Lennox, chief policy officer with CARP (Canadian Association for Retired Persons), was shocked by the severity of the outbreak at the Rosslyn and the drastic steps taken to mitigate it.

These kinds of stories are so devastating to read about, Lennox said. The people living in these homes, their lives have been upended, theyre now living in a hospital.

Still, the fact the home was unable to control an outbreak didnt surprise her. All across the province, seniors homes are seeing low staffing levels and showcasing poor ability to follow infection prevention and control protocols, she said.

These challenges existed before COVID and they will exist after, she said, adding that the government needs to do more for seniors in care homes.

The province announced Tuesday it is launching an independent commission into Ontarios long-term care system in September. Its unclear the extent to which retirement homes might be part of that.

While the situation at the Rosslyn escalated rapidly last week, Hamilton public health had concerns about its infection prevention and control practices a month ago.

Public health issued the home an order in April under the Health Protection and Promotion Act after conducting an inspection. The home was compliant with the order, public health has said.

But last week, after an outbreak was declared and more residents started showing symptoms, public health carried out a second audit. This time, they found more noncompliance issues including lack of a detailed outbreak response plan, lack of written policy and processes for isolation of sick residents, lack of a facility plan to implement physical distancing and lack of proper personal protective equipment (PPE) use.

The Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA), which oversees Ontario retirement homes, also inspected the home last week. It found the Rosslyn was not complying with sections of the Retirement Homes Act pertaining to infection prevention and control and failure to protect residents from neglect. It has ordered the home to hire a regulated health professional to ensure it is properly protecting residents.

The RHRA is in daily communication with the leadership of Rosslyn Retirement Residence, as well as public health for the region, to ensure that the home complies with these orders before residents can return, said Farrah Bourre, RHRA spokesperson.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamiltons medical officer of health, also said in a Tuesday briefing that if the retirement home does not comply with its order, it would not be recommended that they reopen.

As for January, she remains worried about her uncle. He is now on a ventilator in the ICU.

Even if residents are allowed to return to the Rosslyn, she said she doesnt want her uncle going back.

Its just outrageous whats happened, she said. These people dont deserve to be treated this way. They deserve more dignity than this.
She has decided to isolate at her Kensington home, rather than her Miami apartment.

And Kimberley Garner seemed to enjoy the sunny climes on Tuesday as she headed out on a dog walk with her mum Geraldine.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 29, teased a hint of her toned abs as she donned a black crop top, which she teamed with lime yellow joggers.

Sunshine: Kimberley Garner seemed to enjoy the sunny climes on Tuesday as she headed out on a dog walk

Toting a large bucket bag, Kimberley opted for comfort on her feet with white trainers and styled her blonde locks in a sleek, straight look.

The swimwear designer appeared in high spirits as she walked Sasha with her mum after a trip to Marks and Spencer to stock up on food.

Geraldine, meanwhile, cut a youthful figure in a white T-shirt, black trousers and Chanel pumps.

Family outing: The former Made In Chelsea star, 29, was joined by her mother Geraldine

Washboard stomach: Kimberley teased a hint of her toned abs as she donned a black crop top

Vibrant: She teamed her casual look with lime yellow joggers

She's got style: Toting a large bucket bag, Kimberley opted for comfort on her feet with white trainers and styled her blonde locks in a sleek, straight look

After exploring the capital and with bags full of food, the trio headed back home in Kimberley's flashy Bentley.

Kimberley splits her time between her homes in London and Miami after purchasing a dream pad in the coastal city in December 2018.

Speaking to MailOnline about her home last year, she explained: 'I worked very hard last year and had even moved home for a few months to save money.

'I really had my head down working to concentrate on goals, but achieved it on New Year's Eve, praise God, and flew over here. Completed the sale on the plane over.'

Happy: The swimwear designer appeared in high spirits as she walked Sasha with her mum after a trip to Marks and Spencer to stock up on food

Low-key: Geraldine, meanwhile, cut a youthful figure in a white T-shirt, black trousers and Chanel pumps

Safety precautions: Kimberley wore protective gloves to do the food shop

In the money: After exploring the capital and with bags full of food the trio headed back home in Kimberley's flashy Bentley

Bonding: The pair chatted as they walked along the street

Keeping busy: Kimberley certainly had her hands full as she arrived at her Bentley laden with bags

Reflecting on her property empire, the designer admitted it is a world away from the hustle and bustle of her busy life in London.

'It's right on the beach, and really is a dream come true,' she explained. 'I am over doing the interior design, going for a beachy chilled vibe for the place.

'I won't be moving there [permanently], as London is one hundred percent home, but really overjoyed and proud to have achieved it.'

Decisions: Kimberley has decided to isolate in Kensington rather than Miami, where she also has a property

Meanwhile, things seem to be on the up for Kimberley in romantic terms; in September she appeared to confirm her reunion with her ex-boyfriend.

The couple were seen kissing and cuddling in a London park following their split last year.

Following their break-up, Kimberley told MailOnline: 'I ended the relationship recently.

'It was a really wonderful three years and we are still good friends today.'

The socialite has been notoriously tight-lipped about the identity of her long-term boyfriend.

Walkies: The blonde beauty let Geraldine take Sasha's lead for a bit
Advertisement

The 3million superhome being built for Grand Tour host James May to house his vast motorbike and luxury car collection is nearing completion.

Latest images reveal that builders have exposed the facade of the new building and garage having taken down hoardings.

Work on the much-loved TV presenter's property in west London could even be completed before the end of lockdown and it appears that the finishing touches are all that remain.

New images reveal the facade of James May's new 3million home and garage that will house his huge motorbike and luxury car collection when he moves in with partner Sarah Frater

May knocked down his old house and the semi-derelict commercial property next door to make way for the new build

The building appears to be near completion and is expected to be ready this year, possibly still during coronavirus lockdown

The fresh brickwork can now be see after builders took down the hoardings outside but there is still work to be done

May, the former Top Gear favourite and now one of the Grand Tour presenters with Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson, bulldozed his two properties on the existing site to have the new one put in place.

Pictures show the brand new glass and brick work that have been behind hoardings until now, although there are still a number of building materials on site.

He is worth an estimated 10m and bought the house in 2000 for 325,000 and semi-derelict commercial property five years ago for 310,000, both of which were demolished for the build.

Work is anticipated to conclude this year for May and his partner, dance critic Sarah Frater, to move back in.

May (pictured), who's worth an estimated 10m, avoided any planning disputes by consulting neighbours at every turn and was described by one as 'a delight'

Plans shown in red here outline the area of May's property that was bulldozed down before the rebuilding job began

May had planning permission approved in 2016 and has put in a series of amendments since then to ensure residents' views on the development of his home were taken into account

The 56-year-old moved all of his luxury cars and motorbikes around the corner from the site in a conservation area in Hammersmith, West London.

He has 40 motorbikes, a Rolls-Royce, limited edition Ferrari 458 Speciale, Porsche 911 and Fiat Panda for running around town, which will all be kept at the new property.

The new home will be six per cent larger than May's existing property, with an extra floor on the two side wings.

May who is nicknamed 'Captain Slow' for his genteel driving style, lived up to his Mr Nice Guy image and avoided a bruising battle with his neighbours by constantly including them in the planning process.

Former Top Gear presenter May had two properties demolished in March last year, this picture shows the aftermath

There is still some work to be done and there remain a number of building materials outside the property in London

Plans approved by the council for May's new London home show it will be six per cent larger than the demolished old property, with an extra floor on the two side wings

One said: 'I couldn't wish for a better neighbour than James. He is a delight and has involved us all at every step of the way.

His next-door-neighbour Cathy Lewis agreed: 'James has been really good and given us lots of information. This will be really good for our street, will be a big improvement on what was there before and the designs are sympathetic to the area.

'We know it will take a long time with a lot of disruption, but so far, the builders have been great. The new house will look fabulous.'

He held a consultation meeting with his neighbours in 2015 as he was finalizing the plans in order to appease any concerns they had around being overlooked as the new property has an extra floor on two wings and is six per cent larger all round.

May shares the Hammersmith house with his partner, dance critic Sarah Frater. In 2013, May said he planned to embark on the improvements in order to appease his her. 'The permanent and fragrant presence of Woman demands something a bit better,' he said.

May had planning permission approved in 2016 and has put in a series of amendments since then to ensure residents' views were taken into account and to ensure the new property will fit in with a street where some homes were built in the 1840s.

In 2013, May said he planned to embark on the improvements in order to appease his partner. 'The permanent and fragrant presence of Woman demands something a bit better,' he said.

He also admitted he would save himself money as there is no VAT on new-builds.

May's approved plans to the 1950s-home are to change use of one property from commercial use to residential, demolition of the properties to rebuild into one two-storey building with a garage on the ground floor.
The sequel to the highly successful Malayalam crime drama Drishyam has been commissioned and itll mark the reunion of Mohanlal and filmmaker Jeetu Joseph. As per a report by Asianet News, the project will take off post lockdown. An official announcement regarding the sequel can be expected to be made on Mohanlals birthday on Thursday.

Its worth mentioning that Mohanlal and Jeetu Joseph recently joined hands for Malayalam thriller, Ram. The project, which also stars Trisha Krishnan as the leading lady, was officially launched last December. The makers of Ram even released a title poster when the project was announced.

In a media interaction few weeks ago, Jeetu had revealed hes going to put Ram on hold and finish working on another project in the interim. As per reports, this new project will be Drishyam 2, and itll go on the floors as soon as Kerala government grants permission to commence film shootings.

Drishyam, which is the story of a father covering up a murder to save his family, was the first Malayalam film to gross over Rs 50 crore. The sequel will be produced by Antony Perumbavoor. The rest of the cast and crew will be announced soon.

Mohanlal was last seen in Malayalam film Big Brother. He was also recently seen in Malayalam blockbuster Lucifer, which has a sequel in the pipeline.

Also read: Shah Rukh Khans daughter Suhana takes online belly dance classes, instructor shares then and now pics

Lucifer was the first Malayalam film to gross over Rs 200 crore worldwide. The film, a political thriller, saw Mohanlal play a character called Stephen Nedumpally.

Produced by Antony Perumbavoor, the film also starred Vivek Oberoi, Tovino Thomas, Indrajith and Manju Warrier in crucial roles.

Lucifer marked the directorial debut of actor Prithviraj. In December 2018, he took to Twitter to share a heartfelt post on the experience of directing Mohanlal.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
China could expand list of imports to include wine and dairy after Canberra called for inquiry into origins of COVID-19.

China is considering targeting more Australian exports including wine and dairy, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be a dramatic deterioration in ties as the key trading partners spar over the coronavirus outbreak.

Chinese officials have drawn up a list of potential goods also including seafood, oatmeal and fruit that could be subject to stricter quality checks, anti-dumping probes, tariffs or customs delays, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. State media could also encourage consumer boycotts, they said, adding a final decision on the measures had not been made.

Australia, which is the worlds most-China dependent developed economy, has raised Beijings ire by calling for an investigation into the origins of the pandemic. President Xi Jinpings government is sensitive to criticism of its handling of the outbreak and has a track record of using trade as a diplomatic cudgel, with South Korea, Japan and Taiwan all experiencing reprisals in recent years.

China Slaps Duties on Australian Barley

China has already barred meat imports from four Australian slaughterhouses for technical reasons, and slapped tariffs of more than 80% on Australian barley late Monday after a long-running inquiry. Any additional measures will depend on how Australia addresses Chinas objections, the people said, adding Beijing doesnt intend to publicly acknowledge any link between its trade actions and the calls for a virus probe.

When asked about the list, Chinas foreign ministry didnt address the specifics but said the government has always sought to find common ground while putting differences aside, cooperate to achieve win-win results and will not harm others to benefit oneself.

We hope the Australian and Chinese side can meet in the middle, take more measures to improve bilateral relations and deepen mutual trust, and provide favorable conditions and atmosphere for practical cooperation in various areas, the ministry said.

Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said his government would continue to work with China to uphold commitments made under their free-trade agreement.

This is an unsourced claim for Chinese authorities to respond to, he said in a statement Wednesday. Australia notes recent statements from Chinese spokespeople emphasizing the mutual benefits that flow from our trading relationship. We share those sentiments and will continue to work with China to uphold the commitments we both made under the nations free-trade accord.

Australias China Addiction Leaves It Vulnerable to Trade Spat

The World Health Assembly, the governing body of the World Health Organization, passed a resolution Tuesday calling for an independent assessment of the global response to the pandemic.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Health Minister Greg Hunt welcomed the resolutions commitment to an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation of the lessons learned from the virus response.

There is also a clear mandate to identify the source of the Covid-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans, which will be necessary to prevent and reduce the risks of the emergence of new diseases that pass from animals to humans, they said. Australia will continue to be a consistent and constructive voice in the international community to advance and protect our national interest and the global interest.

China is Australias most important trading partner, with agricultural shipments alone totaling about A$16 billion ($10 billion) in 2018-19. While the big ticket items of iron ore, coal and natural gas that China needs to build and fuel its economy so far havent been mentioned, education and tourism could also be vulnerable to reprisals. Beijings ambassador to Australia last month suggested Chinese tourists and students may decide to boycott the nation.

As Australia slides toward its first recession in almost 30 years, the economic hit of more widespread trade measures couldnt come at a worse time.

The impact would be very keenly felt given we are in a global recession and Chinese demand is not only very large but a key source of relative strength in the global economy, said Roland Rajah, an economist at Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute. Finding alternative export markets is difficult in the best of times but virtually impossible right now.

Any shift of focus to Australias mining exports could signify a real escalation in tensions, said Rajah, who previously worked at the Asian Development Bank and the Reserve Bank of Australia. Not only because it is far more important to us, but because China itself would be paying a high price if they went down that path.

China is Australias biggest overseas destination for wine and dairy, with shipments growing to $754 million and $564 million, respectively.

Tensions Simmer

While Australia and China entered a free trade agreement in late 2015, tensions between the two nations have been simmering for years. Passing laws against foreign interference in 2018, Australia accused Beijing of meddling in its government, media and education system. Like the U.S., it has also banned Huawei Technologies Co. from building its 5G network on security concerns.

The Huawei ban was seen as the catalyst for Chinas barley anti-dumping probe that began in 2018, and a slowdown of Australian coal shipments into Chinese ports. China also restricted canola imports from Canada after the nation detained a Huawei executive.

China has been practicing economic coercion against many countries over the past 10 years, said Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at the Australian National University in Canberra. As weve seen with the barley tariffs, economic coercion is about applying short-term economic and political pain but it will be difficult for China to sustain such tactics against the wide range of countries that want the pandemic to be investigated. I dont see that China can succeed in singling out Australia indefinitely on this issue.

Shi Yinhong, an adviser to Chinas cabinet and a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said ties between the two nations were more likely to deteriorate than improve, given Australias foreign policy alignment with the U.S.

If the Australian governments rhetoric is still loud and it sticks to its current demands, China may take more severe countermeasures, he said. If the Australian government  mindful of its economic interests and opposition from the business community  steps back, China would not need to take such steps.
Lucknow, May 20 : Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh has launched a scathing attack on the Congress party saying that while the Modi and Yogi governments are fighting the Covid-19 pandemic with full force, the opposition Congress is engaged in petty politics over the issue of migrants. He advised Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to take care of migrants in the party's own states, alleging that their condition is deplorable and the Rajasthan and Punjab governments did nothing to provide them with transportation.

In an exclusive interview with IANS, the UP BJP chief said the Congress is playing a dirty game over the issue of migrant labourers. He accused the Congress of orchestrating a bus scam in the name of providing transportation to the migrants. The Congress did nothing to provide bus services to the people of Uttar Pradesh living in Rajasthan and Punjab, but here they are doing drama.

"Migrants are sent in overloaded trucks from Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Why does'nt Congress speak for them? If they had done so, the lives of all those people who died in accidents could have been saved," Singh said.

He said the UP government is working overtime to bring back migrants from other states in trains and buses. "More than 15 lakh migrant labourers have been brought in so far from different states to UP. If other states were also pro-active, the situation would not have come to such a sorry pass," he said.

Singh alleged that the Congress always creates hurdles in the government's programmes. "See, they did not contribute a single paisa to the PM-CARES fund. They only do politics. They have nothing to do with the welfare of people," the UP BJP chief said.

On the question of Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav attacking the government for poor handling of the migrants crisis, Singh said, "He should go to Safai, his ancestral village, and ask labourers there, he will get the answer." "This is the time to help the poor and not to do politics. The BJP has provided 2.94 crore people with food and ration kits. This is the figure till May 17 evening. The UP BJP workers have contributed Rs 56 crore to PM CARES fund, distributed 86 lakh masks and got 63,96,000 Aarogya Setu apps downloaded," Singh claimed.

On the question of the abrupt enforcement of the lockdown, Singh said the government had to take a quick decision at the appropriate time to tackle the crisis. If the lockdown was not enforced on time, the situation would have gone out of control, he said.

"Initially, we were able to control the spread of coronavirus in the state, but first Tablighi Jamaat and then the migrant labourers exacerbated the problem. But I am hopeful that despite all this, we will soon bring the number of infected persons down," he said.

Some BJP leaders have questioned the Yogi government over the poor handling of the crisis. On this, Singh said, "If some one feels that some officer is indulging in corruption, he should report the matter in the appropriate forum of the party. All concerns will be addressed," he said.

On the coming panchayat elections, the UP BJP president said the party has put the strategy in place. He said coordinators have already been appointed at the village level, even booth in-charges have been appointed to oversee the preparations.

Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston
Time for an update on that other epidemic affecting the nations school districts: vaping.

In the beginning weeks of 2020, an effort by dozens of school districts to force e-cigarette manufacturers and distributors to help defray the costs of monitoring, treatment, and prevention program for youth seemed to be gathering steam. Close to 100 districts had sued, either in federal or state courts; some had requested class-action status. Many of those lawsuits are now being coordinated together by their respective courts.

The coronavirus pandemic has since focused school districts attention on many other more urgent matters, from feeding increasing numbers of students to cobbling together distance learning. That has inevitably slowed the filing of new lawsuits. But it hasnt stopped them: At least one Wyoming district announced its intention to sue May 13, and now as of May 15, we have a new, interesting development in the story.

The latest lawsuit, filed on behalf of the 13,000-student Peoria, Ill., district as well as three smaller Illinois districts, is notable for one particular reason. It appears to be the first to try to hold a major retailer accountable for the effects of vaping on youths, naming the pharmacy chain Walgreens as a defendant.

See also: Can Vaping Put Teenagers at Greater Risk of Getting Seriously Ill With Coronavirus?

The lawsuit was filed directly in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Californiathe home of a multidistrict federal lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturers. It seeks class action status for similarly situated Illinois districts.

Like most of the other vaping suits, it accuses JUUL, the most dominant e-cigarette manufacturer with about 60 percent of the market, and Altria, a tobacco company that owns a significant stake in JUUL, for allegedly marketing to youth with attractive social-media advertisements and fruit and candy flavors. (Those were voluntarily taken off shelves in 2018.)

Fewer of the lawsuits have gone after specific distributors, and mostly those have been regional distributors or wholesalers, not a retail outfit like Walgreens.

Once again, the parallel between these lawsuits and the opioid litigation still cranking through the court system are easy to spot. Municipalities took the lead in the opioid litigation, and similarly, cities and school districts are leading the charge on e-cigarette use. The second wave of opioid litigation focused on major retail pharmacies, like CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aidwith cities accusing them of causing a public nuisance. Thats a claim in the vaping lawsuits, too.

Heres where the claims differ, though: The Illinois lawsuit says Walgreens has failed to prevent vaping products from falling into the hands of minors.

None of this [marketing] would have been successful without sales to minors, the complaint reads, going on to note that 341 of nearly 1,600 reported violations for selling tobacco products to underaged youths at Walgreens concerned e-cigarettes and/or liquid sales.

It quotes liberally from a March 2019 warning letter sent to Walgreens by the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Among pharmacy chains that sell tobacco products, the complaint quotes from that letter, Walgreens is the top violator, with 22 percent of the stores inspected having illegally sold tobacco products to minors.

A Walgreens spokesman said that the chain wouldnt comment on pending litigation. He pointed out, though, that the company announced last fall that it would stop selling e-cigarettes in its stores. (Another major retail pharmacy outlet, CVS Health, stopped selling tobacco products in 2014 and has never sold e-cigarettes.)

Its not immediately clear that this will change much in the long runpharmacy chains won a reprieve of sorts in the opioid litigation last month when an appeals court ruled that they could only be in their role as distributors, rather than dispensers, of the pillsbut it is worth keeping an eye on this as an interesting bellwether in this evolving litigation.

Image: Vaping devices are displayed at a store in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Read more on vaping:

For more news on district management, leadership, and governance,
Advertisement

Zamfara Government on Tuesday said the figure of 10 new COVID-19 cases in the state announced on Monday by the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) was wrong, as the state had only recorded two new cases.

Alhaji Yahaya Kanoma, the state Commissioner of Health told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau that the state government had alerted the NCDC of the error and demanded that it be rectified.

We were shocked and bewildered by this latest figure from the NCDC which said 10 new cases were confirmed when we know it was only two.

Our records have shown that when results from the center returned, we had a total of 76 cases made up of 45 discharged persons, 26 in isolation and five dead, so we didnt know where NCDC got the additional eight.

We approached the center which could not give a convincing explanation, and so we demanded for a written apology which they promised to send as well as withdraw the media publicity that we had 10 new cases, the commissioner said.

He said the state government had recently procured all the necessary tools and equipment to set up a COVID  19 sample testing center and was waiting for facility visit by officials of the NCDC so that the center can take off.

This will save us from unnecessary delays, the risks of traveling to Sokoto daily as well as provide such services to our neighbouring states that require such services, Kanoma said.
A piece of street art of a nurse in honour of NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic, recently painted by street artist John Doh, on a wall of The Bull Inn in Fernhill Heath, Worcestershire. (PA)

The government is considering awarding medals to NHS staff for their vital work during the coronavirus pandemic, Boris Johnson has said.

The prime minister confirmed that he is looking into how to honour medical workers who have been battling to save lives ever since the crisis began.

When asked by Tory MP Tom Randall if the government would consider the idea of a medal for NHS workers, Johnson replied: We are indeed looking at the excellent suggestion made by my honourable friends constituent Elizabeth.

Boris Johnson confirmed that he is looking into how to honour medical workers. (PA)

We are thinking how to recognise the work of healthcare staff, of carers, of many others and were engaging with staff and employers at the present time.

Britons applaud the NHS every Thursday evening as part of the Clap for Carers campaign, while a number of key workers are to be recognised in Sterling Mint's Heroes of 2020 campaign.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world

Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

The commemorative coin and medal company has launched a range of silver medals to recognise the pandemic's key workers, with all profits to be donated to NHS Charities Together.

Ellie Orton, chief executive at NHS Charities Together, said: "The Heroes of 2020 campaign is a wonderful way to recognise the remarkable commitment made by key workers whilst also raising funds for NHS staff, volunteers and patients.

"Our COVID-19 appeal is about giving back and supporting to those who have done so much for us, and this campaign is a lovely way to do this.

Other ideas for honouring NHS workers include a new bank holiday to be introduced in 2021.

The Public Policy Research (PPR) think tank raised the idea, which was backed by two-thirds of the country, last month.

The PPRs report also suggested giving NHS staff a 10% bonus, which could be worth up to 3,000 for a newly qualified nurse.

Coronavirus: what happened today

Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter
Advertisement

A highly anticipated Coles supermarket has finally opened its doors, offering freshly pressed juice, a macaron bar and even a pick-and-mix bar just for dogs.

The supermarket, one of the first of its kind, is now open in the old Kings Theatre in Rose Bay an affluent suburb in Sydney's east.

Specially designed with young professionals in mind, it has a fresh pasta bar, a Japanese mochi ice cream counter, self-serve barista-quality coffee and one of the largest plant-based ranges of any Coles supermarket.

Pets are especially pampered at the new shop, thanks to a doggy the dedicated pet treats section.

The thoroughly modern supermarket has carry boxes instead of plastic bags, and offers an eco-friendly product section and a zero edible food waste policy.

Social media influencer and foodie Lisa Clark is a fan of the store as it means she can treat her pooch Levi

Coles Local in Rose Bay is the first of Coles' new neighbourhood supermarkets to open in Sydney. The store features a dedicated station for mochi, macarons and gelato cones (pictured)

The store offers 500 convenience products that cover customers breakfast, lunch and dinners (pictured is a shopper grabbing a meal on the go)

It has the largest vegan and vegetarian range of any Coles store in New South Wales, with more than 200 plant-based products

Even the fridge doors are energy-efficient, and staff wear uniform made from 65 per cent recycled bottles.

Products sold at the store are designed to 'match the needs of local shoppers', Coles said.

Coles opened the store after it conducted wide research into the Rose Bay community, finding they are more than twice as likely to choose premium, high quality products than the average Australian shopper.

The survey also found an overwhelmingly large majority of residents value 'fresh and healthy solutions at mealtimes'. They are also typically aged between 25 - 44 and don't have kids.

As a result of the survey, Coles Local aims to cater to the 'time-poor Rose Bay professionals' by becoming a destination for health and convenience, offering more than 350 new ready-to-eat products that can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, including restaurant-quality pasta, salads and dinnertime meals from Sydney icon Pasta Pantry.

Coles designed the store after it conducted wide research into the Rose Bay community, finding they are more than twice as likely to choose premium, high quality products than the average Australian shopper

The store has been designed with a smaller format in mind. The exterior has a strong art-deco feel to it

With the expanding Coles Local brand, you get an upmarket pet store crossed with specialty food and convenience stores  still at supermarket prices

Coles Local supermarkets are designed to offer customers a tailored in-store experience (pictured is the fruit and vegetable section)

The store looks like a 1920s movie theatre from the outside with its art-deco design style

Inside the first Coles Local store in New South Wales:  500 convenience products covering breakfast, lunch and dinner; 350 of these lines can be prepared in 30 minutes or less  More than 120 suppliers exclusive to Coles Local, 35 of these based in Sydney  The largest vegan and vegetarian range of any Coles store in New South Wales, with more than 200 plant-based products, including Nature's Kitchen and Beyond Meat  More than 400 kosher products -- one of the largest ranges of any store in the country (26 per cent of the Rose Bay community is Jewish)  Premium sourdough bread and sweets from Sydney stalwart Sonoma, Southeast Asian delights from Roll'd, and pastries from traditional French bakery Noisette. Advertisement

The store also features delicious treats from premium sourdough bread and sweets from Sydney stalwart Sonoma, Southeast Asian delights from Roll'd, and pastries from traditional French bakery Noisette.

Coles CEO Steven Cain said the Coles Local format had been designed to appeal to local tastes and preferences.

'Customers want us to make their lives easier, and this store offers our customers the convenience of a supermarket with the range of a specialty store,' Mr Cain said.

Social media influencer and foodie Lisa Clark raved about the store, she was a big fan of doggie treat bar which allowed her to grab a number of different snacks for her dog Levi.

The expanded convenience offering includes an extensive vegan and vegetarian range, and more than 350 lunch and dinner options that customers can prepare in 30 minutes or less.

To reduce time spent at the checkout, the store is the first to only accept card payments at self-scanning checkouts.

The move came after Coles found the vast majority of millennial shoppers always use cards to pay for their grocery shop, and the Hawthorn store is next to a university.

The store is the fourth example of the new supermarket format, where a shop is tailored to the needs of local customers.

It also offers an extensive Kosher range, and products from 35 speciality Sydney producers, including family butchery Field to Fork, whose Bondi and Vaucluse outlets were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Pet owners can pampered their pets with the fancy snack station on offer inside the store (Pictured: A woman with her dog)

Grabbing a meal on the run has never been so easy with so many options available at the specialty store

Dog treats galore: The store has a pick-and-mix bar just for dogs - allowing owners to spoil their pets with many treats

Coles Local in Rose Bay is the first of Coles' new neighbourhood supermarkets to open in Sydney, offering the community a tailored in-store experience by partnering with local butchers, bakers and cafes

The barista-quality coffee station allows to customers to get their morning cup on the go (pictured) while enjoying the store's other delights

The store features an extensive Kosher range, and products from 35 speciality Sydney producers, including family butchery Field to Fork, whose Bondi and Vaucluse outlets were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic

A DIY juicer allows customers to make their own freshly squeezed orange juice, while a self-serve bread slicer lets them cut up fresh loaves

The store has partnered with local butchers to provide meat. cafes have also joined on offering coffee and cakes
But Australias successful pursuit of an inquiry is a victory for middle-power diplomacy in a time of growing tensions, defined by the actions superpowers. The inquiry is one of the first of many probable flash points that will play out on the world stage.

With China backed into supporting the inquiry late on Tuesday night, Australian time, frustrations have come to the surface through its embassy in Canberra, which called Australias claim of vindication a joke. Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, similarly sought to play down the inquiry.

A full consensus of the World Health Assembly member states has supported a motion calling for an inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak. The call for an independent inquiry was initiated by Australia's Morrison government in the wake of growing anger over the global pandemic response.

The motion demands that the World Health Organisation conduct at the earliest appropriate moment an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation of the pandemic. Beijing vehemently opposed initial calls for any inquiry. For Australia, the pursuit of an investigation has come at the cost of the Canberra-Beijing relationship, with a litany of trade-related threats and repercussions now coming from Beijing.

Beijings opaque reporting of the COVID-19 outbreak evolved into propagating misinformation and then escalated into threatening diplomatic and economic repercussions for countries that dared to challenge it. Many nations have now had tensions boil over, including the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden and Germany.

Loading

Many countries that signalled early support for the inquiry have been Chinas strategic allies and have until recently frequently aligned with it in international forums. The early endorsement of countries such as members of the full African Group reveals the scale of the backlash China is facing. Among the 54 nations supporting the inquiry are many that have been significant beneficiaries of Chinese investment, particularly through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Amid growing pressure, President Xi Jinping addressed the World Health Assembly on Monday night, speaking in favour of an inquiry. Xi used the opportunity to portray China as a constructive member of the international community and went on to pledge financial support for developing countries. He also placed emphasis on Chinas support for Africa, a not-so-subtle overture to the many countries in which it has heavily invested.
The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Wednesday related to national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People enjoy the sunny weather at the Seealpsee on Sunday, 17 May 2020 in Wasserauen, Switzerland. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)

The outbreak of the coronavirus has dealt a shock to the global economy with unprecedented speed. Following are developments Wednesday related to national and global response, the work place and the spread of the virus.

________________________

ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN: Ford temporarily halted production at two assembly plants Tuesday and Wednesday after three workers tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The shutdowns show the difficulty that automakers and other businesses will have in trying to reopen factories in the midst of the pandemic.

On Wednesday a worker at the pickup truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, tested positive for COVID-19, Ford confirmed. Assembly lines that make the F-150 pickup truck were shut down while work areas were cleaned, and employees who came in contact with the worker were sent home for 14 days. Production was to resume Wednesday night.

On Tuesday, Ford temporarily closed its Chicago SUV factory twice after two workers tested positive. Production was halted to sanitize equipment.

In all three cases, Ford said the workers contracted COVID-19 outside the workplace.

The automaker resumed production of the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator Wednesday morning, only to shut down again after running short of seats made at a Lear Corp. factory in nearby Hammond, Indiana. Lear confirmed that production was suspended after an employee told the company of a positive COVID-19 test.

Lear said its disinfecting the plant and isolating affected workers following federal guidelines. Ford said its Chicago plant should be running again for Wednesdays evening shift.

The closures came just a day after Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler restarted their U.S. factories after being shut down for about two months.

 Aerospace engine maker Rolls-Royce plans to cut approximately 9,000 jobs globally. The company employs 52,000 people overall, and it is not immediately clear where the cuts will occur. The move will result in about 700 million pounds ($856 million) in savings, with an overall aim of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.59 billion) in annual savings.

 A growing number of airports are requiring passengers to wear face masks. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport announced Wednesday that it will require face coverings starting June 1. Several major airports including Los Angeles International, Seattle-Tacoma and Portland, Oregon, are already requiring masks. All major U.S. airlines require them to board a plane, although some have instructed their flight attendants not to confront passengers who remove them once the plane is in the air.

IF YOU BUILD IT: The new CEO of United Airlines says it may take until there is a vaccine for COVID-19 before most people feel comfortable about air travel. Scott Kirby said Wednesday that demand for air travel is improving, especially bookings in the second half of the year, but the question is, are those people going to show up? Kirby, the companys president, spoke to CNBC shortly before Uniteds online annual meeting in which he was scheduled to replace Oscar Munoz as CEO.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Hundreds of McDonalds workers in 20 U.S. cities walked out on strike Wednesday to protest the chains coronavirus response. The workers are backed by Service Employees International Union, which is trying to unionize fast food restaurants through the Fight for $15 movement.

In a lawsuit filed in Chicago this week, and in complaints to state health officials in California, workers say McDonalds and its franchisees have failed to provide them with adequate masks, gloves and hand sanitizer and havent warned them when coworkers test positive for the virus. McDonalds says the complaints are inaccurate and it has provided franchisees with safety equipment and rules for safe operation.

 The largest food and retail union in the U.S. criticized some companies for ending hazard pay even as coronavirus death and infections mount among grocery workers.

Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said at least 68 of the grocery workers it represents have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Another 10,000 have been infected or exposed to the virus. Both figures are double the unions tally from five weeks ago. The UFCW, which represents 900,000 grocery workers, said the number of infections is likely far higher across the industry.

In response to the criticism, Kroger said that, in addition to the temporary raise, it has given bonuses to hourly workers twice since the pandemic started. Full-time workers received $400 and part-time workers received $200 in the last round of bonuses paid May 15.

Amazon, which owns Whole Foods, and Walmart are also ending hourly pay bumps offered at the start of the pandemic. Some grocery companies are extending hazard pay, including Albertsons and Ahold.

 DoorDash wants customers to see it as a pickup option too. Customers can order through its app and pick up their own food. The meal delivery service's new feature will alert restaurants when a pickup customer is approaching so they can have the order ready. DoorDash said the new feature is free for restaurants.

FIT TO PRINT: Switzerland has approved emergency aid for media outlets. The government on Wednesday approved a 57.5 million Swiss francs ($59.5 million) package proposed by lawmakers. Radio and TV stations will receive 30 million francs ($31.1 million), while newspaper deliveries will be subsidized for six months at 17.5 million francs ($18.1 million).

MARKETS: Technology companies powered broad gains on Wall Street Wednesday, as the market bounced back from a sudden drop a day earlier.
U.S. shale production is set to fall to a two-year low in the coming weeks, with the Permian basin leading the way down.

In the latest Drilling Productivity Report, the EIA estimates that oil production from the countrys leading shale basins is set to fall by 197,000 barrels per day in June compared to a month earlier. The Permian is set to lose 87,000 bpd, but other losses come from the Eagle Ford (-36,000 bpd), Anadarko (-28,000 bpd), Niobrara (-24,000 bpd) and Bakken (-21,000 bpd).

U.S. natural gas production is also set to fall in June by about 1 percent, or 779 million cubic feet per day (mcf/d). Notably, the nations largest gas producing region in Appalachia loses a relatively modest 85 mcf/d. Instead, much deeper declines from associated gas production in the Permian (-210 mcf/d) and the Anadarko (-244 mcf/d).

The larger decline in Permian gas compared to the Marcellus is a reflection of the fact that natural gas prices were already in the dumps prior the pandemic, wallowing below $2/MMBtu. Marcellus drillers began cutting late last year. Natural gas prices didnt change much after the pandemic (in fact, natural gas prices briefly rallied). Meanwhile, the much larger loss of gas production in the Permian has more to do with the sharp downturn in oil drilling. Texas gas followed oil on the way up, and it will follow oil on the way down.

The data from the EIA shows that the decade long U.S. shale boom has come to a screeching halt and is now heading in reverse. Oil production from the top shale basins will dip to 7.8 million barrels per day (mb/d), rewinding output back to late-2018 levels.

There is now a confounding disconnect between the health of the U.S. shale industry on the ground and the stock prices for a variety of energy companies. Part of that can simply be chalked up to the rally in oil prices from worthless levels (or less than worthless) to above $30 per barrel in the course of a few weeks. Related: Could This Become The Worlds Newest Oil Exporter?

But the Federal Reserve is also pumping trillions of dollars into the stock market, while also more directly buying up corporate bonds of energy companies. The central bank is even buying up bonds from shale companies that recently declared bankruptcy.

Occidental Petroleum has spent millions on lobbying for help, even going as far as telling its workers to write letters to Congress. When the Federal Reserve changed its standards in April to allow larger companies to take advantage of its Main Street Lending program, the switch allowed Occidental to qualify.

The oil industry has taken advantage of government largesse in other ways. Diamond Offshore recently tapped into a little-known government stimulus program, bringing in $9.7 million. The company then rewarded executives by the same amount, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Environmental regulations are also rolling back. Drilled News has a running tally of all the different ways the oil industry has lobbied for deregulation, new lease sales, tax credits and other government benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The list is rather long.

At the same time, even as executives get paid and stock prices hold up better than expected, more companies are going bankrupt and job cuts have already been severe. WTI may be up dramatically from the teens, single digits and even negative prices seen in April, but $30 is still a level at which few oil companies can turn a profit.

The fundamental backdrop has begun to recover, Morgan Stanley wrote in a note. But as a marginal producer globally, some of the US E&P industry may struggle to generate long-term competitive returns to justify current valuations.

U.S. oil production could fall by as much as 2 mb/d by the end of June, according to an estimate from Rystad Energy. Actual production cuts are probably larger and occur not only as a result of shut-ins, but also due to a natural decline from existing wells when new wells and drilling decline, Rystad said.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Professor Ngomo Horace Manga UB Facebook page

Professor Ngomo Horace Manga, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buea, UB, has said sexual harassment allegations are being given due attention contrary to recent claims that such complaints were being treated with levity.

In an exclusive interview published in The SUN newspaper on Monday, the Vice-Chancellor says his administration will not be arm-twisted to act contrary to laid down procedure. He states unequivocally that they cannot take a complaint against a teacher and hand it to judicial authorities.

On May 6, 2020, the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Cameroon in a correspondence to the Vice-Chancellor faulted the university administration for not deeming it necessary to open criminal investigations into allegations of sexual harassment in the department of journalism and mass communication.

The letter signed by FIDA Cameroon National President Barrister Gladys Mbuya called on the Vice-Chancellor to forward such complaints to the Buea State Counsels chambers for proper investigations to be opened.

In the interview granted The SUN, Prof. Ngomo said: The problem I have with a lot of people is that they want to set the agenda for this University. I can understand why this University is very important to everybody, but I will like people to concentrate on their jobs and allow those to whom the University has been handed to run to do their jobs.

The Vice-Chancellor acknowledged receipt of a correspondence from FIDAs bailiff in which they say they had received a complaint from a female student alleging sexual harassment with a lot of evidence and that the Vice Chancellor is refusing to investigate that complaint.

Hear Prof. Ngomo: So, in the letter, they were probably urging me to do my work! Probably, they have decided how soon I should do it; the University hasnt a calendar of activities! Even when everybody is teaching, you say I should grab the teacher who is teachinglet me say here that the University, upon receipt of a complaint of sexual harassment is not expected to forward it to judicial authorities.

We have to first investigate it. Did I receive a complaint on the matter? Yes I did! I received a complaint but it was delivered to me on hand here by two female and two male lecturers from JMC. I want to believe that they had personal concern on the issue and I had a discussion with them here. After reading the complaint, in my view, it required additional information for it to make any sense; otherwise we didnt want a situation where the University makes a fool of itself.

To me particularly, the complaint was not very concrete and dont forget that the V.C. has the prerogative to ask for additional information or ask another party to sniff around and size-up whats going on. As I was doing that, the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences came here with same complaint but with additional evidence and

I was satisfied that there was additional evidence and so we could go ahead and investigate. Then at that time, schools had stopped and I called the Dean for a chat and I asked the Dean Do you think it is proper to constitute a panel of investigation now because we will need corroborative evidence from other students and they are not around, what do we do? How stupid do people think we are, that we cannot carry out an investigation? Then I see a letter from women, saying they have the complaint, copying the State Counsel. But if they have the complaint, why dont they go ahead and prosecute? Do I have to deliver the said teacher to them? Nobody stays on campus, the teacher stays in town. The University has its own laid down procedure for sanctioning teachers. We cannot take a complaint against a teacher and hand it to judicial authorities! Every institution has its own internal mechanism!

My only prayer is for people to allow this University to achieve its results. This University wins a lot of prizes, and that is why people send their children here. I have even been informed that senior officials have called SYNES members to ask why University of Buea is quiet! Yes, not once!
Leaked recordings of call with Biden: Poroshenko boasts tariffs for Ukrainians doubled (Video)

16:57, 20.05.20 8941

The IMF expected only a 75% increase in the tariffs.
Telematics devices can help drivers save money during these difficult times. Safe drivers who are driving fewer miles than average drivers can save up to 50% on their car insurance if they agree to install telematics devices, said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company.

Compare-autoinsurance.org has launched a new blog post that presents the advantages and disadvantages of usage-based car insurance programs.

For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/drivers-can-get-cheaper-car-insurance-if-they-install-telematics/

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of all Americans. Given the current situation, most Americans are doing their best to save money. Nowadays, more and more drivers are switching to usage-based insurance programs. The surge in popularity for usage-based car insurance policies in this period is not surprising. Drivers who were affected by the current crisis can save money on their car insurance if they switch to a usage-based program.

To find out more about telematics, read the following:



Many insurance providers are offering discounts for using telematics. Telematics are devices that track the drivers behavior, allowing the insurance company to provide a customized quote based on the drivers measured risk factor. Insurers like Allstate or Progressive are offering discounts of at least 5% just for agreeing to install a telematics device. However, drivers who have a very low measured risk factor can get a discount of up to 40% or 50%. Drivers who drive fewer miles than average drivers, or drive outside of busy rush hour traffic, might be considered to have a lower risk factor.

How telematics work. There are several types of telematics. Some telematics are tracking devices installed by the insurer inside the vehicle. However, most insurance companies are now using an app or a dongle attached to a smartphone. The app uses the phones location tracking and other sensors to determine the policyholders driving habits. Based on the customized driver profile created by the app, some drivers might have a lower measured risk factor and pay lower insurance premiums.

Which providers are offering telematics car insurance programs. Most major insurance companies are offering this type of insurance. Progressive is offering Snapshot where a telematics device is used to monitor the times of the day drivers use their cars, any sudden changes in speed, hard braking, and rapid acceleration, and other metrics. Low-risk drivers can save 10-30% with Snapshot. Allstate Drivewise program lets drivers view their last 100 trips and a breakdown of their driving behavior. On average, drivers can save about 10% to 25% using Drivewise. Besides large car insurance providers, some smaller companies or regional insurers are also offering telematics car insurance programs.

Disadvantages of telematics devices. The first disadvantage is data privacy. Insurance companies can collect data like the places where policyholders go, how often they go there, how long they spend there, and other intimate details. Most providers have detailed data privacy terms attached to each telematics device. However, some providers might sell the collected data to third parties or use it in different ways. The second disadvantage is the difficulty to compare insurance quotes. Insurance providers want to make it as difficult as possible for policyholders to compare insurers and switch. For example, switching from a customized $90 per month plan to an unknown customized plan from another provider might be harder for most policyholders.

For additional info, money-saving tips and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.org/

Compare-autoinsurance.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.
New Delhi: Indo-Nepal relations are currently at the lowest ebb following the Himalayan nation's decision to release a controversial map showing several Indian territories as its own. India on Wednesday (May 20) rejected the new map and asked its neighbour to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Reacting strongly to the map, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated that Nepal's unilateral action is not based on historical facts and evidence. India, however, reiterated that these disputes should be resolved through dialogue.

The question arises as to why the thousands of years old friendship between the two neighbouring nations are witnessing this phase. The only country in the world to be a Hindu nation besides being associated with the Ramayana and the life of Mahatma Buddha, Nepal's new political map has claimed the three important areas located in Uttarakhand--Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpia-Dhura, as its own territory.

Putting his claim, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that Nepal has the right over these three areas and he will take them back at any cost even if India gets angry. While addressing Parliament, Oli also blamed India for the spread of novel coronavirus in his country and added that the deadly virus from India is more dangerous than the virus from Italy and China.

Nepal appears to be doing this at the behest of China, placing its thousands of years old ties with India at stake. On the contrary, a Chinese government news channel CGTN on May 2 described Mount Everest as its part, but Nepal kept quiet despite considering Mount Everest as the crown over its head.

On 8 May, when India inaugurated a road linking the Lipplekh Pass to the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route near the Nepal border in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh, Nepal immediately objected to it and stated that India has constructed the road in its territory.

The indo-Nepal border is about 1690 km long and there has been no dispute between the two countries but Lipulekh Pass and Kalapani are becoming a bone of contention between the two nations.

The new road that India has built from Pithoragarh to Lipulekh will save a lot of time for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Earlier, pilgrims had to walk 80 kilometers on a difficult route to reach Lipulekh, which usually took 5 days, but through this new 74.6 km long road they will reach here by their own vehicles. The rest of the journey can be covered on foot.

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which used to be completed in two to three weeks, can now be completed in just one week. There are two other routes to visit Kailash Mansarovar: the first goes through Sikkim's Nathula Pass while the other passes through Nepal's capital city Kathmandu. Both these routes are much longer than the Pithoragarh route.

The new route's 85% area passes through Pithoragarh in Indian territory while 80 to 85% of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the other two routes fall in the Chinese region. Since China considers Tibet as its territory, travelers to Kailash Mansarovar have to take a visa from China.

Lipulekh also holds a strategic significance as it connects India's Pithoragarh with Tibet, and through this pass, the trade has been continuing between India and Tibet for ages. Nepal's objection to the construction of this new route raises several questions.

Surprisingly, India has been working on this road since 2008, but Nepal never objected to this project in the past 12 years. China too did not object to it when the Indian cabinet in 2018, gave its nod to complete the project in two years.

If we peep into history, when the British demarcated the border between India and Nepal, they made the Mahakali river as the base. Nepal believes that its boundary does not start from the river but from the first waterfall in the mountains. If this claim of Nepal is accepted, India will have to lose 5-km area to Nepal, covering about 32 sq km, besides a large part of the Lipulekh Pass.

In the 19th century, Britain had attacked Nepal several times and reached an agreement, known as Sugauli accord. Under this agreement, Nepal gave up its claim on the areas of India which it had in possession.

During the 1857 War of Independence, Nepal's army helped Britain. Pleased with this, Britain had returned a lot of land to Nepal, especially the areas of the Terai region including Janakpur and Kapilvastu. Indo-Nepal boundaries were re-determined in 1865. After a silence of so many years, Nepal's recent move appears to be at the behest of China.

For the past several years, the Indian Army has been stationed at Lipulekh Pass and Nepal never objected to it, but China seems to be provoking Nepal now. Indian Army Chief Manoj Narwane, however, recently indicated at this possible development.

The ongoing political battle in Nepal is understood to be the core reason behind Prime Minister Oli's diatribe against India, as the latter wants to retain his chair with the help of China.
A 71-year-old man died of COVID-19 in Greater Noida on Wednesday, pushing the death toll due to the disease in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar to six, a hospital official said.

The man, from Sikandrabad in the adjoining Bulandshahr district, was admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences on Tuesday night with severe acute respiratory infection with sepsis (a life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection), GIMS Director Brig (retired) Rakesh Gupta said.

He was put on ventilator support, antibiotics and supportive therapy. He expired on May 20 at 4.30 pm. His Covid-19 positive report came on May 20 at 9 pm, Gupta said in a statement.

The cause of death is COVID-19 positive with pneumonia and severe sepsis, he added.

Meanwhile, four persons, including an infant and an octogenarian, tested positive for the disease in Gautam Buddh Nagar, taking the tally of such cases in the district to 293, officials said.

No coronavirus patient was discharged, while the number of active cases rose to 81, they said.

Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjoining Delhi, has so far recorded six COVID-19 deaths -- all males aged above 60 years.

"A total of 36 test results were obtained on Wednesday -- eight from GIMS and 28 from the National Institute of Biologicals. One result from the GIMS was found positive, while the other three positive results were from private laboratories in Noida," District Magistrate Suhas L Y said.

Also, the test results of 362 employees of Chinese phone manufacturer Oppo in Greater Noida were received and all were found negative, he said.

"A total of 293 COVID-19 positive cases have been recorded in the district so far and 207 of them have recovered and got discharged. There are 81 active cases now," he said in a statement.

The new patients are a nine-month-old baby from a village in Greater Noida's Rabupura area, an 80-year-old man from Noida Sector 110, a 68-year-old man from Noida Sector 78 and a 27-year-old woman from Noida Sector 15, the DM said.

All of them have been hospitalised for treatment, he added.

The recovery rate of COVID-19 patients in Gautam Buddh Nagar is 70.64 per cent, according to the official statistics.

So far, 14 patients have been cross-notified from Gautam Buddh Nagar -- six of them to Delhi, three to Ghaziabad and two to Hapur, besides one each to Agra, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
How do you feel about Birkenstocks? I know youve got an opinion, because the clumpy German sandals with the cork and rubber footbed are the Marmite of summer footwear.

You either love them or hate them.

Personally, Im a lover. I bought my first pair in coppery brown back in the early 2000s (always the double-strapped Arizona style. The single-strapped Madrid is for wusses, in my opinion). Since then Ive owned them in black, white and navy and sleek metallic.

Charlize Theron donning white Birkenstock. Birkenstocks are fast becoming the lockdown shoe of choice, with sales at John Lewis up 44 per cent last week

They add a minimalist base to tailored trouser suits, shirt dresses and floaty midis. Ive worn them to the office when I worked on a newspaper fashion desk and to fashion shows in London and Paris.

And it seems the events of this spring have finally tipped the balance in their favour. Birkenstocks are fast becoming the lockdown shoe of choice, with sales at John Lewis up 44 per cent last week. Other stores report increases of 140 per cent since March.

With prescient timing  now were all stuck at home longing for a fashion fix that wont make us look ridiculous when we take the dogs for a walk  the brand has, in the past month, launched a line of primary-coloured, upgraded Birkies that are extremely enticing even at upwards of 300, compared to the usual 60 or so.

The brand has, in the past month, launched a line of primary-coloured, upgraded Birkies that are extremely enticing even at upwards of 300, compared to the usual 60 or so

Its the first time the traditional brand has offered a deluxe option, although it tested the water with some designer collaborations. Last year, the firm successfully partnered with Valentino and its now teamed up with New York fashion brand, Proenza Schouler, for a collection in saddle-stitched leather and Velcro.

So should we really shell out 300 for a Birkenstock?

They do have serious fashion cred. An exclusive, luxury line, far away from trends, says the brands website. But they are actually bang on trend, catnip for fashionistas in unusual colours and materials and based on the three most popular classics: the Arizona; Madrid; and the cross-over strapped Siena.

Still, the only obvious differences to the regular sandals are the enticing colours and the cork soles now being covered in leather, which does make me question why they cost quite so much.

Of course, as a fashion lover I still want a pair. Every time I see the custard yellow Arizonas online, I think, shall I?

The new line is the first time the traditional brand has offered a deluxe option, although it tested the water with some designer collaborations

Admittedly, I have worn lots of expensive shoes that are designer homages to Birkenstocks, by the likes of Simone Rocha and Isabel Marant, and Ive willingly paid a few hundred pounds for them.

But the appeal of Birkenstock to me has always been that its a high quality, democratic brand for every woman (man and child).

As one of my friends said, in our heated discussions on the matter: 300 for Birkies! God, no, thats the opposite of what theyre meant to represent isnt it?

True. But I also really, really like those Blazing Yellow Arizonas. Modest luxury in lusty colours, it says on the website, and Im definitely lusting.

The thing that keeps people coming back to Birkenstocks is that theyre so comfortable. They havent been around for 250 years  the orthopedic brand was founded in 1774  for no reason.

After Birkenstocks, other sandals can feel thin and hard to walk in. They will survive a day at the office or a days touring while youre on holiday.

And they are, in many ways, the ideal shoe for these housebound times. The thick-soled sandal is a sturdy upgrade on the slipper, yet still airy. Theyre the easy shoe to slide your foot into before your long trek from the front door to the bins, and the quick-fix solution at ten seconds to eight on a Thursday evening when you realise you should be outside clapping for the NHS.

You cant persuade everyone, of course. My 11-year-old daughter, who dreams of tottering around in six-inch metallic sandals cannot abide them. Theyre so ugly! she says. But shell learn.

Despite their ugliness, their practicality and their comfort, Birkenstocks are cool. U.S. designer Rick Owens has even gone as far as saying: Basically, Birkenstocks are like jeans, functional and sexy. Maybe Birkenstocks are even the sexiest shoes ever. Sexy? Mmm, Im a fan but even Im not sure Ricks going to convince anyone of that.
All of which brings to mind President Trumps assessment of his own ability to understand the health issues surrounding the pandemic: I like this stuff. I really get it, he declared during a tour of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on March 6. People are surprised that I understand it. Every one of these doctors said How do you know so much about this?

The McCright and Dunlap papers were written years before the current pandemic, but their analysis is directly relevant to the present. McCright emailed in response to my queries:

If you are a conservative, a key tenet of your ideology is that unregulated markets naturally produce good; they are the most efficient way that humans have ever seen for distributing goods, services, wealth, etc. Any attempts to regulate, intervene upon, steer, etc. an economic market will make it necessarily less efficient. A government driven by some sense of altruism  dogooderism by bleeding hearts  will only muck up the functioning of an efficient market.

Liberals, McCright continued,

do not hold nearly as much belief in the power of unregulated markets to necessarily produce good without substantial negative side effects. As such, liberals are more supportive of governmental intervention to protect public health, environmental quality, the poor, etc. In other words, liberals accept some degree of economic regulation, and perhaps slower growth, reduced profits, etc., if it means improving public health, environmental quality, etc.

I asked: Do liberals and conservatives value life in different ways? McCright replied, Liberals and conservatives certainly value different things  and life gets caught up in these different things in different ways.

In general, he contended,

conservatives value economic growth; markets with little or no governmental intervention; little to no constraints on individual liberty and private property rights; etc. Liberals value educational opportunities; support for the vulnerable; environmental protection; checks on economic power; the extension of rights to previously oppressed groups; etc.

In a separate email, Dunlap wrote that there was a clear link between climate change denial and the mixed reaction to Covid19.

Dunlap argued that with the rise of right-wing populism, conservatives and Republicans have developed

a strong hostility toward expertise in general, as obvious in the Trump Administration. Both of these strands build upon a tradition of anti-intellectualism in the U.S., but have taken it to far greater lengths than ever before. We see this in the current dismissal of scientific evidence and expertise in dealing with Covid-19, and more recent outright attacks on the experts  because experts do not play along with the charade that the coronavirus does not represent a serious threat.

The white male effect, in turn, interacts with differing responses of men and women to the pandemic.

Peter Ditto, a psychologist at the University of California-Irvine, wrote me that

there is good evidence of sex differences in responses to the coronavirus; women are more likely to report favoring and practicing social distance measures than are men.

This, in turn, fits with the general sense that liberals are the more feminine of the two parties, Ditto argues, which results in the following pattern:

While liberals adopt their nurturant role, bemoaning the climbing infection and death rates and are willing to accept economic carnage in favor of minimizing the loss of human life, conservatives are more likely to, in effect, tell the American people to walk it off, increasingly staking out the position that some loss of life must be endured for the greater economic good.

In addition, in Dittos view, there is a fundamental tension arising from how the two sides view the value and integrity of scientists. Conservatives, Ditto wrote, are

more likely to question conclusions of scientists because they are more likely to question their motives  seeing them as typical liberal pansies who just cant accept the reality that people die. At the extreme, hard right conservative thinking manifests in conspiracy theories painting Fauci, the CDC and the WHO as malevolent agents whose hidden agendas having nothing to do with saving American lives.

In analyses of partisan divergence in response to the pandemic, two different outcomes emerge.

An extensive 2017 examination of research on threats, The politics of fear: Is there an ideological asymmetry in existential motivation?, by John Jost, Chadly Stern, Nicholas O. Rule and Joanna Sterling, of N.Y.U., the University of Illinois, the University of Toronto and Princeton, found, for example, that:

Exposure to objectively threatening circumstances, such as terrorist attacks, was associated with a conservative shift at individual and aggregate levels of analysis. Psychological reactions to fear and threat thus convey a small-to-moderate political advantage for conservative leaders, parties, policies, and ideas.

So far, however, the threat posed by the pandemic has not produced a shift to the right.

The current level of support for Joe Biden  as fragile as it may prove to be  remains relatively constant. In fact, polling in states like North Carolina, Montana and Colorado, Nathaniel Rakich of 538 writes, suggests that there might yet be a Democratic wave of truly epic proportions, although Rakich is quick to caution that its hard to know at this point if these polls are outliers or early indicators of an overwhelming Democratic electoral environment.

Recent work shows that voters tend to move in either a conservative or liberal direction depending on the specific source of the threat.
A record-breaking $1.3 billion border wall contract was awarded to a North Dakota firm whose CEO praised President Trump on Fox News.

The Arizona Daily Star reported that Fisher Sand and Gravel had been chosen to build 42 miles of painted black fencing through southern Arizona.

The company's CEO Tommy Fisher had made a direct pitch to Trump through various channels, including praising the administration on cable news, and cultivating relationships with people in the president's orbit, including former White House adviser Steve Bannon and GOP Senate candidate Kris Kobach, according to The Washington Post.

Tommy Fisher, the CEO of Fisher Sand and Gravel, has appeared on Fox News Channel saying positive things about President Trump. Fisher's company was awarded a $1.3 billion contract to build part of the president's southern border wall

The portion of the border wall that Fisher Sun and Gravel will build will be along the Arizona-Mexico border that will be difficult to construct due to 'remoteness, rugged terrain and logistical challenges'

President Trump has continued to think about his border wall amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding to the price tag because he wants it painted black, to make it hotter and harder to climb

Fisher Sand and Gravel had previously been turned down for the work, but then won a $400 million border contract, which is under review by the Department of Defense's inspector general.

The Washington Post confirmed Tuesday that the audit is ongoing.

Democratic lawmakers had raised concerns that the White House had improperly influenced the procurement process.

The new contract was not officially announced by the DOD nor Customs and Border Protection, further infuriating Congressional Democrats.

'It speaks volumes to the administrations lack of transparency that they didnt announce this award - the largest ever - and we continue to learn about contracts to companies without a proven track record from the media,' House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson said in a statement to The Post.

'Given the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing investigation into Fisher, the administration should pause construction and contracting decisions until the investigation has concluded favorably and it is safe to resume nonessential construction projects,' Thompson added.

But Trump has continued to talk about the wall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

And in White House meetings, according to The Post's reporting, he's brought up Fisher, as he's added $500 million to the wall's pricetag in order to paint it black.

According to The Post's estimates the paint job adds $1.2 million a mile to the overall price.

Trump has argued the darker color will be hot to the touch in the sun, making the wall harder to climb.

Last year, Fisher sued the Army Corps of Engineers in order to be added to the eligible firms to bid on wall contracts.

The Post reported that Sen. Kevin Cramer, who represents Fisher's home state of North Dakota, spoke to the president about Fisher and held up a White House budget nominee as a way to get the Army Corps of Engineers to disclose information about the bidding process.

Fisher was eventually added to the list, and while the project has a $30 million a mile tab, one official told The Post that it was the cheapest bid the government received for that section of the U.S.-Mexico border.

One CBP official told The Post that the Arizona section will be 'a challenge' due to its 'remoteness, rugged terrain and logistical challenges,' including a section of the Santa Cruz River basin, where summer monsoon-like storms cause vicious flash flooding.

Fisher's company uses a non-traditional bracing method when building wall sections, which allows for the cheaper pricetag.
Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears had the best time getting their kids together for family time in Louisiana recently! "It was a good time for us to be able to just kind of hang out, be a family," Jamie Lynn told Access Daily's Kit Hoover and Mario Lopez. "She gets to spoil my girls, and I get to be hard on her boys, and so that's just kind of fun to switch roles a little bit as girl mom [and] boy mom." She also joked about Britney being a "girly girl" raising two boys, while she's a "tomboy" raising two girls. Plus, Jamie Lynn revealed what her older daughter thinks of her "Zoey 101" re-runs and spilled details on her brand-new series, "Sweet Magnolias." Season 1 of "Sweet Magnolias" is available on Netflix now.
China Mobile Limited (HKG:941) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 25th of May, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 23rd of June.

China Mobile's next dividend payment will be HK$1.72 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of HK$2.95 per share. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, China Mobile has a trailing yield of approximately 5.6% on its current stock price of HK$55.9. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.

View our latest analysis for China Mobile

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. China Mobile paid out 56% of its earnings to investors last year, a normal payout level for most businesses. 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. Over the past year it paid out 125% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is uncomfortably high. We're curious about why the company paid out more cash than it generated last year, since this can be one of the early signs that a dividend may be unsustainable.

China Mobile does have a large net cash position on the balance sheet, which could fund large dividends for a time, if the company so chose. Still, smart investors know that it is better to assess dividends relative to the cash and profit generated by the business. Paying dividends out of cash on the balance sheet is not long-term sustainable.

China Mobile paid out less in dividends than it reported in profits, but unfortunately it didn't generate enough cash to cover the dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were China Mobile to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign.

Story continues

Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.

SEHK:941 Historical Dividend Yield May 20th 2020

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's not encouraging to see that China Mobile's earnings are effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share.

The main way most investors will assess a company's dividend prospects is by checking the historical rate of dividend growth. In the past ten years, China Mobile has increased its dividend at approximately 2.6% a year on average.

To Sum It Up

Has China Mobile got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? It's not great to see earnings per share have been flat and that the company paid out an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow over the past year. Cash flows are typically more volatile than earnings, but this is still not what we like to see. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

So if you're still interested in China Mobile despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. For example - China Mobile has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

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.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
(Natural News) Among the many potential remedies for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) that the so-called experts are unwilling to try due to a lack of proven efficacy, some health workers are bizarrely eager to conduct dangerous hormone experiments on coronavirus-infected men that involve tampering with their hormones.

According to reports, male coronavirus patients in Long Island, New York, are being given high doses of estrogen based on a hunch by some doctors that turning men into women could be the solution to this deadly pandemic.

Unbelievably, there are at least two clinical trials currently underway that involve dosing otherwise healthy men with female hormones, which some doctors claim could help to improve their immunity. Physicians in Los Angeles are also conducting similar experiments using progesterone, a prominent female hormone, which they contend could provide anti-inflammatory benefits.

Theres a striking difference between the number of men and women in the intensive care unit, and men are clearly doing worse, says Dr. Sara Ghandehari, a pulmonologist and intensive care physician at Cedars-Sinai who is heading up the West Coast progesterone study.

According to Ghandehari, 75 percent of her hospitals ICU patients on ventilators are men, so this must mean that being male makes a person more at risk of suffering from the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), in her view.

On the other hand, women, including pregnant women who are immunocompromised, lean towards suffering milder bouts of coronavirus-induced disease. So this is more proof to Ghandehari that emasculating men by screwing up their hormones is the only way forward in fighting this pandemic.

So something about being a woman is protective, and something about pregnancy is protective, and that makes us think about hormones, Ghandehari is further quoted as saying, presenting her opinions as science.

Deep state medicine will claim any excuse to target masculinity for elimination

That someone supposedly schooled in the healing arts would so quickly jump to targeting male hormones as some type of cure for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) just goes to show how deeply the anti-male agenda has embedded itself into society.

The system is no longer even pretending to seek sound scientific solutions to public health threats like this, instead turning every opportunity for honest investigation into a political agenda, in this case female empowerment.

The old adage that correlation does not equal causation immediately goes out the window anytime there is an opportunity to prop up women at the expense of men. After all, this entire arm of experimental coronavirus research hinges upon the notion that men are inherently flawed and have to have their natural male hormones replaced with female hormones in order to stay healthy.

It is undeniable that men require healthy levels of testosterone and other male hormones in order to live their best lives. And to deprive men of male hormones massively increases their risk of death from a variety of causes.

But Ghandehari and her colleagues are apparently more concerned with seizing this opportunity to target men while claiming that their motives are to advance science. Just who do they think that they are fooling?

Another woman, Dr. Sharon Nachman from the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University on Long Island, is pulling a similar fast one on men living on the East Coast, as she, too, is convinced that being male is the problem when it comes to catching the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Its totally out of the box, Nachman is quoted as stating proudly, adding that this is how good ideas often start.

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:

DNYUZ.com

NaturalNews.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 15:43:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

A Belgian official has expected a swift comeback of China's economy, saying it might be the first to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISI charges Rs 10 lakh per kilogram of narcotics that a Khalistan terrorist sells

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: The bonhomie between the Hizbul Mujahideen and Khalistan terror groups has come to light yet again.

Investigators have learnt that the money earned through the sale of heroin was transferred to the Hizbul Mujahideen. Ranjit Singh Rana, the Khalistan terrorist arrested by the Punjab police in March has told the police that through his accomplices, he had managed to transferred Rs 6 crore to the Hizbul Mujahideen in the past five years.

India's first canine training centre comes up at Attari; Dogs to be trained on narcotics detection

It is a well known fact that the ISI has been nurturing the Khalistan terrorists for long. While the revival of the Khalistan movement has not been able to gain traction in Punjab, the ISI has instead been using these terrorists to smuggle narcotics and provide funds to terror groups in Kashmir.

It may be recalled that in June 2019, the officials of the customs department had seized 532 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 2,700 crore. This was smuggled from across the border in a rock salt laden truck at the integrated check post at Attari.

Investigations learnt that Rana alias Cheetah was the mastermind of this. Following his arrest, it was also revealed that Hilal Ahmed Wagay of the Hizbul Mujahideen had gone to Amritsar to collect Rs 29 lakh based on the instructions of Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo. It may be recalled that Naikoo who was the boss of the Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an encounter last week with the security forces in the Valley.

These investigations have further confirmed the role of the ISI in the drug racket. An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that the ISI supplies the drugs to the Khalistan terror groups, who in turn smuggle it into Punjab. Most of the proceeds from the drug trade are in turn used to fund terror operations in the Valley. During Rana's investigation, it was learnt that after the drugs are sold, they had to pay the ISI Rs 10 lakh per kg.

Officials have further said that the terror groups in Kashmir have been instructed to collect the money from Punjab. Several times in the past, it was found that terrorists from Kashmir have made their way into Punjab to collect money to run operations. At first, it was suspected that they were in Punjab to plot terror strikes, but in reality it was to receive the money based on the ISI's instructions.

Kabul: The ISIS-ISI bonhomie was spoken about in this 2019 IB report

Take the case of Junaid Sehrai, who was killed in an encounter on Tuesday. Apart from money, he had also been collecting drugs. He would supply drugs to the youth and in exchange ask them to become overground workers of the Hizbul Mujahideen.
The prime minister is set to appear in court on Sunday after judges rule he must hear charges against him in person.

An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appear for the opening of his criminal trial in Jerusalem on Sunday, shortly after his lawyer sought an exemption.

Netanyahu had asked Jerusalem District Court to be excused from his May 24 arraignment, deeming the event a formality and arguing that bringing his bodyguards would be a waste of public funds and a strain on the coronavirus pandemic rules restricting congregations.

Critics, however, charge that Netanyahu was attempting to avoid the optics of the first criminal prosecution of a sitting Israeli prime minister.

The court rejected the request, saying the accused appearing for the reading of the indictment is the rule, and there are no grounds for granting Netanyahu an exemption in this case.

It is incumbent upon the requester, as with all other defendants, to appear and have his say in court, the three-judge panel said in its ruling.





Netanyahu, Israels longest-serving prime minister, was indicted in three criminal cases last November on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.

He has called the trial a politically motivated witch hunt and denied any wrongdoing in the series of scandals that involved allegedly accepting lavish gifts from wealthy friends and trading media reforms for positive coverage.

Netanyahus trial was supposed to begin last month, but was delayed by his justice minister due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After three national elections in under a year, Netanyahu swore in his fourth consecutive government earlier this week after forming a government with rival Benny Gantzs Blue and White party. Under the agreement, Netanyahu and Gantz will serve consecutive 18-month stints as prime minister.

Prior to the breakthrough, the two parties had been in a deadlock, with Gantz pledging he would not serve with a with a prime minister facing a corruption trial.

Allegations against Netanyahu

From his position as prime minister, Netanyahu is not legally required to resign while under indictment, although bribery charges he faces carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. The fraud and breach of trust charges each carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

The trial is expected to take years, and could see a plea-deal in place of a final judgement.

The charges stem from three cases.

Case 4000 alleges that Netanyahu granted regulatory favours worth approximately about $500m (1.8 billion shekels) to Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq Telecom Israel.

In return, prosecutors say, he sought positive coverage of himself and his wife on a news website controlled by the companys former chairman, Shaul Elovitch.





Case 1000 centres on allegations that Netanyahu and wife Sara wrongfully received nearly $200,000 (700,000 shekels) worth of gifts from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer and Israeli citizen, and Australian billionaire businessman James Packer.

Prosecutors said gifts included champagne and cigars and that Netanyahu helped Milchan with his business interests. Neither Packer nor Milchan faces charges.

Meanwhile, case 2000 alleges that Netanyahu negotiated a deal with Arnon Mozes, owner of Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, for better coverage.

In return, the prime minister allegedly offered legislation that would slow the growth of a rival newspaper. Mozes has been charged with offering a bribe, and denies wrongdoing.
Two Americans have been arrested for their alleged role in the daring escape of ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from Japan while he awaited trial for financial wrongdoing.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said former Green Beret Peter Taylor, 59, and his son, Michael Taylor, 26, helped smuggle Mr Ghosn in a musical audio equipment case to his childhood home of Lebanon.

More details of the daring escape in a large black box aboard a private jet were first revealed in court documents posted to Twitter by Seamus Hughes, from the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

In January, Japan submitted requests for the arrests of both Mr Taylor and his son plus a third American suspect, George-Antoine Zayek, over allegedly helping Mr Ghosn flee the country on 29 December while awaiting trial for charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds.

The court documents claimed the former special forces soldier met Mr Ghosn at least seven times during three trips to Japan in the months before the operation.

The day before the escape, Mr Taylors son and Mr Zayek allegedly arrived in Japan carrying large black boxes.

The black boxes looked like they were for audio equipment, and Michael Taylor and Zayek told Kansai airport workers that they were musicians, the court documents said.

Ghosn was hiding in one of the two large black boxes being carried by Michael Taylor and Zayek.

They were said to have loaded their luggage onto the private jet at Kansai International Airport without a security check, before flying to Lebanon via Istanbul.

Prosecutors in Turkey have also reportedly prepared an indictment charging seven people that allegedly facilitated the escape via Istanbul, including four pilots and two flight attendants.

The Justice Department obtained warrants on 6 May and US marshals reportedly arrested the father and son pair on Wednesday after learning the senior Mr Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut.

Peter Taylor would be likely to flee if he learned of the existence of a warrant for his arrest, the court documents said.

They are expected to appear before a federal judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon, and Japan has said it would submit a formal request for extradition.
By David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China over the coronavirus on Wednesday, calling $2 billion Beijing has pledged to fight the pandemic "paltry" compared to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars of damage.

Pompeo rejected Chinese President Xi Jinping's claim that Beijing had acted with transparency after the outbreak in China, and said if Xi wanted to show that, he should hold a news conference and allow reporters to ask him anything they liked.

"President Xi claimed this week that China is acting with openness, transparency responsibility. I wish it were so," Pompeo told a State Department news conference, charging that Beijing continued to withhold virus samples and access to facilities, to censor discussion, "and much, much more."

U.S.-China tensions have spiked in recent weeks, with Pompeo and President Donald Trump slamming Beijing's handling of the outbreak. The United States has been hardest hit in the global pandemic.

Trump has proposed quitting the World Health Organization over its response and called it a "puppet of China," while Xi has pledged it $2 billion.

"I look forward to seeing them fulfill that $2 billion commitment," Pompeo said.

"China's contributions to fighting the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world.

"This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives, more than 36 million Americans have lost their jobs since March; globally 300,000 lives. Could be as much as $9 trillion, according to our estimates, cost imposition on the world of the Chinese Communist Party's failures," Pompeo said.

He accused China of threatening Australia with "economic retribution" for seeking an independent inquiry into the outbreak's origins and charged that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had had "unusually close ties to Beijing ... long before this current pandemic," something "deeply troubling."

Pompeo said the United States had responded with "about $10 billion to benefit the international response," including vaccine research, preparedness funding and humanitarian aid. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
A massive search operation has been launched to find two young hikers who disappeared over a week ago.

Jessica O'Connor and Dion Reynolds, both 23, have not been seen since they set off into Kahurangi National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand, on May 9.

New Zealand Police believe the pair entered the nation's second largest national park through the Anatori River car park and had been due to return on either Thursday or Friday last week.

A massive search effort has been launched to recover two hikers Jessica O'Connor (pictured) and Dion Reynolds, both 23, who have not been seen since on May 9

Police are conducting an extensive search effort that includes five volunteer teams and a specialist search dog. Pictured: Missing hiker Dion Reynolds

Officers began searching the Anatori River area on Tuesday but found no trace of the hikers.

The hunt continued on Wednesday, with five teams made up of Golden Bay, Motueka and Nelson LandSAR volunteers as well as police staff.

A specialist search dog from Blenheim was also brought in to assist the teams .

A Facebook post from Abel Tasman Kayaks, which employs Ms O'Connor, said she was a 'very competent outdoors instructor who we love to bits'.

'We are hoping that this is just a miscommunication of an off the grid adventure,' it said.

Ms O'Connor's father, Mark O'Connor, said he hoped the pair would be safely recovered.

'We are hopeful for Jess and Dion's safe return and really appreciate all the people that are involved in the search,' he told 1 NEWS.

Police called for information from anyone who had been around the Anatori, Webb, Kokopu, Independent and Fraser rivers since May 8 or who may have seen the two hikers.

It is believed the pair entered Kahurangi National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand, through the Anatori River car park
Dozens of small shallow-focus quakes hit Nagano Prefecture and its surrounding regions on Tuesday as the weather agency issued an emergency alert for possible strong temblors.

The largest of the quakes, measuring a magnitude 5.3 and a 4 on Japan's intensity scale, hit Takayama in Gifu Prefecture at 1:13 p.m. The city of Takayama said no damage has been confirmed. There were no worries for tsunami.

More than 30 quakes registering 1 to 3 on the Japanese earthquake intensity scale of 7 have been observed in the areas since dawn on Tuesday. Though the magnitude is not large, shallow quakes can cause disproportionately intense shaking.

A total 285 earthquakes that can be felt hit the same areas between Aug. 3 and Nov. 3 in 1998 due to bedrock distortion caused by the diving of the Pacific plate underneath a continental plate. The Japan Meteorological Agency said it is calling on residents to remain alert as a similar mechanism may be behind the latest quakes.
From building a functioning public health system to why you must not use sanitisers on fruits and vegetables  read these and more in todays India dispatch. Expert Speak On the frontlines in battling viral infections: This podcast discusses being at the forefront of both research and treatment of the infection, and understanding both the spread of and treatment options, with Dr Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine and a professor at the Departments of ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
McDonald's reopened 30 of its restaurants on Wednesday, allowing customers to purchase food through its drive-thru restaurants as the fast-food giants set about their re-opening strategy.

The restaurant chain opened a number of its branches from 11am on Wednesday, in conjunction with the Government's strict guidance on social distancing rules.

The move led to police being called to a drive-thru branch of McDonald's in Cambridgeshire after dozens of customers arrived when it opened.

There were similar scenes at a KFC outlet in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, which re-opened on Wednesday.

Less than 20 minutes after the restaurant's doors were opened, there were around a dozen cars queuing.

McDonald's has reopened 30 of its restaurants today, allowing customers to purchase food through its drive-thru restaurants as the fast-food giants set about their re-opening strategy. Pictured: A lengthy queue formed after this McDonald's chain, in Hampton, Peterborough, re-opened

The restaurant chain opened a number of its branches from 11am on Wednesday, in conjunction with the Government's strict guidance on social distancing rules. Pictured: one delighted woman waves her fast food in the air after navigating a re-opened drive-thru in Dublin on Wednesday

There was a backlog of cars at a KFC outlet in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough, which re-opened on Wednesday

McDonald's's latest round of re-openings comes after 15 of its restaurants in the South East of England were reopened through food couriers Deliveroo, with the fast food outlet offering a limited menu and putting a spending cap at 25 per order.

'We will have a 25 order cap as we adjust to smaller teams and social distancing in our kitchens. I want to reiterate the restaurants, Drive Thrus and their car parks remain closed, we will only be serving food via Uber Eats this week,' a statement said.

And today, an additional 30 restaurants have reopened across the UK and Ireland, with a drive-thru service offered only.

A statement said: 'Moving in step with government guidelines, we plan to reopen all our Drive-Thrus by early June. We will keep the restaurant locator on our website updated as our Drive Thrus reopen over the coming weeks.'

The fast-food giants have moved to ensure a number of health and safety measures are in place for staff working in the restaurants.

Police were called to a McDonald's restaurant in Boongate, Peterborough, at lunchtime on Wednesday

McDonald's have reopened 30 of its restaurants today amid coronavirus restrictions easing

Customers look happy as they pick up their food after McDonald's temporary closure

An additional 30 stores have reopened today following the opening of 15 last week

Upon arrival at work, all staff will have their temperatures monitored, while perspex screens will be fitted in kitchens and other key locations.

At McDonald's in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday, dozens of customers turned up when it re-opened.

Officers attended the Boongate store in Peterborough after it opened to customers at 11am, with new measures in place to keep customers and employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dozens of cars were seen queuing around the car park as customers rushed to get their hands on burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Aerial footage showed the extent of the queues at this McDonald's outlet in Chelmsford, Essexx

McDonald's have introduced strict measures to protect customer and worker's health

A sign asks customers to wait responsibly as a number of stores reopened on Wednesday

A statement from McDonald's said: 'With restaurant teams adjusting to new procedures to enable safe working and social distancing, things may take a little longer - and high demand is anticipated.

'McDonald's and its franchisees are working closely with local authorities and the police, and may determine that it is necessary to close Drive Thru lanes if queues cause disruption at busier sites or put employees or customers at risk.'

The scenes at the KFC branch in Coulby Newham came after the fried chicken chain asked customers to 'please, please don't rush all at once' as it announced the first openings of other drive-thrus around the country last week.

It said the service was aimed at those who are already on the road or 'on their way home from difficult shifts'.

Eleven KFC restaurants have also been re-opened, in Aldershot, Birmingham, Glasgow, Ipswich, London, Manchester, Portsmouth, Stockport, and Tamworth.

The scenes at the KFC branch in Coulby Newham came after the fried chicken chain asked customers to 'please, please don't rush all at once' as it announced the first openings of other drive-thrus around the country last week

KFC said on social media that staff would return on a voluntary basis.

'Our teams are amazing and we'd never ask them to come back to work if they weren't comfortable, so they're returning on an opt-in basis,' they said.

Last week, McDonald's workers had to contend with swathes of people trying to order food as 15 of its branches reopened.

And Northerners slammed the chain after it emerged that all the re-opened branches are in the south of England.

Twitter users were quick to react to the news with Northerners, in particular, expressing outrage over the locations chosen by the company.

'So instead of spreading the stores throughout the UK you open only Southern stores with some multiple stores even in the same town? Senseless!' one user, @KelEll said.

Kyle Thornton said, 'As usual the north is forgotten about.' While Kat Slyper questioned, 'Why are they all down south is there something wrong with the north and Scotland???'

Cars queue up at a McDonald's branch in Sutton as it reopened to customers today

The fast-food giant has said that strict health and safety measures will be put in place now

Restaurants that did re-open were swamped with UberEats and Deliveroo workers - but it became so busy at one south London branch that two-metre social distancing went out of the window.

One UberEats worker was one of 25 delivery drivers working out of the fast food chain's Tooting branch last week, claiming the situation became 'dangerous'.

He said: 'They allowed 43 orders to come in at 11am and they were only allowing five drivers to come in at a time. The drivers were all bunched outside, it was chaotic, a danger for everyone involved. They hadn't even got security there, it was a joke.'

The company's statement 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.

There were problems at the Tooting McDonald's last week as delivery drivers said they were unable to maintain social distancing as the store re-opened

'We expect there will be some queues for some of our busier sites and our restaurants will look different, with Perspex screens at our Drive Thru windows and employees wearing protective equipment.

'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.'

The McDonald's menu will still be limited, while the 25 spending cap will remain in place. Breakfasts, wraps and milkshakes are still unavailable.

The restaurant's nine signature burgers are still on the menu, as well as the McChicken sandwich and the Big Mac. Limited options will be available for vegetarians.

FULL LIST OF MCDONALD'S OUTLETS WHICH RE-OPENED ON WEDNESDAY Ipswich - Ranelagh Road Ipswich - Ravenswood Ipswich - Whitehouse Chelmsford - Regiment Business Park Hounslow - Traveller's Friend Sutton - Oldfield's Road North Cheam - Worcester Park Strood - Commercial Road Rochester - Medway Valley Leisure Park Hertfordshire - Bushey Staines - Two Rivers Retail Park Staines - London Road Peterborough - Bourges Boulevard Peterborough - Boongate Peterborough - Hampton Peterborough - Morrisons Peterborough - Glinton Peterborough - Eye Green Rochester - Medway City Estate Bobbing - Sheppey Way Dubstable - Luton Road Luton Retail Park - Gipsy Lane Watford - Garston Medway - Kent Nutgrove - Dublin Kylemore Road - Dublin East Wall - Dublin Artaine - Dublin Malahide Road - Dublin Tallaght - Dublin Advertisement
Michigan cities could let residents sip their favorite boozy beverages outdoors under new legislation proposed in the state House.

State Rep. Michael Webber, R-Rochester Hills, pitched House Bill 5781 as a way for communities to support local bars and restaurants, which have been closed for in-person business since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, bars and restaurants in the Upper Peninsula and Northwest Michigan will be allowed to reopen at 50 percent occupancy as long as certain safety requirements are met, per an announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week.

Webbers bill would let local governments create designated social districts where people of legal drinking age could purchase to-go drinks from adjacent bars and drink them off-premises as long as they remain in the designated area.

Thats currently not allowed in Michigan, although outdoor drinking is legal in a handful of cities throughout the country. In New Orleans, for example, bar patrons in the French Quarter can purchase to-go drinks and drink them outside as long as theyre not in a glass container.

Across state lines, the city of Toledo, Ohio has a Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area where patrons of one of 24 bars and restaurants can carry up to 16 ounces of open alcohol in a designated cup.

If the Michigan bill becomes law, local governments could create and revoke social districts as they see fit in their communities, although the bill as written requires any social district to contain a commons area. Participating bars and restaurants would have to sell to-go drinks in containers prominently displaying the business name or logo.

In a statement, Webber said outdoor drinking districts could help bars and restaurants boost sales during warm summer months and deal with lower occupancy rates required to maintain social distancing once they reopen.

Outdoor drinking districts are not a new concept, and they have been proven to be effective  even prior to COVID-19, Webber said in a statement. As Michigan looks to slowly reopen various industries, this is a common-sense solution we need to explore. It could prove very beneficial to our local downtown areas.

Webbers bill was referred to the House Regulatory Reform Committee for further review, and would need to pass the House and Senate and be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

Since the coronavirus was first detected in Michigan, bars and restaurants have been struggling to subsist on carryout and delivery orders.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission recently initiated a liquor buyback program that resulted in nearly $3.4 million worth of spirits being bought back from 673 participating bars and restaurants.

On Tuesday, the commission announced it would streamline applications for new or expanded outdoor services and bar permits and added additional resources for businesses reopening to its website.

Commission Chair Pat Gagliardi said in a statement that getting liquor licensees back to business is our top priority.

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.

More Michigan coronavirus coverage:

Northern Michigan restaurants and shops can reopen Friday, Whitmer says

Coronavirus preparedness, response plans required for Michigan businesses set to reopen

Northern Michigan businesses welcome challenge of reopening just before Memorial Day

Michigan buys back $3.3 million of liquor from bars, restaurants to ease coronavirus hit
This era was saddled with immense challenges that forced Sherman into some of the most critical months of his career.

2009 was a particularly difficult period originating mortgages in South Florida, as home values were particularly depressed; this was one of the reasons I decided to relocate to NYC, Sherman said. Many homeowners were well-qualified but, due to values, getting anything done was seemingly impossible. It was incredibly frustrating, but I realized I it was out of my control and decided to refocus my efforts to areas in which I could be most effective.

The boom years after the 2008-09 recession also tempered his outlook and skill set, Sherman said.

I was then offered an opportunity to help the bank grow its footprint in New York City. Subsequently, in 2010, I relocated to NYC, where I continued to work in originations and played a role in expanding the banks presence, Sherman said. In November 2011, I was presented with the opportunity to work for First Republic Bank as a relationship manager. 2013 was the first year I originated over $100 million in retail mortgage originations and was promoted to managing director at the bank. I worked at First Republic Bank until January 2018, at which point I began to pursue a more entrepreneurial path with the founding of Simplist.

The online mortgage marketplace saw its soft launch in 2019 with the goal of simplifying and streamlining the mortgage procurement process for the next generation of homebuyers, Sherman said. Earlier this year, we became licensed in our sixth state (California), with plans for significant expansion over the coming 12 months.
Sumi Sukanya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Indian Council of Medical Research, on Tuesday recommended that all suspected Covid19 cases should be tested for infection even after the death of the patients.

The document Standard Guidelines For Medico Legal Autopsy In Covid 19 Deaths In India released by the ICMR said that  it is advisable to collect nasopharyngeal swab at the emergency department/casualty/ward/ICU and should be sent for COVID-19 RT-PCR test in all suspected cases before moving the body to mortuary for preservation if the same was not sent in due hospital course.

The guidelines assume significance in the wake of a decision by the Delhi government not to conduct tests on dead patients who were suspected for the infection, a move that has been labelled as a bid to cover up infection deaths by many public health experts.

ALSO READ | No invasive technique should be adopted for forensic autopsy in COVID-19 death cases: ICMR

I hope at least now after the latest ICMR guideline, the Delhi government revises it earlier order and conducts the required tests on those who may have succumbed to the disease before even proper diagnosis, said Malini Aisola, co-convener of All India Drug Action Network, a patients rights group.

These guidelines will help the country see a clearer picture of the extent of infection spread.

In the latest guidelines, ICMR said that during this pandemic, many of the dead bodies will be of COVID-19 suspected people, which can be alleged suicides, accidents, homicides or brought dead cases to hospitals.

These cases will be labeled by emergency doctors as medico-legal case and subsequently police will be informed, which may necessitate a forensic autopsy.

The research body also said the cases having at least one of the epidemiological history features or two clinical features of Covid 19 should be treated as suspects.

Epidemiological history will include travel history or residence in areas declared COVID-19 hotspots 14 days prior to onset of symptoms, contact with COVID-19 cases, exposure to patients with fever or respiratory symptoms in COVID-19 hotspots, evidence of clustering and fever with or without respiratory symptoms.

The guidelines also said asymptomatic infected people and patients in incubation period may not meet the diagnostic criteria for suspected cases but if they have possible epidemiological history, all dead bodies without reliable clinical or epidemiological history and all unidentified dead bodies should be treated as suspected COVID 19 deaths.

Cases with negative swab results also should be treated as suspected COVID-19 deaths as false negative result is not uncommon, said the national recommendation that has been prepared by the department of forensic medicine and toxicology, AIIMS, Delhi under the ICMR supervision.
SARASOTA, Fla.  Facing an explosive charge that his administration is manipulating coronavirus data to help make the case for reopening Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis played down the controversy Tuesday as a nonissue.

Floridas COVID-19 death toll topped 2,000 Tuesday, underscoring the serious threat posed by the coronavirus and the potential consequences of not giving people accurate information on the risks involved.

Health experts say the milestone should serve as a sobering reminder to exercise caution as the state reopens, and DeSantis has presented his reopening plan as a safe and step by step approach. But the accusations levied by Rebekah Jones, a data expert at the Florida Department of Health, could undercut the governors reopening push.

Jones wrote in an email last week that she no longer was overseeing the states COVID-19 dashboard, which she built and managed for two months.

"As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months, Jones wrote. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it."

But DeSantis said at a Tuesday news conference that Jones sent an email to her supervisor saying the comments were being misinterpreted.

I dont know who she is but they gave me an email that she sent to her supervisor, said that, Uh oh, I may have said something that was misrepresented,  DeSantis said.

He added that Jones went on to write: I said theyve got a team working on it now and what I meant when I said dont expect the same level of accessibility is that they are busy and cant answer every single email they get right away and that it was ridiculous that I managed to do it in the first place and that I was tired and needed a break from working two months straight."

Rebekah Jones, the architect of Florida's COVID-19 dashboard, says she was fired by the Department of Health for refusing to manipulate data.

Jones told Florida Today that she was fired on Monday. And she said in an email to the CBS12 television station in West Palm Beach that she faced blowback because she refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen."

Story continues

DeSantis spokeswoman Helen Aguirre Ferre, in a separate statement after the news conference, said Jones was fired for "insubordination." (Her complete statement is also at bottom.)

Jones "exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the Department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the Departments COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors," Ferre said.

"The blatant disrespect for the professionals who were working around the clock to provide the important information for the COVID-19 website was harmful to the team," she added. "Accuracy and transparency are always indispensable, especially during an unprecedented public health emergency such as COVID-19.

"Having someone disruptive cannot be tolerated during this public pandemic, which led the Department to determine that it was best to terminate her employment."

Asal M. Johnson, an assistant professor of Public Health at Stetson University, told Florida Today that she worried the health department is trying "to undermine evidence-based decision making to prioritize (the) economy."

Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo called for an independent investigation into the alleged data manipulation.

Allegations that Floridas government may have tried to manipulate or alter data to make reopening appear safer is outrageous, Rizzo said. These kinds of actions are dangerous and, frankly, should be criminal.

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat, wrote a letter to DeSantis requesting that members of his administration appear at the states next Cabinet meeting to answer questions about the accusations levied by Jones.

These actions undermine public trust in our government, are extraordinarily dangerous to public health, and are absolutely inconsistent with the transparency and accuracy that Floridians expect and deserve during this pandemic, Fried wrote.

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health reported 55 more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the statewide total to 2,052.

Coronavirus live updates:: Disney Springs reopens  with masks; Trump goes to Michigan; Connecticut among last states

In a rather short period of time we lost over 2,000 people in Florida to COVID-19, a disease we hadnt even heard of before this year, said Dr. Marissa Levine, a professor of public health and family medicine at the University of South Florida who leads the schools Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.

As we work to reopen Florida it is critical for us all to remember that we each have a role in controlling this pandemic. Our individual and collective actions will determine the course of this pandemic in our own communities and will be the key as to whether we experience an even greater spike of disease and death in the coming months.

Florida health officials reported the states first COVID-19 death March 6, meaning it took 74 days to top 2,000 deaths.

The novel coronavirus has become one of the leading causes of death in Florida in just over two months. Based on 2018 death totals, 2,052 deaths would rank 16th among Floridas top causes of death, above homicides and HIV.

Influenza and pneumonia killed 3,082 people in Florida in 2018. The coronavirus could top that this year.

Florida health officials are reporting a steady stream of new coronavirus cases, and more deaths are sure to follow.

The states coronavirus case total rose by 502 Tuesday to 46,944.

Floridians should be careful as they emerge from a monthlong lockdown, said Levine, who previously served as Virginias state health commissioner.

We know the virus is still circulating in our communities in Florida as well as around the nation and the globe, Levine said. Although we dont have complete information, our best estimates tell us that many in our communities still remain vulnerable to the virus.

"Given Floridas demographics and the burden of chronic disease in the population, many of us are at high risk of serious complications and even death.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference May 18 in Orlando about plans to reopen the state amid coronavirus.

DeSantis began lifting Floridas lockdown this month. He has focused on the fact that the states health care system has not been overwhelmed, as some models predicted, and hospitals have plenty of available beds.

DeSantis touted his reopening strategy Monday during a news conference in Orlando. He has branded it the Safe. Smart. Step by Step plan as he seeks to avoid criticism that he is moving too fast, something public health officials are warning against.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, said during a U.S. Senate hearing last week that the consequences could be really serious if states reopen prematurely.

Are lockdowns being relaxed in my state?: Here's how America is reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus survivors warn of reopening: After enduring ventilators, body aches, fever, coronavirus survivors say states shouldn't be reopening

Im just looking forward to helping bring us back, DeSantis said Monday. Obviously we still have issues with public health; thats not going to go away, but I think we have a pathway to get Florida moving again.

DeSantis is pushing a phased reopening that accelerated this week when gyms, libraries and museums were allowed to welcome people at 50% capacity. Restaurants and other retail establishments were allowed to increase from 25% to 50% occupancy.

The governor also allowed barbershops and hair salons to reopen last week, and many municipalities have reopened beaches.

Public health experts worry that the number of new cases and deaths could spike if the state reopens and people dont continue to practice social distancing and take other precautions.

Our only tools to deal with this have remained the same: physical distancing (including cloth face coverings) and aggressive hygienic practices, Levine said. Our ability to adapt and incorporate those practices into our everyday lives will determine the success of our reopening.

"I am hopeful that we will not interpret reopening as a return to the normal we once knew, but rather to a new normal that incorporates the adaptations we need to implement to protect one another.

Staying Apart, Together: A newsletter about how to cope with the coronavirus pandemic

Governor Ron DeSantis' office full statement on Rebekah Jones

Rebekah Jones duties were to display data obtained by the Departments epidemiological staff. The team that created the graphics on the dashboard, which was made up by multiple people, received data that was provided by subject matter experts, including Senior Epidemiologists, Surveillance Epidemiologists, and a Senior Database Analyst.

Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the Department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the Departments COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors. The blatant disrespect for the professionals who were working around the clock to provide the important information for the COVID-19 website was harmful to the team.

Accuracy and transparency are always indispensable, especially during an unprecedented public health emergency such as COVID-19. Having someone disruptive cannot be tolerated during this public pandemic, which led the Department to determine that it was best to terminate her employment.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Coronavirus in Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis disputes data manipulation
Western Australia is on track to become a COVID-free bubble, a concept that while reaping immeasurable benefits to the public health system will likely see residents stranded until a vaccine is developed, which experts say could take years.

With just three active cases, the states success in suppressing coronavirus has led to its near-elimination among a population of 2.6 million people.

International travel to and from WA could be restricted for years, experts say. Credit:WAtoday

And while social distancing restrictions have saved an estimated 30,000 lives, the flow-on effect of becoming virus-free could mean international travel and overseas visitors will be off limits for years as the world races to find a vaccine and bring it into mass production.

Tony Cunningham, an adviser to the Federal government on Australia's coronavirus vaccine response, estimated the most optimistic timeframe for a vaccine to be available locally would be in 18 to 24 months.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS

BMS calls for protests against relaxation of labour laws by state govts

RSS claims it received tremendous response to its protest call

Around 450 units of BMS are expected to submit their memoranda to local authorities

Uranium mines workers, copper mine workers and workers in coal belt among unions to support BMS

The RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on Wednesday said that its call for protests against easing of labour laws has received "tremendous response". It has also sent a memorandum to the President Ram Nath Kovind requesting him to negate the ordinances brought out by various state governments.

In a statement, the labour union said that thousands of BMS activists started demonstrations on roads as well as outside government offices, following which they sent memoranda to the President of India. "In response to the call given by Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh to observe nationwide Protest Day on 20th May 2020 against the unilateral changes in labour laws in 14 states, there was a tremendous response from all over the country," BMS said.

Also read: Protests against labour law reforms: RSS-backed BMS gets support of 5 more trade unions

Mobilising support against suspension of labour laws especially by BJP-ruled states, BMS has activated its local functionaries. As many as 450 district units are expected to submit their memoranda to local authorities.

"BMS demands the Government of India to consider the plight of the workers and to issue stringent directions for the payment of wages immediately at the same time also requests the central government to intervene and halt changes in the labour laws by the state governments," the RSS-backed labour union said.

As part of its multi-pronged protest strategy, the BMS has launched a nationwide agitation. "The protest demonstration was held in interior parts of India too," the union said.

It claimed to have received support from the uranium mines workers in Jharkhand, copper mine workers in Malajkhand (Madhya Pradesh), workers in coal belt, marine fish workers in Kerala, and migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal among others.

Also read: Coronavirus crisis: Why MP's labour law changes are more balanced than UP

Delhi Pradesh Bank Workers' Organisation (DPBWO) also extended support to the union. Major demands of the labour unions include immediate withdrawal of freezing of labour laws for three years or more by UP, MP and Gujarat. They have also demanded payment of wages for March and April 2020 to all workers and food and shelter for migrant workers.

While the Uttar Pradesh government decided to suspend as many as 30 labour laws for three years on May 6, Madhya Pradesh diluted state labour laws through a combination of ordinance and executive order. Many states such as Haryana, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are also expected to relax their labour laws.

Unions have said that dilution of labour laws is against the conventions of UN's labour body International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Also read: UP allows industry to hire and fire! Suspends all labour laws, except three
Webinar

The hospitality industry has seen and overcome many crises. Will people still want to travel, stay in hotels, enjoy good food and shopping? Hear from veterans in the industry - our own Les Roches alumni - Anish, Javier and Sharon and find out why the travel/ hotel /F&B industry still holds opportunities. About our guests: Anish Bhatia is currently the Regional Director for Front Office Operations for APAC - Hilton Hotels with a portfolio of over 250 hotels. An experienced hotelier, Anish has led in various roles, from reservations, customer care, revenue management and front office and speaks 6 languages including French, German and Hindi. Javier Perez was born in Puerto Rico and Sharon Lee is a Singaporean who graduated in Accounting from the University of Southern California. Both met in Les Roches while doing their Postgraduate Diploma together. They have since founded a group of innovative restaurants in Singapore and Bali, under the brands of Kilo and Grain Traders.

Les Roches Webinar: Overcoming crises - Alumni stories from the hospitality industry is organized by
The VANTAS automotive brand was announced in February by the California-based HAAH, which is working under a technical cooperation agreement with Chery. VANTAS has committed that all vehicles sold in North America will be assembled in American plants bringing new jobs to workers in the United States.

The SST is only considering existing facilities for vehicle production. Utilizing an existing plant will help the company meet its aggressive goal to begin selling vehicles at the end of next year or the beginning of 2022. The first VANTAS vehicles to be assembled at the facility will be SUVs.

All questions, inquiries and proposals regarding the site selection process can be directed to: [email protected].

About HAAH Automotive Holdings

HAAH Automotive Holdings was formed by a group of leading auto industry executives and experts to create a new experience both for customers and its dealer partners. Designed to meet the needs of 21st century car buyers, the company is creating new methods, processes, and procedures to increase transparency, clarify pricing, and simplify purchase and vehicle service for the customer. The company is based in Irvine, Calif.

SOURCE HAAH Automotive Holdings

Related Links

http://www.haahauto.com


Financial, in-kind and employee volunteer support is helping local communities where we live and operate, as well as a contribution to medical research in of support of a global impact on controlling the spread of the virus.

"Our commitment to the community, especially in times of crisis and urgent need, remains strong," said Mohammad S. Alshammari, Aramco Americas, President & CEO. "Our support is part of a global enterprise-wide effort by Aramco to provide disaster relief to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to support our communities during these challenging times."

Aramco Americas has committed to:

Funding for Coronavirus Blood Transfusion Therapy First Tested in Houston

$500,000 to the Houston Methodist Hospital to advance a promising plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients that the hospital was first to go to trial in the U.S. at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Support for Food Banks Across the U.S.

$800,000 in support of food banks across the U.S. in communities where the company operates -- Houston, Detroit, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.

Funding for Mobile COVID-19 Testing in Houston

$500,000 to the City of Houston Health Foundation to fund greater access to COVID-19 testing, especially in vulnerable communities.

Funding for Our Houston Heroes

$100,000 to the City of Houston Health Foundation for grocery gift cards for first responders through the company's "Our Houston Heroes" campaign.

Matching Funds with Employee-Driven Campaign for Houston Food Bank

$54,000 to the Houston Food Bank from an employee campaign with company match resulting in the distribution of 162,000 meals.

Providing 30,000 KN95 Masks for City of Houston First Responders

Approximately $90,000 in-kind donation of 30,000 KN95 protective masks, sourced through the company's global supply chain, to the City of Houston and distributed by the Houston Health Foundation and Houston Health Department to Fire, Police, Health and City of Houston employees.

Aramco Americas has been headquartered in Houston for nearly 50 years, working side-by-side with local government and other charitable organizations to address a number of issues, including education and environmental protection. Helping to address health, safety and hunger concerns is a priority with the global health crisis.

Aramco's donations in the U.S. are centered around efforts to provide food security and support the medical response to controlling the virus.

About Aramco Americas

Aramco Services Company (d/b/a Aramco Americas) is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, a world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, and has had a presence in the U.S. for more than 60 years. Aramco Americas is a contributor to the U.S. energy sector through research and development, venture fund activities, asset ownership, as well as technology and digital transformation. The company is headquartered in Houston, and maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Detroit. Aramco Americas is committed to being a positive contributor in the communities where its employees live and work, and to making a difference through outreach that benefits the arts, geosciences, education and the environment. americas.aramco.com

SOURCE Aramco Americas
With 70 fresh coronavirus cases reported in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, the COVID-19 tally reached near 5,000-mark in the state, a senior health official said.

There are a total of 4,996 COVID-19 cases in the state, of which 1,995 are active cases and 2,918 patients have been discharged after recovery, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Amit Mohan Prasad said.

The number of fatalities in the state stands at 123, he said.

Prasad said a total of 7,179 COVID-19 tests were conducted across UP in the last 24 hours and the state was also ramping up its pool-testing facility.

"We are emphasising on surveillance and over 3.38 crore people have been surveyed by 83,405 teams in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

The principal secretary said the Centre's Aarogya Setu mobile application was being used and alerts were being sent to people.

"We have made 23,780 calls on the basis of the alerts generated by the mobile app and 326 people have been quarantined, while 71 have tested positive for coronavirus," he said.

The official said the migrant workers coming from other states were being monitored by health workers.

"Over five lakh migrant workers were screened and 629 of them showed symptoms of coronavirus. Their samples were sent for tests," he said.

The state government has asked them to strictly follow home quarantine and 'village/mohalla nigrani samitis' are keeping an eye on them.

There are 56,019 isolation and 26,419 quarantine beds in the state, Prasad said, adding that there are 1,260 beds with ventilators also.

Of the 123 fatalities in the state due to the virus, 27 were in Agra, 20 in Meerut, 11 in Moradabad, eight each in Aligarh and Kanpur, five each in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Firozabad, four each in Varanasi, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mathura and Jhansi, and two each in Basti, Jalaun, Mainpuri and Ghaziabad.

Lucknow, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Bijnor, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Amroha, Bareilly, Shravasti, Azamgarh, Etah, Kanpur Dehat, Mahoba, Kushi Nagar and Lalitpur districts reported one death each.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two weeks after being spotted with a critical injury, a Greater Flamingo was treated and released into the wild safely at the end of a joint operation led by the Delhi Zoo and Wildlife SOS on Monday.

The 2.5 years old Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) was spotted with critical wing injury in South Delhi and was taken to the Delhi Zoo for treatment. The bird was returned to its natural habitat at the Najafgarh wetlands after it recovered, the ANI reported.

In a successful joint operation led by Delhi Zoo and #WildlifeSOS, a Greater Flamingo bird that was found critically injured has been treated by Delhi Zoo and released in the wild. pic.twitter.com/6BTOUNQ5kp Wildlife SOS (@WildlifeSOS) May 19, 2020

"Vet team NZP has done a good job with team spirit, providing treatment to the 2.5 years old Greater Flamingo. It's a pleasure to see that the isolated bird was reunited with its family and set free in its natural habitat. More zoos must make sincere efforts to return wildlife to their habitat, as part of their contribution towards conservation," Dr Suneesh Buxy, Director, Delhi Zoo, was quoted as saying.

Generally, the parents feed the Flamingos till they are three years old, "but this bird is old enough to be integrated with a non-natal flock," according to Kartik Satyanarayan, CEO, Wildlife SOS.

Satyanarayan said they wanted the bird to be successfully released in the wild. "Delhi Bird Foundation (DBF) members came to our aid and helped us identify the resident flock of flamingos in Najafgarh Wetlands. This was a challenging situation as the only way to successfully release the bird was by using a boat," he said.

They wanted to integrate the bird back in Okhla where Flamingos are often spotted but the resident flock could not be spotted there.

A resident flock of flamingos was identified at Najafgarh Jheel Wetlands by DBF members.

"Since the flamingo flock was over one kilometre from the bank in the wetlands, there was no road access.




Temitayo Ogunbusola (Photo:Instablog)

A Nollywood actor has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his neighbour to death. The actor has been identified as Temitayo Ogunbusola, 29.

TheNation gathered that Ogunbusola allegedly committed the offence around 7pm on May 17, at 4, Sebili Kazeem Street, Cele bus stop, Agodo Egbe, Ikotun.

He was said to have stabbed one Oladotun Oso, 29, to death following a minor disagreement.

Until his death, Oso was said to be an employee of Access Bank PLC and worked at the Lawanson Branch, Itire.

Trouble was said to have started on Saturday when Ogunbusola was asked to pay his accumulated electricity bill by another tenant coordinating.

Instead of paying, he threatened to break the head of the person who dared to ask him to pay his electricity bill. Being afraid of the threat, he was made to sign an undertaking on Sunday morning not to harm anybody.

This was supervised by a military man who came at the instance of the threatened person to broker peace. Thereafter, the culprit went to report at Ikotun Police Station where he was a regular customer. The other tenants informed the landlord, Otunba Adedeji, about the issue and he promised to come in the evening to resolve it.



However, the culprit went to the police station again in the evening after which he came back to the house with a knife and pursued the initially threatened co-tenant and before you know it, unsuspecting, Oso was stabbed in the chest, narrated a resident.

It was gathered that Osos younger brother, Johnson reported at the Ikotun Police Station that Ogunbusola stabbed the deceased on the chest with a knife.

Police spokesman Bala Elkana confirmed the incident, adding that the murder weapon was recovered by homicide detectives.

He said the body was moved to the General Hospital, Isolo and casefile transferee to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) Yaba for furtehr action.
ANN ARBOR, MI  With tens of millions of Americans without health insurance and filing for unemployment, Ann Arbor officials are calling for health care reform.

City Council went on record this week endorsing the single-payer health insurance proposal known as Medicare for All.

I dont know that we could get a better illustration of the need for universal health care than the impact of the pandemic on employment and the fact that, when people need health insurance most, theyre losing their jobs and their health insurance, said Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward.

Eaton brought forward a council resolution endorsing Medicare for All, with co-sponsorship from Anne Bannister, Ali Ramlawi and Mayor Christopher Taylor.

Ann Arbor is calling on federal lawmakers to enact the Medicare for All Act that was introduced in the U.S. House in February 2019 and in the U.S. Senate in April 2019.

Subcommittee hearings were held in the House in December, but theres been no action since.

The number of Americans without health insurance is well over 30 million and climbing, with 26 million Americans filing for unemployment as of April 22 as a consequence of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, council stated in the resolution approved by a 10-1 vote.

Despite important gains made since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, at least 40 million Americans are under-insured, to the degree that they cannot afford to see a doctor or seek preventive medical care as they do not meet onerous deductibles until May of each calendar year and cannot afford the co-pays, the resolution states.

Every person deserves high-quality health care, council members argue, citing never-ending rising costs that also strain municipal budgets and small businesses.

Affordable housing discussion causes drama on Ann Arbor City Council

The Medicare for All Act of 2019 would provide national health insurance for every person in the United States for all necessary medical care, including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical and outpatient services; primary and preventive care; mental health care; emergency services; reproductive care; dental and vision care; and long-term care, the resolution states, citing polls showing a majority of Americans support it.

The Medicare for All Act of 2019 will guarantee that all residents of Ann Arbor will be fully covered for healthcare without deductibles, co-pays, or other out-of-pocket costs, and would save millions in taxpayer dollars now spent on premiums that provide often-inadequate health insurance coverage.

The House bill sponsored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, has 118 co-sponsors, all Democrats, including Michigan representatives Debbie Dingell, Brenda Lawrence, Andy Levin, Rashida Tlaib and Dan Kildee.

The Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, has 14 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow havent signed on.

Medicare for All is an idea whose time has come, and if you saw the Bernie bumper stickers on my car, youd know why I believe that, said Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward.

I certainly hope that we make the right moves as we come out of this pandemic. It has certainly illustrated that more now than ever, health care, if it isnt a direct human right, its about as close as anything gets to it.

In addition to action at the federal level, Ann Arbor is calling on state lawmakers to enact a statewide single-payer program known as MiCare, which was proposed by state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, in 2018.

Council Member Jane Lumm, I-2nd Ward, cast the lone vote against the council resolution, saying she had concerns about the costs of a Medicare for All program and forcing people to give up private employer plans.

There are legitimate concerns, which is why the House and Senate havent moved forward, she said.

Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, said health care is a basic human right and there are gross inequities in the U.S. health care system with the lack of a single-payer program.

He cited higher infant mortality rates and declining life expectancy rates, even as Americans spend twice as much as Canadians on health care.

Weve had millions of Americans file bankruptcy over health care costs, he said. Its obvious we have a broken system.

See which Michigan counties have the highest rate of eviction filings

As seen with the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramlawi said, It really sets into motion a cluster mess of competing interests and policies as we try to go reopen the economy now. And the way that benefits are tied with employment, people losing their jobs, losing health care  I mean, its just a mishmash of interests that are not serving the American people.

With reforms, Ramlawi said, people still could pay extra for a Cadillac policy to jump the line and see a different doctor, but there needs to be a baseline covering all people.

Quality of life for all residents would vastly improve once theyre able to get the care they need, instead of waiting for medical emergencies that upend their lives, the council resolution states.

Failure to provide adequate primary and preventive care places unnecessary and expensive burdens on emergency services and taxes ability to respond in public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, the resolution states.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Eviction anxiety grips Washtenaw County renters in frightening environment

Ann Arbor condo developer gets OK for project after jumping through extra hoops

Huron River hit with sewage overflow from Ann Arbor wastewater plant

Neighbor permission no longer required for backyard chickens, ducks in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor council divided 7-4 on COVID-19 financial recovery plan
The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) applauded the repeal, with Andrew Perkins, NAMIC regional vice president  Great Lakes, noting, The emergency rule was an overreach, both procedurally and legally, and its revocation was in the best interest to ensure a fair process and help employers around the state.

In other states, the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the workers comp insurance marketplace have been varied.

So far, the impact has been pretty modest on our book of business, said Jonathan Tudor, senior vice president of communications at State Compensation Insurance Fund in California, adding that the insurer had only seen about 20 claims from insureds a few weeks back. We havent denied any COVID-19 claims and the only claims that hadnt gotten through turned out to not be COVID-19, so, in other words, an injured worker had made a claim and thought they had COVID-19 and it turned out that they did not  Thats been good for injured workers and its good for us so far as an organization  it reflects well on the safety precautions that our employers have put into place.

In the meantime, State Fund has announced $165 million in additional funding to support businesses and workers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. These have included doubling the size of its essential business support fund to $50 million.

Its a fund that employers can apply to for reimbursement of expenses related to safety improvements and workplace safety measures related to COVID-19, said Tudor. The most obvious example would be personal protective equipment (PPE), so things as simple as face shields and masks would be reimbursed and if you have a large organization with quite a few employees, that can be a significant expenditure.

Read more: Texas Mutual announces $2 million donation to combat COVID-19

State Fund also created a Returning California to Work COVID-19 safety protocol fund, which will provide businesses that were not deemed essential by Governor Gavin Newsomes executive order with grants to help offset the costs of safety-related expenses related to protecting their workforces from COVID-19.

Looking further ahead, the coronavirus pandemic is likely to have a significant impact on the workers compensation landscape due to its effect on workplaces.

For individuals who are not working from home, theres a heightened exposure potentially for workers compensation claims, said Mike Hessling, CEO, North America, at Gallagher Bassett, during a recent webinar hosted by The Risk Institute at the Ohio State University. In addition to increased exposures, we expect to see average claims costs increase. You can imagine for someone going out with a COVID-19 exposure, they may be quarantined for up to two weeks or more. Theres potential for ICU or even fatalities with COVID-19, and all of those drive average claim costs up.

The GB team also expects to see more litigation associated with COVID-19 as regulations continue to change and test what is or isnt compensable. Meanwhile, for employers, its challenging to anticipate what the COVID-19 risk means for their actuarial projections, so their balance sheet accurately represents their financial exposure, given the changing dynamics of workforces.

Read more: How workers comp carriers are responding to the pandemic

From a carrier and claim service organization standpoint, this also has implications. The first is the need to stay constantly aware of the changing regulatory landscape, said Hessling, highlighting a study from California around the implications of COVID-19 being considered compensable under workers comp, which could be more than 60% of the anticipated workers compensation spend for that state. Thats an area that were continuing to monitor because that requires us to also apply that same type of regulation to claims were handling. It also means that we need to touch claims potentially more than one time.

As an example, claims that were received in mid- to late March that wouldnt have been compensable under workers comp may now need to be revisited following a change in state regulation. Because this is an evolving regulatory environment, GB likewise needs to have defense counsel more involved with employers to talk about the implications of accepting or denying claims.

Moreover, the fact that 36 million Americans have lost their jobs over the past two months, with three more million people filing new claims for unemployment benefits the week of May 05, has dramatic implications for workers compensation.

We can expect to see a reduction in total workers compensation exposures for many industries as people are having to furlough or reduce their overall workforces, said Hessling. As we see the unemployment numbers rising, that has implications for potential workers compensation total volumes  We would expect as well that with the claims that do exist, claim durations will likely be extended [and] claim costs will be increased.

As a result of these impacts on the workers comp space, Hessling added, Its going to be critically important that [businesses] have ongoing conversations with carriers and claims service providers to make sure forecasts associated with claim volumes accurately represent [a] picture of what [their] workforce will look like over the course of the next 12 to 18 months.
Facebook will limit offices to 25 per cent occupancy, put people on multiple shifts and require temperature checks when it lets employees back into workplaces beginning in July, according to people familiar with the matter.

The social media company outlined to staff globally how it plans to handle a return to major job sites starting July 6, providing a glimpse at what offices may look like more broadly when businesses reopen their doors in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook will also limit how many employees can gather in meeting rooms, create 1.80-metre spaces between work stations, replace cafeteria buffets with grab-and-go meals and initially keep office gyms closed, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing company internal policy. The California-based company also will bar outside visitors initially.

Facebook is preparing to bring workers back to its headquarters in California with several safety measures. Credit:AP

Staff must wear masks in the office when not social distancing, and in some locations, masks will have to be worn at all time while working. Facebook doesn't plan to test employees for COVID-19, but it may do so in the future once quicker testing becomes more readily available, the people said.
A family has been given permission to adopt a three-year-old boy after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that his biological father forfeited his rights, in part by offering to pay to abort the child.

In a 6-3 ruling on Monday, the court said Ashley and Lance Hall can proceed with the adoption, determining that Joshua Brumbelow had abandoned his interest in his biological son, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The Halls have had custody of the boy since he was released from the hospital after his birth in July 2016.

The boy's biological mother, Jeannie Mathenia, terminated her maternal rights at the time.

Brumbelow filed a petition to legitimize his paternal rights six weeks after the baby was born and had already been placed up for adoption.

It wasn't until four months later that he reached out to Mathenia, through his mother, asking to visit the boy.

A family has been given permission to adopt a three-year-old boy after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that his biological father forfeited his rights, in part by offering to pay to abort the child. The ruling was handed down on Monday at the court building in Atlanta (pictured)

According to court documents, the boy was conceived when Brumbelow and Mathenia had a one-time sexual encounter in 2015. Mathenia was separated from her husband at the time.

Mathenia told the court that Brumbelow denied he was the father throughout her pregnancy, never visited or inquired about her well-being and did not offer any financial support for doctor visits or maternity clothes.

He did, however, offer to help her pay for an abortion, she said.

In the decision, Chief Justice Harold D Melton cited that offer as one example of Brumbelow abandoning his opportunity to develop a relationship with his biological son.

'The offer indicated that Brumbelow wanted no relationship at all with [the child], as an abortion would have ensured that no relationship could ever develop,' Melton wrote.

'Brumbelow showed no interest in becoming a father in a true relational sense throughout Mathenia's pregnancy, and seemingly expressed an interest only upon discovering that the child would be placed for adoption.'

In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Charles Bethel said that the offer to pay for the abortion is not the sole reason that a father's parental rights should be denied.

'Of course, hearts and minds change and the lack of an interest in parenting at the outset of a pregnancy can give way to genuine parental concern, nurture, and love,' Bethel wrote.

Chief Justice Harold D Melton (pictured) cited Brumbelow's offer to pay for the abortion as one example of him abandoning his opportunity to develop a relationship with his son

After the ruling was handed down, the attorney for the Halls and Mathenia, Justin Young Hester, said they were 'very pleased' with the outcome.

'I'm hopeful it means we can finalize the adoption,' Hester said.

'[Brumbelow] did not support the mother financially or emotionally, he denied that he was the father, he attended only one doctor's appointment and that was to determine the pregnancy timeline to determine if he was the father.

'He made no offers at any time other than the offer to pay for an abortion and he showed no interest in parenting the child.'

One of Brumbelow's attorneys, Dennis Cathey, said they were reviewing the ruling and have not yet decided if they will appeal.

Cathey declined to comment further.

It's unclear what precedent the ruling will set for parents who consider abortion in Georgia.

The state passed one of the country's strictest abortion laws last year, banning the procedure in most cases once a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, which typically occurs around week six of pregnancy.
By early morning April 25, crews at Israeli water facilities realized that something unusual was going on. According to reports, one pump began operating non-stop. At another facility, something seemed to have taken over the operating system, and the technicians couldnt access its regulating interface. A third station reported irregularities resulting from unplanned changes to the dataflow.

About an hour later, Israels National Cyber Directorate released an unusual announcement. It admitted that the facilities were under attack and asked companies involved in the water and energy sectors to immediately change internet passwords to access the control system, limit internet connections and verify that the most up-to-date version of the regulatory system is installed.

The Security Cabinet met for a special session on May 7, with each participating minister required to sign a confidentiality form. Reports claim that the meeting discussed possible responses to the cyberattack, which was allegedly attributed to Iran. Senior officials said after the meeting that they regard the attack as a significant escalation of hostilities by Iran and that the Islamic Republic had crossed a red line by targeting civilian water resources.

On May 9, just two days after the meeting, The Washington Post reported that Israel responded with a massive cyberattack against an Iranian port that left it paralyzed for several days. According to the report, the target was the countrys major port, the Shahid Rajaee port terminal in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas. A source quoted by the paper said, The attack targeted the container terminal at the port and paralyzed loading and unloading at the port for several days.

If this is true, the retaliatory action was disproportionately stronger than the Iranians original attack. While there were no problems with water supply or sewage maintenance after the attack in Israel, the attack on the Iranian facility reportedly snarled activity in the port. One cannot compare Israels cyber capabilities to those of Iran, said Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin (ret.), a former head of military intelligence. He told Al-Monitor, Israel is a world-class cyberpower. While I am not deriding Irans abilities, they are far less impressive than those of Israel.

Apart from the strategic location of the attack attributed by foreign media to Israel, what makes it especially interesting is that it took place out in the open. If the reports are true, the Iranian attack on Israeli infrastructure immediately legitimized a retaliatory attack on Iran, using similar weapons. It is true that attacking civilian installations is usually not the thing done, but Israel wanted to send a message that if the Iranians introduce civilian facilities into the equation, Israel will not draw a line at that, Raz Zimmt, a specialist on Iran at the Institute for National Security Studies, told Al-Monitor.

Yadlin believes that once the Iranians failed in their efforts to respond to Israel kinetically through the Syrian conflict, they decided to attempt a cyber-response to send a message that would also serve as a deterrent. The Iranians were looking for an easy way in, and cyber offers more or less that. The attack may not have succeeded in the simplest sense of the word, but it did get a message through to Israel. For its part, Israel wanted to send a firm message to the Iranians, so we are witnessing a very aggressive response  relatively, of course.

Zimmt is also convinced that the Iranian cyberattack was the result of Iranian frustration with Tehran's failure to provide an appropriate response to alleged intense Israeli attacks in Syria. I already said two weeks ago that the crisis facing the Iranians will push them to attempt a cyberattack. Iran has a legacy of asymmetrical and proxy attacks. They do it everywhere: in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. What the Iranians havent really been able to do is to respond to those attacks in Syria, which are attributed to Israel. Cyber warfare is a good solution, at least temporarily. The attacks are cheaper and more aesthetic. It is also relatively easier to obscure any tracks that might be left.

The really disturbing question is whether a cyberwar could devolve into a conventional war. What we have here is an exchange of blows, which is part of a larger campaign being waged between Israel and Iran. This is just another channel for that. But even in this channel, the Iranians are weaker and more vulnerable, so I assume that the exchange of messages will remain at this level, said Yadlin.

Zimmt believes that Iran is not interested in a military conflict with Israel, at least at this stage. Right now, the situation is less volatile, as compared to the last year and a half. This is not a good time for the Iranians to get into a full-blown military conflict with Israel. There are all sorts of reasons for this. I assume that when decisions about attacks are made in Jerusalem, they also begin with the assumption that the Iranians are being more cautious now.

Nevertheless, Zimmt warns that we are headed toward a milestone in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and that the current round of cyberattacks may be a prologue. The Iranians are just four to six months away from obtaining nuclear capabilities. They are making progress, cautiously but steadily. This actually does have the potential to result in a significant clash between Israel and Iran. Within just a few months, Israel could find itself facing a situation that it cannot afford to ignore.
Last week, Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz was called to a teleconference with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and what he assumed would be a group of other mayors.

As it turned out, it was just me and him, Saenz said.

To the mayors shock, Ross had called to advise him that Laredo is lagging behind in its response to the census. The national self-response rate as of Tuesday is 59.6%. Meanwhile, Texas is 54.3% and Laredos is 43.1%.

In fact, of the top 25 most populous cities in Texas, Laredo ranks last for the percentage of residents who have filled out their census forms.

Laredo, and especially the rural areas and colonias of Webb County, have long been undercounted in the census. Each person who is not counted represents thousands of dollars of lost federal funding and an incorrect tally in any federal, state and local redistricting.

Knowing this, the City of Laredo had planned to integrate census outreach at essentially all city events until the deadline to submit the survey.

Then, the coronavirus pandemic struck and upended any opportunity for in-person promotion, the most effective way to connect with the harder-to-reach population that may not have social media or an internet connection.

Tina Martinez, director of Community Development for the City of Laredo, said in lieu of these interactive events, she has reached out to the library and local food banks to see if they can include fliers promoting the census with each pickup.

More Information Census self-response rate for 25 largest cities in Texas, ranked by population 1. Houston: 50.3% 2. San Antonio: 56.5% 3. Dallas: 51.4% 4. Austin: 58.2% 5. Fort Worth: 57.2% 6. El Paso: 59.2% 7. Arlington: 59.7% 8. Corpus Christi: 50.4% 9. Plano: 66.3% 10. Laredo: 43.1% 11. Lubbock: 56.6% 12. Garland: 61.5% 13. Irving: 52.6% 14. Amarillo: 58.5% 15. Grand Prarie: 58.8% 16. McKinney: 66.8% 17. Frisco: 64.8% 18. Brownsville: 47.7% 19. Pasadena: 51.4% 20. Killeen: 53.6% 21. McAllen: 49.7% 22. Mesquite: 58.8% 23. Midland: 54.2% 24. Denton: 57.5% 25. Waco: 53.5% See More Collapse

Although the city will be spreading the word about the census on social media, the people who are less likely to complete the survey online is the population without an internet connection at all.

About 75% of the Laredoans who have filled out the census already have done so online.

Some areas of town had better response than others, and I think the ones that were lacking were the ones that dont have the availability of social media  our more vulnerable population, the ones that are used to seeing us out there and talking on a one-to-one (basis), Martinez said.

The Laredo census tract with the highest self-response rate, 60%, is the area around Mall del Norte. Over 82% of these responses were filed online.

The census tract with the lowest self-response rate is, roughly, El Azteca with 29.5% of residents completing the survey thus far. Only 40% did so online.

Due to the pandemic, the deadline to respond to the census has been pushed back to Oct. 31. Martinez said this gives them more time to revamp their outreach strategy.

City Manager Robert Eads said they are thinking of utilizing their staff at rec centers, which remain closed, to help with outreach.
Brazil has suffered its bleakest day of the coronavirus crisis so far with a record 1,179 new deaths and 17,408 new cases in a day, cementing the country's place as a new epicentre of Covid-19.

The alarming surge brings Brazil's death toll from 16,792 to 17,971 - with experts warning that the worst is yet to come.

The total number of infections rose from 254,220 to 271,628, the third-highest total in the world after the United States and Russia.

Public health experts say the peak is not expected until June and fear that the true scale of the crisis is far greater because of insufficient testing.

Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro remains bitterly opposed to the lockdowns which most states have imposed, raging at the economic damage over what he calls a 'little flu'.

Brazil's daily death toll from coronavirus, shown on this graph, reached a record high of 1,179 yesterday - the first time that more than 1,000 deaths have been added in a day

Brazil's number of cases rose by 17,408, also a record high for the country - which now has the third-highest infection count in the world

Brazil's health ministry said 146,863 people were currently having treatment for Covid-19, while 106,794 people have recovered from the disease.

The latest death toll is the first time that more than 1,000 deaths have been added in a day.

The ministry said many of the 1,179 new deaths did not occur yesterday and were only being registered now because of delays in confirming the cause of death.

The state of Sao Paulo accounts for 65,995 of the total cases while the Rio de Janeiro region has suffered 27,805, according to official figures.

Sao Paulo has seen 5,147 deaths, with 3,079 fatalities confirmed in Rio de Janeiro, the health ministry says.

Hospitals are already close to the breaking point in some areas, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the northwestern state of Amazonas.

About 13 million Brazilians live in shanty town 'favelas,' where hygiene recommendations and physical distancing are near impossible to follow.

Bolsonaro has been a bitter opponent of lockdown measures, but most of the country's 27 state governors have ignored him and imposed their own.

Earlier this month the government of Sao Paulo extended mandatory quarantine orders through to May 31, after they were originally due to expire on May 11.

Bolsonaro argues that the toll on the economy is becoming unbearable and businesses must be allowed to reopen as soon as possible.

The government now expects Brazil will post its biggest annual economic contraction this year since records began over a century ago.

Coronavirus patients lie inside capsules in a hospital in Manaus on Monday, in Brazil which has now suffered nearly 18,000 deaths from Covid-19

Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (pictured in Brasilia earlier this month) has opposed lockdowns and touted the use of the unproven anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine

Like his ally Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has also touted the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus, even though doctors are doubtful about its effectiveness and warn of possible health risks from taking it.

The president has lost two health ministers during the crisis, one of whom resigned after clashing with Bolsonaro over the use of chloroquine.

Bolsonaro said interim minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the use of the drug.

The president told Brazilian media that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now.

Bolsonaro has also flouted social distancing rules himself by speaking to supporters at outdoor rallies and saying he would invite 30 friends for a barbecue.

Latin America and the world's poorer regions have so far suffered less from the pandemic than the rich world, but there are fears that the worst is yet to come.

Argentina has also seen a spike of infections in its second city of Cordoba, forcing officials to roll back plans to ease the lockdown.

Pan American Health Organization officials say they are concerned about the virus' spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil.

They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.

World Bank chief David Malpass said yesterday that up to 60million people could be 'pushed into extreme poverty' as the virus hits developing countries.
Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk!

You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details.
The prison management systems market is expected to grow by USD 271.39 million during 2020-2024. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact can be expected to be significant in the first quarter but gradually lessen in subsequent quarters with a limited impact on the full-year economic growth, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519005712/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Prison Management Systems Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Cloud-based prison management software provides numerous advantages compared to traditional software packages. It enables organizations to access data and services remotely through a web browser without the need for installing and managing the application software. It also has multiple advantages including minimal operational expenses, pay-as-you-go model, easy accessibility, reduced upfront cost, and shorter processing time. These advantages are driving the adoption of cloud-based solutions, which in turn, is expected to drive the prison management systems market growth during the forecast period.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43161

As per Technavio, the rising availability of information on social media will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Prison Management Systems Market: Rising Availability of Information on Social Media

Social media tools scan platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to collect information, which can be used by police departments to curb criminal activities. Accessing data in real-time is important for law enforcement officials as it provides actionable insights, allowing police departments and law enforcement officials to make quicker decisions. Modern prison management systems take advantage of smart maps, visualized information, and location analytics that empower the frontline officers and commanders with better decision making. Prison management systems integrate every data type and apply advanced analytic tools to predict and solve the crime and thus protect citizens. Hence, the increasing availability of information on social media is expected to be a key trend in the market.

"Factors such as the increasing use of mobile applications, increase in government expenditure on public safety, and the innovative upgrades to software will have a significant impact on the growth of the prison management systems market value during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports

Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Prison Management Systems Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the prison management systems market by deployment (on-premise and cloud-based) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

The North American region led the prison management systems market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, MEA, and South America respectively. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as increased spending on prison management systems and the increasing prison population.

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/20200519005712/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/
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 13:32:59|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- With borders being temporarily closed worldwide and passenger flights mostly canceled to curb the spread of the coronavirus, tourism has been one of the worst affected sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Restrict measures in many places have started to be lifted as preventive efforts paid off. Tourists are eager to get outdoors while governments begin to think how to bring them in while keeping COVID-19 out.

On Monday, in a conference call, foreign ministers from Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia agreed that, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Europe needs to go further.

They urged "the tourism industry and related private actors to take advantage of the coming weeks to take appropriate preventive measures so that they can protect travelers as soon as freedom of movement and travel is restored," according to a joint declaration.

Following the conference, Cyprus' Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides said his country's tourism sector will restart sooner in June than originally planned, given its epidemiological situation, and a detailed travel advice will be issued for each country.

Meanwhile, Greek authorities said on Tuesday that they will allow travel to and from all its islands.

Restaurants will open on May 25 and hotels are scheduled to follow on June 1 as Greece is taking steps to kick start its tourism sector, a pillar of its economy.

Turkey expects to restart domestic tourism in late May and international tourism after mid-June, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, the country's culture and tourism minister, said last week.

Ersoy said Turkey has called 70 countries to inform them about the health infrastructure in the country, ensuring them that Turkey is safe for tourism.

Turkey has also started a detailed certification program for hotels, which "was the first in the world, and the EU also decided to initiate a similar one," Ersoy said.

In recent years, Turkey has become a destination for health tourism, accommodating more than 1 million foreign patients in 2018.

In order to make up for the losses, Turkey will start accepting foreign patients next week from 31 countries, but only COVID-19 negative individuals will be accepted in the health facilities of Turkey.

Thailand's state tourism body on Tuesday revealed its plan to rebrand its tourism logo from "Amazing Thailand" to "Amazing Trusted Thailand" in the post COVID-19 era.

The new brand name is aimed at selective markets and destinations inside Thailand that guarantees health and safety standards for both tourists and locals.

"October is the estimated month that we think tourists will visit Thailand, so all state agencies and the private sectors are working on a proper recovery plan that won't risk a second wave of COVID-19," said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Enditem
HOUSTONBefore the doctor unzipped his COVID-19 units plastic curtain, he grabbed a laminated photo from a hook labelled Faces Behind the Mask. He draped the photo over his protective suit so patients could see who he was: Dr. Joseph Varon, 58, bald and trim with intense blue eyes.

Varon entered the 20-bed unit hyper as usual, rustling through the airlock of an entrance like an astronaut, raising the final curtain with hands coated in several sets of black rubber gloves.

A lung doctor specializing in intensive care, hed managed emergency rooms at larger hospitals, spoken a half-dozen languages in clinics around the world. When SARS erupted in Asia, Varon flew to Singapore to learn how to treat it. Now he was pulling 20-hour shifts, phoning medical students late at night to scan the latest research.

As he noted in a recent medical journal, being a COVIDoligist means, No days off, no time for family. No time for anything else other than COVID-19.

This, he said, is what Im meant to do.

As chief of staff and chief of critical care services at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Varon and his small team of nurses and medical student volunteers have treated COVID-19 patients with surprising success.

Two weeks ago, the units central hallway was chilly, the air conditioning cranked. But Varon was sweating inside his hooded white protective suit, breath fogging his face shield even through two layers of masks. He strode swiftly past a boxy negative-pressure machine that hummed as it blocked contaminated air from escaping the unit.

A double layer of shoe covers muffled Varons steps, sparing him from having to disinfect his shoes. A half-dozen nurses and medical students hurried behind him.

This is a real war, Varon said. And its a war that has more intricate elements, because what were dealing with is patients coming to terms with having it, he said of the virus. People dont like to believe they have this illness.

The first patient he checked was Rochelle Hodges, 43, a call centre operator. She had returned to the unit the day before after leaving against his advice, potentially exposing others.

The doctor leaned within inches of Hodges face to be heard as his staff helped her sit up. They eased her long brown ponytail aside and gingerly lowered her hospital gown to slide an ultrasound wand across her chest. Her lungs appeared on a black-and-white monitor, inflamed.

Nurses reviewed her chart and jotted down her vital signs on one of few available surfaces  the white legs of their Tyvek suits, which they would wear until the end of their 12-hour shifts.

How are you feeling, baby? Varon asked, touching Hodges shoulder. You look much better.

Hodges frowned. When I get up and try to walk, Im short of breath.

The doctor reassured her that she was healing. By the time he moved on, Hodges was smiling.

Varon checked on a woman who had arrived at the hospital days before seeking narcotics, needle pricks in her arms, only to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

Then he visited a jail guard a few doors down who may have been exposed at work. At least 229 county jail employees had contracted COVID, one inmate had died, and of 800 others tested, 40 per cent were positive, making the jail a national hot spot for infections.

Next, the doctor greeted Melequiades Cervantes, a cook at an Italian restaurant.

How are you feeling? Varon asked in Spanish as nurses lowered Cervantes gown for his chest ultrasound.

Cervantes, 43, had been hospitalized 11 days. He said he felt well enough to return to work to support his wife and four kids.

But he could barely sit up in bed. On the ultrasound monitor, Varon saw blood clots that could cause a stroke.

The doctor decided Cervantes would have to stay a bit longer.

Little by little, youre getting better, said Anita Pandey, 26, the hospitals chief nursing officer.

Cervantes was not put on a ventilator. Though the breathing machines have become commonplace, Varon believes they decrease survival rates to about 20 per cent.

As he passed the rooms of his patients, they could be heard chatting on cellphones and watching television programs in English and Spanish. Nurses had their own children draw pictures to decorate the rooms, with crayoned messages like, Be paciant. You will survive.

So far, all 50 patients treated on the unit have lived.

I dont know what place in the U.S. knows more about COVID than this little hospital  the treatment and the social issues, Varon said.

The next patient, Ira Brown, a 67-year-old wrecker truck driver, insisted he didnt have the virus even though his chest scans showed telltale lung damage.

Now everyone thinks theyre a COVID expert, Varon muttered, shaking his head.

Before finishing morning rounds, the doctor stopped to check a senile woman. She was still on oxygen, but ready for discharge. The problem: The nursing home where she lived refused to accept her because shed had COVID.

We cannot find a place for her. No nursing home wants her, Varon said.

After morning rounds, Pandey settled into the nurses station to contact nursing homes that might accept the woman.

COVID stigma also made it difficult to staff the unit. When it opened, three nurses quit. Almost all of the hospitals respiratory therapy department stayed home. Varon has relied on loyal nurses, temps and a slew of medical student volunteers like Alan Araiza.

Araiza, 24, had travelled from Tijuana, where he attended school. He has been sleeping in a vacant hospital room since March 29. Sometimes Pandey naps nearby, when she manages to sleep at all.

After making a few more calls without success to nursing homes, Pandey re-entered the COVID unit for a task everyone enjoys: Preparing a patient for discharge.

Ruth Medrano had spent nearly a week in the unit. Medrano, 46, was eager to return to her disabled 20-year-old daughter. In Spanish, Pandey explained that Medrano would need to quarantine for at least a week, take her medications and visit the hospitals outpatient COVID clinic.

Can I go to the store? I dont have anything to eat at home, Medrano said.

The nurse said she could, but to wear a mask.

Medrano also requested a letter clearing her to return to work as a waitress. Pandey agreed as Varon scrawled Que te mejores! (Get well) on a trophy certificate he awards every discharged patient: Nice try COVID  I survived.

Varon posed for a photo with Medrano before gathering with staff to watch her walk out. They all applauded.

Varon received a similar certificate from his family after he survived a stroke six years ago.

He worries those who leave without finishing treatment could die. He worries as well for those who never seek treatment at all. Texas has the most uninsured people in the country and has refused to expand Medicaid.

Varon wheeled out a monitor to review patient lung and heart scans. Browns lungs were criss-crossed with damage, Varon said, pointing to a web of white lines. Another scan showed Browns heart was enlarged, with a large clot.

Hes going to drop dead if he goes home, Varon said.

As for Cervantes, the medical team noted that he had a low platelet count, which made giving him blood thinners a risk. But his blood clots also were life threatening. The team gathered around his scans, debating what to do.

Lets wait 24 hours, Varon said.

Pandey re-entered the COVID unit to inform patients that they would not be leaving yet.

Cervantes agreed to stay, grudgingly shaking Pandeys hand.

The nurse moved a few doors down to Brown, who was irate.

Im not sick like some other people, he said, exasperated.

The nurse asked if he had been exposed to anyone with COVID. Brown said he had not left home since the pandemic started except to try to refill his blood pressure medication, unsuccessfully. Thats why he came to the hospital, to fill that prescription.

Pandey urged him to stay. He dismissed her suited figure, saying, All of yall look alike.

Tell the doctor Im going to leave whether you want me to or not. Im walking out of here, he said.

Pandey called in temp nurse Sherron Lovelady to try to reason with him. Lovelady, 53, is African American like Brown. She had just lost her 79-year-old father, a nursing home patient, to suspected COVID.

Just stay until morning, she pleaded. Brown was still hooked to an IV.

Are you going to take it out, or am I? he said.

At the same time, across the hospital, Varon admitted another COVID patient to the emergency room, a 40-year-old man with extremely low blood oxygen.

This is probably one of the worst we have seen, Varon said. If this guy did not come here, he would be dead.

Eliazar Angel Rodriguez, a mover and father of two, had driven himself to the hospitals COVID outpatient clinic. He said an ambulance dispatcher had refused transport, telling him, We will not take you to the hospital unless you are gasping on the floor and turning purple.

Varon fumed. He vowed to contact the ambulance company to investigate, but wasnt optimistic. Not everyone was willing to treat the uninsured and hope for reimbursement from the government, as his hospital was.

We have to tell people to come straight here, not to call an ambulance, he told his staff.

In the COVID unit, Pandey and Araiza attached a blood oxygen monitor to Rodriguezs finger and slowly flipped him onto his belly to keep his airways clear. He could barely hold his head up as they attached an oxygen tube to help him breathe and an IV that pumped him with a unique cocktail of medication.

By the next day, he would be sitting up, talking, eating and watching telenovelas. So would Cervantes.

Varon has been fine-tuning his COVID treatment with Dr. Joseph Gathe Jr., 63, a local infectious disease specialist who pioneered HIV treatments in the 1980s.

Theyve started a non-profit foundation to test and treat the uninsured for COVID. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explores vaccines and alternative treatments, Varon said, we have to make our own way.

Varon, who has also been consulting with colleagues in China, Italy and Spain, employs a treatment of steroids, blood thinners, Vitamin C and hydroxychloroquine, one of the drugs touted by President Trump.

But an effective treatment is useless if a patient refuses care. Texas COVID patients who try to leave against doctors advice have not been ordered hospitalized by the courts, although those with tuberculosis have, Varon noted.

Some COVID patients left his hospitals outpatient clinic when the line grew too long, dumping admission paperwork in the hedge outside.

Nurses could only watch as Brown pulled out his IV and left the isolation unit, blood trickling down his forearm. He made it as far as the parking lot before staff persuaded him to return inside to clean up and complete discharge paperwork.

As he signed out, nurse Tanna Ingraham sat in the nurses station holding her tongue behind a rhinestone-studded Dallas Cowboys mask.

Her great uncle had just died of COVID. Ingraham, 42, had been staying in a hotel to protect her immunocompromised mother and two young daughters.

Please wear a mask, Ingraham told Brown. And if you feel sick, call.

She waited until Brown sauntered out before retreating to the break room, muttering, I want to cry.

With this second wave coming, people are in denial, she said, reheating a plate of roast beef from the hospital cafeteria.

Lovelady joined her. I just have a feeling that mans last breath will be gasping for air, she said.

The next morning, Brown would indeed awake unable to breathe.

He rushed to the hospital and was readmitted, still refusing to believe he had the virus, even after Gathe visited and confirmed his diagnosis.

A week earlier, Loveladys temp agency had called to ask, Do you do COVID? She wasnt sure. She had handled complicated cases: HIV patients, drug addicts and adults with disabilities. But if she worked on the unit, she would have to isolate from her family, including her first grandchild, a newborn. Still, she said yes.

The first time the nurse suited up for the COVID unit, she felt light-headed and had to will herself not to pass out. But she discovered that aiding the isolated patients helped her grieve for her father. By the end of this, her first six-day week of 12-hour shifts with few breaks, Lovelady had reached a decision: She wanted to work the COVID unit full time.

Before leaving the nurses station last Friday, even as she longed to hit the shower and grab a beer, Lovelady stopped to ask if the team would need her to work Sunday, Mothers Day. Maybe, a manager said.

Loveladys late father used to organize a family brunch to celebrate the holiday. But now she felt like she belonged on the COVID unit. She would wait on call.

The following night, she got a message: The COVID unit needed her. And so, she worked Mothers Day.
On Monday, President Trump casually told reporters that hes been taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug he has repeatedly touted as effective against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The reporters seemed stunned. I was just waiting to see your eyes light up when I said this, Trump told them. The president does not (as far as we know) have COVID-19 (or malaria), and theres no conclusive proof that hydroxychloroquine works against it; Trumps Food and Drug Administration even warned, last month, that COVID-19 patients should not administer it outside of a clinical or hospital setting because it can cause heart problems. Trumps comment set off an instant media firestorm. Reacting on MSNBC, John Heilemann said there was a high probability that Trump was lying, and just wanted people to think, having told everyone else to take it, that he himself is taking it, even though hes not in fact taking it. Over on Fox, Neil Cavuto, who has underlying health issues himself, strongly advised vulnerable viewers not to follow Trumps lead. I cannot stress enough, he said. This will kill you. Later, Foxs opinion hosts contradicted Cavuto. Sean Hannity took aim at the media mob. Laura Ingraham (on whom more shortly) accused liberal pundits of freaking out.

Trumps taking (or alleged taking) of hydroxychloroquine continued to attract attention yesterday. News channels hosted doctors who warned of the drugs potential dangers. Foxs Cavuto returned to the topic, rattling off a list of studies that concluded that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective COVID cure. Speaking during a cabinet meeting, Trump stoked the fires again, seeming to deny that the FDA advice is a thing, and attacking one study, carried out on a group of veterans, as the phony work of people who are obviously not friends of the administration. (As CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale wrote afterward, there are valid reasons to question the study, but its not a hatchet job.) Some media-watchers argued that Trump was deliberately distracting attention from weightier mattersincluding the firing of the State Department inspector generaland that the media shouldnt let him. Others disagreed.

ICYMI: Ronan Farrow, Ben Smith, and the problem of the superstar journalist

To understand Trumps obsession with hydroxychloroquine, we need to back up a bit. Earlier this year, scientists in various countries started examining whether chloroquine, to which hydroxychloroquine is related, might work against COVID-19. The hypothesis was reasonable, but some of the ways in which it has been testedand some of the people testing ithave attracted intense scrutiny. In late February, Didier Raoult, an eccentric, silver-maned French microbiologist, emerged as a particularly forceful champion of hydroxychloroquine, which he touted in YouTube videos, and in an interview with the Russian state-backed broadcaster RT. Quickly, Raoult became a folk hero in dark corners of the internet; in the US, his advocacy caught the attention of a cryptocurrency investor named James Todaro and a Long Island lawyer named Gregory Rigano, who worked to draw attention to Raoults claims. Elon Musk shared them on Twitter; right-wing news sites, including Breitbart, picked them up, too. In mid-March, Rigano appeared on Ingrahams Fox show, and then on Tucker Carlsons; he told Carlson, who had introduced Rigano as an adviser at the Stanford University School of Medicine (he isnt), that Raoult is the most eminent infectious disease specialist in the world (nope), and that he (Rigano) was here to announce the second cure to a virus of all time (he wasnt). Its our job to be skeptical of all and any claims, Carlson said, calling on the federal government to investigate. However, I very much want to believe this. So, apparently, did the president, who picked up on hydroxychloroquine soon after.

From then through mid-April, we saw an epic feedback loop: right-wing media personalities boosted the drug, leading Trump to boost it, leading right-wing media personalities to boost Trumps boosterism, and so on. Personalities on Fox pushed the drug, as the Washington Posts Erik Wemple put it, to near Benghazi-levels of hype. (Wemple added, Theres nothing that these people cannot politicize.) COVID patients were invited on air to share their experiences with hydroxychloroquine; Ainsley Earhardt told one, on Fox & Friends, that it had been a miracle drug for you. On April 7, Carlson accused the mainstream media of downplaying the drugs potential because a politician they dont like has endorsed it, and called that probably the most shameful thing Ive ever seen. Ingraham was especially enthusiastic; according to the Post, she even visited Trump in the White House to push the drug, along with two doctors shes hosted on her show. As studies questioning the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID patients racked up, both Trump and Fox started to talk about it less. Then the feedback loop started back up again. On Monday, after Trump said he was taking the drug himself, Ingraham hosted a doctor on her show who called it life-changing. Studies, Ingraham allowed, are still coming in, but on the whole, she said, hydroxychloroquine is very safe.

At various points in Trumps touting of the drug, journalists and commentators have tried to work out why hes doing it. After a New York Times story casually noted, in early April, that Trump has a financial interest in Sanofi, a French company that makes hydroxychloroquine, Twitter thought it had its answerbut Trumps stake is small, and the personal gain hypothesis has since lost traction. The Times reported, in the same story, that Trump allies have a much bigger stake in Sanofi. That deserves careful scrutiny. Still, theres a much easier explanation for all thisthat Trump is so wired into right-wing media, and right-wing media is so wired into him, that theyre trapped together in a self-perpetuating cycle. If a French doctor with a skull ring and a pair of blockchain enthusiasts can get the attention of right-wing media, they can get the attention of the presidentand, with it, the attention of the US media as a whole. It might be that simple.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

We shouldnt retire our skepticism; money always talks, and until evidence is provided, we shouldnt assume that Trump is actually taking the drug himself. But its clear that our warped information ecosystem is steering health policy at a critical time. Last night, MSNBCs Chris Hayes dwelled on that theme, exploring the possibility that Trump believes his own BS. The president, Hayes pointed out, has been pumping conservative media into his brain for a decade or two at least, and that entire universe runs on advertisements for magic pills and supplements. The depressing reality, he argued, is that the hydroxychloroquine gambit probably isnt some 12th-dimensional chess. Its not even some corrupt angle hes working. The president literally thinks there is some secret magic solution.

Below, more on the coronavirus:

Covering New York: For CJR and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Sara Rafsky followed up on research she published in January on the state of local news in New York City to find out how the pandemic has changed the picture. One of the main findings from my previous report was that health and healthcare issues were going underreportedin particular, the municipal hospital system, Rafsky notes. Now, every reporter has become a health reporter.

For CJR and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Sara Rafsky followed up on research she published in January on the state of local news in New York City to find out how the pandemic has changed the picture. One of the main findings from my previous report was that health and healthcare issues were going underreportedin particular, the municipal hospital system, Rafsky notes. Now, every reporter has become a health reporter. Covering Chicago: Amy Jacobson, a TV news reporter turned Salem talk-radio host in Chicago, has been barred from attending briefings held by J.B. Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, after she spoke at an anti-lockdown rally. Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzkers press secretary, noted that there was Nazi imagery on display at the rally. An impartial journalist would not have attended that rally in that capacity, Abudayyeh wrote Jacobson, and therefore you will no longer be invited to participate as an impartial journalist. Chicago media-watcher Robert Feder has the details.

Amy Jacobson, a TV news reporter turned Salem talk-radio host in Chicago, has been barred from attending briefings held by J.B. Pritzker, the Democratic governor of Illinois, after she spoke at an anti-lockdown rally. Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzkers press secretary, noted that there was Nazi imagery on display at the rally. An impartial journalist would not have attended that rally in that capacity, Abudayyeh wrote Jacobson, and therefore you will no longer be invited to participate as an impartial journalist. Chicago media-watcher Robert Feder has the details. Covering Australia: According to the Australian Newsroom Mapping Project, 157 Australian newsrooms have shuttered on a permanent or temporary basis since early 2019. Amanda Reade writes, for The Guardian, that the countrys news industry was under enormous strain coming into 2020 but the coronavirus has accelerated its decline.

According to the Australian Newsroom Mapping Project, 157 Australian newsrooms have shuttered on a permanent or temporary basis since early 2019. Amanda Reade writes, for The Guardian, that the countrys news industry was under enormous strain coming into 2020 but the coronavirus has accelerated its decline. In brief: In the UK, researchers at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that an initial surge in interest in news about the pandemic has been followed by a significant increase in news avoidance. The American Civil Liberties Union warned, in a report, that fever-screening tools such as temperature scanners should not be deployed to help reopen the US as theyre ineffective, and pose a longer-term threat to freedom from surveillance. And the CBS Evening News didnt air on the East Coast last night, due to apparent technical problems. (It aired on the West Coast.) Norah ODonnell, the shows host, said it was a broadcast in the era of COVID.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: The many coronavirus conspiracy theories

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
KEARNEY  Three people are in jail today following an armed robbery late Tuesday night at Prairie View Apartments in Kearney.

At 11:15 p.m. Kearney Police Department officers were called to the apartment complex at 211 E. Eighth St. for a report of an unknown man armed with a handgun who had threatened a man and stole his money.

At 1 a.m. today officers located one of the suspects at Super 8 Motel, two blocks west of Prairie View Apartments. According to a KPD news release, Dayton Burton, 21, was arrested on suspicion of felony robbery, use of a weapon to commit a felony and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The investigation led to other suspects being involved in the incident.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

Around 6:30 a.m. today the Kearney/Buffalo County Emergency Services Unit (SWAT) team served a search warrant on a room at the Baymont Hotel at 619 Second Ave. Vincent Burns, 29, and Keegan Cumpston, 24, were both arrested on suspicion of felony robbery, use of a weapon to commit a felony and conspiracy to commit a felony, the news release said.

Shali (Puga) Chavez, 31, was also located in the hotel room and arrested on suspicion of possession of a methamphetamine.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Strong concern about a second wave of coronavirus infections is reinforcing widespread opposition among Americans to reopening public places, a new poll finds, even as many state leaders step up efforts to return to life before the pandemic.

Yet support for public health restrictions imposed to control the virus spread is no longer overwhelming. It has been eroded over the past month by a widening partisan divide, with Democrats more cautious and Republicans less anxious as President Donald Trump urges states to open up our country, according to the new survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The poll finds that 83% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned that lifting restrictions in their area will lead to additional infections, with 54% saying they are very or extremely concerned that such steps will result in a spike of COVID-19 cases.

Oh, Id like to get my hair and nails done. Its one of those little pleasures you take for granted, said Kathy Bishop, a 59-year-old billing specialist who battled pneumonia two years ago. But Im just going to suck it up. Its not worth the risk.

Bishop lives in the western suburbs of Columbus, a state where Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is among the state chief executives leading a gradual reopening of businesses such as salons, barbershops, restaurants and bars. But even after nine weeks spent cloistered at home, Bishop is among the solid majority of Americans who support rigorous criteria for economic reopening that goes beyond wearing masks in public places and continued social distancing.

About 8 in 10 Americans say that its essential to reopening for people to return to self-quarantine if they are exposed to the virus. Roughly 6 in 10 also say having widespread testing for the coronavirus in their area is essential to reestablishing public activities, along with requiring people to keep six feet apart in most places and to wear face masks when theyre near others outside their homes.

Nearly as telling as the publics appetite for rigorous precaution: close to half say it is essential that a vaccine be available before public life resumes. Another third say thats important, although not essential.

Taken together, the findings suggest that while some Americans are anxious to get back to business as usual, most dont see the country returning anytime soon to what once was considered normal. Instead, Americans largely envision a protracted period of physical distancing, covered faces and intermittent quarantines ahead, perhaps until a vaccine is available.

Joe Yeskewicz, of Middleboro, Massachusetts, said he believes a vaccine is a must for his town of 23,000 south of Boston to fully reopen. Hes among the nearly 8 in 10 Americans who dont expect one to be ready before the end of the year.

It is so novel, so unpredictable and so terribly, terribly contagious, the 76-year-old retired teacher and college professor said of the virus. The vaccine predictably could take years because it has to undergo a vigorous testing program for it to be effective and safe. Regardless of the optimism, this is going to take a while.

The latest AP-NORC survey was conducted over this past weekend, before Mondays news of positive results in a clinical trial of a potential vaccine. It found that a solid majority of about 6 in 10 Americans are in favor of requiring people to stay in their homes except for essential errands, with about third of the country strongly in behind that approach.

While still resolute, support for such measures to contain the coronavirus has slipped in the past month  80% were in favor of stay-at-home orders in April. The new survey found that 69% now favor restricting gatherings to 10 people or fewer, down from 82% in April.

Those declines are largely driven by changes in attitudes among Republicans, as Trump and several GOP governors have aggressively pressed for and moved ahead with reopening businesses and public places. Some people in Wisconsin headed straight for the local tavern last week after the conservative-controlled state Supreme Court upheld the GOP-controlled legislatures appeal of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers stay-at-home order.

Just 45% of Republicans now say they favor stay-at-home orders, while about as many are opposed. A month ago, 70% of Republicans backed them. Among Democrats, 78% favor stay-at-home orders, down from 91% in April.

Only about a third of Republicans say they are very or extremely concerned about the possibility of additional infections if restrictions are lifted, compared to three-quarters of Democrats.

Peggy Dullum, a 65-year-old Republican and retired state health care worker from suburban Sacramento, California, said she once supported strict lockdown measures to contain the virus. But she now thinks they have outlived their purpose.

If theyd have opened all retail, it would have spread out social activity rather than congesting it in those few retail locations where people crowded without masks, Dullum said. Make everybody wear a mask, instead of making it voluntary, and we probably could have kept the economy moving at a solid pace during the second month.

But Yeskewicz, the Democratic-leaning independent from Massachusetts, shakes his head  including at the small but vocal pockets of protesters, at times armed and brandishing Confederate flags, who complain leaders who back continued safety measures are doing so out of anything but concern for public health.

We cant just arbitrarily restore privileges simply because people are so desperate they cant stand it any more, Yeskewicz said. Its not about peoples rights being violated. They are trying to keep you alive, you bozos!



Fingerhut reported from Washington.



The AP-NORC poll of 1,056 adults was conducted May 14-18 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.



Online:

AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/
20.05.2020 LISTEN

At a point in time, we should think or consider organizing a massive clean-up exercise within the Student bodies in order to put the fraternity back on track.

This is not about glorious hymns where the leading vocalist will shout.."Praise him!!!", but it is about Stripling that faulty and non-uniformed Students front naked.

Off late, their activities are becoming uninspiring. Nartey Larweh in his poem, So many rivers to cross, captured It perfectly, "I have reached a stage in life, where going forward is perilous, flicking back is cowardice, remaining still is suicidal but I will persevere."

We can not flick back, maintaining this situation too is suicidal and even a threat to the front, but upon everything, we have to organize this exercise in order to strengthen the front of which Perseverance is unabated.

The front is gradually becoming weak and dysfunctional...the gaits of the horses in front are no more functioning, and this has affected their locomotion. Someone will term it as, "lame horses."

Student leadership has nothing to do with grammar because it's not a grammar competition, it's not how handsome or beautiful one is, but it is a serious business, where men and women with a romantic brain can add up something to the dashboard. Those who can turn things around, and can accept competence and integrity as their personal saviour.

Those who can bring something out of nothing, those who can bring a rotten bone, back to life. Those we can label as game-changers. Those who can bury their pride and swallow the coin of arrogance, just to inspire hope.

Men and women, who can do away with fear, and showcase some level of confidence to the extent of speaking the truth to power. This doesn't sound like asking for heaven to be replicated on our miserable part of the earth. This has nothing to do with miracles.

Someone who will reenforce the Confucian tradition that, a man is responsible for everything, irrespective of the situation, even in the midst of crisis. A special surgeon, who will be bold to give the right diagnosis and can go further to remove that cancerous tumor.

Students' leadership needs a second look because they are the mouthpiece of over a million people across the state. The current situation can be described as an error of an era. As my friend, Bombay will say, "there is more room for improvement."

As Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey said, "A new breed of leadership is needed. Leaders who are preoccupied with empowerment; not those obsessed with raw power and ready to use deception to consolidate same."

A new wind should blow, and I know it will eliminate those who see corruption as Romeo's love for Juliet. Currently, the front is on life support, at the intensive care unit of a sicker leadership hospital.

We can't afford to fail this generation, we should bury our timidity, which has been misinterpreted as humility and face reality. There is a lot on the Student's cheers board, of which some need immediate attention or response.

Will urge all Student leaders to stand firm and speak the truth with facts and figures. Currently, that front can be described as "Lame horse". They should take the boo by the horn, and rise up from their unromantic tail.

That tumor needs immediate attention.

Thank you.

Author: Adjei Boakye

Student Activist.

Email: [email protected]

Executive Director: *Captains Connekt*
A well-known market intelligence company, Infiniti Research, has partnered with several global companies across industries to help meet their strategic objectives and implement seamless route-to-market strategies through turnkey solutions. Their latest success story outlines the key business challenges faced by a pet food manufacturing market client and explains how the client leveraged market assessment solution to combat these roadblocks. Request a free brochure to learn more about Infiniti's market assessment solution.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005451/en/

Over the past few years, the pet food manufacturing industry has been performing well despite the economic downturn. Increasing pet humanization and growing tendency of millennials to treat pets as members of the family are propelling the demand for premium pet foods. In addition, convenience benefits related with dry, organic, and natural pet food are expected to greatly fuel the growth of the pet food manufacturing industry over the coming years. To succeed in the long-run, pet food brands will need to keep up with the market innovations and the latest trends to fulfill more conscious consumer demands.

Ensuring business continuity a challenge due to COVID-19? Request a free proposal to learn how Infiniti is helping companies around the globe assess the business impact of the coronavirus outbreak and plan for business revival post-COVID-19.

Business Challenges Faced

Our client, a pet food manufacturer based out of San Francisco, witnessed stagnant growth for two consecutive years. Also, they were losing out their market share to competitors. To cover up for the losses, the company collaborated with Infiniti Research to expand its pet food products range into Europe over the next two years, intending to become a market leader in countries such as the UK and Spain. The company wanted to get an in-depth understanding of market trends and cost structure in Europe. Also, the pet food manufacturing firm wanted to track innovations and identify technology areas that provide the best commercial opportunity. Additionally, the pet food manufacturing industry client wanted to identify trends in terms of product innovation, competitor product features, new operations, and delivery models.

The Solution Offered

As the client was looking for a range of skills across research, analysis, and consulting, we recommended them market assessment solution. Our team of market analysts assessed the overall performance of the client's for the past five years and conducted company profiling to identify areas that need improvement. Additionally, a detailed assessment of the latest market trends in Europe such as clean labels, proactive ingredients, and new protein sources was conducted.

The experts also provided the company with independent validation and assessment of key players in the European pet food manufacturing market and a list of cost-effective technologies leveraged by them. Additionally, the experts provided "ability to win" recommendations for top-rated profitable opportunity areas.

Business Outcome

By leveraging our market assessment engagement, the pet food manufacturing market client was able to create a road map for expansion in the European region and achieve savings of over 10 million in the first six months By understanding market trends, they were able to focus on developing pet food products with clean label and full transparency. This helped them acquire new customers and build a brand image in the European market. Also, by understanding European customers demand for functional pet food ingredients, they were able to focus on them and increase sales.

Additionally, the pet food manufacturing industry client was able to identify trends in terms of product innovation, competitor product features, new operations, and delivery models and enhance overall business efficiency. Within three years of entering the European market, the client was able to establish themselves as one of the top 10 pet food manufacturing companies in Europe.

Wondering how your business can benefit from our market assessment solution? Request more information from our experts.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005451/en/

Contacts:

Infiniti Research

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

US: +1 844 778 0600

UK: +44 203 893 3400

https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us
(Natural News) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come under fire for what critics have called his awful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the states nursing homes.

According to numbers posted by New Yorks Department of Health, New Yorks nursing home COVID-19 death toll stood at 5,601 as of Sunday, a significant chunk of the states total running death toll from the virus.

The whole thing has just been handled awfully  by everybody in regard to nursing homes, said Kathleen Cole, a nurse whose 89-year old mother died after contracting COVID-19 at a nursing home.

Its like a slaughterhouse at these places.

Spike in deaths blamed on Cuomos nursing home mandate

This spike in deaths at the states nursing homes, critics said, could be traced back to a mandate that Cuomo put in place back in March that ordered nursing homes to admit recently-released COVID-19 patients without requiring them to undergo further testing.

The policy, similar to those in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, was intended to help clear in-demand hospital beds for sicker patients.

Cuomos mandate, however, prompted sharp criticism from the nursing home industry, staff members and concerned families, as well as some leading public health experts.

Nursing homes are working so hard to keep the virus out, and now were going to be introducing new COVID-positive patients? David Grabowski, a professor of health policy at Harvard Medical School, said in an interview with NBC.

Cuomo, during his announcement of the said measure, noted that the nursing homes and related facilities cannot object to the new mandate. They dont have a right to object. That is the rule and that is the regulation, and they have to comply with that, Cuomo said.

The way this has been handled by the state is totally irresponsible, negligent and stupid, said Elaine Mazzotta, a nurse whose mother died last month of suspected COVID-19 at a Long Island nursing home. She added that the authorities should not have sent the patients back into the nursing homes. (Related: New York begins to reopen as coronavirus cases fall.)

Earlier studies have pointed out that the elderly, as well as others with compromised immune systems, are at greater risk for contracting fatal coronavirus infections.

To have a mandate that nursing homes accept COVID-19 patients has put many people in grave danger, Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition in New York, said in an interview with the Bucks County Courier Times.

We know facilities have a lot of infection-control problems, we know that facilities have low staff, so what do you think was going to happen when the staff were further strained in caring for these patients? Mollot added.

Requirements for nursing home admittance changed

In a press conference, Cuomo noted that the states hospitals are now barred from releasing elderly patients to nursing homes unless the patient tests negative for the virus.

Were just not going to send a person who is positive to a nursing home after a hospital visit. Period, Cuomo said during the May 10 press conference.

Cuomo also stressed that in the event that a nursing home is deemed unable to provide proper treatment and support for a recovering resident, that person must then be transferred to the care of the state, which the governor noted as now having ample hospital bed capacity for such patients.

Our number one priority is protecting people in nursing homes. Its where it (COVID-19) feeds, Cuomo stated.

In addition, Cuomo also announced a step-up in testing for those who work in the states nursing homes, noting that staff at nursing homes will now be required to take two diagnostic tests each week to check for the coronavirus.

Cuomos recent pronouncements have been warmly welcomed by industry groups who fiercely opposed the earlier mandate.

In order to further protect our residents and staff, we are grateful that hospitals can no longer discharge new patients into nursing homes that have tested positive or were suspected to have COVID-19, stated Stephen Hanse, president and CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living, which represents long-term care facilities. Hanse noted that Cuomos announcement acknowledges the concerns voiced out by the states nursing homes.

As of reporting time, New York state has logged a total of 352,845 coronavirus infections, as well as 22,182 deaths, according to state health department data.

Sources include:

LibertarianInstitute.org

APNews.com

NBCNews.com 1

BucksCountyCourierTimes.com

CBSNews.com

Reuters.com

NBCNews.com 2

COVID19Tracker.Health.NY.gov
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General SN Pradhan on Wednesday said that Odisha and West Bengal have evacuated nearly 1.5 lakh and 3.3 lakh people respectively ahead of the landfall of cyclone Amphan today. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Amphan is likely to make landfall between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans near afternoon today and is likely to cause havoc in parts of Odisha and West Bengal.

The Odisha government control room has informed that nearly 1.5 lakh people have been evacuated from six districts of the state. Some districts like Balasore and Bhadrak will be more affected. So more people from these districts have been evacuated, Pradhan told ANI. He said that according to the latest ground report, 20 teams of NDRF are deployed in Odisha, of which 16 teams were there overnight and four more were called in this morning.

The West Bengal government has informed that around 3.3 lakh people from seven districts have been evacuated. North Pargana, East Midnapore will be more affected. So authorities have evacuated more people from these areas, Pradhan said.

Also Read: Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries cross 1 crore mark; PM Modi lauds contribution of healthcare workers associated with scheme

UPDATE  #SuperCycloneAmphan about 125 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal) at 11:30 am. To cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha, West Bengal & Hatiya Islands, Bangladesh close to Sunderbans. Landfall process to commence from afternoon: India Meteorological Dept pic.twitter.com/M6h7NWRbrC  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

Wind speed has picked up near coastal Odisha and is blowing at around 100 kmph at Paradip. The wind is not that strong in West Bengal. Were looking at the time and possible speed of Amphans landing, he added. Pradhan said that as per the IMD, storm surge could be four to six meters of seawater which will enter the land area. NDRF teams are coordinating with local administration for storm surge response and a total of 41 teams are deployed in Odisha and West Bengal, he said. Meanwhile, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is also closely monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal and ships at Visakhapatnam have been kept on standby to proceed to affected areas to undertake humanitarian aid, evacuation, and logistic support.

Odisha: Trees uprooted in Paradip as wind speed touches 102 km/ph. #CycloneAmphan is expected to make landfall today. pic.twitter.com/10Aq8Y19CE  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
DETROIT  A 13-year-old girl was injured when someone fired a shot into a Detroit home during the early hours of Wednesday, May 20, ClickOnDetroit reports.

The girl suffered a graze wound, which was treated at the scene, the report said. She was sitting on a couch around 1 a.m. when someone fired a shot into the home on the 15000 block of Snowden Avenue in Detroit.

Police are investigating the incident. Anyone with information should call the Detroit Police Department at 313-596-5240 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.

READ MORE:

U.S. fatal crash rate rose alarmingly in March, despite fewer cars on road during pandemic

Deputy on ATV finds 4-year-old missing from U.P. campsite

Investigation into Traverse City building collapse that injured 4 could take weeks

Wednesday, May 20: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Mackinac Island wont open for Memorial Day Weekend, citing health and safety concerns

As coronavirus stay-at-home order drags on, more Michiganders bend the rules
<! Rwanda government officials unveil the robots. Photo: Gad Nshimiyimana >

The Rwanda government has deployed the use of robots in the fight against COVID-19, in a move aimed at reducing contact between medics and patients.

According to The New Times, the move is expected to limit the risk of healthcare workers from contracting the virus.

Launched on Tuesday, May 19 at the Kanyinya COVID-19 Treatment Centre by the Ministry of Health with support from the United Nations Development Programme, the five high-tech robots can perform a number of tasks related to COVID-19 management, including mass temperature screening, delivering food and medication to patients, capturing data, detecting people who are not wearing masks, among others.

Made by Zora Bots, a Belgian company specialised in robotics solutions, they are designed with various advanced features to support doctors and nurses at designated treatment centres, and can also be leveraged into screening sites in the country.

According to information from the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, the robots have the capacity to screen between 50 to 150 people per minute, capture both video and audio data, and notify officers on duty about detected abnormalities for timely response and case management.

Rwandan Minister of Health, Dr Daniel Ngamije, explained that the idea of using the robots is aimed at reducing exposure of health workers to possible Covid-19 infection,

According to him, Medics and other front-liners visit patients room many times to deliver medication, meals, carry out tests, among other things  and this may pose a risk of contracting the virus, he said.

These robots will fasten service delivery while protecting our valuable health workers against COVID-19 exposure.

Each robot costs about $3,300.

Ngamije said that robotics engineers will be training the Ministry of Health staff concerning the use of the robots for about one month, after which it is expected that the ministrys officials will be able to operate them.
The deal for Altamont Capital Partners to acquire Topa Insurance Group has been called off.

Last August, Altamont Capital Partners signed an agreement to acquire Calabasas, Calif.-based Topa Insurance Group from its long-time owner, Topa Equities Ltd. While Altamont was to assume majority control, Topa Equities was to maintain a minority equity stake in the business.

The change in plans prompted rating agency AM Best to remove from under review with developing implications and affirm the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of a- of Topa Insurance Co. and its subsidiary, Dorchester Insurance Co., which is located in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

AM Best called the termination of the deal a mutual agreement.

Topa and Altamont both confirmed that the deal is off without further comment or explanation. A Topa spokesperson, however, confirmed that the deal wasnt killed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The spokesperson also said the company was not currently looking for another buyer.

While it is correct that the deal for Altamont to acquire Topa Insurance has been mutually, and amicably, called off, but we dont have any further comments beyond that, an Altamont spokesperson told Insurance Journal..

Topa wrote $130 million of gross written premium in 2018 that it sold through wholesale brokers and managing general agents. The specialty writer is focused primarily on commercial lines and niche market program business.

In December, Topa Insurance Group President and CEO John Donahue announced his resignation effective at the end of this year. Donahue relocated to Southern California nearly six years ago to lead Topa, and his decision to resign was a personal one, according to the company.

Donahue cited one reason: his commute from his home in San Francisco to the Topa offices in Calabasas: The commute from the Bay Area to Southern California has been particularly difficult on my family. The decision to resign came out of a commitment I made to increase the quality of my life, though I will miss all of the people I have had the pleasure of working with.

Michael Day, a member of the Topa Insurance Group Board of Executives, has assumed the position of president and CEO. Day has more than 35 years of financial and business experience, including 12 years serving as the chief financial officer of CSAA Insurance.

In January, Donahue joined Stockton-based surplus lines brokerage M.J. Hall & Co. Inc. as president.

Altamont Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in the San Francisco area with more than $2.5 billion of assets under management. Along with Altamonts current investments in Embark General, Kuvare Holdings, and Accelerant Holdings, Topa would have been Altamonts seventh platform investment in insurance and insurance services and its 19th overall insurance acquisition.

Topa will serve as our foundational specialty P&C insurance carrier business in the U.S. and we believe our expertise in the space will drive numerous opportunities for growth over the coming years, said Keoni Schwartz, managing director at Altamont, at the time the agreement was announced.

Founded by John E. Anderson in 1956, Topa Equities Ltd. is a private, family-owned, diversified holding company. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company owns more than 25 subsidiaries with primary locations in Southern California, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Topa has four main lines of business: beverage distribution, automotive retail, insurance and real estate.

Topics Mergers California USA
If you ever find yourself engaging with the kind of tiresome troll who suggests that feminism has gone far enough, heres some advice. Have a social media holiday, for starters. Then go read the US emergency care specialist Dr Alyson J McGregors new book Sex Matters: How male-centric medicine endangers womens health and what we can do about it. Next, lie down in a darkened room until the feelings of impotent rage have died down, and come back at them armed with a few of the facts below.

For example, a 2012 US study found that paramedics were less likely to take severely injured women to an emergency or other trauma centre (49 per cent of women versus 62 per cent of men).

Men reporting irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms are more often referred for X-rays, women offered lifestyle advice or anxiety medication.

Perhaps even more worryingly, women are less likely to be referred for testing if they complain of cardiac symptoms, and more likely to die after a serious heart attack due to a lack of care.

Most doctors, male or female, who presumably dont stroll around the wards jauntily indifferent to the fate of 50 per cent of their patients, would be horrified by these findings. So, what is going on? As McGregor unpicks in her accessible and urgently important book, there is a whole medical history and culture at work that assumes men are the default, with literally deadly consequences for the other half of humanity. Its not as simple as blatantly sexist doctors (though one or two of those rear an oleaginous head in these pages), but a whole system that marginalises women and minimalises their suffering.

Recommended What to read to stay sane during the coronavirus pandemic

One of many anecdotes that liven up the grim litany of medical statistics is the authors visit to a sim lab of lifelike mannequins used to train students at a top-tier medical school in the US. Every single model was white and male. The only female sim was a man with a blonde wig and a plastic foetus lying next to it. You dont need a PhD in womens studies to realise that a medical establishment which treats the female body as a faintly comical novelty with a baby attached is problematic. As McGregor writes: Students are trained to look for male patterns of disease, trauma and pain on male bodies, and solve problems according to research and testing using mostly male models.

We know that female health problems are prone to neglect. The author Hilary Mantel has written about the misery of endometriosis, an agonising condition that takes on average 7.5 years to be diagnosed in the UK and attracts only a fifth of the research as the distinctly less painful, more profitable erectile dysfunction. What is less understood is that the problem runs much deeper: women react differently to drugs and show different symptoms to some of the worlds biggest killers, including heart disease and stroke.

Hilary Mantel has written extensively about the subject of endometriosis (Getty)

The chapter on medication in particular made my jaw plummet. Women metabolise drugs differently 40 per cent of the time, McGregor writes. Yet 80 per cent of animals used in trials of potential new drugs are young males, and womens participation in the first crucial phase of clinical trials is even now only 30 per cent. This leads to a situation where, for instance, it took nearly 20 years and thousands of complaints before the medical authorities realised that women only needed half the original recommended dose of the sleep aid Ambien.

More frighteningly, McGregor writes that when drug trials are designed without sex-based criteria, the different effects of the drugs on men and women often simply cancel one another out. For example, men may have no increase in QT interval (a gauge of heart activity) with a particular drug, whereas women may have a large, dangerous increase. When these results are lumped together by researchers, it results in a statistically insignificant QT interval impact  which is deemed as acceptable risk by US regulators and approved. Out of 10 prescription drugs withdrawn from the market in a four-year period, McGregor notes that eight were found to pose greater risks to women.

Medical research is a knotty, wicked problem: drugs are a public good, but the development of new ones is privately funded by pharmaceutical companies whose priority is to turn a profit. Men are easier, safer and cheaper test subjects because theres no risk theyre pregnant and they dont have monthly fluctuations of hormones, which can affect how drugs are metabolised. The incentives  and regulation  are apparently not yet in place to ensure the more fiddly and expensive clinical trials necessary to test how a drug performs at various points of a womans menstrual cycle. The problems with letting market forces rip right through the delicate task of developing drugs are so manifold theyve spawned a canon of their own. Investigative journalist Gerald Posners Pharma: Greed, Lies and the Poisoning of America, published this March, is the latest in a long line of industry exposes.

For women, a different kind of problem, though one no less toxic, is the battered old cultural baggage that means women are still seen as both irrational and doomed to suffer. According to McGregor, theyre more likely to receive a psychiatric diagnosis than men and less likely to receive appropriate investigations or pain medication. She writes about how her husband, also a doctor, told her how a male neurologist had joked that he had an algorithm for treating paresthesia  the medical term for pins and needles that can precede serious diseases or stroke.

Recommended I spent a week becoming a witch and the results were worrying

When they come in, the first thing I ask is, Are they male or female? If theyre male, I say, Lets do a CT scan. And if theyre female, I say Stop! Its anxiety. Its all in her head.

This is an educated man, in the second decade of the 21st century. Sure, rich men can no longer send off their troublesome daughters for lobotomies or consign their errant wives to the asylum, but we have a depressingly long way to go.

The author is optimistic that things are improving, and acknowledges that her research is no longer seen as fringe. Lets hope this book is part of a major culture change, building on the momentum of the best-selling Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Built for Men, by Caroline Criado Perez. Her research explored how the same male-centric thinking plays out in the world at large, with women for example 47 per cent more likely to be injured in a car crash because safety features are designed for men.

Feminism is basically the recognition that women are fully fledged humans, not men who went a bit wrong. The fact that medical science still doesnt quite reflect this, from the way it develops drugs to who it refers for a life-saving scan, creates a queasy feeling that is not hard to diagnose.
The palaeontologists are enjoying some remarkable discoveries about the first inhabitants of the planet. At the start of this year, a San Diego researchers found feather fossil of a dancing dragon, living around 120 million years ago in Chinas Jehol Province. Now a Melbourne University volunteer has identified a rare toothless dinosaur. The discovery led Swinburne University palaeontologists identifying the reptile known as an elaphrosaur. It roamed Australia around 110 million years ago. The 5cm-long bone unearthed in Victoria gave this significant insight to the researchers, and they cannot wait for the ongoing pandemic to end, so that they could study more about the species. 'Dancing Dragon' Feather Dinosaur Fossil Living 120 Million Years Ago Uncovered in China.

According to reports, the dinosaur bone was founded by volunteer Jessica Parker in 2015 near Cape Otway in Victoria on a site called Eric the Red West. The place houses fossils from the Cretaceous age. The bone was identified at the Melbourne Museum as a vertebra, and it was thought to be from a flying reptile, called pterosaur, the researchers wrote in the study. However, it was quite different from the other flying dinosaur. When Swinburne University palaeontologists Dr Stephen Poropat and PhD candidates Adele Pentland began their work to understand what type of pterosaur it was, they found something unusual. New Species of 'Sexy Dinosaurs' From 140 Million Years Ago Discovered in Patagonia.

Pterosaur neck vertebrae are very distinctive, Pentland was quoted saying in the study. In all known pterosaurs, the body of the vertebra has a socket at the head end, and a ball or condyle at the body end. This vertebra had sockets at both ends, so it could not have been from a pterosaur, she added. After thorough research, they came to a startling conclusion. We soon realised that the neck bone we were studying was from a theropod: a meat-eating dinosaur, related to Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, and modern birds, said Dr Poropat. The only catch  this meat-eating dinosaur probably didnt eat meat! he said further.

The fossil matched the vertebrae of elaphrosaurs, also called light-footed lizards. Its known relatives were discovered in Tanzania and China, who lived during the end of the Jurassic Period, 160 to 145 million years ago. Again, the Victorian dinosaur dated from the Early Cretaceous Period, nearly 40 million years later. Elaphrosaurs had long necks, stumpy arms with small hands, and relatively lightly built bodies, Dr Poropat explained.

The few known skulls of elaphrosaurs show that the youngsters had teeth, but that the adults lost their teeth and replaced them with a horny beak. We don't know if this is true for the Victorian elaphrosaur yet  but we might find out if we ever discover a skull, he added.

The palaeontologists have a lot more to study about the rare elaphrosaur. The site in Cape Otway awaits further exploration. The proposed digs this year have been postponed twice because of the bushfire and COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever the pandemic is over, researchers hope to unearth more fossils.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2020 09:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Prince William and Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge have accomplished so much during their time as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It almost actually seems as though they are everywhere at once since they carry out so many royal duties and attend so many events and engagements without even appearing to get the least bit flustered.

Prince William and Kate are always poised and professional, handling even the toughest and unique situations with the grace and dignity that we would expect from the future king and queen consort. There is no doubt that their behavior is analyzed on a regular basis, by people such as fans, the news media, and even other members of the royal family.

It cant be easy when you know that millions of people are watching you every single day, and no one handles it better than Prince William and Kate. Their hard work certainly doesnt go unnoticed by anyone. Now, a royal source is saying that Queen Elizabeth II couldnt be prouder of Prince William and Kate.

Queen Elizabeth is the ruling monarch of the United Kingdom

Even people with high-profile jobs couldnt imagine the massive amounts of attention that Queen Elizabeth receives. She may be the ruling monarch of Great Britain, but that is not to say that she is not known all over the world.

According to History Extra, she is an extremely fascinating woman, currently holding the record of being the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She became queen at just 25 years old, upon the death of her father, King George VI. Since then, she has done an excellent job in her role, and she has millions, if not billions, of admirers.

Many people may not know that her majesty was not even expected to become queen. So, how did it happen? Well, at first, she was third in line to the throne. Her uncle, Edward, and her father, the Duke of York were first and second. However, Edward abdicated his right to the throne in 1936, and when the Duke of York became king, the former Princess Elizabeth was right behind him.

The queens heirs

Prince William and Kate Middleton | Anthony Devlin  Pool/Getty Images

RELATED: Will Kate Middleton Bow to Prince William When He Becomes King?

Technically, every member of the royal family is an heir to the queen and has a place in line to the throne. For example, her granddaughter, Zara Phillips, is 19th in the line of succession, making it highly unlikely that she will ever be crowned queen.

Prince William, on the other hand, is directly in the line of succession, being that he is the oldest son of Prince Charles, who is the firstborn child of Queen Elizabeth. Unless the unexpected occurs and Prince William passes away before Prince Charles, he is pretty much guaranteed to become the king of Great Britain, meaning that, as his wife, Kate will be a queen consort.

Queen Elizabeth II couldnt be prouder of Prince William and Kate Middleton

Being the queen is a demanding job and even a hard-working woman such as Queen Elizabeth cant do everything on her own. This is why she has senior family members that she can count on every day to help her do things that are in the best interest of the public, and that is exactly what she does.

Royal fans are used to seeing royals  such as Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Kate, and others  making appearances and carrying out duties. They do such as a great job that Us Weekly now reports that the queen has noticed their efforts and couldnt be prouder of Prince William and Kate.

The wonderful thing about Kate and William is that they remain focused and calm even during their most challenging times, a source told Us Weekly. She couldnt be prouder. She takes pride in being on top of everything but recognizes that its time to hand off some responsibility.

In fact, the queen is so impressed with Prince William and Kate that she has reportedly told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge numerous times that theyre doing a wonderful job.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) city chief Arun Sood defended the UT administrations performance in containing the spread of the coronavirus, his fellow party man and BJP councilor from Bapu Dham, Dalip Sharma, on Wednesday criticised the administrations handling of the spread in his constituency.

Bapu Dham Colony has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the city with 131 cases so far.

Since the first case returned positive on April 24, the administration failed to take appropriate steps in controlling the spread. Every family where the case was reported should have been put in an institutional quarantine. But they waited for other family members and then neighbours to get infected, said Sharma.

Councillor Dalip Sharma (HT PHOTO)

There are government schools where these families can be isolated so that their neighbours or other people in the locality are not infected. The administration should also step up testing here, added Sharma.

Expressing surprise at Sharmas outburst, Sood said, Earlier Sharma has been consistently expressing satisfaction at the performance of local administration including the SDM concerned.

Even if there are any loopholes in the administrations handling of the situation, these are unintentional. If the administration has followed all the central guidelines then its okay. It has successfully limited the covid-19 spread to particularly localities rather than the entire city, Sood added.

But he backed Sharma on keeping people under institutional quarantine.

Former BJP MP and member of the BJP national executive committee Satya Pal Jain came out in support of Sharma. Jain urged the administration to take the local councilor into confidence while formulating schemes about the Bapu Dham Colony.
Google Maps

A man suspected in a Pizza Hut robbery on Tuesday shot and killed himself as authorities tried to arrest him at a home in The Woodlands, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

The 19-year-old suspect, who deputies declined to identify, was one of two men facing charges in a robbery Sunday at the pizza shop in the 18500 block of Kuykendahl. The other suspect, a 21-year-old man, was arrested Monday on the aggravated robbery charge.
Mika Brzezinski, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, has demanded action from Twitter about tweets from President Donald Trump that she says violate their policies.

Closing out Wednesday mornings show with a fiery rebuke of the president for pushing conspiracy theories about her co-host and husband, Joe Scarborough, Ms Brzezinski also told Twitter that she would be following up with them.

Twitter, you shouldnt be allowing this, and you should be taking these tweets down, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Youll be hearing from me, on this, because this is BS, she said.

Donald, youre a sick person. Youre really a cruel, sick, disgusting person, Ms Brzezinski added. And you can keep tweeting about Joe, but youre just hurting other people, and of course youre just hurting yourself.

The president has been tweeting about the death of Lori Klausutis, an intern for Mr Scarborough when he was in Congress, claiming that the circumstances were suspicious and that the then Florida congressman was responsible.

Ms Klausutis was found dead at her desk in July 2001. An autopsy revealed an undiagnosed heart problem that caused her to lose consciousness and strike her head.

Ms Brzezinskis anger was not just about the accusations made against her husband, but also on the pain this would cause, again, for Ms Klausutis family. She also tied the presidents actions to his response to the coronavirus pandemic.

She said: To put this family through this, to put her husband through this, to do this just cause youre mad at Joe, because Joe got you again today. Because he speaks the truth, and he speaks plainly about your lack of interest, and empathy in others, and your lack of ability to handle this massive human catastrophe, the fact that you have made it worse and you make it worse every day.

After the show, Ms Brzezinski took to Twitter herself, following up on her call for a response from the social media company.

I will be reaching out to head of twitter about their policies being violated every day by President Tump [sic]. Hope my call is taken. Please retweet if you agree, she said, before addressing Twitter founder Jack Dorsey directly.

@jack please take my call today. Please stop allowing your platform policies to be abused by the day. Its called libel.

In another tweet she called for Mr Trumps whole account to be taken down.

An hour later she revealed that a call is being set up with Mr Dorsey and the companys general counsel.

Ms Brzezinski also pointed out that Twitter has deleted misleading tweets from another head of state  Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

The Morning Joe co-hosts have had a tumultuous relationship with the president since he took office.

During the 2016 campaign Mr Trump would frequently call in live to the broadcast, but after his election things soured and open hostilities ensued via Twitter and editorial comment on the politics-focussed breakfast show.
Karnataka Congress on Wednesday



staged a protest in front of the Gandhi statue at the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state legislature here, against the ruling BJP for amending the APMC act, proposed nominations to gram panchayats by postponing elections and plans to amend labour laws, among other issues.

The opposition party also hit out at the central and state governments over their handling of the COVID-19 crisis and packages announced for those in distress.

Several state party leaders, including KPCC President D K Shivakumar, Congress Legislature Party and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, and MLAs took part in the protest, holding placards and shouting slogans against the government.

The decision to hold the protest was arrived at the CLP meeting, chaired by Siddaramaiah last evening.

"It is inevitable for us to start this protest to save this country. We are starting this from Mahatma Gandhi statue and will take it across the state in the days to come," Shivakumar told reporters here.

Alleging that there was a conspiracy to nominate BJP workers as members to panchayats without holding elections because of COVID-19, he warned the Chief Minister of state- wide wide protests in this regard, while demanding that either the elections be held or current members be continued.

"We will protest against all the anti-people policies of the government like amendment to the APMC act, which is anti farmer aimed at benefiting capitalists. It should be withdrawn immediately," he added.

Targeting the government over the treatment meted out to labourers during COVID-19 and relief not reaching them properly, the KPCC President said "they are planning to amend labour laws to woo investors from outside. we have to protect the interest of the labourers first."



Despite objections from opposition parties, the government recently came out with an ordinance that amended the laws to curtail the powers of the Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC).

While the government said it was aimed at bringing in reforms to facilitate market access for farmers, opposition parties have vehemently opposed it, alleging that it would dilute the APMC laws and affect farmers' interests.

Also, the government is reportedly mulling over an ordinance relaxing labour laws in line with other BJP ruled states, that includes extension in work hours, among other things.

Alleging that both state and centre central have "failed" from the beginning in managing the COVID-19 crisis, Shivakumar hit out the stimulus packages announced, calling them "bogus".

He also accused the state government of not allowing the party to hold its legislature party meeting at Vidhana Soudha last evening.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
And across Alaska, restaurants, bars and gyms, which have already been seeing customers for weeks, were getting ready to rev back up to full capacity. It will all be open, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said, just like it was prior to the virus.

As of Wednesday, all 50 states had begun to reopen to some degree, two months after the outbreak thrust the country into lockdown. But vast variations remain in how states are deciding to open up, with some forging far ahead of others. Many began to reopen despite not meeting White House guidelines for progress against the virus, and newly reported cases have been increasing in some states, including Minnesota and Texas, that are moving to ease restrictions. Public health officials warn that moving too fast could risk more outbreaks.

The dynamic has left many business owners and customers to decide for themselves what they think is safe.

It is still a little scary, considering we dont exactly know what this is, said Ipakoi Grigoriadis, whose family owns Pops Family Restaurant in Milford, Conn., a diner that reopened its outdoor seating on Wednesday morning.

It is quite exciting to see our customers we havent seen in a while, she said. But it was not business as usual: Servers are gloved and masked, and patrons are expected to wear masks except when they are eating and drinking.

Governors are increasingly facing intense pressure to reopen, as millions of Americans have lost their jobs and the unemployment rate reached a staggering 14.7 percent. But reopening in Texas, where businesses have been allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity for weeks, looks far different than it does in Illinois, where stores are still limited to curbside pickup.
WASHINGTON  The day after U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr sent a controversial letter to Congress summarizing the findings of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation, Barr sat down with U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham in his office in Washington, D.C.

The date was March 25, 2019. Durham, Barr, several Department of Justice senior staffers, including those who handle the logistical needs of U.S. attorneys, participated in what was scheduled to be a 30-minute afternoon huddle.

This meeting was revealed in new documents obtained via lawsuit by the nonpartisan ethics watchdog American Oversight and released publicly on Wednesday. For over a year, Durham has been conducting a probe into how the U.S. intelligence community investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the new documents show that Barr may have initiated Durhams investigation immediately after receiving Muellers findings and well before Durhams probe was revealed in the press in May 2019.

It is clear that Barr has long been closely involved in Durhams investigation, which President Donald Trump sought after accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigations of spying on his 2016 campaign.

Very little is publicly known about the veteran prosecutors probe, although media have previously reported that it was upgraded to a criminal inquiry. The investigation may involve top officials from the Central Intelligence Bureau and other national intelligence agencies and how they handled information regarding Russian election interference efforts in 2016, CNN reported.

Barr said Monday former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden are unlikely to be subjects of criminal charges from Durhams probe.

"Whatever their level of involvement based on the level of information I have today, I don't expect Mr. Durham's work will lead to a criminal investigation of either man," Barr said. "Our concern over potential criminality is focused on others.

Durham declined to comment on the investigation, its scope or when it will conclude through a spokesman Wednesday.

Barr has faced criticism former Justice Department attorneys and other lawyers for interfering in cases involving Trumps political advisers in ways that appeared motivated by politics. Democrats lampooned Barr by calling him the presidents personal lawyer, not the nations top justice official.

The new documents highlight the frequent coordination between Durham and Barr as Durhams probe has unfolded. They show that Durham and Barr had at least 18 meetings or phone calls from March to October of 2019.

A spokesman for Durham told Hearst Connecticut Media in October 2019 that Durham was traveling to Washington every week to meet with Barr.

Durham and Barr also traveled to Italy together twice in August to meet with officials for the inquiry, Hearst Connecticut Media previously reported. President Donald Trump himself has made calls to introduce foreign officials to Durham and Barr, said Kerri Kupec, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Barr is Durhams boss and therefore meetings between two are not unusual. But this level of contact is fairly extraordinary, said Stan Twardy, Jr., U.S. Attorney for Connecticut from 1985 to 1991.

It indicates the particular interest Barr is taking in probe has implications for the most powerful man in American politics  Trump and his 2016 campaign.

This isnt a normal investigation, said Twardy. In a normal investigation, the attorney general would not be meeting on a regular basis with the U.S. attorney because there are 93 U.S attorneys... This is a unique investigation. This is one in which John Durham is acting not as U.S attorney for Connecticut but acting as chief investigator for Attorney General Barr.

Durham comes to job with a reputation as a seasoned and impartial prosecutor, who has investigated the actions of the intelligence community before  including the FBI and organized crime involvement, and the CIA and abusive interrogation practices. Durham was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for Connecticut in 2018, but has worked in the office prosecuting organized crime, violent crime and public corruption for 35 years.

From the Connecticut U.S. Attorneys office, two assistant U.S. attorneys, a paralegal and an administrative support person are assisting Durham with his current probe, Durhams spokesperson Tom Carson said Wednesday.

I am not surprised that John has support from the U.S. Attorneys office in Connecticut and I would not be surprised if John had help from other U.S. Attorneys offices and other agencies working on this, Twardy said. I am certain there are FBI agents who are working on this.

The team has continued work despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Durham and Mueller are not the only government investigators who have scrutinized contacts between the Trump campaign, Russia and U.S. intelligence agencies.

In December 2019, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a long-awaited report showing the Federal Bureau of Investigations had sufficient reason to start an investigation into the links between Russia and Trump campaign aides in 2016, but it made serious and systematic errors in handling applications for court orders to wire tap Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.

After the reports release, Durham and Barr released statements saying they disagreed with it, noting that they had information from outside the Justice Department.

Our investigation has included developing information from other persons and entities, both in the U.S. and outside of the U.S., Durham said in a rare statement in December. Based on the evidence collected to date, and while our investigation is ongoing, last month we advised the Inspector General that we do not agree with some of the reports conclusions as to predication and how the FBI case was opened.

The American Oversight documents indicate that Durham and Barrs counselor Seth Ducharme met with Horowitz on April 12, 2019 to discuss what John and [redacted] and I are working on, an email from Ducharme shows. Two days earlier, Barr had told Congress he thought U.S. intelligence agents conducted spying on the Trump campaign in 2016.

At this time, almost all of what the public knew of the Mueller report came from Barrs four-page summary letter to Congress from March 24.

On April 18, Barr held a news conference hours before the release of the 448-page Mueller report to Congress or the public to say the report found no evidence the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government ahead of the 2016 presidential election and stated that Muellers findings did not constitute the basis for obstruction of justice charges.

A letter from Mueller to Barr made public at the end of April showed that Mueller believed Barr had mischaracterized the findings of his two-year investigation.

The Mueller report found that Trumps campaign did not coordinate with Russians during the 2016 election, but Mueller could not clear Trump of charges of obstruction of justice. Muellers team wrote If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state.

Justice Department guidelines bar the indictment of a sitting president, and Mueller, testifying before Congress in July 2019, was unclear whether those guidelines are the reason Mueller did not indict Trump.

Throughout that spring and summer as Congress, Barr and Mueller were unpacking Muellers findings, Durham was quietly working on his investigation also targeting the Trump campaign, Russia, federal agencies and other actors. He did so in frequent contact with Barr, documents show.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Experts say contact tracing, which helps track down infected people, cannot be carried out due to internet shutdowns.

For three days without internet or phone service this month, Rouf Ahmad found himself cut off from his family in Indian-administered Kashmir while his mother was receiving treatment for the coronavirus disease.

The 23-year-old sociology student is under quarantine in a hospital in Srinagar, Kashmirs main city, and could not contact the rest of his family to tell them about his mothers condition as she was treated in the same hospital.

I used to update my sisters and father many times a day about my mothers status, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over the phone. My frustration knew no bounds when I couldnt do so for three days.

Communications blackouts imposed by Indias government as part of an effort to quell political turmoil and armed conflict in Kashmir are hampering the fight against the novel coronavirus, health experts and residents have warned.

Weeks of slow or no internet are a regular occurrence in the disputed region. The latest restriction on high-speed internet access has been in place since August last year when India revoked the special status of the Muslim-majority region.

Misuse of data services

The Indian government reinstated low-speed 2G internet services in January, but a blackout earlier this month massively set back health services and contact tracing efforts to curb the new coronavirus, health experts said.

The shutting down of the internet is not new to Kashmir, said one Srinagar-based hospital doctor, who asked not to be named.

But, this time around, we were shocked that we had to work without the internet even during the pandemic for a week, he said, noting that the government had told health professionals not to talk to the press.

We are pushed into the primitive world when the internet is shut down abruptly.

When contacted for comment, police officials directed Reuters to an official order posted on the police website.

It said the shutdown on May 6, implemented the day after security forces killed rebel commander Riyaz Naikoo in south Kashmirs Pulwama district, was necessary due to the likelihood of misuse of data services by anti-national elements.

Knowing Kashmirs history of communication restrictions, Ahmad anticipates further shutdowns  mobile internet was again halted on Tuesday  but hopes he and his mother can get out of the hospital before then.

I cant bring myself to deal with another blackout. Our family is already facing an awful situation as my mother is battling COVID-19, he said.

Contact tracing

In Kashmir, confirmed COVID-19 cases have increased sharply from four in mid-March to more than 1,200 by mid-May and about 16 deaths, according to official figures.

Health professionals at two major hospitals in Srinagar told Reuters that during the recent communications blackout they were unable to consult with colleagues about coronavirus cases.

A health department official, who requested anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the press, said the three days without mobile phone services put added strain on the countrys already stressed health system.

The blackout affected all but phones on pay monthly contracts, which are mainly used by government officials.

Doctors normally use messaging services like WhatsApp to send each other information about cases and communicate with patients, the official explained, adding that relying on phone calls in the shutdown was often inconvenient and time-consuming.

He noted that there was no way for health workers to carry out contact tracing, which involves tracking down infected people and finding everyone who has been near them, so they can get tested too.

It was impossible to trace the contacts of COVID-positive cases in those three days as there was no way of reaching out to people, said the official.

It was also impossible for Kashmiris to instal the governments contact-tracing app that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said everyone in the country should download onto their phones in a televised address last month.

Health experts say contact tracing is key to keeping the virus in check.

Even a single days delay in contact tracing could be the difference between getting the virus under control and suffering a resurgence, according to researchers from the University of Oxford in Britain.

Owais Ahmad, the Officer on Special Duty at Kashmirs COVID Control Room, where he helps monitor the spread of the virus in the region, confirmed that the three-day blackout had impacted the rate of installation of the app.

About 100,000 people in the region have so far downloaded the app, he estimated.

But he added that he thinks it will pick up now that internet and mobile phone services have been restored.

This is an extremely important app in the fight against COVID, Ahmad said during an interview in his office.

Rise in internet shutdowns

India has said it cuts communications to prevent unrest in Kashmir, where more than 40,000 people have been killed during a decades-long armed uprising.

Kashmir is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, which have gone to war twice over it. Each rules parts of the scenic Himalayan region.

The internet blackout in Kashmir which started in August and lasted 175 days, was among the worlds longest internet shutdowns implemented last year, according to digital rights group Access Now.

Last year, India experienced 121 shutdowns of a global total of 196, the group said in a recent report.

International rights groups have decried the rise in the use of communications shutdowns in recent years as governments from the Philippines to Yemen said they were necessary for public safety and national security.

The United Nations has said such measures cannot be justified as the world is trying to tackle a pandemic.

Internet access is critical at a time of crisis, David Kaye, United Nations special rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, said in a statement in March.

Human health depends not only on readily accessible health care. It also depends on access to accurate information about the nature of the threats and the means to protect oneself, ones family, and ones community.

Ahmad at the COVID Control Room rejected the claim that shutting down internet and mobile services had affected healthcare in the region.

He said the communication blackout had been managed by health workers, without specifying further.
President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the language issue in Ukraine is far-fetched.

He stated this during a press conference in Kyiv on May 20, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

There is no problem with language in Ukraine, Zelensky said and added that this issue was far-fetched.

According to him, justice is needed by all, both Ukrainian-speaking citizens and national minorities living in Ukraine. This is our history, and it is complicated. We must protect the rights of each minority group, the president said.

At the same time, he stressed that representatives of national minorities must know the state language. According to him, "its cool to know the Ukrainian language."

The president reminded that Ukraine has complicated relations with Hungary due to the language issue. However, he expressed hope that this problem would be solved in the near future.

"Mr. Orban (Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban) was ready to hold a meeting with me over the past year. I am ready for this fundamental meeting, at which I would like us to sign a memorandum between Ukraine and Hungary. A memorandum on everything: security situation and respect for history," Zelensky said.

ish
A fourth-year MBBS student of AIIMS hospital here was held on Wednesday for making objectionable comments on social media post against the Hindu religion.

Adil Ahmad was arrested following a complaint which accused him of making highly objectionable comments on Facebook against the Hindu religion and hurting sentiments, police inspector Ritesh Shah said.

Ahmad, a resident of Delhi, later apologised and deleted the post, Shah said.

He will be produced before the judicial magistrate on Thursday, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bryshere Gray has been sued by his Chicago landlords for allegedly damaging a condominium unit.

The 26-year-old former Empire star was sued by landlords Vinod Venugopal and Payal Shah who claimed the actor and his dog caused damage that cost $26,120 to repair, according to an article Tuesday by TMZ.

The landlords in court documents said they rented Gray a condominium in their four-unit Chicago complex in August 2019.

Landlords lawsuit: Bryshere Gray, shown in May 2018 in New York City, has been sued by his Chicago landlords for allegedly damaging a condominium unit

Their lawsuit alleged that Gray left his dog inside the condo for extended periods and also claimed the dog urinated and defecated in common areas while left unattended.

Hardwood floors, stairs and other parts of the property were significantly damaged by the dog's urine and feces, according to court documents.

The landlords also alleged that Gray jumped in and out of windows, clogged toilets by flushing condoms, smoked marijuana when smoking was not allowed and engaged in unsanitary acts, including eating breakfast in a bathroom.

The lawsuit was seeking the $26,120 cost of damages, plus $7,000 to cover attorneys' fees.

Damages cost: The lawsuit against Gray, shown in a season six still from Empire, was seeking the $26,120 cost of damages, plus $7,000 to cover attorneys' fees

Gray's manager Charlie Mac told TMZ that the actor was diagnosed with ADHD some years ago 'and unfortunately this [is] a result of that'.

'He's a great person and it will be taken care of. It will be handled,' Mac added.

Mac said that Gray's security deposit 'should rectify whatever issues the landlord has' and also declared that it was 'sad that the landlord has chosen this way to handle this, but we will do what is needed to make sure it is taken care of.'

Musical family: Gray's manager Charlie Mac said the actor, shown in a November episode of Empire, was diagnosed with ADHD some years ago 'and unfortunately this [is] a result of that'

Gray portrayed Hakeem Lyon on Empire that aired for six season on Fox from January 2015 to April 2020.

Empire also starred Terrence Howard, 51, Taraji P. Henson, 49, and Jussie Smollett, 37.

Smollett in January 2019 told Chicago police that he was attacked by two men who made racial and homophobic slurs against him. He was indicted by a Cook County grand jury in February 2020 on six counts pertaining to making four false police reports.
Mumbai, May 20 : Filmmaker Farah Khan Kunder and chef Vikas Khanna have collaborated to donate 72,000 sanitary pads to women migrant workers.

Farah, who is observing self-isolation in Mumbai, and Vikas, currently residing in New York, had been discussing the plight of women migrant workers over the phone before taking the decision.

Talking about the initiative, Farah said: "In times of uncertainty and distress, it is such a relief to know that there are people who are willing to put the needs of others ahead of their own. I'm very proud of Vikas, who is managing the charitable work from New York." Social distancing guidelines issued by the government are being followed while handing out the sanitary pads to the women.
By Kim Bo-eun



Korea's economy will be hit hardest by COVID-19 in the first half of this year and begin recovery in the second half, marking a 0.2 percent growth rate for 2020, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) forecast Tuesday.



The plunge in domestic demand and exports in the first half will result in a 0.2 percent contraction in GDP in the period compared with the same half in 2019, the KDI report said. The economy shrank by 1.4 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter.



The dive in exports because of lockdowns in other countries is taking a heavy toll on Korea, as exports account for almost half of the GDP. Exports fell by 46 percent in the first 10 days of May from the same period a year earlier.



"Exports have already taken the brunt and external demand will likely only begin being restored in the latter half of the year," said Cho Duk-sang, an associate fellow at KDI.



Private consumption dropped particularly in service sectors as social distancing measures were taken.



While recovery will begin in the second half as the virus subsides and economies reopen, the country's growth is set to fall far short of 2019's 2 percent, the report said.



The KDI's forecast is more optimistic than the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which expects Korea's economy to contract 1.2 percent this year.



The KDI said facility investment would experience slow growth due to the COVID-19 shock, despite a recovery in chip demand.



The state-run think tank expects the current account balance to be maintained at a similar level to 2019, as trade conditions improve in the latter half of the year.



Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 3.9 percent, from 3.8 percent in 2019.



Job losses are centered on the service sector. Among age groups, those aged 15 to 29 were most affected, as their employment rate fell 0.9 percentage points in February and 2.6 percentage points in March, from January's level.



To tackle unemployment, the government has pledged to create more than 550,000 jobs in the public sector. Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday the government would secure 3.5 trillion won for job creation and execute the plan immediately.



The newly created jobs will be in sectors including online administrative services and quarantine services. The government also is set to provide subsidies for small and medium enterprises to hire young jobseekers.



The KDI said its forecast is based on the assumption that the spread of the coronavirus subsides. If the pandemic extends, investments and exports will experience a major contraction, likely bringing down the growth rate, it said.




SANTA FE, N.M., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Thornburg Investment Management ("Thornburg"), a global investment firm that oversees $38 billion in assets1, today announced that John V. Hackett, CFA, has joined Thornburg as chief marketing officer. Mr. Hackett will oversee the development and execution of Thornburg's global marketing strategies, including brand, content, channel and digital marketing. He reports to President and CEO Jason Brady and joins the executive management team.

"We are thrilled to welcome John to Thornburg as he brings a unique mix of global marketing, investor and distribution experience," said Mr. Brady. "Throughout his career, he has consistently been a driver of growth with a deep asset management expertise and a passion for evolving brands, investment solutions and digital strategy. We expect John to have an immediate and sustained impact, enhancing our global marketing and growth initiatives."

"Thornburg has a commitment to investment excellence and creating value for its global and diverse set of clients and I'm excited to join the team," said Mr. Hackett. "A proven investment foundation with leading global equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies makes for a tremendous growth platform from which to offer compelling investment solutions to financial advisors and institutional investors globally."

Mr. Hackett succeeds Leigh Moiola, who is retiring after 28 years with Thornburg and has served as chief marketing officer since 2018.

"Over the years, Leigh has made numerous contributions to Thornburg. She has inspired and energized colleagues and members of the Santa Fe community. We thank Leigh for her leadership and wish her well as she embarks on her next adventure," Mr. Brady added.

For the past 20 years, Mr. Hackett has held leadership roles in marketing, along with product and business development, at global asset management firms. Most recently, he was the global head of product marketing at Northern Trust Asset Management in Chicago. Before joining Northern Trust, he was a principal and head of marketing and business development at The Townsend Group, an Aon Company, and a senior vice president, head of marketing and product management at Calamos Investments. Mr. Hackett has also held senior marketing product management roles at Nuveen Investments. Prior to joining the financial services industry, he spent over a decade in the technology and consulting sectors.

Mr. Hackett earned an MBA in finance and policy studies from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BS in mathematics and a BS in industrial management from Purdue University. He is a CFA charterholder and member of CFA Institute.

About Thornburg

Thornburg Investment Management is a privately-owned global investment firm that offers a range of multi-strategy solutions for institutions and financial advisors. A recognized leader in fixed income, equity, and alternatives investing, the firm oversees $38 billion2 as of April 30, 2020 across mutual funds, institutional accounts, separate accounts for high-net-worth investors, and UCITS funds for non-U.S. investors. Thornburg was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

At Thornburg, we believe unconstrained investing leads to better outcomes for our clients. Our culture is collaborative, and our investment solutions are highly active, high conviction, and benchmark agnostic. When it comes to finding value for our clients, it's more than what we do, it's how we do it: how we think, how we invest, and how we're structured.

For more information, visit www.thornburg.com or call (877) 215-1330.

Media Inquiries

Michael Corrao

Director of Global Communications

Thornburg Investment Management

Tel: +1 (505) 467-5345

Email: [email protected]

1 Includes $36.3 billion in assets under management and $1.2 billion in assets under advisement as of April 30, 2020

2 Includes $36.3 billion in assets under management and $1.2 billion in assets under advisement as of April 30, 2020

SOURCE Thornburg Investment Management

Related Links

www.thornburg.com


The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) ratcheted up the attack on the encryption of consumer electronic and mobile devices on Monday during a virtual press conference to review developments in the investigation of the Naval Air Station shooting in Pensacola, Florida last December.

Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray both specifically denounced Apple, Inc. for refusing to unlock the encrypted contents of the two iPhones belonging to Second Lieutenant Mohammed Alshamrani, a member of the Saudi air force, who killed 3 and wounded 8 in a Navy classroom before being fatally shot by law enforcement on December 6, 2019.

The US officials reported that, through their own decryption efforts bypassing Apples built-in device security, they found that Alshamrani was a longtime affiliate of Al Qaeda. As Wray stated, The evidence weve been able to develop from the killers devices shows that the Pensacola attack was actually the brutal culmination of years of planning and preparation by a longtime AQAP associate. AQAP stands for Al Qaeda of the Arabia Peninsula.

Attorney General William Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray at the Department of Justice virtual press conference on Monday

A statement published by the Justice Department said, The phones contained important, previously-unknown information that definitively established Alshamranis significant ties to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), not only before the attack, but before he even arrived in the United States. The FBI now has a clearer understanding of Alshamranis associations and activities in the years, months, and days leading up to the attack.

Barr claimed that the evidence gathered from Alshamranis phone enabled the US government to carry out a counterterrorism operation in Yemen targeting an operative, one of the overseas associates and that the information already proved invaluable in protecting the American people.

Although little details of the alleged significant ties and associations and activities of Alshamrani with AQAP were revealed, Barr and Wray moved quickly to the real purpose of their press conference: to attack Apples defense of encryption and refusal to provide law enforcement with a back door into encrypted personal data and communications on mobile devices.

In his remarks, Barr said that the iPhones were crucial to their investigation of the shooter, but they were locked. He said, Apple has made a business and marketing decision to design its phones in a way that only the user can unlock the contents no matter what the circumstances. In cases like this when the user is a terrorist, or in other cases where the user is a violent criminal, a human trafficker or a child predator, Apples decision has dangerous consequences for public safety and national security and is, in my judgement, unacceptable.

Barr then went on to say that there is no reason why Apple cannot design its consumer products and apps to allow for law enforcement access when permitted by a judge. Significantly, Barr pointed to the collaboration of Apple and other US manufacturers with authoritarian regimes when it suits their business interests and referenced both China and Russia as examples of countries where Apple has cooperated with undemocratic government surveillance.

In his remarks, Wray said that FBI agents had worked for months to break into Alshamranis phones and added, The magnitude of the challenge they faced is hard to overstate. We received effectively no help from Apple. We canvassed every partner, and every company, that might have had a solution to access these phones. None did, despite what some claimed in the media.

The claims that Apple provided no help to the Justice Department have been made by authorities since the immediate aftermath of the Pensacola shooting. However, Apple has maintained that within hours the company provided everything requested by the investigators including the shooters unencrypted iCloud backups, account information and transactional data.

Meanwhile, Apple has argued that the encryption and other security features on its devices, protect millions of users and our national security. As maintained by all of the major Silicon Valley tech firms, the creation of backdoor access undermines the entire system by making every device vulnerable to malicious cyberactivity.

Along with the specious claim that device encryption hinders important police work against violent crimes and terrorism, Barr complained that the four-month effort by the FBI to decrypt Alshamranis phones was very expensive and cost large sums of taxpayer dollars to obtain evidence that should have been quickly accessible when we obtained the court orders

Finally, Barr revealed that the endgame of the Trump administration is now to pass laws in the US that ban encryption on consumer devices. The bottom line: our national security cannot remain in the hands of big corporations who put dollars over lawful access and public safety. The time has come for a legislative solution.

Behind the elaborate presentation of photos of the shooters two iPhones and other images of notes found on the device, is the increasing effort to remove the barrier that end-to-end and device encryption places in the path of the US police and intelligence state from gaining unrestricted access to everyones mobile device communications and contents at will.

As explained by Brett Max Kaufman, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, Every time theres a traumatic event requiring investigation into digital devices, the Justice Department loudly claims that it needs backdoors to encryption, and then quietly announces it actually found a way to access information without threatening the security and privacy of the entire world. The boy who cried wolf has nothing on the agency that cried encryption.

As has been the case in every instance of terrorism beginning with the attacks of September 11, 2001, the US government has exploited these violent attacks to advance imperialist war aims abroad and attack the democratic rights of the people at home.

No one should take at face value the claims about the supposed decryption of Alshamranis iPhones and uncovering of evidence about his association with Yemeni terrorists. This is especially true given that a good number of CIA and State Department officials have the contact information of Al Qaeda members in their mobile phone address books as part of the American regime-change operations in the Middle East and Africa.

The conflict between the tech monopolies and the US government over consumer device encryption is not going to be resolved in favor of democratic rights. The ability to stop unfettered surveillance of the publicwhether in the form of electronic eavesdropping on web browsing activity, facial recognition databanks or geolocation trackingdepends upon the independent struggle of the working class to defend democratic rights in the fight for socialism against the capitalist system.
Machine Gun Kelly was seen out in Los Angeles on Wednesday amid a new report that he and Megan Fox 'have definitely hooked up and are seeing where things go' following her confirmed split with Brian Austin Green.

The 30-year-old rapper/actor kept warm in a black jacket with a white shirt and blue jeans and black sneakers as he strapped on a black motorcycle helmet on the chilly weekday in the City of Angeles.

The Houston native, whose real name is Colson Baker, and Fox grew close when they worked on the film Midnight in the Switchgrass last fall, US reported.

Out and about: Machine Gun Kelly, 30, was seen out in LA on Wednesday amid a new report that he and Megan Fox, 34, 'have definitely hooked up and are seeing where things go' following her confirmed split with Brian Austin Green, 46

An insider told the publication that the costars 'began spending more and more time together because of their work schedules and filming together,' and a romance sprouted out of it.

'They started off as friends and their relationship grew from there,' the source said. Megan thinks MGK is a really cool guy and their relationship turned more romantic.'

Green, 46, addressed Fox's relationships with him and Kelly on his 'With Brian Austin Green' podcast Monday, as he confirmed the end of his decade-long marriage with the Transformers actress, 34, after they agreed to 'separate for a little bit' when she expressed her restlessness in the marriage.

'She met this guy, Colson, on set,' said the actor, who played the role of David Silver on the Aaron Spelling 90s hit Beverly Hills 90210. 'I've never met him. Megan and I have talked about him. They're just friends at this point.

Gearing up: The rapper/actor kept warm in a black jacket with a white shirt and blue jeans and black sneakers as he strapped on a black motorcycle helmet on the chilly weekday

It's over: Brian Austin Green on Monday got emotional while revealing wife Megan Fox dumped him after spell of long distance, putting an end to their decade-long marriage. They were snapped late last year in LA

'I trust her judgment, she's always had really good judgment. I don't want people to think her or he are villains or that I was a victim in any way.'

Green and Fox share three children: and seven-year-old Noah, six-year-old son Bodhi and three-year-old Journey. (He's also father to son 18-year-old Kassius with ex Vanessa Marcil.

He said on his podcast that the relationship with Fox hit the skids when she told him she felt more like herself when they werent together.

Quarantine life: The rapper mused about hairdos on social media Tuesday

Details: An insider told US that the costars 'began spending more and more time together because of their work schedules and filming together,' and a romance sprouted out of it

'She said, "You know, I realized while I was out of the country working alone that I feel more like myself, and I liked myself better during that experience, and I think that may be something worth trying for me."'

Green continued: 'I was shocked and I was upset about it, but I can't be upset at her, and I wasn't upset at her because that's, she didn't ask to feel that way, it wasn't a choice she made, that's the way she honestly felt.'

Green, who wed Fox in June of 2010 after six years of intermittent dating, said they mutually agreed to 'separate for a little bit' and try and use the space and time to 'see whatever it is we find.'
Sri Lanka has scaled down a low-key military parade to mark the anniversary of the end of its civil war after two sailors due to take part tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Monday. Authorities had planned a simple ceremony for Tuesday to mark the military's crushing of the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, but two sailors tested positive on Monday and several others were waiting for results, officials said. Sri Lanka has reported 981 infections and nine deaths since the virus first hit the island -- more than half among sailors from a camp near Colombo. Health officials say, however, the spread of the virus is largely under control. "We are going ahead with the ceremonies... but we will have a smaller number of personnel," an official told AFP. Some 150 police and a "large number of troops" were sent to quarantine following Monday's positive tests, military sources told AFP. Army chief Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said Sunday that the virus had already forced the military to scale back the ceremony, and the parade in the capital was not open to the public. Colombo and a neighbouring district remain under lockdown, although some of the restrictions imposed since late March have been lifted in other parts of the island nation. Sri Lanka declared an end to 37 years of fighting in a civil war that claimed at least 100,000 lives after an all-out military offensive in 2009. The United Nations and rights groups allege government troops killed at least 40,000 Tamil civilians, but Colombo has denied the charge and refused international calls for an independent investigation. Sri Lanka's military has been heavily involved in efforts to fight coronavirus
A senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday he is "very confident" the United States and South Korea will find a way forward in their stalled defense cost-sharing negotiations as both sides are working very hard to break the deadlock. Yonhap



A senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday he is "very confident" the United States and South Korea will find a way forward in their stalled defense cost-sharing negotiations as both sides are working very hard to break the deadlock.



Marc Knapper, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, made the remarks during a video-linked seminar on the alliance, amid concerns the delay in the conclusion of the talks could erode the allies' cooperation in other areas.



"For sure, we are working very hard to bring this to a conclusion. We'd preferred that we wrapped this up several months ago, but both sides are committed to making this happen," Knapper said in the forum hosted by the Korea Press Foundation and East-West Center.



"Both of our leaders are fully engaged on this. ... But it's a negotiation. But as allies, we are both compelled to find a way forward. And we will find a way forward. With that, I am very confident," he added.



The official reiterated President Donald Trump's stance on a "fair share of the burden" with American allies  one of his election campaign themes prioritizing American interests.



"He wanted, working with our allies, to figure out a way to have a fair share of the burden among allies, not just South Korea but others whether in Northeast Asia or Europe to lessen the burden on American taxpayers," he said.



"We want to do it in a way that is respectful, we want to do it in a way that is hopefully not too public, but do it in a way that ultimately will benefit the alliance and ultimately will strengthen our capabilities as allies," he added.



Seoul and Washington appear to still be at an impasse in the negotiations on Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) under the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).



Both sides have drawn battle lines, casting their latest proposals as the final ones. Seoul officials indicated a 13 percent increase from last year's SMA as the "best offer" Korea could make, while the U.S. has asked South Korea to pay US$1.3 billion a year  an increase of about 50 percent from the 2019 SMA.



Due to the absence of a deal to fund wages for thousands of South Korean USFK employees in nonessential positions, they were forced to go on unpaid leave last month, apparently hampering the military's day-to-day operations.



In the online seminar, Knapper praised South Korea as a "model and exemplar for the world" for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and noted that the U.S. has benefited from cooperation with Korea in handling the virus outbreaks.



But he pointed out that the two countries' cooperation in fighting the coronavirus was thanks to "years and decades of people-to-people exchanges and educational exchanges between our two countries."



"I think everything we do bilaterally would not succeed were it not for two countries' rich history of exchanges, rich history of Korean students, researchers and scientists coming to the U.S. collaborating with their colleagues, building friendships and building other kind of collaborative efforts," he said.



The official then called for the two countries to bolster such people-to-people exchanges.



"Without those kinds of bridges being built every day, I think we are going to suffer in the future and I think we are going to lose future cooperative opportunities," he added. (Yonhap)


KAMPALA  The Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperative, Amelia Kyambadde has reported an increase in Ugandas merchandise exports, a majority of which are agricultural which rose by 40.2% between 2016 to 2019.

While giving the sectors performance at the Office of the Prime Minister, Kyambadde said the exports increased from $2.92125bn in 2016 to $4.09565bn in 2019.

She further said since the launch of the Buy Uganda Building Uganda (BUBU) policy, there has been the growth of locally produced programs.

Locally owned companies have continued to have an equal share of the national cake in terms of contract award in the value chain, she said.

Kyambadde said with the COVID-19 epidemic, the responsiveness of local Industries has been enabled by BUBU policy to produce sanitizers, salt (Kampala), NYTIL (masks and protective wear).

She also said that the BUBU logo has been registered under the Trade Marks Act of 2010 and gazetted in the Uganda Gazette and will be rolled out in the next Financial Year 2020/2.

Kyambadde said The Ministry trained and continue to train professional bodies and their membership on the reservation and preference schemes under Government procurement and the BUBU initiative.

The minister further revealed that a total of 1,258 cooperatives were registered during the year, bringing the total number of registered cooperatives to 21,454.

The cooperatives provide range services to their members which include financial services, agricultural marketing, transport, energy, housing among others, she said.

She added that the ministry conducted offsite and onsite supervision of 1,251 cooperatives, trained 65 cooperatives in different aspects, and audited 201 cooperatives.

59 cooperatives and Unions are engaged in agro-processing and value addition. Some of which are also involved in coffee and horticultural products export trade, said Kyambadde.

According to the minister, the Industry sector grew by 5.8% in FY 2018/19, a slight slowdown from 6.1% FY 2017/18 mainly due to the marginal slowdown was experienced in construction activities as well as mining and quarrying.

She, however, revealed that there was a great improvement in the manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing performed well growing at 2.8% in FY 2018/19 compared to 1.7 % in the previous FY because of newly commissioned factories, which increased industrial activity especially in food processing, production of cement, iron, and steel,  she added.

Kyambadde revealed that two smelting plants for value addition to iron ore have been established by Tembo steels in Iganga and Dong Song in Tororo. The two plants will add value to 12000MT and 36000MT of iron ore per month respectively.

Nine factories were commissioned at Liao Shen Industrial Park in Kapeeka. The commissioned factories manufacture Concrete products, Agricultural products, Food Items, electrical appliances, shoes and fishnets, she said.

Bukona agro-processors sugar factory and distillery at Lapem village, Koch Goma in Nwoya District was launched in March 2020. The factory has a Green fuel that produces energy stoves that use ethanol got from processed cassava, she added.

The minister further reported that Mbale industrial park was commissioned by H.E in Feb 2020 and has four factories already in place Pearl Light Technologies manufactures LED bulbs, Ubon Personal Care which manufactures washing detergent, Victoria Cables (electric cables), and Kyoga textiles (making socks).

Luweero fruit factory. Procurement for Consultants to undertake revalidation of the 2013 feasibility study on the proposed fruit factory, development of the master plan, engineering designs, ESIA is on-going after which civil works and procurement of equipment will commence.

According to Kyambadde, Nwoya Multi Fruit Factory is being implemented under the collaboration between; NAADS, UDC, Delight Nwoya Ltd, and Nwoya Fruit Farmers Cooperative Society and located in Nwoya district with an EPC contractor being procured who will establish a turn-key 13MT/hr factory.

Kyambadde further revealed that the Uganda Development Cooperation (UDC) made an injection of Ugx4.62 billion to Mabale to partly settle the debt with KCB, other creditors, and provide working capital to return the Company to business.

In exchange, UDC acquired a shareholding of 16.6% and has 4 members on the board,  she explained.

Kyambadde said the trade ministry Conducted surveillance inspections in 178 supermarkets, 1,1000 shops and distribution outlets, 222 factories, 60 hardware shops, 22 Internal Container Depots, 3,745 distribution vans, 83 MSME mentorships and other 16 activities across all regions in the country.

She further noted that the e-portal system was enhanced to enable PVOC auto-clearance.

PVOC auto-release process was launched on 27th November 2019 and is being implemented, said Kyambadde.

She added that, Over 300,000 import consignments have been inspected under PVOC and as a result, the proportion of substandard products on the market has been reduced from 73% to 54%.

The minister said with Support from TradeMark East Africa, construction of three One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) was completed; these include Mutukula OSBP with Tanzania, Busia OSBP with Kenya, and Mirama Hills OSBP with Rwanda.

Construction of the Elegu border post with South Sudan was completed and opened in 2019. This has reduced the clearance time from 8 days in 2010 to 2 hours in 2018, she said.

According to Kyambadde, the East African Community (EAC) engaging with third parties as a block, such as in the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, the Tripartite Free Trade Area negotiations, and the Market Access Offer under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

EAC economic integration deepened further, with both the Customs Union Protocol and the Common Market Protocol being implemented, Kyambadde explained.

Minister Kyambadde said the ministry of Trade has plans to fulfill the goals that have not been accomplished.

Three proposals to produce industrially refined sugar have been received from Kamuli, Mayuge, and GM sugar by the Ministry. These proposals are being reviewed by the technical team of the Ministry, she added.

Kyamabbade revealed that theres a need to increase the value of priority products exported to the selected unilateral preferential markets (US, India, and China) by an average of 40% annually over the next five years.

She added that the value of priority products exported should be increased to the selected unilateral preferential markets (US, India, and China) by an average of 40% annually over the next five years.

Related
Vistry Group has said it plans to make some more employees redundant five days after stating it was rewarding investors with tens of millions of pounds.

The FTSE 250 company did not specify how many jobs would be lost, but it noted that the move would save another 9.5million, in addition to the 35million in savings from its restructuring after acquiring Linden Homes.

It comes the week after the Kent-based business said it was paying out 32million in shares despite initially declaring back in March, soon after the lockdown was imposed, that it had postponed its 41p per share interim dividend payment.

Vistry revealed it had restarted production at 70 per cent of its usual capacity and was operating at all 73 of its contracting sites

Vistry also announced three months ago that profits reached a record high of 188.2million last year on revenues of 1.13billion and an average home sales price of 280,200.

Chairman Ian Tyler even described 2019 as 'another very positive year for the Group.'

Vistry, which renamed itself in January from Bovis Homes, also revealed it had restarted production at 70 per cent of its usual capacity and was operating at all 73 of its contracting sites across the country.

Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said that Vistry's performance during the lockdown period 'has been better than initially expected, in respect of reservations, completions and cash management.

'We are pleased by how effectively our site management and health and safety teams have adapted to the new operating procedures.'

The company also said house prices had been 'broadly' in line with its forecasts, and it confirmed it has now reopened almost all of its building sites.

The latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index showed a reading of 8.2 for April, its smallest ever and about four times as worse during the 2008 financial crash

It shut down almost all of its sites on March 25 as it became difficult for building work to operate as usual after social distancing measures were introduced. Staff were also furloughed, though Vistry has not revealed how many went on leave.

Since then, the firm writes that it has completed over 250 private home sales, taken nearly 450 private gross reservations, and has made exchanges on 310 houses.

Sales teams have also continued to conduct virtual house tours and new reservations, whilst the amount of website traffic has returned to its January and February levels, which Vistry says indicates 'continued strong demand.'

Despite its optimism, the housing sector has experienced a rough time since the government imposed lockdown restrictions in March.

Property website Zoopla estimates that only about half as many dwellings will be sold this year compared to 2019

The latest IHS Markit/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index showed a reading of 8.2 for April, its smallest ever and about four times as worse during the 2008 financial crash.

Property website Zoopla estimates that only about half as many dwellings will be sold this year compared to 2019 due to the closure of estate agents' offices, limits on house viewings, and a belief on many prospective buyers that prices will drop.

Estate agents received a boost from the government last week though after they said they could start reopening for viewings.

Earlier in the year, Vistry acquired Galliford's Linden Homes and Partnerships and Regeneration units in January in a deal worth 1.1billion. It has kept both the Bovis Homes and Linden Homes brands following the acquisition.

Shares in the Vistry Group ended 4.1 per cent down at 728.5p.
BENGALURU: Sixty three fresh corona positive cases reported since Tuesday evening and the health department which used to release it's bulletin with detailed information right from the patient's age, gender, place of residence, the source of infection, travel history etc have all been withheld.

This has come just a day after the Covid19 cases in the state set a new record by registering 149 cases in a single day. Wednesday's bulletin only has district-wise details of fresh positive cases.

Of the 63 cases - 21 are from Hassan, 10 from Bidar, 8 from Mandya, 7 from Kalburgi, 6 from Udupi, 4 each from Tumkur and Bengaluru and one each from Dakshin Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Yadgir. The total tally stands at 1458.

Sources claim that the health department was getting impatient as the fresh cases were constantly raising due to entry of people from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamilnadu and Kerala.

In the past one week, more than 250 positive cases are returnees from Maharashtra alone and nearly half of them have returned to Mandya apart from Hassan and Shivamogga. Cases were adding up in Kolara, Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru due to returnees from Tamilnadu.

It persuaded the government to ban any entry from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamilnadu till May 31.

Despite this the cases are on rise and the department is not so happy with the development. It should be noted that the department which has ramped up the Corona testing, on an average is testing nearly 7,000 samples every day.

Is the department hiding the details as it thinks people might be panicked with the steady rise in numbers is yet to be answered by the officials.

As soon as the Twitter handle of the Karnataka Health Department tweeted it has changed the bulletin format, it was flooded with questions asking clarity over this transformation and criticisms for moving away from transparency hiding crucial information.

The 4 cases from Bengaluru are from Yeshwanthpur, Jnanabharati Nagar and Nagawara. BBMP has declared these areas as containment zones and have been taking steps to prevent the spread.

With 21 discharges, Mandya is having the 147, active cases in the state putting behind Bengaluru with 117 cases. In a matter of few days, Hassan crosses 50 mark and has 53 positive cases.

Karnataka over all has 864 active cases.
MEXICO CITY, May 20 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Wednesday ordered an investigation into allegations the former government irregularly awarded lucrative contracts to a firm reportedly owned by the family of his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Between 2013 and 2018 Pena Nieto's government awarded $640 million in contracts to Plasti-Esteril, a firm founded by his family in 1991, and medical supply company Baxter International Inc, according to Mexican newspaper El Universal.

"We have to investigate if President Pena Nieto is involved and see how long the company has been operating, what contracts it received ... if they were awarded directly, through tenders," Lopez Obrador said at his daily press conference.

Baxter and Plasti-Esteril were not immediately available to comment.

Pena Nieto has in the past rejected accusations of wrongdoing during his time in office. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Lopez Obrador, who took office in December 2018, has made fighting corruption one of his administration's priorities. But he has said his government will not go after former presidents unless Mexicans demand it.

"We come from a regime defined by corruption and it takes some time to clean up," said Lopez Obrador. (Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Writing by Anthony Esposito, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Airports, office buildings, warehouses and restaurant chains are rushing to install new safety measures like fever-scanning cameras and infrared temperature-sensing guns. But the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned Tuesday against using the tools to screen people for possible coronavirus symptoms, saying the devices were often inaccurate, ineffective and intrusive.

In a new report, Temperature Screening and Civil Liberties During an Epidemic, the ACLU said that such technologies could give people a false sense of security, potentially leading them to be less vigilant about health measures like wearing masks or social distancing. The group also cautioned that the push for widespread temperature scans during the pandemic could usher in permanent new forms of surveillance and social control.

In particular, the report said that infrared temperature-sensing guns can be unreliable partly because they gauge skin temperature, in contrast to oral thermometers, which calculate core body temperature. The guns provide a superficial measure, the report noted, that can vary if a person is sunburned, is sweating or has just come in from outside.

Similarly, the report said that many free-standing thermal cameras, which gauge a persons temperature at a distance, can be inaccurate, finicky and may need to be frequently re-calibrated.

Even if the temperature-scanning tools were more accurate, however, the ACLU said they could miss many people who were infected with the coronavirus, but not running a fever.

Nobody should imagine that blanketing our public spaces with thermal sensors is going to serve as any kind of effective automated COVID detection network, Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU, wrote in the report, or that this technology is likely to contribute significantly to stemming the spread of the virus.

Recent studies have reported that as many as a quarter of people infected with the coronavirus, or perhaps even more, do not exhibit fever or other symptoms. Even so, guidelines on reopening the economy from the White House ask companies to monitor workers for symptoms like fevers.

To meet surging demand from factories, warehouses and office buildings, technology-makers haven been rushing to market a range of thermal cameras as coronavirus fever-screening tools. Companies have been encouraged to do so by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

But IPVM, an independent site that tests surveillance cameras, reported this year that numerous makers of temperature scanners had overstated their accuracy or made false claims.
Bengaluru, May 20 : In yet another sign of normalcy returning soon, the South Western Railway (SWR) zone is resuming passenger train services only within Karnataka from Friday, an official said on Wednesday.

"The Ministry of Railways has approved state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's request to resume intra-state train services, including suburban across the southern state to enable citizens travel within Karnataka after being stranded for over 55 days due to extended lockdown," a zonal official said in a statement here.

Though passenger services across the state and country remained suspended since the lockdown was enforced on March 25 and extended it four times up to May 31 to contain the coronavirus spread, the railways has been operating freight and parcel services since April first week to ensure essential supplies and movement of goods across the country.

"Initially, 2 pairs of special trains will operate between Bengaluru and Mysuru for 6 days a week except on Sunday and between Bengaluru and Belagavi in the state's northwest region on thrice a week," said the official.

"The tri-weekly superfast will operate from Bengaluru to Belagavi on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, beginning from May 22 with halts at 10 stations en-route for passengers to alight or board as per the guidelines," said the official.

The return train to Bengaluru will be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Belagavi with halts at 10 stations en-route for passengers to alight or board.

The trains will have 14 chair cars and 2 luggage-cum-brake vans, with 1,484 seats to carry passengers as per the guidelines to maintain physical distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The train will have 14 chair cars and 2 luggage-cum-brake vans.

"The special trains to Belagavi and Mysuru are in addition to Shramik (labour) trains for ferrying migrants from within state to other states and Rajdhani specials between New Delhi and Bengaluru," added the official.

The state government thanked Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, a 2-time ruling BJP Lok Sabha member from Belagavi, about 500 km from Bengaluru, for resuming the train services in the state.

The trains will not operate on Sunday due to complete lockdown in the southern state.

"Passengers have to buy tickets and reserve seats online through the IRCTC website. They should also wear mask and report to station in advance for thermal screening and security check," added the official.
COVID-19 put us over the edge, said a staffer this week. Its sad.

Stage controls 738 stores across several brands, including Gordmans, Bealls, Peebles and Palais Royal operating in more than 40 states.

Wacos Gordmans took the former Bealls space in Richland Mall.

The increasingly challenging market environment was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which required us to temporarily close all of our stores and furlough the vast majority of our associates, said CEO Michael Glazer in a statement. Given these conditions, we have been unable to obtain necessary financing and have no choice but to take these actions.

The Washington Post reported that since 2017, Stage had emphasized converting properties into Gordmans locations to compete with discounters such as T.J. Maxx and Burlington Coat Factory. The approach reaped rewards, as same-store sales increased more than 17% in the most recent quarter, said the Post. But the coronavirus pandemic dealt a fatal blow.

Stacey Keating, spokesperson for Richland Mall owner CBL Properties, said she had no additional information about Gordmans plans.
An election to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat on the Georgia Supreme Court has been cancelled, with it instead ruled that governor Brian Kemp will appoint the justices successor for a two year term.

Georgia Supreme Court justice Keith Blackwell, a Republican, announced in February that he will be stepping down from his role after six years, in November this year.

An election was scheduled to take place today to replace him as a justice, with Democrat John Barrow and Republican Beth Beskin running to succeed him.

However, last week it was decided by the states Supreme Court that the election would be cancelled and that Mr Kemp would be allowed to choose the justice to replace Mr Blackwell.

The replacement will serve as a justice on the court for two years, and will take Mr Blackwells place in November.

On 14 May, the Georgia Supreme Court voted 6-2 in favour of Mr Kemp choosing the next justice, and dismissed lawsuits from both Mr Barrow and Ms Beskin.

Their lawsuits contested Fulton County Superior Court Judge Emily Richardsons verdict in March, that ruled Mr Kemp could decide the next justice.

Six of the states Supreme Court justices recused themselves from the case, and were replaced by five lower tier judges for the ruling, according to Vox.

The ruling found that in Georgia law, a justice is only replaced via election if they are beaten at the polls, and not if they have already declared they will leave the post.

Although Mr Blackwells seat is not yet vacant, the Supreme Court voted against the lawsuits because his resignation became irrevocable when the governor accepted it in February, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Recommended Ruth Bader Ginsburg challenges Trump from her hospital bed

Writing on behalf of the majority, Justice David Nahmias, said: When a vacancy arises in a justices office, it is filled not by election but rather by gubernatorial appointment.

Ms Beskin, who is now running to replace justice Charles Bethel, told the outlet that she accepts the verdict.

Im happy to have played a part in helping clarify Georgia election law jurisprudence and further understand the gubernatorial power of appointment, she said.

Mr Barrow said he disagreed with the decision, and criticised three of the justices for hearing the case, despite having worked with Mr Blackwell.

Recommended The US Supreme Court vs the First Amendment

Its clear that these justices had an interest in deciding this case, and its not hard to see where their interests lay, he said.

Well continue to see these justices blaming the voters for their bad decisions  until we replace them.

Judge Brenda Trammell, one of the two on the panel alongside Scott Ballard to vote against the ruling, said she feels the decision goes against the constitution.

Ms Trammell wrote: Because I feel that this denies the people the right to elect their justice as provided by the Constitution, I cannot agree.

Governor Kemp has not given any indication on who will replace Mr Blackwell, but he is now free to choose a Republican as the next justice.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 15:28:29|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KAMPALA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held talks by telephone on the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic and furthering bilateral ties.

Museveni in a tweet on Wednesday said the talks held on Tuesday were fruitful.

"We look forward to defeating this pandemic and strengthening ties between our two countries," Museveni said.

Trudeau in a statement said they exchanged views about their respective national efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the health, safety, and economic well-being of their citizens.

Trudeau said it is important to respond to the virus in a manner that protects the most vulnerable groups in society and upholds human rights.

The two leaders noted the devastating economic impact of the pandemic on many countries and how development financing will help countries bring back growth in key sectors. Enditem
It is frequently said that all things come delayed to Latin America. However, when things come, they do with retribution. For the past several years, this has been proven true, for political trends, cultural switches, and even financial crises.

This seems to be what's happening as well, with the COVID-19 pandemic. After passing through the nations it hardly hit like China, Europe, and the United States, COVID-19 is now spreading, according to recent reports, through "south of Rio Grande."

According to what the New York Times suggested recently, the options of Latin America for combating the crisis are more restricted than a lot of its counterparts in the world.

The first response of the region to the present global health crisis has been to enforce strict isolation guidelines even in towns and cities where no confirmed COVID-19 cases have been recorded and reported yet.

Simple Reopening Could Rapidly Devastate Health Systems

With a limited capacity of the hospital, not to mention the huge high-risk populaces, simply restarting could devastate the health systems fast.

Chile is an ideal example of this. Recent reports said Santiago officials were obliged to reverse course following the relaxation of their isolation guidelines, and perhaps, being overly optimistic resulted in a "spike in COVID-19 cases."

One of the reports last week indicated that more than 90 percent of ICU units in Santiago were occupied.

Then, in Sao Paulo, which the Latin Americans consider as "the home to the best hospital infrastructure" in the region, 85 percent of their ICUs are occupied.

The substitute to these two options, as the reports said, "Is to operate in a grey area" that they said, is less bad compared to the extremes although it needs a great deal of both agility and information in making such decisions.

While it may be the most difficult option the governments can take, it can be considered the right one. In this transitional situation, testing capacity and tracing program turn out to be a priority, and there is a need for the high-risk populations to be quarantined or isolated.

Considering the overcrowding in slums in the cities of Latin America, separating the elderly individuals from the other members of their household is definitely not an easy task.

But this is the right thing to do those family members can progressively leave home to either work or study.

Change Needed in the Criteria for Decision-Making

According to political experts and those who are knowledgeable about the ongoing crisis the world is experiencing because of the pandemic,

For a transitioning setting to be effective, the criteria being applied when deciding for the reopening should be changed. Instead of thinking by industry, they recommend, governments need to reopen according to region, city, or occupation.

Meaning, administrative workers from sector or industry for instance, "should be able to work remotely."

Meanwhile, in cities like Monterrey, Medellin, and Curitiba where the virus is reasonably under control, return to approaching normality is possible but as long as these places have at least, minimal contact with the world outside.

More so, residents of these places mentioned should get used to living on somewhat, an island where they are not confined within their own shelters but across the city limits, instead.

In Latin America's largest cities and other places like Manaus for one, where COVID-19 is not yet under control, restarting needs a step-by-step process.

For instance, the government can begin with jobs from which employees can work remotely, in different shifts, and without heavily depending on public transportation.

Check these out!

17-Year Old Pregnant Woman is Ecuador's First COVID-19 Case, Report Says

Honduras, Costa Rica Taking Tightened Measures to Prevent Nicaraguans from Entering

Migrants are Forced to Choose Between Separation Or Stay Together
WASHINGTONIt is a crisis unfolding within a crisis.

On the same day as Michigan became the fourth state to surpass 5,000 cumulative deaths from COVID-19, floodwaters breached the Edenville and Sanford Dams Tuesday evening, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer began evacuating thousands of residents of Midland County, saying the downtown area of the city of 40,000 could be under nine feet of water by Wednesday.

This is unlike anything weve ever seen before, Whitmer said of the damage she called devastating, advising residents of the projected flood areas approximately 200 kilometres northwest of Detroit to get as far away as possible as soon as possible despite ongoing coronavirus stay-at-home-orders. Its hard to believe that were in the midst of a 100-0year crisis, a global pandemic, and that were also dealing with a flooding event that looks to be the worst in 500 years, she said at a press conference early Wednesday afternoon.

Images from news agencies Wednesday morning showed waters flooding streets around Midland, submerging some buildings almost entirely, as people waded knee-deep or paddled small boats through streets transformed into rivers by the flood. Local reporter Tim Pamplin tweeted images and video from his kayak tour of the area including devastation in downtown Sanford where car tops and light posts peeked out from above the water and a building housing a pet grooming business had collapsed.

At shelters set up in local schools, staff tried to maintain pandemic social-distancing practices with beds set far apart and staff and volunteers equipped with personal protective equipment. Whitmer asked evacuating residents to continue wearing masks and maintain distancing as best they could under the circumstances. According to the Associated Press, approximately 10,000 residents were evacuated Tuesday evening.

Early Wednesday morning, the waters continued to rise and the Tittabawassee River reached a record level of more than 10 metres after the dams broke following days of unusually high rainfall. The river level was predicted to continue rising until Wednesday evening, to a possible crest of 11.6 metres.

Early Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted a statement about the states government  not addressing the flooding crisis but instead making an election-related threat. Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of primaries and the general election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue secretary of state. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this voter fraud path! Like some other states, Michigan has recently taken steps to ensure voters can participate in its August primary and the November general election even in the event coronavirus hinders in-person voting. Though Trump himself voted by absentee ballot earlier this year in Florida, he has consistently opposed such efforts to expand remote voting, which he claims are an invitation to fraud that would help his opponents.

Whitmer said she was formally asking the federal emergency management agency, FEMA, for assistance, and said it was disappointing to see Trumps tweet. We have a 500-year event in a flood that has absolutely devastated a lot of families, a lot of parts of this community  to see Twitter this morning and to see rhetoric like that is disheartening, she said. She noted Trump was scheduled to come to Michigan Thursday and she expected to be able to brief him then on the scope of the situation. I would appreciate any federal partnership that wants to stay focused on solving problems and not get into politics. Weve got to take politics out of this crisis moment. And remember, were all Americans. We are all fighting for our lives here and for our economy, and we all got to get this right.

Trump addressed the flooding directly a few hours after his first tweet in another one: My team is closely monitoring the flooding in Central Michigan  Stay SAFE and listen to local officials. Our brave first responders are once again stepping up to serve their fellow citizens, THANK YOU! Trump followed up, tweeting hed sent military and FEMA teams to the state.

Among those evacuating in Midland County were employees at the Dow Inc. chemical company headquarters. Dow has activated its local emergency operations centre and is implementing its flood preparedness plan which includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site. Only essential Dow staff needed to monitor the situation and manage any issues as a result of the flooding remain on site, a message on the companys Facebook page said. A Bloomberg News report noted that potentially dangerous chemicals, including Styrofoam and pesticides, are made by companies including Dow in the industrial and commercial area potentially affected by the catastrophic rush of floodwaters.

Whitmer said shed been in contact with Dow executives, and as of then understood that their emergency plan is working to prevent any real damage from happening at the chemical site, though she would continue to monitor the situation.

Witmer said that no casualties had been reported.

At the press conference, Midland City Manager Brad Kaye said that the extent of the damage to the Sanford Dam was still unknown, and that if that dam were to collapse entirely it could cause further, more extreme flooding and damage. At this point in time it is overflowing... Its not entirely clear what the structure is below the water surface, he said. Could it get worse? Yes, if the entire structure were to go, and the water were to come in a very significant, serious, immediate impact, there would be a much higher surge that would come down the river. And that could raise the level much more quickly than what were seeing right at the moment.

Resident Catherine Sias, who lives about 1.6 kilometres from the breached Edenville Dam, told the Associated Press that she evacuated after a series of emergency alerts appeared on her mobile phone. While packing, there were tons of police and fire trucks going up and down the roads, she said. As far as I know, all of our neighbours got out.

Whitmer encouraged residents to continue to persevere, though both the COVID-19 crisis and the flood. Were going to get through this, she said. It is a tough time, to be sure, but we are going to get through this. We know that tough times dont last, but tough people do.

Read more about:
Join us for an informal gathering to swap and share ideas of what your household is doing to lighten the mood while sheltering in place! Looking for some ideas to sprinkle some joy into your home? This is the place to be for some fun suggestions. Register to receive the link to join the Zoom meeting. If joining as a family using the same device, register for one spot only.
Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to media about the Mueller report at the Capitol in Washington on March 25, 2019. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Graham Seeking New Probe Into Origin of FBIs Russia Investigation Before Election

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that he intends to release the findings of a new probe into the origins of the FBIs Russia investigation before the 2020 presidential election in November.

I want to do it before the election, I want to get all the information out there, Graham told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday.

Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced on May 14 that the committee will begin holding multiple, in-depth congressional hearings regarding all things related to Crossfire Hurricane starting in early June.

Graham seeks to release a report by October, just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, The Hill reported last week. When asked on Tuesday whether the timing would appear as though Graham was trying to influence the election, he responded, Im trying to explain to the American people what happened.

Graham also said he had been planning this for a long time, reported CNN.

Im trying to explain to the American people what happened in Crossfire Hurricane. I gave Mueller all the space he needed to do his job. Hes done his job, we got the Mueller report, were going to do this by October, he said.

Crossfire Hurricane, launched in July 2016, is the FBIs code name for its counterintelligence investigation into allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. It is also informally referred to as the FBIs Russia investigation. Robert Mueller, who took over the investigation in May 2017, after 22 months did not ultimately find sufficient evidence to establish any collusion.

Graham said in his announcement that the Senate Judiciary Committee will inquire into the governments decision to dismiss the case against former Trump adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. The committee will also investigate the unmasking requests made by Obama administration officials against Flynn.

Next, the committee will conduct oversight that builds upon the report about FISA abuses against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, Graham said. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report in December 2019 that found that the four warrant applications the FBI used to spy on Trump campaign associate Carter Page have 17 significant errors or omissions.

The committee will also examine whether Mueller should have ever been appointed as special counsel.

Graham announced on Monday that he is seeking authorization from the Senate Judiciary Committee to subpoena documents, communications, and testimony of more than 50 top Obama administration officials. This includes any individual referenced in Horowitzs report, as well as any current or former executive branch official or employee involved in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, including reports prepared by former British Intelligence officer Christopher Steele, also referred to as the Steele dossier.

The officials who may be subpoenaed include former FBI Director James Comey, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, and many others.

Graham on Tuesday asked Acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell and Attorney General William Barr to declassify the names of any Obama-era officials who may have sought to unmask the identities of people associated with the Trump campaign or transition team. This comes after Grenell on May 13 released a list of 39 Obama administration officials who submitted requests to unmask the identity of Flynn from Nov. 8, 2016, to Jan. 31, 2017. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Brennan, and Comey were among the names on the list.

Separately, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), asked Grenell in a letter to Grenell on Tuesday (pdf) for information surrounding all unmasking requests of the Trump campaign made by Obama administration officials dating back as early as January 2016.
Coronavirus: Wednesday's news from Spain and around the world Coronavirus Updates on the global pandemic

00:00. That is everything for today. Make sure to check out our coronavirus blog tomorrow to see the latest updates on the global pandemic. Stay safe.

23:43. Italy will reopen airports from June 3. "It will be possible to begin reopening all airports from June 3 next, when interregional and international travel will again be allowed and all restrictions on public transport will be lifted," the country's minister of transport, Paola De Micheli, told the Chamber of Deputies today.

23:33. Greece will allow foreign visitors from June 15. Some international flights will resume on that date, but only from and to Athens airport. And in this first stage only visitors from specific countries with low infection rates and the pandemic under control will be allowed to enter.

22:31. There has been further protests in Alcorcon, a municipality of Madrid, which has been the epicentre of protests against the Spanish government's actions during the coronavirus crisis.

21:31. The situation in Brazil is very sad. In Sao Paulo, they are running out of room to bury the dead. In Manaus, tractors are building mass graves. The mayor of that town has accused the government of 'genocide', given the number of indigenous people who are dying there because of COVID-19.

21:01. Sweden's attempt to obtain herd immunity does not appear to be successful, in the light of the conclusions of the seroprevalence study carried out in the Scandinavian country. Only 7.3 percent of the respondents have coronavirus antibodies in their bodies.

20:28. In France, 110 people have died from coronavirus in the last 24 hours. In total, there has now been 28,132 deaths in the country.

20:12. Spain's state of emergency has been extended by two weeks - it will now end on June 7 - after a vote in Congress: 177 were in favour, 162 were against and 11 abstained.

19:18. United States president Donald Trump may close the country's borders to Latin America. "I don't want other people to come here and infect our people," said Trump, who is in charge of the country with the most infected people on the planet.

19:04. Italy has reported 161 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, which brings the country's death total to 32,330.

18:50. In the United Kingdom, there has been 363 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours. In total, there has now been 35,704 deaths from COVID-19. In addition, there has been an increase of 2,472 new positives.

18:37. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have reported 106,000 new cases of coronavirus worldwide. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns: "We still have a lot to do and a long way to go."

17:59. Greece plans to open up the country and allow the entry of foreign tourists from July 1.

17:08. In Spain, there has been 95 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 416 new positives from PCR tests have been detected.

16:58. Alitalia will resume flights between Spain and Italy from June 2.

15:04. Catalonia will re-open schools on June 1 in areas that are in Phase 2 of the de-escalation plan.

14:42. The number of deaths from coronavirus in Madrid has reduced in the last 24 hours to 18 victims, compared to 31 deaths on Tuesday.

14:05. Spain's biggest museums do not plan on opening their doors until June, despite being able to do so in Phase 0 of the de-escalation plan.

12:53. Air France will resume its routes to Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca from Barcelona and Madrid in June.

12:25. The Catalan authorities have decided to close the outdoor gym near Barceloneta beach due to overcrowding. The Barcelona Metropolitan area is still in Phase 0.

08:46. Spain's Secretary of State for Migration will automatically extend the residence and work permits of foreign citizens whose documents expired during the state of alarm.

07:50. China has reported five new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

07:30. The 2021 Oscar gala, scheduled for February, could be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis.

07:20. The United States, according to figures from the Johns Hopkins University, has suffered 1,536 deaths in the last 24 hours.

06:10. A total of 1,179 people have died from the coronavirus in Brazil in the last 24 hours.
A man who deliberately coughed on an elderly police worker while claiming he had coronavirus has been fined $550.

WIlliam West, 21, was charged with giving false information and hindering a police officer after the incident at the Coffs Harbour police station in New South Wales on March 24.

He filmed himself walking into the precinct and repeatedly coughing while claiming to have coronavirus before later posting the video on social media.

Magistrate Ian Rodgers described West's behaviour as 'absolutely repulsive' during the sentencing hearing at Coffs Harbour Local Court on Tuesday, ABC News reported.

William West, 21 (pictured) has been fined $550 over a 'prank' where he deliberately coughed on a 71-year-old police worker while claiming he had the coronavirus

'Both these acts are reprehensible to the extreme. Absolutely repulsive behaviour,' Magistrate Rodgers said.

He said West's actions were far from a joke, and intentionally played into growing community fears around the spread of COVID-19.

'It's the case that it was never in reality a prank or a joke - it was in fact a serious crime,' he said.

The main victim in the incident was a 71-year-old police staffer, who took six weeks stress leave after the incident.

The magistrate said the victim was in a high-risk category for contracting coronavirus, and noted the victim would have endured significant 'distress' over the event.

He filmed himself walking into the precinct and repeatedly coughing while claiming to have coronavirus before later posting the video on social media

The police prosecutor Sergeant Heidi Warren was pushing for jail time over the prank, saying it would send a strong message to the community.

She described the incident as an act of 'gratuitous cruelty'.

Meanwhile Defence Lawyer Ruthy Carty pleaded leniency on the grounds of West's difficult upbringing and his sense of remorse over the incident.

Carty said West came from a background of neglect, and was on mood stabilisers at the time as part of a response to anger management issues after a traumatic upbringing.

She also pointed to struggles with depression and anxiety, which were a result of having to escape domestic violence at age 11.

In pleading his case she put forward a hand-written letter from West expressing his embarrassment over the incident and confessing his recently deceased father would be disappointed in him.

The 21-year-old was fined $550 over the prank.

He was also sentenced to a 15 months intensive corrections order and 200 hours for community service for two unrelated offences.

The New South Wales government changed the Public Health Regulation on April 9 so anyone who coughed or spit on healthcare workers or emergency services could be fined $5,000.

The offending video was posted to Facebook after the incident at Coffs Harbour Police Station on March 24.

The offending video began with West pointing his middle finger towards the building before walking towards the entrance.

It begins by showing him pointing his middle finger towards the building before walking towards the entrance.

'Got to report to these dogs every day,' he says, glaring into the camera, before it turns down to face his feet.

As he enters the station, he starts coughing and spluttering while approaching a 71-year old general station officer at the front desk.

'Hello, how are you, I just got to report,' he says in between coughs, before stating, 'I'm sorry, I've been tested positive for that coronavirus.'

'Sorry?' the woman says.

'I've been tested positive for that coronavirus,' the man repeats.

The woman responds: 'You have not.'

'Yes I have,' he declares.

'What are you doing in here?' she asks.

He says: 'I have to report every day or I go to jail.'

The New South Wales Police employee asks him if he is joking but he maintains that he is serious.

She tells him to wait a moment while she consults other staff.

Coffs Harbour Police Station (pictured), on NSW's mid-north coast, was locked down while police investigated the man's claims

'You shouldn't be coming in here, why didn't you just ring up?' she asks.

'Because I can't,' he replies.

Another female officer appears in the office, standing metres away, and asks the man if he is serious about having the illness.

He insists it is true and says he had just come from Coffs Harbour Hospital, where he tested positive.

She asks him to go wait outside the building before the video cuts to a still image of the station in lockdown.

The film resumes after the man has been caught out by police and is permitted to re-enter the station.

Two police officers scold him for his behaviour and announce he will be charged as he laughs and proclaims it was just a 'joke'.

A male and female police officer scolded the man before charging him over the incident

The video was shared by 2GB Radio on March 25 and quickly went viral, racking up 32,000 views and more than 800 views in an hour.

Radio Host Ray Hadley described West as a 'grub' in the video's caption.

Commentators were outraged by the man's appalling behaviour as the globe continues to battle the devastating crisis.

'What a tool. For his effort he should maybe get the disease to experience what sufferers are going through this is no bloody laughing matter,' one person wrote.

Another added:'Wonder how long it took him to think you this prank (likely a week or so). His parents must be sooooo proud.'
South Korean commuters wear protective masks. (Getty)

South Korea has been heralded worldwide for its success in preventing the coronavirus pandemic from spreading to vulnerable care home residents.

The far-eastern nation has seen 11,078 cases as of Tuesday and 263 deaths, but remarkably has yet to record a single death within its care homes.

Adelina Comas-Herrera, assistant professorial research fellow at London School of Economics, told the Commons health and social care committee that stringent isolation measures have helped prevent a crisis on the scale of the UKs.

In South Korea, there hasnt been a single death of a care home resident in the care home, Comas-Herrera said on Tuesday.

Health secretary Matt Hancock defended the UK over the number of care home deaths in the House of Commons. (Getty)

That is because anybody with suspected COVID was immediately isolated and if they tested positive were removed into quarantine centres, and/or hospitals. So not a single person has died with COVID in a South Korean care home.

Thats just an example of how quickly they acted to make sure that there wasnt any possibility of transmission within the care home.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

Singapore has adopted similar measures. They have had some infections, but theyve acted really quickly to make sure that it didnt spread within the care homes.

She pointed out that these countries had experience of Sars, and their infection control policies were based on that, rather than influenza, adding: I think that put them perhaps at a slightly better position to deal with this.

People wearing face masks walk along a street in the Hongdae district of Seoul. (Getty)

The UK government has been criticised for failing to act sooner to protect care homes, which have now seen 11,600 deaths across the country.

Labour MP Sarah Owen raised the example of South Korea to show ask why similar measures have not been taken to protecting vulnerable elderly residents.

"The health and social care select committee just heard evidence that there has been not one single care home death in Hong Kong or South Korea, despite their close proximity to China and shorter time to prepare for this crisis, Owen told the House of Commons.

Story continues

"In comparison, the UK has now tragically seen over 10,000 deaths of loved ones in care homes.

How can the government describe this as a success and isn't it time now to learn from other countries who have genuinely put a protective ring around their care homes?"

Health secretary Matt Hancock acknowledged that it is "important to learn from everywhere around the world" in how others are dealing with coronavirus.

He replied: "Well yes absolutely, it is important to learn from everywhere around the world and this epidemic has had a different shape in different parts of the world, and as she knows, a very significant impact throughout Europe."

Coronavirus: what happened today?

Click here to sign up to the latest news, advice and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter
NEW HAVEN  As the number of confirmed shots fired in the city continues to crawl higher each year, Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said he believes the department may need to part with some technology that enables officers to respond to the scene within seconds.

With the city in a tight fiscal spot, Reyes said he beginning to do a cost-benefit analysis on several things, such as making a choice between preserving the citys ShotSpotter sensors or keeping cops on the beat.

We are running so efficiently so to speak  were running pretty lean  that were taking a look at things like ShotSpotter to see if its something we can do without, he told the Board of Alders Public Safety Committee during a hearing on shootings in the city.

Reyes said that as of May 17, there were 65 confirmed shots fired in the city, compared to 58 confirmed shots fired at the same time last year. The two years before that, there had been 34 and 42 confirmed shots fired in the city by May 17, respectively.

Part of the reason for the higher numbers, Reyes said, is expansion of the use of ShotSpotter. The system uses triangulation between multiple sensors to detect and determine the location of gunfire. In the last year, the Police Department expanded the program into Fair Haven, which partially could explain the higher number of shots that are detected and confirmed by police.

The cost of maintaining the program, Reyes said, is about $350,000 annually.

I think it has become more of a luxury we cant afford, he said.

Reyes said that, although the number of confirmed shots fired appears to be spiking from the 10-year low of 34 in 2018, the city has not reached even half of the 149 confirmed shots detected as of May 17, in 2011. Also in 2011, there had been 13 homicides by that date. There have been three homicides in New Haven so far this year.

The same recipe that got us from 2011 is what were doing now, Reyes said, including outreach and early intervention.

After Alder Abby Roth, D-7, asked for more details for which types of crimes are increasing, Reyes said his department believes the number of armed robberies has increased slightly because of schools being closed over the pandemic.

A lot of the reported suspects are reported as being young suspects, he said.

Festa said she has the perception that police are not interacting properly with young people suspected of committing crimes .

I feel our officers dont know the protocol when they arrest a youth. I feel like were missing opportunities, she said. I feel like our officers dont know theres even a YouthStat program or what the procedure is when they do arrest a juvenile.

Reyes said his officers are given open channels to exchange information about young suspects, so they can communicate about their response.

UPDATE: The original version of this story indicated that the New Haven Police Department expanded the ShotSpotter system into the Orchard Street corridor in the last year. The department actually began the program in that area in 2011, as that was the epicenter of violence in the city at the time, according to Police Chief Otoniel Reyes. The most recent expansion of the system was in Fair Haven.

brian.zahn@

hearstmediact.com
[May 20, 2020] Leaf Group Announces Conclusion of Strategic Review

After comprehensive review of alternatives, current strategy is best path to shareholder value

Strong growth trends have continued in May Announces departure of CFO and appointment of Interim CFO SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leaf Group Ltd. (NYSE: LEAF), a diversified consumer internet company, today announced that its Board of Directors has concluded its previously announced review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. The Board of Directors assessed an exhaustive range of alternatives over the course of the last year, during which time the Companys business and operating environment have also improved. As a result of the comprehensive review, the Board of Directors unanimously determined that the Companys current business strategy as an independent company is the best path forward to create the greatest value for Leaf Groups shareholders. Sean Moriarty, Chief Executive Officer of Leaf Group said, Over the past several years, we have been focused on executing a successful turnaround of the Company. As part of that effort, we have made significant changes across the organization, streamlining our business, strengthening our team, optimizing our operations and driving much-improved financial performance. Our brands have not only proven themselves to be quite resilient in these uncertain times, but our consistent focus on the home, art & design, and fitness & wellness sectors well positions us to address the needs of our consumers as the pandemic accelerates digital growth. The strategic review was conducted by a Special Committee of the Board of Directors consisting of independent directors, with the support of outside financial and legal advisors. Over the course of the comprehensive review, the Special Committee of the Board of Directors and its advisors considered a full range of alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including a sale of the Company, divestitures of certain assets and various financing alternatives. Leaf Group and its advisors contacted over 160 potential acquirers regarding a possible sale of the Company or certain assets, and entered into non-disclosure agreements with 45 of those parties to facilitate discussions. Additionally, Leaf Group and its advisors contacted over 48 companies to discuss financing options. The Company engaged in negotiations with parties concerning potential asset sales; however, this process did not yield any transaction offers that the Board of Directors and its advisors determined would provide more value to Leaf Groups shareholders than the value that can be created by the Companys continued ownership and operation of those assets. While multiple parties expressed interest in potential transactions related to certain of the Companys assets, no party submitted an offer to acquire the entire company. We have come away from this process more confident than ever that Leaf Groups significant organic growth potential  as demonstrated by our recent strong performance  can deliver substantially more value to our shareholders than any other alternative currently available to the Company, said James Quandt, Chair of Leaf Groups Board of Directors and a member of the Special Committee. Our comprehensive review helped reaffirm that the best path forward for all of Leaf Groups stakeholders is for us to remain focused on executing on our strategy  with a continued emphasis on building digital first brands in high-passion categories. Early Trends Positive for Second Quarter The positive trends for the second quarter of 2020, which the Company previewed in its Q1 2020 shareholder letter, are continuing with particularly strong performance by Society6, the Companys biggest operating unit. While the Company has not typically provided guidance and will not generally be providing guidance, given the unique circumstances of the pandemic, the Company announced that the April business trends identified in its Q1 2020 shareholder letter have continued through the date of this release. Leaf Group will report actual financial results for the second quarter 2020 on its regular earnings schedule. Departure of Chief Financial Officer and Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer Additionally, Leaf Group today announced that Chief Financial Officer Jantoon Reigersman stepped down to pursue other opportunities, effective May 19, 2020. Brian Gephart, Chief Accounting Officer, has been appointed interim CFO and will serve in that role until a permaent successor for Mr. Reigersman has been named. Mr. Gephart joined Leaf Group in 2019 following positions at JH Capital Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and has extensive expertise in capital markets, technical accounting and financial reporting.



On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management team, I want to thank Jantoon for his leadership and the great contributions he has made to Leaf Group over the years, said Mr. Moriarty. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. About Leaf Group





Leaf Group Ltd. (NYSE: LEAF) is a diversified consumer internet company that builds enduring, digital-first brands that reach passionate audiences in large and growing lifestyle categories, including fitness and wellness ( Well+Good , Livestrong.com and MyPlate App ), and art and design ( Saatchi Art , Society6 and Hunker ). For more information about Leaf Group, visit www.leafgroup.com . Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements set forth in this press release include, among other things, statements regarding potential synergies achieved from acquisitions, the impact of strategic operational changes and the Companys future financial performance. In addition, statements containing words such as guidance, may, believe, anticipate, expect, intend, plan, project, projections, business outlook, and estimate or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties regarding the Companys future financial performance; could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those indicated due to a number of factors affecting Leaf Groups operations, markets, products and services; and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Companys industry, financial condition, operating performance and results of operations, including certain assumptions related thereto. Potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the Companys operating and financial results are described in Leaf Groups annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov) on March 16, 2020, as such risks and uncertainties may be updated from time to time in Leaf Groups quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, information under the captions Risk Factors and Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: risks associated with political and economic instability domestically and internationally including those resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have and could lead to fluctuations in the availability of credit, decreased business and consumer confidence and increased unemployment; the Companys ability to execute its business plan to return to compliance with the continued listing criteria of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE); the Companys ability to continue to comply with applicable listing standards within the available cure period; changes by the Small Business Administration or other governmental authorities regarding the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 (the CARES Act), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or related administrative matters; the Companys ability to comply with the terms of the PPP loan and the CARES Act, including to use the proceeds of the PPP loan; the Companys ability to successfully drive and increase traffic to its marketplaces and media properties; changes in the methodologies of internet search engines, including ongoing algorithmic changes made by Google, Bing and Yahoo!; the Companys ability to attract new and repeat customers and artists to its marketplaces and successfully grow its marketplace businesses; the potential impact on advertising-based revenue from lower ad unit rates, a reduction in online advertising spending, a loss of advertisers, lower advertising yields, increased availability of ad blocking software, particularly on mobile devices and/or ongoing changes in ad unit formats; the Companys dependence on various agreements with a specific business partner for a significant portion of its advertising revenue; the effects of shifting consumption of media content and online shopping from desktop to mobile devices and/or social media platforms; the Companys history of incurring net operating losses; the Companys ability to obtain capital when desired on favorable terms; potential write downs, reserves against or impairment of assets including receivables, goodwill, intangibles (including media content) or other assets; the Companys ability to effectively integrate, manage, operate and grow acquired businesses; the Companys ability to retain key personnel; the Companys ability to prevent any actual or perceived security breaches; the Companys ability to expand its business internationally; the review of strategic alternatives; the Companys ability to generate long-term value for its stockholders; and any future actions that may be taken by activist stockholders. From time to time, the Company may consider acquisitions or divestitures that, if consummated, could be material. Any forward-looking statements regarding financial metrics are based upon the assumption that no such acquisition or divestiture is consummated during the relevant periods. If an acquisition or divestiture were consummated, actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company in this press release is based only on information currently available to the Company and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking information, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future. Investor Contacts

Shawn Milne

Investor Relations

415-264-3419

[email protected] Media Contacts

John Christiansen/Matt Reid

Sard Verbinnen & Co

415-618-8750/310-201-2040

[email protected] Sharna Daduk

VP, Communications

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
MIDLAND, MI - Those looking for a place to stay after being evacuated during the ongoing flooding situation in Midland County and the surrounding area have a new resource to help them make necessary plans.

The Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau worked with its partnering businesses to assemble a list of hotels that are confirmed to be open for business and taking evacuees and flood victims in the area.

The Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau is here to help as much as we are able during this time. The well-being, health and safety of you (our guests) is top priority, said a statement from the organization.

The list details hotels in Bay, Saginaw, and Midland County and contains detailed links describing each hotel and its accommodations. The Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau noted that specific flood relief rates are not prepared and posted yet but that it is working diligently to do so. Flood victims are asked to contact the hotels directly for rates and/or bookings at this time.

Updates will be made to the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureaus list as they become available.

Hotels in the area are also currently partnered with the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau to also offer lower rates on stays for COVID-19 support workers, including those in the FEMA, Homeland Security, medical, healthcare, military, government, or the law enforcement sectors. The move was to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 from these workers to their families and loved ones.

Related news:

Ongoing flood coverage

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Water is now flowing over top of impoundment at Sanford Dam in Midland County

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone
Founded in 1912, Sun-Maid has stayed true to its rootsliterallywith its steadfast commitment to whole-fruit products for all. A cooperative of multi-generational family farmers and sustainable growing practices have fostered the beloved brand, now lauded as the world's largest dried fruit producer. Sun-Maid is well-known for retail consumer products and as ingredients for items such as cereals, breads and a variety of other food products. Located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley's raisin producing district, Sun-Maid distributes its products throughout the United States and in more than 50 countries around the world.

"This achievement belongs to the entire Sun-Maid organizationfrom the cooperative of multi-generational family farmers to the talented teams who work in all our facilities and corporate offices," noted Harry Overly, President and CEO of Sun-Maid. "It was an amazing honor to be nominated, then selected after the rigorous application process. We're successful thanks to a collaborative and devoted culture of smart, hardworking colleagues who are committed to a complete business transformation, while continuously reinventing what it means to snack with raisins."

Recently, Sun-Maid began its evolution from a beloved business with classic raisins to a relevant snacking option for today's millennial consumer. Overly stepped in as president and CEO in 2017 with a focus on reinvigorating the iconic brand by issuing bold business goals and a new marketing strategy. Overly led the team to growth and helped change the direction of the business.

Now, offering several types of snacking varieties, Sun-Maid is turning whole fruit into better-for-you-snacks like Sour Raisin Snacks and Yogurt Raisins in fun and indulgent flavors. In 2019, after a quiet decade, the brand broadcasted its first major marketing campaign"Grow Young"aimed at the millennial buyer. In 2020, the brand debuted new packaging and an updated logo to appeal to the modern shopperthe first change it made to the iconic Sun-Maid Girl since the 1970s.

"Sun-Maid is poised for tremendous growth, and very few companies can claim the same after a hundred-plus year run," added Overly. "We're honored to be recognized among other successful private companies on this list."

For more information about US Best Managed Companies, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

For more updates on the brand and its products, follow Sun-Maid on Facebook (facebook.com/sunmaid) Twitter ( @Sun_Maid ) and Instagram ( @SunMaid ) for the latest product news and promotional offers.

About Sun-Maid Growers of California

Founded in 1912, Sun-Maid Growers of California is a farmers' cooperative of 750 grower families with vineyards in California's Central Valley. From childhood to adulthood and generation to generation, Sun-Maid snacks have grown up with you. And while some things change, our ingredients haven'tthey're real, minimally processed and consistently good. The timeless and trusted go-to snack that's simple, healthy and versatile, Sun-Maid fills each day with moments of sunshine, one little red box at a time. For more information about Sun-Maid, visit www.sunmaid.com.

About the Best Managed Companies Program

The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have annual revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practicesstrategy, execution, culture and financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure.

SOURCE Sun-Maid Growers of California

Related Links

https://www.sunmaid.com


PITTSBURGH, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers (USW) union today endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race.

"Vice President Biden has long been a friend of workers and our union," said USW International President Thomas M. Conway. "The USW is proud to stand with him now as he seeks to put our country back on a path toward shared prosperity through responsible leadership."

The decision was the culmination of a months-long process that began last fall when the union sent all the prospective presidential candidates a detailed questionnaire to determine where each of them stands on key issues affecting working people.

The USW then shared this questionnaire with its entire U.S. membership. It also solicited feedback through a membership survey and held approximately 170 town hall meetings across the country where members could discuss their top priorities and concerns.

"We came to this endorsement through listening," said Conway. "We listened to our members when they told us that their top issues were affordable health care and prescription drugs, retirement security, and labor laws that protect working people.

"We also listened to the candidates, examined their responses to our questionnaire and assessed what their past records demonstrate about their values."

"Vice President Biden shared with us his plans for how he intends to expand access to affordable health care, protect those with preexisting conditions, stabilize multiemployer pension plans, defend Social Security and preserve and expand labor rights.

"Joe Biden spent his life fighting for these things because he understands what it's like to work for a living. As the son of a working-class family from Pennsylvania's coal country, he has never forgotten his roots.

"We are confident that as president, he will put workers and their needs first."

Conway said the union has a responsibility to back a candidate who knows the challenges workers face on the job.

"Workers need an administration that takes workplace health and safety seriously, now more than ever, and Vice President Biden's record supporting strong, enforceable federal safety standards that help keep workers healthy and safe make it clear that he is committed to this vital work.

"On issues from creating good paying jobs through significant investment in our crumbling infrastructure to raising the minimum wage, we know Vice President Biden stands with working people," Conway said.

President Trump did not respond to the union's questionnaire.

The USW represents 850,000 men and women employed in metals, mining, pulp and paper, rubber, chemicals, glass, auto supply and the energy-producing industries, along with a growing number of workers in health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, (412) 562-2444, [email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


"Aperitivo without a mask? We'll wait for them at the doors of the hospital."

Italy's regional governors and mayors have threatened to shut down areas of cities due to the recent return of nightlife - with young people socialising over open-air drinks without masks and disregarding social distancing - reports Corriere della Sera.

The phenomenon of the unguarded aperitivo has been documented in cities across Italy since bars reopened on 18 May, with increasing crowds populating nightlife areas of Bergamo, Bologna, Padua, Palermo and Naples, reports La Repubblica.

The trend was kickstarted in the Navigli district of Milan last week, before the recent easing of restrictions, enraging the city's mayor Beppe Salla who slammed the "shameful" canal-side socialising and threatened to shut the area down.

Now it is the turn of the president of the northern Veneto region, Luca Zaia, to issue a stark warning on 19 May: "Aperitivo without a mask? We'll wait for them at the doors of the hospital."

Zaia stated that the ban on gatherings and the use of the mask are "the conditio sine qua non, the life-saver for the protection of citizens", adding that if infections increase "we will close bars, restaurants, beaches, and we will go back to sealing ourselves up in our homes with silicone."

Read also:

In the Sicilian capital Palermo, mayor Leoluca Orlando has threatened the same measures, according to La Stampa, after photos emerged of crowds assembled outside bars in the Vucciria district.

"I would not like to be forced to close areas of the city"- said Orlando - "We must stop with the useless walks, everyone in the same place."

In the northern city of Padua a 23-year-old man was reportedly arrested for punching a police officer as carabinieri broke up crowds of people socialising on the night of 18 May, while the mayor of nearby Ferrara, Alan Fabbri, has made it obligatory to wear masks in public.

Bologna mayor Virginio Merola has appealed directly to young people, asking them to "set an example for adults" in how to maintain social distancing.

Even in the northern city of Bergamo, the epicentre of Italy's coronavirus emergency, the mayor Giorgio Gori has waded into the debate, posing the rhetorical questions: "Were hundreds of deaths not enough in our city? Do we want to find ourselves in trouble again in a month's time?"

The warnings come as Italy sees an increase in the number of coronavirus deaths, with 162 fatalities recorded on 19 May, up from the previous day's death count of 99, which was the lowest since the start of the lockdown.

Italy also recorded 813 new cases of covid-19 over the last 24 hours, up from 451 new cases the day before, according to figures released last night by the civil protection agency.

Photo and video La Repubblica
A 19-year-old man was arrested by Colorado Springs police Tuesday after trying to escape officers and crashing his motorcycle, authorities said.

Police said Jorge Amaya tried to evade officers conducting speed enforcement near Austin Bluffs Parkway and North Academy Boulevard. He was accused of speeding and running a red light while officers tried to pull him over. Police said the officers decided to call off the chase because of heavy traffic in the area.

Shortly after, officers responded to a single-vehicle motorcycle crash near Austin Bluffs Parkway and Brenner Place and found Amaya injured, police said.

Amaya was arrested on suspicion of vehicular eluding and other traffic-related charges after being released from a hospital, police said.

At least three motorcyclists have been killed in Colorado Springs in the past month, including a 29-year-old man the El Paso County Coroner's Office identified Monday.

RELATED:
by Mathias Hariyadi

The presence of thousands of passengers at an airport sparked a protest. Social distancing is being disregarded. The lack of discipline among Indonesians is causing more infections. Fears surround Eid al-Fitr. There are doubts about the actual numbers of cases.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  Doctors and nurses have protested against the failure by ordinary Indonesians to respect social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, finding a wide echo on the Internet.

The issue became front-page news last week when thousands of passengers could be seen crowding the SoekarnoHatta International Airport in Cengkareng (West Jakarta). Similarly, in many places people began crowding streets, stores and markets.

For over two months, medical personnel have been on the front lines against COVID-19, risking and often sacrificing their family life. Recently, some doctors and nurses have appeared in videos posted on social media explaining that most of the infections are due to non-compliance with anti-virus protocols, in particular keeping a safe distance.

This view is shared by those Indonesians, mostly middle class, who are conscious of the gravity of the situation, such as academics and business people. For many the rallying cry is Indonesia: Its up to you. The aim is to get Indonesians to respect large-scale social restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Skala Besar) imposed to counter the spread of the pandemic.

The authorities fear that the relatively low infection rate will encourage Indonesians to disregard the lockdown, thus risking a new wave of infections.

The peak of the current wave could come as soon as this week-end (23-23 May), when Muslims celebrate the Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, Islams sacred month of fasting and prayer.

So far, more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the country, with about 4,500 hospitalisations and 1,221 deaths. However, for several observers, the number of cases is much higher since some of the provinces most affected by the disease  West Java, Bali and South Sumatra  have not provided complete figures.
Representative Image

The United States, Mexico and Canada said on Tuesday they would extend a ban on non-essential cross-border travel by another 30 days to help fight the coronavirus.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the land-border restrictions, first imposed in mid-March and previously set to expire on Wednesday, would now be extended until June 22 for both Canada and Mexico.

"This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said of the U.S.-Canada measures.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry confirmed the 30-day extension.

The United States also said on Tuesday it would extend pandemic-related rules that permit rapid deportations of migrants caught at U.S. borders, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention health emergency order.

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 rules, first issued in March and renewed in April, will be extended for an indefinite period but be reviewed by U.S. health officials every 30 days, according to the order.

Relations between Canada and the United States have steadily improved since a low point in June 2018, when President Donald Trump accused Trudeau of being weak.

The restrictions do not cover trade across a U.S.-Canada border that stretches 5,525 miles (8,891 km).

Trudeau said that once non-essential travel restarted, Canada would need "to have strong measures in place."

Acting U.S. Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf said Washington would examine how Canada and Mexico were handling the outbreak.

"What we don't want to do is try to open up parts of our economy and have a lot of folks coming across the border that we haven't seen in the past 50 or 60 days," he told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event.

Wolf said non-essential travel had fallen by 60 to 70%. Air travel is not affected by the order.
In a statement, the White House sought to claim victory, suggesting that the resolution amounted to a mandate to investigate Mr. Trumps concerns about the origins of the virus.

But the document, which was sponsored by scores of American allies but not the United States, fell far short of the condemnation of the W.H.O. that Mr. Trump issued in his letter Monday night. Officials at the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Mr. Trump has railed against the W.H.O. for weeks as his own political and public health crisis at home has intensified, saying the organization is in the thrall of China, where the virus originated. In his letter Monday night, he said the W.H.O. was responsible for many deaths because it failed to challenge the version of events provided by Xi Jinping, the president of China, regarding the origin of the virus and its initial spread.

As the source of the outbreak, China has a special responsibility to pay more and to give more, John Ullyot, a spokesman for Mr. Trumps National Security Council, said in a statement before the meeting.

The president accuses the global health group of failing to act quickly and aggressively enough against the virus, in effect denouncing the organization for the very missteps and failures that have been leveled at him and his administration. Public health experts have said the presidents public denials of the viruss dangers slowed the American response, which included delayed testing and a failure to stockpile protective gear.

Foreign policy experts said Mr. Trumps attacks on the W.H.O. provided a strategic opening for China, which announced on Monday that it would spend $2 billion in the global fight against the pandemic, and served mainly to undercut the interests of the United States by angering its closest allies.

Weve been actively alienating them, which is not a good competitive strategy on our part, said Thomas J. Christensen, the director of the China and the World program at Columbia University and a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Were weakening our own diplomatic profile around the world, and strengthening Chinas.
Cyclone "Amphan" left a trail of destruction in Odisha as it triggered heavy downpour coupled with high-velocity winds while hurtling towards the West Bengal coast on Wednesday, uprooting trees and flattening fragile structures, officials said.

More than 1.41 lakh people living in low-lying areas and thatched and mud houses in the vulnerable coastal regions were evacuated and shifted to cyclone shelters, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), P K Jena said.

The evacuees were accommodated in 2,921 shelters where cooked food and other facilities were provided, he said, adding that the cyclone developed and moved as per the IMD forecast.

"It took exactly the path forecast by them. I must thank the IMD, particularly its Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, as their accurate predictions enabled us handle the situation ably," the SRC said.

As the cyclone passed along the Odisha coast, it unleashed intense rainfall in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

Though two deaths were reported in Kendrapara and Bhadrak during the cyclone, the exact reasons are being ascertained, officials said.

A three-month-old child died in Tihidi area of Bhadrak and a team has been sent to the village, they said, adding the exact cause will be ascertained after an autopsy.

A 67-year-old woman died in her house due to natural causes. She was living in a pucca RCC roof house and the cause of death is being ascertained, they added.

Kendrapara Collector Samarth Verma said Rs 12,000 was given as immediate relief and detailed inquiry will be conducted.

As per initial reports, a large number of trees and electric poles have been uprooted, while many thatched and mud houses were flattened due to the cyclonic storm, the SRC said.

No major damage has been done to the telecommunications infrastructure and the services remained by and large unaffected, he said.

Amphan now lay about 170 km east-northeast of Paradip in Odisha, 105 km southeast of Digha (West Bengal) and 240 km southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh), said H R Biswas, Director of the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.

The wind speed near the centre of the system is 160-170 kmph, while the wind velocity near Paradip went up to 110-120 kmph in the morning. While wind speed near Paradip has now receded, its velocity along Bhadrak and Balasore coasts was increasing, he said.

It is likely to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya island (Bangladesh) close to Sunderbans in the evening, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph.

Jena said Paradip recorded 214 mm of rainfall till Wednesday morning, while it was 87 mm in Puri, 70.5 mm in Chandbali, 58.5 mm in Balasore and 50 mm in Bhubaneswar.

Since 8.30 am on Wednesday, Paradip recorded 85.7mm rainfall, Balasore 43.8 mm, Chandbali 40.6 mm, Bhubaneswar 32.7 mm and Puri 16 mm.

People living in thatched, mud and 'kutcha' structures and vulnerable low-lying areas in the coastal districts were persuaded to move to cyclone shelters, he said, adding that many were initially reluctant in view of the COVID-19 scare.

"However, we dispelled their fears as all precautionary measures had been taken to ensure social distancing and hygiene at the cyclone shelters. While masks were provided, hand sanitisers and soaps were placed at the centres," Jena said



While a thorough assessment of damage caused by the cyclone will be made, there are reports of many trees being uprooted in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts.

Many betel vines have also been damaged in Dhinkia area of Jagatsinghpur district, the SRC said, adding response teams have been deployed in all the coastal districts to ensure quick restoration of power and road communication wherever they suffer damage.

Thirty-six teams of NDRF and ODRAF have been deployed in the 12 coastal districts which were put on alert. Ten teams were deployed in Balasore, seven in Bhadrak, six in Kendrapara and five in Jagatsinghpur, he said.

This apart, over 250 teams of fire service and 100 units of Odisha Forest Development Corporation have also been deployed. Roads blocked by uprooted trees are being cleared on a war footing, while power supply, if disrupted, will be restored at the earliest, the SRC said.

The impact of Amphan will gradually subside, he said, adding that the wind speed in several places reached 100-110 kmph, gusting to 125 kmph in northern coastal parts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj.

A report from Bhadrak said trees and electric poles were uprooted, blocking roads in several areas.

Heavy downpour accompanied by gusty wind also lashed Kendrapara, where the district administration has evacuated 38,000 people from vulnerable seaside pockets to the safety of multi-purpose cyclone shelter buildings.

Reports of trees and electric poles being uprooted and 'kutcha' houses blown away are coming in from various parts of the district. However, there has been no major damage to life and property so far.

"We have evacuated vulnerable people to maintain zero-causality," said Verma.

Amphan is considered to be the second major cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal after the super cyclone of 1999 which had claimed around 10,000 lives and inflicted large-scale devastation in Odisha.

The cyclone comes a year after Fani barrelled through vast parts of Odisha on May 3, claiming at least 64 lives and destroying vital infrastructure.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Steve Holland and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as he looks to help U.S. ranchers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

By Steve Holland and Tom Polansek

WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as he looks to help U.S. ranchers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

The United States imports cattle from Mexico and Canada to supplement domestic supplies at lower prices and to slaughter in American plants run by companies like Tyson Foods Inc and JBS USA. Bans could reignite trade disputes.

"I read yesterday where we take some cattle in from other countries. We have trade deals. I think you should look at terminating those deals," Trump said. "We have a lot of cattle in this country."

Trump made the comments at a White House event held to discuss $19 billion in agricultural relief approved by Congress. He did not mention specific trade deals or countries when talking about cattle.

Live cattle imports come only from Mexico and Canada and are allowed under the terms of Trump's newly renegotiated North American trade pact.

"It was something I wish the president hadn't said," said Marty Smith, president of the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef Association, who attended the event. He added the suggestion may have resulted from a misunderstanding.

Oswaldo Chazaro, head of Mexican cattle confederation CNOG, said that while he respected Trump's opinion, many years had been spent developing an integrated beef market in which all consumers benefit.

"More thought should be given to keeping this healthy, balanced trade in both directions," said Chazaro.

He added about 1.2 million Mexican cows were sold to U.S. buyers last year, while Mexican firms are buying growing volumes of U.S. beef.

A potential ban could increase competition for U.S. beef exports if Mexico and Canada keep more cattle at home and process them, said Derrell Peel, livestock marketing specialist at Oklahoma State University.

"Obviously, if we just ban Mexican and Canadian cattle, they're not going to take that kindly," Peel said.

Mexico's beef industry expects exports to the United States to grow by double digits this year after the pandemic hobbled American meat plants.

Last year, Mexico was the third-biggest foreign beef supplier to the United States, behind Australia and Canada.

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association described U.S.-Canada beef trade as both "integral" and "mutually beneficial" in a statement posted on its website.

Separately, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the Trump administration would provide aid to ranchers who had been forced to euthanize livestock.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Washington and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Additional reporting by David Alire Garcia in Mexico City, David Ljunggren and Kelsey Johnson in in Ottawa; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Tom Polansek; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Davina McCall has revealed her eldest daughter plans on enrolling at university in September, as the global coronavirus pandemic throws the higher education sector into turmoil.

The mother of three tweeted her family's plans on Tuesday, after a friend revealed they were debating whether to defer their teenager's university place for a year.

Cambridge University announced this week that all lectures in the 2020/21 academic year will take place online, with other universities expected to announce their own measures in the coming weeks.

Tough decisions: Davina McCall is revealed her eldest daughter plans on enrolling at university in September, entering the debate on whether students should defer places

Davina responded to a tweet from Lorraine Candy, Editor-in-chief of the Sunday Times Style Magazine, as she told her followers:

'Long long discussions in this house about Uni this September. To defer or not? Feeling very sorry for the class of 2020 - all our young A Level students in the UK whove got little to look forward to now and huge decisions to make. Hard to see an upside.'

Davina revealed that her daughter Holly, 18, who she shares with ex husband Matthew Robertson, had decided to stick to her plans, tweeting:

'Mine going in September. It will be very competitive next year ?'.

Making plans: The mother of three tweeted her eldest daughter Holly's plans on Tuesday, after a friend revealed they were debating whether to defer their child's university place for a year

Davina's tweet came just hours after Cambridge University became the first university in the world to axe all face-to-face lectures until summer 2021 due to 'rigid social distancing.'

Britain's second oldest university said Tuesday that because social distancing appeared to be likely to continue for a long time, 'there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.'

The institution, which prides itself on academic rigour, did not say how it would continue to maintain the highest standards with students kept at range.

Family: Davina shares custody of Holly, 18, Tilly, 16, and 13-year old Chester with ex Matthew Robertson (pictured in 2016)

Other universities, including Oxford, Edinburgh and Cardiff, are planning a mixture of on-campus and remote lectures from the start of the academic year.

Almost all campuses have been closed since April, offering classes online, and graduating students have been notified there will be no traditional ceremonies this summer.

Davina shares custody of Holly, 18, Tilly, 16, and 13-year old Chester with ex Matthew, but has admitted recently that she's struggled with home-schooling her teenagers during lockdown.

Hard time: The TV presenter admitted recently that she's struggled with home-schooling her teenagers during lockdown

Addressing her 1.2 million followers in a short video earlier this month, the TV presenter said: 'In the interest of transparency I just thought I'd let you know I've had one of those mornings where I've shouted at my children.

'And I've cried  a lot  and thought to myself my God what's happened to you? Who are you? And then laughed a little bit, and even laughed with my kids, who I shouted at.'

The presenter also revealed she had made an attempt to distract herself from self-reflection by applying make-up - with decidedly mixed results.

She added: 'It's a rollercoaster, this thing. So, I've put some lipstick on. I mean, I'd like to say it's helping but it's not. But I feel OK  I mean I'm OK, I'm not going mad well, maybe a bit.'

Opening up: ' just thought I'd let you know I've had one of those mornings where I've shouted at my children, and I've cried  a lot  and thought to myself my God what's happened to you? she told fans earlier this month

The video comes after Davina admitted lockdown had left her feeling anxiety for the first time in her life.

Taking to Instagram Live to discuss her 'headspace' in April, she admitted to feeling uncertain about 'the unknown' as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

'Generally, I would almost class myself as annoyingly chipper. And i know that everyone is a bit like marmite,' Davina said.

'My enthusiasm and positivity can be phenomenally annoying to a lot of people. But it is what I am and it is who I am.

Making an effort: The presenter also revealed she had made an attempt to distract herself from self-reflection by applying make-up - with decidedly mixed results

'When work stopped four weeks ago I fired off all cylinders for four days. And then I hit a wall. And I suddenly got tired and unmotivated.

'The last two days I got a wave of anxiety about the unknown that I have never ever experienced before, and it really freaked me out!'

She added: 'I am feeling a bit better today. I think, like me, people are having waves [of anxiety].'
Jacinda Ardern has suggested a four day week in a Facebook live. Images: Getty, Jacinda Ardern

The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has told employers to consider moving to four-day work weeks to help support employees' wellbeing and domestic tourism.

New Zealand, which has been held up as a coronavirus success story due to its relatively low rate of infections and deaths, is now beginning the slow process of reopening.

And as Australias close neighbour begins to do so, its leader is considering new ways to improve the future of the country.

As New Zealands borders remain closed, promoting domestic tourism is critical for its economy.

Speaking in a Facebook Live video, Ardern said an increased number of public holidays could also be a means of encouraging people to get out and spend money.

I hear lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day work week. Ultimately that really sits between employers and employees. But as Ive said, theres just so much weve learnt about Covid and that flexibility of people working from home, the productivity that can be driven out of that, Ardern said.

Id really encourage people to think about that if youre an employer and in a position to do so. To think about if thats something that would work for your workplace because it certainly would help tourism all around the country.

She said that many Kiwis would travel more if they had more workplace flexibility.

Ardern was speaking following a visit to Rotorua, where she spoke about ways to boost tourism.

She said 60 per cent of New Zealands tourism industry is supported by domestic travel, but Kiwis spend around NZ$9 billion (AU$8.4 billion) on international travel.

The question to me is, how do we make sure that they go out and have that experience and that when they visit somewhere [and] dont just stay with family and friends but they get out and about?

Story continues

Trans-Tasman bubble

Ardern also said it would be great to see the trans-Tasman bubble come to life to get Australian visitors over to New Zealand.

She said that the key is getting all the required border security work done in both Australia and New Zealand to facilitate safe travel.

Follow Yahoo Finance Australia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Authorities are asking for the publics help finding a Georgia woman who was reported missing in Birmingham.

Birmingham police identified the woman as Annette Lee, 60, of Dunwoody, Ga. Lee was last seen April 13 at 5900 Messer Airport Highway.

Sgt. Rod Mauldin said details are limited in the womans disappearance. She is 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 160 pounds.

Anyone with information on Lees whereabouts is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-297-8434, 911 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Latest: A leading health official is playing down hopes of schools reopening before September.

It is after an expert from the World Health Organisation said the Government should consider reopening them, as our cases of Covid-19 are declining.

There are now over 24,200 confirmed cases and 1,561 people have died.

Cillian De Gascun

Cillian de Gascun from the National Public Health Emergency Team said reopening schools would be risky.

"We've just released the first level of restrictions and we want to see how that has an impact," he said.

"We have done very well, the numbers are low, they're going in the right direction, but we believe, and we'll have more evidence for this in June, but we believe that the majority of the population still remain susceptible."

Now is time to consider reopening schools, says WHO doctor

The WHOs special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro has said it is now time to think about reopening schools.

While he remains hopeful that a vaccine can be found, in the meantime getting used to living with the virus is going to be the new normal, he told Newstalk Breakfast.

"Keeping children home from school for too long can have long-term effects on their development," warned Dr Nabarro.

You have to balance the risk. Children staying at home, missing school  that is going to have a long-term impact on their future ability to earn and to be strong in society. At the same time, we do believe that children, although they can get the virus, are not anything like as important at spreading the virus as some other members of the population  so we have got to give it a try.

However, Dr Nabarro added the caveat that before schools reopen teachers must be confident that they can manage the return to school and that children understand social distancing.

"Schools had reopened in other countries while managing to keep students and staff safe," he said.

So, I am thinking the time has come, especially as you have got the numbers of cases being suppressed and you have got the defences building up, the time has come to gradually start reopening schools.

"Given Irelands progress on suppressing the virus to date," Dr Nabarro said it was likely there were going to be people in government who will start thinking very, very seriously that schools could be reopened soon. But he added that he had to be careful not to overstep his remit as a WHO representative.

Any move to bring some classes back would have to be done very carefully because so much depends on whether the teachers are comfortable and whether the parents are happy to send their kids back to school.

[snippet1]987600[/snippet1]
Is Public Joint-stock Company "TNS energo Voronezh" (MCX:VRSB) 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.

Investors might not know much about TNS energo Voronezh's dividend prospects, even though it has been paying dividends for the last eight years and offers a 2.8% yield. A 2.8% yield is not inspiring, but the longer payment history has some appeal. Some simple research can reduce the risk of buying TNS energo Voronezh for its dividend - read on to learn more.

Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis

MISX:VRSB Historical Dividend Yield May 20th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. 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 of TNS energo Voronezh's profits were paid out as dividends in the last 12 months. This is a middling range that strikes a nice balance between paying dividends to shareholders, and retaining enough earnings to invest in future growth. One of the risks is that management reinvests the retained capital poorly instead of paying a higher dividend.

We also measure dividends paid against a company's levered free cash flow, to see if enough cash was generated to cover the dividend. Last year, TNS energo Voronezh paid a dividend while reporting negative free cash flow. While there may be an explanation, we think this behaviour is generally not sustainable.

Is TNS energo Voronezh's Balance Sheet Risky?

As TNS energo Voronezh has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick check of its financial situation can be done with two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments. Essentially we check that a) the company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of 5.67 times its EBITDA, TNS energo Voronezh could be described as a highly leveraged company. While some companies can handle this level of leverage, we'd be concerned about the dividend sustainability if there was any risk of an earnings downturn.

Story continues

We calculated its interest cover by measuring its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), and dividing this by the company's net interest expense. Interest cover of 2.19 times its interest expense is starting to become a concern for TNS energo Voronezh, and be aware that lenders may place additional restrictions on the company as well. High debt and weak interest cover are not a great combo, and we would be cautious of relying on this company's dividend while these metrics persist.

We update our data on TNS energo Voronezh every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here.

Dividend Volatility

From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. The first recorded dividend for TNS energo Voronezh, in the last decade, was eight years ago. Although it has been paying a dividend for several years now, the dividend has been cut at least once, and we're cautious about the consistency of its dividend across a full economic cycle. During the past eight-year period, the first annual payment was 2.94 in 2012, compared to 1.37 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around 9.1% a year during that period. TNS energo Voronezh's dividend has been cut sharply at least once, so it hasn't fallen by 9.1% every year, but this is a decent approximation of the long term change.

A shrinking dividend over a eight-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS are growing. It's good to see TNS energo Voronezh has been growing its earnings per share at 22% a year over the past five years.

Conclusion

When we look at a dividend stock, we need to form a judgement on whether the dividend will grow, if the company is able to maintain it in a wide range of economic circumstances, and if the dividend payout is sustainable. Firstly, the company has a conservative payout ratio, although we'd note that its cashflow in the past year was substantially lower than its reported profit. 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 TNS energo Voronezh out there.

Market movements attest to how highly valued a consistent dividend policy is compared to one which is more unpredictable. Meanwhile, despite the importance of dividend payments, they are not the only factors our readers should know when assessing a company. Just as an example, we've come accross 4 warning signs for TNS energo Voronezh you should be aware of, and 2 of them shouldn't be ignored.

We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud (L) and Senator Simon Birmingham during a press conference at Parliament House on May 12, 2020 in Canberra, Australia. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Australia Wont Play Chinas Tit for Tat Trade Games

Australias federal trade minister said the government will not engage in an economic war despite the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) wolf warrior diplomatic tactics towards Australia.

Trade minister Senator Simon Birmingham said in an interview on May 19 that Australias trade policy is based on the international rules on trade.

Birmingham said that the government would not be putting tariffs on Chinese goods because: We dont conduct our trade policy on a tit for tat basis.

Always nice to speak with @METI_JPN Minister @kajiyamahiroshi. Our shared commitment to open, rules based trade, regional cooperation (including signing RCEP this year) & facilitating responsible growth in areas like e-commerce is resolute, notwithstanding #COVID19.  pic.twitter.com/2NXCN0vO12  Simon Birmingham (@Birmo) May 18, 2020

Birmingham praised Australias trade relationship with Japan in a post on Twitter, however, the bilateral trade relationship with China is currently strained by the CCPs trade sanctions on Australian barley and its ban on beef imports.

The timing of the sanctions has raised questions about whether China was retaliating after the Australian government continued to push for an independent inquiry into the origins of the CCP virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

The Morrison government has denied that theres a link between the two events but did say that he would be disappointed if this was the case.

Speaking to 6PR Mornings on May 19, Birmingham noted that Chinese authorities had said there were no ties between the virus inquiry and Chinas barley tariffs which had been ongoing long before the virus outbreak.

China is emphatic that they have run this as a technical trade remedy action. Theyve put it through their anti-dumping process. It was commenced 18 months ago and today was always the deadline for a determination to be made. So theyve stretched out the full-time frame, and it is in that sense, at least, coincidental, remarked Birmingham.

#NEWS A statement by NFF CEO @tonymahar on the Peoples Republic of Chinas tariffs on Australian barley https://t.co/Em7XAE8UPd pic.twitter.com/BHCDsUQ87w  National Farmers Federation (@NationalFarmers) May 19, 2020

National Farmers Federation (NFF) President Fiona Simson said in a media statement on May 12 that the NFF was concerned about agricultural trade between Australia and China.

Two-thirds of Australias farm production is exported. Almost one-third of this, 28 per cent, is exported to China, including 18% of our total beef production and 49% of our barley, Simson said.

However, Simson said the NFF had every confidence in the government to address the issues at hand.

We recognise in relationships as significant as that between Australia and China, from time to time, issues do arise.

When they do it is important that both parties work together in a respectful manner to, as soon as possible, resolve the challenge, to an end that is satisfactory to both, Simson continued.

Chinese authorities, however, are making negotiations difficult for the federal government.

Birmingham explained to Fran Kelly on ABC Breakfast Radio on May 19 that the Chinese commerce minister had not spoken to him ahead of these decisionsa fact Birmingham said was deeply disappointing.

As a result, the federal government is reserving the right to take China to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to redress the trade sanctions.

A customer selects a bottle of Australian wine at a supermarket on June 17, 2015 in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Comparing similar WTO mediated trade disputes with other friendly nations, Birmingham said: Weve got a sugar case against India, a wine industry case against Canada, theyre great friends of Australia, and the fact we have a trade dispute with them doesnt change our cooperative relationship in a whole range of fields.

Australian exporters will also get a reprieve on when Australias new free-trade agreement with Indonesia comes into effect.

In a media release on May 7, Birmingham noted that under the new deal: Producers of grains, live cattle and meat, dairy and horticulture, and many other products will benefit from lower tariffs and improved access to Indonesian markets.

The FTA with Indonesia will commence on July 5. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has said that the annual trade in 2018-2019 between Australia and Indonesia was worth 17.8 billion making Indonesia Australias 13th largest trading partner in 2019.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia issued 3 collector coins, the CBA told Armenpress.

Yeghishe Tadevossian  150th anniversary of the birth

Yeghishe Tadevossian (1870-1936) is one of the well-known masters of Armenian landscape and portrait painting. He is an honored art worker of the Armenian SSR.

Tadevossian was born in Vagharshapat, Armenia. He studied at Ter-Hakobyan boarding house in Tiflis (1879-1881), Moscows Lazarian Seminary (1881-1885) and School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1885-1894). He worked as an art teacher at the Gevorgian Seminary in Etchmiadzin (1894-1895). Tadevossian participated in many exhibitions in Yerevan, Tiflis and Moscow. In 1916, he assisted in creating the Union of Armenian Artists, and was elected as its Chairman. He was one of the founders of the Georgian Academy of Art (1923) and one of its first professors.

Mainly a painter, Tadevossian exposed his talent in the field of graphics, applied arts, mosaic and sculpture as well.

Tadevossians first works speak of a profound sense of color and loyalty to classical traditions. The landscapes created by the artist are peculiar as they express freshness and lyricism (Aragats, 1917, Ararat, 1934).

Tadevossian is a brilliant portraitist. The painter's mastery is shown in the early portraits (A. Shirvanzade, 1929, H. Tumanyan, 1933), and his last painting Komitas, 1935, boasts a prominent portraiture. As a contemporary of the rise of the Armenian national liberation movement, Tadevossian periodically referred to the past of the Armenian people (Funeral Repast: Death of Artashes, Torq Angegh, 1910, Arshak and Parandzem, 1921).

The works of Yeghishe Tadevossian are at the National Gallery of Armenia, Charents Museum of Literature and Art, the Moscow State Museum of the Oriental Art, and elsewhere.

Obverse: a fragment from Yeghishe Tadevossians Justine, the painters wife (1903) painting.

Reverse: fragments from Yeghishe Tadevossians Self-portrait (1933), Araqelots Church on the Sevan Island (Sketch, 1934) paintings.

Designed by Lusine Lalayan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Nominal value 100

Metal/alloy silver 9250

Weight 28,28

Size 28,0 x 40,0

Quantity 500

Edge even

Quality BU

Hrachia Nersisyan  125th anniversary of the birth

Hrachia Nersisyan (1895-1961) is a prominent Armenian actor, Peoples Artist of the USSR (1956).

He received education at French and American Colleges, and at the Armenian Essayean College, Constantinople. Stage activity started as an actor in the Penklyan theater group. Starting 1919 he played at the theatre Armenian drama of Constantinople. In 1922, together with V. Papazyan, M. Janan and other actors, Nersisyan moved to Soviet Armenia and, starting 1923, he became a lifelong resident of Yerevan and an actor at the First State Theater (now the National Academic Theater after Sundukyan).

Nersisyans mastery and talent were fully revealed in his playing of Falstaff, Othello, King Lear (The Funnier Women of Windsor, Othello, King Lear by W. Shakespeare), Paghtasar Aghbar (Paghtasar Aghbar by H. Paronyan, Elizbaryan (For the Sake of Honor by A. Shirvanzade), Protasov (Living Corpse by L. Tolstoy), Mac-Gregor (My Hearts in the Highlands by W. Saroyan). Since 1925 he has starred in films as Rustam (Namus, 1925), Pepo (Pepo, 1935), Davit Bek (Davit Bek, 1944), Ghambaryan (Why the River is Making Noise, 1958), Nerses Aghbar (Tzhvzhik, 1961).

Mastering the art of personifying with great ease and using a broader spectrum of means for expressing, Nersisyan could equally portray tragic, dramatic, and comical roles, while conveying deep emotional content. Nersisyans creative pathos is the compassion for the truly persecuted hero, which is emphasized in the artists recent roles.

Artistic profile, aesthetic value of art and emotional appeal has given Hrachia Nersisyan wide popularity.

Obverse: a fragment of the bas-relief on the memorial dedicated to Hrachia Nersisyan (author  Stepan Kyurkchyan).

Reverse: a portrait of Hrachia Nersisyan (author  Nerses Kirakosyan).

Designed by Lusine Lalayan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Face value 10000

Metal/fineness gold 9000

Weight 8,6

Diameter 22,0

Quantity 300

Edge ribbed

Quality proof

Henry Verneuil - 100th anniversary of the birth

Henri Verneuil (born Ashot Malakian, 1920-2002), a French filmmaker of Armenian origin, a writer, a member of French Academy of Fine Arts. He studied at the Applied Art School in Marseilles, and then entered the Ecole Nationale d'Arts et Metiers in Aix-en-Provence in 1942. After graduation, he worked as a journalist, then became editor of Horizon, an Armenian magazine. In 1945, appearing as Henri Verneuil he published a series of articles on the Armenian Question in La Marseillese. Starting from 1948, Verneuil worked in cinema. He produced more than 40 films (The Forbidden Fruit (1952), Maxim (1958), The President (1961), among others, with the participation of world-class actors.

One of the best examples of contemporary cinematic art is Henri Verneuils Mayrig, a biographical film shot in 1991. It features the history of the Armenian family who survived the Armenian Genocide and migrated to France. In 1996, the film was awarded a Cesar, and the script was translated and published into dozens of languages, becoming a credential for the adamant-like spirit and revival of Armenians.

Obverse: images of Order of the French Legion of Honor, Parajanovs Thaler and Cesar prizes awarded to Henri Verneuil.

Reverse: a portrait of Henri Verneuil, a videotape and the fragments of the posters of the Forbidden Fruit (1952) and It Happened All Night (1960) films.

Designed by Eduard Kurghinyan.

Minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Nominal value 100

Metal/alloy silver 9250

Weight 28,28

Size 28,0 x 40,0

Quantity 500

Edge even

Quality BU

In case of using the Press Release, the reference to the original source is mandatory.

CBA Public Relations Service

Tel/Fax: (374-10) 56 37 61

E-mail: [email protected]

www.cba.am

Notice

Collector coins are made of precious metals and are issued to present to the society the national, international, historical and cultural, spiritual and other values of the country, to immortalize these values in the metal and to meet the demands of the numismatic market.

Like any other currency the collector coins have face value which makes them the means of payment. However, the face value of these coins is much lower that their cost price which includes the cost of the precious metal used for manufacturing of the coin, mintage and other expenses. Low face value and high cost price allow these coins to be considered as the items of collection and not the means of payment used in money circulation. The collector coins have also the sale price set by the Central Bank of Armenia.

As the items of collection the collector coins are issued in very restricted quantities and are not reissued.

Numismatists, collectors and all interested persons can buy the Armenian collector coins in the sales salon Numismatist which is in the building of the Central Bank of Armenia and is open for everyone.
NEWAYGO COUNTY, MI  The group Stand Up Michigan plans to hold a Freedom Festival Thursday afternoon in Newaygo, where attendees are expected to speak out against Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-at-home order and urge residents to support area businesses.

Ron Armstrong, a business owner and former mayor of Newaygo, says the event will highlight the voices of a lot of people that arent being able to be heard, because they are being stifled.

This is about talking about our overall freedoms that we just have been giving up through this process, he said.

The event is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. at Brooks Park on May 21.

Stand Up Michigan has voiced opposition to the state governments response to the coronavirus pandemic. Its website says governmental leaders are dangerously experimenting with extreme measures of authoritarian overreach.

Stand Up Michigan was founded by the leaders of Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine. According to media reports, Facebook shut down the page of Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine because it violated community standards.

Armstrong said his group is not advocating that Newaygo businesses reopen in defiance of the governors order. Rather, he says, some businesses have already chosen to do so, and that residents can support those businesses if they chose to do so.

There are businesses in Newaygo that are open, so if you can come support them after youre done (at the Freedom Festival), they will be available, he said.

Armstrong said some retailers in Newaygo have been open for weeks, but declined to identify them.

On Monday, Whitmer announced that restaurants, bars and retailers in 17 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula and all counties in the Upper Peninsula could reopen, in a limited capacity, starting Friday, May 22.

Bars and restaurants, for example, will be limited to 50 percent capacity.

Elsewhere in Michigan, retailers can open but only for curbside pick-up and delivery.

Retailers that sell food, medical supplies and products necessary to maintain safety, sanitation and basic operation of residences or motor vehicles have already been allowed to re-open.

One Newaygo restaurant owner says hes offering takeout but has no plans to fully reopen, as some businesses have done, in violation of the governors orders.

Scott Faulkner, co-owner, of River Stop Cafe, said business at his restaurant has been relatively strong despite the pandemic.

Theyve really kept us alive, he said of his customers. We dont want to jeopardize that. We want to hour our loyal customers for playing by the rules.

Greg Slominski owns 37 North, an outdoor adventure and apparel store. He said his business reopened for in-person business on May 1, and that he thinks hes on solid ground to do so because he sells work boots, clothing, hand sanitizer and masks.

Im doing it very responsibly, he said. Its not like our shop gets 15 people in there at a time. I think the most weve had is six people in the store over the weekend.

Numerous rallies and protests have been held in response to Whitmers stay-at-home order in recent weeks, calling for the reopening Michigans economy. Those locations have included Lansing, Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.

Read more:

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Feds warned years ago Edenville Dam couldnt handle a historic flood

Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids to resume Mass services on May 29
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday asked chief minister Amarinder Singh to take action against the kingpins in the Khanna illegal distillery case by investigating the alleged role of Congress Ludhiana MP Ravneet Bittu, Khanna MLA Gurkirat Kotli and his Payal counterpart Lakhbir Singh Lakha instead of doing a cover-up by arresting the small fish.

In a press release, SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said though the government arrested one of the frontmen running the illegal distillery-cum-bottling plant, the action was too late. We demand that the government enquire into the role of Congress leaders who patronised the accused.

Grewal said it was shameful that the Khanna police took a fortnight to take action against Kulwinder Singh Kala despite a huge public outcry only because he enjoyed the patronage of the Khanna MLA and senior Congress leaders.

This is the second time the Congress government has taken action against small fish in the Rs 5,600 crore excise scam case. Earlier, in the Ghanaur illegal distillery case the government took action against two local Congress leaders, including a sarpanch, instead of arresting party legislators Madan Lal Jalalpur and Hardyal Kamboj who were the kingpins in the case.

The Akali leader said strict action was needed in the case to break the politico- liquor mafia nexus as well end the Congress leaders bootlegging business that was endangering the lives of thousands of people. He said an independent inquiry should be ordered into the case by a central agency or a sitting judge of the high court.
Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST

Bazaar Corporate Radar

Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday met with some of the legislators who had objected to the "unacceptable behaviour" of the chief secretary during a meeting over excise revenue.

Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, MLAs Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Pargat Singh and Sangat Singh Gilzian met the chief minister, who is learnt to have invited them for a meeting over lunch at his Siswan farmhouse near here.

State Congress president Sunil Jakhar was also present at the meeting, Randhawa said.

According to an official statement, the chief minister invited them for an informal lunch, during which discussions were held on the prevailing COVID-19 crisis and the prolonged lockdown in the state.

Randhawa told a conference that he had raised with the chief minister the issue of Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh's alleged "unacceptable behaviour" with ministers during a meeting held here a fortnight ago.

"When he (CM) asked about the chief secretary issue, we told him that the chief secretary's attitude was not right and the way he spoke (with ministers) cannot be tolerated by anybody," Randhawa said.

The chief minister was told about what had happened on that day and why ministers had walked out of the meeting, Randhawa said, adding that the CM assured them to look into the matter.

The crisis was triggered by a showdown on May 9 between two ministers and the chief secretary at a meeting where the state's post-lockdown excise policy was being discussed.

After Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi opposed any relief for liquor vend owners, the chief secretary allegedly made some "curt remarks".

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Channi had then walked out. Later, Badal and Channi had even announced not to attend any meeting where the chief secretary was present.

Though the chief secretary was divested of the additional charge of the financial commissioner of taxation, at least 10 Congress legislators, led by Warring, had sought a probe against the chief secretary after blaming him for excise revenue loss.

Warring said on Wednesday that it was the responsibility of the chief secretary who was heading the department for the "downfall" in revenue.

"I think leakage is there. Hundred percent, there is problem somewhere," said Warring when he asked whether he blamed illegal smuggling for revenue loss.

Pargat Singh said there was no harm in setting up a corporation for excise if the state's revenue goes up with it. He had reportedly lashed out at his own government earlier, demanding setting up an excise corporation to boost excise revenue and stop liquor smuggling.

Meanwhile, a government statement said the chief minster had invited only a handful of party leaders due to the social-distancing norms amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Natural News) A top data manager at Floridas Department of Health resigned after being told to hide vital data about the number of COVID-19 cases in the state. According to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, Rebekah Jones had objected to the removal of records showing whether people had symptoms of positive tests before the cases were announced.

The emails reveal that department staff gave the order after reporters had asked for the data on May 5. Jones, the departments geographic information systems manager, complied with the order, but not before telling her supervisors that it was the wrong call.

The next day, control over the data was given to other employees. Jones wrote in an email, posted Friday on a public listserv, that she was no longer handling questions about the departments Floridas COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, and implied that her removal was an act of retribution.

On Tuesday, Jones said that she was offered a settlement and the option to resign instead of being fired, effective May 26.

Changes to Floridas coronavirus dashboard

The COVID-19 dashboard that Jones managed is the best source of data on how the Wuhan coronavirus is moving through Florida. Without access to it, people in Florida would have to rely on the word of politicians and officials without the ability to verify it for themselves.

In addition to the dashboard, the department also releases the same data, with slightly more information, in the form of daily reports that allow for easier data analysis.

With what happened to her, however, Jones is now questioning whether people can continue to trust the data on the dashboard.

As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it, she wrote.

They are making a lot of changes. I would advise being diligent in your respective uses of this data.

Important field removed

Emails sent on May 4 indicate a busy timeline leading up to Jones reassignment and eventual termination.

According to the Miami Herald, reporters contacted the department that day to ask about the EventDate field of data, which showed when people first reported coronavirus symptoms or positive test results. This field listed dates as far back as January 1, indicating that people had the virus much earlier than when the first cases were confirmed in March.

On that same day, however, the field disappeared from the Person Cases data, which lists anonymized records for every confirmed case in the state. The Tampa Bay times, which automatically checks for changes in the data and archives any updates, noted that the EventDate field had disappeared from the data by 3:02 pm on May 4. (Related: STUPID-19 strikes again: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp releases rigged coronavirus chart that scrambles dates to create false impression of infection decline.)

DeSantis addressed Jones termination but dodged questions

During a news conference Tuesday addressing Jones public email, DeSantis said that he did not know Jones but that he had been shown an email that she had sent to her supervisor, apologizing.

Meanwhile, the governors spokeswoman, Helen Aguirre Ferre, stated in an email to reporters after the conference Jones exhibited a repeated course of insubordination during her time with the Department, including her unilateral decisions to modify the Departments COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors.

In a follow-up email, also referenced by DeSantis, Jones told her supervisor that her comments about the employees replacing her had been misconstrued.

What I meant when I said I dont expect the same level of accessibility is that they are busy and cant answer every single email they get right away, wrote Jones. Is this one of those stupid things I shouldnt have said?

During his conference, reporters raised a number of questions for DeSantis to answer. Why was Jones asked to take down data? Why was she taken off the dashboard and later fired? However, the governor left the conference even as the reporters were asking these questions.

Sources include:

TampaBay.com

MiamiHerald.com
New Delhi, May 20 : Actress Swara Bhasker has travelled to Delhi from Mumbai after taking special permission when she got to know that her mother has suffered a fracture.

Swara had to travel from Mumbai to Delhi by road amid the ongoing lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I was very concerned when I learnt about my mother's fall and the fracture to the right arm. My first impulse was to rush to Delhi....to look after my mom...but that was not possible due to the lockdown," Swara said.

"So as soon as the process opened up, I applied for permission and travelled by road from Mumbai to Delhi. It was a very long journey, two days by road with an overnight halt. I had a safe journey albeit long and I'm very grateful to have been allowed to travel and to now be here with my mom.. if only to help her comb her hair and change clothes! I've gone through the necessary self isolation and home quarantine protocols," she added.
TEHRAN, Iran, May 20

Trend:

Iran's Judiciary has issued its verdict for suspects that disturbed the auto and foreign currency market in the country, said Iran's Judiciary Spokesman.

"The judiciary's major approach is fighting corruption. The special branch for fighting disruption in the country's economic system has issued sentences for those who disturbed the auto and foreign currency market," said Gholamhossein Esmaeili, Trend reports citing ISNA.

The judiciary's verdict includes sentences for former officials in Iran's SAIPA auto making company and two MP's that participated in mass pre-sale of vehicles that eventually caused the sudden rise of auto prices in the market.

"More than 50 suspects were detained; punishment verdicts were issued to 43 of them, and 34 suspects were convicted," the spokesman added.

"The main suspects in the case of disruption of foreign currency and auto market are Vahid Behzadi and his wife Najva lasheydaie that are sentenced to death for mass disruption of monetary and foreign currency system," Esmaeili said.

"Their disruption has led to smuggling foreign currency via fake orders and disturbing the public distribution system by pre-sale of more than 6,700 vehicles from SAIPA company, participation in money laundering operations of 32,000 billion rials [about $760 million], while 24,700 gold coins and 100 kilos of gold were confiscated from suspect's house. The verdicts can be appealed in the Supreme Court," he added.

"The former managing director of SAIPA Group Mehdi Jamali has been sentenced to seven years in prison for participation in disturbing the distribution system, whileformer deputy in SAIPA marketing Reza Taghizadeh Makoui is sentenced to 15 years," he said.

"Members of the Parliaments Mohammad Azizi and Fereydon Ahmadi were sentenced to 61 months in jail each for aiding the disruption of auto distribution system, former chief of general security Hassan Hastroudi is also sentenced to 61 months," he added.

The official has touched on the latest situation of lawsuits filed by families of victims who died in Ukrainian plane crash.

"There have been some lawsuit, and currently, one person is under arrest. The report of Ministry of Road and Urban Development on plane's black box should be discussed," he said.

Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) airplane crashed shortly after taking off from the Iranian capital Tehran on 8 January, killing all 176 passengers and crew members on board. Iran admitted that it unintentionally had shot the Boeing plane.
ALBANY, New York, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The compound annual growth rate of global luxury folding carton market will be 4.6% over the forecast period of 2019 to 2027. This would translate to a 1.4X growth in revenue over the period.

As per Transparency Market Research, "Growth in luxury goods market and retail industry is paving way for notable growth in the global luxury folding market over the forecast period. As luxury brands emerge or try to expand presence across developing economies in Asia and Latin America, demand for luxury folding cartons increases."

Download PDF Brochure  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=62205

Key Findings of Global Luxury Folding Carton Market Study:

Personal care and cosmetics industry to contribute massively to the growth of the global luxury folding carton market

Europe to be a large market for luxury folding cartons; Asia Pacific to present new opportunities of growth

to be a large market for luxury folding cartons; to present new opportunities of growth Premiumization of alcoholic beverage to be a notable growth factor in the market

Gather core insights about the growth dynamics of the Luxury Folding Carton Market (Material Type - Folding Boxboard, Solid Unbleached Board, Solid Bleached Board, White Line Chipboard; Inserts - Foam Insert, Paper or Paperboard Insert, Plastic Insert, Without Insert; Structure - Straight Tuck End, Reverse Tuck End, Tuck Top Auto-bottom, Tuck Top Snap-lock Bottom, Full Seal End Cartons, Double Glued Sidewall, Others; End-use Industry - Food & Beverages, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Confectionery, Tobacco, Apparel) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2019  2027 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/luxury-folding-carton-market.html

Key Drivers of Global Luxury Folding Carton Market:

The food and beverages industry is growing and a lot of this credit goes to increase in disposable income, and growing online services. Besides, it is pertinent to note here that packaging in luxury folding cartons in this industry is witnessing an upward demand curve. And, this is particularly true of alcoholic beverages. As players try to tap into the high-end consumer base, the cartons witness an increase in demand. Other factors of growth include the following:

Exclusive packaging and high shelf-appeal are driving apparel marketers towards upscale packaging, leading to growth in luxury folding carton market

E-commerce industry is also dabbling with luxury folding cartons in order to attract consumers

Appealing packaging is also being demanded for cosmetics and personal care products, with big brands wanting to tap into a premium consumer base

Nano-technology decorative elements to pave way for higher demand in the market over the forecast period

Request COVID19 Impact on Luxury Folding Carton Market at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=covid19&rep_id=62205

Regional Analysis of Global Luxury Folding Carton Market:

In Western Europe , the demand from apparel industry for luxury folding cartons will be high; Germany and Italy to be at the forefront of growth in the region

, the demand from apparel industry for luxury folding cartons will be high; and to be at the forefront of growth in the region North America would be second in term of market share, owing to high disposable incomes and presence of top luxury brands

would be second in term of market share, owing to high disposable incomes and presence of top luxury brands Growth of e-commerce and introduction of new apparel brands in Asia Pacific and Latin America will generate a slew of untapped opportunities over the forecast period

Analyze luxury folding carton 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

Competitors Landscape of Global Folding Carton Market:

The global luxury folding carton market is highly fragmented. Transparency Market Research provides an in-depth view of the vendor landscape with a comprehensive profiling of top players in its market report. Some of the most notable players are Robinson Plc, McLaren Packaging, Sunrise Packaging, Stora Enso Oyj, Westrock Company, International Paper Company, Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, DS Smith Plc, Mondi Group, Coveris Holdings S.A., Karl Knauer KG, Keskeny & Co. Ltd., Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, Groupe VERPACK, Metsa Board Oyj, KOLBUS GmbH & Co. KG, HH Deluxe Packaging, Solutia Italia Srl, Stevenage Packaging Limited, and Diamond Packaging Corp.

View Detailed Table of Contents at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/62205

Segmentation of Global Luxury Folding Carton Market:

Material Type

Folding Boxboard

Solid Unbleached Board

Solid Bleached Board

White Line Chipboard

Inserts

Foam Insert

Paper or Paperboard Insert

Plastic Insert

Without Insert

Structure

Straight Tuck End

Reverse Tuck End

Tuck Top Auto-bottom

Tuck Top Snap-lock Bottom

Full Seal End Cartons

Double Glued Sidewall

Others

End-use Industry

Food & Beverages

Cosmetics & Personal Care

Confectionery

Tobacco

Apparel

Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the Global Packaging Industry:

Fast Food Wrapping Paper Market  The demand for fast food wrapping paper is increasing at a decent growth rate in both developed as well as in developing countries. This is primarily due to the high growth in the on-the-go and the fast food market globally.

Retort Packaging Market  Market players in the retort packaging landscape are capitalizing on the efficiency and convenience of retort processing over canned packaging. From a consumer point of view, cans are heavy and bulky to handle, and have limited mobility, especially for children and elderly individuals. From a manufacturer point of view, cans require high-budget investments to get the resources in place for production, and add increased costs for shipping across countries.

Aseptic Packaging Market  The growing demand for adequately packaged food products from the Asian emerging economies, developed countries in the western parts of the world are also expected to sustain a consistent demand in the aseptic packaging market in the near future, which can be attributed to higher awareness levels regarding the benefits.

Pet Food Packaging Market  The global pet food packaging market is likely to be fuelled by the demand for pet food customers who are constantly looking for packaging solutions that will retain freshness of the food items. Increased concern over intake of nutrition is resulting in the production of a wide variety of food items for pets.

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.

Contact:

Mr Rohit Bhisey

Transparency Market Research

State Tower,

90 State Street,

Suite 700,

Albany NY - 12207

United States

USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Blog: https://tmrblog.com/

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

A deputy shot a man in the hand during a SWAT standoff Monday afternoon in southeastern New Mexico, according to State Police.

Officer Ray Wilson, an agency spokesman, said no deputies were injured and 29-year-old Cameron Green is recovering in a Texas hospital after being shot by at least one Lea County deputy during a confrontation in Lovington.

Green is charged with three counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer, and one count each of aggravated assault against a household member and shooting at an inhabited dwelling.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit and pretrial detention motion filed in Magistrate Court:

Lea County Sheriffs Office deputies responded around 4 p.m. to a breaking-and-entering call in the 2600 block of East Avenue D. Greens 75-year-old grandmother told deputies he had been acting crazy all day and shot into her bedroom window  nearly hitting her  before saying oops, I missed.

When deputies tried to speak with Green, he went inside the home and closed the blinds before barricading himself inside an RV behind the home. As they made announcements over a loudspeaker, Green fired several shots at deputies through the RVs window.

The deputies fired gas rounds into the RV to no effect before a Lea County Sheriffs Office SWAT member on the roof of the home shot Green, hitting him in the hand, when he saw Green point his gun at another deputy.

Wilson said Green was taken to Nor-Lea Hospital and then to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, where he is being treated for injuries that are not life-threatening.

The details that led up to this shooting are under investigation by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau, Wilson said. At the conclusion of this investigation, it will be sent to the appropriate district attorney for review.
We almost made it! The car boot was cleared out, the back seat put down. A full list of, ahem, must-haves had been drawn up.

The measuring tape was packed, the generous 'as the crow flies' 5km route measured to Ballymun, and the assault course planned to secure the last of the scented tea lights.

It wouldn't be long before that little brown pencil and giant yellow bag of hope was in our hands. We'd even faithfully follow those annoying arrows around the floor at an appropriate social distance.

Hand sanitiser would be deployed for the Daim bars, and the credit card was almost melting at the prospect of being let out.

Alas, it all came to nothing.

An embarrassing faux pas in the Government's carefully crafted message about the first easing of restrictions meant the inclusion of 'homeware' stores in the list of retailers given permission to re-open this week was lost in translation.

They meant to say 'hardware', and the message landed like the proverbial flat pack on the Ikea-bound hopefuls.

The blue and yellow behemoth has to keep its doors shut for a few more weeks, while the rest of us abandoned our plans to re-imagine the space between the four walls we're all thoroughly sick of by now.

Maybe they'll stock hammers and nails to give them the excuse

Dutch coupling up with their 'cuddle buddies'

Every country is easing lockdown differently. In the UK, it almost seems to be 'business as usual', the French are grumbling about their continued restrictions and the Italians are finally enjoying a bit of freedom with their gelato and grappa. Over here, we're just grateful for what we can get at this stage.

The Dutch received a more liberal message from their prime minister. Along with the libraries, hairdressers and nail bars re-opening, Mark Rutte advised single people to care for their physical needs.

They should get a 'cuddle buddy' or even a 'sex buddy', as long as they were Covid-free, said the diktat.

While it wasn't mandatory, the purpose seemed to be that by limiting your high jinks to just the one partner, you'd be avoiding spreading the virus too far beyond the bedroom.

Before people got too excited, however, a clarification was swiftly issued instructing, where possible, "sex with yourself or with others at a distance" was preferable to avoid contagion.

Simon Harris is missing a trick in his daily briefings.

The scent of normality proves very welcome

It was the spray of perfume that did it. I'm such a sad case that the heady scent of 'Opium', my favourite, made me almost weep with missed pleasure.

Like most women, I haven't bothered with either make-up, dressy clothes or office shoes in months.

And as for the hair, well let's just say the dog groomer will probably get my business before Peter Mark.

But an invitation to do a webinar for a couple of hundred people I would never see made me resolve to pretend all was normal. Or whatever passes for normal these days.

If they were going to be able to see me 'perform', albeit from my home office via a newly installed web cam, then it behoved me to stick on some work clothes, a bit of lippy and attempt to look, eh, professional; a state I haven't appeared in for some time.

It felt good, if more than a little fake. But as I was settling in, watching the anonymous audience log on in the void, I suddenly dashed into the bedroom for a final flourish - a spray of my favourite scent. Why? Absolutely no idea. But damn, it felt good.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has cancelled an order restricting the movement of essential workers during the COVID-19 lockdown.

On Tuesday, essential workers in Lagos were blocked off at several police checkpoints around the State, at the start of the 8pm curfew.

Also Read: IGP Orders Investigation Of E-Money, Withdraws Police Escort

The officers claimed they were enforcing an order, which directed that health workers and media personnel were not allowed to move beyond 8pm.

Advertisement

However, in a statement late Tuesday, Adamu said essential workers were now free to continue with their duties.

The IGP directed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police and Commands Commissioners of Police to give effect to these exemptions whilst enforcing the restriction orders.
The state government has fast-tracked implementation of Western Australias largest ever planning system overhaul, which could see the time to get a big project off the ground reduced from years to months and eliminate costs and headaches for home renovators.

The government on Wednesday urgently introduced laws whose content it had previously been chewing on since 2017, and had scheduled to amend over a leisurely timeframe stretching to 2022 and beyond.

Right now, even a tiny courtyard patio such as this can take $200 and four months to get a council planning permit and then building permit. New laws would mean you could just... build it.

The laws also expand what had been 19 key planned reforms to 26, in an effort to support the industrys post-pandemic recovery and stimulate private sector spending.

This has made us all work quicker to get legislation drafted and bring it forward, Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said.
EDMONTON  If an American politician decides to roll over a certain way, they can crush an entire Canadian provinces economic future.

Its a fact of which oil-rich Alberta has long been aware.

In the past, boasting a healthy and stable industry, Alberta politicians have been able to gently lobby the Americans from a position of strength. But 2020 has seen the provinces oil industry battered and worn down by devastatingly low oil prices as well as the collapsing demand accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, on Monday, came the latest gut-punch. The campaign of the presumptive Democratic nominee in the United States said Joe Biden will not go ahead with the approval of the cross-border Keystone XL pipeline should he be elected president in November.

The stakes are high, for proponents and environmental critics alike. Its a project that would see an estimated 830,000 barrels a day of crude transported from Alberta down to refineries on the Gulf Coast after its completion, which is currently set for 2023. It would provide billions in revenues to the provinces coffers over the years.

That said, Monday was just the latest turn for Albertas oilsands and Keystone XL, in particular, in Americas political crosshairs.

The initial phase of the project was first proposed in 2005 under former president George W. Bush, who has since reportedly called the Keystone XL expansion, proposed in 2008, a no-brainer. Years later, Barack Obama would nix Keystone XL due to the environmental impact of oil. President Donald Trump reversed that decision and approved the expansion in 2017.

Heres a glimpse at some of the receptions  both friendly and hostile  that Alberta and its oilsands have received south of the border.

George Bush

In many ways, oil was front and centre for the Republican president who led the U.S. into a war with Iraq in 2003. But he also appeared to recognize the need to wean his country off the politically turbulent product, at least when it came to imports.

In 2006, Bush said America was addicted to oil and that it needed to move away from it because oil often came from unstable parts of the world.

The best way to break this addiction is through technology, he said.

Alberta urged Bush to view the Prairie province as a stable supplier of oil as the world moved toward renewables. In 2006, the late Alberta premier Ralph Klein even travelled with a group of ministers to Washington, D.C., where they promoted the provinces energy industries. Part of that tour included parking a massive yellow cargo truck, similar to the ones used in the Alberta oilsands, just outside National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The PR effort appears to have worked. In the years that followed, Canadas oil exports grew and, as of 2018, made up more than 40 per cent of oil imports into the U.S.

But whether the iconic truck will come to represent the many others that today are idling in Alberta with less and less work, or the successful incursion of Prairie oil into the U.S. market, achieving energy independence, as some have termed it, remains an open question.

Barack Obama

The Democratic president tiptoed for years around the Keystone XL pipeline but finally put a stake in it in 2015, when he refused to approve the project, angering those in the Alberta industry who had experienced a collapse in oil prices only the year before.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper had criticized Obama for dragging his feet on approving it and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was disappointed at Obamas decision in 2015.

Not long after, Trudeaus government, under political pressure to show he could manage the environmental aim of emissions reduction as well as economic goals, would purchase the $4.5-billion Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan. The move was met with tepid enthusiasm from Alberta, which had been desperate for more pipeline capacity to carry its energy products to markets in Asia via the pipeline. It left environmentalists and climate change activists outraged.

Mitt Romney

Romneys stated goal as he campaigned to unseat Obama in 2012 was akin to Alberta Premier Jason Kenneys avowed goal today: North American energy independence.

I have a vision for an America that is an energy superpower, rapidly increasing our own production and partnering with our allies Canada and Mexico to achieve energy independence on this continent, Romney said at the time.

His plan included streamlining approval for pipelines from Canada to the U.S. and approving the Keystone XL pipeline. Obamas camp, at the time, shot back, saying that energy independence should be achieved by boosting renewable resources.

Kenney said this week, in response to the stance taken by Bidens campaign, that the premier wants to ensure North American energy independence, economic growth and job creation, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left many out of work.

Kenney said he was disappointed by the Biden campaigns statement on Keystone XL. Kenneys government injected a $1.5-billion equity investment into the massive project this spring with a pledge to commit $6 billion as a loan guarantee in 2021 in partnership with owner TC Energy Corp.

Kenney said he wouldnt rule out lodging a complaint with an international trade body should Biden revoke the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.

The government of Alberta would do everything within our power to defend our vital economic interests.

Hillary Clinton

Clinton was lobbied by environmentalists while she served under Obama as U.S. Secretary of State and was asked to kill the Keystone XL pipeline project. Once she made her own bid for president against Trump in 2016, she said she wouldnt give it her approval.

At the time, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place within her own party: the unions that supported the project and the environmentalists who opposed it  a tension still at play in 2020.

I dont think its in the best interest of what we need to do to combat climate change, she said as she was eyeing the presidency.

Al Gore

Gore, former vice-president from 1993 to 2001, is now one of the most prominent environmentalists in the world. Hed been interested in environmental issues throughout his political career and has been an oil industry critic for many years since.

In 2018, long after leaving office, Gore interjected as former Alberta premier Rachel Notley was locked in a feud with her British Columbia counterpart over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The Kinder Morgan pipeline carrying dirty tarsands oil would be a step backward in our efforts to solve the climate crisis, Gore wrote, along with the #stopKM hashtag.

Notley slammed the former vice-president for a lack of understanding about the overall issue and all the facts citing widespread support in Canada for the project.

I just think its starting to fall on a larger and larger number of deaf ears, she said of criticisms around Albertas oil.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, as Opposition leader in Alberta at the time, called Gores remark an inconvenient lie from a jet-setting millionaire, seemingly referencing Gores storied global warming campaign laid out in the documentary An Inconvenient Truth.

While the USA & OPEC countries ship more oil, this hypocrite who owns multiple mansions & flies private jets wants to landlock Canadian oil, Kenney tweeted.

Donald Trump

The Keystone XL project was a mere footnote in the race between Clinton and Trump, but he made waves in Canada when he eventually approved the project in 2017.

The decision followed years of political resistance in Canada and the U.S., court battles and protests.

Its a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America and energy independence, Trump said at the time.

Now, Alberta will wait to see what happens in the next U.S. election, slated to take place in November with an anticipated race between Trump and Biden.

With files from The Canadian Press

Read more about:
Gardai are asking people gathering at the Forty Foot to go home.

The popular bathing spot reopened today after being closed for the last two months due to Covid-19.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to be interviewed by the Office of the Inspector General about his push for "emergency" arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to a congressional aide and a source with knowledge of the investigation. Pompeo instead submitted answers in writing to the OIG, according to the source.

The interaction with the staff for Inspector General Steve Linick came before Linick was fired last Friday night by President Donald Trump at Pompeo's request  calling into question whether it was retaliation for or obstruction of the OIG's work.

The administration has not provided a reason for why Linick was fired. But Pompeo has denied it was retaliation, telling the Washington Post in an interview Monday that he was unaware of OIG investigations and therefore it was "simply not possible for this to be an act of retaliation."

MORE: State IG was investigating Trump emergency arms sales to Saudis, Pompeo's use of staff to run errands when fired: Sources

During a press conference Wednesday, however, he confirmed that he was aware of one "particular investigation" and submitted answers in writing for it "some time earlier this year," without specifying which probe. The OIG is also investigating whether Pompeo used a political appointee to run personal errands like walking the dog and picking up dry cleaning.

The top U.S. diplomat conflated those two in dismissing the reports as "crazy stuff," telling reporters he had heard, "Someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean, it's all just crazy."

PHOTO: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing at the State Department, May 20, 2020, in Washington. (Nicholas Kamm/AP)

No one has suggested the issues were related. When asked, Pompeo again declined to provide a reason for Linick's removal beyond saying, "I frankly should have done it some time ago. ... Unlike others, I don't talk about personnel matters. I don't leak to y'all," he added, saying the department will share its rationale "with the appropriate people."

Story continues

NEW: Sec. Mike Pompeo says he recommended the State Dept. inspector general be fired and frankly should have done it some time ago. Pompeo declined to specify a reason, but asserted that the firing "couldnt possibly have" been retaliatory. https://t.co/c7ybsB1E4E pic.twitter.com/n0c65rK2nF  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 20, 2020

While admitting he was aware of at least one investigation, Pompeo shifted the goalposts and said it still wasn't possible for the firing to have been retaliation because he didn't know the scope or nature of the probe or whether it has been completed or is continuing: "I don't have any sense of that. Again, it's not possible for there to have been retaliation."

An OIG spokesperson said they cannot confirm or deny the existence of any investigations.

MORE: Trump fires IG said to be investigating Pompeo, involved in impeachment probe

While Trump's letter to congressional leaders said only that he "no longer" had confidence in him, he told reporters days later at the White House that he did it at Pompeo's request.

"I said look, I will terminate him. I don't know what's going on other than that, but you would have to ask Mike Pompeo, but they did ask me to do it, and I did it," Trump said Monday.

The inspector general is an independent federal watchdog with oversight of the agency. All inspectors general serve at the president's appointment and can be fired by the White House, although they are confirmed to their role by the Senate.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump listens to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a cabinet meeting at the Cabinet Room of the White House, Oct. 21, 2019, in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images, FILE)

In a statement to ABC News, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said that the OIG's investigation into the Saudi weapons sale "may be another reason for Mr. Linick's firing."

In May 2019, Pompeo's State Department declared an emergency so that the administration could bypass congressional approval to send $8 billion of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates amid their ongoing war in neighboring Yemen.

Congress has the authority to approve or reject U.S. arms sales and transfers. Republican and Democrat lawmakers opposed the sales, particularly because Saudi agents murdered and dismembered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi-led coalition had been using American-provided bombs to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Yemen, according to the United Nations and monitoring groups on the ground.

MORE: Trump admin bypassing Congress with $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

There was "intense pressure" on staff from the White House and Pompeo to get congressional approval for the sales, according to a former senior administration official, but after weeks of talks between administration officials and senior lawmakers and their staffs, lawmakers refused to lift the informal "hold" they had on the deals.

In the face of that opposition and a possible vote to block the sales, the White House asked its agencies to "break the holds" by using an emergency declaration, according to the former official. Officials from the State Department and Pentagon were opposed "because there was not an emergency, especially since it would take years for most of the weapons to be delivered," and because the intelligence community assessment would not support an emergency, the former official told ABC News.

PHOTO: U.S. State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs after briefing House and Senate Intelligence committees at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Oct. 2, 2019. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters, FILE)

After those legal issues were raised, the policy process led by the National Security Council ended, and the decision to move forward was made by Pompeo and then-acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, the former official added. The legal justification cited an urgent threat from Iran and the Houthi rebels in Yemen that Tehran supports.

MORE: Republicans join Democrats to rebuke Trump's 'emergency' $8B arms sale to Saudis, Emiratis

The move sparked even greater outrage, even among Republican allies on the Hill. But ultimately, the resolutions of disapproval that Congress passed and would have blocked the sales were vetoed by the president, and Congress failed to secure enough votes to override his veto.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Pompeo "undermined the will of Congress" in declaring a "a fake emergency" to sell the arms to the Saudis and Emiratis. She called on Pompeo to testify before Congress, but said it was unlikely because the White House would block it.

Engel said in his statement that the State Department OIG "was investigating  at my request  Trump's phony declaration of an emergency so he could send weapons to Saudi Arabia. We don't have the full picture yet, but it's troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed," according to Engel.

MORE: Here are the 4 inspectors general ousted by the Trump administration

Engel and his Senate colleague Bob Menendez, D-NJ, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced Saturday they were investigating Linick's firing, demanding the White House, State Department, and OIG turn over any documents related to his removal by this Friday.

Asked if he would comply, Pompeo instead turned to attack Menendez directly, accusing his office of leaking details about the OIG.

"I don't get my ethics guidance from a man who has criminally prosecuted  case number 15-155 in New Jersey federal district court," Pompeo said  a reference to federal corruption charges filed against Menendez in 2015 for accepting gifts and illegal campaign contributions from a Florida doctor. The federal judge overseeing his case ultimately declared a mistrial, and a second federal judge dismissed the remaining charges. The Justice Department in 2018 dropped its case after initially announcing it would retry him on some of the charges.

Pompeo refuses to explain why he recommended inspector general's firing originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Jacquie, EML

Neven, EML

Eryn, Allianz

Specialist Team, GIO

Team Insight, EML

Low Touch Claims Team, GIO

Matthew, CGU

Sam, QBE

Christie, EML

Allied Health Initiative Team, EML

Strategy & Continuous Improvement Team, EML

North Coast Safety Network, QBE

The finalists for this years Care & Service Excellence (CASE) Awards have been announced by Insurance & Care NSW (icare).The CASE Awards recognise industry excellence in injury management, service delivery, and broker engagement with customers within icares NSW businesses.The finalists were selected for having demonstrated excellence in delivering quality service across icares Nominal Insurer and Treasury Managed Fund (TMF) workers compensation insurance schemes.Vivek Bhatia, icare CEO, said: This years finalists are an impressive group whove consistently exceeded customer expectations and serve as a benchmark for their peers across the NSW workers compensation schemes.They demonstrate an impressive range of achievements and cross-agency collaboration in areas, such as intervention in high risk claims, proactive injury prevention and management strategies, scheme agent performance optimisation, training in risk identification and mitigation, and return to work initiatives.They are talented individuals who demonstrate that scheme agents and brokers are vastly improving the customer experience for workers impacted by a workplace injury, he said.Scheme agents and broker representatives will be awarded in seven categories. Among the finalists* are the following entrants in each category for Nominal Insurer and TMF Awards:Other categories include Brokers Award for Excellence in Improving Client Performance; and Awards Nominated by icare  Service to icare Workers Insurance and Services to icare Self Insurance.I look forward to revealing the winner of the Awards in September and seeing how far scheme agents and brokers have come in transforming workers compensation service delivery into a world-class experience for the NSW community, Bhatia said.The winners will be announced on 15 September 2016 at Doltone House, Darling Island Wharf, Sydney.*Surnames not divulged by icare to protect finalists privacy
SALZGITTER (dpa-AFX) - Salzgitter (SZGPF.PK, SZGPY.PK) has suspended dividend for the financial year 2019, citing the uncertainties caused by the impact of COVID-19. The company noted that the global constraints on economic activities resulting from the Corona pandemic have had considerable impact on the company's course of business. Consequently, the original proposal for the distribution of profit no longer seems appropriate. Therefore, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will submit a proposal to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to carry forward the unappropriated retained earnings for the financial year 2019 to new account and, for the first time since the the company's listing in 1998, not to pay dividend, Salzgitter said in a statement. The company also decided to postpone the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders planned for May 28, 2020 to July 8, 2020, and to hold the meeting as a virtual event. 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.
One of the progressive fronts on which the Progressive movement within America's left has attempted to make headway to power is on climate change legislation. Thanks to generous liberal donors, an education system that bows to consensus rather than debate, and gullible media organizations desperate for that hot new youth movement to attract viewers, these new environmentalists have had endless coverage despite their agenda largely being a loser at the ballot box. However, after a whole primary campaign of flexing about their influence on the youth vote, their leaders have officially bowed and kissed the ring of the Democratic Party. The Sunrise Movement, led by Varshini Prakash and their congressional standard-bearer, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), have officially yielded and joined in with the corporate Democratic establishment to take part in a "climate change task force" of Bernie Sanders and Joe Bidensupporters ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

Busting Down Nancy's Doors

Those who can think back to those heady days of late 2018 after the midterm election might remember scenes of yellow- and green-clad children and adolescents crowding hallways and offices on Capitol Hill. These activists, affiliated with the Sunrise Movement, were trying to force the Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate to adopt the Green New Deal (GND). This development was duly reported on November 13 by Ryan Grim and Briahna Joy Gray of The Intercept and echoed elsewhere. Gray would later become the national spokeswoman for the Bernie 2020 campaign. In Sunrise's tweets, Prakash and Ocasio-Cortez took turns before entering Capitol Hill standing on a folding table as the latter said, "I'm gonna take the table because we are busting down the doors."

At the actual sit-in that day, Emma Vigeland (who by what I'm sure was total coincidence is also Grim's co-star on The Young Turks' Rebel Headquarters YouTube channel) interviewed Ocasio-Cortez as journos from CNN looked on. She asked questions like this: "Can you talk about how your Marshall Plan for the Green New Deal would actually jump-start the economy?"



Emma Vigeland interviews AOC during the Capitol Hill protest. (Video link for embed)

Ocasio-Cortez and her three woman-of-color progressive colleagues, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. known as "The Squad." were at the time trying to force the GND down the throats of Pelosi and the broader Democratic Party. This proposal, just like everything about the new green movement, was an exercise in political theater. The actual Green New Deal wasn't even public until released on February 7, 2019, three months later. But that wouldn't matter for the media, because obviously, if all of these fresh-faced kids were sitting on the floor of Pelosi's office, they must really be changing something. Prakash was profiled by Vice a few days later including aesthetic photos worthy of Vogue. A month later, Prakash was given a guest op-ed in Teen Vogue. She was later interviewed by The New Yorker, and Washington governor Jay Inslee wrote her profile in Time magazine's "Next 100" in 2019.

The Climate Non-Debate that Never Happened

The best decision of the Democratic National Committee in 2019, perhaps the only good decision, was to reject the demand by Sunrise and its allies for a "climate debate" as part of the 2020 presidential primaries. Conveniently, their protest in June 2019, situated at the DNC headquarters, was covered by Ryan Grim again. Those confused might ask: "Isn't a climate change debate what is needed, given the degree to which Americans across the political spectrum disagree about anthropogenic global warming?" Rest assured that this was not what they were talking about. The debate was going to be about not the science, but rather for the candidates to mimic the emoting of the young protesters on the national change. Tom Perez of the DNC, perhaps in a rare moment of strategic foresight, recognized that if such an event were to be televised, many of the candidates would be exposed as eco frauds  faux environmentalists that accept fossil fuel donations. Such a disaster had already befallen one prospective candidate who had been a DNC rising star. In the spring of 2019, Beto O'Rourke was repeatedly called out for accepting donations from energy executives. The day of his announcement, the pro-GND news site Grist.org began attacking his record. On May 1, Prakash dismissed his climate plan as "moving the goalposts." The hectoring helped take O'Rourke's poll numbers from a high of 9.5% on April 4 all the way back down to 3.8% by the beginning of June, from which he would never recover.

But by September, many of the candidates had agreed to a concession of holding a climate change town hall in lieu of an unsanctioned debate that would have earned the ire of the DNC. The first of them on CNN on September 4 was a seven-hour massive ratings dud. The next week, I wrote an article in The Federalist exposing it for having been loaded almost exclusively with activists from the Sunrise Movement, 350.org, and other affiliated groups among the questioners. Some of the activists had their affiliation masked by CNN, as they were labeled "doctoral candidate" or "progressive organizer."

Ol' Joe's Democrat sheepdog Jamboree

The climate activists consistently failed to move the needle in any of the polls, as Joe Biden remained the leader for most of the polling periods apart from FebruaryMarch 2020, when Sanders took the lead after victories in New Hampshire and Nevada. On January 8, Sunrise formally endorsed Sanders. As late as March 9, Sunrise was "mobilizing to stop Joe Biden," calling for strikes and moral protests. A profile in Boston Magazine claimed that "Varshini Prakash is trying to save Boston from Climate Change." But like all else with the movement, this was just cosmetic posturing, as by April, Sunrise had signed on to a letter distributed by NextGen America outlining the conditions for Biden to earn their support. NextGen's founder and president is Tom Steyer, a billionaire and former rival candidate of Sanders and Biden.

Coincidentally, Steyer endorsed Biden the very same day, perfectly encapsulating how this was, like all the other moves by the faux environmentalists, empty rhetoric. On April 23, Ocasio-Cortez officially tipped her hand and revealed in an Instagram livestream with Fat Joe that she would be voting for Joe Biden. With both her and Prakash joining the climate change task force, the full circle of progressives being sheep-dogged by the DNC has been upgraded. In 2016, Bernie got five delegates to the DNC platform committee ahead of the convention, including Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Cornel West, and green guru Bill McKibben. Putting aside the fact that their ideas are terrible combinations of pseudoscience and identity politics, the only function they served was to be the seal of approval by progressive "leaders" for the Hillary Clintonled ticket that would silence Bernie delegates using noise machines and eventually caused their walkout. Now progressives can look forward to the new youth-infused 2020 version of progressive betrayal as Ocasio-Cortez and Prakash grin for the camera in Milwaukee, if the convention even happens, and think about how awesome it is that Grandpa Joe Biden has such glamorous new pawns.

Ray McCoy is a freelance writer, civil libertarian blogger, and mechanical designer. He lives in Ohio. His work has also been featured in The Federalist American Greatness, AnthonyBLogan.com, and National File.

Image: Dimitri Rodriguez via Flickr.
Dakota Holmes says she was walking her dog, Kato, through Grays Park on Vancouvers Eastside at about 8.30pm on Friday evening when she sneezed.

She said she had just passed a man, who wheeled around and began berating her about Covid-19, yelling at her to go back to China. As the abuse escalated  very negative comments [about] the coronavirus  go home, you dont belong here  the man punched her in the head twice, knocking her to the ground.

Holmes, 27, is an indigenous Canadian.

Ive been in situations like this before, being indigenous, said Holmes. I try not to get involved. I try not to say anything back  I think the only thing I said was Im not Asian, Im indigenous, Im from here, Ive been here my whole life.

Holmes experience is not unique.

This is my daughter Dakota. We are Indigenous. She was walking her dog last night in #Vancouver when a #racist guy heard her sneezing. He yelled at her, punched her and walked away. He thought she was Asian and her sneezing was #COVID19. @VPD attended. #racism #RacismIsAVirus pic.twitter.com/mBhVgdFaBk  Don Bain (@lheidli1) May 17, 2020

In Montreal, Inuit woman Sue Simigak said she was abused on the citys subway on April 4 by a man who similarly mistook her for being Chinese and told her to get out of my own country.

She posted pictures on Facebook showing a man giving her the finger from a subway platform.

Story continues

Anti-racism activist Fo Niemi said indigenous people in Canada, particularly Inuit, were often mistaken for Asians due to their physical features.

I think the only thing I said was Im not Asian, Im indigenous, Im from here, Ive been here my whole life

Dakota Holmes

The cases of Holmes and Simigak showed how racism could spread amid the pandemic, said Niemi, co-founder and executive director of the Montreal-based Centre for Research Action on Race Relations (CRARR).

Rising incidents and reports of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia can spread to other groups in Canada who look Asian, ranging from Inuit people to Latin Americans, said Niemi.

Hate spreads when people look for scapegoats and believe that they can act violently and hatefully towards others with impunity.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, issued a statement in response to the attack on Holmes, who works at the organisation. It said the union was disgusted by the incident and offered sympathy and solidarity to Asian communities who have borne the brunt of Covid-19 related racism.

Holmes case is being investigated by the Vancouver Police Departments hate crimes investigators, said spokesman Sergeant Aaron Roed.

Our initial investigation shows that a person was assaulted and this may have been related to race  the victim did have minor physical injuries and did not need medical treatment the night of the incident, Roed said.

Its never a mistake to get the wrong non-white  as if, if the target had actually been correctly identified as Chinese that we should be somehow less perturbed because it somehow made sense

Professor Henry Shuen Ngei Yu

No arrests have been made, and police are seeking witnesses to the incident, Roed said.

Holmes said her attacker was a Caucasian man, about 180cm (5 foot 9 inches) tall and weighing about 90kg (roughly 200 pounds), wearing a hat and a dark jumper.

She said the man had passed her from the opposite direction and was about two metres behind her when she sneezed because of her seasonal allergies. He immediately started shouting abuse.

When I turned around to face him, he started coming at me, yelling in my face and then he punched me, in the jaw, and then above my eye, my temple area, she said.

Holmes said she fell to the ground, but felt she was saved from worse by Kato, a 45kg Dogo Argentino that Holmes adopted three years ago. Kato started biting at the mans ankles.

If Kato thinks Im in danger, he could do some damage, Holmes said.

The man responded by threatening to have authorities confiscate Kato because the dog was being aggressive.

He somehow was trying to turn the story around, to him being the victim of the situation, even while Holmes was still sprawled on the ground, she said.

With Kato straining at the end of his two-metre leash, the man eventually ran off.

A woman wearing a face mask and gloves walks past a large emoji face painted on the boarded windows of a store in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 6. Photo: AP

Holmes returned to her nearby home and called her father, Don Bain  a special adviser to BC Premier John Horgan  who calmed her down. An hour or so later she called police and met them back at the park, before speaking to a detective on Sunday.

Niemi said a wave of anti-Asian racism linked to the coronavirus had caught many places unprepared.

We are dealing with a form of explicit, violent form of hate, committed often randomly by strangers  which makes it harder to identify and apprehend  towards a group, Asians, that [are] often not included or paid attention to by many anti-racism programmes, both government and private.

Traditional responses to tackle racism do not always work effectively with Asian communities, said Niemi, because of cultural, social and language factors which lead many Asians not to talk openly about racism, much less reporting racist acts.

This is why an effective culturally adapted institutional response is needed, and Canada is beginning to act on this, said the veteran campaigner, who established CRARR in 1983.

In Vancouver, police have warned of a recent spike in hate crimes amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the attack on Holmes, there had been 20 anti-Asian hate crimes reported this year  16 of them in March and April  compared with 12 in all of 2019.

Incidents in Vancouver have included a 92-year-old man surnamed Kwong who was assaulted and thrown out of a 7-Eleven store by another customer, and an Asian woman wearing a face mask who was punched in the face by another pedestrian.

Local authorities have also noted the phenomenon.

The suspect in a racist attack on an elderly Asian man throws his victim out of a Vancouver convenience store on March 13, in a video released by Vancouver police. Photo: Vancouver Police Department

Horgan on Sunday condemned disturbing stories of a rise in anti-Asian racist behaviour since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, adding that racism is also a virus.

Henry Shuen Ngei Yu, a history professor at the University of British Columbia, said the attack on Holmes could not properly be understood as simply about mistaken identity.

Why do we think this is a case of mistaken identity? asked Yu. White supremacy historically has relied on defining non-white races as abstract categories that generally are not coherent, and blaming non-whites for things that arent their fault. Thats what racism as a tool for white supremacy means.

Its never a mistake to get the wrong non-white and we should pause whenever we begin to think that something has gone awry situations like this, as if, if the target had actually been correctly identified as Chinese that we should be somehow less perturbed because it somehow made sense.

Inuit woman Sue Simigak says she was targeted for abuse in Montreal on April 4 by a man who apparently mistook her for being Chinese. Photo: Facebook/Sue Simigak

Holmes said that as traumatic as the incident had been, Im kind of glad it happened to me and not someone else, because as an indigenous person she had a lifetime of experience with racism.

Im used to it. Its another day in my life  even though he got the race wrong, Im still used to it.

Holmes said she had previously been mistaken for being Asian but not like this.

The only reason Im sharing this story is that racism is not OK. If anyone else experiences something like this they should speak out. Were all in this together.

More from South China Morning Post:

This article Coronavirus racism: Go back to China, attacker said, as he punched indigenous Vancouver woman who sneezed first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
This might seem like the worst time to be building an event software business, but it seems to be working for Bevy.com, which just announced that it has raised $15 million in Series B funding.

Co-founder and CEO Derek Andersen explained that the company had already started moving into virtual events when the conference business ground to a halt thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. And it's seen demand explode in the last few months.

For example, he pointed to how Duolingo has used the platform to host 1,000 events in the past six weeks, while Startup Grind went from a single virtual event in February (in Wuhan, China) to planning 600 for June. Salesforce is also using the platform, and community manager Sofia Rodriguez Mata said in a statement:

We've been blown away and inspired by our community's resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Our customers are finding new and creative ways to learn, connect, have fun, and give back together. Although we feel the physical distance between us, it's beautiful to witness how someone in Morocco can be in the same event as someone in Brazil or New Zealand. With Bevy's help our user groups have organized 650 events with 20,000 RSVPs in the past few months.

Bevy actually emerged from Startup Grind which Andersen also founded  to further develop and monetize the products that were initially built to help the entrepreneurial community organize hundreds of events around the world.

They're separate companies, although Andersen still leads both of them. He described Bevy as providing a "fully end-to-end virtual experience" for event organizers, offering tools for event creation and user registration while also integrating to other platforms like Zoom, Salesforce, Marketo and Meetup.

He also argued that these kinds of community events are key for companies pursuing a "customer-to-customer marketing model"  instead of flying field marketing teams into new locations (which again, isn't exactly feasible right now), you "empower customers to do this for you," both at events and on a more ongoing basis.

Story continues

"Whether its virtual, or offline, in forums, chats, or events, C2C realizes the importance of taking the corporation out of the conversation and giving the torch to the customers at massive global scale," Andersen told me in a follow-up email.

Bevy previously raised a $6.4 million Series A. The new funding was led by Accel, with participation from existing investors Ryan Smith (the Qualtrics CEO is also joining Bevy's board of directors) and Upfront Ventures.

"No one understands how to build community and drive virtual marketing events at scale better than the team behind Bevy, said Accel General Partner Ryan Sweeney in a statement. Bevy has unmatched domain expertise and an award winning product that is already trending.
Five Haryana police personnel were injured on Wednesday when some people from Delhi's Kapashera allegedly pelted stones at them after trying to forcibly enter the state's territory, officials said.

There were reports that some people, stated to be workers, wanted to travel to Udyog Vihar in Gurugram but were stopped by the Haryana police at the Delhi-Gurugram border.

However, some of them tried to force their way despite strict measures put in place by Haryana on its borders and clashed with the police. In the incident, five policemen were injured, the officials said.

Haryana's Home Minister Anil Vij said there has been a stone pelting incident at Delhi's Kapashehra border with Haryana.He said some people tried to enter the border into Haryana but were stopped. They wanted the borders to be opened for them to enter Haryana. They pelted stones at Haryana police personnel," Vij said. I said under no circumstances will we open the border. The Delhi High Court had given us directions to allow inter-state movement for certain categories like doctors, drivers of vehicles with essentials, Delhi municipal committee worker staff, medical staff etc, he said. The minister said even the Union Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines for fourth phase of lockdown mentioned inter-state movement for certain categories of people and not movement of common people across inter-state borders.

The relaxation is not for common people. I cannot allow movement of common people. Our police force is working round-the-clock to keep everyone in Haryana safe (from COVID-19). Those who will pelt stones at them, we are not going to spare them. We will take strict action against them, said Vij.

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


Click here to See Video >>

WARREN, Michigan  The Detroit Three automakers and their suppliers began restarting assembly lines on Monday after a two-month coronavirus lockdown in a slow revival of a sector that employs nearly 1 million people in the United States.

On a chilly and damp Monday morning, hundreds of workers at Fiat Chrysler Automobile's (FCA) truck plant in Warren, Michigan, began lining up before 4 a.m. to start the 5 a.m. shift. Signs overhead read: "Let's restart."

"I'm a little nervous," said Larry Smith, 53, of New Baltimore, who works on wheel alignment away from the assembly line. "They made all the precautions (and) they've done everything they can to prepare us ... I'm trusting in God."

Detroit automakers on Monday said there were no issues with absenteeism as the plants opened.

FCA reopened four U.S. assembly plants on Monday, including Warren Truck, on a single shift, as well as four parts plants.

The reopening of car plants will be a closely watched test of whether workers across a range of U.S. industries can return to factories in large numbers without a resurgence of infections.

General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and FCA have all been preparing for weeks to reopen their North American factories in a push to restart work in an industry that accounts for about 6% of U.S. economic activity.

Investors welcomed the gradual restart, sending GM's shares up more than 9% on Monday. FCA shares rose 7.3%, while Ford's were up 6.7%.

Auto companies have redesigned assembly lines and retrained workers in an effort to avoid coronavirus outbreaks that could derail production again.

Workers entering factories on Monday were checked by temperature monitors. Face masks or shields are standard protective equipment. Jobs such as installing seat belts that used to require two or more workers to get close together inside a vehicle have been redesigned to keep people a safe distance apart.

Story continues

Plastic screens have been installed along assembly lines to separate workers leaning in to the engine compartments of vehicles. Break areas have been reconfigured to keep workers six feet apart.

The Detroit automakers have collaborated with each other and with the United Auto Workers to develop common coronavirus safety practices. Other automakers in the United States are adopting similar safety measures.

Wearing a black Detroit vs Everybody face mask as he entered FCA's Warren Truck plant early Monday, production operator Laruante Gary, a Detroit resident who installs doors on Ram pickups, said, "I expect to see things cleaned and safety protocols being observed, and I expect us to know something as far as the next steps for us."



Click here to See Video >>

Another production worker at the plant, Sean Reid, 37, of Belleville, expressed concern over the earlier virus-related deaths of several U.S. auto workers, including one at Warren Truck.

"I don't know where people have been, I don't know what they've been doing," he said. "I don't like it, but what can I do, really?"

The Detroit automakers have many older workers in states such as Michigan that were hit hard by the pandemic.

Theresa Segura, 61, of Lincoln Park, arrived for work at the FCA Warren plant on Monday but was immediately sent home after noting on an FCA questionnaire that she had been exposed to a family member who had just tested positive for the virus.

Segura, who has worked at the truck plant since 1993, said she thought that it was in any case too soon to reopen "because there are still people sick out there."

"We're risking our lives going in there," said Segura, who works as a "floater," moving from job to job at the plant as needed.

Critical restart

Some non-union automakers in the southern United States reopened earlier this month. Electric car maker Tesla Inc began building vehicles last week in defiance of a shutdown order in Alameda County, California, then stopped and agreed to reopen again Monday.

For the automakers and their suppliers, many of which began reopening their plants last week, the restart is critical to ending the cash drain caused by a two-month shutdown forced on them by COVID-19.

The emphasis is on getting assembly lines again producing such profitable vehicles as GM's Chevrolet Suburban SUV, Ford's F-150 pickup truck and FCA's Jeep Wrangler SUV.

"Ultimately we're in this together. Because if we don't build trucks, Ford Motor Company is gone," said Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, the union that represents more than 14,000 hourly workers at Ford's two Kentucky assembly plants, which build trucks and SUVs.

The UAW's Dunn said one question will be how many Ford workers punch in at his local production facilities this week given a lack of daycare in Kentucky, where schools are closed, as well as fear among those with underlying health conditions who are at greater risk. Ford has been hiring temporary workers to cover absenteeism, he said.

President Donald Trump on Thursday will tour a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan that has been repurposed to make ventilators and personal protective equipment, according to the White House.

GM is reopening a number of plants on one shift, including 1,600 hourly workers making pickup trucks in Flint, Michigan, and 1,600 workers manufacturing pickups in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Another issue automakers will have to watch closely is the financial health of suppliers. As most suppliers get paid on average 45 days after they deliver parts, some will struggle to stay afloat as the industry slowly reopens, analysts say.



Click here to See Video >>
Amnesty International urged the United Nations on Wednesday to launch an inquiry into the killing of protesters by Iranian security forces, six months after they erupted over petrol prices.

The demonstrations broke out across Iran on November 15 after the announcement of a shock decision to hike the price of petrol by up to 200 percent.

They turned violent before being put down by security forces amid a near-total internet blackout.

Iran has yet to issue an official death toll but has repeatedly dismissed what it has said are exaggerated tolls from hostile Western sources.

In a statement, Amnesty said it had evidence that 304 men, women and children were killed by Iran's security forces during the "ruthless" crackdown.

The London-based human rights group said 220 of them died within two days, based on its research, including analysis of videos and photographs.

It said the "vast majority" were killed by the security forces whose use of force was "unlawful" as there was "no evidence that people were in possession of firearms or that they posed an imminent threat to life".

Amnesty did note an exception, however, when protesters and security forces exchanged fire in one city.

It called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to mandate an inquiry into the November crackdown.

"Six months later, the devastated families of victims continue their struggle for truth and justice while facing intense harassment and intimidation from the authorities," Amnesty's Philip Luther said.

"The prevailing impunity afforded to the security forces allows the recurrence of lethal force to crush dissent," he said.

- 'Shooting to kill' -

"In the absence of any meaningful prospect for accountability at the national level, we reiterate our call to members of the UN Human Rights Council to mandate an inquiry into the killings, and identify pathways for truth, justice and reparations."

Amnesty said that based on its analysis, security forces killed people in 37 cities across eight provinces.

It said this reflected the "widespread nature of the crackdown".

The poverty-stricken suburbs around Tehran were hardest hit, with 163 killings, followed by the minority-populated provinces of Khuzestan and Kermanshah with 57 and 30, respectively, it said.

Amnesty said it had credible information confirming the deaths of 304 people, including 10 women and 23 children.

But it stressed the real death toll was likely to have been higher.

"In all but four cases, the victims were shot dead by Iranian security forces -- including members of the Revolutionary Guards, paramilitary Basij forces and the police -- firing live ammunition, often at the head or torso, indicating that they were shooting to kill," Amnesty said.

"The organisation is aware of scores of additional cases reported by activists, but assessed that it does not yet have sufficient reliable details."
This week, were learning more about the Department of Justices investigation of Sen. Richard Burrs extremely lucrative stock trading that may have been illegally informed by his early inside knowledge of the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, Politico reported that the investigation of Burrs trading is being handled by the Justice Departments Public Integrity Section, along with the U.S. Attorneys Office in the District of Columbia, rather than the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New Yorks office, which customarily works on high-profile insider trading cases. That news is serious cause for concern for anyone who wants this investigation to be handled competently and independently.

Advertisement

Burrs legal woes stem from his dumping more than a million dollars in stocks in February, shortly after he reportedly received dire warnings in a COVID-19 intelligence briefing but before life in the United States had been completely upended by the pandemic. Things escalated last week when FBI agents seized Burrs cellphone as part of a DOJ probe of his trading, which resulted in Burr stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The Public Integrity Section, which is handling that case, is a division of Main Justice in Washingtona centralized group of prosecutors who work across the country, bringing cases sometimes by themselves or alongside prosecutors in one of the countrys 93 U.S. Attorneys offices. The offices mandate is to prosecute public corruption cases (like bribery) and election crimes. They are not known, however, for prosecuting insider trading cases. In fact, they are best known by observers as the office that has failed virtually every high-profile assignment that it has taken over the last 15 years. That list includes the failed prosecutions of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, and current New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. The Stevens prosecution was such a disaster that the fallout from the case played a part in the tragic suicide of a young line attorney, while the McDonnell case resulted in the Supreme Court ordering the most significant curtailing of public corruption law in decades. (Another office that may have been a candidate for handling the Burr investigation is the Fraud Section, which specializes in white-collar crime, including insider trading, and is where I used to work. In recent years, however, the Trump-era career officials who manage the office have presided over a remarkably long list of high-profile losses and setbacks.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Perhaps worse than these failures, though, the Public Integrity Section has proved itself willing in recent years to provide its legal services in support of the presidents personal interests. Last year, career prosecutors from the office were asked to review the memo summarizing U.S. President Donald Trumps call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July 2019the call that eventually resulted in Trumps impeachmentto determine whether there was any evidence of potential misconduct that warranted the opening of a criminal investigation. According to reports from the New York Times and the Washington Post, they concluded that there were no grounds for a criminal investigation.

Advertisement

Advertisement

It is hard to overstate how absurd that decision was. It was based solely on a review of the memorandum summarizing the call; the prosecutors decided that they did not even need to interview anyone. Equally ridiculous was the fact, according to the Post, that the prosecutors also looked only at whether Trump might have violated campaign finance laws, not federal corruption statutes, even though some legal analysts said there seemed to be evidence of both. (Here is a list of some of the criminal offenses legal experts identified as possibly having been committed by the president in his effort to pressure Ukraine to announce an investigation of his 2020 rival Joe Biden).

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, meanwhile, has featured prominently in the news in recent months as the result of successful and unprecedented interventions on the part of Attorney General William Barr in favor of the presidents friends in the cases of Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. These actions have resulted in thousands of former DOJ employees signing on to letters questioning whether Barr has corrupted the office for Trumps personal gain. The office, indeed, has become the most transparently politicized U.S. Attorneys Office in the country.

Politicos report on the offices handling the Burr investigation is only the latest reason for worry. The fact that the FBIs seizure of Burrs cellphone leaked from the government was itself cause for concern. CBS News attributed it, for instance, to a U.S. official. If that leak came from the Justice Department, it was a very clear violation of the departments policy on the publicity of ongoing investigations (see Section 1-7.400 here) that almost certainly would have had to be sanctioned by the highest levels of the Justice Department.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

There are reasons aside from potential politicization to wish for the Burr prosecution to be in better hands. The investigation of Burr is not likely to be easy. The law of insider trading is a notorious morassa hodgepodge of statutes and judicially crafted rules that has long been in desperate need of some legislative streamlining. Further, any prosecution of Burr would likely have to be done under the auspices of the 2012 STOCK Actwhich criminalizes insider trading among members of Congressin what would be a case without any precedent. The complexities multiply when you factor in other issues that are unique to members of Congress. Randall Eliason, a professor at George Washington University Law School and himself the former chief of the fraud and public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorneys Office in D.C., has provided a very thoughtful overview of some of these challenges, which include the needs to closely analyze the contents of the briefings that Burr received in Congress, to determine exactly how the information he received differed from the vast quantity of public reports about the potential impact of the pandemic, and to determine exactly how that information may have informed a particular transaction (for instance, if he had received information forecasting a decline in the airline industryas opposed to a generally dire economic forecastand then dumped airline stock). If the FBI is able to obtain the contents of incriminating emails or text messages from his cellphone, that could simplify matters, but generally speaking, sophisticated insider traders are careful to avoid those types of communications.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Ordinary insider trading cases are complex enough. The most significant crackdown on the practice took place last decade when Preet Bharara, then the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, brought dozens of insider trading cases in the wake of the financial crisis. The effort was successful in attracting credulous press coverage, but the conduct that was prosecuted bore no actual relationship to the marketplace issues that had precipitated the widespread economic suffering of the American public. One of the prosecutors later summed up the effort neatly when discussing the cases: They made our careers, but they dont change the world.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Ultimately, insider trading undermines confidence in the financial markets by leading the public to believe that there is not a level playing fieldthat if you are a member of the elite business class, its easier to make money than it is for the rest of us. I find insider trading cases to be generally overrated as a use for limited white-collar resources, but the public interest in pursuing a member of Congresswho may have abused the public trust to enrich himselfpresents an unusually compelling enforcement mandate. For that reason, we should all want the investigation to be thorough, aboveboard, and free of improper political influence. The initial signs are not good.

For more coverage of the investigation into Burr, listen to What Next.


Companies in Silicon Valley, California, Americas technology capital, recently hurried to remove a misleading video from their websites. The video was of a discredited researcher sharing several questionable or false theories about the new coronavirus, including that it was part of a plot by powerful people.

However, internet companies could not take the video down quickly enough. Millions of people watched and reposted the 26-minute video called Plandemic, over several days. And it gained a huge following in Facebook groups that oppose vaccines or are protesting state leaders stay-at-home orders.

The spread of Plandemic demonstrates how easy it is to use social media to quickly share possibly problematic material to lots of people. It also shows how difficult it is for platforms to stop that spread.

Anti-vaccine activist Judy Mikovits created the video, in which she makes several unsupported claims. She tells her audience that the virus was manufactured in a laboratory, and that medical workers inject it into people through influenza vaccinations. She also claimed that wearing face protection could lead to a coronavirus infection. These ideas helped strengthen and grow a social media army distrustful of the viruss threat.

There are still many unanswered questions about the virus, which has changed everyones lives. This has led many to distrust officials dealing with the crisis. People shared the video again and again on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. The video continues to spread even after the companies removed it from their sites.

One poster on a private Facebook group called Reopen California wrote, The other video has already been deleted by YouTube.  Lets get it to another million! Modern day book burning at its finest.

Ari Lightman is a professor of digital media at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spoke to The Associated Press about the video.

Once it is available, it has an infinite lifespan, he said.

In just a few days, two of Mikovits books became best-sellers on Amazon. Conservative radio talk shows and podcasts began playing the audio from Plandemic. She also appeared on politically extreme, internet shows to talk about the video.

Mikovits did not answer The Associated Press request for comment.

Ten years ago, Mikovits tried to spread a false theory that a virus known as XMRV in mice causes the condition called chronic fatigue syndrome.

Efforts by social media platforms to delete and ban Plandemic have led to the spread of other questionable claims, including that tech companies try to hide truths about the coronavirus.

Facebook said it is removing full copies of the video that include Mikovits suggestion that face masks can make a person sick. The company said that claim could lead to imminent harm. YouTube and Vimeo both said the video violated their rules on harmful misinformation. Twitter said it had limited the spread of the video on its platform.

Im Pete Musto.

Amanda Seitz and Barbara Ortutay reported on this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

repost(ed)  v. to share a message that has appeared on an online message board

delete(d)  v. to remove something, such as words, pictures, or computer files from a document, recording, or computer

podcast(s)  n. a program, such as a music or news program, that is like a radio or television show but that is downloaded over the Internet

platform(s)  n. a program or set of programs that controls the way a computer works and runs other programs

mask(s)  n. a covering for your face or for part of your face

imminent  adj. happening very soon
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department hand out kits to people near Dodger Stadium to swab the inside of their mouths to test for COVID-19. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

The last time I traveled along Stadium Way I was headed to a Dodger game, but on Monday afternoon I drove to the fire training center near the ballpark for a much less enjoyable experience.

A COVID-19 test.

No beer, no Dodger dogs. Just a cotton swab and a five-minute drive-through, with results to follow in a few days.

I was conflicted about being tested, for two reasons.

First, while we definitely needed to ramp up testing back at the beginning of this crisis, Im wondering if the county has now gone overboard in offering free testing to all residents, whether or not they have symptoms.

Second, Im pretty sure that my minor allergy-like symptoms are just that: allergies. But as someone who is almost 67, with a couple of minor health issues, I thought I should make sure. Not just for the benefit of loved ones, but because Im in contact with other people while out and about on interviews.

As of Tuesday, about 350,000 people in L.A. County had been tested and roughly 33,000 of them, or 9%, were positive.

So long as COVID-19 spreads, we have to scale up our response  and because this disease can be a silent killer, we have carefully built the capacity to get more people tested, Mayor Eric Garcetti said in announcing the testing partnership with L.A. County. No one should have to wait, wonder, or risk infecting others. Dont leave it to chance. Schedule a test.

The theory is that such testing could prevent asymptomatic super-spreaders from infecting others. And it could help identify trend lines and give us a better picture of what percentage of the public is sick, and when we can safely begin returning to school and to work.

But not everyone believes that its practical or even desirable to test people who have no symptoms.

Dr. Clayton Kazan, medical director of the L.A. County Fire Department and an emergency room physician, said hes all for routine testing of people in high-risk situations, such as staffers at elder-care facilities. He also supports the testing of first responders, and his firefighters are participating in a long-term UCLA study that will monitor the health of front-line workers.

Story continues

But Kazan thinks "massive testing of asymptomatic people, without consideration of what their risk is, is of low value by definition. And theres the possibility, he added, of inaccurate test results as well as the possibility that people will test negative one day and contract the virus the next.

The false negative rate is between 10% and 30%, and we know the cost for doing the tests at public sites is about $125 per test, Kazan said. If I test a thousand asymptomatic people and find one or two out of a thousand [who are positive], or three out of a thousand, thats a high cost  so I definitely question the value.

Dr. Michael Hochman, a Keck Medical Center physician and director of the USC Gehr Family Center for Health Systems Science and Innovation, said some experts have called for repeated testing of the entire population, which would be highly impractical and wouldnt necessarily be all that useful.

While mass Covid-19 testing might seem intuitive, its benefits are unlikely to meet the high expectations for it, Hochman wrote in a piece published last week by the health news website STAT.

People who have COVID-19 symptoms should be tested, Hochman said. For those who dont, testing might have some value in advancing our understanding of the virus, but for it to be really useful would require millions and millions of tests and close analysis of the data produced.

I just dont think the juice is worth the squeeze, especially since its the simple things that are going to get us out of this epidemic, Hochman said, speaking of the time between now and the development of a vaccine.

What kind of simple things?

There are four of them, Hochman said. And youve heard them before.

Wash your hands frequently and meticulously. Repeatedly clean all surfaces with virus-killing solutions. Social distance yourself from others as much as possible. And wear a mask if youre in the company of others.

Im still getting pushback for my Sunday column about the benefits of wearing masks. Hochman said he used to doubt the efficacy of masks but has become a convert based on his reading of the scientific data. Theres no use in wearing a mask outdoors if nobody is near you, he said. Otherwise, cover your face.

If we do these four things very consistently, the data is showing more and more that thats going to have a dramatic effect, Hochman said.

I asked Dr. Sharon Balter, director of communicable disease control for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, what she thought about the second-guessing of current testing policy. She said she and other public officials have been having those very discussions, and Balter expects COVID-19 response strategies to be refined in coming days.

This is new, and were learning, and we dont have all the answers, Balter said. But widespread testing of asymptomatic people is not necessarily all that helpful, and it can give people a false sense of, Im tested, so Im safe.'

One goal of making free testing available to everyone was to make sure those without access to private healthcare could get tested, Balter said. But going forward, she said, testing may be targeted more at those with symptoms and the people they have come into contact with. Tests will also be conducted anywhere theres an outbreak or cluster of cases.

I think people understand that the answer is not any one thing, and testing is just a piece of it, Balter said, echoing Hochmans prescription of distancing, sanitizing and face covering.

Ive done all those things as much as possible, but theres always room for improvement.

Waiting for the results from the lab is like waiting for my report card. I hope the news is good, and that the next time I'm back in that neighborhood it's to see a Dodgers game.

steve.lopez@latimes.com
Press Release

May 20, 2020 Gordon gets plaudits from colleagues for Red Cross leading the way in making covid testing available to the public Senator Richard J. Gordon received plaudits from his colleagues on Tuesday for his visionary leadership in the Philippine Red Cross, which has come to the forefront of the fight against the coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 by opening the biggest COVID testing laboratory that is now doing almost half of the tests in the country. During the hearing of the Committee of the Whole, Senator Franklin Drilon, Minority leader, started the ball rolling by congratulating Gordon because "the Red Cross is contributing its share to nation-building, noting the lower cost of Red Cross COVID test compared to what hospitals are charging. For his part, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Majority leader, pointed out how the Philippine Red Cross, which he is proud to be a member of, is getting way ahead by ramping up on testing centers. "Senator Gordon is trying to ramp up almost all regions as well as city centers and they've done it in such a short time. More than anything, you provided the inspiration, blood, sweat and tears to make it happen. You showed everyone, especially government that it can be done. No ifs or buts. Congratulations, you have made all of us volunteers very proud," he said. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, was awed that 45 days after Gordon discussed the idea of a Red Cross laboratory, the laboratory is already opened and doing 45 percent of the country's tests. "Ipinakita ni Sen. Gordon na KUNG GUSTO, KAYA AT KUNG MAY DETERMINASYON, kaya po. So, congratulations Sen. Gordon. I'm also a Red Cross governor so I am very proud that Red Cross is leading the way in making sure that we have ample testing for our people," he said. Senator Ralph Recto, Senate President Pro-Tempore, also thanked Gordon for working with the Lipa city government to improve the testing capacity of Lipa City and the whole Batangas province. "I also want to congratulate Sen. Dick Gordon. I was really monitoring the progress or the lack of progress of our testing facilities and I was so excited when I saw what he is doing. He made what seemed impossible, possible. So the Filipino thank you," Senator Pia Cayetano, meanwhile said. For his part, Gordon put the success of the Red Cross down to the support and cooperation of all the people behind the operation, citing the Red Cross staff and volunteers, the donors, the people who helped the Red Cross raise resources and the government officials. "The success of the Red Cross is the success of all. The hardworking people that I really ran ragged, intimidate, you know chastise and they perform marvellously. So, the Red Cross is pushing very hard. Thank the lord for giving us the vision and the energy, the drive for all our volunteers and staffs and for all those who helped us to raise the resources so that we could do it," the PRC chairman and CEO said. "We have great cooperation from the government like I said, Vince Dizon has been spectacular of course, General Galvez has been a quiet as you say snappy general who was been doing the work. We have cooperation from the National Defense, we have chartered two PAL flights then the government allowed us to use a C130 to get our machines from China. There are a lot of other people, the Coast Guard in particular. I'd like to mention Admiral Garcia who has been doing humongous work, along with his troops... there are quite a few of them who support and this is the kind of country we have - everybody carrying the load," he added.
Andrew Harrer/Getty

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, his senior advisers, and his expanding network of battleground operatives are in agreement that Wisconsin is a key part of capturing the White House from President Donald Trump.

On paper, Bidens two Wednesday eventsa roundtable in La Crosse and rally in Milwaukeeare ostensibly no different than other virtual destinations he has zoomed into from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. But Democrats said the critical nature of the location, where the party will host its convention in August, and his campaigns newly announced digital advancements, will place a particular spotlight on Biden in the state.

When Vice President Biden visits Wisconsin tomorrow, he'll be entering a state where communities of color, minority owned businesses and rural economies have paid the price of President Trump's failed response on COVID-19, said Julia Krieger, the Biden campaigns regional communications director. Battleground states like Wisconsin know who Donald Trump is -- and in November, they'll remember how he left them behind while Joe Biden fought for them in times of crisis.

Ahead of the August convention, the prospect of digital glitches are still high on the minds of party strategists and activists eager to form contingency plans in the event that an in-person event has to be modified or nixed all together. Less than four months ago, a technological meltdown caused near-universal panic among Democrats during the Iowa caucus, where the expectation of a clear sense of where the party was going devolved into days of confusion.

I'm hopeful that we're going to be able to have some form of an in-person convention, DNC chairman Tom Perez said in a cable news appearance on Sunday, adding that he is looking forward to highlighting Biden.

But the reality on the ground is more fluid. Wisconsin has become one of the top political flashpoints of the pandemic era, opening up the possibility of even stronger than expected partisan tensions to spill over into November.

Story continues

In early April, some Democrats feared that sending people to the polls for the states primary could cause people to get sick, and possibly die, due to the coronavirus. An attempt by the states Democratic governor to delay the election failed as Republican legislative leaders pushed to keep the election on schedule.

That contest, which saw Biden defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), also included a state supreme court race where Democrats were hoping to unseat a conservative justice. That led Trump to attack Democrats effort to delay the election, as he spent a coronavirus task force briefing on primary night boosting false allegations of widespread fraud when it came to mail in voting.

While Sanders called for the states primary to be delayed a little under a week from the planned voting date, Biden skipped taking such a clear stance despite persistent safety concerns from local Democrats.

I Could Get the Virus If I Vote: Wisconsins Terrifying Election Day

After Democrats preferred choice wound up winning the state supreme court seat, relations in the state continued to be tense. Last week, a challenge from GOP leaders to Gov. Tony Evers administrations ongoing coronavirus restrictions caused the state Supreme Court to dismantle the moves in a ruling, which was later celebrated in a Trump tweet.

All of that baggage now looms large over the DNC event.

I just dont think we can have 50,000 people safely in a space as was originally hoped, Andrew Werthmann, a Democratic National Committee member from Eau Claire, told The Daily Beast. Werthmann said that hes heard talk from fellow party committee members that they are reviewing several options, including potentially hosting the event, at least partially, virtually.

We just have to think about different ways of doing it, he said.

For now, the DNC has maintained that Aug. 17 for an in-person convention is intact. But early last week, the partys Rules and Bylaws Committee passed a resolution giving them the authority to change certain key logistical details, like the format, scale, and date, critical leeway should the country face a renewed outbreak of the pandemic.

If it was today, definitely should be digital, Matt Mareno, the chairman of the Waukesha County Democratic Party, said. Who knows what it's going to look like in August.

In La Crosse, where Biden will hold his first of the days two virtual events in the state that provided a devastating blow to Hillary Clinton, the countys party chair said he thought it was good that the presumptive Democratic nominee is getting out there.

He's not in office, he's a former vice president, and so it's difficult for him to get into the news cycle, chairman Michael Smuksta said. So I think he has to get out there and try and make some news.

Wisconsin is one of the Biden campaigns biggest pickup opportunities for 2020. On a call with reporters, senior campaign officials said that they believe the former vice presidents message of unity is resonating strongly with Americans across a broad range of states, pointing to the identical message that helped him secure the partys nomination in the Democratic primary.

Against Trump, they feel that message is super charged in the midst of a national crisisa sentiment that Democrats across several of the electoral maps most critical swing states share. And getting out there with what a senior Biden campaign official described as a full day of campaign travel for the former VP is one of the top strategies to bolster that point.

Donald Trumps slow and ineffective response to the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated Wisconsin, and has been even deadlier and more costly for marginalized communities across the statea fact he and his administration refuse to acknowledge, Philip Shulman, a spokesman with the Wisconsin Democratic Party, told The Daily Beast.

We know Joe Biden understands and cares about the disproportionate impact facing marginalized communities across the Badger state, and that as president hell address and fix the disparities they are facing after Trumps failures.

While Wisconsin is just one of 16 states Team Biden is factoring into their electoral calculus, campaign manager Jen OMalley Dillion said they have started strategizing around a much larger Electoral College victory than we should even need to capture the presidency, putting a marker in 318 electoral votes. A Marquette Law School poll released last week shows that Biden currently enjoys a narrow, 3-point lead against Trump of 46 percent in the state, compared to Trumps 43 percent.

But acknowledging close polling on the ground, and money skewing in Trumps favor (Bidens campaign said it has $103 million on hand when combined with the Democratic National Committee, while Trump and the Republican National Committee said they have more than a combined $250 million on hand), Bidens campaign has had to adjust accordingly to changing election environment.

Joe Biden cant put on a simple webcast without catastrophic technical failures so its hilarious that he thinks he can command an organized national campaign, Trump campaigns communications director Tim Murtaugh wrote in an email downplaying Bidens digital upgrades.

Still, theres reason to believe the campaign is taking the state, and its role in the convention, seriously.

Hes running a lot of ads here, Werthmann said. If you go onto YouTube and try and look up any video youre probably going to see a Biden ad come through.

In April, the campaign ran a digital ad called Unprepared in battleground states, including Wisconsin. In May, they followed up with a new spot called Timeline. Biden also held a Zoom call with Monica Watry, an Intensive Care Unit nurse who works in Milwaukee.

And after months of technical malfunctions that have become frequent fodder for Trump and his Republican allies, Biden officials announced several new digital hires, pulling top talent from former rival campaigns, and previewed the much-anticipated roll out of a new livestream platform and upcoming website on a call with reporters.

Im sure youll all be happy to hear, OMalley Dillion said announcing the livestreams debut. A spokesperson for the Biden campaign did not respond to a follow up question about whether they tested out the new technology before the Wisconsin events.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
While there have been deadly clusters in certain Bay Area communities, the regions overall COVID-19 mortality rate currently is among the lowest of major U.S. metropolitan areas. Los Angeles mortality rate is nearly four times higher. The national average is five times higher. And New Yorks mortality rate is nearly 49 times that of the Bay Area.

Officials have faced challenges in tracking infections from the outset of the pandemic, making any accounting of death rates uncertain. Nonetheless, the chasm between these numbers is profound. Experts are beginning to piece together a fuller picture to explain the huge disparities.

John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley, said several parameters can determine an outbreaks deadliness: competency of medical care, health of the population and resources available to health care workers.

While he says the first two didnt seem to be an issue in New York, health care resources were a huge problem. The system was overwhelmed and, he said, did not have the resources to optimally care for patients, as evidenced by reports and photos of emergency rooms filled with infected patients. This, Swartzberg believes, is the main reason for the high mortality rate in the countrys densest city. The same can be said for New Orleans and Detroit, which both saw their health care systems overloaded.

Early, aggressive shelter-in-place orders in the Bay Area were effective in curbing the coronvirus spread and limiting the burden on the entire areas health care system, thus saving lives. The data show that just a few days delay in issuing such orders may have been a contributing factor to the Bay Areas lower mortality rate, versus what Los Angeles is seeing or, on the other end of the spectrum, what has transpired in New York. The number of people hospitalized in the Bay Area and in the ICU never reached the dire levels seen in other hot spots.

A report from ProPublica released earlier this week details how important cooperation between state and local officials was in the Bay Areas early moves to flatten the curve. Gov. Gavin Newsom worked closely with San Francisco Mayor London Breed as the Bay Area shut down, whereas the New York governor and New York City mayor, according to ProPublicas reporting, did not.

UCSF infectious disease expert George Rutherford said New York was also unlucky with the high volume of travelers coming from Europe and the emergence of a superspreader at the beginning of the outbreak.

Given the possibility of a second wave of infections later this year, understanding more about what has led to variances in fatality rates is now a crucial question for epidemiologists and officials.

Locally, there havent been huge differences in death rates from county to county, but what variances there are may contain important lessons.

Todd Trumbull

Across the Bay Area, the virus has been more deadly in denser, more populous areas. Santa Clara County has reported the most deaths overall, but the county with the highest mortality rate is San Mateo.

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 higher rates can partially be attributed to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes, where high-risk patients live in close quarters. Santa Clara Countys long-term care facility cases currently account for 41% of all deaths in the county. Solano County also saw a recent surge at a nursing home where 11 died.

And the Bay Area has not escaped racial disparities in whos getting sick and dying from COVID-19. Latino and black people are disproportionately testing positive for, and dying of, the coronavirus in three of the regions largest counties, according to a Chronicle review of state and county data. In San Francisco, Asian Americans account for half of the COVID-19 fatalities, and local politicians and community organizers are seeking more information on why the Asian community would be at higher risk.

Todd Trumbull designed the graphics in this article.

Kellie Hwang and Mike Massa are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, mmassa@sfchronicle.com
A moving video has been shared online of an Auckland woman shaving her head in solidarity with her twin sister who is undergoing treatment for leukaemia.

Samoan twins Joella and Joanna Lee-Loo shaved their heads as they were surrounded by family in the video posted to Facebook on Saturday.

"Today [Joanna] decided to show just how brave and strong she was by shaving her head so treatments could be easier," Joella wrote.

"I couldn't let her go through with it alone so I decided well do it together just like everything else weve done together in this life. I love you so much my beautiful sister. You are a fighter and well fight this battle together."

Joanna was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia cancer on April 6 and has been receiving chemotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As devastating the news was, my sister had to start her treatments straight away but because of lockdown, she had to do it all alone in hospital without her family there to hold her hand and wipe her tears when she needed it.

"The only contact we had with her was through video calls and messages. It was a hard time for my family and I but especially for my sister."

Joella says her family has been praying for Joanna "day and night" and she is being brave throughout her treatment.

The Facebook post has now received more than 12 million views, 151,000 comments, and 450,000 shares with people from all over the world sharing prayers for Joanna.

"What a beautiful family sticking through all this together. Our prayers with your sister and all the family and may God give you all strength to battle forward," one commenter wrote.

"A lot of strength and wisdom. You will beat it and are strong and able to overcome all this," one person wrote in Portuguese.
courtesy of the Texas Department of Public Safety

UPDATE: The person who died in this incident has been identified. Read details here.

A man is dead and another driver is in critical condition Wednesday morning after two vehicles crashed into each other in Montgomery.
(Newser)  Are hurricanes getting worse? That's what climate models have long predicted, and now there's evidence: A new study finds that hurricanes have indeed grown more powerful in recent decades, LiveScience reports. "The trend is there and it is real," lead study author James Kossin tells the New York Times. "There's this remarkable building of this body of evidence that we're making these storms more deleterious." Worldwide satellite images between 1979 and 2017 show a roughly 15% increase in hurricanes hitting 100 knots, especially in the last 19 years of the time frame, per the study. The chance of a hurricane being Category 3 or worse has also risen about 8% every 10 years.

story continues below

This echoes the notion that warmer water, which fuels hurricanes, is making them bigger and stronger. But greenhouse gases may not be the only cause. Scientists also point to changing sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic, perhaps due to natural variability or lower sulfur emissions in fossil-fuel burning. That said, Kossin mostly agrees with the climate-change angle: "Global warming has made hurricanes stronger, but our results don't tell us precisely how much of the trends are caused by human activities and how much may be just natural variability," he says in a press release. (More than 11,000 scientists have issued a warning on that front.)
Protective services officers could be patrolling major shopping strips and commercial centres across Melbourne long after the coronavirus pandemic is over, under a government plan to significantly expand their powers.

Victoria Police command and the state government have confirmed to The Age that they consider the expansion of PSO powers under state-of-emergency laws and deploying officers to locations outside of transport hubs to have been a success.

The Age has confirmed that Victoria Police and the Andrews government have proposed the continuation of the expanded PSO regime, which has led to officers being deployed to the Melbourne and Geelong CBDs, plus shopping centres and high streets across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo.

Protective services officers in Melbourne CBD. Credit:Jason South

"We're delivering a flexible and skilled PSO workforce and are looking to enable police to deploy PSOs to more locations  including at shopping centres, major events and major emergencies  while maintaining safety on public transport," Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville said on Wednesday.
Around 4 lakh migrants have registered on the Delhi government's e-portal to travel to their home states and the administration has arranged transport for 65,000 of them so far.

Around 25 trains left for different states on Wednesday, carrying 37,500 migrants back to their home towns, with 11 trains each being sent to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Around 4 lakh people have registered on the Delhi government''s e-portal to go back to their native states from Delhi, and transportation has been arranged for around 65,000 migrants until now, a government statement said.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has also written a letter to the Ministry of Railways, requesting it to arrange 262 trains to send migrants home in the next four days.

"Around 65,000 people have been sent back. We are also seeking permission from other states. As soon as we get it, we are sanctioning trains for those states," he said.

On Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested the Centre to increase the number of migrant trains from Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Insurers are in grave danger of being cast as the villains of this crisis.

As we reveal today, small-business owners feel bitterly betrayed after paying tens of thousands of pounds for business interruption cover, only to have their claims denied due to vague small print.

Many of these policies purport to offer financial protection should firms be forced to close due to a 'human contagious disease'.

Small-business owners feel bitterly betrayed after paying tens of thousands of pounds for business interruption cover, only to have their claims denied due to vague small print

For scores of panicked pub landlords, hairdressers, hotels and restaurant owners, fearful their businesses could soon go to the wall, this clause should have been a lifeline. Instead, all these firms got was a string of excuses.

'Covid-19 isn't covered because it is a new disease'/'loss caused by a national government lockdown isn't included in the policy'/'you need to provide evidence of an outbreak in a specific location'  and so on.

Perhaps insurers did only intend to cover smaller-scale issues such as a local norovirus outbreak rather than a national pandemic. But to any ordinary person, the vague policy wording means this is far from clear.

After all, Covid-19 is clearly a very contagious human disease.

Like most other businesses, insurers are facing heavy losses. Trade body the Association of British Insurers expects its members to pay 1.2 billion in claims to do with coronavirus, of which 900 million relate to business interruption cover.

Insurance firms have also suffered the same hit to their stock market investments as others, which they rely on to pay claims.

Yet, while no one expects insurers to pay out if customers have not bought the correct cover, exploiting their own ambiguous small print to wriggle off the hook is unacceptable.

These firms risk their reputations being damaged as much as their bank balances.

Soften the sting

A year ago, Money Mail welcomed a groundbreaking refund scheme for fraud victims.

Along with a new code of conduct, it was supposed to ensure that those who lost money to sophisticated scammers would get it back  as long as they had not been negligent.

But 12 months on, some banks are still being too quick to blame victims and dismiss claims.

Many have introduced new fraud warnings that flash up when you make an online payment.

But if a customer still goes ahead with a transfer which later proves to be a scam, this should not be reason enough on its own to deny them a refund.

Often the warnings are generic and may not apply to the specific tactics used by fraudsters to con the victim.

I recently saw an alert written in very pale grey text at the bottom of my mobile phone screen. I would have thought such an important warning might be more effective in red and near the top.

There is no doubt that we are in a much better place than we were two years ago, but there is clearly much more work to be done.

And given the revelations yesterday about hackers accessing the email and travel details of around nine million easyJet customers, it begs the question as to why firms which suffer data breaches aren't also forced to pay into a fraud compensation fund?

Get on same page!

Thank you for the many heartfelt letters sharing your concerns about how you would cope in a cashless world.

Money Mail reader Barbara, of Kent, says: 'I am making myself ill with worry over the possibility that when the shops open again, the ones I need won't take cash. I have bad eyes which is why electronic payments are hard for me.

'I was very relieved to read that the new Chancellor has pledged to bring in new laws to protect cash. I really hope he will not go back on his word after this crisis.'

The Post Office has launched a cash delivery service for those who cannot leave their homes.

It is also offering two services that allow customers to give a voucher or authorised cheque to a trusted person who can cash it on their behalf.

But many of you say that when you ask your bank about these options, staff have never heard of them. It is imperative all banks sign up and train staff to deal with these basic requests.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
Major/Minor:

Emergency Management

Classification:

Junior

Hometown:

Chesapeake, Virginia

Hobbies/Interests:

Playing sports, hiking, camping, snowboarding, ECSU Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Dream Job:

Helicopter pilot and officer in the U.S. Coast Guard

Campus Events You Enjoyed Participating In and The Reason(s):

I have enjoyed being involved with the CERT on campus and the various events that they have helped out with. We have done activities such as forklift training, Stop the Bleed training, and instructing students on basic first aid at the campus health fair. I enjoyed these events as they were focused on either helping others or preparing students to help others. I love helping others and these campus events facilitated that passion of mine.

Plans After Graduating From ECSU:

Mr. Gilley will the Coast Guard's Officers Candidate School.

Plans For the Future:

Mr. Gilley hopes to be accepted into the Coast Guard's flight training program to become a helicopter pilot.

Your words to live by:

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with The LORD. -Proverbs 21:31

Advice for Younger Students



Get involved with the programs and clubs that interest you. The teachers are willing and able to help you reach your goals. Ask questions and make the most of the resources available to you!

What would you tell a rising freshman about attending ECSU? What advice would you give him?



I would tell them to study hard, involve yourself in the programs that interest you, and volunteer for as much as you are able to. Use the resources that are available to you, surround yourself with students who will challenge and push you to be your best, and enjoy these years as they will fly by!

What are some of the highlights of your time here?



Some of the highlights from my time at ECSU has been participating in the CSPI HBCU Summit, recruiting for CSPI at sporting events, and being involved with CERT. These are just a few of them and I am confident that in this next year there will be a number of other highlights that will be added to this list!

Favorite Place on Campus

STEM Complex
A direct image of PDS 70 protoplanets b and planet c (labeled with white arrows) with the circumstellar disk removed. The image was captured using W. M. Keck Observatory's recently upgraded adaptive optics system. CREDIT J. WANG, CALTECH

New evidence shows the first-ever pictures capturing the birth of a pair of planets orbiting the star PDS 70 are in fact authentic.



Using a new infrared pyramid wavefront sensor for adaptive optics (AO) correction at W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea in Hawaii, a Caltech-led team of astronomers applied a new method of taking family photos of the baby planets, or protoplanets, and confirmed their existence.

The team's results are published in today's issue of The Astronomical Journal.

PDS 70 is the first known multiplanetary system where astronomers can witness planet formation in action. The first direct image of one of its planets, PDS 70b, was taken in 2018 followed by multiple images taken at different wavelengths of its sibling, PDS 70c, in 2019. Both Jupiter-like protoplanets were discovered by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT).

"There was some confusion when the two protoplanets were first imaged," said Jason Wang, a Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow at Caltech and lead author of the study. "Planet embryos form from a disk of dust and gas surrounding a newborn star. This circumstellar material accretes onto the protoplanet, creating a kind of smokescreen that makes it difficult to differentiate the dusty, gaseous disk from the developing planet in an image."

To help provide clarity, Wang and his team developed a method to disentangle the image signals from the circumstellar disk and the protoplanets.

"We know the disk's shape should be a symmetrical ring around the star whereas a planet should be a single point in the image," said Wang. "So even if a planet appears to sit on top of the disk, which is the case with PDS 70c, based on our knowledge of how the disk looks throughout the whole image, we can infer how bright the disk should be at the location of the protoplanet and remove the disk signal. All that's left over is the planet's emission."

The team snapped images of PDS 70 with the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRC2) on the Keck II telescope, marking first science for a vortex coronagraph installed in NIRC2 as part of a recent upgrade, combined with the Observatory's upgraded AO system consisting of a new infrared pyramid wavefront sensor and real-time control computer.

"The new infrared detector technology used in our pyramid wavefront sensor has dramatically improved our ability to study exoplanets, especially those around low-mass stars where planet formation is actively occurring," said Sylvain Cetre, software engineer at Keck Observatory and one of the lead developers of the AO upgrade. "It will also allow us to improve the quality of our AO correction for harder to image targets like the center of our galaxy."

This project benefited from the innovative infrared sensor that measures distortions in light caused by the Earth's atmosphere.

"New technology is a science multiplier," says Peter Kurczynski, Program Director at the National Science Foundation, which contributed funding to this project. "It enables investigations that were never before possible."

AO is a technique used to remove the atmospheric blurring that distorts astronomical images. With the new infrared pyramid wavefront sensor and real-time controller installed, Keck Observatory's AO system is able to deliver sharper, more detailed images.

"The PDS 70 imagery Jason's team captured was among the first tests of the scientific quality produced by Keck's pyramid wavefront sensor," said AO scientist Charlotte Bond, who played a key role in the design and installation of the technology. "It's exciting to see just how precise the new AO system corrects for the atmospheric turbulence of dusty objects like the young stars where protoplanets are expected to reside, allowing for the clearest, sharpest view of baby versions of our solar system."

###

The W. M. Keck Observatory Adaptive Optics Near-Infrared Pyramid Wavefront Sensor development was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Telescopes and Instrumentation program and conducted in collaboration with the University of Hawaii and Caltech, as well as colleagues from the Subaru Telescope, Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, and the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille.

ABOUT ADAPTIVE OPTICS

W. M. Keck Observatory is a distinguished leader in the field of adaptive optics (AO), a breakthrough technology that removes the distortions caused by the turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. Keck Observatory pioneered the astronomical use of both natural guide star (NGS) and laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) and current systems now deliver images three to four times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. Keck AO has imaged the four massive planets orbiting the star HR8799, measured the mass of the giant black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, discovered new supernovae in distant galaxies, and identified the specific stars that were their progenitors.

The original Keck II AO system was built with funding from the W. M. Keck Foundation and NASA. The new RTC will build on a laser guide star facility upgrade completed in 2016 with the generous financial support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, W. M. Keck Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and other Friends of Keck including The Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation, Change Happens Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation, and Sanford and Jeanne Robertson.

ABOUT NIRC2

The Near-Infrared Camera, second generation (NIRC2) works in combination with the Keck II adaptive optics system to obtain very sharp images at near-infrared wavelengths, achieving spatial resolutions comparable to or better than those achieved by the Hubble Space Telescope at optical wavelengths. NIRC2 is probably best known for helping to provide definitive proof of a central massive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Astronomers also use NIRC2 to map surface features of solar system bodies, detect planets orbiting other stars, and study detailed morphology of distant galaxies.

ABOUT W. M. KECK OBSERVATORY

The W. M. Keck Observatory telescopes are among the most scientifically productive on Earth. The two, 10-meter optical/infrared telescopes on the summit of Maunakea on the Island of Hawaii feature a suite of advanced instruments including imagers, multi-object spectrographs, high-resolution spectrographs, integral-field spectrometers, and world-leading laser guide star adaptive optics systems.

Some of the data presented herein were obtained at Keck Observatory, which is a private 501(c) 3 non-profit organization operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Maunakea has always had within the Native Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain. For more information, visit: http://www.keckobservatory.org

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2020 budget of $8.3 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
An assistant sub-inspector of the Rajasthan Police was arrested for allegedly molesting a 23-year-old woman in Alwar district of the state, officials said on Wednesday.

The woman, who works in a company in Neemrana in Bhiwadi, had gone to file a complaint at the Neemrana police station after being referred there by a police chowki, they said.

After registering the complaint, chowki in-charge Surendra Singh, an ASI aged around 45 years, took the woman in his vehicle on the pretext of dropping her to her place, the officials said.

Instead, Singh took her to the Japanese industrial zone in Neemrana and allegedly molested her there, they said.

"She lodged a complaint of molestation against the ASI on May 17. Her statement was recorded and the accused was arrested on Tuesday," Superintendent of Police, Bhiwadi, Amandeep Singh Kapoor said.

Station House Officer, Neemrana police station, Sanjay Sharma said the woman had sought help for ration which was arranged.

"She was running out of ration and claimed that the company has not given her salary. I got her ration. A few days later, she again contacted me saying that she was not in a position to pay rent for accommodation and she was being pressured for it.

"To this, I asked her to file a complaint and since the matter was related to chowki, I referred the matter to its in-charge," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The British Medical Association has done a U-turn on its support for the teaching unions and said schools should reopen if it is safe to do so.

Last night a final decision on whether to reopen schools on June 1 was left hanging in the balance after discussions between Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and the teaching unions made no breakthrough.

The BMA was pulled into the stand-off when Chaand Nagpaul, the chairman of the BMA Council, wrote a letter backing the National Education Union after it advised its members 'not to engage' with the Government proposals.

But the chairman of the BMA's Public Health Medicine Committee, Dr Peter English, wrote in today's Telegraph of 'growing evidence that the risk to individual children from Covid-19 is extremely small.'

Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields attend a course in a classroom at Claude Debussy college in Angers, western France

A teacher wears a protective visor and the mandatory mask during class in Cascais, Portugal on Monday

Pupils apply social distancing measures in class at Benzenberg secondary school in Duesseldorf, Germany, 19 May

The bold stance of Dr Nagpaul in his letter to Kevin Courtney, the joint general secretary of the NEU, in which he said the BMA was 'completely aligned' with the union, is understood to have irked many BMA members.

Dr English wrote in The Telegraph: 'The Government's decision on whether to reopen schools is a finely balanced and unenviable one.'

But the reopening of schools has been further kicked into the long grass by one of its SAGE advisers saying that the reopening of schools in ten days depended on an effective track and trace system.

Dame Angela McLean, the deputy chief scientific adviser, said that before ministers attempted any changes to lockdown measures an effective system was needed to isolated those infected by the coronavirus.

Locks on the school gates ensure no entry at Invicta Grammar School in Maidstone, Kent

Last night a final decision on whether to reopen schools on June 1 was left hanging in the balance after discussions between Education Secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured) and the teaching unions made no breakthrough

The BMA was pulled into the stand-off when Chaand Nagpaul (pictured), the chairman of the BMA Council, wrote a letter backing the National Education Union after it advised its members 'not to engage' with the Government proposals

She told The Times that this should be based on 'observed levels of infection . . . and not on a fixed date'.

JUST 5% OF TEACHERS THINK IT'S SAFE TO REOPEN, POLL SHOWS A poll from teachers' union NASUWT suggested that only 5% of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month. In a letter to the Education Secretary, Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said the union remains 'unconvinced' that wider reopening of schools from June 1 is 'appropriate or practicable'. The survey, of nearly 29,000 NASUWT members across England, found that around nine in 10 teachers believe that social distancing will be impossible, or will present major issues and a similar proportion are not confident that the proposed measures will protect their health or the health of pupils. It also found that 87% of teachers believe that PPE is essential to protect staff against the virus. Advertisement

And John Edmunds, another SAGE member, told Sky News that a track and trace system must be 'embedded and working well' before schools should throw open their doors.

Mr Williamson is pushing for the reopening of primary schools for reception classes and Years 1 and 6 on June 1.

Officials accept that some local authorities will refuse, but believe that academy schools could reopen and form a 'bridgehead' to show parents that classes can operate safely.

But some senior figures in government are reluctant to press ahead if the reopening is likely to be boycotted by a large proportion of schools and parents.

Downing Street indicated that Boris Johnson was not wedded to the June 1 deadline.

Experts have repeatedly warned that the pause in education will affect disadvantaged children the most.

And 22 European Union states have partially reopened schools without any evidence of an increase in infections.

Ministers are also facing a nationwide rebellion against reopening from councils.

In other developments last night:

The deputy chief scientific adviser said changes to the lockdown, which would include schools reopening, needed a highly effective track and trace system to be in place first;

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was poised to enter the row by backing the unions, while his successor, Sir Keir Starmer, faced accusations that he had gone missing;

Official figures showed the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 fell by more than a third in the week before the VE Day holiday;

Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned of an unprecedented recession with unemployment having soared to 2.1million;

Furloughed workers were urged to 'pick for Britain' by taking on fruit and vegetable harvesting;

A minister suggested mistakes in the coronavirus strategy were the result of poor scientific advice;

Captain Thomas Moore is to be knighted for his extraordinary fundraising efforts;

Hopes for a summer getaway suffered a blow last night as Downing Street played down the prospect of foreign flights;

Experts warned that thousands of cancer patients might die early due to delays to surgery;

Research showed Type 2 diabetics are twice as likely to die from coronavirus and obesity further increases the risk;

A study found the global lockdown drove carbon emissions down by 17 per cent.

An NEU spokesman said: 'This Government is putting an unbearable strain on school leaders and the wider education workforce to work through an impracticable and potentially unsafe timetable.

'The NEU's position is well known and well recorded. We want the wider opening of schools when Government provides the scientific evidence to show it is safe to do so. We believe the vast majority of head teachers agree with us and will work with us to avoid any prospect of unsafe working environments.

'We continuously engage with our members and the wider school community on how best to guarantee this. Families also need to know that there is a sensible and measured approach to the wider opening of schools.'

A DfE spokesman said: 'We have engaged closely with a range of relevant organisations, including the unions, throughout the past eight weeks, including organising for them to hear directly from the Government's scientific advisers last Friday, and will continue to do so. We have also published detailed guidance on the protective measures schools should take.'

A teacher during a Physics class for 11th grade students at a lyceum-boarding school in Kaliningrad, Russia, on Monday
President Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen will be released from federal prison Thursday and is expected to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Cohen has been serving a federal prison sentence at FCI Otisville in New York after pleading guilty to numerous charges, including campaign finance fraud and lying to Congress.

He will be released on furlough with the expectation that he will transition to home confinement to serve the remainder of his sentence at home, the person said.

Cohen, 53, began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.

The person could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Out: Michael Cohen will walk free from Otisville federal prison in upstate New York one year and 15 days after reporting for custody

Old boss: Michael Cohen has been writing a book about his time with Trump while behind bars, he has confided

Free already: Michael Cohen spent longer behind bars than Paul Manafort despite having a shorter sentence

Prison advocates and congressional leaders have been pressing the Justice Department for weeks to release at-risk inmates ahead of a potential outbreak, arguing that the public health guidance to stay 6 feet away from other people is nearly impossible behind bars.

Attorney General William Barr ordered the Bureau of Prisons in March and April to increase the use of home confinement and expedite the release of eligible high-risk inmates, beginning at three prisons identified as coronavirus hot spots. Otisville is not one of those facilities.

Cohen was told last month he would be released to serve the rest of his three-year sentence at home in response to concerns about coronavirus. He had told associates he was expecting to be released earlier this month.

The Bureau of Prisons has placed him on furlough as it continues to process a move to home confinement, the person familiar with the matter said. The agency has the authority to release inmates on furlough for up to 30 days and has been doing so to make sure suitable inmates, who are expected to transition to home confinement, can be moved out of correctional facilities sooner, the person said.

A federal judge had denied Cohens attempt for an early release to home confinement after serving 10 months in prison and said in a ruling earlier this month that it 'appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle.' But the Bureau of Prisons can take action to move him to home confinement without a judicial order.

The Bureau of Prisons said last week that more than 2,400 inmates had been moved to home confinement since Barr first issued his memo on home confinement in late March, and 1,200 others had been approved and were expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Other high-profile inmates have also been released as the number of coronavirus cases soars in the federal prison system.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was released on home confinement last week. Michael Avenatti, the attorney who rose to fame representing porn star Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Trump, was temporarily freed from a federal jail in New York City and is staying at a friends house in Los Angeles.

Former New York state Senate leader Dean Skelos, 72, who was also serving a sentence at Otisville, was released on home confinement after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Last month it emerged he has been writing a book while behind bars.

'He told me he's been writing a book and he's pissed. He told me he is going to spill the beans. What has he got to lose now?' comedian-and-actor Tom Arnold told The Daily Beast.

Comedian Tom Arnold (right) said: 'He told me he's been writing a book and he's pissed. He told me he is going to spill the beans. What has he got to lose now?'

Cohen had told the publication in February 2018 that he was shopping a book and had interest from publishers including Hachette.

At the time the book was tentatively titled, Trump Revolution: From The Tower to The White House, Understanding Donald J. Trump.

But in December 2018 he was ordered to spend three years in federal prison and in February 2019 he was disbarred. He reported to federal detention on May 6, 2019.

In March 2019 Trump tweeted his acknowledgement of Cohen writing an expose.

'Wow, just revealed that Michael Cohen wrote a 'love letter to Trump' manuscript for a new book that he was pushing,' POTUS posted on social media. 'Written and submitted long after Charlottesville and Helsinki, his phony reasons for going rogue. Book is exact opposite of his fake testimony, which now is a lie!'

Arnold added that Trump has been expecting Cohen to release a book.

Now Cohen is being let out early alongside dozens of other inmates, the release could be sooner than Trump anticipated.

'It's like Jawsyou don't see Jaws very much, but you hear the music, and for Trump he knows Michael is coming and Trump better hear the Jaws music,' Arnold said.

'For 12 years, Michael cleaned up everything for Trump and his family. Stormy Daniels was a tiny moment in that. There's so much more that will come out in the book.'

He believes it will be a 'bestseller'.

Another person close to Cohen told the publication that the expose was a long time coming.

'He has been using his time wisely inside to write a book and no one should be surprised as he's always talked about writing a book,' the source told The Daily Beast.

'Michael's stories about Trump are incredible. He has saved a lot of them for when the time is right and the time is now right.

'Michael spent a long time with Trumphe is going to go into everything and he's not going to hold anything back. He has paid his dues and he's pissed he had to go to jail for this.'

More than a year ago after Cohen's sentencing, Trump tweeted about knowledge of him shopping a book

Cohen tried to get his sentence reduced in March but a judge shut him down. Now due to COVID-19 he and many other prisoners will be released from the Federal Correctional Facility in Otisville, New York (pictured)

Sources suggest he will have no problem shopping the book and publishers have estimated Cohen could get hundreds of thousands for it.

'He was bragging he was going to have a one-hour television show on ABC and he said he would be like the Count of Monte Cristo and come back and get Trump,' one of Cohen's fellow inmates told The Daily Beast.

Cohen's attorney, Roger Bennet Adler, declined to comment to the publication.

Cohen began serving his sentence last May and was scheduled to be released from prison in November 2021.

Cohen tried to get his sentence reduced in March but a judge shut him down.

'That Cohen would seek to single himself out for release to home confinement appears to be just another effort to inject himself into the news cycle,' U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III wrote then.

'Ten months into his prison term, it's time that Cohen accept the consequences of his criminal convictions for serious crimes that had far reaching institutional harms.'
UPDATE: Mother of man shot by cops after pellet gunfire voices sorrow for others involved

A Michigan man traveling through Pennsylvania fired a pellet gun at three people outside a Lehigh Valley gas station, before being shot by police hours later in Upstate New York, authorities say.

Colin R. Yurick, 29, of Brighton, Michigan, faces 19 criminal counts filed Wednesday by Bethlehem Township police. He remained hospitalized in Syracuse, New York, for his injuries in the police shooting, court records say.

The incident unfolded about 6:30 p.m. May 13 when a man identified as Yurick pulled a black BMW into the Sunoco gas station at 4440 Easton Ave. in Bethlehem Township, according to court records.

About 10 minutes later, Yurick exited the car, threw a cigarette on the ground, opened his trunk and retrieved what appeared to be a black long gun, police wrote.

Yurick allegedly fired numerous shots in the direction of three victims, returned the weapon to the trunk and drove away.

Responding police found the projectiles were air-gun pellets and that one victim had been struck four times, "resulting in four large welts with extensive bruising," court records say. A truck belonging to one victim sustained more than $3,600 in damage, and a van belonging to the other two victims was also damaged, police said.

Investigating officer Patrick Brehm found a partially smoked Camel Turkish Jade cigarette in the area where the gunman threw his cigarette. Sunoco video showed the registration of the BMW, and an investigation led police to its owner in Michigan.

"An investigation of that address through other electronic investigative resources showed it to be associated with a Colin Yurick," Brehm wrote, noting that Yurick's description matched that of the gas station gunman.

Bethlehem Township police learned Monday, in reaching out to Yurick's parents, that he was shot by an officer with the Town of Vestal Police Department in New York's Southern Tier around 9:45 p.m. May 13, court records say.

The BMW had broken down, and Yurick brandished a pistol while speaking to an officer responding to a call for a disabled vehicle, court records say. The officer then shot Yurick numerous times, according to Bethlehem Township police.

Vestal police declined to comment Wednesday to lehighvalleylive.com on the officer-involved shooting, but said a news release had been issued to local media. WBNG reported on the shooting, noting three hours passed before the driver was taken into custody and taken for treatment. No one else was injured, according to the report, and charges were expected to be filed.

An investigation showed the pistol brandished by the driver was an air gun -- firing the same type of pellets recovered from the Sunoco, Bethlehem Township police said. A receipt in the car showed the purchase about 2:15 p.m. that afternoon of Camel Turkish Jade cigarettes in West Milton, Pennsylvania.

Based on travel times between West Milton, Bethlehem Township and Vestal, Yurick could have easily been in all three places over the span of 7 1/2 hours, investigators said.

Bethlehem Township police are charging Yurick in their incident with three counts of felony aggravated assault, in addition to single counts of possession of an instrument of crime, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and discharging an air rifle and multiple counts of simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment.

Yurick is awaiting his preliminary arraignment before District Judge Patricia Broscius, and will then face a preliminary hearing to see if there is sufficient evidence to send the case toward trial in Northampton County Court.

Court records do not reveal what, if anything, led to the initial shooting.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Photo: Apple

A Fathers Day? Where your dad can stream a brand new Tom Hanks film about things like submarines and Allied ships in the comfort of his favorite recliner with a couple of brewskis, just like Marty Crane? Americas Dad really knows his audience. Deadline reports that Greyhound, a new Hanks war drama about a commander of a Navy destroyer during the start of World War II, will switch from a proper theatrical release to digital streaming on Apple TV+. The film, which Hanks also penned the screenplay for, revolves around how the leader of an international convoy of ships (Hanks, duh) has to defend his fleet from an unrelenting wolf pack of German U-boats, whod love nothing more than to sink and kill everything  and everyone. Deadline notes that this is the first Hanks film to debut on a streaming service, with a bidding war resulting in a deal in the $70 million range. While Apple hasnt confirmed Greyhounds intended release, its expected to maintain its dad-tastic June 12 premiere.
Former J&K chief minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for release of detained politicians ahead of the Eid festival.

Since his release, Omar Abdullah has made frequent appeals for the release of detained political leaders and those under house arrest.

We are days away from Eid. @narendramodi ji should order the release of all detained politicians in J&K, whether under formal detention orders or informal house arrest. They have done nothing to deserve being locked away for as long as theyve been, tweeted Omar.

Omar Abdullah also questioned the J&K government for not replying to the petition challenging the slapping of the Public Safety Act (PSA) on NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sager, who is under detention since August 5.

The J&K govt has had since the 3rd of April to file its reply to the petition challenging the PSA detention of Ali Mohd Sagar Sb & today again failed to do so. The court is happy to let the govt play for time & gave them till 1st June. Clearly they have no suitable reply to give, NC vice president said in another tweet.

Ahead of August 5, most of the Jammu and Kashmir mainstream politicians including Srinagar MP and former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and PDP president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti were detained.

While most were released after their preventive detentions ended, five to six top politicians including NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sager, former ministers, Nayeem Akthar, Sartaj Madni, Hilal Akbar Lone, Peer Mansoor and former IAS officer Shah Faesal were detained afresh under the PSA. Recently, PSA against Shah Faesal was extended by another three months by the J&K government.

PSA was withdrawn against several politicians including Mehbooba Mufti and Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Lone, but they have been put under house arrest at their official accommodation.

The recently launched Apni party had also demanded the release of political leaders detained inside and outside the state.
There is no item of clothing that carries quite as much emotional gravitas or indeed a heftier price tag than a wedding dress.

For many brides, the search for the one can be a long and drawn-out process that involves months of planning, multiple visits to bridal boutiques, and hours of small talk with a stranger while sat awkwardly in your unmentionables. But, it is worth it. After all, this is the dress in which you are supposed to feel like a million dollars and spend what will hopefully be one of the most enjoyable days of your life wearing.

For brides who were scheduled to tie the knot this year though, the coronavirus pandemic has pressed pause on almost every aspect of wedding planning, with thousands of couples forced to reconsider their upcoming nuptials.

From selecting a new date to securing refunds and shifting suppliers, there are many challenges a bride faces when it comes to postponing her wedding. But, knowing that she will not be able to wear the gown she spent the best part of a year searching for, whether it be a in a few months or a years time, is perhaps one of the most logistically and emotionally testing.

Aside from worrying whether or not your gown will stand the test of sartorial time  it is likely that the location, venue, time of year and decor were all considered when you chose it  knowing what to do with your dress in the meantime will only add to the stress and anxiety you are feeling.

If your dress was picked up prior to the pandemic outbreak, you are going to need to make sure your gown stays in the best condition possible until your much-awaited wedding day eventually happens. But, what exactly does this involve?

According to a number of industry experts, the correct way to care for a wedding dress all depends on the style of the gown and how long you intend to store it for.

For anything up to six months, Sameera Azeem, creative director at British fashion label Ghost London, says a fabric garment bag is sufficient, but anything longer, up to a year or more, will require a special hard board bridal box. This, she says, will prevent creasing and protect the dress from harsh light, dust and insects.

Brides will also need to consider the style of their dress before settling on a bag or box. If a gown is heavily beaded or made using luxurious heavy fabrics, Gemma Green, company director of Wild Flora bridal boutique, recommends storing it flat as the weight may cause the fabric to drop over time meaning the hem will have to be re-levelled before your wedding.

In pictures: UK's first gay weddings Show all 16 1 /16 In pictures: UK's first gay weddings In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Lesbian couple Sarah Keith (left) and Emma Powell embrace while posing for photographs after their same-sex wedding at the Claremont Hotel in Brighton Reuters In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai, center, and Sinclair Treadway, right, pose for photographers with the openly gay mayor of Camden Jonathan Simpson, left, after they were announced officially married in a wedding ceremony in the Council Chamber at Camden Town Hall in London, Saturday 29 March, 2014 AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Helen Brearley (right) and Teresa Millward pose for photographs after getting married at Halifax Register Office Getty Images In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Gay couple Neil Allard (right) and Andrew Wale are married in the Music Room of Brighton's Royal Pavilion shortly after midnight in one of the UK's first same-sex weddings Getty Images In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai, third from left, and Sinclair Treadway, fourth from left, pose for photographs with, from left, the openly gay mayor of Camden Jonathan Simpson, deputy superintendent registrar Steven Lord and registrar officer Tania Uddin AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages A woman waves a rainbow flag as gay couple Peter McGraith and David Cabreza leave Islington Town Hall Getty Images In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages A solitary demonstrator holds a placard in protest against the legalisation of same sex marriage, outside St Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey, London PA In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway look jovial as they tie the knot in front of around 100 guests AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages The rainbow flag flies above British Cabinet Offices, marking the first day Britain has allowed same sex marriages, in London Reuters In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Lesbian couple Sarah Keith and Emma Powell (left) react after their same-sex wedding at the Claremont Hotel in Brighton Reuters In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages A pair of shoes are pictured on a chair at a place setting during the reception after the same-sex wedding of couple Sarah Keith and Emma Powell in Brighton Reuters In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Camden mayor Jonathan Simpson speaks during the ceremony, which took place just after midnight on Saturday AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai looks on as his new husband Sinclair Treadway signs official documents AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway hold hands as they celebrate their marriage AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway toast married life AP In pictures: UK's first gay weddings First gay marriages Sealed with a kiss: Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sinclair Treadway make it official AP

Similarly, it is worth noting that over time, straps and shoulders can stretch if the dress is heavy. If you are concerned about this happening, most dresses will have hanging loops that you can place around the hanger to help take the weight of the dress.

Whether you opt for a bag or a box, the key point here is to avoid any packaging made from plastic it is not a breathable material and has the potential to cause discolouration as the fibres break down.

To help prevent any damage to your dress while it is in storage, Karen Whybro, founder and director of alternative bridal boutique Rock The Frock, recommends lining it with acid-free tissue paper as this will protect the fabric from further discolouration, dust or damp.

Acid-free tissue paper will help with preventing creases as well as any damage occurring from beading, crystals or zips, she says. Use tissue paper between layers of your dress and make sure it is uncoloured, acid-free tissue paper from a reputable provider.

Once your dress is perfectly packaged away, the next thing to consider is where you are going to keep it.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

If your dress is lightweight, your wardrobe will suffice as long as there is plenty of space, but if this is not an option, it is important to note that there are some areas of the home you should absolutely avoid.

According to Charlie Brear, a wedding dress designer and founder of her eponymous luxury bridalwear line, attics and basements can bread clothes moths or damp and small inhabitants like mice, so it is probably unwise to store your dress there.

Instead, she recommends keeping your dress in any cool, dry area with a consistent temperature and no direct sunlight.

The same rules should also be applied to your bridal accessories. Each of the experts we spoke to recommended storing your veil separately from your dress if it features any buttons or embellishments, as well as any jewellery hair pieces, to avoid catching.

The veil should also be folded or wrapped in acid-free tissue and placed in a 100 per cent cotton bag for extra protection.

Once your bridal outfit is securely packed away, it is important to try and resist the temptation of getting it back out before the big day as the chances of staining and potential marks increase each time your dress is handled, with makeup and deodorant some of the biggest culprits when trying on your dress beforehand.

However, Green adds that while you should avoid handling your dress as much as possible, if you are storing it for a longer period, over eight months, it can be worth taking it out every so often to "puff the layers, allowing it to move and breathe again".

If you absolutely must try on your gown for friends or family, remove your makeup and deodorant first, and ensure you have clean, dry hands or even where white gloves.

When the time comes to unpack your gorgeous dress for your wedding day, Kate Halfpenny founder of British luxury bridalwear brand Halfpenny London, recommends making sure the floor is clean and dry and to beware of any dirt which may have been picked up on the exterior of the garment bag.

She adds that if your gown has any creases, the best way to remove them is with gentle steaming. A hand steamer can be bought online from John Lewis or Amazon and I would suggest putting a clean light tea towel over the head of the steamer to be sure it doesnt drip water, Halfpenny says.

Brear agrees, adding that it is a good idea to test the steamer on another item first and to not get too close to the dress to avoid water stains. Steam the dress at least half an hour before wearing and hang somewhere airy to dry, she explains.
Authorities released a photo of a man wanted for questioning in connection to the disappearance of 18-year-old Madison Bell.

Investigators released the photo Thursday afternoon, five days after Bell disappeared from Highland County, Ohio.

"Investigators are interested in identifying the individual in the below photos. This individual may have information related to the disappearance of Madison Bell from Highland County on May 17, 2020," officials said.

Anyone who recognized the man is asked to call the Highland County Sheriffs Office at 937-393-1421.

Federal officials are now involved in the search for the Ohio high school senior who disappeared en route to a tanning salon.

The 18-year-old was last seen leaving her house Sunday.

Her mother, Melissa Bell, said her daughter left around 10 a.m. Sunday to go tanning at the Country Corner Market which is about eight minutes from their home.

When Maddie didnt return home an hour later, Melissa Bell said she and Maddies boyfriend, Cody Mann, who lives with them, went looking for the teen.

They found her car in a church parking lot across the street from the corner market. Melissa Bell then called the Highland County Sheriffs Office to report her daughter missing.

During the nearly three-minute call that WLWT obtained, Melissa Bell said, The car is sitting in the church parking lot with the keys in it, unlocked with her phone in it. She's nowhere to be found  She left her phone which is so unlike her. She's never done anything like this before, ever.

Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera said Maddie never made it tanning that morning.

There's no reason, so far, that we found, why she would've pulled into that parking lot, Barrera said.

The sheriffs office has possession of the car, and Barrera said they found nothing out of the ordinary in it.

Nothing disheveled or looked like it had been rummaged through or anything like that, Barrera said.

Barrera said a church employee saw a white four-door sedan in the church parking lot Sunday morning and it stood out because services were canceled due to the health crisis. The employee told investigators she thought the car had California plates on it and at one point, saw a white man near it.

That car was caught on security cameras from the Corner Market leaving the church lot Sunday morning and heading toward Leesburg. Investigators would like to speak to the person driving the car.

Barrera confirmed Wednesday that the FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting with the investigation. He said his office has received hundreds of tips and tips from nearly a dozen states. He said not all have been credible.

With the FBI's help and the technology they have, there's a lot of things we're working on that will hopefully be brought to light in the near future, Barrera said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The export of leather goods from Turkey to Turkmenistan declined by 28 percent in the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and amounted to $2 million, the Turkish Ministry of Trade told Trend on May 20.

In April 2020, the export of leather goods from Turkey to Turkmenistan slumped by 49.4 percent compared to April 2019 and amounted to $216,000.

From January through April of this year, export of leather goods from Turkey to world markets slid by 19.2 percent compared to the same period of 2019 and amounted to $469.4 million.

The export of leather from Turkey made up 0.9 percent of the country's total export over the reporting period.

In April 2020, Turkey exported the leather goods worth over $54.4 million to the world markets, which is 61.6 percent less compared to the same month of 2019. Meanwhile, Turkeys leather export amounted to 0.6 percent of the country's total export.

During the last twelve months (from April 2019 through April 2020), Turkey exported the leather goods in the amount of over $1.5 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Hospitals nearing capacity. Deaths soaring. A president urging people back to work. Sao Paulo, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, is emerging as the coronavirus pandemic's latest global hot spot.

Confirmed cases in the city have soared 34% and at least 510 people have died in the past week as the public health infrastructure buckles and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro continues to shrug off the crisis.

"This is the picture of Bolsonaro's Brazil," said Gerson Salvador, an infectious-disease specialist in the intensive care unit at Sao Paulo's University Hospital. "People are being exterminated. There is no organized system to care for them. They are being advised to go out and given no alternative but to work."

Across Brazil, more than 1,000 people died of the coronavirus on Tuesday alone. The country now ranks third worldwide with 255,000 confirmed cases, trailing only the United States and Russia.

In Sao Paulo, a city of 12 million in a metropolitan area of 22 million, suspected deaths from covid-19 have surged more than fivefold in the past month.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump, who has maintained friendly ties with Bolsonaro, a fellow populist, said he was considering banning travel from the country.

"Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I don't want people coming in here and infecting our people."

As Brazil's death count has climbed over the past two months, the federal government's response has unraveled. From the beginning, Bolsonaro has dismissed the virus as nothing but a "little flu" and encouraged people to get back to work. He has gone through two health ministers, both of whom refused to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the virus.

Asked about the rapidly rising cases last month, the president responded: "So what? I'm sorry, what do you want me to do?"

As patients flood hospitals, state governors are scrambling to issue stay-at-home orders. In Sao Paulo, 90% of ICU beds are occupied. Family members of patients wait outside hospitals for news of their loved ones, their masks wet with tears.

In Brazil's hospitals, doctors say they are fighting a battle on two fronts - against the outbreak and against the misinformation circulating around it.

Last month, Salvador said, he directed a patient struggling in his ICU.

Breathe, Salvador told the man. He told him he had a coronavirus infection that was affecting his lungs. He told him they were going to have to intubate him and connect him to a machine to help him breathe.

"No, doctor," the patient wheezed, according to Salvador. He would rather try hydroxychloroquine.

Bolsonaro has been promoting the antimalarial drug, contradicting public health experts and the Pan American Health Organization, which has questioned its efficacy and warned of potentially harmful side effects.

The government has distributed nearly 3 million hydroxychloroquine pills produced by the army since the start of the crisis. On Wednesday, after Trump claimed this week to be taking daily doses, Bolsonaro's administration planned to issue a protocol recommending doctors prescribe it at the first sign of the coronavirus.

Sao Paulo in March became the first city in Brazil to call a state of emergency and issue stay-at-home orders. But adherence to the guidelines is fading, especially during the week, when workers weigh the risk of contracting the virus against another day without a paycheck.

"Through social isolation, we have saved the lives of 30,000 people," said Edson Aparecido, Sao Paulo's secretary of public health. The city hired 1,200 doctors and created two pop-up hospitals and four permanent hospitals in 40 days. "If not for the work that has been done until now, we would be facing a tragedy," Aparecido said.

The city plans to create 700 additional ICU beds and expand agreements with private hospitals to take in patients.

The faces of the dead are changing. What first struck Brazil's affluent, older, white upper class - travelers who brought the virus home from European vacations - is now taking the lives of poor, young and largely black slum residents. They include maids infected while cleaning the homes of the wealthy, construction workers and informal laborers who have had no choice but to venture out to earn money for food.

Cases exploded in Brazilian shantytowns, where families are packed into small houses with unreliable access to running water. With little help from the government, some residents have started taking matters into their own hands.

Gilson Rodrigues is a community leader in Paraisopolis, a slum of 100,000 people on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. After the community's pleas for help went ignored, Rodrigues started a fundraising campaign to hire three ambulances exclusively for his community.

He also created emergency bases with EMTs, designated local schools as temporary shelters for infected residents to self-isolate and started training local teenagers to be first responders. The community organized emergency food supplies and financial relief for residents who lost their jobs.

"We know we can't count on the mayor, the governor or the president, so we created our own alternatives," Rodrigues said. "We know we are alone."
(Newser)  A ban on nonessential travel between the US and Canada has been extended for another 30 days and the border will now remain closed until at least June 21. "This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, per Reuters. He said Canadian provinces expressed a "clear desire" to keep the border closed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and the US was "completely open" to the extension, the CBC reports.

story continues below

Under the border closurewhich was introduced in March and extended in Aprilrecreational travel between the two countries is banned but goods can still move across the border, as can essential workers, including health workers and truck drivers. President Trump confirmed the extension Tuesday but said it was possible that travel could be opened up before June 21, the AP reports. "We love Canada, so were going to be talking, and at the right time, well open that up very quickly," he said. "That will go very easily." Trudeau said the extra month will give officials time to look into possible precautions including virus testing at the border and contract tracing. (Read more Canada stories.)
A court in France has ruled that the government must end a ban on meetings at places of worship. The authorities claimed the measures were needed to halt the spread of the coronavirus following an outbreak at an evangelical congregation earlier this year.

by Stefan J. Bos

France's administrative court ordered the government to lift the ban on meetings in churches and other religious places within eight days. French officials had defended the ban saying it was needed to curb the coronavirus outbreak.



But the Council of State called the measure "disproportionate in nature." It stressed that the ban had caused, in its words, "damage that was seriously and manifestly illegal."

Authorities say more than 28,000 people have died in France from the coronavirus disease COVID-19. Currently, all gatherings in places of worship are banned except for funerals, which are limited to 20 people.

However, the judge said that as private gatherings of up to 10 people are now allowed, the ban was "disproportionate to the objective of preserving public health."

Some background

France had a cluster of Covid-19 cases in February that originated at an evangelical church. Thousands of people gathered in the city of Mulhouse for a week of activities.

The pastor of the congregation, Port Ouverte, or 'Christian Open Door' church, says worshipers were threatened.

More than 2,500 cases are said to have been linked to his congregation worldwide.

"This is the scapegoat effect," said Pastor Samuel Peterschmitt, who himself survived COVID-19. "Obviously, there have been relatively violent reactions on social media. There were many threats, even threats such as: 'They must be shot with Kalashnikov rifles. We must burn the church'," he recalled.

"We have had people who have been assaulted at their workplace, people who had had nasty text messages from their neighbors. Of course, people were afraid. " But the pastor stressed: "This is not the time for war. We must not have division; we must unite against the disease. We must not choose the wrong enemy. "

That view seems to shared by the Council of State court ordering an end to a ban on worship. Bruno Retailleau, leader of the right-wing Republicans in the Senate, already called the ruling "good news for freedom of religion."

More debate

France isn't the only nation debating how far freedom of worship can go in coronavirus-hit Europe. Montenegro, for instance, released a Serbian Orthodox Church bishop and at least seven priests over the weekend whose detention sparked protests and riots with police.

The church leaders were held last week for violating coronavirus lockdown measures by organizing a procession attended by several thousand people.

If found guilty, they could have faced up to 12 years in jail.

So far, Montenegro has reported 324 cases of coronavirus infections and nine deaths.

That is far less than its neighbors with dozens and, in some cases, hundreds of coronavirus-related deaths, according to official estimates.
Several months ago, I raised questions about the way in which the Charleston County Aviation Authority hired a new executive director, proposed a number of ways to properly address the issue and asked if the Airport Board, the Charleston County legislative delegation and the public had the strength of leadership and political courage to do what was right in this situation.

To my knowledge, nothing has been done.

This is disappointing, particularly when we consider all of the illness, suffering and death caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial hardship it has placed on our community and especially on the airport and those who use it and do business there.

If you add up the salaries to be paid to the new executive director, the in-house attorney and his assistant, and the public relations director, the total is more than $800,000.

To that you must add another 30% for health insurance, retirement and other benefits, so the actual total is over $1 million.

I believe a qualified executive director could be hired for $150,000 to $200,000 a year, a well-qualified law firm could be put on retainer for $120,000 a year and the public relations post could be filled for about $75,000 a year or eliminated.

In other words, the airport could function and be well-served for about $400,000 for these three functions instead of $800,000, and there would be a proportionate savings on benefits.

The bottom line is that about $500,000 per year in salaries and benefits is being wasted.

In my previous letter to the editor I suggested three ways to address this situation:

1. Board action.

2. Legislative changes by the legislative delegation.

3. Seek an opinion from the S.C. Attorney General on possible conflicts of interest and dual office holding by board members.

All of these remedies are still available, but I have an additional suggestion. The entire legislative delegation is up for reelection this year with party primaries set for June 9.

Candidates should be asked whether they support what happened at the airport and, if not, what they would do if elected to address these issues.

I strongly encourage voters to ask these questions, carefully consider the answers and vote accordingly.

HENRY FISHBURNE

Waterfront Plantation Drive

Charleston

Salute to nurses

Once again, nurses are called upon to excel in dire circumstances. They are truly earthly angels.

When Japanese troops invaded the Philippines in 1941, nurses were eventually captured there and put into a prison camp along with U.S. troops. They were there until liberated three years later. Even in that camp, nurses excelled in doing what they do best.

Now, nurses nationwide are working in stressful and dangerous times. Many thanks to these nurses from a heartfelt nation.

BETTY L. WILLIAMS

Dennis Avenue

Moncks Corner

Voters need answers

With primary day just 20 days away, I find it hard to believe none of the Republican candidates for the 1st Congressional District has seen fit to post their positions on Vote411.com.

As a former political candidate, albeit not a winning one, I found this forum to be very helpful in the exchange of ideas.

I sincerely hope these candidates avail themselves of this opportunity and dont ask the voters to believe the PR we will receive in the mail and on TV.

Also, it might behoove U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham to respond, as his three opponents have.

JOHN W. MATTHEWS

Legends Club Drive

Mount Pleasant

Good job, mayor

My friends and I and acquaintances would like to thank Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg for the wise way the citys stay-at-home order has been handled, and the deference the mayor has shown to the medical community.

People have been self-distancing and many have been wearing masks when in public facilities. This has enabled essential businesses to continue to operate.

We hope that this caution will continue and people will think of others as we navigate our way through this ongoing ordeal.

Once again, thanks to Mayor Tecklenburgs outstanding leadership, Charleston can be hailed as a model city for others to emulate.

PEG EASTMAN

Harleston Place

Charleston

Editors note: This letter also was signed by Charleston residents Molly Thompson, King Street; Catherine Jones, Montagu Street; and Richard Donohoe, King Street.

Classes too large

Molly Spearman, state schools superintendent, said in the May 13 board meeting that we might not be organizing schools on an alternative schedule in the fall.

She said that we should just have all the students face forward and sit as far apart as possible. This is without reduced class sizes. With many classes having 30-plus students, just staying far apart is not feasible.

RENEE SULLIVAN

Trinity Place

Ladson
It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Net Gaming Europe AB (publ) (STO:NETG), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

Do Insider Transactions Matter?

Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock in the company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. As Peter Lynch said, 'insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

See our latest analysis for Net Gaming Europe

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Net Gaming Europe

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by insider Marcus Teilman for kr1m worth of shares, at about kr4.34 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of kr3.05. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

In the last twelve months Net Gaming Europe insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Story continues

OM:NETG Recent Insider Trading May 20th 2020

Net Gaming Europe is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insiders at Net Gaming Europe Have Bought Stock Recently

We saw some Net Gaming Europe insider buying shares in the last three months. Head of M&A and Business Development Christian Kafling shelled out kr228k for shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. However, in this case the amount invested recently is quite small.

Does Net Gaming Europe Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. From looking at our data, insiders own kr6.2m worth of Net Gaming Europe stock, about 2.9% of the company. We do note, however, it is possible insiders have an indirect interest through a private company or other corporate structure. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Net Gaming Europe Insiders?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. While the overall levels of insider ownership are below what we'd like to see, the history of transactions imply that Net Gaming Europe insiders are reasonably well aligned, and optimistic for the future. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. You'd be interested to know, that we found 3 warning signs for Net Gaming Europe and we suggest you have a look.

Of course Net Gaming Europe may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
The discussions between this countrys prime minister and the US ambassador are troubling. It would appear that our Government approached the matter as a supplicant, asking for forgiveness for having done some wrong. It would be interesting to find out where the discussions were held.
Sometimes proteins misfold. When that happens in the human brain, the pileup of misfolded proteins can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

Proteins do not misbehave and misfold out of the blue. There is a delicate ecosystem of biochemical interactions and environments that usually let them twist, unfold, refold and do their jobs as they're meant to.

However, as researchers from Michigan Technological University explore in an article published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience, even a small change may cause long-term consequences.

For amyloid beta peptides -- considered a major hallmark of Alzheimer's disease -- a common chemical modification at a particular location on the molecule has a butterfly effect that leads to protein misfolding, aggregation and cellular toxicity.

Ashutosh Tiwari, associate professor of chemistry at Michigan Tech, explains that misfolded amyloid beta proteins tend to pile up and form aggregates, which can form stringy fibrils or balled-up amorphous shapes.

To understand what causes the different shapes and to assess their toxicity, Tiwari's team looked at acetylation.

advertisement

Acetylation is one of the most common chemical modifications proteins undergo, but one of the least researched in terms of how it affects amyloid beta toxicity. On amyloid beta proteins, acetylation can occur at two sites: lysine 16 and lysine 28.

The team found that acetylation at lysine 16 led to the disordered aggregates that formed sticky but flexible amorphous structures and showed high levels of toxicity. They also found the aggregates showed higher free radical formation.

"No one has done a systematic study to show if you acetylate amyloid beta it changes how the aggregate looks, then it changes its biophysical properties and hence toxicity," Tiwari said. "What we're saying is that the shape, stickiness and flexibility of the aggregated protein structure can play a vital role in the cellular toxicity and may also affect the mechanism of toxicity."

In Alzheimer's, these aggregates accumulate in the part of the brain that affects memory. It's a disease that the Alzheimer's Organization reports is the sixth leading cause of death in the US and will cost the nation about $305 billion in 2020. Tiwari says what we truly need to understand about the disease is that there is no single cause, no single trigger, and probably no silver bullet because of the chemistry involved.

"This is how a subtle change on a single position can affect a whole protein's aggregation," Tiwari said, adding that the effect of acetylation on tau, another protein aggregation, has been far more studied than amyloid beta. Also, many researchers still think a misfolded protein has to look a certain way to become problematic, and that other misfolded forms are less of an issue.

Tiwari agrees some of the proteins' changes are subtle, and compares discerning the differences and their effects to snow tires. Snow tires have deeper treads and a more flexible material to handle winter roads, but it's hard to point out those features at highway speeds. Like different kinds of tires, protein shapes can appear indistinguishable at a distance.

"This is not something that can be viewed from afar -- it's a touch-and-feel property," Tiwari said. "We have to interrogate these properties. We have to look at these structures more deeply from both morphology and biophysical perspectives."

When we do, we may better understand the complexity of the misfolded proteins and amyloid beta toxicity that can cause neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
Mumbai, May 20 : Actress-environmentalist Juhi Chawla has come forward to help farmers during the ongoing lockdown.

She has a family farmland on the outskirts of Mumbai where a team of experts practice organic farming. Juhi has now opened it for landless farmers to grow rice this season.

"Since we're in a lockdown, I've decided to give our land to landless farmers to farm on. We're letting them farm rice this season and in return take a small portion of the produce for themselves," she said.

"It's not a new practice. It's just going back to the past to the way farming was done decades ago, but then isn't that the wiser way? Our farmers know the land, soil, wind and air far better than we city people ever will from our text book knowledge," she added.

Juhi has asked her people to keep a close watch on the "quality of rice they sow and that they are to use only organic methods. No chemical must come onto the farm".

She is happy with the special arrangement.

"This is a win-win situation for everyone, for our farmers and for us. We work smarter this way and not harder. This lockdown has put good sense into my head," said Juhi.
Bay of Plenty

We are looking for a storeman with an OSH forklift license. You will need to be physically for as the job is about 70% forklift...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
On Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he feels confident that the city could begin to reopen in a few weeks.

You cant guarantee anything in life, but if youre watching the trend lines  both on our city indicators and the state indicators, both will align in the first half of June, the mayor said during a press conference Monday.

As of May 18, the city had met four of the states seven requirements to begin reopening, such as 14-day decreases in hospitalizations and deaths. It met the fourth criteria on Monday, when new hospitalizations fell under 2 per 100,000 residents. However, it still has three other metrics it needs to meet before it can begin to lift the stay-at-home restrictions. De Blasio has said that the city is making progress and will err on the side of caution.

The citys eventual reopening will ultimately be up to the citys Regional Control Room, which is in charge of deciding when it is safe for the region to reopen and when it should close if a new outbreak occurs.

Weve answered your most pressing questions about the citys reopening, so you know what to expect.

When will New York City reopen?

According to de Blasio, the city will most likely meet all seven metrics needed to reopen in the first half of June.

On May 14, Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the end of the states stay-at-home order for the city and its surrounding suburbs from May 15 to June 13. De Blasio is likely hoping to meet the criteria by that date.

What are the reopening criteria?

The state has seven metrics that must be met before a region may enter into the first phase of reopening:

A decrease in hospitalizations over a 14-day period, or under 15 new hospitalizations over an average of three days.

A decrease in deaths over a 14-day period, or fewer than five deaths over an average of three days.

At least 30% of hospital beds available within the region.

At least 30% intensive care unit beds available within the region.

A decline in new hospitalizations, under 2 per 100,000 residents over a rolling three-day period.

The capacity to run 30 COVID-19 tests per 1,000 residents.

30 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents.

So far, the city has seen a decrease in hospitalizations and deaths, reached the testing capacity required by the state and has seen a decline in new hospitalizations.

What will and wont reopen?

If the city is approved to reopen in June, it will enter phase one of the states reopening plan, which will allow construction, manufacturing and wholesale supply chain companies to resume their operations. Retail stores may also reopen for curbside pickup.

But dont expect much more to change beyond that, as de Blasio said on Monday, city residents should get used to working from home.

Who is a part of the citys Regional Control Room?

The citys regional control group, which will determine when the city can begin to reopen, is being led by Secretary of State Rossana Rosado.

The other committee members are de Blasio, Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo.
The Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), YEFL-Ghana and their Danish partner, Ghana Friends have donated some Personal Protective Equipment and essential materials worth close to GHC70,000 to the health facilities within their five operational districts. This forms part of their contributions towards the fight against the spread of the deadly Coronavirus.

With support from the Empowerment for Life (E4L) Programme, the partners presented Hand Sanitizers (200ml) 1000, Examination Gloves 5000, Hand Sanitizer (Gallon- 5liters) 30, Liquid Soap (Gallon - 5liters) 100, Veronica Buckets 125 and Surgical Nose Mask 1,750.

Presenting the items separately to the various district health directorates, Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Jabaru, Programme Manager of the Empowerment for Life (E4L) Programme reaffirmed the commitment of the GDCA and its partners to support the local communities especially in this COVID-19 period.

He revealed that the partners would in the coming days, support the district offices of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and Information Service Department (ISD) in the Saboba, Karaga, Kumbungu, Mion Districts and Savelugu Municipality with resources to carry out community sensitization on the disease.

Mr. Abdul-Jabaru also revealed that a similar gesture would be extended to the Ghana Health Service to intensify their community outreach programmes and the periodic meetings of Covid-19 Emergency Response Committees in the above-mentioned districts.

The organisations he noted would soon make another donation to the Northern Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Service through the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The E4L program will also fund the meetings of the district COVID-19 response team/committee bi-weekly for May and June. This is meant to support the district COVID-19 response team to meet regularly to address COVID-19 emergency issues and implement their action plans.

The program will rely on the expertise of the District Health Directorate, Information Services Department (ISD) and National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in enhancing the awareness creation among the communities and groups the program works with.

Meanwhile, the E4L Program is funded by Civil Society In Development through Ghana Friends, both in Denmark.
Vietnams lawmaking National Assembly commenced its first-ever online session on Wednesday morning against the backdrop of the ongoing novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The ninth session of the 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA) is scheduled to take place from May 20 to June 18.

The session will be divided into two phases, with the first organized as a teleconference from May 20 to 29.

Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Hanoi-based delegates will attend the session at the NA Building in the capital.

Other NA members in other provinces and cities in the country will tune in from their respective local offices.

The second phase, which runs from June 8 to 18, will be held traditionally as all deputies across the country are required to show up at the NA Building in Hanoi.

Following the opening speech of Chairwoman Ngan, the legislators listened to the governments reports on the countrys socio-economic development.

Delegates are set to spend most of the first day considering the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

They will spend more than half of the working time on lawmaking, including voting on ten draft laws and discussing six others.

During the ninth session, the NA will also consider and make decisions on some socio-economic and state budget issues.

Notably, the question-and-answer section will not be organized during the live meeting as usual. Instead, NA deputies will send their written queries to ministers and other government members.

Regarding personnel work, the NA is expected to carry out procedures to relieve Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue of his post as he has been assigned a new job as Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee.

Nguyen Thanh Hai will also be officially relieved of her post as member of the NA Standing Committee to start her duty as Secretary of the Party Committee in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Google has pledged to stop building customized artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help oil and gas firms to extract fossil fuels worldwide.

The story was reported by Medium's tech publication, OneZero, following an interview with The Cube that was published on YouTube.

A Greenpeace report on Tuesday highlighted how Google, Microsoft, and Amazon use AI and warehouse servers to help the likes of Shell, BP, and ExxonMobil to locate and retrieve oil and gas deposits from the earth.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that the company "will not ... build custom AI/ML algorithms to facilitate upstream extraction in the oil and gas industry."

Google Cloud took approximately $65 million from oil and gas companies in 2019, the spokesperson said, adding that it accounts for less than 1% of total Google Cloud revenues. Given Google Cloud's relatively small slice of the oil and gas market, it wasn't a huge stretch for the company to vow not to compete on AI/ML.

In total, the oil and gas sector is expected to spend $1.3 billion on cloud computing in 2020, according to data from HG Insights. "Google Cloud is only a small percentage of this aggregate spend," said the Google spokesperson.

Greenpeace applauded Google's decision. "While Google still has legacy contracts with oil and gas firms that we hope they will terminate, we welcome Google's move to no longer create custom solutions for upstream oil and gas extraction," said Elizabeth Jardim, senior corporate campaigner for Greenpeace USA.

"We hope Microsoft and Amazon will quickly follow with commitments to end AI partnerships with oil and gas firms, as these contracts contradict their stated climate goals and accelerate the climate crisis."

Google has a reputation for being one of the greenest large tech firms in the world. Unlike other tech giants, it has been carbon neutral since 2007 by using strategies like buying renewable energy to match its use of non-renewable energy.

Amazon has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2040, while Microsoft has pledged to be carbon negative by 2030.

"Despite the biggest cloud companies' commitments to address climate change, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon all have connections to some of the world's dirtiest oil companies for the explicit purpose of getting more oil and gas out of the ground and onto the market faster and cheaper," the Greenpeace report reads.

The Greenpeace report  titled "How Tech Companies are Helping Big Oil Profit from Climate Destruction"  calls out Microsoft as the tech giant with the most oil and gas contracts, claiming that it is "offering AI capabilities in all phases of oil production."

Microsoft responded to the report in a blog post that said it was encouraged by the growing number of energy sector commitments to transitioning to cleaner energy and lowering carbon emissions.

"We agree that the world confronts an urgent carbon problem and we all must do more and move faster to reach a net zero-carbon future," Microsoft wrote in the post.

"The reality is that the world's energy currently comes from fossil fuels and, as standards of living around the world improve, the world will require even more energy. That makes realizing a zero-carbon future one of the most complex transitions in human history."


Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents





advertisements



Before SpaceX can 'capture the flag,' an astronaut had to find it



May 20, 2020  It might be the most high-profile, if not also the highest game of "capture the flag" ever played, but unbeknownst to many, the flag waiting to be captured by SpaceX's soon-to-be-launched first astronaut crew was briefly lost in space.



Soon after NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley arrive on board the International Space Station later this month, they will claim a small American flag as a symbol of their success. The stars and stripes banner, which was left on the orbiting laboratory by the crew of NASA's final space shuttle mission in 2011, will be SpaceX's prize for becoming the first U.S. commercial company to launch U.S. astronauts on a U.S. rocket from U.S. soil in nearly a decade.



"The plan always was, or we thought it would be back in 2011, that the first U.S. vehicle to launch from Florida and come to the International Space Station would grab that flag that flew both on STS-1 and STS-135, the first and last flights of the shuttle program," said Hurley, who was the shuttle's last pilot and is now the spacecraft commander on SpaceX's Demo-2 test flight of its new Dragon capsule.



"I think we will probably grab it from Chris [Cassidy, the space station's current commander] and put it in a safe place while we do our work on the space station. Then we'll bring it back when we come back later this summer," Hurley said at a pre-flight press conference on May 1.



Hurley and his STS-135 crewmates probably thought much the same thing, at least in regards to putting the flag in a safe place, when it was affixed to the hatch leading out to the space shuttle's  and now Dragon's  docking port nine years ago. It didn't take long, though, for that flag to migrate and ultimately, go missing.



From hatch to hallway to...



Launched in secret, the first time that the 8-by-12-inch (20-by-30.5 centimeter) American flag was seen in space was on July 15, 2011, during a call between the combined space station and STS-135 crews and then-President Barack Obama.



"I understand it will be kind of like a capture-the-flag moment for commercial spaceflight," said Obama. "So good luck to whoever grabs that flag."



In addition to SpaceX, NASA also contracted with Boeing to launch its astronauts to the space station. Although NASA refrained from billing it as a formal race, it was not known until earlier this year which company would launch a crew first and capture the flag.



Three days after Obama's call, as the shuttle's crew was getting ready to depart for Earth, the astronauts hung the small American flag on the forward-facing hatch in the space station's Harmony node, positioned between STS-1 and STS-135 mission patches.



And there the flag stayed, or at least was thought to stay, for what was then expected to be just a few years until a new vehicle would arrive. Budget cuts and technical setbacks, however, delayed NASA's commercial crew program and with it SpaceX's and Boeing's efforts to begin launching astronauts.



As the years passed, the flag apparently began to drift. There are only a few publicly-released photos that capture the flag, but by May 2014, it could be seen in a clear plastic bag hanging on a wall adjacent to the hatchway where it had been.



The search begins



"I don't know the reason why it was moved off the hatch, but we're constantly using and reusing every area," NASA astronaut Scott Tingle, who was on the space station for 168 days from December 2017 to June 2018, told collectSPACE in a recent interview. "We're constantly moving [science and equipment] racks. We're pulling racks out and moving them into different modules and eventually you have to take everything down to be able to make those adjustments."



"It's impossible to put something up in one spot and expect that it's going to be there, even just a couple of months later," he said.



Sometime in late 2014 or early 2015, the space station's flight controllers must have realized this as well and called up instructions for then-crew member Butch Wilmore to put the flag into one of the many crew transfer bags (CTBs) that was used to hold supplies.



Flash forward three years.



Not only was Wilmore back on Earth, but 40 or so other astronauts and cosmonauts had cycled through the space station by early 2018. Tingle was now on board when a call came from the ground.



"We got a message from one of our astronauts mentioning that in preparation for commercial crew that they wanted to make sure that we still had the flag and could I go and find it?" he recalled. (Unbeknownst to Tingle at the time, the request had been triggered by a media inquiry from The Planetary Society about the status of the flag.)



But just like the flag during its first few years on the station, its CTB had also gone missing.



"We looked and looked and looked," said Tingle. "I talked to my fellow astronauts that were on board the ISS and everybody had a little bit of a different memory on where it could be or where it might be. So we spent probably three or four weeks just kind of scouring in our spare time, trying to find it."



NASA has a system and a team on the ground devoted to tracking items on the space station. Items are given barcodes and there are label makers for the crew's use. But with multiple areas devoted to storage and cargo coming and going on a regular basis, an item like a flag  even a historically- and symbolically-important flag  can slip out of sight.



"It's just the sheer volume of work that makes it impossible to track every single little detail that goes on up there," said Tingle.



The right stuff



The flag Tingle and his crewmates were seeking  the flag that Behnken and Hurley ultimately will capture  was one of only 1,000 American flags of its size that flew on the first space shuttle mission and was the only such example left aboard the space station by the final shuttle crew. But it was not the only American flag on the space station in 2018.



In the course of the search, multiple flags were found. But was it the right flag?



"At one point, we ended up thinking that we just couldn't find it or maybe it mistakenly just got sent back home or thrown out or something," said Tingle. "So we ended up calling the person who last saw it and that was Butch Wilmore when he was up on the station."



"He told me exactly what kind of CTB it was in and what some of the other things that were in there with it," Tingle told collectSPACE, explaining how he identified the correct flag.



After weeks of searching, Tingle found the American flag in a transfer bag buried behind other bags at the edge of Unity, another of the station's connecting nodes.



"Miraculously it was in the CTB that Butch mentioned. It was about, I don't know, a couple of meters away from where he originally left it," Tingle described.



The flag was now just a little worse for the wear. It had gained some creases from being folded up in the CTB.



"To me, it just adds character, because that's what human spaceflight is all about," said Tingle.



The flag's discovery came near the end of Tingle's stay on the space station and within a few weeks of his departure in early June 2018, the flag found a new semi-permanent home to the left of the hatchway leading from the U.S. Destiny lab into the Unity node.



Wrapped in a plastic bag, the flag is now labeled, "Flown on STS-1 & STS-135" and "Only to be removed by crew launching from KSC [Kennedy Space Center]."



Star-spangled banner yet wave



The history of U.S. space exploration is rich with symbolic American flags. The first U.S. astronaut to fly into space carried a large U.S. flag on his historic 15-minute spaceflight. Twelve Apollo astronauts left six American flags on the moon. And the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars was emblazoned with the red, white and blue star-spangled banner.



For Tingle, the American flag now waiting to be captured on the space station is symbolic of a new chapter in U.S. space history.



"It means we're back," he said. "The last 10 years has been pretty hard. We have relied on our international partners. We have trained to facilitate that. We've made a lot of sacrifice to keep our space program up and running while we're developing new vehicles."



"Capturing that flag is an effort that has been an effort like no other," said Tingle. "We're back."



An American flag flown on the first and last space shuttle missions awaits the arrival of the first U.S. commercial crew to launch to the International Space Station. The small flag went missing for a time during its nine years aboard the orbiting laboratory. (NASA)





The combined crews of STS-135 and Expedition 28 pose with the STS-1 flag on the International Space Station in July 2011. The STS-135 crew included NASA astronauts Chris Ferguson, Doug Hurley, Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim; the ISS Expedition 28 crewmembers were JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, NASA astronauts Ron Garan and Mike Fossum and cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko, Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov. (NASA)





NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (at left) and Doug Hurley are set to launch aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft on the first U.S. rocket to launch into orbit from U.S. soil in nearly a decade. (SpaceX)





The STS-1 and STS-135 American flag was originally affixed to the forward-facing hatch in the space station's Harmony node. (NASA)





Butch Wilmore with an open crew transfer bag (CTB) in the Unity node aboard the International Space Station in 2014. Wilmore put the American flag in a CTB at Mission Control's direction. (NASA)





Scott Tingle, seen inside a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, found the lost American flag that SpaceX's first astronaut crew will soon claim. (NASA)





The STS-1 and STS-135 flown American flag as seen on space shuttle Atlantis when it arrived at the International Space Station in 2011. (NASA)



 2022 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.
ROME (AP)  As nations around the world loosen coronavirus restrictions, people are discovering that the new normal is anything but.

Yet some realities have emerged: schools, offices, public transport, bars and restaurants are now on the front lines of post-lockdown life.

How each of those key sectors manages social distancing and tamps down on expected new outbreaks will determine the shape of daily life for millions as researchers race to develop a vaccine that is still likely months, if not years, away from being available to all.

What a return to normal looks like varies widely. For hungry migrant workers in India, it was finally being able to catch trains back to their home villages to farm while city jobs dried up. For cruise ship workers stranded at sea for months, it was finally reaching shore in Croatia. For wealthy shoppers in Maseratis and Rolls-Royces, it was returning to the newly reopened boutiques of Americas iconic Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.

Live coronavirus tracker

Coronavirus news in the U.S.

Wearing a face mask can reduce coronavirus transmission by up to 75 percent, study says (Fox News)

Weve been muzzled: CDC sources say White House putting politics ahead of science (CNN)

Timberwolves, Mayo Clinic to lead leaguewide coronavirus study (ESPN)

As states reopen, contact tracing efforts hobbled by obstacles (NBC News)

U.S. extends stringent border restrictions indefinitely, citing ongoing coronavirus threat (CBS)

Coronavirus news around the globe

Senior students wait for class to begin with plastic boards placed on their desks at Jeonmin High School in Daejeon, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. South Korean students began returning to schools Wednesday as their country prepares for a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Kim Jun-beom/Yonhap via AP)AP

Coronavirus in Africa: Contained or unrecorded? (BBC)

China stocks up food and oil supplies as coronavirus spurs fears about shortages (CNBC)

How coronavirus pushed Germany to shift its E.U. course (New York Times)

Rolls-Royce to cut 9,000 jobs amid virus crisis (BBC)

South Korean high school seniors return to school (AP)

India and Bangladeshs cyclone evacuations complicated by coronavirus (CNN)

Latest local coronavirus news

United Airlines partners with Cleveland Clinic, Clorox, to boost air travel safety, cleanliness (cleveland.com)

Cedar Point to give 10 coronavirus heroes lifetime tickets (Detroit Free Press)

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage.
Around half of Chile's 50-member senate and four ministers have been placed in quarantine after coming into contact with at least three colleagues infected with the novel coronavirus, officials said Monday, as jobless protesters in a poor area of Santiago clashed with police to demand food aid. Finance Minister Ignacio Briones and Chief of Staff Felipe Ward both wrote on Twitter that they had tested negative for the virus but were in quarantine until a second test is conducted. Briones said he was tested on Friday, due to his "regular contact with" infected senator Jorge Pizarro on the Senate finance committee, and has since begun "preventative quarantine." The ministers of the interior and social development are also in isolation. At the end of last week, around 20 legislators began isolation after meeting with Pizarro and another infected senator. Last Wednesday, Chile recorded a 60 percent spike in daily coronavirus cases despite a month and a half of preventative measures, including a selective lockdown. Last week, the government imposed a total lockdown on the capital Santiago, which has recorded more than 80 percent of the country's 46,000 cases. There had also been 478 deaths as of Monday. Violence broke out Monday in El Bosque, a crowded, poor area on the outskirts of Santiago, as angry people wielding sticks erected barricades and threw rocks at riot police, who fought back with tear gas and water cannon. "It is not because of the quarantine. It is aid, food, what people are asking for right now," Veronica Abarca, who lives in El Bosque, told AFP. The protests came one day after the government of President Sebastian Pinera said it would distribute 2.5 million packages of food to the poorest people in Chile. Last month, the government said it would hand out vouchers worth around $300 each to some 4.5 million low-income people, but the money was never distributed. Demonstrators clash with riot police during a protest against Chilean President Sebastian Pinera's government amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Santiago
Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education has urged the citizenry to religiously observe the safety protocols instituted against the COVID-19 disease to minimize its spread and safe lives.



This is because: Nobody is immune from the COVID-19 disease. he said.



He indicated: The COVID-19 is no respecter of persons, and you can catch it no matter your status or where you live adding, The only way we can deal with it is to observe the protocols prescribed by the World Health Organisation, and the government.



He was speaking during a community sensitization exercise on the disease at Zuozugu community in the Tamale Metropolis to create awareness amongst the residents on the disease and urge them to remain safe and avoid the spread of the disease.



Messages on the disease such as how it is transmitted, symptoms and safety protocols including regular handwashing with soap under running water, avoiding crowds or keeping social distance, and eating nutritious foods were broadcast to the residents through the use of a mobile van.



Face masks were also distributed to some of the residents to keep them safe from contracting the virus.



The sensitisation exercise was organised by the SOS Childrens Villages, Ghana in Tamale, a social development organisation with a strong emphasis on child welfare, as part of its 100 Children go to school project.



Under the project, 200 children at the Zuozugu community are supported with educational and health materials, and their families capacities are also built through training and financial support to strengthen them to take good care of the children.



It is believed that some of the residents do not think COVID-19 exists whilst others also hold some myths about the disease such as it is a white mans disease, you will not get the disease when you take hot water, or shea butter or the rains will wash it away hence, the sensitisation.



By May 19, the countrys COVID-19 case count had reached 6,096 with 1,773.



Alhaji Razak Saani emphasised that COVID-19 is real, it is with us and it is going to be with us for quite some time. Let us avoid situations that will predispose us to contract the disease.



He appealed to them to ensure hygiene practices, especially amongst their children by helping them to wash their hands thoroughly before eating and after playing.



Madam Benedicta Pealore, Programme Director of SOS Childrens Villages, Ghana in Tamale, said the organization was committed to sustaining its investment in the community, hence, the need for community members to remain safe during this era of COVID-19, So that we can continue to transform the lives of vulnerable families in the community.



Mr Issahaku Naporo, a Resident of Zuozugu, said the sensitization would help to demystify the myths residents held about the disease such that they would strictly adhere to the safety protocols to help curb the spread of the disease.



Mr Naporo commended SOS Childrens Villages, Ghana in Tamale for undertaking the sensitization exercises earlier amongst children in the area, saying, it had helped them to get handwashing facilities such as tippy taps to regularly wash their hands.



Madam Awabu Ibrahim, also a Resident, described the sensitization exercise as a wake-up call and expressed the hope that members of the community would observe the safety protocols to keep the community safe from the disease.



The SOS Childrens Villages, Ghana, takes care of children, who have lost parental care and children, who are at risk of losing parental care.



The SOS Childrens Villages, Ghana in Tamale, which began operations in 2010, supports vulnerable families and their children at Dungu, Datoyili, Kambonaayili, Gunnayili and Zuozugu in the Tamale Metropolis and it currently has 58 caregivers, who take care of 200 children in the Zuozugu community as part of its 100 Children go to school project.



Madam Sherifa Mahamuda, Project Officer-in-charge of the 100 Children Go to School project said the SOS Family Strengthening Programme had reached out to about 2,000 children since 2010, provided educational support such as payment of school fees, provision of school uniforms, sandals, bags, text and exercise books for the children as well as built and furnished the Zuozugu Primary and Junior High School with a computer laboratory, 12 Seater KVIP and playing equipment.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Scientists, including one of Indian origin, have come up with a new approach to sharing ventilators between patients, which they believe could be used as a last resort to treat COVID-19 patients in acute respiratory distress.

The researchers, including Shriya Srinivasan from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, noted that as more COVID-19 patients experience acute respiratory distress, there has been much debate over the idea of sharing ventilators.

This involves splitting air tubes into multiple branches so that two or more patients can be connected to the same machine, said Srinivasan, lead author of the research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Several physicians' associations have discouraged this practice, saying it poses risk to patients, because of the difficulty in ensuring that each patient is receiving the right amount of air, the researchers said.

Now, a team at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital has come up with a new approach to splitting ventilators, which they believe could address many of these safety concerns.

They have demonstrated its effectiveness in laboratory tests, but they still caution it should be used only as a last resort during an emergency, when a patient's life is at stake.

"We hope this approach, which requires off-the-shelf components, can ultimately help patients in extreme need of ventilator support," said Giovanni Traverso, an MIT assistant professor.

"We recognise that ventilator sharing is not the standard of care, and interventions like this one would only be recommended as a last recourse," Traverso said.

Ventilators are machines that help people breathe by delivering oxygen through a tube placed in the mouth or the nose. Countries around the world have struggled to obtain enough ventilators to handle the Covid-19 outbreak, the researchers said.

The MIT team incorporated flow valves, one for each patient's branch, that allow them to control the amount of air that each receives.

"These flow valves allow you to personalise the flow to each patient based on their needs," Srinivasan said.

"They also ensure that if one patient either improves or deteriorates, quickly or slowly, there's a way to adapt for that," she said.

The setup also includes pressure release valves that can prevent too much air from going into one patient's lungs, as well as safety measures including alarms that go off when a patient's air intake changes, the researchers said.

To create their setup, the researchers used parts that are normally available in a hospital.

The parts could also be obtained at hardware stores and sterilised, they said.

A typical ventilator produces enough air pressure to supply six to eight patients at a time, but the research team does not recommend using one ventilator for more than two people, as the setup becomes more complicated.

The researchers first tested their setup using a ventilator to split airflow between a pig and an artificial lung -- a machine that simulates the function of the lungs.

By changing the properties of the artificial lung, they could model many of the changing conditions that might occur in patients; they also showed that the ventilator settings could be adjusted to compensate for them.

The researchers later showed that they could ventilate two animals on one ventilator and maintain the necessary airflow to both.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Queen Elizabeth has sacrificed so much during the coronavirus pandemic. She can be hardly seen complaining though. This time, her beloved tradition is cancelled, just one of the many royal events that she loved participating in that has to allow to be cancelled for the greater good.

After Trooping the Colour, Royal Ascot, the yearly Maundy Service, and the Chelsea Flower show, all of which the Queen loves to grace in, she now has to add her favorite Swan upping to the list of canceled royal events. Oh, she also has to cancel most of the traditional festivities on her birthday too.

Swan upping is a 800-years-old tradition!

But the pandemic is no joke, so this tradition has to be added to the long list of practice that the Queen has to give up on. This involves the practice of counting swans on the River Thames and it would be virtually impossible for the Royal Swan Uppers, to maintain social distancing protocols should the event continue.

The Royal Swan Uppers are those who don the scarlet uniform of the Queen and travel using traditional rowing skiffs. They are the ones who catch, weigh, as well as tag the birds. It's just not possible do all that without them coming into close contact with each other. These are very hands-on duties, so the whole event has to be cancelled; otherwise, the practice would hardly be the same practice that the Queen Elizabeth enjoyed for years.

"Although not unexpected, it is of course disappointing that members of the public and local schoolchildren will not be able to enjoy Swan Upping this year," Queen's swan marker David Barber explained in a. statement about the annual swan census being canceled.

This is a blow, considering the Queen also has to let go of some responsibilities she has been used to doing.

Meanwhile, the queen's staff are all feeling stressed about the budget cuts happening and can continue to happen at the palace. Not only should the Queen limit herself on the events that can be held this year, she has to also limit the aid she can get.

The Palace is not immune to the economic downturn happening in the UK and the rest of the world due to the health crisis with economic implications.

According to the Sun, the head of the royal household, Lord Chamberlain Earl William Peel already sent an email to his staff about the uncertain times that they are all facing, especially financially. In his email, he estimated that tourism revenues will be down by around 35% over 2020.

Normally, the Buckingham Palace opens to the public when the queen spends her summer at the Balmoral, but this will be closed this year, as many of the attractions in the household. This can have an impact on the palace's coffers as well.

"The crisis has already tested our resilience, adaptability and preparedness in many ways and at all levels across the organization. It has also had a significant impact on the activities of the whole Royal Household," he wrote in the email, which the Sun was able to gather.

He added that although the UK is already over the peak of the infections, social distancing will continue indefinitely until such time that it is already 100% safe to stop it. " We must therefore assume it could still be many weeks, if not months, before we are able to return to business as usual," he added.

READ MORE: Prince Harry Despair: Princess Diana Netflix Diary Can Push Him to the Edge
Gurugram, May 20 : Hundreds of residents of a village on the Delhi-Gurugram border pelted police with stones after the latter denied them entry into the Haryana city. There was no report of any injury on both sides.

The incident took place on the Palam Vihar border connected to Bijwasan in Delhi.

According to a district official, residents of Salahpur Khera village adjoining the Gurugram border tried to enter Gurugram forcibly even though the border was sealed on the direction of the Gurugram District Magistrate.

As nearly 1,000 villagers who had gathered at the spot were stopped from moving into Gurugram around 9am, it led to a fracas between the two sides, following which the villagers threw stones at police.

"Keeping in view the stone-pelting incident, we have deployed additional police to tackle the situation," said Gurugram Police PRO Subhash Bokan.

After the Delhi government allowed shops to reopen subject to certain conditions, residents on both sides of the Delhi-Gurugram border move between the two cities for trade and other jobs. They have demanded smooth passage on the inter-state border.

The Gurugram authorities have claimed that number of coronavirus-infected persons in the district had increased due to people moving in from Delhi.

Gurugram has so far reported 220 positive cases, including 102 active and admitted in different hospitals.
After a recent and dramatic spike saw the number of cases of Covid-19 in county Longford increase by 104 in just three days, it seems Longford is back to its average daily increase of just two or three new cases per day.

At the time of going to print, Longford had confirmed a total of 279 cases of coronavirus, a jump of just 10 cases since the same time last week.

Those figures come as the country enters its five-phase roadmap to reopening the country. Some Longford businesses have already opened as part of the first phase with strict social distancing guidelines.

Nationally, since the virus arrived in Ireland, there were 24,200 confirmed cases in Ireland at the time of going to print yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. Of those, at total of 19,470 have recovered and 1,547 have sadly passed away.

Currently, there are 3,183 active cases across Ireland, and the daily increase and number of deaths has dropped considerably over the past few weeks.
Donald Trump defended his use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug that federal agencies have said has not yet proven itself as a counter to coronavirus, saying he uses it as a "line of defence" because he interacts with many people each day.

"Look how many people are around this table," he said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.

"It doesn't seem to have any effect on me," Mr Truimp told reporters.

Without elaborating, the president cited "studies" conducted in Italy and France he claims found the anti-malaria drug is an effective counter to Covid-19.

Mr Trump said he started taking the medication because "a young man close to me" contracted the virus, appearing to cite a military valet who tested positive recently. He also noted Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, also tested positive. She is married to one of his top policy advisers, Stephen Miller.

He defended himself minutes after another flare up with CBS reporter Paula Reed.

She asked when he took question at the end of the event: "You're overseeing historic economic despair. What's the delay, where's the plan [to safely reopen the country]?"

He replied: "I think we've announced a plan. We're opening up our country. Just a rude person, you are."

It was merely the latest time the two have tangled during press conferences and the impromptu gaggles he often holds with reporters since the Covid-19 outbreak.

A handful of female White House reporters seem to get under his skin  though he sometimes lashes out at male reporters, too.
WASHINGTON : The Senate approved by unanimous consent legislation that could bar some Chinese companies from being listed on US stock exchanges amid increasingly tense relations between the worlds two largest economies.

The bill, introduced by Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, and Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland, would require companies to certify that they are not under the control of a foreign government.

If the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is not able to audit the company for three consecutive years to determine that it is not under the control of a foreign government, the companys securities would be banned from the exchange.

I do not want to get into a new Cold War," Kennedy said on the Senate floor, adding that he wants China to play by the rules."

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.
ALBANY  Antibody testing has confirmed that the highest rate of COVID-19 infections are occurring in minority neighborhoods and public housing complexes in New York City, prompting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday to ask local governments across the state to intensify their testing and anti-spread efforts in those communities.

In one community in the Bronx, the rate of infection was more than 43 percent, or more than twice New York City's 20 percent infection rate. The study, which so far has returned 8,000 antibody tests, was conducted by Northwell Health at multiple New York City churches.

"The data shows not just a high positive  but the spread is continuing in those communities, and thats where the new spread is coming," Cuomo said. "We have the data, we have the research and now we have to take the next step.  Were going to focus on public housing."

The governor said that higher rate of infections  as well as hospitalizations and deaths  in those communities is a consequence of fewer people wearing personal protective equipment, including masks, and the tight quarters found in public housing complexes.

"How do you socially distance in an elevator in a public housing complex ... (or) in a small playground that is attached to public housing?" Cuomo said.

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

Statewide, there were 112 reported deaths associated with COVID-19 on statewide on Tuesday, including 30 in nursing homes.

An interfaith advisory council is providing guidance to the state on the resumption of religious gatherings, but the state will allow ceremonies of no more than 10 people to begin Thursday. Cuomo said drive-in and parking lot ceremonies are being recommended where appropriate, but that caution is necessary because an early outbreak in New Rochelle, which quickly became the nation's hotspot in March, was attributed to an infected person who became a "super spreader" and infected many people.

"I think that even at this time of stress, and when people are so anxious and so confused, I think those religious ceremonies can be very comforting," Cuomo said.
The claim: HEROES Act would grant workers in the U.S. illegally amnesty

Democrats introduced the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, known as the HEROES Act, on May 12. The $3 trillion bill proposes increasing unemployment aid, food stamps and small business emergency grants through the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downfall that has followed.

Many Republicans said the bill came too soon after the $2.4 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and would unnecessarily add to the national debt.

The bill, which narrowly passed in the House on May 15, is likely to fail in the Senate. President Donald Trump said May 13 that the HEROES Act was dead on arrival.

Groups seeking tighter immigration restrictions have criticized the HEROES Act for its Title XII, which includes temporary immigration measures.

The bill would allow workers who are in the country illegally and working in jobs the local government deems essential critical infrastructure to pursue protections that expire 90 days after the public health emergency terminates.

NumbersUSA, a nonprofit research and education foundation that advocates for lower immigration levels, published an article titled House Passes Legislation to Grant Amnesty & Stimulus Checks to Illegal Aliens on May 16.

House Democrats' prioritizing of foreign workers, legal and illegal, over unemployed and underemployed Americans in the middle of a crisis is shameful, NumbersUSA president and founder Roy Beck said in a statement. Instead of focusing on helping 33 million unemployed Americans get back to work, the so-called Heroes Act uses the COVID-19 pandemic to give amnesty  and cash payments  to illegal aliens working in the United States."

NumbersUSA's use of the term "amnesty" in the article is misleading. The HEROES Act would only temporarily protect certain immigrant workers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks out of the chamber of the House of Representatives after the debate on the additional $484 billion dollar relief package amid the coronavirus pandemic.

HEROES Act temporarily protects essential workers

Story continues

The HEROES Act would protect workers in the U.S. illegally in industries local government deemed essential critical infrastructure and their employers. These workers would be shielded from deportation and eligible for federal stimulus funds, for which they are ineligible under the coronavirus relief package.

The bill's protections, which would expire 90 days after the public health emergency ends, would be available only for essential workers who are already in the USA, though illegally.

The bill defines essential critical infrastructure labor or services" based on the Department of Homeland Securitys April 17 memo: The industries they support represent, but are not limited to, medical and healthcare, telecommunications, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater, law enforcement, and public works.

The DHS memo is intended as guidance to help jurisdictions decide which industries must continue operating to ensure critical functions in their localities.

Defining 'amnesty'

NumbersUSA Deputy Director Chris Chmielenski told USA TODAY that NumbersUSA is aware that its use of "amnesty" differs from other definitions.

"While many tend to define amnesty as providing a path to citizenship, NumbersUSA defines amnesty as allowing individuals who are illegally present to stay and work in the U.S.," Chmielenski said. "Since most people come to the country illegally to work in the first place, authorizing them to work is a reward for their illegal presence."

Chmielenski said NumbersUSA considers the HEROES Act policy amnesty even though it is only temporary.

"The HEROES Act authorizes individuals illegally present and working in certain occupations to stay and work for a period of time, therefore we consider it an amnesty," he said.

Its website further states its definition of amnesty: "NumbersUSA defines any attempt by the federal government to offer legal presence and work permits to a group of illegal aliens an amnesty."

That differs from traditional definitions of "amnesty."

Yale Law School reports Black's Law Dictionary is the most frequently used U.S. legal dictionary. It defines amnesty as "a pardon extended by the government to a group or class of persons, usually for a political offense" and "the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of persons who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted."

In its definition of "pardon," Black's looks at "pardon" versus "amnesty" and further states: "(Amnesty) denotes an act of grace, extended by the government to all persons who may come within its terms, and which obliterates the criminality of past acts done, and declares that they shall not be treated as punishable."

The Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School defines "amnesty" as a pardon for violating immigration policy that leads to permanent residency and lawful employment. "Immigration amnesty would include the government forgiving individuals for using false documentation to gain employment in the U.S. and to remain in the country, and would allow illegal immigrants or undocumented aliens to gain permanent residency in the United States," the Legal Information Institute says.

"The forgetting is total and absolute, not merely the resolution of a charge but its legal effacement," Yale Law School professor Muneer Ahmad wrote in his 2017 paper for Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

By traditional definitions, the HEROES Act does not grant amnesty because it does not allow immigrant workers here illegally to stay permanently in the country and does not pardon them from future penalties.

However, immigration politics has made amnesty a loaded word.

The Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank that supports open borders, says opponents of immigration reform have been incorrectly labeling policies "amnesties" for years.

"In common terminology, an amnesty is a general forgiveness for past offenses," the Cato Institute wrote in 2013. "Calling immigration reform amnesty brands it with a scarlet letter in the minds of many who are skeptical of reform."

Our ruling: Partly false

We rate the claim that House Resolution 6800, known as the HEROES Act, would grant amnesty to individuals in the country illegally as PARTLY FALSE because some of it was not supported by our research. In particular, It is true that the bill contains some protection for essential workers in the country illegally, but it is misleading to call that protection simply "amnesty." The HEROES Act would only temporarily grant protection to certain workers, rather than a pardon for violations, permanent residence and employment, as the NumbersUSA article suggests.

Our fact check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Bill temporarily protects essential immigrant workers
MilesTek Debuts New .242 O.D., RoHS-Compliant, Lab-Rated Cable Assemblies Many of our military and civilian customers now require products that are RoHS-compliant. These new cables are not only lab-rated, boasting a wide temperature range, but they are also RoHS and REACH-compliant," said Mark Blackwood, Product Line Manager

MilesTek, an Infinite Electronics brand and leading manufacturer and supplier of products designed to address military and avionics applications, announced today that it has introduced a new series of RoHS and REACH-compliant, lab-rated cable assemblies for use in demanding military, lab and R&D applications.

MilesTeks new lead-free, lab-rated cables feature an operating temperature range of -40C to +80C, PVC-jacketed 0.242" O.D. twinaxial cable and are available in off-the-shelf lengths of 0.3 meters. This new cable series features both 78 Ohm assemblies and 124 Ohm assemblies to address a wide range of applications.

Connector options in this series include 2 and 3 slot and lug, TRB & TRS plugs and jacks, bulkhead-style jacks, insulated and non-insulated connector options as well as versions with a blunt cut ends. Additionally, select models feature rugged bend reliefs that stand up to demanding applications.

Many of our military and civilian customers now require products that are RoHS-compliant. These new cables are not only lab-rated, boasting a wide temperature range, but they are also RoHS and REACH-compliant. Our goal is to provide our customers with a broad offering of RoHS-compliant MIL-STD-1553 products that are all in stock and available for same-day shipping, said Mark Blackwood, Product Line Manager.

MilesTek's new RoHS/REACH-compliant, lab-rated cables are in stock and available for immediate shipment.

About MilesTek:

MilesTek designs and manufactures a broad range of MIL-STD-1553B and Ethernet connectivity products to address Military Avionics, Aerospace, Industrial and government applications. In addition to a wide selection of off-the-shelf products, MilesTek can custom manufacture cable assemblies and harnesses. MilesTek is headquartered in Lewisville, Texas and is ISO-9001:2015 certified. MilesTek is an Infinite Electronics brand.

About Infinite Electronics:

Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions, serving the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Infinites brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, Aiconics, KP Performance Antennas, PolyPhaser, Transtector, RadioWaves, ShowMeCables, INC-Installs and Integra Optics. Infinite Electronics serves a global engineering customer base with deep technical expertise and support, with one of the broadest inventories of products available for immediate shipment.


Police busy in North Wales with 2500+ cars checked  including three men from Birmingham stopped in Acrefair

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

It was a busy weekend for officers, Special Constables and PCSOs throughout the North Wales force area ensuring compliance with Covid regulations.

In excess of 2500 vehicles were stopped across the area  with police saying the vast majority of these were local people with valid reasons to travel with approximately 60 defined as out of the area who were either reported for breaching COVID legislation or sent home having had suitable advice.

In Wrexham on Friday, we made one arrest for Drug driving.On Sunday, we issued four fines to the occupants of one car who were driving back to Wales after a weekend visiting family in London. They were also issued with fines for not having their two and four year old children in child car seats.

On Saturday, on the A539 at Acrefair, three men from Birmingham were reported for travelling to Wales to visit Snowdonia.

In Flintshire, one visitor from Wigan going to the Lighthouse in Talacre was advised regarding the restrictions and sent home.

In Conwy Rural and Anglesey, officers had a busy weekend engaging with motorists, and again most people had a valid reason for travel. However, vehicles from London, Manchester and Norwich received fines for breaching Covid regulations. A couple from Scotland, who were camping near Llyn Geirionedd also received summons notices.

In Denbighshire Coastal, we responded to various reports from members of the public in Kinmel Bay and Abergele, regarding possible breaches at caravan parks etc. All incidents involved key workers and we were able to reassure the community that all was in order.

T/ACC Nigel Harrison said: We will continue to adopt a proportionate response towards everyone  we always look to engage with our communities, explain the regulations, encourage people to do the right thing, and only where necessary will we need to enforce the regulations with a fine.

These results show that in the vast majority of instances, people are complying with the current restrictions. We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from the motorists that we have stopped. We thank you for your support and understanding in these exceptional times, and we continue to work hard to make north Wales as safe as possible.
My wife and I are 80 years old and have five grandchildren, all in their 20s and unmarried.

Since their births we have been saving regularly for all of them and now have a total of 150,000 to be divided equally between them.

We have left this money in our wills, but think we should divide it out now to show our love for them rather than after our funerals. What advice would you give?

J. and M. B., London.

Inheritance issue: A reader is looking for advice on giving his five grandchildren a 150,000 gift

What thoughtful grandparents you are. I am sure your grandchildren know how much you love them, even without the benefit of this gift.

I won't go into whether you can afford to give this money to them because this is clearly a long-term plan.

Tax-wise it won't make an iota of difference to them whether you make the gift now or later.

It may affect inheritance tax on your estate because if you live for seven years after making the gift then it will drop out of your estate.

If you both die sooner, then that 150,000 will be deducted from your inheritance tax nil-rate band, which is 325,000 each (a total of 650,000).

If you are property owners and your home is left to direct descendants, then you have up to 175,000 of extra residence allowance each (depending on the property's value) raising the allowance to 1 million between you.

One point to consider is whether your grandchildren would put this money to good use.

You may, for example, wish to stipulate that it is put aside as a home deposit rather than being splurged on something frivolous.

Explain to them how long you have been saving this money and how important it is to you that they use it wisely.

Also, check whether they are receiving benefits  because coming into a lump sum could have an effect on these.

On a similar issue, I'm assuming the money is in your hands rather than held in trust for your grandchildren. So if you hold on to it and both need care later in life, it could disappear into local authority coffers.

My feeling is, if you think they are ready, go ahead. You've saved this money and you should get to see them enjoy it. Don't forget to update your will or they could end up getting an extra gift.

You have YOUR say Every week Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some on our investigation into how holidaymakers are being bullied into paying thousands of pounds for trips that are unlikely to go ahead. If travel operators keep hold of customers money, then they should be regulated by the financial watchdog. These firms seem to just do whatever they want. G. D., Howden, E. Yorks. I am obviously not going to fly out for a holiday if I have to self-isolate for 14 days when I arrive there. Fortunately, I paid for a flexible ticket, so I can just move the whole booking to next year. T. C., Solihull, Warks. I am sure this will change insurance policies in the future. Travel insurance and potentially even life insurance policyholders will be charged higher premiums and there will be exemptions for anything related to a virus. J. W., Plymouth, Devon. I feel very sorry for everybody who is waiting for a refund. Re-booking is not an option for many people, including those who may have lost their jobs. Lets hope people remember which holiday companies treated them well. A. L., Rogate, W. Sussex. I am trying to get refunds for eight flights, two hotel bookings and a cruise. I cant re-book next year as I already have other holidays in the diary. I know I will end up losing a lot of money. T. Y., Leicester. We were due to fly next month and I told my partner not to pay the full deposit when it was due. However he did, but the airline gave us a cash refund. It depends on the companys policy. T. F., by email. I had a trip booked for December and thought it was wise to cancel or delay, but I was told I would be charged a fee worth 60 per cent of total cost if I did. F. D., Nottingham.

In January 2017 I was contacted by a phone broker who offered to move my contract from Vodafone. They promised to settle any fee with Vodafone.

In February this year a debt collection firm working for Vodafone demanded a 743 outstanding cancellation fee.

I tried to contact the phone broker but they had gone into voluntary liquidation. Another broker with a different name is operating from the same offices and has the same directors.

I have written to Vodafone and informed the Ombudsman, but appear to owe the money.

S. B., Worcestershire.

Basically, you were conned by a fly-by-night operation. There are lessons here for others, the most important being: don't do business with unknown firms that phone you up.

If you want to move a utility contract, do your own research and do it direct. Or use a legitimate household-name switching firm such as switch.which.co.uk, Uswitch or moneysupermarket.

Cancel your existing contract personally. Some operators may offer to do this, but keep evidence and check bills and your bank statements.

Don't cancel the direct debit until your old provider has had a chance to collect its final payment.

Vodafone has offered a 20 per cent bill reduction, reducing your debt to around 600. That's the best I can do.

I suggest you treat this as a hard lesson learnt. But do pass details of your experience to your local Trading Standards office.

Straight to the point A few weeks after celebrating my 74th birthday at a hotel restaurant I was sent a 60 parking fine. My wife has a Blue Badge. The hotel says it requested for the fine to be cancelled, but now I cant get through to check. B. P., Birmingham. Good news  the fine has been cancelled. The hotel recently changed its parking system which requires motorists with Blue Badges to register at reception. *** I saw a reader had struggled to get the expiry date on a M&S credit note extended despite not being able to use it due to the pandemic. Im having the same problem and cant get through on the phone. M. Warner., Horsmonden, Kent. You have several credit notes. M&S has exchanged one worth 24.91 that was due to expire very soon for a gift card. You can use this in store or online at any point over the next two years. The others, valued at 72, do not expire until later in the year. If you find you can still not get to a shop then, M&S will change these for gift cards, too. *** I ordered a dishwasher from Currys PC World for my new home in March 2018. But my house purchase fell through so I had to change the delivery details. Despite being assured this wouldnt be a problem, the dishwasher was sent to the old address; and when it arrived at the right one, it flooded the kitchen. The replacement was also faulty and I am still without a working dishwasher. L.J., Isle of Wight. Currys has apologised for the time it took to fix the issue and has provided a refund. *** After arranging to stay in a holiday apartment in Spain my booking was cancelled shortly before I was due to travel because there was no room. Booking.com offered alternative accommodation, but it cost 34.51 more. I paid, as there were no other options at such short notice, but now think I should be refunded the difference. M. F., by email. Booking.com had already offered you 25 (22) in compensation, but following my involvement it has now also agree to pay the 34.51 difference in cost.

I have been trying to obtain a refund from Avanti West Coast for tickets to Penrith. I emailed and was told to obtain a refund from where I bought them, which was London Euston.

The country is in lockdown and I am over 70, so cannot travel by train from St Albans to Euston. I have tried the online refund form, but the page just flickers so I cannot complete it.

There were three of us meant to be travelling: myself, my disabled adult son and a carer. The total cost was 368.40.

R. H., St Albans.

How utterly absurd to suggest a person in the vulnerable category should board a train to return to Euston for a refund.

I took a look at the refund section on Avanti's website. The problem seems to be that it is only offering refunds on stations where they sell tickets.

Euston does not appear in the drop-down menu, hence the screen going crazy. You also tried to phone Euston to no avail.

Avanti has sent you a cheque for the refund.

Incidentally, you tell me that the reason for buying the tickets in person is that when you previously booked online, the complications with buying for you, a carer and your son with a variety of railcards meant you were allocated two seats in one carriage and one in another.

This is something else train operators need to look at.
The trial of Aaron Brady, who is charged with the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, may have to shorten its daily hearings in line with new health advice highlighted to the Oireachtas.Mr Justice Michael White today told the trial jury of six men and seven women that hearings may have to be limited because of Covid-19 health concerns.

He said the issue had arisen this morning and he had not yet been able to get advice on it. He told the jurors that he takes public health issues seriously and will update them tomorrow/today (THU) about the advice he receives regarding sitting times.

The judge's comments came after an Oireachtas committee sought advice from consultant microbiologist Professor Martin Cormican on the health implications of holding committee meetings lasting more than two hours. Mr Cormican has been quoted in a written submission to the committee saying: If a person at one of the hearings develops covid-19 in the two days after the hearing they attended and if the hearing lasted for two hours or for more then everyone else who was in the room for that two-hour period will be designated a Covid contact and will be advised to self-isolate for 14 days.

The chief justice and the presidents of the courts released a statement today saying they became aware of the additional health advice when it became public yesterday. The courts service has asked for "urgent further advices" on the matter and said the new advice has "the potential to affect the conduct of court hearings or sessions" where those in attendance are in court for more than two hours a day. Mr Brady's trial has been sitting from 9am until 1.30am with a 30 minute break in recent weeks.

Aaron Brady has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Det Gda Adrian Donohoe who was then a member of An Garda Siochana on active duty, on January 25, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth. The 29-year-old from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing approximately e7,000 in cash and assorted cheques from Mr Pat Bellew on the same date and at the same location.



The jury continued to hear evidence this morning as mobile phone analyst Edward McGoey told prosecution counsel Lorcan Staines SC that mobile phones belonging to Mr Brady and two other suspects for the robbery went silent during the period when the robbery took place. He said they later became active at a similar period of time.

The trial continues.
New Delhi: Desperate to get home and exasperated by what seems like an unending wait to register for a Shramik Special train, around 250 workers in Shahpur Jat have spent every last penny they had, and beyond, to hire private buses for their journeys.

With private agencies charging upwards of Rs 4,000 per adult for a seat on a bus to West Bengal, Jharkhand, or Bihar, some workers had to get loans, while others had to mortgage their assets to be able to afford the trip. If one person fell short, another pitched in however possible.

According to migrants in the south Delhi area, between Sunday night and early Monday morning, around 250 workers left in six buses. All of them were employed in embroidering work at Shahpur Jat, which houses a number of upmarket clothing stores. But since the lockdown, there has been no work, and their scant savings have run out.

Each bus seated between 70 and 75 people, and none of the passengers were issued medical screening certificates, throwing the guidelines for inter-state travel to the wind.

Hamidul Manjhi, who left for his village in West Bengals Paschim Medinipur district on Monday morning, had only reached Jharkhand on Wednesday noon.

We had to leave as we had run out of money here and there was no way to survive any longer. My two brothers in the village took a loan of around Rs 25,000 from a moneylender that they transferred so we could afford the bus tickets. My father is bed-ridden and my mother recently had a paralysis attack. My brothers said she might die any time, and we must reach before its too late, Manjhi, 35, said on a phone call. He is travelling with his wife, two children, brother, sister-in-law and their two children. They had to pay Rs 4,250 each for five persons, including his 11-year-old son.

The family of one of his co-workers at Shahpur Jat, Mafizul, had to mortgage a plot to send him money.

My parents are very worried, because they have nobody to take care of them. This is the harvest time, and I was supposed to be home. I ran out of money here, said Mafizul, who is also travelling to Paschim Medinipur with his wife and three children.

As per the Centres norms, private buses ferrying migrants are allowed to move within the city and across borders only with valid inter-state transit passes issued by the district authorities. The passes are issued only after passengers are screened and the destination state permits the travel. A 50-seater bus is allowed to have only 25 passengers to maintain social distancing. Drivers are required to disinfect the buses before and after a trip.

However, the district authorities and police denied having issued any such permission for these buses to leave Shahpur Jat. BM Mishra, district magistrate (south) said, We have not issued any permission for private buses to ferry migrants. If that is the case, enforcement agencies at the citys borders must look into it. We are in the process of issuing permission for only one group that has hired a private bus for West Bengal. Their screening is being done and information is being shared with the state authorities for the same. Only after the process is complete, will they be allowed to board the bus.

Riyaz Hussain, one of the workers, said people had given up hope and were desperate to leave. There are around 5,000 embroidery workers in the area, of whom around 500 have left, according to many of their colleagues.

Many buses have left without permission. We have applied for permission for 31 workers for West Bengal. Many of them gave up their last bit of money, which they had saved to send home. The total fare for one 50-seater private bus is Rs 1.2 lakh. We asked some NGOs to help, and others have asked their families to send money.

A senior police official who asked not to be named, said, Around four private buses have left with migrants from the area. They had passes issued by two other districts.

However, east Delhi district magistrate Arun Mishra denied having issued any such pass. The pass must be forged, Mishra said.

Despite attempts, the Shahdara district magistrate did not respond to requests for comment.

In a similar case, the southeast district police on Monday night registered an FIR against a private tourist bus driver and its owner for ferrying 49 migrants to Bihar using a fake transit pass. The bus driver and owner have been arrested. The bus was traced around 11.45 pm at Tughlaqabad Extension carrying 49 passengers, breaching the norms. He had shown a fake pass and the list of passengers was not shared with the homestate either. It was found that the migrants belong to the Tughlaqabad area and were sent back, said a senior police official, who did not wish to be named.

Sunil Kumar Aledia, a social activist, who works for the homeless, said that a number of private buses have already left with migrants, who were forced to shell out whatever they had, as there was no other option left. The government must arrange for more buses for a large number of people who are still stranded and ensure medical screening is done. It is taking too long for people to even register or get an assurance from the state authorities, said Aledia

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 36-year-old man has been arrested in relation to the suspicious death of a seven-month-old baby boy.

Bodhi John was rushed from a home in Aberdeen to Muswellbrook Hospital, in the New South Wales Hunter region, at about 3pm on Sunday.

Doctors were unable to save him, and police later confirmed they were treating his death as suspicious.

A spokeswoman for New South Wales Police told Daily Mail Australia a man is in custody at Musselbrook Police Station following an arrest on Wednesday night.

'A 36-year-old man was arrested following a vehicle stop on the New England Highway just after 6.30pm today,' the spokeswoman said.

No charges have been laid.

Bodhi John (pictured) was rushed from a home in Aberdeen to Muswellbrook Hospital, in the New South Wales Hunter region on Sunday. Staff were unable to revive him

Following the little boy's death, the home was examined by forensic specialists, while family friends are being urged to come forward.

'The child's death is being treated as suspicious,' Detective Inspector Matthew Zimmer told reporters on Tuesday.

'Were hoping that examination will identify injuries the child may have suffered which may have contributed to the childs death.'

Neighbours said the mother, Maddison Graham, had only moved into the home a few days earlier with her three children, The Newcastle News reported.

Police were hoping to speak to the mother's boyfriend, Ashley Morgan, who was staying at the house at the time of Bodhi's death, according to Nine News.

There is no suggestion the mother or her boyfriend were involved in the death.

It's believed the family only lived in the home (pictured) for a few days before Bodhi's death and the house has since been investigated by forensic specialists

Neighbours reported loud noises coming from the home on Saturday morning.

'We just heard the dogs barking more than they usually do, doors banging and people yelling,' one neighbour said.

'It is a pretty horrible thing.'

Detective Inspector Zimmer said a postmortem on the child would be conducted within the next two days and the mother and immediate family were 'cooperating' with the investigation.

Neighbours said the mother, Maddison Graham (pictured), had only moved into the home a few days earlier with her three children

'We are speaking to people who have had contact with the child in the days and hours leading up the child's death,' he said.

'We are also asking any members of the community who know the family or have had contact or interactions with the family in the days leading up to the child's death to contact Hunter Valley Police or Crime Stoppers.'

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000.
More than 20,000 jobs at Australian universities are at risk, including 7000 research jobs, just as scientists are trying to find vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, a peak body says.

Universities are facing a multibillion-dollar hit to revenue as the international student market comes to a crashing halt as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

Health Minister Greg Hunt visited Monash University on Wednesday. Credit:Eddie Jim

Australias borders remain closed to non-citizens, including international students.

The sector's peak body, Universities Australia, says 21,000 jobs are at risk in the next six months, and more after that. Of those, about 7000 are research-specific jobs.
UPDATE on June 5, 2020 The Michigan DNR issued a corrected news release, saying the suspects potential charges in the killing of 3 bald eagles remain pending.

CHIPPEWA COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man has been charged with 125 wildlife crimes following a months-long investigation by the Department of Natural Resources.

Kurt Johnston Duncan, 56, of Pickford was arraigned in Chippewa Countys 91st District Court on Wednesday on numerous charges, including illegally harvesting 18 wolves over the past 18 months. He is also being investigated for allegedly killing and disposing of three bald eagles, the DNR said.

Wolves are protected in Michigan and are on the federal endangered species list. Bald eagles are protected under state law, as well as the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Duncan, who today pleaded not guilty to all charges, faces:

Up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 fine for each wolf.

Restitution of $500 per wolf.

Up to 90 days in jail and $500 fine each for the other wildlife crimes.

We had a team of conservation officers that worked well together throughout this investigation, said DNR Law Enforcement Division Chief Gary Hagler.

Investigations like this require a long-term commitment from everyone involved. I want to thank the prosecutors in this case who worked with our officers. We are happy with the outcome and hope this case sets an example to prevent future natural resource crimes.

Duncan was served four search warrants in March. Other species involved in the charges include deer, turkey, bear and bobcat.

DNR law enforcement detectives said that Duncan was using the animals for a variety of reasons, including crafts, selling, or disposing of them, and stated that he was catching the animals because he could and likes to do it.

Conservation officers collected evidence to support the charges and identified additional suspects who are expected to be charged soon, according to the DNR.

Chippewa County prosecutors are seeking $30,000 in restitution to the state for the illegally taken animals. Duncans cash bond is set at $500.

Other conditions of Duncans bond include having no contact with co-defendants, no possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon, and no engaging in hunting or fishing.
GREENWICH  Two years after she made history as the first Democrat in nearly 90 years to win the seat in the 36th Senate District, Alex Kasser will be looking to repeat the feat.

Kasser was nominated unanimously to run for the seat Tuesday night at the Democratic Partys virtual convention for the district, which covers all of Greenwich as well as part of Stamford and New Canaan. She will face off in the November election against Ryan Fazio, who received the unanimous support of the districts Republicans on Monday night.

In 2018, we won an impossible seat, and I say we because it was our collective victory, Kasser said in her acceptance speech. Everyone on this call contributed and together we defied the skeptics. We proved that change can happen if we believe in it and we work for it. Now in 2020, after nearly four years of (President Donald) Trump, the stakes have never been higher. (Coronavirus) has shattered the world as we know it but its also given us the opportunity to redefine our purpose and reset our priorities.

The most critical issue facing the state is restarting the economy while protecting peoples lives, Kasser said Wednesday. Connecticut has lost more coronavirus patients than California, a state with 10 times the population. And thousands more in Connecticut have lost their jobs and income, she said.

This is the biggest crisis of our lifetime, Kasser said, blasting Trumps leadership at the national level. The crisis highlights why we need leaders who put the public first.

Kasser serves as chair of the Banking Committee, vice chair of the Judiciary and Transportation Committees and a deputy majority leader in the Senate.

Her convention was entirely run by women, something Kasser proudly noted during her acceptance speech. And she said she would need their support during the campaign.

Defending democracy takes courage, commitment and all hands on deck, Kasser said. If people have learned anything from the coronavirus crisis, she hopes its that every person matters and we are all connected.

Seeking reelection

In 2018, the key to Kassers victory was Stamford. She lost to L. Scott Frantz, the Republican incumbent, by a vote of 14,016 to 13,046 in Greenwich and 2,979 to 2,247 in New Canaan. However, in Stamford, Kasser won by a big margin, 6,968 to 4,650.

Stamford Democrats are looking forward to working with Kasser on the new campaign, said Josh Fedele, chair of the Democratic City Committee in Stamford.

Alex has proven to be a leader on key issues important to the 36th District, and she has developed a voice in Hartford that serves her constituents well, Fedele said. With the era of (coronavirus) upon us, it is a real positive for Stamford to have Alex fighting for us and to have her be part of the best in state delegation representing us in Hartford.

She is also looking for strong support from Greenwich and New Canaan.

Alex Kasser has been well-received in New Canaan from the start both because she ran on putting policy before partisanship and has followed through on that promise, and because shes been fully prepared to discuss and put forth researched and well-articulated policy proposals time and again, New Canaan DTC Vice Chair Lisa Hannich said. Shes shown leadership and resolve on important issues such as transportation financing and pension reform, and a willingness to vote according to principle and faithfulness to her constituents over political loyalties.

The coronavirus is expected to have a major impact on the campaign. Kasser said she may not be able to visit voters homes, which she did extensively in her first campaign, but she will connecting with constituents via technology.

Republican opponent

Republicans are feeling confident, however, about regaining the seat. Fazio, a member of Greenwichs Representative Town Meeting, has a background as an energy trader and currently works in investment management.

Fazio has said the major theme for his campaign will be Change Hartford, save Connecticut.

Under one-party rule, families in our district have seen taxes go up by billions to fund a bloated and corrupt government in Hartford, Fazio said in his acceptance speech Monday. Connecticut is the second highest taxed and second most indebted state in the entire country. And as a direct result, weve seen no real growth in wages, jobs, or our economy in decades even before this new recession.

The politicians in power, including our current governor and state senator, promise us change during election time, yet only deliver more of the same once in office, he said.

Change could come by bringing people together around a vision that confronts our biggest challenges, including a reduction in taxes and spending and reform in schools, transportation and economics, he said.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
N azanin Zaghari-Ratcliffes temporary release from an Iranian prison has been extended again, her MP has said.

The British-Iranian mother was temporarily freed from Evin prison in Tehran in response to the global spread of coronavirus.

In mid-April, MP Tulip Siddiq said her furlough had been extended for one month, in line with other prisoners in Iran.

On Wednesday the MP for Hampstead and Kilburn said that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's furlough has been extended again.

She wrote on Twitter: Just spoken with Richard Ratcliffe  Nazanins furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today.

This uncertainty is causing her and her family unimaginable stress. The Government must step up efforts to make sure her furlough is made permanent.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehrans Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to show her young daughter, Gabriella, to her parents in April 2016.

She was sentenced to five years in prison over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.

Yesterday Labour's Emily Thornberry said she lit a candle for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe who has been apart from her family for four years.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been living in relative isolation at her parents house in Tehran while the country gets to grips with the outbreak.

She has to wear an ankle tag during the furlough, and can only go within a 300-metre range of her parents home.
Decades before a security camera caught Michael Taylor coming off a jet that was carrying one of the worlds most-wanted fugitives, the former Green Beret had a hard-earned reputation for taking on dicey assignments.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Japan's Deputy Justice Minister Hiroyuki Yoshiie arrives to give a press conference at the Japanese Embassy, in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 2, 2020. Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Monday suggested to Yoshiie that Nissan's fugitive ex-boss Carlos Ghosn won't be extradited back to Japan and remains in the hands of Lebanon's judiciary, according to a presidential statement. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Decades before a security camera caught Michael Taylor coming off a jet that was carrying one of the worlds most-wanted fugitives, the former Green Beret had a hard-earned reputation for taking on dicey assignments.

Over the years, Taylor had been hired by parents to rescue abducted children. He went undercover for the FBI to sting a Massachusetts drug gang. And he worked as a military contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan, an assignment that landed him in a Utah jail in a federal fraud case.

So when Taylor was linked to the December escape of former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn from Japan, where the executive awaited trial on financial misconduct charges, some in U.S. military and legal circles immediately recognized the name.

Taylor has gotten himself involved in situations that most people would never even think of, dangerous situations, but for all the right reasons, Paul Kelly, a former federal prosecutor in Boston who has known the security consultant since the early 1990s, said earlier this year.

Was I surprised when I read the story that he may have been involved in what took place in Japan? No, not at all.

Wednesday, after months as fugitives, the 59-year-old Taylor and his 27-year-old son, Peter, were arrested in Massachusetts on charges accusing them of hiding Ghosn in a shipping case drilled with air holes and smuggling him out of Japan on a chartered jet. Investigators were still seeking George-Antoine Zayek, a Lebanese-born colleague of Taylor.

Kelly, now serving as the attorney for the Taylors, said they plan to challenge Japans extradition request on several legal and factual grounds.

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2020, file photo, former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn speaks to Japanese media during an interview in Beirut, Lebanon. U.S. authorities have arrested two men accused of helping former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while awaiting trial on charges of financial misconduct. Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor were arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday morning in Harvard, Massachusetts. (Meika Fujio/Kyodo News via AP, File)

Michael Taylor is a distinguished veteran and patriot, and both he and his son deserve a full and fair hearing regarding these issues, Kelly said in an email.

Some of those who know Taylor say he is a character of questionable judgment, with a history of legal troubles dating back well before the Utah case. But others praise him as a patriot, mentor and devoted family man, who regularly put himself at risk for his clients, including some with little ability to pay.

He is the most all-American man I know, Taylors assistant, Barbara Auterio, wrote to a federal judge before his sentencing in 2015. His favourite song is the national anthem.

In 1993, a Massachusetts state trooper investigated Taylor for drug running and sued his supervisor after being told to stop scrutinizing the prized FBI informant. In 1998, Taylor was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against a Teamsters official accused of extortion. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to planting marijuana in the car of a clients estranged wife, leading to her arrest, according to a 2001 report in the Boston Herald.

Taylor also made headlines in 2011 when he resigned as football coach at a Massachusetts prep school, Lawrence Academy, which was stripped of two titles. Taylor was accused of inappropriate donations, including covering tuition for members of a team that included seven Division I recruits.

It wasnt pleasant what he was yelling at us across the field. He was calling us out for not being man enough to kick the ball, said John Mackay, who opposed Taylor as coach of St. Georges School in Rhode Island. His zeal, probably like he does everything in life, is to the Nth degree.

The security business that Taylor and a partner set up decades ago was initially focused on private investigations but their caseload grew through corporate work and unofficial referrals from the State Department and FBI, including parents whose children had been taken overseas by former spouses.

Michael Taylor was the only person in this great country that was able to help me, and he did, a California woman whose son was taken to Beirut, wrote to the sentencing judge in the Utah military contracting case. Michael Taylor brought my son back.

In 2012, federal prosecutors alleged that Taylor won a U.S. military contract to train Afghan soldiers by using secret information passed along from an American officer. The prosecutors said that when Taylor learned the contract was being investigated, he asked an FBI agent and friend to intervene.

The government seized $5 million from the bank account of Taylors company and he spent 14 months in jail before agreeing to plead guilty to two counts. The government agreed to return $2 million to the company as well as confiscated vehicles.

The plot to free Ghosn apparently began last fall, when operatives began scouting Japanese terminals reserved for private jets. Tokyo has two airports within easy reach of Ghosns home. But the group settled on the private terminal at Osakas Kansai International Airport, where machines used to X-ray baggage could not accommodate large boxes.

On the day of the escape, Michael Taylor and Zayek flew into Japan on a chartered jet with two large black boxes, claiming to be musicians carrying audio equipment, according to court papers.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Around 2:30 that afternoon, Ghosn, free on hefty bail, left his house on a leafy street in Tokyos Roppongi neighbourhood and walked to the nearby Grand Hyatt Hotel, going to a room there and departing two hours later to board a bullet train for Osaka.

That evening, his rescuers wheeled shipping boxes through the Osaka private jet terminal known as Premium Gate Tamayura  fleeting moment in Japanese. Terminal employees let the men pass without inspecting their cargo.

At 11:10 p.m., the chartered Bombardier, its windows fitted with pleated shades, lifted off. The flight went first to Turkey, then to Lebanon, where Ghosn has citizenship, but which has no extradition treaty with Japan.

I didnt run from justice, Ghosn told reporters after he resurfaced. I left Japan because I wanted justice.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Balsamo in Washington, D.C., and Alanna Durkin Richer in West Harwich, Massachusetts, contributed to this report.
Cyclone 'Amphan' lay centred about 240 km south of Digha in West Bengal on Wednesday morning as an extremely severe cyclonic storm, the Met department said here. The intensity near the centre of the storm was 170 to 180 kmph gusting to 200 kmph, the Met said.

'Amphan' is very likely to move north-northeastwards and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha and Hatiya, close to the Sunderbans during the afternoon to evening of Wednesday with a wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph as a 'very severe cyclonic storm', the Met department said.

West Bengal has evacuated more than three lakh people to safer places as the cyclonic storm 'Amphan' roared towards the coastal areas of the state, officials said. The Met department, which has issued an "orange message" for West Bengal, warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

The Met department has advised that all establishments and markets remain closed in Kolkata and adjoining areas and movement of people be restricted on May 20. There is likely to be disruption of rail and road link at several places, uprooting of communication and power poles, extensive damage to all types of 'kutcha' houses and some damage to "old badly managed pucca" structures and potential threat from flying objects, the weatherman warned.

There is also likelihood of extensive damage to standing crops, plantations and orchards and blowing down of palm and coconut trees, the Met said. The weatherman has advised diversion or suspension of rail and road traffic in the districts which are likely to be affected. The Eastern Railway (ER) has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express for Wednesday.

The departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express on Wednesday and 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on May 21 would remain cancelled, the ER said. Wind speed along and off the coastal areas of West Bengal will reach 75 to 85 kmph with gusts up to 95 kmph from Wednesday morning along and off districts of North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, Regional Met director G K Das said.

"It will gradually increase thereafter becoming 110 to 120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph over West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph over the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore of West Bengal from the afternoon to night of May 20," he said.

Under its impact rainfall will occur in most places over the districts of Gangetic West Bengal on Wednesday, with heavy to very heavy downpour with extremely heavy rain at a few places in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, he said. "Storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3 to 4 metres over low lying areas of East Midnapore district of West Bengal during the time of landfall," he said.

The Indian Navy has dispatched a diving team for providing assistance to the West Bengal government in relief operations, a Defence official said. The diving team from Vishakhapatnam has brought specialised equipment along with them which can be used for rescue in case of flooding and have been positioned at the Naval Service Selection Board at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, the official said.

Also read: Cyclone Amphan to make landfall in West Bengal, Odisha today; heavy rainfall, damages expected

Also read: Cyclone Amphan LIVE Tracker: Super storm to hit Bengal soon; 3 lakh evacuated, 41 NDRF teams on standby
US deaths are lower per million than eight European countries despite having the highest total number of deaths in the world.

As of Wednesday morning, there had been 92,000 deaths across America - the highest reported number of any country in the world by far, and more than 1.5million cases.

Modelers are now predicting that another 4million will become infected by July 24 and that as many as 290,000 could die in total if social distancing isn't adhered to.

But when weighing the death toll up against America's enormous population of around 328million, then comparing the per capita rate to other European countries, the US slips to number eight on the list of the worst affected countries.

For every 1million residents, 280 have died from the virus in the US which is 0.028% of the population.

That is less than half the rate in Belgium where 797 per 1million died (0.08% of the population), and Spain, where 594 per 1million have died (0.06%).

Italy and the UK are third and fourth with death rates. In Italy, 0.05% of the population died and in the UK, the number is 0.053%.

While the US has the highest number of deaths, its death per capita ratio is ninth in the list of worst impacted countries. Belgium tops the list

Data compiled by Statistica on Wednesday shows how the US has performed a higher number of tests than any other country in the world. The UK has done the second highest number of tests and Italy has done the third highest

The US leads the world in the total number of tests being done - it has done 12,647,099 so far - far more than any other county. Russia claims to be next, having done 7,500,000

The testing rates per capita however reveal that the US is the eighth best in the world because its population is so much larger than other countries. Spain has done the most per capita, followed by Portugal. The US still beats Germany, Canada and France

NUMBERS BY COUNTRY AND HOW THEY TEST USA Total tests: 12.6million Population tested: 3% Total deaths: 92,453 Deaths as population percentage: 0.028% UK Total tested: 2.7million Population tested: 4.09% Total deaths: 35,341 Deaths as population percentage: 0.053% BELGIUM Total tests: 720,228 Population tested: 6.22% Total deaths: 9,108 Deaths as population percentage: 0.08% ITALY Total tests: 3.1million Population tested: 5.13% Total deaths: 32,169 Deaths as population percentage: 0.05% SPAIN Total tests: Population tested: 6.5% Total deaths: 27,778 Deaths as population percentage: 0.06% PORTUGAL Total tests: 662,375 Population tested: 6.49% Total deaths: 1,247 Deaths as population percentage: 0.01% RUSSIA Total tests: 7.5million Population tested: 5.14% Total deaths: 2,972 Deaths as population percentage: 0.002% Advertisement

France (0.04%) Sweden, (0.04%), the Netherlands (0.33%) and Ireland (0.32%) come next, before the US.

But the population scale, while positive when examining the comparatively few deaths there have been in the US, also highlights how far behind the country is on testing.

The US has carried out a higher number of tests than anywhere else. As of Wednesday morning, 12.67million had been done and 1.5million were positive.

That impressive number shrinks when folding it into the country's population size. Only around 3 percent of the US population has been tested.

Spain (6.5%), Portugal, (6.49%), Belgium (6.22%), Qatar (5.78%), Russia (5.14%), Italy (5.13%), the UK (4.09%), Switzerland (4.05%), and Belarus (3.97%) are all ahead.

It flies in the face of remarks from President Trump who said earlier this month that the US was testing at 'nearly double the rate of any other country'.

The US still outperforms several other countries.

The Netherlands has tested just 1.77 percent of its population and Sweden, according to the data, has tested just two percent of its population.

Sweden drew criticism for its decision to stay open. It had a lower case count than many other European countries - potentially due in part to its comparatively low testing numbers - and it had a higher than average death toll.

The infection rate among those tested in America is around 12.4 percent.

The death rate, when calculated as the percentage of those who test positive who die, is more than 6 percent.

The true death rate is far lower because there are countless undetected, undiagnosed cases of the virus and have been for months.

The numbers are all self-reported and in some countries, have been questioned.

Russia, for example, reported suspiciously low case numbers and death counts for weeks despite sharing a border with China, where the virus originated. Now, the country is reporting 309,000 cases and 2,972 deaths from its population of 147million.

For weeks, it was reporting having fewer cases than Luxembourg, a country with a population of just 628,000.

It's unclear where China, where the virus originated, sits on the list of testing in the world's worst affected countries.

Mexico, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Ecuador and Iran are among the worst but the Netherlands and Sweden were also lower than expected.

Data tracking the threat of reopening across the country based on infection growth rates, testing and ICU bed capacity shows that 17 states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, are most at risk

More than 5 million Americans will be infected with coronavirus and 290,000 will die by the end of July if social distancing isn't adhered to, according to COVID-19 model

Coronavirus infections could reach as high as 5.4 million in the next two months and more than 290,000 Americans could die if social distancing isn't adhered to, according to a COVID-19 forecast model.

The ominous forecast from the University Of Pennsylvania's Wharton School model accounts for all states fully reopening without any social distancing measures.

In comparison, the model predicts nearly 4.3 million cases and 230,000 deaths by July 24 if states reopen but individuals maintain their social distancing efforts.

If states only partially reopen by lifting stay-at-home orders but social distancing measures are still adhered to, the model forecasts 3.1 million infections and 172,000 deaths.

The best case scenario, which would involve each state maintaining lockdown restrictions as of May 17 with social distancing measures still in place, there could still be 2.8 million infections and 157,000 deaths.

FULL REOPENING WITH NO SOCIAL DISTANCING: The University Of Pennsylvania's Wharton School model predicts 5.4 million infections and 290,000 deaths by July 24 if all states fully reopen without any social distancing measures. It also predicts 4.6 million job losses and a 0/7% GDP decline in this scenario

FULL OPENING WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING: The model predicts nearly 4.3 million cases and 230,000 deaths by July 24 if states reopen but individuals maintain their social distancing efforts. There would be 4.1 million job losses and a 3.3 percent GDP decline in this scenario

PARTIAL REOPENING WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING: If states only partially reopen by lifting stay-at-home orders but social distancing measures are still adhered to, the model forecasts 3.1 million infections and 172,000 deaths. In this scenario, there could be 1.2million job losses and a 4.2 percent drop in GDP

A separate model from the UMass Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence is projecting that deaths will surpass 113,000 by mid-June. The modeling average projection, compiled from nine models from separate institutions, predicted roughly 22,000 more Americans will succumb to the virus over the next 25 days

The majority of US states had already lifted COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by mid-May. Currently, there are more than 1.5 million cases and over 92,000 deaths across the United States.

Meanwhile, a separate model from the UMass Influenza Forecasting Center of Excellence is projecting that deaths will surpass 113,000 by mid-June.

The modeling average projection, compiled from nine models from separate institutions, predicted roughly 22,000 more Americans will succumb to the virus over the next 25 days.

'The new forecast for cumulative US deaths by June 13 is about 113,000, with a 10 percent chance of seeing fewer than about 107,000 and a 10 percent chance of seeing more than 121,000,' Nicholas Reich, director of the center, said.

The specific ensemble forecast average is 113,364 deaths by that date.

The latest projections come as most US states take steps - some minor, some more substantial - to re-open their shuttered economies and communities while facing the challenge of instilling confidence among Americans that it is safe to begin returning to normal.

The White House released guidelines last month on phased re-openings that included criteria which individual states were expected to meet before they began returning to normal, including a downward trajectory of new cases over a 14-day period.

Several states have been accused of re-opening despite failing to meet the specific criteria.

Hopes of curtailing the pandemic have proven elusive.

Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump said the United State would lose 'anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people'.

On April 10, he predicted coronavirus deaths across the country would be 'substantially below the 100,000' figure and perhaps even as low as half that.

In addition to death and infection predictions, the Wharton model also forecasts the economic effects of states reopening.

The model forecasts a total of 294,000 job losses by the end of July and a 6.4 percent drop in the GDP compared to 2019 if lockdown measures in place by May 17 and social distancing is maintained.

In comparison, there could be 1.2million job losses and a 4.2 percent drop in GDP if states only partially reopen and 4.1 million job losses and a 3.3 percent GDP decline if they completely reopen.

Why you SHOULD wear a mask: Projection for total COVID deaths is reduced by 3,700 to 143,357 because at least 40% of Americans wear face protection every time they go out

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington was projecting that 147,050 would die by August 4 but on Tuesday, it lowered its estimation to 143,357.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 92,000 Americans had died from the virus and 1.5million were infected.

The research institute told CNN it was largely down to the increasing number of Americans who are wearing masks when they go out.

It brings comfort to many states that are yet to reopen that feared an increase in mobility, regardless of mask wearing, could lead to a spike in cases.

Some forty percent of Americans said they wore a mask always when they left home. In northeastern states the number was more than 60 percent but not in upstate New York. Arizona and Wisconsin are the only two states where fewer than 20 percent said they wore masks all the time - Arizona's deaths are now projected to increase by more than previously thought

A much larger percent of the population said they sometimes wore masks when they left home. In Texas, Florida, California, Colorado and Arkansas - along with the northeast - the number was more than 80 percent

The greatest increase in people wearing masks - between five and 10 percent - was in Colorado, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. There was a decrease of at least 10 percent in South Carolina, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Maryland

The scientists think there will be an increase of more than 20 percent than previously thought in the number of cases in Minnesota. It will reduce the number of cases by 20 percent or more in many others

This is a breakdown of how the model has changed per state. In Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New York, they now predict 1,000 fewer deaths than last week but in California and Arizona, they predict 1,000 more

'We were pretty surprised. We were expecting to probably go up because of the big surge in mobility,' Chris Murray, the chairman of the school's Health Metrics Sciences department, said.

'If you dig deeper and look into the fraction of people in different states who are wearing masks, we think that is the key difference there, both their behavior and mask wearing.

'Forty percent of the US wears the mask all the time; about 80 percent wears a mask sometimes. And that is probably helping separate the rise in mobility,' he added.

Not every state is mandating that masks or face coverings be worn in public. It is being enforced in New York, the worst hit state which is largely starting to reopen aside from New York City, and California.

According to IHME's data, in most of the northeast, California, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado and Arkansas, more than 80 percent of residents said they sometimes or always wear a mask when leaving home.

In only four states did fewer than 60 percent of residents say sometimes they wore them; South Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

Every other state's, between 60 and 80 percent of residents said they sometimes wore them.

Only in some northeastern states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Maine did more than 60 percent of residents say they always wore them.

The new projections for how many people will die across the US by August 4, according to IHME

Daily deaths are expected to continue to decrease in numbers but at a much slower rate than how they soared at the start of the crisis
On Tuesday morning, the gym owners, Frank Trumbetti and Ian Smith, were charged with disorderly persons offenses, the police said.

At a briefing Tuesday afternoon, Col. Patrick J. Callahan of the New Jersey State Police said the gym had opened both Monday and Tuesday and the owners had been charged twice.

The Bellmawr authorities said that five gym patrons were also issued summonses on Tuesday for using the gym in violation of the state order. One person was charged with organizing a protest in violation of the order and one person was also charged obstructing the administration of law, the police said.

Attempts to reach a lawyer for the gym owners were not immediately successful on Tuesday night. But the lawyer told NJ.com that the closures had gone on for too long.

Im not worried about jail, Mr. Trumbetti told NJ.com. It is what it is. Ian and I made a conscious decision to actually fight for the cause for everybody.

An online fund-raising campaign that is said to be for the defense of Atilis Gym Bellmawr and all of its members and to support our efforts to reopen had raised nearly $40,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Mr. Murphy had warned Monday that those who chose to come to the gym a second consecutive day would face a different reality than at the beginning of the week. Asked about the situation again on Tuesday, he insisted: Were not there on gyms and said he was concerned about it.

I dont want to be equivocating, he added.

Reporting was contributed by Maria Cramer, James Estrin, Michael Gold, Matthew Haag, Andy Newman, Sarah Maslin Nir, Matt Stevens and Benjamin Weiser.
Millions of casual workers are now entitled to paid leave after a landmark court ruling which employers fear has exposed them to backpay claims worth $8billion.

The decision, handed down by the Federal Court on Wednesday, affects between 1.6 and 2.2 million casual workers across Australia.

The court found employees who had regular rostered shifts are not casual employees, even if that is how they were described in their employment contracts.

Under the new definition, 'casual' workers are entitled to paid annual leave, paid personal/carer's leave and paid compassionate leave.

'Casual' workers are now entitled to paid personal and annual leave. Pictured: An employee in a face mask works at a retail store amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Mining union national secretary Tony Maher welcomed the decision and slammed employers for hiring casual workers on full-time hours.

'This is a fantastic decision that puts an end to the "permanent casual" rort that has become a scourge in the coal mining industry and across the workforce,' said Mr Maher.

'When a job is full-time, regular and on-going, it is permanent and deserves the security and entitlements that come with permanent work.'

The mining union said about 40 per cent of the workers it represents are employed as casuals - despite performing the same tasks as full-time employees, without job security and entitlements.

Retail and hospitality workers among the biggest winners in the court ruling. Pictured: a hospitality worker in Brisbane as COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed

But the decision sparked concerns from employer groups that casual workers would be able to 'double dip' - claiming annual leave and casual loading rates, which are worth about 25 per cent of their pay.

They also say employers may be forced to fork out up to $8billion in backpay claims to workers across the economy, with those in retail and hospitality among the potential winners.

But not everyone in the mining industry agreed welcomed the decision.

Mining union national secretary Tony Maher welcomed the decision and slammed employers for hiring casual workers on full-time hours to save money

Australian Mines and Metals Association chief executive Steve Knott labelled it 'damaging' and said class action law firms will now 'circle Australian businesses like sharks'.

'Many Australian businesses  small, medium and large - are hanging on by their fingernails in this COVID-19 environment,' he said.

'The prospect of having to defend up to six years worth of back-pay claims from former casual employees is the last thing they need.'

The Australian Industry Group, which represents 6,000 employers, released a statement on Wednesday claiming the decision would ultimately hurt the economy.

'Today's decision ... highlights the need for urgent legislative reform to provide certainty to businesses and casual employees,' the group's chief executive Innes Willox said.

'An employee engaged as a casual and paid a casual loading ... should not be allowed to turn around years later and claim the entitlements of a permanent employee, like annual leave.'

Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations Christian Porter backed the employment group's statement and said the decision would have 'practical implications for the bottom line of many Australian businesses'.

'Given the potential for this decision to further weaken the economy at a time when so many Australians have lost their jobs, it may also be necessary to consider legislative options,' he said in a statement.

Pictured: a hospitality worker in Sydney on May 14 after COVID-19 restrictions were eased

'What appears fairly obvious on the face of the decision is that it has immediate practical implications for the bottom line of many Australian businesses at a time when so many have taken a huge hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.'

Poll Do you agree with the ruling? Yes No Unsure Do you agree with the ruling? Yes 342 votes

No 384 votes

Unsure 51 votes Now share your opinion





Mr Porter supported employers during the case and said the government would strongly consider intervening if the implications of the decision weakened the economy.

He also claimed the ruling would deter employers from hiring more workers as unemployment hits record highs during nation-wide lockdowns.

But Labor's industrial relations spokesperson Tony Burke said the only 'double-dipping' being done was by employers.

'If there's any ''double dipping'' going on here it is being performed by the employers  they're taking advantage of the insecurity of casual work while still getting permanent hours out of their workers.'

He urged the Morrison Government not to overturn the decision at a time where workers need job security amid the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Justice Bromberg said employers that fail to pay workers accordingly are in breach of the Fair Work Act and risk heavy penalties.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) is to acquire PLM Systems, a Turin, Italy-based boutique systems integrator.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The acquisition will expand Accentures capabilities to allow clients to improve how they manage product data in design, engineering and manufacturing and expand its presence in the market for digital engineering services.

Founded in 1996, PLM Systems specializes in designing and building information systems for product lifecycle management systems, which help companies manage all relevant information about a product from its inception to its disposal. Companies can use them in engineering and other functions to innovate and manage new products.

Clients include Italian and international automotive, industrial equipment, fashion and aerospace and defense companies. PLMs team will join Accenture Industry X.0 in Italy.

Accenture Industry X.0 uses digital technologies to continuously improve how industrial companies design, engineer and manufacture products and services and operate industrial facilities.

FinSMEs

19/05/2020
What if we all stay working from home forever? Some might welcome a new dawn of workplace flexibility where employees, at least those in knowledge economy jobs, can work from any place, any time. Yet it doesnt necessarily play out the way people think it will.

If working from home accelerates as a trend long term  and there are signs it will  it will not only mean the decline of the central business district, but it could also lead to more job insecurity.

Working from home might provide more time with family but also allow for greater off-shoring of work. Credit:Getty Images

If your job can be done from anywhere, that doesnt necessarily mean you get to keep your job with the city salary and have a sea change. It also means you are competing for that job in an international labour market.

Even as employers are plotting a path back to normality, its clear the new normal wont be the same as the old normal and working from home will be common for some time to come.
The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.


By Robert Skidelsky





LONDON  The COVID-19 pandemic is the first major global crisis in human history to be treated as a mathematical problem, with governments regarding policy as the solution to a set of differential equations.







Excluding a few outliers  including, of course, U.S. President Donald Trump  most political leaders have slavishly deferred to "the science" in tackling the virus. The clearest example of this was the U.K. government's sudden shift March 23 to an aggressive lockdown policy, following a nightmarish forecast by Imperial College London researchers of up to 550,000 deaths if nothing was done to combat the pandemic.







Such modeling is the correct scientific approach when the question debars experiment. You can test a new drug by subjecting two groups of lab rats to identical conditions, except for the drug they are given, or by administering it to randomly selected humans in clinical trials.







But you can't deliberately insert a virus into a human population to test its effects, although some Nazi concentration-camp doctors did just that. Instead, scientists use their knowledge of the infectious pathogen to model a disease's pattern of contagion, and then work out which policy interventions will modify it.







Predictive modeling was first developed for malaria over a century ago by an almost-forgotten English doctor, Ronald Ross. In a fascinating 2020 book, the mathematician and epidemiologist Adam Kucharski showed how Ross first identified the mosquito as the infectious agent through experiments on birds. From this fact, he developed a predictive model of malaria transmission, which was later generalized as the SIR (Susceptible, Infected, and Re-covered) model of contagious-disease epidemics.







The question that interested epidemiologists was not what triggers an epidemic, but what causes it to end. They concluded that epidemics end naturally when enough people have had the disease so that further transmission rates decline. Basically, the virus runs out of hosts in which it can reproduce itself. In today's jargon, the population develops "herd immunity."







The science developed from Ross's original model is almost universally accepted, and has been fruitfully applied in other contexts, like financial contagion. But no policymaker is pre-pared to allow a killer epidemic to run its natural course, because the potential death toll would be unacceptable.







After all, the 1918-19 Spanish flu killed some 50-100 million people out of a global population of two billion: a death rate between 2.5 percent and 5 percent. No one knew for sure what the COVID-19 death rate would have been had the spread of the coronavirus been uncontrolled.







Because there is currently no COVID-19 vaccine, governments have had to find other ways to prevent "excess deaths." Most have opted for lockdowns, which remove entire populations from the path of the virus and thus deprive it of hosts.







Two months into the European lockdown, however, the evidence suggests that these measures on their own have not had much medical effect. For example, Sweden, with its exceptionally light lockdown, has had fewer COVID-19 deaths relative to its population than tightly locked-down Italy and Spain. And while the United Kingdom and Germany have both been aggressively locked down, Germany has so far reported 96 deaths per million inhabitants, compared to 520 per million in the U.K.







The crucial difference between Germany and the U.K. seems to lie in their respective medical responses. Germany started mass testing, contact-tracing, and isolating the infected and exposed within a few days of confirming its first COVID-19 cases, thus giving itself a head start in slowing the virus's spread.







The U.K., by contrast, is hobbled by incoherence at the center of government and by what former foreign secretary David Owen (himself a medical doctor) has called the "structural vandalism" inflicted on the National Health Service by years of cuts, fragmentation, and centralization. As a result, the country lacked the medical tools for a German-style response.







Science cannot determine what the correct COVID-19 response should have been for each country. A model may be considered validated if its predictions correspond to outcomes in real life. But in epidemiology, we can have confidence that this will happen only if a virus with known properties is allowed to run its natural course in a given population, or if there is a single intervention like a vaccine, the results of which can be accurately predicted.







Too many variables  including, say, medical capacity or cultural characteristics  scrambles the model, and it starts spewing out scenarios and predictions like a demented robot. Today, epidemiologists cannot tell us what the effects of the current COVID-19 policy mix will be. "We will know only in a year or so," they say.







The outcome will therefore depend on politics. And the politics of COVID-19 are clear enough: Governments could not risk the natural spread of infection, and thought it too complicated or politically fraught to try to isolate only those most at risk of severe illness or death, namely the 15-20 percent of the population aged over 65.







The default policy response has been to slow the spread of natural immunity until a vaccine can be developed. What "flattening the curve" really means is spacing out the number of expected deaths over a period long enough for medical facilities to cope and a vaccine to kick in.







But this strategy has a terrible weakness: Governments cannot keep their populations locked down until a vaccine arrives. Apart from anything else, the economic cost would be unthinkable. So, they have to ease the lockdown gradually.







Doing this, however, lifts the cap on non-exposure gained from the lockdown. That is why no government has an explicit exit strategy: What political leaders call the "controlled easing" of lockdowns actually means controlled progress toward herd immunity.







Governments cannot openly avow this, because that would amount to admitting that herd immunity is the objective. And it is not yet even known whether and for how long infection confers immunity. Much better, then, to pursue this goal silently, under a cloud of obfuscation, and hope that a vaccine arrives before most of the population is infected.







Robert Skidelsky, a member of the British House of Lords, is professor emeritus of political economy at Warwick University. His article was distributed by Project Syndicate (
It seems like a long, long time ago since there was an atmosphere in Northern Ireland politics that could be recognised as "hope". Twenty-five years ago, in February 1995, the document Frameworks For The Future (or the "frameworks documents", as it became known) was published by the UK and Irish Governments, confirming rumours that a proposed talks process would be built around three strands: relations within Northern Ireland; north-south; and London-Dublin.

The crucial difference between the frameworks documents and the Downing Street Declaration of December 1993 (and it was this difference that afforded the hope I mentioned above) was the position of the IRA and loyalist paramilitary groups: "The announcements made by the Irish Republican Army on August, 31, 1994 and the Combined Loyalist Military Command on October 13, 1994 are a welcome response to the profound desire of people throughout these islands for a permanent end to the violence which caused such immense suffering and waste and served only to reinforce the barriers of fear and hatred, impeding the search for agreement. A climate of peace enables the process of healing to begin. Everyone now has a role to play in moving irreversibly beyond the failures of the past."

The attitude of the governments - that the paramilitaries had to have an input, albeit through their political fronts - wasn't universally popular, let alone endorsed by all of the political parties.

The thinking, though, was that the imprimatur of paramilitaries would make it easier to construct and deliver an agreement, while also paving a route for the eventual disappearance of their structures, stockpiles, members and influence (often malign and criminal) in local communities.

I can't remember who, but I do remember someone saying that the groups would just become like "old comrades associations", eventually disappearing altogether as old-age took its toll and political/societal circumstances changed.

Yet, here we are, a quarter-of-a-century later, and there are some very gloomy realities all around us.

I suspect that some members of the group which issued the threat may not even have been born when the Combined Loyalist Military Command issued its ceasefire statement in October 1994

According to a report in 2015, "PIRA members believe that the Provisional Army Council oversees both the PIRA and Sinn Fein with an overarching strategy"; there have been intermittent feuds within both loyalism and republicanism; dissident "armed struggle" republican groups are targeting PSNI/security forces and murdered Lyra McKee a year ago; loyalist groups/gangs are still engaged in very serious criminal activities, a new generation is being recruited into these organisations, and a UDA offshoot from south-east Antrim has issued threats against journalists and politicians. And isn't it extraordinary that this far into a peace/political process a joint statement has been issued by a number of newspapers calling for "the immediate withdrawal of all threats against journalists in Northern Ireland and for the freedom of the Press to be respected and protected"?

I suspect that some members of the group which issued the threat may not even have been born when the Combined Loyalist Military Command issued its ceasefire statement in October 1994.

They will have no personal knowledge of the Troubles. They have joined a paramilitary group for no other reason than the opportunity it provides to line their pockets with cash and their noses with coke.

There were three key votes in the mid to late 1990s: 1996 (Forum elections); 1998 (Referendum); and 1998 (Assembly election). All the 18-20-year-olds who were casting their first votes at the time are 40 or older in 2020.

They're middle-aged now and whatever hopes they may have had of a paramilitary-free world have been dashed. And whatever hopes they may have had of politics being done differently in the future have probably also been dashed.

I've talked to groups of A-level students over the past few years. If you think I'm cynical or pessimistic about local politics, then you should listen to what they think

Some of their own children will be of voting age at this point - or approaching it - so I wonder what advice they will give them if asked?

That generation, born between 1998 and 2002, will also be at, or nudging towards, voting age. My eldest daughter, born in 1998, cast her first vote in the 2017 Assembly election for an Assembly that didn't actually meet until three years later.

A few days ago she asked me about the death threats against journalists, wondering, I suppose, if there was any risk to me.

I've talked to groups of A-level students over the past few years. If you think I'm cynical or pessimistic about local politics, then you should listen to what they think.

So, why are we still plagued by paramilitarism in Northern Ireland?

A number of possibilities come to mind.

There still seems to be a belief in Government circles (and it may also be fuelled by some security/intelligence analysis) that the paramilitaries are 'too big' - in influence rather than numbers at the moment - to be faced down

In both conflict and coming-out-of-conflict societies, what happens at the political centre is usually reflected by what happens on the ground, particularly in specific "community" areas. If the centre isn't working then you can't expect something different on the ground.

If the key political parties are in positions of almost constant stalemate and open disrespect then don't be surprised if certain on-the-ground elements choose to exploit those schisms, usually by promotion of the absurd and spurious logic that "we are still needed, there's still a role for us".

There still seems to be a belief in Government circles (and it may also be fuelled by some security/intelligence analysis) that the paramilitaries are "too big" - in influence rather than numbers at the moment - to be faced down.

What that suggests is a fear in those governing/intelligence circles that paramilitaries on both sides would be able to recruit and stockpile pretty quickly if the political process broke down.

So - and this shouldn't surprise anyone - it is in the interests of those paramilitaries to make it clear that they can put boots and guns on the ground if they think it's required.

It's also worth noting that paramilitarism survives, old structures are maintained and recruits (or even just potential recruits) are sounded out and lined up because there is a very clear impression across broader society that paramilitary groups are actually indulged (and more likely to escape undue attention from the police).

Unionist leaders meet representatives of loyalist groups. Sinn Fein doesn't really hide the fact that the Army Council still plays a role in strategy and decision-making. Newer offshoots seem to be allowed to grow rather than being stamped out and uprooted at community level.

My generation (I'm 64) lived through the Troubles and saw the daily, bloody outworkings of paramilitarism.

My daughter's generation (those born at the start of the peace process) hear of paramilitary activity on a regular basis, although it's now more regularly described as criminal rather than the more accurate paramilitary.

What is often described as the Good Friday Agreement generation (the ones we claimed to be making peace for) have been failed. There isn't much change in how we do politics and the deadly hand of paramilitarism still has a grip in far too many areas and on the lives of far too many people.

I accept that some of those paramilitaries who played a crucial role in getting the Good Friday Agreement endorsed 25 years ago are still doing their best to maintain discipline and deter a new generation from going down the "wrong path".

But the fact they seem to be fighting a losing battle would suggest that paramilitarism won't be disappearing - let alone being wiped out - anytime soon.
COLUMBUS, OhioOhios prisons have begun accepting new inmates for the first time in weeks, even as prison deaths from coronavirus continue to rise.

The decision to accept new inmates was needed because courts around Ohio are reopening and again sentencing people to prison time, according to the states prisons agency. But some civil-liberties groups are criticizing the decision, saying it will inevitably result in more people dying from the virus.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction froze new admissions of male inmates in April after coronavirus cases were discovered at the prison systems two male reception centers and both facilities were placed on lockdown.

Between then and Monday, when the freeze was lifted, newly sentenced men were held in county jails.

State prisons agency spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said in a statement that the freeze ended because courts are reopening in our communities, which necessitates the need to resume reception.

However, a number of precautions are being taken with new inmates, state prisons director Annette Chambers-Smith said Monday during Gov. Mike DeWines daily coronavirus briefing.

The state will only accept 50 new inmates per day. Every incoming inmate will be tested when they first enter the system, be quarantined for 14 days, and remain at a reception facility for at least 35 days before being transferred to one of Ohios more than two dozen other prisons.

The state still has a freeze on new female inmates after the Ohio Reformatory for Women, where incoming female inmates are received and processed, reported its first confirmed case of coronavirus last weekend.

Ohios prison system has been severely affected by the coronavirus to a degree not seen elsewhere in the state  or the nation. As of Tuesday, more than 17 percent of coronavirus cases (4,961 of 28,952 cases) involved an inmate or prison staffer. More than 60 inmates, as well as four staffers, have died from the disease so far.

While that ratio is a little less shocking considering that there is wider testing among inmates than the general population, its still sobering given that Ohios 49,000 or so prisoners make up 0.4 percent of the states population of 11.75 million.

Coronavirus particularly spread quickly through the Marion and Pickaway correctional institutions, making them two of the top coronavirus hotspots in the United States. Widespread testing at those prisons revealed that about 80 percent of inmates had coronavirus, though the vast majority of them exhibited no visible symptoms.

Chambers-Smith said Monday that while Marion has come out the other side from the outbreak, state officials are now working to contain coronavirus cases at other prisons  most notably Belmont Correctional Institution in Eastern Ohio.

With so many Belmont prison staffers sick (76 confirmed employee cases as of Tuesday), the Ohio National Guard and Ohio State Highway Patrol have been deployed there, as they previously were at Marion, to help provide security and assist with other tasks, Chambers-Smith said.

While DeWine has praised the efforts of state prisons officials to contain the virus, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and other advocacy groups have been loudly critical of the way the governor and other state officials have handled the crisis.

A recent analysis by the ACLU of Ohio and Policy Matters Ohio found that the COVID-19 death rate in Ohio prisons is nearly 10 times higher than in Ohios general population. Ohio has the second-largest per-inmate case rate in the nation, as well as the fourth-highest per-inmate death rate from the coronavirus.

Since the first death was reported in Ohio prisons, there hasnt been a 48-hour period without an increase, and last week we saw the total jump by five within one day, said Jocelyn Rosnick, the ACLU of Ohios policy director, in a statement on Monday.

Gary Daniels, the ACLU of Ohios chief lobbyist, said in an interview that the spread of the coronavirus through Ohio prisons reflects a failure of leadership at all levels -- from judges refusal to impose sentences that dont involve a prison term to state policymakers inability to resolve the states years-long problems with prison overcrowding.

Daniels reiterated his groups longstanding call for DeWine to release thousands of non-violent inmates early to allow for more social distancing within Ohio prisons. The governor, to date, has only approved the release of a fraction of that number.

Obviously, the prison system in the state of Ohio was not adequately prepared to deal with this, Daniels said. "And we have no confidence, or little confidence, that this is going to be any different with new people now entering the prison system.

Read more Ohio coronavirus coverage:

Gov. Mike DeWine lifts Ohios Safe At Home order, makes more coronavirus restrictions voluntary

Judge: BOP hasnt complied with order to address coronavirus at Ohio federal prison

Republican state lawmakers block Democratic proposal requiring masks at Ohio Statehouse

Sen. Sherrod Brown clashes with Trump officials over COVID-19 response

DeWine: Ohio will use all the resources at our disposal to enforce social distancing at bars and restaurants
A Nigerian lady who recently recovered from COVID-19 has told of the effect garlic, ginger, lemon, and tumeric concoction had on her.

The lady talked about what it was like fighting the deadly virus after spending two weeks in the hospital.

She expressed gratitude for her life and said the symptoms is like nothing she has ever experienced.

She shared her symptoms with her followers and said that the Virus is better heard of than experienced.

She also warned people about using the garlic, ginger, lemon and tumeric concoction touted as a good herbal remedy to combat the symptoms of COVID-19. She said drinking the concoction was so corrosive it was slowly peeling off her abdominal lining.

She wrote: Okay so I did not realize how ungrateful I was to be alive until COVID 19 taught me a great lesson. This past two weeks fighting for my life in the hospital no be moinmoin.

Let me tell you what the virus does.

**Dry throat first. You will cough tire nothing will come out.

** Running nose plus better migraine *** The neck pain is first class.

***It will so take away ones sense of smell you cant even perceive bleach as pungent as it is.

**Every food will taste like shaft infact as strong as salt is couldnt taste it.

** Then your lungs will feel like its full of water. To breath will be like you are panting for your life.

**Then when you call for help pray that the person is not dead before ambulance arrives.

Take it easy with the garlic ginger turmeric lemon concoction ooo. It was so corrosive it was slowly peeling off my abdominal lining.

The Virus is better heard of than experienced.

Guys the virus no dey play please stay safe.

FYI. I work frontline so I always wore my face mask, face shield and even goggles. I changed my gloves less than every 5mins, washed my hands and used hand sanitizer to the extent my skin was peeling yet still I caught the virus. Im thankful to God that this picture i have here is not my Obituary.

STAY AT HOME AND ALLOW NO GUEST TO COME VISIT. STAY SAFE.
NIAGARA FALLS and LONDON, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. (TSXV:EHT) ("EHT") is pleased to announce an update on the co-operation agreement with Solar Grants Biotechnology Inc. (formally known as Scattered Gold Biotechnology Inc., "SGB"), announced October 21, 2019.

SGB has developed several plant bioreactor lines (genetically-engineered tobacco) that express and accumulate various recombinant proteins at very high levels, making the process of "upstream production" (biomass generation before extraction/purification) compellingly cost-effective and eco-friendly.

SGB has recently summited a proposal to the Federal Government of Canada for funding which states:

"This project aims to optimize the production of human recombinant proteins using "green bioreactors"- that is, genetically engineered plants capable of producing large quantities of a desired protein in their leaf tissue. The green bioreactor method harnesses the power of photosynthesis to manufacture proteins inside the plants, which can then be extracted in-house at large scale. We have developed this process in collaboration with our partners at Solar Grants Biotechnology Inc., and now seek to maximize cost efficiencies in the protein extraction/purification step of the process to prepare for real-world implementation. The ultimate goal of the project is to realize dramatic cost savings compared to traditional production methods through the production of >100 kg of leaf tissue per month as of November 2020, which translates to approximately 100 grams of certain recombinant proteins. If successful, this will demonstrate the scalable production of recombinant proteins using optimized bioreactor-based processes, thus greatly improving our ability to rapidly respond to the current disease threat brought by COVID-19."

If this project proves successful it will help to lessen the effects of COVID-19 and will demonstrate SGB's technology and hypothesis, in conjunction with EHT's grow units producing the plants in a controlled environment allowing for this process to work in micro environments and at scale. SGB and EHT will form a Joint Venture to patent this IP.

EHT's CEO, John Gamble, commented, "We have confirmed our market entry into the biopharma sector with SGB with our micro grow technology to provide the necessary plant growth for the production of recombinant proteins. We are looking forward to the results."

About EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies

EHT delivers proprietary, turn-key energy solutions which are intelligent, bankable and sustainable. EHT's expertise includes the development of its ENERTEC module structures with full integration of smart energy solutions. Using a proprietary skin and foam core that is stronger than traditional wood or steel structural insulated panels, EHT provides exceptional thermal energy efficiency in modular homes, cold storage facilities, residential/commercial out buildings and emergency/temporary shelters. EHT works with its partners worldwide to erect the buildings on-site utilizing EHT staff and local crews. In addition to traditional support to established electrical networks, ENERTEC buildings excel where no electrical grid exists.

About Solar Grants Biotechnology Inc.

Solar Grants Biotechnology Inc. (formally known as Scattered Gold Biotechnology Inc.) (SGB Inc) is a young Canadian biotechnology company focused on harnessing the power of photosynthesis into the production of recombinant proteins for human needs. Building on similarities of basic biological processes in all living cells, our focus is on turning photosynthesizing plants into capable, scalable, cost-effective "green biofactories" - production platforms for affordable recombinant proteins and other biologics. The company develops carefully crafted, state-of-the-art engineered, low-alkaloid tobacco plant lines that express and accumulate various recombinant proteins and peptides. The process of production is compellingly cost-effective, when compared with the conventional, fermenter bioreactor-based technologies. Developed by SGB Inc, the fine-tuned, photosynthetic "bioreactor tobacco plants" are capable of producing gram-amounts of recombinant proteins in one plant, while reducing carbon dioxide amount in the air and requiring minimal up-front investment - the characteristics of a remarkably environmentally friendly, energy-efficient and cost-effective bioprocess!

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.

The statements herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information relating to sales of the products (the "Opportunities") involves risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, for the Opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Although EHT believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information on the Opportunities outlined 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, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. EHT disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

John Gamble

CEO & Director

(289) 488-1699

jgamble@ehthybrid.com

info@ehthybrid.com

Website: www.ehthybrid.com

SOURCE: EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590658/EnerDynamic--Announces-Update-on-the-Co-Operation-Agreement-with-Solar-Grants-Biotechnology-Inc
Organ donation is one of those subjects most of us push to the back of our minds. Whenever I've seen a stack of donor cards on the pharmacy counter, I've thought, yes, I must get round to signing one of those.

You never know when you might fall under a bus or suddenly drop dead from a heart attack, like my father did. And how wonderful it would be to give life to another person as your own came to an end.

But something has always held me back. Perhaps it's uneasiness at the thought of confronting my own mortality.

While 80 per cent of adults in England say they'd be happy to be on the register of organ donors, only half that number are actually on it. (Stock image)

Or maybe it is the irrational fear that, in a life-or-death situation, doctors might refrain from trying everything to save me  in order to get their hands on my heart or liver. Or maybe it's just laziness.

There are lots of people like me. While 80 per cent of adults in England say they'd be happy to be on the register of organ donors, only half that number are actually on it.

Now, this dilemma has been resolved in decisive fashion  by government. As of yesterday, every adult will be deemed to have given consent for their organs to be donated when they die.

The new legislation follows the passing of the so-called 'Max and Keira's Law'  after the death in a car crash of nine-year-old Keira Ball whose heart then saved the life of Max Johnson, also nine  and means that now, like the people of Wales, we have an 'opt-out' system. (Scotland's law changes next year; Northern Ireland has an opt-in system, where you must register to be a donor).

Uneasy

To put it bluntly, if you don't want to donate (and unless you are part of an excluded group for health reasons or delegate the decision to a nominated individual), you will have to sign up to the register of refuseniks rather than joining the company of those admirable people who believe others are entitled to a chance of life when their own organs have failed.

If the Government has prior claim on my organs, it takes the notion of State control to a new level. (Stock image)

This rather changes the dynamic of the thing. Rationally, I know what I should do. But it feels somehow wrong to assume our consent unless we're organised enough, or motivated enough, to withhold it.

It's plainly a wonderful thing to bestow a second chance of life. My godson, a lovely boy, was born with one kidney; I'd give him one of mine if he needed it and we were a match. And if we weren't and he needed another donor, I'd be praying for someone else's kidney to be available.

I'd go further. If my godson or my son or daughter could die for the want of a new organ, I'd be willing to beg complete strangers for their dead relatives' body parts.

If we want the people we love to have the chance of an organ, morally we should want the same for everyone; the homeless man on the street whose liver fails should have the same chance of life as my godson or anyone else.

So why not maximise the number of donors through this change in the law, which is expected to increase the number of transplants in England by 700 each year? (In 2018-2019, there were around 4,000 transplants.)

The reason for my unease is that this feels like the State over-reaching itself. If the Government has prior claim on my organs, it takes the notion of State control to a new level. If I did opt to give my organs when I die, I would want my donation to be literally that  a gift: something that's given, not taken.

If a member of my family receives an organ, I want to be grateful to the donor; I don't want to feel that the decision was taken out of their hands, that the organ was harvested with presumed consent rather than given willingly.

Troubling

And yet, in practice, if it truly were a matter of life and death for someone I cared about, would I actually turn down an organ taken without the donor's consent? The truth is, I don't know.

I'm not alone in finding this new law troubling. In a statement yesterday, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales made clear their disquiet, arguing that the Catholic Church 'has consistently encouraged its followers to consider organ donation.

The act of donating organs before or after death has been considered a gift and an intrinsic good. However, a system of presumed consent risks taking away the right of the individual to exercise this decision, and therefore potentially undermines the concept of donation as a gift.

They're right. It should be a matter for the individual conscience. My husband, who grew up under communism, is a medic and he's appalled at the prospect of compulsory organ harvesting.

'My body is not the property of the state,' he says. 'Who are doctors to presume to take our organs?'

When working with vulnerable elderly patients, he leaves it for them to bring up the subject of donation, rather than raising an issue they'd find upsetting.

He's right, but the statistics are certainly stark. There are 2,772 men, women and children on the transplant waiting list in the UK and the new 'opt-out' system will certainly boost the numbers of those who get the organ they need.

The good news is that, one day, we won't need organ donations or organ harvesting. We may well get to the point where new organs can be grown  tailor-made if you like  from our own stem cells. But until that time, I honestly think it shouldn't be the state that decides what happens to our bodies.

While I've been writing this I've been thinking about my reluctance to step up and sign the donor consent form. And I think it's to do with the kind of death I should like to have.

Selfish

If my death is as I would like  and the way my mother died last year  I will die in my parents' home in Ireland and my body will stay there for the wake until it's taken to the church for burial three days later. That wouldn't allow for a transplant.

But if I die in hospital I'd be fine about giving away my organs; after all, I won't be needing them.

So, I'll give a qualified consent. I'm going to go on to the NHS website and delegate a member of my family to take the decision for me and talk to them about it.

Is that selfish? Perhaps. But the choice should be mine to make.
On May 6, 2020 two people arrived at the Sheetz in Louisa, Virginia wearing hollowed-out watermelon rinds with holes cut out for the eyes into the store where police say they proceeded to commit a larceny.

Two people walked into a Virginia convenience store wearing hollowed-out watermelons as masks, but they weren't trying to protect themselves from coronavirus. Police say they were there to steal.

One suspect, 20-year-old Justin Rogers was arrested May 15 and charged with wearing a mask in public while committing larceny, underage possession of alcohol, and petit larceny of alcohol, according to Louisa Police Department Chief Tom Leary. He said Rogers will appear in court in July.

A second suspect has also been identified, but police are not releasing their information due to the active investigation.

The incident occurred May 6, when two people wearing watermelons rinds with eye holes cut out arrived at a Sheetz in a 2006 black Toyota Tacoma, according to a press release from police. They went inside at 9:35 p.m., when the crime was committed.

"Im in my 46th year of law enforcement," Leary said. "I've seen a lot of strange things, this certainly ranks up there with some of the more unusual events for sure."

The Louisa Police Department shared a photo on social media Saturday, Leary said, but they took the post down after getting an overwhelming response because they no longer needed any information from the public.

Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man who wore watermelon mask during convenience store theft arrested
President Donald Trump during a meeting with resturant executives in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on May 18, 2020. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Media Slams Trump for Taking Prescribed Hydroxychloroquine Drug

WASHINGTONVirtually minutes after President Donald Trump announced that hes taking a prophylactic regimen of hydroxychloroquine and zinc to ward off COVID-19, a media backlash erupted.

Fox News Neil Cavuto warned: If you are in a risky population here, and you are taking this as a preventative treatment  it will kill you. I cannot stress enough. This will kill you.

Trump said on May 18 that he has been taking the combination for about a week and a half after consulting his doctor; the regimen requires a prescription.

I think its good. Ive heard a lot of good stories. Im not going to get hurt by it. Its been around for 40 years, the president said, adding that youd be surprised at how many people are taking it.

In March, as the death toll mounted, Trump touted the drugs as a possible COVID-19 treatment as a game-changer. He has since been a proponent of the treatment protocol, often saying, what have you got to lose?

White House physician Sean Conley released a letter later on May 18 saying the president is in very good health and has remained symptom-free.

After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks, Conley said.

Trump said he hasnt experienced any side effects, which can include abnormal heart rhythms, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The president is regularly tested for COVID-19, and so far, all have come back negative.

Hydroxychloroquine and the closely related chloroquine have been used for decades to treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

On May 19, many other news headlines warned that the president is taking an unproven treatment and that hes taking it despite safety concerns. Other headlines suggest there is no data to support the prophylactic use of hydroxychloroquine. Trumps stunning claim that hes taking hydroxychloroquine could trigger a cascade of negative effects, one says.

On his Morning Joe program on MSNBC, host Joe Scarborough accused Trump of lying about taking the drugs.

Scarborough said he once ate a meal with Trump, who used many hand wipes to sanitize his hands before eating anything.

So, hes not taking something that his own administration has said will kill you, he said.

In March, the FDA authorized the off-label use of such anti-malarial drugs for patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and said patients and their doctors should make such decisions. In April, the agency then warned against the widespread use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine outside of hospitals or clinical trials.

However, many doctors have indicated that a three-drug regimen of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin (also known as Z-Pak), and zinc has proven largely successful in treating high-risk patients.

Trump suggested his decision to take the drugs was informed partly by a doctor in upstate New York who sent Trump a letter on April 7 outlining the results for the patients he had treated with Z-Pak. At the time, Dr. Vladimir Zelenko had treated 383 patients, all of whom recovered without complications or side effects. The cost of the drugs per patient, he said, was about $20.

Zelenko urged a prophylactic regimen for high-risk individuals such as those in nursing homes, as well as for front-line health workers and police officers.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons said on April 28 that hydroxychloroquine has about a 90 percent chance of helping COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the allergy and infectious disease department of the National Institutes of Health, has warned against the use of unproven hydroxychloroquine due to a lack of clinical trials, which are now underway.

Although there is anecdotal evidence that hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may benefit people with COVID-19, we need solid data from a large randomized, controlled clinical trial to determine whether this experimental treatment is safe and can improve clinical outcomes, Fauci stated on the NIH website.

A clinical study in 2005 determined that chloroquine is a potent inhibitor of the related SARS coronavirus, both as a treatment and as a prophylactic.

One study that many news organizations refer to looked at COVID-19 patients at various Veterans Health Administration medical centers, released in April, found no evidence that hydroxychloroquine was effective against COVID-19, but Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said most of the patients in the study were in the last stages of life.

Trump hosted several recovered patients of COVID-19 at the White House on April 14, including Illinois State Rep. Karen Whitsett, who said she asked her doctor for the treatment and is alive only because she heard Trump tout it.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:43:53|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed Wednesday after super cyclone Amphan battered India's eastern states of West Bengal and Odisha.

According to local media reports, two women and a man were killed after gusty winds uprooted trees in Howrah and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.

The super cyclone triggering winds of up to 190 kmph entered West Bengal accompanied with heavy rains, leaving a trail of destruction.

Officials said the cyclone after making landfall entered into human habitations blowing away makeshift houses, uprooting electric poles and trees.

"The very severe cyclonic storm lay centered at 7:30 p.m. (local time) today, over West Bengal near Latitude 22.6N and Longitude 88.5E, close to Kolkata. Super cyclone - Amphan crossed West Bengal - Bangladesh coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm with the speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph across Sunderban near Latitude 21.65N and Longitude 88.3E," reads information released in the bulletin by India Metrological Department (IMD).

Authorities said they have evacuated 658,000 people in West Bengal and Odisha ahead of the cyclone. Half a million people were evacuated in West Bengal, and over 158,000 were evacuated in Odisha.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) chief S N Pradhan told a press conference in New Delhi that 20 teams of rescuers have begun road clearing operations in Odisha, while in West Bengal the personnel were shifting people to safety.

Video footage telecast on television showed huge tidal waves crashing into beaches and coastline.

The cyclonic storm is likely to get weaker while crossing over Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal later on Wednesday night before entering Bangladesh.

Authorities have deployed 41 teams of NDRF in West Bengal and Odisha.

The severe cyclonic storm comes at a time when India is fighting COVID-19, which has affected 106,750 people in the country and killed 3,303.

Authorities have advised fishermen not to venture into north Bay of Bengal along and off West Bengal-Odisha coasts until Thursday.

Reports said cyclone Amphan is one of the worst storms over the Bay of Bengal in years. Enditem
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Global Automated Guided Vehicle Market The well-known companies profiled in the report include Toyota Industries Corporation, KUKA AG, Daifuku Co. Ltd., Bastian Solutions, Inc., JBT Corporation, Swisslog Holding AG, Seegrid Corporation, Baylo, Inc., EK Automation GmbH, Kion Group AG among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.

Market Overview :

automated guided vehicle market The worldwideis anticipated to reach USD 3,977.8 million by 2026 according to a new study published by Polaris Market Research. In 2017, the automotive sector dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. Europe is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.

Growing need for automation and increasing labor costs fuel the market for adoption of AGV. Use of these automated vehicles increases productivity, and efficiency, while saving time and costs. The increasing demand from industries including healthcare, defense, aerospace, agriculture, and food and beverage is expected to provide growth opportunities in the coming years. Emerging and untapped markets of developing economies further provide growing opportunities to key players in the market. Increasing investments, research and development further boosts the growth of the market.

Get Sample Copy @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automated-guided-vehicle-market/request-for-sample

There has been a high demand for automation in the global market. Companies are automating processes to reduce cost, save time and deliver better quality products. With stiff competition existing in the global market, companies are automating their processes for better quality and increased productivity. These vehicles automate internal processes and reduce the workload of employees, by working in collaboration with workers for better efficiency. Due to stringent safety regulations, companies are forced to employ Automated Guided Vehicles for dangerous and hazardous environment conditions. Automation of manufacturing processes was earlier restricted to only automotive sector. Now, industries such as healthcare, aerospace, food and beverage are also adopting the automated vehicles solutions. Increasing need of automation in various industries is a key factor driving the growth of the market.

With ever-increasing labor costs existing in most of the countries, companies are turning towards AGVs to save costs and time. Their usage increases efficiency while reducing wastage. They also eliminate chances of faults occurring due to human errors. These vehicles can be operated with the help of software, thereby saving the expense spent in training and management of labor. Unavailability of skilled labor to manage the processes along with high labor costs pushes companies towards automation and supplements the growth of this market.

Europe generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Rapid industrialization and increasing automation in the region drives the market growth. Introduction of new advanced technologies and increasing applications in automotive, aerospace, electronics and healthcare sectors is expected to support market growth. Growing demand from automotive industry for high quality products, along with increasing labor costs encourages companies to invest in automation, thereby augmenting growth.

Any Special Requirement | Speck to our Industry Expert @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/automated-guided-vehicle-market/speak-to-analyst

The various end-users of AGVs include automotive, aerospace, healthcare, food and beverage, and others. In 2017, automotive accounted for the largest share in the global market, and is estimated to grow at a substantial rate during the forecast period. Companies use these vehicles in the automotive sector to save cost and increase their production. The key factors driving this market include increasing labor costs, new safety regulations, and need for increased efficiency. Use of AGVs in the automotive industry enables manufacturers to achieve high quality, reliability, economic efficiency and less product life cycle cost.

Buy now : https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/checkouts/271

Contact Us:

Polaris Market Research
Every so often, the world of tennis is thrown into the spotlight for reasons that have littl
- The World Bank board approved Kenya's request for KSh 106.8 billion to strengthen Nairobi's budget from impact of COVID-19

- The money is set to be released the soonest possible to help government meet its financial needs

- CS Ukur Yattani said the money was the largest loan given to Kenya in strengthening the budget

The World Bank has yet again approved an additional KSh 106.8 billion ($1 billion) loan for Kenya to strengthen its budget following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government had appealed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Investment Bank and the World Bank for a KSh 275 billion budget support package to help it deal with the cash crisis occasioned by the pandemic.

READ ALSO: Alfred Keter amshambulia Khalwale, asema anafuata mamilioni ya DP

National Treasury CS Ukur Yattani said the World Bank loan demonstrated confidence that the international financier has for Kenya. Photo: Daily Nation

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Millicent Omanga among 48 senators supporting Kithure Kindiki's impeachment

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, May 20, while confirming the approval, National Treasury CS Ukur Yattani said the money was the largest Development Policy Operation (DPO) that the government had received from the international financier.

"World Bank board gives full approval to Kenyas DPO of USD 1Billion (KSh 106.8 billion). This is the largest DPO weve ever received," said Yattani.

A DPO is an assistance programme given by the World Bank to its clients and can come in the form of a loan, a grant or credit.

READ ALSO: William Ruto's Mt Kenya allies quietly shifting allegiance to Uhuru amid Tanga Tanga purge

The assistance is disbursed rapidly to help the borrower to address their financing requirements.

The CS attributed the board's approval to the confidence the World Bank has for Kenya following the new policy reforms despite the fact that it has a weak macro economic framework.

Notably, the money is a different package from that given to fight COVID-19 and is aimed at resuscitating the economy and financing budget shortfalls.

In 2019, World Bank raised read flag over Kenya's ballooning debt. Photo: Daily Nation

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother laid to rest in Bungoma

In 2019, the World Bank made a similar disbursement to the exchequer to the tune of KSh 80 billion.

However, the same bank had issued warning over Kenya's rising debts with the external financier advising the government to find alternative financial sources.

In the wake of the pandemic, the World Bank now seems to have gone against its red flag and has financed Kenya including giving KSh 6 billion to help in the fight against COVID-19.

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
The parents of a woman who died after she was catfished by her best friend say they will continue to fight for the act to be made illegal.

Renae Marsden was a victim of a catfishing scheme concocted by her ex-lover in a bid to stay close to her, a Sydney inquest has found.

Parents Mark and Teresa Marsden say they will continue to campaign for catfishing to be criminalised, with hopes the law would be named after their daughter.

In her findings, Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott fell short of saying the act of catfishing should be illegal and said further examination was required.
Leh Leh Win appears in an undated photo that hangs on a wall of her house in the town of Pantanaw in southwest Myanmar's Ayeyarwady region.

Police in Myanmars Ayeyarwady region have charged one of four suspects for their involvement in an acid attack on a businesswoman last October, with the victim and her lawyer saying they did not understand why the other three were not charged, she told RFA on Wednesday.

Leh Leh Win, the 30-year-old victim who filed a criminal complaint on March 19 at Pantanaw Myoma Police Station, said she believes that the attack that occurred outside her central city home on Oct. 24 was carried out by two local residents with the assistance of two police officers.

RFA reported previously that she was hospitalized and underwent several rounds of surgery as medical personnel tried to keep her alive. Though she lost sight in her right eye, doctors were able to save her left eye.

In March, she told RFA that she believed one of her assailants to be a woman with whom she had quarreled on social media in October. She claimed that after the disagreement on Facebook, the woman came to her house and threatened her.

Leh Leh Win then told the police, but an officer said they could not arrest the other woman because she had connections with higher authorities.

The attack occurred three days later. In the complaint, the two civilians are accused of trespassing, obscenity, and criminal intimidation, while the two police officers were charged with criminal intimidation and aiding gambling.

The Pantanaw township court formally charged one of the four persons listed in the complaint Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear to either Leh Leh Win or her lawyer Si Thu Kyaw Min why only one of the four suspects was charged, she told RFAs Myanmar Service.

We filed charges against four people, but only Myint Myint Maw was charged under [article] 451 for trespassing, [article] 294 for obscenity, [article] 506 for criminal intimidation, and [article] 114 for abetting, she said, referring to Myanmars penal code.

Leh Leh Win said they still aim to have all four included in the suit.

The court granted bail to Myint Myint Maw, set at 200,000 kyats (U.S. $142). RFA could not confirm if she was the woman with whom Leh Leh Win had an online spat with in October.

RFA tried to contact Leh Leh Wins lawyer, but he did not respond.

Police were ordered to investigate the case by the Union parliaments Legal Aid Committee on March 18, one day after Mann Thein Nyunt, Pantanaws representative in the lower house, became aware of the incident after viewing content on RFAs website.

Acid attacks are unusual in Myanmar, although they occur occasionally in other South and Southeast Asian countries.

Reported by Thant Zin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Khin Ei. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
The United Arab Emirates flew its first publicly announced flight to Israel on Tuesday when Etihad Airways sent medical supplies to help the Palestinians cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Except for Jordan and Egypt, Arab countries have no official relations with Israel but Gulf Arab nations like the UAE and the Jewish state have been warming ties recently amid shared concern over Iran.

"Etihad Airways operated a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv on 19 May to provide medical supplies to the Palestinians," an Etihad spokesperson said. "The flight had no passengers on board."

The official UAE news agency WAM said the flight involved the delivery of 14 tonnes of urgent medical supplies that "will support the efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the occupied Palestinian territory".

WAM added: "The aid includes personal protective equipment, PPE, and medical equipment. Most notably, it includes 10 ventilators that are acutely needed."

Israel controls access to the Palestinian territories.

The Etihad delivery was described as part of broader humanitarian efforts.

"Etihad Airways continues to operate many humanitarian flights providing much needed aid to nations within its network and beyond."

The Arab countries have called for a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as a condition for normalising ties with the Jewish state.

The Arab League frequently denounces Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank as well as Israel's policy toward the Gaza Strip.

But Gulf Arab states have shown signs of a rapprochement with Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman in 2018, for example. Other moves involve Israeli athletes and officials being increasingly allowed to visit the Gulf states.
ARMONK, N.Y., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Automated Marking Incorporated, a nationally recognized leader in the marking and coding industry, announces crisis response and assistance measures, meant to help essential industries adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Westchester, New York based business has been in operation since 1903, and is the exclusive North American wholesale distributor of Reiner products, including their key line of Handheld Inkjet Printers.

"We have clients of all sizes, and for many of our customers we act in part as a true value add advisor when it comes to their packaging as well as marking and coding needs. We have decades of experience, we carry and install high-throughput systems for some of the largest manufacturers in the world. At the same time, our product portfolio includes highly adaptable portable handheld inkjet products that enable cost effective printing on a wide array of packaging and parts," shared Julian Mear, CEO at the family-owned business. "Because of our expertise and range of solutions, many of our long-time clients come to us when they have a challenge as we are known throughout the industry to provide resourcefulness and innovative thinking in return."

AMI works within a wide variety of industries. Our industries of focus include, food and grocery wholesale companies, such as Coca Cola and Nestle, medical device makers like Sage / Stryker and Medtronic, and manufacturers of important commodities such as pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment (PPE), from companies like Sanofi, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and 3M.

"Our client base includes many global companies that are currently deemed 'essential' manufacturers. Our research team found that the federal government is working proactively on concerns related to medical, pharmaceutical and other critical supply chain continuity."

Among the most pressing needs, the FDA has directed manufacturers to consider reevaluation of expiry dates of certain drugs and potentially re-code products "with the longest possible expiration date that the FDA agrees is scientifically justified" to mitigate shortages of critical human drugs.

Additionally, enhancing track and trace methodology within supply chain operations has become an urgent topic for manufacturers in response to the global pandemic. "We've been contacted by numerous companies, who are extremely pleased to find that we can offer products to seamlessly integrate into their production lines for marking barcodes as well as human readable data on all packaging sizes, shapes, and colors. Our products also integrate with database and ERP systems as well as track and trace software to ensure the greater visibility and adaptability into supply chain operations."

Given the critical nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government as well as private entities recognize the importance of product marking and coding for manufacturers and distributors of essential products. Focusing on the keystone issues which includes track and trace, date and lot coding, warning symbols, etc. ensures regulation compliance and the safety and health of consumers.

AMI has created a Hotline for immediate assistance and answers, that number is 800-345-6667 with priority given to manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, food items and other essential goods.

Automated Marking Incorporated is a leading provider of marking and coding solutions in North America, specializing in serving the food and beverage, parts marking, manufacturing, health, beauty, pharmaceutical and cannabis industries. Founded in 1903, the family owned and managed business has strategic partnerships with some of the industries leading manufacturers, and they are the exclusive distributor of the Reiner product line in North America.

Enormous Creative is a New York based advertising and marketing agency specializing in new media, digital marketing and public relations. We promote awesome brands.

If you would like more information, please contact:

John Van Dekker - [email protected] - 914-800-9222

SOURCE Automated Marking Incorporated

Related Links

https://handheldinkjet.com


Srinagar, May 20 (IANS) Security forces arrested a top militant associate and three over-ground workers (OGWs) during a cordon and search operation in the Budgam district of J&K, on Wednesday. Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, May 20 : Security forces arrested a top militant associate and three over-ground workers (OGWs) during a cordon and search operation in the Budgam district of J&K, on Wednesday.

The security forces, including the Rashtriya Rifles and the police, busted a module of the LeT during a cordon and search operation at the Budran village of the Magam area in the district.

The operation was launched on the basis of specific input. "We arrested a top militant associate identified as Muzaffar Ahmad Dar and three OGWs -- Mudasir Lone, Younis Waza and Nazir Sheikh," the police said.

A pistol, grenade and incriminating material were recovered from them, the police added.

The group was active in the area for some months and was responsible for providing logistic support to terrorists, the police said.
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers by way of "Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme."

Under the Scheme, 100 percent guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.

A corpus of Rs 41,600 crore shall be provided by the government spread over the current and the next three financial years. The Cabinet also approved that the Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL Facility during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme to October 31, 2020, or till an amount of Rs 3,00,000 crore is sanctioned under the GECL, whichever is earlier.

The main objective of the Scheme is to provide an incentive to Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), i.e., Banks, Financial Institutions (FIs) and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) to increase access to, and enable availability of additional funding facility to MSME borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing them 100 per cent guarantee for any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the GECL funding by borrowers, an official release said.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing the first tranche of the Rs 20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Package anounced six measures are exclusively meant for the MSME sector including the new definition of the sector.

Accordingly, the investment limit for defining MSMEs has been revised upwards.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on May 5 announced a cumulative package of Rs 20 lakh crore (nearly 10 per cent of GDP) to provide relief to various segments of the economy. This included Rs 1.7 lakh crore package comprising of free foodgrains and cash to poor for three months announced in March, and Rs 5.6 lakh crore stimulus provided through various monetary policy measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

India has been under nationwide lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Divisadero, NoPa

Photo: Courtesy of Bar Crudo/Instagram

This month marks the 15th anniversary of Bar Crudo, the popular Divisadero seafood restaurant owned by twin brothers Mike and Tim Selvera.

Originally opened at 603 Bush St. in 2005, the restaurant has been serving up its signature oysters, ceviche and chowder at 655 Divisadero St. since 2009.

But after two months of a closed dining room, the Selveras are returning with a new concept: El Crudo, which will serve tacos and burritos inspired by their Southern California upbringing.

Tim Selvera (left) and Mike Selvera. | Photo: Jessica Brown/Bar Crudo

The idea for El Crudo had been in the works prior to the pandemic, as a possible solution for weekend brunch  which the restaurant had never previously offered.

When the shelter-in-place order forced them to close Bar Crudo's doors, Mike (who oversees the food) and Tim (who handles the front-of-house and craft beer menu) decided to take advantage. Behind the boarded-up windows, the pair have been honing recipes and learning to make tortillas from scratch.

El Crudo's menu will change from week to week, primarily focusing on tacos. This week's offerings include a birria-style taco, a spring veggie tostada, and a roasted chicken taco with a peanut butter mole  a recipe the Selveras' grandmother often made for them as kids.

While the family recipe calls for jarred chili powder and peanut butter, the Selveras have elevated it by using chilies, fresh peanuts, sesame seeds and chicken stock.

Its really good," Mike said. "Spicy and peanut-y."

To drink, El Crudo will offer aguas frescas, horchata and Mexican Coke, in addition to Bar Crudo's array of craft beer, cider and wine.

Mike Selvera said that he and his brother will work on expanding the menu in the coming weeks, adding items like a birria burrito. Eventually, he said, they hope to add on some of Bar Crudos most popular menu items, such as the chowder, the arctic char and the lobster beet salad. Ceviche and oysters are also likely additions.

Story continues

Whether Bar Crudo will return, or remain El Crudo, is an open question. When dining rooms reopen, it's possible that the Selveras could go back to their original plan, serving tacos for brunch and Bar Crudo's regular seafood menu at night. But they're not sure the latter will resonate with customers anymore.

Im not sure if people will be up for buying a $28 lobster salad," Mike said. "We will just have to see where we're at. Its hard to say."

Bar Crudo's crudo sampler, paired with craft beer. | Photo: Alisa Scerrato/Hoodline

For now, El Crudo is open Wednesdays through Saturdays, from noon to 6 p.m. Diners will need to order in advance through Tock for curbside pick-up, though Mike says he's considering eventually offering walk-up service as well.

We just want to get our speed up right now," he said, adding that customers can also pre-order their food directly by calling the restaurant at (415) 409-0679.
Public Records

Justice of the Peace

Dates: May 8-14, 2020

Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC assignee of Capital One Bank (USA) N.A./Capital One Bank (USA), N.A. vs. Jessica Falcon  debt claim  dismissed  non-suited or dismissed by plaintiff

Ramon Perez vs. The State of Texas  occupational administrative hearing  disposed  all other dispositions, Order Denied

Rick Lucio vs. Dorthy Hubbard  small claims  disposed  trial/hearing by judge/hearing officer
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (File image: Reuters)

The details of the Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity facility for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs), announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package, has shocked the industry. Under the scheme, the funds offered are only for a three-month tenure. The industry was expecting liquidity support for at least three years.

We are completely disappointed. With a 3-month repayment period, this scheme is a non-starter. No NBFC will be able to repay money back in that short period, said Raman Agarwal, co-chairman of Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC), a representative body of NBFCs. Had the government consulted with NBFCs, this would not have happened, said Agarwal.

On Wednesday, the government issued the details of the Rs 30,000 crore special liquidity scheme for non-banking finance companies and housing finance companies following Cabinet approval. The scheme was first announced by the finance minister in the 2020-21 budget speech and later fast-tracked as part of the COVID-19 economic package.

According to the details put out in the public domain by the government today, the scheme will be implemented through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by a large PSU bank. This SPV will issue bonds guaranteed by the government which will be purchased by the Reserve Bank of India. The money will be then used by the SPV to acquire the debt of at least investment grade of short duration (residual maturity of up to 3 months) of eligible NBFCs / HFCs, the government said.

There is no point in borrowing money for three months. This didnt require a government scheme. We anyway borrow money from the market for such short tenures, said an NBFC industry official.

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 government notification, the direct financial implication for the government is Rs 5 crore, which may be the equity contribution to the SPV. Beyond that, there is no financial implication for the government until the guarantee involved is invoked. However, on invocation, the extent of government liability would be equal to the amount of default subject to the guarantee ceiling.

NBFCs, especially smaller ones, are struggling for liquidity after COVID-19 impacted the economy and lenders resorted to invest only in AAA-rated papers fearing default. This created liquidity woes for the smaller NBFCs, MFIs and HFCs. Borrowing money for three months will also create a huge asset-liability mismatch for NBFCs, industry representatives fear. We lend for longer tenures, say at least 3 years and sometimes for 10-15 years. How does borrowing for three months make sense for us, said P Satish, executive director of Sa-Dhan, an industry body of NBFC-MFIs.

Under the economic package, Sitharaman announced schemes worth Rs 75,000 crore for NBFCs. Besides Rs 30,000 crore, the minister also announced a partial credit guarantee scheme for Rs 45,000 crore. Under the scheme, the first 20 percent of the loss will be borne by the government which will be the guarantor.
According to the health officials, a second wave of the pandemic is imminent within the coming months. However, analysts expect that the first wave might peak as late as May because business operations are reopening.

On another note, the government claims they are keen on responding to the rising criminality rate through deployment of the military in municipalities.

Government to still conduct tests

In an interview, Lopez-Gatell said that mass testing would be useless since most of the results would come back negative. Despite thinking it was not a priority, he said that more tests would still be done in Mexico, this time in a "carefully planned manner".

He said responding to the surge of cases in Mexico with a strategy as "inefficient" as mass testing would only be a waste of resources.

The Lopez Obrador administration already lifted quarantine measures for low-risk municipalities this Monday. According to data by global statistics website worldometer, Mexico so far tested 1,200 people for every million in the population.

Currently, the Mexican government only conducts coronavirus tests on patients with severe health complications. Patients with mild symptoms or who could be asymptomatic would run the risk of infecting more people should they be dismissed by authorities.

Lopez-Gatell insisted that cases were starting to go down in the metropolitan area, which he believed could represent the situation of the rest of Mexico.

The combined rejection of both the government and the health ministry to mass testing incited much criticism from the public. Lack of testing would only suggest that Mexico failed to illustrate a more accurate picture of the grim reality that the healthcare systems were facing.

Check these out:

Military coordinates with the National Guard

Last week, President Andres Manual Lopez Obrador issued a decree to allow the army to support the National Guard in the management of cartel-related crimes. This would last for five years.

Civil society and human rights organizations expressed their concern over the order. The presidential decree failed to specify how the military should be tasked with public safety duties or how they will cooperate with the National Guard. Worries were also raised about the militarization of public safety, which Lopez Obrador denied.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, members of the National Guard have already been deployed at hospitals. Most of the violent incidents that happened near healthcare institutions were assaults against medical personnel, and so the presence of the police would be to discourage that.

Whatever the government's solution, the drug cartels have been on the move during the pandemic. After providing relief packages to vulnerable communities in the rural areas, the criminal groups have also begun imposing authority over the localities through enforcing their own curfews.

The army would join the National Guard in handling these kinds of crime. This would also mean they would become more vulnerable to corruption and infiltration by members of the cartels, which was only a part of a myriad of security problems Mexico is facing.
By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Mild tension prevailed on Tuesday at LG Polymers plant at RR Venkatapuram when residents, mostly women, staged a sit-in demanding more relief as their village was badly affected.

Their discontent triggered into a protest as hundreds of villagers started moving towards LG Polymers gate on Tuesday. However, they were stopped by the police. They said people of Venkatapuram gave their lands for the plant and the village now was suffering from the tragedy.

The protesters demanded free ration and essentials for two months, health cards for all and setting up of a multi-speciality hospital in the village. The Chief Minister had announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore to the families of those who died, Rs 10 lakh for those who underwent treatment on ventilators, Rs 1 lakh for those who were hospitalised and Rs 25,000 for those who were in hospital for three days.

E Appa Rao of Venkatapuram said after they returned to the villages, officials asked them not to consume any food and water in their houses. "When people opened the doors of houses, gas was present and all edible items got damaged. Even furniture such sofas, cots and beds were also damaged. As per NEERI advice, we have disposed of everything. For the first four days, the GVMC officials arranged food, including breakfast lunch and dinner. Later, LG Polymers supplied food and later it stopped food supply," he explained. "Now, we dont have any commodities to consume. The damage is far more than the compensation we got," he claimed.

Minister visits affected areas

Visakhapatnam: Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao and former MLA Vijaya Prasad visited the affected areas of LG Polymers gas leak on Tuesday. "The revamp of harmful industries across the state will begin from LG Polymers to ensure public safety and welfare," said Srinivasa Rao. He further assured the residents that the government and courts are with the people and public welfare is high priority for the state government.
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Wirecard AG is seen in Aschheim near Munich

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The investor TCI Fund Management said on Tuesday that it has filed a criminal complaint against Wirecard managers with public prosecutors in Munich.

A recent independent audit by KPMG, along with reporting by the Financial Times and WirtschaftsWoche, "reveal anomalies that may have criminal relevance", it said.

Wirecard, which has repeatedly denied allegations including accounting irregularities and disclosures violations, said TCI's complaint was "completely unfounded".

TCI has disclosed that it has net short positions against Wirecard stock, a bet that the shares will fall.

"TCI is not a shareholder of Wirecard AG, but is active as a short seller," Wirecard said, adding that the filing is a "purely tactical manoeuvre of a short seller".

Prosecutors in Munich confirmed that they were reviewing a complaint they had received, with its more than 40 pages and 30 enclosures.

(Reporting by Patricia Uhlig; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Madeline Chambers)
Ride-hailing giant Ola has announced laying off 1,400 employees, or over 33 per cent of its workforce, as Covid-19 continues to pound the transportation industry. The Bengaluru-based firm said it had to take this step because the situation was not expected to improve anytime soon. The Covid crisis continues to unfold all around us, causing unprecedented economic and social destruction.

It has also become evident that the coronavirus will not be eliminated anytime soon. We will rather have to learn to live with the virus and resultant implications, Ola ...
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the United States have agreed to extend a ban on non-essential cross-border travel by another 30 days to help the fight against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. 'This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe,' Trudeau told reporters. The ban, introduced in mid-March, was extended in April until May 21.

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada and the United States have agreed to extend a ban on non-essential cross-border travel by another 30 days to help the fight against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.

"This is an important decision that will keep people in both of our countries safe," Trudeau told reporters. The ban, introduced in mid-March, was extended in April until May 21.

Similar restrictions are in place between the United States and Mexico. A U.S. official told Reuters the three nations planned to announce an extension before the limitations expire on Wednesday.

Relations between Canada and the United States have steadily improved since a low point in June 2018, when U.S. President Donald Trump accused Trudeau of being weak.

Trump though said on Tuesday that Washington should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle. A new free trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico comes into effect on July 1.

Canadian officials did not respond to requests for comment. Canada exported C$2.75 billion worth of beef in 2018, 74% of it to the United States.

The restrictions do not cover trade across a border that stretches 5,525 miles (8,891 km).

Trudeau said when non-essential travel restarted, Canada would need "to have strong measures in place".

Acting U.S. Department of Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf said Washington would examine how Canada and Mexico were handling the outbreak.

"What we don't want to do is try to open up parts of our economy and have a lot of folks coming across the border that we haven't seen in the past 50 or 60 days," he said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event.

Canada's total coronavirus death toll edged up by less than 1% to 5,857, the lowest daily increase since the crisis started, official data showed.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, David Shepardson and Ted Hesson in Washington and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Delhi police said on Wednesday they have arrested five people for allegedly ferrying migrant workers to Bihar in two tempo-travellers using forged e-passes.

They said the e-passes were issued to a person in Panipat in Haryana.

The vehicles were intercepted in Bawana area on Monday night and 24 migrant labourers, destined for Muzaffarpur, were detained, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer-North) Gaurav Sharma said.

"The drivers showed e-passes issued by the district magistrate of Panipat. On inquiry, all migrants said they were the residents of Bawana, which created suspicion. Police scanned the QR codes on the passes but it could not be read," Sharma said.

When the QR code was finally scanned, it came to light that the e-pass was issued to a Panipat resident for a marriage function. The other e-pass was also forged, police said.

The accused have been identified as Namnu Prasad (28), Rakesh Mohan (42) , both residents of Uttam Nagar; Krishan Mohan (45), Mohit Nagpal (33), both residents of Bawana; and Shankar Choudhary (45), a resident of Ghoga Dairy, they said.

Nagpal runs a grocery shop in Bawana and he duped the labourers who purchased groceries from his shop that he can arrange a transport home for them during the lockdown.

The others joined him and charged each labourer Rs 5,200 for the journey, Sharma said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Iranian parkour athlete has been arrested for committing "vulgar" acts, police said Wednesday, after he posted photos online of himself kissing a woman on Tehran's rooftops.

"This individual has been arrested by Tehran's cyber police," the capital's police chief Hossein Rahimi was quoted as saying by semi-official news agency ISNA.

"We are against this individual and his companion's norm-breaking and vulgar behaviour and the police and the judiciary will certainly deal with them," he added, without naming the person who was arrested.

The individual appeared to be Alireza Japalaghy, a Tehran-based parkour athlete with more than 133,000 followers on Instagram.

Parkour is an extreme sport born in France in the 1990s that combines the efficiency of movement across the urban landscape with death-defying leaps.

It has a following in neighbourhoods of west Tehran, where high-rise residential buildings are closely connected.

Japalaghy had posted a series of photos and videos last week showing him and an unidentified woman in revealing outfits hanging off buildings and kissing.

Under the Islamic dress code, women can only show their face, hands and feet in public and are supposed to wear only modest colours.

In an Instagram video on Monday, he said he had received "suspicious calls" telling him to turn himself in or be arrested publicly.

His brother posted an update on the same account the next day, saying Alireza had been taken from their home and arrested.

According to police chief Rahimi, the woman in Japalaghy's photos "will also be arrested soon".
Controversial male barbie, Idris Okuneye simply known and addressed as Bobrisky says he sometimes wonders if he is the only famous person in Nigeria.

Speaking via her official Instagram page, the controversial figure added that the rate at which people drop messages on his phone is quite alarming.

Sometimes I asked myself dis question. Am i d only famous person in Nigeria ? D way you guys blow my phone with messages is crazy.

Read Also: Bobrisky Drops New Photo As He Goes To See Boo In His Office

Advertisement

I literally charge my phone every 1hr. Over 21,000 messages I love u guys.

I know I have haters but I can tell you that people who love me are way more than d haters. And I know d haters will have no choice to love soon because my heart is GOLD.
With infection rates on the decline throughout much of Turkey, the government will loosen quarantine restrictions for citizens returning from abroad, the countrys state-owned news agency reported today.

Under the current rules, Turkish citizens are required to spend 14 days in quarantine in student dorms where they undergo medical checks for signs of COVID-19. Returnees will now self-quarantine for two weeks at their homes, reports Reuters, citing Anadolu Agency.

At least 9,700 citizens are in isolation in dormitories across 76 provinces, Youth and Sport Minister Mehmet Kasapoglu said today. Most recently, 157 Turks from Germany and 53 returning from Tanzania were evacuated on chartered flights and put under 14-day quarantines.

"Following the instructions from our president, we are hosting our guests from all corners of the world in our dormitories," Kasapoglu said, referring to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey registered 972 more cases of the coronavirus today; Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said this was the first day since March 25 that the number had fallen below 1,000. He also said this week that the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care is declining. As of today, Turkey has recorded 152,587 coronavirus cases and 4,222 deaths from the virus.

The government has introduced a normalization plan to slowly reopen the economy without losing gains made. Shopping malls, barbershops and some stores have so far reopened with strict social distancing measures in place.

While still grappling with the pandemic at home, Turkey sent a shipment of personal protective equipment to the United States last month. On Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed COVID-19 cooperation during a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and thanked him for Turkeys generous donation.
Anderson Cooper and Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has a number of achievements under her fashionable belt, and for this reason, it pains me to write this about a woman I admire. But yesterday, she was wrong.

On Monday, Pelosi made waves in Washington when she razzed Donald Trump by calling him morbidly obese. Her comment came in response to a question posed by Anderson Cooper about Trumps use of hydroxychloroquine, which the President believes, unabashedly, can prevent him from catching COVID-19, a claim that lacks evidence of success.

As far as the president is concerned, hes our president and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, she said, continuing: Especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say. So, I think its not a good idea.

Related: Download The Mighty app to connect in real time with people who can relate to what you're going through.

If you watch the video, as Ive done a few times now, its pretty clear Pelosi is using Trumps weight as a dig. Shes doing something Ive admonished on this platform many times before called concern trolling. When you concern troll, you pretend to advocate for something that you are actually shaming. In this case, Pelosi is pretending to show concern for Trumps overall health, but she really means to get under his skin.

This is problematic for a few reasons. First, it serves no one for Trump and Pelosi to sling insults at one another, but fat-shaming him stands to hurt a lot of people. When Pelosi trolls Trump on television, shes speaking to a national audience which includes people with all kinds of body types and sizes who might internalize her words about Trump and apply them to themselves. Since her comments went viral, hashtags like #PresidentPlump have surfaced on Twitter.

Story continues

Related: Fewer Traffic Collisions During Shutdown Means Longer Waits for Organ Donations

Now, I expect some people reading this article will object, as they often do whenever a fat person talks about fatphobia and marginalization. Pelosi certainly isnt the first person, or even the first politician, to go after someone for their weight. Even Trump, himself was quoted saying about a protester in a rally, That guys got a serious weight problem. Go home, start exercising.

Yes Magazine calls fat-shaming the last acceptable bias. By stooping to Trumps level of attack, while easy to do when dealing with someone like him, Pelosi has solidified the fear-mongered idea that fat is bad, unhealthy and will ultimately kill you.

Its a widely-held perception. So much so I wouldnt be surprised to see people using it to concern troll me in the comments of this article, despite evidence that not every fat person is a product of an unhealthy environment and on the precipice of sudden death. The fact remains, there are a number of ways Pelosi could have answered that question to highlight Trumps gullibility or ignorance of medical advice about the drug without talking about his weight, and they would have been more accurate and effective.

Related: What COVID-19 Is Teaching Us About Working From Home for Health Reasons

Next, the term morbidly obese is antiquated. In medical terminology, the word morbid means causing someone to be unhealthy. In the context of weight, morbid refers to an unhealthy metabolism, not necessarily size. That means thin people who begin to undergo metabolic changes can have the same health issues as larger people. The common denominator isnt weight, its metabolism.

According to The Metabolism Clinic, the word morbid is applicable to anyone regardless of weight; but most definitely does not begin when a patient becomes obese. So morbidly obese, in addition to being a term that just comes off as derogatory, is a bit of misnomer that fans the flames that obesity is inherently bad.

Fat women in the age of Donald Trump need a hero more than ever. And sometimes Pelosi runs with the torch, but today Im thinking about something that was said by another famous political figure I admire  Michelle Obama. Obama said, When they go low, we go high. I remember watching that speech, and the words just hit me like a ton of bricks. Its so simple, When they go low, we go high, right? While working in todays toxic cesspool called Washington surely requires a degree grit, I would love to see Nance channel her inner Michelle Obama next time she is asked to opine on Donald Trump. Im, quite frankly, tired of explaining why.

Read more stories like this on The Mighty:

Trump's Prophylactic Use of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 Sparks Backlash

Why We Need to Check In With Children During the Coronavirus Pandemic

4 Tips for Distance Learning With Multiple Children During COVID-19

What It's Like Campaigning During COVID-19 as a School Board Candidate With a Disability
- President Rodrigo Duterte has weighed in on the case of NCRPO chief Debold Sinas

- The President said that Sinas is an honest and good officer so he will not be transferred

- Duterte also mentioned that it was not Sinas' fault that he was serenaded during his birthday

- President Duterte insisted that he studied the merits and demerits but he needs Sinas for the job

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

President Rodrigo Duterte has finally decided on whether he will keep or terminate National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Debold Sinas after his controversial birthday celebration.

KAMI learned that President Duterte defended the mananita of Sinas.

In a report by CNN Philippines, Duterte said that Sinas is a good and honest officer. He also mentioned that it was not the fault of the NCRPO chief that he was serenaded during his birthday.

Ako yung ayaw na malipat siya. He is a good officer. He is an honest one. Hindi niya kasalanan kung may mang-harana sa kanya sa birthday niya, President Duterte said.

At kung yun namang sabi na nakikita hindi naka-mask, eh siyempre may mga meryenda yan, may pagkain. Alangan namang kainin nila pati yung mask. Di tatanggalin talaga nila, he added

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

The President also explained that he studied the merits and demerits of Sinas case. Therefore, he decided to keep him because he needs him for his job.

Sabihin mo the law is the law, well, akin na yun. Its my responsibility but I will not order his transfer. He stays there until further orders, the President said.

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, the Palace said that the President admitted that the gathering of people for Sinas birthday was wrong.

Earlier, the birthday celebration of Sinas drew flak from netizens for allegedly violating the enhanced community quarantine guidelines that prohibit mass gathering and strictly observe social distancing.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
Baker County Circuit Judge Matthew B. Shirtcliff, who invalidated Oregon Gov. Kate Browns emergency stay home orders this week, is Facebook friends with the pastor of the Baker County church thats the lead plaintiff in the case.

The connection in the high-profile case  now before the Oregon Supreme Court -- highlights what judicial experts say is an ongoing discussion about the proper use of social media by judges.

It also reveals the practical problem in a sparsely populated county with just a single state judge and one who served as district attorney for almost two decades. Chances are that longtime members of the political and legal community like Shirtcliff know a lot of people who might appear before him.

Among them: Elkhorn Baptist Church Senior Pastor Tim Fisher. Fisher spent 21 years as a sheriffs deputy in the county and said Tuesday that he sent a friend request to the judge when a recommendation popped up on his screen within the past year.

Ive known the judge over 25 years, but our relationship has always been professional, Fisher said.

Fisher didnt give the personal Facebook link between the two much thought when the case  brought by his church and nine others -- went before Shirtcliff this month, with Shirtcliff ruling on Monday, he said.

We dont hang out with him or anything, the pastor said. It doesnt concern me because the judge and I dont have a personal relationship.

Shirtcliff did not respond to emails or a phone message. His judicial assistant, Amy Swiger, said judicial ethics constraints prevent the judge from commenting or granting an interview on a case before him.

Shirtcliff was appointed to the bench Nov. 1 by Brown after serving as Baker Countys top prosecutor for 18 years.

Oregon has no written guidelines on use of social media for judges.

The Oregon Code on Judicial Conduct, along with the American Bar Associations model Code of Judicial Conduct, tells judges they should disqualify themselves in any proceeding where a reasonable person would question the judges impartiality.

According to the Oregon code, that could include a personal bias or prejudice relating to one party in the case, one of the lawyers or personal knowledge of the facts that are in dispute. Other disqualifying circumstances include if a close relative or friend is involved in the proceeding, if the judge or a spouse has an economic interest in the case or if the judge has made statements that indicate a commitment to a particular result.

Polk County Circuit Judge Norman R. Hill, who chairs the states Judicial Conduct Committee, said social media and judges is a hot topic. The committee educates judges on their obligations under the states judicial code of conduct.

Theres a lot of discussion, Hill said.  But I dont think theres any court opinions in Oregon that deal specifically with what judges can or cannot do on social media.

Much of the debate centers on whether judges should send or accept friend messages on social media from lawyers who appear before them.

What does it say when Im friending somebody? It doesnt mean the same thing as thats my friend. Thats hard to explain, and it creates issues, Hill said.

Most judges, Hill said, would likely advise its better not to be on Facebook or accept friend requests from lawyers but theres no bright line rule.

The judicial conduct code clearly says judges cant do anything that would give the impression that theyre biased, but just because judges know someone doesnt mean they cant hear the case, he said.

The next question is whether a judges relationship with the person in question could affect impartial decision-making, Hill said.

Yet even if the judge has no bias, Hill noted: Could a reasonable person in the community raise a legitimate question about your bias? Thats a slippery concept because whats reasonable?

Senior Judge Phyllis Williams Kotey, who teaches professional ethics at Florida International Universitys College of Law in Miami, said theres been an evolution over the years as to what it means to be a friend on Facebook or another social media account.

Kotey said judges should disclose any relationships they have with a party in the case, but that doesnt mean they must step aside from hearing a matter.

In todays world of social media, its sometimes impossible for judges to know who all their friends are on a social media account, said Kotey, who has been on the faculty of the National Judicial College for 20 years,.

Thats why she said she tends not to accept law school students as Facebook friends.

It really is going to depend on the nature of the relationship, she said.

In a small county or town, if judges conflicted out of all of their cases based on who they knew, they wouldnt be able to do their job, she said.

In the Baker County case, Kotey said the same questions could be asked about Shirtcliffs potential bias in relation to the governor because Brown appointed him to the bench.

I think theres an issue for both sides, she said.

The governors staff filed an emergency appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court, which has put a hold on Shirtcliffs ruling and set a deadline of Friday to get briefs in the dispute.

Shirtcliff ruled that the governors executive orders in response to the global pandemic exceeded a 28-day limit adopted by state lawmakers and were no longer valid in response to a suit filed by 10 churches against the governor.

Chief Justice Martha L. Walters recused herself from the high courts decision to put Shirtcliffs decision on hold. Todd Sprague, a Judicial Department spokesman, said justices dont talk about decisions in cases beyond whats written in their opinions or orders.

Nothing in the order explains why Walters didnt participate in the decision. However, Walters has issued orders as chief justice that restricted court operations and limited travel and has given other directions to courts similar to instructions the governor issued to executive branch agencies amid the coronavirus pandemic. Browns orders dont apply to the judicial branch.

With the explosion of social media in the last decade, other states have examined how judges should handle their online presence and published judicial ethics opinions.

A 2011 judicial ethics advisory panel in Oklahoma, for example, considered whether a judge with a social media account could add people who may appear in court -- including law enforcement officers, social workers and attorneys -- as friends on the account. The answer? Yes, with restrictions.

Several state judicial ethics panels have recommended judges use extreme caution on social media, and be mindful of the appearance created when he or she establishes such a social connection with an attorney or anyone else. They must consider whether such online connections rise to the level of a close social relationship requiring disclosure and or recusal, the opinions note.

"A Judge shall not convey or permit others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the Judge," the Oklahoma opinion said.

New York, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio have similar rules.

But several states repeat an admonition from a 2008 New York judicial ethics advisory ruling that said: "Social networking sites are fraught with peril for Judges."

A 2009 Florida judicial ethics advisory went further, prohibiting a judge from adding lawyers who appear in the judges court as "friends" on social media accounts and lawyers from adding the judge as a "friend" as well.

Its immaterial if such online connections mean the person actually has a special relationship with the judge, the panel found, because it would or could convey that impression.

-- Maxine Bernstein

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

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Subscribe to Facebook page

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
Houston ISD will stop providing large amounts of food to families at schools and NRG Stadium on Friday, choosing instead to offer kids meals at nearly 70 schools beginning in June, district officials said.

By making the switch, announced late Tuesday, HISD will move toward a distribution model used by districts throughout the country. Starting June 1, HISD plans to give out three days worth of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for students on Mondays, then four days worth of meals on Thursdays.

For the past two months, HISD has offered far more food than the nations largest districts  typically about 30 pounds of fruits, meats and canned goods  at several locations per day. By contrast, all other large, urban districts offered smaller kids meals, often at dozens of schools.

HISD leaders have heralded the districts food distribution model throughout the pandemic-induced shutdown of schools, arguing that they prefer to support families instead of only children. District officials said about 5.2 million pounds of food have been provided since mid-March, when HISD started offering meals at 10 schools.

Under the new distribution model, 68 schools will offer meals for children only. Half of the schools will distribute food from 10 a.m. to noon, with the other half providing meals from noon to 2 p.m.

MEAL PICKUP LOCATIONS: Click here to see when and where to get food for kids in HISD

The school year may be wrapping up, but the need is still there for our families, HISD Interim Superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan said in a statement. By modifying our traditional summer meals program, we can continue to feed our students in a safe way.

HISD partnered with the Houston Food Bank for its supply of meals over the past two months. District officials did not elaborate in a press release on the reasons for ending the arrangement now, and they were not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening.

Houston Food Bank Chief Impact Officer Nicole Lander said district officials chose to make the switch, calling it a natural progression for HISD heading into the summer months. The food bank had enough supply to continue partnering with HISD, Lander said.

HISD officials launched their food distribution plan within days of first canceling school due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Lathan suspended meal distribution for seven days in late March and early April after concerns about a site worker coming in contact with an individual who tested positive for COVID-19. When the district resumed distribution, administrators cut the number of pickup sites to five.

HISD later added Saturday pickup events at NRG Stadium, most recently offering 80 to 100 pounds of food. The final distribution event will take place from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at the stadium.

The Houston Food Bank will continue to operate the Saturday distribution at NRG Stadium, taking sole control on May 30.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com
Several homeowners in West Michigan are saying the same thing: Theyve never seen anything like it.

Those residents in Muskegon and Ottawa counties, interviewed by MLive on Tuesday, are talking about the devastating aftermath brought on by record-breaking rainfall this week, combined with the already high water levels on area bodies of water.

Weve been in this home for 42 years and weve never had any water in our home, said Muskegon County resident Penny Larson, who spent Tuesday, May 19, pumping gallons of water out of her crawl space and yard.

Across West Michigan, the heavy rainfall has resulted in major flooding that has shut down roadways, filled basements and led to declarations of countywide State of Emergency alerts.

Muskegon and Ottawa counties have declared local states of emergency, allowing officials to coordinate additional resources for their response, while heavy rainfall in Kent County has shut down over two dozen roads countywide.

Although the threat of heavy rainfall has subsided as skies are beginning to clear up, the worst is not yet over as river flooding is expected to persist through the rest of this week, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids.

The damage has already been significant in parts of West Michigan  particularly in Muskegon County, which has received 3.8 inches of rainfall from Sunday to Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

It continues to amaze me and get worse, said Jack Page, a resident of Muskegons Bluffton Neighborhood, which has seen significant flooding lately.

Ive never seen the water rolling through the rails that the city put in to stop the spread many months ago. I have many neighbors that have already lost their entire plumbing systems.

Muskegon received 3.35 inches of rainfall Sunday alone, making it the second heaviest 24-hour rainfall total in May since 1904, according to the weather service.

Muskegon's 3.35 inches of rain that fell on the 17th of May is the second heaviest 24 hour rainfall total at Muskegon in the month of May. The all time record, with the period of record starting in 1896, for a single day in May is 4.10 inches in 1904 on the 22nd.  NWS Grand Rapids (@NWSGrandRapids) May 18, 2020

Michelle Priest, a Muskegon County resident, said she has been trapped in her home since Sunday due to flooding that has left the road to exit her house impassable.

Im literally stranded here, said Priest, who lives on Peach Street in Fruitport. She estimates the roadway, which is the only way in or out of her neighborhood, is covered in water at least three feet deep.

Its a disaster, the 46-year-old said. I havent seen anything like this ever in Muskegon County, and Ive lived here my whole life.

The damage in our area is catastrophic.

Priest said her primary concern is whether residents will receive assistance from county officials through FEMA funds.

If FEMA is getting involved, wed like to know at what point they will make a decision, and what level of help they are going to offer us," she said.

Muskegon County residents who have been affected by flooding have been advised to contact the countys Department of Emergency Management by sending their name, address and cell phone number, along with any pictures of damage to their property, to EM@co.muskegon.mi.us.

Muskegon County Director of Emergency Management Richard Warner did not immediately get back to MLive for comment on disaster relief for county residents.

Kent County Emergency Manager Lou Hunt said county officials there will watch for flooding in the coming days, but doesnt expect flood levels to be as severe as Muskegon and Ottawa counties, which are closer to the lakeshore.

We will have self-reporting available for residents, but it would be unlikely that it gets to the point where FEMA will step in, he said.

Although flooding did not impact Kent County homeowners as significantly as other West Michigan counties, many roadways and parks were closed due to flooding Tuesday. Kent County received 3.16 inches of rainfall since Sunday.

The floods closed 25 sections of roads in Kent County Tuesday, while parks like the Abrigador Trail in Comstock Park were covered in water.

The flood stage for the Grand River in Comstock Park is 12 feet, and the river is at 12.7 as of Tuesday, the National Weather Service advised. The river is expected to rise to nearly 15.7 feet by Thursday and will fall below flood stage by Monday.

While the flood stage for the Grand River in Ottawa Countys Robinson Township is 13.3 feet, the hot spot is currently at 14.4 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

The river is expected to continue rising to nearly 15.8 feet by Thursday evening and will fall below flood stage by Monday evening.

Meanwhile in Ottawa County, one Grand Haven resident saw so much flooding in his neighborhood that he was able to go kayaking in his neighbors yard.

Our yard is flooded with about one foot deep of water, but our neighbors yard is about half covered (in water) and is about 2-3 feet deep, Russel Gabel, 55, said Tuesday. We were kayaking in it earlier today, it was pretty funny.

Gabel said he was one of the lucky ones in his county, since he has a newer home and doesnt think hell have any long-term damage to his house. But he said hes heard from many Grand Haven residents who have seen significant damage.

This is the highest water Ive seen here in the 22 years Ive lived in Grand Haven, he said.

More on MLive:

Heavy rain storms wash out streets, flood basements, submerge docks in Muskegon

Muskegon County declares local state of emergency due to flooding

Heavy rains in Kent County bring river flooding, closed roads

Ottawa County issues local State of Emergency due to flooding

Historic high water levels on Lake Michigan lead to basement flooding inland
Turtles were absent from Cham Island until one recent day when hundreds of thel were seen crawling into the ocean.

To achieve that feat, the specialists of the Cham Isle Marine Protected Area (MPA) had to make every effort in the last three years to protect the endangered turtles and the local ecosystem.





According to Nguyen Van Vu, deputy director of the MPA management board, the idea of recovering the environment and protecting the rare and precious species was raised in 2016.



After getting approval for the project, in August 2018, Le Xuan Ai and Vu led a team of technicians to travel nearly 1,000 kilometers from Quang Nam province to Con Dao Island to learn how to hatch eggs, take care of turtles, and carry out the historic transposition of turtle eggs.



This was a challenging transposition process, Vu recalled the days.



At first, the first 450 turtle eggs were hatched on Con Dao Island for 40 days. How to keep the turtle eggs safe during the travel of nearly 1,000 kilometers was a headache for the scientists.

Turtles were absent from Cham Island until one recent day when hundreds of thel were seen crawling into the ocean.

Two solutions were designed. One team of technicians carried the eggs by air with the flight from Con Dao to HCM City and Hoi An, while the other team took a high-speed train from Con Dao to Vung Tau and then carried eggs by car to Hoi An. The eggs were put under strict protection.

When the eggs were brought to Cham Isle, they were put into hatching. The members of the MPA board of management and volunteers had to be on duty 24 hours a day to supervise the hatchery and measure temperatures to take prompt measures if necessary.



As a reward for their efforts, in mid-September 2017, 90 percent of turtle eggs hatched to the immense joy of the conservators and thousands of local people on the small island. The high success rate shows the feasibility of sea turtle transposition from a distance.

Since the first transposition campaign, 1,700 turtles have been hatched in the last three years from 2,000 eggs and have been released to the ocean.



People often come to witness the moments when young turtles crawl into the open sea. They hope that the turtles, after tens of years, will come back to lay eggs and create the next generations of turtles.



What we wish to see most is for the turtles to come back to Cham Isle to lay eggs and create offspring in safe and quiet conditions. Only when this happens will our efforts be fruitful, Vu said.

Vu Dung

Sick sea turtle recovers after a month of care A female Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea) has been rescued and cared for by the SaSa Marine animal rescue team in Da Nang since it was found on the beach of Tam Thanh commune in Quang Nam Province on February 23.
In particular, he says he wants either Rudy Giuliani or Alan Dershowitz to represent him as a lawyer, so he can testify in a civil trial filed by victims of the September 11 attacks. Prison documents filed with his motion indicate he received a response of some kind to a letter he wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union but was not allowed to see it because it was marked as privileged legal communication, and he is only allowed to receive the mail if the prison can can open and read it.

Moussaoui has a long history of writing letters to the court - indeed he served as his own lawyer for several years leading up to his trial and regularly wrote legal motions referring to himself as "Slave of Allah," a name he continues to use.

He has written numerous letters seeking to testify at the 9/11 civil trial, and at the military trials of al-Qaeda members including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. But those requests have not included the explicit renunciation of terrorism that he includes in his most recent letter. As recently as 2018, he continued to refer to himself as a "natural born terrorist" in court papers. In another handwritten motion that year, he concluded his motion with "God Curse Ugly Satan of Abomination" in huge letters.

Katherine Donahue, an anthropology professor at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, who wrote a book about Moussaoui called Slave of Allah after attending his 2006 trial, said she was unaware of any other instance in which Moussaoui had renounced terrorism or bin Laden. She said she expects he is being truthful, even though he admitted at his trial that he lied to the FBI after his arrest.

"He's been there 14 years. It's a long time to think about what you've done," she said. "I don't see him lying. ... There were so many ways he could have helped himself before by lying" but he didn't.
Prominent Myanmar lawmaker and former Arakan National Party chairman Aye Maung is taken to prison following his sentencing on charges of high treason and incitement in Sittwe, western Myanmar's Rakhine state, March 19, 2019.

Myanmars Union Election Commission (UEC) has stripped jailed Rakhine politician Aye Maung of his status as a Lower House member of parliament and barred him from running for office, citing his conviction on charges of treason, according to state media reports.

The UEC said in an announcement dated May 18 and published on Wednesday that Aye Maungs imprisonment negated his role representing Rakhine states An township in the Union Parliament and that by losing his seat due to a treason conviction, he could no longer take part in elections for any legislature in the country, based on Article 11(d) and Article 88(a) of the Lower House Election Law, respectively.

Aye Maung, the former chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), and author Wai Hin Aung were arrested in January 2018 after giving speeches at a public event in in Rakhines Rathedaung township commemorating the anniversary of the fall in 1784 of the Arakan Kingdom to the Burmese.

They were sentenced by the Sittwe District Court in March 2019 to 20 years in prison each for high treason and to two years for incitement, with the sentences to be served concurrently. An appeal to reconsider their sentences was rejected by the Supreme Court of the Union in January this year.

Monywa Aung Shin, secretary of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party's Information Committee, told RFAs Myanmar Service Wednesday that the move was the Election Commissions decision, but said it is in line with the Election Law.

I think he can appeal his case to the president or to top judicial officials, he said, adding that such bans happen in politics.

Sai Thiha Kyaw, a Lower House MP representing Mongyai Township in northern Shan State for the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), told RFA the announcement signals the death of politics for Aye Maung.

This is a very strong decision against him, he added.

Pe Than, another ANP lawmaker representing Rakhines Myebon township in the Lower House, noted that the charges brought against the leader of a political party for speaking in public are far more severe than those brought against ethnic rebel soldiers who are killing one another and suggested Aye Maungs ban from politics could lead to bad consequences.

If this trend [of targeting ethnic politicians] continues, the people will lose trust in the parliamentary system and it could end up causing much more severe armed conflict, he said.

Maung Maung Soe, a political analyst, agreed, calling the decision very disappointing.

Amidst the many conflicts and fighting in Rakhine state, this is the time to promote dialogue but instead, a Rakhine lawmaker has been removed from parliament and barred from elections, he said.

This is not good for Myanmars politics, particularly for efforts to solve the Rakhine problem.

Calls by RFA seeking comment from the UEC went unanswered on Wednesday.

Missing villagers

Meanwhile, the family members of 20 residents of Dalet Chaung village tract in Aye Maungs An township told RFA that they have no information on the whereabouts of their loved ones after they were detained last week by what they believe was a local battalion of the Myanmar military.

Residents of Dalet Chaungs Alae Kyun village said an 18-year-old named Myo Hlaing, also known as Nga Pyaw, went missing after he went fishing on May 17 and 14 men aged 30 to 56 were detained after they went looking for him the following day.

He went fishing around 1:00 p.m. but hadnt returned by midnight, so several villagers [and family members] set out to find him at dawn, villager Alin Kar said.

Nearly all of the villagers from groups that searched for him on boat and on foot were detained and we havent heard anything about them. None of their family members have been able to contact them.

A villager who was among nine people aboard the boat told RFA on condition of anonymity that he was the only one to escape when two military soldiers guarding the area detained the search party.

We didnt find Nga Pyawwe only found his boat in the creek, he said.

Then, two soldiers came out of the bushes near his boat and asked where we were from. We said we are local residents looking for a lost villager. They asked us to come off the boat and stand in a row on land. I hid in the bushes and fled.

Other villagers told RFA that all six people who had searched for Myo Hlaing on foot were detained in the area of Taung Pauk, east of Alae Kyun. They said they believe the young man was taken into custody by the military because of the soldiers who were guarding his boat.

Also on Wednesday, the family members of five ethnic Chin residents of West Dalet village, including a local school teacher named Aung Tun Khin, said they were detained by the military on May 18, but they havent heard from them since.

At risk of torture

Pyinnya Nanda, a Buddhist monk from the Dalet Chaung village tract area, told RFA that the military may have detained the 20 villagers over suspected ties to the ethnic Rakhine rebel Arakan Army (AA), but said they are civilians and should be released.

I want the military officials to know that the detained villagers are innocentthey are local civilians and earn their living honestly, he said.

Their families are concerned that they will be tortured during interrogation. We would like to appeal to the authorities to release them as soon as possible.

The Dalet Chaung area saw several armed engagements between the military and the AA last month.

Pyinnya Nanda said the military has since placed restrictions on the movement of residents, making it difficult for them to earn a living.

Repeated attempts by RFA to contact the Military Information Committee about the detentions went unanswered on Wednesday.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar and Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The woman whose remains were found in two suitcases in a forest, sparking a murder investigation has been identified by police.

Phoenix Netts, 28, was found dismembered in two suitcases of May 12 in the Forest of Dean, near the outskirts of the Gloucestershire town of Coleford in England.

Ms Netts was from Birmingham, some 130km from where her remains were discovered and West Midlands said in a statement it was still unclear where she was killed.

The BBC reported it is still unclear how the 28-year-old was killed and she was identified through DNA tests.

Phoenix Netts's body was found in the Forest of Dean last week in two. suitcases. Source: PA

On May 19, the two people who were charged in relation to the incident appeared in court.

Gareeca Conita Gordon, 27, also from Birmingham was charged with the murder of a woman on or before 12 May 2020, she was remanded into prison.

Mahesh Sorathiya, aged 38, was charged with assisting an offender on or before the 12 May and was granted conditional bail.

Both Ms Gordon and Mr Sorathiya are due to appear in court again on August 4.

Police were tipped off to a vehicle due to its manner of driving at around 10.30pm on Tuesday, May 12, according to Gloucestershire Constabulary.

The vehicle was located by police a short while later and two people were spoken to, the Gloucestershire Constabulary media release said.

Two suitcases were found to contain human remains and two people, a woman aged in her 20s from Birmingham and a man aged in his 30s from Wolverhampton, were subsequently arrested.

The remains of Phoenix Netts were found after a member of the public reported a car driving along the A4136 near Coleford. Source: Google Maps

West Midlands Detective Chief Inspector Scott Griffiths said the investigation is still ongoing and offered his sincere condolences to Ms Netts family.

Weve worked closely with colleagues at Gloucestershire over the past week and our investigation continues at pace, he said.

Wed urge anyone with any information about the tragic loss of Phoenixs life to get in touch with us."

A statement from Ms Netts family has also been released, asking for privacy.

As a family we are devastated with what has happened to Phoenix, the statement says.

Story continues

We ask most humbly that our familys privacy is respected whilst we grieve and come to terms with the loss of Phoenix in such tragic circumstances.

Whilst we understand this is a news story, we hope everyone can understand why we need to be left alone at this very difficult time.

The statement also thanked the family and good friends who were supporting them and the police officers involved for their hard work and sensitivity.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
Corina Newsome is pictured with Wilbur, a Palawan binturong, which is a type of bearcat. Read more

Meet Corina Newsome, a Philly native and wildlife conservationist whos known online as the Hood Naturalist.

 On her Hood Naturalist nickname: I didnt want people to think that when they saw a black girl in nature that I had to be someone who grew up in nature or the sticks. Its important you know I grew up in the 'hood. I dont come from here."

 Phillys pulse: When a team wins, or a person wins, if theres any cause for celebration on the block or citywide, it feels like you share the same blood, the same energy. It feels like youre one person. I still feel that pulse.

As a wildlife conservationist, Philly native Corina Newsome has weathered forests, beaches, and marshes  where shes suffered as many as 200 gnat bites in a single day. But the most unsettling environment she ever endured was living on a former plantation in Georgia during her first year of grad school.

My ancestors literally died on that land, were mistreated on that land, she said of the property, which is now owned by the states Department of Natural Resources. This is a weird reality  that I am literally standing on the shoulders of these people."

Newsome, 27, had never been to the Deep South before becoming a biology graduate student at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., where shes in her second year. Her mom and grandma back in Philly asked her to be careful, especially in situations where she finds herself one of the few  or only  black people.

The richest and most untouched natural spaces are in places that are socially hostile," Newsome said. "Thats why you dont get a lot of black people in backwoods situations.

But she wants to change that.

Infectiously passionate about wildlife, Newsome is equally as enthusiastic about inspiring more people of color  especially those from urban areas like Philly  into careers in the natural sciences.

Theres no inherent reason why we arent represented here," she said. Its exposure and representation.

Newsome knows it firsthand. If not for seeing herself in a black zookeeper at the Philadelphia Zoo when she worked there as an intern for three summers, she wouldnt be where she is today.

Newsome grew up in Germantown, where the closest bit of nature was a turf of grass down the street with a lone willow tree on it. Sometimes robins would stop through. Twice someone found a snake. That was the only wildlife she saw. Even squirrels were rare.

Fascinated by animals, Newsome devoured wildlife encyclopedias and savored every National Geographic she could find.

 MORE WE THE PEOPLE: She left her all-boys school after coming out as trans. Now she leads LGBTQ trainings there

She volunteered at Germantown Animal Hospital after school, but one day, she saw blood during a procedure and fainted.

I freaked out because I didnt know what I was supposed to do if I couldnt be a veterinarian, Newsome said.

The summer before her freshman year at Malone University in Canton, Ohio, a family friend whose sister worked at the Philadelphia Zoo suggested Newsome apply for an internship there. The friends sister, Michelle Jamison, was a black woman and the lead carnivore keeper.

Until I saw her doing it with my own eyes I never considered I could do it," Newsome said. She provided me with exposure and a mirror  a representation of myself to realize not only was it a possibility, it was a possibility for me."

In 2015, Newsome graduated with a bachelors degree in zoo and wildlife biology. She worked at zoos in Cleveland and Nashville but always knew she wanted to study birds more after becoming obsessed with them during an ornithology class in undergrad.

Theres a lot of existential reasons, and some concrete ones, she said, of her fascination with the feathered.

Birds are global, often flying across entire countries and continents during their migration, Newsome said. And while fragile and hollow-boned, many can fly for hundreds of miles without ever resting on land.

To think that something seemingly so frail accomplishes such a massive physical feat is incredible, she said. At the moments when I feel the most weak, the most incapable, the most fragile, when I see a bird it reminds me that does not disqualify me."

 MORE WE THE PEOPLE: At 88, stand-up comic Natalie LeVant is slaying Philly crowds

In 2018, Newsome followed her passion for birds to Georgia Southern University, where shes focusing on avian conservation.

Perhaps nowhere is Newsomes elation over the natural world clearer than on her platforms in the digital world, like Twitter, where she tweets about wildlife, social justice, and diversity to her more than 49,000 followers under the handle @hood_naturalist.

From getting stoked about watching bird migration on weather radar (Yall listen to me bird migration is CRAZY!) to losing it over seeing a purple gallinule bird (Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Shut up!), Newsomes palpable sense of wonder reminds us of the joy we can get from whats already around us.

Newsome said her unbridled passion is due, in part, to her Philadelphia spirit.

People always describe me and their Philly friends as really intense," she said. "That intensity translates to some really beautiful things when we leave and go other places.

During these intense times when our own rhythms are disturbed, Newsome said looking to nature can remind us that not all is lost.

Weve been so disconnected from the natural rhythm for so long and now that ours is disrupted, we can look back to the natural rhythms for a sense of calm and peace, she said.

Want more We the People?

 Eddie Doyle is a Delco Uber driver with more than 700,000 fans on social media.

 Restaurateur Ara Ishkhanian created a virtual dining experience for the stay-at-home age.

 Check out the full We the People archive here.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Friends Seminary, a coeducational school in New York, recently raised $28,000 from a benefit auction on Artsy.net for a piece from well-known artist, Rashid Johnson. The school funds its faculty salaries and student aid programs through donations received from the community, and Artsy setup the auction online featuring the Rashid Johnson piece titled -- "Broken Men" (2019).



The impressive piece features a 27-color silkscreen with Mylar collage and was purchased by Richart Ruddie, an art collector based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.



Friends Seminary School was founded in 1786 and is undoubtedly one of the oldest coeducational institutions. It relies heavily on community support and charity organizations. Alumni participation is vital to the school's operation. Gifts like the $28,000 donation via this art auction contribute greatly to the quality of education provided to the students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.



Friends Seminary recognizes the contributions of long-standing donors through the Cornerstone Society membership. The institution strives to provide an environment that allows students to explore and feed their imagination. It helps students develop academically, artistically, and as athletes.



Friends Seminary relies on the community and charity organizations to help it navigate the uncharted territory, as Ruddie has done in this case. The institution needs to adapt to the challenges of the new norm.



The news that Friends Seminary receives a $28,000 donation is a welcome development given the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 health crisis.



Rashid Johnson is an artist with an impressive track record. His pieces cover a wide variety of themes, including critical evocations of racial and cultural identity. In the past, he focused on conceptual photography before working on wall-based works. Rashid strives to create imaginative art pieces that miscegenate into a new language.

Richart Ruddie

CTO

RMC

4158059011

[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Richart Ruddie
Montgomery County officials were firing back Tuesday after Conroe Mayor Toby Powell filed a lawsuit late Friday against the county tax assessor-collector and chief appraiser, calling for tax relief for residents amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The suit, which names Montgomery County Chief Appraiser Tony Belinoski and Tax Assessor Collector Tammy McRae, was filed just hours before the deadline to protest property taxes May 15, asks the court to order the chief appraiser to either apply an across-the-board reduction to the value of all properties or re-assess each property individually. The suit also asks the court to order McRae to halt tax collection efforts.

NEW CASES: Montgomery County's COVID-19 death count rises to 21

In March, Montgomery County health officials confirmed the countys first case of the new coronavirus. That announcement was followed by several local and state orders that ordered all non-essential businesses closed and residents to stay home for more than a month. As of Monday, there were 817 cases in Montgomery County, 521 of those active.

McRae, who as of Tuesday had not yet been served, called the lawsuit groundless and frivolous. She added in March, she along with commissioners James Noack, Charlie Riley and state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, began researching the issue for potential options.

According to McRae, on April 13, 2020, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued Opinion No. KP-0299, noting without legislative change, current law allows for reappraisals only if there is physical damage to property, not economic loss.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas Medical Center leaders support latest phase of Abbotts reopening of Texas

For the 2020 tax year, tax relief can only come by way of tax rates and exemptions, McRae said. Mayor Powell should use his own power and influence to provide the city of Conroe taxpayers property tax relief by granting a homestead exemption and setting a tax rate that does not exceed or is lower than the no-new revenue rate.

This baseless lawsuit cannot legally provide property tax relief but unfortunately, Montgomery County taxpayers will bear the costs associated with the defense of it.

Noack pointed out the city can give taxpayers relief by offering a homestead exemption, which it currently does not have, and bumping up its exemption amounts for disabled residents and those older than 65. Currently, the city only offers $15,000 for those older than 65 and $7,500 for disabled homeowners.

MORNING REPORT: Get the top stories on HoustonChronicle.com sent directly to your inbox

However, according to Powell, Chapter 23 of the Tax Code states, the chief appraiser can make any appropriate adjustment for physical, functional or economic obsolescence.

Property values for tax purposes are normally set as of January 1 of the tax year, and the values Montgomery County taxpayers received in the mail around April 15 were based on what their property was worth on January 1, Powell said in a press release regarding the suit. They do not reflect what has happened to our economy in the five months since that date.

Earlier this month, McRae announced an automatic four-month extension on all existing delinquent payment agreements and temporarily halted litigation and foreclosure proceedings in March.

I am committed to continue to provide all property tax relief allowable under the law, McRae said. I believe that Mr. Powells failure to notify me prior to the issuance of his press release and the timing of the filing demonstrate the purely political nature of the lawsuit. Sadly, paying for it is an expense the taxpayers dont need  especially now.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
A dose of adenovirus hits most people like a common cold - a cough, a fever, maybe a sore throat. But for an unfortunate few, the usually benign bug hacks the heart's cellular electrical communication system and sometimes proves fatal.

Rachel Padget, a doctoral candidate in the laboratory of James Smyth, an assistant professor with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, seeks to learn how adenovirus turns deadly in those rare cases. Her research could also lead to identifying treatments to reduce sudden cardiac death.

A student in Virginia Tech's translational biology, medicine, and health graduate program, Padget was awarded $101,687 under the National Institutes of Health's Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award program to develop a novel way to study how the virus affects heart function.

"Viruses evolve with us and are basically the best cell biologists we know," said Smyth, Padget's mentor and an investigator in the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Center for Heart and Reparative Medicine Research. "Anything we learn from how the virus is manipulating how cells communicate could shed potentially important new information on how to address this challenge."

Smyth and his team's earlier research found adenovirus attacks a protein called connexin 43, which forms communication channels between cells called gap junctions.

"What we learn from the viral regulation of connexin could be applicable to all forms of heart disease and possibly cancer. That may hold potential to inform future development of therapeutics," Smyth said.

Researchers in the Smyth lab focus on how a particular class of heart diseases, also known as cardiomyopathies, manifest at the subcellular level. In a small number of cases, the mild adenovirus can lead to sudden cardiac death.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Up to 42 percent of sudden cardiac deaths in young adults are caused by myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle - and adenovirus is a leading contributing agent to viral myocarditis, the European Heart Journal has reported.

Researchers are addressing the problem by developing a first-of-its-kind mouse model, bearing numerous similarities to human hearts, to observe what happens when hearts are infected.

"Rachel used a strain of mouse adenovirus that we found actually goes to the heart," said Smyth, who is also an assistant professor of biological sciences in the Virginia Tech College of Science and of basic science education in the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. "The grant is to develop that model further to facilitate understanding how this viral infection can disrupt the electrical rhythm of the heart."

That onset of a heart arrhythmia can sometimes cause the heart to stop.

"In times of stress, your cells are able to change how they make proteins, and they're able to prioritize making survival proteins or immune response proteins," Padget said.

Adenovirus stops cells from initiating that response.

These effects from the virus are nearly impossible to detect during its acute phase. If the infection reaches the chronic stage, the effects are more apparent - an enlarged heart or visible lesions. But there are no diagnostic tools for the acute phase except a highly invasive biopsy to collect a small amount of heart tissue.

Another of Smyth's graduate students, Patrick Calhoun, won an American Heart Association grant in 2018 to study adenovirus effects on human heart cells in culture.

Now, with the mouse model, researchers can better study the electrical system that keeps a heart beating and learn more about the effects a virus can have on that system in the heart.

"What Rachel is really looking at is the active infection of the heart before an immune response," Smyth said, "and so, what the virus is doing to the heart, and she's found that during this very early stage, the heart can be dangerously susceptible to arrhythmias."

Padget, who joined Smith's lab in 2017, may have been pre-disposed with a calling to do heart research. She was born with a heart defect. It healed on its own, but was a subject of conversation with her family as she grew up in Odessa, Missouri.

She earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from the University of Central Missouri and studied vascular development in the context of heart defects for her master's degree at Missouri State University.

Padget's work could provide fundamental understanding of processes that could contribute to future therapies to head off sudden cardiac death, including by addressing that viral hijacking of cells' immune response.

Padget is the third graduate student in Smyth's lab to land a significant research grant, joining Calhoun and Carissa James, who also won a Kirschstein fellowship in 2018.

"These are national competitions. The grants acknowledge the trainee, the training environment, and the mentor," Smyth said. "It's a huge thing for Fralin Biomedical Research Institute that we're being so successful in getting these awards."

###
South Africa: Dirco to brief on COVID-19 repatriations

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, is expected to brief media on the repatriation of stranded South Africans abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual briefing is expected to take place on Thursday at 9am.

The briefing comes as South Africans stranded in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire and Congo returned home on Sunday, 17 May.

Earlier this month, South African Airways (SAA) reassured customers and stakeholders that it would continue to operate repatriation and cargo flights during the month of May and beyond.

The national carrier has received several requests for repatriation flights to operate to North, West and East Africa the UK, the Middle East, South and North America, and the Far East during the course of this month that are being considered by the airline.

We are in ongoing discussions with the Departments of Public Enterprises (DPE) and that of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), regarding other destinations where South African citizens may be stranded. Further, we are responding proactively in those instances where there is a need for essential humanitarian cargo for our country and for the neighbouring states to be uplifted, said interim SAA Executive Chairperson Thandeka Mgoduso at the time.

Since 3 April 2020, the airline had transported more than 9 100 passengers to six continents and more than 870 tons of freight, both export and import consignments, which included essential humanitarian cargo.

In April, Dirco said efforts to ensure the repatriation of South Africans stranded abroad are continuing.

Negotiations are ongoing with countries and other stakeholders to allow stranded South Africans to travel, said the department at the time.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Law Society of Ireland is encouraging Longford residents to take steps to plan ahead and ensure their wishes are legally protected in the event of ill-health or death.

The Law Society has closely monitored and developed guidance on many areas of practice that remain vital to Irish people and businesses during this pandemic, explains President of the Law Society of Ireland Michele OBoyle.

The correct drafting and execution (signing and witnessing) of wills has proven to be of particular importance to people wishing to make sure that, should the worst happen in this global health crisis, there will be clarity and certainty for their families and loved ones.

The Law Societys advice is now, as always: talk to your solicitor. Law firms in Longford are available to help you with this important task in these extraordinary times.

Instructing your solicitor in lockdown

Each law firm will set out its own specific way of undertaking legal work during this pandemic, respecting WHO guidelines and government advice.

Ms OBoyle explains, in general terms, the process of making a will during this period of self-isolation and physical distancing. Where possible, your solicitor will take detailed instructions over the telephone and a draft version of the document may be sent by email. You will then be able to review the will, and make any changes that may be needed.

Solicitors are conscious that some clients will not have access to email, or be equipped with smart phones and other technology. In those circumstances, your solicitor will likely:

Take detailed instructions and provide advice over the telephone, and draft a will that gives legal effect to those informed instructions; the solicitor must be satisfied that the client is not under any duress giving those instructions.

Depending on the level of urgency involved, your solicitor may then post the draft will out for your review, or

Review and discuss the draft will in detail over the telephone. It is critical that the client ensures that he/she is satisfied that the final version reflects their wishes, and

Make arrangements to ensure that the final version of the will is validly executed by the client in accordance with the law, and deal with any other issues that may arise alongside the drafting and execution of their will.

There are strict legal conditions surrounding the execution of a will in the Succession Act, 1965 and these must be met even in a time of social distancing. The Law Society has provided detailed practice guidance to solicitors to ensure that wills can continue to be validly executed during this time, Ms OBoyle explained.

Enduring Power of Attorney

Ms OBoyle noted that this may also be an opportunity to plan beyond your will and consider your wishes should you become unable to make decisions due to illness or accident.

We know that only a small proportion of Irish adults have legally appointed an Attorney, under an Enduring Power of Attorney, to make legal and financial decisions, should they become unable to do so.

We also know that many people find planning for ill health and death daunting but a key first step is to speak with your solicitor. says Ms OBoyle.

Talk to your solicitor

As a society, we are working through an extraordinary time. The solicitors profession is an essential business and remains open for business- delivered differently. We remain available in these challenging times to help our clients, our local communities, and support businesses in need.

If you need advice, talk your local solicitor who can provide specific and valuable advice on any number of important matters, including making a will and planning for any challenges that may lie ahead during this uncertain time.

Legal Guides

The Law Societys legal guides also contain basic information on the first steps to take to plan your estate. They free accessible guides are available on the Law Society website.

These guides are intended as a guide only and do not replace professional legal advice from your solicitor.
TRANSPORT Minister Shane Ross has said Limerick is to benefit from the rollout of temporary cycle lanes and widened footpaths.

It comes with footfall in the city still lower than normal due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The disclosure came in the Dail following a question by Green Party TD Joe OBrien, and has been welcomed by the partys standard bearer in Limerick Brian Leddin.

Since the onset of the devastating pandemic, he has advocated for the introduction of extra space on roads for cyclists and pedestrians.

He said: Minister Ross confirmed that the National Transport Authority will be working with councils in Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Galway to implement similar measures to those in Dublin. I have seen how quickly these measures have been rolled out in Dublin.

Travelling up to the Dail I have been able to cycle on lanes protected by bollards which have been set up along the quays by the Liffey and many other streets, Mr Leddin said.

He now wants to see similar measures along Limericks riverside, along OConnell Street, Henry Street William Street and throughout the city.

Over the next few months we need to get people back to work safely and we will need to support our businesses by enabling safe mobility of people. With the capacity of some city buses reduced to under twenty people, we need alternative measures urgently. Temporary protected cycle lanes and wider footpaths will enable the city to open again safely. I urge Limerick City and County Council to start preparing for these works immediately to make sure we can keep our city safe, he concluded.

Elsewhere, the union representing public transport workers has written to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and other party leaders urging them to drop Dublins BusConnects programme, and instead invest in Rapid Transport Systems in regional cities like Limerick.

The National Bus and Rail Union is proposing park and ride facilities around urban centres to reduce congestion and to facilitate more frequent bus services.

It argues that planning for future transport "should be based on what is achievable, not on what is desired".
(CARICOM STATEMENT): The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) deplores the latest attack by the European Commission on the economic well-being of some of our Member States who were named on 7th May 2020, in a list of third countries with strategic Anti-Money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) deficiencies, and which would therefore be subject to enhanced due diligence measures by European Union (EU) States.

This list, which includes four (4) CARICOM Member States was published despite the European Council, in objecting to a list submitted for approval last year, concluding that the Commissions submission was not established in a transparent and resilient process that actively incentivises affected countries to take decisive action while also respecting their right to be heard.

Impacted countries were neither informed nor consulted prior to this months publication.

The Commissions unilateral actions are therefore contrary to the principles of transparency and consultation reflected in the Councils conclusion, as well as its own assertions about its Revised Methodology which advocates prior engagement with third countries, as outlined in its press release announcing the new list.

It should be noted that of the four CARICOM States included in the Commissions list, one has been delisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global AML/CFT standard-setting body, since February 2020, and the other three Member States had already entered into agreed Action Plans with the FATF/CFATF.

Moreover, the Commission has published the list of high risk jurisdictions, even as its Action Plan for a Comprehensive Union policy on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing is still being subject to stakeholder consultation that will conclude by July 2020.

CARICOM Member States continue to demonstrate their commitment to strengthening their AML/CFT frameworks and have actively participated in the CFATFs mutual evaluation process. The Caribbean Community maintains its call for a uniform, fair and transparent assessment process that is based on an inclusive, multilateral framework.

As a longstanding partner of the Caribbean Community, the action of the European Commission is not in keeping with the collaborative and supportive relationship between CARICOM and European States.

The Caribbean Community therefore calls upon the European Union Member States to once again reject the Commissions proposals as callous and premature, at this moment in time.
MALIBU, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Progenabiome is starting two FDA-approved clinical trials that include hydroxychloroquine. One clinical trial is for the prevention of COVID, an approach President Trump is pursuing for himself. The second clinical trial is for the treatment of COVID.

"Many have called for clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine," noted Dr. Sabine Hazan, CEO of Progenabiome, the Ventura-California-based genetic sequencing lab conducting the clinical trials. "We hope and expect these two clinical trials to provide definitive data on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine for the prevention and treatment of COVID."

Progenabiome is now accepting patients for its patented protocols that were written two months ago by Dr. Hazan. The prevention protocol includes a synergistic combination of HCQ, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc. The treatment protocol will test the efficacy of quintuple therapy (Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Zinc) in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 infection.

Questions have been raised about hydroxychloroquine and heart complications. Cardiologist Alon Steinberg, Progenabiome's Chief Medical Officer, will screen and monitor patients for heart issues.

Hazan has been a practicing gastroenterologist and clinical trials investigator for over 25 years. She has participated in more than 150 clinical trials for the pharmaceutical and nutrition industries. Dr. Hazan launched Progenabiome in 2018 to investigate the role of the gut microbiome in various diseases and conditions.

Strategically placed as a genetic sequencing lab, site, contract research organization (CRO), and now sponsor, Progenabiome has 39 ongoing clinical trials related to immunity and disease, including three COVID-19 studies validating testing, prophylaxis, and at-home treatment protocols for the novel coronavirus.

Progenabiome welcomes all physicians and scientists to collaborate on its ongoing COVID-19 studies. If you are interested in joining our research team, please email your CV and contact information to [email protected] .

If you would like to support these studies and help advance prevention and treatment protocols for COVID-19, please visit https://progenabiome.com/support-covid-19-trials . Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated. Thank you for your generosity and support.

We are in this together, and together, we will beat COVID-19.

For more, visit

https://progenabiome.com

https://clinicaltrials.gov

https://malibumicrobiomemeeting.com/

Media Contact:

Stephanie Davis

[email protected]

SOURCE Progenabiome

Related Links

https://progenabiome.com


India and Bangladesh on Wednesday signed an agreement to operationalise five new ports of call and two new protocol routes to boost the bilateral trade.

High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh, Riva Ganguly Das, and Bangladesh Shipping Secretary Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury signed the 2nd Addendum to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade in Dhaka on Wednesday, a release said.

India and Bangladesh during Standing Committee on the Protocol and Shipping Secretary-level talks in October 2018 and December 2019 had decided to extend protocol routes, include new routes and increase ports of call.

"These decisions have been made effective with the signing of 2nd Addendum to the Protocol today...The number of Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes are being increased from 8 to 10 and new locations are also added to the existing routes," it said.

Ports of call are intermediate stops for a ship on its scheduled journey for taking on supplies or fuel.

With the signing of the pact, the ports of call between India and Bangladesh has increased to 11 from six earlier while two more extended ports of call have been added.

"Inclusion of Jogigopha in India and Bahadurabad in Bangladesh as new Port of Call will provide connectivity to Meghalaya, Assam and Bhutan. Jogigopha also becomes important, since, a Multimodal Logistics Park is proposed to be established there.

"The new Ports of Call would enable the loading and unloading of cargo transported on the IBP Route and provide a stimulus to the economic development of the new locations and their hinterland," the release said.

The new routes included are Sonamura- Daudkhandi stretch of Gumti river (93 Km) as IBP (Indo Bangladesh Protocol) route No. 9 & 10 to improve the connectivity of Tripura and adjoining States with Indian and Bangladesh's economic centres and will help the hinterland of both the countries, the release said adding this route shall be connecting all existing IBP routes from 1 to 8.

As a path-breaking development, both sides have agreed to introduce trade between Chilmari (Bangladesh) and Dhubri (India) through the use of shallow draft mechanized vessels, provided these are registered under Inland Shipping Ordinance 1976 of Bangladesh or Inland Vessels Act, 1917 of India as per provisions of the Protocol and conform to safety requirements.

This initiative will allow export of stone chips and other Bhutanese and North East cargo to Bangladesh and easy access for the traders to the hinterland of Bangladesh, enhancing the local economy in Bangladesh and the lower Assam region of India.

The government said under this Protocol, Inland vessels of both the countries can ply on the designated protocol route and dock at Ports of Call in each country, notified for loading/unloading of cargo.

There has been significant improvement in the movement of cargo vessels in an organized manner on the Protocol route carrying both the transit cargo to North East(NE) region of India and vice-versa and export-cargo to Bangladesh, the statement said adding the Indian transit cargo is mainly coal, fly-ash and POL etc for power projects in NE region.

The other potential cargo for movement is fertilizers, cement, food grains, agricultural products, containerized cargo etc.

The export cargo from India to Bangladesh is mainly fly-ash which is to the tune of 30 lakhs tonne per annum. Around 638 inland vessels (including 600 Bangladeshi flag vessels) completed with approximately 4000 loaded voyages annually.

Both the nations have a long standing and time-tested Protocol on Transit and Trade through inland waterways, first signed in 1972 and last renewed in 2015 for five years with a provision for its automatic renewal for a further period of five years giving long term assurance to various stakeholders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Urloinformatica.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 1 Mar 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the urloinformatica homepage on Twitter + the total number of urloinformatica followers (if urloinformatica has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the urloinformatica homepage on Delicious. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the urloinformatica homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if urloinformatica has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the urloinformatica homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the urloinformatica homepage on StumbleUpon.

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE Shop online URLOINFORMATICA DESCRIPTION KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS accessori, stampanti, laser, schede, inkjet, server, urloinformatica



The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The title found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF8 DETECTED LANGUAGE Italian Italian SERVER Apache/2.2.22 (Win32) PHP/5.2.17 (PHP/5.2.17) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) The language of urloinformatica.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Character set and language of the site.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for urloinformatica.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that it will no longer be distributing its talc-based baby powder in the United States and Canada as the company assessed its portfolio of products during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Demand for talc-based Johnsons Baby Powder in North America has been declining due in large part to changes in consumer habits and fueled by misinformation around the safety of the product and a constant barrage of litigation advertising, Johnson and Johnson said in a statement.

There have been numerous lawsuits filed against the Johnson & Johnson over the safety of the baby powder and last year a state jury ordered the company and its talc supplier to pay an additional $80 million in punitive damages to a New Jersey man who sued the companies, claiming he developed cancer from asbestos in talc-based baby powder.

The decision was the first to find Johnson & Johnsons baby powder with talc led to a person being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer  a part of the World Health Organization  began classifying talc powder as possibly carcinogenic when women would use it as a deodorant for feminine hygiene, the report said.

In 2013, a jury found Johnson & Johnson negligent in a first suit alleging that baby powder for feminine hygiene had caused ovarian cancer.

The company said it remained steadfastly confident in the safety of the product and that all verdicts reached against Johnson & Johnson that have been through the appeals process have been overturned.

Decades of scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product," the company said. We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the Company in the courtroom.

The existing inventory of the talc-based baby power will continue to be sold until it runs out in the U.S. and Canada but its cornstarch-based baby power will still be available in North America, officials said.

COVID-19 has caused the company to focus on only manufacturing high-demand products to allow for appropriate social distancing in its distributing facilities, according to the statement.

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

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
DCU has said it has seen a 183% increase in students looking for help from its Student Assistance Fund since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dublin university has today launched the Covid-19 Student Emergency Fund in response to the challenges and financial hardship facing students due to the Covid-19 global pandemic.
National Youth Organizer of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), George Opare Addo has said any attempt at reopening schools anytime soon amid the coronavirus pandemic is a plan by government to achieve an ulterior motive.



He argued on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' discussion segment that such preparations by the ruling government is never the best and must not be encouraged.



" . . plans by government to reopen schools anytime soon is an agenda to set a common goal that the pandemic is no more with us which is never true. Government is just setting ways to achieve its political gains," he said.



The NDC National Youth Organiser wondered how children could hold out against the disease that is even very difficult for adults to withstand it.



"Seriously I can't imagine how a child will be quarantined for two weeks, can this be possible in our part of the world," he asked.



Mr. Opare Addo noted that the risk of contracting Coronavirus in Ghana is still high and the government should not rush into reopening schools.







Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi, [email protected]









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

Featured Video
He says Pepper Money has achieved its targets for its first year, and he is particularly proud of the number of New Zealand families that it has managed to help into their own homes.

Weve celebrated not only launching in New Zealand, but also the number of people that weve helped, Milburn told NZ Adviser.

We recently talked through some of the case studies of families that weve managed to help, and weve had advisers calling us saying Ive just let the customer know that theyre approved, and theyre in tears because no one else would help them. They appreciate that were a breath of fresh air, and the way that weve changed the non-bank landscape.

Milburn says that despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the various support measures it has put into place, its strategy for the coming twelve months will remain the same.

Well continue our growth across the country in a considered manner, and weve made a number of recent appointments both in the South and North Island and the Bay of Plenty, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  The Department of Labor and Employment is not discounting the possibility that 10 million workers in the country will lose their jobs this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III admitted this unemployment figure during yesterdays Senate committee of the whole hearing, after he was asked by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto.

"I hate to say it but it's possible," said the Labor Secretary.

At present, Bello reported that 2.6 million workers have already lost their jobs due to the temporary closure of businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bello initially estimated that four to five million will be jobless as the pandemic continues to grapple the country.

Karamihan po 'yan sa service sector. Malaki po ang tourism, 'yung allied businesses like restaurants, then transportation, said Bello.

[Translation: Most of the job losses will be in the service sector. The tourism sector will also have big job reductions, including allied businesses like restaurants. The transportation sector will also be affected.]

Recto agreed with Bellos projections on job losses, considering that only 50 percent of workers in some businesses are allowed to go back to work.

Department of Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat mentioned in the same Senate hearing that last April, the tourism sector had no revenue due to zero tourist arrivals.

She expects around 50 percent drop in revenue in the tourism sector by the end of the year.

Puyat added the tourism sector provides jobs to 5.4 million Filipinos or about 15 percent of the total employment in the country.

Despite the expected huge job losses in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bello said they are expanding its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers or TUPAD program to assist those who will lose their jobs.

The Labor Department also said government is bent on resuming pending infrastructure projects that can give jobs to those who will be jobless.

We have talked to the leaders of the construction industry that when they start implementing these contracts, they should increase their workers by 10 percent to 20 percent, said Bello.

Bello added the DOLE has requested for a 40-billion budget from the House of Representatives for its recovery programs.

The national government imposed an enhanced community quarantine in the country last March 16, which included strict stay-at-home orders and suspension of on-site work operations to further avert the spread of the virus.

Last May 16, the government eased quarantine measures in some areas in the country, including Metro Manila, and allowed some businesses to gradually resume their operations.

DOLE continues to provide cash subsidy to informal workers affected by the quarantine through its COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program, where each worker will receive a 5,000 financial assistance.
The revised schedule of UPSC civil services preliminary examination will be uploaded on June 5 2020 after assessing the situation. A notification regarding this was issued on the official website of UPSC on Wednesday.

The UPSC civil services preliminary examination 2020 was originally planned to be conducted on May 31, but had to be deferred due to the lockdown caused by coronavirus disease outbreak in the country. In a press release issued on May 4, the commission had announced its decision to defer the civil services preliminary examination 2020.

Fresh date for the UPSC examination was to be announced on May 20, but the commission has again postponed it decision on issuing fresh date.

Candidates can check the revised dates for the exam online after they are released on June 5 at upsc.gov.in.

Every year more than seven lakh candidates register for the UPSC prelims and it is considered one of Indias most coveted examinations. This year 10 lakh aspirants have registered for the UPSC prelims examination.

The civil services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission every year to select candidates for IAS, IFS, IPS and various other posts.

.
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Partners FX (UPFX) is delivering foreign exchange services, at zero profit to the company, to all organisations bringing in vital COVID-19 equipment. This service is listed by The Crown Commercial Service, the official procurement body. The founders of UPFX, Dhaval Patel and Oliver Carson, introduced the extraordinary measure to give practical support during the current crisis. They are believed to be the only FX company offering this service.

UPFX has created a special team, who prioritises COVID-19 payments. No fees are added to these transfers and it can mean extending credit limits to facilitate faster transactions.

Many UPFX clients were protected by forward contracts coming into the lockdown, meaning they had certainty over the rates they will pay during this time of high volatility. However, UPFX could see that some were struggling, and this was delaying vital supplies reaching hospitals.

Dhaval Patel, co-Founder and Director of UPFX, explained: "We could see that foreign exchange issues were slowing down the procurement process. Those delays meant that medical teams weren't getting vital supplies in time (including PPE and hand sanitiser), which could lead to loss of life.

"In addition, with sterling rates moving over 10% in a short space of time, many UK businesses saw increased costs on imports. By forward buying, our clients saved that 10% and that value translated to more vital supplies being available to those on the front-line."

Pai Skincare, a natural and ethical cosmetics company, created a hand sanitiser especially for coronavirus and have donated 8,000 units. UPFX converted $150,000 and EUR 170,000 for them in March.

Sarah Brown, the Founder of Pai Skincare, explained: "We are a global business. There has been so much volatility in the markets with Brexit and now Covid-19. Universal Partners has kindly provided their service at cost during the Covid-19 crisis, as we are providing essential items related to Covid-19."

JAG UFS, a logistics solutions company, has brought in 10 x 747 aircrafts carrying PPE (including 10 million face masks in each aircraft) to supply NHS Scotland & Wales.

UPFX has been forward buying on $7 million for supplier payments.

Gary Wilcox, the CEO of JAG UFS, commented: "UPFX has been instrumental in the PPE deliveries, allowing us to forward buy on currency. During so much uncertainty, they have really added value to our business and to the NHS in Scotland and Wales."

UPFX has also donated care packages to local hospitals. These include additional hygiene supplies and snacks.

UPFX is renowned for their extraordinary growth. Founded in 2017, they achieved a turnover of 113m during their first year. In 2019 their turnover had grown to 945 million with 2.8 million profit.

Oliver Carson, the co-founder of UPFX, concluded: "We've been extraordinarily successful, and it was time to give back. This virus has affected all our lives, we're pleased to be able to play our part in the work to fight it."
Q. If you want to make a change to your will, are you better writing a new one or adding a codicil to the will? Can you do that in New Jersey?

 Planning ahead

A. Were glad youre asking rather than assume all is well.

If the original will is properly executed and the codicil is properly executed, there is no legal difference between a new will and a codicil to an old will.

However, codicils are often not properly executed, and thats where the problem arises, said Nancy Heslin Reading, an estate planning attorney with Reading Law Firm in Newton.

Litigation often follows.

In the era of word processing, Reading said, there isnt much reason to do a codicil.

The easiest thing to do is go back to the attorney who drafted the original will, she said. He or she should be able to open a word document, tweak the language that needs to be changed, and produce a new will for the clients signature instead of a codicil.

But, Reading said, a diligent attorney will still need to re-read the entire will with the new language in mind to make sure that it does not create a conflict with other provisions of the existing will.

Also, she said, the attorney will need to re-read the original will in case there have been changes to the law since it was executed. In both instances, those matters have to be addressed before the new will is ready for the clients signature, she said.

I mention this because often clients think that it takes 10 minutes to change one paragraph, print it out and be ready for the clients signature, she said. Any attorney who does that is inviting a malpractice suit.

Where the original attorney is no longer in practice and the Word document not available, another attorney could draft a codicil to the existing will, Reading said.

Getting them right can be tricky though because the entire existing will still needs to be reviewed to make sure that the new language in the codicil is not in conflict with any provision of the existing will, she said. Also the codicil needs to be crystal clear as to what language is being deleted from the original will.

Because all of this takes time and time is money, most often it is easier to just start with a new will, Reading said.

So, to your question, there will be a smaller chance for error if you just get a new will.

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.
The number of spring house sales here is expected to fall by up to 80% as a result of paralysis in the market in lockdown, a Government report has said.

But Art O'Hagan of estate agency CPS has said he does not believe prices will be strongly affected by the closure of the housing market as a result of Covid-19.

The house price index from the NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) for January to March said the average price had grown by about 3.8% year on year to 140,580.

There was a quarterly increase of 0.2% in the average price compared to the end of 2019.

Lockdown occurred at the end of the first quarter, so the figures for January to March are largely unaffected.

But Nisra said the market had been so badly hit from April onwards that it was suspending publication of the index as there would be a lack of data to report on.

It said: "The Covid-19 pandemic has essentially paused the housing market.

"The number of sales for quarter one 2020 has not been adversely affected as the lockdown happened in the last week of March.

"However, it is expected that the number of sales recorded for April to June will be greatly reduced, by as much as 80%."

Mr O'Hagan said he believed there would be pent-up demand after lockdown and that prices would not be badly hit.

"Viewings and valuations have been non-existent but there is a significant build-up of appetite and interest to move," he said.

"Our database has increased by 18% over the past 10 weeks as the public have had time to reassess their homes and work life balance, and have had time to look at the marketplace."

Mr O'Hagan said that of 184 pending house deals in his agency, only six had collapsed.

The remaining 178 were expected to go through subject to factors such as changing employment circumstances, valuations and the reopening of Land Registry, which records property market transactions.

CPS has branches in Belfast, Omagh, Dungannon, Armagh, Portadown, London and Marbella.

According to Nisra, during the first quarter house prices ranged from the lowest of an average of 125,188 in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon to 165,294 in Lisburn and Castlereagh.

And there had been 4,746 properties sold during the first quarter.

Year on year, the highest price rise had taken place in the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area, where the average was up 6% to 151,902.

And the number of sales in the first three weeks of March was 19.1% higher than the same time a year earlier.

But there was almost a 50% fall in sales for the last week of the month, Nisra reported.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ has decided to permanently discontinue the sale of its talc-based Johnsons Baby Powder in the United States and Canada. The company said that the demand for the product has been declining, which it blamed on misinformation around the safety of the product amid a barrage of legal challenges.

J&J faces more than 19,000 lawsuits for its talc-based products, primarily its baby powders. Lawsuits have been primarily filed in state courts in Missouri, New Jersey and California, as well as outside the United States. The lawsuits allege that its talc products contain asbestos, a known carcinogen, which caused many women to develop ovarian cancer.

The product accounts for approximately 0.5% of J&Js total U.S. Consumer Health business. J&J markets two types of Johnsons Baby Powder  talc-based and cornstarch-based. J&J said that the corn starch-based powder will continue to be available in North America. Also the talc-based product will still be sold in markets other than the United States and Canada. J&J announced the decision as part of a portfolio assessment related to the coronavirus pandemic.

J&Js stock has risen 2.2% this year so far against a decrease of 0.7% for the industry.

We remind investors that in early October, J&J voluntarily recalled one lot of its Johnsons Baby Powder. The recall was initiated following tests done by the FDA, which revealed traces of asbestos in samples from one bottle purchased online. J&J, later said that tests conducted by third-party labs on the same bottle of Johnsons Baby Powder that was previously tested by the FDA found no asbestos

There have been verdicts against J&J in its talc lawsuits. In 2018, J&J was ordered by a Missouri court to pay $4.7 billion in damages to 22 women who made such allegations, affirming a St. Louis court jurys verdict given earlier. J&J has appealed the decision

Story continues

J&J has consistently denied allegations and insisted thattalc-based products are safe and do not cause cancer. However, the issue has been weighing on the stock price for some time now.

The link between talc and cancer has been rumored for decades but remains scientifically unproven. It has been suggested that a link between talc and cancer may be due to the fact that talc and asbestos often occur together in deposits and get inadvertently mixed.

J&J has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the large-cap pharma are Eli Lilly LLY, Pfizer PFE and AbbVie ABBV. While Lilly and AbbVie sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Pfizer has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Lillys earnings estimates have gone up by 0.6% for 2020 and by 1.3% for 2021 over the past 30 days. Lillys stock is up 19.2% this year so far.

AbbVies earnings estimates have risen 17.4% for 2020 and 6.6% for 2021 over the past 30 days. AbbVies shares are up 3% this year so far.

Pfizers earnings estimates for 2020 have risen 0.4% over the past 30 days

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>



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



Johnson Johnson (JNJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report



AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
San Francisco, May 20 : Google has started rolling out new tools and a redesign of Chrome browser's privacy and security settings on desktop to help users know what data they are sharing with others and easily control their safety on the web.

For example, the new safety check in Chrome will tell users if the passwords they had asked Chrome to remember have been compromised, and if so, how to fix them.

It will flag if Safe Browsing which is Google's technology to warn before you visit a dangerous site or download a harmful app or extension, is turned off.

The safety check tool also has a new additional way to quickly see if your version of Chrome is up to date.

If malicious extensions are installed, it will tell you how and where to remove them.

In Site Settings, Google has reorganised the controls into two distinct sections to make it easier to find the most sensitive website permissions: access to your location, camera or microphone, and notifications. A new section also highlights the most recent permissions activity.

The redesign also makes it easier to manage cookies. Users can block all cookies on some or all websites.

"At the top of Chrome settings, you'll see 'You and Google' (previously "People"), where you can find sync controls. These controls put you in charge of what data is shared with Google to store in your Google Account and made available across all your devices," AbdelKarim Mardini, Senior Product Manager at Google, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Because many people regularly delete their browsing history, Google has moved that control, "Clear browsing data", to the top of the Privacy & Security section.

"We're also launching Secure DNS, a feature designed to improve your security and privacy while browsing the web," Mardini said.

When you access a website, your browser first needs to determine which server is hosting it, using a step known as a "DNS (Domain Name System) lookup." Chrome's Secure DNS feature uses DNS-over-HTTPS to encrypt this step, thereby helping prevent attackers from observing what sites you visit or sending you to phishing websites.

By default, Chrome will automatically upgrade you to DNS-over-HTTPS if your current service provider supports it.

Users will also be able to configure a different secure DNS provider in the Advanced security section, or disable the feature altogether.

Google said the new updates and features, including the redesigned Privacy and Security settings, will be coming to Chrome on desktop platforms in upcoming weeks.
PHILIPSBURG:--- May 20th, 2020. Today, the General Audit Chamber presented its report entitled Focus audit on the reconstruction funds for St. Maarten to Parliament.

The focus audit is a new type of audit. Only facts are presented; recommendations and conclusions are not issued.

Based on their review, the General Audit Chamber determined that at the end of 2019, 5.8% of the total funds made available, were disbursed for projects.

The challenge for the near term is ensuring the acceleration of disbursements. In the event money is still available in the Fund after 2025 and the Fund ceases to exist, the World Bank will return the remaining amount to the Netherlands.

An above-average hurricane season is expected in 2020. In combination with the COVID-19 crisis, all parties involved face the increased challenge of getting homes, schools, and shelters hurricane-ready.

The report is published in both English and Dutch and is available on the website of the General Audit Chamber (www.arsxm.org) and on the institutions Facebook and LinkedIn pages.

Click here for Audit Chamber report
We have seen a few different plans and requests by others in the state to break up the four regions of your plan into 11 smaller regions. We agree with the concept of small regions, and would ask that you would consider a plan that brings all of Kendall County into a region that is more alike to our agricultural-based county, he said in the letter.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen was sworn in for her second and final term on Wednesday (May 20) and made her message loud and clear; that Taiwan strongly rejects China's claims of sovereignty over the island.

"Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences. I also expect the leader of the other side (China) to take up equal responsibility to stabilise the long-term development of cross-strait relations together."

In her speech at Taipei's presidential palace, Tsai said Taiwan could not accept becoming part of China under its "one country, two systems" offer, which is supposed to guarantee autonomy.

But Tsai called for talks with China so that both sides could coexist.

Tsai led Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party to a landslide victory in January vowing to stand up to China.

Recently, Taiwan has also accused China of keeping it out of the World Health Organization.

During her speech, Tsai said Taiwan would continue seeking active participation in international bodies.

"Over the next four years, we will continue to fight for our participation in international organisations, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with our allies, and bolster ties with the United States, Japan, Europe, and other like-minded countries."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo congratulated Tsai on Tuesday (May 19) praising her quote "courage and vision in leading Taiwan's vibrant democracy."

Meanwhile, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday that China would not tolerate any talks about Taiwan's independence.
By Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera

CARACAS (Reuters) - With the United States weighing a response to a gasoline shipment from Iran to Venezuela, people waiting in line outside service stations in the country's capital said they were eager to fill their tanks, regardless of how the fuel arrived.

OPEC members Venezuela and Iran both are U.S. adversaries. A Trump administration official said last week the shipment via five tankers - which are still underway to fuel-starved Venezuela - was "unwelcome."

Some Venezuelan opposition politicians have criticized the shipment due to concerns over socialist President Nicolas Maduro's ties with Iran.

But Franklin Luzardo, a restaurant wait-staff manager who during the coronavirus-related quarantine has been making ends meet doing deliveries, said getting gasoline is what matters.

"I'm not interested in the origin," Luzardo, 56, told Reuters Tuesday at a gas station in eastern Caracas, where he arrived Monday night. "Without gasoline, the car stops, and that's the bread on our table."

Gasoline shortages have grown acute in recent months due to U.S. pressure on suppliers, part of Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign on Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and stands accused of corruption, human rights violations and rigging his 2018 re-election.

Shortages have plagued Venezuela for years due to the collapse of the country's 1.3-million-barrel-per-day refining network thanks to underinvestment and mismanagement by state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela [PDVSA.UL].

"We shouldn't have had to end up importing gasoline from Iran," said Coromoto Alvarez, 61, a retired nurse who arrived at a PDVSA gas station in Caracas' La Bandera neighborhood at 3 a.m. Tuesday.

The shortages have hindered food delivery and left doctors struggling to reach hospitals.

"I don't care if the gasoline comes from Iran, just that we get it," said Carmen Rivero, a 35-year-old economist waiting at the La Bandera station. "Without gasoline, food distribution fails, people cannot work."

(Reporting by Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Leslie Adler)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Volpara Health Technologies announced today that its subsidiary company, Volpara Solutions , has signed a collaboration agreement with Ambry Genetics , one of the world's leading genetic testing companies.

Ambry Genetics, part of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine, developed the CARE (Comprehensive, Assessment, Risk, and Education) Program. Designed to identify high-risk patients through validated risk assessment models and genetic testing, the CARE Program provides clinically actionable results to guide cancer screening, prevention, and effectively communicates this information to patients and their care teams.

Ambry and Volpara are collaborating to incorporate CARE with Volpara's cancer screening platform to automate the workflow by creating an online ordering process for genetic testing within the Aspen Breast practice management software. The goal is to help providers obtain the information they need to confidently make informed decisions about their patients' screening options.

The program will include the use of the VolparaDensity clinical function to automatically and objectively assess volumetric breast density, a key factor in estimating a woman's risk for developing breast cancer. Risk assessment is often required by insurance companies to confirm reimbursement for supplemental screening and genetic testing. Patients who qualify for supplemental imaging based on genetic results or risk assessments may benefit from early cancer detection, which is key in increasing the chances of survival and reducing treatment costs.

Volpara software provides radiologists with the clinical decision-support tools they need to personalize breast screening and provide radiologists, administrators, and technologists with the practice management tools they need to improve mammographic quality and maximize resource utilization.

"Personalization of breast cancer screening based on risk is being adopted at a fast pace in the US, and Volpara is proud to be playing a major role in that. Our partnership with Ambry will allow us to offer additional value to our customers to ensure the right patients get the right testing at the right time," said Ralph Highnam, Ph.D., Volpara Solutions CEO.

"This partnership highlights the value and the need for precision medicine. Our goal is to elevate the standard of care for patients by providing an individualized approach that will allow doctors and researchers to predict more accurately which treatment and prevention strategies will work for patients, and this partnership is leading that charge," said Tom Schoenherr, Chief Commercial Officer of Ambry Genetics.

About Ambry Genetics

Ambry Genetics, as part of Konica Minolta Precision Medicine, excels at translating scientific research into clinically actionable test results based upon a deep understanding of the human genome and the biology behind the genetic disease. Our unparalleled track record of discoveries over 20 years, and growing database that continues to expand in collaboration with academic, corporate, and pharmaceutical partners, means we are first to market with innovative products and comprehensive analysis that enable clinicians to confidently inform patient health decisions. We care about what happens to real people, their families, and the people they love, and remain dedicated to providing them and their clinicians with deeper knowledge and fresh insights, so together they can make informed, potentially life-altering healthcare decisions. For more information, please visit www.ambrygen.com .

About Volpara Solutions

Volpara Solutions is committed to helping save families from cancer. Volpara's advanced technology platform combines with the healthcare provider's expertise to provide a high-quality, optimized, and personalized cancer screening experience. From the time a patient enters a clinic to when they obtain key results, our platform collects and analyzes information to better understand a patient's breast cancer risk, while also objectively evaluating image quality and workflow-improvement opportunities. These capabilities are being extended to lung cancer screening. Volpara's platform is supported by numerous patents, trademarks, and regulatory clearances, including FDA clearance and CE marking, and validated by a volume of peer-reviewed publications unrivaled in the breast screening industry. For more information, visit http://www.volparasolutions.com .

SOURCE Volpara Solutions

Related Links

http://www.volparadensity.com


SHERIDAN TWP., MI  Four men were arrested in a drug bust Sunday morning when police were tipped off about methamphetamine distribution at a Sheridan Township home.

After getting a warrant, police searched the home in the 27000 block of C Drive North, northwest of Albion at 11:45 p.m. May 17, according to the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office.

Officers found one ounce of methamphetamine and arrested four men who were at the home during the search, police said.

Arrested were a 46-year-old man from Hastings, Florida for possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, a 39-year-old man from Jackson for larceny in a building, a 38-year-old man from Wolcottville, Indiana on a felony drug warrant from Noble County Indiana and a 26-year-old man from Sheridan Township for a felony drug warrant from Michigan State Police.

The incident remains under investigation. The Albion Department of Public Safety assisted at the scene.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office at 269-781-0880 and speak with a detective or call the Silent Observer at 269-964-3888.

More from The Jackson Citizen Patriot:

Submit your comments on Jacksons proposed budget, watch upcoming meeting

Free Google Nest thermostats available for Consumers Energy customers

Teacher, community leader announces bid for District 65 state representative seat
The trade pact with E.U. could help the Vietnamese economy recover from pandemic impacts by boosting trade and creating jobs, the government says.

It made the observation Wednesday while submitting the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to the National Assembly for ratification. Lawmakers will discuss the trade pact starting Wednesday and vote on it on May 28.

Industry and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that the EVFTA, which eliminates 99 percent of import duties for both parties in 10 years, is an opportunity for businesses to recover production with new supply chains to replace old ones disrupted by the pandemic.

Vietnam will be able to diversify its export markets and reduce dependency on a particular group of markets, he added.

EU is the second largest importer globally behind the U.S. and is the second largest export market for Vietnam, also behind the U.S. It has a population of 500 million with a GDP of $15 trillion, or 22 percent of the global GDP.

The government estimates that the trade pact could increase Vietnams GDP by 2.18-3.25 percent in the first five years, 4.57-5.3 percent in the next five and 7.07-7.72 percent in following five-year period.

Trade will benefit as exports to the E.U. could surge by 43 percent in 2025 and 44.4 percent in 2030 thanks to increasing sales of agriculture produce, garment and footwear and services such as aviation, finance and insurance, Minister Anh said.

It is estimated that imports from the E.U. will rise by 33.06 percent in 2025 and 36.7 percent in 2030, and the trade pact could prompt non-E.U. markets to increase trade and investment ties with Vietnam.

It is also estimated that the EVFTA will generate 146,000 more jobs each year in Vietnam.

While trade tariff collection will be reduced by VND2.5 trillion ($107 million) because of the trade pact, but domestic tax collection will increased by VND7 trillion ($300 million) in the 2020-2030 period.

But with opportunities come challenges. Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said local companies could face competition from an influx of European goods and services.

The trade pact has strict regulations and policies on investment, trade and customs, which will require Vietnam to complete its market economy institutions and carry out further administrative reforms, she said.

She also stressed the need to consider implications of labor-based commitments in the pact that could potentially lead to international labor disputes and negatively impact national security. She did not elaborate.

Nguyen Van Giau, chairman of the External Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, suggested that the government clarify commitments regarding non-tariff measures in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment and allowing European companies to provide medicines in Vietnam.

On Brexit, Minister Anh said that there will be a transition period until the end of this year to negotiate additional agreements with the E.U., and therefore the trade pact will be effective for U.K. until then.

He proposed that the National Assembly allows an extension of this period up to two years. Vietnam and U.K. officials have been discussing the possibility of signing a bilateral trade pact based on the EVFTA, he added.

With the European Parliament having voted in favor of the pact in February, it will become effective a month after Vietnam lawmakers ratify the deal.

The EVFTA is E.U.s second deal with an ASEAN country, after Singapore, and one of very few it has signed with developing countries.
Benchmark indices marched higher for the second straight day on Wednesday as robust gains in market heavyweights HDFC twins and RIL offset lacklustre global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 622.44 points or 2.06 per cent to settle at 30,818.61, while the broader NSE Nifty rose 187.45 points, or 2.11 cent, to 9,066.55.

Traders said encouraging corporate results bolstered investor confidence, though rising COVID-19 cases in India capped the gains.

Further, media reports said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not ruled out announcing more measures to help the coronavirus-hit economy, which added to the buying momentum, they added.

M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging 5.92 per cent, followed by HDFC, L&T, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma.

Only four Sensex constituents ended in the red -- IndusInd Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Bharti Airtel and Asian Paints, shedding up to 2.85 per cent.

"Domestic markets opened flat but gained higher later during the day led by buying across all sectors. Positive statements from the Finance Minister also could have lifted markets (and showed) that the government was with industry and would do as much as possible depending on how the coronavirus pandemic will pan out, implying there could be further stimulus ahead," said Paras Bothra, President of Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking.

BSE healthcare, capital goods, finance, consumer durables and oil and gas indices rallied up to 3.16 per cent, while telecom ended in the red.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices spurted up to 1.49 per cent.

Global markets were largely subdued after reports cast doubts on some COVID-19 vaccine trials.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul settled with gains, while Shanghai ended in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with losses in early deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 1.24 per cent to USD 35.08 per barrel.

On the currency front, the rupee depreciated by 14 paise to provisionally end at 75.80 against the US dollar.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India spiked to 1.06 lakh, while the death toll rose to 3,303, according to the health ministry.

Globally, the number of cases linked to the disease has crossed 48.97 lakh and the death toll has topped 3.23 lakh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 21:00:36|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's statement congratulating Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, the ministry said in a statement, noting that the U.S. move has severely violated the one-China principle and the stipulations of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, gravely interfered in China's internal affairs, gravely jeopardized the development of relations between the two countries and their militaries, and gravely undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

"It is extremely wrong and very dangerous," said the statement.

The ministry stressed that Taiwan question is China's internal affairs and concerns China's core interests and the national feelings of 1.4 billion Chinese people.

"We strongly oppose any form of official exchanges and military contacts by any country with Taiwan," the ministry said, stressing "we will never allow anyone, any organization or any political party, at any time and in any form, to separate any part of the Chinese territory from China."

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has a firm will, full confidence and sufficient capabilities to defeat any interference by foreign forces and any secessionist attempt for "Taiwan independence" in any form, the ministry stressed.

The PLA will take all necessary measures to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, said the ministry. Enditem
Midland set a new record flood level on the Tittabawassee River Wednesday following the failure of dams upstream on Tuesday. The river crested at 35.05 feet according to a report at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville Dam was breached and water flowed over the Sanford Dam, making its way toward Midland. During a visit in Midland Wednesday, the governor said the state will pursue legal recourse for the dam failures.

"It's devastating," Whitmer said of the damage and disruption she saw during an aerial tour of the Midland area a short time earlier. "This is being called a '500-year event.'"

Read more about her visit: Whitmer in Midland: This is a '500-year event'.

The National Guard began missions Wednesday, evacuating citizens, augmenting emergency planners and preparing logistical support.

The City of Midland and Midland County are continuing their response: Midland County, City warn flooding is 'far from over'.

Sewer backups are possible in some parts of Midland, the city says.

See our new timeline documenting the response.

River update and evacuations

Even though the river has reached its crest, residents are reminded that they should remain diligent and follow all current evacuation protocol despite fair weather conditions.

At this time, about 11,000 people are evacuating from their residences in Midland County, including 10,000 within the City of Midland and 950 within townships and villages.

No fatalities or significant injuries have been reported.

Within the City of Midland, the following residents are advised to evacuate: residents living within the shaded areas of the map located at https://bit.ly/damfailure2020; those living south of U.S. 10 and west of Eastman Avenue should also evacuate; residents contacted by state, city or county public safety officers.

In Midland County, the following residents are advised to evacuate: Residents living with the shaded areas of the map under the Edenville Dam Failure layer at http://link.fetchgis.com/b6f5016d; Midland Township residents on Ashby Road between Poseyville and Patterson roads; Homer Township residents residing on East Wheeler Road or on Homer Road; Residents in Lincoln Township east of M-30 on any roads between Price and Wackerly.

As of 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, power outages were affecting 5,470 customers in Midland County and and 2,871 customers in Gladwin County.

Community response

Photos taken by Michael Ostander as he was out on his kayak in the Sanford area show devastation: A kayaker's view of Sanford.

The Edenville Dam, along with the Sanford Dam, has been in poor condition for many years: Edenville Dam had long history of neglect.

At about 10 a.m. Wednesday it was confirmed flood waters are commingling with on-site containment ponds at the Dow Michigan Operations Industrial Park: Dow implements emergency preparedness plan. Dow CEO Jim Fitterling told reporter Ashley Schafer that that the company is monitoring its site along the river. Read more from Fitterling: Dow CEO: Midland plant is stable, continue to serve customers.

Karen and Larry Buford of Midland are grateful to have a place to stay at an emergency shelter. Hear from them and more residents in the shelter after evacuating: About 100 people stayed inside shelter at MHS Tuesday night.

Area resident are dealing with the aftermath of the situation further upstream. The situation has caused headaches and heartaches for residents, some of whom are just recovering from the last major flood in 2017.

Jake Endline posted the video to Facebook showing standing water in some parts of a neighborhood off M-20: Video shows floodwater in Midland neighborhood.

Midland County readers are submitting photos of the damage done by the flooding.

Community Mental Health for Central Michigan is offering a variety of services to the community via telephone and teletherapy options during this challenging time.

All Northwood University staff and students have been evacuated and ordered not to return to campus: Northwood evacuates campus due to flooding.

Shelters

City of Midland Community Affairs Director Selina Tisdale cautions that Midland residents who have evacuated their homes amid the flooding need to be patient before trying to get back home.

"We can't stress enough that (the Tittabawassee River hasn't) crested yet," she said at 8 a.m. Wednesday. "A lot of people are thinking, it's a beautiful day and they can go back to their homes and resume normal activities. But we are still in the thick of this." Read more: City of Midland: Don't return to your homes yet.

Residents who do not have a safe place to stay should come to one of the following shelters:

 West Midland Family Center - 4011 W. Isabella Road

 Midland High School - 1301 Eastlawn Drive

 Bullock Creek High School - 1420 S. Badour Road (pet friendly)

 Coleman High School - 4951 N. Lewis Road

 North Midland Family Center - 2601 E. Shearer Road (pet friendly)

Please do not call 911 to inquire about the status of a residence or if it is safe to return home.

Roads

Many roads in Midland County and the City of Midland remain closed due to flooded conditions. Due to the rapidly-changing nature of this event, additional road closures may be in effect since this release was issued. Residents are encouraged to visit this a map containing current road closures and other information.

Residents are advised to obey all road closure signs and to stay clear of standing water, flooded areas and floating debris. Do not attempt to drive or walk through any standing water. Residents should take extra precaution where electrical items may be submerged. Rumors of an individual being swept away by flood waters are unfounded.

Get more information on roads: Maps: Find a route around Midland County road closures.

Water safety

Midland County residents whose residence have groundwater wells that have been submerged by flood waters are advised not to consume their drinking water until it has been disinfected and tested. Please visit http://co.midland.mi.us/health for more information. A boil water advisory has been implemented for residents in Water District 1 in Hope and Edenville townships due to proximity to the Edenville Dam failure.

City of Midland residents and township customers who receive water service from the City of Midland Water Treatment Plant are not impacted and may continue to consume drinking water.

City facilities

The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library has received flooding in its lower level, which includes Midland Community Television (MCTV), due to flooding of the Snake Creek. Damage mitigation efforts are currently underway by city staff. More updates will be provided as additional details are made available.

Evacuations of all residents of the City of Midlands Riverside Place senior living community were completed around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Most residents have taken shelter with family members, while those without local family members are being sheltered at Midland High School. Riverside Place is currently taking on water in its lower level due to flooding of the Tittabawassee River.

Medical facilities

As a result of the ongoing Midland County Flash Flood Warning, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland has implemented its incident command team to make plans to ensure the safety of all patients and staff.



We have been working alongside local agencies, watching closely the rapid changes that have been occurring due to the flooding, stated Greg Rogers, president, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland, in a news release. We have transferred a few patients that were identified by their physician and have no plans for evacuation of the Medical Center.

Since the 1986 flood, aggressive improvements have been made to protect the Medical Center campus and ensure the safety of patients. These changes include the installation of a FEMA-approved flood wall located on Medical Center property on Sugnet Road, as well as the location of the Medical Center Energy Center and generators have been built above the flood plain to reduce risk of damage to the Medical Center.

Our leadership team is onsite monitoring the situation as it evolves, added Diane Postler-Slattery, FACHE, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health. We will continue to follow our Flood Preparedness Plan and respond to any changes in a controlled and timely manner."

More info: Here's what you need to know if you need medical help

More information

On Wednesday morning an emergency alert stated that the Poseyville Dike broke. Residents on Ashby between Poseyville and Patterson need to evacuate west, according to the alert just after 6:30 a.m.

Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow said all classes are canceled for Wednesday and food delivery and pickup for MPS families has been canceled due to the state of emergency.

Read about the man whose vision was to harness the power of local rivers and create a recreation area for the community: Dam history: Man's dream from century ago results in natural disaster today

Resources

Official information will be shared via the following channels:

 www.midland911.org  www.cityofmidlandmi.gov

 Facebook channels for the following entities: Midland County Emergency Management (MI), Midland County 911 and City of Midland, Michigan  Municipal Government.

 Twitter: @CityofMidlandMI

 Twitter: @MidlandCountyMI

 Call 2-1-1

 Emergency text and email alerts through Nixle.com

Read more:

 Midland and Gladwin county residents rush to save possessions, pets from flood

 Sanford Dam failure imminent; Midland residents evacuating

 Midland looks to evacuate more than 10,000 people
Storyful

An explosion at a home in the Bronx triggered a large fire, leaving at least one person dead and eight others injured, including five police officers suffering smoke inhalation, according to local officials.A blast was reported before 11 am at 869 Fox Street in the Longview neighborhood of the Bronx. This footage, released by the NYPD, shows officers working to rescue a woman pinned under a couch in a house next door. The 68-year-old woman was in a serious condition, authorities reported after being rescued.New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca, who was on the scene, said the fire was due to a gas explosion, though the cause has yet to be confirmed. Credit: NYPD via Storyful
Felicien Kabuga is crossed off a wanted list after 26 years on the run

Rwandan genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga appeared before a French public prosecutor yesterday, three days after police swooped on his hideout in a Paris suburb and ended a 26-year manhunt.

The 84-year-old is accused of funding and arming militias that massacred about 800,000 people. He was indicted in 1997 on seven criminal counts including genocide, all in relation to the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Mr Kabuga arrived at the Paris Appeals Court complex under heavy police protection. Outriders flanked the convoy and armed officers guarded the entrance. The hearing began about three hours later, a judicial source said.

The prosecutor was to set out the legal process before the case is passed to investigative judges who will decide whether to transfer him to a UN court handling alleged crimes against humanity.

At least one French-based genocide victim support group said it was considering legal action to unearth how Mr Kabuga was able to go underground in France and what help he had received.

"He was our Klaus Barbie, our [Adolf] Eichmann," said Etienne Nsanzimana, president of Ibuka France, referring to two prominent Nazi war criminals.

"How did he stay on the run for 26 years? For how many years was he in France and receiving help to live comfortably. I don't think it was just his family."

French lawyer Emmanuel Altit, who will be defending Mr Kabuga, did not respond to a request seeking comment from his client.

Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days of killing from April 6, 1994, orchestrated by the Hutu-led government and its ethnic militia allies.

Mr Kabuga, a Hutu businessman, is accused of bankrolling the militia.

It is not known when or how Mr Kabuga, who had a $5m (4.5m) bounty on his head, entered France.

France's justice ministry has said he lived under a false identity in Asnieres-sur-Seine on the outskirts of Paris.

Separately Rwanda's current president has pardoned and ordered the release of 50 young women who were jailed for having or assisting with abortions.

Justice Minister Johnston Busingye said the women released were the last to be freed. Last year, President Paul Kagame ordered the release of 52 women.

Mr Kagame also informed the cabinet that a total of 3,596 inmates had been granted "conditional release" from prison.

The government is trying to reduce the number of prisoners to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Last month, 1,182 people were freed.

Previously, abortion was illegal in Rwanda with a prison sentence for anyone who had an abortion or helped in terminating a pregnancy.

The new law says abortion is allowed in cases such as rape, forced marriage, incest or instances where the pregnancy poses a health risk.

It requires that abortions be carried out only after consultation with a doctor.

But Sylvie Nsanga, a prominent women's rights advocate, said the requirement to consult a doctor and seek a parent's consent remains a challenge because it's not easy to get support for an abortion in Rwandan culture.

There are no doctors in rural areas and travelling far from a village to look for one can carry a stigma, she added.

"It means girls will continue to get pregnant, abort, be imprisoned and then get pardoned by the president," Ms Nsanga said.

"There should be more conversation about the penal code that prohibits health professionals such as midwives from providing abortions."
One of the two migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh, who fell from a bridge over the Ganga at Amroha-Hapur border on Tuesday, died and the other is critical.

Sanjeev Kumar from Mohaddinpur village of Shahjahanpur and his companion Pyarelaal from Samaspur village of Bareilly were rushed to the Meerut medical college where Sanjeev died during the treatment. Pyarelaal is currently battling for his life.

Both the migrant labourers worked in Delhi and were returning to their native places along with their family members in a shared taxi. The incident took place when hundreds of labourers coming from Delhi and Haryana swarmed the Ganga Bridge. The crowd swelled as the police had barricaded the road preventing their entry into Amrohas Gajraula. This led to a jam.

Eyewitnesses said the police resorted to a mild force to restore order which resulted in a melee on the bridge following which the two labourers jumped into the river. They fell on one of the pillars of the bridge instead of landing in water.

The police, however, denied using force to disperse the crowd on the bridge.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Amroha superintendent of police Vipin Tada said, There was no stampede on the bridge. During the investigation, we found that they were trying to jump from one bridge to the other running parallel and fell down. Their family members did not know of the accident. They had reached their destination when we contacted them. The victims body was handed over to his relatives after the postmortem.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

Following several such incidents of migrant labourers trying to enter the state by crossing river Ganga, the local administration has deployed police on the rivers banks and its tributaries and canals to keep migrants from entering without proper registration.

According to officials, registration of incoming migrant labourers is mandatory along with screening and subsequent quarantine.

A large number of migrant labourers have been entering UP from Uttarakhand and Haryana while on the way to their native places in eastern UP and Bihar.


Gregory, left, and Travis McMichael, right, are seen in their booking photos.

Reuters

Lindsay McMichael is the sister of Travis McMichael, who along with his father Gregory is a suspect in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery.

In an interview with The Sun on Monday, she admitted to sharing a picture of Arbery's body at the crime scene, but said she didn't do so maliciously.

McMichael said: "The thing is I'm a huge fan of true crime  I listen to four or five podcasts a week  I'm constantly watching that sort of thing. It was more of a, 'Holy s---, I can't believe this has happened.'"

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Video: How Crime Scene Cleaners Are Disinfecting During Pandemic

The sister of the accused killer of Ahmaud Arbery has admitted to sharing a picture of the victim's body, saying she did it because she's a "true crime fan" but now realizes it was in poor taste.

Lindsay McMichael, whose brother Travis and father Gregory are suspects in Arbery's killing, posted the image to Snapchat around the time of the killing on February 23, according to The Sun newspaper.



Ahmaud Arbery was shot dead at the end of February while out on a jog.

I RUN WITH MAUD/Facebook

The post was made before Arbery's case had become a national scandal.

The unarmed black 23-year-old's death, and the delayed arrests of the suspects, prompted outage across the nation after video of his death became public.

The father and son were arrested on May 7, after the video was released.

Gregory McMichael told police that his son shot Arbery after a struggle which followed them confronting Arbery over a series of break-ins in the neighborhood.

The Sun reported that the photo photo, which shows Arbery's blood-soaked body at the crime scene, had been making the rounds within the Brunswick, Georgia community before Lindsay McMichael posted it.

When asked about the picture by The Sun on Monday, Lindsay McMichael apologized and said she had shown poor judgment.

"I had no nefarious or malicious intent when I posted that picture," she said.

Story continues

"The thing is I'm a huge fan of true crime  I listen to four or five podcasts a week  I'm constantly watching that sort of thing. It was more of a, 'Holy s---, I can't believe this has happened'. It was absolutely poor judgment," she added.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Arbery's family, said it was "very disturbing" for Lindsay McMichael to post the picture.

"It actually fits in with the pattern of the McMichael family engaging in a weird, violent form of voyeurism," Merritt added.

In a previous interview with The Sun, McMichael said that she and her mother were watching a movie when the shooting happened and had no idea what was going on.

She said she does not believe her father and brother are racists because they always "loved" her non-white boyfriends.

Seeing her brother's face after the shooting also led her to believe that they didn't mean to harm Arbery.

"All I saw was the look on his [Travis's] face and he was looking very desperate I don't think we even exchanged a word," Lindsay said.

"I've seen my brother in his happiest moments  I was there when his child was born and I've seen him in distress and I know that look it wasn't like some glory thing, like 'I stalked and then got the kill that I was hoping for.' It was absolute f---ing panicI really do believe that things just escalated so fast."

The McMichaels are currently in jail on charges of murder and aggravated assault.

Read the original article on Insider
Australians may be allowed to holiday on picturesque beaches in Fiji as the Pacific Islands push to join a proposed international travel bubble with New Zealand.

Tourism is the region's biggest industry and while it has been completely shutdown since the beginning of COVID-19, locals are looking forwards to reopening.

The Fijian Government said it is hoping to have Australian and New Zealand tourists return for holidays 'as soon as possible'.

Australia and New Zealand have floated the possibility of creating a trans-Tasman bubble where people will be able to travel freely between the two countries.

Australians may be allowed to holiday on picturesque beaches in Fiji (pictured) as the Pacific Islands push to join the country's international travel bubble with New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand are currently in talks of having a trans-Tasman bubble where people will be able to exclusively travel between the countries (people at Sydney airport)

The Fijian Government has formally requested to join the bubble, ABC News reported.

Discussions are believed to be underway between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji but there is still no official time frame for the travel bubble proposal.

Federal Liberal MP and co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of the Pacific Group Dave Sharma told the Lowy Institute travel to Fiji may resume this year.

'I would think we should have some parameters in place that would be allowing us to commence this sort of thing and possibly even sooner,' Mr Sharma said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is hoping once travel arrangements are organised with New Zealand he will then look at the 'broader Pacific family'.

Both Australia and New Zealand will be cautious with travel to the Pacific Islands as they do not want to spread the coronavirus further than their own countries.

Fiji Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said the decisions will take time.

'We've obviously put our hand up, we want to look at how we can place ourselves in a more prime position,' he said.

Australia's High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes, said the initial travel arrangements will be hashed out between Australia and New Zealand.

The Fijian Government has formally requested to join the bubble (pictured: Fijian women doing traditional dance)

Once the work is completed to open up the trans-Tasman bubble it will then look to include Fiji.

'But our principal concern is to make sure that the health of New Zealanders, Australians and Fijians is protected,' Mr Feakes said.

Medical, health, travel insurance, quarantine and testing measures are all considerations that governments will look into.

Tracing potential cases of the virus is also critical and Fiji is beginning a trial of its own version of a coronavirus tracing app.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Fiji is feeling positive about how it has responded to the pandemic with only 18 cases of the virus, and none recorded in the past four weeks.

Although the numbers are low, the testing rate is far lower than Australia and New Zealand.

While COVID-19 cases are low across the Pacific Islands there is a push to increase testing to ensure cases have not fallen through the cracks.

Fiji (pictured) is seen as a leader among the Pacific Island countries because of its interests, booming tourism and experience with COVID-19

Fiji has been the most vocal about wanting to join the travel bubble but Vanuatu has also expressed interest.

Vanuatu is also heavily reliant on tourism and is cautious about reopening its borders but confirmed it has had talks with Australia.

Meanwhile The Cook Islands are also keen on reopening borders with the right measures in place.

Not only will the travel bubble in the Pacific open up holiday opportunities for Australians but it will also provide new trade opportunities.

The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forums, Dame Meg Taylor, confirmed that multiple countries approached Australia and New Zealand about being included.

But she admitted it will take time as the main priority is health of Pacific Islanders.

'We just don't have strong health systems, health services and health infrastructure,' Dame Meg said.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Embassy in Syria informs that during the upcoming 7-10 days a Damascus-Yerevan flight will take place. ARMENPRESS reports the Embassy informs that the Armenian citizens wishing to visit Armenia should register in advance at the Armenian Embassy in Syria.

''The registered citizens will be informed about the day and time of the flight. For registery and other information feel free to call +963 954 666 699'', the Embassy says.

Reporting by Lilit Demuryan, Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan
Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-Category
The British government announced on Tuesday a new tariff regime to replace European Union's (EU) common external tariff after the Brexit transition period comes to an end this year.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2021, the UK Global Tariff ensures that 60 percent of trade will come into Britain tariff free on World Trade Organization (WTO) terms or through existing preferential access, and successful free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations will increase this, the Department for International Trade said in a statement.

The new tariff is tailored to the needs of the British economy. It will be in pounds not euros, the department said.

Under the new regime, the government will streamline or simplify tariffs on more than 6,000 products, including getting rid of all "nuisance tariffs" (those below 2 percent), to lower costs for businesses and increase choice for consumers, it said.

It said tariffs will be cut on over 100 products to promote a sustainable economy, with thermostats, LED lamps among others dropping to zero tariffs.

The government promises to extend the temporary zero tariff rate for personal protective equipment, medical devices and other key items from non-EU countries to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic beyond Jan. 1 should it be necessary, the department said.

The government will back agriculture, automotive and fishing in the country by maintaining tariffs on agricultural products such as lamb, beef and poultry, a 10 percent tariff on cars, as well as tariffs for the vast majority of ceramic products.

The British government counts on successful FTA negotiations to expand tariff free trade. It is currently in talks with the EU and the United States, and has announced negotiating objectives for talks with Japan.

However, hopes of Britain securing a permanent post-Brexit trade deal with the EU hit a major stumbling block on Friday when the latest round of bilateral talks ended. It leaves both sides with just six weeks to reach an agreement before a deadline for a decision to be made on extending the transition period beyond Dec. 31. If they fail to reach a deal by then, trade will be carried out on WTO terms.
The CEO admitted that she sent an attached file having the illegal nine-dash line.

CEO of Bayer Vietnam has been summoned and fined for having disseminated a Chinese map with the unlawful nine-dash line.

Bayer Vietnam CEO amitted to haing sent an attached file with the unlawful nine-dash line. Source: VNE

Lynette Moey Yu Lin will be fined between VND25 (US$1,086) and VND35 million (US$1,521) for sending a document on Covid-19  lessons from China with an attached file containing the Chinese map with the nine-dash line to the companys staff on April 27.

When working with authorities in Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City on May 15, Lynette admitted to having sent the attached file of 19 MB and has made effort to retrieve the document.

The news on the spread of the illegal map has immediately sparked wrath among Vietnam netizens who called for dismissal of Lynette Moey Yu Lin, the companys official apology, and boycott of Bayer products.

So far, Hanoi has strongly opposed Chinas self-claimed nine-dash line that covers Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) in the East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), rejecting the Chinese illegal map in all cases both in Vietnam and abroad.

In 2016, a panel in The Hague rejected the legality of Chinas claim to waters within a nine-dash line that appears on official Chinese maps and encircles as much as 90% of the East Sea.

Dr. Zachary Abuza, professor at the National War College in Washington, DC, said the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that the nine-dash line has no basis as per international law and that the historical rights claimed by China were extinguished by the ratification of UNCLOS.

In 2019, Vietnam fined several companies for their accidental dissemination of the nine-dash line.

In October 2019, Saigontourist Travel Service Company, one of leading Vietnamese travel companies, was fined VND50 million (US$2,200) for using brochures carrying Chinas infamous nine-dash line.

Saigontourist said its Chinese partner supplied the brochure.

The firms violation is very serious, so the inspectorate decided to exceed the maximum fine frame to discipline them, VnExpress cited Tu Luong, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh Citys Department of Information and Communications.

Korea-based CJ CGV Vietnam was fined VND170 million (US$7,400) for licensing Abominable movie that includes the illegal nine-dash line. Hanoitimes

Linh Pham
Appeal against 11-year sentence of Komi Republic ex-head adjourned until June 10

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

13:59 20/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI)  The Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction has postponed an appeal against an 11-year sentence of ex-head of Russias Komi Republic Vyacheslav Gaizer, who had been found guilty of fraud, money laundering and corruption, until June 10, RAPSI has learnt from the courts press office.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow convicted and sentenced Gaizer in June 2019. In addition to the prison term, Gaizer was fined 160 million rubles (nearly $2.5 million) and banned from holding public posts for 5 years. In October, the Moscow City Court upheld the ruling.

However, the court acquitted Gaizer of creation of criminal community.

Investigators claimed that a criminal gang involving Gaizer, another Komi Republics ex-head Vladimir Torlopov, ex-deputy head Alexander Chernov, ex-Chairman of the Republican State Council Igor Kovzel and 10 other people, was organized in 2006. Depending of their involvement and role in crimes, they were charged with taking bribes, embezzlement and money laundering.

According to investigation, gang leaders and members committed crimes aimed at occupation of the regions highly profitable enterprises or instituting control over them for the purposes of unlawful enrichment. They allegedly caused a 4.5-billion-ruble (about $70 million) damage to the republic.

Investigators also accused the gang members of taking bribes totaling to 160 million rubles in 2013. Moreover, Gaizer himself received 37.5 million rubles in bribes for assignment of a person identified by investigators to the post of the Syktyvkar liquor producers director.

In August 2016, one of the defendants, businessman Anton Faershtein died in a Moscow detention center.
A boy who disappeared 25 years ago after being picked by the Dalai Lama as Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure is now a college graduate with a normal life and a stable job, China has revealed.

Very little information has been given about Gedhun Choekyi Nyima or his family since he went missing at the age of six - shortly after being named as the 11th Panchen Lama.

China, which claims that Tibet is part of its territory, selected another boy to the position six months after Gedhun Choekyi Nyima vanished.

There is only one photo (above) believed to be of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was selected by the 14th Dalai Lama in 1995 as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism. The boy, then six years old, disappeared three days after his appointment and has not been seen since

The 14th Dalai Lama (left, pictured in 2019) named the original 11th Panchen Lama on May 17, 1995, with the help of Tibetan lamas trained in reading omens and signs. Six months later, Beijing picked its own candidate, named Gyaltsen Norbu, by pulling lots from a golden urn

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 'received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job.'

Zhao said neither the now-31-year-old man or his family wishes to be disturbed in their 'current normal lives.' No other details were given.

Beijing's own Panchen Lama, named Gyaltsen Norbu, is rarely seen and believed to spend most of his time in the Chinese capital city.

He is generally viewed as a political figure under Beijing's control and shares none of the Dalai Lama's global fame.

Beijing's own Panchen Lama, named Gyaltsen Norbu, is rarely seen and believed to spend most of his time in the capital city. The picture from 2018 shows Norbu shakes hands with a fellow delegate before the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian (pictured on May 13) said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the original Panchen Lama, 'received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job' at a press briefing on Tuesday

The tussle between Beijing and the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in 1959, concerns who will determine the future of Tibetan Buddhism.

The religion still commands heavy sway over the people of the Himalayan region.

China says the region has been its territory for centuries, but many Tibetans believe it was largely independent.

Who is the Panchen Lama? The Panchen Lama is the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism. His spiritual authority is only exceeded by the Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 and formed a self-declared government-in-exile in India. The Dalai Lama named the original Panchen Lama with the help of Tibetan lamas trained in reading omens and signs. But China claims the only way to choose the reincarnation is by pulling lots from a golden urn. Tourists are pictured taking photos of the Potala Palace beneath a security camera in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, on September 19, 2015 On 17 May, 1995, a six-year-old Tibetan boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was appointed as the 11th Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama. He disappeared three days later and has not been seen since. There is only one photo believed to be of a young Nyima, and little is known about his whereabouts. Beijing appointed its own Panchen Lama in November of the same year. Advertisement

Tibet's self-declared government-in-exile in India marked the 25th anniversary of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima's disappearance by calling on Beijing on Sunday to account for his whereabouts.

'China's abduction of the Panchen Lama and forcible denial of his religious identity and right to practice in his monastery is not only a violation of religious freedom but also a gross violation of human rights,' the Tibetan parliament in northern India, known as the Kashag, said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also issued a statement on Monday calling on China to 'immediately make public the Panchen Lama's whereabouts and to uphold its own constitution and international commitments to promote religious freedom for all persons.'

Tibet's self-declared government-in-exile in India marked the 25th anniversary of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima's disappearance by calling on Beijing to account for his whereabouts

Tibetan women living-in-exile and members of the Tibetan Women's Association distribute butter for lighting the lamps as they request people to light butter lamps in their homes to mark the 31st birthday of Panchen lama in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on April 25

The Dalai Lama named the original Panchen Lama with the help of Tibetan lamas trained in reading portents and signs.

China claims the reincarnate can only be chosen by pulling lots from a golden urn, a method it used to pick its own candidate under the control of the officially atheistic ruling Communist Party.

Traditionally, the Panchen Lama has served as teacher and aide to the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest leader who is now 84 and is accused by Beijing of seeking independence for Tibet.

The Dalai Lama denies that and says he advocates greater autonomy for the region.
Former South Sydney captain Greg Inglis has slammed claims his shock move to Warrington is part of a salary cap rort for his old club, saying he simply wants to "finish my career on my terms, my way".

In his first interview since the Herald revealed he was coming out of retirement, the 33-year-old also dismissed suggestions he was endangering his mental health by playing one more season abroad and opened up about his new life alongside partner Alyse Caccamo, tending to retired racehorses on her family farm in Sydneys west.

Inglis will take up a one-year deal with the Wolves for the 2021 Super League season having retired from the NRL in April 2019 stricken with shoulder and knee complaints and also mental illness.

I get to retire the way I want to retire, Inglis said. I get to finish on my terms, my way. When I announced my retirement, I definitely thought that was it. I was battling a lot of things in my own head; all the recurring niggles and injuries, over and over again. I didnt think my body could keep going on for another season and play the way I wanted to keep playing. I couldnt be the leader I wanted to be. Now, Ive had a year off, my bodys fresh, Im feeling healed and I get the chance to prove to myself that Ive still got it.
Award-winning rapper Elorm Adabla known in showbiz as E.L has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to a little longer before thinking about reopening schools in the country.

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

According to him, it is not prudent to reopen schools when the number of COVID-19 cases in Ghana keeps rising.

In an interview with Radio Central, E.L said the GES needs to hold on a little longer because there is no need for school children to rush back to school and get sick.

READ ALSO: Bishop Nyarko's mom speaks for the 1st time; says her son has been visiting her in her dreams

The numbers are still going up so I dont know what they mean by things are safe. Because as per my observations and my knowledge the numbers are still rising. No where in the world right now have schools been opened for students to attend. So I will advise that we should hold on a little longer because there is no need for us to rush to go back into the world and get hurt or get sick," he stated.

READ ALSO: Florence Obinim struggles to pronounce 'Ecclesiastes' in video as hubby still in cells (video)

He added that if care is not taken and the COVID- 19 cases escalate in Ghana like it has in other parts of the world, the effects will be devastating because Ghana is still a third world country.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Popular pastor Apraku My Daughter is dead (video)

Because if Coronavirus should escalate in Ghana just like what happened in some foreign countries, the effects will surely be devastating due to the fact that we are still a third world country, he cautioned.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Mother of the late popular Kumawood actor, Bishop Bernard Nyarko, Yaa Konadu, has for the first time spoken about how her life has been since the demise of her son.

READ ALSO: Tracey Boakye 'copies' Nana Ama McBrown as she decides to unveil her baby 'piece-piece' (video)

Actor Bishop Bernard Nyarko passed away at the Ridge Hospital in Accra on Saturday, May 9, 2020.

In an interview on Adom TV monitored by YEN.com.gh, Yaa Konadu stated that her son who recently passed away visits her in dreams to console her.

Health benefits of Dawadawa and Kontomire | #Yencomgh

Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Source: YEN.com.gh
The Rajasthan government has spent Rs 2.69 crore on about 66,000 migrant workers to their home towns since May 1 when the first train left for Patna with 1,187 labourers, said a state government report on Wednesday.

According to the railways guidelines, state governments have to bear 15% of the cost of travel; the railways bears the remaining. As many as 67 trains have gone from different railway stations of Rajasthan until Tuesday evening, the report said. This included 49 for labourers, 16 for students from Kota and three from pilgrims.

Fare for trains carrying students were paid by the respective state governments. Fourteen of the 16 trains with students went to Bihar and the remaining two to Jharkhand. Many students returned home by buses later.

Officials in charge of movement of migrants, students and pilgrims from and to Rajasthan said 86,000 people have come in by trains and 40,000 travelled out on board 31 outbound trains. 23 more trains are scheduled between May 20 and 27; 16 of them will go to Bihar, 3 to UP, 2 to Jharkhand and one each to Kerala and West Bengal, they said requesting anonymity.

Seven trains each left on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fare of these trains borne by the state government is not included in the Rs 2.69 crore figure. Each of these 14 trains carried 1,400 labourers.

Officials said 22.70 lakh people have registered on the state governments portal for travel permissions  10.55 lakh from going out of Rajasthan and 12.15 lakh for returning to the state. About 640,000 people have returned to the state from different states, mostly from Gujarat. The number of people who travelled out of Rajasthan is 179,000, most of them to Uttar Pradesh.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A homeless woman who was sawn in half at a refuge had ended her dream of becoming a paramedic after dropping out of university and falling into drugs, it can today be revealed by MailOnline.

Phoenix Netts, whose charred and dismembered body was found in suitcases dumped in a Gloucestershire forest, is believed to have been killed in a row over drugs at the hostel where she had been living for a number of months.

Suspect Gareeca Gordon, 27, who was charged with Phoenix's murder last week, lived in the room next door at the seven-bed house in multiple occupation (HMO) in the Lozells area of Birmingham.

Phoenix's former boyfriend, speaking exclusively to MailOnline, said the 28-year-old was always vulnerable and easy to exploit after her troubled youth, when she was raped by a drug dealer, and believed it was her fragility that led her to a refuge.

Phoenix Netts, pictured right, 28, had ended her dream of becoming a paramedic after dropping out of university and falling into drugs, it can today be revealed by MailOnline

Phoenix, above, grew up in Croydon, south London and later moved to the Midlands where an aunt lived. It is believed she moved into the women's refuge at the end of last year

Police pictured searching the woodland in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, where the girl's charred and dismembered body was found in suitcases last week

Phoenix was killed at the women's refuge in Lozells, Birmingham, where she had been living for a number of months.

Her body was found in two suitcases in the Forest of Dean.

Her ex-boyfriend Joe, who asked for his surname to be withheld and speaking from his new base in Toronto, Canada, said: She seemed damaged and rightly so.

We went out while we were at Canterbury Christ Church University and she was there between 2009 and 2011, but she didnt graduate. She told me and one other friend of hers that she had been raped by a drug dealer.

Phoenix was kind and quiet, but also vulnerable. She didnt have a great childhood after her parents had split up.

She used to love Louis Theroux documentaries and I remember her joking about getting a T-shirt saying "Were gonna get Theroux this."'

Phoenix, above, 28. Her former boyfriend said they dated at Canterbury Christ Church University while she was there between 2009 and 2011

Before university Phoenix fell into drugs and dated a dealer, regularly smoking marijuana before she started taking acid, cocaine and MDMA.

Joe said: I was ignorant to peoples mental health at the time, so I wouldnt have been able to analyse then as I can now. But she seemed damaged, and rightly so, by the trauma she went through.

I dont know which way her life went after we split up, but it clearly went south. She never expressed any interest in kids or getting married.

Phoenix mostly lived in the past and a little in the moment. She spent the majority of the time stoned. She barely ate anything. I am not sure if that was linked to post-traumatic stress disorder.

She was vulnerable and clearly experienced the dark side of the world that not many people would realise is there.

But she still showed compassion and empathy to others.

Phoenix grew up in Croydon, south London and later moved to the Midlands where an aunt lived.

It is believed she moved into the womens refuge at the end of last year.

Father-of-two Mahesh Sorathiya (right), 38, from Wolverhampton was charged with assisting an offender in Phoenix's (left) murder and granted bail

Phoenix, above, was described by her ex-boyfriend Joe as 'kind and quiet, but also vulnerable'. He added: She used to love Louis Theroux documentaries'

Father-of-two Mahesh Sorathiya, 38, from Wolverhampton was charged with assisting an offender and granted bail.

Police say the victim had been 'sawed in half' before being burned.

A court heard how the woman accused of killing her returned to the Forest of Dean four times to dispose of the body.

Bristol Crown Court was told that Sorathiya was paid to drive Gordon from a women's refuge in Birmingham to the Forest of Dean four times between April 24 and May 12.

James Ward QC, prosecuting, said: 'He was the driver, admittedly, of a Vauxhall Zafira in which the body parts were contained and he says he had no knowledge of the parts.

'The police were involved in the first place in stopping his car because of the Covid-19 regulations. The police said in their evidence the smell from the suitcases was obvious.

Police, pictured in woodland next to Stowfield Quarry in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, searched the area for several days looking for evidence during the investigation

Police launched a major operation after discovering the suitcases containing body parts. A court heard how the woman accused of killing her returned to the forest four times

'When they opened the suitcases, the police said it smelled of barbecue and the smell was sickening from the decomposition.'

Eugene Hickey, defending, said Sorathiya, a father of two, had no idea of the contents of the suitcases in the back seat, adding: 'His account is that he was on Gumtree as a driver and handyman.

'On a few occasions he has done journeys where he has been paid by [Gordon] to take her to the Forest of Dean.'

Mr Justice Garnham set a provisional trial date of November 10. He granted Sorathiya bail.

A statement released on behalf of the victims family said: As a family we are devastated with what has happened to Phoenix.

A map, pictured, shows where Sorathiya and Gordon were arrested by police following the grim discovery in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, last week

Forensic tents, pictured. The quarry is on Staunton Road and the closed section also contains a fishery, a former sawmill which now contains storage units, several houses and a campsite

Police searched a women's refuge in Birmingham where they believe Phoenix was murdered. Gloucestershire police said cause of death was not determined by a post mortem

We ask most humbly that our familys privacy is respected whilst we grieve and come to terms with the loss of Phoenix in such tragic circumstances.

Whilst we understand this is a news story, we hope everyone can understand why we need to be left alone at this very difficult time.

We have family and good friends supporting us and our thanks go out to all of them. We would also like to thank all the police officers involved in the investigation for their hard work and sensitivity.

West Midlands police said: Exactly where Phoenix was killed is still unknown and officers continue to follow up a number of enquiries in a bid to establish what happened.

Our specialist family liaison officers are working with the family at this devastating time.

Gloucestershire police said the cause of death had not been determined by a post mortem and further examinations were ongoing.
Apple and Google have today announced the launch of their coronavirus contact-tracing app software.

The API  a software blueprint  will be used by a nation's health authority to build their own apps and has so far been given to 22 countries who requested access to the technology.

Apple and Google did not reveal which countries are set to use the software but it is believed the API will be adopted by several US states, Latvia, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.

The system is a rival approach to the NHS contact-tracing app currently being tested in the UK.

The Apple and Google software follows a 'decentralised' approach - where the contact data collected stays on a user's device and can be analysed there.

Security experts say this method increases privacy and reduces the risk of identifying users by de-anonymising data.

Health experts will use the core software developed by the tech giants, add their own refinements and create their own unique app.

Although different countries will create an app based on the software, Apple and Google executives today promised there will be no issues connecting to another country's app which uses the same API.

However, there will likely be difficulties in getting the Apple-Google model to interact flawlessly with contact-tracing apps developed separately, such as the NHS contact tracing app currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight.

Governments that use the Apple-Google API for their COVID-19 contact-tracing app are prohibited from using the data for targeted advertising or accessing location services.

Users that opt to download an app based on the Apple/Google blueprint will have to give explicit permission allowing the Bluetooth-based system to work and also have to give the rubber stamp for the app to share a positive test result with the relevant public health authority.

Apple and Google representatives said on a conference call today that the API will allow for seamless interactions between iOS and Android handsets.

They also claim the app will have only a trivial impact on device battery life and the US-based tech giants say they have the ability to disable the software on a region-by-region basis after the pandemic.

Scroll down for video

Apple and Google have today announced the launch of their coronavirus contact-tracing app software. The API  a software blueprint  will be used by a nation's health authority to build their own apps and has so far been given to 22 countries

What counties are using the Google-Apple API? Their API - a software blueprint for individual apps built by each country's health authority - will be available in 22 countries around the world. Apple and Google did not reveal which countries are set to use the API but it is believed the API will be adopted by several US states, Latvia, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. The UK is not using the system and has instead built its own app via NHSX- the digital arm of its health service. It leaves the UK at odds with Switzerland, Austria, a pan-European group called DP3T and the tech-savvy Estonians who are all backing a decentralised app, as advocated by Google and Apple. In Europe, only France, and now Britain, have come out as supporters of a centralised system. Australia, it is believed, is also running a centralised app. Early reports from the NHSX trial of the app reveal it is battery intensive and temperamental. Paola Pisano, Minister for innovation, technology and digitisation of the Italian government, said: 'The contact tracing application takes advantage of the operating systems of Apple and Google; such a choice increases its efficiency while preserving users' privacy. 'The solution enhances the interoperability potential with other apps that bordering countries may adopt. 'Also, it facilitates the sharing of foreign citizens' codes that are transmitted through privacy preserving techniques.' Advertisement

The release of the API comes amid widespread debate on whether or not countries should use the Apple-Google system or create their own.

Sang-Il Kim, director for digital transformation at the federal office of public health in Switzerland said his country will be using the API built by the world's foremost smartphone experts.

'We welcome the general availability of the Exposure Notification API, which provides the base for the SwissCovid app,' he said in a statement.

'As soon as the final measurements currently under way at EPFL and ETH Zurich complete, we will start the pilot of the app, in line with the Ordinance of the Federal Council of 5/13/2020.'

Ms Ieva Ilves, adviser to the Latvian President for Information and Digital Policy, called using the Apple and Google app 'the right thing to do'.

'To save lives, we need to strike the right balance between trust, ease of use, value and user privacy,' she said.

'Through our close work together with Apple and Google, we have a good start to launch the app in Latvia.'

Apple and Google have devised a decentralised method. No movement or tracking information will be stored on a central server, meaning it is invisible to Google, Apple and the relevant health authorities.

In a centralised system, such as is being used in the UK, when a user develops symptoms and chooses to declare it, they consent to sending their data to a central server.

This server is controlled by the health authorities, in the UK that is the NHS, and the data is analysed there.

The British Government has argued this approach allows for deeper analysis of the spread of COVID-19, enabling the health service to gain a better understanding of the virus while critics say it sacrifices user privacy.

Apple and Google's decentralised approach works by exchanging a digital 'token' with every phone a person come within Bluetooth range of.

Each device will randomly create a unique identifying 'key' which will change regularly.

This will be processed by a smartphone and then,if a person inputs that they are COVID-19 positive, the handset pings out a notification to all people who may have been infected by this person.

This is all done without any information being sent back to a server operated by either Google, Apple or a nations's the health authority.

Health authorities will be able to customise their app based on the API provided, for free, by Google and Apple.

They will be able to decide what sort of distance and time is considered to be an infection event as well as being able to decide how many people a single person may have infected, based on their own calculations and science.

Public heath bodies will be able to contact a user using information supplied by the person who downloaded the app and entered it voluntarily.

Health organisations developing the app will also be able to implement their own next steps via the app, such as recommending self-isolation.

Apple and Google first announced they were working on the API on April 10 and has since been in contact with healthcare authorities, healthcare professionals and privacy experts.

The API has today been made available to government health authorities around the world and 22 countries have so far requested access to the software, which has been granted by the tech firms.

This app-based system will be deployed in conjunction with traditional contract tracing methods and is not intended to be a silver bullet, Apple and Google representatives said

There will likely be difficulties in getting the Apple-Google model to interact flawlessly with contact-tracing apps developed separately, such as the NHS contact tracing app currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight (pictured)

Apple and Google said in a statement: 'One of the most effective techniques that public health officials have used during outbreaks is called contact tracing.

'Through this approach, public health officials contact, test, treat and advise people who may have been exposed to an affected person.

'One new element of contact tracing is Exposure Notifications: using privacy-preserving digital technology to tell someone they may have been exposed to the virus.

'Exposure Notification has the specific goal of rapid notification, which is especially important to slowing the spread of the disease with a virus that can be spread asymptomatically.

'To help, Apple and Google cooperated to build Exposure Notifications technology that will enable apps created by public health agencies to work more accurately, reliably and effectively across both Android phones and iPhones.

'Over the last several weeks, our two companies have worked together, reaching out to public health officials scientists, privacy groups and government leaders all over the world to get their input and guidance.

'Starting today, our Exposure Notifications technology is available to public health agencies on both iOS and Android.

'What we've built is not an app  rather public health agencies will incorporate the API into their own apps that people install.

'Our technology is designed to make these apps work better. Each user gets to decide whether or not to opt-in to Exposure Notifications; the system does not collect or use location from the device; and if a person is diagnosed with COVID-19, it is up to them whether or not to report that in the public health app.

'User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps.

'Today, this technology is in the hands of public health agencies across the world who will take the lead and we will continue to support their efforts.'

To ensure maximum uptake of the apps which utilise the API, Apple and Google is restricting each nation to just one app each.

This app-based system will be deployed in conjunction with traditional contract tracing methods and is not intended to be a silver bullet, Apple and Google representatives said.

It will use Bluetooth to send out non-contact, low-energy signals and detect other phones with the app nearby. The API will be able to gauge how far away people are based on Bluetooth alone and the app will not use location services or GPS.

Google and Apple decided to get involved with the fight against COVID-19 and develop their own API in an unprecedented partnership between the two smartphone rivals.

They were aware that neither iOS or Android would work efficiently as part of a Bluetooth-orientated form of contact tracing due to their inherent security and privacy measures.

Apple and Google representatives said they were also aware that independent apps would have difficulties due to this and the fact Apple phones will struggle to detect Android handsets, and vice versa.

Specific issues singled out by the company representatives include:apps being unstable, draining of battery life, incompatibility with apps made by different countries using a separate API, and a limited uptake of the app.

Experts say 60 per cent of users need to download the app for it to be effective and Apple and Google hope that by using their system, this is more likely than if nations go it alone.

Germany initially decided to create its own app and use a centralised approach, but has now made a U-turn and is believed to be planning on using the Apple/Google model.

The UK's contact-tracing app however is built by the NHS and will not use the Apple-Google API.

It leaves the UK at odds with Switzerland, Austria, a pan-European group called DP3T and the tech-savvy Estonians who are all backing a decentralised app, as advocated by Google and Apple.

In Europe, only France, and now Britain, have come out as supporters of a centralised system. Australia, it is believed, is also running a centralised app.

Earlier this week, Michael Gove revealed more than 21,000 coronavirus contact tracers have now been recruited in the UK.

Professor Keith Neal, Emeritus Professor in the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, University of Nottingham, said: 'We need to contact trace everyone who tests positive. With 21,000 contact tracers each working two days a week you will have 6,000 contact tracers working per day.

'Assuming they work 8 hours a day and they each are able to contact trace an average of 4 new cases a day then it would be easy to trace 24,000 new cases per day.

'The app's importance is identifying possible contacts you don't know the name of or contact details for e.g. that person you followed round when shopping.'
The Concerned Citizens' Group (CCG) headed by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Wednesday sought release of all political detainees in Jammu and Kashmir on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr and opening of political space in the union territory.

Many senior political leaders, including a former chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti), continue to be in detention in several cases under the draconian Public Safety Act. Meanwhile, there are attempts to incubate artificial political processes through the village and local body elections and facilitating the launch of a new political party. However, these processes have failed to fill the political vacuum, the CCG said in a statement.

It said the Centre should release all those detained since August last year.

We recommend the release of all political leaders. A befitting occasion for doing so would be the upcoming festival of Eid ul Fitr. Also, political space in J-K be opened without which militancy cannot be controlled, the statement said.

The CCG said the Union government has also used the opportunity of the lockdown to implement domicile laws for the union territory which should have been debated by the people's representatives and by the affected citizens.

Do not use the lack of a legislative assembly to push through policies with long term consequences, the group said.

It also demanded the restoration of high-speed 4G internet services in J-K to alleviate the problems of businessmen, traders, healthcare professionals and most importantly students so that they do not lose an academic year.

The communication lockdown permitting only 2G internet, premised on the assumption that faster internet speeds help terrorists -- is causing havoc not only in banking, trade, business and healthcare, but in the field of education as well. The 2G technology cannot sustain online learning, which is a ready option being used in the rest of the country.

The problem is particularly acute for students who have returned home because of the pandemic from universities and colleges in the rest of India. They cannot attend online classes and webinars or submit assignments. They may not be able to appear for online end-semester examinations which universities and colleges plan to hold soon, it said.

The other members of the group areformer National Chief Information Commissioner,Wajahat Habibullah, Air Vice-Marshall (Retd) Kapil Kak, senior journalist Bharat Bhushan and Sushobha Barve.

The Sinha-led group said the government's stand before the Supreme Court that access to internet is not a right militates against the apex court's own rulings that information is a Fundamental Right under Article 19 (1) a of the Constitution.

Saying that the economy in J-K was in disarray, the CCG recommended extension of the same bank loan deferment and facilities to J-K businesses as in the rest of the country, while also ensuring unfettered market access and adequate distribution channels for horticultural produce.

For a state that is heavily dependent on tourism and horticulture, the lockdown has meant that two tourist seasons have passed without any business and the marketing of fruit produce has been hampered severely.

Artisans face distress and dealers in handicrafts are unable to function with piling up of stocks. No relief measures have been announced for them. Unlike in the rest of India, there has been no deferment/ staggering of bank loans in J-K, the statement said.

The CCG accused the government of bullying the media, saying the administration has chosen to harass local accredited correspondents and photo-journalists, preventing them from performing their legitimate professional duties.

Several have been called to police stations at odd hours to explain their reportage. Instead of using editorial and Press Council of India complaint mechanisms, the state police seems to be the preferred instrument of the administration to deal with journalists, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
London: Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 5 million, with Latin America overtaking the United States and Europe in the past week to report the largest portion of new daily cases globally, a Reuters tally shows.

It represents a new phase in the virus' spread, which initially peaked in China in February, before large outbreaks followed in Europe and the United States.

People wearing protective masks stand at the graves of their relatives at the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, during a mass burial of coronavirus victims. Credit:Getty

Latin America accounted for about a third of the 91,000 cases reported earlier this week. Europe and the United States each accounted for just over 20 per cent.

A large number of those new cases came from Brazil, which recently surpassed Germany, France and Britain to become the third-largest source of outbreaks in the world, behind the United States and Russia.
Rolls-Royce said it was targeting 1.3 billion pounds of annual cost savings, with about 700 million coming from layoffs plus other cuts that could include factory closures.

More companies resorted to lay off amid mounting concerns of global recession in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown around the world. The delay in developing an effective vaccine to contain coronavirus has increased concerns on resuming business activities. As a result, several companies resorted to cost-cutting measures including lay offs.

UK-based engine maker Rolls-Royce said that it plans to cut about 9,000 jobs, or more than a sixth of its workforce, in the latest blows to the Britain's economy and aviation industry dealt by the coronavirus pandemic, reported Reuters.

The company, which makes engines for planes such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350, said on Wednesday it could also close factories as it shrinks to fit the smaller market it expects to emerge from the crisis.

Airlines and their supplies have been among the hardest hit businesses by lockdowns to contain the pandemic, with passenger air travel grinding to a virtual halt.

We have to reduce our cost base and adapt to the new world, matching our capacity with expected demand, Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East told reporters, unveiling the companys biggest round of cuts since privatisation in 1987.

The 9,000 jobs, out of a global staff of 52,000, will go predominantly from Rollss civil aerospace business, which generates just over half of its 15 billion pounds ($18 billion)of annual revenues.

Rolls said it was targeting 1.3 billion pounds of annual cost savings, with about 700 million coming from layoffs plus other cuts that could include factory closures.

Aviation sector is one of the worst affected sectors after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Emirates plans to cut 30,000 jobs

Emirates Group is planning to cut about 30,000 jobs to reduce costs amid the coronavirus outbreak, which will bring down its number of employees by about 30% from more than 105,000 at the end of March, reported Reuters citing Bloomberg News.

The company is also considering speeding up the planned retirement of its A380 fleet, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

An Emirates spokeswoman said that no public announcement has been made yet by the company regarding redundancies at the airline, but that the company is conducting a review of costs and resourcing against business projections.

Virgin Atlantic to retrench 3,150 staff

British airline Virgin Atlantic said on Tuesday it planned to cut 3,150 jobs and would move its flying programme from London Gatwick to Heathrow airport as it counts the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Reuters.

The spread of the novel coroanvirus has virtually brought airports around the globe to a standstill, leaving airlines taking drastic steps to make savings.

British Airways said last week it could cut as many as 12,000 jobs, over a quarter of its total, and Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Shai Weiss said the pandemic was the most devastating event in the airline's history.

Airbus asks staff to brace for deeper job cuts

Last month, European planemaker Airbus issued a bleak assessment of the impact of the coronavirus crisis, telling the companys 135,000 employees to brace for potentially deeper job cuts and warning its survival is at stake without immediate action.

In a letter to staff, chief executive Guillaume Faury said Airbus was bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed and that a recent drop of a third or more in production rates did not reflect the worst-case scenario and would be kept under review.

Airbus said it did not comment on internal communications.

British Airways puts about 28,000 employees on furlough

British Airways may put about 28,000 employees on furlough in a bid to cut costs as more countries declared lockdowns and sealed their borders for air traffic in the wake of global coronavirus outbreak, said a news report.

Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak

The flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, after conducting talks with the staff, reportedly decided to give 80 percent of their usual salary, reported Bloomberg quoting Unite union.

The assistance to the British Airways' staff may also include funding by the UK government up to $3,095 a month under a national plan, the report said.

Global airlines stare at bankruptcy

A report in March this year said that the global airline industry might face its worst crisis even as the coronavirus pandemic was expected to cripple the economic activities across the world.

Most airlines in the world will be bankrupt by the end of May 2020 and the world aviation consultancy company Centre for Aviation (CAPA) said that only coordinated action by governments as well as the industry will be able to save the companies.

Renault to lay off 400 staff at Slovenia unit

French carmaker Renault plans to cut about 400 out of some 3,200 jobs at its Slovenian unit Revoz after the coronavirus epidemic hit demand for its products, Revoz said on Tuesday.

Revoz produces the Clio, Twingo and electric Smart Forfour models. Its biggest markets include France, Germany and Italy.

Due to uncertain conditions on the global car market, which are a consequence of the Covid-19 epidemic ... and information on a fall of global orders ... Revoz will continue its production in two shifts, it said in a statement in response to a Reuters query.

In cooperation with agencies and the Slovenian Employment Service Revoz will organise consulting meetings for all workers who will stop working in the company (a bit more than 400 persons according to present estimates), it said.

--With inputs from agencies
GUIYANG, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Guizhou, a Chinese province known for its landscape resorts and ethnic culture, launched an online platform Tuesday, providing intelligent travel services for tourists with big data and artificial intelligence.

The platform provides information on scenic spots, shopping centers, restaurants and hotels, and tourists will be able to book tickets and get a QR code for verification at the places.

Through the platform, tourists can also get access to information on weather, transportation and tour guides.

The platform, available through a mini-program on WeChat, has covered 415 tourist resorts in the province.

Zhang Yuguang, head of the provincial department of culture and tourism, said the platform will be helpful for the integration of tourism resources, the management of the tourism industry and the handling of emergent cases.

Situated in southwestern China, Guizhou Province has abundant tourism resources such as the country's largest waterfall Huangguoshu, UNESCO world heritage site Mount Fanjingshan and a karst forest in Maolan.
OLD LYME  The Florence Griswold Museum presents Sanctuary, a Juried Online Photography Exhibition, on its website through the end of May.

View exhibition at flogrisphotocontest.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery

While the museum is closed through at least May 31, the grounds are open as long as visitors practice social distancing and any other advised precautions. FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org has virtual tours, a history blog, activity tutorials, and learning resources, as well as a variety of online programs. Visitors can check the museums website and social media for reopening updates.

The Florence Griswold Museums ongoing exhibition, Nothing More American: Immigration, Sanctuary, and Community - An Exhibition by Matthew Leifheit is now available online through the Museums website), motivated Director of Education and Outreach David D.J. Rau and Curator Amy Kurtz Lansing to invite amateur photographers to submit examples of their own work on the theme of sanctuary for a pop-up exhibition. In February, the call for entries was sent out. Museum staff prepared to collect images online, jury the show, and then notify the artists whose photos were selected to send or bring their work to the museum to be shared with visitors May 1 through the end of the Nothing More American exhibition, May 24.

The museums closure because of the coronavirus meant that the exhibition had to be presented online. Nearly 300 submissions from around the world offered a moving portrait of the places and people that foster in us a sense of peace, security, and inspiration. The exhibition was juried by Kurtz Lansing and photographer Matthew Leifheit.

Although prompted by an exhibition that has been on view at the museum since October, the emergence of COVID-19 and the necessity of staying home to stem its spread created an urgent new context for the photo contest. Artists often reflected directly on what sanctuary meant to them during a time of social distancing and uncertainty about the future.

I was especially interested in the points of view offered by high school students considering their restriction to home, often with new appreciation, as well as the perspective of older photographers drawn to the majesty of nature and places associated with memories of family and friends, said Kurtz Lansing.

The online version allows the exhibition to live on indefinitely online. We knew the topic of sanctuary would be appealing, and are thrilled by the number of entries. Its so great that people are craving a creative outlet and the ability to connect through art, Rau said.

The Florence Griswold Museums gallery show Nothing More American: Immigration, Sanctuary, and Community - An Exhibition by Matthew Leifheit includes contemporary photographs and historic paintings. The artworks tell the story of immigrant and refugee families who have found sanctuary from deportation or persecution in local churches and in the town of Old Lyme, where they have begun new lives. https://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/nothingmoreamerican/ A 3D tour of the exhibition with English and Spanish labels available through the link as well.

The museum is located at 96 Lyme Street, Old Lyme. Visit FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org for more information.
Jacuzzis, steam rooms and swimming pools "are gone" and are "a thing of the past in Ben Dunnes network of gyms as a result of Covid-19, according to the well-known businessman who said that he will be doing well if half his 10 gyms re-open due to his stance on safety.

In an interview, Mr Dunne ruled out pools, jacuzzis and steam rooms featuring in any re-opening. He said: No more swimming pools, jacuzzis, steam rooms - they are gone. A thing of the past because you cant socially distant in them - impossible.

Mr Dunne shut down his 10 gyms within hours of the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announcing the first wave of restrictions on March 12, and he admitted today he doesnt know when his gyms will be re-opening saying that it could even be two years away.

Mr Dunnes gyms employ 90 and have 53,000 members and he said: We will only open up when it is safe to do so and I really dont know when that is going to be.

Mr Dunne said that last year, the business recorded revenues of almost 14m and enjoyed operating profits of 4.3m.

He said: The business was going fairly well and I was happy with the performance and it was flattened out, for want of a better word, by the virus.

The Governments lifting of restrictions states that gyms can re-open from August 10 in a safe manner.

Mr Dunne said, however, that he doesnt believe a two-metre rule is safe for anyone near someone running on a treadmill.

He said: I must get over the first hurdle and that is how to make them safe and a piece of Perspex glass is not the answer.

It took me 20 years to build the business up to 10 gyms. I dont think in my lifetime - Im 71 now- I will have 10 gyms re-opened.

I think I will be doing well if half the gyms re-open because of the stance I am taking on safety because I do think that peoples lives do matter.

Im not going to have a business or a club where it is not safe for people to be working out in.

Asked would new social distancing rules make it uneconomical to re-open, Mr Dunne replied: I am not even thinking of the economics of social distancing - when peoples lives are in danger money shouldnt come into play."

Mr Dunne said that all members will get their membership money back if they havent been able to use their membership because of Covid-19.

He said: It is their money. They have paid for membership. If they dont get use of their membership, they will get their money back. They need not worry, We will give it back - that is definite.
Smart mobility infrastructure management company Iteris recently announced that the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has upgraded to its ClearGuide solution to support its statewide transportation operations program.

The multi-year agreement, which is renewable for up to five years, has a total potential value of US$1.8 million. SCDOT was given early access to the ClearGuide solution to help reduce travel delays, and manage congestion and evacuation traffic during and after severe weather conditions. Full implementation of the ClearGuide solution, part of the ClearMobility Platform, is now complete.

') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // -->

') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // -->

With real-time and historical traffic data from Here Technologies ClearGuide gives SCDOT the ability to analyse and visualise traffic data to improve roadway mobility and safety across the state, and support its 10-year improvement plan. The data utilised in the ClearGuide solution also supports the states 511 traveler information service, which Iteris developed and has operated since 2013, including a website, mobile apps and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) telephone system.

With ClearGuide, SCDOT has access to powerful features including: dynamic maps to support detailed traffic analysis; features to help identify and mitigate congestion; animations to analyse events and optimise response plans; historical trend reports and dynamic congestion charts to track reliability and support planning; and easy analysis of major South Carolina roadways through user-defined routes. The ClearGuide solution is designed to grow and expand to meet SCDOTs future challenges, as well as ingest a wider range of information, such as data from connected and autonomous vehicles.

We are pleased to have completed SCDOTs upgrade to the ClearGuide solution, says Rob Perry, traffic engineering director at SCDOT. As the state begins to plan its reopening, ClearGuide will enable SCDOT to calculate changes in speeds and travel times as we return to more normal, pre-pandemic traffic patterns.

The ClearMobility Platform is a complete solution for continuously monitoring, visualising and optimising mobility infrastructure around the world to help ensure that roads are safe, travel is efficient, and communities thrive. The ClearMobility Platform applies cloud computing, artificial intelligence, advanced sensors, advisory services and managed services to achieve safe, efficient and sustainable mobility.
THE iconic Johnnie Foxs has a plan to reopen its 300-seat pub as a 110-seater restaurant at the end of June, rather than wait until pubs can trade in August.

It joins more than 300 Dublin pubs planning to reopen under restaurant licences on June 29 which are appealing to the Government for a green light to trade, according to the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA). The lobbying group for Dublins 750 pubs says 44pc of its members are preparing to reopen on the date set for restaurants to resume trade.

The Governments current plan requires pubs to stay shut until August 10.

LVA CEO Donall OKeeffe said pubs that provide a menu service should be treated the same way as other food service providers.

These venues have restaurant certificates and are just as capable of following the public health guidelines as restaurants. Food is a major aspect of their trade.

Why should they be treated differently to other venues serving food and alcohol? Our members cannot remain in limbo and are actively planning to reopen on the same basis and at the same time as restaurants.

Read More

The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI), which represents 4,000 pubs outside the capital, said many of its members with restaurant licences also plan to reopen on June 29.

Owners are desperate for State guidance, according to spokesman Brian Foley.

Our primary concern is the opening protocols for pubs  something Government really needs to engage on, he said.

Well-known publican Charlie Chawke plans to reopen seven of his nine pubs on June 29, including Aunty Lenas in Adare, Co Limerick.

My restaurant licences give me the right to open as a restaurant, Mr Chawke said.

Expand Close Shauna Mullen sits in an empty lounge as she takes orders online for food from Johnnie Fox's pub in Glencullen. Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Shauna Mullen sits in an empty lounge as she takes orders online for food from Johnnie Fox's pub in Glencullen. Picture; Gerry Mooney

Johnnie Foxs, in the Dublin Mountains, plans to transform into a 110-seat socially distanced venue. Red and green stop and go lights would limit toilet access to one customer at a time. Business manager Kaitlin McMahon said 80pc of Johnnie Foxs sales are food.

It can serve 2,000 meals on a busy day. Social distancing would still mean 600 meals from noon to 10pm.

Were blessed with space, she said. It would make absolutely no sense to stop us from operating as a restaurant.
Prayagraj : , May 20 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a lawyer Shahid Ali Siddiqui, seeking one-hour relaxation in the lockdown for 'namaaz' on the occasion of Eid.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Siddhartha Verma, said that the petitioner should first approach the state government and if the plea is rejected, then they can petition the court.

The court observed that it was not proper to directly approach the court in such matters.

In wake of lockdown, all prominent Muslim leaders have already appealed to the people to offer prayers from their homes and not gather in mosques.
Lamar University President Ken Evans on Friday sent a letter to faculty and staff announcing that they would be making staffing cuts, and reorganizing, as a response to financial difficulties made worse by the coronavirus pandemic  the latest institution of higher education to make such a move this year.

As you know, the current COVID-19 situation is just one of the many challenges that have impacted Lamar University during the past three years, Evans said in the letter.

A spokesperson for the university confirmed that high-level positions were eliminated in the restructuring, including individuals who reported to the president, the provost and the chief operating officer.

The exact number of people facing layoffs will not be available until August, since the reorganization will result in the creation of new positions, which those employees could apply for.

Moodys, a credit rating agency, last month downgraded the entire higher education sector from stable to negative, citing unprecedented enrollment uncertainty, risks to multiple revenue streams, and potential material erosion in their balance sheets.

The Texas University System, which includes Lamar University, maintains its stable rating as of May 2020, according to Moodys.

A clearer picture on the health of the university will be available once the schools fiscal year ends on June 30. At that time, final freshmen class sizes, endowment returns and plans for the fall semester will be announced.

Lamar already has announced plans to open the campus in phases, with full operations returning as soon as July 1.

Related: LU announces phased plan to reopen by July

But while Lamar being part of the system allows for it to benefit from the stability of all institutions as a whole, the university has been operating at a loss for the last several years, a review of their financial records by The Enterprise shows.

Evans also notes that loss in the letter to faculty.

A number of currently filled positions in administrative units will be restructured and, in some cases, eliminated to reduce operating costs, Evans said in the letter. Additionally, several vacant positions will be eliminated, while certain operating and capital expenditures will be curtailed. Those members of our community, who are affected due to these changes, have already been notified.

In the letter, Evans cites declining residential enrollment in-line with national trends, natural disasters including Tropical Storm Harvey and now the pandemic as reasons for the cuts.

Other local colleges that are part of the same system but unaffiliated, including Lamar State College Orange and Lamar State College Port Arthur, told The Enterprise that they do not anticipate employment cuts at this time but are taking actions to reduce costs.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused challenges for our community and the college, Lamar State College Orange is meeting these challenges successfully through prudent proactive operational practices including a pause on filling vacant positions and reducing operating budgets where appropriate out of an abundance of caution, LSCO President Thomas Johnson said in a written statement. LSCO at this time has no plans to reduce the colleges workforce or restructure operations.

A spokesperson for Lamar State College Port Arthur said their focus is on marketing for the summer semesters to let current and potential students know that were here and still taking care of business on their behalf, and that no employment changes are planned.

Despite projected cuts, experts say Lamar Universitys position as a leader in online learning, and track-record of surviving catastrophic natural disasters may have given them an edge in the sudden transition to distance learning  enough to avoid the worst of the financial fallout.

Our hard work and entrepreneurial spirit in the online education space has allowed us to mitigate, but not eliminate the financial pressures that many of our peer institutions are experiencing, Evans said in the letter. However, as you may know, the nature of online demand and cost structure is different than that of residential students.

That edge is crucial as the entire country moves in the direction of online learning as a tool to continue instruction despite ongoing requirements to social distance.

For example the California State University System, the largest in the state, took the unprecedented step this month of moving nearly all of their classes online for the fall semester.

But in Southeast Texas, as tropical events and other disasters have steadily moved more enrollment to online-only courses, LU has a unique advantage above other institutions.

We actually started in the online space after the consequences of (Hurricane) Rita, Lamar President Ken Evans told The Enterprise.

While Lamar was an early adopter of online alternatives as triage tools to ensure instructional continuity during times of intermittent, and long-term closures, they also expanded them into full-fledged programs, with about half of the universitys students now attending completely online.

Brenda Nichols, the universitys Vice President for Academic Affairs, said the original plans were meant to adapt to the unpredictability of hurricanes and other tropical events.

Hurricanes dont tend to act naturally, Nichols said. So we ended up with these big swings. We started saying every course, whether it is on campus or online, has to have their syllabus online.

Those early requirements grew as the university moved education programs, followed by other degree programs fully online.

As a result, the university was able to move online in a matter of days when the pandemic hit.

Related: Higher education closes for coronavirus, school districts hold off

Even with the recent financial challenges, Lamar continues to see overall record enrollment, including in the first session of summer classes which will be held online.

What this will look like in the fall, however, is unclear. In his planned reopening, Evans said things will look different  with smaller and socially distanced classes  and all decisions being contingent on the number of new cases.

Shelly Vitanza, a spokesperson for the university, said that in the event less students choose to attend on campus, there would be a downturn in revenue to support residential services.

Given the unpredictable nature of how COVID-19 will continue to evolve, we are not able to predict the outcome of the effect on these services at this time, she said.

The sudden move to online and the potential enrollment loss is a death knell for other colleges and universities. Some have already decided to shutter, like MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Margaret Spellings, former Secretary of Education, said institutions that survive the financial and logistical distress presented by the pandemic will have a new-found appreciation for alternative teaching methods.

As dark as these days are, there will be a renaissance, Spellings told The Enterprise. When we come out the other side, there will be improvements for consumers and learners at the end of the day.

Among those improvements and changes, Spellings said, could be altered schedules, and more flexible usage of time.

Well start to see some variations on the semester model thing where just like the for-profits, University of Phoenix and folks like that have been doing for a long time where theyll take a class for six weeks and get your credit and move on, she said.  I think thats going to benefit consumers and be more convenient for them.

While the pandemic has forced adaptation in some colleges that were not previously using online education, the distance-learning model already was a trend in higher education.

According to a study by the Babson Survey Group, distance education enrollment has increased every year for 14 years, with the growth accelerating greatly in recent years.

Between fall 2015 and fall 2016, there was a 5.6% growth in distance learning enrollment, according to that study. The growth matches that of LU, which recorded a record enrollment of 15,460 last fall.

Institutions that are renowned for their in-person experience, like Harvard University in Massachusetts, continue to use online classes only as a stop-gap measure during circumstances like the pandemic.

Robert Lue, the Faculty Director for the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning At Harvard, said the pandemic underscores that every institution needs to have the capacity to provide alternative instruction.

I think when you think about what weve experienced already with the pandemic, while Im optimistic that we will return to some semblance of normalcy, I think we need to be prepared for a future where you never know where you may need to do the switch, Lue said. So I think all schools have to really think creatively, strategically about how the digital and the virtual can be woven into the fabric of what they do.

Lue and Evans both stressed that online learning and online classes are not the same thing.

It is not to replace face-to-face when we can do face-to-face, Lue said.

Institutions like Lamar Institute of Technology are unable to provide skills-based courses online.

For them, a return to campus is a necessity for students needing certifications.

At Lamar University, the full extent of the financial cost of the coronavirus is not yet known, Vitanza said, adding that the university is monitoring the situation closely.

No further changes as a result of present and immediate past financial challenges are anticipated at this time, she told The Enterprise. The university is offering guidance, including outplacement services to help impacted individuals who desire to use this assistance.

But while LU continues to parse out the financial impact of the pandemic, the trend toward online education will stick around long after classes return.

Even students that are residential take classes online, Evans said. They will do it maybe because theyve got a part time or full time job, and while they may be involved in residential curriculum on our campus, in order to be able to get all the credit hours they need during the semester, they may take a class, often not two, but maybe a class online that they can fit into their schedule at, at their convenience that permits them to matriculate in a timely fashion.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
Advertisement

A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.  William Shakespeare. This describes a campaign of calumny in the form of an old article in the 12th July, 2008, issue of The Sun newspaper making the rounds on social media to put a wedge between the writer, Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, and Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the new Chief of Staff to President Buhari.

The piece titled, Gambari: The Slap Next Time was unsupportive of Gambaris appointment to broker peace between the Federal Government and the Niger Delta militants. He cited the professors stance on the trial and execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa under the Abacha regime as not too clement to make him a fitting peace envoy to the Niger Delta region. Considering the reactions of the militants themselves to the idea, you cannot but agree with Adesinas position. That was under late President Umaru Musa YarAdua, the author of Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, and the highly successful Presidential Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta.

The issue is, Adesina is simply a professional journalist who owes the reading public his honest views and he remains one till date. And as far as serving President Buhari is concerned, he will work smoothly with anyone, not the least someone he disagreed with on just one issue in a fleeting context.

Adesina is a God-fearing man with strong convictions. He could have criticised anyone on a given issue in a particular context and time. Its his entitlement as a free citizen of Nigeria within his constitutional right. Criticism is not a crime under the Nigerian law. More importantly, I know for a fact that he accepted his position as Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President not for love of high office. He wouldnt have accepted it from Abacha had he transmuted to a civilian president before God called him suddenly!

Adesina is working with President Buhari as a matter of conviction in the patriotic mission and integrity of the man. I also know that first hand. In those years everyone knew I was the leading publicist of General Muhammadu Buhari in our quest to get him elected as president, Adesina was unrivalled among the media chiefs that lent us a helping hand in the form of free advertisements. Yes. Or, how do you describe a series of promotional articles on a presidential candidate published with my email and phone numbers at no cost?

Adesina believed in Buhari and he didnt hide it. He not only published my articles at all times, he also used his back page column to write promotional articles on the general. His boss then and proprietor of The Sun newspaper, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, once told me he had been approached by very top leaders of the then ruling party to sack him, which he rebuffed.

There was a day I submitted an article late to Adesina. I called him on phone about the likelihood of publishing it as there was a day between the submission and the deadline of political campaigns. He simply replied Olorun a fun wa se, meaning God would make a way for us. The next day, he had it in print. That was in 2011. Less than 72 hours or so to the presidential election, the piece titled The Myth of Buharis Religious Fanaticism was out.

Fast forward to late 2014 on the day of APC presidential primaries. We were hopeful and jittery at the same time about the prospects of General Buhari emerging the new partys candidate. We had rooted for CPCs merger with the ACN, ANPP, and a faction of APGA and had succeeded  all for the emergence of Buhari as candidate. But now, there were strong challengers like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso, among others. We heard of huge money changing hands etc. We were worried. All we had was the good name of our choice for president. That was all weve been marketing and advertising for over a decade at every presidential election. We had no money. The little we had was never to grease anybodys palms. It was from our individual pocket to pay our individual hotel and transport bills etc. Our horde of party agents and campaign grounds surging crowds were freewilling Buhari believers like me and Adesina. They were not paid but were all too prepared to go to any length to promote and defend the Buhari for president project.

With bated breath, I penned a highly persuasive article to sway delegates at the APC presidential primaries in Lagos to our side. I reached out to Adesina to hatch a strategy. My piece originally titled Buhari is APCs Best Bet was published to coincide with the day of the presidential primaries on 10th December, 2014. Adesina had removed Buhari from the title to keep the reader guessing who the caption APCs Best Bet was referring to. A good tactic by a guru. He further vacated his back page column for the piece to make it visible in the hands of vendors who had flooded Lagos and ambience of the venue of the primaries with copies of The Sun newspaper. The rest is history.

In essence, what matters is that Adesina is serving a man he believes in, strongly and unapologetically, and the man, in like measure, reciprocates confidence and trust in him. The day I joined him in Ibadan, three years ago, for the burial of his elder sister, a professor of Theatre Arts, who had died in a road accident, in his grief, he was so overwhelmed by President Buharis emotional and financial support that he told me to find time to specially thank the president on behalf of his family.

President Buhari and Adesina are great friends who deeply respect each other. For Buhari, Adesina is a bosom friend united in their quest for a new Nigeria. When Adesinas mum passed on in the days of our struggle for his enthronement, General Buhari attended her burial. You can count the times he had honoured anyone in that manner on your fingertips. To underscore their bond, it may interest you to recall that Adesina was the very first person given appointment by President Buhari after he assumed office in 2015. I was notified as soon as Adesina arrived at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. I went there speedily and there locked each other in a warm, emotional embrace. Victory at last!

I am certain Adesina would find it very easy to get along with Prof. Ibrahim Gambari as Chief of Staff because they are united in their resolve to give the president the best of themselves. Adesina, being a cultured Yoruba man and a good Christian will respect and support Prof. Gambari not only as a matter of duty but in conformity with cultural etiquettes of according elders respect due our parents and, Biblically, as though serving God. Nothing will obstruct that. Not any mischievous reference to an old article.

I am quite certain the article would have no impact on Prof. Gambaris attitude to Adesina as a thoroughbred academic for whom criticism is a norm, and as a cosmopolitan world citizen who has waded through many troubled waters, seeking peace across the world during his stint as super-diplomat/ Under-Secretary General with the United Nations.

How many times have we, his younger colleagues, not asked our students to answer a question in this vein: Do a critique of Gambaris Concentric Circles Model of Foreign Policy, with emphasis on conformity or otherwise of Nigerias foreign policymaking to the model.

I wish both Prof. Gambari, our father, our teacher, and my brother, Adesina, a good working relationship in the service of President Buhari and Nigeria.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 05:51:51

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 568 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / May 19, 2020 / The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest economic sectors, reaping $8.8 trillion per year, according to The World Economic Forum (WEF), and this industry has been a significant contributor for many global economies. However, ever since the global outbreak of coronavirus pandemic, the tourism, and traveling industry has been of the most affected business area. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the COVID-19 epidemic could cut 50 million jobs globally in the travel and tourism industry. Top tourism destinations and paradises on Earth now resemble ghost towns -- the virus is hitting cities hard from all over the world.There is a bright side, however, as the experts at Tourism Economics expect a full recovery once the situation has stabilized, based on how the travel industry recuperated from past slumps. The global concern for many countries, in a pre-coronavirus environment, is that excessive numbers of tourists might not be sustainable. It may seem not easy to imagine now, but the coronavirus lockdown will end. Everyone is yearning to go out, and people want to enjoy the beauty of exploring new places.SpaceTravel, a Singapore-based startup, aims to harness blockchain's power in its pursuit of making the global tourism seamless and cost-effective for all tourists. From its origin as a satellite and navigation technology provider to several government institutions and public sector organizations across Singapore, SpaceTravel is striving to enable travelers and tourists to have an enhanced lifestyle experience by combining the best of Navigation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), eCommerce, Augmented Reality (AR), and gamification.SpaceTravel features a dedicated lifestyle travel app called BUBU, which enables its users to navigate, search for nearby stores, book accommodation and transport, and look for discount offers-- all in a seamless yet incentivized manner. It uses gamification to help merchants establish real connections with their consumers, getting to know their spending, and traveling habits and, in-turn offering rewards to consumers for their participation while assisting businesses to grow.In the post-pandemic era, even when traveling is not yet possible physically, SpaceTravel allows travelers to begin their journey or relive past travel experiences from the comfort of their homes. Users can start planning for their trip and even start to order authentic souvenirs and experiences right to their doorstep. Putting the pre-purchase of the trip and reward system on the blockchain allows a transparent and fuss-free amendment experience in case of any changes to the itinerary in these times of uncertainty. Similarly, SpaceTravel also efforts to engage the merchants and consumers by giving them a gamified experience using live streaming and other social media platforms, which allows the travel experience to begin even before visitors step foot into a particular tourist spot.Note:SpaceTravel has recently announced listing on Biki Exchange, a top-level crypto-asset exchange. The listing event will be held on the 25th of May, 2020, whereby initial subscribers contributing to the subscription model will get a reward of 10% discount against their token purchases. Check out the project website https://spacetravel.network or the main company website i.e., https://spacetrvl.com.sg to know more about SpaceTravel and its ecosystem.Important Links:Project Website: https://spacetravel.network Main Website: https://spacetrvl.com.sg Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpaceTravel18 Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/spacetravelsg Medium: https://medium.com/@spacetrvlsg Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/spacetravel Telegram: https://t.me/spacetravelprojectCONTACT:Muhammad Younasspacetrvlsg@ gmail.com SOURCE: spacetravel
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-19 22:48:24|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BRUSSELS, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Tuesday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to permanently cut funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) and to eventually pull the U.S. out of the organization.

Trump made the threat in a letter published on Monday on his Twitter account and addressed to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

In response to a question at a daily press briefing regarding Trump's threat, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, said the bloc "supports international cooperation and multilateral solutions in this crisis -- in the pandemic crisis."

"This is the time for solidarity. It is not the time for finger-pointing or undermining multilateral cooperation," stressed the spokeswoman.

"The European Union backs the WHO in its efforts to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak and has already provided additional funding to support these efforts," she said." Global cooperation and solidarity through multilateral efforts are the only effective and viable option to win this battle, as we have underlined several times." Enditem
It's been an uncomfortably swift rise to the top of the coronavirus tables for President Vladimir Putin. From only a handful of covid-19 cases in early March, Russia now has more than 290,000 of them and a rate of new infections that puts it second only to the U.S. - a country with more than twice as many people.

Few governments have made a success of managing the epidemic. Yet the rapid spread of the illness has exposed a Russian health system that's suffering from poor funding, incomplete reforms that neglected much of the country, and a misguided attempt to replace imports of drugs and medical equipment with local production - at least until two ventilators caught fire and killed patients. An authoritarian regime that dislikes bad news and fuels disinformation hasn't helped.

History matters here. During the Soviet period, health care was free for everyone, but it was never a priority. Quality was patchy; the service was inefficient and forever short of cash. Distorted incentives resulted in a proliferation of hospital beds and excessively long stays for patients. Doctors, most of them women, were severely underpaid and seen as low-status state employees.

With oil money gushing in, Putin did set about reforming the system. A series of programs over the years set out to streamline provision, add primary-care doctors, and improve pay and training. With Russia's shrinking population starting to worry the nationalist Putin, there was a focus on improving neonatal health and on reducing early deaths, largely by tackling cardiovascular disease, alcohol abuse and smoking.

None of that was irrational, argues Judy Twigg, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies post-Soviet health reform. Mortality rates did improve. Unfortunately, as Twigg points out, many of the reforms weren't executed as planned. While poor-quality clinics were removed and hospital numbers halved from 2000 to 2015, an alternative wasn't always provided, and primary care remained weak. Meanwhile, better pay starved other causes, and the purchase of new technology allowed for corruption. According to a 2018 Bloomberg analysis, Russia still has one of the world's most inefficient health systems. Only the U.S., Azerbaijan and Bulgaria are worse.

The coronavirus crisis is a reminder of the human cost of those past blunders.

Most obviously, Russia's first line of defense fell short. The government was quick to see the international threat and rushed to close its border with China in January, but it was far slower to appreciate the domestic infection risk. It denied an obvious problem of escalating cases for too long - not least because doctors and local authorities were wary of passing on bad news. Moscow spread disinformation about other countries' coronavirus efforts, but it paid too little concern to the home front. Being more attentive might have contained the problem, even taking into account the early covid-19 tests that produced too many false negatives.

Then the medical system also stumbled; too many patients went straight to the hospital. Anecdotal evidence suggests staff with little experience of infectious diseases, and chronically short of protective equipment, inadvertently made the problem worse by mixing patients and carrying on working even after falling ill. There are now 400 covid-19 hot spots associated with hospitals, and thousands of medics have contracted the illness. An unofficial list shows more than 220 fatalities among medical staff, a far higher proportion of overall deaths than for most countries.

Even the uninfected are buckling under the strain. Some nurses walked out. In recent weeks, three doctors have fallen from hospital windows in unclear circumstances, two after complaining about working conditions.

The biggest failure of Putin's reforms may be one we have only glimpsed so far: the neglect of Russia's regions.

While cosmopolitan Moscow has suffered the most cases, it's also home to Kommunarka, a high-quality coronavirus hospital, and it has other top-notch facilities. Beyond the large urban centers and outposts linked to big natural-resources companies, much of the rest of the country is less well-equipped. The real pain of reform cuts was felt in these farthest reaches of Russia, where populations are falling fast. In 2016, parliamentary deputies were told that out of 130,000 rural settlements, less than half were within reach of medical assistance. Russia had 42,000 ventilators at the start of the outbreak, several times the size of Britain's supply, but a quarter were in Moscow.

Left by Putin to keep a lid on things locally, regional governors are struggling. A spike in cases in Komi, in the far north, showed how bad it could get. In early April, a single doctor caused an outbreak by continuing to work while ill, leaving dozens infected. This vast, sparsely populated province soon became one of the worst affected. In the large city of Yekaterinburg, another hospital medic caused 78 cases. Poor southern Dagestan, meanwhile, is emerging as a hot spot. Officials described the situation to Putin this week as "very difficult," with deaths left unrecorded.

There are signs of hope. Russia's testing regime has improved dramatically. Its official fatality figures don't show the true picture, but Moscow suffered 18% more deaths than normal last month - a measure that's deemed more accurate. During its outbreak, New York City had four times its number of usual deaths. With roughly half the Russian population suffering from underlying health problems, that isn't a bad comparison.

Nonetheless, the future looks grim. Russia's recession this year will be the worst since the end of the Soviet period, as lockdowns coincide with a languishing oil price. Investment in the health of ordinary Russians is unlikely to be the priority.

---

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

---

Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia.
Instead of producing oil offshore Newfoundland, the Terra Nova FPSO may soon become a longer-term fixture in Conception Bay, or dockside at a port like Bay Bulls.

That's not a good scenario for Newfoundland and Labrador's oil industry, the hundreds of workers linked to the aging oil production vessel, or a provincial treasury that can ill afford to lose the couple-hundred-million in oil royalties that typically flow from the Terra Nova each year.

Terra Nova FPSO showing its age

The Terra Nova oil field was the second of four in the offshore to begin production, with first-oil from the Terra Nova FPSO reported in January 2002.

Since then, Suncor Energy and its partners have pumped more than 420 million barrels of oil from the field, nearly twice as much as the White Rose field, though well short of the more than 1.1 billion barrels at Hibernia.

Terra Nova averaged nearly 30,000 barrels of production each day in 2018 and 2019.

The oil companies long ago recovered their initial investment in the project, and as a result, oil royalties from the Terra Nova are the most lucrative for the province on a per capita basis.

But the vessel is near the end of its life, and it has been anything but smooth sailing for the past six months.

Now a deluge of ill winds have combined to cripple the operation, and derail a costly plan to overhaul the vessel to add a decade to its life and produce up to 80 million more barrels of oil.

There's a very real possibility that, once it leaves this summer, the Terra Nova FPSO might not return to the Grand Banks for up to two years. That's left workers on edge, with their futures very much in limbo.

So how did we get here?

The Terra Nova is showing its age. That's one factor. A global pandemic has also dealt a devastating blow to the world oil industry, with nearly every form of transportation practically seized up. And a production war between Saudi Arabia and Russia earlier this year drove stockpiles to the brim.

Story continues

Newfoundland and Labrador is not exempt from these world events  despite the coveted light, sweet crude that is produced in our offshore  and the industry is now in crisis mode.

The challenges for the Terra Nova began in December, when the board that regulates the offshore industry ordered a stop to production because of a safety deficiency related to fire suppression. Further inspections found more problems.

Suncor and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board have been in talks for months, trying to reach an agreement that would allow the vessel to resume production.

Suncor Energy

Those talks recently broke down, with the partners unwilling to invest the estimated $150 million to $200 million required to get approval to operate from the board, according to sources.

And a six-month, $600-million plan to sail the Terra Nova to a dockyard in Spain last month for life-extension overhaul is in limbo because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It's work that cannot be done in this province  or Canada, for that matter  say insiders, and missing the window of opportunity in Spain is a setback.

"We do not have an approved alternative for the asset life extension project," confirmed Suncor in a statement Friday.

What's more, the vessel's all-important certificate of fitness expires next summer, and certifying authorities like Lloyd's Register North America will demand a major refit before the Terra Nova resumes production.

Many unknowns

So while plenty is still unknown, this is certain: the Terra Nova will soon be disconnected from its subsea production systems and will sail into an uncertain future.

That's a blow for the province, on many levels.

According to a benefits report released by Suncor for the fourth quarter of 2019, a total of 853 people were working with the Terra Nova project at the end of last year, and more than 90 per cent of them were residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

What will become of those workers?

"Our people are very important to us. When a final decision is made on the path forward, we will work to understand the staffing requirements to support the plan and keep our team informed as decisions are made," Suncor stated in an email Friday.

There is still some fight left in us yet. - Dave Mercer

The removal of the Terra Nova will also be felt by the supply and service sector, from helicopter and supply ship services to catering and personal protective equipment sales.

For the fourth quarter of 2019, there were more than 1,500 purchase orders related to the project, valued at $24 million. Nearly $16 million of those purchases were made from companies with locations in Newfoundland and Labrador.

It's little wonder the N.L. oil and gas industries association and its 600 members are in panic mode. Many of Noia's members have slashed jobs, and some have closed up shop, according to CEO Charlene Johnson.

But the union says it will continue to press for a solution, including a quicker return to production.

"We're trying to get this reversed. There is still some fight left in us yet," said Dave Mercer, president of Unifor Local 2121, which represents 400 workers involved with the Terra Nova.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
I knew they were out there, and just as my inbox was melting down into a smoldering pit of ugliness and rage after I criticized one of their counterparts, they found me before I could find them.

Gym owners. Responsible ones. Small-business proprietors who watched, with mixed levels of frustration and disappointment, the situation unfolding in Bellmawr -- and wanted to get across a very similar message.

That guy does not speak for us.

My biggest fear is that the average person is going to look at this and say, Well thats a New Jersey gym owner for you right there. This is what were dealing with, Brian Bott told me. And, if it was another industry and I was looking at it, Id probably feel that way, too.'

Bott owns Aspire Fitness in Colts Neck. He agrees with Ian Smith, the co-owner of Atilis Gym in the South Jersey town, on one very important point: He wants to open his business as soon as possible. He has to open his business as soon as possible.

But Bott calls what Smith is doing an obvious stunt for attention. He isnt about to break the state shutdown orders like Smith did, drawing dozens of protesters to his front door, and do pushups in the parking lot. He isnt going to head onto Fox News, pretending that he is taking a stand for something bigger than his own interests.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

This is what Bott did: He asked his customers what they needed to survive this lockdown, and like so many resourceful people around the state, he helped fill those needs to make sure those customers stayed loyal and healthy (and out of handcuffs).

He loaned out equipment, even giving dumbbells to people who were forced to put their memberships on hold. He developed Zoom classes, offering some kind of instruction from a safe distance to make sure their personal fitness programs didnt fall apart during these months when stay-at-home orders make exercise a challenge.

If youre hiding behind the statement that (exercise) is good for peoples mental health, well, give them a workout to do at home, Bott said. Get on Zoom for an hour. I want to know this: What other effort did you try? There are plenty of other people who are working twice as hard not to try to make this work.

To be clear, Botts business caters to high-end clients in a wealthy town. They can afford to go mobile with their workouts -- because, like nearly everything else involved in this pandemic, the people with means are far better off than people who are poor.

This isnt going to work for many urban communities, nor will it be the answer for the massive gyms that have hundreds of clients. One gym owner told me he stands to lose $81,000 over the three months of the lockdown, and that he doesnt qualify for the government support. Thats just wrong.

This isnt a perfect solution. But I will repeat a point Ive made a few times already over the past two months. Look around.

Nothing. Is. Perfect.

The point is, there are ways to help people, and many people who work in the health and fitness industry recognized that they dramatically had to change what they were doing to serve their customers and help the greater good.

I suspect that neither were high on the list of priorities when Smith declared on Fox News that he was going to defy the shutdown. He and co-owner Frank Trumbetti have become a martyrs for the many people around the country who believe that all business should be opened, right away, consequences be damned.

Hes not doing the rest of us any favors, thats for sure," said Gerry Tamburro, owner of BOLT Fitness and Performance Training in Chester. Were all trying to do the best we can to keep people safe. The governor is doing his part to help get businesses open -- we all want that. Defying these orders doesnt help anyone.

Gov. Phil Murphy is all too aware of whats happening in Bellmawr. But its a shame hes not seeing what Tamburro is doing to keep his customers healthy now, with Zoom sessions and loaned equipment, and what he plans to do when the facility finally gets the green light to re-open.

The same is true for Shane Condron, who owns Fitness Inc. Training Studios in Garwood. He and his wife, Katie, closed the doors to their business on March 16 and -- other than when their second kid was born during this -- have worked every day to help their customers and community.

We adjusted our pricing and did not take a single penny from anyone for charity, Shane Condron wrote on Facebook. We didnt allow our members to pay for anything they were not using. If they were going to use our online platform we froze their membership and didnt take a penny from them, despite hearing please charge us our regular rates continuously.

Condron, in a phone interview on Tuesday night, said that he saw the social media support this week and felt like he needed to stay something. He wants to reopen, but he wants to do it the right way, with guidance from people in the state.

I felt obligated as a gym owner to say, This is not all of us.' We wanted to show there are professionals out there. We take precautions very, very serious. We dont want to be the petri dish that breaks out a COVID infection because one infected person came in.

He wont get attention on a cable news network for a stand like that. But Condron is going to do the right thing for his customers and his community. Maybe its him, and gym owners like him, that we should be celebrating.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.
The Navajo Nation now has a higher per capita level of positive coronavirus test results than the hard-hit states of New York and New Jersey.

The Nation's Department of Health said on Wednesday that the reservation had a total of 4,153, or one case in every 42 residents at the 2010 Census population count of 173,667.

New York state has an infection rate of one out of ever 54 residents, while New York City is roughly even with the Navajo Nation at one in 42, all at 2010 population counts.

With 144 deaths, population fatality rate in the Navajo Nation continues to lag behind New York, and the higher case positive rate probably reflects the fact that a higher percentage of the reservation's population has been tested.

Angelina Dinehdeal wipes tears from her eyes as she sits with her 8-year-old daughter, Annabelle, on the family's compound on Navajo land. The family has been devastated by COVID-19. The Navajo reservation has some of the highest rates of coronavirus in the country

A map of the Navajo Nation shows the current case count in each district as of Wednesday

Public data shows that 14 percent of the Navajo Nation has been tested so far, versus just 7.7 percent of the population of New York state.

'We are testing very aggressively here,' said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in an appearance on KSAZ-TV on Wednesday. 'We are number one in the United States in testing our total population.'

'Because of more testing, obviously you'll get more positive and negative results,' he added.

Nez on Tuesday issued a 57-hour curfew order extending over Memorial Day weekend, in addition to the shelter-in-place order currently in effect for the reservation.

The outbreak has stretched healthcare resources thin on the reservation, which straddles parts of Arizona, Utah and New Mexico, and is the largest Indian territory in the U.S.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez distributes educational material to drivers on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus at a checkpoint in Window Rock, Arizona in March

Healthcare workers practice with a new intubation shield that just arrived to help protect medical workers at the Kayenta Health Center emergency room Kayenta, Arizona

Teresa Peters displays some of her homemade masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Gallup, New Mexico on May 13

According to local reports, the severe outbreak on the reservation began with a night of wild partying on the reservation on the day before New Mexico's lockdown orders came into effect.

On the eve of the lockdown, 98 people were detained for public intoxication and sent to sober up at a detox center in Gallup, New Mexico that is also used to shelter homeless people.

Somewhere in the mix was coronavirus, and the detox center became the epicenter of the reservation's outbreak.

In all, 22 people infected with the coronavirus were transferred from the detox center to Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital, the only acute care medical center for the general public within 110 miles of Gallup.

'They were putting multiple cots in one room to accommodate them,' said pulmonologist Rajiv Patel, who helped lead the hospitals initial response.

To care for that influx, any available doctor was pressed into service, including those who normally don't handle critically ill patients, Patel said.

'Thats right when we overloaded,' said hospital CEO David Conejo. 'Now weve got too many patients, and too few (staff) to help.'

Rehoboths eight intensive care beds are full, and now it has to transfer all coronavirus patients with severe breathing problems away from the facility and the adjacent Gallup Indian Medical Center, which attends exclusively to the Native American community.

Of about 500 medical and support staff, at least 32 hospital workers have become infected, and doctors and nurses say that they all live with the fear of spreading the virus to their colleagues and relatives.

Patel - who arrived at Rehoboth in March from an Army reserve stint in Kuwait - said the hospital simply didn't have enough staff with the experience to provide the right care and struggled to train more quickly. Patel has since left to work at Flagstaff Medical Center in Arizona.

Vehicles line up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Monument Valley Health Center in Oljato-Monument Valley, San Juan County, on Friday, April 17, 2020

A worker takes a break during COVID-19 testing outside of the Monument Valley Health Center in Oljato-Monument Valley, San Juan County, on Friday, April 17, 2020

Twice, the doctor said, alarms went off during the night on breathing machines - only to be misinterpreted by overnight staff.

Within two days of those missteps, he and colleagues decided that severely ill coronavirus patients would have to go elsewhere - a heart-wrenching decision that meant sick people would be treated far from family and one that underscored the consequences of not having adequate care in the region.

'It was an easy decision because it was the right thing to do for patients,' said Patel, whose wife is Navajo. 'It was very saddening for me personally because my heart and soul are completely invested in the health situation on the reservation.'

While much of New Mexico is showing signs of emerging from the initial wave of the pandemic, stubbornly high rates of infection and death persist in the states northwest corner - including in the Navajo Nation that extends into Arizona and Utah.

More than half of New Mexicos roughly 6,200 confirmed infections are in Native Americans.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death.
Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith and former educational nonprofit executive Dan Ryan will face off in a runoff to succeed Portland Commissioner Nick Fish on the City Council.

The two emerged as the leading vote-getters from a field of 18 candidates in the special election to fill the remainder of Fishs term, which expires at the end of 2022.

As of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Smith led with 18.8% of the vote and Ryan had captured 16.7%. The 2:30 p.m. vote tally shows Ryan to be 3,912 votes ahead of Tera Hurst, executive director of environmental nonprofit Renew Oregon, who has 14.7% of the vote.

The runoff will be held Aug. 11.

Fish died of cancer Jan. 2, two days after announcing he planned to resign from his role as city commissioner due to his illness. Hed been on the city council for more than 11 years.

Four of the five seats on the Portland City Council were contested in Tuesdays election. Carmen Rubio was elected to the seat currently held by Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who opted not to run for reelection after three terms. Races involving incumbents Commissioner Chloe Eudaly and Mayor Ted Wheeler were too close to declare a definitive outcome as of 2:30 p.m.

Smith served eight years as a county commissioner representing North and Northeast Portland before leaving office in 2018 due to term limits. She was the second African-American woman ever elected to the position. She also spent more than 20 years working for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden.

Smith lost a general election race that same year for Portland City Council to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. She has since opened a consulting firm called Dream Big Communications.

Smith this year campaigned as a progressive candidate who championed jobs and housing programs during her time as a county commission. Her pledge to continue focusing on jobs and housing landed endorsements including from the union that covers Portland area grocery store workers.

Smith thanked voters, donors and volunteers in a statement on her campaign Facebook page Wednesday. She urged voters to continue supporting her, citing her experiences in Wydens office and as a county commissioner among the qualities she believes make her most suited to be elected. Smith noted Portlanders have the opportunity to have the majority of city council seats held by women of color for the first time ever if she wins in November. A woman of color had never been elected to the Portland City Council until Hardesty won two years ago.

I am the candidate with the experience needed to bring Portland back stronger and better than ever - for everyone, Smith wrote.

Ryan served three years as a member and chair of the Portland Public School Board until 2008. Ryan then went on to lead All Hands Raised, a nonprofit which works to improve racial equity in education throughout Multnomah County, for 11 years. He stepped down in 2019 and is now a consultant.

He has also previously served as development director at Portland State University and the Oregon Ballet Theater.

Ryan has pledged to help lead the city out of the coronavirus crisis, calling on his experience bringing people together to address educational issues, and he vows to help the city do more to address the lack of mental health and addiction services for people experiencing homelessness.

Ryan has said the homeless crisis hits home for him. One of his brothers, who struggled with addiction and diagnosed mental illness, died on the streets about six years ago.

Ryan said Wednesday that it was still sinking in that his campaign would be continuing and that he was grateful to voters. He said he believes his experiences as a bridgebuilder and getting results on complex issues led to his primary support.

I think Loretta and I will have a great race, Ryan said. Both of us have a long history in this city, born and raised here. I look forward to our dialogue.

Hurst, former chief of staff to former Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, said she called Smith and Ryan and wished them both luck.

Hurst said she was proud of the campaign she ran, that she received at least 27,500 votes and that she was open about her past being more than 20 years sober from alcohol and drug addiction. She said the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the need to talk more about addiction and recovery. None of the candidates had a good read on how the race would go due to lack of polling and physical interactions with voters, she said.

Its hard being a candidate, Hurst said. I have a newfound respect and understanding of how terrifying and vulnerable it is to be out there.

Finishing fourth in the race behind Hurst was Julia DeGraw, a nonprofit and political consultant who finished second to Fish in votes during the 2018 primary election. She captured 12.7% of the tally as of mid-day Wednesday.

Also among the candidates in the race were Metro Councilor Sam Chase, who finished fifth, math professor and tenant rights advocate Margot Black, who finished sixth, Cynthia Castro, a senior policy adviser to Commissioner Amanda Fritz who finished seventh, and retired renewable energy consultant Jack Kerfoot, who finished eighth.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Domestic abuse victims should be given the right to anonymity in the media to prevent them being subjected to further abuse, campaigners have urged.

Survivors of sexual violence are granted lifelong press anonymity from the moment any allegations are made, but victims of domestic abuse are not currently offered the same protection.

Frontline service providers argue this disparity places domestic abuse survivors at grave risk and routinely leads to them facing further abuse from their abuser, or friends and relatives of their abuser, after cases are reported on in the media.

A domestic abuse survivor, who chose to remain anonymous, urged the law to be changed to give victims the right to waive their anonymity if they so wish.

She said she suffered abuse and harassment from her abusive exs friends after she was named in the press when her case went to court last year.

Inside a Women's Refuge Show all 34 1 /34 Inside a Women's Refuge Inside a Women's Refuge A resident at the refuge looks out into the garden and children's outdoor play area Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Mothers try to make the rooms as homely as possible for their children Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A mother who is visiting her two daughters who are residents at the refuge after fleeing from domestic violence Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Children's books inside the play area of the refuge Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The messages on the butterflies are written by women who have stayed at Reigate and Banstead Women's Aid (RBWA) Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Residents at the refuge support and empower each other Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Charlotte Kneer, a survivor of domestic abuse and CEO of RBWA Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Women send a message to future residents Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The children who live at the refuge have great fun doing arts and crafts Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge This photograph was taken by one of the children living at the refuge who loved experimenting with the camera Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge 'Living with the Dominator' by Pat Craven is a book about the Freedom Programme. It has been designed to help women affected by domestic abuse Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A woman sits inside the smoking area Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Dolls on the windowsill in the children's indoor play room Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Having a refuge space can be life-saving for many women and their children Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Over time, women in the refuge make friends and feel more at home Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Inside one of the bedrooms. Women can stay at the refuge for up to six months Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The kitchen is a communal area were women cook and prepare meals Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Charlotte Kneer, CEO of RBWA, in her office Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Messages are seen on colourful butterfly cut-outs Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A children's indoor play area Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A picture painted by an ex-resident Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The children spend time in the large garden and playground area Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Paintings by ex-residents Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Inside one of the bedrooms at the refuge Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge These butterflies were made by the children at the refuge Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The refuge offers clean furnished rooms Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge Women want to pass on an encouraging message on to future residents of the refuge Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A staircase leading up to the rooms Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A picture painted by an ex-resident Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge A highchair inside the main living room Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge In an outdoor area, one of the rooms is used for counselling and group meetings Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge RBWA provides safe refuge, support and advice for women and children who have experienced domestic violence Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The refuge has a large garden with playground equipment Angela Christofilou Inside a Women's Refuge The children love spending time in the outdoor play area Angela Christofilou

She added: None of my family knew, neither did my employer [until I was named in the press]. I felt a lot of shame and then seeing my name in the article and the awful comments made below the article were dreadful, there was racial abuse online.

I felt sad, ashamed, embarrassed and violated. Something that took a lot of courage for me to report and everyone got to know about it. Even now I find myself googling my name for fear of it popping up again. There is an added layer of shame when I already had enough to process with regard to being abused.

Current laws mean anything said in court in a domestic abuse case can legally be reported in the press - including a victim's name and highly personal details about the violence they suffered.

Jo Gough, chief executive of RISE, a domestic abuse charity which has launched a campaign for the law to be changed, told The Independent the present situation places women and their families at risk of serious harm, and women they support have encountered very difficult issues linked to a dearth of anonymity.

She added: Children were affected. Networks of people found out. Having your identity exposed to the press makes it easier for your perpetrator to carry on abusing you. Friends and family of the abuser have previously used the court case to work out the victims address and whether they are still in the area to continue to harass them.

Victims should have the choice of whether to waive their anonymity so they are not automatically named by the press. This could not only save womens lives but also make more women likely to come forward to report domestic abuse. Survivors who leave their perpetrators are at the highest risk of violence within the first year of leaving, which often coincides with their case going to Magistrates court.

These women have already been through great trauma being harmed in their own homes by those closest to them as well as the ordeal of court, so they should not be put through the further distress of being named in the media. It removes a survivors right to privacy and can put them and their family at further risk of harassment, abuse and potentially serious harm.

Statistics show women are at the greatest risk of homicide at the point of separation or after leaving a violent partner  some 55 per cent of the women murdered by their ex in 2017 were killed within the first month of separation and 87 per cent in the first year.

Every week in the UK, an average of two women are murdered by a partner or ex-partner.

Concerns around domestic abuse have been heightened during the lockdown  with visits to the UKs online national domestic abuse service surging by 700 per cent in a single day last month and a report recently released by MPs revealing domestic abuse killings doubled over 21 days.

Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion who lent her backing to the new campaign on anonymity, said: Lockdown has brought into sharp relief the unbearable situations many people are facing at home. Yet we know that domestic abuse is hugely underreported to the police.

Guaranteeing press anonymity for survivors of domestic abuse could encourage reporting and crucially, help to keep survivors safe. Thats why I welcome this new campaign from RISE and look forward to working with them to get a change in the law. Survivors of domestic abuse need support to build a new life away from their abuser, and it is everyones responsibility to ensure that this happens in as safe an environment as possible.

Recommended Former nurse on ordeal of being cooped up with abusive son in lockdown

RISE, the charity spearheading the campaign, has seen calls to their helpline more than triple  a rise of 220 per cent  during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The organisation, which supports domestic abuse victims in Sussex, is calling for people to sign a petition demanding the law around anonymity is overhauled. It argues it is imperative to change the law now due to predicting there will be a greater number of court cases happening in due course because of domestic violence rising in lockdown.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, the UKs largest provider of shelters for domestic abuse victims, said: It can be very difficult for survivors of domestic abuse to report their violent partners to the police and go through the ordeal of making statements and giving evidence in court. Many women are worried about the risks of further abuse and face pressure from perpetrators to withdraw charges. Many also feel ashamed and worry about friends, family and colleagues finding out the details of the abuse they suffered if it is reported in the media.

It is critical, therefore, to recognise that it takes great courage for women to report domestic abuse to the police, and it is vital that they are treated with respect and have the safest possible experience of the criminal justice system. This should include automatic anonymity for survivors, as is currently the case for survivors of sexual offences.
Extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' roared into West Bengal, making landfall at 2:30 pm on Wednesday between Digha in the state and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, unleashing heavy rain and high-velocity winds that left a trail of destruction, officials said.

No loss of human life has been reported from either West Bengal or Odisha so far, but the cyclone cut a swathe through the coastal areas of the two states, flattening fragile dwellings, uprooting trees and electric poles, and forcing evacuation of over 6.58 lakh people.

"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph," the weatherman said.

NDRF chief S N Pradhan told a press conference in New Delhi that 20 teams of the federal disaster response force had already begun road clearing operations in Odisha, while the 19 units deployed in West Bengal were shifting people to safety.

Quoting figures made available by the two states, Pradhan said over 5 lakh people were evacuated in West Bengal and more than 1.58 lakh in Odisha.

TV footages showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into seawall in Digha, close to the scene of the landfall.

Thick sheets of rain blurred the vast coastline in the two states and surging waters engulfed mud-and-thatch houses, flattening them in a trice.

Heavy machinery was moved in to clear the roads blocked by falling trees.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra, who jointly addressed the media with Pradhan, said gale-strength winds speeding at 160-170 kmph were pounding South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts and could be gusting up to 185 kmph.

He said the eye of the monster cyclone, the most explosive part of the cyclonic system, had touched the land, triggering copious rain in the three districts. The eye of the storm itself was 30 km in diameter, he said.

Mohapatra said the intensity of the rain and winds accompanying it could deceptively look like ebbing away briefly, but will surge afresh once the rear sector of the storm has reached the landmass.

The whole cyclonic system will have reached the land by 7 pm, he said.

Reports arriving in Kolkata from North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore said roofs of thatched houses were blown away, and twisted electric poles and broken and uprooted trees bore testimony to the devastation. Streets and homes in low lying areas of Kolkata were swamped with rainwater.

Mohapatra said the storm will reach Kolkata in all its fury later in the evening and winds blowing at 110-120 kmph, and gusting at 135 kmph, coupled with downpour, will batter the capital city.

Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, has left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its destructive path over the Bay of Bengal.

Intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

The rains and high-velocity winds will ebb away in Odisha by late Wednesday night by when the cyclone will likely have caused massive damage to standing crops, plantations and infrastructure, Mohapatra said.

He said tidal surge of up to five metres could occur in North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts that could submerge areas in a radius of 15 km.

The strong winds and rain could continue till tomorrow in West Bengal, he said.

The turbulence will likely extend to Assam and Meghalaya, triggering heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday.

Mohapatra said since the time the depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on May 20 till the cyclone made the landfall, the IMD's predictions about the path it will take and the timing was accurate and helped the disaster response machinery strategise and execute the plans to minimise the damage effectively.

The cyclonic storm will get weaker while crossing over Nadia and Murshidabad in West Bengal later tonight before entering Bangladesh as a deep depression and dissipating.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Burundians went to the polls on Wednesday for elections to choose a new president, parliamentarians and local councillors. However, voting was marked by a social media shutdown in the country and complaints about irregularities by the opposition.

Ruling party flagbearer Evariste Ndayishimiye told journalists that the elections were taking place in a secure environment. Anyone wanting to disturb them will pay dearly, he added, speaking as he cast his ballot at the Bubu primary school polling station in Giheta, central Burundi, the Iwacu news site reported.

The election brings to end the rule of President Pierre Nkurunziza who was elected in 2005 following the end of Burundi's civil war. Ndayishimiye, chosen by the ruling CNDD-FDD to stand as their candidate, is widely expected to replace Nkurunziza as president.

Ndayishimiye faces six other candidates and Agathon Rwasa of the CNL party is considered the nearest contender. The CNL has already complained about several irregularities on polling day.

CNDD-FDD supporters were accused by the CNL party of voting on behalf of decreased people, prisoners and refugees. The opposition said the ruling party was using its youth wing, the Imbonerakure, to intimidate voters and detain its polling agents.

Some 5.1 million Burundians were eligible to vote in 14,778 polling stations.

Social media restricted

Authorities in Burundi cut access to social media networks early on Wednesday morning. NetBlocks.org, an organisation monitoring internet shutdowns, analysed traffic from Burundi's three major internet providers and determined that access to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp had been restricted. Access to YouTube and Google was also intermittently restricted, NetBlocks.org said.

Willy Nyamitwe, a advisor to Nkurunziza and former government spokesperson, denied that the internet in Burundi had been severed, but did not address the cut to social networks. Social media users in Burundi reported having to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass the government's restrictions.

The social media shutdown was planned, said opposition leader Rwasa, according to Iwacu. It's not WhatsApp which votes, it's Burundians. There's no point in cutting communications, Rwasa told journalists.

The election campaigning period was characterised by increasing political violence and concerns about the spread of Covid-19.

Provisional results are expected on 25-26 May and if no candidate achieves a majority a second round of voting will take place on 19 June.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On Monday, May 18th, at approximately 8:18 p.m., the Yuma Police Department responded to the 1200 Block of S. 8th Avenue for a report of shots fired.

Upon arrival, officers learned a disturbance occurred in the roadway resulting in one adult male being shot. The individual who was shot drove to the Yuma Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. This incident is still under investigation.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please contact the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.
'The burden on the Government of India will lessen if they allow us to sue China.'

IMAGE: Medical workers attend to a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in this photograph dated February 16, 2020. Photograph: China Daily/Reuters

Is China the villain or victim in the coronavirus pandemic?

While there are those like United States President Donald John Trump who would like a closer look at China's role in the worst virus outbreak in the 21st century, there are others like Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury who feel Beijing is more sinned against than sinning.

As for India, it is more focused on how to draw businesses that may exit China in the wake of the pandemic, and many states have been loosening labour safeguards in anticipation of such an influx.

Adish C Aggarwala, chairman of the All India Bar Association and president of the International Council of Jurists, is clear where he stands.

He believes that the coronavirus pandemic was deliberately engineered by China to take over big global corporates and that Beijing should be made to pay for its misdeed in Indian courts.

But since Section 86 of the Criminal Procedure Code bars foreign States from being sued in any court except with the government's permission, Aggarwala, below, has written to Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi to amend this CrPC section through an ordinance, so that Indian citizens can sue China for damages caused by the coronavirus.

"You are killing the people with a Chinese-made virus. How many are dead and how many will die till the pandemic is here? Which is like war," Aggarwala, a senior Supreme Court advocate, tells A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com.

What made you decide to write to Prime Minister Modi to enable suing China for the spread of the virus?

We have done research which shows that we can take up the matter either internationally or at the national level.

We have also approached the United Nations Human Rights Council on behalf of the All India Bar Association.

This is because China has committed violation of Article 25/1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (external link) and also violated Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (external link), sub rule 2/C and D.

They have also violated international health regulations, Article 6/para 1, Article 7 and Article 9.

China is responsible under the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts 2001 (external link), which says that if they committed a wrongful act the government is responsible.

Then we complained to the UN that China should reimburse all countries. If the UN doesn't agree, then there is no legal sanction.

If the UN asks China to pay and all countries get together, then China will be isolated.

Even if China agrees to pay, only the countries will get compensation and citizens will not get anything.

The Americans are suing China. But Section 86 of our CrPC doesn't allow Indian citizens to sue a foreign government.

There is no compulsion to keep that section. So we wrote to the prime minister to bring an ordinance to change it.

Once it is done, Indian citizens can file a suit against China.

You have blamed China for the virus. Are you saying Beijing deliberately spread the virus?

Yes. On December, 1, 2019, the first case was known, they didn't disclose it. Some 150,000 people flew out of Wuhan to the United States and to various other countries.

Dr Li Wenliang informed the government. But he was censored, then arrested, and then he died.

They were supposed to inform WHO within 24 hours of the outbreak, but they did not.

Our allegation is that it infected people and also allowed them to go abroad. They also didn't allow other countries's scientists to see the Wuhan laboratory.

But why would China do it?

China wants to become the leading economy in the world. They had already ordered PPE (personal protective equipment). They imported it and now they are selling it.

They disclosed it late so that people can see the effect of this disease. Many companies sold their assets in China to run away from there. Business slumped all over.

Stockmarkets collapsed. The Chinese purchased these stocks. They have bought American and European companies's shares. They also purchased shares of HDFC in India.

The government immediately passed a rule that neighbouring countries cannot buy Indians companies's shares without government approval.

Economically, they are now present in every country in a big way.

What you are saying amounts to an act of war by China. Is that what you mean?

You are killing the people with a Chinese-made virus. How many are dead and how many will die till the pandemic is here? Which is like war.

What evidence do you have to show China's willful execution of what you allege is a macabre plot?

All reports have come. British, American, German, Japanese intelligence are saying this. It is an open secret.

As a senior legal professional, you know mere press reports and suspicions don't make for a case. What is needed is hard evidence. And that, is not available in this case.

Everything is available. Passengers from Wuhan went all over the world. They were found to have the coronavirus.

Web sites of the Chinese government, the Web site of the Wuhan laboratory and WHO itself prove that they were negligent.

They did not inform WHO and all other countries of an infectious virus. They didn't inform the world. That proves our case.

If we cannot prove manufacture, we can prove that from these records that after knowing that their citizens were infected they didn't inform WHO and other countries. That is a violation of international rules.

People have been infected. They are responsible for it internationally.

Our case is very clear. Under Indian law we are not allowed to file a case against them.

They only admitted in February 2020 that it is infectious. This proves our case.

Do you even imagine the Government of India will grant your request to sue when China is among India's largest trading partners?

We are very much hopeful. The prime minister at a meeting with chief ministers told them that they should bring companies to India which are exiting China.

Japan is giving incentives to companies exiting China. This is a plus point for India.

The burden on the Government of India will lessen if they allow us to sue China.

The money for citizens will come from China. They will get it from China.

We can recover it from Chinese goods which are here. We will attach them. The Government of India will benefit.

Our GDP is dropping. It will benefit the Government of India. They should stand with the United States of America against China.

We are asking them to change the law, we are not asking for permission.

Even if the Government of India does accede to your request, surely you don't expect China will quietly submit to Indian law?

They will not submit. Then they will be the loser. An ex-parte decree will be passed. Those will be executed.

They have to answer to the court. If they don't contest, an ex-parte decree will be given.

Whatever (Chinesee) properties are available we will attach in India.

Your request will open a can of worms. Then there will be no end to foreign nations being sued in Indian courts for various acts, imagined and real.

Suing is fine, but they have to prove it. If they can prove it, they will win. If they cannot prove, then there is no case.

Any country violating human rights is liable to pay compensation.

Are you a China hater?

No. I am chairman of the All India Bar Association and president of the International Council of Jurists.

Under my leadership I led a delegation of sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India, Supreme Court of Maldives and Sri Lanka to China.

I was invited for a study tour in December 2010 by the Supreme People's Court of China.

We had fruitful discussions with the judges of China, the Bar Association of China and law universities.

We are not haters. We are contesting on principles.

Are you doing all this for publicity?

We never do anything for publicity. We are doing for results.

We get involved in an issue when we know we can achieve positive results.

Otherwise, we would never have got involved.
A group of retreads from among anti-Nixon Watergate lawyers have surfaced to demand that Judge Emmett Sullivan disregard the Justice Department's decision to free General Flynn from prosecution. Normally, those who grouse constantly about social justice would see the prosecution of Flynn by an unruly FBI and Department of Justice out to frame him as something unjust.

Indeed, the pursuit of Flynn was a shameful episode in our history, and his exoneration is a heroic symbol of truth and justice overcoming the corruption and wayward power of men exploiting our institutions for their political ambitions. Attorney General Barr's decision to exonerate General Flynn is a noteworthy example of truth overcoming power.

Instead, attorneys Richard Ben-Veniste, Nick Ackerman, Richard Davis, Carl Feldbaum, George Frampton, Kenneth Geller, Gerald Goldman, Paul Michael, Frank Tuerkheimer, and others continue to do today what has been their mission for almost fifty years: bringing down, in the name of the law, Republicans and conservatives.

As with many in their fraternity, "rule of law" is that which can be used against those with whom they politically disagree. Law is but another weapon in their political arsenal against conservatism and against those who fight for longstanding American principles that liberals and leftists wish to crush. Trotting out these political operatives of the left-wing Deep State neither clarifies nor elucidates; rather, it obfuscates. All men of integrity who cherish justice know that General Flynn was set up in a way that stains our concept of justice.

Until recently, General Flynn would have been the hero, and, in contrast, the FBI, the CIA, the DOJ, and President Obama and all his henchmen would have been the bad guys in a gripping movie showing how the powerful and top G men were ultimately toppled. It would have been a drama hailing the American ideal of the target of Comey and Brennan finally having his day in court, the audience cheering as the smug political gangsters are handcuffed and hauled off to jail. But not today, in the era where Hollywood, academia, the Democrat Party, and culture of smug self-righteousness have become the new standard of who and what constitutes the "law." The new pop culture law is this: if it advances the Obamas, the Clintons, the Democrats, Joy Behar, and chic socialism of the ruling class, it is good and therefore the law. No longer is law based on objectivity and immutable principles; it is based on subjectivity and what benefits the would-be leftist overlords.

Those in power, be they presidents or lawyers, who use our institutions and laws to afflict the innocent are villains in the chapters of our American story. They are not profiles in courage, but soldiers of corruption to be resisted. They are not legal eagles, but vultures of partisanship.

Attorney General Barr is to be commended for his courage and principled outlook, and he should go down as one of the great men who saved our Republic from Deep State players who began believing that the rule of law is whatever expedites their agenda, stature, and ongoing power.

Rabbi Aryeh Spero is president of Caucus for America, author of Push Back, and a frequent guest on Fox News and Newsmax.
A Missouri man convicted in the 1991 killing of his former landlord was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the first death row inmate to die in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a global pandemic in early March. The American Civil Liberties Union confirmed the execution.

The man, Walter Barton, 64, died by lethal injection in a state prison in Bonne Terre, south of St. Louis, state corrections officials said. Despite pleas in recent days from supporters and his defense team calling into question whether Barton was wrongly convicted, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday that he would not stop the execution.

Other states, including Ohio, Tennessee and Texas, have postponed scheduled executions while corrections officials handle the deepening health crisis, which has overwhelmed many correctional facilities across the country.

Image: Walter Barton (Missouri Department of Corrections via AP file)

Barton had been tried five times in the murder of Gladys Kuehler, 81, who operated a mobile home park south of Springfield. Barton, a former tenant of Kuehler's, was living out of his car and was reported to have visited Kuehler's granddaughter and a neighbor at the property on the night she was beaten, sexually assaulted and stabbed 52 times.

While blood was found on Barton's clothing, he maintained his innocence at each of his trials. His case lingered in the court system over the decades because of mistrials and appeals. A fifth trial in 2006 ended in a guilty verdict and a death sentence.

On Sunday, a federal appeals court vacated Barton's petition for post-conviction relief that might have delayed his execution. The court ruled that there was no new evidence.

But in recent weeks, Barton's attorney Frederick Duchardt Jr. got affidavits from three jurors who had convicted Barton to agree that they now have doubts about his guilt.

At the heart of the case has been whether the prosecution's blood spatter evidence  a form of forensic analysis whose accuracy has been questioned in recent years  was properly countered by Barton's defense team at his 2006 trial.

Story continues

Related:

Since then, Barton's current defense team ordered an independent bloodstain analysis. The examiner said that the small bloodstains on Barton's clothing were consistent with his version of events that night and that the actual killer's clothes would have been soaked in blood, given the victim's wounds.

The Innocence Project and others had tried to stop the execution, citing unreliable evidence and concerns over how previous state prosecutors have handled convictions of inmates later cleared of their charges.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and alerts

Barton's execution was the first in the U.S. since March 5, when Alabama inmate Nate Woods was executed for his role in the fatal shootings of three Birmingham police officers in 2004.

Given the coronavirus outbreak, corrections officials in Missouri said they had to consider precautionary measures involved with planning an execution, including submitting prison visitors to temperature checks and dividing them into three rooms for social distancing.
Keith Urban has revealed how his wife Nicole Kidman ended up with a broken ankle while in self-isolation, after a photo showing the actress in a moon boot sparked concerns with fans.

Nicole was attending husband Keith Urbans drive-in concert for frontline healthcare workers in Tennessee, and was snapped by a fan sporting the mystery injury over the weekend.

Photo: Channel Ten

Keith revealed during an interview with The Project on Tuesday, she had hurt herself five weeks ago while running around their neighbourhood in Nashville.

[She] just didn't see a pothole and rolled her ankle and got a small break in her ankle, he explained.

Always charming country music star Keith Urban chats with Carrie about how his lockdown is going, how Nicole Kidman is going with her broken ankle, the amazing idea to hold a gig at the drive-ins, and the most difficult part about being away from Australia in these times. pic.twitter.com/BvYBHWbaNH  The Project (@theprojecttv) May 19, 2020

So she's been relegated to the boot for the last handful of weeks and is still sort of getting through it, but her spirits have been amazing I've got to say, Keith continued.

She has been handling it way better than I would have.

A fan snapped this photo of Nicole and her moon boot on the weekend. Photo: Instagram/keithurbancentral

Concerned fans commented on the photo wondering what had happened to the 52-year-old, who has been isolating at home in Nashville during the coronavirus pandemic.

What happened to Nicoles foot? one fan asked.

Oh no what happened to Nicole? wrote another.

Did Nicole hurt her foot? was a third comment, while a fourth added: Kidman is certainly hiding something under the medical boot.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
A man in his 30s has been shot a number of times in north Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

A man in his 30s has been shot a number of times in north Dublin.

Gardai were called to the scene of the shooting at Cromcastle Drive, Kilmore, in Coolock at around 2pm on Wednesday.

The man was rushed to Beaumont Hospital, where his injuries are described as non-life threatening.

The scene is currently preserved for technical examination.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

Gardai at Santry are appealing for any witnesses to this incident or anyone with information to contact Santry garda station at 01 6664000, or the Garda confidential line on 1800 666 111.
Several seasons of strong export returns have left New Zealands venison farmers well positioned to overcome the severe trade disruptions resulting from Covid-19, according to Rabobank animal proteins analyst Blake Holgate.

Speaking on a recently-released RaboResearch podcast, Mr Holgate said New Zealands venison producers have enjoyed a good run in recent seasons with the industry benefitting from healthy export sales into both established and new venison markets.

In the last five years weve seen significant export growth in the US  due in part to increased demand for venison as a component in pet food  while weve also seen strong sales in long-standing European markets such as Germany and Belgium, he said.

In addition, the industry has been able to increase sales into emerging venison markets like China, with exports to this market growing rapidly  particularly throughout the course of 2019.

Mr Holgate said venison prices reached a historical peak of $11.50 per kilo in 2018 and, while prices had drifted lower in 2019, the industry was in a healthy position moving into 2020.

Many in the industry started this year with strong resilient businesses and this will be important as the industry navigates what is now likely to be a challenging next 12 months following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Demand drop

Mr Holgate said the impacts of the coronavirus on the global food service sector had significantly affected venison demand.

As a high-end product, venison demand is heavily linked to the food service industry, and with this industry currently closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity in virtually all key markets across the globe, venison sales have been hit hard, he said.

Venison importers in key markets across North America, Europe and Asia are reporting a significant decline in demand from end-users for venison products and this has resulted in a many importers cancelling or delaying their own incoming orders for venison.

In the Chinese market, Mr Holgate said, venison exporters were also running into additional challenges over and above lower food service demand.

With the initial outbreak of Covid-19 thought to be linked to a Wuhan wet market, the Chinese government declared a ban on consumption of wild animals in January and this originally included deer products. Fortunately, since then many deer species have been re-classified as special livestock, exempting them from the ban, he said.

However, there are still concerns that confusion about the status of deer products under the ban could cause some disruption once the product arrives in China. Exporters are seeking assurances that the exemption for deer is well understood and consistently applied across the various Chinese regional authorities.

Mr Holgate said the fall in global demand for venison had quickly translated into lower New Zealand venison exports.

Export volumes for the month of March 2020 were down 30 per cent on last year, with the United States the most affected market, dropping by 55 per cent on the same month in 2019, he said.

Prices for New Zealand venison have also fallen with the current stag price sitting at $7 per kilo, 20 per cent back on the same month in 2019. Fortuitously for New Zealand producers, March is typically the end of the venison production season  with most young venison processed from September through to March  and most farmers will have moved most of their finishing stock off by now so they can focus on removing cull hinds through the autumn and winter.

Mr Holgate said the challenges for the industry stemming from Covid-19 would evolve as the year progressed.

Were currently seeing some any countries across the globe slowly begin to relax restrictions on the movement of their people and, as a result, the food service industry will begin to open up. While this should help boost venison demand, we also expect the virus to have longer-lasting economic impacts. he said.

The probability of a global recession is growing, along with a likelihood of a negative impact on consumer spending across all our markets. And for New Zealand venison producers, the magnitude of the fall in consumer spending and the speed and extent of recovery will be very important.

Despite the likelihood of considerably-lower demand for venison in coming months, Mr Holgate said sales of manufacturing venison and the European game season would help ensure a base level of demand.

Venison sales to manufacturing remain stable and in coming months we expect demand for these products is likely to fair better as more consumers are shopping and preparing meals in their own homes, he said.

The well-entrenched game season in the northern hemisphere autumn remains an important sales window for New Zealand exporters and, at this stage, we anticipate the worst of the Covid-19 related disruptions may be behind us by then. However, given the high level of uncertainty currently facing European buyers, there has been a reluctance to commit to large forward orders of product.

Industry rebound

While the industry faced several challenges in the short term, Mr Holgate said there were a number of factors to support a strong rebound in New Zealand venison sales once global demand recovers.

The New Zealand deer industry is well diversified across markets with the USA, Continental Europe and now China providing balance for marketers, he said.

This will advantage New Zealand exporters by giving them the ability to switch exports to those markets that recover earliest.

Mr Holgate said New Zealands strong response to the crisis should also help position New Zealand venison exporters for future sales.

If New Zealand can continue to contain the virus, this will also benefit ongoing venison sales by helping to position New Zealand as a reliable producer of safe food.

Source: Rabobank New Zealand Limited

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

Genesis Energy Limited (NZX: GNE) FY22 Q2 Performance Report

Seeka Limited (NZX: SEK) Seeka announces dividend of 13 cents per share

20th January 2022 Morning Report

Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) Q3FY33 Operating Data

Smartpay Holdings Limited (NZX: SPY) Trading Update

Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Shareholders Approve Zalm Therapeutics Share Issue

Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY achieves cash NPAT profitability in 1HFY22

19th January 2022 Morning Report

PaySauce Limited (NZX: PYS) Quarterly Market Update Dec 2021

FTX announced as naming rights sponsor of Australian Blockchain Week 2022


While the states testing rate for COVID-19 is greatly improved and hospitalizations are at their lowest point this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker continued to preach patience Tuesday as Illinois residents look forward to moving on to a new phase in the reopening plan at the end of the month.

Were all itching to move ahead. So why cant we just do it now? Pritzker said. Well, theres no doubt this is hard, but public health means that each of is working to protect all of us. Its about our collective impact on each other.

In addition to Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Pritzker enlisted two other doctors during his daily briefing Tuesday to support his argument that despite progress against the virus, residents need to remain vigilant, stay home and practice social distancing.

They made the case for patience as some mayors and law enforcement officers continue to say they wont follow Pritzkers plan to gradually reopen the state, and after the governor recently instituted a new rule to issue misdemeanor citations to business owners who refuse to follow public health guidelines.

This is a fight against a virus, not an ideology, said Dr. Emily Landon, executive medical director for infection prevention and control at the University of Chicago Medicine, in urging residents to continue to follow the states guidelines.

Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced 1,545 new known cases of the coronavirus from among 18,443 tests over the previous 24 hours. There were also 146 additional deaths reported, bringing the death toll to 4,379 since the pandemic began. Statewide, there have been 98,030 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from a total of 621,684 tests.

In addition to his daily dose of caution, Pritzker flashed some optimism, again reporting that the four regions of the state outlined in his reopening plan are on track to move on to phase three on May 29.

Illinois transitioned into phase two of Pritzkers reopening plan on May 1, with nonessential businesses remaining closed and a handful of outdoor activities allowed, while face coverings continue to be required in stores and other public settings where social distancing isnt practicable. The governor acknowledged that the lives of many Illinoisans didnt change much between phase one and phase two.

Pritzkers plan requires 28 days of monitoring public health data in four regions of the state before each can transition to the third phase as soon as May 29. In that new phase, gatherings of 10 people or fewer would be allowed for any reason, fitness and health clubs could offer one-on-one training and outdoor classes, barbershops and salons could reopen with restrictions as could manufacturing businesses, offices and retailers.

Its critical that we observe the full 28-day measurement period before moving forward to phase three, Pritzker said. The good news is were just 10 days from that point, and as of now, all four regions of Illinois are on track to moving forward into phase three before the end of May."

The governor also announced that Illinois had passed New York in the per capita daily administration of COVID-19 tests, which he called significant measurable progress.

Among the most populous states, Illinois has now overtaken New York as the No. 1 state in the nation for per capita testing over the last seven days, Pritzker said, calling it very exciting news.

Among all states, Illinois ranks No. 3 in per capita testing, behind Rhode Island and New Mexico, according to data cited by the governors office at covidtracking.com. New York ranks sixth behind Connecticut and North Dakota, according to the data.

The progress came as the federal government on Tuesday announced a new round of funding for local COVID-19 testing efforts. That includes $286.3 million for the state.

The plan to reopen Illinois: The steps
(CNN)  cMichael Cohen will be released early from prison on Thursday and is expected to serve out the remainder of his sentence at home as coronavirus continues to spread behind bars, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Cohen will be released on furlough while he completes the process of being moved to home confinement, the person said.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on Cohen's impending release.

Cohen was serving a three-year sentence in New York after pleading guilty to lying to Congress, tax charges and two campaign finance charges for facilitating hush money payments to two women who alleged affairs with Trump.

The Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons have released scores of nonviolent and vulnerable inmates early as the pandemic grew in the corrections system. Cohen had anticipated being released earlier this month but his release was delayed as the agency's conditions for early release amid the pandemic were narrowed.

Cohen's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Michael Cohen to be released Thursday and will serve remaining prison sentence at home"
There has been a number of clusters of Covid-19 cases in meat plants.

Some 60pc of meat factory workers who tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks have now returned to work, according to Meat Industry Ireland (MII).

MII, which represents the meat processros, said that a "significant amount" of the country's meat processing plants have had few or no cases.

Cormac Healy, speaking on RTE radio this morning, said MII members have been since the middle of March been implementing safety protocols and protective measures, but that nothing can elimiate the risk of Covid-19.

Meat factories saw an increase of 328 cases over the past week of meat factory workers, which was according to MII a a culmunation of results.

"There is a very significant suite of measures are in place in meat factories. While we had a number of clusters, there are a lot of plants with no cases of very low numbers," Cormac Healy said.

Healy also said "there is a very significant number of plants with zero cases and also with very low numbers and in several of those facilties there was a full screening test of all the workforce.

However, he could not state how many had no cases or very low number of cases. Of the 56 meat processing plants under Department of Agriculture supervision, 16 have had clusters of Covid-19 cases among workers.

On Tuesday evening the HSE announced that the cumulative number of Covid-19 positives in the meat processing sector over the last two months has reached 828 cases.

Figures compiled by MII show that to date, 496 workers, who tested positive, have gone through the appropriate self-isolation, recovered and are back at work.

It said it is disappointing that despite the range of measures put in place to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, the number of cases reported by the HSE has continued to rise.

Cormac Healy, Senior Director of Meat Industry Ireland said: MII members do not underestimate the challenge Covid-19 poses and acted quickly and comprehensively to address the situation over two months ago.

This is cause for encouragement but not complacency and our aim is to take all the appropriate measures we can to minimise the chances of more cases developing. We welcome the HSE guidance note which will assist MII members as they continue to manage the ongoing situation.
The Verkhovna Rada has ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents.

Some 305 deputies voted for bill on ratification (No. 0032) at a plenary meeting on Wednesday.

The Convention guarantees the right of access, upon request, to official documents that are at disposal of state bodies.

The Convention regulates possible restrictions on the implementation of this right, defines the mechanisms for the procedure for access to official documents.

The bill clarifies that Ukraine, as a result of armed aggression of the Russian Federation, does not guarantee the full implementation of the obligations stipulated by the convention in the temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Crimea and Sevastopol until the constitutional system of Ukraine is fully restored in these territories.

The Convention was adopted in the city of Troms (Norway) on June 18, 2009. Currently, it has been signed by 17 member states of the Council of Europe, and ratified by nine member states of the Council of Europe. A representative of Ukraine signed the convention on April 12, 2018.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of destroying live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them and said that America stands with over 120 nations, including Australia, who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus.

China banned beef exports and levied 80 per cent trariffs on barley from Australia as the country supported international call for an investigation into the pandemic that has claimed over 324,000 lives in the world and infected over 4.9 million people worldwide.

Pompeo said that China threatened Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus.

"That's not right. We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, we can understand what went wrong and save lives now and in the future," Pompeo told reporters at a news conference.

"The Chinese Communist Party's response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan have accelerated our more realistic understanding of communist China. The party chose to destroy live virus samples instead of sharing them or asking us to help secure them," he said.

"The People's Liberation Army has claimed more features in the South China seas international waters, sank a Vietnamese fishing boat, threatened Malaysian energy prospector, and declared a unilateral fishing ban. The United States condemns these unlawful acts," he said.

He said that China also chose to pressure the World Health Organisation's Director General Tedros Adhanom into excluding Taiwan from this week's assembly in Geneva.

"I understand that Dr. Tedros' unusually close ties to Beijing started long before this current pandemic, and that is a deeply troubling," he said.

Pompeo said Chinese President Xi Jinping claimed this week that China is active with openness, transparency, and responsibility.

"I wish it were so. It's been 142 days since doctors at Wuhan Central Hospital first started sharing information about a SARS-like virus, and yet today as we also here this morning, Beijing continues to deny investigators access to relevant facilities, to withhold live virus samples, to censor discussions of the pandemic within China and much, much more," he said.

"The Chinese Communist Party wants to demonstrate real openness, real transparency it could easily hold press conference like this very press conference and allow reporters to ask him anything that they would like," he added.

Pompeo said that China's contributions dividing the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world.

This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives. More than 36 million Americans have lost their jobs since March. Globally, 300,000 lives could be as much as $9 trillion dollars according to our estimates, cost imposition on the world by China's failures.

"The United States has responded with about $10 billion to benefit the international response everything from vaccine research to funding for preparedness efforts and humanitarian aid that is compared to a promise of USD 2 billion from the Chinese. I look forward to seeing them fulfill that USD 2 billion commitment," he said.

Pompeo said the media's focus on the current pandemic risks missing the bigger picture of the challenge that is presented by the Communist Party of China.

Noting that China has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian regime, a communist regime since 1949, he said that for several decades the US thought the regime would become more like America through trade, scientific exchanges, diplomatic outreach, letting them in the WTO as a developing nation.

"That didn't happen," he said.

"We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations. The whole world is waking up to that fact. Pew reported I think it was this past week that 66 per cent of Americans have an unfavourable view of China. That is a direct result of the Chinese Communist Party's choices, which are influenced by the nature of the regime, and the nature of that regime is not new," Pompeo said.
Nobody knows maybe the 1441 AH which is equivalent to the 2020 Gregorian calendar is the last Ramadan that some of us will witness in their life. Not all of us will live long to see 2021. Should this be our last Ramadan, we pray to Almighty Allah to accept it from us.

It pains the 1.8 billion Muslims across the world to fast the holy month of Ramadan with almost all the mosques in all counties shut down from performing the congregational prayers because of the scourge of coronavirus pandemic. We welcomed the 2020 glorious month of Ramadan in abnormal and sad circumstances that forbid us from congregating in the mosque to worship Allah, our Lord and sustainer with whose permit we exist.

"Public health measures that require social distancing are at odds with Iftar, the nightly breaking of the fast and the usual mosque gatherings with the community." Congregational prayers and mosques are to a Muslim what good health is to a living organism. Without a mosque, the life of a Muslim is severed and incomplete.

Muslims in northern Nigeria fast the 2020 Ramadan under the most hardest condition. In the north-east, government has intensified the war against Boko Haram with heavy aerial bombardments and ground attacks. The military offensive has disrupted normal life in the affected areas. In the north western States of Katsina, Kaduna and Sokoto, and Plateau north in plateau state, north central Nigeria, soulles bandits have made lives of unsuspecting inhabitants of some towns unbearable by extortion of food items, rape, abduction, arson and reckless murder.

The hardship, the outbreak of Covid-19 and the intolerable heat weather in a fasting period have caused the massive death of mostly aged people, wide spread hunger, despondency and anxiety among the people. We never experienced this hardship in the past.

The substantial chunks of Muslim families in the north are poor daily wage earners who live from hand to mouth. The agonizing condition under which our people fast this year is unprecedented. You imagine how can a fasting daily wage earner, who has no stable and sustainable income, cope with life under lockdown.

The S.A to the president on Special Investment Program (SIP) Sama'ila Ahmed told the BBC that the program could capture and cater for a paltry 2.9 million individuals and poor households in the country. He however gave the number of Nigerians who need such help to a whopping 86 million people. The National Bureau of Statics (NBS) later corroborates Ahmed's statement in its report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019. It reported that 40% which represents a little above 82 million Nigerians live on less than $1 (N381) a day. Majority of this number lives in Muslims populated States in the North.

There is truth in the saying that there is a silver lining in the COVID-19 lockdown. To some people, even though they are few in number, fasting under lockdown opens a peak productive window for them. In other words, it accords them with a quality time to work from home and focus on useful things in life.

The lockdown provides few people with ample time and opportunity to do a lot of self-reflection, read, memorize, and reflect on the verses of the Qur'an. They enjoy peace and seclusion in times of economic doldrums.

Today is the 27th day of Ramadan. We have 2 or 3 days at most to complete 29 or 30 days of fasting. May Allah accept our act of sincere prayer and worship. May we also witness next Ramadan in robust health, Iman, peace and with good sustainance.

  @..
Latest updates on lockdown 4.0 and coronavirus : Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Twitter on Wednesday that domestic flights will be resumed in the country from May 25 but in a calibrated manner. Taking to Twitter Puri said that that all airlines have been alerted to make necessary preparations to begin operations.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday that as many as 42,298 people have recovered from coronavirus infection in India so far, while the total count of active cases in the country stands at 61,149. Seven states- Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh account for over 80% of total COVID-19 cases in India. The states total count of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 88,514, which is 82.9% of the total 1,06,750 cases in the country. Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases, Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448, Gujarat at 12,140, Delhi-10,554, Rajasthan-5,845, Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and Uttar Pradesh at 4,926.,

India's total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,06,750 on Wednesday including 61,149 active cases, and 3,303 deaths, according to latest figures update by the Union Health Ministry on its website. The country recorded 5,611 new COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day jump so far.

Also Read: Coronavirus: COVID-19 cases surge to 1,06,750 ; 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

9:30 PM: Centre to exempt pregnant women, disabled people from attending office

The Ministry of Personnel on Wednesday said that all central government departments as well as State and Union Territory governments will be asked to exempt pregnant women, people with disabilities and those with comorbid conditions from coming to office during the coronavirus pandemic.

Jitendra Singh, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, on Wednesday said that a circular to this effect has been issued and is expected to be followed by different ministries as well as State and Union Territory governments.

Meanwhile, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has exempted pregnant women officials and staff members from attending office.

8:20 PM: SpiceJet lauds govt's decision to recommence domestic flight operations from May 25

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, "This resumption will go a long way in lifting the overall economic sentiment in the country. While the SOP for resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport."

8:00 PM: IndiGo to resume flight operations in a "phased manner" from May 25

Gurgaon-headquartered IndiGo, India's largest airline by passengers carried and fleet size, said that it will be resuming flight operations from May 25, 2020 in a "phased manner".

"We are fully prepared with safety measures with respect to COVID-19 across all our passenger and cargo interfaces during their journey with us. We will share further details and guidelines for passengers, in line with the advisory from the authorities over the next few days," IndiGo said in a press statement.

Welcoming the government's decision to resume flight operations, the carrier said, "We are excited to be back in operations, connecting our customers to people and places they love."

7:20 PM: Coronavirus in Punjab: 3 new positive cases of COVID-19 reported today, tally rises to 2,005

3 new positive cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Punjab today. Total number of positive cases rises to 2005, including 173 active cases, 1794 cured and 38 deaths: State Health Department.

6:50 PM: US President Trump launches fresh attack at China on 'mass worldwide killing'

US president Donald Trump has alleged that the "incompetence of China" is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic's "mass worldwide killing".

"Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people. Please explain to this dope that it was the "incompetence of China", and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!," he tweeted.

6:20 PM: "In India, 0.2 death per lakh population due to COVID-19," says Lav Agarwal

Lav Agarwal, Union Health Ministry Joint Secretary, on Wednesday said that 4.2 people per lakh population across the world have died due to COVID-19. In India it is 0.2 deaths per lakh population.

"If the total population of the world is taken into account then 62 people per lakh population have been affected due to COVID-19. In India, 7.9 people per lakh population of this country got affected due to COVID," he added.

6:00 PM: COVID-19 testing, treatment to be done free of cost in UP

Uttar Pradesh principal secretary (health) Amit Mohan Prasad on Wednesday said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given direction that testing and treatment for COVID-19 will be done free of cost.

"Anyone having a symptom of Covid-19 can contact any government district hospital for a test. If your reports come positive then your treatment will be done without any charges," Prasad told reporters on Wednesday.

5.29 pm: Kerala coronavirus cases: 24 more infected, total count-666

Kerala recorded 25 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, out of these 12 cases are from abroad, 8 from Maharashtra, 3 from Tamil Nadu. 5 people recovered today. There are 161 active cases in the state, while 74,398 people are under observation.

5.15 pm: Tamil Nadu coronavirus updates: State govt and local manufacturer develop transparent masks

The Tamil Nadu government and a mask manufacturer in Coimbatore have developed transparent masks to solve the problem of opaque masks which don't enable lip reading making it difficult for hearing impaired. Seen in Pics- masks being distributed to family and friends of the hearing impaired so that they can read their lips and communicate.

5.06 pm: Coronavirus live updates Domestic flights to resume in India from May 25

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced on Twitter on Wednesday that domestic flights will be resumed in the country from May 25 but in a calibrated manner. Taking to Twitter Puri said that that all airlines have been alerted to make necessary preparations to begin operations.

4.59 pm: 42,298 recoveries from COVID-19 in India so far, says Health Ministry

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Wednesday that as many as 42,298 people have recovered from coronavirus infection in India so far, while the total count of active cases in the country stands at 61,149.

Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020.



All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May.



SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI.  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 20, 2020

4.55 pm: India fights coronavirus

Moderate cases can be dischareed in 10 days: government

4.53 pm: COVID-19 cases in containment zones

States asked to strictly monitor containment zones, Health Ministry

4.50 pm: Coronavirus tests in India

Over 1 lakh tests conducted for 2nd day in a row in India, 555 COVID-19 labs in the country, says the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

4.47 pm: Health Ministry coronavirus update

2.5 lakh special COVID beds available in India. Focus on prevention till vaccine found, says Health Ministry.

4.45 pm: India'r recovery rate from COVID-19

Nearly 40% recovery rate in India. Only 2.9 cases need oxygen support: Health Ministry

4.42 pm: 7.9 coronavirus cases per lakh in India, says Health Ministry

The Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday that India has 7.9 lakh cases per lakh in India, while the world average stands at 62 per lakh. The ministry added that India's fatality rate is only 0.2%.

4.39 pm: Govt begins briefing on fight against coronavirus

Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in the government's briefing on COVID-19 informed that recovery rate in the country has been satisfactory. He added that a total of 42,298 people have recovered so far.

4.35 pm: Migrant crisis in India: Cabinet gives nod to allocation of free food grains to migrants

The Cabinet, presided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its nod to nearly 8 crore migrants who don't have a ration card. Each person will be provided with 5kg of wheat or rice per month for 2 months till June 2020, according to a report in the Economic Times.

4.28 pm: Himachal Pradesh COVID-19 updates: 12 new cases reported on Wednesday

Himachal Pradesh registered 12 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the state's tally to 105. These 12 people had recently returned from Mumbai and were among the 697 people who had returned to the state from Mumbai on a special train on May 18. Himachal Pradesh's total count of coronavirus cases now stands at 105, with 4 deaths. (PTI)

4.19 pm: Accept coronavirus as part of life, says Sharad Pawar

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday that as the COVID-19 pandemic is not likely be eliminated completely in the immediate future, it has become essential to accept it as a part of life while returning to normalcy. Pawar as quoted by News18 added that it is necessary to aware the masses about healthcare.

4.13pm: Coronavirus outbreak in Delhi: Positive case in Health Ministry

A COVID-19 positive case has been found in Directorate General of Health Services in medical education division of Union Health Ministry, Nirman Bhawan, informed the ministry officials adding that the entire area will be sanitised as per proper protocols. It further stated that the contact tracing of the infected employee has been initiated.(ANI)

4.04 pm: Rajasthan records 395 fresh coronavirus cases in 24 hours

Rajasthan reported 395 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, taking the state's tally to 12,140 along with 719 deaths, according to Union Health Ministry. The total recoveries in the state now stand at 5,043. Ahmedabad is the worst-hit city in Gujarat with 1,298 cases, Surat with 338, Vadodara-188, Rajkot-40, and Bhavnagar-32.

3.57 pm: Lockdown relaxation: Home Ministry grants exemption to hold board exams for classes 10th and 12th

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has granted exemption from lockdown to hold board exams for classes 10th and 12th.

3.45 pm: Corona updates: Let the buses standing on borders run, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urges govt

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday appealed to the Centre to give permission to run the buses standing at Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border. She added, "If you want to use BJP party flags and stickers on buses then do it. If you want to say that you made those buses available, do it. But let the buses run." (ANI reports)

3.35 pm: 250 buses for migrants return from Delhi-Noida border

Over 250 buses arranged by the Congress party to ferry migrant workers have returned from the Delhi-Noida border after the UP govt denied permission. Rajiv Shukla, who was leading the buses to UP from Delhi told India Today that, "We are not doing any politics. If UP government wants to paste photos of their party leaders, put flags on buses, do that, but don't make poor and migrants suffer any more. Over 800 buses are ready to take the migrants but the government should allow us. They are doing politics over poor people."

3.25 pm: Uttarakhand corona news

Nine new cases have been reported in Uttarakhand taking the total to 120 cases.

9 new #COVID19 positive cases reported in Uttarakhand today, 1 cured/discharged. The total number of positive cases in the state rises to 120: Uttarakhand State Control Room for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/vTmcn7pyVp  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

3.20 pm: Migrant crisis in Uttar Pradesh

Rebel Congress MLA Aditi Singh said that when UP looked into the list of buses provided by Congress after the intervention of Priyanka Gandhi, it turned out that many were autorickshaws and some were even two-wheelers. She said that Congress has provided a bogus list and is creating political pressure.

3.10 pm: Coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh

Indore has reported 78 more corona cases in the last 24 hours. Out of the 5,465 cases in the state, Indore has 2,715 cases. So far 105 people have died in Indore.

3.05 pm: Lockdown 4 latest updates

Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik said on Wednesday that a repatriation flight carrying 168 seafarers from Italy landed at Goa International Airport. "All passengers will be screened for COVID-19," he added.

A repatriation flight carrying 168 seafarers from Italy lands at Goa International Airport. "All passengers will be screened for #COVID19," says Goa Airport Director Gagan Malik. pic.twitter.com/LcU1wj8e5Q  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.59 pm: Rajasthan coronavirus cases: 107 more infected

Rajasthan health department said on Wednesday that the state reported 107 fresh COVID-19 cases till 2 pm. With this the total count of coronavirus now stands at 5,952, including 143 deaths.

Rajasthan reports 107 cases of COVID-19 till 2 pm. Total cases in the state stand at 5952, including 143 deaths: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/UB9vBIb2Fx  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.53 pm: Corona updates: State-wise tally

States and UTs with less than 300 cases

Andaman and Nicobar Islands- 33 cases, 0 deaths

Arunachal Pradesh- 1 case, 0 deaths

Assam- 142 cases, 4 death

Chandigarh- 200 cases, 3 death

Chhattisgarh- 101 cases, 0 deaths

Goa- 46 cases, 0 deaths

Himachal Pradesh- 92 cases, 3 death

Jharkhand- 231 cases, 3 deaths

Ladakh- 43 cases, 0 deaths

Manipur- 9 cases, 0 deaths

Meghalaya- 13 cases, 1 death

Puducherry- 18 cases, 1 death

Tripura- 173 cases, 0 deaths

Uttarakhand- 111 cases, 1 death

2.45 pm: COVID-19 Red Zones in India; check full list here

Andaman and Nicobar Island: South Andaman

Andhra Pradesh: Kurnool, Guntur, Nellore, Prakasham, Krishna, YSR, West Godavari, Chittor, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Anantapur

Bihar: Anantapur

Chandigarh: Chandigarh

Chhattisgarh: Korba

Delhi: South, South East, Shahdara, West, North, Central, New Delhi, East, South West

Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Rajkot

Haryana: Noah, Gurugram, Parval, Faridabad

Jammu and Kashmir: Srinagar, Bandipora, Baramulla, Jammu, Udhampur, Kupwada

Karnataka: Bengaluru Urban, Mussoorie, Belagavi

Kerala: Kannur, Ernakulam, Kasaragod, Malapuram, Pathanamthitta

Madhya Pradesh: Indore, Bhopal, Khargaon, Ujjain, Hoshangabad

Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nagpur, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Yavatmal, Aurangabad, Buldhana, Mumbai Suburban, Nashik

Odisha: Khordha

Punjab: SAS Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, Pathankot

Rajasthan: Jaipur, Tonk, Jodhpur, Banswara, Kota, Jhunjhunu, Jaisalmer, Bhilwara, Bikaner, Jalwar, Bharatpur

Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Erode, Vellore, Dindigul, Villupuram, Tirupur, Thani, Namakkal, Chengalpattu, Madurai, Tatikoran, Karur, Virudhunaru, Kanarukuru

Telangana: Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Wrangal Urban, Ranga Reddy, Jogulamba Gadwal, Machhal-Malkarjagiri, Karimnagar, Nirmal

Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Meerut, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Shaharanpur, Shamli, Firozabad, Moradabad

Uttarakhand: Dehradun

West Bengal: Kolkata, Howrah, Madinapur East, 24 Parganas North

2.37 pm: Lockdown relaxation in Delhi

Traffic congestion seen at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Kalindi Kunj area.

Delhi: Traffic congestion seen at Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border in Kalindi Kunj area. #lockdownpic.twitter.com/hVfpyJP92S  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.28 pm: Delhi coronavirus cases jump to 11,088

Delhi Directorate General of Health Services said on Wednesday that the total count of COVID-19 cases has climbed to 11,088 in the national capital, with 534 more people testing positive in the last 24 hours. It added that Delhi has 5,729 active cases and 176 deaths as of date.

Number of #COVID19 cases has reached 11088 in Delhi, with 534 more people testing positive in the last 24 hours. Number of active cases and deaths stands at 5720 and 176 respectively: Delhi Directorate General of Health Services pic.twitter.com/OOtY0MwVwy  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

2.18 pm: Indian Railways in lockdown: Shramik special no longer need permit from receiving states

Indian Railways Executive Director RD Bajpai told ANI that Shramik special trains will no longer need a permit from the receiving states as they ferry the migrants back to their respective home states. Bajpai said that this will cut short the communication time between the states and the decisions can be taken faster. He added that the Indian Railways is running 100 pairs of non-AC trains from June 1.

2.06 pm: COVID-19 in India: Ola to lay-off 1,400 employees

Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said in an email to cab aggregator's employees that the company is laying off 1,400 employees from financial services, rides, and food business as the revenues have plunged by 95% in the past 2 months due to COVID-19 induced lockdown. (PTI)

Read more here: Coronavirus impact: Ola lays off 1,400 employees as revenue dips 95% in two months

1.57 pm: Punjab corona lockdown updates: Restaurants open in Ludhiana, only online delivery allowed

Food shops in Punjab's Ludhiana have been permitted to open, but they will only be permitted to take online orders. A samosa shop owner told ANI that opening shops will give some relief but added that he has only 20% work as compared to before.

Punjab: Food shops open for online delivery in Ludhiana amid #COVID19 lockdown. Vipin Sharma, Samosa shop owner says,"We have some relief that we will be able to meet few expenses due to this. But we only have 20% work as compared to earlier days. Only online delivery is allowed" pic.twitter.com/5M7GVW0ofw  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1.49 pm: Global updates on coronavirus: Highlights

United States crosses 90,000 deaths and registers over 1.5 million cases.

China imposes lockdown on city of Shulan after coronavirus cases rise.

Iran sees jump in infections after easing lockdown restrictions.

Germany and France propose 500 billion euro fund for hard-hit EU nations.

1.39 pm: Jammu and Kashmir coronavirus death toll rises to 18

A 40-year-old woman hailing from Anantnag, who had tested COVID-19 positive, died at a hospital, taking the death toll in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir to 18. The woman died around 11 pm on Tuesday night and was admitted on April 6.

1.28 pm: Indian Railways status: Indian Railways has run 1,773 Shramik special trains so far, with 204 on 19 May alone, says Piyush Goyal

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday that the Indian Railways has run 1,773 Shramik Special trains so far, with 204 of them run in a single day, on May 19 to ferry migrants stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown. Taking to Twitter Goyal said, "The Railways had promised to run 200 Shramik Special trains for workers yesterday, exceeding that limit we ran a record 204 trains in the service of passengers. A total of 1,773 Shramik Special trains have been operated so far by the Indian Railways to send workers to their home states."

    ,     200     ,            Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 19, 2020

1.19 pm: COVID-19 pandemic: Seven worst-hit states in India

Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases

Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448

Gujarat at 12,140

Delhi-10,554

Rajasthan-5,845

Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and

Uttar Pradesh at 4,926

1.13 pm: Chandigarh lockdown 4.0: Golf club reopens

Chandigarh Gold Club reopened on Wednesday, almost 2 months after it was shut due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Chandigarh Golf Club opens after almost two months due to COVID-19 pandemic. Golfer Jeev Milkha Singh says, "I am glad that the golf course is open now. As a precautionary measure, it has been decided that only four people will play at a time. Caddies are not allowed". pic.twitter.com/7wBRXeNgOI  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

1.05 pm: Karnataka coronavirus cases: 63 more infected in the state

Karnataka health department said that the state recorded 63 fresh COVID-19 cases between 5 pm and 12 pm on Wednesday. The total count of coronavirus positive in the state now stands at 1,458, including 864 active cases and 41 deaths, the department added.

63 more #COVID19 cases reported in Karnataka between yesterday 5 pm and 12 pm today. Total number of cases in the state is now at 1458, including 864 active cases & 41 deaths (1 due to 'non-covid' cause): State Health Department pic.twitter.com/96ChD73jTC  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

12.57 pm: COVID-19 vaccine: Oxford drug not able to stop coronavirus infection, says report

The National Institute of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in the United States (US) said in a study published last week that one of the top competitors for COVID-19 vaccine- University of Oxford's candidate has been not been able to prevent the infection. The development came as a big blow to the researchers across the world as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 was seen as the top name in the race but the vaccine is able to reduce the severity of coronavirus infection.

Read more here: Coronavirus vaccine: Oxford vaccine does not stop COVID infection, says report

12.49 pm: Coronavirus cases: State-wise tally; check here

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state in India with 37,136 COVID-19 cases and 1,325 deaths

Tamil Nadu is the second worst-affect state with 12,448 cases and 84 deaths

Gujarat is third on the list with 12,140 cases and 719 deaths

Delhi-10,554 cases and 168 deaths.

Rajasthan- 5,845 cases, 143 deaths

Madhya Pradesh with 5,465 cases, 258 deaths

Uttar Pradesh (UP)-4,926 cases, 123 deaths

Andhra Pradesh-2,532 cases, 52 deaths

Telangana 1,634 cases, 38 deaths

West Bengal-2,961 cases, 250 deaths

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)- 1,317 cases, 17 deaths

Karnataka- 1,397 cases, 40 deaths

Kerala- 642 cases, 4 deaths

Bihar-1,498 cases, 9 deaths

Punjab-2,002 cases, 38 deaths

Haryana-964 cases, 14 deaths

12.42 pm: Coronavirus recoveries: State-wise status

Top 5 states by recovery:

Maharashtra-9,639

Gujarat-5,043

Tamil Nadu-4,895

Delhi-4,750

Rajasthan-3,337

12.35 pm: Coronavirus cases: State-wise status

Five worst-hit states by deaths:

Maharashtra-1,325

Gujarat-719

Madhya Pradesh-258

West Bengal-250

Delhi-168

12.28 pm: Maharashtra cops coronavirus cases

Maharashtra Police told ANI on Wednesday that a total of 1,388 of its personnel are COVID-19 positive including 948 active cases, 428 recovered and 12 deaths.

12.18 pm: COVID-19 vaccine: Hydroxychloroquine research shows promising results in interim study by Telangana govt

An interim report prepared by the Telangana government has shown promising results regarding the efficacy of anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, for preventing coronavirus infection in healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines in the state. (ANI report)

12.09 pm: Andhra Pradesh corona lockdown: Air India flight from London lands at Vijayawada

An Air India flight from UK's London with 145 Indians landed at Vijayawada airport on Wednesday morning.

Andhra Pradesh: An Air India flight from UK's London carrying 145 Indians landed at Vijayawada airport today morning. All passengers went through health screening on arrival. pic.twitter.com/dPe8w1Jvgx  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

12.03 pm: Coronavirus vaccine trial: Chinese scientists develop drug with 'therapeutic effect' on patients

Researchers at Peking University in Beijing, China claim that they have develop a vaccine to fight COVID-19 disease. The drug for which the clinical trial is underway, could reduce recovery time in patients and offers short immunity, as claimed by the university scientists. The vaccine has passed the animal testing stage successfully, Sunney Xie, Director of the university's Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, told AFP. "When we injected neutralising antibodies into infected mice, after five days the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500," he added.

Read more here: Coronavirus cure: Chinese scientists claim this drug can have 'therapeutic effect' on patients

11.56 am: Moderna coronavirus vaccine shows positive results in early tests

US-based biotechnology company Moderna has said that the initial findings of its test for COVID-19 vaccine development have shown positive results. The experimental seems to be safe and is able to set off an immune response against the virus, Moderna said on Monday. The coronavirus vaccine resulted in the production of protective antibodies among a small group of healthy human participants, according to news agency Reuters. Moderna added that the vaccine has been tried on 8 people so far and must now be tested on a larger participant base to know its efficacy in the real world. The vaccine is among over 100 others being developed globally to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Coronavirus update: Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shows positive results in early tests

11.48 am: Corona latest news: Vande Bharat Mission: Repatriation flight reaches Thailand

The Embassy of India in Thailand said on Wednesday that check-in process underway of passengers for the first repatriation flight from Thailand to India, an Air India Bangkok to Delhi flight: Embassy of India in Thailand.

Check-in process underway of passengers for the first repatriation flight from Thailand to India, an Air India Bangkok to Delhi flight: Embassy of India in Thailand #VandeBharatMissionpic.twitter.com/y8ODu7msOm  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

11.37 am: Tamil Nadu lockdown latest news

Migrant workers gather in large numbers at Sundarapuram, Coimbatore to collect train passes for today's 'shramik special' trains for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

#WATCH Tamil Nadu: Migrant workers gather in large numbers at Sundarapuram, Coimbatore to collect train passes for today's 'shramik special' trains for Uttar Pradesh & Bihar. pic.twitter.com/49tG73eNUz  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

11.27 am: Corona lockdown updates: Delhi-Noida border still shut

Delhi-Noida border continues to be sealed after the respective state governments allowed the traffic movement in line with the Centre's guidelines issued earlier this week.

11.19 am: Corona tracker India: 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.

11.11 am: Coronavirus outbreak in Assam latest updates: More than 74,000 people reached the state in 2 weeks, says Additional DGP

As many as 74,118 people returned to Assam in a period of 2 weeks, while, 17,488 left the state, said Additional DGP GP Singh on Wednesday.

In the last fortnight, Assam has received 74118 persons travelling back to Assam through all means of transportation, while 17488 persons have left Assam. @CMOfficeAssam@assampolice@himantabiswa@DGPAssamPolice  GP Singh (@gpsinghassam) May 19, 2020

11.06 am: Andhra Pradesh coronavirus cases: 68 more infected in 24 hours

Andhra Pradesh health department said on Wednesday that the state recorded 68 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 2,407. (ANI)

11.01 am: Coronavirus updates: Over 1 lakh samples tested in last 24 hours

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Wednesday that 1,08,121 samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in India. It added that the total number of samples tested till 9 am on Wednesday stands at 25,12,388.(ANI reports)

10.56 am: Madhya Pradesh lockdown 4.0

Tourist guides, Gypsy drivers of Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni face hardships due to coronavirus induced lockdown. Hemraj Dhurve, a Gypsy driver, says, "I used to earn over Rs 8,000 per month but my source of income dried up due to closure of the park in view of COVID-19 pandemic".

Madhya Pradesh: Tourist guides, Gypsy drivers of Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni face hardships due to #lockdown. Hemraj Dhurve, a Gypsy driver, says, "I used to earn over Rs 8,000 per month but my source of income dried up due to closure of the park in view of COVID-19 pandemic". pic.twitter.com/4gmSotxh49  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.48 am: Lockdown in Noida: Markets to reopen, follow odd-even rule

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has issued new guidelines allowing markets to reopen on odd-even basis following social distancing and necessary precautions. The guidelines are applicable only outside containment zones. Restaurants, and sweet shops are permitted to open but only home delivery is allowed.

10.39am: Goa coronavirus cases: 2 more test positive

Goa recorded 2 fresh COVID-19 cases on Wednesday taking the tally to 41. An Indian Coast Guard officer and a woman tested positive in the state. The officer was part of an 11-member team that came to Goa from Mumbai. The tests of 10 other members of the team came negative, however, they were quarantined.

10.28 am: Coronavirus in India- 7 states account for 80% of total cases in India

Seven states- Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh account for over 80% of total COVID-19 cases in India. The states total count of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 88,514, which is 82.9% of the total 1,06,750 cases in the country. Maharashtra is the worst-hit with 37,136 cases, Tamil Nadu on second spot with 12,448, Gujarat at 12,140, Delhi-10,554, Rajasthan-5,845, Madhya Pradesh-5,465, and Uttar Pradesh at 4,926.

10.19 am: Jharkhand liquor shops: Alcohol stores reopen in Ranchi

Liquor shops reopened in Ranchi on Wednesday. Jharkhand has imposed 75% value added tax (VAT) on alcohol including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

Jharkhand: Liquor shops re-open in Ranchi, during the fourth phase of lockdown. The state has levied 75% Value Added Tax on liquor including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). pic.twitter.com/T9MW2ORzzf  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.15 am: Corona news: 26 scientists among 150 Indians returning to India from South Africa

26 Indian scientists who were stranded in South Africa's Cape Town due to coronavirus induced lockdown will be heading back to India this week. The scientists are among 150 Indian citizens headed back home on a South African Airways (SAA) flight that will leave Johannesburg on Friday for Mumbai and Delhi. The scientists have been on a mission to Antarctica and got stuck in South Africa 3 months ago after the lockdown was imposed.

10.09 am: Coronavirus live updates: Migrant gives birth in train

A migrant, headed to Sitamarhi in Bihar from Surat in Gujarat, gave birth in train on Tuesday.

Woman migrant who was going from Surat (Guj) to Sitamarhi (Bihar)gave birth to child in train y'day.Doctors who attended her at Danapur station say,'child was delivered with help of passengers.We clamped baby's umbilical cord when train stopped here.Both mother&child are healthy' pic.twitter.com/6OqM1djPGb  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

10.03 am: Indian Railways status: Railways to run 200 non-AC trains from June 1

Indian Railways is planning to start 200 new passenger trains from June 1, 2020, according to a statement by the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday adding that the routes and schedules for the trains will be made public soon. These trains will be non-AC, and their tickets will be available online exclusively. The Railway Ministry said in its statement that ticket bookings will begin in a few days.

Read more here: Indian Railways to run 200 non-AC trains from June 1, online booking to commence soon

9.55 am: Coronavirus live updates

US, China join in calling for a probe into the global handling of COVID-19 pandemic as an EU resolution won endorsement at the World Health Organisation's annual meeting. This was soon after the US President Donald Trump warned to pull out of WHO.

9.45 am: Coronavirus global updates: US records 1,500 deaths in 1-day, global toll past 3.23 lakh

Over 48.5 lakh people have been reported to have been infected with COVID-19 globally and 3.23 lakh have died due to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker. The United States which is the worst-hit nation in the world recorded 1,500 new deaths in the last 24 hours, Britain's toll neared 43,000, the worst in Europe. The total count of coronavirus cases in the US crossed 1.5 million and total deaths surpassed 90,000, according to a Reuters tally. President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his use of anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine to ward off coronavirus despite medical warnings.

9.38 am: Mumbai the worst-hit city in India

Mumbai recorded 1,411 fresh coronavirus cases and 43 deaths in the last 24 hours taking the city's tally past 22,000.

9.29 am: Maharashtra coronavirus cases

Maharashtra remains on edge with the highest number of COVID-19 cases in India which jumped to 37,136 on Wednesday along with 1,325 deaths. The state recorded 2,217 new virus cases and 76 deeaths in the last 24 hours

9.20 am: Coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours

The country recorded 5,611 new COVID-19 cases and 140 deaths in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day jump, taking the total tally to 1,06,750, according to latest update by the Union Health Ministry.

9.15 am: India coronavirus cases

The total count of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,06,750 on Wednesday including 61,149 active cases, 42,297 recoveries, 1 migrated, and 3,303 deaths, according to latest figures update by the Union Health Ministry on its website.

9.00 AM: 'Govt wants us to go home and expose our families to risk'

"We were working to help the country fight against COVID-19, thinking it's our duty but what are we getting in return? We didn't complain about low-quality PPEs or less masks but now Govt wants us to go home and expose our families to risk," says Neelam Panwar, nurse at Gandhi Medical College in MP.

Central Government has issued a guideline according to which, those who are working wearing personal protective equipment are not at risk and do not need to stay at quarantine centres: Neelam Panwar, a nurse at Gandhi Medical College in Bhopal #MadhyaPradesh (19.05.2020) pic.twitter.com/AUojL2fho9  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2020

8.43 PM: PM interacts with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. "In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives. I congratulate all the beneficiaries and their families. I also pray for their good health," he adds.

I appreciate our doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat. Their efforts have made it the largest healthcare programme in the world. This initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2020

8.30 AM: Passenger train services to resume from June 1

The routes and schedules for these trains will be made public soon, the ministry further stated. These will be non-AC trains, tickets for which will be available exclusively online. Booking of tickets will commence in a few days, Railway Ministry said in its statement.

Also read: Indian Railways to run 200 non-AC trains from June 1, online booking to commence soon
Norwegian Air has secured a 221million state-backed loan after completing a huge refinancing that virtually wiped out existing shareholders.

The budget airline will now go into hibernation for a year, cutting staff, grounding or returning most of its fleet, and only flying between Scandinavian countries.

The Covid-19 outbreak has brought flights to a standstill as countries scramble to contain the virus.

Loan deal: Norwegian Air will now go into 'hibernation' for a year, cutting staff, grounding or returning most of its fleet, and only flying between Scandinavian countries

Ryanair and British Airways are among the airlines planning mass job cuts, while Easyjet has secured a 600million loan from the Treasury.

Although the money from the Norwegian government will help in the coming months, the company has warned it could need more.

And it had already been given 24.5million at an earlier stage in the crisis. To receive the latest loan, Norwegians bondholders, bankers and aircraft lessors took control of the company through a debt restructuring known as a debt-for-equity swap.

It sold 400m new shares at 8p each, raising 32million.

It was in a precarious position after it rapidly over-expanded from being a European budget airline to offering transatlantic flights for 150.

Flights using Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes were disrupted by problems with cracks in blades in the engines, which were supplied by Rolls-Royce.

And Norwegian was also affected by the worldwide grounding of Boeings 737 Max planes over safety fears following two deadly crashes.
The Australian share market recovered from sharp early losses to post a fourth straight session in the black, buoyed by an uptick for US futures.

The benchmark ASX 200 closed 0.24 per cent, or 13.5 points, higher at 5573, gaining 65 points after slumping nearly 1 per cent in the first 15 minutes of trade. It was the bourses highest close since 11 March.

The index has now increased 22.6 per cent since hitting a bottom on 23 March.

It looked like being a soft session as global sentiment reversed on fading optimism around Modernas COVID-19 vaccine tests.

CommSec Capital Markets Analyst James Tao said the indexs heavyweight financial and material sectors led the recovery after struggling early on, helped along by US futures.

It was not a huge day in terms of news  but weve also seen Asian markets improve which seems to have been enough, Mr Tao said.

The market tends to lean towards optimism over pessimism at the moment.

Volumes were 922 million trades, slightly higher than the average of the previous two weeks.

The big miners and banks struggled early but trimmed losses to help the index into positive territory by early afternoon.

BHP and Rio Tinto still finished 0.94 per cent and 0.34 per cent lower respectively, though Fortescue Metals touched a new record high of $13.98 on the way to closing 0.22 per cent higher. The outlook for iron ore exports is bullish.

Gold miner Evolution also set a new intra-day record, nudging $6.17 before closing 0.16 per cent higher at $6.09.

The tech sector was strong throughout the session and led gainers with a collective rise of 2.17 per cent.
The county has been trying to unload this property for a long time. It will have to wait some more.
Shankari Sundararaman By

As the onslaught of Covid-19 rages across the world, Southeast Asia is addressing the pandemic from a domestic and regional perspective. While there have been accusations and counter-accusations elsewhere, Southeast Asia, through ASEAN and its dialogue partners, have made efforts to address the pandemic at the multilateral level. Covid-19 has laid tremendous stresses on a highly globalised world, pushing countries to adapt to a new normal. While several countries have opted for nationwide lockdowns and social distancing norms domestically, it is also critical to understand the regional efforts.

Southeast Asia is driven by the official processes of the ASEAN multilateral frameworks regionally. The core underpinnings of regionalism are based on a series of well-entrenched official practices, carried out through nearly 1,500 meetings of officials and diplomats annually, who run the multilateral processes related to the workings of the organisation. These annual interactions have been set aside because of the spread of the pandemic.

One of the most onerous tasks has been for Vietnam, the Chair of ASEAN for the year 2020. Not only has Vietnam had to handle the outbreak of the pandemic domestically, it has also had to orchestrate the ASEAN responses and continue to look at addressing joint approaches with its extended dialogue partners, including major players such as the US and China. Vietnams objective as ASEAN Chair has been to focus on promoting the groups collective response at the regional level.

These responses relate to three core areasfirst, information sharing was critical to address the number of cases and the provisions for treatment of the infected; second, ensuring the implementation of strictures that helped in the prevention of movement at national borders and ports of entry; third, addressing the evacuation and return of citizens who were stranded in other countries within Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

ASEANs responses are on two broad parallelsat the intra-ASEAN level among the member countries and at the regional level with its dialogue partners. At the intra-ASEAN level, there have been a series of meetings to address the pandemic. In February 2020, the ASEAN Defence Ministers issued a joint statement, highlighting the coronavirus outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) endorsing the WHO. It called for promoting defence cooperation, especially through military medical collaboration. More importantly, the joint statement sought to reinforce the spirit of a cohesive and responsive ASEAN Community.

This was followed by an ASEAN working group meeting on 31 March 2020, which focused on measures to address the spread of Covid-19. On 1 April 2020, the ASEAN-US meeting, through video conferencing, was a critical step in reinvigorating their ties. The US gave $18.3 million in assistance to the ASEAN region to fight the outbreak. Southeast Asia as a region has faced health and humanitarian issues and has received $3.5 billion in assistance from the US over a period of two decades. Apart from the financial assistance, the US and ASEAN have attempted to exchange information through the workings of agencies such as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to address best practices and options during the pandemic.

On 14 April 2020, a special ASEAN Summit on Covid-19 was convened to address regional responses to the pandemic. Aimed at directing the future course of action, member states discussed options to support one another in ensuring a steady supply of medical equipment, especially the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line medical workers. The summit also addressed concerns of uninterrupted supply of pharmaceutical products and medicines. Shortages of medicines and food supplies are critical concerns among all nations, but for the ASEAN region where economic disparities divide the members, this concern critically addresses regional developmental gaps.

The special summit was closely followed by the ASEAN+3 meeting with dialogue partners across the East Asian regionChina, Japan and South Korea. This meetings core agenda was procuring a continuous flow of merchandise and suppliesboth medical and food. One of the concerns of the ASEAN+3 meeting was the impact Covid-19 could have on the socio-economic situation within countries of the region. Concerns relating to political instability due to socio-economic factors in the region are critical for these nations.

Even within the context of addressing the pandemic there has been increased reference by members of parliament among the ASEAN nations to ensure human rights remains at the forefront of any government action directed to address the pandemic. Promoting the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management was seen as an effective measure to coordinate the activities through intergovernmental agencies of the region.

Finally, the meeting also addressed the need for joint funding for the region to ensure members were able to access funds during this crucial time. ASEANs record of success on issues of non-traditional security has been more effective than on traditional security matters. The gap between policy and implementation will need to be addressed properly.

Shankari Sundararaman

Professor at School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi

(shankari@mail.jnu.ac.in)
Hertz and Enterprise are both cutting back on the water used to wash their rental fleets. (Sam Craft / Paris (Texas) News)

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that pet grooming and training services as well as all car washes would be allowed to open immediately.

Customers can drop off and pick up their pets outside the store, but like other retail shops only employees will be allowed to enter the building, Garcetti said.

Mobile pet grooming services must follow physical distancing protocol, he added. The mayor reiterated the importance of staying home, practicing social distancing, hand washing and wearing face coverings.

"The more that you keep your physical distance, the quicker we'll be able to return to even more spaces," he said, adding that studies indicate that the virus' spread could be slowed just from people covering their faces in public.

On average, he said, the city has had about 940 cases each day for the last seven days.

But while the number of cases is staying steady, Tuesday marked "the second-highest number of deaths that we have seen."

"So anybody who thinks we are out of the woods we are not," Garcetti said.

Los Angeles County officials newest goal is to more fully reopen the economy by July 4, officials said Tuesday.

The mission is to safely reopen retail businesses, restaurants and malls. But getting there will be slow going.

We have to do a lot of things right so we can actually get to that date, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. I think the reality is that we are going to really aim together to get there as quickly as possible, but were going to pay attention to the data and science.




Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VNA)



Speaking highly of Vietnams success in the fight against the pandemic, Di Maio thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for providing valuable support for Italy in difficult times, saying that it is an act of friendship and solidarity between the two nations.

Minh, for his part, affirmed that Vietnam will continue partnering with Italy and the international community in the fight against the pandemic.

He thanked Italy for creating favourable conditions for the repatriation of Vietnamese citizens during the pandemic, and wished that the two Governments would continue working closely together to support their citizens in the time ahead.

Both sides also highlighted the significance of the bilateral strategic partnership and agreed to facilitate all-level visits when the situation returns to normal.

They vowed to strengthen consultation and coordination mechanisms to effectively direct the bilateral cooperation in the new period, tap the potential of partnership in fields of demand such as economy, trade, science-technology, and culture-education.

Minh suggested that Italy continue backing ties between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), particularly tapping the benefits brought about by the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement in the near future.

The two sides pledged to continue working closely together on international issues and step up links between ASEAN and Italy during 2020 when Vietnam serves as Chair of the ASEAN and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020 - 2021 tenure.

Deputy PM Minh also invited Di Maio to pay an official visit to Vietnam. The Italian diplomat accepted the invitation with pleasure./.
Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given the approval to enable additional funding of up to Rs. three lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers by way of "Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme." Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee coverage to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs. three lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA borrowers, in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility.For this purpose, corpus of Rs. 41,600 crore shall be provided by Government of India spread over the current and the next three financial years.

Union Cabinet has given its approval to the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to launch a new Special Liquidity Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) to improve liquidity position of the NBFCs/HFCs. The direct financial implication for the Government is Rs. 5 crore, which may be the equity contribution to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Beyond that, there is no financial implication for the Government until the Guarantee involved is invoked.

Union Cabinet has approved the Sovereign portfolio guarantee of up to 20% of first loss for purchase of Bonds or Commercial Papers (CPs) with a rating of AA and below (including unrated paper with original/ initial maturity of up to one year) issued by NBFCs/ MFCs/Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) through an extension of the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS).

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Photo credit: NurPhoto - Getty Images

Researchers have used the beer app Untappd to follow the movements of military and intelligence personnel worldwide.

Using app data, researchers have uncovered trips to sensitive places including Guantanamo Bay and Camp Peary, Virginia.

Researchers have also discovered sensitive data that could be exploited, including photos of Department of Defense documents, debit card numbers, and military IDs.

A beer networking app with millions of followers inadvertently allowed security researchers to track military and intelligence personnel, including at a top secret CIA facility.

Researchers with the group Bellingcat discovered check-ins at places as diverse as the Pentagon, Germany, and Greenland. The researchers also discovered shared photos that included shots of government ID cards, documents, and military hardware. The data could be used to reconstruct travel and work habits of military and intelligence personnel, including precise locations.

The beer rating app Untappd has a big following in the U.S. and Europe, and is used by beer drinkers to discover new bars, breweries, and beers. Users rate beers, unlock badges, get directions to local events, and most importantly share that information with others. Untappd has 8 million users, including those in armed forces and intelligence agencies worldwide.

Unfortunately, according to researchers, users sometimes share too much information, and the app shares too much about them.

Researcher Foeke Postma documents how he was able to collect data from Untappd . Using data collected by the app, Postma was able to follow the movements of users military and intelligence personnel, typically through check-ins at bars or breweries near their workplacesand even at a secret CIA base.

In one instance, Postma was able to track an individual working for U.S. intelligence all the way to Camp Peary, Virginia. Nicknamed The Farm, Camp Peary is a CIA facility used for field training and allegedly as a hub in the transport of suspected terrorists. The individual shared a photo of a beer that Postma was able to geolocate to a specific building at Camp Peary, pinpointing the exact location it was taken. Other individuals shared photos of beers that included pictures of government identification cards, the numbers on debit cards, and government documents that were best left out of the picture.

Story continues

One of the most fascinating uses for Untappd data: using user check-ins to discover non-military locations they have in common. An intelligence agency could, for example, locate bars frequented by service members near military bases, discover the most popular beer there, and then send spies to ingratiate themselves with those personnel, ordering their favorite beerand hopefully getting someone to spill secrets.

Like many social media sites, Untappd can serve as a collection point for internet researchers like Bellingcat or rival intelligence agencies seeking valuable information. Social networks collect more information than users are often aware of, and that data can be used by third parties.

Source: Bellingcat

You Might Also Like
Australia will try to increase trade with India when the leaders of both countries meet by video-link next month as relations with China deteriorate.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a virtual summit on June 4 after Mr Morrison's planned visit to India in January was cancelled due to the bushfires crisis.

They are expected to complete a defence agreement on reciprocal access to bases and co-operation on military technology projects, according to The Australian.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (pictured together in 2018) will hold a virtual summit on June 4

A new education partnership is also on the cards as Australia seeks to diversify its international students

A new education partnership is also on the cards as Australia seeks to diversify its international students so the sector is less dependent on China.

About 40 per cent of international students in Australia are Chinese but the Chinese ambassador on Canberra last month threatened they would stop coming as relations sour.

Australian also wants to export more goods to India, including agricultural products such as barley after China imposed an 80 per cent tariff on the grain.

The tariff effectively prevents Australian farmers from selling their produce to their largest market, worth $1.3billion in 2018.

On Tuesday agriculture minister David Littleproud said the federal government is urgently searching for more buyers in Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia and other countries.

US and Australia ships conduct a defence exercise in the South China Sea in April

'We will not take our foot off the accelerator in finding other markets,' Mr Littleproud said.

With 1.3 billion people and an emerging middle class, India represents a huge opportunity for Australian exporters.

China's five-year tariff on barley comes after it finished an 18-month investigation which found that Australia unfairly subsides its farmers.

Trade minister Simon Birmingham has called the claims 'ridiculous' and said Australia will appeal to the World Trade Organisation, a process which could take months or years.

Australia's export markets in 2019 1. China: $135 billion (33% of total Australian exports) 2. Japan: $36 billion (9%) 3. South Korea: $21 billion (5%) 4. United Kingdom: $16 billion (3.8%) 5. United States: $15 billion (3.7%) Source: Worldstopexports.com Advertisement

Critics including Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce have said China is seeking to punish Australia for calling for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China is looking into trade issues in accordance with related laws and WTO rules.

But Beijing has a track record of using putting pressure on exporters during political disagreements.

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.

The latest 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.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded an independent inquiry into the deadly respiratory virus and the World Health Organisation 's handling of the crisis

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.

'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'.

One third of Australia's exports - including iron ore, gas, coal and food - go to China, bringing in around $135billion per year.
It remains unlikely, but hardly unthinkable, that President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence could simultaneously come down with serious cases of covid-19 - especially after two prominent White House aides recently tested positive for the coronavirus. We have already seen one head of government, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, incapacitated by covid-19 and sent to an intensive care unit.

Both men are in high-risk groups: Trump is 73 and overweight; Pence is 60. (Johnson, in contrast, is a comparatively youthful 55.) If they were "ordinary" people, the protocol would be for the two men to place themselves in self-quarantine for two weeks, yet they have not done so.

When Johnson was hospitalized, he deputized his foreign minister to act as prime minister in his absence. Should only the president become ill, then the vice president can take over, following the protocol laid out in the 25th Amendment. But if the vice president becomes incapacitated as well, then we could face a constitutional crisis. It would be triggered by the inadequacies of the Presidential Succession Act passed in 1947 (when there was no vice president, because Harry Truman had succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt).

Article II of the Constitution grants Congress the right to "provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President" - and the 1947 act is the current result. Under its rules, the speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate would be next in the line of succession, followed by the members of the Cabinet, beginning with the secretary of state.

Until 1947, succession had passed through the Cabinet. Congress added the speaker and president pro tem on the grounds that the president should desirably be an elected official, even if not part of the executive branch. This might make sense in theory, but it could be truly terrible in practice. Should both Pence and Trump be unable to serve, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D.-Calif.,) would become president under the act - handing the White House to a different party without an election. Should she be unable or unwilling to serve, then the office would go to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Any effort to transfer power from Trump and Pence to Pelosi would surely inspire legal and political challenges, adding to chaos at precisely the moment the nation desperately needed stability.

To be sure, covid-19 in the White House could precipitate a crisis well before the Succession Act came into play. It is not difficult to imagine that Trump would deny - and denounce as "fake news" - any suggestion that he lacks the ability, in the words of Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution, "to discharge the Powers and Duties" of the presidency. The vice president and Cabinet can, in theory, overrule him and pronounce him unable to serve, invoking the 25th Amendment. But would they? Even if Pence and the Cabinet displayed independence, would Trump simply fire those who "betrayed" him? He couldn't fire the vice president, but the vice president cannot displace a president on his own; he needs the support of the majority of Cabinet officials - and then Congress.

But even if the headstrong president bowed to reality, perhaps as he was about to go on a ventilator, the system would be stretched to the breaking point if Pence faced his own health crisis. If Pence, too, acknowledged his constitutional "inability," then the Succession Act would apply - and its flaws would become apparent.

The act, first of all, bespeaks a simplistic theory of democratic legitimacy that ignores the prominent role that political parties - which have grown far more polarized since 1947 - play in the American system. And it raises vexing legal and practical questions. Most lawyers believe that the speaker would have to resign from the House to serve as president, as a result of the Constitution's obscure incompatibility clause, which says that "no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office." Perhaps, then, Pelosi would waive her right of succession (since, after all, her "term" would probably last only several weeks at most). So then the 86-year-old Grassley could take on the awesome role of president - should he be willing to resign from the Senate.

There is also a serious argument, first laid out by Yale Law School professor Akhil Reed Amar and his brother, Vikram Amar, now dean of the University of Illinois College of Law, in a 1995 essay in the Stanford Law Review, that the Succession Act is unconstitutional. Article II specifically says that Congress - in setting rules of succession - must select an "officer" as a replacement for the president and vice president. Members of Congress, the argument goes, are not "officers," because they are elected officials and not presidential appointees. (Another legal argument holds that the incompatibility clause does not apply if a member of Congress were to serve as president or vice president, because "officers" refers to people appointed by the president, not to the chief executive position itself. Under that interpretation, Pelosi could retain her legislative office, if the act were upheld as constitutional.)

To put it mildly, it is hard to imagine these questions being litigated in real time should Republicans try to prevent Pelosi from taking office, or should she try to serve as president and speaker simultaneously. This month, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh evoked the possibility of "chaos" in a Supreme Court argument about "unfaithful electors" - members of the electoral college who opt for candidates besides the ones they pledged to support. The problem of unfaithful electors is trivial compared with the true chaos possible under the Succession Act.

Constitutionality aside, the Succession Act makes little sense as policy: No one seriously believes that the worthies who serve as speaker of the House and president pro tem of the Senate do so because of a belief by the House or Senate that they have the skill set needed to serve as president. Indeed, Grassley occupies his office exclusively because he is the senior member of the majority.

Just as the United States turns out to have been woefully unprepared to confront the coronavirus, so are we unprepared to confront simultaneous presidential and vice-presidential disability. Returning to the pre-1947 rules, under which the secretary of state would follow the vice president in the line of succession, would make far more sense. The Constitution authorizes - is it too much to suggest that it even places a duty on? - Congress to address the possibility that the president and vice president could both become incapacitated. It should face up to its responsibility, before the grim scenario becomes reality.

- - -

Levinson is a professor of law, and government, at the University of Texas at Austin.
New Delhi, May 20 : A delegation of the Kisan Congress on Wednesday met Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and demanded debt relief, farmer's health insurance, Rs 10,000 per month cash assistance till the next harvest and diesel subsidy to farmers. It also demanded the FCI purchase the crops directly from farmers.

The delegation was led by Kisan Congress Vice Chairman Surender Solanki, along with Manikant Sisodia, Natioanl Joint Coordinator, Sandeep Hooda Vice Chairman Kisan Congress, Haryana, Ajit Rai, National Joint Coordinator, Ajit vashisht Vice Chairman Kisan Congress Delhi and K.D. Dwivedi National Joint Coordinator.

Before meeting the Agriculture Minister, the Kisan Congress delegation sat in in protest in front of Tomar's residence during the day.

Following the protest outside his residence, Tomar agreed to meet the delegation on Wednesday evening.

The Kisan Congress leaders said they have been writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding the farm loan waiver during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Solanki said due to unplanned lockdown, farmers are going through a tough time. "They have to pay heavily for the loans. Farmers are needy, and they provide food to 130 crore Indians, pay taxes and help in our economy," Solanki said.

He said labourers involved in the agriculture sector too are going through the worst situation. "They don't have money to sustain themselves. We urge Modi government to provide them some relief too," he added.
India on Wednesday rejected Nepal's decision to issue a revised map that included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani. In a sharp reaction, Anurag Srivastava, spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said, This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India.

Nepal's Ministry of Land Management officially released the map on Wednesday afternoon. During a televised press conference, Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal unveiled the new map.

Addressing the Parliament on Tuesday, Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there. Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.

A Cabinet meeting chaired by Oli on Monday endorsed the new map incorporating Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as territories of Nepal.

The new map has been updated in the schedule of the Constitution and coat of arms and will be kept at government offices, said Aryal, adding it will be tabled in Parliament for necessary constitution amendment.

The move comes weeks after Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives. He had also summoned the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Kwatra, two days after India inaugurated the link road in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh, raising objections against the move.

India had responded to the objections, saying the road lies completely within the territory of India.

The MEA spokesperson had further added that the road follows the pre-existing route used by pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders, he had said.

India had underlined the fact that it is committed to resolving outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. After the release of the revised map by Nepal on Wednesday, India said it hopes the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue.

Both sides are in the process of scheduling Foreign Secretary level talks to be held once the threat of the pandemic is over, as per India.

The development also comes a day after Oli directed some bizarre allegations against India with regard to the spread of Covid-19 in his country. While addressing the Parliament, Oli said the virus in people who came to Nepal from India was more acute than the one in those who entered from Italy and China.

Interestingly, analysts believe that Oli is using the boundary issue to divert attention from his governments response to this pandemic.

Senior journalist Chandra Kishore told News18, The issue bigger than Kalapani for Nepal at the moment is overcoming Covid-19. This is the need of the hour. The boundary issues like Kalapani are seven decades old. By releasing a new map, the Nepal government is playing the nationalistic card. The boundary issue should be resolved peacefully through diplomatic means.

Last year, following the carving out of the union territory of Ladakh from Jammu and Kashmir, the new map issued by India showed Kalapani as part of Pithoragarh. Meanwhile, on May 8, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 80-km link road on the Kailash Mansarovar route in Pithoragarh leading to Lipulekh.

Nepal has raised objection to the inauguration of the road, saying the "unilateral act" was against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues.

The new Nepalese map includes 335-km land area including Limpiyadhura in the Nepalese territory, officials said, adding technicians at the Survey Department prepared the map with accurate scale, projection and coordinate system.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter. He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.

The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, officials said.

(With inputs from PTI)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday extended a high-profile welcome to US industrial conglomerate Honeywell on the company's opening of its emerging market headquarters and innovation center in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, in a move which highlighted a rare moment of cooperation between the two countries amid escalating diplomatic and trade tensions.

Li's congratulatory letter for the occasion and Honeywell's decision to choose the virus-hit Chinese city for the project underscored China's continuing efforts to expand market access for foreign companies and dealt a major embarrassment for some US officials who are stepping up a push for a China-US decoupling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese analysts noted.

In the letter, the Chinese premier praised Honeywell's efforts in building long-term cooperation with China and reaffirmed that "China's commitment to deepening reform and opening-up and welcoming overseas enterprises to expand investment and cooperation with China will remain unchanged," according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Li also stressed that China welcomes companies from around the world to seize the opportunities in China and pledged that the country will treated all companies, domestic or foreign, as equals.

Honeywell on Tuesday opened its emerging market headquarters and innovation center in Wuhan, as the company seeks to expand its presence in the fast-growing markets in the central and western regions of China.

"Honeywell is willing to expand cooperation with Wuhan, take advantage of the talent and market advantage of the central and western regions in China to boost technological innovation and better service the central and western markets," Zhang Yufeng, president of Honeywell China, was quoted as saying by China News Service.

Zhang noted that Wuhan has an advantageous geographical location and is also a crucial industrial and research base.

Wuhan is a major transportation and manufacturing hub in the central region of China with dozens of top universities. The city is also known for its robust optics and photonics industry.

With the opening of Honeywell's project, Wuhan, which was once under a strict lockdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic, also welcomed the first project by a Fortune 500 company since the city lifted the lockdown in early April.

The project will cover a wide range of operations, including management, research and development and sales for the company's intelligent building technology, specialty materials and technology and other businesses, according to media reports. Honeywell has over 50 wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures in over 30 cities across China, Xinhua reported.

"First, this is a US company voting with its feet and ignoring US government's intervention in normal operations of businesses; Second, this is the [result] of China's constant efforts to build and optimize [business environment]," Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday, adding that the Chinese premier's congratulatory letter might have been aimed at highlighting that.

US officials have been calling for a decoupling between China and the US over the past few years and have stepped up their efforts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic by hyping up temporary disruptions to the supply chain due to the virus as the reason to argue for a separation. Some US officials have even offered to pay the moving cost for US companies to leave China.

Wuhan, in particular, has become a favorite target for some US politicians in their attacks and even conspiracy theories against China over COVID-19. But even before and during the pandemic, the Honeywell project has moved forward, with the company signing the deal with local officials on January 20 and registering a wholly-owned subsidiary in the city's major high-tech development zone in March.

"This is another example that proved that efforts by some politicians in the US to cut off economic and trade cooperation between China and the US were futile," Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Mei said that China welcoming Honeywell to Wuhan also underscored China's measured and balanced approach in rising tensions with the US: hitting the US back in areas in which it "went too far," while preserving the economic and trade link between the two countries.

As the US has recently mounted a crackdown on Chinese telecom firm Huawei aiming to cut off chip supply to the company, China was ready to target several US companies, including Apple, Qualcomm and Boeing in a retaliation against the US, the Global Times reported on Friday.
In a strong reaction to Nepal releasing a new political map showing areas like Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory, India on Wednesday said such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it and asked the neighbouring country to refrain from "unjustified cartographic assertion".

India's reaction came hours after the Nepal government released a revised political and administrative map of the country showing Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory.

"This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

"Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," he said.

Srivastava also asked Nepal to respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, hoping that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues.

"Nepal is well aware of India's consistent position on this matter and we urge the government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

The new map was released by Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal during a televised press conference in Kathmandu.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali last week summoned Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to protest against India inaugurating a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

India has maintained that the road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

Days later, Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to the road at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky expects to reform JSC Ukrzaliznytsia after lockdown.

"I think that in a month we will be able to exit all phases of coronavirus [lockdown due to COVID-19] if there is no second wave, and we will definitely move on to reforming Ukrzaliznytsia," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The president said that the reform in Ukrzaliznytsia is so far "just on paper" and he does not believe that it will happen in the near future.

"They have it on paper. Unfortunately, it is only on paper. Do I believe that this will happen in the near future? No, I do not. Based on what I see there now, it is not yet. It is very complicated, they need a lot of funds. We cannot increase the price of passenger tickets in Ukraine during the most difficult times. By the way, in all of Europe this is a subsidized direction of the railway. Ukrzaliznytsia, for the most part, earns money from freight transportation. Now, because of coronavirus, a lot of things have been stopped," Zelensky said.

The head of the state said that he has no complaints about this against Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy, since he now spends most of his working time on solving the problems caused by COVID-19.

"Krykliy really spends 90% of his time as the infrastructure minister on the issue of coronavirus. There really was a lot of work, and I cannot ask him now: "What about Ukrzaliznytsia?" the president said.
Photo: BC gov. Flickr Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix is applauding the federal government's extension of the closure of non-essential travel over the U.S.-Canada border, but he expects the closure will be required well past the current June 21 extension date.

Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the two countries had agreed to prohibit non-essential travel for another month, after the ban was first implemented in mid-March. The agreement still permits trade shipments, commerce and essential workers to travel through the border.

During Tuesday's daily press conference, Dix supported the extension, but said he doesn't expect the COVID-19 situation in the United States to be safe enough in a month's time to allow non-essential travel across the border.

"I'm not convinced there is much chance that it will clear sufficiently in the next month to change at least my mind about whether we should open the border, Dix said. I think it's going to be significantly longer than that for visitors.

There have been more than 1.5 million confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., and more than 93,000 deaths.

On Tuesday, Dix compared the situation in the United States to that of Alberta, where travel with B.C. has not been restricted.

Alberta is enacting many of the measures we are, they're working with us closely every day to fight the spread of COVID-19 in our country and in our provinces. We know exactly what they're doing. I think it's fair to say that is not the case in the United States ... The situation is much less clear there.

Provincial Health Officer added that she would like to see some additional exceptions added to help families who've been separated by the border.

My recommendation is that we continue to require isolation plans and that we have a process in place but that we expand the people who are allowed to come across the border to include people who have family or who are residents or some form of family reunification, she said.
Credible compiled a list of 20 U.S. metro areas where homes are selling the fastest, using data from Zillow and ranking homes according to the average number of days they were listed before there was a pending sale in December 2020, the most recent month in which data was available for all metros.
Mamata Banerjee likely to meet PM Narendra Modi next week over dues, increased BSF jurisdiction

BSF lodges protest with Pakistan over IB violation by drones in Jammu

MP: 25 BSF personnel among 618 COVID-19 cases found in Indore district in one day

2 BSF personnel killed in Kashmir, their weapons looted

India

pti-PTI

Srinagar, May 20: Two BSF personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said.

They said the Border Security Force (BSF) troops, who were on picket duty in the Soura area, were evacuated to a hospital where they succumbed.

Motorcycle-borne militants fired upon the BSF jawans at a picket in Pandach area, 17 km from here in the outskirts of the city, the officials said.

J&K: Two militants killed in encounter after abducting police constable in Kulgam

They said two BSF personnel were injured in the attack and were shifted to SKIMS hospital at Soura here.

While one of the jawans was declared brought dead by the doctors at the hospital, another succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

They said both jawans - aged 35 and 36 - had head injuries. The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the officials added.
Campus News

Tanzania study abroad program sets pace for virtual engagement

By GINA CARBONE

And while transitioning to a virtual program means students wont be able to visit Tanzania, Huber stresses they will still enjoy the benefits of studying abroad with the new structure of the program.

The study abroad program normally began with a week of classes on campus to help students lay a foundation for their two-week trip to Tanzania. The classes included an overview of Tanzanian culture, history, politics and geography, paired with individualized readings based on students interests. When students returned to UB after their two weeks abroad, they spent the remainder of the summer attending classes and working on their final projects and presentations.

Huber has been visiting the Mara region of Tanzania with members of the UB and broader Buffalo communities since 2009, engaging with partners on topics related to womens empowerment and social innovation.

The program, which will incorporate photos and videos of activities and destinations from past trips, will take place during the fall semester and is open to all students.

Mara Huber, director of UBs Experiential Learning Network, has transitioned the summer Tanzania study abroad program she co-developed and leads to an online setting, where students will complete mentored projects with Tanzanian partners and earn digital badges.

With UBs study abroad programs being cancelled for the summer and fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one administrator has designed an alternative way for students to reap the benefits of studying abroad while staying at home.

Students talk with an official from the Children's Dignity Forum about the organization's mission to empower girls by educating families about the damaging effects of early marriage and female genital mutilation. The discussion took place during the 2017 Tanzania study abroad program. Photo: Douglas Levere

Having an entire semester will allow us to linger on different locations and topics, bringing in speakers  in person and remotely  and allowing students to explore areas of interest, both collective and individual, she says.

Rather than squeezing in presentations at the end, students will work on their projects throughout (the semester) as a core component of the course.

As the program shifts to an online platform, Huber explains that the ability to use Zoom for meetings and recordings, along with the ELN Project Portal that supports projects and digital badges, enables her to add evolving projects with Tanzania partners, as well as create new ones based on students interests and partners requests.

I imagine that this will result in students getting a lot out of the course  the projects will be more involved as students will be working throughout the semester with ongoing collaboration and feedback from partners, she says.

It is funny that our study abroad students often end the trip wishing they had more  more engagement, more time to explore, more time together. In essence, this is what well be giving them.

Mary Odrzywolski, director of UBs Study Abroad Programs, notes that Hubers course is the only UB faculty-led program thus far that is being adapted to a virtual setting.

Hubers virtual program has attracted the attention of CNBC, as well as SUNY, which enlisted her input in creating the SUNY Global COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) Commons model. The six-week, six-credit Global COIL program will run from July 6 through Aug. 15 and offer international education experiences to students via online learning.

The program aims to provide flexibility to students, faculty and institutions by designing core modules with focus areas presented in an integrated package of content videos, readings, activities and discussions, followed by projects monitored and supervised by faculty.

Students begin the program in the central square of the model, the Commons, where they participate in a module on intercultural storytelling and communications to set the context for their projects. Following a common introduction, students can direct their storytelling through the medium of their choice.

Students then move toward their selected United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) in partnership with a community-based or non-governmental organization.

As the program concludes, students complete small group projects with community-based and nonprofit organizations from around the world that are doing work in the area defined by students chosen SDG. These projects will be based on telling the story of the work or issues faced by the community or organization in relation to the SDG.

The creation of the SUNY Global COIL Commons program, as well as the transition of the Tanzania program to a virtual platform, underscores Hubers belief that technology plays an important role in learning.

Technology is a powerful tool and global partnerships become dynamic platforms, she says.

I think universities are especially poised to innovate in this arena  we have faculty expertise, we have global relationships, we have access to resources and technology platforms, and most of all we have students who are eager to get close and make a contribution, learning and growing as they pursue their own goals and dreams.

Students interested in the Tanzania program can contact Huber.
Will COVID-19 kill the free republic?

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

Will the constitutional republic survive the coronavirus pandemic?

Will an outcome of the crisis mean the loss of constitutional restraints on the state?

Will the new normal be a more authoritarian government?

In the face of raw dominance, is it proper for people to resist, considering Romans 13, and its insistence that we must all be subject to the governing authorities because there is no authority except from God?

New Yorks Mayor de Blasio threatened churches with permanent extermination if they violate his orders not to assemble. The Gotham mayor specified actions up to the point of fines and potentially closing the building permanently.

A Kentucky pastor determined to go ahead with his churchs Easter gathering despite orders from Governor Andy Beshear. The local police tried to turn people away and took license plate numbers of attendees. Nails were spread at the parking lots.

Massachusetts Governor Charles Baker classified churches as nonessential, and therefore had to follow his orders about opening and closing.

I can stand in a line of 200 people at a liquor store ... but I am not afforded the same reasonable accommodations in the same-sized building across the street to receive the Sacraments of my salvation as a practicing Roman Catholic, wrote Carol McKinley in The Federalist.

Such bureaucratic overreach flies in the face of the spirit and letter of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The founders spelled out fundamental rights that were unalienable because they were given to the people by God, not the state.

The first ten Amendments to the Constitution provide details of the unalienable Rights.

The framers included a statement in the Declaration of Independence that might have been seen as stunning for their era: whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it...

But what about Romans 13? Must Bible-believing people accept all despotic orders from governing officials, with total compliance and without resistance? Are the pastors of thousands of churches in California who intend to open May 31 despite the orders from their governor not to assemble in violation of the Bible?

The answer lies in the biblical distinction between authority and raw power. Authority is granted from the higher to the lower, and only to those who are under higher authority. Raw power is seized and imposed by those with muscle greater than those they dominate.

As a pastor I once counseled a wife whose husband told her she had to submit to his abuse  including beatings  because the Bible said the wife is to be submissive to her husband. However, 1 Corinthians 11:3 says that if the man is to hold true authority in the home he must first submit to the authority of Christ. If the husband steps out from under that authority, he loses his own headship in the family. The wife can and must resist the tyranny of a husband who does not yield himself to the Authority over him.

So, church leaders resisting the power-moves of authoritarian (but not authoritative) civil rulers are not violating Romans 13. Neither were the First Century Christians in Rome, nor those in modern times under Nazi, Fascist, or Communist despots, nor Dr. Martin Luther King and others in the civil rights movement who refused to submit to Jim Crow laws.

However, as all these teach us, we must recognize and accept that theres a price to be paid for refusal to comply with authoritarian people and institutions.

Yet despots lose their right to rule as King Saul lost his whole kingdom when he came out from under the authority of God administered through Samuel. (1 Samuel 13)

Hopefully, among the many lessons we will learn from the COVID-19 experience will be the importance of understanding and applying constitutional provisions on a personal and corporate level.

Benjamin Franklin believed that the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty was a Bible and a newspaper in every house, and a good school in every district.

The Bible would provide the principles for personal recognition of Gods transcendent authority, and the accountability of every citizen before Him. The individual would be well-informed regarding current events through the newspaper. The school would educate people in building society and maintaining the Republic.

Among the important teachings revealed in the Bible is that of taking responsibility for ourselves and understanding the restraints on government. If God Himself allows us to be free, then men and women in civil office certainly have no right to impose their dictates upon us.

The role of government in a free society under a constitutional system is to alert people to looming dangers, make recommendations on how to protect themselves and their crucial institutions, provide what is needed without destroying the nation the civil authority seeks to save, and, yes, establishing just policies addressing the crisis.

The individual is to respect truly authoritative government, be willing to resist regimes that trample civil rights, and, in light of information and warnings, make their own decisions with the well-being of society in mind, taking personal responsibility for care of themselves, their families, and all else for which they have personal stewardship.

Otherwise future generations will continue to live under the same old top-down, imperious regimes that have dominated most nations historically.
Beaches and oceans are the next frontier of coronavirus clampdowns.

A lone surfer in Manhattan Beach, California, was cited for defying state orders that all beaches were closed, for a fine of up to $1,000 (here and here).

The police also arrested and fined a surfer in Hawaii who had recently traveled there from New York, because he had not self-quarantined for 14 days upon arrival. What's additionally concerning about this case is that it appears the surfer was identified because of pictures he posted on social media. Big Brother is always watching (here).



How would a virus be transmitted here? (File photo via Pixnio.)

Police on horseback patrolling a beach in Oxnard, California noticed a very elderly couple sitting on collapsible beach chairs far from others and instructed them to sit on the sand or leave the beach (here and here).

Meanwhile, a Miami woman (and former police officer) sat alone on a beach holding a sign, "We are free," to make a statement and challenge authoritarian rule. The police showed up and physically hauled her off and placed her into the patrol car (here). (Residents in high-rise apartment buildings across the street cheered her on, but no one came out to join her  a topic for another day.)

A few days ago, New York mayor Bill de Blasio promised to put fences around beaches and threatened to physically remove anyone in the water (here).

On the heels of that, Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf warned against going to the beach because "there are people there who aren't wearing masks and you're putting yourself at risk" (here).

Next stop: Cease all space exploration. Those rocket ships are awfully cramped, and there's no Walmart on Mars to buy hand sanitizer.

We've lost our collective minds. This madness must end poste haste (here; language warning near the end).
Advertisement

President Donald Trump declined to specify on Wednesday what laws he said Michigan was breaking when the secretary of state mailed absentee ballot applications to all voters in the state.

And President Trump didn't back down on his threat to with hold federal funds from the state even as Michigan is dealing with severe flooding, with parts of the state being declared a disaster and two dams bursting from the amount of water pouring through.

Trump repeated his criticism that mail-in ballots cause mass voter fraud, which has not been proven, and renewed his call for a voter ID law.

'Mail-in ballots are a very dangerous thing they're they're subject of massive fraud,' Trump said at an event at the White House with the governors of Kansas and Arkansas.

'People have to check you, they have to see, they're to look at you and check you,' he said. 'I mean when you get thousands of ballots, and then put them in a bag and they just bring them in, who knows where they came from? It's so obvious. And frankly they should have voter ID. That's what they should have. You really want to know what the country wants? The country wants voter ID. Otherwise it's going to be subjected to tremendous illegality and fraud.'

The Trump campaign said Michigan law requires voters to request an absentee ballot application be mailed to them.

'President Trump is correct. There is no statutory authority for the secretary of state in Michigan to send absentee ballot applications to all voters. Existing case law in Michigan supports that conclusion as well,' a campaign spokesperson said.

Trump didn't get specific on what kind of federal funds might be with held from the state. 'You'll be finding out that we finding out very soon if it's necessary,' he said. 'I don't think it's going to be necessary.'

President Donald Trump declined to specify what laws he said Michigan was breaking when the secretary of state mailed absentee ballot applications to all voters in the state

He also noted he's spoke with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, that day, ahead of his visit to the state on Thursday.

'They have a big problem with the dams breaking. So that is a big big problem. And so we've sent the FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers out, and they're very good at dams, they're probably better at thatn anybody you can think of, right? The Army Corps of Engineers have done a fantastic job,' he said.

Earlier that day, Trump issued his threat to the state.

'Michigan sends absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!,' he wrote on Twitter.

The threat came as Michigan is facing rising flood waters that caused two dams to burst, forced the evacuation of 10,000 people and had Governor Whitmer warn that one county could be 'under approximately 9 feet of water.'

She has declared a state of emergency for Midland County and urged residents threatened by the flooding to evacuate the area. She said shelters have opened across the county and are available to those who need a place to go.

'This is unlike anything we've seen in Midland County,' she said. 'If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now.'

Whitmer said downtown Midland faced an especially serious flooding threat. 'In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water. We are anticipating an historic high water level.'

Trump's tweet, meanwhile, was a threat to use his executive power against states that don't bend to his political will. Trump and other Republicans have argued - without proof - that mail-in voting favors Democrats and concerns about its use as a voting option have ratcheted up during the coronavirus pandemic.

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump threatened to with hold federal funds from Michigan in revenge for the state sending absentee ballot applications to all voters

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, then responded: 'We sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia

In the series of tweets, the president also called out Nevada for sending out 'illegal vote by mail ballots'

'By mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,' Benson (left) said. Her decision is expected to face legal challenges. Trump's threat to with hold federal funds comes as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (right) declared a state of emergency in parts of Michigan due to flooding

Trump's tweet comes at a time when Michigan officials are dealing with two crises: the coronavirus pandemic and severe flooding due to the failure of two dams (Sanford Dam pictured)

Floodwaters are seen along a street in downtown Sanford, Michigan. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for locations along the Tittabawassee River after the breach at the Sanford Dam

President Trump later retweeted his threat to Michigan but with cleaned up information about the ballots

Trump was off in his original criticism. His first tweet said Michigan sent out absentee ballots, instead of the applications. He corrected that in a later tweet threatening the state.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Tuesday all registered voters - there are 7.7 million of them - will receive applications for absentee ballots, meaning voters would still have to request an actual ballot to vote.

'By mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,' Benson, a Democrat, said. Her decision is expected to face legal challenges.

And she tweeted a response to President Trump: 'Hi! I also have a name, it's Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia.'

Benson also noted the mail-in vote option is legal in Michigan.

'Every Michigan citizen has a right to vote by mail. It's a right that was enshrined in our state constitution by our voters in November of 2018. And so I have a responsibility, as the chief election officer for the state of Michigan, to ensure everyone knows how to exercise their right to vote and all the options available -- available to them to ensure that happens,' she told MSNBC.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany dodged questions on what was illegal about Michigan's sending out mail-in ballot applications.

'Illegality and legality of it, that's a question for the campaign,' she said at her press briefing on Wednesday.

She noted the president's tweets were meant to alert Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and OMB Chief Russell Vought 'about his concerns with trillions of dollars going to these states and his noted concerns about a lot of fraud that is potentially at play when you have mass mail- in voting.'

But when she was quizzed on why the president would alert them via Twitter instead of during one of his meetings with them, she said: 'The president believes in unprecedented transparency.'

Michigan stayed in president's thoughts throughout Wednesday - he visits the state Thursday - as the state popped up repeatedly in his tweet during the day, including a promise from him to help with the flooding.

'My team is closely monitoring the flooding in Central Michigan  Stay SAFE and listen to local officials. Our brave First Responders are once again stepping up to serve their fellow citizens, THANK YOU!,' he wrote.

President Trump popped back up on Twitter later Wednesday to promise Michigan help with its flooding

He also argued Gov. Whitmer, a Democrat, should ease up on the state's coronavirus lock down so people can help with the flooding.

'We have sent our best Military & @FEMA Teams, already there. Governor must now 'set you free' to help. Will be with you soon!,' Trump added.

Whitmer issued a stay-at-home order for the state until May 28 but she announced this week she will start easing up on it in parts of Michigan on Friday. Protesters have stormed the state capitol in Lansing to protest Whitmer's stay-at-home order.

Michigan is crucial to the president's re-election efforts. He won the state by less than one point in 2016.

In response to Trump's tweets, Gov. Whitmer said Wednesday afternoon that to see 'Twitter this morning and to see rhetoric like that is disheartening because I think at first it shows you that there maybe was a lack of understanding of what the secretary of state was doing. She said we're going to mail applications not mail ballots'.

'And I would appreciate any federal partnership that wants to stay focused on solving problems and not get into politics. We've got to take politics out of this crisis moment and remember we're all Americans.

'We all have to pitch in and get this right and remember that one another is not the enemy. The enemy is a virus and in this case the enemy is also a flood,' Whitmer added.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany dodged questions on what was illegal about Michigan's sending out mail-in ballot applications

Trump also threatened to with hold funding from Nevada, ccing the U.S. Treasury Department and acting OMB director Russell Vought in his tweet.

'State of Nevada 'thinks' that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They can't! If they do, 'I think' I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections,' he wrote.

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has declared its June 9 primary an all-mail primary, meaning absentee ballots will be mailed to every active voter in the state.

Cegavske is a Republican and Democrats in the state have complained ballots are not being sent to all registered voters in Nevada.

Many other states are sending out absentee ballots for the November election to avoid long lines and crowding at polling places during the pandemic, which has infected more than 1.56 million Americans and killed more than 92,000. California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced all registered voters in his state will receive absentee ballots.

Republicans have long complained about 'ballot harvesting' - their term for the process where someone (usually a party volunteer) collects absentee ballots from a group of people and mails them for them. Democrats call it ballot collecting.

Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California told Fox News this week that Republicans are 'forced to have to ballot harvest because it's the only way to win.'

Trump's criticism comes ahead of his visit to Michigan this week and after Republican Party officials launched a $20 million fund to fight mail-in ballot initiatives, which they complain - without evidence - increases the odds of voter fraud.

Vehicles and signs are seen submerged in floodwaters in downtown Sanford on Tuesday after the dam burst

Residents in one Michigan county were forced to evacuate their homes. The driver of this red pickup truck was rescued in Saginaw County, Michigan on Tuesday

An aerial view of water from a broken Edenville Dam seen flooding the area as it flows towards Wixom Lake in Michigan

The Edenville and Sanford dams burst on Tuesday after heavy rainfall battered the area for several days. A flood warning is in effect throughout Wednesday along the Tittabawassee River in Midland County.

About 3,500 homes and 10,000 people have been affected by the flooding. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Whitmer said Wednesday: 'To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable. But we are here, and to the best of our ability we are going to navigate this together.'

The governor encouraged residents to wear face coverings while at shelters and if they go to stay with relatives.

Many states, Michigan included, are feeling a budget crunch after the coronavirus shuttered businesses - causing a decline in state revenue while more money was needed to fight the disease.

Trump and Whitmer, a Democrat, have already feuded over the virus. Whitmer accused his administration of not doing enough to send medical supplies and protective equipment to states in need.

President Trump will be in the Detroit area on Thursday to visit a Ford Motor factory.

He'll tour the Rawsonville Components Plant in Ypsilanti, which is making ventilators that can be used to treat COVID-19 patients. The company plans to produce 100,000 ventilators by July 4, working with GE Healthcare on the project.

Trump, meanwhile, has taken up the drumbeat against mail-in voting, complaining it hurts Republican candidates. He railed against a California special election using the method last week. The Republican candidate won that race.

One recent case of voter fraud - and it was committed by a Republican In North Carolina, one political operative has been indicted for voting fraud: a Republican. Political operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. and four others who worked for him were indicted over illegal ballot 'harvesting' in regards to a 2018 congressional election that was ultimately rerun last September. Witnesses told state officials that Dowless gathered hundreds of absentee ballots from voters with the help of his assistants. Those assistants testified they were directed to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures on them and even fill in votes when Dowless worked for Republican candidate Mark Harris in the 2018 congressional election. Harris appeared to get the most votes in the November 2018 race, but the State Board of Elections ordered a new election. Harris didn't run that special election, which ultimately was won by the GOP nominee, Dan Bishop. Advertisement

He wrote on Twitter on April 8, ahead of the California contest, that: 'Republicans should fight very hard when it comes to state wide mail-in voting. Democrats are clamoring for it. Tremendous potential for voter fraud, and for whatever reason, (it) doesn't work out well for Republicans.'

Many governors have announced their states will increase the use of mail-in voting this year to avoid long lines at polling places while the coronavirus remains a threat.

Republicans argue it increases chances for voter fraud.

'If voters want to vote by mail, absentee ballots should be requested by the voter and not automatically sent by the state to every voter on the registration rolls,' Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said on a call with reporters on Monday.

She argued the lists used could be out of date, meaning ballots could be mailed to addresses where no registered voter lives.

Five states conduct all their voting by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah.

Republicans in Michigan could sue there to counter the ballot applications being sent out. Lawsuits are already underway in California against Newsom's decision.

Multiple studies have shown there is little voter fraud in American elections. Democrats have argued Republicans oppose mail-in voting as it makes it easier for Democratic supporters - such as blue-collar workers who would have a tougher time taking off work to get a polling place - to vote.

President Trump has voted absentee both when he lived in New York and when he switched his residency to Florida.

Voters have indicated they support voting by mail, particularly this year.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll in late April found that around two-thirds of registered voters supported voting by mail in this year's election.

In two-thirds of the states, any qualified voter may vote absentee without offering an excuse, and in one-third of the states, an excuse is required, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But many states - including West Virginia and Virginia - are adding fear of the coronavirus as a valid excuse to request an absentee ballot.

House Democrats included $3.6 billion in election funding as part of the $3 trillion coronavirus relief package they unveiled last week. The money is intended to help states with programs like mail-in voting.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi called voting by mail a 'health issue.'

'We cannot have people going to places that are predictably dangerous to their health,' she said Wednesday during her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill.

Complications from the coronavirus has sparked fears, particularly among Democrats, that President Trump could use the coronavirus to delay or delegitimize November's contest.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrats' presumptive 2020 nominee, warned about the threat of a delayed election at a fundraiser last month.

'Mark my words, I think he is going to try to kick back the election somehow  come up with some rationale why it can't be held,' he said of Trump.

The coronavirus pandemic - which led to the cancellation of schools, delayed sporting events, closed churches and put an end to any large scale gatherings like the annual SXSW conference - has already affected the Democratic primary process.

President Trump also has complained about mail-in voting, which could be used more because of the coronavirus, claiming it helps Democrats even as Republicans won last week's special election in California; above, voters line up to vote in that California race

Voters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, line up to vote during the April 7 primary

New York canceled its June primary because of the disease and 15 other states moved back or extended mail-in voting for their primaries.

Such moves have been controversial and lawsuits have been filed with the argument people have the right to vote.

New York's case illustrates that. Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang sued the state over the move. And the judicial branch showed its strong commitment to protecting the right to vote, ordering the election to go forward. State officials have appealed.

Additionally, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers lost his bid last month to delay his state's primary until June. The court ordered it to go forward amid criticism that in-person voting could contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. Voters queued to vote on April 7 in long lines - many of them wearing face masks and practicing social distancing - due to the limited number of polling places open because of a shortage of workers to staff them.

The Wisconsin Department of Health traced 19 cases of the coronavirus to that election.

Trump has long sounded the voter fraud drum beat.

After the 2016 election, he launched a voting integrity commission, led by then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to investigate Trump's unsubstantiated claim that between 3 million and 5 million ballots were illegally cast.

The commission found no evidence of wrong doing. Trump disbanded it in 2018.
Former President Barack Obama returns to the White House with National Security Advisor Susan Rice (L) and Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, White House Valerie Jarrett (R) after making remarks at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Nov.11, 2016. (Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

Key Players Offered Contrasting Accounts of Obama White House Discussion About Flynn

Top administration officials involved in a key Jan. 5, 2017, discussion with outgoing President Barack Obama about incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn provided contrasting accounts of what transpired, according to recently declassified records.

By all accounts, Obama and top officials discussed phone calls between Flynn and then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during a White House meeting in the final days of the Obama administration. But the details about the conversationincluding who brought up Flynn and whendiffer from account to account, suggesting there is more to learn about what transpired at the Oval Office.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates said she first learned about the FlynnKislyak calls during the Jan. 5 meeting, according to a recently declassified summary (pdf) of Yatess interview with special counsel Robert Mueller on Dec. 7, 2017. According to Yates, after the president was briefed about the Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian meddling in the 2016 election, Obama dismissed everyone present except for Yates and FBI Director James Comey. Obama then told Yates and Comey that he learned about the FlynnKislyak calls and the fact that the two men discussed sanctions.

Comeys account of what transpired differs. In his recently declassified testimony (pdf) to the House Intelligence Committee on March 7, 2017, Comey said that Obama brought up the Flynn topic sometime during the Jan. 5 meeting, but didnt mention whether the conversation occurred before or after Obama dismissed the rest of the officials from the Oval Office. According to Comeys account, Obama brought up Flynn.

But according to a recently declassified email written on Jan. 20, 2017, by then-national security adviser Susan Rice, Yates and Comey werent the only people in the room with Obama after the rest of the officials were dismissed. Rice wrote that she and Vice President Joe Biden were present as well, contradicting the version of the events put forth by Yates. Rices email also contradicts Comeys account, stating that Comey, not Obama, was the one to bring up Flynns calls with the Russian ambassador.

Former President Barack Obama speaks to guests at the Obama Foundation Summit in Chicago, Illinois on Oct. 29, 2019. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The exact details of the conversation in the Oval Office are significant in light of the recent motion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss the charges against Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in late 2017. The DOJ filed the motion together with a batch of records which show that the FBI had no basis to conduct the interview during which he allegedly lied. The day before the Jan. 5 White House meeting, the FBI approved the closing of Flynns case after finding no evidence to support the allegation that he was colluding with Russia. The formal paperwork was never filed after FBI management intervened to keep the case open.

The documents filed in court by the DOJ also go a long way to substantiate the theory that the top brass at the FBI may have set Flynn up.

Rice previously indicated that she wrote her Jan. 20 memo upon the advice of the White House Counsels Office. Rices attorney told the Senate in a letter that Rice wrote the memo two weeks after the meeting because that was the first opportunity she had to do so, given the particularly intense responsibilities of the National Security Advisor during the remaining days of the Administration and transition.

The discrepancies between the account provided by Rice and those by Comey and Yates suggests that the White House counsel may have sought to cast Obamas involvement as reactive rather than proactive. President Donald Trump has recently spotlighted Obamas potential involvement in the investigation of the Trump campaign by calling the operation OBAMAGATE.

As part of the investigation, the FBI obtained a spy warrant to surveil Trump campaign associate Carter Page. The warrant was based in part on an opposition research dossier on Trump paid for by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

It is still unclear who told Obama about the FlynnKislyak calls. Comey told the House Intelligence Committee in March 2017 that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper briefed Obama, Biden, and the senior White House team. According to a recently declassified transcript (pdf), Clapper told the same committee four months later that he didnt brief Obama.
It includes $100 billion for rental assistance, another round of $1,200 direct payments to taxpayers, and sets aside 25 percent of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans for nonprofit organizations. However, the bill, known as the HEROES Act, has little chance of passing in the Republican-led senate and President Trump has promised to veto it.  Artnet
Lome, Togo (PANA) - Togo has once again benefited from German financial support of Euros 5 million for strengthening its ongoing decentralization programme, official sources told PANA in Lome on Wednesday
Resident companies at Carriageworks have called on the NSW Premier to save the contemporary arts venue from a "bleak alternative" and to establish it as an independently run institution.

The eight tenants, who form the artistic backbone of the Eveleigh-based organisation which entered voluntary administration earlier this month, released a statement calling for urgent resourcing so Carriageworks emerged a "stronger, independent, and more resilient" institution.

Carriageworks, the cultural centre in the historic Eveleigh rail yards, has entered voluntary administration.

The companies said that Carriageworks' financial model supported the not-for-profit and commercial arts sectors, and the future of the site required a "finely tuned balance to maintain vital support for our local and national arts ecology".

"This exceptional arts centre needs to be adequately supported to be set up to succeed rather than the bleak alternative," the statement said.
Recoup and prepare: $24 million

Public health: $32 million

Support for local municipalities: $10 million

Support for vulnerable populations (seniors and schools): $16.5 million

Support for small businesses: $70 million

(TNS)  Metro Detroit government leaders have started to reveal how they plan to allocate nearly $700 million in federal stimulus money to help deal with the impacts of the coronavirus.Michigan County executives in Macomb and Oakland counties announced Tuesday they plan to allocate portions of their counties' allotments to local governments and small businesses.The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion package, was passed and signed into law March 27. The state of Michigan was allocated $3 billion while four counties and the city of Detroit received their own allocations because they have a population of 500,000 or more.The breakdowns are: about $117 million for the city of Detroit; $188 million for Wayne County; nearly $220 million for Oakland County; $152 million for Macomb County, and nearly $115 million for Kent County.Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said $10 million will be designated for the 27 local communities in the county. For Oakland County, its 60-plus cities, villages and townships will share $30 million, Executive Dave Coulter said.Both said the money would be grants, not loans. Coulter said he wanted to start providing communities with funds as early as the first half of June, if the county Board of Commissioners provides approval next week.In Macomb County, officials are planning for small businesses to share $70 million of the funds. Hackel said he's looking at the first part of June for when they can start applying.In Oakland County, Coulter said $12 million will be designated, at this time, for small businesses as part of a second round of grants from the Small Business Stabilization Fund. Recipients include more than 2,700 small businesses shut out of the first round of funding. Nearly 7,700 small businesses applied for grants, with their need from the virus pandemic at $80 million, Coulter said.In Wayne County, Assistant Executive Khalil Rahal said in a statement Tuesday the county has been working with elected leaders to identify specific needs and programs that meet the eligibility requirements."Clearly, a priority for us is ensuring the Wayne County Public Health Division has the resources and equipment it needs to continue to manage the pandemic. We are also looking at how to restructure delivery of existing county services in light of the new social distancing realities that will remain in effect as emergency orders ease up," he said."Finally, we are looking how the county can help small businesses recoup some of the increased costs of restarting operations and taking the added steps necessary to ensure the safety of their employees and Wayne County residents. This process will continue to evolve in the coming weeks as our plans solidify, and as we forecast the near-future and have solid economic projections for the coming months.Detroit's Chief Financial Officer Dave Massaron said funds can be used for documented COVID-19-related expenses, and "the better we are able to document those expenses, the more we will be able to conserve our limited city revenues to provide other vital services."He said the city's plan to balance its revenue shortfall assumes it receives 100% reimbursement for all virus expenses it has incurred through various federal programs.These include expenses such as: testing centers; contact tracing; personal protective equipment (PPE) for city employees and public distribution, such as masks on buses; additional cleaning and sterilizing of buses and facilities; meals for children, seniors and families; the water restart plan; expanding homeless shelters, allowing for isolation of symptomatic people; additional personnel costs to keep police, fire and medical first responders safe; hazard pay for eligible front-line employees; physical changes to work spaces to make it safe for employees to return to work, and technology to help employees work from home."The city is currently working through how best to allocate and document these and future costs to various grant programs through the federal stimulus legislation," he said.In Macomb County, Hackel broke down how officials are looking to share their funds:For recoup and prepare, funds could help with trading out desktop equipment for laptops because most employees are working remotely; video conferencing enhancements, and physical barriers, floor markings and signage for departments when employees and the public return to in-person business, said Vicki Wolber, deputy executive.She said public health could include testing, supplies and contracts with labs; PPE for employees or congregate care sites, and expanding morgue capacity. Hackel said having a PPE stockpile for the county and first responders also is a need going forward.Hackel said everything would be run through the county Board of Commissioners and the county's auditing firm. He said a budget amendment will be sent to the county board Thursday, as well as another extension of the county's state of emergency order.Coulter said funding for communities in Oakland County will be based on population and need, with a cap. Communities have had expenses for public safety, staff overtime for COVID-19 matters, PPE and safety protocols and equipment to safely reopen, he said.Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said the City Council in January  two months before the first positive virus cases were announced in Michigan  approved more than $7,000 in additional cleaning supplies, gloves, masks and hand sanitizer not knowing they would "go through all that and more."He said the city needs more thermometers and PPE and has rewritten its budget, which is to be adopted next month. He said the city is cutting expenses, yet experiencing new ones.Siver said more than $200,000 was spent for glass partitions for counters with speaker and mic system so staff can hear customers when they come to city hall, hopefully in early June. They're working to retrofit the library and spending extra money on in-depth cleaning. They also changed door handles so they are low-touch or no-touch, he said.Siver said the city had a "totally unexpected expense": putting up first responders in hotels. He said at one time, the city had 13 firefighters off work. They were either testing positive for the virus and couldn't go home and possibly infect their families or they had someone sick at home.
By Trend





The US has provided nearly $3.6 million COVID-19 assistance to Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the State Departments website.

Nearly $3.6 million in total assistance includes $3 million in health assistance which is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. It also includes $565,000 in MRA (Migration and Refugee Assistance) humanitarian assistance that will help vulnerable people and host communities during the pandemic, reads the message.

Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $894 million in total assistance to Azerbaijan, including nearly $41 million for health, said the State Department.
Noting that assembly polls are due in Bihar later this year, BJP president J P Nadda on Wednesday asked key party leaders from the state to inform people about the details of the Rs 20 lakh crore package announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to revive the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources said in a meeting held through video conference, he asked them to be ready for the election, which is due in October-November, and carry out welfare work for people, including lakhs of migrants arriving in the state from different parts of the country, to send out a good message in this difficult time.

The special package has something for all sections of society, Nadda said, asking the core committee leaders, including Bihar party chief Sanjay Jaisawal, from the state to work to publicise its details.

He said party workers should also enquire about the conditions of migrants being put up in quarantine centres and provide food to the needy.

Through there is little scope for any political drive during the ongoing lockdown, the state unit of the BJP is toning up its organisational machinery to ensure that it is fully geared up for the electoral challenge.

The party is working to ensure that its "saptrishi", a term for seven key organisation members at every booth, hears Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' on May 31, and are joined by some prominent locals while following the social distancing norms.

The exercise has been named "Mann ki Baat Saptrishi ke Saath", Bihar BJP general secretary Devesh Kumar said, adding that physical distancing and wearing mask will be compulsory.

One BJP leader, be it a minister, MLA or some office bearer, will join 'saptrishi' at every booth during the broadcast, he added.

The BJP is part of the Nitish Kumar-led government in the state. The saffron party has already announced that the NDA, which also includes Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP, will fight the polls with Kumar as its chief ministerial face.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Syracuse, N.Y.  Hospitalizations due to the new coronavirus in Onondaga County are at their highest level ever, but Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said the numbers dont tell the whole story.

A total of 78 people in the county are now hospitalized due to the virus, up eight from yesterday. But half those people, 39 of them, are well enough to be discharged.

Theyre nursing home residents and cant go home yet due a state order mandating that they test negative for the virus. That sometimes takes weeks, McMahon said, and may not occur until well after an individual is no longer sick with symptoms.

Weve talked about this again with the state today, McMahon said. Clearly skewing our data. Again, the number, the hospitalization number as a metric does not have value if the datas being skewed like this.

These are folks that are essentially recovered.

McMahon said he wants to be able to remove those individuals from the local hospital count or discharge the people involved to coronavirus floors in nursing homes.

These 39 people cant be counted in our hospitalization numbers, and nor should they be in the hospital at this point, he said. They dont need that level of care.

McMahon has been talking about the problem all week. The state rule on testing is essentially forcing people to use hospitals as a hotel, he added.

Reporters in Albany asked Gov. Andrew Cuomo today about Central New Yorks rising hospitalizations. Cuomo said he hasnt seen any significant warning signs in the regions numbers yet.

Two more people died due to the virus in Onondaga County in the last day, bringing the countywide death toll to 107.

A total of 876 people have recovered, up 24 from yesterday. Sixteen people are in intensive care units, down three.

The county now has 1,710 confirmed cases of the virus, an increase of 61 from Tuesday. Thats one of larger increases in new cases since the pandemic began, but it comes as the county has dramatically boosted testing, McMahon said.

The county sent 1,483 tests to labs on Tuesday, one of its biggest one-day totals.

So while the county is finding more cases, the rate of positive results continues to drop. Its now at 6.6%, down from over 8% earlier in the crisis. Over the last three days, the positive rate is 6%, McMahon said.

About 80% of the countys testing is now proactive and just 20% is among symptomatic individuals, he added.

A total of 33 of the new cases resulted from community spread, meaning the individuals involved caught the virus in the community at large. Thats higher than the total in recent days and a figure worth watching, McMahon said, but he noted again that the county is testing far more people than it was March and April.

Youre not going to find 20 positives when you do that many tests, he said.

Case breakdown by municipality (confirmed/recovered)

Camillus: 55/37

Cicero: 59/33

Clay: 132/96

DeWitt: 63/53

Elbridge: 2/2

Fabius: 2/2

Geddes: 90/29

LaFayette: 5/3

Lysander: 33/26

Manlius: 66/54

Marcellus: 7/4

Onondaga: 127/34

Otisco: 5/5

Pompey: 24/22

Salina: 76/48

Skaneateles: 15/15

Spafford: 2/2

Syracuse: 923/400

Tully 2/2

Van Buren: 22/9

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
After making landfall at 2.30 p.m. between Digha in West Bengal and and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, Cyclone Amphan raged through the coastal areas.

Cyclone Amphan made landfall and roared into West Bengal on Wednesday, with winds gusting up to 190 kmph and heavy rain having been reported in the affected regions.

At least two people have died due to the cyclone in India, officials told PTI.

After making landfall at 2.30 pm between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, Cyclone Amphan raged through the coastal areas, flattening fragile dwellings, uprooting trees and electric poles.

At least 6.58 lakh people were evacuated in West Bengal and Odisha before the cyclone struck the coastal areas in the state. In Bangladesh, at least 10 lakh people have been evacuated, reports said.

Cyclone Amphan has been forecast as the worst such event since the 1999 super cyclone in Odisha, which had left about 10,000 people dead.

"The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph," the weather department said.

Two women were killed in Howrah district and Minakhan area of North 24 Parganas district due to uprooting of trees, an official said.

Visuals on ANI showed waterlogged streets and uprooted trees in Kolkata as the cyclone passed through West Bengal's capital.

West Bengal: Streets in Kolkata waterlogged, trees uprooted and houses damaged due to strong winds and heavy rain as #Amphan crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) across Sunderbans, between 1530 and 1730 hrs today. pic.twitter.com/obYlwiW9TO  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

TV footage showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in Digha, close to the landfall site.

Winds with speeds up to 160-170 kmph pound coastal regions

Thick sheets of rain blurred the vast coastline in the two states and surging waters engulfed mud-and-thatch houses, flattening them in a trice.

Heavy machinery was moved in to clear the roads blocked by falling trees in affected areas.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra, who jointly addressed the media with NDRF Director General SN Pradhan, said gale-strength winds speeding at 160-170 kmph were pounding South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts and could be gusting up to 185 kmph.

He said the eye of the cyclone had touched the land, triggering copious rain in the three districts. The eye of the storm itself was 30 kilometres in diameter, he said.

Mohapatra said that the intensity of the rain and winds accompanying it could deceptively look like ebbing away briefly, but will surge afresh once the rear sector of the storm has reached the landmass.

Reports arriving in Kolkata from North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore said roofs of thatched houses were blown away, and twisted electric poles and broken and uprooted trees bore testimony to the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan.

The Indian Express reported that in Kolkata, trees were uprooted in several areas including New Alipore, Central Avenue, SN Banerjee Road, Bidhan Sarani, Shakespeare Sarani, Ballygunge, Maidan, Hastings, Prince Anwar Shah Road, Gariahat and others. Also, a two-storey house collapsed in the Entally area.

In Odisha, intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

Relief, rescue measures underway

All 20 units of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stationed in Odisha have been deployed in the state, while as many units have been pressed into service in West Bengal for relief and rescue efforts in the wake of Cyclone Amphan, Pradhan said on Wednesday.

Over five lakh people have been evacuated in West Bengal while over 1.58 lakh have been taken to safety in Odisha, Pradhan said quoting data provided by the state governments.

Addressing the press conference, Pradhan also said they are keeping a close watch on the "fast transforming" situation and that 20 teams have been deployed in West Bengal, including one team for urban areas of Kolkata, while another unit has been kept in reserve.

The NDRF DG also said that 24 teams from six battalions across the country are on standby.

"They are ready and can be airlifted within 15 minutes. They may not be necessarily needed during the cyclone, but during relief and restoration process," he said.

He also said the NDRF Headquarters and local commandants are working in coordination with the respective state authorities.

"All teams have wireless and satellite communications. We are not dependent on any communication system.

"It is another form of new normal, we have to handle disasters be it cyclone or floods during upcoming monsoon season while also considering COVID-19. In view of the prevailing COVID-19 scenario, all teams are equipped with PPE," he said.

"Based on experiences during Cyclone FANI, all the teams are equipped with tree cutters/ pole cutters for post landfall restoration, if the need arises," he said.

Bangladesh evacuates about 10 lakh people

Around 10 lakh people have been evacuated from Bangladesh's coastal region in the run-up to Cyclone Amphan, which is expected to hit the country's coast later on Wednesday.

According to a special bulletin from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department's Storm Warning Center, the coastal districts of Noakhali, Feni, Chittagong, Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Barguna, Patuakhali and Cox's Bazar, as also offshore islands and chars, will come under great danger.

The water in Bishkhali, Buriswar, and Balesh rivers was flowing 33 centimetres above the danger level in Barguna district as of Wednesday at 11 am, reports said.

With inputs from agencies
A pedestrian walks past a Victoria's Secret storefront closed and boarded up on Robson Street during the COVID-19 crisis on April 17, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada.

Victoria's Secret parent company L Brands reported Wednesday its third straight quarterly loss and fourth consecutive drop in sales, as its stores were forced shut for most of the period due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Its shares were recently down about 1% in after-hours trading on the news.

Here's how the company did during its fiscal first quarter ended May 2:

Earnings per share, adjusted: A loss of 99 cents

Revenue: $1.65 billion

The retailer, which also owns Bath & Body Works, reported a net loss of $296.9 million, or $1.07 per share, compared with a profit of $40.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year ago. Excluding one-time charges, it lost 99 cents per share.

Net sales decreased 37% to $1.65 billion from $2.63 billion a year ago.

Overall, L Brands' same-store sales rose 4%, while they surged 41% at Bath & Body Works and dropped 13% at Victoria's Secret.

At Victoria's Secret, total sales tumbled 46% to $821.5 million.

Total sales at Bath & Body Works dropped 18% to $712.7 million, though Bath & Body Works' online business surged 85%, with people stocking up on hand sanitizers and scented soaps online, the company said.

Analysts were calling for L Brands to report an adjusted loss of 72 cents per share on revenue of $1.72 billion, according to Refinitiv estimates. However, it is difficult to compare reported earnings to analyst estimates for L Brands' first quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hit global economies with earnings impacts that are difficult to assess.

The company announced Wednesday, in a separate securities filing, that current COO Charles McGuigan is stepping down.

Meantime, L Brands said it still remains committed to make Bath & Body Works a "pure-play public company," with Victoria's Secret operating as another standalone business.

With its distressed lingerie business, it said it plans to focus on managing inventory and selling more items at full price. It has named current L Brands CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer as interim CEO of Victoria's Secret. It said it expects to permanently shut roughly 250 Victoria's Secret and PINK stores across North America this year.

L Brands on May 4 announced it struck an agreement with private-equity firm Sycamore Partners to terminate its Victoria's Secret deal. Sycamore had previously agreed to acquire a 55% share in Victoria's Secret for $525 million, which would have allowed the lingerie brand to go private.

However, Sycamore Partners tried to end its deal with L Brands in April, citing store closures and missed rent payments during the pandemic. L Brands said it struck a termination agreement earlier this month to avoid "costly and distracting litigation to force a partnership with Sycamore."

L Brands' goal, with the split, is to allow its stronger soap and fragrance business to grow without being weighed down by its struggling bra business. But some analysts argue even Bath & Body Works is challenged.

"While Bath & Body Works has been a key source of strength for L Brands over the past decade, recently it's shown signs of peaking," Jefferies analyst Randy Konik said in a note to clients ahead of Wednesday's earnings report.

L Brands is expected to hold a call with analysts Thursday at 9 a.m. ET to discuss its first-quarter results.

The company has already said it is not providing a second-quarter or full-year outlook, due to Covid-19. But it does anticipate the majority of its shops will be reopened by the end of July.

L Brands said it had $957 million in cash on hand at the end of the first quarter.

As of Wednesday's market close, L Brands shares have fallen more than 32% this year. The company has a market cap of about $3.4 billion.
Story and video from SWNS

This oddly satisfying video shows a female rescued elephant scratching every inch of herself on a tree in comical fashion

The 58-year-old Asian elephant, named Cartoon, obviously loves feeling fresh as she scratches the thick mud off herself.

Fiona Hardie, from social media platform Elephant Stories with Fiona, shot the footage at the new Samui Elephant Sanctuary (SES), in Koh Samui, Southern Thailand.

Australian-born Fiona, who now lives in Hong Kong, said: "Other than feeling pure joy, for me, it's really thinking about how Cartoon must have felt.

"I believe elephants have the presence of mind to understand their situation. I love that she can just be an elephant, just how it should be."

Cartoon was rescued from a working life giving rides to tourists and will live out her retirement - Cartoon could live to 80 - in comfort at the Sanctuary.

Fiona added: "I love this video. It highlights that elephants should be chain free, saddle free and free to do what they want. I hope more people can support truly ethical homes for elephants.

"I support ethical elephant sanctuaries. It gives me the opportunity to witness natural behaviour by observing them, for example, watching them scratch.

"Every elephant has a story. I love to share this in the hope we can all understand more about these sentient animals.

"I sincerely hope people will eventually boycott venues promoting riding, bathing or watching them perform."
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fareportal, the travel company powering CheapOair.com and OneTravel.com, achieved top honors in the 18th annual American Business Awards in two categories: Communications Department of the Year and Product Management Team of the Year.

The American Business Awards, or the Stevies, were created in 2002 to honor the achievements of organizations and professionals in the USA. It is one of the premier business awards organizations in the U.S. and features a variety of categories to recognize all areas of the workplace. The 2020 competition included 3,600 nominations and entries were judged by a panel of 230 respected executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, and business educators.

"We are extremely proud of our work and it is such an honor to have our team's achievements recognized with not only one but two gold Stevie awards," said Sam S. Jain, CEO and Founder of Fareportal.

Fareportal's Communications Department created a multi-platform campaign around "National Cheap Flight Day", an unofficial holiday that is anecdotally regarded as the cheapest day of the year to buy airline tickets. Their efforts included internal and external communications across multiple channels including social, blogs, public relations, email, and broadcast media that successfully reached millions of consumers

"We believe in the power of integrated storytelling, and really enjoyed creating and executing this campaign for our CheapOair brand. Winning a Gold Stevie is a big honor for the entire team," said Kathi Moore, Fareportal VP of Branding & Communications.

The Product Management team earned their gold distinction by successfully bringing together and coordinating a multi-continent team to achieve an innovative and streamlined booking process for CheapOair and One Travel desktop and mobile consumers.

"Our primary focus has always been achieving excellence through collaboration across our international team of immensely talented professionals. Our efforts resulted in the creation of several travel booking innovation products that resulted in a stellar user experience," remarked Murat Yilmaz, Fareportal VP of Product.

"Our goal was to reduce the work involved in booking a trip and to present our customers with the best deals based on their overt and inferred preferences, creating a hassle free traveling booking experience," added Michael Nuciforo, VP of Digital at Fareportal.

About Fareportal

Fareportal is a travel technology company powering a next generation travel concierge service. Utilizing its innovative technology and company-owned and operated global contact centers, Fareportal has built strong industry partnerships providing customers access to over 600 airlines, 1 million hotels, and hundreds of car rental companies around the globe. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or live chat. Fareportal provides its airline partners with access to a broad customer base that books high-yielding international travel and add-on ancillaries.

About the Stevie Awards

The Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

SOURCE Fareportal

Related Links

http://www.fareportal.com


The retaliation attributed to Israel by Washington Post aimed neither to cause physical damage nor casualties, but to send a warning: We can harm you tenfold





by Yossi Melman





About a month ago, Iranian intelligence launched a cyberattack on water installations in Israel. Perhaps because of the coronavirus crisis, the incident was greeted here with some indifference by the media and the general public, and seemed to pass nearly unnoticed. However, among cyber experts and organizations responsible for national security and infrastructure institutions, it aroused deep concern and intense discussion.













Tuesday morning, The Washington Post reported that Israel was behind a cyberattack on the Bandar Abbas port terminal in southern Iran. According to the report, the attack took place on May 9, caused serious damage and disrupted shipping traffic for days. This apparent retaliation by Israel was clearly intended to send a warning to the Iranians without inflicting real physical harm or casualties.





As for the Iranian attack on Israel, aside from some minor damage to several water valves and control systems that have since been replaced, there was ultimately no significant damage to equipment or to the water supply. However, in cyberwarfare, the psychological-deterrent factor has an important effect and impact on the adversary.





Seeking to publicly play down the seriousness of the incident, the Israel National Cyber Directorate issued a laconic statement nearly two weeks ago, to the effect that an attempted attack on water-control installations was identified and added that the water supply system was not affected and continues to operate normally. The directorates spokeswoman, Libi Oz, declined to divulge any more details  such as who was behind the attack. However, based on American sources, Fox News reported that Iran was responsible.





The Washington Post report said that just two sites were attacked in Israel, but Haaretz has learned that the scope was in fact much broader and included dozens of installations throughout the country, focusing on control centers for water tanks, pumps, pipeline valves and more.





Standard procedure in Israel today is that the computer systems of security-related organizations (the Mossad, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet, the nuclear reactor in Dimona, the Biological Institute in Nes Tziona, military industries) and of critical civilian infrastructure are not connected to the Internet, in order to prevent a potential domino effect that would affect other sites and infrastructure in the event of a cyberattack.





In the recent incident involving Iran, the damage was minimal because the sites attacked were not connected to major water systems that are defined as critical infrastructure.





In the Israeli security establishment and civilian bodies in charge of offensive and defensive cyberwarfare, there is debate as to Irans cyber capabilities. Some feel that Iran is not a major player in this arena, certainly when compared to Israel and cyber powerhouses like the United States, China, Russia and other Western countries. Others believe that even if Iran is not among the world cyber leaders, it is definitely enhancing its capabilities and as evidence, they cite the massive attack on computers and installations belonging to Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco last year.





In any event, Iran did not hesitate to launch its attack last month. Some experts believe that this was Tehrans way of harassing Israel in response to its persistent campaign of strikes in Syria.





Iran operates defensive and offensive cyberwarfare units through its Revolutionary Guards and Intelligence Ministry, but like Russia, China and some other countries, it also uses individual hackers or teams of them who assume a wide variety names in an attempt to obscure the attackers true identity.





The fact that the incident last month was carried out via servers in the United States and Europe indicates a sophisticated effort, even though it was not the first time it was tried. The Iranian attempt to hide behind American servers angered U.S. officials who shared their analysis with Israel. Indeed, hardly a day goes by without Iranian cyber units and hackers trying to attack Israel via cyberwarfare.





There is no real clarity in Israel as to what constitutes critical infrastructure. For years, the Shin Bet was tasked with the cyber defense of such installations. In 2016, after a lengthy bureaucratic battle and much zigzagging, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu passed a law that formalized the status of the National Cyber Directorate, defining it has having authority over and responsibility for critical civilian infrastructure alone.





Thus, in the recent Iranian cyberattack, water installations were hit, but not those that are classified as vital critical infrastructure. Given this latest incident, and now that a new government has been sworn in, somebody (perhaps David Amsalem, the new minister for cyber and national digital matters) ought to address this issue and put the cyber house in order. Rather than extending its responsibilities, including in the realm of research and development, the National Cyber Directorate should function as an agency where the majority of personnel deal solely with defense and not with matters that are also being addressed by other units.





From reactors to hospitals





Any discussion of cyberwarfare requires an understanding of two key terms: Information Technology and Operational Technologies. IT warfare is primarily used to infiltrate computers via the internet for espionage missions such as collecting information on enemies, disseminating false information, recruiting agents, sending messages, eavesdropping, code-breaking and so on. This type of warfare can, of course, also be used to harm or destroy software and operating systems. However, on the defense side, this same type of warfare is used to develop protective mechanisms preventing infiltrations, breaches, Trojan horses, viruses and other malware.





OT is designed to strike at the equipment that is operated by computers. This could include nuclear reactors, power stations, dams, aircraft, air traffic control systems, traffic lights, hospital equipment or water systems, which were the target of the recent attack.





For good reason, cyberwarfare is considered to be the fourth combat arm along with the ground, naval and air forces. Rather than launch a missile or drop a bomb on a nuclear reactor or power station, today one can attack a targets computers and inflict equally serious damage. Cyberwarfare could also cause mass casualties if aimed at the electricity grid, dams, traffic lights, hospital systems, food and water plants, facilities that hold radioactive material and other targets. The potential for harm is so great that some say it is comparable to the damage from an atomic bomb or hydrogen bomb.





Alex Gibneys 2016 documentary Zero Days (full disclosure: This writer was a consultant to the production) describes the joint operation (according to various reports) by Israeli intelligence (the Mossad and IDF Intelligence Unit 8200) and American intelligence (the CIA and National Security Agency) to introduce the Stuxnet virus into the Iranian nuclear program in 2011. The virus was inserted into computers that controlled the electricity boxes connected to centrifuges used for uranium enrichment at the Natanz plant.





The operation was partly successful and 1,000 (about a third of the centrifuges at the time) were damaged. The penetration was accomplished so skillfully that Iranian computer operators in the control rooms didnt even notice it. On the downside, the virus was so powerful that it quickly got out of control and spread to other computers in Iran, among them those at other nuclear facilities, and from there to other places in the world. Even computers in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security were affected.





The success of Stuxnet as an additional tool in the effort to halt Irans then-rapidly accelerating nuclear program, derived in part from the countrys technological weakness. Exposure of the virus enabled the Iranians to learn from that incident, to make changes to their technological operations, to strengthen their cyber defense systems and to learn how to upgrade their offensive capabilities.
BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, will hold a press conference on Wednesday, one day before the opening of its annual session.

Guo Weimin, spokesperson of the third annual session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, will brief journalists on the session and take questions.

The live-streamed press conference, scheduled for 3 p.m., will be held by video link due to concern of COVID-19 prevention and control and public health protection, according to the secretariat of the session.
At the 55,000-square-metre warehouse where Kelly worked, in Hazle Township, products shipped from China and elsewhere are removed from trucks and broken down into smaller packages that are trucked to Amazon's other facilities for shipment to shoppers. Safety measures began arriving at the warehouse in mid-March, but they were introduced without rigour. When a team that oversaw safety protocols posed for a photo on March 17, wearing green for St. Patrick's Day, its members stood right next to one another, without social distancing. Yellow tape marked off 1.80-metre increments on a main walkway, but many people worked much closer together, Kelly said, "just like every other day." 'Just like every other day' On April 1, Kelly, who had worked at the warehouse for nine years, noticed that four hand sanitiser pumps affixed to a pole were empty. Later that day, feeling ill with a scratchy throat, she left work early. She tested positive for COVID-19 a few days later. Dave Clark, who runs Amazon's global operations, said in a statement that "we were earlier than most when rolling out broad protective measures for our teams, and we've adapted every day to make improvements." He pointed out that the warehouse is in a region with a high community infection rate and said he didn't think employees had caught the virus at work.

"We believe our efforts are working," Clark said. But workers and local leaders began worrying early on that Amazon wasn't doing enough. Demonstrators during a protest outside an Amazon.com facility in the Staten Island borough of New York earlier this month, protesting their employer's failure to provide adequate protections for employees. Credit:Bloomberg The company in February began consulting with Dr Ian Lipkin, an infectious-disease specialist at Columbia University, who advised introducing checks for fever, social distancing and other measures. "They wanted to stay ahead of the science as best they could," Lipkin said.

Still, some standard safety advice didn't become common practice at AVP1 for almost two months, according to interviews with six workers, local leaders and elected officials, some of whom asked that their names not be used for fear of retribution. Fever checks, but crowded lunches It wasn't until the first week in April, about a month after white-collar workers in Seattle were sent home, that fever checks were instituted at the Hazle Township warehouse. Masks were available to those who asked for them, but weren't required. Tables in the break room were moved apart, but as employees who had stayed home returned to work, lunch became crowded. Amazon added an extra break time on April 21 after workers complained. In social media posts and interviews, workers argued that the plant should be temporarily closed for deep cleaning. By the end of March, state Representative Tarah Toohil, a Republican whose district includes the warehouse, was hearing from workers. A relative of an employee called to say Amazon's cleaning crew had not shown up for work the previous day. Two days later, the mother of a contract worker told her to say not enough had changed at the warehouse.

"Now they are up to about nine cases, and it's still running the same," the woman wrote in an email. Amazon kept alerting workers to new infections. April 4: four cases. April 6: nine cases. April 8: eight cases. Loading That day, a worker complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, reporting that "there's no disinfectant we bring our own," and that employees awaiting COVID-19 test results were still going to work. "The richest company in the world can afford to close for a few days with pay for their people," the employee wrote. OSHA, which asked employers to investigate themselves during the outbreak, closed the complaint after Amazon provided documentation of its efforts.

As neighbouring Hazleton, at the intersection of two interstates, became a hot spot for the virus, there was increasing pressure on the area's big employers to shut down. In a few days, more than 1500 people signed a Change.org petition calling for Amazon to close AVP1. The petition said social distancing at the facility was nearly impossible. The local congressman, Matt Cartwright, a Democrat, held an online news conference and announced that he had asked OSHA to investigate three of the area's major employers, because he had heard about problems with social distancing and the lack of protective gear. He later confirmed that one was Amazon. Toohil called on large industrial employers, including Amazon, to close and pay employees. Pressure mounted when the Cargill meatpacking plant in the same industrial park as Amazon shut its doors, promising to pay its 900 workers for two weeks. More than 100 had tested positive for the disease. Safety improvements "I believe it actually saved lives," said Wendell Young IV, who heads the region's United Food and Commercial Workers union. "Any spread related to the plant stopped immediately."

On April 10, Amazon announced 11 new cases. On April 13, it was four new infections, and on April 15 the company told employees that another 11 people were infected. After that, no specifics were forthcoming, just announcements that there had been additional cases. On a whiteboard in the warehouse, several employees asked managers why the number of infections was no longer shared. They were told that it made no difference and that the company didn't want to make employees fearful. Loading In the dark early morning of April 11, trucks from a pest control company pulled into the facility's parking lot. A team in hazmat suits wearing respirators sprayed disinfectant fog in the building between shifts. There were other safety improvements. Where two people once had moved a stack of 10 empty pallets, one person instead moved five at a time. Managers told workers to tip and slide heavy items instead of lifting them with another person. Masks were required.

Still, by late April, a few places could still be too congested for employees to feel safe. One worker told colleagues in a Facebook group that social distancing was practiced everywhere but the busy area near the loading docks known as End of Line. Another wrote that she had seen 25 people working face to face across pallets, grabbing products to prepare for shipments. "If anyone is going to get infected, it's going to be from tonight," she wrote in a Facebook post. She later said she had told a manager, who spaced people out more. Since Kelly returned to work in late April, she has often worked almost 11-hour shifts  overtime to make up for the time she was out sick beyond the two weeks that Amazon pays workers with COVID-19. She said she was glad to see some work stations had been removed while she was away, because they had been too close together. And some workers had been hired just to refill all the sanitiser bottles. "It's just way too late," she said.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An Ohio judge on Wednesday barred Gov. Mike DeWines administration from enforcing its public-health order that has shuttered fitness centers throughout the state during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ruling in favor of more than 30 Ohio gyms that sued the state earlier this month, Lake County Common Pleas Judge Eugene A. Lucci wrote Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton had exceeded her legal authority in ordering the businesses closed since mid-March.

The decision could pave the way for gyms in Ohio to immediately re-open, although it comes less than a week before Ohio gyms were to be allowed to re-open anyway.

Last week, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced that gyms can re-open starting May 26, as long as they follow sanitization and social-distancing requirements.

While the ruling applies narrowly to gyms and fitness centers, Luccis language in his written order was more sweeping.

The director has no statutory authority to close all businesses, including the plaintiffs gyms, for more than two months, wrote Lucci, a Republican, in an order known as a preliminary injunction. She has acted in an impermissibly arbitrary, unreasonable and oppressive manner without any reasonable safeguards.

A ruling on a state law from a county-level judge can lack finality, since a different judge in another county could rule differently. When this happens, a higher level appeals court usually gets involved.

But Wednesdays ruling still provides legal cover for any gyms that would want to re-open immediately, said Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a conservative advocacy organization that brought the lawsuit.

In fact, Tim Cassell, a Democratic former state lawmaker who helped organize the case, said in an interview just hours after the ruling was issued Wednesday that hed already re-opened the gym he owns in Columbus.

From my perspective, us being able to open six days earlier is important, said Cassell, who previously represented Lake County in the Ohio House of Representatives. Weve been closed for a period of time. And the ability to open sooner rather than later is much better. And I would still advise all gym owners to follow as many precautions as we possibly can.

In an email, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the governors office is consulting with State Attorney General Dave Yost over any further legal steps, including whether they will try to appeal.

The ruling affirms that facilities must follow Ohio Department of Health safety protocols to keep patrons and all Ohioans safe and healthy, Tierney said. These facilities were due to open Tuesday anyways. However, our office disagrees with the rulings analysis of law.

Jonathan Adler, a constitutional law expert and law professor at Case Western Reserve University, said there isnt much case law on Ohios health orders, developed during the 1918 influenza epidemic.

But, he said state law grants the state health department broad authority to act during a public-health emergency.

I am somewhat skeptical that this decision will be upheld, Adler said. But it is a useful reminder that just because the government says theres an emergency doesnt mean it gets to do whatever it wants.

Cassell, whom DeWine tapped to sit on an advisory group that developed re-opening protocols for gyms, said the decision whether to wait until next week to re-open will be up to individual gym owners.

Weve had everything in place, so really this is no different an operation for us than it was prior to the regulations put on us, Cassell said. I think these operators are going to have to open in a sense that makes them feel comfortable, and makes their clients feel comfortable.

The 1851 Center and the Finney Law Firm in Cincinnati are representing the Ohio gyms in the Lake County case. They previously sued in federal court over a different aspect of the state health order, representing a bridal shop in Columbus, although they seem unlikely to prevail after a federal judge issued a key ruling against them in late April.

Thompson said the group plans to continue to file legal challenges against the state health orders, and said Wednesdays ruling will give them a useful precedent to cite in court.

Read recent coverage from cleveland.com:

Ohio gyms, fitness centers, rec centers can reopen May 26

Lake County gyms, legal group file suit to force state to lift coronavirus closure order

Federal judge rules against bridal shops challenge to Ohio health order closing nonessential businesses
A federal judge cleared the way on Tuesday for all Texas voters to seek a mail-in ballot should they be afraid of contracting the novel coronavirus at the polls, finding the state's restrictions on voting by mail are unconstitutional.

In a sharply worded ruling, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered that fear of contracting the virus be considered a disability under Texas's mail-in ballot law. Under Texas's election law, only absentees, those with an existing disability, or people over the age of 65 had been allowed to seek a mail-in ballot.

Voters, he wrote, should "have the option to choose voting by letter carrier versus voting with disease carriers."

The judge also rebuked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, finding he probably engaged in illegal voter intimidation by threatening to criminally prosecute local elections officials who advised voters afraid of the virus to vote by mail.

To Biery, the fact that older voters but not younger ones could be safe from both the virus - and, potentially, Paxton's wrath - amounted to unconstitutional discrimination against younger people. He said it probably violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause along with the 26th Amendment, which ensures the right to vote "shall not be denied or abridged" for anyone 18 and older.

Without expanding mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, the judge feared so many voters may decide against going to the polls that those who do won't adequately represent the will of the people.

"Americans now seek Life without fear of pandemic, Liberty to choose their leaders in an environment free of disease and the pursuit of Happiness without undue restrictions," Biery, referencing the Declaration of Independence, wrote in his introduction.

Yet, he continued, "there are some among us who would, if they could, nullify those aspirational ideas to return to the not so halcyon and not so thrilling days of yesteryear of the Divine Right of Kings . . ."

Paxton promised an immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, saying in a statement, "The district court's opinion ignores the evidence and disregards well-established law."

Biery's ruling is the latest in an ongoing conflict in Texas and throughout the United States regarding voting during a pandemic, especially when it comes to the presidential election in November. Many states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania and Indiana, among others, have massively expanded the option to vote by mail to account for anyone who is simply worried about catching the virus during in-person voting in intimate settings.

States are seeking to avoid a debacle like the one in Wisconsin, where the state Supreme Court overturned the governor's order that delayed the election last month and forced voters to go to the polls while the pandemic was raging. At least 71 people who cast votes have since tested positive for the virus, although it is not entirely certain whether they contracted coronavirus at the polls, the Wisconsin State Journal has reported.

Wisconsin's example, Biery noted, has added urgency to Texas's case, providing evidence that voters have reason to be "deeply fearful" of in-person voting.

The Texas Democratic Party, which brought the lawsuit against Paxton, said Biery's ruling is a "victory for all Texans."

"The right to vote is central to our democracy," Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement. "It is time for a few state officers to stop trying to force people to expose themselves to COVID-19 in order to vote."

The fight over mail-in ballots has been particularly fierce in Texas, where Republican state leaders have long peddled unfounded fears of voter fraud to push for greater restrictions on voting.

This time has been no different. Paxton, whose 2015 securities fraud charges are still pending in state court, has argued that allowing voters who fear catching the virus to vote by mail would jeopardize the integrity of the election.

Biery, a Clinton appointee in the Western District of Texas, cried foul, saying the state could offer no evidence to support this fear. Biery is among several other federal judges in Texas to reach that same conclusion. Biery cited figures reported in a San Antonio Express-News column last year finding only 73 people out of tens of millions of voters between 2005 and 2018 were prosecuted for voter fraud.

"The Court finds the Grim Reaper's scepter of pandemic disease and death is far more serious than an unsupported fear of voter fraud in this sui generis experience," Biery wrote, using the Latin phrase for "unique." "Indeed, if vote by mail fraud is real, logic dictates that all voting should be in person. Nor do defendants explain, and the Court cannot divine, why older voters should be valued more than our fellow citizens of younger age."

Biery's ruling interrupts a legal fight that had been playing out in the state courts over the issue and now rests with the Texas Supreme Court, which raises the possibility that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit could find his intervention premature. Travis County State District Judge Tim Sulak ruled April 17 that fear of coronavirus qualified as a "disability" under the law.

Paxton appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which has stayed Sulak's ruling. He also sent a letter to elections officials threatening to criminally prosecute them for merely advising voters to seek a mail-in ballot out of fear of covid-19. Biery noted that voters under 65 could reasonably fear prosecution as well.

"Younger voters who are just as at risk to contract COVID-19 are forced to choose between risking their health by voting in-person or facing criminal prosecution by Defendant Paxton," Biery wrote.

In states from Minnesota to Louisiana, GOP lawmakers have managed to resist efforts to massively expand mail-in voting with the same logic. President Donald Trump, who voted by mail in the Florida primary, has also warned against voting by mail, citing voter fraud.

Biery said that "one's right to vote should not be elusively based on the whims of nature."

In closing, he pulled from a centuries-old proverb, "For Want of a Nail," which, in its many variations, is about how one small initial misstep leads to a trail of increasingly disastrous consequences, ending with the fall of a kingdom.

"For want of a vote, our democracy and the Republic would be lost and government of the people, by the people and for the people shall perish from the earth," he wrote.
Roger Misso is a former candidate for Congress in New Yorks 24th District. He is a military veteran, Wayne County native, Syracuse resident, and advocate for veteran-owned businesses.

By Roger Misso | Special to Syracuse.com

Amazon  one of the largest corporations in the world  is playing us for suckers.

In 1937, Willis Carrier relocated his air-conditioning empire to Syracuse for $250,000 in targeted tax breaks. Since then, billions of dollars have been spent locally on tax abatements, grants, and other incentives, all by politicians trying to recreate that primordial magic in an effort to lure big business  but we have little to show for it. Employment has grown barely a quarter as fast in Central New York as it has in the rest of the country.

Enter Amazon.

The promise of more than 1,000 jobs and a new industry in Central New York seems too good to be true. A closer look at how the deal went down, how Amazon operates, and how it will treat Central New York reveals that it probably is.

First, ask yourself: Is a corporation that hides its identity really here to partner with Central New Yorkers? Or purely to exploit our workforce?

Development company Trammell Crow, a subsidiary of Republican mega-donor Harlan Crows Crow Holdings, would not reveal the name Amazon as they negotiated with the Town of Clay and Onondaga County. This might have something to do with the record $70.6 million tax giveaway from the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA)  and why a gift of that magnitude should go to the worlds wealthiest man in Jeff Bezos, whose corporation paid zero dollars in federal taxes in 2018. Rather than face public criticism, Amazon has constructed this process deliberately to avoid bad public relations while promising political leaders untold riches  and electoral successes  behind closed doors.

Next, consider how they are able to accomplish this.

Amazon uses its size to bully smaller businesses  the mom and pop shops that used to power the economic engine of Central New York  either into submission or out of existence. In March, a sweeping antitrust case was brought against Amazon for egregious price-fixing violations of the 1896 Sherman Act. Amazons successes are not the result of the free market, but rather a crony capitalism where their more than $15 million in corporate lobbying each year purchases legislation and political relationships favorable to their business.

At a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion, Amazon also uses its size to out-leverage local governments like the Town of Clay and Onondaga County. They use the promise of jobs as a carrot, and the threat of political retribution as a stick to get what they want: the lowest tax bill possible from municipalities desperate for economic development, and politicians looking for a feather in their reelection caps. The entire annual Onondaga County budget is less than what Amazon makes in profit each month  yet somehow, county taxpayers are handing them a gift.

And in Onondaga County, Amazon got one helluva deal. At nearly $71 million, our giveaway is higher than nearly all of the 150 other Amazon fulfillment centers around the country  including those providing more jobs to their local populations than the Clay center. In Montgomery, N.Y., $20 million in tax incentives were offered. In Dallas, Texas, only $2 million in tax abatements were required. In Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts, Amazon is paying their full tax share without abatements. The Clay site is geographically larger, but offers fewer jobs than many distribution venues around the country. Why such a rich deal for a business owned by the worlds wealthiest man?

Finally, consider what Amazon will actually bring to Central New York.

At $30,000 per year  including overtime pay  workers at the Clay fulfillment center will be among the lowest-paid workers in the Amazon empire. Trammell Crow was able to pressure Clay and OCIDA into key concessions by claiming an arbitrary, accelerated construction timeline, hiring fewer than 70% of its workforce from the local area and forgoing more extensive environmental studies for a project that will impact Clay residents and Central New Yorkers for decades. In a region with some of the highest concentrated racial poverty rates in the country, the jury is still out on whether any of these construction jobs are being filled by the black and brown workers in our area who need them most.

On top of all that is Amazons grotesque track record when it comes to labor: gross mistreatment of workers. Rampant injuries. Stagnant wages. Open hostility to labor law and collective bargaining. As recently as last month, New York Attorney General Letitia James charged that Amazon may have violated federal safety standards for providing inadequate protections to warehouse workers similar to those who will be employed in Clay.

This deal also signals a perverse incentive for future economic development. If we arent willing to require one of the wealthiest corporations in the world to pay their full tax bill, who will? If everyone gets a PILOT agreement, taxpayers end up shouldering more of the burden of a brittle tax base. Thats a raw deal for everyone  except Jeff Bezos.

The Clay distribution center is no economic achievement. It is the pinnacle of crony capitalism and corruption in government. Wealthy donors and politicians make out like bandits while the rest of us are left behind here in the slums of an Amazon company town.

This is not a future we should be forced to accept for Central New York. It is time to reject both economic development in secret and the kinds of opportunistic politicians who brought us here.

How to submit letters and commentary to Syracuse.com
Not every graduation in America is going virtual this year.

The state of play: In Alabama's Birmingham suburbs, some 1,950 graduates and guests could attend Tuesday night's ceremony at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (famous from MTV's "Two-A-Days"), AP reports. Another 3,450 could be on hand on Thursday.

Why it matters: Health officials fear large gatherings could result in coronavirus spread, especially since many people are contagious before experiencing symptoms.

Much of the U.S. is on week three of loosened their restrictions to some degree, the N.Y. Times notes.

is on week three of loosened their restrictions to some degree, the N.Y. Times notes. Alabama's case count rose in early May, and it's held steady over the past week.

Between the lines: Health officials keep warning against large gatherings, but the ceremonies are outdoors with fewer guests and more space, plus face masks are provided.

In two nearby cities that also held outdoor ceremonies, the AP notes, few of the attendees wore protective face masks, and seniors hugged and gathered in tight groups of friends for pictures.

The big picture: Texas is charting a similar path after Gov. Greg Abbott said outdoor graduations are permissible starting May 29.

In San Antonio, some students get two guests and a single parking space for their outdoor ceremonies in June, per The Rivard Report, a local news nonprofit.

The city's Northside district is having "contactless" ceremonies featuring students walking individually across a stage. The schools will edit the walks into a single video, per the San Antonio News-Express.

The bottom line: These graduations are good examples of the temptations Americans will face  and the lengths they'll go to preserve some sense of normal  until a vaccine is widely available.
Burma Myanmar Strips Imprisoned Veteran Rakhine Politician of MP Status

Dr. Aye Maung talks to the media during a court appearance in Sittwe in October 2018. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has annulled imprisoned Rakhine politician Dr. Aye Maungs status as a Lower House lawmaker and barred him from running in future elections due to his treason conviction.

In an announcement dated May 18 but published in state-run newspapers on Wednesday, the UEC said Dr. Aye Maung was removed from the MPs list and had been ineligible to serve as a lawmaker since March 19, 2019, when he was convicted of treason. He is still a prisoner under the existing law, it added.

Prominent Rakhine politician Dr. Aye Maung, the founder and former chairman of the Arakan National Party, was elected to the Upper House in 2010. He lost his seat in the 2015 general election but was elected to the Lower House representing Rakhine States An Township in the April 1, 2017 by-election.

The commission said Dr. Aye Maungs imprisonment under two articles of the Penal Code makes him ineligible to serve as a lawmaker under Article 11(d) of the Lower House Election Law, which states that any elected lawmaker imprisoned under an existing law can no longer hold a seat in Parliament.

In March last year, the District Court in Sittwe, Rakhine State sentenced Dr. Aye Maung and author Ko Wai Hin Aung to 20 years in prison for high treason under Article 122(1) of the Penal Code, and another two years for defaming the state under Article 505(b), to be served concurrently. They were arrested in January 2018 in Sittwe for remarks they made earlier that month at an event in Rathedaung Township commemorating the 233rd anniversary of the fall of the Arakan Kingdom to the Burmese in 1785. They were prosecuted in September 2018.

In January of this year the pair lost their special appeal to the Supreme Court of the Union, in which they asked the court to conduct a plenary session to reconsider the punishment.

The commission added that Dr. Aye Maung is barred from running in future elections under Article 88(a) of the Lower House Election Law, which states that any parliamentarian who loses his seat after being found guilty of treason, or after being sentenced to life imprisonment for any offense, loses his or her right to contest any election for either the Lower or Upper House of the Union Parliament, or for any state or regional parliament.

Until Monday, when the Union Parliament resumed in Naypyitaw, Dr. Aye Maungs name was among the list of MPs who are on leave.

U Pe Than, a Lower House lawmaker from the ANP representing Myebon constituency, said he would not dispute the commissions decision as it acted in line with the election law.

But it is too harsh that he was punished under this treason law for speaking at a public event, which is the opposite of an armed rebellion. And they were not instigating a riot, U Pe Than said.

Even as the government holds peace talks and ceasefire negotiations with ethnic armed rebel groups fighting for autonomy and self-determination, the parliamentarian was persecuted for expressing his views, he added.

U Pe Than told The Irrawaddy that ethnic politicians would continue to talk about the inequality and lack of federalism in the country. But if such prosecutions and punishments persist, he said, it would be a threat to all ethnic politicians, not only to Dr. Aye Maung.

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Doctor Arrested for Facebook Rant Against Monks Who Oppose Sex Education

Myanmar to Double Health Spending to Supply Free Medicines
The US State Department inspector general is one of several that Trump has removed from office in recent weeks.

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday adamantly denied that he recommended firing the State Departments independent watchdog in retaliation for investigations into Pompeos conduct as the USs top diplomat.

But Pompeo again declined to provide specific reasons for Steve Linicks dismissal as inspector general.

In a briefing at the US State Department, Pompeo took an unusually harsh shot at the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, accusing the senators office of being behind allegations that Linicks removal was motivated by revenge.

Pompeo said he would not take ethics lessons from Menendez, who was once prosecuted by the Justice Department on bribery charges, but his trial ended in a hung jury, and prosecutors decided in early 2018 not to retry him.

I dont get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted, Pompeo said of Menendez before abruptly ending the briefing.

Menendez responded by saying Pompeos use of diversion tactics by attempting to smear me is as predictable as it is shameful.

He said in a statement that Pompeo faced an investigation into this improper firing and into his attempt to cover up his inappropriate and possibly illegal actions, and that it was no surprise Pompeo was lashing out against legislators for their congressional oversight.

Senator Robert Menendez speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC [File: Joshua Roberts/Reuters]

Pompeo told reporters that he was unaware of any investigation into allegations that he may have mistreated staffers by instructing them to run personal errands for him and his wife, such as walking his dog and picking up dry cleaning and takeout food. Thus, Pompeo said, it would have been impossible for retaliation to have been the motive behind his recommendation to President Donald Trump to dismiss Linick.

Its patently false, he said. I have no sense of what investigations were taking place inside the inspector generals office. I couldnt possibly have retaliated for all the things. Ive seen the various stories that like, someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean, its all just crazy. Its all crazy stuff.

Pompeo did acknowledge that he was aware of an investigation into his decision last year to bypass congressional objections to approve a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia because he had answered written questions about it posed by Linicks office, But Pompeo maintained he did not know the scope or scale of the investigation.

Trump fired Linick late on Friday in what congressional aides have suggested was a move to pre-empt investigations into Pompeos personal conduct or possible impropriety in the Saudi arms sale. Pompeo, who previously told The Washington Post that Linick had been undermining the State Departments work, said he had recommended Linicks removal, but refused to cite specific reasons.

US State Department Inspector General Steve Linick departs after briefing House and Senate Intelligence committees at the US Capitol in Washington, DC [File: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters]

Pompeo said he had been concerned about the inspector generals work for some time and that he regretted not calling for his dismissal earlier. I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated, he said. I, frankly, should have done it some time ago.

Linick is one of several inspectors general that Trump has removed from office, sparking outrage among Democrats who say the administration is waging war on accountability. Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the firings, saying the watchdogs can only be removed for cause and that Trumps explanation that he has lost confidence in them is not enough.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday calling Linicks dismissal scandalous and urged Pompeo to provide a justification before Congress.

Lets see how this unfolds, Pelosi said at her weekly news conference in Washington, DC. But what it is that we know so far is scandalous.
- The five children were left under the care of their aunt after losing their dad to COVID-19

- Plangca who lived in Ireland passed away last week after a 41-day battle in intensive care with the virus

- In a heartfelt tribute, his teen daughter mourned her dad saying he had fought a good fight

- The five children lost their mom six years ago to cancer

As many countries continue to set strict measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, many have lost lives to the deadly menace.

Five children have been orphaned after their father died following a long battle with COVID-19.

READ ALSO: Jalang'o's boys' club member Sam Young hints betrayal from friend over leaked screenshots

READ ALSO: TV anchor Victoria Rubadiri opens up on struggle to fit in Kenya after living in US

Posting on Facebook, one of the children identified as Mikee Plangca shared the news of her dad's death in a heartbreaking tribute.

"You fought a good fight papa. Thank you for everything. We will miss you. We love you!" wrote Mikee.

Miguel Plangca who lived in Ireland died last week after a 41-day battle in intensive care with the virus.

READ ALSO: Jumba ambalo waigizaji wa Maria wamekuwa wakirekodia linauzwa

Miguel Plangca with his children. Photo: Mikee Plangca.

Source: Facebook

According to Daily Mail, Plangca's five children, Stephanie, Mikee, Michael, John and Chekie, were left all alone after their mother succumbed to cancer six years ago.

Well-wishers touched by the story have so far raised over KSh 1,523,000 (13,000) just in four days to support the five children who are now under the care of their aunt.

Mikee thanked well-wishers for raising money to support the siblings, saying the love and support they received was unbelievable.

"The love and support that we have been receiving is unbelievable. Thank you to the two persons who helped us set up the GoFundMe page and for the continuous support from everyone. God bless us all!" she wrote.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

The Untold story of Senator Isaac Mwaura | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: While Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Ajay Kumar Lallu secured interim bail by a local court after furnishing a personal surety bond of Rs 20,000 for his release in a case related to violation of lockdown in Agra on Wednesday, he was arrested again by Lucknow police that had reached Agra earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the buses over 500 in numberwere sent back from UP-Rajasthan border by the Congress leadership as they were not allowed to ferry the migrants. Lallu was booked in a case of fraud and forgery by the Lucknow police on Tuesday night for allegedely submitting wrong details of the 1000 buses offered by the party to ferry moving migrants.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhis private secretary Sandeep Singh was also named in the FIR.

In Agra, another FIR was lodged against the UPCC chief under Sections 188 and 269 for flouting the norms of lockdown while protesting against Agra administration for not allowing passage to 500 buses of Rajasthan road transport department.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday targeted the state government for not allowing the buses arranged by the party to ferry migrants into the state.

Launching an attack on state dispensation led by Yogi Adityanath, Priyanka said that if those buses would have been allowed to run, around 72,000 people would have reached home by now. "But they (UP government) were engaged in politics. The buses were are standing at the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border since yesterday and are not being of any help," Gandhi said in a video message released to media.

She reiterated said that the Congress wanted to help in a positive way and did not want to indulge in politics. She called upon the UP CM to let the buses enter Uttar Pradesh. "This is not a time to play politics, all parties should set aside politics and help people,"said the Congress leader.

She had claimed that the buses would remain stationed at Uttar Pradesh border till 4 pm on Wednesday after which she would send them back. Priyanka Gandhi and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had been at loggerheads over Congresss offer to send 1,000 buses to help transport migrants in Uttar Pradesh.

The offer was made on Saturday, and accepted on Monday. But by Tuesday evening, the state government said only 879 of the 1,000 vehicles were buses, and the rest three-wheelers and other vehicles, triggering angry reactions from the Congress.

"UP government has crossed all the limits. When there is an opportunity to do away with political differences and serve helpless migrant labourers it has caused all the hindrances. @myogiadityanath ji you can use BJP flags and your posters on these buses, but dont reject our feelings of service," she had said

in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Congress had on Tuesday accused the BJP and Adityanath of indulging in "cheap politics" and doublespeak by not letting in its buses to ferry migrants.
SHENZHEN, China, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Huntkey, a leading provider of power solutions, has recently introduced its new model of USB-C charger that features a US plug and a USB-C port to support fast charging.

The Huntkey USB-C Charger:

https://en.huntkey.com/product/30w-usb-c-port/

The charger can deliver 5V3A, 9V3A, 12V2.5A or 15V2A power outputs to different charging devices and offers a maximum 30W power output intelligently and high energy efficiently as it is labeled with VI energy level. It is in compliance with PD2.0 charging protocol that supports a relatively fast charging speed. To ensure safety, it is accredited with CB, FCC and UL certificates, and warrantied wit 2 years.

It is compatible with USB-C powered cell phones, such as iPhone and Samsung. It is white with a tiny design, measuring 61mm long, 44mm wide and 28mm high. What's more, It is paired with a 100mm USB-C to C charging cable for easy use. For more product information, please visit: https://en.huntkey.com/

Specifications:

Type: Wall mount

Input: 100-240Vac, 1.0A, 50/60Hz

Output: 5V3A/9V3A/15V2A

Protocol: PD2.0

Efficiency Level: VI

Dimensions: 61*44*28mm

DC Cable: 100mm

Warranty: 2 Years

CB, FCC, UL, VI Certified

About Huntkey

Huntkey Enterprise Group, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Shenzhen, is a member of The International Power Supply Manufacturer's Association (PSMA) and a member of The China Power Supply Society (CPSS). With branch companies in the USA, Japan and other areas, and cooperating factories in Brazil, Argentina, India and other countries, Huntkey has specialized in the development, design, and manufacturing of PC power supplies, industrial power supplies, surge protectors, adapters and chargers for many years. With its own technologies and manufacturing strength, Huntkey has served Lenovo, Haier, DELL, Bestbuy and many other large enterprises for years, and has received unanimous recognition and trust from most of the customers.

https://en.huntkey.com/

SOURCE Huntkey

Related Links

https://en.huntkey.com/


As a District 8 legislator, I am ashamed and embarrassed with all the false information that has been put out by the Dakota Leadership PAC and am very sad to see how low our governor and two candidates in Bismarck are willing to go.

Campaign finance reporting on the Secretary of States website show that the newly created Dakota Leadership PAC (February 2020) has a personal donation of $195,000 from Governor Burgum and with several large out-of-state contributions, the PAC now has $414,000 to support political campaigns. The PAC is heavily targeting House Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jeff Delzer of District 8 as well as conservative candidates in selected races.

Taking down one legislator will be a message to other legislators: You serve at the pleasure of the governor. So who can afford to run a campaign in North Dakota unless you come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars? Governor Burgum is making this next legislative session extremely difficult as he is creating a great divide between the executive and legislative branches.

There are very few in the Legislature that have the budgetary and agency knowledge as Rep. Delzer. He has received awards from the Lignite Council, the American Conservative Union Foundation and is one of the most conservative legislators in the state. Jeff can proudly run on his record.

Its hard to imagine $414,000 being spent in the primary, but the flurry of TV and radio ads along with an avalanche of over-sized postcards and malicious mailings makes it look plausible. The voters of District 8 will have an opportunity to reject this sort of big money takeover. As for me, Republican or not, Governor Burgum has lost my vote.

A vote for Delzer-Wheeler will send a message.

Vernon and Rose Laning, Bismarck

Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2
Zamfara government says there is an error in the number of new COVID-19 cases announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCD...





Zamfara government says there is an error in the number of new COVID-19 cases announced by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the state on Monday.





Yahaya Kanoma, the commissioner for health, said the state recorded two cases, and not 10 cases as confirmed by the NCDC.





Speaking with NAN in Gusau, the state capital, on Tuesday, he said the state government had alerted the NCDC about the error and demanded that it be rectified.





We were shocked and bewildered by this latest figure from the NCDC which said 10 new cases were confirmed when we know it was only two, he said.

Our records have shown that when results from the centre returned, we had a total of 76 cases made up of 45 discharged persons, 26 in isolation and five dead. So, we didnt know where NCDC got the additional eight.





We approached the centre which could not give a convincing explanation, and so we demanded a written apology which they promised to send as well as withdraw the media publicity that we had 10 new cases.





He said the state recently procured the necessary tools and equipment to set up a COVID-19 testing centre, and was awaiting an assessment visit by officials of the NCDC so that the centre can take off.





This will save us from unnecessary delays, the risks of travelling to Sokoto daily, as well as provide such services to our neighbouring states that require such services, Kanoma added.




Two BSF personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said.

They said the Border Security Force (BSF) troops, who were on picket duty in the Soura area, were evacuated to a hospital where they succumbed.

Their weapons were looted, the officials added.

Reports say the BSF party was attacked by some bike-borne terrorists. More details are awaited.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BURLINGTON, Mass. and PLANO, Texas, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE: KDP) (the "Company" or "KDP") announced today the commencement of a registered public secondary offering of 40.0 million shares, or approximately 2.8%, of the Company's outstanding common stock. All of the shares sold in the offering will be sold by Maple Holdings B.V. ("Maple").

Maple is a holding company majority-owned by JAB Holdings B.V. ("JAB"). JAB has indicated an interest in purchasing directly an aggregate of up to approximately 7.4 million shares of common stock in this offering at a price equal to the price paid for the common stock by the underwriter. The net impact of the offering is expected to increase KDP's float by approximately 2.3%.

The Company is not selling any shares of common stock and will not receive any proceeds from the proposed offering. Upon completion of the offering, assuming JAB purchases approximately 7.4 million shares of common stock in the offering, Maple and JAB will collectively own approximately 62.8% of the Company's outstanding common stock. Maple may distribute the proceeds of the offering to its members or otherwise redeem interests of its members from time to time, including JAB. Maple and JAB collectively intend to remain a controlling shareholder in KDP.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as underwriter for the proposed offering.

The offering will be made only by means of an effective registration statement and a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed offering may be obtained from: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing [email protected] Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the related prospectus may also be obtained free of charge from the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") at http://www.sec.gov.

The Company has previously filed with the SEC a registration statement (including a prospectus) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233477) as well as a prospectus supplement, each dated August 27, 2019, for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. 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 these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About Keurig Dr Pepper

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is a leading beverage company in North America, with annual revenue in excess of $11 billion and nearly 26,000 employees. KDP holds leadership positions in soft drinks, specialty coffee and tea, water, juice and juice drinks and mixers, and markets the #1 single serve coffee brewing system in the U.S. and Canada. The Company's portfolio of more than 125 owned, licensed and partner brands is designed to satisfy virtually any consumer need, any time, and includes Keurig, Dr Pepper, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Canada Dry, Snapple, Bai, Mott's, CORE and The Original Donut Shop. Through its powerful sales and distribution network, KDP can deliver its portfolio of hot and cold beverages to nearly every point of purchase for consumers. The Company is committed to sourcing, producing and distributing its beverages responsibly through its Drink Well. Do Good. corporate responsibility platform, including efforts around circular packaging, efficient natural resource use and supply chain sustainability.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "might," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "expect," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," and "would," or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements have been based on the Company's current views with respect to future events and the timing of this secondary offering. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including prevailing market conditions, as well as other factors. All of the forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the Company's other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's estimates and assumptions only as of the date that they were made. The Company does not undertake any duty to update the forward-looking statements, and the estimates and assumptions associated with them, after the date of this release, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Investors

Tyson Seely

T: 781-418-3352/ [email protected]

Steve Alexander

T: 972-673-6769/ [email protected]

Media

Katie Gilroy

T: 781-418-3345/ [email protected]

SOURCE Keurig Dr Pepper

Related Links

http://www.keurigdrpepper.com


T he British Medical Association has dropped its opposition to the reopening of schools on June 1 or earlier, as tensions over the governments plans continued to rise.

Schools should only reopen if safe to do so, the doctors union said, but added that there was growing evidence the risk to children from coronavirus is extremely small.

It came amid an ongoing row between teaching unions and the Government over the proposal of reopening schools at the beginning of next month.

Unions are opposed to the plan, claiming teachers, pupils and their families will be at risk of catching the deadly virus. And they were backed last week by the British Medical Association (BMA), which said unions were "absolutely right" to urge caution and prioritise testing before reopening schools.

But in an apparent softening of its stance, the BMA now said it could be safe to open schools on June 1 - or even sooner.

Writing for The Telegraph, Dr Peter English, the chairman of the BMAs Public Health Medicine Committee, said: The BMA wants schools to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so and the evidence allows  this could be before June 1 or after.

"A zero-risk approach is not possible. This is about safe being an acceptable level of risk.

Campaigners urge BAME parents not to send children back to school

A leading expert at the World Health Organisation on Tuesday ruled that it is on balance safe for children to start going back to school next month.

Dr David Nabarro said of the plans for a phased reopening of classrooms with strict safeguards and hygiene rules: There will be risks but its a case of balancing up the risks.

"You dont want children staying at home and missing out on school for a long time.

The verdict of Dr Nabarro, the WHOs coronavirus envoy to Europe, piled pressure on trade union leaders not to obstruct the moves towards a gradual return to school, which other countries have undertaken successfully, for example Norway, where schools are fully open.

Robert Halfon, chairman of the Education Select Committee, called on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to take a lead on the issue, telling the Evening Standard: Keir Starmer was supposed to have changed the Labour Party  well, this is his first big test.

If David Blunkett, Alan Johnson and Tony Blair recognise the importances of schools reopening, Keir Starmer should speak out too.

Meanwhile, ministers were facing increasing pressure from council leaders to reconsider their plans to open primary schools in England.

Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has joined a number of local authorities in advising its schools against reopening more widely to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils from June 1 amid safety concerns.

Solihull Council, believed to be one of the first Conservative-led local authorities to question the Government's proposed start date, has warned that some school places may not be ready for the first week of June.

It came as a poll from teachers' union NASUWT suggested that only 5 per cent of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month.

In a letter to the Education Secretary, Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said the union remains "unconvinced" that wider reopening of schools from June 1 is "appropriate or practicable".

The survey, of nearly 29,000 NASUWT members across England, found that around nine in 10 teachers believe that social distancing will be impossible, or will present major issues and a similar proportion are not confident that the proposed measures will protect their health or the health of pupils.

In other developments:

- Second World War veteran and NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore is to be knighted after he raised almost 33 million for health service charities by walking laps of his Bedfordshire garden.

- The Department for Health said 35,341 people have died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community with coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Monday, up by 545 from the day before.

- Official figures revealed benefit claims in the UK soared by more than 69 per cent in April after the coronavirus lockdown gripped the labour market.

- The Chancellor warned the UK economy may not bounce back straight away from the massive crisis caused by the pandemic.

- More than 175 frontline health and care workers have died after contracting Covid-19.

Meanwhile, ministers sought to defend the Government's handling of the Covid-19 spread in care homes amid accusations their pandemic planning was inadequate and focused on the NHS.

The head of care home providers, Professor Martin Green, said infected patients were discharged from hospitals into homes, while NHS medical support was withdrawn.

New figures suggest around 15,000 care home residents have died with the virus.

Prof Green told MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee that despite promises from ministers, there were still huge issues with testing, with results lost and staff waiting eight to 10 days to find out if they have coronavirus.

But Environment Secretary George Eustice rejected the assertion that the Government had made mistakes over its handling of care homes during the crisis.

However, he acknowledged some residents with asymptomatic coronavirus may have been discharged from hospital.

Mr Eustice told the daily Downing Street press conference: "We don't accept the caricature that we took an approach that was wrong.

"Very early on in this epidemic, we had protocols in place for care homes, there was guidance as to how they should approach things."
MA Rajeev Kumar By

Express News Service

KANNUR: Granddaughter Ifaya Jahanara was the happiest when her grandmother came back to the house after a long gap of around three months. Her grandmother, KK Shailaja, the health minister of the state, was a bit sad too when she had to go back to Thiruvananthapuram leaving the two-year-old daughter of her son Lasith behind on the very next day itself.

Ippumol, as she is fondly called, cried loudly as her grandmother, left for Thiruvananthapuram to resume her fight against the pandemic, which she has been leading from the front ever since the beginning of the disease in the state.

She came last here before this on February 18, said K Bhaskaran, husband of Shylaja.

She never stayed away from home for such a long period, he said.

Minister departed from Thiruvananthapuram by road on May 15th and reached her house Arathi at Pazhassi near Mattannur around 4.30 am on Saturday.

Since she was having a tough three months with non-stop meetings and other engagements, nobody was informed about the visit. But, somehow, people from the media knocked at the door very early on Saturday, said Bhaskaran.

ALSO READ: Health Minister KK Shailaja - The woman who helped Kerala combat coronavirus

Luckily we could have breakfast together with our son Lasith, his wife Megha and Ippumol, said Bhaskaran, who was the former chairperson of Mattannur municipality.

While speaking to the media persons, she cautioned that the next phase of the fight would be so crucial. She also had expressed confidence that the state would be able to sail through this phase too with the support of the committed service of the health department and others.

Shailaja also didnt forget to send the message to the public through the media that, to continue with the upper hand the state has achieved so far, the people of the state should be extra careful to follow the lockdown restrictions strictly.

When one group left, it was the turn of the next group to show up and asking questions, he said with a smile.

"And there were countless phone calls from the public and officials in connection with the COVID situation in the state."

All this time, the two-year-old was trying to attract the attention of the grandmother in her own style. "She was the happiest to see her grandmother back", said Bhaskaran.

And we had a tough time pacifying the crying child when Shylaja had gone back to Thiruvananthapuram.

Both Bhaskaran and their son Lasith, who is working as an assistant manager at Kannur International Airport, are very active in the COVID relief activities in the area.

She came here expecting some rest from the hectic activities at the capital coordinating the COVID fight. But, unfortunately, life remains the same for her, whether it is in Thiruvananthapuram or at Mattannur, said Bhaskaran.

The lady has gone back to Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday and duly immersed into her hectic schedules.

The fight against the pandemic continues, and the strong woman goes ahead with the task at hand, unmindful of the family waiting for her next return home.
The United States Designates Company Providing Services for Iranian Airline Mahan Air's Operations in China

Press Statement

Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State

May 19, 2020



The People's Republic of China is one of the rapidly dwindling number of countries that welcomes Mahan Air, which ferries weapons and terrorists around the world for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Such cooperation has consequences.

Today, the United States designated Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited, a PRC-based company that provides general sales agent services for the Specially Designated Global Terrorist Iranian airline. The United States designated Mahan Air in 2011 under a counterterrorism authority for providing material support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and again in 2019, under a weapons of mass destruction authority for shipping United Nations-restricted missile and nuclear items to Iran.

More recently, the Iranian regime turned to Mahan Air to facilitate shipments to Venezuela to support the illegitimate former Maduro regime and its desperate attempts to boost energy production, which had fallen due to its own gross mismanagement. It is equally troubling that Mahan Air appears to be carrying gold from Venezuela's vaults back to Iran, depriving the Venezuelan people of resources needed to rebuild their economy. As always, authoritarian regimes are more interested in their own survival than the needs of their people.

The United States is pleased that over the last two years, governments and companies across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have wisely severed ties with Mahan Air. This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air  in the PRC or anywhere else  risk potential U.S. sanctions.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Italian flag carrier to restore New York and Spain flights from 2 June.

Alitalia is to resume its non-stop flights between Rome and New York, flights with Spain (Rome-Madrid and Rome-Barcelona) and direct connections between Milan and the south of Italy, from 2 June, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Alitalia will operate two flights a week between Rome Fiumicino and New York's JFK, increasing to four weekly flights from 16 June, reports business paper Il Sole 24 Ore, with the cheapest one-way flight costing 789.16.

The move will see Alitalia increase its flight capacity by more than 36 per cent next month, operating 30 routes from 25 airports, of which 15 will be in Italy and 10 abroad.

The company says that it expects activity to grow to around 40 per cent of what was estimated before the start of the covid-19 pandemic for the third quarter of 2020, reports ANSA.

The airline said it has halved the passenger capacity inside its aircraft in order to comply with new regulation and social distancing guidelines, reports Reuters.

Read also:

Earlier this month the Italian government announced plans to inject at least 3 billion into the loss-making carrier which is being nationalised following financial problems.

The move comes as countries discuss lifting travel restrictions and travel warnings, and Alitalia said it will increase its international and domestic flights in line with demand which is already showing signs of recovery.

The Italian government recently approved a decree allowing unrestricted travel to and from EU countries from 3 June.

For in-depth information about travelling abroad from Italy and the specific requirements of other countries see the Viaggiare Sicuri website.

Photo credit: Stefano Garau / Shutterstock.com
Andre 3000 (with paddle) and fellow cast members in the Philadelphia-shot 'Dispatches from Elsewhere.' Ninety percent of the casting for the new AMC series was local, according to Philly casting agent Diane Heery. Read more

Inconceivable  that would have been an appropriate title for Invincible, the Mark Wahlberg movie about Philadelphia Eagle walk-on Vince Papale, had it been filmed in North Jersey and Giants Stadium as the producers had originally intended.

They scouted here, and then they decided, no, were going to use Giants Stadium, recalled Diane Heery, co-owner of the local casting agency Heery Loftus Casting. After hearing this from the movies producers, she called Sharon Pinkenson, head of the Greater Philadelphia Film Office, the organization that markets the city and region to film, TV, and streaming service productions.

I called Sharon right away and she got rolling and turned it around and made it come to Philly, said Heery, who considers the film office advocacy and expertise essential to the health of the local film industry, which vendors say is central to a larger creative economy.

Heery is one of the local business owners troubled by proposed cuts to the budget of the seven-person film office. Mayor Kenney recently announced that, amid the pandemic-related budget crises, his proposed new budget would defund the Office of the City Representative, which had provided about $131,000 annually to GPFO  roughly 18% of its $741,000 annual budget. (The citys contribution to GPFO peaked at $239,000 in 2014, and has been dropping steadily since then.)

A spokesperson for the mayor said the administration is aware the cuts are painful but says they are necessary under the circumstances, with the city suddenly short of nearly $650 million.

The revised FY21 budget was created with clear priorities in mind: keeping all Philadelphians safe, healthy, and educated while maintaining core municipal services, said spokesperson Lauren Cox. "While the administration values the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and its efforts to bring film projects to the city, our support for their work will need to shift given the painful budget cuts weve had to make.

GPFO tends to be the first point of contact for TV and film producers who might not know what the city has to offer  as was the case when producers for the new Jason Segel series Dispatches From Elsewhere began to evaluate Philadelphia.

We did casting for 90% of Dispatches From Elsewhere. And [the producers] general impression of the city was that they would have to bring everything from New York, said Heery, who relies on GPFO to tell Hollywood that creative jobs can be filled here, and at a very high level.

A cog in the creative economy

The film office is also an important cog in the larger creative economy, said Jim Madison, CEO of Expressway Cinema Rentals, which, with a staff of 20, rents cameras, lighting, and other equipment to film productions.

Though the bulk of his business is tied to local ad agencies, he said, much of the talent that ends up in the advertising sector comes from the film industry, a symbiotic relationship that would be threatened by a hamstrung GPFO.

Film and TV productions, he said mean more people employed more regularly, and a bigger pool of talent and training. Most of the people I know who have forayed into advertising have come from the film side," Madison said.

Without the film industry you dont really have a healthy creative economy here in Philadelphia, he said, and a well-funded film office is an important part of a healthy film industry."

How GPFO is funded

The citys annual budget contribution is one of four main chunks of money that form the bulk of the film offices funding. Another is the agencys own fund-raising effort, also under threat. GPFO raises about $100,000 per year, mainly through a charitable event that has been postponed twice already due to COVID-19, and may have to be canceled entirely, Pinkenson said.

Corporate sponsorship accounts for $150,000, and there is an annual $175,000 grant from the Wyncote Foundation, although that is set to expire in 2022. (Other revenue comes from donations, membership fees, and the like.)

Pennsylvania, which at one time contributed as much as $250,000 annually to the GPFO budget, essentially ended that subsidy in 2017.

Jason Loftus, co-owner of Heery Loftus Casting, questioned whether cutting city funds for the embattled GPFO is wise, given the agencys ability to generate business.

It should be a priority of the city to preserve things that create revenue, said Loftus, who said that when Hollywood content creators start gearing up again, the city needs to be ready to go after those productions. He said the GPFO has good record of helping to draw business that will generate sales tax and wage tax at a time when the city is likely to need it.

Of course, the cost-benefit of government subsidies for the GPFO has long been a matter for debate. In recent years, the state has capped its tax credits for film productions, arguing that an uncapped credit does not generate a net gain for state government. Pinkenson has argued that this makes it tougher for GPFO to compete with cities like Atlanta, where tax credits are uncapped.

 READ MORE: M. Night Shyamalan: Change Pennsylvanias movie tax credit, and film investment here would explode

That credit is capped at $60 million, generally enough for fewer than half a dozen large film productions statewide. Creed II, for instance, was allocated $17 million in tax credits. The state typically lures enough film productions  Pittsburgh also has an active film office  to exhaust its tax credit cap by the end of the first quarter, Pinkenson has said.

Over the life of the Pennsylvania tax credit program, which began in 2004, $812 million in film production tax credits have been approved for roughly 500 projects, generating $3 billion in direct spending, Carrie Fischer Lepore, deputy secretary of the states Department of Community and Economic Development, reported at a hearing in Philadelphia last fall.

Pinkenson said a budget cut now would hurt GPFO just when its competing for two major proposed (and as yet unnamed) Hollywood projects, including a Netflix movie ready to ramp up when pandemic restrictions are relaxed.

The film office is also preparing for the return of the Apple TV+ series Servant, produced and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and the HBO series Mare of Easttown, starring Kate Winslet, which has been shooting in the Philadelphia suburbs and has another month or so of work left, Pinkenson said.

Pinkenson has called on supporters of the local film industry to contact their local city council representative, and also council president Darrell Clarke, to ask that funding to the agency be restored.

Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- VEXOS Inc., an award-winning global electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider, today announces the signing of an exclusive license agreement with Elemaster Group to manufacture and distribute the MVM (Mechanical Ventilator Milano) Ventilator for the Americas (North, Central and South America).

The MVM Ventilator is an innovative ventilator, simple but powerful, conceived and designed to address the specific needs for care and recovery of severely affected COVID-19 patients. The MVM Ventilator has been approved by the FDA under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on May 1, 2020.

The MVM Ventilator Collaboration group originated with an international consortium of Italian, US and Canadian physicists, engineers and companies in early March 2020 working collaboratively across the globe to bring the MVM Ventilator from project initiation to FDA approval in a span of 6 weeks. Achieving this result in such a short time was made possible thanks to the cooperation of laboratories, institutes, universities and companies mainly across Italy, Canada and the United States, maximizing the benefits that come from the sharing of skills and resources.

"During these challenging times, it's important that everyone contributes where they can to assist their community. Vexos is committed to supporting the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic during these unprecedented times," said Paul Jona, CEO & President of Vexos. "We specialize in EMS services for medical markets, and manufacturing and distributing the MVM Ventilator is a natural extension of our capabilities. With the expertise resident in our Markham, Ontario, Canada and LaGrange, Ohio, USA facilities, which are both accredited to the ISO 13485:2016 standard (Quality Management Systems for Medical Devices), we are well-positioned to provide the MVM Ventilator across Canada, the United States and the rest of the Americas. We are pleased and honored to be working with Elemaster in helping to bring the MVM Ventilator to the Americas."

Vexos was approached by Elemaster Group, an Italian Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) firm that is working closely with the MVM Collaboration Group in finalizing the design, and industrialization of the MVM Ventilator. "We recognized the need to partner with an experienced EMS organization with strong manufacturing and supply chain presence in the medical sector, and the ability to meet US and Canadian regulatory requirements. In Vexos, we have a partner that aligns with us and our goal, to provide the MVM Ventilator globally," said Gabriele Cogliati, President & CEO of Elemaster.

About VEXOS Inc., Vexos, is an award-winning global Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) and Custom Material Solutions (CMS) company, providing complete end-to-end supply chain management solutions in electronic and mechanical products for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and new emerging technology companies. Vexos services extend over the entire electronic product life cycle, from value engineering services for product development to prototyping and New Product Introduction (NPI) through to the growth, maturity and end-of-life phases with a strong focus and commitment to quality and customer service satisfaction.

With manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, China and Vietnam, Vexos can efficiently compete in today's marketplace, primarily focus within medical, industrial, automotive, computing, communications, aviation/defense market segments. To learn more about Vexos, please visit us at www.vexos.com

About Elemaster

Founded in 1978, Elemaster stands out in the competitive scenario as Mechatronics Service Provider, offering to its own Clients services of design and manufacture of high-tech electronic equipment. Today Elemaster stands on the market as a One Stop Shop for its Customers who are the major global players in the high-tech sectors such as railways, avionics, medical, automotive, industrial and energy sectors. To learn more about Elemaster, please visit www.elemaster.com

For more information about the MVM Ventilator, please visit https://www.vexos.com/mvm-ventilator

Media Contacts:

Tom Reilly, Director of Marketing & Sales Operations

Phone: +1 855-177-3227

Email: [email protected]

Giovanni Cogliati, Director of Marketing & Sales Operations

Phone: +39 039999121

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Vexos

Related Links

http://www.vexos.com


The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said Wednesday it had begun delivering food to help more than 1.1 million Zambians hit by flash floods.

Luapula and Eastern provinces were swamped by floods that struck after the November-April rainy season.

"The COVID-19 pandemic hit Zambia as people affected by drought and flash floods were just starting to recover and rebuild their livelihoods," said Jennifer Bitonde, WFP representative in Zambia.

"This risks undermining resilience gains and further aggravating food insecurity of the most vulnerable," she said.

The landlocked southern African nation has so far recorded 832 cases of coronavirus, including seven deaths.

Zambia already had some 2.3 million people facing food shortages after last year's drought -- the worst in 35 years.

The WFP, working with the government, is delivering relief food to some 260,000 people in 32 flood-affected districts in central, northern and eastern parts of the country.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


nycshooter/iStockBy MEGAN CHRISTIE and DR. MARK ABDELMALEK, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- I think I had it. Youve likely heard someone say it, or perhaps youve been muttering it yourself.



It seems these months of quarantine-life and a growing list of COVID-19 symptoms are leading many to think back to that stubborn cold from back in February or that sudden stomach bug that hit in March and wonder if it really was the coronavirus.



Call it I-think-I-had-it-itis."



But a hospital study in New York City has found that out of hundreds of New Yorkers who thought they potentially had COVID-19 in the last three months but never received a confirmed clinical diagnosis, only 37% tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, a sign the body was previously likely infected and fought the virus.



That does imply that likely many of the people who suspect that they had this probably didn't have it, said Dr. Ania Wajnberg, one of the authors of the Mount Sinai study and an associate professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine. You can't assume that you had it just because you didn't feel well a few months ago.



In comparison, 99% of New Yorkers tested by Mount Sinai who had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis did have antibodies, the cornerstone of the bodys immune response to a virus, the researchers reported.



Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children's Hospital and an ABC News contributor, said he, too, had a bit of "I-think-I-had-it-itis."



"As someone who actually was convinced that they had been infected and then tested negative, its clear that many of us have been in the same boat," he said. "What we need to remember is that COVID-19 was circulating at the same time as a number of respiratory viruses likely creating confusion on the origin of infection."



Brownstein said the new data suggests that the U.S. could be "a ways off [from] herd immunity and further demonstrates the need of testing capacity."



The findings were among the first to come out of Mount Sinais monumental antibody testing program, which is now performing over 3,000 tests a day, tallying over 25,000 people so far. The study, which was published earlier this month and has not been peer-reviewed, looked at the initial 1,343 people tested in the program, including those who had previously confirmed coronavirus infections and those who suspected, or were told by their doctors, that they likely did but were not tested.



The broader aim of the antibody program is to identify donors for convalescent plasma, an experimental treatment sometimes used for seriously ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients.



We've given convalescent plasma to hundreds of patients at the Mount Sinai health system, and that's been a good thing to be part of, Wajnberg said. And it's also helping us learn about potential immunity.



Researchers at Mount Sinai were among the first in the U.S. to develop an antibody test and received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration in April. There are currently 13 such tests with EUA in the U.S.



This week, Mount Sinai announced it is beginning to commercially produce its antibody test with a goal of testing more than 10 million patients per month by July.



Antibody tests are distinct from what are called diagnostic coronavirus tests, which look for live virus currently infecting the body. The Mount Sinai study said the results suggest "the optimal time frame for widespread antibody testing is at least three to four weeks after symptom onset and at least two weeks after symptom resolution."



Antibody tests not only allow doctors to understand who has antibodies, but can also help reveal how strongly a person responded to the virus. And, depending on the kind of antibody found, these tests can signal whether or not a person may have some immune protection to future infection.



The kind of antibodies that experts are hoping to find are called neutralizing antibodies  those that have the power to squash the coronavirus. But because the current coronavirus circulating is new, scientists cant yet say with certainty that having antibodies means someone is immune to re-infection.



We are hopeful that like most respiratory viruses, the presence of antibodies in your system is going to be protective for some time, Wajnberg added. However, since we haven't had a lot of time to actually monitor this and do the testing that we've done for other viruses, we don't know for sure yet. So there's still work that needs to be done before people with antibodies can sort of run back into the world and assume that they're going to be fine.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
The grisly head injury happened after one wrong step.

Kamel Abdel Rahman was on a construction site in April, checking how the apartment hes building for his family was progressing, when he slipped and fell onto iron rods on the floor below.

A 3D reconstruction of scans of the patient's head shows the extent of the injury and position of the rod. (Courtesy Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem)

As I was falling, I thought I would die. But when I landed, I realized I was still alive and didn't even have any pain. I was talking, Rahman, 46, who lives in Abu Ghosh, a town outside Jerusalem, Israel, told TODAY. (He speaks limited English so his comments were translated by Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, where he was treated.)

Rahmans brother called an ambulance and the fire department. It took an hour to detach the iron rod penetrating his head from the construction site, during which Rahman was totally functioning and saw a big crowd watching, he said.

The next thing Rahman remembers is waking up after his surgeries.

So much happened in between.

Dr. Samuel Moscovici, a senior neurosurgeon at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, was in the trauma room when Rahman was rushed to the medical center. By that time, the patient was unconscious and close to cardiorespiratory arrest.

I remember his face and the rod penetrating his head from side to side. But when you see a patient in this condition, you need to take care of him, to decide on a plan and to manage it, Moscovici, 39, told TODAY.

I didnt think about whether he would survive or not. It is much more simple: I convinced myself that he would survive and we did everything to reach that goal.

When Moscovici considered all the vital structures that could be damaged by the rod, his first concern was the carotid arteries, which supply blood to the brain. Scans of Rahmans head revealed the rod  which entered behind his left ear and exited through his right forehead  came within millimeters of the carotid arteries, but passed between them and did not damage them.

Its the reason Rahman survived, Moscovici said, calling it very close. He wasnt surprised the patient was conscious for a while after the accident, noting people with head trauma can have lucid intervals before deteriorating.

Story continues

When Rahman was stable and doctors understood the exact position of the rod, they removed it during a surgery that took about 15 hours.

But there was a new problem. Rahmans skull base was completely fragmented and his cerebrospinal fluid was leaking trough his nose and mouth, which could have caused infection, bleeding and death, Moscovici said.

Using a small endoscope inserted through Rahmans nose, Moscovici implanted tissue from the patients leg to close the big hole in his skull base  a procedure known as an endoscopic endonasal approach. That second surgery lasted more than 10 hours.

Man survives being impaled by metal rod through head. (Courtesy Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem)

Rahman spent three weeks in the hospitals neurosurgical intensive care unit. After slowly being weaned off sedation, he woke up about two weeks after his injury. Moscovici described him as being in perfect neurological condition, with no psychological or intellectual changes.

Hes a very positive and very nice man, Moscovici said, noting that Rahman also had lots of family support, an important factor in recovery. The patient has an excellent prognosis, actually he is cured, the doctor said, adding only two scars are visible: where the rod entered and where it exited his head.

More than a month after his injury, Rahman has returned to his usual routine, including fasting for Ramadan this month.

I am feeling fine, except for being tired and having some sinus problems and some reduction in my hearing, he said.

I get shivers when I look at the scans and realize what has happened to me. I'm very grateful to the team at Hadassah Hospital and to God for surviving such an injury.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 20:01 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd95460d 1 National PSBB,surabaya,East-Java,large-scale-social-restrictions,COVID-19,Idul-Fitri Free

Entering the last week of Ramadan, shopping centers across the country are packed by shoppers getting ready to welcome the annual celebration of Idul Fitri, with many neglecting health protocols designed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of photos and videos have made the rounds on social media showing shoppers swarming clothing shops and lining up too closely at entrances, waiting for their body-temperature checks before entering shopping centers.

Besides implementing large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), some local administrations have issued restrictions on operating hours, with many shopping centers only allowed to open at noon, but not all places have obeyed these policies.

In East Java, for instance, crowds packed a number of shopping centers in several cities and regencies. In the capital Surabaya -- which currently imposes PSBB -- Royal Plaza, Pakuwon Trade Center (PTC), Tunjungan Plaza and other malls were all busy on Sunday.

East Java COVID-19 task force secretary Heru Tjahjono confirmed the information, saying that his team was required to pay special attention to the implementation of the mobility restrictions during this time of the year.

We have received reports that shopping centers are crowded in several areas as Idul Fitri approaches, including in Malang, Heru told tribunnews.com on Monday, adding that his team would monitor malls in certain areas, specifically in Greater Surabaya.

Last week, East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak designated Pakuwon Mall and Tunjungan Plaza as two of 52 COVID-19 clusters in the province. The Surabaya COVID-19 task force later disagreed, saying that no transmissions had occurred inside the malls.

Read also: COVID-19: Jakarta extends PSBB until June 4 as Jokowi seeks to ease restrictions

In Jember regency, a large crowd that was seen at Roxy Mall in Kaliwates district on Sunday led to heated conversations on social media later in the evening.

Kaliwates Police chief Comr. Edy Sudarto confirmed that the crowding occurred on Sunday, despite the the police having previously invited the management of a number of shopping centers to discuss their anticipation of a buildup ahead of Idul Fitri, which is expected to fall on Saturday and Sunday.

The buildup happened at Roxy because its very popular with middle- to lower-income people. Eventually, the officers were overwhelmed, Edy told kompas.com on Monday, while regretting the publics attitude of ignoring the police order.

Jember Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Aris Supriyono said that he had coordinated with at least 17 shopping center and clothing store managements in Jember to ask them to apply better measures such as dividing visitors into various areas of the malls for body-temperature checks.

Jember Police have also asked mall managements to limit visiting times and the number of visitors, and to ensure that all visitors wear face masks and apply proper physical-distancing rules.

In Gresik regency, two people tested positive for COVID-19 through a rapid test conducted by the regencys task force in a Ramayana store on Sunday, after two days of huge crowds and visitors jostling around.

Gresik COVID-19 task force secretary Tursilowanto Hariogi said that the two people, one a Ramayana employee and the other a visitor, were immediately ordered to self-quarantine, under monitoring from the health agency.

In Tangerang, Banten, a video showing a buildup in the entrance hall of the Ciledug CBD Mall has also gone viral on the internet.

Read also: Tanah Abang Market packed with traders ahead of Idul Fitri despite virus fears

It happened on Sunday, Tangerang Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) official Gufron Falfeli told kompas.com on Tuesday, adding that the mall had been allowed to operate as it included stores that provided basic daily needs.

The agencys head, Agus Hendra, said a further investigation had found that the mall management may have violated operational restrictions by allowing the operation of non-essential businesses, which later were forced to close.

Large crowds have also been seen in some markets across Jakarta, as well as in shopping centers in the cities of Tegal and Pekalongan, Central Java, and in Pekanbaru, Riau, in the past few days.

Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Lestari Moerdijat voiced her concerns, saying that the government should act consistently in implementing social restrictions, especially during Idul Fitri.

There have been alarming scenes before this Idul Fitri. The government has insisted there has not been any policy easing, but crowding has continued to occur. This situation confuses people, Lestari said in a statement on Tuesday.

She stressed that the authorities should be able to immediately restore order when people crowded the roads and markets. In Tanah Abang Market, Central Jakarta, she pointed out, even though the market was officially closed, traders were still selling on roadsides.

If there has been no policy easing, why are there no sanctions and arrangements according to the health protocols? asked Lestari, adding that such confusion might eventually lead to skepticism among the community about the governments policies. (syk)
Despite a drop of more than 90,000 points in the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) index in the past few days, the CEO of TSE announced that investors have not withdrawn funds from the stock market.

In early trading on May 16, the TSE's benchmark TEDPIX index lost more than 32,000 points, falling well below one million points. Last Tuesday and Wednesday, it also dropped and returned to below one million with a decrease of 30,000 points each day. In the last trading days, the market has lost close to 9 percent.

However, the Director-General of the TSE, Ali Sahraei, said investors were waiting to buy stocks at better prices.

"As the stock market index is booming, it is natural for some to identify opportunities to make profit, take advantage and sell their stocks after pocketing gains," Sahraei said.

Meanwhile, he denied reports that the TSE was experiencing a bubble. However, in the past one year, TSE index has risen close to 200 percent amid a deep economic recession and a grim outlook for the countrys economy battered by U.S. sanctions and an almost total loss of oil exports.

One reason for the steady rise in Tehrans stock market is lack of other profit-making investments amid the recession and the governments discounted offering of state-owned companies.

Citing a capital market expert, Alireza Tajbar, the Islamic Republic's official news agency, IRNA, reports that the market's current negative trend will not continue much, and the stock market index soon will return to its original trend after a 10% correction.

The total index of the TSE registered 1.02 million points on May 9.

Nevertheless, in a note for Radio Farda, Paris-based Iranian economist Jamshid Asadi argued on May 8 that the current rise in the market has created a typical bubble.

"As long as the government increases the volume of trade by privatizing more public companies and raises the stock market index, it can postpone the bubble burst", Asadi wrote.

Another Paris-based Iranian economist Professor Fereydoun Khavand has also warned in a note that the current state of capital attraction in the TSE is a dangerous game played with government support.

Many more experts have warned in recent days of the consequences of "millions of people, often inexperienced" deciding to flock to the stock market.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Stock Exchange and Securities Organization called on the people to invest only their "surplus" money in the stock market and not to risk money they need for necessities.
Southern Halo has teamed with FriendlySky to launch a four-part virtual concert series, HANGIN WITH HALO. The first show will stream LIVE this Friday, May 22, from the Donelson Room at Cotton House, Cleveland, Mississippi at 7 p.m. CT. The duo is the first Country act to use the FriendlySky platform.

The one-hour performance will embrace the full Southern Halo experience - the only difference is that fans will be able to watch from the comfort of home. The tight four-piece band unit includes Natalia Morris (acoustic guitar, keyboard), Tinka Morris (drums), Pete Horne (electric guitar) and Ben Murray (bass). Songs will range from originals to fan favorite covers of Southern Halo's influencers The Eagles, Dixie Chicks, Fleetwood Mac and Alabama. As always, Southern Halo's high energy and enthusiasm promise a dynamic show.

FriendlySky's multi-HD camera approach equates to higher production values, putting the viewer front and center for this special event. Ticket prices vary from entry level to a high-end VIP package that includes special extras. Fans who purchase more than one ticket will receive additional logins to use or share on another device. The show will be available for on demand streaming for four days following the performance.

Jeff Cook of Alabama fame produced the (then) trio's debut EP in 2014. The Morris sisters next teamed with hit songwriters Gerald O' Brien and Catt Gravitt for two full-length projects in 2015 and 2018. The latter, Just Like In The Movies, generated two Top 25 hits on the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart with "Anything Is Possible" and "I Think Too Much."

Using each project as a stepping stone, the siblings embarked on multiple radio tours, extended U.S. performances and three tours to the UK. Their finely tuned stage shows have earned them spots at CMA Fest, Bluebird Cafe, Grammy Museum Mississippi, and Grammy Museum Los Angeles, among others. Extensive high-profile media coverage helped push Southern Halo into the spotlight, and they've shared the stage with Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Randy Houser, Easton Corbin, Brantley Gilbert, and legends Dionne Warwick and B.B. King.

Originally from Cleveland, Mississippi, Nata and Tinka now call Nashville home. Fans can find their current single, "Don't Let Another Day Go By" and more on Spotify, Apple / iTunes, Amazon and Google.

Follow Southern Halo

Website: www.southernhalo.net

FB: https://www.facebook.com/SouthernHalo

Twitter: @duohalo https://twitter.com/duohaloI

nstagram: officialsouthernhalo https://www.instagram.com/officialsouthernhalo/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/southernhalorocks

Tags : southern halo southern halo virtual concert series FriendlySky
New Delhi, May 20 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to reply to a plea seeking Muslim women's entry to mosques across the country, as such a restriction violates right to equality and gender justice.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy took up the matter through video-conferencing and agreed to examine the petition which sought setting aside a 'fatwa' restraining Muslim women's entry to mosques.

The plea, filed by Pune-based Muslim women, cited constitutional provisions and argued that there should not be any discrimination against any citizen.

The petitioner contended that it is very unfortunate that not a single political party or chief minister, women included, has thought of advancing the interest of Muslim women by providing them access to mosques that receive monetary aid from taxpayers' money.

The plea sought direction from the apex court permitting women to pray on the 'musalla' without being separated by a barrier, including in the front and in mixed-gender congregational lines.

"Despite the observation of this court, the goal of Uniform Civil Code remains elusive. There is nothing in the Holy Quran and the Hadith that requires gender segregation", added the plea.

"It is because of such failure that a need has arisen for Muslim women from several states to approach the Supreme Court", said the plea.

The plea argued: "Women are allowed to enter mosques that have a separate space for them, but most mosques in India do not have this facility. Socially, Indian women are not encouraged to regularly pray at mosques even if they do have separate enclosures. Most Women visiting the Jama Masjid, for instance, would be Muslim tourists rather than residents of the capital." The bench, beside the Centre also issued notices to the Ministry of Minorities Affairs, National Commission for Women and All India Muslim Personal Law Board and others and sought their responses.
[May 20, 2020] Fidelity Uses Financial Strength and Scale to Deliver Unmatched Value With First of Its Kind Fidelity Rewards+ Program

Fidelity Investments, with 32 million customers leveraging its unmatched scale and diversified set of market-leading businesses, today launched Fidelity Rewards+, a new program designed to give eligible Fidelity Wealth Management customers exclusive opportunities to earn and save more. To be eligible1, customers must have a minimum $250,000 invested through Fidelity Wealth Services, Fidelity Strategic Disciplines, or a combination of both. Fidelity is one of the industry's fastest growing wealth management providers with more than $375 billion in assets under management, up 23% in the last two yearsiii. Fidelity Rewards+ features no-cost enrollment, automatic renewal with qualifying assets, and automatic upgrades to higher benefit tiers. It includes: The Only Credit Card that Can Earn Up to 3% Cash Back on Everyday Purchases -- Fidelity offers the award-winning iv Fidelity  Rewards Visa Signature  Cardwith no annual fee v , which earns cardholders unlimited 2% cash back on everyday purchases vi . Fidelity Rewards+ members can earn up to an additional 1% for a total of 3% cash back on everyday purchases that can be added to any eligible Fidelity investment account vii .

Fidelity offers the award-winning Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Cardwith no annual fee , which earns cardholders unlimited 2% cash back on everyday purchases . Fidelity Rewards+ members can earn that can be added to any eligible Fidelity investment account . $75 Bonus -- Early enrollees will receive a one-time bonus of a $75 statement credit when they use the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card to make any purchase amount on Amazon.com (News - Alert) by Sept. 30, 2020.

Early enrollees will receive a one-time bonus of a $75 statement credit when they use the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card to make any purchase amount on Amazon.com (News - Alert) by Sept. 30, 2020. Access to Fidelity's Higher-Yielding Money Market Funds -- Fidelity challenged conventional industry practices by automatically investing customers' idle cash into higher yielding cash sweep options available for new retail brokerage and retirement accounts. Now, Rewards+ members can invest in many of our highest yielding money market funds without the typical investment minimums, providing the potential to earn more.

Fidelity challenged conventional industry practices by automatically investing customers' idle cash into higher yielding cash sweep options available for new retail brokerage and retirement accounts. Now, Rewards+ members can invest in many of our without the typical investment minimums, providing the potential to earn more. Identity Theft Monitoring, Insurance and Restoration Support from IDnotify  , a part of Experian  -- Fidelity safeguards all its accounts with strong encryption, firewalls, and proactive 24/7 system surveillance. On top of that, Fidelity Rewards+ members get access to three layers of ID protection : up to $5M in identity theft insurance for the whole family, access to a suite of 24/7 advanced credit and identity monitoring services that alerts the customer if a breach is detected, and concierge restoration service to recover and restore a customer's identity, should they ever need it.

Fidelity safeguards all its accounts with strong encryption, firewalls, and proactive 24/7 system surveillance. On top of that, Fidelity Rewards+ members get access to : up to $5M in identity theft insurance for the whole family, access to a suite of 24/7 advanced credit and identity monitoring services that alerts the customer if a breach is detected, and concierge restoration service to recover and restore a customer's identity, should they ever need it. Free Online Options Trades - No Commissions or Contract fees -- Fidelity eliminated online commissions for stocks, ETFs and options trades in 2019, and now Fidelity Rewards+ members can trade options online free from contract fees for up to an unlimited amount of trades. "With Fidelity Rewards+, we are once again using our unmatched scale to deliver exceptional value to our customers, while raising the bar for the industry," said David Dintenfass, chief marketing officer at Fidelity Investments. "By building a unique benefits package with Fidelity Rewards+, we believe we are providing a new kind of return on investment to the estimated 22 million American households that could qualify for this program by helping them save and earn even more money as well as further protecting their digital information." An Industry-Leading Program of Exclusive Benefits Fidelity Rewards+ includes three levels of benefits based on assets - Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Plus. Once customers are enrolled in the program, if their eligible assets increase to the next level, Fidelity will boost the rewards automatically. Customers can learn more and check their eligibility and program status at Fidelity Rewards+.







GOLD $250K - $1M in eligible assets PLATINUM $1M - $2M in eligible assets PLATINUM PLUS $2M+ in eligible assets More cash back When you enroll in the Fidelity Rewards+ program, we'll boost the cash back you earn from our award-winning Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card from 2% to as high as 3%, which you can add to any eligible Fidelity investment account. 2.25% Cash back 2.50% Cash back 3.00% Cash back Higher-yielding funds Fidelity waived the minimum investment on many of our highest-yielding money market funds, giving your cash the chance to earn more. Up to .32% 7-day yields as of 05/17/2020 Up to .47% 7-day yields as of 05/17/2020 Up to .51% 7-day yields as of 05/17/2020 3 layers of security from IDnotify, a part of Experian Up to $5M in identity theft protection for the whole family viii

Access to a suite of 24/7 advanced credit and identity monitoring services, alerting you if a breach is detected ix

Concierge restoration support to recover and restore your identity, should you ever need it $2M in identity theft insurance $3M (News - Alert) in identify theft insurance $5M in identity theft insurance Free online options trades - no commissions or contract fees You already pay zero commissions when you trade online. With Fidelity Rewards+ we'll add even more value when you trade options by waiving the $0.65 contract fee, with no limits on the number of contracts per trade. 100/year options trades with no contract fee 250/year options trades with no contract fee Unlimited options trades with no contract fee

The performance data featured represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data quoted. The current yield shown above reflects the highest yield available for each tier - Fidelity Money Market Fund - Premium Class, Fidelity Investments Money Market - Money Market Portfolio - Class I, and Fidelity Investments Money Market - Money Market Portfolio - Institutional Class, respectively. Research or learn more about the money market funds available in each tier as well as their respective 7-day yields. Fidelity waives commissions for all online options trades. In addition, the $0.65 per contract fee for Fidelity Rewards+ customers is waived for an unlimited number of contracts per trade. Note that an Options Regulatory Fee (from $0.03 to $0.05 per contract) will apply to both buy and sell transactions and that sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). All non-Fidelity regulatory fees are subject to change. To receive program benefits, a participant may need to take additional action, including establishing a retail brokerage account, applying for the credit card or signing up for services through IDnotify. The Fidelity Rewards+ program enhances Fidelity's Wealth Management offering, which provides customers a 1:1 relationship with a dedicated financial advisor, a comprehensive suite of financial planning services, and Fidelity's well-known investment management capabilities to help them tackle the various financial decisions that arise as life evolves. In addition to the exclusive benefits for Fidelity Rewards+ members, Fidelity has recently introduced products, policies and fee reductions to improve the overall value all customers receive, including: In April 2020, introduced new thematic mutual funds, including a time-based pricing feature on six disruptive funds that provides pricing discounts for shareholders who invest in one of the disruptive funds through a Fidelity account and remain in the fund for extended periods. The new time-based pricing structure to encourage long-term investing aligned with the disruptive funds' strategies.

Fidelity is the largest online brokerage firm to offer investors access to real-time fractional shares trading for stocks and ETFs, introduced in January 2020.

Zero online commissions for stock, ETF and options trades, introduced in October 2019.

Reduced index funds fees by nearly 50% in 2018, and now all 24 Fidelity index funds have lower expense ratios than Vanguard's comparable funds x .

. Zero ATM fees for Fidelity debit cards, zero annual fees for the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card, and Fidelity Cash Management Account customers currently have access to $1.25 million in FDIC-insurance xi .

. Introduced four Zero expense ratio index mutual fundsxii that now have more than $7.5 billion dollars invested in themxiii, zero minimums for retail brokerage account opening, zero investment minimums on Fidelity retail and advisor mutual funds and 529 plansxiv, zero account fees for retail brokerage accounts, and zero domestic money movement fees in the summer of 20182. "Fidelity provides unparalleled value for all investors of all ages, and now we can offer something truly unique for our Wealth Management customers," said Dintenfass. About Fidelity Investments Fidelity's mission is to inspire better futures and deliver better outcomes for the customers and businesses we serve. With assets under administration of $7.9 trillion, including discretionary assets of $3.1 trillion as of April 30, 2020, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 32 million people invest their own life savings, 22,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing more than 13,500 financial advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients' money. Privately held for more than 70 years, Fidelity employs more than 40,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about. ### Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Keep in mind that investing involves risk. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time, and you may gain or lose money. Stock markets are volatile and can fluctuate significantly in response to company, industry, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments. Investing in stock involves risks, including the loss of principal. $0.00 commission applies to online U.S. equity trades, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and options (+ $0.65 per contract fee) in a Fidelity retail account only for Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC retail clients. Sell orders are subject to an activity assessment fee (from $0.01 to $0.03 per $1,000 of principal). There is an Options Regulatory Fee (from $0.03 to $0.05 per contract), which applies to both option buy and sell transactions. The fee is subject to change. Other exclusions and conditions may apply. See Fidelity.com/commissions for details. Employee equity compensation transactions and accounts managed by advisors or intermediaries through Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions are subject to different commission schedules. Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all investors. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk. Before trading options, please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options. Supporting documentation for any claims, if applicable, will be furnished upon request. You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The fund may impose a fee upon the sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the Fund's liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Fidelity Investments and its affiliates, the fund's sponsor, have no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time. Zero account minimums and zero account fees apply to Fidelity Brokerage Accounts only. Expenses charged by investments and commissions, interest charges, or other expenses for transactions may still apply. See www.fidelity.com/why-fidelity/pricing-fees for further details; certain exclusions apply. Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC

900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917 Fidelity Distributors Company, LLC

500 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917 National Financial Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC,

200 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA 02110 920173.1.0

 2020 FMR LLC. All rights reserved __________________________ 1 Accounts must be registered as an individual account, a joint account, or certain types of revocable trusts. Assets in other registration types, such as irrevocable trusts, partnerships, or LLCs, will not be included when determining program eligibility. Fidelity Rewards+ is not offered as a component of any advisory service or program through Fidelity, including, without limitation, Fidelity Wealth Services and Fidelity Strategic Disciplines. While there are no program enrollment fees, eligible accounts are charged an advisory fee.

2 Zero account minimums and zero account fees apply to retail brokerage accounts only. Expenses charged by investments (e.g., funds, managed accounts, and certain HSAs) and commissions, interest charges, or other expenses for transactions may still apply. See https://www.fidelity.com/trading/commissions-margin-rates for further details.



__________________________ i "Only card" claim based on research conducted in April 2020 by Competiscan, LLC of publicly available consumer cash back credit card offers without category restrictions ("everyday purchases").

ii Fidelity Rewards+ offers 3 tiers of membership, with benefits increasing as eligible assets increase. In order to receive 3% cash back, cardmembers must qualify for the highest tier. You may be eligible to earn additional Points on eligible Net Purchases, in addition to the Points you may earn in the Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card Program if you qualify and are registered into the Fidelity Rewards+ program. Earn up to 2% cash back on purchases when you use your Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card and earn up to an additional 1% as a participant in Fidelity Rewards+. Eligibility and applicability of the additional Points are determined by Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC. Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card Program, managed by Elan Financial Services, and Fidelity Rewards+, managed by Fidelity, are separate programs. Full details for the Fidelity Rewards+ program appear in the Fidelity Rewards+ Terms and Conditions and in theProgram Rules for Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card Program.

iii Based on internal business data as of May 15, 2020.

iv The Fidelity Rewards Visa Signature Card was awarded Winner of the Best Card - Cash Back for Savers, 2018-19 by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. From Kiplinger's Personal Finance.  2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors. All rights reserved. Used under license.

v The APR may vary and as of 5/20/2020, the variable APR for Purchases and Balance Transfers is 13.99%. The variable APR for Cash Advances is 23.99%. Cash Advance fee: 3% of each advance amount, $5 minimum. Convenience Check fee: 3% of each check amount, $5 minimum, Cash Equivalent fee: 3% of each cash amount, $10 minimum. Balance Transfer fee: 3% of each transfer amount, $5 minimum. There is a $2 minimum interest charge where interest is due. The annual fee is $0. Foreign Transaction fee: 1% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in U.S. Dollars. 1% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in a Foreign Currency. We may change APRs, fees, and other Account terms in the future based on your experience with Elan Financial Services and its affiliates as provided under the Cardmember Agreement and applicable law.

vi You will earn 2 Points per dollar in eligible net purchases (net purchases are purchases minus credits and returns) that you charge. Account must be open and in good standing to earn and redeem rewards and benefits. Upon approval, refer to your Program Rules for additional information. You may not redeem Reward Points, and you will immediately lose all of your Reward Points, if your Account is closed to future transactions (including, but not limited to, due to Program misuse, failure to pay, bankruptcy, or death). Reward Points will not expire as long as your Account remains open. Certain transactions are not eligible for Reward Points, including Advances (as defined in the Agreement, including wire transfers, travelers checks, money orders, foreign cash transactions, betting transactions, lottery tickets and ATM disbursements), Annual Fee, convenience checks, balance transfers, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, overdraft advances, interest charges, fees, credit insurance charges, transactions to fund certain prepaid card products, U.S. Mint purchases, or transactions to purchase cash convertible items. The 2% cash back rewards value applies only to Points redeemed for a deposit into an eligible Fidelity account. The redemption value is different if you choose to redeem your Points for other rewards such as travel options, merchandise, gift cards, and/or statement credit. Other restrictions apply. Full details appear in the Program Rules new card customers receive with their card. Establishment or ownership of a Fidelity account or other relationship with Fidelity Investments is not required to obtain a card or to be eligible to use Points to obtain any rewards offered under the program other than Fidelity Rewards. The creditor and issuer of this card is Elan Financial Services, pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A., Inc.

vii Eligible accounts for cash back include most nonretirement registrations as well as Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, SEP IRA, Fidelity Charitable Giving Account, Fidelity HSA, and Fidelity-managed 529 College Savings Plan accounts. The ability to contribute to an IRA or 529 college savings plan account is subject to IRS rules and specific program policies, including those on eligibility and annual and maximum contribution limits. Full details appear in the Program Guidelines new card customers receive with their card. Contributions to Fidelity Charitable are generally eligible for a federal income tax charitable deduction. Please consult with your tax advisor. The list of eligible registration types may change without notice at Fidelity's sole discretion. For more information about whether a particular registration is eligible, please call 1-800-FIDELITY (800-343-3548).

viii The Identity Theft Insurance is underwritten and administered by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, an Assurant company under group or blanket policy(ies). The description herein is a summary and intended for informational purposes only and does not include all terms, conditions, and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions. Review the Summary of Benefits.

ix Monitoring of financial accounts requires entry of account details into IDnotify.

x Fidelity beats Vanguard on expenses on 24 of 24 comparable stock and bond index funds, across all Vanguard share classes with a minimum investment of less than $3 billion. Total expense ratios as of April 27, 2020. Please consider other important factors including that each fund's investment objectives, strategy, and index tracked to achieve its goals may differ, as well as each fund's features and risks.

xi The Fidelity Cash Management Account's uninvested cash balance is swept to one or more program banks where it earns a variable rate of interest and is eligible for FDIC insurance. At a minimum, there are five banks available to accept these deposits, making customers eligible for nearly $1,250,000 of FDIC insurance. If the number of available banks changes, or you elect not to use, and/or have existing assets at, one or more of the available banks, the actual amount could be higher or lower. For more information on FDIC insurance coverage, please visit www.FDIC.gov. Customers are responsible for monitoring their total assets at each of the Program Banks to determine the extent of available FDIC insurance coverage in accordance with FDIC rules. Refer to the FDIC-Insured Cash (Core) Disclosure Statement and list of eligible Program Banks for details. The deposits at Program Banks are not covered by SIPC

xii Fidelity offers the Fidelity ZERO Total Market Index Fund (FZROX), Fidelity ZERO International Index Fund (FZILX), Fidelity ZERO Large Cap Index Fund (FNILX), and Fidelity ZERO Extended Market Index Fund (FZIPX) available to individual retail investors who purchase their shares through a Fidelity brokerage account.

xiii Assets of $7.6 billion as of March 31, 2020.

xiv Minimums have been eliminated for funds that previously required an initial investment of $10,000 or less, as well as for stock and bond index funds that previously had minimums up to $100 million. A very small number of institutionally-priced fixed income and Freedom Index funds will maintain their current investment minimums. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005055/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Sister Irene Loretta was a huge fan of the Philly sports teams, especially the Phillies and Eagles. Read more

People Weve Lost Sister Irene Loretta Cassady

86 years old

Lived in Philadelphia

She started as an 18-year-old and served for seven decades More Memorials

The email arrived within hours of Sister Irenes death. Ed Weirauch, a 60-year-old man who lives in Delaware, did not want her passing to go unnoticed. He is convinced that she helped save his life when he was a young boy.

Sister Irene Loretta Cassady, who was the vice principal at St. Matthews Elementary School in Mayfair and a nun for nearly 70 years, died from COVID-19 on Thursday, May 7. Dont let her age, 86, fool you. She was active until the end.

She died as she would have wanted to die: Almost literally with her boots on," said Sister John Magdalen, the principal at St. Matts. She was 86 years old and running around this school more than I do.

Sister Irene was born Barbara Virginia Cassady in the height of the Great Depression. She was raised in the Harrowgate section of Philadelphia along with her brother, John, and sister, Irene, both whom survive her. She chose her religious name in honor of her mother.

From the time she was 5 years old, her sister said, she wanted to be a nun.

Shortly after graduating from Little Flower, she joined the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and received her habit in 1953. With mathematics degrees from Immaculata and Villanova, she taught mostly in the Philadelphia region, with stops in Virginia and Georgia sprinkled early in her career.

Sister Irene was the principal at Queen of Heaven School in Cherry Hill when Weirauch was a child.

I had this rare illness that I really wasnt supposed to survive, but she stormed the heavens, everyone used to tell me, said Weirauch, who suffered from the blood disorder hemolytic-uremic syndrome.

Weirauchs sister said he was in a coma on Easter night in 1972 when last rites were administered.

Sister Irene leaned over my brother and held him in her arms as Msgr. Zegers anointed him, said Amy Weirauch. "My parents were frozen with fear, shock, and disbelief, and Sister Irene was there to hold their son for them.

Just seeing her in the hallway gave everyone a brighter smile. She was just a beacon of light. eighth-grader Peter Gerace

Sister John Magdalen wasnt surprised. She recalled the time Sister Irene insisted on visiting a St. Matthews child who was in the hospital, even though Sister had a back injury severe enough to require her to use a wheelchair.

She was a brilliant woman who was just as comfortable counting out the chocolate milk cartons as she was teaching eighth-grade math, said Sister John. Nothing was too big for her to do, and nothing was too little for her to do.

Peter Gerace, an eighth-grade student and math whiz, said one of the highlights of his day came after he collected the trash. He purposely picked the area of the school where Sister Irenes office was.

We would have a nice conversation each time. And it would be different. I just loved it, said Gerace, who is headed to Father Judge. I will never forget anything that she taught us.

Peter called Sister Irene the schools biggest booster. She was forever creating banners and saluting the accomplishments of St. Matts students with pictures outside of her office.

She was a huge Phillies fan, especially the 1950 Whiz Kids. One afternoon, a local priest arranged for her to meet one of the stars of that team at Shibe Park.

She went around forever after telling people that they could shake the hand that shook the hand of Del Ennis, said her sister.

"I am overwhelmed with all of the attention and all of the [remembrances] on Facebook, Irene Candy said. She was just so generous and good-hearted. It just warms my heart to think about her.

As a symbolic sign of her two passions, Sister Irene was buried with a piece of chalk in one hand and a rosary in the other.

The services were livestreamed, a blessing for her scattered family. Once things get back to normal, St. Matts and others will hold a celebration of Sister Irenes life.

Right now, when I think about it  and this might sound ridiculous  but to me, she is someone you could begin the process of canonization, said Sister John Magdalen. As ridiculous as that sounds, I truly believe that she is a model of every good, humble, kind, loving thing that anybody could be.

 Ed Barkowitz, ebarkowitz@Inquirer.com
Coronation Street starlet Alison King has had to cancel her wedding amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The actress, 47, was set to wed her toyboy beau David Stuckey next week in a swish Greek ceremony, with family and friends flying out to celebrate with them.

But Alison - who plays Carla Connor on Corrie - has had her plans thwarted, like so many couples around the globe who have had to postpone their nuptials.

Cancelled: Coronation Street starlet Alison King has had to cancel her wedding to toyboy beau David Stuckey amid the COVID-19 crisis

A TV insider told The Sun: 'Alison and her future hubby were hoping there was some way they could make the wedding work despite all the restrictions. But in the end they ran out of options.

'They hoped lockdown might lift enough to let them tie the knot but it proved too much of a logistical nightmare.

'The irony of it being like a Corrie plotline isn't lost on them. They are trying to remain philosophical about the whole thing.'

The couple have been an item since 2018 and delightedly announced their engagement last year.

A TV insider told The Sun: 'Alison and her future hubby were hoping there was some way they could make the wedding work despite all the restrictions. But in the end they ran out of options'

On hold: Alison - who plays Carla Connor on Corrie - has had her plans thwarted, like so many couples around the globe who have had to postpone their nuptials

A shame: The actress, 47, was set to wed her toyboy beau David Stuckey next week in a swish Greek ceremony, with family and friends flying out to celebrate with them

David popped the question with a ring he designed himself during a romantic sunset cruise in Portugal - which they nearly had to cancel thanks to a slew of ominous clouds on the horizon.

Officially introducing her new fiance during an interview with OK! Magazine, the star also revealed that she had 'an inkling' David was going to propose and made sure she brought along a Rolex on the trip as an engagement present for him.

Revealing that the proposal happened just a few days before their one-year anniversary, she explained: 'I had an inkling he was going to pop the question because he kept putting something on my finger and going: "right, close your eyes and forget this ever happened!"'

'Wed also discussed marriage, too. I think we both went from "no, we dont ever need to get married" to "oh, we really want to get married!"'

Oh no! Alison explained that the lead-up to the proposal wasn't all smooth sailing, as they were met with 'black clouds over the sea while driving towards the port at Albufeira'

The show must go on! However, the cruise carried on as planned, and IT Salesman David got down on bended knee to pop the question with a ring he had designed himself

However, Alison explained that the lead-up to the proposal wasn't all smooth sailing, as they were met with 'black clouds over the sea while driving towards the port at Albufeira.'

However, with a team of dedicated crew-members, the cruise carried on as planned, and IT Salesman David got down on bended knee to pop the question with a ring he had designed himself.

Alison gushed: 'Id bought him a Rolex as an engagement present too. I said: "Yes please," and then I gave him the watch! It was perfect, even though it didnt go to plan!'

While she hasn't disclosed David's exact age, she did discuss their age gap, claiming that he's 'already very mature' and wanted someone with children, as he was a father himself.

Age gap: Alison claimed that he's 'already very mature' and wanted someone with children, as he was a father himself

With the proposal happening over the summer, a source told The Sun at the time that Alison is 'very excited' after her partner popped the question.

The source said some of Alison's closest friends in the cast such as Kym Marsh and Jane Danson are thrilled to learn of her engagement news.

They said: 'Ali is so popular with everyone on the cobbles. They think it's wonderful.

Detailing their love story, the soap actress, who is known for playing Carla Connor on Corrie, revealed that they met in March 2018 after being set up by their mutual personal trainer.

Ex: It comes after Alison broke off her engagement to Corrie sound technician Adam Huckett in 2012. The couple share daughter Daisy, ten (Pictured 2009)

'The engagement is a lovely surprise. Ali is over the moon. Ali has obviously endured heartache in the past. But she is hoping those days are now firmly behind her. She is very excited about what the future holds.'

It comes after Alison broke off her engagement to Corrie sound technician Adam Huckett in 2012. The couple share daughter Daisy, ten.

Despite getting engaged in September 2011 on a trip to Paris, it was revealed in October 2012 that the pair had split.

Alison then dated Hollyoaks assistant director Paul Slavin, after the couple were spotted together in 2016.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Wednesday lashed out at the Uttar Pradesh government for not letting the buses arranged by the Congress, enter the state to ferry migrants. He stated that the Yogi Adityanath government is indulging in cheap politics. It is surprising that Ajay Bisht government is doing cheap politics. They are making us do rounds for the last five to six days. Women and children are walking barefoot with blisters on feet, in the scorching heat of May. We will keep standing at the border till 4 pm, said Singhvi.

You (CM Yogi) are not letting the people of UP and Bihar come. Why are you hesitating to get help from Priyanka Gandhi? If you have a little shame, then stop this kind of behaviour. The whole country is witnessing such poor politics, we are saying this with folded hands. Priyanka ji has also said that if you want to flutter BJPs flag for this, then you can do that, he added. Congress on Tuesday asserted that party members along with the fleet of buses will remain at the Uttar Pradesh border till 4 pm on May 20 to wait for the state governments nod on further movement.

Meanwhile, he shared a report during the press conference on four lockdown periods claiming a death rate of 2 percent during the first lockdown had now increased to 3.08 percent. This government has become synonymous with inefficiency, incompetence, and insensitivity, said Singhvi.

Also Read: Cyclone Amphan to hit Bengal between 4 and 6 pm today, Director General SN Pradhan says 20 teams of NDRF deployed in Odisha

If Congress is arranging food & buses for people, every government should welcome it. Not providing permission at borders, arresting leaders & doing petty politics, is it justified? It is unfortunate that the UP Government is not allowing buses: Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Deputy CM pic.twitter.com/4ph27WeVGW  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

He also shared the data of the comparison of tests done in India with the world. Quoting a report, Our World in Data, he stated, The Data Jugglery by COVID-19 Task Force: The Governments own task-force has been very critical of a mathematical model presented by the chairperson of the task force and a member of NITI Aayog, during a press briefing on 24 April. The model, represented on a graph in a presentation in the Chairpersons press briefing, argued that the country would see no new COVID-19 cases from 16 May onwards.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Patty Neidert celebrated her mothers 90th birthday this week by standing outside of a nursing home.

For two months, she and her family visited Mae Headrick nearly every day. They would call her on a cellphone at the window of ManorCare Health Services in Barberton or shout through the glass, a contrast to the in-person visits that the family cherished.

It gets more difficult every day, Neidert, of Norton, said. She is getting more distant. She is not as responsive. We are considering what to do next. We cant let her die behind the glass, alone.

As Ohio reopens its economy from the coronavirus pandemic, there is no sign that things will return to normal any time soon in the states skilled-nursing centers. In early March, Ohio closed more than 900 nursing homes and 750 assisted-living centers to families and friends who visited their loved ones.

The virus has killed more than 1,200 residents of nursing homes and assisted-living centers in the state, or about 70 percent of the total residents who died, according to published reports.

Federal authorities released suggestions to states this week on how to re-open the facilities. The recommendations involve critical issues for each facility: adequate staffing levels, testing and 28 straight days without a positive case.

In some care centers that experienced clusters of cases, that could mean re-opening to visitors would be months away.

This is horrible for families; its an attempt to protect people, and I understand that, but it is really difficult for them, said Toby Edelman, the senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, in Washington, D.C.

In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said this week the state would not test every resident of a nursing home for the virus, despite the federal recommendations. DeWine cited a lack of testing supplies.

The state has about 75,000 residents living in nursing homes.

People are really confused; everyone is saying that the curve is flattening, so they want to go in and see their loved ones now, said Paula Mueller, the director of Elderly Advocates, a Parma-based nonprofit that works to reform Ohios nursing home laws. Some people are looking at this as a visiting issue. Its much more. Its a caregivers issue. Families do more than visit. They help feed and take care of their moms and dads and see what they need.

Vicki Krafthefer agrees.

She stands outside Columbus Colony Elderly Care in Westerville and visits her sister, Christy, nearly every day at a window.

Christy, 65, has tested positive for the coronavirus, and Krafthefer fears it could be months before she can hug her sister.

I dont feel like it is a real family visit, Krafthefer said through tears. Its mechanical. She cries and blows me kisses, but she doesnt understand why she is there, and why Im outside.

I cant see if she is eating well. I cant see if shes doing OK. I just fear that this will keep spreading, and well never get through it.

This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees nursing homes across the country, said much more needs to be done before allowing visitors.

The agency said, The vulnerable nature of the nursing home population requires aggressive efforts to limit exposure and prevent the spread of the virus.

Before re-opening facilities, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urged states to consider the numbers of coronavirus cases in a care center and the numbers in the community it serves.

The agency also urged adequate staffing levels, baseline tests for a facilitys residents, weekly testing of staff and the use of facial masks by anyone in the facility.

Edelman, the attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, cited what many critics have noted: The nations nursing homes already have low levels of staffing. Re-opening the nursing homes would only compound the stress on an already worn-out nursing staff.

For Neidert, the visits with her mother at the window of the ManorCare facility in Barberton have caused pain, not relief.

Were suffering because we cant be with Mom, and we worry that she is 90, and we wont see her before she passes, Neidert said.

Peter Van Runkle is the executive director of the Ohio Health Care Association, representing over 1,100 medical providers, including nursing homes and assisted-living centers.

He said the issue of re-opening is one of the toughest for families and facilities. He said he understands that the coronavirus is forcing both facilities and families to endure agonizing uncertainty. His mother has dementia and is in an assisted-living center.

I havent seen her since March, he said. We have to balance the emotional quality of life for residents and their families with the risk to everyone else in the facility from someone who could bring in the virus.
The abduction and torture of three female opposition leaders, by some unknown people, in Zimbabwe has raised a wave of condemnations and calls for investigations into abductions and disappearances.

English Africa Service - Vatican City

Three female leaders, members of the opposition Movement for Democratic ChangeAlliance (MDC-Alliance) were allegedly abducted in Harare by some unknown men, last week, on Wednesday. They had first been arrested at roadblock.

Abducted and tortured

The three women were later found on Friday severely beaten and traumatised. They had been dumped by the roadside some 80 kilometres north of Harare in Zimbabwe.

The opposition leaders were part of an MDC-Alliance COVID-19 demonstration that the government termed illegal. The three, Joana Mamombe (MP for Harare West), Cecilia Chimbiri (MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Vice-Chair) and Netsai Marova (Deputy Organising Secretary of the Youth wing) were protesting the governments COVID-19 lockdown implemented without social protection for the countrys poor.

Christian leaders say attacks offend Christian and cultural norms

In a strongly-worded statement released in the capital, Harare this week, the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) to which the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) is a part, denounced the abductions of the female MDC leaders. They also drew attention to the brutal assault of two Zimbabwean women in the countrys second-largest city, Bulawayo, on 16 April at the hands of six police officers.

Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) has received with shock and disbelief the news of yet another abduction and inhuman treatment of three young women including a Member of Parliament. This comes only some few days after the barbaric physical assault of two women, Ntombizodwa and Nokuthula Mpofu, of Cowdray Park, Bulawayo by six police officers. It should be stated that the reports suggesting that Harare West Legislator, Joana Mamombe and her colleagues Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were taken from police custody, and were tortured and sexually assaulted and inhumanely treated by yet to be known agents point to something that is against the heart of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the various International Conventions to which Zimbabwe is a signatory and, above all, to our cultural norms and our fundamental Christian beliefs regarding the sanctity and dignity of life, said Zimbabwes Church leaders.

Need for a full investigation

First, it is deeply disturbing that the country has seen so many cases of abductions in the last few months, most of which have not been conclusively investigated. What is further disturbing are the insinuations, from some state agents, that all these abductions arc either stage-managed or carried out by an unrecognisable third force without substantiating such claims with credible and irrefutable evidence. This constitutes the denigration of responsibility of the highest order on the part of government, said the Church leaders.

ZHOCD has called for a full investigation. They condemn the ill-treatment of women as a whole, particularly, in 2020 when the whole world is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, which was a global high point in recognition of the dignity of women after centuries of patriarchal domination and treatment of women as second class citizens of the world.

Amnesty International decries disappearances

Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty Internationals Deputy Director for East and Southern Africa, condemned the abduction of the three MDC female politicians.

Zimbabwe has a history of enforced disappearances, with some activists having gone missing for years now. Many activists have been tortured in police custody, despite denials by police, said the Amnesty International representative.

Various rights groups say since 2019, about 50 social and political activists have been abducted and tortured by unknown persons. One of 2019s widely publicised abduction was of Peter Magombeyi, leader of Zimbabwes medical doctors, who were agitating for better working conditions. He was taken away by some unknown men, beaten and later dumped by the roadside.

Zimbabwes Minister of Home Affairs orders an investigation

Zimbabwes Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe has since ordered the Commissioner-General of Police to institute a full-scale investigation into the abduction of the three female MDC leaders. He said the Commissioner-General should establish what transpired, who did what, and the motive behind the actions.

Church leaders pledge continued pastoral care

In the meantime, Zimbabwes Church leaders under the auspices of ZHOCD have pledged to continue offering pastoral support, comfort and protection to all victims of abductions and brutality.
Three architectural firms have been named as finalists for the proposed Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in western North Dakota.

The library's foundation announced the finalists on Wednesday. They are:

Henning Larsen, based in Copenhagen, whose projects include Moesgaard Museum in Aarhus, Denmark, Eystur Town Hall in the Faroe Islands and Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland. Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, whose work includes President Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., is working with the firm in the design competition.

Snhetta, based in Oslo and New York, whose work includes the reconstruction of Times Square, the Oslo Opera House, the Willamette Falls Riverwalk and the Alexandria and Calgary Libraries.

Studio Gang, based in Chicago, whose projects include Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Ill., the 82-story Aqua Tower in Chicago and the Solar Carve tower in New York. OLIN Landscape Architects is joining the firm in the competition.

These architects share our vision and values, Melani Walton, chair of the foundation's Design and Architecture Committee, said in a statement. They want to listen and spend time with the community, study the ecology of the Badlands, and embrace the complexities of Theodore Roosevelts life.

Twelve firms responded to an invitation to compete for the project. The foundation's preferred site for the library is about 60 acres of U.S. Forest Service land west of the Burning Hills Amphitheatre near Medora, intersecting the Maah Daah Hey Trail. Acquisition of the land is ongoing.

Library CEO Ed O'Keefe said the firms will visit the Medora area in early June to view the site and talk with local residents and officials. He called it an "incredibly exciting, big step in the process."

"This means that very soon we'll see different visions for what the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will look like, and we are going to take this time over the summer to talk with and listen to the citizens of Medora, the community in Billings County, people across the state," he told the Tribune.

Design concepts are due July 17. Digital or model renderings are due by Aug. 3. Designs will be made public on Aug. 10. The foundation is set to meet in Medora from Aug. 17-18. An architect will be chosen for the project on Sept. 18.

The 2019 Legislature approved a $50 million operations endowment for the library, to be made available only after $100 million is raised for construction. The library honors the 26th president, who ranched and hunted in the Badlands in the 1880s.

Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation President Randy Hatzenbuhler, who is leading fundraising for the library, recently told a meeting of the Bismarck Rotary Club of $73 million committed so far to the library.

O'Keefe said last week he could not confirm the figure "because we are still in the quiet phase of the campaign." The foundation had planned to give an update on April 26, the anniversary of Gov. Doug Burgum signing the library's legislation, but held off due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has canceled some fundraising events. O'Keefe expects the money to be raised by year's end.

The foundation is planning a fundraising update for summer or fall, he said.

The legislation requires $100 million in "cash donations or binding pledged donations" for construction. It's unclear how "binding pledged donations" are defined.

O'Keefe said the foundation is drafting an agreement with the governor's office that, in part, defines or categorizes a pledge, a commitment and a donation.

Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, R-Dickinson, who helped write the 2019 legislation, said he understands "binding pledged donations" to mean "it's locked in, they're going to pay, they're going to make the donation."

Reach Jack Dura at 701-250-8225 or jack.dura@bismarcktribune.com.

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
A peculiar artifact of Obama's presidency is an email that Susan Rice, the outgoing national security adviser, wrote to herself on January 20, 2017, the day Trump was inaugurated. In it, she purports to describe what took place at the now infamous January 5, 2017 Oval Office meeting. This was when Obama seemed to give the go-ahead to hunt down General Michael Flynn based upon Flynn's December 29 phone call with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

Rice's email was extraordinary for two reasons. First, she didn't write it until fifteen days after a pivotal meeting in the Russia Hoax and on the day she was leaving her office.

Second, the email's tone is off. In the part that was produced earlier, before it was fully unredacted, there's almost no substantive material. Instead, the email exists almost entirely to assure everyone that Obama wasn't doing anything illegal (emphasis mine):

President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities "by the book". The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.

Reading that reminded me inexorably of Jon Lovitz's famous pathological liar character, who kept stating obvious lies and then praised himself by saying some variation of "Yeah, that's what happened!"

A paragraph such as Rice's seems to confirm that what she's describing did not happen. This is a cover for the truth rather than the truth itself.

Now that Ric Grenell has finally released a completely unredacted version of the email, we can see Comey's role in the meeting. From it, we learn that nothing was done by the book when it came to Flynn.

Remember as you read the following words that the American people automatically gave the incoming president full national security clearance. We also know now, again thanks to Grenell's declassifications, that none of the people involved in this charade had seen any information supporting the endless claims about Trump and his campaign colluding with the Russians. And we know that no one used formal procedures to unmask Flynn's phone calls.

With that in mind, here's a familiar paragraph from the email as initially released:

From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.

That Obama would even ask the question is farcical, and he knew it. Assuming that Obama said those words, this was Kabuki theater.

What's truly shocking is the newly unredacted paragraph shows that Comey was spying on Flynn. The phrase "by the book" appears once more, and again highlight its opposite  namely, that Comey had no intention of following the rules:

Director Comey affirmed that he is proceeding "by the book" as it relates to law enforcement. From a national security perspective, Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak. Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information. President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn. Comey replied "potentially." He added that he has no indication thus far that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak, but he noted that "the level of communication is unusual."

Again, to the extent Comey had substantive knowledge of Flynn's calls, Comey was definitely spying on Flynn. But as noted Tuesday, Flynn had no authority to spy: there was no criminal case against Flynn; there was no FISA application on Flynn; and, at least as to the December 29 phone call that was used to take Flynn down, no one had unmasked the call.

From these facts, we can deduce three things, none of them good: (1) the CIA was spying on Flynn, an American citizen; (2) Obama had ordered spying on Kislyak in a way deliberately meant to catch Flynn in the net; or (3) Comey had gone off the reservation and was spying on Flynn without a pretense of legal authorization.

We also see Comey, through weasel words, pushing to keep national security information from the next president of the United States. Comey, in other words, was elevating himself above the newly elected president of the United States, and he was doing so based upon what currently appears to be illegal spying activity against an American citizen.

Comey has wrapped himself in the flag since his role in the Russia Hoax first came to light. It's difficult to tell whether he's a man with a Machiavellian lust for power or whether he'd convinced himself that he was indeed answering a call to a higher authority. No matter the motive, his behavior was unconstitutional and fundamentally unpatriotic.
Today, the Journal is breaking with tradition and endorsing in several key contested legislative primary races outside Bernalillo County. For information including candidate Q&As, district maps and news stories as they are published, go to ABQJournal.com/election2020.

NEW MEXICO SENATE, Democratic primary

District 38  Sen. Mary Kay Papen

This year marks the first time in 20 years Papen has faced a primary opponent, an indication she has served her constituents well. The top-ranking Senate Democrat from Las Cruces describes herself as socially liberal and fiscally conservative  a description that fits many New Mexicans, especially those not tethered to either major political party. She has many accomplishments to tout, including her work on an assisted outpatient treatment law that balances civil liberties with safety, and passing laws to combat violence against women.

The winner of the primary will face Republican Charles Wendler of Las Cruces to represent the district that includes parts of Las Cruces and a large swath of Dona Ana County.

District 35  Sen. John Arthur Smith

Smith has served in the state Senate since 1989, and hes never been more needed as the state faces an economic calamity. The Deming Democrat and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is the Legislatures most influential voice on budgetary matters, and his understanding of the struggles families face along with his fiscal realism will be key in the coming months as lawmakers grapple with a massive budget shortfall and look to curtail spending. Smiths work with colleagues of all political stripes is why we have full-day kindergarten, and on his watch spending on early childhood education has increased hundreds of millions of dollars.

The winner of the primary will face Republican Crystal Diamond of Elephant Butte to represent the district that includes all or parts of Hidalgo, Sierra, Luna and Dona Ana counties.

District 30  Sen. Clemente Sanchez

In an op-ed published in the Journal last June, Sanchez wrote that ideological purity has distanced the Democratic Party from moderate and independent voters. Former state Sen. Eric Griego wrote an op-ed in response, saying Sanchez has undermined Democrats efforts and then taken credit for compromises. When did compromising become a political sin? As chairman of the Senates Corporations and Transportation Committee, Sanchez has a proven record of working with people on all sides to get things done, including his support of a minimum wage bill that phases in a $12 minimum wage by 2023.

The winner of the primary will face the Republican primary winner to represent the district that includes Grants and parts of Valencia and three other counties.

District 28  Sen. Gabriel Ramos

Citing his religious beliefs and the Catholic Church, Ramos is one of a handful of Senate Democrats who have opposed repealing the states 1969 anti-abortion law. That symbolic dissent hasnt sat well with left-leaning groups that are seeking to purge the state Senate of moderate Democrats. Only in his second year in the Senate, Ramos has shown an interest in protecting New Mexicans and working across the aisle. Earlier this year, the Silver City Democrat cosponsored bipartisan public safety legislation that licenses tobacco retailers and raises the age to purchase tobacco products to 21.

The winner of the primary will face Republican James Williams of Catron in the general election to represent the district that stretches from Socorro to Silver City.

District 4  Sen. George Munoz

Munoz used his own money recently to pay for a radio ad in Dine, the Navajo language, to notify tribal members of a telephone help line amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Gallup Democrat has shown real leadership amid the crisis, calling for a lockdown of the city to stem the virus spread. Munoz has also shown bipartisan ability, joining a House Republican earlier this year in sponsoring sweeping changes to New Mexicos retirement system for public employees so pensions are a promise kept.

The winner of the primary will face Republican Angela Olive in the general election to represent the district that includes much of McKinley County and portions of San Juan and Cibola counties.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Alison Roman, right, is on "temporary leave" from her New York Times column after her public feud with Chrissy Teigen. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times, left; Charles Sykes / Bravo / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Alison Roman's New York Times cooking column has been stalled after the cookbook author and chef picked a food fight earlier this month with fellow lifestyle entrepreneurs Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo. And Teigen is not happy about it.

A representative for the New York Times confirmed to the Daily Beast on Tuesday that Roman's popular column had been placed "on temporary leave."

Although the report did not specify the duration of the leave or the reasoning behind it, the decision is likely related to the fallout from Roman's controversial remarks on how Teigen and Kondo built their brands. The messy feud sparked a backlash on social media until Roman finally issued an official apology on May 11.

On Wednesday, Teigen expressed her disappointment with Roman's suspension. Responding to a Twitter comment asking if the "beef" was over between her and Roman, Teigen tweeted, "I hope we can laugh about it one day but Im not happy with the NYT leave so she def cant laugh about it yet. It just sucks in every way.

"I very publicly forgave her and am getting very much blamed for her leave," Teigen wrote in another Twitter response early Wednesday, adding that she is doing "what I can (off Twitter)" to voice her disapproval of the suspension.

I hope we can laugh about it one day but Im not happy with the NYT leave so she def cant laugh about it yet. It just sucks in every way.  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 20, 2020

According to the Daily Beast, Roman also had an New York Times piece in the works amid the scandal that never published. Roman boasts a wide following in the food community, bolstered by her bestselling cookbooks, social media presence, New York Times column and contributions to Bon Appetit magazine.

In a candid interview with the New Consumer , published May 7, Roman discussed the success of her growing food empire  and dragged organizer extraordinaire Kondo and fellow cookbook author Teigen for expanding their businesses.

Story continues

The expletive-ridden rant accused the "Tidying Up With Marie Kondo" star of choosing to "capitalize on her fame" by selling out, while slamming "Cravings" mastermind Teigen for launching a Target cookware line and building a "content farm."

After drawing harsh criticism for her comments  including a lengthy Twitter thread from her "bummed" ex-admirer Teigen  Roman apologized, writing, "It was flippant, careless and Im so sorry."

She later issued a more formal apology, reflecting on the implications of her words and her privilege as a white woman disparaging two women of color in her industry.

"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, Roman wrote. 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).

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

Teigen, who has been on the receiving end of Twitter ire in the past, accepted Roman's apology and praised Kondo for staying out of it.

"I remember the exact time I realized I wasnt allowed to say whatever popped in my head  that I couldnt just say things in the way that so many of my friends were saying," Teigen wrote on Twitter.

"Eventually, I realized that once the relatable 'snarky girl who didnt care' became a pretty successful cookbook author and had more power in the industry, I couldnt just say whatever ... I wanted. The more we grow, the more we get those wakeup calls."

Roman has not been active on social media since her May 11 apology.




The arrival of two-hundred and ninety-two Nigerians evacuated from Saudi Arabia due to the outbreak of Coronavirus has been announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama.

The development was revealed by the minister on his Twitter account on Wednesday, he further stated that the evacuees were mostly women and children.

He said, We received 292 evacuees stranded in Saudi Arabia yesterday.

The Saudi Government transported them to Abuja.

A large number are nursing mothers and children, and they are all comfortably settled in hotels under the mandatory 14 days quarantine.

This will be the fourth batch of Nigerians to be evacuated from foreign countries.

Meanwhile, the federal government has evacuated 970 Nigerians from other countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Another batch of 160 Nigerians who were stranded in the United States following the coronavirus lockdown arrived the country on Sunday.

Share this post with your Friends on
Across all faiths, the livestreamed services begin much the same. An empty pulpit or podium, sometimes makeshift, stands at the ready. Buoyant greetings scroll below, welcoming unseen worshipers.

Good morning, church family!

As salaam alaikum!

Shabbat Shalom!

Off-camera, the Rev. Lauren Cain, pastor at First United Church of Christ in Royersford, presses the play button on her iPhone and a hymn prerecorded by the church pianist fills the silent space. With the final note, Cain takes her place at a music stand inside her Lansdowne home, a watercolor Jesus looking down from the yellow wall behind her.

Good morning, Church! Its a great day to come together in community to worship God, and I want to welcome you to our livestream worship service on Facebook Live, she says, her voice slightly reverberating in the audio. She opens her arms wide to embrace her congregation, somewhere out there.

The coronavirus has left church pews unoccupied, synagogues and masjids empty. The pandemic hit with full force in the United States just as all Abrahamic religions were observing major holidays: Easter, Passover, and monthlong Ramadan, which ends May 23. Although the majority of states, including Pennsylvania, allow religious exemptions to social distancing, most houses of worship have closed their doors anyway, or at least limited entry. As a result, spiritual leaders have had to find new ways to keep their communities engaged and to offer them hope  from afar.

For the 34-year-old Cain, shepherding a virtual flock is only one daunting task she faces in the time of COVID. The mother of a 6-month-old son born premature and the wife of a grocery-store employee, she must keep her home safe. When the pandemic began, her husband, Ryan, switched to an overnight shift at Giant in the hope of having less contact with people. She and baby John have left the house only for walks in their neighborhood, past the closed Penn Wood High School, beneath blossoming cherry trees.

Pastors are just regular people, she said.

When the weather is nice, Cain writes her sermons on her white porch, as she did on the last Saturday of April, her brow furrowed in concentration on the tablet she bought for the transition to remote services. Occasionally, she looked up to check on John, wrestling quietly in his playpen.

When preachers preach, Cain explained, its often to themselves. They say what they need to hear. So she writes her sermons for those seeking peace and comfort.

My sermons every week are about the virus, and I try to offer a hopeful message, she said. Its hard to talk about something different than this. It doesnt seem honest if I avoid it.

 READ MORE: This priest rode around South Philadelphia blessing people from the back of a pickup truck

Before COVID reached into Montgomery County, First UCC was a small church of small families, with an average Sunday attendance of 30 to 40. Her first livestream on March 15 in front of an empty church drew almost 600 views. Cains Facebook sermons, however, draw about 200 views on average. Being able to reach a broader and possibly younger audience has been an unexpected blessing born of so much misery, but experts are not ready to declare a nationwide trend.

There is some anecdotal evidence that younger Americans in particular are tuning in to online services, but no data or surveys indicate that a religious revival is at hand, according to Diane Winston, an associate professor at the University of Southern Californias Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the Knight Center Chair in Media and Religion. Citing an article in the New Statesman, she said that downloads of Bible apps skyrocketed in Britain in March, as did Google searches. That, however, has not been the case in the United States.

Organized religion is not seeing much of a bump; its numbers are holding steady, Winston said. The big change is peoples individual religiosity. People are praying more. They are reporting feeling closer to God. People may not be going online to worship, but they may be seeking religion and spirituality in their own personal ways.

 READ MORE: The path to reopening brings anxieties about how to navigate the new normal

She noted that congregation leaders have had to get creative to meet the needs of their members, including drive-in confessionals and services. In Philadelphia, a Zoom bat mitzvah was held for Eve Kobell with congregation Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

At the same time, Winston said, a looming concern for shuttered religious institutions is a fall-off in donations. Funding may prove to be an issue moving forward.

This is a really interesting time for American religion, she said. The pandemic feels to me like a very spiritual and religious challenge for us, because the big questions we normally dont ask are confronting us.

Isolation in a communal month

Gracing the spacious prayer area at Masjidullah Inc. in Germantown is a plush red carpet into which is woven intricate Islamic art of a minaret. During Ramadan, the holiest month of the year for Muslims, it would be trafficked by thousands of feet, and bear the crush of worshipers knees bent in prayer. Instead, the carpet is barely touched.

On a Friday afternoon in the second week of Ramadan, Shaheed Muhammad, wearing clear gloves, raised his hands behind his ears and made the call to prayer. Imam Adris Abdul Zahir then took to the lectern, on which an iPhone was affixed, for the livestreamed khutbah, or sermon.

Its totally weird, going to the masjid, standing where I normally stand where there are usually several 100 people there, and theres two people, Zahir, 40, said. Its really hard to have the same level of enthusiasm. Thats a marked challenge."

After the khutbah, the livestream was turned off, and Zahir led the jummah, or Friday prayer, with just five other men.

Ramadan is a communal month, where Muslims not only come together to pray but also break their fast for iftar with friends and family. The pandemic paused this practice, adding to the feeling of isolation.

 READ MORE: For Philadelphia-area Muslims, breaking their daily fast brings a mix of emotions

But there have been some positive outcomes, Zahir emphasized during his khutbah.

We believe that there are things that are predestined, that we have no control over," he said. "The test in that event, the test in that challenge, is how we respond to those things. How we step up, or fail, in those moments. Hopefully these things will bring the best out of us.

He cited food distribution efforts, grab-and-go iftars, and free coronavirus testing in partnership with the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.

 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.

Long before COVID, Masjidullah livestreamed Friday khutbahs. But now, most mosques in the region are doing it, too. And that, Zahir said, is a beautiful thing.

Ive never seen so many sheikhs, so many imams on the internet, he said.

Masjidullah is also offering online classes and discussions to keep the community engaged. Zahir recalled how touching it was when members got together for the first time on a weekly community check-in on a Sunday morning, saying how much they missed one another.

Dont take family for granted, dont take being together for granted, dont take our livelihoods for granted, he said. There are a lot of things we took for granted, up until this point.

We will come through it

On that final sunny Saturday in April, Cain finally caved in to the constant gurgling of her son, picking him up and holding him in one arm while she worked on the sermon. Her rolled-up sleeve revealed several tattoos, including a figure emerging from rubble with a hammer in hand  a remembrance of her time as a volunteer during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. She said she belongs to a progressive denomination, whose core mission is to look out for the poor and the oppressed.

Right now, her job is to look out for everyone. Despite the challenge posed by the coronavirus, she recognizes that shes in a manageable situation.

Were luckier than most, and Im grateful for that and mindful that folks in our congregation are going through a lot, Cain said.

Its going to take us a while to move past the pandemic. But we will. We will come through it eventually.
A Colorado man turned away after refusing to wear a face mask inside a Waffle House in Aurora has been charged for allegedly shooting the restaurants cook, local authorities say.

Aurora Police Department officers arrested Kelvin Watson, 27, on Monday on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, McClatchy News has confirmed.

The shooting unfolded just after midnight on May 15 at the Waffle House on E. Mississippi Avenue, according to police. Watson was reportedly refused service at the restaurant the night before over his refusal to wear a face mask.

Kelvin Watson, 27, is charged with attempted first-degree murder after shooting a Waffle House worker in Aurora who asked him to wear a face mask.

He was asked to leave and returned a short time later with a mask  only it wasnt covering his face. After being told again that he wouldnt be served, Waffle House workers said Watson brandished a gun and threatened a cook, saying, I can blow your brains out right now, CBS Denver reported, citing a police affidavit.

Watson, who employees say was a regular at the restaurant, returned the next night on May 15. Still without a mask, the cook from the night before asked him to leave and said the eatery was already at capacity, according to an arrest report obtained by KMGH-TV. Thats when Watson grew angry and slapped the cook across the face, authorities said.

Grubhub driver ran over woman asking him to social distance outside, Illinois mom says

The 25-year-old victim told police he fled from the back of the restaurant and was followed by Watson. Once outside, he said the gunman said something to the effect of You better shut the f--- up and serve me before shooting, police said, according to CBS Denver.

Aurora police responded shortly after midnight after receiving reports of a fight where someone was possibly shot, a department spokesman told McClatchy News.

Officers located an employee of the Waffle House a short distance away who was suffering from a gunshot wound, the spokesman added. The victim was transported to the hospital and is recovering from his injury.

A representative for Waffle House told Denver station KDVR the cook suffered injuries to his abdomen but was released from the hospital last week and is expected to make a full recovery.

Story continues

Machete-wielding man angered by COVID-19 shutdowns attacks random couple, TN cops say

We are relieved to hear that Aurora police have made an arrest for this terrible crime, and greatly appreciate the diligence of local law enforcement, public relations director Njeri Boss said in a statement obtained by the station. This case involves a senseless act of violence that should not be tolerated in any community. We are very thankful that neither of our associates who were working when the incident occurred, suffered any life-threatening injuries.

While the City of Aurora doesnt require that face masks be worn amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Tri-City Health Department, which includes the city, has advised residents to wear face coverings when out in public, KDVR reported.

Police said the case has been turned over to the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office for investigation.

Watson has since been released on $100,000 bond, the DAs office told McClatchy News.
Nepal releases new map that includes strategically important territory it disputes with India, which rejects the move.

Nepal has published a new political map that includes a small stretch of disputed land, toughening its stance on a decades-long row over the territory with India, which has rejected the move.

The new map that shows a sliver of land  including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani  jutting out from the northwestern tip of Nepal was made public on Wednesday by Land Management Minister Padma Aryal, who said the occasion was historically pleasant for Nepal and its people.

Nepals communist Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been under intense pressure from student groups and members of parliament to issue the new map since India inaugurated a controversial road this month.

On March 8, India opened an 80km (50-mile) road linking its northern state of Uttarakhand with Lipulekh on the border with Tibet across the controversial piece of land.

Nepal claims the territory under an 1816 treaty with the British East India Company, which sets the Kali river as its western boundary with India and says the land lying east of the river was its territory.

Nepalese officials said the exact size of the territory was being calculated.

A cabinet meeting on Monday decided to publish a new map that includes Lipulekh and zones in Kalapani and Limpiyadhura, Nepals Law Minister Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe told AFP news agency.

The zones form a region of more than 300sq km (115sq miles) considered important because it is where the Nepalese and Indian borders touch China.

Nepal will initiate dialogues with India simultaneously to resolve the boundary issue through diplomatic channels, she said.

Unilateral act

But India, which says the land is its territory, rejected Nepals unilateral act, saying it was not based on historical facts and evidence.

It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue, Indias External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement.

Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India, he said.

India has stationed a security post in the Kalapani area since its border war with China in 1962.

India and Nepal had both shown Kalapani and Lipulekh in their political maps, but Nepal had not previously shown Limpiyadhura.

It was an issue of contention when Nepal first drew its map in the 1970s, but it was decided that [the] Limpiyadhura area would be drawn after a discussion with India, border expert Buddhi Narayan Shrestha said.

Nepali officials said the new map will be printed in school and college textbooks and official documents and will be used for all administrative purposes.
The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (609 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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 the novel coronavirus COVID-19, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Outbreak experts say the increasing attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump on the World Health Organization for its handling of the coronavirus demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of the U.N. health agency's role and could ultimately serve to weaken global health. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP, file)

The Latest on the coronavirus pandemic. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death.

TOP OF THE HOUR:

 Japan approves lifting state of emergency in three prefectures.

 Japan considers attending G-7 summit if it is rescheduled by Trump, host nation U.S.

 China prepares for country's biggest political meeting of the year.

___

TOKYO  Japans economy minister says experts have approved a government plan to remove a coronavirus state of emergency in Osaka and two neighbouring prefectures in the west where the infection is deemed slowing, while keeping the measure in place in the Tokyo region and Hokkaido.

Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters that experts at the meeting approved the plan to lift the measure in Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo.

The measure will be kept in place in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures, as well as Hokkaido, where the infections have slowed but need further improvement.

The three are among the eight prefectures still under the emergency status after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the measure last week in all but eight of the 47 Japanese prefectures. Abe declared the state of emergency on April 7 in parts of Japan including Tokyo and later expanded it to nationwide.

Under Japans state of emergency, which does not enforce lockdowns, many people have followed the social distancing requests but others had to continue commuting, while a sizeable minority continued to dine out or picnicked at parks. More stores, restaurants and bars have started to reopen recently, under new anti-infection guidelines.

Abe will formally announce the plan later Thursday after approval by parliamentary committees.

Japan has about 16,424 confirmed cases and 777 deaths as of Wednesday, according to the health ministry.

___

TOKYO  Japans top government spokesman said Thursday that the country is considering attending the Group of Seven summit meeting, if the U.S. reschedules the cancelled gathering.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was responding to a question about President Donald Trumps tweet Wednesday that he is considering rescheduling the cancelled G-7 meeting with world leaders in the U.S., because it would be a great sign to all of things returning to normal during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump had scheduled the G-7 summit for June 10-12 at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland. The summit was cancelled it in March because of the pandemic, and Trump said the leaders would confer by video conference.

Suga said Thursday that he interpreted Trumps tweet as an expression of the Presidents intention to normalize the global economy quickly.

He said his understanding is that details such as the dates and format of the meeting are still being studied by the U.S. as host nation.

Suga said Tokyo and Washington are in discussion, but declined to comment further.

Japan is still partially under a coronavirus state of emergency. Abe plans to announce lifting of the measure in three of the remaining eight prefectures later Thursday, while keeping it in place in Tokyo and four other areas.

Face masks and gloves hang from a balcony in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is appearing before Spain's Parliament to ask for their endorsement to extend the nation's state of emergency that his government has used to govern in a coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 27,000 people in Spain. (AP Photo/Paul White)

___

BEIJING  The central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic is believed to have originated, has issued a total ban on the hunting, breeding and human consumption of wild animals.

The move is in an apparent response to research showing the virus most likely originated among bats and was transmitted to people via an intermediary wild species sold for food at a market in the city.

The regulation issued Wednesday seeks to carry out measures passed at the national level covering protected land animals as well as sea life, promising financial relief to help dealers move into other lines of business.

However, it contains numerous exceptions, including for animals used for traditional Chinese medicine, as long as they are not consumed as food for humans. That left it unclear whether the ban would cover pangolins, small mammals whose scales are used for traditional Chinese medicine but which are thought to have been the intermediary carrier of the virus.

The regulation will be enforced immediately and will be in effect for five years.

___

BEIJING  China reported two new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Thursday, as the country prepares to hold its biggest political meeting of the year under strict social distancing rules.

One of the new cases was imported and detected in the southern industrial centre of Wuhan, while the other was a case of domestic transmission found in the financial hub of Shanghai. No new deaths were reported, leaving Chinas total at 4,634 among 82,967 total cases.

Just 84 people remain in treatment, while another 382 were in isolation and being monitored as either suspected cases or for having tested positive while showing no symptoms.

On Friday, China will open the annual session of the National Peoples Congress, its ceremonial parliament, which usually brings around 3,000 delegates to Beijing, along with a similar number of members of its advisory body, the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, which convenes on Thursday.

Economic issues and health care are expected to dominate the meeting this year, which also comes amid sharpening trade and political frictions with the United States.

Meanwhile, authorities are pressing ahead with an drive to conduct virus tests on all 11 million citizens of the central city of Wuhan, believed to be the epicenter of the global pandemic. More than 2 million people have been tested so far, according to state media citing local health officials, with 71 testing positive but showing no symptoms. The city accounted for more than 50,000 of Chinas total cases.

___

AUSTIN, Texas  A court ruling that paved the way in Texas for a dramatic expansion of mail-in voting over fears of the coronavirus is now on hold.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals voted Wednesday to temporarily put aside any expansion of mail-in voting while the case is under review. The order came less than 24 hours after a federal judge in San Antonio ruled that Texas must give all 16 million registered voters in the state the option of casting a ballot by mail during the pandemic.

The fight in Texas is one of several nationwide over expanding access to mail-in voting during the pandemic. Texas generally limits mail-in ballots to voters 65 or older, or those with a sickness or physical condition.

Republican Texas Attorney General Paxton has asserted that fear of getting the virus doesnt qualify as a disability under the law.

___

RALEIGH, N.C.  North Carolina restaurants, barber shops and salons can welcome patrons inside starting this weekend, after Gov Roy Cooper announced Wednesday the loosening of rules because he says state COVID-19 trends remain largely stable.

But bars, gyms and indoor entertainment venues will remain closed five more weeks.

The Democratic governor announced a new executive order launching the second phase of easing business and assembly restrictions after nonessential businesses and dine-in restaurant service were initially shuttered in March. Two weeks ago, Cooper allowed more businesses to open.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic as he gives a thumbs up to supporters upon departure from his official residence, Alvorada palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, May 18, 2020. The logo on the mask reads "Military Police. Federal District." (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Cooper said he now feels comfortable about the virus data to lift the stay-at-home order and extend partial openings starting Friday afternoon for dine-in eating at restaurants and for personal care services such as barbers.

But Cooper said he didnt feel good enough about the trends to reopen public playgrounds, movie theatres, fitness centres and other entertainment locales. Theyll have to remain closed until at least June 26.

As of Wednesday morning, the state reported more than 20,100 confirmed cases and 700 deaths, according to Department of Health and Human Services data.

___

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealands prime minister wants employers to consider switching to a four-day work week as a way to promote tourism, which has been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Jacinda Ardern said in a Facebook Live video this week that people had learned a lot about flexibility and working from home during the nations lockdown, which was eased last week.

New Zealands tourism industry had accounted for about 10% of the economy, but has ground to a halt during the outbreak.

The South Pacific nations borders remain closed, but Ardern said that as much as 60% of tourism was domestic and that more flexible working arrangements could allow New Zealanders to travel more within their own country.

Ardern said she would encourage employers to think about whether or not a four-day work week is something that would work for their workplace, "because it certainly would help tourism all around the country.

___

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea has reported 12 new cases of the coronavirus and one more death, bringing its totals to 11,122 cases and 124 deaths.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said 10 of the new cases came from Seoul and nearby Incheon, where health workers have been scrambling to track and test potential virus carriers following dozens of infections linked to nightspots.

At least 1,191 infections have been linked to passengers arriving from abroad.

South Korea was reporting around 500 new cases a day in early March, but since managed to stabilize infections with an active test-and-quarantine program, which has so far allowed the country to avoid real lockdowns.

___

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania is working on guidelines to allow sporting events, exhibitions and leagues, both professional and amateur, to get back to some semblance of normalcy after practically everything shut down to help stem the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday.

In a conference call with reporters, Wolf said he has been in touch with major professional organizations including NASCAR, the NFL, NHL, Major League Baseball and others to figure out how they can resume.

Wolf said he expected that his administration will, in the coming days, produce guidelines for the various venues, sports and activities to resume. But, he said, the ultimate success of the events and leagues will rest on whether people feel safe to attend and participate.

In the end, the ultimate arbiter of our fate here when it comes to sporting events are going to be individuals who want to participate, individuals who want to be part of sports, whether its amateur or professional, Wolf said. And weve got to make sure that we give them the confidence to then go to these sporting events and feel safe, that theyre not taking their lives or health into their hands.

___

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada gambling regulators are calling casino companies to a health and safety workshop next week aimed at sharpening rules for reopening the states shuttered gambling establishments.

With no opening date currently set, the meeting that the Nevada Gaming Control Board scheduled for Tuesday morning could help show when Gov. Steve Sisolak plans to lift his mid-March order that stopped gambling in Nevada and closed casinos to prevent groups from gathering and spreading coronavirus.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announces new criteria related to coronavirus hospitalizations and testing that could allow counties to open faster than the state, during a news conference at Mustards Grill in Napa, Calif., Monday May 18, 2020. Newsom says the new criteria could apply to 53 of the state's 58 counties. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool)

A control board statement said regulators are working to determine how reopening will occur, and the governor will determine when.

___

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  A member of the Illinois General Assembly was removed from the first gathering in 10 weeks after refusing to wear a face covering.

Republican Rep. Darren Bailey of Xenia, 250 miles (400 kilometres) south of Chicago, voted no on a face-covering rule to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, which was adopted 97-12. Bailey said he was speaking for Illinois residents who feel captive and burdened by state-ordered restrictions on movement.

Bailey, who filed a legal challenge to Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzkers stay-at-home order, in effect since March 21, represents growing dissent to stay-at-home rules in central and southern parts of the state, which have had far fewer coronavirus infections than Chicago.

Pritzker, who later announced another 147 Illinois deaths related to COVID-19 at his daily briefing, said, The representative has shown callous disregard for life, callous disregard for peoples health .... The representative has no interest in protecting others.

___

HELENA, Mt. -- Armed demonstrators were among a group gathered at the Montana Capitol to protest the state governments response to the coronavirus.

The Independent Record reported about 60 protesters convened outside the Capitol building in Helena on Wednesday.

Some demonstrators carried guns and others held signs, including many referencing Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock.

Bullock enacted travel restrictions and a stay-at-home order March 28 in response to the spread of COVID-19. Bullock lifted the stay-at-home order for individuals April 26 and for many nonessential businesses April 27 as part of a phased reopening plan, while keeping some social distancing requirements in place.

___

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  California's Tulare County is facing pushback from the state as it pushes the boundaries on reopening beyond what state officials allow.

Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration told Tulare County officials they could lose out on state and federal disaster funding if they dont follow the states rules. The Central Valley countys board of supervisors voted Tuesday to allow most businesses and churches to reopen.

More than half the states counties have won state approval to reopen things like restaurants for diners and other businesses. Newsom has outlined a four-stage process to ease restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

___

SAN FRANCISCO  California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond says school districts will make their own decisions about when, and how, to open during this COVID-19 era.

Thurmond said Wednesday he expects most school districts to open as usual in late August or September, but with classes that look radically different to maintain social-distancing standards.

Expected is a mix of in-person and distance learning with fewer children in classes, hallways and other common areas. They will wear masks, as will teachers and staff.

Thurmond plans to hold a virtual meeting Thursday with representatives from 1,000 districts to get an idea of what schools are thinking theyll have to do to keep students safe and buildings sanitized.

California has 6 million K-12 students.

___

Judy Tuls, center, shops with the help of designer Robin Sisson at Janeen's Furniture Gallery Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Visalia, Calif. Tulare County's board of supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to move further into the state's four-stage reopening plan than is allowed. That means nearly all businesses and churches could reopen, though county officials said businesses should adhere to state guidelines on social distancing and other health measures. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

RIO DE JANEIRO  The administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday unveiled new measures to expand use of chloroquine, the predecessor of an anti-malaria drug promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19.

The new guidelines were approved by Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, who became interim Health Minister after his predecessor was fired five days ago. Pazuello had no health experience until he became the ministrys No. 2 official in April.

Bolsonaro wrote on his official Facebook page that there is still no scientific evidence, but it is being monitored and used in Brazil and worldwide.

Health officials say the virus has killed nearly 18,000 Brazilians and infected at least 271,600 people in the South American country.

In Sao Paulo, Brazils most populous city, authorities announced a six-day mega-holiday in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, after the states death toll surpassed 5,000 this week.

___

MOSCOW  The Russian military has set up a quarantine facility at a Siberian gold mine where hundreds have been infected with the novel coronavirus.

The Olimpiada mine in the town of Yeruda has emerged as a top spot of contagion, with more than 800 workers testing positive for COVID-19.

The Defence Ministry said Wednesday that it has set up a quarantine camp capable of accommodating 2,000 people. Those who get sick will be treated at a nearby field hospital set up by the military, which has sent 77 medics and hundreds of support personnel to the mine to deal with the outbreak.

Russia has ranked second behind the United States in the number of infections, with more than 300,000 coronavirus cases.

___

MADRID  The regional authority of Madrid is appealing to Spains Supreme Court over the Spanish governments refusal to ease its lockdown.

The Madrid regional government said in a statement Wednesday it believes that technical assessments over what areas can loosen restrictions adopted to stem the new coronavirus outbreak are not being applied in the same way in different parts of the country.

The Madrid region has officially recorded almost 67,000 of the countrys 232,000 COVID-19 cases, making it the hardest-hit area.

The conservative Popular Party, which is the Socialist-led national governments main opposition, has a controlling majority in the Madrid regional authority.

___

TORONTO  Canada is recommending that its citizens wear masks if proper social distancing can't be maintained.

Canadas Chief Public Health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, says the use of non-medical masks, or face coverings, is recommended as an added layer of protection when physical distancing of 2 metres (6 feet) is difficult.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says hes started wearing a mask when hes out of his home and cant keep a safe distance from others at all times. He was wearing one when he arrived at Parliament on Wednesday.

Canadian health officials once recommended against the wearing of face masks but adjusted that advice in early April when it became clear the novel coronavirus can be spread by people who arent showing symptoms.

___

OLYMPIA, Wash.  Washington states unemployment rate shot up to 15.4% in April and the states economy lost 527,000 jobs in the month as a result of the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic.

McAllen Fire Department firefighters listen quietly as three brothers play a cello concerto to celebrate the firemen during the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in McAllen, Texas. (Delcia Lopez/The Monitor via AP)

Thats the highest jobless rate the state has seen since it started keeping records in the 1970s. The previous record was 12.2% in November 1982, said Paul Turek, an economist for the states Employment Security Department.

Aprils rate, released Wednesday, is a significant jump from Marchs 5.1%, though officials had warned Aprils numbers would more truly reflect the widespread closing of restaurants and other businesses, which began in mid-March.

Februarys unemployment rate was 3.8%.

___

BERLIN  German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the country wont be cutting foreign aid due to the coronavirus pandemic, and further relief for poor nations is needed.

Speaking Wednesday after a video meeting with heads of the World Bank, the International Monetary fund and three other global economic bodies, Merkel noted last months agreement to freeze poor countries debt obligations and said that as far as the sustainability of debt is concerned further steps need to follow.

Merkel didnt spell out whether Germany would go so far as agreeing to debt relief.

___

CHICAGO  Ford resumed production of the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator on Wednesday morning at its Chicago SUV factory, only to shut down again after running short of seats made at a Lear Corp. factory in nearby Hammond, Indiana.

Lear confirmed that production was suspended after an employee told the company of a positive COVID-19 test.

Ford temporarily halted production at the factory twice on Tuesday after two workers tested positive for the disease, and on Wednesday a worker at the company's pickup truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, also tested positive for COVID-19, forcing a work stoppage there.

Employees who came in contact with the worker in Dearborn were sent home for 14 days. Production was expected to resume Wednesday night.

The company says all three workers contracted COVID-19 outside the factories, triggering protocols that included sanitizing equipment and isolating employees who came in contact with the affected workers.

The shutdowns on Tuesday came just a day after Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler restarted their U.S. factories after being idle for about two months due to the disease.

___

GENEVA  The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization says an end to U.S. funding for the U.N. health agency would have a major implication for delivering essential health services to the most vulnerable people in the world.

Dr. Michael Ryan was responding to questions from reporters about a letter sent by U.S. President Donald Trump threatening an end to funding from the United States, its biggest donor, unless the agency reforms.

The comments came on a day when a total of 106,000 COVID-19 cases were reported to WHO over a 24-hour period, the most in a single day since the outbreak began.

Ryan said the U.S. funding that reaches the WHO emergencies program was on the order of $100 million a year and much of it goes to humanitarian health operations all over the world, in all sorts of fragile and difficult settings.

Ryan expressed concern about any such funding cuts and said, if necessary, the agency would have to work with other partners to make sure the money is there.

___

MILAN  More than two weeks into Phase II of gradual reopening in Italy, the number of reported new coronavirus infections grew by 665 on Wednesday to 227,364, with nearly half in the northern region of Lombardy that has been the epicenter for Italys epidemic.

Five regions reported no new cases of COVID-19 and nine regions reported no deaths, according to the civil protection agency.

Deaths in the country rose by 161 to 32,330, the lions share in Lombardy, and pressure on hospitals continued to ease, with 400 fewer beds occupied with COVID-19 patients, including 40 in ICUs.

___

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkeys health minister does not expect a second wave of infections in the country in the coming months, but says his ministry is monitoring the possibility of a risk in September or October.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday following a weekly meeting of the countrys scientific advisory council, Fahrettin Koca said the country is preparing to open to domestic travel next month by introducing a system of certification that will allow passengers with no health issues to travel on planes and trains. The system will also allow health authorities to easily track travellers and anyone they came into to contact with if they fall ill, he said.

The country is also preparing to accept travellers from 31 nations who want to visit Turkey for medical purposes, Koca said.

The announcement came as the number of confirmed infections and deaths in the country continued to drop. Turkey registered 23 COVID-19 deaths and 972 new confirmed cases in the most recent 24-hour period, the first time the number of infections was below 1,000 in two months. The total number of confirmed infections now stands at nearly 153,000 with 4,222 deaths.

___

ATHENS, Greece  Greeces long-awaited tourist season will begin on June 15 with the opening of seasonal hotels.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says international flights will begin heading directly to tourist destinations on July 1. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Mitsotakis says visitors would be subject to sample coronavirus testing and our general health protocols will be adhered to.

The government imposed a lockdown early in Greeces outbreak, which has been credited with keeping the number of deaths and critically ill people at low levels.

Mitsotakis announced a reduction in consumer taxes on transportation from 24% to 13%, which will lead to cheaper boat, plane and bus tickets during the tourist season. Theres also a cut on tax on coffee, soft drinks and open-air movie theatre tickets.

Health authorities announced one death Wednesday and 10 new confirmed coronavirus cases. That brings the total confirmed cases to 2,850 and 166 dead in the country of nearly 11 million people.

___

MADRID  Spain has registered a fourth consecutive day of fewer than 100 deaths from the coronavirus.

Thats down from more than 900 fatalities a day at the height of its outbreak in early April.

The Spanish Health Minister reported 95 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 Wednesday, taking the overall death toll to 27,888.

The health ministry also reported 416 new infections over the last 24 hours confirmed by laboratory tests. More than 232,000 infections have been confirmed by laboratory tests, and 49,600 Spaniards have tested positive from an antibody test.

Spain is edging toward reactivating its economy, and wearing a face mask is mandatory while outside the home.

___

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.

BERLIN  Germany hopes to reach agreement with fellow European countries on rolling back travel restrictions in time for the summer holiday season.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says we hope to be able to lift the worldwide travel warning at least for the European Union after June 14 and replace it with lower level travel advice.

Maas says countries had gotten a good bit closer to that goal with Germanys nine neighbours and an earlier round of negotiations with 11 other European countries this week.

Maas says Germany wants a co-ordinated and transparent process across the EU that avoids individual countries pressing ahead in a bid for income from tourism when the pandemic isnt yet defeated.

___

Follow AP news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "WISMOlabs technology is helping AirDoctor and AquaTru, companies from the Ideal Living house of brands, drive significant increases in efficiency and cost reduction during the COVID-19 crisis," says Dmitri Rassadkini, President of WISMOlabs. "We're honored to partner with companies like this who are truly making an important impact in their community."

WISMOlabs is a post-purchase platform that helps companies to optimize the post-purchase experience for retailers. This has never been as important as it is now during the COVID-19 WISMOlabs recently on-boarded a client that specializes in Air and Water purification through their brands AirDoctor and AquaTru.

Working with Second Chance Church in Flint, Michigan, AquaTru will be distributing free AquaTru water purifiers and face masks to those most in need during the COVID-19 crisis. While many of us are constantly washing our hands to keep us safe and healthy without giving it a second thought, some in Flint still don't have safe, clean water in their homes to wash their hands, let alone to drink. AquaTru is certified to NSF standards to remove 83 contaminants, including 99.1% of lead. AquaTru is honored to help the Flint community at this time and look to continue their support.

AirDoctor is a respected manufacturer of high-quality air purifiers with over 16 years experience and dedication. Having its own dedicated, full-time team of engineers and quality control managers in our offices in China allowed AirDoctor to import and deliver over 75,000 high-quality KN95 masks and provide these masks on a "not for profit" basis to hospitals and healthcare facilities across New York, Michigan, and California.

"This is excellent news and we're extremely excited to help others during these times," says Dmitri Rassadkine with WISMOlabs. For more details visit https://wismolabs.com/customer-delivers-during-covid-19-crisis/

About Ideal Living: Ideal Living is a Los Angeles based company that invents, markets and distributes innovative health, wellness and home environment products to significantly improve the quality of life of individuals and communities.

For more information on AquaTru visit https://aquatruwater.com For more information on AirDoctor visit https://www.airdoctorpro.com

About WISMOlabs: WISMOlabs is an exceptional post-purchase marketing and customer experience platform that has increased repeat customer conversion rates by 70% and decreased "Where Is My Order?" calls by 90%. WISMOlabs are seeing 20-30X ROI while building customer loyalty through connecting with your customers when they are most receptive. Get more information at www.wismolabs.com

Contact:

Kurt Weisenberger

512-484-9047

[email protected]

SOURCE WISMOlabs

Related Links

https://www.wismolabs.com


Page Content

door meeting with the Justice Committee of Parliament, to discuss the pending approval of the

draft Penal Procedure Code. However, due to the requested urgent meeting of Parliament

concerning governments deadline to respond to the conditions posed by the Kingdom

government as it relates to St. Maarten receiving financial assistance to cover the cost of the St.

Maarten Stimulus and Relief Plan (SSRP), the scheduled meeting has been postponed until

Friday, May 22, 2020.





Considering that to date, little headway has been made by various Ministers of Justice and

various Parliaments in moving the handling of the Penal Procedure Code forward considerably,

Minister Richardson has opted for a different approach by requesting the scheduled meeting of

Tuesday May 19, 2020 to be held behind closed door. Prior to Tuesdays meeting being

requested, the Minister and her legal team reviewed the proposed amendments made by

Members of Parliament and considered the proposed amendment achievable. Minister

Richardson is of the opinion that further discussions in a closed setting will allow for a more open

exchange of views and will lead to all parties reaching consensus. After which the discussions

will then be brought to a public meeting for decision-making and will see the majority of

Parliament vote to pass the law.





The deliberations on this draft Penal Procedure have been ongoing for some time now. It is

lamentable that to date, the public discussions that were held did not produce satisfactory

results. What we have seen is St. Maarten been given a public statement. Thankfully, despite

being in the same space as it relates to the draft Penal Procedure Code, the FATF matrix was

completed and sent on to the CFATF Secretariat in the Trinidad and Tobago on April 30, 2020 to

further confirm the passing and enactment of the Civil Code and the Penal Code in 2019, said

Minister Richardson.





St. Maarten having submitted the matrix puts the country on a positive rhythm with the FATF

regulations and brings it closer to move out of the third round and into the fourth round. Minister

Richardson looks forward to attending the CFATF Plenary session in November 2020, gaining a

positive review for St. Maarten and thereby applying to move to the fourth round in May, 2021

and having the public statement lifted for the country.





On Tuesday May 19, 2020 Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson was scheduled to have a closed
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved extension of Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) up to 31st March, 2023 for further period of three years beyond 31st March, 2020.

Consequently, he last date to invest in PMVVY will be March 31, 2023.

PMVVY is a social security scheme for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum pension to them based on an assured return on the purchase price / subscription amount.

The PMVVY scheme, implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), is intended to give an assured minimum pension to senior citizens (60 years and above) based on an assured return on the purchase price/subscription amount.

The Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana for Senior Citizens has also revised the minimum investment to Rs 1,56,658 for pension of Rs 12,000 per annum and Rs 1,62,162 for getting a minimum pension amount of Rs 1000 per month under the scheme.

It will initially give an assured rate of return of 7.40 % per annum for the year 2020-21 per annum and thereafter to be reset every year.

Annual reset of assured rate of interest with effect from April 1st of financial year in line with revised rate of returns of Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS) upto a ceiling of 7.75% with fresh appraisal of the scheme on breach of this threshold at any point.

The government has approved for expenditure to be incurred on account of the difference between the market rate of return generated by LIC (net of expenses) and the guaranteed rate of return under the scheme.

Government has capped Management expenses at 0.5% p.a. of funds of the scheme for first year of scheme in respect of new policies issued and thereafter 0.3% p.a. for second year onwards for the next 9 years.

Government will delegate the authority to Finance Minister to approve annual reset rate of return at the beginning of every financial year.

The expenses on managing the scheme, are capped at 0.5% of assets under management per annum for the first year of the scheme and 0.3% p.a. for second year onwards for the next nine years. As such the expected financial liability v/ill range from an estimated expenditure of Rs. 829crore in the financial year 2023-24 to Rs. 264crore in last FY 2032-33, an official release said.
DECATUR  Support for the community's essential frontline workers found some new champions Wednesday  the stalwart heroes from the past guarding Decatur's downtown.

The Decatur Area Arts Council and Community Foundation of Macon County partnered with the City of Decatur to install temporary masks on statues in the citys downtown area. Those donning the colorful face coverings include the Civil War figures in Central Park, Abraham Lincoln on the corner of Main and Main Streets, and Commodore Stephen Decatur near the Decatur Civic Center.

The intention is to honor and thank frontline workers from all over our community, said Jerry Johnson, executive director of the Decatur Area Arts Council. They have to wear these masks every day, and they have to go to work every day.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people wear face coverings outside their homes as a measure to slow the spread of COVID-19. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, through an executive order, has also required residents to wear them in public when social distancing is not possible.

Along with first responders and healthcare employees, the agencies wanted to give recognition to grocery and convenience store clerks and restaurant staff. Their service allows a certain amount of certainty, security, normalcy, in our lives, Johnson said.

Johnson said the thin masks were made by a local artist out of scrap material. I just painted them with the arts council colors (red, yellow, blue and green) to make them a little more colorful, he said. It didnt cost anything to make these masks.

Johnson needed help attaching the masks to taller statues. He enlisted the help of the city employees and a truck with a lift. They were concerned I might fall off a ladder, he said.

The idea came from a similar project in Chicago. At the beginning of the month, the bronze lion statues at the entrance to the Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue wore appropriate-sized masks to promote the Chicago Together! Make a Mask, Give a Mask, Wear a Mask initiative.

Johnson brought the idea of honoring frontline workers to the city council, which approved the project.

The local masks are securely, yet temporarily, attached to the statues. The arts council plans to keep the masks in place for several weeks. Made from thin, recycled material, they are not appropriate for personal protective equipment.

The arts council has championed other public art efforts downtown, including the murals located at 145 S. Water St., 111 E. Main St., 702 Eldorado St., 730 E. Cerro Gordo St., and on the corner of Eldorado and North Water Streets.

We'd like to think the folks of Decatur would respect this for what it is intended, which is a tribute to frontline workers, Johnson said.

History Photos: Nelson Park and Faries golf courses

Contact Donnette Beckett at (217) 421-6983. Follow her on Twitter: @donnettebHR

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  When New Mexico lawmakers approved a temporary firearm seizure bill in February, they had little idea it would take effect during a pandemic.

Despite the upheaval caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act  or red flag gun law  is one of 46 new state laws that take effect Wednesday.

While some law enforcement agencies have been researching the law and developing plans for its implementation, at least one county sheriff said theres been a lack of guidance from the states judicial branch.

Once again, New Mexico has passed a law but given no direction on how it should be applied, San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said. The sheriff said he received three calls Tuesday from other law enforcement officers seeking more clarity about the red flag gun law.

However, Rep. Joy Garratt, D-Albuquerque, who co-sponsored this years bill, said Tuesday that she has been impressed by the amount of groundwork done and believes most law enforcement officials will abide by the new law. She also predicted it will be used rarely.

The law enforcement people who see this as a tool  say it will be used judiciously in situations where no other tools work, Garratt told the Journal.

She also said lawmakers could make technical changes to the law during the 2021 legislative session if logistical issues arise in the coming months.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said APD has been researching how similar laws were implemented in Washington, Colorado and Florida.

In addition, the Police Department has been working with District Court officials and the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office to try to make sure the law is applied consistently, Gallegos said.

We are also working through legal issues to ensure our officers and detectives are properly trained and they know exactly what is expected of them, he said.

The new law was a top initiative of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams during this years 30-day session and will allow firearms to be temporarily taken away from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

It was passed after fierce debate at the Roundhouse, and some sheriffs indicated they might not enforce the bill, citing concerns over constitutional due process issues.

A lawsuit seeking to strike down the new law is still in the works, said Ferrari. Some individual New Mexicans may file court challenges, he said.

He also said the new law could increase tensions at a time when many New Mexico Republicans are urging Lujan Grisham to further relax business restrictions imposed in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

People are frustrated right now, Ferrari told the Journal.

But backers insist the bill is legally defensible and predict it will, over time, reduce New Mexicos high rates of firearm-related deaths, including suicides.

The new law allows law enforcement officers  acting on information provided by a relative or household member  to seek a court order prohibiting someone from having firearms.

An officers decision whether to seek the court order will be based on whether theres probable cause to believe the individual poses a danger of causing imminent personal injury to themselves or others.

If a petition is granted, a judge could order the immediate seizure of the persons firearms for up to 10 days, until a hearing can be held. After a hearing, the firearms ban could be extended one year.

Barry Massey, the spokesman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said Tuesday that court employees have been given information about how to handle the new cases.

District courts are prepared to process any cases that are filed under the new law, Massey said.

At a glance

There are 46 new laws hitting New Mexicos books today. Here are some of them:

 Eliminating a 180-day waiting period before settlement agreements involving state government entities are made public.

 Extending an existing employment discrimination protection law to cover pregnancy and childbirth.

 Creating a new fund in the state treasury for elderly residents that will be named in honor of the late Rep. Henry Kiki Saavedra.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday targeted the Uttar Pradesh government for not allowing the buses arranged by the party to ferry migrants enter the state.

She said that the Yogi Adityath government insisted on producing the papers of the vehicles, and delayed the initiative by wasting time in communication.

If you had allowed these buses to run, around 72,000 people would have been home by now. But they were engaged in politics. The buses were are standing at the Rajasthan-Uttar Pradesh border since yesterday and are not being of any help, Gandhi said at a digital press conference.

Watch | If you had allowed: Priyanka Gandhi targets UP govt over buses for migrants

She said that the Congress wants to help in a positive way and doesnt want to indulge in politics.

I request you to let these buses enter Uttar Pradesh, she said addressing the chief minister. This is not a time to play politics, all parties should set aside politics and help people.

She also said that the buses will remain at the Uttar Pradesh border till 4 pm on Wednesday.

Priyanka Gandhi and the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh are at loggerheads over her plan to send 1,000 buses to help transport migrants in Uttar Pradesh.

The offer was made on Saturday, and accepted on Monday. But by Tuesday evening, the state government said only 879 of the 1,000 vehicles were buses, and the rest three-wheelers and other vehicles, triggering angry reactions from the Congress.

UP government has crossed all the limits. When there is an opportunity to do away with political differences and serve helpless migrant labourers it has caused all the hindrances. @myogiadityanath ji you can use BJP flags and your posters on these buses, but dont reject our feelings of service, she had said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Congress had on Tuesday accused the BJP and Adityanath of indulging in cheap politics and doublespeak by not letting in its buses to ferry migrants.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala held a press conference on Tuesday where he said that the chief minister was insensitive as he was embroiling migrants in cheap and petty politics.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

The National Democratics Parliamentary Candidate for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, Phyllis Naa Koryoo has petitioned the Criminal Investigations Department(CID) of the Ghana Police Service over death threats.

In the petition sighted by Pinknews, the candidate alleged that strange numbers have been sending frightening messages to her cautioning her to step down from her position lest shed be assassinated.

Naa Koryoo petition A copy of the threads of messages attached to the petition strongly warned the NDC candidate to bring to an abrupt end her campaign or shed be bathed with acid.

A portion also reminded the Candidate that her conversations with top party officers of the NDC are also closely monitored.

The sender also mentioned that strongmen shall soon be sent to him down the NDC candidate and that shed soon be referred to as Late Naa.

Also, a portion of the text messages alleged that the NDC politician sent thugs to destroy Governments food hence the resolve of the sender to eliminate her including her family members and special aide.

Kasoa is known as a hotspot for political violence with several criminal incidences recorded.

Meanwhile, several politicians have been assassinated under bizarre circumstances in the country with the entire citizenry curiously waiting to have finality of those matters including the gruesome murder of the former MP for the Abuakwa North constituency, Late J.B Adu in February 2016.

In 2015, chairman of the New Patriotic Party in the Upper East region, Adams Mahama was also gruesomely murdered by some assailants.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:42:26|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong has tweeted a video message of popular Chinese film star Jackie Chan sending best wishes to Indians in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Glad to share Jackie Chan, famous Chinese movie star's good wishes & support to #India. Jia You Yindu! Come on India! Fight #COVID19," the ambassador tweeted on Tuesday.

In the video, Jackie Chan, who is also popular in India, called on Indians to follow the advice from their government and protect themselves.

"I know we are all facing a very difficult time right now. We should stay positive and follow the advice from your government. Protecting yourself is protecting your family. Stay strong, Stay Safe. I truly believe we have a bright future ahead," the Chinese film star said in the video message.

The tweet has attracted over 900 Likes so far. Enditem
Mumbai recorded 1,372 new coronavirus patients and 41 deaths on Wednesday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The tally of cases in the country's financial capital thus reached 23,935 and death toll rose to 841.

Of the new cases, 150 were the ones detected at private laboratories between May 17 and 18, the BMC said.

On the other hand, 350 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered patients to 6,466.

Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has, meanwhile, directed ward officers to file police complaints against private nursing homes, polyclinics and hospitals which have not reopened.

Chahal has also directed ward officers to provide PPE kits to private nursing homes and hospitals, the BMC release said.

1,000 health surveillance teams are daily surveying 6 to 7 lakh people and suspected coronavirus patients are being referred to COVID Care Centers.

The civic body further said that 58,14,340 houses were surveyed and 7,447 suspected cases were referred to date.

"52,798 high-risk contacts of patients from slums areas have been identified, of which 36,167 contacts are quarantined in institutions," BMC said.

A special survey of senior citizens is being conducted and oxygen levels are being checked.

"Till date, 10,25,062 houses have been covered and 1,68,678 senior citizens are screened of which 1,279 senior citizens were found to have low oxygen (SPO2)below 95, who were referred for treatment to nearby hospitals or dispensaries," the BMC said.

Screening camps are being conducted in slum areas and containment zones.

"So far, 357 camps have been conducted, 18,643 high risk persons identified and 5,188 swabs taken and 683 positive cases have been diagnosed as a result of screening camps," the BMC said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Khaligraph Jones has threatened to storm Diamonds Wasafi camp and cause havoc if is he is not respected by the bongo superstars photographer.

This after Diamonds photographer, Lukamba, trolled the Kenyan rapper with an animated image showing Khaligraph begging for photos he took with Diamond during the gala of Sound City MVP Awards in Nigeria.

It all started when Khaligraph complained that Lukamba refused to forward the pictures he took with Chibu Dangote at the Awards ceremony, where Khali was crowned the Best Rapper in Africa.

So I see Diamond backstage, he congratulated me and said congratulations my brother this is a big win for East Africa and he is like, can we take a picture? So we take a picture while holding the Award, and his photographer is the guy who took the pictures and I asked him to send me the picture and he never wanted to send the pictures. I dont know why probably because Diamond didnt win anything or what?

Alikataa kunitumia picha and I never understood why because I got his contacts. I was blowing up his phone like yooh send me the pictures. You know Im a big fan of Diamond Platnumz and I really wanted to post that picture of him holding the award and the picture never came through, said Khaligraph Jones.

In his defense, Lukamba said his memory card got corrupted and lost all the photos.

Dah Sijafikia huku ..Changamoto za card zinataka kunigombanisha na Kaka yangu OG @khaligraph_jones. Bro siku Tukikutana yaani nakupiga album mzima na kupa hapo hapo ? #respecttheogs, said Lukamba.

While responding to Lukambas funny meme, Khali dragged Wasafi stars Mbosso and Lava Lava in the beef for poking fun at him.

@iamlavalava @mbosso naona mumechekeshwa sana lakini uyu Kijana wenu atafanya nyinyi wote murudi Ushagoo, chungeni sana ama nikuje niwafagilie nyinyi wote kama Mr.Nice. You will Respect The OG, wrote Khaligraph.

Lava Lava joined the convo saying: We respect You Og Kijana Alipata Matatizo kidogo Yakikazi Tuko Pamoja @khaligraph_jones ? KENYA STAND UP .
Actor Manisha Koirala has earned flak for showing support towards the controversial new Nepalese map. The new map released by Nepal shows areas such as Lipulekh and Kalapani under its territory.

Thank you for keeping the dignity of our small nation..we all are looking forward for a peaceful and respectful dialogue between all three great nations now, Manisha wrote in her tweet. It was in reply to Pradeep Gyawali, Nepals foreign affairs minister, who had tweeted about the area getting included in the Nepalese map.

Thank you for keeping the dignity of our small nation..we all are looking forward for a peaceful and respectful dialogue between all three great nations now  https://t.co/A60BZNjgyK  Manisha Koirala (@mkoirala) May 18, 2020

Manishas tweet did not sit well with Indians on Twitter. The tweet got her over 2,700 replies. Pls go and earn in nepali film industry, read a tweet. You are supporting the illegal map of Nepal to support India instead of you on such an issue which makes your identity from India. The Indian film industry gave you a lot of fame and money and that how you repay us #bycott_mkoirala, read another. Get the fu** out of India now, wrote another Twitter user. Ungrateful to the nation that gave you everything. Nice, read a tweet.

Manisha is a Nepali national. She has worked in Bollywood for almost 30 years in films such as Dil Se, Gupt, Bombay and others. She was last seen in Netflix film Maska.

India on Wednesday said such artificial enlargement of territorial claims by Nepal will not be acceptable to it and asked the neighbouring country to refrain from "unjustified cartographic assertion".

"This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. "Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India," he added.

Srivastava also asked Nepal to respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity, hoping that the Nepalese leadership will create a positive atmosphere for diplomatic dialogue to resolve the outstanding boundary issues.

Also read: What Are The Odds movie review: Abhay Deol, Yashaswini Dayamas ode to Wes Anderson is cute but not crazy enough

"Nepal is well aware of Indias consistent position on this matter and we urge the government of Nepal to refrain from such unjustified cartographic assertion and respect Indias sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

The new map was released by Nepal's Land Reforms Minister Padma Aryal during a televised press conference in Kathmandu.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Iran's Ambassador to UK Hamid Baeidinejad sent a letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding the US threats against Iran's oil tankers, Trend reports citing IRNA.

Baeidinejad tweeted late on Wednesday, "In an official letter to the International Maritime Organization, we expressed our deep concern over reports that the US intends to take action against Iranian oil tankers in international waters and endanger the security of international traffic."

Iran will respond to any threat, and the US is responsible for any consequences, he reiterated.

The US move to disrupt Iranian oil tankers drew Iran's criticism, as Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to warn about the US move to send troops to the Caribbean to intervene in Iran's fuel export to Venezuela.

He described the US' illegal, dangerous and provocative threats as a type of piracy and a great menace to international peace and security, stressing that the US must stop bullying in the international scene and respect the rule of the international law, especially shipping freedom in open waters.
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday that she and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer are committed to exploring any legal avenue available to assist Michigan residents who are recovering from the flood in Midland County and secure compensation for damages to public property and natural resources.

Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached Tuesday. The situation comes as the state grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already impacted the states economy and caused thousands of deaths.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's military will escort Iranian tankers bringing fuel to the gasoline-starved country as soon as they enter its exclusive economic zone, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said on Wednesday.

His comments came after Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said the shipment should "alarm" Latin America. Both OPEC members are U.S. adversaries whose oil industries are under U.S. sanctions. Trump administration officials say Washington is considering a response to the shipment.

The tankers - Fortune, Forest, Petunia, Faxon and Clavel - are carrying around 1.5 million barrels of fuel, and passed the Suez Canal in the first two weeks of May, Refinitiv Eikon data show. They are expected to arrive in Venezuela between late May and early June.

"When they enter our exclusive economic zone, they will be escorted by Bolivarian National Armed Forces boats and planes to welcome them in and thank the Iranian people for their solidarity and cooperation," Padrino said on state television, adding that the government was in touch with Iran's defense minister.

Guaido said the fact President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government is importing fuel shows its mismanagement of the country's oil industry. Venezuela's refining network has 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of capacity, but has collapsed after years of underinvestment.

"We are very concerned for the safety of Venezuelans, and of Latin America as well, due to this attempted Iranian presence on Venezuelan soil," said Guaido, who leads the opposition-held National Assembly and is recognized as the rightful president by dozens of countries, including the United States.

Maduro calls Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to oust him in a coup, and blames U.S. sanctions for Venezuela's economic woes.

Guaido said his team believed Venezuelan officials paid Iran with "blood gold" from informal mines in Venezuela's southern jungles, which have fueled massacres as gangs battle for territory.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera and Deisy Buitrago in Caracas; Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga in Mexico City; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)
Scientists have reviewed the clinical testing methodologies used for detecting the presence of COVID-19 causing virus in patient samples, and believe that a combination of different approaches may be the best way to scale up and fill the gaps in diagnosis.

The researchers from the University of California (UC) Berkeley in the US call for further improvements in testing technologies to increase speed and availability.

According to the review research, published in the journal RNA, the most sensitive tests for novel coronavirus infection in patients measure the presence of the virus' genetic material, RNA, which if detected suggests an ongoing infection.

The scientists said current testing approaches fall into two categories -- nucleic-acid or serological.

Nucleic-acid tests, they said, directly probe for the RNA of viruses swabbed from a patient's throat or nasal passage, while serological tests detect antibodies present in the patient's serum.

"During the first days of infection, patient viral titers are high and a single patient nasopharyngeal swab may harbour close to 1 million SARS-COV-2 viral particles," the scientists explained in the study.

However, they said patient antibodies to the virus typically occur 5-10 days after the onset of initial symptoms.

According to the scientists, the nucleic-acid tests can detect the virus much earlier in the course of infection than the serological tests.

"Nucleic acid tests offer the earliest and most sensitive detection for the presence of SARS-CoV-2," they noted.

One of the methods,the RT-PCR test, which has become a "gold standard" for diagnosis, takes hours to perform and requires specialised reagents, equipment, and training, the study noted.

Even since the first few weeks of the pandemic, the scientists said, required reagents have already been in short supply.

"Researchers and testing centers report issues acquiring almost every necessary reagent from commercial suppliers - from patient nasopharyngeal swabs to lysis buffer to RNA extraction kits," they said.

The scientists noted that many such tests take several hours to complete and require extensive human labour as well as materials and equipment that are not universally available.

New methods in which one or two cumbersome steps can be eliminated, may reduce the overall time for testing, they said.

Citing an example, the researchers said testing for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA typically begins with the collection of a patient swab sample which is lysed and viral RNA is purified.

They said there's growing interest in finding alternative strategies or eliminating RNA purification altogether by adding patient swab samples directly to the RT-PCR reaction.

When the scientists assessed the different testing approaches, they found that some tests take minutes, some take hours, with many done in different ways.

They said these tests vary in cost and potential for mass use.

A scalable, rapid screening platform will be required to deliver millions of tests per day, the scientists said.

"Pre-print and published articles from the past several months describe a variety of options for rapid, affordable, sensitive, and high-throughput nucleic acid testing, which is currently the most reliable approach for early detection of SARS-CoV-2," they wrote in the study.

The researchers believe that creative and multifaceted approaches to viral nucleic-acid testing will continue to provide solutions to addresses the COVID-19 pandemic.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Saudi Arabia's biggest construction firm Binladin Group cut jobs and reduced staff salaries as it navigates the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, reported Bloomberg.

The Jeddah-based conglomerate put thousands of employees on indefinite, unpaid leave as it weighs options to lower costs by as much as 50%, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The group reduced pay by about a third during Ramadan to reflect shorter working hours, which impacted about half of its 100,000 employees, according to the report.

The company, which is restructuring an estimated $15 billion of debt, has already started laying off staff, including senior managers, and more jobs will be cut, the people said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Saudi Arabias economy is being battered by a 50% slump in crude prices this year and from lockdown measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Faced with the prospect of ballooning deficits, the government has tripled valued-added tax, cut allowances for state employees and tapped its foreign reserves, it stated.

Its also slashed spending on some large-scale projects, depriving Binladin -- for decades the go-to developer for mega-projects -- from its main source of revenue.

Earlier this month, the government allowed private-sector companies to cut salaries by as much as 40% for up to six months, while giving employers more rights to terminate contracts, stated the Bloomberg report.

Even before this years crisis, Binladin was still reeling from the oil-price slump in 2015, which forced the company to cut more than 50,000 jobs in 2016, it added.
People keep looking at China and wondering how long will it last? When will the population have had enough? Gobel said. Previous waves of democratic change have happened when people have had good examples to look to abroad. I dont see a reason why Chinese people should now stand up and ask what things could have been different.
Cambridge has become the first university in Britain to cancel all face-to-face lectures for the 2020-21 academic year because of the coronavirus pandemic, after 800 years of welcoming students to its cloisters, quadrangles and classrooms. It likely won't be the last, as the virus threatens the foundations of the traditional student experience, and the finances of universities around the world.

Cambridge said late Tuesday that all lectures will be held virtually and streamed online until summer 2021. It said it may be possible to hold tutorials and other teaching in small ...
Sumi Sukanya Dutta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Centre has refused to fund a crucial randomised control trial to assess the effectiveness of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine for preventing COVID-19 among healthcare workers while choosing instead to go ahead with an observational study, considered "poor quality" in scientific research.

The proposal designed by the New Delhi-based George Institute of Public Health, in collaboration with doctors from Apollo Hospitals, Tamil Nadu and St John Medical College, Karnataka aimed to evaluate whether a strategy of prophylaxis with HCQ taken weekly for 3 months reduces the risk of acquiring symptomatic COVID-19 infections in over 10,000 healthcare workers.

However, the pitch did not find favour with two government agencies--Indias top health research body, Indian Council of Medical Research and the department of biotechnology under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology.

The decision has raised eyebrows as the chorus is growing against an ICMR advisory, issued nearly two months back asking all high risk individuals to take HCQ, as the evidence is now growing that the medicine may not be useful at all for the treatment or prevention of the disease and may be harmful in several cases.

ALSO READ| Centre advises dentists to take HCQ, allows them to resume services with major restrictions

Those who have recommended HCQ in the March 23 advisory include healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients and close contacts of those for infected. HCQ is known to have cardio-toxicity effect for many and can be even fatal for those with heart diseases such as history of prolonged QT interval.

"While DBT turned down the proposal saying ICMR has already started an observational study to evaluate the risk, ICMR itself called a meeting to discuss it and then cancelled it later without offering any explaination," Dr Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director of GIPH told The New Indian Express.

"It is both disappointing and perplexing as poor quality science should not be given precendence at any cost," he added pointing at the observational study started by ICMR that will simply monitor health of 2000 healthcare workers taking HCQ at six medical centres.

The office of DBT secretary Renu Swarup, when reached for a comment, said that a high level committee did not recommend the project as it fell under ICMR's domain. Message and email sent to ICMR director general Dr Balram Bhargava have remained unanswered.

Dr RR Gangakhedkar, chief epidemiologist at the ICMR, on Wednesday said in a press briefing that it is "reviewing" the earlier guidelines.

Meanwhile, bioethicists pointed out that while ideally, the ICMR advisory should not have been issued in March without proper evidencean effort to look for good quality evidence being shunted was even worse.

"A properly done RCT is the only way to scientifically evaluate the efficacy of a drug and it should not be comprised for a lesser quality study, especially by countrys top health research agency," said Dr Anant Bhan, a researcher in bioethics, public health and policy.

He wondered if the ICMR may have down the proposal thinking that a negative outcome will show it in bad light later.

Sources in the Union Health Mministry and ICMR conceded that the government is rethinking its earlier recommendation to include HCQ for both treatment and prohylaxis of COVID-19. Meanwhile, Jha said that he is still looking for funding to take forward his project which has received ethical clearance.
What Are The Odds?

Director: Meghna Ramaswamy

Cast: Yashaswini Dayama, Karanvir Malhotra, Abhay Deol

There is something to be said about a filmmaker who attempts to emulate a Hollywood genius in her very first film. Meghna Ramaswamy gets the aesthetic right but not quite the whimsical heart of Wes Anderson and his glorious movies in her debut, What Are The Odds?

Netflixs latest lockdown release is What Are The Odds, a sweet slice of a film about the lives of two school kids from Mumbai. Vivek (Yashaswini Dayama) and Ashwin (Karanvir Malhotra) are supposed to appear for a Hindi scholarship exam. She is the rebellious, edgy one who protests all from an education to gender-conforming names while he is the charming head boy with his perfect face and a life with no issues. But everything goes for a toss when she decides to play Passengers on him and steals both their admit cards, leading them to spend an entire day together and become friends.

Watch the trailer for What Are The Odds:

Soon as they step out of the school, craziness begins and we hit peak Wes Anderson. Senior citizens dance in the streets in red tracksuits, women with bob cuts create art with people in pastel outfits, kids act like adults and the adults act like kids. And all through this, the cinematography remains exquisite. Gorgeously symmetrical wide shots make for almost 90% of the run time and letters and random items land right in the middle of your screen. And there are so many people in costumes. One dresses up as a bush in a forest, another puts on a bears mascot suit at a club and choir kids put on the jokers red nose. It is all very pretty and will give you a tonne of lovely screenshots for your film review, but other than that, it serves little purpose.

I might have given the artistic choices a little more credit if Meghna would have stuck with it through the length of the film. For instance, the film takes a decided turn towards normal in the third part with the flashback, featuring Abhay Deol as a rockstar and the object of Viveks desire. Abhay, whose part in the film can at best be termed a special appearance, has nothing even slightly not-normal about him. He makes rational choices, wears ordinary clothes, says the usual things. And with him, even Vivek and the film embrace the conventional. Meghna abandons the crazy at pivotal points, as if herself tired of keeping up with the complete lack of logic and sense in the footage she has just shot.

But What Are The Odds is still not shallow, despite its clearly devoid-of-meaning antics. Vivek and Ashwin strike an adorable friendship as they go burying a dead fish, booze on a rooftop mid-afternoon and save a man called Amol Palekar from leaping off a roof. And in between all this, they talk about her grandma with Alzheimers waiting for her son. Vivek also gives an overwhelmingly wholesome reason for why she believes her father must have abandoned the family. Meanwhile, Ashwin is also a rare revelation a lead character in a coming-of-age drama without any issues, a generally happy person and still not devoid of empathy.

Yashaswini, who has so far been casted as the woke kid of complex parents in series such as Delhi Crime and Made in Heaven, carries Vivek with ease. She can be the rebellious teen throwing fists in the air as well as the happy girl dancing on her bed on the morning of an exam. She seems equally authentic in both the versions. As for Karan, he plays the right foil to her with his composed and calm eyeseven if inspired by daytime drinking. He is charming no doubt, the classic head boy types. He might be near-perfect but he is not unrelatable.

What Are The Odds was reportedly supposed to be a series, which ended up as a short, 90 minute movie that Netflix would not even call an original (its a FilmCaravan original acquired by Netflix). Perhaps it is for the best. When one cannot keep up with the crazy in a one-and-half-hour film, what hope would there have been for an entire series? That being said, should you choose to watch the film, and somehow find it on Netflix (I could not find it this morning upon repeated search queries), it will be one-and-half-hour of cute, colourful and sometimes crazy fun.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A major train drivers' union has suggested that Tube services across London may be running at only 50 per cent capacity as commuter numbers rose today.

Transport for London (TfL) has insisted that during peak hours this week it has run over 75 per cent of Tube services on average across the whole network.

However, MailOnline understands that train drivers have told ASLEF, which represents most Tube drivers, that TfL is running a reduced timetable.

Tube passenger numbers rose by nearly 2,000 between 4am and 10am today compared with the same time period yesterday.

TfL data shows that this morning 99,485 Tube journeys were made in total, an increase of around 1,900 from yesterday's figures of 97,581.

Roads are also less busy this morning as traffic levels across the country have fallen by an average four per cent compared to last Wednesday.

It comes as Sadiq Khan demanded that shops and supermarket stock more face masks in anticipation of rush hours this week.

The Mayor of London has told commuters only to use public transport if it is 'essential' and should wear face masks or coverings.

A TfL service at Acton Town this morning shows a commuter entering an empty carriage

Pictures today show Tube stations are quiet as workers are encouraged to get back to work

Traffic in Marylebone Road, London, as data shows congestion has fallen since last Wednesday

Apple mobility data shows that people across the UK are slowly starting to get back to work

Traffic data from the rush hour today shows that roads in and around big cities is down on last Wednesday as the government tries to restart the economy.

Live tracking by TomTom indicates that congestion is around three per cent lower across the country today at 8am compared to the same time last week.

Traffic in London was three per cent lower this morning at 8am compared to the same time last week, while Brighton and Bournemouth experienced a five per cent and six per cent decline in traffic this morning compared to last Wednesday.

Traffic in Southampton, Manchester and Birmingham was four per cent lower than at 8am last week, and two per cent lower in Liverpool for the same period.

With images showing fewer commuters using TfL services today, though, it is likely Apple mobility data would show a decline today.

A spokesman for the AA told MailOnline: 'Traffic levels are still lower than pre-lockdown levels, but more vehicles are heading out.

TomTom data shows that during the morning 'rush hour' traffic levels in London were consistently lower today than last week, but were at similar levels as the afternoon wore on

Traffic around Brighton was lower this morning than at the same times last week, though congestion levels rose by 1pm as locals searched for the sun, according to TomTom data

Congestion levels in Bournemouth were lower during the morning than they were at the same times last week, but increased by two per cent at 1pm as locked-down Britons left the city

TomTom data shows that during the morning 'rush hour' traffic levels in Manchester were consistently lower today than last week, but were at similar levels as the afternoon wore on

Traffic in Birmingham remained consistently lower both during the morning 'rush hour' and as the afternoon wore on than at the same times last Wednesday, according to TomTom data

Cyclists riding through central London today on their way to work during the lockdown

Traffic in Marylebone Road, London, as data shows congestion has fallen since last Wednesday

A handful of commuters were wearing face masks at Highbury and Islington station today

'However, vehicle traffic in the heart of major cities remains low and will probably remain so until shops, restaurants and offices can open up again.

'When the relaxation of movement is introduced we could see towns and cities become a little busier, but just how busy remains to be seen.

Some passengers and TfL staff claimed that commuters may be keeping clear of TfL services to stay home and enjoy 82F temperatures.

Electrician Vic Perhar, who had arrived at Paddington station said: 'My train was virtually empty and a lot quieter than it has been over the past few days.

'I think people are just making the most of the good weather and who can blame them because we could all do with a bit of cheering up.

'People are allowed to go out more and the next few days will be ideal for just sitting in your garden or going somewhere to have a picnic.

'Who the hell wants to go to work when it's so warm?'

A single commuter is reading the paper as TfL carriages appear to be mostly deserted today

Commuters wearing face masks were using TfL services this morning during lockdown

Janet Riley, from Reading said: 'I've been getting the train to Paddington since returning to work on Monday and today is the quietest it's been. There was hardly anybody on my carriage and I'm sure it's down to the warm weather.'

'I bet a lot of people have decided to work from home or even ring in sick. I was tempted myself, but I run my own business and am my own boss'.

A Paddington station worker said: 'To be honest, it's been quiet all week. I know parts of the network have been very busy, but our station has been really quiet.

'It's very noticeable that there are even fewer passengers today but that's actually quite normal when the weather is really nice.

'People have spent the past few weeks caged in and probably just want to get out to enjoy the sunshine because being Britain, it won't last.'

Neil Rees, who was boarding the Tube at Paddington said: 'We love to make the most of good weather in this country because we don't get enough of it.

'Not many people have returned to work since the lockdown was eased and now there's even fewer going to work because of this lovely weather.

TfL passengers were waiting for a service in face masks today as lockdown has been eased

Although some people are using TfL services today, underground platforms are very quiet

'It's a good opportunity to pretend to be working from home when all you're really doing is sitting in your garden soaking up the rays.'

A spokesman for TfL told MailOnline: 'Tube ridership is less than eight per cent of what it was at the same time last year.

'We are working hard to progressively return services to normal levels under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, with staff still off work because they fall into vulnerable categories or because they are sick or self-isolating.

'In keeping with the government's plans for the national rail network, we are now operating more than 75 per cent of Tube services and the Circle line and seven Tube stations have reopened, with around 85 per cent of bus services currently running.

'Public transport should be avoided wherever possible to help people who have no alternative means of travel and we encourage people to walk or cycle where they can, using the lanes and widened pavements being introduced across London.

'If public transport is the only alternative then please travel outside the busiest times, particularly in the early mornings, and allow two metre social distancing to be maintained where possible.'

London Mayor Mr Khan has been discouraging people from using TfL services unless it is 'essential' and should be wearing face masks.

A letter he published today called upon stores and supermarkets to help commuters access non-reusable face masks and coverings.

'I would like to ask for your help with ensuring Londoners are able to access non-medical face coverings to help prevent the spread of Covid-19,' Mr Khan said.

'Although Londoners should stay at home as much as possible, I am asking those who must use public transport for essential travel to wear a non-medical face covering for the entirety of their journey.

'I hope that Londoners will choose to wear face coverings when out doing their shopping, helping to keep you, your staff and their fellow customers safe.'

A single commuter is reading the paper as TfL carriages appear to be mostly deserted today

Passengers on London's trains and buses have been seen travelling without any protective face masks as they travel to work today

Commuters were riding the Tube from Canning Town station this morning during peak times

Signs at Canary Wharf station yesterday urged passengers to stay away during rush hour. Carriages on the Jubilee Line showed little room for social distancing as passengers sat next to one another, while bus passengers were forced to stand.

Mr Khan said that while City Hall is encouraging people to use homemade face coverings, there will be people who will want to buy ready-made ones instead.

But he stressed that the coverings should not be medical grade personal protective equipment (PPE) to make sure supplies are not diverted from NHS and care staff.

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) is also urging its members and the wider retail sector to stock up on re-usable face coverings to keep the public safe during the transition out of lockdown.

Working alongside Mr Khan, Bira CEO Andrew Goodacre is urging shops such as hardware stores to stock up to make sure there are enough to meet demand.

'Independent retailers want to play their part in keeping customers safe and giving consumers confidence to return to the shops as and when they open,' he said.

'As they tend to sell PPE, we want to ensure local hardware stores ramp up supply to keep the public safe, to help people avoid needing to travel to the larger, more populated, out of town DIY stores to buy masks.'
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  An Otero County commissioner and founder of the Cowboys for Trump group is facing calls to resign after a video clip surfaced of him saying, The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.

But Couy Griffin said Wednesday that he doesnt feel like hes done anything wrong and that his recent comments about Democrats at a rally in Truth or Consequences were made in a political  not physical  sense.

I wasnt calling for anyone to be murdered or killed, Griffin, a Republican, told the Journal.

However, the remarks have drawn bipartisan condemnation, with Lt. Gov. Howie Morales calling them incredibly irresponsible and the state Democratic Party saying Griffin should resign.

The New Mexico Young Republicans also condemned Griffins remarks and asked him to apologize, saying the statements set a dangerous precedent for political discourse in New Mexico.

We value the personal and political worth of all New Mexicans and to make such an outrageous statement is contrary to the pro-life Republican Party platform, the groups chairwoman, Rebekah Stevens, said in a statement.

Griffin is no stranger to controversy. The Secretary of States Office determined last year that he may have broken state law by filming a video in the Otero County Commission chambers in which he requested donations to help pay for a horseback ride in support of President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver also ruled that Cowboys for Trump should have to register with the state as a political action committee, though the groups leaders balked at the order.

In an interview, Griffin said Wednesday that he has no plans to resign. He also said he believes he has been targeted by Democrats due to the high profile of Cowboys for Trump, which has held rallies outside the Roundhouse to protest an abortion rights bill and border-related issues.

Griffin also said he does not regret his Sunday speech, in which he also described Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as a dishonest communist, saying that his remarks referred to Republicans attempt to win control of the state Legislature.

During the recorded speech, Griffin specifically said: Ive come to a place where Ive come to the conclusion that the only good Democrat is a dead Democrat. I dont say that in the physical sense and I can already see the videos being edited where it says I want to go murder Democrats.

No, I say that in the political sense, because the Democrat agenda and policy is anti-American right now.

While not directly addressing Griffins remarks, the state Republican Party posted on social media Wednesday that any statements, whether in jest or serious about harming another individual are just plain wrong.

Meanwhile, the remarks are just the latest in a string of controversial comments made by New Mexico elected or appointed officials since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki faced criticism from Republicans for tweeting last month that those focused on businesses profits during the outbreak were a death cult.

And the Anti-Defamation League condemned comments made by Grants Mayor Martin Modey Hicks that compared New Mexico State Police to the Gestapo after he said he was reopening small businesses in defiance of a public health order issued by the Lujan Grisham administration.
100 Years Ago  1920: From Germany comes a letter from a Chester soldier boy, who says he is lonely and desires to receive letters from some lonely Chester girl. Editors Chester Times: I am a lonely slider from Chester, Pa., and I wish you would please advertise in your paper for a lonely girl who would care to write a lonely solider who is with the American Forces in Germany. Will give any information of myself you wish to know. I thank you. Hoping to hear from you or some nice lonely girls. I remain, Yours in despair, Pvt. Melvin C. Sears, C.H., 50th Infa., A.E.F., Neidermendig, Germany.

75 Years Ago  1945: Theron King, the 28-year-old phantom burglar who robbed Chester and Delaware County homes of more than a quarter million dollars worth of jewelry and cash in the last two years was fighting desperately today to balk extradition from Ohio. Captured in Cincinnati by a squad of heavily-armed detectives Saturday night after one futile attempt to draw a pistol from his belt, this once-dapper gunman confessed immediately to over 30 robberies in Ohio. This, police said, was an obvious move to stand trial there instead of in Pennsylvania, where he is also under incitement for shooting a plainclothesman early last month.

50 Years Ago  1970: Scott Paper Co. will build a six-story $10.5 million office building at its corporate headquarters on the Industrial Highway in Tinicum Township. The building will be Scotts current six-story headquarters building and a two-story research and engineering building. Scott plans to use two floors of the 315,000 square-foot building for its own employees, while leasing the remaining four floors.

25 Years Ago  1995: The Upper Darby School Board adopted a $75.9 million tentative budget, up 6.2 percent, with millage at 493 mills, up 29 mills. This community sends $25 million to Harrisburg and gets $11 million back, said Superintendent Joseph Batory. The normal revenue stream coming to this school district and all districts in Delaware County was diverted by the prior Casey administration to other school districts in Pennsylvania, said Business Manager Kenneth Hemphill said.

10 Years Ago  2010: The investigation into three separate attempted adductions of township students between April 26 and this week is being treated as top priority, police Chief Daniel Ruggieri told Aston Commissioners. The incidents ranged from Mount Road to Northley Middle School. Ruggieri said the police department and Penn-Delco School District have been working closely to ensure that timely information is disseminated to parents, and extended appreciation to district Supt. George Steinhoffs work.

 COLIN AINSWORTH
The Haryana government is mulling imposing fine on those not wearing masks and violating social distancing norms, state Home Minister Anil Vij said on Wednesday.

Wearing of masks has been made mandatory for people in the state when they are outside their homes.

The Haryana government is contemplating imposing a fine on those who are found without a mask and violating social distancing norms, the minister told reporters.

Vij said that he has written to the state home secretary in this regard to work out modalities. Quantum of fine can be decided later, he said replying to a question.

I have written to the state home secretary to work out modalities so that those found not wearing mask in public and not maintaining social distancing can be fined.., Vij said.

He also said that if people do not follow other guidelines like not spitting in public, fines can be imposed on these violators too.

If people want that (lockdown) relaxations should be there and these should continue, then rules will have to be made strict. When it seems that we may have to live with the novel coronavirus, tough rules and laws are needed, Vij said.

The state home minister, a week ago, had said a law should be introduced making violation of social distancing rules a criminal offence as many economic activities have restarted amidst the easing of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Vij had also said that law was needed as it has been observed that people don't always follow advisories.

When asked about the ongoing investigations by a Special Enquiry Team (SET) set up to probe theft of huge stock of seized liquor from two godowns in Sonipat, he said the government will take action based on a report, which will be submitted by May 31.

On the Congress, the main opposition party in Haryana, pointing fingers at the ruling BJP-JJP coalition in connection with the missing liquor case, Vij said when any such thing used to come to light during their (Congress) tenure, it used to be swept under the carpet, but the present government believes in punishing the guilty, whosoever it may be.

On the Congress' allegations that the probe team constituted in connection with the theft of liquor stock lacks powers, Vij said he has given necessary directions to the state home secretary that the team should have powers to summon and question anyone.

I have written to the home secretary that powers should be given to the SET under Section 32 of CrPC, 1973to exercise the duty assigned by the state government in an effective manner, I would like that powers conferred under CrPC 1973 be extended to the additional chief secretary heading the SET.., he said.

Asked about the 76 people from Haryana, who were deported from the US, Vij said that he has deputed a senior official to find out under what circumstances they were arrested or whether they may have fallen to unscrupulous travel agents.

I have deputed a senior official who will ask each one of them why they were deported Whether they fell in the trap of unscrupulous travel agents.

Whether they gave money to any such agent. We will register case if it is found that any unscrupulous travel agent is involved in this, he said.

These 76 were part of a group of over 160 Indians who arrived at Amritsar in Punjab by a special chartered flight on Tuesday.

Most of the deported Indian nationals had entered the US from its southern border with Mexico and had exhausted all legal options. They were arrested by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE while trying to enter the US illegally.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A new study conducted by researchers at Florida International University, Miami, has found that communities in the United States with a high density of African Americans are disproportionately burdened with the adverse outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The study, which assessed the three most populous counties in each state and territory, found that the prevalence of COVID-19 was 5% higher, with each percentage increase in the proportion of African Americans. The death rate also increased with each percentage increase by 2 per hundred thousand people.

Further study is needed to indicate if this burden is related to environmental factors or individual factors such as types of employment or comorbidities that members of these community have, said Elena Cyrus and colleagues.

A pre-print version of the paper can be accessed on the website medRxiv* prior to the peer-review process.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China in December 2019, the pandemic has now resulted in approximately 1,548,000 cases and more than 93,000 deaths in the United States.

African Americans are disproportionately represented

As researchers gather and analyze data on social disparities and inequalities in the United States, one finding that has emerged is that African Americans are disproportionately represented in the COVID-19 epidemic, says Cyrus and team.

This is not surprising they add since research has previously shown that African Americans have higher rates of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, HIV and asthma, compared with non-Hispanic Whites, as well as earlier onset of morbidities and higher mortality rates.

Social determinants that may be involved include a higher proportion of African Americans living in crowded communities, working in services industries where the risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is greater; and having poorer access to quality healthcare.

What did the current study involve?

This study used linear regression analysis to explore the density of African American communities and other social determinants in relation to the prevalence of COVID-19 and the associated death rate among the three most populous counties in each U.S. state and territory.

Overall, data collected for cases were analyzed across 152 counties and parishes between January 22, 2020, and April 12, 2020.

After adjustment for median age, the density of the county African American population was directly associated with the prevalence of COVID-19, which increased by 5% for each 1% increment in African American density.

There was also an association between county African American density and deaths related to COVID-19. For each percentage increase in African American density, the death rate increased by 2 per 100,000 people.

According to this ecologic study, in the U.S., higher African American density was more strongly associated with COVID-19 prevalence and death than the higher median age in a community, said Cyrus and team.

The study found no significant association between the prevalence of COVID-19 and the poverty level across counties. However, it did identify a non-statistically significant trend towards an association between death rate and county poverty level.

The authors say the findings support previous studies suggesting that differences in the number of cases, hospital admissions, and deaths may be attributable to an increased prevalence of comorbidity and job-related exposure among African Americans.

Concerns about disease resurgence

The team points out that in the majority of the United States, the incidence of COVID-19 has peaked, and the rate of new cases has started to fall, but that some researchers have predicted disease resurgence later in the year if social distancing policies travel restrictions are relaxed, for example.

In the anticipated surge in the latter part of the year, the most at-risk vulnerable populations, including African American populations, will be disproportionately represented, more so than in the first wave of COVID-19 infections.

The authors say much of this may be accounted for by the crowded living conditions among many African American communities, increasing the risk of transmission. They also suggest that difficulty accessing COVID-19 testing and quality healthcare may be contributing factors.

Widespread screening and services should be available

Screening and services should be comprehensively available regardless of insurance status or the ability of the individuals to pay for medical care, writes the team. Widespread availability of these services, as well as vaccines and treatment when they are available, will contribute to the reduction in overall incidence, transmission, and community spread.

The researchers also point out that, although non-statistically significant in this study, the data did trend towards an association between the likelihood of survival and poverty levels, suggesting that other populations affected by poverty may also be disproportionately burdened.

Further comprehensive analysis is needed to understand state, community and individual levels of social determinants on COVID-19 health outcomes for all racial/ethnic minority and other vulnerable populations living in the United States, concludes the team.

*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.
The Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Ghana has made a donation of GHC100,000 to support the construction of the Covid-19 infectious disease isolation and treatment facility at the Ga East Hospital in Accra.

Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ghana, Dr. Nortey Kwashie Omaboe presented the cheque for the amount to Mr. Senyo Hosi, managing trustee of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, which is spearheading the construction of the facility, at a short ceremony at the project site.

Dr. Nortey Omaboe noted that the Grand Lodge of Freemasons was attracted to the project because they believe it will go a long way in assisting the country in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

We felt that as a body, as a grand lodge we should also make a collective contribution and, therefore, over the past few weeks, we have been putting some funds together, Dr. Omaboe said.

This particular initiative is one that gives us a lot of pride. It is innovative, it is efficient, it is credible, it is transparent, and we are so proud of what you are doing. And we will like to applaud you for all the efforts you have put into this national project.

Delighted by the pace of work on the facility, the Deputy Grand Master made a passionate appeal to the public to support the project.

Dr. Omaboe noted: We are extremely impressed by what weve seen, the project management is of the highest standard, the commitment of the management, the staff, the workers are exemplary. I would like to encourage all other entities both in the private and public sectors to join in this effort. It is for the national good. We are in a very critical situation in this Covid fight and we all must put our hands together to make it a success.

On behalf of the Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund, Managing Trustree, Senyo Hosi expressed gratitude to the Grand Lodge of Ghana for their contribution towards the building of the 100-bed infectious disease isolation and treatment facility.

We are very grateful, he said. Your funds are going to be managed well. So, we want to assure you that you will actually get the best value for money.

The delegation from the Grand Lodge of Freemason included Kojo Henry Osei Asante, the Assistant Grand Master, Babacar Barry, the Grand Secretary, Daniel Awuah Darko, the President of the Board of Benevolence and Kwabena Osei Bonsu, the Grand Almuna.

The Ghana Covid-19 Private Sector Fund is an initiative by private business people who set it up with a seed fund of One Million Ghana Cedis, while campaigning to raise at least One Hundred Million Ghana Cedis from local and international businesses as well as the general public to aid the fight against Covid-19 in Ghana. For more information on how to donate/contribute, please visit: www.ghanacovid19fund.com
COVID-19 patients may have lower stroke rates than previously suggested

Fewer people than previously reported suffer from stroke as a result of COVID-19, a new analysis finds. However, strokes that accompany the pandemic virus, SARS-CoV-2, appear to be more severe.

In the NYU Grossman School of Medicine-led study, researchers found that fewer than 1 percent of hospitalized patients who tested positive during one month for the virus also suffered from a stroke. This contrasts with the rates reported recently in small studies in China and Italy, which ranged from 2 - 5 percent.

However, the current investigation also revealed that people with both conditions were younger, had worse symptoms, and were at least seven times more likely to die than stroke victims who were not infected.

"Our study suggests that stroke is an uncommon yet important complication of coronavirus given that these strokes are more severe when compared with strokes occurring in patients who tested negative for the virus," says study lead author Shadi Yaghi, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone Health.

Yaghi, who is also the director of clinical vascular neurology research at NYU Langone, cautions that the public should always take stroke symptoms seriously. Should they experience symptoms like trouble walking or speaking, or sudden paralysis of the face or limbs, they should seek immediate medical care regardless of concerns about exposure to the virus.

The new study, publishing May 20 in the journal Stroke, is the largest of its kind, says Yaghi, among COVID-19 stroke victims and adds valuable insight into the poorly understood complications of COVID-19 disease.

For the investigation, the researchers used medical records to identify 32 stroke patients among 3,556 people who were being treated for COVID-19 at NYU Langone hospitals in New York City and Long Island between March 15 and April 19. Then, they compared the characteristics of this group with stroke patients without the virus admitted during the same timeframe, and with patients from the previous year, before the pandemic began.

The research team found that stroke patients with COVID-19 disease had more severe symptoms than their counterparts without the virus. In fact, during the study period, 63 percent died, compared with just 9 percent for those without the virus and 5 percent of pre-pandemic stroke patients.

The results also add to other early research suggesting that strokes among COVID-19 patients form differently than the majority of strokes. The condition, the researchers say, usually occurs when a blood vessel suddenly gets blocked, preventing blood from reaching the brain. Among study patients with COVID-19, at least 56 percent of the strokes appeared to arise from increased blood-clotting throughout the body. This finding may offer a clue to how physicians can better treat stroke occurring in patients who have the virus, the study authors say.

"Our findings provide compelling evidence that widespread blood-clotting may be an important factor that is leading to stroke in patients with COVID-19," says study senior author Jennifer Frontera, MD, a professor in the Department of Neurology at NYU Langone. "The results point to anticoagulant, or blood thinner therapy, as a potential means of reducing the unusual severity of strokes in people with the coronavirus."

In addition to investigating anticoagulant therapy, both Frontera and Yaghi plan to continue the study to see if the findings hold true through the end of the year.

###

Funding for the study was provided by National Institutes of Health grant K08 NS091499.

In addition to Yaghi and Frontera, other NYU Langone researchers include Koto Ishida, MD; Jose Torres, MD; Eytan Raz, MD; Kelley Humbert, MD; Tushar Trivedi, MD; Kaitlyn Lillemoe, MD; Shazia Alam, MD; Matthew Sanger, MD; Sun Kim, MD; Erica Scher, RN, MPH; Seena Dehkharghani, MD; Michael Wachs, MHA; Omar Tanweer, MD; Frank Volpicelli, MD; Brian Bosworth, MD; and Aaron Lord, MD. Other researchers involved in the study include Brian Mac Grory, MD, at Brown University in Providence, RI; and Nils Henninger, PhD, MD, at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester, MA.

Media Inquiries

Shira Polan

212-404-4279

shira.polan@nyulangone.org

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Iran's Rouhani Says Country Needs 'Two Or Three Main Political Parties'

Radio Farda May 19, 2020

Islamic Republic's President Hassan Rouhani Monday called for the establishment of a few "main political parties" in the country that could take turns to govern.

Iran has dozens of registered political parties and groups but their ability to become nationwide, grassroots influential organizations are curbed by the authoritarian nature of the political system.

Rouhani in a meeting with a group of political figures said, "I believe that for the future of the country we should pursue [establishment] of parties. If we want to reinforce the regime and help it to survive, we need two or three main political parties" to alternatively govern the country".

All parties and groups allowed to operate in Iran must accept the Islamic Republic constitution and have no opposition to the nature of the governing system, based on the rule of the Supreme Leader.

Iran has two main political factions; the conservatives, supported by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who are now essentially at the helm of important state structures and reformists who have increasingly become weaker. These are not organized singular political parties but are rather political currents, each with their own internal groupings.

President Rouhani's reformists allies lost in February's parliamentary elections and now he has to govern in a country dominated by conservatives and hardliners. He warned during the elections that the domination of one political current is harmful to the country.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-s-rouhani- says-country-needs-two-or-three-main- political-parties-/30620368.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelas defence minister said Wednesday that planes and ships from the nations armed forces will escort Iranian tankers arriving with fuel to the gasoline-starved country in case of any U.S. aggression.

Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said Venezuelas navy and air force will welcome the five Iranian tankers, seeing them through the nations maritime territory and into port. He compared the fuel tankers to humanitarian aid that China and Russia have sent to help Venezuela combat the new coronavirus pandemic.

A force of U.S. vessels, including Navy destroyers and other combat ships, patrol the Caribbean on what U.S. officials call a drug interdiction mission. Venezuelan officials paint them as a threat, but U.S. officials have not announced any plans to intercept the Iranian tankers, or threatened to try that. Both countries have been hit with U.S. economic sanctions.

Venezuelas ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, also lashed out at the U.S., saying any attempt to stop the tankers would be illegal.

Forbidding those boats from reaching their destination would thus constitute a crime against humanity, Moncada said at a U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss recent turmoil in Venezuela.

The five Iranian tankers now on the high seas are expected to start arriving to Venezuela in the coming days. They are carrying gasoline to help alleviate days-long lines at service stations even in Caracas, which had normally been immune to shortages as the capital and seat of political power.

Earlier Wednesday, Irans ambassador to Venezuela defended broadening trade relations between the two nations, which includes the five tankers, as their right to trade freely. International conventions protect the expanding ties between the two U.S.-sanctioned nations, Ambassador Hojjatollah Soltani said.

This relationship between Iran and Venezuela doesnt threaten anybody. Its not a danger to anyone, Soltani said in a meeting with reporters at the Iranian Embassy in Caracas.

In addition to sending the tankers, Iran has flown in shipments of a chemical needed to restart an aging Venezuelan oil refinery with the goal of producing gasoline.

While Venezuela sits atop the worlds largest oil reserves, its oil production has plummeted in the last two decades, which critics blame on corruption and mismanagement under socialist rule. Recent U.S. sanctions designed to force President Nicolas Maduro from power have also hurt Venezuelas production.

Trumps National Security Council tweeted Monday that few financial lifelines remain for Maduro. The U.S. is among nearly 60 nations that recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader.

Our maximum pressure campaign, which includes financial & economic sanctions, will continue until Maduros tyrannical hold ends, the council said. The humanitarian & economic crisis endured by Venezuelans is the fault of 1 person  Maduro.

For Irans government, the business ties with Venezuela represent a way to bring money into its cash-starved coffers and apply its own pressure on Washington.

Soltani denied claims that Iranian planes returned from Venezuela loaded with gold to pay for Irans support. He accused U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of spreading fake news to undermine the trade, which the ambassador called a win-win for both Venezuela and Iran.

They can sanction whoever they want, Soltani said. Iran will always advance.

Adm. Craig Faller, the top U.S. military official in Latin America, said Monday that he was concerned by the news reports that Iran was shipping gasoline to Venezuela. He said it fits a larger pattern of Iran trying to gain positional advantage in our neighbourhood in a way that would counter U.S. interests.

Ive seen those same news reports that the tankers are in route, Faller said in a webcast event. We see the long hand of that Iranian malfeasance at work each and every day.

___

Scott Smith on Twitter: @ScottSmithAP

___

Associated Press writer Joshua Goodman in Miami contributed to this report.
Pre-tax profit rose 10% at Bloomsbury Publishing in the fiscal year ended February 29, 2020, over fiscal 2019, rising to 13.2 million. Revenue was flat, at 162 million. A big jump in sales in the U.K. publishers non-consumer division, helped by sales of digital products, offset a 2.5% decline in consumer revenue, which slipped to 96.8 million. Sales in North America fell 8% in the year, to 40 million.

Bloomsburys look back at fiscal 2020 was overshadowed by its forecast for the current year, when the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold. In prepared remarks accompanying the release of last years financial results, chief executive Nigel Newton said the pandemic has led to significant disruption across all our key markets. The impact may be substantial. Newton said that orders for print books, which comprised 79% of its sales last year, are being affected in all its markets, though he noted that its warehouses, including its facility in the U.S., remain open.

Through April 2020, year-to-date revenue was down 3% compared to last year, with print revenues at 87% of last years sales in the period. Offsetting that decline was a jump in academic digital revenue, which was up 52% in the first two months of the year. Bloomsbury warned, however, that its academic customers face major uncertainties over student recruitment, which could bring financial uncertainty for many of our digital resource customers.

Given all the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the virus on its business, Bloomsbury said it is unable to provide guidance for the year ending 28 February 2021 at this time. Overall, though, the publisher said our strategy of expanding and leveraging our digital rights and products means that we are well placed to benefit from increased demand for our digital resources, audio, and e-books.

The company did run what it called a worst-case scenario projection to test its financial strength. The model used an assumption that print revenues are reduced by 60% to 65% for the three months of expected global coronavirus restrictions, through July 2020, and gradual recovery through to March 2021, while cost reduction measures already implementedincluding salary reductions and reducing discretionary spend such as one marketing and non-essential capital expenditurewould stay in place. Under this severe but plausible downside scenario, [Bloomsbury] has sufficient liquidity to be able to manage these downside assumptions, the company reported.
Aramco Americas, the U.S. division of the Saudi oil and gas company, will announce Wednesday in a press conference with Mayor Sylvester Turner that it has donated more than $2 million to COVID-19 causes, benefiting various organizations and efforts, many in Houston, where the company is headquartered.

Aramco Americas has been in the Houston community for close to 50 years, said director of brand strategy Alma Kombargi. Weve always been involved in the community. When the pandemic started, we looked at where the most basic needs were.

Houston Methodist Hospital is receiving $500,000 to help support an experimental plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients. The hospital was the first in the United States to conduct these trials.

We felt this would serve not only Houstonians but other people in the U.S. and globally, said Kombargi.

BLOOD TRIALS: Houston Methodist Hospital is giving critically ill COVID-19 patients blood plasma from people who have recovered

Food insecurity was a major concern for the team, as layoffs reached a record high. Aramco Americas has a longstanding partnership with the Houston Food Bank. The company donated $54,000 to it a few weeks ago through an employee-matching program and is sending $300,000 more this week. Another $500,000 is earmarked for food banks in New York, Boston, Detroit and Washington, D.C., where Aramco has offices. This overall $800,000 donation will help provide more than 2.6 million meals, in addition to the 162,000 meals funded by the initial donation.

The remaining donations are going to frontline workers, healthcare institutions, and toward filling gaps from medical supply shortages.

Aramco spent $90,000 to donate 30,000 KN95 protective masks to City of Houston first responders, distributed by the Houston Health Foundation and the Houston Health Department. The Health Foundation also received a $500,000 contribution from Aramco to fund mobile COVID-19 testing sites in areas of the city that need them most, and $100,000 to the Our Houston Heroes campaign, which provides grocery store gift cards to first responders.

Our commitment to the community, especially in times of crisis and urgent need, remains strong, Aramco Americas president and CEO Mohammad Alshammari said in a statement. The support is part of a global-enterprise-wide effort by Aramco to provide disaster relief during the pandemic, he said.

On top of the charitable donations, employees of Aramco Americas have been volunteering with the Houston Food Bank to distribute meals. On Tuesday, 90 employees showed up for a six-hour shift  about a third of the companys Houston workforce.

I was hoping to get 40 people, and we got 90 people, said Kombargi. They really care about the community.
Tokyo: On a night not too far in the future but still being kept secret, skies across Japan will light up with simultaneous fireworks displays from north to south in a plan by fireworks makers to cheer a nation weary of battling the coronavirus.

Fireworks have a centuries-old tradition in Japan, where massive, colourful displays are an iconic symbol of summer and draw hordes of people, many wearing bright summer kimono. They began as a way of warding off bad luck and epidemics.

This year, with many festivals, including one of the most famous, on Tokyos Sumida River, cancelled over the virus, fireworks makers facing tough times because of lack of work started talks that led to the Cheer Up! Fireworks Project.

Everyones lost their energy due to the coronavirus and these dark times, so we wanted to cheer them up, said Hiroshi Oguchi, the third generation of his family to work at the San-en Fireworks Co in Shizuoka in central Japan.

Also, Japanese fireworks started out mainly as a way of throwing off bad fortune, and so these are our two goals.

About 130 companies from the northernmost island of Hokkaido to the southernmost ones of Okinawa will participate, setting off fireworks at exactly the same time, Oguchi said.

We are also keeping where it will happen a secret, he added, though the group is considering a social media blast to let people know just before it happens.

Last week, Japan freed 39 of its 47 prefectures from a blanket state of emergency that had lasted most of April, and several more could emerge this week.

The economy has taken a major hit, slipping into recession for the first time in 4-1/2 years, and about 776 people have died.
Russian will import about 300 mln face masks from China in April-May, Russian Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Yevtukhov said.



"A large number of masks have been imported from China. On average, taking into account all the suppliers, (and we carried out such an analysis), about 300 million masks will be imported in April-May," the deputy minister said on air of the Rossiya -24 television channel.



Earlier, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Alexey Gruzdev said that almost 185 million masks purchased in China over the past two months were delivered to Russia as part of government purchases, while companies and foundations acquired about 90 million masks for the regions of the Russian Federation, TASS reported.



According to the ministry, in April, about 138.5 million different types of masks were produced in Russia, and about 105 million masks were delivered from China. In general, up to 9 million masks per day are produced in Russia.
An exhausted emergency department nurse in New Jersey, too worried to sleep, jots down her 401K password in a note to her husband in case she dies. A single mother in rural Oregon spends $250 of her own money to buy protective gear from a farming supply store, mindful that her 9-year-old boy now dissolves into tears when she leaves for work. A nursing director of 13 skilled nursing facilities in Upstate New York describes how her entire family works in health care: I realized my whole family could be wiped out by COVID, just based on what we do, she said.

Nursing is the nations largest health care profession, with 3.8 million registered nurses, or three times the number of doctors, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. That means the hour-by-hour care of hospitalized victims of the novel coronavirus falls largely on their shoulders.

See the complete Year of the Nurse section from The Oregonian.

Their dedication and professionalism during the pandemic have prompted a nightly chorus of cheers from big-city balconies, free pizza delivered to local hospitals by grateful communities, and a flood of homemade masks sewn by an impromptu army of civilian seamstresses.

Their work has required frontline exposure to COVID-19, an illness whose vicious and unpredictable severity has left them stunned and fearful. Theyre afraid for themselves, but even more terrified that one tiny lapse in caution could bring the coronavirus home to their loved ones.

That fear has been exacerbated by spotty availability of the most basic personal protective equipment, or PPE.

Ive dealt with every kind of infection you can imagine: H1N1 (flu), MERSA (drug-resistant staph bacteria), and was able to do so without getting sick and dying. The difference is weve always had the equipment to do that, said Tiffany Simmons, the Oregon nurse who bought her own equipment, including a half-face respirator from a welding shop. There is a threat that when I go to work, I could contract something that they dont have a treatment for.

I never thought Id be fighting for my life at my job, said 57-year-old Sheryl Mount, who volunteered to return to the intensive care unit because she knew shed be assigned there once the wave of COVID-19 cases hit her South Jersey community. Everyone is scared to death.

By mid-April, more than 9,000 health care workers had contracted COVID-19, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average age of those testing positive for the virus was 42; the bulk of the 27 reported deaths occurred among workers older than 65.

Ive never been so scared to be a nurse  and so proud to be a nurse, Mount said.

Adding to the stress are shifting COVID treatment protocols that mean nurses cant practice their profession the way they always did, or even the way they were trained. They have to limit their interactions with their patients, and some safety protocols have abruptly changed. They have always discarded surgical masks after leaving each patients room; now theyre being told to wear the same one all day.

Jennifer Tinn, an ICU nurse at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset, New Jersey, describes herself as a Type A who would normally pop into a patients room as often as she could, even if just to straighten out the sheets.

Now, she has been told to bundle her tasks so she completes them all in a single visit. Patient IV poles have been outfitted with extra-long tubes so they can be rolled into the hall and adjusted there.

She sits on the safe side of a glass partition, monitoring her intubated and eerily silent patients but unable to soothe them. On many of her 12-hour shifts, shell arrange a FaceTime call to relatives so they can glimpse their sedated loved one or watch the chaplain praying over them.

You cant reach out to touch their hand. You cant talk to them, says Mount, the veteran South Jersey nurse. They cant really see your face or your expression. You cant stay in their room for very long. It tears away at your insides.

That kind of nursing takes its toll.

Tinn, 27, said she drives to each shift consumed by dread that never lifts.

Theres just this emotional aura, or vibe, that is just emotionally heavy. I dont usually go to work feeling anxious or feeling worried. But this is a type of anxiety Ive never had, because I dont know what the day is going to bring for these patients, who are so, so sick, she said.

Just as COVID-19 patients appear to be improving, the virus can throw a sucker punch that causes their vital signs to plunge. The medical term is decompensating. The hospital lingo is crumping.

Im sleeping late, which isnt like me. I think its just emotionally exhausting, she said. I go home and all I think about are my patients. I think about them even in my dreams. You cry, then you get better, then you go back to work, then out of nowhere you cry again, said Simmons.

Nurses have a long, proud history of combating contagious disease, whether polio, AIDS, or the 1918 Spanish flu, said Arlene Keeling of the University of Virginia School of Nursing and editor of the Nursing History Review. In both the AIDS and polio epidemics, nurses worked before effective treatments were available and while the means of transmission were still unclear, she said. Traveling nurses often took care of polio patients on the assumption theyd already acquired immunity.

Im not sure they knew exactly how it was transmitted either, so maybe they didnt know what to be afraid of, she said.

During the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic, many of the patients were tended to by student nurses, since most experienced nurses were away at war. The nurses were mostly single as well because a student had to leave nursing school or a hospital job when she got married, Keeling said.

That meant they were treating contagious diseases unburdened by any fear of infecting their own children, unlike todays nurses grappling with COVID-19. Nor did those earlier nurses have to deal with home-schooling their children after their shifts ended.

But thats Jessica Collums schedule. She works three overnight shifts a week in the emergency department of Ocean Medical Center along the New Jersey coastline, returning home at dawn.

When she gets home from her shift, she strips off her uniform in her garage, steps carefully along a series of bathmats placed in a connecting hallway, then jumps into the shower. She washes her blonde hair so rigorously she jokes she now looks like that guy from Van Halen.

Normally shed see her three boys off to school and her husband off to his construction job, then get five or six hours of sleep. Schools are closed, however, so she spends big parts of her day overseeing online lessons for her 7-year-old while keeping her 4-year-old twins occupied. She survives on brief catnaps.

She takes only a reference book on medication and a pen and scissors with her into the hospital, leaving her coat in the car. Shes wary of sharing keyboards and desk phones with her coworkers. Wearing a mask and gown for her 12-hour shift often causes her to overheat. She frets, unable to decide if shes just too hot or actually developing a fever. The possibility she might be coming down with COVID-19 herself has triggered panic attacks, she said. On one recent day, five nurses went home with fevers.

Simmons, of Oregon, strips in the garage as well, then makes sure to sanitize anything she has touched, including her car keys and cellphone. She doesnt even remove her contacts until after shes showered.

While nurses are going to extraordinary lengths to prevent exposing their families to the virus, the looming danger is evident not only to them, but to their loved ones.

I constantly hear, This is not what I signed up to do, said Mount, the veteran nurse of nearly 40 years. Husbands are pushing back: This is not what our family needs. Youre being exposed to something that could kill us all.

Planning for and around that fear is on the To Do list of MaryPat Carhart, vice president of clinical services for a Syracuse-based company that operates 13 skilled nursing facilities in Upstate New York.

Since February, shes kept a little notebook on her bedside table to jot down issues that need addressing, no matter what time of night they occur to her.

The current pandemic reminds her of her early years in nursing, when treating AIDS patients was fraught with concerns about the unknown. Its just human nature. People are going to be afraid. Theyre going to be paralyzed, she said. But thats my goal: to eliminate the paralysis.

Theyve chosen this, and this is their calling, she said of her nurses. But their biggest fear is taking it home to their families. So we have to make sure that if we get COVID in one of our facilities, theyll be OK.

That means rigorous safeguards, plenty of safety equipment, back-up plans for the back-up plans, and training, training, training. This is what we do in health care  but really on steroids, she said. But this is what we do.

Kathleen OBrien is a freelance writer in northern New Jersey. She can be reached at ksobksob@gmail.com.
China has claimed that 'clever entrepreneurs won't give up the massive Chinese market' amid escalating fears of a global trade war with Beijing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Zhong Shan, the head of the country's Ministry of Commerce, declared that 'smart' Western companies would play by Beijing's rules because the nation has 1.4 billion consumers and plenty of high-quality labour resources.

Mr Zhong's assertion of confidence came after China on Monday slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley and warned of 'more actions' in perceived retaliation after Canberra demanded an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

Zhong Shan, the head of China's Ministry of Commerce (pictured in 2019), declared that business-savvy Western firms would stay loyal to Beijing because the nation has 1.4 billion consumers and high-quality labour amid spiralling fears of a global trade war with Beijing

China has slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley and warned of 'more actions' in perceived retaliation after Canberra demanded an independent inquiry into COVID-19

Beijing also threatened 'forceful countermeasures' against American firms, including Apple, after the Trump administration extended its sanctions on Chinese telecom giant Huawei

There are concerns that Britain could also be dragged into the international economic conflict with China after supporting the virus probe together with more than 130 countries.

The Communist nation has reportedly threatened 'forceful countermeasures' against American firms, including Apple and Boeing, after the Trump administration extended its sanctions on Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei out of fears of Beijing-backed espionage.

China's Commerce Minister Mr Zhong expressed his certainty of foreign firms' loyalty to Beijing after being asked about claims that some overseas businesses were planning to move out of China as a result of the health crisis.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Mr Zhong acknowledged that China 'is facing huge challenge' in drawing foreign investment 'due to the spread of the pandemic'.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured in 2019) is facing wide-spread doubts that his government has covered up the full extent the coronavirus outbreak in the early days

The pandemic emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has killed over 323,000. Pictured, medical workers take care of a COVID-19 patient in Wuhan on April 24

The official added that the nation must further the opening-up of its market, set up more free trade zones and improve its overall business environment.

He then said: 'I would like to stress here that China has distinct advantages of using foreign investment.

'China has abundant and high-quality labour resources. China has comprehensive industry-supporting capabilities. China has a market with 1.4 billion people.

'I believe clever entrepreneurs won't give up the massive Chinese market.'

Mr Zhong's comments came after Apple said it would start to produce its popular wireless earphones in Vietnam for the first time.

The US tech giant will shift the production of millions of AirPods out of China this quarter, sources told Nikkei Asian Review, in a sign that it is seeking to lessen its manufacturing dependence on China.

American companies including Boeing could be added to China's 'unreliable entity list' as Beijing's punishment on Washington, state media reported. Pictured, Boeing 737 Max 8 jets are parked at the airport adjacent to a Boeing production facility in Renton on April 8, 2019

The trade war between China and the US is now compounded with an intensifying diplomatic dispute between the two nations over coronavirus. Trump (pictured on Tuesday) took the row with China further when he threatened to cut off funding for the WHO permanently

Huge American companies including Apple, Cisco, Qualcomm and Boeing could be added to China's 'unreliable entity list' as part of Beijing's punishment on Washington for its trade restrictions on Huawei, the Global Times reported.

These US firms will have restrictions imposed on them and investigations launched against them, claimed the state-run newspaper, citing a source.

China and the United States have been locking horns in a long-winded trade war since 2017. US President Trump has accused China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft, to which Beijing denies.

But with the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, the world could see a new global trade war between China and the West due to disagreement over Beijing's response to the emergency.

The Communist country has faced wide-spread doubt that it has covered up the true scale of the outbreak and the origin of the pathogen.

Some American politicians, including Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo, have linked the origin of the birthplace to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured) in the former epicentre

Chinese officials decided to build the Wuhan Institute of Virology after the country was ravaged by an outbreak of SARS in 2002 and 2003. Shi Zhengli, a lead researcher, is seen working inside the P4 laboratory at the institute in Wuhan on February 23, 2017

On Monday, the World Health Organization bowed to calls from most of its member states to launch an independent probe into how it managed the international response to coronavirus, which has been clouded by finger-pointing between the US and China.

The 'comprehensive evaluation' over coronavirus, sought by a coalition of African, European and other countries, is set to review 'lessons learned' from WHO's coordination of the global response to the virus outbreak.

Donald Trump took the row with China further when he threatened to permanently cut off funding for the WHO, which he has accused of bias towards Beijing.

In April, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison demanded an independent probe into the deadly virus and the WHO's handling of the crisis.

In response, Chinese state media and leaders warned of trade retribution that could wipe $135billion (110billion) from the Australian economy.

After weeks of threatening to boycott the meat and barley industries and restrict travel and foreign education opportunities, China on Monday announced an 80.5 per cent levy on barley exports starting on Tuesday.

Beijing claims Australia subsidised its farmers and dumped barley in China. The tax will remain in place for five years, China's Ministry of Commerce said.

Furthermore, China has reportedly drawn up a list of more Australian industries to target.

Wine, dairy, seafood, oatmeal and fruit exporters could be hit with new customs rules, quality checks or tariffs to make selling into China more difficult, according to a Bloomberg article which cited 'people familiar with the matter'.

The bitter battle between China and Australia has now exploded onto the world stage, after 100 nations joined Canberra in calling for the impartial review, with concerns that Beijing's harsh punishments could be repeated worldwide.
Mainly Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province & Ringing Trips to Bahrain
Etihad Airways flight, carrying aid to the Palestinians, landed in Israel on Tuesday night, marking the first known commercial flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Israel Airports Authority confirmed in a statement that the cargo flight landed at the Ben Gurion Airport, the country's international airport outside Tel Aviv.

"For the first time, an Etihad cargo plane just landed at Israel's Ben-Gurion airport. Hopefully soon, we will see passenger flights, too," tweeted Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations.

An official with the Israeli foreign ministry confirmed to Xinhua that the plane carried humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to help them fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The arrival of the flight was coordinated with the help of the United Nations' World Food Programme, according to the official.

The flight of Etihad, the flag carrier of the UAE, marks rare cooperation between Israel and the UAE, which have no official diplomatic ties.
Betsy DeVos Promises to Help Secure HEROES Act Money for Private Schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said she will help ensure federal aid to be directed towards private and religious schools through the $3 trillion HEROES Act, which has been passed by the House and is stalled in the Senate.

During a Tuesday radio program, host New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan said he was a little worried that the latest version of the upcoming federal relief bill does not cover non-public schools. The legislation from House Democrats would provide nearly $60 billion to K-12 schools across the United States, while explicitly stating that no HEROES money would be used to provide financial assistance to students to attend private elementary or secondary schools except for students in special education as required by federal law.

Im sure you, the President, and Democrats and Republicans who are fair-minded are going to rectify that. No? asked Dolan.

Absolutely, DeVos responded to Dolan. And I know that theres been a pause in consideration of an additional package. I think rightfully so.

We will continue to be engaged in those discussions, and the White House and the President are really committed to fighting for the opportunities for these children to be able to continue in the schools their families have selected, she added.

DeVos promise comes amid a recent outcry from public school advocates who argue that a guidance (pdf) from her department goes against the intent of Congress in disbursing federal funds in CARES Act, which made available over $13 billion to help K-12 students continue their education disrupted by the public health emergency.

Most of the CARES Act money is being distributed to school districts using the Title I formula, meaning that districts with more students from low-income families are getting more relief money. In the April 30 guidance, however, DeVos instructed districts to also set aside a portion of the CARES money to support students in private schools based on total enrollments, rather than just the number of low-income students.

Under the CARES Act programs, services are available for all studentspublic and non-publicwithout regard to poverty, the guidance read.

States reacted differently to the guidance. Kentucky and Tennessee said they would follow the guidance, allowing CARES money to flow through public schools to private schools based on overall enrollment. By contrast, education officials in Indiana and Maine said they would distribute funds based on their own interpretations of the CARES Act and prioritize low-income students, no matter what schools they attend.
The Bombay high court (HC) has directed a petitioner to implead (to make a party in the lawsuit) the municipal commissioner in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) claiming that private hospitals were not admitting Covid-19 patients or overcharging them for treatment. The PIL also stated that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was not accepting reports from private testing labs and subjecting tested persons to fresh tests.

The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice SS Shinde was of the opinion that the presence of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Iqbal Chahal was necessary to adjudicate such matters.

The PIL filed by Sarika Singh, a resident of Kurla, was brought to hearing through video conferencing by advocate Varsha Jagdale.

Jagdale submitted that private hospitals were charging exorbitant amounts for treatment of patients or refusing to treat them at all. She added that Singh was prompted to file the PIL after she learnt that a police constable who had Covid like symptoms, was asked to deposit 2 lakh by a private hospital in Vashi to be admitted there.

Jagdale added that as the constable was unable to arrange for the amount, he was kept waiting for around five hours. It was only after the local police station threatened to file an FIR against the hospital authorities, that the hospital admitted him with a deposit of 20,000. According to the petition, as police personnel are covered by the Aarogya Kutumb Yojana  an insurance cover provided by the centre  private hospitals should not refuse admission to them.

It was also submitted on behalf of the petitioner, that test reports issued by private hospitals certifying patients as not infected by Covid-19, were not being accepted by the corporation and they were made to undergo fresh tests. On the suggestion of the government pleader that the BMC commissioner should also be a party to the PIL, the bench allowed the interim application of the petitioner to add him as a respondent.

The court observed, Having regard to the nature of issues raised in the PIL petition and also upon hearing learned counsel appearing for the respective parties, we are of the considered opinion that the presence of the municipal commissioner would be beneficial for proper adjudication of such issues and dispensation of justice on this PIL petition.

With regards to the main prayers in the PIL, the court directed Purnima Kantharia, government pleader for the state, and advocate Yamuna Parekh for the BMC, to obtain instructions from the authorities on grievances raised by the petitioner. The PIL has been posted for further hearing on May 22.
The Federal Executive Council has approved a N623.7 million contract for the procurement of computers and printers for zonal and area commands of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed revealed this on Wednesday while briefing State House Correspondents on the outcome of this weeks virtual meeting of the Council, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He also disclosed the award of some contracts for the Nigeria College of Aviation, Zaria, and Plateau State University, Bokkos.

The Minister of Finance presented a memo for the award of contract for 1, 200 units of coloured printers and desktop computers for human resources and accounting management systems across zones and area commands of the Nigeria Customs Service, which was approved, Mr Mohammed said.

The sum of the contract was N623, 700, 000 for the 1, 200 desktops and computers for the use of the Customs Service all over the country, he said.

College of Aviation, Zaria

According to the minister, the cabinet also approved N101 million for the provision of a flight simulator building at the aviation college in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The amount is for a revised estimated cost for the construction of a Boeing 737 flight simulator building at the college.

He said: The memo was presented by the Minister of Aviation and an approval was given for the revised estimated cost for the construction of Boeing 737 full-flight simulator Building for the Nigerian College Aviation Technology, Zaria, originally awarded for N993,484,980.60 and is being reviewed to N1,095,475,750.04.

Plateau State University

For the Plateau State-owned University in Bokkos, the federal cabinet approved N610 million for the construction of a faculty of health services.

READ ALSO:

Mr Mohammed said: The Minister of Education today presented a memo seeking approval of council for the award of contract for the construction, equipping and furnishing of a faculty of Health Sciences in Plateau State University, Bokkos and It was awarded at the cost of N610, 355, 221.82 and the completion period is for 52 weeks.

Also, procurement of furniture and equipment was awarded at N114, 357, 600 and completion period is 12 weeks, the minister said.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Informatica, the enterprise cloud data management leader, today announced updates to its Intelligent Data Platform, powered by Informatica's AI-powered CLAIRE engine. The updates are part of the company's vision for Data 4.0, which CEO Amit Walia will address in today's keynote at its Intelligent Data Summit, the first of a series of free CLAIREview events taking place this summer.

"The current state of the world has disrupted business as usual and is driving a true paradigm shift to Data 4.0," said Amit Walia, CEO of Informatica. "The need for digital transformation has accelerated. Today, we must redefine previous assumptions and enter a world that is cloud native and metadata-driven, supported by intelligent automations and trusted insights, at operational scale. I believe that Data 4.0 is the soul of digital transformation  and that scale, automation and trust can only be achieved with AI and machine learning capabilities."

Today's innovations across Informatica's product portfolio equip businesses with the industry's most advanced intelligence and automation capabilities, enabling them to achieve Data 4.0 transformation. Fueled by AI and data, enterprises will be able to rapidly scale, navigating complexity with adaptability, resiliency, agility, flexibility, and responsiveness.

Informatica's modern, cloud-native, microservices-based, API-driven, and AI-powered Intelligent Data Platform helps unlock the significant untapped value of new data for enterprises by intelligently automating intensive, manual work that leaves room for errors; making data more accessible to enable self-service analytics; and delivering the visibility, flexibility and scalability needed to make critical decisions rapidly while mitigating risk.

These announcements strengthen Informatica's ability to help organizations accelerate data-driven transformation and become next-generation intelligent enterprises. Highlights include:

Intelligent Data Platform

Delivers the industry's most advanced AI/machine learning-powered intelligence and automation capabilities for end-to-end enterprise cloud data management including data cataloging, ingestion, integration, quality, mastering, governance, protection, and deployment.

Extends the industry's only intelligent, enterprise-class catalog of catalogs with new innovations in automated data value capture, automated end-to-end lineage, and metadata management, enabling metadata-driven intelligence and automation for all business use cases.

Automates data value calculation and identifies levers for data asset appreciation, such as data quality and enrichments within an overall data valuation framework.

Delivers comprehensive data asset analytics with pre-packaged and extensible reports such as data event history and dashboards for instant visibility of data asset usage, inventory, enrichment, collaboration, and data value including real-time key metrics and trend charts along with built-in filters.

Gain full visibility and quickly get to the root of data analytics errors with automated data lineage stitching from all data sources across the enterprise, as well as automated lineage derivation from the code used to modify, transform, and combine data, and automated change notifications.

Deliver deeper, smarter insights for business with automated domain discovery for self-service analytics.

Provides out-of-the-box liability and risk assessment models, such as for regulatory compliance and sensitive data location-related risks.

Provides a foundational metadata knowledge graph for a holistic view of data relationships.

Cloud Data Warehouse and Data Lakes

Automate cloud mass ingestion for files, databases (including change data capture), and streaming with intelligent schema drift functionality.

Reuse existing workloads in the cloud with minimal disruption, thanks to detailed lineage and impact analysis, and prioritize datasets and workloads for migration through a comprehensive understanding of the data landscape.

Ensure trustworthy data in cloud data warehouse and data lake solutions through cloud data quality and metadata management together with cloud data integration and cloud application integration on a modern, microservices-based, cloud-native platform with serverless computing.

Accelerate AI and machine learning projects with improved data visibility for agile data prep, analysis, and model development.

Automate end-to-end data management with AI/machine learning-powered automation to build and tune data integration jobs and detect anomalies.

Operationalize data pipelines and machine learning in the cloud with DataOps and MLOps for continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD).

Save costs and improve performance of running data management workloads using intelligent pushdown processing with a serverless run time engine.

Data Governance & Privacy

Quickly "shop" for and access enterprise data using a data marketplace digital storefront, with order management and governed provisioning capabilities to ensure timely approval and delivery of data.

Democratize data by collaboratively defining data quality policies and rules. Discover data and automatically execute where rules should be applied, ensuring trusted data is protected and delivered to data consumers and applications.

Accelerate data governance projects with new automated capabilities to infer data quality measurement, using natural language processing (NLP) to automatically build Informatica Data Quality rules from business rule definitions.

Improve compliance transparency with the ability to track protection status, access, proliferation, and risk exposure of sensitive data, leveraging scenario-based planning to apply appropriate protections and detect and mitigate anomalous data access.

Automate building of data subject registry by correlating relationships between individual subjects' personal data across structured and unstructured sources to facilitate data subject rights and other privacy compliance activities.

Automate data governance activities with intelligent data discovery, classification, and documentation of key data elements. Scale business context with glossary linkage physical datasets.

Automate change notifications to enable proactive management of changes based on impact derived from end-to-end lineage.

Business 360

Accelerate and strengthen digital commerce, minimize supply chain risk, increase customer loyalty, and improve finance and operational processes with greater data visibility across customers, suppliers, products, and financials.

Ensure all master data is clean, complete, and consistent to get an end-to-end 360-degree view across the entire business and understand the relationships between master data domains and the business context.

Quickly adapt to changing business conditions by leveraging a shared foundation of consistent and trusted master data and relationships across the enterprise for a complete view into business.

Connect master data to transaction and interaction data to fuel analytics and data science initiatives to answer complex questions and uncover hidden insights.

Reduce IT workloads while making it easier to find, manage, and curate data to build a 360-degree view of all business-critical data, with intelligent file structure discovery that automates domain mapping recommendations.

Automate the creation of a complete, trusted, and actionable view of all master data by leveraging industry-leading contextual matching technology powered by AI and machine learning.

Visualize relationships, taxonomies, and hierarchies at scale using a graph technology to gain rich and insightful views for faster, more accurate decision making.

Increase operational efficiency by replacing manual processes such as data onboarding, synchronization, and reporting through intelligence and automation.

CLAIREview

Premiering today with Informatica's Intelligent Data Summit for AI-Powered Automation, CLAIREview will feature a series of five virtual summits and more than 50 sessions throughout the summer. The premiere event will feature keynotes by Informatica CEO Amit Walia, AI industry expert Tom Davenport, Gartner analyst Mark Beyer and Microsoft Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie; on-demand analyst perspective from Constellation Research principal analyst Doug Henschen; on-demand sessions with Informatica customers Anthem, Genworth Financial, Honeywell, athenahealth, and Intermountain Healthcare; and on-demand technical demos that will showcase innovations in intelligence and automation across the Informatica Intelligent Data Platform.

Following the premiere event, upcoming events will address intelligent and automated data management strategies for cloud data warehouses and data lakes, data governance and privacy, and Business 360 and master data management. CLAIREview is a digital experience designed to deliver on-demand sessions that attendees can watch at their own pace. The series will also offer the opportunity to connect live with industry leaders and product experts. Register here.

Tweet this: Informatica unveils Data 4.0 and AI-powered innovations at the CLAIREview Virtual Intelligent Data Summit premiere. https://infa.media/pr200520a

About Informatica

Informatica, the Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, accelerates data-driven digital transformation. Informatica enables companies to fuel innovation, become more agile, and realize new growth opportunities, resulting in intelligent market disruptions. Over the last 25 years, Informatica has helped more than 9,000 customers unleash the power of data. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Note: Informatica and CLAIRE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Informatica in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other company and product names may be trade names or trademarks of their respective owners.

The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described today remain at the sole discretion of Informatica and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future.

Contact: Informatica Public Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE Informatica

Related Links

www.informatica.com


Rabat (AFP) - Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, deploying them for aerial surveillance, public service announcements and sanitisation.

"This is a real craze. In just weeks, demand has tripled in Morocco and other countries in the region," said Yassine Qamous, chief of Droneway Maroc, African distributor for leading Chinese drone company DJI.

Moroccan firms have been using drones for years and Qamous says it "is among the most advanced countries in Africa" for unmanned flight, with a dedicated industrial base, researchers and qualified pilots.

But restrictive regulations have long limited civilian drones to specific applications such as filming, agriculture, monitoring solar panels and mapping.

That changed rapidly as the novel coronavirus swept across the world.

In recent weeks, authorities have employed drones to issue warnings, identify suspicious movement in the streets and disperse illegal rooftop and balcony gatherings.

A strict lockdown imposed in March has not been uniformly respected, with local media reporting on nighttime gatherings of neighbours and collective prayers on roofs, beyond the view of street patrols.

- 'Vital technology' -

Last week local authorities in Temara, a town near the capital Rabat, launched a high-precision aerial surveillance system developed by local company Beti3D, which previously specialised in aerial mapping.

Other countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have also adopted technology deployed in China since the start of the pandemic, whether for tracking the movements of citizens, disinfecting public spaces or facilitating deliveries.

"Drones have quickly emerged as a vital technology for public safety agencies during this crisis as they can safely monitor public spaces," according to the website of DJI, by far the world's top drone maker.

Like most countries, Morocco primarily uses imported Chinese drones. But the emergence of new applications linked to the pandemic is also driving local production of specialised aerial vehicles.

Story continues

"There is real demand," said Abderrahmane Krioual, the head of Farasha, a startup that has raised funds to produce drones for thermal surveillance and aerial disinfectant spraying.

The aeronautics department of the International University of Rabat (UIR) offered its facilities, expertise and prototypes to authorities in March, deploying drones with loudspeakers or infrared cameras able to detect movement at night or spot individuals with high temperatures.

Several projects are underway across the country ahead of the widespread deployment of various models of drones, said Mohsine Bouya, the university's director of technology development and transfer.

Teams are also developing tracking applications, but "we'll have to wait for a change to the law" before launching them, he said.

Moroccan authorities declined to comment on the use of drones or the numbers deployed since the start of the public health emergency in mid-March.

- 'Toxic lockdown culture' -

Unlike in some countries, the use of surveillance drones has not sparked public debate in Morocco, where the kingdom's authoritarian response to the pandemic is widely supported.

Morocco closed its borders early and tasked law enforcement with imposing strict confinement measures on the population.

They include movement restrictions and the compulsory wearing of masks, with a nighttime curfew since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan -- enforced by a heavy police presence.

Those found guilty of violating lockdown measures face one to three months in prison, a fine equivalent to $125, or both.

Officials say 59,000 people have been prosecuted for breaching lockdown measures.

Authorities say the measures have limited transmission of the virus, with 5,382 COVID-19 cases reported including 182 deaths since the state of emergency was announced.

But the kingdom's high number of arrests -- some 85,000 people by April 30 -- has drawn criticism from Georgette Gagnon, director of field operations at the United Nations' Human Rights Office.

Last week she listed Morocco among countries where repressive coronavirus measures have created a "toxic lockdown culture".

Morocco disputed this, saying its measures were "in line with legal frameworks respecting human rights".
New York will allow religious gatherings of up to 10 people as hospitalization rates continue to decline. More tests and outreach efforts are planned for hard-hit New York City neighbourhoods. The Metropolitan Museum of Art could reopen its doors in mid-August.

Coronavirus developments in New York:

___

RELIGIOUS SERVICES

New York will allow small religious gatherings starting Thursday as the state gradually loosens pandemic restrictions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Religious gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed statewide as long as participants wear masks and practice social distancing. The state also is allowing drive-in and parking lot services. Weddings will count as religious ceremonies.

The state will work with an Interfaith Advisory Council to discuss proposals to safely bring back religious services. The council consists of dozens of religious leaders, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts.

I understand their desire to get to religious ceremonies as soon as possible. As a former altar boy, I get it, Cuomo said. But we need to find out how to do it and do it safely and do it smartly. The last thing we want to do is have a religious ceremony that winds up having more people infected.

The guidelines for small religious gatherings came a day after Cuomo said the state will allow Memorial Day ceremonies with up to 10 people, even though nonessential gatherings have been barred in New York since March.

The New York Civil Liberties Union said both announcements raise constitutional concerns.

We agree small events where people observe social distancing should be permitted, but that has to apply to all First Amendment events, regardless of message and regardless of whether religious or political, Christopher Dunn, the groups legal director, wrote in an email.

___

NUMBERS

New York recorded 112 new deaths Tuesday, a slight increase from 105 the previous day but still lower than past weeks.

There were 5,570 people hospitalized statewide, continuing a slow decline that began in mid-April. An average of 295 people a day are newly hospitalized for COVID-19.

___

MORE NEIGHBORHOOD TESTING

Cuomo said targeted testing and outreach will be expanded in low-income New York City neighbourhoods that have been hotbeds of the outbreak.

Results from roughly 8,000 antibody tests conducted at New York City church sites indicate what previous data have shown: low-income and non-white neighbourhoods in the city have been especially hard hit by the pandemic. For instance, while the positive rate for antibodies citywide is 20%, it was more than twice that in Morrisania in the Bronx, according to preliminary results cited by Cuomo.

The spread is continuing in those communities and thats where the new cases are coming from, Cuomo said.

The expanded testing will include 72 churches and faith-based sites and more sites at public housing developments.

Efforts to stop the spread of the disease will include making more protective gear available and more education.

Cuomo said he is directing all local governments to test low-income communities and to develop outreach programs.

___

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY COMMENCEMENT

Some Columbia University graduates wore everything they needed to celebrate their commencement on Wednesday  caps, gowns, and of course, masks.

The universitys commencement ceremony was held virtually, but some students made their way to the Manhattan campus for celebratory photos.

They included engineering senior Sambhav Jain, who sat on Columbias Alma Mater sculpture with a mask on his face, the flag of his native India next to him and a bottle of champagne in his hand.

___

MET TO RESET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art plans to reopen to the public in mid-August, museum officials announced.

The Met has been shuttered since March 13 when many of the citys cultural institutions closed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Met officials said the museums main Fifth Avenue building will open in mid-August or possibly a few weeks later. There will be no tours, concerts, talks or other events through the end of 2020, and the annual Met Gala will not be held, the officials said.

No reopening has been announced for the Mets other two sites, the Cloisters and the Met Breuer.

___

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

-The Bronx has been hit harder by the coronavirus than any other place in the New York City metropolitan area. And within the Bronx, almost no place has been hit as hard as Co-op City. Data released by city health officials Monday revealed that the virus has killed at least 155 people living in the zip code that covers the complex.

-Starting next week, New York City will be offering free coronavirus test kits to any of the 169 nursing homes in the five boroughs, as well as nurses, aides and other staffers to fill in for quarantined nursing home workers.

-For the first time in two months, customers dined outdoors at restaurants across Connecticut as the state began a lengthy process of easing restrictions meant to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

___

Villeneuve and Hill reported from Albany, N.Y.
RP tech Indias Green and Orange zone offers received an overwhelming response from channel partners across India. Over 500 partners in more than 250 cities benefitted from the offers announced between 4th -16th May. Appreciating RP techs proactive step, partners said that the initiative provided an impetus to the channel business during Corona crisis and subsequent lockdown.

RP tech India successfully concluded Green and Orange Zone offers for all India channel partners. Under the offers, partners were eligible for various rewards on the achievement of certain turnover from RP tech during the offer period. Valid on Peripherals, Components and Accessories brands from RP tech Portfolio, the offers were divided into the various slab to ensure maximum participation from partners.

Highlighting the benefits of the offer, Mr. Akhilesh Goyal, Proprietor of Hubli based Goyal Infotronics, said, The Orange zone offer helped me to restart business and reduce losses I incurred in the last 2 months. I am thankful to RP tech Indias local team for their support in the timely delivery of material. These kind of offers are essential to boost confidence of channel partners and help them sustain in the business. I thank RP tech for the steps they have taken to support channel partners during the COVID -19 crisis.

Endorsing similar opinion, Mr. Sanjay Sharda, Proprietor of Sangali based Sun Art Studio, said, The offer helped me in getting my business back on the track. Their prompt material delivery and service support helped me get good business during the offer period. The initiative was fantastic, however, I would appreciate if they provide clarity on products availability and offer multiple SKUs options in future.

Vipul Maheshwari, Proprietor of Ajmer based R. S. Infotech, said that the offer was a positive step towards normalising the channel business. It was a positive step from RP tech India, Mr. Maheshwari said adding, The demand for work from home solutions is huge and we will see a surge in the demand for components, PCs and peripherals post lockdown.

Appreciating the support from RP techs Ludhiana branch, Mr. Ranjeev Singh, Proprietor of MAX IT HUB said, RP techs local support was very valuable to get maximum benefit out of the offer. They provided me with regular updates about products and also helped in the billing process. I am thankful to them for their value-added support to channel partners during these challenging times.

Mr. Kushal Sarda, Proprietor of Hubli based Visa Infotech said, This initiative was very aggressive and out of the way. RP tech India is very bullish over business compared to other distributors and hence, they are offering all the possible value-added support to channel partners. I expect them to extend this offer further and they should also add options to bundle products for maximum business.

The offers not only received big thumbs up from channel partners but brands also lauded RP tech India for successful implementation of the initiative. Expressing his views, Mr. Khalid Wani, Director, Channel Sales  India & SAARC  Western Digital, said, RP tech India has always been in the forefront when it comes to channel enablement and we feel that the innovative promotions that they are running for the partners in the Green and Orange zones will further help the partner to maximize the margin opportunities, which is the definite need of the hour.

Thrilled with the positive response from channel partners and vendors, Mr. Rajesh Goenka, Director, Sales & Marketing, RP tech India said that the company would continue to thrive for the betterment of channel community. We are overwhelmed with the response from channel partners to Green and Orange zone offers. We want to be the first movers and encourage partners to drive channel business and we will continue to come up with such programs to support our partners.
Regan Perez (right) and fellow student Jessica Staas work in the greenhouse at Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary. Read more

Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementarys dedication toward going green has earned the private, Catholic co-educational institution a prestigious honor: Its the only Pennsylvania school to earn a Green Ribbon Award for 2020.

Presented by the U.S. Department of Education, the award recognizes schools, districts, and institutes of higher education for excellence in reducing environmental impact and costs; improving the health and wellness of schools, students, and staff; and providing effective environmental and sustainability education.

Nationwide, 55 Green Ribbon awards were presented this year. Other than Gwynedd-Mercy, the only other school in the Philadelphia region to be honored is Cape May City Elementary School in Cape May, N.J.

Launched in 2012, the Green Ribbon has since been awarded to 23 schools in Pennsylvania and 25 in New Jersey.

It was a distinct honor and privilege  especially coming so close to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, said GMAE principal Anne Knapke. The really impressive thing is how much the students were involved in it.

Among them is seventh-grader Regan Perez.

One of the critical concerns is caring for the Earth; [our] school is built on mercy  its one of our core values, Regan said. Its important to make the world a better place for everyone today  and for those who come after us, in the future.

The fact that GMAE is the only school in the state to win the award this year only adds to the honor, said Lindsey Rauch, the schools director of curriculum.

We worked so incredibly hard, she said, and youre surprised, of course, but also just elated. To be the only [winner] in Pennsylvania is something we could have never expected.

Perhaps having its own greenhouse, installed only last spring, helped lift Gwynedd-Mercy above the radar. Students spent hours planting it with tomatoes, basil, dill weed, kale, buttercrunch and Bibb lettuces, carrots, microgreens, and sunflowers. Kathy Foy, a seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher, oversees the greenhouse and has been a huge part of things, in terms of developing our plans, said Rauch.

Students are loving the place.

Even at recess, some friends and I water the plants  its such a peaceful area where you can go and talk, Regan added. The school has even hosted salad parties with produce the students have grown.

The greenhouse is just one way Gwynedd-Mercy is investing in its school and community, said Rauch. The school has also undertaken many environmental-friendly measures, like installing water stations, for use with reusable bottles, and replacing plastic cafeteria cutlery and dishes with reuseable items, which are washed in a new commercial-grade dishwasher.

In addition, students are not allowed to place books or papers near the HVAC vents, to ensure proper building ventilation. Carbon-monoxide detectors monitor the gas-fired water heaters. Carpooling is encouraged. Announcements are displayed on a large screen instead of on paper. The entire school is cleaned and sanitized every night with supplies that are eco-friendly. And the school donates used textbooks, novels, supplies, uniforms, and furniture to schools in need.

All of it helps teach students about the importance of individual efforts in helping the larger world.

Its important to create an environment thats sustainable for future generations, principal Knapke said. The school won a National Blue Ribbon award in 2017 for overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Since GMAE has embraced a green way of operating, she added, I know its very important to our students.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Wed, May 20, 2020 08:04 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd91e615 2 Health health,self-diagnose,telemedicine Free

New Australian research has found that if you're using Google to self-diagnose your illness, you're more than likely getting the wrong advice, as online symptom checkers are only accurate around a third of the time.

Carried out by researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU), the new study analyzed the accuracy of 36 international free symptom checkers, which were found using five popular search engines -- Google, Yahoo, Ask, Search Encrypt and Bing -- and through Google Play (Android) and App Store (Apple).

To test the symptom checkers, the researchers used 48 medical conditions and had the "correct" diagnoses confirmed by two GPs and an emergency department specialist.

The findings, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, showed that the symptom checkers gave the correct diagnosis as the first result just 36 percent of the time, and the correct diagnosis within the top three results 52 percent of the time. The advice given on when and where to seek health care was accurate 49 percent of the time.

Read also: The time is right: COVID-19 gives more room for telemedicine to grow in Indonesia

"While it may be tempting to use these tools to find out what may be causing your symptoms, most of the time they are unreliable at best and can be dangerous at worst," said lead author Michella Hill.

"We've all been guilty of being 'cyberchondriacs' and googling at the first sign of a niggle or headache," she continued.

"But the reality is these websites and apps should be viewed very cautiously as they do not look at the whole picture -- they don't know your medical history or other symptoms."

"For people who lack health knowledge, they may think the advice they're given is accurate or that their condition is not serious when it may be."

The researchers point out that estimates have suggested that around 70,000 health-related searches are typed into Google every minute, and nearly 40 percent of Australians search for health information online to self-diagnose and self-treat. Although the quality of diagnostic advice varies between sites, they can be a useful tool in some cases, admitted Ms. Hill.

"These sites are not a replacement for going to the doctor, but they can be useful in providing more information once you do have an official diagnosis," she said.

"We're also seeing symptom checkers being used to good effect with the current COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the UK's National Health Service is using these tools to monitor symptoms and potential 'hotspot' locations for this disease on a national basis."
Stop us if youve heard this one: whats the difference between the novel coronavirus and the voter fraud rate in Texas?

Give up? Theyre both microscopic, but if a federal ruling is allowed to stand, only one can get you killed.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery had ruled Tuesday that all Texans will be able to vote by mail during the pandemic. On Wednesday afternoon, however, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton convinced a three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to block Bierys ruling temporarily. Now the plaintiffs in the case have until Thursday to tell the appeals court why it shouldnt agree to Paxtons demand that the ruling be stayed until the court can issue a ruling on the appeal his office filed earlier in the day.

Its the latest development in a series of court battles between those who would prioritize voter health over a cynical ruse to limit voter access in the name of election security.

Protecting the integrity of elections is one of my most important and sacred obligations, Paxton said in a statement after a decision last week blocked mail-in ballot requests for all voters. I am pleased that today the Texas Supreme Court confirmed that my office may continue to prosecute voter fraud and issue guidance on mail-in ballots while that appeal plays out.

In his superseding ruling, Judge Biery took aim at Paxtons disingenuous assertions, writing that from 2005 to 2018, there were 73 prosecutions out of tens of millions of votes cast in Texas.

The Court finds the Grim Reapers scepter of pandemic disease and death is far more serious than an unsupported fear of voter fraud in this sui generis experience. Indeed, if vote by mail fraud is real, logic dictates that all voting should be in person.

Its time the state stops fighting the expansion of vote-by-mail and recognizes that as the coronavirus outbreak continues, the only choice Texans should make on Election Day must be between the candidates, not between their personal safety and their right to vote.

The only way to guarantee that is to allow everyone who wants to request an absentee ballot to do so. While election law doesnt contemplate a pandemic, it is nonetheless clear: the disability provision that qualifies Texans to vote by mail covers anyone whose health is put at risk by voting in person.

As long as there is no vaccine, that means any voter may request to vote by mail.

So far, the courts have agreed. Last month, a state district judge issued a temporary injunction and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals upheld the order. Despite Paxtons misleading exuberance over the state Supreme Court ruling, it issued a stay but has yet to rule on the merits. Neither has the federal appeals court in the latest reversal.

In the federal case, the judge also found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed in proving the rules violate the 26th Amendments protections against voting restrictions that discriminate based on age.

Paxtons focus on election security echoes the spurious claims by President Trump, who has called mail ballots a dangerous thing and corrupt  regardless of the facts.

Voter fraud is the most overblown, manufactured crisis in election law today, Matt Strabone, senior counsel for non-partisan advocacy group RepresentUs, told the editorial board. Its been proven by numerous academic studies, time and again, that it happens in minuscule numbers and is more likely to be voter mistakes than willful fraud.

Look at Texas own recent examples of voter fraud and what you find is more overzealous prosecution than any organized or deliberate effort. Rosa Ortega, a legal immigrant with a sixth-grade education, was sentenced to eight years in prison after she mistakenly cast her ballot in several elections. Crystal Mason filled out a provisional ballot without knowing she was ineligible due to a felony conviction. She was sentenced to five years in prison.

Protestations against vote-by-mail expansion in Texas is just the latest attempt by powerful Republicans in this state to obstruct voting in order to retain power. But this chicanery during a global pandemic  this attempt to essentially sacrifice Texans health and possibly lives for a political advantage  is beyond the pale even for Paxton.

Wide use of vote-by-mail is not an unproven idea. It is the primary method of voting in five states  Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Voters in 28 other states may request an absentee ballot without a reason or excuse. None of this has led to widespread fraud.

So, what is Texas waiting for?

It wont be easy for counties to ramp up mail-in voting operations in time to meet the spike expected in demand. Time is of the essence to prepare, so it is disappointing that Paxton has succeeded in delaying the process yet again.

Throughout our history, men and women have fought and died for the right to vote. Regardless of what Texas attorney general wants, theres no need for an encore in 2020.
Highly anticipated: There have been rumors around the PlayStation 5 getting unveiled in early June. What's confirmed, however, is that Sony is planning to introduce a compelling slate of 1st and 3rd party titles soon, which could potentially more than make up for the company's radio silence, outside of an abrupt controller unveiling and an impressive, but dull hardware deep dive event.

Microsoft has been firing on all cylinders in building up hype for the upcoming Xbox Series X, and occasionally misfiring as in the case of its recent 'gameplay' reveal event. Sony, meanwhile, has remained notably silent on its marketing efforts with the PS5 and is likely going to shift gears over the upcoming weeks.

In his presentation for Sony's Corporate Strategy Meeting, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida discussed several of the company's business segments, including Games & Network Services, where he reaffirmed the console's holiday season launch window.

He briefly discussed several hardware aspects of the PlayStation 5, including the console's customized high-speed SSD that can process data "approximately 100 times faster" than a PS4, the advanced 3D audio processing capabilities and the sensory benefits of haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on its accompanying DualSense wireless controller for a truly next-gen console experience.

"Games for the PS5 that deliver this new gaming experience are being made by both 1st and 3rd party developers," said Yoshida, adding that the company plans to introduce "a compelling lineup of titles soon."

He also touched on the expanding user base of Sony's gaming services including PS Plus, whose subscriber count stood at 41.5 million as of March 2020 and the streaming-based PS Now which had over 2.2 million users as of last month, helped by a 50 percent decrease in subscription costs in October last year.

Rumors around Sony's upcoming reveal point towards exclusives such as Horizon Zero Dawn 2 and the next iteration of the Gran Turismo series, alongside third-party reveals. While a sneak peek at the next God of War sounds too far-fetched, a glimpse into the next adventures of Kratos and Atreus would be highly appreciated.
BEIRUT - Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab countries are seeing a sharp spike in coronavirus cases, prompting governments to reimpose some restrictions that had been lifted late last month ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab Gulf country, had recorded about 15,000 cases when Ramadan began. But in less than a month, the kingdom's numbers quadrupled, with nearly 60,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, making it the Arab world's new hotbed of infection.

In response, the kingdom has announced that it will enforce a nationwide 24-hour curfew starting Saturday and continuing into next week during the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Kuwait has experienced an even sharper increase in cases, the most dramatic in its neighborhood, with confirmed infections up nearly sevenfold from since the first day of Ramadan to 16,800 on Tuesday.

Kuwait announced plans earlier this month to reimpose a lockdown from May 10 until May 30 in response to the spike. Walking for exercise is permitted for two hours every evening, but driving cars is not.

In Qatar, where cases have quadrupled to 37,000, the government decreed new restrictions Monday. It announced the closure of nonessential stores for 10 days and required that all citizens and residents download a cellphone tracking app to monitor those who come into contact with people who test positive for the virus. Noncompliance can be punished with three years in jail and a fine of up to $55,000.

The three other Gulf Arab countries - the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain - had also eased restrictions at the onset of Ramadan, an especially social month when pious and impious alike make social calls and hold dinner parties. All those countries have now seen the number of infections surge.

Public health officials believe many of the new cases are in the large communities of foreign workers, who represent a major part of the labor force in these six countries.

After Saudi Arabia recorded its first coronavirus case on March 2, the public health response was swift. The deeply religious kingdom barred Muslims from conducting daily prayers inside mosques, and pilgrimages to the holy sites of Mecca and Medina were halted. International flights were suspended, most major cities were placed under 24-hour lockdowns, most public places were closed and curfews were put in place.

In the third week of April, the kingdom was recording about 1,200 cases a day.

That same week, King Salman issued a royal order shifting to "a partial curfew," easing restrictions during Ramadan, which began April 24. Maintaining restrictions looked to be difficult during the month, when practicing Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise till sunset. People tend to crowd restaurants from dusk until daybreak.

Some provinces reopened. Construction companies and factories kicked back into gear, and shopping malls, the main hangout for Saudi residents, flung open their doors. The order urged people, however, to avoid gatherings of more than five people and imposed penalties on those who break the rule.

The number of reported infections immediately began to increase and averaged 2,400 cases a day over the past seven days. Last week, the Saudi health ministry announced that four families were infected with the virus after they held a group iftar, the evening fast-breaking meal.

In the UAE, cases have more than doubled after the government eased restrictions on the eve of Ramadan, reopening malls for those between 12 and 60 years old, allowing restaurants and cafes to operate at 30% capacity and permitting salons to resume "hair and nail services." Public transportation was allowed to resume.

As life returned to the streets, cases surged. Local headlines reported the increased infections: "4 families in UAE infected after gathering for Taraweeh prayers"; "Man kisses grandmother in UAE, infects her with Covid-19."

On Saturday, the government spokesman, Amna al-Dahhak al-Shamsi, urged families to avoid social visits. "We advise the community to avoid these habits and traditions and skip them this year," she said, as reported by local newspaper Khaleej Times.

On Monday, the UAE announced that the nighttime curfew would start two hours earlier, at 8 p.m. The measures came "in light of what we have observed during the holy month of Ramadan and the increase in the number of covid-19 infections resulting from some of the individuals in the community who were reckless and didn't take into account the precautionary measures," said Saif Juma al-Dhaheri of the Safety and Prevention Department.

Oman also relaxed restrictions early in Ramadan, allowing the reopening of nonessential businesses such as electronics stores and repair shops for cars and fishing boats, and its numbers more than tripled, to about 5,700 cases by Tuesday.

On Monday, Oman announced a ban on all gatherings and activities during Eid al-Fitr, including livestock auctions and group prayers, and made required that face masks be worn in public.

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Schemm in Dubai contributed to this report.
Montgomery County health officials confirmed three more deaths from the new coronavirus, bringing the county death toll to 21.

According to information from the Montgomery County Public Health District, the deaths include a Conroe woman in her 60s, a Conroe man in his 80s and a Kingwood woman in her 80s.

Health officials also reported the number of active cases have dropped to 509, a decrease of 30 from Tuesday. Of those cases, 43 people remain hospitalized with 466 people in self-isolation. A total of 331 people have recovered.

PHONE DATA: Texas receives 'F' grade in social distancing scoreboard

Total cases in the county is now 861.

Montgomery County Hospital District Spokeswoman Misti Willingham said the county is looking to bring back its case by case list after many residents asked for the detailed information.

In order to do that with the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases, we are implementing new technology to automate the process, Willingham said.

MCPHD officials did not release a date on when the information would be available to the public.

Additionally, the countys voucher testing is ongoing.

ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Texas Medical Center leaders support latest phase of Abbotts reopening of Texas

Willingham said vouchers are only for Montgomery County residents and residents may only receive one test through the voucher program.

Vouchers can be obtained by calling 936-523-5040 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vouchers, if unused, expire in five days and the testing site is solely responsible for notifying you of results.

Test locations for those with symptoms include Americas ER Drive-Thru Testing Site at Woods Edge Community Church, 25333 Gosling Road; Lone Star Family Health Center, 605 S. Conroe Medical Dr.; and Woodlands Functional Family Medicine, 8000 McBeth Way, Suite 190.

Test location for those without symptoms include Americas ER Drive-Thru Testing Site at Woods Edge Community Church, 25333 Gosling Road and Woodlands Functional Family Medicine, 8000 McBeth Way, Suite 190.

Call 936-523-5040 for more information.

cdominguez@hcnonline.com
~ Unions will be incorporated on how to cut civil servants salaries.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs announced at the weekly press briefing that the government of St. Maarten have accepted the conditions set down by the Kingdom Council (Dutch Government) in order for St. Maarten to receive the loan they requested from the Kingdom to assist its people during the global pandemic of COVID-19.

Jacobs said that the country informed the Kingdom that the government accepts the condition as long as it does not trample on the other laws that guide the country.

Jacobs said the decisions taken by the government was done in the best interest of its people in mind, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic that affects everyone and every country.

Jacobs further explained that several of the conditions were already being implemented by the government of St. Maarten, for example, the cuts on the salaries of Ministers and Members of Parliament. Jacobs said that the Dutch Government wants a 25% cut from politicians but based on the cuts made by the government comes up to 26%.

As for the unions and if they are now on board, Jacobs said the government tried their best during their negotiations not to touch the salaries of civil servants that are earning NAF4,000.00 and under, however, the Dutch Government wants the cuts all across the board. Jacobs said that these conditions have to be implemented by July 1st, therefore, its the intention to involve the unions when deciding how the cuts will be implemented to meet the 12.5%.

Jacobs said the government still does not want to cut the salaries of civil servants that earn NAF 4, 000.00 and under.
Suzlon Energy on Wednesday said its shareholders have approved its debt restructuring plan, helping it get back into business.

Suzlon Energy had been working for a comprehensive restructuring exercise to reduce its debt obligations.

Shareholders, through postal ballot, approved the resolutions proposed by the company for paving the way for debt restructuring.

"Shareholders have approved all the resolutions by postal ballot. Stakeholders demonstrate confidence in the company by confirming to equity infusion. The company to slowly begin operations as restrictions of the lockdown are eased," a Suzlon Energy statement said.

Swapnil Jain, CFO, Suzlon, said in the statement, "We are grateful to all our lenders, bondholders and key stakeholders for having faith and standing by the company to work towards a holistic debt resolution in these challenging times.

"With trimmed debt and new equity infusion, the capital structure of the company will get fixed, and we shall be back in business.

Shareholders approved all 10 resolutions through postal ballot that would pave the way for debt restructuring of the company.

The company's total net debt as of December 2019 stood at Rs 12,906 crore that includes outstanding FCCB (bonds) of USD 172 million.

The debt-restructuring will help in correcting the capital structure of the company and reduce the interest burden substantially.

J P Chalasani, Group CEO, said, "Stakeholders have demonstrated confidence in the Company by confirming to infuse equity. The Company is set to begin operations post completion of formalities and end of current lockdown in the country.

The company's extraordinary general meeting was scheduled on March 24. But, it could not take place due to the nationwide lockdown. Therefore, the company sought approval of shareholders on the 10 resolutions through postal ballot.

The lenders and bondholders had approved the company's restructuring proposal by 100 per cent and 99.9 per cent voting, respectively, in favour of restructuring the debt.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
May 20 : Janhvi Kapoor quips that despite her house-help being tested positive, staying home is still the best option.

Yesterday, film producer Boney Kapoor issued a statement clearing the air about one of his house helps testing positive for coronavirus, and after all the precautionary measures, the Kapoor family, is fine and asymptomatic.

The film producer issued a written statement in this regard which was shared on social media by his star daughter Janhvi Kapoor. She captioned it, Staying at home is still the best solution we have. Stay safe everyone

The statement read, "Message from Boney Kapoor -- I would like to inform you that our house staff...has tested positive for Covid-19. He was unwell on Saturday evening, was sent for tests and kept in isolation"

Myself, my Children and the other staff at home are all fine and none of us are showing any symptoms. In fact we havent left our home since the Lockdown started. We are thankful to Govt of Maharashtra and BMC for their swift response. We shall be diligently following the instructions and advise given to us by BMC and their medical team. We are thankful to the Government of Maharashtra and the BMC for their swift response

"I am sharing this information because it is important not to feed rumours and panic. We will take all precautions as required." The statement added that he hoped the staff member "will recover and be back at home with us soon."

With a single-day jump of 4,970 cases, the COVID-19 count in India breached the one lakh mark on Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total COVID-19 cases in the country reached 1,01,139. As many as 134 deaths were reported due to the disease in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 3,163.
Gov. Phil Murphy will hold another press conference to provide updates on the coronavirus pandemic at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

The press conference at the Trenton War Memorial will be streamed on the governors YouTube channel.

Murphy will be joined as always by state health commissioner Judy Persichilli and the State Police Superintendent, Col. Pat Callahan. The states epidemiologist, Dr. Christina Tan, will also be on hand.

At 11:15 a.m. Murphy will be interviewed on New York City radio station WBLS 107.5.

Murphy announced Tuesday that car and motorcycle dealerships as well as bicycle shops can reopen for in-person sales on Wednesday. The governor also said even as the state gradually reopens residents will be asked to wear face coverings and practice social distancing until theres a vaccine or effective treatment for the coronavirus.

Under the governors orders, face coverings are required to enter stores and eateries that are open. They are recommended in outdoor areas.

At least 10,586 New Jersey residents have died of COVID-19 related causes since the first fatality on March 10.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Oprah Winfrey is giving grants to the cities she's called home through her USD 12 million coronavirus relief fund.

She announced Wednesday that her Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will donate money to organisations dedicated to helping underserved communities in Chicago; Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she was born.

The reason I'm talking about it is because there is going to be a need for people of means to step up, Winfrey said in an interview with The Associated Press.

I mean, this thing is not going away. Even when the virus is gone, the devastation left by people not being able to work for months who were holding on paycheck to paycheck, who have used up their savings people are going to be in need. So my thing is, look in your own neighbourhood, in your own backyard to see how you can serve and where your service is most essential. That is the real essential work, I think, for people of means.

After speaking with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other leaders, Winfrey decided to give USD 5 million to Live Healthy Chicago, which provides immediate support to seniors and high-risk residents affected by the coronavirus.

In Nashville, where Winfrey lived with her father and started her media career, she is giving USD 2 million to NashvilleNurtures, a collaboration with Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University, Winfrey's alma mater.

They plan to feed 10,000 families in and around the city.

In Milwaukee, where she lived with her mother, Winfrey is assisting those in need of housing and mental health care with a USD 100,000 donation to SaintA and The Nia Imani Family, Inc.

In Baltimore, where Winfrey also built her media career, she's donating money to Living Classrooms Foundation and Center for Urban Families.

She will also give USD 115,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi.

I'm not opposed to big organizations dispersing money, but I always like to do the on-the-ground grassroots stuff myself, she said.

Look, I want to be able to reach people who have been incarcerated and are coming out of prison. I want to reach mothers of domestic violence. I want to reach people. I want to feed people. I want to help people get access to testing.

Winfrey said she's been homebound since March 11, four days after she wrapped her nine-city wellness tour that visited arenas like Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Forum in Inglewood, California.

She announced her COVID-19 Relief Fund last month, initially giving USD 1 million to America's Food Fund. She said Wednesday that she will also give grants to advocacy organization Global Citizen, New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago and Minnie's Food Pantry in Plano, Texas, among other organizations.

Before giving out millions to others, Winfrey said she first helped the people closest to her.

The first thing I did was start in my own family, people I knew who were going to be touched and were not going to have jobs. Then I moved out to people who I've worked with and known who maybe would be out of work. I started literally here, working my way out, and then into the community. So people who I hadn't spoken to in years ended up getting checks from me like, 'What is this?' she said.

All the cousins and some aunties try to help your own family first, she added.

I didn't want an announcement about, 'I'm going out into the world trying to help other people' and then your own family saying, 'Hey, I can't pay my light bill. I can't pay my rent.'"



Last week, Winfrey gave a commencement speech during Facebook's virtual Graduation 2020 event, and asked the graduates, What will your essential service be? She said she's asked herself the same question.

What this pandemic has done is made me think about giving differently. How I give and who's on the receiving end of that, and how do you do that in such a way that sustains people? I've ultimately always believed that you teach people to fish ... but sometimes people just need fish and a piece of bread, she said.

Sometimes you need some fish, OK? Sometimes you don't have time to learn to fish.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- StackRox, the leader in container and Kubernetes security, today announced new runtime security features in the latest release of the StackRox Kubernetes Security Platform. These features, developed in close collaboration with StackRox enterprise and federal government customers, help streamline analysis, investigation, and response for runtime security events for containers and Kubernetes environments. Leveraging these new capabilities, analysts and incident responders can more quickly identify the most important event details, view them chronologically, add custom notes, and make more informed security and compliance decisions.

The new features tap into the Kubernetes-native architecture of the StackRox platform to streamline incident response processes. Specific enhancements include:

Timeline Views  Provides a chronological visualization of runtime events, such as the execution of processes, in a graphic timeline to enable teams to easily understand incidents and prioritize response actions accordingly.

Provides a chronological visualization of runtime events, such as the execution of processes, in a graphic timeline to enable teams to easily understand incidents and prioritize response actions accordingly. Federal Benchmark Checks  Delivers container-specific compliance checks for NIST SP 800-53 to support Defense and Intelligence Communities, federal agencies, enterprises and cloud service providers participating in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Support for this standard adds to existing StackRox compliance checks for NIST SP 800-190.

Delivers container-specific compliance checks for NIST SP 800-53 to support Defense and Intelligence Communities, federal agencies, enterprises and cloud service providers participating in the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Support for this standard adds to existing StackRox compliance checks for NIST SP 800-190. Analyst Notes  Offers the ability to annotate metadata on alerts and relevant security events in the StackRox platform and to share these notes with other analysts and incident responders to enhance and speed collaboration.

Offers the ability to annotate metadata on alerts and relevant security events in the StackRox platform and to share these notes with other analysts and incident responders to enhance and speed collaboration. Advanced Policies  Enables analysts to apply and enforce policies more flexibly by using Boolean operators to add and combine different criteria within each policy.

"With these new workflow and IR features, StackRox has taken on a lot of the heavy lifting involved with incident analysis and remediation, saving us a lot of time and resources while ensuring we don't miss any key security or compliance issues," said Pathik Patel, head of cloud security engineering, Informatica. "Surfacing the relevant data our analyst and IR teams need and providing a methodical approach to applying that data means we won't be sifting through a lot of raw data and false positives, which kills response times."

With these new features, StackRox users can summarize security and compliance events, share information between security and development teams, collaborate, and act on security information more quickly and effectively. With the ability to contextualize and enrich data from Kubernetes environments, StackRox helps analysts and incident responders prioritize threats, accelerate the creation of new policies, create more consistent workflows, and automate remediation to replace traditionally manual, time-consuming processes.

"Incident analysis and response is challenging given the immutable and ephemeral nature of containers," said Hillary Benson, head of product, StackRox. "The large, complex environments that are prevalent among our customers accentuates the challenge, and most analyst and IR teams have had to craft their own ways to synthesize event data. These new capabilities and workflows do away with the manual processes that bog down effective IR."

StackRox customers will automatically benefit from these new analysis and incident response features in the latest version of the StackRox Kubernetes Security Platform.

Additional resource

StackRox platform datasheet

Kubernetes security best practices

Container security best practices

About StackRox

StackRox helps enterprises secure their containers and Kubernetes environments at scale. StackRox delivers the industry's first and only Kubernetes-native container security platform that enables security and DevOps teams to enforce their security and compliance policies across the entire container life cycle, from build to deploy to runtime. The StackRox Kubernetes Security Platform integrates with existing DevOps and security tools, enabling teams to quickly operationalize container and Kubernetes security. StackRox customers span cloud-native companies, Global 2000 enterprises, and government agencies. StackRox is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California. To learn more, visit www.stackrox.com and follow us on Facebook , LinkedIn and Twitter .

Press Contact

Dex Polizzi

Lumina Communications

646-741-8358

[email protected]

SOURCE StackRox

Related Links

https://www.stackrox.com


The government on Wednesday approved a methodology for the auction of coal blocks for commercial mining on revenue sharing basis and increasing the tenure of coking coal linkage.

The move would end the monopoly of state-run Coal India in commercial production of the dry fuel.

With the development, the coal mining sector has been completely opened for the private sector with no-end use restrictions for participating in coal mine auctions.

There would be free trade of coal as producer can use, sell or export coal without restriction, according to industry experts.

Coal mines will be put for auction on the basis of revenue share instead of the regime of fixed rupee/tonne.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the methodology, the Coal Ministry said in a release.

"This methodology provides that bid parameter will be revenue share. The bidders would be required to bid for a percentage share of revenue payable to the Government. The floor price shall be 4 per cent of the revenue share.

"Bids would be accepted in multiples of 0.5 per cent of the revenue share till the percentage of revenue share is up to 10 per cent and thereafter bids would be accepted in multiples of 0.25 per cent of the revenue share," the release said.

The revenue sharing model is based on recommendations of an expert committee headed by former Central Vigilance Commissioner Pratyush Sinha that was formed after fourth and fifth rounds of auctions received a tepid response.

There shall be no restriction on the sale and/or utilisation of coal from the coal mine, the ministry said.

The methodology is oriented to make maximum coal available in the market at the earliest and it also enables adequate competition which will allow discovery of market prices for the blocks and faster development of coal blocks.

The successful bidder shall be required to make monthly payments which shall be determined as product of "percentage of revenue share (final bid), quantity of coal on which the statutory royalty is payable during the month and notional price or actual price whichever is higher," the government said.

The upfront amount shall be payable in four equal instalments, it said.

The upfront amount will be 0.25 per cent of the of value of geological reserve for mines up to 200 million tonnes of GR with upper ceiling of Rs 100 crore and 0.25 per cent of value of geological reserve for mines with GR greater that 200 million tonnes with upper ceiling of Rs 500 crore, it added.

The CCEA also approved commercial exploitation of the coal-bed methane (CBM) present in the mining lease area, it said.

This methodology provides incentives to the successful bidder by way of offering rebates in revenue share in events of early production of coal rom the block and the total quantity of dry-fuel consumed or sold or both for gasification or liquefaction on an yearly basis from the coal mine.

As the entire revenue from the auction/allotment of coal mines would accrue to the coal bearing States, this methodology will incentivise them with increased revenues which can be utilised for the growth and development of backward areas and their inhabitants including tribals.

States in eastern part of the country will be especially benefited.

The tenure of coking coal linkage in the non-regulated sector linkage auction has been increased up to 30 years.

Higher investment will create direct and indirect employment in coal bearing areas especially in mining sector and will have an impact on economic development of these regions, the release noted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The fact that improvident states would love Washington to make up for their mistakes doesnt mean it should deny help for problems they didnt create. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, tried to awaken his colleagues with a chart titled, Blue states arent the only ones who are screwed. Of the eight states facing the biggest funding shortfalls, six voted for Trump and have legislatures controlled by the GOP.
Russian man fined $4k for fake about non-provision of air travellers with protective gears

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

10:55 20/05/2020

MOSCOW, May 20 (RAPSI)  A court in the town of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has fined a local citizen 300,000 rubles (over $4,000) for distributing fake news about late providing passengers of the flight between Bangkok, Shanghai and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk with individual protective gears, the press service of the Russian Prosecutor Generals Office reports.

The accused has been found guilty of publishing knowingly false information about measures taken to ensure safety of people and territories from dangerous circumstances.

Earlier, the man pleaded guilty in full and deleted published video from the Internet, the statement reads.

According to the court ruling, on April 27, one of the air travelers onboard the Bangkok -Shanghai - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk flight recorded a comment on his mobile phone saying that the passengers were not given individual protective gears when arrived in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Later, the man released the video in one of the messengers.

However, investigation revealed that all passengers received masks and protective suits on a free basis at the Bangkok airport.
The finance ministry on Monday said it has sanctioned Rs 46,038.70 crore for May instalment of devolution of states' share in central taxes and duties.

"These releases, similar to April releases, have been calculated based on tax receipts projected in Budget 2020-21 & not as per actuals," the ministry said in a tweet.

It added that the Government of India's prime objective has been protecting states' revenues and meeting their liquidity requirements in their fight against theCOVID-19 pandemic.

The Budget had projected the share of the states in taxes at Rs 7.84 lakh crore for 2020-21. The 15th Finance Commission had recommended the share of states at 41 per cent of the divisible pool and 1 per cent for the newly-created union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

The 14th Finance Commission had recommended the states be given 42 per cent share in taxes.

"Finance Ministry has issued sanction orders for Rs 46,038.70 cr today for the May instalment of Devolution of States' Share in Central Taxes & Duties," the ministry said in another tweet.

As per the state-wise break up of devolution, Rs 1,892.64 crore was issued to Andhra Pradesh, Rs 1,441.48 crore to Assam, Rs 1,564.4 crore to Gujarat, Rs 3,461.65 crore to West Bengal, Rs 8,255.19 crore to Uttar Pradesh, Rs 894.53 crore to Kerala and Rs 4,631.96 crore to Bihar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Sargis Grigoryan, who was one of the citizens protesting in front of the government building today, told reporters that many restaurants and event organizers have applied for loans since they know that people hold wedding ceremonies in the summer.

The owners and employees or restaurants and masters of ceremonies are asking the government to let them work along with other businesses.

I received a small amount of money for three months. I understand the situation, but the government has reopened businesses that pose a higher risk. If this is going to go on for a long time, how long can we stay at home? Our work is seasonal. If we dont work now, we will face problems until next summer, Grigoryan said.

Deputies of the Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly Ani Samsonyan, Anna Kostanyan and Gevorg Gorgisyan are also standing in front of the government building.

Ani Samsonyan agreed to receive a couple of protesters in her office, discuss the matter, state the demands and see how those demands can be met. She assured that the police will release the apprehended citizens and recommended that the protesters stop the protest for now and discuss the issue.
BBC Three could return as a linear channel as part of the broadcasters efforts to focus on younger audiences  with BBC Four airing more repeats.

In its annual plan, the BBC also said flagship channel BBC One will invest in more British programmes targeted at younger audiences.

The corporation has denied it plans to axe BBC Four but suggested the high-brow channel could air fewer original programmes.

BBC Four will increase focus on bringing together collections of the most distinctive content from the BBCs rich archive, it said.

Arts will continue to be a centrepiece of Four.

Bringing Us Closer - BBC publishes Annual Plan for 2020/21. Record-breaking performance but challenges ahead: https://t.co/IjMQBQWeg4 pic.twitter.com/OYA3Cq7WTf  BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) May 20, 2020

BBC Four intends to broadcast at least 60 hours of factual originated programmes, a target it has previously surpassed.

The BBC faces an estimated 125 million of lost income this year due to the coronavirus crisis.

It has been hit by the decision to delay introducing the over-75s licence fee reform and damage to commercial operations because of the fall in the advertising market and halting of productions, it says.

The end of the licence fee has been mooted by the Government, with a threat to turn the BBC into a subscription service.

Video of the Day

Expand Close BBC Three could return as a linear channel (BBC) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp BBC Three could return as a linear channel (BBC)

BBC bosses will be hoping that its reach during the pandemic and efforts to provide education for school children will have turned the tide in the Government.

BBC director general Lord Hall and chairman Sir David Clementi said they had been touched and humbled by the way people have put their trust in the BBC in huge numbers

As this value has become more self-evident in the last few weeks, it is more important than ever to have a proper conversation with the British public about the BBCs next 100 years as it approaches its centenary, they said.

The British public own the BBC, they use it more than any other provider, and they pay for it.

It is they who should have the primary voice in the debate about its future.

The BBC is considering bringing back BBC Three as a linear TV channel four years after it went digital-only.

Since then, the digital channel has become known for hits such as Fleabag, Killing Eve, This Country and Normal People,

The plan also says that the best BBC Four content will now also be broadcast on BBC Two, giving the programmes a bigger shop window.

How ridiculously perfect is this picture that was taken on the set of #NormalPeople?



from @DaisyEdgarJones pic.twitter.com/PYuziH4fsD  Normal People (@NormalPeopleBBC) May 18, 2020

Outside the UK, BBC Four could become a global subscription service.

Amid competition from streaming services like Netflix, the BBC plans to double the amount it spends on commissions for BBC Three  from around 30 million-40 million to around 80 million  over the next two years.

Last year, broadcasting watchdog Ofcom warned that the BBC was at risk of losing a generation of viewers if it could not engage a younger audience.

The BBC also wants to change BBC News online to promote and amplify fewer, but more relevant and important, stories.

It suspended plans to cut jobs in BBC News because of the demands of covering the coronavirus pandemic.

It also said it will move BBC staff and resources out of London in a bid to reach the whole country.

The plan says: As Britain emerges from the crisis, we will want to do much more for the whole UK, shifting resources, staff and services out of London and South East towards the Midlands and the North of England, particularly in our local and regional services.

Over time, we will be commissioning more content outside London and developing a new tech hub in Newcastle.
Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli speaks during a press conference in the capital Tehran, Iran, on July 1, 2018. (Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images)

US Blacklists Irans Interior Minister Over Human Rights Abuses

WASHINGTONThe United States on May 20 imposed sanctions on Irans interior minister, accusing him of having a role in serious human rights abuses, including giving orders that led to violence against peaceful protesters, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The Treasury said in a statement that Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli gave orders authorizing the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) to use lethal force in response to protests in November, leading to the killing of protesters, including at least 23 minors.

The Treasurys action on Wednesday also blacklisted seven senior officials of the LEF and a provincial commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discusses details for economic relief during the daily COVID-19 response briefing as Small Business (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza listens at the White House in Washington, on April 2, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

The LEF Cooperative Foundationwhich the Treasury said is controlled by the LEF and which is active in Irans energy, construction, services, technology, and banking industrieswas also blacklisted, as were its director and members of the board of trustees. The organizations name in Iran is Bonyad Taavon NAJA.

Wednesdays action freezes any U.S.-held assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and began reimposing sanctions that had been eased under the accord.

By Daphne Psaledakis and Susan Heavey
The Government is examining the issue of women on maternity leave who are not eligible for the temporary wage support scheme.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said his department is assessing ways to resolve the problem facing women across the country.

Mr Donohoe said the description of payroll in the primary legislation led to the issue, as employees need to submit a payslip from January and February to access the scheme.

Speaking in the Dail, Fianna Fails Michael McGrath asked Mr Donohoe whether the issue can be fixed on an administrative basis by Revenue, or whether it requires a change in primary legislation.

Mr Donohoe said: Im very much aware of this as an issue and of course the intention of this legislation was to treat all of our citizens and all of our employees equally.

It is the case, because of the description that we have of payroll in the primary legislation and the date, has created this issue.

Im examining this with the Department of Finance and with the Revenue Commissioner, to identify if there is a way of resolving it, but Im not at the moment in a position to be able to inform the House that there is, but we are currently examining it.

I'm very much aware of this as an issue and of course the intention of this legislation was to treat all of our citizens and all of our employees equally Paschal Donohoe

He was probed further on the matter by Sinn Feins David Cullinane, who asked whether the minister could use the same administrative mechanism that raised the wage subsidy from 70% to 85% for some employees last month.

Surely the same mechanism can be used by you instructing Revenue to deal with the issue for women on maternity leave? Mr Cullinane added.

I think there is cross-party consensus in this chamber minister, including from your own party, that this is unacceptable, its discriminatory and it needs to be sorted.

Mr Donohoe, however, rejected the idea, adding that his department are assessing ways to address the issues.

He added: Maybe you could tell me that if it does turn out that legislation is needed to deal with this issue, would you support the formation of a new Government that youre not in, to allow us to deal with this matter?

Mr Cullinane responded: I dont think, with respect, smart-aleck answers about Government formation cuts it when were dealing with women on maternity.

Mr Donohoe also told the Dail that the new economic normal will be very different from the old.

Behavioural changes, including the need to maintain social distancing measures, will mean that recovery will be gradual, he added.

Activity in some firms  including in the hospitality sector  is likely to be below capacity for some time to come, and this will necessitate supports, although these must be tailored and targeted and Government will not keep unviable firms on life-support.

Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA Graphics)

Certain firms or business models that were viable pre-Covid-19 may no longer be viable.

The priority for Government must be to support those that will be in a position to succeed in this new normal.

Mr Donohoe also said it is an inescapable reality that there will be a cost to the State from measures put in place to address Covid-19.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed on Wednesday that all physical court sittings are to be limited to two hours daily.

It comes as TDs and ministers have been advised to not spend more than two hours per day inside the Dail chamber.

In a statement, the Courts Service said it was unaware, until the matter became public on Tuesday, of what appears to be additional safety considerations beyond those already published.

A further 16 coronavirus deaths were confirmed on Tuesday, bringing the total in the country since the outbreak began to 1,561.

The total daily tally of new infections was 51, bring the total number of cases in Ireland to 24,251.
Two men accused of helping smuggle Carlos Ghosn, the former Nissan chief executive officer, out of Japan late last year were arrested Wednesday morning in Harvard, according to court documents.

Michael and Peter Taylor are charged in Japan with enabling Ghosns escape. The father and son are due in Boston federal court for an initial appearance later Wednesday. Japan is expected to request the extradition of both men, court documents said.

According to court documents, Michael Taylor, Peter Taylor and George-Antoine Zayek facilitated Ghosns escape from Japan. The status of Zayek was not mentioned in court documents.

Ghosn was accused of major financial wrongdoing while leading Nissan. By fleeing the country, court documents said, Ghosn violated his bail conditions.

Peter Taylor had met with Ghosn, who was under strict bail conditions while facing financial crimes in Japan, at least seven times in the months ahead of the escape, according to the documents.

The escape occurred on Dec. 29, 2019 when Michael Taylor and Zayek traveled to Japan with two large black boxes they claimed were being used for audio equipment, court documents said. The two told Japanese officials they were musicians.

While Michael Taylor and Zayek flew from Dubai on a private jet, Peter Taylor flew into Tokyo and met Ghosn at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

Eventually, court documents said, the four men met at the hotel. Peter Taylor, then went to Narita Airport and boarded a flight to China. The other three took a train to Osaka, where they regrouped at a different hotel, court documents said.

According to the documents, surveillance shows Ghosn, Michael Taylor, and Zayek arrive at the hotel around 8 p.m. and entering room 4609. About two hours later, Taylor and Zayek leave with luggage, including the two large boxes, and go to the airport.

No footage exists of Ghosn leaving, court documents said.

Instead, Ghosn was hiding in one of the two large black boxes being carried by Michael Taylor and Zayek, the complaint alleges.

The baggage passed through a security check at the airport without being screened and was loaded on a private jet that departed for Turkey around 11 p.m..

Two days later, on December 31, Ghosn publicly announced he had escaped to his home country of Lebanon. The same day Tokyo District Court revoked his bail.
Pompeo said at the briefing that he should have recommended Linick's ouster "some time ago," and denied that he was retaliating against the IG, who was reportedly investigating him.

" The fact that Secretary Pompeo is now trying diversion tactics by attempting to smear me is as predictable as it is shameful," Menendez added.

"The facts speak for themselves," Menendez said in response to Pompeo. "Secretary Pompeo now faces an investigation into both this improper firing and into his attempt to cover up his inappropriate and possibly illegal actions. Not surprisingly, he has lashed out at me and others conducting Congressional oversight ."

Federal prosecutors later dropped their case against Menendez, and the judge presiding over the senator's trial dismissed the charges in 2018.

Menendez, the senior senator from New Jersey, was indicted in 2015 as part of an alleged bribery scheme in which he accepted gifts from a Florida ophthalmologist in exchange for using his office to benefit the doctor's financial and personal interest, the Justice Department said at the time .

"This is all coming through the office of Senator Menendez," Pompeo said at his first on-camera press briefing since Trump fired Linick on Friday night. "I don't get my ethics guidance from a man who was criminally prosecuted," he said of Menendez before abruptly ending the briefing.

Pompeo has come under intense scrutiny since Trump followed through on his Cabinet official's urging to fire Linick.

Pompeo also told reporters at a press briefing that he had previously submitted written responses to questions sent by State Department Inspector General Steve Linick's office. But he maintained that he could not have retaliated against Linick because he was unaware of specific investigations that the watchdog's office was conducting.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday lashed out at Democrats investigating him, particularly Sen. Bob Menendez, as he defended his recommendation to President Donald Trump to fire the State Department's internal watchdog.

"There are claims that this was for retaliation for some investigation that the inspector general's office here was engaged in. Patently false," Pompeo said.

"I couldn't possibly have retaliated for all the things -- I've seen the various stories that someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner," Pompeo said, conflating reports about multiple probes being conducted by Linick.

"I mean, it's just crazy. It's all crazy stuff," he said.

Trump said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday night that he lost "confidence" in the watchdog, without providing further explanation.

Pompeo also did not provide a more detailed explanation for the firing when asked at the briefing.

"The president has a unilateral right to choose who he wants to be his inspector general at every agency in the federal government," Pompeo said. Some Republicans, including Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, have said that a lack of confidence is an insufficient explanation for firing the inspector general.

"Unlike others, I don't talk about personnel matters. I don't leak to y'all," Pompeo told reporters.

Linick had opened an investigation into alleged wrongdoing by Pompeo, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., said after the dismissal. A Democratic aide told NBC News that Linick's removal might have been in response to an investigation into Pompeo's "misuse of a political appointee at the Department to perform personal tasks for himself and Mrs. Pompeo." Those tasks included walking his dog, picking up his dry cleaning and making dinner reservations, according to NBC.

Engel and Menendez are demanding that all records related to Linick's firing be handed over to them by Friday. Pompeo did not respond Wednesday when a reporter asked if he would comply with that document request.

Hours before the briefing was set to begin, new reports raised additional questions from Pompeo's critics about his conduct at the government agency.

NBC News reported Tuesday night that Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, had regularly held elaborate, federally funded dinners with influential figures who could boost his political ambitions.

Pompeo held about two dozen of those dinners since 2018, NBC reported.

Pompeo, in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, denied that he fired Linick in retaliation for any reported probe into his conduct. He said he was not aware of the watchdog's investigations, so his recommendation could not have been an act of reprisal.

But on Wednesday, Pompeo did note that "there's one exception."

"I was asked a series of questions in writing, I responded to those questions with respect to a particular investigation," Pompeo said, adding that he submitted those responses earlier this year, to the best of his memory.

Pompeo said he did not know the scope or the nature of that investigation. "I did what was right. I don't know if that investigation is continuing, I don't know if that investigation has been closed out. I don't have any sense of that. Again, it's not possible for there to have been retaliation."

Pelosi said Sunday that Linick's sudden firing could be "unlawful" if it was done in retaliation.

NBC and other outlets reported Monday that Linick was also nearly done with another probe, this one dealing with Pompeo's approval of a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

Linick's office "was investigating  at my request  Trump's phony declaration of an emergency so he could send weapons to Saudi Arabia," Engel said in a statement Monday. "We don't have the full picture yet, but it's troubling that Secretary Pompeo wanted Mr. Linick pushed out before this work could be completed."

The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday morning reported that Pompeo had refused to sit for an interview about the Saudi arms deal with the IG's office. Politico first reported Pompeo's refusal to be interviewed.

Trump addressed the firing publicly during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.

"I don't know the guy at all, I never even heard of him, but I was asked to by the State Department, by Mike," Trump said. Pompeo sat across from him at the White House meeting.

"I offered most of my people, almost all of them, I said, 'You know, these are [former President Barack] Obama appointees, if you'd like to let them go I think you should let them go, but that's up to you,'" Trump said.

"They asked me to terminate him. I have the absolute right as president to terminate," Trump added. "I don't know what's going on other than that but you'd have to ask Mike Pompeo. But they did ask me to do it and I did it."

-- CNBC's Amanda Macias contributed to this report.
Today, Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC), will be holding a Covid-19 Food Drive where food baskets will be distributed to families in need.

This Pandemic Assistance Program will be launched at the newest Muslim American communitys mosque in Dearborn, Al-Huda Islamic Association located at 8835 West Warren Ave in Dearborn from 3:00PM to 5:00PM..

Since the start of the pandemic challenge, the MMCC conducted many food assistance programs at different centers across the State of Michigan.

The mission of MMCC is: to promote unity and cooperation among the diverse communities, cultures, ethnic backgrounds and races by convening and mobilizing the public; to promote the best Islamic and American values through advocacy, and organizing service, education and partnerships and coalitions with ethnic racial, religious, education and civic organizations, government and the media others; and to pursue social justice, improve human relations and uphold human rights in America.

For more information contact (248)797-1372 via email to mmcc@mimuslimcouncil.com.

Source: AHRC
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (RYCEF.PK, RR.L, RYCEY.PK) proposed a major reorganisation which is expected to result in the loss of at least 9,000 roles from the company's global workforce of 52,000. The reorganisation is anticipated to generate annualised savings of more than 1.3 billion pounds, of which headcount is estimated to contribute around 700 million pounds. The proposed reorganisation will predominantly affect the Civil Aerospace business. The company's Defence business, based in the UK and US, with an unchanged outlook, will remain unaffected by the headcount reduction. 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.
Originally live streamed on May 20th, 2020 at 10am PST. www.twitter.com/soarfinancial - make sure to follow us & click on the 

#Uranium #Canada #NexGenEnergy #askNXE

https://twitter.com/soarfinancial/status/1263151752372613120?s=20

|| NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) Guest: Leigh R. Curyer NexGen Energy is actively exploring and developing in the Arrow project in the Athabasca basin in Canada. We caught up CEO Leigh Curyer to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the permitting timelines, exploration and geotechnical work but also the submission of the EIS (environmental impact statement).

Soar Financial Group CEO Kai Hoffmann also asks questions by the fintwit community. For more of a company presentation, please watch the following webinar hosted by our friends over at Adelaide Capital: https://youtu.be/6Sj2J1bXgQo More info at www.https://www.nexgenenergy.ca

Follow Us!

 Twitter: http://twitter.com/soarfinancial

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soarfinancial/

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soarfinancial/

 Website: http://www.soarfinancial.com

SF Live is a new format by Soar Financial Partners. The goal is give short company updates and more importantly get investors engaged directly with the companies.

Intro Music: "Endless Motion" by Bensound.com

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only and not to be regarded as investment advice whatsoever.
MasterChef Australia stars were put through one of the show's hardest pressure test challenges on Tuesday night - recreating guest judge Peter Gunn's famous 'Black Box' dessert from his popular Melbourne eatery Ides.

The sweet delicacy features 11 elements - eight ingredients encased in a white chocolate ash coated shell - which is then hit with a tiny hammer to expose its contents.

Gunn has revealed that it was actually MasterChef's famous Mystery Box challenge which inspired his visually stunning and delicious masterpiece.

Inspiration: Melbourne chef Peter Gunn has revealed his 'Black Box' dessert, which stumped some of contestants on Tuesday night's episode of MasterChef Australia, was inspired by the show's famous mystery box challenge

'Its funny that it (the dessert) has an opportunity on (MasterChef) given that the initial idea behind it was like a mystery box,' he told 10 Daily on Wednesday. 'You dont know whats in it'

'Its funny that it (the dessert) has an opportunity on (MasterChef) given that the initial idea behind it was like a mystery box,' he told 10 Daily on Wednesday. 'You dont know whats in it.'

MasterChef's mystery box challenge tasks the show's contestants with making a dish from an assortment of random ingredients inside a wooden box.

Gunn's famous dessert, which features gingerbread stars, isomalt wafer, grilled mandarin custard, yoghurt pearls, honeycomb, choc-dipped mandarins, sherbet, and chocolate soil, has been on Ides' menu since 2018.

Meanwhile, Sarah Clare was eliminated from MasterChef on Tuesday night after falling short in the tough pressure test competition.

'You dont know whats in it': The sweet delicacy features 11 elements - eight ingredients encased in a white chocolate ash coated shell - which is then hit with a tiny hammer to expose its contents

'Sad to see her go!' Meanwhile, Sarah Clare was eliminated from MasterChef on Tuesday night after falling short in the tough pressure test competition

The redhead failed to impress judges Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen - as well as guest chef Peter - after presenting them with an incomplete version of his 'Black Box' dessert.

The dessert, which includes a total of 11 elements, was missing chocolate soil and lacked flavour, according to the judges.

After Sarah was revealed as the chef going home, she described her journey in the competition as a 'whirlwind'.

'You learn something every day. It's been a whirlwind. I've had so much fun, so much fun. I'm going to be taking a fair bit back to the restaurant. No offence, not the Black Box,' she added, poking fun a Peter's technical dish.

Going home: Sarah described her journey in the competition a 'whirlwind'. 'I've had so much fun, so much fun. I'm going to be taking a fair bit back to the restaurant. No offence, not the black box,' she said, poking fun a Peter's technical dish

Fans: Dozens of Sarah's fans were devastated to see her go, including one who wrote on Twitter: 'Sad to see Sarah Clare go. Shout out to her amazing hairstyles this season'

Reflecting on her time on the show, Sarah said: 'Two years ago, there is no chance I would have been able to get that to dish up. Oh! So I really do feel like I've grown.'

Sarah first rose to fame in season 10 of MasterChef alongside the likes of Reece Hignell, Jess Liemantara and Khanh Ong.

Outside of MasterChef, Sarah runs Ilha Restaurant in Cygnet, Tasmania, which specialises in casual modern Australian dishes with a South American influence.

MasterChef continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten
LEXINGTON  In person proceedings will start back up at the Dawson County courthouse starting in June after being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dawson County District Court Judge James Doyle reported to the Dawson County commissioners, the Nebraska Supreme Court has announced the court is to resume in person proceedings starting on June 8, 2020.

Persons who have business with the court will be required to enter the courthouse from the Grant St. entrance and they will have to submit to testing, which includes having their temperature taken and filling out a questionnaire.

Masks will be required, which must cover the nose and mouth. The social distancing standard of six feet between people will also be observed. Only 10 people will be allowed in the courtroom at any given time.

Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}}

These procedures will be continued through the fall.

County Assessor John Moore also expressed concern to the commissioners about the upcoming protest time of June 1 and the related COVID-19 hazards.
The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases continued to climb Tuesday but the rate of positive test results dropped for the third week in a row as Mayor Ron Nirenberg and County Judge Nelson Wolff extended their emergency orders until June 4 to help prevent a resurgence of the disease.

The new orders strongly encourage residents to wear masks, rather than make it mandatory as previous orders have done.

Nirenberg said that change was made to align with Gov. Greg Abbotts superseding orders that prohibit penalties for mask violations, but he emphasized that wearing masks and maintaining a 6-foot social distance are still necessary because the crisis isnt over.

The world didnt change overnight with regard to the guidance on masks, Nirenberg said. It is extremely important for people to maintain the guidance of the public health professionals and wearing of masks when youre within 6 feet of someone whos not in your household is one of those very important measures that we can take to make sure we limit and slow down the spread of the virus.

San Antonio has had a consistently lower infection and death rate than many of the nations largest cities, such as Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago and many others with half as many residents, but Nirenberg and Wolff cautioned against complacency as bars and restaurants begin to open more fully this coming weekend.

Nirenberg noted there were 65 new cases reported Tuesday, pushing the Bexar County total to 2,278. Of those, 23 were the result of community transfer and the rest came from congregate settings, including five from Bexar County Jail and seven from nursing homes. But 51 are still pending the results of contact tracing investigations.

No new deaths were reported Tuesday, for the fourth day in a row. The COVID-19 death toll for Bexar County stands at 62.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

The mayor said testing continues across the county to ensure that every resident in every nursing home is checked for the virus. That process was expected to take two weeks and has been going on for about a week now.

As of Tuesday night, 339 residents at four nursing homes had been tested, of which 39 turned out to have the virus, according to Metro Health data. Of those, 21 showed no symptoms. Also as of Tuesday night, 498 staff members from the same four nursing homes had been tested, of which 32 had the disease. Eight showed no symptoms.

The county now has the capacity to test 3,960 people per day at public and private facilities, Nirenberg said. The goal had been 3,000 daily.

Other indicators watched by health officials and community leaders also continue to show San Antonio is improving, the mayor added.

The percentage of tests that were positive for the virus, known as the positivity rate, had dropped for three weeks in a row, to 3.5 percent at the end of last week, Nirenberg said. The previous week it was at 4.3 percent.

Of those who are still ill, 80 were in the hospital Tuesday with 35 in intensive care and 20 on ventilators to help them breathe.

That leaves 78 percent of ventilators and 30 percent of staffed hospital beds available citywide. Officials say those percentages indicate the area is well prepared for a sudden outbreak, if it were to occur.

In regard to enforcing the city and county orders, officials at Tuesday evenings briefing indicated penalties can be imposed in certain cases.

District Attorney Joe Gonzales said so long as the governor doesnt specifically reserve an authority for himself, as he did with masks, local governments can impose penalties.

With regard to masks, were prohibited from enforcing any civil or criminal penalties, Gonzales said. We cant jail anybody for refusing to wear a mask, we cant impose a civil fine.

But there are other areas where the city and county have the authority to impose fines, Gonzales said, such as, possibly, limits on gatherings.

City Attorney Andy Segovia agreed, adding that officers are looking for high-risk violations that could provoke the spread of novel coronavirus.

What were trying to avoid in terms of our enforcement is large gatherings where you would have a highly increased risk of spread, Segovia said. Were looking for birthday parties of 20, 30, 40 people, graduation parties in households where clearly you have a lot of people from outside the household.

Nirenberg repeated that citing and jailing people for violations isnt the best way to stop novel coronavirus.

Our ability to be successful in this pandemic response has much less to do with the threat of punishment and more to do with the transparency of data and information and making sure people know what the right thing to do is, the mayor said, holding up his mask to make the point.

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 David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China over the coronavirus on Wednesday, calling the $2 billion Beijing has pledged to fight the pandemic "paltry" compared to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars of damage.

Pompeo rejected President Xi Jinping's claim that Beijing had acted with transparency after the outbreak in China, and said if Xi wanted to show that, he should hold a news conference and allow reporters to ask him anything they liked.

"President Xi claimed this week that China is acting with openness, transparency responsibility. I wish it were so," Pompeo told a State Department news conference, charging that Beijing continued to withhold virus samples and access to facilities, to censor discussion, "and much, much more."

U.S.-China tensions have spiked in recent weeks, with Pompeo and President Donald Trump slamming Beijing's handling of the outbreak. The United States has been hardest hit in the global pandemic.

At a time when many nations are urging unity and cooperation to ramp up the virus battle, Trump has proposed quitting the World Health Organization over its response and called it a "puppet of China," while Xi has pledged it $2 billion.

"I look forward to seeing them fulfill that $2-billion commitment," Pompeo said. "China's contributions to fighting the pandemic are paltry, compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world."

"This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives, more than 36 million Americans have lost their jobs since March; globally 300,000 lives. Could be as much as $9 trillion, according to our estimates, cost imposition on the world of the Chinese Communist Party's failures," Pompeo said.

In Beijing, China called Pompeo "extremely irresponsible", and urged him to explain shortcomings in the U.S. response to the virus.

Story continues

"Why didn't the U.S. government take any control and prevention measures between January and March?" said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

"Why did it fail to stem the fast spread of coronavirus in the United States? He has a responsibility to explain this to the world."

Pompeo also accused China of threatening Australia with "economic retribution" for seeking an independent inquiry into the outbreak's origins and charged that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had had "unusually close ties to Beijing ... long before this current pandemic," something "deeply troubling."

The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pompeo's accusations.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Cate Cadell in Beijing; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Clarence Fernandez)
A mysterious "boom" heard by residents across several parts of Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon caused panic among residents of the city in Karnataka.

Many took to social media to talk about a strange sound like a boom that they heard in Bengaluru with some describing it as a bomb going off.

Wow.. I thought I was dreaming... But apparently not... WTF was that.. Shashi Singh #WearAMask (@_singhshashi) May 20, 2020

After much speculation, residents realised that this was not a one-off thing. The mysterious booms have been heard in Bengaluru earlier as well. A similar incident had happened in August 2018 when residents in several South Bengaluru neighbourhoods had heard a crashing boom with many reporting that their windows shook. The panic was such that State disaster management officials has to come forth and assure people that it was not an earthquake.

But while the incident remained nearly identical, the source of the boom sound is yet to be ascertained. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) nevertheless ascertained that even in this instance, there was no earthquake.

As per the KSNDMC director's statement, there are 18 seismic monitors to analyze tectonic activities in case of earthquakes and noe of them registered any seismic activity.

But that did not stop netizens from cooking up some of the most bizarre theories to explain the sound. The thundering sound, which is now being referred to by netizens and Bengaluru residents and a "sonic boom", has inspired many jokes and conspiracy theories including ones involving aliens invasions and worse.

Speculation was rife.

Just heard about the #bangaloreboom. Did Avengers assemble? Did Thor arrive or what?  An Open Letter (@AnOpenLetter001) May 20, 2020

Mirage 2000 Harsh Shah (@_ShahHarsh) May 20, 2020

Top speculations include - 1. Fighter Jet sonic boom2. Earthquake3. Some air pressure displacement due to super cyclone on India's east coast These are just speculations and are as good as your guess.There is still no official confirmation on the issue. https://t.co/POp7XBSUzI An Open Letter (@AnOpenLetter001) May 20, 2020

Aliens ? Earthquake ? Mirage 2000 ? Sonic Boom ?OR. . Rajnikanth ?#bangaloreboom pic.twitter.com/NXMp6hUPXo jivan J. chavan ..  .  (@jivanchavan) May 20, 2020

Many could not help but relate the timing of the mysterious sound with the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.

Now I'm thinking that, Aliens came for giving us vaccine of Corona.But he gave lockdown 5.0. :X#Aliens IG: Yash_Mulanii (@DippedInHotOil_) May 20, 2020

Many, of course, made memes to deal with the anxiety of dealing with the unknown. Some even reached out to actor Hritik Roshan to ask if he had invited Jadoo back to the planet again.

people trending #Aliens NASA and ISRO will be like pic.twitter.com/5lnH2nWBfw Rashamians (@attitude__boy_) May 20, 2020

Sound of the economy crashing? Bangalore Walks (@bengawalk) May 20, 2020
Domestic rating agency Icra on Wednesday warned of a deep recession as it drastically lowered FY21 growth forecast for India to minus 5 per cent, citing the very modest fiscal support, extension of the nationwide lockdown and looming labour shortage.

The agency also sharply revised downwards the growth contraction in Q1 to 25 per cent as against the previous forecast of 16-20 per cent and to minus 2.1 per cent in Q2 from 2.1 per cent growth previously, which implies a recession.

Though the government has been claiming that its economic stimulus package is worth 10 per cent of GDP or Rs 20.9 lakh crore, analysts have pegged it at just 0.8 - 1.2 per cent of the GDP.

After the two phases of the nationwide lockdown, many experts warned of a minor contraction in growth.

But with the lockdown being extended to end-May, and expectation of substantial delays in getting the supply chains operational following the return of millions of migrant workers to their home states, Q1 degrowth will be deeper, and recovery will be shallower and more delayed than our earlier assessment, Icra said.

"Accordingly, we now expect FY21 growth to contract by a whopping 5 percent relative to our earlier expectation of 1-2 percent," its Chief Economist Aditi Nayar and Economist Aarzoo Pahwa said in a note.

Icra sees Q1 GDP contracting by 25 per cent as against previous forecast of 16-20 per cent and Q2 growth contracting by 2.1 percent from a 2.1 per cent growth expected previously.

However, the economy may see a moderate 2.1 per cent growth in Q3 (against previous estimate of 3.6 per cent growth) and 5 per cent in Q4.

The much-touted Rs 20.97 lakh crore package includes Rs 8.02 lakh crore monetary measures announced by the Reserve Bank since February as well as the Rs 1.93 lakh crore initially announced by the Centre and revenue foregone due to tax concessions.

According to Icra, these announcements are only enabling provisions to support a recovery after the lockdown by helping the most stressed sectors get working capital credit. None of these offer to absorb their losses from the lost output for more than two months, it said.

Moreover, the reforms announced will have any meaningful outcomes only with a lag of a few years.

"Overall, we estimate the direct fiscal cost of this package to be limited to 1 percent of GDP, or around 10 percent of the total announcements," they said, adding these measure will not be able to counter the demand destruction caused by the pandemic, or address the prevailing supply chain infirmities.

While the agency had earlier forecast a V-shaped recovery, it warned that if there is a second wave of infections and subsequent lockdowns either in India or globally, the ensuing demand uncertainty and supply chain hiccups may result in a W-shaped economic cycle.

On the labour issue, it said multiple extensions of the lockdown has created uncertainty and untold misery to the poor migrant workers forcing them to flee to their villages.

"With a considerable portion of their savings likely to have been used up over the last two months, we feel that they may choose to delay their return to the cities until after the festive season is over, which could affect the pace of normalisation in various economic activities, including manufacturing and construction," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nonso Anozie is Butler, Lara McDonnell is Holly Short, Josh Gad is Mulch Diggums and Ferdia Shaw is Artemis Fowl in Disne's ARTEMIS FOWL, directed by Kenneth Branagh. ( 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Plans to adapt Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl for the big screen were announced in 2001 before the first book was even published. It was not long after production had wrapped on the first Harry Potter film and producers were on the hunt for the next big fantasy franchise.

Sure enough, Colfers bestseller went on to become an eight-book series (the most recent, The Fowl Twins, was published in 2019), and while the Irish author was toiling away, Hollywood was working overtime to bring his magical world  with its boy genius who discovers a world of fairies, gnomes and dwarves  to the screen.

It would take until early 2018 before Disney officially got the ball rolling though, with Fowl Manor  the protagonists family home  built from scratch at Longcross Studios, just outside of London, and with Sir Kenneth Branagh at the helm.

When Yahoo visited the set in April 2018, very few had heard the word coronavirus, even less would know the seismic impact it would have on the world. The release of Artemis Fowl has been uniquely impacted by the pandemic, and its now set to be the first major franchise launch of the coronavirus-era, streaming exclusively on Disney+ from 12 June.

Back in 2018, the production crew were teasing a seven-film franchise, but whether that will now come to pass depends on how audiences at home react to this magical new world of mystery and fairies.

Who is Artemis Fowl?

Ferdia Shaw is Artemis Fowl in Disney's ARTEMIS FOWL, directed by Kenneth Branagh. Photo by Nicola Dove. ( 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Artemis Fowl is the story of a very particular 12-year-old boys search for his missing father, explained co-screenwriter Hamish McColl. Describing Artemis Fowl as very particular is like describing Paddington (McColl co-wrote the 2014 film) as charming: its accurate, but doesnt tell the whole story.

Artemis Fowl is the latest generation in a long line of master criminals, hes an evil genius in the making: He is smart as a whip. He is one, two, three steps ahead, he thinks forwards, he thinks backwards, laterally. He has got a mind like a steel trap and it can bite, adds McColl.

Story continues

Read more: Kenneth Branagh talks Artemis Fowl

Playing Fowl Jr is newcomer Ferdia Shaw, making his acting debut. Shaw was chosen from 12,000 boys who auditioned for the role, explains producer Judy Hofflund: Our casting team literally auditioned every single boy in Ireland who wanted to audition. It was fun.

His father, Artemis Fowl Sr  also an evil genius, played by Colin Farrell  has gone missing at the start of the film, and Fowl Jr is on his trail, with help from Nonso Anozies Domovoi Butler, his trusted servant and bodyguard.

Like Neo taking the red pill, or Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole before him, Artemis finds his world turned upside down when he discovers another realm that exists beneath the surface of his own. He receives a mysterious ransom message that demands a huge sum of fairy gold in exchange for his missing parent.

In his search for [his father] he discovers a world beneath his feet of the world of fairies and trolls and goblins, adds McColl.

The world of fairies

Judi Dench is Commander Root in Disney's ARTEMIS FOWL. (Disney)

Just a short walk from the life size and habitable Fowl Manor set (it even has wifi), is Longcross Studios biggest stage: Stage One. In spring 2018, the 350ft long soundstage is home to a huge plaza in the underground metropolis of Haven City.

Fairies are human-sized in Haven City. They have a technologically advanced civilisation, powered by magic, that must stay hidden from the human world above. Standing inside Haven City, it feels organic, aquatic even, which is all intentional explains supervising art director Dominic Masters.

We're effectively in an underground cavernous space which you have to imagine as being the bottom of the ocean without the water, explains Masters, who gives us a guided tour of the Lower Elements Police (LEP) force headquarters, including a huge control room for the police force. A centaur called Foaly takes charge of any action from here, led by Dame Judi Denchs Commander Root, when the fairies venture out of their world into Artemiss.

We also visit the lava chutes, an ancient travel system once transported people from the underground world into the human world.

Underneath here are rivers of lava that fairies have used over generations to transport people, in the fastest possible way, up to the surface. If you need to get up in a hurry, this is what you use. This is kind of an old technology  rusty, oily and rather knackered and a bit terrifying.

The fairies

The final poster art for Artemis Fowl. (Disney)

Its Artemis hunt for his missing father that brings these two worlds together. With Butler, he tracks down a fairy living above ground in Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City. There he learns that fairies must periodically return to the surface world to renew their magic.

Artemis hatches a plan to take a fairy hostage when they come above ground, and demand his own ransom that he can use to set his father free from whoever holds him captive.

Read more: 2020s most exciting films

The fairy that falls into his trap is Captain Holly Short, an elven reconnaissance officer of Roots LEPrecon, played by Lara McDonnell, another newcomer with a spell in Tim Minchins Matilda on her CV. She's an 84-year-old fairy who also looks like a 13-year-old girl, explains producer Judy Hofflund. With her emerald green uniform and pixie cut, she looks like a long lost David Bowie creation.

[Holly] is a feisty, young fairy police officer with a point to prove, and she doesn't use magic, adds McColl.

Fowl Manor

Ferdia Shaw is Artemis Fowl in Disney's ARTEMIS FOWL. (Disney)

In capturing Short, Artemis Fowl unleashes the full might of the LEP, who start a siege on Fowl Manor. Its this siege that takes up the bulk of the story, and led reviewers of the book to describe the story as Die Hard with fairies.

Leading the charge is Dame Judi Denchs gender-flipped Commander Root. Director Kenneth Branagh describes her performance as Churchillian and Napoleonic, and Roots first act at Fowl Manor is putting the house in a time bubble, which effectively freezes time outside of the bubble.

With so much action taking place in the family house, Branagh took the unusual step of building the whole house from scratch, rather than a location or different interiors across different sounda stages.

Traditionally, you'd build the exterior of the house and put the interior on the stage, explains production designer Jim Clark. But having just worked with Ken Branagh and Haris Zambarloukos his DOP, I knew very well that their style was a very fluid style. They love to do continuous, roaming, rambling shots, often from exterior to interior, and all through the house or the location. So we came to the decision we would build it interior and exterior as one location.

Ferdia Shaw is Artemis Fowl in Disneyas ARTEMIS FOWL, directed by Kenneth Branagh. Photo by Robert Youngson. A 2020 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sat atop a long driveway, nestled among the trees at Longcross, Fowl Manor looks very real, and very habitable. Inside, every room is tastefully decorated, from Artemis Fowl Srs fully stocked library (12,000 books line the shelves says set decorator Celia Bobak) and a fully furnished kitchen, to Artemis Jrs bedroom complete with LEGO Death Star (you have to respect Disneys dedication to brand synergy).

The studios brief was to make [Fowl Manor] last for seven years, adds Clark. It's fully insulated. It's fully soundproof. It has central heating. It has a Wi Fi system.

Its certainly been built to last, however when we visited it was rather battered thanks to an encounter with a rampaging troll and a burgling dwarf (Mulch Diggums, played by Josh Gad).

Whether Fowl Manor will be a location revisited in the future will depend on how fans respond to the film when it lands on Disney+ in June, but that was the plan back in 2018.

Disney confirmed the Fowl Manor set has now been dismantled at Longcross Studios.

Artemis Fowl is streaming on Disney+ from 12 June.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.



You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser
Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey When our veterans and their families are impacted by cancer, they deserve to receive support that can reduce the burden of the disease, says Amy Sutton, CEO of CSCCNJ

Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey (CSCCNJ) has announced it is joining the resource network of Warrior Centric Healthcare Foundation (WCHF), based in Maryland, to increase access to vital emotional and social support, at no charge, so that veterans and their family members do not face cancer alone.

When our veterans and their families are impacted by cancer, they deserve to receive support that can reduce the burden of the disease, says Amy Sutton, CEO of CSCCNJ. Now more than ever, with the current COVID-19 health crisis upon us, everyone here at Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey has redoubled our efforts to make sure they receive the social and emotional support they need.

We must never leave our Veterans or their family members behind to battle these illnesses alone, especially when many of their cancers are a result of their service to our country, says Evelyn Lewis, MD, MA, FAAFP, DABDA, President and Chair Warrior Centric Healthcare Foundation. Our partnership with CSCCNJ ensures we can deliver on the promise to  care for THOSE who have borne the battle.

CSCCNJ sought out the guidance and partnership of WCHF when it realized it had a silent population of veterans: cancer patients who did not consider their military status to be an important factor in their care. Joe Belardo, a Vietnam War veteran and advocate, who is active in CSCCNJs Mens Cancer Support Group and other programs, says, Mental health is so important to help keep you going. The support groups are the best. By being able to feed off one another in the group, it helps you survive. Belardo heard about CSCCNJ through a fellow veteran who insisted that he should attend the Mens Cancer Support Group, which is the organizations entry point for many veterans. He says, Being able to share what I experience with others helps me handle things better. We all go through so much; its important to share and support one another.

According to the Institute of Medicine, optimal cancer care includes access to emotional and social support, which is core to CSCCNJs mission. Since most people lack access to such support, in 2019, CSCCNJ unveiled its Vision for the Future, a strategic roadmap to addressing the unmet needs of people with cancer, survivors, families, and caregivers. The first pillar, Multicultural Outreach, focuses on building strong partnerships and connection within underserved communities, including Veterans. Meeting the unique needs of underserved populations has been a challenge. According to Katherine Schaible, LSW, CSCCNJ Program Director, One of the biggest challenges we have faced is meeting the multitude of unique needs across the community, particularly the underserved. Schaible continues, We have had to lean on additional resources more than ever to ensure people who need us are aware of the services available to them. There are a number of governmental resources, nonprofits, and community- and faith-based organizations with whom we are collaborating to tighten the gaps in service that may have pre-existed for underserved and minority groups impacted by cancer.

Other focus areas in the Vision for the Future include Nutrition; Support4Families; an Unmet Needs Fund for families facing pediatric cancer; and Patient Centered Care research. Taken together, initiatives in these areas will increase community access to CSCCNJs core work: navigation and referral services; individual counseling; group support; decision support tools; evidence-based educational workshops and nutrition interventions; health and wellness classes; survivorship programs; and activities that build social connections.

For people with cancer, including veterans, Belardo says, What Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey does, beyond anything, is provide a place for hope.

About Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey:

Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey (CSCCNJ) is a registered 501c(3) and an independent licensed affiliate of Cancer Support Community, an international nonprofit organization. As experts in oncology mental health, the organization provides support, education, and hope to all people with cancer and their loved ones, So That No One Faces Cancer Alone. Backed by evidence that the best cancer care includes social and emotional support, CSCCNJ creates a caring community to help individuals live with, through, and beyond cancer. At no cost to patients, survivors, family members, and caregivers, the organization delivers essential programs and services including individual and group support; educational workshops; hands-on nutrition and healthy cooking education; classes to enhance health and wellness; and social activities for the entire family. In response to the COVID-19 crisis, CSCCNJ has moved its entire program of support to a virtual platform and has seen a 51% increase in participation since the start of stay-at-home orders. Plans are already underway to provide a combination of virtual and in-person programming in the future. For more information please visit their website at cancersupportcnj.org or call (908) 658-5400.

About Warrior Centric Healthcare Foundation:

Warrior Centric Healthcare Foundation (WCHF) is a registered 501c(3) charitable entity established by military Veterans with expertise in the area where health, wellness, and healthcare delivery intersects with the social determinants of health and military culture.

At WCHF, we envision communities that possess the knowledge and capacity to not only identify and address service-related health challenges, but to embrace, support, and empower Veterans and their families who experience them. The Veteran Medical Neighborhood Consortium (VMNC) is the framework used to design the structured, bidirectional, and cross functional relationships and partnerships (clinical and non-clinical) needed to achieve our mission. It is through these partnerships that we engage to educate, and maintain resource networks that support the complex physical, social, and emotional needs of Veteran communities across the nation. As WCHF addresses the systemic inequities regarding access to quality of care for Veterans and their families, we strive to create a world where ALL Veterans and their families live healthy and well lives undiminished by their service-related health concerns. For more information please visit our website at wchf.us or call 833. 924. 4376 Ext 3.
W ant to come on a journey with me? Imagine its a Thursday afternoon. Perhaps its late summer this year. We are about to sneak away together for a long weekend  yes, foreign escapes are back, whatever the Government now says will happen.

Slipping on the first of a multi-pack box of face masks which came as a 9.99 add-on to our booking, we head for Heathrow or Gatwick. Before March we might have used a local low-cost airport, but its not reopened after a row about a government bailout  some claim it never will. Better check that your phone is fully charged  your app status needs to show a recent green clear test result.

Before we enter the terminal theres a temperature health check: fail and you may not get any further. Even though scientific advice is that temperature checks mean little, they became a standard in airports abroad at the start of the crisis and Britain has had to catch up to get permission to fly. If we were going long-haul wed need to arrive early for a Covid test too, but as were off to Spain theres a new agreement to allow travel without one.

Inside the airport, automated systems are taking over. A face scan means security gates open automatically without human contact. Hand sanitisers are everywhere. Perspex screens help keep staff safe. Trays at security checks have been coated with a new surface that promises to kill viruses on contact. All this means that once you are through to airside, bars and cafes are open as normal  so youd better grab a pre-flight drink. On board, youll find that in-flight services have been stripped right back.

The flight is full  airlines won their battle to put passengers in middle seats. Air on planes has always been cleaner than some think: it flows down from the ceiling and passes through powerful filters. Even so, most people are wearing masks. We booked our tickets before lockdown, when prices were low, which is lucky since some have soared since foreign travel opened up again. Airlines are still only operating half the flights that ran before  and some have gone bust.

Is this the future of flying? Some of whats above could be in place by the summer. Others  maybe the Covid app and rapid tests at airports  might take longer. But the industry is desperate to get back in business and show travelling is safe. It thinks that only two things could stop the return of summer holiday flights and the key business links which power the London economy: a rise in the infection rate here, or a government that gets in the way, with what the travel industry argues are arbitrary rules on quarantine, or with rows with other governments about rules for safe flying.

Letting people go on their summer holiday will be massively important, says John Holland-Kaye, who runs Heathrow. Thats what people have been looking forward to. It would be a brave government that said you couldnt go to Spain on holiday when people from Germany could.

When does he think we might we get travelling? I dont see any reason why end of June, beginning of July we shouldnt start opening up to other markets, he adds.

Follow the M25 and M23 to Gatwick, and Tim Norwood, the airports director of corporate affairs, says hes upbeat, hoping to start the recovery by the middle to the end of June. Already his airport is in talks with destinations in places such as Spain who are very keen to see British holidaymakers. He adds: We are looking forward to restart and actively planning for it.

Could temperature checks become part of the new normal? / AFP via Getty Images

EasyJet, Ryanair and British Airways are all planning to get back in the skies by July  Norwood says hes hopeful BA will keep some of its Gatwick flights, too, rather than moving them all to Heathrow. But until airlines know they can operate, they arent putting many routes on sale. Its easier to buy a ticket for 2021 than this summer right now.

If you dont want to fly, Eurostar is preparing to run more than a token train a day to Brussels and Paris soon. It points out that with 900 seats on each train and the ability to walk around, social distancing should be easier on rail than it is in a packed A320 jet. Slowly Europes rail network is coming back to life: Austrian rail is aiming to restart its smart new network of continent-crossing sleeper trains on June 26. Maybe the TGV from Paris to Barcelona will be back by July too.

Even if you fly, airlines and airports promise a greener future. If companies do get bailouts the price of that is that you should decarbonise, and that includes aviation says Holland-Kaye.

All this could prove a fantasy, however. If you live in Germany or Austria, some sort of Mediterranean holiday should be possible. But in Britain the Government says it is still planning to introduce quarantine rules next month which mean that anyone coming back from abroad, apart from Ireland, would have to spend two weeks in lockdown. This plan is a mess: announced without warning, with confusion about whether it applies to France (answer: yes), and with no clarity about whether it can be enforced, or why someone landing from low-Covid Denmark, where schools have been open for a month, would be a risk. Quarantine might have made a difference in February and March when flights were coming in freely from China. But now?

Airports and airlines are pushing for a different way forward. The Government needs to be planning now for how to get out of quarantine phase, says Holland-Kaye. We are locking ourselves out. I dont think the Government gets how important aviation is to the national economy.

We are setting up air bridges with other airports  making sure each airport has exactly the same standards for health screening and hygiene at both ends. Fly in from somewhere like Malaga and you would not need to quarantine. Come from high-risk Brazil, say, and things might be different.

Of course it will be up to Britain to convince other countries that passengers from here wont bring infection  and our global reputation hasnt been good. Long-haul flights could be particularly difficult. Australia still hasnt opened travel to New Zealand, where infections have hit zero. Britain could be way down the queue.

At Gatwick, where 80 per cent of passengers until lockdown travelled inside Europe anyway, they are not expecting long-haul to bounce back fast.

Heathrow is a global hub  Holland-Kaye has regular conferences with colleagues in places such as Dubai, New York and Sydney  and it needs long-haul links. We cant take it for granted London will always be a world city ... our backs are against the wall and we could lose many of the things we take for granted, he says. A rapid Covid test could be a game-changer: Something medically effective, relatively quick  if we have tested you here then Hong Kong or Madrid or JFK will accept you as a low-risk passenger without any further tests.

Just as increased security checks became normal after 9/11, health screening isnt going away. It will just become a normal part of the journey, Holland-Kaye adds. Even when there is a vaccine for Covid there will be some kind of health scanning which will be there not for Covid-19, but Covid-22 or something in the future.

If that sounds bleak, so, for some, will be the loss of perks. BA has temporarily replaced hot catering with prepared snack packs on every seat. In business class free-flowing champagne and trolleys heaped with food dont work with social distancing. Even pillows and blankets might go.

Right now, though, people desperate for summer sun wont mind that. Nor will an industry keen to avoid bankruptcy. At Heathrow, Holland-Kaye is trying to escape a self-fulfilling cycle of doom. Heathrow will recover he says but theres a worry that a lot of regional airports could close down, even some of the airports around London.

This isnt the final call for flying  but this summer the take-offs going to be bumpy.

@julian_glover
A group of protesting migrant workers attacked ABP Gujarati correspondent Hardik Joshi in Gujarats Shapar area, injuring him critically. The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) condemns the attack.

The migrant workers turned violent following the re-scheduling of the train to take them to their hometowns of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They attacked the ABP News team on May 17 while the television crew were filming the migrant workers protest.

When most crew members managed to escape the attack, the mob beat Joshi severely, striking his head and critically injuring him. The journalist was immediately taken to hospital where he received five stiches to his head. The protesting mob also allegedly broke his camera. They also pelted stones at policemen injuring superintendent of Rajkot rural police, Balram Meena and three other policemen.

According to police, 29 people have been arrested in connection with the violence under Indian Penal Code for rioting, voluntarily causing hurt and for attempt to commit culpable homicide.

IFJ said: Attacking a journalist on duty is a complete violation of media rights. IFJ demands an immediate investigation and hopes that the perpetrators will be held to account.
In our 13.8 billion-year-old universe, most galaxies like our Milky Way form gradually, reaching their large mass relatively late. But a new discovery made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of a massive rotating disk galaxy, seen when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, challenges the traditional models of galaxy formation. This research appears on 20 May 2020 in the journal Nature.

Galaxy DLA0817g, nicknamed the Wolfe Disk after the late astronomer Arthur M. Wolfe, is the most distant rotating disk galaxy ever observed. The unparalleled power of ALMA made it possible to see this galaxy spinning at 170 miles (272 kilometers) per second, similar to our Milky Way.

"While previous studies hinted at the existence of these early rotating gas-rich disk galaxies, thanks to ALMA we now have unambiguous evidence that they occur as early as 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang," said lead author Marcel Neeleman of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany.

How did the Wolfe Disk form?

The discovery of the Wolfe Disk provides a challenge for many galaxy formation simulations, which predict that massive galaxies at this point in the evolution of the cosmos grew through many mergers of smaller galaxies and hot clumps of gas.

"Most galaxies that we find early in the universe look like train wrecks because they underwent consistent and often 'violent' merging," explained Neeleman. "These hot mergers make it difficult to form well-ordered, cold rotating disks like we observe in our present universe."

In most galaxy formation scenarios, galaxies only start to show a well-formed disk around 6 billion years after the Big Bang. The fact that the astronomers found such a disk galaxy when the universe was only ten percent of its current age, indicates that other growth processes must have dominated.

"We think the Wolfe Disk has grown primarily through the steady accretion of cold gas," said J. Xavier Prochaska, of the University of California, Santa Cruz and coauthor of the paper. "Still, one of the questions that remains is how to assemble such a large gas mass while maintaining a relatively stable, rotating disk."

Star formation

The team also used the National Science Foundation's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to learn more about star formation in the Wolfe Disk. In radio wavelengths, ALMA looked at the galaxy's movements and mass of atomic gas and dust while the VLA measured the amount of molecular mass - the fuel for star formation. In UV-light, Hubble observed massive stars. "The star formation rate in the Wolfe Disk is at least ten times higher than in our own galaxy," explained Prochaska. "It must be one of the most productive disk galaxies in the early universe."

A 'normal' galaxy

The Wolfe Disk was first discovered by ALMA in 2017. Neeleman and his team found the galaxy when they examined the light from a more distant quasar. The light from the quasar was absorbed as it passed through a massive reservoir of hydrogen gas surrounding the galaxy - which is how it revealed itself. Rather than looking for direct light from extremely bright, but more rare galaxies, astronomers used this 'absorption' method to find fainter, and more 'normal' galaxies in the early universe.

"The fact that we found the Wolfe Disk using this method, tells us that it belongs to the normal population of galaxies present at early times," said Neeleman. "When our newest observations with ALMA surprisingly showed that it is rotating, we realized that early rotating disk galaxies are not as rare as we thought and that there should be a lot more of them out there."

"This observation epitomizes how our understanding of the universe is enhanced with the advanced sensitivity that ALMA brings to radio astronomy," said Joe Pesce, astronomy program director at the National Science Foundation, which funds the telescope. "ALMA allows us to make new, unexpected findings with almost every observation."

###

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

This research was presented in a paper titled "A Cold, Massive, Rotating Disk 1.5 Billion Years after the Big Bang," by Marcel Neeleman & J. Xavier Prochaska, et al., appearing in the journal Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2276-y

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI).

ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on Iran's interior minister on Wednesday, accusing him of engaging in serious cases of human rights abuse.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli gave orders authorizing the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) of Iran to use lethal force in response to anti-government protests in November, leading to the killing of protesters, including at least 23 minors, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

"His - and the regime's - goal was to quash these peaceful protests and suppress the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression at any cost," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement.

The Treasury on Wednesday also blacklisted seven senior officials of the LEF, including commander Hossein Ashtari Fard, and a provincial commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for their roles in the suppression of protesters.

The LEF Cooperative Foundation - which the Treasury said is controlled by the LEF and is active in Iran's energy, construction, services, technology and banking industries - was also blacklisted, as were its director and members of the board of trustees.

Treasury's action freezes any U.S.-held assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

Washington also barred Rahmani Fazli and Ali Fallahian, the head of Iran's intelligence service from 1989 to 1997, from traveling to the United States. The State Department said Fallahian was involved in assassinations and attacks around the world.

"The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal and began reimposing sanctions eased under the accord.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)
Since 3 May, rules have been considerably relaxed for commercial transportation even though coal was listed under essential goods from the very beginning. However, local organisations, including the Jaintia Coal Mine Owners and Dealers Association and student bodies like the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front and the Khasi Students Union, have protested the transport of coal from Assam to cement plants in the state.

Guwahati, Assam: On 30 April, 25 labourers reached Nagaon at 3 am. For two days, they had walked a little less than 134 kilometers from 3 Kilo, a coal mining town in Assams Dima Hasao district bordering the East Jaintia hills in Meghalaya. Located near the Kupli Dam, 3 Kilo is the popular loading point near the Assam-Meghalaya border where trucks are loaded with coal mined from the thousand odd coal mine pits in East Jaintia Hills. While most of them returned to their villages in Nagaon district, three of the labourers from Mangaldoi in Darrang district were quarantined in the district hospital until 16 May.

Dil Mohammad , one of the three labourers quarantined, said that all mining work came to a grinding halt since the nationwide lockdown began on 24 March in response to the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. With no wages or food, they decided to make the journey back home during the second phase of the lockdown when inter-district travel was strictly banned.

"We didnt have any money on us and the transport vehicles were charging exorbitant prices  Rs 500 for a ride that otherwise cost us Rs 10 rupees. They drove us some distance, rest of the way we walked," he said.

Jadav Saikia, the Deputy Commissioner of Nagaon said that the three were taken into hospital quarantine, where their samples were taken for testing. Their samples have come back negative. As per the protocol, they have now been discharged with a certificate after the 14 day quarantine period, he said.

Coal mine owners protest import of coal from Assam

Since 3 May, when the nationwide lockdown was extended for the third phase, the rules have been considerably relaxed for commercial transportation even though coal was listed under essential goods from the very beginning. However, local organisations, including the Jaintia Coal Mine Owners and Dealers Association and student bodies like the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front and the Khasi Students Union, have protested the transport of coal from Assam to cement plants in the state.

On 13 May, hundreds of them carried out a mass rally in Khliehriat, one of the major coal mining towns in East Jaintia hills district and threatened to break lockdown rules if the government did not stop the import of coal from Assam by Monday.

Vivekanand Singh, the Superintendent of Police, said that none of the 300 protestors in the rally were arrested for breaking the lockdown in East Jaintia Hills, designated a green zone with no covid-19 cases. They were demanding the immediate disposal of the 15 lakh metric tonnes of coal on record lying in the district," he said.

Wander Shulai, President of the Jaintia Dorbar and a member of the Jaintia Coal Miner Owners and Dealers Association, said that coal mine owners like him suffered heavy losses during the NGT ban.

I have suffered a loss of Rs 5-10 crore because just like the lockdown, the NGT stopped the mines suddenly," he said. "But its not our fault that the government did not frame a policy or come up with rules to follow. We paid our taxes and challans and everything."

On 10 May, Justine Dkhar, former MLA representing the Khliehriat constituency, along with 7 others resigned from the National Peoples Party citing the growing disparity between the ruling party and the public.

Along with the truck and coal from Assam, the driver and handyman will also come. Can the government assure us that they are totally free of the coronavirus? he said.

However, Singh said that all the protocols are being following  the trucks coming from Assam, which are sanitised and all persons are screened at the border. "Moreover, we have told cement factories that the trucks will not be held overnight. The moment they unload the coal, they are supposed to be sent back"

Two lakh MT coal soon to be auctioned

Last July, the Supreme Court lifted the ban on illegal, rat hole coal mining in the state imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2014. The court allowed Coal India Limited, in consultation with the NGT committee and Meghalayas Mining and Geology department, to auction the remaining 32,56,715 metric tonnes of coal lying unused.

In March, the NGT committee headed by former Justice BD Aggarwal approved the auction and transport of 2 lakh metric tonnes on a trial basis. Out of this, 75,000 metric tonnes of coal is lying in Jaintia hills.

While Dkhar, also a mine owner, raised objections to coal trucks coming from Assam when the NGT committee had approved 2 lakh metric tonnes of coal in Meghalaya, Shulai said only those with political connections have been able to move their coal.

The minister and their relatives are getting to transport their coal while we wait for our turn. Even during the NGT ban, it was only mine owners in the government who made profits and the revenue never reached the public funds, he told Imphal Free Press.

Awaiting instructions from Coal India Limited (CIL) for auctioning of the 2 lakh metric tonnes of coal, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the government asked for some time to resolve the problem. However, Dr. Manjunatha Channabasappa, Secretary in the Mining and Geology department, said it would take a month before auctioning could begin.

We have already formulated an auction plan that has been agreed upon by CIL and the NGT committee but it will take us at least a month to figure out the modalities, he told Imphal Free Press. Imphal Free Press could not reach Jugal Kumar Borah, General Manager of the Northeast Coalfields Ltd., who represented CIL in the meetings with the NGT committee and Meghalaya government, for a comment.

Until the government formulates a state mining policy, coal mining activity remains illegal despite the Supreme Court ruling. The order, also, brought coal mining under the purview of central mining laws like the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, the Mines Act, 1952 and in compliance with environmental legislation.

Despite that, several hundreds of coal laden trucks plying on national and international highways connecting Assam and Bangladesh, respectively, have been seized during the ban. In its last order in January this year, the NGT noted a total of 80,000 MT of coal seized by the Meghalaya Police so far.

During the lockdown alone, Singh said they had booked 14 cases of illegal transport of coal-laden trucks under the MMDR act, section 51 of the Disaster Management act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code. He said that the cement plants have become careful especially since the NGT exposed the discrepancies in the coal required and legally procured by cement plants like Dalmia and Star Cement Ltd. in an order in January.

Cement plants have been strictly instructed not to take any local coal in their premises. We have warned them that if we find an illegal local coal truck inside your premises, we will book your whole management under conspiracy, he said.

Thousands of labourers without work

While coal mine owners that Imphal Free Press spoke to maintain that all migrant labourers have left the state, Dil Mehmood said there are still a lot of labourers stranded in the coal mining areas.

Anti trafficking activist and founder of Impulse NGO Network, Hasina Kharbhih plans to move the NGT this week to divert Rs 800 crores from the Meghalaya Environment Protection and Restoration fund that is supposed to be collected from coal mine owners towards a COVID-19 fund to help the labourers. From their preliminary assessment and mapping of existing active coal mines in the state, they estimated there are 15,000 labourers - both migrants and locals - still working in coal mines.

Meghalaya is not like the rest of India, where thousands are walking across state lines. With the prevailing insider-outsider politics, its not so easy for migrant labourers to do that here

The author is a National Foundation for India 2019 fellow
On Wednesday evening, the Tittabawassee River crested at 35.05 feet -- about three feet lower than previous predictions.

At about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service (NWS) released its latest projection -- placing the crest level about three feet below and three hours ahead of the previous prediction of 38 feet at 8 p.m.
Update: Dam owner, state fought about Wixom Lake levels before flood

MIDLAND COUNTY, MI  Parts of mid-Michigan are inundated with floodwaters following a breach at a Tittabawassee River hydroelectric dam long considered a safety hazard by regulators who foresaw a potential calamity.

In 2018, federal energy regulators yanked the Edenville Dam operators license out of concern the spillway couldnt pass enough water to avert a failure during a historic flood.

After days of heavy rain across the region, the Edenville Dams earthen dike collapsed on Tuesday, May 19 at the south end of Wixom Lake north of Midland and sent the combined force of an impoundment and the Tobacco River hurtling south toward Midland and beyond.

This is unlike anything weve ever seen before, said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who announced an emergency declaration during a 10 p.m. press conference on Tuesday.

"This truly is a historic event that is playing out in the midst of another historic event and so we need to make sure that we keep our wits about us and work on this together, Whitmer said.

Update: Whitmer on flooding: Were gonna get through this'

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) records indicate capacity issues at the Edenville Dam spillway were cited as problematic dating back to the late 1990s.

In a 2018 filing, regulators characterized dam owner Boyce Hydro as chronically non-compliant with regulatory requests to upgrade the dam. FERC wanted Boyce Hydro owner Lee Mueller of Las Vegas, Nev. to build additional spillways to reduce the risk of failure. The dam had six spillways at two sites.

Boyce Hydro has repeatedly failed to comply with regulators who wanted Mueller to develop and implement plans and schedules to address the fact that the project spillways are not adequate to pass the probable maximum flood, thereby creating a grave danger to the public, FERC deputy secretary Nathaniel Davis wrote.

On Wednesday, FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee said the agency was sending a staff engineer to the site to assist state and local authorities with an investigation into the failure. The agency also directed Boyce Hydro to assemble its own investigation team of independent experts.

When the dam broke Tuesday night, floodwaters soon overtopped the Sanford Dam, compounding the situation. Water in downtown Midland could possibly reach 9 feet above flood stage today. The National Guard has been deployed and shelters are available for displaced residents.

Roughly 10,000 people are being evacuated.

Dow Chemical has shut down its Midland riverbank complex. The company has switched to local emergency footing and says it will closely monitor river levels.

Related: Sanford Dam remains intact; Dow shuts down operations as a precaution

Boyce Hydro had agreed to sell Edenville dam and three others to a local task force that hoped to oversee repairs and bring stability to impoundment lake levels after years of discord between dam owner Mueller and lakefront homeowners.

The 4.8 megawatt, 6,600-foot Edenville dam held back the Tittabawassee and Tobacco rivers at Edenville, Mich. It was built in 1925 and mostly used for flood control. Mueller acquired the dam in 2004 and sold power generated by its operations to Consumers Energy.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) assumed regulatory authority for the 96-year-old dam in late 2018 after its license to generate hydropower was revoked.

The Edenville Dam on October 4, 2018 in a photo taken by a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) inspection team during low water flows.Michigan EGLE

The Four Lakes Task Force signed a $9.4 million purchase agreement in December to buy Wixom, Sanford, Secord and Smallwood lake bottomlands and the dams that regulate river impoundments from Boyce Trusts, according task force chairman Dave Kepler.

Kepler said Boyce Hydro still owns the dam. The deal was expected to close later this year.

Kepler, a former Dow Chemical executive who owns a home on Sanford Lake, said Boyce Hydro got to a point where it couldnt generate enough revenue from power generation to cover the cost of dam maintenance and upkeep. With state and county backing, the task force planned to acquire and upgrade the dams to bring them in line with federal requirements.

According to the task force, upgrades were already underway. About $300,000 in repairs were completed in March to the dams pier noses, wing walls and the gate system. Another $2 million in upgrades, including the installation of new gate hoists and de-icing improvements, were planned next winter.

This has been a longstanding problem, Kepler said.

Emails and messages left with Boyce Hydro were not immediately returned on Wednesday.

EGLE regulators conducted a cursory" inspection of the Edenville Dam on October 4, 2018 and found the structure in fair condition. They wrote there were no observed deficiencies that would be expected to cause immediate failure of the dam. The Wixom Lake water level was about 4-feet below normal pool elevation at the time.

However, we did have strong concerns that the dam did not have enough spillway capacity," said EGLE spokesperson Nick Assendelft.

We had taken enforcement action against the dams owner for drawing down water levels without permission and for damage to natural resources as a result of those drawdowns, Assendelft said. EGLE was pursuing additional enforcement against Boyce Hydro at the time of the breach.

In early May, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessels office filed a complaint against Boyce Hydro in an effort to seek compensation for natural resource damages caused by unauthorized drawdowns.

Lack of investment in dam infrastructure is not uncommon in Michigan dams, which have suffered from deferred maintenance over the course of decades, Assendelft said. That, combined with the historic rainfall and flooding, were factors in the Edenville failure.

More: Follow MLive coverage of Michigan flooding

Floodwaters overtopped the Sanford Dam on Tuesday, but the dam itself did not fail.

Kepler said the Sanford Dam was designed with a spillway structure called a fuse plug that is meant to wash away in high flooding conditions and keep the dam from collapsing.

With an upstream collapse at Edenville, the Sanford Dam was expected to fail, Kepler said.

The way it was designed was to not completely fail all at once.

Following the Edenville Dam collapse Tuesday, the Tittabawassee River matched its record 1986 crest of 33.9 feet in downtown Midland early Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. It is expected to crest today 4 feet above that, at 38 feet. The 1986 flood was considered a 500-year event.

Tuesdays dam breaches follow record levels of rainfall north of Midland that caused widespread flash flooding along Northeast Michigan rivers.

To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable, Whitmer said during her Tuesday night press conference.

Rebecca and Steve Malkin left their Sanford home just before 7 p.m. Tuesday and spent the night at the Midland High School, which was opened as a shelter.

Four emergency shelters were set up around Midland. The Michigan State Police, National Guard and American Red Cross are providing support.

We dont know what were gonna come home to, Steve Malkin said. If we got a home.

RELATED STORIES:

Water is now flowing over top of impoundment at Sanford Dam in Midland County

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Rifle River flooding astounds locals in Arenac County
Carl Taylor - President of Carl J. Taylor & Co. Executive Search Firm in Dallas, TX Some businesses are already identifying hiring needs, and finding the right person for these key positions is not as easy as they thought it would be.

During the past few months, the country has experienced a massive forced contraction in business activity. Millions of people have lost their jobs temporarily or permanently. As the guidelines for reopening are defined and implemented, each organization must assess its people needs in the short run and for the longer term. Many business owners, hiring managers, and senior executives believe that hiring key middle and senior level people will be easier because of the cuts made in the business community. However, this may not be the case.

Carl Taylor, an Executive Recruiter based in Dallas, Texas and president of Carl J. Taylor & Co. knows that currently most companies are trying to get the doors open and their business restarted and/or ramped up. He notes that each organization will deal with its people needs based on its own experience, and a lot of these people decisions will depend on geography, industry, and functional requirements. However, Taylor says that some businesses are already identifying hiring needs, and finding the right person for these key positions is not as easy as they thought it would be. There are at least three major existing and new trends in the recruitment of key leaders which may contribute to the challenge organizations have in identifying and attracting the right person.

The challenges of identifying and attracting the right people for leadership positions which existed before the recent shutdown have not changed. Baby boomers are still retiring, and in some cases, this reality has accelerated as a result of the pandemic. Also, enticing someone to leave their current role and organization may be more difficult because that person knows their current people, location, and culture versus a new position with more unknowns, particularly as they may relate to potential recurring or new health issues.

New and renewed businesses in the U.S. may impact the number and quality of viable leadership candidates. The strong interest in repatriating and/or creating more domestic oriented supply lines may generate significant demand for supervisory and management professional positions which havent been pursued in many years. This fundamental change in American business will impact manufacturing, logistics, and a number of other industries.

The manner in which work is done on a day-to-day basis has changed for many organizations and people. For example, working remotely will now be commonplace for many businesses. The engagement and management of these remote workers will be a new or expanded challenge for company supervisors and managers. The way we have always done it approach may be replaced by more creative out-of-the-box solutions.

No matter if the business has an immediate hiring need, a need in the next few months, or a longer term need, the competition for top candidates will continue to be challenging. Identifying and attracting middle level, senior level, and one-of-a-kind positions will require consideration of these and other trends for the company to be successful.

Carl Taylor is a Dallas executive search and recruitment expert with over 25 years of experience in the recruitment industry. Carl J. Taylor & Co., an executive search and recruiting firm, has successfully completed challenging assignments for key board of director, management, and supervisory level positions in Texas and around the country.

To learn more about Carl J. Taylor & Co., call (972) 490-7697 or visit the firms website at https://www.carltaylorco.com.
A British-Iranian woman who was granted temporary release from prison in Iran in March amid the coronavirus pandemic has had her furlough extended indefinitely, her family said on Wednesday, raising hopes that she could be granted clemency and return to Britain.

A court in Iran sentenced the woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, to five years in prison in 2016, saying she had plotted to overthrow the countrys government, charges that she and her family have vigorously denied. She was freed from the Evin prison, north of Tehran, in mid-March, as the authorities released prisoners amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus among detainees.

Iran was hit by the virus in January, becoming the worst-affected country in the Middle East. Since then, it has reported more than 124,000 cases and 7,100 deaths.

Since her release, Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation at the time of her arrest, has been staying with her parents in Tehran while wearing an ankle bracelet, her family said. Her temporary release was supposed to end on Wednesday, but her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said that she had been told by the Iranian authorities that it had been extended indefinitely.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday issued a warning to mariners to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being 'interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures.' Reuters is first to report the new warning, issued in detail in a notice to mariners.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday issued a warning to mariners to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being "interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures."

Reuters is first to report the new warning, issued in detail in a notice to mariners. It follows a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump last month, in which he instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass American vessels.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the U.S. military's rules of engagement.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Australias 7News last weekend run a five-minute report on Vietnams effort in combating coronavirus.

Vietnam leads the way in protecting its citizens from coronavirus without reporting a single death from the disease, according to Matt Young, secretary of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) when interviewed by 7News.

Young called on Australians to visit Vietnam when its possible as the country is a safe, hospitable country with several stunning landscapes.

Halong Bay in Quang Ninh province on the latest news of 7News channel.

Do you know which countries have been the most successful in protecting its citizens from coronavirus?, asked 7News presenter and said it is Vietnam, the country of almost 100 million people has had just over 300 positive cases and hasnt recorded a single death from the disease. If there is any doubt whether the statistics are accurate or not, they will be verified by Matt Young, the 7News reported.

Matt Young confirmed that the figures are very real. He said the achievements are due to Vietnam's early awareness of quarantining the positive cases of Covid-19 and taking social distancing measures.

"I think the most important factor for Vietnam's success in the prevention of the Covid-19 pandemic is a sense of community, Young said.

7News' reporter interviewing with Matt Young, secretary of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Young, Vietnamese people understand that no one is safe if the whole community is not safe. The social distancing order has been introduced and people have complied very well, along with measures to ensure the disease prevention such as keeping a safe distance, wearing face masks, washing hands frequently and checking body temperature regularly. Vietnamese community came together and looked after each other. Its fantastic, he said.

Vietnam's landscape on the news of 7News channel.

Young also highly appreciated the governments efforts in recovering the economy with many drastic measures and tourism stimulus packages.

Tourism is very important for the economy and (Vietnam is) a beautiful country. It will be great to see Australians back to Vietnam, he said.

The 7News video posted on Facebook has reached nearly 13,000 shares, 13,000 reactions, and 3,400 comments as of May 19. Hanoitimes

Nhat Minh
After an unprecedented five-month break, South Korean students are returning to their classrooms as government health officials declared that the country may have avoided a second wave of infections.

The schools are reopening in stages, with high school seniors returning first on Wednesday and middle and elementary students slated to go back to school in the following weeks. The third-year high school students are leading the return as they now only have half a year before their annual university entrance exams in early December, education officials said.

Unlike in the US, South Koreas academic year starts in March, but students never returned to school after their winter break as the Asian nation confirmed its first Covid-19 infection in late January and then saw a spike in cases -- peaking at near 1,000 a day -- in February. Resumption of schools were delayed five times, and in April, all students were offered online classes instead.

Health and education officials had worried that a new cluster infections linked to nightclubs in Seoul earlier this month could once again jeopardize plans to reopen schools, but they concluded the latest outbreak appears under control.

Big Effort

South Korea has been able to sharply slow coronavirus infections by launching a massive testing and contact tracing campaign. Thirteen new cases were reported Tuesday, raising the total to 11,078.

There are still worries over safety of our students, but the situation of the community spread is within the capacity of our health care system, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said before a meeting Tuesday. If we, the government, school and families, act together, we could restart the off-line classes safely.

South Koreas government left detailed academic schedules and methodology for each age group to be decided by respective regional authorities. But most students in Seoul -- representing more than 15% of all school-age children in the country -- will not go to school every day, except for those in their final academic year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Depending on the school district, schools will start on different days and students will alternate between attending classes and online instructions at home. Class times and lunch hours are also being staggered. No extracurricular activities will be allowed.

Education officials said that a school would be shuttered immediately if an infection is confirmed among the schools students, faculty and staff.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin David Werring and Arvind Chandratheva (The Jakarta Post) -  Wed, May 20, 2020 12:44 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd934c01 3 Health stroke,coronavirus,COVID-19,health-protection Free

Just as Arvind was heading home after a long day as the consultant on call, his phone began to ring. It was a patient with a suspected stroke. Most other days it would be the registrar (junior doctor) first on the scene, but in the midst of the COVID crisis something  a gut instinct  told Arvind to stick around to see this patient.

A blue-light ambulance transfer was organized and just minutes later a man  lets call him John  was being pushed out of the ambulance, staring at his mobile phone as if it were an alien object.

I cant use my phone, John said. Why cant I use my phone?

Can I help you call your family? Arvind asked.

I just cant use it.

John looked at Arvind, bewildered and frustrated, as the words he wanted to say would not come out.

The lack of oxygen to part of his brain prevented him from understanding how to use his phone. He couldnt remember his passcode, coordinate his hand movements, or even communicate his basic needs. He didnt even seem to be aware of what Arvind was asking him.

John was a previously fit and very active man who spoke six languages. Within seconds his world disintegrated, as the simplest tasks became impossible.

How, and why, had this happened? What had occurred was an acute stroke, among the most potentially devastating brain disorders, and the most common cause of neurological disability in the UK. From the brain scan, we could tell that this one was due to a blood clot preventing the vital supply of blood to critical areas of the brain (called an ischaemic stroke).

How much damage occurs depends on the area of the brain, the cause of the clot and, most importantly, how quickly the patient is treated to restore blood flow. Without treatment, 1.9 million neurons are damaged every minute after stroke symptoms begin.

In our hospitals, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and University College Hospital, we see about 1,000 people with stroke every year. Our stroke unit has smooth-running protocols to give clot-busting drugs, remove clots mechanically using a suction retrieval device, and to prevent common complications such as chest infections. But John was different. As a keen swimmer and non-smoker who took no medicines, he was extremely healthy. The absence of risk factors for stroke was a medical red flag, alerting us that something was very out of the ordinary.

Exploring his recent history, we found that he had been in hospital for severe respiratory illness  diagnosed as COVID-19  that required intensive care treatment. But he was recovering well. He no longer needed breathing support and hed been moved a general ward. He should have been planning his return home. Instead, he had unexpectedly suffered a sequence of deadly blood clots in the lung (pulmonary embolism), in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) and now the brain, causing a stroke.

Despite rapid treatment with high dose blood-thinning (anticoagulant) drugs  usually highly effective at helping the body dissolve blood clots  he suffered a second brain artery clot (thrombosis), this time causing loss of his right-sided vision. Thankfully, with continued high-dose anticoagulation and intensive rehabilitation, he made a remarkable recovery.

( Shutterstock/sfam_photo)

Six cases

It puzzled us why a fit and healthy man had experienced so many blood clots in rapid succession, despite blood-thinning treatment. But in just two weeks in April 2020, our team saw six people with COVID-19 and similar acute strokes caused by a blocked large brain artery.

In five cases, the stroke happened more than a week after the patient experienced typical COVID-19 symptoms of headache, cough and fever, and in one patient before other COVID-19 symptoms appeared. In all six patients, we found markedly raised blood levels of a protein fragment called D-dimer, which is associated with abnormal blood clotting. We also found evidence of an exaggerated inflammatory response to the coronavirus, as evidenced by high levels of ferritin and C-reactive protein in the blood.

Three patients had multiple simultaneous brain artery blockages, and two had recurrent artery blood clots despite being given full-dose anticoagulants. Five of the six patients had an unusual lupus anticoagulant antibody, which can cause blood clots in otherwise healthy young people but is seldom seen in stroke patients.

We worked closely with clotting specialists in haematology to tailor treatment to treat and prevent blood clots  while avoiding catastrophic bleeding  for each patient. Unfortunately, one of the six patients died despite our best efforts, while the others are receiving ongoing treatment. What was causing this strange cluster of people with strikingly similar strokes and laboratory findings?

Distinctive pattern of stroke

We were witnessing the unfolding of a distinctive pattern of stroke associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, a report emerged from New York describing five similar patients, all under 50 years old with stroke due to large artery occlusions, and high levels of blood-clotting markers.

Doctors in the pandemic epicenter in Wuhan had also described three people with strokes and similar clot-related antibodies (called antiphospholipid antibodies). It was becoming clear that COVID-19 is not just a respiratory disease, and that these blood-clot complications were part of an inflammatory state.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 has emerged as an exceptionally deadly virus, with an endless capacity to surprise the medical profession with new complications. Other recent studies reported blood clots (arterial, in the brain or heart; or venous, in the lungs or legs) in 50% of COVID-19 patients treated on the intensive care unit within two weeks. The patients we saw with stroke and COVID-19 also had a high risk of poor outcome or death.

Why does the SARS-CoV-2 virus behave in such an extraordinary way, causing deadly thromboses a week or two after the typical chest symptoms? This delayed phase seems to depend on the immune response to the virus: in some people, this goes into overdrive, with a huge release of inflammatory molecules. This cytokine storm activates endothelial cells (that line all blood vessels), stimulating blood coagulation (clotting), leading to a high risk of thromboses.

Also, since SARS-CoV-2 specifically locks on to proteins on cells called ACE2 receptors  which are involved in blood pressure control systems  blood pressure might fluctuate leading to strokes from either thrombosis or bleeding. The direct invasion of endothelial cells could also cause blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis). Once we have a better understanding of these mechanisms, it might be possible to target specific phases of COVID-19 to prevent devastating vascular complications.

High stakes dilemma

In the meantime, these deadly consequences of thrombosis have prompted doctors to increase the dose of anticoagulants given to patients hospitalized with COVID-19. But in someone with a recent stroke, there is also a risk of bleeding into the area of damaged brain, making this a high-stakes dilemma. On the one hand, the risk of further blood clots, and on the other of a potentially fatal brain haemorrhage.

We are working with other groups around the UK to urgently develop a treatment trial to tackle this question. We plan to use the level of D-dimer (a marker of the amount of blood clotting) to select patients.

Another puzzle in the COVID-19 stroke story is that we are seeing far fewer patients with stroke than usual coming to hospital. We dont know yet whether this is because more patients are staying at home (because of fear of COVID-19 and social isolation advice), or whether there really are fewer people having strokes. And if there are fewer strokes, why is this happening? We know that strokes are associated with inflammation and infection, so it is possible that social distancing has reduced infections, thus reducing the number of people having a stroke.

But the message to people with suspected stroke is clear. Our hospitals are open, stroke is still a medical emergency, and we have effective treatments that need to be given quickly. In the urgent assessment of stroke, the mantra of all health professionals  time is brain  is as true now as ever.

---

David Werring, Professor of Clinical Neurology, UCL and Arvind Chandratheva, Consultant Neurologist and Honorary Associate Professor, UCL

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.
An Indian Air Force fighter plane on a routine sortie caused the sonic boom that created panic across Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon, the defence ministry confirmed late on Wednesday night.

Late in the evening on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence finally broke the mystery by releasing an official statement that the sound from the sky that took Bengaluru by surprise "was a routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bengaluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside City limits. The aircraft was of ASTE."

According to a Times of India report, Prior to that the Indian Air Force in a statement indicated towards sonic boom as the source of the sound but also admitting that none of its aircraft from its Training Command was airborne during that time. Although the IAF said that the ASTE (Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) could be conducting routine test flying it stopped short of making it official.

Interestingly, HAL was the first to respond with a statement after the loud noise was heard in Bengaluru but only with a denial that it was a sonic boom.

A deafening noise was heard on Wednesday afternoon that created panic across Bengaluru.

#Update

It was a routine IAF Test Flight involving a supersonic profile which took off from Bluru Airport and flew in the allotted airspace well outside City limits. The aircraft was of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) @IAF_MCC @SpokespersonMoD  PRO Bengaluru, Ministry of Defence (@Prodef_blr) May 20, 2020

"The sonic boom was probably heard while the aircraft was decelerating from supersonic to subsonic speed between 36,000 and 40000 feet altitude," the defence ministry added in a follow up tweet. "The aircraft was far away from the city limits when this occurred. The sound of a sonic boom can be heard and felt by an observer even when the aircraft is flying as far away as 65 to 80 kilometres away from the person," the defence ministry further said on Twitter. Sources told The Times of India the fighter plane was most likely one of the SU-30 fighters being tested by the IAF's Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment pilots. A retired pilot told the newspaper, "There are parameters of how to do a supersonic test. If it is indeed from a plane, then it's a mistake. Pilots can go supersonic only after the aircraft has attained a height of more than 11 km. They are disallowed from doing so in populous areas even at those heights." According to NASA, a sonic boom is a thunder-like noise one hears from the ground when an aircraft flies overhead "faster than the speed of sound, or supersonic. The noise heard across Bengaluru around 1.30 pm on Wednesday was heard by residents of Cooke Town, Hosur Road, HAL, Vivek Nagar, Old Madras Road, Ramamurthy Nagar, Ulsoor, Kammanahalli, CV Raman Nagar, Kundanahalli, Whitefield and HSR Layout. It caused a number of people to share their experiences on social media and speculate about its cause. Some said the noise sounded like an aftershock from an earthquake. Others said their doors and windows rattled.

That was most likely a big sonic boom. Shaking buildings and windows. Shock around 20 minutes ago. Later I can see and hear fighter aircrafts taking sorties. #Bengaluru #Bangalore https://t.co/QQWqHtJPtc pic.twitter.com/gjF2uJMnnZ  Neeraj Sharma (@Neeraj_Sharma_) May 20, 2020

According to a report by The News Minute, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said that was no damage anywhere in the city.

A report by The Indian Express quoted police personnel at the Bengaluru City Police Control Room saying that they started receiving calls around 1:20 pm.

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC) Director Srinivas Reddy said that there was no earthquake activity recorded on Wednesday in Bengaluru. The seismometers did not capture any ground vibration as generally happens during a mild tremor, he said.
There are arguably two types of people in this world, those with a zero count in their inboxes, and those with thousands of unread emails.

Hollywood star Chris Pratt appears to fall into the latter, after revealing on his Instagram Stories that he has a staggering 35,944 unopened emails in his inbox - a figure that is said to have made his seven-year-old son Jack 'gasp'.

However, after vowing to declutter his messages, the Jurassic World star ended up accidentally deleting his entire inbox, losing over 51,000 e-mails in the process.

Scary! Chris Pratt has revealed he has over thirty thousand unread emails, a figure that made his son Jack, 7 gasp

'Trying not to panic!' Chris, 40, told fans, before sighing it away saying: 'Fresh start!'

It all started when his son Jack was playing with his phone and 'gasped in shock' when he saw that his father had over 35,000 emails that were unread.

'I get it! I know. It's mostly junk, see what I do is I sign up for everything,' he explained. 'I'm one of those idiots who will do like an IQ test [online] that requires putting in your e-mail address.'

Oops: Chris then apologized to anyone that he hasn't gotten back to yet, as he is currently feeling 'spaced'

Chris then apologized to anyone that he hasn't gotten back to yet, as he is currently feeling 'spaced' but has pledged that he is going to get the number back down to zero by doing a 1,000 emails a day over the next month.

However, now it seems that he won't have that problem after cutting his inbox down to zero.

Earlier this year, lifestyle guru Merlin Mann, walked back on his concept of inbox zero being something to strive to.

Speaking to Wired, Mann admitted about not deleting or checking every e-mail: 'You realize, I didn't even see this email and somehow the world kept spinning.

Adding: 'I'm not saying you should do that every day. But I'm saying remember that feeling.'

Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Galaxy star shares his son Jack with ex-wife Anna Faris, 43, whom he split with in 2018, though the pair have remained friends.

Family: Chris with his then-wife Anna Faris and their son, Jack for the actor's Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2017

He is now expecting his second child with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger, 30.

Since going into lockdown, Chris has been very active on his social media, getting involved in charity initiatives to help those struggling amid the current pandemic.

The actor is taking part in the All In Challenge that provides food for children, the elderly and frontline workers.
SAN DIEGO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DTx Pharma, Inc. (DTx), a privately-held biotechnology company creating novel RNA-based therapeutics to treat the genetic drivers of disease, announced today the expansion of its footprint into a new 14,000 square foot lab and office space, located at 10655 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 100, in the Sorrento Valley biotech cluster of San Diego, CA.

"We are very excited to be one of the first biotech companies to move into this state-of-the art lab and office space, joining many other important companies in this emerging area," said Arthur T. Suckow, Co-Founder and CEO of DTx Pharma. "This new facility represents an important strategic step for DTx. It provides us with a solid foundation to grow our culture, expand our team and speed development and deployment of our fatty acid conjugate technology platform to solve the drug delivery challenges associated with RNA-based medicines."

DTx's new facility in Sorrento Valley, which was completed less than a year ago, will allow the company to internalize its chemistry efforts, broaden the application of its fatty acid conjugate technology, and expand its team and infrastructure to support the future growth of the company. DTx was launched in August 2017 and completed its $10.6M Series A in January 2020 with investment from FBV Fund I, Eli Lilly, Viva Biotech, ExSight Ventures and the Tech Coast Angels, among others.

About DTx Pharma

DTx Pharma, Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company creating novel RNA-based therapeutics to treat the genetic drivers of disease. The company's proprietary delivery technology platform utilizes fatty acids as targeting ligands to enable the delivery of oligonucleotide therapies to tissues and cell types throughout the body. In preclinical studies, DTx has demonstrated cellular uptake and broad activity of oligonucleotides in the retina, muscle, heart, neurons, T cells and many other specialized cell types. Based upon the novelty, IP position and data demonstrating the effectiveness of its proprietary fatty acid motifs, DTx has previously received investment, nondilutive funding and other forms of support from Eli Lilly, Eye CRO and the CMT Research Foundation (CMTRF) for its ocular and muscle programs and has received multiple grant awards from the NIH (NCATS, NIA), and the TPEP program of Alzheimer's Association and Rainwater Charitable Foundation to advance its efforts to treat CNS diseases. To learn more about DTx Pharma, please visit www.dtxpharma.com and follow DTx on Twitter @DTxPharma.

Contact:

Amy Conrad

Juniper Point

858-366-3243

[email protected]

SOURCE DTx Pharma

Related Links

http://www.dtxpharma.com


Amid a war of words between the



Congress and the UP government over plying of buses for migrants, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has asked Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to not play the "worst politics" over labourers.

He also asked her to visit Madhya Pradesh to "learn" about how labourers can be helped.

Hitting back, senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Wednesday termed Chouhan's claims on well-being of migrant labourers in Madhya Pradesh as a "joke and bunch of lies".

Posting a series of tweets on Tuesday late night, Chouhan claimed that his government had made very "effective arrangements" for the migrant labourers in transit.

"Priyanka ji, if you really want to help the workers, come to Madhya Pradesh. See our arrangements here and learn, which will help you. You will not find any workers hungry, thirsty or walking on the land of Madhya Pradesh. We have made effective arrangements," Chouhan tweeted.

In another tweet, Chouhan asked Gandhi Vadra to not use workers for "your worst kind of politics during the time of the COVID crisis".

"'Unki hai lagegi' (This will draw their curse). Along with them, this country and the world are also clearly seeing the difference between your words and deeds. Don't deceive but serve which is true politics," he said in another tweet.

Reacting to the tweets on Wednesday, state Congress unit president Kamal Nath said Chouhan speaks a bunch of lies anyway.

"Shivraj ji, speak a lot of lies, but at least do not joke in the name of the labourers. You are talking about arrangements (for labourers) in Madhya Pradesh. Such a big lie. At least have some shame to not joke in the name of the workers," Nath said.

He accused Chouhan of misrepresenting the ground situation about the migrants' crisis.

"Even today, all major roads and borders of the state are filled with thousands of migrant workers..some are walking barefoot with wounds on their feet while some are travelling on hand carts, bicycles, autos, trucks in a bid to return their homes," Nath said in a statement.

Underlining the plight of migrant labourers, Nath stated that many died in accidents or due to starvation.

"A fraud in the name of buses has come to the light in Madhya Pradesh. The ground reality is contrary to the number of claims being made by the state government," he said.

The Congress and the Uttar Pradesh government are locked in a war of words since Gandhi Vadra told chief minister Adityanath that the Congress had made available 1,000-odd buses to safely ferry migrants to their homes. However, the Yogi government claimed that a list of 1,000 buses contained registration numbers of autorickshaws, cars and trucks.

On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu and Gandhi Vadra's secretary were booked by the police for 'forgery'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday stopped House Democrats for now from seeing secret grand jury material from Robert Mueller III's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump obstructed the special counsel's work.

The court, without noted dissent, agreed to a request from the Justice Department to put on hold a lower court's decision granting the House Judiciary Committee some previously undisclosed material from Mueller's probe.

The action could mean that Congress will not receive the full Mueller report - without redactions of certain grand jury material - until after the November election, or perhaps not even during lawmakers' current term, which ends Jan. 3.

As is customary, the short order gave no reason for granting the administration's request to stay the decision reached by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The justices set a June 1 deadline for the administration to explain why the court should accept the case for full review.

If the justices do not accept the case, the lower court's ruling would go into effect and House Democrats would gain access to the additional evidence. But if the court agrees with the request, a hearing would not be scheduled until the fall absent special action.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco had told the Supreme Court it should withhold the sensitive information until it could consider for itself "significant separation of powers" issues raised in the case. Despite the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Congress has no immediate need for the information, Francisco wrote in a brief to the court.

"The House already has impeached the president, the Senate already has acquitted him, and neither [the committee] nor the House has provided any indication that a second impeachment is imminent," Francisco wrote.

House General Counsel Douglas Letter had told the court that the withheld material "remains central to the committee's ongoing investigation into the president's conduct," adding that the committee's probe "did not cease with the conclusion of the impeachment trial."

The House went to court in July before the formal start of its impeachment proceedings involving the president's alleged effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, now the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge Trump in November. A divided District Circuit found that the House was legally engaged in a judicial process that exempts Congress from secrecy rules that typically shield grand jury materials from disclosure.

Mueller's report found insufficient evidence to conclude that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia, and Mueller neither exonerated nor accused Trump of obstructing justice. The Justice Department released a redacted version of Mueller's report and said it would provide congressional leaders with the full report minus the grand jury materials. It said Attorney General William Barr lacked discretion to release that information.

In its 2-to-1 opinion, the District Circuit said grand jury records are court records - not Justice Department records - and have historically been released to Congress in the course of impeachment investigations involving three federal judges and two presidents.

The House Judiciary Committee's "need for the grand jury materials remains unchanged. The committee has repeatedly stated that if the grand jury materials reveal new evidence of impeachable offenses, the committee may recommend new articles of impeachment," wrote Judge Judith Rogers, who was joined by Judge Thomas B. Griffith.

"Courts must take care not to second-guess the manner in which the House plans to proceed with its impeachment investigation or interfere with the House's sole power of impeachment," Rogers wrote.

Judge Neomi Rao dissented, saying the committee lacks legal grounds to ask the court to enforce a subpoena for the grand jury materials. Rao would have returned the case to district court to determine whether the committee can still show that its "inquiry is preliminary to an impeachment proceeding and that it has a 'particularized need' for disclosure."

Francisco had told the Supreme Court that its intervention was needed because release of the grand jury material to Congress would almost surely mean either a leak or simply its release.

Letter disputed that, saying Congress in the past has protected grand jury information.

Francisco replied the committee is not bound by any such rules, and "may publicly disclose the grand jury materials if it wishes by a simple majority vote of the committee."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement Wednesday, noted that the House's right to obtain grand jury information has been upheld by the lower courts twice, and those rulings "should be permitted to proceed."

"The Justice Department's continued delay is part of a pattern of the Administration hiding the truth from the public," she said. "The American people deserve the truth."

The lawsuit over access to the secret grand jury evidence is one of a set of legal battles between the Democratic-led House and the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court earlier this month heard arguments about Trump's attempts to block House committees, as well as a New York prosecutor, from accessing his personal tax and financial information. Decisions in those cases are expected this summer.

In the pipeline at the District Circuit are disputes over a House subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Donald McGahn and an effort to block the president's spending on his signature Southern border wall.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media

Lynn Deming Park in New Milford will start to reopen Thursday by allowing boaters to begin to return by appointment only.

Boaters who rent a boat dock in Lynn Deming can schedule a time with the towns park and recreation department to put their boats in the dock. Once all of the boats are in, the boat launch can be used by appointment only, Mayor Pete Bass announced Wednesday.
[May 20, 2020] ATIS Issues Call to Action to Promote U.S. 6G Leadership

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) today announced a call to action and shared its vision for collaboration across government, academia and industry to promote U.S. leadership on the path to 6G. In its Call to Action, ATIS (News - Alert) explains that the timeline for 6G development has already begun, as today's investments in 5G networks, devices and applications already point toward the future opportunities for 6G. Therefore, the journey to the next decade must start now with deliberate, collaborative steps and an aligned commitment between government and industry to ensure the U.S. maintains a competitive technology position in 5G networks today and 6G networks in the future. "COVID-19 has brought unprecedented economic and public health challenges, and it has also shone a spotlight on the critical role of communications networks in our daily lives, as the connective fabric between people," said Susan M. Miller, President and CEO, ATIS. "While innovation can be triggered in reaction to current market needs, technology leadership at a national level requires an early commitment and development that addresses U.S. needs as well as a common vision and set of objectives." ATIS' Call to Action promotes a holistic approach, beginning with innovative research and development that addresses U.S. needs, a commitment to standardization, and full-scale commercialization. The result will be the introduction of 6G services and technologies that position the U.S. as the global leader for the next decade andbeyond.



"While the realities of different geographies, populations, economies and government oversight will always influence global market demands, it is the leadership of ideas coupled with the commitment of the public, private and academic sectors that will deliver the power and benefits of U.S. technological leadership," said Mike Nawrocki, Vice President, Technology and Solutions, ATIS. "Industry and government have started collaboration to create the 6G future, but this work must be amplified now to position the U.S. as the leader in telehealth, smart agriculture, distance learning, digitized commerce and artificial intelligence." A commitment across government, industry and academia will extend the benefits of 5G commercialization within the U.S. to a 6G world that delivers innovative services and customer experiences beyond network boundaries, physical environments and geographic constraints, and ultimately delivers the promise of 6G.

Click here to read ATIS' full Call to Action memorandum, which the organization shared with its members as well as government, academia, and telecommunications industry constituents. PERMALINK: https://wp.me/p8eePO-B2 About ATIS As a leading technology and solutions development organization, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) brings together the top global ICT companies to advance the industry's business priorities. ATIS' 150 member companies are currently working to address 5G, robocall mitigation, IoT, Smart Cities, artificial intelligence-enabled networks, distributed ledger/blockchain technology, cybersecurity, emergency services, quality of service, billing support, operations, and much more. These priorities follow a fast-track development lifecycle -- from design and innovation through standards, specifications, requirements, business use cases, software toolkits, open source solutions, and interoperability testing. ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a founding Partner of the oneM2M global initiative, a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, visit www.atis.org. Follow ATIS on Twitter and on LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005188/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The VITAS Grief Helpline also is available to members of the healthcare community who need emotional support related to grief, death and loss as a result of their experiences on the COVID-19 front lines. All healthcare workers can take advantage of an online support event led by experienced VITAS counselors. Those in need may call the VITAS Grief Helpline at 866-800-4707 between 4 pm and 10 pm EDT beginning Tuesday, May 26. They can also visit VITAS.com/helpline . The service continues through May 29. Front-line healthcare workers should self-identify when they call to be connected with specialized support services.

"As healthcare workers who specialize in support for the dying, we have unique insight into what family members and healthcare professionals are experiencing," said Joseph Shega, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer for VITAS Healthcare. "We can help the country deal with the widespread feelings of grief and loss caused by this pandemic."

With more than 40 years of experience providing end-of-life care, VITAS has the proven expertise to support people who are grieving, particularly during national tragedies. For example, VITAS provided support for those impacted by the 2016 Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2018 California wildfires, and school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida.

VITAS' nearly 50 counselors are highly trained grief specialists and their expertise is now available to anyone in need, including a dedicated virtual support group for front-line healthcare workers. Other virtual support groups over the phone and via teleconference platforms are available year-round for general grief, spouses, veterans, LGBT+, young adults, children, Spanish-speaking audiences, and others at VITAS.com/SupportGroups.

"When we saw healthcare workers taking their own lives as a result of the extraordinary tragedies they have witnessed, we knew that it was critical to open our arms to those who were pressed into active service during the pandemic," said Dr. Shega.

The VITAS Grief Helpline is part of a continuum of bereavement services offered by the organization. This includes counseling for the loved ones of a hospice patient during the patient's life and in the months following a death, home visits from bereavement specialists (chaplains, social workers and volunteers), connection to community grief therapists, and Memory Bears sewn by volunteers using a loved one's clothing or other fabric. More information and grief resources may be found at VITAS.com/grief.

About VITAS Healthcare

Established in 1978, VITAS Healthcare is a pioneer and leader in the American hospice movement. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 48 hospice programs in 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 12,262 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, and also in the company's 27 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2020, VITAS reported an average daily census of 19,215. Visit www.vitas.com .

Media Inquiries contact: [email protected], 877-848-2701

SOURCE VITAS Healthcare

Related Links

http://www.vitas.com


Manoj Viswanathan By

Express News Service

KOCHI: The COVID scare has come as a blessing in disguise for hundreds of Indians languishing in the jails in various West Asian countries. To avoid overcrowding, many Gulf countries are releasing foreign nationals from jail and deporting them to their respective nations.

A group of Indians deported from Bahrain was brought to Kochi on Sunday, and were quarantined at the School for Naval Airmen.

Indians deported from West Asian countries were brought to Indore and Chennai last week. Another batch of deportees from Oman will be brought to Kochi next week. A group of 161 Indians are being deported from the US this week. They will be brought to Amritsar. We have arranged free quarantine facility for the deportees from Bahrain and Oman at Kochi Naval Base as most of them cannot afford the expense, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan told TNIE.

Sharing concerns about people with COVID symptoms hiding information about their health to board flights to Kerala, he said passengers are put through rapid tests in the UAE before they board the flight.

The passengers have to submit a self-declaration before boarding the flight. When the state demanded immediate evacuation of Keralites in the West Asian countries, we at the MEA had raised such concerns. When we decided to take a medical team to Italy and conduct PCR tests before the evacuation, the chief minister had opposed it, he said.

He said Kerala has reduced the institutional quarantine period for people arriving from abroad from 14 days to seven days, ignoring the Union governments directive.

This laxity on the part of the state can jeopardise our guard. The state is allowing people without symptoms to proceed to their houses while others are quarantined for seven days. I dont know where they got the information that the patient will show COVID symptoms within seven days. Experts say that it will take 10 to 14 days for a patient to show Covid symptoms,' he said.
In the midst of conditions that breed high wildfire risks, the provincial government has suspended all of its burning permits.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Members of Brandon Fire and Emergency Services deploy their fire hose to fight what appears to be a grass fire that popped up near Forrest at approximately 4 p.m on Sunday  one of a handful of fires to take place during the long weekend. (Kyle Darbyson/The Brandon Sun)

In the midst of conditions that breed high wildfire risks, the provincial government has suspended all of its burning permits.

The Brandon area was not exempt from this risk, with Brandon Fire and Emergency Services members responding to several grass fires during the long weekend.

Firefighters tackled a grass fire east of Forrest in the RM of Elton, just north of Brandon on Sunday. Capt. Shane Collister told the Sun on Monday morning that firefighters were on scene from 4:30-10:30 p.m.

A Sun reporter estimated they saw five personnel combating the blaze on a farmers field six kilometres east of Highway 10 on Pentland Road when they arrived on scene at approximately 5 p.m.

On Monday afternoon, an ambulance and a tanker truck were back at the scene to deal with some hot spots that had flared up.

Brandon Fire and Emergency Services members respond to a brush fire along the bank of the Assiniboine River by the junction between Trans-Canada Highway and Grand Valley Road east of Brandon on Monday afternoon. (Colin Slark/The Brandon Sun)

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Monday, emergency services responded to another fire near Brandon. Four firefighters were seen dealing with a brush fire along the southern bank of the Assiniboine River near where Grand Valley Road meets Trans-Canada Highway just east of Brandon.

While large-scale wildfires have not hit Westman, multiple wildfires started burning during the weekend near Camperville and Pine Creek First Nation, approximately 270 kilometres north of Brandon. The Canadian Red Cross assisted Pine Creek First Nation with the evacuation of approximately 100 people, of whom most have already been returned home.

To help reduce the risk of fire and the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for front-line firefighters, Manitoba Conservation and Climate urges the public to be "particularly cautious when outdoors to prevent human-caused wildfires."

On a similar front, theyre urging Manitobans to never leave outdoor fires unattended, to keep ATVs on developed trails and to check areas around the engine and exhaust for debris.

 The Brandon Sun
A 42 year old man - who sued claiming his throat cancer was allowed to spread unidentified and untreated - died just days before his case was to come before the High Court.

John Beirne, the court heard on Wednesday, died on Monday just days before a court date for the case in which he is suing the HSE over the care he received at James Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross yesterday gave permission for Mr Beirnes father Michael to take over the action.

Oisin Quinn SC, for Mr Beirne, told the court that Mr Beirne had passed away on Monday.

Counsel said the hospital had apologised to Mr Beirne. The case he said was in relation to an alleged failure to be recalled for further investigation.

Counsel said the HSE had been moving the case along expeditiously with mediation planned in the case for later this week or next week.

It was claimed Mr Beirne, a groundskeeper at Carton House and of Leixlip Park, Leixlip, Co Kildare, was taken by ambulance to the Blanchardstown Hospital on December 31, 2012, complaining of vomiting and haematemesis.

He underwent a throat investigation called a gastroscopy and multiple biopsies were taken and they showed low gradedysplasia.

He was discharged on January 2, 2013 with a plan for further assessment of the oesophagus.

On February 12, 2013, he had a further gastroscopy and more biopsies.

It is claimed as there was insufficient pathology to rule out malignancy it was determined Mr Beirne should undergo a repeat scope or gastroscopy.

It is alleged he was not scheduled for and did not undergo any further investigation and in particular he did not undergo any further investigation or further gastroscopy which, it is claimed, had been deemed necessary.

In September 2019, following an urgent referral he was diagnosed as having esophageal cancer.

It is claimed there was a failure to take any adequate measures to protect Mr Beirne from the risk of developing the cancer and a failure to refer him for a gastroscopy.

It is further alleged that his cancer was allowed to develop and spread unidentified, unmonitored and untreated until he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in around September 2019.
Fourteen people including an 11-year-old have tested positive for coronavirus in Himachal Pradesh, taking the virus tally in the state to 107, officials said on Wednesday.

While 13 people, including four women, tested positive for COVID-19 in Kangra district, a man tested positive in Kullu district that till now had no case of the contagious disease, they added.

Of the 14 fresh cases, 12 have returned from Mumbai whereas one each has come back from Delhi and Chennai, the officials said.

The 12 were among the 697 people who had returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai in a special train on May 18, they said.

Of the 697 passengers who arrived at Una on Monday, 242 were from Kangra, 169 from Hamirpur, 103 from Mandi, 43 from Bilaspur, 40 from Shimla, 38 from Una, 26 from Chamba, 10 each from Kullu and Kinnaur and eight each were from Solan and Sirmaur, Una deputy commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.

A woman (56), her son (31) and his wife (25) are among those who tested positive in Kangra for COVID-19, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

A man (41), his wife (34) and their child (11) also tested positive at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (PRGMC) in Tanda, he added.

Besides, a 41-year-old man from Jaisinghpur tehsil also tested positive. He returned to Kangra from Chennai after alighting at Pathankot railway station from a special train on May 19. He was quarantined at Jwalamukhi.

A 55-year-old man, working as a driver, from Upper Khera village also tested positive. He was quarantined at Dhaliara after returning from Delhi.

Now, active cases stand at 26 in Kangra where one man died of coronavirus on March 23. Eight people have been cured in the district out of the total 35 positive cases there.

In Kullu, a 23-year-old man who had returned from Mumbai tested positive for COVID-19, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said. This is the first positive COVID-19 case in Kullu district.

The SP said 10 people from Kullu district were kept in isolation at Ayurveda hospital. Samples of all of them were taken. While one tested positive, the others were negative.

Meanwhile a patient recovered from COVID-19 in Hamirpur district.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the state stands at 107. While 52 of them have been cured, four persons have died due to COVID-19 in the state.

The number of active cases in the state now stands at 51, including 26 from Kangra, 10 from Hamirpur, five each from Bilaspur and Chamba, two each from Sirmaur, Una and one from Kullu.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Chippewa Falls community came together Tuesday night to guide a search for the new face of the school district.

The Chippewa Falls School Board hosted a virtual stakeholders meeting in which key individuals from around the area were able to speak with the superintendent search firm McPherson & Jacobson and the school board to communicate their expectations.

School board president David Czech said the meeting affirmed his confidence in the chosen search firm and is positive it will help guide the board to the best superintendent candidates.

The board received feedback from our community stakeholder groups to assist us as we search for a new superintendent, Czech said. McPherson and Jacobson is keeping us on our timeline and we are confident we can meet our goal beginning the final interview process around the third week of June.

McPherson & Jacobson LLC is an executive recruitment and development service specializing in executive searches for public entities. The company, based in Omaha, Nebraska, has assisted hundreds of local and national searches.

Another result to come out of Tuesdays meeting included saying goodbye to current school board student representative John Dienger and welcoming new student representative Brihan Dressel.

Czech said Dienger has been an outstanding student leader and is proud to continue to his level of success next school year when Dressel fills his shoes.

We are really excited and believe we have found another shining example of a Chi-Hi student with a stellar future and look forward to working with her this next year, Czech said.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Hyderabad, May 20 : Two evacuation flights with 263 evacuees from Qatar and Saudi Arabia landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here on Wednesday.

Under the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, Air India Express IX 244 from Doha (Qatar) landed at 7.26 p.m. with 184 Indian citizens, airport sources said.

Later, Air India flight AI 1910 from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) with 79 passengers landed at 10.48 p.m.

The passengers of both the flights were transported to the designated locations in the city for a mandatory 14-day quarantine as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

To facilitate the arriving passengers, the Hyderabad International Airport has kept the international arrivals and the entire stretch right from the aerobridge to the arrivals ramp fully sanitised and fumigated, sources said.

The airport also enforced the social distancing among passengers right from the aerobridge to across the terminal.

All arriving passengers and aircraft crew were brought out from the aircraft in a batch of 20-25 persons each. Each passenger/crew was screened by the Thermal Cameras positioned at the aerobridge exit under supervision of the Airport Health officials (APHO) as per the directives of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare prior to immigration formalities.

After the health screening of passengers, CISF personnel in their protective gear escorted the group of passengers to immigration clearance.

Glass shields were provided at each manned immigration counter to avoid any personal contact between the passengers and immigration officers. Each counter had specified social distancing norms in place.

Every piece of baggage was sanitised by the disinfection tunnel integrated to the baggage belt as arranged by the airport.
The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have sent Harris Countys 2020 U.S. Census drive underground.

Less than 54 percent of residents have so far responded by mail, online or by phone, according to the countys dedicated census website. Now, can the citys spray paint brigade help muster more participation? Three of five planned murals commissioned through UP Art Studio have popped up across the area to promote Houston and Harris Countys #YES to the Census campaign.

The latest, by Lee theonelee Washington, fills a curvy wall outside the Alief YMCA. Washingtons layered mural depicts the face of a woman as if seen through the screen of a smartphone, over a map of the world. Anat Ronen painted the first of the projects murals at the Gulfton HPD Substation, 6227 Southwest Freeway, using a snapshot theme that depicts diverse Houstonians she has photographed. Sebastien Mr. D. 1987 Boileau imagined Houstons skyline in rainbow hues on a wavy film strip for his mural at Light Bulbs Unlimited, 1203 Westheimer in Montrose.

PANDEMIC MURALS: How street artists around the world are responding to COVID-19

UP Art Studio co-owner Elia Quiles said she is close to securing a wall for the fourth mural in the South Central-Texas Southern University area, and the fifth will be done at Harris Countys Aldine Library.

The locations are strategic. For example, the Alief YMCA is hosting food drives, senior citizen support, daycare for essential workers and online programs during the pandemic. Those kinds of programs could evaporate if Harris Countys census data falls short. The data collected is used to allocate federal funds that help to provide school lunches, better health care, better streets, improved housing, better parks and public safety.

The deadline for self-responses is Oct. 31. Completing the form takes just a few minutes at my2020census.

molly.glentzer@chron.com

Top hits: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox
A man who freed a whale trapped in a sea net says hes been fined by the Australian government for his efforts.

The man, who only wanted to be known as Django, drove his boat out to help the whale after it was spotted struggling off the coast of Burleigh Heights, Gold Coast on Tuesday.

Video of the incident shows Django leap out of a small white boat and swim towards the mammal as his adrenaline just sort of kicked in.

He said he then unwrapped the whales fin from the net, setting it free. Basically I just tried to untangle him, he told ABC News.

I had a knife, I didnt really need to use the knife though.

Django said authorities issued him with a fine when he returned to the coast  despite acting on his own to perform the rescue

Django did not disclose how much he had been fined, but people who interfere with shark nets can be fined up to $26,690 (14,261).

Queensland Fisheries Minister Mark Furner said Django had not yet been fined, pending an investigation.

It is important that people allow the professionals to do their jobs in circumstances like this, Mr Furner said.

It remains unclear why Django was hit with the penalty, although Queensland state laws dictate that people can be fined for moving too close to whales.

Local media outlet the Gold Coast Bulletin reported that a large crowd had gathered after the whale was spotted at around 8am, prompting concerned members of the public to call authorities.

Observer Andre Borrell told the publication people had initially been waiting hours for authorities to turn up.

Luckily a good Samaritan came up and did fisheries [officials] jobs for them, he said.

Shark nets have been implemented in a number of Australian states in a bid to protect swimmers from attacks.

Their use, however, has proved controversial.

Campaigners say nets and drumlines, or permanent fishing hooks, buoyed off the coast of Queensland have killed off some 9,000 tiger sharks  representing 75 per cent of their population  since their deployment in 1962 and are calling for their immediate removal.

According to the Florida Museum, which records shark encounters around the world, there were 11 shark attacks in Australia in 2019.

None of them were fatal, Florida Museum says.
Security forces on Wednesday nabbed a naxal commander in Jharkhand's Chatra district along with an AK series assault rifle and over 100 rounds of ammunition, officials said.

Nauku Gaulu, a sub-zonal commander of the TritiyaSammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), was nabbed during a search operation in the Tikulia-Lawalong area of the district, they said.

The operation was led by the 190th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force along with the state police.

An AK series assault rifle, two magazines and 130 rounds of assorted bullets of various calibre were recovered from the Maoist leader, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Pakistani court has dismissed a review petition of a man who was convicted of child pornography two years ago and cancelled the bail granted to him earlier this month.

Lahore High Court's Justice Farooq Haider had suspended seven-year sentence of Saadat Amin and ordered his release on bail last week.

Following a strong reaction to the LHC's decision from the rights activists, civil society, lawyers and even former superior court judges, Justice Haider allowed a civil miscellaneous application on Amin's appeal against his sentence and reversed his own decision by dismissing it on Tuesday.

"The convict will serve his full sentence," ruled the judge after hearing the arguments from the convict's counsel and the additional attorney general.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad had also taken notice of bail granted to the pornographer and directed the attorney general office to look into the matter.

The Federal Investigation Agency's special court had handed down the conviction on 45-year-old Amin and imposed Rs 12 lakh fine on him in April, 2018. According to FIA, it was the first-ever conviction in any child pornography scam in Pakistan.

FIA cybercrime cell Lahore had arrested Amin, a resident of Sargodha, some 200 kms from Lahore, on the complaint of Norwegian embassy during 2017.

According to FIA prosecutors, Amin was an active member of an international racket operating online from Pakistan.

During interrogation, Amin had revealed that he had been selling child pornographic content online for the last few years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This wont be wrong to say that coronavirus pandemic has affected many lives. Not just India, in fact, all the countries are together fighting from the virus and till now there is no vaccine discovered to cure the virus. Though the government has imposed lockdown and all the economic work has been shut un the country. Among all this, the daily wage workers are among the ones who are suffering the most due to lockdown. Moreover, everyone is currently facing a financial crunch.

Some hours back, there were reports that Mere Angne Main actor Ashiesh Roy has been rushed to the hospital and is admitted to the ICU. Later, the actor himself confirmed the news and informed his fans through a Facebook post about his heath. Not just this, Ashiesh Roy also asked for financial help from his fans and friends. He said that his doctors are trying best to save him and his dialysis treatment is currently on and today is his third day.

In a conversation with a media portal, the actor revealed that there is 20 litres of excess water in his body. He added that there is a problem in the hospital as due to pandemic, fewer staff is available. He said that due to his condition he waits for 4 hours to drink a glass of water. He also revealed that from the last six months he has not worked so he doesnt have any income left with him.

Also Read: Salman Khan makes a quick visit to Mumbai to meet his parents before returning to Panvel: Report

He added that there not even one person from the industry who has helped him during this time, He said that some people whom he dont know are still helping and have added 2k to 5k in his bank account but that is not enough. He needs at least Rs 4 lakh for further treatment. He also said that it was his birthday and still he was battling for life alone.

For all the latest Entertainment News, download NewsX App
Harley Graham Storey-MacIntosh is the CEO of Transense Technologies plc (LON:TRT). This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

Check out our latest analysis for Transense Technologies

How Does Harley Graham Storey-MacIntosh's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Transense Technologies plc has a market capitalization of UK8.9m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK201k over the year to June 2019. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at UK158k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations under UK163m, and the median CEO total compensation was UK275k.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of Transense Technologies. Speaking on an industry level, we can see that nearly 81% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 19% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that Transense Technologies allocates salary in line with the wider market.

So Harley Graham Storey-MacIntosh is paid around the average of 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. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Transense Technologies has changed from year to year.

AIM:TRT CEO Compensation May 20th 2020

Is Transense Technologies plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, Transense Technologies plc has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a favourable direction by 19% each year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 18%.

Story continues

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Transense Technologies plc Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 16% over three years, some Transense Technologies plc shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

In Summary...

Remuneration for Harley Graham Storey-MacIntosh is close enough to the median pay for a CEO of a similar sized company .

We'd say the company can boast of its EPS growth, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. On another note, Transense Technologies has 5 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

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.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
LONDON (Reuters) - Apple <AAPL.O> and Google <GOOGL.O> said they were continuing to talk to the British government about the technology used in its smartphone COVID-19 contact tracing app as the two companies released the initial version of their own system.

Britain has started testing an app that matches contacts on a centralised server rather than the decentralised model favoured by Apple and Google where the matches occur on the users' device.

A centralised app can potentially give more insight into outbreaks of COVID-19, but offers less privacy than decentralised rivals, the UK programme's head said earlier this month.

Company representatives discussing the release of the Apple-Google exposure notification technology to public health authorities said they remained in conversation with Britain's health service as it evaluated several different approaches.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
The Chinese city of Wuhan has banned the eating of wild animals, a practice believed to have caused the coronavirus pandemic.

The new policy went into effect on May 13 and will stay in place for five years, according to a notice released by the Wuhan government today.

Experts in China said in January that the virus had likely jumped onto humans from wild animals sold as food at a wet market in the city of 11million.

The government of China's Wuhan city has banned the eating of wild animal species, including those bred and raised by people, for five years. The file photo taken on January 17 shows the Huanan Seafood Whole Market, which is believed to be the origin of the coronavirus outbreak

The law forbids the consumption of all wild animals on land as well as endangered and protected wild aquatic species. In the file photo taken on January 5, 2004, workers collect civets in Xinyuan wildlife market to prevent a possible spread of SARS in Guangzhou

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, the market believed to have spawned the global outbreak, was shut on January 1 in the wake of the health crisis.

Apart from seafood, the market's offerings included live wild animals, such as foxes, crocodiles, wolf puppies, giant salamanders, snakes, rats, peacocks, porcupines, koalas and game meats, a previous report revealed.

In China alone, the virus has claimed 4,634 lives and infected 82,965 people, officials claim.

Globally, at least 324,000 people have died and nearly five million have contracted the killer infection.

The Chinese province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital city, in March passed a law to ban the eating of wild animals completely, including those bred or raised by people.

In February, China's central government blocked all trade and consumption of wildlife with a temporary law, but it did not specify if farm-raised ones would be covered.

China's overall wildlife trade is worth around 520billion yuan (57billion), according to a government report from 2017.

No organisations or individuals are allowed to produce, process, use or conduct commercial operations with wildlife or wildlife products which are banned by the document, officials say

The new directive in Wuhan largely echoes the legislation launched by its provincial government.

It comes after provinces across China have promised buyout schemes or other financial aid to help wildlife breeders turn to other trades.

The regulation covers wildlife and wildlife products. It forbids the consumption of all wild animals on land as well as endangered and protected wild aquatic species.

It prohibits the hunting of wild animals across Wuhan, which covers an area of 8,494 square kilometres (3,280 square miles) or roughly five times of Greater London.

Staff at scientific and medical organisations must obtain special hunting licences for research purposes.

Artificial breeding of land-based wild animals and nationally protected wild aquatic species for human consumption is not allowed, the document says.

The pandemic was first detected in Wuhan in December. In China alone, the crisis has claimed 4,634 lives and infected 82,965 people, according to official figures. Pictured, a woman wearing a mask walks past stalls near a partially closed off market in Wuhan on April 3

Experts in China said in January that the virus had likely jumped onto humans from wild animals sold as food at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale market in the city of 11million. Pictured, vendors wearing face masks wait for customers at a wet market in Wuhan on May 18

The decree also cracks down on the wildlife trade.

No organisations or individuals are allowed to produce, process, use or conduct commercial operations with wildlife or wildlife products which are banned by the document, officials say.

Any related breeding, transporting, trading, carrying or mailing is illegal.

Citizens are forbidden from encouraging or persuading others to eat or conduct illegal trading of wild animals. Such activities include releasing advertisements, installing relevant signboards and publishing recipes.

Scientific and medical teams must undergo strict applications and quarantine inspections should they need to use wild animals for non-food-related work purposes.

Wuhan officials say they will use the national social credit system to punish any violators of the rules. Pictured, commuters wear face masks wait to cross an intersection in Beijing on May 18

In a new, city-specific move, officials say they will use the national social credit system to punish any violators of the rules.

Offending individuals and companies will see their behaviour recorded into the country-wide surveillance scheme and receive penalties accordingly.

Authorities will also increase their inspections into markets, hotels, restaurants, e-commerce platforms and food-processing businesses to prevent the trading of exotic species.

Viral footage purports to show a fashionable Chinese young woman biting one of the wings of a cooked bat at a fancy restaurant. The deadly coronavirus could come from the animal

Pictures emerging on Twitter shows soup cooked with a bat. Bats are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a series of illness, including coughing, malaria and gonorrhea

China's top legislative committee passed new legislation to ban all trade and consumption of wild animals on February 24 after the country was rocked by the deadly disease.

Beijing is yet to revise its wild animal protection law, but the temporarily ban was 'essential' and 'urgent' in helping the country win its war against the epidemic, wrote state newspaper People's Daily.

The exact source of the new coronavirus remains unconfirmed. Experts speculate that it originated in bats, snakes, pangolins, or some other animal.

Chinese workers wear protective masks and suits before entering the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan to carry out thorough disinfection works on March 4

Hazmat-clad cleaners are tasked to sanitise stalls and safely dispose of the remaining stock

Scientists from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention linked the Huanan market to the virus in late January. They believed that humans had caught the virus from animals there, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Civets, a cat-like creature thought to have caused the SARS outbreak in 2003, were among dozens of species listed as for sale by one of the merchants at the Wuhan market according to a price list that circulated on China's internet.

Wuhan and the majority parts of Hubei were on lockdown for more than two months to stop the spread of the disease.
Tava Health, a Salt Lake City, UT-based mental telehealth platform for employers, closed a $3m seed funding round.

The round was led by Peterson Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its offering into additional geographic markets.

Founded in 2019 by Dallen Allred, CEO, Tava Health is an online mental health company that partners with employers to provide mental health resources to employees and their families by reducing costs, improving quality, and increasing access to therapy.

FinSMEs

20/05/2020
As the world fights the novel coronavirus pandemic, our strongest weapon right now is physical distancing. Proven by studies and supported by history, staying home save lives. In fact, bending this rule to meet even a few other people may undo our efforts.

While many have accepted the safety directions, some are still travelling. More people have died of COVID-19 in the United States than any other country, yet the President Trump has encouraged people to gather and Georgias governor supported the reopening of bowling alleys and nail salons. So why is it so hard for us to do what is right?

Subconscious biases affect our behaviour

As a doctor and a father, I get that we are all trying to keep a sense of normalcy for ourselves and our families. But the reasons we resist distancing are often beyond rationality: there are reflexive thoughts that drive our behaviour, often without our own awareness. And if we want to save as many lives as possible, our efforts have to take these subconscious biases into account.

For example, asking people to observe physical distancing may actually have the opposite effect for those who fear that compliance will lead to a restriction in their freedom. This is called reactance bias, and it is partly why in our society teenagers drink alcohol and some drivers resist seatbelts.

It is also why pandemic safety measures can be easily framed as a restrictive lockdown and why the U.S. president can incite people to unsafely meet up in order to liberate their state. Given how quickly and passionately protesters follow populist leaders, it is not surprising that many of the same bad actors seen in anti-science campaigns against vaccination and climate change are again preying on swift emotions like fear and disgust to manipulate us into acting before we think.

Another way our minds mislead us is that we judge ourselves differently than we judge others. When we trip it is because the ground is uneven; others misstep due to clumsiness. Two-thirds of people say they are better than average drivers. We all need some esteem to allow us to feel capable in life, but the flip side of this self-centredness is that we downplay the risks of daily grocery trips or play dates because, well, its us.

But the novel coronavirus does not differentiate between us and others, good or bad, our tribe or not. So although some people are more susceptible to serious complications, many otherwise young and healthy people have died from COVID-19. We just dont think well become one of those people.

The tales we tell

Stories, whether tales or in pictures, are also important in understanding our behaviour since we are wired to remember them much more than numbers. Dry statistics of deaths in Asia or Europe are difficult to comprehend because our brains cannot emotionally connect.

But stories are memorable and become compelling when they evoke basic emotions such as happiness, sadness and fear. The heartbreaking image of three-year-old Alan Kurdis body lying on a Turkish beach is unforgettable, and elicited a much greater reaction than reports of Syrias attacks on its citizens. Recently, Dr. Anna Carvalhos decision to isolate from her family included a photograph of her children waving through their aunts window, making the plea to physically distance more real and immediate  factors that nudge us towards action.

Science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein wrote, Dont appeal to mans better nature  he may not have one. More accurately, hundreds of cognitive biases such as those discussed here greatly affect the decisions we make, sometimes to our detriment. So if we are to change behaviour during this pandemic we must address both the rational and subconscious ways our minds work.

Effective communication

In order to build trust, leaders must be humble and honest. Familiar and regular communications from leaders like Drs. Bonnie Henry and Theresa Tam and Prime Ministers Trudeau and Ardern can have positive effects. Pro-science messages from diverse influencers like Hayley Wickenheiser, Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hadfield and Michael Buble have resonated. And we need stories, lots of them, of the front-line workers risking their safety.

In turn, we must attempt to slow down and process our emotions and consider that bending the rules endangers others and lengthens the time of distancing restrictions. For those whose opinions have become part of their own self-identity, no fact will likely change their behaviour. Some personal liberties may have to be restricted for the greater good in the same way we legislate sobriety for drivers and helmets for cyclists.

Containing the COVID-19 pandemic will require more than the heroic measures of our front-line workers: we must all make difficult sacrifices. Success will not be easy, but to save lives we must take into account the hidden ways our brains work. We must use strategies that represent more reasoned logic than we tend to rely on, left to our own devices.
STOCKHOLM, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Marzotto Group in Italy, will partner with Polygiene - the global leader in stays fresh technologies, to "relaunch" the fashion industry with ViralOff application on their natural fiber textiles, such as wool, linen and cotton

Since 1836, Marzotto Group, with a turnover of more than EUR 450 millions, is a key international player in the textile industry and is structured as a "company network" of prestigious brands. These brands are in turn sold to a majority of the most prominent fashion brands in the world. Marzotto group and Polygiene now partner up to relaunch the fashion industry with ViralOff treatments on their natural fiber textiles, such as wool, linen and cotton.

The anti-viral treatment will be used by all the divisions of Marzotto Group: Marzotto Fabrics, Guabello, Fratelli Tallia di Delfino, Marlane, Estethia/G.B.Conte, Opera Piemontese, Redaelli, Tessuti di Sondrio, Lanerossi, Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale, Nuova Tessil Brenta.

"We tested ViralOff, on different fabrics, with different compositions and we are very happy with the result. We thank the Polygene team for their support", says Giorgio Todesco, CEO of Marzotto Wool Manufacturing, and continues: "We now run trials to ensure treatment resistance even after multiple water and dry washes."

"Consumers have changed behaviors and the demand for garments protected from viruses is huge. Some countries now require retailers to sanitize clothes when they have been tried on. We also know consumers atre wary when shopping. ViralOff protects the garment, as well as reduces the need to wash and thereby prolongs the lifetime of the garment. Marzotto's new offer will redefine standards in fashion" says Ulrika Bjork, CEO of Polygiene.

About Marzotto Group

Marzotto Group is one of the world's leading players in the textile industry. Founded in 1836 in Valdagno (VI) and grown over time thanks to a careful strategy of acquisitions, it is structured as a networked enterprise, a set of business units unique at international level for brand heterogeneity. Today, Marzotto Group has more than 4,000 employees in 15 production plants, with a turnover of more than 450 million euros.

Subscribe here to get reports, press releases and News:

http://ir.polygiene.com/en/press/subscribe/

For press images and more information, visit ir.polygiene.com or contact:

Press contact Polygiene:

Ulrika Bjork, CEO

E-mail: ubj@polygiene.com

Mobile: +46-(0)-70-921-12-75

Press contact Marzotto Group:

Marta Federica Maniero

marta_maniero@marzottowool.it

https://www.marzottogroup.it

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/polygiene-ab/r/polygiene-proposed-in-all-marzotto-group-collections,c3116497

The following files are available for download:
Renault Duster | 3 stars | The Renualt Duster comes in last in our list with three stars back in 2017 for the model with a drivers side airbag. The current Duster however gets dual front airbags even as standard. When tested, child occupant protection was rated at two stars.

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

The popularity of diesel vehicles in the Indian auto industry may take a further hit, with few models getting the BS-VI upgrade. And, the ones that get it have seen the price gap further widening from petrol versions, putting a question on their demand in a market hammered by the COVID-19 crisis.

The share of diesel-powered passenger vehicles fell below 20 percent during FY20 making it a new low in many years. Now, 80 percent of all cars and SUVs sold in India are powered by petrol, or a mix of petrol and CNG fuels.

While car-market leader Maruti Suzuki gave up on diesel engines with the assumption that the premium on diesel-powered cars will discourage buyers, its rivals have gone ahead in launching Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) upgrades.

A handful of diesel-powered cars and SUVs have received the BS-VI upgrades even as the majority of companies have shunned the idea. Prices of both diesel and petrol options have gone north with the switch over to the BS-VI emission norms.

The upgrades, however, were expected to make diesel variants even costlier, further widening the gap between petrol and diesel variants.

Tata Nexon, for instance, has seen the biggest jump in diesel variant prices. The gap between its base diesel and base petrol variant now stands at Rs 1.5 lakh, up from Rs 1 lakh when the compact SUV was powered by a BS-IV engine.

Among the models that had a petrol variant also on offer in BS-IV it is only the Nexon which has received the upgrade in diesel in the Tata line-up. Two other Tata cars  Tiago and Tigor  have got only petrol upgrades while there is uncertainty over diesel upgrades.

Korean car brand Hyundai has been the strongest proponent of the diesel demand. All of its models that had a BS-IV diesel variant on offer have been upgraded to BS-VI. The company has managed to limit the price hike in diesel variants.

The gap between petrol and diesel variants of the Hyundai Venue has seen a jump of only Rs 15,000 under BS-VI compared to BS-IV. The difference between the price of a base variant of petrol and diesel Venue used to be Rs 125000 in BS-IV. This has increased by Rs 15,000 to Rs 139800 under BS-VI.

Hyundai discontinued the base variant of Elite i20 (Era) making the next variant (Magna) has the entry variant. This change had led to a jump in diesel differential. From a premium of Rs 35,000 under BS-IV the diesel variant of the Elite i20 is priced Rs 121,000 more under BS-VI.

SUV-specialist Mahindra & Mahindra kept a tight control over costs during development of BS-VI upgrade engines. Its XUV300 has seen no increase in the differential. The price premium in diesels was Rs 39,000 under BS-IV and it has remained Rs 39,000 even under BS-VI.

The diesel demand will witness sharper decline, post transition from BS IV to BS VI due to widening cost differential and narrowing fuel price gap, said Ashish Modani, Vice President, Co-Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.

Other companies have followed Maruti Suzuki in abandoning diesels. Volkswagen has given up sub-2.0 litre diesel engines for India. Its upcoming models including mid-size SUVs will come powered by only petrol engines.

Renault and Nissan, too, have moved away from diesel entirely while Toyota is yet to offer any diesel variants for the sub-Rs 10 lakh category vehicles such as the Yaris and Glanza. It discontinued the Etios and Etios Liva, both of which came with the option of diesel engines.
You are here: World

 Flash

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, previously tested positive for COVID-19, has been discharged from hospital and resumed work, Sputnik reported on Tuesday, citing his spokesman Boris Belyakov.

Mishustin on Tuesday held an online meeting at his office in the government house and is preparing for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belyakovz said.

On Monday, Mishustin chaired an online meeting of the government's infection response coordination council in hospital.

Putin on Tuesday signed a decree restoring Mishustin's power. The decree, published on the Kremlin website, became effective immediately.

After Mishustin said on April 30 that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and was hospitalized, Putin has ordered First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov to temporarily perform Mishustin's duties.

On Thursday, Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said she has recovered from the virus and returned to work.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov remained hospitalized for COVID-19 infection, while Construction Minister Vladimir Yakushev is undergoing treatment at home.
(Photo : NASA/Joel Kowsky) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, left, and NASA Associate Administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Douglas Loverro, right, are seen during a NASA town hall event, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. (Photo : NASA) iss058e027550 (March 4, 2019) --- The uncrewed SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is the first Commercial Crew vehicle to visit the International Space Station. Here it is pictured with its nose cone open revealing its docking mechanism while approaching the station's Harmony module. The Crew Dragon would automatically dock moments later to the international docking adapter attached to the forward end of Harmony.

NASA's associate administrator for the human exploration and operations mission directorate Doug Loverro surprised everyone when he resigned from his post with just eight days before the first manned flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, according to Gizmodo.

That SpaceX test will become the first time since 2011 that NASA astronauts will be launched from US soil to the International Space Station. After retiring the Space Shuttle, the agency began renting seats on Russia's Soyuz rockets operated by RosCosmos.

While there was no specific reason for the resignation, it may be coincidental to an unspecified major mistake, which Loverro hinted, based on an NPR report. He thought it was needed to push Donald Trump's order to bring astronauts back to the Moon by 2024 through the Artemis Program.

Loverro told NASA staff in a farewell message that it was a mistake that he "must bear the consequences" by himself. "My leaving is because of my personal actions, not anything we have accomplished together," Loverro added.

Meanwhile, a source who is "familiar with the situation" told NPR the issue is about a violation of NASA rules or regulations, although there was no indication of such error that prompted Loverro to end his career at the agency.

Loverro was overseeing NASA's Space Launch System Program, which is critical to Artemis. The program experienced cost overruns and delays. The first test launch was originally scheduled in 2017, but its next year schedule is recently postponed again from March to November.

While those issues began before Loverro's tenure, the abovementioned delays will then push back the planned 2024 Moon landing.

Trump appeared to be forcing NASA to hasten Artemis from its original schedule in 2028, which critics warn it may lead to catastrophic results just to have the second Moon landing as his legacy.

NASA human exploration chief resigns days before SpaceX Crew Dragon's first manned flight since 2011

The Washington Post also reported that he may have broken procurement rules in the course of NASA's efforts to develop a lunar lander for the 2024 mission. While Loverro told Washington Post that the issue "had nothing to do with Commercial Crew, but with moving fast on Artemis." Loverro added that he does not want to go more in detail.

Loverro's departure was still not apparent during a meeting on Tuesday between Vice President Mike Pence and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. Meanwhile, according to Politico, Loverro denied any disagreements with Bridenstine or safety issues with the SpaceX launch as reasons for his resignation. However, there were rumors that it was due to "a pretext for Bridenstine" to remove Loverro.

Loverro was the third associate administrator of the human exploration program since last year.

Ken Bowersox, a former astronaut who served as an acting associate administrator following Gerstenmaier's reassignment, will again hold the role in an acting capacity after Loverro stepped down.

In a memo to its staff, NASA said it has full confidence in the works of program manager Kathy Lueders and her Commercial Crew team. The agency also said the "test flight will be a historic and momentous occasion that will see the return of human spaceflight to our country" as well as the ardor the men and women of NASA to make "this mission possible."

Meanwhile, Representative Kendra Horn, the Democratic chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee space subcommittee told Politico that she is "deeply concerned over this sudden resignation." She added that a pattern of sudden departures during this administration has disrupted the "nation's efforts at human space flight."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Novelist Neil Gaiman has issued an apology for breaking lockdown rules by travelling from New Zealand to his home in the island of Skye, Scotland, amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The apology came a week after he was criticised by the press as well as politicians for making the 11,000 mile-trip from New Zealand to the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides.

In an earlier post on his official blog, Gaiman said his relationship with his partner Amanda Palmer had hit a rough patch and they mutually decided that they "needed some space". After that he flew "masked and gloved" to London before driving to the Scottish island.

His posted created headline in the UK and on Monday, he wrote a new post where he revealed that he had been visited by police to discuss his movements



.

"I got to chat to some local police officers yesterday, who said all things considered I should have stayed where I was safe in New Zealand, and I agreed that yes, all things considered, I should.

"Mostly they wanted to be sure I was all right, and had been isolating, and that I would keep isolating here until the lockdown ends, and to make sure I knew the rules. Like all the locals who have reached out to me, they've been astonishingly kind," Gaiman said.

The author said he made a mistake by travelling from New Zealand and apologised directly to the people of the Scottish island.

"I want to apologise to everyone on the island for creating such a fuss. I also want to thank and apologise to the local police, who had better things to do than check up on me.

"I'm sure I've done sillier things in my life, but this is the most foolish thing I've done in quite a while," Gaiman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uniqlo to launch new store in Vietnams tallest building

Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is set to expand its presence in Vietnam next month with its third store in HCMC.

The June 5 opening of a 2,000-square-meter store, the brands fourth in the country, will happen in Landmark 81, Vietnams highest building.

The brands first store in Vietnam opened on Dong Khoi Street opened in District 1 last December. It attracted 2,000 people on its opening day, with customers queuing up from 4 a.m. to take advantage of discounts.

Four months later, it opened a 2,000-square-meter store at the SC VivoCity shopping center in District 7.

Last March, Uniqlo opened its first store in Hanoi at Vincom Pham Ngoc Thach in downtown Dong Da District.

The Japanese retailer plans to double the number of its stores in Southeast Asia and Oceania to about 400 by 2022.

Uniqlo's global network spans 20 markets in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia, operating roughly 2,000 stores.
In most nations, massive economic changes take place every 70-100 years, changing the nations totally. Sometimes these changes destroy the nations, or they take them to the top. Industrial Revolutions 1.0 (1760-1860) and 2.0 (1850-1930) (and some other factors) multiplied US/UK and European economies 5, 6 times, while India/China went down 10 times (1820-1970) during a similar period. The US had an earlier phase of growth 7-10 times post civil war and American reforms, taking America to the top.

Industrial Revolution 3.0 after 1950 reversed growth patterns in the world, with IR 3.0 technologies available everywhere on the wire/wireless. The Chinese growth 8 times during the short period of 1970-2019 was most remarkable when the US illogically decided to help China to deal with the Cold War and other reasons, though India grew only 2.5-3 times, having all the technical advantages of China but was hit by crony capitalism after 2006. South-East Asia suffered similarly. These changes sometimes occur with nations changing their course themselves like China, while others lose by not taking appropriate action. But on average, changes take place after about 70-100 years.

The world is changing now with IR 4.0 and 5.0, on the same wire or wireless, and similar technologies, giving advantage to China and India. But both the US and China are now fighting each other after the most illogical transformation where the US abetted Chinese growth during seven President's rule, mostly at their own cost, only checked by Donald Trump. Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and China were able to deceive America during these periods, mostly through deception (refer my book "Containing the China Onslaught" for details). It would normally have led to war.

No one could anticipate that Coronavirus would change the world so drastically when the world had stabilized against diseases etc. It is alleged that China again deceived the US about the nature and period of Corona. There were several other factors in starting a US/China confrontation post 2016.

Geopolitical analysts believe that this will change the global order, and with business as usual, China will become the dominant player in the coming years. The global community is terrified with the thought that China's political governance model will be accepted by the countries. India will face serious challenges in the coming years because India and China have old rivalries, competing in the same region with similar populations, and have fought many wars. Indian strategists have a tough job to find out the ways to grow India faster, the nations being at par 20 years back and thwart the Chinese onslaught in the 'east' now.

India needs a new grand strategy because the older one isn't paying strategic and tactical benefits in the short, medium and long term. India has invested a lot of energy on arcane social and academic issues/disputes in the last 70 years and entangled itself in solving historical blunders.

India now, 70 years after 1950, is gradually moving from idealistic grand strategy to realism to fasten the economic and security progress. Grand strategy is simply securing the state through use of power intelligently. In the eras of IR 4.0 and 5.0 countries can start growing at double digit in no time. China is emerging as the biggest challenge in Asia due to its growing economic and military power. China as a hegemonic state doesn't believe in peaceful coexistence. India is also facing Pakistan precisely because of the nature of the Chinese and Pakistani state. Bangladesh may start becoming a nuisance once it achieves fair prosperity. India has immense potential if it is channelized properly. Our inefficiency is often confused with tolerance and is slowing the progress of India.

China's security and economic statecraft vis-A -vis India is pre-defined. China is growing in every new tech and leading the technology groups in international regulatory bodies. It is too early to judge, except noticing that China is ahead in 5G, and is very aggressive. Old technologies, networks will also have to be continuously upgraded. At present China appears 3-4 years ahead, but India has shown capacity to move ahead fast.

China also has to deal with very difficult political questions, like dealing with inevitably increasing Maslovian forces as exhibited very powerfully in Hong Kong, bigger following of pro-democracy forces, Uighur issues and increasing acceptance of Deng's invalid son, the world's mistrust of China etc. India is presently gaining peanuts from the trade war between the US and China in comparison with other countries in the region, but this looks likely to change. Labour arbitrage is decreasing. IR 4.0 and the cost of robots everywhere is the same. Indian technologists in IT, digital etc. have been the best, and new models of digital business are evolving. More competition and flexibility is needed by allowing competition between states in labour policies particularly after Covid.

The former Singaporean diplomat Kishor Mahbubani had said in his new book that US politics has been captured by a short-sighted plutocracy that would not survive long if the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, criminalising bribery of officials abroad, is applied at home -- and lacking any strategic brain, the US has become over-reliant on military muscle and been entangled in perpetual wars in the Middle East. The US may account for half of global defence spending, but how much use is its military hardware in a software age? US aircraft carriers, which can cost up to $13bn to build, can be easily sunk by one of China's DF-26 missiles, costing a few hundred thousand dollars. The US's social and economic model has stopped delivering for most of its people. "America is the only developed society where the average income of the bottom 50 per cent of the population has gone down over the past 30 years. In the same period, the Chinese people have experienced the greatest improvement in their standard of living ever seen in Chinese history," he writes. I have shown in my previous article that everyone under-assesses the US's historic and strategic power at its own peril.

The great-power competition has begun in earnest, and the coronavirus pandemic has turned a conscious uncoupling into a messy breakup. Both sides will try to encash the happenings in many regions in the world, to impact the growth process. Maybe many other technologies will also emerge, to change the growth equations, Situations are turning very eventful for different countries to watch. But the nature of American power being what it is, and China going through an international attack on its credibility is an unlikely winner.

Strategies for India's prominence in the Asian century: India needs a credible presence in the 'East' to survive the Chinese onslaught to re-establish its space for growth, unnaturally taken away by Chinese deception. I am indicating some ideas for long-term policy thinking, but ultimately the policies will have to be written along with the democracies who have the best core competence in different sectors today. For the first time, these countries have common interests with India in trying to deal with a very powerful China. In summary, India may facilitate:

Democratic nations coming together to counter China. As Tanvi Madan, a young Indian author, suggests in her IDSA article: "India's available options will be determined not just by how India sees China and the US, but by how these two countries conceive of India's role and relative importance in their broader strategies." In Washington, the Sino-US relationship had a relatively higher priority than the US-India one. This priority has totally reversed and India must continue encashing in real terms. Its relationships with all other democracies must be strategized to continue this advantage, all democratic countries being fed up with China's tributary state nature and policies. The change in relationship is happening very fast, and India must invest more in these relationships with other democracies, to make them broader and deeper. It also needs to make democratic countries increase investments in India. Investment comes with risk, but if handled well, can also bring returns. Another way is for India to strengthen its own capacity by encashing the digital DNA of Indians all over the world, and thus its power and influence. The country can indeed use the relationships with China and the US to do this. But India will have to be proactive in making these efforts.

India has taken various policy reforms in the last few months to attract the foreign companies in India. These should be implemented efficiently.

Need to effect futuristic economic changes, have to be identified along with identified collaborators. We cannot start with elementary R&D. We have to develop counterparts of the US in the US-China cooperation. As Prof Ajay Shah puts it, "A nation's status in the world is critically about an extensive engagement with the world economy. The processes of economic diplomacy and 'soft power' are closely related to economic inter-linkages with the world." India has undergone two changes over the last 15 years: On the one hand, GDP has risen, but in addition, cross-border flows expressed as per cent of GDP have also risen substantially. Looking forward, an enhanced engagement with the external world will make a considerable difference to India's footprint in international affairs, and the extent to which countries will have an interest in being mindful of India's interests. From a policy perspective, this requires a shift away from an isolationist framework rooted in mistrust of foreigners, and fear of being called aligned. In the new world of continuously changing technologies and partisan world institutions, India must discover its new path of growing itself and also collaborating with its new partners. China did not grow miraculously on its own. US and world institutions did play a big partisan role. While many changes have taken place, much more remains to be done."

India must take its place at the high table -- Security Council. With China being under attack internationally, this is the ideal time to strategise entry or sell the idea of a democratic UN or a lobby within.

Minimizing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean and in the seas east of China through a NATO-like structure of democracies in this region.

Prevention of IPR and Technology Theft. Stronger WTO, and forcing a situation within WTO those IPR thefts bring real disadvantage. There cannot be repetitions of planned Tiananmen massacres and Uighur discriminations and yet partisan US treatment towards China by, for e.g., accelerating Chinese membership in 2001, bringing in a billion within WTO to the disadvantage of the whole rule abiding world and clear disadvantage of countries like Soviet Union/India/Souh East Asia etc. and no action after damning WTO 2017 and other reports of US and other countries against China for IPR and technology thefts, which have led to WTO becoming a non-institution. WHO seems to be going the same way, and its credibility has to be re-established by an independent enquiry into Covid, and change of guard, if necessary. UN institutions, which can be easily damned for their actions, weaken the entire UN's credibility.

Tackling the Threat to the Sovereignty of Nations through appropriate technology.

The US and other advanced democratic nations should decouple with China economically, as even Trump has announced and make India a manufacturing and mass base hub for research e.g. for IR 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 technologies and for space, drugs and automobile parts etc. so that dependendence on China for all manufacturing cycles can reduce for effective competition to be opened up. The world should recognize that democracies following all UNO rules should be put in advantageous positions.

India's policy problems in Achieving Sound Economic Growth (over-regulation) need to 'Be Dealt with Quickly' for IR 4.0, 5.0 and manufacturing technologies, as was effectively dealt for IR 3.0 technologies like mobile telephony, IT, broadband, broadcasting etc. in the past.

Facilitate shifting the centre of the fourth/fifth Industrial Revolution from China to India.

Challenge the Chinese Source of Power, created and nurtured carefully within their totalitarian systems, which have taken the world for a ride.

Developing more platforms like Aadhaar, JAM, UPI, Aarogya Setu digital stack etc and greater digital use on all networks.

Focusing on securing indigenization in one or more industries every year, by writing long/short-term programs.

(Pradip Baijal is former Secretary, Disinvestment and former Chairman, TRAI. He is the author of Containing the China Onslaught)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:27:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China opposes acts that disrupt international cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and undermine the world's and especially developing countries' anti-epidemic efforts.

In a telephone conversation with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Xi added that China is willing to continue to work with the international community, including Bangladesh, to support the World Health Organization in playing a leading role, promote international cooperation on joint prevention and control, and safeguard global public health security.

Xi said that at the critical moment in China's fight against the coronavirus disease, various sections of Bangladeshi society extended support to China in different ways, which has demonstrated the profound friendship the Bangladeshi people share with the Chinese people.

As the epidemic is currently spreading in South Asia, the task of prevention and control remains arduous, said Xi, adding that China will continue to provide firm support and as much assistance as its capacity allows for Bangladesh's anti-epidemic efforts in line with the latter's needs, and will also send a medical team to Bangladesh in the near future.

He said he is confident that under Hasina's leadership, the Bangladeshi people will prevail over the epidemic at an early date.

Expressing gratitude for the Bangladeshi government's help for Chinese nationals in the country, he said China will also continue to ensure the safety and health of Bangladeshi citizens in China.

China and Bangladesh are neighbors with traditional friendship and also important development partners, Xi said, suggesting that the two countries strengthen their strategic cooperative partnership and deepen cooperation in the joint construction of the Belt and Road.

He added that China stands ready to work with Bangladesh, on the basis of putting in place proper epidemic prevention and control measures, to gradually create favorable conditions for the two sides to resume the implementation of key cooperation projects and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, and lay a sound foundation for them to expand cooperation in various fields after the pandemic.

For her part, Hasina said that Bangladesh and China have a long-standing and profound friendship and Xi's successful state visit to Bangladesh in 2016 elevated bilateral relations to a new height.

When Bangladesh was experiencing a difficult time in its fight against the epidemic, China provided valuable support and assistance which has strengthened Bangladesh's capability for the epidemic prevention and control, and shored up Bangladesh's confidence in overcoming difficulties, for which Bangladesh is deeply grateful, Hasina said.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge which should be jointly addressed by all countries, she said.

The Bangladeshi prime minister thanked China for taking care of Bangladeshi nationals in China, especially Bangladeshi students in Wuhan, adding that her country will provide a good guarantee for the life of Chinese nationals in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is ready to jointly build the Belt and Road with China and promote the continuous development of the strategic cooperative partnership between Bangladesh and China, she added.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday ordered the House of Representative to stop its investigation into the allegation of bribery against it pending when the House appears before the court.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo gave this order following an investigative hearing held by a House ad-hoc committee over an alleged $10 million inducement levelled against the House by the spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Ugochinyere.

Mr Ugochinyere had alleged without evidence that members of the House of Representatives were induced by the Bill Gates Foundation with a $10 million bribe to pass the controversial infectious diseases bill, a claim the foundation has denied.

The House then launched a probe into the allegation by setting up an ad-hoc committee headed by Henry Nwawuba (PDP, Imo).

The committee held its first hearing on Monday, having invited Mr Ugochinyere and some media organisations, including, though erroneously, PREMIUM TIMES for which the committee apologised.

Mr Ugochinyere was represented by his legal counsel, Tochukwu Uhazurike at the hearing, but the committee rejected the representation, saying that arrangement was not in line with the rules of the House.

The committee then rescheduled the hearing to Thursday, insisting Mr Ugochinyere must appear before or face a charge of contempt of the parliament.

Mr Uhazurike argued that the matter was in court, therefore, his client could not be compelled to make an appearance.

Having approached the court on May 7, Mr Ugochinyere alongside Action Peoples Party (APP) had prayed that the court bar the House from proceeding with its plan to hold a hearing on the allegation of inducement.

Prayers approved

The court, in a suit labelled, FHC/ABJ/CS/475/2020, has now barred the committee from continuing with the hearing as slated.

Joined as defendants in the suit are House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, the House of Representatives, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Inspector-General of Police.

The case has been adjourned to May 27.
A former Winnipeg lawyer who was disbarred after he admitted misappropriating nearly $600,000 from the estates of two dozen clients will not face criminal prosecution, after a judge ruled dementia has left him unfit to stand trial.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A former Winnipeg lawyer who was disbarred after he admitted misappropriating nearly $600,000 from the estates of two dozen clients will not face criminal prosecution, after a judge ruled dementia has left him unfit to stand trial.

Peter Ottavio Jachetta, 72, was disbarred by the Law Society of Manitoba in 2015, after admitting to 25 counts of professional misconduct. Winnipeg police launched an investigation, and three years later charged Jachetta with criminal breach of trust, fraud, false pretenses and theft.

At a fitness hearing earlier this year, a forensic psychiatrist testified Jachetta suffers from dementia, brought on by Parkinsons disease and atherosclerosis.

In a written decision delivered earlier this month, provincial court Associate Chief Judge Anne Krahn said she was satisfied Jachetta was not exaggerating his symptoms to evade prosecution.

"I believe Mr. Jachetta when he tells me he does not know what this criminal proceeding is all about," Krahn said.

"I find his memory deficits would not allow him to remember the evidence of witnesses for any appreciable period of time, such that he could meaningfully participate in a trial or the presentation of his defence," she said.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

"I recognize the law does not require him to have a memory of the event, but he needs to have a sufficient working memory to understand and remember the testimony of witnesses."

Jachetta began practicing as a lawyer in 1974, and worked as a public trustee lawyer from 1978 to 2003.

According to law society records, Jachetta misappropriated funds 82 times, totalling $307,000 from one estate between 2008 and 2013.

Jachetta "used the estate as a pool of funds to replace funds that he had misappropriated in other estate matters over the course of several years, as well as for his own benefit, eventually depleting the estate," the law society said in a discipline case digest.

A three-member panel that presided over the matter "noted that the misappropriations by Mr. Jachetta were particularly egregious and among the highest the panel recalled in the law societys history Given the circumstances of dealing with estates, they were particularly vulnerable to this type of activity."

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Australian producers feel helpless and concerned that they will suffer most from the escalating diplomatic tensions between China and Australia that threaten to spill into tariffs on more local industries.

China this week slapped an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley amid simmering disagreement over Australias calls for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

Victorian producers of exports such as wine, seafood, dairy, fruit and oatmeal stand to be significantly affected by Chinese officials reportedly planning to target them with tariffs, customs delays and stricter quality checks.

Rod Micallef from Zonzo Estate in the Yarra Valley. Credit:Jason South

Rod Micallef, director of Zonzo Estate in the Yarra Valley, said all of his exports  about 15 per cent of his business  are to China.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has approved the rules for assessing the fair value of government-secured bonds, the regulator has reported.

This is enshrined in NBU Board resolution No. 327-rsh dated May 14, 2020 on approval of amendments to the fair value valuation procedure for residents' securities held by the NBU or accepted by the NBU as collateral for meeting obligations, which was published on the regulator's website and entered into force on May 14.

According to the report, the regulator will determine the value of such bonds taking into account the credit risk of a particular issue.

The correction factors for bonds will be calculated in accordance with Section Three of the rules for assessing the fair value of securities of residents.

As reported, the NBU from April 27 allowed to include government-secured bonds in a pool of collateral for refinancing loans or to use them for repos with the regulator.
The Premier Leagues first round of coronavirus testing resulted in six positive cases across three clubs after a total of 748 players and staff were swabbed.

That lowly figure, representing just 0.8% of the group, is encouraging and in line with other major European leagues resolving to finish the 2019-20 season.

Germanys top two divisions returned 10 positive results during their initial phase of testing, while Spain reported half of that for their premier tiers.

There was no expectation from any of the leagues that there would be zero Covid-19 cases detected at the start of the process and, if anything, the findings are helpful in creating the safest environment possible.

It's not a setback. It was always clear it could happen, the Bundesligas chief executive Christian Seifert said of positive results, which didnt hamper Germany's top flight becoming the first major league to resume amid the global pandemic last weekend.

One of the objectives of these tests was to detect asymptomatic cases, a statement from La Liga explained. That way we guarantee everyones safety as we return to work and comply with rules on workplace safety.

Burnley disclosed on Tuesday that their assistant manager Ian Woan was one of the six individuals to test positive and he was asymptomatic along with one player and two members of staff at Watford.

The Premier League are confident their measures to detect and contain the virus are robust as they enforce biosecure conditions to phase in Project Restart.

Whats the deal with the tests?

The Premier League invested 4million to acquire coronavirus testing kits as part of wide-ranging health protocols to ensure its Project Restart plan is implemented safely.

Conducted by Hong Kong-based biotechnology company Prenetics as part of its Project Screen programme, the tests will determine if an individual has the virus now and not if they have contracted it in the past.

How many tests are there?

Each club will receive up to 80 tests to ensure 40 players and staff can be tested twice a week.

Do the tests take away supply from the NHS or other frontline workers?

No, Prenetics are a private consortium and these tests have been paid for by the Premier League and is of no cost to the taxpayer.

"As a company, if we were asked to provide any preference to NHS that would be the first priority," Avi Lasarow, chief executive of the firm, told The Independent.

"But naturally we are not taking away any NHS capacity.

The Premier League have spent 4million on tests (Reuters)

What is the testing procedure?

The test consists of two parts. The first involves taking a swab of the nose and the back of the throat, which is done in less than a minute. These are conducted at drive-through stations. The samples are sealed and couriered to The Doctors Laboratory, a private facility in London. The analysis done there represents step two and is fed back to the Premier League clubs. Results can be delivered within 48 hours.

No specific details as to clubs or individuals that test positive will be provided by the league due to legal and operational requirements.

What happens if a player or member of staff tests positive?

If an individual has shown symptoms and tests positive for coronavirus, they must self-isolate for seven days before having to be swabbed again.

If theyve shown symptoms but test negative for coronavirus, they will need to follow the same directive.

If a player tests positive, its only him and his family who need to isolate, not anybody else, confirmed the Premier Leagues medical advisor, Dr Mark Gillett.

This will need to be looked at again when contact training resumes, however.

Are there any other measures related to testing?

Players and staff will have regular temperature checks and fill out a medical questionnaire daily.
ST. PAUL, Minn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 320 congratulates Governor Tim Walz for standing with Teamsters and other union state employees who are counting on their now-ratified labor agreements, which promise raises in the second year. Nearly 1,000 Teamsters Local 320 members were affected, in addition to thousands of other state employees.

On May 11, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted to ratify the collective bargaining agreements as submitted. On May 17, the Minnesota State Senate voted to ratify the agreements, but stripped the negotiated raises from the second year of the contract.

This was an unusual situation which required a thorough legal review. Based on that review, the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget (MMB) determined that the Minnesota Legislature ratified the 2019-2021 collective bargaining agreements and the legislature does not have the authority to unilaterally modify the agreements or plans. The MMB will implement them as submitted to the legislature under Governor Walz's leadership.

The collective bargaining process is established in statute, as is the process both the executive branch and legislature must follow. The executive branch negotiates agreements with state employees through their exclusive representatives. The executive branch then submits those agreements (along with the compensation plans) to the legislature, which can ratify them or reject them.

Senate Republican leadership came to the Teamsters and urged Local 320 to renegotiate their contract to strip the raises out from the second year of the contract. Teamsters Local 320 refused, standing with its membership and principles of free collective bargaining.

"We were not going to let Teamster members go backwards," said Brian Aldes, Teamsters Local 320 Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer. "Teamsters Local 320 will never renegotiate a tentative agreement under political threat!

It's always unfortunate when labor unions come under political attack, but Teamster members demanded action and we must be clear: only one Republican legislator voted to support our labor contracts and that was Senator Jim Abeler (R  Anoka). We must thank the Senate and House DFL leadership and members for supporting workers and collective bargaining."

"What should have been a straightforward process became a rollercoaster ride of partisanship and union bashing," said Sami Gabriel, Local 320 President and Chief Negotiator. "The agreements were negotiated in good faith and we are happy that Governor Walz pushed through the agreements unscathed from legislative interference."

Teamsters Local 320 represents thousands of public sector workers throughout Minnesota. For more information go to https://www.teamsterslocal320.org/.

Contact:

Gus Froemke, (319) 939-4339

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 320
Ahead of a surge in mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus, New Jersey voting rights and social justice groups are suing to change how the state counts votes.

In order to verify a ballot, election officials currently compare the signature on a ballot with the corresponding signature on the initial application, according to state law.

That has led untrained staff to arbitrarily throw out thousands of votes without due process, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by a resident with Parkinsons disease, who said his shaking hand has fundamentally altered how he signs his name.

When you think about how much a signature can change over the years, or how a disability can impact ones handwriting, it is clear that this is unacceptable, Ryan Haygood, president of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, said in a statement.

The institute co-filed the complaint in U.S. District Court of New Jersey on behalf of the resident with Parkinsons and the state chapters of the League of Women Voters and the NAACP.

New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way should notify voters about possible rejections, the groups argued, provide a way for those voters to appeal and better train officials who review signatures.

A spokeswoman for Way did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Even before a pandemic threatened in-person voting, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law earlier this year making it easier vote by mail, and Murphy has directed that most votes be mailed in for the states July primary.

More than 355,700 mail-in ballots were cast during the last presidential election, about 9% of all votes, according to state data.

About 4,000 of those votes were thrown out because of a signature-related problem, according to the complaint.

That especially affects residents who speak English as a second language, those with less education and anyone with a disability, the lawsuit said, and the likelihood of having a ballot thrown out because of a signature varied by county. For example, problems with matching signatures led to a larger share of rejected ballots in Hudson County than in Union in 2016, according to the complaint.

The state doesnt train election officials in signature or handwriting analysis, the lawsuit said, nor does it provide them with written standards or guidelines to aid in this assessment. Voters can only find out if their vote wasnt counted after the election, the lawsuit said, when its too late to challenge the decision.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN.

Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.
Benson Oak Capitals private equity arm and co-investors have sold 100% of their stake in Klikpojisteni.cz, a.s. to a company majority owned by TA Associates, a global growth private equity firm, and minority owned by MCI EuroVentures, a technology investment fund.

Klik operates an online insurance brokerage in the Czech Republic and Slovakia under domain names Klik.cz and Klik.sk, with offices in Prague, Usti nad Labem and Bratislava. It offers clients the ability to compare prices for non-life and life insurance products, including MTPL, CASCO, home, travel and term life insurance.

The company will continue to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary under the Klik brand and under the leadership of its original founder Andrew Fuchs and management team, including Ales Rothbarth and Lukas Pikal, as it continues to innovate and provide high value to both insurers and policy-holders. The buyer of Klik also owns Netrisk, which operates Netrisk.hu and Biztositas.hu, two Hungarian online insurance brokerages. Klik.cz and Klik.sk will thus become key components of Central European Online Insurance Brokerage Group alongside netrisk.hu and Biztositas.hu.

Benson Oak and other investors funded Klik from its inception in 2011, and supported the company with multiple rounds of investment. Major Klik shareholders will become minority shareholders in the combined group, a sign of their continued commitment and belief in the team and the market.

Founded in 2011, Klik.cz is an online insurance brokerage company in the Czech Republic. In 2018, it entered Slovakia with Klik.sk. It offers clients the ability to transparently compare the prices for non-life insurance and life insurance products, including MTPL, CASCO, home, travel and term life insurance.

Founded in 1994, Netrisk is an independent online insurance brokerage company in Hungary. In 2001, it became the first Hungarian company offering a platform for comparing and distributing insurance products via the internet. Today, Netrisk distributes several types of non-life insurance products, including MTPL, CASCO, home and travel insurance policies. In December 2019, Netrisk acquired one of its largest competitors, Biztositas.hu. The company is led by Andrew Fuchs, Founder, CEO and Chairman of the board of Klik.cz and Klik.sk.

FinSMEs

20/05/2020
Police investigating a series of fraudulent ATM transactions in Belfast have released images of three men detectives wish to speak to.

Detectives are carrying out a "complex and lengthy investigation" into the transactions which occurred between August 24 and August 28 in 2018.

They are now trying to identify three men who they believe may have information which could assist with their inquiries.

Detective Sergeant Corrigan said, The identification of these males is of vital importance to this investigation, as they may have information that can help us. I am appealing to anyone who can help identify these individuals to contact police on 101 quoting reference number 820 16/10/2018.

Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
Great news for rescue animals as RSPCA restarts rehoming again in Wales

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

Rescue pets in the care of the RSPCA in Wales can be re-homed again for the first time since coronavirus restrictions came into force.

The Welsh Government is now directing animal rescue organisations to new guidance that has been published by the Animal Welfare Network for Wales. This will allow rescue centres and animal welfare organisations to safely find new homes for animals in their care, or foster them out to temporary carers.

Animal centres in Wales are still unable to open for the public to visit or collect animals due to the restrictions on non-essential travel. Instead the guidance ensures rescue and rehoming centres can safely transport animals to a new home or temporary foster home while adhering to the Welsh Governments Covid-19 restrictions  including steps such as virtual home checks and digital post-adoption support.

The guidance also provides organisations with advice on taking animals into their care, providing appropriate care and delivering any necessary veterinary treatments amid the Covid-19 restrictions,

RSPCA Cymru say the guidance is great news for the scores of rescue animals currently in their care in Wales. The charitys animal centres at Newport and Bryn-Y-Maen in Upper Colwyn Bay have continued to provide care for 185 animals in recent weeks  despite not being able to re-home these dogs, cats and other domestic animals to the public.

Sharpei crossbreed Cassie is a veteran dog who has been in the RSPCAs care since November 2019, and is into her second spell at the centre. Cassie is 12 years old  but has no issues getting out and about, and loves exploring on long walks. She would therefore benefit from an active home; while having someone at home for a significant chunk of the day is key to ensure she gets the love, attention and fuss she craves.

Milkyway  a two-year-old domestic albino rabbit  is one of the 107 animals based at the Bryn-Y-Maen Animal Centre.

He came into the RSPCAs care following concerns for his welfare  after he was kept in inappropriate accommodation with three other rabbits; a small hutch which had not been cleaned out for some time. Hes full of confidence  but Milkyways eyesight is quite poor, meaning he is jumpy when touched.

The RSPCA is seeking a home with an experienced rabbit owner  and for him to be housed with a neutered female rabbit for company.

Coralie Farren, RSPCA regional operations manager for Wales, said: RSPCA rescue teams have been on the frontline across Wales throughout the coronavirus crisis, rescuing animals in emergency situations. However, as of yet, we havent been able to rehome these animals.

That has now changed due to this hugely important new guidance from the Animal Welfare Network for Wales  which has been backed by the Welsh Government and will allow animal centres to pick up their vital rehoming work.

Our animal centres will remain closed to the public  but we have developed a number of new protocols meaning we can adhere to social distancing and other Covid-19 restrictions, while delivering rescue pets to perfect new homes. This really is great news for animals amid these toughest times.

Dedicated staff at our centres have provided amazing care for these animals during this crisis. But we know nothing can beat a loving home for an animal, and were excited to start ensuring perfect matches across Wales following this very welcome announcement.

For some families and households, this will be an ideal time to settle in a new pet, with plenty more time to give them love and attention.

However, we urge prospective adopters to plan for the future and consider whether an animal will be the right decision for them after the lockdown is over and some normality returns to society.

But if adopting an animal is the right thing for you  the RSPCA has so many cats, dogs, equines and small domestic animals in our care  so anyone interested in adopting an RSPCA rescue animal can check out the Find a Pet website.

Due to the current crisis, some RSPCA rehoming centres have limited staff available to take calls and emails so may take longer to respond to enquiries than usual. It is anticipated some animals will be available for rehoming straight away.

Anyone looking to re-home an animal must also be aware of the current Covid-19, and their impact on elements of pet ownership  including not being able to travel for exercise, and limits on routine veterinary procedures. Additional information about current restrictions can be found on the Welsh Government website.
Citigroup Inc. is considering opening satellite offices outside New York City as the finance industry grapples with when it will be safe to bring workers back to Manhattan.

With the pandemic fueling anxiety about public transportation and dense urban offices, large banks and financial firms in Manhattan are looking elsewhere for space to let workers spread out and avoid commuting into the city.

Citigroup is considering short-term leases for space that is furnished and ready to be occupied in locations including Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions are preliminary as the company weighs its options, the people said.

Citigroup declined to comment.

Financial firms have reached out to RXR Realty, a major Manhattan landlord that also owns office space in the suburbs, to inquire about its buildings in Long Island and Westchester, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Rubenstein Partners, which owns offices in northern New Jersey and Stamford, Connecticut, has gotten inquiries on "several hundred thousand square feet" of space, mostly from New York-anchored firms, according to Brandon Huffman, a principal at the firm.

"There's an overwhelming number of employees that need mass transit to access the urban environment," he said. "Nobody knows how that's going to work in a social-distancing world."

Real estate brokers and landlords have also seen a surge in interest for offices outside New York from media and technology companies and law firms. The new interest could provide a boost to suburban properties previously seen as less desirable than glassy towers in Manhattan.

Big banks and money managers have been moving employees away from New York and the surrounding area to cheaper U.S. cities for years. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has built up operations in Salt Lake City, Deutsche Bank AG has expanded in Jacksonville, Florida, and AllianceBernstein is moving its corporate headquarters to Nashville. The pandemic could speed up the exodus, at least in the short term.

The coronavirus outbreak has raised questions about the safety of crowded building lobbies and packed elevators, not to mention the wisdom of long commutes into Manhattan after months of workers at home with minimal hiccups.

Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman recently said he could imagine a future with "much less real estate," while JPMorgan Chase & Co., which is building a new tower near Grand Central Terminal, expects to keep its office half full, at most, for the "foreseeable future."

Many of Citigroup's employees, like others in Manhattan's finance industry, have been working from home since March, with no set date for a return. The bank has spent years investing in a massive renovation of its offices in Tribeca that will allow it to fit more employees in the building, with floor-by-floor renovations combining 388 and 390 Greenwich St. into a single headquarters.

Citigroup has moved employees from offices in midtown Manhattan and Queens into the Tribeca location in recent years. The bank is slated to exit one of its offices in Long Island City when its lease ends this year. It has said it will still house at least 1,000 employees in a neighboring building after exiting the lease.

For now, Manhattan-based finance firms are focused on suburban office leases of two to three years, with options to renew. Most of them are still trying to figure out how much space they need and discussions largely revolve around elevator flow and whether bathrooms will be shared, according to brokers.

Companies are also evaluating how many people they can keep permanently at home, says Brett White, CEO at Cushman & Wakefield. Many have realized that many workers will still want some access to an office, but the key issue is a safe commute, he said.

"New York is a classic example where mass transit is such a big issue, it's the most dangerous place an employee's going to be in their work day in terms of infection," White says. "Companies will look at satellite offices in places people can get to easily without mass transit, whether they drive or bike."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:51:28|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA), held virtually, in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19, 2020. (WHO/Handout via Xinhua)

The resolution unequivocally affirms and supports the leading role of the World Health Organization (WHO) and calls on member states to take necessary measures to prevent discrimination and stigmatization and combat misinformation and disinformation.



BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China has welcomed the adoption of a resolution by the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) regarding COVID-19, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Wednesday.

Zhao made the remarks at a press briefing when asked to comment on the resolution proposed by the European Union and adopted by consensus before the closing of the WHA's virtual conference Tuesday.

The resolution unequivocally affirms and supports the leading role of the World Health Organization (WHO) and calls on member states to take necessary measures to prevent discrimination and stigmatization and combat misinformation and disinformation. It also calls for strengthening cooperation in the development of diagnostic tools, treatment methods, drugs and vaccines and continued efforts to discover the animal sources of the virus as well as evaluating the WHO's response to the outbreak at the appropriate time, Zhao said.

"All these are in line with China's position and meet the shared aspiration of the overwhelming majority of countries in the international community," said Zhao, adding that China has actively participated in the consultations and is one of the 140 plus co-sponsors of the draft resolution.

With regards to issues of virus source tracing, the resolution basically refers to the wording recommended by the International Health Regulations on May 1 and strictly limits the scope of the research to animal sources, intermediate hosts and transmission routes. This is with the aim of better coping with the pandemic in the future by the international community, Zhao said, "This is also what is suggested by the WHO and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus."

"Indeed, some countries requested that source tracing of the virus be given priority during the consultation but the vast majority of countries believed the current focus should be on pandemic prevention and control," the spokesperson said, stressing that this demonstrates that there is no "market" for politicizing the source tracing issue.

Regarding issues of evaluation of the WHO, the resolution proposes that it should be conducted following consultations between the WHO director-general and member states. The evaluation aims to review the WHO's experience in responding to the pandemic and produce suggestions for future work, Zhao said.

The WHO has evaluated responses to both the H1N1 flu and Ebola. Evaluation is a standard practice of the WHO following a major pandemic and requires the process to be gradual, impartial, independent and comprehensive, rather than being monopolized by a few countries, he said.

"China hopes the resolution adopted by the WHA will be fully and accurately implemented," he said.

In terms of the rumor spread by some media alleging China was "compelled" to be a co-sponsor of the resolution, Zhao responded by saying that it is "total nonsense."

The fact is that China, together with most countries, resolutely smashed specific countries' intentions to politicize source tracing and evaluation issues and ensured objectivity and fairness of the resolution, Zhao stressed.

"We advise specific countries not to fabricate lies and find excuses for their failures," he said. 
NEW YORK - Fabian Arias arrived in New York City from his native Argentina for what was supposed to be a six-month trip. But the hardships of the Latino immigrant communities he encountered overwhelmed him, and inspired a life-long mission.

I was young and upset and I listened to Gods voice, and he said that this is my place in this moment in my life, Arias said.

Eighteen years later, hes an ordained Lutheran pastor of Saint Peters Church in Manhattan. And he reflects on the pressures of consoling the living and performing funeral rites for the dead during a pandemic that has disproportionately affected the citys Hispanic community.

Its very difficult for me to take a normal life and I cant sleep, said Arias, 56.

I dont know why but I feel more strength, as if God put it there in me, when I see people in a bad situation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sent shock waves through New Yorks social strata, bringing into sharp relief the inequalities burdening families that are the backbone of the citys essential workforce.

As businesses remain shuttered, many have begun to rely on makeshift food donation programs such as the one Arias operates six days a week with the help of a small legion of volunteers fanning out across the boroughs.

As loved ones die in isolation, their grieving families struggle to provide services such as those that Arias delivers in their homes. Hes aware of the risk but he knows they need an alternative to busy funeral homes that have become prohibitively expensive during the virus outbreak.

The death toll has neared 40 people among the roughly 400 parishioners of his churchs Spanish-language services.

On a recent Sunday, he offered services from his spartan apartment in the Bronx via live stream. It included a reading of the painfully long list of the recently deceased from his congregation.

Arias also printed funeral Mass cards for a service in the Queens apartment of Graciela Ruiz, who died of complications from the virus.

A day earlier, he prayed in the streets in several boroughs before he handed out food to hundreds of masked and weary New Yorkers, imploring them to remain vigilant and protect themselves from exposure.

There are no breaks. There are few pauses. Food must be purchased, sorted, and delivered. There are endless phone calls from crying, grieving families and their sick, sometimes coughing into the receiver and begging for prayers. Prayers and funeral rites must be given.

Arias tenacity is of no surprise to those who know him well.

I see him as the leader of the immigrants, said Hermes Espinoza, 28, of Mexico, who was just turning 18-years old when Arias became his legal guardian, the first of many who consider him a second father figure.

Hes a hero to the people and he is just doing his job, Espinoza said. Hes a humble person and a beautiful person, inside and out.
A ceremony was held at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday for the late Chinese ambassador to Israel who was found dead at his home near Tel Aviv on Sunday.

Du Wei, 58, was appointed envoy in February in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. He had previously served as China's envoy to Ukraine.

Authorities said there were no suspicious circumstances.

His death came two days after he condemned comments by visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who denounced Chinese investments in Israel and accused China of hiding information about the virus outbreak.
Actor turned producer John Abraham is counted amongst the most bankable stars in Bollywood. With every other film, John makes a mark in the Bollywood film industry. Known for his diverse movie choices, breathtaking action sequences, and charming personality, John Abraham rules millions of hearts. His body of work is not just remarkable but shows JB's versatility as an actor too.

Read: John Abraham To Abhay Deol: B-town Actors Who Are Blessed With Dimples, See List Here

In 2013, John Abraham co-produced Madras Cafe with Rising Sun Films and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. He also starred in the action-thriller film and played the lead role of an Indian Intelligence officer. Nargis Fakhri was the female lead in Madras Cafe. This John Abraham film revolved around the murder conspiracy and assassination of a former Indian Prime Minister.

This John Abraham starrer got rave reviews at the box-office and was highly lauded by critics for its marvellous screenplay. Madras Cafe was helmed by celebrated filmmaker Shoojit Sircar. Madras Cafe also crossed the enviable 100 crore mark at the box-office. Talking about this John Abraham film, let's take a look at some exciting lesser-known facts about Madras Cafe, we bet you had no idea about.

Lesser-Known Facts About John Abrahams starrer Madras Cafe

Madras Cafe is based on a true story. It revolves of the assassination of India's former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed by a human bomb in Tamil Nadu, by LTTE terrorist group. The National Anti Terrorism Day is observed on May 21 year, as it is the death anniversary of Mr Gandhi on the same.

Madras Cafe won two National Awards at the 61st National Film Awards. One for the best sound design to Bishwadeep Chatterjee, and second by Nihar Ranjan Samal for best Audiography.

The film also shows how India's intervention in Sri Lanka's personal affair affected our relationship with the neighbouring country. That a group conspired against our ex-Prime Minister and ruthlessly assassinated in a public event.

Read: John Abraham's Movies You Can Watch On Netflix During Quarantine, See Full List

Madras Cafe was not the original title of the Shoojit Sircar film, it was changed from Jaffna, the initial title of the thriller flick.

Popular South Indian actor Raashi Khanna made her Bollywood debut with Madras Cafe. Raashi Khanna has featured in several south Indian films like Bengal Tiger, Supreme, and Tholi Prema.

Nargis Fakhri shared screen space with John Abraham for the first time in the action flick.

Read: John Abraham And Priyanka Chopra Have Done THESE Many Movies Together

Raashi Khanna who played a pivotal role in the movie as Ruby Singh aka John Abraham's wife was not the original choice for the role. Director Shoojit Sircar first approached Sheetal Mallar a famous model for the character. But when due to some reasons Sheetal could not take up the project, that's when Raashi Khanna was roped in to play Ruby onscreen.

Nargis Fakhri is an American model turned actor. In Madras Cafe, her voice was not dubbed, unlike her other films, as most dialogues of the Rockstar actor were in English had no difficulty in delivering her lines.

Read: John Abraham Made Special Appearances In THESE Blockbuster Movies; See List

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. and MILPITAS, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- UbiQD, Inc., an advanced materials company powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security, and Nanosys, Inc., the quantum dot manufacturing leader, announced today that they have agreed to partner on the development and manufacturing of UbiGro luminescent greenhouse films.

In the foreground, Nanosys Facilities and Equipment Manager presents a sheet of UbiGro greenhouse film that uses fluorescent quantum dots to help plants get more from the sun. Behind him stands an over 2,000 L quantum dot production reactor.

Installed above plants in a greenhouse, UbiGro is a layer of light that helps plants get more from the sun. UbiGro uses fluorescence to create a more optimal light spectrum for crops, converting under-utilized portions of sunlight to more photosynthetically efficient orange light that plants crave. Over the last two years, early adopters and greenhouse technology institutes have trialed and tested UbiGro. These pilot customers in the US and Europe have seen encouraging results, including higher production yields and improved harvests. With increasing customer demand, UbiQD began looking for options to ramp-up production. Nanosys, having demonstrated quantum dot's scalability in the display industry, was a natural partner.

"The greenhouse cover films market produces twenty times more area than the display industry and continues to grow in double digits on an annual basis," said Jason Hartlove, CEO of Nanosys. "Greenhouses represent a massive opportunity for the unique benefits of quantum dot technology. We look forward to working with UbiQD to bring UbiGro to market with our industry-leading scale, cost-effectiveness and highest quality manufacturing standards."

Nanosys brings its large-scale manufacturing technologies for quantum dots and films, proven in the display market, to help UbiQD address the massive greenhouse market for UbiGro, estimated to be over 50 billion ft2 globally. Through this partnership, the technology inside the latest TVs from top brands will soon help boost the world's food supply by making greenhouse farming more efficient.

"The success of Nanosys in the display industry has inspired many of us working to bring advanced materials to market," said Hunter McDaniel, UbiQD Founder and CEO. "We plan to leverage Nanosys' deep domain experience in quantum dot end-product integration, as well as their manufacturing scale, to accelerate our deployment of sustainable quantum dots into agriculture."

UbiQD is leading the way towards sun-powered spectrum optimization in controlled environment agriculture. With the UbiQD and Nanosys partnership, UbiGro is set to become more accessible and widely deployed in the global greenhouse industry.

About UbiQD, Inc.

UbiQD is an advanced materials company powering product innovations in agriculture, clean energy, and security. Our novel quantum dots enable industry leaders to harness the power of light. Our first product, UbiGro, is a layer of light that uses fluorescence to create a more optimal greenhouse spectrum for crops. Headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, the company is licensing technology developed at leading research institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory and MIT. To learn more, please visit: http://www.ubiqd.com and http://www.ubigro.com.

About Nanosys, Inc.

Nanosys, Inc. is the leader in developing and delivering state-of-the-art heavy metal free quantum dot technology to the display industry. As of 2020, industry leading consumer electronics brands have shipped more than 20 million devices from tablets to monitors and TVs based on Nanosys' proprietary quantum dot technology. Founded in 2001, the company is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California where it operates the world's largest quantum dot nanomaterials fab. Nanosys currently owns or has exclusive license rights to more than 470 issued and pending patents worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.nanosysinc.com/.

Media Contact

Kat Brown

Jones-Dilworth, Inc.

713-498-3643

[email protected]

SOURCE UbiQD, Inc.

Related Links

https://ubiqd.com


Indias capital market regulator has allowed some categories of debt mutual funds to invest more in government bonds and treasury bills.

Corporate bond funds, banking & PSU funds and credit risk funds can invest an additional 15% of their assets in sovereign bonds or treasury bills, according to a letter from the Securities and Exchange Board of India seen by Bloomberg News. The increase in investment limit was sought by the mutual funds trade body and is valid for three months, according to the letter.

Sebi wants to make the portfolios of these products liquid after mutual funds witnessed large redemptions last month in the wake of Franklin Templetons shock decision in April to wind up $4.1 billion of its debt funds in India.

Liquidity problem with lower-rated corporate debt has been ignored for very long time and that is now haunting the entire debt mutual fund space, said Pankaj Pathak, fixed-income fund manager at Quantum Asset Management Co.

Spokespersons at Sebi and the Association of Mutual Funds of India declined an immediate comment.

Sebi has changed the design for the three funds to make room for the increase in holdings of government debt. Corporate bond funds must now invest at least 65% of assets in AA+ and above rated papers. Similarly, for credit risk funds minimum 50% of total assets should be in AA and below rated corporate bonds.

For banking and public sector unit funds, minimum 65% of assets have to be invested in debt issued by banks, state-run firms, municipal bonds and public financial institutions, according to the letter.
LONDON - The British government is to unveil legislation Wednesday that could potentially see indefinite curbs on the movements of suspected terrorists, a move thats prompted concerns over civil liberties.

The Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill, which is being labelled as the largest overhaul of terrorist sentencing and monitoring in decades, follows a series of attacks that the government said necessitated changes to terror legislation.

We promised to act and today we are delivering on that promise, Home Secretary Priti Patel said.

Under the proposed changes to the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures, courts will be able to limit the movement of individuals, including via enforced curfews and tagging, for an indefinite period, subject to review, rather than for a maximum of two years. The bill also seeks to lower the evidence threshold for imposing curbs.

The government says the changes are necessary after 28-year-old Usman Khan stabbed several people, two fatally, near London Bridge last November, before he was tackled by members of the public and shot dead by police officers. He had previously served six years in prison for terror crimes.

Rosalind Comyn, policy and campaigns officer for human rights group Liberty, said the governments counter-terror strategy is failing and that the new bill threatens civil liberties.

By reintroducing, in all but name, the widely condemned control orders, a fundamental principle of justice  the presumption of innocence  hangs in the balance, she said.
The Sisssla East Municipal Hospital had put stringent measures in place to protect clients from contracting the COVID-19 as the municipality has recorded positive cases of the virus.



Dr. Bukari Zakaria the resident Medical Physician told the Ghana News Agency that the authorities at the Tumu hospital have put in place preventive measures to control the spread of the virus by ensuring that the visitors observe social distancing, the very sick persons given priority attention, and ensuring that those with underlining health conditions do not come into contact with suspected COVID-19 persons.



Dr. Zakaria said special arrangements have also been made for asthmatic and diabetic patients as well as other persons with underlining health conditions to receive their treatment on time.



He said those patients would either be given three months' long medication or place a phone call on them to be taken care of to protect such persons from visiting the hospital premises regularly as it was seen as a risk.



He said the management of the facility had insisted that people wash their hands before entering the hospital and must observe social distancing and wearing of nose mask.



Due to lack of space in the hospital, wards only admit serious illness as the beds had been re-arranged to keep distances so that patients do not get closer to each other, Dr Zakaria added.



Mr Alex Bapula, the Sissala East Municipal Director of Health, also in an interview with the GNA indicated that about 366 samples of contact tracing that was undertaken a week ago had been tested negative of COVID-19, and that about 94 samples were yet to be released.



The Health Director noted that stigmatization among the community members of suspected COVID-19 persons was affecting the fight against the pandemic, and called on all to assist such persons to be reintegrated into their families.



The social distance is not being practiced as expected whilst inadequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health personnel is another challenge affecting the health staff in their quest to fighting the COVID-19, Mr Bapula said.



The Sissala East recorded seven cases of the COVID-19 involving mainly people who travelled into the municipality from Kumasi and Accra during the partial lockdown period.



All the people returning to the Upper West Region within that period were made to undergo mandatory screening before entering into the region.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Cyclone Amphan batters Bengal, Odisha: Mamata Banerjee claims 12 dead, 6.5 lakh evacuated

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 21: The extremely severe cyclone Amphan, packing winds of up to 190 kmph on Wednesday rampaged through coastal Odisha and West Bengal, dumping heavy rain, swamping homes and farmland, and leaving at least three people dead.

While a man and a woman were reported killed when trees came crashing down on them in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, a 13-year-old girl died in a similar incident in adjoining Howrah. No casualties have yet been reported from Odisha.

However, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, monitoring the situation from the state secretariat, claimed at least 10-12 people lost their lives.

"Area after area has been ruined. I have experienced a war-like situation today. At least 10-12 people have died. Nandigram, Ramnagar....the two districts of North and South 24 Parganas are destroyed," she said.

With rains continuing, she said the hardest hits areas were not immediately accessible and authorities said they can only make a proper assessment of the destruction on Thursday morning.

'Worse than Coronavirus': Mamata Banerjee on Cyclone Amphan impact

"We are facing greater damage and devastation than COVID-19," Banerjee said, referring to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that has so far killed 250 people in the state.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, officials said at least four people were killed, with power supplies cut off in some districts. Authorities there had shifted around 2.4 million people to more than 15,000 storm shelters this week. Bangladeshi officials also said they had moved hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, living on a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, to shelter.

Cyclone Amphan: Atleast 2 killed in West Bengal as cyclone makes landing | Oneindia News

After making landfall at 2.30 pm between Digha in Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh, Amphan cut a swathe through the coastal areas, flattening fragile dwellings, uprooting trees and electric poles. At least 6.58 lakh people were evacuated in Bengal and Odisha before the cyclone struck.

"The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal. The intensity of the cyclone near its centre as the landfall process started was recorded at 160-170 kmph, gusting to 190 kmph," said the weather department said.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) chief SN Pradhan said 20 teams of the federal force had already begun road clearing operations in Odisha, while the 19 units deployed in Bengal were shifting people to safety.

Quoting figures made available by the two states, Pradhan said over 5 lakh people were evacuated in Bengal and more than 1.58 lakh in Odisha.

Television footage showed gigantic tidal waves crashing into a seawall in Digha, close to the landfall site. Thick sheets of rain blurred the vast coastline in the two states and surging waters engulfed mud-and-thatch houses, flattening them in a trice.

Heavy machinery was moved in to clear the roads blocked by falling trees. A video clip of an under-construction Kolkata skyscraper showed huge aluminium sheets flying like bird feathers in the air.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said gale-strength winds speeding at 160-170 kmph were pounding South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts and could be gusting up to 185 kmph. He said the wall of the eye of the monster cyclone, the most explosive part of a cyclonic system, triggered copious rain in the three districts. The eye of the storm itself was 30 km in diameter, he said.

Cyclone Amphan: It is a long haul, 40 NDRF teams deployed in Odisha, Bengal; 24 on standby

Mohapatra said the intensity of the rain and winds accompanying it could deceptively look like ebbing away briefly, but will surge afresh once the rear sector of the storm has reached the landmass.

The whole cyclonic system reached the landmass by 7 pm, before moving forward in fury.

Reports arriving in Kolkata from North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore said roofs of thatched houses were blown away, electric poles got twisted and hundreds of trees broken and uprooted. Streets and homes in low-lying areas of Kolkata were swamped with rainwater.

Alipore in central Kolkata recorded a massive 222 mm of rainfall and Dumdum 194 mm between 8 am and 8:30 pm. Even when the rain stopped in most parts of Kolkata after 9 pm, high-velocity winds continued to sweep the metropolis and its satellite towns. Almost the entire city was plunged into darkness since the evening as electric supply either got snapped due to rain and wind or was suspended as a precautionary measure. Cell-phone services were disrupted in many places.

Despite losing its force a bit since Tuesday, the storm, which was categorised as super cyclone at one point of time, left the two eastern states on edge as it hollered on its destructive path.

Banerjee said the enormity of the devastation will become clearer by Thursday when the storm will have passed over the state.

In Odisha, intense rainfall was recorded in several areas of Puri, Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Ganjam, Ganjam, Bhadrak and Balasore districts since Tuesday.

The rains and high-velocity winds ebbed away by late Wednesday night but not before causing massive damage to standing crops, plantations and infrastructure.

A tidal surge of up to five metres occurred in North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts of Bengal, inundating vast tracts of land, officials said.

The turbulence will likely extend to Assam and Meghalaya, triggering heavy to very heavy rain on Thursday.

Mohapatra said since the time the depression formed over the Bay of Bengal on May 20 till the cyclone made the landfall, the IMDs predictions about the path it will take and the timing was accurate and helped the disaster response machinery strategise and execute the plans to minimise the damage effectively.

The cyclonic storm will get weaker while crossing over Nadia and Murshidabad in Bengal later on Wednesday night before entering Bangladesh as deep depression and dissipating.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist . The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

Ten years ago, instant cameras were nearly extinct. And then, somehow they joined the nostalgia parade, hopping right up on the same float as vinyl and cassette tapes. As a result, over the last few years a whole new generation of instant cameras have been introduced, with a range of prices and capabilities. To help you determine the right instant camera for you, we asked seven professional photographers to tell us which cameras take the best pictures and, maybe more important, which cameras can be the most fun: I encourage a novice to focus predominantly on the aspect that makes it fun for them to use the camera, says Wesley Verhoeve, a photographer and curator.

Advertisement

Most modern instant cameras range in cost from $60 to $150. Each manufacturer has its own film pack, which comes with a set number of exposures. For example, Polaroid cameras use i-Type film and produce eight photos per pack, while Fujifilm Instax cameras cost less and give you ten exposures. Which you choose is a matter of personal preference, and according to our experts, its pretty tough to go wrong. The thing that I love about instant film, regardless of the price point, is that somehow it still manages to seem completely magical, says Dan Rubin, a photographer and designer. Just point and shoot, and moments later you have your picture.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Many of our experts mentioned this magic quality. Kyle Depew, the founder of Brooklyn Film Camera and New York City Film Lab, was one of the people behind the Impossible Project, which launched in 2008 to help revive the Polaroid brand. For him, instant cameras feel alive with energy. The experience of holding an instant picture as it develops, he says, is universally moving. People, young and old, [love watching] themselves slowly take form. This is magic in your hands, pure and simple. If youre looking to capture a little bit of that magic yourself, here are the best instant cameras our experts recommend to do it.

Best overall instant camera

The Instax Mini is one of the cheaper instant cameras on the market, and five of our experts recommend it due to its simplicity. Its foolproof, says photographer June Kim. You can just pop in the film and theres no way to mess it up  unless you can somehow open the camera while its taking a photo. Plus, she says, Instax film is everywhere. Sean Brown, a photographer and designer, also likes the Mini for its ease of use and the availability of its film. As Rubin explains, Fuji has been selling its film for longer as a bigger company with more access to retail stores. In terms of image quality, Depew says the Mini can take great pictures, but warns that, like many budget cameras, it has some weaknesses. Lenses on budget cameras tend to be made of plastic instead of glass, he says. So theyre less sharp and easier to scratch or damage.

Best instant camera for beginners

Three experts suggest the Polaroid One Step 2 for beginners. Its a great camera  super lightweight and easy to take around, Rubin says. The camera has a battery that you can charge via USB, and the exposure works well. Unlike the Mini above, the One Step 2 has an optional flash, which can give a novice a little more control, especially in low-light situations like parties or where a subject is backlit. Depew and Kim stress that, although its a little more expensive than other options, Polaroid film is better for beginners because its larger and produces a clearer image. And like the Mini, its simple. It has very few settings, but thats the whole point. You can pick it up and start using it. You dont need to think about it, Rubin says.

Best instant camera for advanced controls

The One Step+ is similar to the One Step 2, but it allows for more creative control through long or multiple exposures. Plus, the app lets you trigger the shutter on the camera through a Bluetooth connection. If you were to put it on a tripod you could take self-portraits. You could do long exposures playing with light painting or anything else. You can even trigger it by sound or movement, Rubin says. The camera has automatic and manual modes and two built-in lenses, allowing you to swap between portrait or landscape modes. Steph Estrada, a freelance photographer, says, I really enjoy experimenting, so I like using double exposures with this camera and the self-timer. You can play around with it and create cool content.

Best instant camera for travel

Rubin often travels with a Fuji Instax Mini 90. Its so much smaller compared to the Polaroids and its all plastic, he says. Plus it uses a business-card-size film, and that film is everywhere. That film is also relatively inexpensive, which means if Im hanging out with my young nieces and nephews, its easy to hand them the camera and let them take a couple of pictures, he says. The camera produces nice images and exposes the scene fairly well, too, he says. And it also has a portrait, landscape, or macro mode, which allows you to be a little more creative with it.

Best analog instant camera

The LomoInstant shines thanks to its advanced settings, which include multiple exposure modes and a remote-control shutter release. If youre a beginner, these things can be a little tricky, but if you know what youre doing and you love the romantic notion of analog photography, our experts say youll have a lot of fun with the LomoInstant. George Muncey, a photographer and the creator of the popular YouTube photography channel Negative Feedback, likes the LomoInstant and points out that it uses Instax film, which I find to be more accurate with colors, cheaper, and quicker to develop. Andrew French, who has been a photographer for 30 years, also praises the Lomo for the rich prints it can create. The bottom line is, look for a camera that you can have fun with, and thats easy to carry. These cameras are meant to be taken out into the world, he says.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said last week that he expects to sign a bill to create grants for small businesses by using part the states coronavirus relief money.

The governors staff was involved in negotiations that led to the bill that the Republican-controlled state House and Senate passed with broad bipartisan support. Reeves said his staff will review the bill, and he will sign it if all the details are as expected.

Wall Street is going to be just fine, Reeves said Thursday. Main Street is where my concern is  Main Street, Mississippi.

The aid package was crafted days after Reeves and legislative leaders set aside a feud over whether the governor or legislators have the power to spend the $1.25 billion that Mississippi is receiving from the federal government for virus relief.

We were motivated by the needs of the people of Mississippi, and not by anything else, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Thursday.

The price tag for the grants would be $300 million.

We felt great urgency to get help to our small businesses, Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Thursday. I think small businesses are the backbone of the state.

A $60 million program would provide $2,000 grants for businesses that were forced to closed by government orders, including barbershops, salons, dance studios, gyms and child care centers.

The other $240 million would be for grants ranging from $1,500 to $25,000 to cover expenses for virus response. For the first 21 days, the only applications considered would be from businesses that did not receive aid from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. And for the first 60 days, $40 million of this money would be reserved for minority-owned businesses.

The programs would be for businesses that existed before March 1 and have 50 or fewer employees. Reeves said he hopes the grant programs can be up and running soon.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance Mississippi
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced that households in 13 states including Ohio will be able to use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for online food purchases starting this summer.

A statement from Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said an existing pilot program is being expanded to multiple states to make sure Americans across this country have safe and nutritious food during this national emergency.

Enabling people to purchase foods online will go a long way in helping Americans follow CDC social distancing guidelines and help slow the spread of the coronavirus," said Perdue. USDA is mandated with the noble goal of feeding Americans when they need it most, and we are fulfilling that mission with new innovative programs during this national emergency.

Several members of Ohios congressional delegation applauded the agriculture departments approval of Ohios request to participate in the program. They said Ohio plans to implement the program statewide this summer with two online SNAP retailers, Walmart and Amazon.

As this public health and economic crisis continues, many families across Ohio are struggling to put food on the table, said a statement from Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who chairs the House Agriculture subcommittee that oversees the SNAP program. SNAP is our nations first line of defense against hunger. Yet for many who rely on the program, it may be difficult or dangerous to go shopping during the current pandemic. By providing Ohio families the ability to purchase groceries online, this initiative will help ensure SNAP is working for the people who need direct delivery of healthy foods the most during this challenging time.

Columbus Republican Rep. Steve Stivers called the decision a huge win for seniors and other at-risk individuals who will be able to stay home and stay safe without having to worry about their grocery list, while Niles-area Republican Rep. Tim Ryan said the new program will give over 1.4 million Ohioans safer, healthier, and more diverse options to do their grocery shopping. Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur said she hopes the program will eventually be expanded to include more "local grocer options, such as farmers markets, from which participants may shop.

More coverage:

Ohio congressman seeks impeachment inquiry of judge in Michael Flynn case

Sen. Sherrod Brown clashes with Trump officials over COVID-19 response

Annie Glenn, widow of former astronaut and U.S. Sen. John Glenn, dies at age 100

Canadian border with U.S. likely to remain closed until June 21

Mismarked COVID-19 testing swabs from Clevelands U.S. Cotton confused state officials

House passes coronavirus package along party lines; Senate Republicans say they wont consider it

House approves proxy voting during coronavirus over objections from Ohio Republicans including Rep. Jim Jordan

Former Cleveland Clinic researcher charged with fraud for failing to disclose China ties

See which Ohio members of Congress are most and least bipartisan

U.S. senators grill White House coronavirus team on reopening plans

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
A mother-of-three claims she's been left looking like a human 'Shar Pei' dog after five botched surgeries - because she is riddled with scars, and has rolls of skin and flesh 'hanging off' her inflated breasts.

Katherine Hanna, 54, from Ridgefield, in Washington, turned to surgery to fight the flab after her weight reach more than 266lbs when she was stuck in an unhappy 16-year marriage.

However she was forced to undergo four separate gastric ops between 2011 and 2018 after one saw the wrong portion of stomach removed and another caused such severe acid reflux that she was barely able to eat.

Despite the horrifying ordeal, the nurse was delighted to drop more than 126lbs but was then left with rolls of loose skin that clung to her petite figure.

She resorted to taking equity out of her home in a desperate final attempt to 'correct' her body, forking out more than $20,000 on a full body lift and breast implant surgery in India.

But the surgeries were 'botched' again - leaving Katherine with folds of loose skin dangling from the bottom of her newly-implanted breasts.

Katherine Hanna, 54, from Ridgefield, Washington, turned to surgery to fight the flab after rher weight reached 266lbs when she was stuck in an unhappy 16-year marriage (pictured now)

As well as being devastated over her 'ugly' breasts, Katherine says her body is riddled with a road map of scars, and she has suffered a painful infection in her arm and a fist-sized lump in her stomach.

Katherine is now warning others of the unwanted consequences of surgery - as she continues to hide from mirrors despite forking out a total of $30,000.

Katherine said: 'I think this is what I'm stuck with now. My breasts are asymmetrical, badly scarred and ugly.

'I did get the abdominoplasty [tummy tuck], but instead of doing the breast lift and scar revision, I was stuffed full of implants which was not what I signed up for.

'There's upper fullness on my breasts then everything is hanging off. He did nothing to shape or fix anything.

'There is a knot the size of my fist in my abdomen and it feels like I'm tearing when I'm walking. It's miserable.

Mother-of-three Katherine said she was left with life-changing scars on her whole body due to a botch surgery in India, which cost her $20,000

Katherine had gained wait during her 16-years-long unhappy marriage and wanted to feel better about herself (pictured then)

'The surgeon said I could come back for a revision - does he really think I'd let him touch me again?'

Kath married her ex-husband when she was 30, but piled on the pounds because she was unhappy in the relationship. But after getting divorced following 16 years of marriage in 2011, Katherine vowed take permanent action against her yo-yoing weight.

She had had a gastric lap band months before her ex-husband filed for divorce, but soon after she was unable to keep any food down - dropping weight because she was unable to eat properly.

Katherine said: 'When I got divorced I lost 316lbs of ex-husband - best weight loss ever!

'But I'd been yo-yoing around for years and it was time to lose the weight. I lost around 70lbs thanks to the lap band but I threw up almost every meal for two years.

'I couldn't eat meat or vegetables. I went back to the doctor and said "Can we take this out?" It wasn't working. They said "No, it's once in a lifetime. Live like that". So I went to Mexico.

The mother-of-three, pictured with her new partner Al Randazzo, revealed she could not stand the sight of her body in a mirror

The mother-of-three said she felt her body looked like a 'Shar Pei' dog after the series of botches procedures

The desperate mother said she only wanted her body to 'fit' her and feel good in her own skin, but was left with terrible scars instead

'I had my gastric lap band removed and swapped for a sleeve. But they only took about 40 per cent of my stomach when they should have taken 85 per cent.

'It didn't do much for weight loss - I wasn't 270lbs though, I was 180lbs. That was an improvement.

'A couple of years later I saved up and went back to have a revision of my sleeve. This was weight loss surgery number three.

'A couple of weeks later I had an episode where I threw up, heard something pop and had immediate heartburn. The pop was a hernia developing.

'I got down to around 170lbs. It was a 100lb weight loss. I was thrilled not to be where I used to be, but I got really tired of having heartburn.

'It leads to so many problems, like oesophageal cancer. The only thing to fix this was a gastric bypass. I ended up having one - not for weight loss but to fix the acid reflux. This was my fourth weight loss surgery.'

In the months following her fourth and final weight loss surgery, Katherine dropped a further 30lbs and although she felt confident with clothes on, she hated how she looked undressed.

A picture of a screen in hospital shows that Katherine's skin got infected quickly after her second surgery

After her botched full bodylift in India in September 2019, Katherine's stitches got infected (pictured)

Katherine said: 'After my fourth weight loss surgery, I got down to about 140lbs and felt great with clothes on, but I looked like a human Shar Pei naked.

'I shopped around a lot. The worst price I got for a total body lift was $170,000 in Southern California.

'That's a house. It was so far out of my league, my heart sank. That's not my reality - at all.

'Mexico was $30,000, Brazil $40,000, Vietnam was $22,000. I checked Turkey, UK, South Korea - then India came in at $11,000.

'I pulled the equity out of my house, paid off some bills and I went to India. This was my only option - it was in or out. I didn't have another resource.

'My boyfriend Al went with me - he didn't want me to go alone. It was such a blessing having him there. I don't know I would have survived the trip without him.'

But nothing prepared her for watching the surgeons take off their shoes as they entered the operating theater in Chennai, India, for her her life-changing surgery - leaving her so nervous she considered leaving.

Katherine, pictured with boyfriend Al, decided on a cheap procedure in India because she couldn't afford prices in California prices - where a body lift costs as much as a house

Katherine shows the scars under her breasts and on her tummy after the failed operation, which cost her $20,000

Katherine said her breasts were 'asymmetrical and ugly' after her last operation, and she wanted to warn other women

Katherine said: 'The surgeon I saw had trained in London and New York, his English was good. I figured it was okay.

'But this was as 'no-frills' as you could possibly get. You hear about medical tourism and five-star resorts - this was not that.

'When we first saw the medical apartment, I was really nervous. I considered just leaving.

'I was supposed to have a total body lift, breast lift with scar revision and possible small implants if necessary. Losing that much weight there was a lot of loose skin.

'I was having a brachioplasty, neck lift, face lift and upper and lower blepharoplasty (eye lids) too.

'When I got there, the doctor said "We have to do this in stages. We'll do the front and in a few months you can come back".

It would have been nice to know before I used every resource I could scrape together [to get there].

Katherine, pictured now, said she felt so nervous before the Indian operation that she thought about leaving, but stuck to it

Katherine, pictured left in her 30s and right on a recent vacation, said she compared operations prices for Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, UK, and South Korea

'We eventually agreed we'd do what I wanted in two separate surgeries two days apart.'

After the surgery, Katherine lay in bed recovering for a week, before she was given the all-clear to fly the 21-hour journey back home to Washington.

Katherine said: 'This has been a huge deal. I deserve to feel good in my own skin - and I'd like that skin to fit.

'I was in surgery about eight hours each. It was a lot. I do not recommend it. I'd say by September 25 I was concerned. I had a lot of swelling in my abdomen.

'I figured when I got home I'd go in and get checked by my own doctor - I was concerned at that point.

'There was so much swelling, and as a nurse I know it takes time. I knew I wouldn't have a good picture of it for a few weeks.

'I tried to keep an open mind. I was literally bandaged from my knuckles and shoulders on both arms.

'The nurses were trying to take my blood pressure on my upper arm where I'd had surgery. You don't take blood pressure over bandages or surgical sites.

The mother-of-three said her body hurt for a total of five months after the surgery that left her deeply scarred

The mother-of-three, pictured with partner Al on vacation, said that people who wanted to find deals on surgeries needed to be careful, and not go alone

'The nurses didn't do a good job flushing the IVs - I ended up with phlebitis. It is amazingly painful. It took five months before that stopped hurting.'

Katherine had hoped that her trip to India would be her final time under the knife and would leave her happy with her body - so is devastated with the results.

She warns others to think hard before making the same mistakes. Katherine said: 'I've lived with disfigurement for years and [last year] I needed to finish the journey for me.

'I don't spend a lot of time looking at myself in the mirror now. I want more than you can imagine to fix this but it's not my financial reality.

I keep food on the table for my kids and luckily clothes hide an awful lot of flaws.

'My message to people who think they've found a deal is that there are great surgeons all over the world - but there are bad surgeons all over the world too.

'When you're traveling that far, you do not know what you're getting. Don't go alone. Be aware there could be consequences that you don't want.'
Hamas: Israelis held in Gaza won't be released without real swap deal

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 9:59 AM

The Hamas resistance movement says the Israeli captives held in Gaza since Tel Aviv's 2014 war on the blockaded Palestinian enclave will not be released until a "real" agreement is reached on exchanging prisoners.

"A real prisoner exchange deal is the best way for the release of the captive Israelis," Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told China's Xinhua news agency on Monday.

"Otherwise, the Zionist leadership (Israel) will be just selling illusions to the Israeli public," he added, referring to new Israeli minister for military affairs Benny Gantz's recent talks with the families of two Israeli civilians held by Hamas as well as two Israeli soldiers who were killed in the 2014 war on Gaza and whose remains the Palestinians are willing to swap with their own prisoners.

Following Gantz's conversations with the Israeli families, his office announced that the minister had expressed his dedication to bringing the captives and the soldiers' remains home.

Israel keeps thousands of Palestinians behind bars in dire conditions even despite a new coronavirus outbreak in the occupied territories. Many international rights organizations have been campaigning for the release of the inmates amid the pandemic.

In separate remarks, Qassem denounced the US for attacking the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its plan to open an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories, calling it an act of "hooliganism" against an international legal tribunal.

Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would "exact consequences" if the Hague-based court moved ahead with the probe.

It came after the ICC prosecutor decided to consider Palestine as a state with the ability to submit complaints that could trigger probes into Israeli war crimes.

The Hamas spokesman said Washington's stance is a sign of its continued support for Israel's crimes against the Palestinians and emboldens the Tel Aviv regime to commit even more such atrocities.

Israeli officials, he emphasized, should be brought before international courts and punished for their crimes.

Last December, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced that a five-year preliminary examination had provided her with "a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation into the situation in Palestine" as "war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem [al-Quds], and the Gaza Strip."

The ICC's decision to launch such an investigation has raised alarm among Israeli officials and military personnel, who may face global arrest warrants as a result of the probe.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Appointment

20 May 2020

After 4 years with Hilton International in Washington, D.C. and Toronto, Berberi joined InterContinental Hotel Group for what would be an 11-year global career in such locations as New Orleans, Miami, Bali, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. He was an early joiner of the luxury boutique field, as General Manager of Thompson Hotels in New York, Beverly Hills and Hollywood (Hollywood Roosevelt). When Thompson merged with Joie de Vivre Hospitality and subsequently Alila and Destinations Hotels & Resorts to create Two Roads Hospitality (now a subsidiary of Global Hyatt) he stayed on as Regional Vice President of Operations for the West Coast and Mexico. In early 2018, Berberi was recruited by PROPER Hospitality as Senior Vice President of Operations, leading the opening of 3 multiple cutting-edge properties from the ground up, developing unique design and food and beverage offerings for each location and recruiting all key positions to ensure long term success.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Berberi is fluent in Arabic, French, and English. He holds a Master of Business Administration in International Hotel Management from IMHI, a joint program between Cornell University and ESSEC Business School in Paris, France. Berberi currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Susan. His 3 adult sons are in Berkeley, Boston and San Francisco. His hobbies include all outdoor activities including road biking, hiking and kayaking. Antoine can be reached at (310) 552-2221 and [email protected]
The recent online conference between the representatives of Silicon Valley town Los Gatos  home to Netflix among other global tech giants  and Listowel leaders.

Listowel Fire Service members who  along with the ambulance, healthcare staff and other frontline workers  are being saluted by the Chamber Alliance this week for their vital service

A big Zoom link-up from a sister town in Silicon Valley; the development of a directory of those actively trading now in Listowel; and one big thank you to frontline heroes - restricted as things might be, there's certainly plenty happening.

Mayor of Listowel Jimmy Moloney was delighted to represent his townspeople on the recent Zoom conference with representatives of Listowel's sister town of Los Gatos in the heart of Silicon Valley.

It's a sister town with an incredible reach. As the home of Netflix, Los Gatos can be said to be a major contributor to the mental health of the world in the lockdown.

The summit was as the result of Los Gatos reaching out across the world to see what they could learn of the experience of the pandemic in its sister towns.

The similarity of life in the shadow of COVID-19 between Listowel and Los Gatos was all the more remarkable for their separation by an ocean and continent.

It's just some of the names are a bit different. Los Gatos's Chris Diane Wiley said their town sought the summit "so the folks of both towns get a feeling of what we are both going through in these challenging times. While you're 'cocooning' and we are in a 'stay-in-place' situation, it should be a good chance to chat about are situations and the results of such."

Cllr Moloney said it was wonderful to reconnect with Listowel's Silicon Valley friends of old once more: "It was great to talk about our experiences of the pandemic and lockdown and to rekindle old friendships between the towns once more."

He said the good folks of Los Gatos had an impressive grasp of the situation in Ireland to begin with and were keen to find out everything they could - one of their big questions asked if Listowel had experienced a shopping frenzy as the lockdown struck.

Meanwhile, the Listowel Business and Community Alliance this week is developing a section of the Listowel.ie website - 'Shop Listowel' - as a directory of shops that are currently opening as the restrictions ease.

"We strongly urge all businesses in Listowel to let us know their plans to open as we will share this information on Listowel.ie and regular updates on social media. Please send an email to Colette at info@listowelalliance.ie with details of your business," Chairperson, Listowel Business & Community Alliance Rose Wall urged, adding: "Most importantly we wish to recognize the incredible work being done by the frontline staff and all of those assisting essential works through their incredible volunteering throughout this crisis. At times like this, it really does show what an amazing community lives in North Kerry, all working together."
Trump has grounds for part of his criticism  particularly China's silencing of doctors and its denial that the virus was spreading person-to-person after it emerged late last year in Wuhan. But Trump's claims, outlined in a four-page letter to the WHO on Monday, mix legitimate criticism with broad inaccuracies such as the timeline of Chinese and WHO actions.
Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said the coronavirus coming from India is more lethal than those from China and Italy and blamed the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Himalayan nation on those illegally entering the country from India, as the total number of COVID-19 cases jumped to 427 on Wednesday.

Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic in Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said it has become very difficult for Nepal to contain the spread of the deadly virus due to the flow of people from outside.

Many coronavirus infected patients have entered into Nepal. The virus came from outside, as we did not have here before. We could not stop infiltration of people from outside the border, he said.

Oli said that the biggest challenge facing the country today is the rising number of coronavirus cases and blamed the rising number of coronavirus cases on individuals breaking the nationwide lockdown, especially those sneaking into Nepal from India.

"The coronavirus coming from India are more lethal than those from China and Italy," he said.

Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing, Oli was quoted as saying by the Kathmandu Post.

Oli's remarks came amid Nepal's border row with India after the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

He said the Nepal government has been following precautionary measures since early time to stop the spread of the virus.

"It is the main priority of the government to make the country free from coronavirus," he said.

There were 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.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Oli had 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. The nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been extended until June 2.

The coronavirus cases in Nepal on Wednesday rose to 427 after 25 new infection cases were confirmed, the Health Ministry said. Two persons, a man and a woman, have died due to COVID-19 in the country so far.

Prime Minister Oli on Tuesday asserted that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India through political and diplomatic efforts, as his Cabinet endorsed a new political map showing the three areas as Nepalese territory.

Addressing Parliament, Oli said the territories belong to Nepal but India has made it a disputed area by keeping its Army there. Nepalis were blocked from going there after India stationed its Army, he said.

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

Indian Army chief Gen MM Naravane last week said that there were reasons to believe that Nepal objected to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand at the behest of "someone else", in an apparent reference to a possible role by China on the matter.

He said there was no dispute whatsoever between India and Nepal in the area and road laid was very much within the Indian side.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 59-member Senate will meet in its ornate chamber in the state Capitol. But due to physical distancing, not all of the senators will be on the floor at the same time, and some will be sitting in the galleries up above. Voting may be done by groups of lawmakers or by a senator in the gallery signaling to another senator on the floor of the chamber.
P olice have hit out at tourists grinding the South West coast to gridlock as Brits from all over the country descended on beaches on the hottest day of the year.

Long tailbacks were reported on roads in north Devon from Wednesday morning.

Across Devon and Cornwall police said cars were lining beauty spots, while sun worshippers crammed beaches and parks across the country.

The popular Devon beach Saunton Sands was forced to close its car park and turn visitors away after it was described as looking like August.

Crowds flocked to Bournemouth beach and beauty spots across the country / PA

Some visitors told the BBC they had travelled 80 miles to the counties to enjoy the lockdown heatwave as the mercury soared to highs of 28C degrees.

Officers in north Devon tweeted: Roads towards the North Devon coast are now gridlocked. There are no amenities open or toilets.

"We have vehicles from all over the country identified, please do not travel here. We will still be here when this is over so come back when its safe to do so.

In Barnstaple, north Devon, police said traffic wardens are running out of tickets and threatened to seize a trail of abandoned cars left by visitors.

In nearby Woolacombe, where jammed roads were pictured, police reportedly handed out 70 fines to cars mounting the pavements and said every double yellow line was covered.

A spokesperson for Woolacombe Tourist Information said: We had hoped that people would be considerate to the local coastal communities so are very disappointed by the influx.

Local Charmain Lovett tweeted: "Thank you @BorisJohnson and @GOVUK for throwing North Devon under a bus. This was 9.30am at Saunton (now closed). We have 8 ICU beds in North Devon and everyone is flocking here for their holiday.

Tourism bosses in Devon and Cornwall have told visitors to stay away until the lockdown is over as the region fights to maintain its current low level of infections.

Bournemouth beach was among those flooded with visitors on Wednesday / PA

Visit Devon has warned the county lacked the infrastructure and NHS facilities to cope with a surge in cases.

Honeypots across the country were rammed on Wednesday as thousands flocked outdoors after Boris Johnson relaxed rules on travelling for leisure.

People in England are now allowed to travel unlimited distances and can meet one person from outside their household in parks as long as they keep six feet apart.

Listen to The Leader: Coronavirus Daily podcast

Bournemouth beach, in Dorset, and the Southend seafront, in Essex, were also packed sparking a furious backlash as crowds were accused of failing to socially distance
Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed a new coronavirus relief bill loaded with health care funding for patients and medical providers affected by COVID-19. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the measure dead on arrival. McConnell says he feels no urgency to spend more money mitigating the pandemic. But he does feel an urgent need to confirm as many federal judges as possible before the 2020 election. The Senate has confirmed eight judges since the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States. And on Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings for another: Cory Wilson, Donald Trumps nominee to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.* Like so many other nominees, Wilson appears to have been nominated, in part, because of his fierce hostility to the Affordable Care Act. In the midst of a public health crisis, McConnell is not just refusing to aid our struggling health care system. He is installing judges who want to tear it down and strip coverage from more than 20 million Americans.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The 5th Circuit seat for which Wilson is nominated has a troubled history. Trump originally nominated Halil Suleyman Ozerden, a federal district court judge, to the seat in 2019. Ozerden is a George W. Bush appointee and a member of the Federalist Society with a record of conservative rulings. Republican senators frequently claim they are simply seeking judges who will apply the law as written, not demanding partisans who will follow their party platform. Yet multiple Republicans deemed Ozerden insufficiently loyal because he threw out a challenge to the ACAs contraceptive mandate. Ozerdens 2013 decision was narrow; he simply found the lawsuit premature because the Obama administration was still amending the rules. The ruling was enough, however, to convince Republicans that Ozerden wouldnt toe the GOP party line.

Advertisement

Advertisement

In response, Trump abandoned Ozerden and chose Wilson for the seat instead. A former Republican member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Wilson has already been nominated to a federal district court in Mississippi, but was never confirmed. He has served on the states Court of Appeals since 2019. (The American Bar Association rated Wilson well qualified because of this service.)

Wilson might as well have been hatched in a Federalist Society lab; his lengthy political record reveals a deep commitment to Republicans political goals. Alliance for Justice, a progressive group that has opposed most of Trumps judicial nominees, compiled a record of Wilsons many controversial positions. Examples of his partisanship are not difficult to find. Wilson called Barack Obama King Barack, petty and small, a fit-throwing teenager, the Anointed One, a radical leftist, and shrill, dishonest, and intellectually bankrupt. He charged Obama with running the most paranoid and politicized White House since Nixon. He has also called Hillary Clinton Crooked Hillary, criminal and clueless, and either felony dumb or willfully ignorant. And he falsely accused her of destroying documents under subpoena.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Then theres Wilsons loathing for the ACA. He has called the law illegitimate, perverse, big intrusive government that is less about healthcare than it is about redistribution of wealth and power. In 2012, he declared: For the sake of the Constitution, I hope the Court strikes down the law and reinvigorates some semblance of the limited government the Founders intended. He has tweeted about his enmity toward the ACA 30 times.

Its not just the inflammatory and inappropriate rhetoric that makes Wilsons nomination alarming. Wilson says he supports the complete and immediate reversal of Roe v. Wade. He voted to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in Mississippi. He also voted to defund Planned Parenthood and urged the Supreme Court to let states regulate abortion clinics out of existence.

Advertisement

Advertisement

While working in the Mississippi Secretary of States Office, Wilson defended voter ID laws and mass purges of voter rolls. He has repeatedly (and falsely) claimed that voter fraud is a serious problem in Mississippi, suggesting that there is a dead votei.e., extra votes illegally cast under the names of dead people. He vigorously opposes marriage equality and supports state laws that legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people. And he opposes almost all gun safety regulations.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Wilson might as well have been hatched in a Federalist Society lab.

With these views, Wilson will fit right into the 5th Circuit today. Under the sway of Trumps five previous nominees to the court, the 5th Circuit has veered far to the right. It has defied Supreme Court precedent to uphold abortion restrictions, disparaged transgender people and their rights, questioned long-standing gun safety laws, and upheld suppression of free speech and voting rights. In an overtly partisan decision, the 5th Circuit also embraced the absurd argument that courts must abolish much if not all of the ACA because Congress zeroed out the individual mandate.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Even if the Supreme Court rejects this particular challenge next year, Republicans will surely continue to bring lawsuits asking the courts to do what Congress could not: repeal key provisions of Obamacare. At Wednesdays hearing, Democratic senators raised the possibility that Wilson would embrace such a suit, noting his profound hatred of the ACA. If youre confirmed, Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked, how can a person seeking to enforce rights under the ACA have confidence that you will rule fairly in light of your view? Wilson claimed he spoke only as a matter of policy and politics. Feinstein noted: You have advocated striking down the act. Are you telling us today that that will not be your position?

Wilson wouldnt say, so Feinstein asked again: Would it be your intent to strike down the Affordable Care Act? Wilson said nobut clarified that he meant he would apply the 2012 Supreme Court decision upholding the law. A future challenge that raised different arguments might not fare so well before his court. When Sen. Richard Blumenthal pointed out this evasive language and asked Wilson to affirm that he would uphold the individual mandate, he refused.

Advertisement

Sen. Dick Durbin wondered if the nominee had a change of heart due to the pandemic. In light of all the Americans whove died because of the coronavirus, Durbin asked, in light of our national health emergency, do you have at least a moment of pause in your efforts to stop the extension of health insurance to so many Americans?

Wilson hedged. During my time in public service, before becoming a judge, I feel like I always got the importance of health care, he told Durbin blandly. I talked about how important health care was for not only patients who need access to health care but also providers, as an economic driver in Mississippi. He also asserted that he made his contentious comments in the heat of political campaigns. They came at a time before I was ever a judge, Wilson continued. The role is distinct. Its very different.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Several Democrats skipped the hearing, allowing Wilson to skate by on platitudes without much scrutiny. As usual, Republicans failed to ask him any difficult questions, instead trusting this longtime member of the Federalist Society to vote how they want. A similar dynamic played out earlier in May at a hearing for Justin Walker, whom Trump nominated to another federal appeals court. Walker also has a lengthy record of opposition to the ACA, and he is also gliding down the path to confirmation.

Durbin was plainly distressed by this state of affairs. I find it ironic, he told Wilson, that in the midst of this public health crisis, the Republicans have brought us two nominees for the second-highest level of federal courts in a matter of three weeks who have such disdain for the Affordable Care Act, which provides protections for millions of Americans. Ironic or not, it is certainly no accident. Republicans policy plans hinge on capturing the courts; much like the partys gun platform is to confirm judges wholl strike down gun control, their health care plan is to confirm judges wholl strike down Obamacare. Long after Trump leaves office, Wilson, Walker, and their allies will continue to implement his agenda from the bench. And Senate Republicans wont let a little thing like a pandemic stop their takeover of the judiciary.
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India  Business Wire India: Indias largest mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) has partnered with Mumbai-based game developer Lifelike Studios to launch Rogue Heist, Indias first indigenous multi-player online shooter game exclusively on the MPL app, ahead of other platforms. Rogue Heist is developed by Lifelike Studios and backed by Bollywood Actor and Producer Arbaaz Khan and Time2play Gaming Studios.

Rogue Heist is one of the first multi-player Esports on the MPL platform and will see users face off against each other, with cash prizes for grabs for each battle and tournament. MPL currently has over 40 games on its platform.

The idea behind Rogue Heist is to create a unique experience of a heist, which is intense, engaging, and fun in a truly competitive real-time multi-player environment.

The game mode on MPL is Rogue Heist- BRAWL - a super-fast, action-packed Esport mode. Each game lasts only seven minutes in which 10 players are pitted against each other to steal the maximum amount of money. Here, the players get the real feel of a heist, yet come out top gainers based on their individual performance. Based on the leaderboard, top players will win cash prizes on MPL, making it a virtual cash heist with real money for takes.

Commenting on the launch, Shubh Malhotra, Co-Founder, Mobile Premier League, said, Rogue Heist is a very exciting and engaging game and we are glad that it is launching exclusively on MPL, even before the Google Play Store. The graphics, gameplay, and the overall experience is top notch and our users are going to have the time of their lives, participating in a virtual cash heist. Lifelike Studios has done a great job optimising the game for our platform and we look forward to working with them to take Esports to all corners of the country."

MPL has been our first choice for collaboration from the beginning. With the opportunity of exclusively launching on MPL (for real money awards), I am happy that we overcame many challenges by deep collaboration between both our teams. The biggest challenge was to reduce the size of the game from 1.5 GB to 450 MB for MPL users while still being able to provide the true Rogue Heist experience. As this is a live game, we plan on providing constant updates to keep MPL users engaged," said Ashish Beuria, CEO, Lifelike Studios.

Rogue Heist will be a game-changer, which is made in India. Our team is really excited and happy to launch the Esports version of Rogue Heist on MPL, as it gives us the opportunity to engage with their massive player base and geographical reach all over India and Indonesia, while at the same time providing an exciting, edge-of-the-seat shooting game experience to MPL players," said Bollywood Actor and Producer Arbaaz Khan.

Founded in 2018, MPL is Indias largest Mobile Gaming and Esports platform. It has grown to over 40 million registered users and currently has over 40 games, including titles like FreeFire and World Cricket Championship. MPL also has multiple gaming studios and developers as partners to publish their games on its platform. MPLs app is available on both Android and iOS.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by Business Wire India. No HT journalist is involved in creation of this content.

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Topics
(TNS)  Marins county and municipal governments should do more to protect themselves from cyberattacks, according to a new report by the Marin County Civil Grand Jury.The county government lost almost $250,000 in a wire fraud scheme in 2018, and its computer network was breached at least five times in the past three years, the report says.The grand jury also noted that more than half of Marins 11 cities and towns have fallen victim to financial fraud and network breaches, including Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Novato, Sausalito and Tiburon. Most of those incidents were not reported to the public.After the 2018 scheme, which targeted Marin Countys finance department, the county implemented new practices to fortify its network security, the grand jury said. The county now has a well-developed approach to cybersecurity and a robust architecture and strategy for avoiding attacks, the report says.However, it adds, there is more that the county government can do to ensure the security of its systems.The report says common cyberbreaches include ransomware attacks, when a hacker crashes a computer system and demands money to restore it, and phishing, when a hacker sends a message designed to trick the recipient into giving out a password or other sensitive information. Stolen passwords can be used to steal private data or disrupt a computer system.Such attacks have the potential to cost taxpayers millions of dollars, and Marins governments should strengthen their online security measures in order to prevent them, the report says. An attack on the municipal governments computer network in Baltimore last year cost the city an estimated $18 million, the grand jury noted. Small towns can be at an even greater risk.Hackers know that smaller municipalities can be easy targets because of inadequate network protections and spotty adherence to best cybersecurity practices, the report says.The grand jury urged Marin County to take a lead role in sharing cybersecurity tips with the cities and towns. The report suggests that each municipality hold an annual discussion about its security measures, and when a breach occurs, it should be announced publicly. Marins government agencies should also share cybersecurity services to keep costs low, it says.Marin Countys technology specialists regularly meet with representatives from other California counties to share cybersecurity practices and protocols, said Jason Balderama, the countys chief information security officer.Marin is certainly open to expand our information sharing with the cities and towns, he said.The report suggests that municipalities adopt several security practices, including requiring strong passwords that must be frequently changed, regularly backing up data and installing antivirus software.With many municipal employees working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic, its become a crucial time for governments to focus on cybersecurity, said Corte Madera Mayor Eli Beckman.A lot of vulnerabilities come up when youve got workers trying to access a system remotely, he said.According to the grand jury report, a hacker disabled Corte Maderas computer network in 2019 during a brief moment when the towns firewall had been intentionally turned off for a system update. No ransom was paid, according to the report, but the system had to be restored from a backup.Cybersecurity is a constantly evolving thing that were always working on, Beckman said. Its an integral part of good governance in the 21st century.The civil grand jury, an independent investigative panel empowered by the local judiciary, posts its reports online at bit.ly/2Ay6cv3
A group of men and boys try to enforce an embankment before the Cyclone Amphan makes landfall in the Satkhira district of Bangladesh, May 20, 2020.

A weakened Cyclone Amphan proved deadly as it made landfall Wednesday in the Indian state of West Bengal and southwestern Bangladesh, according to officials and media reports.

A Bangladesh meteorological official told BenarNews that Amphan crossed into Bangladesh around 7 p.m. after first striking the West Bengal capital, Kolkata. Authorities blamed the storm for at least five deaths in Bangladesh and a dozen in West Bengal.

A part of Cyclone Amphan hit the southwestern and south-central districts Wednesday evening. The wind speed came down before it hit Bangladesh, so the level of devastation, as previously anticipated, will not be so high, Shamsuddin Ahmed, the director of Bangladesh meteorological department, told BenarNews.

The U.S. Navys Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported sustained winds of 86 mph and gusts up to 103 mph at 8 p.m. (Dhaka time). The storm was expected to weaken further as it travelled north-northeast along the border between the two countries over the next 24 hours.

Earlier Wednesday, Indias chief meteorologist warned of extensive and lasting damage in coastal districts.

It is the strongest cyclone in the 21st century over the Bay of Bengal, Meteorological Department Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra told AFP, citing wind gusts of up to 185 kph (115 mph). He warned of extensive and lasting damage in coastal districts.

Certainly it is, you can say, a double threat ... we have got the threat due to COVID-19 and at the same time we have got this threat of a cyclone approaching densely populated areas of West Bengal and Bangladesh, he said.

People have no room to practice social distancing at a Cyclone Amphan evacuation center in the Satkhira district in Bangladesh, May 22, 2020. [Reuters]

Evacuations

In Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters that as many as a dozen people were killed in her state, and about 500,000 people crowded into cyclone shelters.

In Bangladesh, officials reported heavy flooding, power outages and deaths in coastal districts. Two people died in the southcentral district of Patuakhali, two in Bhola district and one in Pirojpur, local authorities told BenarNews.

One elderly person died as an uprooted tree fell on him. The sea and rivers have turned cruel, Mohammad Masud Alam Siddique, chief of Bhola district administration, told BenarNews.

At least 15 villages  have been inundated by five to six feet of water. The meteorological department has warned us that the villages may see 10 to 12 feet of water, Siddique said.

But the storm bypassed the southeastern coastal districts of Chittagong and Coxs Bazar, where about 1 million Rohingya live in refugee camps and settlements, officials said.

We have made preparations for Cyclone Amphan, but we have not seen any rain or strong wind in Coxs Bazar. The Rohingya camps are safe, Kamal Hossain, the deputy commissioner of Coxs Bazar, told BenarNews.

Bangladesh authorities moved nearly 2.4 million people to 14,600 emergency shelters, according to Dr. Aminur Rahman, state minister for disaster management.

This is the highest number of people who were sent to cyclone shelters, he told BenarNews.

By comparison, 2 million people were sent to 5,500 emergency shelters when Cyclone Fani struck last year. The increase in the number of shelters was to allow for social distancing as Bangladesh copes with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh health officials reported 1,617 new COVID-19 cases  the largest one day increase  and 16 additional deaths on Wednesday, bringing the totals to 26,738 and 386, respectively.

Globally, more than 4.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19 and more than 325,000 have died as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Weather Alert

...Spotty Black Ice Tonight... Slick spots on area roads may persist overnight as temperatures continue to fall. Snow will linger across west Kentucky through about midnight then diminish. Untreated roads and bridges are most likely to see black ice development. Motorists should use caution if driving overnight.
Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism.

In the coming weeks, months, years (eternity  ?), you might have to get your temperature taken at various junctures as you go about your routine outside your home. Apple, for example, announced this week that it will conduct temperature checks at the doors of its stores as they reopen. The TSA is considering temperature checks at airports, as is the CEO of Snap for the companys offices. The thermal camera business is booming.

You might have some questions about how this will all work! Were here to help.

Advertisement

What happens if I get a temperature check and it turns out I have a fever?

Not much. At least, there arent any temperature police who will come and arrest you for being out while sick or anything like that. At most, youll be asked not to shop. Anyone with a fever will be kindly asked to rest at home and contact their health-care provider, the CEO of Canadian supermarket chain T&T told the Toronto Star. Another important point from that story: Temperature checks at T&T supermarkets are voluntary for customers. Whether or not to do temperature checks, and how to enforce them, is, so far, left up to stores. Whether an individual who has a high temperature heads home or simply proceeds to a different place to shop is left up to the individual. This variability means it is likely that temperature screenings will play out differently in different areas of the U.S., and among different demographics.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Will temperature checks definitely catch people with the coronavirus? What about people who have the virus but no symptoms?

This is exactly the problem. Temperature checks would miss anyone who does not have symptoms or, in particular, this symptom. Exactly how often a coronavirus infection comes with a fever is still slightly unclear, but what is certain is that it is possible to be sick with COVID-19 and not have a fever. Its even more likely that you wouldnt have a fever for the duration of the infection. A case study of 5,700 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in the New York City area published in JAMA found that just over 30 percent of patients had a fever when they came in, which caused experts to question the utility of temperature checks at all. Theres also the smaller issue that temperature checks will catch people who are running a fever for another reason (but if you have some other infection, its good to not be spreading that right now too).

Advertisement

Another problem with temperature checks: The thermal cameras that some business and airports are using to scan temperatures arent as accurate as individual thermometers are, meaning theyre imperfect filters even for people with fevers. Drones have the same problem.

Advertisement

If you have a fever, how are you supposed to know whether or not the fever is due to the coronavirus?

Well, you would need to get a test to confirm a coronavirus case, particularly if you dont have other symptoms or a consistent fever. The problem is that failing a temperature check wouldnt mean youd automatically get a referral for a test, and even as testing capacity ramps up, getting one can still be hard.

Advertisement

Advertisement

So, temperature checks are sort of just security theater for the coronavirus era?

Advertisement

Advertisement

A little bit! Temperature checks really only stand to work as well as the rest of the system does. There are a number of ways people could respond to realizing they have a fever that would help, sure. Individuals could decide to avoid tasks like grocery store runs if they have symptoms. Employers who are making employees submit to temperature checks could give out paid sick days to employees who have fevers. Much like masks, temperature checks can be a useful tool to cut down on risk, a little bit. But they cannot be the only tool.

If you havent seen New York Times reporter Donald McNeils appearance on Rachel Maddows show (from March, when they were sitting across from each other!), it provides a very helpful breakdown on why widespread temperature checks are a viable strategy for China to combat the coronavirus but are less effective here. As McNeil explains, if you run a fever in China, you are sent to a fever clinic, where you are: tested for the coronavirus.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In the absence of that, temperature checks sure stand to provide a false sense of comfort and allow stores and the TSA to make a big show of protecting people without necessarily doing much. Imagine a system for driving in which we had stop signs but no traffic court. Actually, then also imagine that instead of risking plowing into someone else in the moment, the risk was that someone else got sick days later, and also youd never personally hear about it. Thats temperature checks in the absence of testing and other meaningful measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Not uselesssurely many people would still carefully stop at stop signs in that scenario. Which is to say: Its possible widespread temperature checks would serve as encouragement for people with fevers to stay home altogether.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Experts are mixed on the usefulness of temperature checks, which makes sense, because were going through an entirely new situation here. I dont think theyre a bad idea. I dont think theyre counterproductive, Charles Powell, CEO of the Mount SinaiNational Jewish Health Respiratory Institute, told Spectrum News NY1. I think we just have to be cognizant of how we interpret it. But other experts have expressed a deeper level of skepticism that they could be useful at all. We probably wont know for sure how well they worked for a while; were still in the middle of the experiment here. Like with so much else in this pandemic, from mask-wearing to positive antibody tests, we have to be especially careful not to overinterpret them as being useful, or a reason to ease up on measures like social distancing. In other words, dont take temperature checks as a reason to head to an Apple store for kicks. Conversely: If your local supermarket doesnt have temperature checks, thats not a reason to freak out.

Hmmm, this is complicated.

Yes, and to add one more complication: Its unclear that we even have enough thermometers to do temperature checks consistently.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has mounted a search for a gang of robbers who attacked and killed three persons at Manso-Dadiese in the Amansie South District.



The robbers, said to number about eight, fired indiscriminately during an operation to rob a gold dealer in the community, resulting in the death of three persons, including the driver of the District Chief Executive, Mr William Bediako.



The driver, Mr Samuel Osei, together with some officials of the Assembly were returning from a community sensitization programme on the COVID-19 in the area, when the incident occurred.



The other victims were Kwaku Miller, alias Osofo 25, and Kwaku Danso 60, who was said to be lying in front of his shop, when a bullet hit him.



Four others who sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds have been admitted at Agroyesum Hospital for medical attention.



The incident, which was said to have happened around 7pm on Monday evening, had thrown the community into a state of fear and panic.



Mr Godwin Ahianyo, Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, told the Ghana News Agency that, the Regional Command had dispatched crime scene investigators headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Philip Cosmos, the Regional Crime Officer, to the community.



He said the robbers succeeded in taking away four pounds of gold valued at GH17,000.00 from one P. K. Adom, a gold dealer at Manso Dadiese.



Mr Ahianyo said the robbers after the operation began to shoot indiscriminately and the bullets hit the victims resulting in their deaths and others sustaining injuries.



He said the police retrieved an AK 47 rifle and some ammunitions from the scene.



Mr Ahinayo said the police had intensified its investigations and called on the people in the area to give the police the needed information to apprehend the culprits.



Mr Seth Agyei, Assembly member for the area, speaking earlier to the GNA, said the DCEs driver, who met his untimely death, was returning from a COVID-19 community sensitization programme at Manso-Daatano together with some health officials of the District Assembly when the incident occurred.



He wondered why the robbers could shoot to kill innocent people after succeeding in getting whatever they were looking for.



Meanwhile, some residents of the area have decried the poor nature of the road network, which contributed to the delay of the arrival of police personnel during the attacks.



Agya Appiah, Chairman of the Unit Committee, appealed to the government to immediately fix the road in the area.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
A patient who tried to bite and spat in the face of a Belfast nurse has been jailed for four months.

Nadine Thompson, 25, also attacked police officers as they attempted to restrain her at the Royal Victoria Hospital in the city.

The mother-of-two's lawyer said her behaviour on Christmas Eve last year was "totally reprehensible".

Thompson, of Shore Crescent in the city, was convicted of common assault and two assaults on police.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard she turned violent in the hospital's Accident and Emergency Department following a suspected overdose on December 24.

A staff nurse said Thompson tried to bite her while she was attempting to provide treatment.

"The defendant then grabbed her by the hair and spat in her face," a Crown lawyer submitted.

Thompson refused to comply with requests to lie down on a bed for further assessment, swearing and becoming increasingly agitated in front of other patients.

She kicked out at staff and police were called to the hospital.

The prosecutor added: "She spat on two police officers while being restrained."

Defence counsel Turlough Madden acknowledged the seriousness of his client's actions.

"It's totally reprehensible behaviour," the barrister said.

"But some comfort can be taken from the fact these offences weren't committed during the current pandemic."

Mr Madden described Thompson as a vulnerable woman who ended up in hospital because of an overdose.

Since then she has enrolled in a rehabilitation programme in a bid to turn her life around.

Ordering her to serve four months behind bars, District Judge Mark Hamill indicated the sentence would have been longer if she had no vulnerabilities.

He stressed: "You cannot behave like this in a hospital, or against police officers."
JACKSON, MI  Longtime Northwest Community Schools teacher Sarah Soper said shes always just felt comfortable in a classroom.

And now the Michigan Department of Education has honored Soper, a 15-year Northwest High School English teacher, with a Regional Teacher of the Year award. She is one of 10 teachers receiving regional awards out of more than 400 nominees statewide.

This qualifies Soper, who chairs Northwests English department, as a finalist for the Michigan Teacher of the Year award. She interviews for the states top teacher honor on Thursday, May 21.

Soper has taught English to freshmen and seniors at Northwest High for 15 years, since graduating from the University of Michigan, as well as earning a masters degree in educational leadership from Eastern Michigan University.

As a Jackson native and Lumen Christi High School graduate, Soper, who also earned the Excellence in Education Award from the Michigan State Lottery last November, has always called Jackson her home.

English teacher wins $1,500 award, $500 for her Jackson school

Soper doesnt have an interesting story, she said. But interesting stories arent what teaching is about for educators  they do it for that love of helping others, she said.

I always loved English," Soper said. "I loved reading and writing, I loved how it relates to people and I feel like thats why I chose English. I feel that it gives me a really interesting and unique inside look into my students lives. We talk a lot about world issues and things going on through literature. Its hard to say why I started but the bigger thing is that Ive stayed in it for 15 years.

Soper loves connecting with students, she said, seeing them develop from when she has many of them as freshmen to then having them again as seniors. Seeing the growth is fulfilling, she said.

Its a really fun time in their lives (the seniors), Soper Said. I help a lot of them with their college applications essays and write letters of recommendation and I really get to see them decide on their major life goals.

The perspective she is allowed in seeing how her students have grown and changed over their time at Northwest is unique, Soper said.

Theres nothing better than having a student contact you later and have them tell you that, you know, they were able to write well in college because of you," she said. "Or that you taught them a lesson about life. Ive had students contact me about some really serious things that have happened in their life and they said, I remember you saying this in class. It just means the world.

Those experiences are everlasting in Sopers eyes, she said.

Prior to teaching at Northwest, Soper did student teaching at Ann Arbor Huron High School and Beach Middle School in Chelsea.

Theres a lot of memories, Soper said. There has been times where its just hard to reach students and, especially when I was younger, I kind of took that personally or I would try to push them. It always came around in the end."
For years, New Jersey resident Sally Ladd helped clients manage their Airbnb listings in the Poconos, until a Pennsylvania investigator told her she was in violation of state regulations. Read more

The Pennsylvania law governing the licensing and registration of real estate agents appears to be unduly oppressive and unnecessary when applied to someone who manages a few short-term vacation rental properties in the Poconos, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Tuesday.

In a 5-2 opinion, the justices said North Jersey resident Sally Ladds constitutional lawsuit against Pennsylvanias Real Estate Commission can move forward.

Ladd, of Somerset County, shut down her online vacation-home property management business in 2017 after the Pennsylvania Department of State told her she was under investigation for practicing real estate without a license. Ladd managed properties for a handful of homeowners in the Poconos, listing the homes on websites such as Airbnb and her own website, getting rental agreements signed, collecting payments, and arranging for cleaning.

Ladd sued several Department of State agencies, including the Real Estate Commission, saying they and the requirements to become a real estate broker unconstitutionally kept her from earning a living in her chosen occupation as a short-term vacation property manager. She argued that her services were different from those of a traditional real estate broker, so she should not have to meet the requirements for one, including having a physical office, completing instructional hours and an apprenticeship, and passing exams.

The Supreme Court justices said Ladd has a valid case that the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Acts requirements violate her rights under the Pennsylvania Constitution. The justices reversed a Commonwealth Court order dismissing Ladds lawsuit and sent the case back to the lower court for review.

Joshua Windham, Ladds attorney, who works for the Institute for Justice in Virginia, said Pennsylvania will have to provide some evidence the extremely burdensome requirements actually achieve some legitimate public purpose.

The requirement that Ladd have a brick-and-mortar office in Pennsylvania instead of operating out of her New Jersey home, Windham said, is archaic and particularly out of step with how the modern economy works. Ladds case could have implications for others running online businesses, he said.

Its a true victory for the right of Pennsylvanians to pursue their chosen calling free from arbitrary and what the court calls oppressive conditions, he said. Im excited for others in Pennsylvania now to have the expanded opportunity this case provides to say, Look, my rights have been violated, too.

The justices said Ladds business model seems more closely aligned with that of managers of rentals in hotels or multifamily housing, and the laws requirements do not apply to them. The justices also agreed with Ladds argument that the acts requirements would mean she would have to spend hundreds of hours learning material that is irrelevant to her business, and would have to give up business earnings for three years while she earned salesperson and broker licenses.

Commonwealth Court had agreed that the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act would likely be unduly burdensome on Ladd because she managed so few properties for short periods of time. But the judges considered that burden irrelevant because they said the law is meant to protect the public during real estate transactions and has to be applied to everyone in the profession, regardless of the volume of transactions.

The Supreme Court justices, who heard Ladds case in Philadelphia in September, said other state laws regulate businesses such as Ladds.

Ladd began renting properties she owned on Arrowhead Lake in Monroe County for income after she was laid off from her digital marketing job. She created an online system for booking rentals, and some neighbors asked her to manage their properties.

She formed her company, Pocono Mountain Vacation Properties, in 2013 and, from her home, managed rentals lasting a few days for a few hundred dollars, according to court documents. She took a portion of the rent her clients collected.
EgyptAir is operating on Wednesday three special flights to repatriate nationals from the UAE as the country pushes ahead with efforts to bring stranded Egyptians home amid the coronavirus crisis.

The flagship airline will operate three flights from Abu Dhabi to Cairo carrying 900 nationals -- 300 passengers per trip -- Haitham Saad, the manpower ministry spokesman, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said last week that authorities were hoping to repatriate all nationals stranded abroad before the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, which is set to begin on 24 May. He expected the number of repatriated nationals to exceed 16,000 by that time.

The government is requiring returnees to sign before boarding their flights a written acknowledgement that they agree to be quarantined.

Egypt began repatriating its citizens in March after it grounded all international flights as part of sweeping measures to limit the spread of the virus.

The country has continued to operate domestic trips and cargo flights.

Egypt has repatriated around 12,000 stranded Egyptians from different countries since late April, a source from the aviation ministry told Al-Ahram last week.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A new batch of coronavirus patients in China are reacting differently to the coronavirus - suggesting that the pathogen may be changing.

Patients in Jilin and Heilongjiang have been carrying the virus for longer and taking more time to recover than their predecessors in Wuhan, a leading doctor said.

Qiu Haibo, who is part of a National Health Commission expert group, said the new patients were rarely showing signs of fever and were suffering damage to their lungs rather than to multiple organs.

China has discovered a new cluster of virus cases in the two north-eastern provinces in recent weeks, raising fears of a second wave.

Health workers in the province of Heilongjiang, where China has found a new cluster of virus cases, spray disinfectant over a market earlier this month

Speaking to state-run broadcaster CCTV, Haibo said the incubation period of patients in the north-east was longer than that of virus sufferers in Wuhan.

The incubation period is the time it takes for the first symptoms to appear after someone is infected with the virus.

Haibo, an expert in critical care medicine, said that the longer incubation period 'causes a problem' because there is more time for people to pass on the virus.

'When they gather with their families they don't care about this issue and we see family cluster infections,' the medic said.

Patients in the north-east also rarely exhibited fever and tended to suffer damage to the lungs rather than across multiple organs, he said.

The doctor said the virus found in Jilin and Heilongjiang was probably imported from abroad, which could explain the different symptoms.

He did not say where he thought they might have come from but both Jilin and Heilongjiang border Russia.

Researchers in the United States have found as many as 14 mutations in the crown-like spikes which give the coronavirus its name.

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory said that one of those mutations could make the virus even more infectious.

Another study by scientists at Britain's Glasgow University looked at mutations but found they were not a sign of different virus strains.

Jonathan Stoye, head of virology at Britain's Francis Crick Institute, has warned that the virus is a 'moving target'.

'The virus is evolving and is changing. And we don't yet know what the consequences of those changes are,' he said.

China reported five new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down from six a day earlier.

Four of the new cases were local transmissions and one was imported by a traveller coming from abroad, the health commission said in a statement.

'The epidemic situation is now fragmented domestically, but the task of preventing a rebound of the epidemic remains arduous,' said Zeng Yixin, a vice minister at the NHC, told a news conference on Friday.

A health worker in protective gear takes a swab sample from a man in Heilongjiang, where patients are apparently responding differently from their predecessors in Wuhan

Beijing's official figures have shown only a trickle of new cases since the initial wave of infections in Wuhan, with a total of 82,965 infections and 4,634 deaths.

However, there has been widespread scepticism about the accuracy of the regime's figures.

China has also lobbied against an immediate inquiry into the virus, theorigins of which are still not fully clear.

Many of the earliest cases were linked to a wild animal market in Wuhan, but it is not yet known how the disease passed to humans.

Scientists suspect the virus may have originated in bats, possibly passing to humans via a third species such as pangolins.

The first case outside China was not officially confirmed until mid-January when Thailand registered its first virus patient.

However, France says it has subsequently found a positive test from December, suggesting the virus was already spreading then.

The World Health Organization said the French case was 'not surprising' and urged countries to investigate any other early suspicious cases.
Trump administration blasts UN abortion push with COVID-19 aid funds

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

The Trump administration is blasting the United Nations for promoting abortion during the pandemic, particularly their efforts to push countries to legalize the practice using coronavirus aid funds.

In a Monday letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, U.S. Agency for International Development Acting Administrator John Barsa criticized the U.N., writing, The UN should not intimidate or coerce Member States that are committed to the right to life.

To use the COVID-19 pandemic as a justification to pressure governments to change their laws [on abortion] is an affront to the autonomy of each society to determine its own national policies on health care. The United States stands with nations that have pledged to protect the unborn.

Barsa told the U.N. to stop promoting abortion as part of its work fighting the disease and noted how the United States had given the organization $3.5 billion.

The USAID administrator also told the U.N. to strike "sexual and reproductive health services" as part of their humanitarian response plan for the virus and observed how the effort placed abortions on par with food-insecurity, medical care, sanitation, shelter, and malnutrition.

[T]he U.N. should not use this crisis as an opportunity to advance access to abortion as an essential service, Barsa said.

"Most egregious is that the Global HRP calls for the widespread distribution of abortion-inducing drugs and abortion supplies, and for the promotion of abortion in local country settings.

He continued, To achieve global unity toward this goal, it is essential that the U.N.s response to the pandemic avoid creating controversy and meet the real needs of vulnerable people without pushing abortion.

Pro-life investigative outlet Live Action expressed gratitude for the USAID chief's action.

"Abortion is the direct, violent, and intentional killing of an innocent person. Therefore, we applaud the leadership of the USAID in this matter," the outlet said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post.

Catholic News Agency reported Sunday that pro-life groups in Ecuador  where abortion is illegal in most cases  are asking their president to not accept ideological interference by the U.N.

The citizen petition argues that in the face of the COVID-19 drama, the United Nations has offered to send humanitarian aid to Ecuador, but the aid is not free, since in various sections of the document it is explained that said aid is conditional on Ecuador legalizing abortion.

And it seems it has already begun to produce results because Ecuador is one of the 59 countries that in the midst of the pandemic has already committed to promote abortion, the petition continues, referencing a joint declaration from earlier this month to protect sexual and reproductive health and rights and to promote gender-responsiveness during the pandemic.

Heightened conflict over abortion has emerged both overseas and domestically as some conservative U.S. states declared abortion clinics "non-essential" services and ordered them to be shut down amid the pandemic while other states have allowed them to remain open.
A cleaner walks through the corridors of the Riocentro field hospital which was set up to receive COVID-19 coronavirus patients, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 29, 2020. (Carl de Souza/AFP via Getty Images)

Virus Charges Beyond Latin American Hot Spots

QUITO, EcuadorBeyond the hot spots of Brazil and Mexico, the coronavirus is threatening to overwhelm Latin American cities stretching from Chile to the Colombian Amazon, in an alarming sign that the pandemic may be only at the start of its destructive march through the region.

More than 90 percent of intensive care beds were full last week in Chiles capital, Santiago, whose main cemetery dug 1,000 emergency graves to prepare for a wave of deaths.

In Lima, Peru, patients took up 80 percent of intensive care beds as of May 15. Peru has the worlds 12th-highest number of confirmed cases, with more than 90,000.

Were in bad shape, said Pilar Mazzetti, head of the Peruvian governments COVID-19 task force. This is war.

In some cities, doctors say patients are dying because of a lack of ventilators or because they couldnt get to a hospital fast enough. With intensive care units swamped, officials plan to move patients from capitals such as Lima and Santiago to hospitals in smaller cities that arent as busyrunning the risk of spreading the disease further.

Latin American countries halted international flights and rolled out social distancing guidelines around the same time as the U.S. and Europe, delaying the arrival of large-scale infection, said Dr. Marcos Espinal, director of communicable diseases at the Pan American Health Organization.

Latin America was the last wave, said Espinal, who previously worked at the World Health Organization.

He warned that authorities need to maintain anti-virus restrictions even as the U.S. and Europe reopen. Some of the hardest-hit cities, like Lima and Santiago, imposed strict, early lockdowns. But officials have struggled to enforce them, whether among the wealthy who are used to flouting regulations or lower-income people who depend on day labor or selling things on the street to feed their families.

Latin America is the worlds most unequal region, a reality that Espinal said made it difficult to balance health and economic growth, with millions facing increased poverty during quarantines, curfews, and shutdowns.

A month after swamping the Ecuadorian coastal city of Guayaquil is one of the first serious blows to Latin America, COVID-19 is sickening thousands in the capital of Quito, where 80 percent of intensive care beds were occupied as of May 15.

In terms of intensive care, were stripped bare, city health secretary Lenin Mantilla said.

Quito has more than 2,400 confirmed infections, and Health Minister Juan Carlos Zevallos said he expected the peak to come toward the end of June. He assured citizens that the city was prepared and would avoid the fate of Guayaquil, where hundreds died at home, left in living rooms for days before overworked coroners could retrieve the bodies. Those who perished in hospitals in coastal cities were put in chilled shipping containers that served as makeshift morgues.

The number of deaths in Quito jumped alarmingly over the weekend, to 209 from 114, and doctors said they dreaded the coming days.

I have a 26-year-old woman next to me who walked in. Three hours later, shes suffocating because we dont have a respirator available, said an intensive care doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt allowed to speak to the media. I think were getting to the point that you saw in Europe, where people died for lack of respirators.

Ecuador has banned most private car trips and imposed a 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily quarantine, but thousands of people can be seen buying from street vendors across the capital.

The worst-hit country in Latin America remains Brazil, which is third in the world for reported infectionsat more than 250,000even with limited testing. More than 85 percent of intensive care beds are full in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Now, other countries are surging. Chile has imposed new restrictions in Santiago after cases doubled over the past week, to more than 34,000 in the country of 18 million people.

Under the new restrictions, people will have to receive a police permit to leave home, with violators fined the equivalent of thousands of dollars. Essential workers are exempted.

Were on very, very thin ice, said Claudio Castillo, a professor of public policy and health at the University of Santiago.

In Colombias Amazon region, cases have shot up in recent weeks, from 105 at the start of the month to 1,006 on May 18. The infections are concentrated in Leticia, a city on the Amazon River that borders both Brazil and Peru.

Locals believe its related to the increase in cases in Brazils Amazon. Even though Colombias president has militarized the border, many still cross. Residents often work in one country and live in the other.

Leticia relies on two poorly equipped hospitals, which have about a half-dozen respirators between them. Authorities recently began transporting seriously ill patients to Bogota after a failure at a hospital oxygen plant. Officials said on May 18 that they will open hotels in Leticia to take in people with less severe coronavirus cases.

Health workers also complain of limited access to testing and say they are overworked to the point of collapse.

In Mexico, intensive care occupancy is below 50 percent in most cities, although deaths have begun to overwhelm funeral homes and crematoriums in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa.

Meanwhile, in Quito, a growing number of people say they know someone who died of what was likely COVID-19, although many arent tested.

Marcelo Lopez, who delivers food, said his 35-year-old cousin gargled with honey and ginger because he believed it would protect him from the virus. Unemployed, his cousin delayed going to a hospital this month even after feeling sick.

When he finally acted, it was too latehe was seriously ill, Lopez said. There were no ventilators in the hospital, and he died.

By Gonzalo Solano & Michael Weissenstein
'There are 8-12 members living in the same accommodation. While in pre-lockdown days, since most were out on work, social tension among them was less because of limited interaction. But now, no food and livelihood, along with having to live in cramped conditions, is taking a toll on their mental health.'

IMAGE: Migrant workers run for cover as police personnel fire teargas shells during a clash, in Surat. Photograph: PTI Photo

As many as 80 migrant workers were arrested on April 10 for setting vegetable carts on fire, demanding their return to home states.

By the first week of May, multiple incidents of stone throwing and arson had been reported, and also two fresh incidents of thousands of migrant workers coming out in the streets in the Vareli and Palanpur areas of Surat.

Hailing mostly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, working in textile-dyeing and printing factories in several Gujarat Industrial Development Corporations (GIDCs) estates and powerloom units, the migrants were seen shouting slogans against the administration.

Surveys by local non-government organisations found that several migrant labourers did not have any ration left even as many of them had lost their only source of income right at the beginning of the lockdown.

It is estimated that in a city like Surat, migrants make up 70 per cent of the city's workforce, largely engaged in textile units across the value chain, followed by construction, engineering, and diamonds.

In the textile industry alone, there are an estimated 1.5 million migrant workers.

Hence, managing such a large number of idle and unemployed migrant workers was a tough job for the local administration and the state government.

Moreover, Surat has migrant workers from more states than other cities in Gujarat do.

"There are workers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.

"Hence, it is not just a large population but also a diverse one," said Manish Doshi, spokesperson for the Congress in Gujarat.

However, there is more to the incidents than just the large population.

First of all, it is the nature of work that migrants do in Surat than in any other parts of the state.

Historically, migrant workers across industries and cities in Gujarat have either been daily wagers or on contract.

A daily wager has to start the day in search of work. On the other hand, a contract worker might be hired for a particular project or by a company, again for minimum wages and fixed hours of work.

But not so in Surat.

While the textile industry has been attracting migrants and skilling them in weaving, processing, and the highly skilled work of embroidery, workers are paid on the basis of the number of pieces they make.

"Such work has always set migrant workers in Surat apart from their peers in other cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Rajkot. They could easily be earning 50 per cent more than them.

"As a result, there is a certain standard of living that they have been used to, and the loss of it was hard to bear," said Arun Mehta, general secretary, the Gujarat unit of Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

Since work such as embroidery needs skilled labour, wages tend to be higher for migrants in Surat than in other cities.

It is estimated that migrants in Surat earn Rs 800-1,000 as against Rs 400-600 that their equivalents in other cities do.

Moreover, unlike their peers in other cities, who have fixed working hours, Mehta said those in Surat preferred to work longer so that they could save more.

"Working-hours are longer in Surat than in other cities," Mehta said.

Yet the irony is that while they earn more, they are hired mostly by smaller units, which ran out of capacity to sustain them during the lockdown.

On the contrary, those in other cities are hired by big companies on contract, or even small and medium enterprises that could sustain them.

"It is here that both the local administration and industry failed in preventing the violent incidents. The number of NGOs providing food and ration to the migrant workers dwindled from 300-350 initially to fewer than 100 later. They started losing patience," said Doshi.

Industry, especially textiles, disagrees.

"The issues pertain largely to daily wagers in construction and other industries. As for the textile industry, it has taken care of its workers by either providing grocery kits or running kitchens in their vicinity," said Ashish Gujarati, president of the Pandesara Weavers Association, one of the leading powerloom hubs in Surat.

According to Doshi, the living conditions of the workers in Surat contributed to the trouble.

"There are 8-12 members living in the same accommodation. While in pre-lockdown days, since most were out on work, social tension among them was less because of limited interaction.

"But now, no food and livelihood, along with having to live in cramped conditions, is taking a toll on their mental health," Doshi added.
Most students can't wait to get back into the classroom, even as more schools extend remote learning indefinitely.

The University of Alabama system said it intends to return to on-campus instruction, while the California State University System announced that all students, enrolled on 23 campuses, will take fall classes online. Other schools have proposed a blended approach.

On thing is clear: Even after it is deemed safe to return to school, it won't be a return to what was considered normal.

"We can never unlearn the things we've learned the last few months during Covid-19," said Robert Franek, editor in chief of The Princeton Review and author of "The Best 385 Colleges."

More from Personal Finance:

Colleges consider a tuition freeze amid pandemic

Demand for refunds intensifies among college students

College enrollment could drop if schools stay closed

The coronavirus crisis laid bare how ill-prepared most schools had been when it came to remote learning capabilities. From grade school through graduate school, many institutions struggled to get up to speed as classes moved online nearly overnight.

Going forward, many educators have said they will incorporate aspects of virtual learning in their approach to teaching.

Some schools have already committed to adopting a "hybrid" model to education in and outside the classroom in the years ahead.

For starters, students will likely see smaller classes and staggered scheduling, which could include alternating days of the week or times of the day, to help limit the number of people physically present in a building at any time, according to guidelines set by the American Federation of Teachers.
(Photo : REUTERS: Sofya Sandurskaya/Moscow News Agency/Handout) A view shows a Hamilton-C2 medical ventilator in the Central Clinical Hospital "RZD-Medicine", which delivers treatment to patients infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Moscow, Russia May 18, 2020

While manufacturers in the United States and around the world are repurposing their resources to develop ventilators for COVID-19 response efforts, a group of schoolgirls has designed one using a car component in Afghanistan.

The Associated Press said the team used an open-source concept provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and implemented a Toyota windshield wiper motor. They hope to finish the ventilators and have them ready by the end of May for testing and approval.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Disadvantage: Obese and Black People Are More Prone To Catch Coronavirus, Scientists Claim

Life-saving mission

The members of the robotics team of prize-winning girls in Afghanistan say they're on a life-saving mission - building a ventilator out of recycled car parts and helping their war-stricken nation fight the virus.

"If we even save one life with our device, we will be proud," said Farooqi, 17. She told The New York Post they will "fight and work" for people.

The all-girls robotics team first made international waves in 2017, when the United States initially rejected their visas for a robotics competition to enter the country. Though the original members have graduated, the team has been living on more girls aged in high school, hoping to combat sexism against women through proof of practice. Now, the team has 50 members. Due to the pandemic lockdowns and health problems of the families, the community which developed the ventilators included only six members, ages 14 to 17.

"We were so excited to join the challenge in this pandemic crisis and that the local government believed in our ability and skills to work on such an important project," team member Nahid Rahimi told Fast Company. "And it was essential to us if we could save one life through this effort."

#Robotex17 #AfgDigital pic.twitter.com/nIM6GudIul Congratulations to our Afghan Girls Robotics Team for winning the entrepreneur challenge in the biggest Robotics Festival in Europe in Estonia. #ProudAfghans  Embassy of the I.R. of Afghanistan in London (@AfghanistanInUK) November 26, 2017

How would the components help?

The M.I.T. design focuses on keeping the costs for standard machines to construct a ventilator well below the $30,000. Although the price tag varies depending on material demand fluctuations, the charge is around $400-$500 per unit. The robotics team provided feedback from M.I.T. professors to ensure the system functioned adequately for this design.

The second design comes motivated by a Toyota Corolla's parts. Those pieces of scrap are abundant in the region, and units made with this design can cost as little as $300. To procure the components, the team collaborated with local mechanics.

At the workshop, the team is experimenting with two different designs, including a Massachusetts Institute of Technology open-source blueprint. Components used include a Toyota windshield wiper motor, batteries, and bag valve mask sets, or manual oxygen pumps. A mechanics community is helping them develop a ventilator frame.

The team and their partner, Roya Mahboob, told Fast Company that these types of ventilators are only for emergency use. They might come in handy though if the country's supply of ventilators starts running short. Afghanistan acknowledged that many of its current ventilators are not working, leaving the country with just 400 for a population of over 36.6 million.

M.I.T. professor Daniela Rus has welcomed the initiative of the team to develop the prototype. "That's going to be great to see it tested and produced locally," she said. Once completed, the ventilator model will be sent to the Health Ministry for research, initially on animals, spokesperson Wahid Mayar.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 vs. Technology: Here's How Silicon Valley Companies Find a Solution for Coronavirus Outbreak

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Rami Makhlouf has threatened economic collapse of the country if his survival is not ensured writes Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Syrian businessman Rami Makhlouf, a cousin of Bashar al-Assad, is borrowing the logic of the saying Assad or we burn the country in his latest argument: Its me, or an economic flood. If the argument only means one of the two options, then, unfortunately, for Assad to achieve both together means the survival of the regime at the cost of burning Syria.

Most likely, Makhloufs series will soon end, and all that will remain will be some small companies hidden within Syria, as well as companies, buildings and substantial funds owned by Rami Makhlouf and his family in a number of other countries, including Russia, Romania, Hungary, the UAE and others.

The Syrian regime has worked for nearly three years to remove Makhloufs fangs, as well as the strength he has garnered since his rise to power starting when he was young, amid Bashar al-Assads rehabilitation following Bassels death in 1994. With the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011, and the demonstrators chants against Makhlouf in particular, Rami and his father Muhammad and brother Hafez made a plan for their continued survival and influence. They feared that a team, even if weak, could have the regime accept a scapegoat of their cousin Atef Najib.

This plan is based on wealth and sect, and replacing the Baath Party with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP). Among its parameters:

Double the wealth, as it is considered to be the familys treasury, and clean the reputation of these funds, as part of them go to the poor and another part go to Hezbollah, with matters ending with the founding of the Ramak Foundation for charitable works.



Encouraging the regime to seek a security and military solution without mercy. Some regime departments consider Makhlouf to have a large role in adopting the security solution, as well as rejecting the political solution that was encouraged by some members of the regime. Foremost among them was then Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa and his assistant, Gen. Hassan Turkmani, and even Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Assef Showkat, relying on the party and security, without interference from the sect as was the experience of Hafez al-Assad in the 1980s during the conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood. Hafez Makhlouf devised a plan to arm and fund sectarian groups in Homs, as well as shabiha groups in Aleppo. The al-Bustan organization has been run, from its location in the Mezzeh 86 area, as well as areas of sectarian tension in Homs and Aleppo city, through its agent Abu Ali Qazaq, a retired officer from rural Jableh who lives in Aleppo, with cooperation from the al-Birri Militia.



Restoring the historic link between the Makhlouf family and the SSNP. Days after Rami Makhlouf announced the abandonment of his economic activities toward charitable works, he swore affiliation to Issam al-Mahairi, an important symbol of the party, and a leader of what later came to be known as the General Secretariat.



Supporting the formation of an Alawi religious authority, relying on a rapprochement with the Twelver Shia, with particular regards to worship and transactions. It is worth mentioning Ramis attendance, with his parents, of Iraqi Shia sheikh Abdelhamid al-Muhajirs lectures at the shrine of Sayyedia Ruqayya during Ramadan 1999, and his aunt Anisas support of Muhajirs program on Syrian satellite television. This was halted due to a complaint from Sheikh Muhammad Saeed al-Bouti to Hafez al-Assad that Muhajir was stoking sectarian strife when he said on his program that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was not followed by Khadija or Fatima, but by two other women, Ruqayya and Umm Kulthum, who were raised by the Prophet but were not his daughters.



Rami Makhlouf has tried to build his own sectarian-based system, replacing the Baath Party with the SSNP. It is this card that Bashar al-Assad knows will guarantee his continuation. The limited conflict between Assad and Makhlouf will not change a thing with regards to corruption and plunder. Rather, the plunder of Assad and his wife will be managed directly.

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.
FILE PHOTO: A pipe transporting jet fuel offloaded from barges in seen at Kinder Morgan's Westridge Terminal on Burrard Inlet in Burnaby

By Koustav Samanta and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Asian refining margins for jet fuel turned positive for the first time in a month and European margins rose to the highest level in three weeks on Wednesday, bolstered by deep supply cuts and an uptick in flights in regional markets.

The jet fuel refining margin in Singapore flipped to $1.83 per barrel above Dubai crude on Tuesday, in positive territory for the first time since April 20. <JETSGCKMc1>

Measures imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus have caused jet fuel demand to plunge since February, leading to refining losses of as much as $7.23 a barrel on May 5.

"The jet fuel market in Asia has already hit a bottom, with some airlines even filing for bankruptcies ... I think the countries easing or removing their lockdowns would definitely help the market a bit," a Singapore-based trader said.

"But I'm not so optimistic that it can turn the market around or bring it to pre-pandemic level."

Planned refinery turnarounds and run cuts at regional refineries have helped curb excess supplies, while domestic demand in China kindled hopes for a gradual recovery, trade sources said.

China Aviation Oil (CAO) has been bidding for jet fuel cargoes in the Singapore physical trade window this month, scooping 245,000 barrels in the last week, which represents half of the traded volumes in an otherwise subdued market.

Aviation data provider Cirium showed six of the top ten airlines ranked by number of scheduled flights operated with passenger jets last week were Chinese.

Aviation is expected to take years to recover to pre-crisis levels as passengers to shy away from travel to avoid quarantine.

In Europe, refinery shutdowns, particularly in the Mediterranean, had led to a reduction in prompt jet fuel cargo offers, propping up prices.

A number of refineries have cut their jet fuel runs in favour of diesel and gasoline production, which still have stronger margins, traders and analysts said.

Story continues

European profit margins rose to minus 35 cents on Wednesday, the highest in three weeks, although imports to the region in May hit the highest level in a year, according to Refinitiv data.

Also supporting the jet fuel margins was a gradual increase in the number of airline flights in the region.

"Countries across Europe are flying more and some airlines, such as Ryanair, have this week announced flying at a 40% capacity in July," said Selene Law, market editor at OPIS by IHS Markit.

(Reporting Koustav Samanta; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney, Ahmad Ghaddar in London; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore/Mark Potter/Jane Merriman)
China has met 38 targets set in last year's government work report, the State Council said Tuesday.



The State Council, China's cabinet, released a table on the implementation of quantitative targets listed in last year's government work report.

China's top legislature and political advisory body will hold annual sessions this week, more than two months after this key political event was postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

The 2019 government work report set a target of 6 to 6.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) growth from the previous year.

Last year, China's GDP reached 99.09 trillion yuan (about 13.98 trillion U.S. dollars), up 6.1 percent from the previous year, in line with the annual target.

The report aimed to create more than 11 million urban jobs in 2019 and keep the registered urban unemployment rate within 4.5 percent.

Both targets were met, as about 13.52 million urban jobs were created last year and the registered urban unemployment rate stood at 3.62 percent.

In terms of cuts in taxes and fees, the report proposed axing businesses' burden in taxes and social security payment by nearly 2 trillion yuan in 2019. It also aimed to bring the tax rate down to 13 percent from 16 percent in sectors such as manufacturing.

Last year's tax cut and fee reduction exceeded 2.3 trillion yuan, and the 16-percent tax rate in industries such as manufacturing went down to 13 percent.

In terms of people's livelihood, the report aimed to lift more than 10 million rural people out of poverty, build and renovate 200,000 kilometers of rural roads, and cut the average charge for mobile network traffic by more than 20 percent.

In 2019, China lifted 11.09 million rural people out of poverty, built and renovated 290,000 kilometers of rural roads, and cut the average charge for mobile network traffic by 41 percent from the previous year.

In terms of environmental protection, the report set targets that emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides will drop by 3 percent, while chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen emissions will shrink by 2 percent in 2019.

It turned out that the emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides went down by 4.4 percent and 3.5 percent respectively, while chemical oxygen demand and ammonia nitrogen emissions shrank by 3.2 percent and 3.3 percent respectively last year from the previous year.

The 38 targets achieved in 2019 also involve a reduction of more than 5 percent in the general expenditure of the central government and a cut of about 3 percent in spending on official overseas visits, official vehicles, and official hospitality.
Islamabad, May 20 : The police in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have launched a search operation to find the culprits behind the brutal murder of two teenage girls, who were killed in North Waziristan last week.

The teenage girls named Jasima Bibi and Saeeda Bibi were sisters and belonged to the Garyum village in North Waziristan. In a 44-second video that surfaced recently, the two girls were filmed kissing a man.

After the video went viral, both the girls were brutally murdered by unknown assailants.

Police authorities suspect the twin murders to be a case of honour killing, adding that the viral video may have been shot about a year ago.

"The video that may have prompted the killings was shot a year ago, but had only recently been uploaded on social media," said North Waziristan police chief Shafiullah Gandapur.

Till now, the police have arrested the man who was filmed kissing the girls in the video clip along with a friend who uploaded the video on social media. However, authorities believe that the murder suspects may have fled to Karachi.

The police have also taken one of the girl's father and uncle into custody on suspicion of concealment of murder evidence.

The family and relatives of the girls did not want to register a case because of the difficult local traditions, which is why the police themselves became a complainant in the case.

While on one side manhunt for the culprits continues, conflicting reports circulated by the authorities about the arrest and confession to the murder has raised concerns about the scope of the investigation and tracking down the murderers.

The police have recently claimed that they have arrested two men in connection with the case, who have confessed to the crime.

"Both the men have confessed to killing the girls," police officer Muhammad Nawaz had said on Monday.

The police also claimed that one of the men was the father of the first victim and the other was the brother of the second, who allegedly killed the girls after seeing the video on social media.

"The girls were gunned down in Garuym village in North Waziristan and buried by family members," said Nawaz.

"We are still searching for two other suspects who are believed to have been involved in the killings," added Nawaz.

The case has become a major challenge for the authorities as honour killing remains above the law. Pakistan has been urged by international bodies and human rights groups to take immediate and tangible action to curb the ever-increasing cases of honour killings in the country.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday further ratcheted up his attacks on China saying its incompetence caused the Covid-19 pandemic, which he described as mass worldwide killing.

The American president and his Republican allies have increasingly targeted China in a bid to shift the blame for the high number of infections and fatalities in the United States and the economic downturn triggered by the mitigation efforts with an eye on the November general elections.

Referring to a statement issued by some wacko in China the president wrote in a tweet it was the incompetence of China, and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing.

The president has called for an independent investigation in the origin of the epidemic in Wuhan in China last December and Beijings attempts to conceal the true extent of the epidemic, with the complicity of the World Health Organization. He has separately accused the WHO and its director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus personally of missteps of their own, including abetting Chinas cover-up.

With all 50 United States set to reopen partially President Trump stirred fresh controversy Tuesday saying he considered it a badge of honor that the United States had the highest number of infections in the world at 1.5 million, arguing it was a testimony to increased testing.

Critics pounced on the president, arguing, he was taking credit for the highest number of infections.

So when we have a lot of cases, I dont look at that as a bad thing; I look at that as -- in a certain respect, as being a good thing because it means our testing is much better, he had said, I view it as a badge of honor. Really, its a badge of honor.

There were 1.52 million confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States till Wednesday morning and 91,983 fatalities, up by 20,260 and 1,574 in past 24 hours respectively. The total number of tests administered thus far was 12.6 million, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The high number of infections is a reflection of higher testing, as the president has argued in his defence, but critics have largely attributed them, and the high fatalities, to his administration delayed and botched initial response to the outbreak, which allowed the virus to spread rapidly unchallenged.

President Trump has touted testing figures in recent days to counter criticism that the United States is not testing enough, specially with states reopening steadily. Public health officials have sought more testing to ensure lifting of curbs on public life did not lead to a resurgence as it has in countries.

Connecticut became Wednesday the 50th American state to join the national reopening, allowing restaurants, malls and some outdoor activities to resume. As in a number of other states, rest of the economy and public life will be reopened in phases depending, determined by declining incidence of infections.
New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently explained the cash withdrawal facility through point of sale (PoS) terminals in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs). Under this facility, the central bank stated that under the facility, cardholders can withdraw cash using their debit cards and open system prepaid cards issued by banks in India. Notably, the users can use credit cards to avail of this facility.

The RBI statement issued on May 5, 2020 clarified all details in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs):

1. Which types of cards are allowed for withdrawing cash at PoS terminals?

Ans. Under the facility of cash withdrawal at PoS terminals, cardholders can withdraw cash using their debit cards and open system prepaid cards issued by banks in India. However, credit cards cannot be used under this facility. Cash can also be withdrawn at PoS terminals through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as well as through the use of electronic cards that are linked with overdraft facility provided along with Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts.

2. Is there any limit on the amount of cash that can be withdrawn under this facility?

Ans. Yes. Under this facility, a cardholder can withdraw cash up to Rs 2,000/- per day per card in Tier III to VI centres. At Tier I and II centres, the withdrawal limit is Rs 1,000/- per day per card.

3. What are the charges for availing of this facility?

Ans. Charges, if any, levied on cash withdrawals shall not exceed 1% of the transaction amount.

4. Is this facility available at all merchant establishments? How will I know if the facility is available at a particular merchant PoS?

Ans. No. The facility is made available at merchant establishments designated by the acquirer banks (i.e. the banks that deploy the PoS terminals) after a process of due diligence. The designated merchant establishments have to clearly indicate/display the availability of this facility along with the charges, if any, payable by the customer.

5. Is withdrawal of cash using PoS terminals deployed by other banks (i.e. banks other than my card issuer) at designated merchant establishments permitted?

Ans. Yes. Under this facility, cash can be withdrawn from PoS terminal(s) at designated merchant establishment(s), irrespective of the fact whether the card issuer and the acquiring bank are same or not.

6. Is it mandatory for the cardholder to purchase some goods/services from the merchant establishment for availing this facility?

Ans. No. The facility is available irrespective of whether the cardholder makes a purchase or not.

7. Will a receipt be provided for the cash withdrawn at PoS terminal?

Ans. Yes. The merchant is required to provide a printed receipt generated by the PoS terminal. In case the facility is availed along with the purchase of merchandise, the receipt generated shall separately indicate the amount of cash withdrawn.

8. Where can a grievance in respect of this facility be lodged?

Ans. The cardholder can lodge grievance(s) with his / her card issuer. In case the card issuer does not respond within the stipulated time, or the reply so received is not satisfactory, the cardholder can lodge a complaint under the Banking Ombudsman Scheme / Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions.

9. Does the acquirer bank need any permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for providing this facility at its PoS terminals?

Ans. No. The acquirer banks (other than local area banks) may, based on the approval of their Board, provide cash withdrawal facility at PoS terminals. The local area banks shall require the approval of RBI for providing this facility.

10. Where can more information about this facility be found?

Ans. More information about this facility can be found in the following circulars issued by the RBI  DPSS.CO.PD.No.147/02.14.003/2009-10 dated July 22, 2009, DPSS.CO.PD.No.563/02.14.003/2013-14 dated September 5, 2013, DPSS.CO.PD.No.449/02.14.003/2015-16 dated August 27, 2015, DPSS.CO.PD.No.501/02.14.003/2019-20 dated August 29, 2019 and DPSS.CO.PD.No.1465/02.14.003/2019-20 dated January 31, 2020.
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles resumed parole hearings Tuesday, ending a suspension that started in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A sharply reduced rate of granting paroles showed no signs of changing.

The board denied parole to 18 of the 20 inmates considered, the agency said in a press release.

The ACLU of Alabama, which has raised concerns over the decline in paroles, said the 90% denial rate was irresponsible considering the COVID-19 pandemic and high risk of infection in prisons that are filled to about 170% of capacity and face allegations of unconstitutional conditions by the Department of Justice.

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles doesnt seem to understand the severity of Alabamas prison crisis, ACLU of Alabama Executive Director Randall Marshall said in a press release. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, in which this deadly virus is already infecting people who live and work in state facilities. It is grossly irresponsible for ABPP to continue to deny parole in over 90 percent of cases heard, particularly considering how few they are scheduling. If they will not do their job appropriately, then Governor Ivey must step in.

Last month, the ACLU of Alabama put out a report saying the number of inmates eligible for parole has almost tripled since last summer, from about 1,500 to about 4,400.

Bureau of Pardons and Paroles Director Charlie Graddick, who took over the job in September, told legislators during a contentious hearing in January that prison overcrowding should not be a factor in parole decisions.

The rate of paroles dropped by almost half after a parolee was charged with the murders of two women and a child in Guntersville in 2018. The three-member parole board granted 3,732 paroles in fiscal year 2018, or 54% of those considered, according to the ACLU of Alabama report. That number fell to 1,337, or 31%, in fiscal year 2019.

The Legislature passed a bill in 2019 making the governor the appointing authority for the parole board director, legislation pushed by Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall, who said the board was not following its own rules.

An audit released in March by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts found numerous instances of parole for violent offenders who had not served the required time for parole consideration.

The Bureau of Pardons and Paroles has posted a list of inmates scheduled for parole hearings this month.
Google Cloud has landed a deal with the Department of Defense, the company announced Wednesday.

The deal is in the seven figure range, Axios reported ahead of the release.

The deal could thrust Google back into a controversial position. Google's former cloud chief told employees in 2018 that the company would not renew a different defense contract called Project Maven after it was set to expire in March 2019. That announcement came after thousands of Google employees signed a letter urging their CEO to pull out of the contract and about a dozen resigned in protest. Project Maven used Google's artificial intelligence technology to analyze satellite images taken by the DoD. Employees who protested the project at the time said Google should not be in the "business of war."

The new contract, which is through the DoD's Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), will be focused on identifying cyber threats, according to the release. Google said the system "will provide real-time network monitoring, access control, and full audit trails, enabling DIU to maintain its strict cloud security posture without compromising speed and reliability."

The system, which will be centrally managed from Google's console, will allow the DIU to run web services and applications across competing cloud services like those offered by Amazon and Microsoft.

Since the company said it would not renew Project Maven, Google had decided not to pursue a different $10 billion Defense contract known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) deal. Microsoft ultimately won that deal, but Amazon has challenged the decision in court.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

WATCH: The booming cloud landscape is due for a contraction: P&G tech chief
TEL AVIV  Israel was behind a cyberattack on May 9 that disrupted operations at a major port in Iran, according to high-ranking intelligence officials and experts in the Middle East who are kept informed of covert Israeli actions in the region.

The attack on the computer systems at the Shahid Rajaee port in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz was limited in scope, creating traffic jams of delivery trucks and some delays in shipments, but causing no substantial or lasting damage.

Israel and Iran have recently been engaged in an exchange of attempted and successful cyberattacks, and the purpose of Israels relatively small-scale effort at the port, according to intelligence officials, was to send a message to Tehran: Dont target Israeli infrastructure.

The hacking of the ports computers came in direct response, those experts familiar with the decision-making process said, to a failed Iranian cyberattack on an Israeli water facility last month.
Four militant associates of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Wednesday, and arms and ammunition recovered from their possession, police said.

Acting on inputs, security forces arrested Muzaffar Ahmad Dar, Mudasir Ahmad Lone, Younis Waza -- all residents of Budran -- and Nazir Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Poshkar Khag, a police spokesperson said.

Incriminating materials, arms, including a pistol, a grenade and huge cache of ammunition were recovered from their possession, the spokesperson said.

As per the police records, they were involved in providing logistic support and shelter to the active militants of the LeT operating in the area, besides other unlawful activities, according to the spokesman.

A case has been registered and an investigation is on, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
During an appearance with Lawrence ODonnell on The Last Word a few days ago, a caller asked Joe Biden a very interesting and ironically appropriate question: Would you be willing to commit to the ideal that no one is above the law? Because the question had been framed in the context of Gerald Fords pardon of Richard Nixon and Biden was being asked if he would pardon President Trump after being elected, without really thinking, he jumped at the opportunity to boldly proclaim that no one is above the law and said, Yes!

For once in his life, Biden had blurted out an instinctive and obvious truth, and those words may eventually come back to haunt him. During his very last days as vice president, Biden unmasked General Michael Flynn and by a very strange coincidence, it happened to be the very same day Flynns name was leaked to the media. In the unlikely event Biden had some legitimate reason for unmasking Flynn at the time, its improbable that he would remember what that reason might have been, more than three years later. Leaking Flynns name is a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.

The moral of the story is be careful what you wish for, because you might get it. The United States is a republic formed by democratic vote, not a monarchy. We elect a president, not a king. Politicians are not royalty. The problem with the question was that it began with the assumption that President Trump committed some sort of crime that would require a pardon to avoid prison. However, after a Mueller investigation that dragged on for a couple of years without revealing any crimes by Trump and an absurd impeachment by the House based on political mud slung by the Democrats using the Steele dossier (which they bought), but no conviction, the American people now know that Trump isnt guilty of anything.

Nixon never got that far in the process -- he resigned before impeachment to avoid a trial. The caller should have asked Joe Biden a different question: when President Trump is re-elected in November, do you think theres a snowballs chance in hell that he might pardon you?

Not long ago Dan Rather tweeted, Watching President Obamas graduation address tonight I think I finally understand Obamagate. Its the scandal of having a president being able to speak with empathy, humor, insight, inspiration, and in complete and coherent sentences.

Nope, thats not it, Dan. Not even close. You just dont get it, but thats only because you havent done your job as a journalist. The problem is that you and your compadres in the lamestream media have never tried to understand the political spy scandal now becoming popularly known as Obamagate.

A reporter recently asked White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany what crimes had allegedly been committed during the Obamagate scandal. The question struck me as weird because I thought that journalists normally investigated that sort of thing themselves, rather than asking to be spoon-fed by press secretaries. McEnany did an outstanding job ignoring the gotcha potential of the question and rattled off a number of crimes connected to the case against Flynn, which included Andrew McCabe for leaking to the Wall Street Journal and lying about it, and James Clapper and John Brennan for both lying to Congress under oath. Ive previously explained why Obamagate is exponentially worse than Watergate, but Ill repeat a key point that I made over a year ago: Watergate (the gold standard for scandals) was wrong because members of Richard Nixons administration used former CIA operatives to break into the Democratic National Committees headquarters for the purposes of spying on the campaign of George McGovern.

By comparison, in the Obamagate scandal, members of the Obama administration used active government FBI resources to spy on General Flynn (a lifelong Democrat) and the Trump campaign using fraudulent opposition research material they knew was false (because they also were responsible for creating it) to disrupt and potentially destroy the incoming administration. Documents were deliberately altered in order to introduce a false narrative into the official record that incriminated a decorated American veteran.

Then a thoroughly corrupted Department of Injustice prosecuted Flynn, Paul Manafort, and Roger Stone for lying to investigators who were both lying and hiding exculpatory evidence, but the real crimes of the accused were their association with President Trump. Im not a lawyer, but the crime of sedition would seem to be an obvious one for an independent prosecutor or special prosecutor to pursue in regard to most of the people involved in Obamagate. Perjury convictions would appear to be a slam dunk.

For three years, the American people have been led to believe by the Democratic Party, the media, and corrupt holdovers from the Obama administration that President Trump is a criminal and under the control of Russia and Vladimir Putin. The reality was that members of the Obama administration and Democratic Party colluded with a former British intelligence agent and some drunk Russians to concoct a puerile fantasy about Donald Trump that they stupidly used as an excuse to then spy on his campaign.

Thats precisely why James Clapper, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Rod Rosenstein, Peter Strzok, Susan Rice, Samantha Power, plus any number of other Obama administration officials (including Big Ears himself) must be given a fair trial and punished to the full extent of the law, which should include lengthy prison sentences. Its hard to believe this much time has passed already, but I used that very term over a year ago when I predicted that the brewing scandal would be worse than Watergate, but even knowing what I knew then, I had no idea how damning the evidence would become. Dwell on this thought for a moment: Barack Obama told former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates details about Flynns phone call with Sergey Kislyak during a meeting at the White House, not vice versa. He knew more about the spying on Flynn than his Deputy Attorney General.

As Private Hudson (Bill Paxton) famously said in the movie Aliens, Its game over, man.

Obama cannot plead ignorance or claim that he only learned about the political spying taking place within his administration after reading the New York Times or Washington Post. He knew and must have approved since he didnt order the spying on Flynn (and Trump) stopped, even if he wasnt the mastermind who originally dreamed up this mutinous plot.

The reason it is vitally important for the future of our government that the criminals in the Obamagate scandal are prosecuted can be summed up in a single name: former Republican senator Ted Stevens. Similar to what has been happening to General Flynn, in 2008 a spurious criminal prosecution of Stevens flipped control of the Senate and gave control of both Houses to Democrats, just in time for passage of ObamaCare. Nothing happened to the prosecutors beyond a scolding by the presiding judge -- Emmett Sullivan. Yes, that's the same judge now refusing to dismiss the charges against Flynn. Stevens defense attorney Brendan Sullivan said about the federal prosecutors involved, This was not about mistakes. This is not about negligence. This is not about incompetence. This is about intentional wrongdoing.

Judge Sullivan was reportedly furious and named a special prosecutor to investigate whether the government lawyers involved should be punished, saying hed never seen misconduct and mishandling like that from the Justice Department during his 25 years on the bench.

This begs the question: exactly what in the hell does Sullivan think hes been seeing in the Michael Flynn case?

John Leonard is a freelance writer and most recently editor of the Rootstock series of epic fantasy novels. You may connect with him on Facebook (where he has a friend named Corn Pop!) or contact him through his website at southernprose.com.
As the race between southern European nations to attract summer tourists gathers pace, the Greek prime minister has announced international visitors will be welcomed from 1 July  with lower fares on public transport and cheaper coffee.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the domestic tourism season will begin on 15 June, with the first international holiday flights touching down 16 days later.

The news service Ekathimerini.com reported that passengers will be subject to random coronavirus tests at the airport.

At present anyone arriving in Greece from abroad must go into 14 days self-isolation. This is mandatory, and the authorities will enforce it by prosecution and fines, warns the Foreign Office.

The quarantine obligation will be lifted in time for the start of international flights.

Mr Mitsotakis said that VAT on public transport and non-alcoholic drinks will be cut from 24 to 13 per cent.

In a normal year, around three million UK visitors  the vast majority of them tourists  travel to Greece.

But British travellers may not initially benefit from the re-opening.

The soon-to-be-imposed self-isolation rules for passengers arriving back in the UK will scupper most holiday trips in June and possibly July.

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

Earlier this week, the Greek minister of tourism urged the UK to agree to mutual quarantine immunity.

On the BBCs Coronavirus Newscast, Harry Theocharis said: If we dont impose quarantine for people coming to Greece from the UK from some day onwards, we would welcome if the UK extended the same thing.

The UK's quarantine programme was announced by the prime minister on 10 May. The Home Office promises details of the policy will be revealed shortly, with the mandatory self-isolation beginning in June.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces the co-founding of The Climate Pledge at the National Press Club on September 19, 2019, in Washington.

As Google's cloud unit steps back from the oil and gas industry, a sales rep at Amazon Web Services is courting customers by pointing out how many fossil fuel products the company uses today to power its business, while also underscoring Amazon's commitment to moving to renewable energy.

Earlier this week, environmental group Greenpeace released a report about cloud providers' work with oil companies. Google responded by telling news outlets, including CNBC, that it would not build custom artificial-intelligence algorithms for the oil and gas industry.

Brad Farmer, a Houston-based Amazon employee on AWS' oil and gas team for the central U.S., saw an opportunity. He published a LinkedIn post (since removed) in which he pointed out that Amazon is a customer for oil companies' products.

"If you're an O&G company looking for a strategic digital transformation partner, we would recommend choosing a partner who actually uses your products and can help you transform for the future  instead of the non-existent Microsoft and Google planes/trucks/vans purchasing your products. $0 top-line value," Farmer wrote.

"Amazon buys jet fuel for our Amazon Prime Air planes! Amazon Middle Mile buys diesel for our 18-wheeler trucks! Amazon Last Mile buys gasoline for our blue Mercedes sprinter vans which you see in your neighborhoods!" He contrasted that with Google, saying that it's "embarrassed to be seen with O&G companies in public."

Farmer also acknowledged Amazon's goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2040: "We also have a STRONG commitment to renewable energy sources as Amazon moves to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 so we're actively engaged on renewable fuel supply discussions."

Amazon did not immediately offer a comment on Farmer's post.

Fossil fuels and their contribution to climate change is a thorny subject for the company.

A group of Amazon employees have called for Amazon to end cloud contracts with companies that extract oil and gas. But Amazon has refused to end those contracts, saying the work helps energy companies "reduce their demand for carbon fuel sources," and its website shows oil and gas customers like BP and Hess.

If Amazon were to scale back on oil and gas, that would provide an opening for its main competitor in the space, Microsoft Azure. Google, meanwhile, has had little success in the oil and gas space -- a spokesperson for the company told CNBC the sector makes up less than 1% of its cloud revenue in 2019, and that sales to the sector had declined from the previous year.

AWS controlled 47.8% of the cloud infrastructure market in 2018, while Microsoft had 15.5% and Google had 4%, according to Gartner.

An employee group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice is widely credited for influencing Bezos' decision to announce a sweeping climate change plan last September. As part of the plan, Amazon has pledged to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris accord's goal. The company also expects 80% of Amazon's energy use to come from renewable sources by 2024, up from a current rate of 40%, before transitioning to zero emissions by 2030.

Emily Cunningham, a former Amazon user experience designer and member of AECJ, characterized Amazon's work with oil and gas companies as lacking upside. In April, Amazon fired Cunningham and Maren Costa, also a user experience designer, from the company for breaking company rules.

"Amazon can't say it's leading on climate in one breath, and then in another, partner with fossil fuel companies to accelerate and expand oil extraction," Cunningham said. "The fossil fuel industry is a dying industry. Even oil and gas companies know this. Partnering with Big Oil is not just morally repugnant, it's bad business."

WATCH: Amazon to meet Paris climate goals 10 years ahead of schedule
In San Diego, a Mexican restaurant announced it was charging $1 extra for carne asada due to a meat shortage and in Michigan, a burger place is adding another dollar to each meal because of foot traffic they've lost, according to FOX 17 in Grand Rapids and KFMB-TV in San Diego.

And it's not just restaurants. A dentist's office in Jacksonville, Fla., reportedly started charging a $10 per appointment fee for personal protective equipment, and in Texas some hair salons have started adding a $3 sanitation charge, according to KTRK-TV in Houston.

Get out your wallets.The COVID-19 pandemic has already cost more than 35 million Americans their jobs, and now everything's about to cost more, too (some stuff already does).The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week that the month of April saw the sharpest increase in grocery store prices in nearly 50 years. Across the country, the supply chain has been severely affected by the pandemic, with prices rising on simple staples such as eggs, rice, flour, milk and meat.And some restaurants have started to pass that cost off to consumers. Like Harold's Chicken in Chicago. The restaurant began adding a "COVID-19 fee," a surcharge of 26%, to all bills, CBS-2 in Chicago reported.the station reported.The restaurant's owner told us a case of chicken wings, for example, jumped from $60 to $90, and the restaurant had no choice but to pass on some of the increase to customers.Santana said.But the reaction from customers was not good, and the restaurant decided to drop the surcharge.Santana said.Harold's isn't the only restaurant to add a COVID-19 fee. A restaurant in Missouri last week enacted a $2.19 coronavirus "surcharge," which also prompted a backlash on social media.The owner, Pilly Yuzar, previously told Fox News thatSocial media teed off on the idea that restaurants and other businesses could be tacking on surcharges for the coronavirus.one Twitter user wrote in a post showing a receipt from the Kiko Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Lounge that included a "covid 19 surcharge."Kiko's Steakhouse posted a message on Facebook explaining the charge.the restaurant wrote.But still, people aren't happy.wrote another person on Twitter.Fox News said the fee is popping up all over.
This country has never been much of a place for food delivery or takeout or tap-and-order apps, at least before the virus. And for Italians, the experience of eating together is often as or more important than the meal. Most of Sutrinis food memories involve some kind of gathering: the communal plates of polenta she shared with her family during childhood. The big dinner parties she hosted with her husband. And, most recently, the nights at Zia Rilla when the place was packed  people staying late, stepping out for smoke breaks, finishing with an amaro nightcap.
"Property Brothers" stars Drew and Jonathan Scott have pulled off some heroic renovations, but on the latest episode of their new show, Celebrity IOU, the pressure's on when they meet an actor who plays a superhero: Jeremy Renner.

And even superheroes have a soft side! Renner, the man behind the arrow-wielding Marvel character Hawkeye in "The Avengers" movies, wants the Scott brothers' help renovating a Woodland Hills, CA, condo for his mom, Valerie.

As it turns out, Renner is quite the renovator himself! When not fighting villains on screen, he has a side business remodeling houses, with 25 remodels under his belt.

Together, these three aim to create a home thats classy and stylishand also durable enough to stand up to visiting grandkids. Read on to find out how the "Property Brothers" team pulls this renovation offand along the way, learn some great, kid-friendly updates you might want to try in your own space.

Jeremy Renner plans the condo's renovation with the "Property Brothers" stars. HGTV

Choose porcelain counters for a durable, easy-to-clean style

This kitchen needed a lot of work! HGTV

When the Scott brothers first see Valeries kitchen, they know that this space is due for a big renovation. One of the biggest problems? The counters.

One of my biggest pet peeves in the kitchen is tile counters, because it just sucks up the bacteria, Jonathan says.

With grandkids in the kitchen all the time, Jonathan knows Valerie will need something that is durable and easy to clean. Plus, he wants to install a countertop that looks sophisticated and stylish. In the end, he settles on a beautiful white porcelain slab that can go up the wall for the backsplash.

This kitchen looks fresh, modern, and beautiful. HGTV

This is going to tie together the whole color palette, Jonathan says of the porcelain counter. This is the bling on top of the finished product.

In the end, it looks amazing. The counters look modern and classy, while also being functional for busy days with grandkids.

An all-white kitchen can turn into a messy kitchen

Renner helps Jonathan choose finishes. HGTV

While the porcelain counters brighten up the kitchen, the brothers know that a good counter is nothing without some great cabinets. And its up to Renner to choose the color.

You run into a problem when you go all white, Renner says, explaining that with young children running around the kitchen, white cabinets could get messy fast.

Its either change the color of the cabinets or get rid of the kids, Jonathan jokes.

In the end, Renner and Jonathan decide to pull some white into the cabinet design, but they put it in the upper cabinets, far out of reach of messy little hands. Down below, they choose beautiful dark blue cabinets that make the kitchen look bold and stylish.

Go neutral when it comes to flooring

When Jonathan asks Renner's opinion on flooring, the actor knows exactly what styles will look good.

I like the warmth of this, Renner says when inspecting a sample of white oak flooring. Its a safe, neutral look, and Jonathan agrees that this color is right for Valeries condo.

When the floors are finally installed, Valerie loves the color.

Just the floors alone are so beautiful, she says

The entry tile should be stylish and durable

Jonathan and Renner put down the tile for the entryway. HGTV

With beautiful white oak flooring being installed in the living room, Jonathan isnt sure what to do with the raised entryway. He knows that putting the same flooring over the single step could make the two levels visually blend together, creating a tripping hazard. Instead, Jonathan decides to install gray and white tile to make the entryway stand out.

And Renner loves the gray and white style Jonathan chooses.

It has that ... classic '20s Hollywood feel, Renner says, and it keeps with the aesthetic of this beautiful, traditional modernized home.

This tile looks perfect in the entryway. HGTV

It actually defines the front entrance and makes this a separate space, Jonathan says.

But this tile isnt just functional. Jonathan explains that the durable, easy-to-clean tile will come in handy when grandkids march in from outside.

A fireplace should be both modern and classic

This fireplace updates this space while still giving it a classic flair. HGTV

While this condo already has a fireplace, the brothers know that the small, off-center feature isn't going to work for Valerie. They take out the old fireplace and replace it with a new fireplace that brings some old-world style to the living room.

This fireplace feature wall is a prime example of how we want old to meet new, Jonathan explains. The plaster finish is going to bring an old European feel.

In the end, the fireplace looks beautifulmodern but classic. Its a perfect place for Valerie, and a perfect home away from home for her grandkids.

Is this Celebrity IOU a success?

Renner and his mom, Valerie, already feel right at home. HGTV

When Renner and the Scott brothers finally finish this condo, the place looks fantastic. Renner loves the clean, classic look, and when Valerie finally sees her renovated home, shes shocked. She loves the living room, the floors, and the kitchen.

My life has come full circle now, Valerie says. I can have all my grandchildren here, I can have my children here, we can make so many memories here. I couldnt be happier.

The Scott brothers and Renner sure had a lot of fun with this renovation! HGTV

The post The Property Brothers Discover Jeremy Renner's Secret Talent on 'Celebrity IOU' appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Qatar tightened restrictions on commercial activities on Monday, ordering all shops to close until the end of the month as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The decision taken at a cabinet meeting exempts pharmacies, food supply stores and food deliveries. Malls and dine-in restaurants were already closed but other stores had still been operating.

The country of some 2.8 million on Monday reported 1,364 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total to 33,969, the second highest infection count after larger neighbour Saudi Arabia among six Gulf Arab states. Its death toll from the virus stands at 15.

Qatar, where expatriates make up the majority of the population, has like other Gulf states seen the virus spread among low-wage foreign workers living in cramped quarters.

Other measures approved by the cabinet include requiring all citizens and residents to install a mobile app designed to track COVID-19 cases starting May 22, state news agency QNA reported.

No more than two people can be in a car and up to three in a chauffeured vehicle, while buses must operate at half capacity. People can exercise in public near their residence if they practice physical distancing and wear face masks, QNA said.

(Reporting by Samar Hassan; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)
The U.S Tuesday blacklisted a Shanghai-based logistic firm over alleged accusation that the company provides services to Irans airliner Mahan Air which has been the US sanction list since 2011, Anadolu News agency reports.

Saint Logistics Limited, which provides services in several areas including railway, sea transport, airlines for cargo transportation and multimodal transportations of any types of freights, according to the Treasure Department, acts as a general sales agent (GSA) for or on behalf of Iranian airline Mahan Air.

The Iranian regime is using Mahan Air to support an illegitimate and corrupt regime in Venezuela, just as it has done for the regime in Syria and for terrorist proxy groups throughout the Middle East, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

We will not hesitate to target those entities that continue to maintain commercial relationships with Mahan Air, he added.

Saint Logistics according US authorities booked freight flights airline between China and Iran.

The sanctions allows Washington to freeze of the Chinese companys assets existing under the US jurisdiction. US citizens or residents dealing with the firm are also subject to sanctions.

Washington in 2011 put Mahan Air on its blacklist over its support of the external operations branch of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Reinhardt takes unconventional route to commissioned Army officer

A different path: After serving 10 years as an Army Ranger, Jonna Reinhardt 07, M.B.A. 20, shown here with wife Madeline, will begin the next phase of his career as a second lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps. Submitted photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

Jonna Reinhardt 07, M.B.A. 20 took an unconventional route from William & Mary graduate to commissioned military officer.

He did not participate in ROTC as an undergrad and chose to enlist almost 12 years ago to be a part of the Armys Special Operations. After 10 years as an Army Ranger, he returned to W&M to earn his M.B.A.

Since his return, Reinhardt has been an active participant in the ROTC program and is a role model to many of the other cadets.

He was commissioned Friday in a private, virtual ceremony along with cadets Patrick Choi 20, Ryan Fameli 20, Luis Figueroa 20 and Mark ODonahue 20.

The cadets were joined by family members during the pinning ceremony, which was done via videoconferencing platform Zoom. Reinhardt was pinned by his wife, Madeline Reinhardt.

This is a pretty big change in my career, and Im just immensely thankful that things have worked out to allow this to happen, said Reinhardt, who will begin as a second lieutenant in the Army Transportation Corps.

The commissioning ceremony capped off a banner year for the armed forces at William & Mary. Its ROTC program made school history by finishing second at the 2019 All-American Brigade Ranger Challenge. The university also opened a new Office of Student Veteran Engagement, led by Charlie Foster.

I would say the first year of the OSVE has been outstanding, said Foster, who has remained active in his role via Zoom meetings and regular emails. It has been an honor to stand at the intersection of the Tribe and the military community.

I have met hundreds of people in my official capacity, and each one has helped me celebrate veterans and also taught me about the university. Thats the way I think about the year  one of celebrating military and veteran students, and a year of learning.

Reinhardt was a member of the W&M team that placed second out of 48 teams in the Ranger Challenge and earned a spot in the prestigious Sandhurst Military Skills Competition, which was scheduled to take place in April at West Point but was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The team was pretty bummed to miss the Sandhurst competition, especially with it being the first time the ROTC program has ever qualified for it, Reinhardt said.

Reinhardt did seven tours of duty in Afghanistan during his decade-long tenure with the Army Rangers. After serving on the front lines, he selected a different path for his final 10 years of military service.

He will be stationed at Fort Eustis in nearby Newport News.

Im going to spend the next 10 years doing something a little less strenuous, a little less scary for my wife, said Reinhardt, who reached the rank of sergeant first class as a non-commissioned officer. And when I get out of the military, not only will I have an M.B.A. but I will have 10 years of logistical experience with the Army doing things at a pretty big level.

Reinhardt, who grew up in Jamestown, ran track and cross country at W&M and graduated with a degree in marketing. He tried an office job for a year, and then followed the urge to join the Army, eventually earning his way onto one of the Armys three Ranger battalions.

As an officer, you can only spend a couple years at a time in the Special Operations community, Reinhardt said. Enlisted, you can stay there indefinitely as long as you don't screw up.

Reinhardt spent a decade at the 1st Ranger Battalion at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia.

I learned a lot and was able to experience some really neat things, Reinhardt said. It was exactly what I wanted out of my military career.

Reinhardt earned his way back to W&M through the Armys Green to Gold Active Duty Option Program, a scholarship program that allowed him to focus completely on academics while still serving his country.

Reinhardt and Figueroa are the first two Green to Gold students to come through William & Mary, according to Lt. Col. Dustin A. Menhart, chair of W&Ms Military Science program.

Jonna is in a league of his own, Menhart said. Hes been just a true professional in being available for these young men and women. Its almost like having an additional cadre member because of his unique experiences and background.

Were always trying to recruit some Green to Golds, because he and Luis Figueroa were the first two Green to Golds that we had, and they have been exceptional, Menhart continued.

Reinhardt said joining W&Ms ROTC program with his prior service experience was unusual at first, but everyone around him learned quickly that he was willing to work hard to earn the respect of leadership and the other cadets.

Im the same rank as most of the cadre here, Reinhardt said. Ive got about the same amount of time and service as they do, but effectively Im a cadet. That was the mindset I went in with. I didnt wear any of my combat patches or any of that stuff.

As Reinhardt earned more respect from leadership and cadets, he fell back on his expertise to provide as much support as possible.

It definitely was a bit of a strange situation at first, but Jonna was really great at integrating himself with the other cadets in the program, and he helped serve as a mentor to a lot of the members of the (Ranger Challenge) team, said Fameli, who was a co-captain of the squad.

As Reinhardt approaches the final chapter of his time at William & Mary, he looks back fondly at the universitys impact on his journey through the military ranks.

It is a special university, Reinhardt said. Its impossible to quantify the full effects of going to William & Mary on my career, but they have been significant.
Singapore to exit circuit breaker in phases from June 1

Singapore will exit the circuit breaker from June 1 in phases, "in a very careful and calibrated manner", Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday, May 19, at the COVID-19 press conference.

In Phase 1, however, many restrictions that are currently in place will continue, in order to not risk a flaring up of the virus again.

Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on COVID-19, stressed, "We do not want to sacrifice the efforts that all of us have put in over the past few weeks in controlling the outbreak."

Minister Lawrence Wong, Co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce on COVID-19. Photo courtesy: MCI

Critical sectors and businesses that operate in settings with lower transmission risks will be allowed to reopen in the first phase, which will last a few weeks. However, those who are working from home should continue to work from home. Employees are advised to only return to workplaces where necessary, such as to access specialised systems/equipment that cannot be accessed from home, or to fulfil legal requirements.

Retail shops and personalised services are not planned for reopening in Phase 1, and dining in at F&B outlets will continue to be disallowed. Only selected services, namely, motor vehicle servicing, aircon servicing, basic pet services, school bookshops and retail shops selling school uniforms will be allowed to resume. Hairdressers and barbers are allowed to resume offering all hairdressing services, beyond basic haircut services.

All home-based businesses that operate using a delivery/ collection model can resume.

From June 2, students from graduating cohorts at primary and secondary levels will attend school daily, while other cohorts will rotate weekly. Photo courtesy: Facebook/MOE

Meanwhile, preschools will gradually re-open by levels from June 2, with full resumption by 10 June 2020, so that young children can be cared for safely while their parents return to work. Students from graduating cohorts at primary and secondary levels will attend school daily, while other cohorts will rotate weekly. Junior Colleges and Millennia Institute will arrange to have half of their students back in school at any one time.

Students in the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) whose terms are in session will be able to return to campus for practical and lab-based sessions, with lectures remaining online. All staff and students will be required to wear masks or face shields when in school or on campus.

Places of worship can open from June 2 for private worship, with congregational services still banned.

Each household will also be allowed to visit their parents or grandparents staying elsewhere, but the receiving household should limit such visits to only one per day, and to not more than two persons who must be from the same visiting household.

Should community transmission remain low in Phase 1, Singapore will then be in a position to enter Phase 2 of the easing of circuit breaker measures.

Sports, recreation and outdoor facilities will start to re-open only in Phase 2. Photo: Connected to India

There will be gradual resumption of more activities, and small social gatherings will be allowed. More firms and businesses  starting with F&B dine-in and retail outlets, gyms and fitness studios, and tuition and enrichment centres  will be allowed to re-open.

Sports, recreation and outdoor facilities will also start to re-open, subject to safe management practices for both facility staff and users being in place.

Depending on the COVID-19 situation and our risk assessment, Singapore will continue to ease measures gradually until we reach a new normal in Phase 3  defined as a state at which the country expect to remain until an effective vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 is developed.

Social, cultural, religious and business gatherings or events would have resumed by this time, although gathering sizes would still have to be limited in order to prevent large clusters from arising. Seniors would have been able to resume day-to-day activities while practising safe distancing measures and avoiding peak period travel, crowded places and large groups.

Services and activities that involve significant prolonged close contact (such as spas and massages) or significant crowd management risk in an enclosed space (for example, cinemas, theatres, bars, pubs and nightclubs) would also have been allowed to re-open.
As of early May 20, the overall number of fatalities reached 4,199

As of Wednesday morning, 112,895 people have recovered from Covid-19 in Turkey. This is the data provided by Fahrettin Koca, the Turkish Healthcare Minister. Anadolu news agency quoted him as saying.

According to the official, over the last 24 hours, another 28 lethal cases were confirmed. The summary number of fatalities made 4,199.

The Minister added that the overall number of infected people made 151,615, since another 1,022 test results proved positive. According to Koca, over 1.67 million tests were performed since the beginning of the disease outbreak in Turkey.

The official added that the rate of morbidity in Turkey continues to decrease; the number of patients who need intensive therapy is dropping, too.
Following the privacy concerns that OnePlus 8 Pro's color filter camera raised, OnePlus made a Weibo post about a future update that would temporarily disable the module and will think of a fix that could fix the issue. In OnePlus' community forums, an official explained that the future update would affect only HydrogenOS, meaning the Chinese version of the phone.

The international variant will keep the feature for the time being, but when a fix has been developed, OnePlus will implement it on the global model as well.

To be honest, the feature works only with super-thin clothes and in specific lighting conditions, so it shouldn't be an issue for most people. It's also a pretty tricky situation with the quad-camera claims. If OnePlus disables the camera, this would mean that the advertising will be misleading for a short period in China. The company will probably be able to share more in the coming weeks as it works on a fix.

Source
A new podcast by Dr. Juliana Adelman from the School of History and Geography at DCU and Kevin Kenny from the Shackleton Museum in Athy asks What would Shackleton do? in response to the current pandemic.



It examines the parallels between the conditions experienced by renowned explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew on his Antarctic expeditions and the characteristics they needed, and our own experiences now under the COVID19 restrictions.



Shackleton wrote about what is needed to survive the adversities which life throws up. He identified optimism, patience, idealism and courage as key characteristics.



Dr. Juliana Adelman said:



Shackleton is recognised as a role model for his leadership in times of crisis, most notably the Endurance expedition where, having lost the expedition ship, he led his crew through one of the greatest ever survival epics.



"Our podcast series is themed on Shackletons four key principles and we look at his expertise and methods and at how these relate to the issues we are facing as we navigate the current situation.



"We also decided that one more principle was necessary, arising from the direct experiences of front line health workers with the current pandemic, and that was kindness.



About Ernest Shackleton



Born close to the village of Kilkea, between Castledermot and Athy, in the south of County Kildare in 1874, Ernest Shackleton is renowned for his courage, his commitment to the welfare of his comrades and his immense contribution to exploration and geographical discovery.



Having gone to sea as a teenager, Shackleton joined Captain Scotts Discovery expedition 1901  1904 and went on to lead three of his own expeditions to the Antarctic. The Endurance 1914  1916 expedition has become one of the greatest epics of human survival. While Shackleton did not achieve his ambition to cross the Antarctic he has become famous for his triumphs of honesty and humanitarianism.



Dr. Juliana Adelman is an Assistant Professor of History in the School of History and Geography. She writes a monthly history of science column for The Irish Times.



To listen, just search for What would Shackleton do? wherever you get your podcasts or you can find them on the Shackleton Museum website.
Federal officials awarded a $1.28 billion border wall project in Southern Arizona to a company favored by President Donald Trump, five months after a previous contract led to accusations of improper influence and a probe by the Defense Departments inspector general.

The Army Corps of Engineers awarded the $1.28 billion project on May 6 to Fisher Sand and Gravel, a North Dakota-based company with offices in Tempe.

The funds will go toward building about 42 miles of border wall, most of which will run from Nogales to the eastern boundary of the Tohono Oodham Nation, according to the Corps.

Tommy Fisher, head of Fisher Sand and Gravel, led a wide-ranging campaign to persuade Trump and federal officials to award wall contracts to his company.

Fisher touted his companys wall design on numerous conservative news outlets frequently watched by Trump, paid lobbyists $145,000 to discuss the border wall with lawmakers, and invited Corps officials to watch his crews build a privately funded border wall.

Trump repeatedly urged Corps officials to award wall contracts to Fisher last year, despite the companys initial designs not meeting federal standards, the Washington Post reported.

When Trump told advisers last month that he wanted the wall painted black to make it more intimidating and harder to climb in hot weather, he directed them to consult with Fisher.

The inspector general audit came after Fisher Sand and Gravel was awarded a contract in early December worth up to $400 million to build 31 miles of border wall on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge southwest of Tucson.

News of the contract immediately led Democratic lawmakers to raise concerns about improper influence by Trump.

The Defense Departments inspector general launched an audit less than two weeks later. That audit is ongoing, according to the public affairs office of the inspector general.

The Corps maintains that all procurement laws were followed with both the December contract award to Fisher and the May 6 award, says a statement from the Corps public affairs office.

In mid-2019, the company was included in a pre-qualified pool of contractors for border wall projects. The May 6 project was awarded to Fisher through a competitive process among those contractors.

Fisher Sand and Gravel did not respond to an inquiry from the Star.

The wall along Arizonas border with Mexico is made of 30-foot-tall steel poles, known as bollards, filled with concrete. The bollards are 6 inches in diameter and separated from each other by 4 inches of space.

The wall is topped with a steel plate meant to thwart climbers. At a later date, lights and cameras will be installed, along with a sensor system in the ground.

The wall was a centerpiece of Trumps presidential campaign in 2016, and officials are pushing to complete as many miles of wall as possible before the election in November.

Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said last week during a visit to Tucson that he expects to see as many as 400 miles of wall completed this year. So far, about 180 miles have been built since Trump took office.

Federal officials plan to build nearly 140 miles of border wall near Tucson and another 100 miles near Yuma. Construction began last year and about 50 miles of wall have been built in Arizona, with crews adding more wall every day.

The May 6 project includes seven segments. The bulk of the project starts near Nogales and runs west for 38 miles along the Coronado National Forest and Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge until it reaches the eastern boundary of the Tohono Oodham Nation, with small breaks separating the segments.

Another 4 miles of wall will go up about 10 miles east of Nogales. A section of wall measuring two-tenths of a mile will go up at or near the Santa Cruz River.

A bridge was built over the river last year to help Border Patrol agents drive through the area.

Fisher Sand and Gravel also was awarded a $7.6 million contract on April 15 to build 800 feet of wall near Yuma.

The average cost per mile of the May 6 project is $30 million, much higher than the $20 million average for most other wall projects in Southern Arizona.

While there may be similarities between projects, each project cost is contingent upon its unique characteristics, such as geotechnical, topographical, hydrological and hydraulic, underground utilities, final real estate access, and the cost of materials and labor, said Corps spokesman Jay Field.

To speed up wall construction, the Department of Homeland Security waived numerous laws dealing with the environment, historical preservation, and other issues. In February, the department waived several procurement laws to further speed up construction on 177 miles of the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The waivers of procurement laws had no effect on the May 6 award to Fisher Sand and Gravel, Field said, citing the competitive award process.

So far, roughly $3.1 billion of Defense Department funds have been awarded for wall projects on the border near Tucson, according to figures provided by the Corps. Only a handful of the planned miles of wall near Tucson do not yet have a contract.

Southwest Valley Constructors, an affiliate of the construction giant Kiewit, was awarded $524 million in late March to build about 24 miles of wall in Cochise County.

The company was awarded $1.3 billion last year to build 63 miles of wall in Cochise County and on the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta.

In contrast with Fisher Sand and Gravel, Southwest Valley Constructors has kept a low profile in terms of publicly courting federal officials.

Nearly $700 million of Defense Department funds were awarded to build about 73 miles of wall in the Yuma area, according to the Corps.

Other projects near Yuma were funded by congressional appropriations.

Contact reporter Curt Prendergast at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com or on Twitter @CurtTucsonStar

Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 (10:32 am) - Score 1,645

Broadband ISP WightFibre, which is already investing 35m to deploy a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband network on the Isle of Wight (South Coast of Hampshire, UK), has now extended their full fibre coverage to nearly 20,000 live premises and secured additional investment of 50m to complete their project.

Until recently the provider predominantly operated a limited Hybrid Fibre Coax (DOCSIS) based ultrafast broadband network on the island, which was similar to Virgin Medias UK platform and covered around 13,000 homes (plus 4,000 homes already ducted). But all that began to change in 2018 after they secured a 35m investment from Infracapital (here) to help fund a major upgrade to gigabit speed full fibre technology.

The FTTP deployment itself began steadily ramping-up last year and is currently reaching somewhat of a peak in its deployment pace (theyve added c.5,000 premises since the last update in March 2020 alone). As a result the ISP can now cover 28% of premises on the Isle of Wight and they expect to reach 80% by the end of 2022, followed by 96% by the end of 2025 (c.71,000 homes and businesses).

However tackling the most remote rural premises will be expensive (i.e. going from the original 80% to 96% coverage goal) and as such the operator has been busy trying to find some additional investment. The good news is that theyve now secured additional funding of 50m from NatWest Bank (total of 85m).

John Irvine, WightFibres CEO, said: WightFibre has made great progress in building the UKs first Gigabit Island on the Isle of Wight, having already made full-fibre broadband available to nearly 20,000 premises. The additional funding announced today will enable us to connect around 96% of premises on the island, making Isle of Wight one of the most well-connected places in the world. WightFibres point to point network design means every home and business on the island will receive their own dedicated fibre optic connection. This is practically unique in the UK making the Isle of Wight network not only world class but future-proof for decades to come.

Bob Seely, MP for the Isle of Wight, said: I am delighted to see an Isle of Wight company secure funding at these levels despite us being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has demonstrated more than ever how essential good broadband is not just for business but for the home as well. WightFibres Gigabit Island project will ensure we have even better broadband provision than we currently enjoy. The Isle of Wight is not only a great place to live and work but also a national leader both in embracing and developing technology.

At this point some readers may remark that KCOM only needed to invest 85m in order to cover c.195,000 premises, but much of their deployment was urban focused (e.g. Hull) and so a lower average build cost would have been possible. By comparison the Isle of Wight has a lot of rural communities to consider and 71,000 premises divided by 85m works out to an average per premises build cost of c.1,200 (seems reasonable and thats still less than the 1,700 subsidy limit on some BDUK Phase 2 contracts).

Prices for the new service range from 21.95 per month (special offer) for their unlimited entry-level 50Mbps (symmetric speed) full fibre package and all the way up to 42 for 900Mbps+, which includes free installation. The top two packages also receive free WholeHome WiFi powered by Plume.
FP Trending

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has raised alarm over Chinas influence on internet regulations. In a conversation with European Union official Thierry Breton, Zuckerberg said he was reportedly worried countries across the world would follow the Chinese model for regulating internet services.

According to a CNBC report, the Facebook CEO called the move really dangerous. He said, What I worry about is, right now I think there are emerging two very different frameworks underpinned by very different sets of values.

Zuckerberg said that he thinks there is a model coming out of countries like China that have quite different values than Western countries.

The Facebook founder and Breton discussed a number of issues ranging from how social platforms are fighting misinformation to governance in the one-hour live-streamed debate.

A report in The Verge said that Zuckerberg praised EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which implemented changes for how Facebook, Twitter, Google, and other internet companies collect user data.

The report quoted Breton saying that working together would be key. I think thats something thats extremely important, is our ability to work together to design together, the right government tools, and behavior, he added.

This is not the first time that Zuckerberg has raised concerns regarding China's internet policies. Last year, during a speech at the Georgetown University he attacked Chinese app TikTok for their censorship.

He had said that China is exporting its social values and claimed that US companies that do business with the Asian country were influenced by its values.

Our services like WhatsApp are used by protestors and activists due to strong encryption and privacy practices while on TikTok mentions of these same protests are censored, even in the US, Zuckerberg had said.
Key equity indices traded sideways with decent gains in afternoon trade. Buying was broad based with auto and FMCG shares trading firm.

At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 162.3 points or 0.54% at 30,358.47. The Nifty 50 index added 62.35 points or 0.7% at 8,941.45.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.62% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.55%.

The market breadth was almost even. On the BSE, 1039 shares rose and 1043 shares fell. A total of 140 shares were unchanged. In the Nifty 50 index, 37 shares advanced while 13 shares declined.

Sentiment got a boost after the country's finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reportedly said the government remains open to more economic measures as and when needed.

Sitharaman on Sunday (17 May) announced the fifth and final tranche of economic stimulus package to deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The booster measures announced on Sunday related to MGNREGS, healthcare and education, businesses, de-criminalisation of the Companies Act, ease of doing business, public sector enterprises, and resources related to state governments.

Gainers & Losers:

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 4.45%), UPL (up 4.03%), Grasim (up 3.75%), GAIL (India) (up 3.73%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 3.45%) were top gainers in Nifty 50 index.

Bharti Infratel (down 9.62%), IndusInd Bank (down 3.45%), Hero MotoCorp (down 2.6%), and Bharti Airtel (down 1.23%) were top losers in Nifty 50 index.

Q4 Results Today:

Bajaj Auto (up 0.69%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.55%) and UltraTech Cement (up 1.96%) are Nifty 50 companies that will announce their quarterly earnings today.

Jubilant Foodworks (up 0.91%), Ajanta Pharma (up 0.08%), GHCL (up 2.89%), JK Lakshmi Cement (up 0.8%), JSW Energy (up 1.9%), Kalpataru Power Transimission (down 0.29%) and Strides Pharma Science (up 3.18%) are some of the companies that will announce their quarterly res ult today.

Earnings Impact:

Bajaj Finance gained 1.22%. The NBFC major's consolidated net profit declined 19% to Rs 948 crore on 36% increase in total income to Rs 7,231 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. On a consolidated basis, profit before tax (PBT) stood at Rs 1,278 crore in Q4 FY20, down by 29% from Rs 1,812 crore reported in Q4 FY19. Net interest income jumped 38% to Rs 4,684 crore in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19. New loans booked during Q4 FY20 increased by 3% to 6.03 million from 5.83 million in Q4 FY19.

Loan losses and provisions for Q4 FY20 was Rs 1,954 crore as against Rs 409 crore in Q4 FY19. During the quarter, the company has taken an accelerated charge of Rs 390 crore for two identified large accounts, an additional provision of Rs 129 crore on account of recalibration of its ECL model and a contingency provision of Rs 900 crore for COVID-19.

Adjusted for these additional provisions of Rs 1,419 crore, loan losses and provisions for Q4 FY20 was Rs 535 crore.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank surged 5.27% after net profit rose 14.7% to Rs 73.15 crore on 34.4% rise in total income to Rs 809.65 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019. Net interest income (NII) jumped 46% to Rs 466 crore in Q4 FY20 over Q4 FY19. Net interest margin (NIM) stood at 11.2% in Q4 March 2020 as compared to 10.8% in Q4 March 2019. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) stood at Rs 137.14 crore as on 31 March 2020 as against Rs 129.45 crore as on 31 December 2019 and Rs 97.85 crore as on 31 March 2019. The ratio of gross NPAs to gross advances stood at 0.97% as on 31 March 2020 as against 0.95% as on 31 December 2019 and 0.92% as on 31 March 2019. The bank's provisions and contingencies stood at Rs 96.88 crore in Q4 March 2020, almost seven times compared to Rs 12.37 crore in Q4 March 2019. The bank has made total provision of Rs 70 crore for COVID-19 as on 31 March 2020, out of which Rs 48.97 crore is in respect of accounts in default but standard against the potential impact of COVID-19. The bank clarified that provisions held are in excess of the RBI prescribed norms.

Larsen & Toubro Infotech rallied 6.94% after consolidated net profit jumped 13.49% to Rs 427.50 crore on a 7.14% increase in net sales to Rs 3,011.90 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q3 December 2019. Consolidated profit before tax rose 10.32% to Rs 551.40 crore in Q4 March 2020 as against Rs 499.80 crore in Q3 December 2019. EBITDA margin improved to 19.2% in Q4 March 2020 as compared to 18.8% in Q3 December 2019 and 19.2% in Q4 March 2019.

Global Markets:

European markets opened lower as second wave of Covid-19 virus continued to spook investors. Asian markets were mixed after China kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

China held its benchmark lending rate steady on Wednesday, mirroring the central bank's decision last week to keep borrowing costs on medium-term funding for financial institutions unchanged. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) remained at 3.85% from last month's fixing, while the five-year LPR was also steady at 4.65% from previously.

Investors also watched for market reaction to a media report released overnight that raised concerns about the trial results for a potential coronavirus vaccine from Moderna. That initial positive development had sent global markets rallying earlier in the week.

The US equity market finished volatile session lower for the first time in four sessions on Tuesday, 19 May 2020, as investors elected to book profit after a strong rally in the prior session, due to mixed batch of corporate results from major retailers and reports that Moderna Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine study didn't produce enough critical data to assess its success.

However, market losses were capped after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in a statement, said that the central bank is ready to use all the weapons in its arsenal to help the U. S. economy endure the coronavirus pandemic.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One of the most prominent recent cases of fraud came in North Carolinas Ninth Congressional District, where a political operative was charged with fraudulently collecting and submitting absentee ballots in an effort to manipulate the election results in favor of the Republican candidate. But such broad schemes are likely to be detected, as this one was, experts say; the district held a do-over election.

Five states  Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington  conduct their elections almost entirely by mail, automatically sending all registered voters a ballot. Twenty-nine other states and Washington, D.C., allow for no-excuse absentee voting, meaning anyone can request an absentee ballot for any reason. Mr. Trump voted by mail in the last election.

Mr. Trumps misleading claims are all from a mail-in voter himself in service of a conspiracy theory about the purported relationship between absentee voting and voter fraud  a relationship that has never actually been substantiated in anything other than marginal cases, said Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

Can the president withhold federal funding over absentee voting?

Unlikely. Much of the money is already out the door, and legal experts questioned whether Mr. Trump even had the authority to block the funding.

Since the 2016 election, Congress has disbursed at least $380 million to states for election security and upgrades, and it appropriated another $425 million in the latest budget deal. The CARES Act provided another $400 million, and the Election Assistance Commission said in early April that it would expedite distribution of that funding.

Legislation for the 2020 fiscal year and the CARES Act make very clear the funds can be used for vote-by-mail, said Myrna Perez, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice. For a very long time, it had bipartisan support.

Michigans and Nevadas actions certainly seem consistent with statutory intent, making it difficult for the president to claim that he could legally not spend the funds, said Roy Meyers, a professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. And evidence that the president was withholding funds out of spite or a desire for vengeance regarding an issue unrelated to the intended purpose of the funds would further weaken his legal case.
Superdrug today became the first high street retailer to start selling a coronavirus antibody test to the public and has sold out in a matter of hours.

The tests, which are intended to tell someone if they have had the virus in the past, cost 69 and require the user to take blood samples themselves and post them off to a laboratory, where it takes 24 hours to produce a result.

In a notice on the shop's website this afternoon it said: 'Due to the high demand of orders, this service is currently not available'.

And the medical giant Abbott, which makes the tests, has insisted that its tests were not intended to be used by people taking their own blood samples.

Instead, the Illinois-based firm says its tests have only been evaluated to be accurate on blood samples taken by trained healthcare providers directly from patients' veins.

Any test that has a CE mark  such as the one made by Abbott  can be legally sold and used in the UK but health chiefs have repeatedly urged Britons to avoid tests that havent been approved.

Officials last week approved the Abbott test for laboratory use, making it only the second kit of its kind to be given the green-light following a similar kit made by Swiss giant Roche.

No home pregnancy-test kits have yet been approved, despite promises in March that one would be available.

Known as the 'have you had it' tests, antibody tests reveal whether someone has been infected with COVID-19 in the past and recovered from it, but scientists are still unsure whether this means they are protected from catching the virus again.

Therefore, some say there is 'no point' paying for a test because it is still not clear what the results mean.

Superdrug urges individuals to continue social distancing and following government guidance even if their result is positive.

Superdrug has become the first high street retailer to sell a coronavirus antibody test to the public for 69 with almost 100 per cent accuracy

A notice on Superdrug's website this afternoon said 'Due to the high demand of orders, this service is currently not available'

The test is produced by medical giant Abbott and has been given the seal of approval by Public Health England

Superdrug started selling the kit this morning on its Online Doctor service for 69, but said it isn't available in store.

It requires a few drops of blood collected by a finger prick taken at home which are sent off in a pre-paid envelope to The Doctors Laboratory. Blood is then placed into a vial, which must be filled until a certain level.

Michael Henry, Superdrug's healthcare director, said he is 'confident' the test is accurate and reliable.

It was the second antibody test to be approved by the government's testing chiefs and is soon expected to be used by professionals in the NHS and in public surveys.

The first was that manufactured by Swiss firm Roche, called Elecsys, which is also not designed to give people a result in the comfort of their own home.

Both tests have been described as 'game changing' by PHE which conducted an analysis of it.

Ministers are in talks with Roche to buy millions of the tests, which will be given to NHS and social care workers for free. It is not clear if they will ever be given to the public.

WHAT ANTIBODY TESTS ARE APPROVED SO FAR? Antibody tests made by Abbott and Roche are the first antibody tests to be ratified as accurate by Public Health England, after weeks of disappointments. The tests detect whether someone has had the virus and then recovered  which could indicate they may be immune. PHE said the ratification of the two tests performed in its labs was a very positive development. Both are likely to be used in the test, track and trace programme being launched next week, in which anyone who has been in contact with a coronavirus patient will be tested. The Department of Health is in conversations with both firms about incorporating the kits into its testing programme, with NHS staff likely to be first to get access. The Abbott test is also being sold privately for home use by health tech firm Babylon and retailer Superdrug for 69. Home use of the test  which uses a spot of blood from a finger prick rather than a full blood sample  has only been confirmed as accurate by an independent lab, and not yet by PHE. Scientists have stressed that although the two tests offer useful information about who has been infected, it is not yet clear what proportion of these people will be immune to the disease. The idea of immunity certificates has been shelved for now because of this, although No 10 said it was still exploring it. Hopes have run high since March that antibody tests could allow employees to return to work. Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered 3.5million tests but it turned out the best of them could spot only 70 per cent of those who had been infected. The new tests resolve that problem by using proven lab-based technology, rather than the pregnancy-test style kits Mr Hancock had pinned his hopes on. They also generate very few false positives  which means indicating someone has been infected when they have not. Advertisement

Abbott's antibody kits are on standby for NHS use and a spokesperson said last week the firm had capacity to provide five million tests a month to the UK with immediate effect.

But anyone over the age of 18 can now privately buy the Abbott test on Superdrug, so long as they do not currently have symptoms of the virus because it takes at least 14 days for antibodies to be made.

Babylon is selling it for the same price, while another Northampton-based company  checkmybodyhealth.co.uk  is offering the Abbott test for 89. London-based privatecoronavirustests.com is selling it for 99.

The test is 97.5 per cent sensitive, which means just over 97 people in 100 who test positive have indeed been infected.

The other three people, however, would get an inaccurate result - known as a false negative result. They will be told they do not have antibodies when in fact they do.

The test has 100 per cent specificity, which means it will never generate a 'false positive' result - when people are incorrectly led to believe they have antibodies.

Experts say is it better to compromise on sensitivity than specificity, because 'false negatives' can have dangerous consequences.

However, commenting on the test, Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: 'This seems rather a strong claim since to be absolutely sure (never), an infinite number of people will have to have been tested.'

Will Irving, a professor of Virology, University of Nottingham, said although it is reassuring claims test to be very accurate, it depends entirely on how the company came to that conclusion.

He said: 'The sensitivity data will be dependent on what kind of serum samples have been tested. If these are mostly  or all  from hospitalised patients, then the figure may be an overestimate, as there are data suggesting that individuals who dont become very ill with COVID-19 may not make very high levels of antibody.

'The same is true of specificity.'

PHE tested 96 blood samples from COVID-19 patients and 759 negative samples for its evaluation of Abbott's test.

But Superdrug has not disclosed how many samples its evaluations were based on from research at The Doctors Laboratory, a UKAS-accredited lab.

It's also not clear if its accuracy was measured with people taking blood samples themselves - as they would do at home - or by a medical professional.

Superdrug doctor ambassador, Dr Zoe Williams, made clear the new test does not confirm someone is safe to go back to work or mingle in society.

She said: 'There are however things to consider before taking it.

'Receiving a positive antibody test result does not confer immunity, and it is important that people understand a positive test result does not mean you can be any more relaxed with the required hygiene and social distancing measures as set out by the government.'

Ministers are in talks with Roche to buy millions of the tests, which will be given to NHS and social care workers for free. The Roche test, called Elecsys (pictured), is also not designed to give people a result in the comfort of their own home.

Medical giant Abbott has produced a test which is essentially the same as the antibody test announced by the Government last week, manufactured by Swiss firm Roche.

Scientists welcomed the development in antibody testing. But rallied to remind the public that various antibody tests being sold privately online are a gamble, even if approved by officials.

WHY IS ANTIBODY TESTING IMPORTANT? WHAT IS AN ANTIBODY TEST? Unlike tests to diagnose diseases, antibody tests show who has been infected and recovered. The body makes antibodies in response to many illnesses and infections, including other coronaviruses. New blood tests are being developed to identify antibodies unique to SARS-CoV-2, the official name of the new coronavirus. The tests look for two kinds of antibodies: immunoglobulin M (IgM) and G (IgG). The body quickly produces IgM antibodies for its initial attack against infections. It makes IgG antibodies more slowly and retains them longer; IgG antibodies suggest possible immunity. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RAPID TESTS AND ASSAYS? Some companies are developing finger-prick tests that get results in minutes. These are called immunoassays and will form the basis of home testing kits. Others are developing far more accurate tests called enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) that require sending blood samples to a lab for analysis. HOW CAN ANTIBODY TESTS HELP END LOCKDOWNS? Antibody tests can help calculate what portion of the population has already been infected, as well as whether infections were mild or severe. Governments and companies could use antibody tests to determine who would most likely be safe to return to work and public interactions, and whether it is safe to lift stay-at-home orders all at once in some regions or in stages based on infection risk. People with negative antibody tests or very low antibody levels would likely have higher risk of infection than people with high antibody levels. DO ANTIBODIES TO THE NEW CORONAVIRUS CONFER IMMUNITY? While antibodies to many infectious diseases typically confer some level of immunity, whether that is the case with this unique coronavirus is not yet known. And how strong immunity might be, or how long it might last in people previously infected, is not clear. With some diseases like measles the immunity can be lifelong. With others, immunity can wane over time. Scientists cannot know with certainty that reinfection is not possible until further research. Antibody tests could inform not just lockdown exits, but the best approach to treatments and vaccines. Advertisement

Professor Gino Martini, Royal Pharmaceutical Society Chief Scientific Officer, said: 'Any antibody test at present can only provide a partial picture.

'The real issue is that no-one knows the level of immunity that is conferred by having antibodies to coronavirus, how long it might last, and if you can become re-infected.

'We need much more information and data on immunity before we can understand the importance of having antibodies to the virus.'

Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics, University of Bristol, said: 'Even a true positive result, showing real antibody response to SARS-CoV-2, may not mean that a person is completely immune to the infection and at no risk of re-infection and of infecting others.

'We hope that immunity following previous infection will be fully protective in this way, but we are not yet sure.

'All of this complicated information is important.'

Professor Finn, who is also in the field of developing an antibody test for COVID-19, said until the science is clear, there is no point spending money on an antibody test.

'Until we know how strong and long lasting immunity is after infection, it is hard to know what to do about the results of these tests, even if the tests are reliable,' he said.

'So the bottom line is: don't spend money and time on any test unless you have a very clear idea of what the result does or does not mean for you and what you are going to do or not do if you get a positive or negative result.

'If the answer is that the result is not going to change what you do because you can't be sure what it means, then there's no point in doing the test.'

Babylons Dr Olivia Morrow  who is helping to lead the companys coronavirus testing effort  says an antibody test 'can help give answers to people who are unsettled, wondering if that cough, fever, or loss of smell they had in February was COVID-19'.

Users can also choose to opt-in to share information to aid national research by institutions such as PHE, according to the company. It's not clear if this is the case for Superdrug.

PHE is conducting a surveillance programme to understand how many of the population have had the virus using their own, high accuracy antibody test operated at their Porton Down science campus.

Millions of Abbott's lab-based tests have been shipped to customers across the US after it was granted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA.

Abbott plans to ramp up to 20million antibody tests in June and beyond.

It's hoped that one day, CE-marked home testing kits, also called lateral flow tests, will become available.

But they have to be proven to work, first. Health chiefs are still on the hunt for an accurate immunoassay test since ministers promised one back in March.

The finger-prick test generates results in minutes at home. The results are displayed like a pregnancy stick and don't need the help of a laboratory of doctor.

Such a test was touted as the key to lifting lockdowns because it would mean people could buy a test quickly online, find out if they have had the virus and return to work or not.

But progress has been halted because scientists have warned it's still to early for them to know what the antibodies show, exactly.

There are hundreds of companies designing these tests, but so far, none tested by an Oxford University team have passed stringent protocol.
Omjasvin MD By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Problems plague the Chitlapakkam lake. For years, residents, activists and government officials have been working towards its revival, but the efforts often seem to be washed away. Even as many major waterbodies in the city are now clean and brimming with water  thanks to the lockdown and no human interference  Chitlapakkam lake continues to be in news for all the wrong reasons.

Almost two months into the lockdown, Chitlapakkam residents are fuming that the Water Resource Department (WRD) is strengthening the Chitlapakkam lake bunds by covering up the existing garbage with sand. On the north side of the lake, there was a garbage dumpyard which went up to eight feet deep. Instead of mining this garbage and clearing it, the department is covering it up with mud to form the bunds, said Salesh Aloshious, a member of Chitlapakkam Rising Team (CRT), a waterbody restoration group.

With lockdown relaxations now in place, the WRD resumed the desilting work a few weeks ago. While the restoration project has been estimated at `25 crore, residents cry foul that the money does not reflect in the work being done on the ground. They have formed two small islands in the lake and a visit there shows all the waste like rubber tyres, plastic and other items buried in the bunds, said Salesh. Visuals shared by the residents to Express confirmed the same. Sunil Jayaram, another member of CRT, said that the groundwater in several homes is already polluted and dark in colour. This, he added, will just pollute the groundwater further.

But this is not new to the residents. They suffered a harrowing experience in the summer of 2019 when the lake was not desilted, and there was no water supply. Little seems to have changed since then as, despite the initiation of the desilting process, loopholes continue to exist. They started desilting two weeks ago. They are levelling the bunds with the silt taken from the lake itself, rued Sunil.

According to the tender documents, the eco-restoration consists of desilting the tank bed, providing footpath, providing foreshore macro drain, formation of foreshore bund and inlet arrangements and construction of compound walls. The wait for this promise to be delivered continues. Residents are also angry with the engineers who argued that since the top surface of the garbage will only be mud, there is nothing to worry about. When Express contacted the WRD and shared the images, a top official said that he would look into it and take necessary action.
Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has told countries that the agency will use every tool at it...





Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has told countries that the agency will use every tool at its disposal to fight coronavirus.





Ghebreyesus assured that the UN agency will continue driving research and development to develop evidence about vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.





He made the pledge at the closing of two-day virtual World Health Assembly in Geneva.





Ghebreyesus speech was posted on WHO website.





The head of the world body disclosed that some of the recommendations from the assembly would be shared and be implemented.





WHOs focus now is fighting the pandemic with every tool at its disposal. Our focus is on saving lives. At the end of the day, what matters is life. That should be at the centre of everything we do and everything we say.





Ive been heartened by the way countries have shared experiences, best practices through our regular Member State briefings and at this Assembly, he said.





Ghebreyesus added that WHO would continue to provide strategic leadership to coordinate the global response and support efforts by countries.





We will continue providing the world with epidemiological information and analysis; to keep the world informed and give people and communities the information they need to keep themselves and each other safe.





The DG stated that shipping diagnostics, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies all over the world will continue.





He said the body will continue bringing together leading experts from around the world to develop technical advice, based on the best science.





The DG noted that WHO would continue to work with countries and all relevant partners to ensure equitable access to the tools to prevent, detect and treat COVID-19.





Ghebreyesus disclosed the agency will not stop supporting countries to prepare and respond; continue working with countries to sustain essential health services.





We will continue to work day and night to support the most vulnerable countries and populations; continue supporting countries to achieve the triple billion targets and the Sustainable Development Goals.





The official said WHO will continue supporting countries to build resilient health systems, based on primary health care, to progress towards our shared goal of universal health coverage, he said.





He noted that countries and people may speak different languages, but share the same planet, DNA and aspirations for a peaceful and harmonious world.





From east to west, north to south, everybody wants peace, development and health, nothing else, thats what human beings want, thats what humanity wants, Ghebreyesus said.




MICHIGAN  Thousands of people are being evacuated and much of the city of Midland is under water a day after two dams in Midland County failed, allowing water from two Michigan lakes to flow into a Mid-Michigan river.

The Edenville Dam in northern Midland County failed Tuesday afternoon, allowing water from Sanford and Wixom lakes to overtake the structure and flow heavily into the Tittabawassee River.



According to reports by The Midland Daily News, the Edenville Dam had a long history of neglect.

In 2018, the dam owner's license was revoked for failure to increase the projects spillway capacity to safely pass flood flows, as well as its failure to comply with its license and regulations, the Daily News reported.



The Daily News cited a 2019 Associated Press article in reporting that the Edenville Dam was one of 1,600 across the state inspected and considered to pose risks. According to the Daily News article, the dam was classified as a high hazard dam in unsatisfactory condition, meaning that if it were to fail, there would very likely be fatalities.

The dam had last been inspected on May 25, 2010.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday saying emergency relief would be coming to help those affected by the flooding in the form of FEMA and military support.

We have sent our best Military & @FEMA Teams, already there. Governor must now set you free to help. Will be with you soon! https://t.co/cuG1YacPdx

 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

Flood warnings were issued in Michigan following rainfall of 4 to 7 inches beginning on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.



A Flood Warning is in effect along the Tittabawassee River in Midland Co. due to the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams. The gauge site at Midland exceeded the previous record stage of 33.89 at approximately 5:30am. Life-threatening flooding continues today. #miwx pic.twitter.com/ddr3b4arWA

 NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) May 20, 2020

The rush of water has caused flooding in communities along the river, including Midland, a city of nearly 42,000 people. During a news conference Tuesday night, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the city could be under 9 feet of water.



Story continues

These photos of Midland County were captured this morning by MSP Aviation. @CityofMidlandMI @midlandcountymi @MichEMHS pic.twitter.com/WcWOgYxWVe

 MSP Bay Region (@mspbayregion) May 20, 2020

The river crested at 34.4 feet in the city, according to the Associated Press, breaking the previous record of 33.9 feet. The flood stage is 24 feet; the river is expected to crest at 38 feet by the end of the day, according to the National Weather Service.



Midland residents were asked to evacuate homes and seek shelter at higher ground. The National Guard has been assisting residents with the evacuation process.

Residents in Freeland, Tittabawassee Township and Saginaw Township, all of which are in Saginaw County and nearly 40 miles away from the dam, may also be required to evacuate their homes.

Related: MI Governor Issues Emergency Declaration After 2 Dams Collapse

Dow Chemical Co.'s main plant, which sits on Midland's Tittabawassee riverbank, has drawn attention. The chemical company has said it is implementing emergency protocols.



Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County Tuesday, while asking residents moving to county created shelters and or seeking safety with family or friends to continue wearing masks to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

We are working hard to protect Michigan residents after an unprecedented dam breach today. Thousands of people must evacuate now. Please heed the warning. We will get through this, and COVID19. #michiganstrong https://t.co/BogzFVibBX

 Dr. Joneigh Khaldun (@DrKhaldun) May 20, 2020

According to the Associated Press, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam in 2018 due to compliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.



The Dam was built in 1924 and was rated in unsatisfactory condition in 2018 by the state. The Sanford Dam, which was built in 1925, received a fair condition rating.

Both dams are in the process of being sold, the Associated Press reported.

There were 19 high hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition in Michigan in 2018, ranking 20th among the 45 states and Puerto Rico for which The Associated Press obtained condition assessments.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is an evolving story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on the Detroit Patch
Section 32 is one of the newer bio investment funds on the block. It was founded by the first CEO of Google Ventures, Bill Maris, who also helped start Calico, a Google project (now Alphabet company) dedicated to anti-aging technology.

Maris, who started the fund in 2017, joined up with former diagnostics executive Mike Pellini and longtime life sciences investor Steve Kafka. Section 32 pays homage to Section 31, the intelligence agency from the Star Trek universe (Maris is a big Star Trek fan).

The firm, which raised its third fund earlier in the year, is now starting to staff up.

Maris looked to Google for many of its first additions, including communications specialist Claire Stapleton, a former employee who led an employee walkout in 2018. The walkout was in response to a report in The New York Times that Google had paid a $90 million severance package to former executive Andy Rubin, despite credible allegations of sexual misconduct while at the company. (Rubin has denied all wrongdoing.)

Section 32 is also bringing on Kenzo Fong Hing, a former head of marketing for Android, as an advisor to support its marketing and communications efforts; former Google recruiter Alice Cheung as the head of talent ("anyone who is connected to tens of thousands of engineers is someone you want on your team," said Maris); and talent specialist Kimberly Shih, who hails from Rubin's now-shuttered start-up, Essential.

Maris' experiences at Google have helped guide some of his own thinking about the culture at Section 32, including to keep the group small enough to foster real connections within the team. Maris is a particular believer in the power of start-ups to get things done.

"When I was at Google setting up Google Ventures, I helped define this services-based venture model," said Maris. "We're focusing on the areas that are most impactful, and most requested by our portfolio companies -- and it comes down to people."

Maris has mostly kept quiet about his time at Google, but he did weigh in after the news broke that Alphabet Chief Legal Officer David Drummond had departed the company earlier this year after revelations that he'd dated an employee some years ago. At the time, Maris commented, "We have very, very different ideas about how to treat people, and this was a long time coming."

In a phone interview, Maris praised Stapleton for her talent and courage calling out the company's flaws, and said he enjoyed reading many of the company memos she wrote while they were both there.

"Claire is a wonderful person -- and she was successful at Google for many years, but it's undeniable the culture has changed significantly from when we both started," he said. "It takes courage for someone to call out some of the things that company is doing or not doing that don't align for the values that it espouses. I have a lot of respect for that."

He also shared that he's happy to be a sounding board for former Google employees who have similarly noticed shifts in the culture.
The Credit Markets Gave Their Nod to the S&P 500 Upswing

Yesterdays session did away with the non-confirmation of last weeks reversal from the 50% Fibonacci retracement. Junk corporate bonds lent their support to the stock upswing, and the S&P 500 closed above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. Will the bulls be strong enough to confirm the breakout, or is a correction next?

S&P 500 in the Short-Run

Lets start with the daily chart perspective (charts courtesy of http://stockcharts.com ):

Steadily rising in the runup to the start of the US session, stocks opened with a sizable bullish gap. And they havent looked back since, closing on high volume above the key resistance, the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. Reflecting the upswing, the daily indicators turned largely supportive.

What has happened as far as headlines go? We got another Powell statement, but it didnt bring materially bullish surprises. Be the judge  he said that the US economy can decline 20-30% amid the pandemic, with the downturn possibly being with us till late 2021. His next remark that the Fed hasnt exhausted its toolbox isnt totally new either  its only that during his Wednesdays Peterson Institute webinar, the call for more fiscal measures was the prominent one.

The willingness to reverse and expand the shrank versions of active lending programs, or introduce new ones, appears to be really there. And it didnt require a more sizable downswing  the breakdown attempt below the 50% Fibonacci retracement was all it took. Fed Chairs testimony before the Senate Banking Committee is coming later today, with stocks moving down to the low 2940s.

The second piece to the puzzle has been the Moderna (MRNA) early trial vaccine announcement. Despite the studys focus being safety, and that the composition was actually tested in two low doses on merely 8 patients, the stock market reacted broadly and positively on these interim results. It should be said however, that both the stock itself and the healthcare sector (XLV ETF) as such, have formed sizable black candles, i.e. they gapped higher but gave up large amounts of the opening gains.

These were our yesterdays intraday observations:

(...) were dealing with a sizable bullish gap that makes a move higher later today likely. On the other hand, our expectation as to tomorrows Powell testimony remain the same  i.e. a downswing in its wake remains likely.

Chances are, the HYG ETF wont decline in a bearish attempt to close the gap.

As credit has been underperforming stocks recently, stocks dont have to spring higher immediately after the HYG ETF overcomes its highs. At the same time, a large part of the rationale for the short position has been taken away with the HYG ETF action so far.

At the same time, buying a breakout attempt doesnt come without its own set of risks. Its unconfirmed yet.

In closing, todays market action so far has given more weight to the bullish case, and our scenario of a slow grind higher still seems most probable.

The bullish gap remains open, supporting the buyers. High yield corporate bonds indeed havent declined yesterday, and have caught up with the stock upswing seen on Thursday and Friday. As stocks refused to decline, the slow gring higher over the coming weeks and months got more likely.

The below comments on the S&P 500 prospects expressed in our yesterdays flagship Stock Trading Alert remain valid also today:

(...) As the coronavirus infection charts appear to have relatively stabilized, and the Fed offered ample support at a critical juncture, the stock market hasnt sold off in a dramatic way since. Moving from the March 23 lows to the 50% Fibonacci retracement, it has overcome this resistance and taken twice on the 61.8% one. Last week, the 50% retracement held as support.

The above paragraph would speak in favor of a near-term trading range between the two retracements. But would that mean that no selloff below the lower one can happen? Absolutely not, the 2720 or even the low 2600s can get tested. And that neednt to happen on very adverse corona-related developments. Faced with incoming data, the market can start to doubt whether were within sight / weve reached the bottom and the real economy is on the mend now. Continuing unemployment claims, retail data, manufacturing figures and similar would show. Or escalation in US-China trade tensions can drive the stock selloff similarly to the way it did early on Friday. Or the Fed playing the monetary interventions on-off game, can work to similar effect.

Still, having gone as high from the low 2200s, the risk of retest or breakdown below these lows, isnt there at the moment. Not with all the implicit and explicit Fed support, the many fiscal stimulus measures, and crucially, not unless corona goes from we-have-flattened-the-curve to oh-its-exponential-again. Despite the relative complacency and the dangers it brings, were still far from the market pressing the panic button.

Reaching 2800, 2720 or the low 2600s wouldnt count as panic. Considering this years swings, a move to these levels (especially the first two, but theres potential for an overshoot to the 2600s) would constitute a relatively shallow correction, after which a slow grind higher could go on (barring catastrophic corona developments). After all, were in an election year.

Lets check yesterdays key move that happened in the credit markets.

The Credit Markets Point of View

High yield corporate debt (HYG ETF) gapped higher, rejected the intraday attempt to move lower, and finished with more gains. The volume on the upswing has been respectable, and the daily indicators paint a bullish picture for the sessions to come.

The high yield corporate bonds to short-term Treasuries ratio (HYG:SHY) now also confirms the overlaid S&P 500 charts upswing (the black line). Relatively speaking though, stocks are getting a bit pricey as theyre the asset class leading higher.

Key S&P 500 Sectors in Focus

Technology (XLK ETF) kept its bullish gap open, hesitantly rising during the day on low volume. Healthcare (XLV ETF) erased around two thirds of its bullish gap, while financials (XLF ETF) rose to the midpoint of their April range. Its been only the consumer discretionaries (XLY ETF) that overcame their recent highs.

Among the stealth bull market trio, both energy (XLE ETF) and materials (XLB ETF) are challenging their local tops, with industrials (XLI ETF) not lagging too far behind. The volumes behind there upswings attest to the unfolding resumption of a push higher, supporting our hypothesis of slow grind higher over the coming months.

Summary

Summing up, yesterdays upturn in the credit markets dealt with the key remaining obstacle in the prospect of generally higher stock prices. The breakout above the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement stands a chance of being confirmed perhaps as early as this week. The effects of todays Powell testimony should prove temporary in keeping a lid on stock prices. As outlined, while we dont expect a sizable selloff, we dont see dramatic gains as overly likely either. The best known measure of volatility, VIX, appears to support this view. The perceived likelihood of the real economy bottom being at hand, also speaks in favor of the above.

We encourage you to sign up for our daily newsletter - it's free and if you don't like it, you can unsubscribe with just 2 clicks. If you sign up today, you'll also get 7 days of free access to our premium daily Stock Trading Alerts as well as our other Alerts. Sign up for the free newsletter today!

Thank you.

Monica Kingsley



Stock & Oil Trading Strategist



Sunshine Profits - Effective Investments through Diligence and Care

Monica Kingsley is a trader and financial markets analyst. Apart from diving into the charts on a daily basis, she is very much into economics, marketing and writing as well. Naturally, she has found home at Sunshine Profits - a leading company that has been publishing quality analysis for more than a decade. Sunshine Profits has been founded by Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA - a renowned precious metals investor and analyst.

Disclaimer

All essays, research and information found above represent analyses and opinions of Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and Sunshine Profits' associates only. As such, it may prove wrong and be a subject to change without notice. Opinions and analyses were based on data available to authors of respective essays at the time of writing. Although the information provided above is based on careful research and sources that are believed to be accurate, Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA and his associates do not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the data or information reported. The opinions published above are neither an offer nor a recommendation to purchase or sell any securities. Mr. Radomski is not a Registered Securities Advisor. By reading Przemyslaw Radomski's, CFA reports you fully agree that he will not be held responsible or liable for any decisions you make regarding any information provided in these reports. Investing, trading and speculation in any financial markets may involve high risk of loss. Przemyslaw Radomski, CFA, Sunshine Profits' employees and affiliates as well as members of their families may have a short or long position in any securities, including those mentioned in any of the reports or essays, and may make additional purchases and/or sales of those securities without notice.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




Sidney Powell, Michael Flynns lawyer in the criminal case against him, has filed a Writ of Mandamus to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The petition asks the D.C. Circuit to issue an order directing the district court to grant the Justice Departments motion to dismiss its case against Gen. Flynn. It also asks that the district court be ordered to vacate its order appointing amicus curiae in the case and that the case be reassigned to another district judge for any further proceedings.

I speculated here about the prospects for succeeding with such a petition at this stage of the proceedings before Judge Sullivan. It seemed to me that the prospects arent good because Sullivan hasnt yet ruled on the governments motion to dismiss. I hope Im wrong.

The petition Powell filed on Gen. Flynns behalf does not mince words. Here are the key passages regarding dismissal of the case against Flynn:

Petitioner, through no fault of his own, has been drawn into a Kafkaesque nightmare that is a cross between The Trial and In the Penal Colony. He has been subjected to deception, abuse, penury, obloquy, and humiliation.

Having risked his life in service to his country, he has found himself the target of a political vendetta designed to strip him of his honor and savings, and to deprive the President of his advice. He has been dragged through the mud and forced, through coercion and the artful withholding of information crucial to his defense, to confess to a crime he did not commitindeed, to a crime that could not exist.

Having at last, through the relentless determination of his current counsel, brought the truth to light, he now learns that the judge who is charged with adjudicating his case impartially has, in Judge Posners words, decided to play[]  U.S. Attorney. The equities demand an end to this nightmare and restoration of General Flynns freedom and peace of mind. . . .

[T]he reputation of the judiciary is in jeopardy. As the Chief Justice memorably stated at his confirmation hearings, the function of a judge in our system of government is to call balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat. The district judge in this case has abandoned any pretense of being an objective umpiregoing to so far as to suggest that a criminal defendant who succumbs to a coerced and unfair plea bargain should be prosecuted for contempt.

In the midst of a national election season, with unprecedented acrimony on all sides of the civic debate, the district judge has dragged the court into the political hurricanecementing the notion that judges are politicians in robes who use their authority to thwart what they consider the corruption, impropriety, and improper political influence of another one of the political branches.

Confidence in the rule of law, and the willingness of federal judges to administer it impartially, will continue to erode, if this Court fails to put a swift end to this spectacle. (Emphasis added)

In support of taking the case away from Judge Sullivan, Powell writes:

The district judges manifest confusion about the facts of this case, accusing General Flynn of treason and having sold out his country, and his punitive intentions are well documented. Following Petitioners first sentencing hearing on December 18, 2018, headlines such as these appeared: Stephanie Kirchgaessner, I cant hide my disgust, my disdain: judge lambasts Michael Flynn, THE GUARDIAN. . . Judge asks prosecutors whether Mike Flynn could have been charged with treason, THE DAILY BEAST); Griffin Connolly, Judge Lights Into Michael Flynn: You Sold Your Country Out, ROLL CALL. . . . [citations and links omitted]. . . .

These world-wide headlines are only one wave of the tsunami of invective that crashed into General Flynn as a result of the district judges intemperate comments. A defendant facing sentencing is entitled to a judge who does not express disgust and disdain in a courtroom filled with reporters. Inflaming public passions against a party, particularly a criminal defendant, and encouraging prosecutors to vastly increase the charges against him, is the very antithesis of calling balls and strikes.

Nor was this the end of the matter. The district judges latest actionsfailing to grant the Governments Motion to Dismiss, appointing a biased and highly-political amicus who has expressed hostility and disdain towards the Justice Departments decision to dismiss the prosecution, and the promise to set a briefing schedule for widespread amicus participation in further proceedingsbespeaks a judge who is not only biased against Petitioner, but also revels in the notoriety he has created by failing to take the simple step of granting a motion he has no authority to deny.

This is an umpire who has decided to steal public attention from the players and focus it on himself. He wants to pitch, bat, run bases, and play shortstop. In truth, he is way out in left field. (Emphasis added)

I dont know whether Judge Sullivan revels in the notoriety this case has brought him. He might simply be really pissed off at Michael Flynn for lying either to the FBI or in Sullivans courtroom.

Either way, I believe Sullivan is obligated to dismiss the criminal case against Gen. Flynn. If the D.C. Circuit doesnt direct him to do so now, it should direct him to do so if, ultimately, he denies the governments motion to dismiss.
Currently, new energy vehicles (NEVs) are developing towards battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Regarding the new generation of automotive batteries, automobiles generally focus on breakthroughs in energy density and safety of batteries through the innovation of battery materials and electrochemical systems as well as on a reduction in the dependence on scarce resources such as cobalt.

At 19:30 on May 18 (Beijing Time), a Chinese automotive battery company called SVOLT officially announced two cobalt-free batteries via Livestream.

According to Yang Hongxin, President of SVOLT, the newly launched cobalt-free batteries have several core advantages including longer cycle life, better safety and higher energy density. As he said, SVOLT's L6 cobalt-free long cell is being adapted to a high-end model of Great Wall Motors. With its matrix PACK design, this vehicle could reach a driving range of 880km. This is comparable with that of ICE vehicles.

If this driving range can truly be realized, SVOLT's cobalt-free batteries would undoubtedly have created a new product category for automotive batteries. It will improve the competitive advantage of BEVs greatly relative to ICE vehicles, eliminate range anxiety of end users about existing BEVs, increase consumers' confidence in choosing BEVs, and speed up the process of replacement of ICE vehicles with BEVs.

SVOLT is a rising automotive battery supplier in China. Starting since 2012, the company has become an independent automotive battery supplier after officially spinning off from Great Wall Motors in 2018. SVOLT is headquartered in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province in China. In September 2019, SVOLT announced its European business development plan called "SVOLT's Engagement in Europe" during the IAA in Frankfurt. From a global perspective, SVOLT is the first AI prismatic cell manufacturing factory to utilize the "High-Speed Stacking Technology". SVOLT strives to produce Automotive-Grade batteries through comprehensive process management and commitments to a global footprint. These measures will enable SVOLT to enter into the automotive battery supplier chain of global OEMs, In February 2020, it has been reported that SVOLT has received a nomination letter on automotive batteries from a large European OEM.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005247/en/

Contacts:

SVOLT

Name: Eric Fan

TEL: +86 15138991231

E-mail: fankejian@svolt.cn

Website: https://en.svolt.cn/
With the new threshold in place, set to take effect from January 1, 2020 retrospectively, there would be more than 1 million people whose incomes are not taxable.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly (NA) has approved the governments proposal to raise the personal income tax threshold from VND9 million (US$389) per month to VND11 million (US$475), according to Nguyen Truong Giang, deputy chairman of the NAs Legal Committee and deputy general secretary of the NA.

Illustrative photo.

Additionally, the family circumstance-based deduction for each dependent of a taxpayer has also been increased from VND3.6 million (US$155.42) per month to VND4.4 million (US$189.96).

Under the existing legislation, a reduction based on family circumstances means a sum of money deductible from pre-tax income from businesses, salary or wage of resident taxpayers.

With the new threshold in place, set to take effect from January 1, 2020 retrospectively, incomes of more than 1 million people will no longer be taxable.

Giang told local media the decision was taken based on the fact that the consumer price index (CPI) rose more than 20% from July 2013 to the end of 2019.

Those having paid income tax based on the previous standard deduction would be refunded by the end of this year.

The NAs Finance  Budget Committee requested the government to evaluate the impact of the Law on Personal Income Tax in the 2011  2020 period to further raise the tax-free threshold, given some public opinions that the VND11-million threshold remains low compared to actual living costs.

With this adjustment, an individual with income less than VND20 million (US$863.44) and one dependent would have to pay tax of VND230,000 (US$9.93), 48% less than the amount paid currently, while those with higher income would be subjected to a 7% reduction in tax amount.

In 2019, over 6.88 million people paid personal income tax of a combined VND79.2 trillion (US$3.41 billion). The figure would be reduced to VND68.92 trillion (US$2.97 billion), down 13% year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance estimated.

The ministry expected a higher disposable income as a result of the adjustment would encourage household consumption and spur economic growth. Hanoitimes

Ngoc Thuy

Finance Ministry plans to raise personal income tax threshold According to Pham Dinh Thi, director of the MOFs Tax Policy Department, the family circumstance deductions are defined in accordance with the amended PIT (personal income tax) Law.
Nepal prime minister KP Sharma Olis push to fast-track release of a new political map on Wednesday is linked to his huge climbdown last month when he had to cancel an ordinance within five days, people familiar with the development said.

There is a concerted effort by the Oli government in recent days to play the anti-India card to whip up ultra-nationalistic emotions to settle domestic scores, sources told Hindustan Times.

By raising an ultra-nationalistic sentiment, Oli has left his comrades - former PMs, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and Madhav Kumar Nepal - with no option but to side with him and make India the casualty in the cross-firing between the two groups, a second person, a Kathmandu watcher, said.

Nepals new political map that claims the Lipulekh Pass, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh as its own is only one part of this exercise. PM Olis statement in parliament on Tuesday that claimed the coronavirus infection coming from India is more lethal than those from China and Italy is another.

The two former prime ministers, who have been accused of destabilising the KP Sharma Oli-led government, are seen to have played a lead role in the tug-of-war that played out in Nepals power politics.

At a time when Nepal, like the rest of the world was battling Covid-19, the prime minister had surprised his country when he got twin ordinances notified.

These two made it easier for parties to split and register a new faction and were widely perceived to be part of an exercise by PM Oli to strengthen himself in the party and the government.

But he had to stand down on April 23 and scrap the ordinances within five days to buy peace with his prime detractors. Energy minister Barsaman Pun told the Kathmandu Post that the Cabinet scrapped the ordinance following what he described as excessive criticism.

According to reports from Nepal, the Communist Party of Chinas international liaison department also stepped up efforts to broker peace between the comrades in Nepal.

It was this shade of domestic power play at work when land management minister Padma Kumari Aryal on Wednesday held up a new map of Nepal. According to a report in the Kathmandu Post on her Press conference, she hoped India would take Nepals decision to publish the new map in a positive way. She didnt elaborate.

The 80-km stretch of road that New Delhi built Uttarakhands Dharchula to Lipulekh to make it easier for pilgrims to reach Kailash Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region offered the perfect opportunity.

Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane brushed aside the shrill voices from Kathmandu, underlining that there was no dispute over the land on which the road had been built. Gen Naravane went on to suggest that the protests could be at the behest of someone else  a veiled reference to China.

Prime Minister Oli, who is seen to be heavily tilting towards China, has described Gen Naravanes comment as inappropriate.

KALAPANI

Kalapani is a 35 square kilometre area in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh district. Nepal claims this area as part of its Darchula district.

The tri-junction point of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in Nepals northwest separates China and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and Indias Kumaon to the south. The Mahakali river has been considered as a natural demarcation line to separate the borders.

Indian security officials say China has tacitly recognised Indias claim over the Kalapani area when it agreed to open a border trade post at Lipulekh in 2015.

India reacts to Nepals map

The external affairs ministry described the new political map as an artificial enlargement of territorial claims and asked Kathmandu to refrain from unjustified cartographic assertion.

This unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Cloudy with morning snow ending, then windy and turning colder with falling temps and some afternoon clearing. A coating to 1-2" of snow expected in the morning. .

Tonight

Partly cloudy, windy, and very cold. Wind chills near or below zero later at night.
As lockdown is easing up and everyone is out and about, there could be a rise in transmission of COVID-19 through different surfaces. Everyone would want to disinfect their new purchases as they bring home groceries. To solve this concern, nanotechnology start-up Log 9 Materials has developed a new product called CoronaOven that uses ultra violet light to kill coronavirus.

CoronaOven is a box shaped disinfection chamber that uses UV-C rays to kill coronavirus in ten minutes.

Once an object is placed inside the box, the device will kill all types of viruses/pathogens (including viruses from the Corona family) from all sides, ensuring each side and surface gets the UVC radiation. It can be used for personal use and also by firms to disinfect surfaces of various objects, household and grocery items, food items, delivery parcels, masks, hospital PPE & tools etc.

The patent-pending product was ideated, developed and launched in the market in a span of 15 days.

Currently, the firm is manufacturing around 200 units of CoronaOven every day, and expects to scale up production to 500-plus units and develop at least 10 more product variants by June 2020.

The product is available in two versions: portable and plug-in. Priced at Rs 9,999 for 20 litres and Rs 12,999 for 33 litres capacity, the plug-in version can be plugged into a normal socket.

The other option is portable battery-operated product priced at Rs 17,999 for a 20-litre box. This is used mostly in an ambulance, police van or a grocery delivery van. The start-up will now focus on optimising this solution for different applications and launch its variants. Akshay Singhal, Founder & CEO, Log 9 Materials says he has been getting queries to launch its larger version.

The product has already been deployed in various hospitals such as Trustwell, Narayan Hrudalaya and Amrita in Bangalore. Police stations and the airport in Bangalore are also equipped with this device. Diagnostic lab CORE Diagnostics is also using it at its centres.

This technology uses the UltraViolet germicidal irradiation, which is essentially a disinfection method by using short-wavelength UVC rays. Several studies have shown the efficacy of controlled UVC light in damaging the RNA sequence of SARS-CoV1 virus, which renders it incapable of multiplying in living cells.

Ultraviolet light is of three types - UVA, UVB and UVC. Most of the sunlight that reaches the earth comprises UVA. UVB causes sun burns but can be blocked by sun screen lotions. It is UVC that is the dangerous part that is filtered out by the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere. This part of the light destroys genetic material. It has been used since long in hospitals and workshops to sterilise equipment and spaces.

The Bangalore-based firm has developed this technology in partnership with Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore. The product has been scientifically reviewed and verified in terms of UV intensity at the laboratories of IISC.

Suryasarathi Bose, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, says, "The disinfection chamber is highly effective and reliable as it radiates multifocal UV-C light on each point of the surface on any object to be sterilised, and the UV intensity/dosage used in this device has been certified and deemed appropriate by IISC."

The product is available for sale at government of India's e-marketplace portal GEM and on Log 9 website. The firm is now working with the NITI Aayog and state police departments and healthcare providers across India to deploy the product across other public spaces.

Also Read: Need to keep govt revenue in mind, says FM Sitharaman on tax cuts

Also Read: Cabinet approves Rs 3 lakh cr funding for MSMEs, special liquidity scheme for NBFCs

Also Read: Govt will make sure banks lend money to smaller businesses: Sitharaman
Transparency is an instrument of justice and a weapon against abuse.

When our civic institutions are forced to be open about their decisions, they are more likely to behave in humane, responsible and effective ways.

Secrecy, on the other hand, allows cover-ups, bullying and dogma to flourish.

That is why, throughout my career  including spells in Parliament and local government  I have campaigned strongly for openness in courts and have been involved with several landmark cases.

Sunlight, said the great American judge Louis Brandeis in 1913, is the best disinfectant. More than a century later, his words ring truer than ever.

But today, and all too often, Britains judiciary ignore that wise advice, especially in the family courts and the highly secretive Court of Protection, set up by the last Labour Government under the 2005 Mental Capacity Act. This gives officials enormous power over the lives of people deemed unfit to handle their own affairs.

Pictured: Businessman and the former MP for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming

Now an outrageous new case highlights how this closed-door justice has seeped through the legal system.

This week, the High Court decided that the public should be denied the chance to learn important details of an appalling scandal in social work.

As the Mail reported yesterday, several social workers in a local authority, that cannot be named, took the side of a mother of two young boys  one of whom is disabled  after she split from their father and embarked on a relationship with a convicted paedophile.

Shameful

The social workers adopted this extraordinary stance despite the fierce protestations of the boys father, and the disabled sons desire to live with his dad.

Now it seems that, because of family turmoil, the sex offenders involvement and the social workers inept approach, the disabled boy faces a life in institutions. His brother is distraught.

In his High Court judgment, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that the social workers disregarded fundamental principles of safeguarding and child protection.

Yet, at the same time, he decided that all the details of the shameful saga should be cloaked in secrecy.

This week, the High Court decided that the public should be denied the chance to learn important details of an appalling scandal in social work

This includes not just the names of the social workers, but even which local council they worked for.

The public is being kept completely in the dark, despite the fact that the mother has already revealed the boys identities through a crowd-funding campaign she has run. And despite clear public interest in elements of the case: residents of the local authority, for one, may well want to know about the quality of social work they pay for.

The High Courts draconian move takes concealment too far. I fully understand the need for confidentiality in sensitive cases, particularly where children are involved. But that should not extend to blanket protection for manifestly errant public bodies.

The law must never be an ally of mismanagement or ill-governance.

The media should be able to report such cases fully, because that is the best way to expose organisational failure and prevent such calamities from happening again.

When a newspaper or TV station carries such a story, it can send out further ripples, leading to deeper coverage. Readers or viewers who have some personal information about the case do not sit by passively. They speak to other people or contact the news outlet. In that way, further pieces can be added to the jigsaw and the picture become complete.

In the case of a social-work scandal such as this, it will quickly become apparent from the publics response whether the episode is merely an unfortunate one-off or an indicator of deeper, more systematic problems.

Secrecy in the courts should be deployed only as the last resort, not as the first impulse.

Sadly, in modern Britain, there is a disturbing trend towards authoritarian hidden justice, where the media are excluded, the public silenced and gagging orders ruthlessly imposed.

Ignored

Any breach of these rules can lead to action for contempt of court, punishable by imprisonment.

In the shrouded world of the Family Courts and the Courts of Protection, even the basic principles of British justice  such as the burden of proof and the presumption of innocence  are sidelined.

As the late, great journalist and fellow open-justice campaigner Christopher Booker once wrote in this paper: The rules, which in criminal courts require evidence to be put to a proper test, can be routinely ignored. Social workers and lawyers can trot out hearsay allegations which are accepted by the court as if they are proven fact.

Our mature democracy, Britain, is supposed to have judicial fairness at its heart. But something has gone badly wrong in recent years, given the number of these worrying cases that continue to arise.

One in which I was involved, in 2014, saw Kathleen Danby, a pensioner from Orkney in Scotland, sent to prison for hugging her grand-daughter who had learning difficulties, after the Court of Protection and social workers had barred all but the most limited contact between them.

This was despite the grand-daughters claim to be miserable because she was trapped in sheltered accommodation hundreds of miles from her family.

Typically, Kathleens jail sentence for breaching the courts edict was kept hidden, prompting me to describe her as a secret prisoner.

In the shrouded world of the Family Courts and the Courts of Protection, even the basic principles of British justice  such as the burden of proof and the presumption of innocence  are sidelined. Pictured: Stock photo of a child

In another extraordinary case that concerned me, Wanda Maddocks was sent to prison, in 2013, after she tried to take her father out of his care home to see a lawyer, she and her family having become convinced he was being ill-treated.

The Court of Protection was furious, not only because Wanda had challenged the order that her father should remain in the home but also for her boldness in lifting the cloak of secrecy by distributing a leaflet about the case.

There is a history of this family being difficult with the local authority, pronounced the court grandly, as if silent compliance to council officials  even where an older parents welfare was concerned  were a civic duty.

Not even in Iran, I pointed out at the time, are people jailed for seeking legal advice.

Most shocking of all was the case, in 2016, of six-year old Ellie Butler.

She had lived with her loving grandparents until a Family Court decided for its own reasons that she should be returned to the home of her sadistic father, Ben Butler, a violent convicted thug.

Silence

Within months of that decision, Butler had battered his own daughter to death: a monstrous crime for which he was sentenced to 23 years.

What makes Ellies case even more frustrating is that if the Press had been able to report on the proceedings of the Family Court at the time, there would likely have been an outcry. That could have prevented Ellies return into her fathers hands  and saved her life. The tyranny of silence led to her death.

Like so many other cases, Ellies story is a potent argument for change. Justice will be made more secure, not undermined, by greater openness. Let the sunlight now disinfect these secret courts.

John Hemming is a businessman and the former MP for Birmingham Yardley.
CSRPM Recommends COA FS Govt As Immune Booster For COVID-19 Treatment

The Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine (CSRPM) at Mampong-Akuapem in the Eastern Region has recommended to government the Centre of Awareness Food Supplement (COA FS) for use as immune support and supportive treatment for the relief of some symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

This was contained in a letter dated May 11, 2020, and signed by the acting Executive Director of the centre, Dr Kofi Bobi Barimah, and addressed to the Minister of Health; Mr. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu.

Read more...

COVID-19 Has Come To Stay, Learn To Live With ItGhanaians Urged

The Ashanti Regional Director of Health, Mr. Emmanuel Tenkorang has cautioned Ghanaians to learn and live with the COVID-19 viruses since it has come to stay.

The Directorate says it is important to practice laid down protocols in fighting the pandemic.

Read more...

Mr. Emmanuel Tenkorang, A/R Health Director

Covid-19: 21 Recover In Ketu South

The health officials confirmed 22 positive cases in the Municipality after tests were conducted on some people who entered the country illegally through unapproved routes.

Mr Elliot Edem Agbenorwu, Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that there was full recovery for all 21 cases recorded by May 01, 2020 and that the current active case was recorded from another illegal traveler.

Read more...

Police Commander Clears Air On COVID-19 Cases At Dansoman Divisional Headquarters

District Commander, Dansoman Divisional Police Headquarters, Accra, Chief Superintendent Jeffrey Darko, has discounted claims that his outfit has recorded two COVID-19 cases.

Instead, he explained that blood samples of both police personnel and inmates have been taken of which they were waiting for the results.

Read more...

Nobody Is Immune To COVID-19  NCCE Cautions Zuozugu Community

Nobody is immune from the COVID-19 disease, he said.

He indicated: The COVID-19 is no respecter of persons, and you can catch it no matter your status or where you live adding, The only way we can deal with it is to observe the protocols prescribed by the World Health Organisation, and the government.

Read more...

Bicycle use around France jumps 44 percent since end of coronavirus confinement

French commuters have adopted the bicycle en masse as they emerge from two months of Covid-19 lockdown, with a nationwide increase in cycling traffic of 44 percent over pre-confinement levels, according to data published Wednesday.

Whether in cities, suburban areas or rural communities, cycling routes around France have seen a 44 percent increase in traffic in the week following the end of nationwide coroavirus confinement on 11 May.

Read more...

RFI/Pierre Rene-Worms

The Grand Lodge Of Ghana Donates GHC100,000 To Support Covid-19 Isolation And Treatment Facility

The Grand Lodge of Freemasons in Ghana has made a donation of GHC100,000 to support the construction of the Covid-19 infectious disease isolation and treatment facility at the Ga East Hospital in Accra.

Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ghana, Dr. Nortey Kwashie Omaboe presented the cheque for the amount to Mr. Senyo Hosi, managing trustee of the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, which is spearheading the construction of the facility, at a short ceremony at the project site.

Read more...

Covid-19: Lifting Ban On Schools, Churches Could Spike Cases  Yieleh Chireh

A former Minister of Health, Joseph Yieleh Chireh, has advised government to be cautious in easing the ban on schools, places of religious worship among others.

His comments come at a time when there is a vigorous debate in the public space about the appropriate time for schools to reopen, given the circumstances of COVID-19.

Read more...

COVID-19: Start Academic Year Afresh In September  Neogenics Education Group

Neogenics Education Group, an educational consultancy, has urged government to nullify the current academic year and start all over in September following the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

According to the group, students should be made to repeat their current year or classes.

Read more...

Covid-19: Rwanda Deploy Robots To Treat Patients

Rwanda has deployed robots for the treatment of coronavirus patients.

The country has an estimated 308 confirmed cases of Covid-19, 209 recoveries and zero death.

Read more...

Covid-19: Displaying Dead Bodies On TV Ethically Inappropriate  Clinical Psychologist To Bagbin

A Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Emmanuel Asampong has criticised the Second Deputy Speaker, Alban Bagbins call for the display of dead bodies resulting from COVID-19 on media platforms to enforce the message that the disease is real.

Dr. Asampong said it will be ethically inappropriate to adopt such a measure, given that it has the tendency of creating different problems for people.

Read more...

Brazil's Covid-19 death toll shoots to record levels  with worse on the way

The force of the coronavirus pandemic is hitting hard in Latin America, as Brazil's daily death toll on Tuesday jumped to a record 1,179.

The surge in deaths from what President Jair Bolsonaro once called a little flu marks the first time the toll has exceeded a thousand.

Read more...

REUTERS - Adriano Machado

Rose says players aren't lab rats as Premier League targets restart after coronavirus lockdown

Newcastle United defender Danny Rose has hit out at plans to restart top flight football in England claiming that players are being treated like expendable test animals.

"People are suggesting we should go back to football, like we're guinea pigs or lab rats, Rose told the Lockdown Tactics podcast.

Read more...

AFP/File

Madagascar exports herbal controversial coronavirus cocktail to Caribbean

Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina on Tuesday agreed to send the country's vaunted herbal cure for Covid-19 to Haiti, the latest country receiving the artemisia-based concoction, and one of the first outside Africa.

We're ready Mr President, to help your country, Rajoelina told Haiti's President Jovenel Moise during a video conference shared on social media, promoting the artemisia concoction as a cure for the coronavirus.

Read more...

 AFP - Rijasolo

Center For Scientific Into Plant Medicine Approves Two Ayisaa Medicines To Help Fight Covid-19

The Center for Scientific into Plant Medicine at Akuapem Mampong has approved two herbal medicines of Kwayisi Christian Herbal Clinic also known as Ayisaa Clinic located near Nankese (Koforidua-Suhum stretch) in the Eastern Region, to the Food and Drugs Authority as having efficacy to help facilitate recoveries of Covid-19 patients.

The Products are Ayisaa Opinto Herbal Tea which has been approved by the FDA and has been in the market for long, and Ayisaa Sinutat is yet to be approved by the FDA.

Read more...

The Chief Executive Officer of Kwayisi Christian Herbal Clinic, Dr. Emmanuel Ampem Darko

Technology And The Job Market After Covid-19

It is not so clear how the world will transform the job market after we get the novel coronavirus under control. What we are sure of though, is that things will not go back to the way they were before. One thing is for certain, there will be changes in how we work, learn, produce, and even seek medical services.

A lot of organizations have been greatly affected by this situation. We have witnessed how companies that are into hotel, travel, tour, airline, and sporting events have been negatively impacted. Some have had to downsize their employees. However, companies with a strong digital presence like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are still strong because of the huge demand for their services in this unfortunate situation. What does this tell us? The world is going DIGITAL.

Read more...

Joana Abbiw, Center Manager - NIIT Tema

'Catastrophe' in Russia's Dagestan region

By BBC News

Local officials in Russia's Dagestan region have described the situation there as a "catastrophe", with reports of a rising death toll and serious shortages of equipment.

Officially, the region has recorded 36 deaths from the virus and more than 3,600 cases but health officials say hundreds more have died of pneumonia, including 40 medics.

The top cleric in the majority-Muslim region appealed directly to the Kremlin for aid, prompting President Vladimir Putin to personally promise help for the region on Monday. UFC fighter and Dagestan native Khabib Nurmagomedov has even spoken out about the problems there.

On Wednesday Russia's confirmed cases rose above 300,000 and the country reported a record daily rise in deaths of 135, bringing the total toll to 2,972.

Infections however are slowing, with the daily rise in cases the lowest since 1 May. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin - who has only just returned to work after contracting the virus - has said the country is entering a more stable phase of its outbreak, but warned of the need to lift restrictions with care.

Authorities take a man's temperature in Dagestan, on the border with Azerbaijan - Getty Images

Spain's PM under fire as he looks to extend state of emergency

By BBC News

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has asked parliament to extend the country's state of emergency for another two weeks, drawing fierce criticism from opposition parties.

Mr Sanchez told parliament the extension was necessary to protect communities because the threat from coronavirus had not gone away.

He defended his governments response to the pandemic, but apologised to Spanish citizens for any mistakes his government had made.

The government wants to extend the state of alarm for a fifth time to 7 June when it expires on Saturday.

Spains main opposition party, the conservative People's Party, said it would not vote for the extension, putting its passage through parliament in doubt.

The partys leader, Pablo Casado, delivered a withering assessment of Mr Sanchezs handling of the epidemic.

In a speech to lawmakers, Mr Casado said coronavirus-related deaths in Spain were still equivalent to "a plane crash every day", calling Mr Sanchezs plan a failure.

Spain recorded a further 83 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total to 27,778, the fifth highest in the world.

Opposition leader Pablo Casado strongly criticised Pedro Sanchez's plan - EPA

Iran reports more than 2,000 new cases for third day running

By BBC News

Irans president has said the country is on the verge of curbing its coronavirus outbreak, despite recording more than 2,000 new cases for the third consecutive day.

A further 64 deaths and 2,346 infections were confirmed on Wednesday, the countrys health ministry said.

In total, the country has reported 7,183 deaths and 126,949 cases since the outbreak began in February, but foreign experts believe the true figures could be higher.

New cases have been on the rise since the beginning of May, a trend the health ministry has attributed to a ramped-up testing regime.

But on Wednesday, Irans President Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting that the country had been progressing at every step in the past three months.

He said the country was on the verge of curbing this disease even if some provinces were in an unfavourable situation.

How an Iranian airline 'helped spread coronavirus'

Iran's health ministry says it has ramped up testing - EPA

Latest Chinese cases suggest virus could be changing

By Kerry Allen BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

Experts in China say the Covid-19 patients they are seeing in the north-east of the country show different symptoms" and require longer incubation than those in the central city of Wuhan at the beginning of the country's outbreak. Qiu Haibo, one of the countrys top critical care doctors in the National Health Commissions top medical team, spoke on the national CCTV-13 news channel about the fresh observations his team were making. Dr Qiu said his team were seeing new cases in north-eastern Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces had a longer incubation period, and their clinical symptoms were not typical.

They dont have a fever, he said, but are suffering from either fatigue or a sore throat. Some have no symptoms at all. He added that the new cases appeared to be carrying the virus for much longer.

According to the national Global Times newspaper, tests on Wuhan patients normally came back negative within a week or at most two weeks after a patient shows symptoms.

But now, even though the cases are more curable, people appear to be carrying the virus for longer periods.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, 25 people are currently receiving treatment in hospital in north-eastern Jilin.

Heilongjiang province discharged its last patient on Saturday.

Reuters
[May 20, 2020] MilesTek Debuts New .242" O.D., RoHS-Compliant, Lab-Rated Cable Assemblies

IRVINE, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MilesTek, an Infinite Electronics brand and leading manufacturer and supplier of products designed to address military and avionics applications, announced today that it has introduced a new series of RoHS and REACH-compliant, lab-rated cable assemblies for use in demanding military, lab and R&D applications. MilesTek's new lead-free, lab-rated cables feature an operating temperature range of -40C to +80C, PVC-jacketed 0.242" O.D. twinaxial cable and are available in off-the-shelf lengths of 0.3 meters. This new cable series features both 78 Ohm assemblies and 124 Ohm assemblies to address a wide range of applications. Connector options in this series include 2 and 3 slot and lug, TRB & TRS plugs and jacks, bulkhead-style jacks, insulated and non-insulated connector options as well as versions with a blunt cut ends. Additionally, select model feature rugged bend reliefs that stand up to demanding applications.



"Many of our military and civilian customers now require products that are RoHS-compliant. These new cables are not only lab-rated, boasting a wide temperature range, but they are also RoHS and REACH-compliant. Our goal is to provide our customers with a broad offering of RoHS-compliant MIL-STD-1553 products that are all in stock and available for same-day shipping," said Mark Blackwood, Product Line Manager. MilesTek's new RoHS/REACH-compliant, lab-rated cables are in stock and available for immediate shipment.

About MilesTek: MilesTek designs and manufactures a broad range of MIL-STD-1553B and Ethernet connectivity products to address Military Avionics, Aerospace, Industrial and government applications. In addition to a wide selection of off-the-shelf products, MilesTek can custom manufacture cable assemblies and harnesses. MilesTek is headquartered in Lewisville, Texas and is ISO-9001:2015 certified. MilesTek is an Infinite Electronics brand. About Infinite Electronics: Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions, serving the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Infinite's brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, Aiconics, KP Performance Antennas, PolyPhaser, Transtector, RadioWaves, ShowMeCables, INC-Installs and Integra Optics. Infinite Electronics serves a global engineering customer base with deep technical expertise and support, with one of the broadest inventories of products available for immediate shipment. Press Contact:

Peter McNeil

MilesTek

17792 Fitch

Irvine, CA

978-682-6936 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/milestek-debuts-new-242-od-rohs-compliant-lab-rated-cable-assemblies-301061215.html SOURCE MilesTek

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]




NATIONAL Hero Cde Absolom Sikhosana, who died on Saturday, was given an emotional send-off in two funeral services held at the White City Stadium B Arena in Bulawayo and his farm at Inyathi where speakers testified to his loyalty and commitment to the ruling Zanu-PF.





In the midst of the ravaging Covid-19, party members who formed the majority of mourners, and members of the community gathered at Inyathi and Bulawayo observing regulations to fight the pandemic as they formed bee lines at the respective entrances to sanitise their hands before sitting more than a metre apart.





In Bulawayo for the programme led by Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, party members, in their small number in adherence to measures to fight Covid-19, managed to paint the arena into yellow, green, white and red as they donned different shades of the ruling partys regalia to bid farewell to Cde Sikhosana.





Zanu-PF national political commissar Cde Victor Matemadanda represented the ruling party and also in attendance was Zimbabwe national Liberation War Veterans chairperson and Politburo member Cde Chris Mutsvangwa, Cde Angeline Masuku, Cde Tshinga Dube, Kenneth Musanhi, acting Zanu-PF secretary for youth affairs Cde Tendai Chirau and members of his executive, who included Cdes Mabutho Moyo and Sibongile Sibanda among others.





From the Government side was the Minister for Matabeleland South Provincial Affairs and Devolution Abednico Ncube, deputy director-general in the Central Intelligence Organisation Dr Gatsha Mazithulela, deputy minister of Primary and Secondary Education Cde Edgar Moyo and Zanu-PF Umzingwane legislator Retired Brigadier-General Levi Mayihlome and members of the security sector.





Minister Ncube said Cde Sikhosana fought the good fight and duly deserved to be accorded national hero status.





I worked With Cde Sikhosana since 1981 until today, and it was a blessing to have worked with him all these years, there was no reason to fight Cde Sikhosana because he was loved by everyone and truly God sent, she said.





The Minister recalled the day Cde Sikhosana was admitted to hospital last Monday when the national hero called her asking for assistance as he was struggling to get out of his car.





Little did I know that he was saying goodbye, we called the doctors to immediately assist him and when later we visited him, he said Sisi thank you, you saved my life. Little did we know that it was towards the end, she said.

Minister Ncube paid tribute to the Zanu-PF party membership for assisting Cde Sikhosanas family singling out Cdes Dube, Masuku and Joshua Malinga for taking a lead in ensuring the smooth running of things and also engaging Cde Sikhosanas family.





She said an initial decision was that Cde Sikhosana be buried in Bulawayo but the national leadership had seen it fit that he be buried at the National Heroes Acre.





Zanu-PF national political commissar Cde Matemadanda said the party lost a gallant fighter, leader, teacher, motivator and a true nationalist who fulfils the definition of a hero.





He was persistent and consistent and for that I think the National Hero status was not conferred on him but he earned it. It was an automatic decision because Cde Sikhosana is a hero par excellence, said Cde Matemadanda.





He said Cde Sikhosana, from the time he joined the liberation struggle, never veered off the road and became a remarkable leader post-independence from the time he was youth leader to other politburo portfolios. When the provincial structures of Bulawayo were dissolved it was discussed that Cde Sikhosana be the coordinating chairperson of the province. Despite the fact that he was not well, Cde Sikhosana dutifully carried out the task without ever complaining, said Cde Matemadanda.





There was a moment of laughter when Cde Matemadanda recognised the presence of Cde Mutsvangwa whom he said was one of the best English speakers he knows.





He said Bulawayo has suffered a double tragedy as it no longer has a chairperson and President Mnangagwa will make an announcement of a replacement after the burial of Cde Sikhosana.





The lasting solution would be to have provincial elections and the process will be done after the Covid-19 pandemic is defeated, he said.





A family representative thanked the Government and President Mnangagwa for the assistance rendered to the family after the death of Cde Sikhosana.





Before the Bulawayo service, Cde Sikhosanas body had been taken, aboard a ZNA helicopter, to his farm in Inyathi, Bubi District.





Zanu-PF Bubi legislator Cde Sonny Mguni said during Cde Sikhosanas time as Zanu-PF Youth League secretary, there was discipline among party youth.





I want to commend President Mnangagwa for declaring Cde Sikhosana a national hero. He earned his national hero status. He deserved being declared a national hero due to his works that we all know about. It was going to be shocking if he was not declared a national hero and not buried at the national shrine. Cde Sikhosana would be remembered for his time as the Youth League secretary. He instilled discipline among the partys youths and during his time we never heard of any squabbles and noises coming from the Youth League, said Cde Mguni.





Zanu-PF Matabeleland North Womens League chairperson Cde Madeline Bhebhe said Cde Sikhosana was a unifier.





We know how Bulawayo is but he managed to lead Bulawayo without us hearing of any squabbles coming from the province. He was the type of a leader who would listen and accommodate every opinion. As Zanu-PF Womens League, we know of his leadership qualities and we feel the country has lost a great leader. We mourn together with Sikhosanas family, she said.




One of the last fugitives wanted over Rwandas 1994 genocide, Felicien Kabuga, appeared before a Paris court Wednesday, insisting he wanted to be tried in France where he was arrested.

Kabuga, who gave his age as 87, was apprehended at his home outside Paris on Saturday after a quarter century on the run, having lived for years under a false identity.

His lawyers have insisted from the outset that he would challenge any attempt to extradite him to an international court.

Kabuga was indicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1997 on seven counts, including genocide.

The tribunal, headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania, formally closed in 2015 and its duties were transferred to the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT).

Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor for the MICT, told AFP that Kabuga is expected to be tried in Arusha if extradited.

It is possible he would first be transferred to the MICTs other branch in The Hague in the Netherlands due to travel restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, Brammertz said.

On Wednesday, Kabuga was pushed in a wheelchair into a Paris courtroom that will evaluate the arrest warrant issued by the MICT and decide whether he should be extradited or not.

The court granted Kabugas request for an eight-day postponement to prepare his defence.

He wants to be tried in France, that is what he asked me to fight for, defence lawyer Laurent Bayon told the court.

Kabuga  once one of Rwandas richest men  is accused of creating the notorious Interahamwe militia that carried out massacres, and the Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines which, in its broadcasts, incited people to murder.

He is alleged to have used his wealth and influence to funnel money to militia groups as chairman of the Fonds de Defense Nationale (FDN) fund.

About 800,000 people  Tutsis but also moderate Hutus  were slaughtered over 100 days of ethnic violence committed by Hutu extremists in 1994.

Along with former defence minister Augustin Bizimana and top-ranking military figure Protais Mpiranya  both still at large  Kabuga was one of the three most significant suspects still sought for the mass slaughter.

Brammertz said international trackers were motivated more than ever to find the remaining fugitives.

If the Paris court rules in favour of Kabugas extradition, he can still take his case to Frances Court of Cassation which would have two months to give a ruling.

French-Rwandan former hotel driver Claude Muhayimana is set to go on trial in Paris in February next year. He stands accused of transporting Hutu militiamen to sites where massacres were carried out.
Revered TV girl Victoria Rubadiri says she struggled with culture shock after returning to Kenya from the US 10 years ago.

The Citizen TV news anchor relocated to the land of greener pastures at the age of 10. Even then, the media personality struggled to fit in given her funny accent and name.

Ive always wanted to fit in. Ill admit its been a weakness of mine. I guess it stemmed from that insecure 10-year-old Kenyan girl trying to find a place in this New World, called America. My funny accent, and funny name, would ensure my square peg would never fit in their round holes, narrated the TV bombshell.

In a heartfelt post on Instagram dedicated to outsiders and misfits, Ms Rubadiri said the harder she tried to fit in the more it backfired on her.

A decade ago when I returned to Kenya, after 14 years in the US, I was met with the same dilemma this time trying to fit in to a culture that was my own but was so foreign. Again my funny accent, ?and funny name, (Rubadiri is Malawian??) made sure of that. I realised the harder I tried to fit in, the louder my difference would SCREAM, wrote Rubadiri.

According to the news presenter, becoming a journalist helped as it turned her into a student of the Kenyan people.

Something helped though and that was becoming a journalist right when I got back home. It turned me into a student of my Kenyan people, language and peculiarities. Every story I told was a lesson. Each year I grew in my career, I accepted my outsider tag a bit more and used it to my advantage. I gained a unique perspective on the world around me and tried to articulate that through my storytelling, she said.

Ultimately, Rubadiri embraced the outsider tag and used it to her advantage.

Not having the comfort of belonging kept me hungry to learn more and strive to tell a story as it is. It is a privilege to do what I do and give my audience a view of their world through my lens. Once I accepted that Im terrible at fitting in and better off working on myself and my craft that changed everything for me, Rubadiri added.

Her parting shot: So heres to the outsiders, the misfits, the quirky, awkward, quiet ones. Celebrate your difference, while daring to shape the world around you.
The Trump administration on Tuesday indefinitely extended its policy of urgently expelling most migrants and asylum seekers crossing the border irregularly in a move rights groups said is an effort to exploit a health crisis to effectively end asylum at the US-Mexico border.

Robert Redfield, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued the extension of the order that authorises Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to immediately remove migrants and asylum seekers in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus while in custody.

President Donald Trumps administration issued the initial 30-day order in March, and it was extended for another month in April. The new version notably has no fixed end date, though it said the CDC will review public health data every 30 days to ensure it is still necessary.

Immigrant rights advocates said the order violates obligations the US has towards asylum seekers.

These now indefinite restrictions have nothing to do with curbing the spread of COVID-19, said Andrea Flores, deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The administration refuses to heed the advice of public health experts to protect immigrants, government employees, and the general public from sickness and death, including by releasing people from ICE and CBP detention and suspending civil immigration enforcement, Flores said in a statement. Instead, the president is hellbent on exploiting a public health crisis to achieve his long-held goal of ending asylum at the border  Do not be fooled: Trumps goal is not to protect our health, its to sow division and advance his political agenda.

Charanya Krishnaswami, the Americas advocacy director of Amnesty International, added on Twitter that every which way you look at it, from public health to human rights, from our domestic laws to our international treaty obligations, this order is ill-advised and unlawful  pure xenophobia masquerading as a public health measure.

So there you have it. Every which way you look at it, from public health to human rights, from our domestic laws to our international treaty obligations, this order is ill-advised and unlawful  pure xenophobia masquerading as a public health measure.  Charanya Krishnaswami (@charanya_k) May 19, 2020

Endangering, not saving lives

Under the Trump administrations policy, CBP has been sending Mexican and Central American migrants they encounter along the southwestern border back to Mexico in about two hours. Many Central American asylum seekers have previously told Al Jazeera they are fleeing gang and domestic violence, extreme poverty and political prosecution.

The Trump administration is also turning people from other countries over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for rapid repatriation, removing people who might have remained in the country for months, or even years, to pursue asylum claims.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, who announced the extension, defended the order, saying it the restrictions were one of the most critical tools his department has to prevent the further spread of the virus and to protect the American people, DHS front-line officers, and those in their care and custody from COVID-19.

But Human Rights First, a nonpartisan human rights organisation, said the CDC order has already been used to block and expel thousands of asylum seekers to dangerous places.

This new extension of the CDC order will end US refugee and child protections at the border indefinitely, endangering rather than saving lives, said Eleanor Acer, the groups senior director for refugee protection. There is little doubt that the Trump administration will wield this indefinite ban to expel and block asylum-seekers and children for many months or longer, possibly until this administration is no longer in office.

As of last week, the US had only given refuge to two people on humanitarian grounds since March 21, the Washington Post reported.

Last week, Democratic chairs of three US House committees, wrote a letter to Secretary Wolf, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, rejecting the administration to effectively asylum processing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Protecting public health and protecting individuals from persecution or torture are not mutually exclusive  the United States must do both. As such, we are deeply concerned that the Administration appears to be using the COVID-19 outbreak as a pretext to expel asylum seekers in clear violation of its obligations under domestic and international law to protect individuals fleeing persecution or torture, wrote Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Bennie G Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Ranking Member Bob Menendez of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Separately, dozens of heath experts from across the US wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this week, urging the administration to not extend the asylum order.

The nations public health laws should not be used as a pretext for overriding humanitarian laws and treaties that provide life-saving protections to refugees seeking asylum and unaccompanied children, the letter said.
- Citizens were unable to access Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube as polling stations opened shortly after 6am on Wednesday

- Those who could access the platforms used VPN to spoof the internet they were sending and receiving data from other locations outside the country

- The election marked the end of 15 years rule of President Pierre Nkurunziza whose reelection in 2015 was marred by violence that left at least 1,000 dead and thousands displaced

- The Word Health Organisation was against the decision by Burundi to head to a general election amid the COVID-19 pandemic

- Last week, the country sent away four medical officials of the WHO after declaring them persona non-grata

- Election observers were absent in the country since they could not beat the 14-day mandatory quarantine set to undergo before monitoring the poll

Burundians early Wednesday, May 20, milled in various polling stations across the country to elect new leaders; a poll that also marked the end of President Pierre Nkurunziza's 15-year term.

Apart from getting a new president, citizens will also select parliamentarians and councillors who will later appoint senators.

READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for May 20: 51 senators sign motion to dethrone Kithure Kindiki

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza. Photo: The Rwandan.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Tanzania says Kenya's COVID-19 testing is a smear campaign against its tourism

TUKO.co.ke, however, learnt as early as 6am when polling stations were opened, citizens could not access social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and even media sharing platform YouTube.

Those who could access the platforms used Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to spoof the internet from other locations outside the country.

READ ALSO: Just a rude person you are: Donald Trump attacks female reporter for questioning him

READ ALSO: Uchaguzi Burundi: Raia wapiga kura licha mlipuko wa COVID-19

Section of those who reacted to the development claimed the move was aimed at clouding the election in mystery and creating a conduit for poll irregularities.

The presidential poll has seven contestants and among them is army general Evariste Ndayishimye who is Nkurunziza's preferred successor.

In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported the country sent away four Word Health Organisation (WHO) medical experts after terming them persona non grata.

The WHO was against the idea of Burundi going to polls amid the coronavirus pandemic arguing the poll was a risky exercise which threatened to spread the disease further.

International election observers were also absent in the country as they could not beat the 14-day mandatory quarantine period they were set to undergo before monitoring the poll.

As of early Wednesday, Burundi had reported 42 cases of the disease, 20 recoveries and at least one death.

Kenya had 963 cases which included 358 recoveries and 50 deaths.

Globally, the cases were inching closer to five million.

Some 1,970,686 patients had recovered since the disease was first reported in China in December 2019 while 325,125 others had died.

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 boss in Saudi Arabia had denied me food for more than 10 days- Miriam Wangari| Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
A resilient food system is essential to ensure that all Americans, regardless of where they live or how much they make, can get the food they need to keep their families healthy, said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund.

Reinvestment Fund is inviting applications for funding through the 2020 round of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Targeted Small Grants Program. Funding for the HFFI Targeted Small Grants Program is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), authorized by the Farm Bill. Reinvestment Fund serves as the national fund manager for the HFFI program at USDA. The 2020 HFFI round significantly increases the available funding compared to the previous round, offering $3 million in grant funds for food retail and food enterprises working to improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities.

A resilient food system is essential to ensure that all Americans, regardless of where they live or how much they make, can get the food they need to keep their families healthy, said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need to sustain a robust food system that serves all communities. We hope that these HFFI investments can seed improved access to healthy food in underserved communities and also fundamentally strengthen local food economies.

Financial assistance is available in the form of direct grants to projects selected through a competitive application process. Applicants can be food retail and/or non-retail food system enterprises that seek to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas through food retail. The HFFI grants program is open to eligible for-profit, nonprofit, and cooperatively owned businesses, institutions of higher education, state and local governments and tribal governments. Grants could assist projects with a variety of aspects of project development, renovation, and/or expansion. Grants are designed to be one-time investments of capital into a food retail or food enterprise project and aim to unlock additional sources of capital, catalyze project sustainability, meet financing gaps, and/or enable deeper impact or project reach.

In conjunction with the grants program, Reinvestment Fund will also provide technical assistance to support selected early stage projects where resources would help build local capacity to develop a food retail outlet or enterprise and would clarify or advance an eligible project.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how essential grocery stores, food suppliers, and their employees are to providing essential goods and services to communities. The economic impact of the pandemic will only further constrain low-income families ability to afford and access healthy food. While the program is designed to support projects that respond to food access and food enterprise needs that were evolving prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the program will also consider projects related to recovery from the pandemic, directly or indirectly.

The application has two phases--the first phase is a Letter of Interest, which is due on July 10, 2020. Eligible applicants will be invited to submit a full application in the second phase. The Request for Assistance (RFA), application materials and additional information are available at http://www.investinginfood.com. Questions may be directed to help@investinginfood.com. Reinvestment Fund is also hosting an informational webinar on the application process on June 2, 2020 at 2pm EST. Potential applicants can join the webinar at bit.ly/WebinarJune2. No registration is required.

An initiative of USDA Rural Development, HFFI projects and programs have also been supported by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Since 2010, HFFI programs have helped leverage more than $267 million in grants and an estimated $1 billion in additional financing. They have also supported nearly 1,000 grocery and other healthy food retail projects in more than 35 states across the country, revitalizing economies, creating jobs, and improving health.

###

About Reinvestment Fund

Reinvestment Fund is committed to building strong, more equitable communities by making health, wellbeing, and financial security available and accessible to families, regardless of income or zip code. We integrate data, policy and strategic investments to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. Using analytical and financial tools, we bring high-quality grocery stores, affordable housing, schools and health centers to the communities that need better access-creating anchors that attract investment over the long term and help families lead healthier, more productive lives. Beginning with the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative (FFFI) in 2004, Reinvestment Fund has developed a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to improving the food landscape for low-income people. Since that time, it has provided $300 million in grants and loans to healthy food projects. Reinvestment Fund also founded and manages ReFresh, a capacity-building initiative that is composed of CDFI partners nationally, who are among the largest national practitioners in healthy food financing.
Connecticut restaurants could open for indoor dining on June 20 and bars could reopen a month later under new state recommendations announced Wednesday.

The list of reopenings set for June 20 includes gyms, hotels and motels, movie theaters, museums and aquariums, nail and tattoo salons and amusement parks. All of it would be worked out with specific rules that have yet to be written.

On Wednesday, the first day of the states gradual reopening of so-called non-essential businesses, Gov. Ned Lamont stressed that people should stick to social distancing, which he expects law enforcement, health departments, mayors and first selectmen to enforce, or COVID-19 cases could increase and force a change of his plans in the gradual reopening to the new normal.

Follow the rules, Lamont said. Its a fast-changing situation. Were got to be dynamic here. We have to be nimble.

Events are now still limited to five people, or 50 for religious services. For social gatherings, that number might rise by June 20. For formal events, the plan calls for allowing up to 50 people on June 20, rising to 100 a month later.

Lamonts Reopen CT Advisory Group presented the recommendations Wednesday for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the states reopening.

The process is going to be collaborative with these industries, said David Lehman, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development and a key member of the reopening committee.

Lehman added that for events such as weddings that may rise to a limit of 50 on June 20, then 100 a month later, features such as crowded bars and buffets wont return right away. The dance floor might not be open, he said. I dont want to be a Debbie Downer but were going to have to work with the industry.

Other states, he said, are not now planning that far in advance.

During his daily news briefing from the State Capitol, Lamont said its still too early for people to plan Fourth of July parties for 50 people, who would be allowed to gather under Phase 2, targeted for June 20. But he said the rate of new hospitalizations over the next two to three weeks should clarify whether the coronavirus pandemic has been stymied for at least the summer.

Lamont said he will release the advisory groups final report within the next week or so. Their No. 1 principle, our No. 1 principle, my No. 1 principle was public health and safety first, Lamont said. Its not an economic versus health issue. The two go hand in hand as youve heard every step of the way, with particular focus on our most vulnerable residents.

More Information Next up Phase 2, around June 20* Gyms, fitness and sports clubs All personal services Hotels and motels (no bar areas) Outdoor arts, entertainment and events up to 50 people Outdoor amusement parks Movie theaters Bowling alleys Social clubs, pools Museums, zoos, aquariums Restaurants indoors, no bar Phase 3, at least four weeks later Bars Indoor event spaces and venues Indoor amusement parks including arcades Outdoor events up to 100 people * If public health metrics are met See More Collapse

If the infection and hospitalization rates remain at current levels, Lamont said summer youth sports and public libraries could open June 20; childrens day camps on June 22; summer school on July 6; and graduate education in July and August.

The metrics that Lamont will watch early in Phase 1 include infection rates; the ability to perform contract tracing of infected people; continued business and social safeguards, protecting the vulnerable and the capacity of state hospitals.

We worked at pandemic speed, if you want to use that word, joked Indra Nooyi, the former president and CEO of PepsiCo who led the advisory group with Dr. Albert Ko and Paul Mounds, Lamonts chief of staff. It was a home run. It took five weeks of nonstop work.

Ko, professor of epidemiology and medicine and department chair at the Yale School of Public Health, who co-chaired the advisory panel, said it seems that about 90 percent of COVID-19 cases come from person-to-person contact, with only 10 percent acquiring the infection by contacting other surfaces.

Outdoors is safer than indoors, Ko said, warning of the virus waning in the summer, with a potential surge in the fall. This is a virus thats not going to go away. This is going to be a hard fight.

If the state can continue its downward trends in fatalities and hospitalizations, and if people can remain 6 feet apart in public wearing face masks, personal services such as tattoo and nail shops, gyms, movie theaters, bowling alleys and outdoor amusement parks could open around June 20.

Even some amount of indoor dining could resume by then, with capacity restrictions that indoor locations would have to abide by. Social clubs, pools, museums and aquariums could also open by the third week in June, Lamont announced on the first day of Connecticuts partial reopening.

Colleges and Universities, shuttered like much of the state since mid-March, will proceed carefully.

We told the universities to expect opening up in September with residential housing, but as Dr. Ko says if theres a change of course, well give you about 30 days notice and youve got to be ready if there is a change there, said Lamont.

Lamont also issued an executive order allowing Democrats and Republicans to use absentee ballots for their parties August 11 primaries. Senate Minority Len Fasano, R-North Haven, objected. The proposed process raises significant questions of constitutionality and questions related to the security of unattended drop boxes that would be used to collect ballots, Fasano warned.

And while Lamont thanked the Reopen CT Advisory Group for their help plotting Connecticuts post-pandemic strategy on Wednesday, the 50-member group is unlikely to go too far away.

After a two-hour teleconference on Wednesday morning, advisory group members said they expect Lamont to call upon their help in the future, even as a Boston-based consultant to the seven-state region takes more of a role in the nuts-and-bolts daily work of slowly reopening the state.

We start Phase 1 now and it all depends on how it goes, said Timothy Phelan, the president of the Connecticut Retail Merchants Association, following the two-hour morning call. They plan on keeping the lines of communication open with us.

While there were very few early reports from his members, Phelan said he understands that merchants with multiple store locations seem to be focusing on single locations.

If everybody does, basically, what theyre been doing - following social distancing guidelines, wearing masks, and washing hands - we should get to Phase 2, Phelan said in a phone interview.

While Lamont this week issued an executive order setting June 20 as a date for gyms and movie theaters to reopen, he said Tuesday that the date is only a benchmark on the calendar that depends entirely on how the public reacts to the long-awaited Wednesday opening of many retail stores and outdoor-dining only in restaurants.

Another advisory group member, Joseph Brennan, president and CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said he also expects the governor to continue reaching out for expertise. I will continue to weigh in with the appropriate people, said Brennan.

John Olsen, a member of the business subcommittee of the Reopen CT Advisory Group, was optimistic about the states ability to adhere to the procedures to keep infections down.

My feelings, no matter what you put out there, you still have to have a mechanism in place to keep people aware, Olsen said. Hopefully we can keep everybody with a good attitude and make sure theyre following all these protocols that are out there and we dont blame all the workers and stores.

Olsen said many people he knows are concerned about the reopening of indoor dining, on track now for June 20. Thats a challenge I think is going to have a lot to do with the public, he said. As you go through the first stage, people watch, they see how people are reacting, well start to know how that might be.

Legislators met with members of the governors staff Wednesday ahead of Lamonts press briefing, and were told about the elements of phases two and three. They were not included in creating the phases.

We provided some input, but I think everyone is doing their best, said Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk. This is an imperfect situation and everyone is trying to make the best decisions they can. Outside of a few loud voices people understand the need to reopen slowly and the need to put public health and public safety first. Most people are very conscious of this new situation were in, and no one has every experienced this before.

Staff writers Kaitlyn Krasselt and Dan Haar contributed to this report.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:19:52|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

China-Europe freight train X9202 prepares to leave the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in north China's Tianjin Municipality, May 20, 2020. The freight train loaded with cars, accessories, food and clothing set off Wednesday from Tianjin to Ulan Bator of Mongolia. This was the first train on the China-Europe freight route that departed from the Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone since it was established in 2015. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

TIANJIN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A freight train loaded with cars, accessories, food and clothing set off Wednesday from north China's Tianjin Municipality to Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

This was the first train on the China-Europe freight route that departed from Tianjin Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) since it was established in 2015.

The goods from Japan and the Republic of Korea arrived at the port of Tianjin before being transported to its destination via the port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous. The whole journey is 1,583 km and takes about five days.

From January to April, a total of 2,920 China-Europe freight trains transported cargo of 262,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), up 24 percent and 27 percent from a year earlier, respectively. Enditem
Gunfire erupted midday Wednesday at a busy east Birmingham shopping center.

According to police and witnesses, a fight between at least two men broke out in the parking lot Roebuck Plaza on Parkway East. That led to shots fired about 11:30 a.m. The ordeal began in front of the DTLR store, where a long line of customers had been waiting earlier to buy new Jordan shoes that dropped today, witnesses said. Police said they have not yet determined whether that had anything to do with the dispute.

An off-duty Birmingham officer working security at one of the stores called in the shooting. Police flocked to the scene, roping off most of the parking lot and methodically checking each store for possible suspects.

Tristen Johnson, 21, was at the shopping center with his uncle and cousins when he saw, and heard, at least two dozen shots fired. I seen a fight and then I seen some guns, Johnson said. I just backed up to mind my own business and then I heard shots.

He said roughly 25 rounds were fired. At least some of them were from a rifle.

All I could think about were my little cousins who were sitting in the car waiting on me, he said. Gunfire struck that vehicle in which the teens were sitting.

Gunshots struck Johnsons truck, as well as multiple other vehicles in the parking lot. The gunfire also shattered the front glass window at Hibbett Sports, and struck multiple other businesses.

East Precinct Commander Capt. Julie Quigley said one person was injured by shattered glass. He was treated on the scene. The second victim showed up at St. Vincents East with a gunshot wound. That victims condition is not life-threatening, said Sgt. Rod Mauldin.

Quigley said multiple people have been detained for questioning and they are still trying to determine if the suspects are among them. Police have marked multiple shell casings in the center parking lot.

"Our biggest priority right now is conducting a thorough investigation to make sure we get those responsible for this crime off the streets,'' Mauldin said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Mark Guillaudeu, beverage director at Commis and CDP Bar in Oakland, wants you to drink more brandy. Not just because its delicious but also because he believes it might help mitigate the effects of climate change.

That sounds like a stretch. Hear him out. By definition, brandy  a broad category whose subcategories include Cognac, eau de vie and pisco  is made from fruit. That means its source material is fruit trees, which are perennials. Grapevines, apple trees and pear trees can live for decades, even centuries.

Whiskey, vodka and most gin, by contrast, are usually distilled from annual crops like grain and potatoes. When you replant grain every year, youre destroying a fungal ecosystem, says Guillaudeu. Just think about the carbon load of that type of agriculture.

While the fact of making fruit-based spirits doesnt guarantee holistic farming practices, he says, it at least makes those practices possible.

Imagine, he says, the old European orchard that might result in a pear eau de vie: lush cover crop between the trees, plenty of grazing space for cattle, whose milk could be made into cheese. If done thoughtfully, this type of regenerative agriculture can create a healthy ecosystem and promote carbon sequestration.

And, more often than not, Guillaudeu believes, it leads to a higher-quality spirit.

Thats a lot of backstory for a snifter of spirit at the end of dinner, but Guillaudeu isnt afraid to get into heavy topics over dessert. Before the coronavirus shutdown, he had these conversations nightly with customers at Commis, which served an eight-course tasting menu, and CDP, its adjacent, walk-in-friendly cocktail bar. After initially closing during shelter in place, Commis reopened for takeout on May 19, offering a $90 family-style meal that serves two, plus wine and cocktails.

Every bottle allows us to have a conversation about how these things are made and how these things impact the Earth, Guillaudeu says. For example, as part of the beverage pairing to accompany Commis tasting menu, he would present an English sparkling wine, the 2014 Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs. The wines very existence suggests a shifting climate: Southern England was not previously warm enough for high-quality wine grape cultivation.

But it shouldnt take environmental evangelism to spread the brandy gospel. As far as spirits go, brandy happens to be a great match for food. Rums or whiskeys, when youre peating or smoking or oaking them, are something that you really want to drink by themselves, Guillaudeu says. Brandies tend to be more delicate and nuanced, which can harmonize better with delicate, nuanced cooking.

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle

Frances three great brandies are Cognac, Armagnac and Calvados  the first two made from grapes and named for the respective regions in which they grow, the latter made from apples or pears in Normandy. If making cocktails from these unfamiliar spirits feels daunting, take a cue from Guillaudeu, who works them into classic cocktail templates: He makes a drink called the Daffy (a variation on a white manhattan with duck-fat-washed Armagnac, Sauternes and Lillet) and a neon-colored take on a sidecar (Cognac, blood orange Curacao, blood orange juice).

If you go Commis. Open for takeout 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Prepaid meals for two, $90. 3859 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. 510-653-3902 or www.commisrestaurant.com See More Collapse

Still, French brandy is not in the repertoire of many Bay Area spirits drinkers, who tend to revert to Ill have a whiskey neat.

What those whiskey-by-default drinkers might not realize is the incredible complexity that brandy can offer, often while satisfying the same craving for a dark, barrel-aged spirit that whiskey fulfills. Guillaudeu thinks Cognac is often the best starting point. For a scotch drinker, he says, Cognac can provide a lot of the same yeast-derived, oak-derived aromas that they love in whiskey.

If youre receptive to Cognac, consider trying Armagnac next. Unlike Cognac, Armagnac is distilled only once, which means it often has earthy, rustic qualities that Cognacs double distillation can subdue. Armagnacs barrel-aging process can lead to oxidative aromas and flavors, often referred to as rancio  a fatty, nutty, buttery sensation. With Cognac Im looking for fruit and florality, Guillaudeu says. With Armagnac Im looking for richness.

As for the ideal Calvados, Guillaudeu wants it to be apple-y as f. Hes being flippant, but thats an apt description of the best versions of Normandys apple brandy, which can smell as fragrantly pure as fresh-pressed apple juice. Even a relatively affordable Calvados, Coquerel VS, expresses that sweet, evocative, unmistakable aroma. Its a fabulous match for rich, salty food. (If only Commis and CDP were open right now, you could try some alongside chef James Syhabouts slow-poached egg yolk with smoked dates, alliums and malt. Thankfully, the egg is available as an add-on to the current takeout menu.)

Stephen Lam / Special to The Chronicle

Theres more to the world of brandy than France, of course. The truly curious can dabble in all sorts of distillates. Guillaudeu loves the sweetly vegetal eau de vie of carrot from Austrian distiller Hans Reisetbauer and Do Ferreiros Orujo de Galicia, distilled from 250-year-old Albarino vines in Spain.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

But the point, for Guillaudeu, is that drinkers should engage a little more deeply with what theyre drinking, whether its brandy or whiskey or wine. Thats partly because drinking that way is more fun. Its also because Guillaudeu believes that the urgency of our current moment demands us to take a step back and consider how mundane choices, like what to drink with dinner, might affect the world around us.

Climate change is my soapbox, he says. Its no longer enough to just say: Whats the spirit and is it balanced and does it taste good?

Recipe: Commis house old-fashioned

Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Cognac

 ounce maple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Orange peel (or bergamot peel, if you can find it)

Instructions: In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the Cognac with the orange peel. Add maple syrup, bitters and a large ice cube. Stir.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- You dont have to stay home, but Gov. Mike DeWine says you should.

Were talking about the latest Ohio coronavirus order on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour coronavirus news podcast, with help this week from editors Jane Kahoun, Kris Wernowsky and me. We answer many of the questions youve sent through our text message platform.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares once or twice a day what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802.

And youve been offering all sorts of great perspective in our coronavirus alert account, which has 13,000-plus subscribers. You can sign up for free by texting 216-279-7784.

Here are the questions were answering today:

1) Do we have to stay at home because of the coronavirus in Ohio anymore? Not officially. Gov. Mike DeWines safe-at-home order is being replaced by strong recommendations, though social distancing measures and a ban on mass gatherings will still be enforced.

2) Does the Cuyahoga County Council agree with County Executive Armond Budishs direct predictions on property tax collections? Nope. Council President Dan Brady called Budishs projections of 10 percent drop pure conjecture.

3) Did we have warning signs that Ohio nursing homes were vulnerable to the coronavirus? Yes. In the past three years, federal regulators filed 1,127 citations against facilities for infection control issues, such as aides failing to wash their hands after dealing with residents. Ohio ranks as one of the top states in the Midwest for the citations, far outpacing neighboring Indiana (717), Michigan (860) and Pennsylvania (890).

4) Can I get into Canada during the coronavirus pandemic? Nope. The border is still closed to nonessential travel and will be until June 21.

5) Are scammers using the coronavirus pandemic to take advantage of people in greater Cleveland? There are reports of it. The Cuyahoga County Emergency Operations Center sent out an email Tuesday morning reminding people that agencies would never ask for a persons Social Security number or bank account number in a call.

6) Did Annie Glenn, the wife of the late astronaut John Glenn, died from the coronavirus? Annie Glenn, the childhood sweetheart and wife of former astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn, died Monday at age 100, from complications of COVID-19. Annie Glenn overcame a speech impediment to became a champion for people with communications disorders.

7) What happened with the director of the Akron Art Museum? Mark Masuoka, who has directed the art museum since 2013, resigned from his post Monday afternoon. That was several weeks after news stories revealed allegations of racism, sexism and bullying of employees by managers during his tenure.

8) What is an Oubie Loop? Its an ear-saver for fabric face masks, created out of flexible silicone in bright colors, with different loops to adjust for different-sized heads.

Thats it for Wednesday. Check back Thursday, as restaurants prepare to open dining rooms across the state.

Meanwhile, find all our past episodes here

Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here.

If you use Stitcher, we are here.

RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here.

On Google Podcasts, we are here.

On PodParadise, find us here.

And on PlayerFM, we are here.
South Africa: Delivery of water to Alfred Nzo Municipality continues

Despite the ongoing challenges, the delivery of water to the community of Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape will continue, the Department of Water and Sanitation said on Wednesday.

The municipality is among the 2 000 communities that were identified as being in need of water and sanitation across the country.

This follows a directive by Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu to the department to respond accordingly to the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic in South Africa.

The Minister set the ball rolling towards bringing relief to the communities in water and sanitation distress, by directing the department to roll out the necessary intervention to these communities.

The department said that a lot of work has happened, and this includes the delivery of 17 962 water tanks with 11 978 of these installed across the country.

The department said despite the inherent challenges in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, the department and the stakeholders are continuing to deliver the water tanks.

As per the report of 19 May 2020, the Eastern Cape had 4 494 tanks installed and in use, with 201 tankers delivered, of which 169 are in use. Alfred Nzo District Municipality has received 482 tanks which are also in use, with 13 tankers delivered.

A further seven tankers are awaited as soon as the procurement processes are completed. These will ensure that much better security of supply is achieved, the department said.

In all of this, the department said the office of the department in the Eastern Cape is tasked with working with the implementing agent, including Amatola Water, Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Eastern Cape Office of the Premier, the office of the MEC for COGTA, as well as the community to ensure that, as the roll out of the intervention continues, it actually reaches the most vulnerable communities as identified by the municipality.

Bizana, Ntabankulu are not being ignored

The department also noted that the localities of Bizana and Ntabankulu are not being ignored, as much as the intervention might be slow.

The department said that installation of the water tanks did not take off as would have been envisaged and preferred, due to the lockdown taking its toll on some of the service providers who became cash strapped.

Tankering has also not been optimal as the tanks that were allocated were too few to advance services to the vast area they were required to assist. Once the procurement glitches at Amatola Water are overcome, services will be rendered much better.

The need for security of supply to all, especially the most vulnerable communities cannot be compromised, thus the directive of Minister Sisulu has to be brought to life. As the intervention continues to roll out, we ask for patience from those that have not yet been reached, the department explained.

While acknowledging that the desired results and effects have not yet been felt in all communities, the department said it is intent on completely fulfilling its mission.

KZN improves efforts to supplement ailing water supply

Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal Water and Sanitation department has doubled its efforts to supplement the ailing water supply in the province as a result of declining dam level capacity.

The department said that more than 4 000 water tanks and 532 tankers have been delivered in the province as a temporary measure to supplement the provision of water and to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The Ugu District has 342 installed tanks, while the uMzinyathi and Harry Gwala Districts have 480 and 350 water tanks installed and in use respectively, the department said.

Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has reiterated that local municipalities should step up their efforts to ensure the tanks are always filled up with water for access to the community.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. chipmaker Intel Corp's logo is seen on their "smart building" in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Intel Capital, the venture arm of chipmaker Intel Corp <INTC.O>, has invested in two Chinese startups in the semiconductor sector, the company announced on Wednesday, as part of its latest batch of deals.

The investments in companies that compete in fields typically dominated by U.S. players come as Intel remains embroiled in tensions between the United States and China over chip manufacturing.

ProPlus, one the Chinese startups Intel Capital has funded, makes EDA software that chip makers use to design their products before manufacturing them.

The leaders in that field, Cadence Design Systems Inc <CDNS.O>, Mentor Graphics, and Synopsys Inc <SNPS.O> - all hail from the United States.

ProPlus Chairman and CEO Zhihong Liu once worked as a VP at Cadence Technologies while its director, Chenming Hu, once served as the CTO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd <2330.TW> (TSMC).

Spectrum Materials, based in the southern Chinese province of Fujian, makes gases critical for semiconductor fabs to produce physical chips. The sector is typically dominated by players in the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

China's government has committed billions of dollars to help fund the domestic semiconductor industry, which it views as critical to catching up with the United States and other governments.

The stakes for such initiatives have increased after the United States imposed restrictions on American companies supplying to Huawei, China's top telecommunications eqiupment provider and a leading chip maker in its own right.

Intel Capital has consistently invested in Chinese startups along with small chip companies from around the world. In 2019 and 2018 it announced investments in two Chinese chip startups.

This batch of announced investments comes days after Intel CEO Bob Swan wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense expressing readiness to build a chip fab in the United States, with the goal of ensuring U.S. technological leadership.

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Stephen Coates)
New Delhi, May 20 : Engulfed in a bitter 'bus war' with Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government, the Congress has managed to move the buses arranged to transport the migrants to Noida. The police, however, stopped the buses in Sector 39 area of Noida and did not allow their movement.

Uttar Pradesh Congress Commmitee (UPCC) office bearer and former MLA of Shamli, Pankaj Malik said: "Our leader Priyanka Gandhi has promised to provide 1,000 buses and we are ready at various entry points in the state, but the BJP is doing politics. This is high time to help the migrants." Meanwhile, Sandeep Singh, the personal aide of Priyanka Gandhi has written another letter on late Tuesday that the buses which are stranded at various entry points will wait for Uttar Pradesh government's nod till 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Uttar Pradesh government had asked buses to be moved to Noida and Ghaziabad.

"We are committed to help the migrants and hope the UP government will show positive attitude towards the migrants," wrote Sandeep Singh to Additional Chief Secretary Avneesh Awasthi.

He also blamed Uttar Pradesh police of high-handedness.

Amid the ongoing bitter politics over buses for stranded migrant workers, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said that out of 1,049 buses, 879 have been found fit by the Uttar Pradesh government and the party will provide 200 more buses on Wednesday.

She also urged the UP government not to delay the bus services for the stranded migrant workers willing to go back to their homes.

In a series of tweets, Priyanka Gandhi said: "Uttar Pradesh government has itself said that of the 1,049 buses offered by us, 879 have been found proper in the verification. At Uncha Nagala border our 500 buses have been made to wait by the administration for several hours. Similarly on Delhi border 300 buses are also coming. Please allow 879 buses to ply." "Tomorrow we will provide the list of 200 more buses for the service. Get the list of those buses also verified. People are in trouble and sad. We cannot delay any further," Priyanka Gandhi, who is also Congress in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh said.
More than 50 essential workers were arrested by the police in Lagos on Tuesday following the directive of Mohammed Adamu, inspector-ge...





More than 50 essential workers were arrested by the police in Lagos on Tuesday following the directive of Mohammed Adamu, inspector-general of police.





On April 27, President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered restriction of movements between 8pm and 6am nationwide to check the spread of COVID-19.





The president had, however, exempted health workers, journalists and other essential workers from the curfew.





But there have been reports on the breach of the curfew, with security operatives being blamed for poor enforcement.

On Tuesday, Adamu held a virtual meeting with zonal assistant-inspectors general of police and state commissioners of police, where he directed strict enforcement of the curfew.





He had reportedly ordered that anyone found on the streets beyond 8pm should be detained.





Ikeja, Lagos, journalists and doctors who were returning from work were forced to the police station while their vehicles were impounded. In the Alausa area ofIkeja, Lagos, journalists and doctors who were returning from work were forced to the police station while their vehicles were impounded.





IVY Kanu, a correspondent with the TVC, narrated how some of the essential workers were detained at the station.





I left the office tonight and on my way, I noticed that the roadblocks had increased. I turned to Alausa and I was picked up. I am at the Alausa police station and you have doctors, essential workers, she told the station.





The place is packed. Over 50 people are here and I heard that the new instruction for the next three days is to go after everybody, essential workers and non-essential workers.





I dont know how long we will be here. The impounded vehicles are more than 20 and more are still coming in. I dont know if this is part of a new directive from the federal government or it is over-zealousness on the part of the police officers.





Some of them have been taken into custody; they have been put into cells and some are standing outside. I was asked to go behind the counter; that was where I was before she (DPO) announced that everybody should come outside and they should hand over our keys and we should sleep in our cars till the next morning.





In a swift reaction, Lanre Arogundade, director of the International Press Centre (IPC), demanded an immediate release of the arrested journalists.





It is absolutely out of order for the police to bar journalists from moving in the name of enforcing total curfew, he said in a statement.





The president has affirmed the role of journalists as frontline professionals in the fight against Covid-19 while the Minister of Information had earlier said journalists who have their identity cards should be allowed free movement during this period. Journalists who are currently being held in Lagos and any other part of the country should be set free immediately.





Some key members of the presidential task force on COVID-19 were said to have been contacted over the arrest of the essential workers and after over two hours in detention, the IGP directed his men to release all them.





Frank Mba, force public relations officer, conveyed the IGPs directive in a statement.





All essential workers including medical personnel, firefighters, ambulance services and journalists are exempted from the restriction of movement associated with both the partial lockdown and the national curfew across the Federation, the statement read.





The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed A. Adamu has therefore directed all zonal assistant inspectors general of police and commands commissioners of police to give effect to these exemptions whilst enforcing the restriction orders.




This is an entry in Viral Studies, a Slate series in which we break down recent viral articles andmost importantlytheir caveats.

Hamsters might reasonably use surgical masks as room dividers to slow the spread of the coronavirus, some unpublished research suggests. That is the real takeaway from a study that has gone a little viral, as studies are wont to do in this age of the coronavirus.

Hong Kong University microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung first described his work to news outlets in Asia on Sunday. Fifty-two hamsters reportedly participated. Yuen and his team housed the hamsters in a series of cages, infecting the residents of half with the coronavirus (yes, a paper in review suggests hamsters can get the coronavirus). The researchers paired infected cages with uninfected cages, putting each side by side, explains the South China Morning Post. In one scenario, the infected hamsters had masks shielding their cages as if they were wearing a mask, as a Radio Television Hong Kong story put it. In another scenario, the masks were on the cages of uninfected hamsters. Cages in a control scenario had no mask dividers at all. Fans blew air between the cages, to help the virus travel.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The surgical masks proved helpful in slowing the infection rate from one cage to another, most of all in the scenario where the masks were attached to the infected cage itself. The findings implied to the world and the public is that the effectiveness of mask-wearing against the coronavirus pandemic is huge, Yuen said.

From there, CNBC picked up the story, topping a report of the results with a photo of a human woman in a mask, and the headline Wearing a mask can reduce coronavirus transmission by 75%, new study claims. The story explained that the research gives weight to arguments by medical professionals and government leaders that wearing a mask does indeed reduce virus transmissionand dramatically so. Experiments in Hong Kong showed that the transmission rate dropped by as much as 75% when surgical masks were used. In an earlier version of the piece, the hamster subjects make their first appearance by paragraph five. A few hours after publication, the CNBC story was updated with a headline to reflect the hamsters participation. Some language was added to the piece to note that the study appears yet to be peer reviewed. It is worth noting that the author of the story is a Mideast correspondent who, like most journalists right now, has been drafted to cover the coronavirus.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Famous news anchor Chris Hayes tweeted the piece, commenting: Ive come to believe there is no magic bullet for Covid until vaccination but that universal mask-wearing is the closest we have.

Hayes, the CNBC story, and Yuen reflect a belief that masks meaningfullyactually, dramaticallylower the transmission rates of the novel coronavirus among civilians. This belief is so deeply held that we take hospital-grade gear for ourselves and shame people who go without masks even while maintaining social distancing in the outdoors. I am intentionally calling it a belief because the science on how much masks help is still fuzzy. As we learn more about asymptomatic transmission, including from experiments like Yuens, it seems that, yes, wearing a mask as a way to protect others from your germs is worthwhile (when they are worn properly and cleaned or disposed of between use, which  often they are not). Certainly, you should be wearing a mask regularly at this point, largely because masks are now required in parts of the U.S. andas has long been the case in Asiaoperate as symbols of participation in the collective good.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Even so, we are at risk of overrelying on masks. Before masks became widespread here, many experts worried that masks not only might not help that much, but could embolden us with a false sense of security. We should still worry about this, I think. Because if the masks are second best to a silver bulletwell, what is social distancing, hand-washing, the painful reality of being stuck inside? The truest part of Hayes tweet is that there is no magic bullet right now. What a small study on hamsters should illustrate is that were still learning.

For more of Slates coverage of COVID-19, listen to What Next.
Seven families at the Menikwatta Estate third division, near Dickoya in central Sri Lanka, were rendered homeless on May 9, after their line room homes were destroyed in sudden fire.

Thirty people, including children, were displaced and forced to move to a church on the estate. The emergency accommodation, however, lacked basic facilities and the following day they had to move in with relatives.

House damaged by fire

The fire erupted in the morning during work hours. Three houses were completely gutted and another four partially damaged.

While workers rushed to the scene and were able to prevent the fire from spreading to other houses, three families lost their clothes, identity cards, birth certificates, childrens school books and domestic utensils. The other four families lost most of their belongings.

Estate management put tin sheets on the roofs of the burnt-out line rooms but the families have refused to reoccupy them because they are unsafe in the rainy season.

Children with their destroyed school books

About 150 workers are employed at the Menikwatta Estate third division, which is owned by the Wanarajah Group of estates and managed by the Bogavanthalawa Plantation Company. The Wanarajah Group employs 5,000 workers.

Many poorly built plantation houses are destroyed by fires every year in Sri Lanka. In fact, the May 9 fire is the second such incident this month. On May 2, 14 line rooms were burnt out at the Abbotsleigh Estate at Hatton.

* In April 2011, 20 line rooms were gutted by fire at the Maskeliya Brunswick Estates. Another fire seriously damaged several line rooms at the same estate in January 2016.

* In May 2012, 22 homes were destroyed at Mocha Estate at Maskeliya, displacing about 100 people.

* In November 2014, over 80 people were homeless after 22 homes were gutted by a fire at the Dayagama plantation near Nuwara-Eliya.

* On December 29, 2018 about 20 homes were destroyed by a fire at the Fordyce Estate at Dickoya. It took more than a year before the plantation management provided the workers with improvised homes.

* On January 29, a blaze destroyed 12 line rooms, devastating the homes of 66 people, including 21 children, at the Vanakadu Division of the Robgill Estate near Bogavanthalawa.

S. Chanrakanthi, 49, from Menikwatta Estate, told the World Socialist Web Site she had been at work when the fire broke out. We heard about the fire but when we came back everything had burned down. It is very difficult to get back the things we have lost, she said.

A three-month drought has also impacted on the area, preventing tea pickers from reaching their daily 18-kilogram target and reducing their work to three or four days a week.

We get only 700 rupees per day because our 1,000 rupees per day demand was rejected by the companies and the government. How can we live in this situation? she asked.

In December 2018, plantation workers began a determined struggle, including an 11-day general strike and involving about 150,000 workers, to demand a 1,000-rupee basic salary. The strike was betrayed by the trade unions.

Chandrakanthis retired husband, V. Myilvaganam, works on a casual basis. The estates assistant manager came to see the fire damage with local trade union leaders, he said. They brought tin sheets to replace the damaged roofs but did not properly repair the houses. The trade unions are supporting the management, not us. Workers pay 250 rupees per month for the union subscription but this is in vain.

M. Thamilselvi, the couples daughter, said: My husband, who was working in Colombo, lost his job because of the coronavirus lockdown and came back home. He recently fell from a tree while cutting firewood so were in a difficult situation because my parents house was gutted. Our children were staying with them because we didnt have enough in our house.

Thamilselvi with her family

Pushparaj is a construction worker, and his wife, who works at the estate childrens welfare centre, lost many essential possessions in the fire. Pushparaj explained that his three children had been psychologically impacted by the fire and lost all their school books and note books.

Nearly 70 percent of Sri Lankan tea plantation workers live in dilapidated, tiny, barrack-like line rooms which were built during British colonial rule. Most line rooms are about 150 square feet with at least two families living in one room. The frequent fires are mainly caused by the substandard electricity supply system.

Successive Sri Lankan governments have promised to solve the housing crisis facing plantation workers, but nothing is ever done. Although some homes have been built in parts of the extensive central hills plantation region, they are little different from the old-style line rooms.

Namashivayam with his wife and children

M. Namashivayam, a father of three children in the same estate, is living in one of the newer houses. He explained that there are several such houses in his division and 50 more in two other divisions. Referring to the poor conditions in these homes, he said: Ive been living in an incomplete house that was given to me in 2011. It has no running water and we have to walk a long way to get water. Theres no drainage system for waste water and so our children always get sick.

When these buildings were originally handed over to us, only one room was completed. The floors of other rooms and the hall had not been cemented and there were no shutters on the windows. Living with children is very difficult in these buildings. Many workers refused this accommodation and so some of these houses are vacant, he said.

These new homes were originally given to workers and their families via a loan scheme established by the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse in 2009. Monthly loan instalments are deducted from workers wages and paid to the National Housing Department (NHD). Last year the NHD sent letters to workers warning of legal action if workers were unable to their pay loans.

A kitchen burnt out in the fire

While the estate management and local union leaders tried to block WSWS journalists from reporting on the latest fire and speaking to victims, the attempt failed.

Youth, who had recently returned from Colombo, after the government imposed its coronavirus national lockdown, explained the difficulties they now faced.

K. Lokeswaran said many young people had lost their jobs since the coronavirus pandemic. Although the government had promised that every jobless person would be paid 5,000 rupees every month, he had not received any of the promised relief in the past two months.

Government officials say that if our parents are working in the estates then their children cant get this relief. But our parents wage is not adequate for even their own expenses, let alone looking after us. When working in Colombo we were able to support them, he said.

A family affected by the fires

M. Thushiyanthan, whose parents home was wiped out in the Menikwatta Estate fire, said: My parents are still living with our relatives, but for two or three people to be living in one house is unsafe during the coronavirus situation. Our line system is a very dangerous place for spreading the pandemic. If somebody gets infected it will easily spread.

The estate management previously supplied masks to some workers but they have now stopped it. Workers wages are not enough to even buy a piece of soap to wash their hands.

The desperate social conditions facing workers at Menikwatta Estate are commonplace in every Sri Lankan estate and among workers more generally. Workers face increasing poverty, unemployment and deteriorating housing. The fight for healthy and safe housing is a major issue.

Plantation workers and other sections of the working class cannot overcome the desperate conditions they face through the trade unions. What is required is a political and organisational break with the pro-capitalist unions and the formation of independent, democratically-elected action committees.

The struggle to resolve the burning problems confronting plantation workers is bound up with the fight for a workers and peasants government and a socialist program to nationalise the large estates, big business and banks under the democratic control of the working class.
Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of China YuHua Education Corporation Limited (HKG:6169) by taking the foreast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. I will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for China YuHua Education

Is China YuHua Education fairly valued?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 Levered FCF (CN, Millions) CN1.53b CN1.51b CN1.72b CN1.86b CN1.97b CN2.07b CN2.15b CN2.21b CN2.27b CN2.33b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x5 Analyst x5 Est @ 8.1% Est @ 6.16% Est @ 4.81% Est @ 3.86% Est @ 3.19% Est @ 2.73% Est @ 2.4% Present Value (CN, Millions) Discounted @ 7.5% CN1.4k CN1.3k CN1.4k CN1.4k CN1.4k CN1.3k CN1.3k CN1.2k CN1.2k CN1.1k

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CN13b

Story continues

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 1.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.5%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2029  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CN2.3b (1 + 1.6%)  7.5% 1.6%) = CN41b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CN41b ( 1 + 7.5%)10= CN20b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is CN33b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of HK$7.5, the company appears quite undervalued at a 30% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

SEHK:6169 Intrinsic value May 20th 2020

Important assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at China YuHua Education as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.5%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

Next Steps:

Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. What is the reason for the share price to differ from the intrinsic value? For China YuHua Education, We've compiled three relevant factors you should look at:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for China YuHua Education that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does 6169's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the SEHK every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
A U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighter jet crashed at a Florida base on Tuesday night just days after a F-22 crashed at the same airfield, the Air Force said.

A fifth-generation F-35A Lightning II, which costs an estimated $90 million, crashed at Eglin Air Force Base at around 9.30pm on Tuesday.

The pilot ejected successfully from the jet and was taken to a local hospital but is in a stable condition.

'At the time of the accident, the pilot was participating in a routine night training sortie,' said a statement from the base.

A F-35 stealth fighter jet similar to the one shown here crashed at Eglin Air Force base on Tuesday night. The pilot successfully ejected from the plane and is in a stable condition

Eglin Air Force Base is located in northern Florida, about 40 miles east of Pensacol

'First responders from the 96th Test Wing are on the scene and the site is secured. The accident is under investigation. There was no loss of life or damage to civilian.'

The jet was assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron but the pilot's name is not yet being released.

It is the second crash in four days at the airfield.

On Friday, another pilot also successfully ejected from a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet that crashed during a training flight at the same airfield.

The $150million F-22 was part of the 325th Fighter Wing based at Eglin Air Force base in northern Florida, about 40 miles east of Pensacola.

The crash took place around 9:15am northeast of the base on a training range, and there was no damage to people or property when the jet hit the ground, the Air Force says.

The sprawling Eglin reservation covers hundreds of thousands of acres across Northwest Florida, USA Today reports.

No explanation was given for the crash.

The pilot was taken to the Eglin base hospital for observation. He was in stable condition in the company of friends and family.

It was not immediately clear whether the crash caused any fire on the ground. Wildfires have consumed hundreds of acres in recent days and remain a threat due to hot, dry and windy conditions.

The F-22 flight was not part of a flyover scheduled Friday morning to honor frontline workers battling the coronavirus outbreak, an Air Force spokesperson tells USA Today.

A F-22 Raptor fighter jet flies at the 2008 Joint Services Open House airshow at Andrews Air Force Base

With the way the Air Force has distributed their remaining F-22s - including those used for training and test planes - this now leaves 17 of the stealth fighter jets as 'backup' planes.

Prior accidents in 2004, 2009 and 2010 destroyed three F-22s, while other jets were taken out of service due to old age of the airframes.

Each F-22 costs about $150million and the overall cost to develop, produce and upgrade the fighter jets was $67billion. The jets were built between the mid-1990s and December 2011.

Defense officials decided not to reorder the Raptors, leaving the Air Force to start acquiring F-15s from Boeing in 2020, after a 16-year break.

F-22s are considered so top secret that all of its cockpit instruments and displays are classified, so no photos of its interior have been confirmed.

Unlike other fighter jets, US officials banned the sale of F-22s to other countries, including allies, in 1998, as a way to prevent the stealth technology from being obtained by Russia and China.

The crashed aircraft and those in a flyover that was to take place Friday  another F-22 along with an F-35 fighter jet and two T-38 training jets  are among aircraft originally assigned to Tyndall Air Force Base, which was left in ruins (pictured) after Hurricane Michael

The second Florida crash happened as a US F-35 stealth bomber suffered millions of dollars in damage after being hit by a bird during take-off from an air base in Japan, according to a the US Marine Corps statement released Wednesday.

'On May 7, 2019 an F-35B with Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing aborted take-off due to a bird strike at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and safely taxied off the runway,' the statement said.

The pilot was not hurt in the incident, it said.

A damage assessment report has not yet been completed but the Marine Corps classified the incident as category 'A', meaning the damage bill is expected to exceed $2 million.

Last month an F-16 fighter jet operating in the United States was hit by a hawk, the US Air Force told a military-focused website.

Photos of the April 17 incident showed the mangled remains of a bird in the landing gear of the plane.

The F-35 program was launched in the 1990s and has cost almost $400 billion, making it the most expensive weapons system ever developed by the Pentagon.

The defense department plans to build some 2,500 of the warplanes in the decades to come.

The F-35B is a short take-off and landing variant of the plane, developed for the Marine Corps. Each plane costs $115 million to build.

It is a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft made by Lockheed Martin Corp.

According to the Aviationist, before the Florida crashes, only two F-35s had been lost in accidents.

In April, an F-35A stealth fighter went down off the coast of Japan, sparking a lengthy search by Japanese and American salvage crews.

Some debris was recovered but the pilot's body has not been found and the US Navy announced earlier this month it was calling off the search.
While several groups and individuals are advocating for more stringent measures to curb the spread of the Novel Coronavirus in the country, Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International Ministry, Nicholas Duncan-Williams is of the strong conviction that the time is ripe for government to go easy on religious activities.



Arch Bishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams believes there is something rather special about the gathering of two or more people in prayer; which can eventually cause some major changes in Ghanas coronavirus numbers.



He said while government has looked at the bigger picture of disallowing all social gatherings particularly religious activities, it may only be prudent to give way for aggressive and violent prayer intercession to arrest the virus.



This in his estimation, means that government would have to allow smaller groups of religious people across the country meet and intercede on behalf of the country.



In an interaction with Paul Adom-Otchere on 'Good Evening Ghana', on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Arch Bishop Duncan-Williams quoted Hebrews 10:25 to buttress his point, he read, do not exempt yourself or do not stay away from the assembling of yourselves together . . . especially as you see the day of the Lord approaching . . . theres something about the gathering of believers and Im not talking about thousands . . . no, Im saying that we should look at this very carefully because theyre so many activities going on all over the place



He continued,  . . . and believers should be allowed in every community across the nations of the world and in Ghana here, to meet two, three times a day to pray and Im saying small groups here like five here, ten here, fifteen here, twenty here all over the country



However, he was quick to add that such gatherings would not follow the usual church routines and in fact, not even collections or tithes will be taken at prayer meetings.



No, no, no, to pray and arrest the situation, was his answer to the idea of any monetary obligations being fulfilled by members of such gatherings.



Recounting days of the Ebola outbreak in some neighbouring countries, he said such proactive and aggressive prayer intercessions in the country by religious leaders safeguarded the country against the disease.



 . . Im talking about aggressive violent intercession like we did when Ebola came he said.



President Nana Akufo-Addo, in his ninth update on COVID-19 on Sunday, May 10, 2020, extended the ban on public gatherings till the end of the month, 31st May.



This also means that churches will remain closed until the said date.



But some men of God are not enthused about the directive of the President. One of such religious leaders is the founder of Life Assembly Worship Centre and Presidential candidate for the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), Rev. Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, who has issued a warning to President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government.





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.

Featured Video
More than 70 percent of Israeli coronavirus samples sequenced in a Tel Aviv University study had genetic markers indicating the virus was imported from the U.S., despite the fact that only 27 percent of all positive-testing visitors to Israel arrived from America, The New York Times reports. Israel barred visitors from the U.S. on March 9, two weeks after shutting off travel from some European countries. Had Americans been blocked from entering on Feb. 26 also, the researcher conclude, "a substantial fraction of the transmission chains in Israel would have been prevented."

The researchers sequenced genomes from more than 200 randomly selected but representative COVID-19 patients from six hospital across the country. Israel has reportedly 16,650 COVID-19 cases and 277 deaths, but only 1 percent of the population has been infected with the coronavirus, said Dr. Adi Stern, lead author of the study, which has not yet been peer reviewed. At the same time, he added, Israel was able to cut its rate of transmission by two-thirds through a combination of enforced social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and closing down foreign tourism.

More stories from theweek.com

Trump's lethal aversion to reading

Republicans are up in arms about Flynn's 'unmasking.' He was reportedly never masked in the first place.

Global COVID-19 cases top 5 million. A 5th of them are in the U.S.


Geoffrey Onyeama Nigerias foreign affairs minister on Monday May 18, announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will take care of the hotel accommodation and feeding bills of Nigerians who were recently evacuated from countries they were stranded in.

It was earlier reported that the evacuees were directed by the federal government to pay N297,000 for their 14-day mandatory isolation.

After the directives was largely criticized, Onyeama said he approached the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Group Managing Director of NNPC who both agreed to pick the bill.

He further revealed that the initial decision was taken due to paucity of funds even though they were not happy with it.

Onyeama said;
Distilleries and micro-breweries in New South Wales have been given the green light to reopen.

Venues with cellar doors and a license to serve customers will be covered under the same rules as restaurants and cafes.

Restrictions include serving up to ten customers at a time - or one per four square metres - and alcohol must be served with food.

Summer Hill MP Jo Haylen, in Sydney's inner-west, Tweeted the good news after receiving confirmation from NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday.

A group of men drinking beer at 'Soy Restaurant' in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Friday, May 15 as restrictions ease

'I've received advice from the Minister for Health, that the beer taps can turn back on at micro-breweries and small distilleries across the Inner West, as long as food is sold as well!' she wrote.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian plans to cautiously reopen pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes for 20 people to dine in by June 1.

It's understood distilleries and micro-breweries will be allowed to reopen on the same date.

Art galleries, libraries and museums will also be permitted to start trading again in two weeks - almost 60 days after they were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision will bring an important economic boost for the struggling industries, which were crippled by the forced closures on March 23.

Earlier on Tuesday, the premier said she worked closely with regional communities before making her decision.

Venues with cellar doors and a license to serve customers will be covered under the same rules as restaurants and cafes. Bar staff making drinks at the Rio, Summer Hill on Friday May 15

'Some want it desperately because they appreciate the economic activity that will bring, and others are a bit more anxious about what that means,' she said.

In relation to reopening cultural institutions, Ms Berejiklian said they would be required to adhere to 'strict new protocols' - particularly for the duration of the pandemic.

'NSW is home to some of Australia's best art galleries and museums... I look forward to them reopening to the public,' she said.

'I would encourage museums, galleries and libraries to be innovative to ensure strict social distancing is adhered to and good hygiene measures are followed.'

The number of visitors will be limited to one for every four square metres, and group tours will be put on hold for the time being.


Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah (rtd) has said that he will hurriedly go and register for a new voters register when the exercise begins.



I believe President Nana Akufo-Addo has Ghanas interest at heart, so why should I fight over voters register? he asked, adding if they decide to compile a new register, I will go and register so I can vote as a Ghanaian.



Nunoo-Mensah described the Electoral Commissions (EC) Chairperson, Jean Mensa, as a competent and effective person, who when given the chance, would supervise the upcoming polls peacefully without any trouble.



Ms Mensa, I know her well, she is a wonderful lady, he sounded praises on the EC boss, indicating that he doesnt see any reason or need for anybody to complain or agitate over the compilation of a voters register.



According to him, the two past EC leaders, Afari-Gyan and Charlotte Osei, were also equally competent and up to the task but sadly people always managed to find fault with their work, which was very unfortunate.



Nunoo-Mensah observed that virtually all the past EC leaders were accused of being either National Democratic Congress (NDC) or New Patriotic Party (NPP) persons, which he said, was very unfortunate.



He was speaking during a Neat FM programme in Accra.



According to him, there is total mistrust in the country, a situation which he claims has given room for people to make noise and agitate whenever the need arises for the compilation of a new voters register.



Nunoo-Mensah, who has travelled wide across the globe, said in the western world issues of elections were always done in a peaceful atmosphere so he wondered why Ghanaians could not do same.



He raised a red flag about plans by a disgruntled political party to cause mayhem during the December polls.



Without mentioning the name of the political party, he said their fiendish project was informed by the stark reality that they could not win the December polls.



The authorities, he said should address the security challenges that the disgruntled persons sought to pose in the country.



The people have already intended to be troublesome, if we cannot win then let us destroy it so nobody wins, Nunoo-Mensah a known NDC person, said about these faceless people.



According to him, those planning to cause mayhem in the country already know that their ambition to win the polls will not work so they want to hide behind the new register issue to cause trouble.



Nunoo Mensah, without mincing words, stated emphatically that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was a good man and would not do anything to hurt the country.



He therefore wondered why the opposition NDC opposed every decision of the President.



Nunoo Mensah observed with pain that Ghanaians had developed the habit of always kicking against the decision of a sitting president on political lines, saying it started from Nkrumahs time.

Source: Daily Guide









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

Featured Video
MasterChef fans have been left questioning why the show's production did not edit out Ben Ungermann in light of the sexual assault allegations.

In Sunday's episode, judge Jock Zonfrillo explained to the remaining cooks that Ben pulled out of the competition 'due to a personal matter'.

Then on Tuesday, Daily Mail Australia revealed Ungermann had in fact been charged by Victorian sexual crime squad detectives on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault following an alleged incident on February 23 with a 16-year-old girl.

'You're kidding, why, wasn't he edited fully off the show?' On Wednesday, MasterChef fans were questioning why Ben Ungermann (pictured) was not edited out of the show after he was charged with two counts of sexually assaulting a teenage girl

Audiences were left reeling at the news, including one on Twitter who asked why Ben hadn't been edited out of the show.

They wrote: 'If you missed the news on #masterchefaus Ben Ungermanns arrest, it was for sexual assault of a 16 year old. NB: Age of consent is 16 in Victoria so this is straight assault, not an age thing. They should have edited him out more.'

Another wrote: 'Ben was arrested for alleged sexual offences against a 16 year old? You're kidding, why, wasn't he edited fully off the show?'

Meanwhile, social psychologist Dr Karen Phillip explained to The Daily Telegraph that it was 'unethical' for Channel 10 to continue showing Ben and that they should have edited him out.

'They should have edited him out more': Audiences were left reeling at the news, including one on Twitter who asked why Ben hadn't been edited out of the show

'Memories and fears': Meanwhile, social psychologist Dr Karen Phillip explained to The Daily Telegraph that it was 'unethical' for Channel 10 to continue showing Ben and that they should have edited him out

'Even if it's not proven, there is still the allegation (of sexual assault), and the fact is that will probably bring back a lot of memories and fears of the trauma that sexual assault victims may have experienced previously,' she said.

'That's a production decision and we know they're just going to go with the bottom line, but it's unethical for them to continue to show him,' she added.

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, a Network 10 spokesperson said: 'Network 10 and Endemol Shine Australia were not aware of the nature of the charges laid against Ben Ungermann by Victoria Police.

'As this is an ongoing police matter, we will not be making any further comment.'

Charged: Ben will deny all allegations and has hired top criminal lawyer Adam Houda to represent him in court. He is listed to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 25

Ben will deny all allegations and has hired top criminal lawyer Adam Houda to represent him in court.

He is listed to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 25.

Mr Houda, who has 24 years experience in criminal law, told Daily Mail Australia his client was completely blindsided by the charges.

'My client is distressed by the charges, which came as a huge shock to him,' he said on Tuesday night.

'The allegations, I am instructed, are a complete fabrication and are denied,' Mr Houda added.
An Education Ministry study has found strong evidence school zones and school choice allow rich schools to skim the best students from schools in poor communities.

The analysis showed students who bypassed their local school to go to schools in other areas were among the most advantaged in their neighbourhoods.

It says the system appeared to be concentrating disadvantage in the schools that families were avoiding, but potentially increasing diversity in the schools that they were choosing.

The report says students who bypassed their local school had parents who earned eight to 17 per cent more than others in their home area and were more likely to have a Bachelor's degree.

They were also less likely to have behavioural problems, and more likely to be Pakeha or Asian.

"This is likely to substantially affect the composition of schools - the single greatest predictor of students' educational attainment is the education of their parents," the report says.

"Combined with evidence that school zones tend to be set up in a way that incorporate high SES (socio-economic status) areas and avoid low SES areas, this is strong evidence that the current combination of school choice and zones enables cream-skimming."

Though out-of-zone students tended to be more advantaged than most students in the schools they bypassed, they were less advantaged than most of their peers in the schools they were going to.

"Out-of-zone students are more likely to be Maori, Pacific, or disabled, have experiences in care, less educated parents, and parents with experiences in the justice system," the report says.

The report says that could increase diversity at schools with out-of-zone students, but the trend could be distorting the accuracy of school decile numbers.

It says deciles were based on the characteristics of groups of houses, but students who moved schools were likely to have a higher socio-economic background than their neighbours.

The report says its findings supported a move to a system of allocating extra funding based on student characteristics rather than on data about their neighbourhood.

However, it says it was not clear if social segregation would decrease if the ability to choose schools was removed.

"While it is clear that school choice disproportionately serves the interests of the relatively advantaged students within each neighbourhood, it is also not clear how families might respond in an alternative without school choice."

The government's education reforms are giving the Education Ministry responsibility for setting school zones and managing out-of-zone enrolments.

Auckland Secondary Principals Association president Richard Dykes took exception to the study's use of the term "cream-skimming".

He says it suggested schools were actively recruiting the best students from poorer neighbourhoods, but the report provided no evidence of that.

Rather it showed a natural outcome of allowing families to choose a school for their child.

Richard says overseas research also showed that richer families benefited most from school choice.

"There is a really strong case to be said if we want to improve equity then we've got to look at parental choice and school choice, but that's a very big political statement and that's not just something you turn on and off overnight."

In Auckland, Comet Education Trust chief executive Susan Warren says the study showed the movement of students was making low-decile schools less diverse.

"So you're getting schools that don't really reflect their whole communities and young people who are not having that opportunity to connect with people from different backgrounds from their own, who live right next door but don't go to school with them."

Susan says the study also showed student movement was skewing the decile system that was intended to allocate extra funding to areas of socio-economic disadvantage.

"This data shows low-decile schools are not being recognised for the level of challenge that they are facing."

"Schools are going to need more funding than we had recognised."

Principals Federation president Perry Rush says one possible solution to the problem was to stop linking principals' salaries to the size of their school.

He says that would remove an incentive for principals to try to attract more students from other areas.

John Gerritsen/RNZ.
287 Shares Share

I remember Jake Mattolli as a pioneer in heart surgery. He certainly didnt wish to be one. I believe he had a valve replacement, and it was done in the early 60s. I remember the Boston surgeon termed the operation a success, but as Jakes lungs gave out on the table, he, the patient, died.

That sort of success most of us wish to avoid.

The thing I remember about Jake, aside from what Ive already told you, is that he was the fire chief in the Massachusetts town where I grew up.

For Jake Mattolli, being fire chief was almost like a calling, a religious vocation. I think he was 53 or 54 when he died. He was unmarried.

The town was growing, and the department had new needs. We simply have to keep up, Jake said often.

In Freddies Luncheonette, where Jake hung out in the evenings, he would frequently expound on the needs of his fire department. Many nights these little speeches were heard only by Freddie or myself (the dishwasher/soda fountain clerk) or the part-time short-order cook, Arthur, who filled in for Freddie some nights. And of course the stray cat, Gretchen. I think Jake considered that cat almost a person the way he talked to it, often in a whisper as if telling it secrets.

The big deal, technologically speaking, was two-way radios for the fire trucks and for Jakes fire car, a bright red 1951 Buick Dynaflow. Also, there were two centralized radio transmitters called the Base Stations, and receivers were in the homes of each of the volunteer firemen.

Jake knew he had no talent for public speaking, but that hadnt kept him from getting up at the annual town meeting months earlier to plead for the money for his radios, and he got it all right, such was his eloquence that night. He said how hard his heart had pounded and how sweaty his palms were as he got up to make his presentation. But I could tell he was damn proud of himself and what he had accomplished.

One of the new base stations where the fire calls were to be received and the messages sent out, was at Freddies Luncheonette. Freddies was open seven days a week, from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., so it was the ideal place for the fire department radio equipment. And from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., one of the volunteer firefighters housed the second base station.

The immediate problem was the short-order cook, Arthur. He was an old man by then; at past 68, he was a nervous kind of fellow too. But he was a great short-order cook, a real hasher from the old school. But he wasnt good with radio procedure.

Thank God Arthur is only on part-time, Jake would say to Freddie after Arthur had been particularly brutal in giving the evening test of the fire radio.

Jake was not often satisfied with how the test went out. Freddie mumbled so that no one could hear the call numbers; Jake complained Arthur, his voice would sometimes falter, almost break. Jake endlessly tried to train the man. It was a case of extreme mike fright, Jake noted with authority.

Just say KCF251 off, he would instruct Arthur, impatience in his voice, but Arthur often would say KCF251 over and out.

Over and out, as far as Jake was concerned, marked his fire department as pure amateurs.

The nearest city of any size to us was Haverhill, and they had had this kind of radio gear for a number of years. They were the model as to how things should be done. A full-time department they were on the air all day long. Jake couldnt help but wish for his volunteers to be as professional as those in Haverhill.

One Saturday morning at Freddies, the place was jumping. Dishes were piling up, I was late getting to work, and by the time I arrived, Arthur was beside himself. He was running out of everything. Then that red phone in the back began to clang  and clang was what it did  Jake saw to that. Arthur dropped everything and sprang toward the rear. He grabbed that red phone receiver.

He screamed into it: Groveland Fire Department!

I should tell you that the morning crowd at Freddies could be a rough bunch. Mostly they were local truck drivers and construction workers, and in these moments, there was no mercy shown Arthur. Had one of their houses been on fire, I thought later; they might have been kinder.

By the time he got to the radio transmitting part of the process, he was quite incendiary.

He could not remember the call numbers, his first mistake. He just started pushing buttons. The right combination was supposed to trigger the fire alarm automatically at the fire station across the street. That didnt happen. He pushed buttons until finally, he came to the mic button and pushed it and yelled: Theres a fire on Uptack Road.

He didnt say which fire department was putting out this call. There were about seven departments on the same frequency. Arthurs message cut off in mid-sentence some fireman in Haverhill, that model community, but in Haverhill, they were used to Arthur. They loved it when he came on the air with such flair.

Hey, my muffins are burning! Someone, please take them out!

There was more laughter from the front, and Jake later said he had heard all of this commotion on his set at home, which meant that everybody on the air that day had heard it too.

Jake later told me that Arthur was just too damn old to be taught good radio procedure. I could see that Jake was not happy with that conclusion, and I know for a fact he never gave up teaching Arthur.

It all seemed so important and serious then, and in a way, you know, I think it was.

Raymond Abbott is a social worker and novelist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Former Apple contractor Thomas le Bonniec had helped blow the whistle on how third-party contractors were listening to personal Siri recordings of Apple users without their knowledge lat yeare. Now, he has decided to go public once again to protest how Apple has been let go easily from the entire fiasco.

In July last year, it was discovered that Apple contractors regularly heard Siri conversations of users as a part of their process of grading the voice assistant. The conversations revealed confidential medical information, drug deals, and other personal information of users without their knowledge. The revelation led to a huge fiasco and Apple was heavily criticized for this. The company suspended its Siri grading program temporarily and later on made major privacy-focused changes to it.

Former Apple contractor and whistleblower Thomas le Bonniec, however, believes that Apple has been let off easily despite making such a major privacy blunder. Frustrated by this, he has sent a letter to all European data protection regulators. In the letter, Bonniec says that it is worrying to see Apple ignoring and violating fundamental rights and continuing with its massive collection of data. He accuses Apple and other tech companies of basically wiretapping entire populations despite consumers made to believe otherwise that their data is safe due to the stringent data protection laws of the EU.

I listened to hundreds of recordings every day, from various Apple devices (eg. iPhones, Apple Watches, or iPads). These recordings were often taken outside of any activation of Siri, eg in the context of an actual intention from the user to activate it for a request. These processings were made without users being aware of it, and were gathered into datasets to correct the transcription of the recording made by the device. The recordings were not limited to the users of Apple devices, but also involved relatives, children, friends, colleagues, and whoever could be recorded by the device. The system recorded everything: names, addresses, messages, searches, arguments, background noises, films, and conversations. I heard people talking about their cancer, referring to dead relatives, religion, sexuality, pornography, politics, school, relationships, or drugs with no intention to activate Siri whatsoever. These practices are clearly at odds with the companys privacy-driven policies and should be urgently investigated by data protection authorities and Privacy watchdogs. With the current statement, I want to bring this issue to your attention, and also offer my cooperation to provide any element substantiating these facts. Although this case has already gone public, Apple has not been subject to any kind of investigation to the best of my knowledge.

Such strong statements from the whistleblower are going to raise a few alarm bells and it is likely going to lead the EU to launch an investigation against Apple. Do you also think that strict action should have been taken against Apple for the Siri grading fiasco from last year?

[Via The Guardian
Meridian Public Schools Superintendent Craig Carmoney said he empathizes with the area residents whose cars filled the Meridian schools' parking lots early Tuesday morning.

Many people were told to evacuate their homes when water began flowing through the spillgates of the Edenville Dam on Monday following heavy rains, and emergency shelters were set up at Meridian Junior High School and at Coleman High School.

"Given that we've probably never been through something like this before, and with the social distancing guidelines we're supposed to adhere to, I kind of get why people would be more comfortable (staying in their cars) rather than going in the school gymnasium," Carmoney told the Daily News at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. "I'm fine with them staying in their cars.

"I know what it's like because I had to evacuate (my home) last night, too," he added.

Carmoney said all of the Meridian Public Schools' parking lots were "completely full" when he left the district complex at 3 a.m. Tuesday.

"I think most people chose to shelter in their vehicles," he said.

Jerome Township Fire Department and the American Red Cross are working at the shelter, Carmoney said.

"It sounds like they could be planning (to keep the shelter open) at least through the week. But I don't think that decision has been made," Carmoney said.

Carmoney noted the timing of the flooding is quite unfortunate, given the coronavirus pandemic.

"The real irony here is people who are under a stay-at-home order were told to get away from their homes," he said. "Mother Nature has a way of throwing us a lot of curve balls."

The Midland County 911 Facebook page advised residents on the east side of Sanford Lake to go to the shelter set up at MJHS, and residents on the west side of the lake to go to Coleman High School.

Coleman Community Schools Superintendent Jen McCormack said the shelter set up in the CHS gym had about 47 people on Monday night, but almost all of them had left by Tuesday morning.

"Right now, only maybe a couple (people are staying in the gym)," McCormack said at 11 a.m. Tuesday. "Overnight, we had about 47 that were in the gym and then about another 20 who chose to stay in their cars but came in to use the bathroom and get water and coffee and stuff like that.

"Everybody just kind of decided to go back to their houses (Tuesday morning)," McCormack continued, noting most of the people in the shelter didn't go to sleep. "But we're anticipating having more people again tonight."

Locker rooms in the school are available, where people can take showers, McCormack said.

Coleman Fire Department, the American Red Cross and Coleman Community Schools administrators are working together to operate the shelter, McCormack said.

"Some of our (administrators) are just rotating shifts and the Red Cross just arrived (at about 10 a.m.)," she said. "And the (Midland County) health department is there doing some cleaning."

Social distancing is being ensured in the school, McCormack said.

"Any of the families that are coming in, we've put in separate sections around the gym. Families can stay together, but everybody else needs to spread apart.

"A lot of people (staying in the shelter) are wearing masks," she added.

Brian Hummel, disaster program manager with American Red Cross, said flood conditions and the needs of residents affected by the flooding will help determine how long these two shelters will remain open.

"Everything we're doing going forward will be based on the communities' needs," Hummel said.

He explained that Red Cross personnel at the shelters include "shelter strike teams," who are professionally trained in helping clients affected by disasters, as well as health professionals and mental health professionals.

Red Cross workers are providing food, basic toiletries and other items that those seeking shelter may need.

Hummel also noted that, due to the coronavirus, the Red Cross is taking precautions such as asking screening questions and taking the temperature of people when they enter the buildings.

Local Red Cross volunteers were helping people in the community by Monday night, Hummel said, and the shelter strike teams arrived at the shelters Tuesday morning.

"We also have individuals (affected by the flooding) that are still in their homes. So we have folks going out in the field to those addressees that we are made aware of and providing service," he said.

Anyone needing assistance due to the flooding should call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

Hummel said that more than 95% of Red Cross personnel nationwide are volunteers, so more are always needed. Anyone interested in volunteering can also call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
The Delhi government has sealed two more areas  parts of F block in Dakshinpuri and a lane in Zamrudpur village near Greater Kailash  in south Delhi as containment zones, taking the total of such zones to 69, senior officials said on Wednesday. An official said that three more containment zones are likely to be notified by Thursday.

District magistrate (south), BM Mishra, said, These areas were sealed on Tuesday after cluster cases were recorded.

These are the first and second additions to the list of containment zones since May 4, when the third phase of the lockdown started with a few relaxations.

Despite the number of Covid-19 cases increasing from 4,549 on May 4 to 10,554 on May 19, when the orders pertaining to the two containment zones were issued by the district administration, containment measures were scaled down in at least 25 sealed zones, as per government records.

On Tuesday, Delhis health secretary, Padmini Singla, sent letters to all district magistrates, red-flagging the fact that the number of containment zones was going down even as Covid-19 cases in the city continued to rise exponentially.

An order issued by Singla on Tuesday directed the district magistrates to reconsider fresh assessment of Covid-19 cases in their revenue districts and create containment zones as per guidelines of the Union health ministry, if needed.

The Delhi government on Wednesday directed all district health officials to come up with a plan on categorising wards within the 11 revenue districts as red, orange and green, a senior official in the health department said on Wednesday. The official said the exercise is aimed at helping the government on re-assessment of restrictions and relaxations in the light of spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks.

On Wednesday, the north district administration also demarcated a larger buffer area around the existing containment zone in Jahangirpuri, senior government officials said.

The current relaxations in the fourth phase of the lockdown are not applicable to the containment zones.

The Delhi government on Wednesday directed all district health officials to come up with a plan on categorising wards within the 11 revenue districts as Red, Orange and Green, a senior official in the health department said on Wednesday.

The official further said, the exercise is aimed at helping the government on re-assessment of restrictions and relaxations in the light of spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks.

Currently, the central government under its new guidelines issued on May 17 for the fourth phase of the ongoing nationwide lockdown allows states to demarcate Red, Orange and Green zones on their own.
Every week, Vogue will be spotlighting the medical workers, teachers, and Good Samaritans who are giving back to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.

We loved the idea of doing something for the city, while showcasing great Ethiopian talent to a global audience, said Addis Ababa-born filmmaker, Edelawit Hussien, who is the co-founder (alongside Addis Ababa-based social entrepreneur Gelane Dissassa) of Prints For Ethiopia, an initiative working to feed homeless communities who are suffering during the Coronavirus outbreak. The organization is selling prints of Ethiopian photographers, a roster that includes the official photographer of Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Aron Simeneh; Salome Asega; Alewya Demmisse; and many more.

The initiative works directly with restaurant, Temsalet Kitchen, which is located in Addis Ababa and founded in 2015 by Samira Messner. The restaurants mission is to empower vulnerable women by providing job skills training in various field such as cooking, waitressing, and self-leadership. Temsalet means exemplary in Amharic, which encapsulates the ethos of the business. Women equipping and mentoring younger women to unleash their full potential, Dissassa said, of the remarkable community created through the restaurant. In light of the current global pandemic, Temsalet Kitchen extended its mission to help feed hundreds of homeless kids and families. But, with restaurants transitioning to takeaway services, the homeless have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Photo: Courtesy of Samira Messner

Such was the genesis of Prints For Ethiopia, a charitable initiative that aims to preserve the livelihoods of the homeless communities within Addis Ababa. All proceeds of the fundraiser go towards supporting this feeding initiative financially, Dissassa said. It's also beautiful to see the women of Temsalet being able to extend a hand to their own community, as they once had a hand extended to them, too.

Story continues

Photo: Courtesy of Genaye Eshetu

Prints For Ethiopia now has 40 artists, and counting, who are selling their prints for this important cause, ranging from Addis Ababa locals to those from diaspora around the world. As a creative consultant and director, it was important to do my research and to have a diverse array of works that showed distinctive styles, subjects, and shooting techniques, Hussien said of the participating artists. It was nice to put local work in conversation with diaspora work, especially because Temsalet Kitchen is a haven for the artistic community, its wonderful to see everyone come together like this.

Photo: Courtesy of Dexter Lander. Clothing by Feben Vemmendy.

And as for what to expect next from Prints For Ethiopia? Its important that this initiative also helps to pave ways out of this homeless communitys current situation, Dissassa said. "We hope to build a sense of community amongst Ethiopian artists at home and abroad while showcasing beauty work for a good cause," Hussien said. "It's been truly inspiring to have supports from all around the world."

Photo: Courtest of Aron Simeneh

Originally Appeared on Vogue
As normality returned to Australian football this week with the sight of Sherrins flying across suburban football grounds, the four clubs bound for a Gold Coast hub next month, including the Dockers and Eagles, are in limbo.

Tim Kelly is sporting a new 'do. Credit:West Coast Eagles.

West Coast coach Adam Simpson said the two WA sides and South Australian counterparts the Crows and Power were still to be told how many of their squad could travel to the sunshine state, and where theyll be based for at least a month after the season restarts.

The AFL are working really hard  but weve got four clubs with hundreds of questions. Theres some detail to come, Simpson said on Wednesday.

We dont have the full protocols yet for our travel and were still working through that.

Conjecture on the number of players each club can take is still up in the air, and Simpson suggested scrimmages between fringe players at the four clubs on the Gold Coast would help keep them game-fit if a recall came.

We have 38 or 39 players that are right to go, were just waiting on clarification on how many players we can bring, he said.

On Monday we can have contact ... we have five contact sessions before we play games.

Simpson said his players welcomed a return to training in bigger numbers and cited some dodgy haircuts  most notably gun recruit Tim Kelly  as evidence of boredom in isolation.

Theres been some good feedback given to those players, he said.

Off-field the club has begun working on logistics to relocate the AFL-mandated maximum of 24 staff from its headquarters at Lathlain Park to the Royal Pines Resort.

CEO Trevor Nisbett told TAB Radio on Wednesday that Simpson and the match committee may require the majority of the squad to play in the first block of matches.

Were just going to have to be  agile and flexible. Thats exactly what were going to have to be and I think our players and staff are now getting their heads around that, he said.
The media is reporting that the House of Representatives has passed a bill to provide $3 trillion in coronavirus relief for the deeply troubled economy, including expanded unemployment benefit and many other forms of vital support for people and businesses. The bill also would provide protection for public institutions and services at risk in these troubled times.

A majority of the Democrat-controlled House supported the bill, but Senate Republicans object, either on financial grounds or out of concern about expanding national governments role in American life.

Rigid ideological purity never is a solution, especially in times of crisis. Visionary statesmen and women have known this since the perilous days of the Early Republic. When President Thomas Jefferson took office in 1801 as the first president from the party now called the Democrats, he promised to lead a wise and frugal government. Two years later, Jeffersons diplomats in France negotiated a treaty for the United States to purchase the vast Louisiana Territory for $15 million, then an enormous sum. Jefferson was a lawyer and knew the transaction might be unconstitutional. Nevertheless, he persuaded Congress to appropriate the funds, and the size of the nation was doubled. This was wise but clearly not frugal. What happened after that remains controversial, but few historians doubt the significance of the Louisiana Purchase in 19th-century U.S. history.

Abraham Lincoln was president during the greatest crisis in any century. Lincoln, the first modern Republican president, pursued policies that were highly pragmatic. At the beginning of his presidency, just weeks before the Civil War started, Lincoln declared he would focus solely on preserving the Union. About 18 months later, during the wars dismal second year, Lincoln concluded that the only way to achieve that goal was to destroy slavery. On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, the first presidential step toward the abolition of slavery, which was achieved when the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified in late 1865, a few months after the war ended and Lincoln was assassinated. A year earlier, Lincoln had explained in a letter: I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.

Those are lessons of history. The Senate must pass what will be known as the HEROES Act.

Steven S. Berizzi is a professor of history and political science at Norwalk Community College.
Ruby Rose As Batwoman

Rose shared a statement on Tuesday that announced her departure and thanked the makers for the opportunity. In the statement, she said, "I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season."

Ruby Rose As Katy Kane

"This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles. I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success - I am truly grateful," Ruby added.

Batwoman With Arrow

Batwoman aired the finale episode of season 1, three days ago on May 17, 2020. It had to be cut short due to the lockdown and the ongoing pandemic. According to reports, the CW show was renewed for a season 2 back in January 2020. Deadline reported that the official reason for Ruby's exit has not been shared, but it is not related to the injury she endured during filming.

Katy Kane With Sophie Moore (Meagan Tandy)

The CW, Warner Bros TV and Berlanti Productions jointly said they are looking forward to casting another actor from the LGBTQ community. "The studio and network are firmly committed to Batwoman's second season and long-term future, and we - along with the show's talented creative team - look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months."

Ruby Rose had played the role of Kate Kane, cousin of Bruce Wayne, who ends up taking on the mantle of Batwoman in the absence of the vigilante hero.
Smartphone maker Vivo India on Wednesday said two construction workers at its new manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh were wrongly diagnosed COVID-19 positive and they have now tested negative.

The company said none of the Vivo employees from the 30 per cent workforce allowed to come to work has been found infected with the coronavirus.

The statement comes after Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate on Monday said two workers at Vivo's manufacturing facility had tested positive for COVID-19 and the company has voluntarily shut its operations for the time being.

"No worker at the vivo factory has been found COVID positive. However, at the construction site of the new vivo manufacturing plant, 15 kilometres away from the operational factory and managed by a third-party construction company, two construction workers (third-party employees) were misdiagnosed.

"Nonetheless, as per the latest lab test reports that came in today, both the workers have been found COVID negative," the company said in a statement.

The company said its manufacturing facility in Greater Noida continues to be operational. It had resumed operations on May 9.

"The facility continues to abide by all prescribed standard operating procedures to ensure safety and wellbeing of its current 3000 employees (30 per cent of total workforce capacity) that continue to work at the state of the art facility in Gautam Budh Nagar," the statement said.

The company said it continues strict adherence to regular medical check-ups, social distancing norms and limited movement in common areas.

"Health and safety of our employees and partners are of paramount importance to us. No vivo employee has tested positive till date and the company is taking all precautionary measures and adhering to all government guidelines," Vivo India Director for Brand Strategy Nipun Marya said.

The company had received permission from Uttar Pradesh government to resume operations with 30 per cent capacity in the third phase of lockdown which started from May 4.

The company continues to adhere to work from home for all head office staff while resuming production with 30 per cent capacity at the manufacturing facility, it added.

According to IDC, Vivo was the second largest mobile handset company in India in terms of shipments with market share of 21 per cent in the January-March 2020 quarter. Xiaomi led the market with 31.2 per cent share and Samsung followed Vivo with 15.6 per cent share.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apple TV+ has bought worldwide rights from Sony Pictures to the Tom Hanks World War II drama Greyhound which was previously set for a cinema release.

The $70m film is set in the early days of World War II as an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by Hanks Capt. Ernest Krause, crosses the treacherous North Atlantic while being hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi submarines. Stephen Graham, Rob Morgan and Elisabeth Shue also co-star.

Sony had previously scheduled Greyhound to be theatrically released in the US on June 12 but the release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The screenplay is adapted by Hanks, who was himself suffering from coronavirus during a recent visit to Australia. He later recovered, with wife Rita Wilson.

The streaming service did not disclose when it will release Greyhound.

Source: Variety
 Flash

New COVID-19 infections in Germany remained under last week's average as the number of confirmed cases increased by 513 within one day to 175,210, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Tuesday.

Over the course of last week, an average of 734 daily cases had been reported by the RKI, the federal government agency for disease control and prevention.

According to the RKI, the number of COVID-19 deaths in the country increased by 72 to 8,007 on Tuesday, resulting in a fatality rate of 4.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the estimated number of people who have recovered increased by around 1,100 within one day to 155,700.

The four-day average reproduction rate of COVID-19 in Germany decreased from 0.94 to 0.91, according to the daily situation report by the RKI for Monday.

However, the reproduction rate would be "sensitive" to short-term changes in case numbers, as may be caused by individual outbreaks, which could lead to "large fluctuations," the report noted.

On Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said during her video message at the World Health Assembly that the global coronavirus crisis would be overcome "faster and better" if the world worked together.
Chennai: Metropolitan Chennai was back on the radar on Tuesday, as persons testing positive for Covid-19 took yet another big jump to 552 out of a total of 688 new cases reported from across Tamil Nadu. The new development has forced public health authorities to order door-to-door screening in four zones very vulnerable to coronavirus in the city from Wednesday.

Out of the 688 fresh cases confirmed yesterday, 87 returnees from other states and abroad tested positive, thus putting pressure on the overall spread of the virus.

The latter included 23 passengers from Dubai who flew in here and one from the Maldives. Strangely, 13 others who had reached here from Dubai, Kuwait and Malaysia, who had initially tested negative, have tested positive for Covid-19 on 'exit test' today from airport quarantine.

As many as 50 others, including 49 from Maharashtra and one from Kerala who returned to Tamil Nadu also tested positive for the virus at various check-posts, thus taking the overall number of positive cases in the State till date to a whopping 12,448. The State death toll due to the virus also kept creeping up, touching 84 after three deaths were confirmed today.

Sensing the unpredictable trend in the Chennai hot-spot areas, Health Minister, Dr C. Vijayabaskar along with top officials of Chennai corporation, senior nodal officer Dr J Radhakrishnan and Health Secretary Dr Beela Rajesh, visited Covid-19 containment zones at Royapuram, Puliyanthoppu and Motilal Street, and interacted with the people on the steps being taken by the government to stop the coronavirus spread. He advised the people to wear masks and be hygienic to prevent transmission of the virus.

Dr Radhakrishnan later told reporters that with Tondairpet, Royapuram, Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar and Kodambakkam being red hot among the containment zones in the city, the public health personnel will begin a door-to-door screening and testing in those four zones from Wednesday. It will be both intense and rapid to help control the virus spread. About 200 health workers have been specially chosen for this arduous task, he said.

Of the 200 wards in greater Chennai, Dr Radhakrishnan said there were no fresh Covid-19 positive cases in the past three days in 37 wards, adding, the incidence was problematic in only 136 wards of the corporation area. It required a more thorough surveillance and control strategy, he indicated.

Meanwhile, Municipal Administration minister, SP Velumani said that in 407 'Amma Canteens' in Chennai city, the government will continue to provide free food to people thrice daily until the extended lockdown period was over.
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir  At least a dozen homes have been reduced to rubble during a gun battle in Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir, residents have told Al Jazeera.

Some residents have accused Indian forces of setting civilian homes on fire and looting valuables, including cash and jewellery.

A top rebel commander and his associate were killed by Indian security forces on Tuesday, triggering anti-India protests and clashes in the disputed Muslim-majority region.

Afroza was inconsolable as she stood on the charred floor of her house in the Nawa Kadal neighbourhood, everything around her turned to ashes, even her childrens books.

You feel a particular despondency on seeing evidence of war crimes from your homeland. You begin to imagine what it must be like for the victims of those crimes. Then you realise you just cannot fathom it.  Mirza Waheed (@MirzaWaheed) May 19, 2020

From a distance, we saw our home in flames. It was a storm for us. Where would we go now? We had a roof over our head till yesterday that my husband had built with his lifetime hard work and today we have nothing, she said adding that the forces unleashed terror in the locality.

Afroza said they are now left with only the clothes they were wearing. When the forces came to our home, we were busy in the night-long prayers of Laylat al-Qadr. We were reciting the Quran and praying. We did not know everything will be snatched from us within minutes, she told Al Jazeera.

When they knocked at our door, we did not even get a chance to take our medicines along. They looted the money in our houses; they took away whatever they could. I had kept money and jewellery here they took it away, said Baby Jan, who stood looking at her damaged house with her husband and three children.

Explosions and gunshots had echoed through the densely populated Nawa Kadal neighbourhood, the streets largely empty as a result of a coronavirus lockdown that has kept most residents to their homes.

Junaid Ahmed Sehrai, a commander of the largest Kashmiri armed group Hizbul Mujahideen and the son of a top separatist leader, was killed in the 12-hour gun battle, police said in a statement.

Locals poured onto the streets as news of the killings spread, hurling stones at Indian forces, who fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to disperse them.

The regions police chief, Dilbagh Singh, said at a press conference that it was a clean operation, denying India forces were behind the fire.

This was a clean operation, and we were careful that it is a congested area and fire might spread. So, we had kept arrangements like ambulance and other things were there, Singh said.

We spent four hours in evacuating residents first thats how two cops were injured. When they were evacuating, the militants fired at them. There has not been much damage to the houses, the militants were throwing grenades which triggered a fire, but we controlled it.

The deaths came two weeks after Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo and a close aide were killed by government forces in the southern Kashmir valley during a two-day gun battle.

Authorities said 73 rebels had been killed in Kashmir this year, many of them during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Rebel groups have fought for decades for the regions independence or its merger with Pakistan and enjoy broad popular support. The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians, since 1989.

India has more than 500,000 troops stationed in Kashmir.
An Accra High Court has fixed June 23, to rule on an interlocutory injunction filed on the suit challenging Presidential directives over the Emergency Instrument (EI 63), which seek to violate the rights of mobile phone users.



Mr. Justice Stephen Oppong also fixed June 15 for all parties who wish to file their responses and other documents to do so.



The Plaintiff Mr. Francis Kwarteng Arthur is challenging the law on the emergency Communication Instrument, 2020, which allegedly violates mobile users rights to privacy.



The emergency legislation seeks to give legal backing to a number of measures adopted by government to handle and contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.



It directs mobile network operators to provide data on all call numbers, mobile merchant codes, uncashed subscriber mobile money transfer data and addresses.



Mr. Arthur contends that his personal information which is in possession of Vodafone and MTN both respondents in the case and telecommunication networks in Ghana, is protected by the 1992 Constitution and may not be offered to a third party without recourse to law or laid down procedure or expressed consent.



The application further hold among others that the Electronic Communication Act, 2008 (Act 775) contained a condition precedent for the Presidents invocation of his powers in Section 100.



According to the plaintiff, the condition precedent is that the President should have declared a state of Emergency under Article 32 of the Constitution as stated in Section 99 of Act 775.



He held that since the condition precedent has not been triggered, the President in signing EI. 63, acted illegally.



Additionally, the plaintiff held that the Presidents directive contained in EI. 63 and implemented by the respondents have violated or was likely to violate his fundamental human rights to administrative justice, privacy and equality.



The plaintiff is therefore praying the court to declare the conduct of respondents and the National Communication Authority or any other person to procure his personal data from Vodafone and MTN without due process, as a violation of his rights.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Union bosses today boasted 'the state is back' as they demanded a public sector pay rise and called for a 'National Recovery Council' to be set up to guide Britain's post-coronavirus future.

The TUC is calling for a dramatic shake up of the way the UK does business after the outbreak, urging the Government to ban zero hours contracts and give people employment guarantees.

The union's general secretary Frances O'Grady believes Britain must show the same level of unity as it did after the Second World War in order to heal society and the economy in the coming years.

Citing the last decade of austerity she warned that working people cannot be made to 'pay the price again'.

And in a sign that union chiefs have been emboldened by the current outbreak, Ms O'Grady proclaimed: 'Unions are back... but the state is back too.'

The demand for a public sector pay rise is likely to prove particularly controversial given that many private sector workers have recently suffered pay cuts due to coronavirus disruption while many others have been made redundant.

TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady today said 'unions are back... but the state is back too' as she called for a post-coronavirus shake up of the economy

Boris Johnson, pictured in Downing Street on May 14, has faced opposition from unions over his plans to ease the nation's coronavirus lockdown

The TUC, which has 5.5 million members and represents 48 unions across England and Wales, is calling on ministers to agree to set up a 'National Recovery Council'.

It argues this body, made up of representatives from the Government, unions and employers, would be able to guide Britain towards a 'greener and fairer economy'.

Ms O'Grady will launch a report alongside Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds setting out the union's demands.

The TUC believes the NRC would be an act of unity similar to that shown in the wake of the Second World War, according to The Guardian.

She told the newspaper: 'We've got to get that safety net strung again, we've got to invest in our public services, which may have to build resilience for a long time.'

She added: 'Unions are back... but the state is back too.'

The TUC will argue in the report that social investment in the post-conflict decade created growth of 3.3 per cent.

But in the 10 years of austerity after the financial crash in 2008 it said growth was just 1.9 per cent.

Ms O'Grady said working people could not be expected to carry an unfair economic burden in coming years amid reports that the Government could move to hike taxes to pay for the damage done by the pandemic.

She said: 'I think there is a real sense that this has got to be a people's effort.

'It can't just be left to employers or politicians, we've got to step up too.'

The report, issued on behalf of TUC's 5.5 million members, will demand an increase in the minimum wage to 10 an hour as part of a rebuilding of Britain's business model.

It will also call for a pay rise in the public sector, a ban on zero-hours contracts and a scheme to guarantee employment.

It is thought the latter would see the unemployed offered a 'funded individual learning account' with the money then used to pay for training and acquiring new skills.

The programme would come with the promise of a job at the end of the training.

The TUC is expected to praise the Government for its 'constructive' efforts to unite stakeholders in creating its job retention furlough scheme.

Transport unions have blocked a ramping up of some public services, insisting they will not agree to measures which they believe could put the health of their workers at risk

The union will also call for the urgency shown in the response to coronavirus to be applied to tackling climate change.

'We've run out of excuses about creating a carbon-free economy,' Ms O'Grady said.

The TUC's intervention comes as unions are at odds with the Government in a number of key areas as ministers look to reopen the UK after lockdown.

Some union bosses are standing in the way of a plan to start the phased reopening of primary schools in England from June 1, citing safety concerns.

Meanwhile, transport unions have been at war with politicians over the ramping up of train, Tube and bus services, insisting they will not agree to any measures they believe could put the health of workers at risk.
The Nepal government on Wednesday unveiled a new political map of the country that depicts Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepalese territory amid a diplomatic row with India.

The move came little more than six months after India published new maps of the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that showed Kalapani as part of Uttarakhand state.

The new map was released by land management minister Padma Kumari Aryal at a function in Kathmandu attended by political leaders and officials. The three territories were shown as part of Byas rural municipality in Darchula district of Sudurpaschim province.

Aryal said she hoped India will take Nepals decision to publish the new map in a positive way.

There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials.

Nepals council of ministers had approved the map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepalese territory during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday.

The map will come into use immediatelyThe areas of Gunji, Navi and Kuti, near Kalapani, which had been left out in earlier maps, are also included in the new map, Aryal was quoted as saying by The Kathmandu Post.

Unnamed Nepalese officials were quoted by the Post as saying that the countrys total area has increased from 147,181 sq km to 147,516 sq km after the addition of disputed land that is currently occupied by India.

The diplomatic row began on May 8 after defence minister Rajnath Singh opened an 80-km road that ends at Lipulekh Pass on the border with China. The road was built so that pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region can avoid dangerous high-altitude routes through Sikkim and Nepal.

Nepals foreign ministry summoned the Indian envoy last week to protest against the construction of the road. New Delhi has rejected Kathmandus protest, saying the Lipulekh region is completely within the territory of India and that both sides could resolve such boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue.

While addressing Nepals Parliament on Tuesday, Oli said the decision to include the three territories in the map of Nepal was made after India inaugurated a road link through Nepali territory. He also contended that people coming from India through illegal channels were spreading the Coronavirus in Nepal.

India and Nepal share a 1,800-km open border. Nepal claims all territories east of the Kali river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh, under the Treaty of Sugauli that it signed with the erstwhile British administration in 1816.
Statistically speaking, long term investing is a profitable endeavour. But unfortunately, some companies simply don't succeed. To wit, the Dalian Port (PDA) Company Limited (HKG:2880) share price managed to fall 63% 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 31% in the last year. Shareholders have had an even rougher run lately, with the share price down 19% in the last 90 days. Of course, this share price action may well have been influenced by the 9.2% decline in the broader market, throughout the period.

Check out our latest analysis for Dalian Port (PDA)

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, Dalian Port (PDA) actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 4.4% per year. So it doesn't seem like EPS is a great guide to understanding how the market is valuing the stock. Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

Based on these numbers, we'd venture that the market may have been over-optimistic about forecast growth, half a decade ago. Having said that, we might get a better idea of what's going on with the stock by looking at other metrics.

Arguably, the revenue drop of 9.2% a year for half a decade suggests that the company can't grow in the long term. This has probably encouraged some shareholders to sell down the stock.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

SEHK:2880 Income Statement May 20th 2020

This free interactive report on Dalian Port (PDA)'s balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

Story continues

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Dalian Port (PDA), it has a TSR of -60% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Dalian Port (PDA) shareholders are down 30% for the year (even including dividends) . Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 6.5%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 17% over the last half decade. 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. 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. Take risks, for example - Dalian Port (PDA) has 2 warning signs we think you should be aware of.

Of course Dalian Port (PDA) may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Technavio has been monitoring the chocolates containing alcohol market and it is poised to grow by USD 136.16 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 6% 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/20200520005274/en/

Technavio has announced the latest market research report titled Global Chocolates Containing Alcohol 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. ABTEY Chocolaterie SAS, Brown Forman Corp., Charbonnel et Walker Ltd., Compagnie du Bois Sauvage SA, Confiserie Leonidas SA, Ferrero International SA, J.G. Niederegger GmbH and Co. KG, Oy Karl Fazer Ab, Purdys Chocolatier, and Toms Gruppen AS are some of the major market participants. The growing demand from millennials 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.

Growing demand from millennials has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market is segmented as below:

Distribution Channel Offline Online

Geography Europe North America 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=IRTNTR43651

Chocolates Containing Alcohol 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 chocolates containing alcohol market report covers the following areas:

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market Size

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market Trends

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies increasing demand and popularity of dark chocolates and organic chocolates containing alcohol as one of the prime reasons driving the growth of chocolates containing alcohol market during the next few years.

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the chocolates containing alcohol market, including some of the vendors such as ABTEY Chocolaterie SAS, Brown Forman Corp., Charbonnel et Walker Ltd., Compagnie du Bois Sauvage SA, Confiserie Leonidas SA, Ferrero International SA, J.G. Niederegger GmbH and Co. KG, Oy Karl Fazer Ab, Purdys Chocolatier, and Toms Gruppen AS. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the chocolates containing alcohol 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

Chocolates Containing Alcohol Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist the growth of chocolates containing alcohol market during the next five years

Estimation of the size of chocolates containing alcohol market and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the chocolates containing alcohol market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of vendors in chocolates containing alcohol market

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

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

Offline Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Online Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Distribution channel

Customer landscape

Overview

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

ABTEY Chocolaterie SAS

Brown Forman Corp.

Charbonnel et Walker Ltd.

Compagnie du Bois Sauvage SA

Confiserie Leonidas SA

Ferrero International SA

J.G. Niederegger GmbH and Co. KG

Oy Karl Fazer Ab

Purdys Chocolatier

Toms Gruppen AS

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/20200520005274/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/
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Paris  Wed, May 20, 2020 17:03 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd94b3fb 2 Entertainment Abdellatif-Kechiche,Sexual-assault,France,director,Blue-is-the-Warmest-Colour Free

French prosecutors have dropped an investigation into accusations of sexual assault against Franco-Tunisian film director Abdellatif Kechiche, whose 2013 film "Blue is the Warmest Colour" won the top prize at the Cannes film festival, a source said Tuesday.

There was not enough evidence to suggest an offence had been committed, said the source in the office of Paris prosecutors, who asked not to be named.

"For once, reason has triumphed over pathos," the director's lawyer Jeremie Assous told AFP.

A woman, aged 29 at the time, alleged in 2018 she was assaulted by the director in an apartment in Paris after attending a dinner party with him.

The woman claimed she fell asleep after consuming several alcoholic drinks and woke up to find herself partially undressed and being molested by Kechiche.

He always vehemently denied the charges.

"Blue is the Warmest Colour", a three-hour film about a blue-haired art student and her intense erotic relationship with a younger girl in her teens, wowed the Cannes festival in 2013 but was tarnished by a row afterwards between Kechiche and the young stars.

Actress Lea Seydoux complained that she felt like "a prostitute" when filming the movie's lengthy, explicit sex scenes and described the experience of shooting with Kechiche as "horrible".

The director, a former actor with a host of movie awards to his name in France, said he felt "great regret" at the controversy and ended up saying he would have preferred the film not to have been released because it had been "soiled" by the criticism.

His latest film, "Mektoub My Love: Intermezzo", which contains even more explicit sex scenes, caused immense controversy when shown at the 2019 Cannes festival.
Nine more persons tested positive for COVID-19 in Uttarakhand on Wednesday taking the number of cases to 120.

The latest cases were reported from Uttarkashi (1), Haridwar (1), Udham Singh Nagar (4), Almora (1) and Nainital (2) districts, a state health department bulletin said.

Most of these cases have a travel history to Delhi and Mumbai.

It takes the total number of cases in the state, so far, to 120 out of which 53 have recovered.

The number of active cases stands at 53 with one coronavirus infected patient having died few weeks back.

There has been a sudden rise in the number of cases reported daily in Uttarakhand since migrant labourers began returning to their homes.

As many as 15 cases, the highest in a single day in Uttarakhand, were reported on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Monday, facial recognition technology reunited a man with his biological family after 32 years since he was abducted as a toddler.

In 1988, Mao Yin, who was a two-year-old toddler at that time, was taken away from his family while he was outside a Chinese hotel in the city of Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Reportedly, he was sold to a couple, who happens to be childless, in the Sichuan province, as reported by CCTV.

DNA test supported facial recognition's conclusion

As stated by the authorities, the investigation regarding the abduction is still ongoing and they hesitate to provide information about the adoptive parents of Mao Yin.

Reportedly, Mao Yin's adoptive parents, who did not know that for more than three decades Mao's biological parents have been searching for him, named and raised him as Gu Ningning.

According to CNN, in late April, a tip-off was received by authorities in Xian that in the late-1980's a man bought a toddler from Shaanxi in Sichuan province, as stated by Xinhua state news agency.

Facial recognition technology was used by authorities to analyze Mao's old photo as a toddler and provided a simulated illustration of him as an adult, which was compared with the national database photos, according to CCTV. The process by which the photos were compared and database details were not given.

After a thorough investigation and further comparisons, a man from the city of Mianyang was tracked down by the authorities who appeared to look like Mao. With the use of a DNA test, he was confirmed to be the missing son, as reported by Xinhua.

Heartwarming reunion after 32 years

On Monday, Mao, 34 years old, was reunited with his biological parents in Xi'an during a Police organized news conference.

Mao appeared from the conference hall's side door, called out his birth mother, and ran toward her. CCTV broadcasted live the scenario when Mao and his parents broke down in tears in a long hold of ones' arm.

Li Jingzhi, Mao's biological mother, said as she tightly held her son that she does not want them to be apart anymore.

According to CCTV, Mao, who at present manages in Sichuan a home decoration business, will move to live with his birth parents in Xi'an.

Read also: US Officials Say FBI, DHS Will Warn Against Chinese Hackers Trying to Steal COVID-19 Research

After Mao's abduction, Li quit her job and started her quest on looking after her son. She has gone on national television programs and sent out more than 100,000 flyers in the search for her son. She has also volunteered in gathering information regarding other missing children and helped 29 of them come back to their biological families.

As reported by CCTV, Mao had witnessed Li talking on television regarding her abducted son and he was moved by her persistence, but he never knew he was the boy Li has spent decades to look for.

An official tally of the actual number of abducted children in China each year is not available. On Baby Come Home, a website used by Chinese parents to post notices about their missing children, more than 51,000 families are registered to be searching for their children.

According to Xinhua, more than 6,300 abducted children were found and reunited with their biological family since a national DNA database to match parents with their missing children was set up by the Ministry of Public Security in 2009

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

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Oak Brook, IL - Protein phosphatases play an essential role in cell signaling, yet due to a lack of appropriate tools, they remain understudied compared to protein kinases. In the latest auto-commentary from SLAS Discovery, "Controlling Phosphate Removal with Light: The Development of Optochemical Tools to Probe Protein Phosphatase Function," researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Department of Chemistry (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) explain the design principles considered in developing an optically controlled protein phosphatase, opportunities and limitations of the methodology.

Taylor M. Courtney, Ph.D., and Alexander Deiters, Ph.D., (University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA) describe the thought process behind their experiment, which was originally published in a 2019 issue of Nature Communications. (Optical Control of Protein Phosphatase Function. Nat. Comm. 2019, 10, 4384.) In recent years, the importance of phosphatases has become top of mind, yet not much is known about their role in disease management due to the complexity of studying this particular enzyme. Courtney and Deiters, however, took on the challenge and explored the role of phosphatases as drug targets.

In their research, they were able to develop two different approaches for rendering MKP3 (a dual-specific phosphatase, also termed DUSP6) activated by light. More specifically, Courtney and Deiters expressed the protein with strategically placed light-removable protecting groups in cells with an expanded genetic code. This allowed for the acute perturbation of the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway upon photoactivation in live cells, confirming that MKP3 does not act as a thresholding gate for growth factor stimulation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ESRK) pathway.

In the balance of the auto-commentary, Courtney and Deiters detail their study and discuss their predictions for how the two new approaches can be used to better understand future protein-protein interactions in drug discovery.

###

Read the complete SLAS Discovery auto-commentary at journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2472555220918519 through July 13. For more information about SLAS and its journals, visit http://www.slas.org/journals.

SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of 16,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS Discovery: 2018 Impact Factor 2.192. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN (USA). SLAS Discovery (Advancing Life Sciences R&D) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS).

SLAS Technology: 2018 Impact Factor 2.048. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore). SLAS Technology (Translating Life Sciences Innovation) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA).
Health official: Omicron cases 'just skyrocketing here in the community'

As of Jan. 18, McLaren Northern Michigan had 23 COVID-19 inpatients at the Petoskey-based hospital, which included 10 in critical care units and 13 in non-critical care units.
Kyrgyz-kino.com scored 41 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 1 Sep 2019, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the kyrgyz-kino homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the kyrgyz-kino homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if kyrgyz-kino has a Facebook fan page). The total number of people who shared the kyrgyz-kino homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the kyrgyz-kino homepage on Twitter + the total number of kyrgyz-kino followers (if kyrgyz-kino has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the kyrgyz-kino homepage on Delicious.

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE  DESCRIPTION  KEYWORDS OTHER KEYWORDS read more , read more, read, read more, read, read more,



CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE Japanese Japanese SERVER Apache OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

The language of kyrgyz-kino.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services.

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for kyrgyz-kino.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The URL of the found Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The total number of people who like website Facebook page.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
A State Department spokesperson has defended the dinners as an opportunity for the guests  nearly 500 invitees from the corporate, political and diplomatic communities at about two dozen events since 2018  to discuss foreign policy. But NBCs review of the guest list, which the State Department has not publicly released, found that only 14% of the guests were diplomats or foreign officials.
Ethiopia founded its policy to illegally build its dam on the Blue Nile on a strategy of driving a wedge between the two downstream states, Sudan and Egypt. Although the strategy worked while the ousted Omar Al-Bashir was in power in Khartoum, the situation has changed since the revolution. Now the people in Khartoum realise that Cairo has been acting in the interests of both countries and that it is Ethiopia that is posing a grave threat to Sudanese national security with a dam that could crack or give way under the pressure of the first heavy flooding season. The danger to Egypt lies in the reduction of the water reaching it through the Blue Nile, which accounts for 64 per cent of the water that flows through the Nile Basin.

When Egypt succeeded in internationalising this cause by bringing the US and World Bank in as mediators and then by lodging a complaint with the UN Security Council, Ethiopia took its divide-and-conquer strategy to the next level: driving a wedge between Egypt and other African countries. Ethiopia now claims that the controversy surrounding the dam is an African problem that should be solved at the African level. So suddenly Ethiopia is casting itself as a champion of African cooperation and solidarity.

This is the same Ethiopia that rushed into a bearhug with an Asian superpower that now effectively controls all Ethiopias economic activities. It is the same that leapt at the offer from 25 European countries to pour billions of dollars into turning over 10-million acres of Ethiopian land to the cultivation of biofuel crops. If the powers that be in Ethiopia were really as pro-African as they pretend, those 10 million acres would be put to use cultivating much needed food for the people of Africa and it would not be handing control over its economy and agriculture to foreigners.

Of course, other African countries see through all this. They know that Ethiopia turned to non-African countries to build its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the other 12 Ethiopian dams before it. Had Addis Ababa truly been as keen to promote African interests as it says it is, it might have at least once taken Tanzanias lead and engaged an African firm.

In 2011, Ethiopia agreed to let an international panel of experts study the economic, environmental and other potential impacts of the GERD project on downstream countries. After negotiating an obstacle course of Ethiopian impediments, these experts submitted their findings in May 2013. The experts came from the UK, Germany, France and South Africa. Apparently, Ethiopia had no problem with including non-Africans in this question at that time. But when the report by this international committee raised grave concerns over the dams technical specs and environmental impacts, as would any committee regardless of the national affiliations of its members, Ethiopia decided that, henceforth, it would only accept experts from the three countries concerned. It did not want outsiders witnessing its breaches.

An exception to this exclusion occurred four years ago when it agreed to let a French consultancy firm do a study. But that firms report also criticised the Ethiopian project. So, Addis Ababa reverted to its insistence on excluding outsiders from this question. At the same time, it ratcheted up an anti-Egyptian mudslinging campaign though, again, few African countries fell for the line that Egypt snubbed its African affiliation. African leaders and peoples remember very clearly the moral and material backing that Egypt gave to their liberation movements and they see, today, Egyptian development experts on the ground in all quarters of the continent. Where was Ethiopia during all this time? Aiding and abetting foreign powers with their bids to invade Somalia and Eritrea and to control Djibouti. The awareness of Egypts African commitment was reflected in statements of support for Egypt by key officials in the White Nile Basin during the Egyptian foreign ministers tour to explain Egypts position on the dam.

In November last year, Ethiopia must have felt that it had no choice but to agree to negotiations sponsored by other non-Africa parties the US and the World Bank. Then it regreted that moment of weakness when those outsiders censured Ethiopia for its intransigence, reviving echoes of the first international panel of experts and the French consultancy firms objections to the mammoth dams structural shortcomings and potential detrimental economic and environmental impacts on downstream nations. So, it took to strumming the pan-African refrains again and said that the UN and the Security Council have no business meddling in this matter, as though these bodies had not been created precisely in order to resolve disputes of this nature.

Could Ethiopia at least try to be consistent with its pro-African pose? It could, for example, turn away the World Food Programme, which spends billions in Ethiopia, and replace it with African committees. It could turn to the African Development Bank instead of non-African banks for aid, grants and loans. Or it could do its military hardware shopping in exclusively African markets.

After a decade of haggling, manoeuvring, and time wasting, Ethiopia still thinks it can dupe the African and international communities into its falling for its narrative that the question of the dam is about national sovereignty and African identity rather than about international law, common rights to a shared watercourse and substantial threats to downstream nations. But it has fooled no one. All are aware that a country that cannot bring itself to respect international law and honour its commitments under international treaties and conventions will naturally try to exclude impartial third parties.

*The writer is professor of agriculture and water resources, Cairo University.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


(Photo : Image by Tumisu from Pixabay )

Advertisement

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay



Like Us on Facebook

Advertisement



China is now actively pushing for local companies to list their shares in London instead of the United States as relations between two of the world's largest economies continue to sour. The move comes as the US escalates its scrutiny of Chinese companies wishing to list in the country's exchanges following the Luckin Coffee financial misconduct scandal and the rising tensions surrounding the debate over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.



Finance authorities in China are now tapping into the Shanghai-London Stock Connect scheme, which was originally launched last year, to push for bilateral investments. Since its launch, only one Chinese company, Huatai Securities, was able to list its shares in London. Authorities are now aiming to change that by giving other Chinese firms the go signal to proceed with their planned London-listings.



Sources with knowledge of the matter revealed that authorities have granted approvals for China Pacific Insurance and SDIC Power to proceed with their planned London listings. China has reportedly also urged China Yangtze Power to move ahead with its planned secondary listing in London.



In a statement to reporters, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which operates the Stock Connect scheme, clarified that the decision to list in London were the companies' own decisions and were not politically motivated. Since the Luckin Coffee scandal was publicized, scrutiny on Chinese firms wishing to list in the US has intensified. US lawmakers have also begun pushing to tighter regulations against foreign firms listing in the country.



Through the London-Shanghai Connect Scheme, Chinese firms can add a secondary listing of Global Depositary Receipts in Europe, which will be linked to their shares in Shanghai. Analysts have claimed that the second half of the year could see several Chinese firms listing in London as the country pushes to fund its economic recovery.



As for which of the companies will likely be listing first, most experts are betting on China Pacific Insurance to make the first move. The company is expected to raise between $2 billion and $3 billion if it pushes ahead with its share sale, which is predicted to happen sometime in October.



Market experts predict that China Yangtze Power could be next in the London-Shanghai listings pipeline, with the company likely raising around $2.5 billion. Some analysts have pointed out that the share sales will be faced with tough challenges ahead given the current state of the market. Investors, even those in Europe, will likely still be reluctant to buy "non-essential" assets, with most choosing to be selective with financial decisions until the market stabilizes.



Advertisement

Tagschina, List Their Shares, London, us market
US sanctions Chinese logistics firm over business with Iran's Mahan Air

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 5:59 PM

The United States has imposed sanctions on a China-based company saying it acted on behalf of Iran's Mahan Air, which has been sanctioned by Washington.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday that Shanghai Saint Logistics Limited acted as a general sales agent for Mahan Air, Reuters reported.

The Treasury action froze any US-held assets of Shanghai Saint Logistics and declared unlawful for Americans of doing business with the company.

"This designation serves as another reminder that companies still providing services for Mahan Air  in the PRC (People's Republic of China) or anywhere else  risk potential US sanctions," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

The Treasury also said Mahan Air was operating charter flights to Venezuela transporting Iranian technicians and technical equipment, and supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and getting paid in gold bars from the Central Bank of Venezuela.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the Iranian government is using Mahan Air to support Venezuela's "illegitimate regime," referring to the elected government of President Maduro.

The United States and some of its allies recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president last year.

The US government imposed sanctions on Mahan Air in 2011. The airline, established in 1992 as Iran's first private airline, has the country's largest fleet of aircraft and has flights to many countries around the world.

The Trump administration reinstated US sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other countries.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The layoffs came swiftly last week. At Vice Media, 155 people lost their jobs. Quartz laid off 80. Conde Nast, publisher of glossy magazines like Vogue, cut 100 people. And as BuzzFeed furloughed staffers at its overseas divisions, its U.S.-based staffers braced for similar cuts.

For those who had been watching local newspapers struggle in the era of digitization, these announcements were sobering: Even the media business's most savvy, innovative and glamorous players are hurting.

"The pain is across the board," said Gabriel Kahn, a professor at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. "This isn't just a question of nimble, digital companies able to survive and lumbering, legacy ones perishing. The marketplace is too brutal the way it's configured right now."

RELATED: Retailer to reopen just to sell it all before permanently closing

The pandemic has created a strange dynamic for the media industry. People are consuming news like never before, but spikes in readership are coming alongside huge drops in the advertising revenue. A New York Times count estimated 36,000 media workers have experienced furloughs, paycuts or layoffs.

And yet these cuts are really "an acceleration of a trend that's been going on a decade," said Emily Bell, director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University. "Even though theoretically we understood it's happening ... we're actually starting to feel it."

Publications like BuzzFeed and Vice, in particular, were heralded in recent years for attracting younger readers and devising new ways to capture corporate ad dollars that made them the envy of print outlets struggling to transition to digital.

But while last week's cuts may feel like a dramatic turnaround, many of the era's digital innovators had already gone through rounds of layoffs and bouts of restructuring that preceded the pandemic. Several journalists who lost jobs last week had survived previous rounds of layoffs. (They did not want to be named, citing non-disparage agreements and severance benefits at stake).

"When I got to Vice, I figured I will lose this job one day to a layoff, but maybe I'll be able to make it here a bit longer than before" said one staffer who had gone through a digital media job loss before. "I think a lot of reporters have that mindset. Most of my reporter friends have been laid off once, if not twice or three times before."

RELATED: Retailers that probably won't survive COVID-19

Executives at several media companies have also taken pay cuts in recent months. Slate, the pioneer in digital magazines, reduced employee pay last month. Vox Media began furloughs this month.

Even companies once thought to be steady alternatives to the volatility of small start-ups and venture capitalist whims no longer offer safe harbors. One newly laid-off Conde Nast employee had taken the job over other offers "because I thought it'd be the most stable, and I was really looking forward to being somewhere where I could grow as a person in media."

"You'd think Conde Nast is such a big company that, let's say something terrible happens, the things they can cut from are the crazy cafeteria in the World Trade Center or Anna Wintour's second house budget or the weird holiday party," the former employee added. "I never would think that the cuts would come from people doing reporting, (who are) not paid a lot."

Conde Nast had earlier instituted paycuts of up to 20 percent for the highest earners, including Wintour, with CEO Roger Lynch taking a 50 percent cut - measures he said in a staff memo last week were his attempt to forestall job cuts "as a last option."

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

BuzzFeed said its cuts were for "economic and strategic reasons" and that it will keep a focus on coverage in the U.S., where it is negotiating with journalists over layoff alternatives, such as "work sharing" arrangements that would let them cut back hours and collect some unemployment. "The company is still investing heavily in news," a company spokesperson said.

A union representing Vice journalists expressed frustration that their management wouldn't consider workshare. In a memo to employees last week, Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc said the cuts came to digital divisions that accounted for 50 percent of costs but brought in only 21 percent of revenue - an imbalance with repercussions "for the long-term health of our company."

Quartz CEO Zach Seward told employees the company has prioritized paid subscriptions but still makes most of its money from advertising, which "has been hit very hard by the effects of coronavirus," and could suffer for years to come: "Prior assumptions about our business no longer apply." The company cut 80 employees worldwide, nearly half of its staff - "some of the most talented and kindest people in the business," the union representing its U.S.-based reporters said in a statement.

While many digital news outlets faced drops in ad revenue, Kahn argued that it's not solely because of the shrinkage of ad budgets but because "so much of it is captured by two players: Facebook and Google." Bell hoped the layoffs would serve "as a wakeup call: If you want news media, we have to do better in terms of policies that support it."

Social distancing has added complications to the process of mass layoffs. No goodbye happy hours, no hugs. Quartz employees were warned that they would know if their job was on the chopping block if they received a calendar invitation that morning for a talk with their managers.

The job market is now flooded with a crop of experienced journalists picking over fewer possible jobs while also confronting a world-shaking pandemic. Many had to stop reporting on stories and spent subsequent days fielding calls from sources to say the stories won't go published.

"This is the biggest story I'm going to live through but I can't do my job, and it's all I want to do," said another laid-off Vice employee. "I have to sit on my hands."
There is no medical reason for states to keep their borders closed, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said today.

The federal government wants states to relax borders to generate tourism revenue and save jobs - but all except New South Wales and Victoria still have restrictions in place.

Today Dr Kelly said Australia's coronavirus case numbers are so low that the borders should be removed. There were only 11 new cases reported on Wednesday.

'From a medical point of view I can't see why the borders are still closed but that's for the states and territories themselves to decide when that time is right for them,' he told reporters.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told ABC News Breakfast on Monday that the border with NSW (pictured) may not open until September

This morning NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said border closures were unfair on border communities and bad for Australia as a whole.

'It will hinder our national economic growth and activity there's no doubt about that,' she said.

'I can see Australia not reaching its potential if premiers don't take down their borders.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her borders policy would be reviewed every month.

With international borders closed for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus, the federal government wants to re-boot Australia's tourism industry, which provides around 700,000 jobs, by encouraging domestic holidays.

Today Dr Kelly (pictured) said Australia's coronavirus case numbers are so low that the borders should be removed. There were only 11 new cases reported on Wednesday

On Monday Ms Palaszczuk said the border with NSW may not open until September, much to the fury of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian who says open borders benefit businesses in both states.

Asked when the border would open, Ms Palaszczuk told ABC News Breakfast: 'Things would look more positive towards September. Having said that, I don't want to rule anything out.'

Ms Berejiklian responded furiously, saying: 'Closing borders doesn't help Australia, it doesn't help any of the states, it doesn't help our population and it doesn't help economic activity.

'If we can open up our internal borders that will help everyone.'

Ms Berejiklian said Queensland was wrong to target an elimination strategy and should open the borders as part of a plan to get back to normal.

New South Wales residents cannot take holidays in Noosa (pictured) due to border restrictions preventing them from getting to QLD

'This notion that you are somehow going to completely eradicate the virus from Australia is beyond reality. I can't forsee that happening in a population of 25 million people,' she said.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan also refused to set a time for removing his state's borders today.

Hitting back at Ms Berejiklian's demands, he said: 'She is persistent, but our advice to her is no, we will make these decisions when the time is right.

Poll Should all states relax their borders to boost the economy? Yes No Undecided Should all states relax their borders to boost the economy? Yes 219 votes

No 202 votes

Undecided 21 votes Now share your opinion





'There is clearly much greater levels of community transmission and infection in New South Wales and Victoria than here.'

On Monday afternoon, federal tourism minister Simon Birmingham weighed into the debate, saying that keeping borders closed would harm local businesses.

'If one or two states were to hold out they will be answerable to their tourism industry and will need to provide additional support to that industry,' he told Sky News.

Freya Higgins-Desbiolles, a senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at University of South Australia, said that local businesses in less populated states were very keen for inter-state travel to resume.

'In terms of tourism businesses there is more money coming from the wealthier states and the more money you've got circulating the better,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

She warned that intra-state travel alone may not be enough to keep businesses that depend on tourism alive.

'The sort of travel that's going to be easiest and that people feel comfortable with - such as camping and caravaning - isn't the best for the economy because people might not spend a lot.

'South Australia, for example, would love to attract wealthier tourists from inter-state and when the borders come down we're going to be competing for their custom.'

However, Dr Higgins-Desbiolles said state premiers are unlikely to relax the borders until community transmission is reduced in NSW and Victoria.

'Until then this puts our federal system in a bit of tension,' she said.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - Altamira Gold Corp.'s (TSXV: ALTA) (FSE: T6UP) (OTC PINK: EQTRF), ("Altamira" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the second environmental permit required for the trial mining licenses with respect to claim 866.070/2004 for its advanced Cajueiro gold project in northern Mato Grosso state in western Brazil. Highlights are as follows:

As recently announced, permits are in place for the construction of a 1000t/d processing plant at the Cajueiro gold project which is fully funded and expected to commence during H2 2020

The publication of a second environmental permit at the Cajueiro project area gives Altamira the right to extract additional material from a larger area including all of the Crente resource

The second environmental permit has now been presented to the ANM mining authorities in Brazil and the Company is awaiting the approval of the second Trial Mining License, which will allow Altamira to process a total of 100,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year

Michael Bennett, Altamira Gold's President and CEO commented, "The publication of the second Environmental License on our flagship Cajueiro project is yet another important milestone for the Company as we advance towards trial mining and gold production during late 2021 and demonstrates that Brazil has in the last twelve months accelerated it's mining and environmental permitting system. The second bulk sampling license will enable Altamira to produce 100,000 tonnes of ore during the initial year of mining and will help to reach the goal of achieving short term cash flow."

On 27th April 2020, Altamira announced a US$6M gold forward purchase agreement deal with Metalstream Inc. to fund the construction of a 1,000 tonne-per-day processing plant and commence mining of the oxide resources at the Cajueiro project. Prior to this recent announcement, the Company has made a number of important advances in the project permitting process and announced receipt of an environmental permit for the first (claim 866.160/2007) of a total of four licenses on 16th October 2019. Granting of the environmental permit is an important requisite step for the granting of a Trial Mining License and on 16th January 2020 a Trial Mining License was issued for license 866.160/2007.





Figure 1 Map showing claims covering the Cajueiro project area

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/56191_02fe1a4e74d1ea6c_001full.jpg

The new environmental permit (claim 866.070/2004) covers the northern part of the Crente deposit (Indicated resources of 2.6Mt @ 1.31 g/t gold representing 58% of the total Indicated resource at Cajueiro, and Inferred resources of 3.4Mt @ 1.28 g/t gold representing 27% of the total Inferred resource) and paves the way for the issuance of the second Trial Mining License which is anticipated later this year (see Figure 1).

Two additional environmental permit applications are currently pending, which cover the Baldo and Matrincha resource areas and will pave the way for the granting of two additional Trial Mining Licences. The granting of two additional Trial Mining Licenses at Cajueiro will allow Altamira to increase production to a maximum of 200,000 tonnes of mineralized material per year.

Altamira's most recent NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate was completed in October 2019 by Global Resource Engineering Ltd. ("GRE"), and totals 5,661,000t @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz of gold (Indicated) and 12,665,000t @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz of gold (Inferred). The resources are confined to an area of approximately 285 ha whilst the total area comprising the Cajueiro concession area amounts to 28,559 ha and hosts numerous untested targets.

A production decision at Cajueiro is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability, and as a result there is increased uncertainty and there are multiple technical and economic risks of failure which are associated with this production decision. These risks, among others, include areas that are analyzed in more detail in a feasibility study, such as applying economic analysis to resources and reserves, more detailed metallurgy and a number of specialized studies in areas such as mining and recovery methods, market analysis, and environmental and community impacts. In accordance with NI 43-101 and the companion policy to that instrument, Altamira cannot provide any guidance either in terms of anticipated gold production or net cash flows.

Chief Financial Officer

The Company is pleased to welcome the appointment of Ms. Soraia Morais as Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), effective immediately. Ms. Morais replaces Michael O'Brien. The Board would like to thank Mr. O'Brien for his efforts on behalf of the Company.

Ms. Morais is a Chartered Professional Accountant, CMA with over 15 years of experience in accounting and financial management. She started working in the resource sector in 2009. Prior to that, she accumulated an extensive business background including managing her own business and spending 5 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers Brazil. She is a dual citizen of Canada and Brazil and fluent in English and Portuguese, with working knowledge of Spanish. She has a Diploma in Accounting from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences from Brazil.

Qualified Person

Guillermo Hughes, P. Geo., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Altamira Gold Corp.

The Company is focused on the exploration and development of gold projects within western central Brazil. The Company holds 11 projects comprising approximately 290,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated 7 to 10Moz of placer gold. The Company's advanced Cajueiro project has NI 43-101 resources of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz in the Inferred Resource category.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

ALTAMIRA GOLD CORP.

"Michael Bennett"

Michael Bennett

President & CEO

Tel: 604.676.5660

Toll-Free: 1-833-606-6271

info@altamiragold.com

www.altamiragold.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56191
Following a very public spat, the Syrian Ministry of Finance has seized the movable and immovable assets of Rami Makhlouf, to ensure full payment writes Al-Masadar.

The Syrian Ministry of Finance has made a precautionary seizure of the movable and immovable property belonging to businessman Rami Makhlouf, along with the assets of his wife and children.

According to the decision signed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Decision No. 1236 comes as a guarantee for the payment of the sums requested by the Ministry of Communications.

The authority had asked the Syrian cell phone giant for 233.8 billion Syrian pounds, and while MTN agreed to pay, SyriaTel refused, and its board chairman (Rami Makhlouf, cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) began a series of videos and blogs disputing the authorities.

On Monday, the Ministry of Communications and Rami Makhlouf traded words on Facebook, with reports of SyriaTel officers leaving the company to avoid prosecution.

Makhlouf has requested that the money he pays to the Syrian Ministry of Communications goes to the poor; however, the latter claims he owes money for his companys license.

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.
Press Release

May 20, 2020 Water districts which make handwashing possible face liquidity problems Community-owned water districts should be included in the economic assistance government is packaging, "because these frontline utilities supply a basic need for which there is no substitute," Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said. "Kung walang tubig, paano maghuhugas ng kamay? If water is essential to the anti-pandemic fight, then we must see to it that those who supply it are financially buoyant," he said. But the law deferring the payment of water bills and the decision of water districts themselves to relax collection have led to cash flow problems for many of them, Recto explained. "Maraming water districts, lalo na 'yung mga maliliit, ang may liquidity problems," he said. "These districts serve small towns and rural areas which water conglomerates find too unprofitable to operate in," he said. Unlike Maynilad and Manila Water, which have "a reservoir of resources" to tide them over during the period when bill payment "has likewise been placed under quarantine, itong mga water districts, walang malalim na balon ng pondo." Recto said the almost 600 water districts in the country combine for 20 million household customers, or one in five water users. The bulk of water districts are in "Category D," with less than 3,000 connections. "Although they are required to keep a financial reserve that can meet three months of operations, most of them do not have this cushion," Recto said. The same problems hound local governments which run their own water system, Recto said. "When the local budget is depleted by pandemic expenses, when low water consumption brought about by the closure of business establishments leads to a dip in water revenues, and when collection suffers because of the staggered payment policy, all of these add pressure on the LGU budget," Recto said. Recto said "if internet is treated like a vital utility during the lockdown, then all the more should water be." "We can survive without broadband, even without electricity -- but water, like food, is essential for man's existence," he said. He said the various economic stimulus packages being bounced around for the consideration of Congress should include a provision "distinctly addressing what relief should be given to water districts." "Can their loans be refinanced? Ano ang mga posibleng tulong para tuloy-tuloy ang kanilang service expansion?" Recto said.
Jeremy Renner once again finds himself in the middle of a big mess. This time, the "Avengers" actor is accusing his ex-wife of stealing.

A New Scandal

In the court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the 49-year-old actor claimed that his ex-wife Sonni Pacheco misused the money from their daughter's trust fund. He alleges that Pacheco has taken nearly $50,000 from the account of their 7-year-old daugther Ava in less than two years.

All these allegations were based on the communication exchange between Jeffrey Jacobs, Renner's business manager, and Pacheco. The legal team of the "Bourne Legacy" actor presented a series of these emails in court to prove their claim.

The actor cited several other occasions when money transfers were made from Ava's trust fund to the personal bank account of Pacheco. The documents claimed that Pacheco used the money for her own personal gain, including the payments for her property taxes, legal fees and other expenses that are completely unrelated to the needs of their daughter.

All of these transfers are a clear violation of the court's order. In an email from Jacobs dated April 23, 2019, Pacheco admitted that she transferred funds from the trust account of her daughter to her personal account.

"The money transfers to my bank were to keep my afloat/provide [the minor] Christmas presents/birthday gift bags and essentials for her bday party - after all my savings were spent on lawyers/child custody evaluator," the document reads, referring to Pacheco admitting that she did make money transfers.

"[Pacheco] made the unilateral decision to take funds from the minor's trust account and use them for her own personal gain when she was short on funds."

In the same month, Renner accused Pacheco of taking another $10,000 from Ava's trust fund. In the documents presented in court, Pacheco clarified such withdrawal through an email to Jacobs.

"Please note the number of $10701.40 was taken out of this account to pay my property taxes for 6 months," Pacheco allegedly wrote.

Sonni further emphasized that her personal savings were drained to pay for attorney fees. Despite the documents presented in court, Pacheco denied all claims made by the "Hansel and Gretel" actor.

In the same report by Us Weekly, Pacheco expressed her disappointment with all the accusations made by her ex-husband.

"I am sick of being continually bullied, having my name slandered, and the truth muted," she said.

A Custody Battle

Jeremy Renner and Sonni Pacheco have been caught in a messy custody battle over their daughter Ava. In the lawsuit filed against Renner, the Marvel actor Jeremy Renner allegedly threatened to kill himself and his wife.

In the court documents submitted by Pacheco, she accused Renner of drug use and emotional abuse. However, a representative of Renner told People in October 2019 that the allegations Pacheco made were one-sided.

"It's important to note the dramatizations made in Sonni's declaration are a one-sided account made with a specific goal in mind," the statement from Renner's camp said at the time.

Renner's rep went on to emphasize that Renner's main focus is the well-being and comfort of their daughter Ava.

"The well-being of his daughter Ava has always been and continues to be the primary focus for Jeremy. This is a matter for the court to decide," Renner's lawyer added.

Renner and Pacheco welcomed their daughter in 2013. They got married in January 2014, but Sonni filed for divorce later that year. Since then, the two have been in a nasty custody battle. They have thrown allegations here and there to discredit each other's reputation.
- During his televised address, President Rodrigo Duterte asked to play a song written by his friend

- The President said that the song was able to capture the spirit and emotions of the people during the COVID-19 crisis

- While the song was playing, the President turned emotional in front of the Cabinet members

- He also assured the Filipinos that the government will be transparent with the billions allocated by his administration for COVID-19 response

PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed

President Rodrigo Duterte asked to play a song during his televised address on Tuesday.

KAMI learned that the President turned emotional as he was listening to the song.

According to a report by CNN Philippines, the song was written by a friend of President Duterte.

Yung kanta niya, nakuha niya yung the spirit that we have been looking for na where we can express our What we feel for the moment, the President said.

Here are some lyrics of the song:

Di ka umaatras sa sakit na marahas kailangan mo magpalakas para silay mailigtas

Ibuwis ang yong buhay, handang matanggap pag ikay mamatay, asawat anak na hindi masilayan, pamilya mong iiwang luhaan.

PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback

Mga kababayan ko, I hope maski na papano, we were able to convey, napaabot naming ang mensahe ng gobyerno sa inyo, he said.

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news!

As previously reported by KAMI, President Duterte also said in his televised address that he will be keeping NCRPO chief Debold Sinas after his controversial birthday celebration.

Earlier, President Duterte said that the enhanced community quarantine will be immediately lifted once there is a vaccine discovered against COVID-19.

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!

Watch our awesome hosts talk about romance amid the COVID-19 crisis in the Philippines! Check out all of the exciting videos and celebrity interviews on our KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: KAMI.com.gh
All passengers flying with Aer Lingus will be required to wear a mask "or suitable face covering" from Thursday, May 21.

The airline began requesting the use of masks or coverings "from the point of boarding the aircraft until they are inside the destination airport" this Monday, but will move to making them mandatory tomorrow.

"This is a temporary measure to enable us collectively play our part in keeping everyone safe on board," it said. "Maintaining a safe and healthy environment for our customers and our staff is our number one priority."

It recommends passengers bring "sufficient face coverings for the duration of their journey". These do not have to be medical face masks, but can be reusable cloth or disposable coverings.

"Customers who are unable to keep a face covering in place, including children, are exempt from the mandatory application of the policy."

Passengers should consider wearing a face covering "from the time of entry into the departure airport", Aer Lingus adds, while also saying its cabin crew will be wearing "suitable face coverings" during flights.

The rule will apply until August 31, 2020.

Read More

The new policy comes as airlines around the world step up health and safety protocols ahead of a possible increase in flying schedules this summer.

Ryanair, which plans to resume up to 40pc of its flights from July, has said passengers should also wear face coverings and prepare for possible temperature checks at airports.

Emirates has conducted 'rapid Covid-19' tests, while Air France and Air Canada have announced mandatory infrared passenger temperature checks, with a body temperature below 38C required to travel.

Airlines have also introduced enhanced cleaning, altered in-flight services, and implemented physical distancing measures during check-in and boarding.

The EU has issued guidelines as to how transport may safely resume, but there are as of yet no co-ordinated health and safety regulations between member states, nor agreed processes and measures across European airports.

The Irish Government continues to advise against all non-essential travel "until further notice", with inbound travellers required to self-isolate for 14 days.

Sign up for our free travel newsletter!

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to 'Travel Insider', our free travel newsletter written by award-winning Travel Editor, Pol O Conghaile.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says that law enforcement agencies must respond to information about the alleged influence of former U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden on the fifth president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, which has already been done by the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO).

"As for Poroshenko and Biden, yes, I heard, I will comment on it. I think this is not the last call (sign) that Ukrainians will see. The prosecutor's office, law enforcement agencies should respond. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine registered a criminal proceeding at the request of [Member of Parliament Andriy] Derkach yesterday. They will investigate," the president said during a press conference on Wednesday.

He added: "I know that this can be perceived, qualified as high treason. This is the matter of law enforcement agencies.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed the Central Bank to simplify the terms of lending to small businesses and family entrepreneurship, Trend reports citing the press service of the president.

At the meeting held on May 19, the president stressed that all the restrictions imposed on entrepreneurs in obtaining loans for products, equipment, raw materials and working capital should be removed.

It is noted that it's necessary to stimulate trade, expand consumer credit in order to increase purchasing power of the population.

As reported, it was found out that 55 percent of the appeals to the People's and the prime minister's receptions were related to bank loans. Entrepreneurs' appeals for banking services were positively resolved in 10 percent of cases in the National Bank, 11 percent in Microcredit Bank and 13 percent in Agrobank.

During the meeting, Mirziyoyev emphasized that banks activity should be assessed by the quality of customer service.

It was stressed that banks are an important link in the development of small business, so they should expand the scale of support to entrepreneurs and citizens, investing in "growth points" in each district.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
New Delhi, May 20 : Ride-hailing major OLA has decided to lay off 1,400 employees amid the coronavirus crisis.

Outlining the severe impact of the pandemic on the industry and the company, in an email to the employees on Wednesday, co-founder & CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal on Wednesday said OLA'a revenue over the past two months has come down by 95 per cent.

"In these circumstances, today I write to all of you with the toughest decision I have ever taken -- the need to downsize our organization and let go of 1,400 of our valued employees," Aggarwal said in his mail.

The CEO said the crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of the partner drivers and their families across India and in the international geographies.

"In this moment, various teams across the group have pursued, in spite of the many constraints, to serve drivers, citizens, and the nation at large," the note from Aggarwal said.

He said this will be a one-time exercise and will be complete by the end of the week for India mobility business and by the end of next week for Ola foods and Ola Financial Services. No more COVID related cuts will be done after this exercise, the mail added.

The CEO, in his mail to the employees, noted that this crisis necessitates the need to conserve cash aggressively so that we are able to invest in opportunities in the future.

"While we restructure our organization to the new realities of our business, we are also going to recommit ourselves to strengthening our operational excellence and leverage a lot more technology to improve efficiencies and reduce cost across all parts of our business. We are increasing our investments and adding people capabilities in R&D across the group through this crisis to double down on innovation and engineering".

He said during Wednesday-Saturday, the HR team will have one-on-one conversations with each and every one of the impacted employees, adding the company has tried to bring together a comprehensive benefits plan that will ensure that every single team member affected is given maximum support on all fronts -- financial, healthcare, emotional, and career-support.

Every affected employee will receive a minimum financial payout of three months of their fixed salary, irrespective of the notice period. Beyond this, those employees who have spent significantly more time with OLA will be eligible for higher payouts depending on tenure, according to Aggarwal's mail.

Further, all eligible ESOPs will vest forward to the closest quarter. For those who may not have completed a year, as an exception, the company will enable pro-rated vesting for the period of time spent with it.

All affected employees will be able to continue using their medical, life and accident insurance cover for themselves and their families up to December 31, 2020 or the start of their next job whichever is earlier, to help minimize the financial burden of health and other risks.

"We have taken a decision to offer medical insurance for up to 2 parents (or in-laws) to each employee. This parental insurance will cover parents for all pre-existing ailments up to the age of 90, for a sum of Rs 2 lakh. This insurance will continue for all our departing colleagues till 31st Dec 2020 or the start of their next job whichever is earlier," he told the employees.

Further, the Ola Talent Acquisition team would help regarding outplacement support for as many people and in helping find suitable roles for them outside Ola.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
View of a closed beach restaurant in Wassenaar, The Netherlands, on May 19, 2020. (Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Beaches, Nightclubs? Europe Mulls How to Get Tourists Back

AYIA NAPA, CyprusThe Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach.

But the pandemic silenced the exuberant Napa Strip district as the island nation of Cyprus went into lockdown to halt the spread of the CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus and which causes the disease COVID-19. Now, nightclub owners wonder when social distancing rules will be eased enough for the party to resumeand what those new parties will look like.

We know at nightclubs, young people will go dancing and have a good time. But then, you have to tell them that they have to keep 2 meters (6 feet) apart from each other? asked Charalambos Alexandrou, the spokesman for a group representing local clubs, bars, and restaurants.

Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travelers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat. Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of health and business, authorities are introducing measures to reassure visitors that taking a holiday is safe again.

Social distancing rules may work in restaurants, but thats not likely to solve the quandary facing Ayia Napas nightclubs. Alexandrou said this will be a season of trying to survive, not seeking a profit.

One idea being considered is asking holidaymakers to take a COVID-19 test prior to their arrival. Cyprus has officially reported 916 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths.

Cyprus will initially look to bring tourists from nearby countries that have managed to contain the virus  Greece, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and some central European and Nordic nations, the countrys deputy minister for tourism, Savvas Perdios, said.

Authorities will take more time to assess the course of the pandemic in the United Kingdom and Russia, the islands primary tourism markets, before rolling out the red carpet for those countries.

Tourists in the near future will have to navigate a different set of expectations, routines, and rules to counter the virus.

Christos Angelides, president of the Cyprus Hotel Managers Association, said new rules being announced soon will mean that from the moment tourists step out of their bus or taxi from the airport, their luggage will be disinfected and taken straight to their rooms. Reception procedures will be done electronically, with employees behind a plexiglass screen and cleaning staff in full protective gear.

Guests eyeing a vacation in Portugal, another major southern European holiday destination, will probably look beyond a hotels online reviews to see if it has the Clean&Safe seal now being awarded by local tourism officials. The seal indicates that the establishment, be it a hotel, restaurant, or other venues, has enacted recommended hygiene and safety procedures to protect against the virus.

The idea has been a big success in a desperate sector that accounts for 15 percent of Portugals gross domestic product and 9 percent of the countrys jobs. The online classes needed to obtain the seal are being attended by around 4,000 people a week.

Its a question of making people feel safe to travel and having confidence in the place where theyre going, said Luis Araujo, president of the government agency Turismo de Portugal.

Portugal lies at the opposite end of the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus, but its challenge is the same: how to reconcile social distancing and hygiene rules with fun and relaxation.

Restrictions scare away any tourist, Araujo acknowledged.

The Portuguese government says discotheques will be the last places to open, but many hotels intend to start reopening June 1.

Among the changes being adopted: Guests wont check into their rooms until 24 hours after the last occupant has checked out, to allow time for thorough cleaning and airing of the space. Waiting for sunbeds may come to an end as some hotel guests will get one for their own exclusive use. Buffets are unlikely to be offered; room service is expected to thrive.

Another challenge is how to reopen southern Europes famous beaches.

Portugal has come up with a plan to get people back on the sand starting June 6. Sunbathers must stay 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart, with umbrellas at least 3 meters (10 feet) apart. New signs and an app will use a traffic-light system of red, yellow, and green, indicating which beaches are full, partially full, or have few people. Paddle boats and water slides will be prohibited.

In an attempt to shore up public confidence, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa went to his local cafe for morning coffee and had lunch at a Lisbon restaurant with the speaker of Parliament on May 18, the first day those businesses reopened after a lockdown.

Even with all the efforts to make tourists feel safe, worries about the coronavirus arent going away.

U.K. personal trainer Kenny Dyer canceled an Easter vacation in Cyprus and is hopeful of venturing back in October. But Dyer attached a condition that governments may find hard to guarantee.

I wouldnt want to fly somewhere where theres a sudden spike in coronavirus cases, and I would have to be quarantined abroad, Dyer said.

By Menelaos Hadjicostis & Barry Hatton.

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.
Mumbai, May 20 : Chef Vikas Khanna has prepared a special dish and named it "Moga" after the town in Punjab where actor Sonu Sood was born. This, because Khanna is impressed with Sonu's charity work amid the COVID 19 lockdown.

Khanna shared a photo of the special dish with a tweet message: "Dear @SonuSood everyday you are inspiring us. Can't cook for you right now in appreciation of your work. So sending you a dish Im going to name "MOGA" after your birthplace. #Respect #RealHero." Sonu was overjoyed naturally, and he called Khanna the "world's best chef".

He wrote: "Bhaiiiiii. Now this is SOMETHING, the most special thing I heard today. Love u man for all the great work ur doing . U inspire, n yes... can't wait to taste "MOGA" made by THE WORLD's BEST CHEF my home town MOGA will be proud today." Meanwhile, a resident of Telangana, stuck elsewhere requested Sonu Sood to help him reach home. But the actor informed that Telangana is not allowing people to enter from other states.

"Telangana is not accepting people brother. Still trying my best to seek permissions. Hoping for the best," tweeted the actor.
MUMBAI: The number of Maharashtra Police personnel infected with global coronavirus infection has risen to 1388 on Wednesday. According to the Maharashtra Police, out of the 1388 cases of coronavirus among its personnel, 948 are still active.

"The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Maharashtra Police is now 1388, including 948 active cases, 428 recovered and 12 deaths," the Maharashtra Police said in a release.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state by the deadly contagion.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are a total of 37,136 number of coronavirus cases in the state with at least 1,325 fatalities.

The COVID-19 had last week claimed the life of ASI Madhukar Mane who was posted in Mumbai.

DGP and all ranks of Maharashtra Police had offered their condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased policeman.

In the last few weeks, a total of 12 policemen have died due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A large number of policemen have also been put in self-quarantine, which has left a staggering shortage of personnel in the police department.

To match the present requirements of police personnel, the Maharashtra government has sought Centre's help and asked to send around 2000 additional policemen from the Central Armed Police Forces to provide some respite to its own fatigued officers.

Giving lockdown statistics, a Mumbai Police official said there were 229 incidents of policemen being attacked, and 803 people had been arrested in this connection.

"So far, we have registered 1,07,256 offences under section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders and arrested 20,237 accused persons. We have also recovered Rs 4.10 crore as fines during this period," he added.
On sidewalks, in parking lots and even under tents, people all around town may soon be spotted dining outdoors.

In a unanimous motion at Mondays Board of Selectmen special meeting, the selectmen granted permission for the use of town property and/or off-street parking areas, for dining to take place.

This motion was made in light of the governors requirement, effective May 20, that restaurants and retailers can only be open for outdoor dining.

In order to help facilitate that, the town will be allowing for tents and seating to be arranged, Darien First Selectmen Jayme Stevenson said at the meeting, in which she was the only member participating in person. All others participated remotely.

Restaurateurs and retailers are allowed to operate outdoors and they can operate on sidewalks and in parking lots and roadways, when thats been authorized to do so, Stevenson said.

The town is in control of some parking lots that the parking authority would normally be voting for any requests for the use of those parking lots, as we have done in the past, she added. This Board of Selectmen will make this decision, in conjunction with the health department, fire marshal and appropriate zoning officials to authorize the use of those spaces for the local restaurants and retailers.

The Darien Department of Planning & Zoning has been accepting applications to be able to do those things. The town is not charging application fees for those applications.

COVID-19 cases

The last positive case for the coronavirus reported for the town of Darien was on May 15, when one case was reported.

As of Monday, May 18, Darien had a total of 199 cases, 15 hospitalizations, five deaths and 96 documented recoveries.

Case contact work continues by the local health department and nursing staff. Seven of the cases in Darien and two deaths were at assisted living facilities.

Seventy percent of the deaths in Connecticut are attributed to long-term care facilities.

Darien reopening

Darien Town Administrator Kate Buch said Darien Town Hall will be reopening to public access on June 1. It would be by appointment only.

We want to keep the public out of the main part of the building, Buch said. We have set up workstations in Room 119 that are safely distanced from one another. We have another room available in the Mather Center that can be used for meetings that need to be private.

The department heads have been working on their staffing plans.

Our target is to be no more than 50 percent, so we are working on bringing back staff, she said. However, some will continue to work from home.

Additionally, the town is gathering an assortment of disposable masks.

Those who have to come to Town Hall for an appointment are required to wear a mask and will be expected to utilize hand sanitizer when they enter the building.

The town has also intensified its cleaning over the last several months.

Were putting screening on all the public counters and in between employee work spaces where they cannot be safely distanced, Buch said.

Groups can still not gather in more than five. That is still the guiding principle at the moment.

Town Hall employees will be working from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Town Hall will be closed on Friday, beginning Friday, June 5. There will be no late night Tuesday until Town Hall opens to full public access.

Reopening Connecticut

Regarding local restaurants and retailers, many of the towns businesses will be reopening Wednesday, May 20, per the governors instructions and the Reopen Connecticut guidance documents that were issued on May 8.

Businesses are required to fulfill a self-certification that all the requirements for cleaning, personal protection for employees, capacity adjustments, social distancing, and touchless amenities are all being planned for and to be followed, Stevenson said.

Businesses may impose other requirements of patrons, like wearing masks.

On Friday, May 15, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced he was disbanding the reopen Connecticut task force, which was tasked with crafting what was a four-phased plan published on May 8, to reopen businesses.

He disbanded it in favor of hiring the Boston Consulting Group to take over the planning for reopening businesses.

On Monday, May18, the governor announced he is rescinding his plan to reopen hair salons and barbershops on May 20.

The Connecticut Beauty Association lobby group has pushed back on the reopen plans, citing issues of lack of appropriate PPE, employees who are parents needing to help their children with eLearning at home, and not being able to come back into the workplace.

Stevenson said this is an unacceptable situation for our local businesses, who are very well prepared under the guidance of our local health department to open under the mandated guidelines.

Town beach update

Non-residents are not allowed to purchase daily passes this summer due to the concern about capacity levels at the beaches, Parks & Recreation Director Pam Gery told The Darien Times.

There will be no lifeguards or concessions at town beaches this summer. The town has hired a security company to operate the gates.

There will be police presence as much as possible, Buch said. We have security personnel that ensure in the parks and beaches that people maintain safe social distancing.

The restrooms will hopefully be open by Thursday.

Watch the Board of Selectmen special meeting on Darien TV/79.

sfox@Darientimes.com
Around 440,000 final-year students are the first to return to school in South Korea. (Photo: AFP/Ed JONES)

Students lined up for temperature checks and were given sanitisers to wash their hands as they entered school premises, while teachers greeted them with smiles and occasional elbow bumps.

"It's really exciting to meet my friends and teachers face to face, but we have to strictly follow the disinfection guidelines," said Oh Chang-hwa, student president of Kyungbock High School in Seoul.

"I am very worried but it's still nice to see them again," Oh told AFP.

South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the virus  at one point the second-worst hit nation after mainland China  prompting officials to delay the reopening of schools in early March.

But it appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive "trace, test and treat" programme.

Around 440,000 final-year students, who will in December take the university entrance exam that is crucial in the education-obsessed country, are the first to return to schools, with other years following in stages over the next several weeks.

Inside the school buildings, students are asked to wipe their desks and sit apart according to social distancing guidelines, with some classes setting up partitions between desks.

"Concerns over small infection clusters still remain and no one can predict what kind of situation will arise at schools," education minister Yoo Eun-hae said.

The education ministry began operating a 24-hour emergency situation room this week, Yoo said, adding that any schools that report fresh infections will be shut immediately.

While final-year students are required to come to school every day, younger pupils will shift between online and offline classes to ensure school buildings are not overcrowded.
As the country enters the fourth round of lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday reiterated usage of digital modes for banking transactions.

Earlier this week, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced lockdown 4.0 till May 31 to check the spread of coronavirus.

The use of digital payment modes has become more important as the ongoing nationwide lockdown, imposed to maintain social distancing to contain the spread of coronavirus, has restricted the movement of people.

In the campaign launched on a microblogging site, the central bank said digital payment modes make it easier for people to do banking transactions while being safe at home and at any hour of the day.'



"Safe digital transactions can be done from the safety of your home," the RBI's campaign emphasised.

The multiple digital payment options include NEFT, IMPS and UPI that are available round-the-clock.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das earlier appealed to the public to use every precautionary measure, including digital banking, to maintain social distance.

The RBI, however, warned customers to be vigilant while using digital modes of transactions and also advised them to alert their banks in case of any fraud.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Central govt should set up special agencies in HK to enhance Chinese history education: NPC deputy

Global Times

By Chen Qingqing and Bai Yunyi Source:Global Times Published: 2020/5/19 13:15:06

The central government should establish special agencies in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to improve Chinese history education and enhance a sense of national identity among local students. These could be either government agencies or non-profit organizations through which the mainland could dispatch teachers or experts to the SAR, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC) told the Global Times.

Young Hong Kong people lack an understanding of the country's history, culture and current affairs, while local education institutions have been struggling with a lack of teachers, and we hope the central government can help us tackle this problem, Tam Yiu-chung, former chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and an NPC deputy, told the Global Times in a recent interview.

"Establishing government agencies or non-profit organizations to push forward forward Chinese history and culture education among young people in Hong Kong will be suggested, and there are many mainland experts in this field, who could be assigned to Hong Kong to offer help," Tam said.

Hong Kong's education system has come under the spotlight in recent days after an inappropriate question appeared in the history test from the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination on Thursday, asking students whether Japan did more good than harm to China during the 1900-1945 period. Japan invaded China in World War II.

The test question sparked calls for stricter supervision of the curriculum and examination system. Some experts slammed the question, claiming it was just as ridiculous as asking European students whether Hitler did more good than harm to Europe.

Carrie Lam, chief executive of the HKSAR government, reiterated at a press conference on Tuesday the SAR government's commitment to education, claiming that some people are still making irresponsible remarks on the inappropriate question in the history test, which is deeply regretful and disappointed.

The official also vowed to ensure every student accepts the right education, the reports said.

Some of Hong Kong's deputies to the NPC and members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) are expected to address the issue of Hong Kong's long-existing flaws in the national education system at the upcoming two sessions in Beijing.

Tam noted that in Hong Kong, even some history teachers have an incorrect understanding of Chinese history. For instance, a teacher from Ho Lap Primary School told students that the first Opium War, which started in 1840 and resulted in China ceding Hong Kong Island to Britain, was the result of Britain's attempt to stop opium smoking in China, media reported.

"This is absolutely wrong. They tried to turn things upside down, and are obviously not the facts. As a result, it's highly necessary to push forward the establishment of special agencies to improve national education," he said.

The deputy also suggested that Greater Bay Area authorities consider establishing primary or secondary schools that have mutually recognizable qualifications with Hong Kong schools to provide "another educational choice" in the area. He also suggested that more young Hong Kong people be offered training opportunities in the mainland, and take part in history and cultural exchanges with the mainland as a practical project for Hong Kong schools.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (File image: Reuters)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government is open to taking further measures during the COVID-19 outbreak.

"I am not ruling it out. I have to see how it (pandemic) develops as we go further," Sitharaman told Mint when asked about further measures.

On May 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 20 lakh crore economic package, following which Sitharaman provided the details in five sets of measures.

Also read: COVID-19 | Stimulus package falls short of meeting immediate concerns

Speaking to Mint, the finance minister responded to India Inc's criticism of the stimulus.

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

"I heard all of them and then took a decision. I do understand each has a perspective on what is best. I welcome all views. I have done what is best in my view," Sitharaman said.

When asked about her thoughts on being called a "fiscal hawk," Sitharaman said it was important to be careful with public money.

"I am hearing it for the first time. I would assume that is a virtue. I am dealing with public money; I am dealing with money, every penny of which I am answerable to. I have to be cautious," She said.

In a separate interview to The Economic Times, Sitharaman said the government had kept in mind lessons learnt from 2008-13, which was why it was cautious while spending to revive the economy.

She added that the measures announced last week could not be labelled as "supply side measures," since they would place money in the hands of consumers and boost demand.

Follow our full coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here
According to Dennis Kreps, who owns Quintessential with his father, Stephen D. Kreps, "We're always looking for wines that will 'stand out' in terms of quality and great value. The current market circumstances we find ourselves in make it more imperative than ever that we carefully chose brands we believe we can successfully market and sell. Wines with history and heritage that fit with the rest of our portfolio, like these wines from Accolade."

"The Americas hold huge opportunity as a key growth market for Accolade Wines," says Robert Foye, CEO of Accolade. "Through our partnership with Quintessential, we are excited to bring our amazing, award-winning portfolio of Australian and New Zealand wines  along with our Italian Prosecco, Da Luca  to the US to enrich everyday moments in our consumers' lives."

For Accolade, it all started with Hardys. It was one of the first wineries in Australia, established in 1853 by pioneering founder Thomas Hardy with the vision to "create wines that will be prized in the markets of the world." Hardys grew into one of Australia's largest wine producers and is now the #1 imported wine brand in Great Britain.

Grant Burge and St. Hallett are two impeccable Australian brands, with long histories in the iconic Barossa wine region. Five generations of the Burge family made wine in the heart of South Australia's most famous region. One of their newest labels is the aptly named Barossa Ink. Both the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are intensely opulent wines, with a color so dark, it is almost ink.

Founded in 1944, St. Hallett was at the forefront of the evolution of the Barossa becoming synonymous with high quality wines. It was the first winery to acknowledge the unique qualities of Barossa's old vines (some over 100 years old). Three St. Hallett Shiraz  Core Faith, Core Black Clay and Reserve Blackwell  as well as the Core Gamekeeper Shiraz-Grenache and Reserve Old Vines Grenache  are the first St. Hallett wines Quintessential will import.

Mud House and Hay Maker become the first two New Zealand wines Quintessential will represent since its founding. Over 20 years ago, the Mud House founders fell in love with Marlborough. They planted vines and built a home to live in from the local earth. That earth became the brand. In addition to these two Sauvignon Blancs, Quintessential also represents the Mud House Pinot Noir from Central Otago.

Da Luca fine Italian Prosecco and Sparkling Rose from Treviso and the Veneto, the unique Stone's Ginger Wine from Great Britain and the easy-drinking Echo Falls Fruit Fusion wines, round out Quintessential's portfolio, at very competitive prices.

For further information, please contact Quintessential via the website: www.quintessentialwines.com, email: [email protected], LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/quintessential-wines/

SOURCE Quintessential

Related Links

http://www.quintessentialwines.com


Zimbabwes prosecutor general has filed an High Court application seeking an order to compel former police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri to explain how he accumulated his wealth amid reports that he allegedly converted public funds of up to US$32 for his personal use.

According to the state-controlled newspaper, Prosecutor General Kumbirai Hodzi is also seeking an order to freeze Augustine Chihuris assets in Zimbabwe.

Chihuri, who backed the late former president Robert Mugabe during the 2017 defacto military coup that saw the rise of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to the countrys top political position, allegedly diverted public funds being handled by the police to various companies owned by his wife, Isobel Halima Khan Chihuri and other family members, and close associates.

The newspaper reports that some of the companies where police funds were deposited belonged to fictitious individuals and non-existent addresses.

Chihuri has not yet responded to the court application with indications that he is now living outside the country.

The prosecutor general wants the former police chief to explain how he acquired some of his properties that include seven residential stands, four vehicles, two combine harvesters, six tractors, two planters, three motorbikes and a boom spray. Some of these implements are at Chihuris farms in Shamva and Darwendale.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice sent California Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter expressing concerns about how soon the government would allow churches to resume their in-person religious services. Constitutional issues were also raised in the said letter.

Specifically, the department's letter raised an issue with the plans of the state to sanction the continuation of in-person religious services, which is slated to begin after office work and manufacturing are allowed to begin again.

In addition, the same written communication mentioned a statement previously made by US Attorney Bill Barr saying, the government may not enforce special limitations on church worships that do not apply as well, "to similar nonreligious activity."

Moreover, the department's written communication also indicated that the stay-at-home order of the state does not seem to treat the activities of the church and similar nonreligious activities fairly.

The Governor's Stance

A spokesman for the office of the governor said that it indeed had received the letter from the Justice Department.

Gov. Newsom, on Monday, said via a news conference that some limitations on religious activities which include counseling services, as well as other activities, have been relaxed.

However, he said, "for the congregants," it would take few more weeks and not months," he elaborated.

More so, the state leader expressed how he deeply admires the religious community, as well as the ardent longing to know when exactly "the congregants can return."

Incidentally, California has started the process the reopening the activities and economy of some of its areas, following the limitations developed to avoid or at least, slow, the spread of COVID-19.

Early in Stage Two

California is presently early in "stage two," allowing curbside retail service, several manufacturing jobs, and other activities with limitations.

Meanwhile, in-person church activities, along with movie theaters and hair and nail salons, are not included yet until stage three.

And even when "stage three" takes place, based on published materials indicated on the plan, there will still be restrictions in terms of gatherings.

In relation to this, regional exclusions are being granted, "allowing some counties," according to Newsom, "to go faster into stage two."

As for the letter from the Justice Department, it indicated that churches can do similar social distancing measures as businesses do.

As specified in the letter, the DOJ believes that there is a call from the Constitution for the state to strive in order for it to accommodate religious services, including in the Reopening Plan's Stage Two.

The Department also noted that three federal judges have declined the delaying of such limitations on church services and activities, although it also indicated that such decisions are not justifying the actions of California.

Not the First Time for the Department

This is not the first time that the Department has engaged in issues of church limitations surrounding the COVID-19 crisis.

Specifically, as earlier reported by some news agencies, the Greenville City Council already altered its policy in response, stating that the religious activities are good to go provided that the windows are open or rolled up.

In addition, in Oklahoma, US Attorney Timothy Downing sent a letter early this month, to Norman mayor, Breea Clark explaining to her "that her plan on churches," may be violations of the right to free exercise of religion which the First Amendment protected.

Relatively, Downing urged Mayor Clark to let the church activities resume sooner. Clark, for her part, did so and revised her order.

Check these out!
Portland elected its first Latinx city commissioner Tuesday and will see two City Council runoff elections that will likely feature an incumbent versus a political newcomer plus two finalists to fill the seat of late Commissioner Nick Fish.

Carmen Rubio, longtime executive director of community nonprofit Latino Network with experience advising three local elected officials, won the council seat currently held by Commissioner Amanda Fritz.

In the race to succeed Fish, former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith could square off with former Portland Public Schools Board member Dan Ryan in an Aug. 11 special election to serve Fishs remaining two years in office.

Its not yet clear which combination of incumbent Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, political newcomer Mingus Mapps and former Mayor Sam Adams will advance into a runoff in the Nov. 3 general election, although Eudaly and Mapps appear to be the top 2 finishers in votes tallied as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The news come as the results in the Portland mayors race are also too close to call, with incumbent Ted Wheeler possibly forced into to a runoff against urban policy consultant Sarah Iannarone. At 7:30 a.m., he has claimed 50.4% of votes tallied so far, just a hair above the 50% plus 1 vote mark he needs to claim a second term outright.

Before the polls closed, Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and members of his staff spent some time cleaning up litter in the Buckman neighborhood in SE Portland on election day, May 19, 2020. Dave Killen / StaffThe Oregonian

This years primary election saw four seats on the five-member council contested with a record 54 candidates, nearly $1.8 million slated to be distributed from the citys revamped public campaign financing program and COVID-19 causing candidates to host virtual election night watch parties, mostly from their homes.

In the race to succeed Fritz, Rubio led a field of nine candidates with 68% of the votes counted as of 7:30 a.m Wednesday. Fritz has held the position since 2009 and is currently the longest tenured person on the council. She announced in April 2019 that she would not seek a fourth term.

In the race to succeed Fish, Smith and Ryan appeared to be the top vote-getters, with former Mayor Charlie Hales chief of staff Tera Hurst slightly behind them, in the 18-person Portland City Council race. According to votes talled as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Smith had 19% to Ryans 17%. Behind them were Hurst with 14% and Julia DeGraw with 13%. Commissioner Fish died of cancer Jan. 2 after more than 11 years on the council.

In the race for Eudalys seat, the incumbent had a narrow lead over the closest of her seven challengers in partial returns Tuesday with about 31% of the vote to Mapps 29% in results tallied as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. In third was Adams, with 28%.

A disability and housing rights advocate, Eudaly first won office in 2016, upsetting then-Commissioner Steve Novick. Eudaly declined comment through a spokeperson Tuesday evening until more results were tallied.

Mapps said the tight race shows Portlanders are hungry for change and believe he could bring it. He said hes planning to be campaigning into the fall.

Adams, as of late Tuesday, said he was also waiting for more ballots to be counted.

The only thing for certain is that the election results so far show a deeply unpopular incumbent, he said.

Smith, the apparent front-runner in the race to succeed Fish, is a former Multnomah County commissioner who mounted a previous unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2018 but lost to Jo Ann Hardesty. Smith campaigned as a progressive candidate who championed jobs and housing programs during her time as a county commission. Her pledge to continue focusing on jobs and housing landed an endorsement from the union that covers Portland area grocery store workers

Ryan, who appeared likely to make a runoff with Smith, is a former Portland Public School board member who now leads education nonprofit All Hands Raised. Ryan pledged to help lead the city out of the coronavirus crisis, calling on his experience bringing people together to address educational issues.

Ryan said he felt good Tuesday night that his campaign had brought so many people from across the city together, and Portland voters are ready to stop the divisiveness and really include more voices at the table.

The truth is, in a crowded field like this, it was probably the biggest mystery about how it was going to turn out," said Ryan, who said he was cautiously optimistic hed make the runoff against Smith.

Based on endorsements from prominent political figures, union and community organizations and media outlets, Rubio received near unanimous support to succeed Fritz. This included nods from Portland Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Rep. Earl Blumenauer.

Born and raised in Hillsboro and of Mexican descent, Rubio has the most prior Portland city government experience of the candidates to replace Fritz. She spent the late 90s and 2000s working as policy adviser for then- Portland Commissioner Nick Fish and Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz, as well as director of community affairs for former Portland Mayor Tom Potter. Since 2009, she has been the executive director of the Latino Network, which serves Latinx youth and families in Multnomah County.

Carmen Rubio won the Portland City Council Position 1 in the 2020 Oregon election.Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian/OregonLive

Rubio spoke to supporters after 9 p.m. on a Zoom conferencing call, taking in her victory amid the coronavirus pandemic with an electronic  rather than live  room full of supporters.

Rubio said she was profoundly grateful to voters who elected her and looks forward to being part of the most racially and ethnically diverse City Council in Portlands history.

As your commissioner, I promise I will wake up every single day committed to the idea that this city belongs to all of us  all of us. And I will fight for that, she said, choking up. And Ill call on all of you to fight with me.

 Everton Bailey Jr. and Brad Schmidt
NEWPORT BEACH, CA - JULY 04: Newport Beach police enforces closure of beach along the Wedge in Newport Beach, a very popular and famed surf spot. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

Three months into California's battle with the coronavirus, there are growing signs that the outbreak is ebbing even as the state death toll continues to climb past 3,400.

While deaths remain a stubborn challenge, other metrics analyzed by the Los Angeles Times show significant progress  enough that even some of the most cautious local health officials have agreed to begin reopening the economy.

The number of newly identified coronavirus cases across California has declined last week from the previous week, dropping to 12,229 cases from 13,041 the previous week. That's a notable achievement, given the amount of increased testing.

And across California, hospitalizations have dropped more than 15% from its peak six weeks ago, The Times analysis found.

Gov. Gavin Newsom had initially tied reopening counties at a faster pace than the statewide standard to zero coronavirus deaths over a two-week period, a benchmark that some hard-hit counties like Los Angeles have little hope of achieving any time soon.

But with many other hopeful signs, Newsom dropped the requirement this week in a move that will allow many urban counties to reopen much more quickly. A Times data analysis found that some counties, including Contra Costa, Monterey, Napa, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and Yolo counties meet two key requirements needed to move into the next phase of reopening, which includes dine-in restaurants and shopping malls.

On Tuesday, Napa County said it had received state approval to reopen restaurant dining rooms and retail stores for in-person shopping; wineries, hair and nail salons still remain shut, and tourism is not allowed. Sacramento County said it also got a green light to reopen dine-in restaurants.

"What's really fantastic about this is that, for right now, our curve is not only flat, but it's actually decreasing in terms of number of hospitalizations," said Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco's director of health. "So this is very hopeful."

Story continues

Deaths remain a persistent problem, with an average of 500 Californians dying from coronavirus infections every week, as is the growing disproportionate toll the disease is taking on blacks and Latinos. There remains deep worry about a resurgence of disease in the fall, and officials warn the disease may be with us for the next two years without a widely available vaccine.

But even officials who have taken the earliest, boldest steps to impose stay-at-home orders are now saying the situation has stabilized enough to permit a slow reopening of society.

There are two key indicators some officials are increasingly focusing on: hospitalizations and the percentage of people testing positive.

In Santa Clara County  the home of Silicon Valley and once a national epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic  in early April, 9% of people tested had positive results for the coronavirus, a time at which there were fewer than 600 tests a day in Silicon Valley, health officer Dr. Sara Cody said this week. In recent days, just 1% to 1.5% of people are testing positive, and the county is now able to receive results from around 1,600 tests a day.

"Hospitals have capacity... and finally, our testing capacity has also increased," she said.

Just last week, Cody warned against easing the stay-at-home order, saying relaxing it "would see a brisk return of cases, of hospitalizations, and a brisk return of deaths."

Since then, the number of deaths in Santa Clara County has continued to fall, dropping to six last week, the lowest weekly tally in 10 weeks.

The nine-county Bay Area recorded 43 deaths last week, a slight increase from the previous week tally of 38, but still below the all-time weekly high of 61 deaths last month.

On a statewide basis, Newsom this week said the decrease in the state's hospitalizations was a factor in loosening requirements counties need to meet to reopen more broadly.

"Remember: the whole purpose of the stay-at home order was to prepare and to respond in the worst-case scenario," Newsom said. In recent weeks, testing and the supply of personal protective equipment is up, and "our capacity to meet surge has been, I think, advanced."

Two dozen mostly rural counties in Northern California have already entered a phase of broader opening some call the Expanded Phase 2, allowing restaurants and retail stores to legally reopen their doors for inside service in counties like San Benito, just east of Monterey County.

They met strict criteria issued by the governor on May 7, whose requirements included no deaths from coronavirus-infected individuals in the past 14 days, and no more than 10 cases per 100,000 residents in that same time period.

Those were just two of many standards Newsom asked counties to meet, and they were strict: A Times data analysis at the time showed that 95% of California residents lived in counties that failed those benchmarks.

Newsom's new standards released Monday abandons the requirement that there be no COVID-19 deaths in a county within the last 14 days.

Instead, hospitalization data is a key indicator. A county must have stable or falling hospitalizations.

Hospitalization is considered stable if the average daily increase in patients is under 5% over the past week. (Smaller counties can meet the standard if they show no more than 20 hospitalizations on any single day in the past two weeks.)

Another key rule measures the rate of disease in a county. A county must either have less than 8% of people testing positive in the last week, or fewer than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days.

Newsom estimated 53 of California's 58 counties could meet these standards.

There are other standards counties must meet to open more broadly. They include a minimum level of testing capacity, robust disease investigation teams, ample hospital bed capacity, and plans to prevent or deal with nursing home outbreaks.

San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties are among the counties that are applying to meet the new standard.

While Ventura County has reported six deaths in the last two weeks, failing the previous rule, the county said Tuesday just 3.5% have tested positive for the virus in the last week, and hospitalizations have been declining.

Newsom said counties that likely would not be eligible to enter this accelerated phase of reopening include two in the San Joaquin Valley: Kings County, home to an outbreak at a meatpacking plant in Hanford, and Tulare County, where outbreaks in nursing homes have persisted. Redwood Springs Healthcare Center in Tulare County has seen 28 residents die and 116 patients and 61 staff members infected.

In recent days in Los Angeles County, 9% of people tested for the virus have had positive results, which fails the state maximum of 8%, said Barbara Ferrer, the director of public health for Los Angeles County.

The weekly average number of people in L.A. County hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections has declined in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger expressed a goal for a reopening of L.A. County by July 4, something Ferrer said the county would aim for, but also remains contingent on what the data says in terms of the progress of the outbreak.

Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, medical epidemiologist and infectious-disease expert at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said he thought California was taking appropriate steps to reopen society safely.

It makes sense to allow places with few cases and sparse population to reopen sooner than dense, urban places hit hard by the pandemic, said Kim-Farley, a former senior official for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

"Obviously, we have some tensions that will always exist, some wanting to move faster than others," Kim-Farley said. "The idea here of ... trying to all agree on what are the guideposts along the way and then, let's open up accordingly ... these phased processes are a good approach."

Kim-Farley said officials should increasingly focus public health resources on where the coronavirus problem is greatest, like nursing homes.

Workers in skilled nursing facilities account for 44% of healthcare workers and first responders in L.A. County with confirmed coronavirus infections. Kim-Farley said it would be important, for instance, find ways to pay nursing home workers enough so they don't have to work at multiple locations, or paying them enough so they can live at the facility for a period of time.

For all the focus on the improved numbers, experts still caution that things can get worse. Outbreaks at institutions like prisons, nursing homes and homeless shelters could spread to the broader community.

The 1918 flu pandemic saw a second wave of deaths many times worse than the first.

"It's very easy to have a scenario where there's more infections, and having more infections results in overwhelming the health care system," Ferrer said.

Lin reported from San Francisco; Lee and Greene from Southern California. Times staff writers Maura Dolan, Taryn Luna, John Myers, Colleen Shalby and Phil Willon contributed to this report.
Bhubaneswar: The landfall process of Cyclone Amphan has commenced since 2.30 pm on Wednesday and it will continue for about four hours, said Director of Indian Meteorological Department, Bhubaneswar Centre, HR Biswas. He also said that the forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal.

"The landfall process commenced since 2:30 PM, will continue for about 4 hours. The forward sector of the wall cloud region is entering into land in West Bengal," he said.

Earlier in the day, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General SN Pradhan said that Odisha and West Bengal have evacuated nearly 1.5 lakh and 3.3 lakh people respectively ahead of the landfall of cyclone Amphan.

Pradhan also said that as per the IMD, the storm surge could be four to six meters of seawater which will enter land area.

NDRF teams are coordinating with local administration for storm surge response and a total of 41 teams are deployed in Odisha and West Bengal, he said.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) is also closely monitoring the developments in the Bay of Bengal and ships at Visakhapatnam have been kept on standby to proceed to affected areas to undertake humanitarian aid, evacuation, and logistic support.
by Nguyen Hung

Despite the warnings, plans push ahead for new barriers, to the detriment of people living in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The worst off are the millions of Vietnamese who live in the Mekong delta, the lowest lying area on the majestic river.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - Construction of dams on the Mekong continues. The river is 4,000 kilometers long, rising on the Tibetan plateau and flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

The stretch of this river that flows through the Chinese territory is 2,130 km. It's called Lan-ts'ang River. Chinese authorities have built 20 huge hydroelectric dams on this river.

According to the Mekong River Commission (MRC), on May 11, 2020, the Laotian government kicked off the consultation process of the Sanakham hydroelectric project. This is the sixth hydroelectric dam on Laos' Mekong River. It will be built by the end of 2020. It is expected to be operational by 2028 with a total cost of over $ 2 billion.

Two years ago, in this area downstream of the Mekong River, the Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy dam collapsed on July 23, 2018. The water bomb killed at least 29 people, hundreds of people were missing and numerous houses in the south of the Sanamxay district were swept away.

After this disaster, the Mekong River Rescue Alliance (MRRA) called on the Laotian government to immediately cancel the Luang Prabang hydroelectric project, as this dam can cause serious damage to the Mekong River.

The Mekong River Rescue Alliance also asked local authorities to seek alternative energy solutions and implement policies for sustainable development.

However, the Laotian government is still determined to pursue the hydroelectric power project of Luang Prabang, one of the lower reaches of the Mekong River. The Laotian government plans to build the dam (the fifth) by the end of 2020. It will be the third and largest dam in Laos.

The area downstream of the Mekong River is approximately 2,390 km long. In addition to the Sanakham hydroelectric project, just 15 km north of Vietnam, five other projects, including Xayaburi, Don Sahong, Pak Peng, Pak Lay and Luang Prabang, have been proposed for the consultation process.

The Sanakham hydroelectric project is located between the province of Xayaburi and that of Vientiane. The project is located about 2 km away from the Thai border and towards the upper part of the Loei province.

The limited liability company Datang Sanakham Energy is the contractor of this project with a total cost of approximately 2.073 million dollars. This project will have a capacity of 684 MW. The electricity will mainly be sold in Thailand.

The Laotian government also provided a series of "technology and feasibility studies" to the Mekong River International Commission (MRC). The documents were also shared with other MRC members such as Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to the Vietnam River Network (VRN), the increased development of hydropower on the main stream of the Mekong River will seriously threaten the environment and people's lives in different countries. In particular, the Vietnamese and Cambodians who live downstream of the Mekong River.

While the coronavirus pandemic has not yet stopped in these Indochina countries, some upstream states have continued to build dams on the Mekong. China has built 20 huge hydroelectric dams. Laos built 11 of them.

All these 31 huge dams are affecting 70 million people living in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The most impacted are the millions of Vietnamese who live in the Mekong delta, the lowest lying area of the majestic river.
Three people were charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery after a drug deal gone wrong ended in the shooting death of a teenager, according to an arrest affidavit.

Chelsey Lucero, 18, Angel Koenigstein, 19, and Nathaniel Velasquez, 24, are accused of setting up a fake meeting in order to rob a group of teenagers.

Bexar County Sheriff's deputies were called to the 11200 block of Dublin Woods on April 12 after a 911 caller said there were teenagers outside popping fireworks and running toward a vehicle, the affidavit said. But when deputies arrived at the scene, they found two people suffering from gunshot wounds.

One victim died at the scene and the second was transported to the hospital with a gunshot wound in the buttocks.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

Just before 3 a.m. on April 12, the three suspects drove to the meeting spot to meet with three teenagers. Velasquez and Lucero remained in the car while Koenigstein met with the three teens. Surveillance video from a doorbell camera shows Koenigstein pulling out a handgun and yelling "give me all your (sic)," the affidavit said. As the victims attempted to run, he shot at them multiple times, hitting two of the three teenagers, the affidavit continued.

One of the victims told police that they had known Koenigstein for several years, and at one point were as close as brothers.

Koenigstein was arrested on April 16 and identified Velasquez and Lucero as the two with him at the time of the shooting, according to the affidavit.

Velasquez was arrested on separate warrants on May 1. He told police that the three had been partying in a hotel when Koenigstein introduced the idea of robbing someone for drugs, the affidavit said.

Lucero said she didn't remember much from the shooting because she was high on methamphetamine, according to the affidavit said. However, a witness showed police police text messages from Lucero that said Koenigstein was armed and that the three were committing robberies, the affidavit said.

She was arrested May 17.

Koenigstein's bail was set at $250,000, Velasquez's at $500,000 and Lucero's is $100,000.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 09:32 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd925d8d 1 City PSBB,Jakarta-administration,Satpol-PP,violation Free

Jakarta has cracked down on thousands of individuals and companies for violating the capital's large-scale social restrictions (PSBB), imposing sanctions that range from letters of reprimand to fines, in accordance with the latest gubernatorial regulation.

The Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) had identified 9,580 violators as of Monday, the agency's head Arifin said.

He said the number of violators had been compiled since April 24, during the second phase of the PSBB, which has been in place to curb the transmission of COVID-19.

The capital started implementing mobility restrictions on April 10 and it was initially scheduled to end on April 23. However, the administration had since extended the PSBB twice.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 41/2020 on sanctions for PSBB last week, granting authority to Satpol PP, along with the Jakarta Manpower, Transmigration and Energy Agency and the Jakarta Transportation Agency, to impose sanctions on violators.

We have monitored both essential and non-essential sectors. The number [of violators] has reached 6,091 individuals, 3,441 businesses, 31 offices and 17 factories, Arifin told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Read also: COVID-19: Jakarta extends PSBB until June 4 as Jokowi seeks to ease restrictions

The agency has imposed sanctions in the form of letters of reprimand to 8,091 individuals and businesses, community service for 983 individuals, forced closure on 441 businesses and fines for 110 individuals and businesses, with some violators receiving more than one sanction.

Arifin said the businesses found in violation included dozens of restaurants providing dine-in services and hotels holding mass gatherings. They have been fined and forced to close in accordance with articles 7 and 8 of the gubernatorial regulation, respectively.

We repeat that activities in hotels lounge areas, gyms, swimming pools and restaurants are not permitted. All facilities, except guest rooms, are restricted. If someone wants to eat, food should be delivered to their rooms, Arifin said.

Meanwhile, individuals who violated the PSBB included those who failed to comply with the mandatory face mask order in public places and ban on public gatherings of more than five people, as stipulated in articles 4 and 11 of the regulation.

People who were sanctioned with community service were assigned to carry out public sanitation duty while wearing mandatory orange vests emblazoned with PSBB violator on the back.

We no longer impose physical sanctions, such as push-ups, since the gubernatorial regulation was issued. Such punishments do not seem right since not all of [the violators] are physically capable, Arifin said.

Read also: McDonald's Sarinah fined Rp 10 million for attracting crowds during COVID-19 restrictions

He said that the number of violators in the second phase of the PSBB had increased sharply since the first period, saying that Satpol PP had recently strengthened its monitoring in crowded places.

We have applied disciplinary measures in traditional markets since Monday, he said We have deployed our members to Tanah Abang [Market in Central Jakarta] to shut down non-essential businesses, specifically street vendors.
By PTI

SHIMLA: Six people, including three of a family, who returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, taking the state's tally to 99, officials said on Wednesday.

While five persons, including three women, tested COVID-19 positive in Kangra district, a man confirmed positive for the disease in Kullu district, they said.

All the six persons had returned to the state from Mumbai along with other 697 people in a special train on May 18, the officials said.

The five cases in Kangra include a woman (56), her son (31) and his wife (25), a woman (43) from Lambagaon and a man (31) from Jawalamukhi, Kangra Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said.

They tested positive at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (PRGMC) in Tanda, he added.

They were quarantined at Paraur and are being shifted to Baijnath, Ranjan said.

The active cases in Kangra now stand at 18.

A man died of COVID-19 in the district in March.

ALSO READ | 24 more Kuwait-returnees test COVID-19 positive in Bhopal

Eight people have been cured in Kangra out of the total 27 positive cases.

In Kullu, a 23-year-old man of Anni tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

This is the first positive coronavirus case reported in the district.

Gaurav said the man had returned to Himachal Pradesh from Mumbai in a special train on May 18.

After alighting at the Una railway station, he along with 10 other people from Kullu reached Bajaura in a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus and they all were kept in isolation at the Ayurveda hospital there, the SP said.

Samples of all of them were taken and the rest nine tested negative, he added.

The man has been kept in isolation separately from others.

Samples of all his primary contacts will be taken for testing.

The bus driver and the conductor have been quarantined, Gaurav said.

The total number of infected people in the state has risen to 99.

Fifty-one among them have been cured while four have died.

The active cases in the state are 44 -- 18 from Kangra, 11 from Hamirpur, five each from Bilaspur and Chamba, two each from Sirmaur and Una and one from Kullu.
Supporters of a Catholic elementary school in Pompton Lakes slated to close after 68 years are planning a socially-distanced protest on Wednesday.

Parents at Saint Marys School say they were caught off guard Saturday when Father Gonzalo de Jesus Torres-Acosta announced that the school is permanently closing when classes, currently being conducted remotely, conclude in June.

The coronavirus pandemic is not the reason we are closing the doors to St. Marys School, but it made an already untenable situation worse, Father Torres-Acosta said in a written statement, provided to NJ Advance Media, that outlined declining enrollment amid successive tuition increases and a rising budget deficit of more than $334,000.

We are not closing our doors because of the pandemic, but it has effectively pushed us off the edge of the cliff," he wrote.

The school has been part of St. Marys Parish since 1952, in the Diocese of Paterson, and some parents say they are not ready to give up.

Denise Dorgan, a parent of a 7th grader, said she is planning to join others at a 9 a.m. protest on Wednesday.

The hope is that they would give us a dollar amount that we need to raise, to keep the school open, and well raise it," Dorgan said, adding that the demonstration likely will take place on the sidewalk near the school and church building.

Chris Barranco, who also is joining the protest, said demonstrators will gather in groups of no more than 10, standing 6 feet apart within the groups, and with the groups spaced 50 feet apart, to comply with Gov. Phil Murphys restrictions on public gatherings.

Barranco, a former Pompton Lakes council member, said he believes closing the school is unwarranted.

This is a very successful Catholic parish, and a very successful school, Barranco said.

An online petition seeking to save the school had received 2,240 signatures as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.

St. Marys School is the latest in a spate of impending school closures in New Jersey. On May 7, the Archdiocese of Newark said it is shutting down nine elementary schools, and one high school, at the end of the school year. The Diocese of Camden said in April that it will be closing five schools.

Father Torres-Acosta, in his statement, outlined the fiscal challenges facing St. Marys.

Only 164 students had registered for the 2020-21 school year, down from 223 last September, he said. In addition to the $334,000 budget deficit, state-mandated repairs to the building totaling $240,000 would be required if classes were held next year.

Though tuition was raised by 5% last year, and another 5% this year, about three in four students at the school pay discounted rates, in part via subsidies from the parish.

The school was not a sustainable reality long before the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The timing of this decision, although extremely difficult and painful, is practical and necessary to the survival of the parish," he said.

Dorgan countered that the parish not long ago raised $600,000 for capital repairs, including a sidewalk project, and said parents should be given a chance to save the school.

We want them to give us a number, and give us a chance between now and September, to raise that money, she said.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
South Africa: Tshwane to get COVID-19 field hospital

Plans to establish a field hospital to treat COVID-19 patients in Tshwane are underway.

We are finalising the details of a field hospitalit will be done. When we have a field hospital here [Rosslyn] it will not just be for the employees but will also assist the community in Soshanguve when we get to the peak because the peak is still coming, Gauteng Premier David Makhura said.

The Premier was on Wednesday assessing compliance with the regulations of level 4 of the lockdown at the BMW and Nissan manufacturing plants in Rosslyn, Tshwane.

We are working with BMW, Nissan, the German and Japanese embassies to put up a field hospital hereto prepare for the worst, Makhura said.

As of Tuesday, South Africa had 17 200 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 312 deaths. The total number of recoveries to date is 7 960.

The Premier encouraged businesses to prioritise the health and safety of all employees as the country prepares to move to level 3 of the lockdown.

We should never be put into a position where we have to choose between the economy and saving lives because an economy is about people. Public health is about people. You cant have production going on if your employees are sick, fearful and not protected. We urge business in Gauteng to take steps to protect employees. Lets prioritise their health and safety, Makhura said.

During his visit, the Premier was accompanied by MEC for Health Bandile Masuku and MEC for Economic, Agriculture and Rural Development Morakane Mosupyoe.

We will continue with compliance assessments across Gauteng to ensure readiness for easing of lockdown regulations, Makhura said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The Moscow-affiliated Moldovan Orthodox Church has called on the country's leadership to ensure that a potential future anti-coronavirus vaccine will not be made compulsory, claiming conspiracy by a "world anti-Christ system" that will allegedly insert microchips into humans to control them via 5G technology.



The Church made the accusations in a May 19 religious statement to President Igor Dodon, Parliament Speaker Zinaida Greceanni, and Prime Minister Ion Chicu.



Europe and the United States have seen a growing wave of protests by conspiracy theorists, extremists, and anti-vaxxers against coronavirus restrictions, many of them promoted via social media.



Theories about the allegedly negative effects of 5G technology have been aggressively pushed on social media during the pandemic by conservative circles in Europe and the United States, aided by Russian media affiliated to the Kremlin.



Some of the theories promoting false claims that billionaire U.S. philanthropist Bill Gates is the alleged mastermind behind the pandemic have been gaining traction online since the beginning of the outbreak, with experts warning they could hamper efforts to curb the virus.



Such accusations are also present in the Moldovan church's statement, which says that "Bill Gates is considered the man responsible for the creation of a technology allowing people to be microchipped through a vaccine that would insert in their bodies nanoparticles that interact with 5G waves and allow people to be remotely controlled."



Public opinion in many European states is protesting against mandatory vaccines, in particular against an anti-COVID-19 vaccine, because they consider them a means through which the global anti-Christ system wishes to introduce microchips into peoples bodies with whose help they can control them, through 5G technology, the statement said.

'Infodemic'



The statement backs the anti-Gates theories, stating that it is "considered" that 5G technology, in combination with vaccines, has been behind the coronavirus outbreak. It does not clarify, however, who considers Gates responsible.



Gates has become the latest in a series of online targets after pledging $250 million to efforts to fight the outbreak.



Hungarian-American billionaire and philanthropist George Soros has also been blamed for creating the virus, which has infected almost 5 million people and killed more than 323,000 around the world.



The World Health Organization has stepped up efforts to fight what it called an "infodemic" -- misinformation fanned by panic and confusion about the coronavirus.



Moldova, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, is one of Europe's poorest countries. An estimated 95 percent of its 4.5-million population is Christian Orthodox.



The Moldovan Orthodox Church is autonomous but operates under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Romanian Orthodox Church's Metropolis of Bessarabia is the country's other major church.

With reporting by Current Time and Balkan Insight
For nearly a week in March, 14-year-old Sweetie was the last cat standing at Kawaii Kitty Cafe. Her 11 comrades had already found homes for the coronavirus quarantine. She waited.

Day and night, she roamed the small Queen Village feline lounge, which would be hosting coffee-drinking, cat-loving visitors if not for the pandemic that was rapidly shutting down the city outside its windows.

She was definitely enjoying having her own apartment, owner Kristin Eissler said. Within a few days, Sweetie was adopted, joining the growing number of pets who have received homes amid the crisis. Now, the cafe sits empty and quiet.

So does Brewerytowns Le Cat Cafe, which is run by Green Street Rescue.

Manager Saloni Dalal says the pandemic has brought good fortune for the dozen kitties that were in residence when it shut its doors. Within days, all found foster homes, she said, and some have since been adopted.

 READ MORE: How to adopt or foster a dog or cat in the Philly area during the coronavirus

A lot of people are coming out and asking about fostering and adopting, Dalal said. Theyre actually reaching out more than before.

Cats are moving at the fastest pace, from rescue to home, since I started this nonprofit back in 2005, added Kathy Jordan, who founded Greet Street Rescue.

While both Le Cat Cafe and Kawaii Kitty Cafe are closed, theyve had no trouble finding homes, at least temporary ones, for their usual residents. Theyre continuing with fosters and adoptions, by appointment only and with limited contact.

The increase in fosters has been off the charts, said Eissler, whose cafe cats are adopted and fostered through PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. Adoptions have not seen the same jump, she said, but she guesses many foster families will decide to adopt their new four-legged friend after bonding during isolation.

 READ MORE: Shelter pets in Philly are being fostered at unprecedented rates amid the coronavirus, but the need is only expected to grow

Animal rescues generally are allowed to remain open as an essential business during the pandemic. Across the country, people are rushing to foster and adopt dogs, cats, and other pets, but need remains. Meanwhile, many pet businesses, including groomers, are suffering and worry whether theyll survive.

 READ MORE: Philly pet groomers want to know why theyre closed amid the coronavirus shutdown: I dont see my industry as a threat

Rescues face uncertainty, too. Even though theyre permitted to operate, donations are down and in-person fund-raisers have been halted.

Phillys cat cafes are getting creative as they try to keep donations coming in and maintain their loyal followings.

On Mothers Day weekend, Le Cat hosted a virtual Kitten Saturday," a Zoom version of the popular monthly event during which foster cats looking for permanent homes are showcased. On Friday, the platform will be used again for a Cats & Mats virtual yoga class for $10 a person.

On Memorial Day, Kawaii Kitty plans to try live video game streaming, with breaks to showcase cats that are up for adoption.

At the same time, Eissler said, theyre planning for how theyll reopen in a post-coronavirus world with stricter capacity limits and reservation requirements.

 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.

Said Eissler: Its kind of just a waiting game."
An Australian mum who created a 'breakfast station' by mounting a $16 Kmart shelf onto her kitchen wall for spreads has sparked debate with her decision to store butter out of the fridge.

The woman, who shared a photo of the 'hack' on social media, said her house is 'tiny' and doesn't have much pantry and bench space.

So she purchased Kmart's white Rectangle Wall Shelf, placed it on the wall, and filled it with honey, peanut butter, Nutella, Vegemite and butter.

'I didn't need a tea station so much as a breakfast station. My partner said he thinks it looks like pop art. I'm loving all the free bench space,' she said.

She purchased Kmart's white Rectangle Wall Shelf and filled it with honey, peanut butter, Nutella, Vegemite and regular butter to be called on for the first meal of the day

'I didn't need a tea station so much as a breakfast station. My partner said he thinks it looks like pop art. I'm loving all the free bench space,' she said (the shelf pictured)

Should you store butter in the fridge or in the pantry? Butter has less salt than it had in the past and should be kept refrigerated, you can soften it before use by removing from the fridge for a while. Dairy Australia advises: Always check the use-by date, to ensure natural freshness and quality. Butter is best kept refrigerated at 4C, protected from light and sealed in its original container or wrapping until it is used as it readily absorbs odours from other foods. Butter will keep refrigerated for up to eight weeks, but it is best purchased when required rather than stored. Butter will soften at 30C and melt at 35C. In warmer climates, it is best kept refrigerated. As temperatures rise, the fats in butter slowly oxidise and the butter will become rancid. Properly sealed, butter may be kept frozen for up to 12 months. Source: Food Safety Information Council Advertisement

But it was the Devondale extra soft butter left out in the open on the second shelf that social media users took issue with, with many saying it isn't 'safe' to leave butter out of the fridge.

In particularly hot climates butter would go rancid within one to two days if left out in the heat to melt.

As with most dairy products, butter will give off a sour, unappetising aroma once it has gone off.

But it was the Devondale extra soft butter (pictured) left out in the open on the second shelf that fans of the general design were disturbed by

Poll How do you store your butter? In the fridge In the pantry How do you store your butter? In the fridge 99 votes

In the pantry 29 votes Now share your opinion





'Love the idea but I would never store butter out of the fridge,' one person wrote underneath the post.

'Love it but I can't leave butter out here though, it'll just melt,' wrote another.

A third added: 'Plain wrong to keep butter out of the fridge. I don't think it's safe'.

Others disagreed, saying there is no issue with leaving butter out of the fridge when the temperature is mild.

'Why on earth people would prefer to leave butter in the fridge for it to go hard and then rip your heavenly Vegemite toast to shreds is beyond me,' one woman wrote.

'I have mine out in a butter dish. It won't spread from the fridge and I won't touch the plastic spread that spreads from the fridge! Never made anyone sick EVER,' another added.

It is safe to leave sealed pasteurised butter out of the fridge for up to two weeks in cooler climates.
The OPEC+ coalition appears determined to ease the global oil glut and lift the oil prices that had cratered in April because of OPEC+ wrangling and crashing global demand in the pandemic.

Oil prices have rallied since the start of the new OPEC+ cuts. These cuts, along with curtailments in North America, have combined with improved global oil demand and the new notion that the worst of the demand collapse is likely behind us, to instill confidence in the market that it is now heading for a deficit.

The more bullish sentiment, however, raises another questionwill producers be tempted by rising crude oil prices to disregard quotas within OPEC+? Will U.S. shale resume drilling activity sooner than the market needs it?

OPEC and its partners in the pact realized early last month that they had underestimated what turned out to be a devastating impact of COVID-19 on global demand. With oil revenues for petro states crashing as oil demand and oil prices collapsed, OPECs leader Saudi Arabia and all other producers in the OPEC+ group soon realized that they need to quickly force the market into balance to save their oil-dependent economies from taking an additional hit on top of the pandemic-related slowdown.

Three weeks into the new OPEC+ deal to cut production, the market sentiment has markedly shifted.

When the pact announced the deal on April 12, analysts were saying that these cutsalbeit 10 percent of typical global demandwould be too little too late to save the oil market from the abyss.

Now the mood has improved, and so have oil prices. The price of oil is now 80 percent higher than it was in mid-April, and analysts are pointing out that the cuts from OPEC+, combined with economics-driven curtailments in North America to the tune of 4 million bpd, is bringing the oil market closer to deficit in the coming months. Related: U.S. Shale Cuts Production Deeper And Faster Than Expected

Improving global oil demand and faster-than-expected production curtailments from outside the OPEC+ pact are set to push the oil market into deficit in June, Goldman Sachs said last week.

OPEC+--with huge help from North Americas cuts because of unsustainably low oil prices for its producers--managed to swing the market mood to expectations of a deficit as soon as next month. OPEC and its de facto leader and largest producer, Saudi Arabia, have a track record for purposefully tightening the oil market whenever Saudi Arabia and perhaps a few other major oil producers in the cartel have a strong incentive to see higher oil prices, Reuters analyst John Kemp wrote this week.

This spring, the Saudis had the biggest incentive to reverse the flood-them-all-with-oil policy from March and Aprilmoney. With oil prices at $20 or below and demand crashing in the pandemic, the worlds top oil exporter had to save face and its economy.

So far, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, and Russia are declaring unwavering support to market stabilization, promising to go the extra mile to rebalance the marketand to see higher oil prices.

OPEC members and their ten non-OPEC partners have slashed oil exports by a massive 5.96 million bpd for the first 13 days of May compared to April averages, oil-flow tracking company Petro-Logistics said at the end of last week. Related: The Oil Rally Is Running On Fumes

Saudi Arabia has pledged an additional 1 million bpd of cuts on top of its promised cuts as part of the OPEC+ deal. Even Iraq, the biggest cheater in all the previous pacts, said that it is committed to the production cuts.

Saudi Arabia and the leader of the non-OPEC countries, Russia, put out a statement last week, saying that they remain firmly committed to achieving the goal of market stability and expediting the rebalancing of the oil market.

We would like to especially commend the efforts of responsible producers around the world who have willingly adjusted their production out of a sense of shared responsibility, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

For U.S. producers, curtailments have nothing to do with shared responsibilitythe economics are unfavorable, storage availability is still scarce, and demand is still low. The U.S. shale patch has announced more than 1.5 million bpd in cuts for Q2, lifting the oil prices and market sentiment over the past two weeks. But with prices rising, some producers could be tempted to resume activity, nipping a sustained market recovery in the bud.

Further strength in the oil market would send the wrong signal to producers, with them likely more reluctant to cut output in a rallying market, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Wenyu Yao said on Wednesday.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
People Before Profit's Cllr Adrienne Wallace has called for extra support for domestic violence victims during the pandemic.

She said the surge in domestic violence reports shows we need to ensure there are adequate supports on the ground to keep women and children safe.

Cllr Wallace said: "There has been a 30% rise in domestic violence reports [in some areas] to Gardai but in reality, the true spike in domestic attacks is likely much higher because many victims are now in lockdown at home in such close proximity with their abusers that they have lost the opportunity to reach out for help.

"We need to ensure the supports are here on the ground for those fleeing domestic violence.

"I am calling for empty hotel rooms in the area to be opened up for emergency use to any victim of violence in the home. This is a crisis for many and we must be able to respond appropriately."

She added: "Carlow has suffered from a historic neglect of support for victims of domestic violence. Nine counties have no refuge at all and Carlow is shamefully still one of them.

"Nationally there are just 19 refuges  often full to capacity  and 38 domestic violence services in Ireland. These figures are far below European recommendations.

"Following a sustained and on-going campaign for a womens refuge in Carlow we now have two safe accommodation units but if we are to meet the record rise in reports we need to move to provide emergency support.

"I have asked Carlow County Council to initiate talks with local hoteliers and seek use of their vacant rooms. This would be a signal to the many suffering that we are working hard to provide solutions and supports."
An underwater salvage company was granted approval this week to cut into the wreckage of the Titanic to try to recover a Marconi telegraph, rekindling a complex debate over access to the ship and maritime law.

The company, R.M.S. Titanic, persuaded a federal judge on Monday to allow it to conduct a salvage operation this summer in the wreckage of the ship, which sank during its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. More than 1,500 of the ships passengers died, and about 700 survived.

The ruling, by Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Va., made changes to a 2000 court order that prohibited the company from cutting into the ships hull to search for diamonds.

The company sought to loosen the restrictions so it could recover the Titanics telegraph machine, which it contends could be lost forever because of the degradation of the ship. The radio transmitter could unlock some of the secrets about a missed warning message and distress calls sent from the ship, said the company, which obtained the salvage rights to the wreckage in the 1980s. The site is about 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.
In January 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump revealed the conditions of the "deal of the century: that was supposed to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One of the conditions was to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Jewish settlements on the Palestinian territory, and Palestine's refusal to continue the armed combat.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Premier, supported the U.S. leader's offer. Palestine rejected.

In February, High Representative for External Relations of the European Union Josep Borrell opposed Israel's plans for the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem.
A Co Fermanagh priest was left red-faced at the weekend when he accidentally played the intro to loyalist song 'The Sash' during Sunday morning Mass.

The incident happened at the end of the 11.30am service at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Lisnaskea where Father Jimmy McPhillips was livestreaming to members of his congregation. The parish priest could be seen using a device to line-up the music, but immediately looked confused when the famous Orange Order song began playing - giving his parishioners at home a bit of a giggle at the end of the Mass.

While Fr Jimmy declined to comment on the incident when contacted by the Belfast Telegraph last night, he dealt with it at the time in good-natured humour.

Quick as a flash, just as the The Sash began playing throughout the empty church, he told his online congregation: "Sorry, that's the wrong one. Sorry about that." And in a nod to the fact that it wasn't The Twelfth of July just yet, he added: "It's a bit early for that, isn't it?".

Read More

Unfazed, the priest quickly restored order and played the track he had originally intended to - Footprints In The Sand by Leona Lewis.

Footage of the faux pas at the altar has been widely shared and viewed on social media.

One person wrote: "Oh Bless him. Gloriously embarrassing" while another added: "Good man Father Jimmy, always cracking a joke."

The Mass can still can be viewed on Church Services.tv.
World-renowned stroke specialist Dr. Thomas Devlin has left his employment at Erlanger Health System.

Dr. Devlin, who was visited by President George W. Bush in 2007 at the celebrated Erlanger stroke center, is no longer at the hospital, his office confirmed.

An Erlanger spokesperson said, "Dr. Devlin has decided to pursue employment outside of Erlanger, and hopes to complete the transition to his new practice in the near future."

Of Dr.

Devlin, physicians at Erlanger said, "No one knows where he's gone. No one has heard from him."

Dr. Devlin's wife, cardiologist Dr. Carol Gruver, departed the hospital about two weeks ago.

During the Bush visit to the Southeastern Stroke Center, Dr. Devlin proudly displayed the innovative MERCI system and other state-of-the-art equipment and treatment procedures. He also talked to the president about another treatment for brain injuries  laser therapy  that he said could be used to treat troops injured in Iraq.

Jim Brexler, the Erlanger CEO at the time, said of Dr. Devlin and his associate Dr. Blaise Baxter, What these guys are doing, most physicians arent trained to do. These guys do talks around the world on these procedures. But the pay-off for their being able to do them here at Erlanger does not come at the hospital site. The pay-off comes later, when the patient is healthy and able to hold down a job and live a productive life, rather than spending a lifetime in a nursing home.

Dr. Devlin, MD, PhD. served the local community in a number of positions including Director of the National Stroke Prevention Training Center, Chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, and Executive Director of Chattanooga Network for Stroke. He is active in many national and international health organizations as well. He is a National Steering Committee Member for Merci Registry Clinical Trials and the International Committee Chairman for New Technology Development for Brainsgate, LLC.A popular speaker and presenter, Dr. Devlin has lectured at events such as the Regional Nurses and Stroke Team Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

Dr. Devlin has authored dozens of publications on stroke and is considered one of the nations leading experts on neurological disorders. In 2014, he was bestowed the Outstanding Physician Award from Erlanger Hospital. In 2010, he and Dr. Peter Hunt were formerly recognized by Brainsgate as part of a two physician team to carry out the first successful human implantation of the Sphenopalantine Gangion Stimulator for Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Dr. Devlin is Board Certified by the American Board of Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.EducationMDBaylor College of MedicineResidencyNeurology - Duke University School of MedicinePhDNeurobiology and Neurosciences - The University of Connecticut Health CenterFellowshipNeurocritical Care - University of Virginia School of Medicine
Classes that Click is a series spotlighting how Emory is adapting undergraduate courses to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each column will showcase one course, with insights and tips from both the professor and students. View more Classes that Click stories.

From taping class schedules to bedroom walls to keep time zones straight to creating whiteboard teaching surfaces on bookcases, Emorys faculty, students and staff did whatever they could to make remote learning work during the second half of spring semester. Countless lessons  during class times and beyond  were learned along the way that many believe will serve them well when the Emory community returns to campus.

Gathering student input

One of the first decisions faculty needed to make was whether to teach synchronously, asynchronously or a combination of the two.

Mike Rogers, associate professor of mathematics and computer science at Oxford College, says one primary goal was to ensure that students had the best opportunity to learn. When he invited students from his Calculus I course to meet during spring break via Zoom to discuss ways they might carry the course forward, most participated.

The trials and testing we did before and after the end of spring break rebuilt the trust we had established at the beginning of the course, Rogers says. We could meet their learning goals, the rules and logistics of assignments and assessments would be manageable, they wouldnt have to stress out about meeting requirements. I appreciated the students help as we [Rogers and his co-teacher, Nicolas Petit] put together our new plans.

Andra Gillespie, associate professor of political science, surveyed her students to get a sense of their physical locations and internet access. That was important for Gillespie's students and others across campus, since some such as Esteban Ancona Garcia, a sophomore from Merida, Mexico, hadnt studied at home in several years.

Based on what she learned from her students and through department training, Gillespie decided to teach her classes synchronously and then provide lecture recordings for students who could not attend class.

Katherine Ostrom, senior lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese, opted for a different type of combination approach. She held shorter synchronous sessions during the original course time and make-up sessions later in the day (both of which were recorded). She also posted about half the days material in a video for students to watch at their convenience.

It took a little extra time, but a nice side benefit was getting to work with a smaller group each time and devote the whole meeting to discussion, she says.

Connecting beyond class

The remote environment led some students to reach out to professors for the first time.

Many students had managed the first part of the semester on their own and not sought any personal help from me, Rogers says. During the initial transition I dealt with more students on an individual basis than normal. When two people come together committed to a shared goal  in this case, what the student needs to be able to learn the material  it is such a joy to listen to them, discuss possible solutions and feel the tension dissolve as you move from a problem to a solution you can both be happy with.

Remote learning also gave faculty and students opportunities to learn more about each other than they might in a typical classroom, from seeing siblings or pets on screen to taking extra time to chat.

I would arrive to Zoom meetings a few minutes early to talk to others about how they were doing, says Kevin Kim, a student in Nosayba El-Sayeds Introduction to Database Systems class. Catching up with professors and classmates made me realize what unique individuals all of us are and that not taking that first step in getting to know the people around you is an opportunity lost.

Goizueta Business School student Tate Stevenson agrees. I have gained a greater appreciation for the value and need of community and belonging. Checking in on others and making an effort to remain connected and engaged is critical.

Students also took it upon themselves to connect outside class. For example, Sally Kim, who graduated with double majors in computer science and psychology, says one of her friends created weekly Silent Disco nights on Zoom so students could see their friends and meet new ones.

I was really impressed with my students resilience and their ability to roll with this transition, but also their need to maintain interpersonal connection  even if its only through the Zoom grid, says Christina E. Crawford, assistant professor of modern and contemporary architecture in the Art History Department. I lost Wi-Fi connection between our Zoom opening chitchat and delivering my first online lecture. I was offline for 10 minutes and when I came back they were still all there, asking me to give the lecture.

Factoring in fun

One challenge was to maintain student engagement and motivation levels in an online setting while making sure classes stayed interactive and fun, says El-Sayed, a computer science lecturer. Another challenge was getting the students to turn on their webcams to create a more interactive class experience.

To help meet those challenges, El-Sayed invited everyone to pick a Zoom background based on a theme for each lecture. Themes included Hogwarts School of Magic, baby photos of themselves, monuments from the cities where they currently resided, White Hall 206 (their classroom on campus) and graduation ceremonies.

If students were shy or couldnt turn on their cameras, they could change their Zoom avatar to match the theme, El-Sayed says.

Seeing others in the lecture hall seemed surreal, but was funny in a way, says Kevin Kim, who would change his virtual background in other classes as well. In one class I changed my virtual background to a picture of a grocery store aisle. Many, including the professor, got a good laugh out of it. Some even changed their backgrounds to join me.

Incorporating current events

While faculty often incorporate aspects of current events into their classes, the pandemic provided avenues for that across multiple subjects.

I tried to lean into the crisis and use it to advance learning goals, Gillespie says. I was somewhat intentional about using examples from the crisis in lecture examples and test questions. There were times when I purposely didnt talk about the crisis to avoid raising anxieties, but it sometimes provided excellent examples of the concepts we were studying in class.

El-Sayed also found ways to connect her database systems course to COVID-19. A friend who is an epidemiologist told El-Sayed that scientists would benefit from a database system that consolidates information from multiple sources, enabling easier analysis. El-Sayed turned her friends observation into a class assignment, asking students to design a schema for a database system that could eventually be used by scientists analyzing the pandemic.

Looking to the future

There are lots of ways to come together as a classroom community, and virtual does not have to mean cold or impersonal, says Melissa Williams, Goizueta term chair and associate professor of organization and management. This crisis drew attention to just how committed everyone at Emory is to taking care of those were responsible for.

Our medical colleagues stepped up patient care and faculty rose to the challenge of remote teaching  even the ones who didnt necessarily consider themselves to be technically savvy. Its clear that we are all committed to delivering a world-class education, even during a pandemic.

However, even the positives associated with remote learning dont outweigh the belief by faculty and students that being together on campus is special. Kara Trotman, a biology and Spanish double major from Seattle, and Yael Cohen, a finance major from Costa Rica, both look forward to when they can learn face-to-face with their professors and fellow students.

When the pandemic is over, I will be appreciative every day for the opportunity to walk around campus with my friends, sit inside a classroom, run in Lullwater Preserve and attend club meetings in the business school or study groups at the library, Cohen says.

We are all making it work online, but face-to-face learning is invaluable  a true gift, actually, Crawford says. The diverse scholarly community that grows inside the four physical walls of a classroom is one of the most memorable aspects of the college experience. I suspect that once were through this well appreciate campus and classroom life more than ever.
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while the successes are well known, investors should not ignore the very many unprofitable companies that simply burn through all their cash and collapse.

So, the natural question for Feedback (LON:FDBK) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this report, we will consider the company's annual negative free cash flow, henceforth referring to it as the 'cash burn'. First, we'll determine its cash runway by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves.

See our latest analysis for Feedback

Does Feedback Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is the amount of time it would take to burn through its cash reserves at its current cash burn rate. When Feedback last reported its balance sheet in November 2019, it had zero debt and cash worth UK1.5m. Importantly, its cash burn was UK1.7m over the trailing twelve months. So it had a cash runway of approximately 11 months from November 2019. To be frank, this kind of short runway puts us on edge, as it indicates the company must reduce its cash burn significantly, or else raise cash imminently. Depicted below, you can see how its cash holdings have changed over time.

AIM:FDBK Historical Debt May 20th 2020

How Is Feedback's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

In our view, Feedback doesn't yet produce significant amounts of operating revenue, since it reported just UK596k in the last twelve months. Therefore, for the purposes of this analysis we'll focus on how the cash burn is tracking. In fact, it ramped its spending strongly over the last year, increasing cash burn by 176%. That sort of spending growth rate can't continue for very long before it causes balance sheet weakness, generally speaking. Feedback makes us a little nervous due to its lack of substantial operating revenue. So we'd generally prefer stocks from this list of stocks that have analysts forecasting growth.

Story continues

How Easily Can Feedback Raise Cash?

Since its cash burn is moving in the wrong direction, Feedback shareholders may wish to think ahead to when the company may need to raise more cash. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. One of the main advantages held by publicly listed companies is that they can sell shares to investors to raise cash to fund growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.

Since it has a market capitalisation of UK5.3m, Feedback's UK1.7m in cash burn equates to about 32% of its market value. That's fairly notable cash burn, so if the company had to sell shares to cover the cost of another year's operations, shareholders would suffer some costly dilution.

How Risky Is Feedback's Cash Burn Situation?

We must admit that we don't think Feedback is in a very strong position, when it comes to its cash burn. Although we can understand if some shareholders find its cash runway acceptable, we can't ignore the fact that we consider its increasing cash burn to be downright troublesome. Considering all the measures mentioned in this report, we reckon that its cash burn is fairly risky, and if we held shares we'd be watching like a hawk for any deterioration. Separately, we looked at different risks affecting the company and spotted 6 warning signs for Feedback (of which 4 make us uncomfortable!) you should know about.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies, and this list of stocks growth stocks (according to analyst forecasts)

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
New Delhi, May 20 : On May 18, India reached a landmark in its fight against Covid-19 by performing 100,000 tests in one day. Starting from less than 100 tests per day just two months ago, a 1,000-fold increase in just 60 days was made possible by dedicated teams from research institutions, medical colleges, testing laboratories, ministries, airlines and postal services working together.

In January 2020, India had only one laboratory testing for Covid-19 - at the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Institute of Virology, Pune. Today, there are 555 laboratories across the country, performing molecular tests for diagnosis of Covid-19 - an unparalleled achievement in the history of the Indian health system.

The remarkable story of how India became fully self-reliant in its testing capabilities, despite starting from scratch just a few months ago, is one about the steely resolve of multiple agencies, working together round-the-clock to save lives.

Faced with an unprecedented challenge, both in terms of technicalities and scale, Indian scientists had to innovate extensively, health workers had to train and learn on the job, administrators had to coordinate multiple actions round the clock amid the challenges of nationwide lockdown, and civil and defence aviation personnel had to fly at the shortest of notices.

The fundamental principle to counter any infectious epidemic is to detect, isolate, treat and manage cases early and prevent the occurrence of new cases. In the absence of an effective treatment, prevention is the best strategy, which revolves around testing.

In a diverse country like India, for inclusive and equitable access to testing, optimisation of resources, based on the evolving epidemic was an essential part of sustainable scaling up. As the epidemic evolved, India's testing strategy underwent iterative calibration to keep pace with the changing epidemiology and extent of infection.

This ensured that access to tests was assured for risk groups that needed it the most; wasteful, unnecessary testing was avoided; and testing infrastructure was optimally scaled up without taking away resources from other key public health interventions.

This is evidenced by the fact that for every positive test, more than 20 negative tests have been done throughout the course of the epidemic. However, before all this, an even more primary requirement was to have the expertise, materials, staff and capacity to carry out testing safely, successfully and reliably.

The RT-PCR test for Covid-19, although increasingly available around the country today, involves multiple, complex steps. First is the sample collection using throat or nasal swabs, which are then kept in a special fluid called viral transport medium (VTM).

This is transported to the laboratory, where the genetic material of the virus is separated from the swab and transport medium using RNA extraction kit. Next, using another kit, an RT-PCR machine detects the virus. In order to do this test, a constant supply of swabs, VTM, viral extraction kits and PCR kits are required, for use by trained personnel wearing proper personal protection equipment (PPE) in quality assured laboratories.

With the pandemic soaring, there were severe constraints for procuring Covid-19 diagnostic material. Empowered groups set up by the Central government, cutting across ministries, were tasked with the objective of increasing procurement and ensuring regular supplies.

Indian missions and embassies abroad helped identify global suppliers in a highly competitive seller's market. At the same time, the government partnered with domestic industry to work towards self-sufficiency in testing.

Because of the nationwide lockdown, industries faced severe operational challenges related to movement of human resources and procurement of material and machinery. A task force was set up principally to ease out these challenges and handhold the industry to accelerate production.

A case in point being the development of swabs for Covid-19, which was initiated within 6 days locally. Three companies can now manufacture upto 200,000 swabs/day. Despite the lockdown, the production of VTM was upscaled from 500,000 units per year to 500,000 units per day. After expedited approval from the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation, a private company has developed 10 million PCR tests and 5 million viral extraction kits.

Another indigenous manufacturer has developed a viral extraction kit. These RT-PCR testing kits should be validated before mass testing. Initially, these tests were validated only at NIV, Pune. To expedite kits produced by the industry and reduce the burden of NIV, 14 validation centres have been approved.

As many as 71 kits have been evaluated till date and 28 have been approved for use. Out of these, 14 kits were indigenous ones, paving the way for self-sufficiency in testing. In order to ensure that the supplies reached every laboratory in a timely manner amid the nationwide lockdown, the services of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and their airline partners in government and private sector under 'Mission Lifeline Udan' were availed.

They carried ICMR consignments of Covid-19 diagnostic material across the country. In the last 2 months, despite the lockdown, approximately 40 tonnes of testing material was transported in more than 150 flight operations, reaching out to the remotest corners of the nation.

Doorstep deliveries were coordinated with several courier companies and state governments. As the lab network expanded, a need was felt to rope in India Post, which has country-wide operations, to streamline the flow of supplies to the last mile. To cut down transit times, logistic complications and risks of stock outs, decentralised storage of these supplies has been done by building a network of 16 storage depots in a phased manner across the country.

RT-PCR tests also require handling of viral samples that carries the risk of infecting laboratory personnel. Laboratory operationalisation is a 4-step process that ensures the quality of testing and safety of laboratory staff.

The first step is availability of proper infrastructure as per WHO guidelines, including a cabinet to ensure safety from the virus. The next step is to review the documentation using photo and videographic evidence. The third step is to train the staff at a Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory. In the fourth step, a trial run is done to ensure independent functioning of the laboratory.

To hasten the operationalisation of laboratories, 14 mentor institutes were identified to guide testing sites through these four steps. The risk of infection associated with PCR testing limits it to only laboratories in medical colleges which have proper infrastructure. Another modality of testing, called TrueNAAT, an indigenous testing developed for tuberculosis, can also be used for COVID 19 testing.

The advantage of TrueNAAT is that the virus is lysed during the testing process, minimising the risk of infection and contamination by the virus. While RT-PCR is limited to well-equipped hospitals, TrueNAAT can be deployed at district hospitals across the country, addressing the last mile barrier for Covid-19 testing. Currently, 77 TrueNAAT machines are already in use for COVID and there are a total of 1,800 TrueNAAT machines across the country which can be deployed by states when needed for COVID 19 testing.

The scale up of testing laboratories started with a network of 106 ICMR-funded Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories, which already had the capacity to conduct testing for viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2.

Subsequently, the testing was initiated in partnership with laboratories under the DST, the DBT, the ICAR, the CSIR, the DRDO, the MHRD, in medical colleges and private institutions. Private laboratories that had approval from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) were also accepted.

With its testing capabilities now matching the most advanced countries in the world, Indian institutions have risen to the occasion in an emergency situation. In the days ahead their contributions will be required even more as India continues to grapple with the clear and present danger still posed by Covid-19.
The claim: As part of the TRACE Act, cellphones are being updated with "Covid-19 traceability apps

The TRACE Act stirred controversy on social media and brought forth privacy concerns, as social media users claimed that phones would be updated with traceability apps  without anyone knowing  to track the spread of COVID-19.

A Facebook post with an image that states "Know what HR 6666 means for our country" includes a section that states: Cellphones are being updated with Covid-19 Traceability apps without us even knowing it. (See in comments to shut off this setting). It adds, This app will track where youve been, who youve been in contact with, and random strangers your phone has been 6 ft away from.

Users in the comments on the post claimed that the traceability app could be turned off on cellphones in the settings section by selecting the Health button and turning off COVID-19 Exposure Notifications.

This post is one of several claims that followed the announcement of House Resolution 6666, the TRACE Act: Testing, Reaching and Contacting Everyone that is sponsored by Rep. Bobby Rush. D-Ill., on May 1.

What is the purpose of H.R. 6666?

The TRACE Act includes a $100 billion grant that will be used to allocate money to nonprofit organizations, health centers, medical facilities, and more, to implement testing units and hire staff in hotspot areas to track and reduce COVID-19 cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already issued guidance stating contact tracing is a key strategy for preventing COVID-19.

Communities must scale up and train a large contact tracer workforce and work collaboratively across public and private agencies to stop the transmission of COVID-19, the website reads.

The bill also would use funds to purchase personal protective equipment and hire, train and compensate individuals' expenses.

Democratic Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Karen Bass of California, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, urged their colleagues to support an antilynching bill Feb. 26 named after Emmett Till.

Priority would be given to applicants that agree, in hiring individuals to carry out activities funded under this section, to hire residents of the area or community where the activities will primarily occur, with higher priority among applicants described in this paragraph given based on the percentage of individuals to be hire from such area or community.

Story continues

There is no mention in the text of the bill that cellphone apps will be used to track coronavirus or exposure to it.

Another part of the bill reads: Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any Federal privacy of confidentiality requirement.

Rush has also emphasized on Twitter that privacy will not be violated, including regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996  known as HIPAA  and the Public Health Service Act.

(FILES) In this combo file photo taken on May 17, 2014, shows Google's logo (top) in New York on May 21, 2012, and Apple's logo in Paris on January 27, 2010. - Google and Apple unveiled a joint initiative on April 10, 2020, to use smartphones to trace coronavirus contacts to battle the pandemic. The move brings together the largest mobile operating systems in an effort to use smartphone technology to track and potentially contain the global pandemic. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND and Loic VENANCE / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND,LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images) ORIG FILE ID: AFP_1QJ15H

Apple and Google partner for COVID-19 tracing apps

Google and Apple announced April 1 a joint effort to develop technical tools and use Bluetooth technology to help the government and health agencies reduce the spread of COVID-19 with privacy and security measures still in place.

Apple and Google will be launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level technology to assist in enabling contact tracing, a news release from Apple reads. Given the urgent need, the plan is to implement this solution in two steps while maintaining strong protections around user privacy.

Their plan states that both Google and Apple will release APIs that will cooperate with Android and iOS devices and will use apps from public health authorities. The apps are not required and will be available for download via app stores.

A Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform, to which individuals would opt in, would allow more users to participate.

Fact check: What's true and what's false about coronavirus?

Our rating: False

We rate the claim that cellphones will be updated with COVID-19 tracing apps under the TRACE Act or other initiatives as FALSE because it was not supported by our research. Nothing in the bill mentions that apps and cellphones will be used to trace the coronavirus. Rep. Bobby Rush, the bill's sponsor, has stated that nothing in the bill supersedes federal privacy requirements. While companies like Google and Apple have introduced plans to create apps, it is noted that apps would be for voluntary use and individuals would decide if they want to opt in or out.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Cellphones will not be updated for COVID-19 traceability'
Nine observational series Taronga: Whos Who in the Zoo?, which had previously been screening on Saturdays before COVID-19 disruption, returns tonight with new episodes.

Produced by McAvoy Media and narrated by Naomi Watts it goes behind-the-scenes at the famed Sydney Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

This is the first of 4 new episodes.

No part of Tarongas sprawling 28 hectares  set on spectacular Sydney Harbour  is off limits in this gripping series which tracks the 240 keepers and vets who care for more than 4500 animals.

The zoo story resumes with new stars: a chimpanzee who really needs to have a baby  and a very randy panda who has just fathered three!

Meet Naomi, a 17-year-old chimpanzee from Denmark who has resided at the zoo since 2015. Naomi is a very maternal female who has been unsuccessful in her attempts at giving birth despite falling pregnant twice. With her genetics vital to this endangered species, Taronga Zoo must find out what is preventing her from having a baby.

Meanwhile back at the Panda Pad, keepers are faced with the opposite problem. Pabu, an endangered red panda, has just fathered a family of three. Although he is part of a breeding program his partner must be given time to raise their young  but Pabu doesnt want to wait. The team need to find a way to stop this randy boy from breeding again.

We also take viewers into the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre where a badly injured boobook owl needs to learn to fly again. The veterinarian and the zoo keepers will attempt to do everything they can to help this patient soar in the wild once more.

Wednesday, May 20, at 7.30pm on Nine.
Reliance Industries-owned Nowfloats on Wednesday announced its foray into tele-medicine vertical with initial target to bring 1 lakh doctors on board in the next 3-4 months.

The company will gradually expand to other tele-medicine ecosystems like e-pharmacy, health check-ups and healthcare related service.

"We have on boarded 6,000 doctors who can provide consultation to patients over online video. Patients will not need to download a separate app for accessing doctors. They will get a link from the doctor on Whatsapp or any other messaging platform that can be accessed in a browser," Nowfloats head of research, Nikhil Salkar told PTI.

He said that the company has developed technology that can enable a doctor to provide online consultation in nine minutes.

"Patients can search for doctors online. We have search engine optimisation embedded in the website that we develop for doctors which will show them based on their ratings," Salkar said.

The company will charge doctors Rs 1,000 onwards per month for the service and Rs 10,000 onwards for online video consulting service.

"We have 50,000 SMEs on our platform which includes 6,000 doctors. Out of this around 26,000 are paying annual subscription fees. Now we will start pushing for paid service," Salkar said.

He said that Nowfloats will start expansion of the technology after 1 lakh doctors come on board because then it will have an idea of size and scale of services required to facilitate the tele-medicine.

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

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) today released its regular weekly Net Asset Value ("NAV") and performance returns on its website, https://www.pershingsquareholdings.com/company-reports/weekly-navs/. The NAV and returns were computed as of the close of business on Tuesday, 19 May 2020.

PSH NAV per share as of close of business on 19 May 2020 was 32.52 USD 26.54 GBP and year-to-date performance was 21.1%.

Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Performance is presented on a net-of-fees basis and reflects the deduction of, among other expenses: management fees, brokerage commissions, administrative fees and accrued performance fees, if any. The performance figure includes the reinvestment of all dividends, interest and capital gains. Depending on the timing of a specific investment, net performance for an individual investor may vary from the net performance as stated herein. Net performance is a geometrically linked time weighted calculation.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All investments involve risk including the loss of principal.

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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005841/en/

Contacts:

Media

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
Boston/Washington: U.S. authorities on Wednesday arrested a former Special Forces soldier and another man wanted by Japan on charges that they enabled the escape of former Nissan Motor Co boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country.

Michael L. Taylor, center, and George-Antoine Zayek at passport control at Istanbul Airport in Turkey. Credit:AP

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said former US Green Beret Michael Taylor, 59, and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, helped Ghosn last year flee to Lebanon to avoid trial in Japan over alleged financial wrongdoing.

Japan in January issued arrest warrants for both men along with a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with facilitating the December 29, 2019 escape. The Taylors are scheduled to appear by video conference before a federal judge later on Wednesday.

A lawyer for both Taylors did not immediately comment.
The Netherlands will start checking for the coronavirus on all mink farms in the country after research from an ongoing probe found a person likely caught it from an infected animal.

Mink screening for antibodies will be mandatory in "the interest of employee health," the Netherlands government said in a statement late Tuesday. A farm worker was infected with a coronavirus strain that was genetically similar to the one circulated among mink, suggesting the source was the animals.

ALSO READ: COVID-19: Scientists Discover SIX New Coronaviruses in Bats

Mink farms under surveillance

The semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals are reared on more than 130 Dutch farms for their soft pelts. The pandemic virus was probably initially introduced by a person infected. Authorities are monitoring the outbreak to gage its persistence, said Marion Koopmans, head of the department of viroscience at the University Medical Center Erasmus in Rotterdam.

"Does it burn out on the farms? I think that's the biggest question," Koopmans, who helped investigate the outbreak, told Bloomberg. "We would not want to have a persistent situation."

The outbreak started around April 19, when signs of respiratory disease were identified among mink on two farms in the province of Noord-Brabant near the Belgian border, near each other. According to a report on Monday, 2.4 percent of the mink had died on one farm and was 1.2 percent on the other by the end of the month.

Koopmans and colleagues found that the new coronavirus causes viral pneumonia in mink, which, despite being segregated in cages with sealed barriers, can spread it.

Feed, Bedding

The researchers argued that the virus could be indirectly transmitted through infected feed or bedding material, through infectious droplets produced by the sick animals, or through contaminated bedding dust.

According to the study, traces of the virus were detected in airborne, inhalable dust on the mink farms, creating a source of "transmission between the minks and occupational exposure risk for the farmworkers."

The researchers are also investigating the role of cats roaming farmyards in the potential transmission of the virus among mink farms. Antibodies to coronavirus have been detected on one farm in 3 out of 11 animals.

Keep cats out of mink farms, authorities said

According to DailyMail, the government asked contaminated mink farms to keep cats out of the premises as researchers suspect they may be another transmission vector. Antibodies against COVID-19 have been detected on one farm in three of the 11 cats. Dutch police sealed off two mink farms in the country's south last month after discovering that some of the animals were suffering from coronavirus.

Researchers are currently taking samples at both farms to see which of the animals are infected to map the course of the disease for further investigation. They also took samples of dust to see how far the virus spread beyond the farm's area. An inquiry was launched to decide whether the animals had been poisoned by their human keepers.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus Has THREE Distinct Strains, According to Study; US Suffering From Original Variation

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HARTFORD  The same day thousands of workers across the state are returning to work, around 300 showed up at the state Capitol to claim that Connecticut wasnt reopening quickly enough because their businesses were left out of the first phase.

Stylists and barbers, whose opening was pushed back to June 1, made up a bulk of the protesters.

Many like Jessica Viera, owner of Style & Grace in Wethersfield, and Greg Reed of Spa Express in Vernon, said theyve spent thousands of dollars to reopen their salons safely, but arent being allowed to because Gov. Ned Lamont pushed back the date.

I spent a lot of money to reopen and he took our choice away, Viera said.

She said she bought disposable capes, gloves, and thermometers and had over 100 customers with appointments that she had to cancel with less than 48 hours notice. She said if salons didnt feel comfortable reopening Wednesday, they could have remained closed.

People are angry. They dont understand the constant changes, Viera said.

Reed said his space includes both hair and nails and he was ready to open up the hair part of the salon. He said hes already installed an air flow system at each station and Plexiglas barriers in the nail salon portion.

Reed said hes disappointed in the decision not to open up nail salons because now is the time of year for people to be getting pedicures and theyre missing out on a lot of business as a result. He said he still doesnt understand the decision not to open up nail salons.

With this guy you cant get an answer, Reed said referring to Lamont.

In protest of Lamonts order, a barber demonstrated on the north steps of the state Capitol how they planned to safely cut hair.

On a separate part of the state Capitol lawn, a group of about 20 dental hygienists protested guidelines the state issued Tuesday that allow the dental industry to begin routine procedures.

Dentist offices have never closed, but the group of hygienists at the Capitol Wednesday said they are afraid it is too early to reopen.

The Connecticut Dental Hygienists Association signed off on guidelines to allow a safe reopening on Wednesday.

Were the highest-risk profession, Meg Zadrowski, a dental hygienist, said.

She said everyone who is not in full PPE in a dental office is at risk because the coronavirus can spread through the air.

We should not be part of phase one. There is not enough known about this virus, Zadrowski said.

Offices, restaurants and museums with outdoor features are allowed to reopen Wednesday if they can agree to daily health checks, adhere to state guidelines for testing and contact tracing, and cleaning. Employers are responsible for providing PPE to their employees and cannot open if they are unable to do this.

While working from home is still encouraged, offices can also open at 50 percent capacity. Businesses are being asked to stagger shifts and allow employees to continue to work from home if possible. For office workers, masks are required, but may be removed if employees are working alone in a segregated space.

Restaurants will be allowed to reopen for outdoor dining, but not every restaurant will be able to take advantage of that opportunity and it comes with restrictions.

The Connecticut Restaurant Association estimates that only about 25 percent of their members will reopen this week.

The association is pushing Lamont to allow them to begin indoor dining as soon as June 3.

We believe that limited, safe indoor dining is possible, a group of 130 restaurant owners said in a letter to the governor last week.

Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, said the decision to open was not an easy one for some businesses and others have been unable to open because they dont have any outdoor seating.

I think its going to be a slow rollout, Dolch said, because they have to make sure customers feel safe.

He said reservations are starting to build for Memorial Day weekend, but curbside and takeout are still going to be part of the business model for many restaurants for months to come.

We have to build consumer confidence and build this back and do this right, Dolch said. Every day is a better day.
Joe Biden recently told a popular Spanish-language radio broadcaster that he would introduce a comprehensive immigration proposal on his first day as president. He spoke alongside Latino civil rights activists about the spread of the coronavirus in meatpacking plants staffed primarily by immigrants. His wife, Jill, who is learning Spanish while stuck at home by the pandemic, has begun meeting weekly with small groups of Latino members of Congress, taking notes on a range of issues to share with her husband.

In a private conversation months ago with some members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee distanced himself from some of the Obama administration's most controversial immigration policies, including its high number of deportations.

"He basically, respectfully, said that was the Obama administration's decision, as a whole. He didn't run point for that," said Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), who helped arrange the meeting last year and endorsed Biden in December. "And Joe Biden, on top of that, mentioned that under his presidency, we wouldn't see the need nor would we see those numbers of deportations. That's just not what his path is going to be."

In public and behind the scenes, Biden has been taking steps to address the view among some immigration rights activists that he has been dismissive of their concerns. It could be a critical weakness - Biden lost Latinos in several high-profile primaries to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) well after he began to reposition himself - and one that could be pivotal to his fate in several general-election states, such as Florida and Arizona.

These activists are desperate to see President Trump defeated, and they fear Biden has yet to deliver a compelling and effective counterargument on immigration - or even talk about the issue as much as Trump does.

They worry that if the former vice president is too focused on winning the support of white voters in swing states who like some of Trump's hard-line immigration stances, Biden could alienate some Latino voters, who are expected to become the country's largest nonwhite voting bloc this fall. And there is lingering resentment for how the Obama administration promised to make immigration restructuring a top priority, then deported more than 3 million people.

Biden said in a tense Univision interview in February that those deportations were "a big mistake" that caused many families pain. While Cardenas and many who have endorsed Biden are confident he would govern differently, others are skeptical.

Some were disappointed that Biden did not publicly condemn Trump's decision last month to temporarily halt immigration because of the high unemployment rate, an action that a majority of Americans agree with. Others are waiting for him to weigh in on recent proposals to give stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants who often are essential workers. Some were alarmed when the Biden campaign began airing an ad in battleground states that accused Trump of having "rolled over for the Chinese" amid the pandemic and "let in 40,000 travelers from China."

The ominous narration coupled with images of Chinese officials looked and sounded like something the Trump campaign would release, said Cristina Jimenez, executive director and co-founder of United We Dream, which advocates for the undocumented.

"It leaves a lot of concern for us . . . that Biden would use Trump messaging to talk about immigration when, quite frankly, some of his policies were getting on the right pathway," she said. "There's definitely been a missed opportunity to lift up how he would be different than Trump."

The Biden campaign declined to make the candidate available for an interview.

While Biden has broadly promised to undo Trump's immigration actions, he has long been cautious in talking about his own proposals, a reflection of the complicated politics he faces as he looks to November.

As Biden prepared to run for president last year, he was briefed by Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pa., who months earlier had defeated Republican Lou Barletta, a former congressman and Trump supporter who made fighting illegal immigration the focus of his campaign.

Democratic studies of the 2016 election results have highlighted the advantages Trump gained by promising to shut foreigners out of the country and put Americans first, particularly among white blue-collar voters. The Biden campaign points to the 2018 midterm elections as evidence that while Trump's rhetoric on immigration might have won him votes in 2016, that power did not carry over in 2018.

To win Pennsylvania in 2020, Casey told Biden in what he called a "pretty blunt" conversation, the next Democratic presidential nominee must attract the white working-class voters who liked Trump's economic promises, including his immigration stances. He urged Biden to emphasize the economic benefits of immigration while pledging to secure the southern border to keep drugs and criminals out.

"You have to make it very clear that you stand for border security - and not just that you stand for it but that you voted for it," Casey said, citing past measures that have won Democratic backing.

But at the same time, he said, most voters want an immigration system that is humane and fair. The separation of families at the border was a wake-up call for some voters, Casey said.

"I think some voters were like: 'Whoa, wait a minute - that's not what I wanted. You mean to tell me that's what your policy is? No, we don't want that. We want to keep the drugs out. We want to keep the bad people out. We want to keep out the guys who are going to take away my job. I don't want to do this,' " Casey said. "People on their own were shaking their heads and saying, 'I didn't mean that when I voted for you.' ''

Several months after that conversation, Biden met privately with Latino members of Congress who urged him to acknowledge mistakes by the Obama administration and boldly differentiate himself from Trump. During the primaries, immigration rights activists protested outside Biden's campaign headquarters and confronted him at public events, demanding apologies for and explanations of the Obama-era deportations.

"You should vote for Trump," Biden curtly told one protester last year.

As with much of his campaign so far, the implicit message from Biden on immigration is as simple as Trump's promise to build a wall: He's not Trump.

Biden released a lengthy immigration plan late last year that calls for a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants, something supported by most Americans, and a number of other policies that are broadly popular across the political spectrum. He has vowed to invest $4 billion in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador over four years to lessen violence and poverty so fewer migrants flee north - a continuation of work he started as vice president.

Biden has called for an increase in the number of employment-based visas given to immigrants - but has also promised to work with Congress to reduce that number during times of high unemployment. The campaign declined to give specific numbers.

During the primary fight, Biden agreed under pressure to back a suspension of all deportations for 100 days and then only deport those who have committed felony crimes. He did not give his support to other policies pushed by activists and backed by significant segments of his party, such as removing criminal penalties for those who cross the border illegally, removing barriers from the border or abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Some activists worry Biden will fall into the same trap they say Barack Obama did: agreeing to greater immigration enforcement and border security to placate Republicans - and not getting major changes in exchange.

"Over time we've created an overly punitive system of immigration that really treats and sees immigrants as 'the other,' " said Lorella Praeli, who led Hillary Clinton's Latino outreach in 2016 and is now the president of Community Change Action, which advocates for those who are marginalized. "The question for Biden in this moment is: What is his compelling vision? And can he reassure immigrant Latino voters . . . that he can actually deliver a humane and fair system?"

Biden's primary campaign lagged substantially behind Sanders in organizing Latino voters. Sanders dominated in heavily Latino neighborhoods during the Iowa and Nevada caucuses, and he won the most votes from Latinos in the California and Texas primaries.

"Politicians think if you go out and get a couple of endorsements or you do some webinars, you're, like, really working with our community and we're really going to show up," said Chuck Rocha, the strategist who built Sanders's Latino outreach program and has been lobbying the Biden campaign to hire him. "You've got to spend some money and go out and talk to Latinos."

Biden campaign officials have promised to significantly increase outreach to Latinos and further diversify the campaign's staff now that it has raised more money, although they declined to provide target numbers. They noted that Biden won a plurality of Latino votes in the Florida primary, and exit polls show he also led in the Virginia and North Carolina primaries.

Biden's November strategy is squarely focused on winning three Rust Belt states that were key to Trump's 2016 victory - Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin - along with Florida and Arizona, which have large Latino populations. Although the Latino population in the Rust Belt states is small, Rocha said mobilizing those voters could give Biden the small margin he needs to beat Trump. The president's campaign has been targeting those same voters in recent months.

In the Sanders campaign, Rocha said he started conversations with Latino voters by talking about immigration, even though polling showed health care was their No. 1 concern.

"I knew in my heart that to make a connection with them - so that they would listen to us about health care, which we would get to - I needed to lead with an emotional issue," he said.

Emotion is key to how Biden talks about the issue. Biden's campaign says that his positions reflect the middle ground and that he would bring a vastly different approach to immigration than Trump's.

"The cornerstone of his approach to immigration comes back to family," said Cristobal Alex, a senior adviser to Biden who works on immigration policy and Latino outreach. "He understands what it's like to lose family members and is able to make the connection to what it's like for families torn apart by Trump's horrible immigration policies."

As Biden spoke earlier this month on a virtual coronavirus panel organized by Latino civil rights activists, he called for greater protections for undocumented workers and acknowledged the terror many of them face simply going to work or seeking medical care. He spoke compassionately, but vaguely.

In the online comments, one activist called on Biden to show greater leadership, while another remarked that "this is a prepared speech more for Americanos that aren't in our community." Another asked for specific solutions.

"We don't need to hear statistics. We need change," one activist wrote. "We need to know you care."

- - -

The Washington Post's Emily Guskin and Scott Clement contributed to this report.
A high school senior married his sweetheart in an emotional ceremony attended by close family members and friends after being given just months to live.

Chase Smith and Sadie Mills, both 18, from Indiana, had planned on getting married after college, but when the Indian Creek High School student learned the bone cancer he'd been fighting for the past six years had returned, they knew they didn't want to wait.

The couple spent just four days planning their dream wedding before saying 'I do' on her parents' driveway on April 29. They exchanged vows on the same spot where they had shared their first kiss six months before, the Indy Star reported.

Scroll down for video

High school sweethearts: Chase Smith and Sadie Mills, both 18, from Indiana, wed in a small ceremony attended by close family and friends on April 29

Living life to the fullest: They had planned on getting married after college, but when he learned his bone cancer had returned, they knew they didn't want to wait

'We, every day, pray for a miracle together because we trust in God,' Sadie said. 'We pray that Chase would stay on this earth longer so we can bring more people our story of love.'

Chase was a 12-year-old nationally-ranked swimmer with the goal of one day competing in the Olympics when the discovery of a tumor on his femur led to him being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma  a rare bone cancer typically occurs in children and young adults.

He fought back with chemotherapy, but the tumor on his left leg returned in 2016. Three years later, in April 2019, his cancer came back for a third time with a tumor on his lower lung.

Chase's cancer battle was on pause when he met Sadie, a student at Mooresville High School, a little over six months ago during a swim meet between their rival schools.

Newlyweds: Chase and Sadie opened up about their wedding day in a video interview, both agreeing it was the best day of their lives

'I saw her before the meet. I thought she was pretty cute,' Chase told the Indy Star.

After chatting at the meet, they exchanged phone numbers and started texting each other the next day. Chase was juggling swim meets and his SATs at the time and was concerned he was too busy to go on a first date with Sadie.

'If you're really interested, you'll find time,' she told him  and he did.

The two haven't gone more than a day or two without each other since they embarked on their whirlwind romance late last year.

During their long phone conversations, Chase and Sadie had talked about marriage, something they both agreed they wanted to do after graduating from college.

Unforgettable response: Chase was busy with swim meets and SATs when he first met Sadie, who told him that if he wanted to go on a date with her, he'd make time

Overcome with emotion: Chase burst into tears when he saw his bride walk down the aisle

Look of love: 'I was just so excited to see her because I hadn't seen her all day,' he said. 'It was just the pure reaction of being able to see her'

But then in March, his cancer came back with fury. He had tumors all over his body, including on his shoulder, lung, back, hip, and the lining of his brain, which causes severe headaches.

He was given just three to five months to live, with our without treatment.

Chase's parents supported his decision to marry Sadie, and when he went to broach the topic with his girlfriend, she cut him off, telling him she wanted the same thing.

The two families had a sit-down, and the Mills also gave the couple their blessing.

Before their ceremony, Chase and Sadie held hands around a corner so they couldn't see each other while they prayed and read letters they had written each other.

Looking back: The two exchanged vows on Sadie's parents' driveway at the same spot where they had shared their first kiss six months before

On the same page: Sadie said that she had 'always wanted an outdoor wedding,' and Chase had come up with the idea of placing the altar on the driveway

Diagnosis: Chase has been battling Ewing's sarcoma since he was 12 years old. When he learned his bone cancer had returned in March, he was give just three to five months to live

Coming together: Both Chase and Sadies parents approved of their wedding and were there to support them

The couple later opened up about their wedding day during a video interview, with both of them agreeing it was the best day of their lives.

Sadie explained that she had 'always wanted an outdoor wedding,' and Chase had come up with the idea of placing the altar on the driveway of her parents' home where he had picked her up on their first date and where they had shared their first kiss.

'That meant a lot to me,' she said.

Like many emotional grooms, Chase burst into when he saw his bride-to-be walk down the aisle on their wedding day.

'I was just so excited to see her because I hadn't seen her all day,' he explained. 'It was just the pure reaction of being able to see her.'

Setting the record straight: Chase admitted that people do assume that they only got married because he is terminally ill, but he insisted that's not the case

Young love: Chase said his new wife who can bring down his heart rate when the stress and pain become too much for him

Hope: Chase and Sadie refuse to give up and pray every morning and night for a miracle

The newlywed admitted that people do assume that they only got married because he is terminally ill, but he insisted that's not the case.

'That's not at all why we decided to get married. It was more just a wakeup-call of, hey, God wants you guys together,' he said. 'What's the point of waiting if you already know.'

Chase said his new wife is the only one who can comfort him when the pain of his tumors and the fear surrounding his diagnosis become too much to bear.

'She's the one person that I can go to, and she can get my heart rate down,' he said.

The couple shared that they pray together every night before bed and every morning when they wake up. They refuse to give up, and they trust that God will give them a miracle.

A GoFundMe page was set up to help pay for Chase's cancer treatment, and as of Tuesday, there have been nearly $100,000 in donations.
New Delhi: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Class 10 results are unlikely to be announced today (May 20). Students who appeared in the BSEB's Class 10th exams would be able to check their results on the Bihar board's official websites.

Students can also view their results on mobile phones by clicking on these links - biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in and biharboard.ac.in.

The students of the Bihar Board can check their Class 10 results by logging in at either of the official websites by filling in their admit card details.

To view your report card, click on the 'Results' tab after visiting the home page. Then tap on Class X Matriculation results and select your particular stream and click on 'Result.'

A new page will appear where you have to provide your credentials and then enter the captcha text. You can then check and download your scoresheet.

Students can also check results through SMS besides the official websites.

To check your results through SMS, go to your message box and type a new message - BSEB10 -space- ROLL NUMBER and send it to 56263. Make sure you enter space between BSEB and your Roll Number.

The Bihar Board Class 10 examination 2020 was held between February 17 and February 24 and reportedly around 15 lakh students had appeared for the exam this year.

Although the evaluation process got delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but commenced on May 6 and concluded last week.
The families of all immigrant NHS and care workers who die from coronavirus will be able to stay in the UK after a U-turn from Priti Patel.

The Home Office announced it is extending the offer of indefinite leave to remain, free of charge, to the relatives of support staff after a furious outcry.

The policy is in recognition their of the 'tireless dedication and selflessness' of low-paid workers, and will be effective immediately and applied retrospectively.

Ms Patel said: 'Every death in this crisis is a tragedy, and sadly some NHS support staff and social care workers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of saving the lives of others.

'When I announced the introduction of the bereavement scheme in April, I said we would continue to work across government to look at ways to offer further support. Today we are extending the scheme to NHS support staff and social care workers.'

Earlier, foreign NHS workers have accused Boris Johnson of 'stabbing them in the back' after declaring it is 'right' to charge them 624-a-year for healthcare.

Mr Johnson defended the government's Immigration Health Surcharge during PMQs today while also revealing 321 NHS and social care workers, many who were born outside Britain, have perished after contracting Covid-19.

The PM, who has repeatedly thanked foreign nurses at St Thomas' hospital for saving his life, has been accused of 'betrayal' after it was revealed that migrant workers, including care workers who have risked their lives battling coronavirus, will have to pay 624-a-year from October to access the NHS - an increase from the current 400 charge.

Today Syrian refugee Hassan Akkad (left in scrubs) said he been'stabbed in the back' after being excluded from the NHS bereavement scheme in a video message sent to the PM hours after he said it was right that foreign NHS staff be charged hundreds of pounds a year for healthcare

The Bafta-winning photographer and filmmaker, who took a job as a cleaner at St Bartholomew's Hospital in east London 'to help the country through the pandemic', has said his partner could be deported if he dies

Approaching 200 NHS health and care workers have died on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic

New Zealand nurse Jenny McGee, 35, (pictured) and Portuguese nurse Luis Pitarma cared for the PM in hospital. It is possible that Ms McKee may have to pay the surcharge because she is from outside the EU

What is the Immigration Health Surcharge? How much is it and who pays? Workers coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area are required to pay the fee in order to be able to use the health service. The NHS surcharge costs 300 per year for student visas and 400 per year for all other visa and immigration applications. It is being put up to 624-a-year from October. And from next January, it will be extended to all EU citizens who move here after Brexit is completed. A migrant's dependents usually need to pay the same amounts. You still need to pay even if you have private medical insurance. Who needs to pay? Any national of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA) not in an exempted category;

Or anyone applying for a visa to work, study or join your family in the UK for more than 6 months; For immigration applications made from within the UK, you need to pay if: You're a national of a country outside the EEA or if you're making an immigration application for any length of time, including applications for 6 months or less. Who does not need to pay? You're applying for indefinite leave to enter or remain

You're a diplomat or a member of a visiting armed forces;

You're a dependant of a member of the UK's armed forces or the dependant of a member of another country's armed forces;

You're a family member of a European national

You're applying for a visa for the Isle of Man or Channel Islands

You're a British Overseas Territory citizen resident in the Falkland Islands

You're an asylum seeker

A victim of slavery or human trafficking or domestic violence - or their relative; Advertisement

Yvette Cooper, Labour MP and chairwoman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said: 'It is very good news that the Government has finally agreed to extend the bereavement scheme to the families of social care workers and NHS support staff who die on the front line.

'It would be unthinkable to ask a family who had lost a loved one as a result of caring for people with Covid-19 to leave their home and the country when they have already given so much to the UK fighting against this awful virus.

'But it is still very unfair that those low paid workers are not included in the free visa extension. I hope the Home Office will now listen to everyone's concerns and change course on this too.

'Why should those who care for and transport vulnerable patients and scrub the floors and door handles of the Covid wards be excluded from the NHS visa extension scheme?

'The Government should now expand free visa extensions and waive the immigration health surcharge for care workers and low-paid NHS staff too.

'Making the lowest paid NHS and care workers pay thousands of pounds and wrestle with the UK immigration system while they are working to care for and support UK residents in the midst of this coronavirus crisis is unfair and wrong. I urge the Government to think again on this one too'.

The Government's NHS bereavement scheme was launched last month and is open to almost all health and social care workers who have died after caring for those contracted Covid-19.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Government will pay 60,000 to families of those who die in service. And those from outside Europe would also receive indefinite leave to remain.

Those included in the scheme were any full-time and part-time employees, agency and locum workers, as well as retired staff who returned or students who had taken up paid frontline roles to support the coronavirus response.

But the Home Office later confirmed that social care workers, hospital cleaners and porters, either employed directly by hospitals or agencies, are not included. Many of these lowest paid workers are from outside the EU.

Earlier today Syrian refugee Hassan Akkad said he felt 'stabbed in the back'.

The Bafta-winning photographer and filmmaker, who took a job as a cleaner at St Bartholomew's Hospital in east London 'to help the country through the pandemic', fought back tears as he recorded a message for the Prime Minister after completing his shift.

He said: 'I've been enjoying the clapping that you and your ministers your fellow ministers do every week. Today. however, I felt betrayed and stabbed in the that you've decided to exclude myself and my colleagues, all on the minimum wage, from your bereavement scheme. So if I die fighting coronavirus then my partner isn't allowed an indefinite leave to remain. This is your way of saying thank you to us.

'Now I'm sending you this message so I hope you'll reconsider because I did see a humble Boris after you were discharged from hospital. Us migrants are on the frontline doing these very demanding jobs - the least you can do is to help our families if we die'.

The death toll among NHS staff has hit 181 and among care workers it is 131, Mr Johnson revealed in PMQs in the House of Commons this afternoon. 'I know the thoughts of the whole House are with their families and friends,' he said.

But the Prime Minister came under fire from Labour MPs and nursing unions after he refused to back calls for care workers to be exempted from the Immigration Health Surcharge - saying the charge was 'right'.

Ministers have been accused of 'penalising' the very healthcare workers who for the past three months have been treating many of Britain's coronavirus patients on the NHS frontline.

Critics say they are being 'charged twice' for their own NHS treatment because they also pay income tax and national insurance that funds hospitals, GP surgeries and dentists. Migrants already pay for healthcare in the UK through their visa.

In a bruising PMQs encounter with Labour leader Keir Starmer, Mr Johnson was urged to rethink the charge.

But the Prime Minister defended the policy, saying: 'We must look at the realities - this is a great national service, it's a national institution, it needs funding and those contributions actually help us to raise about 900 million, and it's very difficult in the current circumstances to find alternative sources.

'So with great respect to the point (Sir Keir Starmer) makes, I do think that is the right way forward.'

Mr Starmer said he was 'disappointed' by the response and promised to table an amendment to the Immigration Bill to exempt NHS and care workers from the charge.

A nursing union has said it is 'alarmed' to learn there are no plans to exempt foreign health workers from the NHS surcharge.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has written to the Home Secretary Priti Patel urging her to reconsider the decision and waive the charge 'as a matter of urgency' as it ramped up calls it has been making on the subject for two years.

Under immigration rules, workers coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area are required to pay the fee in order to be able to use the health service.

The NHS surcharge costs 300 per year for student visas and 400 per year for all other visa and immigration applications, according to the Government's website.

A migrant's dependants usually need to pay the same amounts.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the union which represents 450,000 health and care workers across the UK, said: 'We are urging the Home Secretary to reconsider and waive this charge for healthcare staff from overseas as a matter of urgency.

'We have already received devastating accounts from members who are struggling to pay the charge, and the impact that it is having on their families' lives.

'The current pandemic has served to reaffirm the importance of our internationally educated staff.

'Without them here, patient care would be at risk.

'This charge undermines the dedicated care overseas health and care staff provide to us all.'

Mr Johnson's video message from inside no 10 after he was discharged from hospital. He singled out his foreign nurses for praise during his message. But the Government has 'no current plans' to review the policy known as the immigration health surcharge (IHS)

Home Secretary Priti Patel U--turned tonight by announcing the government is extending the offer of indefinite leave to remain, free of charge, to the relatives of NHS support and care staff after a furious outcry

The latest NHS and care worker death figures come as tributes flooded in for the two most recent healthcare workers known to have died after contracting Covid-19.

Carlos Sia, who worked for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, died on Friday, May 15, in the hospital where he worked.

The 'much-loved' 62-year-old, who had worked for the trust for five years, had spent several weeks in intensive care.

He has a wife and daughter in the UK, and three sons living in the Philippines.

In a letter to staff, chief executive Matthew Hopkins said: 'His quiet, gentle and respectful nature, his generosity of spirit, his sense of humour and his calming influence also made him popular with patients.

'We have lost a valued member of our Trust family - and in Carlos's case, the word 'family' has a special relevance as his wife Cindy works on Avon 2 as a healthcare assistant and his daughter Clair is a nurse on our acute stroke unit.

'Cindy and Clair are particularly in our thoughts at this sad time, as are all Carlos's colleagues who worked alongside him and those who cared for him through his illness.'

Tributes have also been paid to Neil Ruch, the first paramedic from the East of England Ambulance Service to lose his life to Covid-19.

The 'fantastic' paramedic had been battling coronavirus for a number of weeks and had been on a ventilator in intensive care at Basildon Hospital since last month.

Mr Ruch, who previously worked for the London Ambulance Service, died on Monday.

He had been worked for the East of England Ambulance Service for the past seven years and was based at Basildon ambulance station in Essex.

A statement on the Essex Medical Training Facebook page gave a heartbreaking tribute to the hero paramedic.

It said: 'Every day heroes, who are stepping out of the comfort zone, donning PPE & making a huge difference on the front line.

Carlos Sia (pictured left), who worked for the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, died on Friday, May 15, in the hospital where he worked. Tributes have also been paid to Neil Ruch (right), the first paramedic from the East of England Ambulance Service to lose his life to Covid-19

Labour leader Keir Starmer today urged Mr Johnson to rethink the Immigration Health Surcharge

'One such hero has unfortunately made the ultimate sacrifice. Whilst dedicating his career to providing life saving treatment, Neil Ruch contracted Covid-19 and after a long battle, has sadly died.

'Neil was a fantastic paramedic, a kind, gentle soul, treasured by all that new him.'

Last month, the names of 171 healthcare workers to die after contracting Covid-19.

Among them was orthopaedic surgeon Sadeq Elhowsh, 58, described by his colleagues as 'a much-loved member of the team'.

He worked at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in Merseyside as a surgeon for 17 years before he died at Whiston Hospital.

In a tribute to the surgeon, who died last month in the hospital he worked at, the father-of-four's family said: 'Sadeq was a wonderful husband as well as a devoted father and he dearly loved his family.

'We cannot put into words the depth of our loss. He loved his work and was dedicated to supporting his patients and his colleagues.'

Josephine Peter, a nurse at Southport and Formby District General Hospital, has been described as a 'heroine' by her devastated husband after she died from the virus on Saturday, April 18.

Sadeq Elhowsh, 58, an orthopaedic surgeon who worked at St Helens and Knowley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, died from coronavirus. Pictured with his sons

Josephine Peter, a nurse at Southport and Formby District General Hospital, leaves behind her husband Thabo, her two children Bongani and Buhle and a granddaughter

According to a GoFundMe page set up to honour Mrs Peter, who worked as a nurse for 20 years, she leaves behind her husband Thabo, her two children Bongani and Buhle who live in South Africa and a granddaughter.

She had been working at Southport hospital since February on an agency contract until she fell ill in early April.

James Lock, chief executive of Altrix, the nursing agency that employed her, said: 'Josephine was a diligent nurse who was highly regarded and liked by the team.

'She would always go that extra mile and was a pleasure to work with. My team and I send our very best wishes and deepest condolences to Josephine's family.'

Liz Shale, a 61-year-old NHS administration worker from Leeds, died just two days after being rushed to hospital on Tuesday, April 7.

Liz Shale, 61, an NHS administration worker from Leeds died two days after she was rushed to hospital

Her family, who described her as 'loving and crazy' have pleaded with people to 'take this virus seriously' after they were unable to visit and say goodbye to her before she died at St James's University Hospital and will have to watch her funeral via video link due to new restrictions.

The grandmother-of-eight worked for the NHS for more than 20 years and spent the last decade working in palliative care in Bradford.

Her son, Danny, said: 'She was funny, loving and crazy, she would do owt for a laugh. She was definitely a character.

'She was always cracking jokes to make them all laugh and keep them motivated.

'She knew she had to keep going to work when this started and started working from home the week before everyone was told to but even though she had been staying at home, she still got it.'

He added: 'Our life will never be the same again. My mum won't get to see my children grow up all because of this virus. How people don't realise the impact this has?

'Basically, she's now just seen as another number - a statistic - and it shouldn't be that way. People should know who she was, not see her as another person who died.'

Another victim, Kirsty Jones, 41, had been working as a healthcare assistant and recently taken up a position in one of Lanarkshire's Assessment Centres, based in Airdrie Health Centre, to help in the frontline response against the pandemic.

Juliet Alder, who worked at the Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health Unit, died from coronavirus aged 58 on Tuesday, April 14

Kirsty Jones, 41, was working at an assessment centre helping in the frontline response. She leaves behind her husband Nigel and two sons, Sam age 14 and Finlay, four

Her death sees her leave behind her husband Nigel, and two sons, Sam aged 14 and Finlay, four.

Mr Jones said: 'Kirsty devoted her life to caring for others. She was larger than life itself and was a constant source of happiness for all who were around her.

'Kirsty will be greatly missed by all who knew her. A void has opened in our hearts that will never be filled.'

Tributes have also been paid to Khulisani Nkala, a mental health nurse who died last month.

The 46-year-old was the first staff member at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to died from the virus.

Khulisani Nkala, 46, worked as a mental health nurse for the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and died from the virus on Friday

Dr Sara Munro, chief executive of the trust, said: 'Khuli was a well-respected and selfless professional nurse who 'always put the patient first' and will be greatly missed by his colleagues.'

Juliet Alder, who died from coronavirus aged 58 on Tuesday, April 14, worked at the Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health Unit supporting older people in the last weeks of their life.

She is the first member of the team to die from Covid-19, leaving behind her husband and daughter, and was described by her colleagues as 'kind, caring and thoughtful.'

Her coworkers said: 'She was compassionate to patients, colleagues and carers and maternal towards those who came in contact with her.

'Juliet had a beaming smile and an infectious laughter and took great pride in looking after others. She'll be missed by all.'

Yesterday it was announced Manjeet Riyat, a 'widely respected' doctor, who became the first Sikh to work as an A&E consultant in Britain, was one of the latest NHS victims of the pandemic.

Manjeet Riyat died at the Royal Derby Hospital on Monday (University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust/PA)

The 52-year-old was described by colleagues at the Royal Derby Hospital as the 'father of the emergency department.'

The married father-of-two, who previously worked at Leicester Royal Infirmary and Lincoln County Hospital, has been described as 'instrumental' in building the emergency medicine service in Derbyshire over the past 20 years.

He died in April at Royal Derby Hospital, the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust said.

Married father-of-two Craig Wakeham, a doctor at the Cerne Abbas surgery in Dorset for three decades, also died from coronavirus in April.

Married father-of-two Craig Wakeham, a doctor at the Cerne Abbas surgery in Dorset for three decades, died from coronavirus at the weekend, it emerged today

His colleagues at the surgery said: 'His industry and innovation led our practice for 30 years.

'He was also a leading light in both the Clinical Commissioning Group and Local Medical Committee, as well as a devoted husband a father to his two boys.

'His legacy lives on in our patients who he cared for diligently, and in the good name he built for our surgery.'

Dr Amged El-Hawrani became the UK's first front-line hospital doctor to die from coronavirus following warnings that a lack of protective equipment would cost medical staff lives

Mr Riyat also acted as an emergency medicine tutor at Derby College where he oversaw the education of junior doctors.

His death marks the second at the trust, after Dr Amged El-Hawrani, an ear, nose and throat consultant at Queen's Hospital Burton, became the first frontline hospital doctor to die in the pandemic.

Today's figures on the number of health care workers to die after contracing coronavirus were announced as Mr Johnson engaged in bruising clashes with Labour's Keir Starmer over the handling of the crisis in care homes.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland sparked fury earlier by admitting that ministers 'chose' to protect the NHS over care homes because there was not enough coronavirus testing capacity.

Mr Buckland gave the clearest statement yet that a decision was made to prioritise the health service when the outbreak was at its most ferocious.

More than 11,000 people are now believed to have died in care homes since the disease started running rampant, around a quarter of the UK's total toll. The government has been heavily criticised for sending patients back to homes from hospitals without tests, and not putting routine screening in place for staff and residents.

Mr Buckland fuelled the row this morning by conceding the government had to make a 'choice' about where to deploy testing capacity - which was languishing at a few thousand a day in early March, although it has now been ramped up to over 100,000.

'I think we needed to make a choice about testing and we did decide to focus upon the NHS,' he told Sky News. 'The issue with care homes is that we've got many thousands of different providers, different settings, there have been lots of examples of care homes that have mercifully stayed infection free, but sadly far too many cases of infection and then death.'

Shadow care minister Liz Kendall said the remarks amounted to a concession that 'ministers did not give care homes the protection they needed at the start of this pandemic'.

The details emerged as Mr Johnson engaged in bruising clashes with Labour's Keir Starmer (pictured) over the handling of the crisis in care homes

Mr Buckland fuelled the row this morning by conceding the government had to make a 'choice' about where to deploy testing capacity - which was languishing at a few thousand a day in early March, although it has now been ramped up to over 100,000

'Social care and the NHS are both equally important in the fight against this virus and are inextricably linked. One cannot be prioritised above the other,' she said.

Care England chief Martin Green said it was a 'significant' statement from Mr Buckland and he hoped the government will 'learn lessons'.

The spat came after Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, highlighted the role capacity had played in key decisions at the daily media briefing last night.

Dame Angela said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to contact trade individual cases, which happened on March 12, 'took account of the testing that was available'.

'With the testing we had the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital... it was the right thing to do at the time,' she said.

She said the 'scientific advice would be that you need to have a rapid and reliable testing system'. Asked if that was now true, Dame Angela replied: 'I think it is getting better.'
Stock markets picked up Wednesday, with US tech giants surging as investor optimism over the reopening of the economy offset worries about the hit from coronavirus shutdowns. Equities have enjoyed a broad advance for several weeks as virus infection and death rates slow overall, allowing some governments to lift strict stay-at-home measures that have hammered businesses. But while there was a general feeling the worst is past, increased China-US tensions continue to cast a shadow over trading floors, along with an accumulating mountain of indicators of profound economic weakness. The World Bank warned the crisis could leave about 60 million people in extreme poverty, and estimated that the global economy might contract by five percent this year. Federal Reserve minutes showed worries about the lasting damage from COVID-19 on businesses. Policymakers worried that "even after social-distancing requirements were eased, some business models may no longer be economically viable," especially if consumers decide to "avoid participating in particular forms of economic activity," the minutes said. Still, investors have shrugged off much of the bad news. "If recent price action is any guide, stock markets will continue to opt for the positive narratives, even as investors wait for this summer's dire earnings season, expected to be one of the worst on record," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp. Markets in Europe were mixed earlier in the day, but perked up when New York weighed in. The Nasdaq led the major indices, finishing 2.1 percent. Both Amazon and Facebook surged following new program announcements in the last day that pushed their businesses ahead at a time when many consumers are stuck at home because of the coronavirus. Facebook rocketed 6.0 percent higher after unveiling tools for retailers hit by the pandemic to create online storefronts at the social network and Instagram, while Amazon advanced 2.0 percent as it released the online game Crucible as a potential rival to monster hit Fortnite. Meanwhile, US retail giant Target reported an 11.3 jump in first quarter sales to $19.6 billion, but also a 64.3 percent drop in profits owing to higher costs that included bonuses to hourly workers and extra cleaning related to the coronavirus pandemic. Oil prices continued to push higher, as US oil inventories declined in the latest indication that the badly glutted market is rebalancing. US oil futures finished up 4.8 percent at $33.49 per barrel. - Key figures around 2050 GMT - New York - Dow: UP 1.5 percent at 24,575.90 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 1.7 percent at 2,971.61 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP 2.1 percent at 9,375.78 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 6,067.16 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.3 percent at 11,223.71 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 4,496.98 (close) EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.4 percent at 2,942.39 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 20,595.15 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.1 percent at 24,399.95 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 2,883.74 (close) Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.2 percent at $35.75 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 4.8 percent at $33.49 per barrel Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0983 from $1.0923 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: DOWN at 107.55 yen from 107.71 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2233 from $1.2253 Euro/pound: UP at 89.74 pence from 89.15 pence
Safeguarding Frontline Officers Against the COVID-19 Pandemic: Nigeria Police Partner with UNODC and the EU

Photo:  UNODC

Around the world, police officers, whose duties bring them in close and frequent contact with members of the public, have suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 virus. Sadly, in Nigeria the situation is much the same.

That is why the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Nigeria Police Force, and the European Union, launched new Guidelines for Policing During the COVID-19 Emergency, tailored specifically for the Nigerian context.

Based on guidance provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), INTERPOL, and other leading international experts, these guidelinesset out practical steps that officers can take to reduce their risk of infection while working to prevent the spread of this disease and to protect the public from criminal activity. UNODC distributed 10,000 booklets to frontline officers.

By following the practical advice contained in these guidelines, especially simple steps like wearing personal protective equipment, maintaining social distancing, and frequently washing hands, it is hoped that officers will be able to undertake their duties in greater confidence and safety.

Launching the guidelines, UNODC Country Representative Oliver Stolpe said: We often ask our police officers to take tremendous risks on our behalf, and the COVID-19 crisis is no exception. Police officers in Nigeria are serving on the frontline in the fight against this virus and are often the first representatives of the state that the sick can turn to for help. We owe it to them to do everything in our power to enable them to go about their duties in as safe a manner as possible in such troubled times. We trust that these guidelineswill be a significant step towards achieving this goal.

EU Ambassador Ketil Karlsen also welcomed the initiative: Raising awareness to limit the spread of the disease is of paramount importance. Along with health professionals, Nigerian law enforcement organizations are at the forefront of the COVID-19 response. By supporting the publication and distribution of these new guidelines, the EU would like to contribute to safer working conditions for Nigerian police officers.

Finally, the Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu extended his personal thanks and gratitude to UNODC and the European Union for their assistance: I would like to thank our international partners for working with us to prepare these guidelines. My officers are doing a top notch job during this crisis and anything that helps them to stay safe while serving the public makes a tremendous contribution to the national effort to eradicate COVID-19.

Further information

UNODC Nigeria webpage on Counter Terrorism and the Prevention of Violent Extremism

Terrorism Prevention Branch webpage

Guidelines for Policing During the COVID-19 Emergency (PDF)
A crucial election has begun in the East African nation of Burundi, where President Pierre Nkurunziza is stepping aside after a divisive 15-year rule but will remain paramount leader in the country that continues to reject outside scrutiny.

The vote is one of the most important transfers of power in Burundi since independence in 1962.

Face masks and social distancing were observed as voting began after 6 am but Burundi's government has been criticized for not appearing to take the coronavirus pandemic seriously.

Nkurunziza himself attended crowded political rallies.

The country has 42 confirmed virus cases. Regional observers are not present after being told that arriving foreigners would face a 14-day quarantine, and on Wednesday morning citizens and journalists said access to social media was not possible without a virtual private network.

Ahead of the vote, government agents were accused of harassing the main opposition party, the CNL, whose leader Agathon Rwasa is believed to be in a close race with Nkurunziza's chosen successor in the ruling CNDD-FDD, Evariste Ndayishimiye.

Police have accused Rwasa of making incendiary and defamatory remarks and inciting revolt.

Some in Burundi worry that a rigged election could spark the kind of street demonstrations that marked the previous vote in 2015, when Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term that some called unconstitutional.

The deadly turmoil that followed badly damaged global relations, and Burundi became the first country to leave the International Criminal Court after it started investigating allegations of abuses.

The UN human rights office reported more than 300 extrajudicial killings and was kicked out of the country.

Burundi's government has denied allegations it targets its people.

Last week, the World Health Organization's top official in Burundi was kicked out as well amid concerns about the pandemic response.

If none of the seven candidates receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will occur within weeks. More than 5 million people are registered to vote in the country of nearly 12 million.

Analysts have said that Ndayishimiye, a retired general, would be a weak president because he will be a front for the 56-year-old Nkurunziza and other powerful ruling party members.

Many Burundians were surprised that Nkurunziza would step aside after a referendum in 2018 extended the length of a presidential term to seven years and led many to believe he would try to stay in power.

Critics and rights groups have warned that Nkurunziza is unpredictable and the election could be a mere formality.

Rwasa, the top opposition candidate and deputy parliament speaker, has told The Associated Press he feels it's important not to boycott the election even if the outcome is not expected to be fair.

Some voters reflected the skepticism and uncertainty.

I know my vote won't be counted but I have to make a change. That is why I woke up at 4:00 am to come to vote, said one, Suzane Bucumi.

I come to vote for the change. Everybody aspires for change now, said Jean Claude Bitsure, a teacher.

More than 300,000 people who fled Burundi amid the turmoil caused by the previous election remain refugees.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In these times, staying healthy  physically, mentally, emotionally  can be a daily challenge. Every Monday, as part of the new Live at Home event series, Tara Parker-Pope, the founding editor of Well, The Timess consumer health section, hosts experts and takes questions from readers.

Jane Brody, The Timess personal health columnist, recently joined Ms. Parker-Pope on a group call with readers. The panelists answered questions from readers on how to stay fit, happy and balanced even as our lives have changed amid the coronavirus outbreak. Heres a lightly edited segment of the conversation.

I am over 70. My children are extremely upset that I go into stores  very quickly in and out and I wear a mask and gloves every time. Do you think Im putting my life at risk?

JANE BRODY: Id be the last person to tell you that, because I do the same thing, and I am almost 79. My kids do not want me to go shopping, but theyre working 16 hours a day. Am I going to ask them to go shopping for me? No. I am not good at doing orders online and having people come and deliver them. I dont even want somebody delivering anything to me. But, in any case, I go into stores the same way you do. I have a short list. I go in during the senior hour. I use gloves and a mask. In fact, I use a double mask to go in the store just in case somebody comes too close to me. And I go to stores that have a good setup. They monitor how many people go in. When I get home, I wash down the groceries, and I make sure that my hands and my face get washed.
A suspicious package containing about 200 grams of a hallucinogen mailed from the Netherlands and addressed to a Moore Township man was intercepted May 6 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in an international mail facility in Chicago, authorities said.

The 200 grams of a red bark substance was determined to be Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) after analysis at the Pennsylvania State Police lab in Bethlehem, Moore Township police and state police said in court papers.

About 11:15 a.m. Tuesday , both law enforcement agencies as well as other officers did a controlled delivery of the package to 3209 Crest Vue Circle, where Joshua David Chemelli, 19, lives in the township, police said in court papers. They dont say if it was handed to Chemelli.

A search warrant was executed at 12:56 p.m. and police said they recovered:

A clear plastic bag containing marijuana

A metal grinder

A clear plastic bag containing Psilocybin mushrooms

Two digital scales

Two laptops

An Apple iPhone

Numerous containers filled with pills

New/used syringes with a clear liquid

Court papers do not say if the DMT was recovered right after the delivery.

The 200 grams of DMT is a large amount for this controlled substance and would be considered a distribution amount, police said in court papers.

After being read his rights, Chemelli told investigators he had a small amount of marijuana and mushrooms in his bedroom, police said. He admitted he was expecting a parcel from the Netherlands and that he bought the contents himself, police said.

Chemelli was arraigned at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez on charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance (two counts), possession of a small amount of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, records show. Bail was set at $100,000 and Chemelli remained jailed Wednesday morning.

His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. June 2 in District Judge Robert A. Hawkes courtroom in Lehigh Township. Court papers do not list an attorney for Chemelli.

DMT, a Schedule 1 drug in Pennsylvania, produces effects similar to LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms, according to healthline.com. It remains illegal under state and federal law, but some municipalities across the country have decriminalized it, the website said. It can come from plants or be created in a laboratory, the website said. Its been used for centuries in South American religious ceremonies, the website said. Its effects come on quickly and last 30 to 45 minutes, unless drunk in a tea-form, in which the impact can last two to six hours, the website said.

About 20 percent of overseas mail intended for the United States comes through Chicago OHares International Mail Facility, where the package was flagged, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

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

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was given fresh hope by the Iranian authorities last night that she could be free within days to return to Britain.

The British-Iranian mother, pictured, had her temporary release from a Tehran prison extended by another week yesterday.

Her lawyer later revealed that Iran will decide by next Wednesday whether to commute the rest of her five-year sentence.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of West Hampstead, north-west London, was accused of spying and plotting to overthrow the Iranian government  which she denies  and jailed for five years

Mahmoud Behzadirad told an Iranian news agency that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes furlough has been extended until May 27 and judiciary officials have told her that they will rule by then whether to free her.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe said last night that the lawyers words were positive.

He believes a decision could be made soon because the time around the Muslim festival of Eid this weekend is when prisoners annually are given clemency in Iran.

The British-Iranian mother had her temporary release from a Tehran prison extended by another week yesterday. She is pictured with her daughter Gabriella (now five)

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, was allowed out of Evin prison on March 17 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She has to wear a tag and stay at her parents house.

She was arrested at Tehrans Imam Khomeini Airport in April 2016 while taking her baby daughter Gabriella to see her parents.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, of West Hampstead, north-west London, was accused of spying and plotting to overthrow the Iranian government  which she denies  and jailed for five years.

Her MP, Tulip Siddiq, tweeted yesterday: Nazanins furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today. Nazanin is pictured above with her daughter

She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet its obligations under international law.

Her MP, Tulip Siddiq, tweeted yesterday: Nazanins furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today.

The Hampstead and Kilburn Labour MP said the uncertainty over whether Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe will have to return to jail was causing her family unimaginable stress.

Gabriella, now five, was allowed to fly back to London last year to live with her father and attend school.

She talks to her mother daily via Skype.
THE HAGUE, May 19 (Reuters) - Dozens of demonstrators chanting "Shell must fall" gathered on Tuesday outside the oil giant's headquarters in the Netherlands, where a virtual annual shareholders' meeting was underway.

Roughly 30 activists from environmental groups Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion and Code Red sang and danced in protest at the Hague offices of Royal Dutch Shell.

Hundreds of activists had signed up to attend, but Dutch authorities allowed no more than 30 due to coronavirus distancing measures.

During the shareholders' meeting, some large investors were expected to press the company for more concrete action to reduce its environmental footprint and meet the Paris climate goals.

Dozens more protesters, many wearing face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, demonstrated outside the nearby national parliament building and city hall.

A dinosaur made of oil drums was erected outside Shell's headquarters and protesters held banners that read "fossil energies belong in museums" and "climate change final call: Shell must fall."

Greenpeace called for an end to investments in fossil fuel.

"Shell and its investors must now take responsibility. Shell has earned billions from oil exploitation, now these dirty investments must come to an end," said Greenpeace biologist Helena Spiritus.

Code Red said its members had carried out protests in cities across the Netherlands and in Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic. Media reports said several Shell petrol stations had been blocked in the morning to prevent customers from buying fuel.

Shell has pledged to bring down its overall carbon intensity by 65%. Intensity targets mean that absolute emissions can rise with increasing production.

None of the big oil companies currently meets U.N. targets to limit global warming despite ambitious goals set by Shell and Eni (ENI.MI), according to the Transition Pathway Initiative, which represents investors managing $19 trillion. (Reporting by Piroschka van de Wou; Writng by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Giles Elgood)
Tech giant Vivo has teased its upcoming smartphone, the Vivo X50, once again. The new teaser shared through Weibo hints at the company using Samsung's new 50-megapixel ISOCELL GN1 sensor.

Taking to the social media website, one of Vivo's product managers boasted how the phone will bring a sensor with 2.4m pixels, 1/1.3 sensor size. The camera has been teased to be able to output 100-megapixel images. Interestingly, all of the specs match the GN1 sensor, thereby leading us to believe that the X50 Pro will indeed be housing this lens.

Earlier, the company had teased that the phone will come with impressive low-light performance -- a claim also being made for the ISOCELL GN1 sensor by Samsung. The lens was launched only a few days ago, and if the Vivo X50 Pro does indeed get it, it'll make it the first phone to sport Samsung's new camera.

Talking about the lens, it is Samsung's first image sensor to offer both Dual Pixel and Tetracell technologies. Thanks to the relatively larger pixel size, the GN1 claims to bring "image sensor performance to a new level with a combination of elevated light sensitivity for stellar low-light photos and DSLR-level auto-focus speeds, optimized for more dynamic picture-taking experiences."

The GN1 also promises best-in-class auto-focusing with 100 million phase-detection auto-focus (PDAF) agents. The company claims that with all of the sensor's active pixels working as auto-focusing agents, the GN1 can detect and focus onto a desired still or moving object from every corner in an instant, even in low-light conditions.

When capturing images, a single-pixel output is created by merging the outputs from the two photodiodes within the pixel. Samsung also provides a software algorithm that takes light information from each photodiode to produce image resolutions comparable to 100Mp.

The GN1 adopts Tetracell technology, a pixel-merging technique for improved low light photogrpahy. It improves the pixels' capacity to capture and process more light. By binning four pixel signals into one, Tetracell doubles the image sensor's pixel size to 2.4m and quadruples the light sensitivity to take brighter 12.5Mp photographs. With improved light sensitivity combined with a powerful auto-focusing solution, the GN1 is able to focus on an object quickly even in extreme low-light environment to deliver both brighter and sharper results.

In addition to Dual Pixel and Tetracell technologies, the GN1 comes with Smart-ISO that intelligently selects the optimal ISO, real-time HDR that captures the scene in multiple exposures simultaneously, and gyro-based electronic image stabilization (EIS) that takes sharp images and video even when in motion.
TAMPA, Fla.  One day before a top Florida Department of Health data manager was taken off her role maintaining the states COVID-19 dashboard, officials had directed her to remove data from public view that showed Floridians reported symptoms of the disease before cases were officially announced, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

According to the emails, department staff gave the order shortly after reporters requested the same data from the agency on May 5. The data manager, Rebekah Jones, complied with the order, but not before she told her supervisors it was the wrong call.

By the next morning, control over the data was given to other employees, according to an email Jones posted Friday on a public listserv. Jones, the departments Geographic Information Systems manager, wrote that she was no longer the point person for questions about the departments Floridas COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard. She implied her removal was an act of retribution.

Jones did not respond to requests for comment.

The dashboard, which gives daily updates on numbers of deaths, cases and tests for the coronavirus in every county in the state, is relied upon by officials, journalists, academics and residents who want as much information as possible about the deadly pandemic.

Besides the visible dashboard, the department releases the same data, with only slightly more information, in daily reports, as well as in another format that allows for easier data analysis.

In her Friday email to subscribers of a COVID data users listserv, Jones said she was reassigned on May 5 (f)or reasons beyond my divisions control and warned that the staff taking over may be less straightforward.

As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it, she wrote.

They are making a lot of changes. I would advise being diligent in your respective uses of this data.

Florida Today reported on the email Monday evening.

Emails sent within the department on May 4 indicate a busy timeline leading up to Jones reassignment.

That day, according to the Miami Herald, reporters contacted the department to ask about the EventDate field of data, which showed when people first reported coronavirus symptoms or positive test results. Some people had listed dates as early as January 1, indicating people reported symptomatic or tested positive much earlier than when cases were confirmed in March. It is unclear when the state learned about those cases, or when the people were tested.

Sometime that day, the column vanished from the Person Cases data, which lists anonymized records for every confirmed case in Florida. The Palm Beach Post reported the disappearance the next day, May 5..

The Tampa Bay Times automatically checks for changes in the data and archives new updates. Shortly before 10:12 a.m on May 4., data still included the EventDate field, showing records with listed dates that people reported symptoms as early as January 1. By 3:02 p.m., the column was gone.

For much of the next day, May 5, the column was either missing or empty, with every row listing None. Finally, it returned shortly before 8:02 p.m.

Times reporters asked Health Department spokesman Alberto Moscoso that day why the data disappeared. A week later, he said, This field continues to be represented on the Departments COVID-19 Dashboard.

Moscoso did not reply to requests for comment Tuesday.

According to internal emails reviewed by the Times, Department of Health I.T. Director Craig Curry emailed Rebekah Jones just before 5 p.m. on May 5. He cited Dr. Carina Blackmore, Director for the Division of Disease Control and Health Protection.

Per Dr. Blackmore, disable the ability to export the data to files from the dashboard immediately. We need to ensure that dates (date fields) in all objects match their counterpart on the PDF line list published, Curry wrote.

The tables in the PDF documents did not include the column of data showing when symptoms were first reported, only the Case Date  the date the state recorded and confirmed the case.

This is the wrong call, Jones replied minutes later.

A few minutes later, she emailed Curry again. Case line data is down.

Then, just after 6 p.m., the I.T. director emailed both Jones and Dr. Blackmore. Re-enable for now please.

Jones replied, 10-4.

Neither Dr. Blackmore nor Curry replied to requests for comment.

According to the Syracuse University alumni magazine, Jones joined the Department of Health in 2018. She worked for emergency response teams after hurricanes Michael and Dorian before becoming GIS manager in November 2019. Jones graduated from Syracuse before earning a masters degree in geography at Louisiana State University and then teaching and working towards a Ph.D. at Florida State University, according to a resume posted to Florida States website.

Jones, 30, built the dashboard from scratch, she told the magazine in March. Through early May, she had provided information and updates on the tool to researchers and journalists, including Times reporters.

If you look at our data services, theres a lot of publicly available data, because its critical information, Jones in April told a blog by Esri, the company that creates software used by the department.

We would much rather the public or the press have the data that weve triple checked than to scrape the web trying to count cases or have a research group or university create a model with data that we havent verified, Jones said in the article. The efforts in the academic community to do serious data modeling are crucial right now.

The same dashboard received national attention when Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, first raved about it April 20.

So I did spend about five hours going to every state website, and I will tell you that the  Floridas Department of Health website is extraordinary, Birx told reporters at the White House. This is how we have to inform the American public, and this is where the American public will develop confidence in each of their counties and local governments.

Jones said she was reassigned 15 days later.



Langston Taylor of the Tampa Bay Times wrote this story.

2020 Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

Visit the Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.) at www.tampabay.com
Official White House Photo: Tia DufourBy CONOR FINNEGAN, ABC News



(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. will permanently stop funding the World Health Organization and withdraw from the United Nations agency unless it makes "major substantive improvements within the next 30 days," President Donald Trump announced late Monday night, without detailing what those improvements are.



Trump's moves to pull U.S. funding for WHO have been widely criticized, particularly for ceding the global stage to China even as he criticizes the organization for being too deferential to Beijing.



Even as Trump initially praised China, the two powers have been battling for influence, undermining the global response to a pandemic that has killed over 300,000 people worldwide. WHO has increasingly been caught in the middle, with Trump accusing it of covering up the coronavirus outbreak and cozying up to Chinese leadership.



Hours before those attacks, Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed WHO's World Health Assembly and announced $2 billion to address the coronavirus pandemic that started in his country.



America's European allies urged support for WHO, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying, "This is the time for all humanity to rally around a common cause."



In the four-page letter posted on Twitter, Trump announced that he will make his "temporary freeze" of U.S. funding permanent after listing grievances with WHO's response to the pandemic in 14 bullet points, some of which are inaccurate.

This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020

Many of the issues Trump faults the WHO for not doing, like investigating the outbreak or pressuring the Chinese government, are also outside the agency's limited authorities. While those U.S. cuts can be avoided, his letter says, if there are major changes, it's unclear what reforms the U.S. is seeking, and the letter does not offer specific details.



"The letter is a very detailed, long letter, but basically, they have to clean up their act. They have to do a better job. They have to be much more fair to other countries, including the United States, or we're not going to be involved with them anymore. We'll do it a separate way," Trump said at the White House Tuesday.



In particular, Trump's letter faults the WHO for "fail[ing] to independently investigate credible reports that conflicted directly with the Chinese government's official accounts" in December 2019, specifically referring to anecdotal reports on Chinese social media and "reports from the Lancet medical journal" about an outbreak.



But The Lancet had no reports at that time.



"This statement is factually incorrect. The Lancet published no report in December, 2019, referring to a virus or outbreak in Wuhan or anywhere else in China," the medical journal, one of the world's oldest and most esteemed, said in a statement Tuesday in response to the letter.



Trump also misconstrues the WHO's authority. The U.N. agency cannot compel data from member states, with its bylaws permitting it only to share information given by a country and with its consent. It also has no intelligence capability or authority to force a country to admit its officials, preventing it from doing any kind of real independent investigation.



The WHO's "IHRs (international health regulations) put all of the onus on the member state, not on WHO. A member state has an obligation to promptly notify WHO of novel events, but the IHRs don't give WHO the authority to compel that," according to Jeremy Konyndyk, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.



Still, Trump argues the WHO "failed to press China for the timely admittance of a World Health Organization team of international medical experts." That WHO team was delayed getting into China until February, and the two American scientists included in the delegation did not travel to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the outbreak. Trump says they were barred while other members of the delegation went.



But it's not clear that the WHO was not pressing China to admit the delegation, and ultimately, the delegation was granted admission the same day the WHO's director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, met with Xi in late January. Until Tedros had that consent, WHO had no authority to force the issue because it would violate a member state's sovereignty -- an issue that Trump has previously said is sacrosanct.



In his letter, Trump also wrote that the WHO "repeatedly made claims about the coronavirus that were either grossly inaccurate or misleading," including that it had no "clear evidence" of human-to-human transmission.



But in its statements, the WHO made clear its knowledge on the virus that came from the Chinese government, without the ability to collect its own data. Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put the onus on that issue not on the WHO, but on China, saying Beijing "didn't report sustained human-to-human transmission for a month until it was in every province inside of China."



Whatever data it does have, the WHO is generally overly cautious before making determinations. On April 24, for example, the WHO said there was "no evidence" that people who recovered from COVID-19 were "protected from a second infection," alarming many in the public. But the agency meant there's no definitive proof yet because studies have not been complete on this new virus, not that reinfection was a widespread problem.



Critics have faulted that failure of communication. But Trump's letter instead turns its focus on Tedros' praise for the Chinese government's response to the outbreak, particularly his commendation for its "transparency."



China has been anything but transparent, arresting several local doctors for speaking out about the outbreak, obscuring data about transmissions and cases within the country, and declining to share a sample of the virus with the WHO. But Trump's argument is undermined by his own praise for China's "transparency." He repeatedly praised Xi's "strong" leadership and "very successful operation."



Tedros did not directly respond to Trump's letter Tuesday at the conclusion of the WHO's World Health Assembly. But he welcomed a resolution sponsored by the European Union and adopted at the assembly, with unanimous support, including from the U.S. and China. Among other things, it called for a comprehensive, independent investigation into the WHO's response.



"As always, WHO remains fully committed to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. We want accountability more than anyone," he said.



In Beijing, the Chinese government had far harsher words, accusing the U.S. of violating its international obligation to help fund the WHO and trying "to mislead the public, smear China's efforts and shift the blame of U.S. incompetence to others," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday. "But this attempt will not succeed."



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
A plan is being formed to get international students back into New South Wales to save thousands of jobs at universities.

The plan, which is in the 'early stages' of development, would involve quarantining students in hotels for two weeks as soon as they land in Sydney.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the plan would not be ready in June or July but did not rule out students returning in August.

Plans are under way to get international students back into Australia to save thousands of jobs at universities

New South Wales has processed 15,000 returned travellers through hotel quarantine, with 3,000 people still in isolation.

'We have demonstrated in the last few months our capacity to be able to process people through our hotel quarantine,' Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Thursday.

'I worry about jobs in the regions, especially with universities which employ tens of thousands of people.

'Of course our universities in the cities are suffering too but not to the extent of the regions.

'If we can support them potentially - I'm not suggesting in June or even July - but if we can support them in a safe way by using that quarantine process I think we should consider when foreign students should be allowed back to ensure the survival of those jobs.'

Hotel guests watch a musical performance from their rooms during their final night of quarantine at the Sofitel Wentworth in Sydney. New South Wales has processed 15,000 returned travellers through hotel quarantine

Ms Berejiklian said taxpayers would not be paying for students to be quarantined.

'That would be an arrangement we would come to with the universities,' she said.

'The plans are still in the formative stage. It would be conditional as well on what the federal government allowed in terms of flights.

'These are just early developments of the plan but we need to think ahead.'

NSW recorded only two new cases of the virus on Wednesday.
The city is home to Dow, the chemical giant, whose influence is apparent everywhere in town, from the Midland Center for the Arts and Dow Gardens to H.H. Dow High School, one of the citys two high schools, and the Dow Diamond minor league ballpark.

Sue Baranski was forced to evacuate her home in Sanford, upstream from Midland, on Tuesday night as the floodwaters rose there. She found refuge with her friend Linda Calzadillas in Midland, and the pair drove down to survey the river, which had already swamped the citys Farmers Market and was edging toward Main Street.

Ms. Baranski said her home in Sanford was OK, but the streets leading to it were flooded and closed.

Its scary looking, she said. When youre sitting in a house high and dry, looking at the tulips blooming, you dont get the full effect of what the county is going through. Its disastrous. Between the devastation from the flooding, and the virus, and the small business owners trying to make their way through that, its just too much.

Jeff De Vaney, the owner of the Amazing Deli on Main Street, was hit with a triple whammy. His business was just getting back to normal earlier this year, after the city closed the road in front of his business for nearly a year to rebuild the pedestrian walkway.

Everything was going really good  February and January were the best months that weve had in years  and then the Covid hit, he said. Covid just really took the wind out of our sails. Our normal production has been down about 50 percent.

Now, instead of being able to sell to the crowds that were gathering Wednesday, the deli and much of downtown Midland lost power and had to shut down. The rising waters were beginning to threaten the rear and basement of his building.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has voiced his support for a probe against the country's former leader Petro Poroshenko during a news conference in Kyiv - Sergey Dolzhenko/Pool via Reuters

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, has welcomed a criminal investigation against his predecessor whom he beat in last years election.

Mr Zelenskiys comments refer to a leaked phone call which shows then-President Petro Poroshenko and then-U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden discussing the dismissal of a Ukrainian prosecutor in exchange for U.S. support for an IMF loan in 2015.

The heavily edited recording was published on Tuesday by Andriy Derkach, an Ukrainian member of parliament known for a friendly relationship with Rudy Giuliani, a personal attorney for U.S. President Donald Trump in a throwback to last years Ukraine scandal that led to impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump.

A day after Ukrainian prosecutors launched a formal inquiry into suspected treason by Mr Poroshenko, President Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that it was up to law enforcement agencies to investigate those allegations while voicing support for the probe.

I think (Poroshenko and his allies) were running in the country in such a way that they have a lot of adventures and verdicts ahead of them, he told a news conference marking his first year in office.

Mr Zelenskiy, a popular comedian without any political background, during last years election campaign repeatedly accused Mr Poroshenko of corruption and abuse of power, citing recurrent media reports that document possible conflicts of interests and other misdemeanours.

Mr Poroshenko has denied those allegations.

President Zelenskiys declared willingness to go after his former opponent has evoked uncomfortable comparisons to Viktor Yanukovych, a former Ukrainian president who oversaw an investigation that landed his arch-rival Yulia Tymoshenko in jail.

The impeachment inquiry against President Trump was triggered by last summers phone call with Mr Zelenskiy in which Mr Trump asked the Ukrainian leader to investigate Democratic candidate Biden and his sons work for a Ukrainian oil company in exchange for U.S. military aid.

Mr Zelenskiy has denied that Mr Trump pressured him to look into the allegations that Mr Biden got then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin fired because he planned to investigate Hunter Bidens work in Ukraine.

Mr Shokin, who served as Ukraines Prosecutor General in 2015-2016, was widely accused of failing to pursue any major anti-corruption investigation, which left Ukraines international donors deeply frustrated. Foreign officials as well as Ukraines respected anti-corruption activists openly urged for the dismissal of Mr Shokin who never had an active investigation in Hunter Bidens work.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Software Inc. (Constellation) (CSU.TO) announced today that it has, acting through its TSS operating group and its subsidiary TPCS Holding B.V. (the Purchaser), entered into a binding agreement with IJssel B.V. (the Seller) to purchase 100% of the shares of Topicus.com B.V. (Topicus), a Netherlands-based diversified vertical market software provider.



Once the transaction is completed, TSS and Topicus will operate together under the operating group name Topicus.com. Under the guidance of Constellation, Topicus.com intends to explore opportunities for a future public listing of its shares. Pursuant to such listing, it is anticipated that Constellation would remain a significant shareholder of Topicus.com, and that the current Constellation shareholders would be entitled to receive, pro rata and via dividend, common shares in Topicus.com.

The purchase of Topicus will be financed with TSS cash on hand and its existing revolving line of credit and requires no funding from Constellation. Consideration will be in the form of a cash payment plus the issuance to the Seller of approximately 9% of the shares of the new operating group Topicus.com (the merged TSS and Topicus economic entity). Annual gross revenues of Topicus for 2019 were approximately 101M and total tangible assets at December 31, 2019 were approximately 7M. Topicus employs approximately 1,000 employees (870 full time equivalents). The transaction is currently expected to close in 2020, subject to the satisfaction of certain standard closing conditions including clearance from the Dutch Competition Authority.

We have been following the impressive development of Topicus since its beginning in 2001. The company has been growing through acquisitions, but predominantly organically. Its portfolio is not directly competitive with ours. Both companies will operate stand-alone in our decentralized organization model, said Robin van Poelje, CEO of TSS.

Story continues

Daan Dijkhuizen, CEO of Topicus, commented: We see TSS as the designated partner to realize our further growth ambitions in Europe. The intended collaboration contains a wealth of opportunity for our team members, customers and product offerings. Both Topicus and TSS have a strong culture of entrepreneurship and proven craftsmanship combined with great focus. The mutual complement lies in the bundling of knowledge of and experience in healthy business operations, effective and customer-oriented services in combination with innovative strength.

Mark Leonard, President of Constellation, said: I cannot think of another vertical market software company that has achieved Topicus' size without using outside shareholder funding. I look forward to spending more time with the Topicus founders as travel becomes easier. I'm an old dog, but I'm certain that they have new tricks to teach me. More importantly, they have experience and practices that can benefit all of the Constellation operating groups.

The plan to create a publicly listed operating group made up of Topicus and TSS was a key part of our discussions with the Topicus founders. They didn't want their legacy disappearing into the craw of an omnivorous conglomerate. While they knew that Topicus would have autonomy within Constellation, they also wanted identity. The public listing is expected to afford our Netherlands-based businesses a platform from which to celebrate their culture and achievements.

I look forward to having CSI's long-term shareholders become long-term shareholders of Topicus.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements herein may be forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual events to be materially different from any future events expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as may, will, expect, believe, plan, intend, should, anticipate and other similar terminology are intended to identify forward looking statements. Forward looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, the intention of Topicus.com to explore opportunities for a future public listing of its shares, and the intention to have Constellation and its current shareholders become shareholders of Topicus.com. Such forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved, or when such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to vary significantly from the results discussed in the forward looking statements. These forward looking statements reflect current assumptions and expectations regarding future events and are made as of the date hereof and Constellation assumes no obligation, except as required by law, to update any forward looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

About Total Specific Solutions

TSS is one of CSIs six Operating Group companies, based in the Netherlands and solely focused on the European vertical market software industry.

About Topicus

Topicus is a Netherlands based leader in building and running smart vertical market software since 2001. Their focus is on innovation through vertical market integration. Topicus connects organizations, professionals and end users within and across the vertical markets of education, healthcare, municipalities and financial services.

About Constellation Software Inc.

Constellation acquires, manages and builds vertical market software businesses that provide mission-critical software solutions.

For further information, contact:

Constellation Software Inc.

Jamal Baksh, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: (416) 861-2279

jbaksh@csisoftware.com

www.csisoftware.com




A pastor in Cameroon died from COVID-19 after contracting the virus from laying his hands on infected believers to heal them.

According to the Christian Post, Frankline Ndifor, the founder of Kingship International Ministries, died Saturday. Ndifor was 39.

"This is a pastor that has been laying hands [on the sick] and claiming that he cures COVID-19," said Rigobert Che, one of the pastors followers. "If you, the person that claims that you are curing COVID-19, you are dead, what about the fellow people that were affected by the COVID-19? Now that he is dead, I do not know how the people that he was laying hands on will be healed."

Che says Ndifor prayed over dozens of people last Wednesday, but the Cameroon Tribune says Ndifor had been sick for weeks. Media reports say he didnt seek medical attention until early Saturday morning. He later slipped into a coma and then died that same day.

Dr. Gaelle Nnanga, however, told Voice of America that Ndifor was sick less than a week before he died.

A government official told press that many of the pastors followers refused to accept a pronouncement of death and kept medical staff from taking his body from his home in Bonaberi.

The people reportedly told medical officials that their pastor was away on a spiritual retreat with God. Followers blocked access to his home and prayed for his resurrection.

Ndifor was buried in front of his house later in the day.

Medical staff are now asking anyone who recently came in contact with the pastor to report for testing.

Before his death, Ndifor also donated buckets of soap and water to the poor and also distributed face masks.

According to Voice of America, some 3,300 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in Cameroon and 147 people have died.

Photo courtesy: Unsplash/CDC

Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
Argos has unveiled plans to reopen some of its stores in Ireland from Monday, May 18, in line with the latest guidance from government.

From Monday, Argos stores on high streets and in retail parks will start to reopen. Stores in shopping centres will remain closed, in line with government guidance.

The company says it will start with usual store opening hours and will review these over the next few weeks as it sees how people are shopping with. Open hours may extend opening hours in the future if it is safe to do so.

For more details, you can visit the Store Locator and opening hours page on the company's website from Monday, May 18 by clicking here.

There will be a range of measures in place in each store including a limit on the number of customers allowed in store at any one time. Customers will need to queue a safe distance away from each other outside the store and there will be staff on hand to help with this.

All stores will have perspex safety screens at the tills and staff will be following social distancing guidelines at all times, including when they pick items from the store warehouse and bring them to the collection counter.
E leven people are being held in custody after a student was shot dead in the street as she walked to a Lidl supermarket.

Police say they are working round the clock to find out who killed 19-year-old Aya Hachem in a drive-by shooting in Blackburn on Sunday.

Miss Hachem, a University of Salford law student, was an innocent bystander who was hit by one of several shots fired from a vehicle as she walked to a Lidl supermarket near her home, Lancashire Police said.

She died from a single wound to the chest.

Detectives have been granted an additional 36 hours by magistrates to continue questioning three men, aged 33, 36 and 39, all from Blackburn, on suspicion of her murder after their arrests on Monday.

Miss Hachem was killed on Sunday in a drive-by shooting / PA

On Wednesday, police said they had made eight more arrests.

Three men aged 28, 31 and 35 were held on suspicion of murder and two women aged 19 and 26 and a 29-year-old man were detained on suspicion of assisting an offender.

A further two people - a 29-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man - were arrested on Wednesday afternoon, taking the total in custody to 11, police said.

Eleven people have been arrested in connection with Miss Hachem's murder / PA

Senior Investigating Officer, Det Supt Andy Cribbin, said: This is a very fast moving investigation, with information coming in from various places which we are reacting to swiftly.

I continue to appeal to people who think they know who was involved in the tragic shooting of Aya but havent spoken to us yet to do the right thing and make contact.

"Aya, the innocent victim in all of this, along with her family, deserve justice and it is people telling us what they know that will help us find the people or person responsible."

Miss Hachem was a second year student at the University of Salford / PA

Police believe Miss Hachem was not the intended target of the attack, which took place in broad daylight on a busy main road near a Lidl supermarket in the town centre.

The Lebanese-born teenager died in hospital a short time after emergency services were called to the scene in King Street at around 3pm.

Miss Hachem's family described her as "the most loyal, devoted daughter" who died in the "most horrific circumstances".

Miss Hachem's family described her as a loyal, devoted daughter / PA

"She excelled in her studies both at Blackburn Central High School and at Salford University where she was in her second year and dreamed of becoming a solicitor," her family said in a statement.

"She had just completed her exams and was learning to drive.

"We her parents are absolutely devastated by her death and would like to take this opportunity to plead with any members of the public who may have any information however small that may bring those responsible to justice."

Anybody with information should contact 101, quoting log number 0412 of May 18, or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Nigerias Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has called for a review of the privatisation of the countrys power sector.

Mr Lawal made this stance known on Tuesday during the deliberation of a motion on Nigerias power sector recovery plan and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

His comment comes in the wake of public outcry on the inefficiency of the power sector to provide electricity to Nigerians.

The power sector was privatised in 2013 with the distribution and generation sub-sectors split and sold to private owners. This was aimed at enhancing the power distribution in the country.

Only the transmission component, through the Transmission Company of Nigeria, remains a public property.

Since November 2013 when the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies were handed over to their new owners, Nigerians have expected improved supply of electricity, with government targeting the generation of 10,000 megawatts of electricity daily.

This has, however, not been the case.

President Muhammadu Buhari had in October 2017, said his administration cannot cancel the privatisation of the power sector because it is a complex investment and there are consequences.

He had said his administrations decision to review the power sector privatisation is to open up the sector for investors with the financial capacity and technical expertise to inject fresh investments to turn the sector around.

However, various public officials including the immediate past power minister, Babatunde Fashola, and his successor, Saleh Mamman, have spoken of governments dissatisfaction with the performance of the private electricity companies and hinted at a review of the privatisation.

Lawans comment

Speaking during plenary, Mr Lawan said the privatisation has not been successful.

If we leave them for the next ten years there would be no power in Nigeria, the senate president said.

We gave them our common patrimony and they still come back as DisCos and GenCos to look for money from the public.

The privatisation has so far not been successful. We expected efficiency, effectiveness in power supplies but probably on both sides, maybe the purchase agreements were not adhered to on both sides.

What is obvious is that the DisCos particularly have no capacity at the moment to supply us power. The GenCos have challenges too. It is not good that we give them money we sold  these are businesses. If there are areas we must intervene as a government must be seriously justified.

The way it is I think there is need to review this privatisation to see what has happened. Something is certainly not right. In the event that this thing does not work properly, there will be need for the government to look into it, he said.

The motion

Presenting the motion, the sponsor, Gabriel Suswam, empahsised the importance of power supply as a critical factor in the management of COVID-19 patients who are kept in treatment centres.

The impact of the pandemic on the power sector has necessitated the need for the Senate to ask the federal government to include the sector in the disbursement of the proposed COVID-19 fund, he said.

He also said stable power supply is a critical factor in the management of COVID-19 patients and the implementation of the proposed upgrade of healthcare facilities across the country after the pandemic.

Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) was already facing teething operational constraints including the absence of cost-reflective tariffs, inadequate enumeration and metering of consumers, limited access to funds for investment, poor revenue generation and high levels of aggregate technical commercial and collection (ATC & C) losses, Generation Companies (GenCos) were owed 72 per cent of their revenue in 2019 while the Distribution Electricity Companies (DisCos) reported average ATC &C losses of about 41 per cent in the same year.

All these constraints prevented the NESI from performing optimally across the power value chain.

Advertisements



The pandemic has further impacted negatively on NESI as the DisCos reported a 50 per cent loss of their average monthly revenue collection for the months of March and April 2020 respectively even as the Federal Government continues to harp on the need for a stable electricity supply, Mr Suswam, a former Benue State governor, said.

Resolutions

The Senate thereafter, urged the Ministry of Finance to include the power sector in the disbursement of the proposed N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund in order to ameliorate the financial hazards and operational challenges such as metering of actual consumers.

It mandated the Senate committee on power to investigate all federal government interventions in the power sector since the privatisation of the sector with a view to ascertaining the adequacy of such interventions and their desired impact and to report back within four weeks.

The committee was also mandated to probe all market participants in the power value chain and ascertain the level of corporate governance compliance in the NESI and report back within four weeks.

The lawmakers called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to allow operators in the power sector access to foreign exchange for procurement of equipment and materials.

The lawmakers urged the federal government to consider additional tariff support to the electricity firms and also urged the government to suspend any planned tariff increase.
Many fitness facilities in Athens are providing online, at-home workouts for those who want to maintain exercise routines while social distancing.
A Cambridge spokesman told LBC News: The University is constantly adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Given that it is likely that social distancing will continue to be required, the University has decided there will be no face-to-face lectures during the next academic year.  LBC News
Tense elections to replace Burundis long-ruling president got underway on Wednesday despite a coronavirus outbreak that the East African nation has largely ignored.

The vote comes after five years of turmoil sparked by President Pierre Nkurunzizas bid for a third term, which unleashed unrest that left at least 1,200 dead and saw 400,000 flee the country.

Burundians stood in long lines outside polling stations, which opened shortly after six a.m. (0400 GMT).

Just before voting started, social networks were cut off except for access by virtual private network.

More than five million registered voters are being asked to choose between Nkurunzizas hand-picked heir and frontrunner, 52-year-old general Evariste Ndayishimiye, the main opposition competitor Agathon Rwasa, and five other candidates.

Elections are also being held for parliamentarians and local councillors, who in turn appoint the members of the Senate.

I am happy to vote for the candidate of my choice today, even if I am afraid of what is happening because social networks were cut, said primary school teacher Patrice, 30, who voted in northern Ngozi.

It is important because after 15 years of Nkurunziza, it is time for change. He did good and bad things. today I want (Rwasas) CNL to win because the country needs new blood.

However ruling party supporter Gertrude, who voted in central Mwaro province, said she would vote for Ndayishimiye so that he can continue the legacy of our president Pierre Nkurunziza and beat poverty.

Burundi has a long history of ethnic violence between its Hutu and Tutsi communities and saw several presidents assassinated or ousted after independence from Belgium in 1962.

It is listed by the World Bank as one of the three poorest countries in the world.

The onset of turmoil in 2015 worsened the situation for many, as traditional donors cut ties.

There then followed two years of recession followed by paltry growth, and the economy now faces potential fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

 Divine protection 

Unlike Ethiopia, which in March postponed its August general elections because of the virus risk, Burundi pushed ahead with the vote.

It has not imposed any movement restrictions on its 11 million people, as other countries in East Africa have done, and large crowds gathered at campaign rallies.

Ndayishimiye and other officials have insisted God is protecting Burundi.

Only 42 cases and one death have officially been recorded.

However, doctors accuse the government of minimising the scale of the outbreak and residents of Bujumbura have told AFP of mysterious deaths from respiratory problems and fever.

 Clash of Hutu rebel leaders 

The campaign was marked by violence and arbitrary arrests  the kind that has persisted in the shadows since the 2015 poll  and observers expected a bitter contest between the two frontrunners.

Ndayishimiye is a party veteran who like Nkurunziza, fought for the ethnic Hutu rebellion during the countrys 1993-2006 civil war with the minority Tutsi-dominated army. The war left some 300,000 dead.

Rwasa, 56, was a leader of the oldest ethnic Hutu rebel movement, the Palipehutu-FNL, one of the two biggest armed opposition groups in the war.

In the eyes of the majority Hutu  85 percent of the population  Rwasa has as much legitimacy as a presidential candidate as his rival.

The people wont let their victory be stolen, warned Rwasa, after the ruling party made clear it expected no other outcome than a resounding win.

Nkurunzizas decision to step aside came as a surprise after constitutional changes in 2018 opened the possibility for him to stay in office until 2034.

In January legislators passed a law offering a golden parachute to outgoing presidents, including a luxury villa and a one-off sum equivalent to more than half a million dollars.

The outgoing president, who has ruled for 15 years, was in February named the supreme guide for patriotism and he is expected to retain an influential role if the ruling CNDD-FDD stays in power.

While Ndayishimiye is considered the frontrunner, observers highlight the massive crowds mobilised by Rwasa during his campaign.

There is a phenomenon of despair, a feeling of anything but the CNDD-FDD, and Rwasa is riding this wave, said International Crisis Group (ICG) expert Onesphore Sematumba.

The government has refused any observers from the UN or the African Union, accusing the latter of being too close to the opposition.

Polls close at 1400 GMT, with results expected by next Monday or Tuesday.

SOURCE: AFP
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.For the past few weeks, Hustler Hollywood has been officially reopening its stores across the country in select locations that had been closed due to the coronavirus. In preparation for such reopenings, each Hustler Hollywood location has been and will continue to be regularly cleaned and sanitized per the CDC guidelines, and will also be offering hand sanitizing stations upon entrance and throughout the boutiques. Social distancing guidelines will continue to be followed by limiting the number of customers in-store. The retailer kindly asks all customers who wish to enter the store to wear a face mask and encourage them to pay with credit cards to minimize contact. Trying on apparel and lingerie is prohibited as fitting rooms will remain closed to customers.

We have been helping people with intimacy and relationships for years, and right now, many people have the extra time to do some exploration, and that is where we come in," said Philip Del Rio, vice president of retail. "We have new guidelines and protocols in place for our employees, along with customers, and we will do everything we can to continue to provide a safe and clean environment in which to shop."

The retailer will also continue to offer curbside pick-up service to customers that will be available daily from Noon to 8 p.m. at its Lexington location at 2240 Elkhorn Road for those customers who chose this option. Alternatively, customers can phone the store directly at 859-231-6969, place an order, and have it delivered to them curbside without having to leave their car or enter the store. For those not sure as to what they might want to purchase, they can visit the company's website HustlerHollywood.com for products.
[May 20, 2020] Wabtec Shareholders Approve Company Proposals at Annual Meeting

Wabtec (NYSE: WAB) shareholders elected two Directors and approved other company proposals at its Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh. Directors elected were: Rafael Santana and Lee Foster, II. Additionally, Albert J. Neupaver has been elected to Chairman of the company's Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2020. Mr. Neupaver served as Executive Chairman for the past two years and as the company's CEO from 2006 to 2014. Shareholders also ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for the 2020 fiscal year, approved a non-binding proposal relating to executive compensation and approved an amendment of the 2011 Stock Incentive Plan that increases the number of shares available for awarding under the Plan. About Wabtec Corporation Wabtec Corporation is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added sevices for freight and transit rail. Drawing on nearly four centuries of collective experience across Wabtec, GE Transportation and Faiveley Transport, the company has unmatched digital expertise, technological innovation, and world-class manufacturing and services, enabling the digital-rail-and-transit ecosystems. Wabtec is focused on performance that drives progress, creating transportation solutions that move and improve the world. The freight portfolio features a comprehensive line of locomotives, software applications and a broad selection of mission-critical controls systems, including Positive Train Control (PTC). The transit portfolio provides highly engineered systems and services to virtually every major rail transit system around the world, supplying an integrated series of components for buses and all train-related market segments that deliver safety, efficiency and passenger comfort. Along with its industry-leading portfolio of products and solutions for the rail and transit industries, Wabtec is a leader in mining, marine, and industrial solutions. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Wabtec has approximately 27,000 employees in facilities throughout the world. Visit: www.WabtecCorp.com



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005627/en/



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The class of 2020 has undoubtedly faced a lot of challenges this year.

But even though commencement and graduation ceremonies have been postponed or cancelled, 2020 graduates can still have a photoshoot to celebrate all their accomplishments and look forward to the future.

REOPENING TEXAS: These Houston bars and nightclubs reopen this weekend

Here are some of the best places in and around Houston to take graduation photos.
Owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, everything has come to halt and people have no options but to stay at home. In fact, we are safe staying at homes but the frontline warriors are risking their lives for us as they are double the risk of contracting the disease. In the US, the Sikh community has been helping the warriors and is serving them food ever since the lockdown has been announced. The US has currently been the hotspot of the pandemic in the world, especially New York. While people locked inside their homes can still manage to feed themselves but the brave staff at hospitals and police personnel working round the clock often find their health deteriorating. A man named Shalinder Singh and his family have always been committed to serving people even before the lockdown. However now, they are delivering pizzas to hospitals and police stations around the city so these warriors dont stay hungry.

 representational image_Youtube

"It just popped up in my mind, this is the time to take care of the heroes in the front," Singh, the 40-year-old owner of a pet products company, told Associated Press. He also added, I spoke to a couple of doctors and they said pizza is the best because they're working 12 to 16 hours and they don't have time to sit and eat." The Singhs, including 12-year-old Arjun and 14-year-old Baani, have delivered more than 1,000 pizzas since early April, with no plans to slow down. In New York, 25-year-old Japneet Singh, a fellow Sikh, also came forward in helping to deliver food to the hospitals as the medical officials were working round the clock. Japneet Singh began delivering in late March; he too estimates he's distributed 1,000 pies or more. "There are other people on the front line, like grocery workers. We've been to a Walmart, police precincts, FDNY stations. We recently started feeding the homeless," he said.



Sikh community, all over the world, is doing everything they can for helping the needy as the pandemic has hit us badly. It is a beautiful example of humanity being the bigger religion and motivates us all to do our bit in helping everyone and anyone around us in every way that we can.
IRVINE, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Irvine-based MBK Senior Living (MSL) announces the close of escrow on Kirkwood Orange, a senior living community located in Orange, California. This acquisition expands the company's portfolio to 33 owned and managed communities located throughout the Western United States. The purchase price was not disclosed. Cushman & Wakefield Senior Housing Capital Markets arranged the sale.



According to Jeff Fischer, president MBK Senior Living, the acquisition of Kirkwood Orange is part of the company's growth strategy and is a wonderful complement to MBK Senior Living's portfolio of communities located throughout the Western United States.



Kirkwood Orange is comprised of 48 assisted living and memory care units. Originally built in 1999, the community completed $1.1 million in capital improvements in 2019 including renovations to all common areas. Conveniently located on Taft Avenue, just off of Highway 55, the community is within close proximity to prime shopping and recreational venues, medical centers, and hospitals as well as a short drive from the ARTIC transit center and John Wayne airport.



"Kirkwood Orange is a charming community located in a thriving area where there is a great demand for safe, high-quality senior living with engaging programing and compassionate care," said Fischer. "As the new owner and manager of Kirkwood Orange, we are pleased to provide area seniors and their families with our exceptional signature programs and services."



"Acquiring a new community during a pandemic presents its own unique challenges, however, MBK Senior Living is focused on providing our new residents and families with the highest level of care. We will exercise the utmost caution and implement all necessary safeguards as we take the reins at Kirkwood Orange," added Fischer.



Ranked among the Top 50 "Best Workplaces in Aging Services" by Fortune magazine, MBK Senior Living (MSL) owns, operates, and develops Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care services senior living communities throughout the Western United States. Based in Irvine, CA, MSL is a subsidiary of MBK Real Estate LLC which is supported by the vast financial strength and global resources of its parent company, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. For more information, please visit the company's website at mbkseniorliving.com or on Twitter and Facebook.



Photo(s):

https://www.prlog.org/12823160



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE MBK Senior Living

Related Links

https://www.mbkseniorliving.com


Militias have been raiding villages and government buildings for the past three years.

Regional leaders in Southern Africa are meeting to discuss an increasing rebel insurgency in Mozambique.

Since 2017, an armed group believed to have links to the ISIL (ISIS) group has carried out more than 350 attacks, killing over 600 people in Mozambiques northern region of Cabo Delgado.

Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa reports on how a regional front could finally provide security for civilians.
Mumbai, May 20 : Actress Madhuri Dixit on Wednesday announced that her debut single "Candle" will release on Saturday.

She took to Twitter to post the news.

"All of us are in this together and we will definitely come out of this stronger. All we need is a little hope and positivity. #Candle releasing in 3 days. Stay tuned!," she tweeted.

Speaking about her decision of making her singing debut, the actress said: "When I was growing up, music was something that played an integral part in our household. It gave me the inspiration to be a part of so many amazing things in life. So on my birthday, I decided to release the teaser and share the sneak peek of the song with my fans."

"I thought it was time to give my fans a gift for all the love and support they have showered upon me over the years. We all are going through a difficult time. Hence, we decided that it would be a nice idea to release the song now. The music and its lyrics bring so much positivity and define hope for me. I really wish everybody gets the same vibe from it," she added.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Biotech company Moderna reported early signs of success in developing a vaccine against the coronavirus on Monday, announcing that in a small trial the vaccine appeared to inoculate recipients against the virus.Moderna is using a relatively new technique to construct a vaccine using the virus's genetic code. The technique is faster than others, but has not yet resulted in any approved vaccine.Moderna's team conducted Phase 1 tests on eight people, giving each doses of the vaccine and testing whether the vaccine caused the recipients to develop a natural immunity to the coronavirus. The researchers said that all participants tested positive for antibodies against the coronavirus 15 days after their first dose.Moderna chief medical officer Dr. Tal Zaks, said in a statement Moderna's Monday announcement sent the company's stock price leaping 25% and, partnered with an announcement from the Federal Reserve that it would continue lending to banks, drove the stock market to its highest point in six weeks, according to The New York Times Hundreds of vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus are going through similar tests across the world, according to Bloomberg . Remdesivir, a drug treatment being developed by Gilead Sciences, was fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration after initial testing showed signs of success at helping coronavirus patients recover faster.Hydroxychloroquine is a drug touted by President Trump, who said on Sunday he has been taking doses of the drug for over week. Developed decades ago to combat malaria, hydroxychloroquine is not being tested in over 100 clinical trials after a French researcher reported that it had helped several patients recover from the virus.The Chinese state-owned company China National Biotec Group began conducting vaccine trials on people in April and is attempting to position itself as the eventual savior of the world by being the first to create a viable vaccine. Reports say that Chinese agents are attempting to steal U.S. research into a vaccine.United States and British intelligence agencies issued a warning on May 5 that that they arethe warning said.
The union cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday gave its nod to the atmanirbhar Bharat package for providing foodgrains to stranded migrants for the next two months.

According to an official statement released after the cabinet meeting, ex-post facto approval was given for allocation of foodgrains from the central pool to approximately eight crore migrants at 5 kg per person per month for May and June free of cost.

It would entail an estimated food subsidy of about 2,982.27 crore. Further, the expenditure towards intra-state transportation and handling charges and dealers margin will account for about 127.25 crore. Accordingly, the total subsidy from the Centre is estimated at about 3,109.52 crore, the statement said.

The cabinet also approved a new Special Liquidity Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) to improve their liquidity position.

The cabinet also approved additional funding of up to 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

The Cabinet also approved a finance ministry proposal to launch a new Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs and HFCs.

The direct financial implication for the government is 5 crore, which may be the equity contribution to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).

An SPV would be set up to manage a Stressed Asset Fund (SAF) whose special securities would be guaranteed by the government Government of India and purchased by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) only. The proceeds of sale of such securities would be used by the SPV to acquire short-term debt of NBFCs/HFCs.

The Scheme will be administered by the Department of Financial Services, which will issue the detailed guidelines, the statement said.

The SPV would issue securities as per requirement subject to the total amount of securities outstanding not exceeding Rs. 30,000 crore to be extended by the amount required as per the need. The securities issued by the SPV would be purchased by RBI and proceeds thereof would be used by the SPV to acquire the debt of at least investment grade of short duration (residual maturity of upto 3 months) of eligible NBFCs / HFCs, the statement added.
T here's growing evidence to suggest a link between low levels of vitamin D and a greater risk of developing severe Covid symptoms - and now millions of vulnerable people are to receive free vitamin D supplements in a new government-backed scheme.

One recent study from the University of Cantabria showed that over 80 per cent of hospitalised Covid-19 patients at a hospital in Spain also had a vitamin D deficiency. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have also just begun a clinical trial to investigate whether vitamin D protects against Covid-19.

We usually get sufficient amounts of vitamin D from sunlight during the spring and summer from being outside, our skin produces it when it's exposed to sunlight. But Public Health England recommends we take a vitamin D supplement in the winter months between October and March (or all year round for people who don't get enough sunlight) when we typically see less sunlight, to avoid deficiency.

Conservative MP David Davis and Labours Dr Rupa Huq recently joined forces to urge Health Secretary Matt Hancock to launch a campaign to offer vitamin D supplements for free on the NHS. The Government is now preparing to roll out a new scheme that will see millions of vulnerable people and care-home residents sent a four-month supply of vitamin D supplements to last them through the winter.

Why do we need vitamin D?

Vitamin D helps to maintain bone and muscle health. Deficiency can lead to bone conditions such as rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults. It is increasingly being considered crucial to optimum immune function.

Around one in five people in the UK have low vitamin D levels, according to British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), and deficiency is more common in people who are older, overweight or who are Black or Asian.

Can I get vitamin D from my diet?

It's difficult to get enough vitamin D through food sources alone. Sara Stanner, science director of the BNF, says: "While it is difficult to get the recommended amount of vitamin D through diet alone, dietary supply remains important.

"Vitamin D is found naturally in oily fish, including salmon, mackerel and sardines, as well as eggs, some mushrooms, and in foods fortified with vitamin D such as breakfast cereals, fat spreads and yoghurts. Red meat can also contribute to vitamin D intakes."

Are there different types of vitamin D?

Vitamin D can come in different forms - D2 and D3. "There is some evidence that D3 is more effective and so the majority of supplements contain this form," Benelam says.

How much should I take?

"When it comes to vitamin D supplements, 10 micrograms a day will be enough for most people. You shouldn't take more than 100 micrograms of vitamin D a day as it could be harmful. This applies to adults, including pregnant and breastfeeding women and the elderly, and children aged 11 to 17 years. Children aged 1 to 10 years should not have more than 50 micrograms a day. Infants under 12 months should not have more than 25 micrograms a day," Benelam says.

These supplements are inexpensive and can be found at most pharmacies and supermarkets.
The Chief Constable will face questions over the PSNI's handling of a party in a Belfast apartment complex, after police said revellers in breach of social distancing rules would only face enforcement action as a "last resort".

No one was charged with any offence and no fines were issued when police removed around 40 revellers after all-night parties in the Obel Tower 64 at Donegall Quay over the weekend.

It's understood Simon Byrne will be asked to provide information to the Policing Board tomorrow about any fines for those found to be in breach of regulations - and, if no fines were imposed, to explain the rationale behind PSNI thinking in dealing with the situation, which was revealed exclusively in the Belfast Telegraph earlier this week.

Read More

Health Minister Robin Swann called the actions of those involved "reckless and dangerous".

"I am shocked by the scenes where groups of people gathered to party," he said.

First Minister Arlene Foster said she was "shocked" by photographs of the party, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill said it was "totally unacceptable".

Alliance MLA and Policing Board member John Blair said he has asked for an update on the situation.

Read More

"I have tabled a question and expect to hear a response at the Policing Board meeting on Thursday," he said.

"Police are facing difficulties in implementing regulations and we have to work with them on that, but such gatherings are not permitted."

Police said that enforcement action would only be taken as "a last resort" after around 40 non-residents were asked to leave the complex in the early hours of Sunday morning.

They said they had attended the premises on a number of occasions throughout the night.

Read More

Apartments at the complex were still available yesterday, but only on proof of key worker status or the need to self-isolate because of Covid-19.
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- An advocacy group that represents the private sector in the Commonwealth of Dominica greeted the government's plan to assist businesses amid the pandemic. On Sunday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit outlined his plan to cautiously relaunch the economy, including considerable support for the private sector.

On Tuesday, the Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) announced that it welcomed the government's inclusion and consideration of the needs of Dominican businesses. The NGO classes the overall pandemic response as "inspirational" and salute the public's discipline in adhering to health protocols, which led to 16 fully recovered COVID-19 cases and no deaths being recorded.

"The DAIC notes that several initiatives proposed to the Government for its direct membership and the wider Private Sector were included in the support measures presented," a press release from DAIC cites. "These include corporate tax rebates for companies who retained the majority of their employees, duty and VAT relief on Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), financing for the tourism and manufacturing sectors, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the self-employed, and facilitating of infrastructure projects to encourage local capacity and income generation. In addition, there was support given to further initiatives on income support, agricultural initiatives, and direct purchasing schemes with local producers."

PM Skerrit said in his address to the nation that "the business sector is an essential partner in our quest for development and empowerment, and we shall work with you to ensure that you remain viable and that you will be able to thrive again." He then set out a plan to relaunch the economy, with a special focus on healthcare, agriculture, construction, employment, and the private sector.

As of this week, some businesses in Dominica have been given permission to reopen by appointment. The island has a special programme in place that allows foreign investors to earn the right to live, study and work in the country by becoming an "economic citizen." Established in 1993, Dominica's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme has catapulted to worldwide success particularly in recent years.

The Financial Times' Professional Wealth Management magazine publishes the annual CBI Index, where it compares all the citizenship by investment programmes in the world. Over the past three years, the small Caribbean nation maintained its number one position as having the best CBI programme in the world.

Some of the reasons foreign investors deem Dominica's CBI Programme second to none are its affordability, where minimum investments start at US$100,000 through the Economic Diversification Fund option; no residence requirements; and streamlined processes of just 3-4 months until an investor is granted citizenship. All of these are balanced by strong due diligence that applicants must first pass. This ensures that the Programme's integrity remains unscathed and that investors and their descendants can enjoy lifelong security.

The first step is to hire an authorised agent. For safety reasons, the government has, for a limited period, allowed agents to submit applications online.

Contact:

[email protected]

www.csglobalpartners.com

SOURCE CS Global Partners

Related Links

https://csglobalpartners.com


In December 2012, a few days after the UN General Assembly made history by recognizing Palestine as a nonmember observer state, Israels former military Chief Lt. Gen. (Res.) Gabi Ashkenazi discussed the development with participants of the annual Israel Business Conference. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was calling the move insignificant and lashing out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Ashkenazi presented a different view.

I believe we need a Jewish and democratic state for the Jewish people, and if we want to preserve that we must separate from the Palestinians. And if there is no partner, Israel must declare the borders of its Jewish home and operate accordingly, Ashkenazi said in his widely reported remarks.

Ashkenazi, who a year earlier had ended a four-year term as the chief-of-staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was considered at the time as the great leadership hope of the Labor party, explaining the interest in his views. In those days, his popularity ratings were high  far higher than those of Netanyahu were. He was also considered a protege of then-President Shimon Peres, who tried to talk him into taking the plunge into political life. Peres believed in Ashkenazis prospects of taking over the Labor leadership and subsequently the reins of government.

Peres greatly appreciated the views of the former top soldier, which dovetailed with the two-state idea that Peres had advanced a decade earlier with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He was also a great fan of Ashkenazis performance as the chief-of-staff who rehabilitated the IDF after the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Peres saw in Ashkenazi the embodiment of his dreams  a defense hawk and diplomatic dove. In their many conversations while Ashkenazi was still in uniform, Ashkenazi advocated for indirect negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as painful territorial concessions for Israel.

Almost a decade after taking off his uniform, Ashkenazi, now 66, once the great promise of the political center-left, finds himself in the role of foreign minister in Netanyahus fifth government rushing to annex West Bank settlements.

To get where he is, Ashkenazi, along with his IDF successor and now partner in the leadership of the Blue and White party Benny Gantz violated a pledge to voters to stay out of a government led by an indicted prime minister. As foreign minister, he will now have to maneuver between his vision of separating from the Palestinians and Netanyahus annexation agenda.

On May 19, a day after the government was sworn in, Netanyahu and Ashkenazi met for their first working session. The two agreed to continue meeting and to discuss current diplomatic challenges and opportunities, according to a communique issued by the prime ministers office. Obviously, the biggest challenge on the table right now is the Trump plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Netanyahus efforts to impose Israeli sovereignty in West Bank lands and the warnings by Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah of the consequences.

Anyone who expected Ashkenazi to issue militant warnings against unilateral Israeli annexation moves found instead that Israels new top diplomat had opted for a measured response and a lower profile regarding declarations about peace with the Palestinians and his commitment to negotiations. At this stage, at least, he is toeing Netanyahus line and treading cautiously. At the May 18 ceremony marking his takeover of the foreign ministers position, he described US President Donald Trumps plan as a significant regional opportunity and a significant milestone. President Trump has presented us with a historic opportunity to shape the future of the State of Israel and its boundaries for decades to come. The plan will be advanced responsibly, in full coordination with the United States and maintaining all of the State of Israels peace agreements and strategic interests," Ashkenazi said. Netanyahu would have signed off on every word.

We are unlikely to see a clash within the power-sharing, unity government anytime soon over Netanyahus annexation efforts. Gantz and Ashkenazi are not keen for a political crisis or for another election and they will not go behind Netanyahus back to jettison his agenda.

Nor does this duo appear overly concerned about center-left activists denouncing them as traitors to the cause of unseating Netanyahu. They seem quite comfortable in their new perches, even appearing to knowingly court the political center-right. Some in Netanyahus Likud even view Ashkenazi as a potential party leader in the post-Netanyahu era.

Indeed, Likud supporters have always had a weakness for Ashkenazi dating back to his days as IDF chief. His rough militaristic edges, natural leadership charisma and strong public appeal are just the stuff of which Likud stars are made.

However, Ashkenazis popularity appears a greater threat to his Blue and White party chair Gantz than to Netanyahu. Ashkenazi clearly went into politics with his eye on the premiership. It is also no secret that he was not overly impressed with Gantzs leadership skills from their decades of military service side by side. During the election campaign in early 2019, the first of three in one year, a television interviewer asked Ashkenazi whether Gantz was a fitting choice to serve as prime minister. Ashkenazi answered that he would "have a hand on the steering wheel." His response angered Gantz, but he did not pursue the matter.

Ashkenazi has for years been built up in the public view and the media as a sure contender for the premiership, whereas Gantz was never considered particularly suited to political life. The past 18 months, however, have signaled a turnaround. From one election campaign to the other, Gantz fortified and protected his leadership position in the eyes of the public. When the leader of Blue and White repeatedly failed to compose a majority government, discrete assessments started circulating about Ashkenazi demanding Gantz to step aside and hand him over the reins. But this did not happen. Gantz held firm.

More so. Ashkenazi found himself the driving force behind the unity government move and the dismantling of the partnership with Yesh Atid party chair Yair Lapid. It was Ashkenazi, as Gantzs second in command, that cajoled Gantz through long weeks of tense negotiations with Netanyahu, providing the necessary impetus to cement the deal.

Their relationship seems sound, although Gantz and his associates are well aware of the foreign ministers political ambitions, making future tensions between them inevitable.

Ashkenazi does not intend to be a puppet foreign minister with Netanyahu pulling his strings. Just the opposite. He views his new position as a springboard, a warmup to his term as defense minister in 18 months as stipulated in the rotation agreement with Netanyahu. He will soon visit the United States, where he is a familiar figure in the halls of the Pentagon and White House. As IDF chief he frequently visited Washington. When tensions rose between President Barack Obama and Netanyahu over Israeli plans to attack Irans nuclear facilities, Ashkenazi was a key figure in security coordination.

Ashkenazi brings his contacts and international appeal to his new job. He is also expected to be appointed, along with Gantz, to the small defense-diplomacy Cabinet forum Netanyahu intends to form given the unwieldy size of the new government. As far as Ashkenazi is concerned, his political star has now begun its ascent.
Thirteen new COVID-19 cases were reported in Assam on Wednesday, taking the total in the state to 170, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Of the new cases, eight are from Hojai, two from Sonitpur and one each from Kamrup (Metro), Kamrup and Nagaon, the minister said in a tweet.

Also on Wednesday, seven patients a post-graduate student of Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, four from Silchar Medical College and Hospital and two from Jorhat Medical College and Hospital were discharged after being cured, Sarma said.

Out of the total 170 positive cases, 115 are active, four have died, three migrated, and 48 were cured and released from the hospital, he said.

In view of the rapidly rising number of COVID-19 positive cases, the state government has decided to keep Sonapur Civil Hospital and Kalapahar Hospital on standby, Sarma said.

The minister visited both the hospitals and asked the administration to ramp up preparations.

Meanwhile, the police have apprehended three persons who had tested COVID-19 positive and escaped from Sarusajai quarantine centre on Tuesday.

Two of the patients were nabbed from Nalbari and another from Hojai, with the minister warning that such acts will attract punitive measures.

Three Covid19 patients escaped from Sarusajai quarantine centre causing immense stress. "Thanks to @nalbari_police & @Hojai_Police for apprehending them in time. Such acts shall attract punitive measures", Sarma said in a tweet earlier.

On Tuesday, Assam reported its highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases (42), including a two-month-old baby.

The minister said though there has been an increase in the number of cases in the state, there was no need to panic as most of them were returnees who were kept in quarantine centres.

During the last fortnight, Assam has received 74,118 persons while 17,488 persons have left the state, ADGP (Law and Order) G P Singh said.

In Assam, 41,116 samples have been tested and out of these 157 were positive and 38,138 were found negative and the remaining results were awaited.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[May 20, 2020] Alliant and ACA Aponix Launch New Cybersecurity Offering, PortCo Protect

Alliant Insurance Services announced today the launch of a new cybersecurity risk mitigation and transfer solution offering, PortCo Protect. Created in partnership with ACA Aponix, PortCo Protect is tailored to the needs of private equity managers and their portfolio companies. "Uniting ACA's proprietary assessment risk index with our risk modeling and analytics services was a win-win," said Sandy Crystal, Executive Vice President, Alliant Specialty. "Now, more than ever, it is imperative that firms are aware of their exposures and have the right protections in place; PortCo Protect provides that." As a unified force, PortCo Protect brings a variety of perspectives and comprehensive experience in risk anagement and insurance underwriting to meet the unique cybersecurity needs faced by the financial services industry.



"We are very excited to partner with Alliant and bring our collective expertise to our clients. Today, it is not a matter of if, but when a company will find themselves a victim of a cybersecurity breach," said Chad Neale, Partner, ACA Aponix. "PortCo Protect has been designed to take advantage of our firms' synergies to elevate the cybersecurity defenses for our clients, and through those efforts, provide them access to more comprehensive cybersecurity insurance coverage." PortCo Protect provides private equity firms with a compressive solution addressing all aspects of cybersecurity risk management. The program provides cybersecurity maturity assessment and risk scoring, access to top cybersecurity insurers, a simplified underwriting process, portfolio group pricing, and potential premium credit towards assessment.

About Alliant Insurance Services Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA (News - Alert), Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. provides property and casualty, workers' compensation, employee benefits, underwriting, surety, and financial products and services to clients nationwide, including agriculture, aviation, construction, energy and marine, environmental, financial institutions, healthcare, law firms, public entities, real estate, and tribal nations. More information is available on the company's website at www.alliant.com. About ACA Aponix ACA Aponix, a division of ACA Compliance Group, provides cybersecurity and technology risk assessments, vendor and M&A diligence services, network testing, and advisory services. ACA Aponix's team of highly experienced technologists combines expertise across the breadth of cybersecurity and information technology. ACA Aponix's award-winning Technology Risk Assessment is designed to address the latest requirements from regulators and boards. ACA Aponix offer a suite of consulting and advisory services designed to help firms uncover risks and identify deficiencies in their cybersecurity policies, procedures, and controls. More information is available on the company's website www.acacompliancegroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005729/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. ("Tangram"), a Managing General Underwriter and Program Manager, announced today a partnership with Service American Indemnity Company, a national workers compensation carrier, to enhance its Social Service Workers Compensation Program.

As a national carrier, SAIC offers Tangram the opportunity to provide competitive workers compensation insurance to thousands of social service organizations across the country. SAIC is a carrier specializing in workers compensation for close to 40 years and operating with a strong infrastructure to add bench strength to Tangram's already well established, flagship program.

"Tangram is ushering in a new era on our Social Service Workers Compensation Program and I am incredibly excited about our partnership with Service American," said Rekha Skantharaja, President and CEO at Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. "Their specialization and longevity in the workers compensation space are highly complementary to our capabilities. In combination with Tangram's 20 years of expertise and commitment in this niche, our social service program will be an even more meaningful provider of insurance solutions to these critical organizations."

To connect with a member of the Tangram team, visit tangramins.com.

About Tangram Insurance Services, Inc.

Tangram Insurance Services, Inc. is a managing general underwriter and national program manager bringing in-depth expertise and specialized program capabilities to a variety of industries. With 20 years of experience in the program space, Tangram partners with top insurance companies to deliver niche insurance solutions. For more information, please visit tangramins.com.

About Service American

Service American Indemnity Company (SAIC) is a nationally admitted casualty insurer specializing in Workers Compensation. Service American operates under its parent, Service Insurance Holdings, which is wholly owned by the Gray Family. Service American Indemnity Company and Service Lloyds are rated A-VIII (Excellent) by A.M. Best.

SOURCE Tangram Insurance Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tangramins.com


Britain's jobs miracle has been brought to a crushing halt by the pandemic.

The number to watch now is the claims count, which tells how many people are seeking benefits.

This rose by a hefty 856,000 to 2.1m in March before the crisis had barely begun. The furlough scheme is protecting the jobs of 8m workers.

Fair pay: Rewards for neglected workers on the front line in social care and hospitals need to be made appealing enough to attract surplus labour

It is hard not to think that some furloughed posts will be declared surplus to needs as the scheme is eased from August onwards.

All of this gives a wholly different complexion to the Commons' debate on immigration.

The UK has been a magnet for young overseas workers from Europe because of its ability to create jobs.

The critical task of government going forward will be making sure that young adults coming into the workforce receive better training.

Rewards for neglected workers on the front line in social care and hospitals need to be made appealing enough to attract surplus labour.

The fight against coronavirus is being fought on many fronts. Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England have proved super flexible in adapting an array of rescue schemes to meet the needs of commerce, ranging from the self-employed worker to large public-quoted corporations.

Firms which take government cash need to demonstrate they are not taking the taxpayer for a ride.

Both the Treasury and the Bank of England are right to make sure that those who feed at the Government's trough play fair with all stakeholders.

Start-up companies may be required to cede equity to the taxpayer if they borrow from the 250million Future Fund.

Bigger enterprises tapping into the commercial bank schemes, or the Bank of England's bolder corporate financing facility, are rightly being told the price of help will be limited dividend payout to investors and restraint on senior executive pay.

Maybe, just maybe, Persimmon and recent Ocado pay gluttony will finally meet its match.

Un-Easy vote

Easyjet shareholders are running out of time if they want to block founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou seizing back the reins of the carrier.

The no-frills airline's defence will not be rendered any simpler by disclosure of a cyber-breach affecting up to 9m passengers, including the credit card details of 20,000 customers.

Ostensibly, the row between Stelios and the board, headed by chairman John Barton and chief executive Johan Lundgren, is about the relationship with Airbus.

The current 'scoundrel' management wants to continue investing in new aircraft but has put on hold delivery of 24 planes this year and a further 24 in 2021.

Stelios wants to abort the whole contract for 100 aircraft, which he claims could leave the carrier with a 4.5billion bill.

The sum is disputed by Airbus, which has cut capital expenditure to 950million over the next 18 months.

By seeking at Friday's meeting to sack four directors, including the top two, and promoting chief operating officer Peter Bellew  a refugee from Ryanair  to the top job, Stelios is in effect engaged in a reverse takeover.

He is using his 34 per cent share stake to seize back the pilot's seat from an elected board.

He claims there is too cosy a relationship between Easyjet and Airbus. But Easyjet has been prudently run and has put together enough resources to see out the Covid-19 crisis.

In spite of the demeaning public spat and the support of advisory groups Glass Lewis, ISS and Pirc, there is a real chance that Easyjet's board and minority investors could lose, leaving Stelios as cock of the roost, winning back control without a premium.

Easyjet is busy rounding up votes. But at present the board is short of the 80 per cent of the minority investors that is needed to show Stelios the red card. They should vote without delay.

New bearings

With 600,00 staff around the world, few UK companies have a better view of the pandemic than hospitality giant Compass.

Half of its workforce (20,000 of whom are in the UK) are on furlough. And Compass has also snapped up a credit facility from the Bank of England.

Chief executive Dominic Blakemore is properly opting for a 2billion placing with existing investors and creditably is giving private investors the chance to buy.

To those expecting a speedy bounce back from Covid-19, Blakemore's message is bleak. He suspects it will take two and a half years for a full recovery. Tough.
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday asserted that in India the number of Coronavirus COVID-19 deaths reported per lakh population is just 0.2. Addressing a press brief, Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said, "Overall, 4.2 people per lakh population have died due to COVID-19. Nine countries have reported more than 10 deaths per lakh population."

He presented a comparative analysis of COVID-19 cases stating that 62 people per lakh population of the world have been infected by COVID-19, while in India, the figure is just 7.9 people COVID-19 cases per lakh population. The figures in 10 most infected countries range from 115 to 496. In six countries more than two lakh cases have been recorded and even as high as 14 lakh cases have been recorded in a country.

In the 15 most impacted countries in the world which together has a population of 142 crores (approximately), 36.45 lakh cases have been recorded; whereas in India where we have a population of 137 crores, around 1 lakh COVID-19 cases have been recorded.

Similarly, while 2.7 lakh (approximately) deaths have been recorded in those countries taken together, India has recorded around 3,300 deaths. India, which has a population close to the total population of these countries taken together, has recorded 34 times less number of cases and 83 times fewer deaths.

The number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered stand at 42,298, while 61,149 people are under active medical supervision in the country as on date said Agarwal. He pointed out that the countrys graded, proactive and pre-emptive approach, in coordination with states, with a focus on prevention, containment and management of cases has yielded relatively positive results so far.

Urging that we need to focus on dealing in the right manner with positive cases and providing a proper health infrastructure to the patients, the Joint Secretary shared certain analyses of COVID-19 management in India.

When lockdown had just started, the recovery rate in India was around 7.1 per cent. With more efforts to identify cases earlier and proper clinical management of positive cases, the recovery rate went up to 11.42% at the start of Lockdown 2, which steadily went up to 26.59% and now it stands at 39.62%. It means that approximately 40 per cent of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.

Further, only 2.94% out of the 61,000 (approx.) active cases require oxygen support, while 3% of cases are on ICU support and 0.45% cases are on ventilator support. This data significantly throws light on the fact that early identification and proper surveillance has led only 6.39% of cases to have hospital management.

Responding to a question on the revised discharge policy, the Joint Secretary said: Evidence shows that presymptomatic/mild/moderate cases with no fever for 10 days will not spread COVID-19 infection, they have hence been allowed to go home, do home isolation and take required precautions.

Stating that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is monitoring lockdown measures along with State/UT Governments, the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Punya Salila Srivastava briefed that State/UT Governments have already issued lockdown directives in their areas, on basis of an assessment of the local situation.

On the basis of the Health Ministry's guidelines, they are defining the red, orange, green, buffer and containment zones in their jurisdiction. Lockdown has been extended till May 31 in view of public welfare and MHA has issued new guidelines related to lockdown, in which certain movements will remain restricted at the national level and only essential services will be allowed in containment zones, she added.

Dr Raman Gangakhedkar of ICMR briefed that 25,36,156 COVID-19 tests have been done till 12.30 pm on Wednesday. On May 19, for the second time, more than 1 lakh tests were carried out within a span of 24 hours. There are 555 laboratories engaged in COVID-19 tests presently, out of which 351 labs fall within ICMR network. While 89,466 tests were performed in ICMR labs yesterday, 18,143 tests were done in private laboratories.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer struck a serious but optimistic tone early Wednesday afternoon at a 20-minute news conference in front of Midland High School.

Whitmer had just visited an emergency shelter set up at Midland High for residents who had evacuated from their homes due to flooding of the Tittabawassee River caused by heavy rains and the breach of the Edenville Dam.

The river is already at its highest recorded level in history and is projected to crest at 38 feet around 8 p.m. Wednesday.

"It's devastating," Whitmer said of the flood damage and disruption she had seen from taking an aerial tour of the Midland area a short time earlier. "This is being called a '500-year event.'"

Addressing dozens of shelter volunteers, along with elected officials including State Rep. Annette Glenn and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, and numerous members of the media, the governor described her efforts to secure state and federal help for the region. She had declared a state of emergency for Midland County on Tuesday night.

"We're being aggressive about getting help (for this area). We're asking FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for support," Whitmer said. "We've got to work together."

The City of Midland announced in an email Wednesday afternoon that 10,000 city residents and 950 township and village residents in Midland County had evacuated or would be evacuating from their homes. The same report indicated that "no fatalities or significant injuries" related to the flooding had been reported, and Whitmer said the same when asked that question.

"There are no reports of casualties," she said. "That speaks to how seriously people are taking this. I'm pleased to see that 10,000 people are being evacuated (safely)."

Full flood coverage is available at www.ourmidland.com/flood

She reminded those listening to not forget to take precautions to curb the spread of coronavirus even while dealing with a whole new set of challenges brought on by the flooding and evacuations.

"Remember to use best practices. Wear masks. Practice social distancing," Whitmer said. "We're still in the midst of COVID-19."

Whitmer praised first responders for "working through the night" to help residents evacuate and help shelters operate.

"Thanks to everyone in the community for their incredible efforts," she said.

When asked about the breach of the Edenville Dam, Whitmer said her administration is pursuing possible legal action against the company that operates it.

"The state is pursuing every potential legal recourse we can," Whitmer said.

When it comes to dealing with two daunting adversities at the same time  the flooding and the coronavirus  residents are responding positively, the governor asserted.

"Here's what I know: When the chips are down, the people of Michigan step up. ... Tough times don't last  tough people do," Whitmer said confidently.

Whitmer said she has also been communicating with Dow about its plans for protecting its local facilities, many of which lie in the Tittabawassee flood plain.

"They believe the precautions they have taken have paid off. Their plan is working," she said.

Whitmer said she has been communicating regularly with the federal government and is hopeful that everyone involved can "cut through the red tape" to get federal help as quickly as possible to help the region in what will be a lengthy recovery process.

She spotted Moolenaar in the crowd and praised him for being a good representative of the region.

The governor said President Donald Trump is planning to visit Michigan on Thursday and she'll be giving the White House a "full briefing" on the flooding before his visit.

In a separate interview, Moolenaar, R-Midland, told the Daily News that he has also has spoken with FEMA and is in regular communication with the White House.

"The president has communicated his support for helping this region," Moolenaar said.

Whitmer's news conference took place against a backdrop of volunteers using shopping carts to deliver food and supplies from vehicles in the school parking lot into the school to be used by the shelter residents.

The volunteers included many high school-age students, teachers and other school staff, and a regional group of veterans, the Great Lakes Bay Veterans Coalition.

Terry Hanley, one of the members of the coalition, said that nine of them had been working at the shelter ever since 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Hanley said the veterans had assembled 440 cots for the shelter that were delivered from Camp Rotary in Clare.

"It's been awesome," Hanley said of the volunteering and donations from the community for the shelter.

Hanley said that Team Rubicon, another veterans group, would arrive in the Midland area later this week to work with the Great Lakes Bay Veterans Coalition to help people as they eventually return to their evacuated homes.

State lawmakers pledge help for residents

On Tuesday, State Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, and state Reps. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, and Roger Hauck, R-Union Township, expressed their thoughts on the magnitude of the flooding.

Flood waters are projected to crest four feet higher than in 1986, which we all thought would be the worst flooding of our lifetimes, Stamas said. Now more than ever, we have to rally together to make sure all residents of our communities are kept safe, rescued if necessary, and provided with food, clothing, and shelter in the days to come.

Stamas added he is "brokenhearted" to see what is happening in his hometown of Midland, and to communities within his Senate district.

"My prayers go out to the thousands impacted by this tragedy, and my appreciation goes out to the many first responders guiding people to safety and shelter," Stamas said. "Without question, their actions have saved lives."

Glenn, who represents parts of Midland and Bay counties, noted that many people working together will help surmount this tremendous challenge.

I'm thankful the governor made the right decision to announce a state of emergency, which in this case is absolutely necessary Glenn said. "Dealing with severe flooding on top of a public health challenge is extremely concerning to area families and to us as elected officials. I can assure families in Bay, Isabella and Midland counties that Sen. Stamas and Rep. Hauck and I are working together with the governors office, the National Guard, and all our city and county leaders to keep everyone safe during this difficult challenge.

I extend my prayers to every person in our community, especially those who are displaced or have suffered damage to their homes and property. Well get through this challenge together, and Im determined to keep fighting for each and every family, and I urge anyone who needs help to contact my office. Your voice will not go unheard.

Hauck, who represents 10 Midland County townships and all of Isabella County, said he has been hearing from constituents and has reviewed many photos and videos of the damage, and he is committed to fighting for solutions as well.

Our streets have become bodies of water, Hauck said. This is devastating and horrifying all around. Please make sure you are safe and know that Rep. Glenn and I, as well as other elected officials at the local and state level, are on your side. I know well get through this.
T he Government was right to prioritise tests for coronavirus patients in hospital at the start of the outbreak, the deputy chief scientific officer has said.

It comes amid widespread criticism for dropping coronavirus testing outside of hospital patients on March 12, as the virus was spreading rapidly in the UK.

The World Health Organisation has repeatedly emphasised the importance of widespread testing to understand better the spread of the virus.

But Professor Dame Angela McLean told the coronavirus daily briefing on Monday that the Government "did the right thing" by focusing on hospital patients when coronavirus was first spreading rapidly in the UK.

She said: I think I would agree that at the time, with the testing we had, the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital, so we knew who in hospital had Covid, so it was the right thing to do at the time.

Professor McLean added that South Korea's work on testing and contact tracing was "inspiring" and a good example for the UK to follow.

South Korea has carried out rigorous contact tracing and testing for several months and now has only a few new cases of coronavirus each day.

And Professor McLean said: I think that is an experience that we are aiming to emulate.

The deputy chief scientific officer was speaking alongside Environment Secretary George Eustice at the Downing Street press conference.

Environment Secretary George Eustice / PA

Asked about testing and tracing, Mr Eustice said: Weve been expanding, ramping up that testing capacity over the last couple of months.

We got it to 100,000 capacity by the end of April, were continuing to build that this week.

More than 100,000 tests were sent out on the last day of April, but fewer than 100,000 were processed.

Just under 90,000 tests were dispatched or processed on Monday. The Government has set a new target of 250,000 completed tests each day by the end of May.

By comparison, Germany has reportedly been testing more than 100,000 people each day since the start of April.

Anyone over the age of five with symptoms is eligible for a coronavirus test in the UK, the Government said on Monday. Previously only key workers, their households and anyone over 65 could get tested if they had symptoms.

Mr Eustice added: I think its the case that, you know, early on in this epidemic, clearly, there was a priority to make sure that people showing symptoms who worked in the NHS, because of their close proximity to patients, had those tests, so there was priority given to those.

Mitch Wilkins is tested at a drive through testing facility for COVID-19 at Edinburgh Airport as Nicola Sturgeon considers beginning lifting lockdown restrictions from May 28 / PA

But we are now in the position where were able to offer testing to anybody over the age of five with symptoms, and thats going to be quite crucial to developing our track and trace capabilities in the months ahead.

The British Government has recently hired 21,000 contact tracers to help track the spread of the virus in the UK.

A contact tracing app is also being trialled, although its release date is uncertain. There are also concerns over its security, with researchers finding several flaws.

Children of essential workers socially distance whilst in lesson at Kempsey Primary School / PA

Their comments came after an academic and former European Public Health Association chief said that schools could become a place to store children unless certain safety requirements are met.

Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: My concern in the United Kingdom at the minute, is that Im not convinced that we have got the testing system, the contact tracing system in place, or I dont think we will have it in place for June 1."

He told a briefing of the Royal Society of Medicine: "And if thats not the case, then theres a danger that schools effectively become places to store children, where we have them sitting in their chairs and not having to move, but not able to interact, not able to exchange marking books with their school teachers and so on.

So I think that there is a responsibility on Government to do rather a lot to make it safe for the schools to reopen, but I dont see that were there yet.
The US government today extended for another month restrictions on non-essential travel across the borders with Canada and Mexico to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The US Department of Homeland Security said the closure, first ordered on March 20 and due to expire Wednesday, will be extended until June 22 and reviewed every 30 days.

'Non-essential travel will not be permitted until this administration is convinced that doing so is safe and secure,' said interim DHS chief Chad Wolf.

In this file photo US Customs officers speaks with people in a car beside a sign saying that the US border is closed at the US/Canada border in Lansdowne, Ontario, on March 22, 2020

'We have been in contact with our Canadian and Mexican counterparts and they also agree that extending these restrictions is prudent at this time.

We appreciate our partnership with Mexico and Canada in ensuring that North America is working together to combat the ongoing global pandemic,' he said.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier that the Canada-US border will remain closed to all non-essential travel for another month, until June 21 to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The world's longest international frontier at 5,500 miles was closed to travellers on March 21, but trade in goods has continued.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier that the Canada-US border will remain closed to all non-essential travel for another month, until June 21 to fight the spread of the coronavirus

Street vendors stand next to the road on the Ysidro border crossing on April 27, 2020 in Tijuana, Mexico

The prime minister also left open the possibility of further extensions. 'We will continue to watch carefully what's happening elsewhere in the world and around us as we make decisions on next steps,' he said.

Mexico shares a 1,900 mile border, and travel limitations have been in place since March 20. As in the Canadian case, trade in goods continues.

The United States, Canada and Mexico have been part of a regional free trade agreement since 1994.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden

May 19, 2020

National University

Copenhagen

Khalid Barakat

London

May 26

/PRNewswire/ -- Mentice AB (STO: MNTC), today announced the global introduction of its seventh-generation simulation platform - VIST G7 to become the endovascular simulation platform for Mentice solutions including artificial intelligence guidance, integration to robotics, and big data analytics. Building on Mentice's success over the last twenty years, this newly redesigned platform incorporates patented intellectual property, features the latest advances in sensor and haptic technologies, and takes advantage of newly developed software solutions.Using patented technologies, a premium version of this seventh-generation platform is offered as the VIST G7+. The G7+ brings simulation to the next level of realism allowing doctors to simultaneously manipulate multiple devices while using a single access point for therapies such as bifurcation lesion interventions and branched devices."As we continue our transformation journey from a simulator company to a performance solutions provider, we are now offering our customers an unparallel level of realism for even the most complex cases," said Goran Malmberg, CEO, Mentice. "Over the years, Mentice has shared a common goal with our medical device partners, strategic alliances, healthcare systems, teaching entities, and professional associations; to help improve clinical performance and patient outcomes. With our ability to import real patient data into our platform for some of the most challenging cases, we are offering even experienced doctors the ability to practice and rehearse complex cases, learn new techniques, and retain proficiency for low volume procedures in a realistic, immersive, and safe for the patient and the doctor environment," Goran continued."In the past, endovascular simulators were challenged to match the haptic feedback a seasoned doctor will experience on a real patient while pinning and advancing micro-catheters, making micro-adjustments, selecting small vessels, and applying certain tricks and techniques acquired over many years of practice," said Lars Lonn, Professor of Interventional Radiology,Hospital,. "Performing an interventional procedure on the new G7 platform feels incredibly like the real thing even in the most intricate cases," Dr. Lonn continued.Key features offered by the seventh-generation platform.State of the art operating system that makes use of a proprietary and patented physics engine and includes a medical device communications protocol, a third-party integration API, and an applications communications layer.Realistic simulation of interventions that include vessel bifurcation and use of multiple devices using a single access point. A dual haptics configuration allows for interventions that require dual access points.HapticRealism Technology offers improved haptics significantly improving force feedback and making available a wider spectrum of haptic forces to exactly mimic reality. Optical sensors for automated identification of real devices and improved software controls simulating a real-life interventional procedure. Ability to measure and recreate applied forces on any medical device.Ability to change procedures instantaneously using self-calibration. Integrates automated particle elimination technology to minimize the need for manual sensor cleaning. Extensible to additional imaging modalities including TEE.Significant improvements in processing power over prior generations offering scalability for future applications. Able to connect to cloud infrastructure and ready to support future software and services."This new G7+ platform with improved, measurable, and accurate haptics further increases the fidelity of scenarios and it is a much needed addition to our practice allowing us to simulate challenging bifurcation PCI cases,'' says Dr, Director of Cardiovascular Simulation at Barts Heart Centre and Honorary Senior Lecturer for Device Innovation at Queen Mary University of. "Our aspiration is to perform procedure rehearsals for the most complex PCI cases testing novel bifurcation strategies and devices," Dr. Barakat continued."Our seventh-generation endovascular simulation platform aligns with our mission to improve operational efficiency and patient outcomes by introducing innovative solutions that eliminate proficiency barriers," said Edward Falt, Vice President of Products, Mentice. "As we are working closely with our clinical experts and responding to the needs of physicians around the world, this new platform will become the launchpad for future software advancements in precision medicine and robotics and focused on improving clinical performance and patient outcomes," Edward continued.To learn more about the VIST seventh-generation platform, Mentice will hold an online webinar onat 15:00 Central European Time with Edward Falt, VP of Product, Mentice and co-host Dr. Barakat as they present the VIST G7 and G7+ unique capabilities. Please pre-register at http://www.mentice.com/vist-g7.Contact for journalists:Edward Falt, VP of Product Managementedward.faelt@mentice.comThis information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.comhttps://news.cision.com/mentice-ab/r/mentice-launches-seventh-generation-platform-aimed-to-transform-endovascular-therapy,c3115268

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mentice-launches-seventh-generation-platform-aimed-to-transform-endovascular-therapy-301061518.html



SOURCE Mentice AB




French citizens and residents travelling home from outside the European Union will be asked to observe a two-week "voluntary" quarantine, France's foreign minister said Tuesday.

The measure will not affect non-EU foreign visitors as the bloc's exterior borders remain closed in a bid to contain the coronavirus epidemic.

"Starting Wednesday, we will ask all French people... returning to France and people who reside in France to voluntarily submit to a quarantine" of two weeks, Jean-Yves Le Drian told the LCI broadcaster.

This will apply only to those returning from beyond the EU, he said.

There has been no quarantine for citizens or residents returning to French soil until now.

'Individual responsibility'

The new measure will rely on "individual responsibility", Le Drian explained. Returning travellers can choose whether to observe the autonomous lockdown at home or another venue.

In March, the European Union banned foreign nationals from entering its Schengen area, an open border zone comprising 22 of 27 member states, with exceptions for medical workers and essential travel.

Last week, it set out plans for a phased restart of travel, urging member states to reopen internal borders while recommending that external frontiers remain shut until at least the middle of June.

"Concerning the internal borders, we have reciprocity agreements with neighbouring countries and one can imagine that progressively, provided deconfinement works and the pandemic does not resume, we will be able to reconsider these closure measures," said Le Drian.

"I think that progressively from June 15, we will be able to start a generalised easing, at least that is what I hope."

France's main Charles-de-Gaulle airport, north of Paris, has installed thermal cameras to detect arriving passengers with a high fever, one of the symptoms of coronavirus
Michelle Savell woke up Monday morning feeling elated.

I get to go to work today, she told her husband.

Savell is the owner of TNT Hair Concept Salon at 7219 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena, which opened to customers that day for the first time in two months following the COVID-19 shutdown.

By mid-afternoon, Savell and her staff knew things would go well, even with the state-mandated 25 percent capacity rule. The salon, said Savell, has appointments booked for the next few months.

Overly fantastic

Its been going overly fantastic, Savell said. Its been phenomenal.

TNT was one of several local salons that opened after being given the green light by Gov. Greg Abbotts most recent order allowing salons and barber shops to reopen as early as May 8 despite Texas continuing to see a steady increase in positive cases.

Daniel Gage, the owner of Shear Pleasure and Day Salon, 904 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, has cut hair for 46 years. Throughout the shutdown, his cell phone and Facebook was lit up with messages from longtime customers begging for haircuts.

Shear Pleasure reopened May 8 with safety measures in place that include operating with a scaled-down staff of 12 stylists and 14 cutting stations. Empty stations between each work area maintain social distancing, and all areas, doorknobs and chairs are routinely wiped down with disinfectant. Face masks and shields are available for staff.

Its been crazy; business has been awesome, Gage said. Our first day back was one of the top three best revenue-producing days we have had in our 44 years of business. Our first full week back was like Christmas in May. We had one of the best revenue-producing weeks ever.

Business owners like Savell and Gage are confident that following strict safety and hygiene practices will ease any concerns some customers may have.

More Information What: TNT Hair Concept Salon Where: 7219 Fairmont Pkwy, Pasadena, TX 77505 Website: https://tnthairsalons.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/TnTHairandSpa/ Contact information: 832-456-6800 What: Shear Pleasure Salon and Spa Where: 904 S Friendswood Dr, Friendswood, TX 77546 Website: https://www.facebook.com/spsalon/ and https://shearpleasurefriendswood.com/ Contact information: 281-482-3381 See More Collapse

After Abbotts order giving these businesses the go-ahead to open in the first week of May, Savell communicated with staff members to determine whether they felt comfortable to come into work. According to Savell, the decision was made to wait until May 18 to give employees time to get used to what would be a new way of working.

In the week leading up to the reopening, the staff went over newly prepared protocols, such as working while wearing masks, sanitizing each chair and tool used per customer and cleaning high-traffic areas every 30 minutes. Clients are asked to wait in their vehicles until their chair is available and to wear mask when inside, Savell said.

Hot under the masks

Normally the salon has 24 chairs open for appointments, but for now it will limit the number of stylists on the floor. That number will increase gradually, said Savell.

Were easing into it slowly, she said. Its been challenging (to wear masks while working) because its hot and we cant breathe, but safety is priority.

At Shear Pleasure, phones continue to ring, according to Gage, who says he isnt personally worried about any potential for exposure of COVID-19.

When you just look at the facts and the statistics, it is pretty low-risk, he said. People take risk every day  that is a part of life.

Normally averaging 100 clients a day, the salon has been coordinating appointment times to avoid having too many clients in the shop at one time. According to Gage, clients are asked to take their temperature before appointment times. If the temperature is higher than 99.5, they are asked to reschedule.

Savell, who has been in the industry for 40 years and in Pasadena for 10 years, said the shutdown hurt.

Zero money for seven weeks

Our business is based off clients, and if there are no clients, theres no income, she said. We had zero money coming in for seven weeks.

For Gage, the closure was a setback financially, but hes confident Shear Pleasure will thrive even with some of the changes in place.

It (the closure) cost me tens of thousands of dollars, he said. If I were not an established business and did not have good monetary principles in place and good banking relationships, Im not sure I would have survived.

Savell said she believes the pandemic will have lasting effects on how her business operates.

The shutdown was bad for the industry, but the fact that everybody was going through the same thing made the fall a little softer, she said Were praying that its only going to go up from here, like a refresh and a reboot for everybody.

While it remains uncertain if things will ever be the way they were before COVID-19, Savell said she was just happy to be back at work.

People are loving that were opened again, loving that they can come back inside, get their hair done and can talk to people, she said. Its been fun today.

yorozco@hcnonline.com
China in Focus (May 19): Xi Defends Chinas Virus Response, Contradicting Public Record

A second district in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin was upgraded to high risk amid an increase in virus cases. 

Beijing tightened control measures again on the eve of the most important political event in China. The city remains under wartime status.



At Mondays World Health Assembly, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping said China shared the virus genome sequence as early as possible. But that contradicts even Chinas own media reports. 



A look at Huaweis supply chain and whats at stake for the company after the United States announced the latest crackdown on microchip sales to the Chinese telecoms giant last week. 



Trump warned the World Health Organization the United States will permanently cut all funding if the agency doesnt make major changes to show its independence from China.

Subscribe to our Youtube channel for more first-hand news from China

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter
We finally finished processing 13F filings from 821 hedge funds and prominent investors. We believe one of the best tools for ordinary investors who are on the hunt for new ideas is 13F filings. Once every quarter hedge funds with at least $100 million in total positions in publicly traded US stocks, options, and convertible debt are required to open the kimono and disclose the number of shares and the total value of its positions in each of the stocks and options in its portfolio. We now know which stocks hedge funds were piling into during the coronavirus crash.

Hedge funds hire some of the smartest Ivy League graduates as their analysts, have access to industry insiders whom they "consult" with, unconventional data sources that cost tens of thousands of dollars, years of experience and millions of dollars as incentives to come up with the next great investment idea. Every quarter we process around 800 hedge funds' 13F filings to identify each hedge fund's new moves, top stock picks, and more importantly overall sentiment changes towards each of the 4000 stocks that are publicly trading. We publish all of our analysis in our premium quarterly newsletter (download a free sample), and then share interesting bits and pieces on our website.

Earlier today we published the list of 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds. The top 10 stocks among hedge funds returned 185% since the end of 2014 and outperformed the S&P 500 Index ETFs by more than 109 percentage points. We know it sounds unbelievable. You have been dismissing our articles about top hedge fund stocks mostly because you were fed biased information by other media outlets about hedge funds' poor performance.

It is true that hedge fund investors, i.e. those people who hand their hard earned dollars to hedge fund managers, underperform because hedge funds charge huge fees and they hedge their bets. Hedge funds also invest in a diversified portfolio of good and bad ideas. By focusing on the top stock picks among all hedge funds, we have been able to identify some of the best stocks to buy in the market for years. The top 10 most popular stocks among hedge funds beat the S&P 500 Index by more than 109 percentage points over the last 5.5 years (watch the video below to see the top 5 hedge fund stocks right now).

Story continues

At Insider Monkey we leave no stone unturned when looking for the next great investment idea. For example, we believe electric vehicles and energy storage are set to become giant markets, and we want to take advantage of the declining lithium prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So we are checking out investment opportunities like this one. We read hedge fund investor letters and listen to stock pitches at hedge fund conferences. Our best call in 2020 was shorting the market when S&P 500 was trading at 3150 after realizing the coronavirus pandemics significance before most investors. We saw the coronavirus crash coming (see this article). Several hedge funds saw it too and they dumped stocks like Disney (DIS) and Comcast Corporation (CMCSA) and flocked into some familiar names such as Charter Communications (CHTR).

At the end of 2019 hedge funds were bullish on Disney and Comcast. Disney was the 12th most popular stock among hedge funds and Comcast Corporation ranked 25th. These two stocks were the most popular traditional media stocks among hedge funds heading into 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic changed the plans. Even though Disney's Disney+ service was a major beneficiary of the coronavirus lockdowns, the rest of Disney's businesses suffered. Comcast was also put on the same basket and hedge funds dumped both stocks. By the end of March, the number of hedge funds with bullish Disney positions declined by 16, whereas the decline was 4 for Comcast. Comcast isn't among the top 30 hedge fund stocks anymore and Disney ranks 20th.

Hedge funds sold out of these two stocks but they piled into Charter Communications Inc (CHTR). The number of hedge funds with bullish CHTR positions jumped from 65 at the end of December to 104 at the end of March. We rarely see this kind of sentiment change in the hedge fund space. Currently Charter ranks 18th. So, if you are looking for a stock that is likely to outperform the market you should take a closer look at Charter. We looked into Charter recently. It is a promising stock and very likely to beat the market, but we decided to focus on the top 5 hedge fund stocks instead (see the video above).

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Related Content
The Ukrainian president said he would support the decision of the single-party majority as long as they do their job

President of Ukraine TASS

President of Ukraine Voodymyr Zelensky said there are certain conditions under which he would disband the Parliament. He said so at a press conference timed to his first anniversary in the office. The event took place in Kyiv on May 20.

Zelensky said that as long as Servant of the People (pro-presidential political party, - 112 International) votes for all laws that are pivotal for the country he woud support their decisions.

"Not just Servant of the People... I'll supoport the composition of the party - the single-party majority, I should say - because they do their job. As soon as they stop voting, or say they don't want to, or promote the interests of any commercial influence group in Ukraine's political environment - I will instantly disband the Parliament, not even considering any options", Zelensky said.

Previously, the Ukrainian leader announced he would sign the law on the improvement of mechanisms of banking activity regulation in the near future. He also said he expected that the signature of a memorandum between Ukraine and the IMF would take place in May.
Provide buses to DMs of Ghaziabad, Noida, UP govt tells Priyanka Gandhi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: The Uttar Pradesh government asked Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to provide buses for carrying migrants to the district magistrates of Ghaziabad and Noida, as the war of words over the issue seemed to be subsiding.

In a letter written to Vadra's private secretary, UP's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said, "As per your letter dated May 19, you have expressed your inability to provide buses in Lucknow, and want to provide them in Ghaziabad and Noida."

UP govt lacks intention to help migrants says Priyanka Gandhis office

"Please provide 500 buses to the District Magistrate, Ghaziabad, by 12.00 noon. The DM Ghaziabad has been informed about this. The district administration will receive all the buses and utilise them, he said.

The buses should be provided at Kaushambi and Sahibabad bus stands, he said in the letter.

He also said, "500 buses should be provided to the District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar at the ground near the Expo Mart."

Directions have been issued to the district magistrates to utilise the buses immediately after checking the permit, fitness, insurance, driving licences of the drivers and details of the conductors, Awasthi said.
Under current federal orders, tens of thousands of National Guard troops battling the novel coronavirus pandemic would have their deployments end one day short of qualifying for retirement and education benefits.

The order from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, first reported Tuesday by Politico, calls for a "hard stop" to the deployments on June 24, one day shy of the 90 days needed for the benefits to accrue for most of the more than 40,000 called up during the pandemic.

Read next: Air Force F-35 Crashes at Eglin; Pilot Ejects Safely

In a statement confirming the June 24 cutoff, a National Guard Bureau spokesman said it was FEMA's current decision.

"We are always supportive of policies that provide National Guard soldiers and airmen with benefits that match the service," he said.

However, "FEMA makes the final decisions regarding the length of time National Guard members are activated under federal orders, while the soldiers and airmen remain under the operational control of the governors," the spokesman said.

The decision ignores the sacrifices of the National Guard members who have been on the front lines of the nation's efforts to combat COVID-19, said Rep. Max Rose, D-New York, a decorated Army National Guard captain who was called up during the threat.

"Intentionally ending orders one day short of a deadline for National Guard soldiers to receive benefits for their heroic sacrifices is the definition of heartless," said Rose, a recipient of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service in Afghanistan with the 1st Armored Division.

A senior FEMA official on a May 12 interagency call said a unified messaging strategy was needed to explain the cutoff of federal funding one day short of the troops qualifying for retirement and education benefits under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Politico reported.

In a statement, Rose said, "This decision must be reversed not only because it is deeply unpatriotic, but also economically unsound and puts our gains against COVID-19 at risk for some short-term, foolish budgetary gimmick."

The more than 40,000 troops called up for service in 44 states, three territories and the District of Columbia make up the largest deployment for an emergency since the 51,000 who served during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

In a statement to Politico, retired Army Brig. Gen. J. Roy Robinson, president of the National Guard Association of the U.S. (NGAUS), said that leaving Guard members one day short of the threshold might be an oversight.

"But in the back of my mind, I know better," he said. "They're screwing the National Guard members out of the status they should have."

On March 22, President Donald Trump ordered Guard members in three states -- California, New York and Washington -- to operate under Title 32 of the U.S. Code, allowing them to be funded and paid by the federal government while being managed by state governors. The order has since been extended to other states.

"We want to win this war [against coronavirus] with as few deaths as possible," Trump said at the time. "Today, I am announcing action to help New York, California and Washington, to ensure that the National Guard can effectively respond. The National Guard, these are tremendous people. Fully on alert. It has been activated."

The Title 32 order has since been extended and was extended again May 12, with a cutoff date of June 24.

According to NGAUS, early retirement benefits under Title 32 status would provide Guard members with three months' credit for every 90 days served during a federal emergency. It added that GI Bill benefits can provide 40% off tuition at a public college or university after 90 days of federal service.

The vast majority of the estimated 46,000 Guard members serving nationwide during the pandemic are operating under Title 32 status, according to NGAUS.

They have delivered food and supplies, assisted health care workers, conducted tests, backed up local first responders, disinfected common areas and risked exposure to the virus.

As of Monday, a total of 1,162 Guard members had tested positive for COVID-19, up from 672 on April 20, according to the Defense Department.

In Pentagon briefings in March and April, Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, noted that Guard call-ups stateside are usually of short duration, so qualifying for retirement and education benefit is not normally an issue.

"FEMA generally gives shorter-duration mission assignments," he said at an April 8 Pentagon briefing.

When asked why FEMA is not extending the mission to enable qualification for benefits, Lengyel said, "I don't really know the answer to that question."

He added, "We recommended a longer period of time at the beginning."

Last week, FEMA confirmed that the June 24 cutoff date is still in effect and gave no immediate indication that there would be a change.

The president has thus far approved 49 requests for federal support in the use of National Guard personnel under Title 32 duty status. The federal government "will fund 100% of the cost for T-32 National Guard orders through June 24," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement.

As of May 18, the activations of National Guard troops in T-32 status numbered 39,891, the spokesperson said.

The potential denial of benefits to National Guard troops drew criticism from the nation's largest veterans service organization.

Leaving the troops one day short of qualifying for benefits is "highly unfair and disturbing," said American Legion National Commander James W. "Bill" Oxford.

"An 89-day deployment strongly suggests a decision based on accounting rather than what's needed to truly respond to this emergency," Oxford said in a statement. "The American Legion is calling for the president to fix this."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

Related: F-22 Crashes Near Eglin Air Force Base; Pilot Ejects Safely
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19

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.
Now, about Flynn. Perhaps he lied in an interview with FBI agents. We must, however, take their word for this, because, in accordance with an archaic and self-serving practice, the agents did not record the interview. They wrote their unverifiable version. This, although all FBI agents carry recording capabilities in their smartphones. After prosecutors threatened to indict his son, who was his business partner (remember the axiom: A prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich), a coerced and impoverished Flynn, facing many millions in legal bills, and later selling his suburban Washington house, pleaded guilty.
Infographic depicting Engel & Volkers Florida's first quarter of 2020 Real estate leaders are seeing how our business has adapted during this time. Our business hasnt stopped, it's shifted, and its attracting a lot of interest.

Engel & Volkers Florida, Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand, today announced its first quarter of 2020 report. The company has seen significant year-over-year increases, a steady stream of transactions at all price points, increased its average listing price, grown advisor count through talent attraction, and is gearing up for a major franchise expansion.

Engel & Volkers Florida has always been a very collaborative network, said Timo Khammash, Managing Partner of Engel & Volkers Florida. As we navigate through these unprecedented times, we continue to work with our colleagues throughout the Americas and abroad to maintain the highest levels of real estate service with the utmost care and support.

In its first quarter of 2020, Engel & Volkers Florida reported 849 transactions across its 30 shops; a 13 percent increase from transactions seen in quarter one of 2019. The average sales price is $1,095,574 among the recent transactions; a 50 percent increase in year over year from its first quarter of 2019. Engel & Volkers Florida network also saw a 27 percent increase in advisor growth.

"Engel & Volkers Americas has worked very hard to prevent layoffs or furloughs of its corporate staff following the impact of COVID-19," said Anthony Hitt, President and CEO of Engel & Volkers Americas. "Now, more than ever, our network needs support and resources, and we are delivering on that. Our business is built for sustainability, and we are very focused on providing our network what they need most today and in the future. Engel & Volkers has benefited from a very strong first quarter and we are seeing strength in consumer confidence and additional interest from real estate professionals looking to take advantage of our brand strength and offerings to build their business."

Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing its franchise expansion efforts in premium first and second home markets throughout Florida including Alachua County, Bay County, Escambia County, Flagler County, Marion County, Sarasota County and Volusia County. The Master License Partner is also working closely with its existing brokerage shops to gain additional market share in areas such as Broward County, Hillsborough County, Miami-Dade County, Monroe County and Pinellas County.

We have noticed an uptick in our franchise sales pipeline during Q1, said Craig Anderson, Senior Vice President, Franchise Sales of Engel & Volkers Florida. Real estate leaders are seeing how our business has adapted during this time. Our business hasnt stopped, it's shifted, and its attracting a lot of interest.

###

Press contact:

Linzee Werkmeister, Director, Public Relations & Franchise Support

Email: Linzee.Werkmeister(at)evrealestate.com

Tel: (239) 348-9000

About Engel & Volkers:

Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a bespoke, white-glove concierge client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for todays savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 175 shop locations with more than 3,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brands global network of over 12,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate, yachting and aviation. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit evrealestate.com.

About Engel & Volkers Florida:

Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive franchise model positions its license partners at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in: 30A Beaches, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Leesburg, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami-Coral Gables, Olde Naples, Orlando Downtown, Orlando-Winter Park, Palm Beach, South Tampa, St. Augustine, St. Pete, Stuart, Wellington, and Windermere.

Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global network, which is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000.

For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit florida.evrealestate.com
On May 14, the YouTube channel prisoners0fprogress posted a video captioned Italian Government call for arrest of Bill Gates." The video is in Italian with English subtitles. The video gained nearly a million views and close to 2,000 comments over a weekend and has been shared on other social networks.

The arrest claim is false.

The Italian government has taken no such action against Gates. The video shows a fragment of a session in Italys Chamber of Deputies (parliament). According to the web source FromRome.info, which claims ownership of the YouTube channel and the video, the female speaker in it is Sarah Cunial, a conservative representative for Rome and a known anti-vaccination activist.

The reaction from the Chamber is audible in the video, and amid an angry jangle Cunial is forced to raise her voice while asserting that Gates is behind the pandemic and compulsory vaccinations in a bid to depopulate the globe and achieve dictatorial control. According to news reports, Cunials conspiratorial views are unpopular among her colleagues and her appeals havent won support or action.

The Russian state-owned news outlet RT (Russia Today) used the YouTube video in its news report headlined: Italian lawmaker demands Bill Gates be ARRESTED for crimes against humanity... But WHY?

In Russia anti-Bill Gates conspiracy stories have been popular, supported and promoted by public and government figures.

In a recent example, Oscar winning director Nikita Mikhalkov dedicated his weekly show Besogon (Exorcist) to Gates. The show ran on state TV channel Rossiya-24 on May 1.

During the 50-minute program, Mikhalkov claimed Gates represents the worlds deep state and, under the cover-up of a vaccination program, is preparing to microchip humans to control their minds and manipulate the global demographics.

The program was eventually taken down by Rossiya-24 but remains available on Mikhalkovs own YouTube channel with nearly 5.5 million views.

The prisoners0fprogress YouTube channel has only 3,500 subscribers, but the Cunial video has been viewed nearly 1 million times.

There is evidence that the video was artificially boosted on Twitter.

According to the open source intelligence tool First Tweet, the first account to post the video Italian Government calls for Arrest of Bill Gates was Marissa Hardwick, described in a @Fortepiecat profile as an American pro-life activist and supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The account has no personal information or personal photos. The location pin says Georgia, USA  which is an uncharacteristic display for the accounts located inside the United States, which are typically identified by city and state.

The Twitter analytics tool Twitonomy reports the accounts lifetime most active hour of the day as 4 a.m. UTC, which is midnight in the U.S. state of Georgia.

This account posted the video on May 15 but later deleted it. The original can be found in the First Tweet analytics as seen in a screenshot below.

Other accounts -- most of them anonymous with similar behavioral characteristics as @Fortepiecat -- began posting the video within minutes of each other, including in the replies targeting positive tweets mentioning Bill Gates.

Some of those promoting the video used the arrest Bill Gates hashtag first tweeted in 2012.

On the social site Reddit, the video was posted in four subreddits with a combined membership of over 24 million users. The video was removed from Reddits World News as a hoax but upvoted in two other subreddits.

The video was even more popular on Facebook, despite its increased screening of content for COVID-19 hoaxes and fake news. Due to Facebooks privacy policy it is impossible to assess accurately whether the influx was organic or orchestrated.

However, there are red flags.

The video was first posted in and shared mostly via public groups, not personal pages. All the posts occurred at roughly the same time, and all the first posters were anonymous users with no personal data in their profiles.

Bill Gates has been increasingly targeted by conspiracy theorists since the COVID-19 outbreak with repetitive absurd claims, thoroughly examined by fact-checkers and proven false, including by Polygraph.info.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Kyodo News) New York, United States  Wed, May 20, 2020 11:34 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd92dee7 2 World UN,general-assembly-meeting,Antonio-Guterres,COVID-19 Free

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has proposed pre-recordings of speeches by world leaders to be aired during the annual General Assembly in September, in lieu of the leaders gathering at UN headquarters amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Guterres sent a letter to Nigeria's Ambassador to the United Nations Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, who chairs this year's General Assembly, asking him to examine the possibility of a format using pre-recorded addresses or other measures due to the virus outbreak.

Following guidance from the chairman, the international body's 193 member states will determine how to handle the speeches at the gathering.

Although all 50 US states are moving to reopen their economies, New York City and some surrounding areas remain under large-scale social distancing.

Workers at UN headquarters in Manhattan have been asked to work from home until the end of June.

Guterres has indicated that it will be difficult for heads of state to gather in New York in September due to possible continued quarantine measures and restrictions for large gatherings.
YEREVAN.  The officers of Armenia Police are apprehending the members of the opposition Adeqvat union who have gathered in front of the Police special department in Yerevan.

Speaking to reporters, Lika Tumanyan, a member of this union, said that, according to police, about 20 citizens had not adhered to the decision of the Commandant of the current state of emergency in the country due to the COVID-19 situation. "But I have been present, and I know that the members of our union have kept a social distance, everyone has been with gloves and masks. Moreover, the police were more in number," she said.

To note, Artur Danielyan, head of the Adeqvat union, is currently at the division of fight against terrorism and extremism of the Police's aforesaid special department. The union members have assembled outside this department to find out why Danielyan had been summoned there.
Choosing high-dose oxygen instead of a ventilator

The main reason people with COVID-19 have required ventilators is that they developed a condition known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), inflammation in the lungs that makes it extremely difficult to breathe. But there's a specific subgroup of patients known as happy hypoxics who may have different needs, says Lauren Ferrante, M.D., a pulmonologist and critical care physician at the Yale School of Medicine. These are people who show up in the emergency room with terrible oxygen levels, whose X-rays reveal severe pneumonia, but are still able to talk and whose only real complaint is some shortness of breath, she explains. For these patients, although their vital signs indicate they should be on a ventilator, there's less rush to intubate them, Kaplan adds.

Instead, doctors now try giving these patients less invasive treatments, such as very high doses of supplemental oxygen, either through a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, the same machine used to treat sleep apnea, or through a supercharged oxygen system known as a high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC).

A paper published on April 22 in the journal Academic Emergency Medicine found that when hypoxic patients were given these types of supplemental oxygen and positioned flat on their bellies, only about a quarter ended up requiring ventilation. Kaplan says this approach not only appears to improve patient outcomes, but has also prevented the overuse of ventilators, averting the ventilator shortage physicians had originally feared. One concern among physicians has been that these simpler forms of ventilation release aerosols, or micro-droplets of the virus that can infect health care workers close to the patient. But this is less likely to happen now, as medical professionals become more skilled with these methods and as more hospitals have the appropriate personal protective equipment.

Other potential costs: clots, infection and post-intensive care syndrome

There are other benefits to not rushing to ventilate, particularly for older adults. When we have to put someone on a ventilator, we also have to sedate them, which carries risks, especially for seniors, explains Abdul Khan, M.D., a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans. Since patients are also lying immobile, they are more at risk of blood clots, and they have a higher chance of developing a secondary infection, such as urinary tract infection from a catheter or even pneumonia, because we can't suction out all your respiratory secretions as well as if you actually coughed them up.

In addition, it's a long road back to recovery. If an older adult comes into the ICU in respiratory distress from a winter cold virus, they usually only need a ventilator for a few days; with COVID-19 we are taking two to three weeks, says Ferrante. They've lost muscle strength, cognitive function, and may also now have severe anxiety, a triage of conditions that we've dubbed post-intensive care syndrome. Many will require physical and occupational therapy, and will require months before they're back to baseline."
Women wearing a mask as a precaution against coronavirus walks at Pyatnitskaya street in Moscow, Russia on May 19, 2020.

Russia's coronavirus cases surpassed 300,000 on Wednesday, cementing its position as the second-worst-hit country from the virus after the U.S., but there are increasing questions over the country's low death toll.

Russia reported a further 8,764 coronavirus cases Wednesday, pushing its total case tally to 308,705, its coronavirus crisis center said. The death toll rose by 135 to a total 2,972 fatalities.

Experts have questioned the accuracy of Russian data when it comes to the coronavirus, although the country has insisted that it is not under-reporting coronavirus fatalities.

Political analyst Anton Barbashin told CNBC that "there are many questions" relating to the number of people reported dead because of Covid-19 in Russia.

"It is safe to assume it is considerably higher than the official statistics indicate. Presumably in many of Covid-related deaths, a different cause of death is being registered (heart failure or some chronic illness). Moreover there are a lot questions to numbers regions provide ... Thus numbers of Covid-positives and people dying from Covid could be much higher than reported," he said.

Daragh McDowell, head of Europe and principal Russia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, also said he believes the data underestimates the scale of the outbreak in Russia.

"The official infection rates and death toll are almost certainly severely understating the size of the pandemic. The authorities have effectively admitted this already (Moscow) Mayor Sergei Sobyanin estimated the real number of infections in Moscow alone at 300,000 on 7 May," McDowell told CNBC Tuesday.

While a lower number of infections is more likely to be due to technical limitations and resource constraints rather than any official attempt to cover up the scale of the outbreak, McDowell said, the low death toll is suspicious nonetheless.

"The low death rate, on the other hand, does appear to be a case of numbers being massaged. For example, in Dagestan which has suffered one of the worst outbreaks outside of Moscow, just 35 deaths have been reported out of 3,553 cases. At the same time over 650 deaths due to 'community acquired pneumonia' have also been recorded," he noted.
Continulus, www.continulus.com, the online video learning platform for health professionals, has dramatically widened its global reach with a new collaboration with one of the worlds most highly respected nursing bodies.

Image Credit: FamVeld/Shutterstock.com

The Scottish company, run by Dr. Eoghan Colgan who works in the Accident & Emergency department at Glasgows Royal Infirmary, has teamed up with the Australian College of Critical Care Nurses (ACCCN).

The Australian College is a not-for-profit membership organization whose members work across the critical care clinical spectrum, principally in the area of intensive care, in clinical, educational, management, and research roles.

The tie-up is the latest coup for the Glasgow-based high-tech company, which provides fair and flexible access to world-class continuing medical education. It has also made alliances with the critical care societies of Ghana and Cameroon.

Our new association with the Australian College, with which we have made all COVID-19 pandemic-relevant content free to healthcare workers during the current crisis, is a further stamp of approval for the work we are doing in acute and critical care specialties. To that end, we will be providing a package of lectures by the worlds most authoritative experts." Dr. Colgan

Climate change was also a consideration in a country which was so recently ravaged by devastating fires, as Continulus gives access to conferences, lectures, and events to which professionals previously would have had to physically travel.

Over the next year, Continulus will provide access to ongoing acute and critical care education for the Colleges members as well as being a tool to allow the organization to create and deliver reactive content.

The company, formerly MedReach, is gathering some of the leading educators in critical care nursing in Australia and creating a package that nurses can use to gain and enhance the core skills of their profession.

The upskilling lectures package, launched as a free service, will be relevant not only to the Australian health care system but to staff in acute care facilities across the world.

Dr. Colgan added: We are working with the ACCCN to create an online course on the basics of Critical Care Nursing, for those who may need to transition from other areas to support critical care teams.

The ACCCN had been contemplating creating a similar service to ours, but when it became aware of Continulus, it was clear that we fulfilled all their requirements. We intend to announce further international partnerships in the near future.

Dr. Colgan, whose company is a corporate member of the CPD Certification Service in the UK and an approved provider of CME/CE credits in the US, operates by charging a modest fee in high-income countries, a lower fee in middle-income countries and it provides its services free in low-income countries.

Continulus also donates a significant proportion of its profits to healthcare projects in low-resource countries.
Around 500 personnel of the



Kolkata Police Combat Force staged a protest here, alleging that they were being deployed in areas where chances of contracting COVID-19 are high, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The policemen demonstrated inside the Police Training School (PTS) complex on Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Road late on Tuesday, he said.

Sources said they gheraoed the vehicle of Deputy Commissioner of Police, Combat Battalion, Col Nevendera Singh Paul when he tried to initiate a dialogue with them, and allegedly vandalised his vehicle.

"We are being sent on duty in high-risk areas. There are several policemen who have been infected with the virus. This cannot go on," a police officer of the Combat Force told PTI.

When contacted, a senior police officer of Kolkata Police said an investigation has been launched to ascertain the facts.

"An investigation is underway. There can be disappointment among the policemen regarding the duty schedule, but no acts of indiscipline will not be tolerated...," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited the complex and assured the agitating police personnel of looking into their demands.

At least seven policemen have so far been infected by COVID-19 in West Bengal.

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

Express News Service

KOCHI: In a change from its earlier stand, Kerala seems to have decided not to test the expatriates who are in institutional quarantine unless they show COVID-19 symptoms and send them home only after completing 14-day isolation period.

The state had earlier said that all returnees from abroad would be tested for coronavirus after seven days and those with negative results would be sent for home quarantine for the remaining seven days.

The first flight carrying Indians stranded abroad had arrived in Kochi 12 days ago.

Principal Health Secretary Rajan Khobragade told TNIE that a PIL in the Kerala High Court last week making the Central governments policy of 14-day institutional quarantine mandatory in Kerala made the matter sub judice.

The PIL in the court has tied everyone including the GoI, Ministry of Health and GoK. Since the Nipah days, weve a time-tested protocol where we quarantine and isolate suspected persons, he said.

Kasaragod DMO Dr A V Ramdas said the administration has decided to follow the Centres directives to put returning NRIs in institutional quarantine for 14 days.

Earlier, the state government had decided to test all returnees and send them into home quarantine after seven days. Now, we are not testing unless they have symptoms, but they will be in institutional quarantine, he said.

Sources said the government may have released the first set of passengers who arrived on May 7 after they completed seven days  that is from May 14  before taking a decision to stop testing and keep them for 14 days in institutional quarantine.

The PIL said Keralas divergent policy of allowing seven days home quarantine in the event of testing negative after the seventh day of institutional quarantine in some cases must be stopped.

State is reducing number of tests

According to government data, 3,998 persons have come from abroad via flights until now. Of this, 2,191 are in-home quarantine and 1,714 in institutional quarantine.

This shows more than half of the overseas returnees are now in home quarantine though the 14-day period gets over only on May 21 (Thursday).

The change of approach also means Kerala is reducing the number of COVID tests. Rijo John, health economist and senior fellow at Kochi-based think-tank CPPR, said Keralas testing numbers have come down now to on a par or below other states.

However, lower testing by itself is not a bad thing for Kerala as the number of tests required to determine a positive case in the state was much higher.

As on Tuesday, Kerala has tested 46,958 samples of which 45,527 samples were negative.

"If the number of positive cases from among the samples tested becomes lower and lower, then it would mean we are improving the grip on the situation. That's the case with Kerala, at least till now," he said.
"Act Up, Fight Back, Fight AIDS!" The angry chanting grew louder as hundreds of protesters wove through the placid campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on May 21, 1990.

With signs that said, "Red Tape Kills Us," and "NIH - Negligence, Incompetence and Horror," the AIDS activists marched toward a row of police officers in riot gear guarding Building One. Suddenly the pack parted and a small group of protesters ran through the middle of the crowd, right to the police line, bearing torches spewing rainbow-colored smoke. Chaos erupted between the screaming crowd and police pushing and shoving back and forth.

The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP's "Storm the NIH" had begun.

"It was spectacular," Mark Harrington, a leading member of the group, remembered in a phone interview.

As confused NIH scientists and administrators looked out of their windows, the 1,000-strong demonstration then marched to Building 31, where the target of the protest had his offices: Anthony S. Fauci, then and now the chief of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Washington Post photo by Larry Morris

For months, ACT UP had been urging Fauci to formally include their members in the government's development process for AIDS drugs . And Fauci, now under attack by some Trump supporters for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, actually was in favor of the group's participation.

"I was trying to get them into all the planning meetings for the clinical trials," Fauci said last week, taking time out from the coronavirus fight to look back at another deadly disease he managed 30 years ago. But he met increasing resistance from the scientific community, who were put off by the ACT Up's tactics.

"We were putting Tony in a tough spot," acknowledged Peter Staley, the ACT UP leader who spearheaded the protest.

ACT UP had formed in New York City in 1987 as an angry response to government inaction on finding drugs and treatments for AIDS patients. The group was motivated by rage, helplessness and grief, Harrington said, as they stood by and watched thousands of friends and lovers die of contracting the HIV virus that led to AIDS - what was then called a "gay plague."

As more and more gay men died in the mid-1980s and homophobia flourished, ACT UP began staging theatrical protests at the Food and Drug Administration, on Wall Street and at New York's City Hall. The most famous was a 1989 die-in at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral to protest Cardinal O'Connor's opposition to teaching safe sex and distributing condoms.

The "Storm the NIH" protesters was the culmination of the group's public demonstrations about the deadly disease.

"We wanted a seat at the table," Staley said, and for months before the protest pushed to have ACT UP organizers become voting members on all the scientific committees that set the research agenda at NIAID.

"One of the things that people in ACT UP said is that we are the people who are experiencing this novel disease, and we are the experts, not just the scientists and doctors," said Garance Ruta, an ACT UP member who was at the NIH protest, who's now executive editor of GEN magazine.

The NIH demonstration also advocated for the group's quest to reduce the dose and price of the only AIDS-fighting drug approved by the FDA at the time, AZT, made by Burroughs Wellcome Co.

"At $8,000 a year for users, AZT is said to be the most expensive prescription drug in history," according to an August 1989 article in the New York Times, which also pointed out that about 35 percent of AIDS patients had either no health insurance or policies that did not pay for drugs.

Fauci was one of the younger scientists working on AIDS research at NIAID at the time, and Staley said ACT UP members began to get to know him. "All the older scientists thought we were crazy," he said. "But Fauci wanted to hear what we had to say."

"We liked Tony personally, he's a brilliant scientist: a brilliant fighter of epidemics," Staley said.

"I was becoming friends with some of them, like Peter Staley and Mark Harrington," Fauci agreed. "I felt very strongly that we needed to get them into the planning process because they weren't always right, but they had very, very good input."

Fauci attended an ACT UP meeting in October 1989. After that, some of the group's leaders on its Treatment and Data (T&S) committee would meet the NIAID chief and his deputy, Jim Hill, for dinner at Hill's townhouse on Capitol Hill.

Fauci began urging the scientific community and his own staff to include ACT UP members in the drug trial process, he said. "I was pushing and pulling these people and screaming, 'Hey, we have to deal with them,'" he said. "I was in a difficult position because I was trying to convince the establishment that ACT UP had something to offer."

Fauci promised that NIAID would become more inclusive, but after months with no action, ACT UP decided the only choice they had was a protest, Harrington said.

At a dinner with Fauci in March, Staley said, "Tony, we've got some bad news for you. We know you've been advocating for us on this. But we've decided to do a gigantic demonstration at the NIH, and it will be in front of your building."

Fauci tried to talk them out of it, but Staley vowed not just to demonstrate, but to get arrested, too, according to Fauci.

Between March and May, ACT UP spread the word about "Storm the NIH" to its chapters across the country. The group took out full-page ads in The Washington Post.

ACT UP was renowned for creating what Staley called a six-ring circus at their demonstrations, and the NIH protest was no different. Gathering at the NIH gates that Monday morning in May, chapters were divided into "affinity groups," that each organized its own presentation, skit, or protest focus.

"All the affinity groups gave themselves campy names, like CHER!, the Juicers or the Marys," Staley explained. "I was in charge of a group called the Power Tools."

A movie he saw at the time that featured military pyrotechnics inspired him to think of using colored smoke. He looked through a military magazine and saw that smoke bombs in the shape of grenades were available in different colors. "I ordered all the colors of the rainbow, thinking that will make a statement," he said.

The day of the demonstration, he and Power Tools members taped the canisters to poles and hid them behind posters to get on campus.

Staley's group stayed behind the bulk of the protesters, who marched ahead to confront about 200 police officers, some on horseback, who were clubbing some activists. Others set up a mock graveyard in front of Building 31, with tombstones describing deaths from "drug profiteers," or "AZT poisoning."

Chanting, "NIH, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide," according to United Press International, affinity groups carried banners, posters, effigies, including one of Fauci, and mock coffins. One group staged a die-in. Another formed a human snake that slid its way through the raucous crowd, each section labeled with a different opportunistic AIDS infection.

"One guy even had Fauci's head on a stick," Staley said.

It might have seemed otherwise, "but this was not a protest against research," Ruta said. "It was a protest on behalf of research."

Staley and his crew lit the smoke bombs and ran through the parting crowd. A roar went up from protesters as billows of red, yellow, blue, purple and green smoke filled the air. An Associated Press photo of screaming activists under a cloud of rainbow smoke eventually made it onto the cover of newspapers across the country.

Meanwhile, Fauci, looking out his office window, grew frustrated. "I didn't like that degree of disruption on campus," he said, concerned that the rowdy action would alienate scientists even more from including ACT UP in the drug development process.

Then Fauci noticed a protester climbing onto the building's front overhang. It was Peter Staley. Police officers began pulling Staley off the roof, lowering him into a band of officers who immediately handcuffed him. Fauci said he raced down to the first floor to make sure Peter was OK.

"I didn't want him to get hurt because there were mounted police and that could be dangerous," he said.

"A big, burly African American cop dragged me through the first floor of the building, and who should I run into, but Tony Fauci," Staley said.

"Peter?" Fauci said.

"Hey, Tony," Staley responded with a grin.

"Are you guys OK?," Fauci asked.

Staley laughed. "See - I told you I'd get arrested," Staley said, adding, "I'm just doing my job," surprising the officer that his perpetrator knew the head of the Institute.

Staley was the first arrest of the day, he said. About 80 more protesters were arrested by the 200 police officers on the scene, according to The Post.

In The Post story, Fauci called the protest an "inconvenience that could undermine the morale of federal AIDS researchers. It was interesting theater,'" Fauci said of the march, "but it was not helpful.'"

The next day The Post's editorial page accused the group of harassing NIH scientists.

The next month, however, ACT UP could definitively declare victory. At the International Conference on AIDS in San Francisco, Fauci gave Harrington the good news: Activists, journalists and people with AIDS would now be let into the ACTG groups, Harrington said, and the trials would expand to include women of color, drug users and children.

It was a turning point - for both ACT UP and for biomedical research, Harrington noted.

All drug testing committees at NIH now have patient advocates, Harrington said, including NIH's recently launched trial to test hydroxychloroquine and azythromicin.

Staley points out that community activists are now involved in coordinating efforts to combat covid-19, an outgrowth of ACT UP. Activists "are now in lockstep with scientists," he said.

"Ever since the 1990 demonstration we've been partners in fighting illnesses and diseases and our enemies now are hesitant politicians and anti-science radio hosts," he said. "We are now Fauci's great defenders against the anti-science. And the world is better for it."
A Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist allegedly involved in the killing of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, his brother, and a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary in Jammu & Kashmir Kishtwar was arrested on Tuesday in a fresh setback to the outfit that has lost its top commanders this month.

Senior police superintendent (Kishtwar) Harmeet Singh Mehta said Rustam Ali was involved in the killings of BJP leader Anil Parihar, his brother, as well as RSSs Chandrakant Sharma and his guard.

The Parihar brothers were killed in November 2018 and Sharma and his bodyguard five months later in April 2019. Mehta said Ali has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency, which took him to Jammu. The cases were handed over to the federal anti-terror agency last year.

Police said Ali was a close associate of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, 35, who carried a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head and was killed in Pulwama district on May 6. Another top commander of the group, Junaid Ashraf Khan, was among two terrorists killed in an overnight gunbattle with security forces in Srinagars Nawakadal area on Tuesday

Tahir Bhat, an alleged Hizbul Mujahideen recruiter, was killed in Doda district on Monday. Bhat was allegedly assigned the task of carrying out fresh recruits while Ali was doing the same in the adjoining Kishtwar district. He is also believed to have had a role in Sharma and his guards murder.

Security forces have now launched a manhunt for the regions oldest surviving terrorist, Jehangir Saroori. This militant is hiding in the upper reaches of Marwah and Dachhan belt in Kishtwar district adjoining Doda district. He is the oldest surviving terrorist in Jammu & Kashmir and carries an award of around Rs 50 lakh on his head..., said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

He added security forces have intensified operations to nab the terrorist but a difficult terrain and lack of technical intelligence has allowed him to remain at large.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
I once asked late Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao if the nonaligned nations movement had become somewhat redundant. Thats why they are queueing up to join it! he snapped back sarcastically. I forget now which applicants he had in mind, but Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent engagement with NAM confirmed that multilateralism still has its uses. A show of collaboration over Covid-19 helps to distract attention from shameful failures at home and the yawning gulf between wealth and poverty. By also highlighting Indias regional prominence, it draws attention to Mr Modis claim to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus mantle.

Of course, BJP-ruled India is far from nonaligned. But perhaps few NAM members have ever been genuinely nonaligned. In the bad old Cold War days, some were nonaligned in favour of the United States, others in favour of the Soviet Union. Each NAM nation had its own axe to grind. Pandit Nehru, who wanted American arms and aid, exploded in a note: I dislike more and more this business of exchange of persons between America and India. The fewer persons that go from India to America or that come from the United States to India, the better.

Mr Modi, too, seeks to be an Asian -- perhaps world -- leader but with full American endorsement. He makes no bones of his delight at being made to feel he is an intimate by President Donald Trump. He also warmly embraces President Trumps protege and ally, Israels born-again Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who he proudly addresses by his nickname Bibi. Undoubtedly, a strong streak of personal vanity runs through these affectations, but as the recent tinkering with labour laws in some of Indias states indicates, they also have a bearing on policy. Curbs on labour activism are bound to appeal to American businessmen. So will Indias backing of the World Health Assemblys European Union-sponsored draft resolution on Covid-19 as it takes up its new position this week as chair of the World Health Organisations executive board.

The Geneva meeting comes at a delicate time. Chinas President Xi Jinping is one world leader whom Mr Modi has not been able to sweet-talk into cosy intimacy.

Mr Xi is perfectly happy to overwhelm India with Chinese exports, but the recent clashes between the border troops of the two countries recall Ian Fleming's novel Goldfinger -- Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time its enemy action. Nor can Mr Modi have endeared himself to China by publicly repeating that now is the time to lure away American investors there.

Vigorously defending his governments record over the pandemic, Mr Xi claimed in Geneva on Monday that China acted with openness, transparency and responsibility. He also backed the WHOs director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose leadership is under fire from Washington. Mr Xi will undoubtedly react angrily if the WHO really gets cracking about an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation and blames the Chinese for not taking all necessary measures to kill the disease at an early stage, or if it blames the WHO. The fat will be in the fire if on top of all this, the India-chaired World Health Assembly responds favourably to Taiwans desire to be heard or in some way supports the US stand on Uighurs.

In his present state of exhilaration at being involved in these looming global issues, Mr Modi is unlikely to have much time for either the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (whose members he organised for a recent video-conference) or NAM. Far from being part of any consultative process, both organisations are supplementary to Indian diplomacy. True, despite its own needs, India has ensured medical supplies to over 123 countries, including 59 in NAM. But the real point, as Mr Modi stressed, is that since a global crisis affects the rich and poor, developed and developing alike, it demands a new template of globalisation based on fairness, equality, and humanity.

This could be Indias chance of helping to shape a new world order and for Mr Modi to seize the spotlight that was once Jawaharlal Nehrus. The problem is that it is difficult in these days of instant communications to reconcile any kind of leadership with the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of weary jobless workers trudging along Indias dusty highways in the blazing heat, being fleeced by truck drivers, crammed like sardines into three-wheeler tempos, and every so often mown down by overloaded lorries or speeding trains. The pandemic has aggravated Indias economic plight, as it has done the worlds, but widespread distress and stark unemployment already stared India in the face.

Despite a slight improvement, India lags behind Sudan and sub-Saharan Equatorial Guinea, as well as neighbouring Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in global healthcare rankings. The range of differences within India, between Goa and Kerala at one end, and Assam and Uttar Pradesh at the other, does not mask the overall shortage of doctors, nurses, caring staff and hospital beds. If 80 per cent of all qualified doctors report for duty, the doctor-population ratio is 0.62:1000 against the WHOs minimum standard of 1:1000. Indias 0.9 hospital beds per thousand is less than one-third the WHO norm of three per thousand. A primary health centre with six beds at the most caters to 30,000 people in rural areas. The less said about their quality the better.

In the 1940s, when India was one of the poorest countries in the world, an Indian, the Nizam of Hyderabad, was reckoned to be the richest. Eighty years on, India is still poor, but Asias richest man is the Indian tycoon, Mukesh Ambani, in whose Reliance Industries Facebook had recently invested $5.7 billion. That the deal was finalised during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic exposes the coexistence of Indias glittering wealth and grinding poverty.
Iran's supreme leader has sparked outrage after releasing an anti-Israel poster showing a conquered Jerusalem alongside the Nazi's infamous 'final solution'.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been accused of anti-Semitism after he shared the poster calling for the destruction of Israel on his official website in Farsi, Arabic and English.

The poster, which showed a 'free' Palestine and the late Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, was published alongside the message: 'Palestine will be free. The final solution: Resistance is referendum.'

Published on Quds Day, an annual celebration in Iran held on the last Friday of Ramadan, the image showed people celebrating at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem alongside the 'final solution' term which refers to the mass genocide of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

The poster showed people celebrating a 'free' Palestine and the late Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (pictured) released an anti-Israel poster alongside the Nazi's 'final solution' term

The Iranian leader, who earlier this month said that the United States would be expelled from Iraq and Syria, has been in office since 1989.

Following the release of the poster a message on Khamenei's Twitter page read: 'The Zionist regime has proven it won't abide by any treaty & understands no logic except force.

'The nature of the Zionist regime is incompatible with peace, because the Zionists seek to expand their territories & will certainly not be limited to what they have already occupied.

'Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn't mean eliminating Jews. We aren't against Jews. It means abolishing the imposed regime & Muslim, Christian & Jewish Palestinians choose their own govt & expel thugs like Netanyahu. This is 'Eliminating Israel' & it will happen.

'A proposal for a referendum to choose the type of govt for the historical country of #Palestine was registered with the UN as offered by Iran. We say the true Palestinians with Palestinian roots of at least 100 years, and Palestinians living abroad, choose the govt (sic) of Palestine.'

However the U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo condemned the poster saying: 'The United States condemns Supreme Leader Khamenei's disgusting and hateful anti-Semitic remarks.

The Iranian leader took to Twitter to say that the Zionist regime was incompatible with peace

U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the leader's 'disgusting' and hateful' anti-Semitic remarks

'They have no place on Twitter or on any other social media platform. We know Khamenei's vile rhetoric does not represent the Iranian people's tradition of tolerance.'

Meanwhile Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: 'Khamenei's threats to carry out 'The Final Solution' against Israel bring to mind the Nazi 'Final Solution' plan to annihilate the Jewish People.

'He should know that any regime that threatens the destruction of the State of Israel faces a similar danger.'

While Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told The Jerusalem Post: 'Fanatic Jew-hating Ayatollah and company inspired by Nazi antecedents. Awaiting protests from Berlin and Vienna.'

The release of the poster comes just days after the leader renewed Iran's demand for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the Middle East.

Khamenei said America's actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria had led to them being hated, according to a transcript of a speech to students published on his website.

'The Americans won't stay in Iraq and Syria and will be expelled,' Khamenei said.

Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea, but said later he was not changing the military's rules of engagement.

After Trump's statement, the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, said that the Islamic Republic would destroy U.S. warships if its security is threatened in the Gulf.
Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others

Kabul: Gunmen opened fire in a mosque in central Afghanistan on Tuesday evening, killing eight worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast and wounding five others, officials said.

Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time, said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan province, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.

The Ministry of Interior confirmed the attack in Parwans provincial capital Charekar, blaming it on the insurgent Taliban. The Taliban denied responsibility and said Afghan security forces were to blame.

The United Nations has warned of an alarming uptick in violence against civilians in Afghanistan. A shocking attack on a Kabul maternity ward last week killed 24 people, including newborn babies.

Violence increased around the country even after a 29 February US-Taliban pact on the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

Afghan security forces on Tuesday clashed with Taliban fighters around the city of Kunduz, a strategically important centre that has been one of the Talibans main targets and which the group has briefly captured twice in recent years.

Security forces largely repelled the Taliban offensive with the help of air support and Assadullah Khalid, acting minister of defence, said during a visit to the city that more than 50 insurgents and eight security force members had been killed.

The Taliban have rejected repeated calls for a ceasefire by the Afghan government. They deny any involvement in the maternity ward attack and the United States believes the Islamic State was responsible.

The United States has sent special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to Doha and Kabul to press the Afghan government and the Taliban to start stalled peace talks. Khalilzad has said he will push for a reduction in violence during the trip.
What you need to know for Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

Weather

High: 70, low: 51. Mostly cloudy.

Photo of the Day

Ahmed Williams in his Susquehanna Township home, part of our Windows of Hope photo series highlighting people during the stay-at-home order. Photo by Joe Hermitt, PennLive.com.

In, out, on hold

Boscovs is back: Boscovs will reopen stores in Camp Hill and York County on Saturday, joining others in Pa.'s yellow coronavirus areas. Read more.

Allenberry break: People were under the mistaken impression that Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs had shut down for good due to COVID-19. Actually, it'll reopen soon, with virus-related changes. Read more.

Out of business: Pier 1 Imports, which filed for bankruptcy in February, will liquidate its business when it can open stores again. Read more.

Coronavirus

More than 63,000 Pennsylvanians have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since early March. Read more:

Nursing homes

Who's being hit: Numerous central Pa. nursing homes are plagued by COVID-19 infections and deaths, data released by the state shows. Read more.

Testing questions: The Wolf administration announced a robust universal testing strategy" to battle coronavirus at hard-hit Pa. nursing homes, but its not what it seems, advocates say. Read more.

In sports

Ready: Penn States offense has veterans at nearly every position, which should help accelerate development under new coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca. Read more.

Horse racing: The coronavirus pandemic has forced horse racing to reconfigure its Triple Crown series: The Belmont will be first, in June. Read more.

In brief

Memorial Day travel guide | John Glenns widow dies of coronavirus | Green Day, Weezer tour with Hershey stop postponed | Court upholds firing of PennDOT worker over Facebook rant | Man sues landlord after family dies in apartment fire | Online Best & Brightest ceremony today | Haars Drive-in reopening |

Thank you for reading Good Morning, Pennsylvania. Local journalism has never been more important. Please consider supporting our work by subscribing to PennLive.
The French First Lady headed out for the first time since the start of France's lockdown and made sure to wear a protective mask.

It was back to business for Brigitte Macron, 67, as she visited the Montfermeil Hospital, in Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris on Tuesday, where she met with medical staff and toured the facilities.

It was the first time that she's left the Elysee Palace for a public engagement since the start of France's lockdown on 17th March.

Resuming her duties as First Lady in person, Emmanuel Macron's wife was careful to keep herself protected during the outing, with a blue mask covering her face as recommended by the French government.

She visited the hospital's temporary laundry facilities, which allow them to speed up the cleaning process for staff scrubs, French media La Depeche reported.

It was back to business for Brigitte Macron, 67, as she visited the Montfermeil Hospital, in Seine-Saint-Denis, near Paris on Tuesday, and met with medical staff and visited the facilities. The French First Lady made sure to wear a protective mask, as did members of staff

Sporting a stylish navy blue suit for the occasion, Brigitte made sure to keep her mask on during her visit on the premises, but later took it out while meeting with staff member in a conference room, where they sat at a safe distance from one another.

Brigitte, who is the President of the Hospitals of Paris, Hospitals of France Foundation, has financially supported the hospital's April initiative to temporarily move the laundry into their premises in order to quickly provide clean equipment for its staff as they dealt with COVID-19 cases.

She wanted to personally congratulate the staff and see the laundry for herself. According to the group managing the hospitals of Northern Greater Paris, the French First lady also discussed other projects undertaken by the Montfermeil hospital during her visit.

The First lady took the helm of the Hospitals of Paris, Hospitals of France Foundation on January 8, a timely appointment which took place two months before the country entered lockdown due to the coronavirus.

Brigitte visited the hospital to take a look at the temporary laundry facility it installed to quicken the pace at which scrubs were being cleaned for staff during the COVID-19 pandemic

Looking as stylish as ever, she wore a navy balzer with three-quarter-length sleeves, with a light blue watch on her left wrist.

She paired it with a pair of navy blue skinny jeans and blue swede heels.

She sported her usual impeccable mid-length blond bob and a smokey eye for the visit.

Wearing a stylish navy blue blazer with a pair of skinny navy blue jeans, the First Lady met with staff and listened as they talked her through the work they had carried during the pandemic

Macron took her mask off in a conference room where she met with senior administrative staff of the hospital

Brigitte, a mother-of-three who counts seven grandchildren, waited a week after the French lockdown was lifted on 11th May to make her first outing.

Until then, she had remained confined to the Elysee Palace in Paris with her husband Emmanuel Macron.

However, she kept busy during isolation, just like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, using her time to video call several organisations as well as hospices and retirement homes around the country to keep in touch with their residents.

Brigitte listened carefully as she watched staff clean and fold medical gowns in the temporary laundry room

Since the end of the lockdown on May 11, wearing a mask in public is highly recommended in France, and mandatory in some public places, including shops, at the doctor, in public transports and in schools.

In shops, masks are recommended when social distancing is not possible, and mandatory for staff.

In hairdressers, masks are mandatory for the staff as well are for clients, who risk having their appointment cancelled if they don't comply.

People caught without wearing a mask in public transports can face a 135 euro fine (120).

The masks can be bought or home-made as long as they meet the standards of AFNOR, the hub of the French standardization system.
T he mother of teenage crash victim Harry Dunn has called for the Foreign Secretary's resignation over his department's handling of her son's death.

Charlotte Charles said the way the Government dealt with her family was "beyond words", adding: "You wouldn't treat an animal the way Government treated us.

Mr Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year.

Anne Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab / PA

Mrs Charles said she was prompted to call for Mr Raab's resignation after reports from ITV News showed pictures of the Foreign Secretary at a reception, hosted by the US Ambassador, three days before Sacoolas left the country.

Addressing her reasons for calling for Mr Raab's resignation, Mrs Charles said: "Any parent out there who has lost a child will understand what we are going through as a family.

"The lack of sleep. The continual pain in the stomach. That constant realisation that Harry is not here.

"The unbearable feeling that he will never walk through the door again and give me one of his hugs. Never call or text again. Not watching him going into what would have been the prime of his life.

"But as if all that was not enough, what on earth did this government think it was doing treating us the way they did? It is beyond words.

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

She added: "You wouldn't treat an animal the way government treated us.

"Every single one of those responsible must go. I don't care how high this goes."

Mrs Charles continued: "This must never happen again. Let us be the last ones. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

"Mr Raab has to go but we will not stop until we get to the bottom of all this, find out who was involved and make sure that anyone else who should not be in their job as a result also resigns or is dismissed."

A senior diplomat at the FCO had sent a text message to their US Embassy counterpart saying they should "feel able" to put suspect Anne Sacoolas on the next flight home, documents showed.

Initial disclosure documents, which surfaced earlier this year, showed a briefing note copied to Dominic Raab's private secretary from three days after the fatal crash - which revealed concern for some "very unpalatable headlines".

A witness statement from the senior investigating officer at Northamptonshire Police said an official at the FCO had requested the force delay telling the family that a waiver for Mrs Sacoolas's diplomatic immunity had been declined by the US - adding that it would help if they could get their "ducks in a row" beforehand.

Ms Sacoolas was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December, but an extradition request for Sacoolas submitted by the Home Office was rejected by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in January - a decision later described by the State Department as final".

An FCO spokeswoman said: We have the deepest sympathy for Harrys family. No family should have to experience what they have gone through. The case remains of the highest priority for the Foreign Secretary who continues to raise the case with the US Government, including last week.

Both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have been clear with the US that the refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice, and that she should return to the UK.

We are committed to revising the arrangements at RAF Croughton to ensure they cannot be used in this way again. The Foreign Secretary remains ready to meet Harrys family and to support them to get the justice they deserve.
Healthy snacks provide a boost of energy, anytime and anywhere. Healthy eating is such an important part of living a wholesome lifestyle

Global Employee Health and Fitness Month (GEHFM) is observed every May throughout the world to raise awareness of and promote health and fitness in the workplace. Employers and employees everywhere are encouraged to show their commitment to healthy living by participating in GEHFM.

Since the founding of the initiative in 1989 by the National Association for Health and Fitness (NAHF), there has been increasing evidence of the value of investing in employee health. Employers realize that investing in workplace wellness programs is essential to managing health care costs, improving productivity and boosting employee morale. Indeed, its a critical component of any organizations human capital management.

Employers and employees can sign up to participate in this years GEHFM by visiting the programs website. Participants are asked to prepare a healthy meal, organize walks and bike rides or get involved with a clean-up day in their community. And these workplace initiatives shouldnt be exclusive to the month of May. Rather, people are asked to carry the healthy habits gained during the month throughout their lives.

According to the website, 28,575 people across 6,621 companies and organizations have participated in GEHFM. Along with a commitment to exercise and eat right, participants are asked to get involved on the initiatives Facebook and Twitter accounts to show their progress and encourage others to take action.

Anyone, regardless of participation in the event, can get resources on the GEHFM website to help them live healthier lives. Available information includes resources to get enough sleep, ways to improve overall health, tips for exercising and more.

Healthy YOU Vending helps provide convenient access to wholesome snacks, drinks and entrees. And there has never been a more important time than now to offer healthy choices to busy employees. During the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, having convenient access to healthy options in the workplace can keep employees safe and productive.

Healthy eating is such an important part of living a wholesome lifestyle, said Healthy YOU Vendings Director of Operator Services, Jill Navidomskis. Were happy to be a part of providing healthy options that are convenient, safe and sought after in this increasingly health-conscious world. And some of our operators are now offering those essential pieces of PPE to navigate our new normal such as face masks, hand sanitizer and gloves in their machines.

###

Healthy YOU Vending is the world leader in the healthy vending industry. With corporate offices in Kaysville, Utah, the Healthy YOU Vending team is dedicated to making healthier snacks, drinks and food products more accessible to people across North America. All company vending equipment is privately manufactured in the United States at a state-of-the-art facility. Owner/Operator opportunities for serious-minded and health-conscious entrepreneurs are currently available in most states.




The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has threatened to permanently pull funding from the World Health Organisation (WHO) over the Coronavirus pandemic if it does not commit to major substantive improvements within 30 days.

Naija News reports that this was disclosed in a letter to the WHO chief shared by Trump on the micro-blogging site, Twitter. In a four-page letter to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Trump set out what he called repeated missteps by the organisation.

The United States President claimed that the WHO shares the responsibility for a large number of deaths in the crisis even as he alleged that mismanagement on the part of the WHO and reliance on information from China had dramatically worsened the epidemic and spread it globally.

President Trump said he would make a temporary freeze of funding permanent and might also reconsider U.S. membership of the organisation at the end of the 30-day deadline if he saw no improvements.

His words: The only way forward for the World Health Organisation is if it can actually demonstrate independence from China, the U.S. president asserted.

The United States President said discussions with the organisation on how to reform the WHO had already begun.

But action is needed quickly. We do not have time to waste.

I cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving Americas interests, Trump concluded.

Naija News recalls that President Trump faced international criticism when he announced in April that he would be halting funding to the WHO while a 60- to 90-day review took place. He has also faced criticism over how the White House initially responded to the virus.

The United States President has repeatedly accused the organisation of failing in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. He said U.S. taxpayers provided between 400 and 500 million dollars a year to the organisation. That funding is largely appropriated by Congress.

Share this post with your Friends on
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Reuters)  Wed, May 20, 2020 11:08 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd92d2e5 2 People Stormy-Daniels,Donald-Trump,comic-book,TidalWave-Productions,Stormy-Daniels-Space-Force,united-states Free

Adult film star Stormy Daniels, whose allegations of a onetime sexual liaison with US President Donald Trump triggered a legal battle, is returning as a superhero in a series of comic books.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will be releasing a fictional comic book series called Stormy Daniels: Space Force in the autumn with TidalWave Productions.

We can finally announce this: THIS FALL @StormyDaniels RETURNS AS COMIC BOOK HERO IN SPACE FORCE! We have been developing it with her since the beginning of the year. Stay tuned for more! #comicBook #ComicNews #StormyDaniels #Trump #DonaldTrump #GraphicNovel #SpaceForce pic.twitter.com/Qfyr11jGAM  TidalWave Comics (@TidalWaveProd) May 19, 2020

"It's all satirical, of course," she told Reuters in an interview. The publisher has described the series as a "racy comedy, action and adventure series" likened to "Barbarella meets Star Trek meets Stripperella."

Her only request to the book's authors, she said, was that "I not be portrayed as ditzy." People who assume that are making a "grave mistake," she said. "Because once I'm in the door, I'm going to kick everybody in the room's ass."

Read also: Stormy Daniels accuses ex-lawyer of being Trump 'puppet'

Daniels was thrust into the spotlight in 2018 after it was revealed she received hush money to keep quiet about an affair she claimed to have had with Trump in 2006, before he was elected president. Trump has denied having an affair with her.

On Wednesday, Daniels and TidalWave will rerelease an updated bio comic book titled Female Force: Stormy Daniels. Compared with her 2018 biography, Daniels said, "It's a little bit more campy."

Since a US judge dismissed her hush-money agreement case against Trump in March 2019, Daniels has tackled new ventures, including a podcast and performing standup comedy around the world. She plans to star in an upcoming horror film.

"I'm not going to sit here and lie and say like good stuff didn't come out of it, because it absolutely did," she said, referring to her fame. "But what people don't realize is that it's always still a double-edged sword."
The Institute of Directors-Ghana (IoD-Gh) has asked Ghanaian businesses to take advantage of COVID 19 and replace imports with local goods.



The Institute also asked them to focus on short-term survival strategies in the wake of the pandemic, allowing some 18 months for the dust to settle whilst keeping tabs on global reactions.



This was contained in a communique issued at the close of the Institute's roundtable for board chairs, signed by its President Mr Rockson Dogbegah, and copied to the Ghana News Agency.



The communique said it was important for businesses to conduct COVID-19 impact assessments on their sectors and operations, document strategic mitigation and survival methodologies and ensure sustainable implementation.



It asked businesses to develop immunity through strategic capacity development, adding,  this must be coupled with a cultural shift, mindset change, behavioral change and a robust change management process including effective communication with major stakeholders as an imperative if businesses must survive."



The communique said it was important for businesses to know that projections for the development of a vaccine for the Coronavirus disease were uncertain, drawing lessons from previous outbreaks like HIV and AIDS, Ebola, SARS, MERS, and TB.



It said that called for adaptability regarding business plans, creation of operational environments with minimal contacts, plan for all types of risks bearing in mind the effects of depreciation of demand and the way forward.



The Institute urged industries to uphold high standards in health and safety protocols, starting with the boards with reduction in regular physical meetings.



The communique also urged employers to develop good relationships with employees and give them information on actual status of businesses to avoid unreasonable demands to minimize the risk of layoffs.



It said it was important for businesses to seek labour experts on account of the high potential for future redundancies and layoffs, stressing that there must be professionalism in dealing with the psychological effects on both internal and external stakeholders.



Businesses should begin to consider a broader range of skills in candidates who desire to sit on boards" and current board members must also be trained," it added.



It said the training content for the board members must be informed by sector specific business continuity plans and periodic reviews, which would also address both present and future gaps including underlying risks and unexpected disruptions.



The communique said board agenda should begin to change considerably from the traditional pathways with a keen focus on business robustness and sustainability with risk management as a very critical ingredient.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
What will it take for New Jersey colleges to reopen this fall?

A stockpile of PPE, capacity for coronavirus testing, guidelines for contact tracing, and some college presidents say, no legal recourse for students and faculty who contract COVID-19 while on campus.

Is there any safe harbor that can be provided by the state so that if we bring our students back and follow all the approved (protocols), we will not be held liable? Felician University President Anne Prisco asked state lawmakers Tuesday.

Prisco and several college presidents requested immunity from coronavirus lawsuits during a Senate Higher Education Committee hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on colleges. The threat of costly lawsuits remains an impediment to colleges reopening, said Eugene Lepore, executive director of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities.

Calls for immunity from New Jersey academic leaders thrust local colleges into the heart of a national debate over how society should reopen and what legal protections are necessary for businesses and institutions. Their requests echo college presidents nationwide as higher education grapples with reopening campuses designed for crowded classrooms, cafeterias and residence halls in a time of social distancing.

We are truly a 24/7 environment where people are working in very close and intimate environments, in most cases people living together on a 24/7 basis, said Gregory DellOmo, president of Rider University.

In supplemental written comments, DellOmo said colleges face increasing legal risks, not only from those who contract the virus but from class-action suits demanding refunds.

We find ourselves seriously exposed by events that are out of our control, DellOmo wrote. The financial impact from these kinds of lawsuits will seriously jeopardize the financial solvency of many colleges and universities in New Jersey.

Nationally, opponents of granting broad immunity to businesses and institutions have argued that it will encourage cutting corners at a time when safety measures should be paramount.

Lawmakers made no promises of immunity during the hearing, which was an opportunity for colleges to explain how they are responding to the crisis and ask for support from the state government. But college presidents were clear that several hurdles remain beyond the legal risk they would take by having students return in August.

We all know that if we are going to do this right, we are going to need to put in place a complex and delicate system that blends on campus operations with remote operations with all kinds of health and social distancing protocols to make things safe," said Susan Cole, president of Montclair State University. Because the fact of the matter is you cannot function as a university with remote learning. It is not possible.

Colleges worry they will end up competing with each other to purchase PPE, and they still want guidelines from the state for testing and contact tracing as well as the potential for antibody testing, presidents said. Several colleges are preparing for the possibility of a hybrid reopening, with some classes and activities occurring on campus and other continuing remotely.

All of those challenges are exacerbated by significant financial concerns, Cole said. The states larger colleges already have lost millions in projected revenue this spring, gave away millions in refunds or credits and now face expected enrollment declines and state aid reductions. But their expenses are only going to rise, she said.

That is a cost, Cole said of safely reopening campus. That just doesnt drop out of they sky. This is possibly the most expensive way to offer education.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
[May 20, 2020] Saltmine Enables Digital Transformation of Workspaces as Companies Plan for Workplace Reentry

Saltmine, a real estate technology company transforming workplace design by integrating data, people and process into an enterprise design cloud, is announcing new social distancing features that help businesses quickly reconfigure workspaces for the safe return of their employees. As workers come back to their offices after weeks of sheltering in place, businesses are scrambling to put new workplace designs and policies in effect that will minimize the risk of further Covid-19 transmission. The World Economic Forum has said businesses worldwide must rethink all of their workplace policies in the wake of the pandemic - especially the design of offices. There are more than 5 million commercial buildings-and more than 80 billion square feet of floor space-in the United States alone, and a significant percentage will need to be redesigned because of concerns about virus transmission. Some business leaders believe new distancing guidelines will put a premium on office space, which will need to be reimagined with both efficiency and safety in mind.



"Businesses are planning for workplace reentry, but those who haven't moved their design process into the cloud will be behind the curve," said Shagufta Anurag, CEO of Saltmine. "Offices will likely need to be redesigned repeatedly as we learn more about the spread of Covid and the rules change. Only businesses with a digital infrastructure in place using an enterprise design cloud--an enterprise design cloud where their data and other assets are digitized and all in one place--will be able to react to changes quickly, and stay agile long after the pandemic has passed." Saltmine maintains a dedicated design cloud for each of their clients, which include some of the world's largest workplace occupiers as well as leading architecture and design firms and real estate service firms whose teams have been trained on the Saltmine platform to support their customers. Twenty-five million square feet and counting have been run through Saltmine, with companies using the technology to plan their re-entry to the workplace.

Using their design clouds, these clients centralize their design guidelines, digitize their workplace portfolio, and activate this data with purpose built applications for programming, space planning, design, budgeting, and more. The Saltmine platform digitizes floor plans from any format into a 3D, immersive digital model of the workplace. Workpoints, conference rooms and social areas are identified by the system and "distance rings" can be automatically applied. The technology automatically detects collisions and algorithms instantly optimize the number of workpoints to maximize headcount while following that organization's social distance policies. Anticipating a return to the workplace in phases, Saltmine enables companies to quickly design office spaces for various stages of workplace re-entry, planning for and adapting designs in minutes as more employees return to offices. The technology can also update its criteria for social distance requirements so that when new data emerges or updates occur, Saltmine customers can quickly and easily integrate these new requirements. About Saltmine Saltmine is a first to market, enterprise design cloud platform that unifies people, process and data to support strategic workplace decisions. With tailored and fully integrated modules for intelligent programming, design, workflow management, budgeting and more, Saltmine creates revolutionary efficiency and end user experience. Visit www.saltmine.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005054/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
An American newlywed couple from San Francisco has reportedly been stranded in Sri Lanka since over two months after travel advisories went into effect in the middle of their honeymoon that suspended the international air travel to stem the transmission of the novel coronavirus, as per local media reports. Michelle and John Senyard from San Francisco got married on March 6 and headed for travel on their honeymoon to Thailand and Sri Lanka on March 8 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

On their arrival to Sri Lanka, the pandemic advisories were issued and the flights were cancelled. Further, the hotels and the commercial stay-ins shuttered as per the governments orders, thereby, leaving them no option. According to local media reports, the US had advised the citizens to avoid international travel unless their trip was essential due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Also, the US issued the Global Travel Advisory Level 4, urging Americans to return home who were out exploring the other countries or on a business purpose. The couple had tried to book a new flight home but involved 40 hours or more of travel with multiple layovers, that increased the risk of the virus, as per media reports. Further, with the situation evolving to serious and curfew imposed, the duo decided to make the most on the Island country.

Read: Elon Musk Asks Followers To "Take The Red Pill"; Netizens React

Read: Video: Norwegian Diver Takes A Dip Into Icy Water, Netizens Asks 'are You Even Human'

Enjoying on the shore

Lately, John posted a video from his travel on the TikTok wherein he can be seen hanging from the tree like a Tarzan as users were stunned watching him. Deciding that they could not return home anytime soon, the couple has been posting the content related to their prolonged stay in Sri Lanka. His latest video amassed over 915.4k likes. That happened to me too! I was in Costa Rica for two months, I just got home, wrote a user. Okay but like I would love to be stranded on my honeymoon rn with the love of my life instead of quarantined with my family in the south, wrote the second making the heart emoji.

Read: 'My Plans Vs 2020': Netizens Share Expectation Vs Reality Memes Amid Lockdown

Read: China Uses Jackie Chan's Stardom To Woo Indians Amid COVID-19, Netizens Not Amused

(Images credit: Instagram/ John Senyard)

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
MASERU, Lesotho - Moeketsi Majoro was sworn in as Lesothos prime minister on Wednesday in a swift transition after Thomas Thabane was pressured to resign over allegations of involvement in the 2017 murder of his estranged wife.

Thabane stepped down on Tuesday, a month shy of his third anniversary at the helm of the tiny southern African kingdom of 2 million people. His party had turned against him over the murder case and frustration over his failure to stem corruption.

Majoro comes in at the head of a coalition with the main opposition Democratic Congress. Speaking at his swearing-in by King Letsie III at the royal palace, he paid tribute to his predecessor.

Majoro, a former International Monetary Fund staffer, will see out the last two years of Thabanes term. Elections are due in 2022.

The new prime minister promised to quickly take on some of the countrys major challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, high unemployment, poverty and climate change in these trying times.

Thabane thanked the king for the opportunity to lead Lesotho. He acknowledged making mistakes in office and asked the nation to forgive him.

The 80-year-old Thabane leaves without any guarantees from immunity from prosecution for the 2017 murder of his estranged wife, Lipolelo. He had filed for divorce when she was shot dead near her home just two days before Thabane was sworn in for his second stint as prime minister.

His current wife, Maesaiah, who is also charged, has been out on bail while Thabane asked the constitutional Court to stop the courts from trying him for the crime while he remained in office.

His retirement means he could now stand trial.
Non-essential land travel restrictions between Mexico, US extended

Mexico City, Mexico  Mexico has agreed with the US to another 30-day extension regarding non-essential land travel between the two countries.

The Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the 30-day extension regarding restrictions on non-essential land traffic along its common border. The news came after reviewing the development of the spread of Covid-19 in Mexico and in the US.

Through social media, the Mexican Foreign Ministry indicated that the restrictions will continue in the same terms in which they have been developed since their implementation on March 21.

Both countries will continue seeking to coordinate sanitary measures in the border region, said the Mexican Ministry.

The acting secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, said that this extension also applies to Canada, adding that both border countries agree that extending those restrictions is prudent at this time.

Non-essential travel will not be allowed until this administration is convinced that doing so is safe, Wolf said in a statement.

Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada and the United States had agreed to extend the ban on non-essential ground travel between the two countries for another 30 days.
President Donald Trump speaks during a CCP virus disease (COVID-19) outbreak response press briefing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on May 11, 2020. (Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS)

Trump Threatens to Delay Funding to States Over Absentee Ballots

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to request to hold federal funding to Michigan and Nevada over widespread mail voting schemes.

All Michigan voters will receive applications for absentee voting, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said this week. Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, said May 1 that all voters will receive mail-in ballots.

What Michigan is doing is illegal and without authorization, Trump said in a social media statement, calling Benson a rogue Secretary of State.

I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path! he added.

In another missive, Trump said Nevada officials were trying to send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S.

Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske speaks on stage during Global Citizens Show Up and Vote concert at the World Market Center in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 25, 2016. (David Becker/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

They cant! he said, adding after threatening to delay funds: Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections.

Trump tagged Mark Meadows, his chief of staff, Russ Vought, the acting budget director, and the Department of Treasury in the posts, which he made on Twitter.

Cegavskes office said in a statement sent to The Epoch Times that she didnt make the decision lightly to use mail-in ballots in the upcoming election. Mail-in voting has taken place among citizens residing outside the state and others for over 100 years with no evidence of election fraud, the office said, noting U.S. District Judge Miranda Du on May 1 blocked an attempt to block Nevadas June 9 primary over concerns of potential voter fraud.

Nevada has many safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of an all-mail election, including signature requirements and verification processes, preprinted ballot return envelopes, barcode tracking, and laws against ballot harvesting. Voters concerned with mailing in their ballot may drop off their ballot at any designated drop-off location in their county, according to the statement.

A spokesman for Benson said that Trumps statement was false.

The Bureau of Elections is mailing absent voter applications, not ballots. Applications are mailed nearly every election cycle by both major parties and countless advocacy and nonpartisan organizations. Just like them, we have full authority to mail applications to ensure voters know they have the right to vote safely by mail, the spokesman said in a statement.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaks at a news conference in Lansing, Mich., on March 5, 2020. (David Eggert/AP Photo)

Benson responded directly to Trump: I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia.

Voting by mail is opposed by Trump and a number of other Republicans, who allege widespread remote voting leads to voter fraud and other problems.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission said in a report (pdf) that nearly 2,700 absentee ballots in the city of Milwaukee werent sent and another 1,600 elsewhere werent processed because of issues including computer glitches.

Supporters of voting by mail say it enables people to exercise their rights while not risking getting infected with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

Dozens of people who voted or worked at Wisconsins April 7 primary elections became infected with the virus, state officials said.
Baghdad, May 20 : A total of eight Islamic State (IS) militants were killed in two security operations in Iraq's Diyala and Salahudin provinces, security sources said.

Based on intelligence reports, the security forces conducted a security operation on Tuesday in Wadi Thlab area, some 140 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Ali al-Sudani, from the Diyala provincial police, told Xinhua.

The operation resulted in the killing of four IS militants and the destruction of six IS hideouts as well as two motorcycles, al-Sudani said.

In the province of Salahudin, four would-be suicide bombers wearing explosive belts were killed when a police force attacked their position in al-Jazira area the western part of the province, Mohammed al-Bazi from the provincial police told Xinhua.

The operations came as the extremist IS militants intensified their attacks on the security forces, including Hashd Shaabi forces, and civilians in the formerly IS-controlled Sunni provinces since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, resulting in the killing and wounding of dozens.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since Iraqi security forces fully defeated the IS militants across the country late in 2017.

However, IS remnants have since melted in urban areas or deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
The Congress on Tuesday asserted that party members along with the fleet of buses will remain at the Uttar Pradesh border till 4 pm on May 20 to wait for the state government's nod on further movement. "We are at Uttar Pradesh border along with buses since the morning of May 19 and have not received any response from you.

When we tried to move towards Noida and Ghaziabad then Uttar Pradesh Police stopped us at Agra border. We will remain here till 4 pm on May 20," Sandeep Singh, Personal Secretary to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday wrote to Uttar Pradesh ...
PRIMARY and preparatory schools in the Henley area could welcome some pupils back next month as the coronavirus lockdown continues to ease.

Those who spoke to the Henley Standard this week said they were compiling risk assessments and seeking parents views on restarting classes for nursery and reception pupils and those in years 1 and 6.

This is line with Government guidance, which says it should be safe to do so on June 1 as long as protective measures are observed and the rate of new covid-19 infections doesnt start going back up.

Tim Coulson, head teacher at Valley Road Primary School in Henley, said he was surveying parents and would make a decision on reopening soon.

Since the lockdown was introduced on March 23, he and his staff have been teaching children remotely using video messaging apps.

Mr Coulson said: That has been really successful  we did a survey which found the children still felt like part of a school community, which is the most important thing.

We recognise that every family situation is unique and the real question is how we get back together physically, which is tough because Government guidance is changing regularly.

Weve had numerous updates, which is inevitable as there are many issues to be addressed and the most important is socially distancing children. Thats a real challenge for very young ones and we have a lot of them.

We have prepared a comprehensive risk assessment, which covers everything from preparing the building itself to ensuring staff, parents and pupils feel secure.

Our parents were asked how they felt about returning and most wanted to in principle but had concerns about how it would work in practice. We take those concerns very seriously as trust is important and we want to always do the right thing.

Theres no way that any good, professional teacher would not want children to be in school. Our staff have done a brilliant job with remote tools but want to see their pupils and we just need to make sure weve got systems in place to do that safely.

Nick Steele, the head of Peppard Primary School, said he was looking at ways to reopen safely but would respect parents and teachers wishes if they didnt want to come in.

He said: Weve just finished our risk assessment and I will be meeting staff this week to see whether or not they feel its safe to attend. If enough people dont feel its safe, I wont be able to do it.

Ive already spoken to a number of parents who dont feel its the right thing to do. They feel its a risk and are choosing to wait a bit longer.

Its a difficult issue as everyones perception of risk is different. For example, I have to state whether the childrens risk of spreading disease through coughs and sneezes is high. medium or low and thats very subjective.

Given that this is a small village school with about 45 children, its quite conceivable that we might only take 20 back at first. I really dont know whats going to happen.

The independent St Marys School in St Andrews Road, Henley, will reopen on June 1 but with reduced class sizes and restrictions on pupils mixing.

Start and pick-up times will be staggered for different year groups, as will play times, while provision for the children of key workers will continue.

About half of the schools families intend to come back while a third will probably not and the remainder are undecided. More than 90 per cent agreed remote teaching was working well.

A spokeswoman said: We are confident that our online learning continues to meet pupils needs so St. Marys offers a high quality education whether we are back in the classroom or working remotely.

Our parents have been extremely supportive and have said the quality of the online learning is unparalleled.

Our number one aim is to ensure that our staff, parents and pupils have confidence in the procedures and practices we are putting in place to ensure that the phased return is a success and the risk of contracting coronavirus is low.

Rupert House School, another independent in Bell Street, Henley, will also reopen for the four year groups.

Head teacher Clare Lynas said: We will be running three schools simultaneously: the online classes, which have received very positive feedback, plus provision for the returners and the children of key workers. This will be a challenge but Im confident we will rise to it.

We will be implementing all the Governments guidelines and trying to keep our offering as broad and engaging as always while keeping the children safe. The rules are fairly strict on matters such as mixing.

Overall, parents have been positive towards the idea of a return and they are about to receive more information on how this will work.

Oxfordshire County Council, the education authority, says it is in regular contact with the Government on the matter.

A spokesman said: The Government has set out an aim for more children to attend school from 1 June if the conditions are right for them to do so.

It will decide when schools might re-open and has published several sets of guidance for schools, academy trusts, councils, parents and carers.

Like all councils, we will publish details once agreed with central government and based on their instructions and guidelines. The safety of pupils, teachers and residents is our absolute priority.

The Department for Education says it is monitoring the covid-19 infection rate daily and will only allow reopenings if it is safe. It is possible that other primary years could return in June but no decision has been made.

There are no plans to open secondary schools before the summer.

The Governments strategy has been criticised by the National Education Union, which says official guidance isnt detailed enough and the infection rate remains too high.

The British Medical Association initially said schools should remain shut until case numbers were much lower but now says they should reopen as soon as it is safe.
Australian singer-songwriter Sia revealed this week that she adopted two 18-year-old sons last year who were 'ageing out of the foster care system'.

The 44-year-old welcomed the boys into her Los Angeles home that she has spent years filling with rescue dogs, as a passionate advocate for animal adoption.

Despite being one of the world's most reserved stars, almost always covering her face in public to maintain her anonymity, she's one of the most generous too.

Hero: Sia is one of the world's most generous stars, as well as reserved. Here, Daily Mail Australia looks inside her incredible life after adopting two teenage boys. Pictured in 2014

It is believed that Sia, full name Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, lives in her $5.15million US ($7.86million AUD) Toluca Lake compound with her two adopted sons and dogs.

Sia revealed to SiriusXM on Tuesday that she adopted two sons last year.

'They were 18, they're both 19-years-old now. They were ageing out of the foster care system and yeah, I love them,' she told the radio station.

In 2019, Sia tweeted that she hoped to adopt Dasani, a 16-year-old who was featured in HBO documentary Foster, a probing exploration of foster care based on the experiences of children and caregivers living in Los Angeles County.

Luxury: It is believed that Sia, real name Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, lives in her $5.15million US ($7.81million AUD) Toluca Lake compound (pictured) with her two sons and dogs

The Adelaide-born star bought the 1.3 acre gated property in the San Fernando Valley in 2015, and it has plenty of space for her new family.

The Toluca Lake estate boasts a five-bedroom main house and a 4,500 square foot guesthouse that was previously converted into a recording studio.

Property tycoon: She bought a Los Feliz mansion (pictured) for $4.7million US ($7.1million AUD) in 2015, that she sold at a profit of $50,000 US ($76,000 AUD) just four months later

Selling up: Additionally, she sold her Echo Park bungalow (pictured) for $US980,000 ($1.4million AUD) in 2018, with it going for $US131,000 ($199,000 AUD) above the asking price

In recent years, Sia has become quite the property tycoon too.

She bought a Los Feliz mansion for $US4.7million ($7.1million AUD) in 2015, that she sold at a profit of around $US50,000 ($76,000 AUD) just four months later.

Additionally, she sold her Echo Park bungalow for $US980,000 ($1.4million AUD) in 2018, with it going for $US131,000 ($199,000 AUD) above the asking price.

'Adopt, don't shop': Before adopting her two children, Sia welcomed many rescue dogs into her home. She's a passionate advocate of animal adoption and promotes shelters at her shows

Giving back: Sia has an estimated net worth of $25million US ($38million AUD). She has spent years donating millions of dollars to different charities and worthy causes. Pictured in 2016

Before adopting her two children, Sia welcomed many rescue dogs into her home.

She regularly urges fans to 'adopt, don't shop', and even set up local dog adoption fairs before her concerts during her 2016 world tour.

'Introducing my sleeping granddoggy boots!!!! Foster or adopt please!!!!' she tweeted to her 3.8 million followers last week, cuddling one of her dogs.

Sia has an estimated net worth of $25million ($38million AUD).



'I can afford to give you $500k today': Last month alone she pledged $1million to CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) amid the COVID-19 pandemic

'They were 18, they're both 19-years-old now': Sia revealed to SiriusXM on Tuesday that she adopted two sons last year as they were 'ageing out of the foster care system'

She's spent years donating to charity, pledging $1million to CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) last month alone amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'Hey @CoreResponse and @SeanPenn I pledge to donate one million dollars to you in two payments. I can afford to give you $500k today and $500k in the new financial year. Thank you for your service,' she tweeted.

Away from this, Sia has previously donated to the Australian bushfire relief fund, LGBTQ charities, animal rescue organisations and many more.

Each year she also supports the contestants on American Survivor, her favourite reality show, by donating up to $100,000 to the winner's chosen charity.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Applebees is welcoming back customers to its dining rooms at all of its Northeast Ohio restaurants starting Thursday. But diners should expect a few changes.

The restaurant, one of the largest casual dining chains in the region, is implementing state-mandated safety measures such as employees wearing masks, reconfigured layouts for social distancing and readily available hand sanitizer. But Apple American Group, the franchisee that operates the areas 20-plus Applebees, is going above and beyond those precautions.

In most restaurants there will be an external greeter (weather permitting) to welcome guests, open the door and manage flow into the restaurants, says Terry Culler, the franchise groups marketing coordinator, in an email. We are propping open our inside front door so guests dont have to use the door handle. Once inside the host will seat guests, maintaining a 6-foot distance at all times.

In addition, no staff members will ever touch with their bare hands any guest-facing items such as credit cards, pens, silverware or glassware. Customers will be given disposable single-use menus to order from, or they can access one using a tabletop device, which will be disinfected after each use. The device can also be used to pay the bill.

The reopening of dining rooms Thursday comes after patio dining resumed last weekend. On Monday, after reports of crowded patios in Cleveland and Columbus, Gov. Mike DeWine said the state will use "all the resources at our disposal to enforce social distancing at bars and restaurants.

Applebees customers still wary about restaurant dining can continue to order takeout or carside service.
Dallas Hammer's persistence and passion for defending cybersecurity whistleblowers has paved the way for him to be an expert in the field. His success comes from his ability to advocate for people from all walks of life to help them obtain justice through litigation against the corporations and governmental entities by which they have been wronged. He shares his expertise through frequent articles about whistleblower protections and has been featured in numerous publications.

TYSONS, VA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / The attorney's office looks the way one would expect: a filing cabinet next to a large desk in the foreground; bookshelves filled with thick volumes in the background. Dallas Hammer pauses as he shares an anecdote from his work protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. We are, however, speaking remotely. Hammer pauses to point out how the worldwide pandemic has in some ways accelerated the development of his life's work.

Hammer became a whistleblower attorney in large part due to his father. While serving in the military, his father blew the whistle on misconduct. The retaliation that followed eventually ended his father's career. Witnessing that injustice firsthand developed Hammer's passion for helping people early in his career.

Since then, Hammer's law practice has grown to include an ever-increasing percentage of cybersecurity cases. He says this evolution is reflective of the country as a whole. Cybersecurity started out on the fringe, at a time, decades ago when companies were focused on amassing data rather than securing it. However, as the digital age has matured, the need for cybersecurity has become clear.

So it has gone with Hammer's practice. Because of his personal interest in technology, many years ago, he first began representing information security professionals who suffered retaliation for reporting cybersecurity issues. At the time, precious little legal authority spoke to what protections these workers had. Now, however, Hammer's work consistently includes fighting for cybersecurity whistleblowers who find themselves on the frontlines in a nation that is finally confronting the crucial need for pervasive, effective information security. While that need has generally been accepted, the reality of what it requires is not always popular.

Recognizing the importance of ensuring that information security professionals are incentivized to report rather than conceal cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Hammer began researching anti-retaliation provisions that could protect information security workers. He also set out to educate cybersecurity professionals about their rights.

Hammer has written numerous articles on cybersecurity whistleblowers, like The Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing and Effective Cybersecurity and Data Protection Legislation Should Protect Whistleblowers. He is routinely quoted in articles on the subject, such as the Wall Street Journal's Cybersecurity Whistleblowers Are Growing Corporate Challenge and Corporate Crime Reporter's interview, Dallas Hammer on the Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing.

When representing clients, Hammer views his work in terms of the results he achieves for his clients. "It is a concept Edward Bennett Williams called 'contest living,'" Hammer said. "Williams' work had a big impact on me, and to him winning was the only measure of success. When it comes to representing your clients, there is no participation trophy. The only question that matters is whether your work puts your client in a better place."

To that end, Hammer can count many successes. He has obtained multiple seven-figure settlements for Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblowers, full relief for federal whistleblowers (including one who was subjected to retaliation as the result of cybercrime), and a host of positive resolutions for vulnerable and low-income clients. These victories have been on behalf of all types of workers, from executives to entry-level earners, a fact that Hammer takes pride in.

"Your clients have put their lives in your hands, put so much trust in you," Hammer said. "Seeing the impact of making that one client's life better, resolving a very negative experience for them - that feeling is hard to describe. It doesn't matter what they do; everyone deserves dignity, and coming through for them when it counts, coming out on top after that struggle, that's all that matters."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hammer says that he cannot choose a favorite case. Though he measures success one client and one case at a time, his goal is to have a broader positive impact.

"I can't pick just one," he recounts. "I have a tremendous amount of respect, and society owes a debt of gratitude, for people who have the courage to speak up, to do what we are always taught to do, which is to tell the truth and stand up for what's right. To paraphrase Robert Kennedy, they are all ripples of hope that collectively confront injustice."

Hammer's experience is not limited to cybersecurity issues. With his broad experience in litigating whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, and employment-related disputes, he leads Zuckerman Law's cybersecurity whistleblower practice and Virginia employment practice. However, improving the situation for cybersecurity whistleblowers is certainly a priority.

In particular, Hammer would like to see Congress pass a federal statute that protects cybersecurity and data privacy whistleblowers. "Most often I can find protection for my clients under existing law, but no federal statute deals directly with information security whistleblowers," Hammer said. "These workers are reporting and trying to correct very serious issues, some of which should keep you up at night. It is bitter when the gaps in the law mean that wrongdoers can silence a cybersecurity whistleblower with no repercussions."

Hammer said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in the use of technology to facilitate remote workplaces, which has only emphasized the need for effective cybersecurity. But that need pre-existed the virus, and it will remain after employees return to the workplace.

"Cybersecurity and data privacy are integral facets of our everyday lives now," he said. "That's not new at this point, and it's not going to change. However, if the pandemic puts a spotlight on that and helps Congress see the urgent need for federal regulation, then that's a small silver lining."

Though Hammer predicts federal legislation could still be years away and that retaliation against cybersecurity whistleblowers will remain prevalent for the foreseeable future, he remains hopeful. He points to the proliferation of state data privacy laws, as well as sudden and substantial shifts in favor of protecting workers, such as a host of new employee protections recently enacted in Virginia.

"The key is persistence. You have to be willing to stay, show up every day, and bring the fight one case at a time. You enjoy the victories as they come, and you hope that work will eventually accumulate and have a positive impact. I've been fortunate enough to see that happen, and it is what keeps me passionate and excited about what will come next out of all this."

Dallas has had numerous articles published and featured in legal publications, including:

SOX Whistleblower Protections Are Not Obsolete - Law360 (September 2015)

5 Years of Dodd-Frank Taking Stock - Law360 (July 2015)

Sixth Circuit Hands A Landmark Victory to SOX Whistleblowers Law360 (June 2015)

A Year for Whistleblower Rewards and Protections - Law360 (December 2014).

For more information, please visit:

https://www.zuckermanlaw.com/attorneys-profile/dallas-hammer/

Contact:

Dallas Hammer

Send Email

SOURCE: Zuckerman Law

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/586987/Dallas-Hammer-Acknowledged-For-His-Dedication-To-Helping-All-Walks-Of-Life-Through-Litigating-Cybersecurity-Whistleblower-Retaliation-Discrimination-And-Employment-related-Claims
Facing declines in future revenue, University of Texas leaders on Tuesday said several units will likely furlough or permanently lay off staff members.

In a letter to the community, UT President Gregory L. Fenves and incoming Interim President Jay Hartzell said the cost of shifting classes online, coupled with declining revenue and uncertainty about the next academic year, have significantly altered UT's immediate financial outlook. As a result, some revenue-generating units, such as the Performing Arts Center and the AT&T Conference Center, will develop new financial plans that will likely include furloughs or permanent reductions in staff members.

COVID CONGREGATION: Houston church recloses after leaders, congregants get COVID-19

According to Fenves and Hartzell, the units facing cuts draw their revenue primarily from providing services to paying internal or external customers. It is unclear which specific units and employees will be affected, but the cuts will not affect academic units, a spokesman said.

"These are very difficult steps for everyone affected, and we understand your concern as you wait for specific information about your units, but they are necessary given the impact of COVID-19 and the university's financial situation," the letter to faculty said.

The university will closely monitor revenue sources in the coming months, and will probably have to make "other difficult employment decisions," to mitigate budget shortfalls that may arise, the UT officials said.

Like many schools around the country, the costs of handling the pandemic have been significant for UT. Refunds on students services, such as parking, housing and dining, cost the university about $26 million, officials reported last month.

The university has already taken steps to mitigate the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In April, UT canceled merit-based raises and limited new hires and large expenditures to only essential needs.

UT is not the first college to face layoffs because of the coronavirus. Last week, St. Edward's University laid off 10% of its employees, including several non-tenure and tenured faculty members.

FAILURE TO DISTANCE: Harris County, Texas receive "F" grade in social distancing scoreboard

On Tuesday, officials said UT would also suspend emergency leave starting May 31. During the past two months, emergency leave has been extended because of the pandemic to benefit many staffers, but UT "cannot extend this leave indefinitely without having a significant financial impact," Fenves and Hartzell wrote.

"The University of Texas has been through hard times before, and we've always come through them with a strengthened sense of purpose and a dedication to our world-changing mission," Fenves and Hartzell said. "We have no doubt that this will be the case with COVID-19, and we thank you for your understanding and commitment."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

Trend:

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov had a telephone conversation with his Spanish counterpart, Ms. Arancha Gonzalez Laya on May 20, 2020, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.

The Spanish foreign minister stressed the importance of joint efforts and solidarity in the fight against the global pandemic and thanked Azerbaijan for the message of solidarity with the video projection of the Spanish flag on the building of the Heydar Aliyev Center.

Arancha Gonzalez Laya also thanked her Azerbaijani counterpart for his letter expressing support for the joint fight against the global health crisis.

The ministers noted the development of political relations on a high level between the two countries. The sides emphasized the cooperation of the two countries within the UN in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, including the principles of respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of states, inviolability of borders as enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act.

They noted the importance of signing a declaration on strategic partnership between the two countries in the near future and high-level visits in this regard. The sides also discussed the issues of strengthening the treaty and legal basis between the countries.

The ministers exchanged views on strengthening economic and energy cooperation, as well as expanding cultural ties between the two countries.

The sides also extended their invitations for reciprocal visits after the pandemic.
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f0485faf980)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048602f738)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f0485faf980)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048602f738)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f0486000ef0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048602f738)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f048602f738)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f0485adc650)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f0486021a28)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f0486021a28)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
Third Point Re reported a net loss of $183.6 million for the first quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19-related investment volatility  but the company still had big reasons to celebrate. For the first time since its inception in October 2011, it made an underwriting profit.

This first quarter  was a landmark for us in that its the first quarter in our 33 quarters as a company that weve reported a sub-100 combined ratio [at 97%]. Its really the result of a lot of hard work over the last two years to reposition the company to a specialty reinsurer, said CEO Dan Malloy in an interview.

For our first six years we were a hedge fund reinsurer, willing to run a higher combined ratio in order to get sticky assets, he said.

Third Point Re used to have a large portfolio of Florida homeowners business. However, the assignment of benefits (AOB) phenomenon has torn through that market and is beginning to threaten the solvency of insurers, said CEO Dan Malloy.

Malloy explained that Third Point Re previously had a strategy to write a lot of long-tail business, aiming to make money on the investment side, absorbing underwriting losses, and regularly reporting combined ratios of 105%. (Combined ratios below 100% indicate an underwriting profit).

It wasnt like we were writing 105 because we were unlucky. We were writing 105 and expecting 105 because we didnt write property cat, Malloy confirmed.

However, two years ago, Third Point Re got the message loud and clear from its ratings agency, AM Best, that it needed to start making an underwriting profit and carry combined ratios below 100%.

Thats when the company began its transformation into a specialty reinsurer, opening the door to new lines of business, pulling out of other lines and hiring a team of seasoned underwriters.

Third Point Res first quarter loss was driven primarily by a negative 7.3% investment return on market volatility during the COVID-19 crisis. During the month of April, however, the reinsurer gained back around 40% of that loss as equity markets rebounded.

Malloy described some the steps that he and his team have taken to bring about the turnaround and make underwriting a positive contributor to our overall results.

Florida Homeowners

Third Point Re used to have a large portfolio of Florida homeowners business. However, Malloy said the assignment of benefits (AOB) phenomenon has torn through that market and is beginning to threaten the solvency of insurers.

(AOB is a document signed by a policyholder that allows a third party, such as a water extraction company, a roofer or a plumber, to stand in the shoes of the insured and seek direct payment from an insurer. After Florida hurricanes, some contractors have used AOB to file inflated claims and then pursue lawsuits against insurers when claims are disputed or denied.)

Third Point Re saw the problems looming with AOB before a lot of others in the market, because we were writing only quota share. Many catastrophe writers probably didnt know there was a problem until they had a cat loss, Malloy affirmed.

As a result, we decided to cut our [Florida homeowners] portfolio back dramatically from seven accounts to two accounts over the last few years. The remaining accounts were kept because Third Point Re was able to make improvements to terms and conditions.

He cited the example of one former client who was counting on AOB legislation in Florida to knock off 10 points from its combined ratio.

But we were not willing to take the gamble that the legislation was going to bite the way people hoped it would, Malloy emphasized.

I personally wont believe the loss ratios in Florida will get to where they were historically [at 30%], until you see a caravan of Mercedes leaving the state, filled with all the plaintiff attorneys going somewhere else to make money, he said with a laugh.

Hey, I cant keep losing money, you know? I cant count on being lucky.

Non-Standard Auto

In its early years, Third Point Re was fairly active in the non-standard auto sector, which was considered profitable but highly volatile.

We found it actually was not that volatile, but it was consistently unprofitable.

Traditional companies looking for volume, which are willing to settle for 5% margins, will snap up non-standard auto, but will ultimately end up losing five points, he said.

So once again, Malloy and his team pared non-standard auto clients from nine to three. Its smaller, but instead of losing money, we make money, so that was another transformation.

The three remaining non-standard auto clients are all insurance companies, with their own claims departments with management who get bonuses if they make money, while the loss-making accounts were managing general agents who were paid on volume, rather than on profits.

The bigger the clients retention, the better we do as a reinsurer, he emphasized..

The companys re-underwriting efforts are showing up in its results, leading to a reduction in gross premiums written (GPW). During the first quarter, Third Point Re reported GPW of $204.1 million, a 36.1% drop from the $319.6 million reported in Q1 2019.

The decrease GPW was primarily due to certain contracts that were not renewed, including one multi-line contract for $103.2 million, which no longer fits its underwriting criteria.

During the interview, Malloy said this contract was a perfect fit for the company when it was a hedge fund reinsurer, but not as a specialty reinsurer seeking underwriting profits.

He explained that this was a retrocessional contract that would have booked a 105% combined ratio. Under its old strategy, Third Point Re would have paid out about $100 million, aiming to make 5%-8% on that money, earning a profit of $20 million to $30 million.

While that is business still probably makes economic sense for Third Point Re, we made the commitment to our regulators, to our rating agency and to our clients that we are not in the business of booking 105 anymore.

These decreases in premiums were partially offset by new contracts bound in the current year period, including new property catastrophe and specialty contracts in line with our changing underwriting strategy, said the company in its Q1 results statement.

New Areas for Premium Growth

Malloy discussed some of the areas where the company is growing its premium.

Weve said no to commercial auto for years because we couldnt find the right partners to align ourselves with. However, that market is changing, because a lot of re/insurers have lost money and have been forced to be more disciplined.

With improvements in ratings and terms and conditions, weve put our toe in that water just as other people are leaving, he affirmed.

Malloy said the company is also looking at excess casualty and professional liability, because theres been a lot of blood in the water in that area. Big companies, such as AIG, Zurich Insurance, Lloyds, Liberty Mutual, are cutting back limits and raising prices because they havent been charging enough for a decade.

So, were watching that space with a lot of interest and now have a small involvement in that.

In addition, Third Point Re has supported and made investments in some specialty MGAs, including one that has set up a captive and ultimately aims to form an insurance company. They have been putting capital into it and they take 10 to 15% of every risk that they write, said Malloy.

If they dont do it right, theyre going to lose money, both as an MGA and as risk takers, This is somebody who has previously gone down the MGA route, set up an insurance company, gotten it rated, sold it, and is doing it again. So, I trust them. But, in the words of Ronald Reagan: Trust but verify.'

Theyre aiming to get three years track record under their belts before they attempt to get more investors and seek an AM Best rating.

Theyre going to bring it onshore and form their own insurance company, so they dont have to rely on other people, Malloy said. Its a multiyear process, and were going to be working with them to create their own specialty insurance company rather than being an MGA relying on other peoples capital.

Another chunk of new business is coming from an agency that specialized in coastal homeowners business. Previously, the agency had a binding authority from Lloyds but recently lost capacity as part of the markets retrenchment.

When that happened, the owner of the business said, Never again,' said Malloy.

Third Point assisted in the setup of a rated insurance company with a small investment alongside the owner. In addition, Third Point Re backs the insurer as a reinsurer and has a seat on the companys board. We have monthly calls where we hear how the new company is progressing. The owner is proud of progress to date and he certainly is putting his money where his mouth is.

Malloy noted that about 10% of Third Point Res volume this year will come from these very strategic relationships being developed with companies that also are putting up their own money.

Just reinsuring someone who gets paid on volume doesnt work. But if theyll accept terms and conditions, which makes them a risk-taker, and they are willing to write a check to take risk, were happy to support them in a market thats improving.

Malloy said he could cite a hundred examples where people with binding authorities walk through the door, make promises and then back out at the last minute because theyve gotten a better offer  one where they didnt have to take risk.

COVID-19 Exposure

Malloy said Third Point Re is relatively insulated from COVID-19-related exposures due to its conservative underwriting position and the measured way that weve moved into new lines of business.

For instance, when we went into the property cat business, we decided to not write risk excesses and quota shares because theyre more difficult to model, he affirmed. We particularly look to avoid portfolios that are very heavily commercial.

As a result, Third Point Re doesnt expect much of a COVID-19 loss coming out of its property portfolio, which is certainly an area where a lot of other people are very focused on.

He didnt admit to being prescient about COVID-19, but business interruption is part of commercial policies and those have been historically proven to be hard to model from a cat perspective.

Malloy cited the example of Super Storm Sandy where the models were wildly off because nobody anticipated buildings in lower Manhattan would flood.

For the three months ended March 31, 2020, Third Point Re recognized net losses of $9.5 million, or 6.5 percentage points on the combined ratio, relating to COVID-19. These losses were driven primarily by contingency exposures (a.k.a., event cancellation) as well as certain casualty and multi-line quota-share contracts.

The Talent

Malloy attributes much of the companys successful transition to its talented team.

Over the last several years, to facilitate the companys transformation, Third Point Re has hired group of experienced underwriters including, David Govrin from Berkshire Hathaway; David Drury from Chubb; Tracey Gibbons from Allied World Reinsurance and David Sinclair from TransRe.

Ive been asked many times: Why are they coming to a little company like yours?'

What is Malloys answer?

Well, you can either let the institution define you, or you can help shape the institution. When David Govrin joined us, he said, I cant call up Warren Buffett and tell him to do things differently.'

But Govrin is now a partner at Third Point Re and he and the rest of the team are making a big difference, said Malloy. I dont have to sit there and harangue them to do what they need to do. They get it, and their compensation is tied to that.

This article first was published in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Related:

Topics Carriers COVID-19 Auto Florida Profit Loss Excess Surplus Underwriting Reinsurance Insurance Wholesale Homeowners
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:

Tajikistan has sent humanitarian aid to Uzbekistan in the form of construction materials, on May 20, 2020, Trend reports citing Asia Plus news agency.

The aid consists of cement, slate, paints, nails and other necessary materials, which were sent via 51 freight trains.

Humanitarian aid is aimed at eliminating the consequences of the partial destruction of the Sardobin water reservoir in Syrdarya region of Uzbekistan.

Assistance was provided by representatives of the Government of Tajikistan, Sughd Province and the unitary enterprise Material Resources of Sughd Province.

Previously Uzbekistan also supported Tajikistan and sent a mobile clinic there to help treat the COVID-10 patients.

On May 1, 2020, heavy rains caused a Sardoba dam wall nearby the districts to collapse partially, flooding a large land area. As a result of the emergency accident, 2,570 individual and 76 apartment buildings in Sardoba, Akalty and Mirzaobod districts were destroyed.

Furthermore, 1,781 individual houses and 52 multi-storey houses were partially flooded. Approximately 70 social, production and service facilities, about 20,000 hectares of agricultural land, 828 kilometers of roads, electricity, gas and water supply networks, and communication lines were damaged.

About 90,000 residents of Sardoba, Akalty and Mirzaobod districts were evacuated to safe areas.

---

Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini
Beijing:

German automaker BMW will recall over 156,000 cars in China over defects in their child seats, the country's quality watchdog said today.

Starting from September 1, the recall will involve more than 134,000 X3 models which were produced between November, 2010 and April, 2016 and over 22,000 X4 models produced between March, 2014 and April, 2016, a statement by the General Administration and Quality Supervision, Inspection and

Quarantine, said.

Welding problems were found in the lower anchors of the child seats which may prevent the seats from being secured properly and raise the possibility of passenger injuries during accidents, the administration said.

BMW China Automotive Trading Co Ltd will repair the anchors of the recalled cars for free, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
[May 20, 2020] Contact Tracing, Outreach to High Risk Populations Gives Medica Employees the Opportunity to Demonstrate Their Community Commitments

Medica employees are helping to reduce the impact of COVID-19 by working with the Minnesota Department of Health as COVID-19 contact tracers. Contact tracers work with individuals who have tested positive for the virus to identify their contacts who may now be at risk. It is part of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's strategy to limit exponential growth of the disease while safely reopening parts of the economy. Medica employees participating in the effort attend an online training program and work as contract tracers three days a week during their regular working hours. An average call takes about 45 minutes. Medica will support the program for three weeks starting May 26. "As the number of cases continue to grow, it's important that the response to the coronavirus involves a community-wide effort," said Medica Medical Director Dr. John Piatkowski. "I am proud of our team for recognizing the unique role they can play in helping our fellow Minnesotans curb the spread, and begin a return to normal lives and economic stability." In adition to contact tracing, Medica employees also launched a coronavirus high-risk outreach program to help manage the physical and emotional wellbeing for its members. Under the program, Medica's analytic teams developed a risk model to identify members at highest risk for experiencing complications related to COVID-19.



Medica team members contact the identified members to provide them with resources and information to keep them as healthy as possible to avoid complications. Those outcomes will also help save health care dollars by identifying health needs that may have gone unmet. "We have found the high risk outreach program is filling a very important role," Piatkowski said. "Not only are we providing our members with information and resources, we also help meet their emotional needs. In some cases, Medica employees have been their only human contact since self-isolation began."

About Medica Medica (www.medica.com) is a non-profit health plan headquartered in Minnesota. The company serves communities in the heart of America by providing health care coverage and related services in the employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. It operates in Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Medica's vision is to be trusted in the community for our unwavering commitment to high quality, affordable health care. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005756/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Ruby Rose is leaving The CW network's "Batwoman" series after just one season.

The shock announcement comes just days after the show wrapped its first season. It was renewed for season two in January this year.

In a statement, obtained by Collider, the 34-year-old actor said the decision to exit the series was a "difficult" one.

"This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles," Rose said.

The actor, however, chose not to reveal the reasons behind her exit.

She expressed her gratitude to producers Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for "this incredible opportunity."



Rose was cast as the titular DC superhero in 2018 and she made her debut The CW's annual DC crossover event of its shows --"The Flash","Arrow","Legends of Tomorrow"and"Supergirl" -- later that year.

The CW, Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions thanked the Australian actor for "her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best".

"The studio and network are firmly committed to'Batwoman's' second season and long-term future, and we -- along with the show's talented creative team -- look forward to sharing its new direction, including the casting of a new lead actress and member of the LGBTQ community, in the coming months," they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They see themselves as public health detectives, working 24/7 to track the coronavirus' insidious spread through a country of 83 million, blending door-to-door hoof work with mobile apps, CCTV footage and, if needed, police backup.

Instead of global coronavirus testing, Turkey has based its pandemic response on partial lockdowns and work by armies of contact tracers, who identify people possibly infected by a COVID-19 patient and seek to stamp out the fire before it consumes a neighbourhood, town or region.

Officials from both the Turkish government and the local World Health Organisation say the tactic has paid off.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says it's brought the pandemic under control, with virus deaths and confirmed infections falling.

The health ministry has recorded 151,615 confirmed cases which places Turkey in the global top 10 for infections according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University and 4,199 deaths.

We brought the sickness' spread under control by monitoring the source, Koca said.

A tracer's job is to find out who an infected person has come in close and unprotected contact with for more than 15 minutes.

Once identified, these people are instructed to self-quarantine and are tracked by a mobile phone application. If they develop coronavirus symptoms, they are tested.

Turkey takes quarantines seriously breaches can be punished by fines up to $162 and a maximum 1-year prison term.

When Istanbul resident Betul Sahbaz, 47, started showing symptoms after her flatmate tested positive for COVID-19, she called a health care line.

I was scared, and panicked, she told The Associated Press.

"Sure we hear about it, but it's different when you experience it.

Enter two tracers, in white protective gear, masks and face shields, who came to her home. They took a nose swab and sent it to a lab for testing, which takes 24 to 48 hours.

We are taking samples from patients in the comfort of their own homes and ... preventing them from going outside and spreading the infection, said Dr. Melek Nur Aslan, the local health director for the Fatih municipality in Istanbul, Turkey's most populous city and the epicenter of its pandemic.

Fatih, which includes historic Constantinople, draws migrants from both Turkey and other parts of the world as well as tourists.

Thanks to our detective work, we have prevented our cases from having contact with others and helped lessen the strains on hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units, she said.

At least 6,239 tracers have reached 722,000 people who had contact with an infected person since March 10, Koca said.

Some 1,200 of them work in Istanbul, a city of 15.5 million people that lies at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

All the tracers are members of the country's medical community, including doctors, nurses and dentists, and many have received additional training on proper sample collection.

Aslan said Turkey already had contact tracing experience before the pandemic and a small number of units to deal with potential measles outbreaks.

Public health expert Kayihan Pala from Bursa Uludag University's Medical School commended the hard work and selflessness of Turkey's contact tracers, but criticized the health ministry for putting together the teams haphazardly and without what he called adequate training.

He also pointed to structural changes in Turkey's health care system that could have weakened the initial response to the pandemic.

We could have responded earlier and stronger to fight the pandemic, Pala said.

The interim chief for WHO's Turkish office, Irshad Ali Shaikh, said the country's downward trajectory in reported confirmed cases shows whatever interventions (were made) seem to have worked in favor, absolutely.

Shaikh said the global goal is to test on average five close contacts of confirmed cases, and the government said in April that its tracers were reaching on average 4.5 contacts of an infected person.

So if they are 4.5 out of 5, they are really very good in terms of global benchmarks, he said.

Turkey has opted for a partial lockdown to keep its economy running, having workers still go to their jobs as much as possible but ordering stay-at-home lockdowns for people under 20 and above 65.

Senior citizens, an age group that is most vulnerable to the coronavirus, on Sunday got to go outdoors for only the second time amid the lockdown.

Other adults have had to follow two- to four-day lockdowns imposed in 31 provinces.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a nationwide lockdown for four days during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, voicing hopes that this will be the last stay-at-home restrictions.

But the independent Turkish Medical Association says it's too soon to say if the pandemic's spread has been curbed in Turkey.

The group has called for widespread coronavirus testing, including of people who have yet to show symptoms but were identified through contact tracing.

Some 1.67 million people have been tested for the disease so far in Turkey.

Aslan said while police sometimes accompany her teams on their home visits if they feel threatened, overall the Turkish public has been compliant, grateful and welcoming to their efforts to stamp out the global menace. She said the teams have been very careful in their operations.

Of course, we are anxious like others, and the worry is about possibly infecting our families, she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China on Wednesday credited its socialist political system for quickly bringing the coronavirus outbreak under control, ahead of its annual Parliament session from Thursday.

China, which came under pressure at the just-concluded World Health Assembly (WHA) session for a probe into the origins of the coronavirus, welcomed the unanimous resolution passed by the world body, calling for an independent comprehensive evaluation of the international response to the COVID-virus.

China claimed the majority of the countries believe the focus should be on the containment of the pandemic, rather than investigating the origin of the virus.

During a media interaction, Spokesperson of advisory body Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Guo Weimin said China brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control in a short period.

China's annual Parliament, comprising the CPPCC and the National People's Congress (NPC), was put off in March this year due to the virus outbreak. A truncated programme will held from Thursday for a week.

During the session, over 6,000 deputies would attend the sessions.

The NPC, often described as the rubber stamp Parliament with over 3,000 members, would pass a host of new legislations, including approval of Premier Li Keqiang's annual work report and the annual defence budget.

The meetings are being held under unprecedented restrictions with media personnel needed to undergo COVID-19 tests, wait for six hours for results after which they would be permitted to cover the proceedings from a press room through a video link.

Guo said by curbing the coronavirus in a short time China has effectively safeguarded people's lives and health, made solid progress in resuming work and production, and accelerated the restoration of normal social life and production.

Such achievements have showcased the country's institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics and demonstrated the excellent qualities of perseverance and solidarity of the Chinese nation, Guo said.

Referring to US President Donald Trump's criticism of Chinese politicians, he said the US and other countries will not succeed in blaming and smearing China over the COVID-19.

Separately, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian welcomed the WHA's COVID-19 resolution, which was adopted by more than 130 countries, including the European Union, India and Russia.

Concerning the source of the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has restricted the scope of traceability research to finding animal sources, intermediate hosts and routes of transmission for better response to future outbreaks, Zhao said.

Beijing appeared to be at ease with the resolution as it makes no reference to the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology, which Trump has alleged could be a possible origin of the coronavirus.

Zhao said the resolution is in line with China's position to strengthen cooperation in the areas of research on diagnosis and treatment methods, drugs and vaccines, and the zoonotic source of the virus to assess the epidemic situation based on facts.

He said Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whom Trump termed as "puppet of China", will conduct a global outbreak assessment in consultation with member states, draw on the experience and make recommendations for future work, and conduct an independent and comprehensive assessment of the outbreak. A few countries cannot monopolise the assessment, he said.

China will resolutely reject individual countries' attempts to politicise the virus-origin, Zhao said.

China urged individual countries not to fabricate lies to make excuses for their own failures amid the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amber Portwood is attempting to move on from the abuse she says she has previously suffered from her late father and find a new path forward with her boyfriend, Dimitri.

The MTV star, 30, opened up about her alcoholic father, Shawn Sr., on Tuesday's episode of Teen Mom OG in which her Belgian boyfriend accompanied her to a therapy session.

Portwood told her psychiatrist, Dr. Stachler, she had asked Dimitri to take a lie detector test after news of their relationship leaked online. The mom of two admitted she was scared after Dimitri passed the test, having confirmed he was not using her for personal gain.

"At the time, ecstatic and when I got home I started crying and I was really scared because now that means moving to the next step of the relationship," Portwood said, explaining, "I didn't really grow up around a lot of love."

Portwood said it had been "pretty hard" for her to live a healthy life "when all you knew until the age of 14 was, 'You're a bitch,' 'You're this,' 'You're that.' It messes with your head a little."

RELATED: Teen Mom's Amber Portwood Has Belgian Boyfriend Take Lie Detector Test After Relationship Leaked

Stachler told Portwood, "I think growing up with an alcoholic father has a lot to do with your adult relationships."

"It has everything to do with it, honestly," she said of her dad, who died in December 2014. "At the end, with my father, I loved him to death, but in the beginning, I prayed for his death."

Earlier in the episode, Portwood revealed she had explained to Dimitri what her mental health struggles were, telling a producer, "We were sitting together and just to be curious I went to a website and I translated what bipolar disorder type 2 was, and what borderline was and anxiety and PTSD and s like that."

"He looked at me and said, Now I understand more. He got it a little bit more," she said. "I said to him, Just, sometimes, you have to be gentle with me, and I said, You know, its not just you that has to be that way, I have to be gentle with you too.' "

Story continues

Portwood also told Dimitri she wanted to be able to work through her past traumas to avoid placing the burden on him.

RELATED VIDEO: Teen Mom OG's Amber Portwood Says She's 'Heartbroken' Nearly a Month After Arrest

Teen Mom OG's Amber Portwood Says She's 'Heartbroken' Nearly a Month After Arrest

Portwood was arrested and charged with domestic battery on July 5

"I feel, personally, in the way that we are together compared to my exes, its completely different," she told Dimitri. "I get the respect back from you as well. Now I know the loyalty that you have for me and the honesty you have for me. It's just a huge relief for me."

"But now its time for me to get my s together," she said. "I just want to make sure Im able to fall in love with you without putting all of these past issues on you. I just dont think thats fair to you. I know I can fall in love with you 100 percent with no questions. I know that we can be super happy, its just I'm scared."

Dimitri asked, "Scared for what?"

RELATED: Amber Portwood Introduces Daughter to Her New Boyfriend from Belgium During Family Dinner

"I'm scared I'm going to get hurt," she told him.

Portwood is a mom to two kids: 1-year-old son James with ex-boyfriend Andrew Glennon and 11-year-old daughter Leah with ex-boyfriend Gary Shirley.

She first revealed she was dating again following her split from Glennon on an episode of Teen Mom OG, telling producers shed met the Belgian online.

Shortly after, Dimitri flew to Idaho to spend three months with Portwood, who was accompanied to the airport by Shirley.

Speaking to PEOPLE in late March, Portwood said she and Dimitri are "still talking."

"He's in Belgium. The coronavirus is obviously a big reason [we can't see each other], and that's okay because a lot of couples at the moment who are still in the same state have to do this," she acknowledged.

Teen Mom OG airs Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on MTV.
A councillor in Melbourne's north-west has been accused of rorting his travel expenses and making misogynistic and inappropriate comments in leaked text messages, including wanting to "bottle" the mayor.

Hume councillor Naim Kurt also allegedly claimed in text messages that he "full-on bashed" deputy mayor Karen Sherry at a meeting last year, tolerated homosexuals as long as they "don't flaunt it in front of my face" and disparaged relationships between Indians and white Australians.

Hume councillor Naim Kurt and Mayor Carly Moore. Cr Kurt is taking a leave of absence from his council duties.

Hume City chief executive Domenic Isola confirmed the council had received an allegation of misconduct and was taking the matter seriously.

Cr Kurt, who is aligned with the ALP, told The Age that the matter related to his travel allowance, but insisted the matter was being "rectified". He conceded he had lost his licence last year, but claimed he had been driven to council meetings by friends and family.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20+ will not offer the 100x Space Zoom feature. That feature was included in the Galaxy S20 Ultra, as most of you know, but wont be included in the Note series.

This information comes from a well-known tipster, Ice Universe. This does not have to mean that a periscope sensor will be scrapped altogether, though, Samsung may keep it.

The Galaxy Note 20 series wont include 100x Space Zoom from the S20 Ultra

The company obviously isnt happy with the reception of the 100x Space Zoom feature, or with its performance, which is why its opting not to include it in the Galaxy Note 20 series.

Advertisement

Ice Universe also mentioned that the Galaxy Note 20+ will use a 108-megapixel HM1 sensor from the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Samsung is planning to add a new sensor to assist in focusing and completely solve the focusing problem.

The Galaxy Note 20 series of devices is expected to arrive in August. Samsung is allegedly planning to announce two phones as part of that series, the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20+.

The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra was also rumored a while back, but the latest information claims that the phone will not launch. Samsung will stick to two Galaxy Note devices this year, it seems.

Advertisement

Those two devices are expected to arrive alongside the Galaxy Fold 2. That will become the companys third foldable smartphone, and a direct successor to the Galaxy Fold which launched last year.

All three of those devices are expected to include an S Pen stylus. Chances are well get the very same stylus on all three phones, and the same set of software features along with it.

The Galaxy Note 20 series has been leaking for quite some time now. We havent really seen a legit leak of the design of the two phones, though. Chances are they will look like a hybrid between the Galaxy Note 10 and S20 series of devices.

Advertisement

Both Galaxy Note 20 devices will include a display camera hole

Both smartphones are expected to sport a display camera hole, and that hole will probably be centered. They will probably include slightly curved displays, similar to the Galaxy S20+.

The Snapdragon 865 will fuel the two devices in the US and China, while the Exynos 990 will probably do it in Europe and India. Were expecting Samsung to include plenty of RAM in both phones, one rumor even suggested 16GB will be included.

The Galaxy Note 20 is said to sport a fullHD+ 60Hz LTPS display. The Galaxy Note 20+, on the other hand, will include a much more advanced QHD+ 120Hz LTPO display.
Will solve own problems, wont allow external interference says Nepals foreign minister

No Beijing, only Delhi says former Nepal PM on ties with India

Border row with India worsens as Nepal approves new map with Lipulekh

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: Nepal's cabinet has endorsed a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory, amid a border dispute with India.

The move announced by foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali came weeks after he said that efforts were on to resolve the border issue with India through diplomatic initiatives.

Nepal's ruling Nepal Communist Party lawmakers have also tabled a special resolution in Parliament demanding the return of Nepal's territory in Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh.

Fake: Image of lady on bi-cycle being passed of as Indian migrant is from Nepal

The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory - India as part of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.

Gyawali said that the official map of Nepal will soon be made public by the Ministry of Land Management.

"Decision of the Council of Ministers to publish the map of Nepal in 7 provinces, 77 districts and 753 local level administrative divisions including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani," he wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Gyawali last week summoned the Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and handed over a diplomatic note to him to protest against the construction of a key road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

India has said that the recently-inaugurated road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand lies completely within its territory.

Nepal's Finance minister and government spokesperson Yuvaraj Khatiwada on Monday said that the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has approved the new political map of the country.

It was presented by Minister for Land Management Padma Aryal at a Cabinet meeting for endorsement at the official residence of Prime Minister Oli at Baluwatar here on Monday.

The government said it will soon publicise the new political map that incorporates the territories unilaterally kept by India on its side of the border.

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said that the Cabinet's decision will be written in golden letters.

However, senior Nepal Communist Party and member of Nepal Communist Party Standing Committee Ganesh Shah said the new move may escalate unnecessary tension between Nepal and India at a time when the country is fighting the coronavirus.

Nepal summons Indian Ambassador over road built for Kailash Mansarovar

"The Nepal government should soon start a dialogue with India to resolve the matter through political and diplomatic moves," he said.

The new map includes 335-km land area including Limpiyadhura in the Nepalese territory.

The new map was drawn on the basis of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 signed between Nepal and then the British India government and other relevant documents, which suggests Limpiyadhura, from where the Kali river originated, is Nepal's border with India, The Kathmandu Post quoted an official at the Ministry of Land Reform and Management as saying.

President Bidhya Bhandari, addressing Parliament last week, reiterated that Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh belong to Nepal and appropriate diplomatic measures will be adopted to resolve the existing issues with India.

India and Nepal are at a row after the Indian side issued a new political map incorporating Kalapani and Lipulekh on its side of the border in October last year.

The tension further escalated after India inaugurated a road link connecting Kailash Mansarovar, a holy pilgrimage site situated at Tibet, China, that passes through the territory belonging to Nepal.

The 80-Km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass.

"The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra," spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said in New Delhi recently.
For the vast majority of students, remote learning is a poor substitute for being in the classroom. Not everyone has a laptop or reliable internet at home, and the socialization that happens in school cant be replicated online. There is widespread concern that many students, especially the most vulnerable, will fall behind.

But one unexpected silver lining of the shutdown has been an improved learning experience for certain students, including some who struggle to pay attention in class and even some high-achieving self-starters. Enough students are benefiting from this crash course in remote learning that parents and educators are wondering if, when buildings reopen, there are aspects that can be continued for these students, as well as lessons that can apply to everyone else.

For some, the avoidance of distractions like disruptive classmates, or simply not being in a room filled with other children, has been a boon. Others have taken advantage of the ability, when offered by their teachers, to work at their own pace and take breaks when they want.

Some students have found it easier to participate in remote classes without the social pressures of a physical classroom. Introverts who are the last to volunteer an answer in class, even when they know it, are now making themselves heard.

Kids who would not have put a hand up at the end of a lesson are now emailing me, said Mike Drosos, a seventh-grade math teacher at Voice Charter. He said that it seemed to help those students when the teacher isnt making direct eye contact six inches from their desk.
India Gold June Futures rose on May 20 tracking positive trend seen in the international spot prices as growing concerns of a global recession fuelled safe-haven demand.

The US economy should bounce back sharply in the third quarter after its deep coronavirus-related collapse, but it will not fully recover its lost ground until sometime after next year, Reuters said quoting a non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Gold is seen as an alternative asset during times of economic and political uncertainties, it said.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), June gold contracts were trading higher by 0.53 percent at Rs 47,300 per 10 gram at 09:20 hours. Silver futures were trading 1.15 percent higher at Rs 49,381 per kg.

Experts are of the view that both Gold and Silver are likely to remain volatile. Gold crossed 47,000 mark at MCX and silver also crossed 48,920 levels on Tuesday, and the near term is seen around 47,400 on Gold, and Rs 49,550 for Silver, suggest experts.

Gold & Silver Rates Gold Rate in Mumbai 10g of 24K gold in Mumbai 

10g of 22K gold in Mumbai  View more Silver Rate in Mumbai 10g silver in Mumbai 

1kg silver in Mumbai  View more Show

"Gold and silver prices rebound on Tuesday. Gold's future gained around 1 percent and silver future gained around 3 percent at MCX. Both the precious metals show some profit-taking in early trading session yesterday but after downbeat Chinese CB leading index both the precious metals rebound again," Manoj Jain, Director (Head - Commodity & Currency Research) at Prithvi Finmart Pvt Ltd told Moneycontrol.

"We expect both the precious metals to remain volatile but expect them to hold crucial support levels of $1722/Rs 46,500 and $17.55/Rs 48,200 respectively. If gold prices sustain above $1745/Rs 47,050, it could extend the rally towards $1755-1764/Rs 47,330-47,440 levels, he said.

Jain further added that if Silver prices to sustain above $17.85/Rs 48,920 could extend the rally towards $18.00-18.20/Rs 49,300-49,550 levels. Buy on dip strategy will work in both the precious metals.

Track live gold price here

Trading Strategy

Expert: Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst, Reliance Securities

International precious metals ended up with solid gains on Tuesday and have started with small gains this Wednesday as recession looms even as economies reopen.

Optimism rally in equities fizzled out after scientists raised questions about Moderna vaccine, while the safe-haven appeal for the metal remained intact amid fears of a further deterioration in China-US relations.

LBMA GOLD Spot could trade in a range of $1,735-1,760 for the session.

MCX Gold June contract closed above 47,000 levels and if prices are able to sustain above the level more upside could be seen. Support now is at 46,550-46,600 levels. 47,350-47,400 levels should hold resistance for the session.

Expert: Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities

COMEX gold has risen over 0.5 percent to trade near $1,755/oz supported by choppy equity markets and weaker US dollar.

Mixed economic data, downbeat assessment by Fed, and US Congressional Budget Office has fueled concerns about the US economy while enthusiasm over the COVID-19 vaccine waned as experts said there was not enough data to assess.

Gold has bounced back near the $1,750/oz and while choppy trade is likely the general bias may be on the upside as weaker economic outlook will make a case for central banks to continue with stimulus measures.

: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
NEW ORLEANS, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Benito Castro, a formerly incarcerated individual who served time for fraudulent activity, celebrates two years of freedom by announcing the creation of the nonprofit Freedom Rides, which helps facilitate access to much-needed transportation needs for incarcerated individuals who will soon be transitioning back into society. The mission of the nonprofit is to help the formerly incarcerated community overcome transportation hardships they often encounter upon reentry by providing a Freedom Rides savings account dedicated to the purchase of a vehicle, as well as assistance to manage previous traffic fines, obtain insurance and secure a driver's license.

Transportation is critical for those recently released from prison as they seek to secure gainful employment and reintegrate into society. Often, incarcerated individuals are released and encounter obstacles with commuting to probation meetings, job interviews or simply getting to a doctor's appointment. By creating a reliable option for obtaining legal transportation and helping newly released individuals obtain a driver's license  a predominant problem for many being released from prison  Freedom Rides hopes to decrease instances of parole violations and help ensure a successful reentry.

"I remember when I started my reentry process; it was a time of confusion and anxiousness because I was removed from the outside for such a long period of time," said Benito Castro, Founder of Freedom Rides. "I hope this program will minimize stress associated with reentry by ensuring that incarcerated individuals can financially prepare themselves to pay for their transportation needs. I believe this program will knock down barriers, help incarcerated people adjust, and help prevent people from returning to prison."

The Freedom Rides program is available for those enrolled in work-release programs, which allow trusted individuals to leave the facility to work and return to prison when their shift is complete. Within a two-year window, individuals in the program can save money through their own Freedom Rides account, which saves a percentage from their daily wages so they are financially prepared to purchase a vehicle, fund road-ready efforts, secure a license and car insurance as well as pay previous traffic fees. Freedom Rides vehicles will be donated by Sheriff and State Police auctions, local car dealerships and private individuals.

During his incarceration at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Louisiana, Mr. Castro enrolled in Lantern, a second chance academic program offering incarcerated students the opportunity to earn college credits and an online degree from Ashland University. Using a Securus Technologies tablet, Castro earned his Associate's Degree during his time served and created the concept of Freedom Rides while participating in an entrepreneurship class. After his release, Mr. Castro started working at Ideal Supermarkets and worked his way up to his current role as Director of Operations for the entire chain.

"Benito is a great example of why providing access to technology and education matters in prisons. He was able to use tablet technology to earn a college degree, build a career and create a potential solution for transportation obstacles that affect many newly released individuals," said Rhett Covington, Assistant Secretary, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. "We are encouraged by Benito's inspiration to establish Freedom Rides. Reentry programming and community support services such as this create the best opportunities for a successful reintegration back into society."

Freedom Rides will formally launch in July 2020. In anticipation of its launch, Mr. Castro created a GoFundMe campaign to raise seed money for the program's administrative and operational expenses. Already, $2,500 has been raised thanks to a donation from Securus Technologies, a provider of corrections-grade tablets, which have proven to be instrumental in helping Mr. Castro earn a college degree and bring his Freedom Rides vision to life.

Donations to fund Freedom Rides efforts can be made here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/xtnf8-freedom-rides

About Freedom Rides

Freedom Rides is a nonprofit (501 C 3) that provides reliable, legal transportation to offenders returning to society through automobile ownership, drivers education, and assistance in obtaining insurance and licensure. For more information, please visit: https://freedomrides.org/

SOURCE Securus Technologies; Freedom Rides

Related Links

https://freedomrides.org


We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So before you buy or sell Shun Ho Property Investments Limited (HKG:219), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It is perfectly legal for company insiders, including board members, to buy and sell stock in a company. However, such insiders must disclose their trading activities, and not trade on inside information.

We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

View our latest analysis for Shun Ho Property Investments

Shun Ho Property Investments Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

While no particular insider transaction stood out, we can still look at the overall trading.

Kai Cheng bought 310.00k shares over the last 12 months at an average price of HK$1.77. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!

SEHK:219 Recent Insider Trading May 20th 2020

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Shun Ho Property Investments

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Our data isn't picking up on much insider ownership at Shun Ho Property Investments, though insiders do hold about HK$591k worth of shares. However, it's possible that insiders might have an indirect interest through a more complex structure. We might be missing something but that seems like very low insider ownership.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At Shun Ho Property Investments Tell Us?

It is good to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Shun Ho Property Investments insiders are expecting a bright future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Shun Ho Property Investments you should be aware of.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Editors note: This is one of a 12-part series introducing this years YWCA of Alton Women of Distinction honorees, who will be recognized at the 30th annual Women of Distinction ceremony. The events previously scheduled date of May 28, at the Commons at Lewis and Clark Community College, has now been rescheduled to Thursday, Sept. 17, due to current stay-at-home orders surrounding COVID-19. For more information, visit www.altonywca.com.

ALTON  Rosetta Rosie Brown is a lifetime Alton resident who described herself as energetic, self-driven, a leader, motivator, and a community activist and servant.

I am dedicated and committed to being a positive asset to my community, Brown said.

In her position as program coordinator for the Madison County Housing Authority, Brown implements programs for seniors and youth for nine residential developments in the county.

But she doesnt stop there.

She is also secretary of the Alton Branch NAACP, a member of the Madison County Leadership Council, a Boy Scout associate, census board member, a member of and past Worthy Matron for Bright Hope Chapter No. 85 Order of the Eastern Star, president of the board of the Godfrey Human Development Center Inc., and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., dedicated to public service.

After noticing children wearing no socks at a bus stop in winter, Brown founded the areas annual Socks for Tots Drive, which donates socks to children throughout Madison County.

She is a member of the Webster Temple Church of God in Christ, as well as the Sunday school superintendent, youth director and a youth mentor.

She also mentors and motivates young and old by encouraging them to be the best they can be in all areas.

I love empowering people, Brown said. I assist with an after-school program, Powered by Girls, where we teach empowerment to girls each day.

Among her many accomplishments, she said some of the biggest have been to complete her college degrees, being elected to the Alton School District Board of Education, holding the office of Worthy Matron with Eastern Star and obtaining her foster care license.

Her love of children inspired her to assist children in need, she said, and, as a foster care parent, 35 children have lived in her home, with most of them returning to their biological parents.

Brown holds a bachelors degree in organizational leadership from Greenville College, and a masters in human resources from National Louis University in Chicago, graduating magna cum laude from both schools, and has earned 22 doctoral credits in education.

She has previously received the NAACP Community Service Award and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, and now, adds the 2020 Women of Distinction honor to the list.

Brown believes she supports the YWCA mission by giving service to others, she said.

I feel honored, elated and blessed to be chosen (as a Woman of Distinction). To God be the glory! Brown said.

I would encourage others to love your community, give back to your community, be a public servant, empower others, promote peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.
Voting rights advocates on Wednesday said legislation expanding vote-by-mail options for the 2020 primary and general elections cannot wait until the end of the legislative session this summer.

Pamela Wilmot, executive director of the advocacy group Common Cause, said she would like to see lawmakers take up legislation next week. But the Legislature has turned its attention to the governors $1 billion bond bill for IT improvements and has budget proposals underway.

Well see what the Legislature decides, but time is absolutely of the essence and it needs to go now," Wilmot said.

The wheels of Beacon Hill turned slowly in the eyes of advocates before the coronavirus pandemic. Now that most lawmakers are working from home, they are reviewing a series of bills related to COVID-19. With the end of the session a little over two months away, the House and Senate still have to release their budget proposals for fiscal 2021 and tackle their original priorities, including the contested $18 billion transportation bond bill.

Neither Senate President Karen Spilka nor House Speaker Robert DeLeo gave an exact date for when lawmakers will plan to take up vote-by-mail bills.

Spokespeople for both Spilka and DeLeo said the House and the Senate each plan to work with lawmakers and stakeholders to discuss expanding voting for the September primary and the November election.

Our elections are the foundation of our democracy and must remain safe and accessible to all residents of Massachusetts, especially as this public health pandemic continues to unfold," Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, said in a statement last week after a Joint Committee on Election Laws hearing.

A coalition of voting rights groups, including Common Cause and MassVOTE, backed legislation that would expand early voting options for the Sept. 1 election and automatically send ballots to registered voters homes for the general election on Nov. 3. It also requires the state to to implement social distancing and sanitization rules at polling places for those who cast their ballots in person.

The bill filed by Reps. John Lawn and Michael Moran, HD. 5075, would require the Secretary of States office mail absentee ballots and corresponding paperwork to all registered voters in the state before the general election in November. The bill would classify hospitalization, quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19 as a qualifying disability under the state constitution that allows voters to receive absentee ballots by mail.

The House referred Lawns bill to the Joint Committee on Election Laws. A spokesperson for Spilkas office said lawmakers anticipate concurring with the Houses referral to the committee when they tune in for session Thursday.

The automatic mailing provision sparked criticism from Secretary of State William Galvin, who is pushing to get his own voting proposal approved. Galvins office plans to begin printing ballots as soon as June 2.

Were not talking about mailing the ballots out to everybody whether they ask for it or not. Youd have to request a ballot, Galvin told MassLive before outlining his own recommendations to legislators a memo. Thats good for press releases, not so good for elections.

Alex Psilakis, policy and communications manager for MassVOTE, said advocates understand the process is complicated but that making sure voters automatically receive a ballot will make sure everyone has input in the general election.

We want to make sure the process is as safe and secure and prepared as possible in November, but because were in the middle of a crisis. We can only compromise so much," Psilakis said. We need to make sure that everybodys voice is heard this November.

Other bills seek to expand voting options by Massachusetts residents.

Sen. Becca Rausch and Rep. Adrian Madaro filed legislation, S.2654, that would require the state to get mail-in ballots to voters registered with a party at least 18 days before a state election, including the state primary. The bill also would make Election Day a holiday and require the state to provide personal protective equipment to poll workers.

Rausch suggested at a recent legislative hearing that automatic mailing would not only increase access to voting but make the process easier for local election clerks.

Imagine what might happen when 98% of the people who normally vote in a primary submit a request to their clerks (for mail-in ballots), Rausch said during the hearing, according to the State House News Service. Thats a tremendous number of ballot requests to process.

Expanding vote-by-mail options have garnered attention of advocates and political candidates across the state, including Congressman Joe Kennedy III, who is running for U.S. Sen. Ed Markeys seat.

It absolutely cannot wait another month. It has to happen now. Election officials need to prepare for the fall, and they need to do it as soon as possible, Wilmot said.

Related Content:
Secretary of State Frank LaRose has crafted a carefully reasoned plan for how Ohio can hold its Nov. 3 presidential election in a way that will minimize unnecessary risks for voters and poll workers. It wisely would rely much more heavily on early voting and mail-in ballots, while retaining the in-person voting option, likely with fewer polling places.

Primed by Ohios hiccups with mail-in voting as it completed its delayed March 17 primary by April 28, the plan wisely includes:

Provisions for online requests for absentee ballots.

Fully paid postage for absentee ballot requests and the ballots themselves.

Elimination of the Saturday noon deadline prior to the Tuesday election to request an absentee ballot -- a deadline thats virtually impossible to convert into an opportunity to get the ballot returned in time and that added to voter chaos last month. LaRose wants to make the deadline to request an absentee ballot one week prior to the election, instead of three days prior. That should be debated fully.

LaRose, a Hudson Republican, argues persuasively that Ohio is well ahead of the curve nationally in its widespread use of no-fault absentee voting, but that switching to an all-mail-in vote would be a step too far, given the tight time frame for 88 county election boards to acquire the equipment and manpower needed for such an election.

Some contours of the plan need smoothing -- most particularly, how the state would reduce polling places while still making it convenient to vote safely. LaRose envisions some combination of local polling places where voters and poll workers could safely keep their distance, with the use of warehouses and big-box stores to maximize distancing for others.

But whats most crucial is that legislators come together now in a bipartisan fashion to enact the legal changes needed to make this plan work.

Republican-Democratic agreement would not only provide the votes to make sure the election changes LaRose is proposing can be adopted on an emergency basis, speeding implementation. But such bipartisanship also would reassure voters about the fairness of these changes in a hotly contested presidential election year.

No time can be lost. Early voting for Nov. 3 starts in fewer than 21 weeks. That doesnt allow a lot of time for vote-board planning, much less legislating.

And yet, are Ohio legislators in a frame of mind to move quickly -- and in a bipartisan fashion -- on LaRoses proposals?

Thats less clear, particularly in the Ohio House, where the bipartisan coalition Speaker Larry Householder constructed as part of his election to the speakership appears to have unraveled as he and other House Republicans broke with House Democrats in the GOPs efforts this month to override the states emergency health powers.

Democrats and Republicans need to set aside these differences to give LaRoses proposals the good-faith consideration they deserve. And they must do so quickly.

That said, two LaRose proposals stand out as being particularly urgent and in need of immediate action.

One is a noncontroversial sign-off on LaRoses plan to use federal elections money to allow local election boards to acquire the equipment and hire the staff needed for expanded mail-in voting. This likely could be done through the Ohio Controlling Board, not with legislative action. LaRose should attempt that route. Getting this money out to the states election boards quickly is critical if they are going to be bidding for equipment against states that have never conducted no-fault mail-in voting.

The other matter of urgency is LaRoses more controversial proposal to eliminate the states August special election for municipal issues and charter amendments. LaRose argues the election, scheduled for Aug. 4 this year, rarely sees many issues (in Cuyahoga County, only Maple Heights has filed an issue this year, for a tax renewal to support the citys Senior Center). But to eliminate it would need legislation, and a decision soon. The issues filing deadline has already passed; charter amendments face an early June deadline and the mailing of military and overseas ballots is due to begin June 19. Lawmakers should debate this proposal separately and right away.

LaRose, a former Ohio lawmaker, is understandably resistant to carving these issues out of his proposal, wanting to create an omnibus elections package that rolls everything from obvious to-dos to more controversial ideas into one bill.

But urgent practicalities must dictate his actions.

LaRose should seek Controlling Board authorization now for his plan for federal elections money. He should work immediately on building a consensus for a legislative vote on his proposal to eliminate the August special election. And then he needs to work intensively with Speaker Householder, of south-central Ohios Perry County; House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes of Akron; Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof of Medina; and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko of Richmond Heights to push the remainder of the package forward.

There is no time to lose.

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

Have something to say about this topic?

* Send a letter to the editor, which will be considered for print publication.

* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion and director of the editorial board, at esullivan@cleveland.com.
People who strangled their partners could be jailed for 14 years under domestic violence laws proposed by the Queensland LNP.

Non-lethal strangulation was made a criminal offence in Queensland in 2016, but the terms "choke", "suffocate" and "strangle" were not defined in the criminal code.

Bianca Girven died after she was found found strangled in a van. Credit:Facebook

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the initial law change was owed to years of lobbying from Brisbane mother Sonia Anderson, whose 22-year-old daughter Bianca Girven was strangled to death by her boyfriend in 2010.

Ms Girven, a mother of one, was found strangled in a van parked at the foot of Brisbanes Mount Gravatt Lookout. She died in hospital the next day.
3. You owe income tax on your stimulus payment

Nope. To quote the IRS coronavirus economic impact information center: No, the payment is not income and taxpayers will not owe tax on it. The payment will not reduce a taxpayer's refund or increase the amount they owe when they file their 2020 tax return next year. A payment also will not affect income for purposes of determining eligibility for federal government assistance or benefit programs.

4. College students aren't eligible for stimulus payments

For the first two rounds of stimulus checks, as long as you were 17 or older and werent claimed as a dependent on someone elses tax return, you were eligible for a stimulus check. Whether or not you were in school didnt matter. You also had to meet the income requirements. To receive a full stimulus payment, your adjusted gross income (AGI) had to be at or below $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns.



Most college students didnt have to worry about this. What they did have to worry about is being claimed as a dependent by their parents. That negated their eligibility to receive a first or second stimulus check. The third stimulus payment removed the age restriction, so if your parents claim you as a dependent and youre 20 years old, they could get extra stimulus money because of you. Its up to your parents whether they choose to give you the $1,400 they received on your behalf. The same applies to elderly dependents  the $1,400 goes to the person who claimed the elderly dependent, not directly to the dependent.

5. It's too late to get a stimulus check

The IRS has already pushed out millions of stimulus payments, either by paper check, direct deposit or prepaid debit card. Nevertheless, some people who were entitled to a stimulus payment haven't gotten one, possibly because their income was too low for them to file taxes. If you didn't receive a payment last year, or your payment is in the wrong amount, you can claim the missing money when you file a tax return for tax year 2020.

6. Millionaires qualified for stimulus payments

This one is tricky. Anyone with an annual income of $1 million certainly did not get a stimulus payment. Far from it. Eligibility for the first two stimulus payments phased out once AGI hit $99,000 for individuals and $198,000 for couples filing jointly. Congress reduced the upper limit on the third check to $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for couples. There is, however, no criteria surrounding net assets. So, for example, a retiree who had little income but substantial assets such as a home and retirement accounts could qualify.

7. You need a bank account to get a stimulus payment

Not true. Stimulus payment are being distributed by paper check and prepaid debit card, in addition to direct deposit into a bank account. Still, the IRS strongly urges you to get your stimulus payment via direct deposit, which not only arrives faster than a check, but is more secure as well. If you don't have a bank account, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. can help you find one.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell on Tuesday defended her move to enact stricter coronavirus rules than the rest of the state as New Orleans reopens, saying the famed city needs to strongly bill itself as safe in the coming months in order to revive its stagnant tourism industry.

Cantrell said in an interview that her order, which among other restrictions requires restaurants and salons to track customers and that took effect Saturday, will help position the city as one of the safest places for tourists to travel when restrictions across the country lift. So far, many local businesses have complied, she said.

"I want to send the message nationally, internationally... that we have been doing the right thing," Cantrell said. "We are showing, yet again, that we are the safest city to visit and live, and that is what is going to allow our industry to rebound."

New Orleans reopened this weekend to a new normal that saw restaurants and other businesses checking customers' temperatures and taking their names before providing service, houses of faith open their doors to a few congregants and Harrah's Casino and video poker rooms remain shuttered.

The city's businesses were also required to register with the state Fire Marshal. Outside New Orleans, businesses opened last Friday under a less restrictive set of statewide rules that also took hold.

The city became a COVID-19 hotspot early and Cantrell has repeatedly said that its rapid spread is why she has taken such drastic measures. But Tuesday was the one of the first times she has cast those measures as necessary not only to slow the disease's spread, but to boost national perception of the tourism-dependent city and protect its long-term economy.

New Orleans has some of the nation's strictest reopening rules. Only a few other places - such as Linn County, Kansas, Seattle and the state of Oregon - have similar customer logging requirements.

Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

At the same time, its city's tourism industry has struggled mightily with the cancellation of major events and hotel stays. New Orleans had the steepest drop in revenue-per-available-room across 25 top U.S. hotel markets through the first week of April, according to STR, which tracks industry data.

In the city's cautious first phase of reopening, more than 2,100 businesses had registered as of Tuesday. While that's only a fraction of New Orleans' 13,000 businesses, Cantrell said she expected that some would voluntarily remain closed, either for health or financial reasons.

"Some of them, we have heard them saying, 'We want a little more time. We want to see what Phase 1 does.' And others are saying, 'Doing the math, it doesn't create a revenue stream,'" Cantrell said.

The city has been accessing the state's registration system to see who has signed up and who hasn't. Over the weekend, officials issued warnings to some firms that had opened, but had not complied with that mandate and other rules.

+40 New Orleans eases into its first day of the first phase of loosened coronavirus restrictions New Orleans took its first tentative steps toward being itself again on Saturday, as the city eased some restrictions after two months under t

Those shut down in Phase 1 for noncompliance may be given an opportunity to reopen in Phase 2, Cantrell said.

The message came as City Hall departments were preparing for the possibility that they would have to slash their budgets if revenue, driven in large part by tourism-driven sales taxes, does not pick up in the coming months. City officials said earlier this month that the city was could see up to a $170 million deficit at the end of the year due to the tax slump.
As a Massachusetts gym enters its third day of operating again during the coronavirus pandemic, defying Gov. Charlie Bakers reopening plan in doing so, the owner says he has no plans of stopping.

Im not stepping down. Im staying open as long as I have to," David Blondin, the owner of Prime Fitness & Nutrition in Oxford, told MassLive.

Blondin, who reopened his business Monday at 7 a.m., was issued a verbal warning by town officials on Monday and was given a written warning Tuesday for defying the states four-phase reopening plan.

The governor announced Monday the details of his 17-member advisory boards plan to reopen the states economy. Included in the third phase of the plan are health clubs and gyms, some of the last businesses to be able to reopen.

In a video posted to Facebook on Sunday, Blondin told the public no matter what the governor announced Monday, he would open his doors this week.

I have a lot of support behind me," said Blondin. Ive had more positive feedback than anything.

Since freezing all operations as of April 1, Blondin has lost around $100,000 in revenue and has been forced to tap into his savings.

It is not just gyms that have suffered financially, though, he said. All businesses have taken a hit pretty evenly, according to Blondin. He is now asking that businesses throughout the state follow his lead and reopen, arguing that state restrictions have gone on too long.

All small businesses need to take a stand and open their doors," Blondin said. "This is impacting our businesses and our families.

Prime Fitness, which has roughly 800 total members, is now in its third day of operating. With reduced capacity of up to 25 members working out upstairs and 25 exercising downstairs, the gym saw roughly 100 people come in Monday and around 150 come in Tuesday, according to Blondin.

Many of the members who went into the facility this week were die-hards and regulars who have exercised at Prime Fitness since the beginning," the gym owner said, adding that he has never seen so many happy people in his life.

He noted that staff are cleaning throughout the gym regularly, and the gym is not allowing people to purchase day passes or members to bring in guests. Prime Fitness is only letting people with existing memberships enter the gym.

Being open 7 to 7, were not even close to hitting capacity," Blondin said.

Going against state public health requirements, the gym owner is recommending that his members do not wear face masks. On Facebook, he said he does not want people passing out because they are not able to breathe.

I do not recommend it, but they can do whatever they want," Blondin said about people wearing face masks. Realistically, theyre breathing heavily and theyre sweating. They wont be able to breathe well. Youre covering your mouth. Thats your oxygen.

While Blondin said he receives phone calls regularly from people saying they support him, Oxford town officials said they have received many angry calls and emails from residents calling on the town to shutter Prime Fitness immediately.

While we certainly understand many are anxious to resume business as usual, we ask for continued patience and understanding as we continue to respond to this unprecedented public health crisis, Oxford Police Chief Anthony Saad said in a statement.

Immediately upon hearing Prime Fitness had opened its doors in violation of Bakers orders, Oxfords town manager, police chief and health agent began conversations with the communitys board of health, the officials said in a statement.

The town must follow enforcement steps issued by the state, the statement said, starting with "verbal consultation and redirection, followed by a written warning, fines and a cease-and-desist order, according to the statement.

Officials noted they are prepared to file an injunction "should compliance not be not be reached per such guidance.

Mr. Blondin made clear he had no intention of complying with the Governors Order or waiting until Phase 3 to resume operations, Thomas Purcell, Oxford Board of Health agent, said in a statement. The Board of Health is empowered to ensure compliance with the Governors Orders and phased re-opening of Massachusetts.

"We all have a role to play in making this as safe of a re-opening as possible.

The gym owner has yet to be issued a fine for remaining open, but if Blondin is given one, some of his members have agreed to pay it off, he said. A GoFundMe page has been set up to pay off any potential fines as well. Any left over money will be given to a mental health charity, Blondin said.

I think he restricted businesses too long," the gym owner said. Now, enough is enough.

Related Content:
Ghanaians head to the polls to elect a new president on 7th December, this year. Ghana is a beacon of hope for Africa referred to by many African and world leaders. This is so because of strong Democratic institutions including our electoral system which is one of the many institutions in which democracy is measured.



With the world experiencing the novel COVID-19 and the propensity of the virus to cause a threat in organising our periodic elections and in this 2020, Ghanaians will still go through the process to elect their leaders come what may, with the institutions of proper measures by government and citizens to reduce the impact it would cause to our population.



Ghana since 1993 when it returned to a constitutional Democracy through the Parliamentary system of government ostensibly with the most robust and envied systems and structures of the electoral commission with its mandate to organise a credible elections as citizens exercise their franchise through the ballot in the universal adult suffrage system. Due to the countrys through Parliament of Ghana, has made frantic efforts and commitment to supporting the independent established institution to function effectively and efficiently by creating CIs that gives the clear indications and how elections are organised without compromising the integrity of the process. Funds to enable its' operations in terms procurement and other expenditures are well taken care of by the government of the day through the annual budget.



Several other African countries independent electoral commission including Kenya have always sought for the support, knowledge and experience from Ghanas electoral commission.



The disturbing part of Ghanas electoral commission which has become an old bad traditions, is the argument and advocacy for change of electoral register, depending on which political party is in government and which one is opposition especially, the two major political parties; Npp and NDC. As scary as it is, the financial implications on the economy in procuring new equipment to undertake an exercise leading to compiling a new register are not always thought true, and not a dilemma any more. Sometimes the timing isnt even favourably, yet we see ourselves arguing around with a political agenda and with the believe that their chances of winning an election is tied to a new register.



This upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections and the periodic rituals' for change of register has gained grounds with the head of the EC, Madam Jean Mensah bulldozing her way to compile a register for the election come what may. The Noble COVID-19 is not deterrent enough to stop the Jean Mensah to discontinue the process despite the timing and all odds with barely 7 months to go for elections. Independent bodies, political parties through the IPAC have resisted this move including series of press conferences and regional demonstrations organised by a group of political parties to drum home their demand for the EC not to continue the process has falling a death year by the EC. What is shocking and even kept people wondering and drawing of conspiracy theories about this entire scheme, is when the register can be cleaned to only include only those who are alive at the time of the cleaning exercise, due to the investment done by previous commissioners especially, Dr. Afari Gyan in technology that is strong to eliminate any possibility of double voting and all other electoral malpractices likely to compromise the process.



The recent register was compiled in 2012 which has shown a great improvement in our electoral system with no chances of double voting, impersonation and has had a leap in the strengthening of the confidence level of the electoral system, hence the tendency for post-electoral violence which is almost stemmed from weak and established system and lack of confidence in the officers of the electoral at areas where posts election violence are recorded. The security features of our current register and data gives an excellent and proper way of cleaning the register and can produce the same effect if a new register is to be used.



The calls by many including independent minds, the likes of about twenty (20) civil society organisations have added their strong voices in other places at different platforms and other times on same platform, giving out clear and strong indications that, Ghana do not need a new register even before this global pandemic hit the world. The argument put out there by political parties and other independent bodies are catalogued on two premises, which is the cost, and timing of compiling a new register. The government of Ghana has released about $200million dollars for the EC to compile the new register at this very challenging time that led us to us IMF to access an emergency rapid credit facility of $1billion dollars, thus, five folds the amount dolled out to the EC to compile such a needless exercise. The bad timing most importantly, is the greater risk it poses to the lives of Ghanaians who will have to queue for this exercise where the COVID-19 thrives, since the Corona Virus need the masses as a fertile ground to infect many. The exercise would be carried in all polling stations across the country where the registration exercises would be held, including areas which high rates of infections. Others have also pointed out to the fact that, with just some few months to an election and she Jean Mensah strong stance to continue the process proofs how insensitive she is to the lives of Ghanaians when that amount could go to solve the water crisis at many areas, and to also ameliorate the difficulties students are facing with the double track system by building more blocks to contain the increasing number of enrolment figures as a result of the flagship free SHS program. To even use these few months to elections is questionably due to the tediousness involves in the organization of the entire process.



The estimated cost for the new voter list if scrapped can do a lot for a post-IMF bailed out country that has returned to IMF owing to the devastating impact of the novel corona virus on our already raped economy. The money can build over 25 turn-key district hospitals that would have an Out Patient Departments, theaters, adjunct clinical service, accidental and emergency unit, in-patient services, maternity, mortuary, stores, and staff housing units among others or it can build over 5000 CHPs compound. Investment in health infrastructure has become very necessary due to the lessons taught us by covid19 which has exposed our poor health system that has often been overlooked. In the field of education, it can build over 4000 six-unit classroom blocks across the country. It can construct several kilometres of roads and as we all know, over 80 percent of our existing roads are in very deplorable states and several other areas have no access to quality roads. In industry, over 50 factories can be constructed from scratch to enable the permanent employment of our numerous unemployed youths whilst in Agriculture, over 500,000 farmers with over Ghs2000 worth of farm inputs that will see a drastic improvement of our Agric sector etcetera.



As objectively one may sound, one do not need to be told that, this business of a new register is a fruitless venture when the current register can produce the same effect, and has even successfully two(2) different Presidents both in 2012 and 2016, from different political parties including the 2018 referendum that led to the creation of additional five (5) more regions as well last years assembly elections. The notoriety at which the EC has gained in her responses each time this debate is sparked leaves many to think if indeed she was the same person advocating for electoral reforms during her days as the Executive Director of IEA until her appointment as the chair of the independent institution, EC of Ghana. To crown it all in the manner in which the posture poses a danger in the upcoming elections is the inordinate display and show of party colours by the deputy chair who has since resumed the role as the Public Relations officer for the EC, rendering the powerless PR for the organisation to a mere rack.



The Npp government won the election in 2016 with this same register and to reduce the register as not credible is invariably meaning that, the current President was not validly elected since same register was used to conduct the elections. If the current register is a guarantee to NDC's victory then what went wrong in 2016 with Madam Charlotte Osei who was appointed by former President His Excellency John Dramani Mahama as the chair of the EC, and was later on cruelty ousted by a concerted weakly networked by this government to pave way in order to deliver a grand scheme to rig this election for the Npp.



The factors misinforming or informing the EC, to think of doing what she thought of doing but couldnt do, and sought to centre her reason on the outmodedness of the biometric registration machines, as her responses and that, the cost involves in maintaining the current BVRs would cost the nation more than the $200M to carrying out a fresh process to produce a new register. This argument has been challenged by many including IMANI-Ghana on the logic behind this unintelligent financial analysis. Agreeing without meeting her potpourri of weak, vague and romanticised factors lacking all coherence and subject to varrying interpretation points to the fact that, the only factor Madam Jean Mensah has is to secure a victory to Npp through all crooked methods at all cost.



Why were these unreasoned factors necessitated her decision when it came to conducting district level elections and the referendum to create additional five regions, when it is obsolete as described by Madam Jean Mensah, in just a space of 2012 -2016 with only seven years old investment in the current register? Is it an after thought or just having the lust and taste to conduct and supervise a controversial elections due to the danger it might cause in the elections having nursed and modelled our Democratic culture to an international envy? Or she is facing a sack by her appointer should she not able to deliver what was promised before her appointment? Agreement must be fulfilled but not when it involves destabilizing our peaceful country and bringing our democracy to a decay.



The records below shows the ECs' own figures indicating a tremendous and fantastic voter turnout in both the 2018 referendum and last years district level elections with same register now declared as obsolete. How on earth could a defective and useless register deliver such results from these two national exercises ? Make your judgment from the figures below:

 Salaga South recorded 96%

 Nkoranza North recorded 97%

 Jasikan recorded 97%

 Krachi West recorded 98.5%

Indeed, many other constituencies recorded over 90% turnout. As a matter of fact, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), has had cause to express concerns over the high turnout during the 2018 referendum, (https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/ghana-news-extremely-high-turnout-at-referendum-raise-serious-integrity-questions-codeo.html). But the turnout and results were accepted and declared by the EC, (https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/politics/confirmed-results-of-the-2018-referendum-on-new-regions.html).



According to the summary provided by the EC on December 28 in Accra, the requirements - 50% of registered voters voting and 80% of the valid voters voting yes - which makes the results valid was met in all the regions. Comparatively, the highest turnout of registered voters was recorded in the Ahafo referendum where 90.41% of registered voters participated in the polls which translates to 277,663 out of 307,108 persons.

The lowest turnout of registered voters (77.69%) was recorded in the Western North referendum where out of a total of 502,185 registered voters only 390,128 took part in the polls.

YES or NO vote



The NO vote was unable to garner 1% of the valid votes cast in the respective regions with Oti recording the highest percentage - 0.89% while Ahafo (99.68%) edged North East (99.67%) with the highest percentage of YES votes. Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) functioned well at 93.29% of polling stations, while 6.71% of polling stations encountered instances where the BVDs failed to function at some point in time on election day.



At 61.11% of polling stations, observers indicated that no eligible voter had their fingerprints rejected by the Biometric Verification Devices.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Assembly-polls-BVDs-functioned-effectively-CODEO-819199.



It is unthinkable and unconstitutional for EC to purport to use defective and non-credible biometric voters register to conduct district level elections and yet go ahead to compile a new non-defective and credible biometric voters register to conduct the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections



It is of firm belief and conviction that the demand for compilation of a new biometric voters register by EC is not sincere, we have for past seven years used current biometric voters register to conduct the 2012 elections, 2015 district level elections, 2016 elections and 2018 referendum to create six new regions.

This same defective and non-credible biometric voters register was used for conduct of December 17 district level elections and would have also been used for referendum to amend Article 55 (3) if the Bill were not to have been withdrawn by the president on December 1, 2019Compiling a Biometric system and technicalities involved.



Compiling a biometric register with finger print and facial recognition features comes with its associated problems.



There are many countries that use, or have used, biometric voter registration technology, but if the conditions are not right, it can be far from successful. We currently have one in place but without facial recognition features. Several experts stress the need to carry out a thorough needs assessment and feasibility study before deciding to introduce biometric technology in either voter registration or verification. The various challenges and the time required to implement such technology should not be underestimated.



Biometric VR is difficult to implement, specification and procurement processes are lengthy, training of operators and data processing are complex and lengthy processes putting a lot of pressure on the EC to produce the list in time. Most countries eventually fail to implement the biometric verification of the voter which renders the entire exercise questionable plus the shaky political temperatures that can throw our country off gear.



Some of the particular challenges associated with the introduction of voter registration biometric technology are highlighted from our 2012 experience: time required to register voters; the calibration of the facial recognition software now that our EC interns to capture it. The facial recognition software requires 6 months to analyse according to experts views from the Uganda's experience, this might not be available prior to polling station day. Again, the system has to be set at a lower percentage of similarity because it tends to see all brothers, sisters, sons, cousins, and certainly twins as duplicate registration. This requires human intervention to correct further slowing the process.



An analysis of the process involved might be useful for us here. First and foremost, the machines are not in Ghana at the moment and when they are procured and it arrives in Ghana which will take weeks, it will go through a factory acceptance test. This will take at least 1 week and must be done. After which a site acceptance test which will see the machines moved to site for testing conducted. This will be preceded with a training of technicians which will take at least another week and these technicians will train user officials to get them prepared for the exercise ahead, 2 weeks of training is involved here. The system will then have to be piloted in selected constituencies across the country, again this will require 2 weeks. After all these testing and training, definitely, the system will encounter issues which must be resolved. This will see the vendors brought into the country to get it fixed, the time involved here cannot be readily determined as this will depend on the gravity of problems encountered during the testing and training process. It could take even a month.



The main registration exercise will now ready to proceed across the country in every constituency, according to the EC, this will take 40 days to complete. A subsequent process termed by experts as adjudication which will see to the invitation of all political parties and other stakeholder groups to check double and duplicate registration issues will be conducted. At least 1 week is required.

There will be challenges at the various district level that must be attended to in a process requiring another week.



The register will also be exhibited to enable registered voters to verify if their names have been captured, this process cannot be skipped and will involve 2 weeks. After which the EC will now work on finalising the process to make it available to the political parties. Its worth noting that the EC according to their failed April 18 deadline, that process will have been completed and the register made available to political parties in November. Here is the case we have not stated and does not know when the EC will begin, so question is, can the EC manage to get register ready for use before December 7th is they start now?



As said above, a pilot study is of utmost importance prior to commencement of the exercise to ascertain the feasibility and/or usefulness of the biometric enrolment both in time and resources expenditure to prevent a situation where much can go wrong simultaneously. Let me warn here that our current EC risk undoing all the good work of previous decades in Ghana which must be seriously looked at.



Whether new register or not the EC must conduct a limited registration exercise for citizens who have recently attained voting age, and so should brace themselves up with the reality that a new voter's register is not possible. The fear of many is the manner in which this EC is relegating and denigrating the office as her registered entity and the doubt of conducting a credible elections after exhibiting her Strong stance inline with governments interest hence made people questioned if the office is now a political organization.



The laughable aspect is when the ECs defective C.I which was rejected on two occasions by Parliament of Ghana, when the document presented for amendments was riddled with unforgivable errors. The document which has since not been laid before Parliament for the third time has on it, been messy, and irreconcilable of logic and understanding, when a birth certificate issued by a constitutional mandatory body and used as a primary document for acquiring a passport, and National Identified Card are not included as a requirement for one to be registered and issued a voters register. This has the propensity of disenfranchising majority of Ghanaians since most cannot meet the requirements to be registered. Funny enough again, the EC now has value for people identifying a person by way of manual and physically accepting that one is a member of the society to be registered than rigorously going through a system instituted by same constitution which established the EC office are not credible per the ECs definition and categorisation of acceptable documents for the compilation of a new register.



This means that, a greater number of our population qualified to take part in the voting process would be disenfranchised if the NIA card is going to be used a primary document to acquiring a voters ID card from the NIA's own records. The total number registered for the NIA card is 17,251,635 citizens with only 6, 485,074 representing 38.59% with 10,766,560 representing 62.41% not issued with the NIA card. This is unfair, unjust and abuse of very constitution which gave the powers to be independent and. Conduct a free and fair elections. Now, where is the fairness when others are not take part by fault of not theirs? This is a potent danger and all efforts must be put by all Ghanaians to discourage Madam Jean Mensah from continuing with this evil.





Source: Assibid Daida /email [email protected]









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

Featured Video
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) poses hindrance to the protection and preservation of the culture and identity of the Assamese people, a petition filed by a Guwahati-based organization of Assamese law students told the Supreme Court.

The petitioner, All Assam Law Students Union, submitted that the CAA dilutes the constitutional and legal safeguards given to the Assamese people by various laws and the Assam Accord of 1985.

The Clause 6 of the Assam Accord specifically mandates the union government and also the State of Assam to protect the Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards of the Assamese people and also provides protection, preservation and promotion of the culture, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people. As such under no circumstances, the Union Government could have come up with the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which dilutes the constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards of the Assamese people, the plea said.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, issued notice to the central and Assam governments on Wednesday and tagged the matter to be heard with other petitions challenging the CAA.

The CAA which was passed in December 2019 amends Section 2 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which defines illegal migrants. According to change in definition, any person belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, and who have been exempted by the Central Government under the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or the Foreigners Act, 1946, shall not be treated as illegal migrant. Consequently, such persons shall be eligible to apply for citizenship by naturalisation, which is laid down under Section 6 of the 1955 act.

The exclusion of Muslim community from the benefits of CAA had led to widespread protests across the country, as did the linking of citizenship with religion. There have also been protests against a proposed all-India National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Over 150 petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the law based on the alleged discrimination against Muslims.

However, the challenge mounted by All Assam Law Students Union is based on the impact the CAA could have on the Assamese identity and how it violates various laws and agreements enacted by the union government to identify and deport illegal migrants and preserve Assamese identity.

The central government had enacted Immigration (Expulsion from Assam) act in 1950 to protect the indigenous people of Assam. This was done after the influx of Bengali speaking people into Assam from East Pakistan after the partition of the country in 1947.

There was a further exodus of Bengalis to Assam during the liberation of East Pakistan by India in 1971 and the formation of Bangladesh.

This eventually culminated in an agitation by the Assamese people and the Assam Accord was signed between the central government, All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the All Assam Gana Sangram Parished (AAGSP) in 1985.

The Assam Accord mandated that foreigners who came to Assam on or after March 25, 1971 shall be detected, deleted and practical steps shall be taken to expel such foreigners.

Pursuant to the Assam Accord, the central government in 1985 inserted section 6A in the Citizenship Act. As per the same, illegal migrants who entered Assam from Bangladesh up to March 24, 1971 were granted citizenship of India but a specific assurance was also given that illegal migrants entering the state of Assam on or after March 25, 1971 would be deported back to Bangladesh.

The petitioner claimed that the CAA makes section 6A of the Citizenship Act and the Assam Accord meaningless. It would enable illegal immigrants to become Indian citizens and the entire process set up by the Assam Accord and section 6A would be diluted.

Bringing outsiders or including the illegal immigrants as citizens shall worsen the situation and cause serious after-effects in the cultural, economical, social and political genre of Assam, the petition said.
COVID-19 is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism, blood clots in the venous circulation, according to a study conducted by researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), UK. In a series of 274 consecutive cases of COVID-19 admitted to hospital, a significant percentage (7.7%) were diagnosed with venous thromboembolism. The most common type of venous thromboembolism, seen in 76.2% of these cases, was pulmonary embolism, a blood clot on the lungs. The research team found that the D-dimer blood test was useful to identify those patients at highest risk of venous thromboembolism when admitted to hospital.

Lead author, Dr Chi Eziefula, Senior Lecturer in Infection at BSMS, said: "Identifying which patients have a risk of, and clinical evidence of, a venous thromboembolism in COVID-19 is highly important for two reasons. Firstly, because venous thromboembolism is linked to a risk of death and secondly because it is treatable with anticoagulant medications."

This study signals the importance of further research to explore the pathological mechanisms specific to COVID-19. It also highlights the urgent need for clinical trials to evaluate the role of anticoagulation treatment for the prevention of deaths and morbidity from COVID-19 infection." Dr Tim Chevassut, Reader in Haematology at BSMS
Unsplash

Kabul/IBNS: At least 12 people, including women and children, were killed or wounded as an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Taliban militants ripped through a civilian vehicle in Afghanistan's Zabul province, media reports said on Wednesday.

Tariq Arian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior (MoI), told Khaama Press the Taliban militants had planted an Improvised Explosive Device on a roadside in Mizan district of Zabul.

According to reports, four people, including children, were killed in the blast.

Arian said eight others were injured in the blast. It included women and children.

The Taliban group did not comment on the issue so far.
Kieran Wylie who was murdered in west Belfast

This is the first picture of murder victim Kieran Wylie who was gunned down in front of two of his children in west Belfast.

The 57-year-old was shot several times at close range in a house in Lenadoon Avenue around 10pm on Sunday.

Two daughters, aged 16 and 28, witnessed the killing.

Detectives said they are investigating a potential dissident republican connection to the killing involving two gunmen, who are understood to have been on foot.

Read More

CCTV footage from the victim's house is being examined and will form part of the investigation.

Detective Chief Inspector Darren McCartney said the victim was known to the PSNI and that the victim had also been previously informed that he was "under threat".

DCI McCartney said: "Certainly one of the lines of inquiry we are investigating is that there is a violent dissident republican motive towards this murder."

Read More

He also said his thoughts were with Mr Wylie's family and especially his children who had witnessed the "brutal" shooting.

DCI McCartney also said the community was in shock.

"The lifelong effect of what they witnessed last night are unimaginable," he said.

The murder has been condemned by Northern Ireland's politicians including the First and Deputy First Minister.
After a 12-day-old infant



recovered from coronavirus, a four-month-old girl has successfully fought the dreaded infection and returned home from a Bhopal hospital after recovery.

The girl, her father who works as a nurse at Bhopal's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and another seven-year-old girl were discharged from the institute on Tuesday.

"The director of Bhopal's AIIMS Prof Sarman Singh presented gifts to the young patients on behalf of the institute's employees and wished that these children would become messengers that this virus can be defeated," said Dr Lakshmi Prasad, Additional Medical Superintendent and Public Relations Officer.

149 coronavirus patients were admitted to the hospital to date and 70 of them were discharged following recovery, Dr Prasad said.

Nine COVID-19 patients have died at the institute, including one who was brought dead.

On May 2, a baby girl who had tested positive for virus when she was only 12 days old returned home from a private hospital after recovery from coronavirus infection.

She was born on April 7 at a government-run hospital and possibly got the infection from a woman health worker who was on duty then and who later tested positive.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More women are joining the U.S. military but the individual services must do more to continue the trend and ensure they stay in uniform, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The share of women in the armed forces grew from 15.1% in 2004 to 16.5% in 2018, with the Navy seeing the largest increase over 15 years. The Air Force consistently has had the highest percentage of women serving -- nearly a fifth of the entire service -- since 2004, while the Army and Marine Corps are at or below the total force percentage.

Read Next: Group Threatens to Sue VA over Nazi Symbols in National Veterans Cemeteries

But given that women make up half the potential recruit pool and coupled with data that shows women leave the service at higher rates than men, GAO analysts said work needs to be done to address the continuing gaps between the genders in uniform.

"Without Department of Defense guidance and service plans with goals, performance measures and time frames to monitor female recruitment and retention efforts, DoD may continue to miss opportunities to recruit and retain a valuable segment for its active-duty force," according to a report released Tuesday by the GAO.

Concerned over recruitment and retention of female service members, Congress in 2018 asked the GAO to determine how the services compare in recruiting, retaining and promoting women.

Analysts found that the likelihood of women separating from the armed forces is 28% higher than men, and female enlisted promotion rates lagged behind men across the board.

The GAO found that women largely leave the service over six concerns: work schedules, organizational culture, family planning, dependent care, deployments and sexual assault.

The report authors noted that, in a review of existing research on military separations, female veterans "mentioned both the occurrence of a sexual assault and how it was handled by the military as contributing to their separation."

"For example," they wrote, "two females stated that the perpetrator was not punished, and another woman cited the lack of support from other service members as contributing to their decisions to separate from the military."

The report comes as the Army and Marine Corps step up efforts to recruit more women. Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger announced in February plans to place more women in charge of infantry battalions, as well as a review of retention-related policies, such as maternity leave and parental leave.

The Marine Corps historically has had the lowest percentage of women serving. Of the services, however, it retains women at rates second only to the Air Force.

The percentage of women serving in the Army actually declined slightly over the 15-year span studied by the GAO, from 15.3% in 2004 to 15.1% in 2018 -- the only service to see a decline. The Army also had the highest separation rate among the services.

The Air Force consistently has attracted and retained women at higher rates than the other services. In 2018, 20.2% of the service was female. The service also had the lowest likelihood of women leaving the service.

According to the report, 19.6% of the Navy is female, up from 14.7% in 2004. It ranked second from the bottom for retention.

The Marine Corps saw a 2.5-percentage point increase in the number of women between 2004 and 2018, from 6.1% to 8.6%.

The services' top personnel officers testified last December on the importance of diversity in the U.S. military, including efforts to expand recruitment of women and increase efforts to retain them.

"We want our Army to look like our nation and to reflect what's best of our citizens. As the country becomes more diverse, so has the Army," Army Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Thomas Seamands said.

"Diversity remains critical to the Marine Corps. It is our responsibility to ensure the Marine Corps is comprised of the best and brightest from every segment of our diverse society," Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Lt. Gen. Michael Rocco said.

Despite identifying female recruitment and retention as a priority, however, the services have failed to develop plans that include goals, performance measures and time frames to guide their efforts, the GAO found.

It recommended that the DoD, which is updating its diversity strategic plan, include recruitment and retention goals. It made the same recommendations for each of the services.

"Goals are not quotas and can help guide continued improvement," the GAO wrote.

In their responses, the DoD, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force agreed with the GAO recommendations.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Read Next: The Veteran Unemployment Rate Has Tripled Since February
Tel Aviv (AFP) - After a weeks-long lockdown and amid a blistering heatwave, there was only one sensible thing to do Wednesday in Israel's lifestyle capital, the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv.

"This is the first time I've been in the water for months, because of the coronavirus," said Daria, after diving into the azure waters for a refreshing splash in the surf.

"It's the best feeling in the world."

Israel's beaches had been shuttered since early April over COVID-19, but with the mercury topping 39 degrees centigrade (102 degrees fahrenheit), Daria didn't need much encouragement on the first day of their official reopening.

Neither did thousands of others. All around her people sunbathed in deckchairs, children built sand castles and youngsters played paddleball, all celebrating their newly-regained liberty.

The beach closure, part of a wider lockdown impacting most facets of Israeli public life, was initially met with broad social acceptance, with the cool weather helping keep people indoors.

But as recent weeks saw a gradual easing of restrictions and the advent of scorching summer heat, many Israelis didn't wait for the official green light to take a plunge.

On Saturday, Israel's beaches already saw thousands basking in the sun and enjoying the water, in violation of the rules and in the absence of lifeguards.

Wednesday's opening of 124 of Israel's beaches, however, marked the official, guilt-free beginning of the country's bathing season.

- A second wave? -

Beach attendants in neon orange t-shirts were busy arranging deckchairs and parasols in the sand, spacing them out to comply with new distancing regulations, as beachgoers looked on, enjoying a morning breeze.

Daria, 30, her back decorated with colourful tattoos, was at the sea at dawn.

"Because of the heat I came to the beach at 5:45am," she told AFP. "I was looking forward to this moment."

Story continues

Dalia Cohen, 72, who also made an early excursion to enjoy the sea, said with a smile: "Two months without swimming because of the coronavirus -- I felt I was perishing."

A view of the packed beach made clear the new challenge for authorities: to enforce social distancing measures.

People are still required to stay two metres away from one another, and groups are limited to six, according to government regulations seeking to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus.

Israel, a country of around nine million, recorded nearly 16,700 cases of the virus and 278 deaths -- significantly lower rates than the United States and many European countries.

The pandemic hit hardest in Israel's ultra-Orthodox, or haradem, cities and neighbourhoods.

"Tel Aviv is different because there are no haredims, but we have many tourists who also brought the virus," said Teah Harel, 29.

With the sun back and beaches open again, life was almost perfect for many in Tel Aviv.

Almost. The next milestone now eagerly awaited is the re-opening of restaurants and bars, scheduled for May 27, to give the liberal city back its summer spirit.
Eraina Pretty was 18 when she was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.

Since then she's earned a bachelor's degree, served as a mentor to young inmates and been granted parole twice by the Maryland Parole Commission. But two governors rejected her release.

Pretty, now 60, has covid-19, according to her daughter, who tracked down the warden confirming her mother's diagnosis, Pretty's lawyers said.

Advocates and others are urging Gov. Larry Hogan, R, to commute the sentence of the state's longest-serving female prisoner.

House Speaker Adrienne Jones, D, joined a legislative effort led by Del. Charlotte Crutchfield, D, asking the governor to use his clemency power to release Pretty. About 50 lawmakers signed a letter sent to Hogan with the request Wednesday.

"Even if Ms. Pretty fully recovers from covid-19, she will continue to be at risk in the correctional environment given her age and preexisting conditions," the letter reads.

A spokesman for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Crutchfield wrote that "there was no reason to believe" that Pretty would not eventually be released, if she met the criteria established for parole when she was sentenced in 1978. She said Pretty has obtained a degree in sociology from Morgan State University, counsels young women and has not had an infraction in more than two decades.

"Though she was convicted of a violent crime, she is not a violent person," the letter reads.

Pretty, who was interviewed in 2015 by Diane Sawyer for a TV special on women behind bars, was charged for her involvement in the 1978 murder of a Baltimore grocer. She worked at the store at the time and helped her boyfriend tie up the owner during a robbery.

She told Sawyer she is haunted by Louis Thomas' pleas, begging not to die. She recalled telling the grocer to "just listen to what he tells him to do and nobody was going to die."

She fled the store and later heard gunshots. Her boyfriend, who she said used to abuse her, had shot and killed Thomas.

In 2003, Pretty asked then-Gov. Robert Ehrlich Jr., R, to change her sentence to the death penalty.

"I wrote Gov. Ehrlich and asked him for lethal injection," she said in the interview. "Because of the victim's family and everybody. I wanted them to know that I was sorry for the crime that I had committed."

Leigh Goodmark and Lila Meadow, Pretty's attorneys, said they have been pushing for her release long before the pandemic. Pretty was recommended for parole in 2008 and was rejected in 2011 by then-Gov. Martin O'Malley, D. She was then recommended for parole in 2015 and rejected in 2019 by Hogan.

Maryland is one of three states, with California and Oklahoma, that requires the governor's signature to parole inmates sentenced to life.

"The whole reason we have parole is to show that people can change," Goodmark said. "If parole means anything you have to look at Eraina Pretty and say she has done everything she has been told to do. The one thing she can't change is what put her in prison."

Pretty's daughter, Kecha Dunn, spoke to her mother briefly this week and "she seems to be doing OK," according to Goodmark. She has been released from the hospital and is back at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women at Jessup.

"They haven't talked in detail about the medical stuff," Goodmark said. "After three weeks, she just wanted to know that she was OK."

Goodmark and Meadow said they have tried to set up a legal call with their client, but have been unsuccessful.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of destroying live COVID-19 samples instead of sharing them and said that America stands with over 120 nations, including Australia, who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus.

China banned beef exports and levied 80 per cent trariffs on barley from Australia as the country supported international call for an investigation into the pandemic that has claimed over 324,000 lives in the world and infected over 4.9 million people worldwide.

Pompeo said that China threatened Australia with economic retribution for the simple act of asking for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus.

That's not right. We stand with Australia and the more than 120 nations now who have taken up the American call for an inquiry into the origins of the virus, we can understand what went wrong and save lives now and in the future, Pompeo told reporters at a conference.

The Chinese Communist Party's response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan have accelerated our more realistic understanding of communist China. The party chose to destroy live virus samples instead of sharing them or asking us to help secure them, he said.

The People's Liberation Army has claimed more features in the South China seas international waters, sank a Vietnamese fishing boat, threatened Malaysian energy prospector, and declared a unilateral fishing ban.

The United States condemns these unlawful acts, he said.

He said that China also chose to pressure the World Health Organization's Director General Tedros Adhanom into excluding Taiwan from this week's assembly in Geneva.

I understand that Dr. Tedros' unusually close ties to Beijing started long before this current pandemic, and that is a deeply troubling, he said.

Pompeo said that the Chinese President Xi Jinping claimed this week that China is active with openness, transparency, and responsibility.

I wish it were so. It's been 142 days since doctors at Wuhan Central Hospital first started sharing information about a SARS-like virus, and yet today as we also here this morning, Beijing continues to deny investigators access to relevant facilities, to withhold live virus samples, to censor discussions of the pandemic within China and much, much more, he said.

The Chinese Communist Party wants to demonstrate real openness, real transparency it could easily hold press conference like this very press conference and allow reporters to ask him anything that they would like, he added.

Pompeo said that China's contributions dividing the pandemic are paltry compared to the cost that they have imposed on the world.

This plague has cost roughly 90,000 American lives. More than 36 million Americans have lost their jobs since March. Globally, 300,000 lives could be as much as USD 9 trillion dollars according to our estimates, cost imposition on the world by China's failures.

The United States has responded with about USD 10 billion to benefit the international response everything from vaccine research to funding for preparedness efforts and humanitarian aid that is compared to a promise of USD 2 billion from the Chinese. I look forward to seeing them fulfill that USD 2 billion commitment, he said.

Pompeo said the media's focus on the current pandemic risks missing the bigger picture of the challenge that is presented by the Communist Party of China.

Noting that China has been ruled by a brutal authoritarian regime, a communist regime since 1949, he said that for several decades the US thought the regime would become more like America through trade, scientific exchanges, diplomatic outreach, letting them in the WTO as a developing nation.

That didn't happen, he said.

We greatly underestimated the degree to which Beijing is ideologically and politically hostile to free nations. The whole world is waking up to that fact. Pew reported I think it was this past week that 66 per cent of Americans have an unfavourable view of China. That is a direct result of the Chinese Communist Party's choices, which are influenced by the nature of the regime, and the nature of that regime is not new, Pompeo said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mumbai, May 20 : The Sharman Joshi-starrer "Fauji Calling", which was earlier to be released in the theatre, will now be launched on an OTT platform, says writer-director Aaryaan Saxena.

"The film is ready. In fact we were supposed to release it in May but we can't do so owing to the lockdown. So, I have discussed with my producers to release it on OTT platforms," said Saxena.

The makers have unveiled the poster of the film that also features Ranjha Vikram Singh, Bidita Bag, Mugdha Godse and Zarina Wahab.

The story is based on events around the Pulwama attack, and how such attacks not only take away the lives of soldiers but permanently scar their near and dear ones. The incidents are relatable even today since there are ceasefire violations happening even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Said Ranjha: " 'Fauji Calling' tells the story of the armed forces as well as the untold story of their families. Even today, while we all are ensuring we are safe, the soldiers are on duty and are guarding the country, and not just their near and dear ones. At this time, it is extremely important to recognise their sacrifice and that is why we want 'Fauji Calling' to reach out to the audience as soon as possible."
The fight against the coronavirus pandemic was the central theme of the 73rd World Health Assembly which was held through a video conference. Representatives of the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan and the Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the UN Office in Geneva participated in the video conference.

The development and adoption by Turkmenistan of the preparedness and response plan and rapid response measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus into the country was cited as a good example during the online meeting.

Stressing the importance of broad international cooperation, the participants noted the importance of close cooperation to combat dangerous infections such as coronavirus.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
The militants agreed to receive the aid only from the Red Cross

press conference of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky Press service of Ukrainian President

Ukraine offered occupied areas of Donbas to provide them with humanitarian aid to fight against Covid-19 but the so-called local authorities refused from the proposal as 112 Ukraine TV channel reported citing President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The president stated he is familiarized with real rates of incidence with coronavirus in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the difficult situation there.

We offered them humanitarian aid, common people. They do not get it hiding behind the fact that they have everything to fight Covid-19. There is nothing. There are no infectious hospitals, sufficient beds, or protective means, the president said.

He stated he succeeded to agree on the entry permit for the humanitarian freight through Red Cross.

I have agreed directly with the Red Cross and then they admitted and agreed to get the humanitarian aid from the Red Cross, Zelensky said.

As we reported, Ukraine has turned to the ODIHR, asking to follow the human rights protection situation in the temporarily occupied territories in Donbas and Crimea. In conditions of the raging Covid-19 pandemic, these violations are an increasingly common thing in these areas.




The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, says he will soon start charging the Nigerian government for receiving free education from his page.

Naija News reports that the IPOB leader, who is on exile, made this comment in a statement entitled, Learning is good isnt it, especially from miscreants personally signed by him, and made available to journalists by Emma Powerful, the IPOB Media and Publicity Secretary.

Taking a swipe at the Nigerian government led by President Muhammadu Buhari, Kanu said that the government visits his Facebook page to get free education, adding that very soon he will start charging Nigerian government for receiving free education from his page.

Kanu made this statement when queried why the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha for allegedly making an announcement that was supposed to be made by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Apparently displeased with the announcement, the PDP issued a statement, condemning President Buhari for not announcing the extension of gradual lockdown ease himself.

Our party points out that nowhere in our laws are the powers to broadcast Presidential executive orders to declare curfew and restriction of movements vested in the Office of the SGF. The action of the SGF has brought serious confusion in the polity regarding the legality or otherwise of the directives contained in the SGFs announcement, the PDP had said in a statement.



Reacting to the action of the SGF and the statement issued by the PDP, Kanu said: Last night I wrote in my penultimate post that Boss Mustapha made an announcement which the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo ought to have made in the absence of Mr President.

It is an abomination in a democracy for a mere political appointee to issue a directive to citizens who cannot hold him accountable through the ballot box.

This is Government 101. The TV station knew that was not only wrong and democratically untenable, it was a subversion of the Constitution and will of the people.

Later that same night the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, issued a statement, rebuking the government for using Boss Mustapha to issue directives to Nigeria citizens.

This is how it will be in the future, Nigerians will troop to Biafraland to learn how to run a democratic government and we Biafrans would be glad to teach them for free because they are fellow Africans, the IPOB leader.

Share this post with your Friends on
The number of deaths from the virus are being overblown by Trump-hating death counters, and also more than 90,000 people have died, which is a great success. If the president had done nothing, millions would have died from this nothing-to-worry-about virus. Also, the dead are only a small percentage of the population and it was their fault (the dying, I mean) because they were unhealthy, so they dont really count and technically the COVID-19 death toll is zero. But we salute them  the hardly any  for being warriors in the great fight against this horribly overblown hoax-plague that couldve killed millions were it not for President Trumps great leadership.
STOCKHOLM, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Among the countless number of malware threats affecting businesses, ransomware is the biggest offender, costing organizations over $7.5 billion in 2019 alone. Cyber-attacks affect more than just large companies, and Backup Ninja, a product of Severalnines, is the most simple, secure and cost-effective solution for small businesses to combat these threats. The software enables users to backup the world's most popular open source databases locally or in the cloud, providing a safe and secure backup to minimize the impact caused by ransomware.

Ransomware attacks are costly, and small businesses suffer disproportionately due to less resources or a lack of sophisticated security tools and management. As the prevalence of ransomware increases, so too have the ransom demands; in 2019, ransom dollar amounts increased 37%. The downtime, often caused by a company's unwillingness or inability to pay, can cost up to 23 times more than the ransom amount itself, and in 2019 those costs have soared over 200%.

"Small businesses are attractive targets because they have information that cybercriminals want, and they typically lack the security infrastructure of larger businesses," said the U.S. Small Business Association (sba.gov). "According to a recent SBA survey, 88% of small business owners felt their business was vulnerable to a cyberattack. Yet many businesses can't afford professional IT solutions; they have limited time to devote to cybersecurity, or they don't know where to begin."

For cybercriminals, there's no more cost-effective option to hold a business hostage. It's highly transmissible, as many clients often unknowingly spread the malware onto other devices, and many of the vulnerabilities that are preyed upon are of the company's own doing. Weak passwords, poor access management, a lack of security training, and aggressive phishing email campaigns are all avenues of opportunity that cybercriminals regularly exploit for monetary gain.

Backup Ninja aims to provide an equally cost-cost effective but far more simple and sophisticated solution to combat ransomware through its safe and secure backup software. Whether stored locally or in the cloud, database integrity is always preserved to ensure a seamless restoration of data. If the threat of troublesome malware should arise, businesses won't have to pay any ransoms, and downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.

Backup Ninja uses advanced TLS encryption for operations and encrypts stored databases using AES-256 encryption," said Vinay Joosery, CEO of Severalnines. "Backup Ninja is simple enough for the smallest website database and feature-rich enough to support enterprise-grade requirements. Any application can take advantage of our service, as long as we offer support for the database you are using in your application."

Businesses can protect themselves, maintain productivity, as well as profitability, with Backup Ninja, and never have to pay to retrieve their own data again.

For more information, visit Backup Ninja.

About Severalnines

Severalnines provides automation and management software for open source database clusters. We help companies deploy their databases in any environment and manage all the operational aspects to achieve high-scale availability. Severalnines' products are used by System Administrators, Developers, and DBAs of all skill levels to provide a fully complete database lifecycle; freeing them from the complexity and learning curves that are typically associated with highly-available database setups.

The company has enabled tens of thousands of deployments to date via its popular product ClusterControl for customers like ABSA Bank, BT, Cisco, HP, IBM Research, NHS, Orange, Ping Identity, Technicolor, and VodafoneZiggo. Severalnines is a private company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with employees operating remotely around the world. To see who is using Severalnines' products, visit, https://severalnines.com/about-us/customers.

Contact:

Forrest Lymburner

[email protected]

+1 347-809-3407

Related Images

image1.jpeg

SOURCE Backup Ninja

Related Links

https://severalnines.com


Calling into question the legitimacy of elections sets the stage for legal battles before and after the November vote.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday stepped up his campaign against absentee voting in the United States by threatening to withhold unspecified federal funding from two states that recently moved to make the practice easier because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a pair of tweets, the president attacked officials in both Michigan and Nevada for their plans to expand mail-in voting in upcoming primaries in those states and the general election in November. Trump, without citing a specific law, called the moves illegal.

This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path! Trump wrote, copying Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, his chief of staff, and the acting US budget director.

State of Nevada thinks that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They cant! If they do, I think I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections. @RussVought45 @USTreasury  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on Tuesday said all 7.7 million Michigan voters would receive absentee ballot applications  not the ballots themselves, as Trump alleged  before the states August 4 primary and the November 3 general election, so that no one has to choose between their health and their right to vote.

Benson said the money to help speed the process along came from $11.2m it received from the federal government for elections.

Hi!  I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia. https://t.co/kBsu4nHvOy  Jocelyn Benson (@JocelynBenson) May 20, 2020

Trump has been very vocal about his opposition to voting by mail, claiming the practice is ripe for fraud although there is scant evidence of widespread wrongdoing with mail-in voting. Trump himself requested a mail ballot for Floridas GOP primary last month, and he has voted absentee in previous elections.

By calling into question the legitimacy of the elections before they occur, Trump is setting the stage for what is expected to be a prolonged battle between Republicans and Democrats before the November election. Lawyers on both sides are lined up to raise legal challenges to mail-in voting if the results are even remotely close, and if Trump does fail in his re-election effort he can blame voter fraud for the outcome.

What is important to understand about the Presidents voter fraud tweets this a.m. is not that he is threatening states or that he is factually wrong about what states are doing. Its that he is setting up a backdrop narrative of fraud for post-November 3.  Michael Li  (@mcpli) May 20, 2020

It was not immediately clear what steps Trump could take to delay any funding, coronavirus relief or any other kind, to the states he attacked in Wednesdays tweets.

Residents in Nevada began voting last week in that states first all-mail primary election, which was rescheduled to June. The election is for statewide offices only; Nevada voters caucused in February to select candidates in the presidential primaries.

Michigan, a so-called swing state, does not reliably line up with one political party during election cycles. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016, but in 2012 it went to former President Barack Obama, a Democrat. The Democratic governor there, Gretchen Whitmer, is one of several women under consideration to be Democrat Joe Bidens running mate in November and has clashed frequently with the president over federal assistance during the crisis.

Trump tweeted as Michigan grapples with a new challenge  severe flooding in one central Michigan county after two dams failed. He is scheduled to visit a Ford manufacturing plant in the state on Thursday to highlight the companys work producing ventilators to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Regulatory News:

AKKA (Paris:AKA) (BSE:AKA) (ISIN:FR0004180537) announces the delisting of Data Respons from the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Following the delisting procedure initiated on 13th May, AKKA owns 100% of Data Respons' share capital, whose delisting has been confirmed by the Oslo Stock Exchange yesterday evening.

The acquisition of Data Respons is in line with AKKA's ambition to strengthen its digital activities. Innovation stimulated by digital, mobility, electrification and Advanced Driver Assistance Services (ADAS) will continue to drive demand. The acceleration in the deployment of AKKA's digital strategy will enable the Group to emerge as a leading player in the post-crisis era.

Data Respons is still working at full capacity despite the current crisis to offer solutions to its customers, and recorded organic growth of 8% in Q1.

Next events:

Half-year 2020 revenue: Monday, 27th July 2020

Half-year 2020 results: Tuesday, 15th September 2020

In case of discrepancy between the French and English versions of the press release, only the French version shall be deemed valid.

About AKKA

AKKA is the European leader in engineering consulting and R&D services in the mobility segment. As an innovation accelerator for its clients, AKKA supports leading industry players in the automotive, aerospace, rail and life sciences sectors throughout the life cycle of their products with cutting edge digital technologies (AI, ADAS, IoT, Big Data, robotics, embedded computing, machine learning, etc.).

Founded in 1984, AKKA has a strong entrepreneurial culture and is pursuing its fast-paced growth. With approximately 22,000 technology-passionate employees and half a billion Euros digital platform, AKKA is dedicated to advancing the future of industry and supporting the digital transition of its clients. The Group recorded revenues of 1.8 billion in 2019.

AKKA Technologies is listed on Euronext Paris and Brussels Segment A ISIN code: FR0004180537.

For more information, please visit www.akka-technologies.com

Follow us on: twitter.com/AKKA_Tech

About Data Respons

Data Respons is a pure-play digital leader with an in-depth expertise in software development, R&D services, advanced embedded systems and IoT solutions. The company is headquartered in Oslo (Norway) and has a strong portfolio of clients in the Nordic region and in Germany, supported by 1,400 software digital specialists.

Data Respons continued its successful development in 2019 with revenue growth of 25% and a 51% increase in EBITDA.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005649/en/

Contacts:

AKKA

Investor Relations

Dov Levy

VP Investor Relations

Tel: +32(0) 2 712 61 24

dov.levy@akka.eu

Media Relations

Markus Leutert

Group Head of Communications

Tel.: +32(0) 4 96 26 27 55

markus.leutert@akka.eu

FTI Consulting

akka@fticonsulting.com

Media Relations, France

Lea Truchetto/Emily Oliver

Tel.: +33(0) 1 47 03 68 15
Vice President Mike Pence appeared bare-faced at a burger bar alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday on a trip to Orlando to tout economic reopening.

Pence's last trip out of Washington was delayed by the news that one of his top aides, spokeswoman Katie Miller, had contracted COVID-19.

And while Pence spent several days keeping his distance from President Trump, he did not social distance during his tour of Florida Wednesday, though briefly put on a mask to address nursing home workers from 20 feet away.

Vice President Mike Pence (right) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) sit and wait for their foord at Beth's Burger Bar in Orlando. Neither wore a mask into the restaurant

Beth's Burger Bar owner Beth Steele (left) asked Vice President Mike Pence (center) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) for their burger preferences as she says the peanut butter burger is her top seller

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) and Vice President Mike Pence (right) took off their masks to address reporters after giving more PPE to an Orlando nursing home facility

As soon as he stopped talking to the workers, and with the home's director of nursing - in a mask - along his side, he peeled off his face covering to briefly address reporters.

DeSantis followed suit.

Washington-based reporters traveling with the vice president were tested for the virus the day before.

Pence didn't wear a mask during other moments as well. He greeted mask-less first responders at the Orlando International Airport's tarmac with a bare face and an elbow bump. He also didn't wear a mask to a roundtable event with travel industry leaders later Wednedsay afternoon.

Pence was trying to convey a sense of normalcy, as he sauntered into Beth's Burger Bar and chatted with the owner Beth Steele about her best-selling peanut butter burger and how he preferred his burger - not spicy, with pickles and cheese.

Pence and his entourage of DeSantis, Administrator Seema Verma, and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia didn't wear masks to the lunch spot.

Neither did Steele and some of the restaurant workers who waited on the vice president.

Florida's reopening plan doesn't force patrons to wear masks. It also makes masks for food service employees optional.

Pence's presence was calm, as he praised Florida for 'leading the way.'

DeSantis, on the other hand, acted defensively for most of the day.

When a reporter asked about a controversial firing of a staffer who had worked on Florida's COVID-19 database, DeSantis turned the query into an attack on the media's coverage of his handling of the pandemic.

'Our data is available, our data is transparent - in fact Dr. [Deborah] Birx has talked multiple times about how Florida has the absolute data,' DeSantis began, referencing a top doctor from the White House's coronavirus taskforce. 'So any insinuation otherwise is just typical partisan narrative trying to be spun.'

'And part of the reason is that because you got a lot of people in your profession, who waxed poetically for weeks and weeks about how Florida was gonna be just like New York. "Wait two weeks, Florida's gonna be next. Just like Italy, wait to weeks,"' DeSantis continued.

'Well, hell, we're eight weeks away from that and it hasn't happened,' DeSantis said, raising his voice.

DeSantis pointed out that Florida has a lower death rate than broad swaths of the country.

'We have a lower death rate than the Acela corridor, D.C., everyone up there. We have a lower death rate that the Midwest - Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio,' he continued. 'But even in our region: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia - Florida has the lower death rate.'

Florida also saw 'tens of thousands' of people coming in from the world's 'hot zone,' DeSantis said, though didn't elaborate where.

'So we've succeeded,' the Republican governor said. 'And I think that people just don't want to recognize it because it challenges their narrative. It challenges their assumption, so they've got to try to find a Boogeyman - maybe it says there are black helicopters circling the Department of Health.'

'If you believe that, I got a bridge in Brooklyn, I'd like to sell you,' he scoffed.
President Donald Trump is celebrating a new addition to his immediate family: a lawyer.

His youngest daughter, Tiffany Trump, recently graduated from Georgetown Law School.

Just what I need is a lawyer in the family. Proud of you Tiff! Trump said Wednesday in a congratulatory tweet. Tiffany, 26, is Trump's daughter with his second ex-wife, actress Marla Maples.

Tiffany Trump had to give up the traditional commencement ceremony after schools shut down and shifted to on online instruction because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Georgetown honored its Class of 2020 with weekend video tributes and a virtual ceremony during which degrees were conferred, according to its website.

Tiffany Trump is the first lawyer among the president's five children. Her older siblings Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric followed their father into the world of business.

Don Jr. and Ivanka are graduates of their father's alma mater, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Eric is a Georgetown graduate.

Don Jr. and Eric stepped in to run the Trump Organization, the family business, after their father became president, while Ivanka serves him as a White House adviser.

Barron Trump, the president's fifth child, is 14 and enrolled at a private school in Maryland. His mother is first lady Melania Trump.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The SMM also reported the shelling of its UAV.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine has reported fewer ceasefire violations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the past day.

"In Donetsk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including however, more explosions (45), compared with the previous 24 hours (13 explosions). About two-thirds of ceasefire violations, including almost all explosions, were recorded near the Donetsk Filtration Station (DFS) (15km north of Donetsk)," the SMM said in a daily report on May 19, 2020.

Read alsoOSCE: New disengagement sites in Donbas not identified yet

"In Luhansk region, the SMM recorded fewer ceasefire violations, including fewer explosions (about 30), compared with the previous 24 hours (about 75 explosions). All ceasefire violations were recorded east, south-east and south-west of the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk)," the report said.

It is also reported on May 18, while positioned about 2km east of Bohdanivka (government-controlled, 41km south-west of Donetsk) to conduct a mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight over the western edge of Petrivske (non-government-controlled, 41km south of Donetsk), the SMM heard eight bursts of small-arms fire at an assessed distance of 3.5km east, assessed as aimed at the UAV, which was flying about 3km east of the patrol's position. The SMM safely landed its UAV and left the area.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia's hybrid military forces on May 19 mounted 10 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
What lies beyond the pandemic? MassForward is MassLives series examining the journey of Massachusetts businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

________________

From Tuesday to Friday, Nasrine Awkal, the owner of Taste of Lebanon restaurant, makes dozens of meals for the community during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Ramadan, or Ramazan, is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community. In the U.S. the fast starts on April 23 and ends on May 23.

We've tried to do a proportional meal that has some greens, some protein and some carbs in it. Something that can fill you up but at the same time not to be a waste. [So people will not] throw any of the food away, Awkal said.

During the entire month of Ramadan, Muslims are obligated to abstain from food and drink every day from dawn to sunset.

Taste of Lebanon, West Springfield makes 185 meals during Ramadan for those that don't have food security or members of the comunity that need it. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)

The act of fasting calls for Muslims to practice self-discipline and sacrifice, as well as reflect upon and show compassion for the poor and less fortunate. Muslims are reminded to be generous and increase their charitable activities. As a result, during Ramadan, much charitable giving is done by the community. Donations are usually focused on giving to those stricken by poverty and hunger.

Awkal, a former social worker, has been in the West Springfield community for 22 years after coming to the U.S. from Lebanon. She tells MassLive that she has known extreme hunger from her country of birth. This has led, in part, to her wanting to help anyone that might be struggling as well as also promoting a sense of community.

Its not only for the Islamic Society. Its for anyone in the community -- any person that walks in. We never turned anyone down, said Awkal. Even if they forgot their wallet, we do not turn anyone away. Food is something that we take for granted but its a big problem around the world.

Awkal and her restaurant Taste of Lebanon have struggled like many restaurants in the U.S. during the pandemic. She is only making 60% of the income that she made before the crisis.

Awkal applied for the Payment Protection Program but was turned down by her bank and wants to apply for the next round when theres more available.

Taste of Lebanon, West Springfield makes 185 meals during Ramadan for those that don't have food security or members of the comunity that need it. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)

President Donald Trump on March 27 signed a $2.2 trillion COVID-19 relief package into law, freeing up cash and loans for Americans and small business owners grappling with the economic fallout from the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

We're trying to get that funding, said Awkal. I didn't have any credit cards with them and all that. So, they said I have to apply by myself.

She has been able to keep all her staff, which she considers family, by changing their hours around.

We're a small business so we don't have a lot of workers, but every worker has a family and they depend on them, said Awkal. So, we were trying not to shorten their hours.

Awkal said that she is looking at applying for any future funding that might be available through the state or federal government.

The Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts has been providing funding to restaurants that provide meals for not only Muslims during the coronavirus pandemic but anyone who feels food insecurity.

Owner of the Taste of Lebanon restaurant in West Springfield Nasrim Awkal will offer food to anyone that comes through the doors during Ramadan partly because she sees food as a human right. (Douglas Hook / MassLive)

In April, Dr. M. Saleem Bajwa, a Holyoke physician and member of the ISWM, said there should be no cause for concern over how Muslims will observe Ramadan during the pandemic in which large gatherings were banned and houses of worship were closed.

We are maintaining social distancing very strictly and will continue to do so throughout Ramadan. All the Islamic organizations and Islamic centers in North America have advised their congregations to observe iftars and do prayers at home," Bajwa said.

Iftar, also known as ftoor, is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset.

In place of Islamic Society daily iftars during Ramadan, Bajwa said, the Islamic Society will sponsor takeout food packs from the West Springfield restaurant Taste of Lebanon.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the ISWM has had to look at ways they can provide food during Ramadan. The society would be doing this regardless but it would be at their center in West Springfield rather than at satellite locations.

The ISWM is using three different restaurants to provide food. On the weekends, Azshara Catering provides meals, on Mondays, its from the Janna Mediterranean Grill & Juice Bar and Tuesday through Friday, its Taste of Lebanon.

I lived most of my life in Lebanon and I know what people feel when they dont have food, said Awkal. I know that people have their kids go to bed hungry at night because they cant afford to buy food. When I first opened [this restaurant] I said, this is a restaurant for the whole Community not Islamic Society. For everyone. No one would leave hungry.

MassForward is MassLive's series examining the journey of Massachusetts' small businesses through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

Related Content:
An Upper Macungie Township automotive garage that came under fire from a patron who says he spotted a racist prop there has since issued a public apology, calling the incident racially insensitive.

Getzs Service Station, 10635 Hamilton Blvd. in Breinigsville, said in the statement Wednesday afternoon the service manager who didnt take immediate action when the prop was brought to his attention has since been reprimanded. Another roughly 10 employees would be participating in mandatory diversity sensitivity training.

"When we learned what happened on site, we were concerned and troubled, stated Mark Getz, manager of Getzs Service Station. We want customers and partners to know that Getz Service Station has a zero-tolerance policy for racism or racial insensitivity and that we have taken steps to rectify this situation.

Getz thanked Bethlehem business owner Joey Davis, of Tactical Towing LLC, in the statement for shedding light on the issue.

Davis took to Facebook on Monday to express outrage after he saw, from the outside of an employee-only garage of the station, what looked like a black baby doll hanging from a noose. Davis was dropping off a car that had been totaled.

Davis contends when he brought the prop to the attention of a service manager, the manager allegedly replied with a giggle followed by, I dont know how it got there. Davis said it took him about 30 minutes to load his truck and when he checked again, the prop remained.

His Facebook posting continued to garner feedback by Wednesday afternoon, nearing 2,900 reactions, 208 comments and about 4,800 shares.

Davis on Wednesday shared with lehighvalleylive.com a statement he planned to send to Getz, reading:

On my behalf of myself, I will like to thank you for finally addressing the matter at hand. The fact that your business will now take steps to make sure this never happens again is fantastic. Ill be the first to tell you that Ive made plenty of mistakes in my life. What I discovered that works best for me, is to learn from those mistakes and apply what youve learned to your everyday life. So, thank you for accepting responsibility and for making the right decision with moving forward. None of us are perfect but I believe as long as we keep God and humanitys best interest in our hearts, America will one day be a country free of hatred.

Reached by a reporter at the station Tuesday, a female Getz representative initially declined comment. The company posted a banner on its website the same day, stating: "The picture posted is not what it is described to be. Being in business for over 40 years serving the local community, our company does not condone racism of any kind.

The company Wednesday said they believe the doll originally came from a wrecked vehicle being serviced. The prop has since been removed from the station, the company said.

We regret this episode and we want the community to know that our family business is fully committed to doing right by all customers and partners, now and in the future, Getz stated.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will start at the national military academy this autumn after completing her secondary education at a Welsh boarding school, it was announced today.

The heir to the throne, 18, spent 18 months boarding at UWC Atlantic College, in South Wales, before returning home to Brussels in March ahead of the government lockdown.

Like students across the country, the royal has been forced to finish her studies remotely and will not return to the school. She has spent the last two months living with her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, and three siblings in Brussels.

Today it was announced Princess Elisabeth will follow in her father's footsteps by enrolling at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, where she will learn about military and social affairs that will help her prepare for her future role as Queen.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will start at the national military academy this autumn after completing her secondary education at a Welsh boarding school, it was announced today. Pictured, with parents Queen Mathilde and King Philippe on her 18th birthday last October

The princess, who will receive her International Baccalaureate Diploma this summer, will complete a one-year course in social and military sciences.

King Philippe, 60, spent three years at the esteemed institution between 1978 to 1981.

Elisabeth, who is heir apparent to the Belgian throne, had been studying in Wales for the past 18 months after being accepted at the school in March 2018. She was due to take her final exam in May.

How Elisabeth will become Belgium's first queen by birth On turning 18, Princess Elisabeth became legally old enough to rule without a substitute regent being appointed. It means Elisabeth is now eligible to become queen on the death of her father, although given he is in good health and aged just 60 that is not expected to be soon. When she does ascend the throne, Elisabeth will become the first ever Queen of Belgium by birth. On its foundation in 1830, the Belgian constitution stipulated that accession to the throne was reserved for the descendants of Leopold I by order of primogeniture 'to the perpetual exclusion of women'. But the Salic law was abolished in 1991. Elisabeth's great-uncle Baudouin was on the throne at the time. Her grandfather Albert II was King from Baudouin's death in 1993 until he abdicated in favour of his son King Philippe, Elisabeth's father, in 2003. Advertisement

UWC Atlantic College had reportedly put in place a distance learning platform at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic so that student could complete their year, after the school had to close.

It has now be made official that the princess won't return to Wales and instead move on to studying her country's military system at the Royal Military Academy.

There, she will learn in-depth about the four components of Belgian defense; Army, Air Force, Navy and Medical.

While in isolation at Laeken Palace, Elizabeth and her siblings, three siblings, Prince Gabriel, 16, Prince Emmanuel, 14 and Princess Eleonore, 12, have spent time volunteering.

They showed their support for Belgium's elderly popular by calling retirement homes and delivering baked goods.

Elizabeth's younger sister Princess Elenore, 12, has been tagging along some of her mother's engagements, doing her best to help Belgium move forward from the pandemic.

On May 14, she accompanied her mother Queen Mathilde to a community kitchen providing meals for the homeless.

On May 15, she headed back to school, with her dad King Philippe wearing a mask as he walked her to the establishment in Brussels.

Elizabeth is following into the footsteps of her father, King Philippie, who attended the school between 1978 to 1981. (Pictured with her brother Prince Gabriel during the Belgian National Day in 2018)

The mother-of-four, 46, and her daughter, 12, put safety first as they donned protective masks and rubber gloves as they stepped out amid the coronavirus pandemic.

During her visit, the royal inquired about the impact of coronavirus on the safety of daily life.

The Belgian government has asked all citizens to stay home and refrain from 'non-essential inbound and outbound travel' to slow the spread of the virus.
Two opposing views of reality around the epidemic

By Malkhaz Matsaberidze

The Coronavirus epidemic continues in Georgia and, as in other countries, has created a new reality here, but with two different visions of reality - one is the one of the government and the other is the vision of the opposition. Most importantly, these two perceptions of the existing reality are radically different from each other.According to the governments vision of the situation in Georgia, the fight against the epidemic is successful, the increase in the number of patients as a result of government measures is not large, and the country's health care system is successfully coping with the current scale of the epidemic. As for the losses caused to the economy and the population due to the restrictions, an anti-crisis program has been developed and it will help both the individual strata of the population and the business, depending on the country's capabilities. In addition, there is a schedule for phasing out the restrictions - at two-week intervals. Neither will the upcoming parliamentary elections be in danger, and they will be held within the set timeframe, under the new electoral system, which is provided for in the agreement reached with the opposition on March 8th.According to the opposition, the situation is quite difficult. Authorities made mistakes in the fight against the epidemic, no mass testing was conducted and we do not know the actual number of infected people, doctors are not properly provided with equipment and no training has been conducted for them, which is why the number of infected medical personnel is very high.The anti-crisis program presented by the government leaves a significant number of citizens in need completely unattended, and those who help, the amount provided is insufficient. In addition, the government is using the anti-crisis program for election purposes and will use it to attract voters' votes in the fall and to fund its supporters. The opposition accuses the government of incurring a number of spending and procurement schemes in the fight against the epidemic. The government is using the state of emergency to pursue political and corrupt goals and is already actively involved in the pre-election campaign, the opposition said.In short, the allegations made against the government are large-scale. In response, the government accuses the opposition of populism and hostility to the country's interests.Authorities said the state of emergency in the country could continue for some time after May 22. The opposition strongly opposes this and believes that it will have catastrophic consequences for the country's economy. The opposition is demanding the opening of the economy and the abolition of absurd restrictions, including the curfew. Unless the government is not an enemy of its people, it wont continue the state of emergency, said Davit Chichinadze.The opposition believes the government used the epidemic to make the parliament dysfunctional; it has stopped working. The ruling team found itself in a comfortable situation amid the constraints caused by the epidemic, it works in an environment where there is no competitor, operating without parliamentary control. The United National Movement (UNM) has said it will end its boycott of parliamentary sessions and called for a resumption of parliamentary sessions. Ivanishvili, who is in isolation, has practically abolished the parliament, the United National Movement said. The United National Movement (UNM) demanded on May 29 that Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia attend a plenary session of parliament. Opposition groups called for an end to poverty alleviation in the country, but for the government to address the plight of those affected by the state of emergency.The Georgian Dream considers the accusations of suspending the activities of the Parliament unfounded. Mamuka Mdinaradze claimed that it has actually become more active in the sense of crisis and healthcare management and economy. As for the summoning of the Prime Minister to the Parliament, the Georgian Dream considered it populism, as Gakharia has to deliver a speech in the Parliament on June 1st anyway.Opposition groups called for a boycott of the parliamentary elections. We must not allow the government to adjust the date of the elections to its own comfort, the opposition said. It seems that the government is not going to postpone the elections. The date of the parliamentary elections has already been announced - October 31, which was mentioned by the former Speaker of the Parliament Irakli Kobakhidze.He said that if the state of emergency became necessary, constitutional changes would be possible in July. According to the Constitution of Georgia, parliamentary elections will be held on the last Saturday of October in the calendar year of the expiration of the term of office of the Parliament. However, the date of the elections is set by the President of Georgia no later than 60 days before the elections.
Keansburgs effort to remake its waterfront got a surge of recognition from the nations beach replenishment community on Tuesday, when the boroughs Raritan Bay beachfront was named one of Americas 5 Best Restored Beaches for 2020 by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association.

Like much of New Jerseys ocean and bay shorelines, Keansburgs beach and system of protective dunes were heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandys storm surge in 2012, before eventually being replenished and rebuilt under projects led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In Keansburg, the beach was widened and a protective dune was built with a wooden walkway on top, affording what local officials refer to as a billion-dollar view of the bay and the New York City skyline beyond.

The Borough of Keansburg successfully restored their 2.5 miles of shoreline that was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, the association, based in Fort Myers, Florida, stated in an announcement of the five winners on Tuesday.

The coastal New Jersey town along the Raritan Bay accomplished their beachfront restoration utilizing 1.1 million cubic yards of sand and reconstructed 10,000 square feet of the Baywalk, the announcement said of the $36 million, multi-phased project, which began in 2014. The Beachfront Restoration project fortified the Boroughs storm resiliency in addition to creating a more robust, damage-resistant Baywalk.

In addition to its beach, the boroughs bayfront features Keansburg Amusement Park and Runaway Rapids Waterpark  now closed due to the coronavirus  as well as the view. And Keansburg made the top-5 restored beach list amid an ongoing attempt to burnish its image, which has faded since the borough was established in the early 20th Century as a seaside resort largely for New Yorkers ferried across Raritan Bay.

Mayor James Cocuzza said in a statement that the borough was honored to be recognized by the association.

Keansburg Beach is a hidden gem of the Bayshore, Cocuzza stated. After being destroyed by Superstorm Sandy we have come back tenfold.

The beach associations executive director, Derek Brockbank, said a judging committee of industry professionals selected Keansburgs beach as a winner after it was nominated by one of the ASBPAs 1,000-plus members, who include beachfront municipalities, engineering and sand dredging firms, and individuals from the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Brockbank said the winners were decided based on how effectively the beach was restored, both aesthetically and functionally, including how they protect beachfront communities from storms, preserve wildlife habitat, or provide recreational opportunities like swimming and sunbathing.

Keansburgs beach was the first in New Jersey to make the American Shore and Beach Preservation Associations top 5 list since 2018, when Thompsons Beach on the Delaware Bay in Maurice River Township was named for an environmental project intended to preserve a habitat for horseshoe crabs.

The associations four other Best Restored Beaches around the country for 2020 were Cardiff State Beach in California; South Benson Marina/Jennings Beach in Connecticut; Norriego Point, Florida; and Tybee Island, Georgia.

Not everyone is a fan of beach restoration.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said replenishment projects can cause environmental damage or disruption though offshore dredging for sand that will only be washed back out to sea, a questionable use of limited public funds.

Its like shoveling sand at the tide, Tittel said.

What local officials call the "billion-dollar view" looking north from Keansburg's now nationally recognized restored beach toward (l-r) Staten Island, Manhattan, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and Brooklyn.Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Consumers who defaulted on their loans from the company as of last year will be allowed to keep their car if it has not been dispossessed, and they are eligible for waivers for unpaid balances, according to the settlement. The company will pay $65 million directly toward alleged consumer losses and provide hundreds of millions more in the form of loan relief.
After a UN human rights official criticised BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, saying that the latters alleged statements about Muslims were "extremely alarming", the BJP lawmaker sought source clarification.

Earlier, Under-Secretary-General Adama Dieng said on Monday that alleged statements attributed to Swamy like "all people are not equal", and that "Muslims are not in an equal category' as others" were extremely alarming.



Dieng added, "Hate speech and the dehumanisation of others go against international human rights norms and values."



However, the BJP lawmaker, while speaking to IANS, shot back and demanding to know "the source or medium" of the alleged statement attributed to Swamy by Dieng. Swamy asked, "Or is it cut and paste fake news?"





Meanwhile, Dieng, who is also the special adviser on the prevention of genocide, said he was concerned by "reports of increased hate speech and discrimination against minority" since the adoption of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).



Interestingly, he described the violent attacks on non-Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh as "alleged persecution". Dieng claimed that the expedited citizenship given to non-Muslim minorities should be extended to Muslims in order to be non-discriminatory.



Excluding Muslims "is contrary to India's obligations under international human rights law, in particular on non-discrimination," he said, without explaining how a measure to explicitly protect religious minorities from Pakistan and Afghanistan, which are officially Islamic countries, and Muslim-majority Bangladesh would apply to the members of the majority religion there.



"While the objective of the act, to provide protection to minority communities, is commendable, it is concerning that this protection is not extended to all groups, including Muslims," Dieng said.



Strikingly, while he called the minorities' experience in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh "alleged persecution", his statement was silent on the killing of 25 Muslims in Afghanistan in March during an attack on a gurdwara.



He said that he was concerned "over reports that demonstrations against the law, which occurred across some regions of India since its enactment, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, had reportedly resulted in the injury and death of civilians, attacks on religious sites, as well as an increase in expressions of hate against India's Muslim community."



However, Dieng said that he welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that Covid-19 "does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking and that our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood."



The statement said that that he "would continue to follow developments (in India) and expressed his readiness to support initiatives to counter and address hate speech."



"In these extraordinary times brought about by the Covid-19 crisis, it is more important than ever that we stand united as one humanity, demonstrating unity and solidarity rather than division and hate," he added.



However, with Swamy seeking an explanation from him over the source of his alleged comment, the ball is now in Dieng's court.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 21:14:22|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

KUWAIT CITY, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait on Wednesday reported 804 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 17,568 and the death toll to 124, the health ministry said in a statement.

Currently, 12,559 patients are receiving treatment, including 167 in ICU, according to the statement.

The ministry also announced the recovery of 204 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 4,885.

The Kuwaiti government has imposed a full curfew in the country to curb the rapid rise in coronavirus cases.

On March 13, Kuwait suspended all commercial flights. The government also closed stores, malls and barbershops in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Enditem
China announced tariffs on Australian goods as retaliation over coronavirus origins investigation.

Australia will publish this Wednesday the Westpac Leading Index for April.

AUD/USD holding on to gains and with room to keep advancing.

The AUD/USD pair surged to 0.6584, a level that was last seen on March 10. Commodity-linked currencies were the best performers against the greenback, despite the sour tone of equities. Even further, the Aussie rallied despite an early slump, triggered by news coming from China. The Asian giant imposed punitive tariffs of more than 80% on barley imports from Australia, and market talks suggest that the movement could extend to wine, seafood, and dairy. The move was a response to the Australian call for an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus.

The Reserve Bank of Australia released the Minutes of its latest meeting, which included no surprises. Policymakers are concerned about the unprecedented economic contraction triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, although they are also confident about the measures taken to bare with it. During the upcoming Asian session, the country will publish the Westpac Leading Index for April, previously at -0.85%.

AUD/USD Short-Term Technical Outlook

The AUD/USD pair is trading near the mentioned high in the 0.6560 regions as the day comes to an end. The 4-hour chart shows that it continues to develop above all of its moving averages, with the 20 SMA crossing above the 100 SMA, both around 0.6480. Technical indicators continue to head higher near overbought readings, all of which maintain the risk skewed to the upside.

Support levels: 0.6530 0.6490 0.6455

Resistance levels: 0.6585 0.6610 0.6645

Photo from Pixabay.

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Advertisement

Gov Gretchen Whitmer has said her administration plans to 'pursue every line of legal recourse' against those responsible for two dam failures that caused devastating flooding as Michigan officials warn the situation could get much worse.

More than 10,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning after the Edenville and Sanford dams burst following heavy rainfall that battered the area for several days. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Whitmer told reporters that 'the state of Michigan is reviewing every potential legal recourse that we have because this incredible damage requires that we hold people responsible'.

While Whitmer didn't make clear who state officials would pursue, it's likely that she was referring to at least one company that operated the Edenville Dam.

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked Boyce Hydro's license to operate the Edenville Dam due to non-compliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area.

'The initial readout is that this was a known problem for a while and that's why its important that we do our due diligence,' Whitmer said. 'Experts are describing this as a 500-year event. It is going to have a major impact on community and on our state for the time to come.'

Brad Kaye, the city manager of Midland, also warned that residents aren't in the clear just yet during the press conference.

'The Sanford dam at this point and time is overflowing. The majority of it, probably 60-80 per cent, has actually been overtopped,' Kaye said. 'It's not entirely clear what the structure is below the water surface,' Kaye said, adding that surveillance over the dam 'continues to show a significant amount of overflow over that dam coming down the river toward the city [Midland]'.

Scroll down for video

Gov Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday that her administration plans to 'pursue every line of legal recourse' against those responsible for the dam failures that occurred on Tuesday as officials said the flooding could get much worse. Rising flood waters are seen in Midland on Wednesday

The Edenville and Sanford dams burst on Tuesday after heavy rainfall battered the area for several days. Rising flood waters of the Tittabawassee River advance upon the city on Wednesday after the breach of the two dams

Flood waters are seen approaching the city of Midland on Wednesday following the breach of two dams

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission revoked the license of the company that operated the Edenville Dam due to non-compliance issues that included spillway capacity and the inability to pass the most severe flood reasonably possible in the area. Rising flood waters approach Midland on Wednesday

Waters overflow the Tittabawassee River on Wednesday as a person who lives in the area walks through flood waters

Gov Whitmer (pictured) told reporters that 'the state of Michigan is reviewing every potential legal recourse that we have because this incredible damage requires that we hold people responsible'

'Could it get worse? Yes. If the entire structure were to go and the water were to come in a very significant, serious, immediate impact there would be a much higher surge that would come down the river and that could raise the level much more quickly than what we're seeing right at the moment,' Kaye added. This graphic depicts potential flooding in Midland

'We don't know quite frankly whether the entire structure is gone or only portions of it are gone beneath that water flow, but it is and will continue to release a significant amount of water from the lake behind it.

'Could it get worse? Yes. If the entire structure were to go and the water were to come in a very significant, serious, immediate impact there would be a much higher surge that would come down the river and that could raise the level much more quickly than what we're seeing right at the moment. So it is a danger, yes.'

Kaye said the properties that are closest to the breached dam could be entirely underwater by Wednesday evening. He said that while the water remains clean, the sewer system is at risk. Four sewer pumping stations have been submerged and have shut down.

'There's an ongoing flooding in parts of Midland with several feet of water, covering some streets of downtown Midland,' National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Andrew Arnold said.

He said flood waters had already reached five feet in parts of downtown.

Displaced residents started gathering in shelters Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning after Whitmer urged locals living in impacted areas to get to safety as quickly as possible.

With shelters open, state officials are grappling with two crises at once: severe flooding and the coronavirus pandemic.

Michigan is under a stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The state has been a national hot spot for COVID-19, with more than 52,000 cases and 5,000 deaths, but Midland County has had fewer than 80 cases and under 10 deaths.

Still, residents were advised to take precautions and schools set up as shelters spaced cots to adhere to social distancing guidelines. As displaced residents arrived to local shelters, first responders made sure they had personal protective equipment and are wearing masks. Workers are also checking evacuees' temperatures.

'Never in my whole life have we seen the dam fail,' said Mark Bone, 53, a business owner and resident of Midland. 'It flood real bad in '86, but never like this.'

Bone, who also serves as chairman of the Midland County Board of Commissioners, said the village of Sanford, the site of one of the dams, has been hit the hardest.

'A lot of businesses are underwater. Luckily no one has died or been hurt,' he said. Bone said that most people so far are sheltering out of town with friends and relatives. 'People are helping each other,' he said. 'That's the way we are. We're a good old hometown Midwest.'

According to Bone, there are about 500 residents in local shelters.

Displaced residents are seen outside a shelter in Sanford, Michigan, after two dams burst, causing 'catastrophic flooding'

Michigan State officers (pictured Wednesday) have been going door-to-door to make sure every resident in the area has evacuated

People living along two mid-Michigan lakes and parts of a river have been evacuated after the dams burst on Tuesday. Firefighters are seen on Wednesday pushing a boat into the water

Michigan officials have warned that the state could see even more catastrophic flooding on Wednesday

A flood warning is in effect throughout Wednesday along the Tittabawassee River in Midland County. Flooding is seen in Midland County on Wednesday morning

The river rose Wednesday morning to 34.4 feet in Midland, topping a previous record reading of 33.89 feet set during flooding in 1986, the National Weather Service (NWS) said

Whitmer, who declared a state of emergency late Tuesday night, said: 'To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable. But we are here, and to the best of our ability we are going to navigate this together.'

The governor encouraged residents to wear face coverings while at shelters and if they go to stay with relatives.

The Michigan National Guard has also been activated and is assisting with evacuations and emergency operations.

'Mid-Michigan Medical Center is working on moving up to 150 patients and the Michigan State Police has marine, air and land vehicles at work to help evacuate,' Whitmer said.

By Wednesday morning, water was several feet high and covered some streets near the river in downtown Midland, including riverside parkland, and reached a hotel and parking lots.

The river rose Wednesday morning to 34.4 feet in Midland, topping a previous record reading of 33.89 feet set during flooding in 1986, the NWS said.

Its flood stage is 24 feet, and it was expected to crest by Wednesday at 8pm at about 38 feet.

The NWS urged anyone near the river to seek higher ground following 'catastrophic dam failures' at the Edenville Dam, about 140 miles north of Detroit, and the Sanford Dam, about seven miles downriver.

Flood waters continue to rush through the path where the Edenville Dam once stood on Wednesday

Residents inspect the floodwaters flowing from the Tittabawassee River into the lower part of downtown Midland on Wednesday

Midland residents in boats inspect the floodwaters flowing from the Tittabawassee River into the lower part of downtown on Wednesday

An aerial view of floodwaters flowing from the Tittabawassee River into the lower part of downtown Midland on Wednesday

A general view shows a flooded street along the Tittabawassee River, after several dams breached, in downtown Midland

Midland County residents walk up to one of two bridges on North M-30 suffered heavy damage on Wednesday

'This is unlike anything we've seen in Midland County,' Whitmer said. 'If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now.'

Emergency responders went door-to-door early Tuesday morning warning residents living near the Edenville Dam, which holds back Wixom Lake, of the rising water.

The evacuations in Michigan followed days of heavy rains in parts of the Midwest that also brought flooding to Chicago and other parts of Illinois, Ohio and other states.

The evacuations included the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of the city of Midland, which has 42,000 people, according to Selina Tisdale, spokeswoman for Midland County.

'People are communicating well and looking after each other and their loved ones,' Tisdale said. 'We're heartbroken for those with lots of home and property damage.'

Dow Chemical, with 9,000 employees and contractors in Midland, on Tuesday shut down all operating units except those needed to contain chemicals, spokesman Kyle Bandlow said.

By Wednesday, floodwater was mixing with on-site containment ponds prompting the company and US Coast Guard to activate emergency plans, Dow said in a statement.

It said there was no threat to the public or the environment, and that it has uncovered no product releases.

The flooding likely will pose a significant setback to the cleanup of a federal Superfund site caused by Dows release of dioxins in the last century, which contaminated sediments and floodplains along 50 miles the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers, said Allen Burton, a professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Michigan.

Dow and the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy will have to determine where the floodwaters have moved the dioxins, Burton said.

'They knew where all that stuff was, but the power of water is unbelievable and it's going to move things around,' Burton said.

MICHIGAN: An aerial view of water from a broken Edenville Dam seen flooding the area as it flows towards Wixom Lake in Michigan

MICHIGAN: Vehicles and signs are seen submerged in floodwaters in downtown Sanford

MICHIGAN: Floodwaters are seen along a street in downtown Sanford on Tuesday. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for locations along the Tittabawassee River after the breach at the Sanford Dam

MICHIGAN: Floodwater surrounds gas pumps at Wixom Lake Gas & Launch Tuesday along the Tittabawassee River in Beaverton

MICHIGAN: The Midwest has been hit by heavy flooding, with residents in one Michigan county forced to evacuate their homes amid fears of 'imminent dam failure'. The driver of this red pickup truck was rescued in Saginaw County, Michigan on Tuesday

MICHIGAN: A view of the flooded area near the Sanford dam. 'This is unlike anything we've seen in Midland County,' Gov Whitmer said. 'If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now'

MICHIGAN: A view of the flooded area near the Sanford Dam on Tuesday. 'Extremely dangerous flash flooding is ongoing along the Tittabawassee River in Midland county due to catastrophic dam failures at the Edenville and Sanford dams,' the weather service said on its website

'At approximately 10:00 a.m. Eastern it was confirmed there were flood waters commingling with on-site containment ponds,' the chemical maker said in a Facebook post. The company also said it was deploying its flood preparedness plan.

'Only essential staff are onsite to monitor and manage the situation with no reported employee injuries. We will continue to engage with our site tenants and Midland County officials and take immediate action to ensure the safety and security of our employees, community and the environment,' the statement reads.

Dow Chemical has been headquartered in Midland for more than 120 years, and its main plant sits on the city's riverbank.

DuPont and Corteva, spun off from DowDuPont, also have manufacturing facilities in Dow's industrial complex in Midland.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted about Michigan, but his initial tweet wasn't about the flooding.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump tweeted about Michigan, but his initial tweet wasn't about the flooding

'Breaking: Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!' the president tweeted.

Trump was referring to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson who said Tuesday that all registered voters - there are 7.7 million of them - will receive applications for absentee ballots, meaning voters would still have to request an actual ballot to vote.

A few hours later he responded to the actual flooding crisis in Michigan

About 10 minutes later, Trump tweeted that: 'We have sent our best Military & @FEMA Teams, already there. Governor must now "set you free" to help'

'By mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,' Benson, a Democrat, said. Her decision is expected to face legal challenges.

Trump's tweet was a threat to use his executive power against states that don't bend to his political will. Trump and other Republicans have argued - without proof - that mail-in voting favors Democrats and concerns about its use as a voting option have ratcheted up during the coronavirus pandemic.

A few hours later the president responded to the actual flooding crisis in Michigan.

'My team is closely monitoring the flooding in Central Michigan  Stay SAFE and listen to local officials. Our brave First Responders are once again stepping up to serve their fellow citizens, THANK YOU!'

About 10 minutes later, Trump tweeted that: 'We have sent our best Military & @FEMA Teams, already there. Governor must now "set you free" to help.

'Will be with you soon,' he added, likely referring to his trip to Detroit scheduled for Thursday.

In response to Trump's tweets, Gov Whitmer said Wednesday afternoon that to see 'Twitter this morning and to see rhetoric like that is disheartening because I think at first it shows you that there maybe was a lack of understanding of what the secretary of state was doing. She said we're going to mail applications not mail ballots'.

'And I would appreciate any federal partnership that wants to stay focused on solving problems and not get into politics. We've got to take politics out of this crisis moment and remember we're all Americans.

'We all have to pitch in and get this right and remember that one another is not the enemy. The enemy is a virus and in this case the enemy is also a flood,' Whitmer added.

In 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave the Edenville Dam, which was built in 1924, an unsatisfactory condition rating.

The Sanford Dam, which was built in 1925, received a fair condition rating from the commission. Both dams are in the process of being sold.

There were 19 high hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition in Michigan in 2018, ranking 20th among the 45 states and Puerto Rico for which The Associated Press obtained condition assessments.

MICHIGAN: Sanford Dam in Midland County, Michigan is pictured. Officials can not contain the amount of water spilling over its gates

MICHIGAN: An aerial view of flooding as water overruns Sanford Dam

MICHIGAN: The Midland Area Farmers Market is pictured after flooding on Tuesday

MICHIGAN: Water inundated a gas station in Wixom, Michigan. Nearby residents were forced to evacuate to local schools

Meanwhile, heavy rains also caused flooding in parts of northwestern Indiana, including Crown Point - the Lake County seat - where about seven inches fell over the weekend.

In Chicago, water that flooded some areas downtown was receding on Tuesday.

But Larry Langford, a fire department spokesman, said that he did not expect power to be restored at the iconic Willis Tower for days because the rains caused the building's subbasements to fill with as much as 25 feet of water.

And in DuPage County, west of the city, a search for an 18-year-old woman who was swept away by a surging DuPage River last Friday remained suspended on Tuesday because the water remained too high and the current too swift to conduct the search safely.

Tony Martinez, spokesman for the DuPage Forest Preserve District, said the area of the river where the woman was swept that is typically about 25 feet wide remained 200 yards wide.

OHIO: In Westerville, Ohio locals were picked up by rescue crews in a motorized boat

OHIO: Westerville residents are pictured being evacuated from their homes following heavy rain

ILLINOIS: The Chicago River overflowed its banks and flooded the Riverwalk on Monday

ILLINOIS: The Windy City was battered by heavy rain, which caused the Chicago River to breach its banks on Monday
Siberia is sizzling in a heatwave as locals say a swathe of this vast Russian region went straight from winter into a roasting summer, skipping spring.

Temperatures have touched 106F (41C) in the Altai Mountain foothills, with May records broken in many locations and residents stifling as they stay home seeking to fend off the threat of coronavirus.

Some have broken out to river and lake beaches to bask in the Saudi-like temperatures in a region more famous as the coldest inhabited place on the planet.

May in the city of Krasnoyarsk as record-breaking air temperatures ranging from 77F (25C) to 95F (35C) were observed all around Western Siberia

Areas in western Siberia have reported temperatures of 77F (25C) to 95F (35C), far hotter than typical for the time of year.

In one of many freak weather consequences, ice at Arctic port of Dudinka on the Yenisei River melted a full month before its usual time of early June.

To the south in Kransoyarsk ticks are swarming some 200 times more than normal, carrying the threat of encephalitis and Lyme disease.

More than 1,000 people have reported tick bites in Kemerovo region, and further west in Tyumen doctors have registered 100 cases a day, said head of regional infectious hospital Galina Polushkina.

A woman enjoys hot may temperatures in the city of Novosibirsk, Russia's third largest city by population

Three women enjoy a drink on the porch in fine weather in the city of Novosibirsk this week

A woman sits among wild flowers in Krasnoyarsk as temperatures have soared 'skipping spring' entirely

Trees and flowers are blooming weeks ahead of schedule in Western Siberia due to the record breaking warm May weather

A record number of wildfires have raged earlier than usual in Siberia, with hundreds of houses and two million hectares destroyed by the end of April.

There are fears for harvests due to the excessive early heat.

Apple and cherry trees which normally bloom at the end of May were in full blossom in late April.

'It's like there was no spring and we moved from the end of winter with metres-high piles of snow straight into summer,' Barnaul radio journalist Sergey Zubchuk told The Siberian Times.

Weeks of hot and dry weather also spiked the number of wildfries around Siberia and Yakutia

Ice is breaking on river Yenisey in the Arctic port of Dudinka weeks ahead of schedule. The usual time is beginning to middle of June

A ship is surrounded by melting ice on the river Yenisey in the Arctic port of Dudinka

Large areas of ice have broken into segments in the river Yenisey in the Arctic port of Dudinka

Water flows through sheets of ice as temperatures cause ice to melt on the river Yenisey

'There was no spring, no weeks-long gentle rise of temperature.

'Somebody just clicked the 'hot air' switch at the end of April, and summer began.

'I'm Siberian-born and lived here for 60 years, I don't remember a single spring like this.'

The hot May follows an unusually mild winter.

A group of friends in the city of Novosibirsk go paddle boarding during the heatwave this week

Women enjoy the sun in the southern city of Abakan (left) and Omsk, south western Siberia (right)

Experts predict anomalous warm temperatures - up to 86F (30C) higher than typical - in western Siberia and the Arctic Circle in the coming days.

Overall, Russia averaged 43F (6C) above normal during the first four months of 2020.

Oil city Surgut reported 82F (28C) in mid-May, some ten degrees above the norm.

'The heat wave came to us from the southwest, almost Iran', said Professor Alexey Kozhukhovskiy for the Siberian Federal University.
LANKARAN, Azerbaijan -- Police in the southeatern Azerbaijani city of Lankaran have jailed an activist for "disobeying the police," a charge his relatives are calling politically motivated.

Elvin Irsadov, known on Facebook as Umar Ali, was detained on May 18 and sentenced the next day to 16 days in jail, his sister, Aynur Irsadova, told RFE/RL.

According to Irsadova, the 30-year-old Elvin's incarceration was retaliation by the police for his online activities.

She said her brother was threatened by a district policeman in Lankaran for sharing images on Facebook that purportedly show police brutality. The policeman also demanded Irsadov delete the pictures.

The day before his arrest, Irsadov wrote on Facebook that an unknown individual had threatened and insulted him, and later spread false information about him.

In one recent post, Irsadov criticized the government's anti-corruption efforts, saying that the widely announced arrests of officials in the country were in fact just for show and not part of a real fight against corruption.

Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev say the authorities in the energy-rich South Caucasus state frequently jail opposition activists, reporters, human rights defenders, and civil society advocates without grounds in an effort to silence dissent.

Aliyev, who has ruled Azerbaijan since shortly before his father's death in 2003, has rejected the criticism.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic gave a Delhi man who suspected his wife of having an affair with a home guard with an idea for doing away with his assumed rival -- poison packaged as coronavirus disease medicine.

To put his plan into action, the 42-year-old man who lives in outer Delhis Alipur hired two women, who posed as health workers and, on Sunday, visted the home of the 38-year old home guard (the home guards is a volunteer-based paramilitary force that assists the police) and administered the medicine to him and three members of his family.

All four took ill shortly after and had to be hospitalised.

The police said the condition of the victims is stable. Investigators used CCTV camera footage to identify the two women, who, on questioning, directed them to the mastermind, according to Gaurav Sharma, the deputy commissioner of police (outer-north district).

All three have been booked for attempt to murder and arrested.

The prime suspect runs a business in Alipur. He suspected that his wife was having an affair with the home guard, who lives in the same area.

He wanted revenge. So, he hired two women from another village to kill the home guard. He asked them to pose as health workers and poison him on the pretext of offering him medicine, Sharma said.

On Sunday afternoon, the two women visited the home guards house and claimed to be health workets. They administered the medicine to the home guard and his mother and their two relatives; the four began to feel unwell immediately and the two women slipped away, he added

The four victims were rushed to Raja Harishchandra Hospital where they were treated and are now out of danger, Sharma said.

The police are yet to determine what poison was used in the crime.

This is the second known case of Covid-19 being used as a tactic to commit a crime in Delhi. On May 1, a woman strangled her husband and tried to pass off his murder as a case of death by Covid-19, the police said.

In that case, an autopsy helped bring the crime to light.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries' mega rights issue opened on May 20 for subscription for existing shareholders.

The company proposed to raise Rs 53,125 crore through its biggest ever rights issue which will close on June 3, 2020, while the ratio is one rights issue share for every 15 equity shares held by existing shareholders as on record date (May 14).

The ex-date for rights issue was May 13, which implies that investors who bought Reliance shares before May 13 and hold those shares in their account before May 14 are eligible to apply for the rights issue.

The rights issue price has been fixed at Rs 1,257 per share, of which 25 percent of the amount i.e Rs 314.25 will be paid by the investors at the time of application. Another 25 percent i.e. Rs 314.25 per share will be paid by the investor in May 2021 and the balance 50 percent i.e. Rs 628.50 per share will be paid in November 2021 on-call by the company at the relevant time.

Analysts advise existing investors to subscribe to the rights issue given the current and expected healthy growth in Jio Platforms and Retail.

To Know 9 Key Things About Rights Issue, Click Here

"We advise existing shareholder/investors to exercise the rights and 'Subscribe' to the issue offered by RIL which is similar to that of investing in a company future growth and remain invested in the stock for at least 2-3 years to see the benefit colouring," Prashanth Tapse, AVP Research at Mehta Equities told Moneycontrol.

"Availing rights just because the offer is at discount to market price is not the only parameter to consider," he said, adding investors should also look at factors such as growth prospects and the reason behind the company's decision to come out with a rights issue and so on.

Vineeta Sharma, Head of Research at Narnolia Financial Advisors also advised investors to apply for shares in the rights issue.

Experts feel the company's consistent investment in lot of technology related firms, and big investment from lot of marquee investors recently in the Jio Platforms clearly indicated that company has been marching towards becoming a tech giant with the aim to move beyond normal telecom operations.

Promoter and promoter group with 50.07 percent stake have pledged to buy the full extent of their entitlement and also subscribe to all unsold shares in the rights issue, which shows the promoters commitment and confidence in the company's future growth prospects, Tapse said.

Also its aim to become net debt-free by March 31, 2021 will be achieved well before the deadline. This will strengthen the balance sheet of the company and is one of reasons that induced experts to advise investors to subscribe the rights issue.

Marquee investors like Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and Facebook Inc invested Rs 67,195 crore for 14.81 percent stake in Jio Platforms within last four weeks, ahead of this rights issue.

Also read: Jio bags 4th big investment in 4 weeks: General Atlantic to invest Rs 6,600 crore in RIL digital unit

"We believe subscribing to the issue makes sense after looking at the recent value unlocking deals like investments by Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and few news reports also say Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is also considering to buy a minority stake in Jio in coming days," Prashanth Tapse said.

"The Saudi Aramco deal investment is also still at the due diligence stage, we believe Aramco deal would also be closed before FY21 thus making it to get debt-free status," he added.

Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited  Investment Advisor also said investors should try to grab opportunity and should apply for the right issue. "Reliance Industries is making good moves to make itself debt-free. Recent deals might act as a catalyst and provide liquidity to the giant. For mid to long term, Reliance is worth investing."

The company is expected to complete the capital raising programme totaling over Rs 1.04 Lakh crore by Q1 of the current financial year. This includes the investment by Facebook in Jio Platforms (already garnered Rs 43,574 crore), the upcoming rights issue and the previous investment by British Petroleum in FY19-20.

All the incubated businesses of Reliance - Reliance Retail, Reliance Jio are performing well and leaders in their segment. Reliance Digital services i.e Jio margins have improved from 18 percent to 20 percent in FY20 with topline growth of 40 percent. Similarly, the organized retail margins have improved from 4.2 percent in FY19 to 5.1 percent in FY20 with revenue growth of 25 percent in FY20.

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The Missionaries of Charity, with a truck and an ambulance, tour several slums in the metropolis. Gift packages containing rice, sugar, wheat flour, dried legumes, lentils. Recipients are poor, unemployed and migrants affected by the lockdown. Cyclone Amphan is coming, with winds at 185 km / h. Millions of people evacuated to India and Bangladesh.

Kolkata (AsiaNews) - The Missionaries of Charity, the sisters of Mother Teresa, have distributed food and rations for 40 thousand families. The distribution takes place in different parts of the metropolis of almost 15 million inhabitants, but especially in the very poor area of Howrah.

The archbishop of Kolkata, Msgr. Thomas DSouza is full of praise: "It is a great help for the people of Howrah, which is one of the poorest areas of the city. Sister Prema [the superior general of the Missionaries of charity] also personally distributed the gift packages to Howrah. The police directed the nuns through the maze of the place."

From March 24, with a few hours' notice, the Indian government has decreed a lockdown (quarantine for the population and industrial, commercial and transport activities). Hundreds of millions of people have lost their day jobs and wages, leaving them homeless and destitute. Many of them are migrants who have come to the city to find work, and are now unable to return to their villages.

Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the archdiocese, comments: "The Missionaries of Charity are right on the front line, in the midst of the poorest of the poor generated by the lockdown. What they do is a huge humanitarian service to those who are left without help and forgotten. "

Since the start of the lockdown, which has been extended until May 31, the various houses of Mother Teresas nuns have been distributing food in the most remote slums of Kolkata.

The nuns offer gift packages that contain rice, sugar, wheat flour, dried legumes, lentils. They go around the different neighborhoods with a truck and an ambulance in case some of the poor are sick. Once the distribution is complete in one area, they move to another.

Archbishop DSouza recalls that the "Laudato Si week "is being celebrated in many dioceses in recent days, to reflect on climate change and the prospects of an integral ecology," but with the lockdown - he explains - we are very limited. Our most immediate concern is to find ways to help all these poor, unemployed and migrants".

At the same time, he adds, "we are preparing for the arrival of Cyclone Amphan", which is approaching the coast of Bengal with winds of 185 km / h. Millions of people are evacuated to India and Bangladesh.

This cyclone - continues Msgr. DSouza - has to do with Laudato Si because it is a sign of the devastating effect of human activities on the environment. Wild deforestation, use of gas for industry, pollution, global warming cause climate changes that make cyclones even more harmful."
Lonnie Haley was hospitalized for four days in early April after he woke up one morning barely able to breathe. He was diagnosed with COVID-19, and his partner and his roommate also tested positive for the coronavirus.

All three men have since recovered and are now part of the states database of more than 80,000 confirmed infections, but a central part of their identities is missing from that list  the fact that they are gay men.

Public health officials arent collecting any data to show how LGBTQ people are harmed by the coronavirus pandemic, although advocates and some health experts say the toll the disease is taking could be more severe than for the population as a whole.

LGBTQ leaders say if the state knows how the coronavirus is spreading among a distinct demographic group, health officials can better identify pockets of outbreaks and tailor messages to reach the community. They also say the information could ensure that LGBTQ people are included in the states recovery efforts.

California has documented the coronavirus uneven toll on other demographic groups, such as higher death rates among people over 65 and people of color. But public health officials arent tracking whether it is disproportionately affecting the LGBTQ community.

Haley, also known as Mercedez Munro, a longtime San Francisco drag queen, said he fears the state is missing pockets of outbreaks among LGBTQ people, and with it a chance to help slow the coronavirus spread.

Nothing that related to my specific demographic as a gay person was asked, Haley said of his interactions with health workers while he was being treated at St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

Advocates point out that many LGBTQ people are more vulnerable to suffering severe effects from the coronavirus because of a high prevalence in the community of such conditions as HIV, some cancers and respiratory problems from smoking.

LGBTQ people are also more likely to be homeless, especially in their youth, and to avoid medical care because they fear they will face discrimination.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, the LGBTQ advocacy group, said health officials at all levels of government are failing our community. He said that without data, no one can know for certain if the pandemic is infecting more members of the community.

Weve been an afterthought, a sideline, Zbur said. If LGBTQ people are left out of the data, then well be left out of the response.

State lawmakers are considering legislation, SB932, that would require providers to ask each patients sexual orientation and gender identity, though people could decline to answer.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, the San Francisco Democrat carrying the bill, said the data would allow health officials to identify and combat pockets of infection. He said the data could also ensure the community gets the support it needs to recover.

Wiener said the states inattention to LGBTQ health during the pandemic evokes still-raw memories of governments inaction in the early days of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

Once again we have marginalized communities that are being very disproportionately impacted, and society is not doing enough, Wiener said.

He added, This is the history of the LGBTQ community. Unless we stand up for ourselves, progress for our community doesnt happen.

Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said knowing how many LGBTQ people are infected could help the state tailor community-specific messages on how to avoid spreading the virus.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

The more precise information that we have, the more successful that our public health interventions are going to be, Hollendoner said. What we know from the HIV epidemic is the better our data, the better the response.

Wieners bill faces little opposition in the Legislature, and unanimously passed the Senate Health Committee last week.

But even if the bill sails through the Legislature, LGBTQ advocates worry it could be too late. More than 30,000 people are tested in California every day, and the state is missing its chance to collect data about them.

Every day that this doesnt happen, we are losing valuable data, Wiener said. But better late than never.

Wiener and LGBTQ leaders want Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue an executive order requiring health providers and county health officers to start collecting the data immediately.

Newsom told reporters last week that the state has not been forthcoming with information about infected LGBTQ people. He said Wieners bill could help solve the problem, but didnt commit to an executive order.

The community is absolutely right, Newsom said. For decades, we have been underreporting (health information) in the LGBT community space.

Even health officers in areas with large LGBTQ populations, including San Francisco and Los Angeles counties, have not broken down coronavirus cases for the community. A spokeswoman for the San Francisco Department of Public Health declined to elaborate on the rationale, saying, This isnt data that testing sites are required to report.

Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle

The California Department of Public Health said it will ask patients if they are LGBTQ as part of its contact tracing efforts, but it hasnt asked health providers to do so on a large scale at the time of diagnosis.

The department said asking those questions during tracing interviews could be beneficial because it allows people to describe their own identity in person, versus filling out forms.

Haley, meanwhile, has recovered and returned to his day job at a local juice store. He said he plans to take a break from drag performances because the powder and makeup could irritate his lungs.

He said that although people in the Castro neighborhood, where he lives, are largely staying vigilant against the virus, with masks and social distancing, he worries that many LGBTQ people are at extra risk because they work in the service industry and interact with customers face to face.

Haley said hes hopeful the state will start gathering data so it can learn whether the LGBTQ community really is being harmed more, as he suspects, and provide more relief.

I do think that knowledge is power, he said. People that are high-risk are my demographics exactly.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
MK Decision (MK), the leader in credit card loan origination announced today its partnership with Merchants and Planters Bank (M&P) to bring their customers a simple, digital credit card application process.

In January 2019, M&P, a $260M asset community bank in Arkansas, attended the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) ThinkTECH Accelerator powered by The Venture Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. M&P was in search of a fintech partner to help their customers open accounts online. MK was one of eight companies hand-selected out of 190 applicants from over 40 countries to participate in the inaugural ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator. The Accelerator brought together community bankers and fintechs from across the nation to solve the biggest technology problems in banking.

The ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator program was designed for promising fintechs like MK that value and support the important work of the nations community banks, ICBA Bancard President and CEO Tina Giorgio said. MKs success is a testament to its founders ingenuity and commitment to creating community bank-focused solutions that deliver enhanced customer experiences. Thats why ICBA Bancard partnered with MK to deliver their credit card origination system.

The first time we met with MK Decision, we knew the company would be a great fit for the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator, stated Wayne Miller, Executive Director for The Venture Center. MK Decision understands the importance of strong relationships, and like community banks, excels at building them. We look forward to celebrating their continued success."

After looking for a new partner for close to a year, M&P was impressed with MKs mission to help community banks acquire more deposits and more loans. Upon meeting MKs CEO, Har Rai Khalsa and COO, Guru Dharam Khalsa at the Accelerator, M&P made the choice to continue its digital transformation with MK as its partner.

MK has continued to impress M&P with their mobile-first online applications and digital lending platform. This platform has allowed us to offer our customers a quickly accessible, concise, easy to use digital application. MK made the implementation process almost effortless, providing us with exceptional service, quick turn-arounds, and attention to detail, notes Jim S. Gowen Jr., President and CEO of M&P.

The partnership between M&P and MK is a testament to the impact of the ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator. By connecting this dynamic duo, ICBA and The Venture Center have proven that they have the power to create real relationships between community banks and fintechs.

About MK Decision

MK Decision's mission is to help community financial institutions thrive by receiving more deposits and more loans. With a commitment to strengthen local economies, MKs platform gives community financial institutions a competitive advantage through simple, beautiful customer experiences and streamlined banker workflows. The MK platform supports a variety of financial products including checking & savings accounts, credit cards, and consumer, commercial, small business, and indirect loans. So far, MK is helping over 130 community banks acquire customers online. The company was founded in 2015 by Har Rai, Guru Dharam, and Jodha Khalsa and is headquartered in San Diego, CA. To learn more about MK, please visit http://www.mkdecision.com.

About Merchants and Planters Bank

Merchants and Planters Bank has been a community bank in Northeast Arkansas since 1946. They currently have twelve banking locations, as well as a trust and investment division and an insurance agency. M&P Community Bancshares, Inc. currently has assets exceeding $260 million and is the holding company for Merchants and Planters Bank and M & P Insurance and Investment Services both headquartered in Newport, AR. To learn more about Merchants and Planters Bank, please visit https://www.mandpbank.com/.

About ICBA Bancard

ICBA Bancard is the wholly owned payment services subsidiary of the Independent Community Bankers of America. ICBA Bancards community bank issuers generated $31.6 billion in sales volume in 2019 and are ranked collectively as the 24th largest credit card portfolio in the United States. ICBA Bancard enables thousands of community banks to provide competitive credit card, debit card, ATM and merchant processing solutions. The company also provides exclusive services to issuers including its Fraud Loss Protection Plan, marketing support, and product education. For more information, visit https://www.icba.org/bancard.

About The Venture Center

The Venture Centers immersive accelerator programs are designed to accelerate the growth of early-stage companies and help them validate their solutions for real-world problems. Our methodology provides a unique opportunity to connect with community bank executives, receive seed investment and learn from a comprehensive curriculum that will aid in strategically addressing go-to-market, business, and finance challenges. For more information, visit https://www.venturecenter.co/.
China Slaps Australia with Huge Barley Tariff Amid Canberra's Push for COVID-19 Origins Probe

Sputnik News

09:24 GMT 19.05.2020

Beijing's recent decisions come against the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tension between China and Australia, following a push by Prime Minister Scott Morrison for an independent COVID-19 investigation amid allegations the Asian country had downplayed the seriousness of the virus.

China has announced huge five-year duties on Australian barley exports, with a 73.6 percent anti-dumping tariff and a 6.9 percent anti-subsidy tariff to be applied from Tuesday, 19 May, reported ABC news.

China's Ministry of Commerce announced the move on Monday, after completing a 16-month investigation into an anti-dumping complaint.

"The Ministry of Commerce conducted an investigation in strict accordance with China's relevant laws and regulations The investigating authority has ruled that there was dumping of imported barley from Australia and the domestic industry suffered substantial damage," reads a statement on the ministry's website, quoted by the outlet.

In response to the news, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham reiterated that Australia had neither subsidised nor dumped barley in China, and indicated the country might appeal the imposition of the crippling import tax.

"Australia is deeply disappointed with China's decision to impose duties on Australian barley. We reserve all rights to appeal this matter further and are confident that Australian farmers are among the most productive in the world, who operate without government subsidy of prices," ABC news reported the minister as saying.

Senator Birmingham underscored the decision would also affect China.

"Whist this is a blow for Australian farmers, it's also Chinese breweries and Chinese consumers, who will pay a price through paying more for barley through other [producers], or will end up getting substandard barley from other markets around the world," said the official.

Brett Hosking, Chairman of Grain Growers organisation, did not rule out Australia would pursue the issue at the World Trade Organisation, saying:

"It's not guaranteed, but we do want to engage with the Chinese around this It's a diplomatic situation, it feels more like a misunderstanding on their behalf, than it does genuine trade action."

Barley, one of Australia's top three agricultural exports to China, has been at the heart of dumping allegations since 2018, with the newly-announced tariffs set to deal a huge blow to the country's trade with Beijing, believed to cover around half of its exports of the grain.

The 'Politicised Barley Controversy'

The imposition of tariffs comes weeks after China's ambassador to Australia, Jingye Cheng, warned of economic fallout for the country over its call for an independent probe into the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

In late April Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, defended the "entirely reasonable and sensible" call for an inquiry, saying:

"This is a virus that has taken more than 200,000 lives across the world. It has shut down the global economy. The implications and impacts of this are extraordinary. Now, it would seem entirely reasonable and sensible that the world would want to have an independent assessment of how this all occurred, so we can learn the lessons and prevent it from happening again."

Australia is one of around 120 World Health Organisation (WHO) member nations supporting a proposed EU motion calling for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the "international health response to COVID-19".

Beijing, which has been rejecting a succession of accusations led by Washington and specifically President Donald Trump over wrongdoing during the pandemic, branded Canberra "gum stuck to the bottom of China's shoe" in the state media for kowtowing to the US.

Chinese President Xi Jinping defended his country's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Hubei province in late 2019, telling the World Health Assembly in Geneva via a video message that Beijing would support an investigation "conducted in an objective and impartial way".

Director-general of the World health Organisation Tedros Ghebreyesus promised at the meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) that an investigation will be launched as soon as possible, amid growing criticism of the WHO for its response to the pandemic, most notably spearheaded by US President Donald Trump, who froze Washington's funding to the organisation in April.

A Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Memorial Day 2020 is Monday, May 25, and Independence Day 2020 is Saturday, July 4.

They are patriotic holidays, and also days where people like to be outside. Problem is, this year thats easier said than done.

The CDC recommends wearing non-medical face masks or coverings when leaving the house to help curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. In New Jersey, its required when going into a store.

But, that doesnt mean you cant show some American pride at the same time in the form of a patriotic face covering.

Heck, even New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy had one on this week.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy during a coronavirus press briefing on Monday. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)AP

Heres a roundup of places where you can buy patriotic-themed face coverings. Be sure to check the shipping date  it might be too late for Memorial Day, but certainly not for Independence Day.

Amazon is selling multiple face masks and coverings with patriotic styles including American flag and bald eagle prints. If youre into neutral colors, try this gray American flag face covering three-pack for $16.99.

Zazzle is selling several patriotic face masks for $12.95. You can also receive 15% off when you use promo code PAPERSALEZAZ, at checkout. Shop Zazzles entire face mask catalog here.

TheFlagShirt.com is selling American flag printed face coverings starting at $9.99. A portion of each face covering sale will go to the First Responders Childrens Foundation.

Old Navy has an Americana face mask three-pack for $7.50. There is also a kids version for the same price. Do note, though, they are on back-order and will ship June 7.

FOCO has red, white and blue three-pack face coverings for $13, as well as other patriotic styles for $10. You can shop the entire collection here. Most are only available for pre-order, shipping by June 15.

Fanatics (sports) and Disney (characters) are also among retailers selling themed face coverings.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND CORONAVIRUS:

N.J. mall to offer curbside pickup for 18 stores and restaurants

Pier 1 Imports to close all stores due to profound impact of COVID-19

Amazon resuming timely delivery, straying away from invite-only grocery

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
Indian reports indicate that the insurgents were handed over at the initiative of the National Security Adviser and there was also a mention of a name to this operation- Operation Sunrise.





by Dr. S. Chandrasekharan





For the first time, the Myanmar Government formally handed over 22 Indian insurgents from the North East to the Indian Consul General at Hkmati airport on the 16th of May this year.





Of these rebels, 12 belonged to various groups from Manipur and ten were from Assam. The plane first landed in Imphal to hand over those from Manipur and then went on to Guhawati to hand over the rest to the local police.













The insurgents handed over included those from UNLF Manipur, Prepak Manipur- Peoples Revolutionary party of Kangleipak, Peoples Liberation Army of Manipur, NDFB-S of Bodoland and KLO- Kamatipur Liberation Orgainsation. The group included some top leaders of the organisation including a self styled Home Secretary of NDFB-S, a Captain from UNLF and a Lieutenant from Prepak.





Indian reports indicate that the insurgents were handed over at the initiative of the National Security Adviser and there was also a mention of a name to this operation- Operation Sunrise.





The Myanmar Press has also reported the incident. It said that the Myanmar Army arrested these insurgents operating in Myanmar and were put on trial. There were twenty-four of them. Last May, the Hkmati District Court Sagaing Division sentenced all of them to two years in prison under Article 17(1) of Unlawful Association Act.





Of these 22 of them who were non nationals were released under Presidential Amnesty in April this year. Nothing is mentioned about the balance of two persons who perhaps were Myanmar citizens. It is said that President U Win Myint granted amnesty in response to the appeal made by the Naga Literature and Cultural Association members both to the President and the State Counselor Suu Kyi. Since they were not Myanmar nationals, they were handed over to the Indian Consul General at Mandalay who covers the Hkmati region.





Since the beginning of 2019, more precisely after the Arakan Army declared open civil war against the Government, the Myanmar authorities have been cooperating with Indian counterparts to chase the Indian insurgents camping in Myanmar and continuing with their predatory attacks within India.





Earlier, for the last so many decades, Myanmar had not fully cooperated with appeals from Indian authorities to deny sanctuaries to Indian insurgents. The Myanmar army also had a problem. The Indian insurgents were not causing any problem to the Myanmar authorities when the Myanmar Army was otherwise having its hands full with their insurgents spread all over Myanmar. Secondly, the Indian Insurgents had plenty of money looted or extorted from India and could keep the local Myanmar Posts and their military commanders happy.





But this had to change- not because that there was a change of mind in Myanmar, but because the ground situation on the western side of Myanmar had become hot with the Myanmar Army having taken and is still taking considerable casualties from the Arakan Army that is located in the west near the Indian border. The Myanmar Army needs the western border closed to the Arakan Army lest the areas in Indian territory are used as safe havens. With almost 95 percent support from the people in Rakhine State the Arakan Army does not need any safe havens in India right now. It is said that India has also provided some technical help to the Myanmar Army in dealing with the Arakan Army though it has not been verified yet.





In February and March 2019, there were back to back operations in the Sagaing region to clear out the camps of the Indian insurgents. In February the Myanmar army took control of the NSCN (K) Headquarters after the death of their leader S.S. Khaplang who while having a cease fire  with the Myanmar Army was not only attacking Indian Army personnel but was also providing shelter to various Indian insurgent groups.





Though belated, it is a welcome gesture from Myanmar. Aung Zaw the editor of Irawady in his commentary has dubbed it as part of Naypyitaws trade off aimed at winning the trust and favour of New Delhi.





Perhaps Aung Zaw could be right. According to his own observations, there are also six groups of Manipuri insurgents in addition to the NSCN of Khaplang faction and they would number over 2000. Myanmar after the recent raids are aware of the sources of weapons for the rebels and indeed if it is serious it could choke the supply lines of the Manipuri insurgents.





It is hoped that Myanmars move which is considered to be a strategic shift continues so that both countries which have been troubled with ethnic insurgencies since independence join hands for mutual benefit and stability in that part of the region.
TORONTO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - The Globe and Mail's automation and predictive paywall engine, Sophi.io, won WAN-IFRA's North American Digital Media Award in the category of Best Digital News Start-Up.

"Very impressed with Sophi," the judges wrote in explaining their decision. "The most important and attractive piece from the creation of this AI is that editorial input was key to it. In many newsrooms, the business models undermine the value of their key product, but from this presentation it's evident that it was not the case for The Globe and Mail."

The awards honour news publishers from Canada and the U.S. that have created unique and original digital media projects. Sophi also took second place in the awards' Best Paid Content Strategy category, in recognition of Sophi for Paywalls, its complex natural-language processing and user behaviour-based predictive paywalling technology.

The artificial intelligence system is also a finalist in the International News Media Association's Global Media Awards, rewarding innovation and excellence in growing audience, brand, and revenue, in the Best New Technology or Digital Product category. Additionally, Sophi is a finalist in the Digiday Media Awards, recognizing companies working to modernize digital media, in two categories: Best Digital Product Innovation and Best Revenue Diversification Strategy.

Sophi was developed by The Globe and Mail to help the newsroom make important strategic and tactical decisions. It is a suite of tools that includes Sophi Automation and Sophi for Paywalls as well as Sophi Analytics, a newsroom decision-support system.

Sophi Automation autonomously places 99% of the content on all of The Globe and Mail's digital pages, including its homepage and section pages. This lets the newsroom focus on producing the finest journalism possible and has been so successful that it is now being used for print laydown as well.

Sophi for Paywalls analyses both user and content propensity and determines which content should automatically be put behind a hard-paywall, where the subscription revenue opportunity is many times greater than the advertising revenue forgone. It has uncovered millions of dollars in untapped revenue for The Globe and Mail.

Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail, said: "It's an honour for Sophi to be named the best digital media start-up. We are always looking to innovate, and Sophi has brought us tremendously valuable insights over the years, as well as freed up our journalists to do what only they can do. We are pleased to share this powerful engine with other publishers and help transform the industry with this tool."

As a North American award winner, Sophi is now a contender for the WAN-IFRA World Digital Media Awards , where the winners from North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East compete.

About The Globe and Mail and Sophi.io

The Globe and Mail is Canada's foremost news media company, leading the national conversation and effecting policy change through brave, independent journalism since 1844. The Globe and Mail's award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs reaches 6 million readers every week in print and online. The Globe believes the future of journalism lies in its ability to bring readers the stories they both want and need to know. That's why the company invested in innovative data science and hired data scientists from leaders in the tech industry to develop Sophi.io  an artificial intelligence system with predictive capabilities  and used it to automate content curation and promotion.

SOURCE The Globe and Mail Inc.

Related Links

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/


A new Tel Aviv University-led study published on May 20 in Nature offers new evidence that the complexity of contemporary analytical methods in science contributes to the variability of research outcomes.

Previous studies in the fields of psychology, cancer biology and behavioral economics revealed many failures in the attempt to reproduce methodologies and mirror results. The TAU researchers used an approach known as "Many Analysts," in which many researchers analyzed the same dataset to test variability in the analysis outcomes, explains study co-lead author Dr. Tom Schonberg of the Department of Neurobiology at TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and TAU's Sagol School of Neuroscience.

"The variability in outcomes demonstrated in this study is an inherent part of the complex process of obtaining scientific results, and we must understand it in order to know how to tackle it," he adds. "Science is conducted by humans, and there is no way to escape variability. But we must acknowledge this in order to self-correct and attain the most reliable answers."

The Neuroimaging Analysis, Replication and Prediction Study (NARPS) was also led by Dr. Schonberg's former PhD student Dr. Rotem Botvinik-Nezer, today a post-doctoral researcher at Dartmouth College, together with co-investigators Prof. Russel Poldrack of Stanford University and Prof. Thomas Nichols of Oxford University.

Overall, 180 researchers from 70 teams of scientists around the world analyzed the same brain imaging dataset of 108 subjects. These subjects participated in a task that tested their decision-making regarding gambles of potential gains and losses. Each group chose a distinct analysis method, and the different methods led to different conclusions.

"Science is being often criticized," adds Dr. Schonberg. "But it is not a belief like a religion, as some have argued. It has rules and a method -- the scientific method. We are constantly trying to improve this method in a process of constant self-questioning. We believe our study takes this process forward."

The research teams were presented with the same data -- fMRI scans of subjects performing a value-based decision-making task -- and told to test the same nine different set hypotheses.

The large neuroimaging dataset had been collected over the course of a year at the Alfredo Federico Strauss Center for Computational Neuroimaging at TAU by Roni Iwanir, a former Sagol School MSc student from Schonberg's lab. While the study participants engaged in the monetary decision-making task, fMRI scans were used to test whether the activity of specific brain regions involved in value processing changed in relation to the amount of money won or lost on a gamble. Some 70 international teams independently analyzed these datasets over the course of three months.

"The processing you have to go through from raw data to a result with fMRI is really complicated," adds Prof. Poldrack. "There are a lot of choices you have to make at each place in the analysis workflow."

Each team of researchers arrived at their own final conclusions regarding the data, with results varying significantly across the teams in five out of nine hypotheses.

"Our new study demonstrated high analytical flexibility as occurs 'in the wild'," says Dr. Schonberg. "The participating researchers modeled the hypotheses differently and used different software for the analysis. They also used different techniques and definitions in different aspects of the analysis."

Another part of the study involved experts from the field as well as researchers from the analysis teams trading with other researchers in what are called "prediction markets" on what they thought would be the outcomes of the research. This part of the study was run by economists and behavioral finance experts, who provided the initial idea for the the study, and revealed marked over-optimism about the ability to replicate previous findings, even by researchers who analyzed the data themselves.

"While the final reported outcomes varied substantially, earlier stage analysis results actually showed a consensus among most research teams," says Dr. Schonberg. "This is very encouraging and was in fact a somewhat surprising result. Despite the large variability in final reported results, the underlying analysis was similar, meaning we need to find methods to express this convergence.

"For example, the study suggests that researchers could perform and report multiple analyses with the same data, to find the results to which different reliable methods converge."

Dr. Schonberg believes the findings can help scientists advance their methodology and improve the quality of their analyses in the future.

"I would want our findings to be used to take science forward -- toward an even further sharing of all study related information, of transparency of methods, analysis codes and data," says Dr. Schonberg. That is the only way everyone can test and "play" with results to see what holds. We have seen the importance and great need in sharing data in the recent COVID-19 pandemic in order to understand the optimal course of action.

"Naturally, the novelty of discoveries matters a great deal to scientists. But just as important is the rigor of our methodology," concludes Dr. Schonberg. "Our study reflects the ambition of a vast community of scientists to spend thousands of hours to improve our methodologies in order to get the conclusions right and to reach reliable results."

###

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.
In Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, his first adventure, our fearless boy reporter and his waggish companion find themselves seeking refuge in a log cabin in a frozen waste. The cabin is haunted; something about its clock striking 13 and ghostly wailing fails to convince Tintin. The noise is coming from a gramophone under a false floor. Descending a ladder, he is ambushed. "Where am I?" he asks a mean-eyed, cigar-puffing Bolshevik. "You're in the underground hideout," the Bolshevik tells him, "where Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin have collected together the wealth stolen from the people... if by chance a peasant wandered into the haunted room which covers the entrance to our vaults, he'd be far too scared to pursue his investigations."

Ninety years on, enter that wanderer: not a peasant but the experienced former Moscow correspondent of the Financial Times, Catherine Belton, who has not been scared to explore deep into the recent history of those still extant money vaults. In the process, as she recounts in her relentless and magnificently detailed Putin's People, she has uncovered an increasingly repressive, violent and greedy autarchy, sustained by black money and inscribing Vladimir Putin's name way ahead of those of his Communist predecessors.

Many of the money vaults are, of course, abroad. By funnelling capital abroad year after year - hundreds of millions of dollars here, billions there - that is controlled by Russians who owe their fortunes to Putin and whose loyalty he entirely directs, Russia's president has created numberless reservoirs of untraceable money that as instruments of foreign policy are far more usable than nuclear weapons to destabilise his rivals.

In all this, the ubiquity of the siloviki, the securocrats or "men of force" of the KGB, now FSB, is central. Once, under Soviet communism, it was a boring fact of life that the KGB and the Vory - organised crime - lived hand in glove. As the Soviet Union collapsed economically, Russia's mafia and rising oligarchs fought savagely for wealth, sometimes finding an accommodation in a painfully democratising Russia. In 2000 came Putin, the spy candidate who had started his KGB career managing operatives in Dresden (a salutary story in itself) and advanced through the mafia-ridden violence of St Petersburg in the 1990s. Anointed by Boris Yeltsin, and elected in May 2000, at his inauguration, Putin spoke of his "holy duty to unite the people of Russia".

Within months the new president began reorganising strategic cash flows so that, by various Kremlin-enabled routes, they diverted into the hands of KGB comrades. In 2003, starting a pattern, he arrested and imprisoned Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's richest businessman.

By the time the president's "little green men", his deniable troops without insignia, invaded Crimea and eastern Ukraine a decade later, the siloviki had become a state within a state. They owned everything; which is to say Putin owned everything, in the sense of being able to deploy the entire economy in line with his wishes. Sergei Pugachev, a confidant and grey eminence of the early Putin years, who lives in exile in France, says now "there is only Putin and his lieutenants who carry out his orders. All cash generated is put on the balance of Putin. The country is in a state of war."

We - the EU, UK and USA - are chief enemies of Putin's resurgent Russia. Belton makes this clear, exposing how we have colluded, largely for reasons of our own greed, in Putin's manipulation of all the theatres of geopolitics. There has been more than $800bn of estimated capital flight since the Soviet collapse, "more than the wealth held by the entire Russian population in the country itself". The West's so-called light-touch regulation has helped open the way for a web of secret black cash used as "a mechanism for authoritarian control at home, and for undermining institutions in the West".

In the prescient Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, Tintin's last brush with the USSR's secret police is with a Bolshevik sent to blow up the capitals of Europe. Putin's game today, according to Belton, is not very different: to detonate the cities and nations of the West in slow motion.

In Britain, London's bankers jostle round Russian wealth in search of fees; British lords are paid 500,000 a year to sit on the boards of Russian companies over whose activities they have little oversight; the pro-Brexit Conservative Party is delighted by extravagant Russian donations. Even the supposedly innocent extravagance of a wealthy tycoon named Abramovich buying Chelsea FC may have been ordered by Putin to build a beachhead for Russian influence in the UK. In continental Europe, Putin backs far-left and far-right parties without favour. In the US, his associates have helped elect a president who is every KGB man's dream.

Where does this manipulation leave the president himself? For now he remains Russia's self-chosen tsar, a role he relishes, but with the same problem as a mafia boss: he cannot retire. That is why he has set in train changes to the Russian constitution to allow him to remain in power until at least 2036. Exactly where he - and we - will be then is hard to say.

Video of the Day

What we can say for certain is that his writ, thanks to black cash, already runs far too disruptively around the globe for the West's, or the world's, comfort. We would do well not to be humouring in any way a leader whose international conduct is now a combination of Robert Mugabe plus the Joker, with a nuclear arsenal.

So Putin's People is a serious, absolutely timely warning. No book has documented the Russian president's leadership so indefatigably and compellingly. If you want to grasp in full how Russia has become the nation it has in the last 20 years, this is the book you've been waiting for. I just hope Belton has a cheerful, highly intelligent fox terrier looking out for her.

 The Telegraph
As is the case with most fatal diseases, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is already taking a disproportionate toll on black Americans and other disadvantaged minorities. As of April 14 in the United States, 32 percent of deaths from COVID-19 occurred among black Americans who comprise of only 13 percent of the population. These numbers indicate that they have a 2.3-fold excess risk of dying from COVID-19 compared to white Americans.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine and collaborators from Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health provide ominous forebodings in a commentary just published in The American Journal of Medicine, aptly quoting the philosopher George Santayana, who in 1905 said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH, senior author, the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine, and co-authors, emphasize that most major clinical and public health challenges of COVID-19 will be long term and will inevitably result from the development of lifesaving drugs in treatment as well as a vaccine that will be preventive. The authors document that the introduction of such lifesaving innovation will only markedly increase the already existing racial inequalities, if public health initiatives for equitable dissemination throughout all communities are not immediately developed.

In the commentary, the authors document increases in racial inequalities following lifesaving drugs for HIV, respiratory distress syndrome, and hepatitis C as well as the experiences before and after the development of the Salk vaccine for polio. Before the introduction of the vaccine in 1952, initially, black Americans experienced significantly lower rates of paralytic polio than white Americans. By 1959, after the widespread dissemination of the Salk polio vaccine, the reverse was true.

"We must certainly try to overcome all of the barriers facing black Americans and other minorities in the United States but, realistically this is a long-term goal," said Hennekens. "Now is the time to address short-term clinical and public health challenges to ensure equal access to any lifesaving innovation."

The authors also highlight that mistrust is one of the major factors influencing inequalities. Even today many black Americans, particularly older black men, mistrust the efforts of the U.S. Public Health Service due to the lingering perceptions derived from the late disclosure of their study results of syphilis at Tuskegee, which withheld treatment from black men in favor of depicting the natural course of the disease.

"As a black physician committed to addressing racial inequalities in morbidity and mortality, if we do not act now, then those in greatest need will once again be condemned to even greater racial inequalities," said Heather M. Johnson, M.D., FACC, co-author and a preventive cardiologist/cardiologist at the Lynn Women's Health and Wellness Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital/Baptist Health South Florida.

The urgency of the issues raised by the authors are only enhanced by the recent public pronouncements concerning remdesivir as a promising but unproven treatment for COVID-19 as well as very recent encouraging news about an accelerated timetable for the development of an effective and safe vaccine.

"Death is inevitable but premature death is not. Unfortunately, black Americans and other disadvantaged minorities have unacceptably high mortality rates from COVID-19 and most other chronic diseases that confer their markedly reduced life expectancies," said Hennekens.

Hennekens, Johnson and co-authors Robert S. Levine, M.D., first author and professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and an affiliate professor in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine; and Dennis G. Maki, M.D., professor emeritus in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, where Johnson is an adjunct associate professor, conclude that, at present, individual behavior change is an important and necessary strategy. However, they also state that major societal changes amenable to responsible government but beyond individual control, also are needed to combat current and increasing future racial inequalities in mortality from COVID-19.

Hennekens and Maki have been collaborators since 1969, when they served as lieutenant commanders in the U.S. Public Health Service as epidemic intelligence service officers with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hennekens and Levine have collaborated since 1976, including on racial inequalities for more than 20 years.

Coincidentally, Hennekens has been listed by Science Heroes as No. 81 in the history of the world for having saved more than 1.1 million lives and Salk is listed as No. 83.

###

About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine:

FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of approximately 154 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. The Consortium currently has five Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residencies including internal medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and neurology.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu.
Paul McDermott has been the CEO of Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE:WRE) since 2013. This report will, first, examine the CEO compensation levels in comparison to CEO compensation at companies of similar size. 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.

Check out our latest analysis for Washington Real Estate Investment Trust

How Does Paul McDermott's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has a market capitalization of US$1.6b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$3.9m over the year to December 2019. That's a notable increase of 9.2% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at US$650k. 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 US$1.0b to US$3.2b, and the median CEO total compensation was US$5.1m.

Next, let's break down remuneration compositions to understand how the industry and company compare with each other. Speaking on an industry level, we can see that nearly 15% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 85% is other remuneration. Washington Real Estate Investment Trust is largely mirroring the industry average when it comes to the share a salary enjoys in overall compensation

So Paul McDermott receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance. The graphic below shows how CEO compensation at Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has changed from year to year.

Story continues

NYSE:WRE CEO Compensation May 19th 2020

Is Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Growing?

Over the last three years Washington Real Estate Investment Trust has shrunk its earnings per share by an average of 88% per year (measured with a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 8.6% over last year.

Sadly for shareholders, earnings per share are actually down, over three years. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Been A Good Investment?

Given the total loss of 35% over three years, many shareholders in Washington Real Estate Investment Trust 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...

Paul McDermott is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

The company isn't growing EPS, and shareholder returns have been disappointing. This doesn't look great when you consider CEO remuneration is up on last year. Few would argue that it's wise for the company to pay any more, before returns improve. CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also identified 5 warning signs for Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Phlebotomists draw blood from people getting tested for CCP virus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center in Spring Valley, New York, on April 24, 2020. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

Army Researchers May Be on Verge of Discovering New CCP Virus-Killing Antibodies

Scientists at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) may be on the verge of discovering new COVID-19 antibodies capable of attaching onto and destroying the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, reports suggest.

Researchers at the ARL and the University of Texas (UT) in Austin have been pushing to pursue technical innovations aimed at discovering and engineering new potentially neutralizing antibodies, reported Warrior Maven.

Scientists at the ARL told the outlet that the neutralizing antibodies, if discovered, may potentially be life-saving for critically ill patients infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China.

Antibodies are blood proteins produced by the immune system to combat viruses and other foreign material.

The Commander of Army Futures Command, Gen. John Murray, told Warrior Maven that ARL researchers have so far identified 18 potential therapeutic/neutralizing monoclonal antibodies.

Murray explained that blood samples were taken from COVID-19-infected patients by doctors and scientists, who then attempted to engineer new antibody configurations capable of destroying the virus.

A phlebotomist shows specimens from people being tested for CCP virus antibodies at the Refuah Health Center in Spring Valley, New York, on April 24, 2020. (Yana Paskova/Getty Images)

We look to find sequences that are binding to COVID-19. Then we send them off to test their ability to neutralize, said Dr. Jimmy Gollihar, synthetic biology research scientist at the U.S. Army Capabilities Development Command, ARL-South.

In partnership with UT in Austin weve been working on methods to ID sequences of heavy and light chains of antibodies that are specific to COVID-19, he said. The people that we drew blood from were recently infected. They range from one to two weeks post-onset of symptoms. Once we drew their blood we separated their B cells.

Gollihar clarified that the discovered antibodies are intended to provide a bridge to a vaccinehastening recovery, rather than providing a long-term solution.

Antibody sequences are short-lived, and have varying degrees of half-life in a serum, Gollihar explained, adding that they do not provide long-term immunity.

The challenge is to find antibodies that are binding to COVID-19. Once we find them we produce them and send them off to the lab, Gollihar continued.

Murray said that the ARL has submitted a proposal to the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals.

Scientists at the ARL and UT plan to test the antibodies in a small group of patients infected with COVID-19.
As his father's health worsened, Mohammad Shamshad, 28, made all efforts to rush back to his village in Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh.

But he found all roads that could take him home blocked at the Delhi-Ghaziabad border.

Sitting under a flyover on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border on Wednesday afternoon, Shamshad broke down after he received a call from his mother and sister-in-law that his father was no more.

Working as a weaver in an exports company in Haryana, Shamshad received a call from his mother two days back, informing him his father was critical. She asked him to rush back home.

His 65-year-old father Mohammad Salaam had been an asthma patient.

Shamshad immediately left his house in Kapashera area in southwest Delhi with his wife and four-year-old son early morning in a rented car. When he reached the Anand Vihar Interstate Bus Terminal, the police stopped him and asked him to go back.

I pleaded before them to allow me to go, but they did not relent, he said over the phone as he was travelling in a Shramik Special train.

The police have been stopping the movement of migrant workers on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border as thousands have been making efforts to go back to their villages and towns.

Undeterred, he tried to cross over to the other side again, but this time with the help of an auto driver, who charged him Rs 50 per person for the ride. But he and his family were dropped under the flyover and not in Ghaziabad.

Helpless, he ran helter-skelter, pleading before people to help so that he can at least attend his father's funeral. By then his plight had been captured by the media.

Shamshad and his family later went to Ghaziabad bus stand from where buses were picking up migrant labourers who were to be ferried to the Ghaziabad Railway station.

By evening, he managed to board a Sharmik train that could drop him to Hardoi.

I can now at least the last rites of my father, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: The Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration on Wednesday issued new guidelines for the residents for the fourth phase of the lockdown, which kicked in on May 18 and will continue till May 31.

Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate took to Twitter to share the new guidelines, which is based on the new guidelines prepared by the Uttar Pradesh government.

As we move forward, self-regulation is the need of the hour, the Gautam Buddh Nagar tweeted.

Dear residents,

New guidelines for GB Nagar based on order of Govt of UP.

As we move forward, self regulation is the need of the hour.

Regards

pic.twitter.com/KxpndH5MgO  DM G.B. Nagar (@dmgbnagar) May 20, 2020

A day after the Uttar Pradesh government announced relaxations in the nationwide lockdown 4.0, Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate Suhas LY on Tuesday said that the district's border with Delhi will remain "sealed" for now.

The DM said that the status quo shall be maintained between Delhi-Noida border for now. He said that we have sought instructions from the state government as regards to the implementation of Point 3(1) and 7(12) of GO of the Home department.

The district had sealed its border with Delhi in April after several novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Gautam Budh Nagar were found to have links with Delhi.

The district administration is only permitting the movement of those involved in essential services and those who had administration-issued passes. The lockdown 4.0, which kicked on May 18 will continue till May 31.

On Monday, following the Union Ministry of Home Affairs permitting interstate travel from May 18, heavy vehicular traffic was witnessed at the Delhi-Noida borders at the Kalindi Kunj and Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) Flyway stretch.

The district recorded three new Covid-19 cases and 13 patients were discharged on Tuesday.

According to the District Surveillance Officer, one of the persons who tested positive was a contact of a Covid-19 patient, while the two others are a couple. They have been admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Noida.

Of the 289 cases in the district, 207 have recovered and discharged, five have succumbed to the disease, and 77 are infected.

There are also 14 patients, including six from Delhi, three from Ghaziabad, one each from Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Agra and two from Hapur, who have been cross-notified.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has shared adorable family pictures to mark World Bee Day.

The heir apparent, 42, can be seen smiling in the snaps alongside her two children Princess Estelle, 8, and Prince Oscar, 4, as they visit hives on the grounds of the Haga Palace in Stockholm.

Shared on the Swedish royal household's Instagram today, the photographs show the princess and her youngsters in full beekeeping protective gear.

The children eagerly observe the hives with their mother, with Princess Estelle even picking up one of the slots to showcase the many bees.

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden (pictured with her two children) has shared adorable family pictures to mark World Bee Day

The heir apparent, 42, can be seen smiling in the snaps alongside her two children Princess Estelle, 8, and Prince Oscar, 4, (pictured together) as they visit the Haga Palace hives

'Before #worldbeeday, the Crown Princess took Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar to the hives at Haga Palace,' the social media post read.

'There they learned more about bees and why they are important for our biodiversity. 'Humans rely on pollinators, such as bees, to eventually be able to get food on the table.

'The beehives at Haga Palace were a much appreciated gift to the Crown Princess from the Swedish beekeeper's national association, @biodlarna, 10 years ago.'

Shared on the Swedish royal household's Instagram today, the photographs show the princess and her youngsters in full beekeeping protective gear (pictured)

Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Estelle (pictured) and Prince Oscar tended to the beehives at the Haga Palace together with beekeeper Lotta Fabricius Kristiansen

The young royal siblings (pictured together) eagerly observe the hives with their mother, Princess Victoria

The princess has been an honorary member of the Swedish Beekeepers' Association since 2002 and the beehives were a wedding gift to her and her husband Prince Daniel, 46, from the organisation.

The visit to the beehives comes after Princess Victoria announced a new edition to her family earlier this month.

She shared an adorable family photograph to introduce their new Cavapoo puppy Rio to the world.

The royal was captured alongside her husband Prince Daniel and their children as they sat in the woods with their sweet pet.

Princess Estelle even picked up one of the slots to showcase the many bees (pictured above)

Princess Victoria has been an honorary member of the Swedish Beekeepers' Association since 2002. Pictured: Princess Estelle enjoying her trip to the beehives

The images were snapped at Haga Palace, the family's official residence on the outskirts of Stockholm. Pictured, Princess Estelle looks at flowers in the palace grounds

The beehives were a wedding gift to Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel, 46, from the Swedish Beekeepers' Association. Pictured: Prince Oscar

They were snapped at Haga Palace, the family's official residence on the outskirts of Stockholm.

Snaps of the Cavapoo - which is a cross between a Poodle and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - were shared to the Swedish royal family's Instagram account.

As well as the family photograph, the adorable puppy was captured running in a field in the collection of images.

The post was captioned: 'The Crown Princess family presents a new family member: Rio. Rio is a Cavapoo dog. He has lived at Haga for a week.'
Twenty-six Indian scientists stranded in South Africa's Cape Town due to a coronavirus lockdown will be heading back home this week.

They had been on a mission to Antarctica and stuck in South Africa three months ago after the imposition of the lockdown.

The scientists are among around 150 Indian nationals who will be returning home on a South African Airways (SAA) flight that will leave Johannesburg on Friday for Mumbai and Delhi.

Indian Consul General in Johannesburg, Anju Ranjan, said over 1,000 Indian nationals had registered for the flight.

Passengers had to be vetted by the Indian mission based on a criteria set by the South African Department of Home Affairs.

"We had to select priority passengers depending on their need," Ranjan said in a Facebook broadcast.

The diplomat said those left out are likely to be repatriated on an Air India flight under the Indian government's Vande Bharat mission.

"People who are going back on this flight include 26 scientists from India who were stuck in Cape Town after they returned from a mission to Antarctica," Ranjan said.

"They were here for the past three months, so this was a priority for us to send them back to India," the official said.

Ranjan said 93 members of the ISE Cruise who were stuck in the coastal city of Durban were also a priority for them.

Others approved for the flight are those who are ill or on a temporary tourist visa.

Ranjan said the ticket price for the one-way flight was 15,000 rands, which was fixed by the SAA and the Indian government had nothing to do with it.

The fare, which is almost thrice the normal ticket price, has to be paid by the passengers themselves.

An Air India flight can be expected in phase 3 of the Vande Bharat mission in June as there is no fixed date for it yet, Ranjan said.

Currently, the mission in phase 2, the official added.

"Many people who could not pay could not be accommodated on the flight. I feel very sorry for them, but we can have some say and discounts when we get our own flights, so I just want them to wait patiently and not feel disheartened," Ranjan said.
(Photo : POOL on Reuters) [BREAKING] 18 New COVID-19 Antibodies Discovered by US Army That 'Bridge Towards Vaccine Creation' (Photo : POOL on Reuters) [BREAKING] 18 New COVID-19 Antibodies Discovered by US Army That 'Bridge Towards Vaccine Creation'

United States Army researchers, along with the University of Texas in Austin, have formulated new ways to destroy the Coronavirus in a human body. According to new research, 18 new sets of antibodies were found from recovered COVID-19 patients.

While the experiments are still undergoing, the military said that this could be a good sign for the country to get a quicker response in creating the Coronavirus vaccine needed to protect everyone around the globe.

While waiting for the vaccine, 18 new antibodies were discovered by the US Army

Since experts had discovered that some recovered COVID-19 patients have released antibodies on their blood, the study for this claim continues. The Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has focused its research on this aspect. As reported by Fox News, 18 new potential therapeutic or neutralizing monoclonal antibodies were recently discovered.

Gen. John Murray, Commander of Army Futures Command, said that their agency has been speaking with other experts at the university to identify "potentially neutralizing" antibodies that will directly destroy the virus.

Not all of the 18 newly-discovered antibodies will technically neutralize the virus. However, the report says that there are highly-potential ones that may "bridge its way to a vaccine."

"We look to find sequences that are binding to COVID-19. Then we send them off to test their ability to neutralize. A neutralizing antibody keeps a pathogen from being able to proliferate. We assemble antibodies and select winners," said Dr. Jimmy Gollihar, synthetic biology research scientist, U.S. Army Capabilities Development Command, Army Research Laboratory-South, in an interview about the process.

How does the antibody work?

COVID-19 antibodies are not a straight-up vaccine against the virus. These blood packets are collected from the recovered Coronavirus patients.

Research says that once a person recovers from the virus, there are possibilities that their blood contains antibodies that can fight against the presence of the virus strand, making it less contagious and dangerous for the health of the patient.

"The blood draws happened under UT supervision. When we pull all of the V Cells, we are pulling their full repertoire, everything they have. The challenge is to find antibodies that are binding to COVID-19. Once we find them we produce them and send them off to the lab," Gollihar said.

SARS antibody to cure Coronavirus?

Nature published a report on Monday, May 18, saying that researchers have discovered another antibody from a SARS virus survivor.

The researchers suggest that the SARS survivors' blood also have distinct similarities of antibodies that may defeat the virus in a DNA strand.

Researchers from the University of Washington tested 25 various antibodies but found one particular sample named S309, which has a "potent" neutralizing antibody against the COVID-19.

With the help of the S309, researchers will be able to mix this substance to other less potent antibodies. If the experiment is successful, the Novel Coronavirus may be stopped from mutating-- resulting in the possible flattened curve of cases.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A man in his 60s is due in court in Cork this morning after allegedly breaking Covid-19 laws.

Gardai say he shouted at officers who were on patrol in the Lough area of the city on April 27.
A MAN has appeared in court charged with the murder of David Daithi Douglas, who was shot dead in a gangland attack in a Dublin shop in 2016.

Lee Canavan (31) was extradited from the UK yesterday and brought before Dublin District Court this morning.

Judge John Hughes remanded him in custody, to appear in court again on Wednesday May 27.

Mr Canavan, of no fixed address, is charged with murdering Mr Douglas (55) at Bridgefoot Street in Dublin's south inner city on July 1, 2016.

He is also accused of causing criminal damage to a car at Strand Road, Sandymount on July 4 that year.

Mr Canavan is the fourth man to be charged over the killing of Mr Douglas, who was shot six times in front of his daughter.

Freddie Thompson was convicted by the Special Criminal Court and jailed for life for murder after a trial in August 2018. Nathan Foley pleaded guilty in November 2018 to assisting a criminal organisation and received a six year sentence.

Getaway car driver Gareth Brophy admitted helping to facilitate the murder and was jailed for 10 years in January this year.

Today, Detective Sergeant Mark Kelly told Judge Hughes said he arrested the accused at 4pm yesterday at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel, on foot of two warrants that had been issued on March 24, 2017.

He said he handed Mr Canavan a copy of each arrest warrant, and submitted the originals to the court.

The accused was brought to Kevin Street Garda Station, where he was charged at 5.32pm yesterday. His reply to each charge after caution was no comment, Det Sgt Kelly said.

He applied for the accused to be remanded in custody to appear in Cloverhill District Court on the next date.

Defence solicitor Tracy Horan said she anticipated that the book of evidence was ready and asked for the case to be put in to Wednesday for the service of the book.

She said it was a matter that would be sent forward for trial to the Special Criminal Court and the accused would be on special escort. She asked for her client to be remanded to Mountjoy Prison, rather than being sent to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

This made more sense than requiring him to be driven to Portlaoise and back up again for his next court appearance, which would be nonsensical, she said.

Det Sgt Kelly made the same application.

We have security arrangements in place and it makes sense for us to bring him directly from Mountjoy, he said.

Judge Hughes enquired as to why the accused was not simply being remanded to Cloverhill prison. Ms Horan said given the nature of this matter, all individuals involved were incarcerated in Mountjoy.

Judge Hughes acceded to the request and remanded him to Mountjoy Prison, to appear in Cloverhill District Court on May 27.

He also recommended all appropriate medical treatment for the accused at Ms Horans request.

The solicitor said the accused required urgent medical attention, particularly in relation to a tumour for which he had been receiving care in the UK.

The judge also granted free legal aid after hearing the accused was not working and of no means.

No bail application was made on Mr Canavan's behalf as bail cannot be granted at district court level on a murder charge.

The accused, dressed in a navy tracksuit with white Nike logos, was not required to address the court during the brief hearing and has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charges.

He was flown to Ireland yesterday on an Irish Air Corps aircraft after a risk assessment by gardai deemed it would be "unsafe" for him to travel from London to Dublin on a commercial plane.

Detectives from the Garda Extradition Unit travelled to arrest Mr Canavan at an RAF airbase and returned with him on the Irish military plane.

Mr Canavan's extradition to Ireland was ordered at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week.

Mr Douglas was shot six times as he took a meal break at the counter in his partners shop, Shoestown, on Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 8.

He was working with his daughter in the shop owned by his partner when a gunman walked into the shop with a semi-automatic pistol and shot Mr Douglas six times.
A federal grand jury indicted the former chief of cardiology at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Palo Alto Medical Center on charges of sexual battery, alleging that he assaulted another VA doctor when the two worked together at the hospital in 2017.

Dr. John Giacomini, 71, of Atherton, California, was indicted last week on charges that he engaged in unwanted and nonconsensual sexual contact with a subordinate physician in December 2017.

Read Next: Group Threatens to Sue VA Over Nazi Symbols in National Veterans Cemeteries

He had been chief of the hospital's cardiology department for 30 years and also was a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford Medical School.

The Palo Alto Daily Post reported that Giacomini was placed on administrative leave from Stanford in June 2018 when a complaint was filed against him, prompting an investigation. He has since been dismissed by Stanford.

He also is no longer on staff at the VA hospital. The medical center did not respond to a request for comment or questions on when Giacomini left the VA.

He was released on $200,000 bond and currently works as a consultant at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California, under supervision by the U.S. Pretrial Services Office in San Jose.

According to documents obtained by the Daily Post, Giacomini engaged in "behaviors of a sexual nature" with the employee after she told him she did not want to have a relationship with him other than being friends.

The investigation also found that Giacomini may have propositioned another female subordinate at the VA.

Throughout the investigation by the VA Office of Inspector General, Giacomini maintained that the contact was consensual.

Anthony Brass, Giacomini's attorney, said Tuesday that the indictment is "perplexing." He added that he had not seen the new court documents, which remain sealed. But based on the investigation, he said, it "appears this would be a federal harassment lawsuit and not a criminal case."

"We are still surprised that a federal charge would come this long after the conduct," Brass said. "I thought there would be a sense of urgency about the case" if Giacomini was considered a threat to others.

Since the alleged conduct occurred on VA property, the VA Office of Inspector General referred the case to the U.S. Attorney's Office for federal prosecution.

If convicted, Giacomini faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison and fines up to $250,000, as well as restitution.

He is expected to make his first court appearance July 7 in U.S. District Court of Northern California.

The indictment was the second involving sexual assault at a VA medical center last week. A former physician at the Beckley Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Virginia was indicted on charges he sexually abused male patients at the facility over the span of six months.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: Sexual Assault Reports, Harassment Complaints Rise in the US Military
The researchers are currently testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected in the next month.

Vaccine innovators Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia have signed an exclusive deal to develop a new vaccine candidate for COVID-19 invented at Jefferson. The novel vaccine was developed using an existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus proteins. This is in part because this vehicle or carrier vaccine is known to produce a strong immune response, and is approved for the whole population including children and pregnant women.

Infectious Diseases expert Professor Matthias Schnells lab developed the vaccine in January this year, and has recently completed preliminary tests in animal models. The vaccine showed a strong antibody response in mice receiving the vaccine. The researchers are currently testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected in the next month.

Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development, says Prof. Schnell  a coronavirus expert who directs The Jefferson Vaccine Institute and chairs Jeffersons Department of Microbiology and Immunology, We will be able to complete animal testing and move to phase 1 clinical trial rapidly he adds.

Dr. Krishna Mohan, Chief Executive Officer of Bharat Biotech said, In view of the imminent demand for an effective vaccine, Bharat Biotech is pleased to collaborate with Thomas Jefferson, USA towards developing a new vaccine for COVID-19 using an inactivated rabies vector platform. We are particularly excited about this technology since the basic proof of concept has been established while using it for other pandemic infectious diseases. Bharat Biotech is committed to global public health and will be involved in an end to end development of the vaccine including comprehensive clinical trials to achieve commercial licensure.

Under the license agreement, Bharat Biotech gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jeffersons vaccine across the world excluding countries such as USA, Europe, Japan etc., where Jefferson continues to seek partners. With support from the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, Bharat Biotech aims to get into human trials as soon as December 2020.

Bharat Biotech is the worlds largest supplier of rabies vaccines, and has been at the forefront of creating breakthrough vaccines for several challenging diseases, said Dr. Rose Ritts, Jeffersons Innovation EVP, who led the negotiations with the assistance of Dr. Heather Rose, Innovation VP. They are the right partner for Jefferson to accelerate this important project with urgency.

Of the 90 or so coronavirus vaccines in development, about 25% use an established vaccine to act as a carrier or vector for the target virus, in this case, the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 spike protein. The vector used in this new vaccine is a deactivated rabies vaccine that is known to produce a strong immune response, and that has been proven safe for all populations including children and pregnant women.

Not every vaccine produces the same level of the immune response. The rabies vaccine has been shown to generate a rigorous but safe immune reaction that confers life-long protection. Since we know the immune system reacts to the rabies vaccine with a strong response when we add the coronavirus component, we expect to see that level of protection, and immune memory, carry over to the SARS-CoV-2 viral protein as well, says Prof. Schnell.

Prof. Schnells prior research creating vaccines with this approach against two other strains of coronavirus (the 2003 SARS and 2012 MERS viruses), worked in this way, conferring strong immunity in animal models.

We are leveraging the properties of a very effective vaccine  one that provides life-long immunity against one of the biggest global threats of our time, says Dr. Mark Tykocinski MD, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs of Thomas Jefferson University, and Dean of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Rather than go with an untested approach, we have a leg-up by using a vaccine that is safe, effective, and exceptionally good at creating a strong immune response  which is something not every vaccine can do

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Britain First leader Paul Golding has been found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act after refusing to give police access to his mobile phone on his return from a political trip to Russia.

The 38-year-old from Stockport was stopped at Heathrow Airport on October 23 on his way back from Moscow by officers from the Metropolitan Police.

He refused to give the PINs for an iPhone and Apple computer and was later charged with wilfully refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act.

Golding denied the charge but was found guilty of the offence following a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday.

English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, watched the proceedings in the court's socially distanced public gallery.

Britain First leader Paul Golding (pictured leaving court in Westminster this afternoon) has been found guilty of an offence under the Terrorism Act

The former BNP councillor is pictured today arriving at the magistrates' court in London to face the charge

Golding was pictured flanked by officers (left) and was joined by English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson (right)

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ruled there was 'no doubt' Golding had failed to comply with requests for information, despite his obligations being explained to him and being warned 'over and over' if he did not he risked arrest.

She handed Golding a conditional discharge for nine months and ordered him to pay a 21 surcharge and 750 in costs.

Giving evidence earlier, Pc Rory O'Connor, a borders officer with the Met who questioned Golding, told the court Schedule 7 enables accredited officers to 'speak to people in order to make a determination of whether they are or have been concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism'.

The officer explained it also permitted police to interrogate, search and detain anyone for up to six hours at UK ports.

The 38-year-old made victory symbols (pictured) ahead of the half-day trial but was found guilty

He said he had cause to examine Golding under the legislation and recalled him being initially 'agitated' and 'clearly angry' at being stopped, with him shouting at officers.

Prosecutor Samuel Main said for nearly three hours Golding was questioned about his activities in Russia after flying out with two others on October 20.

The court heard Golding said he was on a 'purely political trip' after establishing friendships in Russia during an international congress on an earlier date.

What is Britain First? The far-right political organisation was founded in 2011 by former BNP members. The group focuses on the 'preservation of traditional British culture' and rejects what it calls the 'Islamisation of the UK'. It ran as a political party for elections to the House of Commons, European Parliament and for the Mayor of London. It was unsuccessful in them all. The Electoral Commission deregistered it as a political party in November 2017. Advertisement

He told officers he had returned to the country under the invitation of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), which he described as a 'right wing, conservative, patriotic group' who were not 'extreme'.

Golding said they were a 'political party not a mob' and 'if they incited violence then Britain First wouldn't touch them with a barge pole'.

He said he had not met any representative of the Russian government, the court heard.

Golding appeared in the dock wearing a grey suit, white shirt and red tie, and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and nationality.

Over the course of his three-day trip, Golding gave interviews to the media, met members of the LDPR and visited the Russian parliament, Mr Main said.

He also visited Moscow's Red Square and laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Golding was quizzed on the LDPR's policies which he said covered the issues of terrorism, Islamic extremism, immigration and family values.

Robinson arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London to support Golding today

He described Britain First as a 'patriotic, right-wing, conservative' group who considered themselves as 'loyalist'.

In clips of an audio recording of the interview played in court, Golding said the request for his pin codes was 'wildly inappropriate', 'completely unjustified', represented an 'abuse of police powers' and was a 'political witch hunt'.

Mr Main said he told officers they 'hadn't asked him about terrorism or criminality and he was simply a politician'.

Golding added: 'I don't think think you have any grounds to suspect me of terrorism in any way shape or form'.

Representing Golding, Abigail Bright said Britain First had never been a banned organisation.

There was a huge police presence outside the court in Westminster (pictured) during the trial

She said Golding had been 'calm, compliant and respectful' during questioning under what she claimed was a 'predetermined operation'.

Ms Bright said he was 'tired' and had not wilfully disobeyed a lawful instruction and that evidence from officers left the court 'none too wiser' as to whether they had 'screened against' Schedule 7 being used 'in an arbitrary way'.

She highlighted that she had put to Pc O'Connor that as a political leader there was a 'real possibility' Golding's devices held sensitive information, for example membership lists.

As a politician, she said he was 'entitled to expect enhanced protection for his rights of speech, assembly, association'.

Mr Main said at 'no point' had Golding mentioned there being 'sensitive material' on his devices, which might have offered him some protection.

Golding was a BNP Sevenoaks District councillor for St Mary's Ward in Swanley, Kent, between 2009 and 2011.

He stood in the 2010 general election, for Wales in the 2014 European Parliamentary election and in the London mayoral election in 2016. He was unsuccessful in them.

Britain First was deregistered as a political party in November 2017.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
The Afghan Dreamers, an all-girls robotics team, is using car parts found in marketplaces to create a ventilator prototype that could change the health care system in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Dreamers have competed in the United States, where they won an award for courage. "It made us really happy and it's made us work even harder," team captain Somaya Faruqi, 17, told NPR's Diaa Hadid. There are only 200 working ventilators in Afghanistan, with many of them hand-operated, and the team has been asked by doctors to create a mechanical device. "Even if it saves just one patient's life, I'll be happy," Faruqi said.

The team has been developing a prototype for about a month, working off of an open source designed at MIT. Dr. Douglas Chin, a surgeon in California, has been helping the team from afar, "kind of walking them through what some of the clinical issues are around ventilators, things like the pressure," he told Hadid. "You want to make sure that the ventilator itself is not causing harm."

Unable to buy pieces online or at electronics stores, the girls found a way to get around their lack of traditional components. "Most of the material we're using is actually from Toyota Corolla car parts" found at markets, Faruqi said. The team is almost finished with the prototype, and if they are successful, it's estimated each ventilator will cost just $200 to make.

More stories from theweek.com

Solid majorities of Americans are worried about a 2nd wave of COVID-19 infections as states reopen

Coronavirus infections force Ford to suspend production at recently reopened plants

Republicans are up in arms about Flynn's 'unmasking.' He was reportedly never masked in the first place.


Imagine they gave an election campaign and nobody came.

Poor Anthony Albanese. Social distancing and political campaigning, he's discovering, make an awkward coupling.

The byelection for what commentators once liked to call the "bellwether" seat of Eden-Monaro has been a lonesome slog ever since the start of the campaign some weeks ago.

Labor candidate for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain and Anthony Albanese in Queanbeyan. The Opposition Leader has become known as "the farmers' friend" during the campaign thanks to the rain he's bringing. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

That's when Albanese and Labor's candidate Kristy McBain found themselves all but forsaken on the main street of a locked-down Queanbeyan, a glacial wind blowing from the nearby mountains, snow clouds gathering and the threat of coronavirus in the air.
'Like' us on Facebook Follow us:

Posted on: May 19, 2020



The Sai Organisation Springs into Action To

Mitigate the Suffering from Covid19

Part 01

Part 02 | Part 03

There are any number of service organisations in the world. The uniqueness of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation consists in the fact that it regards Seva as a form of service to the Divinity that is in each being. The bliss that is derived from such service is incomparable. It is a spiritual experience.

 Bhagawan Baba, November 18, 1984



The members of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations long to experience this bliss by reaching out and serving the Divinity present in all, especially the ones who are in need of help, support and succour.



On March 24, 2020 when the Indian Government announced a hitherto unprecedented national lockdown to contain the Covid19 health crisis, it changed the lives of 1.3 billion Indians in several unforeseen ways.



The worst affected group however was the over 40 million migrant labourers.



Overnight, these poor daily wage earners lost their jobs. With no money, they had no means to even fill their stomachs. There was no way they could return to their villages too.



Humongous Selflessness with Himalayan Humility



Unable to see the sorrow of this vulnerable lot, Sai devotees in many parts of the country instantly reached out to these disadvantaged groups of people and served them meals on a daily basis for them to keep their flesh and bone together.



What started as little streams of selflessness by inspired Sai devotees in various corners of India, soon merged into a massive movement of compassion.



As on May 16, 2020 the Sai Sevadals all over India, have served 12,63,161 food packets cooked in 108 free Community Kitchens set up in different states of the country.



When some of the migrants moved back to their home states, 20 Community Kitchens were no longer needed. Currently 88 Kitchens are operational all over India.

Besides, over 2,50,000 masks have been distributed free to public servants, sanitary workers, labourers, and so on.



The organisation has not stopped with just this.



Throughout India 16,81,650 kilograms of cereals and grains have been offered to 1,10,500 families through the volunteers of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation.



While the food served and groceries given away was understandably a manna from heaven for these deeply troubled lives, it was a manna from heaven for the Sai devotees who served too.

Do you know why?
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four-day working week to help boost tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Ardern was finishing up a short trip to Rotorua on Monday when she decided to check-in with New Zealanders via Facebook livestream.

The 39-year-old said she briefly visited the North Island town to speak with local council and tourism operators about the impact of COVID-19 and what can be done going forward.

Ms Ardern said a number of ideas were being 'bounced around' to support New Zealanders through the pandemic and make the most of domestic travel.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four-day working week to help boost tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic

'Some have been saying ''well if they had a bit more flexibility in terms of their travel and their leave they might be able to do that'',' she said.

'I hear lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day week.

'Ultimately that really sits between employers and employees.

'But as I've said there's lots of things we've learnt about COVID and just that flexibility of people working from home, the productivity that can be driven out of that.'

Ms Ardern said she would 'really encourage' employers to think about it if they're in a position to do so.

'To think about if that's something that would work for your workplace because it certainly would help tourism all around the country,' she said.

New Zealand entered 'Alert 2' of their coronavirus action plan on Thursday May 14, which allowed Kiwis to slowly return to everyday life. Pictured: People enjoy outside cafe dining at the Maunganui main beach esplanade in Tauranga on Monday

Ms Ardern also encouraged fellow New Zealanders to 'think about exploring your backyard' now that lockdown restrictions have been eased.

'I keep thinking about that letter I got from Judith. Not someone I know but we're on first name basis now,' she said.

'Saying when she was able to she would get a haircut, she would see New Zealand.

'So, this is my message for everyone. Grab that haircut, go and see New Zealand.'

The prime minister said she visited Rotorua about two months ago before lockdown was introduced.

Her latest journey to the tourist hotspot was her first trip away from the Wellington region since lockdown.

New Zealand entered 'Alert 2' of their coronavirus action plan on Thursday May 14, which allowed Kiwis to slowly return to everyday life.

'People can reconnect with friends and family, and socialise in groups of up to 10, go shopping, or travel domestically, if following public health guidance,' the alert says.

The country has recorded 1,153 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 21 people have died.
Ministerial finger-pointing at scientists is a red herring to distract attention from the failings of the governments approach to the coronavirus crisis, a leading public health expert has said.

Scientists and politicians responded with anger to a suggestion from cabinet minister Therese Coffey on Tuesday that any bad decisions by the government might be the result of getting the wrong advice from scientists.

Eminent fertility doctor Robert Winston said governments are responsible for what happens, not the scientists.

And Labours shadow science spokesperson Chi Onwurah told The Independent: Government cant blame scientists when they are not publishing the scientific evidence on which their decisions are made. Ministers need to stop hiding behind the science and enable an honest conversation which treats the public like adults.

Ms Onwurah said it was doing huge damage to scientists morale to see themselves treated as scapegoats, and said researchers should counter this by being as open as possible in publishing their findings and advice.

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

This is doubly true while the government seemingly does the opposite, seeing science as something to hide behind to avoid accountability for policies  such as a lack of test, track and trace  that have limited the gathering of evidence and the quality of advice, she wrote in Research Professional News.

But Prof Allyson Pollock, the director of the Newcastle University Centre for Excellence in Regulatory Science, described efforts to point the finger of blame at scientists as a decoy to draw attention from the long-term depletion of public health resources and manpower needed to deal with an outbreak of communicable disease.

Work and pensions secretary Ms Coffey sparked controversy in a TV interview when she responded to criticism over the governments testing programme and the timing of lockdown measures by saying: If the science was wrong, advice at the time was wrong, Im not surprised if people will then think we then made a wrong decision.

Downing Street moved swiftly to distance Boris Johnson from her comments, telling reporters: Scientists provide advice to the government, ministers ultimately decide. Thats how government works.

And in a round of broadcast interviews on Wednesday morning, justice secretary Robert Buckland said that pointing fingers and blaming people is extremely unproductive.

But it was notable that when he was challenged by Keir Starmer over the discharge of recovering Covid-19 patients to care homes, Mr Johnson told prime ministers questions in the Commons that no such transfer took place without the express authorisation of a clinician.

Lord Winston told the Jeremy Vine show on Channel 5: The fact is that these things constantly occur, when scientists are blamed. Its not the first time.

The Labour peer said the majority of scientific advice received from the PMs Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) was being kept secret by the authorities probably to their advantage.

But he added: There was a huge body of scientific opinion which argued for lockdown very early and that was not done, whether thats the governments fault or not.

Governments have to take decisions not just based on the science but also other things such as the economy and public opinion, but ultimately they are responsible for what happens, not the scientists.

Prof Pollock, who sits on the Independent Sage group which has been putting out alternative scientific analysis over the course of the crisis, told The Independent: I dont think its helpful to blame the scientists. The scientists are only doing what they have been asked to do. Its the government that decides.

But she added: Its a red herring to blame the scientists, a decoy from the fact that governments have destroyed the system that was there for public health and communicable disease control.

The big question, she said, was why experts in public health and communicable disease control were not included among the governments advisory team.

They didnt ask the full range of scientists, she said. They were selective about who they chose. Those scientists gave their opinions but didnt put it out to peer review.

Its very clear from the modelling they have put in the public domain... that there has been no consultation with public health and communicable disease people on the ground who understand how tracing works. But thats not the modellers fault, its the governments fault for not asking the right people.

Prof Pollock said that resources and manpower for public health and communicable disease control had been depleted over the past decade and ministers now seemed to be trying to build a centralised parallel system of tests and apps that bypasses local health structures in favour of private companies like Amazon or Serco.

Its clear they dont have public health and communicable disease control advice, because if they did they would be building the system locally through the established network of GPs and occupational health and health visitors, she said. If you have a symptomatic patient, why would you by-pass their GP?

Two former Conservative cabinet ministers have called for greater transparency with scientific advice.

The chair of the Commons Health Committee Jeremy Hunt said Sage advice should be made public like the minutes of Bank of England discussions on interest rates, arguing: We cant possibly know whether government was following the science if we dont know the advice they were given. And science and technology committee chair Greg Clark said: The key thing is that sometimes you can learn things along the way. Youve got to have the intellectual and political confidence to acknowledge that, be clear on what lessons you are learning, and be able to amend what you do for decisions that are going to be taken in coming weeks.

Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance has argued for maximum transparency and says he wants Sages advice on schools to be published before the planned reopening on 1 June. But he has yet to set a deadline for the publication of all Sage papers.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson, said: As we tackle this global pandemic, the government will continue to be guided by the latest evidence and world-leading expert advice from a range of scientists and epidemiologists.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 05:11:19|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RAMALLAH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Tuesday declared the abolition of all agreements and understandings with Israel and the U.S. in protest against the Israeli plan to annex parts of the West Bank.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones," said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the end of an urgent leadership meeting held in Ramallah.

Israel will shoulder all responsibilities and obligations as an occupying power, with all its consequences and repercussions based on international law and humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, Abbas said.

The convention holds the occupying power responsible for protecting the civilian population under occupation and their property, criminalizing collective punishment, banning theft of resources, appropriation and annexation of land, banning forced transfer of the population, he added.

Abbas's decision came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration of his plan to annex parts of the West Bank and apply Israeli law on the Israeli settlements built there, as his new government was sworn in before the parliament on Sunday.

In his speech, Abbas held the U.S. administration "fully responsible for the oppression befalling the Palestinian people and we consider it a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government in all its aggressive and unfair decisions and measures against our people."

He urged the countries that have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan, known as Deal of the Century, to take "deterrent steps and impose serious sanctions to prevent the Israeli occupation state from implementing its schemes and its continuing denial of the rights of our people."

Furthermore, Abbas declared that the state of Palestine will press ahead with signing and joining more international agreements and conventions.

"We will continue to pursue the occupation for its crimes against our people at all international authorities and courts. In this context, we affirm our confidence in the independence and integrity of the International Criminal Court," he added. Enditem
The findings were similar to a 13 percent weekly jump that researchers saw in cross-state travel to Georgia after it became one of the first states to reopen most businesses in late April. Most of those visitors came from surrounding states that remained shut down at the time. The 18 percent jump in visitors to the Delmarva region is probably higher because it was concentrated over a weekend and occurred in a densely populated area, Zhang said.
[May 20, 2020] New AI Protection for COVID-19: VIVOTEK Crowd Control Solution

TAIPEI, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has become a standard public health intervention around the world. It is proven to be one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of illness during an outbreak. Retail sectors have adopted several practices such as limiting the number of in-store customers, in-store social distancing markers, investing in protective equipment, and increasing upper-limits on contactless payments. At the same time, an increasing number of retail, healthcare, banking, and hospitality industries have adopted AI-based IP surveillance solutions to reduce the load on manual management while also mitigating the risk of both employee and customer infection on their premises. "VIVOTEK is one of the few IP surveillance companies that has implemented AI technology into its Crowd Control Solution. This solution includes an edge-computing stereo counting camera, PoE switch, and network video recorder. he solution is designed to enable businesses to comply with social distancing regulations and maintain maximum occupancy as well as a safer and healthier environment during COVID-19," said Alex Liao, President of VIVOTEK. "This intelligent solution can be deployed at points of entry to areas with a higher likelihood of social interaction such as shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, and restaurants. In a post COVID-19 world, the solution can be expanded as a Business Intelligence Solution to optimize operations. Until then we will continue to stand together with and serve our customers, while providing AI-based solutions in our fight against COVID-19."



Below are the benefits of VIVOTEK's Crowd Control Solutions. 1. Social Distancing Compliance

Putting safety first by implementing VIVOTEK's Crowd Control Solution enables effective management of crowds in places where social distancing must be upheld. 2. High Accuracy When business owner recruit security staff or part-time employees to manually count traffic this leads to a less than satisfactory result. VIVOTEK's 3D stereo counting camera provides precise tracking and a counting accuracy up to 98%. This accuracy is further increased by the ability to transfer large datasets. 3. Real-time Analytics Combining AI with deep-learning analytics, video data can be gathered, analyzed, and applied in real-time, enabling staffs to respond promptly to any change. 4. Lowered Risk of Infection The deployment of VIVOTEK's Crowd Control Solution also means a minimization of physical contact, providing both customers and employees a safer working and shopping environment. SOURCE VIVOTEK Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to hold up coronavirus relief money for Michigan after he said  erroneously  that the state had sent absentee ballots to millions of voters. Its not clear that he can do so.

Michigan mailed applications for the absentee ballots, not the ballots themselves.

Michigan sends absentee ballots to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election, Trump tweeted Wednesday. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!

Trump later made a similar threat against Nevada, which has sent ballots to voters for its June 9 state primary, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The upcoming election has no bearing on the presidential race because Nevada held its Democratic presidential caucus in February, and canceled its Republican presidential caucus.

A federal judge recently cleared Nevadas decision to mail ballots, which were sent by the Republican secretary of state.

State of Nevada thinks that they can send out illegal vote by mail ballots, creating a great Voter Fraud scenario for the State and the U.S. They cant! If they do, I think I can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections, Trump tweeted.

It was not immediately clear how Trump could delay the funds, which come from coronavirus relief spending measures he signed into law. Trump tagged his acting budget director, his chief of staff and the Treasury Department on the tweets.

Trump has been very vocal about his opposition to voting by mail, claiming the practice is ripe for fraud although there is scant evidence of widespread wrongdoing with mail-in voting. Trump himself requested a mail ballot for Floridas GOP primary last month and he has voted absentee in previous elections.

Trump says people should have to show up at polling stations and present ID to vote. But the coronavirus pandemic has upended that long-standing practice, with many voters fearful of waiting in line at polling stations and voting on machines that have been touched others.

Republicans have tried to portray Trumps crusade against mail voting as a principled stand rather than a partisan attack on Democrats, but his tweets undermined that argument.

On Monday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the party had no problem with a system like the one Michigan proposed.

Republicans have pushed back against Democratic plans to send ballots to all voters, as Nevadas Republican secretary of state is doing for her states primary.

Trumps own campaign has tried to present his opposition to mail ballots as nuanced rather than a blatant attempt to limit Democratic votes, insisting that a line should be drawn at sending ballots to all voters. Five states already mail ballots to all voters and there have been no major instances of fraud due to that system.

Michigan spent $4.5 million in federal funds to mail absentee ballot applications to all 7.7 million registered voters for the August primary and November general election. Michigan is a crucial presidential battleground state that Trump, a Republican, narrowly won in 2016.

Michigan is among states hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and Trump and the states Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, have clashed over federal assistance during the crisis. Trump tweeted Wednesday as the state grappled with its latest challenge, severe flooding in one central Michigan county after two dams failed, forcing thousands to evacuate.

Trump planned to visit Michigan on Thursday on a previously scheduled trip to tour Fords ventilator assembly plant in Ypsilanti.

Michigans Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, announced the mailing Tuesday as part of the states efforts to confront voters concerns about the pandemic. Benson says the money came from $11.2 million it received from the federal government for elections.

Benson tweeted to Trump that her Republican counterparts in several states had also mailed ballot applications.

Hi! I also have a name, its Jocelyn Benson. And we sent applications, not ballots. Just like my GOP colleagues in Iowa, Georgia, Nebraska and West Virginia,' she tweeted.

Republicans in Michigans GOP-led Legislature criticized the mailing Tuesday, saying local clerks traditionally have handled absentee ballot requests.

Normally in Michigan, it is up to voters to ask their local clerk for an absentee ballot.

The March presidential primary was the first major election in Michigan in which people could vote absentee without needing an excuse following the approval of a 2018 ballot initiative.
Midland set a new record flood level on the Tittabawassee River Wednesday following the failure of dams upstream on Tuesday. The river crested at 35.05 feet according to a report at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville Dam was breached and water flowed over the Sanford Dam, making its way toward Midland. During a visit in Midland Wednesday, the governor said the state will pursue legal recourse for the dam failures.

"It's devastating," Whitmer said of the damage and disruption she saw during an aerial tour of the Midland area a short time earlier. "This is being called a '500-year event.'"

Read more about her visit: Whitmer in Midland: This is a '500-year event'.

The National Guard began missions Wednesday, evacuating citizens, augmenting emergency planners and preparing logistical support.

The City of Midland and Midland County are continuing their response: Midland County, City warn flooding is 'far from over'.

Sewer backups are possible in some parts of Midland, the city says.

See our new timeline documenting the response.

River update and evacuations

Even though the river has reached its crest, residents are reminded that they should remain diligent and follow all current evacuation protocol despite fair weather conditions.

At this time, about 11,000 people are evacuating from their residences in Midland County, including 10,000 within the City of Midland and 950 within townships and villages.

No fatalities or significant injuries have been reported.

Within the City of Midland, the following residents are advised to evacuate: residents living within the shaded areas of the map located at https://bit.ly/damfailure2020; those living south of U.S. 10 and west of Eastman Avenue should also evacuate; residents contacted by state, city or county public safety officers.

In Midland County, the following residents are advised to evacuate: Residents living with the shaded areas of the map under the Edenville Dam Failure layer at http://link.fetchgis.com/b6f5016d; Midland Township residents on Ashby Road between Poseyville and Patterson roads; Homer Township residents residing on East Wheeler Road or on Homer Road; Residents in Lincoln Township east of M-30 on any roads between Price and Wackerly.

As of 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, power outages were affecting 5,470 customers in Midland County and and 2,871 customers in Gladwin County.

Community response

Photos taken by Michael Ostander as he was out on his kayak in the Sanford area show devastation: A kayaker's view of Sanford.

The Edenville Dam, along with the Sanford Dam, has been in poor condition for many years: Edenville Dam had long history of neglect.

At about 10 a.m. Wednesday it was confirmed flood waters are commingling with on-site containment ponds at the Dow Michigan Operations Industrial Park: Dow implements emergency preparedness plan. Dow CEO Jim Fitterling told reporter Ashley Schafer that that the company is monitoring its site along the river. Read more from Fitterling: Dow CEO: Midland plant is stable, continue to serve customers.

Karen and Larry Buford of Midland are grateful to have a place to stay at an emergency shelter. Hear from them and more residents in the shelter after evacuating: About 100 people stayed inside shelter at MHS Tuesday night.

Area resident are dealing with the aftermath of the situation further upstream. The situation has caused headaches and heartaches for residents, some of whom are just recovering from the last major flood in 2017.

Jake Endline posted the video to Facebook showing standing water in some parts of a neighborhood off M-20: Video shows floodwater in Midland neighborhood.

Midland County readers are submitting photos of the damage done by the flooding.

Community Mental Health for Central Michigan is offering a variety of services to the community via telephone and teletherapy options during this challenging time.

All Northwood University staff and students have been evacuated and ordered not to return to campus: Northwood evacuates campus due to flooding.

Shelters

City of Midland Community Affairs Director Selina Tisdale cautions that Midland residents who have evacuated their homes amid the flooding need to be patient before trying to get back home.

"We can't stress enough that (the Tittabawassee River hasn't) crested yet," she said at 8 a.m. Wednesday. "A lot of people are thinking, it's a beautiful day and they can go back to their homes and resume normal activities. But we are still in the thick of this." Read more: City of Midland: Don't return to your homes yet.

Residents who do not have a safe place to stay should come to one of the following shelters:

 West Midland Family Center - 4011 W. Isabella Road

 Midland High School - 1301 Eastlawn Drive

 Bullock Creek High School - 1420 S. Badour Road (pet friendly)

 Coleman High School - 4951 N. Lewis Road

 North Midland Family Center - 2601 E. Shearer Road (pet friendly)

Please do not call 911 to inquire about the status of a residence or if it is safe to return home.

Roads

Many roads in Midland County and the City of Midland remain closed due to flooded conditions. Due to the rapidly-changing nature of this event, additional road closures may be in effect since this release was issued. Residents are encouraged to visit this a map containing current road closures and other information.

Residents are advised to obey all road closure signs and to stay clear of standing water, flooded areas and floating debris. Do not attempt to drive or walk through any standing water. Residents should take extra precaution where electrical items may be submerged. Rumors of an individual being swept away by flood waters are unfounded.

Get more information on roads: Maps: Find a route around Midland County road closures.

Water safety

Midland County residents whose residence have groundwater wells that have been submerged by flood waters are advised not to consume their drinking water until it has been disinfected and tested. Please visit http://co.midland.mi.us/health for more information. A boil water advisory has been implemented for residents in Water District 1 in Hope and Edenville townships due to proximity to the Edenville Dam failure.

City of Midland residents and township customers who receive water service from the City of Midland Water Treatment Plant are not impacted and may continue to consume drinking water.

City facilities

The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library has received flooding in its lower level, which includes Midland Community Television (MCTV), due to flooding of the Snake Creek. Damage mitigation efforts are currently underway by city staff. More updates will be provided as additional details are made available.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Evacuations of all residents of the City of Midlands Riverside Place senior living community were completed around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Most residents have taken shelter with family members, while those without local family members are being sheltered at Midland High School. Riverside Place is currently taking on water in its lower level due to flooding of the Tittabawassee River.

Medical facilities

As a result of the ongoing Midland County Flash Flood Warning, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland has implemented its incident command team to make plans to ensure the safety of all patients and staff.



We have been working alongside local agencies, watching closely the rapid changes that have been occurring due to the flooding, stated Greg Rogers, president, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland, in a news release. We have transferred a few patients that were identified by their physician and have no plans for evacuation of the Medical Center.

Since the 1986 flood, aggressive improvements have been made to protect the Medical Center campus and ensure the safety of patients. These changes include the installation of a FEMA-approved flood wall located on Medical Center property on Sugnet Road, as well as the location of the Medical Center Energy Center and generators have been built above the flood plain to reduce risk of damage to the Medical Center.

Our leadership team is onsite monitoring the situation as it evolves, added Diane Postler-Slattery, FACHE, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health. We will continue to follow our Flood Preparedness Plan and respond to any changes in a controlled and timely manner."

More info: Here's what you need to know if you need medical help

More information

On Wednesday morning an emergency alert stated that the Poseyville Dike broke. Residents on Ashby between Poseyville and Patterson need to evacuate west, according to the alert just after 6:30 a.m.

Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow said all classes are canceled for Wednesday and food delivery and pickup for MPS families has been canceled due to the state of emergency.

Read about the man whose vision was to harness the power of local rivers and create a recreation area for the community: Dam history: Man's dream from century ago results in natural disaster today

Resources

Official information will be shared via the following channels:

 www.midland911.org  www.cityofmidlandmi.gov

 Facebook channels for the following entities: Midland County Emergency Management (MI), Midland County 911 and City of Midland, Michigan  Municipal Government.

 Twitter: @CityofMidlandMI

 Twitter: @MidlandCountyMI

 Call 2-1-1

 Emergency text and email alerts through Nixle.com

Read more:

 Midland and Gladwin county residents rush to save possessions, pets from flood

 Sanford Dam failure imminent; Midland residents evacuating

 Midland looks to evacuate more than 10,000 people
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Automation Anywhere, a global leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), today announced the company is collaborating with Northampton General Hospital to automate the monitoring and reporting of the medical centre's oxygen supply to support the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid rise in the number of patients with breathing difficulties that require oxygen support to retain oxygen saturation in the blood. The Northampton General Hospital has two large oxygen tanks which supply ventilation machines, and patients are assigned to hospital wards to allow for the equal distribution of oxygen. The monitoring of the tanks is a manual process, requiring hospital staff to log into a system and physically collect each reading from the tanks. In the face of additional pressure brought on by the pandemic, a new system was required to free up resources and reduce unnecessary risk of error as information was reported.

RPA to the rescue for more effective uses of medical resources

Intelligent automation in healthcare can perform time-consuming tasks normally undertaken by frontline healthcare staff. It can mechanize repetitive, manual processes, such as monitoring and reporting in a streamlined, structured and autonomous way to limit the occurrence of errors, improve operational efficiencies in a medical setting and enable more effective uses of hospital resources, all while providing improved workflow management.

In collaboration with the hospital's IT and Estates teams, as well as its partner, SBL, Automation Anywhere developed and implemented a software bot to increase the speed and frequency of reporting as well as reduce the risk of errors. The bot automates the process, extracting the data and calculating flow rates to monitor oxygen levels 24 hours a day without human intervention. Automating the collection of this data mitigates clinical risk within the hospital by arming incident teams with the data required to ensure demand is properly shared across the two tanks.

"Managing the supply and flow of oxygen has never been more important," said Hugo Matias, CIO for Northampton General Hospital. "Automating the collection and sharing of this data has given valuable hours back and increased confidence that we can offer the best level of patient care."

"Hospitals are at the very front line of this challenge, and intelligent automation helps offer a faster response, greater efficiency and more coordinated use of resources," said Prince Kohli, CTO, Automation Anywhere. "We are proud to support Northampton General Hospital and the frontline workers as they address the unique challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Interact with Automation Anywhere:

Visit our website: https://www.automationanywhere.com/

Check out our monthly webinar series: https://www.automationanywhere.com/rpa-webinars

Check us out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutomationAnywhereSoftware/

Follow us on Twitter: @AutomationAnywh

Explore with us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/automation_anywhere/

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/automation-anywhere

Experience RPA for free: https://www.automationanywhere.com/products/community-edition

About Automation Anywhere

Automation Anywhere is a global leader in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), empowering customers to automate end-to-end business processes with software bots  digital workers that perform repetitive and manual tasks, resulting in dramatic productivity gains, optimized customer experience and more engaged employees. The company offers the world's only web-based and cloud-native intelligent automation platform combining RPA, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and analytics right out of the box, to help organizations rapidly start and scale their process automation journey. Its Bot Store is the world's first and largest marketplace with more than 850 pre-built, intelligent automation solutions. With offices in more than 40 countries and a global network of 1,500 partners, Automation Anywhere has deployed over 1.8 million bots to support some of the world's largest enterprises across all industries. For additional information, visit www.automationanywhere.com.

SOURCE Automation Anywhere

Related Links

http://www.automationanywhere.com


The tension between the US and Iran has escalated in recent years that nearly incited a war between the countries. Recently, however, Iran has relaxed its movements to the West, a deviation from intimidation to restricted cooperation.

The switch is a result of an effort to reduce confrontation with the United States which would be advantageous to the American president in this year's election coming in November, says Iranian officials.

The move is even more apparent in Iraq as a pro-American prime minister has been backed in Iran and where rocket attacks on American forces have ceased.

A hidden truce

The New York Times reported that even though the US denies any change in the actions of Iran, they have also begun to ease their movements indirectly.

The move on both sides results in a ceasefire between the two nations, that although may not last or lead to the end of the conflict, will have already reduced the possibility of open conflict amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"A war is less likely to happen, but there is still the risk of a confrontation," said senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Randa Slim. "But it's less likely because the intent of the primary actors has shifted. Both Iran and the US definitely do not want a war six months before the US elections."

Analysts say that the move by Iran, which has not seen any public announcements, is a political tactic. The country strongly goes against Trump's demands to renegotiate nuclear agreements and is determined to drive the US military from its territory.

Also Read: Japan in Recession After Economy Falls Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

A history of provocations

Last month, the US and Iranian navies faced off in a dangerously close encounter which was the result of the provocation of 11 Iranian Revolutionary Guards' speedboats which led to Trump threatening the Middle Eastern country that the US will shoot any Iranian gunboat should the event happen again.

According to The Guardian, the current situation of the relationship between the two nations, rivalling claims that each is the perpetrator of terrorist acts. There is also minimal interaction between senior diplomats of the two countries.

The ceasing of provocations had resulted in significant changes to the two nations' movements, such as a negotiation for a swap of prisoners which consisted of a United States Navy veteran for an Iranian-American doctor.

The positive effects also include the reduction of attacks on merchant ships and tankers in the Persian Gulf. Previously, this threatened one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

Fear of war with the United States is one of the reasons that has led to the change, as stated by several experts from Iran. Another is that the country is overextended and too busy dealing with the coronavirus pandemic to even think of investing in an armed war.

The Middle Eastern country has also stated its belief that the relaxed tension benefits the American president in winning his nation's votes in the upcoming November elections. Ever since Trump's presidency, he has declined nuclear agreements with Iran and pushed for paralyzing restrictions that plunged Iran's economy.

Related Article: US-China Tensions Rise: World Leaders Urge Cooperation to Fight the Coronavirus Pandemic

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Scammers pretend to be contact tracers who work for public health departments to steal private information, warned the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday, May 19.





The advent of contact tracing scams poses concerns as to whether the public can trust tracers to contact when they call or email suddenly as the procedure becomes a part of the strategy to stop COVID-19.

"Engagement of the public with contact tracers must be widely accepted to protect friends, family, and community members from future potential infections," according to the CDC's contact tracing guidance.

Contact tracking is when public health departments call people who have been positively screened for an infectious disease to alert those who have been in close touch with them to be checked or isolated. Around 11,000 US touch tracers call high-risk people for Covid-19, NPR reported in April, and states have confirmed plans to recruit tens of thousands more.

"There's no question, contact tracing plays a vital role in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19," writes the FTC's, Colleen Tressler. "But scammers, pretending to be contact tracers and taking advantage of how the process works, are also sending text messages."

Although officials in the public health sector may submit an informative text message ahead of a phone call, they will not provide a connection, the FTC said. The FTC warns that the links used in scam text messages will download malware to your phone, allowing the scammers to steal personal data. It also notes that real workers of public health should not ask for details such as Social Security or bank account numbers.

ALSO READ: U.S. Conspiracy Theorists Are Responsible For Leaked WHO, CDC Passwords - Report

Officials provide tips to avoid fraudsters

The FTC recommends filtering unwanted text messages, turning on two-factor authentication, and updating to the latest version of the phone software. But people still need to be careful to ignore and delete scam messages.

The advent of contact tracing scams may also exacerbate the Apple and Google-backed anonymous automated contact tracing technology, which the companies call "exposure notification."

Apps made with the Apple-Google program are still not commonly used in the USA or Europe. But when the application is released officially later this month, the apps will send alerts to users with messages like "Someone you were near has tested positive for COVID-19. Tap for more info."

Apple-Google's Bluetooth system requires a large percentage of people to opt-in, and businesses have said confidence is vital to the system's work.

Monica Vaca, associate director for the FTC's division of consumer response and operations, urges the general public not to click on links from sources that they don't know.

"It could download a virus onto your computer or your devices, so please be careful with that," Vaca explained. Scammers are going to go to pretty much any length to make their message look real, she added. However, there are little signals you can look out for, such as misspellings in the text or poorly imposed graphics.

Vaca emphasized that such scammers could be identified and dealt with because of these scammers' media coverage. She also urged the media to doubt the legitimacy of false statements such as miracle cures or unwanted messages promising to reward relief tests.

ALSO READ: Former Funding Manager Faces Charges After Robbing Retirees of Financial Savings Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Bengaluru: While the state government wants to present the guest workers travel process as smooth, the ground reality is confusion and lack of transparency continue to affect them.

In the radiant heat, some have chosen not to wait for the trains and take the road to walk thousands of kilometres to Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Though Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagare Palike has made an arrangement for migrants at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), the influx is so huge that even though a train leaves with the workers, the vacant space gets immediately filled up.

However, at one instance, it was found that while the BBMP Marshalls brought 31 workers from the border since they were walking to Jharkhand, the police did not allow the workers into the BIEC for the next two days.

Advocate Clifton Rozario, who is the national secretary of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) and has been working with migrant workers in Karnataka, stated that the number of migrant workers forced on to the roads is ever increasing in Bengaluru.

He advocated for the use of more shelters and free run of trains to tackle the unprecedented situation.

Fifteen migrants from Jharkhand have been living on the footpath opposite Thirumalashettyhalli police station for the last 15 days with all necessary

paperwork. There has not been any arrangement of a train yet.

1,500 stranded as trains to the cyclone hit areas of Odisha and Bengal cancelled

There are around 1,500 guest workers from Odisha and Bengal stranded in Whitefield because the trains to these places have been cancelled in the wake of Cyclone Amphan.

Zibi Jamal of Whitefield Rising, a citizen group, has been assisting the workers at the police station to fill forms.

"People are sleeping at the vegetable market are waiting for the ticket in Varthur. They are told to fill up the form online after which they will receive an SMS when the train is ready. Easy to say. Execution on ground is a different matter altogether. Many do not have mobile phones. They share one in fact. Filling up online costs Rs 300/form. A ride from one place to the other is 3x the charge. The people bearing the brunt of lockdown, are being looted as well," she narrated the trauma of migrants.

"Hum kab ghar jayenge" (When will we go home) is the most spoken word at Sarjapura nowadays.

According to the Voice of Sarjapura, which has been assisting the policemen to pave way for the smooth departure of guest workers, more than 3000 entries have been made at Sarjapura police station, but less that 500 have been sent home.

In the wee hours, nine buses carrying 250 migrants left Sarjapura to the city Railway station. Most of the labourers are clueless on how to get into the bus that drops them to railway station. Some have been asked to leave their work site and are now homeless. They have been staying up at the School grounds of SVP till the time they can reach their native place.

"Though it seemed like a relief, the train to Assam was cancelled and 150 people are now stuck at the railway station. This is the nation's and government's biggest failure. Money has been collected at every juncture from these migrants, but provisions have been made as if it is charity," a member of the Voice of Sarjapura lamented
Two BSF personnel were killed when militants fired upon them in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said.

Motorcycle-borne militants fired upon the BSF jawans at a picket in Pandach area, 17 km from here in the outskirts of the city, the officials said.

They said two BSF personnel were injured in the attack and were shifted to SKIMS hospital at Soura here.

While one of the jawans was declared brought dead by the doctors at the hospital, another succumbed to injuries, the officials said.

They said both jawans aged 35 and 36 had head injuries.

The area has been cordoned off and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the officials added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds of thousands of South Korean students have returned to school today as their country prepares for a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Students lined up for temperature checks and were given sanitisers to wash their hands as they entered school premises while teachers greeted them with smiles and occasional elbow bumps.

But for 66 schools in Incheon, Seoul, the excitement was short lived as students were evacuated and sent home soon after the reopening when two pupils were found to have contracted the virus.

High school students wearing face masks prepare for classes, with plastic covers placed on desks to prevent infection in Daejeon, South Korea, May 20, 2020

A teacher and high school students wearing protective face masks exchange greetings in a classroom as a school reopens in Cheju, South Korea, May 20, 2020

The two students did not attend school today, but authorities decided to temporarily close all schools in their neighbourhood as students there may have come in contact with the infected students earlier, a spokesman at the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education said.

The episode illustrates the challenge of reopening schools while at the same time seeking to prevent transmission of the virus.

Inside the school buildings, students are asked to wipe their desks and sit apart according to social distancing guidelines, with some classes setting up partitions between desks.

Students wearing facemasks amid concerns over coronavirus undergo a temperature check from city education officials as they arrive at Kyungbock High School in Seoul on May 20, 2020

Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul Metropolitan office of education superintendent checks the temperature of student while back to school at Kyungbock high school on May 20, 2020 in Seoul

Senior students line up to get their body temperatures checked at the Kyungbock High School in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20

A teacher (right) welcomes a student back to school with an elbow bump at Kyungbock high school on May 20, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea

Education minister Yoo Eun-hae said: 'Concerns over small infection clusters still remain and no one can predict what kind of situation will arise at schools.'

The education ministry began operating a 24-hour emergency situation room this week, Yoo said, adding that any schools that report fresh infections will be shut immediately.

While final-year students are required to come to school every day, younger pupils will shift between online and offline classes to ensure school buildings are not overcrowded.

A students gets his temperature checked with a thermal imaging camera as a high school reopens in Chungju, South Korea, May 20, 2020

Students sit behind protective screens as they eat their lunch as a preventative measure against COVID-19 at a high school in Daejeon on May 20, 2020

Oh Chang-hwa, student president of Kyungbock High School in Seoul said: 'It's really exciting to meet my friends and teachers face to face, but we have to strictly follow the disinfection guidelines.

Students eat lunch at tables equipped with plastic barriers in Doan High School in Daejeon, South Korea, 20 May 2020

'I am very worried but it's still nice to see them again.'

South Korea endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the virus -- at one point the second-worst hit nation after mainland China -- prompting officials to delay the reopening of schools in early March.

But it appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive 'trace, test and treat' programme.

Around 440,000 final-year students, who will in December take the university entrance exam that is crucial in the education-obsessed country, are the first to return to schools, with other years following in stages over the next several weeks.

South Korean health authorities reported 32 new cases over a 24-hour period, the first time the daily jump has been above 30 in more than a week.

Lower-level students were set to return to school in phased steps by June 8.

South Korea's new school year was supposed to start in early March, but it was delayed several times due to worries about the spread of the coronavirus.

Pupils have their temperatures checked at an elementary school in Muan, South Jeolla, South Korea, 20 May 2020

Students form a long line to have their temperatures checked before entering class at Jeonmin High School in Daejeon, South Korea, 20 May 2020

A student walks past a thermal scanner to have his temperature checked before entering class at Geumcheon High School in Cheongju, South Korea, 20 May 2020

Senior students wait for a class to begin with plastic shields placed on their desks at Jeonmin High School in Daejeon, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20

Senior students wait for a class to begin with plastic shields placed on their desks at Jeonmin High School in Daejeon, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

High school students wearing protective face masks maintain social distancing as they stand in a line to have their body temperature checked at a high school, in Ulsan, South Korea, May 20

Senior students attend a class at Gimhae High School in Gimhae, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2020

About 5.4 million students in South Korea have been subsequently taking classes online.

At Seoul's Kyungbock High School, Cho Hee-yeon, the education superintendent in the capital, used a digital ear thermometer to check students' temperatures at the main gate while another official placed liquid sanitiser on the hands of those students.

Signs that read 'No outsiders are allowed to enter the school premises' were set up.

Cho Hee-yeon, Seoul's top education superintendent, said: 'I am here to see students returning to school while praying that there won't be any coronavirus patients among our students in 2,200 schools.'

South Korea relaxed much of its social distancing rules in early May. But it quickly saw a small but sudden spike in new infections linked to nightclubs in Seoul.

Those latest outbreaks had been on a downward trend until Tuesday.

FRANCE: Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields attend a course in a classroom at Claude Debussy college in Angers, western France, on May 18, 2020

PORTUGAL: A teacher wears a protective visor and the mandatory mask during class in the Agrupamento de Escolas Frei Goncalo de Azevedo on May 18, 2020 in Cascais

GERMANY: Pupils apply social distancing measures in class at Benzenberg secondary school in Duesseldorf, Germany, 19 May 2020

Across the world thousands of students have been making a cautious return to schools with countries such as Germany, Canada, Australia, China, Switzerland, Denmark, Greece, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Israel allowing schools to reopen with measures including splitting classes in half and teaching them at different times of the day to keep pupils safe.

Pupils in Finland, who returned on Thursday, were pictured giving each-other air hugs as a greeting while students in the Netherlands were separated by plastic dividers as they returned to their desks.

That stands in stark contrast to the UK which has yet to produce a plan for getting the majority of students back to classes during this school year - putting the country alongside Spain and Italy, where only a few children are expected to return to classes before the summer holiday.

The UK Government wants a phased reopening from June 1, with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils going back first as a row rumbles on about whether it is safe with Education Gavin Williamson insisting getting children back to school on that date is vital for their development and prospects so teachers should 'do their duty'.

NETHERLANDS: A teacher standing inside her taped-off safe zone speaks to pupils who sit at their desks behind plastic shields after elementary schools reopened

FINLAND: A teacher signals a warm welcome as children arrive to start the primary school in Helsinki, Finland, after schools were reopened on Thursday

FINLAND: Pupils keep the social distances before entering Eestinkallio primary school, as it re-opens after lockdown measures were eased across Finland on Thursday

FINLAND: Students - some of whom are wearing gloves to prevent against coronavirus - are shown how to properly socially distance from one-another

Scientists are divided on the risks of sending children back to school - while they largely escape coronavirus symptoms they are known to be carriers of the disease and there are fears they will infect adults around them.

But restarting classes will be key to getting the global economy back up and running since parents who are forced to keep their offspring at home will be unable to return to their jobs.

There are also fears it will cause lasting economic damage for a 'lost generation' whose learning will be irreparably damaged by being kept away from their teachers, leading to a skills shortage in the future.
As part of their COVID-19 financial recovery, digital patient financial engagement can save hospitals millions By delivering personalized financial experiences that align with patients medical experiences, providers upgrade overall patient care and save themselves millions - Kevin Fleming, CEO, Loyale Healthcare

One agonizing irony of the COVID-19 crisis has been its impact on the American healthcare industry. Health systems and hospitals have stepped up to build and staff temporary treatment facilities. They have ingeniously overcome shortages of personal protective equipment and ventilators. Doctors, nurses and other caregivers have given their all - at great personal risk - to care for the sick and dying. In these and so many other ways, this episode in our history has been one of healthcares finest hours.

At the same time that Americans are celebrating the heroism of our healthcare industry, the COVID-19 crisis has driven the industry into a financial crisis. According to analysis just published by the American Hospital Association (AHA), the effects of COVID-19 hospitalization costs, cancelled and forgone services, added costs for the purchase of PPE and costs for support to workers is estimated to amount to $202.6 Billion for the four months March through June. For many, these financial losses are in addition to already precarious financial circumstances.

These effects have begun to moderate as COVID-19 case counts pass their peak and states allow providers to resume elective and other nonessential procedures. And although losses for many have been reduced by funding through the CARES Act and accelerated payments and incentives from Medicare/Medicaid, the financial damage wreaked by the crisis will take a long time to overcome.

Patients are struggling financially too. Long before the crisis began, patients financial access to care had become a growing problem. Because of high deductible health plans and copays, according to one report, as many as one in four Americans were either avoiding or delaying care because of concerns about personal, out-of-pocket costs.

Americans concerns about cost have certainly only gotten worse. According to a report published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Between March 1 and May 2, 2020, more than 31 million people had filed for unemployment insurance, going on to estimate that, nearly 27 million people could potentially lose employer-sponsored insurance and become uninsured following job loss.

The report goes on to explain that the majority of these individuals should be eligible for Medicare/Medicaid or Affordable Care Act subsidies, but points out that Even before the coronavirus crisis, there were millions of people eligible for Medicaid or marketplace subsidies who were uninsured. In our opinion, that phenomenon will be even more prevalent following this crisis.

Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste: COVID-19 Lessons to Remove Inefficiencies, Restore Financial Performance Starting Now

Just as patients reluctance to seek care because of cost existed before the current crisis, healthcare revenue cycle has long suffered from a wide variety of systemic inefficiencies. This is particularly true in the discipline of patient revenue cycle, where our company, Loyale, operates. For healthcare providers, the industrys rapid development of telehealth solutions in response to the crisis holds the key to tackling these chronic revenue cycle inefficiencies.

Prompted by stay-at-home rules and consumer demand; and supported by temporarily expanded reimbursement policies from Medicare/Medicaid, the rapid implementation of telehealth digital care delivery has met with widespread approval by providers and patients alike.

In a story from Healthcare Finance News, pointing to growing demand for congressional action to make Medicares telehealth reimbursement changes permanent, Emory Healthcare is called out for the velocity with which they made this change. They went from zero telemedicine appointments to over 4,000 a day. The story goes on to quote Sarah Kier, Emorys vice president of patient access for physician group practices saying, some things wont work for telemedicine, but for the things that do work our patients and providers would love to see it continue post-COVID.

Its simple, really. By delivering appropriate healthcare on a safe, compliant platform to anyone with Internet access, everyone wins. Providers maintain patient volumes and their associated revenues while delivering intimate, one-on-one care experiences and patients stay safe and comfortable in their own homes.

The same principle also applies to the financial dimension of the provider - patient experience. By scaling and standardizing patient revenue cycle systems using a digital patient engagement platform, health systems and hospitals can reduce or eliminate unnecessary expenses, cutting costs by millions. These often-overlooked expenses may include:

1. Merchant fees for credit card collections,

2. Processing, shipping and handling of paper statements,

3. Audits and management to ensure PCI and other regulatory compliance,

4. Aged patient receivables due to billing errors and patient confusion

5. Early-out and other revenue cycle vendors that purchase patient debt,

6. Multiple billing statement cycles,

7. FTE-intensive client and staff support functions, and

8. Outsized costs associated with synching separate operations such as acute and ambulatory care.

In total, healthcare spends a lot - we think too much - to collect balances from their patients.

Like telehealth, digital patient engagement allows healthcare providers to interact intimately with patients, but at scale. By delivering personalized financial experiences that align with patients medical experiences, providers upgrade overall patient care and save themselves millions. Perhaps best of all, savings can be achieved almost immediately. By shifting embedded patient revenue cycle costs to a patient financial engagement partner, providers can begin to experience positive operational and financial outcomes in as little as 90-days.

Following the COVID crisis, there is little doubt that healthcare providers will face a new kind of normal. This crisis is teaching us useful lessons for what that normal might look like. Regardless of when or whether congress acts to extend Medicares telehealth reimbursement policies, were convinced that digital patient engagement is here to stay. Trends in patient behavior and preferences will support it, and the imperative for healthcare to operate more efficiently than ever will demand it.

Kevin Fleming is the CEO of Loyale Healthcare

About Loyale

Loyale Patient Financial Manager is a comprehensive patient financial engagement technology platform leveraging a suite of configurable solution components including predictive analytics, intelligent workflows, multiple patient financing vehicles, communications, payments, digital front doors and other key capabilities.

Loyale Healthcare is committed to a mission of turning patient responsibility into lasting loyalty for its healthcare provider customers. Based in Lafayette, California, Loyale and its leadership team bring 27 years of expertise delivering leading financial engagement solutions for complex business environments. Loyale currently serves approximately 12,000 healthcare providers across 48 states. Loyale is proud to have an enterprise-level strategic partnership with Parallon which includes the deployment of Loyales industry leading technology at all HCA hospitals and Physician Groups.
REUTERS / Mohamed Azakir

U.S. authorities have arrested two Americansone a former Green Beretfor their alleged roles in helping former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn flee Japan by stowing him away in a large musical instrument case.

Federal agents are reported to have arrested Peter Taylor, 59, and his son Michael Taylor, 26, early Wednesday in Massachusetts at the request of Japan, where the two were charged alongside a third American man earlier this year with allegedly enabling Ghosns daring escape out of the country back in late December.

The arrests were first revealed by Seamus Hughes from the Program on Extremism at George Washington University and a Daily Beast contributor.

Ghosn shocked the world, and humiliated Japanese authorities, when he managed to slip out of his home in Tokyo, where he was awaiting trial on charges of financial wrongdoing. In January, Japanese prosecutors issued arrest warrants for the three Americans, including the Taylors, for allegedly helping Ghosn avoid immigration checks and board a private jet that flew him out the country.

The court documents offer further details on how the alleged escape plot unfolded and state that Peter Taylor met Ghosn at least seven times in the months ahead of the daring operation.

On the final occasion, on Dec. 28, Michael Taylor and the third American suspect, George Antoine Zayek, arrived in Japan via a private jet carrying large black boxes. They allegedly told Japanese authorities that they were musicians and the boxes were intended to carry their equipment.

The documents state that Michael Taylor and Zayek then picked up Ghosn from a Tokyo hotel and the three traveled by taxi and train to the hotel where the big boxes were being stored. After the three walked up to their booked room together, Michael Taylor and Zayak are said to have left around an hour later; there is no footage of Ghosn leaving the room.

Thats because, as the documents allege: Ghosn was hiding in one of the two large black boxes being carried by Michael Taylor and Zayek.

Story continues

The three are then said to have traveled to Kansai International Airport and managed to get their luggage onto the private jet without a security check. They departed for Turkey that night; Ghosn made his startling public appearance in Lebanon a day later.

Ghosn has maintained his innocence and defended his decision to escape Japan, saying that he wouldnt get a fair trial in the country.

The Taylors are expected to appear by video conference before a federal judge in Massachusetts later Wednesday afternoon.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
PASADENA, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CIT and its Pasadena-based banking subsidiary CIT Bank, N.A. today announced a $37.3 million investment in the Jordan Downs Apartments Project, a 92-unit multifamily apartment complex to support low-to-moderate income families in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

"During these challenging times, our communities need affordable housing more than ever," said Steve Solk, president of Consumer Banking. "Our financial commitment to the Jordan Downs Apartment Project will help break down barriers and spark transformative change across the Watts neighborhood."

Jordan Downs is the third phase of a larger redevelopment project taking place to improve the area. Of the 92 units, the complex will include 23 onebedroom units, 41 twobedroom units, 24 threebedroom units and 4 fourbedroom units. Seventeen apartments will be designated for residents with physical disabilities and hearing or visual impairments.

"Providing essential housing that is inclusive and suits diverse needs enables local residents from all backgrounds to improve their quality of life," continued Solk. "CIT is proud to play a key role in supporting the development of this project and the overall wellbeing of local residents."

The project is currently slated for completion in early 2022 and units will be available to households earning between 30% and 80% of the area's median income. CIT anticipates making further investments in the Watts community later this year, including the possibility of opening a new branch in the area.

As part of the ongoing commitment to building stronger, more vibrant communities, CIT actively supports and invests in affordable housing, economic development, neighborhood stabilization and core community services across our footprint.

About CIT

CIT is a leading national bank focused on empowering businesses and personal savers with the financial agility to navigate their goals. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with over a century of experience and operates a principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A. (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender). The company's commercial banking segment includes commercial financing, community association banking, middle market banking, equipment and vendor financing, factoring, railcar financing, treasury and payments services, and capital markets and asset management. CIT's consumer banking segment includes a national direct bank and regional branch network. Discover more at cit.com/about.

MEDIA RELATIONS:

Olivia Weiss

212-771-9657

[email protected]

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cit.com


In a bid to curb the spread of



rumours and misinformation regarding COVID-19 on social media, Maharashtra Cyber has warned that offenders will be served notices under section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), an official said on Wednesday.

The state police's cyber wing has registered at least 400 offences at various police stations across the state amid the COVID-19 lockdown, the official said.

In a meeting on Monday, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh directed officials to serve notices to cyber offenders under section 149 of CrPC, apart from booking them under Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, the official said.

Section 149 of CrPC gives police the right to take steps to prevent a cognisable offence.

Of the 400 offences by the cyber police, 170 were for forwarding objectionable messages, photographs, memes and videos, while 158 were registered for putting up objectionable posts, he said.

Several of these posts and forwards were regarding coronavirus and attributing its spread to a particular community, the official said.

As many as 18 cases were registered over Tik-Tok videos, seven cases on objectionable tweets on Twitter, four offences for Instagram posts and 43 for sharing audio clips and using YouTube, he said.

At least 213 cyber offenders had been arrested and 102 objectionable posts were removed from social media platforms so far, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Usman Gur Mohammed (pictured) has been relieved of his appointment as the managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TC...





Usman Gur Mohammed (pictured) has been relieved of his appointment as the managing director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).





Mohammed Sale, minister of power, approved of his sack on Tuesday, appointing Sule Abdulaziz to replace him in acting capacity.





As part of continuing measures to reposition and improve the performance of the power Sector in the country, the Honorable Minister of Power Engr. Sale Mamman hereby announces major changes at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Aaron Artimas, spokesman of the minister, said in a statement.





Accordingly, the Managing Director of the TCN, Usman Gur Mohammed has been removed from office with immediate effect. He is being replaced with Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, as Managing Director, in acting capacity.





The Honorable Minister has also confirmed the appointment of four directors who have been on acting position in the Company for some time.





They are Victor Adewumi, executive director, transmission services provider; M. J. Lawal, executive director, independent systems operator; Ahmed lsa-Dutse, executive director, finance and accounts; and Justin Dodo, executive director, human resources and corporate services.





The statement said President Muhammadu Buhari approved of all the changes and appointments.





While the distribution and generation sub-sectors were sold to private investors during privatisation of the sector in 2013, the TCN is fully owned by the federal government.





It transmits the energy produced by the generation companies to the distribution companies (DisCos).





In December, the minister of power asked Marilyn Amobi, managing director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Limited (NBET), to step down with immediate effect in order to restore sanity in the management of the agency.





The minister also ordered the indefinite suspension of Damilola Ogunbiyi, former managing director of Rural Electrification Agency (REA).





But Buhari later reversed the ministers order.








Miguel Plangca was 36 when he left his home in Ozamis city in the Philippines for a new life in Ireland.

Like many Filipinos who relocate here, he had come for employment and managed to secure a job in Naas with Green Isle, one of the country's biggest frozen food producers.

For the next 20 years he did little else but work, clocking up thousands of gruelling hours on the factory packaging line and sending money home to his wife Gilceria and his five children in the Philippines.

When Gilceria died from cancer in 2015, his heartbroken children came to live with him in Naas, Co Kildare.

Last week, tragedy struck the Plangca children once again when Miguel (55) succumbed to the coronavirus.

"It came as such a shock," his 21-year-old daughter Mikee told the Irish Independent.

Expand Close Mikee Plangca holds a photograph of her father Miguel who was a factory worker and lost his life to Covid-19, leaving Mikee, and her 3 siblings, orphans. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mikee Plangca holds a photograph of her father Miguel who was a factory worker and lost his life to Covid-19, leaving Mikee, and her 3 siblings, orphans. Photo: Frank McGrath

"Dad had been sick for about a week in the house, with a cough and what he thought was a cold and then he ended up in ICU. He spent 41 days there before he died. It's very hard for us to take it all in at the minute."

Together with her siblings Michael (19), John (14) and Chekie (12), Mikee is now an orphan.

"I'm concentrating on minding my brothers and sisters for now," she said.

"We don't know what will happen. We would like to stay in Ireland because that's where we have made a life, where our friends are and our [Filipino] community is, but we don't know."

The Plangca children first arrived in Ireland four years ago. Until then, they had lived their lives in the Philippines, where their only contact with their father was through video calls and twice-yearly visits.

Their half-sister Stephanie, a daughter Miguel had from a previous relationship, was living in Abu Dhabi.

"My father made a decision many years ago to come here to provide for us," said Mikee.

"He left so we could stay in the Philippines and have a better quality of life. Every month he sent money home to us.

"We were like many other families in the Philippines who had a parent in another country working to provide.

"Then when my mother died, we came here to Ireland to live with him."

After completing sixth year at school in Prosperous, Co Kildare, Mikee opted out of going to college.

Instead, she applied to be a full-time carer for her brother Michael, who has intellectual disabilities.

"My brother is my responsibility," said Mikee.

"When we first came to Ireland, Dad was working day shifts but he switched to night shifts so that I could go to school. He looked after Michael during the day and worked at night.

"My Dad made so many sacrifices for us. He was a good man and everything he did he did for us."

Meanwhile, Miguel's sister Fely had followed in her brother's footsteps by moving to Ireland herself in 2009.

She later married an Irish man and settled in Naas, where she works as a childminder.

"I was working in the Philippines, not earning a lot of money and my brother encouraged me to come here," she said. "I met an Irish man and got married and I made a life here too.

"When Gilceria died and the children came here Miguel was finding it difficult to cope on his own and he talked about moving back to the Philippines. I said no, you can do this, so they moved in.

"My husband said to bring them in to live with us and that's where they were living when this all happened."

After Miguel fell ill with Covid-19, Fely also contracted the virus.

Miguel was hospitalised on April 1 and Fely joined him in Naas General hospital six days later. When Miguel's children were tested, Mikee and Michael were found to be Covid positive.

"Michael and I had no symptoms," said Mikee. "We self-isolated in the house for a month. We were too scared to go out."

Fely was discharged on April 15, but her brother's condition worsened.

"My mother and siblings would call him every night at six o'clock," she said.

"They would talk to him in his hospital bed and we were all praying he would get better. In the end it was no good, the virus was too strong."

Last year, the Green Isle pizza manufacturing site in Naas where Miguel worked was bought over by Birdseye.

Colleagues remember him as a kind and gentle colleague. When he became ill, the Filipino community stepped in to look after his young family.

"We had to try to help out as best we could," said Aina Conway, president of the Kildare Filipino Community.

"They have recovered but they have lost their father and they are in shock. I speak to Mikee most days and she has cried every day since her father was brought in to ICU. At the moment she is just trying to be strong for the little ones."

Together with the Philippine consulate, the Kildare Filipino Community are raising money in aid of the Plangca children.

"They have their aunt, but Mikee has been the mum for a long time," said Aina.

"Now that they have lost their father, they need all the support we can give them. Miguel came here to provide a better life for his children. You look at the kids now and that's them forever, with no parents. It's incredibly sad."
In this article TSLA

Workers assemble cars on the line at Tesla's factory in Fremont. David Butow (Photo by David Butow/Corbis via Getty Images) David Butow | Corbis News | Getty Images

We all know that Elon Musk talks a lot  and loosely. But what would it take to back up his bluster about moving Tesla to Texas or Nevada? The 48-year old CEO of Tesla has been bickering on social media with California and Alameda County officials about reopening Tesla's Fremont, California electric car manufacturing plant, on which the electric carmaker is unusually dependent, since its only other auto manufacturing plant is the newly-opened Gigafactory outside Shanghai. Recently, Musk took to Twitter to threaten to take his company and go home, if by home, he means new digs in either Nevada, or locations where Tesla is reportedly scouting locations for a new Cybertruck plant, Austin, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma. "The unelected & ignorant 'Interim Health Officer' of Alameda is acting contrary to the Governor, the President, our Constitutional freedoms & just plain common sense," Musk tweeted. "Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately." Moving the company's factory would cost at least $1 billion given the costs associated with building a new facility, and could take 12 months to 18 months, said Dan Ives, who follows Tesla for Wedbush Securities. More to the point, Tesla would have to relocate thousands of employees. The company had 48,000 workers when it completed its most recent annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but doesn't say how many work in the Fremont plant.

California is 'not worried'

The bigger problem would be the same as the reason Musk is so worked up about Fremont being closed for coronavirus in the first place, says CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson: it's the only U.S. factory Musk has, and makes virtually all of the company's vehicles for the U.S. market, including the old Model S and X lines, as well as the higher-volume Model 3 and the newly introduced Model Y crossover. Closing it any time soon would leave Tesla with too few options to build its products and generate revenue. "We just don't see it," Nelson said. "It's too expensive and they're too dependent on the Fremont factory." California Governor Gavin Newsom told CNBC he doesn't see it, either. Speaking on CNBC's "Fast Money" on Tuesday night, he said he is "not worried" about Tesla CEO Elon Musk moving the company's operations out of the state "anytime soon." "We're committed to the success and the innovation and the low-carbon, green growth economy that he's been promoting for decades and the state of California is accelerating in," Newsom said in the "Fast Money" interview. Tesla did not respond to requests for comment. The company dropped its lawsuit against California's Alameda County on Wednesday. The potential billion-dollar price tag for a move wouldn't be the biggest problem. Tesla also would face potential manufacturing disruptions during the moving process. The right location, if Musk is serious about moving either headquarters or the Fremont plant, would likely be next to the factory where the company builds its upcoming Cybertruck pickup. Tesla is reportedly sifting offers from Texas, Oklahoma, and potentially other states, to host the plant, which would also produce Model Y vehicles.

That decision is expected to come soon, with Texas holding the edge, offering sites in the Austin area, where Tesla already has an engineering office, said a report in green-economy Web site Electrek. "Texas is the biggest pickup market in the country, 50% bigger than California, which is No. 2," Nelson said. Tesla closed the first quarter with $8.1 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet, after a year in which it established itself as solidly cash-flow positive. It also raised more than $2 billion in a stock offering in February.

Tesla's success scoring fat state incentives

The company is also known to be pitting states against each other to offer fat incentives for the Cybertruck plant, as it has done before, said Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a nonprofit watchdog that tracks corporate incentive deals and believes many of them are wasteful. Good Jobs First says Tesla has taken $2.4 billion in state and local incentives for different projects, mostly in upstate New York where it built a large solar panel plant, and Nevada where its battery plant is located, and would likely seek subsidies to move headquarters or shift Fremont's production elsewhere. When Tesla picked Nevada for its gigafactory battery plant near Reno in 2014, the company committed to pick up only about $2 billion of the $4 billion to $5 billion capital cost, according to Tesla's 2014 10-K filing. Nevada gave the company $195 million in transferable tax credits in exchange for a commitment by Tesla and battery partner Panasonic to exchange at least $3.5 billion in the plant. If Tesla meets other targets, it can claim as much as $1.3 billion in state tax breaks over 20 years, most of it in sales and use tax abatements, according to Good Jobs First.

Some states may finally say, 'enough, we're looking at a fiscal cliff.' Others will go the other way, [thinking] there aren't going to be many big expansions available so we'd better come loaded for bear. Greg LeRoy executive director of Good Jobs First

The Fremont factory itself was initially financed in part by a federal loan guarantee as part of the 2009 economic stimulus, which Tesla later repaid to prevent Washington from cashing in warrants to buy stock at less than 1% of today's stock price. Car factories are major employers whose owners usually get states to make generous offers, LeRoy said. In Tesla's case, incentives could include credits against Texas' gross receipts tax that could, over time, obliterate much or all of its investment. Car companies can also often get sales tax breaks on materials or equipment used to build and outfit their factories, he added, and governments will often build infrastructure to suit them. Texas upgraded rail facilities to nab a Toyota pickup truck plant in San Antonio, which later helped the state convince Toyota to move its U.S. headquarters to suburban Dallas from California. "There are two ways the pandemic may play out," for state-sponsored incentives, LeRoy said. "Some states may finally say, 'enough, we're looking at a fiscal cliff.' Others will go the other way, [thinking] there aren't going to be many big expansions available so we'd better come loaded for bear."
Ruling Once Again Confirms US$543 Million Award as Final and Binding

NEW YORK, May 18, 2020 /CNW/ -- The Swedish Supreme Court, on May 18, handed down its judgment in The Republic of Kazakhstan v Ascom Group S.A. et al dismissing with prejudice Kazakhstan's renewed challenge to a US$543 million Swedish arbitral award issued by a Stockholm seated arbitral tribunal in December 2013.

Kazakhstan had brought an unprecedented third challenge to the award in April 2020, having lost the first two challenges in December 2016 and March 2020 respectively. On this occasion, Kazakhstan launched a collateral attack on the award by way of a challenge to the Svea Court of Appeal judgment of December 9, 2016, which originally confirmed the validity of the award in its capacity as the supervisory court at the seat of the arbitration. Kazakhstan's application to appeal the Svea Court ruling by way of extraordinary review application was rejected by the Swedish Supreme Court in October 2017.

In its ruling, handed down on May 18, 2020, the Swedish highest court found that none of the alleged new circumstances invoked by Kazakhstan justified a reversal of the December 2016 Svea Court of Appeal judgment.

This ruling comes shortly after the Svea Court of Appeal in March 2020 summarily dismissed with prejudice Kazakhstan's second direct challenge to the award on the grounds that the matter had already been adjudicated.

Anatolie Stati, CEO and sole shareholder of Ascom Group S.A., one of the award creditors, said: "We welcome this ruling of the Swedish Supreme Court, which yet again confirms the futility of Kazakhstan's increasingly desperate attempts to escape compliance with its international treaty obligations. Through the repeated filing of frivolous appeals and challenges to the arbitration award around the world, Kazakhstan is proving itself to be nothing more than an international scofflaw that routinely flouts investment protections under the international treaties that it signs. The award creditors will continue unabatedly with their efforts to collect any and all amounts due under the award and related legal costs in all available jurisdictions."

As part of separate ongoing attachment proceedings in Sweden, the Stati parties have successfully frozen funds of approximately US$85 million owned by the Republic of Kazakhstan and held by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken in its capacity as sub-custodian under a global custody agreement between the National Bank of Kazakhstan and BNY Mellon.

In addition to the Swedish attachment, the Stati parties have successfully secured and maintain the benefit of various other attachments of Kazakh state property in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium, with the combined total value of all attachments worldwide exceeding US$6.25 billion.

The Swedish court ruling is the latest development in the Stati parties' long-running battle to enforce the award for Kazakhstan's violations of the investor protection provisions of the Energy Charter Treaty. In December 2013, a Sweden based arbitration tribunal found that Kazakhstan had violated international law by failing to treat the Stati parties' investments in Kazakhstan fairly and equitably, and awarded the Stati parties more than US$500 million in damages, legal costs, and interest. The award has since been fully upheld by two tiers of the Swedish judiciary, including the Swedish Supreme Court.

The claims originally arose out of Kazakhstan's seizure of the Stati parties' petroleum operations in 2010. The Stati parties acquired two companies in 1999 that held idle licenses in the Borankol and Tolkyn fields in Kazakhstan. They invested more than US$1 billion over the ensuing decade to turn the companies into successful exploration and production businesses. By late 2008, the businesses had become profitable and had yielded considerable revenues for the Kazakh state. Just as the Stati parties expected to start receiving dividends, more than half a dozen government agencies carried out multiple burdensome inspections and audits of the companies' businesses that resulted in false accusations of illegal conduct directed at the Stati parties and their Kazakh companies, including criminal prosecutions of their general managers on false pretenses. Kazakhstan's actions challenged the Stati parties' title to their investments, subjected them to hundreds of millions of dollars in unwarranted tax assessments and criminal penalties, and ultimately led to the seizure and nationalization of their investments by Kazakh authorities in July 2010.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Kimberly Macleod

(917) 587-0069

[email protected]

Chris Winans

(908) 309-3959

[email protected]

SOURCE Ascom Group S.A.
TV actor Arjun Bijlani took to Instagram to share videos as his wife Neha Swami and he completed seven years of married life. Many of his industry friends congratulated him on the occasion.

Sharing a video, Arjun wrote: 7 years . @nehaswami. The video was a compilation of various snapshots from their life together in these seven years. Many of them featured the couple sharing warm moments together while many others were with their son. Many of Arjuns TV industry friends like Hina Khan, Karan Tacker and Mouni Roy also wished them.

Reacting to the video, Hina wrote: Awwww congratulations guys followed by a number of red heart emojis. Mouni wrote: Happy anniversary while Karan said: Happy anniversary guys ! Actor Aamir Ali too wished them and wrote: Happy anniversary. Actor Aamna Sharif dropped a red heart emoji while Pooja Batra wrote: Happy Anniversary yall.

Arjun also shared several video clips from their times together; it appears some were from their vacation abroad while few others from about their son - from the time he was born to now.

Arjun, who has been in self isolation with his family, had been delighted at the positive response that his web series State Of Siege: 26/11 amid the coronavirus outbreak in India.

Its ironic how this has worked out so beautifully because first, we faced hurdles on the release date and when we actually released, coronavirus in India had only just broken out, Arjun had said.

Also read: Nawazuddin Siddiquis wife Aaliya wants sole custody of kids, says his brother Shamas was an issue

Its been a surreal experience from then to now and Id like to congratulate the entire team - the cast, crew and Abhimanyu Singh, Roopali Kadyan and our director Matthew who have put a great piece together. This story had to be told and were glad audiences are streaming in and positively receiving it, without them it wouldnt have been possible, he added.

Arjun along with Arjan Bajwa and Vivek Dahiya are seen as NSG Commandos in State of Siege: 26/11. The series is based on Sandeep Unnithans book Black Tornado: The Three Sieges of Mumbai 26/11. The show tells untold stories and the different events that took place during the attacks of 26/11. The Contiloe Pictures show recently became the Most Watched Original Content (New) on Zee5.

(With IANS inputs)

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Prime Minister (left) yesterday announced plans to scrap all Covid restrictions by the spring as the Omicron wave continued to recede, with Covid cases, deaths and hospitalisations all down on last week. While measures such as Covid passports and compulsory face masks are to be dropped from next Thursday, staff are being encouraged back to offices and other workplaces immediately. Within minutes of his announcement, civil servants were told via a Cabinet Office email that they should being to return to work, with other departments expected to communicate similar memos today. There are no plans for targets, however, on how many staff are back at desks and how many days a week they are expected to be in the office. The PM insisted the move was vital for younger workers in particular, who would struggle to build up the necessary skills, experience and networks from home. Mr Johnson said that 'across Whitehall, we need to show a lead and make sure that we get back to work, everybody gets back to work'.
The west Kildare community has rallied around a Filipino family whose father has died of Covid-19.

Miguel Plangca and his family lived at Bluetown in Allenwood North.

The 55-year-old worked at the Birds Eye food plant at the IDA industrial estate at Monread Road, Naas.

According to the Philippine Consulate in Dublin, Mr Plangca is the second Philippines native to die from Covid-19 in Ireland and he passed away after battling the disease for 41 days.

A native of Ozamis city, he was a father of five children - Stephanie, Mikee, Michael, John and Chekie.

Miguel was a quiet but very giving man who was well loved and will be deeply missed, the consulate said in a social media post. A private cremation took place on Friday last.

A GoFundMe page fundraiser has been set up by the Kildare Filipino Community president Aina Conway.

It opened three days ago with a goal of raising 5,000 and has now raised over 21,000.

Tragedy

The deceased man lost his wife six years ago and his children, some of whom attend schools in the local area, are now orphaned.

The children are now staying with an aunt.
[May 20, 2020] Eleven Bay Area Women Win Financial Women of San Francisco Scholarships

Financial Women of San Francisco (FWSF), an organization dedicated to advancing the careers of women for over 60 years, names eleven students attending six Bay Area universities as its 2020 scholarship recipients. FWSF has awarded over $2.7 million in scholarships over the past 30 years to more than 300 Bay Area women. The FWSF scholarship grants-$10,000 for undergraduate and $15,000 for graduate students-support each recipient's educational goals. Beyond financial support, FWSF scholarship recipients also receive opportunities to be mentored by FWSF members and attend career development and networking events. "We are grateful to our generous donors and sponsors who make it possible for us to continue these scholarship awards each year," says Olivia Barbee, FWSF's 2020 President. "The support is essential for each of these remarkable students and directly helps them advance their careers in finance." Each recipient is an academic and community leader whose goals align with FWSF's mission to empower and support other women in finance. For example, Halle Sullivan, a senior at St. Mary's College of California, will begin a master's degree program in accounting this fall. Halle looks forward to empowering other women and teaching them how to speak confidently about their field of study. Many recipients also demonstrate a commitment to making a positive impact in the world. Tulika Garg, who is pursuing a Wharton Executive MBA in finance and venture capital, plans to use her education to help women around the world ahieve better lives through financial independence.



2020 graduate scholarship recipients: Tanu Arora - University of San Francisco

Catherine Berner - Stanford University

Tulika Garg - Wharton San Francisco

Cheyun Lee - Santa Clara University

Ngoc (Nicole) Ly - University of San Francisco

Kaajal Narayan - Saint Mary's College of California

Halle Sullivan - Saint Mary's College of California

Wenshan Wang - Wharton San Francisco 2020 undergraduate recipients:

Alana Rainosek - Santa Clara University

Mariela Rodriguez-Morales - University of San Francisco

Collett Simonian - University of California, Berkeley For more information about FWSF or to become a member, click here. About Financial Women of San Francisco For over 60 years, Financial Women of San Francisco have sought to advance the success of women in finance and financial services and to be a source of insight and inspiration to financial women executives and managers throughout the Bay Area. The organization's membership includes women in positions of influence within the financial services sector and women who hold senior level positions within non-finance companies, government agencies and the non-profit sector. Members include CEOs, CFOs, corporate treasurers, CPAs, attorneys, commercial and private bankers, investment advisors, fund managers, securities analysts, administrators, financial planners, consultants, recruiters and marketers. For more information please visit http://financialwomensf.org/ or follow the Financial Women of San Francisco on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005674/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
BRUSSELS, May 20 (Reuters) - A plan to boost European Union powers to curb the flow of dirty money through banks faced resistance at an EU meeting from member states recently hit by major money-laundering and financial fraud scandals, three officials told Reuters.

The EU is discussing how to strengthen its scrutiny of the financial sector after a spate of scandals in Estonia, Malta, Latvia, Cyprus and the Netherlands exposed how national watchdogs were slow at acting against banks who abetted or did not prevent money laundering.

EU Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis, a former premier of Latvia, has refrained from proposing legislative changes but earlier in May reiterated possible options to clamp down on financial crime, including the transfer of monitoring powers from national watchdogs to an EU-wide body.

At a closed-door videoconference of EU finance ministers on Tuesday, Estonia, Hungary and the Czech Republic opposed the plan, according to three officials who attended the online meeting. They did not say what reasons the three countries gave for their opposition.

Estonia has been at the centre of Europe's worst money-laundering scandal since media reports in 2017 triggered investigations into 200 billion euros ($220 billion) in suspicious payments made through Danske Bank's tiny Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015.

That amounted to around 10 times Estonia's annual economic output. A government official said Estonia has not yet decided whether to support an EU supervisory body.

Officials from Hungary and the Czech Republic were not immediately available. Both countries have faced inquiries into their use of EU funds, after EU auditing and investigative bodies found serious irregularities.

Officials who attended the finance ministers' videoconference said the plan was also opposed by Malta, whose top lender, Bank of Valletta, has been under close EU scrutiny for flaws in its money-laundering screening.

Maltese officials denied being in opposition, saying the country supports publicly and privately EU plans for joint supervision of financial crime. (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Its easy to get caught up in the title Star Wars and forget that the movies arent actually about war. Well, they are, but from an anti-war perspective. The films always had a clear social commentary about them, thanks to George Lucas. Star Wars is more about the warning of an imperial, colonial state rather than the battles that take place in starfighters and with lightsabers. And one line spoken by Senator Padme Amidala in Revenge of the Sith perfectly sums up how.

Ian McDiarmid, Natalie Portman, and George Lucas during the 2005 Cannes Film Festival  Star Wars Episode III  Revenge of the Sith Premiere | Christian Alminana/FilmMagic

Star Wars has always been a commentary on anti-imperialism

In an interview for AMC with fellow filmmaker James Cameron in 2018, Lucas talked about the societal and political origins of Star Wars. Lucas explained how he came out of anthropology and focused mainly on social systems. In addition to loving the more 1984 type of science fiction, he was more interested in how people react to living in a world that is dominated by space travel and high tech equipment rather than having stories focused on those things.

Lucas also shared that Star Wars is innately anti-authoritarian with the good guys being the Rebels. Or, as Cameron points out, in modern-day theyd be known as terrorists. The first film came out in 1977 in the heat of the Vietnam War, and the Rebels were the Viet Cong.

The Rebels were fighting the largest empire in the galaxy, which the parallel would be America. The irony of that one is in both of those, the little guys won, Lucas said about the films and the real-life counterparts. And the big highly technical, English Empire, the American Empire, lost. That was the whole point.

During the interview, he said that its an interesting look for Americans, considering they were once the little guys fighting a massive Imperial power in the English. But now that the situations reversed, the history is forgotten. Even though they were the Empire in the Vietnam War.

RELATED: The Newest The Clone Wars Episode Deepens Anakin and Padmes Relationship Even More so Than Before

Senator Padme Amidala gives one of the most important lines in Revenge of the Sith, and it parallels into real life

Lucas went on to say that even after witnessing the fall of the British and Roman Empires, and even more, America doesnt really grasp where they currently stand. We never got it, Lucas said. We never said, Wait this isnt the right thing to do. And were still struggling with it.

When the prequels came out, the Gulf War had just ended years prior. Then the Iraq War started a year after Attack of the Clones premiered, although the writing was on the wall before then. So its no surprise at all that these messages against too much power were still engrained in the material.

The best example of this is when Chancellor Palpatine is making a massive speech in the Senate in Revenge of the Sith, and hes telling the lies that the Jedi tried to stage a coup. Because of this, Palpatine says that theres no other thing to do than create the first-ever Galactic Empire, with him as Emperor and dictator.

Senator Padme Amidala said, So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause, as the whole Senate erupts in cheers. Its quite haunting in that moment, and rather powerful. But its even more moving when you look at todays current political climate. This isnt far from what we had in 2018 during this interview too, which Lucas acknowledged. Were in the middle of it right now, he said about the line.

RELATED: The Clone Wars Does a Way Better Job of Showing How Strong Padme Is

Padmes big role in the creation of the Rebel Alliance wasnt shown in the final film

Padme gets a bad reputation for how her characters role lessens with each film. While that is true, and its a shame that more of her political prowess isnt shown, it is important to note that she was still a major power. Off-screen and during Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Senator Amidala was one of the best at her job.

Shes often kidnapped or at the receiving end of multiple assassination attempts, but thats just because she was so good at getting stuff done. She was also one of the only people Palpatine was truly scared of because of her influence in the Senate and her great speaking skills.

In fact, she was one of the founding members of what would become the Rebel Alliance, along with senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma. In deleted scenes for Revenge of the Sith, she was constantly making speeches and leading a petition of 2,000 Senators to fight for peace.

Preserving democracy was her main goal. Which is part of the reason why she brings up to Anakin that they could be on the wrong side of things if war and gaining power were all the Republic wanted. Even though Palpatine was one of her oldest mentors since he started as a Senator on his home planet of Naboo, she was starting to distrust him more and more. If she had survived, she would have definitely been a major part of the Rebel Alliance, which makes Leias involvement all the more significant.

With this line in Revenge of the Sith, Padme not only mourns the loss of democracy within the Republic, but she also states a sobering sentiment about the current state of affairs.

RELATED: Padme Originally Had a Bigger Part In Revenge of the Sith That Connected Directly To The Original Trilogy
Jack McCain Skip Marleys "Slow Down" collaboration with H.E.R. fast-tracked to the number-one spot on Billboards Adult R&B Songs chart -- making him the first Jamaican-born artist ever to hold the top spot on that chart, according to his label, Island Records.

The reggae/R&B mash-up, released last November, represents the legacy of Skip's late grandfather, reggae icon Bob Marley.

The timing couldn't be more appropriate, as 2020 also marks the 40th anniversary of "Redemption Song," from Marley's final studio album, Uprising. It also comes during Bob Marleys year-long 75th birthday celebration.

"Ever proud to represent Jamaica achieving new levels in any endeavor," Marley stated in a press release obtained by Billboard. "We appreciate all the love all the DJs, programmers, and stations who supported. It takes an army of Jah soldiers to make this type of noise."

Skip also paid respect to her H.E.R. for elevating the track with her "heavenly vocals."

"Slow Down" will be featured on Marley's highly-anticipated album, expected this summer.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Observations made with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have revealed the telltale signs of a star system being born. Around the young star AB Aurigae lies a dense disc of dust and gas in which astronomers have spotted a prominent spiral structure with a 'twist' that marks the site where a planet may be forming. The observed feature could be the first direct evidence of a baby planet coming into existence.

"Thousands of exoplanets have been identified so far, but little is known about how they form," says Anthony Boccaletti who led the study from the Observatoire de Paris, PSL University, France. Astronomers know planets are born in dusty discs surrounding young stars, like AB Aurigae, as cold gas and dust clump together. The new observations with ESO's VLT , published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, provide crucial clues to help scientists better understand this process.

"We need to observe very young systems to really capture the moment when planets form," says Boccaletti. But until now astronomers had been unable to take sufficiently sharp and deep images of these young discs to find the 'twist' that marks the spot where a baby planet may be coming to existence.

The new images feature a stunning spiral of dust and gas around AB Aurigae, located 520 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Auriga (The Charioteer). Spirals of this type signal the presence of baby planets, which 'kick' the gas, creating "disturbances in the disc in the form of a wave, somewhat like the wake of a boat on a lake," explains Emmanuel Di Folco of the Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB), France, who also participated in the study. As the planet rotates around the central star, this wave gets shaped into a spiral arm. The very bright yellow 'twist' region close to the centre of the new AB Aurigae image, which lies at about the same distance from the star as Neptune from the Sun, is one of these disturbance sites where the team believe a planet is being made.

Observations of the AB Aurigae system made a few years ago with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, provided the first hints of ongoing planet formation around the star. In the ALMA images, scientists spotted two spiral arms of gas close to the star, lying within the disc's inner region. Then, in 2019 and early 2020, Boccaletti and a team of astronomers from France, Taiwan, the US and Belgium set out to capture a clearer picture by turning the SPHERE instrument on ESO's VLT in Chile toward the star. The SPHERE images are the deepest images of the AB Aurigae system obtained to date.

With SPHERE's powerful imaging system, astronomers could see the fainter light from small dust grains and emissions coming from the inner disc. They confirmed the presence of the spiral arms first detected by ALMA and also spotted another remarkable feature, a 'twist', that points to the presence of ongoing planet formation in the disc. "The twist is expected from some theoretical models of planet formation," says co-author Anne Dutrey, also at LAB. "It corresponds to the connection of two spirals -- one winding inwards of the planet's orbit, the other expanding outwards -- which join at the planet location. They allow gas and dust from the disc to accrete onto the forming planet and make it grow."

ESO is constructing the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, which will draw on the cutting-edge work of ALMA and SPHERE to study extrasolar worlds. As Boccaletti explains, this powerful telescope will allow astronomers to get even more detailed views of planets in the making. "We should be able to see directly and more precisely how the dynamics of the gas contributes to the formation of planets," he concludes.

###

More information

This research was presented in the paper "Are we witnessing ongoing planet formation in AB Aurigae? A showcase of the SPHERE/ALMA synergy - https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038008 " to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics (doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038008).

The team is composed of A. Boccaletti (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Universite PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, CNRS, France), E. Di Folco (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Universite de Bordeaux, CNRS, France [Bordeaux]), E. Pantin (Laboratoire CEA, IRFU/DAp, AIM, Universite Paris-Saclay, Universite Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, CNRS, France), A. Dutrey (Bordeaux), S. Guilloteau (Bordeaux), Y. W. Tang (Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan), V. Pietu (IRAM, Domaine Universitaire, France), E. Habart (Institut d'astrophysique spatiale, CNRS UMR 8617, Universite Paris-Sud 11, France), J. Milli (CNRS, IPAG, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France), T. L. Beck (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA), and A.-L. Maire (STAR Institute, Universite de Liege, Belgium).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world's largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

Links

* Research paper - https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso2008/eso2008a.pdf

* Photos of the VLT - http://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/paranal/

* Photos of ALMA - https://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/category/alma/

* For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research - http://eso.org/sci/publications/announcements/sciann17277.html

Contacts

Anthony Boccaletti

Laboratory for Space Science and Astrophysical Instrumentation (LESIA), Observatoire de Paris - PSL

Meudon, France

Cell: +33 (0)675465583

Email: anthony.boccaletti@obspm.fr

Emmanuel Di Folco

Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB)

Bordeaux, France

Cell: +33 (0)633966142

Email: emmanuel.difolco@u-bordeaux.fr

Anne Dutrey

Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB)

Bordeaux, France

Email: anne.dutrey@u-bordeaux.fr

Barbara Ferreira

ESO Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6670

Cell: +49 151 241 664 00

Email: pio@eso.org
VANCOUVER - The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the shortcomings of Canada's economy, particularly when it comes to supply chains and the development of value-added products that would keep the country competitive, innovation experts say.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 20/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the shortcomings of Canada's economy, particularly when it comes to supply chains and the development of value-added products to keep the country competitive, innovation experts in three provinces say. THE CANADIAN PRESS/CDC via AP, File

VANCOUVER - The COVID-19 crisis is exposing the shortcomings of Canada's economy, particularly when it comes to supply chains and the development of value-added products that would keep the country competitive, innovation experts say.

Dan Breznitz, the co-director of the innovation policy lab at the University of Toronto, said he expects global trade in raw commodities to decline as the novel coronavirus makes it more difficult to move people and goods around the world.

It's a wake-up call for Canada's resource-based industries, he said, noting Canada "will have a problem just selling wood and unprocessed oil."

The country must rebuild its capacity to produce sophisticated goods through innovation in those sectors and beyond, said Breznitz, who is also the chair of innovation studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs.

"We no longer can actually produce the basic things we need in order to survive under (a) pandemic, and we cannot count on global production networks to do that in times of crisis."

Alan Winter, British Columbia's former innovation commissioner, agrees, saying COVID-19 has further exposed Canada's dependence on purchasing goods and technology offshore with profits from primary resource industries.

"The issues that we see today around (personal protection equipment) and getting stuff out of China is all illustrative of the fact that our economy, to some extent, has been totally submerged into other countries in terms of supply chains," he said.

"Our strategy of selling raw natural resources doesn't make a lot of sense. We need to have the capability of developing more finished goods ourselves."

Canada lags behind other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for investing in research and development on new products and technology, said Winter.

In his final report to the B.C. government, released last week, Winter pointed out that about 1.4 per cent of the province's GDP goes towards research and development, while the OECD average is about 2.4 per cent. Several of Canada's competitors make investments in the 3.5 per cent range, he added.

Breznitz said Canada lacks policies aimed at creating more small- and medium-sized enterprises and then helping them grow, particularly when it comes to access to capital in the early stages before investments from venture capitalists.

"Right now in Canada, it will be almost impossible to get the finance, just the basic finance for you to be able to scale up," he said, using an example of a family owned, medium-sized business with an idea for a new product or technology.

Canadian entrepreneurs also face regulatory red tape in selling newly developed products in Canada, said Breznitz.

"It expensive and each province has its own little quirks. So, it's actually easier to sell to the whole United States."

He said the federal government should provide targeted grants and loans directly to entrepreneurs and companies, rather than funnel money into more innovation "superclusters," accelerators and incubators.

The "silver lining" is that Canada's workforce is much more sophisticated than it was 15 years ago, with the proven potential for innovative ideas, Breznitz said.

Others are commercializing those ideas, said Breznitz, pointing to large multinationals that have ramped up operations in Canada including Facebook and Google.

"The question is what kind of policies would allow more Canadian entrepreneurs, small businesses and big businesses, old and new, to do exactly what the multinationals are doing."

Private companies operating in Canada have also failed to invest in research and development because innovation is costly and risky, he said.

"You can make easy money with less risk by being less sophisticated."

The need for economic support and opportunities is even more pronounced in rural communities, where Breznitz said the lack of investment has been "catastrophic."

Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair in Regional Innovation, said many residents lack access to a reliable internet connection, let alone access to start-up capital and training opportunities in science and technology.

"We should be delivering basic services at a national level to all Canadians. And we're not even close to there right now."

The pandemic may mobilize rural residents to demand the same essential service standards available in urban areas, said Coates, who also teaches at the graduate school of public policy at the University of Saskatchewan.

He said Canada's natural resources have made the country rich and complacent.

Jen Zoratti | Next A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

The irony is that much of Canada's resource development happens in and around rural and remote communities that should have become prosperous as a result, Coates said.

Economic development in rural and remote areas should capitalize on local strengths, he said.

For example, the capital of Sweden's northernmost county was well-suited to become the host of Facebook's European data servers. The city of Lulea has cheap and abundant hydro electricity and cold temperatures for the hot servers, much like parts of B.C., said Coates.

But it takes a lot of nerve, enthusiasm, commitment and support for a rural or remote community to decide to stand up and fight for new jobs, investors and residents, he said.

"There's no easy solution whatsoever."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2020.
What have you done during quarantine? 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way star Laura found a new man, as revealed in 90 Day Fiance: Self-Quarantined.

Laura, who married Aladin in 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way and has since split from him, moved to Ecuador after her marriage fell apart and her son returned from Florida to Canada. Laura was preparing to return to Canada, her visa was expiring, and even had a flight booked when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Her flights were canceled, and she was stuck in Ecuador.

"Mentally and emotionally it has been challenging for me, mainly for the isolation and the loneliness that has come with it," Laura said.

Meet the Cast of 90 Day Fiance: Self-Quarantined

And then she met a man online, Tony, who is 25 years old and in dental college. But he didn't give consent for 90 Day to show his face. Laura said, "I actually worry that Tony is too good to be true." He keeps saying he loves her and calls her "love muffin."

"It is a little bit baffling to me," she said. Desperate to get out, Laura applied for a loan from the Canadian government for a flight back home, but when she got her money, the flight was full.

Dean

The brother of Tarik of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days and Pillow Talk, Dean also found a woman via an online dating site in the Philippines. After five months of talking, he flew to the country to meet Riginand never left. He hasn't spoken to Tarik in months.

Anna and Mursel

These stars of 90 Day Fiance have used the quarantine to bond more. Anna has learned more Turkish and Mursel more English. At first there was tension between Mursel and Anna's children, but the time together has helped them. Just don't ask Anna to cut her kids' hair anymore.

Avery and Omar

Originally married on 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days upon their first meeting, Avery still had plans to bring Omar to the United States from Syria, and things were looking good until the March 30 interview Omar had scheduled was canceled. Six months prior, she went back to Lebanon and met his family for the first time. During the quarantine at home, Avery introduced Omar to her incarcerated father via three-way calling.

Story continues

The plan for Avery and Omar now is wait another six months to see if Omar is approved to come to the United States, and if not they'll move to Dubai, hindering their chances of getting him to the States on a visa.

Brett and Daya

This 90 Day couple is adjust as best as possible. Brett lost his job, Daya works all night, so now they try and spend more talk together and talk about their day-to-day lives and take family drives. Brett decided to shave the top of his head as a prank.

90 Day Fiance: Self-Quarantined airs Mondays, 9 p.m. on TLC.
Albion, IN (46701)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 22F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 9F. Winds light and variable.
Elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has explained his reason for not supporting any of President Muhammadu Buharis presidential ambitions, saying that he has always known that Buhari lacks the ability to fix Nigerias problems.

He also added that the past five years of Buhari administration has proven him correct.

Alhaji Yakasai said this when he appeared at the video Conference organized by Governance index on Friday which had close to 100 participants in attendance across the globe.

He said President Buhari is yet to prove him wrong that he is competent to coordinate the affairs of the country.

Yakasai said, I have never supported Buhari. I have been against him because I felt he was not competent to handle the job, and I have been proven right.

Yakasai said:When President Muhammadu Buhari was elected , I was hoping that at least, we will get stable power all over the country. This is his fifth year. He has only two more active years because the last one year will be for election.

I dont know what are his plans, when will Kano get electricity to restore its industrial might, so that every man in Kano will be gainfully employed as a result of provision in Kano, likewise Enugu and Lagos among others. Those were the key issues from the time Buhari was elected and they are still the issues of today.
BRANFORD  A 39-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a crash on I-95 Wednesday afternoon.

The male victim has been identified as Angel Vega, of New London.

The crash caused lane closures and delays of more than five miles along a stretch of Interstate 95 south in Branford for more than three hours Wednesday.

The one-vehicle crash, which was reported around 4 p.m., happened between Exit 55 and Exit 54, according to the state Department of Transportation.

This is the area work is being done to replace a bridge over Route 1. Travel in both directions has been reduced to two, narrower lanes. Speeds are also reduced in the work zone.

Contributed Photo / Connecticut State Police

According to the accident report, a 2017 Jeep Cherokee was traveling in the left lane of two on I-95 southbound, past Exit 55.

Vega was operating a 2017 Suzuki GSX-R750 traveling in an unknown lane of travel, in the same area.

The motorcycle swerved between the Jeep and another unknown vehicle that was traveling in the right lane, directly next to Jeep.

The motorcycle driver split the right and left lane of travel and ultimately lost control of bike.

Vega was separated from the vehicle and landed directly in front of Jeep Cherokee.

Vega was transported to Yale New Haven Hospital for treatment and was later pronounced deceased.

The Connecticut State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Squad arrived to the scene to assist with this investigation.

This accident remains active and under investigation.

By 7:20 p.m., the highway had reopened to drivers and the site of the crash had been cleared.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Export of cement from Turkey to Uzbekistan dropped by 54.49 percent from January through April 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, amounting $2.1 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend on May 20.

In April 2020, Turkeys export of cement to Uzbekistan decreased by 53.8 percent compared to April 2019, and amounted to $373,000.

Turkeys export of cement to international markets made up over $1.1 billion from January through April 2020, which equals the amount in the same period of 2019.

The cement export from Turkey amounted to 2.2 percent of the countrys total export over the reporting period.

Turkeys export of cement to international markets amounted to $231.7 million in April 2020, which is 25.5 percent less compared to the same month of 2019.

In April 2020, export of cement from Turkey to international markets amounted to 2.6 percent of the countrys total export.

From April 2019 through April 2020, Turkeys export of cement amounted to $3.5 billion.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Palm oil is often associated with tropical deforestation above all else. However, this is only one side of the story, as agricultural scientists from the University of Gottingen and the IPB University Bogor (Indonesia) show in a new study. The rapid expansion of oil palm has also contributed considerably to economic growth and poverty reduction in local communities, particularly in Asia. The study was published in the Annual Review of Resource Economics.

For the study, the researchers evaluated results from over 30 years of research on the environmental, economic and social consequences of oil palm cultivation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They combined the results from the international literature with their own data from Indonesia, which they have been collecting since 2012 as part of an interdisciplinary German-Indonesian Collaborative Research Centre (CRC 990). Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer and exporter in the world. A large proportion of the palm oil produced in Indonesia is exported to Europe and the USA, where it is used by the food, fuel and cosmetics industries.

The research data show that the expansion of oil palm in some regions of the world -- especially Indonesia and Malaysia -- contributes significantly to tropical deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. Clearing forestland also leads to substantial carbon emissions and other environmental problems. "However, banning palm oil production and trade would not be a sustainable solution," says Professor Matin Qaim, agricultural economist at the University of Gottingen and first author of the study. "The reason is that oil palm produces three times more oil per hectare than soybean, rapeseed, or sunflower. This means that if palm oil was replaced with alternative vegetable oils, much more land would be needed for cultivation, with additional loss of forests and other natural habitats."

Banning palm oil would also have negative economic and social consequences in the producing countries. "It is often assumed that oil palm is only grown on large industrial plantations," says Qaim. "In reality, however, around half of the world's palm oil is produced by smallholder farmers. Our data show that oil palm cultivation increases profits and incomes in the small farm sector, in addition to raising wages and creating additional employment for rural labourers. Although there are incidents of conflicts over land, overall the oil palm boom has significantly reduced rural poverty in Indonesia and other producing countries."

"The goal should be to make palm oil production more environmentally and climate-friendly," says Professor Ingo Grass, agricultural ecologist at the University of Hohenheim and co-author of the study. "High yields on the already-cultivated land are important, in order to reduce additional deforestation. Mosaic landscapes, where oil palm is combined with patches of forest and other crops in agroforestry systems, could also help to protect biodiversity and ecosystem functions," he adds.

The authors conclude that developing and implementing more sustainable production systems are challenges which require both innovative research and policymaking. Clearly and fairly defined land rights and improved access for smallholder farmers to training, credit and modern technologies would be important steps forward. Consumers can contribute by shopping for food, fuel, and cosmetics more consciously and avoiding waste wherever possible.
Last fortnight, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that 99.2 per cent of the beleaguered CKP Co-op Banks 132,170 depositors will get full payment of their monies.

This is mainly due to the fact that the payout by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) has been hiked to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh. Given the poor governance at urban co-operative banks (UCBs) in general, is it an opportune time to cap an individuals deposits in them at Rs 5 lakh equivalent to the sum assured by the DICGC in case of a banks collapse? And also, a relook at ...
WOONSOCKET (dpa-AFX) - CVS Health Corp. said it will return the $43.3 million it received from the federal government as coronavirus relief under the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund, according to reports. The company reportedly made the announcement in a letter sent by its chief executive Larry Merlo to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday. Merlo reportedly said in the letter that CVS Health did not solicit these funds, but received them as part of an automatic distribution by the Department of Health and Human Services. The company has decided to return the funds and forgo participation in subsequent distributions. Merlo noted that the funds will allow HHS to provide additional support to other providers facing significant financial challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. CVS Health said last Friday that it is opening more that 50 new COVID-19 drive-thru test sites at select CVS Pharmacy drive-thru locations across five states - Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. These sites will use self-swab tests and mark the next phase of the company's COVID-19 testing strategy. The healthcare provider plans to scale this up to 1,000 new COVID-19 drive-thru test sites by end of May, processing up to 1.5 million tests per month based on the lab capacity and the availability of supplies. Since early April, CVS Health has been successfully operating large-scale COVID-19 drive-thru rapid test sites in coordination with five states, which can process a total of nearly 30,000 tests per week. These sites in Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan and Rhode Island are using the new Abbott ID NOW point-of-care COVID-19 tests. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


The coronavirus is killing thousands and commanding government attention across Latin America. But another deadly viral infection remains a problem for the region: dengue.

Dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes, has been called breakbone fever for the severe physical pain it causes.

Doctors and health officials are concerned about the effect of COVID-19, the breathing disorder caused by the virus, on Latin American countries. They say COVID-19s arrival has pulled attention and resources away from the fight against dengue.

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) expects 2020 to be marked by high rates of dengue across the region.

Around the world, COVID-19 has affected other diseases in different ways. In Europe, measures to stop the coronavirus have banished seasonal influenza. But in Africa, border closures have stopped transportation of measles vaccines and other supplies.

In Latin America, a dengue epidemic that started in late 2018 is still present. Dengue infections in the region rose sharply to an all-time high of 3.1 million in 2019, with over 1,500 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean. That information comes from PAHO.

Cases of the disease should begin to decrease in the second half of 2020, the organization said.

Dengue epidemics usually happen every three to five years and with four strains of dengue in existence, people may catch it more than once. Second cases are more likely to be severe.

COVID is the star right now, so all of the attention is being put on COVID, said Jaime Gomez. But there are still problems with dengue. He is a doctor and works at a hospital in Floridablanca, in Colombias Santander province.



Dengue is not usually deadly and can be treated with painkillers. But some sufferers deal with long-term problems like tiredness, weight loss, and depression. And these things affect their ability to work. Severe dengue is treated with intravenous fluids and those who do not get tested are at risk of dangerous health problems.

Such treatments cannot be given if patients stay home, worried about getting the coronavirus, or if crowded hospitals cannot take dengue patients.

There are not many cases of COVID-19 in the part of Colombia where Gomez works. He told Reuters news agency he had seen hospitalizations decrease by half, as people were fearful of going outdoors.

System has collapsed

Sonia Fernandez is a lawyer from Paraguay. She avoided seeking medical care when she and her two daughters, ages 11 and 8, got sick with dengue at the beginning of April. Fernandez wanted to avoid individuals with COVID-19, she said.

All three have since recovered.

Dengue cases in Paraguay have sharply risen this year. In the first 18 weeks of 2020, the country reported more than 40,000 confirmed cases and more than 60 deaths. That is compared to under 400 confirmed cases and six deaths during the same period in 2019.

In Ecuador, the coronavirus outbreak has hit hard. Hospitals in Guayaquil, the largest city, are full. The number of dengue cases has dropped nationwide, but this could cover up other issues.

Ecuadors health ministry notes that dengue cases were highest at close to 900 in the week ending March 14. That is two weeks after the country confirmed its first case of COVID-19. For the week of April 4, they fell to around 250.

Esteban Ortiz is an international health researcher at the University of the Americas in Quito.

He says dengue cases are being under-reported.

Cases havent decreased, the diagnosis of cases has decreased, which confirms the system has totally collapsed, he said.



Ecuadors health ministry said that the country was no more exposed to the double effects of COVID-19 and dengue than any other Latin American country. It added it has the supplies it needs to treat cases of dengue.

Dengue has also increased sharply in Central America. In Costa Rica, cases have risen nearly 200 percent through May 1, compared with a year ago, to over 2,000.

Rodrigo Marin is director of Costa Ricas health surveillance agency. He told Reuters that while his country is having a difficult time dealing with COVID-19, other diseases continue to spread.

In Panama, dengue has caused at least two deaths this year. Speaking with Reuters, Panama City health official Yamileth Lopez said that Dengue kills too.

Im Alice Bryant.

Reuters news agency reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

region - n. a part of a country or world that is different or separate from other parts in some way

mosquito - n. a small flying insect that bites the skin of people and animals and sucks their blood

resource - n. a supply of something that someone has and can use when it is needed

banish - v. to get rid of something

epidemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people

strain - n. a group of closely related plants, animals or germs

intravenous - adj. entering the body through a vein

diagnosis - n. the act of identifying a disease, illness, or problem by examining someone or something

expose - v. to reveal something hidden

surveillance - n. the act of carefully watching something especially in order to prevent or detect something
Donald Trump has ordered his campaign to find a way to get him back into stadiums for his massive rallies to campaign for his reelection  even if the crowd size needs to be reduced to accommodate for social distancing guidelines.

Trump's 2020 team is keeping close track of localities and states loosening lockdown restrictions, where modified campaign activities could soon be permitted, three people involved with the discussions told Politico.

The president began questioning his campaign officials during meetings over why it's 'safe' for him to travel in his official capacity, but not for campaign events, the Wednesday report revealed.

Since announcing his candidacy for president in 2015, Trump has held more than 400 of these massive rallies.

Donald Trump has demanded his campaign find a way to get him back on the campaign trail as he was forced to suspend his massive rallies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic

Trump has begun questioning his campaign over why it's 'safe' for him to engage in travel as part of official presidential business  like a tour of a mask making facility earlier this month  but not to campaign for reelection

The question comes as presumed Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, has been confined to his make-shift studio basement for virtual campaign events and remote television appearances

During a trip to Capitol Hill to meet with Republican senators on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence said aides are also considering ways to get him back into campaigning.

Pence held events with smaller audiences, which were a staple of the campaign strategy, and could pose fewer logistical challenges in the age of coronavirus.

Allies are looking to prioritize restarting rallies, as they fear the optics of Trump grandstanding while carrying out presidential duties in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic while he's flanked by aides wearing masks.

Aides also acknowledge that the president tends to lash out when he's cooped up in Washington for a long period of time and unable to connect with loyalists.

'He enjoys talking to his supporters at these patriotic events, and so the more he's out there doing that, the better mood he's going to be in. That's important in a presidential year,' Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, said.

Miller also described the effort to resume campaign rallies as 'a moonshot mission.'

'The goal is to get as close to a traditional Trump event as possible as we're entering the warmer months here without having to change too much,' he continued.

His campaign is looking to organize a series of virtual events featuring Trump before the end of May, even though he has snubbed the digital campaign trail so far while his presumed opponent, Joe Biden, has held several such events.

Biden hosts virtual campaign events and engages in remote interviews, including with network television stations and otherwise, from his make-shift studio in his basement  sometimes venturing out to his yard or kitchen.

Trump, on the other hand, has been able to maintain a more public presence by holding in-person events, social-distanced interviews and even held a televised Fox News town hall at the Lincoln Memorial earlier this month.

He has used his coronavirus briefings, and a few presidential trips, to double as a medium to tout his presidential accomplishments and bash his competitors, which he would usually get out at rallies with thousands of his ultra-loyalist base cheering and chanting in his favor.

Trump has had a lot more opportunity for exposure for his campaign than Biden in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including holding a televised Fox News town hall at the Lincoln Memorial earlier this month

This month, Trump has only traveled on two official trips so far  when he visited two medical supply facilities in Arizona and Pennsylvania, and he is scheduled to tour a Ford ventilator factory in Michigan on Thursday.

This is a significant drop off from his usual schedule, which would include a lot more presidential travel  and just six months out from the general election, would be inundated with his rallies.

At the end of February, before social distancing and lockdown orders were in place, Trump held three rallies in three days.

His latest Keep American Great rally was on March 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trump credits his massive rallies with helping him invigorate his base and win the 2016 presidential election  and he is hoping to re-energize his base after being forced to suspend his trademark rallies.

Some numbers, including internal campaign polling, show Trump's support slipping in some battleground states.

Trump's push to get back on the campaign trail comes as his administration is also trying to move Americans' confidence toward reopening the country by scheduling more public events and urging others to also resume their regular schedules.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 19:53:00|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

Evariste Ndayishimiye, presidential candidate and secretary general of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), casts his ballot at a polling station in Gitega Province, central Burundi, on May 20, 2020. Burundian voters went to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new president, members of the National Assembly and district councillors. (photo by Evrard Ngendakumana/Xinhua)

BUJUMBURA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Burundi voters went to the polls on Wednesday to elect a new president, members of National Assembly and district councillors.

Polling stations opened from 6 a.m. and are scheduled to close at 4 p.m. for the country's about 5.1 million registered voters to cast their ballots. There are 3,807 polling centers with 14,665 polling stations nationwide, according to the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI).

Some polling stations didn't open on time as shipping of needed equipment was delayed. CENI Spokesman Philippe Nzobonariba told media that the closing of polling stations may be extended to 5 p.m. if they were unable to open on time due to technical reasons.

Long queues were seen at polling stations as the poll opened.

Josephine Niragira, a voter queueing up at a polling station in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, told Xinhua that she expects the new president to boost relations with other countries and focus on improving security.

All the presidential candidates are expected to cast ballots in their native villages. Secretary General of the ruling National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) Evariste Ndayishimiye cast his ballot in Geheta commune, in Gitega Province, central Burundi.

His main rival, Agathon Rwasa of the opposition National Council for Liberty, went to the north and cast his ballot in Kiremba commune, in Ngozi province.

Provisional results are expected to be released on May 26.

The central African country experienced violence related to the last general elections in 2015, and its citizens told Xinhua earlier that they expected peaceful elections, urging those who lose to accept the results and the winners to rule for everyone in the country.

"We will have newly-elected institutions and we expect that they won't work for their parties," Chartier Niyungeko, a Burundian expert in peaceful conflict resolutions, told Xinhua in an interview, adding that the elections should not create tension or lead people to violence and killings as in 2015.

He said elections are the opportunity given to people to show differences of their opinions about political parties and independents, and that the candidates must understand that the competition is a way of promoting political tolerance.

Burundi plunged into crisis in April 2015 when the current president, Pierre Nkurunziza from CNDD-FDD, decided to run his controversial third term bid, which he won in July 2015. His candidature, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups, resulted in a wave of protests, violence and even a failed coup in May 2015.

Nkurunziza is not seeking reelection this time. Enditem
Alison Roman's suspension from the New York Times has sparked furious debate on social media, with fans rushing to her defense and accusing the Times of overreacting  and critics affirming that it was the right move.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the outlet told the Daily Beast that Roman's biweekly recipe column had been suspended and Roman was 'on temporary leave'.

The decision comes after Roman criticized Chrissy Teigen and Marie kondo in an interview with New York Consumer, which readers have said was rude at best and racist at worst  and those readers are equally divided over the Times' call to suspend Roman's column.

Hiatus: Alison Roman's biweekly New York Times column has been temporarily suspended following her controversial remarks throwing shade at Chrissy Teigen

Shade: In an interview published May 8, Roman, the author of cookbooks Nothing Fancy and Dining In, called Teigen's ascent to the top of the food empire 'crazy'

The suspension comes nearly two weeks after the publication of remarks from Roman, in which she she described Teigen's climb to the top of the food empire as 'crazy.'

'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,' Roman said.

'That horrifies me and it's not something that I ever want to do. I don't aspire to that.'

Roman also criticized Kondo, saying she 'sold out immediately' by selling things online.

The backlash was swift, with social media users slamming Roman and Chrissy chiming in to express her disappointment.

Roman eventually apologized, but the Times has apparently decided that further action was needed.

Hey there! Defenders rushed to express disagreement with the Times' suspension move

This has left a bad taste in the mouths of some who have followed the drama, including writer Natalie Shure.

'Honestly, Alison Roman facing professional retaliation for s***-talking multimillionaire celebrities is a labor issue and other NYT writers should condemn it,' Shure tweeted.

'To reiterate: what she said was undeniably crappy, and the blowback she got was warranted! but getting canned for it - particularly after an apology that Teigen appeared to have accepted - was too severe, and sets a troubling precedent.'

Writer Luke O'Neil agreed, tweeting: 'Don't care about the specifics of this maybe she sucks but a newspaper pulling a column because someone did some beef on here against one of the most famous people in the country is fu***d up.'

'Love when the female employee that published a public apology and took full responsibility for her tone deafness in an interview gets put on leave while the male columnists can publish their bullshit in the paper and face no repercussions,' said another fan.

Flip side: But others say that the problem with Roman wasn't criticizing a celebrity, but picking out two women of color  and they've pointed to problems with her column, too

'Alison Roman even apologized immediately after. Seriously, Cancel Culture is sociopathic. The internet mobs on twitter are just the worst,' said one more, while another supported called the Times' decision 'insane.'

But just as many Twitter users said that the Times made the right call, disagreeing with the premise that Roman was fired for simply 's***-talking' stars.

'Does every woman of color need to come back AGAIN and re-explain that Alison Roman's Columbus cuisine column is taking a hit because she went after two women of color and then behaved as she was the victim as is oft the script when white women attack WoC?' TV writer Liz Hsiao Lan Alper chimed in.

'Alison Roman has been often criticized for RENAMING ETHNIC DISHES cutesy names like "THE STEW", refusing to credit the cultures she's "adapting" the dishes from in favor of claiming creative credit,' she went on.

'This issue resurfaced AGAIN after she was (rightfully) criticized for blasting two women of color for conducting business THE SAME WAY SHE DOES BUSINESS or GOOP does business or any other prominent white chef does business.'

Sad: After Roman's initial remarks, Teigen took to Twitter to express disappointment

Speaking her truth: The criticism may have 'hit [her] hard,' but Teigen pressed on and explained that she 'started cravings because [she] wanted something for [herself]'

Another person wrote: 'Its more that her s***-talking opened a door for women of color to voice concerns about colonialist overtones in her work that always existed but previously went unheard because of her popularity and the power of the NYT brand, though.'

'She went after women of color, not "multimillionaire celebrities," said Alisha Grauso. 'It was gross she went after successful women at all, no matter who they were. She said something stupid and petty about the producer of HER OWN SHOW and now she's paying the price. There's nothing to condemn.'

Teigen, for her part, doesn't appear to agree with the Times' descision.

'I hope we can laugh about it one day,' she tweeted in response to a fan who asked if the 'beef' was over, 'but Im not happy with the NYT leave so she def cant laugh about it yet. It just sucks in every way. '

After Roman's first remarks were published, Teigen immediately expressed hurt at Roman's comments in a series of tweets.

'I bought [Roman's] cookbooks, supported her on social and praised her in interviews. I even signed on to executive produce the very show she talks about doing in this article,' she shared.

'I genuinely loved everything about Alison. Was jealous she got to have a book with food on the cover instead of a face!! I've made countless NYT recipes she's created, posting along the way,' she went on.

Apology: Two hours later, Roman apologized to Chrissy on Twitter

Clarification: She said she was 'trying to clarify that [her] business model does not include a product line'

Done: Teigen took a break from Twitter, saying that while she had lots of support, cruel commenters also made horrible remarks like calling her kids 'Petri dish babies'

'I didn't "sell out" by making my dreams come true. To have a cookware line, to get to be a part of that process start to finish, to see something go from sketch to in my hands, I love that.'

Chrissy explained that 'to see [her cookbooks] being used by people around the world makes [her] so happy.'

She admitted that though it had 'been crappy to deal with this all day,' she 'couldn't not say something' in response to Roman's assumptions.

'I know the actual tears I put into the work I do and it's really hard to see someone try to completely invalidate it. Someone I really liked,' lamented Teigen.

'I cry very hard because Cravings, the site, is our baby we love to pump content onto. we do this work ourselves, and there is NO monetary gain yet. it is just work work work and the reward is you liking it. so to be called a sellout....hooooo it hurts!

'This "farm" you think of doesn't exist. I am the farm. I am the cows the horses the pigs.'

Two hours later, Roman publicly apologized.

Reflective: Roman later issued a lengthier apology, calling her words 'stupid, careless and insensitive' and admitted she need to make changes in her personal conduct moving forward

'I sent an email but also wanted to say here that Im genuinely sorry I caused you pain with what I said,' she began.

'I shouldnt have used you /your business (or Maries!) as an example to show what I wanted for my own career- it was flippant, careless and Im so sorry.'

In an indirect tweet, the Bon Appetit magazine columnist insisted that 'being a woman who takes down other women is absolutely not [her] thing.'

'And dont think its yours, either (I obviously failed to effectively communicate that). I hope we can meet one day, I think wed probably get along,' she concluded.

As the internet continued to discuss the drama, it all became too much for Teigen.

'I really hate what this drama has caused this week. Calling my kids Petri dish babies or making up flight manifests with my name on them to Epstein island, to justify someone elses disdain with me seems gross to me so Im gonna take a little break,' she wrote.

'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.'

Response: Teigen graciously accepted the apology and explained that she actually didn't expect it and was just 'stung' that she thought such things

Props: She also praised Kondo for keeping out of the messy back-and-forth

Mum: Kondo kept quiet on the whole thing, possibly realizing that her two cents wouldn't spark joy

She made her account protected, so that only existing followers could see her tweets, and future followers would need to be approved by her.

Roman then issued another more lengthy apology.

'Ive thought a lot this weekend about my interview and the things I said,' the 34-year-old wrote. 'I know this is a lengthy note (succinctness has never been my strong suit). I appreciate you taking the time to read.'

In the extended note, Roman said, 'I need to formally apologize to Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo' after using 'their names disparagingly to try and distinguish myself, which I absolutely do not have an excuse for.'

The culinary author called her words 'stupid, careless and insensitive' and admitted she need to make changes in her personal conduct moving forward.

'I need to learn, and respect, the difference between being unfiltered vs. being uneducated and flippant,' Roman said. 'The burden is not on them (or anyone else) to teach me, and I'm deeply sorry that my learning came at Chrissy and Marie's expense.'

She said that her remarks were 'rooted in my [her] insecurity' with a tinge of jealousy, to boot.

No more details: It's unclear if Roman's column will permanently disappear from the Times or come back when the drama has died down

That's all: Teigen has not commented publicly on the latest development

'My inability to appreciate my own success without comparing myself and knocking others down - in this case two accomplished women - is something I recognize I most definitely struggle with... I don't want to be a person like that,' she said.

She said that she was ignorant in exhibiting 'white privilege' as she 'singled out two Asian women,' adding that 'being blind to racial insensitivities is a discriminatory luxury.'

'I know that our culture frequently goes after women, especially women of color, and I'm ashamed to have contributed to that.'

Teigen thanked Roman for the apology, saying that she thinks she's 'incredibly talented' and respects her credentials in the culinary world.

'The comments stung, but they moreso stung because they came from u!' Teigen wrote. 'It wasn't my usual news break of some random person hating everything about me!'
Food Bank for the Heartland is responding to the rising need, Barks said, thanks to a generous community that has provided financial and food donations, along with volunteer service.

Barks said the numbers illustrate just how hard COVID-19 has impacted the Food Banks service area (93 counties in Nebraska and western Iowa):

The Food Bank has served about 38% more people so far in 2020 compared to 2019. The need for emergency meals is so great.

Shaffer already was in line on a recent Monday at Jefferson Elementary School  one of 13 BackPack program distribution sites in the Omaha area  when volunteers began handing out food. Each child received bags containing five lunch and five breakfast meals, along with five cartons of milk.

Nearly a dozen onsite volunteers from the Salvation Army were handing out 225 packs of meals. By the time an hour had passed, all had been given away. Major Greg Thomsen said the Salvation Armys mission matches the Food Banks mission. Making sure people have the food they need  nutritious food  is of the utmost importance, he said.
[May 20, 2020] IQHQ Broadens Massachusetts Life Science Portfolio With Acquisition of Innovation Park in Andover

IQHQ, Inc., a premier life sciences real estate development company, today announced that in an off-market transaction, it has acquired Innovation Park, an approximately 200,000 square foot campus on the 495 Corridor in Andover, Massachusetts. The strategic acquisition will complement IQHQ's portfolio of downtown assets, and it will meet the increasing demand by large institutions for state-of-the-art office and lab space in both downtown Boston and in the surrounding suburbs. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005178/en/ IQHQ, Inc., a premier life sciences real estate development company, has acquired Innovation Park in Andover, Massachusetts. Credit: Randy Robinson Photography LLC. This growing trend is illustrated by Innovation Park's newest tenants - UMass Lowell and Ora, Inc., which have signed long-term leases with IQHQ. Colliers represented IQHQ for the transaction, and the purchase price was not disclosed. TRIA Architects has been retained to redesign the site as part of IQHQ's strategic repositioning plan. "The acquisition of Innovation Park supports our vision for Massachusetts by expanding our footprint outside of downtown Boston and into the surrounding Andover medical innovation and life science cluster," said Tracy A. Murphy, President of IQHQ. "We are pleased to welcome UMass Lowell and Ora as our first tenants. Through our redesign, we will enhance the campus to meet the need of future tenants that are seeking premier office and lab space in Greater Boston."



Since 2016, there has been approximately 2 million square feet of new demand for suburban lab space in Greater Boston. The acquisition of the Innovation Park campus in Andover is complementary to IQHQ's portfolio of downtown Boston assets including 109 Brookline Avenue, a 285,000 square-foot lab and office building near the Longwood Medical Area, and the Fenway Center project, a state-of-the-art development that will include lab, office, and ground level retail space. Following IQHQ's successful completion of a $770 million capital raise earlier this year, the REIT has been rapidly expanding its portfolio to support its strategy of investing in cutting-edge life science projects in top innovation hubs. "It is exciting to see IQHQ expand and diversify its life science portfolio in Massachusetts, and it is encouraging to see continued investment in the Greater Boston biotech sector in the middle of the pandemic that has had such an impact on our lives and economy," said Robert K. Coughlin, President & CEO of MassBio. "As the top life sciences cluster in the world, Massachusetts is playing a critical role in the search for new treatments for COVID-19, and as this deal illustrates, the biotech industry will also play a major role in our economic recovery."

Located at 4 Corporate Drive in Andover, IQHQ plans to update the Innovation Park property. The redesign will add new amenities including a first-class cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, a fitness center also with both indoor and outdoor workout areas and common area improvements. About IQHQ IQHQ empowers the life science community to thrive and succeed by creating and developing environments that inspire progress and give innovation a home to grow. IQHQ's focus is to acquire, develop and operate life science properties in the innovation hubs of San Francisco, San Diego and Boston in the United States, and the Golden Triangle in the United Kingdom. IQHQ has offices in San Diego and Boston. To learn more, visit www.iqhqreit.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram. About Ora, Inc. Ora is the world's leading full-service ophthalmic CRO and product development firm with offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. Over the past 40 years, we have proudly helped our clients earn more than 45 product approvals. We support a wide array of organizations, from start-ups to global pharmaceutical and device companies, to efficiently bring their new products from concept to market. Ora's pre-clinical and clinical models, unique methodologies and global regulatory strategies have been refined and proven across thousands of global projects. We bring together the world's most extensive and experienced team of ophthalmic experts and R&D professionals to maximize the value of new product initiatives. For more information, please visit www.oraclinical.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005178/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Editor's Note: Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news stories and expert opinions that moved the precious metals and financial markets. Sign up here!

Photo courtesy of Polyus

(Kitco News) The Russian army and its medical personnel are being dispatched to Russias largest gold mine, Olimpiada, to help contain a coronavirus outbreak.

Located in Siberias Krasnoyarsk Krai, Olimpiada employed around 6,000 people. The mine is run by Russias largest gold producer, Polyus.

Polyus said that so far 866 peopled tested positive for COVID-19 and 2,790 tested negative. Majority of those who tested positive are not showing any symptoms, according to Russian media reports.

Polyus is the only company in the region that will be testing all of its workers for the coronavirus infection, the reports said.

To help the mining company deal with the local outbreak, Russias Ministry of Defence is sending military personnel and more than two tons of medical equipment, including respirators, masks, gloves and protective suits, the ministry said on its website on Monday.

A total of 400 military personnel has already arrived along with 77 doctors and nurses.

One of the first tasks at hand is to establish a mobile hospital with 1,100 beds. Currently, the mine has a makeshift hospital that can take up to 737 people.

Russias Ministry of Defence noted that the order has come from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The goal is to contain the spread of the infection in Siberias Krasnoyarsk Krai.

The mine is not planning to halt operations, RIA Novosti quoted Polyus Chief Executive Officer Pavel Grachev as saying this week.

Olimpiada has 26 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves.

Russias coronavirus cases have been rising at an exponential pace these past few weeks. Right now, it is in second spot, behind the U.S., in terms of the number of coronavirus cases, with a total of 308,705 infected and at least 2,972 deaths. The U.S. currently has 1,579,194 cases with at least 94,149 deaths.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Three people new to running for public office are vying for the District 3 seat on the Bernalillo County Commission.

Two of them, Adrian Carver and Adriann Barboa, have a background working with progressive social activist organizations, while the third, Marcos Gonzales, has a background in finance with state and county agencies.

Whoever comes out on top in the June 2 primary will have no Republican opposition in Novembers general election.

All three Democrats emphasize a need for economic development in the district, and all are hoping to win the seat formerly held by Maggie Hart Stebbins, who, last January  one year shy of completing her second elected term on the commission  left for a gubernatorial appointment as New Mexicos Natural Resources Trustee.

Retired Presbyterian minister Jim Collie was appointed by the governor to fill Harts remaining year. From the beginning, he said he was not interested in running for the seat.

The district lies mostly in the city of Albuquerque. It runs along the east side of Interstate 25 from the southernmost to the northernmost area of the county. It includes Nob Hill, Kirtland Air Force Base, Central New Mexico Community College and Expo New Mexico.

Carver, 33, is the executive director of Equality New Mexico. He said his primary focus will be to help working families and small businesses recover from the ongoing economic crisis related to the public health emergency.

The pandemic, Carver said, has exposed the inequity of our systems and its time for us to rebuild our economy in a way that isnt engineered to create poverty.

Carver acknowledged that he recently received some negative pushback after his campaign printed mailers that called attention to Barboas past criminal history.

That history includes several bench warrants in connection with parking tickets, a drug arrest for marijuana and an older DWI conviction.

Barboa, 44, said she accepts full responsibility for her law enforcement encounters. She explained that the drug arrest stemmed from a 2018 traffic stop in Arizona, during which she was found to have less than two grams of cannabis.

Barboa is the policy director of Strong Families of New Mexico/Forward Together. She was motivated to seek the commission seat, she said, to ensure that health and safety nets for struggling families are in place, as well as to support small and local businesses with county tax incentives and other publicly funded programs.

Raised and still living in the Southeast area, Barboa said she recognizes that part of town has unacceptable levels of violence and crime, although those are often related to generational substance abuse and poverty, which has touched her own family.

Barboa said she would hold roundtable meetings with all stakeholders, including community members, victims of crime, businesses, law enforcement and those who have engaged in criminal activity, and out of those mutual discussions develop policies that work for all our families and law enforcement, and to mitigate crime.

Gonzales, 35, said he would bring to the office 12 years of serving in state and local economic development with small businesses, as well as being a former small-business owner, having owned a rental property.

Gonzales said what is most needed in the district is economic recovery once the COVID-19 crisis has passed. And if you look at such neighborhoods as Nob Hill even before COVID-19, they needed a lot of assistance. But other business corridors in the district have also struggled, he said.

We need to work together with the community to bring back small-business owners to open up shops, as well as to protect the ones that are there and have them grow, Gonzales said.

Attracting more businesses and more customer traffic is tied to giving business owners and patrons the confidence that the area is safe, because public safety is tied into economic development, he said.
As the June 2 primary grows near, a national progressive group is spending nearly $700,000 on a television ad supporting Democratic governor candidate Whitney Williams.

Williams is running against Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney to be the party's nominee for governor this fall. There's a three-way Republican primary between Attorney General Tim Fox, U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte and state Sen. Al Olszewski.

The governor's office is open as Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock can't run again after two terms. Democrats will have held the post for 16 years by the time Bullock departs, and Republicans have made it clear taking back the seat is their top priority in 2020.

The ad, which started airing Tuesday and will run through Election Day, is paid for by Women Vote, the independent expenditure group for Emily's List, a national group that works to get women elected to office. It will air on cable and premium digital in Missoula, Billings, Great Falls, Butte, Bozeman and Helena.

Emily's List endorsed Williams shortly after she announced last October, and Cooney later that same month issued a campaign pledge calling on other candidates in the primary to swear off outside spending including groups like Emily's List. Williams' campaign did not sign the pledge. Emily's List, based in Washington, D.C., has raised more than $600 million since its founding in 1985 and spent $100 million in the 2018 midterms alone.

Cooney's campaign sent out a press release Tuesday critical of the ad buy, saying voters have rejected outside spending in past elections.

Montanans will see through this last minute attempt by another out-of-state super PAC trying to buy our votes with dollars, not earning them through values," Cooney said in the emailed statement.

Cooney's campaign manager, Emily Harris, in the same release compared the value of the ad buy to the roughly $770,000 Cooney has raised over the election in campaign finance contributions.

"In one fell swoop, parachuting in from Washington, this out-of-state super PAC  totally unaccountable to the people of Montana  is boasting of spending nearly $700,000 in the final 14 days of this campaign trying to manipulate and rig the outcome of Montanas Democratic primary," Harris said in a statement.

Williams' campaign shot back Tuesday after Cooney condemned the ad buy.

Mike Cooneys attacks are sounding more and more desperate today ... Its exactly what youd expect to hear from a career politician whos anchored to his past," said campaign spokesman Bill Lombardi. "Whitneys focused on Montanas future and is proud to have the support of thousands of Montanans and Emily's List in this campaign.

The ad does not mention Cooney directly, but follows a campaign message Williams has emphasized: a critique of Cooney for not being more vocal in his opposition to the permitting of a copper mine near the Smith River. While the mine was not directly approved by Cooney or the administration he's a part of, Williams has used it to attempt to appeal to more liberal Democratic voters, who tend to show up for the primary vote and may be frustrated with the realities of the mine's approval, which is done by the Department of Environmental Quality.

The ad says Williams will work to stop the Sandfire Black Butte copper mine and that Williams is the "public lands choice for governor."

Public lands is a key issue in the governor's race and preserving and expanding access has long been a campaign platform for Democrats. Republicans have also called for protecting and increasing access to public lands in Montana, though with much more emphasis on natural resource development on those lands.

Candidate ads went up well before ballots were sent out May 8. Gianforte has spent more than $550,000 as reported on the most recent campaign finance filings, though that number has likely grown since then. Other outside groups are also engaging in spending. On Friday, the state Commissioner of Political Practices ordered a group called American Prosperity Group to disclose its spending on advertising in support of Fox, as well as who its financial contributors are.

You must be logged in to react.

Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
Congress leader and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday spoke on the crisis involving migrant labourers amid the coronavirus lockdown in the country and said that the time is not to indulge in politics.

Gandhi said that these migrant labourers, who are the backbone of the country, have been bearing great pain during the Covid-19 crisis, walking for hundreds of kilometres to reach their native places.

Well have to understand our responsibilities. They (migrant labourers walking to return to their native states) arent just Indians but Indias backbone. The country runs on their blood and sweat. Its everyones responsibility. Its not the time for politics, she said in her online address.

Gandhi attacked the Uttar Pradesh government and said that at 4 pm it will be 24 hours since the buses were made available by the Congress party for migrant labourers.

Also read: UP govt obstructing help to stranded migrant workers, says Congress

If you want to use it, do it. Give us permission. If you want to use BJP party flags and stickers on buses then do it. If you want to say that you made those buses available, do it. But let the buses run, she said.

Gandhi said that right after the lockdown was announced in the country, Congress party in Uttar Pradesh set up volunteer groups in every district and launched helplines. So far, the party has reached out to over 60 lakh people amid the coronavirus crisis.

We have been providing food, ration to the needy with the help of these groups in the state, Gandhi said.

A task force was created to help those on the highways amid the lockdown. Many initiatives like these were taken from our side, she said.

Gandhi said that the party had proposed to run buses from Ghaziabad, Noida to ferry migrant labourers from Delhi/NCR to their native places in Uttar Pradesh.

On May 17, 500 buses were there at the Ghaziabad border. If they were allowed to run, at least 20,000 migrant labourers could have reached home, Gandhi said.

Gandhi urged the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to grant necessary permits and let the buses run for the benefit of the migrant labourers.

We must get over this political tussle and work for the benefit of these migrants. We just want to help with a positive intent, Gandhi said.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security processed more than 1 million claims for unemployment benefits from March 1 through May 9 -- 11.5 times more than in the same period in 2019. That onslaught quickly overwhelmed IDES workers, and put applicants at risk of long wait times not only for their claims to go through, but to get answers to basic questions. For help, IDES tapped a Google virtual assistant.

From a tech side, we realized we needed to scale, said Brandon Ragle, chief of enterprise applications at the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT). A virtual assistant was an easy way to offload some of the burden on workers responding to queries both online and via phone calls.

For context, the IDES website averaged 40,000 to 50,000 page views per day before the pandemic took hold here in March, Ragle said. Around March 15, that number soared to 200,000 page views and kept going, peaking at 2 million in one day. Currently, the site is averaging nearly 1 million page views per day.

To set up the virtual assistant, Google and DoIT staff collected information from IDES and scanned the sites analytics to determine what information people were most likely seeking and what the correct answers were to common questions. Then, they spent two weeks training the virtual agent -- essentially a chatbot -- before making it live on April 16.

In the first two weeks, the bot received 3.2 million inquiries and responded with 90% accuracy. Today, the bot gets about 140,000 web queries a day.

On April 28, DoIT stood up a voice bot that uses voice recognition to field the questions to alleviate the increase in calls IDES gets -- 10,000 to 15,000 a day or less before the stay-at-home order and now averaging about 200,000 to 300,000 attempts a day. One exceptional day, IDES received close to 1 million attempts.

Transforming the states digital presence has been in the works, and using virtual agents was a big part of that, Ragle said. The first step was tying the virtual agents into the site and the phone system to create a one-stop-shop experience for the citizens.

This was on our road map to modernize in this manner, but [the pandemic] accelerated that for us, said Jennifer Ricker, DoITs assistant secretary. Given the surge in call volume at IDES, she said, It made the most sense to start there.

Driven by closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois unemployment rate jumped from 3.4% in February to 4.6% in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And its not the only state facing an onslaught of unemployment filings. In April, the unemployment rate nationwide increased by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7%.

We have seen around the world this health care dilemma morph into this economic dilemma, said Todd Schroeder, Googles director of public-sector digital strategy.

The company also stood up a front-end cloud-based website, bot and call center assistants at the New York Labor Department to meet the needs of that state's recently unemployed workers applying for benefits. The data comes in through the website application Google built and is validated before being routing to the mainframe for normal processing, Schroeder said.

States dont need to rip and replace their legacy system, he said, but they do need to connect them to modern technologies that provide the experience, the throughput and the automation necessary to meet the needs of today.

Because every states need and existing technology is different, Google helps agencies identify bottlenecks and vulnerabilities and map out solutions. In some states, thats standing up a call center, while others want to set up a virtual waiting room that can queue people through the process.

But a common thread nationwide, Schroeder said, is that the pandemic has been the push many states needed to take advantage of modern technologies.

There hasnt necessarily been a compelling moment to make the change, and now that theres an overwhelming need, there is an overwhelming reaction to say, Now is the time, he said.

For Illinois, theres no going back. DoIT has already gotten requests for virtual assistants from other state agencies, Ragle said. Plus, the department has learned that modernization can happen faster than originally thought. For instance, the original strategy had been to put in a new information architecture and add a bot to that, but now they see they can just add the bot and add value to the site.

Were really looking at how do we get away from that old government static content site with just a bunch of words to really interactive and customer-focused self-servicing environment, he said. Virtual agents are really a slam dunk on trying to start that process.
Panaji, May 20 : An Indian Coast Guard officer has tested positive for Covid-19 in Goa, state Health Secretary Nila Mohanan said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters late on Wednesday, Mohanan said that the coast guard official had arrived in Goa from Mumbai as part of an official team.

"The officer who arrived with a team of others has been admitted to the Covid-19 Hospital in South Goa, while his co-travellers have been quarantined," Health Secretary Nila Mohanan said.

Along with the ICG official, the state's Covid-19 tally reached 50 on Wednesday, even as 471 persons landed at Goa's Dabolim International Airport in two flights through the day and their samples are currently being tested.

"We have ramped up the capacity of the Covid-19 hospital from 100 to 170 and the number of beds will be increased to 220 over the next few days," the Health Secretary also said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Big drops in state funding and tuition are already devastating universities' budgets, forcing salary cuts and layoffs at a rapid rate. Fewer students and university workers will mean reduced demand for local businesses in college towns. And if online classes during the pandemic lead to a long-term shift toward distance education, it will mean even less money gets spent around university campuses.

But the long-term impacts could be even more severe. Budget cuts will make it harder to pay for graduate-student stipends, research-assistant salaries, construction of research facilities and other things that draw in educated workers and private capital. The dearth of international students will also hit science and engineering departments hard because these students make up a majority in many key STEM fields.

Anyone who has worked in a university laboratory knows that graduate students do much of the actual research. It will be impossible for engineering departments to replace many of these lost researchers. That in turn will force many labs to shutter or scale back, making college towns a less attractive investment destination for private companies.
To the Times:

We are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis here in Delaware County and across our nation, which is impacting many aspects of our lives. One big change has been the Primary Election date moving to June 2. And now, we have polling place consolidations to protect the health of poll workers and voters.

For those of you who may not know, historically, many polling places in Delaware County have been housed in very small buildings which dont permit social distancing. Some of polling places were in settings that were unable to host because of the current pandemic. Additionally, many poll workers are not able to serve because of risk factors of the worker or family member. The consolidation to gymnasiums and larger buildings across the county will allow for social distancing and adequate staffing. Wait times may be longer, which is why we are encouraging voting safely and securely by mail. You can apply until May 26 at http://www.votespa.comMail in ballots must be returned to the courthouse by 8pm on June 2nd. For more information visit: https://www.delcopa.gov/electionsbureau.

Regardless of political affiliation or beliefs, every voter on June 2 should remember to practice social distancing, carefulness and above all, kindness and patience to the election day workers who spend over 12 hours every Election Day making sure that voters are taken care. Please be aware on June 2, during these unfamiliar times, election day workers will be managing some issues that no one has ever experienced.

Finally, it is during this difficult time, many of us have become more aware than ever of the role of our government and elected officials in working to help solve the challenges we face. The Delaware County Democratic Party is proud to endorse the following incumbent elected officials for 2020: Rep. Brian Kirkland, D-159 of Chester, Rep. Leanne Kruger, D-161 of Nether Providence, Rep. Dave Delloso, D-162 of Ridley Township, Rep. Mike Zabel, D-163 of Upper Darby, Rep. Jenn OMara, D-165 of Springfield, Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166 of Haverford; Rep. Maria Donatucci, D-185 of Philadelphia, and Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-191 of Philadelphia.

In our contested primaries, the Delco Dems have endorsed the following candidates: In state Senate District 9, Plumbers Union 690 leader John Kane, who understands the value of workers rights and protections, which is all too important in this time. For state Senate District 17, public health attorney Amanda Cappelletti will bring fresh ideas to the state Senate while the commonwealth deals with this health crisis. In state House 160, Cathy Spahr is a fearless advocate for families and will be a voice for those who are affected every day by the imbalance of power, but especially during a public health crisis. And in state House 168, Debra Ciamacca, a former teacher and military vet, who has firsthand knowledge and experience of what our teachers and schools need in order to thrive.

In closing, I hope voters across the county join me in sending a huge thank you to our county officials and Election Day workers for all that they are doing to make sure June 2 runs as smoothly as possible. Please wear a mask and practice social distancing to show your respect for those who are working to provide a safe voting experience for all. And I hope you join me in participating in our constitutional right to vote this year.

Colleen Guiney, Chair, Delaware County Democratic Committee, Swarthmore
Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, speaks in front of an exhibition board during the opening of anti-extradition bill protest special exhibition at the June 4th Museum for the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, in Hong Kong, China, on May 20, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Tiananmen June 4 Vigil Organizer Calls for Candles to Be Lit Across Hong Kong

HONG KONGHong Kong people, unable to hold a mass vigil due to CCP virus curbs, should light candles instead to commemorate pro-democracy protesters killed in and around Beijings Tiananmen Square 31 years ago, an organizer said on May 20.

This years June 4 anniversary is likely to be particularly poignant, following months of protests and unrest in the Chinese-ruled city.

In past years, tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong have joined sombre and peaceful candlelit vigils in a downtown park, the worlds biggest commemoration of the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, when Chinese troops opened fire on student-led protesters.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong authorities said the limit on group gatherings to no more than eight people would be extended at least until June 4.

Lee Cheuk-yan (2nd-L), chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, shouts slogans during the opening of anti-extradition bill protest special exhibition at the June 4th Museum for the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, in Hong Kong, China, on May 20, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organizes the annual vigils, told Reuters on Wednesday he believed the motive for the extension was political suppression.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the measures were not based on political considerations.

Police have yet to respond to an application for the vigil to be held in Victoria Park, Lee said, adding that he was not optimistic.

We have to have a plan B, Lee said. Instead of one point, we will do it everywhere, still with the powerful candlelight to condemn the massacre and mourn for those who died in 1989.

A visitor looks at an exhibition board during the opening of anti-extradition bill protest special exhibition at the June 4th Museum for the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, in Hong Kong, China, on May 20, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

China has never provided a full accounting of the violence, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. The topic is taboo in China.

Lee said the Tiananmen vigil represented a litmus test for one country, two systems, the agreement governing Britains handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, which allows it to retain democratic freedoms unavailable on the mainland controlled by the communist regime, such as holding the annual vigil.

Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters denounce what they see as Chinas gradual erosion of those freedoms by Chinese Communist Party rulers in Beijing, a charge the regime denies.

Participants hold candles surrounding the Goddess of Democracy statue (C) at Hong Kongs Victoria Park, Hong Kong, China, on June 4, 2017. (Billy H.C. Kwok/Getty Images)

Britains last governor, Chris Patten, urged Hong Kong not to give into growing pressure from Beijing and to continue marches and avoid violence.

Its very important that people go on standing up for what they believe in and voting for what they believe in, he said.

June 4th may be impossible because of coronavirus restrictions but there is always June 5th, 6th and 7th and July 1, Patten said, referring to traditionally large marches that mark the July anniversary of the handover.

He was talking via an online link to members of the Foreign Correspondents Club, comments likely to annoy Beijing, which has repeatedly blamed Western forces for stirring up trouble.

Hong Kong has recorded few new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases, with the total just above 1,000.

Authorities allowed bars, cinemas, and gyms to re-open this month and said religious gatherings can resume with certain safety rules. Bath houses, karaoke bars, and night clubs will stay closed for another week.

By Sarah Wu. Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.
The government initially advised returning travellers from Wuhan, northern Italy and Iran to self-isolate upon their return, but that requirement was dropped in late March without explanation or justification. All quiet: A deserted departure lounge at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5. Credit:Getty Images There is so far little scientific evidence that introducing a quarantine now will deliver the benefits that could have been achieved had a tough regime been implemented at the start of the pandemic, as occurred in Australia and other less-affected countries. The government is under growing pressure to produce the science that underpins the impending decision. "Now that domestic transmission is decreasing, it is the right time to prepare new measures at the border to protect us from imported cases and the risk of a second wave of infections from those arriving here," a Downing Street spokesperson said. Britain's official death toll reached 35,341 on Tuesday - one of the highest in the world - however the number of new infections, hospital admissions and deaths are falling.

An announcement about when the restrictions will come into force and who they will apply to is imminent - in the first phase, all arrivals will likely have to self-isolate for two weeks in a private residence, or in a hotel arranged by the government if needed. Police or immigration officers may conduct random checks. The aviation industry is working overtime to make sure the policy is workable at the arrival gates and includes a string of exemptions, including for 'low-risk' markets such as Australia. Going nowhere: Heathrow Airport in London, UK. Credit:Bloomberg Michael O'Leary, the chief executive of budget carrier Ryanair - Europe's biggest airline - this week blasted the quarantine scheme as "idiotic and unimplementable" and claimed face masks are the key to safe travel even though their effectiveness in lowering transmission is not universally accepted. Rafael Schvartzman, the International Air Transport Association's regional vice-president for Europe, warns a 14-day quarantine would have a "profound negative impact" on the economy.

"Other countries around the world are starting to consider how their restrictions could be phased out to help restart the global economy," Schvartzman says. "Imposing a 14-day quarantine now sends a signal that the UK is moving in the opposite direction. It is therefore vital the government sets out the details of how its policy will work, including how the restrictions will be phased out as soon as there is an appropriate set of measures to safely restart the aviation system." Schvartzman notes the UK is the world's third-largest air passenger market, supports more than 1.5 million jobs and generates about 100 billion ($187 billion) in GDP. "Without underestimating the challenge of tackling the virus, with the Bank of England warning that the UK is entering the deepest recession on record, we would urge the government to consider how aviation can help boost the economy," he says. Fewer flights will also mean a slower resumption of trade. About 40 per cent of the value of UK exports to non-European Union countries goes in the cargo hold of passenger planes at Heathrow every year.

Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye wants the UK to develop an 'exit plan' from the quarantine scheme, and to work with the United States and European Union on developing an international standard for declaring which countries qualify as low-risk. "I think the approach to take is the risk-based approach, as we do with security where, if two countries are very low-risk free of transmission, there should be a free flow of passengers between those countries." Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told MPs this week that "air bridges" may eventually be part of the policy. "It is the case we should indeed consider further improvements for example things like air bridges enabling people from other areas, other countries, who have themselves achieved lower levels of coronavirus infection to come to the country, so those are active discussions that go beyond what will initially be a blanket situation," he said.
Iranian Extradited From UK Arraigned In Minneapolis For Sanction-Busting

Radio Farda May 19, 2020

A U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota has charged Payment24, an Iranian online financial services company, its founder and Chief Executive Officer Seyed Sajjad Shahidian and Chief Operating Officer, Vahid Vali, with violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Shahidian, 33, who was arrested in and extradited from the UK, was arraigned on Monday, May 18, and pleaded not guilty to the charges, including identity theft, money laundering and wire fraud.

Meanwhile, Vahid Vali, 33, remains at large.

Sajjad Shaidian's arrest in Britain at the request of an American court was initially announced in autumn of 2018.

According to the allegations in the indictment, PAYMENT24 was an internet-based financial services company with approximately forty employees and offices in the Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan.

"On its website, PAYMENT24 sold a package to assist its Iranian clients with making online purchases from United States-based businesses, which included a PayPal account, a fraudulent "ID card and address receipt," a remote IP address from the United Arab Emirates, and a Visa gift card", the indictment said.

According to the indictment, the PAYMENT24 website also offered its clients advice on how to create accounts with a foreign identity and how to avoid restrictions on foreign websites, including advising clients to "never attempt to log into those sites with an Iranian IP address."

Furthermore, the company used charged a fee to circumvent "American sanctions," and claimed to have brought in millions of dollars of foreign currency into the Shi'ite clergy-dominated Iran.

PAYMENT24 is also accused of purchasing and exporting software, software licenses, and computer servers from the U.S.

"Shahidian and Vali are said to have made false representations and omissions to U.S. companies about the end-destination of these goods", the indictment maintained.

The ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to London, Hamid Baeidinejad, said last March that Sajjad Shahidian had accepted the charge of violating U.S. sanctions and would, therefore, be extradited to the United States.

Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iranian-extradited- from-uk-arraigned-in-minneapolis-for- sanction-busting/30621261.html

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

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






BOISE, Idaho, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albertsons Companies, Inc. (the "Company) today announced that funds (the Apollo Funds) managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (Apollo) have led the purchase of $1.75 billion of convertible preferred stock of Albertsons Companies (the "Preferred Stock"). Following a repurchase of a portion of the common stock owned by the Company's current shareholders, on an as-converted basis the Preferred Stock will represent approximately 17.5% of pro forma common stock outstanding. The transaction is expected to close by June 15, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

Albertsons Companies is pleased to work with Apollo and its co-investors. Apollo knows our industry and business model well, given its significant prior history of successful investments in the grocery sector. We believe the investment led by the Apollo Funds represents a vote of confidence in both our business and our long-term strategy, said Vivek Sankaran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Albertsons Companies. We are also proud to have the continued support of our owners, a consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., which also includes Kimco Realty Corporation, Klaff Realty LP, Lubert-Adler Partners LP, and Schottenstein Stores Corporation. We appreciate their tremendous support over the years in operations, technology and financing as we have grown our business and our platform, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as we focus on the safety and well-being of our associates, customers and communities."

Justin Korval, Partner in Apollos Hybrid Value Business, said, We are excited to work with the strong management team at Albertsons Companies, and believe the business has compelling growth opportunities ahead via eCommerce penetration, expansion of the Companys innovative Own Brands portfolio, and merchandising and marketing initiatives. This investment, led by our Hybrid Value team in partnership with our Credit platform, marks the third sizable transaction in the last month and exemplifies the breadth of Apollos capabilities and the creative capital solutions we can deliver to great companies.

PJT Partners and Credit Suisse along with BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup acted as financial advisors to the Company. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP acted as legal advisors to the Company. The Apollo Funds were advised by Barclays, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Gibson Dunn, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

About Albertsons Companies:

Albertsons Companies, Inc. is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. Albertsons Cos. operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaws, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs. Albertsons Companies is backed by an investment consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., which also includes Kimco Realty Corporation (NYSE: KIM), Klaff Realty LP, Lubert-Adler Partners LP, and Schottenstein Stores Corporation.

About Apollo:

Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $316 billion as of March 31, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

About Cerberus:

Founded in 1992, Cerberus is a global leader in alternative investing with over $42 billion in assets across complementary credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. We invest across the capital structure where our integrated investment platforms and proprietary operating capabilities create an edge to improve performance and drive long-term value. Our tenured teams have experience working collaboratively across asset classes, sectors, and geographies to seek strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors. For more information about our people and platforms, visit us at www.cerberus.com.

Important Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding the Companys expectations, perspectives and projected financial performance, are forward looking statements. The words expect, believe, estimate, intend, plan and similar expressions, when related to the Company and its subsidiaries, indicate forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on the Companys current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company cautions that actual results could differ materially from the expectations described in the forward-looking statements. The Company also cautions that undue reliance should not be placed on any of the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no responsibility to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect actual outcomes. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the Company's filings with Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2020.
An officer of the Coast Guard who arrived in Goa from Mumbai has tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, being one among four people who tested positive over the last 24-hours in Goa.

The officer who arrived with a team of others has been admitted to the Covid-19 Hospital in South Goa while his co-travellers have been quarantined, Health Secretary Nila Mohanan told a news conference.

Goas Covid-19 total tally touched 50 on Wednesday evening with the number expected to climb higher as the test results of 471 people who arrived on a chartered flight are awaited.

We have ramped up the capacity of the Covid-19 hospital from 100 to 170 and the number of beds will be increased to 220 over the next few days, Mohanan said.

Barring two people, all the others admitted in the hospital are asymptomatic, she added.

Among the others who tested Covid-19 positive is a passenger who arrived by train and two others who arrived by road.

Goa has put in place Covid-19 testing protocols for all people arriving in the state by rail, air or road, which on the flip side has led to long waiting tenures for people who disembark as swab samples are collected before they are taken to quarantine centres. If found negative, the travellers are discharged and sent on home quarantine.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20) The House of Representatives will begin tackling next week measures seeking to grant a fresh 25-year franchise to media giant ABS-CBN, lawmakers from the lower chamber said.

The House Committee on Legislative Franchises set its first discussion on the franchise proposals for Tuesday, May 26. The hearing will be held via video conferencing application Zoom.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, in a separate statement, said the panel will "most likely" hold two to three hearings a week. Some resource persons and witnesses may also be required to "physically appear" before Congress, provided that physical distancing and other health protocols will be observed.

The House leader said the committee will tackle no more than 10 issues in relation to ABS-CBNs franchise bid, including the networks supposed tax violations as well as ownership and foreign citizenship issues, among others. The media company has debunked these allegations.

Cayetano added that the House, following the series of intensive discussions, would be "ready to decide" on the proposals by August.

I foresee that the hearings would not go beyond July, and by August, after President Dutertes SONA (State of the Nation Address), we should be ready to decide, Cayetano said.

The House leadership on Tuesday decided not to push through with the measure seeking a five-month provisional permit for ABS-CBN, and instead directed the committee to go straight in tackling the fresh franchise proposals.

The move to drop the bill came after the House recalled its passage on second reading, after some lawmakers raised that the process may be in violation of the Constitution.

Calls for the resumption of hearings on ABS-CBN's franchise surfaced following the National Telecommunications Commission's controversial cease and desist order which led to ABS-CBN's shutdown on May 5.

Numerous bills granting a fresh license for the company to air on radio and free TV have been filed before the lower chamber since November 2016, but Cayetano earlier this year said lawmakers were too busy with more urgent measures.

READ: Cayetano on calls for ABS-CBN franchise discussions: 'Hearing does not mean automatic renewal'

Cayetano said he hopes the new development would be a "good compromise" for concerned parties.
They've been close to inseparable ever since announcing they were in a relationship during the middle of COVID-19 lockdowns.

And former Bachelor Peter Weber has now dished on his relationship with Kelley Flanagain, calling their union 'unorthodox' but a 'beautiful love story.'

The pilot revealed the juicy details via a Cameo video request for a 16-year-old girl's birthday on Tuesday, as obtained by a Bachelor fan page on Instagram.

Opening up: Peter Weber spoke about falling in love with Kelley on Wednesday. The former Bachelor called their story 'beautiful' but 'unorthodox' and said falling in love in the mansion wouldn't have worked, in a Cameo video

'To be completely honest, I think just the nature of the show, it definitely works and Ive said that since day one, I still believe it works,' he began.

And while he believed in the show, Peter said for him and Kelley, it wasn't the best place for them to start their relationship 'if it was going to actually work.'

'Thats okay, thats totally okay because each relationship is different.'

Surprise! Kelley also joined in for the Cameo video on Tuesday

Day by day: 'Obviously well see what the future holds for Kelley and I, but I think its a beautiful story, definitely a beautiful love story of whats yours is yours and it will always come back to you no matter what,' he said

Peter went on to recall one of the dinners he had in Hannah Brown's Bachelorette seasons where he shared with her a Spanish quote his grandmother always told him.

'"No matter what happens, let the waters run." Thats essentially what it says in Spanish. Whats meant for you, whats yours will always be yours, and nothing can ever change that.'

And the reality star ensured all he wasn't getting too blinded by love and still had his feet on the ground.

'Obviously well see what the future holds for Kelley and I, but I think its a beautiful story, definitely a beautiful love story of whats yours is yours and it will always come back to you no matter what,' he said.

'Thats kind of always been our relationship. Weve kept coming back in each others lives. So that's the way I look at it. Definitely an unorthodox way, but definitely worked for us in the end.'

Will you accept this rose? Peter even brought out a rose for the birthday girl

Fun times: Pete shared a video of himself kissing Kelley on the roof of his home before jumping in the pool on Tuesday

Kelley also made an appearance in Peter's Cameo video to wish Sage a happy sweet 16th birthday.

The attorney also gave some love advice to the birthday girl, telling her to 'just have fun' with dating.

The loved up duo confirmed they were dating earlier in the month with an Instagram post.

You caught me. Let the adventure begin,' Pete captioned.

He found love! The loved up duo confirmed they were dating earlier in the month with an Instagram post

It comes after rumors the pair have been dating for the past few weeks during isolation.

The duo were pictured at the end of March hanging out in Chicago and were criticized for not social distancing.

But Bachelor Nation immediately began speculating about a new romance between them since after it emerged they began quarantining together amid the pandemic.

Before Kelley, Pete had failed relationships with her fellow contestants Madison Prewitt and Hannah Ann Slus.
John Edwards (creator and producer): It all goes back to The Secret Life of Us. Channel Ten gave us a development deal [after series two] and we began developing it sort of as a Secret Life of Us: Next Generation-type thing, with thirtysomethings rather than twentysomethings. Claudia was going to be leaving Secret Life, so we decided to do it together.

So settle in with a glass of red  and a box of tissues  as we chat to the creators, writers and stars about this formative series, and ask the question: will any Aussie drama ever come close to being as good?

With the show now screening on 7Plus and 10Play, a whole new audience is about to discover Frankie, Julia, Charlie and Tom's messy world  and be devastated all over again by Lou's death.

Created by John Edwards, Karvan and Jacquelin Perske, Love My Way tells the story of a fractured group of thirtysomethings, all part of a messy but loving blended family held together by eight-year-old Lou, a character who would sensationally be killed off in that first series.

Love My Way, Foxtel's commissioned scripted drama, was a game changer, introducing Australian subscription TV viewers to the HBO Six Feet Under model. The network urged the show's creators to push the envelope; to take things further, and the result was something really quite extraordinary.

Sixteen years ago, a group of relatively unknown, mostly theatre actors  plus perennial favourite Claudia Karvan  began filming a show that would go on to set the benchmark for Australian TV drama.

Edwards : We put together a writers' room that was quite inexperienced in many ways  they only really had a few hours [of TV experience between them], with Jacquelin leading them.

Brendan Cowell (writer and role of Tom): I think I was 26, and Claudia and John saw me in a production of The Shape of Things for Sydney Theatre Company. I had a meeting about The Secret Life of Us, which didn't work out, and then John read a little bit of stuff of mine through my acting agent and gave me a call and went, "You know, we need a bit of a young male voice in this story room, do you want to come in?"

Karvan : I brought the idea of "the legacy of past relationships" to John and Jac [co-creator Jacquelin Perske] and we developed it together. John came up with the most extraordinary group of writers you could ever imagine  Tony McNamara is now a BAFTA winner/Oscar nominee, Brendan Cowell, Fiona Seres. We had this team of guns; just really extraordinary people, brave writers, smart writers, all at the beginning of their careers. I guess that was partly luck, and also John's extraordinary ability to put a team together and to recognise talent.

Edwards : There were a bunch of other influences, but one of them was a Good Weekend article, on "Happy Divorce". That was one of the early things that inspired us.

Claudia Karvan (creator, producer and role of Frankie): The Secret Life of Us was very much about your 20s, and I had just become a mother, so I was feeling a little bit disconnected from the material. I wanted to move on and do something that focused on your 30s. In my own life, at the time, I was dealing with the legacy of past relationships, so step-children, ex partners  I wanted to explore that.

Cowell : [Originally] it was probably a continuation of Secret Life of Us; it was bedrooms, hallways, sex, love, failure, hopes, dreams. And then Foxtel grabbed it. It was around the time that Six Feet Under had exploded onto the HBO platform and cable TV. It was the beginning of, "Oh, TV can be good!" Then [Foxtel's head of drama] Kim Vecera and Brian Walsh were kind of like, "What about if you went Six Feet Under with it, and we made a cable TV, HBO-style show?" And they said, "Why don't we drop a bomb on the show to make it more than just red wine and tears?"

My greatest fear at the time was that we were making a navel-gazing arty show for the middle class. But I kept saying, 'Oh well ... we're just putting our honest, bare lives on the page.'

Edwards : That was 2003. Claudia and I went to see Brian Walsh [Foxtel executive director of television], and said, "Brian, we've got this show which we think is really hot. We can have it ready for you at Christmas time when the free-to-airs aren't on air. We can have Claudia on the cover of every magazine and it will be Secret Life of Us: Next Gen".

Cowell : Ten commissioned six episodes, and then for reasons I don't really bother myself with, it didn't happen. So we were nowhere with these great six episodes.

Edwards : We were really confident and very pleased with the work we had done  and then Channel Ten passed. We all got a bit upset and called people rude names and things like that, and got banned for life from Channel Ten  again!

Cowell : I ended up kind of becoming a spokesman for Tom and Charlie [Dan Wyllie], the brothers; really pushing the masculinity and the sibling rivalry and the fact they loved and hated each other at once; trying to really get that to the forefront. Because I thought that the men in The Secret Life of Us were a little bit metrosexual; kind of like a fantasy of a male  they were doctors and the worst thing they ever did was masturbate! So I thought, "I want to have a couple of flawed males at the forefront of this show."

Cowell : I have got a terrible memory, but I remember being in the writer's room when we decided to do it. That's my most cemented memory  of all of us looking to each other, and it was like we were going to climb Everest or something. It was like, "Are we going to jump out of this plane?" It became about us making a show about grief.

Walsh : I remember vividly the debates we had about the storylines, and particularly the character of Lou, and how we would deal with that tragedy. It was pretty ground-breaking for us to do what we did with that character. But we really wanted to rattle the cage. We wanted people to stand up and take note of the sort of drama that Foxtel was capable of commissioning.

Edwards : Jacquelin Perske came into the story room one day and said, "What if the whole reason for this group of people, this extended family all broken up and twisted around, what if the whole reason for them being together was gone? What if we killed Lou?" And we all went, "Oh Jesus, no. F---."

Karvan : One of the beauties of Love My Way is that we developed it for so long with Channel Ten, so we had a whole lot of percolating time before Foxtel very bravely picked us up. We were Foxtel's big drama commission. So in terms of the DNA of the show, that was a massive game-changer, because we didn't have to make a show and include their stable of actors, for instance. They didn't have a drama "brand" that we needed to make a nod to. To be honest, my greatest fear at the time was that we were making a navel-gazing arty show for the middle class. But I kept saying, "Oh well, that's the instinct  we're just putting our honest, bare lives on the page, and we are all bringing our secrets into the room and using them for material." We all really loved each other and got along very well. It was a very intimate group of writers; we all respected each other. Those sorts of dynamics don't come along every day.

"To be honest, my greatest fear, at the time, was that we were making a naval-gazing arty show for the middle class", says Claudia Karvan.

Brian Walsh (Foxtel, Executive Director of Television): If I am being frank, at that stage, producers were coming to Foxtel with drama pitches that had been rejected by commercial free-to-air networks  we were the last cab on the rank. We felt we were not getting introduced to ideas that were unique, fresh, provocative, and that pushed the envelope. We wanted them to come back to us with something ... that took its inspiration from the storytelling that had been developed by the likes of HBO, and mould something for Australian audiences that they hadn't seen before on television.

Karvan : I don't think any commissioner in Australia would let us do something like that, but [Kim] just didn't bat an eyelid and said, "Yep, let's run with it." So we were given this incredible commission from Kim, where she kept saying, "Push the envelope, push the envelope, go further, go further." No commissioners say that to you! It's very expensive to make television, so much of it is playing it safe and second-guessing your audience  we didn't have to.

Edwards : I felt very uneasy about it. I had killed a couple of [characters] before, and I always thought it was a phony way of getting drama; I've felt it since  I felt bad about killing Patrick in Offspring.

Cowell : The fact that it shook the foundations of the writers to such a degree kind of cemented that we had to do it. You had this group of adults, all deeply immature and flawed, with all these tangled relationships, and they were all being adults because there was a kid there. The only reason they were being jovial and not kind of exploding was because they cared about Lou. And then we thought, "What happens if we take her out? What is this family dynamic?" Everyone was traumatised when writing it, calling their preschools to make sure their kid was OK. It was really brutal. But suddenly we were really making something quite special and layered, and we knew we had the characters and set-up to go there  and we went there.

Karvan : One of our catch-phrases in the room when we'd be pitching ideas, or plotting a little scenario or run of events, was, "Nope, that's too TV."

Everyone was traumatised when writing it, calling their preschools to make sure their kid was OK. It was really brutal.

Dan Wyllie (the role of Charlie) : Lou's death was the linchpin of the series. It was, "What do you think would be the worst thing that could happen?"

Walsh: It absolutely reset people's perceptions of Foxtel drama and signalled a dramatic shift in the commissioning process at Foxtel. We were no longer the last cab on the rank ...

Edwards: So we went ahead and did it and planned around it. The central question of the show when we started was, "Can love survive divorce?" Then it became, "Can love survive grief and tragedy?" It grew and morphed.

Claudia Karvan with Alex Cook at the launch of Love My Way. Credit:Fairfax

Alex Cook (the role of Lou): To be honest, I think I didn't really have to [think too much about the tragedy when filming.] I think it was mainly exciting for me  I was eight years old! I don't think I could really have grasped it. But I think my parents, especially, had to really brace themselves. They got the whole series and were asked, "Are you going to be OK with this?" And they were like, "We will be fine." But I was blissfully ignorant of who I was working with, and what was going to happen [to my character]. And I just had a whole bunch of fun! After it aired, though, my mum actually took me to Centennial Park [where the character of Lou suffers a massive heart attack and dies] and made me run around to erase the memories! She was like, "OK, we're good. You're alive and you're fine."

A cast of unknowns

Asher Keddie (the role of Julia): I wasn't aware of the show in development at that stage in my life  I was in a very different place to Claudia. I was asked to audition and given a couple of scenes to do, and they were fantastic scenes. One was the quite well-remembered Ikea scene with Charlie, where I'm screaming about needing storage! At that point, I had been working really heavily in the theatre. It was the first lead role that I'd been asked to audition for, as opposed to guest roles. I remember feeling excited that it was John and Claudia because of Secret Life. I had done a guest role on [that] and had had such a wonderful time.

Edwards: Asher had done a fantastic bit in Secret Life. Nobody knew who she was then, but she tested and she was streets ahead.

The couples: Charlie and Julia (played by Dan Wyllie and Asher Keddie) and Frankie and Lewis (Claudia Karvan and Ben Mendelsohn).

Cowell: I'd been writing a lot for Tom and at the end John said, "You're going to have to end up bloody auditioning for the role! I can't just give it to you." He said, "We're not going to tell them you're one of the writers, you're going to have to win the part yourself." And somehow I did.

Edwards: Brendan tested for that role and the network were really happy with him straight away. So we had Brendan, Claudia and a lot of people forget this but we had Sam Worthington too in that first series. We went to Sam for the role (Worthington played Frankie's love interest, Harold, in season one) because we needed a bit of a name. And Dan Wyllie  we had always wanted him. In fact, we had wanted him for Secret Life but he was unavailable as he was doing theatre.

Karvan: I knew I wanted Love My Way to be Sydney-based. The other massive parameter was that I didn't like working in a studio  Secret Life of Us was a studio. I said to John, "We have to do everything on location. We need that little bit of sunshine that comes randomly through a window," or "We need wind to blow a tree branch out the window." Just that sort of veracity that being on location gives; it gives it a different quality and inspires spontaneity and mistakes. And great things come from mistakes.

I'm not really sure I understood the impact that developing a character like Julia would have. It really was a precursor for what was to come for me. Asher Keddie

Edwards: The design was Colin Gibson, who subsequently won an Oscar for Mad Max: Fury Road. The house  that house was a nightmare to shoot in, because it was so tiny. But we had seen that house, and it was Claud's idea to use it. I knew about it  I used to play football on the ground underneath it. Got two tries under those goalposts there!

Behind the scenes: Claudia Karvan on set. Credit:Foxtel

Cowell: We got to make the show we wanted to make. It's as simple as that. Then cast the best actors in the country, not just pluck them from the Logies foyer. It was alchemy. Who would have known Asher Keddie would have gone on and had that career? She turned up and goes, "Why am I in this TV show? I'm doing theatre in church halls in Melbourne!" Even the older actors who were in the series were like, "Why have they chosen us?" But Claudia and John chose their favourites. The scripts started coming in, and they were all brilliant.

Karvan: Often in serial television you have the guestie who comes in, but we avoided that like the plague. If you compromise on the quality of that performance, you compromise the whole episode. One moment of dodgy acting and you drop the ball.

The response

Keddie: With retrospect, I'm not really sure I understood the impact that developing a character like Julia would have. I just feel so grateful that at that time in my early career I was offered the opportunity to be challenged by putting a character like her on the screen. It really was a precursor for what was to come for me, and what I would be attracted to in the future.

Asher Keddie and Dan Wyllie.

Wyllie: Everyone was saying that Charlie was a bit of a jerk, and he was looking out for himself and being a bit selfish, but I completely got the guy. He just wanted to have a surf! Which gets harder and harder to do! We were allowed to tinker, and make things our own with the directors, and on set. It was a different level of engagement. Asher had a theatre background, so we were pretty sympatico from the get-go.

I really do believe it's one of the great offerings of Australian TV history. It's funny how it kind of remains under the radar in a lot of ways. Brendan Cowell

Keddie: I hadn't met Dan or worked with him, but it was an easy and robust connection. So what you see is really the dynamic that was there between us, and between Julia and Charlie together. We loved that they grated on each other, but that they adored each other as well. The four of us  Dan, Claudia, myself and Brendan  really didn't know how it was going to be received. Clearly now we know it was quite a ground-breaking TV drama. We didn't know whether the rawness of it and the boldness of it was going to be something people could absorb, or want to absorb. It turns out they did, and that they still are.

Cook: I watched it recently [as an adult] and I cried! ... It's just this very honest observation of families and how they interact. It's not aspirational in a way that lots of other TV is, but you don't hate the characters either. They are very human.

Cowell: I basically got half of Hollywood to see [Love My Way] from me sending 10 DVDs over [to the States]! My agent was basically dealing Love My Way DVDs! And that's how people saw it, family and friends  people got through winters with those DVDs in London. Because it still doesn't have the life we all thought it should. And there's something great about that because it's become this cult hit. But you know, I really do believe it's one of the great offerings of Australian TV history. It's funny how it kind of remains under the radar in a lot of ways.

Settling on a name

Karvan: The opening credits  I'll never forget that meeting. It was a brainstorming session and we came very quickly to the idea that blood was connecting them all; that we would use water to symbolise that blood connection. It was actually [co-writer] Lou Fox, I am pretty certain, who came up with the [Psychedelic Furs'] Love My Way tune as a suggestion.

Claudia Karvan on location filming Love My Way. Credit:Fiona-Lee Quimby

Cowell: At that point in my life I was young, so I was like, "Oh, who's this old person's band?" We had a lot of different titles, such as "This is It", or maybe "Is This It?" that was one. Then we were worried people would say, "This is Shit"

Karvan: We always wanted to call the show "Is This It?" This was the name of the Strokes' album at the time  that was given a big thumbs down.

Walsh: I felt a title like, Is This It?" would be viewed cynically by the press. I imagined some of the barbs we might expect to get: "Really, Foxtel? Is this it?" I really wanted a show that had "Love" in the title. I felt it was more attractive, and more embracing, and had more heart than a title like "Is This It?" which seemed to be a negative. I wanted to turn it into something that was a positive, because through the storyline of Love My Way, there is hope; there is the promise that life can get better. That was one of the themes I wanted to explore.

Karvan: Then it all came together  it was magic. It was like there was someone above it all; like there was a plan. It was amazing.

Ben [Mendelsohn] would call me all the time from Sunset Boulevard, and say, Hey Claud, I wouldnt be here if you hadn't given me a second chance. Claudia Karvan

Enter Ben Mendelsohn

Edwards: We lost the house [it was sold for redevelopment] after season two. [Season three, the final season] was a bit different, but it took its own form. And of course we had Ben Mendelsohn. We were reinventing, and we went for Ben. And Ben, frankly, at the time, needed the gig. And he was terrific.

Karvan: Oh look, I still get calls [from him]. Ben would call me all the time from Sunset Boulevard, and say, "Hey Claud, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't given me a second chance." He always goes, "Your little show, it saved my life, your little show." Because he'd hit a certain point ... but I had worked with him since I was 16. And he is just a master. And we wrote that role for him. We couldn't believe it when he took it. I think we were criticised a bit [for the ending] because it was a whole lot of heterosexual characters sitting around a garden, and it was a bit conventional for some people's tastes. It's funny, you only remember the criticisms 

Claudia Karvan and Ben Mendelsohn in Love My Way.

Keddie: I personally loved it [the series ends with the extended family sitting together. Ben's character, Lewis, tells Frankie of a dream he's had of Lou]. The "Lou filter" was in full force  I think it was a great choice. The impact of her death was so huge for all of them, and it redirected their lives. I thought it was very poignant, and not necessarily tied up with a bow. I thought it still had a sadness to it and a loss to it, but at the same time, hope. And that's all we can hope for in situations like that  to feel some hope about continuing to live, which was so relevant to Claudia's character, Frankie.

Love My Way: The Sequel?

Karvan: Would I reprise the role of Frankie? Yeah. Of course. I am open to anything; I am very open-minded. I don't see why not.

Keddie: When things come to an end in drama, I'm usually ready to walk away and keep walking. But Love My Way, it would be incredibly difficult to resist jumping back in all these years later. I think it would be a very interesting thing to do. We have all moved on with different things. It was such a long time ago but, because the drama was so beautifully written and crafted, it would be irresistible probably.

Wyllie: Claudia is still wearing the same cardigans! And the same boots! Luckily I don't have the same hair! I guess it would have to be set in an old person's home; about everyone having hip operations! But look, [doing Love My Way] was a unique process that was thoroughly engaging and enjoyable and satisfying and unique. I would go back and do that again in a heartbeat.

Walsh: Would I ever go back there again? Yeah, absolutely. I think that Love My Way still resonates with so many people. Those actors, of course, have all moved on in their careers to global success. I think "life stages" is really interesting territory for us. If the idea was right, and it was an authentic approach, we would absolutely want to do it. But it has to be authentic. We wouldn't do a remake, we wouldn't do a reboot. It would have to be an evolution of the story.

Brian Walsh at the season launch of Love My Way in 2006. Credit:Janie Barrett

Cowell: It was a moment in time, Love My Way. Will there be something that comes close? Well, I am still writing. Tony [McNamara] is still writing. Fiona [Seres] is still writing and John is still making television  I guess we all must think that we can make something as special.

Edwards: Secret Life really moved the needle in a lot of ways. And Love My Way, [Lou's death] is the influential thing that everyone seems to remember. It was devastating. Then we did Tangle, which [was about] fortysomethings. It wasn't an intentional trilogy  we just went from one to the next.

Keddie: I am always hoping for drama that is as engaging and as challenging as Love My Way was to make and to watch. I feel like I have been lucky enough that those kinds of projects have come my way and always have had a left-of-centre feel, and a point of difference.

Walsh: We kept [the show] within the Foxtel walled garden for a considerable number of years, and we eventually released it two years ago. I felt that we had, frankly, got a lot of use out of the property. And secondly, by licensing to the free-to-air universe, there was a chance that more eyeballs could see the show. So in a way, if John and Claudia were to come back with a follow-up to Love My Way, having it exposed on a free platform is a great marketing plus for us.

Karvan: The thing is, the gatekeepers are changing. Because of the access to YouTube, things are becoming more do it yourself; fresh, less sort of "story by committee", or invested stakeholders, that sort of thing. So I have great confidence [we'll have another show as good as Love My Way] because the landscape has been levelled and it's a lot more democratic. I think it's such an exciting time for storytelling.

Love My Way is now streaming on 7Plus and 10Play.
CDC Director Robert R. Redfield speaks during the daily briefing on the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on April 22, 2020, in Washington, DC.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has quietly released detailed guidance for reopening schools, mass transit and nonessential businesses that had been shut down in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the United States.

The 60-page document, dated only as May and posted on the website without a formal announcement, comes after some states announced they would lift stay-at-home orders and begin reopening parts of their economies. The CDC has remained largely quiet on the pandemic. Agency officials haven't held a coronavirus-related briefing in more than two months.

The plan outlines a "three-phased approach" for reducing social distancing and proposes the use of six "gating" indicators to assess when to move through another phase. The gating indicators include decreases in newly reported Covid-19 cases and emergency room visits as well as a "robust" testing program.

"While some communities will progress sequentially through the reopening phases, there is the possibility of recrudescence in some areas," the CDC wrote in its guidance. "Given the potential for a rebound in the number of cases or level of community transmission, a low threshold for reinstating more stringent mitigation standards will be essential."

The CDC said the decision to reinstate strict social distancing measures "will undoubtedly be very difficult and will require careful thought." The agency said some amount of community mitigation will be necessary until a vaccine or effective treatment for Covid-19 is widely available.

The guidance recommended that schools currently closed should remain so in the first phase. Child-care programs should also remain closed in areas with a high number of cases unless the programs serve children of essential workers such as health-care workers. Once state and local governments enter the next phase, schools and child-care programs can open with "enhanced" social distancing measures.
According to Zelensky, Germany and France have agreed a meeting in the Normandy format should be held immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready for any format of talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for the return of Ukrainian territories and the release of political prisoners.

"As for the Russian president, we must agree with him... The Minsk format is a priority, but no one cancels other formats. I am ready for any format that can bring us closer to the end of war and the return of our territories and people. To any format. I do not care. We need results," he said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoU.S. on Zelensky's first anniversary in office: "We commend the progress achieved"

Zelensky reiterated three prisoner swaps had already taken place, as a result of which 135 people were freed from the captivity of the so-called "republics" and from Russia.

"And now we are talking with the Russian Federation about a possible swap after COVID-19 [pandemic]. I want us, despite COVID-19, to talk about this, about the return of our political prisoners who are in Russia or in Crimean prisons. There is a result, it is measured in human lives," he said.

The president said he had not held phone conversations with Putin during the pandemic.

"Now, everyone is engaged in their own country over the coronavirus. We do not let the issue of the return of our people, our territories and illegally annexed Crimea disappear off the radar screen. We don't," Zelensky said.

According to him, Germany and France have agreed a meeting in the Normandy format should be held immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
AMBLER  More than 200 people tuned in to watch the somewhat impromptu virtual Wissahickon School District board meeting May 14 where leaders discussed possible options and planned activities for the upcoming high school graduation.

I will say that the circumstances that brought about this meeting Im sure many people are aware that there was some hostility, some infighting in a way, said Ali Meltzer, a Wissahickon High School senior and senior class school board represntative who participated in Thursday nights Zoom conference.

The current plan stands to have a prerecorded virtual ceremony at 6 p.m. on June 4, according to Principal Lynne Blair. She added the video will feature speeches from adult and student speakers as well as a photo of each graduating member of the 2020 senior class.

However, there appears to be a difference of opinions on how to hold the event celebrating the soon-to-be-graduates.

I wouldnt be able to live with myself if a student or a family member experienced sickness or loss because of a decision that we made, and in my role as principal in the past two months Ive unfortunately spoken with countless WHS students whove been sick with the virus or have lost family members as a result of the virus, Blair said.

While all parties agreed that safety was the top priority, Wissahickon School District Vice President Tracie Walsh said she thought the district could do more.

My firm belief is that we can have a communal event and continue social distancing and I just want the administration to know were not attacking the plan thats in place right now, but our thoughts are to augment onto that plan, Walsh said.

Matt Heppe, a social studies teacher at Wissahickon High School disagreed. Heppe did not actually participate in Thursday nights meeting, but he did submit a public comment that was read by School Board President Joseph Antonio.

I understand that some are concerned that the seniors will not get to experience a full blown graduation, however we are in the midst of a catastrophic global event that is only made worse by social gatherings, Heppe said in a statement.

Some school board members and meeting participants also voiced concerns about disseminating and relaying information about graduation. Others expressed reservations about Wissahickon School Districts plans and looked to neighboring school districts proposals.

I think that one of the overriding conclusions from tonight is that the exchange of information and ideas is crucial to the success of our school district, said School Board member Marshall Bleefield.

Other members, like Zeffy Karagiannakis, agreed and suggested sending out additional emails to keep people in the loop leading up to the big day.

To that, Blair acknowledged the aforementioned concerns.

I hear your feedback, Blair said. I apologize if my efforts to keep things a surprise were mistakenly perceived to be a lack of caring or a lack of hard work or a lack of plans.

Blair outlined various happenings for seniors before, during and after the graduation process. Officials clarified that based on the evolving global health crisis, the occasions are subject to change. The calendar of events is complete with a host of virtual activities:

Spirit week from May 18 to May 22 where students can direct message photos to the high schools FANS instagram page for a different theme each day.

A staff video message will air on May 26.

A futures celebration video that features students college and career plans will take place on May 27.

A virtual scholarship night will take place on May 28.

A virtual senior awards night is scheduled for June 1.

Additionally, Wissahickon High School seniors will have the opportunity to pick up their caps, gowns and yard signs on May 28, according to Blair.

Prior to the graduation ceremony, Blair said they are also planning to hold a car parade. After the students have graduated, the school district is planning to hold some in-person events later in the summer: a carnival in the stadium on Aug. 2 and the prom on Aug. 3.

For more information, visit the Wissahickon School District Facebook page.

As a graduating senior, it feels really good to know that all of that is coming, and is going to happen, and it feels very celebratory, said Michael Licata, a Wissahickon High School senior and senior class school board representative.

During the school board meetings public comment portion, President Joseph Antonio read several submitted statements from community members expressing their opinions on the matter at hand.

After 13 years, walking around that stage is what they wait for. Please consider allowing the class of 2020 to walk around the stage, receive their diploma, still social distance, and try to make it happen over a few days, an area resident said. Wissahickon, we can do better.

While some area residents opted for a more traditional occasion, others implored people to be cautious during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A woman who identified herself as an essential worker said she knows the risks first hand.

Our seniors and their families are endring unprecedented emotional and sentimental loss. That is not to be denied, she said in a statement. I only ask that we continue to be mindful of our entire communitys wellbeing as we move forward in the immediate and long term future.

Heppe also acknowledged the current situation.

Im very concerned that a local minority of parents are pushing for more public or social aspects to this years graduation ceremonies. Our first and foremost concern must be the safety and well being of the students and residents, Heppe said. I understand that some are concerned that the seniors will not get to experience a full blown graduation, however we are in the midst of a catastrophic global event that is only made worse by social gatherings.

Despite differing stances on this particular issue, Meltzer emphasized the need to present a united front for the overall good of the graduates.

I think that its important to voice that as graduating seniors, we certainly want to be celebrated, and we want to remember this milestone fondly, but I also think we want to be supported  by the community at large, and I think its important for anybody planning these celebrations to come together for the seniors rather than arguing over individual interests, and make it about celebrating us in whatever way is safe rather than what they think would be best or what their children think would be best, Meltzer said.

Officials said they would continue discussions to determine a viable solution to safely honor the students who have accomplished a substantial goal in their educational careers. Board member David Frank acknowledged the situation facing this administration during this difficult time.

This class obviously already has something that no graduating class will ever have if we do this right, Frank said. This will be the class that beat the pandemic. If we do it wrong this will be the class that sustained the pandemic.
And so it goes as our heroes eat and joke, drive to the city of Assos, hop a boat to Lesbos and so on, as Monday gives way to Tuesday. To liven things up visually, Winterbottom throws in pretty-as-a-postcard shots, some captured with drones, natch, and adds some unconvincing narrative shadows, folding in a family illness for one of the men and a glance at the Syrian refugee crisis. Its pleasantly innocuous at first riding shotgun with these two but I found myself progressively irritated by their lack of curiosity about the places they visit. The Trip movies have always been self-aware about their own weightlessness, wringing laughs by needling the men and their vanity. Thats as smart as it is convenient; this time, though, it also feels like a cop-out.

Some of my impatience has to do with the pandemic and my wistfulness about the places Ive been and those I yearn to visit. And this movie, the final one in the series, just isnt as funny as the others. The larger problem, though, is that by trying to give The Trip to Greece some heft, Winterbottom only draws attention to the series lack of interest in history, other people, the politics of global tourism and, well, the world. Coogan and Brydon have racked up a lot of miles but to watch them indifferently eat yet another generic haute cuisine meal in yet another interchangeable restaurant is to realize they never really left home, which might be the point but is also a bummer.

The Trip to Greece

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. Rent or buy on Amazon, iTunes and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.
Emory University has been ranked among the top universities in the nation in the first annual QS World University Rankings: USA, designed to assess how well universities are responding to the social, intellectual and economic challenges of our time.

Emory was 27th in the nation and 1st in Georgia in the new rankings of American universities by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, a global higher education research company and publisher of the QS World University Rankings.

Universities in the new survey were ranked for their research performance and career outcomes as well as a range of indicators assessing each institutions social impact and attempts to foster equitability. These indicators are in four broad areas: employability; diversity and internationalization; learning experience; and research.

The QS rankings methodology on diversity & internationalization includes the percentage of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants, gender diversity, and the percentage of international students, as well as alumni outcomes, graduation rates of Pell Grant recipients, and Fulbright students studying abroad.

The rankings methodology also encompasses employability outcomes through a combination of QS proprietary data, including alumni outcomes and the QS Employer Reputation survey.

A total of 300 institutions are included in the inaugural QS World University Rankings: USA, which were released today. The QS World University Rankings, inaugurated in 2004, is a major source of comparative data about global higher education.
After the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) meet that took place on Tuesday via video conferencing, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on May 22. The executive board which is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms, will hold a meeting on May 22.

India was among 10 nations that were elected by the 73rd World Health Assembly to the Executive Board of the WHO for a period of three years. The other new members include Botswana, Colombia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Oman, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

READ | WHO Member Countries Agree To Independent Probe Of UN Agency's COVID-19 Response

READ | Coronavirus Live Updates: Cases Cross 1 Lakh As Many States Ease Lockdown Restrictions

One of the primary functions of the Board is to implement the decisions and policies of the WHA and facilitate its work. The chairman of the board is selected on a rotational basis for one year among regional groups, whereas the WHA is the decision making body of the WHO.

While expressing condolences on the lives lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic and expressing gratitude to the COVID warriors who are at the forefront of the battle, the Union Minister also spoke about India's response to the deadly virus by elaborating on how the Indian government on a war footing implemented proactive measures against the virus.

"We, in India, undertook the COVID-19 challenge with the highest level of political commitment. Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, personally monitored the situation and ensured a pre-emptive, pro-active and graded response, leaving no stones unturned to contain the deadly virus from spreading," Harsh Vardhan had said.

The minister while stressing on the fact that entire humanity must come together in the battle against the virus, also spoke about how India acted as a leader in providing essential medicines to needy nations in times of crisis.

"On our part, India is playing a key role in fostering bilateral and regional partnerships. Under our Prime Minister's able leadership, India has supplied essential medicines to 123 nations as an expression of solidarity," he had said.

"I stand here to honour the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the scientists, the journalists, the delivery boys, security staff, sanitation staff and the police personnel - the forgotten roles who are today playing 'superhumans'. They are our real heroes," he added.

READ | India Among 10 Nations Elected By World Health Assembly To WHO Executive Board; Watch

READ | China Caves; Agrees To International Probe Into COVID Origins Amid 120+ Nations' Pressure

The WHA on Monday, adopted a resolution on investigating the origins of the virus after China finally acquiesced to an international inquiry on the deadly Coronavirus pandemic that has taken the world hostage. The inquiry also includes conducting an investigation on the role and response of WHO to the pandemic.

"I thank Member States for adopting the resolution, which calls for an independent and comprehensive evaluation of the international response - including, but not limited to, WHO's performance. As I said yesterday, I will initiate such an evaluation at the earliest appropriate moment," said Tedros.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 3,22,000 deaths while the number of infected cases is speedily moving towards 5 million worldwide. At present, the total number of infected cases across the world stands at 4,892,550, while the number goes on increasing by the hour.

(With ANI inputs)
-- Morgan Stanley executive brings extensive life sciences sector strategic and financial expertise to pioneering proteomics company --



REDWOOD CITY, Calif., May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seer, Inc., a life sciences company focused on commercializing proprietary solutions to enable efficient, unbiased and deep surveying of the proteome across the life sciences sector, announced today the appointment of David R. Horn as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Horn joins Seer following a distinguished career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley where he focused exclusively on the healthcare sector.

We are thrilled to welcome David to our executive team, said Omid Farokhzad, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Seer. His deep industry knowledge and expertise will be invaluable to our organization, particularly during this pivotal stage in our growth and advancement toward commercialization. David has a proven track record of delivering exceptional results in our space and extensive experience with the capital markets and strategic transactions. He is a critical addition to our leadership team and will play an instrumental role in advancing our mission to deliver breakthrough proteomics solutions.

Prior to joining Seer, Mr. Horn worked at Morgan Stanley for over 20 years, where he served as a Managing Director in the firms Global Healthcare Group within the Investment Banking Department. Mr. Horn was responsible for Morgan Stanleys global Life Science Tools and Diagnostics practice and oversaw the Western Region Healthcare practice. In addition, Mr. Horn previously spent time working in the medical device and life science sectors where he served as Vice President of Business Development at RITA Medical Systems and, prior to that, in the same role at Chemdex Corporation. Mr. Horn holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

On his appointment, Mr. Horn commented, I am honored and excited to join the Seer team. Seer has the potential to be a disruptive force in the life sciences sector with its transformational technology platform for generating proteomic data. I look forward to contributing to our teams strategic and financing initiatives to accelerate development and commercialization of products that deliver unbiased proteomic data at an unprecedented scale and speed. Seers technology platform has the potential to deliver biological breakthroughs that could have a transformative impact on disease and health.

Story continues

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 Media Inquiries:

Liz Melone, Scient Public Relations

Liz@scientpr.com

617-256-6622

For Investor Inquiries:

Lynn Lewis, Gilmartin Group

Lynn@gilmartinir.com

415-937-5402

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bfd29888-781b-489c-91eb-cf0fdd2e813b
The Rivers State Government on Tuesday said it has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause breakdow...





The Rivers State Government on Tuesday said it has uncovered plans by some citizens of the State who reside in Abuja to cause breakdown of law and order in a bid to declare State of Emergency in the state.





A statement signed by Paulinus Nsirim, Commissioner for Information and Communications alleged that these persons whose attempts to declare State of Emergency in the State since 2015 have never succeeded because of Gods intervention.





The statement said the same persons did everything within their powers to ensure that the 2019 Governorship election results were not announced but also failed.





According the State government, As the build up for the 2023 elections and jostle for Presidential and Vice-Presidential tickets is gathering momentum, they want to use COVID-19 to create a crisis as if the State is at war with the Federal Government.

They have decided to create unnecessary tension as if indigenes of Ahoada, Eleme and Port Harcourt are fighting with Northerners not to carry out their legitimate businesses.





People forget history quickly. Since 2015, there have been farmers/herdsmen clashes in Nasarrawa, Plateau, Taraba, Ebonyi, Cross River, Kaduna, Yobe and Bornu States.





The Statement further cited the fact that throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, States like Enugu, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Kaduna States have been intercepting lorries carrying human beings instead of foodstuffs.





This is the same thing that the Rivers State Government is doing to protect the State from COVID-19, the statement said.





Nsirim said that bandits have been killing innocent people in Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna States and that indigenes of these States, no matter their political differences were working together to protect their States.





But here in Rivers State, instead of supporting our efforts, these Abuja politicians are busy looking for a State of Emergency because they want to acquire power.





We are alarmed at these hideous plots against our State. Rivers State has never fought a war with strangers or neighbours. Our fight against COVID-19 is to protect the lives of everyone living and doing business in the State.





The Statement further said the government is aware that some shameless politicians are playing politics with COVID-19.





No wonder one of the respected chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had to expose their plan to use COVID-19 to launch into the politics of the State.





After their clandestine meetings they have voted huge sums of money to entice and recruit gullible persons to carry out their plan.





The Rivers State government has therefore placed all patriotic Rivers State indigenes on alert to resist the devilish plans of those it called unpatriotic elements who connive with enemies of the State to cause confusion.





As a State, we have always defeated these sadists and with God on our side, we shall overcome them, the statement said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the government has decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th and 12th. He further said that a few conditions, like social distancing, face mask etc have been imposed, for safety of all.

Taking to the microblogging site twitter, Shah wrote, Taking into consideration the academic interest of large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th & 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask etc, for their safety.

Read more: CBSE students to take pending board exams in their own schools, no external centres; results by July- end

Taking into consideration the academic interest of large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th & 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask etc, for their safety. pic.twitter.com/P4ULsmbPVv  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 20, 2020

The Home minister also attached a letter by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to Chief Secretaries of all states informing about the governments decision to allow holding of the board exams for students of Class 10 and Class 12 under certain conditions.

According to the guidelines issued, no examination centre will be allowed in containment zone. Students, teachers and staff will have to wear face masks. Further, there shall be provision of thermal screening and sanitiser at the centres and social distancing has to be followed in all centres, special buses may be arranged by the states and union territories for transportation of students to the exam centres.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- When a small business needed help proving that its invention, a tabletop laser system, could characterize metals faster and more easily than current equipment, they turned to Sandia National Laboratories' expertise in metals characterization.

Sandia's testing verified that Albuquerque-based Advanced Optical Technologies' patented Crystallographic Polarization-Classification Imaging, or CPCI, process reduces time spent on characterization from hours to minutes. The new imaging process has applications in the aerospace, automotive, energy and medical industries and for 3D printing.

Sandia and Advanced Optical Technologies were matched through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program, which offers expertise to help solve technical challenges faced by small companies in New Mexico. This includes projects that require testing, design consultation or access to special equipment or facilities that are not available to small businesses.

Due, in part, to the results of Sandia's study, the company received funding to build the system for the U.S. Air Force, where it primarily will be dedicated to titanium crystallography. CPCI can also characterize other metals, including beryllium, magnesium, cobalt, zinc, tin and zirconium.

The company also received New Mexico Economic Development and Office of Economic Adjustment grants with support from the New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership. In addition, the partnership was recognized at a 2019 New Mexico Small Business Association Innovation Celebration.

Malini Hoover, the company's CEO, said she is interested in marketing CPCI to companies, national labs and universities that characterize metal crystallography. Titanium is lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and can withstand extremely high temperatures -- qualities that make the metal a popular choice for the aerospace industry.

Technology could streamline quality control

As the need for titanium increases with the high demand for newer, lighter military and commercial planes, manufacturers must continue to verify the metal for stress and maintain parts, Hoover said, adding that the company's technology could streamline the quality control process.

Sandia materials scientist Joseph Michael was paired with the company for the project and conducted a test using a scanning-electron microscope, current technology that can be difficult for small businesses to access because the microscopes are large, expensive and require experts to run. Metals characterization is one of Sandia's strengths -- the labs have been doing this for many years, Michael said.

"We use scanning-electron microscopes in very sophisticated ways here, and I think that's what was attractive to Advanced Optical Technologies," he said.

By helping with the project, Michael said he was able to think about metal characterization in new and exciting ways.

"It's been energizing to me to see other techniques that can do some of the things that we do in the lab in a faster, higher-throughput way," he said. "It's been more than neat -- it's been exciting to see it all happen. If you can generate data that gets you 90% of the solution and do it quickly from an unprepared sample, that's a great place to be."

Current 'gold-standard' technology requires destructive process

A current process for characterizing titanium is a method called electron backscatter diffraction, the test Michael provided. The process involves inserting a small sample of titanium into a scanning electron microscope that can produce images at the nanoscale, helping scientists determine a material's melting point, color, strength and chemical reactivity.

Scanning-electron microscopes scan samples with a focused beam of electrons that interacts with the atoms in the material. This produces various signals that contain information about the surface, composition and crystallography of the sample. That information produces highly magnified images of the metal, and skilled metallurgists can make decisions about final properties of the part.

Electron backscatter diffraction is currently a gold standard in metals characterization, Michael said, but it can't be completed during live production because the metal must be prepared using highly trained technologists and specialized equipment. This process is time-intensive and destructive because scientists have to cut a small piece of the metal to fit inside the microscope, something you can't do to large sheets of metal or to the side of an aircraft.

Non-destructive imaging offers several benefits

With the company's process, a titanium billet, sheet or finished part can be placed in front of the sensor to image the surface with an eye-safe laser. Because the sample doesn't need to be inserted into a small chamber, it doesn't need to be cut; the original piece of titanium remains whole. This makes the process non-destructive.

The system also produces a larger image than a scanning-electron microscope can, and because the process is standardized and operates simply by pushing a button, experts aren't necessarily needed for the initial imaging. The process reduces labor costs and allows experts to better spend their time analyzing the images and making decisions.

This technology could potentially characterize titanium while a part is being produced, Hoover said, and the larger field of view makes it easier for experts and manufacturers to make critical decisions rapidly. It also could be used to analyze aircraft parts in service during maintenance checks. The sensor is portable enough to set up outside the plane and provide crystallographic images of parts in real time, improving flight safety.

"Currently, there is no way to check crystallography on the ground during maintenance," Hoover said.

System has applications for many industries

The technology could also benefit companies and labs working with 3D printers, something that Michael has expressed interest in.

"Currently, 3D-printed parts require frequent inspection. Sandia is interested in inspecting 3D-printed parts." Hoover said. "There is interest in putting a CPCI sensor in a 3D printer and inspecting layer by layer, so as soon as something is wrong, the build can be stopped or corrected."

Hoover said this technology also could benefit the medical field for prosthetics.

"Everything in our body -- spine, plates, knees, hip replacements -- can be made out of titanium," she said. "So, this technology could also be utilized in the medical field along with the other industries."

###
LUND, Sweden, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hansa Biopharma AB (publ), Reg. No. 556734-5359, with registered office in Lund, summons to Annual General Meeting on Tuesday June 23, 2020 at 15:00 CEST at the Elite Hotel Ideon, Scheelevagen 27, SE-223 63 Lund, Sweden. Registration will begin at 14:00 CEST and will end when the meeting starts.

Information in relation to the Corona virus (COVID-19)

In view of the recent developments of the spread of the Corona virus (COVID-19), Hansa Biopharma has taken certain precautionary measures in relation to the Annual General Meeting on June 23, 2020. The measures are being taken to reduce the risk of spread of contagion.

Shareholders should carefully consider the possibility to vote in advance, please see below, as well as the possibility of participating by way of proxy. Shareholders who display symptoms of infection (dry cough, fever, respiratory distress, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint ache), have been in contact with people displaying symptoms or belong to a risk group, are in particular encouraged to utilize such possibility. A form for advance voting and proxy form is available at www.hansabiopharma.com, section This Is Hansa , subsection Corporate Governance , under General Meeting 2020 .

, subsection , under . No external guests will be invited.

No refreshments will be served prior to or after the Annual General Meeting.

Merely a shorter speech will be held by the CEO on the Annual General Meeting.

Shareholders are offered the opportunity to observe the Annual General Meeting live via a webcast, however without the possibility of formally attending as a shareholder. The link to the webcast will be available on Hansa Biopharma's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com, section This Is Hansa , subsection Corporate Governance , under General Meeting 2020 .

, subsection , under . The Annual General Meeting will be conducted in the shortest possible time without limiting the rights of the shareholders.

Kindly review the information and recommendations issued by the Swedish Public Health Authority (Sw. Folkhalsomyndigheten).

The continued spread of the Corona virus (COVID-19) and its effects are still difficult to assess with certainty and Hansa Biopharma is closely following the developments. If any further precautionary measures in relation to the Annual General Meeting must be taken, information thereof will be published on the company's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com.

Right to attend the Annual General Meeting

To have the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting, the shareholder must be included in the shareholders' register kept by Euroclear Sweden AB as of June 16, 2020 and notify the company of his or her participation at the Annual General Meeting no later than June 16, 2020. Notice to participate shall be given in writing to Advokatfirman Vinge KB, Att: Stephanie Stiernstedt, Box 1703, 111 87 Stockholm or by e-mail to [email protected]. The notification shall state the shareholder's name, personal identity number or registration number, telephone number and, where applicable, the number of advisors (maximum two).

A shareholder, whose shares have been registered in the name of a bank or other trust department or with a private securities broker, must temporarily re-register his or her shares in his or her own name with Euroclear Sweden AB to be entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Such re-registration must be completed no later than June 16, 2020 and should be requested with the nominee well in advance.

Proxy

Shareholders who intend to be represented by proxy shall issue dated and signed power of attorney for the proxy. The proxy is valid for one year from the issuance, or the longer period of validity stated in the proxy, however not more than five years from the issuance. If the proxy is issued by a legal entity, attested copies of the certificate of registration or equivalent authorization documents evidencing the authority to issue the proxy shall be included with the notification. The power of attorney shall confirm the right of the signee to appoint a representative for the legal entity. To facilitate the registration at the Annual General Meeting, the proxy form as well as registration certificate and other authorization documents shall be submitted to the company no later than on June 16, 2020. The completed and signed form shall be sent to the address stated under "Right to attend the Annual General Meeting" above. If the proxy form and other authorization documents have not been submitted in advance, the power of attorney in original and other authorization documents must be able to be presented at the Annual General Meeting. Proxy forms are available at the company, on the company's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com, section This Is Hansa, subsection Corporate Governance, under General Meeting 2020, and will be sent upon request to any shareholder who states their postal address.

Advance voting

The shareholders may exercise their voting rights at the general meeting by voting in advance, so called postal voting in accordance with Section 3 of the Act (2020:198) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations. Hansa Biopharma encourages the shareholders to use this opportunity in order to minimize the number of participants attending the general meeting in person and thus reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 infection.

A special form shall be used for advance voting. The form is available on the company's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com, section This Is Hansa, subsection Corporate Governance, under General Meeting 2020. A shareholder who is exercising its voting right through advance voting do not need to notify the company of its attendance to the general meeting. The advance voting form is considered as the notification of attendance to the general meeting.

The completed voting form must be submitted to the company no later than on June 16, 2020. The completed and signed form shall be sent to the address stated under "Right to attend the Annual General Meeting" above. A completed form may also be submitted electronically and is to be sent to [email protected]. If the shareholder is a legal entity, a certificate of incorporation or a corresponding document shall be enclosed to the form. A certificate of incorporation, or a corresponding document shall be enclosed to the form also for legal entities who are voting in advance by proxy. No shareholder may provide special instructions or conditions in the voting form. If so, the vote is invalid.

Further instructions and conditions are included in the form for advance voting.

Proposed agenda

Opening of the meeting. Election of chairman of the meeting. Preparation and approval of the voting list. Approval of the agenda. Election of one or two persons to attest the minutes. Determination as to whether the meeting has been duly convened. Statement by the CEO. Presentation of the annual report and the auditors' report and the consolidated financial statements and the auditors' report for the group. Resolution: regarding the adoption of the income statement and the balance sheet, and of the consolidated income statement and the consolidated balance sheet; regarding allocation of the company's result according to the adopted balance sheet; regarding discharge from liability for the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO. Determination of the number of members of the Board of Directors; and number of auditors. Determination of fees for members of the Board of Directors; and auditors. Election of the members of the Board of Directors Ulf Wiinberg; Birgit Stattin Norinder ; Anders Gersel Pedersen ; Andreas Eggert ; Eva Nilsagard; and Mats Blom . Election of the chairman of the Board of Directors. Election of auditors. Proposal regarding principles for appointing the Nomination Committee. Proposal regarding guidelines for executive remuneration. Proposal regarding the amendment of the articles of association. Proposal to adopt a long-term incentive program based on performance-based share rights for employees at Hansa Biopharma. Proposal to adopt a long-term incentive program based on employee stock options for employees at Hansa Biopharma. Proposal regarding resolution on authorization for the Board of Directors to resolve on new issue of ordinary shares and warrants and/or convertibles. Closing of the meeting.

The Nomination Committee's proposals

The Nomination Committee's proposals for election of chairman to the meeting, members of the Board of Directors, chairman of the Board of Directors, auditor and determination of fees (items 2 and 10-14)

The Nomination Committee, composed of Erika Kjellberg Eriksson (Nexttobe AB), chairman, Anna Sundberg (Handelsbanken Funds), Sven Sandberg (Tomas Olausson and Gladiator) and Ulf Wiinberg (chairman of the Board of Directors), as convener, has submitted the following proposals for resolution.

Christian Lindhe, member of the Swedish Bar Association, from Advokatfirman Vinge is proposed to be elected chairman of the Annual General Meeting (item 2).

The Board of Directors is proposed to consist of six (6) directors and no deputy directors (item 10 (a)).

One registered accounting firm is proposed to be appointed auditor and no deputy auditors (item 10 (b)).

Remuneration to the Board of Directors shall remain unchanged from the previous year and is proposed to amount to SEK 900,000 to the chairman of the board and SEK 300,000 each to the other board members. The remuneration to the chairman of the Audit Committee should be SEK 75,000 and SEK 40,000 to each other member in the Audit Committee, SEK 40,000 to the chairman of the Remuneration Committee and SEK 25,000 to each other member in the Remuneration Committee, and SEK 25,000 to each board member in the Scientific Committee (item 11 (a)).

to the chairman of the board and each to the other board members. The remuneration to the chairman of the Audit Committee should be and to each other member in the Audit Committee, to the chairman of the Remuneration Committee and to each other member in the Remuneration Committee, and to each board member in the Scientific Committee (item 11 (a)). Auditors' fee is proposed to be on approved account (item 11 (b)).

Re-election of the board members Ulf Wiinberg, Birgit Stattin Norinder , Anders Gersel Pedersen , Andreas Eggert , Eva Nilsagard and Mats Blom , all for the time until the end of the next Annual General Meeting (items 12 (a) - (f)).

, , , Eva Nilsagard and , all for the time until the end of the next Annual General Meeting (items 12 (a) - (f)). Ulf Wiinberg is proposed to be re-elected as chairman of the Board of Directors for the time until the end of the next Annual General Meeting (item 13).

Re-election of the auditor KPMG AB. If re-elected, KPMG AB has informed that Jonas Nihlberg will be the principal auditor for the period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting. The proposal is in accordance with the Audit Committee's recommendation (item 14).

Information regarding the individuals proposed by the nomination committee for re-election is available at the company's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com.

The Nomination Committee's proposal for resolution regarding principles for appointing the Nomination Committee (item 15)

The Nomination Committee proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves that the principles for appointing the nomination committee shall be left essentially unchanged from the previous year, which are those described below:

The Nomination Committee shall consist of representatives for the three largest, in terms of votes, registered shareholders per August 31, 2020. Should such shareholder not wish to appoint a member, the largest shareholder, in terms of votes, thereafter shall be invited to appoint a member in the Nomination Committee until three members have been appointed. The names of the members of the Nomination Committee shall be made public no later than six months prior to the Annual General Meeting of 2021. The Nomination Committee shall appoint the member representing the largest shareholder as chairman, unless the Nomination Committee decides otherwise. The term of office for the Nomination Committee shall be until a new Nomination Committee has taken office.

Should any of the members of the Nomination Committee, before the assignment of the Nomination Committee has been fulfilled, resign or no longer represent the shareholder who appointed that member, such a member be replaced by a new member appointed by that shareholder. Should any shareholder not represented in the Nomination Committee be larger, in terms of votes, than another shareholder represented in the Nomination Committee, the larger shareholder in terms of votes shall be entitled to appoint a member to the Nomination Committee, whereby the member representing the smallest, in terms of votes, shareholder shall leave the Nomination Committee. Unless there are special circumstances, no changes shall be made in the composition of the Nomination Committee if there are only marginal changes in the number of votes held or if the change occurs later than three months before the Annual General Meeting.

The Nomination Committee shall be entitled to charge the company for costs of e.g. recruitment consultants and other consultants that are necessary for the Nomination Committee to be able to fulfil its assignment. Further, the Nomination Committee is authorized to co-opt additional members, if deemed appropriate, however, any such co-opted member shall not be entitled to vote. The members of the Nomination Committee shall not be entitled to any remuneration from the company for their work. The Nomination Committee shall present proposals for the chairman of the meeting, board members, chairman of the Board of Directors, remuneration to the board, auditors, remuneration to the auditors and the principles for the Nomination Committee before the Annual General Meeting 2021.

The Nomination Committee shall follow the assignments set out in the Swedish Corporate Governance Code.

The Board of Directors' proposals

Resolution regarding allocation of the company's result (item 9b)

The Board of Directors proposes that the distributable assets available at the Annual General Meeting's disposal shall be carried forward and that no dividend shall be paid.

Proposal regarding guidelines for executive remuneration (item 16)

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to adopt guidelines for executive remuneration.

A prerequisite for the successful implementation of the company's business strategy and safeguarding of its long-term interests, including its sustainability, is that the company is able to recruit and retain qualified personnel, consequently, it is necessary that the company offers market competitive remuneration.

The guidelines proposed by the Board of Directors entail that senior executives, i.e. the CEO and members of the executive committee, will be offered remuneration which is competitive and on market terms. The guidelines shall aim to promote the company's business strategy and long-term interests, including its sustainability. The level of the remuneration for the individual manager shall be based on factors such as complexity and responsibility of the position, expertise, experience and performance. The remuneration consists of a fixed base salary and pension benefits and, in addition, may consist of a variable cash remuneration, performance-based short-term incentive (STI), share based long-term incentive programs (LTIP) as resolved by a general meeting, severance remuneration, and other benefits. The STI shall be based on the achievement of quantitative and qualitative performance targets and shall not exceed 50 percent of the annual fixed base salary. The variable cash remuneration is intended to support recruitment or retention of key personnel or to reward extraordinary performance beyond the individual's ordinary responsibilities and shall not exceed 30 percent of the annual fixed base salary. Contributions to pension plans shall not exceed 30 percent of the annual fixed base salary. Salary during the notice of termination period and severance remuneration shall be possible in a total maximum amount of 18 monthly base salaries.

Ultimate responsibility for the remuneration to senior management as well as setting the respective performance targets lies with the Board of Directors who is supported by the Remuneration Committee and the CEO.

The complete proposal regarding guidelines for executive remuneration is available on the company's webpage, www.hansabiopharma.com.

Proposal regarding the amendment of the articles of association (item 17)

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves on the amendments to Sections 1 and 8 of the articles of association as illustrated below.

The amendment of Section 1 of the articles of association is proposed since the Swedish term for company's name in the Swedish Companies Act, has changed from Firma to Foretagsnamn. The altering of the Swedish term does not affect the English translation of the company's articles of association.

The amendment of Section 8 of the articles of association is proposed since the current wording will be inaccurate when an amendment of the Swedish Companies Act in relation to record days enters into force later this year.

Change Current wording Proposed wording 1  "The company's name is Hansa Biopharma AB. The company is a public limited company (publ)." "The company's name is Hansa Biopharma AB. The company is a public limited company (publ)." 8  "Notice of general meetings shall be given through an announcement in the Official Swedish Gazette (Post- och Inrikes Tidningar) and on the company's website. An announcement shall be published in Dagens Industri that notice has been given. Shareholders wishing to participate at general meetings must be entered in the printout of the entire share register evidencing the circumstances five days prior to the meeting and must notify the company not later than 12 PM on the date stated in the notice of the meeting, whereupon the number of assistants accompanying the shareholder to the meeting shall be stated. The latter-mentioned date may not be a Sunday, other public holiday, Saturday, Midsummer Eve, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve and may not fall earlier than five weekdays prior to the meeting." "Notice of general meetings shall be given through an announcement in the Official Swedish Gazette (Post- och Inrikes Tidningar) and on the company's website. An announcement shall be published in Dagens Industri that notice has been given. Shareholders wishing to participate at general meetings must notify the company on the date stated in the notice of the meeting, whereupon the number of assistants accompanying the shareholder to the meeting shall be stated. The aforementioned date may not be a Sunday, other public holiday, Saturday, Midsummer Eve, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve and may not fall earlier than five weekdays prior to the meeting."

The Board of Directors' proposal for a long-term incentive program 2020

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to adopt a long-term incentive program for employees at Hansa Biopharma ("LTIP 2020"). LTIP 2020 includes two elements; one performance-based share rights program (item 18), and one employee stock option program (item 19).

Proposal to adopt a long-term incentive program based on performance-based share rights for employees at Hansa Biopharma (item 18)

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to adopt a long-term incentive program based on performance-based share rights for employees of the Hansa Biopharma group, within the framework of LTIP 2020, (the "Share Rights Program 2020") in accordance with item 18(a) below. The decision to adopt the Share Rights Program 2020 in accordance with item 18(a) shall further be conditional upon that the general meeting resolves on hedging measures relating to the incentive program, either in accordance with item 18(b) below or in accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal in item 18(c) below.

Proposal to adopt the Share Rights Program 2020 (item 18(a))

The program in brief

The Share Rights Program 2020 is proposed to include the CEO, senior executives and other key employees, meaning that a maximum of 36 individuals within the Hansa Biopharma group will be able to participate. Participants will be given the opportunity to receive ordinary shares free of charge within the framework of the Share Rights Program 2020, so-called "Performance Shares", in accordance with the conditions set out below.

Within the framework of the Share Rights Program 2020, the company will allot participants rights to Performance Shares which means that, subject to certain conditions being met, the right to receive a Performance Share free of charge ("Share Rights").

Terms and conditions

A Share Right may be exercised provided that the participant, with certain exceptions, from the start date of the Share Rights Program 2020 for each participant, up until and including the date three years thereafter (the "Vesting Period"), is still employed by the Hansa Biopharma group. The last date for the start of the Share Rights Program 2020 shall be the day before the Annual General Meeting of Hansa Biopharma in 2021.

In addition to the requirement for the participant's continued employment according to the above, the final number of Performance Shares that each participant is entitled to receive shall also be conditional upon the following performance conditions being met during the vesting period:

22 per cent of the Performance Shares in the event the U.S. randomised controlled trial is completed during the Vesting Period ("Performance Condition 1"), 11 per cent of the Performance Shares in the event that top line data read out of the ongoing phase 2 study in either AMR or GBS is completed during the Vesting Period with data providing a solid scientific rational to continue either of the two programs ("Performance Condition 2"), 11 per cent of the Performance Shares in the event that at least 70 per cent of the targeted transplantation centers in Europe have been initiated during the Vesting Period ("Performance Condition 3"), 56 per cent of the Performance Shares related to the total shareholder return (the return to shareholders through an increased share price and reinvestments of any dividends during the Vesting Period) on the company's ordinary shares during the Vesting Period ("Performance Condition 4").

The above distribution of the number of Performance Shares is based on a valuation of each instrument and corresponds to a value-based distribution of 25 per cent to Performance Condition 1, 12.5 per cent to Performance Condition 2, 12.5 per cent to Performance Condition 3 and 50 per cent to Performance Condition 4, respectively. This entails that participants will be entitled to 22 per cent of the Performance Shares if Performance Condition 1 is achieved, 11 per cent of the Performance Shares if Performance Condition 2 is achieved and 11 per cent of the Performance Shares if Performance Condition 3 is achieved. In addition, participants will under Performance Condition 4 be entitled to 56 per cent of the Performance Shares if the total shareholder return for the company's ordinary share during the Vesting Period reaches or exceeds 75 per cent. If the total shareholder return during the Vesting Period is less than 25 per cent, no allotment of Performance Shares will be made under Performance Condition 4. In between the percentages, allotment will be made linearly. The baseline for assessing the total shareholder return under Performance Condition 4 should be the higher of (i) the volume weighted average share price during the 10 trading days immediately preceding the respective allotment of the Share Rights, or (ii) SEK 100. In the event that Performance Condition 1, Performance Condition 2 and Performance Condition 3, after the initial allotment, are not considered to be relevant incentives for Share Rights allotted in subsequent allocations under the program, these Performance Conditions may be replaced by other strategic goals for the company.

Share Rights

The Share Rights shall, in addition to what is set out above, be governed by the following terms and conditions:

Share Rights are allotted free of charge no later than the day before the Annual General Meeting 2021.

Share Rights vest during the Vesting Period.

Share Rights may not be transferred or pledged.

Each Share Right entitles the participant to receive one Performance Share free of charge after the end of the Vesting Period (with certain exceptions where the Vesting Period may be accelerated) if the participant, with certain exceptions, is still employed by the Hansa Biopharma group by the end of the Vesting Period.

In order to align the interests of the participant and the shareholders', the company will also compensate the participants for dividends paid by increasing the number of Performance Shares that each Share Right entitle to after the Vesting Period.

Preparation of the proposal, design and administration

The Board of Directors, or a special committee set up by the board, shall be responsible for preparing the detailed design and administration of the terms and conditions of the Share Rights Program 2020, in accordance with the presented terms and guidelines including provisions on recalculation in the event of an in-between bonus issue, share split, rights issue and/or similar measures. In connection therewith, the Board of Directors shall be entitled to make adjustments to meet specific foreign regulations or market conditions. The Board of Directors shall also be entitled to make other adjustments if significant changes occur in the Hansa Biopharma group or in its environment that would result in that the adopted terms for the Share Rights Program 2020 no longer fulfils their objectives or the rationale for the proposal including, inter alia, that adjustments may be decided with respect to the terms and conditions for measuring performance, and the basis for such calculation, and the growth rate targets under the Share Rights Program 2020 due to potential effects from or related to COVID-19.

Allotment of Share Rights

The participants are divided into different categories and, in accordance with the above, the Share Rights under the Share Rights Program 2020 may be allotted to the following participants in the different categories:

Category Maximum number of persons Maximum number of Share Rights Maximum number of Share Rights per person in the category CEO 1 57,278 57,278 Others 35 447,818 28,639

Receiving Performance Shares under the Share Rights Program 2020 and hedging arrangements

The Board of Directors has considered different methods for transfer of ordinary shares under the Share Rights Program 2020 in order to implement the program in a cost-effective and flexible manner. The Board of Directors has found the most cost-effective alternative to be, and thus proposes it as a main alternative, in accordance with item 18(b) below, that the Annual General Meeting resolves (a) to authorise the Board of Directors to resolve on a directed issue of not more than 656,625 class C shares to the participating bank, of which not more than 151,529 class C shares may be issued to secure social contributions arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020, and (b) to authorise the Board of Directors to resolve on the repurchase of all issued class C shares, in accordance with item 18(b) below.

Following conversion of the class C shares to ordinary shares, the ordinary shares are intended to be both transferred to the Share Rights Program 2020 participants, as well as sold in the market in order to cover the cash flow-related to social contribution costs associated with the Share Rights Program 2020. For this purpose, the Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves (c) to transfer not more than 505,096 ordinary shares free of charge to participants in accordance with the Share Rights Program 2020 and that not more than 151,529 ordinary shares may be sold to secure social contribution costs arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020.

If the majority required for resolution in accordance with item 18(b) is not met, the Share Rights Program 2020 shall instead be hedged through a resolution to conclude an equity swap-agreement, in accordance with the Board of Director's proposal under item 18(c) below.

Scope and costs for the Share Rights Program 2020

The Share Rights Program 2020 will be reported in accordance with IFRS 2, which means that the Share Rights will be expensed as personnel costs over the Vesting Period. The costs for the Share Rights Program 2020 is estimated to amount to SEK 35.4 million, excluding social contributions, accounted in accordance with IFRS 2 based on the following assumptions: (i) that 505,096 Share Rights are allotted, (ii) that the share price, at the beginning of the Share Rights Program 2020, is SEK 120 per ordinary share, (iii) that the performance conditions are fully met, and (iv) an estimated annual turnover of personnel of 5 per cent. Based on the same assumptions as above, and subject to social contributions of approximately 30 per cent and a share price increase of 75 per cent from the start of the Share Rights Program 2020 until the participants are allotted shares, the costs for social contributions are estimated to amount to SEK 27.3 million. The total cost for the Share Rights Program 2020, including costs according to IFRS 2, is therefore estimated to SEK 20.9 million per year, based on the same assumptions as above.

Dilution and effects on key ratios

Upon maximum allotment of Share Rights and provided that the hedging arrangements in accordance with item 18(b) below are adopted by the General Meeting, 505,096 ordinary shares will be allotted to participants under the Share Rights Program 2020, and that 151,529 ordinary shares will be used to secure social contributions arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020, which would entail a dilution effect of approximately 1.6 per cent of the total number of ordinary shares in the company.

Given the above assumptions regarding scope and costs, and that the Share Rights Program 2020 was introduced in 2018, it is estimated that the key figure earnings per share for full year 2019 would have decreased from SEK -9.00 to approximately SEK -9.52.

If all outstanding incentive program in the company are included in the calculation, including the Board of Director's proposal for the Annual General Meeting 2020 on the adoption of a long-term incentive program (option program), the corresponding maximum dilution, at the time of the Annual General Meeting, amounts to approximately 5.3 per cent of the share capital.

Hedging arrangements related to the program

Authorisation for the Board of Directors to issue new class C shares, authorisation to repurchase issued class C shares, transfer own ordinary shares to participants in the program and the market (item 18(b)(i)-(iii))

The resolutions under items 18(b)(i)-(iii) below are proposed to be conditional upon each other and for that reason it is proposed that all resolutions are to be passed as one resolution.

Authorisation for the Board of Directors to issue class C shares (item 18(b)(i))

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to authorise the Board of Directors, during the period until the Annual General Meeting 2021, on one or more occasions, to increase the company's share capital by not more than SEK 656,625 by the issue of not more than 656,625 class C shares, each with a quota value of SEK one (1). With deviation from the shareholders' pre-emption rights, the participating bank shall be entitled to subscribe for the new class C shares at a subscription price corresponding to the quota value of the shares. The purpose of the authorisation and the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' pre-emption rights in connection with the issue of shares is to ensure delivery of shares to employees under the long-term incentive program, as well as to secure potential social contributions arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020.

Authorisation for the Board of Directors to repurchase class C shares (item 18(b)(ii))

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to authorise the Board of Directors, during the period until the Annual General Meeting 2021, on one or more occasions, to repurchase class C shares. The repurchase may only be effected through an offer directed to all holders of class C shares and shall comprise all outstanding class C shares. Repurchases shall be effected at a purchase price corresponding to the quota value of the share. Payment for the acquired class C shares shall be made in cash. The purpose of the proposed repurchase authorisation is to ensure delivery of Performance Shares under the Share Rights Program 2020 and to secure possible social contributions arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020.

Decision to transfer own ordinary shares (item 18(b)(iii))

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves that class C shares that the company acquires based on the authorisation to repurchase class C shares in accordance with item 18(b)(ii) above, may, following the reclassification into ordinary shares, be transferred free of charge to participants of the Share Rights Program 2020 in accordance with the adopted terms and conditions in order to secure possible social contributions arising as a result of the Share Rights Program 2020.

The Board of Directors therefore proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves that not more than 505,096 ordinary shares may be transferred to participants in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Share Rights Program 2020, and that not more than 151,529 ordinary shares shall be transferred on Nasdaq Stockholm, including through a financial intermediary, at a price within the registered price range at the relevant time, to cover any social contributions in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Share Rights Program 2020. The number of shares to be transferred is subject to recalculation in the event of a bonus issue, split, rights issue and/or other similar events.

Equity swap arrangements with third parties (item 18(c))

In the event that the required majority for item 18(b) above cannot be achieved, the Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to hedge the Share Rights Program 2020 by allowing Hansa Biopharma to enter into equity swap arrangements with third parties on market terms, where the third party in its own name will be able to acquire and transfer ordinary shares in Hansa Biopharma to the participants.

The background and rationale for the proposal

The purpose of the Share Rights Program 2020 is to create the conditions for motivating and retaining competent employees within the Hansa Biopharma group and to increase the coherence between the employees', shareholders' and the company's objectives, as well as to increase the motivation to reach and exceed the company's financial targets. The Share Rights Program 2020 has been designed so that the program includes both current and future senior executives and other key employees.

By offering Share Rights that are based on both share price development and partly on strategic goals, the participants are premiered for increased shareholder value/value-creating measures. The Share Rights Program 2020 also rewards employees' continued loyalty and thus the long-term value growth of the company. After these considerations, the Board of Directors considers that the Share Rights Program 2020 will have a positive effect on the future development of the Hansa Biopharma group and will consequently be beneficial for both the company and its shareholders.

The preparation of the proposal

The Share Rights Program 2020 has been prepared by the company's Board of Directors and its Remuneration Committee in consultation with external advisors. The Share Rights Program 2020 has been discussed by the Board of Directors at a meeting held in May 2020.

Previous incentive programs in Hansa Biopharma

For a description of the company's other long-term incentive programs, please refer to the company's Annual Report for 2019, pages 62-66, and the company's website, www.hansabiopharma.com. In addition to the described incentive program, there are no other long-term incentive programs in Hansa Biopharma.

Terms

The resolution of the General Meeting regarding the implementation of the Share Rights Program 2020 according to item 18(a) above is conditional on the meeting either deciding in accordance with the Board of Director's proposal according to item 18(b) above, or in accordance with the Board of Director's proposal according to item 18(c) above.

Majority requirement

The resolution of the General Meeting pursuant to item 18(a) above requires a majority of more than half of the votes cast. A decision according to the proposal under item 18(b) above is valid only where supported by shareholders holding not less than nine-tenths of both the votes cast and of the shares represented. For a valid decision according to the proposal under item 18(c) above, a majority of more than half of the votes cast shall be required.

Proposal to adopt a long-term incentive program based on employee stock options for employees at Hansa Biopharma (item 19)

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to adopt a long-term incentive program for employees of the Hansa Biopharma group, within the framework of LTIP 2020, ("Option Program 2020") in accordance with items 19(a) - 19(b) below. The resolutions under items 19(a) and (b) below are proposed to be conditional upon each other, respectively. In the event that the majority requirement for item 19(b) below is not met, the Board of Directors proposes that the company be able to enter into an equity swap arrangement with a third party in accordance with item 19(c) and the subsequent decisions under items 19(a) and (c) shall then be conditional upon each other. The Option Program 2020 is proposed to include a maximum of 15 employees within the Hansa Biopharma group.

Proposal regarding the adoption of Option Program 2020 (item 19 (a))

The program in brief

The Option Program 2020 consist of employee stock options that can be allotted to the CEO and other senior executives. The employee stock options have a vesting period of 3 years, after which the holder is entitled to exercise the options for ordinary shares during a period of one month. The last day for allotment under the Option Program 2020 shall be the day before the Annual General Meeting for Hansa Biopharma 2021.

The Board of Directors therefore proposes, for delivery of ordinary shares under the Option Program 2020, that the meeting resolves on the transfer of a maximum of 658,164 warrants. The right to subscribe for warrants shall vest with the wholly owned subsidiary Cartela R&D AB, which shall hold the warrants to ensure delivery of shares to participants upon exercise of employee stock options as well as to dispose of the warrants to secure costs for social contributions, respectively. Each warrant entitle the holder to subscribe for one ordinary share. The warrants are issued free of charge to Cartela R&D AB.

Terms and conditions

The company will allot employee stock options to the CEO and other senior executives. Each option entitles the employee to acquire one share in Hansa Biopharma in accordance with the following terms and conditions:

The employee stock options will be allotted free of charge.

Allotment requires that an acquisition of employee stock options can take place legally and that, according to the Board of Director's assessment, it can be carried out with reasonable administrative and financial efforts. The last day for allotment of employee stock options shall be the day before the Annual General Meeting 2021.

Each employee stock option that is transferred entitles the holder to acquire one share in the company, provided that the participant, with certain exceptions, is still employed within the group, at an exercise price corresponding to the higher of (i) 125 per cent of the volume weighted average share price during the 10 trading days immediately preceding the respective allotment of the employee stock options, or (ii) SEK 125 .

. The employee stock options are vested over a period of three years from the time when allotment to the participants has taken place. The employee stock options entitle, after they have been vested in accordance with the above, the holder to subscribe for shares during one month.

The employee stock options shall not constitute securities and may not be transferred or pledged.

Recalculation due to split, consolidation, new share issue, etc.

The exercise price for employee stock options, determined as set out above, shall be rounded to the nearest SEK 0.10, whereby SEK 0.05 shall be rounded downwards. The exercise price and the number of shares that each employee stock option entitles to subscription for shall be recalculated in the event of a split, consolidation, new share issue etc. in accordance with market practice. Upon full exercise of the options, the share capital will increase by SEK 658,164.

Preparation of the proposal, design and administration

The Board of Directors, or a special committee set up by the board, shall be responsible for preparing the detailed design and administration of the terms and conditions of the Option Program 2020, in accordance with the presented terms and guidelines including provisions on recalculation in the event of an in-between bonus issue, share split, rights issue and/or similar measures. In connection therewith, the Board of Directors shall be entitled to make adjustments to meet specific foreign regulations or market conditions. The Board of Directors shall also be entitled to make other adjustments if significant changes occur in the Hansa Biopharma group or in its environment that would result in that the adopted terms for the Option Program 2020 no longer fulfils their objectives or the rationale for the proposal including, inter alia, that adjustments may be decided due to potential effects from or related to COVID-19.

Allocation of employee stock options

The right to receive employee stock options shall accrue to the CEO and senior executives, current and future. The maximum allotment amounts to 128,760 employee stock options to the CEO and 377,520 employee stock options for other senior executives, as applicable.

Category Maximum number of persons Maximum number of employee stock options Maximum number of employee stock options per person within the category CEO 1 128,760 128,760 Other senior executives 14 377,520 64,380

Board members shall not be eligible to participate in the Option Program 2020.

Scope and costs for the Option Program 2020

Costs related to the employee stock options are estimated to amount to SEK 11.2 million, excluding social contributions, accounted in accordance with IFRS 2 based on the following assumptions: (i) that 506,280 employee stock options are allotted, (ii) that the share price, at the beginning of the Option Program 2020, is SEK 120.00 per ordinary share, and (iii) an estimated annual turnover of personnel of 5 per cent. Based on the same assumptions as above, and subject to social contributions of 30 per cent, and a share price increase of 75 per cent from the start of the Option Program 2020 until the employee stock options are exercised, the costs for social contributions are estimated to amount to SEK 7.8 million. The total cost, including costs according to IFRS 2, is therefore estimated to SEK 6.3 million per year, based on the same assumptions as above.

Dilution and effects on key ratios

Upon maximum allotment of employee stock options, 506,280 warrants will be issued for new subscription of ordinary shares pursuant to the Option Program 2020, together with 151,884 warrants that can be used to cover social contributions as a result of the Option Program 2020, the dilution effect will amount to approximately 1.6 per cent of the number of ordinary shares in the company.

Given the above assumptions regarding scope and costs, and that Option Program 2020 was introduced in 2018 instead, it is estimated that the key figure earnings per share for full year 2019 would have decreased from SEK -9.00 to approximately SEK -9.15.

If all outstanding incentive programs in the company are included in the calculation, including the Board of Director's proposal for the Annual General Meeting 2020 on the adoption of a long-term incentive program (performance-based share rights), the corresponding maximum dilution, at the time of the Annual General Meeting, amounts to approximately 5.3 per cent of the share capital.

Delivery of shares pursuant to the Option Program 2020

In order to ensure delivery of shares in accordance with the Option Program 2020 and to cover costs related to social contributions, the Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves on the issue and exercise of warrants in accordance with item 19(b) below, or, that an equity swap is entered into in accordance with item 19(c).

Proposal regarding issue and transfer of warrants (item 19 (b))

The Board of Directors proposes that the company shall issue not more than 658,164 warrants to secure the delivery of ordinary shares and to secure social contribution costs, of which the company's share capital may be increased by a maximum of SEK 658,164.

The right to subscribe for warrants shall only vest with the subsidiary Cartela R&D AB, with the right and obligation to dispose of the warrants as described above, primarily with regard to transfer to participants in the Option Program 2020 and transfer to a participating bank for hedging of social contributions due to the Option Program 2020. Each warrant entitles the holder to subscribe for one ordinary share. The warrants shall be issued free of charge to Cartela R&D AB. There can be no over-allotment. The warrants are otherwise subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Board of Directors' complete proposal.

Equity swap arrangements with third parties (item 19(c))

In the event that the required majority for item 19(b) above cannot be achieved, the Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting 2020 resolves to hedge the Option Program 2020 by allowing Hansa Biopharma to enter into equity swap arrangements with third parties on market terms, where the third party in its own name will be able to acquire and transfer ordinary shares in Hansa Biopharma to the participants.

The background and rationale for the proposal

The purpose of the Option Program 2020 is to create the conditions for motivating and retaining competent employees within the Hansa Biopharma group and to increase the coherence between the employees', shareholders' and the company's objectives, as well as to increase the motivation to reach and exceed the company's financial targets. The Option Program 2020 has been designed so that the program includes both current and future senior executives.

By offering options that are based on the share price development, the participants are premiered for increased shareholder value. The Option Program 2020 also rewards employees' continued loyalty and thus the long-term value growth of the company. After these considerations, the Board of Directors considers that the Option Program 2020 will have a positive effect on the future development of the Hansa Biopharma group and will consequently be beneficial for both the company and its shareholders.

The preparation of the proposal

Option Program 2020 has been prepared by the company's Board of Directors and its Remuneration Committee in consultation with external advisors. Option Program 2020 has been discussed by the Board of Directors at a meeting held in May 2020.

Previous incentive programs in Hansa Biopharma

For a description of the company's other long-term incentive programs, please refer to the company's Annual Report for 2019, pages 62-66, and the company's website, www.hansabiopharma.com. In addition to the described incentive programs, there are no other long-term incentive programs in Hansa Biopharma.

Majority requirement

The resolution of the General Meeting pursuant to item 19(a) and (b) above, respectively, is valid only where supported by shareholders holding not less than nine-tenths of both the shares voted and of the shares represented. For a valid decision according to the proposal under item 19(a) and 19(c) above, a majority of more than half of the votes cast shall be required.

Proposal regarding resolution on authorization for the Board of Directors to resolve on new issue of ordinary shares and warrants and/or convertibles (item 20)

The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting resolves to authorize the Board of Directors, for the period up to the next Annual General Meeting, to adopt decisions, whether on one or several occasions and whether with or without pre-emptive rights for the shareholders, to issue ordinary shares and/or warrants and/or convertibles with the right to subscribe/convert to ordinary shares. The number of shares issued, or number of shares created in connection with conversion of warrants and/or convertibles, may not correspond to a dilution of more than 10 per cent of the total number of shares outstanding after full exercise of the hereby proposed authorization. It should also be possible to make such an issue resolution stipulating payment in cash, in kind, the right to offset debt or other conditions. The purpose of the authorization is to increase the financial flexibility of the company and the acting scope of the Board of Directors as well as to potentially broaden the shareholder base.

The Board of Directors, or any person appointed by the Board of Directors, shall have the right to make any adjustments or amendments of the above resolution which may be required in connection with the registration of such resolution and to take any other measure deemed necessary for the execution of the resolution.

_____________________

Majority requirements

For a valid decision to introduce a long term incentive program for employees in the form of performance based share rights (item 18(b)) and a long term incentive program for employees in Hansa Biopharma in the form of employee stock options (item 19(b)) it is required that the proposals be supported by shareholders representing at least nine tenths (9/10) of both the votes cast and the shares represented at the Annual General Meeting. Resolutions in accordance with items 17 and 20 above requires approval of at least two thirds (2/3) of the shares represented and votes cast at the Annual General Meeting.

Other information

At the time this notice was issued, the total number of shares in the company amounts to 41,447,564, of which 40,026,107 ordinary shares and 1,421,457 class C shares. All class C shares are held in treasury. The total number of votes in the company amounts to 40,168,252.7, of which the company holds 142,145.7 votes.

The shareholders are reminded of their right to require information in accordance with Chapter 7 Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act. The annual report and the auditor's report for the financial year 2019, and other supporting documents for the general meeting, including complete proposals from the Board of Directors, the proposal and motivated statement from the Nomination Committee as well as the statement from the auditor pursuant to Chapter 8 Section 54 of the Swedish Companies Act will be available to the shareholders at the company's office at Scheelevagen 22, SE-220 07 Lund, Sweden, and on the company's webpage www.hansabiopharma.com, no later than June 2, 2020, and will be sent to shareholders who so request and state their postal address.

For information on how your personal data is processed, see the integrity policy that is available at Euroclear's webpage www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf.

_____________________

This is an in-house translation of the Swedish original wording. In case of differences between the English translation and the Swedish original, the Swedish text shall prevail.

Hansa Biopharma AB (publ)

The Board of Directors

For further information, please contact:

Klaus Sindahl, Head of Investor Relations

Hansa Biopharma

Mobile: +46 (0) 709-298 269

E-mail: [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/hansa-biopharma-ab/r/notice-to-annual-general-meeting-in-hansa-biopharma-ab--publ-,c3116395

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Hansa Biopharma AB
The lawyers representing the women accusing Peter Nygard of rape and sexual misconduct are seeking to amend their class-action lawsuit against the Winnipeg fashion mogul to include additional complainants and allegations of destruction of evidence.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The lawyers representing the women accusing Peter Nygard of rape and sexual misconduct are seeking to amend their class-action lawsuit against the Winnipeg fashion mogul to include additional complainants and allegations of destruction of evidence.

The plaintiffs in the case filed a motion in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Monday, requesting a conference to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing saga involving Nygard and his 46 accusers.

(Mintaha Neslihan Eroglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/TNS) Peter Nygard: allegations of destruction of evidence.

Nygard, through his employees, is alleged to have destroyed more than 10,000 electronic files, some of which could be used to prosecute the case against him.

The allegations have not been proven in court. Nygard, 78, has repeatedly maintained his innocence.

"Despite their duty to preserve all evidence as early as February 2019, the plaintiffs received several tips from former employees, who had direct knowledge that Nygard executives ordered employees to destroy computer files and clean up records," the motion alleges.

In addition to the charges of evidence destruction, the lawyers handling the class-action case say new accusers have stepped forward who wish to join the lawsuit. At the time of publication, 46 women have publicly accused Nygard of various forms of sexual misconduct.

The plaintiffs are requesting the issues be heard on an expedited basis due to the "defendants well-documented history of litigation misconduct and disrespect of the judicial system."

Jay Prober, one of Nygards lawyers, told the Free Press his client denies both the sexual misconduct accusations and the suggestion his companies destroyed evidence.

"My information is that no evidence was ordered to be destroyed or has been destroyed. That allegation is categorically rejected by Nygard and his executives," Prober said.

"I have no idea where theyre getting that from. But my understanding is the information thats been provided is not accurate at all."

Prober said the plaintiffs are requesting a second amended complaint, in part, to clear up the "confusion and lack of detail" in the "first two complaints," which have made it difficult for Nygard to properly defend himself.

"You think they could get it straight the first time. Or if not the first time, the second time. Now, were on a third attempt to get these things figured out," Prober said.

Nygard has been ensnared by mounting rape allegations since a class-action lawsuit was filed against him in a New York court Feb. 13.

At the time, 10 womenmany under the age of 18 when the offences are alleged to have occurredclaimed he drugged, raped and sodomized them. Dozens of women have since signed onto the class-action lawsuit.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

On Feb. 25, special agents with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and detectives with the New York Police Department raided Nygards international headquarters in Times Square. Later that day, his California residence was also raided by law enforcement.

It was later revealed Nygard has been the subject of a months-long criminal probe by a joint child-exploitation task force headed up by the FBI and the NYPD. No criminal charges have been filed.

Speaking through his attorneys and spokesmen, Nygard has repeatedly maintained his innocence, claiming he is at the centre of an elaborate conspiracy  orchestrated by his rival Louis Bacon, a U.S. hedge fund billionaire  aimed at destroying his reputation.

Nygard and Bacon have been engaged in a long-standing, highly public feud which has spawned more than two dozen lawsuits and various accusations of criminality.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
The three-day re-assembled budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly started on Wednesday amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Wearing masks was made compulsory for all, including the chief minister and MLAs. Before entering the assembly, they were made to undergo thermal screening and also had to sanitise their hands.

The budget session of the state assembly was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced in the assembly on Wednesday that financial relief of Rs 5,000 would be provided to active quarantine centres set up by communities in the state.

"A one-time grant of Rs 5,000 will be awarded to active community quarantine centres through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," he said while replying to a zero-hour notice.

According to the chief minister, a total of 7,050 people stranded in different parts of the country have returned to the state.

Sangma said that the state government will try to bring all the citizens who are stranded in various parts of the country within two weeks.

He also informed that the government has also decided to carry out both the Rapid Diagnostic Test and the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 on all returnees.

The chief minister said his dispensation is encouraging returnees to undergo home quarantine and added that the government is flexible when it comes to encouraging people to set up a quarantine centre at the community and village levels.

Earlier, Opposition Congress MLA M Syiem demanded that the state government set up more institutional quarantine centres as over 10,000 people stranded across the country are set to return home.

He also demanded that the government provide funds to support communities who have set up quarantine centres at their villages across the state.

Syiem also said that the quarantine period be increased from 14 days to 28 days to stem the spread of COVID-19.

There is only one active COVID-19 case in Meghalaya as of now. One person who returned from Chennai recently tested positive for coronavirus.

The state had reported 14 COVID-19 cases, of which 12 have recovered, one died and another is active.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dubai: Etihad Airways flew aid for the Palestinians amid the coronavirus pandemic from the capital of the United Arab Emirates into Israel on Tuesday, marking the first known direct commercial flight between the two nations.

An Etihad Airways flights loaded with aid for the Palestinians to fight the coronavirus pandemic is loaded in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Credit:AP

The flight came as the UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula, has no formal diplomatic ties to Israel over its occupation of land wanted by the Palestinians for a future state.

However, it marks an open moment of cooperation between the countries after years of rumoured back-channel discussions between them over the mutual enmity of Iran.

Etihad, a state-owned, long-haul carrier, confirmed it sent a flight Tuesday to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
(Repeats column published on May 18. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.)

* China's copper scrap imports 2004-2019: https://tmsnrt.rs/2X74wjR

* U.S. scrap exports 2019 vs 2018: https://tmsnrt.rs/3dUCUFf

* China's scrap imports 2019 vs 2018: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ygW2OO

By Andy Home

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - China is short of copper scrap.

This is largely a problem of its own making. China has steadily restricted imports of a material officially designated as "waste" during its broader war on pollution.

Beijing had intended to ban all copper scrap imports at the end of this year in the same way it has already locked out other forms of "foreign garbage" such as used plastic.

The government has since relented under pressure from its own copper sector, which was panicking about the loss of a major component of China's copper supply chain. Imports of higher-grade copper scrap have been reclassified from "waste" to "resource".

Other things being equal, China's copper scrap imports would be expected to recover from their depressed levels to fill any gap.

However, COVID-19 has upended that assumption.

The coronavirus has restricted the collection and processing of scrap around the world, including in China. Lockdowns have idled manufacturing activity, halting the generation of "new" scrap. The copper price has slumped, reducing the value of "old" scrap.

China's newly-defined copper "resource" is one that is currently in short supply.

MINDING THE GAP

China's import volumes of copper scrap shrank to 1.5 million tonnes last year from 2.4 million in 2018 and 3.6 million in 2017, the year before Beijing launched its "war on waste".

Imports fell further to just 210,000 tonnes in the first quarter of this year.

Restrictions and bans on lower-quality material mean that what is now entering China is typically very high-purity scrap.

Story continues

The average implied copper content of last year's imports, derived from a comparison of volumes and dollar values, surged to 78% from just over 40% in the years prior to 2018.

The purity benefit, however, doesn't offset the scale of lost tonnage. China's copper scrap gap last year looks to have been a couple of hundred thousand tonnes of contained metal. The pitfalls of the law of averaging make it difficult to quantify with precision.

But the gap was evidently wide enough for Chinese processors successfully to lobby Beijing to exclude high-grade "resource" from the looming ban.

China is the world's largest refiner of copper from scrap material. Such secondary production has been running in excess of 1.5 million tonnes per year for the last decade.

Imports have fed this industry. Although China's own scrap generation is rising, the intense pressure on Beijing to part-reverse its policy tells you that industry players felt domestic supply increases wouldn't be enough to compensate for the total loss of imports.

The semantic battle may have been won but now the coronavirus is restricting both domestic and overseas scrap supply further.

Multiple mine curtailments due to quarantine have simultaneously disrupted flows of copper concentrate to Chinese smelters, representing a raw materials double-whammy for the country's producers.

It's noticeable that among the measures announced by the government of Jiangxi province to support its local copper industry is a pledge to "revitalize" scrap import quotas and transfer any quotas held by traders to actual copper processors.

Beijing has also just suspended for one year a punitive 25% import tax on U.S. copper scrap as part of the Phase I trade deal.

That tax pretty much killed off scrap flows from what has historically been China's largest supplier.

But it's a moot point whether Beijing's latest change of scrap policy can revitalise trade between the world's two biggest economies.

MALAYSIA THE NEW COPPER SCRAP HUB

China's imports of U.S. copper scrap imploded to 89,000 tonnes last year from 352,000 tonnes in 2018, according to the country's customs department.

What was shipped was extremely high-purity material with an average implied copper content of almost 90%.

However, little of it stayed long in China. Every major U.S. shipment arriving in the third quarter last year passed customs under a "processing with imported material" code, implying it made no lasting impression on China's domestic scrap market.

What the United States used to ship to China it now sends to Malaysia, the hub of a new off-shore industry converting lower-grade scrap to Chinese import specifications.

U.S. exports to Malaysia mushroomed from 120,000 tonnes in 2018 to 221,000 tonnes last year, according to International Trade Centre figures. In 2015, the export flow to Malaysia totalled just 613 tonnes.

This is a redirection of lower-grade material once destined for China or its back door in Hong Kong. Last year's shipments from the United States to Malaysia had an average content of 31%, lower than any other top-10 export destination.

Malaysian processors dismantle and clean this material before purifying it into a form of copper that meets Beijing's new "resource" thresholds.

Malaysia has emerged as the largest supplier of copper scrap to China, accounting for 18% of total imports last year. The calculated content of the material averaged a high 89%.

It is, however, simply U.S. supply in disguise. The world's biggest exporter is still shipping to China but, thanks to Chinese scrap and trade policy, now via Malaysia.

The global supply chain has changed and probably permanently, mitigating the impact of Beijing's duty waiver.

SCRAP BALANCER

Scrap is often the hidden balancer of the copper market. During periods of oversupply and low pricing, scrap availability reduces, increasing demand for primary copper.

Thanks to COVID-19, the London copper price has tumbled from a January high of $6,343 per tonne to $5,315.

That's a sufficiently sharp fall to inhibit scrap supply. But the coronavirus is also accentuating the price effect as lockdowns freeze national collection networks and international trade flows.

Just as China has reopened its doors to copper scrap imports, even those from the United States, it's likely to find there's not much there.

The scrap gap is going to take a while to plug.

Those Chinese smelters that can will go after more copper concentrates.

That's not easy right now. The availability of concentrates was already tightening before COVID-19 as new Chinese smelters fought with incumbents for raw material. The virus has thrown supply disruption, particularly in key exporting countries such as Peru, into the mix.

This means the scrap gap will translate into stronger demand for refined metal to compensate for any loss of domestic "secondary" production and for a shift in input mix by fabricators that use both scrap and metal to manufacture products.

As ever with scrap, the balancing effect will be hard to see or quantify, but Beijing's recent changes of policy leave no doubt China feels it needs to start plugging the gap.

(Editing by David Clarke)
The city of Clear Lake doesnt want to imagine a summer without its aquatic center, splash pad and beach.

But COVID-19 and the resulting public health disaster emergency may not leave it much choice.

It certainly doesnt look good, but were holding off for a little while longer before we make a formal decision on whether or not well open up the pool, said Scott Flory, Clear Lake city administrator.

Flory discussed the opening of City Beach, Clear Lake Aquatic Center and its new splash pad during the Clear Lake City Council meeting Monday evening.

Historically, the aquatic center at 1420 Second Ave. S. opens Memorial Day weekend, but because of the state public health disaster emergency, it wont be opening this weekend.

On Wednesday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a proclamation continuing the states public health disaster emergency declaration.

Under her proclamation, swimming pools may open at 5 a.m. Friday for the limited purpose of lap swimming and conducting swimming lessons as long as they take reasonable measures to ensure social distancing of employees and patrons, increase hygiene practices and other measures to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.

Except for those limited purposes, all swimming pools and spas, wading pools, water slides, wave pools, spray pads and bathhouses are to remain closed, and gatherings of more than 10 people are prohibited until May 27.

Flory told the council its unclear whether the governor will extend the state public health disaster emergency prohibiting the opening of pools this summer, which puts cities, like Clear Lake, in a tough scenario.

Mason City officials announced earlier this month that it wouldnt be opening its pool to the public this summer.

The Clear Lake Aquatic Center employs about 30 staff  many of whom are students  each summer from Memorial Day weekend through the second weekend in August.

Training begins two weeks before Memorial Day weekend in a non-COVID-19 year.

Flory said if the governor lifts the prohibition on swimming pools on May 27, the earliest the city would be able to open the aquatic center is mid-June.

He anticipates pools, if allowed to open this summer across the state, will have to abide by capacity, social distancing and cleaning requirements set forth by the Iowa Department of Public Health, but specifics are unknown.

Clear Lake Mayor Nelson Crabb said those restrictions may add to the decisions the city has to make related to the aquatic center.

Its an interesting time for sure, he said.

Although a decision hasnt yet been made related to the opening of the aquatic center, the city would like to make a decision soon, so individuals who planned to work at the pool can pursue other summer employment opportunities.

The aquatic centers fiscal year 2020 budget was $158,000, Flory said, noting 45% is attributed to salaries.

Our preference would be that we were able to have a normal pool season, but that isnt the case, Flory said. This is clearly not anything the park director, the park advisory board, you all, myself want to be closing the pool, but we may be in the situation where we just simply dont have any options.

At City Beach, the city plans to install social distancing signage that encourages beach users to remain 6 feet apart.

Thats been popular lately and we anticipate its popularity will increase, and we hope people will respect and abide by the social distancing recommendations that come from the Department of Public Health and (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), he said.

Flory said the city is unable to have public health and law enforcement officials at City Beach to enforce social distancing among beach users, but if they dont abide by them, the city may be forced to close it.

The splash pad, which is part of the second phase of the City Beach enhancement project, is anticipated to be completed in mid-June.

Peterson Construction, of Webster City, was awarded the second phase of the project for nearly $1.1 million. Peterson was the contractor that built the citys aquatic center in 2007.

The second phase of the beach enhancement project features the construction of a splash pad, a new restroom facility, a sun shade shelter, landscaping improvements and lighting.

The splash pad will be located northwest and southwest of the new restroom facility and it will contain three zones that can be activated individually.

At Mondays meeting, Councilman Bennett Smith asked Flory if the city would likely be using the same criteria for the splash pad as the aquatic center and beach, and he said thatll likely be the case.

Were going to have an incredible community asset there and restroom facility as well, he said. Wed like to be able to use it and wed like the community to be able to enjoy it, but again well probably put signs up there encouraging the social distancing and hopefully people will abide by those or were not going to have much choice but to take those things out of operation.

Ashley Stewart covers Clear Lake and arts and entertainment in North Iowa for the Globe Gazette. You can reach her at ashley.stewart@globegazette.com or by phone at 641-421-0533. Follow Ashley on Twitter at GGastewart.

Concerned about COVID-19? Sign up now to get the most recent coronavirus headlines and other important local and national news sent to your email inbox daily. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Kyrgyzstan reported on Wednesday that COVID-19 infections in the country totaled 1270, with 27 new cases, Trend reports citing Kabar.

Among the newly infected, 9 are medical workers, raising the total number of medical workers diagnosed with COVID-19 to 266, the country's deputy health minister Nurbolot Usenbaev told a regular news briefing.

He said that the number of recovered cases increased to 910 with 12 new recoveries in the last 24 hours.

"All their repeated tests showed negative results," Usenbaev added.

To date, 346 patients have been treated in hospitals throughout the country, with 5 in intensive care.

In total, 2175 people who have had contact with infected patients are under medical observation.

In addition, the number of contacts of the infected is 6280, all of them under the supervision of doctors in home quarantine.
Anonymous donors have pooled together $8 million to pay off college loans for up to 400 students who overcame personal hardships  from homelessness and extreme poverty  to become first-generation college students.

The donors are longtime supporters of Bay Area nonprofit Students Rising Above (SRA), and the money is intended to eliminate student debt for the graduates of the scholarship program. These donors are also passionate about tackling the issue of student debt.

On a recent Zoom call, SRA CEO Elizabeth Devaney shared the news with the program's alumni and read a short letter from the donors.

"People lent us a hand and now, we are able to extend a hand to these young people. Not to change who they are but to reveal who they are," the letter reads. "We believe it is important to leave the world a better place than we came into it. To that end, we have decided to pay off all student loans for the 400 Rising Star alumni to date."

students-rising-above-2020-05-19.png

Alumni of Students Rising Above on Zoom call when they were told an anonymous donor paid off $8 million in college debt. CBS San Francisco

I am one of the 400 alumni who will benefit.

When I was accepted into the program the summer before my senior year of high school, SRA advisers stepped in to guide me through the college admissions process. While I was in college, SRA was a pivotal support system and at times played the role that my parents, refugees from Afghanistan, were unable to because they were still adjusting to a new life in America.

I was 10 years old in 2003 when my family immigrated to the U.S. From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a journalist. I was inspired by my father, a polio survivor and former radio reporter in Kabul. Reporting on the Taliban's human rights abuses in 1996 nearly cost my father his life.

A grenade thrown into the terrace of my childhood home and meant to silence my father instead killed my grandfather. My dad, who now lives vicariously through my work, still has pieces of shrapnel from that grenade on his leg and back.

Story continues

Once in America, my parents constantly stressed the importance of school. Watching my mother work a minimum wage job while attempting to learn English motivated me to pursue higher education.

When I had to decide between staying with my family in California and moving 3,000 miles to George Washington University in Washington D.C., SRA stepped in to help me make an emotional and business decision. SRA's advisers booked flights home on holidays, answered my questions about registering for classes, and prepared me for internship interviews.

In addition to paying for portions of my tuition, SRA also purchased basic necessities like a laptop and printer, bed sheets, and winter clothes.

It's the same role SRA has played for hundreds of other students, including Lorna Contreras.

When Contreras first heard about SRA in 2004, she was a high school senior cleaning homes in the Bay Area. In the classroom she found "a safe haven" from the realities of her life. In SRA, she found "a second pillar" to her family.

During her third year at St. Mary's College of California, where she was studying politics, Contreras said her father, once captured as a prisoner of war while fighting for indigenous rights in Guatemala, "had a complete mental breakdown, which left him with frontal lobe dementia."

"That's when I was going to drop out of school," Contreras said, adding, "I thought school isn't important right now, and I'm just going to start working because there's no income at the house."

But SRA "brought in all the ammunition," Contreras said, and challenged her to not give up on school. She graduated with a politics degree and a minor in Spanish. Contreras has roughly $15,000 left in student loans after going on to complete a Masters in Psychology in 2013.

Contreras, now SRA's director of student programs, said she's thankful for the opportunity to pass down that "hope and belief" to future SRA students.

The desire to give back to the community is one of many reasons Dr. Zachary Tabb chose to become a pediatrician.

image001.jpg

Lorna Contreras

In 2003, growing up with a single mother who worked three jobs and often relied on collecting recyclable items or sewing quilts, "ambitions for college kind of felt like that was something other people did," Tabb said.

Then a last-minute decision to apply for SRA changed the "trajectory" of his life. Tabb, who grew up in Las Gatos and never met his father because his parents divorced before he was born, said he often reflects upon his impoverished upbringing.

"There's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that you can't break free of the cycle of poverty," Tabb said. "I really think that is a generational consequence," he added.

After finishing his undergraduate degree, Tabb spent more than two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda and became interested in medicine. He graduated from medical school from Brown University with over $160,000 in loans and currently works as the resident pediatrician at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

portrait-1.jpg

Dr. Zachary Tabb

Tabb said he was "absolutely shocked" to hear that the weight of his student loans will soon be lifted. These "contributions," this kind of "compassion," Tabb said, "has indescribable effects" and breaks the cycle of poverty.

Every student who SRA serves in the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties comes from low-to-moderate income levels and more than 60% live below the federal poverty line. The organization also leverages a network of over 250 partner companies to provide students with summer internships, which results in nearly 80% of graduates landing jobs within a year.

SRA, which is now 20 years old, began with about 10 to 15 students each year and has grown to help about 65 to 70 students a year.

The majority of SRA students graduate with an average of $7,000 in debt, a figure that is much lower than the national average of nearly $40,000. Devaney said she credits the organization's focus on financial literacy for helping keep the averages down but many SRA students still rack up debt due to postgraduate studies.

For Devaney, the award to the alumni comes at an important time, as the world battles the coronavirus public health pandemic. She said SRA students, who are inured to characteristics like "grit and determination and resilience," can now "step up and lead."

Devaney said the most valuable takeaway from anonymous donors helping students with college loans is that it helps restore faith in humanity.

"There are those who are out there rooting for us," Devaney said. "This is something that is going to help change lives and I guarantee you the students will pass it on."

Teacher infected with coronavirus continues her remote class

Michael Phelps opens up about the toll COVID-19 has taken on his mental health

Lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family speaks out against leaked bodycam footage
DETROIT  Urging residents to evacuate and warning that downtown Midland could be under 9 feet of water by Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached.

Speaking during a press conference late Tuesday, Whitmer said parts of the city of Midland, the village of Sanford, Edenville Township and Dow Chemical had been or were being evacuated. She said officials were working to evacuate residents in Tittabawassee, Thomas and Saginaw townships.

Parts of Midland Township, Lincoln Township and Homer Township had also been evacuated, according to alerts on Midland County's emergency management system, with tens of thousands of people potentially affected by flooding along the Tittabawassee River with a flood warning in effect through Wednesday morning.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County after the Edenville and Sanford dams breached on Tuesday, May 19.

"This is unlike anything weve seen before... but this is truly a historic event that's playing out in the midst of another historic event," Whitmer said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to stay-at-home orders throughout the state and the deaths of more than 5,000 people.

She said that despite those orders generally telling people to stay home, it was important that anyone living in the affected areas evacuate as quickly as possible to safer areas, or go to the homes of relatives and friends. Three shelters had opened in Midland County, as well.

Several dams upstream of Midland along the Tittabawassee had either been breached or were releasing water uncontrollably after 4 to 7 inches of rain fell Sunday and Monday, including the Edenville and Sanford dams on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in mid-Michigan.

The National Weather Service forecast major flooding, likely setting records.

The Tittabawassee River had swelled to 30.9 feet late Tuesday and was forecast to crest at 38 feet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The record is 33.9 feet.

Story continues

The Sanford Dam was breached later in the day Tuesday.

"Please do not hesitate. Go to stay with a friend or relative or go to one of these shelters now," she said, adding that even at a shelter, people should try to do the best they can to practice social distancing and wear a face covering to protect themselves and others from coronavirus.

Whitmer also urged people not to walk or drive through standing water and to take the evacuation notices seriously, saying there were thousands of Michiganders who needed to heed the call to evacuate immediately.

Midland is the largest city in the affected area with about 40,000 residents and the home to Dow Chemical.

Contact Angie: ajackson@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow her on Twitter: @AngieJackson23

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan flooding: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urges Midland evacuations
Two men charged in Japan with aiding the escape of Carlos Ghosn were arrested in Massachusetts Wednesday morning and are being held for possible extradition.

Michael L. Taylor and his son, Peter Maxwell Taylor, are scheduled to appear by video in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday afternoon, according to court records. Ghosn, the ex-Nissan chairman, jumped bail and fled Japan in 2019 to escape trial for alleged financial crimes.

Prosecutors said Peter Taylor had plans to fly from Boston to Beirut Wednesday.

Ghosn fled in December in a spectacular escape aboard a charter jet bound for Turkey en route to Lebanon, where he holds citizenship. Later lashing out at Japan's prosecutors for what he called a "rigged" criminal justice system, he has maintained his innocence and defended his decision to flee Japan, saying that he couldn't get a fair trial in the country.

Japan, which has rejected Ghosn's criticism of its justice system, responded by issuing arrest warrants for the former executive and others suspected of aiding him. The detention of the two men by federal officials in the U.S. is likely to be warmly welcomed by Tokyo, though Japan has so far been unsuccessful in efforts to secure Ghosn's return due to the lack of an extradition treaty with Lebanon.

The Taylors and another man, George-Antoine Zayek, are suspected of helping Ghosn make his way to a Tokyo hotel, and then to the airport and onto the plane using various methods to prevent him from being detected, Japanese prosecutors said in a January statement.

The escape Michael Taylor, 59, a former Green Beret, and his son allegedly helped plot started from a Tokyo hotel and then a bullet train to Osaka, where whey boarded a private plane bound for Turkey. In order to avoid detection, Ghosn was smuggled onto the aircraft in a large musical instrument case, according to court filings.

Calling each of the Taylors an "exceptionally high flight risk," prosecutors are asking they both be held without bail.

"Peter Taylor is not just capable of fleeing while on bond--he is an expert in the subject," the U.S. said in a court filing. "The plot to spirit Ghosn out of Japan was one of the most brazen and well-orchestrated escape acts in recent history, involving a dizzying array of hotel meetups, bullet train travel, fake personas, and the chartering of a private jet."

The government claims Michael Taylor is the founder of American International Security Corp. and that he has "facilitated the extractions of other individuals."

Zayek's whereabouts weren't immediately known. Christina Sterling, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office, declined comment on Zayek.

According to prosecutors, Michael flew from Dubai to Boston on Feb. 16. Peter made the same trip on March 22. They subsequently learned that Peter had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut, the city where Ghosn had fled, today with a stopover in London.

Warrants for the arrests of both men were issued by a Tokyo court on Jan. 30 and renewed the next month, according to U.S. prosecutors.

Ghosn, who was chairman and chief executive officer of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automaker alliance, was arrested in November 2018, accused of under-reporting income and misusing company funds. He had been under house arrest as he awaited trial. Ghosn has called his prosecution part of a plot to limit the integration of Nissan and Renault.
Police have issued a statement clarifying the circumstances under which David Kiwaka, the father of Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip, was shot in Nanyuki.

It had been claimed that Mr Kiwaka was shot by police on Sunday for not wearing a mask but Laikipia County Police Commander Maxwell Nyaema said the accused obstructed officers from arresting a suspect.

On the said day in the afternoon, five police officers were in Kiwanja Ndege area of Laikipia North to arrest a man accused of assaulting his wife when Mr Kiwaka allegedly stabbed one of them using a sword.

The police commander added that Mr Kiwaka was part of a crowd that was trying to rescue the suspect.

When he attempted to stab another officer, he was shot on the right leg, Mr Nyaema said.

The police boss said officers had to shoot in the air to disperse the rowdy crowd. He said two people were injured and were rushed to Doldol Sub-County Hospital for first aid before they were transferred to Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital for further treatment.

The senators father was later taken to Nanyuki Cottage Hospital.

Lamu Senator Anwar Loitiptip had on Monday called on the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) to investigate the shooting.
In a setback to Andhra Pradesh Government, National Green Tribunal(NGT) on Wednesday directed to stop the works pertaining to the controversial turned Pothireddipadu head regulatory and Rayalaseema lift scheme at Sangameshwara project site aimed to get waters from Srisailam project that is being opposed by Telangana government.

The green tribunal has stayed the GO 203 issued by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government to begin the works and increase the heights.

The tribunal orders came at a time when Telangana government has opposed the 203 Government Order(GO) and plans to draw waters from the two sites from Srisailam project.

The Telangana Government objects that the GO 203 of AP government will deprive irrigation and drinking waters to Mahabub Nagar, Ranga Reddy, Nalgonda and Khammam districts.

Already the Union Water resources ministry and Krishna board have directed Jagan government to stall the works and not to go ahead.

The board and the Centre observed that the AP has already used allocated waters and cannot use any more besides seeking details followed by a complaint from KCR Government.

NGT has directed the government set up an expert committee to submit a report in two months on the waters row.

The tribunal directed the AP Government to abstain from taking up any works until further orders are given.

The committee comprises a senior official of Krishna board, official from pollution control board and One member from IIT Hyderabad.

According to information, the NGT has instructed Jagan Mohan Reddy Government to submit all details of the proposed works.
The recordings showed that Biden, as he has previously said publicly, linked loan guarantees for Ukraine in 2015 to the ouster of Viktor Shokin, then the countrys prosecutor general. But Derkach, an independent member of Ukraines parliament who previously aligned with a pro-Russian faction and has past links to Russian intelligence, used the new clips to make an array of accusations not proved by the tapes.
Exposure of ulterior motives behind stigmatization of China with COVID-19 (Part I)

By Jun Sheng

As of May 19, Beijing Time (GMT +8), the US has reported more than 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases cumulatively with over 90,000 deaths, both figures are the highest in the world.

In the face of the poor pandemic response, economic slowdown, bipartisan hostility, and divided public opinions, some US politicians are head over heels busy, not battling the outbreak and saving lives, but shifting the blame and putting on one disgusting farce after another.

The US stood by with folded arms at the onset of the outbreak when it first appeared in China. On January 30, local time, a senior US official claimed in an interview that the viral outbreak in China could offer upside to the US economy by encouraging manufacturers to move back to America.

His remarks astonished the world. While China was at its most difficult times battling the virus, senior US officials, instead of showing the slightest sign of morality and compassion, gloated over Chinas misfortune and thought about taking advantage of it for their benefits.

The US buried its head in the sand of arrogance and self-conceit. China began to regularly notify the World Health Organization (WHO) and countries and regions, including the US of its outbreak information and containment measures from January 3.

From then on to early March, when the pandemic picked up speed sweeping across the US, in a valuable period of two months, Washington first played down the pandemic situation and focused only on the confirmed cases without taking any preventive measures, which, when taken later, turned out loose and faulty.

The US politicians ridiculously believed that they could block the virus spread just by burying their heads in the sand. When they finally woke up to reality, it was too late. Exactly as the American website Politico commented, the mishandling by the US government exacerbated the pandemic crisis.

The US has been trying to deceive the world and blame others for its own mistakes. As the outbreak escalated at home, some American politicians, turning a blind eye to facts, have been trying to scapegoat the World Health Organization (WHO) for Washingtons poor response. The US declared on April 14, local time, to suspend its funding for the WHO.

However, the mainstream view in the international community is that its the US, not the WHO that has destroyed the global cooperation in battling the virus. Christopher Hill, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, published an article criticizing the US government for brooding about only one thing at the moment - buck-passing.

He is right in saying so. Apart from passing the buck to China and WHO, certain American politicians also instigated some media to call the coronavirus China virus and Wuhan virus and labeled Chinas anti-virus cooperation with the world as diplomatic campaign or propaganda initiative. They came up with the theories that China had covered up its epidemic situation and falsified data, and even made absurd arguments that the virus came from a Chinese lab and China should make compensation.

Such mud-flinging at China by those politicians in total ignored facts and confused right and wrong, revealed their vicious intentions. With their inherent arrogance and prejudice, they are trying to deflect the spotlight of public opinions by spreading rumors and lies and flaming up discrimination, xenophobia, and racism regardless of international justice.

Former US President Abraham Lincoln once said, You may deceive all the people part of the time, and part of the people all the time, but not all the people all the time. The mean lies and fallacies spread by certain American politicians may deceive a small group of people, but not the whole world; they may deceive some people part of the time, but not all the time.

The virus is a common enemy to all humankind. Those sinister American politicians will one day pay a high price for what they did --- they will bring miseries to the American people, pave the way for their decline, and ruin their political credibility.

They may have long put aside the book The World is Flat authored by economist Thomas Friedman. Still, they should at least re-read For Whom the Bell Tolls, a novel by famous American writer Ernest Hemingway, in which a famous sentence says, every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main. Any mans death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Any therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that developing countries like Pakistan face the dilemma of whether to protect their people from COVID-19 or hunger as he defended his decision to ease the nationwide lockdown to save millions of people who would have starved to death due to the coronavirus-related restrictions.

Khan made the comments while addressing the the World Economic Forum through a video link, highlighting the economic vulnerabilities of the developing countries in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

"We had to face a twin challenge. One was to stem the growth of the virus, but the bigger challenge is how to mitigate the effects of lockdown on our population and rising poverty, he said.

Pakistan on May 9 began easing the month-long nationwide lockdown in a phased manner by allowing various businesses to open up, citing the economic crisis due to the shutdown.

Khan defended his policy of easing the lockdown as millions would have starved if the government had not lifted the lockdown meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"In Pakistan, we have 25 million workers who are either daily wagers or are self-employed, and these are 25 million families. I say it has affected 120-150 million in total, he said.

He said that the Pakistan government made a critical decision to provide cash to poor families and so far 15 million families had received money.

"These people are facing stark poverty, and unless these people work, they will starve," he said, adding that his government started a cash disbursement programme but that is only a "short term solution."



Khan supported the effort by the G-20 nations to come up with debt relief, saying it would help divert resources to fight the pandemic.

"G-20 countries are coming up with a debt relief [initiative] but we need more details. The reason why there should be [such an initiative] is because we need that fiscal space to divert resources to healthcare and the environment, he said.

He said already a lot of the developing countries lack the fiscal space to put money into healthcare and it was now becoming even more difficult due to their economic fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

I have spoken to the leaders of Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt and they told me that they were facing similar issues such as drop in exports and revenue, he said.

Khan said that the pandemic did not hit the developing countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh with the speed as it did in the Europe and the US.

"Firstly, the speed with which the virus spread in the Europe and the US, it didn't spread in the same way here, he said, adding that countries like Pakistan faced tough economic challenges.

He said the virus hit Pakistan at the worst time when it was in a position to make economic recovery after tough reforms.

Khan said that the coming year would be a challenge for Pakistan and also for the rest of the world.

After the pandemic, every country looked within and became insular. But ultimately we are all connected and the response has to be global, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Apple and Google on Wednesday released long-awaited smartphone technology to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus.

The companies said 22 countries and several U.S. states are already planning to build voluntary phone apps using their software. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus.

Many governments have already tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to roll out their own phone apps to fight the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those apps have encountered technical problems on Apple and Android phones and havent been widely adopted. They often use GPS to track peoples location, which Apple and Google are banning from their new tool because of privacy and accuracy concerns.

Public health agencies from Germany to the states of Alabama and South Carolina have been waiting to use the Apple-Google model, while other governments have said the tech giants privacy restrictions will be a hindrance because public health workers will have no access to the data.

The companies said theyre not trying to replace contact tracing, a pillar of infection control that involves trained public health workers reaching out to people who may have been exposed to an infected person. But they said their automatic exposure notification system can augment that process and slow the spread of COVID-19 by virus carriers who are interacting with strangers and arent yet showing symptoms.

The identity of app users will be protected by encryption and anonymous identifier beacons that change frequently.

User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps, the companies said in a joint statement Wednesday.

The companies said the new technology  the product of a rare partnership between the rival tech giants  solves some of the main technical challenges that governments have had in building Bluetooth-based apps. It will make it easier for iPhones and Android phones to detect each other, work across national and regional borders and fix some of the problems that led previous apps to quickly drain a phones battery.

The statement Wednesday also included remarks from state officials in North Dakota, Alabama and South Carolina signaling that they plan to use it.

We invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running, said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a Republican.

North Dakota had already launched a location-tracking app that about 4% of state residents are using, higher than other U.S. states with similar apps but falling far short of the participation rate that experts say is needed to make such technology useful.

Tim Brookins, the CEO of ProudCrowd, a startup that developed North Dakotas app, said Wednesday that North Dakotans will now be asked to download two complementary apps  his model, to help public health workers track where COVID-19 patients have been, and the Apple-Google model, to privately notify people who might have been exposed to the virus.

Some privacy advocates have favored the Google-Apple approach because it offers more privacy and security. But others, including Ryan Calo, a law professor who co-directs the University of Washingtons Tech Policy Lab, said he is concerned about its effectiveness if people get too many false alerts asking them to quarantine themselves. He said public health agencies would be better off being able to track location with careful safeguards.

Calo said Google and Apple have been more upfront about the limitations of their model, but he said hes still worried some governments will treat it as a substitute for crucial investments in free, widespread testing and hiring an army of human contact tracers.

Were just not going to get out of this global pandemic with a clever app, he said.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Senate of the Parliament of Czech Republic on May 20 unanimously adopted a resolution introduced by Senate Vice President Milan Stech which was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and the condemnation of the crimes committed during the two world wars, including the Armenian Genocide, the foreign ministry said.
File Photo

United States: Pizzas are being distributed by Sikhs in different parts of the United States. These days Gurudwaras are closed due to maintaining social distance and Sikhs are distributing pizza to the needy and homeless outside hospitals, police stations and fire brigades and outside Gurudwaras. One such man is found in Detroit.

Photo He is distributing pizza to 300 needy people. A statement from the Sikh Coalition said that young Shalinder Singh used to come to the Detroit Sikh Gurudwara every Sunday for langar service. Since the outbreak of the corona virus, they have been distributing pizza in the suburbs outside Detroit on Sundays.

Advertisement

Shalinder, 40, said it was time to distribute pizza to Corona Warrior. He said that in this regard he had talked to doctors. Doctors said that they have to work 12 to 16 hours so eating pizza would be more appropriate for them.

PhotoOn consecutive Sundays since April, they visit hospitals, police stations and fire brigades to distribute pizza. So far, they have distributed 1,000 pizzas. Japneet Singh, 25, in New York, also visits hospitals every Sunday to distribute pizza to low-income Corona doctors and other staff.

He works in the US Census Bureau and operates Uber in his spare time. He feels sorry for the doctors when he distributes pizza to low-income doctors at a Hospital in New York's crowded Quiz. Japneet Singh says he has invested 2,000 thousand dollars in the pizza.

Advertisement

Photo After that, the owners of Pizza Papa Jones started giving him cheap pizza for this noble cause. He says he forgets all his worries when he sees low-income doctors eating pizza and smiling.
Ruby Rose at Batwoman (Credit: The CW/Warner Bros)

Ruby Rose has walked away from the CW series Batwoman after just one season on the show.

The Australian actress said that it was 'not a decision I made lightly', with the role set to be recast before season two.

The first series of the show, in which Rose played Gotham City's masked vigilante Kate Kane - cousin on Bruce Wayne - concluded last weekend.

Read more: Production assistant on Batwoman left paralysed

In a statement, Rose said: I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season.

This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and in Los Angeles.

Ruby Rose (Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

I am beyond appreciative to Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Caroline Dries for not only giving me this incredible opportunity, but for welcoming me into the DC universe they have so beautifully created. Thank you Peter Roth and Mark Pedowitz and the teams at Warner Bros. and The CW who put so much into the show and always believed in me. Thank you to everyone who made season one a success  I am truly grateful.

Rose's character was the first ever out-gay character in a superhero series, something the former Orange Is The New Black star said was 'a big deciding factor' in taking up the role in the CW's Arrowverse.

But making the show was not without its drama.

The 33-year-old was almost paralysed while performing a stunt, leaving her with two herniated discs in her back which were close to severing her spinal chord, requiring emergency surgery (footage of which she posted online).

A production assistant on the show was also left paralysed during filming in Vancouver.

30-year-old Amanda Smith suffered life-changing injuries after a bucket lift was lowered onto her head, resulting in spinal damage.

The show is expected to return in January.
Sylvia Goldsholl has endured the 1918 Spanish flu, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and now the coronavirus.

The 108-year-old New Jersey woman is still as spunky as ever after becoming one of the oldest people in the country to survive COVID-19 last month.

New Jersey woman Sylvia Goldsholl survived the coronavirus at 108 years old. (Allendale Community For Senior Living)

She has lived at the Allendale Community for Senior Living for 10 years, where she returned to a hero's welcome on April 15 after being released from the hospital just nine days after testing positive for the coronavirus.

"Certainly when we were informed she had COVID, I thought this is the end of her journey," Goldsholl's niece, Nancy Chazen, told TODAY. "I remember I got the phone call (that she had recovered), and I just thought, 'That so great.' We were very surprised."

I survived everything because I was determined to survive," Goldsholl told News 12 New Jersey.

Goldsholl celebrated her 108th birthday on Dec. 29, 2019, with a party at the facility of 200 residents that was attended by Allendale's mayor.

Goldsholl has become known at her senior living community for her lively personality. (Allendale Community For Senior Living)

"She's a wonder," Allendale Community for Senior Living spokesman David Gillies told TODAY. "She was determined to survive, and she says the secret to her longevity is the love of her family from her parents.

"Sylvia is one of those spunky, feisty, outspoken characters. She's like a big sister here, always advocating for others."

Making her survival particularly remarkable is that New Jersey has had the second highest rate of coronavirus cases and deaths in the country, behind New York. Nearly half of the deaths have been residents of long-term care facilities.

She earned a special shoutout for her "tremendous spirit" from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy for her resilience.

Sylvia Goldscholl is 108 years old. Last month, she tested positive for #COVID19 and has beaten it.



A tremendous life, a tremendous spirit, and a tremendous show of strength. So, to you, Sylvia, we send you all our best for many more years to come. pic.twitter.com/Wds6NCc1qj  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) May 14, 2020

Goldsholl and 108-year-old New Mexico man Phil Corio may be the oldest Americans to survive the virus. There also have been stories of people in their 90s surviving the illness that has disproportionately affected seniors.

Goldsholl was born in 1911 and is the oldest of four children who grew up in the Bronx in New York City. She worked as a bookkeeper and never married or had children, according to Chazen.

"She likes to be around people," Chazen said. "She gets really good care over there and has a great social life, so three cheers to her nursing home that they were able to get her through this."
Israeli cyber terrorist attack targets Iranian port: Report

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 10:11 AM

Israel carried out a cyber terrorist attack that caused disruption at an Iranian port this month, the Washington Post reports.

Iranian officials have acknowledged that a cyberattack briefly knocked computers at Shahid Rajaee port terminal offline on May 9.

According to the newspaper, US and foreign government officials say the attack appears to have originated from Israel which has a history of terrorist attacks on Iran's nuclear energy program.

Earlier this month, shipping traffic at Shahid Rajaee port terminal came to an abrupt halt after computers that regulate the flow of vessels, trucks and goods all crashed at once. The attack reportedly created brief backups on waterways and roads leading to the facility.

According to intelligence and cybersecurity officials, cited by the Post, the attack was carried out by Israeli operatives. It came after the occupying regime said it had been the target of an attempt to penetrate the computers that operate water distribution systems in Israel.

The sprawling Shahid Rajaee port facility is the newest of two major shipping terminals in the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas, on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Post quoted an Israeli regime official as boasting that the attack had caused "total disarray" to shipping traffic in the port.

However, Mohammad Rastad, managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said the terrorist attack "failed to penetrate the PMO's systems and was only able to infiltrate and damage a number of private operating systems at the ports".

Iran has been the target of US and Israeli cyber terrorism for a decade, including attempts to remotely sabotage the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.

In 2010, US and Israeli intelligence agencies unleashed a computer worm called Stuxnet on Iranian uranium-enrichment plants in an attempt to disrupt Iran's nuclear program. The Washington Post reported two years later that the US National Security Agency (NSA), its spy service CIA, and Israel's military had worked together to launch Stuxnet against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The attack was followed by Mossad's assassination of several Iranian nuclear scientists.

Iranian officials have said the attacks worked to the US and Israeli detriment, helping improve the Islamic Republic's readiness against acts of sabotage.

Last year, Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said Iran had developed an indigenous firewall securing its sensitive industrial facilities against cyber terrorism.

The firewall "practically neutralizes industrial sabotage, such as Stuxnet, in electrical grids and suchlike," he wrote.

Gholamreza Jalali, the head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization which is in charge of cyber security, has said Iran is taking legal action against the US over repeated cyber attacks and threats, while it is putting in place robust security measures to protect its vital infrastructure.

In February, government officials said the Iranian internet service had suffered hours of disruption in what telecoms authorities said was the result of DDoS cyber attack.

The attack was dealt with immediately using the Iranian Information Technology Fortress, known as DEJFA, senior telecoms ministry official Sajjad Bonabi said at the time.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Weve been longing for it! But a little more patience. Well make it together, the Turkish presidents communication chief, Fahrettin Altun, tweeted May 10. The subject of his yearning was revealed in a picture attached to the tweet: the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul. And the promise of success was about a decades-old cause of Turkeys Islamists  converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque  which they have inflamed at times and damped down at others, depending on their political interests.

The Hagia Sophia  Holy Wisdom in Greek  was built as a church during Byzantine times in 537 and functioned as such for 916 years before the Ottomans conquered Istanbul on May 29, 1453, and converted the edifice into a mosque on the same day. Almost half a millennium later, on Nov. 24, 1934, the Hagia Sophia became a museum by a Council of Ministers decree under the modern Turkish republic.

Hence, reverting the Hagia Sophia to a functioning mosque has been a holy grail for the Islamist movement in Turkey. Today, the Hagia Sophia is the only subject of victimhood that the movement has left for political use after the abolition of the headscarf ban for public servants and students, starting from secondary school, and the removal of restrictions and pressure on imam-hatip schools, which provide Islamic education in line with the Sunni faith.

Altuns tweet went viral, generating 12,400 retweets, 57,600 likes and 4,200 comments. And though some troll contribution was probably involved, the fact remains that the Islamist cause for a Hagia Sophia Mosque has lost nothing of its vigor.

A day after Altuns tweet, a video of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reciting the Quran was published on the website of the pro-government daily Yeni Safak. It showed Erdogan sitting at a desk in what looked like a government office and reciting the Quran loudly in Arabic.

The caption informed viewers that the president was doing a khatm  a reading of the Quran from beginning to end  on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan and had reached the 25th section of the holy book, which consists of 30 sections of 20 pages each. According to Yeni Safak, social media users were impressed how Erdogan had already reached section 25 on the 18th day of the Ramadan. Text reading Im at section 25 as if quoting Erdogan appears in the first 14 seconds of the one-minute footage, punctuating further that it was intended for propaganda.

The video came as a striking example of how religion is exploited in politics in Turkey. Though it was not the first time that Erdogan was filmed reading the Quran, the footage acquired greater significance by coinciding with Altuns Hagia Sophia tweet, with the two messages reinforcing each other.

In Turkey, the degree of intensity or excess in which religious elements are used in political propaganda serves as a stress barometer to gauge the mood of the mainstream Islamist movement. When Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) turn up the dose of religion in their political messaging, one knows that the stress of the government has increased.

An earlier example of this emotional state was seen in Erdogans campaign ahead of the local elections in March 2019, which resulted in the AKPs loss of Turkeys main cities. The anticipation of defeat led to such panic and apprehension in government ranks that Erdogan used any opportunity to its utmost to sharpen religious-based polarization in a bid to stop conservatives from gravitating away from the AKP.

At a rally on March 16, 2019, for instance, Erdogans crowd was offered a showing on a giant screen of footage from the mosque massacres in Christchurch, New Zealand, which the assailant himself had livestreamed the day before.

And in the final week before the polls, the unprecedented level of stress led Erdogan to play a powerful card as a last resort  inflaming the Hagia Sophia cause by suggesting for the first time that the edifice could be reopened to Muslims to pray.

He had a new formula, which entailed renaming the edifice as the Hagia Sophia Mosque, the logic of which he explained as follows: Entry into the Hagia Sophia could become free of charge after the elections. Just like the tourists visiting the Blue Mosque  they are not paying anything, are they? The same could be done at the Hagia Sophia [by] removing its museum status. So, just as the nearby Blue Mosque, famous for its blue tiles, the Hagia Sophia was to be open to both Muslims to pray and tourists to sightsee.

In a speech in Istanbul two days later, on March 26, 2019, Erdogan confirmed his resolve to revert the Hagia Sophia to its true self after the elections. With only two days to go before the polls, he asserted, again in Istanbul, that the plans about the Hagia Sophia will be implemented, adding a personal assurance that Erdogan says it only once.

Yet Erdogans candidate for Istanbul mayor, Binali Yildirim, lost the race by 18,000 votes. Erdogan refused to concede defeat, forcing a June 23 rerun of the vote. The oppositions winning margin grew to more than 800,000 votes this time, turning Erdogans loss of Istanbul into a full-fledged debacle.

Neither Erdogan nor his aides spoke of converting the Hagia Sophia into a mosque after the rerun  up until Altuns May 10 tweet. So what could be the reason for rekindling the Hagia Sophia cause now?

Could it be simply the purported disgruntlement of the pious over the ongoing closure of mosques in the COVID-19 pandemic, while shopping malls were reopened May 11? Or is the government trying to use religion to suppress the grumbling and the specter of unraveling in its voter base as the pandemic worsens Turkeys economic turmoil? Or is Erdogan laying the ground for snap elections, which he would like to keep as a contingency option at the ready to retain his grip on power?

In this context, May 29 is a date that needs to be flagged. Why? Ali Erbas, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, had announced May 15 that mosques would reopen June 12. But only three days later, Erdogan brought the reopening forward by 18 days, saying that mosques meeting certain conditions would partly reopen to worship with Friday prayer May 29. What led to the rescheduling  some unexpected progress in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic or political considerations?

May 29 marks the 567th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul and the Hagia Sophias conversion into a mosque. Could Erdogan choose that day to try to deliver the promise he made ahead of last years local polls? Renaming the museum to the Hagia Sophia Mosque and removing entrance fees would mean exhausting the Islamists last victimhood narrative. Would Erdogan go for it at this time?

Regardless of how the May 29 threshold is passed and how the questions above are answered, converting the Hagia Sophia is not as easy as it might seem  and not only because of the outcry that such a move would trigger in the Christian world.

The Hagia Sophias museum status allows the coexistence of Islamic and Christian symbols in the edifice. Its conversion to a mosque open to worship would raise religious and political complications.

In April 2019, shortly after the local polls and Erdogans pledges to turn the Hagia Sophia to a mosque, Al-Monitor posed the following question to the highest theological council of the Religious Affairs Directorate: Is it permissible for Muslims to pray in churches or indoor spaces that contain symbols and visuals related to Christianity?

The main points of the councils reply read, Praying in a church even if other spaces are available is makruh [reprehensible and discouraged, though not forbidden]. In case one is compelled to pray in a church or a synagogue, images and statues should be covered, if possible.

Then, if the Hagia Sophia is to become a mosque again, what will happen to its priceless mosaics and other symbols, which came to light after the edifice became a museum, emerging from centuries under plaster? Are they going to be plastered again or covered with canvas so that Muslims could pray?

And if so, what legitimate arguments Turkey could possibly find to justify to the world the makeover of a magnificent monument that has been a museum for decades as part of humankinds common cultural heritage? Thats the question Erdogans government needs to meticulously study before turning the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.
Gov. Tom Wolf provided an update on the coronavirus response and the gradual reopening of Pennsylvania.

In a news conference Wednesday, Wolf fielded questions about businesses, reopening Pennsylvania, the upcoming primary election in June and coronavirus cases in nursing homes.

Retailers

The governor was asked about relaxing restrictions to allow retailers to offer curbside pickup statewide.

Wolf said curbside pickup will be allowed in the states counties in the yellow phase. By Friday, 49 counties in Pennsylvania will be in the yellow phase of Wolfs reopening plan.

But he said he wasnt looking to allow retailers to offer curbside service for those counties still under a stay-at-home order.

Pro sports

The governor said he was working with pro sports leagues to determine how to move forward with some normalcy. Wolf said hes been in touch with the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA and NASCAR. He said he hopes to have more guidance for pro sports leagues in the coming days.

Im working with a number of professional sports leagues, from NASCAR to NFL to NHL to MLB, and others to figure out how we can move to some semblance of normalcy as we get back into the sports seasons, Wolf said.

He said ultimately, its about ensuring that fans can attend such events safely.

Earlier this week, he said NASCAR could have its planned race in the Poconos next month, if Monroe County is no longer under a stay-at-home order.

Businesses

Wolf has vetoed legislation that would have allowed businesses to reopen business activities more broadly.

The governor was asked if he is setting a precedent by taking too many steps through executive action, rather than signing legislation.

After vetoing a bill that would have allowed more real estate activity, Wolf issued his own guidance to allow more real estate transactions to take place statewide.

The governor said he plans to sign legislation to allow restaurants, taverns and hotels to sell mixed drinks to go. Wolf said he wasnt completely certain it was a great idea but he noted the legislation had overwhelming bipartisan support and he would sign it later this week.

Pa. primary

The governor was asked about mail-in ballots and some criticism that voting by mail could lead to voter fraud.

Wolf said mail-in ballots offer a safe way for people to vote. More than 1.5 million people have applied to vote by mail, including about 200,000 who have requested absentee ballots, he said.

The opportunity for fraud would be pretty limited, Wolf said.

Wolf said he is familiar with criticism by President Donald Trump about fraud linked to voting by mail. But Wolf dismissed Trumps concerns and said, I understand he votes by mail.

The governor said counties are doing what they need to ensure the validity of the vote.

Reopening Pennsylvania

The governor was asked about coordinating with other states in discussing reopening plans. Pennsylvania has joined a cooperative with other northeastern states to buy supplies and reopening regions.

Wolf said his administration is having frequent discussions with other states.

Wolf was asked if larger events could occur if a vaccine isnt in place. The governor said it would ultimately take a vaccine to give people full confidence that they can work, go to school and attend large events safely.

Wolf said the state is working to ramp up testing and contact tracing to help give people more confidence and allow more activities to resume. From Wolfs perspective, though, he said a vaccine thats full-proof would be needed so people would feel they can safely go to a Penn State football game, for example.

Until a vaccine is available, Wolf said, life will continue to look different.

On Friday, Wolf is slated to relax restrictions in 12 more counties, including some in the midstate. These are the counties moving into the yellow phase: Adams, Beaver, Carbon, Columbia, Cumberland, Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Susquehanna, Wyoming, Wayne and York.

Currently, 37 counties have already entered the yellow of phase of Wolfs reopening plan. The counties cover western Pennsylvania, including the Pittsburgh area, and the states northern tier.

After Friday, 18 counties will remain under a stay-at-home order that is slated to last until June 4. Those counties are still in the red phase of the Wolf administrations reopening plan.

More than 63,000 people in Pennsylvania have contracted the coronavirus and more than 4,600 have died due to COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health. More than 3,100 of those who have died were residents of long-term care facilities, including nursing homes.

Nursing homes

On Tuesday, the health department released a long-awaited list of coronavirus cases and deaths in long-term care facilities. The Wolf administration has received criticism over the number of cases and fatalities in nursing homes.

Nearly 14,000 residents of long-term care facilities have contracted the virus, along with nearly 2,200 employees.

Wolf was asked if he had entered a nursing home since the crisis began.

I have not, Wolf said.

Wolf said testing of every employee and every resident in a long-term care facility would begin later this month. Tests would be done once a week, Wolf said.

The governor was asked about the accuracy of nursing home data provided by the state. He said he hasnt heard any indication that the information is not accurate.

Gov. Tom Wolf's red, yellow and green phases reopening Pennsylvania after coronavirus-related shutdowns in 2020. (Graphic via the governor's office.)

More from PennLive

Some central Pa. nursing homes plagued by COVID-19 infections and deaths, new data shows

Full list of Pa. nursing homes with coronavirus cases and deaths

Nearly 50 nursing homes in Pa. have 20 or more deaths tied to coronavirus

Pa. sold nursing home testing plan as universal and radical, but advocates say its optional and insufficient

Liquor consumption is up during the pandemic and substance abuse experts are worried

Voters guide: Meet Pa.s 2020 primary election candidates
United Nations, May 20 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for international action to help Africa deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These are still early days for the pandemic in Africa, and disruption could escalate quickly. Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative -- now and for recovering better," said Guterres in a video message for the launch of a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on Africa, according to Xinhua news agency.

Ending the pandemic in Africa is essential for ending it across the world, he said.

"We are calling for international action to strengthen Africa's health systems, maintain food supplies, avoid a financial crisis, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings," said Guterres.

African countries should also have quick, equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment, that must be considered global public goods, he added.

He repeated his call for a global response package amounting to at least 10 percent of the world's gross domestic product. For Africa, that means more than 200 billion US dollars as additional support from the international community, he said.

Guterres reiterated his call for a comprehensive debt framework, starting with an across-the-board debt standstill for countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults.

African countries should work to silence the guns and address violent extremism. Political processes and elections in the coming months offer potential milestones for stability and peace. Women and youth must be empowered, said the UN chief.

He warned that the pandemic threatens African progress. "It will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease. Already, demand for Africa's commodities, tourism and remittances are declining. The opening of the trade zone has been pushed back, and millions could be pushed into extreme poverty." The virus has taken more than 2,500 African lives. Vigilance and preparedness are critical, he said.
The Tourism Minister Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, has declared that though the Covid-19 pandemic has had an effect on a lot of initiatives, preparations are ongoing for 'Beyond the Return' program.

She said the activities previously planned for the 10-year initiative will take a different turn because of the global pandemic.

Currently, because of Covid-19, the work on 'Beyond the Return' stalled a bit but we are working to launch it before the end of May, virtually, she said.

She hinted that Cabinet had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to spearhead this project.

The minister in an interview with George Quaye, host of Showbiz A to Z on Joy FM, revealed that more virtual activities will be held in a bid to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

Beyond the Return is a project launched by the President after the success of the Year of Return aimed at inviting all Diasporans back home after 400 years since the first slaves left the shores of Africa.

The government intends to implement the campaign-oriented project, Beyond the Return  a Birthright, over a 10-year-period to continuously carry out activities to sustain the Diaspora relationship and build on the positive impact of the initiative.

The campaign is on the theme, A decade of African Restoration 2020-2030.

Experience Ghana, Invest in Ghana, Pathways to Ghana, Celebrate Ghana, Brand Ghana and Give back to Ghana were the pillars this initiative was being based on, Mrs Oteng Gyasi said.

These, she explained, were to help give Beyond the Return the clarity it needed and pave way for easier travels to Ghana and more investments.

It is a project that we believe is very important to the country and if successfully executed we stand to derive a lot of gains and revenue for it. For this year most of the things that we will do will be virtual, she said.

The minister used the opportunity to announce the completion of works in the Eastern Region's cultural centre while others were still ongoing.

The minister indicated that the cultural centre in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, is being renovated at the moment and would be ready by the end of the year.

She added that works on the Takoradi cultural centre were yet to begin.

---Daily Guide
Pier 1 Imports Inc. said it would seek bankruptcy court approval to wind down its brick-and-mortar operations after the coronavirus pandemic made it difficult for the U.S. retailer to find a buyer.

The company said in a statement Tuesday it intends to sell its inventory and remaining assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, through the court-supervised process. Pier 1 filed to begin an orderly wind-down as soon as reasonably possible after stores are able to reopen following government-mandated closures because of the pandemic.

This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate our business going forward, Robert Riesbeck, chief executive officer, said in the statement. Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of Covid-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer.

Pier 1 sought court protection in February with plans to shut about half of its stores and said it was in talks with multiple potential buyers. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company had posted multiple quarters of declining sales and losses amid a raft of new competitors like Wayfair Inc.

On March 30, it canceled a scheduled auction for its assets, saying lenders would take ownership of the company. However, the company said it was still in discussions with various parties about how to maximize the value of its assets.

Pier 1 is left with no choice but to wind down retail operations and look to sell all its remaining assets, attorneys for the company write in court papers. It is now clear that Pier 1s future does not involve any brick-and-mortar retail locations, they said.

Since store-closing sales cant be held until state-mandated lockdowns are lifted, the retailer is seeking court permission to pay current employees severance and bonuses to discourage them from leaving before the chain can wind down. Pier 1 is also asking its bankruptcy judge to set an auction on July 8 for its its intellectual property and e-commerce business, other court papers show.

Bloomberg News reported last month that Pier 1 was expected to receive a revised purchase offer from a company called CSC Generation that would keep open fewer than 100 of the companys 900-plus locations. The bid was expected after the retailers bankruptcy court process was paused while stores are shuttered in accordance with coronavirus containment measures.

The case is Pier 1 Imports Inc., 20-30805, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond)
/ -- Having health insurance is a good way of managing one's healthcare expenses. However, many times, one may discover what their insurance does or doesn't cover only at the time of availing it, which is often too late. Usually, many treatments and related medical costs for new medical procedures, diagnostic costs or elective treatments like slimming and cosmetic surgeries are not covered under health insurance policies. To help customers pay for such medical expenses without putting a strain on their savings, Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending and investing arm of Bajaj Finserv offers Digital Health EMI Network Card.

Available through a fully online application process, this health card helps customers convert medical bills into No Cost EMIs over a flexible tenor ranging up to 24 months. Customers can avail of this hassle-free financing option in just 5 minutes. What's more, this digital-only card allows customers to avail 800+ treatments through Bajaj Finserv's 5,500+ lifecare partners spread across 1,000+ cities. The Digital Health EMI Network Card is a family card and so, anyone in the family, including blood relations like parents, spouse, children, and siblings, can use it to convert healthcare and pharmacy bills into EMIs.

Here are the treatments not covered by health insurance but available on No Cost EMIs via the Digital Health EMI Network Card.

Diagnostic treatments



Prior to treating a disease, healthcare institutions run several tests to arrive at a diagnosis. These include CT scans, MRI scans, blood tests, thyroid function tests and so on. While being part of regular healthcare procedures, these diagnostic tests generally fall out of the ambit of a general health insurance policy, unless the patient is hospitalised.

However, with diagnostic centres being a part of the Bajaj Finserv's lifecare partner network, customers can use their health card to undergo tests and pay the expenses through affordable EMIs. What's more, the digital card offers access to limited-period discounts, which can be accessed through the Bajaj Finserv Wallet App, such as a discount of up to 20% on in-house diagnostic tests carried out at Metropolis Labs (offer is valid post-lockdown).

Plastic and cosmetic surgery



Cosmetic and plastic surgeries are often omitted from general health insurance plans as they are considered elective and classified as non-life-threatening. This contrasts with the case when an insurance recognises the procedure as reconstructive or medically necessary. So, patients must be prepared to bear the cost of treatments like rhinoplasty and liposuction out of their pocket.

However, Digital Health EMI Network Card holders get a pre-approved credit limit of up to Rs. 4 lakh. This amount suffices to pay for even expensive treatments available at speciality clinics or multi-speciality hospitals such as Manipal Hospitals and Apollo Hospitals.

Pre-existing conditions and pregnancy-related treatments



Pre-existing diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes, though common, are often excluded from health insurance plans. At times, coverage is offered after a lengthy waiting period. To address this, Bajaj Finserv offers flexible repayment plans that allow customers to divide medical bills into EMIs spaced out over 3 to 24 months.

Likewise, to pay for pregnancy-related costs, such as a C-section and post-delivery expenses one could be using personal finances. To get coverage for these from an insurance, an additional rider or a customised maternity plan is required. With the Digital Health EMI Network Card customers can avail such treatments for the mother and the child as the card is a single solution to meet one's family expenses too. This way, it can be used to finance treatment for the whole family rather than simply the cardholder.

Eye and dental treatments



Most often, dental and eye treatments do not require hospitalisation. Hence, they tend to be excluded from health insurance policies. However, Bajaj Finserv's partner healthcare centres offer dental care and ophthalmology treatments on No Cost EMIs, allowing customers to avail the best treatments at an affordable cost.

To get the Digital Health EMI Network Card now, existing Bajaj Finserv customers who have a pre-approved offer can simply:



Apply online with their registered mobile number



Enter the OTP sent to the number



View their pre-approved Digital Health EMI Network Card



Pay the one-time fee of Rs. 707



Access the card through the Bajaj Finserv Wallet App



Those who aren't yet a member of the EMI Network can visit their nearest partner hospital, medical centre, or clinic to get access to No Cost EMI financing. New customers and cardholders (post 31st March,2020) can transact using their digital health card only post the lockdown.

With the Digital Health EMI Network Card aiding a health insurance plan, customers can get healthcare affordably even if the condition is excluded from their existing health insurance. Customers can check their pre-approved EMI offer to get access to instant EMI financing.

About Bajaj Finance Limited



Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending company of Bajaj Finserv group, is one of the most diversified NBFCs in the Indian market catering to more than 40 million customers across the country. Headquartered in Pune, the company's product offering includes Consumer Durable Loans, Lifestyle Finance, Digital Product Finance, Personal Loans, Loan against Property, Small Business Loans, Home loans, Credit Cards, Two-wheeler and Three-wheeler Loans, Commercial lending/SME Loans, Loan against Securities and Rural Finance which includes Gold Loans and Vehicle Refinancing Loans along with Fixed Deposits. Bajaj Finance Limited prides itself on holding the highest credit rating of FAAA/Stable for any NBFC in the country today. It is also the only NBFC in India with the international 'BBB' with stable outlook for long-term, by S&P Global Rating.

To know more, please visit: https://www.bajajfinserv.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gordon Ramsay has taken out loans to shore up his restaurant empire which has been shuttered by the coronavirus lockdown, it was revealed last night.

He has registered charges with Barclays against 16 companies, which includes those managing some of his Michelin star outlets, according to the Sun.

The loans will provide a lifeline to companies which manage some of the TV chef's flagship eateries, such as London's Savoy Grill and Petrus.

Gordon Ramsay has taken out loans to shore up his restaurant empire which has been shuttered by the coronavirus lockdown, it was revealed last night

He has registered charges with Barclays against 16 companies, which includes those overseeing some of his Michelin star outlets (Gordon Ramsay restaurant in London)

The beleaguered hospitality industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with pubs and restaurant across the country - many with lofty overheads - forced to mothball.

The lockdown led Ramsay, estimated to be worth almost 200million to lay off 500 employees in March, with no guarantee their jobs would be safe in the future.

Chefs, waiters and other staff were called to a meeting and told their contracts were being terminated - rather than being furloughed on 80 per cent pay.

It triggered a wave of anger, including from chef Anca Torpuc who at the time branded the celebrity chef a 'piece of 's***' for his decision.

Ramsay, 53, has grabbed headlines throughout the lockdown after he had his wrist slapped for flouting lockdown rules.

The coastguard reportedly issued the father-of-five with an official warning after he was seen in Rock, Fowey, Port Isaac and Newquay  some distance from his 4million home in Trebetherick.
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the most promising innovators in science and technology, has announced the 2020 recipients of the Hertz Fellowship.

The Hertz Fellowship supports the research of PhD students who demonstrate the greatest potential to tackle the most urgent problems facing society. This year's fellowships will fund 16 researchers whose goals range from developing drugs more quickly, cheaply, and effectively, to advancing artificial intelligence to creating a carbon-neutral future.

One of the most prestigious awards of its kind, the Hertz Fellowship supports five years of graduate research and the freedom to pursue innovative ideas, wherever they may lead. Hertz Fellows also receive lifelong professional support, including mentoring and networking within a connected, influential community of more than 1,200 leaders in science and technology, each of whom has been awarded the Hertz Fellowship since 1963.

"The pursuits of our 2020 Hertz Fellows embody the type of bold, risk-taking research that the Hertz Foundation has supported for almost six decades," said Robbee Baker Kosak, president of the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation. "By funding innovative thinkers and connecting visionary researchers across generations, geography, and disciplines, we create the conditions for our fellows to have an exponential impact on the most pressing problems facing our nation and world."

Selected through a rigorous process, including in-depth interviews with some of the nation's top scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, the newest Hertz Fellows were selected from a pool of more than 800 applicants from 24 universities across the nation.

"We strive to identify young researchers with the vision and drive to achieve the breakthroughs that are needed today in science and technology," said Philip Welkhoff, senior interviewer and member of the board of directors at the Hertz Foundation, as well as the malaria program director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "As a society, we benefit tremendously from empowering them with the freedom to leap into the unknown and explore the possibilities."

The 2020 class joins a community of fellows whose transformative research and daring innovation impact our lives every day. Hertz Fellows are developing a drug therapy to restore hearing, data-driven methods to detect cyber threats, technology to genetically eradicate invasive plant species, and immunotherapy to support universal organ transplants. They've uncovered contraband nuclear weapons, created hack-proof drones for the military, and proven the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

Many Hertz Fellows are currently focusing their work on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Anna Bershteyn is co-principal investigator in a clinical trial to determine if the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 from developing in people who've been recently exposed to the virus. In work published in Nature, Cheri Ackerman and Cameron Myhrvold collaborated on the development of diagnostic technology that can simultaneously test 1,000 samples for 160 different viruses.

Over the foundation's 57-year history of awarding fellowships, Hertz Fellows have established a remarkable track record of accomplishments. Their ranks include two Nobel laureates; two MacArthur Fellows; eight recipients of the Breakthrough Prize; and winners of the Turing Award, the Fields Medal, the National Medal of Technology, and the Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award. In addition, 43 are members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and 12 have been included in Forbes magazine's "30 under 30" list. Hertz Fellows have founded more than 200 companies and hold more than 3,000 patents.

Introducing the 2020 Hertz Fellows

Fellows are listed along with their graduate institution and field of interest.

Alexander (Sasha) Alabugin (California Institute of Technology; Chemistry) - Alexander Alabugin aspires to advance energy science by characterizing and controlling elementary transactions of small molecules, protons, photons, and electrons. His goal is to unravel inorganic reaction mechanisms with techniques ranging from x-ray absorption to electron resonance and Mossbauer spectroscopy. A senior in chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alexander is also a fellow of the National Science Foundation.

Daine Danielson (University of Chicago; Physics) - An Eckhardt Graduate Scholar in the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, Daine Danielson envisions a world in which a global network of neutrino-based nuclear monitoring technologies is used to root out clandestine weapons manufacturing, reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism and war. His research explores the phenomenology of fundamental particles and fields, developing novel applications toward nuclear security and nonproliferation, and deepening our understanding of the natural world. Cofounder and chief architect of the medical education platform Whitekoat, Inc., he holds a bachelor's in computational physics with a minor in mathematics from the University of California, Davis.

Alyssa Dayan (University of California, Berkeley; Computer Science) - Alyssa Dayan hopes to further our knowledge about intelligence and cognition while enabling smarter new technologies that can help the world. A machine learning research scientist on the research and development team at Uber Advanced Technologies Group, where she works on simulation and prediction for autonomous vehicles, she received a bachelor's in mathematics with computer science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018.

Marisa Gaetz (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mathematics) - Exploring the numerous connections between physics and representation theory, Marisa Gaetz conducts research with potential applications for quantum mechanics. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a minor in philosophy. Outside of her research, Marisa works to improve diversity and inclusivity within the mathematics community. A leader of the MIT Prison Education Initiative, she also focuses on using education and technology to improve the criminal justice system and reduce mass incarceration.

Jakob Grzesik (Stanford University; Electrical Engineering, Physics) - By connecting engineering design and fundamental physics, Jakob Grzesik hopes to create new quantum-based technologies to address problems in energy, computation, and communication. A senior completing dual degrees in electrical engineering and mathematics at Rice University, Jakob aims to apply his growing expertise in optical properties of nanoscale materials to develop novel photonic technologies for applications in quantum computation, communication, and energy.

Hannah Lawrence (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Computer Science) - Hannah Lawrence is interested in developing theoretical foundations for new algorithms at the interface of machine learning, data science, and signal processing, with potential impact in drug development and other applications. She is particularly interested in broadening our understanding of how structure and scientifically informed priors can be incorporated into learning problems and frameworks. Currently a research analyst at the Center for Computational Mathematics at the Flatiron Institute, Hannah is a 2019 graduate of Yale University with a bachelor's in applied mathematics and computer science.

Isaac Metcalf (Rice University; Materials Science) - Isaac Metcalf hopes his research can help push the nation and world toward a carbon-neutral future. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Isaac is graduating with dual degrees in physics and materials science. He will join the Materials Physics for Energy Management group at Rice University, where he plans to focus his research on increasing the efficiency and stability of two-dimensional perovskite photovoltaics.

Nolan Peard (Stanford University; Physics) - Nolan Peard is interested in light-matter interactions and their applications in chemistry and quantum optics. He is particularly interested in the potential of optical techniques to control quantum states of molecules and their interactions, enabling fundamental understanding of chemistry that may be used to create materials and molecules with new capabilities. He is graduating with dual degrees in physics and music from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Maya Sankar (Stanford University; Mathematics) - Maya Sankar is interested in researching combinatorics and graph theory, particularly studying extremal problems and their ties to theoretical computer science. A senior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she is graduating with dual degrees in mathematics and computer science and a minor in music.

Jillian Silbert (Harvard University; Quantitative Biology and Bioengineering) - Combining computational and experimental methodologies in her biological research, Jillian Silbert believes that interdisciplinary work is the key to furthering scientific knowledge and crafting creative solutions to environmental and health issues. She plans to study interactions within the bacterial communities and applications of microbiology research to current environmental and biomedical issues. Jillian graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University in 2018, with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology and a minor in quantitative and computational biology. She studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the National Center of Biotechnology in Madrid.

Vikram Sundar (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Computational and Systems Biology) - By tackling difficult questions in computational structural biology, Vikram Sundar hopes to help scientists develop drugs more quickly, cheaply, and effectively. He plans to combine his knowledge of physics and machine learning to tackle problems ranging from understanding protein/ligand binding for drug discovery to designing proteins with specific functions. Vikram received a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in physics from Harvard University in 2018 and a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Cambridge, where he was a Churchill Scholar, in 2019. He is currently an AI resident at Google.

Constantine Tzouanas (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Biological Engineering) - Constantine Tzouanas's long-term goal is to engineer biological systems to address pressing needs, from organ transplants to environmentally responsible chemical production. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, he is pursuing a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics with a concentration in biological engineering. He graduated summa cum laude from Rice University in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in bioengineering and a minor in neuroscience.

Nico Valdes Meller (Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Physics) - Nico Valdes Meller hopes that a more profound understanding of networks can help us be better prepared for the technological revolutions to come. Aiming to work at the interface of theoretical physics and its applications by studying field theory, gravitation, and quantum information, Nico will pursue his PhD after completing a one-year master's program at Perimeter Scholars International. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Chile.

Sophie Walton (Stanford University; Biophysics) - By exploring the limits and capabilities of biological systems and such fundamental processes as evolution, Sophie Walton hopes to further the applications of biophysics research. A senior at California Institute of Technology, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in bioengineering.

Maxwell Wang (Carnegie Mellon University/University of Pittsburgh; Machine Learning and Neuroscience) - An MD/PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, Maxwell Wang is conducting research with the goal of understanding how brain networks change during neuro-interventions, such as deep brain stimulation, and to link these changes to end-points such as symptom improvement and adverse side-effect profiles. A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he began taking math courses at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, when he was in fifth grade and published his first research paper while a young teenager.

Katherine Xiang (Harvard University; Physics) - The role of physics in biology motivates Katherine Xiang to understand the natural world better, particularly in energy flow and transport in biological systems. A senior at Johns Hopkins University, she is graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics, biophysics, and mathematics.

###

About the Fannie and John Hertz Foundation

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation identifies the nation's most promising innovators in science and technology, and empowers them to pursue solutions to the world's toughest challenges. Launched in 1963, the Hertz Fellowship is the most exclusive fellowship program in the United States, fueling more than 1,200 leaders, disruptors, and creators who apply their remarkable talent where it's needed most--from improving human health to protecting the health of the planet. Hertz Fellows hold 3,000+ patents, have founded 200+ companies, and have received 200+ major national and international awards, including two Nobel Prizes, eight Breakthrough Prizes, the National Medal of Technology, the Fields Medal, and the Turing Award. Learn more at https://HertzFoundation.org.
The one-time security chief for a 'most wanted' Mexicancartel leader has died in prioson with symptoms related to the coronavirus.

Enrique Alejandro Pizano was declared dead May 13 at Occidente General Hospital, where he had been under observation after he was rushed there from the Federal Social Readaptation Center in the Jalisco municipality of El Salto.

According to the Jalisco health ministry, Pizano suffered from obesity, hypertension and asthma, and was also a heavy smoker.

Pizano, who was known as 'El Anestesia' or The Anesthetic, was previously in charge of overseeing the security of Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

El Mencho is top of the US Drug Enforcement Agency's most wanted list with a $10million bounty on his head.

Pizano, 47, was arrested in September 2015, but was previously tasked with locating safehouses and overseeing El Mencho's personal security.

Enrique Alejandro Pizano (pictured), who once oversaw the security of fugitive Mexican cartel leader Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, died May 13 after jail officials rushed him to a hospital. The 47-year-old Pizano reportedly contracted the coronavirus during his incarceration at the Federal Social Readaptation Center in the Jalisco municipality of El Salto.

Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes (pictured), the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico's most powerful criminal group

Pizano reportedly joined the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in 2007 and was allegedly the mastermind of an attack in August 2014 that led to the murder of Juan Manuel Gomez Torres, the mayor of the Jalisco city of Ayutla, and his bodyguard.

He was also known to have had a role in the May 2015 attack that took down an Armed Forces helicopter and left eight soldiers and one federal cop dead during an operation to capture El Mencho.

Pizano is the fourth known prisoner, at Federal Social Readaptation Center, who has died after being infected with coronavirus since the pandemic's outbreak in Mexico.

Enrique Alejandro Pizano (picture front right) is one of four inmates who died of the coronavirus after being infected during their stay at the Federal Social Readaptation Center in the Jalisco.

A total of 93 inmates have tested positive for the deadly virus at Federal Social Readaptation Center in the Jalisco

A total of 93 inmates have tested positive for the deadly virus at the prison.

Moises Escamilla May, who was one of the leaders of the infamous Los Zetas gang, was infected with the disease and hospitalized after developing breathing problems before dying May 8.

Mexico's health ministry reported 5,666 coronavirus deaths and 54,346 confirmed cases as of Wednesday.
Clay St., 100 block, 11 p.m. May 7. A male reported he was making a food delivery when a group of six or seven males approached him. When he returned to his vehicle, his wallet containing cash had been stolen from the front seat. When he attempted to confront the group of males, one of them hit him in the face with an unknown object. An investigation is ongoing.
Since the pandemic started, Cuba has been sending members of its medical workforce to help countries across the globe battle the deadly virus. Thousands of Cuban doctors have been sent to Caribbean and African nations that have poor health care systems. Last April, 216 medical staff were sent to South Africa, and South Africa in turn has sent medical supplies back to Cuba to assist the country in their own COVID-19 fight.

As of April 2020, Cuba has sent over 590 doctors all across the globe. The first batch of doctors were sent to Italy, and since then many more countries are filing their requests for medical help. Cuba holds the world's highest number of doctors per capita and is known for their prevention and preparedness when tackling epidemics.

History of Cuban Doctors in Brazil

Last Monday, more than 150 Cuban doctors were enlisted to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the country. With the current death toll at almost 17,000 and with over 250,000 positive cases, the country needs all the help it can get.

All 157 Cuban doctors had their licenses reinstated under the Mais Medicos program.

The Mais Medicos program which literally translates to "More Doctors" was launched in 2013 wherein Brazil hired foreign physicians to improve the failing health system. It was a three-year contract to bring in thousands of doctors from Cuba and send to deprived and underprivileged areas. This agreement guaranteed Cuba $225 million a year.

During Bolsonaro's presidential campaign, he had said some words which did not resound well to Cuba. Immediately after his win, Cuba pulled out more than 8,300 doctors all of whom were working in the poorest regions of Brazil.

Out of the thousands, around 1,800 of them stayed behind mostly because they had already settled and built families in Brazil.

Check these out:

Filling the void

At his presidential campaign, President Jair Bolsonaro vowed to expel Cuban doctors even claiming that they are only in Brazil to form guerilla groups. With the coronavirus now claiming lives, the tides have changed and he now believes that they are important in protecting the health and welfare of the Brazilian people.

Most Cuban doctors who were assigned in the 2013 Mais Medicos campaign settled in the rural areas and indigenous of Brazil. When they left no one was there to replace them. At one time, a thousand doctors who were assigned in those rural areas quit after just three months.

Doctors are Cuba's largest export. This started in 2000 when Cuba experienced one of the worst economic crises due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The first program was in partnership with Venezuela and was called the Barrio Adentro plan wherein 30,000 Cuban doctors were sent to poor areas in Venezuela and oil shipments were paid in exchange for their service.

Most, if not all Cuban doctors prefer to work in other countries because they earn so much more compared to working back home even if part of their income goes straight to the government.

Several countries continue to criticize Cuba, claiming that this is an outright exploitation of their medical workforce.
He is known as the one-scene man who rose to fame playing underrated roles and turning them into larger-than-life characters. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is often hailed as the Bollywood underdog who made it in Bollywood despite being an outsider and on his own merit.

Yet, as colourful as his Bollywood journey may have been, Nawazuddin boasts of an even more kaleidoscopic love life. Laced with several controversies, accusations and news-making headlines, Nawazuddin's love life is sprinkled with so many 'OMG' moments that his fans would definitely want to forget them. The latest addition to the list being Nawazuddins wife Aaliya seeking a divorce from him.

Here are 5 other controversies from Nawazs love life:

1. Made Personal Relationship Details Public Without Consent

 Twitter/BollywoodAdda5

In his biography titled An Ordinary Life: A Memoir, Nawazuddin shared details about his private life with the world for the very first time. However, while giving his side of the story regarding his past girlfriends and relationships, Nawaz went public with many personal details about his romantic relationships without prior consent from his (alleged) former girlfriends.

 IMDB

Not only did the book involve the names of those girlfriends, but also included details about how they spent their time together with Nawaz.



This brought on the wrath of his (alleged) exes like actress Sunita Rajwar, apart from legal notices, defamation lawsuits and an unexpected withdrawal of his biography.

2. Claimed To Be 'Suicidal' Post Break-Up With Actress Sunita Rajwar

In the same biography, Nawaz claims that after his ex-girlfriend Sunita Rajwar suddenly broke all ties with him after expressing deep, passionate love for him, Nawaz had a hard time dealing with the break-up.

Apparently, the situation became so grave that at one point he considered taking his life to end this struggle, end this life.

 Twitter/pushkarbisht_01

He wrote in the memoir, Soon after her (Sunitas) call, one day I was at the station and stood there staring at the tracks. A train was coming, screaming its arrival with a lusty horn. It would be simple and instant. Should I jump onto the tracks and end it all? End this struggle, end this life? I had nothing. No love, no work, no money.



However, Nawaz claims that he was brought back to his senses by a metaphorical slap and decided right then that he would again be emotional in any relationship.

3. Ex Sues Nawaz For Defamation

 Twitter/Badtameezladka

Sunita, for her part, took to social media to allegedly call out Nawazuddins bluff and wrote in a Facebook post that the real reason she broke up with him was because she was disgusted with Nawaz since he had revealed intimate details of their relationship to their mutual friends and made fun of it.



She later went ahead and slapped Nawaz with a legal notice for defaming her in his biography and sued him for Rs 2 crore.

4. Nawazs 'One-Night Stand' With Waitress & Jewish Girlfriend

 Anurag kashyap Films

That isnt all. Reportedly, he also had a one-night stand with a waitress from a cafe in New York.



He recalled, "I was at a cafe once with my friend in New York Citys Soho area. The stunning waitress kept staring at me... We got talking and lets just say what happens in New York stays in New York, at least in my case.

 Easel Films

He also opened up about his alleged Jewish girlfriend Suzzane with whom he claimed to be in a serious relationship. Apparently the two met in New York and she came to Mumbai and stayed with him for a long time.



The two dated but eventually, Suzanne had to go back after her stay of extended visa expired and they started their long-distance relationship.

5. Alleged Two-Timing Episode Involving Former Miss India Beauty

Things only get more interesting when Nawaz claims to have been tempted by the beauty of Miss Earth India 2005 winner Niharika Singh and ended up having two simultaneous affairs with Suzanne and Niharika, who was also his co-star in Miss Lovely.

 Twitter/funclickearn

Not only that, he even claimed that the two made passionate love when Niharika had invited Nawaz to dinner, which later resulted in a relationship which went on for one-and-a-half years. Apparently, when Niharika found out about Suzanne and Nawaz, she made sure that they broke up.



For her part, Niharika said that Nawaz was a sexually repressed man and even named him in her #MeToo post.

Whoa, thats some turbulent love life. Isnt it?
Specialty Insurer QBE North America announced the appointment of Becket McNab as chief human resources officer. McNab will be responsible for all North America human resources activities, including driving the companys focus on talent and culture.

McNab joins QBE from Chubb, where she has been for almost 15 years, most recently serving as executive vice president, Human Resources, for Global Operations and Functional groups.

As a member of the executive leadership team, McNab will report to Todd Jones, QBE North America chief executive officer.

Prior to serving Global Operations and Functional groups at Chubb, McNab was the executive vice president of Human Resources for Chubb Overseas General. Her career has also included stops at Richemont, Gerber Scientific, Nabisco International, PepsiCo and Save the Children US.

Source: QBE North America

Topics Chubb
A suspected coronavirus



patient was found hanging from the ceiling of the quarantine centre where he had been lodged since his return from Delhi, police said here on Wednesday.

The incident took place in Sadar police station area of Vaishali district this afternoon, where the 35-year-old man allegedly committed suicide shortly after meeting family members who had come to see him, SHO Roha Kumar said.

He said the deceased had returned from the national capital two days ago and had been put up at the Ambedkar Hostel quarantine centre where he showed symptoms during thermal screening and his sample was collected and sent for testing.

"Test reports are yet to come out but the deceased is said to have been suffering from anxiety ever since his sample was collected.

"He may have taken the drastic step in such a state of mind. His body has been taken into custody for post mortem", the SHO added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Romanian Labour Minister Violeta Alexandru gives a news conference after talks with German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil in Berlin, Germany, May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

The coronavirus crisis must prompt a rethink of the conditions in which some people from Eastern Europe work in the farms and food industry of Western Europe, Romanias labour minister said after outbreaks in German slaughterhouses.

Most of Europes borders have been closed since late March as a result of governments attempts to slow the spread of the virus, but 30,000 Romanian workers have been among the few who have continued to move, flown to Germany to work in the food sector on flights chartered by farmers.

Like all EU citizens, Romanians can work anywhere in the 27-nation-bloc, a fact which Germanys highly competitive food-processing industry has relied to keep down costs.

But critics worry that costs have been pushed down too far.

Workers recently arrived on charter flights posted videos on social media showing them crammed into accommodation with four or more people to a room, in defiance of social distancing guidelines designed to reduce the risk of transmission. Reuters has not verified the videos.

At least two have since died of coronavirus, autopsies showed, though they are believed by German and Romanian authorities to have contracted the illness before leaving home.

Others, mostly longer established in Germany, are working in abattoirs that have seen a spate of coronavirus outbreaks, including hundreds of employees testing positive in an individual slaughterhouse.

The circumstances we are going through reveal a number of systemic problems that we havent addressed properly during the last years, minister Violeta Alexandru told Reuters after driving 18 hours from Bucharest to Berlin for a fact-finding mission into the conditions Romanians are working under.

Other migrants described being charged for accommodation, leaving them with a net wage of as little as 6 euros per hour, making a mockery of Germanys 9.35 euro minimum wage.

The coronavirus crisis acts like a magnifying class to highlight whats already good or bad in a society, German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil told a joint news conference with Alexandru on Tuesday.

When we have mass infection of Romanian workers in the meat industry, then I have to say its not acceptable. I have to say it makes me ashamed, he said, pledging more support to local labour authorities to ensure minimum labour standards were being properly enforced.

A draft government proposal seen by Reuters last week said Germany would order meatpacking plants to stop using subcontractors and to improve hygiene standards in the workplace and accommodation.
IONIA COUNTY, MI -- Police identified a driver killed in an early morning crash in Ionia County as Bradley Michael Forist, 30, of Grand Rapids.

The crash happened about 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, May 19 on M-66 near Long Lake Road in Ronald Township.

A preliminary investigation showed Forist was driving a 2016 Honda Civic south on M-66 when his car crossed the center line, left the road and crashed into a tree.

Police said the driver was not wearing a seat belt.

Related: Grand Rapids man killed when car hits tree
Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers.

A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you.

1. Verification and registrar choice

After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files.

In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days.

BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars:



GoDaddy

Namesilo

Uniregistry

NameCheap

Google Domains

Network Solutions

Name.com

Dynadot

Amazon Route 53

123 Reg

Gandi

2. We request the name from the seller.

Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process.

3. Transfer the name into your account

As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process.

4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete

Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller.
Olivia Buckland shared a hilarious montage of her attempting to learn how to 'speed skip' on Wednesday.

The former Love Island star, 26, showcased her impressive skills on an Instagram video where she admitted to 'throwing tantrums' in the process of learning.

The reality star donned a busty white crop teamed with high-waisted grey leggings for her workout.

Hilarious: Olivia Buckland shared a hilarious montage of her attempting to learn how to 'speed skip' on Wednesday

She captioned the video: 'Just me throwing tantrums trying to speed skip for 30 seconds.

'Got there in the end. Still more learning to do but this is why you dont give up - try try and try again!

'This was one of my challenges for lockdown - I couldnt even skip once before I started, granted I had a couple of wines when I first tried...'

After several attempts ending in failure, Olivia perfected her technique and showcased her impressive skills.

Dedication: The former Love Island star, 26, showcased her impressive skills on an Instagram video where she admitted to 'throwing tantrums' in the process of learning

She said: 'Just me throwing tantrums trying to speed skip for 30 seconds. 'Got there in the end. Still more learning to do but this is why you dont give up - try try and try again!'

Her husband Alex Bowen could be heard chuckling at her efforts in the background.

The couple, who met on Love Island in 2016, are currently isolating together amid the lockdown.

The reality star recently opened up about her 'bad days' when suffering with depression and anxiety.

She continued: 'This was one of my challenges for lockdown - I couldnt even skip once before I started, granted I had a couple of wines when I first tried...'

Perseverance: After several attempts ending in failure, Olivia perfected her technique and showcased her impressive skills

She spoke alongside The Valleys' Lateysha Grace and Geordie Shore's Sophie Kasaei about their respective mental health challenges and offered help to their friends, family and followers through their tales.

In the chat, in conjunction with MTV, Olivia admitted that at some of her lowest points, she wouldn't brush her teeth or shower yet she discussed her determination to rid herself of the guilt that came with her 'down days'.

Since soaring to fame, Olivia has always been extremely candid about her struggles with mental health and become an advocate for a host of campaigns to promote positivity and awareness.

Sweet: Her husband Alex Bowen could be heard chuckling at her efforts in the background. The couple, who met on Love Island in 2016, are currently isolating together amid the lockdown (pictured in 2019)

Tough times: Olivia recently divulged details of the 'bad days' she suffers amid her battle with depression and anxiety

In her chat with her fellow reality stars, she divulged: 'I used to feel guilty for having a bad day, so if I spent the whole day in bed, I wouldn't brush my teeth, I wouldn't shower and I had to learn not to feel guilty about that...

'I think sometimes when you're so stressed you really do get knackered. You need the sleep so don't feel bad you need the time to recuperate it helped me to learn and accept that I will always have bad days but you will eventually get out of them'.

In a rousing message to her pal, Sophie said: 'You're such a strong woman, get that inner strength and just bring it out and you can do that. You got this girl.'

Ive Accepted That I Will Always Have Bad Days | Thats What She Said Olivia Bowen, Lateysha Grace and Sophie Kasaei discuss their past struggles with poor mental health, how they pulled through and who to turn to when youre feeling low. #AloneTogether Posted by MTV UK on Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Open and honest: Olivia spoke alongside The Valleys' Lateysha Grace and Geordie Shore's Sophie Kasaei about their respective mental health challenges and offered help to their friends, family and followers through their tales

Olivia went on: 'I want to talk to you about any experiences you've had and I think for girls like us in the public eye, it's really hard for us to think or believe that we've been through anything like that...

'I think it's nice to let people know that anyone anywhere can be struggling, Everyone's always fighting a battle that you don't know about.'

On her previous struggle with mental illness, she said: 'I think the main thing I always talk about is how my anxiety was when I was younger and I went through a bout of depression when I was 18...

Candid: Olivia went on: 'I want to talk to you about any experiences you've had and I think for girls like us in the public eye, it's really hard for us to think or believe that we've been through anything like that'

'The only thing that got me through it was my friends and family. My friends forced me to talk about. I was so grateful they were there. It was a weird time...

'I used to go home and watch sad films to make myself cry. You always think your family won't get it. You worry your mum will judge you but you have to talk to someone. Samaritans is the best charity. They're there for you if you need them.'

Lateysha then admitted she was struggling at the moment and broke down in tears when the girls discussed getting together after lockdown.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for details
The curveballs and cruelties life throws at us didnt stop coming because of a pandemic. Guns still kill, abusers still abuse. We still get hurt, still get dangerously sick for reasons having nothing to do with viruses.

These unexpected tribulations are made all the more painful and complicated and lonely under shutdown conditions.

Theyre the collateral damage of COVID-19.

But when somebody rises from these dark passages in these dark times, we take special joy in that triumph. We find new ways to celebrate, socially distanced and safely.

We throw a little parade.

On Tuesday, two such parades honored two people who endured calamity in the time of coronavirus. Both have long, rough roads ahead of them, but for a few moments the roads in front of their respective homes were filled with well-wishers waving from their cars with banners and balloons and bunches of love.

Gotta have friends

Its been so long since Alice Townsend has seen the faces of her family and friends that its hard for some to remember exactly when the 83-year-old Albuquerque woman was rushed from her doctors office to the hospital for an emergency amputation of her right leg, gangrenous from diabetes complications.

Townsend said she believes that happened in late March. Best friend Lucille Kinzer said she believes it was early February. (One of Townsends daughters says it was April 1.)

Regardless of specifics, it was a very long time to be away from loved ones.

It was terrible because the hospital and the rehab center wouldnt allow visitors because of the virus, said Kinzer, 95. No flowers, no cards, not from her friends, not from her family.

The two had become fast friends after meeting through a support group for widows and widowers at their church. Kinzer lost her husband nearly six years ago; its been four years for Townsend. Their friendship and connection to the group made life alone less lonely.

We hit it off right away because shes very lovable, Kinzer said. She drove me all over the place because I cant drive any more. She took me everywhere  Walmart, out to lunch, the casinos  shes one of the luckiest people.

What drove both women to near despair during Townsends recovery was the isolation.

It was like I was in prison, Townsend said.

Last Saturday, Townsend came home, welcomed by a son, a granddaughter and her dog Star  all three who will see to her care while she continues to recover.

Tuesdays parade, organized by Kinzer, was the first time she could see her friends, each driving by in cars bearing flowers, cards and baskets of goodies.

Nothing sweet, Kinzer admonished. She has diabetes.

What is sweet for Townsend is seeing her friends again, especially Kinzer.

Its very emotional for me, she said, breaking into tears, on the eve of her parade. I missed them so much. I missed people. I missed being here.

The graduate

A grainy black and white video tells the tale.

The light changes. A Mustang and another car slowly enter the intersection at Holly and Louisiana on Friday night when a third car races at what appears to be a high rate of speed through the intersection from another direction, slamming into the side of the Mustang and barely missing the other.

Philip Henshaw, 18, was driving that Mustang.

Fridays crash took away the La Cueva High School seniors ability to walk without assistance, at least temporarily. It took away his Mustang, his job and almost his life. COVID-19 had already taken its share.

Last weekend, he was supposed to host an end-of-school celebration with eight of his closest friends.

On Tuesday, he was supposed to graduate with honors from La Cueva.

This week, he was supposed to board a plane with his family for a trip to Hawaii, a graduation gift.

This fall, he was supposed to attend Arizona State University in Tempe  his first and only choice of colleges.

None of that is happening now.

Hes lost so much, said his mother, Melanie St. Georges. Its so unfair.

St. Georges is the owner of Blissful Spirits Hot Yoga studios. Even before Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered establishments like hers shut down under COVID-19 restrictions, St. Georges had closed her well-attended studios for the safety of her clients.

With business shuttered, college tuition money to supplement what scholarships and grants dont cover has dried up. Vacations, exotic or otherwise, are out.

Im looking at a really hard time, St. Georges said. A lot of dreams are being lost.

Then came Friday night.

Just before 9:30 p.m., Henshaw left his job at a pizza place on Holly and headed home three minutes away when his Mustang was struck on the drivers side, pinning him inside the crushed metal.

The crash was captured on a residents nearby surveillance camera.

Henshaw suffered three pelvic fractures, a lacerated spleen and bruises to his lungs and intestines. He remained hospitalized for three days but is now home recovering, using a walker to get around.

Henshaw is like so many graduating seniors who have lost out on celebrating their accomplishments, but he is alive. His dream to attend ASU may be in jeopardy, but other dreams are still possible.

Of all the things her son lost, St. Georges said the one that hurt the most was not being able to say goodbye to his classmates, some he may never see again.

So she decided to throw him a parade, inviting as many La Cueva friends as she could reach, plus firefighters and paramedics who responded to the crash and some yoga friends.

These parades are how we continue to commemorate the milestones in our lives, to welcome back those we love, to remind ourselves that COVID-19 has taken away so much from us, but it cannot take us from us.

Thats worth celebrating.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column.
19th May 2020, Accra: Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited has today partnered with United Way Ghana to provide COVID 19 relief to vulnerable households in the Ayawaso District of the Greater Accra Region. The relief package comprises nutrition packs, health and hygiene items to vulnerable households, literacy materials for children, and sanitation items to a Community Health Centre.

Beyond giving out the relief packs, United Way Ghana will also undertake community sensitisation to ensure families follow hygiene protocols.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the vulnerable and Standard Chartered Bank, as part of its GHS 1 million commitment to support emergency relief and aid those affected believes in empowering the underserved in Ghana.

Commenting on the partnership, Kweku Nimfah- Essuman  Chief Financial Officer, Standard Chartered, Ghana Limited, said, Having operated in Ghana for more than 120 years, we are committed to supporting our communities and the country at large during such dire times of need. Our immediate goal is to deliver relief measures to support the most vulnerable, and it is the reason we have partnered with United Way to address the needs of the most impacted.

We shall continue mobilising our resources to support the most vulnerable, he added.

The partnership is aimed at augmenting government and other stakeholders efforts to curb the outbreak of the virus, while embarking on a house to house sensitization program, using local language, to ensure that targeted individuals are well informed about the COVID-19 virus and how it spreads.

On her part, Janet Butler, Acting Executive Director, United Way Ghana said, United Way Ghana is happy to partner with Standard Chartered to support the vulnerable during these trying times. Most of the children in such communities receive their main meal at school and with the schools closed, they are left hungry. These relief packs will go a long way in feeding them as their families navigate through the economic challenges.

United Way Ghana is a non-profit organization devoted to making a real social impact in underserved communities through their Improving Basic Education Programme. United Way Ghanas mission is to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community.

United Way Ghana is a member of United Way Worldwide which has a presence in 1800 communities across more than 40 countries. With over 130 years of community impact and social change, United Way Worldwide is amongst the most respected and trusted non-governmental organizations in the world.

Beyond providing support for the vulnerable, Standard Chartered Bank has donated over 3000 PPEs to Greater Accra Regional Hospital, the Ga East Hospital, LEKMA Hospital, and Tema General Hospital. The Bank also donated a portable Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) equipment to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research to assist in conducting widespread testing and detection of COVID-19 in Ghana.

Keeping in line with our brand promise to be Here for Good, particularly in times of adversity, we must ensure that every individual is empowered to be productive and live a life of dignity, added Mr. Kweku Nimfah- Essuman.

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited

Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited is Ghanas premier bank established in 1896. We are part of a leading international banking group, with presence in more than 60 of the worlds most dynamic markets.

Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity. Our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, Here for good.

The Bank is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and has been one of the leading stocks over a sustained period.

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

For more stories and expert opinions please visit www.sc.com/gh
A woman has been stabbed to death inside a western Sydney home.

Emergency services were called to the home on Ramona Street, in Quakers Hill, about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

They found the 27-year-old woman in the home suffering knife wounds.

She died at the scene.

Emergency services were called to the home on Ramona Street, in Quakers Hill, about 6.30pm on Wednesday

A 31-year-old man who was known to the victim was arrested at the home.

Emergency services rushed him to Blacktown Hospital for treatment.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Anyone with further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

More to come.
A renowned Christian apologist, evangelist, and author, Ravi Zacharias died Tuesday morning at his home in Atlanta after a brief battle with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer at the age of 74.

His death was announced by Sarah Davis, his daughter, and CEO of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, in a message posted at the ministry's website.

Born in the Indian city of Chennai, Zacharias came to faith in Christ through the ministry of youth for Christ when he attempted suicide when he was 17.

Following the family's relocation to Ontario, Canada, in the late 1960s, he studied at Ontario Bible College(now Tyndale University) and developed his passion for evangelism and Christian apologetics. He studied for an M.Div. under Norman Geisler and John Warwick Montgomery at Trinity Evangelical School and was ordained in the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

He served as associate professor of evangelism and contemporary at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York from 1980. The experience of raising the next generation and a conference of evangelists in Amsterdam made Zacharias feel he was being called to reach out to the intellectually resistant, especially those who would shape public opinion and policy.

By the financial support from the businessman David Dale, Zacharias was able to found his ministry, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in 1984 and spent the greater part of his life defending Christianity. RZIM's motto gradually evolved, but its basic principle remained the same: to "help the thinker believe and the believer think." Now this ministry employs about 100 Christian scholars and authors in 15 countries.

Emerged as one of the leading exponents of the Christian apologetics, he launched his radio program, "Let My People Think," which reached more than 2,000 stations in 32 countries and has written 28 books, including, "Can Man Live Without God?" and his latest book, "Seeing Jesus from the East."

In 1992, he launched the Veritas Forum of Harvard University, and in 2004, he founded the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics at Oxford University marking a significant change in the apologetic landscape.

He also influenced politics and spoke to world leaders at the United Nations and He traveled around the world with many lectures and book interviews.

"It was his Savior, Jesus Christ, that my dad always wanted most to talk about. Even in his final days, until he lacked the energy and breath to speak, he turned every conversation to Jesus and what the Lord had done," Davis wrote in the statement of RZIM website. "He perpetually marveled that God took a 17-year-old skeptic, defeated in hopelessness and unbelief, and called him into a life of glorious hope and belief in the truth of Scripture -- a message he would carry across the globe for 48 years."

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Margie, his three children, and several grandchildren.

Tributes started pouring in Tuesday, Among many Christian leaders including Evangelist Franklin Graham, Pastor Louie Giglio, Pastor Jim Cymbala, Ben Shapiro.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little just pushed Idaho into Phase 2 of the states reopening plan, but truthfully, Little is between a rock and a hard place.

The hard place is that Little has constituents who are still saying that coronavirus is a hoax, that COVID-19 isnt that bad and that stay-home orders are tyrannical, unconstitutional and the equivalent of Nazi Germany.

Armed protests, open defiance and a guest opinion piece from Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin telling government to get out of the way all suggest a simmering insurgency that threatens to boil over if Little clamps down too tight.

But the immovable rock is a legitimate threat of a full-blown health crisis. The majority of Idahoans and business owners have taken all of this seriously and are continuing to do so  even to the point that some are not reopening when their stage comes, but waiting longer to make sure they have every precaution in place.

Those Idahoans are practicing what Little on Thursday called Idaho common sense.

A good dose of Idaho common sense is whats required here, Little said during a live-streamed press conference.

Little has repeatedly said that he would rather rely on peer pressure and education to maintain guidelines, rather than enforcement by authorities. Although he said businesses that open outside the parameters of the plan risk losing their licenses, Little has maintained a hands-off approach.

This balancing act has worked so far, but as we move into Stage 2, we have concerns.

There will be more and more pressure on businesses to start opening before theyre supposed to. The businesses in Idaho City all decided to reopen on May 1. A Meridian hair salon reopened last week. A Nampa bar opened, with the message, We truly do not care if you disagree.

Without real enforcement, were likely to see more of this.

When asked by Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News whether he was contemplating any action against schools holding in-person graduation ceremonies in violation of the order, Little simply said, No, next question.

As we see more and more of these acts of defiance, were certain to see a spike in cases. How much of a spike will depend on how many violators we have.

Lets look at just one such act of defiance.

A food processing plant in Weiser shut down this week when at least seven employees tested positive for the coronavirus after attending a family gathering of at least 30 people, including some from Utah.

Heres the real problem: The food processing factory, Fry Foods, wasnt approved to test all 260 employees at the Weiser facility  only about 50 or 60 who likely came in contact with the employees who tested positive. Other employees were able to get tested on their own.

Testing is a crucial piece of the puzzle to stopping a widespread outbreak. Without testing the other 200 or so employees, how are we to know whether they became infected? To have 200 possibly infected people continue to go about their business, go to the barber or salon, or go to a restaurant, as we said in an earlier editorial, is a recipe for disaster.

Even if Idaho were to have more robust testing, the state is still working on ramping up its contact tracing efforts.

State Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen said Thursday that the state is hiring and training 255 tracers, which is a good start. A new Harvard report out this week suggests Idaho will need more like 500-550 tracers, Jeppesen said.

The governor up until now has simply relied on a majority of business owners and residents  people who luckily are not in line with the right wing of his party  to model appropriate behavior. He has given orders of closure, but he has made clear that violating those orders will not result not in punishment. Instead, hell continue to say Idaho is doing just fine policing itself. He probably never had any intention of penalizing places that did not comply.

And to be fair, it would be a very tough decision to make examples of businesses and penalize them. And yes, it would cause even more of an uproar from the far-right fringe. But its also, as the governor has said himself, completely unfair and disrespectful for those places to open and flout legal orders, safety concerns, social distancing, etc. So why shouldnt they be penalized?

Moving into Stage 2 is not a free-for-all license to go back to business as usual. As restrictions ease, were bound to see a mild spike in cases. Further defying restrictions and going beyond the limits of Stage 2 could cause a more serious spike in cases and, unfortunately, deaths.

Littles approach so far has allowed him to thread the needle.

But the space between that rock and a hard place is closing, and becoming harder to navigate. Without voluntary compliance, enforcement is Littles only remaining option.

Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1
San Francisco General Hospital has appealed seven violations cited against it by the states workplace safety watchdog agency, arguing this week that administrators need more information to respond to reputation-damaging findings that they failed to protect emergency department staff.

The agency, Cal/OSHA, fined the hospital $26,660 on April 23 for workplace safety violations, including retaliating against workers who complained about dangerous conditions. The hospital administrators appeal demanded more details to defend themselves and criticized the state agency for neglecting to give enough time for them to meaningfully review their response to allegations.

The Department asserts that Cal/OSHA has acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and deprived the Department of due process, said the hospitals unsigned appeal, submitted Monday to the state. Due to the seriousness of this accusation, potential for unjustified defamation of the organizations reputation resulting in a decrease in morale, we need more details for us to comprehensively review.

The state Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board will review the appeal and decide whether to change or repeal the fine. The process could take up to five months, according to law.

Cal/OSHAs investigation stemmed from worker complaints after a patient violently assaulted a nurse in October. Staff said the incident exemplified chronic understaffing in the emergency department and overcrowding with psychiatric patients.

In its appeal, San Francisco General Hospital took issue with findings that management harassed staff, retaliated against employees for wanting to press charges against patients, and prohibited a nurse from getting a restraining order against a patient with a history of biting. The administrators said they werent told about retaliation complaints and needed specific details to respond.

Cal/OSHA didnt identify the subject of its retaliation finding, but Corinna Heyn-Jones, a nurse on contract who was attacked by a patient in October, said hospital administrators verbally offered her a part-time job before the incident and never got back to her about it afterward.

A hospital spokesman declined to comment on personnel matters.

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 hospital appeal also asked for more information about a finding that emergency department physicians were too busy to help prescribe medication and write restraint orders for violent patients, and that the emergency department neglected to provide first aid to assaulted nurses. The appeal challenged understaffing accusations, arguing that the department followed staffing ratios.

Emergency room nurses tell a different story. Christa Duran said before the shelter-in-place order reduced emergency room visits, the department was often overwhelmed, with three to four nurses handling 16 patients in the trauma area. On the night shift, there is only one attending doctor, she said. That means that if the doctor has to resuscitate a dying patient for an hour, the physician is unavailable to respond to violent psychiatric patients.

Hospital spokesman Brent Andrew said that within the past month, the hospital created a faster emergency response system, the result of forming a violence prevention task force and training staff on workplace safety after October. Nurses said the system has helped.

Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench
Thousands were told to evacuate from parts of Michigan after two dams failed following heavy rain across the state.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Midland County after both the Edenville and Sanford Dams breached Tuesday and urged immediate evacuations.

"If you have a family member or loved one who lives in another part of the state, go there now," she said. "If you don't, go to one of the shelters that have opened across the county."

Residents should "seek higher ground" as far east and west of the Tittabawassee River as possible, according to the City of Midland website.

"In the next 12 to 15 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately nine feet of water," Whitmer said in a news conference. "We are anticipating an historic high water level."

The National Weather Service in Detroit said on Twitter a Flash Flood Emergency continues in Midland County through 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Tittabawassee River is expected to set a new record Wednesday morning. It currently has a height of 33.22 feet and the current record, which was set September 13, 1986, stands at 33.89 feet. It is forecast to crest at 38.00 feet by 8 a.m. Wednesday before slowly receding.

10,000 people evacuating amid pandemic

Mark Bone, Chairman of the Midland County Board of Commissioners, said he believes about 3,500 homes and 10,000 people have so far been affected by the evacuation notices. No deaths or injuries have so far been reported, he said.

The timing of the dam breaches is especially difficult as officials are trying to take precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as people gather in the shelters that have been set up.

Teams are trying to screen individuals being sheltered, Bone said, and emergency response personnel have plenty of personal protective equipment and are wearing masks.

He also said there are masks available for everyone going into the shelters.

"To go through this in the midst of a global pandemic is almost unthinkable. But we are here, and to the best of our ability we are going to navigate this together," Whitmer said.

Any emergency order issued in response to the coronavirus crisis has been suspended if it impedes with emergency response efforts, the governor's declaration said.

"So please, to the best of your ability, continue to wear a face covering when you go to a shelter or go stay with a friend or relative."

The Michigan National Guard has been activated and is on site with high-water vehicles on the way to the area, according to the governor.

The state's emergency operations center has also been fully activated and is responding to the emergency, she said.

MidMichigan Medical Center in Midland said in a statement it was not evacuating.

"We have been working alongside local agencies, watching closely the rapid changes that have been occurring due to the flooding," said Greg Rogers, the president, in a news release.

"We have transferred a few patients that were identified by their physician. We have no current plans to evacuate."

The hospital said they have made improvements in order to protect the hospital since the flood of 1986, which include a FEMA-approved flood wall located on Medical Center property and generators built above the flood plain.

CNN's Ganesh Setty, Haley Brink and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday claimed that many industries in the state were being slapped with hefty power bills at a time when their businesses had remained shut.

The Centre has announced an economic package for the revival of the micro, small and medium enterprises, but average households, small businesses, hotels, eateries and industrial units "have all being pushed into financial distress because of large electricity bills in the name of fixed charges," Hooda said.

The leader of Opposition in the Assembly said several industry organisations had raised the issue of hefty electricity bills at a time when their businesses were shut.

"Businesses are already facing serious financial losses due to the lockdown and, instead of giving them relief, the government is slapping them with hefty bills which, in some cases, are even more than what they used to get when their units were running," he said.

The Congress leader demanded that the government should provide immediate relief in such cases so that businesses can start functioning again and not burden them with high power bills.

He claimed that the government had woken up to pressure from the Opposition on the release of the tubewell connections.

"But they have gone back on their promise of giving 6,200 connections and are now giving only 4,000 connections," he said. "More than 84,000 farmers had applied for the tubewell connections."



Hooda reiterated that farmers of the state were not willing to accept the restrictions being imposed on them for sowing paddy.

He said despite repeated requests for reconsideration of orders banning paddy cultivation in parts of the state, the government was adamant on its decision.

"The farmer is in the best position to decide what to sow. The Congress will support the judgement of the farmer if he decides to sow paddy or any other crop," Hooda said.

He added that such decisions should be taken with the consent of the farmer and not at a time when the world is fighting against a pandemic.

The Congress leader said the concern about depleting groundwater was legitimate, "but solution was to recharge depleting groundwater, not banning paddy cultivation in many parts".

He listed out the several projects implemented by the previous Congress state government to promote drip irrigation.

"Grants were provided to farmers for irrigation sets and pipeline, but the BJP government shut these projects down," Hooda said.

The government should take a pragmatic view of things and take a positive stance towards groundwater conservation schemes, which would provide long-term solutions, the Congress leader said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
'Assistant Headmaster in charge of Academic, Apostle Safo School of Arts and Sciences at Awoshie Last Stop, Accra, Hughes Lartey, has cautioned the government against the re-opening of schools in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.



In his firm estimation, school children, especially those in the lower primary, will find it extremely difficult to cooperate with school authorities in ensuring their safety.

Mr Lartey gave the caution during a disinfection and fumigation exercise by Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

He, however, observed that students in the upper level to some extent may be able to observe the COVID-19 safety protocols.

To this end, he lauded the government for the initiative to have public schools in the country fumigated and disinfected, saying that despite his school being a private one, they were also entitled to the packages rolled out by government, particularly in these unprecedented times.

He said it was unfortunate that the central government excluded private schools from the stimulus package given to businesses.

We register our schools as business entities, employ workers to ensure the safety of students and those workers would have to be paid so private schools also deserve the stimulus package, he urged.

For his part, the Director of Santa Maria International School, Accra, Nana Darbo Nti whose school also underwent the exercise, urged parents to support school authorities to ensure the safety of their wards should the government give the green light for schools to re-open.

The exercise was undertaken by Fumigation Services Ghana Limited in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

And it was aimed at containing the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic and dealing with bedbugs which treatment had become a headache for many school authorities.

Speaking to the media after the exercise, General Manager of Fumigation Services Ghana Limited, Pius Asare Ayum, disclosed that Zoomlion Ghana Limited had engaged them to disinfect a number of senior high schools across the country of which Santa Maria International School was one of them.

Facilities fumigated and disinfected in both schools included classrooms, laboratories, library, kitchen, dormitories, school compound, car park, etc.
[May 20, 2020] Canada Post segment posts $153 million loss for 2019

Growth in Parcels business slows as competition in delivery intensifies OTTAWA, MAY 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Canada Post is reporting a loss before tax of $153 million for 2019. While it remains the country's leader in e-commerce delivery, its Parcels business grew at a slower pace in 2019 as the competition in e-commerce delivery intensified. Meanwhile, the mail business continued to decline as Canadians communicate, transact and advertise more by digital means. At the same time, the number of addresses receiving daily mail and parcel service climbed by 168,000. The recurring trends of parcels growth and mail decline continued to drive a shift in Canada Post's economics and operating model. Parcels processing and delivery requires more technology, space in buildings and vehicles, and time interacting with customers, making it significantly more costly than sorting and delivering letters. Canada Post has a long-standing mandate to serve all Canadians while remaining financially self-sufficient, and it funds its operations with the revenue generated from the sale of its products and services, not taxpayer dollars. The important balance required to successfully fulfill this dual mandate is a challenge. The company is addressing this challenge as it invests and evolves to meet Canadians' changing needs and expectations. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19), declared a pandemic in March 2020, did not have a material impact on our 2019 financial performance. However, it has the potential to significantly impact the Canadian and global economy and therefore our business in 2020 and, possibly, going forward. Parcels results In another year of growth, Parcels revenue increased by $232 million compared to 2018, exceeding $2.7 billion. It slightly exceeded revenue from letters, bills and statements (Transaction Mail) for the first time. Canada Post's strategy to lead in business-to-consumer e-commerce delivery increasingly anchors the business. During the 2019 peak holiday season, Canada Post set records by delivering more than 2 million parcels in a single day three times, and 1.1 million parcels on a single weekend, while keeping a strong focus on safety. Parcel growth, however, underperformed compared to 2017 and 2018. The decline in growth rates traces back to the 2018 labour disruption, as well as the impact of a softer economy in the first half of 2019. In addition, Canada Post is now competing not only against established couriers but also against new, low-overhead delivery providers as online retailers diversify their shipping partners. Domestic Parcels revenue, the largest product category, increased by $204 million or 11.0 per cent over 2018, while volumes increased by 26 million pieces or 13.2 per cent compared to 2018, when volumes were lower due to a labour disruption. Transaction Mail results Transaction Mail is primarily letters, bills and statements. In 2019, Transaction Mail revenue decreased by $69 million or 2.5 per cent, and volumes fell by 192 million pieces or 6.4 per cent compared to 2018. Transaction Mail generated more than $2.7 billion in 2019, or 40 per cent of the Canada Post segment's revenue (it was 55 per cent in 2006, the peak year for Transaction Mail volumes). The number of Canadian addresses grew by 168,000 in 2019, contributing to higher costs. Direct Marketing results Direct Marketing revenue decreased by $32 million or 3.0 per cent and volumes fell by 75 million pieces or 1.6 per cent compared to 2018. The Direct Marketing line of business generated $1.1 billion or 16 per cent of the segment's revenue in 2019. Group of Companies results The Canada Post Group of Companies1 posted a loss before tax of $23 million in 2019, compared to a loss before tax of $118 million in 2018.2 In 2019, as in 2018, the results can be attributed to a loss in the Canada Post segment, partially offset by Purolator's profit. The Purolator segment recorded a profit before tax of $152 million in 2019, compared to a profit before tax of $161 million in 2018, a decrease of $9 million or 5.2 per cent. Visit Financial Reports for the full report.







1. The Canada Post Group of Companies consists of the core Canada Post segment and its three non-wholly owned subsidiaries, Purolator Holdings Ltd., SCI Group Inc. and Innovapost Inc. 2. All 2018 amounts for the Group of Companies were restated as a result of new or revised accounting standards.

SOURCE Canada Post

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH/HBSE) is expected to release the results for Class 10 state board examination soon. Once declared, the results will be available on the official website bseh.org.in.

Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH/HBSE) is expected to release the results for Class 10 state board examination soon. Once declared, the results will be available on the official website bseh.org.in .

As per reports, the HBSE is likely to release the results this week. Students need to submit details such as roll number and registration number to be able to view their results. There is no official confirmation about the date of the results yet, this article will be updated to reflect the official notification, one it is delivered.

Times Now reported that the result date for HBSE 10th Board exams has not yet been confirmed by officials. According to them, the board had earlier stated that it was in the process of completing and finalising the results.

Following the announcement of the coronavirus lockdown, Haryana was one of the first few states to start evaluation process from home.

According to Dainik Jagran, students need to score at least 33 per cent in both theory and practical papers to pass the HBSE Class 10 exam. The report adds that 1 per cent grace marks can also be awarded to the students if they fail in any paper.
VISTA, Calif.  Condoms and personal lubricant distributor, Paradise Marketing, is partnering with Kimono Condoms, Aqua Lube and Blossom Organics for a special Back-to-Business sale, with 20 percent off the full range of products through July 31.

The promotion aims to assist the industrys wholesalers as they begin their gradual reopening more than two months after the coronavirus pandemic closed them down.

We are rolling out our Back-to-Business campaign as part of an effort to help get partners up and running again, said Paradise Marketing President Dennis Paradise. This is going to be a difficult transition as we re-start our economy and we know these discounts are beneficial. This is only the start of Paradise Marketings program. More promotions will be coming soon.

The sale will feature Kimono Condoms' entire line of ultra-sheer condomsKimono Thin, MicroThin and Maxx, as well as Aqua Lube and organic, unscented Aqua Lube Natural and Blossom Organics personal lubricants.

We are excited at the prospect of getting back to work, and whatever it takes to get us all on our feet and selling again, Paradise said. And we are here to offer our supportwhatever it takes to help elevate our industry to even better than it was before.

Paradise Marketing has been a distributor of high-quality condoms, lubricants and sexual wellness for more than 40 years.

To learn more, visit paradisemarketing.com.
A spell of glorious sunshine and sizzling heat is set to continue as the mercury today is expected to soar to highs of 28C in the UK.

Sunbathers have been making the most of their new-found freedom in the warm weather this week, as people flocked to parks and beaches after the coronavirus lockdown measures were eased.

On Tuesday London's St James's Park saw highs of 26.2C. And the sunshine is set to continue for most of the UK on Wednesday, with temperatures set rise further still, peaking at about 28C.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: "There will be a bit of a grey, misty start for some first thing [on Wednesday] but that will quickly burn away. The vast majority of the UK will have a dry day with sunny spells, if not blue skies all day for some."

UK lockdown heatwave - In pictures 1 /134 UK lockdown heatwave - In pictures Primrose Hill Matt Writtle People enjoy the sunny weather in Scarborough PA A dog plays in the sea with its owner at South Gare near Redcar Getty Images People kayak along the River Cam in Cambridge PA Elley from Bexley Heath indulges in some early morning sunbathing in Primrose Hill Matt Writtle People enjoy the sunny weather in Scarborough PA Givences cools off today in Trafalgar Square Jeremy Selwyn People relax on Crosby Beach PA Hot weather in London Nigel Howard A gardener in Regents Park gives the plants and flowers an early morning drink Matt Writtle Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn People enjoying the hot weather in Cullercoats Bay, Tyne and Wear PA Lifeguards on Crosby Beach put out warning signs PA Julie cools down in Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn A man enjoys the sunny weather in Scarborough PA A couple of dawn risers meditate as the sunrises over Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Vapours trails over London Matt Writtle Hot weather in London Nigel Howard Hot weather in London NIGEL HOWARD  Hot Weather, runners close to Lambeth Bridge Nigel Howard Sunshine by the Thames Jeremy Selwyn Sunrise over Northala Fields in Ealing Jeremy Selwyn A couple of dawn risers meditate as the sunrises over Primrose Hill Matt Writtle People take advantage of the hot weather in Hyde Park Nigel Howard Dawn rider Alex Wukovich of Paddington rides along the top of Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Dawn risers watch the sunrise Primrose Hill Matt Writtle A busy beach in Margate, Kent PA Early risers take pictures of the sunrise at 4.27am at Tynemouth Pier on the North East coast PA A lady relaxes in the sunshine on the beach in Margate, Kent PA Hyde Park sunshine Jeremy Selwyn People enjoy the sea in Margate, Kent PA People visit the beach in Bournemouth, Dorset PA Hyde Park sunshine Jeremy Selwyn A busy beach in Margate, Kent PA Hyde Park sunshine Jeremy Selwyn A busy beach in Margate, Kent, PA Hyde Park sunshine Jeremy Selwyn A boat on the River Ouse in York PA A woman exercises in York PA People enjoying the good weather at Ruislip Lido in London PA People enjoying the good weather by Three Shires Head on the River Dane PA People sunbathe in St James Park, PA A cyclist does a wheelie outside Buckingham Palace PA A lone Squirrel sits close to Waterloo Station awaiting some breakfast Nigel Howard People enjoying the warm weather at the Botanic Gardens in Belfast PA People enjoying the good weather on the beach at Durdle Door, near Lulworth in Dorset PA Cyclists ride along the Mall, as people enjoy the good weather in London PA People enjoy the sun in Hackney Wick Getty Images People play with a football as they enjoy the sunny weather in Shoreditch Park AFP via Getty Images An ice cream van is seen as people enjoy the hot weather on the bank of the River Thames in London REUTERS People enjoy the hot sunny weather on Brighton Beach Getty Images Southend beach has been flooded with sunbathers under the bank holiday Monday sun AFP via Getty Images Paddle boarders practise social distancing as they make their way along the Basingstoke Canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire PA People enjoy the hot weather at Bournemouth beach in Dorset, as people flock to parks and beaches with lockdown measures eased PA Two women sunbathe as people enjoy the hot weather in Greenwich Park, London PA Gridlock stretches on a road in Burnsall in the Yorkshire Dales PA Southend, Essex SOLO Syndication A man jumps into the sea at the Forty Foot in Sandycove, Dublin, PA Southend, Essex SOLO Syndication People enjoy the hot weather in Holland Park Playing Fields, London PA People enjoy the hot weather at Bournemouth beach in Dorset PA Men playing football as they enjoy the hot weather at Weston-super-Mare PA Regents Canal Matt Writtle Cyclists enjoy the hot weather in Greenwich Park, London PA A woman plays frisbee as people enjoy the hot weather in Greenwich Park PA Sunbathers enjoy the hot weather at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire PA People walk beside Regent's Canal AFP via Getty Images People queuing for food as they enjoy the hot weather at Weston-super-Mare PA Runners and walkers climb Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Sunshine in Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn A women exercises in the early morning sunshine Nigel Howard Sunshine in Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn Sun seekers out and about in Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Running in the sunshine at Hyde Park Corner Jeremy Selwyn Running in the sunshine at Hyde Park Corner Jeremy Selwyn Runners climb Primrose Hill Matt Writtle Sunshine in Hyde Park Jeremy Selwyn Cyclists ride under a clear blue sky in Blyth, Northumberland PA Bathers swim in the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park, London, on Tuesday AFP via Getty Images Tennis in the sunshine at Sale Sports Club Getty Images A woman runs beneath the trees along the Mall in central London PA A dog jumps into the water as families relax at a Lido in London AP Margate, Kent PA People ride bicycles on the Mall in central London PA Women exercise in a central London Nigel Howard Margate, Kent PA Kayakers braved the overcast weather at Woolacombe Beach, Devon PA Pine Ridge Golf Club Getty Images Families sunbathe and relax at a Lido in London, AP A couple enjoy their beach hut during the sunny weather in Broadstairs, Kent PA Sunbathers in Greenwich Park, London, PA Bathers swim in the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park, London AFP via Getty Images Walkers enjoy Virginia Water in Surrey PA Families sunbathe and relax at a Lido in London AP People enjoy the warm weather in Guildford, Surrey PA People sit in Battersea Park PA Families sunbathe and relax at a Lido in London AP Bathers swim in the Serpentine Lido in Hyde Park AFP via Getty Images People enjoy the warm weather on the beach in Margate, Kent, PA People at Whitley Bay beach on Saturday PA

Temperatures will largely be in the 20s, with highs of 28C in the London area, he said.

But there is a risk of thunderstorms on Thursday in east and south-east England as a band of rain pushes eastwards. With this, temperatures are predicted to cool from 24C (75.2F) or 25C (77F) before the rain to a fresher 17C (62.6F) to 21C (69.8F) on Friday.

Mr Dewhurst said there would be a windy start to the weekend with sunshine and showers for many and the weather gradually turning drier from the south on Sunday and into bank holiday Monday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has eased the lockdown restrictions, allowing Brits to spend unlimited time outdoors. While the measures have been relaxed, people have been told to keep two metres apart from each other and keep gatherings to a maximum of two people.
For Samantha Riethmeier in Auburn Hills, its hikes with a friend.

For Dwayne Harvey in Detroit, its seeing his family.

For Cindi Holland in Howell, its grocery shopping without a mask.

Michigan has been under one the strictest stay-at-home orders in the nation since March 24. Bars, gyms, salons and restaurants remain closed, and retail is only open for curbside pickup. People are only supposed to leave their homes for essential activities, like grocery shopping or exercise, and arent allowed to gather with anybody outside their household, no matter how small the group.

But as days turn into weeks turn into months, people across Michigan  including those who supported and strictly complied with the orders initially  are loosening their adherence to the letter of the orders and determining for themselves how much risk theyre comfortable taking.

Harvey came down with COVID-19 in early April. His symptoms included a fever that wouldnt go away, loss of appetite and difficulty breathing. He was hospitalized for two days, and his wife had a milder case.

He quarantined for two weeks  doctors orders  but has gone back to seeing family.

My kids have come by, were not necessarily social distancing, Harvey said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has continued to ask Michiganders to socially distance and follow the stay-at-home order, which she recently loosened in northern Michigan.

Please, keep staying safer at home. If we keep doing what we have been and protecting ourselves and our families from this virus, we can begin thinking about re-engaging sectors in the lower parts of our state, Whitmer said at a press conference Monday.

Even when he was sick and unsure of what would happen to him, Harvey saw the governors order as too restrictive. He wants to make his own decisions.

You tell me that theres a potential danger, Ill handle it as I see fit. If I want to be stupid, in their eyes, and go to church... Ill take that risk, Harvey said.

As the order drags on, more people are making those calculations.

People feel out risk tolerance

Carlton Fuerst, of Royal Oak, has a PhD in physics. Thinking about things scientifically comes naturally to him, and hes making a calculation of risk for him and for others.

He says to think of a highway: youre on one with a 70 mph speed limit, and your risk of death if you crash goes up with your speed. If you push it to 75 mph, youre putting yourself at an increased risk of death, but also the people in any other car involved in the crash.

So, you think about it: does spending the extra few minute on the highway matter right now? Is there somewhere you need to be with those seven minutes? Are you ok with putting others at risk?

He went through a similar scenario recently when he went on a hike with four friends.

I want to admit to myself that I am creating this risk, and then I want to look at whats the real value that Im getting from taking on that risk, Fuerst said.

If I havent seen my friends in a couple of weeks, maybe I make an exception and go on the hike with them. But if I just saw them three days ago... maybe I should forgo it, he said.

Dr. Emily Martin, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan, said close contact is defined as being six feet away from somebody for 10 minutes.

The activities people are engaging with outside the order come with a range of risks. She isnt visiting her in-laws, for instance, because she goes to work and doesnt want to expose them. For people visiting with family, my concern is around what else are those people doing that might be bringing risk to a vulnerable person.

But shes been chatting with her neighbors at a distance and outside.

Casual contact in an outdoor space with pretty large distance between you and the next person is pretty low-risk, Martin said.

But for some, the letter of the law is important. Lee Tilson, of Detroit, has had two neighbors with the disease. One was Rep. Issac Robinson, D-Detroit, who died of presumed coronavirus.

Tilson has made sacrifices because of the rules. He missed his sons wedding in Germany. He doesnt see his kids who live nearby.

They talk on the phone, but, Its just not the same at all. You cant sit in a room and even watch the visual cues for what theyre doing. They dont want to bother you with their day-to-day problems.

He spends hours ordering groceries online, and then more time wiping them down to sanitize them when they arrive. When he needed a prescription from a nearby hospital, he had a worker fill it and bring it out to his car, tossing it through an opened window so they didnt get too close.

When I think about making choices... I focus on what the alternatives are and what the consequence of each alternative is likely to be. I know that a lot of people are very upset because they feel that their civil rights are being imposed upon, and I dont understand that argument, said Tilson, who is a lawyer.

When it comes to staying at home to protect human lives, its been unpleasant, he said. But. It seems to me to be something that is morally and logically compelled, and I think we have no choice.

Those who break the rules face judgment

Samantha Riethmeier works as a dog groomer. Before the pandemic, she interacted with between five and 20 people every day, from her coworkers to pet parents to her gym buddy.

When the order first came out, she stayed inside for two weeks. But that gym buddy was a friend keeping her accountable for exercise as she prepares for bariatric surgery  something thats been delayed due to the governors orders. Pretty soon, they were meeting up for hikes or bike rides and staying at least six feet apart.

It's been nice to be able to get out of the house into fresh air, into the sunshine, and then have a partner in crime to go with me, Riethmeier said.

Shes not a political person, but soon posting snaps of the hikes earned her judgment from Facebook friends. One told her she was putting their kids at risk. Another called her a social justice warrior. Its been difficult.

I dont think you should be reprimanded or judged for doing something just to keep you from going absolutely bananas inside, she said.

Sean J. Kenny, a Grand Rapids-based psychologist, said people are facing many issues  especially parents, who are missing out on the human need for privacy.

My advice is kind of to say do your best, try to find creative ways to connect with people, but you have to acknowledge that theres a limit to what people can do, he said.

Cindi Holland, a Republican, attended the April 30 rally in Lansing. It was one of several events on the capitol lawn where people showed up to protest the governors stay-at-home orders and featured armed men and signs supporting President Donald Trump.

But on the ground at the protest, Holland said she saw people of all political stripes. She complied with the order initially but is increasingly concerned about its effects on her 13-year-old son, Jonathan, who has autism.

He is high-functioning but struggles with social awkwardness and is very set on routines. With school not in session, she sees him retreating inwardly and worries that the transition back is going to be a huge, huge adjustment for him.

He's going to have a hard time transitioning back into that routine. Just based on what we go through once a year because of the summer break, Holland said.

Shes not wearing a mask when she goes out anymore, though she said she does stay far away from older people she knows are vulnerable. And, shes not alone.

She lives in Livingston County, where Sheriff Mike Murphy has said publicly his department will not enforce any of the governors executive orders.

Holland said she sees a lot of people in her area pretty much moving about freely.

There are still people wearing masks, taking precautions... but people are out, businesses are opening up, she said.

Going forward, uncertainty tips the scales

One factor people say weighs heavily on their decisions to stray from the rules is not knowing when the stay-at-home order will end.

That's the hard part. You cant wrap your mind around it when theres no end date there, said Sharon Yearout, of Ludington.

She and her husband have some of the high-risk factors, and at first, she was complying with the order very strictly. But recently shes started allowing herself small pleasures  walks without masks, drives to the beach.

I just thought wait a minute, I cant just sit here. Im already over 70, I dont know how much more time Ive got on that earth, Yearout said.

Kenny, the psychologist, sees the lack of an end date as one of the key factors as people deal with the stay-at-home order. He said studies have shown most humans can tolerate difficult circumstances if they know its time-limited, but not having an end date amplifies the stress.

If you tell people you dont know when its going to end, that really does a number on your psyche. I think thats one of the bigger factors is that we just dont know, Kenny said.

Whitmers stay-at-home order currently runs through May 28. But that may not be a true end date; as her executive orders have expired in the past, she has extended them.

She told MLive recently she is hopeful that at least one of the restrictions will lift after that date; allowing gatherings of up to 10 people.

That number isnt a magic one, according to Martin, the epidemiologist. If it goes into effect, she urged people to still be careful.

I would still approach that with a level of caution and use that to see family or friends rather than have a gathering of 10 lead to a gathering of 10 lead to a gathering of 10 and then by the end of the day youve been in contact with 50 people, Martin said.

Whats emerging now is a patchwork; some industries, like manufacturing, have opened back up. Starting Friday, people in much of Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula will be allowed to gather in small groups, and restaurants and other businesses will be allowed to open, with restrictions.

For now, though, the rest of Michigan continues to stay at home.

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.

Related stories:

Heres what can reopen in which Michigan counties under new state order

Michigan sheriff says Gov. Whitmers stay-at-home order is akin to mass arrest

Coronavirus deaths surpass 5K in Michigan

Mackinac Bridge traffic was down 62 percent in April with stay-at-home orders in effect
Starbucks Corporation SBUX recently decided to reopen stores in Italy and Japan following the coronavirus-induced shutdown. Notably, the company currently has 90% of its stores open in China, while 85% of its stores in the United States are open for delivery.

The company, which has 1,550 stores in Japan, has reopened many of its stores starting Tuesday. However, these stores are only open for take-out and drive-through services. Moreover, company announced that it will open its cafes in Italy barring its flagship location in central Milan. The company further added that it will follow the government's rules and social distancing.

The companys shares have fallen 15.4% in the past three months owing to the pandemic, compared with the industrys decline of 17.9%.

Coronavirus to Hurt Results

The company anticipates the impact of coronavirus to intensify in third-quarter fiscal 2020 only to moderate in fourth-quarter fiscal 2020. In the second-quarter fiscal 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the companys performance between two to three weeks. However, it anticipates an impact of 13 weeks in third-quarter fiscal 2020. The impact of the deadly virus is expected to lessen in the month of May and June after wreaking havoc in April. Starbucks expects substantial recovery in China by the end of fiscal 2020.

Moreover, estimates for current quarter and year have witnessed sharp downward revisions. In the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter and fiscal 2020 have witnessed downward revisions of 32 cents and 53 cents, respectively.

Starbucks currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Key Picks

Some better-ranked stocks worth considering in the same space include Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ, Wingstop Inc. WING and Yum China Holdings, Inc. YUMC. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Domino's Pizza, Wingstop and Yum China have an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 12.5%, 11% and 9.5%, respectively.

Story continues

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

Click to get this free report Dominos Pizza Inc (DPZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Wingstop Inc. (WING) : Free Stock Analysis Report Yum China Holdings Inc. (YUMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
A 17-year-old girl was beheaded by her ex-boyfriend after breaking up with him in Sweden, it is alleged.

Wilma Andersson vanished on November 14 last year and police found a body part two weeks later  which was later revealed to be her head.

Her ex-boyfriend Tishko Ahmed Shabaz was arrested at the time and has now been charged with her murder, which he denies.

Shabaz is accused of decapitating Wilma when she went to collect her belongings before wrapping her head in foil and hiding it at his home.



Charges against the 23-year-old suspect were announced last week in a case that has shocked Sweden, which has long held a reputation as one of the worlds safest countries.

According to human rights monitor HRS, the suspect was born in Iraq and took up Swedish citizenship in 2014.

Hundreds of volunteers had joined the search for Wilma after she was reported missing in Uddevalla on November 17, three days after she was last seen.

The body part was found on November 28 in a grim discovery which was announced the following day, bringing the search to an end.

Wilmas boyfriend had already been arrested by then, and has been in custody ever since.

The indictment claims that Wilma was killed on November 14, the day she went missing, and alleges that her ex-boyfriend cut up her body.

Police also found blood on the floor of his apartment and traces of Wilma on a large kitchen knife, it is alleged.

The suspect has retained a body part for an unknown reason and got rid of the rest of the body, the police chief said.

Prosecutors claim that he murdered Wilma by subjecting her to repeated violence.

The rest of Wilmas body has never been found, and relatives have urged people to continue their search.

We want to find our daughter and sister. It is completely inhumane that we go through so please do not stop looking for Wilma, her mother Linda told Swedish media.

Shabaz denies all the allegations, telling investigators: You forget that this is a girl that I have loved and that I have lived my life perfectly.

The trial is due to begin on May 26.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
When I started this I said to the team that I need you to make something that tracks contacts and enables us to keep a lid on the virus, but protects peoples privacy and data in an ironclad way, so thats what this is designed to do.
With exporters starting operating their manufacturing units with limited workforce, they are gradually getting enquiries from various countries such as the US, France, and Spain for products such as apparel, leather and engineering, amid lockdown on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Shard Kumar Saraf said the order situation is getting better but it will still take at least six more months for the sector to get back on track.

"Factories have started but we are facing the problems of workers. We are getting enquiries from the US and European economies," he said.

FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said the situation is better as buyers from the US and Europe have started talking to domestic companies.

"We are expecting that the exports will be in negative zone for some more months. In May, it could contract by about 30-40 per cent. We are expecting that from October, we can register some positive growth in exports," Sahai said.

Sharing similar views, Ludhiana-based exporter S C Ralhan said engineering exporters are getting enquiries from countries like France, UK, Spain and the US.

Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said "Europe is getting better than the US in terms of enquiries for the sector. We are getting more orders from online stores as compared to brick-and-mortar shops".

He said the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the sector significantly and in such a crisis, the government support is needed on an urgent basis to put the growth trajectory on track.

"One thing is encouraging that buyers are asking for samples from India. We expect that the anti-China feeling in the global markets can be converted into opportunity for India. Our factories have also started with 25 per cent capacity," Sakthivel said.

Siddh Nath Singh, chairman of the Carpet Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC), said the sector is not getting healthy orders.

"Factories have started but adequate labour force is not there. Weavers have migrated to their villages," he said adding the US accounts for over 50 per cent of carpet exports and Europe contributes about 30 per cent.

The country's exports contracted by a record 34.5 per cent in March and 60 per cent in April.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Nature Foundation St. Maarten presents their first Eco-Bracelets which identifies the carrier as an eco-warrior and symbolizes their commitment to a clean and sustainable St. Maarten, the project is made possible through the generous contribution from the Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) on behalf of their members. The Eco-bracelet is made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric, which is the primary material used for the production of water bottles around the world. Billions of PET bottles are discarded each year and a significant amount of them become littered in the natural environment, representing one of the biggest waste problems on Earth.



The first edition of the St. Maarten Eco-bracelet displays the text Nature is our Future SXM, which is the slogan of the Nature Foundation, along with an outline of our beloved island. Each Eco-Bracelet includes a flyer explaining what it means to wear the bracelet, how you can continue to support the Nature Foundation and a map of Sint Maartens Marine Protected Area and dive sites. We are very excited to introduce the first Nature Foundation Eco-Bracelet and are looking forward to the support of the community in wearing the bracelets. We hope that residents and visitors of St. Maarten will proudly wear the Eco-Bracelets to show their support for nature conservation and protection of our natural environment stated the Nature Foundation St. Maarten.



Eco-bracelets can be ordered now on the Nature Foundations website; www.naturefoundationsxm.org and will be available for scheduled pick-up beginning June 1st, 2020, and orders of 5 bracelets or more can be delivered already. For a contributing donation of $10 one eco-bracelet will be provided, which directly supports the protection and enhancement of St. Maartens natural environment. To increase nature awareness among tourism, the assistance of the business sector is essential, therefore the Nature Foundation offers a retail option for businesses to reach the visitors of our island. Bracelet displays made from up-cycled materials by the Waste Factory will be provided for free by a retail order of 20 or more, for more information businesses interested in retail can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .



Organizations that manage the nature parks in the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and St. Maarten) face a structural shortage of financing to fulfill their nature management tasks, the Nature Foundation St. Maarten faces the greatest financial challenge. On the other hand, nature is the basis for their economic and social development, as they are the key asset for the tourism sector, thereby creating jobs and generating funds for the government from related taxes. Nature also provides key attractions for tourism, cultural and recreational opportunities for residents, food, coastal protection, disaster protection, and other services like climate and erosion control and key habitat for biodiversity.



The Nature Foundation, with the assistance of the WWF-NL, DCNA and the Wolfs Company, has been working very hard in order to create possibilities to increase sustainable funding for nature management, we are proud to launch the first step in the process, which is the Eco-Bracelet. We also would like to especially thank Ildiko Gilders, Maarten like St Maarten, Caribbean Association of Banks, the Waste Factory, and Print & Sign Express for the involvement and their major contribution to make the Eco-Bracelet a reality notated Nature Foundations Manager Melanie Meijer zu Schlochtern.



The Nature Foundation St. Maarten manages and preserves the nations nature areas and natural habitats, provides education and awareness, and conducts essential research and monitoring of species and ecosystems. These efforts include Coral Reef Monitoring, Sea Turtle nesting Monitoring, the management of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area, educational and outreach events, and much more. To learn more about what the Nature Foundation does or what you can do to help visit naturefoundationsxm.org. Every donation the Nature Foundation receives goes towards assisting the Foundation support and protect the environment of St. Maarten.
Lawyer Afroz Shah, whose beach



clean-up initiative has won praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accused the city police on Wednesday of abusing and harassing him for giving lift to a few migrant workers.

He was suspending his work after the bitter experience at Tilak Nagar police station late Tuesday night, he said.

The Mumbai-based lawyer who is known for organizing a drive to keep the Versova beach in the city clean was lauded by Modi in one of his 'Mann Ki Baat' addresses in 2018.

"I have been helping migrant workers, which includes providing them food. I have taken a travel pass from the police to distribute food to migrant workers who are walking towards Nashik from Mumbai," he told PTI.

"I was on my way back from Kasara when I saw a group of migrant workers headed for Byculla railway station at Mulund toll plaza. They asked me for help and I gave them a lift in my vehicle," Shah said.

"Another group requested me to drop them from Byculla railway station to Ghatkopar. But we were stopped at Ghatkopar by local police who accused of me violating lockdown guidelines," he said.

"I was surprised because I had the travel pass and I was simply dropping them at Ghatkopar railway station. They unnecessarily abused me....I told them about my work and showed my identity card but they did not budge," Shah said.

"They took us to Tilak Nagar police station, wasted our time and finally after two hours dropped us at the same spot where they had stopped us.

"It was highly demoralising and depressing," he added.

"I was surprised to find out that despite my credentials and legal pass to travel, they demonstrated utter disregard. I had large vessels in my vehicle to show as proof that I have been distributing food for migrant workers. But they did not believe me and went on abusing," he said.

Shah also tweeted about the experience.

"Harassed for 2 hours by Tilak nagar police. Taken to the police station. Let off by saying please leave. Suspending all my activities to help the poorest of the poor," he said.

"Sorry migrants - the system doesn't allow me to work for you. Broken heart. Broken soul. I cry and I am in pain," he tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When you finally return to work after the lockdown, coronavirus might not be the only illness you need to worry about contracting at the office.

Office buildings once filled with employees emptied out in many cities and states as shelter-in-place orders were issued. These structures, normally in constant use, have been closed off and shut down, and health risks might be accumulating in unseen ways.

The buildings arent designed to be left alone for months, said Andrew Whelton, an associate professor of civil, environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University.

Dr. Whelton, other researchers and public health authorities have issued warnings about the plumbing in these buildings, where water may have gone stagnant in the pipes or even in individual taps and toilets. As lockdowns are lifted, bacteria that build up internally may cause health problems for returning workers if the problem is not properly addressed by facilities managers. Employees and guests at hotels, gyms and other kinds of buildings may also be at risk.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its ex-post facto approval for the Jammu and Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020, on specified domicile conditions for all levels of public sector jobs in the region.

The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the order issued under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.

The Jammu and Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020, was notified by the Union Home Ministry on April 3. The order has further modified the applicability of domicile conditions for all levels of jobs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act (Act No. XVI of 2010), an official statement said.

However, the government note did not mention any further details. The Cabinet nod came almost a month after the Central government in a historic decision changed the Jammu and Kashmir domicile rules, issuing an order declaring that all civil servant jobs in the newly created UT will be reserved for its residents.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had announced it through a Gazette notification making changes in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, 2010.

As per the order, the civil servant will be a "domicile of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir".

This was the second change in the Jammu and Kashmir domicile rule. The Narendra Modi government in a similar notification on April 1 had redefined the domicile rule for government jobs in the newly-created UT through the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020.

According to the notification, anyone who has resided in J&K for 15 years or has studied in the state for seven years, and appeared in either Class 10 or Class 12 examination, will be eligible for domicile certificates. This would allow them to apply for gazetted and non-gazetted government jobs.

The J&K administration had on Monday issued new rules allowing people belonging to West Pakistan, Valmikis, women marrying outside their communities, non-registered Kashmiri migrants and displaced people to get domicile status.

As per the Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020, the children of such people in these categories can now also get jobs in the Union Territory.
Once filled with life, laughter, constant chatter and noise, West Australian schools and boarding houses were left eerily deserted and silent as coronavirus rules and border restrictions came into effect earlier this year.

As learning remotely from home became the new norm for many students, some boarding students found themselves having to leave their newfound family and home to return to the one they had previously said goodbye to.

St Hilda's boarding school students slowly return in time for National Boarding Week.

About two months on, with intrastate border restrictions now being lifted and all school students required to attend school unless exempt, boarders are slowly returning and bringing life back to boarding houses in time for National Boarding Week from May 18-23.

St Hildas head boarder Maddi Wray left her small hometown of Gnowangerup at just 11 years old and made the almost 400-kilometre journey to Perth for better high school opportunities.
The Automobile Dealers Union Ghana, ADUG, has donated some food items to the National Chief Imam Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to support the celebrations of this years Eid.

The President of Association Mr. Eric on behalf of his members expressed gratitude to the National Chief Imam for his leadership skills in ensuring that Muslims and Christians unite in Ghana and the world at large.

Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu on his part thanked the Association and prayed for them for their kind Gesture and support.

We are very grateful for your support ahead of the Eid celebrations.

The protocol officer at the office of the National Chief Imam Alhaji Abdul Latif Abdul Salam received the items on behalf of the National Chief Imam

But Eric Kwaku Boateng, the President of ADUG submitted that  the pandemic has really had a bad effect on their business, asserting that about only 5% of the work is being carried out in terms of business.

This shows how bad the situation is for car dealers.

He also disclosed that the government has promised assistance to the association to cushion the economic effect on their business.

He, however, cautioned and advised everyone to be part of an organization or association to enable everyone to receive this package that has been promised.

He emphasized that this will ease disbursement to members, adding that they are living in hope that things go back to normal soon.
Some questions must be answered clearly: Where and in what context did Covid-19 appear? Were the World Health Organization's (WHO) detection and warnings timely enough in preventing the pandemic outbreak?

Were the World Health Organization's findings and warnings timely and effective in preventing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic?

First of all, it should be affirmed that in the beginning, it was a public health crisis, but very quickly this crisis went beyond the scope of a conventional medical crisis to become a comprehensive crisis in the economic, financial, cultural and social fields ...

If Covid-19 is not quickly extinguished, the second Great Depression within a century, which would be equal to or more serious than the Great Depression 1929-1933 and the first Great Depression in the 21st century, will become a reality and be a constant worry of all nations, transnational corporations and large international organizations.

It should be remembered that the first Great Depression fundamentally redrew the balance of power in Europe and the world, along with the emergence of Fascism and then World War II, which claimed the lives of tens of millions of people.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a series of weaknesses and inadequacies in national governance and social governance on a national, regional and global scale.

The Covid-19 pandemic is also a strict warning and reminder of the harsh behavior of humans towards nature, which people pay for their behavior. Although the cost is expensive, this is only the initial cost, and the cost will be much higher later if system errors are not completely overcome.

The post-pandemic world should be imagined as follows:

1. There is a high possibility that an unprecedented large civil campaign will emerge globally, with a series of hearings, legal actions, and "truth-finding" missions launched to track down the source of the virus, pandemic causes and review all the current processes.

The implementation of the recommendations or conclusions from the campaign could cause many politicians to lose their positions, and promote important geopolitical and strategic displacement, as well as the formation of new alliances and new forces at regional and global levels.

Countries in general, especially Western ones, are extremely sensitive to the lives of their citizens. In many cases, the Prime Minister or President of Western countries had to directly deal with "small" incidents that involved only one citizen who was abducted or murdered abroad.

The spread of the deadly coronavirus, which killed hundreds of thousands of people and infected millions of others and caused huge economic losses for many countries throughout the world, is something hard to ignore. Other things are temporarily shelved because everyone, every country has to worry about the epidemic and their survival.

However, when the virus gradually disappears, it will be the time for interrogation, including fierce and brutal "revenge", when social forces in many countries try to find the origin of the virus, for the sole purpose of preventing the repeat of the same tragedy or to at least minimize the impacts.

Some of the following questions will probably be explored in depth to clarify, for example: Where and in what context did Covid-19 appear? How did the virus spread really work, especially for person-to-person transmission? Were the World Health Organization's findings and warnings timely and effective in preventing the pandemic outbreaks? If not, what were the causes, and what does WHO need to do to better its work?

What were the failures of leading US and Western intelligence agencies when they could not give early warnings? Why were the world's leading infectious disease scientists and experts in the United States so helpless in giving early warnings to prevent the pandemic outbreaks?

What was the reason for the serious shortage of essential medical equipment? If we could start over, would local governments, nations or international organizations have done better? Who made mistakes in this, and why did they let it happen?

And there are many other questions. Raising questions means seeking answers and solutions to prevent a tragedy so that it can never happen again in the future.

Relationship between two superpowers

Both China and the United States understand that fighting Covid-19 is a battle for survival. Photo: Reuters

The "post-coronavirus pandemic era" will witness an acceleration, not a reduction of geostrategic and geopolitical competition globally and in key geographic areas abundant in resources such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle East, and Africa.

Only three months before the pandemic outbreak, a comprehensive strategic competition between China and the United States, especially in trade issues, was the top concern of countries in the world. This concern was suddenly sunk due to the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The "Cold War 2.0" that people were "eager" to see was temporarily "delayed". The detente and "cooperation" between China and the US we are witnessing today is provisional because the medical crisis and the coronavirus have directly affected both superpowers, forcing them to work together for their survival.

It is likely that this cooperation will soon "die prematurely" once the Covid-19 epidemic ends. This is similar to the "cooperation" and "allied relations" between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Second World War against the "axis" led by the Nazis.

Only one year after the defeat of the fascists and the end of World War II in 1945, Soviet-US relations returned to the inevitable state of confrontation. This is also consistent with the antagonistic nature of the two economic forms, the two ideological systems that are completely opposite.

For Sino-US relations, there are at least three reasons to see that tensions will come back soon:

Firstly, the basic issues leading to suspicions and contradictions between China and the US have not been completely resolved. The first-phase trade agreement signed at the end of 2019 only touches the top and the time is not enough to test the positive impact of this agreement in easing tensions between China and the US.

Secondly, the coronavirus pandemic deepened suspicions and reduced Sino-US strategic trust which had been seriously hurt before. For example, despite China's fierce opposition and the WHO changing the name of the virus, President Trump, in many cases, still insisted on using the word "Chinese Virus" or "Wuhan Virus".

Even at the most stressful time of dealing with the epidemic, the US still "did not forget" passing a number of laws that support Taiwan in diplomacy and military to control China later.

Thirdly, China and the US are unspokenly in a very fierce race to see which side will reach the "finish" first in fighting Covid-19 and which side will be out of the "war" with less serious injuries.

Both China and the United States understand that fighting Covid-19 is a battle for survival, and no mistakes are allowed because the cost is that the rival will advance ahead.

Any country that escapes the epidemic early means that they can soon embark on restoring production and normal life of the people, increase their national capacity, and at the same time support their allies, while the enemy still struggles in hard times.

Hoang Anh Tuan
SD-WAN leader 128 Technology is deploying a new software release for its Session Smart Router with enhancements for SD-Branch, remote work and 5G that delivers improved scale and economics for SD-WAN. The software boosts deployment scale to thousands of sites, the capacity of head-end routers, and accelerates CPE hardware performance, helping companies achieve their digital transformation initiatives faster. It will also help lower bandwidth usage, hardware costs and create overall savings for capital and operating expenditures.

This past January we reported on the companys solution being offered by Softbank.

Yours Truly TMCs Rich Tehrani spoke with Mark Vella, VP of Business Development & Alliances at 128 Technology at the #TechSuperShow 2020 in Ft. Lauderdale FL

Following this news of a large carrier win, at the TECHSUPERSHOW in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in an exclusive interview, Mark Vella, VP of Business Development & Alliances at 128 Technology told us they were being rolled out in many large organizations.

This interview segues nicely into todays news.

128 Technologys Session Smart Router increases network simplicity and agility by eliminating tunnels and providing session-awareness between endpoints. The 128T Networking Platform puts organizations in control of session directionality, while offering fine-grained segmentation and encryption of all data in motion.

The software enhancements will expand on these current offerings and focus on three areas:

SD-Branch : Enhancements to SD-Branch focus on automation and connection of the branch. This includes enabling Layer 2 Connections over any uplink, simplifying sites by removing MPLS customer edge (CE) routers as well as removing expensive MPLS pseudowires and using multipath resiliency. 128 Technology is also working with Alexa, an Amazon.com company, to ensure automated application categorization, perform server health checks and more.

: Enhancements to SD-Branch focus on automation and connection of the branch. This includes enabling Layer 2 Connections over any uplink, simplifying sites by removing MPLS customer edge (CE) routers as well as removing expensive MPLS pseudowires and using multipath resiliency. 128 Technology is also working with Alexa, an Amazon.com company, to ensure automated application categorization, perform server health checks and more. Remote Work: Companies need to provide flexible, secure, and productive work from home environments. With a new hybrid SD-WAN approach, 128 Technology now supports secure connectivity from end-user devices, enables IoT connections from embedded devices and state-of-the-art cryptography for high-speed connections. The software enhancements allow 128 Technology to provide universal WFH connectivity as well as supplement cloud-centric or home-appliance solutions where specialized solutions by worker classification are more economical.

5G: Despite the massive bandwidth increases 5G is expected to achieve, the same old legacy network technology will not allow the technology to reach its full potential. 128 Technologys new 5G capabilities support multi-access edge computing (MEC) and mobility. This allows for discovery of services located closest to the user and offers network slicing based on individual application needs. It also supports session continuity during mobility events, removes overhead from the core and offers seamless high-speed session failovers in case of failures.

Todd Zittrouer, CEO, Momentum Telecom

Partnering with 128 Technology enables us to profitably expand our service offerings and improve customer responsiveness, said Todd Zittrouer, CEO, Momentum Telecom, a premier provider of Cloud Voice, Network Solutions, and Unified Communications. 128 Technologys solution enables us to offer new, differentiated services for our customers with faster time to deployment and improved customer response time.

Andy Ory, co-founder and CEO, 128 Technology

The last thing companies should be worried about right now is high WAN costs that could be compounding the impacts of an unstable financial time, said Andy Ory, co-founder and CEO, 128 Technology. However, the reality is, traditional VPN solutions for WFH environments can be complex and difficult to scale. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis and recent shift to remote work have led us to accelerate our software enhancements, especially when it comes to business continuity, and our new hybrid SD-WAN approach will allow companies provide flexible, secure, and productive WFH environments for their employees.

See the ONLY SD-WAN, Contact Center, Tech and Communications companies that matter at the ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW.

This Event has been called the BEST SHOW in 5 YEARS and the Best TECHNOLOGY EVENT of 2020.

2020 participants included: Amazon, Cisco, Google, IBM, ClearlyIP, Avaya, Vonage, 88, Comcast Business, BlueJeans, CoreDial, Dell, Edify, Epygi, FreeSWITCH, Fuze, Grandstream, Granite, Intrado, Frontier Business, Fujitsu, Jenne, West, Konftel, Intelisys, Martello, NetSapiens, OOMA, Oracle, OpenVox, Peerless Network, Phone Sentry, Phone.com, Poly, QuestBlue, RingByName, Sangoma, SingTel, SkySwitch, Spracht, Spectrum, Sprint, Tallac, Tech Data, Telarus, TCG, Teledynamics, Teli, Telinta, Telispire, Telstra, TransNexus, Unified Office, Vital PBX, VoIP Supply, Voxbone, VoIP.MS, Windstream, XCALY, XORCOM, Yealink, Yubox, and ZYCOO. Full List.

Join 8K others with $25B+ in IT buying power who plan 2021 budgets! Including 3,500+ resellers!

A unique experience with a collocated Future of Work Expo, SD-WAN Expo, and MSP Expo

June 22-25, 2021, Miami Register now and you could win a Tesla on Feb 12th.
Illustration by The Daily Beast/Getty

Top Republican Party and Trump administration officials are growing convinced that there is no immediate need for another stimulus package to ease the economic damage caused by the coronavirus, reasoning that if already poor conditions worsen they can always pass a measure closer to Election Day, with all the political benefits that may entail.

The calls to pump the brakes on further congressional economic intervention comes at a time when 33 million people have filed for unemployment benefits, the economy is projected to shrink at historic levels, the Federal Reserve has warned lawmakers that more help may be needed, and the recorded U.S. body count from the virus nears 100,000.

But inside the White House and at the top ranks of GOP leadership, there is little fear that inaction carries much risk. Top aides believe that enough money is left to spend from the nearly $3 trillion already allocated and that a shift is beginning to occur among the majority of voters, including virtually all of their base, against the idea of more federal aid.

Beyond that, there is a sense that they have a safety valve if need be: If President Donald Trump finds himself in a bind, Democrats will still go along with more spending later in the summer or early in the fall, even if its shortly before the presidential election, according to sources in the administration and on Capitol Hill familiar with the calculus.

You might want to make sure you have not shot your whole wad now, said Tom Davis, a former GOP congressman from Virginia. You may want to have something ready to go in September. Its an election year The long term [in this cycle] is til November.

On Tuesday, Trump reportedly urged Republican lawmakers to take it slow on any future economic recovery bill. And Kevin Hassett, his senior economic adviser, told MSNBC: If you look at the real-time data that we track, were seeing a lot of hopeful signs.

But not everyone within Trump land is convinced that theyve managed to find some form of an economic and political equilibrium. Industry allies with massive political clout have been angling for further bailouts of their own. And in some quarters, there is fear that the presidents standing on this key electoral issue is wading into dangerous territory and that he would be wise to embrace big-spending economic populism, including such ideas as a prepaid debit TRUMP CARD that would be sent to millions of Americans, as the president fights for re-election against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Story continues

Eric Bolling, a Sinclair Broadcasting host and friend of the Trump family, told The Daily Beast that he personally briefed the president on his economic response plan during a March phone call, which included discussion of TRUMP-emblazoned cards.

I explained the basis of the plan is a prepaid debit card given to each U.S. household [that] must have a use-it-or-lose-it date to ensure the funds would be a direct injection of bottom-up demand into the economy, Bolling said.

He added that the president said he liked the idea before inviting his son-in-law and top aide, Jared Kushner, into the Oval Office and asking Bolling to brief Kushner as well. They both liked the idea, the Sinclair TV host said. Toward the end [of our call], I added they might call this card The Trump Card for obvious branding reasons.

At a Tuesday afternoon event with Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin brandished a debit card that he said the Treasury Department could use to make direct payments to certain eligible citizens during the coronavirus crisis. Mnuchin added that the presidents signature was on the debit card, with Trump expressing his delight at the branded item.

Other media figures and outside voices have pushed the president to keep up the stimulative measures as well. Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank reality TV star and Dallas Mavericks owner who is on the presidents Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups council, said hes been advocating for a federal jobs program that trains and hires millions for a COVID-19 tracking and tracing program. Such an idea has heavy Democratic and labor support, and the billionaire Mavericks owner said in an email that he sent a proposal to my liaison at the White House. Cuban conceded, though, that so far the only thing they have pushed forward is adding a link to an organization Ive worked with to a CDC webpage.

Those outside advisers clamoring for bolder, bigger spending face an uphill battle in convincing Trump to act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he does not feel a great sense of urgency to pass an economic measure. And days after House Democrats moved a massive $3 trillion packageone-third of which went to state and local governments, and $200 billion of which would go to essential worker hazard payHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) indicated he didnt see a compromise emerging off of the Hill anytime soon.

I dont see the need right now, McCarthy said of another package.

Those close to the administration also say they dont sense acute pressure from the public to continue to inject the huge sums of money that have already gone out in the form of direct assistance, unemployment benefits, small business loans, and industry bailoutsthe latter of which have gone largely unspent.

People are no longer panicked, said former Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) a close administration ally and an official Trump surrogate. I would have thought people wouldve been raising hell, but some are making more money on unemployment, so theres not a lot of screaming to get things reopened.

Asked, for instance, about Cubans proposal to create a national jobs program through a federal contact-tracing initiative, Kingston summed up the feeling of the more conservative faction in Trump land: Hell frigging no. Stephen Moore, a Heritage Foundation economist who advises Trump and other administration brass, was equally dismissive.

I think thats a really bad idea. First of all, where are you gonna get the money? We want the private sector to hire people, not the federal government, he said on Monday. No, I do not support that, and I dont know if anyone in the [Trump administration] would either. We want the government to spend less money, not more money.

But Trump himself is the wild card in any question about future economic stimulative measures, with his penchant for changing his position dependent on what cable news program he most recently watched and what individual he most recently called. In recent months, The Daily Beast has spoken with various sources, inside and outside of the White House, who have advised the president on different economic or coronavirus-related policy proposals. Often, people pitching Trump on different plans will relay accounts of the president privately expressing similar levels of enthusiasm for their ideas while trash-talking other proposals hed just recently praised to someone else.

On Tuesday, Trump reportedly dismissed continuing one of the key planks of the earlier economic measuresextended unemployment benefitsduring a luncheon with Senate Republicans. And Hill aides say those same Republicans are generally skittish on pursuing a new economic package, unless it emphasizes a range of conservative priorities, from payroll tax cuts to limiting legal liabilities for businesses that reopen during the pandemic.

Polling indicates that the presidents standing on the economy has not yet hit its nadir after a persistent drop since the coronavirus pandemic first began to spread. Indeed, for the first time in its daily tracking survey, the progressive polling firm Navigator had disapproval of Trumps handling of the economy at 50 percent on Tuesday morning (up from 43 percent in late March).

But other Republicans believe that the winds of public opinion are shifting and that the party is wise to get on the right side of what they see as an emerging movement against the notion that the government should be heavily involved in propping up the economy.

I think they see a counter-reaction comingblowback against the money spent thus far, said Michael Steel, a former top spokesman for former House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and how it was spent, and they genuinely want to see whats working before spending more.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here

Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!

Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
A Houston ISD police officer was injured in a crash near downtown Wednesday afternoon.

The officer was northbound on Texas Highway 288 just south of the Interstate 45 interchange when he appeared to have been rear-ended around 1 p.m. Firefighters and paramedics placed a neck brace on the officer before pulling him out of the SUV and placing him in an ambulance, which left a few moments later.
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has met with vice president Yemi Osinbajo on proposal to address electricity as a palliative for Nigerians.

According to Gbajabiamila who made this known via a statement on his official Twitter handle on Wednesday, he said various options were considered and a decision would be reached soon.

Read Also: Osinbajo Is Current Chairman Of Nigerian Association Of Short People: El-Rufai

Yesterday I met @ProfOsinbajo who is also the Chairman, Post COVID Economic team on the proposal of @HouseNGR to address electricity as a palliative for Nigerians. We had a robust discussion and several possibilities and options were discussed. I am hopeful that we are almost there.

Advertisement
The politicization of the drug hydroxychloroquine by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential preventative measure against COVID-19 is putting a legitimate international clinical trial run out of the University of Manitoba at risk.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The politicization of the drug hydroxychloroquine by U.S. President Donald Trump as a potential preventative measure against COVID-19 is putting a legitimate international clinical trial run out of the University of Manitoba at risk.

Over the weekend, Trump announced to the world that he was taking the malaria drug to defend himself against the novel coronavirus, despite a continued lack of proof that the medication provides any protection. (It still could provide protection, but the scientific evidence simply isnt in.)

The clinical trial that is being led by researchers at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with the University of Manitoba and McGill University in Montreal, is seeking to test its effectiveness by using it as a prophylactic medication on health-care workers who may then be exposed to the virus through their work.

But those medical professionals are hesitant to sign up for such a study.

"This medication for a number of reasons has been heavily politicized and certainly thats had an impact on our trials ability to recruit participants, because of all of the attention that its gotten in the press thus far," said Lauren MacKenzie, the lead investigator for the Canadian branch of the research.

MacKenzie said the trial will need at least 3,500 nurses, doctors, ancillary staff and triage personnel to sign up in order to have a large enough test group for the data collected in the trial to be relevant. Currently there are about 1,500 signed up and only a handful of them came from Manitoba in the first week of registration, she said.

"It just seems to be like a lightning rod and very controversial, which is very unfortunate because (hydroxychloroquine) has a great safety track record and people have been using it in rheumatology, since the 1950s. Its a relatively safe medication to take," MacKenzie said.

She says the low number of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba has likely also played a role in low turnout here.

Dylan MacKay, a clinical trialist at the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation in Winnipeg, said this is the "weirdest trial" hes ever been involved in. He has heard the full spectrum of reasons that people dont want to participate in the study  from those who dislike Trump and therefore refuse to participate in a study that could possibly prove him right, to Trump supporters who have gone rogue and started taking the medication on their own already, and are thus ineligible for the study. Still others have insisted simply because Trump said it could work, it must not. Some people have said theyre afraid of the drug because theyve heard experts warn in the media against its use.

"So we just cant win," MacKay said. "This kind of stuff could lead to us never getting enough people and then us never knowing the answer, and it will end up just depending on your political beliefs whether or not you think the medication works or not. And that is definitely not the outcome we want to have. We want to have a nice clear answer  it works, or it doesnt. And for that, we need participants."

MacKenzie wanted to emphasize that the drug is safe when taken under the advisement of a medical professional, who can deal with any possible side effects  as is provided in the clinical trial.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

But there are three reasons a person shouldnt try taking the medication on their own, she said. First, there is a safety risk if hydroxychloroquine is taken with the absence of medical followups and understanding of possible drug interactions with other medications. Second, if a person takes it on their own, it doesnt contribute to the scientific knowledge base. Lastly, there is high demand for hydroxychloroquine and patients who use it to treat other ailments are having a hard time accessing the drug. Meanwhile the clinical trial avoids this issue by pulling from a separate procurement method.

"Whatever anyone might say about this drug, this question has not yet been answered, and we are trying to answer it," MacKenzie said.

Health-care workers can find more information on the trial at CovidPrepTrial.ca.

sarah.lawrynuik@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @SarahLawrynuik
Press Release

May 20, 2020 De Lima hails Senate approval of anti-perjury bill on 3rd reading Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has expressed elation over the Senate's approval on third and final reading of the bill providing heavier punishment for persons, especially public officials, lying under oath before legislative, judicial, and quasi-judicial proceedings. De Lima, one of the co-authors of Senate Bill (SB) No. 1354, said the passage of the anti-perjury bill will help ensure the truthfulness of testimonies given by witnesses under oath. "As a victim of perjury myself who has been targeted by false charges based mainly only on perjured testimonies of witnesses, I am elated that the measure amending the country's Anti-Perjury Law has finally been approved at the Senate," said the lady Senator, who remains detained over trumped-up drug charges. "The imposition of heavier penalties can help deter witnesses from giving false testimonies meant to harass and unjustly punish innocent individuals like me under oath or through an affidavit, and at the same time ensure that those guilty of the act will face the consequences they deserve," she added. SB No. 1354, which incorporates De Lima's original proposal logged as SB No. 373, seeks to impose longer jail time and stiffer fines for individuals, including public officials, who will commit perjury by amending Articles 183 and 184 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). In filing the measure, De Lima proposed to raise the penalty for perjury by two degrees from the current arresto mayor or six months or up to two years and two months imprisonment to prision mayor or six years and one day to 10 years behind bars. The Senator from Bicol likewise proposed that public officials or employees who commit perjury and subornation of perjury shall suffer a fine not to exceed P1 million and will be perpetually disqualified from holding a public office or employment. "The passage of this measure is very timely considering that those in the positions of power entrusted with ensuring that justice is done are the ones coercing and using government resources to manufacture lies and fiction," said De Lima, who faces bogus drug trade charges filed by the Duterte administration using perjured witnesses. It can be noted that De Lima has been one of the first Senators who have been pushing for the passage of a measure amending the country's Anti-Perjury Law since the 17th Congress. Considering the bill as one of her priority measure, she refiled it in the current 18th Congress. SB No. 1354 was approved with 20 affirmative votes and no negative vote at the Senate last May 18.
Claiming the Shiv Sena-led



government in Maharashtra has "failed" to check the spread of coronavirus and the rising fatalities unlike Kerala, the BJP on Wednesday appealed to people to register a protest on May 22.

The BJP's attack came a day after the COVID-19 case count in Maharashtra reached to 37,136 with 1,325 deaths.

Alleging that health infrastructure in Mumbai has collapsed completely, state BJP unit president Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said the state government had failed to announce any package for the poor and the needy.

Worst-hit by the pandemic, Mumbai has so far reported 22,563 coronavirus positive cases and 800 deaths.

Patil said the BJP and the people of the state had initially decided to support the government in view of the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis.

"Maharashtra reported its first coronavairus patient on March 9, the tally is now nearing the 40,000-mark," he said in a statement.

Patil said while Kerala also reported its first coronairus case on March 9, the count in the southern state remained under 1,000 in a period of 70 days and the number of fatalities remained under 12.

"In contrast, the number of the COVID-19 deaths in Maharashtra has crossed 1,300. This (data) underlines the failure of the Thackeray government," Patil said.

In such scenario, the people cannot stop themselves now from expressing their anger against the government, he said, adding that the BJP is also obliged to take a stand.

On Tuesday, BJP leaders and workers had handed over memorandums against the government to all tehsildars and district collectors as a mark of "Maharashtra Bachao" protest.

"I appeal to people to protest outside their homes by holding black placards, black ribbons and wearing black masks between 11 am and 12 noon on Friday. They should maintain social distancing during the protest," Patil said.

The Congress, which is one of the constituents in the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, meanwhile said that the BJP was "anti-Maharashtra".

"It wasexpected that the BJP would standup against the Centre for the injustice meted out to Maharashtra and its people in terms of financial aid. It is now clear that the BJP's loyalties do not lie with Maharashtra," state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - In yet another setback for the Museum of the Bible, federal authorities on Monday began the process of taking ownership of a rare cuneiform tablet, known as the Gilgamesh Dream tablet, that its main supporter, Hobby Lobby, bought for $1.6 million in 2014. Prosecutors believe the historically significant tablet, originally from an area that is part of modern Iraq, entered the country illegally.

In response to the government's action, Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. filed a lawsuit against Christie's on Tuesday, charging the auction house with fraud and breach of contract and seeking return ofthe $1.67 million it paid for the item. The Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts chain is the primary benefactor of the D.C.-based Museum of the Bible, a 430,000 square-foot building that opened in 2017, just blocks from the Capitol. The museum is closed temporarily because of the coronavirus.

The Gilgamesh Dream tablet is inscribed with part of an epic poem and is considered to be one of the world's oldest religious texts and works of literature. Federal agents seized it from Hobby Lobby in September after the museum identified it as one of thousands of its artifacts with problematic provenance.

The forfeiture complaint is the latest controversy for the museum, founded by Steven Green, and the Hobby Lobby corporation he now leads, which was founded by his father, David Green. In 2014, the evangelical owners of Hobby Lobby won a Supreme Court case against mandatory employer-provided birth control.

For years, scholars have questioned the origin and authenticity of artifacts in the Hobby Lobby collection, estimated at 44,000 pieces, hundreds of which are on display in the museum. In 2017, Hobby Lobby forfeited 3,800 stone tablets that federal officials said were illegally imported, and paid a $3 million fine in a settlement it reached with the Eastern District of New York. As part of the settlement, Hobby Lobby agreed to submit to federal oversight for 18 months. The rare artifacts were repatriated the next year.

In recent years, Steven Green has admitted to making mistakes in assembling the private collection. In March, he announced that an internal review identified 11,500 items that had "insufficient provenance." Officials were working to return the items to Egypt and Iraq, he said.

At the same time, an internal report determined that the collection's 16 Dead Sea Scrolls were fake. That finding did not surprise many scholars who had been critical of the museum and its policies, according to Candida R. Moss, co-author with Joel S. Baden of "Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby."

"For the last 12 months, their narrative has been they made mistakes, they realize they made mistakes and they are earnestly trying to correct those mistakes. That is a Christian narrative," Moss said. "This constant act of public repentance and rebirth - it wouldn't work in any other forum."

In the latest forfeiture complaint, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York allege that an unidentified auction house's antiquities director was told by a dealer that the provenance letter accompanying the tablet was false and should not be used in a public sale. Hobby Lobby bought the item in a private sale in 2014. Three years later, Hobby Lobby asked about the provenance but it says that the auction house did not disclose the letter or the dealer's name, according to the complaint. The museum cooperated with the investigation.

"This lawsuit seeks a recovery for Hobby Lobby based upon promises Christie's made when it sold the Gilgamesh Tablet to Hobby Lobby in 2014. We will be joining our lawsuit with the Government's forfeiture action. We are confident that we will be successful in recovering the purchase price from Christie's," Hobby Lobby's attorney Michael McCullough said in a statement issued Tuesday.

A Christie's spokesperson said the lawsuit is linked to an unidentified dealer's admission to government authorities about falsified documents from more than decade ago.

"Now that we are informed of this activity predating Christie's involvement, we are reviewing all representations made to us by prior owners and will reserve our rights in this matter," the spokesperson said. "Assertions within the filing that suggest Christie's had knowledge of the original fraud or illegal importation do not comport with our investigation."
Do you hear that? Its the sound of the money printer whirring  trillions of dollars getting pumped into a collapsing economy, making the bailouts following the 2008 financial crisis look like small change.

The Price of Peace, Zachary D. Carters outstanding new intellectual biography of John Maynard Keynes, offers a resonant guide to our current moment, even if he finished writing it in the time before Covid-19. Its rare for a 600-page economic history to move swiftly along currents of lucidity and wit, and this happens to be one of them. (Carter pays tribute to Robert Skidelskys three-volume biography of Keynes in the acknowledgments.) Carter begins with a love story, and ends with an elegant explanation of a credit default swap; even readers without a background in high finance will learn how to appreciate the drama of both.

Ideas, no matter how abstract, always originate in lived experience. Carter situates the development of Keyness economic thought in relation to his social milieu. Keynes, born in 1883, came of age amid the bohemian experimentation of the Bloomsbury Group, exchanging lovers and gossip with a set that included Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey. The Bloomsberries could be at turns backbiting, encouraging, critical and adulatory; their radical and subversive code of conduct, coupled with a refined taste for the good life, shaped Keyness approach to economic questions. He was trained as a mathematician, but unlike more doctrinaire economists, he viewed markets as social phenomena. Those who studied economics, he insisted, should be curious and intellectually nimble, with an abiding interest in human psychology and ethical questions.

Keynes had little trouble changing his mind, and he tended to project that intellectual flexibility onto others, even when they didnt deserve it. It was a quality that made him hopeful, optimistic and sometimes dangerously naive, Carter writes. At the end of World War I, as an emissary from the British Treasury at the Paris peace conference, he argued vehemently against trying to wrest crippling reparations payments from Germany. His argument was both moral and pragmatic. If Germany is to be milked, he patiently explained to his colleagues, she must not first of all be ruined.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, whose next film Ghoomketu is directly releasing on streaming service Zee5, says that actors should not be bothered about whether their films open on the big screen or OTT platform.

A debate has been raging on about theatre releases vs OTT premieres ever since Amazon Prime Video announced last week that it would stream Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurranas Gulabo Sitabo and Vidya Balans Shakuntala, with six other big films, as cinema halls remain shut due to the coronavirus lockdown.

However, theatre owners and film exhibitors have strongly voiced their displeasure over the decision as it would add to their revenue loss.

When Nawazuddin Siddiqui was asked how he looked at the situation, he said, When we were shooting this film, we shot it like we shoot films for theaters. In todays time, I think OTT is the only way where people are able to watch films. So I dont personally think that it really matters to actors. And actors shouldnt be bothered about whether their films release on an OTT platform or in a theatre anyway. The fact that our films are able to release is a big deal in itself.

Ghoomketu marks the reunion of Nawazuddin with his frequent collaborator Anurag Kashyap, who plays a corrupt and lazy cop in the movie. The actor said it was difficult for him to consider Kashyap a co-star because the latter has previously worked with him in the capacity of a director.

It was very interesting because generally actors know where their co-stars will take a pause but it was a bit difficult to predict Anurag. So, while it was a lot of fun, I was never able to consider him a character. I always felt he was Anurag. I felt he might say cut in between, and because he is a director, I also feared he would catch my mistakes, said Nawazuddin.

The actor, who started his career with blink-and-miss roles like that of a terror suspect in Sarfarosh (1999), a pickpocket in Munnabhai MBBS (2003) and many others like Black Friday (2007) and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007), has now become one of the most in-demand actors in the industry. The actor has an inspiring tale of how determination, persistence and talent never go unrewarded as it took almost 10 years of struggle for him to bag prominent roles in Bollywood.

"I started getting work 10 years ago only. The initial 10 years went in struggle (laughs). My aim is just to keep on working. It doesn't really matter whether I'll be offered small or supporting roles. I just want to keep working hard. I believe there are a lot of things that I still have to achieve in life," he said.

The actor, who is currently quarantining at his house in Budhana, Uttar Pradesh, said he has been making the most of his lockdown time by watching as many films as possible.

I've watched over 80 films during the lockdown and I feel my acting style will change post lockdown. Because your thought process also changes when you get time to reflect. It feels like there will be a new start for me once the lockdown is over, the actor concluded.

Ghoomketu, set in a wickedly playful backdrop, will start streaming on ZEE5 from May 22.
Click here to read the full article.

UPDATED TUESDAY, 12:20 PM California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday guidelines for restaurants to reopen dine-in service. He said specifics were available on covid19.ca.gov.

Today were announcing additional modifications statewide, said the governor.

More from Deadline

NEW: CA has released guidance for the re-opening of more industries such as: -Offices (that cannot telework)

-Malls and strip malls (for curbside / outdoor pickup)

-Outdoor museums. CA is flattening the curve but we MUST continue to allow science and public health to guide us.  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 12, 2020

According to the states web site, offices are included in counties that are approved to move more quickly through stage 2, offices workspaces will be able to open.

Malls, strip malls, outlet malls can be open for pickup.

The list of Phase 2 sectors, businesses, establishments or that may qualify to reopen in counties approved by the state, include dine-in restaurants, outdoor museums, shopping centers and all in-store retail, all office-based workplaces, all manufacturing industries supporting retail and all logistics industries supporting retail. Bars will remain closed.

This takes California deeper into Phase 2 of Newsoms plan to reopen. Phase 3 will include movie theaters and permitting larger gatherings, such as church services.

However, Director of L.A. County Health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, said just minutes before Newsoms speech that Los Angeles County would likely keep its stay-at-home order in place through July.

Story continues

I do think recovery will be months-long, based on the tools we have at hand today, declared the regions Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer this morning at a meeting of the countys Board of Supervisors.

Newsom supported Ferrers decision.

There should be no pressure, on local officials down in L.A. or anywhere, he said, to feel that they have to move into this space sooner, because their conditions are very different from some of these rural counties.

Before reopening, the state says all facilities must:

1.) Perform a detailed risk assessment and implement a site-specific protection plan

2.) Train employees on how to limit the spread of COVID-19, including how to screen themselves for symptoms and stay home if they have them

3.) Implement individual control measures and screenings

4.) Implement disinfecting protocols

5.) Implement physical distancing guidelines

Newsom said this is the result of a plan by which the state has now administered over 1 million COVID-19 tests, which he called a milestone. The governor announced six new testing sites with the goal of further expanding testing in rural areas.

NEW: CA has conducted over 1,000,000 #COVID19 tests. This is an important milestone but we still have work to do. We must continue to ensure everyone has access to COVID-19 testing  regardless of their zip code.  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 12, 2020

And, as the capacity to test leads to the capacity to trace, said Newsom, the first cohort of the states force of tracers is nearly ready.

He stressed that this is only an opportunity for local governments to open up. If local officials deem that they are not ready to take these steps, they do not have to.

Also the governor said Butte County and El Dorado County are the first locals approved to go deeper into phase 2 of their reopenings.

PREVIOUSLY MONDAY, 12:40 PM In his Monday coronavirus briefing, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he and the leaders of Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Nevada, including the governors and the speakers of each states legislature, are calling for the federal government to provide an extra $1 trillion in aid to those states. These are the members of the so-called Western Pact.

These budget shortfalls are so much bigger than any state, said the governor, adding that a big portion of the aid will go to helping public safety officials such as policemen, firefighters, etc, as well as schools

Newsom said this aid is needed, in part, because he sees real unemployment surging beyond 20 percent getting closer to 22, 3, 4, 5 percent very likely.

The challenge is enormous, said Newsom.

Newsom also said that nine additional counties had self-certified that they are ready to begin reopening. Those locales will be announced tomorrow, if not sooner, he said.

The governor stressed that over seventy percent of the economy of California is now open. He added that more formal plans for reopening specific sectors in the dining space, the office space, some malls would be revealed tomorrow.

A new milestone in testing would also be announced tomorrow, according to Newsom.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
KYODO NEWS - May 20, 2020 - 02:25 | All, Japan

The family of a Japanese female student who went missing in 2016 in France welcomed the Chilean top court's decision on Monday to grant the extradition of the suspect to French authorities, expressing hope that the move will lead to a breakthrough in solving the case.

The family of Narumi Kurosaki, a student from Japan's University of Tsukuba, said they hope the suspect will tell the truth about the incident, according to their lawyer Sylvie Galley.

French authorities suspect that Nicolas Zepeda Contreras, 29, murdered Kurosaki, whose whereabouts have been unknown since she dined with Zepeda and returned with him to the dorm of her university in Besancon, eastern France, on Dec. 4, 2016. She was 21 years old at the time.

In its final decision Monday to grant the extradition request, the supreme court said there was enough evidence against Zepeda.

Chilean prosecutors said they have informed France about the decision and are now preparing to extradite Zepeda. Transfers usually take about two months, but the suspect's arrival in France could be delayed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.

"I am very pleased with the decision," a French prosecutor said, according to French media. "This will now allow a trial with the suspect present."

French officials are expected to visit Chile for the extradition of the suspect. Chilean prosecutors on Monday asked the top court to consider tightening the suspect's current terms of release, under which he is required to visit a police station near his residence once a week, in order to prevent his possible escape.

Shortly after Kurosaki went missing, Zepeda returned to his native Chile. Kurosaki's body has not been found and Zepeda has denied killing her.

In April, the top court ruled in favor of allowing the suspect's extradition, and Zepeda appealed the court's decision.

The appeal was handled by a different bench of the top court.

The defense argued that a murder case could not be established without the body of the victim, but the court said it was up to the French court to determine the verdict for Zepeda.
Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel.

Instant News Wire
Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh is caught in a controversy that could have political repercussions. Predictably, its clear CM Amarinder Singh is going to let the slugfest between his colleagues and his bureaucrats slide.

The CMs excise policy that seeks to give relief to liquor contractors has split the state Council of Ministers. The chief secretary, who is also financial commissioner (taxation) and administrative secretary of the Punjab excise department, has earned the ire of the ministers for his alleged rude behaviour.

A rather sensitive lot, maybe it is the corona lockdown that is causing frayed tempers being displayed in public.

During the last meeting on the issue, all the ministers walked out mid-way to protest the chief secretarys attitude. Inexplicable given that were talking of a seasoned babu here.

Further, sources say, all ministers have resolved not to attend any cabinet meeting where Karan Avtar Singh is present. Apparently, even Amarinder Singhs efforts to resolve the spat have not appeased his colleagues. Moreover, a party MLA has sought a probe claiming there is a government-contractor nexus in the excise department.

This has given Punjab Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa the opportunity to pepper CM Amarinder Singh with barbs disguised as pleas for transparency. Bajwa has asked that the chief secretary be either cleared of such charges or removed from his post, squarely putting the CM in an unenviable position.

The mantris may have won the round because, in the next meeting, the chief secretary proceeded on half-day leave, authorising the next senior most IAS officer, home secretary Satish Chandra, to chair the meeting. And now, bowing to pressure, Amarinder has stripped the chief secretary of his additional charge as financial commissioner (taxation).

Clearly, this is an unfortunate situation in a state that is fighting the ravages of coronavirus outbreak. A spat like this between ministers and the state chief secretary is the last thing that the CM needs. For there are signs that even as this saga unfolds, there could be more that is hidden from the public eye. And meanwhile, both revenues and victims, wilt in utter neglect.

IAS officers resignation rejected

The Haryana government has rejected the resignation of IAS officer Rani Nagar and instead recommended to the Centre that her cadre be changed to her home state Uttar Pradesh. The 2014-batch officer had resigned from service on May 4. In her letter to chief secretary Keshni Anand Arora, the officer cited personal safety on government duty as the reason behind her decision, and also posted the letter on her Facebook page.

The IAS officer held the charge of a director in the Haryana archives department and that of additional director in the social justice and empowerment department in Haryana.

In an FB post last month, she had expressed her desire to resign from the service after the lockdown and go back to her native place in UP. She had cited issues related to her safety. She had made news in 2018 when she accused an additional chief secretary-level officer of harassing her. According to sources, the state government had conducted an inquiry into her allegations but did not charge the officer.

Rani Nagars case comes close on the heels of another IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan from Kerala who had resigned from service last year but the government has refused to accept it. Instead, it has booked him for refusing to rejoin duty amid the coronavirus outbreak. Hopefully, Rani Nagars case will have a better ending.

Special consignment

There was a special passenger on the Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft that flew with medical supplies to Sri Lanka recently. Besides medicines, the aircraft also took Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Gopal Baglay who is Indias new High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. Before his latest assignment, Baglay was a joint secretary in the Prime Ministers Office (PMO).

Sources say that though Baglay had been appointed Indias envoy to Sri Lanka back in February, the envoy-designate was unable to take up his new assignment due to the announcement of the nationwide lockdown by the Modi sarkar. He was forced to cool his heels until this opportunity arrived when India gifted 12.5 tonnes of medical supplies to its neighbour, and Baglay hopped on for the ride.

During his career in the diplomatic service, Baglay has been Indias deputy high commissioner to Pakistan, joint secretary in-charge of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, as well as spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs.
With coronavirus-induced fear gripping the nation, theres never been a better time to revisit David Nivens riotous memoirs. In yesterdays extract, he told how his introduction to Hollywood was beset by scandal and tragedy alike. But as he reveals here, his bumpy ride was only just beginning . . .

The French have the perfect phrase for it  coup de foudre, literally the strike of lightning or love at first sight.

When it happened to me, it really did happen the way it does when written by the worst lady novelists . . . I goggled, I had difficulty swallowing, I had champagne in my knees. I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life  tall, slim, auburn hair, uptilted nose, lovely mouth and the most enormous grey eyes I had even seen.

I first saw Hjordis on the set of a terrible movie called Bonnie Prince Charlie (I was the bonny prince) and ten days later, we were married. She still swears that after we left Chelsea Register Office and headed to Southampton to catch the Queen Elizabeth transatlantic liner, I suddenly said: Oh! I nearly forgot, there are a couple of little things I have to pick up.

According to her, I disappeared inside a country hotel and emerged with two small boys  my sons from my marriage to my late wife Primmie, who had been killed in a horrible accident two years earlier. On the trip to California, Hjordis and I got to know each other a little better and the boys adored her.

The French have the perfect phrase for it  coup de foudre, literally the strike of lightning or love at first sight. When it happened to me, it really did happen the way it does when written by the worst lady novelists . . . I goggled, I had difficulty swallowing, I had champagne in my knees. Pictured: David Niven with his wife Hjordis

Our home north of Los Angeles, the Pink House, came alive under her hand and became everything I had dreamed about as a home. At night, the coyotes hunted in yelping packs in the canyon below: in the morning, the deer grazed on the hill opposite and the sunsets over the Pacific must have been ordered by the Chamber of Commerce.

Hjordis was Swedish and some highly decorative Scandinavian ladies now augmented the weekly gatherings. Viveca Lindfors and Signe Hasso were often present; also the latest Miss Sweden  Anita Ekberg. The first naked female my sons ever saw was Greta Garbo, swimming in our pool.

After three months of my new found happiness, the pleasant routine was shattered. My boss Sam Goldwyn called me to his office and told me he had great news and that I was very lucky: Ive just loaned you to Alexander Korda to make The Elusive Pimpernel in England  youll be away six months.

Hjordis was Swedish and some highly decorative Scandinavian ladies now augmented the weekly gatherings. Viveca Lindfors and Signe Hasso were often present; also the latest Miss Sweden  Anita Ekberg. The first naked female my sons ever saw was Greta Garbo (pictured), swimming in our pool

Aghast, I told him that I didnt mind what he loaned me out for in Hollywood but that I had no intention of uprooting my children again so soon. Then the shouting began. He reminded me he had picked me out of the gutter and given me my first break.

True. I riposted by saying that with the enormous fees he was charging others for my services, I had already repaid him a thousand times over . . . True.

Goldwyn pointed out that it would mean months of suspension if I refused . . . True. I said I looked forward to a good holiday anyway and I had plenty of money in the bank . . . UNTRUE.

Goldwyn flicked a switch and said: Find out how much money Niven has in the bank. Within three minutes a disembodied voice came back, $111. True, sadly.

I decided to make life unpleasant for Goldwyn which was tantamount to an eight-year-old with a pea-shooter assaulting Fort Knox. Everyone from Hjordis downwards warned me. My agent was horrified and pointed out that in mogul-controlled Hollywood, one word from Goldwyn could sink me. I knew better, of course.

By using my holiday entitlement, my sick leave and every other petty excuse, I caused as much disruption as possible to the studio. I regret it now. Conduct such as mine, spoiled brat behaviour of the worst sort, was idiotic, conceited, indefensible and unforgivable: the sort of thing that helped bring Hollywood to its knees.

Goldwyn fought back by giving me the most humiliating roles he could devise. The final straw came when I was hired out to play the heavy in a teenage Shirley Temple picture. I asked to see Goldwyn and as he sat expressionless, I said: Look, Sam, we dont see eye to eye any more. I have two years left of my contract  how about releasing me?

He never took his eyes off me as he flicked his intercom lever. Give Niven his release as from today  hes through. The headlines read, Niven Sacked  British Actor No Longer Goldwyns Cup Of Tea.

My friend Humphrey Bogart gave me the facts straight. Lets face it, kid  youve blown it. Keep going somehow, mortgage the house, sell the kids, dig a ditch, do anything but for Christs sake, never let them think theyve got you running scared because somewhere in somebodys desk is a script thats right for you and when they dig it out  its you theyll want and nobody else and everythingll be forgotten. That was Bogie  life was either black or white.

Lauren Betty Bacall was the perfect mate for Bogie . . . beautiful, fair, warm, talented and intelligent, she gave as good as she got in the strong personality department.

The first time I met them was at a surprise birthday party organised by Betty for her husband. Someone had been delegated to keep Bogie busy at the studio, to give us all time to arrive and hide.

When Bogie finally appeared, it was apparent how his busy time at the studio had been spent: he was soused. Bogart was alarming to meet for the first time with his sardonic humour and his snarl that passed for a smile. It took a little while to realise that he had perfected a camouflage to cover up one of the kindest and most generous hearts.

Pictured: Lauren Bacall smoking a cigarette and leaning on the shoulder of her husband, actor Humphrey Bogart, on the set of the film 'Key Largo'

Even so, he was no soft touch and before you were allowed to peek beneath the surface and catch a glimpse of the real man, you had to prove yourself. Above all, you had to demonstrate to his satisfaction that you were no phoney. My test came soon. He asked me if I liked to sail. Done it all my life, I said, blithely.

Bogie looked at me reflectively and sucked his teeth. OK, come aboard Santana Sunday. Women were only infrequently made welcome aboard Santana so Betty was not there when I boarded the 65ft ketch at Balboa. Tough and often argumentative ashore, I expected Bogie to be a veritable tyrant afloat.

Far from it, he was easy going, perfectly relaxed and highly efficient. I was lulled into a sense of false security and had no idea that this was the day of my entrance exam.

We were sailing along in a good stiff breeze; Bogie was at the helm, I was beside him, the solitary crew  a Dane he called Dum Bum  was forward keeping a lookout because the stiff breeze was doing nothing to dispel a thick mist.

Tuna boats ahead, yelled Dum Bum suddenly. Sure enough we were running fast towards a dozen big drifters, each with its net trailing astern. It called for immediate action and because of the direction of the wind, there were only three solutions: one was correct, the second risky, and the third would have led to losing the mast.

Dum Bum was looking apprehensively at Bogie and I was just thinking to myself that he was leaving things dangerously late when he let go of the wheel, gave me a wolfish grin and said: Take over, Big Shot  Im going to the can.

He disappeared below. Luckily, I knew what I was doing. I yelled a few orders which Dum Bum instantly obeyed, spun the wheel and the danger was past.

Bogart was a devoted family man who doted on his son, Stephen. When the boy was about five, we took little Stevie along with us on a trip to see Noel Coward in Las Vegas.

The great playwright was sitting in a deep sofa at Bogies one evening, discussing the problems of his show. Bogie and I were facing him in two easy chairs. Suddenly, we realised Stevie was stalking Noel from behind, his target the top of Noels head.

In his hands he bore a large brass tray. The impending assault was so horrible that Bogie and I just sat there unable to move like two dogs watching a snake. Little Stevie raised the tray high and brought it down with a crash on Noels unprotected cranium. His head almost disappeared into his shirt.

Noel never looked round. His voice did not change nor did the rhythm of his speech alter. Bogart, dear, he said, do you know what I am going to give darling little Stephen for Christmas? A chocolate-covered hand grenade.

Even in Noels hands, a grenade is not the weapon of a gentleman. A shotgun can be, and for a time I took enormous pleasure in shooting. My wife never did  and one incident forced me to alter my attitude.

We were in New England for a weekends pheasant shooting with friends, when Hjordis announced: I am not coming to watch you shoot, because I dont want to be shot. We all tried to persuade her that it was safe, but she was adamant. I know I am going to be shot  so I stay home.

Finally, after much badinage about Scandinavian sixth sense, trolls and spooks, she reluctantly consented to join us. But I will be shot, she said sadly. Less than an hour later, two guns turned to fire at a bird that was going back low and Hjordis fell to the ground, hit in the face, neck, chest and arms. I rushed over and I cradled her, moaning, in my arms.

Her beautiful face was a terribly swollen mask of blood; when she asked for a mirror, we pretended nobody had one. Within half an hour she was in hospital, where it was discovered that she had over 30 pieces of lead in her, including one which to this day remains embedded in the bone of her eye socket.

Since film parts were in short supply, I turned my talents to the stage and a French farce called Nina. In the original, it had been a great success. In English, it was pretty bad. The star was Gloria Swanson, who insisted on designing her own eccentric outfits for every stop on the tour.

The star was Gloria Swanson (pictured), who insisted on designing her own eccentric outfits for every stop on the tour

When Swanson stepped on stage, she did it enveloped in a black taffeta tent. A gasp of horror mingled with the applause. As she smiled seductively at her lover, I was supposed to smile back  but I was so nervous and my mouth so dry that my upper lip became stuck above my teeth.

I stood there leering at her like a mad rabbit. The Bedouin tent, with Swansons head sticking out of the top of it, rustled across the stage and flung itself into my arms.

Swanson is not tall. She is, to put it mildly, petite, so when I clasped her to me, the top of her head nestled just to the right of my breast-bone.

Unfortunately, in my terror of the whole situation, I squeezed too hard in that initial clinch. There was a loud report. This was followed by a twanging noise and about eight inches of white whalebone shot out of Swansons chest, and straight up my nose. The audience was delighted  something new at last.

Swanson half turned to see what was happening, thereby stirring the whalebone around in my sinus.

Tears of pain streamed down my face but in my innocence of things theatrical, I thought maybe it didnt show and with the whalebone crunching about among the scroll bones, and with my gopher teeth gleaming in the limelight, I carried bravely on with the scene. The audience hooted, and the flop sweat broke out all over me like dew.

Down in the area of my navel, Swanson hissed: What the hells going on? The critic for the Herald Tribune, wrote: We understood from the programme that Miss Swanson designed her own clothes . . . like the play, they fell apart in the first act.

But that disaster was the first step on my road to rehabilitation. Seven years later, I starred in Separate Tables by Terrence Rattigan, and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor. On the night, Irene Dunne opened the envelope and, after an interminable pause, read out my name. There was a roar. I didnt wait to diagnose whether it was a roar of approval or rage.

I kissed Hjordis, leapt to my feet and with tail coat flapping, I cantered down the aisle, thinking: Ive got to get there quick before she changes her mind. Such was my haste to get on that stage that I tripped up the steps and sprawled headlong. Another roar rent the air.

Irene helped me up, gave me the Oscar, kissed me on the cheek and left me alone with the microphone. I thought I should explain my precipitous entrance, so I said: The reason I just fell down was . . .

I had intended to continue: ...because I was so loaded with good luck charms that I was top heavy. Unfortunately, I made an idiot pause after the word loaded and a third roar raised the roof.

I knew that I could never top that, so I said no more on the subject, thereby establishing myself as the first self-confessed drunk to win the Academy Award.

Extracted from The Moons A Balloon by David Niven, published by Penguin, 9.99.  David Niven 1971.
Press Release

20 May 2020

The Ecole Ducasse - Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie (ENSP) opened again on May 12th, closely followed on May 18th by the Centre de Formation Alain Ducasse in Argenteuil. The management prepared for the reopening of its schools with the support of its medical reference specialist in prevention and public health and devoted particular attention to the implementation of the precautionary measures issued by the authorities. Students are delighted to be resuming their classes and preparations are under way for the start of the new academic year.

Advertisements

During the closure of the training facilities, the institutions kept in touch with their students through a social media initiative named the Daily-cious challenge by Ecole Ducasse. Launched on April 8th to contribute to the COVID-19 Emergency Aid Fund of the Fondation Hopitaux de Paris-Hopitaux de France, the web series is still ongoing and has to date attracted a total of nearly 500 participants on the themes of cooking and baking.

The competition is fronted by two new figures from the institution, Executive Chef Christophe Raoux, recently appointed Executive Chef of the new Ecole Ducasse - Paris Campus, which will open this autumn near the French capital; and Luc Debove, Executive Pastry Chef of the Ecole Ducasse - Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie. Daily-cious challenge by Ecole Ducasse was also intended to bring to life on social media (@EcoleDucasse on Facebook and @ecole_ducasse on Instagram) the values cherished by all the Ecole Ducasse teams: generosity and sharing.

"For us, it's about committing ourselves and contributing to the collective effort by taking part in this battle alongside health care workers. " says Elise Masurel, Managing Director Ecole Ducasse.

After seven weeks of the challenge, donations now amount to nearly 10,000 euros.

Back to school under the banner of excellence

Seventy-nine students returned to the ENSP on May 12th, joined by about 15 professionals this week. To accompany the reopening of the two schools, a rigorous health protocol was drawn up on the basis of directives from the national public authorities with the aim of preventing COVID-19 health risks and creating conditions that ensure the protection and safety of all, students and employees alike. The three-pronged protocol encompasses respect for the indispensable "barrier gestures", collective protection measures aimed at limiting the number of people within indoor areas, as well as individual protection measures. "We are pleased to see our kitchen labs come alive again and to continue our 2020 program, which has been prepared as thoroughly and passionately as in previous years. "explains Josiane Mathias, Managing Director Ecole Ducasse - Ecole Nationale Superieure de Patisserie.

The ENSP training program developed by Josiane Mathias and her team is rich and varied. Aimed at employees and company managers, the continuing professional training courses are led by great chefs, MOFs and world champions. The promise made to trainees is to learn alongside renowned chefs such as Jerome Langillier, 2009 world champion, as well as recently crowned MOFs such as Patrice Ibarboure, Jonathan Mougel and Vincent Boue. In May and June, participants will thus benefit from their creativity, expertise and feedback on the exceptional challenges to which they have risen.

Held from June 2nd to 4th at the ENSP, the training course named "La Patisserie de Cedric Grolet" - Pastry Chef of prestigious Parisian hotel "Le Meurice" and Chef at the OPERA Pastry/Bakery in Paris (2nd arrondissement) is one of the must-attend professional training opportunities of 2020. The trainees who will take part in this event will experience an immersion into this world and will discover the technical skills and tricks of the chef, who studied at the ENSP himself.

On the Argenteuil Campus, more than thirty French and international students have returned to their culinary arts program, within training courses intended for retraining or professional development. In particular, the Essentials and the "Diploma" course are intensive programs lasting from two to nine months dedicated to those with a passion for gastronomy and covering subjects as varied as entrepreneurship, plant-based cuisine or French pastry making...

With the support of Jessica Prealpato, patron of the Bachelor of French Pastry 2020 and Romain Meder, patron of the Bachelor of Culinary Arts 2020 - both undisputed global references in their field throughout the world - the new Bachelor programs will start on October 12th 2020.

As Elise Masurel, Managing Director Ecole Ducasse, emphasizes: "The objective of our three-year Bachelor's degrees is clear: to transmit unique expertise and interpersonal skills by combining practical art courses under the aegis of Alain Ducasse's finest chef trainers with a wide range of management courses. This is designed to prepare our students to become entrepreneurial restaurant and pastry chefs with a very well-rounded profile."

Jessica Prealpato will also give a professional development course on the theme of desseralite at the brand-new Paris Campus, as will the famous Italian-Argentinean chef Mauro Colagreco, from the Michelin three-starred Mirazur restaurant in Menton, France.

Excerpt from the 2020 training calendar

Cedric Grolet, Pastry Chef "Le Meurice" Hotel, Paris: La Patisserie de Cedric Grolet (Cedric Grolet's pastry-making)

Pastry Chef "Le Meurice" Hotel, Paris: Patrice Ibarboure , MOF Pastry chef: L'univers sucre (The world of sweet treats )

, MOF Pastry chef: Jonathan Mougel , MOF Pastry chef: Patisserie innovante "Les petits gateaux" (Innovative pastry-making: "cupcakes")

, MOF Pastry chef: Vincent Boue , MOF Ice-cream chef: Preparez la saison, faites vos glaces ( Prepare for the sunny season, make your own ice cream)

, MOF Ice-cream chef: Jerome Langillier ,

world champion pastry chef: Petits gateaux et tartes ( Cupcakes and tarts )

, world champion pastry chef: Jessica Prealpato , 2019 World's Best Pastry Chef by the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" ranking: Desseralite, une vision nouvelle de la patisserie ( Desseralite, a new vision of pastry )

, 2019 World's Best Pastry Chef by the "World's 50 Best Restaurants" ranking: ) Mauro Colagreco, chef, Le Mirazur, Mention, Le Mirazur, immseriosn dans l'univers du Meilleur Restaurant du Monde (Le Mirazur, an immersion into the universe of the World's Best Restaurant)

For more information on the programs:

https://www.ecoleducasse.com/bachelor-arts-culinaires

https://www.ecoleducasse.com/decouvrez-le-bachelor-de-la-patisserie-francaise

http://www.ensp-adf.com/
Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe will pay $98,000 in back pay and compensatory damages as part of a settlement agreement with a former employee.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in state district court last year on behalf of Asheley Coriz, who is deaf. The lawsuit alleged that Coriz, a histology technician, was wrongfully fired after being subjected to a hostile work environment because of her disability and that the hospital failed to provide reasonable accommodations.

Coriz was hired in February 2018, according to the lawsuit, and was initially provided with an American Sign Language interpreter during her job orientation. But after that, Coriz had to learn her new job without the benefit of a translator, which led to difficulties. Despite asking to observe and record procedures for examining tissue slides under a microscope and other job functions, the lawsuit alleges, she was berated by her supervisor, who swore at her and yelled, Im tired of telling you the same thing.

After Coriz complained about her supervisors behavior, she was assigned to another position and ultimately fired for poor performance after two months.

As part of the agreement, the supervisor who allegedly discriminated against Coriz is ineligible for rehire at the hospital.

In a news release Wednesday, Mary Jo ONeill, an attorney with the EEOCs Phoenix district office, said, Employers are responsible for preventing and remedying harassment of employees, including harassment because of an employees disability. Employers will be held responsible when they retaliate against employees because they complain of discrimination or make accommodation requests.

The settlement also requires that Corizs personnel records be expunged. She is also to receive a letter from hospital management expressing regret that she did not feel supported. The hospital also agreed to revise over the next three years its equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation policies, and provide annual training to all employees about how to report disability discrimination complaints.

Sandra Dominguez, vice president for human resources at Christus St. Vincent, said in a statement to the Journal that the hospital would comply.

Christus St. Vincent supports all legal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, she said. Cases such as this serve as a reminder of the importance of ensuring that our everyday practices adhere to all legal requirements.
Bay League boys and girls basketball teams will play five league games and then there will be a tournament to determine seeding for CIF-Southern Section playoffs.
Description

GIS - 20 May, 2020: Fasil.mu, a user-friendly website regrouping 50 of the most in demand Government-based e-services, was launched, this afternoon, at the seat of the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation in Ebene. Citizens can access, via the link https://fasil.mu/ , Government related services and information on one single platform. The website can be accessed on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

The Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, proceeded with the launching event during a videoconference held via the JITSI Meetings platform. Fasil.mu aims at offering a convivial digital platform for Mauritians to make technology accessible to one and all. The objectives are also to promote the use of e-services among a greater number of people and favour the adoption of a digital culture to shape the way citizens interact with e-services and mobile apps.

An additional 130 e-services will be offered shortly on Fasil.mu, announced the Minister. According to him, Fasil which means simple/or easy to use, will ease the lives of citizens when it comes to using online services especially within the present state of affairs amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, it was necessary to come up with a concept whereby the population would be able to stay safe during the lockdown period, and beyond, whilst at the same time making secure online transactions outside office hours, he emphasised.

As regards the selection of the JITSI Meetings platform for videoconferencing by Government, the Minister stated that it is free and all conversations are encrypted and consequently, responds to various security aspects. The use of the platform, hosted at the Government Online Centre, will be extended to the public sector for video conferences, he indicated.

Speaking about the forthcoming Budget for the period 2020-2021, Mr Balgobin, highlighted that this is being elaborated within a very special context due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Presently, the importance of technology has grown and thus, Budget proposals have been made to add value to services intended for the Government, the public and businesses, he added.

About Fasil.mu

Online applications for several services can be made via Fasil.mu. E-services have been categorised according to themes such as: Foreign Affairs for the application for assistance to Mauritians in distress abroad; Agriculture for the applications for the purchase of plants as well as for the registrations as a potato grower, dealer-miller-producer; Family Welfare for online registration of domestic violence; Education for the applications for statement of results, request for career guidance, and equivalence and recognition of certificates; Enterprises for occupation/residence permit, and query on accreditation services. Other services cover environment, taxes, judiciary assistance.

E-payment is also available for the following services: annual registration fees of a company; incorporation of a company; individual business license; trade fees; name reservation; e-filling and payment of personal tax; online registration of deed; lease of State Land; building and Land use permit; morcellement permit; driving test; parking fine; motor vehicle license (declaration); and Central Electricity and Central Water Authority bills.

Useful information pertaining to cybersecurity, including legislations can be accessed on the website to sensitise citizens on precautions to avoid becoming victims of cybercrime.

Moreover, the authorities are planning to go by the once-only principle in the future. Hence, various Government e-services will not require for the public to submit information such as ID number, proof of address, birth/marriage/death certificates, if they are already registered on another service. These data will be irrevocably recorded and redistributed through Info Highway, the data exchange platform of Government.

In addition, a national authentication framework system will be set up to create a secure ecosystem to allow citizens conduct safely their online transactions through a unique authentication window. Likewise, a queue management system will be created for services with long waiting times, and, by means of a mobile app, citizens will be able to see in real time the number of people in queue.

#ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris

Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov
Several Ryanair trade unions say they will resist an attempt to cut pay and conditions for a five-year period, citing management promises of a swift recovery from the coronavirus crisis and the fact its CEO has committed to a pay cut for just one year.

Europe's largest low-cost airline plans to cut 3,000 pilots and cabin crew and reduce pay by up to 20% to deal with the crisis which has grounded almost all of its flights until July.

In a letter sent by the airline to several unions, seen by Reuters, Ryanair said it was in a "battle for long-term survival."

But unions in key markets, including Ireland, Britain, Spain, Italy and Belgium, told members the measures contradicted guidance to investors.

Ryanair said on Monday it saw "significant opportunities" from the crisis and forecast it would "emerge stronger." CEO Michael O'Leary said he hoped 2019 passenger levels would return in 2021, with ticket prices recovering in 2022.

"These statements do not come from an airline that is fighting for its survival," the Belgian Cockpit Association said. Ryanair will "likely be one of the big winners of the after-crisis," a memo to members said.

British union BALPA accused Ryanair in a memo of taking advantage of the crisis "to lower long-term costs irrespective of when the pandemic is over."

Several unions said they wanted guarantees that if they accept pay cuts, redundancies would be avoided. The Belgian union called for Ryanair to cut hours for all pilots to avoid the job losses.

Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, Ryanair's main airline unit, said there were signs of "blind optimism" from unions, which he said did not understand Ryanair had to be prudent as it had no one to bail it out if the situation deteriorated.

He said unions had yet to make a counter offer to the five-year pay proposal. He said the negotiation process was not over, but would have to be completed in the coming weeks. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
A 61-year-old Spanish Fort man was arrested and charged Tuesday with possessing obscene material.

According to the Baldwin County Sheriffs Department, investigators executed a search warrant at John Thompsons home on Thursday and seized several electronic devices. The devices were analyzed, and obscene material was located, leading to a charge of four counts of possessing obscene material. No further details were provided.

Thompson has since bonded out of jail. An investigation continues and results will be turned over to the Baldwin County District Attorneys Office for review.
Aerospace giant Rolls-Royce said today it plans to cut at least 9,000 jobs in the latest blow to the aviation industry as it continues to be hammered by the coronavirus crisis.

The Derby-based manufacturer, which has 52,000 employees worldwide, said it had been forced to conduct a 'major reorganisation' of the business to adapt to a fall in demand for its engines as planes remain grounded.

Rolls-Royce employs 24,000 staff in the UK, around 16,000 of whom are aerospace engineers. However, it is not yet known how many jobs will be cut here.

Rolls-Royce CEO, Warren East - pictured in 2018 - said the job cuts were necessary to protect the company's future amid the huge slump in demand for the company's plane engines caused by coronavirus

Rolls-Royce said the cuts could result in 700 million in savings towards an overall aim of 1.3 billion in annual savings.

It said it will also cut spending across its plant, property and other areas to strengthen its finances.

Chief executive Warren East said: 'This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it.

'Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.

'Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.

'But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.'

The job losses would mostly take place in its civil aerospace business, the company said, as it started consultations with unions.

Market strategist Bill Blain, from Shard Capital, said: 'The thousands of jobs being cut by Rolls-Royce is a tragedy, but it will dwarfed by the impact felt across the UK small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

'Rolls Royce sub-contracts work to a multitude of SMEs across the UK, some quite specialist. This is the problem the UK is facing. When one big company contracts, the ripple effect is felt across the nation.

'The Chancellor will need to come up with a long-term package to help these highly specialised and focused companies while they innovate new products and find new customers.'

The global aviation industry has taken a battering from the impact of coronavirus, with most airlines only going ahead with a handful of flights.

Britons have been warned against all but essential travel, in line with many other countries, while the prospect of a compulsory two-week quarantine for people returning to the UK could put even more people off flying.

It is estimated that 140million fewer passengers will take to the air this year, hitting the sector with an estimated 21.1billion in lost revenue.

Rolls-Royce's rival, Airbus, revealed in April it is 'bleeding cash' and feared its very existence was under threat.

Rolls-Royce said it expects the job losses from its global workforce of 52,000 as part of a 'major reorganisation' of the business to adapt to a fall in demand. Pictured is one of the company's Trent XWB being built at its factory in Derby in 2016

Airbus employs 13,500 people in the UK, including in Broughton, North Wales, and Filton, Bristol, where wings for commercial aircraft are designed, tested and built.

Both Airbus and Rolls-Royce have lobbied the government on behalf of Virgin Atlantic, a customer, after Sir Richard Branson's airline asked for a 500m bailout.

Meanwhile, senior British Airways cabin crew are facing a staggering 55 per cent pay cut with salaries slashed to 24,000.

Airline bosses wrote to employees outlining the potential new salaries, and announced they are consulting unions over possible job cuts, with 4,700 jobs on the line.

Crew numbers could be nearly halved from 1,860 to 971 and main crew numbers risk being cut from 12,402 to 8,591 as the airline grapples to stay afloat amid strict travel restrictions.

Elsewhere, Tui is cutting up to 8,000 jobs, while 16,000 face the axe at plane maker Boeing and 3,000 at Ryanair.
GHAZIABAD, India, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Are you struggling to choose the best Japan VPS server hosting for your business? To scale your business needs, Onlive Server is here striving to fulfill the business needs tailored specifically to meet the needs of its customer. Onlive Server is a server hosting service provider company that giving of 35 + countries based Cloud servers include Europe VPS hosting also. With over 8 years of experience in this field, we strive to offer our clients the best web hosting services at the cheapest price. Onlive Server's Web Hosting specialists from various spheres of knowledge deals with each customers with professionalism and ease. By offering secure, high-performance, flexible managed cloud servers, Onlive Servers is making headway to implement technological innovations and help brands grow. By presenting various options to purchase Windows and Linux VPS, we aim to deliver quality service using well-equipped prime technology and resources.

Now you can check our VPS server hosting plans video also : https://youtu.be/_oZ-rXH8j8U



Cheap VPS with Onlive Server can help you ease your consumption capabilities and mechanize the process while helping you eliminate service downtime. We aim to eradicate the conflicts and issues to meet the requirements of the customers and help businesses take complete control.



Why Linux & Windows VPS with Onlive Server is Best?

 Scaling the Tailored Needs

 24x7 and 365 days technical Support

 Full Recovery Back of Data, in case of any failure

 Quick and Instant Activation

 Reliable Options to Opt for

 35+ LOCATIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE

 Value Of Money

Compelling Benefits of Japan VPS with Onlive Server 

Our SSD VPS server provides a hosting service for businesses, irrespective of sizes. It helps you grow to cut space and let the best plan for you to access. The hosting service offers more benefits for a business to easily analyze and maintain the database. So, choose the service and boost your business performance; just as easy as it could get. In these technology days, every company around the world is interested in hosting its well-equipped website and getting potential customers to improve their online business.

VPS Server comes with many benefits for its customers 

1. Full independence and isolation from other users on the same server.

2. Cost effective with higher reliability as compared with the shared hosting.

3. Freedom to decide on their own system features

Onlive Server Private Limited also provides Cheap Dedicated Server

Our Official Website : https://onliveserver.com/

Media Contact:

Onlive Server Private Limited

[email protected]

+91 9718114224

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12823110



Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Onlive Server

Related Links

https://onliveserver.com


The massive costs of the coronavirus crisis are mounting with feared extra spending on the national children's hospital (NCH) and plans for Covid-19 testing over the next year predicted to run into hundreds of millions of euro.

The Dail probe into the State's response to the emergency heard the cost of the NCH - which had spiralled before the pandemic and was due to hit 1.7bn - could rise by as much as 40pc, based on Construction Industry Federation estimates on the impact of new protocols for building sites, bringing the final bill to 2.4bn.

Another 16 people died from the virus yesterday, as Department of Health secretary general Jim Breslin said he expected the Covid-19 emergency to last for years.

HSE chief Paul Reid earlier said plans for testing and contact tracing were set to cost "several hundreds of millions of euro". And the impact of the emergency on employment is growing, with DAA, which runs Dublin and Cork airports, warning of hundreds of job losses.

Dalton Philips, the chief executive of the semi-State company last night told staff of stark decisions the firm needs to rapidly make in the face of a collapse in air traffic.

The measures will involve job losses and a review of a slate of major projects at Dublin Airport - designed to future-proof its capacity after years of strong passenger growth - is also necessary.

In the Dail, TDs got the opportunity to publicly grill Ireland's top health officials for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

Mr Reid said that coronavirus testing and contact tracing costs so far have been "roughly 35m between testing and tracing".

Expand Close Changes: CIF director general Tom Parlon. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Changes: CIF director general Tom Parlon. Photo: Gareth Chaney, Collins

TDs were told the health service now has the capacity to carry out 100,000 tests per week.

Mr Reid predicted the costs into the future will be hundreds of millions more "based on the volume we'll be testing in the coming year".

He said the HSE is "still in dialogue" with the Department of Public Expenditure on the matter.

The children's hospital project was raised at a later session attended by CIF director general Tom Parlon.

He told the committee that the new regulations for building sites could increase costs by 40pc for large and complex projects.

It came after he was asked by Labour TD Duncan Smith about the impact of the NCH development.

Mr Parlon did not directly reference the NCH but told the committee: "Industry people have said that to me that for the most complex ones it could be in the range of 40pc."

Mr Smith demanded that the Government publish revised estimates on the final costs of the development.

Responding later to criticism of the expected increase in costs from Fine Gael TD Fergus O'Dowd, Mr Parlon said that to finish off complex sites like the NCH or data centres "is going to be a major challenge".

A two-year programme of work on a site could end up being a four or five-year programme, he said.

He said he hoped some of the protocols restricting the number of workers on a site can be "reduced and relaxed over time" as progress is made with the virus.

Earlier, he told TDs that the cost of building a house could rise by as much as 15,000 and as much as 20,000 for an apartment. He said, based on conversations with colleagues in Europe, the extra cost would be between 5pc and 10pc across the sector in an answer to questions from Fianna Fail's John McGuinness.

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD later warned of a "legal quagmire" over the possibility that the funds backing major building developments could collapse and issues over insurance could lead to court cases.

Mr McGuinness called for the committee to recommend the setting up of a government-led forum to deal with such issues and offset potential costs to the taxpayer.

Dr Sharon McGuinness, the Health and Safety Authority chief executive, told the committee the authority had 67 field inspectors to ensure compliance with the new workplace protocol and they have already been out enforcing compliance with it.

She said there have been more than 80 unannounced inspections since Monday.

She said the authority would need additional resources to oversee compliance with the protocol and is "confident" they will be provided.

Frontline Star of the Week

We want to honour the heroism of our frontline workers, with our Frontline Star of the Week award in association with our partner, The Croke Park Hotel. Help us by nominating your frontline star. Do you know a doctor, or nurse, or someone else excelling in our health service? A caring neighbour, shop worker or someone in a community project going above and beyond? Each weekly Frontline Star will receive a complimentary dinner, bed & breakfast stay at The Croke Park Hotel. To nominate someone, email your submission (100 words max) telling us about them, along with a photo, to frontlinestar@independent.ie
BETHEL, Alaska - Some rural Alaska students participating in distance learning because of the coronavirus are experiencing difficulties caused by technology limitations.

Not all students in the Lower Kuskokwim School District have access to the same technology. Some have full internet access and others try to keep in touch with teachers by telephone, KYUK-AM reported Tuesday.

Patrick Williams, a Bethel Regional High School media education specialist, said most students he works with have not had sufficient contact with their teachers.

When I was making more phone calls regularly, it would be an hour or two a day, just trying to reach out to the same students over, and over, and over, and over again, Williams said.

If a teachers are unavailable, finding answers can require internet connectivity that is not available for all students, he said.

You know I cant even imagine not being able to Google it, Williams said.

Kaylee King of Mekoryuk does not have internet access at home and is limited to phoning teachers.

The Bethel high school student returned to her village to complete the school year after the outbreak of COVID-19 and is experiencing difficulty keeping up.

The hardest part is having the school work, and then, of course, we dont even know how to do it, King said.

Tatyana Avugiak of Chefornak is among the smaller number of rural Alaska students who have adequate computer and internet access. A week before the school year ends, she had finished her work and officially become a Bethel high school senior.

Ive been emailing all my teachers and scanning them through my mom, because shes a teacher here in the village, which makes it easier for me to get my schoolwork done, Avugiak 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.
When Connolly was arrested and searched, items that had been stolen from two cars parked in Frenchpark Street, including a yellow handbag, were seized (stock photo)

A couple from south Belfast woke in the middle of the night to find a hooded figure leaning over their baby who was sleeping in a Moses basket, a court heard yesterday.

The hooded figure - Stephen Gerard Connolly - appeared at Belfast Crown Court where he was handed a sentence of two years and eight months. He will serve half of this in prison, with the remaining half on licence.

Judge Smyth told Connolly: "In my view it is difficult to contemplate a more terrifying experience than finding a stranger dressed in black leaning over a vulnerable child in the middle of the night."

The 27-year-old, whose address was given as Maghaberry, admitted five charges committed on August 16 last year, including breaking into the house occupied by the couple and their baby.

At around 12.45am on that date, a resident of Frenchpark Street saw a man carrying a yellow handbag over his shoulder. This man, Connolly, was seen turning on to Lecale Street and at around 1am the residents of a house on that street were woken by a hooded figure leaning over their sleeping baby.

The couple noted a strong smell of alcohol from Connolly and when the male occupant leapt from his bed and towards Connolly he fled the bedroom. The incident continued in the living room and at this point Connolly shouted he had a knife and ran at the male resident.

Despite this claim, the male occupant restrained Connolly and a neighbour arrived to offer assistance and police were called.

While the couple did not sustain any physical injuries, they were both left in fear over Connolly's claims that he had a knife.

When Connolly was arrested and searched, items that had been stolen from two cars parked in Frenchpark Street, including a yellow handbag, were seized.

Judge Smyth told Connolly that while the break-in displayed a lack of sophistication, there was a confrontation with the couple who were woken by the "terror of finding you in close proximity to a sleeping child".

The judge noted that whilst in custody, Connolly has missed several significant events, including the birth of his first child.

She also noted he had addiction issues and couldn't remember the events of last August "because of alcohol".
Over 60 cases of COVID-19, 4 deaths linked to rural Arkansas church: CDC

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

As churches nationwide consider plans to reopen, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report showing how the coronavirus spread through a single Arkansas congregation earlier this year, resulting in dozens of infections and four deaths.

Titled High COVID-19 Attack Rate Among Attendees at Events at a Church  Arkansas, March 2020, the report released on Tuesday focuses on a rural church known as church A. The CDC reports that a cluster of at least 61 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the community were traced back to the church.

According to the report, the churchs pastor and wife were reported on March 16 to be the first two cases of COVID-19 in a rural county of about 25,000 people.

The couple attended church events from March 6 to March 11. The wife began showing symptoms of nonspecific respiratory symptoms and fever on March 10, followed by her husband on March 11.

According to the report, the pastor attended a Bible study group on March 11 before his symptoms developed.

Of 92 attendees at the church from March 6 to March 11, the CDC reports that 35 people (or 38%) were infected with COVID-19 and three died. The three who died were age 65 and older.

The report also states that there are an additional 26 cases and one other death linked to the congregation that impacted people outside the church in the broader community.

The cluster of coronavirus cases linked to the church was investigated by the Arkansas Department of Health.

The data indicates that the highest attack rates were among people ages 19 to 64 (59%) and those over 65 years of age (50%).

Despite canceling in-person church activities and closing the church as soon as it was recognized that several members of the congregation had become ill, widespread transmission within church A and within the surrounding community occurred, the report explains.

The primary patients had no known COVID-19 exposures in the 14 days preceding their symptom onset dates, suggesting that local transmission was occurring before case detection.

According to the report, two participants (not the pastor and his wife) who attended childrens events held March 6 to March 8 were found to have had onset of symptoms on March 6 and 7.

These represent the primary cases and likely were the source of infection of other church A attendees, the report adds. The two out-of-state guests developed respiratory symptoms during March 910 and later received diagnoses of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19.

The CDC recognized four limitations with its report. One limitation is that some infected individuals might not be included in the data because they were not tested. Additionally, CDC notes that tracking out-of-state transmission was not possible.

The report explains that while only 35 cases were confirmed among 92 church attendees, only 45 church attendees were tested.

The report also acknowledges the possibility that patients in the study could have been exposed to COVID-19 outside of the church. Also, information on individual behaviors, such as shaking hands and giving hugs, were not collected by researchers.



The CDC report comes as some states and localities across the U.S. are beginning to soften restrictions on large gatherings as they enter the beginning phases of their coronavirus recovery plans.

As a result, churches nationwide are making plans for how and when they will resume worship services. For the past two months, many churches in the U.S. have followed social distancing guidelines and halted in-person services. But some churches have defied the orders.

In its report, the CDC warns that churches and other faith-based organizations that are planning to resume in-person operations should be aware of the potential for high rates of transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

These organizations should work with local health officials to determine how to implement the U.S. Governments guidelines for modifying activities during the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent transmission of the virus to their members and their communities," the CDC advises.

The spread of COVID-19 has also occurred in other church communities across the globe as much emphasis has been placed on how the virus can easily spread in larger gatherings.

For example, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Washington, D.C., was an Episcopal priest who in early March tested positive for the virus after he shook hands with around 100 parishioners at church.

The Rev. Tim Cole, rector at Christ Church Georgetown, was eventually hospitalized. But by the end of the month, he was able to return home for further recovery.

In April, a California megachurch was linked to dozens of cases of coronavirus, which resulted in the death of two church members.

An evangelical church conference in France was blamed in late March for sparking what was at the time the countrys largest cluster of coronavirus cases.

In early March, a church was blamed for the early spread of the virus in South Korea.



A church in Georgia decided this week to again shut down its in-person worship services after members and leaders tested positive for the coronavirus after reopening.
JERUSALEM  Raising the stakes over Israels drive to annex land the Palestinians have long claimed, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday angrily declared it free of its commitments under the Oslo peace process, including security understandings that have protected Israelis and preserved the authoritys political hold over the occupied West Bank.

For a change, several senior Palestinian officials insisted, Mr. Abbas was not making a mere threat.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments, Mr. Abbas declared in a speech in Ramallah after a much-anticipated meeting of officials of the authority, the P.L.O. and Fatah, the political faction that dominates them both. Those understandings, he said, include all security agreements.

Mr. Abbas said his move was a response to the new Israeli governments push to annex large portions of the West Bank.




President Mnangagwa has urged Zimbabweans to remain peaceful during this time of Covid-19 and avoid endangering the lives of other citizens through illegal demonstrations to score cheap political mileage.





He said Covid-19 was real and no one was immune to the virus. President Mnangagwa made these remarks at the burial of national hero Cde Absolom Sikhosana at the National Heroes Acre yesterday.





I wish once again to draw the attention to the nation to the invisible enemy that has visited us in the form of coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, said President Mnangagwa.





It is a real threat to us all and no one is safe or immune from it. Let us keep adhering to the World Health Organisation guidelines for preventing its spread. I want to end my remarks by reminding us to remain united and to keep the peace. We must never endanger the lives of our people through illegal, reckless and unwarranted demonstrations for political grandstanding. We are one people, one nation, one Zimbabwe.





President Mnangagwas remarks come in the wake of illegal demonstrations staged by MDC-Alliance members in Warren Park, Harare last week.





Turning to Cde Sikhosana who succumbed to a heart ailment in Bulawayo over the weekend, President Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF as a party had lost a stalwart, patriot and a disciplined cadre.





He said the void left by the late national hero was irreplaceable and the nation is poorer without him.

President Mnangagwa said Cde Sikhosana participated in the liberation struggle and trade unionism during the colonial Rhodesia and in the early years of independence.





The late Cde Sikhosana was ours together, he belonged to the larger family of comrades-in-arms from the liberation struggle and of his fellow Zimbabweans in general, said President Mnangagwa.





We, thus, celebrate our late national heros goodness, unassuming character and the journey of a life well-travelled. His indelible leadership of the Youth League, which he chaperoned for a long time helped it to transform it into a formidable vanguard of the ruling party. He endured suffering at the hands of the white man while he laboured to acquire an education and life supporting skills.





President Mnangagwa said Cde Sikhosanas oratory prowess and organising skills landed him the post of regional organiser for the Rhodesian Clothing and Garment Workers Union.





He said nationalist politics was risky business in the early 1970s and only the brave young men and women of the calibre of Cde Sikhosana could withstand the wrath and brutality of the white settler regime.





Thus the late Cde Sikhosana bore the scars of his running battles with the colonial administration, which hunted him down, said the President.





He was arrested several times and subjected to severe torture. Cde Sikhosana was not deterred by the regimes brutal intimidation. Instead, he mobilised many to thwart the regimes nefarious machinations including rejection of the Pearce Commission proposals.





Cde Sikhosana was born on 26 October 1949 in Matobo district under Chief Masuku in Matabeleland South province.





He did his primary education from 1956 to 1964 before undertaking his secondary education from 1965 to 1968.




In the last few weeks, Pennsylvania Republicans have ramped up the political theatre in a brazen attempt at politicizing the Wolf administrations response to the coronavirus pandemic.

From staged political rallies organized by out-of-state, extreme right-wing agitators to attempts at strong-arming local officials to ignore the governors executive order on reopening, its clear that Republican legislators have decided that propping up President Trump  and by extension themselves  is more important than the public health.

The political theatre has been Broadway caliber. Their show has it all:

Intimidation  gun wielding protesters flooding the Capitol steps implying that armed conflict is the way to end the tyranny of the pandemic;

Bigotry  Disgusting jokes about Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levines gender, a right-wing radio host inciting listeners by intentionally misgendering her, and internet trolls viciously attacking her on social media;

Hate  fear and antisemitism stoked by a Republican House member who compared Governor Wolfs response to the pandemic to the murderer Adolph Hitler and the Nazis.

Theatre has come inside the Capitol, too.

Republicans have wasted valuable time and energy on legislative hearings to deflect blame onto Gov. Wolf and Dr. Levine. To the governor and Dr. Levines credit, they have answered Republican lawmakers critiques head-on  unlike the Trump Administration, which blocks key witnesses from testifying to Congress.

Incredibly, they issue, with much fanfare, a gubernatorial subpoena  from a committee that had no authority to issue it  seeking the same information that the auditor general is working collaboratively with the Wolf administration to secure.

Plus, theyve introduced legislation that cherry picks which businesses to reopen. Not to help business owners mind you, but to score political points.

They say that they are fighting for you, but theyre not. Theyre playing you.

None of the bills they passed, even if signed by the governor, would withstand a court challenge. Republicans know this. Yet, in this time of crisis, theyve decided to play on peoples emotion and fears.

Heres the bottom line: if Republican lawmakers were serious about reopening Pennsylvania, they would pass a resolution ending the Governors disaster emergency. Its that easy. House Resolution 836 is waiting for action.

So why havent Republicans moved to end the disaster declaration? Simple. Theyd have to terminate the entire disaster emergency, not just the parts that benefit them politically.

The truth is they dont want to own a reopening if theyre wrong and COVID-19 cases spike. They want the politics but not the responsibility for more sickness and death.

As of May 14, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 84,000 Americans and 4,200 Pennsylvanians. Death and the economic suffering would be much greater if Gov. Wolf ignored science in favor of politics.

The commonwealths response has not been perfect. Nobody wants to see unemployment, business closures, and Pennsylvanians struggle. But the approach has been working.

We know social distancing, wearing masks and washing our hands saves lives.

We know stronger workplace safety protocols and cleaning standards saves lives.

We also know that reopening our economy too quickly will lead to more sickness and more death.

Pennsylvania is reopening, in stages, and with protections for workers and consumers. No, its not the open spigot approach sought by Trump apologists, but progress is being made. The economy is being reengaged, with more counties opening each week. This is the responsible approach.

For weeks, Republicans have engaged in theatrics and offered false hope to those who need help the most. THAT is the worst type of politics.

Pennsylvania Republicans should end the theatrics and get to work. They can start by joining Democrats and Gov. Wolf to allocate the $4 billion in federal funds Pennsylvania received to fight the coronavirus.

Working together and delivering results for the citizens of Pennsylvania. Now, thats a production that would enjoy wide support.

Sen. Vincent J. Hughes is a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 7th District since 1994. He also is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Natasha Oakley rose to fame on social media for her sensational bikini body.

And on Wednesday, the 29-year-old flaunted her trim and toned figure in a tiny, white two-piece from her label Monday Swimwear.

In the photos on Instagram, the stunner is seen posing at the end of a jetty as the sun is setting.

Sunset special! On Wednesday, Natasha Oakley (pictured) showcased her sensational figure in a white bikini, from her label Monday Swimwear, as the sun set on Sydney Harbour

She wore her luscious long blonde tresses out, letting her hair cascade down her shoulders.

'Sunsets on Sydney Harbour,' the swimwear designer wrote in the caption of her post.

Natasha's sultry sun-soaked bikini photos come after she appeared to confirm that she has reunited with her ex-boyfriend, Theo Chambers.

Stunner: She wore her luscious long blonde tresses out, letting her hair cascade down her shoulders

Reunited? Natasha's sultry sun-soaked bikini photos come after she appeared to confirm that she has reunited with her ex-boyfriend, Theo Chambers (pictured together)

Earlier this month, she shared a photo to Instagram of herself enjoying a romantic lunch date and tagged Theo in the post.

In the photo, wine glasses and a meal are pictured on a table and the ocean is visible in the background.

Natasha also shared a video while drinking wine and captioned the post: 'So excited for winter'.

Back in March, the model was quizzed on recent social media posts which suggest she and Theo had rekindled their romance.

Romantic: Earlier this month, the blonde beauty shared a photo to Instagram of herself enjoying a romantic lunch date and tagged Theo in the post. In the photo, wine glasses and a meal are pictured on a table and the ocean is visible in the background

Keeping it quiet: Natasha told Stellar magazine, 'I'm happy to share a lot, but my relationship is something I like to keep private,' appearing to confirm the rumours

Natasha told Stellar magazine: 'I'm happy to share a lot, but my relationship is something I like to keep private,' appearing to confirm the rumours.

'As my career progresses and as I get older, privacy becomes more important,' she added.

Natasha first announced her split from businessman Theo, the son of Chambers Cellar founder Steven Chambers, in November 2019, telling The Daily Telegraph: 'We broke up,[but] we're still really good friends.'

Prior to her relationship with Theo, Natasha was dating French model Gilles Souteyrand until their split in July 2018.
COMMUNITY and voluntary groups, charities and social enterprises have been urged to apply for funding under a new stability fund.

Limerick City TD Kieran ODonnell says some 35m is available in terms of support, with funding prioritised for those organisations most in need.

He said: The fund will provide immediate, short-term cash flow to qualifying organisations which provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society and allow them to maintain their valuable services. As a society we depend greatly on these organisations and I would like to thank them for their contribution to the inspiring community response to the current crisis in Limerick.

Applications for funding is now open.

The funding for this initiative will be provided from the Dormant Accounts Fund and will provide a once-off grant to qualifying organisations, Mr ODonnell added.

Among the sectors which can benefit are those working in tackling addiction, disability and mental health, housing, homelessness and the community education sector.

Mr ODonnell added: The application process for the stability fund is straightforward. I would encourage all eligible charities, social enterprises and community and voluntary organisations here in Limerick to fully engage with the application process. Email stabilityscheme@pobal.ie, or call 01-5117000.
Yellowstone National Park reopened yesterday after being closed to the public since March despite fears that beauty spots could be ideal places for the coronavirus to spread.

Thousands of visitors made the journey across the states to one of America's most popular national parks, many of whom were seen without protective face masks.

'We have been cooped up for weeks,' one visitor from Florida, Jacob Willis, told the Guardian. 'When the parks opened, we jumped at the opportunity to travel.'

The visitors have been welcomed back to national parks across the country on a limited basis since Friday. The National Parks Service said that there is a ban on tour buses, overnight camping and lodging at Yellowstone.

Pictured: A family poses in front of a Yellowstone National Park sign yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

Pictured: People pose next to a sign by the Old Faithful Geyser yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

Pictured: A woman sits on the bank of a river flowing through Yellowstone National Park yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

A more expansive reopening began on Monday for the southern portion of the Wyoming-side of Yellowstone, which is known for its spectacular geothermal features and abundant wildlife.

The opening, which saw thousands of visitors, was criticized by some health officials who yesterday checked webcam footage of one of the park's biggest attractions, Old Faithful.

Kristin Brengel, senior vice-president of government affairs at the National Parks Conservation Association, said: 'Not much physical distancing happening and not a single mask in sight.'

Locals added that it seemed most of the visitors had come from other parts of America.

Pictured: A family poses in Yellowstone National Park yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

Pictured: People pose in Yellowstone National Park yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

Pictured: A woman poses on a trail in Yellowstone National Park yesterday as the park is reopened to visitors after a two-month lockdown

Doors opened to the natural beauty sight at 12am but cars, from as far away as Washington and New York, were seen queuing from 5.30am.

Entrance to the sight was free and rangers followed measures to curb the spread of the virus, wearing face masks and trying to disperse crowds who failed to social distance.

Complicating Yellowstone's reopening: Wyoming recently lifted a 14-day self-quarantine order for out-of-state visitors on nonessential business, but one remains in effect in Montana.

Last week, National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly described Yellowstone's split approach as a good way to help rangers get ready for a new visitor experience that will discourage shoulder-to-shoulder crowding at thermal features - summer scenes common in Yellowstone.

'I would prefer it's not just a light switch and the park is open and we get inundated and overwhelmed and aren't able to handle it,' Sholly said.

A 'massive amount of signage' was ready to be put up to promote social distancing, Sholly said, adding that public cooperation would determine when all park services could resume without further interruption.

Complicating Yellowstone's reopening: Wyoming recently lifted a 14-day self-quarantine order for out-of-state visitors on nonessential business, but one remains in effect in Montana

Most of Yellowstone is in Wyoming, with small portions overlapping in Montana and Idaho. But typically about 70 per cent of traffic into the park passes through three gates in Montana.

The three gates will open no sooner than June 1 to help communities near Yellowstone get ready for an influx of visitors, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said Wednesday.

'While our economy certainly relies upon and we appreciate our visitors, we also want to ensure that those visitors dont bring problems, meaning their infections, from their home state to our state. And when they do, we want to make sure that Montana is prepared,' Bullock said at a news conference.

Handheld sprayer prototype used to disinfect surfaces at Yellowstone

An NPS employee interacts with a visitor through a protective barrier. An extension arm prototype used to maintain a safe distance at Yellowstone

The other 30 per cent goes through two entrances in Wyoming. After those gates open next week, only the southern half of the park - including Old Faithful Geyser and popular thermal features nearby - will be accessible at first and then only for day use.

Restrooms, gas stations, trails and boardwalks will be first to open. No camping, lodging, restaurants or tours will be available at first, though park officials will immediately begin looking at offering camping, cabin lodging, take-out dining and other limited services, Sholly said in a conference call with news media and regional business owners.

Hotel lodging and bus tours could be allowed later in the summer but won't be discussed any sooner than June, Sholly said.

Just south of Yellowstone in Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park announced a similar phased approach to reopening except two big hotels, Jackson Lodge and Jenny Lake Lodge, definitely will not open this summer, Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail said on the call.

Payment system prototype at North Entrance Station

An NPS employee interacts with visitors through a protective barrier while all are wearing facial coverings at Yellowstone

The parks' closure March 24 at the urging of health officials made little immediate difference for tourism - the parks remain substantially snow-covered in March and April and get few visitors - but that is changing quickly. Visitation picks up significantly this time of year.

In a similar call April 21, Sholly had described health officers in Montana and Wyoming offering conflicting advice on when to reopen Yellowstone as a 'worst-case scenario.' Both states have had among the lowest rates of coronavirus infection and deaths in the U.S.

Trump on April 22 called for national parks and other public places to reopen, citing 'significant progress against the invisible enemy.' Sholly said he felt 'zero' political pressure but recognized many businesses near the park were eager for the park to reopen.

Which roads at Yellowstone will be open on May 18

'Everybody wants to get these economies moving. But we don't want to do it recklessly or put ourselves in a situation where we open it up too soon and suffer repercussions later in summer,' Sholly said. 'We have four very solid months in front of us. I think if we do it right, we can still have a very good year economically.'

Yellowstone gets about four million visitors a year. May is much less busy than June, July, August and September, Sholly said.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon called the announcement 'really good news' that would help tourism, the state's second-biggest industry after fossil-fuel extraction.

Visitors to both parks are encouraged to wear face coverings in high-density areas.

Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon are the latest of several major Park Service units that have begun to welcome back visitors or will be partially reopened in the coming weeks, including Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Zion National Park in Utah and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corp. (NYSE: EHC) today announced it will participate in the Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference, which is being held June 2-4, 2020. Encompass Health President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Tarr and Encompass Health Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Doug Coltharp will participate in a fireside chat on Wednesday, June 3 at 1:30 p.m. CST/2:30 p.m. EST. The presentation will be webcast live and will be available at http://investor.encompasshealth.com by clicking on an available link.

About Encompass Health

As a national leader in integrated healthcare services, Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) offers both facility-based and home-based patient care through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. With a national footprint that includes 134 hospitals, 245 home health locations, and 83 hospice locations in 37 states and Puerto Rico, the Company is committed to delivering high-quality, cost-effective, integrated care across the healthcare continuum. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter and Facebook.

Media Contact:

Hillary Carnel | 205-970-5912

[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact:

Crissy Carlisle | 205-970-5860

[email protected]

SOURCE Encompass Health Corp.

Related Links

http://www.encompasshealth.com


File Photo

Chandigarh: The Punjab Government has set up a Facilitation Centre at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), New Delhi, to help Punjabis coming back on the special flights from abroad return to their respective districts in the state where they will have remain in institutional quarantine.

Disclosing this on Wednesday, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said transport facility has been arranged at the Centre to ensure the comfortable return of stranded Punjabis and NRIs to their home districts, where they will be required to stay in quarantine for 14 days and will also be tested for Covid.

Advertisement

PhotoThose found negative would be sent home for another two weeks of self-quarantine while those who test positive will be shifted to isolation centres for care/treatment.

With 20000 stranded Punjabis and NRIs are expected to return home under the Vande Bharat Mission, many of them by flights arriving in New Delhi, the Facilitation Centre would ensure seamless coordination, without chaos or confusion, said the Chief Minister.

Coordinators have also been appointed in various countries to ensure the safe return of those who had registered for return to their native place in Punjab, on the lines of the Nodal Officers appointed by his government to facilitate the to and fro movement of migrants via the special Shramik Trains, he added.

Advertisement

Punjab government

Elaborate arrangements have been made to quarantine these people in hotels in the concerned districts, and free quarantine facility would be given to those students or immigrants who cannot afford the cost of hotels, Punjab NRIs Affairs Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said.

Rahul Bhandari, Secretary, NRIs Affairs said that the Facilitation Centre at IGIA is working 24 hours a day. While one flight arrived in Amritsar from USA yesterday, several more are expected to bring Punjabis/NRIs at New Delhi and Amritsar next week.

Advertisement

The Facilitation Centre is coordinating with the State Transport Department to enable smooth and timely services for taking the returnees back to their home districts in Punjab, he said.
CSDZ, a Holmes Murphy company, has added Cal Beyer to its Minnesota team as vice president of Workforce Risk and Worker Wellbeing.

Beyer has over 30 years of safety, insurance, and risk management experience, with 24 of those years serving the construction industry. Prior to joining CSDZ, he was the director of risk management for Lakeside Industries in Issaquah, Wash. At Lakeside, Beyer catalyzed the construction industry mental health and suicide prevention movement.

Beyer has served on the Workplace Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention since its inception in 2010. He served as co-lead of the task force from 2015-17 and was appointed to the executive committee in 2016. He was a driving force in the task force being awarded the 2016 Gary Bird Horizon Award for Innovation from the International Risk Management Institute (IRMI). Additionally, Beyer was appointed to the expert advisory group of the Center for Workplace Mental Health of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation in 2019.

CSDZ  established in 1919 initially as a contract surety organization  is a specialty risk management organization.

Source: CSDZ

Topics Minnesota Risk Management
Standard Cognition, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an autonomous checkout solution that can be installed in retailers existing stores, acquired Checkout Technologies, a Milan, Italy-based developer od Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for easy retail checkout.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The acquisition increases the size of Standards engineering team and expands its European presence.

Led by Jordan Fisher, co-founder and CEO, Standard provides a machine vision and AI-powered autonomous checkout solution that works in any existing store and allows customers to walk in, take what they need, and walk out without waiting in line or stopping to scan or pay.

The company, which is currently working with retailers across the US and the world, has raised $86M in funding from investors including CRV, Initialized Capital, EQT Ventures and Y Combinator.

Checkout Technologies was led by founder and CEO Enrico Pandian, who is also the founder of venture backed Supermercato24.

FinSMEs

20/05/2020
The Ford Motor Company requested Tuesday that President Donald Trump wear a mask during his Thursday visit to the Rawsonville manufacturing plant in Ypsilanti Township.

The president has previously said he would wear a mask if asked, a White House spokesman said. It would be the first time hes been seen in public with a mask, as he has declined to do so despite his own administrations promotion of the practice, according to the Associate Press.

It is a Ford policy that visitors to its facilities don personal protective equipment such as masks, according to a company statement. But the Dearborn-based automaker said the White House has its own guidelines.

We have shared our policies and recommendations," the company said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. The White House has its own safety and testing policies in place and will make its own determination.

The White House did not respond to a message asking if Ford shared its PPE policy for Trumps visit.

Mask wearing in enclosed, public spaces is a requirement of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-home order, as well.

Masks now required, motorboating is back and AirBnb rentals are banned: Heres what changed in Michigans latest stay-home order

There are no charges associated with not wearing a mask, Whitmer said when she announced the requirement in April, though businesses may refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask in an enclosed space. Any business with workers performing in-person tasks must provide employees with a non-medical grade mask. N-95 masks should be reserved for use by health care professionals, first responders and other critical workers who interact with the public.

The president is scheduled to tour a factory that has shifted efforts to produce ventilators and personal protective equipment to help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak. Ford began making ventilators at the plant during the week of April 20 and set a goal of producing 50,000 ventilators in 100 days at the facility.

Trump planning Thursday tour of Michigan Ford plant where ventilators, PPE are made

Following the tour, Trump is expected to deliver remarks including comments on a partnership of Ford and General Electric to produce personal protection equipment and ventilators. Ford, GE Healthcare and the United Auto Workers have all collaborated on the production efforts over the last few weeks.

The White House asked to visit Fords Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti, Mich., as part of the Presidents tour to thank businesses producing PPE and important medical equipment," Ford officials said in a statement. "Were proud to assemble more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker and welcome Thursdays visit as part of Fords longstanding history of hosting sitting presidents and senior government leaders.

Trumps last visit to Michigan came four months ago, when he toured an auto parts supplier facility in Warren.

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.
Russia-controlled Donbas websites reported the leaders of the so-called "republics" had placed their troops on alert.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says former Ukrainian President and Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) at the Minsk talks on Donbas Leonid Kuchma is calling an emergency TCG meeting over a statement by leader of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" ("LPR") Leonid Pasechnik on combat readiness.

Read alsoZelensky ready for any format of talks with Putin  press conference

"To understand what Leonid Kuchma is doing now  today he has written a letter and is convening an emergency meeting of the Minsk Contact Group over Pasechnik's statement," Zelensky said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Russia-controlled Donbas websites reported the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic" had placed their troops on alert.
Patna: The three musketeers of Bihar politics  Jitan Ram Manjhi, Upendra Kushwaha, and Mukesh Sahni  with relaxation in the Coronavirus lockdown rules, came out of their hideouts on Tuesday and held a joint meeting to work out a strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The meeting was held at the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahni's office in Patna where former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha stressed the need to remain united in their attempt to keep Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at bay.

Interestingly, the three, who were earlier part of the so-called Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, did not invite leaders of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) or Congress Party to develop a united strategy to defeat the BJP-led NDA in the state Assembly elections slated to be held later this year.

Despite several past setbacks, sources said the leaders of the three parties discussed sharing seats in the state polls while condemning the past behavior of the RJD that, they alleged, treated them like second-class citizens.

Emerging from the meeting after about an hour, Kushwaha said the meeting was far from political in nature as it was the time to help the poor and migrant labors who were the hardest hit groups in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Workers are dying on the streets as the Nitish government has failed to make proper arrangement for their safe return to Bihar. They have no money, no food, no water. They are tired, hurt, and sick. As the voice of the opposition, it is our duty to speak against the failure of this government, " the RLSP leader said.
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - With the introduction of five high-tech robots this week, doctors at various hospitals in Rwanda will be able to attend patients with confirmed infection of coronavirus, as a move to limit the risk of healthcare workers from contracting the virus, an official source told PANA on Wednesday in Kigali
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that former Head of the State Customs Service Maksym Nefyodov could work for the Office of the President.

"Minus dozens of billions of hryvnias over a year, no budget revenues However, I would like Maksym to come back He could work for the Office of the President, manage certain project in which he could succeed," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The head of state in general criticized Nafyodov's work and at the same time he praised the former official's contribution into digitalization of the Customs Service, adding that the IT team continues working for the service.

Zelensky said that he invited Nefyodov to amend the legislation and allow servicemen and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to fight against smuggling at the customs.

"I suggested him [Nefyodov] that we change the legislation for the time of fight against smuggling, so that certain detachments of the military and the SBU could come to the customs and stop smuggling," he said.
(TNS)  Jessica Ramos family had a decision to make after her father lost much of his work when the coronavirus pandemic struck: pay the mortgage on their East Oakland, Calif., home or pay their internet bill.It wasnt really a choice. But losing online access at home meant that Jessica, a junior at Skyline High School, had to sit for hours outside the closed Dimond branch of the Oakland Public Library so she could tap into the internet connection there to finish her homework.It was distracting, Jessica said. There were people walking past talking on their phones and buses and people playing music loud in their cars.Jessicas plight isnt unusual, even though she lives a short drive from the heart of Silicon Valley. One in 5 Bay Area residents lacks an internet connection at home, according to Tech Exchange, a nonprofit that supplies computers to underserved communities. While wealthy parents worry about curbing their kids screen time during the pandemic, 40% of the kids in many poor neighborhoods dont have screens.The coronavirus relief package that the House passed Friday tries to address that disparity. It contains $4 billion in broadband support for low-income Americans and those who recently lost their jobs, and another $1.5 billion for schools and libraries to upgrade their connectivity and purchase more equipment.President Trump and other Republicans have derided the $3 trillion bill, co-authored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, as a lengthy liberal wish list that has no chance of passing in its current form. But there is bipartisan support for more broadband funding. Many rural districts represented by Republicans lack adequate internet access, just as some poorer urban districts represented by Democrats do.Thats a whisper of hope for advocates that after years of effort, they may be able to persuade government to help close a digital gap that otherwise threatens to grow and exacerbate the nations education inequalities.Twenty years after the term digital divide was coined, the gap remains so broad that it will take a sustained effort to bridge it.This divide has always existed, said Federal Communications Commission member Jessica Rosenworcel, a longtime advocate for closing the information gap. But the pandemic has exposed the hard truth that the digital divide in this country is really, really big.The information divide between rich and poor families that was implicit before the pandemic, said David Silver, director of education for the city of Oakland, is now explicit.Philanthropists are pitching in to bridge the gap, too. On Friday, billionaire Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey gave $10 million to the Oakland Unified School District to help supply every one of its students with a laptop and internet access. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that several companies had answered his call for help and provided 70,000 laptops and tablets for students. Other companies provided money to improve internet connectivity.But some of the largesse might not last beyond the pandemic.Take Dorseys gift. It was given a day after Oakland announced a drive to raise $12 million to address the immediate digital needs that the pandemic exacerbated. But Dorseys grant will cover the cost of internet access to poor families for only a year, Silver said. The ongoing cost is $4 million annually.Jacks gift was generous and amazing, Silver said. But weve got to make sure that the gap is covered in the years going forward.There needs to be a solution that helps people like Jacqueline Perez-Rosales. The Oakland resident has five children, three of whom are in school now. Her family didnt own a computer until three weeks ago, when they were given one by Tech Exchange.I didnt know how important it was to have a computer at home, Perez-Rosales said. Until the coronavirus.Her children worked on paper packets of assignments that their teachers sent home with them after schools were closed. But after a couple of weeks, her sixth-grader and fourth-grader realized that they would need something more. A teacher at their school helped Perez-Rosales to obtain a computer from Tech Exchange.That solved one problem, but then Perez-Rosales discovered others. Her new home internet connection wasnt very strong. So now, instead of paying $10 a month, the family is paying $75. They cant afford much more. She is a house cleaner who has been out of work since the pandemic started. Her husband is a technician for a garage door company.Now that the family has a computer, Perez-Rosales is finding it hard to manage which children get time online and when.When one is on the computer, I say to the other one, You can use my phone. But they say, Its better with a laptop. I cant see anything on your phone, Perez-Rosales said.She sees the value in having a second computer. She also understands that her family must eventually obtain devices for her kindergartner and her twin 2-year-olds.Making more computers available for children is the goal of Oakland Unified Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell, whose district has distributed for home use the 18,000 Chromebooks that students were using in classrooms before campuses closed. But those devices will have to be returned to schools when in-person education eventually resumes. The superintendent is thinking beyond that time.Our initial goal is trying to ensure that there is one device per household, Johnson-Trammell said. But our ultimate goal is becoming one to one, a computer for every student.Jessica, the Skyline High junior, sees the value in that. She realizes that her family needs more than one device, too. Her father is an Uber driver who hasnt had much work since Bay Area residents began sheltering in place. He needs a way to search online for jobs. So does her mother, who now works a shift starting at 3 a.m. at a Walgreens before showing up for her second job at a preschool.Soon, Jessica will start applying for college and scholarships and will need more time online. The last few weeks have magnified the disparities and challenges that she will face in competing for a place at top colleges like her dream school, Stanford.I realize that there is no equity, Jessica said. But, she added, navigating those inequities over the past few weeks has made me stronger as a student.
ARISS continues test of MultiPoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio

ARISS completed the second test of the new-style radio contact called Multi point 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.

The radio contact was completed on May 15 with ISS Commander Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. A new ARISS telebridge ground station was operated by John Sygo, ZS6JON located near Johannesburg,South Africa.

The telebridge linked to the astronaut and each youth tied in from home via their telephones. Each student took a turn asking their question of the astronaut. Their families, faculty and the public could also listen from home.

The youth taking part in ARISS's second test belong to the Airdrie Space Science Club in Airdrie, AB, Canada. 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, VE6JBJ, one of the five club leaders 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."

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS Public Relations
Mr Novihoho Afaglo

20.05.2020 LISTEN

THE CHIEF Executive Officer of Marrer Ghana Limited and Susatgad Boat Building and Fishing Industries, Mr Novihoho Afaglo, has threatened to bar any political party from campaigning in Ketu South District in the Volta Region over failed campaign promises.

According to him, successive governments have failed the people in providing them with social amenities and other developmental projects which has compelled them to undertake such action against any political party.

"You see, if nothing is done before they start their campaigning, I will single-handedly mobilise the youth to drive them away and I will give them the reasons why they should not waste their time in voting," Mr Afaglo stated.

Mr Afaglo said Ketu South is one of the poorest districts in the region as it lags behind in government's developmental agenda.

He said he is ready to allocate 200-acre land to the government to embark on development projects in the area. I am ready to allocate 200 acres of land to the government if it agrees to use it in constructing schools, hospitals and factories to ensure the youth get jobs to do."

He continued, Even though the district is an agriculturally-dominated area, many farmers dont get the needed support or seedlings to plant at the right time while the fisherfolks also lack basic equipment for fishing so their yields are nothing to write home about.

Mr Afaglo said Covid-19 had had a great toll on Ketu South District because it is one of the hotspots in the region, adding that many citizens had lost their jobs and livelihood to the pandemic and therefore needed government's urgent support.

He said over the years, successive governments had ignored the plight of citizens as many towns in the area lacked good road network, good schools and hospitals compelling residents to travel long distances to access healthcare.

Its a place government needs to throw more light on and I think its about time we aborted the mentality of abandoning certain districts based on the fact that its a New Patriotic Party or National Democratic Congress stronghold, forgetting we are all citizens of Ghana, he stressed.

He added that very soon politicians will be going around the whole country, including Ketu South, to engage in political campaigns and promising heaven on earth but immediately they win the power they were looking for, they forget the plight of the people who voted for them.

He again said it was time the government focused on developing areas where the people were ready to help by providing the necessary support such as labour, lands and logistics.

He called on well-to-do citizens of Ketu South to always remember the plights of their fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers back home, and help them out of the hardships.
Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is warning residents of a phone scam in which fake law enforcement officers are demanding money to avoid an arrest.

The sheriff's office said it has received numerous complaints about scammers who identify themselves as either Sgt. Anderson or Lt. Coblert, who tell callers they will be arrested on an outstanding warrant for missing jury duty unless they send money.
Cloud data transformation provider recognized for a second consecutive year as a leader in data integration based on authentic user reviews and ratings

DENVER and MANCHESTER, England, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Matillion, the leading provider of data transformation software for cloud data warehouses (CDWs), has been recognized as a 2020 Top Rated Data Integration Software by TrustRadius, the most trusted B2B review platform.

The TrustRadius Top Rated Awards are based on unbiased customers' user satisfaction scores and a detailed criteria breakdown on the methodology and scoring used to determine Top Rated winners. With a trScore of 9.2 out of 10 and over 104 verified reviews, Matillion is recognized by the TrustRadius community as a valuable player in the Data Integration software category and highly-rated for its data source connections and data transformations features. Matillion scores highly on TrustRadius on overall support, usability, product scalability, data sharing and collaboration, and data sources.

Purpose-built for CDW platforms Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Azure, Matillion helps enterprises access the simplicity, speed, scale, and savings they require to compete and unlock the hidden potential of their data. Earlier this year, Matillion added Matillion ETL for Snowflake on Google Cloud Platform and Matillion ETL for Azure Synapse to its product portfolio, to help companies perform complex data transformations on their preferred cloud service provider. The company also released its new product Matillion Data Loader, a free data ingestion tool. The product extends the Matillion platform to cover the needs of all data users across the business, from simple to complex data integration use cases.

"It is a great privilege to be recognized again by TrustRadius for an award based directly on our customers' feedback. Matillion places a lot of value on our customers' success and an award like this validates how we help our customers get faster time to insights from their many silos of data," said Ed Thompson, CTO at Matillion. "As we continue to support more enterprises in their data modernization and data integration efforts, the enthusiastic reviews and ratings by our customers are a great testament to Matillion's vision and mission."

"Buyers have many options when it comes to selecting Data Integration software," says Megan Headley, VP of Research at TrustRadius. "Matillion earned a Top Rated Data Integration software award based directly on feedback from their customers. Reviewers on TrustRadius value Matillion's easy to use interface and cloud connectivity."

Real Verified User Review:

"Matillion takes the various aspects of ETL creation and management and presents them separately and clearly, allowing for different levels of user to engage with only the parts of the product that they need to. The visual interface for pipeline building is intuitive and clear. The fully flexible folder structure for projects and pipelines is ideal for setting up the organisation of your whole ETL environment exactly as you want it."

Nick Wardle | Senior UX Analyst | LADbible Group

Check out more Matillion reviews and ratings on TrustRadius, or request a demo.

For further data transformation industry updates and perspectives, follow Matillion on Twitter @Matillion and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/matillion-limited/ .

About Matillion

Matillion is data transformation for cloud data warehouses. Only Matillion is purpose-built for Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, and Google BigQuery, enabling businesses to achieve new levels of simplicity, speed, scale, and savings. Trusted by companies of all sizes to meet their data integration and transformation needs, Matillion products are highly rated across the AWS, GCP and Microsoft Azure Marketplaces. Dual-headquartered in Manchester, UK and Denver, Colorado, Matillion also has offices in New York City and Seattle. Learn more about how you can unlock the potential of your data with Matillion's cloud-based approach to data transformation. Visit us at www.matillion.com .

About TrustRadius

TrustRadius is the customer voice and insights platform that helps tech buyers make great decisions, and helps technology vendors acquire and retain great customers. Each month, over half a million B2B technology buyers use over 222,000 verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Next Coast Ventures, Mayfield Fund, and LiveOak Venture Partners.

Contact:

Katie Pierini

kpierini@nonfictionagency.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/775068/Matillion_Logo.jpg
FORT EDWARD  Beaches at Huletts Landing in Dresden and Lake Lauderdale in Jackson will be closed this weekend and wont open until June 13.

The Washington County Government Operations Committee voted Wednesday morning to close the gates to both the county-owned parks until June 13 when staff will be ready to comply with the new COVID-19-related regulations. Also, Lake Lauderdale sustained damage during the Friday storms, including fallen trees.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday that beaches could open for Memorial Day weekend, with limits, but left it up to municipal governments to decide if and when local beaches open.

The full board considered a resolution on Friday to close the parks and beaches for the summer, saving the county around $90,000. But the resolution was tabled and the parks were expected to open Saturday as planned.

Matt Jones, the superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, said the state Department of Health provided a 50-page book on how to operate the beaches taking into account the coronavirus pandemic. Jones needs time to train his staff. Lifeguards will be charged with making sure people adhere to social distancing rules.

We wont be ready until the weekend of June 13 to open up due to everything thats going on in the last few months, and getting new guidance from the department of health and the governor and the state, Jones told the committee Wednesday.

Supervisors debated whether the gates to the parks could be left open even though the parks arent currently staffed. Some supervisors suggested letting people use the parks and beaches at their own risk. But issues about liability arose.

The parks are going to be busy, Jones said. They want to do stuff, they want to get out right now, and I feel like were going to have to have a staff as a safety issue, I dont think we can just open gates.

Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff recommended shutting down the parks for the summer and saving the county $90,000.

If were talking about going into an austerity budget, and yet were going to have an expense for recreation, that doesnt make sense guys, Haff said. Youre thinking with two heads.

But committee Chairman Brian Campbell, the Hebron supervisor, said there are a lot of struggling families that need the parks for free recreation.

These people are going to need an outlet, theyve been cooped up, Campbell said. Some of them wont even have jobs to return to.

White Creek Supervisor James Griffith said the expenses for opening the parks is 0.1% of the countys budget. Whitehall Supervisor John Rozell and Dresden Supervisor Paul Ferguson both agreed parks should be open this summer.

Ferguson argued to keep the gates open, even if the park is still closed, as it is kayakers only access to Lake George.

Any additional expenses as a result of the new COVID regulations will be reimbursable by FEMA, said County Treasurer Al Nolette.

Gretta Hochsprung writes hometown news and covers Washington County. You can reach her at ghochsprung@poststar.com or 518-742-3206. Follow her on Twitter @GrettaHoch or at her blog on www.poststar.com.

Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 1

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
THE University of Limerick Hospitals group has reminded the Limerick public that the ban on visiting its hospital sites remains in place.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors are not presently allowed at University Hospital Limerick (UHL), the University Maternity Hospital in the Ennis Road, St Johns Hospital and Croom Orthopedic Hospital.

This is being done in an effort to protect the safety of front-line staff battling coronavirus, and patients in the hospital.

Dr Collette Cowan pointed out the visiting ban at the hospitals is not affected by the activation of the first stage in the five-phase re-opening of Irish society and economy.

The reasons for limiting movement within our hospitals remain as urgent as they were when the visiting ban was introduced in early March  to minimise the risk of spreading the coronavirus infection among staff and patients within our health facilities, and also within the wider community, Dr Cowan said.

The only exceptions to the visitor ban are for parents visiting their kids in hospital, birthing partners of women in the delivery ward at the maternity hospital, those assisting confused patients, and people visiting patients who are critically unwell, something which will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Under the governments roadmap, the resumption of normal visiting at hospitals is provided for in phase five of the roadmap, which is scheduled to commence on August 10.

Dr Cowan thanked the public for their support.

We must remain vigilant about limiting spread of this highly contagious disease. Its important that we dont risk undoing everything society has done to flatten the Covid-19 curve. Let us all hold firm and follow the guidance that will minimise the risk to society in the crucial time ahead. Im grateful that the visiting ban has been respected in our hospitals in the past two months, and appeal for your continued support, she said.

The public are also being urged to keep the emergency department at UHL in Dooradoyle free for urgent treatment only  where someone is seriously injured or whose lives may be at risk.

Those with lesser injuries are first asked to consider local pharmacies, their GP, and the local injuries unit available at St Johns Hospital.
In 2016, the ex-head of the Palestinian Monetary Authority charged that "global Judaism is a virus, a plague" that led to the financial crisis in 2008. Four years later, the Palestinian Authority's Health Ministry has been, according to Caroline Glick, "cooperating in an unprecedented manner with its Israeli counterpart. The Palestinians followed Israel's lead on virtually all aspects of the Coronavirus fight. Palestinian medical teams received training in Israeli hospitals. Israel provided the PA with testing kits, protective gear, respirators and other vital equipment for fighting the pandemic." Even the Hamas regime in Gaza viewed Israel as the authority for dealing with the virus.

In her eye-opening column, Glick notes that while benefiting from Israel's health system, Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohamad Shtayyeh, long considered a "moderate," has used the opportunity to allege that Israel is using soldiers and Arab workers in Israel to spread the virus among Palestinians. Also, "Palestinian security forces that Israel has permitted to enforce the closure of non-essential businesses are concentrating their efforts on preventing "peaceful ties between Palestinians and Israelis."

The Palestinian leadership has also asked the Israelis for handouts, not hiding that the funds would be used for the families of imprisoned Israeli terrorists, even as it tries to block Palestinians from working for Israelis. And while Israel is offering free assistance to Hamas in fighting the virus, that terrorist organization brags that it will not release "information" on Israeli hostages and bodies of fallen soldiers until Israel releases 250 terrorists from prison.

And speaking about the coronavirus, David Rutz reported that the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which would boycott any and all Israeli products, has proclaimed an exception  namely, any COVID-19 vaccine, which the BDS organization apparently is confident will be developed by Israel in a timely, efficient, and competent manner.

The leader of the BDS movement, Omar Barghouti, said it is "not a problem" for movement-supporters to use medical equipment from Israel because this would not be considered "normalization." It seems that there's a Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel that opposes any kind of "normalization"  namely, "participation in any project, initiative or activity, in Palestine or internationally, that aims (implicitly or explicitly) to bring together Palestinians (and/or Arabs) and Israelis (people or institutions) without placing as its goal resistance to and exposure of the Israeli occupation and all forms of discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people." But Barghouti regards co-opting Israeli health care know-how as acceptable. This does, after all, continue a long tradition of Palestinian Authority and Hamas officials and their family members receiving treatment from Israeli physicians.

These declarations surrounding the Coronavirus confirm the best argument for financial support of Israel, by nations like the United States, as well as by individual contributors and investors: Israeli ingenuity and talent return a thousandfold whatever funds are appropriated to that country. To boycott would mean losing access to all Israeli strides against medical viruses and computer viruses, and boycotting all computers, mobile phones, voicemail, video-on-demand, electric cars, and even cherry tomatoes. And the actions of the Palestinian leaders, as reported above, bring home to us the reckless and ungrateful way that they will use funds if allowed to do so.

But the cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians during the coronavirus indicates that there is a greater and more urgent incentive than "normalization" for fighting disease and for ending violence.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).
The high court (HC) of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday allowed the state board to conduct class X and XII examinations from Thursday, ending the examinees uncertainty and anxiety about their future prospects amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

The HC disposed of a bunch of petitions that were filed seeking to defer the examinations because of the pandemic.

Pravin Faldessai, Assistant Solicitor General, Goa, submitted in the court a written communication received from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) late Tuesday night granting exemption to the state to conduct Class X and XII examinations from Thursday subject to certain conditions.

On Tuesday, the court had directed the MHA to inform whether the board examinations could be conducted under the fresh guidelines issued by the ministry last Sunday about lockdown 4:0, which came into effect from Monday and will be in place till May 31 to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Earlier, advocate General Devidas Pangam had told the court that had the Central Government intended to prohibit the holding of examinations, then, it would have clearly stated that in its orders. No prohibition was ever intended, as theres no specific bar.

However, late on Tuesday night, state chief secretary Parimal Rai wrote to the MHA, seeking an exemption from the lockdown to hold the board examinations, and the relief was given shortly.

The matter has been examined by the MHA taking into consideration the factual position. Goa doesnt have a single local active case of Covid-19 (except for 39 positive cases of the people who had travelled from outside) and the onset of monsoon season during which the state will have difficulties in holding the examinations.

After taking into account these factors and the assurance given by the state government in ensuring all safety precautions, Goa is allowed to conduct board examinations for Classes 10 and 12, the MHA said.

The MHA stipulated that no examination centre would be permitted in the containment zone. Besides, teachers, students, and invigilators have to compulsorily wear face masks, provisions of thermal scanning facility and hand sanitisers to be made available at examination centres and social distancing norms must be strictly enforced.

The HC has permitted the state board to conduct class X and XII examinations on the basis of the MHAs letter. Theres no legal impediment in holding the examinations, said Advocate General Pangam.

State chief minister Pramod Sawant welcomed the move to end the uncertainty for anxious board students.

The board examinations will start on Thursday. I hope people will cooperate to successfully conduct the examinations. At the end of the day, this exercise involves the future of our children. Its important that everybody cooperates amid the viral outbreak, the CM said.

Altogether, 19,680 students will appear for the secondary school certificate (SSC) examinations, which will be held across 1,612 centres in the state.
The government intends to decide Thursday whether to lift the state of emergency, which is still in place in eight prefectures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, sources said. The plan is to make separate decisions for regions where aspects of daily life overlap.

It appears likely that the state of emergency will be lifted in three prefectures of the Kansai region: Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo. The number of new infections in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, on the other hand, still exceed the criteria for lifting the emergency.

The government lifted the state of emergency in 39 prefectures on May 14. Currently, the declaration remains in place for eight prefectures: Hokkaido, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Osaka and Hyogo.

The decision is based on a comprehensive assessment of infections, the health care system and the monitoring system, including PCR testing.

As a standard, the number of new infections within a previous week should be about or lower than 0.5 per 100,000 people.

In Osaka Prefecture, the number of infections in the week of May 12-18 was 0.31 per 100,000 people. The occupancy rate of hospital beds for severe cases was 19.1% on Monday, and 345 PCR tests were conducted, with the capacity to perform several hundred more.

Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters Tuesday that "the state of emergency should be lifted in Osaka Prefecture because we meet the government's criteria."

The number of infections per 100,000 in Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures was 0.23 and 0.09, respectively. They also have many open beds for severe cases and established PCR testing systems.

Based on these circumstances, it is possible that the state of emergency will be lifted in the Kansai region Thursday.

In contrast, the number of infections per 100,000 people in the most recent week in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture was 0.76 and 1.07 respectively, which are above the standard for lifting the emergency.

The figures for Saitama and Chiba prefectures are below the standard at 0.31 and 0.27 respectively, but the number for the metropolitan area as a whole is above, at 0.66.

The governors of these four prefectures held a video conference Tuesday, where they agreed to strengthen cooperation to prevent a second wave of infections. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said, "We must not forget our four prefectures are in the midst of a state of emergency."

At a press conference Tuesday, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the minister in charge of economic revitalization who is running the novel coronavirus taskforce, said, "Basically we will be making decisions for Tokyo and three Kanto prefectures as a unit, and likewise for Osaka, Hyogo and Kyoto in the Kansai region."

While new infections are trending downward in Hokkaido, the figure for the most recent week was 0.93 per 100,000 people.

The government plans to make a final decision on where to lift the state of emergency by assessing the situation going forward and seeking expert opinions.
Several states on the West Coast and certain Democratic-led states in the Midwest have also moved slowly, taking a regional or step-by-step approach.

By contrast, a number of states in the South opened earlier and more fully. Businesses have been open with social distancing requirements for nearly a month in Georgia, where the number of new cases has remained more or less the same. Mississippi saw its largest single-day increase in reported cases and deaths only after the state began to reopen.

The variation illustrates the political and regional differences that have come to define the state-by-state response to the coronavirus, as governors navigate a pandemic that comes with no political playbook.

Texas, the nations second-largest state, with 29 million residents, had among the shortest stay-at-home orders in the country when it reopened many businesses on May 1, in a move that appealed to the states pro-business spirit. But weeks later, officials reported the highest one-day total of new cases, and some fear many businesses will still not survive.

Of the more than 50,000 restaurants in Texas, 12 percent have gone out of business because of the pandemic, said Emily Williams Knight, chief executive of the Texas Restaurant Association. She said she expected that up to 30 percent would not make it through the crisis. The states restaurant industry has already lost 700,000 jobs, she said, and would most likely lose more.

I think you see customers now having an emotional impact of driving up and having a restaurant theyve spent years at simply closed, with a note saying, Thank you for your patronage over the years, she said.

While scores of restaurants flounder or even collapse, El Arroyo, a popular Mexican restaurant at the western edge of downtown Austin, found a ticket to survival with a savvy marketing move  the sale of to-go margaritas. The restaurant has since begun serving customers on its patio and will return to indoor dining when Texas allows restaurants to expand to 50 percent capacity for indoor sales from 25 percent, starting Friday.
Since April, workers for food delivery apps controlled by large transnational companies have engaged in a series of strikes and job actions in a number of countries including Brazil, Spain, Ecuador and Argentina. Their demands are the same: better delivery rates, safer working conditions and for the multimillion-dollar companies to supply essential protective equipment that has been paid for by the workers themselves.

In Brazil, these mobilizations are deeply connected to the strikes by other workers, such as call center operators and health professionals, whose jobs have been decreed essential services during the coronavirus pandemic but have been denied safe working conditions.

Food delivery workers strike in Jundiai on May Day. (Credit: Motoboys de Jundiai)

The job actions have not stopped. On May 14, food delivery workers in Vitoria, the capital of Espirito Santo, organized a protest shutting down the iFood application for two hours.

In Jundiai, in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, workers are calling on their colleagues all over Brazil to join in a strike on May 30. Since April, workers have made plans to carry out a unified strike nationally and internationally, confronting the food delivery corporations.

The delivery workers here are talking and everyone is uniting. This time we are announcing the strike a month in advance. ... Lets stop, people, lets make it happen because nothing can be achieved if you just wait, you only achieve if you fight, food delivery worker Carlos Alberto stated in a video posted on the Facebook page Motoboys de Jundiai.

The WSWS spoke to Carlos Alberto, who is one of the organizers of the movement and has been a food delivery worker for nine years. According to him, the call for the strike was influenced by the stoppages carried out by food delivery workers in the capital of Sao Paulo, who have become an example for workers in other regions. The idea is that we gain strength and claim our rights. We cant continue like this, he said.

During the COVID-19 crisis, their working conditions, which were already fundamentally precarious, have worsened. The dismissal of workers without justification and the lack of communication with the companies are common.

There are many of our colleagues being banned for nothing, their accounts are blocked without any explanation. No e-mail arrives, no SMS, no WhatsApp. Its very sad to see something like this happening with our colleagues, he said. Tell me, how much are they spending? Nothing! They have a system, this system has a server and few people behind it.

Carlos Alberto (on the right) with food delivery workers in Jundiai calling for a unified strike. (Credit: Motoboys de Jundiai)

With the coronavirus quarantines, the purchase of meals online has increased, as have the unemployment rates. Being a deliveryman has become one of the few job options available, as it is one of the few labor markets that is currently growing. In March alone, the iFood application received 175,000 job applications, twice as many as in February.

The financial director of iFood, Diego Barreto, told Exame magazine that: This strong activity still continues, it has an almost proportional correlation, almost one to one, with what is happening in the economy. As people lose their jobs, they start looking for alternatives.

Cynically, he acknowledges that Most companies are not hiring. Its natural for people to migrate, so we expect that number to remain strong, to continue growing both this May and June.

iFood has promised to provide assistance to workers in a so-called risk group who have had their registrations deleted by the company. However, the workers were not informed of the conditions for receiving this benefit, and nothing indicates that any of them are being paid.

The real response of the food delivery corporations to the conditions imposed by the coronavirus crisis has been to use the increase in the number of available workers to lower their payments. Offering longer and longer runs and lowering the percentage gained per run, they force the workers to spend more time each day logged in, struggling for a slightly better income.

Carlos Alberto said, The number of deliverymen has increased, yes. But heres the thing, why did they change the rate and decrease it? What is the matter if there are many delivery workers in the street, right? They messed with our money, but nobody messed with theirs, nobody took anything. ... The fee, the client pays 15 reais, 12 reais for iFood. And iFood passes on seven reais, eight reais to us, the rest goes to them. The workers have to support each other, because the applications are taking advantage.

Safe working conditions are also an urgent demand of the workers, who are being forced to pay out of their own pockets for personal protective equipment. We are afraid to get [the coronavirus] and take it home. As you can see, I have a daughter, Carlos said. There are delivery workers here in Jundiai who are sick and in quarantine.

Right now we are getting in touch with the delivery workers from other states of Brazil to make a national strike, to strengthen ourselves from cell to cell. So that on the day we say we will stop, several states will stop consecutively.

The movement of delivery workers expresses the willingness of broad sectors of the working class to resist the conditions imposed by capitalism, which proves to be incapable of organizing society. And it points to the need for a unified political orientation to combat transnational companies that exploit workers globally. The urgent task is to build revolutionary working-class parties in every country.
At the event (Photo: VNA)

The award ceremony was held on May 19th by the Vietnam Womens Union Central Committee to celebrate the 130th birthday anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh.

The Kovalevskaia Award was named after the Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia and started to be presented in Vietnam in 1986. It is the first national award for female scientists.

The prestigious annual award is given to organisations and individuals who are female scientists and have excellent achievements in research and applying science into life, bringing benefits in different fields including economy, society and culture.

Since 1986, the award has been presented to 19 organisations and 48 individuals in various fields such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, agriculture, medicine and information technology.

The Kovalevskaia Award 2019 was given to female scientists of the Influenza Laboratory of the Virus Department under the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Thu Ha, Director of the Forestry Research and Development Institute under the Thai Nguyen University.

Research of the female scientists of the Influenza Laboratory helps ease the burden caused by influenza.



Orientation for the research was defined since 2003 when the SARS epidemic occurred in Vietnam. Since then, the team, led by Associate Prof. Le Thi Quynh Mai, joined surveys, took samples and conducted diagnosis of patients under treatment at the Vietnam-French Hospital since March 2003.

With experiences from the SARS epidemic, the team continued to undertake research on A/H5N1 bird flu on people in the country at the end of 2003.

At present, the anti-virus medicine Oseltamivir-Tamiflu was assessed as the most effective medicine for A/H5N1 and H1N1 treatment that has not been replaced or supplemented by any other medicine.

They also successfully isolated the new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), making Vietnam one of four countries to successfully isolate this virus.

Associate Prof. Dr. Ha was given the award after her research on breeding, propagation and intensive cultivation of trees. She also has researched propagation and rearing of non-timber forest products and medicinal herbs, application of molecular biology and molecular biochemistry and developing a number of precious local medicinal plants./.
I was a kid when this happened. I remember reading about it in the newspaper the day after it happened, since thats how we got news back then. The RAW episode after his death was so sad.

Reply

Thread

Link

i read Owen Hart, and thought this was a Torchwood post :(

Reply

Thread

Link

This whole season has been incredible, but this particular episode blew my mind simply because Martha Hart is an amazing human being. Vince McMahon is indeed the devil. He and Cult45 are so obviously two peas in a pod, esp the little clip of him saying I dont like your tone.

Reply

Thread

Link

tbh i'm surprised vince doesn't have a job in the white house. i know his wife does/did? but oof.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Brandis face is basically me since 2016! Linda McMahon recently left her bs Director of Small Business Administration gig to run an even more lucrative scam of some Trump superPAC out of either Georgia or Florida. Im sure the McMahons and Trumps all get together on the regular to discuss how to further screw over the poor. Vince doesnt want any scrutiny on him any more than he already has- hes got stockholders to lie to on the reg.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

that remark was very fucking Trump-like.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I watched the Benoit episodes. The WWE is seriously fucked up. I actually lost interest right after Benoit's gruesome murders. No regrets

Reply

Thread

Link

ooh where can i find these? I'm interested in this!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





The entire series is here: https://www1.swatchseries.to/serie/dark_side_of_the_ring

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I watch it on the Vice channel via Sling, but I think the Benoit episodes are on YouTube as well. Highly recommended.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

All the episodes are on YouTube, I think. Just search Dark Side of the Ring.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

If you're interested, Netflix also has a great wrestling doc on there too.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

god watching the ppv where this happen was so weird.



that they continued after the fall was insane (and that the match right after was with jarrett and debra was sick). that they announced his death on-air and STILL continued with the show was even worse. what the fuck were they thinking!?



Edited at 2020-05-20 10:52 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

THIS. Unbelievably disrespectful

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I remember this. I remember Debra especially having such a difficult time trying to stay in character. She was devastated.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

An all around nice guy; no one had anything bad to say about him. His death was a waste and Martha should have gotten a hell of a lot more money.

Reply

Thread

Link

Yep. Its rare, especially in this industry, where you find a wrestler where NO ONE has anything bad to say about him. From every single account Ive ever heard, Owen seemed like such a good human being.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I posted the link to the episode...

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i was a kid when it happened, and originally didnt understand since i didnt know english yet, i thought he was still alive u til i saw the date thingy. vince mcmahon is truly evil.

Reply

Thread

Link

A coworker and friend just died but you gotta keep the show going because Vince is a greedy bastard.

Reply

Thread

Link

Came back to add that if anyone is interested, Chris Jericho did a great podcast with Martha Hart this past week where they talk about the work the Owen Hart Foundation does, their relationship, and more overall happy memories. She did mention how VKM had the absolute gall to sue HER for breach of contract over her husband dying on his watch.

Reply

Thread

Link

She did mention how VKM had the absolute gall to sue HER for breach of contract over her husband dying on his watch.



What the fuck

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I mean I love money too, but I don't understand how Vince lives with himself for doing that or for trying to move the case so he wouldn't have to pay punitive damages. Fucking ass hole.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I used to think Vince should have a memoir published after he died because he really is a complex character. Hes done some good for people but overall hes all about his endless money just like his disgusting friend Tr*mp. Vince and Stephanie (Miss philanthropy is the future of marketing, it's the way brands r going 2 win") can go DIAF.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Im a few episodes behind. The last one I watched was the David Schultz episode. I appreciate the series as someone who grew up watching the WWF/WWE, but imo its so well done that itd be just as compelling to someone who doesnt know anything about wrestling.



Oblig: Fuck Vince McMahon. I think it during ever episode and it always beats repeating.

Reply

Thread

Link

Owen was a favorite of mine and my 10-year-old self was shocked when he died. He deserved so much better than what he got. I think he would have reached the top if he could have been around when Guerrero, Angle, etc. came in and workrate became the focus, but ideally he would've been able to retire like he wanted to. :(



Martha is so strong. My stomach was turning as she went over exactly what happened and showed the release mechanism. The police photos from the catwalk fucked me up. That stunt never should have been planned.



Fuck Vince McMahon.

Reply

Thread

Link

those conspiracy guys is normally really hit or miss for me (especially when they give genuine credence to genuinely hurtful conspiracy theories) but their episode on chris benoit was really informative and they had a ton of great background info

Reply

Thread

Link

I watched this as it happened. The camera panned to the audience as Owen fell. You could hear the screams of the audience. I never watched wrestling again.

Reply

Thread

Link

Same here. It was the first and last pay-per-view event my parents let us get.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

same. I was super young like maybe 11-12? I think it was in 99. I was fucking destroyed and could not believe it was real

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
Rajasthan on Wednesday reported 107 new Covid-19 cases and no deaths till afternoon, taking the total number of coronavirus positive cases to 5,952 and closer to the 6000-mark in the state.

At least 143 people have succumbed to the deadly infection till date in Rajasthan. There are 2,436 active Covid-19 cases currently in the north-western state, according to the health department.

Earlier, last week, Rajasthan had recorded the highest single-day spike of 242 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday.

At least 36 coronavirus positive patients have recovered and been discharged on Wednesday. A total of 3,373 Covid-19 patients have recovered in the state till date.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has directed state government officials to form a separate team for intensive monitoring of the coronavirus infection, which would provide thorough feedback on its spread and other aspects. Based on this, the state government will formulate its strategy, a senior government official said.

Gehlot said that a large number of migrants from other states have reached villages. Special attention should be given in rural areas as there may be a risk of the infection spreading in such areas, the chief minister cautioned.

After several relaxations were announced by the Centre as part of lockdown 4.0, the Rajasthan government has decided to run Shramik Special buses for migrants heading home on foot through national highways. The Centres lockdown 4.0 guidelines also permitted inter-state travel through buses and other vehicles, subject to consent from states involved.
Uganda banned the use of public and private transport in late March to curve the spread of COVID-19. With the ban on cars, the country has seen a boom in demand for bicycles. Halima Athumani reports from Kampala
A blind man who scaled a 449-foot sea stack with the help of his wife thinks he could be worse at climbing if he had his full vision.

Jesse Dufton,34, from Loughborough, climbed Old Man of Hoy - one of the tallest stacks in the UK - alongside wife Molly, and documented his journey on BBC Four documentary 'Climbing Blind'.

The climber has a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which breaks down retina's cells, and left him with less than 20 per cent vision by the time he was 30 - with around a one to two per cent field of view.

He added that his disability has 'fulled his determination', insisting that the challenges that came with losing his sight have focused him and forced him to sharpen his skills as a climber.

Jesse Dufton (pictured), 34, from Loughborough, climbed Old Man of Hoy - one of the tallest stacks in the UK - with the help of his wife Molly (pictured)

Jesse (pictured) scaled the 449-foot sea stack despite having a rare condition called retinitis pigmentosa, that breaks down retina's cells and has left him with less than 20 per cent vision

Jesse explained: 'It's always interesting to think about what it would be like if I didn't have this mutation in my genes. If I developed normally and I could see, it's possible I wouldn't be as good a climber.

'If I didn't have these challenges it wouldn't focus me. That determination is fulled through my disability.'

Jesse, who is part of the GB para-climbing team and works as a principal patent engineer, is the first blind person to have led a climb on the stack, which is located off the North coast of Scotland.

'You don't do these things because they're easy', said Jesse. 'You do them because they're hard. You don't get satisfaction unless there's a chance of failure.'

Jesse, who is part of the GB para-climbing team and works as a principal patent engineer, is the first blind person to have led a climb on the stack, located in Scotland. Pictured, the couple climbing the second traverse pitch of the Old Man of Hoy

Jesse told that his disability has 'fulled his determination', insisting that the challenges that came with losing his sight have focused him. Pictured, Jesse a few feet from the summit of the Old Man of Hoy

WHAT CAUSES RETINITIS PIGMENTOSA? RP is a hereditary condition caused by a fault in one of the genes involved in maintaining the health of the retina. You inherit genes from your parents. Your genes give the cells in your body the instructions they need to work well and stay healthy. When a gene is faulty, it is because there is a fault in their instructions and the cells using those instructions dont work as they should. In RP, the faulty gene causes your retinal cells to stop working and to eventually die over time. Researchers have identified many of the genes that cause RP and the faults within them, but there are still other genes to discover. Source: RNIB Advertisement

Jesse's father was a keen climber and did his first route at the age of two, but when his vision started to decline it was wife Molly that began acting as a sight guide.

'The critical thing is I have a sight guide', said Jesse.

'Molly is kind enough to lend me her eyes, so she'll help me find critical holes at the bottom and help me spot places that might be good for gear. Without Molly I wouldn't be climbing.'

Molly and Jesse met at University, and it wasn't until after a few weeks she realised that he had already lost a large part of his vision.

She recalled: 'It was only a few weeks after [we met] I realise he couldn't see anything at all. I thought respect to this dude turning up away from home.

'We kind of hit it off, not straight away. I'd never met anyone blind before it was all new to me.

'He's uber smart, he's uber bright. I guess it soon became apparent that it's only his eyes that don't work and if you can share your eyes then he's more than capable of doing anything.'

Jesse added: 'The thing that hurts the most since I've lost my sight is not being able to see Molly's face anymore. That's the one I'd want back. '

Jesse's father was a keen climber and he did his first route at the age of two. Pictured, the corner of the Old Man of Hoy

The couple wear two-way radios when climbing outside. Pictured, a bird's eye view of The Old Man of Hoy

The couple wear two-way radios when climbing outside and while Jesse is leading, his wife will give direction if she can see he's struggling to find a hold or piece of gear.

Jesse said: 'Tiny little paths or big drops, when you can't see where you're going are not the optimum, but I'm used to these kind of things now. If Molly thinks I can do it, I trust her judgment entirely.

He later added: 'One of the things people always say to me is, "when you look down, does it help you can't see the ground?" No, not really. You know where you are and you know the consequences of falling off.'

Speaking from the top of Old Man of Hoy, Jesse continued: 'There was a time maybe three years ago I thought I would have to give up leading as my vision got worse. I thought I won't give up climbing but leading, my days were numbered.

'I really hope when Molly gets up here she's going to take some awesome photos, because In 20 years or so when they fix my eyes, I want to see that view.'

'Climbing Blind' airs this evening on BBC Four at 9pm.
"It doesn't hurt people," having been used as a treatment for malaria and lupus, Trump said. "I think it gives you an additional level of safety." The president, during the Cabinet meeting, said, "it doesn't seem to have any impact on me." Physicians, however, say there are serious risks associated with taking the drug, including the threat it could interfere with heart rhythm.

During a Cabinet meeting later that day, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie criticized the document as not peer reviewed. Trump said "thousands and thousands" of front-line health care workers are taking hydroxychloroquine and it is endorsed by "many, many doctors."

A retrospective analysis based on data from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration determined that the drug as a treatment for COVID-19 -- combined with the antibiotic azithromycinor -- not only may not help mitigate the virus' effect, but it may also increase overall mortality. In a reference to that study, the president declared Tuesday "it was a Trump enemy statement."

There is no solid scientific evidence that the drug can prevent or treat the disease caused by the coronavirus, which has killed an estimated 321,999 people globally.

U.S. President Donald Trump is defending his promotion and personal use of an anti-malaria drug as a medication against COVID-19. "This is an individual decision to make," Trump said, adding that the decades-old drug, hydroxychloroquine, has a "great reputation." The president has tested negative for COVID-19 several times.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking on CNN Monday night, said the president should not be taking such a drug, especially considering he is "morbidly obese." Asked about that comment, Trump initially replied: "I don't respond to her. I think she's a waste of time." However, just before departing Capitol Hill, the president told reporters that "Pelosi is a sick woman. She's got a lot of problems -- a lot of mental problems. We're dealing with people that have to get their act together for the good of the country."

Trump surprised reporters Monday when he announced he had been taking daily, for a week-and-a-half, a hydroxychloroquine pill. In the United States, more than 1.5 million people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus and 90,000 have died. Several people associated with the White House have tested positive for COVID-19 this month.

In an interview with a Fox News reporter Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence said he is not taking the drug, but "I would never begrudge any American taking the advice of their physician. Hydroxychloroquine is a drug that's been around for more than 40 years for treatment of malaria."

Pence explained that the Food and Drug Administration has approved off-label use for the drug so that doctors can prescribe it for nontraditional uses. "So, my physician has not recommended that. But I wouldn't hesitate to take the counsel of my doctor. Any American should do likewise," the vice president said.

Trump continued to blame China, where the virus was first reported, for the outbreak of COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic. "It should have been stopped by China," he said again Tuesday. Many epidemiologists predict the threat from the virus will not subside until a vaccine for the novel coronavirus is deployed on a mass scale.

"The vaccine, I think, is less important than some of the things they're working on," Trump said of laboratories around the world. "They're working on a cure and we have more than one doing it and they're very advanced," Trump said, without providing details. "Trials of dozens of therapies and cures are under way," the president said at the Cabinet meeting in the White House East Room.

Trump also asserted Tuesday that the overall number of new coronavirus patients nationally is declining. That is certainly the case in the hardest-hit area in and around New York City, but health officials have expressed concern about spikes of COVID-19 cases in other parts of the country, especially centered on nursing homes, prisons and meatpacking plants.

The focus of the Trump administration has shifted in recent days to reviving the country's economy, which has been seriously damaged by the pandemic. "All 50 states, as of today are partially opening their economies," Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus task force, said during the Cabinet meeting.


Kindergartens across Armenia reopened on Wednesday following the lifting of virtually all coronavirus-related restrictions imposed by the government two months ago.

The government last week allowed them to resume their work while deciding to keep the countrys schools and universities closed. It said this will help many parents of young children return to work.

The government at the same time set specific safety rules for the state-run and private kindergartens. Under those rules, the parents must leave children at the entrance to pre-school institutions and are not allowed to enter them under any circumstances.

Kindergarten staff must not only ensure the parents compliance with these requirements but also measure childrens temperatures twice a day, minimize physical contact with and among them, and disinfect and ventilate their premises on a daily basis.

We have drawn lines for the parents so that they observe social distancing, said Gayane Khudoyan, a nurse at the Kindergarten No. 5 located in the center of Yerevan. The last line is the point of separation of a parent and a child. The parent must stand there while I measure the kids temperature. If the kid has a fever we will immediately send them home.

Most parents appear to have been unconvinced by these precautions so far. Only eight children were brought to Khudoyans kindergarten in the morning.

Another kindergarten located in the citys western Davitashen district reported on Wednesday an attendance rate of 10 percent. More than 400 children are enrolled in it.

The Armenian authorities began lifting their lockdown restrictions in mid-April despite a growing number of coronavirus cases recorded by them.

The Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday morning at least 3 more deaths and 230 new COVID-19 infections which brought to 5,271 the total number of confirmed cases in the country of about 3 million.

The official death toll from the virus thus reached 67. The figure does not cover the deaths of 27 other people infected with COVID-19. The ministry claims that those deaths were primarily caused by other, pre-existing illnesses.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday expressed serious concern over the continuing rapid spread of the virus. He warned that the authorities may have to re-impose the strictest possible restrictions soon.
Both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are increasing virus-related restrictions as the Gulf states continue to battle the coronavirus outbreak.

The Qatari authorities announced yesterday that all businesses must remain closed until the end of the month. The exceptions are supermarkets and pharmacies, Reuters reported.

Infections continue to increase in Qatar, and the country registered 1,364 new cases on Monday alone, which raised the total to 33,969, according to Reuters. Only Saudi Arabia has more confirmed coronavirus cases in the Gulf region. Qatar's confirmed cases were again higher on Wednesday with a total of 37,097.

The UAE also extended its nightly curfew by two hours on Monday after registering new cases. The curfew, during which nonessential movement is forbidden, will now be from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as of Wednesday until further notice. The country registered 832 cases on Monday, bringing the total to 24,190, Reuters reported. The UAE's total number of cases as of Wednesday was 25,063.

One segment of Gulf countries' populations that has been particularly hard hit by the outbreak is foreign workers, many of whom live in cramped housing.

The city of Dubai has been easing its restrictions in recent days, allowing public parks and private beaches to reopen last week.

Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the Gulf region, also announced a round-the-clock lockdown last week during the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Minister of Justice Anna E. Richardson was scheduled to have a closed-door meeting with the Justice Committee of Parliament, to discuss the pending approval of the draft Penal Procedure Code. However, due to the requested urgent meeting of Parliament concerning governments deadline to respond to the conditions posed by the Kingdom government as it relates to St. Maarten receiving financial assistance to cover the cost of the St. Maarten Stimulus and Relief Plan (SSRP), the scheduled meeting has been postponed until Friday, May 22, 2020.

Considering that to date, little headway has been made by various Ministers of Justice and various Parliaments in moving the handling of the Penal Procedure Code forward considerably, Minister Richardson has opted for a different approach by requesting the scheduled meeting of Tuesday, May 19, 2020, to be held behind a closed door. Prior to Tuesdays meeting is requested, the Minister and her legal team reviewed the proposed amendments made by Members of Parliament and considered the proposed amendment achievable. Minister Richardson is of the opinion that further discussions in a closed setting will allow for a more open exchange of views and will lead to all parties reaching consensus. After which the discussions will then be brought to a public meeting for decision-making and will see the majority of Parliament vote to pass the law.

The deliberations on this draft Penal Procedure have been ongoing for some time now. It is lamentable that to date, the public discussions that were held did not produce satisfactory results. What we have seen in St. Maarten been given a public statement. Thankfully, despite being in the same space as it relates to the draft Penal Procedure Code, the FATF matrix was completed and sent on to the CFATF Secretariat in the Trinidad and Tobago on April 30, 2020, to further confirm the passing and enactment of the Civil Code and the Penal Code in 2019, said Minister Richardson.

St. Maarten having submitted the matrix puts the country on a positive rhythm with the FATF

regulations and brings it closer to move out of the third round and into the fourth round. Minister Richardson looks forward to attending the CFATF Plenary session in November 2020, gaining a positive review for St. Maarten and thereby applying to move to the fourth round in May 2021 and having the public statement lifted for the country.
Mumbai, May 20 : Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, actor Akshay Kumar's advice to deal with the crisis is brief and simple: "Sit it out".

The actor took to Instagram to share his tip while sharing a throwback picture where he sits on a chair.

Referring to the current scenario, the actor wrote: "Sometimes it's best to sit it out #ThisTooShallPass." The actor also made the picture his Instagram profile picture.

In the photograph, Akshay is seen seated at a chair in a pair of trousers, pink T-shirt and blue shoes. He is also wearing a cool pair of glasses.

Meanwhile, the actor has extended his help in many forms to aid the fight against the pandemic. He has donated Rs 25 crore to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiative PM CARES Fund to lend support to the ongoing battle against the coronavirus pandemic, donated Rs 2 crore to the Mumbai Police Foundation, and gave Rs 3 crore to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the manufacture of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks, and rapid testing kits, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Days after the Uttar Pradesh government promulgated an ordinance to protect frontline corona warriors, a doctor in Kotwali area of Deoria district was accused of spreading infection, beaten up and forced to vacate the rented accommodation by his landlord.

According to police, Dr Rajiv Ranjan is quarantine center in-charge at the district hospital and lives in the house of one Dilip Paswan on rent in Kotwali area.

On Tuesday evening, the owner, along with husband of ward corporator Nanhe Nishad and three others, asked him to vacate the house.

They said there is fear of spreading of Covid-19 infection in the area because of his presence.

When the doctor tried to reason out with them, he was beaten up, said the police complaint.

Police have registered case against five persons and arrested Dilip and Nanhe Nishad.

The house owner Dilip and corporators husband Nanhe have been arrested. Three others are on the run, said Sri Pati Mishra, SP, Deoria.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 51B (Disaster Management Act) and under amended Epidemic Act, 1897, said the police.

On May 6, the state government had passed a draft ordinance allowing provision for fine of up to Rs 5 lakh and jail term of up to seven years as it amended the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and ensured stricter punishment for those assaulting corona warriors, including doctors, paramedical staffs, police personnel and sanitary workers.
DENVER and MANCHESTER, England, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Matillion, the leading provider of data transformation software for cloud data warehouses (CDWs), has been recognized as a 2020 Top Rated Data Integration Software by TrustRadius, the most trusted B2B review platform.

The TrustRadius Top Rated Awards are based on unbiased customers' user satisfaction scores and a detailed criteria breakdown on the methodology and scoring used to determine Top Rated winners. With a trScore of 9.2 out of 10 and over 104 verified reviews, Matillion is recognized by the TrustRadius community as a valuable player in the Data Integration software category and highly-rated for its data source connections and data transformations features. Matillion scores highly on TrustRadius on overall support, usability, product scalability, data sharing and collaboration, and data sources.

Purpose-built for CDW platforms Snowflake, Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, and Microsoft Azure, Matillion helps enterprises access the simplicity, speed, scale, and savings they require to compete and unlock the hidden potential of their data. Earlier this year, Matillion added Matillion ETL for Snowflake on Google Cloud Platform and Matillion ETL for Azure Synapse to its product portfolio, to help companies perform complex data transformations on their preferred cloud service provider. The company also released its new product Matillion Data Loader, a free data ingestion tool. The product extends the Matillion platform to cover the needs of all data users across the business, from simple to complex data integration use cases.

"It is a great privilege to be recognized again by TrustRadius for an award based directly on our customers' feedback. Matillion places a lot of value on our customers' success and an award like this validates how we help our customers get faster time to insights from their many silos of data," said Ed Thompson, CTO at Matillion. "As we continue to support more enterprises in their data modernization and data integration efforts, the enthusiastic reviews and ratings by our customers are a great testament to Matillion's vision and mission."

"Buyers have many options when it comes to selecting Data Integration software," says Megan Headley, VP of Research at TrustRadius. "Matillion earned a Top Rated Data Integration software award based directly on feedback from their customers. Reviewers on TrustRadius value Matillion's easy to use interface and cloud connectivity."

Real Verified User Review:

"Matillion takes the various aspects of ETL creation and management and presents them separately and clearly, allowing for different levels of user to engage with only the parts of the product that they need to. The visual interface for pipeline building is intuitive and clear. The fully flexible folder structure for projects and pipelines is ideal for setting up the organisation of your whole ETL environment exactly as you want it."

Nick Wardle | Senior UX Analyst | LADbible Group

Check out more Matillion reviews and ratings on TrustRadius, or request a demo.

For further data transformation industry updates and perspectives, follow Matillion on Twitter @Matillion and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/matillion-limited/ .

About Matillion

Matillion is data transformation for cloud data warehouses. Only Matillion is purpose-built for Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, and Google BigQuery, enabling businesses to achieve new levels of simplicity, speed, scale, and savings. Trusted by companies of all sizes to meet their data integration and transformation needs, Matillion products are highly rated across the AWS, GCP and Microsoft Azure Marketplaces. Dual-headquartered in Manchester, UK and Denver, Colorado, Matillion also has offices in New York City and Seattle. Learn more about how you can unlock the potential of your data with Matillion's cloud-based approach to data transformation. Visit us at www.matillion.com .

About TrustRadius

TrustRadius is the customer voice and insights platform that helps tech buyers make great decisions, and helps technology vendors acquire and retain great customers. Each month, over half a million B2B technology buyers use over 222,000 verified reviews and ratings on TrustRadius.com to make informed purchasing decisions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Next Coast Ventures, Mayfield Fund, and LiveOak Venture Partners.

Contact:

Katie Pierini

[email protected]

SOURCE Matillion

Related Links

https://www.matillion.com


The head scientist who created Floridas coronavirus online database claims she was dismissed after disagreement with officials over an alleged manipulation of information.

Floridas Department of Health (DoH) fired Rebekah Jones on Monday, after removing the data scientist from her position as an information systems manager on 5 May.

Some have condemned state authorities, which claimed that Florida could reopen based on the information provided through Ms Joness dashboard.

Ms Jones had announced on Friday that she had been moved within the DoH, and would no longer oversee an online dashboard that provides daily snapshots of Floridas Covid-19 infections, testing and deaths.

The former-DoH scientist claimed in an email sent to researchers on Friday that she would not expect the same level of accessibility and transparency in Floridas data after her dismissal.

Ms Jones later said she was removed from her position because she would not manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen, in comments made to CBS12 News,

It was unclear specifically what data she was referring to.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis dismissed the fall-out as a nonissue on Tuesday and praised the dashboard as a national model.

Non-essential businesses in the state, such as restaurants and retail, were allowed to open with 50 per cent capacity last week, whilst the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases passed 46,000.

A Mr DeSantis spokesperson, Helen Ferre, said that Ms Jones had made unilateral decisions to modify the Departments COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval from the epidemiological team or her supervisors.

We were told the reopening Florida was built on studying the data, said Jacksonville congresswoman and House Health Committee member Tracie Davis.

If that data was wrong or manipulated, that puts countless Floridians at risk for exposure to COVID-19, the Democrat added. We do know our state is being reopened and we now have a question mark about the data.

Florida authorities said that the number of infections and positive tests in the state were decreasing.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday set the start date of a legislative special session as her administration tries to juggle the pandemics financial impact with efforts to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Democratic governor said that approved spending increases will have to be slowed due to a drop of up to $2.4 billion in estimated revenue levels, but that federal stimulus funds and state cash reserves could help the state avoid layoffs and furloughs of state workers and teachers.

Were in a pretty good position where I dont anticipate well have to make deep cuts, Lujan Grisham said during a Wednesday news conference that was broadcast online.

The budget-balancing special session will begin June 18, the governor said, and could be concluded in a matter of days. The agenda is expected to include a virus relief package of some kind.

But its unclear whether the public will be allowed to attend due to social distancing guidelines and a ban on large public gatherings.

The states budget faces incredible pressure because of economic disruptions related to the pandemic and a collapse in oil prices.

Lujan Grishams administration last week issued a revised public health order that allows retailers and houses of worship in most parts of New Mexico to reopen at limited capacity.

Dine-in restaurants, gyms, salons and movie theaters remain closed for now, as the Lujan Grisham administration has said its not safe yet for them to reopen.

But the governor said Wednesday that those establishments could be allowed to reopen in limited capacity on June 1, with coronavirus case counts in much of the state either declining or showing signs of plateauing  including in New Mexicos hard-hit northwest corner.

Were on track, Lujan Grisham said.

But she urged people to continue staying home, wearing masks and taking steps to slow the spread of the disease.

New Mexico has pushed its coronavirus transmission rate down to 1.12 overall  a sign of the states progress controlling the spread of the disease, state officials said Wednesday.

The calculation  based on state data  means that each person with COVID-19 spreads it to 1.12 other people on average. Its down from about 1.24 earlier this month and below the 1.15 target the state set for mid-May.

Were getting good control of the virus, Human Services Secretary David Scrase said Wednesday.

However, he said, social distancing measures are vital to keeping the virus at bay, comparing the situation with keeping a parachute fully deployed until landing.

Were not ready to completely reopen everything, Scrase added.

NM toll at 283

Overall, New Mexicos death toll from the coronavirus now stands at 283, after seven additional deaths were announced Wednesday.

In addition, testing confirmed 134 new cases, for a total of 6,317 since March 11, when COVID-19 was first detected in the state.

As of Wednesday, more than half of New Mexicos COVID-19 deaths  178 out of 283  had occurred in the northwestern New Mexico counties of McKinley and San Juan, which both have high Native American populations.

Overall, Native Americans currently make up about 58.2% of all confirmed cases statewide, according to the state Department of Health, despite representing just 11% of the states overall population.

Meanwhile, the states overall coronavirus mortality rate of 4.2% of those infected ranks in the middle of the pack among states and is lower than the national average of 6% of all COVID-19 cases, according to DOH data.

While the states overall outlook is improving, potential trouble spots, Scrase said, include some communities in southern New Mexico. The transmission rate, for example, climbed in southeastern New Mexico  at odds with the trend in other regions of the state.

Travel from Texas appears to have caused the increase in cases, Scrase said.

Lujan Grisham said El Paso is having a jump in hospitalizations  a potential threat to residents in adjacent Dona Ana County.

She said she knows its frustrating to have different rules in different states, but she urged people to avoid unnecessary travel.

Were not quite seeing a decline in cases, Lujan Grisham said Wednesday, but we are feeling good about the stability of whats occurring in New Mexico.

Killing livelihoods

Republican lawmakers, business groups and some local officials in recent days have increasingly called for Lujan Grisham to ease restrictions, citing low infection rates in some parts of New Mexico.

State GOP Chairman Steve Pearce kept up the drumbeat of criticism Wednesday, accusing the Lujan Grisham administration of having a piecemeal approach to business restrictions.

The continued shutdown is killing livelihoods while other businesses are partially opened and national chains take in New Mexico dollars, Pearce said in a statement. This is unjust and unfair.

In response, the governor and some Democratic lawmakers have accused Republicans of putting economic concerns above public safety.

Lujan Grisham and top Cabinet secretaries in her administration also say their decisions are being guided by science, even as scientific consensus shifts in some cases.

Given a choice between using a little bit of science or no science at all, Im proud to be part of an administration that uses what data we have, Scrase said Wednesday.

But he also said the administration would not use science as a substitute for logical arguments to make decisions.

The governor also told Senate Republicans who had urged her this week to fully reopen the states economy that New Mexico is in a position to start gradually reopening only because of the aggressive, early actions taken by her administration.

The state has now fully or partially met four of the five gating criteria established by the Lujan Grisham administration to guide reopening the economy, falling short only of a 5,000-per-day COVID-19 testing goal.

But the governor has also acknowledged the damage done to businesses during the pandemic and suggested Wednesday that things wont return to normal any time soon.

This is going to be a long summer, Lujan Grisham said.
Tevfik Arif's business connections to Donald Trump have become the source of speculation among conspiracy theorists and the media, but are there any truths to these stories?

Tevfik Arif is the owner of Bayrock Group, one of the primary developers of Trump SoHo Tower.

Tevfik Arif is an international entrepreneur, investor and property developer. In the United States, Arif is best known as one of the primary developers of the Trump SoHo Tower in New York City.

Arif's partnership with Donald Trump coupled with his past position working within the Soviet Union Ministry of Commerce and Trade at the beginning of his professional career has made the real estate developer the subject of numerous conspiracy theories in an attempt to establish a distant connection between the President of the United States and Russia. The fact that Arif has preferred to live a private life out of the spotlight has only added mystery and allure to these claims. But who exactly is Tevfik Arif and what is his history with Donald Trump?

Exposing the conspiracy surrounding Tevfik Arif

After much public scrutiny, there is no evidence to show Arif or his company, Bayrock Group, facilitated communications or negotiations between Donald Trump and Russian officials. Any attempt to connect Arif or his company to nefarious or illegal activity involving Donald Trump and Russian officials have proven slanderous and libelous to Arif and Bayrock Group.

Tevfik Arif's connections to Donald Trump have proven to be nothing more than a legitimate business partnership. While in the early stages of their partnership in the early 2000s, Bayrock and the Trump Organization did discuss plans to create an international chain of Trump-branded hotel complexes in Turkey, Moscow, Ukraine, and various other countries, these ambitions were never more than discussions that did not get past the planning phase.

The working relationship that developed between Arif and Donald Trump ended before the latter announced his candidacy for President of the United States in 2015. This fact is often omitted when attempts are made to use Tevfik Arif to connect Trump to Russia. The timelines of the development of Trump SoHo Tower and Donald Trump's campaign for president do not line up.

Who is Tevfik Arif?

Tevfik Arif was born and grew up in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. He also has Turkish citizenship through his parents. Arif studied international relations at the Moscow Trade and Economic Institute. After receiving his degree, the young Arif began working in the Soviet Union's Ministry of Commerce and Trade. During his time as a civil servant, Arif rose from a chief economist to the deputy head of the Ministry's Hotel Management Department.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Arif left public service in pursuit of business opportunities that were prevalent during the privatization of industries that followed the dissolution of the communist government regime in the 1990s. Arif and his brother acquired businesses in the mineral and natural resources industry in Kazakhstan, including a chromium plant and other holdings. Arif also worked as a consultant and field manager for other international businesses in the same industry. He owned or managed several additional projects including an import and export firm and jewelry business.

Soon, Arif began investing in property development and real estate. His first projects were concentrated in Kazakhstan, Turkey and other Central Asian and European countries. He developed a passion for hotel and luxury development. One of his early projects included a luxury hotel chain in Turkey.

Arif establishes Bayrock Group

Success set the stage for Arif's next challenge, the American real estate market. In 2001, Arif established Bayrock Group, a real estate development and investment firm, in New York City. Bayrock's first projects were modest and included the redevelopment of a shopping plaza in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn.

As Bayrock's success continued to grow, Arif moved the firm's offices to the heart of the competitive Manhattan real estate market into a space in Trump Tower. It was not long before the company began negotiations to work on projects with the building's famous owners, The Trump Organization.

Arif, viewed by the New York establishment as a foreigner at the helm of a little-known company, had ambitions to develop luxury real estate projects throughout the city. By teaming up with the Trump Organization, Bayrock could achieve the level of luxury recognition that came with the Trump brand.

The development of the Trump SoHo hotel and condominium complex was soon underway. The project would be developed and built by Bayrock in partnership with the Sapir Organization. The building would lease the Trump name from The Trump Organization through a licensing and management agreement that awarded the future president's company 18% equity in the project. The Trump Organization did not invest any of its own capital in the development of Trump SoHo Tower.

Trump SoHo was completed in 2008 and opened in 2011. The 46-story building was intended to be the first of a series of similar projects between Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization in places such as Florida and Arizona. However, the economic downturn that hit the United States real estate market in 2008 prevented the completion of these planned projects.

Instead, the economic situation forced Tevfik Arif to refocus his business interests back to Central Asia and Europe, effectively ending the working relationship between Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization. Bayrock Group has been dormant in the United States since around 2011.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MIDLAND COUNTY  Roads around Midland and throughout the county have been closed because of the massive ongoing flooding in the area.

With the Tittabawassee River being expected to crest at 30.6 feet this morning and more than 10,000 city residents being evacuated, the road closures have caused confusion on how to get out of neighborhoods and the community.

In the interest of public safety, Midland County emergency services has a map of the current roads closed due to flooding.

River update

The National Weather Service reports the latest observed level for the Tittabawassee River in Midland is 34.85 feet at 9:45 a.m. The flood stage is 24 feet.

The river is projected to crest at 38 feet at midnight Wednesday night, according to the NWS. However, city officials expect the river to crest sooner than that, at 8 p.m. Wednesday. A flash flood warning is in effect for the Tittabawassee River until 2:15 p.m.

As of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, power outages were affecting 5,465 customers in Midland County and and 2,871 customers in Gladwin County.

M-20 is closed between Main Street and Meridian in both directions. The M-30 bridge near Stryker's Lakeside Marina is washed out. U.S. 10 was closed in Sanford.

Shelters

City of Midland Community Affairs Director Selina Tisdale cautions that Midland residents who have evacuated their homes amid the flooding need to be patient before trying to get back home.

"We can't stress enough that (the Tittabawassee River hasn't) crested yet," she said at 8 a.m. Wednesday. "A lot of people are thinking, it's a beautiful day and they can go back to their homes and resume normal activities. But we are still in the thick of this." Read more: City of Midland: Don't return to your homes yet.

Area resident are dealing with the aftermath of the situation further upstream. The situation has caused headaches and heartaches for residents, some of whom are just recovering from the last major flood in 2017. Get the details:

Shelters are set up at Midland High School, 1301 Eastlawn Drive; West Midland Family Center, 4011 W. Isabella Road; Bullock Creek High School; Coleman High School; Freeland High School; Hemlock High School; and Swan Valley High School.

Medical facilities

As a result of the ongoing Midland County Flash Flood Warning, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland has implemented its incident command team to make plans to ensure the safety of all patients and staff.



We have been working alongside local agencies, watching closely the rapid changes that have been occurring due to the flooding, stated Greg Rogers, president, MidMichigan Medical Center  Midland, in a news release. We have transferred a few patients that were identified by their physician and have no plans for evacuation of the Medical Center.

Since the 1986 flood, aggressive improvements have been made to protect the Medical Center campus and ensure the safety of patients. These changes include the installation of a FEMA-approved flood wall located on Medical Center property on Sugnet Road, as well as the location of the Medical Center Energy Center and generators have been built above the flood plain to reduce risk of damage to the Medical Center.

Our leadership team is onsite monitoring the situation as it evolves, added Diane Postler-Slattery, FACHE, president and CEO, MidMichigan Health. We will continue to follow our Flood Preparedness Plan and respond to any changes in a controlled and timely manner."

More info: Here's what you need to know if you need medical help

More information

Midland Public Schools Superintendent Michael Sharrow said all classes are canceled for Wednesday and food delivery and pickup for MPS families has been canceled due to the state of emergency.

Dow posted to its local Facebook page at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, stating: "Dows Michigan Operations has activated their emergency operations center and will be adjusting operations as a result of current flood stage conditions. Dow Michigan Operations is working with its tenants and Midland County officials and will continue to closely monitor the water levels on the Tittabawassee River. As always, our first priority is the safety and security of our employees and community."

The Tittabwassee River is projected to fall to 30.30 feet by midnight Thursday night, and to 23.40 feet by midnight Friday night. It is then projects to be at 18.6 feet at midnight Saturday and 17.3 feet at midnight Sunday.

Read more:

 Midland and Gladwin county residents rush to save possessions, pets from flood

 Sanford Dam failure imminent; Midland residents evacuating

 Midland looks to evacuate more than 10,000 people
PUNE, India, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Increased urbanization encourages consumers to eat out more often, with the traditional way of life being replaced by a fast-paced lifestyle. Convenience is of growing importance in food culture, as consumers look for snacking between meals as a result of long working hours, or as consumers replace traditional meal times with other leisure activities. "Sweet and Savory Snacks Market (By Type  Chips, Nuts & Seeds, Biscuits & Cookies, Popcorns, and Others; By Distribution Channel - Supermarkets/hypermarkets, Convenience stores, Online, and Others) Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Size, Share and Forecasts to 2026, published by Infinium Global Research", the reported study estimated the market for sweet and savory snacks to be USD 155 billion in 2019 and will reach up to USD 230 billion in 2026, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6.17%, over the forecast period (2020-2026).

Download Exclusive Sample Copy of Report: https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/survey-reports/sample/15

Manufacturers Adopting Expansion, Acquisition & Product Launch Strategies

Recently, In March 2020, SPARE SNACKS launch kids' range 'SCRAPPLES' with a new brand world and packaging from The Clerkenwell Brothers. These sustainable snacks are made from 100% wonky fruit, are air-dried never fried, with no added sugar, no palm oil, or anything artificial. They come in three apple-solutely delicious flavors: Plain Apple, Apple & Mango, and Apple & Strawberry. Furthermore, in January 2018, Burt's Potato Chips have acquired Leicester's Savoury & Sweet popcorn manufacturer. The first time the company has moved into the popcorn market as the company works towards its stated goal of becoming the biggest player in the premium snacking sector in the United Kingdom. Savoury & Sweet will become part of the Burts business, with the production facility, offices, and warehouse remaining in Leicester, England and all members of staff will be retained in order to meet all current and future orders. Moreover, in December 2019, PepsiCo, Inc. has acquired BFY Brands, which is the maker of PopCorners snacks. This acquisition will expand Frito-Lay's snacking portfolio and further deliver on its Winning with Purpose vision to offer consumers more positive nutritious options. BFY Brands offers distinctive products that deliver great taste and ingredients for the consumers.

The above figure shows the preference of respondents for the product category in the survey conducted for the consumers of sweet and savory snacks. After analyzing it, we came into results that people who like fried snacks are the major consumers of sweet and savory snacks than the baked snacks. Deep-fried snacks have a taste that is definitely unbeatable which is the key growth factor in this category. People who like baked snacks are the second largest consumers of sweet and savory snacks. Increasing health awareness is the primary growth factor in this category. There are few consumers who prefer other categories other than baked and fried snacks.

According to responses collected from consumers across the globe, we conclude that females consume more sweet and savory snacks than males. The majority of consumers belongs to the urban area and highly prefers chips, biscuits & cookies over the other product types. Taste variety and quality are extremely important factors for the consumer while quantity and price are important factors for the consumer. Moreover, sweet and savory snacks are frequently consumed and most consumers prefer the consumer in the afternoon and evening. Consumers also prefer to buy sweet and savory snacks from convenience stores.

Need Assistance? Send an [email protected] https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/survey-reports/enquiry/15

Biscuits & Cookies and Convenience Stores are a Major Revenue- Generating Segment

The report on the global sweet and savory snacks market covers segments such as type and distribution channels. Based on product types, the market is sub-segmented into chips, nuts & seeds, biscuits & cookies, popcorns, and others. Biscuits & cookies segment dominated the sweet and savory snacks market owing to augmenting disposable income along with changing lifestyles in developed and developing countries across the globe. Nuts & Seeds is the fastest-growing product type for the global sweet and savory snacks market. Based on the distribution channel, the market is sub-segmented into supermarkets/hypermarkets, convenience stores, online, and others. The convenience stores segment holds a large market share of the sweet and savory snacks market due to easy availability of the products. Online is the fastest-growing distribution channel for the global sweet and savory snacks market. A newly-emerging retail channel that is seeing rapid growth, internet retailing is predicted to play a more important role.

The North America Region is the Most Lucrative Region for the Sweet and Savory Snacks

Geographically, the global sweet and savory snacks market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America dominates the global sweet and savory snacks market followed by Europe. The long working hours of millennials are a major demand driving factor in the North America region. The high spending ability of North Americans is contributing to the demand for North America's sweet and savory snacks market. Further, in the Europe region, consumers are snacking regularly which increases the demand for sweet and savory snacks. Growing urbanization and preference for eating on the go, especially among younger people are fueling the demand for sweet and savory snacks in Europe. Hypermarkets & supermarkets are the largest distribution channel in the Europe sweet and savory snacks sector.

The Report Provides:

Comprehensive analysis of the factors promoting the growth in the sweet and savory snacks market Survey results for Consumer preferences buying patterns spending habits purchase decision making preferred distribution channels Choice of alternatives in case of unavailability of the product consumer feedback Social listening. Competitive landscape in the leading country markets in the world Worldwide competitive landscape and market trends in the sweet and savory snacks market Analysis of the worldwide market using analytical tools such as porter five forces, market drivers and opportunity analysis, product position matrix.

Browse Complete [email protected] https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/survey-reports/global-sweet-and-savory-snacks-market

Research Methodology and Data Collection Methods for the Report

Infinium Global Research published reports are based on extensive primary and secondary research methods. The research begins with extensive exploration through secondary sources followed by primary research. With these research methods we are able to estimate the market size of the Sweet and savory snacks market, to identify the factors that promote the growth in this market as well as the factors that hamper the growth in the market.

The secondary research primarily involves extensive exploring through the secondary sources of information available in both public domain and paid sources. At Infinium Global Research, each research study is based on over 500 hours of secondary research accompanied by primary research. The information obtained through the secondary sources is validated through the crosscheck on various data sources. While the primary research involves extensive interviews and analysis of the opinions provided by the primary respondents. The primary research starts with identifying and approaching the primary respondents. The primary respondents generally include key opinion leaders associated with Infinium Global Research, internal and external subject matter experts, and professionals and participants from LinkedIn, Hoovers, Factiva and bloggers.

Contact:

Mr. Shrikant Athavale

Infinium Global Research

Office No. 103 and 104,

Suratwala Mark Plazzo,

Hinjawadi, Pune,

Maharashtra,

Pin- 411057.

USA: 1-888-500-3114

Email: [email protected]

Research Insight: https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com/survey-reports/global-sweet-and-savory-snacks-market

Visit Our Web Site: https://www.infiniumglobalresearch.com

SOURCE Infinium Global Research
Bhubaneswar, May 20 : The Odisha government has evacuated over 1.37 lakh people to safer places as extremely severe cyclone Amphan hurtled towards the coast triggering heavy rain and strong wind on Wednesday morning.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) Pradeep Kumar Jena informed that over 1.37 lakh people have been evacuated to cyclone shelters till morning and the figure may go up.

According to reports, trees were uprooted and power infrastructure suffered damage following strong winds in the coastal districts.

Paradip recorded the highest wind speed of 102 kmph followed by Chandbali with 74 kmph, Balasore 61 kmph, and Bhubaneswar 56kmph.

Paradip also registered highest 197.1 mm rainfall.

As many 16 units of the National Disaster Response Force, 15 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), 75 teams of Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) and 217 fire service team have been deployed in the affected districts.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Gunmen opened fire in two mosques in Afghanistan late on May 19, killing at least 13 worshippers breaking their Ramadan fast, officials said.

In one of the attacks, in the central province of Parwan, at least 10 people were killed and 16 were wounded, security officials told RFE/RL.

General Alozai Ahmadi, the commander of Afghan security forces in Parwan, said an investigation is under way into the attack in Parwan's provincial capital Charekar.

"Unknown gunmen fired on people praying inside a mosque during iftar time," said Wahida Shahkar, spokeswoman for the governor of Parwan, referring to the meal eaten to break daytime fasting during the Islamic holy month.

The Interior Ministry blamed the attack on the insurgent Taliban. The Taliban denied responsibility and said Afghan security forces were to blame.

Parwan Province police chief Haroon Mubariz Parwan told RFE/RL that Islamic State (IS) militants are suspected of having carried out the attack.

Three other people were killed in a similar attack late on May 19 on a mosque in the southeastern Khost Province, Talib Mangal, a spokesman for the provincial governor, told RFE/RL.

Mangal said a child was also wounded in the attack in the Sabari district of Khost.

No one claimed responsibility for the Khost attack.

.

The security situation has been deteriorating in Khost in recent weeks. The police chef of Khost, Sayed Ahmad Babazai, was killed by a roadside bomb on May 8.

The United Nations has warned of an alarming spike in violence against civilians in Afghanistan. A shocking attack on a Kabul maternity ward last week killed 24 people, including newborn babies.

Violence increased even after a February 29 agreement between the United States and the Taliban on the withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

Afghan security forces on May 19 clashed with Taliban fighters around the city of Kunduz, a strategically important center that the militants have briefly captured twice in recent years.

Security forces largely repelled the Taliban offensive with the help of air support.

Assadullah Khalid, acting defense minister, said during a visit to the city that more than 50 militants and eight security force members had been killed.

The Taliban has rejected repeated calls for a cease-fire by the Afghan government. They deny any involvement in the maternity ward attack, for which Washington believes IS was responsible.

The United States has sent special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to Qatar and Kabul to press the Taliban and the Afghan government and the Taliban to start stalled peace talks.

-- With reporting by Reuters
Radisson Hospitality AB (publ) will release its Financial Report Q1-2020 on Friday 29 May 2020 at 7:30am CEST. Federico J. Gonzalez, President & CEO, and Sergio Amodeo, CFO, will also host an audio webcast on Tuesday 2 June 2020 at 10:00am CEST.



To access the telephone conference, please dial one of the following numbers:

LOCATION PHONE NUMBER Belgium National free phone 0800 48740 Belgium +32 (0)2 400 9874 France National free phone 0805 103 028 France +33 (0)1 76 70 07 94 Norway National free phone 800 51874 Norway +47 2396 0264 Sweden National free phone 0200 125 581 Sweden +46 (0)8 5069 2180 Spain National free phone 800 098826 Spain +34 914 146 280 United Kingdom National free phone 0800 376 7922 United Kingdom +44 (0)844 571 8892 USA National free phone 1 866 966 1396 USA +1 631 510 7495 Canada National free phone 1 866 992 6802 Standard international dial-in +44 (0)207 192 8000

Confirmation Code: 2680388

To follow the webcast, please visit: https://www.radissonhospitalityab.com/investors

For further information, contact:

Lucie Cardona, Director, Corporate Communications, PR & Reputation Management

lucie.cardona@radissonhotels.com



ABOUT RADISSON HOSPITALITY AB

Radisson Hospitality AB (publ) is one of the largest hotel companies in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA) and a member of the Radisson Hotel Group.

Through a master franchise agreement with Radisson Hospitality, Inc. USA - Radisson Hospitality AB operates and develops hotel brands across EMEA - including Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED and Park Inn by Radisson. It also operates the Radisson Rewards loyalty program for frequent hotel guests.

Radisson Hospitality AB features a portfolio of 387 hotels, with 84,800+ rooms in operation and 125 hotels, with 24,900+ rooms under development in 80 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Radisson Hospitality AB and its brands employ 44,000+ team members. Radisson Hospitality AB has an industry-leading Responsible Business Program and has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the US think-tank Ethisphere nine times.
Eid is coming up next week and elders of the Muslim community in Karnataka have come out with fresh guidelines on how to celebrate the festival that will fall in the fourth phase of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

The community has decided to make it an Eid without namaz at the mosque, and without any hugging, handshake, public gathering or visiting relatives and friends. Community elders have issued a six-point mandate for everyone to follow and ensure that Idgah maidans remain empty this year.

The guidelines were issued days after a few politicians like former Union minister CM Ibrahim wrote to Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa asking if the lockdown could be relaxed for Eid as a special occasion.

Community leaders have shunned the opinion of these politicians and stated they would prefer to pray from home.

"It is impossible to hold any kind of gathering in the current pandemic situation... Hence, Eid namaz will not be organised at Eidgah maidans. We appeal to all Muslim brothers and sisters not to hug during greetings the virus could spread. Avoid outings also as it is harmful. Stay home and save yourself and save others too," said Maqsood Imran, imam of the Jama Masjid in Bengaluru that presides over all others mosques in the state.

Some of following decisions were taken at its Wednesday meeting:

- Celebrate simply, do not spend unnecessarily -- use the money to help the poor instead

- No hugging, no handshakes while exchanging greetings

- No public gatherings -- pray at home, at masjids. Not more than five will gather to offer prayers.

- Make an offering of at least Rs 70 before Eid to the needy as Sadqa E Fitr.

- Pray as much as possible on Eid as it is considered a time of acceptance.

- After Eid, the community will petition the government to consider opening all places of religious worship.

Asked if the guidelines were issued after the community elders decided to ignore the pleas of politicians in this regard, the imam said they had nothing against anyone in particular.

"Everyone has an opinion. Some people will think transport has resumed, shops are open and so are alcohol outlets, so why not gather in the masjid? But we spoke to doctors, intellectuals, ulemas, and even MPs and MLAs belonging to our community. After that we decided that we have to pray in our homes and not come to the masjid," he told CNN-News18.

The community has also been at the receiving end of being considered mass spreaders of the virus because of the Tablighi Jamaat convention in March in Delhi, when people from across the country and abroad had gathered. The stigma over the issue has had a lasting impact.

"It is only one incident. A lot of incidents have happened in our country, we have to protect our country from this virus. It is not a Muslim, Hindu or Sikh virus. This has affected everyone, we cannot blame anyone. We have to protect ourselves. And we have to convey a strong message to everyone," the imam said.
A glamorous Russian blogger says she has proved that the US is open for foreign tourism again, despite the pandemic, according to video obtained by DailyMail.com.

Sonya Neks, 33, a fitness model, told how she traveled on a crammed Aeroflot flight with 500-plus passengers with 'no social distancing' from Moscow to New York City.

Neks - who has also been named Sofia Semyonova in Russian - used her B2 tourist visa to enter America from Russia's coronavirus epicentre 'in 30 seconds without any extra questions'.

After taking time to pose for pictures in a deserted lockdown New York, she flew to Miami on a domestic flight for her vacation.

Her trip from Moscow was on the Russian state airline Aeroflot, which had claimed it was not flying scheduled services until August. Russia currently is reporting 309,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with just under 3,000 deaths.

The airline today declined to comment on this May 14 flight and the apparent lack of social distancing.

Sonya Neks, a glamorous Russian blogger says she has proved the US is open for foreign tourism again, despite the pandemic

After taking time to pose for pictures in a deserted lockdown New York, she flew to Miami on a domestic flight for her vacation

The fitness model, traveled on a crammed Aeroflot flight with 500-plus passengers with 'no social distancing' from Moscow to New York City. She used her B2 tourist visa to enter America from Russia's coronavirus epicentre 'in 30 seconds without any extra questions'

Her trip from Moscow was on the Russian state airline Aeroflot, which had claimed it was not flying scheduled services until August. There was social distancing at the airport in Moscow but not on the Boeing 777. 'And just so you understand, there were no [free] seats on the plane,' she said

In contrast, tourists who have visited any countries in the European Union, the UK, China and Iran in the past 14 days are not currently permitted to enter the US.

Russian fitness icon Sonya posted: 'We rang Aeroflot in Moscow and we were told: ''Yes, we are putting tourists on the flight''. They took tourists with (USA) B1 and B2 visas on board.

'This wasn't a repatriation flight. It is a regular flight.

'When Aeroflot says they are not working until August 1, they're doing such a flight.

'At first I did not believe that, but what happened makes me believe in miracles.'

The initial price for an economy ticket was $475, but then closer to the departure it soared to $2,355 with no shortage of buyers, she said.

Business class seats were selling for $7,265.

There was social distancing at the airport in Moscow but not on the Boeing 777.

'And just so you understand, there were no [free] seats on the plane,' she said.

She sat with a woman heading to Los Angeles who traveled with her Pomeranian dogs.

'People were in masks on board but it is hard to fly in a mask for 10 hours,' she said.

'When food was served, everyone removed their masks, and then put them back. No one was panicking. There were over 500 of them [passengers], there were no free seats.'

Neks showed her one million followers the empty New York streets saying that it was on lockdown until June. The Big Apple does not require people to carry passes that Muscovites have been required to use when they go out

The initial price for an economy ticket was $475, but then closer to the departure it soared to $2,355 with no shortage of buyers, she said. Business class seats were selling for $7,265. There was social distancing at the airport in Moscow but not on the Boeing 777. She sat with a woman heading to Los Angeles who traveled with her Pomeranian dogs

She completed her US health declaration, but added that 'no one checked anything'

She boasted: 'I'll have a cool trip in the States, I am here until June'

She added: 'Mainly US citizens and people with green cards, but there were (Russian) tourists too.'

She completed her US health declaration, but added that 'no one checked anything'.

She boasted: 'I'll have a cool trip in the States, I am here until June.'

Neks showed her one million followers the empty New York streets saying that it was on lockdown until June. The Big Apple does not require people to carry passes that Muscovites have been required to use when they go out.

'The US doesn't have any 14-day quarantine upon arrival,' she said.

'No one even measured my temperature either in the US, nor in Russia.'

The blogger said she was a regular traveler and had no other option in seeking to get out of Moscow 'for some good climate, sun and ocean'.

On her flight to Miami 'there was a 6-ft distance, we were not sitting close on the plane.

'All flight attendants were in masks and gloves, there was no service apart from drinking water.'

She said: 'Aeroflot put up this flight on their website.

'Anyone who has a visa could buy it. [...] I rang Aeroflot in Russia, Aeroflot in USA.

Neks said she was a regular traveler and had no other option in seeking to get out of Moscow 'for some good climate, sun and ocean'

Neks - who has joint Russian-Armenian citizenship and is a three times bronze winner in Moscow's fitness bikini cup - said: 'I have a very strong immune system

She said: 'I am not afraid of getting sick with coronavirus. Even if I get infected, I will definitely have it in a mild form, that's why I am not afraid'

She continued: 'My US friends rang immigration at JFK airport, they confirmed that there is no ban for Russian citizens to enter, if there is a normal visa and no violations.

'I decided to try and I did not violate any rules of Russian Federation.

'I obtained a pass to get to the airport. Before that I was self-isolating, not violating anything.

'I even had a test for coronavirus and for antibodies done before traveling.'

While Aeroflot declined to discuss the flight, some commenters said it was ostensibly a repatriation flight for US citizens, but suggest the airline then sold spare seats.

Neks - who has joint Russian-Armenian citizenship and is a three times bronze winner in Moscow's fitness bikini cup - said: 'I have a very strong immune system.

'I am not afraid of getting sick with coronavirus.

'Even if I get infected, I will definitely have it in a mild form, that's why I am not afraid.'
Australians buying a new home could be handed $50,000 as part of a plan to revive the economy.

Under a $2.5billion proposal by the Property Council of Australia, 50,000 new homes will be built and more than 200,000 jobs created.

The proposed 'New Home boost' initiative will be limited to the first 50,000 purchases and will run between July 2020 and June 2021.

There will be no limits on the values of properties involved and the program won't apply to existing homes.

Buyers of newly built homes could receive $50,000 as part of a $2.5billion proposal by the Property Council of Australia

The Council is also planning to scrap stamp duty and welcome foreigners to Australia as part of a seven-point plan.

Ken Morrison, chief executive of the Property Council of Australia, said that the property industry would help the economy recover after COVID-19.

'Some big and bold thinking is required to get the Australian economy going again after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,' Mr Morrison said.

WHAT IS THE 'NEW HOME BOOST' PROPOSAL? - $50,000 grant to all purchasers of newly constructed dwellings only, not existing housing - Potential to stimulate the construction of 50,000 new dwellings, supporting 200,000+ jobs - Grant scheme limited to the first 50,000 purchasers, including lessees of new retirement living units, with these to be geographically spread - Approximately $2.5billion of Federal funding required to stimulate - No pricing cap  the aim is to bring forward all possible market demand and stimulate the greatest economic response - Scheme would require commencement on site between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 only Property Council of Australia Advertisement

'As Australia's biggest employer which contributes over 13 per cent of GDP, the property industry can be a powerhouse behind economic recovery and growth with the right policy settings and market incentives from the federal, state and territory governments.'

Along with the housing scheme, the Council has proposed a 'broad-based tax reform' initiative which would see the abolition of stamp duty and removal of foreign tax surcharges.

The Council has also proposed a 'Welcome to Australia' program aimed at promoting Australia as a 'safe and healthy destination' for skilled workers.

'The Property Council has also called on the Commonwealth, state and territory governments to support the fast-tracking of property and infrastructure projects from the public and private sectors that have the greatest potential to catalyse further economic growth,' the Council said.

It comes after the Housing Industry Association (HIA) estimated construction of new homes in Australia would fall by 43 per cent.

In NSW, this could fall by 27.5 per cent this year alone.
The verdict in the appeal trial of Beninese journalist Ignace Sossou against prosecutor Mario Metonou is known on May 19. The Cotonou Court of Appeal has sentenced Ignace Sossou to 12 months in prison, six months of which are firm and a fine of 500,000 CFA francs.

On 24 December 2020, journalist Ignace Sossou was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined FCFA 200,000 for harassment via electronic communications. The journalist tweeted the words of public prosecutor Mario Metonou during a seminar organised in Cotonou by CFI. He is accused of having reported remarks that were truncated and out of context.

With the reduction of his sentence by the Cotonou Court of Appeal, the accused will be released next June.
Australian-grown tech unicorn Airwallex says it had the cash on hand to pay a former executive who is suing the company for more than $1 million after it allegedly didnt pay bonuses it offered to stop her joining a rival.

Former Airwallex senior vice-president Oriana Tessari is suing Airwallex in the Federal Court saying that after she gave notice in June last year to join another payments group Stripe Inc, Airwallex offered to nearly double her base salary to $300,000 and make a cash payment for share options worth close to $400,000 as well as other improved benefits and a promotion.

Jack Zhang is the co-founder and chief executive of Airwallex, which became Australia's newest tech unicorn in March. Credit:Paul Jeffers

But Ms Tessari claims Airwallex never came good on the offer and continued to pay her at her original base salary in July, did not pay her the cash bonus or for the shares and did not change her role.

She alleges she is owed $804,647.41 as well as the lost opportunity of earning $300,000 and being again promoted to chief platform officer in March 2020 and the larger pay packet that would have come with that role.
A Cape Coast Circuit Court has sentenced a 40- year old farmer to 11 years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a 12 year old girl .



The accused, Kojo Egyir, pleaded not guilty to the charge of defilement but the Court presided over by Mrs Dorinda Arthur Smith found him guilty after trial.



Prosecuting, Chief Inspector John Asare Bediako told the court that the complainant, Madam Theresa Akyen lives at Akroma a surburb of Cape Coast with the convict and the victim who is her cousin.



He said on Thursday October 18, 2018 at about 0600 hours, the girl who was sweeping the compound of their house, was spotted by the convict who then succeeded in luring her into his room and had sexual intercourse with her.



Chief Inspector said on Thursday October 25, 2018, Egyir again lured the girl into his room and sexually abused her.



The prosecution said luck run out for the convict when the complainant spotted the girl coming out of the convicts room and questioned her for which she revealed her ordeal to her.



He said a report was made to Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) in Cape Coast where the girl was issued with a medical report form for examination and treatment at the hospital



He said the convict was subsequently arrested and after investigations charged with the offence.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - INCA ONE GOLD CORP. (TSXV: IO) (FSE: SU9.F) (SSEV: IOCL) ("Inca One" or the "Company") provides the following update on the small scale mining sector and the formalization process in Peru.

Earlier this year, as reported in our press release dated January 31, 2020, the Peruvian Government commenced a four month amnesty period beginning January 15, 2020 allowing new and existing mining operations another opportunity to register with the Ministry of Energy and Mines, to demonstrate their compliance with environmental and safety regulations and remit taxes on sales of extracted minerals. As indicated, this represented a renewed window of opportunity within the mining sector to potentially increase the market supply of mineral rich material and expand our customer base.

The initial results from re-opening the formalization process have been positive as the number of miners registered has grown 22% to an estimated 66,000 in March 2020, from approximately 54,000 as of January 2020. As a result of this significant growth of the small-scale mining market there are now more legal miners available for Inca One to expand its customer base and forge relationships with new customers that have achieved regulatory compliance within this program.

Edward Kelly, President and CEO of Inca One, commented, "In theses uncertain times we can look at the rising gold price and growing number of legal miners as positive for Inca One. As industry opens up again, these developments should provide the Company an opportunity to purchase more mineral for processing and allow us to reach our capacity levels sooner, thereby accelerating our growth."

With Inca One coming off its best ever year in 2019 producing over 25,000 ounces of gold while averaging 143 tonnes per day throughput, the Company is well positioned to benefit both from the increasing numbers of legal miners entering the sector and also from the recent and dramatic rise in the spot price of gold, potentially translating to an increase in output and production levels.

As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Peruvian Government has extended the terms of the amnesty period for up to 30 days after the date of return to normal business activities. Therefore, the opportunities for additional miners to enter the program, gain compliance and increase the number of registered miners should continue to expand.

About Inca One

Inca One Gold Corp is a TSXV listed, small-cap, gold producer operating two, fully permitted, gold ore processing facilities in Peru. Peru is the world's sixth-largest producer of gold and its small scale mining sector is estimated by government officials to be valued in the billions of dollars annually. The Company, now in its sixth year of commercial production, is led by an experienced and capable management team that has established Inca One Gold as a trusted leader in servicing government permitted, small scale miners in Peru. Inca One Gold possesses a combined 450 tonnes per day permitted operating capacity at its two fully integrated plants, Chala One and Kori One, and is targeting a fourth consecutive year of increased production and sales growth.

On behalf of the Board,

Edward Kelly

President and CEO

INCA ONE GOLD CORP.

For More Information Contact:

Konstantine Tsakumis

Inca One Gold Corp.

ktsakumis@incaone.com

604-568-4877

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

Statements regarding the Company which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements due to factors such as: (i) fluctuation of mineral prices; (ii) a change in market conditions; and (iii) the fact that future operational results may not be accurately predicted based on this limited information to date. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update any changes to such statements. Inca One believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon.

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 these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56169
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on May 20, 2020

2020/05/20

CCTV: The 73rd WHA adopted the EU-proposed resolution on COVID-19 response. Do you have any comment? Why did China co-sponsor this resolution?

Zhao Lijian: On May 19, the 73rd WHA adopted the resolution on COVID-19 response by consensus. China welcomes that.

The resolution unequivocally affirms and supports WHO's leading role and calls on member states to prevent discrimination and stigmatization, combat misinformation and disinformation, strengthen cooperation on the research on diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines, and the zoonotic source of the virus and evaluate the work of WHO at the appropriate moment. All these are in line with China's position and meet the shared aspiration of the overwhelming majority of the international community. In light of this, China is, along with other more than 140 countries, a co-sponsor of the above-mentioned draft resolution and joined the consensus.

On tracing the source of the virus, the resolution basically follows the recommendations issued under the International Health Regulations upon the advice of the Emergency Committee for COVID-19 on May 1, strictly restricting the relevant research to identifying the zoonotic source of the virus, intermediate hosts and the route of introduction to the human population, to enhance preparedness of the international community in the future. This is also a recommendation made by Director-General Tedros. Indeed, certain countries proposed to prioritize tracing the source of virus in the consultations, but the overwhelming majority of countries believed the most pressing concern is epidemic prevention and control. They didn't agree to make tracing the source of virus a priority and rejected such wording, which proves that politicization of this issue gains no support.

On the evaluation of WHO response, the resolution decides that the evaluation should be initiated by the Director-General in consultation with member states to review experience gained and make recommendations for future work. The WHO previously made evaluation on its H1N1 flu and Ebola responses, a customary practice for the organization after a major epidemic. The resolution asks for a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation. These four words - stepwise, impartial, independent and comprehensive - are very important as they indicate that the evaluation shall not be monopolized by a handful of countries.

China hopes this resolution adopted by WHA will be followed through upon in a comprehensive and accurate manner.

The rumor that China was "forced" to co-sponsor the proposal, as falsely claimed by certain media, is totally nonsense. As a matter of fact, China, along with the majority of countries, firmly thwarted the attempt of a few countries to politicize the origin tracing and the evaluation of COVID-19 response, and secured an impartial and objective resolution. Under such circumstances, we took the initiative to be a co-sponsor. We advise a few countries to stop fabricating lies in an attempt to seek excuse for its own failure.

Phoenix TV: First question, on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Pompeo sent a congratulatory message to Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of her second term. He called her "Taiwan's President" and acclaimed Taiwan as a "force for good" and a reliable "partner". This is the first time in decades for a US secretary of state to publicly congratulate the leader of the Taiwan region on starting a new term. I wonder what is China's response? Second question, Tsai Ing-wen said in her inaugural speech that over the next four years, Taiwan will "continue to fight for its participation in international organizations", "participate more actively in regional cooperation mechanisms", and "make concrete contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region". She also stressed that Taiwan will play a more active role in the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. I wonder what is your response?

Zhao Lijian: Regarding what you said in your first question, a foreign ministry statement was released.

On May 20, in his statement to congratulate Tsai Ing-wen's assumption of office as the leader of the Taiwan region, US Secretary of State Pompeo called her "Taiwan's President" and boasted about the "partnership" between the US and Taiwan. Some other US officials and politicians also sent congratulatory videos to Tsai. These practices by the US side are in serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and constitute grave interference in China's internal affairs. China deplores and condemns them.

There's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. As the China-US Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations clearly stipulates, "The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan." The above-mentioned US practices seriously violate the one-China principle, the three China-US joint communiques and the US government's own commitment. They have sent a wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and gravely undermined the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as the bilateral relations between China and the US.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests. The Chinese government and people are determined in opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, upholding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing external interference and realizing national reunification. We solemnly inform the US that "Taiwan independence" will only lead to a dead end, and attempts to condone and support "Taiwan independence" are doomed to fail. Practices that undermine China's core interests and intervene in China's domestic affairs will be met with forceful fightback, which will not to the slightest extent impede the historical trend of China's reunification. We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, cut its official ties with Taiwan, and stop upgrading substantive relations with Taiwan, interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as China-US bilateral relations.

China will take necessary measures in response to the US erroneous practices, and the consequences will be borne by the US side.

As for your second question, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated our position on the statement made by the leader of the DPP authorities on May 20.

I'd like to stress that there's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. The one-China principle is a basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing international trend. Attempts to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" are doomed to fail.

The Paper: There have been some global responses to President Trump's letter to WHO Director-General Tedros. Canadian Prime Minister said that Canada will continue to support WHO. Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at European Commission said that this is the time for solidarity, not the time for finger-pointing or undermining multilateral cooperation. The EU backs the WHO in its efforts to contain and mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak. Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva said that there is nothing new in the US letter and they have a negative attitude to it. WHO is the organization that must coordinate interactions between the states in the sphere of healthcare at the international level, and now the priority is the fight against the coronavirus, so these attacks against the WHO are just inconsistent. What is your comment?

Zhao Lijian: I noted those responses you mentioned from all over the world. It is not difficult to see that the international community does not agree with the US fact-distorting and self-contradictory actions that aim to shift the blame and responsibility to others and undermine international cooperation on COVID-19 response. Those fallacies in the US leader's letter have been pointed out and cleared up by us many times. Here I just want to list some of its basic mistakes.

The letter said that "Taiwanese authorities had communicated information to the WHO indicating human-to-human transmission of a new virus". The fact is, the email sent from the Taiwan region to WHO on December 31 was mainly about requesting information from WHO, without any mention of "human-to-human transmission".

The letter said that on January 21, the Chinese leader pressured Director-General Tedros. This is pure fiction. As has been clarified by both China and WHO, the Chinese leader and Director-General Tedros didn't even have a phone call on January 21.

The letter criticized Director-General Tedros for praising China for its transparency and setting a new standard for outbreak control. The US side seems to have forgotten that its leader has publicly commended on China's outbreak response on many occasions. On January 25, President Trump tweeted that China has been working very hard to contain the coronavirus, and the United States greatly appreciates its efforts and transparency. On March 13, President Trump told journalists that the data China shared was helpful for the U.S. efforts against the epidemic.

The list of US disinformation, lies and rumors goes on and on. There is simply not enough time for me to enumerate them all. But the public is a fair judge. The international community will determine the credibility of this letter.

Let us just revisit the timeline here. The US had only one confirmed case when Wuhan was put under lockdown on January 23. The US official tally for the confirmed cases was 11 when it closed its borders on February 2 to all Chinese citizens as well as foreigners who had been to China in the previous 14 days. The US had 1,264 cases when it declared national emergency on March 13. The number surpassed 10,000 on March 19 and 100,000 on March 27. When the lockdown in Wuhan was lifted on April 8, there were 400,000 confirmed cases in the US. Today, the US has more than 1.57 million confirmed cases and over 90,000 death tolls. We mourn for the lost lives and wish the US people will defeat the outbreak as early as possible. But for those US politicians spending all their time on political maneuvering, the responsibility is too heavy to shake off.

China upholds the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and puts the people and their lives first. China takes it as its responsibility to ensure not just the life and health of its own citizens, but also global public health. We have taken the most comprehensive, rigorous and thorough measures, and every family and every citizen nationwide have been contributing their strength in this fight against COVID-19. After making painstaking efforts and enormous sacrifice, we have turned the tide. We have been acting with openness, transparency and responsibility, and providing epidemic updates to WHO and relevant countries including the US in a timely fashion. We shared the genome sequence at the earliest possible time. We shared control and treatment experience with the world without reservation. We have done everything in our power to support and assist countries in need. On May 18, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech via videolink at the opening ceremony of the 73rd World Health Assembly and put forward important proposals and measures on international cooperation in response to COVID-19. China firmly supports WHO's leading role in the global response, because to support WHO is to support international cooperation and to support saving lives. Practices of unilateralism, selfishness, evading responsibility, and even coercing and intimidating WHO, are indifference toward lives, challenges to humanitarianism, and disruption of international cooperation on COVID-19 response.

The US should commit itself to securing an early victory against the virus instead of issuing an "ultimatum" to the very international organization spearheading the global response. We advise some US politicians reflect on their actions, stop political maneuvering and focus on saving more lives.

RIA Novosti: The United States imposed sanctions against a Chinese logistics company for providing services to Iran's Mahan Air. I wonder what's China's comment and if China will take any countermeasures against any American companies?

Zhao Lijian: China always stands against the US unilateral sanctions and the so-called long-arm jurisdiction. For a long time, members of the international community have been conducting mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation with Iran under the framework of international law, which is legal and legitimate, and thus should be respected and protected. China urges the US to immediately lift the illegal sanctions. We are firmly committed to safeguarding the legal rights and interests of Chinese companies.

I want to stress that at the crucial moment when the international community is mounting a joint fight against COVID-19, the US practice of unilateralism and maximum pressure runs counter to the concerted international efforts against the pandemic and seriously violates humanitarianism. We urge the US to instantly change its course and rectify its mistakes.

RIA Novosti: First question, Palestine decided to terminate all agreements with Israel and the United States amid the Israeli government's intentions to annex Palestinian lands. What is China's comment on this? Second, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has suggested that world leaders send video statements for the General Assembly September meeting because it is highly unlikely they will be able to travel to New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. What is China's position on this?

Zhao Lijian: Regarding your first question, there have been continued tensions between Palestine and Israel with the peace process in jeopardy. China is closely following that.

It is China's consistent position that any solution to this issue should be based on international consensus including relevant UN resolutions, the "two-state solution" and the principle of "land for peace". The views and propositions of Palestine, as a main party concerned, should be heard and respected. The international community should play a constructive role and create conditions for the two sides to reach agreement through equal-footed dialogue and negotiation for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the Palestinian issue at an early date.

As to your second question, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, presenting an important opportunity for the international community to review the past, look into the future and consolidate consensus on multilateralism. Faced with COVID-19, the international community is expecting a greater role of the UN. China stands ready to work with other countries for the success of a high-level commemoration of the UN's 75th anniversary and the general debate of the UNGA's 75th session, and for upholding the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law.

Bloomberg: President Donald Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow said nobody can invest confidently in Chinese companies and that the US needs to protect investors from the country's lack of transparency and accountability. We are wondering if you have a comment on this?

Zhao Lijian: In an era of globalization, the interests of all countries are closely intertwined. The formation and development of global industrial and supply chains are determined by market forces and companies' choices. As such, it is unrealistic and insensible to try to sever them, wish political forces would override economic law, or even trumpet "shifting" or "decoupling" theories. In the face of the pandemic, such practices will not help solve the domestic problems in the US. Instead, they will only cause more harm to the ordinary American people.

I'd like to stress again that no country is immune to this pandemic, and the international community needs solidarity and collaboration to tide over the difficulties together.

Reuters: There was a Bloomberg report citing sources saying that China will consider further retaliatory measures against Australia, including limiting extra products including dairy. Is there any truth to this report?

Zhao Lijian: Like we stressed repeatedly, China always adheres to mutual respect and equal-footed treatment while developing friendly relations with other countries. China champions seeking common ground while shelving differences and advocates win-win cooperation. We have never sought selfish gains at the expense of others. We hope Australia will work with us to create favorable conditions for practical cooperation with actions that are conducive to bilateral relations and mutual trust.
The budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly resumed on Wednesday after it was suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three-day re-assembled budget session started amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown, with wearing of masks made mandatory for all, including the chief minister, ministers and MLAs. All the legislators had to undergo a thermal screening and sanitise their hands before they were allowed to enter the House.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced in the Assembly that a Rs-5,000 financial relief would be provided to the active quarantine centres set up by communities in the state.

"A one-time grant of Rs 5,000 will be awarded to the active community quarantine centres through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund," he said while replying to a zero-hour notice.

According to the chief minister, a total of 7,050 people from Meghalaya, who were stranded in different parts of the country, have returned to the state.

Sangma said his government will try to bring back all the citizens of the north-eastern state, who are stranded in various parts of the country, within two weeks.

He informed that the state government has decided to carry out both the Rapid Diagnostic Test and the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 on all the returnees.

The chief minister said the state government is encouraging the returnees to go for home quarantine and added that the administration is flexible when it comes to encouraging people to set up quarantine centres at the community and village levels.

Earlier, opposition Congress MLA M Syiem demanded that the state government set up more institutional quarantine centres as over 10,000 people stranded across the country are set to return home.

He also demanded that the government provide funds to support the communities that have set up quarantine centres at their villages across the state.

Syiem also said the quarantine period be increased from 14 days to 28 days to curb the spread of COVID-19.

There is only one active COVID-19 case in Meghalaya as of now. One person, who returned from Chennai recently, has tested positive for coronavirus.

The state had reported 14 COVID-19 cases, of which 12 patients have recovered and one has died.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One driver was killed and another was hurt Tuesday in a crash on Oregon 99E near Harrisburg, troopers say.

A southbound driver in a Kia Rio crossed into the northbound lanes and into the path of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck Tuesday afternoon, the Oregon State Police said, citing an early investigation.

The Kia driver was fatally hurt. Troopers identified the driver late Wednesday as Jeana Anderson, 29, of Salem.

The driver of the pickup was taken to a hospital.

Harrisburg is a small city in Linn County.

This story has been updated.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Washington: The H-1B visa-holders, a majority of them Indian IT professionals, do not adversely affect Americans, according to new research, which also suggests that the presence of foreign workforce having such visas boost employment among other workers in an occupation.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

On April 1, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that the US received nearly 275,000 unique registration requests for the Congressional mandated 85,000 H-1B visas for foreign technology professionals, of which more than 67 per cent are from India.

The National Foundation for American Policy said that the findings of its new research should give pause to policymakers considering imposing additional restrictions on the H-1B programme.

The Trump administration has been planning new restrictions on the H-1B visas premised on the argument that foreign-born scientists and engineers harm the job prospects of US college graduates.

There is little reason to think doing so will help American workers, the think-tank said in its latest research.

The H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, according to new research. On the contrary, the evidence points to the presence of H-1B visa holders being associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates, the report said.

Further, the results suggest that, if anything, being in a field with more H-1B visa-holders makes it more likely that US-born young college graduates work in a job closely related to their college major, it said.

The study uses data from 2005 to 2018 to examine how the number of approved petitions to hire the H-1B visa-holders as a share of college graduates within each of 22 occupations affects the unemployment rate and earnings growth rate in those occupations.

An increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa within an occupation, on average, reduces the unemployment rate in that occupation, the report said.

The results indicate that a 1 percentage point increase in the share of workers with an H-1B visa in an occupation reduces the unemployment rate by about 0.2 percentage points.

The findings suggest the presence of H-1B visa holders boosts employment among other workers in an occupation. The results provide no evidence that the H-1B programme has an adverse impact on labour market opportunities for US workers, it added.

The report also said that a larger share of the H-1B visa-holders, therefore, may push up wages and wage growth for US workers. While critics often allege that H-1B visas reduce wages or suppress wage growth, this finding of the opposite is consistent with research showing that the H-1B visa-holders earn at least as much as similar US workers, if not more.

The results further indicate that the H-1B visa-holders do not adversely affect US-born college graduates during the early years of their careers. Having more approved total or initial H-1B petitions, on average, reduces the unemployment rate within a major-occupation for recent graduates.

It provides no evidence that recent college graduates have worse labour market outcomes if there are more H-1B visa-holders in jobs closely related to their college major, the report said.

Noting that the results of the research indicate that the H-1B visa holders do not adversely affect US workers, the report said that the H-1B programme is small relative to the size of the college-graduate workforce, likely accounting for at most two per cent of highly educated US workers.

The H-1B visa-holders are concentrated in computer-related occupations but account for only a small share of workers in information technology (IT) jobs.

Despite the H-1B programme's small scale, the visa category is important to the US economy and to employers that use it to fill gaps in their workforce.

The presence of the H-1B visa-holders increases innovation, productivity and profits at H-1B employers and boosts total productivity and innovation in the United States.
Palestinian leaders find themselves caught between difficult choices due to the escalating conflict amid Israel's plans to annex parts of the occupied territories.

President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership have three main concerns with the upcoming annexation threat. On the international level, the Palestinians are finding mixed reactions. They are happy with the European response, which has been strong and consistent, exemplified by a May 18 statement from Joesp Borell, the high representative of the European Union, congratulating the new Israeli government while reminding it of international law and that Europe, like the rest of the world, has not and will not recognize any unilateral annexation.

[The] EU and its Member States recall that they will not recognize any changes to the 1967 borders unless agreed by Israelis and Palestinians, Borell said.

While the international community and international law are clear about the illegitimacy of taking land by war, the big problem remains the US attitude. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has backed away from his previous statement that the issue is solely an Israeli decision, and during his May 13 visit to Israel it became clear that Washington is not in favor of a July annexation date.

Two possibilities have been suggested for this US climbdown. One is that July is too early for the presidential campaign of Donald Trump to improve his chances for reelection. The Trump team may prefer to wait until closer to the November elections so as to excite Trumps base, especially Christian Zionists.

Another reason for the US climbdown could be that Trump is waiting to endorse annexation so as to get Palestinians and Israelis to engage with each other. Hani al-Masri, the director of the Ramallah-based think tank Masarat, argues in a detailed analysis that there is a hidden agenda in the delay. Trump has found himself in a trap with no Palestinians agreeing with his vision. The Americans, according to Masris position paper, feel that annexation will without being part of a political or negotiated process with Palestinians cause strategic harm to Israel and will not lead to security, stability and peace in the region.

The Palestinian leadership faces another dilemma. As Jordan is ramping up its public and private opposition to annexation, the Palestinians feel that they need to not be outperformed by Jordan. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, King Abdullah said that annexation will cause a massive conflict with Jordan. He also said that Jordan will examine its options, which means that the suspending or canceling the Israel-Jordan peace treaty is a possibility.

The Palestinian Authority is much more dependent than Jordan is on Israel and any unilateral attempt to cut off Palestinian relations with the Israelis by means of abrogating the Oslo Accords or even ending security coordination will have an immediate and painful cost to the Palestinian public. As a number of Palestinian businessmen and others told Al-Monitor, people have debts to banks and cant afford further uncertainty after the last few months of pandemic lockdown.

One idea to overcome this dilemma is synchronized Jordanian-Palestinian action. Najeeb Qaddoumi, an Amman-based member of the Palestinian National Council, told the Saudi Arab News May 18 that all options are open. This includes the suspension of both the Jordan-Israeli 1984 Wadi Arab Treaty and the PLO-Israel 1993 Declaration of Principles.

Ahmad Deek, the director of the Palestinian foreign ministers office, was quoted in the same article as saying that Palestinian-Jordanian coordination is at its highest level.

The ongoing divisions between the PLO and Hamas are also hindering the chances of any agreed-upon strategy being effective. Unity efforts received a recent boost when a letter from leftist Palestinian leader Ahmad Saadat was smuggled from jail. The letter called on supporters of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine to join forces with Fatah on a joint strategy. Efforts to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the unity efforts have so far failed to materialize.

While the Americans seem to have given the Palestinian leadership some breathing space by rejecting Israels July 1 target, a unified effective strategy continue to be badly needed. As the possibility of a dangerous annexation approaches, whether in two months or six, there is a need for an effective but reasonable roadmap that shows Palestinian seriousness without undoing the accomplishments already made in building some of the foundations for a future Palestinian state. The more regionally and internationally coordinated these moves are, the better.
The U.S. Army has finally approved an official tab for soldiers who sweat their way through the Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC).

Eighth Army soldiers serving in the Pacific area of operations are now authorized to wear the jungle tab upon graduating from the 20-day JOTC, which focuses on small-unit tactics, waterborne operations and survival in the thick, insect-infested jungles of Hawaii, according to a recent service news release.

Read Next: B-1 Bomber May Become the New Face of US Military Power in the Pacific

During the Cold War, JOTC was located in the jungles of Panama, but it closed in 1999 when the United States returned the land to Panama. Currently, JOTC -- which was stood up by the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks about seven years ago -- is open to all soldiers, but priority is given to troops serving with U.S. Army Pacific Command.

The jungle tab evolved from a jungle expert patch, which later became the jungle expert tab -- both of which saw limited wear. The wear regulations for the new jungle tab are part of a policy that Gen. Paul LaCamera, USARPAC commander, signed in February, according to the release.

The new policy also allows soldiers serving in the Pacific area to wear the Arctic tab after completing the Northern Warfare Training Center's Cold Weather Leaders Course and the Cold Weather Orientation Course, the release states.

Similar to the Ranger tab, the jungle and Arctic tabs will be worn on the left sleeve of the Operational Camouflage Uniform, directly over the unit patch, according to the release. The tabs are not authorized for wear while serving in a temporary duty assignment outside the USARPAC area of operations or while serving on deployment.

During JOTC, soldiers learn to live in the jungle and navigate steep, rugged terrain under hot and humid conditions.

About 30 to 40 percent of the students do not finish the course, Capt. Matthew Jones, then commander of the course, said in a 2017 Army news release describing JOTC.

Soldiers learn basic jungle survival skills such as building shelters from natural materials and crossing water obstacles, according to the 2017 release. The thick vegetation forces small units to move in single file rather than the traditional wedge formation.

"There are long movements over steep terrain," Jones said in the release. "And if you get wet the first day, you'll be wet for the next five days. It wears on you. People drop out."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Army Debuts Redesigned Arctic Tab As It Shifts Focus to Cold-Weather Training
Members of the L.A. Fire Department investigate the scene of a fiery explosion on Boyd Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The Los Angeles Fire Department will launch a citywide review of the way certain businesses store volatile materials after an explosion seriously injured several firefighters in a downtown corridor that some consider a haven for supplies used in the creation of unlicensed cannabis products.

Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said Tuesday that every fire station in Los Angeles would work to identify businesses similar to Smoke Tokes, an East 3rd Street wholesaler that went up in flames Saturday night.

An explosion there left a dozen firefighters injured, including several who were severely burned. Carbon dioxide and butane canisters were found inside the building, though investigators have yet to determine the cause of the blaze, authorities said.

"Those types of businesses pose a threat to the people who work there, the public that goes there, and firefighters if they have to respond there," Terrazas said.

The review will involve each fire station in the city identifying businesses that store volatile chemicals and ensuring they are stored properly. Those businesses are required to display a diamond placard, which would alert emergency personnel that there are potentially flammable and hazardous materials inside.

Smoke Tokes did not have such a placard, which is normally issued by the city after an inspector confirms the business is housing volatile materials properly, the chief said. In Los Angeles, there is a permit system for the storage of large quantities of flammable gases, and proprietors are required to document what they have on site.

"We have 106 fire stations. We will canvass the city. We will identify the businesses. We will transmit that information to the fire prevention bureau, and then we start inspecting them all," Terrazas said of the review, which will be launched upon completion of the investigation into the downtown blast.

The investigation into the explosion is likely to take several weeks. Attempts to contact the owner of Smoke Tokes have been unsuccessful.

Story continues

The explosion Saturday night damaged several storefronts, melted fire helmets and left one firetruck burned and covered in debris. A Fire Department spokesman said firefighters fled the building having suffered burns and ran through a fireball to escape.

Investigators are trying to determine what drove the intensity and ferocity of the flames, the size of which Terrazas said was abnormal.

"That very unusual fire behavior presents a new threat to our firefighters and to the public, to the people who work in those businesses and facilities," he said after watching footage that captured what were believed to be the fire's most intense moments.

Three firefighters remain hospitalized, according to Terrazas. Capt. Victor Aguirre suffered third-degree burns and has a "long road to recovery," the chief said. A GoFundMe campaign to aid in his recovery has already raised more than $150,000.

The explosion happened in the heart of a downtown L.A. business district that some police officers have nicknamed "bong row" because of the concentration of retailers selling rolling papers, butane and other supplies associated with vaping, tobacco and the extraction of THC for marijuana vape cartridges.

Smoke Tokes is not a cannabis business, and three law enforcement sources told the L.A. Times that neither an extraction laboratory setup nor cannabis was found inside the building. A criminal investigation into the blast will be focused on whether volatile or explosive substances were stored improperly, the sources said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to discuss the ongoing inquiry, which involves more than 50 investigators from the Fire Department, the Los Angeles Police Department and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Terrazas said there had been fires at similar businesses downtown and throughout Los Angeles in recent years.

An explosion rocked the area in 2016, when a property that also bore the name Smoke Tokes caught fire at a nearby address on 3rd Street. Fire officials could not confirm if the businesses were owned by the same person. The owner of the structure involved in Saturday's explosion also owns another retailer on nearby Boyd Street, called Green Buddha USA, records show.

Last March, two men were critically injured after an explosion in a building that contained what investigators described as a "possible honey butane lab operation" in Canoga Park, according to LAFD documents.

Saturday's blast has caused concern among retailers and business operators in the legal cannabis market. Some say stretches of 3rd, Wall and Boyd streets are havens for the sale of butane and other supplies needed by those engaged in the sale of unlicensed cannabis products.

In our experiences, its a well-known area for one-stop supplying of illicit cannabis extraction products and counterfeit vape manufacturing," said Wesley Hein, head of compliance and government affairs for Mammoth Distribution in Woodland Hills.

Erik Hultstrom, founder of Legacy Strains and a member of the Southern California Coalition, a cannabis trade organization, said the sale of such large quantities of butane had been going on in the area for well over 10 years and was fueled by the unlicensed marijuana trade.

While legal cannabis dispensaries buy vape pens and other finished products from licensed distributors, Hultstrom said, unlicensed manufacturers can find many of the supplies needed to craft their own products in the downtown corridor.

"A licensed manufacturer would not be buying cases of butane cans from head shop row. Nobody reasonable is buying 128 cans of butane to fill lighters," he said. "You can almost liken this back to when people would make bathtub gin and put antifreeze in it. This exists because theres illicit products.

A document obtained by The Times showed that at least one Boyd Street store in the area was hit with a cease-and-desist letter last year after allegations surfaced that it was selling counterfeit packaging meant to imitate a popular marijuana brand. Knockoff marijuana products are the lifeblood of the city's unlicensed cannabis economy, experts have said.

A 2019 Leafly investigation also found businesses in the area had been selling vitamin E oil to be used as an additive for vape oils. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later linked vitamin E acetate to a rash of hospitalizations stemming from the use of e-cigarettes and vape pens.

Los Angeles has struggled to tamp down on its illegal cannabis market. A Times investigation last year found that the number of unlicensed dispensaries in the city outpaced the number of licensed operators, though city officials have since expanded their measures to combat the marijuana black market to include cutting off water and power at such shops.

Hein says that although many of the businesses in the downtown area where the explosion happened operate legally, their businesses are propped up by selling to people involved in unlicensed cannabis sales.

If one wanted to make an illicit cannabis product, one would need the following things: You would need cannabis oil. You would need terpenes. For those who wanted to make even more profits, you would need additives such as vitamin E acetate. You would need cartridges and you would need packaging," he said.

"All of those are available or have been available, quite readily, in those three to four blocks.
The public was largely on board when governors across the country invoked public health orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. The public was ordered to give up their freedom for the purpose of protecting the public welfare, and they willingly cooperated, expecting that these orders would have reasonable expiration dates. The date for people regaining their rights, however, continues to be just out of reach.

Unfortunately, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham believes she is the giver and taker of our freedoms. Her orders have stripped civil rights from New Mexicans  No. 1, the freedom of association, No. 2, the freedom to assemble, No. 3, the freedom to worship in whatever manner we choose, No. 4, the freedom to purchase weapons and No. 5, the freedom to pursue happiness. Yes, maintaining a living so your property isnt taken away from you is a necessary part of pursuing happiness.

Today, many of our fellow citizens are still willing to exchange their freedom for a sense of security. A growing number, however, are beginning to challenge the governors legal authority to seize these rights. Rather than having a respectable debate on opposition to the loss of freedom, Gov. Lujan Grisham has turned to threats, intimidation and overreach of power.

Threatening to jail small business owners, fine them $5,000 a day or revoke their business licenses are examples of the disrespect she has for her constituents, intimidating them with powers she does not have. The governor is also spending money from the general fund, even though the Legislature never authorized it. She has usurped authority from the Legislature and the voters, using the virus as the reason. All of these abuses of power cannot stand and must come to an end, even if they must be challenged in court.

Republican House leaders have suggested we can reopen our economy and still protect public health. We have pointed out the unfairness local small businesses have endured compared to big-box stores, as well as the negative health consequences due to the ban on nonessential health care services. Equally important, we have expressed a willingness to find bipartisan solutions that would save both lives of our citizens and our economy, solutions that do not involve threatening people into subservience.

What response has the governor given to our offers of help? Despite what she has claimed, we have been completely excluded from any input and have been told we value money over people. At a time when many New Mexicans have been asking for greater protection of their civil rights and economic liberties, the governor has responded with stricter limits on religious freedom and extended lockdown orders that only magnify economic hardship.

Just look at what is happening to New Mexicos health care system where hospital beds across the state are empty and doctors and other medical professionals are being laid off  during a medical emergency. Big-box stores remain open when mom-and-pop stores are forced to close and hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans have lost their jobs.

Her refusal to call a special session to address a likely $2 billion revenue shortfall, using the State Police to frighten small businesses from reopening rather than policing the worst crime problem in the nation, replacing the Legislature with a non-elected advisory council deciding in private how New Mexicos economy will operate  this is asinine.

COVID-19 should have been addressed in a manner where both political parties worked together to protect public health without destroying our economy or our civil rights. These acts of government overreach must be remembered the next time we fight a common enemy.
A Chicago drug leader who once snitched on kingpin boss Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman is now asking a federal court to release him from prison because he fears he could catch coronavirus.

U.S. prosecutors in Chicago said Margarito Flores' lawyer filed a sealed petition requesting that his client be let out of prison.

The redacted court document notes that there are 'extraordinary and compelling reasons' that merit Flores' release from jail due to the global pandemic.

Flores's expected release date is set for November 2020, WLS-TV reports.

The drug dealer returned to prison last week after he was hospitalized due to a 'tooth abscess.'

If his request is successful, Flores would be the highest-ranking detainee in the United States prison system to be released on grounds of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Margarito Flores, who moved distributed cocaine out of Chicago for El Chapo, is seeking an early prison release because he fears he could contract the coronavirus. According to ABC station WLS-TV Chicago, Flores is expected to be released from jail in November

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman (pictured) confided in Margarito and Pedro Flores in distributing cocaine for his organization in the United States before the twin brothers from Chicago snitched on him

In turn, the federal government has countered by claiming that Flores and his jailed twin brother, Pedro, were not forthcoming when they declared their finances after they turned themselves in to authorities in 2008.

The feds seized $4million from the twins but prosecutors believe they hid a lot more money, perhaps to support their families and fund their post-prison lives.

'In total, while they ran their drug trafficking operation, the Flores brothers caused approximately $1,823,415,000 in drug proceeds to be laundered from the United States to Mexico, money that was paid to cartel leaders and acquired by the Flores brothers as profits,' U.S. prosecutors said in their latest court response.

Twin brothers Pedro (left) and Margarito Flores (right) appeared before a federal court judge in Chicago on January 27, 2015

Pedro Flores provided conversation recordings of drug transactions with El Chapo to Chicago federal agents

An August 2009 indictment indicated that the Flores brothers reportedly received 1,500 to 2,000 kilos of cocaine each month from El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel and his rival, the Beltran Leyva Organization.

The drugs were shipped from Colombia to Mexico via planes, boats and submarines before they were smuggled across the Mexico-United States border and were handed over to the Flores brothers in Chicago.

Approximately half of the cocaine shipment was distributed in Chicago and the remaining half was sent out to the Ohio cities of Columbus and Cincinnati; Philadelphia; New York; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; and Vancouver.

As part of their deal with the federal government, Margarito met with El Chapo and his henchmen in northern Mexico in October 2008. In addition, Pedro handed Chicago federal investigators the recording of a conversation that detailed a drug deal.

In a unsealed September 2019 court filing, a Chicago federal court judge denied a petition from Pedro seeking a jail sentence reduction. He argued that his testimony was key in sending El Chapo to prison for the rest of his life.

Thousands of inmates have been released from US jails, in a bid to combat the potential spread of the coronavirus within packed lockups.

Other inmates have had weeks or months shaved off their release dates to reduce jail populations.

Health experts say prisons could become epicenters of the spreading killer virus as they are essentially miniature cities hidden behind tall fences where many people share cells, sit elbow-to-elbow at dining areas and are herded through halls to the yard or prison industry jobs.

They say its nearly impossible to keep six feet away from anyone, adding to tensions.

Medical services behind bars have long been substandard and even hand sanitizer is considered contraband in some facilities because of its alcohol content.

More than 2.2million people are incarcerated in the United States  more than anywhere else in the world.
North Wales Police issue warning over Covid-19 TV Licensing Scam

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

North Wales Police are warning the public to be aware of a new TV Licensing scam which is using Covid-19 to try to steal personal information.

Action Fraud continue to see a large volume of TV licensing phishing emails circulating, but last week they received over 70 reports of a new version of the scam.

Minor changes to the messaging and links have been made, with some including a Covid-19 related hook to reel people in.

The emails now being reported claim that the recipients direct debit has failed and that they need to pay in order to avoid prosecution.

These emails display the subject header We couldnt process the latest payment from your Debit Card  COVID19 Personalised Offer: You are be eligible for a 1 x 6 months of free TVLicence. They include a link to set up a new direct debit on a website controlled by the criminals.

The end of the email also offers six free months of a TV license, and to click the link to apply the offer. The link goes to a sign in page with an online application form, providing the criminals with an opportunity to steal email logins, passwords, and personal details.

If you receive an email like this one, or any other suspicious email, report it to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) immediately by forwarding it to report@phishing.gov.uk

The NCSCs automated programme will immediately test the validity of the site. Any sites found to be phishing scams will be removed immediately.

This will help to protect yourself from fraud, as well as allowing us to warn others as well.

Advice and guidance on how to protect yourself, or your business, from fraud and cyber crime is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus-fraud-and-cyber-crime.

There is bespoke advice about COVID-19 fraud on the Action Fraud website.
The information and broadcasting ministry is looking to utilise the reach of nearly 300 community radio stations as it aims to take the governments message on preventing the spread of Covid-19 to the remotest parts of the country.

As part of this outreach, Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar will address listeners from all the community radio stations simultaneously on Friday evening.

Javadekar will speak in Hindi and English and will touch on all issues related to Covid 19. He will also answer some of the queries posed by the audience.

Significantly, Javadekar is also leading a panel of ministers assigned with the task of fine-tuning the communication strategy. Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju and minister of state for environment Babul Supriyo are among others who will work be spearheading the efforts to spread more awareness about the pandemic.
Aircraft one of the last 36 aircraft originally bought from Belarus and Ukraine in the early 2000s

MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jet takes them by surprise doing an ultra-low flypast

A fighter jet left runway crews reeling after it blasted overhead in an ultra-low flypast.

Hair-raising footage shows a group of workers staring off into the distance down the tarmac before the sky is ripped apart by the aircraft seconds later.

The moment was recorded at the Mecheria Air Base in northern Algeria.

In the video, ground crews are working on the airfield when in the distance they spot a small black dot in the sky.

But it is only seconds before the dot has turned into a MiG-29 Fulcrum jet roaring just metres over their heads, leaving a trail of dust on the runway.

The Algerian Air Force plane is one of the remaining 30-40 aircraft that were originally purchased from Belarus and Ukraine between 1999 and 2003.

It is believed the jet made the flying visit to show off the north African nation's military strength.

Hair-raising footage shows a group of workers staring off down the tarmac at Mecheria Air Base in northern Algeria before the sky is ripped apart by an fighter jet seconds later

All of these models are currently based out of Bousfer military airbase in the 3rd Air Defense Wing.

It was announced last year that the AAF have signed a 1.6 billion contract with Russian manufacturers to receive additional 16 Su-30MKA and 14 MiG-29M/M2 fighters to bulk up their airforce.

The video is believed to have been filmed in early 2019.

The ground crew are left in a cloud of dust after the jet makes flying visit just metres across their heads
Twenty years after Hezbollah guerrillas pushed Israel's last troops from southern Lebanon, both sides are gearing up for a possible war that neither seems to want.

Israeli troops are striking Hezbollah targets in neighboring Syria and drilling for what could be an invasion of Lebanon. Hezbollah is beefing up its own forces and threatening to invade Israel. The bitter enemies routinely exchange warnings and threats.

We are preparing seriously for the next war. We're not taking any shortcuts because we understand we have to be extremely strong to defeat the enemy, said Col. Israel Friedler, an Israeli commander who has been overseeing a weeks-long exercise simulating war with Hezbollah at a base in northern Israel.

Hezbollah emerged as a ragtag guerrilla group in the 1980s, funded by Iran to battle Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon. A protracted guerrilla war, characterized by roadside bombs and sniper attacks, eventually forced Israel to withdraw in May 2000. With the exception of an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006, the volatile frontier has largely remained calm.

Since then, Hezbollah has evolved into the most powerful military and political entity in Lebanon. The party and its allies dominate Lebanon's parliament and are the main power behind Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government.

Domestically, Hezbollah has emerged to become the preponderant force in Lebanon, said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University in Beirut. But regionally, he said, the position of Hezbollah is precarious due to Israeli pressure, domestic turmoil and problems for its Iranian benefactors.

The group can ill afford another massive clash with Israel. The Lebanese economy is in shambles, around half the population is now estimated to live in poverty including in Hezbollah strongholds and the group's finances are suffering because of US sanctions imposed on it and Iran.

The group also suffered heavy losses in the Syrian civil war, losing some 2,000 fighters while battling alongside the forces of Syria's President Bashar Assad. Once seen as a liberation movement, Hezbollah is now seen by many in Lebanon and the region as an Iranian pawn.

Qassim Qassir, an expert on Hezbollah, says the group has no interest in going to war but has been preparing for battle for a long time. The battle will not be a battle of missiles only, he said, a reference that Hezbollah might try to invade parts of northern Israel.

In a region filled with adversaries, Israel considers Hezbollah to be its toughest and most immediate threat.

During the 2006 war, the group launched some 4,000 rockets into Israel, most of them unguided projectiles with limited ranges. Today, Israeli officials say Hezbollah possesses some 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel. They say it has sophisticated anti-tank missiles, night-vision equipment and cyber warfare capabilities.

Hezbollah operates along the border, in violation of the U.N. cease-fire that ended the 2006 war. It also has established a presence in southern Syria, near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, providing an additional front in a future war.

Most critically, Israel believes Hezbollah is trying to develop and build precision-guided missiles.

Sheikh Ali Daamoush, a top Hezbollah official, claimed the Israelis are afraid of Hezbollah's missile program.

The Israelis should be worried and scared because the resistance now has the will, intention, capabilities and force to make Israel face a great defeat in any coming confrontation, he said.

That confrontation may come sooner than anticipated. Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in neighboring Syria in recent years, most of them believed to have been aimed at stopping Iranian arms shipments or missile technology for Hezbollah.

Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least seven airstrikes in the past two months alone, believed to have targeted Iranian and proxy interests. Israeli warplanes and reconnaissance drones have been flying low over Lebanon on almost a daily basis in recent weeks.

Israeli officials say that neither Iran's troubles including the coronavirus crisis, plunging oil prices and U.S. sanctions nor Lebanon's domestic problems have changed Hezbollah's behavior.

They point to a recent attempt by Hezbollah to fly a drone into Israeli airspace and an incident last month in which alleged Hezbollah operatives damaged a fence along the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Startpage , the world's first and most private search engine, and Vivaldi browser today announced a partnership that adds Startpage as a search engine option for the popular browser. The collaboration empowers privacy-aware users to customize their browsing experience while receiving Startpage's best-in-class search results and unrivaled privacy protection.

Browse privately with Startpage and Vivaldi

A recent rise in global internet traffic during COVID-19 has accelerated consumer privacy awareness, as users have become increasingly mindful of how they might be tracked online and how their data may be used. According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in April, over half of U.S. adults said they decided recently not to use a product or service because they were worried about how much personal information would be collected about them. And privacy was an increasing concern prior to the crisis; in a recent survey, 84% of Vivaldi users said that the privacy reputation of a search engine is important to them. This partnership comes at a critical time for Vivaldi users who seek maximum privacy and control of their online experiences.

"Vivaldi browser's speed, ad blockers and tracking protection make it a highly customizable alternative to Chrome and Firefox and an ideal partner for us," said Robert E.G. Beens, CEO and co-founder of Startpage. "Partnering with Vivaldi offers our users the combination of two great European products and gives them full privacy without sacrificing search results."

This collaboration expands on Vivaldi browser's long-standing commitment to choice and customization by bringing its users more private search options. Startpage is the world's first private search engine, founded in the Netherlands in 2006, and does not track, log or share user data . Startpage searches deliver completely un-profiled results while also protecting users from annoying ad and price trackers that follow them around the web. Vivaldi browser also offers a number of other privacy-enhancing tools and features to protect users from trackers and unwanted ads, and puts them in control with unique built-in features such as advanced tab management , an adaptive user interface and customizable navigation tools .

"Search is at the core of the online experience for our users," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO and co-founder, Vivaldi. "We're partnering with Startpage to make it easy for users to protect their privacy. They can search the Web freely and without any intrusions to their privacy."

Users installing Vivaldi for the first time will find Startpage in the Search field to the right of the address bar of the Vivaldi browser. Clicking on the magnifying glass icon will reveal a menu of search engine options, including Startpage. It is also possible to search using Startpage in the address field after selecting this option in the Search Settings. Users can search with Startpage using Search Engine Nicknames  no need to set it as default.

Both Vivaldi and Startpage are headquartered in Europe and compliant with the continent's strict data protection laws, including GDPR. Users can be confident neither company will share or sell their information to any third-party and both will proactively protect all user data from disclosure, giving them the most secure, safe and private search possible.

About Startpage

Startpage is the world's most private search engine. Founded in the Netherlands in 2006, the company has grown to become the preferred choice of anyone who cares about accurate search results as much as they care about their privacy. Startpage doesn't track, log, share or sell user data or search history. The company offers an exclusive feature - "Anonymous View" - which allows users to browse other websites without being tracked. Startpage offers best-in-class search results and applies its proprietary anonymizing process to protect users' online privacy. The company delivers completely un-profiled search results and protects consumers from annoying ads and price trackers. Startpage protects its world-wide users by adhering to the stringent Dutch and EU privacy laws, including GDPR. To find out more about how to change to the world's most private search engine, read installing the Startpage browser extension or setting Startpage as your default homepage . Follow the company on Twitter @startpage or sign up for its newsletter Privacy Please! at https://www.getrevue.co/profile/Startpage .

About Vivaldi Technologies

Vivaldi Technologies is an employee-owned company that creates products and services for web users. Vivaldi , a "do-it-your-way" browser  available on Windows, Mac, Linux computers, and Android devices, believes in putting its users first. Launched in 2016, Vivaldi takes browsing to the next level with unique built-in features that give users a more dynamic and personal experience of the web. With privacy at the core, Vivaldi does not track its users . It does not build user-profiles or collect usage statistics. Vivaldi is headquartered in Oslo, with offices in Reykjavik, Boston, and Palo Alto. Learn more about our mission at vivaldi.com.

SOURCE Startpage

Related Links

https://www.startpage.com


US not allowed to disrupt legal international trade: Iran FM Zarif

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 4:03 PM

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the US is not permitted to disrupt legal trade among other countries, slamming such interventionist policies as a threat to the entire world community.

If a country moves to hinder legal trade "based on its own wrong policies", it will "definitely face an international reaction," Zarif told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question about Washington's threats against Iranian tankers carrying fuel for Venezuela.

"Legal trade will continue across the world and the US is not allowed to hamper the process. Such a policy poses a danger not just to one or two states but to the entire world," the top Iranian diplomat said.

Braving the tough American economic sanctions against both Iran and Venezuela, the Islamic Republic is shipping tons of fuel to the Latin American state.

Unconfirmed reports and tanker monitoring groups report that at least five Iranian-flagged tankers are transporting fuel to Venezuela.

Angered by the shipment, the US administration has in recent days intensified its anti-Iran rhetoric, threatening to seize the vessels crossing the Caribbean to sanctions-hit Venezuela.

In a letter to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister issued stern warning against any provocative acts by the US through dispatching naval forces to the Caribbean Sea to disrupt the course of Iranian tankers.

Following Zarif's letter, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi summoned the Swiss envoy, whose country represents US interests in Tehran, to voice the country's vehement protest at US provocations.

Iran has vowed a crushing response if the US acts on its threats.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






- Tanzania has not been releasing its COVID-19 data since late April 2020 when the number of confirmed cases stood at 506

- Earlier, the US had warned its citizens that the possibility of contracting coronavirus in the East Africa nation was high

- President Magufuli, however, maintained his country was safe adding he was soon set to reopen the education and tourism sectors

The United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday, May 20, evacuated over 200 of its citizens living in Tanzania.

British High Commissioner in Tanzania Sarah Cooke confirmed the UK nationals boarded a special charter British Airways plane bound for Heathrow Airport.

READ ALSO: Alfred Keter amshambulia Khalwale, asema anafuata mamilioni ya DP

British High Commissioner in Tanzania Sarah Cooke addressing UK citizens before they departed Tanzania. Photo: UK in Tanzania.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother buried in Bungoma

Cooke thanked Tanzanian authorities for facilitating plans to have the UK citizens airlifted stating the move was key at helping them return to their homes and meet their loved ones.

"We are wheels up! Safari njema (safe journey) to the passengers flying to London on the UK Government special charter flight from Tanzania to London.

Thank you to Tanzania authorities and UK High Commission team for helping people return home to their loved ones," said Cooke,

READ ALSO: Alfred Keter amshambulia Khalwale, asema anafuata mamilioni ya DP

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Kenya confirms record 66 new cases, national tally soars to 1,029

The relocation of the citizens came at a time when Tanzania was on the spot for remaining mute on the status of coronavirus within its borders.

President Magufuli discontinued the daily coronavirus updates after disagreeing with the credibility of tests that showed a rising trajectory of COVID-19 cases in the county.

The last update was made in late April when the number of cases stood at 506 which included 21 deaths and 183 recoveries.

On the other hand, the UK had as of Wednesday, May 20, recorded 248,818 cases of the disease out of which 35,341 were deaths making it the fifth country with the highest number on infections globally.

Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli. Photo: John Magufuli.

Source: Facebook

In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported the US had cautioned its citizens living Tanzania that rate of contracting the disease was high.

According to the US, hospitals in Tanzania were getting overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases.

A few days later, Kenya closed its border with Dodoma following exponential growth in number of Tanzanian truckers testing positive.

On Monday, May 18, Magufuli, however, pulled a surprise move after he scrapped off the 14 days of quarantine international visitors were being subjected to.

Health minister Umma Mwalimu said visitors will only be subjected to an advanced screening, and if cleared by medics, will be granted access inside the territory.

Magufuli claimed most local flights had been fully booked by tourists who were scheduled to arrive in Tanzania from August 2020.

According to the head of state, the visitors chose to visit Tanzania since they had "known the truth about COVID-19".

The President expressed optimism the country was on the right truck in the fight against the scourge adding he was soon set to reopen schools.

"Our numbers are not bad. If the current trend continues, then you can be sure I will soon order for reopening of schools," 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.

The Untold story of Senator Isaac Mwaura | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The Housing Industry Associations (HIA) dire forecasts for new housing construction make for chilling reading both for building materials companies and for the broader economy.

Housing starts in Australia had already moved into decline in the 2019 financial year but the HIA sees the COVID-19 pandemic pushing these numbers over a cliff to land down 30 per cent and with it half a million jobs.

To put this into perspective, in 2018 Australia was building more than 230,000 residential dwellings a year. If the HIA predictions come to pass this number will fall to about 111,000.

A COVID-driven crisis in construction is predicted. Credit:Erin Jonasson

"The shock to the economy from the halting of overseas migration, the absence of student arrivals and uncertainty over the domestic economy will see the national market at a lower point in December 2020 than it was during the 1990s recession," according to HIAs regional director, David Bare.
NORWALK, Conn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- States across the nation are lifting stay at home orders and allowing offices to reopen their doors. But are employers ready to bring their employees back to an office environment?

OperationsInc (www.OperationsInc.com), one of the largest human resources consulting firms in the nation, recently conducted an independent survey which found that two-thirds of employers plan to reopen their offices on or before July 1, provided they are allowed to do so.

However, the polling results from more than 425 businesses across the country show that employers foresee many obstacles tied to reopening, bringing employees back, and keeping offices safe.

David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc, says that employers appear to be proceeding with caution, recognizing that businesses do not expect an immediate return to office normalcy.

"In looking thoughtfully at the results of our survey, the overall theme is a recognition amongst employers that returning to the office is going to present a multitude of challenges," Lewis said. "It is clear that most businesses intend to offer employees some level of remote flexibility."

"There are numerous safety issues to overcome, and survey respondents recognize this. Organizations worry about how they are going to secure and pay for the appropriate PPE and cleaning materials they need, and how safe of an environment they will be able to maintain," Lewis added.

"All in all a return to normal is not the focus. A slow move to use the office in some capacity is a better description."

Lewis also noted the financial hit employers will feel when reopening, and most have felt since closing.

"There are a number of financial factors that will take their toll, including the cost of reopening and maintaining a safe workplace. This amounts to additional budget line items companies didn't plan for and will struggle to absorb," Lewis explained.

Employers Anticipate a Long Road Ahead

Concerns most reported by survey respondents were tied to employee health and safety and the continued decline of the global economy.

61% of those surveyed said that the delayed released of the SBA's PPP loan forgiveness guidance has impacted their use of PPP loan dollars. Businesses under 50 employers reported the highest levels of impact.  Note  at the time this survey was open, the SBA had not yet released the guidelines put forth on May 15 .

77% expressed concern that they will not be able to acquire PPE and disinfecting products necessary to keep workplaces and employees safe.

62% are concerned with the costs associated with providing employees with PPE, as well as the increased expenditures on supplies needed to clean, sanitize, and limit the spread of workplace germs.

85% of those surveyed have installed hand sanitizer dispensers in their offices as a means to limit the spread of workplace germs.

41% of survey respondents will allow employees to use office kitchens/pantries, but only once stringent safety measures are put in place.

14% plan to close their pantry and kitchen completely.



36% were still unsure how to manage this high traffic space at the time they took the survey.

Offices May Move to Reopen, but Remote Work is Here to Stay

Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents plan to reopen their offices before July 1, assuming it is safe to do so. But these employers say that reopening their offices does not mean they will mandate all employees to return immediately.

Polling participants indicated that ongoing Remote Work Programs will be a key component of their business continuity plans for the foreseeable future, which has employers worried.

47% of survey respondents say they can accommodate up to 50% of their staff in-office under the new social distancing guidelines, further driving for ongoing use of remote work arrangements.

21% of organizations surveyed report that it will be extremely difficult to perform at pre-COVID-19 performance levels in a continued all virtual office setup.

An additional 41% report that it will be somewhat difficult.



38% of those surveyed say that a continued virtual office setup would have no impact on their organization's ability to perform at pre-COVID-19 levels.

Just 5% of survey participants plan to mandate that employees return to the workplace, regardless of the employee's underlying health conditions or concerns about health and safety.

56% said that they will allow employees with underlying health conditions and/or those with people with underlying health conditions in their household to continue to work remotely.



37% have yet to decide their plan for this employee population.

53% of companies polled have employees who commute to work via public transportation.

61% of these companies say they will allow their employees to work remotely until the safety of public transportation is increased.

Childcare Gaps Anticipated to Continue, Employee Impact Expected

The childcare coverage issues sparked by school closures are expected to continue, as many communities across the nation have announced summer camp cancellations and summer programming reductions.

84% of employers polled say they have employees on staff who are parents or guardians of children under the age of 16.

76% of these employers are concerned about the impact a lack of summer programming will likely have on the availability of their workforce.

46% of these employers will allow employees with childcare issues to work remotely to the extent they can do so, with an additional 13% reporting they will allow these employees to work an altered schedule.

34% of this population had not yet determined how to tackle this issue at the time of the survey.

Survey data was collected online between May 6, 2020 and May 12, 2020. Businesses from thirty-seven states participated in the poll.

Full survey results can be found at https://www.operationsinc.com/reopening-offices-after-covid-19-closures/.

About OperationsInc

Founded by CEO David Lewis in 2001, OperationsInc provides HR related support to over 1,600 businesses of all sizes and across all industries.

The HR consultancy, which is one of the largest in the nation, has a portfolio of over 200 different HR related services, including Human Resources Outsourcing and Consulting, Managed Payroll Services, Payroll and HR Contingency and Continuity Planning, Reduction in Force Management and Administration, Interim and Emergency HR and Payroll Support, Outsourced Recruiting Services, HR Crisis Management Services, Online Training & Development Services, Employee Leave Management, Organizational Development Services, and Benefits Administration.

OperationsInc also has developed a special COVID-19 response division, designed to help businesses optimize and enhance remote work programs, and safely and effectively reopen office locations.

SOURCE OperationsInc

Related Links

http://www.operationsinc.com


The BJP claimed on Wednesday that Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a "fake promise" of providing 1,000 buses to the Uttar Pradesh government for ferrying stranded migrants and demanded an apology from her.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao accused the Congress general secretary of passing off buses provided by the Rajasthan government as those arranged by her party, and said she "betrayed" people of the state by doing so.

Over 297 buses provided by the Congress have no fitness certificate, 68 have no documents and the registration numbers of 98 turned out to be of vehicles other than buses, Rao, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, said.

"She (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) has also insulted the people of Rajasthan by passing off the buses provided by the state government as that arranged by her family. For this fake promise she and the Congress should apologise to the people of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as well," he said.

As the war of words between the BJP and the Congress heated up, Priyanka Gandhi urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath once again on Wednesday to allow her party to ply buses to ferry migrants to their homes amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, without playing over the issue.

In a 10-minute video message released on Congress social media handles, she said this is not the time to play but to help people, especially migrant labourers, suffering due to the lockdown.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 05:10:08|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

DUBLIN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A total of 828 people working at meat processing plants in Ireland have been confirmed infected with COVID-19, Irish national radio and television broadcaster RTE reported on Wednesday.

The report quoted health authorities as saying that of all the confirmed cases in the meat processing plants, 328 were reported over the last week, making such a place another potential hot spot for outbreaks of clusters of infections in the country.

In the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ireland, most clusters of infections were reported in the long-term residential care facilities, especially nursing homes where the coronavirus has killed many elderly people.

Meat Industry Ireland (MII), an organization representing the interests of meat processing plant owners, told RTE that they have taken a wide range of measures to tackle the outbreak of the disease.

Earlier this month, a pork processing plant in County Offaly in central Ireland made it compulsory for its workers to take temperature screening, wear face coverings, and keep social distancing at worksite after nearly one tenth of its 600 employees were found infected with COVID-19, according to local media reports.

MII Senior Director Cormac Healy said that meat processors in the country will continue to work with health authorities to contain the spread of the virus.

He also said that 60 percent of the workers at meat processing plants who had contracted the virus had returned to work.

According to MMI, there are an estimated 15,000 people working at meat processing plants in Ireland. Enditem
Indian and Chinese armies rushed in additional troops in areas around Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley in Ladakh, signalling hardening of their aggressive posturing two weeks after the they were engaged in a fierce face-off, military sources said on Wednesday.

It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the US said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China.

"The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether it's in the South China Sea or whether it's along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China," said Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the South and Central Asia bureau in the US State Department.

Her comments at an online media briefing came even as efforts to de-escalate the tense situation in the sensitive areas continued.

Sources said the Chinese troops significantly increased their presence in areas around Pangong Tso and even brought in additional boats to the lake.

The two sides also have brought in more troops to locations like Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie, the sources said.

The area around Galwan has been a point of friction between the two for over six decades. They had a showdown over it in 1962 as well.

The sources said the Chinese side has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley area following which India has also sent reinforcements to keep a hawk-eye vigil in the area.

The sources said the Chinese side had taken strong exception to India undertaking construction of a key road around the Galwan river.

On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries.

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 on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries in the incident, according to sources.

Neither the Army nor the Ministry of External Affairs commented on the escalating tension between the two armies.

In its reaction to the two face-offs, the Ministry of External Affairs last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could have been avoided if there was a common perception about the frontier.

It is learnt that additional troops have also been rushed in to several areas in northern Sikkim as part of their aggressive posturing in guarding the disputed border.

A report by China's official media on Monday said Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures in the Galwan Valley in the Aksai Chin region



The aggressive posturing by the two sides came amid India's escalating border row with Nepal over construction of a strategically key road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.

The 80-km-long strategically crucial road at a height of 17,000 km along the border with China in Uttarakhand was thrown open by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8.

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.

China has been critical of India's reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir, and has particularly criticised New Delhi for making Ladakh a union territory. China lays claim over several parts of Ladakh.

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.)
Europe Should Temporarily Ban Chinese Takeovers: Leader of Largest EU Political Alliance

The European Union should impose a temporary ban on Chinese takeovers of companies that are currently undervalued or have business problems because of the COVID-19 crisis, the leader of the blocs largest political alliance said on May 17.

Manfred Weber, a senior German conservative and chair of the center-right European Peoples Party (EPP) in the EU Parliament, told Germanys Welt am Sonntag newspaper that he was in favor of declaring a twelve-month ban for Chinese investors who want to buy European firms.

We have to see that Chinese companies, partly with the support of state funds, are increasingly trying to buy up European companies that are cheap to acquire or that got into economic difficulties due to the coronavirus crisis, he said.

The European Union, therefore, should react in a coordinated way and put an end to the Chinese shopping tour by imposing a twelve-month moratorium on sales of European companies until the coronavirus crisis is hopefully over, Weber said.

We have to protect ourselves, he added.

The German government adopted the draft bill last month that tightens foreign investment scrutinizing and expands the government power to prevent unwanted acquisitions. Investors in China and other Asian countries may consider acquiring European companies at bargain prices, said Nestor Paz-Galindo, UBS Group AGs head of mergers and acquisitions, according to The Wall Street Journal. Increasing regulatory scrutiny can prevent disadvantageous takeovers, he said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the founder of Rasmussen Global warned against Chinese strategic takeovers in its op-ed for the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung. Theres no doubt that China is playing the COVID crisis to its geopolitical advantage, he wrote.

The Chinese regime used the past financial crises in 2008 and the euro crisis in 2012 to acquire strategic assets abroad at discount prices, according to a report by the Mercator Institute for China Studies.

Risks Associated with Chinese Takeovers

Shipping container cranes line the Piraeus cargo port in Greece, on Feb. 11, 2015. (Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

Chinese investment in Europe comes with strings attached, Rasmussen said. In May 2017 Greece and China signed a three-year plan covering Chinese investments in Greek infrastructure. Since 2016, Greece, as a member of the EU, several times opposed EU proposals that criticized the Chinese regime policies and human rights record.

In Northern Europe, the Chinese regime targeted high-tech businesses, which made it possible to transfer advanced technologies to China, said Rasmussen. The Chinese takeover of German robot manufacturer Kuka in 2016 was a wake-up call for Germany that made it realize the need for protecting its strategic assets.

Chinas State Grid in 2018 attempted to buy a stake in German power grid operator 50Hertz after one of its stakeholders decided to sell 20 percent of its share. When the German government was unable to find a private investor the German state-owned bank stepped in to prevent the Chinese regime from buying a critical infrastructure asset, according to Deutsche Welle.

The Chinese communist regime uses two main strategies to advance its ambitions in Europe, The Belt and Road Initiative, and 5G.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)also known as One Belt, One Road or OBORis a plan for the Chinese regime to invest trillions of dollars to build critical infrastructures, such as bridges, railroads, ports, and energy facilities, in dozens of countries on four continents.

In financially robust countries, Chinese companies enter into equity participation or joint ventures. With financially weaker countries, China invests large amounts of money locally and attempts to obtain the right to operate the ports, often through opaque lending practices leading to debt traps.

In Europe, the Chinese regime has already acquired rights to operate Terminal Link SAS in Francethrough which it gained operating rights to fifteen terminals in eight countries on four continentsZeebrugge in Belgium, Kumport in Turkey, Piraeus in Greece, Euromax Terminal Rotterdam, and the Netherlands, known as the gate of Europe. The regime controls also the Suez Canal Terminal in Egypt and the Panama Canal which are both very important for global trade.

Another goal of the BRI is to open routes for shipping Chinese products to Europe at low cost, thus increasing Chinas own export. The Chinese intention is to increase its own exports, not to help the countries along the Belt and Road to establish their own manufacturing industries.

The Chinese regime uses forced technology transfers and intellectual-property theft to close the tech gap and transform China into a manufacturing power. It seeks to seize the 5G technology market and to gain a dominant position in 5G standards and play a leading global role in the new technology.



Foreign companies often sign a technology transfer contract with Chinese firms lured by a promise of access to the market of more than one billion Chinese consumers in exchange for technology transfer. However, once the Chinese company learns and implements the technology it manufactures the product more cheaply thus squeezing the technology owner out of the international market.

Mergers and acquisitions allowed Chinese companies to acquire Western technology, brands, and other assets. Only in 2016, fifty-six German companies were acquired by mainland Chinese and Hong Kong investors, with investment reaching a high of 11 billion euros ($12 billion).

The Chinese regime, however, denies Western businesses and investors the reciprocal access to its markets, Rasmussen said. In 2016 alone, Chinas foreign direct investment in Europe increased 77 percent compared to 2015, yet European investments in China decreased by 25 percent, he said.

Reuters contributed to this report.
(TNS)  When Ivy Tech Community College students start classes in the fall, theyll have the option to participate in face-to-face, online or hybrid courses.Fall semester classes will begin Aug. 24. The states community college will invite students back onto campuses throughout Indiana, including its Ivy Tech South Bend-Elkhart location, for in-person learning while continuing to offer virtual opportunities. Both 8- and 16-week terms are being offered to students.In an announcement Tuesday, college officials said the move is being made to provide flexibility and safety for Ivy Tech students, employees and its communities during the coronavirus pandemic.Ivy Tech looks forward to students being able to return to campus and take that next step to prepare for a high-wage, high-value career, Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann said in a news release. Our teams continually monitor the recommendations provided by the state of Indiana and federal guidelines. Ultimately, our students success is the goal, while providing them the safest, most accommodating learning environment.According to the release, college officials are taking all of the necessary steps to ensure deep cleaning of all buildings takes place prior to students arrival for classes and will be ongoing.Preventive protocols to reduce COVID-19 transmission will also be implemented across campuses. While those specific protocols were not mentioned in the release, officials said further details will be shared with students, faculty and staff leading up to campuses reopening.The new normal in August will allow students to be in charge of their learning environment, Ivy Tech Provost Kara Monroe said. Students will have options, possibly even week-to-week, if they will attend their class online, virtually, or in-person, as their health and safety requirements could fluctuate.Ivy Techs summer semester courses begin June 8. Courses will be offered virtually with exception of some small labs that may be offered later this summer.Other schoolsHoly Cross College will follow the lead of the University of Notre Dame and welcome its students back to campus two weeks earlier than originally scheduled, and will forgo fall break in October and end the semester before Thanksgiving.The colleges president, the Rev. David Tyson, announced Monday that college students will begin classes the week of Aug. 10.The grit of the Holy Cross College community, the courage of so many during these uncertain times of the pandemic, and the confidence of families and students have made this difficult second half of the 2019-2020 school year a success, Tyson said in a news release. We are forging ahead with a plan of action that will keep our family safe, secure, and together once again this fall.Like Notre Dame, the college has developed a plan to implement coronavirus testing, contract tracing, isolation and quarantine protocols to minimize risk, according to the release.Specific details on who and how testing will be conducted as well as what isolation might look like was not provided. Notre Dame spokesman Paul Browne said details on those procedures will be announced in coming weeks.Holy Cross officials said they must also be prepared for the possibility of an unexpected, severe new outbreak of COVID-19. If that occurs, students may need to return to distance learning.On Monday, Notre Dames president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, announced fall semester plans and said faculty have been asked to prepare to offer courses both in-person and through remote instruction.Saint Marys College officials announced plans last week to reopen campus in the fall, just in time for students to resume in-person classes.In a statement posted Tuesday on the schools website, officials said our Academic Continuation Task Force has been considering multiple potential scenarios regarding the fall semester. One scenario school leaders are considering includes beginning on-campus classes on Aug. 10.President Elect Katie Conboy will work with the colleges leadership team and the Academic Continuation Task Force to finalize our plans to ensure that our students can return safely and receive a full and rewarding campus experience, Saint Marys officials wrote. Maintaining the safety and well-being of our campus community is always our top priority, and as such, we will adjust all plans based on the current status of the health crisis.College spokeswoman Lisa Knox previously said more detailed plans about the fall semester will be announced in mid-June. At that point, officials will have a better idea about whether students can move back into on-campus housing and what instruction will look like.At Indiana University, the president, Michael McRobbie, outlined five different options for the fall semester. He said the most likely scenario is a hybrid model of in-person and online classes.IU has formed a variety of committees to help make a final decision on what option is best for the university. McRobbie asked each campus, including Indiana University South Bend, to establish committees tailored to the needs of their campuses and programs.Paige Risser, IUSB spokeswoman, said school officials are in the process of forming committees.Lissa Diaz, spokeswoman for Bethel University, said school leaders have not yet announced what their plans are. She said weekly emails will be shared with students through the summer, relaying the most up-to-date information about the fall semester.
Mega celeb Brad Pitt is often in the headlines for his many movie roles as well as his storied love life. Now divorced from Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie, the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor doesnt appear to be heading down the aisle again anytime soon.

Previously linked to other high-profile stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Geena Davis, few may remember that the Oscar-winning actor had a serious relationship with an up-and-coming actress he met on the set of the 1990 TV movie Too Young to Die.

Brad Pitt | Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SBIFF

Brad Pitt and Cape Fear star meet on set

Co-starring on the film made for television that was based on a true story, Pitt and actress Juliette Lewis took on the lead roles in 1990s Too Young to Die. Apparently, the two had a strong connection during filming despite their 10-year age difference. Pitt and the 17-year-old actress took their relationship from professional to personal after the production wrapped.

We met on a movie of the week and started dating when it was over, Lews told the Los Angeles Times of Pitt in 1993.I already liked him as an actor, plus you gotta respect somebody whos in the same field as you.

At the time, Lewis was still basking in the critical acclaim she earned from her role in Martin Scorseses 1991 film Cape Fear, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Lewis was then cast with Pitt for the movie Kalifornia, revealing that the two had been looking for a project they could work on together.

Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Were like at the point in love, where we just like to see each other every single day and we dont get bored with each other, so its really, really nice, the actress, who is now starring in HBOs I Know This Much Is True, gushed at the time. Also we get to be around each other when were working and talk and collaborate. We want to work together again and again and again.

Pitt had echoed her sentiments, clearly enjoying his time on set with Lewis. You do a scene and then go over and grab the one you love, he said. You want to keep your careers your careers and your love your love, but we just wanted to do it more for a vacation.

RELATED: Brad Pitt Admits He Cant Do What These Two Amazing Actors Do

Juliette Lewis comments on past relationship with Once Upon A Time in Hollywood star

The two split after three years together, yet spoke highly of each other in the years that followed.

Hes not in my universe at all now. It seems like a high-school relationship because now hes a very famous person, Lewis told The Guardian in 2006. I look at this person that I shared a bit of history with. I hope he finds happiness because I genuinely loved him. Hes a very stand-up, good guy.  It was my longest relationship and we both lost our anonymity together.

The Cape Fear actress commented that despite going through a divorce from ex-husband Steve Berra, most people still focused on her former relationship with Pitt.

People ask me about him just because hes famous, she remarked in 2009. They dont really ask about my ex-husband, which is a far more significant relationship because we were married.

RELATED: Brad Pitt Is Doing This 1 Totally Relatable Thing to Avoid Romance Rumors

Brad Pitts take on his time with Juliette Lewis

While Pitt didnt say too much on the relationship and their breakup, he alluded to their co-habitation as a party environment. We were trying to be Sid and Nancy or something, he told telling Rolling Stone in 1994, using a reference to the infamous couple from the Sex Pistols. We were idiots. We were just having a great time.

The following year, the Seven star praised Lewis and still held their past relationship in high esteem. I still love the woman. Theres some real genius there. I had a great time with her. Pitt told Vanity Fair in 1995. It was one of the greatest relationships Ive ever been in. The problem is, we grow up with this vision that love conquers all, and thats just not so, is it?

While Pitt and Lewis went on to have some rocky relationships after splitting up, they both seem to be on target in their successful careers.

RELATED: Why Brad Pitt is Learning to Forgive Himself
Technavio has been monitoring the automotive adaptive front lighting system market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.34 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of about 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/20200520005273/en/

Technavio has announced the latest market research report titled Global Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting 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 fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. DENSO Corp., Hella GmbH Co. KGaA, Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd., Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd., OSRAM Licht AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Stanley Electric Co. Ltd., and Valeo SA are some of the major market participants. The growing number of road accidents at night 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.

Growing number of road accidents at night has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market is segmented as below:

Application Passenger Cars Commercial Vehicles

Geography Europe North America 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=IRTNTR43698

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting 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 adaptive front lighting system market report covers the following areas:

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market Size

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market Trends

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies adoption of the automotive AFLS as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive adaptive front lighting system market growth during the next few years.

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the automotive adaptive front lighting system market, including some of the vendors such as DENSO Corp., Hella GmbH Co. KGaA, Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd., Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd., LG Electronics Inc., Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd., OSRAM Licht AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Stanley Electric Co. Ltd., and Valeo SA. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive adaptive front lighting system 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

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting System Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive adaptive front lighting system market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the automotive adaptive front lighting system market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the automotive adaptive front lighting 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 adaptive front lighting system market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Industry innovations:

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

Passenger cars Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Commercial vehicles Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Application

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024

North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024

APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024

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

DENSO Corp.

Hella GmbH Co. KGaA

Hyundai Mobis Co. Ltd.

Koito Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

LG Electronics Inc.

Marelli Holdings Co. Ltd.

OSRAM Licht AG

Robert Bosch GmbH

Stanley Electric Co. Ltd.

Valeo SA

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/20200520005273/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/
SAGINAW, MI  The dike along the Mistequay Creek in Saginaw County is showing signs of breaking. Officials are working to stabilize the dike before it impacts nearby residents.

The Saginaw County Office of Emergency Management has been notified that the dike along the Mistequay Creek in Albee Township is showing signs of a breach. The Saginaw County Drain Commission is working to stabilize the dike, according to Saginaw County emergency officials.

Residents who live along Townline between the Mistequay Creek and M-13 should continue to monitor conditions and be prepared to take action should a breach occur, officials said.

In another issue, the Tittabawassee River gauge has now failed to work because of a power outage in that area. The last known reading taken at 10 a.m. Monday, May 18, was 21.72 feet and still rising, according to officials.

The Edenville Dam on the Tittabawassee River failed before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, causing flooded roads and forcing people to evacuate their homes throughout mid-Michigan.

Tittabawassee Township and Freeland residents are strongly encouraged to limit the use of water until 6 a.m. Thursday, May 21.

The use of water when connected to the township or Freeland Sewer System may result in sewage back-up into homes or businesses.

Dishwashers, washing machines, showers, sinks and lavatories should be used as sparingly as possible to prevent backups into homes and businesses.

Emergency officials are urging citizens to be aware of their surroundings and continuously monitor the water levels that are impacting the area.

Temporary shelters have been set up at the following locations within the county:

Freeland High School, 8250 Webster

Swan Valley High School, 8400 OHern

Hemlock High School, 733 N. Hemlock

During the flood emergency, please utilize 911 for emergencies only. Do not call 911 for directions or road closures. Follow MLive for more updates. Road Closure information can be found at the Saginaw County Road Commission website.

Related news:

President Trump tweets about flooding in mid-Michigan, thanks first responders

Flooding is widespread in Saginaw County after heavy rains, county officials say
Assistant Employment Security Secretary Lockhart Taylor addresses a COVID-19 briefing Thursday, April 2. | Photo: UNC-TV

N.C. Senate Republicans aren't happy with North Carolina's lagging unemployment insurance system. They think Gov. Roy Cooper is accountable  and they want answers.Such was the theme of the General Assembly's first day back in Raleigh since the legislature gathered two weeks ago to pass a COVID-19 relief package for the state. That was a consensus session, with Republicans and Democrats voting together on a $1.6-billion plan to prop up the state's struggling economy.But now that the 2020 short session has officially commenced, Republicans are asking pointed questions about how Cooper prepared  or didn't prepare  for the economic hardship that has sent hundreds of thousands of residents to the unemployment office. DES was hit by a wave of 125,000 claims immediately after Cooper issued an executive order shutting down restaurants and private clubs, and limited food service to takeout or delivery.The numbers skyrocketed from there Since March 15, more than 1 million claims have been filed with the N.C. Division of Employment Security. Those claims represent some 900,000 people. Just under 538,000 of those people have actually received unemployment benefits, according to data on the DES website.That's just not acceptable, Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said during a news conference Monday, May 18.Berger said.Berger added.During a Senate committee meeting Monday, Republicans volleyed questions at Assistant Secretary of Employment Security Lockhart Taylor, who heads DES.Did Cooper give DES enough notice to prepare for the onslaught of claims? Republican senators asked. How does the department plan to address the backlog? Was DES included in the governor's preparations early enough in the process?Who should shoulder the blame for the tsunami of claims that have buried the department and left roughly 350,000 unemployed residents without benefits?Not Taylor, according to many leaders in the room.said Sen. Tom McInnis, R-Richmond,Taylor sat through a handful of impassioned speeches from several state residents who attended the committee to give personal statements. He listened as they vented frustration over dropped phone calls, failed chat functions, crashing website applications, and no payments.One, Julie Savage of Wake Forest, cried at the podium as she told committee members about her unemployed husband and six children. They've been trying to reach a DES agent by phone and email since March 23.she said.The department should've been better prepared, Taylor said, but the size and scope of layoffs in North Carolina was unexpected. Early data showed the department would get a few hundred thousand claims, at the most.Instead, DES was buried, he said. Still, the official took responsibility for the department's failure, skirting questions that directed blame toward Cooper.Taylor said.Unemployment insurance is just one of the many issues the legislature will address over the next few weeks, Berger said. While lawmakers launch into committees and legislative discussions this week, they also will be talking about how to budget for next year.Since state and federal tax deadlines have been extended to July 15, North Carolina could be short $4 billion for next year's budget, Berger told Carolina Journal during the news conference. The Senate is still optimistic guidelines for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act will change to allow North Carolina to use some of its remaining $2 billion from the federal government to fill budget gaps.A bill recently filed in Congress would give states that flexibility. But there's no sign of progress just yet, Berger said.Berger said.
Queen Elizabeth II is expected to be millions less richer due the coronavirus pandemic.

The Queen is known as one of the wealthiest people in the U.K. As of 2020, her net worth hits 350 million, according to the Sunday Times' Rich List.

However, although the year is only nearing its halfway point, Her Majesty is already facing a massive decrease of 20 million in her net worth compared to last year. Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic is slowly crippling down the monarchy's finances.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are staying together at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England. She ordered the temporary closure of Buckingham Palace and the other royal palaces and units to safeguard visitors from the dreaded disease.

"The safety and wellbeing of our visitors and staff are our priority. 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," the Royal Collection Trust revealed in a statement.

Due to the prolonged lockdown period, the Queen's head of the Royal Household informed that their staff income is expected to fall by 18 million due to lack of tourism.

Usually, royal residences -- including the Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh -- are all income-generating tourist attractions that are open for the royal fans and watchers.

Last year, the royal family received a massive financial boost of 70 million due to the doubled number of tourists who visited the palaces.

But since the tourism business of the royal residences has been put on hold due to the ongoing health crisis, Queen Elizabeth II could lose millions this year. Before they could get up and earn the losses once again, they would need to go back to the start and work on the earnings they have lost.

"The crisis has already tested our resilience, adaptability, and preparedness in many ways and at all levels across the organisation," Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel wrote in an email addressed to royal staff. "It has also had a significant impact on the activities of the whole Royal Household."

Weeks after the U.K. significantly experienced a high number of coronavirus patients, it remains unclear when the new lockdown and social distancing measures will be lifted.

In the end, Lord Chamberlain warned that the pandemic could affect everyone for weeks, if not months.

In addition, last year, the Buckingham Palace's documents revealed that the Royal Household accepted 19.6 million more of taxpayers' money compared to the amount that they used to receive in the past few years. This cost is predicted to only go up, according to the latest figures from Statista.

If the pandemic continues to pester the royal family's funds, it will surely affect the Britons and all the other sources of income of Queen Elizabeth II.

As of today, the Queen has three grants where she draws her immense wealth from.

Since 2012, the Sovereign Grant gives around 15 percent of the profits -- consolidating all the royal family's previous incomes from travel, communications and more.

Queen Elizabeth II also receives support from the Privy Purse, an income stemming from the Duchy of Lancaster which is being used to cover Her Majesty and the other members of the royal family's expenses.

Other Queen's sources of income include those funds she gets from her private estates, personal investments, and the Crown Jewels.
The state pollution control board has fined a privately-run Badlapur common effluent treatment plant (CETP) for releasing untreated industrial waste into the Waldhuni river, which had turned red last week due to the pollution.

There has been a marginal improvement in water quality this week as the river water was not tainted red as Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the CETP managers said effluent treatment was being carried out on priority.

The red colour was spotted across several sections of a nine-kilometre stretch of Waldhuni, a tributary of the Ulhas river, which supplies water to cities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

Following directions from the National Green Tribunal from January this year, urban local bodies and CETPs failing to treat sewage or effluents are liable to a penalty of Rs 05 lakh.

Every CETP has to pay up a bank guarantee for such violations. We have directed the Badalpur CETP to forfeit their existing bank guarantee, which will be confiscated by us, and the CETP will have to pay double [Rs 10 lakh] as the new bank guarantee and ensure such violations are not repeated, said Amar Supate, principal scientific officer, MPCB.

The CETP is run by an association of local industrial units. According to CETP operators, 22 pharmaceutical, textile, food processing and chemical industries are functional during the lockdown, sending effluents to the dysfunctional CETP.

In their response to our notice, the CETP informed that their operator was not present when some of these 22 industries had begun production. However, they have called in their vigilance team and assured us that such violations of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, will not be repeated, said SL Waghmare, regional officer (Kalyan), MPCB.

A Badlapur CETP member, requesting anonymity, said they had taken three major decisions following the issue. A standard operating procedure has been set for all 22 industries functioning during the lockdown that they cannot function until a CETP employee checks their effluent discharge mechanism. Secondly, any new unit starting production needs to take permission from the CETP. Lastly, a separate vigilance team is monitoring daily production and wastewater treatment, the member said, adding that it was not a textile unit but a drug manufacturing unit part of the essential services using chemicals that led to the red coloured effluents. The vigilance department is looking into the exact source of pollution, and we submit further compliance reports to MPCB and bear the penalty.

The complainant Ulhasnagar Citizens Forum Satyajit Burman and petitioners before the Supreme Court environment group Vanashakti welcomed the penal action. We hope the fines serve as a deterrent. We are closely monitoring the situation, and if pollution levels do not decline, we will be forced to seek legal remedy, said Stalin D, director, Vanashakti.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The family of abducted former Commissioner for Youth and Sport in Edo state, Mr. Presley Ediagbonya, who is said to been killed by his abductors on Monday, says the kidnapped politician is still alive and not dead as being alleged.

Ediagbonya, who was a one-time local government chairman and had also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Edo State government, was abducted at his farm last week in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of the state.

It will be recalled that when contacted on phone Monday night, the state police command spokesman, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, had said: Speculations on the death is still sketchy because I am yet to be briefed. When I am briefed, I will come up with a detailed statement to members of the public.

A family of the abducted politician who craved for anonymity on Tuesday described Ediagbonyas death report as hasty, noting that the abductors requested for N10 million ransom and the family members pleaded for N5 million.

The abductors thereafter asked us to pay the ransom at a location in Asaba, Delta State; and we complied. Few hours later, the abductors sent the family text message that our brother had been killed. So, what I am saying is that the abductors only claimed they have killed my brother, but by the grace of God, I know he will come out alive.

Meanwhile, the state police command said it has deployed its operatives to comb the forests of Ogbese and Okada, Ovia North-East local government area of the State, in search of kidnappers of Ediagbonya.

It was gathered that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lawan Jimeta, deployed the team to ensure that the APC leader is rescued unhurt.
BRANFORD  The Representative Town Meeting, by a 15-13 party line vote, approved a $118.02 million budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year Tuesday night, after making only minor changes.

The budget provides $58.83 million for education, an increase of 3.3 percent.

Based on the approved budget, Finance Director James Finch said Wednesday that he estimates the towns tax rate will be 28.92 mills, down slightly from the current years 29.07 mills  even though the budget increased by more than 2 percent.

The Board of Finance is expected to set the tax rate at a special Zoom meeting Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Finch told the RTM Tuesday night in an online Zoom meeting that the town is using $3.7 million from its undesignated fund balance to help balance the budget. That could grow, however, as Finch said that the Board of Finance, based on recent conversations, may see a lower tax collection rate because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has weakened the financial position of many taxpayers.

He estimated in a letter earlier this week to Board of Finance Chairman Joseph Mooney that the offset amount from the fund balance might actually have to be nearly $7 million.

The 15 Republicans present for the online Zoom meeting voted in favor of the budget while all 13 Democrats voted against it after an effort put forth by RTM member Peter Jackson, D-3, to restore a $45,000 cut in the James Blackstone Memorial Library budget request failed by an identical vote.

While the cut reduces the librarys request by 3.11 percent, it provides the same $1.44 million the library received this year.

RTM Republicans pointed out that while the library asked for the additional money to fund the staffs 21/2 percent salary increases and anticipated higher health insurance costs, the library also projected a $99,000 budget surplus for the current fiscal year.

They also pointed out that the library has a $2.5 million endowment. The library contributes $112,000 from its endowment to fund library services.

We are not cutting their budget. We are reducing the amount of increase, said RTM member Marc Riccio, R-6. ... And if they run short of money, they have the opportunity to come back to us next year to seek additional funding.

RTM member Chris Sullivan, D-6, asked Riccio why RTM Republicans were micromanaging the librarys budget.

The reason why were micromanaging the librarys budget, Rep. Sullivan, is because the board of trustees cant manage their own money, Riccio said.

The Blackstone Library has $2.5 million in an endowment, and that is a rainy day fund, he said. ... Its time for the board of trustees to open up their checkbooks and do more.

RTM member Cindy Lombardi, D-4, said the likely cut in library Sunday hours that would result would be a big cut for the seniors, many of whom like to go to the library on Sundays.

That brought comments from resident Wayne Cooke, who is not an RTM but was recognized and allowed to speak.

You spend all this time arguing about a $90,000 surplus ... but you dont care at all about a $25 million surplus, he said, referring to the towns healthy fund balance. Why are you wasting this time? Why are you wasting the whole debate? Give them their money!

Maryanne Amore, vice president of the Blackstone Library board and a former RTM member told the RTM that the librarys endowment is not a rainy day fund. It is supposed to last forever.

The library is independent of the town but is partially funded by the town.

Amore told the RTM that 400-500 people a day use the Blackstone Library. ... The utilization that this resource gets in this town is unmatched. ... Regardless of anything else, the town of Branford is getting a world class library for 85 percent of what it would cost if you ran it yourself.

Blackstone Library Director Karen Jensen said the zero percent increase, which was recommended by the RTMs Education Committee, almost certainly will result in a reducation of services.

The library has been very successful in fundraising in past, but we still have decisions to make as to how to spend its money in the future, she said.

Among the other minor changes the RTM made was to move $17,000 of the $22,000 that the Blackstone Library had requested in its capital budget for security cameras to a contingency account, leaving just $5,000 in the librarys account.

Thats because at the time the budget was submitted to the RTM, the library had no written estimate of how much the cameras would actually cost, said RTM member Frank Twohill, R-1.

The RTM also cut one police car from the Police Departments budget and moved $102,000 to the contingency account, including the $17,000 for library security cameras and $85,000 from the unfilled special projects manager position, which has been vacant since the retirement of Terence Elton.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
PITTSBURGH, May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cementing their leadership in the area of sustainability, the Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium (WPEC), has announced that it is directing its energy dollars towards the support of renewable energy. Building on the success of the recent Earth Day renewable energy demonstration, the WPEC are proud to announce a new, 12-month agreement with Direct Energy.

As a result of a competitive auction, Direct Energy was chosen as the supplier of choice, for renewable energy supply. Direct Energy will source power and Green-e Certified renewable energy attributes offsetting 100% of the energy consumption and associated carbon emissions from the consortium members.

Pittsburgh Mayor, William Peduto, expresses the benefits of the new agreement. "Under this contract extension, the City will be meeting its renewable electricity goals for its facilities for the next yeara critical milestone from our climate action plan created in 2018. The extension continues our 2020 Earth Day efforts and shows that every day can be Earth Day. Equally important, the extension is both environmentally friendly while also reduces the energy costs for our Consortium members, demonstrating that good environmental and economic decisions can go hand in hand. I'd like to thank our City energy team, members of the WPEC, and the technical teams at Direct Energy and ENEL-X for helping us navigate these difficult times, but also through these tough times for creating an opportunity."

Consortium members, Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, are delighted to move forward with the green energy product offered by Direct Energy, explains their CFO Jackie Vincunas. "As a proud partner of the Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium is honored to take this proactive step to offset our carbon footprint and help to educate our local community about economical and sustainable energy programs within our region."

James Stitt, Sustainability Manager for Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, shares how the contract extension can improve energy efficiencies across the board. "An enormous amount of energy is required to filter and distribute water throughout the City. As stewards of one of the most valuable resources on the planet, PWSA is driven to protect our source waters now and far into the future. By using our purchasing power as part of the WPEC to support green energy initiatives, we can help to ensure not just cleaner water, but a better environment and be on a path towards the attainment of our 2030 sustainability goals."

This latest stage in the partnership between the WPEC and Direct Energy demonstrates a significant commitment towards a sustainable future and proves that governments, businesses and even residents in Western Pennsylvania can access renewable energy and carbon offset products in an economic manner.

Dave Grupp, Head of Direct Energy Renewable Services, is excited for WPEC to take this step, the first of many organizations in realizing that cost savings and reducing carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive. "We are experiencing a major break-through for renewable energy in the country and in this region and WPEC is setting a positive example for large organizations in making economical and sustainable choices. With an annual cost savings of nearly $500k, WPEC is achieving budget savings while increasing their renewable supply from 35 to 100%. We're very pleased to be making these steps alongside them."

Direct Energy is one of North America's largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas, and home and business energy-related services with nearly four million customers. Direct Energy gives customers choice, simplicity, and innovation where energy, data, and technology meet. A subsidiary of Centrica plc (LSE: CNA), an international energy and services company, Direct Energy, its subsidiaries and/or affiliates, operate in 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia and 8 provinces in Canada. To learn more about Direct Energy, please visit www.directenergy.com.

SOURCE Direct Energy

Related Links

http://www.directenergy.com


Who or what is 'Christopher'?

What sparked the idea?

Tokologo 'The Commodore' Phetla, founder and managing director of Christopher Africa

When, how and why did it get started?

What is the purpose of 'Christopher'?

How Christopher works

Our mission is to continue to introduce such technologies which add value to our clients and their consumers in a major way.

So much has happened over the last few months. Where is 'Christopher' now?

What are some of the challenges you've had to overcome since starting out?

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

What has been your proudest achievement thus far?

What does the future of entrepreneurship look like to you?

I feel this will help give rise to even younger and wiser entrepreneurs who do not have to always learn from making mistakes.

What do you think is the importance of startup accelerator/incubator programmes?

What would you like to see changed in the South African startup landscape?

What do you believe are the traits an entrepreneur needs in order to succeed?

There is obviously a level of risk attached to that as we are unsure how things will turn out, but the maths and science of it has to be checked out before anyone ventures into being an entrepreneur.

Tell us about your biggest struggles as an entrepreneur, as well as some major highlights.

Why would you encourage someone to become an entrepreneur?

Where would you like to see 'Christopher' in the next 5 years?

Christopher is an artificial intelligence software that serves real-time brand responses to relevant conversations on social media as they take place, delivering mass personalisation at scale to drive qualified engagements and impressions.I realised that consumers increasingly spend most of their time on social platforms - interacting and engaging with each other and brands. However, the only mechanism brands had to reach their consumers was via sponsored/promoted posts. But the true power of social media lies in conversations.Consumers are there to have authentic, genuine conversations which brands could not participate in meaningfully. So we conceived Christopher, the AI that would help brands detect relevant consumer moments and communicate their brand messages in a relevant manner which adds value to their consumers on social media.Instead of "push marketing", where brands advertise based on their own marketing schedule without the consumer's input, we created a mechanism of "pull advertising" where the consumer creates the opportunity for the brand to advertise, i.e. where the brand advertises only when it is most convenient and relevant for the consumer; not the other way around.Christopher has been in development since 2010. Starting off as a basic social listening tool, it morphed over the years into what/who it is today. Although Christopher has been in the market since late-2017, we really took it aggressively to market Jan 2019 when Ad Colony and Nifnity Media Group came on board as sales partners and shareholders in the business.Christopher as an AI (artificial intelligence) technology exists to provide brands with the ability to advertise to consumers when it is relevant to consumers by tapping into relevant social media conversations in real-time. As a company, Christopher Africa exists to bring cutting edge AI technology to Africa, borne out of Africa - the so-called 'dark continent.'There is so much beauty and unrealised potential on our continent which we believe can be unlocked by the introduction of smart technologies such as Christopher.The Covid-19 pandemic has emphasised the need for organisations to be visible on social and digital platforms, in order to keep connected with their customers and drive online sales.We are pleased to see Christopher playing a vital role in assisting our clients to achieve exactly that. In more direct terms, Christopher is also working with the Presidency, through GCIS (Government Communications and Information Systems), the Gauteng Department of Health and the NICD (National Institute of Communicable Diseases) to deliver relevant Covid-19 related information to South Africans on social media by addressing their queries and concerns in real-time.Well, the first challenge is actually developing the technology to market readiness. This comes with its own challenges - financial, technical, bugs in the code, arguments you name it.Writing the code from scratch means we had to come up with really original ideas about how we are going to go about achieving certain software functions. Fortunately, we had many years to perfect it since 2010 and years of youth on our side :)The second challenge, once the technology was market-ready was to formulate a go-to-market strategy. It is incredibly tough to get the market to accept and use a new, untested technology built and introduced by young, unknown people. Getting credible shareholders on board such as Nfinity and Ad Colony really helped bring credibility to the technology and a willingness to use it from the industry.Firstly, I would say, get started! Too often, aspiring entrepreneurs wait. They wait for funding, wait for 'the right time', wait for a cheerleader, wait for validation, wait until 'they are ready.' In my experience, getting started is the best action you can take especially in the early phases. Getting started commits you to the idea, and somehow when you get started, the world seems to open up to you.Secondly, have a willingness to learn. We are not the first people in the history of the planet to come up with great ideas, and certainly not the first to implement them to huge success and prosperity. Therefore, learning from others who have done it before is so crucial to help you develop quicker by avoiding the same mistakes they made. And learning does not only have to be in the form of physical mentorship - you can buy books of the entrepreneur you admire the most and learn from that content or watch YouTube videos of their interviews and/or documentaries to gain an understanding of how they think, how they see the world and how they started their successful businesses.Seeing Christopher Africa grow into a sustainable going concern which provides sustainable jobs to the unemployed, but talented youth of South Africa. This has by far been the most fulfilling aspect of running the business. And thanks has to go to the media industry as well for making this possible by believing in AI and entrusting Christopher with their brands.I do not have control over how the future turns out in general, except maybe to some degree over my own future. So I can only speak of what I hope the future of entrepreneurship looks like. Generally, I hope that entrepreneurship starts getting taught in school from basic education (primary level) - setting up a business, managing finances etc.I hope to see the government take more risk in terms of funding entrepreneurs and reducing the red tape of requiring business plans and collateral which many aspiring entrepreneurs do not have. And lastly, I hope to see more responsible entrepreneurship where it stops being a 'buzz' and aspiring entrepreneurs actually try to add value to society through their businesses (by employing people, offering useful solutions etc.) rather than doing it to become public figures/mini celebrities, without actually building a real, sustainable business.The opportunity to learn in a structured and supportive environment. Learning is so crucial to being an entrepreneur. Usually, the success of the business also relates to the quality of the entrepreneur you are.In this sense, it is more useful to describe entrepreneurship as a skill, more than a state of being (i.e. something you are). The more skilled you become at starting businesses, managing finances, making good real-time decisions, the better your business will do. And all of this can only come from learning.I would like to see us emphasizing more responsible entrepreneurship. As I mentioned in my comment before of the future of entrepreneurship. There is a certain culture associated with entrepreneurship where too many young people are focused on the status instead of building real, valuable businesses. There are recognition awards for everything and publicity is somehow seen to be a requirement to run a successful business. Obviously this is not true. But it does give rise to young people who are more focused on being celebrities and instant gratification rather than being focused on building truly meaningful businesses in the long-term.I also have some trouble understanding some aspects of our current VC funding landscape. I think VC funds are a useful initiative, giving birth to many startups (particularly in tech). I am just unsure how much they focus on profitability. I know of so many tech startups that almost rely on VC funding for the sustainability of their business. They borrow and expand, borrow and expand, borrow and expand while in the meantime the businesses show hope but not profitability.In my view, the aim of VC funding should be for a business to start up or grow, until they reach revenues where they can appropriately service their debt and turn a profit. I am unsure about what is happening with most startups in South Africa, so my opinion is only based on the few startups that I know of which have received VC funding. I would only hope that is not the case in general.In order of priority, I would say: Have a clear mind and objective. Secondly, have a clear plan and strategy of how to implement and run the business so it is profitable. Thirdly, have the will to see it through. Entrepreneurship is not meant to be a guessing or hope game. We try to make the best decisions possible given the information we have.I started my first business when I was 19. I was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and without much wisdom. So from my point of view, the biggest struggle was overcoming and managing myself - my expectations, assessing if my plans will actually work for the long-term etc. I am an extremely optimistic and hopeful individual so that did not help. I would usually only realise that I made a mistake once I hit something very hard, so I would say knowing and managing yourself is one of the most important struggles to overcome in order to be a successful businessperson.In terms of highlights, I get those every day. Increasingly seeing major, international brands entrust Christopher with their reputations and campaigns never ceases to fulfil me. It is such an honour to be one of the first companies in the media industry to introduce really advanced AI and see it being embraced.I don't think I would necessarily encourage or discourage it. Much like any other career, it is a personal, intimate choice one has to make for themselves - hopefully not because they just want to be one, but because they actually have a sustainable business idea they would like to try out and implement. I view entrepreneurship as a result of that, and not as a direct choice one makes.We are currently on a push to grow into international markets with a more aggressive focus on African markets. I would love to see us succeed in this over the next five years and really become established in these markets.
New Delhi:

Family members and friends of a 20-year-old Amity Law School student, who had allegedly committed suicide last week, on Tuesday staged a protest outside the college here, alleging foul play on the part of its authorities. Here are the top 5 stories at 9PM:

1. Trouble for Narsingh Yadav as WADA challenges clean chit in CAS



Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadavs Olympic dream was thrown into jeopardy on Tuesday after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) decided to appeal against the clean chit given to him by NADA in a dope scandal back home.



2. CRPF Commandant Pramod Kumar unfurled Tricolour minutes before martyrdom



"It is a very important day," these were the last words of CRPF Commandant Pramod Kumar after he unfurled the tricolour at the forces' base in Srinagar, minutes before he fell to militants' bullets in the Nowhatta area of the Jammu and Kashmir capital.

3. Amity law student suicide: Family says college authorities harassed Sushant Rohilla

Noidas Amity University is under fire following the death of a law student Sushant Rohilla, who allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his Sarojini Nagar residence on August 10. Students on Tuesday protested outside the college after his family claimed that Sushant took this extreme step after being harassed by college authorities and was not promoted on account of shortage of attendance.

4. Going to Pakistan is same as going to hell, says Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar



Commenting on an infiltration plot foiled on Independence Day near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said that a visit to Pakistan is same as a visit to hell.

5. Amnesty International's India chapter says no employee raised anti-India slogans



Amnesty International's India chapter on Tuesday said none of its employee had shouted any anti-India slogan at an event on Kashmir in Bangaluru, allegations based on which sedition charges were slapped against the human rights body.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
T housands of people are sending cards and letters filled with bright drawings and words of encouragement to strangers in a bid to combat loneliness and isolation during lockdown.

Free initiative #KindnessByPost works like Secret Santa, so everyone involved sends a positive missive to a person they have never met, and receives their own.

Since the lockdown began 2,600 people have signed up, with 1,600 messages of hope sent in the last week alone.

Images posted across social media show cards filled with tips and life hacks, affirmations, suggestions for books and things to pass the time, as well as simple inspirational messages and good wishes.

Pictures of the postcards sent are being posted on Instagram / National Lottery Community Fund / Mental Health Collective)

One postcard shows a hand-drawn lion and the message: "Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: 'I will try again tomorrow'."

Another multicoloured postcard front reads: "Don't forget to focus on the good. Do something you love. Go outside."

One simply has a collage of a rainbow cloud.

Environmental NGO worker Bernadette is one of the Londoners taking part.

Originally from Austria, she has lived in the capital for 15 years, and wanted to participate because "it is really important at this time to send the message that other people care, and even if you don't know the other person, there's kindness out there in the world".

Bernadette's card carried the inspirational message from Finding Nemo to "Just Keep Swimming" / National Lottery Community Fund / Mental Health Collective

She added: "I covered my #KindnessByPost card with fish stickers, and the message 'keep on swimming' from finding Nemo - I think it's a perfect message for the times."

Mental Health Collective director, Dr Amy Pollard, asked more Londoners to join in with the scheme today to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.

She said: "We could all do with a boost. We're calling on people to turn awareness into a small act of kindness that could make a big difference to someone this year.

"People tell us they get just as much from making and sending #KindnessByPost as receiving it."

The scheme and postal costs are being sponsored during the pandemic by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Both children and adults are getting involved in the initiative / National Lottery Community Fund / Mental Health Collective

Helen Bushell, NLCF Head of Funding for the South of England, said: The charities and voluntary sector organisations we fund, like The Mental Health Collective with their #KindnessByPost initiative, are playing a vital role in creating new ways for people to stay connected in this time of crisis.

"We are incredibly grateful for their efforts and are doing everything we can to make it easy for them to adapt to the unprecedented times we are all finding ourselves in.

Registrations to take part in the next exchange are open at kindnessbypost.org.

See more cards for inspiration on their Instagram page.
New Delhi, May 20 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre on five fresh petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA), citing specific exclusion of Muslims was against the principle of secularism under the Constitution, and the right to equality.

Notified on January 10, the CAA seeks to grantIndian citizenship to non-Muslims minorities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who have migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, after facing faith-based persecution.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy, taking up the matter through video-conferencing, issued the notice on the pleas filed by All Assam Law Students Union, Tamil Nadu Thoweed Jamath, Shalim, Muslim Students Federation (Assam) and Sachin Yadav.

The apex court also ordered their tagging with the other PILs filed on the matter.

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is the lead petitioner, and in December last year, the top court had said it will examine the constitutional validity of the CAA, but refused to stay the operation of the law. Nearly 160 pleas have been filed opposing the CAA.

One of the pleas said it was raising important questions in connection with the promulgation of the CAA, where for the first time, religion has been introduced as a condition for acquisition of Indian citizenship for undocumented migrants from the three neighboring countries.

The pleas argued that the classification based on the religious identity of the individual is against the fundamental principle of secularism, which is an integral component of the Constitution.

The pleas have argued that citizenship is being extended to a certain class of migrants, and this violates Article 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to equality) of the Constitution. The IUML had argued that CAA violates the fundamental right to equality and intends to grant citizenship to a section of illegal immigrants by making exclusion on the basis of religion.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has confirmed all four of her children have returned to school following the nation's COVID-19-related lockdown.

The Australian-born royal, 48, took to Instagram yesterday to share an image of her children - Prince Christian, 14, Princess Isabella, 12, and nine-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine - as they went back to class.

It is thought the children have returned to their Danish schools, having started a 12-week spring term in February, at the Lemania-Verbier International School in Switzerland.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (pictured with her husband Prince Frederik and their children during the lockdown) has confirmed all four of her children have returned to school following the nation's COVID-19-related lockdown

The Australian-born royal, 48, took to Instagram yesterday to share an image (pictured) of her children - Prince Christian, 14, Princess Isabella, 12, and nine-year-old twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine - as they went back to class

Captioning the image, the wife of Prince Frederik wrote: 'Yesterday our two oldest children started school, so now we are happy that all four children are back in school.'

Praising her children, she continued: 'I think they have been good at dealing with what has been a very different everyday life.

'But they are happy to return to all that they have missed: the teaching, their peers, the teachers, the neighborhoods - in short, a school life that provides the structure of everyday life that children have found that they appreciate.'

The princess also spoke about the importance of education, adding: 'But not all children in the world are so lucky.

'I have read that UNESCO estimates that school closures around the world due to the coronavirus crisis are affecting education for over 70 per cent of all the students of the world.

Princess Mary pulled her children out of boarding school in Switzerland to return home to Denmark in March (pictured with her family in 2018)

'It is of great importance to the world's children, especially girls and especially in the developing world. In continuation of my meeting with the Minister of Development last week, it is clear that we must ensure education - even in times of crisis.'

The mother-of-four, added: 'For education is the way to a better future for everyone.

'For girls, education specifically means that they have a greater chance of lifting themselves out of poverty, that they marry later, that they have fewer and healthier children, and that they have financial freedom and can contribute to society.'

Denmark was one of the first European countries to announce a lockdown on March 11, restricting public gatherings and closing schools, restaurants and bars.

The family released the above statement, sharing their decision to 'return home and stand with the Danes at a time that requires a lot of everyone'

But schools have since reopened after coronavirus-related deaths and the R reproduction rate - the measure of transmission - decreased.

On March 12, the Danish royal household announced that Princess Mary's children had been pulled out of boarding school in Switzerland to return home.

'In the light of the increased situation in Denmark in connection with the handling of the spread of COVID-19, the Crown Prince family has decided that the family should return home from Switzerland,' the statement said.

'The Crown Prince family finds it most natural to return home and stand with the Danes at a time that requires a lot of everyone and where there is a common responsibility to look after each other.'

The statement continued: 'On January 6, 2020, their Royal Highnesses Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine began a 12-week school stay at Iemania-Bees in Switzerland.

'Thus, the school stay will be interrupted before time, and all four children will continue in Denmark, when public institutions open again in Denmark.'
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 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 benefiting from the passage of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act and, in parallel, is working on restructuring its debt.

Through the CARES Act, Yuengling's has qualified for six months of payment relief from its SBA loan. "This is not a payment deferral, but rather the payments are actually being made by the Government," commented Everett Dickson, Aureus's President. This economic relief is allowing Yuengling's to focus those funds, previously committed to debt, into growing the business and the brand.

Yuengling's also is working with its senior lender on restructuring its remaining debt. "A restructuring will be enormously helpful in our ongoing efforts to strengthen the company and position it for the growth that we all believe it is capable of," stated Dickson.

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/590555/Yuenglings-Ice-Cream-Benefits-from-CARES-Act-directing-funds-to-growth-and-works-with-Sr-Lender-on-Restructuring-Debt
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Make it quick and keep it simple. That seems to have been the thinking behind Emmanuel Macrons and Angela Merkels surprise master plan for a 500 billion-euro ($543 billion) Covid-19 recovery fund, to be paid for collectively by the European Union and doled out as grants to the blocs worst-affected nations.

The details are yet to be thrashed out, and theres still plenty of scope for opposition from fellow euro area members, but this does look like a genuine attempt to share the financial pain from the pandemic between Europes weaker and stronger nations. The spread between Italian and German 10-year bond yields fell by 30 basis points in response.

One can debate the merits of whether northern European states should be making fiscal transfers to their southern neighbors by contributing to this fund  and you can be sure that the Austrians and other hawkish nations will be doing just that  but investors would have no qualms about snapping up the new debt.

The new securities will be issued on behalf of the EU member states (their relative GDP would decide their share) by the European Commission, which is an established borrower with 52 billion euros ($57 billion) of bonds in 44 different issues and an average weighted maturity of nearly eight years. Thats a small amount when compared with the borrowings of governments, and investors will be eager that the Commission keeps its AAA credit rating from Moody's Investors Service and its AA from S&P Global Ratings even if it starts issuing a lot more debt. The Franco-German plan will only work if these securities are regarded as being of the highest quality.

If the proposal is agreed, the new debt issued will be the closest thing yet to a true euro bond, with the implicit backing of all EU countries. One would expect sales of between 150 billion euros and 200 billion euros of these securities over each of the next three years. Existing Commission debt at 10- to 15-year maturities yields 40 to 50 basis points more than German bunds, meaning there might be a slight positive return for investors  a rare thing for the safest European debt.

Story continues

Importantly, this new debt could also be used as gold-standard collateral, effectively as good as German Bunds, for any of the ECB's funding facilities, so it would be attractive for banks to hold.

For once, the euro areas two dominant countries arent just letting the European Central Bank do the dirty work (although the ECB could help buy these bonds if needed). Instead, they appear to be trying to find a truly European solution to a crisis rather than watching as weaker nations sink under a new debt mountain. Italy might, for example, receive as much as 30% of the grants but it would be liable for only 15% of the funding. Raising the debt isnt going to be the problem here, the politics might yet be.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Marcus Ashworth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European markets. He spent three decades in the banking industry, most recently as chief markets strategist at Haitong Securities in London.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Oregon Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick won another four-year term representing most of Southwest Portland and Tigard, after she defeated young challenger Ben Bowman in the Democratic primary Tuesday.

Burdick was beating Bowman 71% to 29% Tuesday night.

Bowman, an education consultant and school board member from Tigard, ran a youth volunteer-powered campaign that also attracted the support of Portlands teachers union. Public employee unions in Oregon vowed not to support incumbent lawmakers who voted last year for retirement benefit cuts, as part of a deal to pass a new $1-billion-a-year business tax to increase education spending. As Democrats majority leader, Burdick had to help marshal the votes to pass both bills.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

Burdick, a former journalist and public relations consultant, has said she plans to step down as majority leader sometime in the near future and focus on tax policy including reforms to Oregons property tax system.

On policy issues, Bowman and Burdick were largely in agreement. However, in response to questions on key issues posed by The Oregonian/OregonLive Bowman said Democratic leaders including Burdick should have done more over the last year to hold accountable Senate Republicans who walked out of the Capitol three times to stop bills they did not like.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | @hborrud

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
THC.CSE

THCBF - OTC

TFHC.F

VANCOUVER, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - THC BioMed Intl Ltd. ("THC BioMed" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will begin this week to ship its ready-to-drink Cannabis Beverage Shot, THC KISS, to the legal adult recreational cannabis market.

THC BioMed's first shipment of THC Kiss will head to Saskatchewan, with shipments to B.C. and Ontario currently undergoing fulfilment.

THC KISS is a brand new Cannabis Beverage Shot that promises to offer a different experience compared to edibles and beverages currently available in either the grey or legal cannabis markets.

THC Kiss aims to be an alternative to smoking cannabis and was developed by THC BioMed using proprietary extraction methods invented by THC BioMed.

"We have received very positive feedback on THC Kiss from our medical patients, with repeat orders per client increasing substantially. We are proud to bring Canadians a true alternative to smoking cannabis," commented John Miller, President and CEO.

Each 30ml bottle of THC Kiss contains 10 mg of THC.

About THC

THC BioMed is a Cannabis Act Licensed Producer of medical and recreational cannabis. It is licensed to cultivate and sell dried, extract, edible and topical cannabis. The Company is on the leading edge of scientific research and the development of products and services related in the medical cannabis industry. Management believes THC BioMed is well-positioned to be in the forefront of this rapidly growing industry.

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of THC BioMed. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of THC BioMed. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "aims," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date of this press release and include that (a) shipments of THC Kiss to the recreational market will begin this week (b) THC Kiss will offer a different experience compared to edibles and beverages currently available in either the grey or legal cannabis markets, (c) THC Kiss aims to be an alternative to smoking cannabis and (d) THC BioMed will be on the forefront of this rapidly growing industry. Although THC BioMed believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because THC BioMed can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. THC disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

SOURCE THC BioMed

Related Links

http://thcbiomed.com/


BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstan proposed to work out practical measures at the government level to boost bilateral economic ties with Iran, Trend reports with reference to the press office of Kazakhstans president.

The topic was discussed during a telephone conversation between Kazakhstans President Kassym Jomart Tokayev and Irans President Hassan Rouhani.

Parties discussed the state and prospects of development of Kazakh-Iranian relations, including issues of increasing trade and economic cooperation.

During the phone call, Rouhani expressed Iran's interest in increasing trade with Kazakhstan and stressed the urgency of more effective use of the potential of the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, as well as multimodal transport corridors across the Caspian Sea.

In this regard, the Iranian side noted the importance of working together to improve the competitiveness of these transport routes in order to increase the volume of cargo transportation.

In turn, Tokayev proposed to work out practical measures at the government level to boost bilateral economic ties.

Special attention was also paid to the measures taken by two states to tackle COVID-19.

Rouhani commended the actions and decisions of Kazakhstan leadership to prevent the spread of coronavirus, as well as the wide coverage of the population for COVID-19 testing.

At the end of the conversation, Rouhani invited Tokayev to pay an official visit to Tehran.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Police and firefighters from Lynn Haven helped a couple celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in a very special way.

They hosted a surprise mini parade for Leon and Lois Miller honoring their 60th anniversary.

The surprise was organized by Mayor Margo Anderson, City Manager Vicki Gainer and, the police and fire departments. The parade passed the couple's home in grand fashion with all the flashing lights and sirens.

Misses Miller was presented with a bouquet of flowers to help celebrate the occasion. They contribute their long marriage to two things, give and take on both their parts.

Leon and Lois Miller described their reaction to the parade "It was awesome, it was surprising to me, it was really surprising. That was one of the best surprises I've had in my life. I'll never forget it."

Mister Miller was the first African American City Commissioner in Lynn Haven and both of them are still very active in the community.

Copyright 2020 (WJHG/WECP). All rights reserved.
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt is seeking further explanation and clarifications from the Electoral Commission on why they would want to use only the Ghana card and passport for the new voters' registration exercise.



Kwesi Pratt agreed with opponents that the use of the Ghana card and passport will disenfranchise many Ghanaian electorates.



NDC's accusation



The NDC National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo addressing a section of the media on Thursday, May 14, 2020, accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of using the Ghana card and passport as an excuse to disenfranchise 11 million electorates and therefore skew the elections in favour of the current administration.



But the Commission has denied claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress that it wants to collude with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to rig the elections.



EC's Denial



The EC explained that their intention to use the Ghana card and passport for the exercise is not borne out of any ulterior motive, but rather, to help ''in the elimination of unqualified names in the register''.



The Electoral Commission is not oblivious of the calculated attempts by the NDC to repeatedly peddle untruths and falsehoods aimed at tarnishing its image and causing disaffection for it.



It is impossible for the Commission to conspire with any political party or institution as is being speculated by Mr Ofosu-Ampofo and the NDC since the electoral process remains transparent at all levels, the EC added.



In a press statement signed by its acting Director of Public Affiars, Mrs Sylvia Annor, the EC assured ''all stakeholders at all levels of its determination to deliver free, fair and credible Presidential and Parliamentary Elections on December 7, 2020 as mandated by law''.



Kwesi Pratt's Stance



Kwesi Pratt, however, has taken the EC's statement with a pinch of salt, questioning why the Commission would want to ensure the Ghana card and passport are the only legal documents for the registration exercise.



Making his submissions on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Mr. Pratt said the Commission's requirements contravene Ghana's constitutional provision on what qualifies a person to be citizen.



"A citizen now will be defined as somebody with a national ID card and a passport? That is a problem . . . now, citizenship will be defined in a manner which is unconstitutional'', he stated and called on the Commission to review their considerations for the exercise.



Listen to Kwesi Pratt's submission in the video below





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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

Featured Video
KFAR CHOUBA, Lebanon  Twenty years after Hezbollah guerrillas pushed Israels last troops from southern Lebanon, both sides are gearing up for a possible war that neither seems to want.

Israeli troops are striking Hezbollah targets in neighboring Syria and drilling for what could be an invasion of Lebanon. The militant Hezbollah group is beefing up its own forces and threatening to invade Israel if provoked. The bitter enemies routinely exchange warnings and threats.

We are preparing seriously for the next war. Were not taking any shortcuts because we understand we have to be extremely strong to defeat the enemy, said Col. Israel Friedler, an Israeli commander who has been overseeing a weeks-long exercise simulating war with Hezbollah at a base in northern Israel.

Hezbollah emerged as a ragtag guerrilla group in the 1980s, funded by Iran to battle Israeli troops occupying southern Lebanon. A protracted guerrilla war, characterized by roadside bombs and sniper attacks, eventually forced Israel to withdraw in May 2000. With the exception of an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006, the volatile frontier has largely remained calm.

Since then, Hezbollah has evolved into the most powerful military and political entity in Lebanon. The party and its allies dominate Lebanons parliament and are the main power behind Prime Minister Hassan Diabs government.

Domestically, Hezbollah has emerged to become the preponderant force in Lebanon, said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut. But regionally, he said, the position of Hezbollah is precarious due to Israeli pressure, domestic turmoil and problems for its Iranian benefactors.

The group can ill afford another massive clash with Israel. The Lebanese economy is in shambles, around half the population is now estimated to live in poverty  including in Hezbollah strongholds  and the groups finances are suffering because of U.S. sanctions imposed on it and Iran. The group also suffered heavy losses in the Syrian civil war, losing some 2,000 fighters while battling alongside the forces of Syrias President Bashar Assad. Once seen as a liberation movement, Hezbollah is now seen by many in Lebanon and the region as an Iranian pawn.

Qassim Qassir, an expert on Hezbollah, says the group has no interest in going to war but has been preparing for battle for a long time. The battle will not be a battle of missiles only, he said, a reference that Hezbollah might try to invade parts of northern Israel.

In a region filled with adversaries, Israel considers Hezbollah to be its toughest and most immediate threat.

During the 2006 war, the group launched some 4,000 rockets into Israel, most of them unguided projectiles with limited ranges. Today, Israeli officials say Hezbollah possesses some 130,000 rockets and missiles capable of striking virtually anywhere in Israel. They say it has sophisticated anti-tank missiles, night-vision equipment and cyber warfare capabilities.

Hezbollah operates along the border, in violation of the U.N. cease-fire that ended the 2006 war. It also has established a presence in southern Syria, near the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, providing an additional front in a future war. Most critically, Israel believes Hezbollah is trying to develop and build precision-guided missiles.

Sheikh Ali Daamoush, a top Hezbollah official, claimed the Israelis are afraid of Hezbollahs missile program. The Israelis should be worried and scared because the resistance now has the will, intention, capabilities and force to make Israel face a great defeat in any coming confrontation, he said.

That confrontation may come sooner than anticipated. Israel has acknowledged carrying out scores of airstrikes in neighboring Syria in recent years, most of them believed to have been aimed at stopping Iranian arms shipments or missile technology for Hezbollah.

Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least seven airstrikes in the past two months alone, believed to have targeted Iranian and proxy interests.

Israeli officials say that neither Irans troubles  including the coronavirus crisis, plunging oil prices and U.S. sanctions  nor Lebanons domestic problems have changed Hezbollahs behavior. They point to a recent attempt by Hezbollah to fly a drone into Israeli airspace and an incident last month in which alleged Hezbollah operatives damaged a fence along the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

The Lebanese border town of Kfar Chouba, overseen by three Israeli positions, was quiet Wednesday, three days after Israeli troops shot and wounded a Syrian shepherd who had crossed into Israeli-held territory. The area is a disputed enclave along the frontier between Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

In the nearby Khiam plain, dozens of farmers were planting watermelon seeds in an orchard just a few meters (yards) from a fence marking the border. On the other side, residents of the town of Metulla were seen driving through streets decorated with blue and white Israeli flags placed on electric poles as farmers worked in nearby fields and trucks entered and left a factory.

U.N. peacekeepers patrolled the border areas while Lebanese troops kept a close eye from posts throughout the region.

In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Israeli troops have been participating in a massive exercise at the Elyakim military base. On a recent day, four Israeli tanks rumbled up to the edge of a ridge and fired powerful 120-millimeter shells streaking across the valley, scoring direct hits on targets several kilometers (miles) away. Ground troops maneuvered through a mock Lebanese village. Air force, navy and cyber units joined the drill.

Friedler, the Israeli commander, said if there is another war, Israel will have no choice but to cross the border to halt Hezbollah fire. He said battling an enemy entrenched in civilian areas is like fighting with handcuffs on, but insisted that his troops are ready.

Hezbollah has also vowed to cross into Israel in any future war. In late 2018, Israel uncovered and later destroyed what it said was a network of cross-border tunnels.

Despite these tensions, residents along Israels northern border say life has greatly improved since Israel withdrew from its self-declared security zone two decades ago.

Nisim Shtern, a farmer in the northern Israeli border town of Kerem Ben Zimar, spent time in southern Lebanon as a soldier in the mid-1980s and remembers times when Katyusha rockets rained down on the area.

Shtern, who grows pomegranates and wine grapes, says day-to-day life is good, but some residents still get jittery. He said he trusts the army to take quick and decisive action whenever needed.

We need to strike them hard and get out, he said. If theres a problem, take care of it with maximum force.

In Kfar Chouba, grocer Mohammed Ali Yahya, 62, said in the past people weere scared of the Israeli military, but that is no longer the case.

They will not dare invade again, he said.

___

Federman reported from Elyakim Military Base, Israel.
Syria: UN relief chief appeals for renewal of lifesaving cross-border aid operation

19 May 2020 - The UN's top aid official has urged the Security Council to renew a mechanism that provides lifesaving assistance to millions of desperate people in northwest Syria, through cross-border deliveries from Turkey.

Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock made the appeal on Tuesday during a virtual briefing to ambassadors in which he outlined the pressing need to keep the trucks rolling, amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The cross-border operation for northwest Syria, authorized by the Security Council, is a lifeline for millions of civilians whom the UN cannot reach by other means. It cannot be substituted. Its authorization must be renewed", he said.

"An early decision by the Council will avoid disruption of this vital operation and help humanitarian organizations continue the scale-up that the current needs and the prospect of COVID-19 demand. A delay will increase suffering and will cost lives."

Staggering rise in deliveries

The cross-border operation is the sole means for the UN to bring assistance to northwestern Syria, where the humanitarian situation has deteriorated since December following a government offensive to root out extremists.

Mr. Lowcock said deliveries continue at record levels, Last month, 1,365 trucks made the journey from Turkey: a more than 130 per cent increase over April 2019.

The scale-up was necessary, he added, not only because of the staggering humanitarian demands and the need to prepare for the pandemic's impact, but also because the cross-border operation is set to expire in less than two months.

The UN Secretary-General has recommended that it be renewed for an additional 12 months, having submitted a review to the Council ahead of schedule to prevent the disruption of aid flows.

"This decision cannot be left to the last minute", Mr. Lowcock told ambassadors. "Too many lives are at stake."

Overland aid reaches northeast

Turning to northeast Syria, Mr. Lowcock reported that last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered some 30 tonnes of medical supplies to Qamishli by road.

This marked the first overland aid delivery by the UN health agency in two years. Mr. Lowcock said while another 23 tonnes of aid is expected in the coming days, more needs to be done.

"The findings of the Secretary-General's review of cross-line and cross-border operations are also clear with regard to the northeast", he stated.

"A combination of more cross-border and cross-line access is required to sustain, and preferably increase, humanitarian assistance."

UN boosts COVID-19 support

Meanwhile, the UN is supporting COVID-19 preparedness and response across Syria, where the authorities have so far confirmed 58 cases and three fatalities. While none have been in the northwest, the region remains at high risk of an outbreak.

The UN is also boosting efforts to expand testing capacity and case investigation, as well as infection prevention and control.

Although a UN humanitarian fund has already dispersed some $23 million for preventative measures, Mr. Lowcock said significant shortages in personal protective equipment and other medical items remain.

The UN Secretary-General recently called for the waiver of sanctions that could impede countries' efforts to beat back the pandemic: a message echoed by his Special Envoy for Syria, who briefed the Council on Monday.

Mr. Lowcock has welcomed commitments to apply humanitarian exceptions to these measures.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Gov. Gavin Newsom this week loosened reopening requirements for counties wanting to get back to life as normal amid the coronavirus outbreak. But that wasnt enough for Tulare County.

The rural San Joaquin Valley countys Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to allow restaurants, shopping malls, hair salons, movie theaters and most other commercial establishments to welcome back the public, despite not meeting new criteria for phasing out state shelter-in-place orders.

Its become an issue of needing to get people back on their feet, back to work, said Supervisor Dennis Townsend, who authored the countys measure that permits virtually all businesses to reopen and halts local enforcement of the California stay-at-home directive. By trying to protect people, we were taking away the livelihood of people.

Tulare County has had 1,539 cases of COVID-19 and 71 deaths. On Tuesday, health officials reported 101 new cases.

Newsoms effort to relax the criteria for county reopenings came Monday amid pressure from many parts of the state that think the 2-month-old lockdown has gone on too long. A handful of counties had begun to take matters into their own hands, encouraging residents to get out in public again and businesses to open their doors. None, though, had ignored the new rules until now.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

Tulare Countys defiance underscores the difficulty the governor has had in determining when to lift the shelter-in-place and how to address the uneven impacts of the pandemic in different regions of the state. In some places, death tolls from the highly contagious coronavirus have yet to tail off while other locations have had few or no infections.

Most of the Central Valley, as well as parts of Californias mountainous north, have had fewer problems than urban regions like the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

Our numbers are not that bad, said Mike Fligor, owner of the small restaurant chain Fugazzis in the San Joaquin Valley, who has been clamoring to get up and running again. I get the sickness part of this, I do, but you cant shut the whole world down.

Fligor wasnt among several in Tulare Countys business community who rushed to open after local leaders gave the green light. While some restaurants, shops and cafes were operating, many merchants remained concerned that the state would take action against anyone who defied the shelter-in-place orders, as it did in counties that had broken the rules earlier.

Two weeks ago in Sutter, Yuba and Modoc counties, state regulators threatened to take away liquor licenses and salon permits from dozens of businesses that spurned the state directive.

State officials reacted quickly to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors vote, sending notice Tuesday to county leadership that they were not acting legally. The letter, sent by the Governors Office of Emergency Services, said the county risked losing millions of dollars of government aid for COVID-19-related expenses and natural disasters if it didnt come into compliance.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

County leaders said they had no intention of changing course.

We will not be doing any type of enforcement, said Supervisor Kuyler Crocker.

Newsoms revised criteria for an incremental reopening of Californias counties is meant to accelerate the return to normalcy in places where coronavirus infections have subsided or have always been low. Counties must meet certain thresholds for testing, medical care and caseloads.

Notably, the new regulation sheds a requirement that counties cant have had a single COVID-19 death for two weeks before moving forward. Instead, counties must meet certain limits on the rate of new infections. To reopen, counties must show theyve had less than 25 cases per 100,000 people during the previous two weeks.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

While the governor said Monday that 53 of the states 58 counties would satisfy the requirements that allow them to move to at least the first stage of reopening, he said five counties would not. Tulare County was one of them.

Tulare County has been plagued by several recent outbreaks at nursing homes as well as food processing and packing plants. The number of new infections exceeds the states threshold for moving forward.

Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

County Supervisor Amy Shuklian said it was unfair that the state included infections at nursing homes in the total assessed for reopening. The facilities, she noted, are state-regulated and theres little the county can do to improve health conditions at the sites.

We were looking to pull those numbers out, she said. Even prior to COVID-19, a couple of them had really bad records, and the state didnt do anything.

Still, Shuklian voted against Tuesdays reopening measure, which passed 3-2. She said she wants businesses back but thinks the action went too far.

The measure allows the county to move to what the governor calls stage three. In this stage, higher-risk venues with larger congregations of people, including theaters, churches, gyms and salons, are allowed to open. No counties have met the requirements to proceed this far.

Nearly 30 counties have attested that they meet the criteria for stage two. This stage allows dine-in restaurants and shops to begin opening. In all stages, business owners are required to maintain new health standards, including ensuring social distancing.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
Across Central New York, Memorial Day is normally marked with more than 50 parades and ceremonies to honor veterans who have died.

This year the day will be different due to the coroavirus pandemic which has limited large gatherings.

The parades of firetrucks, police cars and military honor guards have been cancelled. Memorial services at local cemeteries largely wont be held.

Some communities, including Canastota, Cazenovia and Minoa, are planning small, private ceremonies with no public attendance.

Its really important to maintain these things as touch points for the community, said Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday that the state will allow Memorial Day ceremonies, but said any services or events need to be capped to no more than 10 people.

As an alternative to traditional Memorial Day events, the governor said that people should consider vehicle parades instead to honor veterans who died serving the country.

We want to honor veterans, Cuomo said at his briefing from Long Island.

The governor said he hoped if small ceremonies are held that they will be broadcast so people can watch.

The governor said whether a county wants to allow the smaller services is a decision to be made at the local level.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon at his briefing today said despite the governors announcement that it is too late to plan new Memorial Day celebrations.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Syracuse gym owner desperate to reopen: I dont know how to make myself heard

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Xiaomi India managing director Manu Kumar Jain at the phone-makers Sri City facility in Andhra Pradesh. File photo

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on May 12 to announce a Rs 20-lakh-crore stimulus package for the economy to cushion the fallout of the coronavirus, he said the outbreak was a chance for India to be self-reliant, or Atamnirbhar as he put it.

He called people to be "Vocal For Local" to support the economy battered by the pandemic that has forced India to extend for the fourth time the almost two-month-long lockdown by another two weeks beginning May 18.

As soon as Modi uttered those words, social media exploded with messages calling for a boycott of foreign and especially Chinese products.

But the senders missed one small detail--most of the messages were being sent from foreign phones, the majority of which were Chinese.

Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, POCO, iQoo, Honor and Huawei are Chinese brands. Samsung and LG are South Korean. Nokia is Finnish and Apple is American.

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

Can you spot an Indian brand in this alphabet soup? And why does the country of origin suddenly matters?

Wuhan may be the reason. With global coronavirus infections going past 4.7 million and death toll climbing to 315,000, the anti-China sentiment is rising across the world.

Led by the US, several countries have accused China of playing down the severity of the outbreak that was first reported in the city of Wuhan late last year.

Several conspiracy theories, including the one claiming that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is lab-made, are doing the rounds.

To be sure, the call for going local is to promote Indian products and cut down imports not shun them.

In a global economy, it is just not possible and like it or not, China is the worlds factory, its manufacturing hub.

Where are Indian smartphones?

When was the last time homegrown companies like Micromax, Karbonn or Intex launched a new phone? Today, these brands have almost no presence in the smartphone market.

Barely four years ago, they were being talked about in glowing terms but the debut of Motorola's Moto G-series followed by the entry of Xiaomi decimated them. Their fate was sealed in 2016 when they failed to launch 4G phones at affordable prices.

Xiaomi was still a newbie, but it played its cards well and grew exponentially.

All along players like Vivo and OPPO were lining up with eye-popping budgets to find a toehold in the worlds second-largest smartphone market.

Getting a share of the pie was the goal, even if it meant operating in the red for a while. The Chinese flooded the Indian market with their offerings.

These brands were product-focused and delivered a better user experience at affordable rates, something that Micromax and Karbonn failed to do.

In fact, Micromax was caught rebranding a Chinese phone and importing it to India. It wasnt making phones in India but relied on Chinese imports. So, even if the brand was "Indian", the phones were still Made in China.

Indian brands didnt invest with a long-term outlook. Hardly a surprise then that Micromax's valuation plunged more than 90 percent in four years.

Technically, these were import-export businesses and not phone-makers. They didnt invest in research and development, after-sales were very poor and users soon realised they were being taken for a ride.

On the other hand, foreign players have established India-centric research and development centres. Android skins like MIUI, OxygenOS, and Realme UI have features built to cater to the Indian consumer.

Indian startups like CREO and Smartron tried to enter the market but couldnt go up against established players. Today, these companies have pivoted to the internet of things and other enterprises.

After Modis address, Indian brand Lava said it will shift production from China to India and invest Rs 800 crore over five years. Considering the size of the Indian market, it is peanuts and counts for little.

Foreign but still Indian

What about Chinese brands in India? They account for 75 percent of the Indian smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research's Q1 2020 figures.

South Koreas Samsung has a 16 percent share. Micromax only finds mention in the feature-phone segment and that, too, with a measly 7 percent share.

Yet, the lions share of these brands, irrespective of the country of origin, are primarily Indian because they Make in India. How did that happen?

The government has over the years increased import duty on finished phones to 20 percent to encourage the "Make in India" campaign.

Foreign companies looking for a big play in India were ready.

Xiaomi is the top smartphone maker in India with a 30 percent market share. It set up its first factory in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh, in 2015. Two years later, with its partner Foxconn of the iPhone fame, the brand opened its second factory and added four more units to keep up with the demand, a spokesperson told Moneycontrol.

These plants employ more than 30,000 people, 95 percent of whom are women. These facilities assemble phones. "Currently, more than 99 percent of the Xiaomi devices sold in India are made in India," the spokesperson said.

The companys India headquarters is in Bengaluru, right next to the base of Indias first big homegrown e-commerce success Flipkart, which has since changed hands and is now owned by the American giant Walmart.

Manu Kumar Jain is the vice-president of Xiaomi Global and Managing Director of Xiaomi India. That is as "Indian" as a company can get.

Samsung is another big player in the market. In 2018, the company opened the world's largest mobile phone factory in Uttar Pradeshs Noida. The facility can produce more than 120 million handsets every year.

Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth said the company assembled all its smartphones at its Noida plant.

This facility also makes OPPO phones. OPPO also confirmed that the phones sold in India were assembled locally. It employs a workforce of 7,500.

Realme is an interesting reverse story, if you may.

It started from India and is now looking to make its mark in the home country. It is backed by Chinese-giant, BBK Electronics. The parent company also owns brands such as Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus and iQoo.

Recently, there were reports that Apple was planning to move 20 percent of its iPhone production to India from China. It could translate to $40 billion over five years.

The Cupertino-based giant already assembles some iPhone models in India in partnership with Wistron but wants to expand.

Assembling vs manufacturing

Assembling is an act of putting things together. So when multiple components are brought together to make a finished product, it is called assembling.

Manufacturing is when each part is built from scratch. India relies on imports for a considerable chunk of these components.

It is critical for India's long-term technology future. Listed companies like Dixon Technologies Ltd, which has a TV manufacturing plant in Tirupati, are Xiaomi's local partners in India.

Coming back to smartphones, Xiaomi says 65 percent of the device value is locally sourced. It manufactures printed circuit boards, the basic unit of a device that connects electronic components, in India.

More than 50 percent of Realmes component suppliers are Indian. They manufacture screens, battery, packaging and internal components.

These small steps are essential for creating industry clusters that can run independently in the future. The local workforce is trained as well in the process. According to a media report, 3.6 crore handsets were exported from India in FY 19-20.

Made in India

India is expected to have 900 million internet users by 2023 and of these, 780 million will be smartphone users, a February 2020 report by Cisco has said. TV would be the second biggest medium to connect to the internet, the report said.

Five years ago, premium phones were cheaper abroad and a must-buy during a visit. But not anymore, localisation has made smartphones cheaper in India.

Brands can price their offerings aggressively because of the import duty bypass.

Except the so-called premium phones like the latest iPhone or the Mi 10, pretty much every phone in the market today is Made in India.

This is true of the wider market as well. Honda is a Japanese company but makes its cars in India. PepsiCo is an American firm but it makes cola and chips, under the brand Lays, in India.

The call for local is aimed at reducing imports to save precious foreign currency and, as the ruling party later clarified, local does not only mean products made by Indian companies but also those manufactured in the country by multinational companies.

Yes, these brands ship profits to parent companies and that is still an outflow. But, for the time, this is how it will be.

For decades, Indias IT companies have shied away from product-based models and focused on services.

China leads the smartphone race because it has clusters like Shenzhen, where innovation is embraced and mass production facilities are available.

India has a long way to get there and it will call for huge monetary and technical support from the government. For now, Made in India is the best we have.

(The author writes on technology, aviation, and mobility.)
Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  The International Center of Photography recently awarded Filipino photographer Hannah Reyes Morales its 2020 Infinity Award for Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism. Morales has had significant photojournalism work throughout the years such as documenting the aftermath of the Marawi siege and the effects of President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs for The Washington Post, the overcrowding at the Manila City Jail for the New York Times, war crimes against Cambodians for Al Jazeera America, and the beauty standards affecting women for the National Geographic.

Watching the landscape of the Philippines change under this administration has also been difficult, to say the least, she tells CNN Philippines Life in an unpublished 2019 interview. I became a photojournalist in a time of immense changes here. So many of us are coming into our practice amid this contested space. Working in Mindanao has been challenging. Its such a context-heavy space, and Im often having to undo my own assumptions as I go. But as in every story, I meet people who guide me and help me understand what I am seeing.

Morales was born in Manila and travels around Asia for her work. Her upbringing in the messy bits of Manila has become part of the core of her journalism work, which has allowed her to document crucial events and cultural touchpoints in the Philippines and around the world, particularly subjects that are close to her, such as the Filipino diaspora.

The ruins of Marawi city after the siege. This was for a work for The Washington Post in 2019. Photo by HANNAH REYES MORALES

Detainees are seen sleeping by a small grotto of Mary in the Manila City Jail. This photograph was taken in 2018 for the New York Times. Photo by HANNAH REYES MORALES

Marta poses with her husband Apolinar at their home in Pampanga. Mara is a member of Malaya Lolas, or Free Grandmothers, a group of survivors of mass rape during the Second World War. Photo by HANNAH REYES MORALES

Working on the story on the Filipino diaspora was also interesting, she told CNN Philippines Life. Visualizing migration and absence was tough, and it was daunting to try to find a different way of telling a story that almost every Filipino has somehow touched. We all have memories with a balikbayan box. We all have friends who've left. Or we've been the friend who's left. It's a story of millions of people  my husband and family included. It shook up my notions of what family and nationhood meant.

Her previous awards include the 2019 Tim Hetherington Visionary Award, the Royal Photographic Society Margaret Harker medal for 100 Photographic Heroines, and the 2016 SOPA Award for Excellence in Digital Reporting. She has also received two grants from the National Geographic.

This years International Center of Photography awards has also honored the sprawling The 1619 Project of the New York Times Magazine, which commemorates the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery.

Watch the ICP video on Hannah Reyes Morales below.

You can also read some of Moraless works for CNN Philippines Life below.

The photographs we take, the homes that we carry

On the road with Leni Robredo

LOOK: How the children of Sampaloc, Manila dressed up for Halloween

With reporting by Claire Jiao.
Earlier this year, the Rajasthan government ruled that the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), dubbed the greatest literary show on earth, would have to shift out of the Diggy Palace, its home for 13 years on logistical issues. Then came the coronavirus pandemic that has locked down India and much of the world and there was a question mark on whether the situation would stabilise for the 14th edition to be held as scheduled for January 28-February1, 2021. Regardless of the testing times, the show will go on, JLF Producer Sanjay K. Roy asserts though there may be changes in the format.

Its too early to look at what form the Jaipur Literature Festival will take for 2021. We are confident of hosting the festival in 2021 albeit with changes given the challenges presently, Roy, the MD of Teamwork Arts that conducts the event, told IANS in an interview.

These are testing times. Times which we had not ever foreseen or even quite comprehend. This is also the perfect time to reboot our thought process and create something fresh and vibrant. But every crisis comes with many opportunities. Its on us to figure them out, nurture them and share it with others, Roy added.

This is also a time when we turn to the hope-instilling powers of literature, he said, adding that JLF has always celebrated the glory of the word and the spirit of the community that books build.

The Festival believes in linking people through the universal language of art and literature at a time which defies every known challenge. Now more than ever, when de-globalisation is the need of

the hour, a free-flowing exchange of ideas must be kept alive. Hence, we came out with JLF Brave New World, an online literature series, a virtual initiative to celebrate books, their power and positivity, Roy noted.

Noting that it was ironic that a tiny virus has turned the world upside down and in true sense teaching us the fact that all aspects of life can get affected by a single object, he said: The pandemic has shown us that the road ahead is filled with unwanted barriers, but its not the end of it. It is going to give us knowledge which we never had a chance to visit in better times. It will bring us the wisdom to fight with even worse situations. JLF Brave New World is a reflection of the same idea which brought us together to keep fighting the pandemic and be together in these tough times.

JLF Brave New World engages a well-defined process involving the entire workforce to make the sessions as interesting as the original festival is. The sessions get simultaneously live-streamed on social media handles including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Curated by co-festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, elaborate list of speakers includes Orhan Pamuk, Jhumpa Lahiri, Abhijit Banerjee, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Bruno Macaes, Margaret Atwood, Peter Carey, Peter Frankopan, Peter Morgan, Ruskin Bond, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Shubha Mudgal and Simon Schama, to name a few.

We have also created new digital programming for the music, theatre and the arts and artisan space. META will go online shortly, #ArtMatters is online to focus on artists and artisans and Under The Banyan Tree and a new exciting music project around Jazz India Circuit, Roy added.

In all this, the preparations are in full swing for JLF 2021.

The curation of the programming is a lengthy procedure for the Jaipur Literature Festival. We plan a year in advance to deliver each edition on time. Indeed, this is an ever-ongoing process which happens over 18 months, Roy said.

Some of the offshore JLFs have however, taken a hit.

India by the Bay Hong Kong, India by the Bosphrous, India in Morocco, etc have been postponed and JLF London, JLF Belfast and JLF USA are looking to become virtual online festivals, Roy said

The message, at the bottom line is: We Shall Overcome.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:16:47|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HONG KONG, May 20 (Xinhua) -- More confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in some Asian countries on Wednesday, with Bangladesh and India confirming the biggest daily jump.

Bangladesh reported the biggest daily increase of 1,617 new infections, taking the total to 26,738.

Sixteen more people died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the country to 386.

India also witnessed the largest single day spike as 5,611 positive cases were reported, bringing the total cases to 106,750 as of Wednesday morning.

A total of 140 new deaths were recorded in the country, taking the number of deaths to 3,303.

In Indonesia, the total cases rose by 693 within one day to 19,189, and the death toll increased by 21 to 1,242.

The Philippine health department on Wednesday reported 279 new infections, bringing the total number in the country to 13,221.

In a daily bulletin, the Department of Health said 89 more patients have recovered from the disease, bringing the number of recoveries to 2,932, and five more patients have died, bringing the death toll to 842.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia totaled 7,009 after 31 new cases were reported, according to its health ministry.

Among these new cases, 21 are local transmissions, 10 are imported cases.

No new fatalities had been reported, leaving the total at 114 deaths.

The Afghan Ministry of Public Health said that 492 people, including 262 in the capital city Kabul, have been tested positive over the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 8,145.

A total of 188 patients have died and 390 others have recovered since the outbreak in mid February.

Solomon Islands authorities started to enforce the scheduled lockdown around the capital city Honiara area from Wednesday morning, local media reported.

During the 36-hour lockdown, no one will be allowed to leave their residence. All businesses will be closed during that period. No vessels will be allowed to leave or arrive at the Honiara port after 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday until after 6:00 a.m. on Friday.

Cambodia on Wednesday lifted a ban on foreign travelers from the United States, Iran, and four European countries after the kingdom has reported no new infections for more than a month.

The ban lifting came after the country has detected no new infections since April 12, and all 122 patients in the kingdom have recovered.

South Korea reported 32 more cases compared to 24 hours ago as of midnight Wednesday, raising the total number of infections to 11,110.

The daily caseload rose above 30 in nine days. Of the new cases, eight were imported, lifting the combined figure to 1,189.

New Zealand recorded no new cases again on Wednesday, with the combined total of confirmed and probable cases remaining at 1,503, according to the Ministry of Health. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:17:18|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

MADRID, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday explained in Spanish Congress why he is requesting a further 15-day extension of the country's state of alarm, which was imposed to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Though the number of new cases in Spain continues to fall, and the number of deaths was below 100 for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, Sanchez insisted that the state of alarm gives the government power to prevent movement between the different parts of Spain, which is vital as his country continues its "asymmetrical" relaxation of containment measures and gradual opening of the economy.

"We can say that the state of alarm has worked and it has benefitted the collective of our autonomous communities and citizens," Sanchez said in a speech on Wednesday morning.

The prime minister asked for "prudence and caution" and highlighted the results of a nationwide study to show the spread of COVID-19 throughout the population.

The first results of the study were published a week ago and showed that only 5 percent of Spaniards had antibodies for the coronavirus -- not enough to develop "herd immunity" -- and that some regions of the country had a much higher incidence of the virus than others.

"The state of alarm has helped all of the country and all of the communities," said Sanchez.

"This is the only possible way to combat the virus efficiently. Prudence, caution and security have been vital," he added.

Despite reaching an agreement with the center-right Ciudadanos party on Tuesday, it is still uncertain if Sanchez will be able to win enough votes to pass the measure, in the face of the main opposition parties. Enditem
Dr. Smith is William L. Bray Professor in the Department of Urology at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He served as Chairman of the department from 1991 to 2015. Additionally, he served as President of the American Board of Urology, President of the Society of Urologic Oncology, President of the Southeastern Section of the AUA and Chairman of the Residency Review Committee.

"I am pleased to welcome Dr. Smith to the Board," said Dr. Harris M. Nagler, President of the Urology Care Foundation. "His expertise, proven track record and unwavering commitment to supporting and improving the prevention, detection and treatment of urologic disease is invaluable to our continued success. I look forward to his involvement in furthering the Foundation's global mission."

Dr. Smith has been listed on Castle Connelly's prestigious "Best Doctors" list for 25 consecutive years and was designated by Time Magazine as one of the top five surgeons in the country for the treatment of cancer. His professional focus has been on innovative treatment strategies for patients with urologic cancers, as well as the introduction and evaluation of technologic advances in urologic surgery for more than 40 years.

"The Urology Care Foundation is recognized around the world for leading the way in improving the lives of millions of children and adults impacted by urologic cancer and disease. I am very excited to support such a remarkable cause and to become more deeply involved in the Foundation's research initiatives and educational programs," said Smith.

Dr. Smith currently serves as Editor of the Journal of Urology, the most widely read and highly cited journal within the specialty. He is an active participant in numerous professional organizations and charitable causes.

For more information on the Urology Care Foundation Board of Directors, visit: https://urologyhealth.org/about-us/leadership.

About the Urology Care Foundation: The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation, and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. Partnering with physicians, researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, families and the public, the Foundation supports and improves urologic clinical care by funding research, developing patient education and pursuing philanthropic support worldwide. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: www.urologyhealth.org.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 23,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy.

SOURCE American Urological Association and Urology Care Foundation

Related Links

https://www.urologyhealth.org


Victorian health officials have used the COVIDSafe app to trace an infected person's close contacts for the first time since the app launched late last month.

The Department of Health and Human Services said a coronavirus-infected person, who had the COVIDSafe app installed on their phone, was identified on Monday night.

Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen said the app was used to identify a close contact of the infected person who had been missed in initial screening.

The COVIDSafe app. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"So that's good news, that person has been contacted and they are now in quarantine," Dr van Diemen said.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Only 15% of Palestinians living in Jerusalem would choose Israeli over Palestinian citizenship, compared to 52% in 2015, according to an opinion poll by the Washington Institute for Middle East Studies. The poll was supervised by David Pollock, who presented the poll during a virtual lecture hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research on May 9.

The poll, conducted over 2018, 2019 and the first two months of 2020, revealed significant changes in opinions among the Palestinian population in Jerusalem, compared to previous surveys in 2010, 2011 and 2015.

Israel grants Palestinians in Jerusalem, about 435,000 people, an ID card denoting permanent resident status and refuses to allow them to obtain Palestinian citizenship.

Pollock attributed the change in the views of Palestinian Jerusalemites during the past five years to several reasons, notably the outbreak of the Jerusalem uprising in 2015, which lasted for a year and a half, in addition to the tension surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to the poll, the change is due to increasing activities by several parties, most notably Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, in providing services to Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Turkey provides continuous support to the Palestinians in Jerusalem in the areas of housing, health, education, economy and food, through relief and development projects by official and civil Turkish institutions, the most important of which is the official Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency and the Orient Association. Such projects are implemented through the PA.

Most recently on May 13, the Orient Association, in cooperation with the Turkish Deniz Feneri Association, launched an urgent relief project called Jerusalem has a life to provide financial support, food baskets and clothes for 250 families in Jerusalem most affected by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus via an online donation platform.

Head of the Orient Association Jalal ad-Din Darwan told Al-Monitor, Our project aims to provide support to Palestinian families in Jerusalem to help them cope with the coronavirus pandemic, given that about 75% of the Palestinians there work in fields where work has stopped entirely due to the virus.

Darwan explained that the Orient Association runs several projects in Jerusalem including the Silwan reconstruction program, which aims to rebuild dilapidated Palestinian real estate in one of the oldest Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, in addition to a program to empower Jerusalem villages isolated by the separation barrier, by rehabilitating their agricultural lands and planting them with trees.

The Turkish role in Jerusalem is an irritant to Israel. In its intelligence estimates for 2020, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate included Turkey among the organizations and countries that threaten Israeli national security because of its ongoing activities in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Adnan Ghaith, the PAs appointed governor of Jerusalem, told Al-Monitor, The PA plays a major role in strengthening the resilience of the Palestinians in Jerusalem against Israeli Judaization policies, noting that PA efforts in this vein have increased since the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, 2017.

Ghaith explained that the PA is responding to the Israeli policy of demolishing Palestinian homes in Jerusalem by offering those affected full compensation to rebuild their homes. He pointed out that the PA is also cracking down on those who secretly sell Palestinian real estate and property in Jerusalem to Israeli settlement associations.

On Aug. 6, 2019, Israel banned any PA activity in Jerusalem, but Ghaith stressed that the PAs support for the Palestinians there continues despite Israeli efforts to intercept it.

As for Hamas activities in Jerusalem, the Gaza-based movement is focused on providing financial support to the Palestinians there. A Hamas member in Jerusalem told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, The movement provides continuous financial support to assist the families of the Palestinians who were killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli authorities believe these funds incite violence and encourage operations against Israeli targets, the Hamas source added.

He noted, The money comes from Hamas abroad or from the Gaza Strip to people inside the West Bank or inside Israel, who in turn deliver this money to Palestinian families in Jerusalem, a process that is constantly threatened by the Israeli security services.

Hassan Khater, the head of the Jerusalem International Center and former director of the Islamic-Christian Commission For the Support of Jerusalem and Holy Sites, told Al-Monitor, The Palestinians in Jerusalem, especially those who live behind the separation barrier and amount to about 150,000 Palestinians, face difficulty in accessing services provided by Israel, in addition to having to pay 14 different kinds of taxes that Israel imposes on them, financially overburdening them and pushing them out of Jerusalem and into the West Bank.

Khater added that increased Turkish activity in Jerusalem has strengthened support for Turkey in light of the declining popularity of Arab countries for their failure to support the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Although the Arab Summit had decided in 2010 to allocate $500 million to support them, Palestinian Jerusalemites never received these funds, he said.

However, Khater downplayed the PAs role in providing health, education and maintenance services to Palestinians in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian government allocates $8 million annually to support the Palestinians in Jerusalem, which is a negligible budget compared to the $2 billion allocated by Israel on May 13, 2018, for a period of five years, in order to strengthen Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem, he noted.

Khater pointed out, Yet, Palestinians in Jerusalem have been showing more support for the PA recently, due to the PAs rejection of the US administrations recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Kolkata/IBNS: Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, super Cyclone Amphan wreaked a havoc in the state of West Bengal causing worst damages in North and South 24 Parganas districts, while claiming several lives and destroying properties.

According to the West Bengal government, at least 10-12 people have died, while five deaths have been confirmed as the extreme super cyclone made landfall on Wednesday afternoon along the state's Sagar Island.

Cyclone Amphan crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) across Sunderbans near lat 21.65N & long 88.3E between 1530 & 1730 hrs IST of 20th May with wind speed of 155-165 gusting to 185 mph, the Indian Met Department stated.

SUPER CYCLONE AMPHAN CROSSED WEST BENGAL-BANGLADESH COASTS AS A VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM WITH THE SPEED OF 155-165 KMPH GUSTING TO 185 KMPH ACROSS SUNDERBAN NEAR LAT. 21.65N AND LONG. 88.3E. AND LAY CENTRED AT 1930 HRS IST OF TODAY, THE 20TH MAY 2020. pic.twitter.com/uZ04sKKyau  India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 20, 2020

The Met Department has predicted that the impact will remain till Thursday morning as the Cyclone Amphan is progressing towards Bangladesh.

Addressing media at state headquarters Nabanna, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: "The calamity has been that of a large scale and the outcomes will be worse than Coronavirus."

At least 10-12 people have lost their lives due to uprooting of trees or collapse of roofs, she informed.

Banerjee, who appeared to be evidently depressed, said: "The calamity has hit the entire state, and the impact has been high. We will start the restoration work but the entire process will take time as there have been massive losses of properties."

"The North 24 Parganas and the South 24 Parganas are heavily affected. Full south Bengal is finished. I don't think we can provide a better picture tomorrow," said Banerjee.

To questions, she said, "Am mentally very upset since the disaster is massive. We are facing a three-tier crisis presently-one there is the Coronavirus outbreak, then there is the migrants' incoming issues and also the calamity which has almost washed away the south Bengal."

The cyclone's wind speed was 133 km per hour as it left Kolkata towards North 24 Parganas.

Kolkata received heavy rains and witnessed huge gush of wind storms which damaged the roofs of several buildings and uprooted a massive number of trees across the city.

The eastern state reported five confirmed deaths so far. A girl in Howrah died after a wall collapsed on her at Shalimar. In North 24 Parganas, a 56-year-old woman in Minakhan and another youth in Basirhat were killed by uprooted trees.

In Kolkata, a mother and her son died in the Regent Park area, latest report said.

Amid warning of severe damage to properties, Amphan has already destroyed over 5,000 houses in Minakhan, Haroa, Basirhat Hingalgunj, Hasnabad areas of North 24 Parganas.

Most of the areas in Howrah and North 24 Parganas are facing power cuts due to heavy rainfall, uprooting of trees and flooding in many places.

According to television footage, roofs of several houses collapsed as a result of the high winds during the storm.

Even there has been damages inside the state secretariat building-Nabanna.

Two teams of NDRF have already started road clearance work with cutting equipments at Shyampur Block in Howrah district.

#WestBengal: 2 BN NDRF teams started road clearance work with cutting equipments at Shyampur Block in Howrah district @NDRFHQ#AmphanCyclone #CycloneAmphanUpdate pic.twitter.com/LQcLfDrVGg  DD News (@DDNewslive) May 20, 2020

Kolkata Police have also resorted to removing the uprooted trees although the full-scale operations will commence from Thursday.

The West Bengal CM said the threat is not over yet and advised people not to venture out of their homes.

Earlier, the state government evacuated around 5 lakh people from the coastal areas and shifted them to storm shelters.

However, as predicted, Odisha was saved this time from havoc damages.
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) said the COVID-19 pandemic has made the need for a standardized industry e-bill of lading (eBL) greater than ever.

Cargo in ports sometimes can't be gated out because paper bills of lading simply are getting stuck in a supply chain mucked up by the pandemic, according to DCSA, which argues that eliminating paper from the shipping transaction will make every aspect of container shipping better, faster, cheaper, more secure and environmentally friendly.

DCSA also has pegged $4 billion in annual savings for the container shipping industry with 50% eBL adoption. On Tuesday the nonprofit announced the launch of a collaborative effort to push for those savings through eBL standardization and implementation.

"For any robust technology, such as blockchain or digital ledger, to safely deliver an eBL from end to end, data modeling and transmission standards need to be in place. If everyone who touches the eBL is using the same data format and communication standards, it can be transported seamlessly regardless of preexisting relationships between stakeholders. Digital standards will enable interoperability between all stakeholders, such as system providers, shippers, carriers, banks, and regulators," DCSA said.

As part of this initiative, DCSA will develop open-source standards for necessary legal terms and conditions as well as definitions and terminology to facilitate communication among customers, container carriers, regulators, financial institutions and other industry stakeholders.

"DCSA's mission is to drive alignment and digital standardization to enable transparent, reliable, easy-to-use, secure, and environmentally friendly container transportation services. Digitizing documentation, starting with the bill of lading, is key to the simplification and digitization of global trade," said DCSA CEO Thomas Bagge. "The transformation that has taken place in the airline industry is an example of what's possible if we work together. The e-AWB is now the norm rather than the exception among air carriers."

Story continues

Based in Amsterdam, DCSA was launched in April 2019 to create common information technology standards. Its nine members  CMA CGM, Evergreen Marine, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Maersk, MSC, ONE, Yang Ming and ZIM  make up about 70% of global container ship capacity.

In January DCSA released its first set of open standards, guidelines on processes, data, and interface standards for tracking and tracing ocean containers.

In March it issued a guide designed to facilitate vessel readiness to comply with the International Maritime Organization Resolution MSC.428(98) on Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management Systems.

Bagge, who joined DCSA from Maersk, said an eBL guide will not be issued until the organization has completed gathering information from stakeholders.

"We intend to spend until the end of the summer basically analyzing the main pain points of the industry ... to understand what they see as a need and the opportunity there," Bagge said. "We want to make sure that people are heard and it's an industry with many stakeholders."

Conversations will take place with customers as well as providers.

"The shipping industry has been quite impressive in helping to drive down costs, but from our point of view, the next round of that must come from an improved customer experience," Bagge said.

He pointed to other industries that have successfully improved the customer experience through technology.

"Our smartphones work all over the globe now. In the 2000s, they didn't. We had to have different SIM cards in Europe or the U.S. or Japan. Thanks to digital standards, that has been removed now. We also have it in banking, where we use IBAN codes to transfer money all over the world," Bagge said.

Customers and regulators are clamoring for similar gains in container shipping. Bagge referred to a recent meeting with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in which he was told of "the challenges they have with receiving analog-driven data from paper bills of lading. ... The data quality is really, really poor. They really, really want to see this."

Better data and increased visibility would prove vital in situations in which dangerous goods cause fires or other onboard mishaps.

"I foresee a world where you are held liable for the information you provide to shipping lines so ... if you're shipping dangerous goods, you will be held liable for what you put in there," Bagge said.

An eBL could work hand in hand with the internet of things (IOT), said Bagge. He expects great stride in eBL adoption and IOT advancements in the next five to seven years.

"I foresee that in the coming years we will see more and more IOT-enabled containers. You will be able to monitor the temperature in that container, what's the humidity, what's the CO2 level and oxygen level, has the container been opened. And I think we will be able to see as you get more IOT, you'll be able to detect fires better, you'll be able to respond much quicker, you'll be able to make people liable for anything that happens," he said.

DCSA was formed in part so its members could collaboratively push forward new technologies.

"We bring all the nine carriers together and we do that every six weeks. We typically bring them together face to face but we can't do that these days. We use video conferencing and then we debate. We reanalyze the data first and foremost that we've gotten, and we try and envision the future if you will," Bagge said.

"They share the problems. They're slightly different because of their IT processes but it's the same problem they're trying to solve. I think that's been very encouraging for us. You could always argue it could be implemented quicker with the carriers or that legislation could be quicker, but it's not something that keeps me awake at night."

Thus Bagge does not foresee a problem reaching eBL consensus among DCSA's various European and Asian members.

"If we compare the front page of the bills of lading, they're probably 95% identical," said Bagge, noting that only 27 countries thus far formally have ratified eBL acceptance. "What matters is the U.S. has already ratified it. Many European countries have already ratified it. We do believe there's certainly enough cargo that moves in those corridors to make a real dent in the paper bill of lading. Our expectation is that there will be fast followers once countries realize the benefits."

DCSA said eBL progress has been accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

"A number of DCSA members have reported a sharp increase in eBL adoption in an effort to keep trade moving. In addition, the International Group of P&I Clubs (IGP&I), which provides indemnity insurance to around 90% of the world's oceangoing tonnage, has picked up the pace on approving eBL solution providers, with two added in the last six months to a total of six approved so far," DCSA said.

As Bagge talked during today's work-from-home world with his four children in the background, he considered the future from an environmental standpoint.

"How are we going to leave the planet for our kids and for everybody else? We have paper all over the world today," Bagge said. "I think we can do better."

Photo provided by FreightWaves.

See more from Benzinga

 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is considering imposing a ban on travel from Brazil, which has the world's third highest number of people infected by the novel coronavirus.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is considering imposing a ban on travel from Brazil, which has the world's third highest number of people infected by the novel coronavirus.

"We are considering it," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"I don't want people coming over here and infecting our people. I don't want people over there sick either. We're helping Brazil with ventilators. ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it," Trump added.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Chris Reese)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness made the perfect pair when they stepped out together in New York City on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old actor and his wife of 24 years donned face masks and puffer jackets as they walked their dogs, Dali and Allegra, amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Both were dressed casually for their walk along the Hudson River, with the Bad Education actor opting for a pair of black tracksuit pants.

In sync: Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness made the perfect pair when they stepped out together in New York City on Tuesday. Both pictured

He also wore a long-sleeve grey T-shirt underneath a black puffer vest, and dark grey sneakers.

The multi-talented star hid beneath a black face mask and dark sunglasses, while clutching Dali's leash with one hand.

Meanwhile, Deborra-Lee, 64, walked alongside him, dressed in a pair of cropped black exercise tights.

Dressed down: Both were dressed casually for their walk along the Hudson River, with the Bad Education actor opting for a pair of black tracksuit pants

Behind the mask: The 51-year-old actor and his wife of 24 years donned matching face masks and puffer jackets as they walked their dogs, Dali and Allegra, amid the coronavirus pandemic

She wore a black puffer jacket zipped up to her neck and pink sneakers, which she paired with black socks.

Like Hugh, Deborra-Lee also wore a face mask and sunglasses, and held onto Allegra's leash on their walk.

The longtime couple appeared sombre as they strolled along the water, with New York City currently under siege from the coronavirus.

Grey days: Hugh also wore a long-sleeve grey T-shirt underneath a black puffer vest, and dark grey sneakers

Incognito: The multi-talented star hid beneath a black face mask and dark sunglasses, while clutching Dali's leash with one hand

Speaking to Who magazine last week, Hugh admitted he was concerned for the couple's two children, son Oscar, 19, and daughter Ava, 14.

'I mainly worry for my kids right now. I'm not scared for myself,' he told the publication.

'I am worried about them, their mental state, school, not being around friends and the disruption.'

Think pink: Deborra-Lee wore a black puffer jacket zipped up to her neck and pink sneakers, which she paired with black socks

Puppy love: Like Hugh, Deborra-Lee also wore a face mask and sunglasses, and held onto Allegra's leash on their walk

Hugh compared New York City to a 'post-apocalyptic movie', adding that the once-bustling city was 'tranquil and bizarrely empty'.

The Greatest Showman star is trying to keep up a regular routine by meditating daily as he takes six months off work.

He is also using his home as a makeshift theatre while rehearsing for his upcoming return to Broadway.

Worried: Speaking to Who magazine last week, Hugh admitted he was concerned for the couple's two children, son Oscar, 19, and daughter Ava, 14

Dark days: The longtime couple appeared sombre as they strolled along the water, with New York City currently under siege from the coronavirus

Hugh also told the publication he was talking to his neighbours more while walking his dogs around the streets of New York.

'People seem to have more time, and the optimist in me hopes that'll continue, and there'll be a shared sense of community when it's over,' he said.

It comes after Hugh and Deborra-Lee recently urged their fans to stay at home to protect others amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

'I mainly worry for my kids right now. I'm not scared for myself,' he told Who magazine of the coronavirus pandemic

'I am worried about them, their mental state, school, not being around friends and the disruption,' he added of his children

The couple shared a video to Instagram last month from their NYC apartment.

'Hi there! We stay home for all of our family, and for all the people working in essential services. All the doctors and healthcare workers,' Deborra-Lee said.

The couple celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary last month, with Hugh paying tribute to his wife on Instagram.

Transformed: Hugh compared New York City to a 'post-apocalyptic movie', adding that the once-bustling city was 'tranquil and bizarrely empty'

Zen master: The Greatest Showman star is trying to keep up a regular routine by meditating daily as he takes six months off work

'These 24 years have been the best of my life! And, as far as I can see, we keep getting better,' he wrote.

He added: 'I love you Debs with every fiber of my soul. Happy anniversary.'

In an interview with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon via video conference last month, Hugh revealed Deborra-Lee had turned down Mick Jagger for him.

Practice makes perfect: He is also using his home as a makeshift theatre while rehearsing for his upcoming return to Broadway

Community: Hugh also told the publication he was talking to his neighbours more while walking his dogs around the streets of New York

Hugh said it happened at the very start of his relationship with the actress, and he had invited Deborra-Lee and 12 others to his home in Melbourne for dinner.

'Deb got a phone call halfway through dinner. We're in Melbourne, Australia, and the phone rings and Deb picks it up and everyone goes quiet...' he recounted.

'Deb's talking, and she's like "Who? Hang on a sec", and then she says, "Mick Jagger's in a limo outside your house, and wants to go and party with me."'

'People seem to have more time, and the optimist in me hopes that'll continue, and there'll be a shared sense of community when it's over,' he said

Staying in: It comes after Hugh and Deborra-Lee recently urged their fans to stay at home to protect others amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Confirming the story, Deborra-Lee added: 'My girlfriend wanted me to come party with Mick Jagger.'

Hugh said he was expecting his wife of 24 years to leave his dinner to go and party with the 76-year-old Rolling Stones frontman.

But he was pleasantly surprised when Deborra-Lee turned down the offer and decided to stay at his house instead.

'Hi there! We stay home for all of our family, and for all the people working in essential services. All the doctors and healthcare workers,' Deborra-Lee said

'She goes, "You can tell Mick I'm having dinner with Hugh Jackman,"' the clearly chuffed actor continued.

Hugh confessed that was the moment he knew Deborra-Lee must've really liked him.

'I went, "Whoa". Part of me was thrilled, and part of me was like, "You should have gone,"' he said incredulously.
This franchise profile gives key insight into Farmer Boys, with a mention of key takeaways as a conclusion. The profile provides a consolidated and up to date information about the company, including the financial performance and/or number of stores owned and franchised by it.

Report Scope:

The scope of this franchise profile report is precise and covers the companys background along with its present performance in the market. The major sections of the profile include overview, products offered, recent developments and strategies undertaken, challenges faced, business strategy and analysis, and financial information. The report also includes revenue forecasts, presence of franchisee stores, market forecasts and key people of the company.

The report concludes with any other important information about the company and key takeaways.

Request for Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/11705

Report Includes:

 An overview of the franchise profile on Farmer Boys, a three decades old fast-casual dining restaurant

 Market estimation of revenue growth for Farmer Boys for a period of five years from 2018 to 2023

 Timeline of historical background of the company along with recent developments and business strategies

 SWOT analysis of the franchised company covering all major strengths, opportunities and threats

 Data corresponding to number of franchised stores and affiliated-owned outlets in the continental U.S.

Summary

More Info of Impact Covid19@ link: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/11705

Farmer Boys was founded by five burger-loving brothers in 1981. Farmer Boys is a fast, casual family-oriented restaurant chain. It was incorporated on March 11, 1997, in California. It mainly serves made-to order hamburgers, hand-chopped salads and tall, stacked sandwiches, as well as a range of made from scratch breakfast, lunch and dinner menu items. The company delivers high-quality, farm-fresh foods.

Since the first restaurant opened in 1981, Farmer Boys has steadily grown in term of both consumer popularity and geographic reach. Started as a chain of eight family-owned restaurants, Farmer Boys has built a franchise operation that includes 92 restaurants across California and Nevada. Today, the company operates 59 franchised restaurants and 33 affiliate-owned restaurants. Farmer Boys continues to grow due to an ever-expanding franchise operation. The company is headquartered at 3452 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92501.

Request for Report Discount: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/11705
In a statement, Menendez said Pompeo now faces an investigation into both this improper firing and into his attempt to cover up his inappropriate and possibly illegal actions. Not surprisingly, he has lashed out at me and others conducting congressional oversight. The fact that Secretary Pompeo is now trying diversion tactics by attempting to smear me is as predictable as it is shameful.
Meghan Markle's wedding dress designer shared her memories of the nuptials as the royal couple celebrated their second wedding anniversary yesterday.

British designer Clare Waight Keller, 49, creative director of Givenchy, created the stunning gown worn by the duchess on her wedding to Prince Harry, 35, on 19 May 2018.

To celebrate the occasion, the fashion heavyweight shared her personal recollections of the day alongside a series of photos and revealed how the Queen and other royals behaved 'just like any family'.

British designer Clare Waight Keller, 49, created the stunning gown worn by the duchess on her wedding to Prince Harry, 35, on 19 May 2018. Writing on Instagram, the designer revealed the atmosphere surrounding the formal portraits (pictured) was surprisingly 'relaxed'

Writing on Instagram, where she boasts 445,000 followers, Waight Keller remembered how the royal family were delightfully 'understated' and spoke about the bride and groom, the children and the service as they made their way from St George's Chapel to take photos in Windsor Castle.

She added that despite the organisation and formality around the family photographs, the atmosphere was surprisingly 'relaxed'.

The designer, who formed a close bond with Meghan during the process, wrote: 'Leaving the chapel we walked up to the Castle, wondering through the private hallways to arrive at the green room you see in the images here.

'It was extraordinary to be in that room with the entire Royal family mingling in front of myself and the photographer Alexi Lubomirski.

Clare Waight Keller and the Duchess formed a close bond during the process. Givenchy became one of Meghan's go-to labels for engagements. In December 2018 Meghan showed her support by presenting her friend with an award at the British Fashion Awards, pictured

Clare Waight Keller shared her memories in two lengthy Instagram captions (pictured)

'Just like any family at a wonderful occasion like this, they were talking about the bride and groom, the wedding, children and the service, just like we all do, so completely understated and charming.

'It was utterly fantastic and it was hard not to pinch yourself and think it was a dream. As soon as everyone arrived in the room we began the shoot, highly organised and precise but also so relaxed and intimate. It all went very fast, but the memories are there always.'

In a second post Waight Keller recalled the 'extraordinary' scenes of flag-waving well-wishers as she made her way to the church on the morning of the wedding.

In a second post Waight Keller recalled the 'extraordinary' scenes of flag-waving well-wishers as she made her way to the church on the morning of the wedding. Pictured, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex leaving St George's Chapel, Windsor, following the service in May 2018

She wrote: 'I remember the roar of the crowds, huge, thunderously joyful you couldnt help but smile and feel quite how surreal it was to be faced with this vision.

'Like so many, I have watched journeys like this with the royals travelling through well wishers for Ascot, Trooping the Colour and other weddings but never before have I experienced it first hand myself.'

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked their second wedding anniversary privately in Los Angeles, where they live with one-year-old son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
Today we'll look at Grand Gulf Energy Limited (ASX:GGE) and reflect on its potential as an investment. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE.

Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE)

ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.

So, How Do We Calculate ROCE?

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

Or for Grand Gulf Energy:

0.35 = AU$1.1m  (AU$3.2m - AU$84k) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)

So, Grand Gulf Energy has an ROCE of 35%.

Check out our latest analysis for Grand Gulf Energy

Does Grand Gulf Energy Have A Good ROCE?

ROCE is commonly used for comparing the performance of similar businesses. In our analysis, Grand Gulf Energy's ROCE is meaningfully higher than the 7.4% average in the Oil and Gas industry. We would consider this a positive, as it suggests it is using capital more effectively than other similar companies. Regardless of the industry comparison, in absolute terms, Grand Gulf Energy's ROCE currently appears to be excellent.

Grand Gulf Energy delivered an ROCE of 35%, which is better than 3 years ago, as was making losses back then. That implies the business has been improving. The image below shows how Grand Gulf Energy's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.

Story continues

ASX:GGE Past Revenue and Net Income May 19th 2020

Remember that this metric is backwards looking - it shows what has happened in the past, and does not accurately predict the future. ROCE can be misleading for companies in cyclical industries, with returns looking impressive during the boom times, but very weak during the busts. This is because ROCE only looks at one year, instead of considering returns across a whole cycle. We note Grand Gulf Energy could be considered a cyclical business. How cyclical is Grand Gulf Energy? You can see for yourself by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect Grand Gulf Energy's ROCE?

Current liabilities are short term bills and invoices that need to be paid in 12 months or less. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Grand Gulf Energy has current liabilities of AU$84k and total assets of AU$3.2m. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 2.6% of its total assets. Minimal current liabilities are not distorting Grand Gulf Energy's impressive ROCE.

Our Take On Grand Gulf Energy's ROCE

This should mark the company as worthy of further investigation. Grand Gulf Energy shapes up well under this analysis, but it is far from the only business delivering excellent numbers . You might also want to check this free collection of companies delivering excellent earnings growth.

For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
One-off grants of up to 28,000 will be available to businesses in the retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors under plans being proposed by Fianna Fail.

The party has suggested the Government should introduce the grants for ratepayers in these industries.

The proposal is based on a scheme introduced in Northern Ireland.

In a letter to Business Minister Heather Humphreys, Fianna Fail TD Robert Troy said businesses in the North can apply for a 25,000 grant.

Eligibility

"I wonder have such policies been examined for deployment in this jurisdiction," he said.

Expand Close Minister Paschal Donohoe / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Minister Paschal Donohoe

He also called for a review of the eligibility for the Government's recently-announced Restart Grant, which allows businesses to reclaim 10,000 of rates for last year.

"If a business cannot provide a rates evaluation for 2019, which new businesses might not be able to, then they cannot access the grant," he said.

Mr Troy also called for funding for micro-businesses, tradespeople and entrepreneurs working from home.

"Arguably, they're the ones who need this grant the most and yet they're frozen out of it. It's highly important that this is re-examined," he said.

He also asked for sector-specific task forces to address difficulties in lifting social distancing restrictions in each industry.

Mr Troy's party is engaged in government formation talks with Fine Gael and the Greens.

Meanwhile, EU aid packages worth a total of 2trn can play a vital role in helping Ireland rebuild the economy after coronavirus and get people back to work, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

Speaking after a video conference of EU finance ministers, Mr Donohoe welcomed the latest joint proposal by France and Germany for a total 500bn coronavirus rescue fund for member states.

The money would be raised by breaking a long-standing taboo about the EU borrowing heavily on international money markets and repaying out of Brussels' coffers.

The minister said discussions were continuing on how this initiative would work in practice.
HOLYOKE  Those who knew him best believe Daniel C. Boyle died of a broken heart.

According to his former parish priest, Boyle  a former business owner, Holyoke newspaper columnist and three-time mayoral candidate  was found dead in his apartment just days after his wife of 32 years passed away.

The first sign of trouble came when Boyle failed to surface Sunday morning for his late wife Angelas Zoom video funeral Mass, forced by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Rev. Warren Savage, a longtime friend and spiritual advisor, began calling Boyle every half hour.

I started calling him at 7:30 in the morning, then 8, then 8:30, Savage says. I had last spoken to him on Friday and Danny said he was really looking forward to the Mass. He wanted a celebration of her life, but he was broken. His whole life ... his heart and his soul were ripped out when Angie passed.

Boyle, 70, apparently died of natural causes. Angela Boyle, 61, died last week at Holyoke Medical Center after a protracted illness.

Danny and Angie had been inseparable for more than three decades, according to Savage. The two met while she was a waitress at the now-defunct Yankee Pedlar restaurant, a longtime social and political venue in the Paper City.

Holyokers through-and-through, Angie became a nurse practitioner while Daniel Boyle was co-owner of Diamond Fiber Products Co. in Palmer, a human resources executive at U.S. Tsubaki in Chicopee, and a former journalist for Holyoke newspapers. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2009, 2011 and 2013, always on a pro-business platform.

His youngest nephew, Billy Glidden, grew up in the Highlands neighborhood of Holyoke with his mother, father, and his Nan, the notable Margaret Boyle, a longtime, beloved teacher at the former Holyoke Catholic High School. Nan has a street named in her honor: Ma Boyle Way. Daniel Boyle, Margarets eldest son, was devoted to his mother, Glidden said.

Danny adored her. I have many memories from my childhood of Danny and Angie bringing over Donut Dip doughnuts on the weekend, to spend time catching up with her," Glidden shared during an interview.

Their family, he added, is devastated over the back-to-back deaths during an already melancholy time when illness and isolation are at the forefront of the national consciousness.

Although neither died of COVID-19, Daniel Boyle was prevented from spending much time with his wife in her waning days because of hospital visitor restrictions born of the coronavirus crisis.

COVID-19 safety measures had kept them apart for about a week by then, which was the longest theyd been apart, probably ever, since they first met, Glidden said. They talked and reminisced and laughed for hours  Angie was a very, very funny person. When Danny got home, he got the call that shed passed, and I know part of him went with her.

He last spoke with his uncle on May 14, right after Angie Boyles death. Daniel Boyle was more focused on asking after his nephews well-being and telling Glidden how much he and his late aunt loved their family members.

Daniel Boyle is survived by a daughter, Jennifer Walsh, of Florida; sister Susan Boyle-Glidden, of Holyoke; two brothers  Kevin Boyle of Easthampton and Brian Boyle of Springfield; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister, Karen Cavanaugh, of South Hadley.

Glidden, a former aide to Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse who now lives and works in New York City, said he and his uncle would debate politics when he was younger. Those debates occasionally featured in his uncles columns in the Holyoke Sun, Glidden said.

On the apolitical side, Savage said the Boyles were longtime supporters of his charitable efforts, including advocating for AIDS patients in the 1980s, aid for the homeless and poor families, plus forward-thinking programs for drug-addicted teens.

Danny and Angie were front and center helping me keep these programs alive, said Savage, 41 years a Catholic priest and director and Catholic chaplain at Albert and Amelia Ferst Interfaith Center on the Westfield State University campus.

Asked about the Boyles relationship, the priest chuckled slightly.

They drove each other crazy, dont get me wrong, he said. But they were the best of companions and beautiful souls.

He added: Along with everything else thats happening in the world, this is tragic. It just reminds me that life is fragile. We should be gentle with each other.
A SK Biopharmaceuticals researcher conducts a study for an anti-epileptic drug at the company's research center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in this file photo. Courtesy of SK Biopharmaceuticals



By Kim Hyun-bin



SK Biopharmaceuticals has filed a formal application for its share listing on the KOSPI scheduled for June.



The company, a key bio company affiliate of SK Group, submitted a registration statement to the country's financial authorities in the run-up to its initial public offering (IPO), Tuesday.



Shares are expected to start off at an estimated price range between 36,000 won to 49,000 won, which SK Biopharmaceuticals seeks to raise up to 960 billion won ($783 million) by issuing 19.58 million shares to investors.



Local investment agencies are scheduled to meet for two consecutive days starting June 17 to figure out the demand forecast for the soon-to-be-released shares. The following week, subscription process for the shares will be held, which will complete the application procedures to list the company within June.



NH Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities have been selected to oversee the share sale.



SK Holdings fully owns SK Biopharmaceuticals, which was spun off from SK Life Science in 2001.



In November, SK Biopharmaceuticals' anti-epileptic drug XCOPRI won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat partial-onset seizures in adults, becoming the first local drug company to receive sales approval from the FDA without exporting its new drug technology.



Industry watchers estimate its corporate value to be at a maximum 5 trillion won.



SK Biopharmaceuticals's IPO is widely projected to be the biggest since the 2017 listing of Netmarble, one of the country's top mobile gaming companies.



The company, established in 1993, has been in charge of research and development of new drugs for 28 years and has been at the forefront in developing medications for diseases involving the central nervous system.



SK Biopharmaceuticals' competitive edge in the global market is its well-established platform to develop new medications as well as its ability to conduct clinical trials and independently commercialize its products in the global market.



The company holds two FDA-approved medications and has been recognized for its technical competitiveness on the international stage.



"The company has developed the country's first epilepsy treatment drug and have independently gained approval by the FDA," an SK Biopharmaceuticals official said. "The new epilepsy drug Cenobamate has been approved by the FDA and has been introduced to the U.S. market this month."


The High Court has dismissed a woman's application to annul the bankruptcy she claimed she was forced into by being overcharged on her mortgage by Bank of Ireland.

In her judgment, Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington said the court had "considerable sympathy" for the distress Deirdre Dennis had endured over a period of time.

However the annulment application was not a matter in which the court had the jurisdiction to rule in her favour.

The difficulty in this case, the judge said, was that the reasons for seeking to set aside the bankruptcy, including that the bank had wrongly overcharged her on her mortgage repayments, lie outside the bankruptcy process.

Band of Ireland only admitted its error after Ms Dennis's discharge as a bankrupt.

Any redress sought by Ms Dennis against the bank "lies elsewhere", the judge added.

Ms Dennis lost her family home, was left financially crippled and personally devastated after being charged more than twice what was due on her monthly mortgage repayments between June 2012 and December 2017.

In 2015 the bank sought an order from the Circuit Court seeking repossession of her home after Ms Dennis went into arrears.

After obtaining financial advice, she successfully petitioned the High Court to be adjudicated a bankrupt in October 2017, and was discharged 12 months later.

In 2019 Bank of Ireland, after carrying out a review of her account, unreservedly apologised for its failure to provide her with a tracker rate at a time she was entitled to one. It also withdrew its claim in her bankruptcy of amounts totalling 115,000.

The bank accepted she was entitled to compensation, redress and a refund of interest, and also acknowledged its error was a factor in her losing her family home at Seaview Terrace, Killala, Co Mayo.

In a written judgment, Ms Justice Pilkington said Ms Dennis's position was very straightforward. Had Bank of Ireland not made the error, which it belatedly admitted, Ms Dennis claimed she would have never been put in the position she was in, and would not have self-petitioned for bankruptcy.

However the judge, while noting the stress and distress Ms Dennis had endured, said the issues she had with the bank were not directly relevant to the annulment and did not relate directly to the bankruptcy process.

It was not a matter in which the court could exercise its jurisdiction in her favour.

Another difficulty for the court was Ms Dennis had been discharged from bankruptcy and section 135 of the 1988 Bankruptcy Act precludes any review, cancellation or variation of an order of discharge.

The court heard Ms Dennis currently rents a property at Killala Road, Ballina, Co Mayo.

When she sought to be adjudicated a bankrupt she believed she owed Bank of Ireland some 171,000 on foot of loans. Her then home was valued as being worth 73,000.

She also had additional debts of 66,000 owed to Revenue and another bank.

Ms Dennis claimed that had she had all the relevant information from Bank of Ireland in October 2017 she would not have sought to be adjudicated a bankrupt.


The UK-headquartered company has a significant presence in Abu Dhabi with a regional customer service centre covering the Middle East and Africa and a number of joint ventures for the aftermarket for both civil and military customers.



In the statement this morning the company said that the impact of COVID-19 on Rolls-Royce and the whole of the aviation industry is unprecedented. We have already taken action to strengthen the financial resilience of our business and reduce our cash expenditure in 2020. It is, however, increasingly clear that activity in the commercial aerospace market will take several years to return to the levels seen just a few months ago. We must now address these medium-term structural changes, as demand from customers reduces significantly for our civil aerospace engines and aftermarket services, the company said

Warren East, Rolls-Royce, CEO said: This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it. Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we.



In an emotive comment to the 52,000 employees worldwide East said: Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce. But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times.

The company will also cut expenditure across plant and property, capital and other indirect cost areas. The proposed reorganisation is expected to generate annualised savings of more than 1.3bn, of which it expects headcount to contribute around 700m. The cash restructuring costs related to these actions are likely to be around 800m, with outflows incurred across 2020 to 2022.



The Defence business, based in the UK and US, has been robust during the pandemic East said. There is an unchanged outlook, and it does not need to reduce headcount. As part of the reorganisation, we will ensure that our internal Civil Aerospace supply chain continues to support our defence programmes and explore any opportunities to move people into our Defence business.
Governor Bill Lees Unified Command Group (UCG) is coordinating with the Chattanooga Housing Authority to provide free COVID-19 testing available to families and residents who would like to receive a test at four CHA communities on Thursday and Friday.

This will be our fourth testing event with housing authorities in Tennessees major metropolitan areas in our effort to expand COVID-19 testing in our state, said Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP, Tennessee Department of Health. UCG will continue to build relationships and prioritize plans on how we reduce barriers to COVID-19 testing for Tennesseans who are especially vulnerable to the virus.

CHA testing locations on Thursday, May 21, open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., EST, will be in the neighborhoods of East Lake Courts, 2600 4th Ave., and Emma Wheeler Homes, 4900 Edinburg Drive.

CHA testing locations on Friday, May 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., EST, will be in the neighborhoods of College Hill Courts, with testing at the James A. Henry School, 1300 Grove St., and Greenwood Terrace Apts., which will have a drive through testing option, 3056 Dee Drive.

Medics with the Tennessee National Guard at each MDHA neighborhood site will collect nasal swabs from those who voluntarily agree to a COVID-19 test.

Participants should receive their test results within 72 hours, depending on test processing volume at laboratories. Information will be provided to participants at the testing locations on what they can expect after being tested. This information is also available at: www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/ health/documents/cedep/novel- coronavirus/TestedGuidance.pdf .

UCG has organized three previous COVID-19 testing events with housing authorities in Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville.

Any Tennessean with health concerns, or who has concerns about the health of a family member, can obtain a free COVID-19 test any day of the week, at any county health department. Find testing locations at https://www.tn.gov/health/ cedep/ncov/remote-assessment- sites.html .

Governor Lee formed the UCG on March 23, 2020, bringing together the Tennessee Department of Health, Tennessee Department of Military, and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to streamline coordination across key Tennessee departments to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
A severe storm has battered parts of Victoria, with rain, hail, and wind gusts blowing roofs off houses, smashing windows and leaving some homes uninhabitable and one woman injured.

More than 100 homes in Waurn Ponds and Mount Duneed in Geelong were significantly damaged, with four homes left uninhabitable.

Storm damage to houses at Ironbark Street in Waurn Ponds. Credit:Joe Armao

At least 30 houses on one street  Ironbark Street in Waurn Ponds  were damaged when the storm hit just after 1am on Wednesday.

"One resident there was injured and had to be taken to hospital after glass was blown in from a window," said Cain Trist, the State Emergency Service's assistant chief officer for the south-west region.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday issued a warning to mariners to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being "interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures."

Reuters is first to report the new warning, issued in detail in a notice to mariners. It follows a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump last month, in which he instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass American vessels.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new notice to mariners was not a change in the U.S. military's rules of engagement.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A group of 15 students handed out food to people newly impoverished by the coronavirus. In less than two months, they have provided 660 meals. For one of the organisers, their action is but scratching the surface, yet it helps. Since the start of the pandemic, millions of people have found themselves in extreme difficulty; two million have lost their jobs.

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies)  With the coronavirus pandemic leaving many Indonesians destitute, a group of university students decided to take matters in their own hands and provide free meals to vulnerable workers, like rickshaw drivers and trash collectors, left unemployed and in precarious conditions by the lockdown.

According to some associations, millions of people have fallen into extreme poverty since the start of the pandemic and are struggling to get money each day for food.

So far Indonesia has reported more than 18,000 cases with almost 1,200 deaths. In Asia, this is the largest number of deaths after China.

This is the time for us to act, said 19-year-old Sherina Redjo, one of the university students behind the initiative in Depok, a satellite town on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta

On their motorcycles, the volunteers distribute food parcels four times a week ahead of the evening meal that breaks the Ramadan fast.

For Redjo, what they do just scratches the surface of the problem, but no matter how small it is it will certainly help people in difficulty.

The group estimates that they have handed out more than 660 meals since they started in mid-March.

The coronavirus outbreak has cost some 2 million people their jobs in just six weeks, setting back by a decade the efforts made by the government to eradicate poverty.

Volunteers collect donations on social media, and on a good day, they can raise enough money for 50 food parcels.

I thank them [the volunteers] so much for giving me this package and I pray for their generosity, said Bambang, a cycle rickshaw driver.

We are focusing on providing dinner so that at least they can sleep with their bellies full, said Luqmanul Hakim Yullyadi, 19, the groups designated cook, who joined because I feel pity and sympathy for many of my friends whose parents income was disrupted because of this pandemic.
Super cyclone Amphan weakened into an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday as it moved closer to the coast, triggering rainfall in several parts of Odisha, where the state government stepped up efforts to evacuate people in vulnerable areas.

Bhubaneshwar: Super cyclone Amphan weakened into an extremely severe cyclonic storm on Tuesday as it moved closer to the coast, triggering rainfall in several parts of Odisha, where the state government stepped up efforts to evacuate people in vulnerable areas.

It lay centred over the west-central Bay of Bengal, about 420 km south of Paradip (Odisha), 570 km south-southwest of Digha (West Bengal) and 700 km south-southwest of Khepupara in Bangladesh, said HR Biswas, the director of Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar.

#WATCH Odisha: Strong winds of up to 82 km/ph speed hit Paradip. #CycloneAmphan is expected to make landfall today. pic.twitter.com/8bgyZ2Augq  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

The system is likely to move north-northeastwards over the Bay of Bengal and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha and Hatiya Islands during Wednesday afternoon or evening as a very severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph, he said.

The cyclone is being continuously tracked by the Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Under its impact, light rain was witnessed in several areas of Puri, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, and Khurda districts of Odisha, and the intensity of rainfall and wind speed was likely to increase gradually, a Met official said.

IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said since the super cyclone is gradually weakening, its impact is unlikely to be very severe on Odisha.

However, coastal districts like Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, and Balasore are likely to be battered by heavy rain coupled with high-velocity winds from Tuesday evening, he said.

Several parts of Jajpur and Mayurbhanj districts are also expected to be lashed by torrential rain and high-speed winds, he said. Wind speeds will be in the range of 110 kmph to 120 kmph and may even go up to 135 kmph in coastal regions of Odisha from Tuesday night till Wednesday.

Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) P K Jena said the evacuation of people living in low-lying areas, thatched and mud structures in the coastal districts is under progress and the process will be completed by evening.

He said the state government has made arrangements for evacuating over 11 lakh people as a precautionary measure.

Evacuation exercise is also being undertaken in some areas of the Gajapati district in view of a possible landslide, he said.

As per IMD forecast, no abnormal storm surge is expected to occur due to the cyclone in Odisha, Jena said.

Fifteen units of National Disaster Response Force and 15 teams of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) have been deployed in the districts likely to be hit.

We are in constant touch with the collectors of the 12 districts which have been put under alert in view of the cyclone. We are fully prepared to deal with any eventuality, Jena said Chief Secretary AK Tripathy said four senior officers with vast experience in handling such calamities have been deputed to different districts on the direction of Chief Minister Navin Patnaik to supervise preparations and guide the local administration.

As high-velocity winds may damage power infrastructure and roads, necessary equipment and manpower have been mobilised in order to ensure quick restoration in the affected areas, he said.

All fishermen along with boats and vessels have already returned from the seas and they have been advised not to venture out for fishing activities till May 21, the SRC said.

The cyclone comes a year after Fani barrelled through vast areas of Odisha on May 3 last year, claiming at least 64 lives and destroying infrastructure in power, telecom, water supply, and other vital sectors.
A vigilante ex-prison officer has been arrested for murdering a pedophile after he saw him leering at school children in his neighborhood.

James Fairbanks, 43, who worked with troubled kids at Morton Middle School in Omaha, admitted to killing 64-year-old convicted sex offender Mattieo Condoluci dead on Thursday night.

Fairbanks confessed in an email sent to newspapers and broadcasters over the weekend, disguising his identity using the address, 'Stop Predators', with 'I killed Matteio Condoluci Thursday May 14th' as his subject line.

The 43-year-old father was arrested by Omaha police within a day of its receipt.

Kelly Tamayo, Fairbanks' ex-wife, told KETV that her former husband said he would be 'handing himself in' and asked her to 'take care of the kids'.

Pictured: James Fairbanks (left), 43, who admitted to murdering 64-year-old convicted sex offender Mattieo Condoluci last Thursday in Omaha

In his confessional email, Fairbanks details how Condoluci was staring at children in the neighborhood while pretending to wash his car.

The 43-year-old then looked him up and found him on the sex-offender's register.

'I have no doubt that Jim, like all parents, was disgusted with that man's actions and wished justice,' Tamayo wrote in a text message.

'Again, I want it to be known that Jim is a protector who cared for some of the most vulnerable and victimized children.'

She also asked that the Developmental Services of Nebraska 'create a special award for him'.

She said many of the children he worked with were victims of sexual abuse.

Pictured: The location Mattieo Condoluci, 64, was shot dead in Omaha on Thursday night

In the email the sender wrote: 'Having had my own experience with these type of predators I know the damage he would do to those kids.

'I've worked with kids for years who have been victimized and I couldnt (sic) in good conscience allow him to do it to anyone else while I had the means to stop him.'

He added: 'I know in this messed up judicial system that means I will face far more severe punishment for stopping him then (sic) he did for raping KIDS.'

Condoluci was convicted in 2007 for sexually assaulting a child.

Fairbanks and Tamayo divorced in 2016 but managed to co-parent their children.

She referred to him as a caring father.

Tamayo said that her ex may have been triggered by working with offenders in the past. She said he had 'mixed feelings of great sadness for the victims' while being frustrated with offenders' repeatedly acting out their wishes to harm children.

Fairbanks has no known history of violent crimes and Tamayo said that his family are stunned by the slaying, KETV reported.
Photo: Jeff Turner/Flickr

Read on for the most recent top news you may have missed in Sacramento.

New Sacramento coronavirus order to allow small outdoor parties. Restaurants, malls can open.

Sacramento County announced Tuesday afternoon it has been given state go-ahead to reopen restaurants for indoor and outdoor dining, as well as stores for in-store shopping.

Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee.

2 Sacramento-area casinos set reopen dates despite pleas from Gov. Newsom to delay

After two months of shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, two of greater Sacramento's Indian casinos announced reopening dates Tuesday in spite of pleas from Gov. Gavin Newsom to hold off.

Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee.

Big rig overturns on Highway 50 in Sacramento, backs up traffic near Howe Avenue

The vehicle crash occurred Tuesday afternoon.

Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee.

Some Kings players return to Golden 1 Center to work out

After weeks of hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, five Kings players returned to the Golden 1 Center to practice last week.

Read the full story on CBS Sacramento.

Sacramento Mayor encourages citizens to support local businesses with 100% Local campaign

As Sacramento County prepares to reopen, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Inside Sacramento are working to help bring people back to small businesses.

Read the full story on CBS Sacramento.

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.
President Donald Trump said he is considering imposing a travel ban on Brazil, following the South American country's deadliest day on record as a result of the coronavirus.

"We are considering it. We hope that we are not going to have a problem," Trump told reporters at the White House late Tuesday.

"I don't want people coming over here and infecting our people. I don't want people over there sick either. We are helping Brazil with ventilators  Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it," Trump added.

His comments came shortly after Brazil's daily death toll from the coronavirus jumped to a record of 1,179 on Tuesday.

Prior to that, the highest number of recorded fatalities in South America's largest country had been 881 deaths on May 12, Reuters reported.

To date, more than 271,000 people have contracted Covid-19 in Brazil, with 17,983 deaths nationwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

It has recorded the third-highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections globally, behind the U.S. and Russia, respectively.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan has repatriated 120 citizens who had been stranded on the border with Russias South Caucasus Republic of Dagestan due to the lockdown over COVID-19, local media reported on May 20, citing the Operational Headquarters of Dagestan.

The citizens have returned through the special corridor opened upon the agreement between Azerbaijan and Russia.

Family couples, elderly and seriously ill people, including those with cancer were among those who crossed the border, the report said. Tens of more Azerbaijani citizens will return home in the near future, Dagestani operational headquarters reported.

Earlier, the problem related to citizens of Azerbaijan was raised during the discussion of the epidemiological situation in Dagestan with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was followed by a telephone conversation between the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on May 18, who agreed on a step-by-step passage of citizens across the border.

The situation around the border and the return of Azerbaijani citizens was also discussed by the Azerbaijani and Russian foreign ministers phone conversation on May 19.

It should be noted that temporary accommodation center (TAC) were set up in Dagestans Magaramkent region bordering Azerbaijan on May 16, for the Azerbaijani citizens who couldnt return home.

Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24 and the third stage of quarantine regime easing came into force May 18.

As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus- related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
More than 30% of the population in the county are Latino, but they also comprise 53% of the COVID-19 patients in both Austin and Travis and account for 38% of the deaths. The data, gathered on Sunday, suggested a lack of measures that help the local Latino community against the coronavirus.

Lack of communication

Groups advocating for Latino representation in the county are working on coordination with the mayor's office in the development of a "culturally relevant" system. The plan is to come up with a way for the locals to get updated information about infection and safety and medical assistance in the community.

President and CEO of the Latino Healthcare Forum Jill Ramirez explained how the Latinos were being underserved at the same time ignorant about the nature of the pandemic.

Ramirez said in an interview that the locals barely had an idea what the coronavirus was, with some saying they thought it was a myth. She attributed this misinformation to Facebook, which was the common means of getting information in the community. Most of the locals did not even practice social distancing and wear masks when going outside.

She said authorities must respond to the community's needs by handing out basic medical necessities like face masks, sanitizers, and soap. This included providing the Latinos more information about the decrease in bills and other payments per the local authorities' initiatives.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler was the main person to contact with regards to the city's Latino community. The services that were not made available to them must be addressed to immediately by Adler and the City Council.

Ramirez acknowledged that the Austin authorities "did something good". Their top priority was to judge the economic impact, and so they provided relief packages to the Latino community. However, they must still reach out to them through updates about safety and prevention from the coronavirus, of which many of the locals had no idea.

Check these out:

Disproportionately affected

Chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Contractors Association Frank Fuentes said the city government was not receptive to the locals. He added that they could not always see everything on the ground.

Fuentes said that they returned his phone calls, but their response was disproportionate to the need of the community.

He said that the authorities should have initiated disseminating information about the risks and cautionary measures against COVID-19 to the working groups in the Latino communities. Fuentes believed that government communication would have resulted in fewer cases for the minority group in the city.

His group has started to donate face masks to the community to address the "disproportionate" effect on Latinos.

Specifically, Fuentes said that people must also be informed how to disinfect once they come home. He launched a YouTube channel in both English and Spanish that provided instructions about how to deal with coronavirus as a citizen in Austin. He even added measures on how to counter the virus while at the construction sites to target Latino blue-collar workers.
A Delhi court has dismissed a plea filed by suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, arrested in a case related to rioting in north east Delhi during anti-CAA protests, seeking his transfer from Tihar jail to Mandoli prison in east Delhi due to apprehension on his life.

Hussain alleged in the plea that his life was in danger in Tihar jail and since his brother and few employees are in Mandoli prison, he will be safe there.

Metropolitan Magistrate Richa Manchanda rejected the plea saying Hussain has not given any specific names of persons who posed a threat to his life.

Further the shifting of prisoners due to Covid-19 pandemic is being monitored by the high-powered committee of the Delhi High Court. Inthesecircumstancesandalsothefactthatnospecificnamehas been mentioned from whom the accused has apprehension of life, the applicationstandsdismissed, the court said.

Hussain's brother Shah Alam was also arrested in March in connection with a case related to communal violence in February.

The ex-AAP Councillor has also been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a separate case related to the February riots in north east Delhi.

He has also been arrested in the murder case of IB staffer Ankit Sharma.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most of the students attending these English lessons, which are conducted four days a week, have lived in Cyprus only for a couple of months. Many don't have their own support systems and have had to pay fines, because they cannot comprehend the government's rules and instructions, delivered in Greek and English

Following a six-week lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Cyprus began reopening its economy on 4 May, allowing select retail stores and the construction sector to resume operation, with curfews and social distancing still in place.

While the country's economy and social sector have taken a hit during this time, the large migrant community in Cyprus has also been struggling to understand and adjust to the ever-changing rules, partly as a consequence of finding themselves in new surroundings, and partly due to their inability to understand English and Greek, the official languages.

The working of several agencies, such as Caritas Cyprus, a Catholic organisation which is part of Caritas Internationalis that works with migrants and refugees, has come to a halt as a result of the lockdown. One among the initiatives run by this organisation was its crucial English language lessons conducted for the migrant community, to help them in their interactions with locals.

To fill this gap, Project Phoenix, which has been working in Cyprus since last year, has collaborated with Caritas to begin 'Survival English' classes for the refugees, who hail from several countries in West Asia and West Africa. The aim is to conduct online classes, which will keep up the mental health of the participants and give them something to do, apart from imparting English skills.

Hrishabh Sandilya, Director for Partnerships and Development, Project Phoenix, discovered that his mother who is an English language professional and her colleagues had free time on their hands because their work had stopped. "So I said, why don't we figure out a way to solve the problem in Cyprus with our refugees, who don't have access to the training they need, by using your [his mother's] skills?" Sandilya explains.

A majority of the students attending these English lessons, which are conducted four days a week, are refugees who have lived in Cyprus for only a couple of months. This makes them some of the most vulnerable groups in the country, explains Sandilya. "They dont have their own networks or support systems in place, and they dont speak the language."

The 60- to 90-minute classes conducted by teachers from Mumbai thus transcend national boundaries and cover a host of vocabulary-based topics with a little local context, to help the migrants understand the cities they are living in. However, Sandilya notes that the journey is not an easy one.

Communication can be difficult, not only because the refugees speak a wide variety of languages including Somali, French, Arabic, Kurdish and Urdu, but also because they have limited access to computers and technology. The classes are conducted using Google Meet, compatible with a 3G connection suited to the data plan of the migrants' mobile phones. Students participate depending on their schedules and their interest in a given topic while also reaching out to the instructors on a WhatsApp group, whenever they have extra questions.

Now more than ever, English language skills are essential for the refugees to survive, because not knowing the language has cost them. "The government put restrictions in place (during the lockdown)... it said there would be a fine if you were caught outside, more than once a day," says Sandilya. There was also a 'complicated' process that involved sending an SMS whenever a person wanted to go out, "so a lot of refugees ended up getting fined unnecessarily and unfairly, because they didnt understand the system," he adds.

Aparna Gurbaxani, one of the ELT professionals who has volunteered to conduct these classes, says, "Since the main aim of this programme is to teach 'survival' English, the syllabus is designed around topics that the students will most need in a foreign land. Right from the basics like introducing oneself, the different jobs that people do, how to speak politely, to asking and giving directions, making appointments, and how to call in case of emergencies, these are the topics we've covered so far."

"These highly structured lessons are designed around a framework that focuses more on student-centred learning, giving ample opportunities to both the teacher and learners to assess understanding and application throughout the lesson," notes Adib Modak, yet another English teacher who has volunteered. "At the end of every lesson, we analyse the lesson and reflect on what went well and what needs more attention. These observations then help us to fine-tune our future lessons, in order to be able to cater to our learners needs." He adds that the lessons are designed to help learners develop skills like critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication.

Speaking about the living conditions of the refugees, Sandilya says that migrants are provided with a budget amounting to an equivalent of 280-300 Euros in coupons for their sustenance. Some of them live in shelters run by Caritas or other similar organisations, while others share apartments with fellow refugees  minimal quality housing, with eight to ten people per room.

For those who have applied for asylum status, the classes help them feel less vulnerable or lost at a time when the future brings an additional sense of uncertainty into their lives.

Franklin, a migrant from Cameroon who has been living in Larnaca for the last two months, says, "I decided to enroll into the English classes because I find it important and necessary for me, to continue learning." Reflecting on what is being taught in class, he adds that it is a good way to learn how to converse properly, "Like what we did today: how to make an appointment, asking for directions from friend or stranger, how to be polite, and many other things."

"For practice, I try to apply it in my daily conversation with friends," he says.

Grange, who is from Kinshasa in Congo and speaks French alone, says he started learning English "pour que j'apprends la competence de parle l'anglais britannique avec de bonne regles." (Because he wanted to learn how to speak British English with all its rules.)

Grange has been living in Larnaca, Cyprus since January 2020 and maintains that he enjoys the English lessons because he has been able to form friendships with others such as Franklin, who have been regularly attending the sessions. He mentions 'City Living' as one of the lessons he enjoyed the most, which Modak says is "focused on Degrees of Comparison  rules and structures one needs to follow when making comparisons. Learners compared various features of two or more cities."

"For asylum seekers, one of the best ways to connect with the local community is to be able to speak the common language. Also, utilising this time to acquire and develop skills will help them to have an edge over others, especially in the job market which might see cut-throat competition in the months to come," Modak adds.
Lisa Reynolds, a pediatrician and community activist, claimed victory in the hard fought Democratic primary to represent House District 36, which covers much of Portlands west side.

Reynolds dispatched Laurie Wimmer, a teachers union lobbyist, as well as Rob Fullmer, an IT specialist at Portland State University, who is both a member and leader of the Service Employees International Union Local 503.

As of 10 p.m., Reynolds had won 43% of the votes counted, versus 36% for Wimmer.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

All three candidates fell well within Oregons Democratic mainstream. Reynolds campaigned heavily on her career in medicine, suggesting that the 2021-2 legislative session will be focused on pandemic response and recovery, and that it would be vital to have medical specialists leading the way.

She is a supporter of aggressive action on climate change, but says lawmakers will need to come up with a version thats acceptable to their Republican colleagues. She also said during the campaign that she would consider suspending the new education tax on businesses for two or three quarters to keep more Oregonians employed.

Reynolds is an activist with the gun safety group Moms Demand Action and the anti-Trump agenda group Indivisible Oregon.

She was out-raised by both of her opponents, though she raised the most in small donations of $100 or less. Her biggest financial supporter is the Oregon Medical Association ($5,000) followed by family member Barbara Reynolds ($5,000) and Ching Wu, a marketing professional based in San Francisco ($4,000)..

She will face Republican James Ball in the November election but is considered a shoo-in to win in the overwhelmingly Democratic district that has been represented by a Democrat for at least 35 years.

-- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Newberg is among several Oregon and Southwest Washington cities giving locals a break on utility bills for patronizing local businesses during the coronavirus outbreak.

The Newberg plan is simple: A credit of $15 on city water, sewer and storm water bills is available to residents producing a receipt from a Newberg business of at least $25. The receipt must be dated no earlier than April 7, when Newberg put the program into place.

Newberg residents can get up to five $15 utility credits for April and May  as much as $150 total  for supporting local businesses. Locals have cashed in, too, as Newberg has provided $104,000 in credits as of Tuesday. The program runs through the end of May.

Any business with a Newberg address is eligible for the receipt/credit exchange. Newberg is accepting receipts at a city dropbox, or scanned into the body of an email to the city.

We know the businesses are struggling, said Matt Zook, City of Newberg finance director. Most people would have continued to buy local anyway, but this encourages people to stay local rather than buy from something like Amazon.

The program isnt restricted to Newberg residents. Those who arent customers of a Newberg utility can forward receipts from city businesses and donate the credit to someone they know who lives in Newberg. There is also a growing pot, currently $8,000 of the $104,000, from people asking to donate their credit. Zook says the city will allocate the donated credits to veterans, low-income residents and people hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak later this summer.

Zook said the utility credits were coming out of the citys operations and reserves budget.

Newberg began its program after hearing of similar utility credit offerings by the neighboring towns of Dayton, Lafayette and Carlton.

Camas, in southwest Washington, learned about Newbergs success and immediately implemented a similar program, though it restricts eligible receipts to locally owned businesses and restaurants. Purchases from Camas businesses that are owned elsewhere, such as Safeway and McDonalds, are not eligible.

Camas has processed about $35,000 in credits to water, sewer and garbage bills, according to city finance director Cathy Huber Nickerson. Camas program runs through the end of May, though Huber Nickerson says the city council may discuss extending the offer into June.

--Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
Australians have called on the government not to rewind policies they introduced to assist families during the coronavirus crisis.

Sally Rugg, the executive director of Change.org, shared her 'wishlist' for the future of Australia which included free childcare, reduced working hours and an increase to welfare payments.

Some of the suggestions are changes the government has temporarily imposed to ease the financial burden if the pandemic.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made clear the current subsidies and handouts are not sustainable long-term, and he plans to have the country operating as usual by September.

His priority will be getting all employees who lost their jobs, more than a million, back to work as soon as possible.

Daily Mail Australia takes a closer look at some of the policies some are suggesting should be in place in a post-coronavirus Australia.

Poll Should childcare stay free following the coronavirus pandemic? Yes No Should childcare stay free following the coronavirus pandemic? Yes 29 votes

No 34 votes Now share your opinion





Free childcare

Parents have been petitioning for free childcare to remain a government policy beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 2, in the early days of the crisis, the government waived all childcare fees in an attempt to keep parents at work.

It was sold as a rescue package, designed to keep centres afloat as parents withdrew their children in droves.

Of more than 1,000 families benefiting from the current free services, more than 50 per cent said they would support continued subsidised fees into the future, a report commissioned by The Conversation concluded.

A further 25 per cent said they would be neutral.

Mother-of-one Fiona Ivits told The Guardian: 'It's going to be a bit of a wrench to go back to the system as it was... now that we've seen free childcare.'

On April 2, in the early days of the crisis, the government waived all childcare fees in an attempt to keep parents at work

The government has, so far, refused to discuss extending the childcare package, which costs an estimated $1.6billion, beyond June 28.

Early Childhood Australia's CEO Sam Page said the scheme had reignited the debate about childcare why it isn't free for all families.

'By giving free childcare to families, that has really opened the debate on why isn't childcare free all the time,' she told news.com.au.

She suggested the government continue to offer parents at least two days a week of free childcare.

Education Minister Dan Tehan is expected to make a decision within the next few weeks about the extension of the free childcare scheme.

Parents have been petitioning for free childcare to remain a government policy beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

Poll Should Australia implement a four day working week? Yes No Should Australia implement a four day working week? Yes 36 votes

No 24 votes Now share your opinion





Four-day working week

Ms Rugg proposed a four-day working week to boost productivity and work-life balance once the nation returns to a pre-COVID-19 normal.

The suggestion came after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern suggested businesses should consider the option.

Ms Ardern briefly visited the North Island town of Rotorua this week to speak with local council and tourism operators about the impact of COVID-19.

Ms Ardern said a number of ideas were being 'bounced around' to boost domestic travel - including shortening the working week.

'Some have been saying ''well if they had a bit more flexibility in terms of their travel and their leave they might be able to do that'',' she said.

'I hear lots of people suggesting we should have a four-day week. Ultimately that really sits between employers and employees.'

New Zealand's leader Jacinda Ardern suggested businesses consider shortening the working week to allow for travel

Ms Ardern said she would 'really encourage' employers to think about it if they're in a position to do so.

'To think about if that's something that would work for your workplace because it certainly would help tourism all around the country,' she said.

Ms Ardern also encouraged fellow New Zealanders to 'think about exploring your backyard' now that lockdown restrictions have been eased.

That sentiment has been echoed in Australia, too.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced residents in the state would be welcome to travel regionally within just two weeks, while other states are also discussing easing restrictions to boost the tourism industry with intrastate travel.

The New South Wales government on Tuesday confirmed intrastate travel will be allowed from June 1

Poll Should JobSeeker payments be permanently increased? Yes No Should JobSeeker payments be permanently increased? Yes 21 votes

No 26 votes Now share your opinion





Increase JobSeeker payment

The government doubled the standard JobSeeker payment for the duration of the coronavirus crisis to inject more money into the struggling economy.

But attention soon turned to the months to follow the pandemic. Some say the payment - which equated to about $40 per day - simply isn't sustainable and must be permanently increased.

Leading the calls for reform is opposition leader Anthony Albanese, who argued the Coalition increased the allowance because it acknowledged it simply wasn't enough for people to live on.

'If it wasn't enough to live on two months ago, when these changes were made, why will it be enough to live on in six months' time?,' he said.

The Australian Council for Social Service has also long argued JobSeeker  once known as Newstart  was near impossible for anybody to live on.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has labelled the extra funds an 'emergency response measure' and vowed to scrap it from September, instead focusing on reopening the economy and getting about one million people back to work.

Other suggestions include gradually lowering the allowance, or finding a new amount somewhere in between the old and present figures.

The Australian Council for Social Service has also long argued Jobseeker  once known as Newstart  was near impossible for anybody to live on. Pictured: People lining up at Centrelink in Adelaide

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four-day working week to help boost tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
Iran is moving from a policy of brinkmanship to the art of appeasing the US. This new Iranian strategy is now expected to continue through what remains of Donald Trump's period of presidential office.

Reports this week revealed secret talks between the two rivals had resulted in securing Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the US-leaning politician, as the new prime minister of Iraq. Iran has also reportedly played a central role in helping Washington facilitate a crucial reconciliation between the two main power contenders in Afghanistan - President Ashraf Ghani and his opponent Abdullah Abdullah. Then comes the talk about the withdrawal of Iranian troops from Syria, a strategic objective the Trump administration has long pressed for.

In return, the US pulled patriotic air-defence systems out of Saudi Arabia and agreed to grant waiver status for some of the countries trading with Iran, exempting them from strict economic sanctions.

How did this happen? Two events broke the ice: the assassination of the Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in January and, somewhat inevitably, the global outbreak of coronavirus.

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has never known any alternative to a foreign policy of pushing rivals to the edge of war but without slipping into it. Under this strategy, there have nevertheless been moments when the Iranian regime has been forced to pause for reflection, when the regime began to think its very existence was at stake.

Recommended This is the truth about a future coronavirus vaccine

One of these moments was during the 2003 Iraq war, which left Iran terrified of an imminent American invasion. The swift ousting of Saddam Husseins regime left Iran with no choice but to engage directly in propping up the US security agenda both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The killing of Soleimani marked another such flashpoint in the history of US-Iran relations. It sent a clear message to Iran, as the whole Middle East region, that the Trump administration held no red lines on entering conflict. It also signalled that the US need not to involve itself in all-out war to undermine Irans military and security prowess.

A reckless move, yes, but it still resulted in a significant shift in the balance of the security thinking inside the Iranian regime, as one top Arab diplomat told me.

But the moment of reflection seems to be extended across all aspects of governance inside Iran. The impact of coronavirus hit an economy already troubled due to sanctions imposed by the US, after its withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018.

So Iranian media reports on withdrawing military assets from conflict areas across the region not only send a message of de-escalation to the US, but also serve as useful propaganda for Iranian regime's plans to dampen domestic anger over diminishing living standards and excessive oppression of ordinary citizens. A prolonged recession at a time when sanctions are in place would likely trigger political unrest.

Earlier this year the Iranian authorities were taken by surprise at the scale of the protests that broke out over the admission of the shooting down of a Ukrainian plane in January, a mistake that was first denied and later blamed on "human error". The chants and slogans then revealed that many Iranians are running out of patience, ready for a decisive confrontation with the government's brutality machine. Now it is the authorities who appear to be frightened, particularly of the the long-term political consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Show all 23 1 /23 Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather in front of Amir Kabir University AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians demonstrate following a tribute for the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 crash in front of the Amirkabir University in the capital Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University - People hold flowers as tear gas fired by police rises Online videos purported to show that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic's initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gather AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster ISNA/AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back at police AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University A protester confronts an Iranian police officer AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranian police officers take position while protesters gathe AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University Iranians light candles for victims EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Anti-government protest at Amirkabir University EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran People burn British and Israeli flags during a protest in front of the British embassy, in Tehran. Hundreds of Iranian hardliners gathered for a protest against Britain, a day after the UK ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire was detained after attending a a vigil for the victims of Ukraine passenger jet EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protestBritish embassy protest in Tehran Chanting "Death to Britain", up to 200 protesters rallied outside the mission a day after the brief arrest of British ambassador Rob Macaire AFP via Getty Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran AFP via Getty Images Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west AP Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west British embassy protest in Tehran EPA Protests in Iran over downing of plane and tensions with the west Protesters chant slogans while holding up posters of Gen. Qassem Soleimani during a demonstration in front of the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. AP

Gone are the days when Iran had the privilege of maintaining its confrontational policy towards the US on the basis of Trumps possible defeat in the November presidential elections. No doubt the Iranian authorities would welcome Joe Biden as US president if he chose to follow the Obama doctrine in handling relations between the two countries. But many Iranian officials (whether moderates or extremists) now realise that their country cant continue in its current economic position for another four possible years with Trump in the White House.

Coronavirus has forged a bipartisan consensus in the US around the shifting of resources towards long-lasting showdown with China. This forecast likely changed the strategic calculations in Iran towards reaching a new and more comprehensive nuclear deal with the west, which might also include arrangements around the issue of its regional influence. This could prove to be the ideal settlement for Iran, as it scrambles to avoid its own dispute becoming a stake in a new Sino-American cold war.

No surprise, then, that Iranian officials have come to a moment of realisation: they must think differently as their country moves into a new, uncertain world order. Appeasement may seem an attractive option, at least for now.
By Melanie Burton MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Big mining companies that rely on indigenous workforces or operate near remote communities have acted fast to curb the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a public health crisis that could damage their reputations. From Australia's outback to Canada's Arctic wilderness to the Andes, mining firms have changed rosters to stop outsiders infecting remote communities, paid staff with potential health issues to stay at home and given food to indigenous families so they don't have to shop in nearby mining towns. Investors already weighing up holdings in miners because of their contribution to climate change say a bad outbreak of COVID-19 among indigenous communities near mining operations might also make them reassess their investment decisions

By Melanie Burton

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Big mining companies that rely on indigenous workforces or operate near remote communities have acted fast to curb the spread of the coronavirus and avoid a public health crisis that could damage their reputations.

From Australia's outback to Canada's Arctic wilderness to the Andes, mining firms have changed rosters to stop outsiders infecting remote communities, paid staff with potential health issues to stay at home and given food to indigenous families so they don't have to shop in nearby mining towns.

Investors already weighing up holdings in miners because of their contribution to climate change say a bad outbreak of COVID-19 among indigenous communities near mining operations might also make them reassess their investment decisions.

Norway's $1 trillion wealth fund blacklisted some of the world's biggest miners last week over their carbon emissions and EY has ranked miners' social licence to operate as the greatest risk to the industry for the past two years.

In Australia, mining companies are one of the biggest employers of Aboriginal people, who have an average life span nearly 10 years shorter than other Australians and can be at elevated risks of heart and kidney diseases and diabetes.

Mining companies typically fly staff from big cities to work in remote areas in a practice known as FIFO, or fly in fly out.

South32 said it had strictly separated FIFO staff at its manganese mine GEMCO in north Australia from residential workers who are interwoven with the local Anindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt - and expects to keep the measures in place for months.

"We work in close proximity to several indigenous communities who have vulnerable people. It's absolutely essential we get it right," said Jo-Anne Scarini, vice president of operations at the mine.

ISOLATION MEASURES

Australia, which is among the countries most successful in fighting the spread of COVID-19, had just over 7,000 cases as of May 18 and 99 deaths. It does not separate out data for cases among Indigenous people, who make up 3.3% of the population.

Because of the risk to people with underlying health issues, Australian mining giant BHP made all employees over 65 work from home but lowered that to 50 for higher-risk employees such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - and asked all its contractors to do the same.

"(We) are actively encouraging them to take the steps we are taking to support our own high-risk employees during the COVID-19 pandemic," BHP said in a statement.

Rival Rio Tinto has adopted a similar policy and is also administering antibody blood tests and temperature checks before staff fly to remote sites to reduce the risk of anyone infecting the mainly indigenous communities near mines.

Australian iron ore miner Fortescue assesses its workers' health on a case by case basis, rather than focusing on groups within its workforce, Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines told Reuters, adding that it had distributed care packages including items such as hand sanitisers to remote communities.

In the Arctic Canadian territory of Nunavut, a predominately indigenous region mostly made up of Inuit, miners slowed their operations to limit the risk of an outbreak.

Gold miner Agnico Eagle , Nunavut's largest private employer, initially sent home its First Nations employees, who make up about a fifth of its 2,500-strong workforce, before scaling back operations and halting exploration.

It also instituted onsite testing and screening for COVID-19, as well as teleworking for all positions at its three Nunavut sites that could be done remotely, the company's communications director Dale Coffin said.

In Peru, MMG Ltd <1208.HK> has given food and care packages to 6,000 families in the Apurimac region around its vast Las Bambas copper mine in the Andes to discourage them from going to town for provisions and potentially exposing the community.

A spokeswoman for the Australian-based miner said there were no confirmed cases of coronavirus at Las Bambas as yet.

There has been an outbreak, however, at Peru's Antamina mine which is owned by BHP and commodities trading giant Glencore . More than 200 cases were discovered in April during testing of staff and contractors and mining has been halted.

BRAND HAS SUFFERED

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment analysts say they are watching mining companies closely to see how they cope with the coronavirus crisis, mindful of the potential risks to their reputations.

"An outbreak would attract further scrutiny over miners' COVID response from local authorities and civil society," said Ziggy You, ESG investment analyst at Aberdeen Standard Investments, which holds shares in mining companies.

"In case of a major outbreak, we would carry out an assessment of both its financial and social impacts and factor that into our investment decisions," he said.

Paul Mitchell, global mining & metals leader at EY, said the safety culture instilled in mining companies had helped stop the coronavirus from spreading.

"It is true that the 'brand' of mining has suffered in recent years," he said. "When we talk about safety these days we talk about zero harm so it does go beyond 'accidents' to thinking about health and wellbeing."

In Canada, Ojibway Chief Duncan Michano of the Pic River First Nation said Barrick Gold continued to pay workers at its Hemlo mine after the First Nation locked down its Ontario community for several weeks in April to protect it from the pandemic.

But community members who lived off the reserve and worked at the mine were upset not to be offered the same option to stay home without losing pay, he said.

They were mollified by the protective measures Barrick implemented, he said, calling the whole situation a compromise.

"We tried to close (the mine) down altogether but we don't have any legal means to do that," Michano said. "The province declares it an essential service so they can do what they want."

For some indigenous workers, stopping work is not an option. The Tahltan First Nation in Canada's British Columbia province opted to work with Australia's Newcrest Mining to keep the Red Chris copper-gold mine open, said Chad Day,president of the Tahltan central government.

There were fears a shutdown would throw 120 locals out of work, exacerbating social problems, Day said. "It wasn't an easy decision."

(Additional reporting by Moira Warburton and Jeff Lewis in Toronto, Simon Jessop in London and Ernest Scheyder; Editing by David Clarke)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

WASHINGTON  Joe Bidens campaign is asking some potential vice presidential candidates to submit references as the presumptive Democratic nominees team begins the formal vetting process, according to two people with knowledge of the process.

At least one of the candidates who has been asked for references is New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, according to an individual with knowledge of the request.

A spokesman for Lujan Grisham said late Tuesday that the Biden campaign had reached out to her, though not necessarily as a potential vice presidential candidate. Lujan Grisham is vice chairwoman of the Democratic Governors Association, a position that gives her a national profile and puts her on track to lead the group in 2021.

The campaign has reached out presumably because (Lujan Grisham) is not only DGA vice chair, but also the only Latina governor  thats important input if were going to win in November, Lujan Grisham spokesman Tripp Stelnicki told the Journal.

Bidens vetting process, in any case, is in its early stages.

The reference requests are the first tangible sign that Bidens vice presidential selection committee, announced at the end of April, is beginning its work in earnest.

The people with knowledge of the process declined to name who the campaign has been asking about, citing the private nature of their discussions. The Biden campaign declined comment.

Bidens vetting team is chaired by former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and former Apple executive and longtime Biden aide Cynthia Hogan. Biden has said he hopes the vetting process will be complete by July.

Biden, who has promised that his running mate will be a woman, said he is looking at more than a dozen women and there is significantly more than one black woman on the list.

Journal Capitol Bureau reporter Dan McKay contributed to this report.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic threatens Africa's progress and could push millions into extreme poverty.

The UN chief said in a video message launching a policy report on The Impact of COVID-19 in Africa that countries on the continent have responded swiftly to the crisis, and as of now reported cases are lower than feared with more than 2,500 deaths.

The virus is present in all African countries with most recording fewer than 1,000 cases, the 28-page UN report said.

The relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases confirmed thus far have raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic, the report said.

"Caution is warranted, however, as these are early days in the life cycle of a disease that is still not fully understood and where we have seen repeated patterns of first slow, then exponential growth in the number of cases."



The UN said the low numbers could be linked to minimal testing and reporting, pointing to a World Health Organisation warning that the pandemic "could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in 47 African countries in the first year, mostly depending on governments' responses".

And WHO also warned that "the socioeconomic impacts could 'smolder' for several years", the report said.

Guterres said, "much hangs in the balance".

He called for international action to strengthen Africa's health systems, maintain food supplies, avoid a financial crisis, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings.

To help address the devastating economic and social consequences of the pandemic, Guterres said Africa needs more than $200 billion and an across-the-board debt standstill for African countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults.

In recent years, Guterres said economic growth in Africa has been strong, the digital revolution has taken hold and agreement has been reached on a free trade area.

But he said already, demand for Africa's commodities, tourism and remittances are declining and the opening of the trade zone has been pushed back.

The secretary-general said the pandemic will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease.

The UN urged that agriculture be declared a critical sector that should not be interrupted by COVID-19 related measures.

Guterres commended what countries and the African Union have done to tackle the pandemic, saying most have deepened regional coordination, deployed health workers, and enforced quarantines, lockdowns and border closures.

They are also drawing on the experience of HIV/AIDS and Ebola to debunk rumors and overcome mistrust of government, security forces and health workers, Guterres said.

He said the United Nations has delivered millions of test kits, respirators and other supplies, reaching almost the entire continent.

While dealing with the pandemic, the UN report said maintaining peace and security in Africa remains paramount. Guterres has appealed for global cease-fires to tackle COVID-19 and he said it is "essential for African countries to sustain their efforts to silence the guns and address violent extremism".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DALLAS, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Total new home sales in last month flattened in Texas, reflecting an expected slowdown in the market, according to a new homes sales report from HomesUSA.com . Builders also reported lower average prices statewide and fewer Days on Market for new homes sold in April.



The HomesUSA.com report is based on data from the Houston Association of REALTORS, North Texas Real Estate Information Systems, San Antonio Board of REALTORS and the Austin Board of REALTORS Multiple Listing Services.

Its no surprise that Texas new home sales levelled in April with the pandemic pushing many buyers to the sidelines, said Ben Caballero, owner of HomesUSA.com and a current Guinness World Record title holder.

The good news for builders is that April new home sales did not decline in Texas as sharply as some anticipated, he added, noting that the 12-month rolling average for new home sales showed just 27 fewer homes sold than in March.

Total April new home sales in Texas averaged 4,009 versus 4,036 in March. Houston posted April sales totaling 1,350 versus 1,365 in March. In Dallas, April sales totaled 1,428 versus 1,437 in March, while Austin April sales totaled 684 versus 688 in March. San Antonio was the one anomaly with one more sale in April, 547, versus 546 in March.

According to the HomeUSA.com New Home Sales Index, the Days on Market (DOM) average in Texas was 104.23 days in April versus 105.37 days in March. For the fourth month in a row, the New Home Sales Index showed homes sold faster in every major new home market in Texas.

The good news for buyers is that the average sales price of a new home was lower statewide in April. In Texas, the 12-month moving average sales price of a new home was $355,017 in April, down from $355,752 in March.

New home sales prices were lower in three of the four biggest new home markets in Texas  Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio. For the second consecutive month, only Austin saw a slightly higher average new home sales price in April.

Surprisingly, pending new home sales were higher in April. In Texas, pending sales increased in April to 4,771 versus 4,732 in March.

Caballero is sharing this Texas new homes report in advance of the release by the Commerce Department of its national New Residential Home Sales report for April set for Tuesday, May 26, at 10:00 am Eastern.

Days on Market  New Homes in Texas (Exclusive Data)

The new home sales pace continued to improve as homes were on the market fewer days in all four of the state's top home markets, according to the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index. The DOM for Houston was 116.05 days in April versus 117.45 days in March. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, the DOM in April was 98.22 days versus 98.76 days in March. Austin's DOM in April was 100.37 days versus 102.44 days in March. In San Antonio, the DOM in April was 95.19 days versus 95.91 days in March. ( See Chart 1: Texas New Homes Days on Market )

Texas New Home Sales Data

Sales of new homes were either slightly lower or flat statewide in all four major markets. In Houston, the state's biggest new home sales market, total new home sales in April were 1,350 versus 1,365 in March. Dallas-Ft. Worth's total new home sales in April were 1,428 versus 1,437 in March. Austin's total new home sales in April were 684 versus 688 in March. In San Antonio, total new home sales in April were 547 versus 546 in March. ( See Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales )

Texas New Home Prices

Except for Austin, sales prices in all the markets monitored continued their gradual decline. In Houston, the average new home price was $347,969 in April versus $348,437 in March. Dallas-Ft. Worth reported its average price was $372,898 in April versus $374,198 in March. In San Antonio, the average price was $297,456 in April versus $297,870 in March. Austin's average price was $377,736 in April versus $377,627 in March. ( See Chart 3: Texas New Home Prices )

Texas Sales-to-List Price Ratio

Though very gradual, sales prices as a percent of their list prices continued their nearly two-year increase. In April, the 12-month moving average of the sales-to-list price ratio, new homes in Texas was for 98.03 percent of their asking price versus 98 percent in March. In Houston, it was 97.63 percent versus 97.60 percent in March. In Dallas-Ft. Worth, it was 97.90 percent versus 97.87 percent in March. The April ratio in Austin was 98.75 percent versus 98.74 percent in March, and San Antonio's April ratio was 98.50 percent versus 98.48 percent in March. ( See Chart 4: Texas Sales-to-List Price Ratio )

Texas Pending New Home Sales Data

The 12-month rolling average for pending new home sales in April posted higher numbers in all of the state's top new home markets last month. In Houston, April's pending sales were 1,596 versus 1,592 in March. In, Dallas-Ft. Worth it was 1,670 versus 1,648 in March. In Austin, it was 817 versus 816 in March, and in San Antonio, it was 688 versus 676 in March. ( See Chart 5: Texas Pending New Home Sales)

About the HomesUSA.com New Home Sales Index

The HomesUSA.com Index is a 12-month moving average of the Days on Market (DOM) for new homes listed in the local Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) for the four largest Texas markets, including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. Created by Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, it is the first index to track the sale pace of new home sales specifically.

About Ben Caballero and HomesUSA.com

Ben Caballero, founder and CEO of HomesUSA.com, holds the current Guinness World Record title for Most annual home sale transactions through MLS by an individual sell side real estate agent. Ranked by REAL Trends as Americas top real estate agent for home sales since 2013, Ben is the most productive real estate agent in U.S. history. He is the only agent to exceed $1 billion in residential sales transactions in a single year, a feat first achieved in 2015 and repeated each year through 2018, when he achieved more than $2 billion. An award-winning innovator and technology pioneer, Ben works with more than 60 home builders in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. His podcast series is available on iTunes and Google Play . An infographic illustrating Bens sales production is here . Learn more at HomesUSA.com |Twitter: @bcaballero - @HomesUSA | Facebook: /HomesUSAdotcom.

Note for journalists: You may contact Ben Caballero directly on his cell at (214) 616-9222 or by email at ben@homesusa.com .

Media Contact:

Kevin Hawkins

(206) 866-1220

kevin@wavgroup.com

Image: Ben Caballero

https://www.homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/L-38017_bcaballero_photo.jpg

Individual Chart images:

Chart 1: Texas New Homes Tracking - Days on Market  Apr 2020:

https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Chart-1-Texas-Days-on-Market.jpg

Chart 2: Texas New Home Sales  Apr 2020:

https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Chart-2-Texas-New-Home-Sales.jpg

Chart 3: Texas New Home Sales Prices  Apr 2020:

https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Chart-3-Texas-New-Home-Prices.jpg

Chart 4: Texas Sales-to-List-Price Ratio  Apr 2020:

https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Chart-4-Texas-Sales-to-List-Price-Ratio.jpg

Chart 5: Texas Pending New Home Sales  Apr 2020:

https://homesusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Chart-5-Texas-Pending-New-Home-Sales.jpg
The U.S. is to send 200 ventilators to Russia after President Vladimir Putin called President Donald Trump to ask for help, according to the U.S. State Department.

The U.S. will start to deliver the ventilators to Russia this week as the country experiences "a true public health crisis due to the Covid-19 outbreak," the State Department told CNBC Tuesday,

Russia's coronavirus cases neared 300,000 on Wednesday, cementing its position as the country with the second-highest number of confirmed virus cases after the U.S., which has over 1.5 million cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"In response to President Putin's request for assistance, President Trump offered to donate and deliver 200 ventilators to the Russian people. The first 50 ventilators are being produced by the manufacturer in the United States, and are expected to be ready for shipment May 20," the spokesperson said.

The U.S. said the sending of medical aid to Russia was part of a raft of measures it had taken to help its global allies and that it wanted to improve U.S.-Russia relations, which have been strained in recent years following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and meddling in the U.S.' 2016 election, both of which drew international condemnation and led to economic sanctions on Russia.

"The United States seeks a better relationship with Russia on many fronts and the door to dialogue remains open. We must all work together to overcome this common threat that knows no boundaries. The United States and Russia have provided humanitarian assistance to each other during past crises and will no doubt do so again in the future," the spokesperson noted.

Moscow's request for medical aid comes after it sent what it called "humanitarian aid" to the U.S. in early April as the coronavirus pandemic took hold in New York. Russia sent the U.S. a cargo of medical supplies, including ventilators, but the act of largesse has not been without controversy.

Critics said Russia had sent the medical supplies as a way to soften the U.S.' stance on sanctions on Russia (Moscow vehemently denied the aid was aimed at relaxing sanctions) and then safety concerns prompted the U.S. to put a stop to any use of the Russian-made ventilators it was sent after the same model  the Aventa-M ventilator  was investigated as the potential cause of two deadly fires in Russian hospitals that killed several Covid-19 patients.

U.S. aid to Russia comes as its commitment to the World Health Organization, which has tried to lead a global response to the coronavirus pandemic, looks increasingly fragile.

Trump said on Tuesday that the WHO must "clean up" its act or the U.S. won't "be involved with them anymore." Trump had threatened to pull support from the agency permanently Monday and gave it a 30-day deadline to implement changes.

The State Dept. spokesperson told CNBC that the U.S. is "the largest contributor to global public health and has committed over 15,000 ventilators to more than 50 countries, including our European Allies and partners."

"Through the generosity of the American people and private industry innovation, the United States is providing critical medical supplies and ventilators to people in need around the world."
Donald Trump went on a late night tweeting spree Tuesday, turning his focus to his Obamagate attacks by suggesting his predecessor was 'caught' spying on him.

The president told his followers there are some 'very nervous criminals out there' in response to a tweet from Ted Cruz repeating claims Obama spied on Trump.

POTUS tweeted: 'They got caught. Some very nervous criminals out there. Thank you Ted!' He earlier tweeted: 'So true. OBAMAGATE!'

His comments were in response to Cruz's earlier post which read: 'Wow. Ongoing spying from an outgoing POTUS on the incoming POTUSdirected by Obama himselfis unprecedented in the 243 years of our nation's history.'

A newly declassified memo released Tuesday showed former FBI Director James Comey warned President Obama of the potential incoming national security advisor Mike Flynn might pass information to the Russians.

The memo, which outgoing national security advisor Susan Rice sent to herself on her final day in office, memorializes a White House meeting several days earlier where Obama and top officials discussed potential risks posed by Flynn.

A portion of the document formerly classified as 'Top Secret' has now been revealed.

The president, pictured, told his followers there are some 'very nervous criminals out there' in response to a tweet from Ted Cruz repeating claims Obama spied on Trump

A memo, which outgoing national security advisor Susan Rice sent to herself on her final day in office, memorializes a White House meeting several days earlier where Obama, pictured, and top officials discussed potential risks posed by Flynn

Donald Trump went on late night tweeting spree Tuesday, turning his focus to his Obamagate attacks by suggesting his predecessor was 'caught' spying on him

Cruz had shared a tweet from The Federalist co founder Sean Davis which said: 'Newly declassified portions of a bizzare Inaugration Day e-mail Susan Rice wrote to herself confirm that the 2017 campaign to target Michael Flynn was coordinated by Obama and orchestrated within the Oval Office itself.'

The president also retweeted Sen. Marsha Blackburn who said: 'Susan Rice knew exactly what she was doing. That's why she wrote herself emails in a desperate attempt to cover her tracks.'

'From a national security perspective, Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak,' Rice wrote about the January 5, 2017 meeting.

'Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information. President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the [National Security Council] should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn,' she continued.

Comey's response was that was 'potentially the case.'

According to Fox News, Comey continued that there weren't indications Flynn passed on classified information to the Russina ambassador, but noted 'the level of communication is unusual.'

Outgoing national security advisor Susan Rice, pictured, sent the memo to herself

The president also retweeted Sen. Marsha Blackburn who said: 'Susan Rice knew exactly what she was doing. That's why she wrote herself emails in a desperate attempt to cover her tracks'

Trump allies concluded that the memo proves that Flynn was being targeted by Obama' inner sanctum.

But it has been previously reported that Obama warned Trump not to hire Flynn months before the meeting, and that Trump proceeded anyway.

He would fire Flynn after just weeks on the job. He said he did so because Flynn was not truthful with Vice President Mike Pence about his own Russia contacts.

Also present at the meeting were then-Vice President Joe Biden and deputy attorney general Sally Yates.

The memo was partially declassified in 2018. In it, Rice states that Obama wanted the matter handled 'by the book.'

'President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book,' wrote herself.

'The president stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book.'

Comey 'affirmed that he was proceeding 'by the book' as it relates to law enforcement,' according to the memo.

'The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would,' Rice concludes.

A newly declassified memo released Tuesday showed former FBI Director James Comey, pictured, warned President Obama of the potential incoming national security advisor Mike Flynn might pass information to the Russians

U.S. intelligence intercepts had already picked up communications between Michael Flynn , pictured, and Kislyak. Numerous officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, sought to 'unmask' Flynn's name from intelligence reports

A spokesman for Rice said: 'The email makes clear that the Obama administration did not change the way it briefed Michael Flynn  but rather that President Obama asked Director Comey 'to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks' that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team.

'In fact, Ambassador Rice briefed Michael Flynn for over 12 hours, on four separate occasions and led the National Security Council in preparing and delivering to him over 100 separate briefing memos.

'Ambassador Rice did not alter the way she briefed Michael Flynn on Russia as a result of Director Comey's response.'

U.S. intelligence intercepts had already picked up communications between Flynn and Kislyak. Numerous officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, sought to 'unmask' Flynn's name from intelligence reports, including to information declassified by the Trump administration last week.

Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell declassified the document, as well as the unmasking information.

Trump at a cabinet meeting Tuesday praised Grenell unreservedly.

'What a job. I think you'll go down as the all time great acting ever at any position,' said Trump, after Grenell gave remarks calling for transparency.
Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi, director of Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok, is leading the Covid-19 fundraiser project to read Roald Dahls 1961 childrens novel James and the Giant Peach along with his Hollywood friends chiming in, voicing characters and having fun.

Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Josh Gad, Mindy Kaling, Gordon Ramsay, Eddie Redmayne, Olivia Wilde, Ruth Wilson and Archie Yates are among the cast.

Chris Hemsworth along with his brother Liam will be seen in their first performance together for this project.

The novel will be read in 10 instalments, with various actors appearing as characters in the story. The first two episodes went live from Monday on the Roald Dahl YouTube channel. New episodes will be available each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. According to BookRiot.com, Each episode will also be accompanied by family-friendly activities for viewers to enjoy, including crafts, experiments, and competitions.

ALSO READ: 10 quotes by Roald Dahl thatll take you down memory lane; lesser-known facts about the author and more

Funds raised will go to Partners In Health, a charity for maternal health in Sierra Leone. Earlier this year, the acclaimed director was as the writer-director-executive producer of two Netflix based original animated series based on Dahls Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Waititi described himself as an adult child myself, who has read the book many times to his daughters.

This wacky, wonderful tale is about resilience in children, triumph over adversity and dealing with a sense of isolation which couldnt be more relevant today, he said.

We've teamed up with @taikawaititi to present James and the Giant Peach, with Taika and Friends!



Taika will be reading the whole book to raise money for @PIH - and we'll match all donations made.



Watch the first two slices now  https://t.co/G26id4gVeE#TaikaAndFriends pic.twitter.com/0RuHI1lA1f  Roald Dahl HQ  (@roald_dahl) May 18, 2020

James and the Giant Peach tells the story of an orphaned boy, imprisoned and treated poorly by two evil aunts. When he drops magic crystals by an old peach tree, it accidentally grows into a giant peach that becomes his entrance to a new world full of adventure and enchanting characters. Jamess story of isolation is especially relevant to readers globally during the Covid-19 crisis.

The Roald Dahl Story Company has committed to donating 1 million towards Covid-19 impacted charities, including Partners In Health and Roald Dahls Marvellous Childrens Charity.

-- with inputs from Reuters

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Burundians began voting Wednesday in a tense election to replace long-ruling President Pierre Nkurunziza, that is proceeding despite an outbreak of coronavirus which has been largely ignored in the east African nation.

Electors are being called out after five years of turmoil sparked by Nkurunziza's bid for a disputed third term, which unleashed unrest that left at least 1,200 dead and saw 400,000 flee the country.

Burundians stood in long lines outside polling stations, which opened shortly after six am (0400 GMT), to elect not just their new president, but parliamentarians and local councillors, who in turn appoint the members of the Senate.

"The vote is open," said Prosper Sindayihebura, president of a polling station at Bugera primary school in central Mwarao province. Each booth has a blue ballot box for the presidential election, a green one for the legislative and red for the local.

In the presidential vote, 5.1 million registered voters are chosing between Nkurunziza's handpicked heir and frontrunner, 52-year-old general Evariste Ndayishimiye, main opposition competitor Agathon Rwasa, and five other candidates.

While Ethiopia postponed its elections as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Burundi pushed ahead with the vote.

Burundi. By (AFP)

The population of an estimated 11 million people have not had any restrictions on their movement unlike in neighbouring countries.

As throughout the campaign, Saturday's final rally of the ruling CNDD-FDD party in commercial capital Bujumbura saw heaving crowds gathered for hours, with only buckets of water and soap available as a nod to the virus.

Ndayishimiye and other officials have insisted God is protecting the East African state, and only 42 positive cases and one death have officially been recorded.

However doctors accuse the government of minimising the extent of the outbreak, while residents of Bujumbura have told AFP of mysterious deaths of neighbours and relatives with respiratory problems and fevers.

Clash of Hutu rebel leaders

The campaign was marked by violence and arbitrary arrests -- the kind that has persisted in the shadows since the 2015 poll -- and observers expected a bitter contest between the two frontrunners.

Opposition candidate Agathon Rwasa. By - (AFP)

Ndayishimiye is a party veteran who like Nkurunziza, fought for the ethnic Hutu rebellion during the country's 1993-2006 civil war with the minority Tutsi-dominated army. The war left some 300,000 dead.

Rwasa, 56, was a leader of the oldest ethnic Hutu rebel movement Palipehutu-FNL, one of the two main rebel groups in the war.

In the eyes of the majority Hutu -- 85 percent of the population -- Rwasa has as much legitimacy as a presidential candidate as his rival.

"The people won't let their victory be stolen," warned Rwasa, after the ruling party made clear it expects no other outcome than a resounding win.

Nkurunziza's decision to step aside came as a surprise after constitutional changes in 2018 opened the possibility for him to stay in office until 2034.

In January legislators passed a law offering a golden parachute to outgoing presidents, including a luxury villa and a one-off sum equivalent to more than half a million dollars.

The retired president will also get the same benefits as a serving vice-president for seven years after he steps down, and will for the rest of his life receive an allowance equal to that of a lawmaker.

The outgoing president, who has ruled for 15 years, was in February named the "supreme guide for patriotism" and he is expected to retain an influential role if the ruling party retains its power.

'Phenomenon of despair'

The government has refused any observers from the UN or the African Union, accusing the latter of being too close to the opposition.

Social networks had been shut down from at least one hour before voting began, with access only possible via a virtual private network.

Burundi compared to regional neighbours on key socio-economic indicators. By (AFP)

Observers highlight the massive crowds mobilised by Rwasa during his campaign.

"There is a phenomenon of despair, a feeling of 'anything but the CNDD-FDD', and Rwasa is riding this wave," said International Crisis Group expert Onesphore Sematumba.

The World Bank lists Burundi among the three poorest countries in the world, with 75 percent of the country living in extreme poverty and six out of 10 children suffering malnutrition.

Polls close at 1400 GMT, with results expected by next Monday or Tuesday.
The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is up in arms against the Minister of Aviation Joseph Kofi Adda, accusing him of usurping the power and Authority of the Minister for health.



The Association is agitated that the Minister has been laxed in ensuring proper disinfection of the Airports where traders and businessmen and women transact business by taking delivery of parcels and cargoes on a daily basis in these critical times when efforts are being made to curtail the spread of COVID-19.



Even more shocking and dangerous according to the GUTA executives is the fact that Domestic flight operations have began and traders and the generality of the Ghanaian people are commuting to and from various destinations, a trend the argue should have prompted the Minister to swiftly move in to implement and enforce safety measures including disinfecting aircrafts and cargoes.



The Minister in a statement dated May 15, 2020 bordering on a recent disinfection exercise at the Kotoka International Airport, accused Messrs. David Kwadwo Amoateng and Nana Poku, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman and Secretary of GUTA respectively of making pronouncements that were calculated at causing disaffection for him and the Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, Mr. Yaw Kwakwa.



The two GUTA executives have accused the Minister of taking the safety and lives of their members who transact business at the Airports for granted by refusing to adhere to a directive from the Minister of Health Kwaku Agyemang Manu through a letter dated May 17, 2019 to take steps to comply with International Legislation concerning International Health Regulations for disinfection of Ghanas Airports.



The Aviation Ministers letter read in part that "Matters of Aviation policy and Airport management principles and standards, as well as internationally approved procedures, are highly specialized that Messrs. Amoateng and Poku are not sufficiently qualified to make pronouncements or pass judgement on, especially regarding the ability, management capacity and competence of senior management officers of the sector, as they are not the appointing authority to question the positions of these two senior government officials."



But at a press conference on Tuesday May, 19, 2020, the two GUTA executives described the Aviation Minister as the one who is rather ignorant and incompetent. According to them, they are better informed and abreast of issues as far as the industry is concerned, particularly in this era of COVID-19, than the Minister, citing the Mr. Addas posturing, pronouncements and actions.



They argue that it is the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service that has jurisdiction over all matters relating to Health and disinfection at the Airports and not the Ministry of Aviation and the Ghana Airports Company Limited.



A statement read at the press conference stated in part that "It is clear from your statement that you still do not understand what we are talking about. Open your eyes! The world has a pandemic called COVID-19."



Dealing with viruses and pandemics by LAW is under the jurisdiction of MINISTRY OF HEALTH not MINISTRY OF AVIATION. Your ego has blocked your reasoning and has accelerated the spread of the Virus and loss of Ghanaian lives. The statement continued that  Overwhelming information came from the stakeholders meetings with the Ministry of Health.



We do not think even you can tell the Minister of Health how he should be doing and conducting disinfection at the Borders. They have a huge department called Port Health, and they actually have offices at the Airports. It is Ghana Health Service, not the Ghana Airport Company who checks peoples temperature and yellow cards when they come in and out of passport control. This is a prime example of the way things should be at the Airport concerning health matters and now you are trying to change it in a way that is challenging common sense and the law.



GUTA says it is unbelievable that the Minister would ask for a contract with the approved disinfection company, but has no contracts with the Port Health Unit, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Police and Customs who all operate in the Airports.



Do you have contracts with Port Health, Immigration Service, the Police, Customs, for them to be at the Airport? GHS has already contracted the Disinfection Health Service more than a year ago.



You have not helped them to perform a public duty and now that there is PANDEMIC and people of Ghana want answers, you claim that you are under duress which is caused by the fact that you failed to act on the Minister of Health Letter dated 17th May 2019 with the reference number MOH/OM/LCB-AV/14919.



You want everyone to come and sign contracts with you, even though it has nothing to do with you because of your selfish interest they posited. According to them, it is clear that the Minister who cites some cost elements as part of reasons why the legitimate company contracted to carry out disinfections at the Airports, LCB Worldwide Ghana Limited has not been allowed to carry out its mandate, does not value the lives of Ghanaians.



Mr Minister, how much does the life of a Ghanaian worth? According to your explanation, not $20.



Traders are business people; we know there is no free lunch, one way or another we the traders of Ghana who are the hard currency owners of this country, who are the taxpayers of this country will end up paying for it. Whether it will be from airport taxes, air ticket charges, we dont know where the payment will come from, but we know that we will end up paying for it. Whatever the cost is, it is not worth losing our lives. This is the principal reason why we have supported and paid for the Disinfection Health Service at the ports of Tema and Takoradi.



Again, they accuse the Aviation Minister of incompetence saying it was under his watch that Ghana recorded her first COVID-19 case through the Airport, which then spread across the country.



"Answer this Mr. Minister? Where did COVID-19 virus come from? Did it come into Ghana from Tema or Takoradi Ports where the Ministry of Health successfully executed the Disinfection Health Service with the help of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority? or Did it come from the Airport where you have refused to assist the Health officials in implementing the Disinfection Health Service? We, the same, ill-informed Group or people, can tell you that the COVID-19 Virus came through the Airport that you manage, and it spread all over Ghana. It only requires common sense to see this, not awards from Airport Council International" they argued.

Source: GUTA









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 total of 325 special trains



have left Maharashtra so far ferrying stranded migrants to their native states, NCP leader and state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.

He also said that 60 more such special trains will depart from various stations in Maharashtra by this evening.

The Railways has been operating 'Shramik Special' trains since May 1 to transport migrants who have been stuck away from their home states in view of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

"A total of 325 trains have taken migrant labourers back to their native states till Tuesday night. Some 60 more trains will run from various stations by evening," Deshmukh said.

With plying of 385 trains altogether, about five lakh migrant labourers are ferried to their home states, the Home minister said.

"While 187 trains have been sent for Uttar Pradesh, 44 services ran for Bihar, 33 for Madhya Pradesh and 13 for Rajasthan besides other states," Deshmukh said.

He said a train had already left for West Bengal.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of migrant labourers rushing to the Bandra terminus in Mumbai on Tuesday in the hope of boarding a train for north India, Deshmukh said only those people who receive a telephone call from the government approach railway stations, and avoid crowding.

Many labourers had claimed that they started for the Bandra Terminus after receiving calls from the police saying they are selected to travel on the train for Purnia in Bihar on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Deshmukh reiterated that since the state government has been bearing the ticket fare for migrant labourers, they need not pay anything.

"All the 93 police stations in Mumbai are under pressure for preparing lists of migrant labourers who wish to return home. The state government has issued an order under which some 1,500 employees of the state government will assist these police stations in preparing the lists, which will hopefully reduce the burden on the police," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bengaluru heard loud sounds in 2005, 2018 as well, but they remain mysteries

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: The big sound that was heard in Bengaluru today has led to several theories. Some said that it was an earthquake, while others said that it was a sonic boom.

True, there has been some activity in the skies by the Indian Air Force, but there was absolutely no confirmation.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao said that there was no damage anywhere. He also said that there have been no calls made to the emergency 100 number. We have asked the Air Force Control Room to check if this was a flight and we are awaiting confirmation, he also told reporters.

Mysterious sound boom in Bengaluru: Commissioner contacts IAF

This is not the first time that such an issue has been discussed. On August 18, 2005, there were mysterious sounds that had been reported in the city. Post that the people debated whether it was an earthquake or a sonic boom. However, back then the Aeronautical Development Agency had said that there were no test flights at that time. To attain the speed of sound, the aircraft needs to be a certain height, so it will not be audible from the ground the ADA had also said.

The Indian Meteorology Department had also said that there was no significant activity reported. Some residents in Banashankari had said in 2005, it could have been the sound caused due to dynamite. However, there was no answer to the sound and there still is not.

In August 2018, a similar incident was reported. In Rajarashwari Nagar and other areas of South Bengaluru, residents reported that they heard a loud sound. They had also said that they had felt a slight tremor as well.

The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre ruled out the possibility of an earthquake. In 2018 too people had said that it could have been a sonic boom. Some even went on to say that the sound could have been caused due to underground drilling activity by those working on the Metro rail project. There were others who blamed it on the lunar eclipse too.

As Bengaluru feels tremor, here is what is Sonic Boom

However, be it 2005 or 2018, there has not been any valid reason given as to why the sound occurred. Both continue to remain mysteries and going by what happened today, it appears that this one too would continue a mystery.
The Servant of the People Party will nominate its candidate.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced primaries will be held by the ruling party, Servant of the People, before the mayoral elections in Kyiv, and he will support the party's nominee.

"As for the primaries. In Kyiv, I will support a candidate for the mayor of Kyiv who will be nominated by the Servant of the People Party. Will the primaries be held? Yes, they will! Will only members of the Servant of the People Party be competing during the primaries? There will certainly be candidates from the Servant of the People, that is, those who are members of the Servant of the People, and there will be independent people who are ready to fight at open primaries at a meeting of our Servant of the People faction," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on May 20.

Read alsoZelensky's year in office: Parting with illusions, retaining people's trust

"I'll support the best one," he added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, President Zelensky on May 20 gave a press conference in Kyiv to mark his one-year anniversary in office.

The incumbent mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, assumed his office in June 2014.
President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a condolence message to former Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, over the passing of ...





President Muhammadu Buhari has sent a condolence message to former Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, over the passing of his wife, Chief Deborah Folashade Diya.





General Diya was charged with treason during the regime of General Sani Abacha.





Buhari prayed that the almighty God will comfort the family of the retired Army General.





A statement on Wednesday, signed by Garba Shehu said the President joins family members, friends and associates of Chief Folashade Diya, particularly members of the United African Methodist (Evangelical) Church, in mourning the devout Christian, who dedicated her time on earth to serving God, and working for the good of others.





The statement added that, President Buhari affirms that the wife of the former Chief of General Staff lived to encourage and inspire many on faith in God, demonstrating love, kindness and generosity through focus on helping the underprivileged, and counselling many.





The President, prays that the soul of the departed will find rest in God, it said.
20.05.2020 LISTEN

The Electoral Commission says not more than 25 people will be permitted at a registration centre at a given time when the Electoral commission begins the mass voter registration exercise for the December polls.

The Communications Director for the Commission, Sylvia Annor noted that the commission will put the necessary safety protocols in place to ensure that Ghanaians are adequately protected against COVID-19 contraction while undertaking the exercise.

Speaking to Francis Abban on the Morning Starr Wednesday, the EC spokesperson said the commission poised to develop a voters roll for the upcoming Presidential and parliamentary elections.

At each point in time we will ensure that we do not have more than 25 persons including the officials at any registration centre, she said.

She added: People coming to register will be given hand sanitizers before they enter the registration centre, you need to wear a face mask, without a face mask you cannot enter a registration centre. There will be no crowding at the registration centre, I can assure you.

She reiterated the ECs position that existing Voters ID cards will not be accepted as proof of identity during the registration exercise.

You need a Ghanaian passport or Ghana card, if for one reason or the other you dont have any of the two then you fall on the other which is getting two guarantors to guarantee for you.

We are not using the old voters ID card, the voters ID card, some people argue, is not a good index for identification. Its an established fact that the ID card is not a good index for proof of identification.

Meanwhile, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged that the Electoral Commission and National Identification Authority are conspiring to suppress votes in the strongholds of the party.

Addressing a news conference last week, National Chairman of the party Samuel Ofosu Ampofo alleged that the decision of the Electoral Commission to push for the Ghana Card, birth certificate and Passport as the primary documents required to register during the voters registration exercise is part of a grand scheme to rig the 2020 elections in favour of the governing NPP.

According to Mr Ampofo, the decision by the NIA to increase the number of registration centres in the Ashanti region but keep few in the strongholds of the NDC is part of the voter suppression agenda.

The President seeing defeat staring glaringly at him, he is in conjunction with the Jean Mensa led EC and the Ken Attafuah led NIA desperately scheming to rig the 2020 elections and hold on to power at all cost.

Not even the unusual circumstances we find ourselves in which requires that we pull together for our collective survival as a nation are enough to deter the actors of this plot from their ungodly act.

Mr Ampofo also wondered why the EC would like to ignore the voter ID which he said is the most credible document of identity in the county and rather go for birth certificates which are easily obtainable.

---starrfmonline
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Kaya Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KAYS), announced that it has released fiscal year 2019 results of operations by filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 with the SEC. KAYS 2019 10-K highlights include the following updates:

Launch of Kaya Brands International, Inc.

General: As the first "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis company to operate inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company and after six (6) years of operations in Oregon, perhaps the most competitive cannabis market in the United States, KAYS has formed Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI"), to serve as the vehicle from which KAYS will leverage its operational experience and expand operations into select and targeted global markets.

Greek Cannabis License Issuance: KBI's first EU Project is a joint venture cultivation-for-export cannabis project with Athens based Greekkannabis PC ("GKC"). GKC was recently issued its Cannabis Installation License by the Greek Government, permitting the commencement of construction of a planned 470,000 square foot Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Processing Facility on 15 acres of land in Thebes, Greece. The Company estimates total farm production, once completely constructed and operating at full capacity, to be at a minimum of approximately 225,000 pounds of medical cannabis annually, which is targeted for export to the European Union and other select markets.

Greenegev, Israeli Medical Cannabis Project: KBI has been invited to participate in Greenegev, the first cannabinoid ecosystem, which is currently under development in Yerucham, Israel. KBI is currently evaluating a potential site for construction of a medical cannabis production facility which would be designed to leverage Israel's depth of cannabis research and advanced agricultural practices. Greenegev is intended to bethe equivalent of a "Silicon Valley" for medical cannabis being developed with the full support of the Israeli Government - including grants, licensing assistance and public/private initiatives. Moreover, the Israeli government has recently approved the growth and production of medical cannabis for export. Private sector partcipants in Greengev include companies such as Perrigo, a NYSE traded Irish pharmaceutical company which recently began expanding into the cannabis and CBD sectors.

For more information on our Greek and Israeli projects, please access this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7dxarx89uxrjvkq/AABnkR1ou6uAr4Be0ehZCPn5a?dl=0

KAYS intends to maintain a majority ownership of KBI, but is also considering, in conjunction with its advisors, various strategies by which KBI can enhance its value to KAYS shareholders. Potential strategies under consideration include a dividend of a portion of KBI's common stock to KAYS shareholders or otherwise spinning off KBI as a separately trading public company. There can be no assurance given as to whether or when KAYS will deterimine to implement a specific strategy, if ever, and to successfully implement any strategy selected.

"We have spent the past 24 months developing the opportunities that will we believe that will allow KAYS to take advantage of potential foreign expansion opportunities, without waiting for development of domestic regulatory cohesion, which has inhibited growth for companies in U.S. cannabis industry, despite their ceployment of significant capital resources. commented KAYS CEO Craig Frank. "Rather we have expended comparatively less capital resources to secure in-depth operational experience that we anticipate can now be leveraged in environments more welcoming to an emerging cannabis industry. Both Greece and Israel have demonstrated the willingness to becomeglobal centers of cannabis excellence and we believe that KAYS, through KBI, has the opportunity to become be a visible and leading player in the primary and lucrative cannabis markets now emerging. As we see the so-called industry leaders pulling back from their massive acquisition and "lead by size" strategies where hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted, we believe the more considered and paced strategy we have always embraced - gain knowledge, gain experience, then execute - will now prevail as the more reasoned and ultimately more successful model."

COVID-19 Operational Response

All of our Kaya Shack retail cannabis stores and Kaya Farms production facilities in Oregon continue to be fully operational and the Company is working closely with local and state authorities to ensure it is following or exceeding the stated guidelines related to COVID-19. Please follow this link to see a video of how we are operating with our Covid-19 inspired safety enhancements to protect our employees and serve our Kaya Shack medical and recreational marijuana customers via in-store sales, curbside pickup and delivery from our signature Kaya Delivery Vehicles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6TpVuFzxM8

2019 Results by the Numbers.

Revenues- We had revenues of $1,014,266 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to revenues of $1,136,599 for the year ended December 31, 2018, a decrease of 10% due to the closing of a non-performing store as we looked to reduce expenses and consolidate operations as we transition to international operations.

Operating Expenses- Total operating expenses were $2,264,883 for the year ended December 31, 2019, as compared to $2,870,627 for the year ended December 31, 2018 as we were able to reduce our salaries and professional Fees significantly.

Debt Restructuring- At December 31, 2019 we had approximately $7.2 million in convertible debt due between January 1, 2020 and 2022 which we had accumulated over the past six years to finance the development of our cannabis operations and our public company overhead. We are pleased to confirm that as of January 1, 2020 we have refinanced approximately $6.8 million of this debt so that no interest and principal payments are due until January 1, 2024 and we are in the process of negotiating with the remaining debt holders to further reduce those obligations as well so that we may concentrate on utilizing funds raised through future securities offering to pay down some accumulated professional fees and operational expenses and target the balance for expansion and building the Company as we move forward.

A copy of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, complete with pictures, store information and product testing as filed with the SEC, is available online at www.sec.gov or at www.otcmarkets.com.

Note: To be advised of all upcoming News Releases and shareholder emails please go to www.kayaholdings.com and add your email to our notification list.

About Kaya Holdings, Inc.

(www.kayaholdings.com)

Kaya Holdings, Inc. ("KAYS") is a touch-the-plant vertically integrated legal cannabis company operating a number of majority-owned subsidiaries that retail, cultivate, produce and distribute premium medical and recreational cannabis products, including flower, concentrates, oils and extracts, cannabis-infused foods and beverages, topicals and cannaceuticals. KAYS is a fully reporting, US-based publicly traded company, listed for trading on the OTCQB Tier of the over-the-counter market under the symbol OTCQB:KAYS.

KAYS Cannabis operations are conducted under three main majority-owned subsidiaries as further detailed below:

Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc. owns the Kaya Shack brand of licensed medical and recreational marijuana stores (www.kayashack.com) and the Kaya Farms brand of cannabis production and processing operations that operate in the United States.

Kaya Brands USA, Inc. owns a wide range of proprietary brands of cannabis extracts, oils, pre-rolls, topicals, food and beverages, cannaceuticals and related accessories.

Kaya Brands International, Inc., was founded to serve as the vehicle for the Company's non-U.S. operations including retail franchising in Canada and cultivation activities in Greece and Israel.

Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc.- U.S. Cannabis Operations

Kaya Shack Retail Cannabis Stores

In 2014, KAYS became the first United States publicly-traded company to own and operate a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. KAYS presently operates two Kaya Shack OLCC licensed marijuana retail stores to service the legal medical and recreational marijuana market in Oregon, and is in the process of relocating a third retail cannabis license to serve as a delivery hub for the Eugene and Southern Oregon Cannabis Market,

Kaya Farms

Eugene, Oregon Indoor Grow, Processing & Cannaceutical Facility: KAYS has developed its own proprietary Kaya Farms strains of cannabis, which it grows and produces (together with edibles and other cannabis derivatives) at its 12,000 square foot indoor grow and cannabis manufacturing facility in Eugene, Oregon, capable of producing approximately 1,500 pounds of premium cannabis annually, with the capacity for expansion. The Company also plans to use the space for production of oils, concentrates, extracts, edibles, and cannaceuticals. KAYS is currently conducting limited operations at the facility pending approval transfer of the production and processing licenses to KAYS by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (the "OLCC"), the Oregon state regulating agency which regulates legal cannabis production, processing and sale.

Lebanon, Oregon Farm & Greenhouse Facility: KAYS owns a 26-acre parcel in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon which it intends to construct an 85,000-square-foot Kaya Farms greenhouse cultivation and production facility. To date KAYS has received Linn County Zoning approvals and upon issuance of OLCC Licensing it will begin construction. The farm is intended for immediate development and provides the Company with a potential additional capacity of more than 100,000 pounds annually, to be expanded once export from Oregon to other U.S. States and foreign countries where cannabis use is legal is permitted. Kaya Farms operates in accordance with a Grow Operations manual, as well as manuals for compliance, employment matters and safety.

Kaya Brands USA, Inc.- Brand and Product Development

The Company maintains a genetics library of over 30 strains of cannabis and owns a number of proprietary brands in traditional and innovative cannabis categories including Kaya Buddies pre-rolls, Really Happy Glass cannabis accessories, and Kaya Gear, company-related and cannabis-centric fashion. These brands are currently available at Kaya Shack stores.

The Company has made advances in the development of its Kumba Extracts, Syzygy Extracts, Pakalolo Juice Company Soothe Topicals, Tony Giggles Pleasure Foods (frozen infused Italian entrees), Uptown Shaman (cannaceuticals), and Kaya Yums (chocolates, gummies, power bars) brands. Pending approval of our production and processing license, KAYS intends to begin a multi-state rollout planned in 2020 to the extent permitted by U.S. legal infrastructure. These brands are intended for all Kaya Shack stores, both corporate-owned and franchised.

Kaya Brands International, Inc.- Foreign Cannabis Operations

After over six years of conducting "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis operations inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company, KAYS has formed a subsidiary, Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI") to leverage its experience and expand into worldwide cannabis markets. KBI's current operations and initiatives include:

Canadian Franchising: KAYS has targeted Canada for its first international sale and operation of Kaya Shack cannabis store franchises. KAYS has entered into an area representation agreement with The Franchise Academy (a leading Canadian Franchise Development and Sales Group) to implement the Kaya Shack Retail Cannabis Store program in Canada (the only G7 country that has legalized both medical and recreational cannabis production, sale and use on a national level). The agreement targets 75-100 Kaya Shack Cannabis Retail locations throughout Canada through a multi-year structured rollout, subject to licensing and market conditions.

The Franchise Academy (http://www.franchiseacademy.ca) and its founder Shawn Saraga, is a member and national sponsor of the Canadian Franchise Association. With over 15 years of industry experience and having successfully closed over 700 franchise agreements and leases across Canada, the Franchise Academy has the knowledge, expertise, network and dedication to assist select franchisors enter the Canadian market.

Additionally, KAYS has retained Toronto, Canada based law firm of Garfinkle Biderman, LLP to prepare the Franchise Disclosure Documents and related items for the sale of Kaya Shack cannabis store franchises in Canada. We expect the franchise sale and placement effort throughout Canada to progress over the next 3-24 months. KAYS plans to ultimately expand its franchise operations to the U.S., as regulations and laws permit.

Kaya Kannabis- Kaya Farms Greece

KAYS has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") setting forth an agreement in principle for KBI to acquire a 50% ownership interest in Greekkannabis, PC ("GKC"). GKC is a recently formed Athens, Greece based cannabis company which has applied for and is awaiting issuance of a medical cannabis cultivation, processing and export license from the Greek government.

The MOU sets forth an agreement in principle, pursuant to which in consideration for KBI providing the necessary expertise related to cannabis cultivation, processing, brand development and other matters, KBI will have the right to acquire a 50% ownership interest in GKC by reimbursing GKC for 50% of its license application costs (with allowances for KBI's expenses as well). Consummation of the transaction contemplated by the MOU is subject to, among other customary conditions, satisfactory completion by KBI of its due diligence review of GKC, the drafting, execution and delivery of definitive transaction documentation and final license approval and issuance by the Greek government.

GKC plans to establish its cannabis cultivation and processing facility on land already identified outside of Athens. Project Management envisages a total of 425,000 square feet of light deprivation greenhouses situated on fifteen acres of land, and supported by an additional 50,000 sq. feet building for workspace, storage and administrative offices. The Company estimates total farm production, once completely constructed and operating at full capacity, to be at a minimum of approximately 225,000 pounds of premium grade cannabis annually.

Licensing Status: On April 22, 2020 KAYS/KBI received confirmation from their Greek Counsel that the Greek Government had awarded the crucial Installation License for the project.

KAYS and KBI are represented in Greece by the Athens based law firm of Dalakos Fassolis Theofanopoulos (https://dftlaw.gr/). The firm has developed a long-established and well-respected commercial legal practice and has developed a wide international network of correspondent relationships with overseas law offices throughout the world.

Kaya Farms Israel

KAYS, through KBI is seeking to establish a state of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility on approximately 50 acres of prime agricultural land.

Important Disclosure: KAYS is planning execution of its stated business objectives in accordance with current understanding of state and local laws and federal enforcement policies and priorities as it relates to marijuana. Potential investors and shareholders are cautioned that KAYS and MJAI will obtain advice of counsel prior to actualizing any portion of their business plan (including but not limited to license applications for the cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana products, engaging in said activities or acquiring existing cannabis production/sales operations). Advice of counsel with regard to specific activities of KAYS, federal, state or local legal action or changes in federal government policy and/or state and local laws may adversely affect business operations and shareholder value.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.

For more information contact Investor Relations: 561-210-7664

SOURCE: Kaya Holdings, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/590722/International-Cannabis-Company-Kaya-Holdings-Inc-Files-2019-10-K-Detailing-Launch-of-Kaya-Brands-International-and-Issuance-of-Greek-Cannabis-License-COVID-19-Operational-Response-Report-and-2019-Results-of-OperationsHoldings-Inc
It is why elected officials here and elsewhere need to be ready for possible second and third waves of coronavirus outbreaks this fall and beyond, and why preparations should be underway to funnel resources to long-term care facilities. If an effective treatment or vaccine becomes available, nursing homes should be among the first in line. If the federal government sends unrestricted cash to the states, they better prioritize the sick and the elderly. Are you listening, lawmakers?
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the labour arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on Wednesday organised a nationwide protest against what it called was the black ordinance brought by the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat and the unilateral changes in labour laws by 11 other states.

Workers associated with the BMS held a demonstration and submitted a memorandum to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to put a halt to the changes announced by the states.

The protests were carried out in small groups with the members maintaining social distancing norms, the BMS said.

The protest is against-not making proper facilities for migrant labourers; non payment of wages for the lockdown period; irregularities in providing Covid-19 benefits; not making travel arrangement for migrant labourers to return to their home states; increasing working hours from 8-12 hours and unbridled privatisation, BMS general secretary Vrijesh Upadhaya said.

The BMS has also criticised several state governments, including the BJP-ruled Gujarat for failing to address the concerns of the migrant workers, pointing out that while the union government has issued directive to all states to provide transport facilities, workers are continuing to walk back home.

Among those who participated in the demonstrations were the uranium mine workers in Jaduguda (Jharkhand); copper mine workers of Malajkhand (MP), workers in the coal belt, marine fish workers of Kerala, migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Odisha, Electricity employees of Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, NHM workers of Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Beedi workers of Telangana, industrial workers of Rajasthan, Punjab, MP, Jharkhand and Delhi and several PSU workers.

Trade unions allied to the Congress and Left parties and other non-affiliated organisations have also called a nationwide hunger strike on May 22 to protest against the dilution of labour laws.

Unions such as the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), a frontal organisation of the Congress, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), which is affiliated to the Communist Party of India-Marxist(CPI-M), the Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA) and the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) have joined hands against the move by state governments to amend laws.
Major (Rtd) Kwadwo Boakye-Djan has been questioned by officials of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service at his residence on Tuesday, May 19, for comments he made about the Electoral Commission (EC) on a radio programme.

The comments were made on an Accra-based radio station, Okay FM.

In the said interview, he said the rumpus surrounding the compilation of a new voters' register could plunge Ghana into chaos.

Citi News sources indicated that Major Boakye-Djan failed to honour an earlier invitation by the police due to health issues.

Subsequently, police officers visited him for preliminary questioning.

According to the police, they chose to formally question him today at his home due to his health condition.

As part of the interrogation process, an audio recording of the interview where he made the said comment was played to him and his statement taken.

The EC has faced recent criticism for the barrage of attacks on the EC by mainly the National Democratic Congress (NDC) after it submitted a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) to Parliament to pass legislation that will make only the National Identification Card and the Ghana passport eligible for registration onto the voters register.

This has led to accusations that the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the EC are conspiring to rig the 2020 general elections for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The EC has also been under fire for its moves to compile a new electoral roll to complete new equipment it is purchasing for the conduct of the 2020 elections.

---citinewsroom
British authorities have until the end of 2020 to negotiate an agreement with the EU or start 2021 without a trade pact.

The United Kingdom said on Wednesday that its Brexit divorce deal would require no new customs infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The announcement came as the UK unveiled a proposal for how the border with the province could work in 2021, when the status quo transition period ends with the European Union.

The UK left the EU in January and has until the end of this year to negotiate an agreement on future ties or start 2021 without a trade agreement, which some businesses say could cause costly delays and confusion at borders.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom but shares a land border with EU member the Republic of Ireland, hampered any agreement between Britain and the bloc until late last year, when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to a so-called protocol.

The EU says the protocol requires strict customs checks and tariffs on some goods coming from mainland Britain into the province in case they are headed onwards into Ireland and the blocs single market.

But before Decembers election, Johnson told businesses in Northern Ireland that there would be no barriers in the Irish Sea and that they could put any customs declarations in the bin.

In its proposals for how the protocol would operate, the UK said Northern Ireland would remain part of its customs territory and businesses would have unfettered access to the rest of the UK.

However, the government added traders would face some limited additional process on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from mainland Britain.

There will be tariffs levied on goods entering the province from the rest of the UK, but only if they are destined for Ireland or beyond or at clear and substantial risk of doing so, the protocol plans said.

The government said there would be no new customs infrastructure, but said accepting some existing checkpoints for agri-food would need to be expanded.

Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove said such checks would be as light touch as possible.

The aim of the protocol was to ensure no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, seen as key to avoiding an undermining of a 1998 peace accord which largely ended three decades of sectarian and political conflict.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney later on Wednesday said the UKs proposal that there is no need for new customs infrastructure will be met with scepticism in the EU.

There is going to need to be a lot of technical discussion around the commitments that were made in this plan today. Its quite straightforward in relation to things like live animals, but I think the really tricky area will be around customs, Coveney told Irish national broadcaster RTE.

I think there will be a lot of sceptical people in the EU when they hear the British government say there will be no new physical infrastructure around customs in Northern Ireland or in Great Britain facing Northern Ireland, he added, saying the proposal was nevertheless a step forward.
By Laman Ismayilova

The State Tourism Agency invites you to enjoy free access to several tourist sites on holidays, including Ramadan, Republic Day and International Children's Day.

Yanardag State Historical-Cultural and Natural Reserve, Ateshgah Temple, Lahij State Historical and Cultural Reserve, Sheki Museum of History and Local Lore and Sheki Museum of Applied Arts are open to visitors free of charge from May 19 to June 2.

The main goal of the initiative is to eliminate certain restrictions applied in connection with the special quarantine regime and support the development of domestic tourism.

The work of tourism facilities was restored on May 18 in accordance with the decision of the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers.

Yanar Dag

Famous for its "eternal flame", Yanar Dag remains one of the most famous and popular tourist destinations.

Yanar Dag is a natural gas fire which blazes continuously on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian Sea near Baku.

The Italian trader and traveler Marco Polo even mentioned the flames during his travels to Baku.

This magical place is associated with many legends. Since ancient times, fire worshipers from India and Iran have gathered in these places.

Unlike mud volcanoes, the Yanar Dag flame burns fairly steadily, as it involves a steady seep of gas from the subsurface.

The flames emanate from vents in sandstone formations and rise to a height of 10 metres.

The Yanardag State Historical, Cultural and Natural Reserve re-opened last year after the overhaul. The reserve features a museum, a 500-seat amphitheatre for outdoor concerts, workshops, shops, and a parking lot.

Fire Temple

The Land of Fire is also home to another must-visit Zoroastrian site Ateshgah or "Fire Temple".

This temple is an ancient Hindu castle-like religious edifice in a suburb of greater Baku, which was initially recognized as a Zoroastrian fire worship place.

Built in the 17-18th centuries, the temple is located on a place well known for its natural burning-gas phenomenon.

Zoroastrians monks highly rated mystical significance of the inextinguishable fire and came here to worship it.

The four holy elements of their belief were: ateshi (fire), badi (air), abi (water), and heki (earth). The complex was turned into a museum in 1975.

The Temple of Fire "Ateshgah" was nominated for List of World Heritage Sites, UNESCO in 1998.

On December 19, 2007, it was declared a state historical-architectural reserve.

Lahij

Lahij, beautiful village in Ismayilli region, is a historical and architectural reserve with no hint of modern times.

The quarter building of Lagic dates back to the 15th  19th centuries. Two-story houses prevail, all buildings are stone. The streets and squares are paved.

The village is famous as a center for handicraft production: local craftsmen make copper utensils and carpets, preserving folk traditions. Hand-made things are often sold in village shops and in the bazaar.

They say that the legendary Monomakh's cap, a chief relic of the Russian Grand Princes and Tsars, was made here.

There is a large collection of Lahij products in the Azerbaijan Museum of National History, which reflects the many different and richly made items produced by the Lahij craftsmen.

Sheki Museum of History and Local Lore

Sheki Museum of History and Local Lore stores is named after Azerbaijani writer and ethnographer Rashid Efendiyev.

The museum stores more than 5,000 exhibits reflecting Sheki`s history, culture and art. The museum consists of ten departments dedicated to Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, ethnography, science, agriculture, and others.

Open door is held on the first Sunday of May each year, which means visitors can enter the museum free of charge.

The museum, opened on June 9, 1985, is located in the ancient Albanian temple, which is popularly called the "round temple", as its dome and main building has a semicircular shape. The exact date of the erection of the church is not known.

Sheki Museum of Applied Arts

Sheki Museum of Applied Arts operates in the ancient Albanian temple "round temple", as its dome and main building has a semicircular shape.

The museum displays art works by potters, embroiderers, coppersmiths, shebeke artists and much more.

Many exhibits were discovered as a result of archaeological excavations in Sheki.

No less interesting are the old pottery created by Sheki ceramists and potters. Here you can find unqiue clay vases, jugs, pots and much more.

The next room presents national costumes, both men's and women's outfits, as well as national musical instruments.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has always warned that "it may be possible" to become infected with coronavirus by touching contaminated surfaces or objects.

It just "does not spread easily" in that manner, the agency now says, nor by animal-to-human contact, or vice versa.

"COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about how it spreads," says the CDC's recently updated guidelines.

"It may be possible for COVID-19 to spread in other ways, but these are not thought to be the main ways the virus spreads."

Loading

Dr John Whyte, chief medical officer for the healthcare website WebMD, told Fox News that the CDC's slight update brings clarity and helps to reduce fears.

"Many people were concerned that by simply touching an object they may get coronavirus and that's simply not the case. Even when a virus may stay on a surface, it doesn't mean that it's actually infectious," Whyte was quoted.

"I think this new guideline helps people understand more about what does and doesn't increase risk. It doesn't mean we stop washing hands and disinfecting surfaces. But it does allow us to be practical and realistic as we try to return to a sense of normalcy," he said.

The CDC still warns that the main way the virus is spread is through person-to-person contact, even among those who are not showing any symptoms.

The main way to prevent infection, the CDC says, is by practising social distancing and staying at least 6 feet away from others, washing your hands with soap and water, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently-touched areas.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that coronavirus can live on some surfaces for up to three days and up to three hours in the air.

It can live up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless steel, according to the study.

The CDC, however, has said that catching the coronavirus from boxes delivered by Amazon or on your takeout food bag is highly unlikely "because of poor survivability of these coronaviruses on surfaces."

USA Today
The Egyptian Medical Union, which comprises medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary and dentistry syndicates, has demanded the designation of isolation hospitals nationwide for medical staff infected with the coronavirus to help frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic.

"The union appeals to the health ministry and concerned authorities to allocate isolation hospitals across the country to treat infected medical staff and provide healthcare for them until they recover and return back to work," the union wrote in a letter a copy of which was sent to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, and Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal.

The Egyptian Medical Syndicate has made a similar call earlier this month, requesting the allocation of at least one isolation hospital for infected medical staff and the increase of the number of isolation hospitals, in general, to keep up with the rising tally of cases, which reached 13,484 on Wednesday, with 559 fatalities.

In the letter it published on Wednesday, the union urged speeding up regular PCR tests for all health workers to help with the "early detection of infections and to provide the treatment before it becomes too late."

The numbers of infections and deaths among medics have been on the rise recently owing to the lack of necessary tests for medical staff, the letter noted.

Many hospital staff members have taken to social media to complain about the reluctance of hospital managements to conduct necessary tests for them despite having come into contact with coronavirus patients.

The health ministry has not provided a tally of the doctors who have been infected or died from the flu-like virus so far. But until Wednesday, 14 doctors were confirmed by the doctors' syndicate to have died of the coronavirus.

The syndicate has repeatedly urged conducting PCR tests to all medical staff, voicing concerns over the new regulations to carry out tests for "suspected" cases only which it said would further put health workers at risk.

The World Health Organisation said last month that infections among medical staff make up around 13 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Egypt.

A health ministry spokesman said earlier this month that only 12 percent of infected medical staff members contracted the virus while on duty, while the rest got infected outside medical facilities.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


ATLANTA, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) announces the launch of "Atlanta Legacy Makers," an initiative led in partnership with the City of Atlanta. "Atlanta Legacy Makers" is a public commemoration of Atlanta's inheritance exemplified by two Atlanta mayors, Ivan Allen Jr. and Maynard Jackson. The effort aims to embrace the legacy that Atlantansnow and nextare charged to carry forward.

The initiative will include a series of digital experiences, and later in-person events, designed to garner input from a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the Atlanta community to inform a public artwork to be located at the intersection of Peachtree Street. and Auburn Avenue.

"The vision for this project has lived in the minds of community leaders for a long time now, and we're excited to finally bring it to life," said Fredalyn Frasier, Project Director of Planning and Urban Design at Central Atlanta Progress. "Honoring these two Atlanta mayors and their remarkable legacy is not just a curatorial effort. We're looking forward to inviting the community to build this tribute project alongside us, resulting in a public archive and artwork that speak to the larger theme of a united Atlanta community."

BACKGROUND

The idea for an artistic tribute to Mayors Allen and Jackson was born in 2018, when local developer Gene Kansas invited Gary Pomerantz, author of Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn, to speak at the Auburn Avenue Research Library to celebrate the opening of Constellations, a shared work space in a neighboring historic building on Auburn Avenue. During the talk, Pomerantz highlighted the significance of both Atlanta mayors in the history of Atlanta.

Inspired by the talk and feedback from guests in attendance, journalist Maria Saporta (Saporta Report) wrote an opinion piece encouraging the city to commemorate the special relationship between the mayors in the form of a sculpture at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Auburn Avenue.

In 2019, Central Atlanta Progress convened an exploratory committee, and the idea for a selection process for a new piece of public art was formalized.

PARTICIPATE IN THE INITIATIVE

Originally intended to launch as a series of events across the city, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlanta Legacy Makers will now kick off through a series of shared online experiences, including:

Atlanta Legacy Makers: The Podcast , featuring local leaders and visionaries discussing the themes and historic events featured in the book Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn

, featuring local leaders and visionaries discussing the themes and historic events featured in the book The book is available for purchase and local delivery at A Cappella Books in Little Five Points, https://www.acappellabooks.com/



Atlanta Legacy Makers: The Podcast episodes (debuting weekly): https://www.atllegacymakers.com/podcast

episodes (debuting weekly): Streaming film screenings of two documentaries with viewing guides, Maynard and A Different Road

and Oral history prompts for the general public to submit their own stories to the public archive

And more. Visit www.atllegacymakers.org to sign up to receive updates and invitations to participate

THE PUBLIC ARTWORK, LOCATION: PEACHTREE & AUBURN

Central Atlanta Progress, in partnership with the City of Atlanta, will invite architecture and design firms to assemble collaborative teams inclusive of contemporary artists, landscape designers, and urbanists to submit qualifications for an exciting project at the nexus of Atlanta's beating heart, Woodruff Park. This project will honor the legacy of our past, it will provide aspiration for our future, and it will activate our present. It will do so by:

Creating a monument to honor the legacy of two pivotal Atlanta mayors: Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. and Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr. Commissioning a landmark artwork by a contemporary artist who aspires to Dr. King's vision of Beloved Community as fervently as Atlantans do. Reimagining the public space on the north side of Woodruff Park, considering how the plaza meets the street at both Peachtree Street and Auburn Avenue, as well as how the space can be utilized for this project and other public activations and gatherings.

The RFQ will be released in late spring by Samara Minkin, Mayor's Office, Manager of Public Art. After a short list of artists has been chosen, the finalists will participate in community engagement activities and receive inspiration and context from the digital archive that will be created during the first weeks of the initiative's online experiences.

Curatorial Committee

Tristan Al-Haddad, Curatorial Committee Chairperson, Principal, Formations Studio

Anne Archer Dennington, Executive Director, Flux Projects

Andrew Kohr, Senior Project Manager, Landscape Architect, Community Development, Pond

Beth Malone, Executive Director, Dashboard

Carlton Mackey, Director, Ethics and Art, Emory Center for Ethics

Carolina Montilla, Design Strategist, Gensler

Clint Flucker, Assistant Director, Engagement, Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library

Fahamu Pecou, artist

Gregor Turk, artist

Joe Peragine, Director, School of Art and Design, Georgia State University

Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, Principal, Preserve Black America

Lauren Tate Baeza, Director of Exhibitions, Center for Civil and Human Rights

Leatrice Ellzy, Director, Hammonds House Museum

Lisa Tuttle, administrator (retired), artist

Oscar Harris, architect (retired), artist

Ryan Gravel, President, Sixpitch

FOR STUDENTS

Through collaboration with the Atlanta Public School System (APS) students throughout the city will have numerous opportunities to engage with the project. Teachers in Social Studies, Art, English, Business, and Production will have access to digital resources that they can use to incorporate the Mayors' stories into classes ranging from 2nd grade citizenship studies to high school dual enrollment courses. Eighth grade Georgia Studies classes especially focus on the Mayors' legacies, and beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, students will be able to study their impacts in a new, more personal way. Families will also be encouraged to take advantage of the free, public educational events that will be offered.

FAST FACTS

Name of Initiative: Atlanta Legacy Makers, A Tribute to Mayors Allen and Jackson Primary Partners: Central Atlanta Progress, City of Atlanta , Atlanta Public Schools Primary Elements:

Community activities (online now and in-person when public health concerns cease): https://www.atllegacymakers.com/podcast

The solicitation and production of a new piece of public art honoring Mayors Allen and Jackson to be located at Peachtree and Auburn Ave

Atlanta Public School children in certain grades will incorporate the Mayors' stories into classes beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.

4. How to learn more and join the effort to create the art and the archive?

Visit www.atllegacymakers.com and sign up for our newsletters and invitations.

and sign up for our newsletters and invitations. Also follow #atllegacymakers on social media.

About Central Atlanta Progress / Atlanta Downtown Improvement District: Central Atlanta Progress, Inc., is a Downtown business association with approximately 240 members. Its mission is to champion a vibrant community with strong leadership and sustainable infrastructure that is safe, livable, diverse, economically viable, accessible, clean, hospitable and entertaining. The Atlanta Downtown Improvement District is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable corporation created by CAP to make Downtown safer, cleaner and more hospitable.

SOURCE Central Atlanta Progress

Related Links

http://www.atlantadowntown.com


Press Release

May 20, 2020 PRC cited for doing 45% of covid tests The Philippine Red Cross, headed by Senator Richard J. Gordon, was cited during the hearing of the Committee of the Whole for doing 45 percent of the COVID-19 tests conducted in the country. During the hearing, Vivencio "Vince" Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and president and CEO of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, disclosed that the PRC has been doing a big chunk of the tests, doing 45 percent of 11,123 tests conducted on May 14. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, majority leader, pointed out that if the PRC, with Gordon as its chairman and CEO, was able to establish bio-molecular laboratories in such a short time, the IATF should be able to do it too. "If the Philippine Red Cross, led by Sen. Gordon, which I am proud to be a member of, could do it in such a short time, why couldn't you do it?" he asked the IATF officials present during the hearin, which was called to discuss updates on COVID-19 situation in the country and get a general overview of the problem and the response taken by the government. Even Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., came out with a tweet lauding Gordon and the Red Cross. "My God, 45% of total testing is being done by Dick Gordon's Red Cross! Jesus H. Christ. I really love Dick. And I don't care what anybody says about that. Proudly loving Dick," he said on his Twitter account. Data from the PRC showed that it finished 4,590 tests on May 14; 5,040 on May 15; 5,400 on May 16; and 6,030 on May 17. The PRC already established three molecular laboratories that are equipped with polymerase chain machines that can run up to a combined total of 12,000 test a day. The first two are located at the National Headquarters along EDSA and the third one, accredited last week, is located in Port Area, Manila. Other facilities are set to open in in Subic, Clark, Batangas, Los Banos, and Cebu, among other areas, in the next few weeks. The PRC, which has the distinction of being the only Red Cross national society with a bio-molecular laboratory system, is planning on opening at least 20 bio-molecular laboratories throughout the entire country to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases that may emerge or re-emerge in the future.
MIDDLETOWN  For the fourth consecutive year, Wesleyan has awarded its prestigious Hamilton Prize for Creativity to three students whose creative written works best reflect the originality, artistry, and dynamism of Hamilton: An American Musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda 02, Hon. 15 and directed by Thomas Kail 99.

Brianna Johnson of The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, N.Y., was awarded the grand prize: a four-year, full-tuition scholarship to attend Wesleyan, according to a press release.

She was recognized for three songs comprising an album/mixtape titled, Tell Em The Truth. In addition, Wesleyan awarded two honorable mentions along with $5,000 stipends to Luka Netzel of Kansas City, Mo., (The Pembroke Hill School) for his musical, Heartful Dodgers, and Chiara Kaufman of Rye, N.Y., (Hackley School) for two works of flash-fiction, titled The Maid and The Burials.

The winning works were chosen from a pool of over 400 submissions this year. Faculty members reviewed entries, while an all-star selection committee of Wesleyan alumni in the arts, chaired by Miranda and Kail, judged finalists, the release said.

Johnson was honored for Tell Em The Truth, an album/mixtape comprised of three songs: Dreams to Reality, These Chains and Damages of Duality.

She wrote these songs, among several others, in eighth and ninth grades as she struggled to acclimate to a predominantly white school as one of the only black students in her classes, according to Wesleyan. Around the same time, the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American man, by a white police officer, and many other senseless killings of black people left her feeling scared and resentful, the release said.

My own America wanted to eradicate me, dehumanize me, make me feel like I was nothing. I was a blank corpse with no identity, no face and in America, no voice, she wrote in her submission for the Hamilton Prize. I wanted to change that, and so I traded in my anger and disappointment for a pen and paper. I transcribed my emotions into lyrics.

When experiencing Briannas work, I was struck by the honesty, perspective and structure already present in what shes creating, Miranda said in the prepared statement. Im so glad that shes chosen Wesleyan as the place to continue developing her artistic talents. I look forward to following her artistic journey.

Committee member and actress Beanie Feldstein 15 called Johnsons work a powerful, moving example of infusing ones own life-experience into art, with Johnson putting her whole being into each lyric, each melody, each performance. Her work is wholly raw, vulnerable and masterful.

In addition, her art displays radiant strength and an essential commitment to morality that is inspirational. I was rapt and enthralled. It is the work of a young artist you know will do great things and help heal our society, Feldstein said.

Netzel received an honorable mention for his musical, Heartful Dodgers. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969, the play follows twins Barry and Fitz who decide to dodge the draft by joining a nearby Amish community after they are conscripted to serve in the Vietnam War. There, they meet Sarah Ann, daughter of the towns minister, who longs to experience the world outside the Amish community.

Author Mary Roach 81 said she had a big goofy grin on my face while reading Heartful Dodgers.

Everything about this piece is fresh, pitch-perfect, professional. Luka has so expertly and lovingly nailed the classical musical genre  the stage directions, the characters moves and their back-and-forth singing. And the lyrics! Hilarious and charming. I could see and hear Lukas vision so clearly in my head as I read. I expect to one day be seeing some of that same creative vision on a Broadway stage, the news release continued.

And Kaufman received an honorable mention for two works of flash-fiction. The Maid is a stream-of-consciousness narrative from a distressed woman, a wife and mother contemplating a grim future.

Committee member Carter Bays 97, executive producer and writer of How I Met Your Mother, said The Maid captured the mature, complicated voice of a character that I cant imagine a teenager being able to access.

Kaufmans other piece, The Burials, tells the story of a family, generation after generation, with a dark, secret history.

The Wesleyan University Hamilton Prize for Creativity was established in 2016 in honor of Miranda and Kails contributions to liberal education and the arts and named for the pairs hit Broadway musical, which that year won 11 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score.

A filmed version of Hamilton will be released on Disney Plus beginning July 3.

For information, visit wesleyan.edu.
In the wake of Cyclone Amphan, train and flight services have been affected in West Bengal and Odisha.

IMAGE: Strong winds and waves hit the shoreline in West Bengal's Digha. Photograph: ANI

Cargo and evacuation flight operations at the Kolkata airport have been suspended till 5 am of Thursday due to the cyclonic storm 'Amphan', airport officials said.

The Eastern Railway has cancelled the departure of Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express for Wednesday.

The departure of 02301 Howrah-New Delhi AC Special Express on Wednesday and 02302 New Delhi-Howrah AC Special Express on May 21 would remain cancelled, the ER said.

The AC Special Express train which left for New Delhi from Bhubaneswar on Wednesday will run on a diverted route skipping the Bhadrak-Kharagpr line, while goods traffic was affected.

The train took the diverted route of Sambalpur City-Jharsugud-Rourkela-Tatanagar instead of the normal route via Bhadrak-Balasore-Hijli Kharagpur-Tata, a railway official said.

Similarly, inward goods traffic was stopped to Dhamra Port. Outward goods traffic from Dhamra Port was also suspended after departure of the last goods train to Tatanagar on Tuesday.

Goods traffic is running almost normally on Bhadrak-Palasa mainline section until now.

Wind speed along and off the coastal areas of West Bengal will reach 75 to 85 kmph with gusts up to 95 kmph from Wednesday morning along and off districts of North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, Regional Met director G K Das said.

"It will gradually increase thereafter becoming 110 to 120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph over West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph over the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore of West Bengal from the afternoon to night of May 20," he said.

Under its impact rainfall will occur in most places over the districts of Gangetic West Bengal on Wednesday, with heavy to very heavy downpour with extremely heavy rain at a few places in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, he said.

"Storm surge of 4 to 5 metres above astronomical tide is likely to inundate low lying areas of South and North 24 Parganas and about 3 to 4 metres over low lying areas of East Midnapore district of West Bengal during the time of landfall," he said.

The Indian Navy has dispatched a diving team for providing assistance to the West Bengal government in relief operations, a Defence official said.

The diving team from Vishakhapatnam has brought specialised equipment along with them which can be used for rescue in case of flooding and have been positioned at the Naval Service Selection Board at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district, the official said.
Workers in a north west London kebab shop were left terrified after masked gunmen stormed the shop and unleashed a flurry of bullets.

In bizarre and frightening scenes, masked men had chased three fleeing others into the Blazing Grill eatery on Rayners Lane in Harrow at around midnight on Monday.

The men on the run vaulted the counter, leaving workers Steaven Catacoopen, 19, and Hannah Fyall, 21 in a state of shock, as report the Sun.

The Blazing Grill eatery, on Rayners Lane in Harrow, had only just reopened after lockdown restrictions were eased by the government

The pair quickly sought to take cover as three men scarpered into the kitchen area beyond, in hope of taking cover.

CCTV footage then captured the wild scenes which followed, as a gunman took aim over the counter and let off a series of bullets.

Thankfully for those involved, none of the shots hit a human target.

Photos in the aftermath however showed how one of the shots had pierced through the middle of the chicken donor as it cooked, leaving a gaping hole.

A waste bin and a food steamer were also hit and badly damaged by flying bullets.

The video footage showed an accomplice of the gunman seemingly considering climbing the counter himself and pursuing the men after the bullets were fired, only to turn round and exit the shop.

In the aftermath of the madness, a large bullet shell was found on the takeaway floor and handed over to police officers who attended the scene.

The eatery, like many fast food joints, had only recently reopened following the Government relaxation of coronavirus lockdown rules.

Blazing Grill owner Jason Das, 31, told the Sun: 'It was a crazy thing to do and could easily have killed my staff.

'Steaven and Hannah thought blanks might have been fired until they saw the state of the kebab and realised they were lucky to be alive.

'We've had to shut the shop and haven't been allowed in until police finished their work.

'It's yet another setback because we had only reopened two weeks ago after the lockdown.

'You don't expect this kind of thing to ever happen in Harrow  it's not exactly Wild West London.'

On Wednesday police confirmed to Mail Online that no arrests have yet been made.
Vijayawada, May 20 : An Air India flight with 145 evacuees from London landed at Vijayawada Airport on Wednesday.

The flight, which took off from London with 333 passengers, reached Vijayawada via Kochi.

This was the first flight to land at this airport since the beginning of the lockdown in March.

Officials said after the medical screening and the immigration formalities, the passengers were transported to the designated locations for a 14-day quarantine.

Authorities had made elaborate arrangements at the international terminal to handle the passengers as per the Covid-19 protocol.

This was the third flight to land in Andhra Pradesh under the Vande Bharat Mission, the biggest ever evacuation of the Indian citizens stranded in various countries due to Covid-19 lockdown.

Two flights with evacuees from the Philippines and the UAE landed at Visakhapatnam Airport on Tuesday night.

The flight from Manila landed at 9.50 p.m. with 166 passengers. Earlier, a flight from Abu Dhabi with 148 evacuees arrived at 8.30 p.m.

Officials said that none of the passengers were found symptomatic. All were sent to quarantine facilities as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Passengers, who did not opt for paid quarantine facilities, were sent to government-run centres.

Another evacuation flight from Jeddah is scheduled to land in Vijayawada Wednesday evening.
In a bizarre incident, hailstones of coronavirus shape have left the citizens of Mexico city in utter shock. As per the reports, the hailstorm occurred in municipal Montemorelos in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The images shared on social media platforms show huge hailstones shaped with icy spikes which looks very similar to coronavirus.

READ: Japan: Mythical Mermaid Monster 'revived' Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Hailstone in Saudi Arabia in the shape of Coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/6z1G9w57K7  Amira (@A_l_i_n_a__) May 13, 2020

'Act of God'

According to the reports, the locals interpreted the event as an 'Act of God'. Interestingly, someone has shared images of "coronavirus-shaped" hailstones and then such images started pouring in from across the world on social media. The meteorology experts reportedly said that it was a common sight in hailstorms. They reportedly said that the spikey shape of the hailstone is caused by the swirling ice smashing into other bits of swirling ice. According to the reports, it kept people indoors as Mexico witnesses rising cases of coronavirus. Mexico has a total of 54,346 cases of COVID-19 with the last 24 hours seeing its largest spike with 2713 cases in a single day.

READ: Coronavirus Hits Cricket: Mental Health Charity For Professional UK Players Loses 250,000

Japan 'revives' mythical monster

Meanwhile, a new character also known as mythical mermaid monster has unlikely become popular in Japan which people believe could end the coronavirus pandemic. As per reports, it is named as Amabie- a beak-nosed, long-locked mythical mermaid monster said to repel plagues. In recent weeks, the mash-up monster has become the unlikely mascot of hopes and started trending on Twitter.

Such superstitious beliefs are now influencing Japanese folks to find a solution to the ongoing global health crisis. As people in the country hope for the end of COVID-19, a mythical mermaid monster from Japanese folklore has made a resurgence in popular culture. As per reports, Amabie is a 19th-century Japanese spirit who is said to ward off plagues. The spirit is believed to be longhaired and has a birdlike appearance.

READ: Coronavirus Live Updates: India Reports 5,611 Cases In 24 Hrs, Tally Rises To 1,06,750

READ: Study: Patients Who Re-tested Positive For Coronavirus Are Not Infectious
Theirs is a Hollywood romance that's stood the test of time, and one half of the lovely couple took time to mark the occasion of their anniversary.

Sarah Jessica Parker uploaded a beautiful throwback photo of herself and husband Matthew Broderick to her Instagram on Tuesday, in honor of the couple's 23rd year of matrimony.

'May 19th, 2020,' Parker, 55, wrote in the caption next to the candid black-and-white picture of the pair early on in their union. '23 years. We've come a long way baby.'

Test of time: Sarah Jessica Parker celebrated 23rd year of matrimony to her husband Matthew Broderick on Tuesday; seen here in 1994

The Sex And The City star signed the post in her customary fashion found on most of her social media messages, with an 'X, SJ'

Understandably, the social media share caused quite a buzz within under an hour of being posted, garnering over 200K likes and laudatory comments from famous friends such as Billy Eichner, Amy Sedaris and Jessica Seinfeld.

Eichner simply (and accurately) said, 'Gorgeous.' while Ali Wentworth left an effusive comment: 'Happy happy happy happy life!!!' along with a string of heart emojis.

And while the photo Parker selected looks to be from a benefit event the couple attended in the spring of 1994, she and Broderick, now 58, wed in May of 1997.

'May 19th, 2020,' Parker wrote in the caption next to a candid black-and-white picture of the pair early on in their union, from the above event. '23 years. We've come a long way baby'

Understandably: The social media share caused quite a stir within under an hour of being posted, garnering over 200K likes and laudatory comments from famous friends

More recent: Sarah, now 55, and Broderick, now 58, wed in May of 1997; seen here in 2018

Since then, Parker went on to higher levels of fame thanks to her hit HBO comedy series Sex And The City, which debuted on the cable network just one year after her wedding to the Ferris Bueller's Day Off star, in June of 1998.

The show won a multitude of Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes, and went on two spawn two successful spinoff films after six seasons on the air.

Parker has since reminisced about her decision to do the show in the first place, remarking that she almost said no to that level of commitment since she had recently gotten married.

Classic: Parker's hit HBO comedy series Sex And The City debuted on the cable network just one year after her wedding to the Ferris Bueller's Day Off star, in June of 1998

Gorgeous: Parker has since reminisced about her decision to do the show in the first place, remarking that she almost said no since she had recently gotten married; seen in 2004

Over the course of their marriage, Matthew and Sarah Jessica have welcomed three children  son James Wilkie, 17, and ten-year-old twins Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge, who were born via surrogate in 2009.

More recently, the acting couple were set to return to Broadway in the Neil Simon play Plaza Suite, but performances were of course put on hold earlier this year when Broadway went dark due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was recently reported that the play will be moved entirely to the spring of 2021  as of now, Broadway theaters are not set to reopen until after the summer, at the earliest.

More recently: The acting couple were set to return to Broadway in the Neil Simon play Plaza Suite, but performances were of course put on hold earlier this year; seen in 2017
An Agra court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu in one case but a special police team from Lucknow promptly took him into custody in another case and moved him to the state capital.

The police had arrested the UP Congress chief, along with former Congress legislature party leader Pradeep Mathur and Uttar Pradesh Congress committee secretary Vivek Bansal on Tuesday, for staging a protest against the state government not allowing buses arranged by the Congress party to enter Uttar Pradesh to transport migrant workers. All three were released on interim bail on Wednesday.

Superintendent of police (City, Agra) Botre Pramod Rohan said: The Congress state president was granted bail in the Agra case but was taken into custody by Lucknow police for a case filed at the Hazratganj police station (in the state capital).

Earlier, on Tuesday, a case was registered against the UP Congress chief under Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code, besides the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, according to the Agra police.

A case has been registered against Ajay Kumar Lallu under various sections of the IPC and the Epidemic Act at the Fatehpur Sikri police station. Lallu was arrested on Tuesday evening, and along with other Congress leaders, put in the Police Lines, senior superintendent of police, Agra, Babloo Kumar said.

For Coronavirus Live Updates

Soon after the UP Congress chiefs release on interim bail, a special police team from Lucknow took him to the state capital in connection with a case of forgery registered against him and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadras private secretary Sandip Singh regarding the alleged discrepancies in the list of buses provided by the Congress party for the migrants. This case was registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on late Tuesday evening.

The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19

Pradeep Mathur, a four-time former Congress MLA from Mathura, said, We were granted interim bail on furnishing personal bonds and the date of July 16 was fixed in the case. It appears to be political vendetta by Bharatiya Janata Party and its chief minister who have registered fake cases against our state president Ajay Kumar Lallu and kept him in custody for no valid reason.

Many Congress supporters had gathered at Gate No. 1 of Civil Court premises in Agra as they were waiting for Lallu. Police, however, entered through Gate No. 4 and produced him, along with the others, in court.

There was chaos at the Civil Court compound gates when Lallu was taken away by the police. Party workers tried to block the vehicle in which he was being transported but the police applied mild force to disperse them.
TRIBUTES and messages of goodwill have been extended to Phyllis Byrne, Advertising Manager of the Midland and Tullamore Tribune, who retired after a stellar career spanning over four decades on Friday last.

The Shinrone native, nee Morkan, joined the Tribune in her teenage years and rose through the ranks to become Advertising Manager of the two newspapers.

Noted for her bubbly and vivacious character, Phyllis left no stone unturned in carrying out her work and was known throughout the length and breadth of the Midlands and further afield.

She was a people person who enjoyed nothing more than engaging in banter with customers and securing the all-important adverts.

In total, Phyllis worked for the Tribune for 45 years and her departure is truly the end of an era at the publication.

Unfortunately due to the Covid-19 restrictions Phyllis' departure on Friday last could not be marked in the manner her colleagues wished.

Despite this a small number of co-workers from the advertising department and newsroom together with members of Phyllis' family paid their tribute to Phyllis at the Main St, Birr office.

A formal retirement function will take place in due course when the Covid-19 restrictions are further eased.

Every best wish is extended to Phyllis in her well earned retirement and we have no doubt she will remain busy with family and community affairs.
The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of 13 U.S. attorneys general on Tuesday asked Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O> to provide data on coronavirus-related deaths and infections among its workforce, along with evidence of the company's compliance with paid sick leave laws.

In a letter, the officials asked for a state-by-state breakdown of the number of Amazon workers, including those at Whole Foods, who have been infected or died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

The letter, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, was 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 who raise concerns about health and safety issues with management, the media, co-workers or relevant government agencies.

In a statement, Amazon said it is committed to ensuring a safe workplace and has implemented over 150 changes, including distributing face masks to warehouse workers.

"Well 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," an Amazon spokesperson said on Tuesday.

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.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu and Nandita Bose; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Bill Berkrot)
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  A Colorado state committee voted to close a minimum-security mens prison as a cost-saving measure following a reduction in the inmate population resulting from the coronavirus.

Joint Budget Committee voted Tuesday to close the 252-bed Skyline Correctional Center in Canon City in January, The Gazette reported.

The closure is expected to save $1.9 million in the states general fund in 2020-21 and nearly $5 million the following year, officials said.

The facility is one of four minimum-security prisons in Colorado.

The proposed closure is scheduled to be voted on as part of a budget bill when lawmakers reconvene next week.

Skylines 20 employees can transfer elsewhere within the Department of Corrections, likely to other Fremont County prisons, budget committee analyst Steve Allen said.

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order releasing about 1,140 inmates in the past two months to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among inmates and prison staff.

That action increased the number of available beds across the prison system. Skyline has 36 vacant beds, Allen 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.
While the U.S. struggled to come up with enough tests to manage the world's largest coronavirus outbreak, a Chinese genetics company took less than a month to build testing centers thousands of miles away in the Middle East.

By moving swiftly, Shenzhen-based BGI Group won hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with traditional U.S. allies including Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Now the U.S. is warning those countries that they may be giving Beijing access to highly prized personal data that will propel economies of the future.

The push against adoption of Chinese testing technology is part of a wider row between the U.S. and China that's complicated global efforts to mount a response to the pandemic. President Donald Trump accuses China of hiding information about the origins of the outbreak and has withheld funding from the World Health Organization, saying it's overly influenced by Beijing. China says the White House is trying to divert attention from its own failings as American deaths soar.

A U.S. official described BGI to Bloomberg as the "Huawei of genomics," a reference to the Chinese telecommunications firm, Huawei Technologies Co., that the U.S. has been seeking to block from digital network deals on information-security grounds. Washington has raised its concerns about BGI with Mideast partners, the official said on condition of anonymity, warning them that Beijing could glean information of intelligence value and share it with their adversaries like Iran, one of China's top trading partners in the region.

That argument doesn't seem to be holding much sway over U.S. allies, as China turns its experience in managing the crisis into a global opportunity. Nor has the U.S., with a virus death toll nearly triple any other country's, been able to offer much of an alternative.

"China has seized the moment," said Jonathan Fulton, assistant professor at Abu Dhabi's Zayed University and a specialist in China-Gulf relations. "This is happening while the U.S. just seems completely overburdened."

Beijing dismissed the American criticism. "What the U.S. side has claimed is a purely groundless accusation, a thief calling the other a thief," China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg. "In fact the U.S. government has long been stealing the private information of its own people and foreigners."

Chinese authorities have published a policy document forbidding the use of personal data collected for epidemic control for other purposes, the ministry said. "We urge the U.S. side to stop its groundless crackdown on Chinese companies and provide an equitable, fair and non-discriminatory environment."

BGI began life in 1999 as the Beijing Genomics Institute, a state-backed lab dedicated to assisting the Human Genome Project, a global effort to assemble the first-ever comprehensive picture of human DNA. In 2007, the company's founders broke away from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the state-controlled umbrella for high-level research, to transform it into a private company focused on sequencing. It went on to build China's national gene bank.

BGI has never made a detailed disclosure of the wider group's ownership, even though one unit -- BGI Genomics Co. -- is listed on the Chinese stock exchange and reported $405 million in revenue last year. When asked about allegations surrounding its testing partnerships in the Middle East, BGI said by email that it's neither owned nor controlled by the Chinese government. In February set up an emergency lab in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic.

"For the newly built covid-19 labs, BGI's customers, not BGI, will manage patient samples and access patient data," said Ning Li, vice president of BGI Group and chief development officer of BGI Genomics. "The labs are operated by the local health authorities or institutions, not by BGI. BGI provides technology transfer. The equipment has no ability to collect personal data."

As the virus swept into the Gulf, the company helped set up the largest coronavirus detection laboratory outside China in collaboration with G42, an Emirati artificial intelligence and cloud-computing company. Built in 14 days in March, the Abu Dhabi-based center can perform tens of thousands of tests a day and uses Chinese-manufactured robots to prepare samples.

G42 said the lab could be expanded to test samples from neighboring regions and the partnership has supplied Afghanistan with a first batch of detection kits. The lab will also monitor virus mutations and detect future pathogens with DNA sequencing, suggesting a long-term partnership.

BGI won't have "access to the laboratory data," G42 said in an emailed statement. "Strict protocols are in place to protect the information security and data privacy against any unauthorized access, both external and internal."

The company has assisted 80 nations with testing so far and is in talks to help construct laboratories in more than 10 countries, BGI said. Its nucleic acid test for the virus has been used in excess of 20 million times and has regulatory approvals in Europe, the U.S., Japan, Australia and elsewhere, it said.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker accused China of using "face-mask diplomacy" to distract from its lack of transparency over the origins of the virus. Declining to comment on specific companies, he said data passing through Chinese entities could be "compromised" and echoed the comparison with Huawei.

"There are states in the region that understand this," Schenker said by phone. "We are a partner that has provided billions of dollars over the years in investment in the health sector, humanitarian aid in the region, and we're not leaving."

China's foreign ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the allegations surrounding BGI.

Israel's AID Genomics unveiled a tie-up with the Chinese company a week after the firm took up its virus role in the UAE. The venture aimed to set up a lab in the Gaza Strip capable of 3,000 tests per day with the backing of Israeli and Palestinian authorities, the companies said. Separately, Israel's government said BGI would help it carry out 20,000 tests per day.

Israel's government said it gave serious consideration to information security in the partnership. BGI won't have access to results or raw data, an official at the country's health ministry said, asking not to be named. Clalit, a Tel Aviv-based health services provider, declined to comment to Bloomberg on a local media report that it declined to work with BGI over concerns about access to sensitive data.

In Saudi Arabia, a phone call between King Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping led to a $265 million deal with BGI to supply the kingdom with nine million testing kits, 500 staff and six laboratories capable of handling 50,000 samples a day. BGI said it was also planning an additional lab which would allow 30% of the kingdom's population to be tested in the next eight months as needed.

The partnership "confirms the strength of long-standing Saudi-Chinese ties," royal court adviser Abdullah al-Rabeeah said in a statement when the deal was signed.

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan commended China as a "role model" in the fight against the virus. It set "the best example for how these trying times will pass by through collaboration and solidarity," he said after a call with his Chinese counterpart last month.

In a recent virtual panel, a UAE official and an influential Saudi prince called on the U.S. and China to put aside their differences in order to fight the virus. Asked to comment on U.S. concerns about BGI, the UAE Foreign Ministry said it welcomes collaboration "with the best companies around the world, especially in light of the current crisis, which requires cooperation across countries and sectors."

With attacks on China becoming a centerpiece of Trump's re-election strategy, the Chinese inroads aren't going unanswered. Last week, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo broke his virus seclusion with a trip abroad to Israel -- in part to deliver a warning against deepening ties with Beijing.

- - -

Bloomberg's Dong Lyu and Jing Li contributed to this report.
ESO telescope sees signs of planet birth

Observations made with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have revealed the telltale signs of a star system being born. Around the young star AB Aurigae lies a dense disc of dust and gas in which astronomers have spotted a prominent spiral structure with a 'twist' that marks the site where a planet may be forming. The observed feature could be the first direct evidence of a baby planet coming into existence.

"Thousands of exoplanets have been identified so far, but little is known about how they form," says Anthony Boccaletti who led the study from the Observatoire de Paris, PSL University, France. Astronomers know planets are born in dusty discs surrounding young stars, like AB Aurigae, as cold gas and dust clump together. The new observations with ESO's VLT , published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, provide crucial clues to help scientists better understand this process.

"We need to observe very young systems to really capture the moment when planets form," says Boccaletti. But until now astronomers had been unable to take sufficiently sharp and deep images of these young discs to find the 'twist' that marks the spot where a baby planet may be coming to existence.

The new images feature a stunning spiral of dust and gas around AB Aurigae, located 520 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Auriga (The Charioteer). Spirals of this type signal the presence of baby planets, which 'kick' the gas, creating "disturbances in the disc in the form of a wave, somewhat like the wake of a boat on a lake," explains Emmanuel Di Folco of the Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB), France, who also participated in the study. As the planet rotates around the central star, this wave gets shaped into a spiral arm. The very bright yellow 'twist' region close to the centre of the new AB Aurigae image, which lies at about the same distance from the star as Neptune from the Sun, is one of these disturbance sites where the team believe a planet is being made.

Observations of the AB Aurigae system made a few years ago with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, provided the first hints of ongoing planet formation around the star. In the ALMA images, scientists spotted two spiral arms of gas close to the star, lying within the disc's inner region. Then, in 2019 and early 2020, Boccaletti and a team of astronomers from France, Taiwan, the US and Belgium set out to capture a clearer picture by turning the SPHERE instrument on ESO's VLT in Chile toward the star. The SPHERE images are the deepest images of the AB Aurigae system obtained to date.

With SPHERE's powerful imaging system, astronomers could see the fainter light from small dust grains and emissions coming from the inner disc. They confirmed the presence of the spiral arms first detected by ALMA and also spotted another remarkable feature, a 'twist', that points to the presence of ongoing planet formation in the disc. "The twist is expected from some theoretical models of planet formation," says co-author Anne Dutrey, also at LAB. "It corresponds to the connection of two spirals -- one winding inwards of the planet's orbit, the other expanding outwards -- which join at the planet location. They allow gas and dust from the disc to accrete onto the forming planet and make it grow."

ESO is constructing the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, which will draw on the cutting-edge work of ALMA and SPHERE to study extrasolar worlds. As Boccaletti explains, this powerful telescope will allow astronomers to get even more detailed views of planets in the making. "We should be able to see directly and more precisely how the dynamics of the gas contributes to the formation of planets," he concludes.

###

More information

This research was presented in the paper "Are we witnessing ongoing planet formation in AB Aurigae? A showcase of the SPHERE/ALMA synergy - https:/ / www. aanda. org/ 10. 1051/ 0004-6361/ 202038008 " to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics (doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038008).

The team is composed of A. Boccaletti (LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Universite PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, CNRS, France), E. Di Folco (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux, Universite de Bordeaux, CNRS, France [Bordeaux]), E. Pantin (Laboratoire CEA, IRFU/DAp, AIM, Universite Paris-Saclay, Universite Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, CNRS, France), A. Dutrey (Bordeaux), S. Guilloteau (Bordeaux), Y. W. Tang (Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan), V. Pietu (IRAM, Domaine Universitaire, France), E. Habart (Institut d'astrophysique spatiale, CNRS UMR 8617, Universite Paris-Sud 11, France), J. Milli (CNRS, IPAG, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, France), T. L. Beck (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA), and A.-L. Maire (STAR Institute, Universite de Liege, Belgium).

ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world's largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky".

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership of ESO, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded by ESO on behalf of its Member States, by NSF in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC) and by NINS in cooperation with the Academia Sinica (AS) in Taiwan and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). ALMA construction and operations are led by ESO on behalf of its Member States; by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), on behalf of North America; and by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) on behalf of East Asia. The Joint ALMA Observatory (JAO) provides the unified leadership and management of the construction, commissioning and operation of ALMA.

Links

* Research paper - https:/ / www. eso. org/ public/ archives/ releases/ sciencepapers/ eso2008/ eso2008a. pdf

* Photos of the VLT - http://www. eso. org/ public/ images/ archive/ category/ paranal/

* Photos of ALMA - https:/ / www. eso. org/ public/ images/ archive/ category/ alma/

* For scientists: got a story? Pitch your research - http://eso. org/ sci/ publications/ announcements/ sciann17277. html

Contacts

Anthony Boccaletti

Laboratory for Space Science and Astrophysical Instrumentation (LESIA), Observatoire de Paris - PSL

Meudon, France

Cell: +33 (0)675465583

Email: anthony.boccaletti@obspm.fr

Emmanuel Di Folco

Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB)

Bordeaux, France

Cell: +33 (0)633966142

Email: emmanuel.difolco@u-bordeaux.fr

Anne Dutrey

Astrophysics Laboratory of Bordeaux (LAB)

Bordeaux, France

Email: anne.dutrey@u-bordeaux.fr

Barbara Ferreira

ESO Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Tel: +49 89 3200 6670

Cell: +49 151 241 664 00

Email: pio@eso.org

This story has been published on: 2020-05-20. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 21:56:51|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

DAR ES SALAAM, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The East African regional business and private sector watchdog on Wednesday praised truck drivers for their continued delivery of essential commodities across the east African borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The East African Business Council (EABC) based in Tanzania's tourist city of Arusha said in a statement that the truck drivers were among those risking their personal health to keep products moving to stores, hospitals, homes and elsewhere during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the impact of COVID-19, truck drivers continue to deliver essential commodities including food, personal protective equipment(PPE), medicines, raw materials within and across the East African Community (EAC) borders, said the statement.

"The EABC appreciates and recognizes the selfless dedication of truck drivers who are delivering goods to health facilities, factories and consumers," said the statement signed by Peter Mathuki, EABC Executive Director.

"This will boost the availability of medical, PPEs and food crucial to protecting the health of our citizens and improving food security in the region," said the statement.

The statement said stigmatization against truck drivers should never be an option, as this may lead to a disruption in the supply chain in the EAC member countries of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, thus affecting further trade and investment.

"Let us support our truck driver in the region, our unsung heroes on the wheel delivering essential cargo into and out of our countries," said the statement. Enditem
If you've been anticipating the arrival of Charlotte Tilbury's new Airbrush Bronzer, listen up.

Charlotte offering MailOnline readers early access to her Airbrush Bronzer, Air-Brush and the Luxury Palette of Mattes in Desert Haze 24 hours before their official release (May 21) on charlottetilbury.com.

Run, do not walk, to pick one up for yourself. With over 5,000 makeup lovers on the waitlist, now is your chance to move the hot new release from your wish list to your cabinet shelf - at a discounted price too.

Discover four dreamy, bronze natural-matte shades for every skin tone - and infused with hyaluronic acid to hydrate, smooth and enhance while you wear

Following from the success of her Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder - the number one bestselling luxury pressed powder in the UK - Charlotte created the Airbrush Bronzer, and it checks off every box of our bronzer criteria.

Finding a bronzer that works for you can be a challenge. Fortunately, Charlotte has created four universal natural-matte shades ranging from fair to deep, housed within palm-sized art deco-inspired compacts.

Not only is the formulation as silky, ultra-lightweight and breathable as her pressed finishing powder, but the Airbrush Bronzer is also infused with moisturising hyaluronic acid for a hydrating hit.

Bonus: It's refillable. And we're all for the refillable makeup movement.

The Airbrush Bronzer imparts a perfect post-holiday warmth that's not orange, muddy, or glittery. It will have you convincing others your sunkissed glow is au naturel.

The NEW Airbrush Bronzer (39) joins the award-winning Airbrush Flawless family which includes Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder - the bestselling luxury pressed powder in the UK

Charlotte's new makeup treasures are a must-have for all your warm-weather adventures

For good measure, Charlotte is simultaneously dropping the Air-Brush, a synthetic kabuki-style bronzing brush.

The domed, retractable, dense and seriously soft brush dusts just the right amount of product onto the skin for a perfectly natural-looking wash of colour.

'I like to suck in my cheekbones and just softly contour my skin with it,' explains Sofia Tilbury, before dusting the bronzer along her hair and jawline.

Charlotte is also releasing her first-ever all-matte eyeshadow palette featuring four never-before-seen-shades.

The Luxury Palettes of Mattes in Desert Haze contains four buttery, blendable, and versatile shadows from a subtle sandy nude to a muted terracotta brown, that work beautifully together to create endless eye makeup possibilities. We're completely besotted.

MailOnline may earn commission on sales from the links on this page.
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that on May 20, as of 08:10, 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
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 20:13:44|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A special reading campaign kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday to promote reading in rural areas and improve the services of village-based libraries across China.

The event was co-sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

The campaign features nine major activities including reading themed publications, recommending books favored by farmers, sharing of video on book reading and book donations. Enditem
Technavio has been monitoring the global marine electronics market size and it is poised to grow by USD 927.70 million during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of over 3% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005706/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Marine Electronics 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. FLIR Systems Inc., Furuno Electric Co. Ltd., Garmin Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Navico, Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., Thales Group, thyssenkrupp AG, and Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc are some of the major market participants. Although the rise in seaborne trade will offer immense growth opportunities, high cost associated with sonar systems 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.

Rise in seaborne trade has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, high cost associated with sonar systems might hamper market growth.

Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Marine Electronics Market is segmented as below:

Product Sonar Systems Radars GPS Tracking Devices

Geography North America APAC Europe 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=IRTNTR43782

Marine Electronics 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 marine electronics marketreport covers the following areas:

Marine Electronics Market Size

Marine Electronics Market Trends

Marine Electronics Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies developments in SAS technology as one of the prime reasons driving the marine electronics market growth during the next few years.

Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the marine electronics market, including some of the vendors such as FLIR Systems Inc., Furuno Electric Co. Ltd., Garmin Ltd., Kongsberg Gruppen ASA, Navico, Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Co., Thales Group, thyssenkrupp AG, and Ultra Electronics Holdings Plc. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the marine electronics 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

Marine Electronics Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist marine electronics market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the marine electronics market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the marine electronics market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of marine electronics market vendors

Table Of Contents :

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2019

Market outlook: Forecast for 2019-2024

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Product

Market segments

Comparison by Product

Sonar systems Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Radars Market size and forecast 2019-2024

GPS tracking devices Market size and forecast 2019-2024

Market opportunity by Product

Customer Landscape

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

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

FLIR Systems Inc.

Furuno Electric Co. Ltd.

Garmin Ltd.

Kongsberg Gruppen ASA

Navico

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Raytheon Co.

Thales Group

thyssenkrupp AG

Ultra Electronics Holdings 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005706/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 20, 2020] 5N Plus Announces Results of Annual Meeting of Shareholders

MONTREAL, May 20, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - 5N Plus Inc. (TSX: VNP) ("5N Plus or the "Company"), a leading global producer of engineered materials and specialty chemicals, held its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") virtually today. Over 62,832,539 shares (76.04% of outstanding common shares) were at the Meeting. As part of the formal proceedings, the Company's shareholders elected the Board of Directors and approved the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent auditor of the Company. The complete voting results from the Meeting are presented below. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS The Board of Directors fixed at six the number of directors of the Company to be elected at the Meeting. Each of the six nominees listed in the Management Information Circular was elected as a director of 5N Plus. All of the nominee directors were already members of the Board of Directors of the Company with the exception of Mr. Gervais Jacques who was a new nominee. Ms. Jennie S. Hwang and Mr. Donald F. Osborne did not stand for re-election at the Meeting. We thank Ms. Hwang and Mr. Osborne for their dedication and contribution to the Company throughout the years. Subsequent to the Meeting, the directors re-appointed Mr. Luc Bertrand as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company. Luc Bertrand, Chairman of the Board of 5N Plus, commented: "Gervais Jacques brings new perspective to the Board of 5N Plus. Gervais is greatly respected in the business community and brings decades of leadership experience managing global businesses." Arjang Roshan, President and Chief Executive Officer of 5N Plus, added "Gervais' broad range of experience in devising and implementing key investments, along with his extensive experience serving industrial customers, will be key assets as we continue to position 5N Plus for the markets of the future."

















Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Luc Bertrand 56,332,475 89.99 6,266,652 10.01 Jean-Marie Bourassa 56,259,687 89.87 6,339,440 10.13 James T. Fahey 56,193,890 89.77 6,405,237 10.23 Gervais Jacques 57,825,127 92.37 4,774,000 07.63 Nathalie Le Prohon 51,648,763 82.51 10,950,364 17.49 Arjang J. (AJ) Roshan 62,031,530 99.09 567,597 00.91

APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITOR PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, was reappointed as independent auditor of 5N Plus until the close of the next annual general meeting of Shareholders, and the directors were authorized to fix the remuneration of the auditor.







Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld 61,237,025 97.49 1,576,589 2.51 About 5N Plus Inc.

5N Plus is a leading global producer of engineered materials and specialty chemicals with integrated recycling and refining assets to manage the sustainability of its business model. The Company is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and operates R&D, manufacturing and commercial centers in several locations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. 5N Plus deploys a range of proprietary and proven technologies to manufacture products which are used as enabling precursors by its customers in a number of advanced electronics, optoelectronics, pharmaceutical, health, renewable energy and industrial applications. Many of the materials produced by 5N Plus are critical for the functionality and performance of the products and systems produced by its customers, many of whom are leaders within their industry. SOURCE 5N Plus Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Mitch McConnell cant afford any tension with President Donald Trump. So hes doing everything he can to keep his fragile majority in sync with Trump and his explosive election-year playbook.

Just three days after Trump berated McConnell on Twitter to get tough with Democrats and probe the 2016 Russia investigation that ensnared Trumps campaign, the Senate majority leader took to the floor to echo the presidents misgivings in a way he declined to do last week. Trumps campaign was treated like a hostile foreign power by our own law enforcement, McConnell said Tuesday, subject to wild theories of Russian collusion.

In the days to come and with McConnells public blessing, GOP committee chairmen plan to follow Trumps lead and approve a series of subpoenas for documents and testimony that could hit some of Trumps favorite targets, including Hunter Biden and dozens of Obama administration officials.

Its all part of the last stage of the GOPs evolution during Trumps first term: an apparent end to public disagreements for the next six months until the party is past the election.

I just think that everybody realizes that our fortunes sort of rise or fall together, said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the party whip. One thing we have to do is to make sure that we are united on our agenda and make sure that theres not separation between the White House and Republicans in Congress.

Two hours after McConnells floor speech, Senate Republicans hosted Trump for their first party lunch in two months. The gathering was largely an opportunity for the president to present poll numbers, talk about his re-election campaign and tout his handling of the coronavirus crisis, which has ravaged the economy and infected more than a million people.

But Trump also urged Republicans to stick together as the election approaches  and act a little bit more like the opposition party he loathes.

He very frequently reminds us that were not as tough as [Democrats] are, that they play more for keeps, that they stick together better, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). Part of what makes us conservative is our independence, so that is our strength philosophically but sometimes it can be a weakness.

Story continues

There was no real agenda for the meeting, but the takeaway was clear to attendees. Trump told senators that we need to be a team, said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). When asked whether Trump encouraged senators to hammer home on the investigative front, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) replied: He didnt need to.

The moment reflected a new level of political synergy between Trump and the Senate Republicans who once blanched at his Twitter insults, his erratic governing style and his unorthodox economic, immigration and diplomatic policies. These days the Senate GOP majority has become an extended arm of Trumpism, with occasional complaints by a scattered few senators but mostly toothless dissent.

Trump has been on a tear as he seeks retribution against his political enemies, whether its on the origins of the Russia investigation, the FBIs case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, or Hunter Bidens Ukraine work  and Republicans seem eager to play along. McConnell is defending his majority this fall in increasingly difficult conditions, and the GOP has decided the only way to win is to stick by Trump as closely as possible.

Youre not crazy or a conspiracy theorist if you see a pattern of institutional unfairness toward this president, McConnell said earlier on Tuesday. You would have to be blind not to see one.

McConnell also used his floor remarks to take a rare public jab at a federal judge for trying to slow the Justice Departments move to drop the case against Flynn.

When asked whether he spoke with Trump after the president issued a direct appeal to him on Twitter over the weekend, McConnell sidestepped the question and said that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will have all control on reviewing the 2016-era investigations. He has a pretty expansive plan to look into all of that, McConnell added.

Trump did not directly answer a reporter over whether he was satisfied with how Republican senators were handling the matter. Instead, he reiterated his litany of grievances against the Obama administration.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters after meeting with Senate Republicans at their weekly luncheon on Capitol Hill.

Since Friday, Trump fired the State Departments inspector general, went after McConnell on Twitter and revealed he was taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug with uncertain benefits for coronavirus according to officials. Meanwhile the U.S. death toll for the pandemic has shot past 90,000 and the unemployment rate is spiking.

Republicans have largely shrugged at Trumps self-medication and defended his coronavirus response. Theyve also largely backed down as Trump continues his purge of government watchdogs in the aftermath of his acquittal in the Senates impeachment trial, sending stern letters to Trump that have been ignored so far.

And when they had the president in front of him on Tuesday, senators decided it was not the venue to demand the explanation for the ousted inspectors general that they say they want.

I didnt ask him about it because Im tracking down my own questions and trying to be able to work through the process, said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Ive already started my own follow-up, privately.

At the beginning of 2019, Republicans grimaced at Trumps government shutdown and a bipartisan majority voted against his national emergency to build a border wall. GOP senators decried Trumps tariffs for years and even conceded some tweets targeting progressive women in the House were racist.

But after everyone except Utah Sen. Mitt Romney banded around Trump during the impeachment trial, the party turned the page.

The impeachment thing clearly brought people together, said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).

And Republicans are about to dig in even further behind Trump. On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security Committee will vote on a subpoena as part of the panels GOP-run investigation into former Vice President Joe Bidens son, Hunter.

After Graham rebuffed Trumps calls for the Judiciary Committee to haul in President Barack Obama and question him about the Flynn case, Graham now plans to approve a broad subpoena to compel documents and testimony from a slew of former Obama administration officials.

Graham told reporters he hoped to have his report out before the election and insisted that the subpoenas had nothing to do with Trumps calls for him to call in Obama.

Weve been planning this for a long time, Graham said.

Like Graham, McConnell had declined to endorse Trumps push to haul Obama and Biden before the Senate, saying only in a Fox News interview last week that the public deserves to know more about how the 2016-era probes began. That response set off a flurry of criticism from Trump's allies in the conservative media, which led to Trumps direct appeal to McConnell on Saturday to get tough and move quickly.

The new subpoena action also comes a week after two key Republicans senators released a list of Obama administration officials who might have been involved in efforts that unmasked Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI but whose criminal case was dropped earlier this month. Bidens name was on the list, which was compiled by Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.

These efforts by Republican senators are likely to give Trump a boost with his political base. The presidents reelection campaign unleashed a torrent of criticism against Biden after the unmasking list was released.

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) has said he wants his party to multi-task and also make headway on climate change policy and health care. But for rank-and-file GOP senators, the election-year agenda is now mostly out of their control and focused increasingly on Trumps targets.

Personally, I didn't run for Senate to be involved in that, said Braun, who won his seat in 2018. I can see you're largely along for the ride on most of the stuff you'd like to see done.

He then made clear that he views Trumps agenda as his own, too: For the American public theres some grave issues that occurred. And we ought to get to the bottom of it.
Founder for International Gods Way Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim is still in the custody of the police, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Police Service, ASP Juliana Obeng told Boamah Darko on Hot FMs morning, Wednesday.

According to the PRO, the man of God did not meet the necessary bail conditions of GHC 100k to warrant his release yesterday.

Bishop Obinim was taken to cells as a result of alleged forgery of documents and publication of false news.

The PRO was unable to disclose the details of charges the man of God was accused of as she stated that the information will be known after a court hearing of the case.

---RazzNews.com
SPRINGFIELD  The states COVID-19 response and operating budget will unsurprisingly be on the top of the agenda for lawmakers when they return for a socially distanced session this week, according to an email distributed to Illinois House members Tuesday.

The House will meet Wednesday through Friday at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield, while the Senate will convene at the Capitol in its regular chamber.

Precautions will be in place to check temperatures of entrants at the door, and lawmakers and others in attendance will be required to socially distance and wear face coverings. An added police presence will be patrolling downtown as protests are apparently scheduled around the venues.

Speaker Michael Madigan said in a statement Tuesday that the House will immediately vote on new rules requiring those in attendance, including lawmakers, to follow the safety measures. Some of the more conservative members of the Republican caucus have indicated they will not wear masks during the session.

The House will take up this rule change immediately upon convening Wednesday. After the motion passes, any member in violation of the rule change will face discipline, including potentially being removed from the chamber by a vote of the House, Madigan, a Democrat from Chicago, said in a statement distributed by his office. This is not an action I take lightly, but when it comes to the health and safety of members, their families, staff and the communities they represent, it is the right and prudent thing to do.

Staff and members of the public not observing the rules will be asked to leave the premises immediately, Madigan added.

Illinois House members received health guidelines and the legislative agenda from Madigans chief of staff Tuesday.

The 15 agenda items include operating and capital budgets as well as five different areas of focus for COVID-19 response. The House is also expected to take up an elections omnibus, including an expanded vote-by-mail program.

Lawmakers will also hear arguments for and against the graduated income tax as they debate the language that will appear before voters on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Republicans have asked that a vote be taken to remove the question from the ballot, but Democratic leaders have not indicated a willingness to do so.

The COVID-19 response areas include governmental administration, such as the secretary of states ability to extend guidelines, discussion of a recovery advisory group, Freedom of Information Act delays and reworking of an executive order on immunity for health care providers. Also under that agenda item is a discussion of allowing the state Supreme Court to delay speedy trial requirements in an emergency.

Another agenda item is a COVID-19 health care package, discussion of which could touch on increased access to telehealth, allowing behavioral health centers to distribute drugs to mental health and substance abuse patients, as well as a potential study on insurance affordability and a kidney disease task force.

A COVID-19 revenue package is also up for discussion. Considerations for that bill include a sales tax deferral program, property tax measures such as a delay of interest accrual, and a one-year deferral of application requirements for homestead exemptions.

Discussion of a COVID-19 education package could include remote learning days, graduation requirements, student teacher requirements and more, according to the agenda.

Other agenda items include a hospital assessment program, which generates about $3.5 billion each year in federal funding to hospitals that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients. An update is due for the program and must be approved by the federal government after passed by the General Assembly.

A measure pertaining to the Municipal Liquidity Facility program passed through the federal CARES Act earlier this year is also on the agenda. That program aims to aid state and local governments through the direct federal purchase of short-term notes from states, but aid is directly available only to states and large counties and cities. States, however, can support smaller counties and local governments by establishing the program and making it available to them. The agenda item includes the necessary debt authorizations to do so.

The House will also take up regulatory and governmental sunsets that are due for extension, Tax Increment Financing district extensions and debt exceptions, and a resolution to support health care workers, frontline employees and essential employees.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Did you know these 29 celebrities went to SIU?
Updated: Two residents of a Direct Provision centre in Killarney, Co Kerry have tested positive for Covid-19.

The two men at Linden House, one of three Direct Provision centres in the town, tested positive two weeks ago and were moved from the centre initially. However, news of the confirmed cases has only emerged locally now. It is believed that both have fully recovered.

However, the failure by the Department of Justice to inform the community in Killarney has come under fire.

The opening of what was a third Direct Provision Centre in Killarney, with very little notice, at the former guesthouse and restaurant opposite a number of primary schools and the towns garda station led to public protests in December 2017.

Local councillor Donal Grady (Ind) who organised one of the marches at the time called for the building, which is privately owned, to be leased by the council and used for local homeless persons.

He has now called for a detailed breakdown of all transfers of asylum seekers to centres in Killarney since the pandemic. He said the community should have been informed of the outbreak in the town and he was raising the matter at the weekly web meetings between councillors and management in Kerry.

He also called on the department to clarify if the centre had been locked down because of the positive tests there.

Cllr Grady also said he would be asking the the Department of Justice about movements to centres in Killarney during the pandemic.

Why were public representatives and the public not informed of the outbreak at Linden House? Cllr Grady said.

His criticism followed the apology from Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan to the people of Caherciveen for the anger and upset caused by the opening of a Direct Provision centre in the town.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said the figure for residents currently residing in accommodation centres in Kerry has not increased.

As of May 10th, there were 517 people being accommodated in accommodation centres in Kerry. There is an overall total contracted capacity of 671 in the county.

Final moves to centres centres nationwide were effected on April 14 and April 15, in conjunction with the HSE.

The HSE said in any confirmed outbreak of Covid-19, consultants from the Department of Public Health are involved in an Outbreak Control Team and provide advice on the management of the outbreak.

Where there are outbreaks in residential facilities which are not under our control (including Direct Provision centres), the local Department of Public Health gives clear advice to both the management and the residents of the centres to support them in responding appropriately, it said.

In any case where someone has tested positive for Covid-19, they are asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 is identified and also advised to self-isolate for 14 days, monitor themselves for symptoms and contact their GP if they develop symptoms.

The importance of self-isolating is stressed to any confirmed with Covid-19 and their close contacts, as it is key to bringing any outbreak under control.

[snippet1]987600[/snippet1]
New York  Matt Lauer accused author Ronan Farrow on Tuesday of shoddy and biased journalism in his book Catch and Kill that included what Lauer says is a false accusation that the former Today show host raped a co-worker.

Farrow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, said Lauer is just wrong.

Lauer penned an article published on the Mediaite website a day after an investigation in The New York Times suggested that Farrow, who won a Pulitzer for his work on the accusations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, was less than thorough in vetting his work.

Lauer, similarly, said Farrow had not corroborated several specific accusations against him in the 2019 book, Catch and Kill.

NBC fired Lauer in 2017 for an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker. In Farrow's book, that former co-worker, Brooke Nevils, said Lauer raped her in a Sochi hotel room during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Lauer denies the rape charges, and both he and Nevils said they had a subsequent consensual relationship.

What I found when I read the book was frankly shocking, and it should concern anyone who cares about journalism, Lauer wrote. This is not just about accusations against the former host of the Today show.

Lauer noted the bad feelings between Farrow and NBC News, which declined to air the work he had done while at the network on the Weinstein story. He subsequently took his material to the New Yorker.

As a result, he became a magnet and a willing ear for anyone with negative stories about the network and people who worked for it, Lauer said.

Farrow tweeted a brief response to Lauer's lengthy piece: All I'll say on this is that Matt Lauer is just wrong. Catch and Kill was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself.

Farrow's publisher, Little, Brown and Co., said it fully supported the author.

Ronan's dedication to a deep and thorough fact-check of his reporting, his commitment to the rights of victims and his impeccable attention to detail and nuance make us proud to be his publisher, the company said in a statement.

Mediaite said that its editors checked with four people that Lauer spoke to for his article, and they all independently backed up the conversations they had with him.
What started as a private loss has turned into a public pining  and has forced people to think about what it might mean to have no closure after the loss of a loved one. Funeral and burial services across the country have changed dramatically in the past few months because of the coronavirus. Ceremonies that once drew hundreds of mourners can now safely accommodate only a fraction of that amount. Hugs, kisses and shared food are also no longer the norm. But even those shadowy senses of goodbye are something.
The current physical distancing guidelines of 6 feet may be insufficient to prevent COVID-19 transmission, according to a study which says a mild cough in low wind speeds can propel saliva droplets by as much as 18 feet.

Researchers, including those from the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, said a good baseline for studying the airborne transmission of viruses, like the one behind the COVID-19 pandemic, is a deeper understanding of how particles travel through the air when people cough.

In the study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, they said even with a slight breeze of about four kilometres per hour (kph), saliva travels 18 feet in 5 seconds.

"The droplet cloud will affect both adults and children of different heights," said study co-author Dimitris Drikakis from the University of Nicosia.

According to the scientists, shorter adults and children could be at higher risk if they are located within the trajectory of the saliva droplets.

They said saliva is a complex fluid, which travels suspended in a bulk of surrounding air released by a cough, adding that many factors affect how saliva droplets travel in the air.

These factors, the study noted, include the size and number of droplets, how they interact with one another and the surrounding air as they disperse and evaporate, how heat and mass are transferred, and the humidity and temperature of the surrounding air.

In the study, the scientists created a computer simulation to examine the state of every saliva droplet moving through the air in front of a coughing person.

The model considered the effects of humidity, dispersion force, interactions of molecules of saliva and air, and how the droplets change from liquid to vapour and evaporate, along with a grid representing the space in front of a coughing person.

Each grid, the scientists said, holds information about variables like pressure, fluid velocity, temperature, droplet mass, and droplet position.

The study analysed the fates of nearly 1,008 simulated saliva droplets, and solved as many as 3.7 million equations.

"The purpose of the mathematical modelling and simulation is to take into account all the real coupling or interaction mechanisms that may take place between the main bulk fluid flow and the saliva droplets, and between the saliva droplets themselves," explained Talib Dbouk, another co-author of the study.

However, the researchers added that further studies are needed to determine the effect of ground surface temperature on the behaviour of saliva in air.

They also believe that indoor environments, especially ones with air conditioning, may significantly affect the particle movement through air.

This work is important since it concerns safety distance guidelines, and advances the understanding of the transmission of airborne diseases, Drikakis said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.

It's obvious now that Terminal Island federal prison in San Pedro was a prime COVID-19 target: Many of its inmates already needed long-term medical care, and it holds over 1,000 inmates in a facility designed to hold just under 800.

So perhaps it's not surprising that nearly 700 prisoners have tested positive for the coronavirus and eight have died. But a lawsuit claims the prison's mishandling of the situation made things much worse, as do the families of some inmates.

Maureen Hines is one of those relatives. Her son, inmate Russell Ogden, told her in a Mother's Day phone call that a pinched nerve is shooting pain up his arm and his eyesight is failing.

The conversation marked the first time Hines had heard her 46-year-old son's voice since March, when phone privileges were temporarily suspended to prevent the spread of the virus.

When he called, she grabbed her iPod and recorded the call.

"Everything they're doing is wrong," Ogden, who's serving a 15-year sentence for drug possession and credit card fraud, told his mother. "I'm stuck here, and I can't f---ing do nothing."

icon

DON'T MISS ANY L.A. CORONAVIRUS NEWS

Get our daily newsletters for the latest on COVID-19 and other top local headlines.

Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

During the five minutes allowed for the call, Ogden spoke quickly, rattling off medical care he's not getting.

"The neurologist, the urologist, I'm waiting for an MRI," he said.

Other types of care at the prison are on hold because of the virus.

"My light in my room don't work, it hasn't worked for days," Ogden told Hines, adding that prison guards don't want to go inside the cells.

Russell Ogden and his wife Shelly on a zoo visit. (Courtesy of Maureen Hines)

The five minutes are quickly over -- Ogden is cut off mid-sentence. But Hines told us in a separate call that despite what she had heard, she breathed a sigh of relief: At least her son doesn't have the virus.

Not all inmates are as lucky. While Terminal Island's infection rate is dropping, there have been those eight deaths, and as of mid-May, at least 16 prisoners were fighting COVID-19 hooked to respirators at a nearby hospital.

Still, only a handful have been released to home confinement by the low-security prison, which besides specializing in long-term medical care also serves inmates who need long-term mental health treatment.

Terminal Island and the Federal Bureau of Prisons declined multiple requests for comment for this story.

'I CONTRACTED COVID'

Ron Wilson's cousin Raymond Wadsworth is serving a three-year sentence at Terminal Island for a parole violation.

Raymond Wadsworth and his wife LeTrice on their wedding day in 2014. (Courtesy of Ron Wilson)

Wilson summarized a letter he received from the 53-year-old Wadsworth after several weeks of no contact:

"Hey first of all, I'm ok now, but in short, I contracted COVID."

Wilson showed me the letter.

"I got really sick," Wadsworth wrote, "so sick that I had to go to an outside hospital for nine days."

Wilson is upset that he didn't know.

"Someone there should be notifying the next of kin or family and saying, 'Hey, this is the situation, this is what we're doing,'" he said.

"It sort of just shows a complete lack of preparation, planning or even foresight."

Wadsworth also told Wilson in his letters that he wouldn't get into how bad the conditions were at the prison for fear of retaliation.

'I WOULD HEAR INMATES SCREAMING'

Terminal Island sits in the district of U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-LA). On May 12, she toured the facility with prison warden Felicia Ponce and said she was disturbed by what she saw and heard.

Inmates could not practice social distancing and were wearing ill-fitting or incorrectly worn masks, Barragan said.

"While I was there I would hear inmates screaming that were in isolation units, saying, 'Turn on the air! Get us some air! Help me!'" she told reporters after the tour.

In a phone call a few hours later, Barragan said the L.A. County Department of Public Health offered to test all the prison's guards, but Ponce declined the offer. Sixteen guards have tested positive for the virus.

"The warden said that she cannot force the correctional officers to test for COVID-19," Barragan said.

The prison issued a statement last week saying staff who want to get tested can do so through the city of L.A.

In late April, prison staff started efforts to test 100% of inmates. The prison's policy is to retest inmates 10 days after their initial test, though some prisoners' families say that's not happening.

'DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE' ENDANGERS THOUSANDS

Last weekend, the ACLU, the Prison Law Office and the law firm Bird Marella sued both Terminal Island and the federal prison in Lompoc, where more than a thousand inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.

"This crisis need never to have reached such horrific proportions," the ACLU said in a statement. "Through a series of unconscionable delays, blunders, and failures to follow official guidelines, the situation grew unimaginably worse." It argued that even now, prison officials refuse to take "adequate remedial actions" approved by Congress and the Attorney General.

"While the rest of California took extraordinary measures to stop the spread of coronavirus, the Bureau of Prisons failed to take preventive measures as basic as isolating sick prisoners, allowing social distancing, or providing enough soap," ACLU attorney Peter Bibring said in a statement.

The two prisons' high infection rates are made worse by overcrowding, said Don Specter, co-counsel for the plaintiffs.

"Those two factors combined make it very difficult if not impossible to be safe from infection and also to get appropriate medical care if they are infected," he told us.

"Congress gave prisons broad authority to release low risk offenders into home confinement so that it could reduce overcrowding and save lives," Naeun Rim of Bird Marella said in the statement. "Prison officials' deliberate indifference" has endangered thousands of prisoners' lives, she said.

The complaint alleges that the prisons have violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

The Bureau of Prisons said it won't comment on pending litigation.

'THEY WEREN'T GIVEN A DEATH SENTENCE'

Maureen Hines protesting at Terminal Island. (Courtesy of Maureen Hines)

Inmates' families stage almost weekly protests in front of Terminal Island, waving signs and wearing masks. Some people make the trek from as far away as Utah and Nevada.

At one protest, staff exiting the prison in their cars sped by the protestors, who chanted at them, "We want justice!"

Maureen Hines, the mother of inmate Russell Ogden, held a sign that read, "Inmate Lives Matter," with a photo of Ogden and his young granddaughter.

"They weren't given a death sentence," she said. "You know, they got a parole date. They got family to come home to, and we want to see that happen."

Hines considers herself one of the lucky ones. Many families are still waiting for a phone call.

Julia Paskin contributed to this story.
L ondoners are likely to be scrambling for their car keys today, as McDonald's has finally released its list of reopened drive-thru restaurants.

Ahead of a wider opening slated for early June, the fast food chain is now serving from 39 "pilot restaurants" across the UK and Ireland, including seven within the confines of the M25. All will open between 11am and 10pm.

Customers will be asked to adhere to a 25 spend cap per car, and to use contactless payment whenever possible. A limited menu of McDonald's big ticket dishes is on offer, which includes the Big Mac, McChicken Sandwich, Filet-o-Fish, and Chicken McNuggets. More details of the menu can be found here.

To reassure customers, McDonald's has introduced a number of new safety measures, operating with a reduced number of staff in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines and issuing personal protective equipment to be worn by staff. The group says it has increased training on cleaning practices and added perspex screens to key areas of the restaurants. 

The full list of drive-thrus open in London and Greater London from today is below:

Hounslow  Traveller's Friend

Sutton  Oldfield's Road

North Cheam  Worcester Park

Staines  Two Rivers Retail Park

Staines  London Road

Watford  Garston

Watford  Hertfordshire Arms

In a statement released last week, UK & Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy asked for customers' patience as the restaurants adapt to post-Coronavirus conditions.

When your local Drive Thru does reopen, it will be different, the CEO said, 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.

Pomroy also confirmed that more restaurants would be opening soon: Moving in step with government guidelines, we plan to reopen all our Drive Thrus by early June.

We will keep the restaurant locator on our website updated as our Drive Thrus reopen over the coming weeks.

The chain, which closed all 1,350 of its UK stores at the beginning of lockdown, is also offering home delivery, available to order on Uber Eats. Four additional restaurants are open for delivery-only in London: Harrow, Tooting, Dalston and Welling.

The full list of drive-thru locations reopening today outside of the Greater London area is below:

Ipswich  Ranelagh Road

Ipswich  Ravenswood

Ipswich  Whitehouse

Chelmsford  Regiment Business Park

Strood  Commercial Road

Rochester  Medway Valley Park

Hertfordshire  Bushey

Peterborough - Bourges Boulevard

Peterborough  Boongate

Peterborough  Hampton

Peterborough  Morrisons

Peterborough  Eye Green

Peterborough  Glinton

Rochester  Medway City Estate

Bobbing  Sheppey Way

Dunstable  Luton Road

Luton Retail Park  Gipsy Lane

Watford  Garston

Chelmsford Riversiden (delivery and drive-thru)

Chelmsford Westway (delivery and drive-thru)

Ipswich  Cardinal Park (delivery and drive-thru)

Boreham Interchange (delivery and drive-thru)

Luton Leagrave (delivery and drive-thru)

Watford  Hertfordshire Arms (delivery and drive-thru)

Luton  Chaul End Lane (delivery and drive-thru)

Beechings Way (delivery and drive-thru)

Sittingbourne (delivery and drive-thru)

Gillingham  Bowaters (delivery and drive-thru)

Dublin  Nutgrove

Dublin  Kylemore Road

Dublin  East Wall

Dublin  Artaine

Dublin  Malahide Road

Dublin  Tallaght Drive Thru

For more details, visit mcdonalds.com
A U.S. judge is asking Nevadas highest court to decide whether state law allows gun manufacturers and sellers to be held liable for deaths as he considers a lawsuit from the parents of a victim of the deadliest mass shooting in the nations modern history.

Federal law generally protects gun manufacturers and dealers when crimes are committed with their products. A negligence and wrongful death lawsuit filed last year in Las Vegas accuses eight firearms makers and several shops in Nevada and Utah of letting weapons be easily modified to fire like automatic weapons.

A shooter in 2017 outfitted weapons with bump stock attachments that let him fire in rapid succession from a Las Vegas high-rise hotel into an open-air concert crowd, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others.

Las Vegas Shooting Victims Parents Sue Gunmakers Over Bump-Stocks The wrongful death lawsuit places blame for the mass shooting on the manufacturers and dealers who plaintiffs allege knew the weapons could be converted into rapid-firing machines. Victims of the Las Vegas Shooting Reach Settlement MGM Resorts International reached an out-of-court $800 million settlement resolving lawsuits in at least 10 states. MGM Resorts acknowledged no liability for the massacre. MGM Resorts Sues Insurer for Las Vegas Shooting Defense Costs MGM Resorts alleges accuses Zurich American Insurance Co. of failing to pay defense costs for damage claims stemming from the 2017 shooting.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Gordon asked last month for the ruling from the Nevada Supreme Court, saying there are important public policy ramifications. A hearing has not yet been set.

I am particularly concerned, Gordon wrote, that attorneys for the gun makers argued they would be immune from liability under state law even if they manufactured and sold Tommy guns or M-16 rifles to civilians.

Attorneys for Colts Manufacturing Co. and 11 other defendants did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages.

James and Ann-Marie Parsons of Seattle, whose 31-year-old daughter Carolyn Lee Carrie Parsons died in the shooting, are seeking unspecified monetary damages. Their lawyer, Richard Friedman, said Tuesday that federal law provides a lot of immunity, but not total immunity.

Were saying you were selling guns that meet the definition of machine guns in violation of federal law, so you dont get protection, he said.

The Trump administration banned bump stocks last year, making them illegal under the same federal laws that prohibit machine guns.

Friedman said a federal judge deferring to the state high court is uncommon but not unprecedented and acknowledged that the Parsons lawsuit could hinge on the decision by the Nevada justices.

The Las Vegas shooter killed himself before police blasted through the door of his 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay resort. Police and the FBI say that while it appeared he sought notoriety, they could not identify any single or clear motivating factor for the meticulously planned attack.

The owner of the hotel, MGM Resorts International, reached a sweeping out-of-court settlement last October, agreeing to funnel up to $800 million to the families of the victims. The agreement resolved lawsuits in at least 10 states, but MGM Resorts acknowledged no liability or guilt for the massacre.

Photo: The Colt Armory factory in Hartford, Conn. It is a historic factory complex for the manufacture of firearms created by Samuel Colt.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Manufacturing Nevada
Commentators have been raising concerns over Twitter's recent hiring of artificial intelligence (AI) star Fei-Fei Li, who has links to the Chinese Communist Party.



Twitter appointed Stanford professor and former Google vice president Li to its board as an independent director earlier this month, citing her AI expertise.



Li's appointment came after she left her role as chief scientist of AI/ML (artificial intelligence/machine learning) at Google Cloud in October 2018 following a controversy surrounding Google's Project Maven initiative, which helped the Pentagon identify drone targets from blurry video footage.



The project prompted an employee revolt at Google, with some 4,000 signing a petition against Project Maven, and some quitting in protest.



Li was also instrumental in the setting up of a new Google AI lab in China.



Twitter currently uses an AI technique called deep learning to recommend tweets to its users and also uses AI to identify racist content and hate speech, or content from extremist groups.



France-based commentator Wang Longmeng said hiring Li to work at Twitter was like hiring a fox to guard the hen-coop.



"They seem to have ignored the backstory of Li's previous cooperation with China," he said. "Li Fei-fei ... secretly opposed Google's cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense from a high moral standpoint ... but turned a blind eye to Project Dragonfly, in which Google was planning to help the Chinese Communist Party vet online speech."



Wang said Li also used a slogan closely associated with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a 2017 media interview in China, pledging to help China develop its AI capabilities.



"I hope that democratic countries will reflect on this and start plugging the loopholes," he said. "Fei-fei Li is very likely to be one of those loopholes."



Key military technology



Li is also an adviser on AI to China's prestigious Tsinghua University. Its vice president You Zheng has said that the university's AI research has two main purposes, one of which is to meet national defense needs under a "military-civilian integration policy."



AI has been named as a key military technology under President Xi, who has announced that China plans to become a world leader in the field by 2030.



In addition, Li has been linked to a students' association under the aegis of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department.



Mainland media reports listed her as a guest at China Overseas Talent Exchange Conferences in the southern city of Guangzhou in 2017 and in Beijing in 2018, both of which were hosted by the European and American Alumni Association under the aegis of the United Front Work Department.



Li also has ties to the Beijing-based Future Forum for the development of mobile technology with a strong 5G focus. The organization operates under the aegis of the state-run China Association for Science and Technology, and is supported by Beijing's Chaoyang District Government, according to its website.



The Forum has been linked with some of the biggest names in Chinese technology, including NetEase founder Ding Lei and Baidu founder Li Yanhong. More interestingly, there are a number of descendants of veteran revolutionaries involved in the organization -- including Zhu Yulai, son of former premier Zhu Rongji, and Liu Lefei, son of former Politburo member Liu Yunshan.



Uphold free speech



Renee Xia, head of the overseas-based Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network, called on Twitter to uphold free speech.



She said that the company has already issued "blue tick" symbols to accounts operated by the ruling Chinese Communist Party regime, including the Chinese foreign ministry, state-run Xinhua news agency, and the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling party.



"One of Twitter s certification criteria is that [blue-tick accounts] should work for the public good," Xia said. "How can you certify a government agency that monitors people's internet use and suppresses freedom of expression? Twitter needs to do more."



Xia cited the recent detention of former journalist Zhang Jialong, who was tried on public order charges for comments made on social media this month.



"The vast majority of the Chinese people cannot use Twitter freely and legally, but Chinese officials can illegally obtain Zhang Jialong's comments on Twitter," Xia said.



Reported by Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Zheng Chongsheng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Egypt will construct the largest fibre optic cable plant in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with investments worth over EGP 1 billion ($63.2 million), the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) said.



The 50,000 square metre plant in the Red Sea's Gulf of Suez city of Ain Sokhna is planned to start operation in the third quarter of 2021, SCZone Chairman Yehia Zaki said in a statement on Wednesday.



The project is part of an initial deal signed between the government-owned Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) and IT service provider Benya Capital.



"The annual production capacity of the project is four million km of cables, while investments in the project amount to more than EGP 1 billion," Zaki said.



The deal is part of the government's efforts to boost the industrial sector, promote local technology and reduce imports, AOI Chairman Abdel-Moneim Al-Tarras said, adding that the project will make available jobs for young engineers and technicians.



The government said manufacturing fibre optic cables will meet the needs of telecoms, power, gas and oil firms, as well as new cities the country is building.



Benya Capital has chosen US firm Corning Inc, a leading provider of optical fibres, cables, and communication solutions, as a strategic supplier of the factory.



The Egyptian government hopes the economic zone around the Suez Canal will develop an international industrial and logistics hub that will attract much-needed foreign investment.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A 35-year-old Indian national was fined 3,500 Singaporean dollar for breaching self-quarantine orders and leaving his place of isolation amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, authorities said on Wednesday.

Vardireddy Nageswara Reddy was supposed to be isolated from February 16 to 25 but he allegedly breached the order and came out on February 24.

Reddy was fined 3,500 dollars on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one count of breaching his home quarantine order.

The court heard that Reddy had come into close contact with a colleague who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. But he tested negative for the disease.

Reddy was ordered to be isolated at home because of his contact with a coronavirus positive person. Both orders stated that he could not leave his place of isolation at any time without permission, reported Channel Asia.

However, a day before his home quarantine order was to end, Reddy left his apartment for a shopping mall at about 8.10pm on February 24, hoping to buy a shaver to shave as he was scheduled to return to work the next day and did not want to appear untidy.

As February 25 fell on a Tuesday, Reddy believed that it is inauspicious for Hindus to shave on a Tuesday, noted Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim.

Reddy returned home from the mall after 20 to 25 minutes. However, an auxiliary police officer had by then visited Reddy's flat within five minutes of his leaving to check if he was home.

A search of the house showed Reddy was not at his residence.

The officer waited 15 minutes outside the flat to see if Reddy would return, before leaving when he did not show up.

The prosecutor had asked for a fine of SGD 6,000, noting that breaches of quarantine orders are serious, with the starting point for offences in the least serious category going up to two months' jail.

Despite being given a quarantine order, the accused deliberately breached it, stressed prosecutor Lim.

"He was eager to return to work clean-shaven. He could have waited for the expiry of the order to shave, but he did not," she added.

She also pointed out that Reddy chose a destination where he could have expected a significant amount of traffic.

Reddy, who was unrepresented, told the judge that he had tested negative after a swab test after his colleague tested positive for the virus.

Because of this, he felt the risk of spreading the virus was lighter, and said he was wearing a mask when he left the apartment.

"Are you able to pay the fine?" asked District Judge Ong Hian Sun. "Is your company paying the fine?"



"No, your honour. It is my mistake, I will pay," answered Vardireddy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[May 20, 2020] Third Avenue Management Expands Operations in Austin, Texas

Third Avenue Management LLC ("Third Avenue"), a New York-based investment advisor, today announced the expansion of its operations in Austin, Texas. Ryan Dobratz, Co-Lead Portfolio Manager of the Real Estate Value Fund and member of Third Avenue's Management Committee, will manage the office and oversee the strategic initiatives. Mr. Dobratz said, "For nearly three decades, Third Avenue has specialized in making contrarian investments into the securities of asset-rich companies and supporting those enterprises over the long-term. By expanding the Firm's footprint, and adding further analytical resources to support our efforts in assisting real estate-related businesses that have been adversely impacted by recent events, Third Avenue will be uniquely placed in its pursuit of long-term wealth creation for its stakeholders." Jason Wolf, Co-Lead Portfolio Manager of the Real Estate Value Fund and member of Third Avenue's Management Committee, said, "Third Avenue's long-standing business continuity plan has allowed its operational capabilities to remain uninterrupted amidst recent shelter-in-place orders. Further, the investment team's well-established process has allowed it to navigate through recent market conditions. While New York will remain the Firm's headquarters, now is the right time to establish an even more resilient structure with our regional office in an innovative urban market." Mr. Wolf added, "It is also an opportune time to add talent to the investment team as Third Avenue dedicates additional resources to making capital infusions into real estate and real estate-related businesses that seem well-placed to compound capital over the long-term." The Firm is seeking to add a Real Estate Securities Analyst in its Austin, TX office. Ranked as "One of the Best Places to Live" by U.S. News and World Report, Austin is on of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in North America, strategically located to support the Firm's investments in the residential and commercial sectors, and one of the leading real estate technology (proptech) hubs globally. Additional details pertaining to the opportunity can be found at www.thirdave.com/careers.



Third Avenue Management has also undertaken an initiative to assist select businesses that have been adversely impacted by the unprecedented contraction in economic activity stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. On the behalf of Funds it manages, Third Avenue is evaluating credit-enhancing and non-control investments into the securities of publicly-traded enterprises that are: (i) comprised of strategic real estate and real assets; (ii) listed in North America or Western Europe with an equity market capitalization of $250 million to $2.5 billion USD; and (iii) positioned to utilize incremental capital in order to address near-term obligations or fund value-enhancing capital expenditures as well as bolt-on acquisitions. About Third Avenue Management

Third Avenue Management LLC is a New York-based investment advisory firm founded in 1986 by legendary investor Martin J. Whitman. For more than 25 years, the Firm has consistently pursued a bottom-up, fundamental-value approach to investing by focusing on the company's balance sheet, the value of its underlying assets, the discounted price of its securities, and the ability of the enterprise to increase its corporate net worth over time. Today, the Firm is majority owned by Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (NYSE:AMG) and has more than $1.25 billion in assets under management across its three core strategies - Value (NYSE: TAVFX, TVFVX, TAVZX), Small-Cap (NYSE: TASCX, TVSVX, TASZX) and Real Estate (NYSE: TAREX, TVRVX, TARZX) - which are available to investors through '40 Act mutual funds, UCITS, and customized accounts. Third Avenue Funds are offered only by prospectus. The prospectus contains important information, including investment objectives, risks, advisory fees and expenses. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing or sending money. For a current Prospectus please visit our Fund Literature page on our website at www.thirdave.com/fund-literature/, or call 800-443-1021. Distributor of Third Avenue Funds: Foreside Fund Services, LLC. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005093/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Photo: (Photo : Instagram/rooney.mara)

According to multiple reports, Rooney Mara is pregnant with Joaquin Phoenix. On Mother's Day, Mara was seen in Los Angeles when she delivered flowers to her sister, Kate Mara.

A source told Us Weekly that the Oscar nominee is about six months pregnant. The source also said that Phoenix is great for accompanying Mara to her appointments.

Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix linked in 2017

In January 2017, Mara and the 45-year-old producer were linked after being spotted at "We Care Detox Spa." The couple starred in the movie "Her" in 2013 and "Mary Magdalene" in 2018.

During the May 2017 Cannes Film Festival, the pair confirmed that they are dating. Rumors spread that the private couple is engaged two years after because Mara was seen wearing a diamond ring. In the same year, Phoenix gave the public a peek into their relationship.

Mara was shy around Phoenix

In an interview, the producer said that he thought the 35-year-old actress hated him when they were filming "Her," but later, he learned that Mara was shy because she liked him too. The actor said that she was the only actress that he looked up on the internet.

He also said that they were just email friends at that time, and he never looked up any other girls online.

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor in 2020 Golden Globes

Earlier this year, Mara was by the actor's side when he scooped up accolades for his work "Joker" during the award season. During his acceptance speech, Phoenix also gave a sweet shout out to his leading lady when he won the Best Actor in Drama at the 2020 Golden Globes.

He started his speech by saying that he was inspired by his fellow nominees, Christian Bale, Adam Driver, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Bryce. He said that since they work for the same agent, he has already reached out to some of them, but he is still intimidated by some of them. He also mentioned Bale even though he was not present during that time.

He also addressed the writer of "Joker" and director friend Todd Phillips and said that Phillips is an amazing friend and collaborator. He also said that his friend was the one who convinced him to do the movie and encouraged him to give his best and to be sincere with the role.

Adding to that, Phoenix said that he is so indebted to Phillips because he could not believe how his friend had put up with him even though he was such a pain in the ass. He also called out to his fellow actors to take private jets after commending the plant-based dinner that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association provided.

Later, Phoenix turned his attention to Mara, who was seated in the audience, telling her that he loves her and wipes away his tears.
As Dr. Trupti Katdare and her colleague, Dr, Zakia Sayyed, traced the contacts of a patient who had tested positive for the coronavirus, a mob set upon them, yelling and throwing stones.

"It was very scary," Katdare said of the incident, which took place April 1 in the Indian city of Indore. "We didn't understand what was happening. We were going to save their lives. What are they thinking?"

In her terror, Katdare's thoughts turned to her husband, her two children and the rest of her family, whom she had separated from while staying in a hotel to avoid transmitting the disease.

Image: Dr. Trupti Katdare, left and her colleague Dr. Zakia Saiyyad were attacked by an angry mob while conducting contact tracing for the coronavirus in Indore, India, on April 1. (Courtesy of Dr. Trupti Katdare with the Indore Health and Administration Team.)

While doctors and nurses fighting the pandemic have been celebrated around the world, some have become the targets of attacks fueled by fear and misinformation.

In India, at least 35 violent incidents of mobs or riots involving health care workers were recorded in April, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit that tracks global violence and unrest. Worldwide, more than 200 such incidents have been documented this year.

The attack came out of nowhere, Katdare said. Her search for the patient's contacts had been routine until 100 to 200 people descended upon her and her companion.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"They're saying in Hindi ... they don't want doctors here. 'Go from here!' They don't want to do screenings," she said. She suspects that misinformation circulating on WhatsApp or other platforms incited fears about her work.

Nearby police rescued her and the other doctor. Beyond a few bruises, she was unscathed.

"Call it ignorance and just hooliganism," said Dr. Rajan Sharma, national president of the Indian Medical Association. "Attacking anybody, whether doctor or another, is not the right thing to do when we live in a civilized world."

Image: Doctor in Mumbai (Francis Mascarenhas / Reuters file)

The Indian Medical Association organization launched a campaign last month to raise awareness of the violence faced by health care professionals and to call on the Indian government to act. Sharma said officials have followed through, increasing fines and jail time for those who attack health care workers.

Story continues

The rate of attacks has slowed, Sharma said. "The government is rising to the occasion. It is no longer a mute spectator. Ultimately, laws are there for every crime," he said.

Katdare said she has continued to work in Indore without problems after local authorities explained to residents what the health care workers were doing.

The increase in attacks worldwide is hard to measure, because many cases go unreported, said Larissa Fast, a researcher at the University of Manchester in England who leads a project tracking attacks on health care workers. "We do have numbers, but we know they are not reflective of the true reality."

The reasons for the attacks vary. Fear is a major player. And rumors from assertions that health care workers are spreading the virus to misinformation about causes or treatments can contribute to violence, Fast said.

Lies have an effect even in the U.K., where people across the country stand on their porches and balconies every Thursday to applaud health care workers for fighting the pandemic. Susan Masters, director of nursing, policy and practice at Britain's Royal College of Nursing, tweeted in March: "I hear from community nurses that they are being heckled at and verbally abused in the street and called 'disease spreaders.'"

An ambulance authority in the U.K. launched an online campaign condemning the assaults as #unacceptable.

The agency, the South Western Ambulance Service, said it recorded a 16 percent increase in violence against its paramedics and other health care workers in the last year through April compared with the same period the previous year  although it has not looked specifically at the number of pandemic-related incidents.

Most recently, a 43-year-old man in Stroud, about 100 miles west of London, was sentenced to 20 weeks in jail for threatening a paramedic and then coughing in his face, police said last month.

Attacking health care workers is not new, Fast said. Violence is often directed at health care workers in war to prevent certain groups from getting care.

Image: Dr. Trupti Katdare (Courtesy of Dr. Trupti Katdare with the Indore Health and Administration Team.)

Last week, gunmen stormed a hospital operated by Doctors Without Borders in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack, and the Islamic State terrorist group has remained silent.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says reports have emerged of incidents not just in conflict zones but also on public transportation and even in the homes of health care workers.

Annette Kennedy, president of the International Council of Nurses, said in a statement last week: "Stigmatization and violence against nurses and other health workers in some countries is shocking; the only response is zero-tolerance."

Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak

Andrea Melissa Peniche Kantun, 27, a secretary at a public-run hospital in Merida, Mexico, said she's worried for her mother, Ligia Esther Kantun, 59  "the person that I love most"  who is a nurse at the hospital. She was attacked April 8 when she stopped to buy water.

"When she got out of her vehicle ... a man in a black car passed by and threw boiling coffee on her back," Kantun said.

The assailant has not been found.

Although the injuries were minor, Kantun said, her mother is now afraid to wear her uniform outside the hospital.

Image: Health worker in Mexico (Jose Luis Gonzalez / Reuters)

And she was relatively lucky. Some of the dozens of health care workers who have been attacked in Mexico in recent weeks have had bleach thrown at them. In one case, three female medical workers were found killed, according to the newspaper El Universal.

That prompted Mexico's National Union of Social Security Workers, which represents health care workers, to call for improved security.

"Nobody, absolutely nobody, should violate the integrity of health workers in any circumstance, and even less in the middle of a health emergency like we are living with COVID-19," Dr. Arturo Olivares Cerda, secretary general of the union, said in a statement.

Kantun said that if she had the opportunity to speak to the man who injured her mother, she would want to make him and others like him understand the damage they are doing.

"Today the medical and nursing staff are fighting to save us. They are risking their lives and their families to save yours," she said. "We owe thanks and respect to everyone who is working in a hospital."




When John Moyo (not his real name) relocated to the United Kingdom, his decision was met with mixed feelings.





In the eyes of his family, John was doing well as a teacher in Zimbabwe. He had risen to be a headmaster.





When he kissed Zimbabwe goodbye, nobody believed that John might not come back. While in the UK, John retrained and became a nurse. The new profession brought so many opportunities in the UK.





It brought immigration status and job security. His family was now leading a modest life and besides the UK family, John became the bread winner in the extended family back in Zimbabwe.





John died recently after testing positive for Covid-19. The news of his death was devastating and hard to believe for the family.





His traumatised son Tinevimbo shared the following story: No one realises how hard it is to plan a funeral, especially when it is for someone you saw and talked to yesterday. Someone of your blood. Someone you truly love.





The weight of the loss alone was already enough to fill my entire body with stress, taking me down like I am carrying a tonne of bricks.





Little did I know that was just the beginning of it.





I am going to tell you about my worst experience at a funeral home, and I ask that you read this with compassion and an open heart. This narrative is meant to shake you in your chair and ask you to make sure you dont know anyone whos doing business this way at their funeral home.





A man, who ushered me into the office at the parlour was already angry. I understood him because Covid-19 alone was claiming over a thousand people a day. I was told my dad was to be cremated. I said hello? My father is a Zimbabwean of the Mbire tribe. The Mbires cannot be cremated! I wondered as I tried to understand the message. I was beside myself. I wanted to understand what cremation is.





Cremation is a process that transforms the remains of a person who has died into ashes using intense heat. These ashes are in fact tiny fragments of bone. Once the cremation is complete, the ashes are returned to the family of the person who has died.





The machine used to cremate bodies is called a cremator. A building in which cremations take place is called a crematorium.





In short, cremation is reducing a beloved one into ashes. If you want to repatriate the remains of your beloved one, cremation is the only way out in this era of Covid-19.





This was the most painful news for my grandparents. It has never been done in our tribe that a Mumbire can be cremated.





There are a lot of rituals which needed to be followed, but these can never be followed when a Mumbire has been reduced to ashes. The cremation service is the most painful thing for a loved one.





At one time you see the lifeless body of your beloved in an expensive coffin and in a twinkle of an eye, everything is reduced to a tiny box of ashes. God have mercy.





The World Health Organisation had given advice against repatriation. So the only way to repatriate Johns body was to cremate him. This is unZimbabwean and contrary to what we stand for and to who we are.





If you have not attended a funeral with a cremation before, you might be wondering what to expect: how long a cremation service takes, and what you need to know.













Johns coffin was taken to the location for the service and placed on a raised platform. The funeral service was held in a special dedicated room in the crematorium itself, this is because all Covid-19 victims are sealed in plastics then put in coffins. Only five people are allowed.





The room and social distancing is strictly enforced.





You can imagine the pain of seeing your mother in anguish, but you cannot hug her or get closer to comfort her.





Its important to arrive on time, as cremation services are usually held to a tight schedule. My fathers service took only twenty minutes.





Families can book more time (usually for an additional fee) in normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances. There is no order of service, which normally tells you what will happen at the cremation service, as well as the details of any songs, prayers and readings.













The committal began before it started and ended before it began. At the end of the service, the coffin was taken out of the room to begin the process of cremation.





Curtains were quickly moved around the coffin, and out of our view. Within seconds the funeral director showed guests the way out.





There was no opportunity at this point to see the flowers that had been donated, and to give condolences to the family.





It was fast-tracked. It ended as quickly as it had begun. Under normal circumstances, I would have been taken aside to be briefed by the funeral director and the casket with the remains would have been kept in a cool, temperature-controlled room in the funeral home until the service can take place.





Ahead of the funeral, the person who has died will be washed and dressed in clothing chosen by the family. But this was not to be in this case.













No one was allowed to touch my fathers body. We realised that before cremation, shoes with rubber soles and soft toys were not allowed, as well as items like bottles, which explode.





Items with a battery in, like mobile phones, are also taken out of the coffin before cremation. Before cremation takes place, the cremation chamber is heated to around 870-980 C.





The coffin is then placed in the chamber, where a column of flame ignites it. Cremation took up to three hours, after which only bone fragments were left.





Next, a powerful magnet was used to pull metal fragments out of the ashes. I was told a kind of grinder called a cremulator was used to turn the bone fragments into a fine, grey-white powder.





The ashes were then placed in a container called an urn and given to me and my mother. It was then left for the family to transport the ashes to Zimbabwe.





So many questions remain in the minds of the bereaved. Are the ashes we are burying solely ashes of the dead. Are we not carrying ashes of others. How do you know that you have transported the ashes of the beloved one to Zimbabwe.





Now there is no flight taking anybody home. The only flight available is expensive. It also feels bad to keep the remains of ones father trapped in a small container in the house.





We are waiting for the next affordable flight home. Herald




Three decades of restaurant jobs have been lost in two months, as six million workers are now unemployed and industry employment has fallen to its lowest level since 1989.

Stark data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and collated by the National Restaurant Association reveals that a staggering six million restaurant workers have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, as non-essential businesses were forced to shutter to slow the spread of the deadly virus.

In April alone, eating and drinking places lost 5.5 million jobs on a seasonally-adjusted basis, which came on top of the half-million jobs already lost in the industry in March when the outbreak was ramping up across the nation and states issued stay-at-home orders.

Millions of Americans across all industries have found themselves unemployed overnight amid the pandemic, with a devastating jobs report released earlier this month revealing 20.5 million jobs were lost and the unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.

Stark data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and collated by the National Restaurant Association reveals that a staggering six million restaurant workers have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, as non-essential businesses were forced to shutter to slow the spread of the deadly virus

The data from the BLS shows the restaurant industry has been hardest-hit, losing three times more jobs than any other industry and making up around a quarter of the 20.5 million total job losses across the entire US economy in April.

Restaurants now employ just half the number they did two months ago, with only 6.4 million employees on payroll at eating and drinking places in April compared to the 12 million-strong workforce in pre-pandemic times.

This abomination of jobs has wiped out the restaurant job growth made over the last three decades, and sent employment levels in the industry to their lowest since May 1989.

The economic toll of the pandemic has been felt across all levels of the industry from fine dining restaurants to fast food chains, with about $80 billion lost in revenue in March and April, according to estimates from the National Restaurant Association.

Individual restaurant sales are also down a devastating 78 percent on average compared to this time last year, even allowing for the fact that many have tried to stay open offering online delivery and pick-up service.

Millions of Americans across all industries have lost their jobs amid the pandemic, with a devastating jobs report released earlier this month revealing 20.5 million jobs were lost in April and the unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent, the highest rate since the Great Depression

Experts have predicted that one in four restaurants will go out of business as a result of the weeks-long lockdown measures put in place by the majority of US states to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Famed restaurateur Thomas Keller, behind restaurants including The French Laundry and Per Se, told CNN Wednesday that the current federal government aid for businesses across the US is failing to provide much-needed relief for restaurants.

The Paycheck Protection Program was created by Congress and designed to give money to small businesses with 500 employees or less to help them survive the economic downturn during the coronavirus crisis, ensuring they can still pay their employees and bills, and avoid mass layoffs.

Famed restaurateur Thomas Keller, behind restaurants including The French Laundry and Per Se, told CNN Wednesday that the current federal government aid for businesses across the US is failing to provide much-needed relief for restaurants

"Restaurants are the most intimate business out there. And we want to be close... Our guests are there so that they have that experience... That's going to be a difficult reopening for all of us."



Chef and restauranteur Thomas Keller on the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic pic.twitter.com/YKeFe6haJ7  CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) May 20, 2020

Companies that use the money to avoid layoffs will not have to pay the money back as long as 75 percent of the funds are used to pay staff.

Keller pointed out that restaurants cannot use the PPP loans for wages because they are unable to rehire their workforce as sites stay closed - while the restaurant owners continue to grapple with the prospect of affording restaurant operating costs.

'We have not been able to take the PPP loans as we cannot open our restaurants,' he said.

'The restaurant profession is much much different to other businesses.'

Keller said restaurant owners are urging the White House to make changes to the loan.

'We're not asking for a lot. We're asking for an extension of the timeline from eight weeks to 24 weeks and the date that it begins the date we can open our restaurant,' he said.

Keller warned that even when restaurants can reopen there will be limits to this reopening and additional costs for owners.

'In 24 weeks we don't believe our restaurants will be running at 100 percent capacity,' he said.

He pointed out that tourists will not travel to cities like New York and visit restaurants, restaurants will have to run at limited capacity and PPE needed to protect returning workers will create an additional financial burden on restaurants.

People eat sitting outside of a restaurant on Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard in Florida on May 18 as some restaurants start reopening in the state

The restaurant industry has been hardest-hit by the pandemic, losing three times more jobs than any other industry across the US

Some leading restaurant owners including Danny Meyer have even said they will not open dine-in service until there is a vaccine.

This means the industry is unlikely to regain its job growth for some time.

Research released last week showed that restaurants that have reopened in states where stay-at-home orders have been relaxed are struggling to welcome back diners.

Data from OpenTable's booking software shows that reservations and walk-in customers to restaurants in reopened states like Georgia, Texas and South Carolina are still down around 82 percent compared to this time last year, as consumer confidence remains low and widespread unemployment has left many Americans unable to splurge on dining out.

In Georgia, restaurant reservations were still down 92 percent on May 13 compared to this time last year.

The state started reopening aggressively on April 27 when it allowed restaurants to reopen for dine-in services with social distancing measures in place, including 10 customers per 500 square feet.

Smith & Wollensky restaurant remains boarded up on May 12. Restaurants now employ just half the number they did two months ago, with only 6.4 million workers in April compared to 12 million pre-pandemic

A New York restaurant remains closed. Restaurant job growth made over the last three decades has been wiped out in the pandemic

Texas, which allowed restaurants to reopen at a 25 percent reduced capacity from May 1, is still down 83 percent for reservations.

The data shows that people are most willing to eat out again in states like Alabama and South Carolina but reservations are still down 77 percent. In Arizona, there is still a 78 percent drop in bookings.

Meanwhile, Utah is down 88 percent, Nebraska is down 89 percent, Tennessee is down 84 percent and Oklahoma is down 79 percent.

The data from OpenTable showed restaurants in most states started seeing a huge decline in the number of reservations in mid-March when COVID-19 infections started spiking across the country.

The state-wide lockdown put in place across much of the country by late March saw reservations decline by 100 percent as restaurants were forced to close or switch to takeout only.

The data shows a slight increase in reservations again at the end of April when several states started lifting their restrictions in a bid to kickstart their economies again.

The trend suggests that even though states are now reopening, there won't be a sharp bounce back for the hard hit hospitality industry, which saw a record five million job losses last month alone.

Despite some states lifting restrictions and allowing restaurants to reopen as early as late April, data from OpenTable 's booking software shows that visits to restaurants in states like Georgia, Texas and South Carolina are still down considerably

The state-wide lockdown put in place across much of the country by late March saw reservations decline by 100 percent as restaurants were forced to close or switch to takeout only. The data shows a slight increase in reservations again at the end of April when several states started lifting their restrictions in a bid to kickstart their economies again

The restaurant industry has become a symbol of the economic toll wrought on Americans as millions have lost their jobs to the pandemic.

Government figures released early March showed the unemployment rate reached 14.7 percent in April, and employers shed a stunning 20.5 million jobs with a decade's worth of job growth was wiped out in a single month.

But even those figures failed to capture the full scale of the damage with the government saying many workers in April were counted as employed but absent from work when they should have been counted as temporarily unemployed.

Millions of other laid-off workers didn't look for a new job in April, likely discouraged by their prospects in a mostly shuttered economy, and weren't included, either.

If all those people had been counted as unemployed, the jobless rate would have reached nearly 24 percent.

This cemented economists' expectations for a third straight month of massive job losses in May.

Almost 36.5 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in the last two months, with the Labor Department announcing Thursday another 2.98 million laid-off workers applied the week before.

This added to the 33 million who have sought aid in the two months since the coronavirus first forced millions of businesses to close their doors and shrink their workforces.
LANSING, MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be issuing an emergency declaration later on Tuesday, May 19 for those areas affected by the Edenville Dam collapse, according to a press release.

The dam is structurally unsound and failed after Midland saw 3 to 4 inches of rain since Sunday, May 17, according to The National Weather Service.

The Tittabawassee River near downtown Midland was 26.5 feet high as of 5 a.m., Tuesday and anything above 24 feet is considered flooding. The river is expected to be at 29.9 feet by Wednesday morning.

Midland Mall, located at 6800 Eastman Ave., as well as Midland High School, located at 1301 Eastlawn Dr., are available as emergency shelters for those affected.

Under the emergency declaration, Whitmer will provide resources to state and local officials to respond to the dam collapse. The State Emergency Operations Center has already activated and is fully engaged in the response, the release stated.

State officials from different departments have been on-site throughout the day.

Whitmers team will update constituents on the situation as more information is available, the press release stated.

Read More

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Midland County residents urged to leave homes due to imminent dam failure

Roads closed across Mid-Michigan counties due to flooding

Heavy rain floods ditches, rivers, roads across Mid-Michigan
Citywide

180 Jones St. is guarded around the clock by a city contractor who is paid $35.41 per hour. | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline

The city of San Francisco is paying a private security contractor nearly $6,000 per week to guard an empty Tenderloin parking lot  as ad-hoc tent villages of homeless people continue to crowd the adjacent sidewalks.

The city-owned lot at 180 Jones St. (at Turk), which is under the jurisdiction of the Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), will ultimately be the site of 70-80 permanently affordable housing units.

But with construction still two years away, the lot was slated to become a 24-hour drug sobering center this spring. An initial plan called for 15 tents to be erected on the site, with nurses and peer counselors to assist people in the throes of meth-induced psychosis.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is now no timeline for that project, according to Max Barnes, spokesperson for the citys Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

The proposed drug sobering center has ongoing support as an evidence-based model to help people who use drugs," Barnes said via email. "But the use of 180 Jones for that purpose has been put on hold as the [EOC] evaluates a number of potential publicly owned sites for its ongoing COVID-19 response."

In the meantime, the empty lot is gated off and guarded  even as the surrounding sidewalk is crowded with tents. A security firm is receiving $35.41/hour to guard the empty lot: 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The lot at 180 Jones is fenced off while tents crowd neighboring sidewalks. | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the proliferation of sidewalk tents in the Tenderloin has caused an uproar. Residents, especially the elderly and disabled, say the sidewalks are often too choked with tents to use at all  much less at a six-foot social distance.

The tents' residents, who have little access to sanitation, also cannot safely distance themselves from pedestrians or each other.

Last month, a coalition of Tenderloin residents and businesses, led by UC Hastings, sued the city over the sidewalk conditions.

Tents blocking doorways are "literally keeping owners from opening their essential businesses," Tenderloin Merchants Association president Aref Egaali told Hoodline earlier this month. "The entire sidewalk is [already] unsafe to walk upon, and it is impossible to practice social distancing."

Story continues

Local advocates say that the 180 Jones lot could easily be transformed into a city-operated safe sleeping site, with appropriate spacing for tents, bathrooms and social services.

Last week, the Tenderloin got its first of these sites, with room for 50 spaced-out tents on a fenced-off section of Fulton Street near Civic Center. But it's already at capacity, and the neighborhood's sidewalks remain crowded with people who could not secure a spot.

Socially distanced tents at the Tenderloin's new safe sleeping site on Fulton Street. | Image: Urban Alchemy

In fact, the 180 Jones St. lot could have been a safe sleeping site already, long before the pandemic began.

Last fall, the MOHCD solicited proposals for a temporary use of the lot while the affordable housing project underwent development.

It received just one offer, from the Saint Francis Homelessness Challenge (SFHC), which called for turning the lot into a safe, organized tiny-home village with room for 20 resident-stewards.

SFHC's founder and director, Amy Farah Weiss, had a plan in place to pay for the project, using $150,000 in funds from an anonymous early employee at Facebook.

But in December, the city put Weiss' proposal on hold, ultimately dropping it in favor of the drug sobering center. Now, Weiss says, the lot is still empty, even as the thousands of dollars spent to keep it that way could have been redirected to helping the unhoused people that surround it.

"If a contracting firm has received over $35/hour, 24/7, since the shelter-in-place order was instated in mid-March, the City could have used those same funds to purchase a new shower trailer  and had $10,000 left over for operating costs and other supplies, Weiss said.

She knows, because SFHC purchased a shower trailer itself in April. It initially resided in Bayview's MLK Park, where it was used at an ad-hoc safe sleeping site run by nonprofit Mother Brown's Dining Room. But the city shut that site down Thursday, moving residents to city-leased recreational vehicles.

While the shower trailer is eventually intended for SFHS' next tiny-home village, Weiss offered to bring it where it was needed in the short term.

That ended up being the safe sleeping site in Civic Center, where the SFHS and nonprofit Urban Alchemy are operating it at no charge to the city.

Since the start of the pandemic, Weiss said, she has repeatedly offered SFHCs support to help address the mounting issues on Tenderloin sidewalks, but has received little to no interest from the Mayors office or the EOC.

She's frustrated that city agencies won't address her inquiries about starting a new safe sleeping site, even as they accept the free showers she's providing to their existing one.

"Why won't the city partner with us now, especially when they specifically aim to launch coordinated safe sleeping sites?" she asked.

Luna (MLK Park volunteer/neighbor), Alex, and Aljeron (SFHC organizer/steward) helped deliver SFHC's shower trailer to the Civic Center safe sleeping site last week. | Photo: Amy Farah Weiss

The EOC's Barnes defended the city's spending to guard the 180 Jones site, explaining that it's standard procedure that City property under MOHCDs jurisdiction have a security presence to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the surrounding neighborhood.

Similar 24/7 security is in place at future affordable housing developments at 1515 South Van Ness Ave., 967 Mission St., and 730 Stanyan St., he said.

The security contract for the 730 Stanyan lot, formerly home to the Haight location of McDonald's, will end next week, as the space becomes a safe sleeping site for unhoused people in District 5.

While Barnes did not rule out the potential for 180 Jones to do the same during the ongoing public health crisis, he did not suggest it would be opened for that use anytime soon.

"The EOC is evaluating the feasibility of a multitude of sites for the Tenderloins response to COVID-19," he wrote.

The former McDonald's lot at 730 Stanyan is transitioning to become a city-sanctioned safe sleeping site. | Photo: Camden Avery/Hoodline

While she's in favor of any form of safe shelter for those in need, Weiss believes that one of SFHC's organized tiny-home villages would be an improvement on the existing safe sleeping sites.

Instead of just keeping residents safe and socially distanced, she said, the villages would allow residents to take on responsibility and accountability for their collective living spaces, promoting stability and recovery from mental-health or substance use problems.

She also has data to prove it: SFHC interviewed 100 unhoused Tenderloin residents, all of whom said they would be willing to enter a team living situation. Many appeared in a video made by the group, calling on the Mayor to support the project.

Its not just about street homelessness," Weiss said. "Its about anyone with housing insecurity, which is a lot of people the citys solutions are not yet directly addressing."

Weiss still hopes that the Mayor's office and the EOC will reach out to her, so "we can lighten the load by using our networks experience and expertise," she said.

In the meantime, she's been communicating with the plaintiffs in the UC Hastings-led lawsuit, helping to figure out next steps that will keep Tenderloin residents  both housed and unhoused  safe.

The consistent message in [San Francisco's COVID-19] response remains that we need to put them somewhere, rather than using this opportunity to build a community, Weiss said.
Larry Aubry, a columnist with the Los Angeles Sentinel and a longtime community activist, died at age 86. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Larry Aubry, an icon of black activist Los Angeles who witnessed white resistance to school integration and the Watts and 1992 riots without losing faith that hard work and outrage would manifest racial justice, has died.

Aubry, 86, died May 16 after a short illness, writer Erin Aubry Kaplan, one of his five children, said. A writer as well as an activist, he composed more than 1,700 hard-hitting columns over 33 years for the Los Angeles Sentinel and served two terms on the Inglewood School Board.

But it was his decades of social, political and community activism on issues including black education, job training, police accountability, fair housing and reparations that shaped his life. The groups he helped found or lead spanned the early civil rights era of the 1960s to Black Lives Matter, and included Advocates for Black Strategic Alternatives, which most recently fought to expand rent control, and the Black Community Clergy and Labor Alliance, which has worked on housing and charter school issues.

"When I was young and asked my mom what he did, she said he went to meetings," said Aubry Kaplan, who is a contributing writer to the L.A. Times' Opinion section. "It took a while to understand what he did and why it was bigger than us as a family."

Aubry mentored generations of African American activists, some of whom went on to win elected office. But he also helped guide and support younger activists who believed that the black leadership had grown complacent and too accommodating to the status quo.

"Larry was very much the godfather of South-Central Los Angeles," said Damien Goodmon, founder and executive director of the Crenshaw Subway Coalition, "not in the sense of a kingmaker, but as the conscience of black L.A."

Aubry worked from an "unapologetically black perspective" -- his words -- but helped lead a rainbow of multicultural collaboratives before they were called that. "It was never either/or for him," Aubry Kaplan said. "There was a lot of subtlety to him."

Story continues

He did not hesitate to call out allies, former and current, whom he felt had abandoned their obligation to represent the black community's best interests -- at times in an audible tone during public sessions.

"Larry didn't know how to whisper," said Melina Abdullah, founder of Black Lives Matter. "He would tell everything just as it is, and he wasn't shy about it. "

"My father always said, 'I don't have friends. I have issues,' " said Aubry Kaplan. "His card read, 'Larry Aubry ... black issues,'" Goodmon laughed. "That was his card!"

In his columns and interviews, he said repeatedly that it would take the "sustained righteous outrage" of the 1960s plus action to change social conditions. He never lost that passion, friends said.

Born in New Orleans, Aubry arrived in Los Angeles at age 9 and soon found that segregation in pools and restaurants had followed him here. With racial housing covenants falling, his mother transferred him from all-black Jefferson High to nearly all-white Fremont High because she thought it was a better school, he told Times columnist Steve Lopez in 2005. Aubry said he was petrified.

There were signs out front that said, No Niggers. " Aubry said. "The community and students were there with banners  and on the school grounds, tar babies were hanging in effigy.

From that seminal experience his activism was born, Aubry Kaplan said. "He was impatient with the idea Los Angeles was so much more enlightened," she said. During the Watts riots, he watched police shoot at looters outside an appliance store.

An old jazz hand, he played the trumpet, first professionally and later informally. The lingo resurfaced in his reaction to President Trump, Aubry Kaplan recalled.

"He'd say, 'Wow. That guy is just way out there,' " she said. "I thought that was just perfect."

Aubry graduated from UCLA in psychology, then started a master's program at USC, but left without finishing to get into the streets and start working.

"Grass roots was his thing," Aubry Kaplan said. "He didn't sit around and pontificate."

He worked in social services, including probation. His day job for 34 years was as consultant to the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, formed to promote interracial progress after the so-called "Zoot Suit Riots" of 1944, which saw mobs of white military men beat up Latinos in the streets of Los Angeles for several days running.

Larry Aubry outside the Southern California Library at 61st and Vermont. In 1965, Aubry, a probation officer, witnessed police shooting at looters on the site, which at the time was an appliance store. Aubry's years of columns for the Los Angeles Sentinel are part of the library's collection. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said he worked with Aubry on black issues for four decades. "He was a substantial presence," Ridley-Thomas said. "You might have called him ubiquitous."

Goodmon remembered a no-holds-barred school board election in which Ridley-Thomas and Aubry backed different candidates. The rhetoric turned rowdy; Ridley-Thomas was accused of trying to steal a board seat.

"The next day the picture in the paper was of the two of them laughing in front of the school board," said Goodmon. "He was a very serious man, but he was also really funny."

Maulana Karenga, chair of the Africana Studies department at Cal State Long Beach and creator of the Kwanzaa celebration, said he first worked with Aubry on the Opportunities Industrialization Center, a national effort started in the 1960s to train the urban poor for jobs their color had denied them. More recently, they co-chaired the Black Community Clergy and Labor Alliance.

"As a community leader, he saw leadership as a moral vocation and acted accordingly," Karenga said in a statement on Aubry's death.

"Larry Aubry was a rarity in a city in which discussions of race are too-often guarded or hedged," L.A. City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said in a Facebook post, adding that Aubry was one of his mentors.

Aubry mourned the erosion of black unity after integration and said that African Americans had internalized white people's individualistic, capitalist values -- without their resources. But he never retreated to cynicism.

"He was frequently disappointed but never discouraged," said Aubry Kaplan. "To the end he was still joining groups and starting groups."

"He saw what freedom could look like, what justice could look like and he was convinced we could have it," Abdullah said.

In his final Sentinel column 13 months ago, Aubry mused, "Some might wonder why Im stopping now, but others might wonder how and why I kept on going so long?" Then he answered his own question.

"I say a kind of farewell, for real soldiers never really quit, they just move to other positions on the battlefield for the justice and good life we all deserve and will eventually achieve through unity, strength and determination."

In addition to Aubry Kaplan, he is survived by his children Arhomuz Aubry, Kelly Cormier, Kris Aubry and Heather Aubry. A memorial is out for now because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, but friends are planning a tribute.
After battling leukemia for two years, veteran actor Rishi Kapoor breathed his last on April 30, 2020. His demise came as a huge shock for everyone, who were still trying to recuperate from the loss of another actor Irrfan Khan, who had passed away on April 29, 2020.

Twenty days after Rishi Kapoor's death, his actor-brother Randhir Kapoor recently told a leading daily that the family is trying to cope with the loss.

A Hindustan Times report quoted the Housefull 2 actor as saying, "God has been kind and the family is holding up well. We are taking one day at a time, but we all miss him every day. We shared a common bond over friends, family, food and films."

Randhir thanked everyone who stood by the family during this tough phase, and added, "People across the world showered their love on him. We have been flooded with condolence messages, and some have even shared their memories or their personal experiences with my brother. It is impossible to reply to all of them, but I'd like to thank everyone and just want to tell his fans to remember him for his movies, for his smile and undying spirit."

Meanwhile, Rishi Kapoor's wife Neetu Kapoor and daughter Riddhima Kapoor have been keeping the late actor's memories alive by sharing various throwback pictures on their respective social media pages. Last week, the Kapoor family had organized a close-knit prayer meet at Rishi Kapoor's Bandra residence.

Before his death, Rishi Kapoor was reportedly shooting for Hitesh Bhatia's directorial debut Sharmaji Namkeen. The film also stars Juhi Chawla. As per reports, the movie will now be completed using CGI, and will be released as a final tribute to the late actor.

Neetu Kapoor Wishes This Throwback Family Photo With Rishi Kapoor Would Stay As It Is

Neil Nitin Mukesh On How His Father Is Coping With Rishi Kapoor's Death: He Has Been Extremely Upset
GENEVA, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today celebrates one year since the go-live of the EU TPD (Tobacco Product Directive) in Europe. Dentsu Tracking, a brand of Dentsu Aegis Network, is collaborating with the European Commission and 27 Member States to design and operate the technical solution for supply chain control across the European tobacco industry, in compliance with the WHO FCTC Protocol.

This is by far the world's largest platform in terms of total events and products tracked. To date, the system has tracked more than 32 billion products and 5 billion events occurring at more than 750 thousand registered Economic Operators across 27 EU Member States.

"The EU TPD solution brings a new global precedent for government supply chain control. The current design and architecture set a new technical standard, and the insights from this first year fully confirm its success," said Philippe Castella, Managing Director, Dentsu Tracking.

"The European model ensures rigorous standards for compliance and takes an innovative approach to the Protocol by demanding full traceability at every step in the supply chain. This may become the model for future supply chain innovation and regulation across other industries, like alcohol and beverages."

Innovating with governments to fight illicit trade

Across the EU, governments and law enforcement agencies now have a tool that enables full visibility across the total tobacco supply chain.

"The system is a tool for authorities to help implement supply chain control policies based on data-driven insights across large data lakes and to use these insights to reduce the availability of illicit products," said Benjamin Phelip, Sales & Marketing Director, Dentsu Tracking.

Country government and authorities can use the data and visibility from the EU Secondary Repository (designed, implemented, and operated by Dentsu Tracking) to identify out-of-normal trade patterns and to enable further innovation in tobacco control policy to help fight against illicit trade.

Dentsu Tracking's solution ensures near real-time availability of data, meaning an almost instant response to macro-level queries, (for example, identification of trends and anomalies, or market statistics) or micro-level queries (for example, inspection and verification of a single cigarette pack, a specific warehouse, or a specific truck).

This solution is more rigorous than any existing system due both to its size and to the regulatory requirement for online enforcement. Online enforcement means that data is not just being passively stored. Instead, at every step there is a process of data reporting, validation, and authorization, all happening in less than sixty seconds.

This means billions of unique packs, being tracked at thousands of sites from manufacturers to retailers across Europe.

Links: For further information on the EU regulatory framework to fight illicit trade in tobacco products, please visit the European Commission. See also the WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

About

Dentsu Tracking is a brand of Dentsu Aegis Network. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Core product and service solutions include traceability, security, industrial IT, business analytics, and supply chain digital transformation. On 21 December 2018, the European Commission appointed Dentsu Tracking as the sole provider to operate the central platform of an EU-wide traceability system.

www.dentsutracking.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1170717/Dentsu_Tracking_Logo.jpg
Carrying around 1,200 migrants to Uttar Pradesh, the 100th Shramik Special Train departed from Ludhiana railway station on Wednesday at 9.50pm.

Since May 5, as many as 1.20 lakh migrants have been sent home from Ludhiana railway station to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.

On Wednesday, as many as 21 trains departed from the Ferozepur Division. These included 12 trains from Ludhiana, three from Amritsar and two each from Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Katra.

Divisional railway manager Rajesh Agarwal said as many as 198 trains have ferried around 2.37 lakh migrants from stations of Ferozepur division so far.
Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice Responds to Declassification of Email

The last national security adviser of the Obama administration claimed that a newly declassified email showed no discussions of law enforcement matters took place.

The email makes clear that no discussion of law enforcement matters or investigations took place, despite dishonest accusations to the contrary, Erin Pelton, a former government spokeswoman, said in a statement on behalf of Susan Rice.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declassified a block of text from an email Rice wrote to herself on Jan. 20, 2017, her last day serving in the Obama administration.

The email recounted what transpired during a Jan. 5, 2017, meeting in the Oval Office of the White House.

In the newly revealed portion of the email, Rice said then-FBI Director James Comey told President Barack Obama that he was doing things by the book.

Comey related concerns about retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the incoming national security adviser for president-elect Donald Trump, because of conversations Flynn was having with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time. Comey said there was no evidence that Flynn passed classified information to the Russian. He also claimed the level of communication was unusual.

Then-President Barack Obama, left, and then-FBI Director James Comey in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Dec. 3, 2015. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Obama asked if Comey was saying the National Security Council should avoid passing sensitive Russia-related information to Flynn. Comey replied potentially, according to Rices account.

Pelton said the Obama administration had legitimate counterintelligence concerns about Flynns conversations.

Thus, President Obama sought guidance from the FBI as to whether or not it was prudent to share detailed Russia-related information with him during the transition process, she added.

After asserting Rices message showed no discussion of law enforcement matters or investigations took place, Pelton said: the email clearly states that President Obama stressed that he was not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective.

Rice, she continued, ended up briefing Flynn for over 12 hours and led the council in preparing and delivering to him over 100 briefing memos.

White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice, listens to incoming White House National Security Advisor Gen. Michael Flynn, speak at the 2017 Passing The Baton conference at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington on Jan. 10, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Rice did not alter the way she briefed Michael Flynn on Russia as a result of Director Comeys response, the statement said.

Rice reiterated calls for Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, to release the unredacted transcripts of the calls between Flynn and the Russian ambassador.

Richard Grenell in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 8, 2019. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The American people deserve the full transcripts so they can judge for themselves Michael Flynns conduct, Pelton said.

Rice wrote the email on Jan. 20, over two weeks after the meeting took place and the same day Trump was sworn into office.

Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, said during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News that Rice lacks credibility.

She cant be trusted. And shes proved that, Conway said. If Rice becomes the running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, she would be asked in a debate: What did you know? When did you know it? Why are you writing emails to yourself?'

Yates

Another recently released document disclosed another perspective on the meeting.

Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general at the time, told the special counsel appointed in 2017 to oversee the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller, that she was stunned to learn Obama already knew information about Flynns calls with the Russian ambassador.

A larger meeting initially took place in the Oval Office before Obama dismissed everyone but Yates, Rice, Comey, and then-Vice President Biden.

Obama told the group he didnt want additional information about the matter but wanted to know whether the White House should, in light of the information, treat Flynn differently.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Yates was so surprised by the information she was hearing that she was having a hard time processing it and listening to the conversation at the same time, the agents who interviewed her wrote in a report about the interview.

She did remember Comey mentioning the Logan Act, a centuries-old law thats never been successfully prosecuted.

Flynn was interviewed by FBI agents later in January 2017 about his conversations with Kisylak. He eventually pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. But he moved in recent months to withdraw the plea, asserting misconduct, including by his own attorneys, who he said had a conflict of interest in the case. The Department of Justice also filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying the interview lacked a legitimate investigative purpose.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who was appointed by Obama, declined to immediately dismiss the case, instead appointing a retired judge to advise him on whether Flynn should face a perjury charge.

Flynns lawyers asked a higher court to order the judge to let the motion to dismiss go through.
The Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan and Russia held online talks to discuss export potential of the textile industries of the two countries, imports of goods and interaction through commodity exchanges. The heads and representatives of the Ministry of Textile Industry and the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan also participated in the online talks.

It was noted at the talks that Russia, being one of the main trade partners of Turkmenistan, is interested in purchasing Turkmen textile products. This process is facilitated by the State Commodity and Raw Materials Exchange of Turkmenistan, acting as the main regulator of export-import operations in the country. In this regard, the sides discussed a number of measures to diversify mutually beneficial partnerships in the field of trade in textile products.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2022
Senate Intelligence Panel Approves Ratcliffe for National Intelligence Director

By VOA News May 19, 2020

The Senate Intelligence Committee approved the nomination Tuesday of Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe for the position of National Intelligence director.

The committee's decision on the nomination was a narrow partisan vote of 8 to 7, with all Democrats on the opposing side. If approved by the full Senate, Ratcliffe would become the permanent director of National Intelligence  a position left vacant since Dan Coats resigned in July 2019, and which is being temporarily held by Richard Grenell.

Ratcliffe was initially nominated by President Donald Trump late last July, but he withdrew after tepid support from Republican senators, scrutiny about his credentials and limited intelligence experience.

Trump's Pick for Intelligence Chief is Longtime Loyalist

John Ratcliffe of Texas, who criticized former special counsel Robert Mueller in hearing for report on obstruction, could head national intelligence system

The Republican congressman's experience, which includes serving on the House Intelligence Committee for one term, is a notable contrast to his predecessors, who generally have had decades of experience in the military or foreign service and have held positions in the intelligence community.

During his confirmation process by the Senate panel, Ratcliffe has worked to shed his image as a Trump loyalist, contrary to his previous supportive tweets highlighting the president's "historic accomplishments" achieved "with one hand tied behind his back."

While Ratcliffe's nomination was first met with lukewarm responses from Republican senators, former Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr had given the Texas congressman his full support.

"I believe he understands the challenges facing the Intelligence Community in the 21st century and is ready to work to meet them.  I look forward to advancing Ratcliffe's nomination and supporting it when it comes before the full Senate," Burr said after Ratcliffe's Senate hearing May 5.

Burr stepped away from his committee chairmanship, however, amid the FBI's investigation into stock trades he made prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Senator Burr Steps Aside as Committee Chair Amid COVID Stock Sale Probe

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman being investigated over whether he used inside information to sell stock before coronavirus sparked steep market selloff

Ratcliffe's nomination will need to be confirmed by the full Senate in a vote likely to be held after Memorial Day, according to congressional aides.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Back in February, a 17-year-old incel in Toronto fatally stabbed 24-year-old Ashley Arzaga with a machete. As you might expect, this prompted a first-degree murder charge.

Then, we got this:

While it might seem obvious just from the phrase "first-degree murder," not all murder cases are equal under the law. They take into account things like premeditation ("You had 10 notebooks detailing your plans to kill that circus clown."), and crimes that result in death, such as manslaughter ("You driving while intoxicated killed those 10 clowns in that clown car") or terrorism ("ISIS bombed that clown college."), are also treated differently. That's why it's a big deal here to link the incel movement with terrorism. It just hasn't been done before in such a high-profile way.

It's not like incels are hurting for guys who could've been tried as terrorists. Like In Canada alone, there was Alek Minassian in 2018, who ran people over with a van as "retribution" for years of rejection by women. Taking things back to the United States, Elliot Rodger shot up a sorority because he felt entitled to the attention of attractive women. Minassian is still awaiting trial, and Rodger killed himself before he could face consequences for his actions. These are stories that make international headlines -- they're jarring, they're specific, and the common thread is "involuntary celibacy."

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

These terrorists -- usually young, white men -- are acting out with violent, fatal rage meant to inspire terror in women around the globe. That is, at its core, terrorism. It names itself by what it is. It's astonishing (in the right way) that this teenager's actions against Arzaga are being labeled terrorism because it's about time something like this got the label it deserves.

All we can really do here is wait and see how this plays out, and maybe, just maybe, that it saves someone's life in the future.

Top Image: Lannyboy89/Pixabay
Let us, for once, avoid making the present rhyme with the past and instead set foot on a more enlightened path.





by Chris Wright





According to Mark Twain (supposedly), history doesnt repeat itself, but it frequently rhymes. He was right. Donald Trump, for example, rhymes with Mussolini. The decline of organized labor in recent decades rhymes with its decline in the 1920s. And the coming depression will rhyme, in many respects, with the Great Depression.





The Great Depression started in 1929 and lasted until 1939, ending only with the boost provided by a war economy. Unemployment during the Great Depression climbed to double-digit levels and remained that way for close to ten years.



For decades, in fact, it has been clear that the political economy of neoliberalism rhymes with the political economy that caused the Depression. In addition to (and in part because of) the analogous collapses of organized labor, economic inequality skyrocketed in both eras: in 1929 the richest 0.1% of families in the U.S. owned 25% of all wealth, which is almost exactly the same amount as today. Real wages in the last forty years have stagnated or even declined, as in the 1920s. What these trends, coinciding with an explosion of debt, have indicated is a dangerous weakness in aggregate demand, which has heralded an eventual collapse of markets.





Now that markets are imploding (although from an unforeseen trigger, the coronavirus pandemic), we can observe history rhyming yet again: the fiscal policy responses today, especially by states, mimic those of the Great Depression.





It is of interest to consider government policies in that earlier period, for there may be lessons to heed as states and the federal government confront our own generation-defining economic cataclysm. While political officials dont always learn from the past, at least activists and the public can.





The most striking fact about the fiscal policy of states in the 1930s is that they consistently underfunded unemployment relief, even in the years when many of them, far from being strapped for cash, had budget surpluses. This is a paradoxical and frequently forgotten fact: U.S. states ended the Depression in a much stronger financial position than when it began.





The reason is simple: it was in these years that states discovered the sales tax, and came to rely on it (together with taxes on alcohol, tobacco, gasoline, and soft drinks) for the majority of their revenue. By 1940, they had doubled the amount they collected in 1930. And yet even the wealthiest states, such as Illinois, continued to plead poverty as an excuse not to adequately fund relief for the unemployed.





It is also noteworthy that states typically preferred to enact regressive forms of taxation such as the sales tax rather than raise taxes on property, individual and corporate incomes, estates, and the like.





The very agenda of austerity, which was a near-religion for states and municipalities in the 1930s (except insofar as Franklin Roosevelts New Deal counteracted it), was not the economic necessity authorities claimed it was. It was hardly unavoidable that governments wouldas they diddeeply cut spending on such services as public health, sanitation, education, libraries, and transportation. Instead, they could have collected more taxes from corporations and the wealthy, as liberals, labor unions, Communists, and various popular organizations advocated.





In retrospect, such progressive policies seem both just and economically wise, in that they would have increased purchasing power among lower-income groups and thus expanded markets, incentivizing businesses to invest. But the political power of business groups like Chambers of Commerce, Real Estate Boards, and the National Association of Manufacturers ensured that more regressive fiscal policies were enacted and large proportions of the unemployed were left to fend for themselves.





In short, governments made choices; they were not forced to act as they did. They chose to rely on sales taxes instead of something more progressive; they chose not to spend budget surpluses on relief programs for the unemployed; they chose to cut spending on institutions that disproportionately benefited the working and middle classes.





If any of this sounds familiar, its because governments are making the same choices today (as they did following the Great Recession).

New York, for example, is cutting billions of dollars in aid to schools and Medicaid, and is sure to make further cuts in the coming months. Even as he pleads poverty, Governor Andrew Cuomo has rejected out of hand the idea of raising taxes on the ultra-rich, which could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the state.





Other states are following the same playbook, making significant cuts without committing to raising taxes on the wealthy.





In the end, what the Great Depression and its solution in the colossal spending for World War II showed is that ultimate responsibility rests with the federal government. A mobilization of societys resources on the level of the 1940sunder the auspices, say, of a Green New Dealwould not only solve the coming economic crisis but lay the foundation for sustained prosperity.





Nevertheless, states are not without their own resources, which they have an obligation to tap in order to mitigate the burden on the most vulnerable.





Let us, for once, avoid making the present rhyme with the past and instead set foot on a more enlightened path.





Chris Wright has a Ph.D. in U.S. history from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is the author of Notes of an Underground Humanist, Worker Cooperatives and Revolution: History and Possibilities in the United States, and Finding Our Compass: Reflections on a World in Crisis. His website is www.wrightswriting.com. This article originally appeared in Counter Punch
The UK has published proposals on the Northern Ireland part of a Brexit deal (Paul Faith/PA)

Processes on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an absolute minimum following the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK Government said.

Some checks supported by electronic processes will be needed on agri-food movements from Great Britain, building on what is already happening at ports like Larne and Belfast, ministers acknowledged.

Implementation of rules designed to keep Northern Irelands land border with the Republic and the EUs internal market free-flowing will not involve new customs infrastructure, a document published by the UK Government on Wednesday added.

There will be no tariffs on goods remaining within the UK customs territory under a position adopted by Britain for negotiation with the EU.

Businesses in Northern Ireland will have unfettered access to sell goods to the rest of the UK market under the plan.

The Northern Ireland protocol was drawn up as part of the EU Withdrawal Agreement with Brussels, and the paper published on Wednesday elaborates on how Britain intends to implement it.

It says: Some checks will be needed, supported by relevant electronic processes, in line with the island of Irelands existing status as a single epidemiological unit, building on what already happens at ports like Larne and Belfast.

What the protocol does not do is create  nor does it include any provision for creating  any kind of international border in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

That means its provisions must entail the minimum possible bureaucratic consequences for business and traders, particularly those carrying out their affairs entirely within the UK customs territory.

The Northern Ireland part of the Brexit deal is supposed to be implemented even if a trade agreement cannot be struck with the EU before the end of this year.

Businesses in Northern Ireland are expecting to undergo checks on goods being brought in from the rest of the UK.

That is because the country will continue to follow the EUs rules on goods.

Northern Ireland is expected to continue to enforce the EUs customs codes at its ports to preserve the free-flowing Irish border; the Republic is its nearest EU member state.

Expand Close The Northern Ireland part of the EU withdrawal deal is designed to keep the Irish border free-flowing (Brian Lawless/PA) PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The Northern Ireland part of the EU withdrawal deal is designed to keep the Irish border free-flowing (Brian Lawless/PA)

The UK Government has said it will develop border control posts (BCPs) at Northern Irelands ports.

Wednesdays document added: There will be unfettered access for Northern Irelands producers to the whole of the UK market and this will be delivered through legislation by the end of the year.

No tariffs will be paid on goods that move and remain within the UK customs territory.

Implementation of the protocol will not involve new customs infrastructure  with any processes on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland kept to an absolute minimum so that the integrity and smooth functioning of the UK internal market is protected.

European Commission priorities include procedures and formalities in Northern Ireland for goods traded with Great Britain involving live animals and agri-food due to its strict rules on entry into its single market.

It has said discussions on the EUs presence in Northern Ireland need to be advanced as a matter of urgency.

The British Government has disputed any need for a permanent office.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Tuesday that his country withdraws from all agreements with Israel and the United States, Trend reports citing TASS.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine today are freed from all deals and agreements with the government of the United States and Israel, and from all obligations that stem from those deals and agreements, including in the security sphere," the WAFA news agency quoted the Palestinian leader as saying.
AKRON, Ohio  The University of Akron on Wednesday released a revised plan to reorganize 11 colleges into five to offset anticipated revenue losses of about $65 million attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.

The changes include keeping faculty from the College of Polymer Sciences and Polymer Engineering together as a School of Polymer Sciences and Polymer Engineering that will join the new College of Engineering/Technology/Applied Science or perhaps a STEM College, if the Faculty Senate is supportive of creating such a college.

In the report released Wednesday, Executive Vice President and Provost John Wiencek detailed several other concerns raised through feedback from faculty, students and others. The revised plan will go before the Faculty Senate on Friday, and the Board of Trustees during a special meeting on May 29.

Earlier this month, Wiencek proposed a five-college plan that included the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the School of Law, the College of Engineering/Technology/Applied Science and College of Health and Human Services, though the colleges names are subject to change.

The initial proposal had called for faculty in the College of Polymer Sciences and Polymer Engineering to join other undergraduate academic colleges, such as the College of Arts and Sciences or the College of Engineering and Technology, and maintain membership in the Institute of Polymer Sciences. Polymer faculty members indicated that it has been difficult for them to find teaching opportunities in the relevant subject areas on a consistent basis, and that its difficult for those departments to accommodate polymer faculty teaching requests, Wiencek said.

The university instead plans to keep polymer college faculty together under a school that will be housed in the new College of Engineering/Technology/Applied Science, or a STEM college.

UA is considering a STEM college, which Wiencek said is supported by members of the polymer, math and statistics departments, and less so by faculty members in the physical science departments.

The deans considered this option in assembling the first draft plan and concluded that a STEM college is not wise, Wiencek said. There have been mixed results at other institutions in forming STEM colleges. Minnesota has long had such a model but others, like Clemson, have tried this model but reverted to a structure that places the pure sciences in alignment with general education and the liberal arts. We are not recommending moving this plan forward at this time but are open to this option if endorsed by the Faculty Senate.

Faculty members in the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education indicated that they are willing to move to the College of Health and Human Services or the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, but they would prefer the latter.

Survey feedback showed that the most natural home for the Bachelor of Organization Supervision program is in the School of Communication in the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.

The university plans to continue to operate its regional Wayne Campus in Orrville, and expects Wayne faculty to coordinate through an office that will report directly to the provost.

Wiencek is seeking Faculty Senates advice for a few areas of contention, including where the math and statistics department should be housed and how to reorganize the cybersecurity and digital forensics programs.

Based on extensive feedback and significant cooperation involving deans, department chairs, Faculty Senate, University Council and others, I am happy to see how the revised plan moves us closer to a more sustainable structure that will serve students and our region well," Wiencek said. "The quantity and quality of the feedback was most encouraging, and it will most certainly result in a better plan."

Wiencek said the University Council Budget and Finance Committee is working on recommendations regarding new budgets for the new colleges based on expenses for functional activities including instruction, academic support and student support.
Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus jumped to a record 1,179 on Tuesday as President Jair Bolsonaro doubled down on chloroquine as a possible remedy and U.S. leader Donald Trump said he is considering a travel ban from Brazil.

The highest daily toll before Tuesday had been 881 deaths on May 12. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Brazil overtook Britain on Monday to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed infections, behind Russia and the United States. Brazils confirmed cases also jumped by a record 17,408 on Tuesday, for a total of 271,628 people who have tested positive for the virus.

Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump, has been criticized for his handling of the outbreak, such as opposition to restrictions on movement he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Bolsonaro said Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello would issue new guidelines on Wednesday expanding the recommended use of the anti-malarial drug chloroquine to treat the coronavirus.

Two trained doctors have resigned as Health Minister in the past month as Bolsonaro defies public health expert advice.

Bolsonaro told website Blog do Magno that Pazuello, an active-duty army general, would sign the new chloroquine guidelines and keep the top job for now. Bolsonaro added that his mother is 93 years old, and he keeps a box of chloroquine on hand should she need it.

Trump, who announced on Monday he was taking chloroquine preventively, told reporters on Tuesday: I dont want people coming over here and infecting our people. I dont want people over there sick either. Were helping Brazil with ventilators ... Brazil is having some trouble, no question about it.

Pan American Health Organization officials said in a virtual briefing they were concerned about the virus spread in the tri-border area of the Amazon between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They urged special measures to protect vulnerable populations among the indigenous, poor and racial minorities.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Internships and Careers

The department annually awards a number of competitive scholarships to qualified undergraduate students and has various student employment opportunities, which allow students to develop their craft while receiving financial compensation.

Students may apply for the BGSU exchange program with the University of Wales, the largest undergraduate theatre program in Great Britain and home of the prestigious Performance Research Centre. The London Experience, an intensive immersion in the London theatre scene, offers students another education abroad opportunity.
(Photo : Dado Ruvic on Reuters ) Over 2,000 EasyJet Customers Had Their Credit Card Details Stolen by Hackers; 9 Million Others Got Warned (Photo : Phil Noble on Reuters ) Over 2,000 EasyJet Customers Had Their Credit Card Details Stolen by Hackers; 9 Million Others Got Warned

British airline company EasyJet recently admitted that the company had experienced a massive data breach, affecting nine million of its customers. The hacker infiltrated the credit card details of its customers, including the three sensitive numbers at the back of the card itself. EasyJet said that a "highly-sophisticated attacker made the incident."

EasyJet got hacked! 9 million customers now at-risk for phishing

On Tuesday, May 19, low-cost airline group EasyJet revealed on the public that they experienced a recent data hacking, back in January. Approximately, nine million of its customers were warned by the company after hackers stole a massive amount of info from their database.

About 2,208 from this population had their credit cards' data stolen.

The airline said that they were first made aware of the hacking incident months ago. However, they told BBC that they were only able to notify all the affected parties in early April.

As explained, the hacking was made by a "highly-sophisticated attacker" since the data that was stolen were huge and almost the entire database of the company.

"This was a highly sophisticated attacker. It took time to understand the scope of the attack and to identify who had been impacted," the airline told the BBC.

EasyJet also explained that they did not notify their customers immediately to make sure that only the 'affected' ones were made aware of the incident. To prevent panic from the people that may have or may not have hacked their info.

"We could only inform people once the investigation had progressed enough that we were able to identify whether any individuals have been affected, then who had been impacted and what information had been accessed," added by the company.





No evidence shows 'used' credit cards

Despite months of EasyJet's awareness of the hack and also months after before they made it public, the company assures that "no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused."

By May 26, EasyJet will also personally contact all nine million of its customers to provide the details regarding the issue. Aside from that, personnel of the airline will also remind all the affected parties to be careful on each of their transactions from now on, since their data were already open to hackers.

"We would like to apologize to those customers who have been affected by this incident," EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said in a statement. "We are contacting those customers whose travel information was accessed and we are advising them to be extra vigilant, particularly if they receive unsolicited communications."

A spokesperson for the UK's data protection regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office, said that the company and the government are already investigating the breach. It was advised to anyone that had booked flights with EasyJet to be vigilant with any possible phishing incidents that may happen soon and contact the government immediately.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:35:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIRUT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Industry Ministry and the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched on Wednesday a guide to combatting COVID-19 for the country's industry sector, the National News Agency reported.

Titled "Recommendations and Preventive Measures to Combat COVID-19 in the Industrial Sector," the guide was launched under the auspices of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab represented by Industry Minister Imad Hoballah.

Hoballah noted that his ministry had already taken a series of measures in this framework to fortify work safety in the industrial sector while maintaining the level of national production.

Meanwhile, Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Nicoletta Bombardiere said the COVID-19 outbreak prompted Italy to focus more on supporting productive sectors with the aim of enhancing livelihoods.

"Italy is contributing to a project to establish three industrial zones in Lebanon, in addition to its support to the agricultural sector," the Italian ambassador noted. Enditem
The CEO of James Halstead plc (LON:JHD) is Mark Halstead. First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. 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.

View our latest analysis for James Halstead

How Does Mark Halstead's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

Our data indicates that James Halstead plc is worth UK1.1b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK428k for the year to June 2019. Notably, the salary of UK428k is the vast majority of the CEO compensation. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK819m to UK2.6b, and the median CEO total compensation was UK1.5m.

Pay mix tells us a lot about how a company functions versus the wider industry, and it's no different in the case of James Halstead. Talking in terms of the sector, salary represented approximately 54% of total compensation out of all the companies we analysed, while other remuneration made up 46% of the pie. Speaking on a company level, James Halstead prefers to tread along a traditional path, disbursing all compensation through a salary.

At first glance this seems like a real positive for shareholders, since Mark Halstead is paid less than the average total compensation paid by similar sized companies. However, before we heap on the praise, we should delve deeper to understand business performance. You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at James Halstead, below.

AIM:JHD CEO Compensation May 20th 2020

Is James Halstead plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, James Halstead plc has seen earnings per share (EPS) move in a favourable direction by 2.2% each year (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 3.4% over last year.

I'd prefer higher revenue growth, but the modest improvement in EPS is good. Considering these factors I'd say performance has been pretty decent, though not amazing. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Story continues

Has James Halstead plc Been A Good Investment?

James Halstead plc has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 9.8%, over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median.

In Summary...

It appears that James Halstead plc remunerates its CEO below most similar sized companies.

It's well worth noting that while Mark Halstead is paid less than most company leaders (at companies of similar size), share price performance has been somewhat uninspiring. So shareholders may not be elated, but they shouldn't be worried about the CEO compensation, either. Shifting gears from CEO pay for a second, we've picked out 1 warning sign for James Halstead that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

Love or hate this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email 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. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
We are proud to work with the Maryland Food Bank at the Frederick County Rescue Mission to get milk into the hands of those who need it most, while also supporting farmers and local businesses. - Sam Roop, Frederick County Farm Bureau President

Frederick County Farm Bureau and the Frederick County Farm Safety Camp are partnering with Dairy Maid Dairy to provide over 1,500 gallons of milk from area dairy producers to the Frederick County Rescue Mission and food banks throughout the County. Frederick County Farm Bureau will make the donation Thursday morning at 10am.

We are proud to work with the Maryland Food Bank at the Frederick County Rescue Mission to get milk into the hands of those who need it most, while also supporting farmers and local businesses, said President Sam Roop.

Although farmers are busy in the fields with spring planting, they recognize the need in the community, and are happy to help put dairy products where theyre needed most.

President Sam Roop, as well as directors of the farm bureau, will be on hand to assist with the distribution of the milk. The Frederick County Rescue Mission will distribute the milk to the nine food banks located throughout the County.

For more information, please contact the Frederick County Farm Bureau President, Sam Roop, at samuelkroop@gmail.com.
People wait in line to purchase Chanel products at Lotte Department Store in Myeong-dong, Seoul, May 13. Korea Times photo by Lee Han-ho



By Kim Jae-heun



The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it will look into French fashion house Chanel following allegations the luxury brand has been forcing restrictions onto local duty free firms regarding the pricing of its items, a violation of the Fair Trade Act.



Last month, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) decided to loosen regulations that previously restricted duty free companies from selling and distributing their inventory to local retailers, after the tax-free businesses were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has place huge restrictions on international travel, deeply affecting duty free shops.



Duty free shops saw an 85.7 percent decline in customers in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak and their sales have halved this year to a record-low 1.08 trillion won ($885 million) from 2.17 trillion won ($1.76 billion) in 2019.



The KCS extended the deadline until Sept. 29 for firms to clear customs on imported inventory worth nearly 3 trillion won ($24.42 billion) that has been in stock for over six months.



Duty free retailers here have struggled to set prices for their luxury items though, especially those produced by Chanel.



Chanel is notorious for its no-discount pricing policy and this time is no different as the French brand is insisting that it will not allow local duty free firms to sell its luxury items at reduced prices.



"If a firm does not allow a business partner to sell its products at a certain price and threatens to cut supplies or impose a penalty in any future business relations, this is a contravention of the Fair Trade Act," a KFTC official told the Korea Times recently. "If Chanel violates the act, then we can bring a case for possible judicial review and apply administrative actions accordingly, from imposing fines through to issuing a correction order or even prosecuting the brand, in the worst-case scenario."



The KTFC official added that when a company's restrictions on price setting promote healthy competition in the market and consumers are benefiting from it, the antitrust watchdog does not see the case as a violation of the act on resale price maintenance.



However, Chanel's case does not reflect this condition.



Unlike department store businesses that only lease space for luxury brands to conduct their business and take a commission based on sales profits, duty free operators have to buy the luxury merchandise and sell at prices set by the brand.



This is already a breach of the Fair Trade Act, but domestic duty free firms aren't ideally positioned to complain about the matter for possible fear of Chanel's departure and the termination of business contracts.





Travelers walk by Louis Vuitton's duty free store at Incheon International Airport in this 2011 file photo. / Yonhap
Wampsville, N.Y.  Mobile clinics from Upstate University Hospital will visit two Madison County sites Thursday and Friday to provide coronavirus testing.

A mammography van outfitted to administer the Covid-19 nasopharyngeal diagnostic test will offer testing for those who meet state Department of Health criteria. Those who want tests done should call 315-464-2582 to set up an appointment. For more information, visit www.upstate.edu/mobilecovid.

On Thursday, the mobile site will set up at the Madison County Campus at 138 N. Court St, Wampsville, from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

On Friday, the van will be at the SUNY-Morrisville campus at 80 Eaton St, Morrisville, from 10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Criteria for testing eligibility includes:

Anyone who is symptomatic or has a history of symptoms of Covid-19 (fever, cough, and/or trouble breathing), particularly if the individual is 70 years of age or older, the individual has a compromised immune system, or the individual has an underlying health condition;

Anyone who has had close (within six feet) or proximate contact with a person known to be positive with Covid-19;

Anyone who is subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine;

Anyone employed as a health care worker, first responder, or other essential worker who directly interacts with the public while working;

Anyone who presents with a case where the facts and circumstances warrant testing;

Anyone included under other criteria set by the state department of health based on an individuals place of residence, occupation or other factors that the department may deem relevant for Covid-19 testing purposes;

Anyone who would return to workplace in Phase 1.

One of the ways we combat this virus is test as many people as possible to know who is positive so we can limit the spread, Madison County Public Health Director Eric Faisst said. Increasing testing is especially important now as we begin to reopen. Those individuals who are essential workers, and are returning to work, please go out and get tested.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Nolan Weidner is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached by call or text at 315.247.7419 or via email at nweidner@syracuse.com.
Liam Hemsworth is an Australian actor who is well known for his movies like Arkansas, Isn't It Romantic, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Hunger Games, and many more. His social media posts, however, give his fans a sneak peek of his grounded personality, active hobbies, and family life. The international actor's Instagram posts prove his love for nature and the sea where he spends a lot of his time when he visits his hometown. Check out some of his amazing nature photography shared on his official handle.

ALSO READ| Liam Hemsworth's Photos That Will Make You Want To Hit The Beach

Liam Hemsworth's Instagram pics boasts of his photography

Liam clicked the perfectly timed picture of a seagull flying just before the scary storm wave in this picture. Liam's official Instagram handle has many such pics where he is seen sharing some amazing examples of his photography skills.

ALSO READ| Vivica Fox Reveals She Cant Wait To Reunite With 'Arkansas' Co-star Liam Hemsworth

Liam and his relationship with the waves

Liam captured the Dark and stormy waves near Phillip Island where his hometown is located in Victoria, Australia. He is often seen enjoying and surfing in the waters whenever he visits his hometown.

ALSO READ| Miley Cyrus Celebrates 3rd Anniversary Of 'Malibu', A Tribute To Ex-hubby Liam Hemsworth

Liam Hemsworth & his love for nature

Liam could be seen taking the perfect pic of an eagle on his camera. The mighty bird is perfectly captured in the photo via Liam's finessed photography skills.

Liam clicked a beaming photo of his dad

Liam Hemsworth, who is very close to his family can be often seen posting pics of his father and family members. While in this pic he aptly captured the glimpse of his father Craig Hemsworth along with the sunrise in the background.

Liam Hemsworth and his love for the waters

Liam's Instagram handle can be often seen filled with pictures from the sea. In this nature-gratifying pic, he praises the waves, the rocks, the sunrise, and the mighty clouds through his "praising emoji."

On the work front, Liam was last seen in Quibi's high-octane action-thriller web-series titled Most Dangerous Game. Helmed by director Nick Santora, Most Dangerous Game got rave reviews by critics and audiences. While as far as the silver screen is concerned, the famous brother of the Extraction star Chris Hemsworth was seen in the film titled Arkansas. Arkansas is a thriller movie which saw a digital release amidst the coronavirus outbreak.

ALSO READ| Liam Hemsworth To Nicole Kidman - Here Are Australian Actors Who Made It Big In Hollywood

Promo Image courtesy: Liam Hemsworth Instagram

Get the latest entertainment news from India & around the world. Now follow your favourite television celebs and telly updates. Republic World is your one-stop destination for trending Bollywood news. Tune in today to stay updated with all the latest news and headlines from the world of entertainment.
Coast to Coast Motors is allowing customers to wait 45 days to make a payment on their new vehicle. Potential customers only need a recent pay stub, drivers license and a piece of mail with current address.

Individuals who are looking to purchase a used vehicle can now take advantage of a great deal at Coast to Coast Motors. Customers can wait 45 days to make a payment on their new vehicle with zero percent interest. The process of getting approved at the dealership is quite simple. Potential customers only need a recent pay stub, drivers license and a piece of mail with current address. With these three items, customers will be on their way to driving a used vehicle in no time.

Coast to Coast Motors is a buy here, pay here dealership with locations found throughout Oklahoma and Texas. The buy here, pay here option is great for individuals who have been previously turned down by the bank or another lending institution. Coast to Coast Motors is dedicated to helping individuals find used vehicles and it does not look solely at a persons credit score. The dealership believes there is more to a person than a number generated by a credit bureau.

In addition to being a buy here, pay here dealership, customers will also find a variety of vehicles in the dealerships showroom. All of the vehicles have been through a rigorous multi-point inspection. If a vehicle does not pass this inspection, then it will not be put on the floor of the showroom.

Potential customers who would like to learn more about waiting 45 days to make the first payment with zero percent interest can visit the dealerships website https://ctcautogroup.com/. Otherwise, Coast to Coast Motors can be reached by phone at 888-818-3886 for its locations in Texas and 888- 381-3524 for its locations in Oklahoma. Finally, Coast to Coast Motors has three Oklahoma locations, Enid, Oklahoma City and Tulsa in addition to its facility in Houston.
The Air Force's B-1B Lancer bomber is about to move front and center in the U.S. military's power-projection mission in the Pacific.

As part of its mission "reset" for the B-1 fleet, the Air Force is not only making its supersonic bombers more visible with multiple flights around the world, it's also getting back into the habit of having them practice stand-off precision strikes in the Pacific, a dramatic pivot following years of flying close-air support missions in the Middle East.

Read Next: HOPSEC: Beer Rating App Could Pose Military Security Threat

The "nice thing about the B-1 is it can carry [the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile], and that's perfectly suited for the Pacific theater," Maj. Gen. Jim Dawkins Jr., commander of the Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, said in an interview Tuesday.

"Not only are we resetting the airplane's mission-capability rates and the training done for the aircraft, we're also resetting how we employ the airplane to get more toward great power competition to align with the National Defense Strategy," added Dawkins, who supports the warfighting air component to U.S. Strategic Command, as well as operations within Air Force Global Strike Command.

According to the 2018 NDS, "China is a strategic competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while militarizing features in the South China Sea."

Former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson stated that China has become "a pacing threat for the U.S. Air Force because of the pace of their modernization" in the region.

The Pentagon's strategy prioritizes deterring adversaries by denying their use of force in the first place.

That's one reason four bombers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, have been launching from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for patrols across the East and South China Seas since May 1, according to Air Force social media posts. The bombers deployed to Andersen after the service suspended its continuous bomber presence mission in the Pacific for the first time in 16 years.

During a simulated strike, crews "will pick a notional target, and then they will do some mission planning and flying through an area that they are able to hold that target at risk, at range," Dawkins said.

Close-air support, the B-1's primary mission in recent years, is a much different skill set than "shooting standoff weapons like JASSM-ER and LRASM," he said, referring to the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile and Joint Air to Surface Stand-Off Missiles-Extended Range.

While Dawkins wouldn't get into specifics of how crews are conducting the practice runs in the Pacific, the non-nuclear B-1s have been spotted recently carrying Joint Air to Surface Stand-Off Missiles.

Photos recently posted on DVIDS, the U.S. military's multimedia distribution website, show Dyess' 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons crew members loading a JASSM into the belly of a plane. The B-1 is capable of carrying 75,000 pounds -- 5,000 pounds more than the B-52 Stratofortress -- of both precision-guided and conventional bombs.

The JASSM's newer variant, JASSM-ER, has a higher survivability rate -- meaning it's less likely to be detected and shot down -- due to low-observable technology incorporated into the conventional air-to-ground precision-guided missile. It is said to have a range of roughly 600 miles, compared with the 230-mile reach of JASSM, according to The Drive.

The LRASM, a Navy missile integrated on both the B-1 and F/A-18 Super Hornet, is able to autonomously locate and track targets while avoiding friendly forces.

The precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile was first tested on a B-1 in August 2017. A single B-1 can carry up to 24 LRASMs, or the same number of JASSM-ERs. The LRASM missile achieved early operational capability on the bomber in 2018.

The vast expanses of the Pacific are well-suited for training with these kinds of missiles, Dawkins explained. Stateside ranges, which may lack surface waters or enough distance between two points, depending on location, cannot always accommodate the needs of bomber crews training with these long-range weapons.

Also, "[when] we deploy, for instance to Guam, taking off from [the U.S.] and going to the Pacific, it allows us to do some integration with our allies, as well as exercise the command-and-control ... and also allows us to practice our long-duration flights and work with the tankers," he said.

Prior to the Dyess deployment, a B-1 from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, flew a 30-hour round-trip flight to Japan in late April. There, it operated alongside six U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, seven Japan Air Self Defense Force F-2s and eight JASDF F-15s over Draughon Range near Misawa, Pacific Air Forces said in a release.

The flight was part of the Air Force's new unpredictable deployment experiment to test crews' agility when sending heavy aircraft forces around the world, since the need to improve the bombers' deployability rate is also crucial, Dawkins said.

Mission-capability rates refers to how many aircraft are deployable at a given time. The B-1 has been on a slow and steady track to improve its rate -- which hovers around 50% -- after being broken down by back-to-back missions in the desert, officials have said.

The B-1 could become the face of the Pacific for the foreseeable future, Dawkins said.

"We want ... to be the roving linebacker, if you will, particularly in the Pacific," he said, adding the mission could also pave the way for incorporating hypersonic weapons into the bomber's arsenal.

In August, the Air Force proved it can transform the Lancer to hold more ordnance, a first step toward it carrying hypersonic weapons payloads.

Gen. Tim Ray, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, has expressed support for the B-1 as a future hypersonic weapons platform.

"Basically, the configuration we're seeking is external hardpoints that can allow us to add six Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapons [ARRW, pronounced "Arrow"], and then you still have the bomb bay where you can carry the LRASM or the JASSM-ER," Ray told reporters last month. LRASM or JASSM-ER could also be carried externally, he added.

"They're not doing any testing with the hypersonic on the B-1, but that's definitely in the mix," Dawkins said.

If configured with that payload in the future, that would be "quite a bit of air power coming off that airplane, whether it's JASSMs, JASSM-ERs or some combination of those, and hypersonics," he said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related: Air Force F-35 Crashes at Eglin; Pilot Ejects Safely
Personal hygiene consumer productsfirmSuparshva Swabs on Wednesday saidit is ramping up production to produce over 50 lakh COVID-19 swabs per week by the end of this month.

Currently, the company is producing 20 lakh COVID-19 swabs per week.

To meet the need for COVID-19 tests, the company had to convert the entire cotton facility to a different fibre and by May 5, it started making polyester swabs,Suparshva SwabsPartnerRahul Jain said in a webinar.

The company isramping up production, by converting its production lines and reconfiguring equipment of some of its manufacturingcapabilities, he added.

"Before the end of May we should be producing 50 lakh swabs per week. The company can ramp up the production to produce over 3 crore COVID-19 swabs per week by end of June or so, if required," Jain said.

Suparshva Swabs hasdeveloped and received the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and NIV (National Institute of Virology) validationfor domestically produced polyester swabs, he added.

This is significant asCOVID-19 test swabswere not manufactured in India, and were imported from the US or China, the company said in a statement.

"We developed polyester swabs for COVID testing by converting the 100 per cent cotton processing lines, to produce polyester swabs, within 10 days flat", Jain said.

What is unique here, is that the entire development was done in-house by company's team andthe trials were done on main production lines, which enabled it to start producing the same day it received the ICMR approval, he added.

According toAssociation of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD)Forum CoordinatorRajiv Nath,India will have to increase testing and may need over 70 lakh 1 crore swabs every week, to enable the nation to safely begin easing lockdown restrictions and open the economy.

Incorporated in 1998, Suparshva Swabsis the one of the largest manufacturer/ exporter of personal hygiene products, like cotton buds, special swabs, cotton balls etc. in entire South Asia.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When Innocent Havyarimana, a Burundian refugee, first heard handwashing was crucial in preventing coronavirus, he did something few businessmen would do  he lowered his prices.

Others might have raised prices to increase profit, but his aim was to make his soap as accessible as possible, so he also boosted production.

Everyone needs soap. I decided to reduce the price so that everyone would be able to afford it, he said.

Coronavirus has left many people feeling helpless, but Havyarimana is an example of someone who saw an opportunity to make a difference and took it.

Everyone needs soap. I decided to reduce the price so that everyone would be able to afford it.

Fellow refugees, aid workers and Kenyans in the local community buy the products made at his small workshop in Kakuma camp.

I vary the containers, starting from 100 millilitres to 1 litre so that even those with only 50 cents can buy some soap so that they can protect themselves from the virus, said Havyarimana, who fled conflict in Burundi in 2013 and received a loan to start the business two years later from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

UNHCR and its partners work with the government to enhance capacity at local health facilities and share virus information. UNHCR has also increased access to clean water and soap as part of coronavirus preventive and preparedness measures.

Refugees are playing an important role in prevention. In Kakuma, there are so many people doing something in the fight against COVID-19, whether it is mask making or spreading awareness, said Kahin Ismail, the Senior Operations Manager for UNHCR in Kakuma.

Innocent is not only supplementing the supply of soap, he is also making and selling hand sanitizer with aloe vera which he has planted at his workshop and outside his house.

The camp in north-eastern Kenya hosts close to 200,000 refugees. Development and private sector investment boost the economy and help the soap business, Galp Enterprises, thrive.

An IFC/World Bank Study in 2018 found that there are over 2,000 businesses in Kakuma contributing US$56 million to the regions economy.

Havyarimana has a diploma in chemistry and worked for a chemical company back home. He used those skills to establish a range of products including soaps, bleach and shampoo. The products are certified by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

Coronavirus has affected the world. Refugees are also afraid and that is why they are always washing their hands now, he said.

Together with heads of state and government and leaders from UN agencies, international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is calling for the prioritization of water, sanitation and hygiene in the response to COVID-19. Learn more about their Call to Action.

Additional reporting by Linda Muriuki in Nairobi, Kenya.
MANASSAS, Va., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Employee cross training, investments in technology, career development initiatives, and attention to philanthropy are some of the strategies that the Able Leadership Team has been utilizing to ensure the entire moving family stays intact. The work of the team has not gone unnoticed in the industry.

Never before has the Able motto Everyone Matters been so relevant. The motto put forth by the Alive and Able Wellbeing teams You Squared Movement has been a unifying company theme during this tough time. The Able family is proud that no one has been left behind during this pandemic. The family is now hiring in all divisions and remains the fastest growing independent mover in the Mid-Atlantic region. Able was recently recognized as a Great Place to Work by the Washington Business Journal.

John Becker, President of the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA), says "The merit with which Able has valued its employees at a very difficult time is especially impressive. The fact that Able is now hiring under the resumption of moving activity without having had to lay off any employees is a testament to their Leadership Team."

Company-wide awareness and the ability for employees to comfortably assist different divisions at different times was a founding concern of the Leadership Team at Able. Chief operating Officer Steve Kuhn knows these practices cement solidarity and complement the family values the company is know for. "The enemy of employee retention is one-dimensional work expertise," he says. "We have used fluctuating government needs, seasonality, and economic downturns as opportunities to ensure that our employees are capable of multidivisional tasks." This functionality has served the company exceptionally well during the recent virus outbreak.

Able has always been willing to invest in maintaining its workforce and had no hesitations in investing to make sure employees could transition to pandemic work conditions. Able CEO Joe Singleton made this clear at the virus onset by not only being one of the first in the industry to adopt costly safety measures, but also by investing in network modifications, software, and equipment that would allow Able employees to work from home. "There are no greater assets than our employees, and I will always be proud of making the right decisions to not only protect them, but to make sure they stay employed," he states.

Long known for its corporate responsibility, Able has utilized down time its employees have had during this outbreak to provide for those less fortunate. Able has been working with Great American Restaurants in providing meals that Able employees have delivered to the Ronald Macdonald House Charities of Greater Washington D.C. (RMHCDC). Able serves as a corporate partner to RMHCDC and values employees spending time on the partnership.

Able recently hosted a tour of its facilities to Independent and Small Moving Companies across the country and has always believed in sharing its best practices, believing this will help raise industry standards. Director of Marketing at AMSA Rachel Peretz has worked closely with Able on several initiatives that have benefited the industry. "It is refreshing that Able is so willing to share its practices with others in the moving industry," she says.

The forward thinking actions the Leadership Team at Able have taken position them well to immediately respond to the pent up demand that the industry is now seeing for moving services, and the Able family has the welcome mat out for new employees in almost every division. (www.ablemoving.com/employment/)

"It's a proud moment for me when I can look around and see that we have weathered the storm of this recent outbreak together as a family," says Joe Singleton, "and I am proud to offer this environment to others that wish to join us."

Check out our website at www.ablemoving.com

Follow us on Twitter @ablemovinginc

Like us on [email protected]

SOURCE Able Moving & Storage

Related Links

http://www.ablemoving.com


Claiming the Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra has "failed" to check the spread of

coronavirus and the rising fatalities unlike Kerala, the BJP on Wednesday appealed to people to register a protest on May 22.

The BJP's attack came a day after the COVID-19 case count in Maharashtra reached to 37,136 with 1,325 deaths.

Alleging that health infrastructure in Mumbai has collapsed completely, state BJP unit president Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said the state government had failed to announce any package for the poor and the needy.

Worst-hit by the pandemic, Mumbai has so far reported 22,563 coronavirus positive cases and 800 deaths.

Patil said the BJP and the people of the state had initially decided to support the government in view of the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis.

"Maharashtra reported its first coronavairus patient on March 9, the tally is now nearing the 40,000-mark," he said in a statement.

Patil said while Kerala also reported its first coronairus case on March 9, the count in the southern state remained under 1,000 in a period of 70 days and the number of fatalities remained under 12.

"In contrast, the number of the COVID-19 deaths in Maharashtra has crossed 1,300. This (data) underlines the failure of the Thackeray government," Patil said.

In such scenario, the people cannot stop themselves now from expressing their anger against the government, he said, adding that the BJP is also obliged to take a stand.

On Tuesday, BJP leaders and workers had handed over memorandums against the government to all tehsildars and district collectors as a mark of "Maharashtra Bachao" protest.

"I appeal to people to protest outside their homes by holding black placards, black ribbons and wearing black masks between 11 am and 12 noon on Friday. They should maintain social distancing during the protest," Patil said.

The Congress, which is one of the constituents in the Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi(MVA)government, meanwhile said that the BJP was "anti-Maharashtra".

"It was expected that the BJP would stand up against the Centre for the injustice meted out to Maharashtra and its people in terms of financial aid. It is now clear that the BJP's loyalties do not lie with Maharashtra," state Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

Meanwhile, referring to Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis' recent visit to Governor BS Koshyari, another Congress spokesman Atul Londhe alleged the BJP leader was trying to "destabilise" the MVA government.

"On the face of it, Fadnavis met the governor to complain about the alleged failure of the government, but people have seen through his politics of frequently visiting the governor and forming a government in the early hours (in November last year).

Londhe was referring to the government formed by Fadnavis, a former CM, with the support of NCP's Ajit Pawar amidst the political instability in the state after the hung verdict of the Assembly. However, the arrangement didn't last long and the government collapsed within 80 hours.

The Congress spokesperson also asked the BJP to ensure that Maharashtra is paid its pending GST refund from the Centre at the earliest.
In a first, an Etihad Airways cargo jet ferrying 16 tons of medical supplies and aid to Palestinians flew from the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Ben-Gurion Airport into Israels Tel Aviv as of May 19, a spokeswoman for the Abu Dhabi airline said, according to a news agency report. The UAE carrier made history as first-ever known to enter Israel as the two nations have no diplomatic relations, Israel, in fact, shares no bilateral diplomacy with either of the six Gulf Arab countries.

As the two nations have thawed relations over Irans influence in the Arab region, UAE, the home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula has clandestine ties with Israel over its occupation of Palestinian lands. Therefore, the moment of cooperation was rare after years of back-channel discussions.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to a commercial flight to Israel for first-time ever - an Air India route between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, according to reports. However, making history, Etihad cargo jet, painted in all white and unmarked, took a roundabout route through Iraq and either Jordan or Turkey to Israel as of May 19 loaded with emergency aid.

An Israeli official, reportedly said that the jet was delivering humanitarian aid provided by the UAE to the Palestinians through the World Food Program. Further, he added, that the cargo flight was coordinated with the Israeli government, the official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject, as per local media reports.

Etihad Airways operated a dedicated humanitarian cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv to provide medical supplies to the Palestinians, the airline spokesperson told a news agency. The flight had no passengers on board. However, there was no response from the Emirati government officials on the endeavour.

Read: Russia Nears 300,000 Mark With 9,263 New Coronavirus Cases

Read: Carrier Sidelined By Coronavirus Heads Back To Sea This Week

16 tons of medical supplies

The UAEs state-run news agency later issued a statement saying it delivered at least 14 tons of protective gear, medical items, and ventilators to curb the spread of (the) COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the occupied Palestinian territory. However, it did not acknowledge the flights significance, a news agency reported. The UNs Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNESCO) said in a statement that the shipment included 16 tons of medical supplies, including protective equipment and 10 ventilators.

For the first time, an @etihad cargo plane just landed at Israels Ben-Gurion airport! Hopefully soon, we will see passenger flights, too. Having visited, I know the UAE is a fascinating place, and look to continue improving relations between our countries. pic.twitter.com/cfBEfTlE7y  Ambassador Danny Danon |   (@dannydanon) May 19, 2020

Read: US Extends Heightened Border Enforcement During Coronavirus

Read: Angels Plan Employee Furloughs Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Mumbai, May 20 : Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said, here on Wednesday, Covid-19 would not be wiped out soon and it was imperative "to accept it as a part of life" while returning to normalcy.

"The corona disease will not be eradicated shortly. It's necessary to accept it as a part of life. Beware of it and create awareness among the masses about health care. In Japan, people wear masks, look after personal hygiene as part of their routine social life," Pawar said.

The NCP chief said he had discussed with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray the prevailing situation in the state and challenges faced by the administration and preventive measures required to provide relief to various sections of society.
BOSTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Family Insurance and Hi Marley are partnering to use intelligent text messaging to manage and resolve auto insurance claims. Using Hi Marley, insurance customers can efficiently arrange nearly all aspects of the claims process through convenient text messaging rather than traditional phone calls and scheduled appointments. AmFam, known for their dedication to inspiring, protecting and restoring their customers' dreams, enlisted Hi Marley to meet a growing customer preference to conduct business via text message and support their commitment to proactive communication with their policy holders.

About Hi Marley, Inc.

Hi Marley is a software provider offering the first AI-enabled conversation platform specifically designed for the insurance industry. Hi Marley enables insurance carriers to easily and quickly communicate with customers and other partners in the insurance ecosystem so they can deliver an optimal customer experience. The platform has flexible APIs and requires zero integration to get started. Learn more at www.himarley.com.

About American Family Insurance

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, American Family Insurance has been serving customers since 1927. We inspire, protect and restore dreams through our insurance products, exceptional service from our agency owners and employees, community investment and creative partnerships to address societal challenges. We act on our belief in diversity and inclusion by constantly evolving to meet customer needs and preferences. American Family Insurance group is the nation's 13th-largest property/casualty insurance group, ranking No. 306 on the Fortune 500 list. The group sells American Family-brand products, primarily through exclusive agency owners in 19 states. The American Family Insurance group also includes CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance (formerly Ameriprise Auto & Home), The General, Homesite and Main Street America. Across these companies the group has more than 13,500 employees nationwide.

Press Contact:

Amy Finn

Marketing, Hi Marley

[email protected]

SOURCE Hi Marley, Inc.

Related Links

https://himarley.com/


Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in allotting entrance examination centres in the UAE and other Gulf countries, where a large number of expatriate Indian students reside.

There has been concern among the expatriate students in the Gulf about writing the various entrance examinations including NEET, Vijayan told reporters here.

This years NEET examination is scheduled for July 26 and because of the travel ban from abroad, it wont be possible for those students to come to India to write these exams, he said.

It is in this context that Kerala has asked for entrance examination centres in the Gulf countries, Vijayan added.
FRANCE  French sexual wellness and body care company Exsens is launching Exsens-USA.com, its newly redesigned North American website, featuring its lines of products along with a blog discussing the hottest trends in sexual wellness and body care.

The site, which is part of the companys digital marketing expansion, aims to allow visitors to get to know Exsens as a brand, not just a product line. Their new blog will help readers gain insight and help navigate the array of products and ingredients available in today's body care and sexual wellness markets. Additional content will keep followers up to date with product news, special events, and easy-to-find store locations.

The site is also sharing information about its brand charity Population Services International and its efforts to making it easier for women in the developing world to lead healthier lives and plan for the families they desire.

"Quality ingredients make quality products, and we want customers to know how to be able to tell the difference, said Rebecca Pinette-Dorin, Exsens North American brand manager. With today's often bewildering amount of online products and so much misinformation, we needed an enhanced platform to clearly express who we are and what we offer the discerning customer. We want people to understand how truly committed we are to diversity, community action and promoting health and sexual wellness. We would like everyone who visits our website not only to get to know us better through our exceptional products, but understand the philosophy and passion that goes into making them."

The Exsens product lines feature a variety of specialty products promoting sensual play, intimate arousal, and personal care as well as cosmetics, like glam oil, lip gloss and alluring, scented mists. All of Exsens products are 100 percent vegan, with many being certified by Eve Vegan, the official European certification organization. Many of the ingredients in the Exsens line are also certified by COSMEBIO and ECOCERT, two of Europe's most respected organic certification organizations.

For more information, visit exsens-usa.com.
Contributed Commentary by Ravi Shankar

May 20, 2020 | Advances in medicine, aided by technology, have saved many lives, no doubt. Proof? The global life expectancy of humans has doubled in the last century. Credit can be given to many technologies, both hardware and software, starting with the simple stethoscope to complex CATSCANs, and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) but when a new kind of viral disease comes along such as the coronavirus, we are once again humbled.

Modern data integration approaches and new cloud-based technologies are making an impact on disease management and discovery by bringing together data from disparate sources and providing a real-time unified viewwhether it be about patients, citizens, or businesses. Data integration can help save lives at the point-of-care in hospitals, and help healthcare agencies to contain outbreaks, while reducing the economic losses due to decreases in manufacturing and trade.

Data Challenges Can Worsen Outbreaks

Outbreaks such as the coronavirus become even harder to tackle when pertinent information is not made available to physicians at the point of care or to agencies such as the Center for Disease Control. This lack of information prohibits care givers from quickly determining how to contain the outbreak, and thwarts efforts to mitigate trade shortcomings, and improve supply chains.

The problem is that the information these constituents need is dispersed across multiple data sources. In hospitals, data about patients is spread across different systems and departments: EMRs, clinical systems, emergency department computers, pharmacy systems, and the list goes on. In health agencies, geographical data pertaining to where the outbreak is worse, where it is starting, and where workers might be able to contain the disease in terms of the number of hospitals, beds, and trained healthcare workers, is scattered across numerous government departments. And private businesses are even worse off in this respect as they store information on-premises, in the cloud, and across third-party systems that inhibit them from quickly moving the production to a different location to offset the decrease in output from any affected locations.

These disparities highlight the need for integrated information to be delivered to physicians, business analysts, and/or government workers at the required time to effect change.

Time is of the Essence; The Need for Real-Time Information

Even if the data is stitched together into an integrated view, it does not help the cause if it does not arrive in time. To treat a patient, doctors need the information when a patient checks into the emergency department. More specifically, they need to know the patients symptoms, past medical history, and any allergies to food or medication. Businesses need to quickly know how their production capacity may be affected at a certain location when there is a shortage of employees or raw materials, or the government orders them to shut down. Healthcare agencies need immediate access to information to dispatch the necessary healthcare workers, medications, and equipment to arrest the spread of the disease. Finally, the government also needs the information to inform the public in a credible way, to avoid panic and further worsen the situation.

How can information be integrated across data silos and delivered in real time to the point of decision making? A modern data integration method called data virtualization is one approach.

Rectifying the Issue with Real-Time Data Integration and Delivery

Often considered a data fabric because of its ability to stitch together data from all of the disparate sources regardless of the location, the format of the data, or the latency with which the data becomes available, data virtualization delivers information in real time and in the format required by each individual data consumer. And it does so by furnishing each data consumerthe healthcare worker, the agency and the business executivewith a view of the source data without stopping to replicate the data for curation or transformation.

Many healthcare and biopharma companies are already leveraging data virtualization to consolidate and accelerate data access. BioStorage Technologies, a leading provider of sample management services to the scientific research community, leveraged data virtualization to build a new data infrastructure that delivers critical information and data for the genome-specific treatment of life-threatening diseases. National Services Scotland (NSS), which delivers healthcare-related services as a national board of Scotlands broader National Health Service (NHS), relies on data virtualization to enable a variety of new functionality including an enhanced cancer intelligence platform and a persons-at-risk dataset, for use by local authorities and government agencies in times of emergency, as well as a national radiology dashboard.

Hospitals are also benefitting as the largest university hospital in The Netherlands, Erasmus University Medical Center, uses data virtualization to create a future-proof data platform from which doctors, staff members, and researchers can access the data they need with the tools of their choice. The new platform facilitates management via Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are centrally used throughout the entire organization. Using data virtualization to deliver integrated, 360-degree patient health views directly to physicians, hospitals could provide information about recent hospital visits, test results, and medications patients can and cannot take, to help guide the treatment protocol at the point of admission or triage.

Likewise, healthcare agencies can use data virtualization to assemble real-time information from hospitals about the number of coronavirus diagnoses and visualize concentration maps within business intelligence tools, to determine the most effective containment logistics. Research institutions can use the technology to deliver disease details directly to their researchers, straight from the hospitals as patients are being diagnosed, to accelerate the discovery of a vaccine.

Businesses can use data virtualization to reroute logistics across plants and locations while government agencies can use the information to reassure the public about the steps they are taking to protect citizens. If data virtualization can integrate data and deliver it in real time to the right people, can it help global efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus pandemic?

Yes, it can! Some technology companies have launched initiatives to do just that. Here is one for example: Coronavirus Data Portal is an open, collaborative platform that uses the power of data virtualization to integrate various COVID-19 datasets from across the world and make the combined data available to researchers to help accelerate solutions to this deadly disease.

How Data Integration Can Save Lives and Economies

As of today, the coronavirus is spreading like wildfire and jumping across continents. There are travel restrictions, factories have stopped production, and schools are closed. Manufacturing is down, and so is the stock market. There is no vaccine in sight, and by certain forecasts, there wont be for another year. The end seems so far away.

While data integration and data virtualization are not the panacea for the outbreak, they can certainly help global efforts by quickly providing an integrated view of the data so that response teams can gain the upper hand. Just as the outbreak started with people and cascaded down to businesses and across countries, the remedy has to start at the top with people as well, before the remedy is felt by businesses, borders, and economies.

As with Ebola, SARS, and other pandemics, coronavirus will ultimately be overpowered. Technology will once again help with the first line responders. Data virtualization will do its part by helping people and organizations to have all the relevant information at their fingertips, so that we can put an end to this disease once and for all.

Ravi Shankar is senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer at Denodo, a leading provider of data virtualization software. For more information visit https://www.denodo.com or https://twitter.com/denodo. He can be reached at rshankar@denodo.com.
New Delhi:

Thirteen people have died under mysterious circumstances in Gopalganj, Bihar on Tuesday. While the local people suspect consumption of spurious liquor as the cause of the tragedy, police has denied any connection to illicit liquor. Four Naxals, including a commander-rank woman cadre, were today gunned down while a jawan was injured in an encounter between security personnel and the ultras in Chhattisgarhs Dantewada district. More than 25 lakh people are expected to attend the final rites of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), in Sarangpur on Wednesday afternoon. Here are the top 5 stories of the hour.

1. Bihar hooch tragedy: 13 die in Gopalganj despite ban on liquor



Thirteen people have died under mysterious circumstances in Gopalganj, Bihar on Tuesday. While the local people suspect consumption of spurious liquor as the cause of the tragedy, police has denied any connection to illicit liquor. Over 50 bottles of liquor were seized after family members alleged that the deaths were connected to the consumption of spurious liquor. One liquor trader had also been arrested. However, after further inspection, Bihar police ruled out the possibility of the involvement of spurious liquor.

2. Chhattisgarh: 4 naxals, including a woman gunned down in encounter in Dantewada



Four Naxals, including a commander-rank woman cadre, were today gunned down while a jawan was injured in an encounter between security personnel and the ultras in Chhattisgarhs Dantewada district. The skirmish took place in the wee hours in the restive Dabba-Kunna hills when the joint team of CRPF, District Reserve Group and STF was out on an anti-Maoist operation, according to Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap.

3. Sarangpur: 25 lakh devotees to attend last rites of BAPS head Pramukh Swami Maharaj



More than 25 lakh people are expected to attend the final rites of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), in Sarangpur on Wednesday afternoon. Pramukh Swami Maharaj had passed away on Saturday at the age of 94 due to old-age illnesses, leading to an outpouring of grief among his followers across the globe. According to BAPS authorities, Pramukh Swami Maharajs mortal remains would be consigned to flames in the premises of Sarangpur Mandir at 3:00 pm on Wednesday. Pramukh Swami Maharaj had himself selected the spot for his final rites.

4. NCP MLA denies slapping official after video goes viral



A video purportedly showing NCP MLA from Karjat, Suresh Lad allegedly slapping a deputy collector in Maharashtras Raigad district has gone viral on social media, even as the legislator denied having assaulted the official. The Nationalist Congress Party MLA was caught on camera allegedly slapping Deputy Collector (land acquisition) Abhay Kargutkar, reportedly after a disagreement over compensation to farmers for land acquisition.

5. Dawood Ibrahim may attend nephew's wedding in Mumbai via Skype



Dawood Ibrahim's nephew Alishah Parkar will tie the knot in the megapolis on Wednesday even as the Mumbai Police and other security agencies are going to keep a close watch on the event, which is likely to be attended by the mob boss via Skype. Alishah, son of Dawood's late sister Hasina Parkar, will marry Aisha Nagani, daughter of a city-based businessman at a hotel here. Police sources said Dawood is likely to attend the function via 'Skype'.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Colleagues,

The testimonies of the survivors of the Pontic Genocide convey the horror of the scene. I filled my ears with dirt so I couldnt hear. But the roar of the voices and weeping was so great that even the heavens heard. Testimony as chilling as this shows the magnitude of the pain suffered by the Pontic Greeks, who mourned 353,000 dead in the extermination campaign that lasted from 19 May 1919 to 1922.

It is true that the Pontic Greeks, living far from the homeland, succeeded in preserving all of the nations values  its history, language and culture  keeping its flame alive in the farthest reaches of the Hellenic world. And it is true that, during the 19th century, the Pontic Greeks were active in many sectors, showcasing their academic depth by creating excellent schools, as well as their economic capabilities, by creating financial institutions through which they came to exert a powerful influence in the areas where they resided. They always coexisted with other peoples, in a spirit of peaceful cooperation and in keeping with the traditions of the Akritai of Byzantium, preserving the flame of Hellenism within them.

The attack and systematic extermination they suffered from the Kemalist and neo-Turkish hordes did not dampen their spirit. This is why, when the remaining Pontic Greeks were relocated to our country, to Greece  in a difficult climate following a national disaster and economic collapse, and often facing the distrust of the native-born population  in a very short time, with faith in their principles, in Orthodoxy, in our homeland, they managed to integrate themselves and emerge among the key proponents, I would say, of our national ideals. And this was clear, because in World War II they fought valiantly against the fascist invaders.

Today, Pontic Greeks have succeeded, throughout the country, in making their mark in every local society, in being present and keeping alive the memory of their traditions, while of course contributing in every possible way to the economic, social, cultural and political development and life our country. This is why we have a duty and an obligation to remember and honor the victims, and we have an obligation  not just today, but every day  to try to do the obvious: to see the Pontic genocide recognized at long last. And we must do this not in a spirit of vengeance against Turkey, but because acknowledgement of the truth can redeem us so that we can move towards the future together, and it would be profoundly redemptive for Turkey to acknowledge the crimes against the victims of the Pontic genocide.

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the government, I would like to express our absolute respect for and commitment to this national goal  in other words, the process of the recognition of the Pontic genocide as one of the genocides that marked the 20th century  and to shout, together with you and all Pontic Greeks: Never again!
Rome's Galleria Borghese welcomes 100 visitors on first day open after lockdown.

Galleria Borghese is one of Rome's most magnificent museums.

It is also one of the select few to have reopened following a lockdown that saw all of Italy's museums closed for more than two months due to the covid-19 emergency.

Home to the priceless collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the gallery reopened to the public on 19 May and over the course of the day welcomed 100 visitors.

The museum's director Anna Coliva told Italian news agency ANSA that she interpreted the visits as "a sign of solidarity, a response to our appeal to stay with us."

"When I think of the American or Russian tycoons who paid very high amounts to enjoy the museum without crowds, it's a real privilege," smiled the director.

Read also:

Galleria Borghese is open by reservation only, as per usual, and the timetable remains unchanged: Tues-Sun 09.00-19.00.

Visits will last a maximum of 120 minutes, for 80 people at a time, and visitors must wear masks and maintain social distancing measures.

"Reservations, which were previously used to optimise admissions as much as possible" - Coliva told ANSA - "are now used to keep them to a minimum."

This reduction in numbers however has the effect of offering visitors the unprecedented chance to admire the museum's treasures in complete tranquility.

Photo Galleria Borghese
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- VetsinTech, a leading national non-profit dedicated to advancing career opportunities for veterans in the tech industry, announced it is teaming with Google Cloud to help veterans hone their cloud engineering skills. VetsinTech and Google Cloud will offer veterans and their spouses an opportunity to participate in the "Google Cloud Certification challenge," a free training program focused on preparing them for the Google Cloud Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam . Exclusive free access to Google Cloud's training prepares veterans for the certification exam.





VetsInTech logo

Training is set to begin in the first week of June and extend over the course of 6 to 10-weeks. Google Cloud offers the training and exams online, enabling participants to access prescribed coursework anytime via the web or a mobile device.

For the last several years, cloud computing skills continue to remain as some of the highest in demand by employers. Google Cloud skills are especially in high demand, with a 66.74% increase in job listings over the past year. Cloud certifications are a great way for veterans to demonstrate in-demand skills to the larger IT market. Veterans who earn this certification have a stronger advantage to pursue new opportunities and progress within the tech industry.



"With May being Military Appreciation Month, VetsInTech is proud to introduce expanded online training options for our brave and deserving veterans. We'd like to thank Google Cloud for their continuing commitment, generosity, and support of our veterans," said Katherine Webster, Founder and CEO of VetsinTech. "During this pandemic and economic crisis, veterans have the opportunity to take this invaluable course remotely, from their home, to increase their skills and land a better job. With the demand for more cloud skills and many veterans sheltering in place, the timing of this program is impeccable."

About VetsInTech

Based in San Francisco, with more than 30,000 vets strong and 15 chapters across the country, VetsInTech is the leading national non-profit devoted 100% to springboarding veterans into tech careers. VetsinTech harnesses the national technology ecosystem to benefit veterans returning from active military duty and who want to apply their exceptional training, skills, and experience to a new career in technology. Comprised of technology industry leaders and former service members, VetsinTech is the only non-profit that supports our veterans through tech-based programs and opportunities in education, employment, and entrepreneurship. For more information, interested parties can visit www.vetsintech.co .



Press Contact:

Carmen Hughes

Ignite X

650.4534.8553

[email protected]

SOURCE VetsInTech

Related Links

http://www.vetsintech.co


Despite lacking more than anecdotal evidence that coronavirus could be effectively prevented or treated with a well-known malaria drug, President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended taking hydroxychloroquine, a practice that even his own administration warned Americans not to do outside a clinical or hospital setting.

The president, in a cabinet meeting at the White House Tuesday, was asked about the Food and Drug Administrations explicit April 24 caution against use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems." The FDA at the time warned of risks of serious heart-related adverse effects and even death.

The question came a day after Trump announced hed been taking the drug as a precaution for about a week and half because hed heard a lot of good stories about it. But Trump dismissed the question entirely, saying, No, thats not what I was told. No, before discussing a study unrelated to the FDAs warning.

The president referenced a study in which researchers evaluated 368 male veterans with COVID-19 at all Veterans Health Administration medical centers in the country. The study, which was not peer reviewed, showed about 28% of those who were given hydroxychloroquine, on top of normal care, died. That rate was more than double the 11% of veterans who received solely normal care and died.

The study found no evidence that use of hydroxychloroquine, either with or without azithromycin, reduced the risk of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with COVID-19."

The president, without providing evidence, described the study as false.

Robert Wilkie, head of Veterans Affairs, emphasized that the study was not a VA effort and noted that the state of New York had previously requested shipments of the drug. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had asked for a clinical trial of the drug, and said in early April that there has been anecdotal evidence that its promising.

Trump has repeatedly touted the drug throughout the pandemic, telling Americans, What do you have to lose?

His optimism has been challenged by some on his own public health team, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who frequently warned that it was too early to tell the drugs effectiveness without further study. Research in Europe and China that showed positive signs for COVID-19 patients did not include control groups, with Fauci asserting that there was merely anecdotal evidence hydroxychloroquine made any positive impact.

One thing that is true, whether you like it or not, its been around for 70 years, Trump said of the drug, which has long proven effective in treating malaria, lupus and arthritis.

Trump on Tuesday claimed it doesnt harm you and said he didnt feel any different since he started taking it as an extra line of defense." He highly recommend people discuss the drug with their doctors and said it had "gotten tremendous reviews from some people including many many doctors all over the world.

In its April 24 advisory, the FDAs public health professionals did not give hydroxychloroquine tremendous reviews in relation to COVID-19.

The agency cited case reports in its Adverse Event Reporting System database, published medical literature and the American Association of Poison Control Centers National Poison Data System concerning serious heart-related adverse events and death in patients with COVID-19 receiving hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, either alone or combined with azithromycin.

The FDA urged Americans not to buy the medicines from online pharmacies without a prescription from a health care professional, and noted that serious poisoning and death have been reported after mistaken use of a chloroquine product not intended to be taken by humans.

Be aware that there are no proven treatments for COVID-19 and no vaccine, the FDA said. If you are receiving hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 and experience irregular heartbeats, dizziness, or fainting, seek medical attention right away by calling 911.

Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced late last month that the drug remdesivir has proven itself to be promising in treating patients with COVID-19.

The NIAID study is one of many testing the effectiveness of remdesivir. This particular trial was conducted internationally, and according to Fauci, was the first high-powered, placebo-controlled study of the drug. The results showed hospitalizations were cut from 15 to 11 days, and the death rate was cut from 11 percent to 8 percent.

Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston is participating in two separate remdesivir studies. Dr. Dan Kuritzkes, chief of the hospitals Division of Infectious Diseases, previously noted that positive results do not mean the drug is a cure.

Related Content:
Police in New Jersey are searching for a woman who they say murdered her wife by beating her to death with a wine chiller inside their home over the weekend.

The Ocean County prosecutor on Tuesday announced murder and weapons charges against 48-year-old Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus in the death of her wife, 32-year-old Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus.

Mayra is not currently in custody and is a fugitive. A manhunt is under way to find her.

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, 48 (left), is wanted for the May 17 killing of her wife, Rebecca, 32 (right) (right), in Brick Township, New Jersey

Prosecutors said Mayra (left) used a cylindrical wine chiller to strike and kill Rebecca

Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus was founded bludgeoned do death inside the couple's home at this apartment complex on Creek Road

According to a statement from the prosecutor's office, on Sunday police in Brick Township were called to an apartment on Creek Road for a report of an unresponsive woman.

Officers arrived to find Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus dead in an upstairs bedroom. The next day, a medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.

Rebecca's wife fled the scene after the attack, according to the authorities.

A subsequent investigation revealed that Mayra allegedly used a cylindrical container used for the purpose of chilling wine to bludgeon her spouse of nearly two years to death.

The couple have been married since July 2018 and lived in Ocean County, New Jersey

On Mother's Day, Mayra posted this fawning message expressing her love for Rebecca

'The injuries sustained by Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus were consistent with the implementation of this item,' the statement read. 'Further investigation ultimately determined that Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus did, in fact, cause the victims death.'

Mayra has a warrant out for her arrest on murder and weapons charges. She remains at large

A warrant has been issued for Mayra's arrest listing charges of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. As of Wednesday afternoon, the suspect has remained at large.

'Our focus now is to find Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus and bring her into custody,' Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer stated.

The deadly domestic attack came a week after Mayra posted a fawning status update on her Facebook page written in English and Spanish, expressing her love for Rebecca and wishing her a happy Mother's Day.

'Mi amor gracias for all the uncountable ways you make this little crazy family... and my entire life better with every moment. (You know whats up I truly blessed that you are my wife. Te amo PRECIOSA. Hoy manan y siempre. Happy Mother's Day Mi Amor!!

Authorities have not said what prompted the attack or what led them to believe Mayra was responsible for it.
NPR announced Tuesday that a new $4.7 million grant from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will enable the company to open two new newsroom hubs.

The donation from Schmidt and his wife, Wendy Schmidt, to the Collaborative Journalism Network will create two new regional newsroomsone in California and a Midwest hub connecting Member stations in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraskathat will increase local coverage across the states, especially in underserved communities, and will expand investigative reporting capacity, according to NPR.

They will help the public radio stations in those states expand their local reporting and their contributions to the national radio programs. The California newsroom will serve the 17 public radio stations across the state, which air in 50 cities. The midwestern hub will serve the 25 public radio stations in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska that broadcast in 63 cities.

Also Read: Local Newspaper Closures and Layoffs Accelerate During the Pandemic: 'Hardly Anyone Is Safe'

In a statement, Wendy Schmidt said, Local news is especially important, and with so many newsrooms in decline, we need to invest in strengthening reporting resources from trusted sources like public radio. These regional news hubs will not only increase local reporting of critical issues, they will also elevate diverse voices and perspectives in regional and national stories.

The timing of the grant is noteworthy given how many local papers and outlets are struggling amid the pandemic and shutting down.

Read original story NPR Gets $4.7 Million Grant, Will Open Newsroom Hubs in California and Midwest At TheWrap
The decision of the 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) has shown once again that there is no way out for "Taiwan independence" and hyping up Taiwan-related issues at the WHA is unpopular, a mainland spokesperson said Tuesday.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when asked to comment on the decision by the WHA not to discuss Taiwan-related issues raised by some countries.

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China, which is an iron-clad fact and unshakable principle, Ma said.

The mainland always attaches great importance to the health and well-being of Taiwan compatriots.

"We have not only promoted cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation in the field of health but also adopted, under the one-China principle in international affairs, a number of measures and made appropriate arrangements for Taiwan's participation in global health affairs," he said.

Since the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, the channels for Taiwan to obtain information and support on the epidemic prevention and control have been open and effective.

As of Monday, the mainland had sent 155 notifications on COVID-19 to Taiwan. Since 2019, under the one-China principle, altogether 24 Taiwan experts in 16 groups have participated in the World Health Organization (WHO) technical activities, including WHO Secretariat briefings on the epidemic situation.

From 2009 to 2016, the Taiwan region had been able to participate in the WHA as an observer in the name of "Chinese Taipei," a special arrangement made through cross-Strait consultations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle upheld by both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in the Taiwan region in 2016, it has obstinately adhered to the separatist position for "Taiwan independence" and refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, thus unilaterally undermining the political foundation for cross-Strait consultations.

The DPP authorities are the only party to blame for the region being unable to take part in the WHA since.

"We urge the DPP authorities to avoid going further down the wrong path. Any attempt to challenge the one-China principle is doomed to fail," the spokesperson said.
More than 300 Chinese gamblers and workers have been sent home from Laos after two months held in quarantine in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos, sources in the country say.



Most of those returned had come to the Golden Triangle as tourists before area casinos were closed in March to slow the spread of coronavirus, and had been watched for signs of illness before their release, sources said.



The authorities have sent over 300 Chinese back home over fears of COVID and because the border has been closed, a resident of Bokeo provinces Ton Pheung district told RFAs Lao Service, without saying how or when the returnees had left the country.



The Chinese also wanted to go home. The SEZ is now closed, and no one knows when it will reopen, he said.



These were all tourists and workers who were laid off, when the SEZ , which began operations in 2007, closed its doors, a member of the districts Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control told RFA on Wednesday.



And because the Golden Triangle has suspended all its services, the stranded tourists and jobless workers were sent home, he said, adding that the group sent back are just the first group scheduled to go home.



More Chinese workers and shopkeepers still remain behind, he said.



Reached for comment by RFA, a worker at the SEZ office who answered the phone declined to provide details of the groups transfer home.



Around 125 Burmese working at the Golden Triangle SEZ were sent home earlier on May 8 and returned to Myanmars Thakhilek province at the request of the provincial governor, Lao sources said.



And a group of 90 travelers from China, including 77 Chinese rail workers, recently landed at the Wattay International Airport in the Lao capital Vientiane, Lao Vice Minister for Health Phoutone Meaungpak announced on May 19.



Also in the group were eight Lao students coming from Wuhan, and another five were Lao students returning from Suzhou, he said, adding that authorities have also recently admitted into the country 1,761 travelers from Thailand and 584 travelers from Vietnam.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Richard Finney.
After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the owner of a Somerset County, N.J., construction company has pleaded guilty to one count of felony perjury brought by the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

In exchange for the guilty plea, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey sentenced Robert Riley of Far Hills, N.J., owner of RSR Home Construction LLC, to two years of probation and fined him $5,500 for lying under oath during an investigation that began in May 2018.

OSHA initiated the investigation after two separate incidents in which two RSR Home Construction employees suffered serious injuries after falling through an unguarded skylight while making roof repairs.

In administrative proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the company agreed to affirm citations and a $50,000 penalty for one willful and three serious violations for lack of fall protection and other safety deficiencies.

In a sworn deposition taken during OSHAs investigation, Riley testified under oath that he never instructed or authorized anyone to perform work on the roofs. However, Rileys text messages to construction workers revealed he directed a worker to begin repairs on the roof of the barn structure where the injuries occurred.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey prosecuted the case, with assistance from OSHAs Area Office in Parsippany, N.J., and the departments Office of Inspector General and the New York Regional Office of the Solicitor of Labor, which also litigated the administrative citation case before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

Topics Workers' Compensation USA Construction New Jersey
Cyclone Amphan tonight made violent landfall in eastern India and Bangladesh, lashing communities along the coast with ferocious wind and rain, reported BBC.



It uprooted trees and toppled dwellings in both countries, including in the Indian city of Kolkata in West Bengal.



Nearly three million people were evacuated - most of them in Bangladesh - before the severe storm hit.

At least 12 people have died in India after Cyclone Amphan made landfall earlier today, authorities were quoted as saying by CNN.



All the reported deaths took place in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, according the state chief minister Mamata Banerjee.



Banerjee said one of the victims, a girl in the Howrah district, died after a wall from her house collapsed. She did not provide any further details how the rest of the deaths occurred.

Coronavirus restrictions have been hampering emergency and relief efforts.



Covid-19 and social-distancing measures have made mass evacuations more difficult for authorities, with shelters unable to be used to full capacity, stated the report.



The storm, which was the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999, is expected to have caused deadly storm surges. Its winds have now weakened but it is still classified as a very severe cyclone.

Bangladesh Oxfam director, Dipankar Datta, told CNN that thousands of makeshift homes in Bangladesh have been uprooted due to the cyclone. He added that he does not expect the storm to hit the Rohingya refugee camp area in Coxs Bazaar.



Amphan began hitting the Sundarbans, a mangrove area around the India-Bangladesh border home to four million people on Wednesday afternoon, before carving north and north-eastwards towards Kolkata.



It was moving with winds gusting up to 185km/h (115mph). Amphan is expected to move further into Bangladesh on Thursday, and later Bhutan.

Meanwhile officials in Bhadrak, a city in the Indian state of Odisha, have evacuated 218 Pregnant women from the area's coastal villages to health centres, the Indian government has said.

The Indian government said on Twitter that 60 of the evacuated women gave birth on May 19 and 20 under special medical care, as officials braced for the cyclone.



More than 150,000 people have been evacuated from Odisha's coastal areas, the director general of India's National Disaster Relief Force Satya Narayan Pradhan said earlier today.
Boris Johnson has vowed the governments test, track and trace scheme to curb the spread of coronavirus will be in place by 1 June.

Under pressure from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister gave a guarantee that the operation would be ready within days  despite concerns over the readiness of a new smartphone app and the number of contact tracers to carry out the scheme.

In a fraught exchange at prime ministers questions, Mr Johnson first replied that he was confident that the UK will have a test-and-trace operation in place by June.

He then went further, confirming that a world beating system will be in place by the beginning of next month.

The test, track and trace scheme is critical part of the governments plans to ease the lockdown. Using an army of contact tracers and a smartphone app, the scheme aims to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases as businesses and schools begin to operate in England again.

But despite plans to press ahead with reopening schools to some pupils on 1 June, the rollout of the mobile tracking app has been beset with difficulties.

Sir Keir said the lack of effective tracing of infected people amounted to a huge hole in our defences and compared the grim UK death toll to places with intensive test and tracing such as Germany and South Korea, where deaths stand at around 1,000 and 300 respectively.

The prime minister accused Sir Keir of feigning ignorance on the figures, telling MPs the government was making fast progress in testing and tracing, and there will be 25,000 trackers who are able to cope with 10,000 new cases a day.

Mr Johnson went on: So were making fast progress in testing and tracing and I have great confidence that by 1 June we will have a system  that will help us very greatly to defeat this disease and move the country forward.

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

Sir Keir replied: This is the last PMQs for two weeks, can the prime minister indicate that an effective test, trace and isolate system will be in place by 1 June, Monday week?

Mr Johnson replied: What he heard is that we have growing confidence that we will have a test, track and trace operation that will be world-beating and yes, it will be in place, it will be in place by 1 June.

His comments came after the deputy chief scientific adviser Professor Dame Angela McLean said an effective test and trace system was needed to reopen schools as the government was embroiled in a furious row with unions and teachers over whether it was safe to restart classes.

Prof McLean told the Downing Street press conference on Tuesday that easing of lockdown measures needed to be based on observed levels of incidence in places that theres going to be change, not on a fixed date.

The NHS coronavirus app is being trialled on the Isle of Wight, with a wider roll out first promised by mid-May. But security researchers have pointed to wide-ranging flaws in the app, including risks to users privacy and the potential for abuse.

Outsourcing giant Serco, which is training staff, also apologised for accidentally sharing the email addresses of some 300 contact tracers.
Second consecutive win in category and second award in past week for Validus platform

AUSTIN, Texas, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Eventus Systems, Inc., a leading global trade surveillance and risk management software platform provider, was named Best Trade Surveillance Solution for the Dodd-Frank Act at the unveiling of the 2020 RegTech Insight Awards today. The award is the second regulatory technology honor the firm has received within the past week for its Validus platform and marks the second consecutive year it won the category.

A-Team Insight editors, as well as an advisory board of industry leaders representing technology organizations and some of the largest financial institutions in the world, oversee the RegTech Insight Awards. A public voting process by members of the financial industry ultimately selects the winning firms that are creatively finding solutions to help meet regulatory challenges.

The U.S. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 is a broad financial reform legislative package enacted following the financial crisis of 2008. The Validus platform, which is now actively surveilling activity for clients on more than 100 exchanges and trading venues around the world, helps firms address exchange rules and regulatory requirements not only in the U.S. but throughout a wide range of regulatory jurisdictions in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Travis Schwab, Eventus CEO, said: "We're incredibly proud and honored once again to earn the confidence of market participants as well as the esteemed editors and advisory board of A-Team Insight. With its scalable architecture, in-depth reporting and artificial intelligence/machine learning capabilities, Validus supports the demands of a broad range of firms across geographies and asset classes. We're continually innovating and bringing to market new features and enhancements, including hundreds of pre-built, customizable surveillance procedures, minimizing the amount of time needed to resolve issues and respond to regulatory inquiries. Through automation, we build in efficiencies that make it easy to reduce false positives. And our ability to quickly deploy our powerful and proven platform on a completely virtual basis, as well as users' ability to operate it from any location, has been especially valuable to our clients during these remote-only times."

Angela Wilbraham, CEO of A-Team Group, which hosts the RegTech Insight Awards, said: "We are delighted that our cross-platform readership of over 20,000 senior technology officers and data specialists clearly rated Eventus Systems as the Best Trade Surveillance Solution for the Dodd-Frank Act in a very competitive field. We congratulate them on their prestigious RegTech Insight Award win."

Last week, Eventus won Markets Media's 2020 Markets Choice Award (MCA) for Best in RegTech - Surveillance and Financial Risk Management after earning a series of honors since 2019, including an FOW International Award for best Market Surveillance product, the Risk Technology Award for Market Surveillance Product of the Year and the RegTech Insight award. The firm was also one of only 19 U.S. companies to earn a spot on the global RegTech 100 list for 2020 - the second consecutive year it made the list.

About Eventus Systems

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, and serving clients globally, Eventus Systems, Inc. offers one of the leading global trade surveillance and market risk platforms. Available as a real-time or T+1 cloud-based or on-premise solution, the Validus platform provides sophisticated market surveillance and financial risk capabilities, enabling clients to solve some of the most pressing regulatory challenges. Validus combines multiple technology stacks including artificial intelligence (AI) to generate the optimum number of actionable alerts across equities, equity options, futures, foreign exchange (FX), fixed income and digital asset markets. Clients include Tier 1 banks, brokerages and futures commission merchants (FCMs), proprietary trading firms, exchanges, corporates and buy-side firms. Visit www.eventussystems.com. Follow Eventus Systems on LinkedIn and on Twitter @EventusSystems.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/635481/Eventus_Systems_Logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1170385/Eventus_Systems_RegTech_Insight_Awards_Logo.jpg
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and urban policy consultant Sarah Iannarone could be headed to a runoff this fall, but results as of Wednesday morning are a hair too close to call.

Wheeler held a wide lead over Iannarone with about 49.9% to 23.6% in nearly complete returns tallied as of noon Wednesday. In third is community organizer Teressa Raiford, who received around 8%.

But in the latest tally, Wheeler slipped just below the 50% plus 1 vote threshhold needed to avoid a runoff. With about 15,000 ballots still to be counted, he appeared Wednesday to have been pulled into a runoff by a razor-thin margin.

If that holds, the political rivalry between Wheeler and Iannarone would stretch to Novembers general election. Both ran for mayor as first-time candidates in 2016, which saw Wheeler win and Iannarone finish third.

In recent weeks, Iannarone has been part of a lawsuit against Wheeler seeking to stop him from using contributions from large money donors. A Multnomah County judge ruled earlier this month that Wheeler could keep spending all the contributions his campaign has received.

If he secures a win, either in May or November, Wheeler will be the citys first mayor since Vera Katz to earn a second consecutive term in office. With a win, Iannarone would become the fourth woman to hold the top elected position in Oregons largest city.

During a news conference over Zoom, Iannarone said she was excited about the prospect of a runoff against the incumbent and called it a win for our team. She attributed enrolling in the citys revamped public campaign finance program to helping expand her reach to more voters than in 2016.

Our goal from day one was always to make sure that this campaign goes all the way through to the general election, Iannarone said Tuesday evening. We think Portlanders deserve that and were very excited that with more unity among progressives and an expanded electorate that well have a much better chance of coming out in first place in November.

Wheeler didnt immediately respond to request for comment Tuesday evening. Hours before election results arrived, he and staff members spent time cleaning up litter in Southeast Portland.

Wheeler has pledged a win would bring stable leadership to Portland and to City Hall, as the city recovers from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and continues to address the homelessness and housing crisis. He also is pressing to change the City Councils current at-large representative system as part of a charter review process that will begin next year.

Portland voters elected Wheeler, a former state treasurer and Multnomah County chair, to office in 2016. Among his campaign promises were improving police services, providing better protections for renters, helping create a plan for the city to transition toward renewable energy and ensuring everyone sleeping on Portlands streets had the option of sleeping inside within the first two years of his term.

Under Wheelers watch, hundreds of new affordable housing units have opened in the city, shelter capacity for people experiencing homelessness has increased and renters protections have also increased, including more notice to tenants for no-cause evictions. The city also reduced the use of single-use non-recyclable plastics such as plastic straws, established the Portland Clean Energy Fund and has committed to replacing its electricity needs with renewable sources by 2035 and transitioning all other sources to entirely clean energy by 2050. The U.S. Justice Department also found the police bureau in substantial compliance with nearly 200 mandated reforms as part of a city settlement due to officers excessive force against people with mental illness.

But the city also saw public outcry continue as community members, some in the midst of apparent mental distress, were killed by officers. Large tent encampments still appear in many parts of the city with limited shelter space and many still struggling to afford or keep their homes. Large-scale demonstrations and counterprotests involving right- and left-wing supporters often led to violent clashes drew national attention. More people in Portland lack shelter than when Wheelers term began, county figures show, and the homeless population accounted for the majority of Portland police arrests in 2017, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive found. Also, some police reform initiatives Wheeler promised while campaigning four years ago never came to pass, such as instituting a body camera program and eliminating a rule that allows officers who use deadly force to wait two days before speaking to investigators.

Wheeler told The Oregonian/OregonLive before the election that hes learned several lessons since taking office, including that building more housing alone isnt enough to help people transition from unsheltered living and stay there. He said the city is continuing to make strides, but that itll take more time to get closer to the citys goals, particularly now that Portland is in the midst of a global pandemic. He said his time building coalitions has meant he would be able to more quickly find common ground with partners to address city issues.

Iannarone said she believes the city has regressed in many ways under Wheelers watch and that positive changes he has brought havent gone far enough.

Among Iannarones priorities are to ramp up the citys response to climate change by transitioning to entirely clean energy by 2030, advocating for expanded access to public transportation including the elimination of fares and creating supervised injection sites for people struggling with drug addiction. She also supports launching a gun buyback program as a way to lessen gun violence, removing all armed police officers from Portland schools and the gun violence reduction team and assigning them to other areas in the police bureau and requiring future Portland police officers live in the city as a prerequisite for being hired.

The winners term will begin in January and conclude in 2024.

-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
BONNE TERRE, Mo.  A Missouri man was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday for fatally stabbing an 81-year-old woman nearly three decades ago, the first U.S. execution since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.

Walter Barton, 64, had long maintained he was innocent of killing Gladys Kuehler, and his case was tied up for years due to appeals, mistrials and two overturned convictions. His fate was sealed when neither the courts nor Gov. Mike Parson intervened.

Barton breathed heavily five times after the lethal drug entered his body Tuesday evening, then suddenly stopped. In his final statement released prior to his execution, Barton said: "I, Walter "Arkie" Barton, am innocent and they are executing an innocent man!!"

Concerns related to the coronavirus caused several states to postpone or cancel executions over the past 2  months. Until Tuesday, no one had been executed in the U.S. since Nathaniel Woods was put to death in Alabama on March 5. Ohio, Tennessee and Texas were among states calling off executions.

This Feb. 18, 2014, file photo provided by Missouri Department of Corrections, shows death row inmate Walter Barton, convicted of killing an 81-year-old mobile home park manager in 1991.

'Please have mercy': Minutes before Nathaniel Woods' execution, murder victim's sister begged an Alabama official to spare him

The last execution in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state, was Feb. 6. Seven executions that were scheduled since then have been delayed. Six of the delays had some connection to the pandemic while the seventh was related to claims that a death row inmate is intellectually disabled.

Barton's attorney, Fred Duchardt Jr., and attorneys for death row inmates in the other states argued that the pandemic prevented them from safely conducting thorough investigations for clemency petitions and last-minute appeals. They said they were unable to secure records or conduct interviews due to closures.

Attorneys also expressed concerns about interacting with individuals and possibly being exposed to the virus, and they worried that the close proximity of witnesses and staff at executions could lead to spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Story continues

Barton was executed in Bonne Terre, Missouri, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of St. Louis, at a prison that has no confirmed cases of the virus. Strict protocols were in place to protect workers and visitors from exposure to the coronavirus.

Everyone entering the prison had their temperatures checked. Face coverings were required, and the prison provided masks and gloves for those who didn't have them.

Six state witnesses  a reporter for a Springfield television station, an Associated Press reporter and four department of corrections employees  waited in a room together for about an hour prior the execution. All six were masked. At one point, four department of corrections officials, including Director Anne Precythe and three other officials, briefly entered. They did not wear facial protection. The witness waiting room was about 300 square feet.

Barton often spent time at the mobile home park that Kuehler operated. He was with her granddaughter and a neighbor on the evening of Oct. 9, 1991, when they found her dead in her bedroom.

Police noticed what appeared to be blood stains on Barton's clothing, and DNA tests confirmed it was Kuehler's. Barton said the stains must have occurred when he pulled Kuehler's granddaughter away from the body. The granddaughter first confirmed that account, but testified that Barton never came into the bedroom. A blood spatter expert at Barton's trial said the three small stains likely resulted from the "impact" of the knife.

In new court filings, Duchardt cited the findings of Lawrence Renner, who examined Barton's clothing and boots. Renner concluded the killer would have had far more blood stains.

Duchardt said three jurors recently signed affidavits calling Renner's determination "compelling" and saying it would have affected their deliberations. The jury foreman said, based on the evidence, he would have been "uncomfortable" recommending the death penalty.

AP reporter Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Walter Barton: Missouri carries out 1st US execution amid coronavirus
Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more

The United Kingdoms plans to launch a smartphone application to track potential COVID-19 infections wont include Apple and Google.

The countrys National Health Service has designed its own mobile software to do contact tracing of people exposed to the coronavirus, the BBC reported Monday.

The NHS reportedly found that its own tech, which runs in the background on Apples iPhone, works sufficiently well.

One hangup with some contact tracing apps is that they work only when a phone is active and the app is running in the foreground, which can sap battery life.

The NHS app conserves battery life by waking up the software in the background when a phone encounters another phone running the app.

However, the Apple-Google engine may conserve even more power, because it doesnt have to wake up link to another device running it.

Apple and Google earlier this month released APIs to help developers, including nation states, create contact tracing apps for the Exposure Notification system theyre collaborating on.

The companies plan to incorporate the system into future versions of their mobile operating systems, iOS and Android.

Centralization vs. Decentralization

With its app, the NHS chose a centralized model for its data collection and storage.

When the app senses another version of itself on a phone it makes note of it and sends the information to an NHS computer server. If someone using the program tests positive for COVID-19, that information is sent to the server, which then alerts every app user who had contact with the person of their exposure to the virus.

Apple and Google have set up a decentralized framework for their mobile contact tracing solution.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

As with the NHS app, when phones running a tracing app are within proximity of each other, they exchange information in the form of a key code. Users let the app know when they become infected.

The app then updates an online database with the codes of the contacts of the infected person. That database is downloaded to phones periodically so users of the app are kept current about whether theyve been exposed to the virus.

Apple and Google say their decentralized method preserves an individuals privacy better than a centralized method. They contend that the method makes it more difficult for a hacker or the state to track individuals and their social interactions, because data is stored on their phone and doesnt leave it without the owners permission.

The NHS contends that by centralizing the data, it can obtain more insight into the spread of COVID-19, which can help it further refine its app.

Dynamic Tension

There is a tension between the NHS and Apple-Google camps, noted Alain B. Labrique, director of Johns Hopkins Universitys Global mHealth Initiative in Baltimore, Maryland.

The tension is between a centralized data repository controlled by the government and a system that makes data available only to individuals.

When data is only available to individuals, it takes away the potential for abuse, Labrique told TechNewsWorld.

In many countries theres a popular concern about giving government granular access to not just where youve been but who youve been in contact with and for how long, he said.

Protecting that kind of data during a pandemic comes with some disadvantages.

As a public health authority, the more information I have about contacts, the more capability I have to address the pandemic effectively, Labrique explained.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Not all countries are going the centralized route. Switzerland, Estonia, and Austrias Red Cross have endorsed decentralization, as has Germany, after considering a centralized approach.

Countries that are accepting the decentralized approach are also accepting a tradeoff, Labrique said. Theyre willing to sacrifice some level of control in order to get another tool out there that people can use to fight back against coronavirus.

Location Protection

The centralized approach adopted by the NHS has the potential for abuse, even though data collected by the program may be anonymized, said Omer Tene, chief knowledge officer of the International Association of Privacy Professionals in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

In a big data context such as this, even anonymized information can be attributed back to individuals, sometimes through crossing with other available databases, he told TechNewsWorld.

Under the Apple-Google approach, as well as a solution by a group of European scientists known as DP-3T, there is no central database and instead data is stored on users devices, Tene noted.

Both the NHS and the Apple-Google solution employ Bluetooth technology rather than collecting geolocation data, he pointed out. [*Correction  May 5, 2020]

Location data can be incredibly revealing and sensitive, showing where people live, work, which doctors they go to, who they associate with, and so forth, Tene continued. For contact tracing, location is not needed as its enough that two individuals were close to each other  for one of them to pass the virus on to the other.

More Nations Adopting Apps

Smartphone contact tracing apps have been rolled out in a number of countries, including China, Israel and Singapore.

Australia released its contact tracing app on Sunday. Within hours of its release, more than a million Aussies had downloaded the app.

The software, which is based on a similar program used in Singapore, uses Bluetooth wireless technology to gather data from other phones running the app when it comes within 1.5 meters (4.2 feet) of them. When someone with a phone running the software is diagnosed with COVID-19, all users of the app who had contact with the infected user for 15 minutes or more receive an alert telling them theyve been exposed to the virus.

Only state health authorities will be able to access the data gathered by the app. Not even law enforcement officers with a court order will be able to access the data. Whats more, data will be erased from the phone every 21 days, or if the app is removed from the device.

In order for the app to be effective, its estimated that 40 percent of the countrys population must use it.

The main problem is that contact tracing apps are only effective if broadly adopted and standardized, Tene said.

For example, Singapores TraceTogether app was downloaded by just 13 percent of the population, meaning that in any interaction between two random passersby theres only a 1 percent chance they both use the app, he said. Obviously thats insufficient to allow people to have confidence that their encounter with a patient will be flagged.

*ECT News Network editors note  May 5, 2020: Our original published version of this story stated the following: The NHS app has an edge over the Apple-Google solution when it comes to protecting location data, he (Tene) continued. The NHS app is based on Bluetooth proximity tracking as opposed to GPS or cellular location. That is a much more privacy friendly approach, since it doesnt require collection of geolocation data, Tene explained. Following publication of our story, Tene offered this clarification: Deploying a BT based solution is a strength of the NHS app and not a relative strength compared to the Apple-Google solution because that too is Bluetooth based.
When the Department of Justice (DOJ) reviewed General Michael Flynn's case, it discovered that both the FBI and the DOJ had engaged in egregious misconduct. Therefore, it exercised its discretion to move to dismiss Flynn's case. Judge Emmett Sullivan, who ought to have rubber-stamped the motion, instead appointed a retired judge as a "friend of the court" specifically to oppose the motion. He also announced that he would entertain other third-party briefs.

In the face of this unrelenting bias, Flynn's attorney, Sidney Powell, took the somewhat risky step of going over Sullivan's head. On Monday, she filed an "Emergency Petition for a Writ of Mandamus" with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It's a beautifully written brief, but seven of the eleven D.C. Circuit judges are Clinton and Obama appointees, making it famously hostile to Republicans. If this packed appellate court rules against the petition, that will embolden Sullivan.

The basis for the petition is that Judge Sullivan has exceeded his authority, which requires an appellate order mandating that Sullivan (1) grant the motion to dismiss and (2) vacate the order appointing a "friend of the court." The petition also asks the appellate court to kick Sullivan off the case and appoint a new judge for any remaining ministerial matters.

The petition, while lucid, is long, so here's the quick version:

Judge Sullivan has long been hostile to Flynn. In December 2018, in open court, he went on a rant against Flynn, saying Flynn's actions in matters unrelated to the proceedings before the court might constitute "treason" and that he had "sold [his] country out." Flynn also used the words "disdain" and "disgust" for Flynn's conduct.

Sullivan's statements were based upon an embarrassing ignorance of facts. On another occasion, he said of the lost original 302  the core document supporting the charges against Flynn  that "things happen and documents are lost. I mean, it just happens..."

When Sidney Powell took on Flynn's case, she requested documents that the DOJ improperly failed to produce, only to have Sullivan deny that request. It was only because Attorney General Barr appointed someone with experience both in the FBI and the DOJ to review the files that the DOJ finally produced documents proving definitively that the government had railroaded Flynn. It was this new information that led the DOJ to file the motion to dismiss.

Under the law, which I'll get to in a minute, the judge has almost no discretion when the prosecution files such a motion. Sullivan, however, went rogue. He announced that he was appointing retired judge John Gleeson to file a brief as an "amicus curiae" (friend of the court) opposing the motion. Gleeson had just published an opinion piece in the Washington Post calling the motion to dismiss a pleading "reek[ing] of improper political influence." Additionally, although Sullivan had previously (and properly) rejected other amicus curiae briefs, he now invited them.

The law is uncomplicated. First, trial court judges cannot invite amicus curiae briefs in criminal cases. Those are the rules, and the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed them. Right up until he was about to lose control of the case, Sullivan abided by these rules. He has abused his discretion by ignoring them now.

Second, United States v. Fokker Servs., a case out of the D.C. Circuit, is unambiguous: under Art. II, 3 of the Constitution, it is the prosecutor who decides whether to bring a case and whether to dismiss it. The judge cannot second-guess that decision.

Moreover, the presumption is that the prosecution is behaving correctly when it seeks to dismiss a case. In this case, the DOJ's review showed repeated instances of irregular, biased, and unethical behavior on the part of both the FBI and the DOJ. These facts support the presumption.

Under the circumstances, there is no reason to deny the motion to dismiss and every reason to grant it. Besides, because Judge Sullivan has repeatedly shown hostility to Flynn, the latter is entitled to an impartial judge  or one who at least makes an effort to appear so.

Immediately after Flynn filed the petition for writ of mandate, Judge Sullivan made known his hostility to and disrespect for Flynn. He issued an order granting Judge Gleeson's request for a briefing schedule that pushes oral argument to July 16, almost two months from today. That's an unusually long briefing schedule by any standards. Moreover, it gives Sullivan the chance to push his decision out for yet another few months, maybe until after the election, with the hope that Biden wins.

What we see here is a judge so inflamed with passion that he is willingly abandoning the rule of law to imprison an innocent man. This is how leftist judges always operate on matters that ping their political antennae. The behavior isn't rare. The only difference here is how openly a leftist judge shows his disdain for the law.
Boris Johnson was braced for a fresh Brexit border battle last night as he rejected a demand for the EU to have a permanent base in Belfast.

The Government confirmed yesterday there will be new checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain from the start of next year.

Traders will be asked to fill in electronic customs declarations and infrastructure will be expanded at Northern Irish ports to carry out checks on animal and food products.

Traders will be asked to fill in electronic customs declarations and infrastructure will be expanded at Northern Irish ports, pictured, to carry out checks on animal and food products

But in a document setting out their approach yesterday, ministers insisted it would be for UK border officials to conduct any checks and insisted they would not allow the EU to set up a 'mini-embassy' in Belfast to oversee them.

The Government called on Brussels to 'respect the UK's territorial integrity' and warned that its demand to set up a permanent base in Northern Ireland would be 'divisive'.

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Michael Gove said: 'It is for the UK Government to be responsible for the application and delivery of the (Northern Ireland) protocol.

'We are one customs territory, we are one United Kingdom, and it is in that spirit that we have said to the EU that we do not think it is good for them to establish a new mission in Belfast  that would be seen by many in Northern Ireland as unnecessary and not in keeping with the [Good Friday] Agreement.'

The Government paper said businesses in Northern Ireland would enjoy 'unfettered access' to the rest of the UK as goods being exported eastwards across the Irish Sea would not face checks.

Ministers insisted checks on goods moving the other way from Great Britain to Northern Ireland will be kept to an 'absolute minimum' after the Brexit transition period ends.

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Michael Gove, pictured, told MPs ministers would employ a principle of 'keep it simple', with any procedures having the 'lightest possible touch'

Mr Gove told MPs they would employ a principle of 'keep it simple', with any procedures having the 'lightest possible touch'.

Officials estimate spot checks would be performed on less than 1 per cent of goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

But Labour accused Mr Johnson of failing to keep a promise he made during the election campaign in December when he claimed: 'There will be no checks on goods from GB to NI, or NI to GB'.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Louise Haigh said: 'The Prime Minister has finally faced reality; his deal will mean additional checks and processes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

'But seven months of denial and mixed messages from the very top have cost businesses the vital time they needed to prepare.'

Meanwhile, Michel Barnier last night hit out at the 'tone' of Mr Johnson's Europe adviser David Frost.

The European Union's lead negotiator said a 'new dynamism' was needed in talks if they are to avoid a 'stalemate'.

He was responding to a letter from Mr Frost which was highly critical of the EU's approach to the negotiations.
Taipei, May 20 : Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC is reportedly planning to launch new earbuds called U Ear which will look similar to Apple's AirPods.

According to a Fone Arena report, the HTC U Ear earbuds were recently spotted on Taiwanese certification authority NCC's website.

The certification listing includes images of HTC's first TWS earbuds that reveal a design similar to the first-gen Apple AirPods, with a couple of minor differences like the charging port on the HTC earbuds are located on the front of the earbuds, instead of the end tips, and the earbuds are all black, unlike the AirPods, which only come in white.

The charging case looks similar to the AirPods Charging Case as well, though not identical, and it does open up length wise like the Powerbeats Pro case rather than at the top like the AirPods case.

The case is likely to charge via USB Type-C. However, there is no mention of support for wireless charging.

As of now, there is no information on when HTC will announce these earbuds or how much they will cost.

Since Apple launched the AirPods in 2016, almost all major tech companies such as Amazon, Jabra, and Microsoft, have since tried to capture some of the wireless earbud market.
FINANCE Minister Paschal Donohoe has signalled the Government will make changes to the State's Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme to allow new mothers to access it.

Mr Donohoe and the Government have been heavily criticised after it emerged that women looking to return to work after maternity leave are excluded from the temporary wage subsidy scheme (TWSS).

This is because they were not on their employer's payroll in January or February. These women are instead being forced onto the pandemic unemployment payment.

While Mr Donohoe had previously signalled the issue could not be addressed without changes to the law - and would therefore be delayed until a new Government is formed - Sinn Fein and others have argued it could be done without legislation by issuing a direction to Revenue.

Speaking in the Dail, Mr Donohoe said he was working with officials in the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners to "identify if there is a way of resolving it".

He was responding to questions from Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath

Speaking later in response to Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane, Mr Donohoe said it was "intention that all are treated equally by legislation" and said it was his "desire to see if there is a way of dealing with it".

The Government has been referred to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission by the National Women's Council (NWCI), which says it was "discriminatory".

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy asked Mr Donohoe if consideration has been given to extending maternity leave as part of the solution for mothers.

She said it's not the "most ideal time" to have a baby as the support networks "that would normally kick in is not available to most".

Mr Donohoe said that idea has been put to him.

He said the issue of mothers returning to work following maternity leave is "an important and pressing matter for many at the moment".

Mr Donohoe said his preference is to deal with the issue "through our tax code".
~Take it or leave it stance from Dutch Government~

PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maartens Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs in her address to parliament on Tuesday said that St. Maarten and the other Prime Ministers of the Kingdom namely Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten were left out of the discussions on the conditions that the Kingdom will impose for the requested loan from the Dutch Government.

Jacobs said St. Maarten was not even given the agenda point on the meeting they were asked to attend where the conditions were presented.

The Dutch Government already made available $20M in its first tranche, but the country must inform the Dutch Government by Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 if the conditions presented for the interest-free loan is accepted. Jacobs said from the $53M, $24M will be for immediate budgetary support while $29M goes towards the stimulus payroll support undertaken by the SSRP.

Cuts include 25% on personnel cuts on salaries for Ministers and Members of Parliament and other personnel costs. Civil Servants must accept 12.5% salary cuts across the board. The salaries of directors of government-owned companies also must capped to reflect 130% more than the salary of the Prime Minister. Pension reform also must be concluded by July 1st. The pension age must be increased from 62 to 65, the increase of the AOV age also to 65.

Jacobs said that some of the conditions set forth by the Dutch Government are attainable while several of the conditions are not available for the time frame. The Prime Minister said that legislative requirements will be needed for the implementation of the conditions. Jacobs said St. Maarten was given up to 11 am on Wednesday, May 20th to inform the Dutch Government if their conditions for a loan are accepted.

Jacobs made clear that the conditions set forth by the Dutch Government take away the autonomy from the country since there will be more supervision by the CFT. She said the Dutch Government also informed St. Maarten that other unknown conditions can also be implemented. She said the Dutch Government also informed St. Maarten that an entity will be established to either disburse or supervise, however, no details were given to St. Maarten about the intended entity neither is it clear if St. Maarten will be represented in the entity.

Jacobs also informed Parliament that the conditions set forth by the Dutch Government do not foster stronger relations with the Dutch Government.

Faction leader of the USP MP Claudius Buncamper did not mingle with words when he said that the Dutch Government is not helping St. Maarten but instead, they are abusing the country. MP Buncamper said that St. Maarten made several mistakes over the past 10 years since the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles. He said St. Maarten was not helped by the Dutch since 10/10/10 because the Dutch never ensured St. Maarten got the necessary assistance, so it grows. Buncamper further advised the Government of St. Maarten to stand together when taking a decision on how to move forward he cautioned that when that decision is taken as one.

Faction Leader of the National Alliance reflected on what transpired post-Irma and how the Dutch gave St. Maarten an indecent proposal. This time though Marlin said it is a take it or leave it situation. Marlin said St. Maarten is held by its throat because of the constellation the country is in because St. Maarten cannot borrow money elsewhere. Marlin said based on what he could see is the Dutch Government does not want to see St. Maarten prosperous in the constellation.

Marlin said the message given by the Dutch is clearly wrong. Marlin said St. Maarten is at the mercy of the Dutch because options are not given.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 05:06:15|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, as a preventative measure against the coronavirus, or COVID-19, despite warnings that it can cause heart problems.

"I think it gives you an additional level of safety," Trump told reporters after attending an event with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill. "But you can ask many doctors who are in favor of it. Many frontline workers won't go there unless they have the hydroxy."

"This is an individual decision to make," he added. "But it's had a great reputation and if it was somebody else other than me people would say, 'Gee isn't that smart.'"

Trump told reporters on Monday that he has taken hydroxychloroquine, which he has touted as a potential treatment for the coronavirus, on a daily basis.

"A couple of weeks ago, I started taking it," he said. "All I can tell you is, so far I seem to be OK."

White House physician Sean Conley, in a memo released hours after Trump made the declaration, said that he and Trump "concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks" after their "numerous" discussions regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine.

"In consultation with our inter-agency partners and subject matter experts around the country, I continued to monitor the myriad studies investigating potential COVID-19 therapies, and I anticipate employing the same shared medical decision making based on the evidence at hand in the future," Conley said.

The assessment was at odds with studies from the medical community, which have highlighted the drug's unproven efficacy and known potential side effects.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned in late April against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 "outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems."

"Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19," the FDA said in a release. "They are being studied in clinical trials for COVID-19."

Separately, a study released by the U.S. Veterans Health Administration last month suggested the drug was ineffective in treating patients with COVID-19 and found that the two primary outcomes for patients treated with the drug were the need for mechanical ventilation and death.

Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, told CNBC in an interview on Monday that he thinks doctors who were taking hydroxychloroquine "prophylactically" have pulled back.

"Because a lot of the subsequent data hasn't been encouraging," Gottlieb said. "We want this to work, but it doesn't seem like it's working, at least in the studies that we have right now."

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday that Trump is taking hydroxychloroquine.

"I can absolutely confirm that," McEnany said. "The president said himself he's taking it. That's a given fact. He said it. The president should be taken at his word."

In another interview with Fox News, McEnany urged caution in using hydroxychloroquine.

"Any use of hydroxychloroquine has to be in consultation with your doctor. You have to have a prescription. That's the way it must be done," she said. "The president has said pretty widely that this is a drug that he had looked at with optimism, but nevertheless he said that this is a decision that must be made with the doctor."

Vice President Mike Pence said on Tuesday that he is not taking hydroxychloroquine.

"My physician hasn't recommended that, but I wouldn't hesitate to take the counsel of my doctor. Any American should do likewise," Pence told Fox News in an interview. Enditem
Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen speaks at a non woven filter fabric factory, where the fabric is used to make surgical face masks, in Taoyuan

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan will strive to actively participate in global bodies despite its failure to attend this week's key World Health Organization (WHO) meeting, and will not accept being belittled by China, President Tsai Ing-wen will say on Wednesday.

Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party won January's presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide, vowing to stand up to China, which claims Taiwan as its own, to be brought under Beijing's control by force if needed.

China views Tsai, who will be sworn into office for her second and final term on Wednesday, as a separatist bent on formal independence for Taiwan. She says Taiwan is already an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name.

Tsai will say at her inauguration that Taiwan will seek to "actively participate" in international bodies and deepen its cooperation with like-minded countries, generally a reference to the United States and its allies, according to an outline of her speech provided by Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang.

Taiwan sees the need for participation in WHO as all the more urgent because of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in China.

Taiwan is locked out of most global organisations like the WHO due to the objections of China, which considers the island one of its provinces with no right to the trappings of a sovereign state.

Despite an intense lobbying effort and strong support from the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and others, it was unable to take part in this week's meeting of the World Health Assembly.

On relations with China, Tsai will reiterate her commitment to peace, dialogue and equality, but that Taiwan will not accept China's "one country, two systems" model that "belittles" Taiwan.

China uses this system, which is supposed to guarantee a high degree of autonomy, to run the former British colony of Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. It has offered it to Taiwan too, though all major Taiwanese parties have rejected it.

Tsai will also pledge to speed up the development of "asymmetric warfare" capabilities, and boost renewable technologies in a move to position Taiwan as a hub of clean energy in the Asia Pacific.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
No mask, no service is no longer a rule one York County coffee house is following.

The Hive Coffee House & Cafe in Dover announced Tuesday on Facebook customers and employees arent required to wear masks inside the shop if they dont want.

Were so proud to live in this great country that allows its citizens so many freedoms, and to honor that and those who have sacrificed their lives for it, we feel its only right to give both our customers and our employees the choice to either wear a face mask or to go without one when they visit The Hive, the post reads.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Department Secretary Rachel Levine have advised Pa. residents to wear face coverings in public places, including life-sustaining businesses such a grocery stores and pharmacies. In recent weeks, face masks have become a political symbol for some.

On its post, the Hive said it has been following precautions for the safety of employees and the community, but with Memorial Day on the horizon, we felt it has been laid on our hearts to stand up for our freedoms.

It acknowledged not every customer will agree with the policy but they ask for respect from our customers as we exercise our right to make this decision not only for our community, but for our employees who have graciously made the choice to continue working to help serve the community.

Response to the post was mixed, with many in favor of the decision.

Good for you! You will be flooded with support! Thank you for allowing your customers and employees to make their own choice, wrote Kimberly Early Herman.

This really disappoints me. I loved coming there and supported your business through curb side during this time. I wish you could see this is about protecting people and not liberties being taken away. I hope you reconsider, chimed in Amanda Scheler.

PennLive was unable to reach the Hive for comment. The family-owned coffee house opened in 2019 and serves specialty coffee and tea bar, smoothies, gourmet sandwiches, salad and soups as well as baked goods.

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.
More than 300 pubs plan to reopen as restaurants on June 29 and are appealing to the Government to permit this, according to the Licensed Vintners Association.

The lobbying group for Dublins 750 pubs says its new survey of members shows that 44pc plan to reopen on June 29 in line with Government plans to permit restaurants to reopen on that date.

LVA chief executive Donall OKeeffe appealed to the Government to open talks on the issue, insisting that pubs which provide menu service should be afforded the same opportunity to trade as other businesses offering seated dining.

More than four out of every 10 pubs across Dublin are gearing up to reopen as restaurants next month. This reflects the strong emphasis many pubs throughout Dublin have put on food service in recent years, Mr OKeeffe said.

These venues have restaurant certificates and are just as capable of following the public health guidelines as restaurants and cafes. Food is a major aspect of their business, so why should they be treated differently to other venues serving food and alcohol? Mr O'Keeffe asked.

We made it clear this would happen when the roadmap was announced, but we are still awaiting a meeting with Government to discuss the future for pubs, despite their public comments that they will meet the vintner organisations quickly, he said. Our members cannot remain in limbo and are now actively planning for reopening on the same basis and at the same time as restaurants.

The LVA asked its members whether they serve food and intend to reopen as restaurants on June 29. Of those, 72pc said they serve food and 44pc plan to reopen their doors on that date.
She's been having fun self-isolating at home with her boyfriend Norman Reedus.

And Diane Kruger took a break from her home life to run some errands in Los Angeles.

The 43-year-old was spotted out solo in an ensemble that drew attention to her toned stomach and long lean legs.

Legs eleven! Diane Kruger flashed her trim pins and stomach during a shopping out in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Diane rocked a colorful button-up shirt that she tied above her belly button to show some skin.

She teamed the look with a pair of light wash Daisy Duke shorts and completed her leggy display with some striped slides.

The National Treasure actress accessorised her look a cross-body bag and adhered to local orders by shopping with a protective mask.

Stunner! Diane rocked a colorful button-up shirt that she tied above her belly button to show some skin

Quarantine look: Diane's casual appearance comes after she shared a sultry photo of herself on social media on Monday

While heading into her local grocery store, Diane was seen bringing in a bottle of water and a block of Lindt chocolate.

She returned to her car with her cart filled with various bags of products.

Diane's casual appearance comes after she shared a sultry photo of herself on social media on Monday.

'Week 9 of quarantine,' she captioned.

The mom-of-one styled her blonde hair out messily and appeared to be wearing very little to no makeup for the occasion.

Fun at home: Diane's appearance comes after she shared a hilarious photo of her head in a shark's mouth alongside her partner Norman Reedus recently

Diane has been isolating with her partner, Norman Reedus. The pair met back in 2015 on the set of their film, Sky.

Together, they welcomed their daughter in 2018. They have not yet revealed her name.

The Walking Dead actor also has a son Mingus, 20, from his relationship with supermodel Helena Christensen.

In March 2019, Kruger told French magazine Madame Figaro that she had always thought she would not be a mother. But that changed when she met Norman.

'For a long time, the desire for a child didnt preoccupy me,' she said.

'I had my ways. I was fine without one. In short, I didnt feel absolutely ready.'

'Life ensured my daughter arrived at the right time. It was a surprise, and she is beautiful.'
Boris Johnson was handed a massive boost today as the number of coronavirus tests carried out almost doubled overnight - as he vowed a new testing system that will allow further easing of the lockdown will be ready on June 1.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tonight revealed that 177,216 tests were carried out yesterday, up from 89,784 the previous day.

Boris Johnson had pledged to get the UK to a state where it had capacity for 200,000 per day, but they had been lagging around 100,000, prompting concern and criticism.

The PM went a step further today and used Prime Minister's Questions to make a bold new pledge amid brickbats over testing failures linked to thousands of deaths in care homes.

Labour's Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson of leaving 'a huge hole in our defences' by abandoning tracing in March as they met in the Commons.

But Mr Johnson told MPs: 'Today the new cases stand at 2,400, so we are making fast progress in testing and tracing and I have great confidence that by June 1 we will have a system that will enable us, help us very greatly, to defeat this disease and move the country forward.

'I hope therefore that he will abandon his slightly negative tone and support it.'

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with checks reserved for hospital patients and health staff.

MPs on the Commons Science Committee said hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'.

Mr Johnson insisted that the Government was getting a handle on testing and assured MPs that a programme with 25,000 staff would be ready in just 12 days' time.

But the tracking element of the plan was embroiled in fresh chaos today as a Cabinet minister admitted the NHSX app won't be ready for weeks.

A number of potential security flaws suggesting the software can be easily hacked have been flagged to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which are thought to be partly to blame for the hold-up.

Downing Street has begun referring to a 'test and trace' programme, admitting the tracking element is unlikely to be ready by June 1.

Quizzed about the appalling number of deaths in care homes today by Sir Keir, Mr Johnson his opponent of 'feigning ignorance' and a 'negative tone'

The Government will launch a widespread contact tracing scheme to track down people who have been in touch with infected patients

But this prompted a backlash from the opposition leader, who said: 'Thirty four thousand (coronavirus) deaths is negative, of course I am going to ask about that , and quite right too'

Hi 'negative' jibe prompted a backlash from the opposition leader, who said: 'Thirty four thousand (coronavirus) deaths is negative, of course I am going to ask about that, and quite right too.

'The Prime Minister knows ... for ten weeks there had been no tracing unlike Germany and South Korea, and tracing is critical. There is no getting away from that.

'Do you want to leave the chamber': Moment Sir Lindsay Hoyle TELLS OFF Matt Hancock and threatens to chuck him out of the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle today threatened to kick Matt Hancock out of the House of Commons after the Health Secretary interrupted Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs. Mr Hancock was sat next to Boris Johnson on the Government frontbench as the premier was grilled by the Labour leader. Sir Keir demanded answers on the Government's plans for coronavirus testing in care homes. But he was repeatedly talked over by a seated Mr Hancock, resulting in a furious telling off from Sir Lindsay. The Commons Speaker initially said he did not 'mind you advising the Prime Minister' but told him to be quiet when Sir Keir was speaking. Mr Hancock then protested prompting Sir Lindsay to hit back and ask the Health Secretary: Sorry - do you want to leave the chamber?' Advertisement

'The Prime Minister knows it is absolutely vital, he made a big deal of it in his speech to the nation Sunday week ago.

'He said we cannot move forward unless we satisfy the tests he has set, one of which his test, a world beating test and trace system. World beating. Leaving aside the rhetoric, ''effective'' will do.

'There now appears to be some doubt as to when this is going to be ready.'

It comes after contact tracers revealed they have been given virtually no training and have been getting paid to sit around doing nothing for days on end, with one saying they had 'never been so bored in their life'.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced on Monday that 21,000 tracers would be receiving 'rigorous' and 'detailed' training needed for the important role, seen as crucial for getting the country back up and running.

But the programme has been slammed as shambolic by recruits who say they have been told to watch videos online on how to handle conversations with suspected COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, outsourcing firm Serco, one of the companies training Britain's contact tracers, was forced to apologise today after accidentally sharing the email address of 300 of its recruits.

The blunder does not inspire confidence for Britons who will be expected to hand over their private details to companies like Serco in the coming weeks as the country exits lockdown.

UK records 235 more coronavirus deaths The UK has recorded another 235 hospital deaths from Covid-19 today, taking the official total to at least 35,576. NHS England said 166 people had died in its hospitals, between the ages of 33 and 99, while 50 more victims were confirmed in Scotland, 14 in Wales and five in Northern Ireland. It comes as Public Health England testing data from yesterday shows that not a single case of COVID-19 have yet been diagnosed in London or the South East from swabs taken on Monday, May 18. Advertisement

Contact tracers are being employed to track down people by phone or email who have been exposed to an infected coronavirus patient to advise them to self-isolate.

They are set to be deployed along with the NHSX coronavirus app, which alerts users when they have been close to someone with the illness.

But ministers were warned today the app will fail because it is too complex, older people do not own smartphones and not enough people will download it.

Getting the 'track and trace' regime in place is crucial to reviving the economy from lockdown, with unions warning workplaces and schools cannot be safe before then.

Attacking the Prime minister this afternoon, Mr Starmer said: 'The number of Covid-19 deaths in Germany stands at around 8,000, in South Korea it is under 300, in contrast, the United Kingdom, despite two million tests having been carried out - there has been no effective tracing in place since March 12 when tracing was abandoned.

'That is nearly 10 weeks in a critical period without effective tracing. That is a huge hole in our defences, isn't it Prime Minister?'

Mr Johnson replied that he is 'confident' that the UK will have a test-and-trace operation which will allow the country to make 'progress'.

'And I can tell him also that by June 1, already we have recruited 24,000 trackers and by June 1 we will have 25,000,' Mr Johnson said.

'They will be capable of tracking the contacts of 10,000 new cases a day.'

Downing Street later confirmed its testing and tracking system will be rolled out before the contact tracing app.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the system would be rolled out by June 1, but did not say when the app would be widely available.

He told a Westminster briefing that the app 'is only one part of the system' and that there is a 'tried and tested' system for tracing and testing people.

The spokesman said the app would be 'rolled out in the coming weeks'.

Asked about comments by Health Minister Lord Bethell, who told peers on Tuesday that human contact tracing would come before the app, the spokesman said: 'I wouldn't disagree with that.'

They clashed as Mr Johnson and his leading ministers faced growing criticism over its early handling of the pandemic

RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY 'SECURITY FLAWS' IN NHSX APP Security researchers have highlighted a number of potential flaws in the coronavirus contact tracing app. The issues have been flagged to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is involved in the app's development, and it said it is in the process of fixing them. The researchers also warned legal protections around data use are needed in order to better protect personal privacy on the app, which is currently being trialled on the Isle of Wight. They say data associated with the app should be protected by legislation 'from use by law enforcement, or any usage not directly related to Covid-19 prevention'. Harriet Harman, chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, said on Tuesday that new laws to protect the privacy of personal information gathered by the app are a 'no brainer'. Ms Harman, who has prepared a Bill on the issue which is ready for introduction, said assurances by Health Secretary Matt Hancock do not provide any protection after he wrote to her saying the Government believes legislation is unnecessary because there is already the Data Protection Act. In their study of the contact tracing app, which was shared with the NCSC last week, security researchers Professor Vanessa Teague and Dr Chris Culnane identified a number of issues, including a weakness in the app's registration process which could be exploited by hackers and used to manipulate data or create logs of fake contact events. It also highlighted a flaw which means storing unencrypted data on a user's phone could potentially be used by law enforcement agencies to determine when two or more people met. The research added that generating new random ID codes for users once a day, rather than every 15 minutes like in other systems, makes it theoretically possible to determine intimate details about an app user's lifestyle, such as whether they 'woke up and went to bed with the same person, or more revealingly, if they did not'. Dr Ian Levy, technical director of the NCSC, thanked the researchers and confirmed the app development team is addressing all the issues raised. 'The intent of being open before national launch was to show what the app will do, how it will do it, and to get some peer review from security and privacy researchers,' he wrote in a blog post. 'Thank-you to everyone who's taken the time to look at the design and the beta code and provide us with useful feedback, whether that's directly, on GitHub or through the NCSC's vulnerability disclosure programme. 'Everything reported to the team will be properly triaged (although this is taking longer than normal).' Dr Levy added the NCSC would not comment on specific legal issues raised by the researchers. In a further statement, a spokesman for the NCSC said: 'Responsible security researchers are an overwhelming force for good and their feedback was openly requested for the quickly developed beta app. 'It was always hoped that measures such as releasing the code and explaining decisions behind the app would generate meaningful discussion with the security and privacy community. 'We look forward to continuing to work with security and cryptography researchers to make the app the best it can be for the public.' Advertisement

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this month that the goal was to roll out the regime in 'mid-May', but following a series of blunders has since refused to set a date. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland conceded this morning that the scheme may not be ready for another month.

The Government has been desperately trying to ramp up testing capacity, with MPs condemning the failure to get going on the issue early enough and control freakery from Public Health England (PHE).

One contact tracer, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Guardian he was paid for three days, despite doing virtually no work and receiving little training.

He revealed he was employed as a 'Work at Home Customer Service Adviser' after applying through the job website Indeed.

The man was invited for a day of online training run by outsourcing firm Sitel on Sunday, where there was just one trainer for around 100 tracers.

'We had a chat [box] where we could ask him questions, but the first hour and a half of the training was just people writing, 'I can't hear anything',' he said.

The trainees were told they were being hired as agents in the contact-tracing team acting as the first point of contact for suspected COVID-19 cases.

The man added: 'After the full day of training, people were still asking the most basic things. Someone also asked what they should do if they spoke to someone whose relative had died of the virus and he said we should look on YouTube where there are lots of videos about empathy and sympathy when talking to someone.'

'Then I looked at the rota and it said I was starting the next morning at 9am.'

The man logged in first thing on Monday to an email telling him to standby for instruction. He did nothing all day, but was assured he would still be paid.

One female recruit told the Guardian she had spent three days trying and failing to log into the Sitel system, despite Matt Hancock's assurances it was already up and running smoothly.

Another told the BBC: 'I've never been so bored in my life, it is an extremely expensive way to sit around doing nothing for the state.'

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care insisted recruits were being thoroughly trained before being asked to make calls.

They said claims staff were being asked to use YouTube for advice on how to deal with bereaved relatives was not in line with their training and would be investigated.

'Staff are trained on data security, customer service, safeguarding vulnerable children and adults, operating procedures, and when to escalate issues among other matters,' they said.

'Only applicants that have passed the training modules and technical tests are allowed to move onto the next stage and start work.'

The majority of contact tracing work will be contracted out to at least two companies, including Serco, who are being asked to provide 15,000 call centre staff. Other companies on the Government's shortlist for call centre staff include security firm G4S.

Staff may also be drafted in from NHS 111 and other helplines ran by the Government or private companies.

Ministers have also promised 3,000 former doctors and nurses who have been recruited from the pool of retired NHS staff who volunteered to return to help during the pandemic.

They will be able to provide medical advice to confirmed and suspected patients.

But Serco may have scuppered its chances of securing that contract after accidentally sharing the email address of 300 of trainee contact tracers today.

The Hampshire-based company wrote an email to tell new trainees not to contact its help desk looking for training details.

But the staff member who sent it forgot to mask their email addresses in the CC section of the email - revealing them to every recipient.

A Serco spokesman said: 'An email was sent to new recruits who had given us their permission to use their personal email addresses.

'In error, email addresses were visible to other recipients. We have apologised and reviewed our processes to make sure that this does not happen again.'

It's understood the email addresses where placed in the CC section by a member of staff while writing the message, rather than the BCC, which hides email addresses from other recipients.

Serco has been hit by a sting of controversies in the past few years.

The firm - whose chief executive is Sir Winston Churchill's grandson Rupert Soames - runs several services for the government, including immigration removal centres, maintaining RAF bases and recycling services for many councils.

As well as accusations of over-billing the taxpayer for tagging phantom criminals, the firm - based in the Hampshire town of Hook - has also been hit by claims of sexual abuse in its detention centres.

David Emm, from the cybersecurity firm Kapersky, said the email blunder will raise fears among Britons who will be asked to input their private information into the NHSX contact tracing app when it is rolled out in the coming weeks.

He saidL: 'COVID-19 is uppermost in everyone's minds at the moment; many people will be anxious to do everything they can to limit the spread of the virus, including using of the forthcoming NHS contact tracing app once it's available.

HOW WILL CONTACT TRACERS WORK ALONGSIDE THE APP? The bulk of contact tracing work will be contracted out to at least two companies, including Serco, who are being asked to provide 15,000 call centre staff. They will designated specific areas of the country and will receive alerts when NHSX app users come into contact with suspected patients. It is their job to phone these people and advise they self isolate and be vigilant about changes in their health and about social distancing. If they become ill, they will be tested. If a contact becomes infected, the same process begins for them and their social network. The idea is to keep track of how the virus moves through social circles and to try to stay a step ahead of it and prevent wider spread. Ministers have also promised an additional 3,000 former doctors and nurses who have been recruited from the pool of retired NHS staff who volunteered to return to help during the pandemic. They will be able to provide medical advice to confirmed and suspected patients. The tracers will make a list of people considered to have been put at risk by the patient, and those people will be notified that they might have the coronavirus. The NHSX app would need more than 70 per cent of the UK population to download and use it for it to be effective. But ministers say physical contact tracing will make up for the shortcomings of the app if update is below 70 per cent. Advertisement

'So it's alarming to learn that a number of security flaws have been found in the app  especially when considering how vital this may be in protecting the country from a second wave of the virus.

'There have also been concerns raised about data being held centrally, in contrast to the decentralised model being adopted by many other countries.

'Worries about privacy have also prompted the UK Joint Committee on Human Rights to draft a bill that spells out a framework for how data gathered using the app will be stored and used.

'It's important that government ensures the privacy and security of those using the NHS contact tracing app, since its widespread use will require public confidence.'

The Government's test and trace plan was embroiled in more chaos yesterday as it emerged tech experts do not believe the NHSX app will be effective - and health officials warned the outbreak cannot be stamped out by call centre staff with just a few hours' training.

The issues were highlighted after ministers signalled that the deadline for launching the contact tracing software nationwide is being pushed back - with no clear timescale.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said earlier this month that the goal was 'mid-May' but has since refused to set a date.

Number 10 would only go so far as saying it will be made available in the 'coming weeks' after experts have 'carefully studied' the findings of a pilot programme on the Isle of Wight. A survey has found just a quarter of IT experts are confident the app will be 'effective'.

Local health officials have warned that it will not be possible to keep infection under control with an army of people in call centres, rather than working in communities.

Getting the 'track and trace' regime in place is crucial to reviving the economy from lockdown, with unions warning workplaces and schools cannot be safe before then.

The government has been desperately trying to ramp up testing capacity, with MPs condemning the failure to get going on the issue early enough and control freakery from Public Health England (PHE).

But the NHSX app is another critical piece of the puzzle. People will be asked to download the software, and it will use bluetooth to detect whether they have been near anyone who has been diagnosed. They can then be told to isolate to stamp out flare-ups of the disease.

The director for Public Health Sheffield Greg Fell warned that test and trace is 'fundamental to breaking chains of transmission and reopening society'.

He admitted he did not 'know the final details of how it will work', and insisted properly trained staff would have to do the 'heavy lifting work'.

Mr Fell highlighted the dangers of relying on the app and call centres alone, saying detailed engagement with communities was key.

'That can't be managed only by people working in a call centre 250 miles away,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Downing Street again refused to give a date for when the new contact tracing programme will begin.

The blame game was also in full swing this week as a Cabinet minister claimed blunders in the coronavirus response were down to 'wrong' science advice.

Therese Coffey insisted the government had just been following the guidance from experts as she fended off damning criticism from MPs over 'inadequate' testing.

The Science and Technology Committee found hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of capacity for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'.

Ministers are warned NHSX coronavirus app will FAIL because it is too complex, older people do not own smartphones and not enough people will download it Ministers were today told the NHSX coronavirus app is 'not a silver bullet to tackle Covid-19' and could fail if not enough people sign up to use it. Everbridge Technologies, a provider of emergency communications systems founded after the 9/11 attacks, said the app needs 60 to 70 per cent uptake in order to slow the spread of the virus. But it highlights that even ubiquitous appls like WhatsApp struggle to attract 70 per cent of mobile phone users. Everbridge t also raised concerns about the Government's decision to use a centralised data system rather than the Apple-Android model which stores users' information on their device. Evidence submitted to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee and Science and Technology Committee pointed out a range of problems that could prevent the app from working effectively. They include: User uptake: To be effective at least 60-80 per cent of people need to install the app. Vulnerable and elderly people are left out: According to Ofcom only 40 per cent of over 65s own a smartphone. Data reliability: The app relies on citizens inputting the correct information and filling out forms with many data points. There is risk of error which could lead to wrong decisions and wrong advice being given. Human impact: The app provides you with a push notification once it has the right information. What is the next step and how will the app ensure users follow through with a test? How can someone communicate with authorities if they need help or advice? Privacy: The app relies on the centralised collection of personal and sensitive health information, which brings with it risks. Technology: New apps need frequent updates; each change is a challenge to uptake and relies on the individual to update their phone. Advertisement

HOW THE APP WILL WORK: STEP-BY-STEP The user will download the app onto their smartphone once it becomes available in their area. To register someone must put in the first half of their postcode, which shows the town or borough they live in. They will then be asked whether they have a new, continuous cough or a fever - the two main signs of COVID-19. If no, nothing will happen. If yes, they will be told to order a coronavirus test. The user will be told to keep their Bluetooth switched on at all times and the app will run in the background without them doing anything. When they go out, the app will keep a log of every time it comes within Bluetooth range of another phone with the app. This will be anonymous, with each app registered to a code rather than a person or address. If and when someone develops COVID-19 symptoms they will be helped to order a test through the app and every code that their app has logged a contact with will be warned of a potential infection in their network. The people with those codes will be told to self-isolate until the test result comes back. If the result is positive, anyone who receives an alert because they have been close to the patient will be told to self-isolate for at least seven days and to order themselves a test if they start to feel ill. If the result is negative everybody will be told to carry on as normal. Notes: The app will rely on people being honest about whether they are ill. It is not clear what will constitute a close enough contact for someone to be notified about possible COVID-19 infection. The general rule is if you are within 6'6' (2m) of someone for 15 minutes or more, but the Department of Health said a 'complex risk algorithm' will decide. Advertisement

Ban on drinkers at the bar, end of the hotel buffet and no salt and pepper shakers: 75-page hospitality industry report sets out roadmap to getting restaurants and pubs open on July 4

The hospitality industry has submitted a 75 page report setting out a roadmap to getting restaurants and pubs open on July 4, that includes ditching the hotel buffet and no more drinkers at the bar.

The dossier has been submitted to ministers by UKHospitality, the trade body for the industry, as reported by The Daily Telegraph.

Boris Johnson revealed his lockdown blue-print last Sunday after Brits spent weeks under draconian lockdown measures on imposed by the PM on March 23.

The Prime Minister has urged people to return to work and hoped that from June 1 schools and shops would reopen.

He also said it's his 'ambition' to start opening some hospitality businesses on July 4, as the PM tries to get the economy kickstarted.

The newly-released draft plans give a glimpse of how restaurants, bars and other leisure facilities will operate as the country eases out of lockdown, and offers suggestions for how they can operate safely during the coronavirus pandemic.

The industry has been devastated by the health crisis, with sales plummeting and many businesses still unsure if reopening with social distancing rules will be financially viable.

This picture shows a Wetherpoon pub in south London when it was still open. The graphics show what could happen if pubs reopen in July

Pubs and Restaurants

In pubs and restaurants salt and pepper shakers will be removed from tables and instead brought to customers along with cutlery, instead of it being on the table when you sit down.

Drinkers will also be discouraged from queuing up at the bar, and table service will be encouraged.

To prevent people not respecting social distancing guidelines there will be tape on the floor showing the appropriate distance needed.

Other options that pubs could consider is getting customers to order from one till and then collecting drinks at a separate pick up point.

When leaving the pub or getting another drink many people will take their empty glasses back to the bar so staff don't have to come and collect them.

But the document says that glasses should now be collected by staff.

Pubs will also have to put in place a plan for toilets to ensure they don't become overcrowded.

Drinkers are pictured at JJ Moon's in Tooting, south London, on March 20, the final day Wetherspoon was open nationwide

If pub gardens are open to take advantage of the summer weather, then patrols may have to take place to ensure big groups don't congregate and social distancing is being kept.

Rather than being able to grab hold of a bottle of ketchup or mustard, individually wrapped condiments will be encouraged instead.

Any use of a menu should be limited and cleaned after use by a member of staff.

Chairman of Wetherspoon Tim Martin previously said he was hoping to start re-opening its pubs and hotels 'in or around June'.

He was forced to close all 900 pubs and furlough 40,000 workers before Britain went on lockdown.

The 64-year-old said: 'If someone offered me the opportunity now to have it under supervised conditions, I think I'd probably take it because your chances are very, very good.'

He told Sky at the time: 'Supermarkets are very, very crowded. Pubs are much less crowded.

'There's hardly been any transmission of the virus within pubs and I think it's over the top to shut them. That's a commercial view but also a common sense view.'

He claimed that a nationwide shutdown was 'draconian' and that it didn't offer 'health benefits'.

Mr Martin had hoped he could get away with introducing social distancing in his pubs, with a 'regulars only' policy in some.

An empty beer garden at the Greene King Stag and Hounds pub in Farnham Common during the coronavirus lockdown

He said that people would be able to keep their distance more easily as footfall dropped with some unable to leave the house due to underlying health conditions.

Rival pub chain Greene King has previously said it wants to open beer gardens and customers will be able to order from an app.

Chief executive Nick McKenzie said customers would not be allowed in the pub in order to keep to social distancing guidelines.

The British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Emma McClarkin previously said: 'Re-opening in July will be great for those pubs who can meet the social-distancing measures required by then.

'We stand ready to work with the Government to help pubs re-open in a safe and financially viable way as soon as possible.'

Environment Secretary George Eustice has said he hopes that pubs can return imminently, if they are able to abide by social distancing guidelines.

Mr Eustice told the Commons: 'Of course we also recognise that until things return to something closer to normal and they can open normally, hopefully later this summer, then it will not give them all of the trade they previously had.'

Hotels

A warm handshake from a hotel owner or bed and breakfast host could well become a thing of the past.

Instead staff will be encouraged to greet guests in a way that abides by social distancing guidelines.

At hotels, hotels buffets will be strongly discouraged, meaning breakfast self-service available in thousands of hotels across the country will be ditched.

Guests who want to use the gym or any spa facilities will be encouraged to use their rooms to prevent overcrowding in changing rooms.

Similar rules for eating and drinking apply would apply at hotels, as would apply at restaurants and bars.

In terms of room-service staff will be encouraged to knock on the door and leave the tray outside, rather than engage with the customer.

Rooms keys will also have to be regularly disinfected and staff will have to keep a social distance if they help guests with luggage.

There will be no queueing and table service or apps will be prioritised to ensure social distancing.

Any outdoor areas would have to be regularly patrolled and queues at the front desks would have to be managed.

The hotel industry has been severely hit like many operators, with a number of them now housing homeless people during the pandemic.

Keith Barr, chief executive of IHG, which owns the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands said hotels must make 'visible' changes to hygiene standards to encourage customers to come back.

He also said the company was trialling electostatic sprayers and removing standard guest room items, such as a pen and paper.

Coronavirus patients with mild symptoms are quarantined at hotels in Tokyo staffed by robots. Five hotels are around the city are using robots to help limit the spread, one being the world's first social humanoid Pepper (left)

Mr Barr told the Financial Times: 'Covid-19 represents the most significant challenge both IHG and our industry have ever faced,' he said after the company's first-quarter update on Thursday.

This week other industry bosses also spoke about the importance of hygiene standards to lure customers back to an industry that has been a huge fall in sales.

At an industry event early this week the chief executive of Radisson Hotel Group Federico J Gonzalez, said the industry should have a united approach to cleaning and hygiene.

Speaking on a panel session as part of an In Sync virtual event, he said: 'Giving the consumer a common reference is one of the things that if the industry fails at doing it, we will pay for it.

'Stars mean nothing to today's consumers because every different region has classified this in a different way [they need] a reference they truly understand.'

And David Kong of BWH Hotel Group said cleanliness will become 'the most important element of why someone would pick a hotel', as reported by The Caterer.

Amusement Parks

At theme parks, capacity on roller coasters and other rides could be reduced by leaving middle seats empty if visitors are riding from different groups.

Amusement parks and other family entertainment sites may be forced to cancel character shows, concerts and end of day parades to ensure compliance with potential social distancing rules.

Queues for specific rides will have to abide by social distancing measures which means there could be less capacity on certain rides.

Getting food and drink at the various eateries at an attraction will also have to abide by social distancing guidelines.

In an update to guests this week Alton Towers said it was taking advice from theme parks around the world about when to open safely.

In an announcement on Monday the resort said: 'Since the Resort closed, we've been working tirelessly to make sure that when it is safe to reopen we are absolutely ready to welcome you back.

'We've been taking advice from colleagues across the globe on how best to reopen in line with new safety guidelines.

'From enhanced cleaning regimes to social distancing measures, we'll be doing everything we can to make sure that you have a brilliant, safe, visit.

Shanghai Disneyland sets up social distancing queues ready for the reopening of the attraction

'We'll be sharing our plans for reopening soon. For now we're asking guests with short breaks booked June 1 and July 3 to visit altontowers.com to find out how to move your booking.

'In our 40th Birthday season, we're determined to be here for you and your families, offering fun, thrills and fantastic memories, as we have done for decades and will continue to do for many more.

'Please keep smiling, clapping and supporting each other. See you soon.'

Kate Nicholls, the body's chief executive, told the newspaper: 'We will be ready to restart in England on July 4, and other parts of the country when allowed, but it's vital that reopening is done in the right way, at the right time and with the right support - so that our industry can help bring employees, customers and communities back together safely over the coming months.

'The summer is a crucial time for the sector. The great British public deserve safe accommodation, eating and drinking out experiences, holidays and leisure time; the financial cost is a justified investment in our nation's well-being and the future of the economy.'
The United States continues to turn the screws on Iran with its maximum pressure campaign, announcing another round of sanctions on Wednesday  this time targeting Irans interior minister as well as senior law enforcement officials, over allegations of grave human rights violations.

The US Treasury is accusing Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli of engaging in serious human rights abuses against Iranians during protests that swept the country in November after the government announced a surprise fuel price hike.

In a statement, the Treasury said Fazli authorised the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF) to use lethal force against protestors, resulting in the killing of many, including at least 23 minors.

His  and the regimes  goal was to quash these peaceful protests and suppress the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression at any cost, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a separate statement.

The Treasury on Wednesday also blacklisted seven senior officials with the LEF including commander Hossein Ashtari Fard, and a provincial commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also accusing them of engaging in human rights abuses during last years protests.

An investigation by human rights group Amnesty International found that Irans security forces unlawfully resorted to lethal force to suppress the 2019 nationwide protests, resulting in the death of over 300 protestors and bystanders including 23 children.

The LEF Cooperative Foundation  which the Treasury says is controlled by the LEF and is active in Irans energy, construction, services, technology and banking industries  was also sanctioned, along with its director and members of the board of trustees.

The Treasury action freezes any US-held assets of those blacklisted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

Washington also barred Rahmani Fazli and Ali Fallahian, the head of Irans intelligence service from 1989 to 1997, from travelling to the US. The US Department of State said Fallahian was involved in assassinations and attacks around the world.

The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and embarked on a campaign to economically squeeze Tehran through successive rounds of sanctions targeting individuals and entities.

The US has continued to apply new sanctions despite calls by United Nations officials and some governments around the world to temporarily suspend such penalties during the coronavirus pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Trump administration sanctioned Chinese-based Shanghai Saint Logistics, accusing the firm of acting on behalf of Irans Mahan Air  which is also on the US Treasury blacklist.

Beijing on Wednesday called the sanctions illegal and said the US should correct its mistake.

It is legitimate and legal for parties in the international community to engage in mutually beneficial cooperation with Iran that is in accordance with international law, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a regular media briefing.
Perez will partner with underwriting leaders across GRS to drive underwriting strategy and operations to maximize the value Liberty Mutual brings to brokers and customers across the globe. Perez has been with Liberty Mutual since 2012, most recently as Chief Underwriting Officer for North America.

Perez succeeds James Slaughter, who decided to leave the company effective June 30.

"I'm tremendously pleased to appoint David to this important position," said GRS President Dennis Langwell. "He has the underwriting and management expertise to bring value to our business partners and policyholders around the world. I thank James for his work to ensure a seamless transition and for his significant contributions to Liberty Mutual's success over his 15-year career with the Company."

About Liberty Mutual Insurance

At Liberty Mutual, we believe progress happens when people feel secure. By providing protection for the unexpected and delivering it with care, we help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, today we are the sixth largest global property and casualty insurer based on 2019 gross written premium. We also rank 77th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2019 revenue. As of December 31, 2019, we had $43.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ over 45,000 people in 29 countries and economies around the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, specialty lines, reinsurance, commercial multiple-peril, workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, surety, and commercial property.

For more information, visit www.libertymutualinsurance.com.

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Insurance

Related Links

http://www.libertymutualinsurance.com


The greatest threat to the wellbeing of children isnt a virus: Its their parents, according to some academics.

Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Bartholet has ignited a firestorm of controversy by arguing for a presumptive government ban on homeschooling in a recent law journal article. Her claims are largely relics of a bygone era dominated by progressive education theorists who believed that government bureaucrats know better about educating children than parents.

Bartholet explains in the current issue of Harvard Magazine that because homeschooling is not regulated enough by government, children could be at the mercy of parents who are essentially illiterate, or worse, neglectful or abusive. Absent government intervention, parents control their childrens education and upbringing  something Bartholet deems authoritarian and dangerous. Her solution is compulsory government schooling to ensure that children grow up exposed to community values, social values, democratic values, ideas about nondiscrimination and tolerance of other peoples viewpoints.

Adding fuel to the fire, Bartholet has convened a private and by invitation-only Harvard summit in June to focus on problems of educational deprivation and child maltreatment that too often occur under the guise of homeschooling.

No doubt participants will be channeling the likes of Horace Mann, considered the Father of American Public Education, and John Dewey, who wanted a Prussian-style system of uniform, compulsory schooling for the United States. According to these and other leading 19th- and 20th-century education theorists, such a system would improve our democratic institutions through the distinctly un-democratic means of forcing parents  especially poor and immigrant parents  to send their children to government-run schools that would instill the proper social and political consciousness.

Proponents believed this democratic end justified such un-democratic means because ultimately, as the Wisconsin Teachers Association put it in 1865, children are property of the state.

Of course, that view is wholly at odds with the Constitution, which neither mentions the word education, nor gives the federal government any enumerated power over it. Thats a real problem for progressives, including Dewey, who dismissed the notion of individual rights as idolatry to the Constitution, as well as Bartholet, who says the Constitution is outdated and inadequate.

The data, however, show that homeschooling parents are getting results that make government schools seem inadequate.

The scholarly research shows more than a 100-fold increase in the numbers of homeschooled students since the early 1970s, from 13,000 to more than 2.4 million. The latest EdChoice Schooling in America Survey also finds that the proportion of parents whose top educational option would be homeschooling reached an all-time high of 15 percent in 2019, a threefold increase since 2012.

These trends correspond with the federal governments dramatically increased involvement in K-12 education, staring with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965 and the establishment of the Department of Education in 1979. If parents, many of whom probably attended public schools themselves, were satisfied with public education, homeschooling would have died off  not exploded.

Given such growth, it stretches credulity to suggest, as Bartholet does, that homeschooling parents are some kind of nefarious lunatic fringe. It also ignores scholarly evidence.

For example, research for the Department of Education finds that homeschooling parents come from all walks of life and are socioeconomically diverse. It also shows that by a margin of more than two to one, parents say their most important reason for homeschooling their children is concern about school environments, such as safety, drugs or negative peer pressure, not religious instruction.

The majority of peer-reviewed studies also shows that compared to their conventionally educated peers, homeschooled students have higher K-12 academic achievement, more positive social development, better college performance, and more positive longer-term life outcomes, including greater life satisfaction, political toleration and civic engagement.

Ultimately, most homeschooling parents are successfully educating their children. Rather than learn from their success, progressive academics like Bartholet apparently want to eliminate the competition  an impulse that hardly seems democratic or tolerant.

Vicki Alger is a research fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, and author of Failure: The Federal Misedukation of Americas Children. She wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Terming safety of students, teachers and other stakeholders of board examination as an utmost priority, Shah said social distancing should be maintained and face masks should be worn by all.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday granted exemption from the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown rules for conducting the remaining Class 10 and Class 12 examinations.

Terming safety of students, teachers and other stakeholders of board examination as an utmost priority, Shah said social distancing should be maintained and face masks should be worn by all.

Taking into consideration the academic interest of large number of students, it has been decided to grant exemption from the lockdown measures to conduct Board examination for classes 10th & 12th, with few conditions like social distancing, face mask etc, for their safety. pic.twitter.com/P4ULsmbPVv  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 20, 2020

The tweet was accompanied by a letter from Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to Chief Secretaries of all the states, informing about the Centre's decision to allow holding of the remaining board examinations under strict guidelines.

The MHA has asked exam conducting bodies like CBSE, CISCE and state boards to not allot any examination centre in the containment zone. The wearing of face masks have been made compulsory for teachers, students and staff.

The home ministry has asked the boards to make provisions of thermal screening and keep hand sanitizers at the examination centres. Also, social distancing rules must be followed at all the places of examination.

Follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak

States and Union Territories have been asked to make arrangement of special buses for the transportation of students to the exam centre.

Several board examinations have been postponed due to COVID-19 lockdown. According to NDTV, the MHA had last week given its nod to open 3,000 schools to work as CBSE paper evaluation centres.

On 18 May, CBSE announced the dates for conducting the remaining Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations. The exams will be held from 1 to 15 July.

According to The Indian Express, the health minister had raised concerns over conducting the remaining papers of CBSE. Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, We have issued guidelines to the CBSE in this direction. The guidelines issued by the Health Ministry will be followed at every cost.

The report mentioned that HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Tuesday announced that to ensure minimum travel, CBSE board examinations will be conducted in the schools where students have been enrolled to study.
Astronomers believe they may have found the first direct evidence of a new planet being born around a distant star and it's all in the twist.

A team from PSL University, France, discovered a dense disc of dust and gas surrounding the star AB Aurigae, around 520 light years away from Earth.

Using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), located in Chile, the researchers observed a spiral structure with a 'twist' near the centre.

The team say this 'twist' is likely caused by gas and dust coming together as a new world begins to form - the first time the process has been directly imaged.

This image shows the disc around the young AB Aurigae star featuring a 'twist', which marks the spot where a new planet is being formed

This wide-field view shows the region of the sky, in the constellation of Auriga, where AB Aurigae can be found

The swirling disc is one of the telltale signs of the star system, surround the young, newly formed star, being born and it is in in the constellation of Auriga.

Dr Anthony Boccaletti, who led the study from the Observatoire de Paris said we've spotted thousands of exoplanets 'but little is known about how they form'.

'We need to observe very young systems to really capture the moment planets form.'

Until now astronomers had been unable to take clear images of young discs to see these twists - so this is a significant breakthrough in terms of planetary science.

The team used VLT's Sphere instrument to take photos of AB Aurigae - showing 'a stunning spiral of dust' caused by the baby planet trying to 'kick' the gas.

The same instrument was used in 2018 to take photos of another infant planet, thought to be just 5.4 million years old.

According Emmanuel Di Folco, of the Astrophysics Laboratory (LAB) of Bordeaux in France and one of the study authors, this so-called kicking phenomenon causes 'disturbances in the disc in the form of a wave.

the team say that this wave is somewhat like the wake of a boat on a lake.

As the new planet rotates around AB Aurigae, it causes the surrounding gas and dust to be shaped into a spiral arm.

The image on the right shows the inner region of the disc, including the bright yellow twist, circled in white. The twist lies at about the same distance from the star as Neptune from the Sun and blue circle represents the size of the orbit

This image shows the inner region of the disc around the young AB Aurigae star, where ESO's Very Large Telescope has spotted signs of planet birth. The bright yellow twist is the new planet making its orbit around the star

The very bright yellow region near the centre of the spiral is the twist, which lies at about the same distance from the star as Neptune from the Sun.

Anne Dutrey, also at LAB and a study co-author, said: 'The twist is expected from some theoretical models of planet formation.

'It corresponds to the connection of two spirals - one winding inwards of the planet's orbit, the other expanding outwards - which join at the planet location.

'They allow gas and dust from the disc to accrete onto the forming planet and make it grow.'

The observations are reported in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AMTE Power and Britishvolt are pleased to announce plans to investigate collaborating to build the UK's first full cycle battery cell GigaPlant, servicing the automotive and energy storage markets. Both parties have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) focussed on each other's complementary ambitions to create and expand an onshore manufacturing supply chain. The successful outcome of the collaboration would enable scalable production of a diverse product portfolio of lithium ion batteries to support the country's Road to Zero targets and unprecedented transition to electrification.

Kevin Brundish, CEO at AMTE Power comments: "We are delighted to be working with Britishvolt exploring the creation of a large scale manufacturing facility in the UK, and thank APC for introducing us. The recent global crisis has further highlighted the importance of having a robust onshore supply chain, and the creation of a GigaPlant would place the UK in a strong position to service automotive and energy storage markets. The scalable production of lithium ion cells is key to electrifying vehicles and would drive new manufacturing revenues and new employment, and can be built on AMTE's focus on the supply of specialised cells, thereby continuing the country's tradition of excellence in battery cell innovation."

Lars Carlstrom, CEO at Britishvolt, comments: "Aligning our objectives with AMTE Power, who are looking to add to their current manufacturing capabilities in the UK, our ambition is to build a 30+ gigawatt hour factory with the support of the British Government, creating up to 4,000 jobs in the process. Meeting Road to Zero targets and moving the UK into a low carbon economy will necessitate the unprecedented electrification of vehicles, and reliance on renewable energy will require extensive battery storage. It is costly and carbon-intensive to have lithium ion batteries imported from the Far East, and this GigaPlant would cement a solid onshore supply chain to ensure quality and eliminate future uncertainty of supply."

Ian Constance, CEO of APC, comments: "Positive changes in consumer perception leading to increased demand and technological advances in battery innovation make for a healthy electric vehicle landscape. The UK is a highly credible location for green growth investment. It has a rich and diverse supply chain, a rapidly decarbonising energy supply and an innovation culture, and government support through a strong industrial strategy. As the pace and scale of change accelerates towards new net zero targets the UK is in a prime position to design, develop, manufacture and export high-value battery technologies. It is a positive testament that AMTE power and Britishvolt recognise the full potential of the UK and have identified it as a priority for their battery industrialisation explorations."
Wendy Williams is now making her fans and viewers worry due to her worsening health condition.

On Monday, it has been confirmed by E! News that Williams is taking a break from her popular daytime show -- "The Wendy Williams Show" -- to receive treatment and focus on her health.

Moreover, through her show's official Instagram account, it was revealed that the 55-year-old TV host is suffering from worsening symptoms of Graves' disease.

"Recently, Wendy has been dealing with symptoms from her Graves' disease, which is causing fatigue," read the announcement on Instagram. "In consultation with her doctor and as a precautionary measure, she will be taking some time off as she continues to receive treatment."

The announcement did not disclose any detail about her current condition, but it was mentioned that the show will be giving updates about her return date soon.

To fill the void of her absence, "The Wendy Williams Show" will re-run their previous episodes until she is healthy and well enough to come back.

In 2018, Williams took a break as well, revealing that she had to deal with the autoimmune disorder after her doctor ordered her to do so.

Her show stopped production for several weeks at that time. Moreover, a few months after she came back, she went on a hiatus again in early 2019 after she suffered from a shoulder injury.

Guests hosts like Nick Cannon hosted the show for a while on her behalf as she dealt with her fractured shoulder and the complications from the disruptive disorder.

Williams And Graves' Disease

Dr. Terry Jay Smith, a professor at the University of Michigan Medical School specializing in endocrinology, explained the disease even further.

"Graves disease is an autoimmune disease. The immune system incorrectly identifies the thyroid as foreign," he told NBC News BETTER before saying that about 98 percent of his patients have the condition.

"Because of this misidentification, antibodies are generated, and there are T-cells that intersect in their surveillance and produce factors which, in the case of Graves disease, frequently cause the over-activity of the thyroid gland, [aka hyperthyroidism]," he went on.

Dr. Smith added that the disease can also cause a patient's eyes to inflame and bulge.

Some of its symptoms include fatigue (the one Williams is currently managing), trouble sleeping, panic attacks, depression, and heightened sensitivity to temperatures, to name a few.

Meanwhile, Wendy's fans flooded her social media accounts with well-wishes and hopes for her fast recovery.

"Just read the tweet about your condition, and I'm sincerely hoping and praying that this isn't a serious set back for you," one fan commented. "I'm hoping that this doesn't get worse and that you will be up and at them soon, get well quickly if you can but make sure your well before going back 2 work."

"I'm glad she's getting help, no matter what the issue!" another one wrote.
An Australian man claims to have a rare copy of the American Declaration of Independence, which he hopes to find a new home for.

Eddie Dib, from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, believes he has the 27th known copy of the historic declaration adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia in 1776.

He found the antique parchment inside a locked trunk he bought at a garage sale and is still looking to part ways with it 14 years later.

Mr Dib believes the copy could be worth millions.

He says the last time a copy was sold 29 years ago it went for $2.5million.

Eddie Dib is looking to sell what he believed is the 27th known copy in the world of the American Declaration of Independence, which he's had for 14 years

'From what I'm reading it's worth a bit of money. So, I'm hoping somebody is going to help me and yeah, go on the gravy train with me,' Mr Dib told Seven News.

Adopted in 1776 on a day now known as Independence Day in the US, the declaration states that the 13 American colonies then at war with Britain would regard themselves as independent sovereign states no longer under British rule.

There is only one copy of the engrossed and signed Declaration of Independence, which is now the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Of the 200 broadside copies, Irish printer John Dunlap produced of the declaration, 26 copies are known in the world and Mr Dib believes he has the 27th.

Mr Dib had no idea of what was inside when he first brought the trunk, which had no key for $50.

'I picked it up and felt a bit of weight in it. I took it home, ripped it open and voila, that was it,' he said.

'I've been stuck with it ever since and can't get rid of it. I've been trying to work out a way of getting rid of it.'

The declaration, which contains Second Continental Congress president John Hancock's signature was found in the trunk rolled up and has since been framed.

Mr Dib admitted he didn't initially realise its significance until he did further investigation.

Unable to find a professional outside the US to sell it to, Mr Dib has broadened his appeal to finally find a new owner.

'Hopefully there's someone out there in Brisbane who's interested in looking into it and making something for themselves as well,' he said.
Alan Johnson of Johnson Technology with one of the latest batches of laptops he sourced and set up for a secondary school to allow students work from home during the ongoing lockdown.

While front-line retail workers have received the lion's share of the attention, another group that has been kept extremely busy keeping the country running are those involved in the IT sector.

With all schools and most of the private sector now working from home, the demand for IT services has gone through the roof, while the supply of the necessary equipment all but dried up as much of the country switched to home working.

All this has led to unprecedented demand for IT services and one of the busiest people working in the sector in Kerry is Tralee-based Alan Johnson.

Alan - who runs Johnson Technology - has been working day and night since the crisis began to help schools and private firms all over Ireland meet their new technology requirements.

With all classes now taking place remotely, schools have dominated much of Alan's time, with much of the work linked to the emergency grants the Government provided for schools to buy IT equipment.

This 10 million fund - with 7 million for second level and 3 million for primary schools - was announced at the start of the lock-down and has resulted in an unparalleled spend on educational IT.

A typical large secondary school has been granted between 17000 and 19,000 to spend on IT, with the bulk of this usually going on laptops and tablets.

While the schools have the cash, there's also the small matter of sourcing the equipment and setting it all up. That's where Alan and his colleagues in the IT industry enter the equation.

Though setting up the devices so they're ready to be turned on and used immediately by students is a simple but time-consuming process, the real difficulty has come in actually sourcing the machines.

With thousands of major firms moving to home working almost overnight, the demand for laptops and tablets far outstripped demand, as Alan explains.

"When it comes to schools it's not just the students, a lot of teachers need hardware as well. A lot of them had desktops in their classrooms so they need laptops to work at home. You had a situation where almost the entire private sector shut down at once. There were large firms in Dublin buying up 600 or 700 laptops in one go," he said.

This demand - with schools competing with some of the country's largest and wealthiest firms for the scarce IT resources available - was compounded by an existing lack of supply caused by the shut-down of chip production overseas.

"Before the pandemic there was already a shortage of Intel chips, and now there's a massive demand for hardware. There are outlets that have hundreds of laptops on their sites in the morning and every one of them is gone 24 hours later," said Alan.

While the supply situation has normalized to an extent - most firms have suitable remote systems up and running by now - Alan says the demand is likely to remain high as school's prepare for an uncertain start to the next academic year.

"The demand is going to continue. If schools return in September, they will probably have to operate a blended learning system for several months, with pupils dividing their time between school and home.

"That could easily go on until next year, and schools will need to tool up during the summer so that they are ready for whatever happens."

While the systems used by schools - such as Google Classroom - provide an excellent solution in the current situation, Alan acknowledges that they are not without their faults.

"The systems like Google classroom are very good and extremely easy to use, but they have their issues. For a start, they're all Cloud-based, so if you don't have a good internet connection, there's a problem

"They are a very good alternative but, basically, there's no substitute for a classroom. Say you had a problem in maths class, you can call the teacher over and ask them, you just can't do that online.

"You also have a situation where a lot of schools don't have proper technology strategies in place.

"That's something that a lot of schools are working to address right now."
President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia is now fully self-sufficient in basic food products, TASS reports.

"Russia is fully self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs, it is consistently venturing into global markets, and is one of the leading exporters in a number of positions," the head of state said at a meeting on the situation in agriculture and the food industry.

"In recent years, the Russian agricultural and industrial sector has gained high, outstripping pace and is strengthening its position as a modern, high-tech industry with good potential for quality growth," the president said.

As an example, he mentioned the grain harvest in Russia, which for six consecutive years exceeds 100 million tonnes.

"This year we also have good harvest prospects," Putin said. He thanked the workers of domestic agriculture and agricultural enterprises for hard work, for results that are meaningful for the whole country.

"Today, when the Russian and world economies are having a hard time, its important to maintain the achieved dynamics in the agro-industrial complex, the confidence of our farmers in stable work and the stability of the industrys cooperative ties. We need to secure our own, domestic market and evaluate and use the opportunities that are opening up for our companies, in particular for export," the head of state said.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Monday expanded his plan to lift coronavirus restrictions while acknowledging that cases will likely rise as the economy reopens.

The Republican governor has added indoor malls to the growing list of businesses set to resume operations this week, saying it made sense to do so because big box stores are also reopening.

Justice has timed the most aggressive step of his plan for Thursday, just ahead of Memorial Day weekend, when he will allow the reopening of restaurants, tanning salons, malls, big box stores, all-terrain vehicle rentals, campgrounds, the Hatfield-McCoy trails and whitewater rafting and zipline businesses.

Justice has warned that the virus could devastate West Virginia, with the states high numbers of senior citizens and people with underlying health problems. He said health officials will spring up at the sight of any new outbreaks as he admitted that a spike looms as reopenings continue.

Theres going to be problems. This disease is here. We have got to be careful and if you will just please be super careful in what you do, well be fine, he said, later mentioning Texas as a state where cases are rising as restrictions were removed.

It is unclear exactly what criteria Justice is using to decide when certain businesses restart services, though last week the governor said he moved to lift restrictions on gyms and tanning salons after his office was bombarded with calls from business owners.

The governor has also laid out the next few steps of his reopening strategy. Cabins, lodges, bars at half-capacity, museums and zoos can reopen May 26. Spas and video lottery retailers can reopen May 30. Casinos can reopen June 5.

His plan to lift restrictions hinges on the states positive test rate staying under 3% for three days, loosening a previous goal of having the number of new cases drop for two weeks. He has never explained why the benchmark was eased but Clay Marsh, a West Virginia University official leading the states virus response, has said the state has enough downward trending indicators to lift restrictions.

At least 68 people in West Virginia have died from the virus and about 1,500 have tested positive, health officials said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptom. But for others, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including life-threatening pneumonia.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Virginia
Algerian courts have handed tough jail sentences to three opposition activists whose Facebook posts they deemed potentially damaging to the national interest, human rights groups said Wednesday.

Soheib Debaghi was sentenced in Algiers to one year in prison on charges of encouraging an illegal gathering, insulting an official body and publishing potentially damaging material, the National Committee for the Release of Detainees (CNLD) announced on its Facebook page.

Human rights group Amnesty International said two other activists, Larbi Tahar and Boussif Mohamed Boudiaf, were handed 18-month prison sentences by a court in the western town of El Bayadh, also for posts on Facebook.

The prosecution had called for three-year jail terms, at the hearing held by videoconference, the CNLD said.

Their lawyer, Abdelghani Badi, said on Facebook that Tahar was accused of having insulted President Abdelmadjid Tebboune by calling him "illegitimate", while Boudiaf had criticised the "injustice" of Algeria's judicial system.

Weekly anti-government protests rocked Algeria for more than a year and only came to a halt due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, with the authorities banning marches -- although the opposition had already suspended its gatherings.

A 25-year-old activist, Walid Kechida, has been held since April 27 for having posted memes on social media deemed mocking of Algerian authorities and religion. He risks facing a five-year jail sentence.

Activists and analysts fear Algerian authorities are using the pandemic as a pretext for crushing the "Hirak" protest movement.

According to the CNLD, around 50 people are currently detained over links to the movement.

Late last month, Amnesty urged the authorities to end "arbitrary prosecutions aimed at silencing Hirak activists and journalists" during the pandemic, and called for the release of detainees.

The rights group said that authorities were endangering detainees' health, "given the risks of a COVID-19 outbreak in prisons and places of detention".

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Nigerian actress cum businesswoman, Toyin Abraham, has taken to her IG page to beg her fans to assist her husband, Kolawole Ajeyemi in buying her a house in Banana Island.

The mom of one unveiled her husbands new business, shoemaking, then went on to beg fans to patronize his shoe business so that he can make enough money to buy her a house in Banana Island.

Read Also: Every Professional Person Was Once An Amateur, Give Room For For Growth  Toyin Abraham

Advertisement

My bestie is bracing another trail. We are now selling shoes o. Please patronise my hubby so he can buy me a house in Banana Island. This man is a blessing. I want to say thank you to you all for always standing by me. I told him he will get plenty orders today, pls dont disappoint me, she wrote.

Her fans have since begun to respond.

A fan wrote From your mouth to Gods ears, he will buy that house in Banana island and you will both live there happily.

Another fan wrote This family would definitely build an empire with this their UNITED thirst for hardwork and success.. Get you a man who does not wake up everyday ranting about their ex on social media. Way to go.

Actress Biola Bayo wrote As you have said and even more, so shall God do unto you in Jesus name. Continue guys @kolawoleajeyemi well done paddi mi.
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Online School, founded by Ali Latif and run by 3Lance Education, is providing free, live, quality online education for every child aged five - 16 years old with access to the Internet. The Online School has been operational since lockdown began and it currently has over 3,000 users. The timetable offers, maths, English, Science, ESOL and yoga, with other subjects joining the timetable over the coming weeks and the curriculum follows the National Curriculum espoused in the UK. The Online School is helping to fill the breach left by the closure of schools.

Pupils' parents register with the school and select the online lessons they would like their child to attend. Every lesson has a real teacher; all volunteers, fully-qualified and DBS checked. There is also a classroom assistant, called a moderator, who is there to ensure all the children remain safe and also maintains discipline whilst resolving any technical issues that may arise, leaving the teacher free to concentrate fully on delivering the learning. The school also provides recorded lessons for those children who cannot attend the live lessons.

The Online School is currently operating in 15 other countries aside from the UK, including reaching children in remote villages in Zambia and Namibia and is helping students from poorer parts of the world connect to the Internet, with laptop availability, without charge.

The Online School is self-funding and has just launched a GoFundMe campaign. Their aim is to communicate to all parents that their child can have free, live lessons now, during and also beyond lockdown.

Contact:

Ali Latif

ali@3-lance.co.uk

+44(0)7895648669

+44(0)7806593859
Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on May 19 talked on the phone with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio to discuss measures against COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh

Speaking highly of Vietnams success in the fight against the pandemic, Di Maio thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for providing valuable support for Italy in difficult times, saying that it is an act of friendship and solidarity between the two nations.

Minh, for his part, affirmed that Vietnam will continue partnering with Italy and the international community in the fight against the pandemic.

He thanked Italy for creating favourable conditions for the repatriation of Vietnamese citizens during the pandemic, and wished that the two Governments would continue working closely together to support their citizens in the time ahead.

Both sides also highlighted the significance of the bilateral strategic partnership and agreed to facilitate all-level visits when the situation returns to normal.

They vowed to strengthen consultation and coordination mechanisms to effectively direct the bilateral cooperation in the new period, tap the potential of partnership in fields of demand such as economy, trade, science-technology, and culture-education.

Minh suggested that Italy continue backing ties between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), particularly tapping the benefits brought about by the EU  Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU  Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement in the near future.

The two sides pledged to continue working closely together on international issues and step up links between ASEAN and Italy during 2020 when Vietnam serves as Chair of the ASEAN and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.

Deputy PM Minh also invited Di Maio to pay an official visit to Vietnam. The Italian diplomat accepted the invitation with pleasure./.VNA
Advertisement

Eleven people have been questioned over the murder of a 19-year-old law student who was gunned down in a drive-by shooting.

Innocent passer-by Aya Hachem was hit in the chest by one of several shots fired as she walked to a Lidl supermarket near her home in Blackburn, Lancashire at around 3pm last Sunday.

Among those arrested on suspicion of her murder was Feroz Suleman, 39, who co-owns a tyre shop next door to a car wash where Ms Hachem was shot - as chilling footage emerged of the moment she was gunned down.

Suleman, who had allegedly been feuding with the owners of the car wash, co-runs R1 tyres in Blackburn. He was arrested by Lancashire Police last Monday.

In the footage of the shooting, a silver Toyota Avensis appears to slow down alongside her. Moments later Ms Hachem - a second year student at the University of Salford - can be seen falling to the ground as traffic continues to flow.

On Wednesday, Lancashire Police said they had made eight more arrests. Four men aged 28, 31, 35 and 39 and a woman aged 29 were held on suspicion of murder.

Also arrested were two women aged 19 and 26 and a 29-year-old man on suspicion of assisting an offender, bringing the total number to 11.

Feroz Suleman, who co-owns a tyre shop next door to a car wash where a 19-year-old law student was shot dead in a botched drive-by shooting, was arrested for her murder by Lancashire Police last Monday. Above, Suleman, front right, at a motor show (image undated)

Aya Hachem (left), who was a trustee with the Children's Society, had been just 100 yards from her home when she was shot and killed on King Street (right, Ms Hachem, wearing a white top, stands a few yards from the Toyota which slowed beside her before several shots were fired on Sunday)

A general view of Quick Shine car wash next to R1 Tyres. Feroz Suleman, who co-owned R1 Tyres, had allegedly been feuding with the car wash owners

Police believe Ms Hachem was not the intended target of the attack, which took place in broad daylight on a busy main road near a Lidl supermarket in the town centre.

The Lebanese-born teenager, the eldest of four siblings, died in hospital a short time after emergency services were called to the scene in King Street at around 3pm.

Yesterday, Lancashire Police said a post-mortem examination showed she died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Reports have said that her body will now be flown to Lebanon for her burial.

Her father, Ismail Hachem, arrived in the UK ten years ago looking for safety as an asylum seeker.

According to family friends, he had been shot in crossfire in Lebanon and moved to England hoping for a new life. He spent nine years as an asylum seeker before gaining British citizenship last year.

Ms Hachem's former headteacher at Blackburn Central High School, Diane Atkinson, told the BBC: 'She fled a war-torn zone as a refugee and came to the UK looking for a better life.

'She arrived with very little English and was soon inducted with BCHS, as we call ourselves, the family, and Blackburn.

'And she was a very, very intelligent young lady who very, very quickly picked up the command of English and worked incredibly hard to become the very, very best person she could be.'

In 2010, Lebanon had faced a tense border clash with Israel in the disputed Golan Heights territory that killed four people.

The fighting followed on from the 2006 Lebanon War in the same region that left hundreds dead, and a 17-month period of political instability in the country which culminated in the 2008 conflict involving Hezbollah militants.

Ms Hachem's former school paid tribute to her as 'a beautiful young girl who fled her home country in search for a better life in the UK'.

Lancashire Police officers in forensic suits at the scene of the shooting in Blackburn on May 18. This car wash is next door to R1 tyres

A long-term family friend, Luky Hussein, said the shooting brought back the horrors of war for Mr Hachem.

'They fled Lebanon for the war with people threatening to kill him,' he said. 'Coming from something like this to the UK and now his daughter gets shot. This is history repeating itself. I can't imagine what he must be going through.

'I'm sure it brings it all back for him. He's got a bullet mark in his back, he was shot while he was living in Lebanon. He got caught in crossfire once.'

Hardworking Mr Hachem would volunteer at Mr Hussein's family takeaway in return for food - while he was banned from working as an asylum seeker.

'The struggles he has been through, he only got granted citizenship last year,' Mr Hussein said. 'Four times his application got refused. His two younger children were born in the UK.

'Finally last year he got his citizenship - and now poor Aya has been shot.'

University of Salford student Aya Hachem (pictured) died shortly after she was shot from a car window in Blackburn, Lancashire at around 3pm on Sunday

In an emotional statement, Samar Hachem said: 'Our beautiful 19-year-old daughter Aya has been taken from us in the most horrific circumstances.'

'She was the most loyal, devoted daughter who enjoyed spending time with her family especially her brothers and sisters Ibraham, Assil and Amir.'

Senior Investigating Officer Det Supt Andy Cribbin said: 'Our determination to find who was responsible for the death of Aya continues and we have a large team of detectives working on the inquiry.

'We know that a lot of people have expressed their support for the police investigation and I would like to thank them for that.

'However, we know of a number of videos of the incident are on social media and it is important that people formally report these to us as they are potential evidence.'

Witnesses to the tragedy claim the gunman was firing at the Quick Tyre and Quick Shine car wash, but missed and instead shot Ms Hachem.

Ms Hachem, who was a young trustee with the Children's Society, had been close to her home when she was shot and killed on King Street.

She had been a model student at high school in Blackburn and had dreamed of becoming a solicitor after completing her degree. Ms Hachem had just completed her exams and was learning to drive.

One witness to the tragedy said online that Ms Hachem had been 'shot to the floor from a car window' as she walked down the street.

'A woman casually walking down the street gets shot to the floor from a car window,' they said. 'Get me out of this place. Shaken to f***. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.'

Another added: 'The aim, I believe, was to shoot out the glass in the big main window of the tyre place near Lidl. He missed and shot the lady.'

A passer-by on King Street also today suggested the car wash was the target of the attack, following a previous dispute between the two parties.

'It is some sort of dispute regarding the car wash,' he said. 'There had been a fall out and this was a revenge attack.'

It has emerged that Aya's father, Ismail Hachem, (pictured) arrived in the UK 10 years ago looking for safety as an asylum seeker. According to family friends, he had been shot in crossfire in Lebanon

Pictured: The Toyota Avensis police believe was involved in the shooting of Ms Hachem, who sadly died on Sunday

Ms Hachem (pictured), who was a young trustee with the Children's Society, had been close to her home when she was shot and killed on King Street

The murder investigation centres around a car 'with a number of occupants' which was spotted leaving the scene shortly after Ms Hachem was shot.

A vehicle matching its description - a light-coloured, possibly metallic green Toyota Avensis - was found abandoned on Wellington Road, a short distance away from the scene.

Police added there is 'no evidence to suggest Ms Hachem was the intended target of this attack and every indication is that she was an innocent passer-by.'

She had recently passed her second-year law exams at the University of Salford and was the Vice Chairperson of the university's law society.

Her father, Ismail Hachem, paid tribute to his 'strong' daughter in a Facebook post.

'My strong daughter lawyer Aya Ismail Hashem God's mercy on your pure soul,' he said.

'They who broke our back with your horizon you were all dream, science and morals. Oh Allah, inspire us with patience and solace.'

Meanwhile, her former teachers at Blackburn Central High School described her as a model student who was hardworking and determined to be the very best she could be.

Her father, Ismail Hachem, paid tribute to his 'strong' daughter in a Facebook post today (Pictured: Police on the scene)

A statement released by the school read: 'She had lots of friends and was involved in helping others by organising charity events.

'A beautiful young girl who fled her home country in search for a better life in the UK.

'At school she embraced every opportunity and was one of the students whose achievement we have celebrated on numerous occasions, an example of what is possible

'She and will always be remembered for her diligence, her beautiful character and her humble nature.'

In another touching tribute, Noreen Hussain added: 'Aya Hachem was exactly the type of young woman I'd love for her to aspire to be like. I therefore write this with a very heavy heart.

'As at no point would her parents have imagined she would be taken away during a turbulent time for the world in such a tragic way.

'A mindless gunman has robbed Aya of her life and her family and friends and all those in society, of the good she was doing for others.

'Such a noble and caring soul and intelligent and bright young person.'

Armed officers, along with as many as seven squad cars and a helicopter, attended the scene and the victim was rushed to hospital

The Asylum and Refugee Community (ARC) Project in Blackburn paid tribute to the 'beautiful' and 'much loved' Ms Hachem in a Facebook post.

'With great sadness and heartache we have to share with you that we have lost Aya, beloved eldest daughter of Samar and Ismael from Lebanon,' they said.

'Aya, one of our own, lost her life in a horrific senseless attack, randomly caught up in a shooting outside Lidl, King Street, Blackburn as she walked past at around 3pm on Sunday.

'Aya, a beautiful 19 year old young woman from Lebanon, had just passed her 2nd year law exams at Salford University and had a dream and ambition to study international law.

'Aya and her family are much loved in our ARC community. Our hearts and prayers are with them at this painful time especially during this holy month of Ramadam when Aya and her family were fasting.'

The Children's Society Chief Executive, Mark Russell, said: 'We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of one of our young trustees, Aya Hachem.

'She was a truly remarkable young woman, and an inspiring voice for children and young people. Our thoughts are with her family at this awful time.'

Friends of the 'beloved' teenager have raised more than 36,000 to build a Masjid - a mosque - in her honour in west Africa.

In a JustGiving post, Hannan Qazi wrote: 'I urge you all to share and donate and grant this beautiful reward to our late sister.

'The Masjid will be built in association with Muslim Hands and built in Niger, West Africa.'

In an urgent appeal for witnesses, Terry Woods, of Lancashire Police, said: 'This was an appalling and senseless attack on an innocent young woman, whose life was cut short while she was simply out doing some shopping.

Anyone with information is asked to get contact the police on 101, quoting log number 817. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Often pushed into the shadows on the national political scene, education could become a significant election issue this year in a way that was virtually unthinkable at the start of 2020, taking center stage due to the massive disruption of the nations schools caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Donald Trump and others already are arguing forcefully for schools, which play a key role in the economy, to reopen as soon as possible, while Democrats are previewing a strategy of pinning a potentially tumultuous school reopening on the Trump administration.

Teachers unions in particular are strategizing about how to influence the political landscape and highlight the needs of their members as well as schools, without overreaching and squandering leverage. With advocates calling for billions of dollars in additional aid to cover new virus-related costs next year, education funding, or the lack of it, could become front-page news in an unprecedented way.

And just as pleas for additional support from health-care workers in the earliest stages of the pandemic resonated with many members of the public, frustrations among educators on the ground could carry weight in election contests later this year.

All these and broader circumstances, like whether some schools reopen only to close again if the coronavirus has a resurgence, could factor into voters desires and fears when they head to the polls.

In blunter termsechoing Ronald Reagans rhetorical test for the 1980 presidential electionwill voters decide theyre better off than they were a few years ago if theyre unable to send their children to school, or if schools have quite literally become a remote part of students lives?

Yet theres no guarantee that that such newfound political attention to schools would lead to major changes for issues of equity in education, such as the vast gulf in internet access between rich and poor students thats become especially prominent during the pandemic.

Those people who are mainly affected by those things are weak in our political system, said Paul Manna, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary, who studies education policy and politics. Maybe the country will learn these things about the way these systems work.

Pointing Fingers Amid Turmoil

The state of the economy could easily dominate voters minds this fall. But theres at least a little evidence that education could play a role too.

In a nationwide survey this spring by the parent-advocacy group Learning Heroes of more than 3,600 public school parents, School closures/changes will have a negative impact on your childs education or Too much screen-time for your child were cited as concerns more often than Being able to pay the bills. Whether these parents will turn up at the polls or mounting unpaid bills override other worries, remains to be seen.

No matter what Washington does, state and local officials will still have most of the financial and legal power over whether schools reopen and how they operate. Governors have been the ones who have shut down schools to try to contain the pandemic, and theyll be the ones who will shut them down again if another coronavirus wave hits the country.

But by one measure, the impact of school disruptions on elections may not be as big as it might have been in a different election cycle. Thats because there are just 11 gubernatorial elections this November, compared with the 36 that took place in 2018.

And there are no gubernatorial elections in some of the states hit hardest by the pandemic like Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. In Washington state, arguably the first that faced a prominent and significant outbreak of the coronavirus, schools are shut for the rest of the academic year. But those developments still may not spell the end for Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, whos seeking reelection to an office Democrats have held since 1985.

Still, the 2020 presidential election promises to overshadow many races and influence a host of down ballot contests. Trump has repeatedly pushed schools to reopen and stressed his view that children are relatively immune from COVID-19s effects, although hes also encouraged older teachers to stay home even when school buildings reopen. By contrast, the presumptive Democratic nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, in March called for additional money to help schools provide remote learning and other services.

The political prominence of education in the presidential election also is likely to be affected by how much money the federal government provides to schools, many of which are on the brink of massive cuts in state aid.

Schools will need a $70 billion infusion from the federal government in each of the next three years to avoid major cuts that involve moves like laying off teachers, according to one projection published last month by the Learning Policy Institute, an education research and policy group. That cumulative figure of $210 billion would be more than double the amount K-12 and higher education received in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

If Washingtons education relief turns out to be relatively meager, You can bet that Biden will point that out, said Douglas N. Harris, professor and chair of economics at Tulane University. You can bet they will hang that over their heads when the cuts start in places like Wisconsin and Michigan.  Republicans are going to realize that this would be disastrous for them, not just in the presidential election but in the down-ballot elections as well.

So far, Congress has directed roughly $13 billion in direct aid for local school districts and state education departments, with another $3 billion provided to governors for K-12 and higher education.

Yet the Trump administration is far from alone in pushing for schools to be relatively aggressive about reopening; Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate education committee, recently said he expects schools to open their doors in the fall, although he has also underscored the need for testing to be broadly available to help make that happen.

So whats the political strategy for Trump and other Republicans if that doesnt occur or falters?

For Derrell Bradford, the executive vice president for the education advocacy group 50CAN, the answer is pretty straightforward: The first thing you would do is blame the governors.  You lay it right at the governors feet. That could be a particularly appealing option for Trump since the governors of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are all Democrats; Trump has already made headlines for his war of words with Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

What might be most effective for many politicians is to cast themselves as champions of a return to what we knew and make a resumption of normal school operations and activities part of their pitch to anxious voters, Bradford said. From presidential candidates to local school board candidates, he said, there will also be tremendous power in appealing to how important teachers in particular are in a political context.

One of the two national teachers unions is test-driving its own pandemic-themed message that draws on this sentiment, although for now it doesnt have a sharp political edge.

The National Education Association, which is Americas largest labor union and endorsed Biden in March, launched a nationwide ad campaign called School is Where the Heart is  that is slated to run through the end of May. It focuses on the importance of public schools and of educators, and how the latter need our support more than ever before.

This public-relations push technically is focused on a coronavirus relief bill from House Democratsnot any candidate or electionthat includes nearly $1 billion in aid for state and local governments and close to $60 billion specifically for school districts.

However, four of the five cities where the ads are slated to runPhoenix, Denver, Augusta, Me., and Raleigh, N.C.are in presidential swing states, feature tight U.S. Senate campaigns, or both. (The NEA ad campaign is also running in Washington, D.C.)

Abject Failure to Help Schools

Its also easy to find more-aggressive political messages that focus on disruptions to schools, including in presidential swing states.

In a virtual conference in early May focused on Trump, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and how their decisions about the pandemic were hurting Michigans schools, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said the presidentnot governors or leaders lower down the ladder should take the blame if schools remain closed or struggle to resume normal operations due to a lack of testing and aggressive tracing of the disease.

Thats how we get back to school faster, Perez said. This president has exacerbated the crisis.

Perez made sure to praise Republican as well as Democratic governors for their response to the pandemic. But in response to a reporters question, he dismissed the idea that if we are unable to open up our schools again, its somehow a failure locally when youve had this abject failure of the federal government to lead.

On the other side of the aisle, Republicans are keen to point out what they see as an excess of caution at the state level.

In a May 5 interview with a Pittsburgh affiliate of CBS, Pennsylvania House Speaker Mike Turzai, a Republican, blasted state Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera (who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf) for saying that there was uncertainty about a return to in-person instruction on a normal schedule next year.

Turzai called such comments outrageous and said that they created anxiety, depression, and hopelessness.

His attitude is a cant-do attitude. It needs to be a can-do attitude, Turzai said, highlighting several ways he said schools can open safely while relying on social distancing. We have to open the schools safely by Labor Day, period. (About a week after Turzais comments, Rivera said that we fully expect to come back to school in the fall, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.)

Leverage and Caution

Meanwhile, education issues that only occasionally breached the surface of presidential politics in the past, such as charter schools, could quickly fall off the horizon. Some of them never gained any traction this election cycle. And Manna argued that unlike in previous years when demands grew for officials to dump the No Child Left Behind Act, for example, theres not a lot of pent-up demand for aggressive policy solutions that dont involve focusing on urgent needs related to COVID-19.

Yet that doesnt rule out political implications for the current system long term, said David Winston, a Republican pollster and policy analyst. Thats because, he said, the struggles many schools faced in transitioning to nontraditional instruction during a pandemic also shows a fundamental weakness that existed within the education system. As a comparison, its unclear to what extent education will be able to shift models the way health professionals have with telemedicine, he noted.

The larger the social disruption, the more willingness there is among some individuals to create a positive change, Winston said. If other people dont have answers, then those solutions potentially become the change.

And voters are going to be skeptical of answers that have an explicit political cast, he added: Parents are not going to want to hear, Look at how the other side is wrong. They want to hear what it is you have in mind in terms of making it work.

These are potentially difficult waters for teachers unions to navigate.

On the one hand, Bradford said, they have enormous leverage at the bargaining table, and enormous political leverage because of their ability to demand more safety measures before educators come back to work.

On the other hand, if unions try to use that leverage too forcefully while police and health-care workers go out every day and put themselves more directly at risk, Bradford said, There could be blowback.

So how to handle that kind of political balancing act?

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said her union focused on getting a reopening strategy published early, and is now working on making it a reality. Doing that hard work and occupying the political ground where most people areseeking a safe reopening of the economywill in turn create helpful political capital for her union, she said.

In some ways, I thank the right wing for making us prepare for Janus, Weingarten said, referring to the landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 that represented a significant blow for unions and their finances. We learned something really important. We learned how to reconnect in a broad way with our members and our community.

Labor actions like strikes driven by concerns about COVID-19 should only be considered in this context, Weingarten added, if proper safety measures arent implemented after long-term efforts to put them in place.

Connecting With Voters

For education and other groups doing political work this year, Manna said, the daily and small-scale activities that can define politicians careers are going to change or diminish, right down to backyard barbecues where candidates can press the flesh.

Think about all the events candidates hold to raise money, he said. Theyre just not going to be able to do that in the same way.

Not all the lifeblood for campaigns will dry up, he said. One traditional method of voter outreach (phone banking) will take up some of the burden, Manna noted, along with a more-modern approach (social media).

And despite major shifts in the normal cycle of politics, such as the AFTs decision to make its annual convention in July a virtual one, Weingarten said her union is confident more-traditional methods of political outreach will survive even if flashier events dont.

People will be able to knock on doors with masks on, Weingarten said. I find that type of connection is more important than big rallies anyway.  Any kind of one-to-one communication is really more important and more effective.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan, Asip Hasani and Tri Indah Oktavianti (The Jakarta Post) Medan/Surabaya/Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 19:21 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd953567 1 National Medan,surabaya,doctor,nurse,medical-workers,COVID-19,coronavirus,virus-corona,virus-korona-indonesia,North-Sumatra,East-Java Free

As the country still struggles to flatten the COVID-19 transmission curve, more medical workers have fallen victim to the disease, with dozens of doctors and nurses across the country succumbing to the coronavirus.

According to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI), at least 27 doctors have died due to the disease as of Wednesday.

One of them was a neurologist from the North Sumatra University (USU) hospital in Medan, 56-year-old Irsan Nofi Hardi Nara Lubis, who died on Monday after four days of treatment for COVID-19.

North Sumatra COVID-19 task force spokesman Aris Yudhariansyah said Irsan had been admitted to the Colombia Asia Medan hospital after testing positive of the coronavirus disease. He was buried under the COVID-19 burial protocol at a cemetery in the Perumnas Simalingkar housing complex in the city.

We are still tracking his contact history [with COVID-19], Aris said, adding that doctors still had no clue how Irsan contracted the disease.

He added Irsans wife, who is also a doctor, was in self-isolation at home, while authorities were waiting for her COVID-19 test result.

USU Hospital spokeswoman Evi Sumianto said Irsan had been a role model in the hospital for being humble to the people around him. We just lost one of the best medical staff we have ever had.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there 235 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths have been confirmed across North Sumatra.

Read also: COVID-19: #IndonesiaTerserah trends as frustration mounts over physical distancing violations, govt policies

A doctor from Surabaya, East Java, has also been added to the long list of doctors succumbing to the disease. Boedhi Harsono died of COVID-19 on Monday at the National Hospital in the provincial capital, as reported by the IDI on its Instagram account.

IDI spokesperson Halik Malik said Boedhi had tested positive for COVID-19 prior to his death. However, he went on to say that the association had yet to get any details regarding Boedhis medical history.

The spokesperson added that Boedhis wife, also a doctor, had also been infected and was receiving treatment at the same hospital.

A team from the IDI in Surabaya has reported that her condition is critical. She is still receiving treatment in the intensive care unit [ICU] and supported by respiratory support equipment, Halik said on Wednesday.

In another death among medical staff in Surabaya, a nurse working at a COVID-19 referral center in the city, the Mohamad Soewandhie Hospital, died of the disease on Wednesday morning.

The nurse, Suhartatik, previously worked in the hospitals stroke ICU until she showed COVID-19 symptoms. She was eventually referred to the Husada Utama Hospital after receiving treatment at the hospital she worked for.

Read also: Ambon hospital suspends operations after 25 medical workers test positive for COVID-19

Soewandhie hospital spokesperson Rince Pangalila said it was not known how the nurse had contracted the coronavirus, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Suhartatiks death was confirmed by Indonesian Nurses Association (PPNI) chairman Harif Fadhillah on Wednesday, saying the association was still investigating whether the nurse was infected while she was on duty.

She reportedly had been sick even before she got infected with COVID-19. However, were still looking for confirmation, he said.

According to the PPNI, 20 nurses nationwide have died of COVID-19, although the actual number might be higher than the official record.

We only record the death of nurses who were infected with COVID-19 when they were on duty. The number might be much higher, considering that nurses who are off duty might also get infected.

Read also: The faces behind the numbers: Remembering COVID-19 victims

Previously, a four-month pregnant nurse named Ari Puspita Sari suspected of having COVID-19 in Surabaya died on Monday after receiving treatment at two hospitals.

At the time of her death, Ari was only suspected of having COVID-19. However, the provincial COVID-19 task force eventually revealed that Aris swab test had come back positive.

Prior to Aris death, 64 medical staff were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19, three of whom have died of the disease, task force head Joni Wahyuhadi said on Wednesday.
Speaker of Assam Legislative Assembly H N Goswami on Wednesday inaugurated the Jorhat e-auction platform for tea launched by the Tea Board of India.

He said with the launch of the e-auction platform, the board has fulfilled a long-felt need of tea producing districts of Assam.

"I sincerely express my gratitude to the Tea Board of India for addressing the long-pending demand of the people of upper Assam in general and Jorhat in particular," Goswami said.

The first tea auction centre in Assam was set up in Guwahati in 1970.

"In these last 50 years, the tea production of Assam increased three times and hence the people of Upper Assam and the Assam-based tea associations demanded a new age auction centre at Jorhat," Goswami said.

Assam produces about 716 million kg of tea annually, accounting for 52 per cent of the country's production.

Six contiguous districts of Assam -- Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia -- produce about 450 million kg of tea annually.

The Jorhat e-auction platform is an initiative of the Tea Board of India and M-junction services is the implementing agency.

Mjunction is a B2B e-commerce company promoted by SAIL and Tata Steel as a 50:50 venture.

With Jorhat, there are now eight tea auction centres in the country. The other seven are Kolkata, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Guwahati, Coimbatore, Coonoor and Kochi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI  The chairman of Washtenaw Countys Board of Commissioners has sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to cancel his Thursday visit to the county.

In his letter, Jason Morgan said hes concerned Trumps May 20 visit will put Washtenaw County residents at risk for further exposure to COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

I respect the Office of the President and generally welcome the opportunity for you to learn about the needs of our community; however, I firmly believe that your recent inaccurate statements and actions cause greater uncertainty, division and harm to our residents, Morgans letter states.

Trump is set to visit the Ford Motor Companys Rawsonville manufacturing plan in Ypsilanti Township on Thursday. The factory has shifted its efforts to produce ventilators and personal protective equipment to help in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak.

Ford began making ventilators at the plant during the week of April 20 and set a goal of producing 50,000 ventilators in 100 days.

Trump planning Thursday tour of Michigan Ford plant where ventilators, PPE are made

While the visit is an official White House visit, Morgan said there has been no outreach to local officials regarding it.

The absence of any official communication leads me to the conclusion that this must be a campaign stop, the letter, signed individually by Morgan, states. I am deeply troubled by the President of the United States visiting our community to campaign during a public health crisis.

Morgan cited several recent actions by Trump that cause him concern, including a tweet undermining the recommendations of Michigan health experts, his suggestion people ingest disinfectants to cure COVID-19, tweeting he would not wear a mask during the visit and tweeting a threat to withhold disaster aid from the state.

Michigan sends absentee ballot applications to 7.7 million people ahead of Primaries and the General Election. This was done illegally and without authorization by a rogue Secretary of State. I will ask to hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

After 102 deaths were reported Tuesday, Michigan became the fourth state to surpass 5,000 deaths for COVID-19. The states current death toll stands at 5,060.

Coronavirus deaths surpass 5K in Michigan

If Trump plans to visit Washtenaw County, to campaign, Morgan asks he do a few things.

... I ask that you change your rhetoric, commit to supporting our public health experts and duly elected leaders of the state, encourage residents to stay home and stay safe, and provide the critical resources necessary to directly support state and local governments whove been on the front lines of this crisis, the letter states.

Trump will also meet with national and Detroit-area African American leaders at the plant before touring the facility. A senior White House official told MLive this week the discussion will focus on how the Trump administration can help underserved populations and minority communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately affected black communities in Michigan.

READ MORE:

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Michigan Attorney General asks President Trump to wear a mask during Ford plant tour

Trump to meet with Detroit-area black leaders before touring Michigan Ford plant

Trump asked to wear mask during Thursday trip to Michigan Ford plant
The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.

Follow this story and more by signing up for national breaking news email alerts.
S outh Korean high schools have opened for the first time this year, under strict protocols to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The beginning of the spring semester has been postponed several times since March as the country battled the first large Covid-19 outbreak outside China.

But with daily cases sharply down since a February peak, teachers with thermometers and hand sanitisers welcomed seniors in masks at schools on Wednesday.

"Schools have been anxiously waiting for all you students for the past three months," Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, told students at a high school entrance.

"From now on, we are entering an important phase where we need to succeed in both studies and (coronavirus) prevention.

Students wearing face masks amid concerns over coronavirus undergo a temperature check as they arrive at a high school in Seoul / AFP via Getty Images

Private sanitation contractors on motorcycles drove back and forth spraying disinfectant.

Under new health guidelines for schools, students and teachers must wear masks except at mealtimes, and are asked to wipe down their desks.

Seoul education superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, right, checks a senior student's temperature at the Kyungbock High School in Seoul, South Korea / AP

Windows will be open to improve air-flow, and desks spaced 1 metre apart.

Starting with high school seniors, schools will reopen in stages between May 20 and June 1 for all 5.5 million elementary, middle and high school students.

The education ministry keeps track of whether teachers or students have a fever using an online self-diagnostic system and anyone with a temperature over 37.5C must stay home.

If any student tests positive for the virus, the entire school will switch to online classes until it is deemed safe for students to return.

Korea reported 32 new cases as of midnight Tuesday, taking the national tally to 11,110, with 263 deaths.
NEW YORK, May 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone , a leading national commercial real estate lending, investment, and advisory company, has provided a $27.6 million Freddie Mac loan for the acquisition of a multifamily property in Hammond, Indiana. The transaction was originated by Dan Sacks and Eric Rosenstock, both Managing Directors at Greystone, on behalf of Bayshore Properties.



The conventional Freddie Mac Capital Markets Execution (CME) Green Up acquisition loan for Tanglewood Apartments carries a 10-year term and 30-year amortization, with the first two years of interest-only payments. Tanglewood is a 384-unit Class-B multifamily property acquired for $33.5 million, and is located in the Gary metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in Northwest Indiana. The property consists of 16 three-story buildings spread across nearly 20 acres, with amenities including clubhouse, pool, sauna, fitness center, picnic areas and detached garages.

Given the current market conditions, higher debt leverage such as on this transaction  at nearly 80% -- is harder to achieve, said Mr. Rosenstock. We worked closely with Freddie Macs team and the borrower to get everyone comfortable with the strong underwriting presented, available liquidity and necessary reserves.

Overall, with the Freddie Mac Green Up improvements planned to be made, the property will ultimately be more efficient and provide savings to the tenants, added Mr. Nick Kozul, principal, Bayshore Properties. We are grateful to the Greystone team for their commitment to getting this done during a pandemic, and achieving a great result for us.

About Greystone

Greystone is a real estate lending, investment, and advisory company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Our range of services includes commercial lending across a variety of platforms such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CMBS, FHA, USDA, bridge and proprietary loan products. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greyco.com .
Cold shoulder from business owners over M&A delay plan, illustration photo

Thailand-based SCG is no stranger to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam as it has carried out dozens of such deals over the past decade, such as the deals for brick company Prime Group, Tin Thanh Packaging, Binh Minh Plastics, and Long Son Petrochemical Complex. However, it may face a potential hurdle in its ongoing plan to purchase Bien Hoa Packaging. SCG hopes that this acquisition would bolster its Southeast Asian business. The Vietnamese company, it believes, has a competitive edge in packaging for the food and beverage industry in Vietnam. Bien Hoa has capacity to produce 90,000 metric tonnes of cardboard boxes and 10,000 tonnes of offset-printed paper boxes a year. In its fiscal year 2019, its sale revenue hit VND1.7 trillion ($73.9 million) and net profit of VND141.2 billion ($6.18 million).

But last week, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) proposed to delay M&A deals for the duration of the current coronavirus pandemic in order to avoid leaving local businesses vulnerable to hostile takeover bids from foreign investors. The move follows recent movements from the European Union and other countries to take action to protect domestic companies by increasing scrutiny of overseas investments during the global health crisis. No decision has been made on the proposal to the Vietnamese government, although the VCCI declared the action to be a necessary one.

However, Robert Tran, CEO of global business advisory firm RBNC said that M&A activities should not be suspended on a full basis and instead the Vietnamese government should only tighten attention in key fields such as banking, oil and gas, aviation, and energy.

Seck Yee Chung, partner of Baker McKenzie Vietnam, meanwhile told VIR that while there are legitimate reasons for governments to be concerned about and protect certain industries or assets in these unique circumstances, such restrictions must not be imposed with a broad brush as it may likewise block transactions that are equally legitimate in terms of commercial opportunities and outcomes, and those that do not run counter to national security and interests. Local founders might feel that this is the time to accelerate bringing in strong and strategic foreign partners, and the commercial terms are up to the parties to negotiate and decide, Chung said. Some business owners might also find that they have to restructure their various holdings and assets and seek an exit to another investor, so as to focus on other assets that deserve more attention and have a better chance of being turned around.

With Vietnam so far successfully containing the coronavirus, demonstrating a safe and friendly investment environment, the country is on the radar of many looking into Asian capital investments. As a result, M&A could accelerate in Vietnam, even as the crisis damages a huge number of enterprises, forcing them to restructure or end operations entirely.

Chung warned Vietnam should think strongly about any M&A delay as it has for many years diligently and carefully cultivated a message that it is open for business. It also has visions of smart and innovative cities, and digital transformation driving its industries. While Vietnam clearly cannot ignore national security concerns, likewise, it shouldnt ignore the commercial drivers and opportunities foreign and local firms are exploring, he said.

Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, also said this warning is unnecessary, and he explained that M&As in the first four months remain modest, with the average value of capital contribution case only $0.77 million each, equal to 54 per cent of the corresponding period of 2019.

Figures from the General Statistics Office showed that M&A during January-April 20 remained modest with 3,210 capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors, valued at nearly $2.5 billion, down 65.3 per cent against the same period last year.
Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - CFN Media (OTCQB: CNFN), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the global cannabis, CBD, and psychedelics industries announces the publication of an article discussing Isracann Biosciences, Inc. and its unique position in the global cannabis market.





Isracann Biosciences, Inc.



Cannot view this image? Visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5503/56137_59e7157f84ac695a_001full.jpg

North America's cannabis industry may capture the most headlines, but there are many cannabis frontier markets to keep in mind. In fact, North America represented just 25%, or $86 billion, of the $344 billion global cannabis market in 2018, according to New Frontier Data. Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Oceana and the Caribbean are all cannabis frontier markets that investors shouldn't ignore in their portfolios.

Global Cannabis Consumer Market Value



To view an enhanced version of this image, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5503/56137_59e7157f84ac695a_002full.jpg

Let's take a look at some important cannabis frontier markets and why investors may want to consider diversifying their portfolio beyond North America.

Israel's Unique Position

Israel has been the international center of cannabis research ever since Dr. Raphael Mechoulam discovered tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the early 1960s. While medical cannabis has been legalized, recreational cannabis remains technically illegal, although the government largely decriminalized it back in 2017. Government agencies are also very active in funding cannabis research to maintain its clinical edge over other countries.

In January 2019, the government passed a law to allow the export of medical cannabis and the first products were shipped a year later in January 2020. These events have set the stage for the country to become one of the leading suppliers of medical cannabis to Europe-especially given its favorable climate for cultivation-as well as a leader in cannabinoid research and development for the pharmaceutical industry.

Isracann Biosciences Inc. (CSE: IPOT) (OTC Pink: ISCNF) aims to capitalize on these dynamics with its fully-funded 230,000 sq. ft. hybrid greenhouse cultivation project and partnership with a late-stage project consisting of about 200,000 sq. ft. of greenhouses located on over 880,000 sq. ft. of agricultural land. The company is also developing European distribution channels while ensuring that its facilities comply with EU GMP regulations.

In April, the company closed a deal to acquire a 50% interest in a joint venture, Cannation Ltd., for a phased partnership with two near-term farm operations located in the Hefer Valley region of Israel. Cannation has an offtake agreement with Focus Medical Herbs Ltd., a licensed medical cannabis producer in Israel, for a three year definitive supply agreement for about 2,600 kilograms of medical cannabis per year.

Europe's Burgeoning Market

Many European countries are planning on legalizing medical and adult-use cannabis, following in the footsteps of North America. With a population of more than 740 million, the market is potentially double that of the U.S. and Canada, combined. More than 500 million has already been invested in the market, while analysts believe that the market could be worth upwards of 123 billion by 2028 (roughly half recreational and half medical).

The easiest way to invest in Europe's nascent cannabis industry is through the newly launched Medical Cannabis and Wellness UCITS ETF (CBDX)-the region's first medical cannabis ETF domiciled in Ireland. The fund tracks a rules-based index consisting of publicly-traded companies in the medical cannabis, hemp and CBD industries throughout Europe, providing broad exposure in a single security.

Africa's Cannabis Market

Africa has always been an attractive emerging market for energy and other commodity-related projects, but cannabis is quickly becoming the next hot commodity. Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and South Africa have all made progress in recent quarters when it comes to cannabis legalization and cultivation. For example, Lesotho legalized the growing, processing and exporting of cannabis way back in 2008 for medical use.

Prohibition Partners believes that Africa's market could reach $7.1 billion by 2023, although some of its estimates may be a bit ambitious. While Lesotho has drawn in a lot of capital investment over the past few years, many companies and investors are waiting to see how Islamic countries will treat cannabis legalization. The region's economies also tend to be riskier than more mature markets, such as those in North America and Europe.

Looking Ahead

Cannabis investors should look beyond North America for opportunities in the cannabis industry. While Europe is a natural alternative market, investors should also consider countries like Israel and regions like Africa for frontier market exposure.

Click here to read the full article:

https://www.cannabisfn.com/how-to-invest-in-a-global-cannabis-portfolio/

Media Contact:

Frank Lane - President

CFN Media

flane@cannabisfn.com

Company Contact:

Mehran Bagherzadeh

Isracann Biosciences, Inc.

mehran@danayi.co

About CFN Media

CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN) is the owner and operator of CFN Media, the leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the legal cannabis industry.

For Visitors and Viewers

CFN Media's Cannabis Financial Network (CannabisFN.com) is the destination for savvy investors and business people profiting from the worldwide cannabis industry. Viewers will see breaking news, exclusive content and original programming involving the people, companies and investments shaping the industry.

For Cannabis Businesses & Companies

CFN Media is a leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the cannabis industry. We help private, pre-public and public cannabis companies in the US and Canada attract capital, investors and media attention.

Our powerful digital media and distribution platform conveys a company's message and value proposition directly to accredited and retail investors and national media active in the North American cannabis markets.

Since 2013, CFN Media has enabled the world's preeminent cannabis companies to thrive in the capital and public markets.

Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: https://www.cannabisfn.com/become-featured-company/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56137
Suffering from osteoporosis, parasites and a history of respiratory infections, Canadian Sebastien De Marre is so vulnerable to the coronavirus that he should have been among the first to return home from abroad.

But when the Canadian governments repatriation flight came calling earlier in April, the 69-year-old international aid volunteer refused to leave Haiti, where basic necessities and health-care services are inadequate in the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic.

What De Marre, a retired camera technician, cannot leave behind are two foster children  Amaika, 8, and Rosena, 12. He and his wife, Marie Paule Brisson, 71, have been caring for the girls since they were babies while volunteering after the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

They are totally dependent on me, said De Marre. Could you just walk away from your young daughters, who have known no other parents or family, leaving them in a very poor, disadvantaged country where COVID is spreading and there is no medical care or support system or relatives to care for them?

Since the couple from Nelson, B.C., began caring for the orphaned girls, they have made numerous attempts to adopt them and bring them to Canada, but have run into one obstacle after another due to government bureaucracies and a dysfunctional civil service in Haiti, which is still in recovery from the massive earthquake.

With the threat of the pandemic, De Marre and Brisson, a retired teacher, applied for a temporary residence permit on April 23 for the girls to come to Canada until its safe in Haiti again.

Longtime family friend David Putt said hes worried about the health of De Marre, who is currently alone with the girls. Brisson left Haiti in February to visit the couples adult son, but was then banned from going back due to COVID-19. Putt said Brisson is too distraught to speak with the Star.

Sebastians situation is extremely perilous. He is 69 and is very underweight. He has repeatedly had parasites and intestinal problems as well as other health conditions. If he gets the coronavirus, it is game over for him, said Putt, 74, who has known the couple for 26 years and initially invited them to volunteer for Pure Water for the World in 2009.

With COVID-19 now spreading rapidly to outlying areas of Haiti, including Jacmel, where he and the girls are, he is particularly susceptible to infection. The health system in Haiti is very minimal. He is taxed to the extreme to look after his daughters and himself in the deteriorating conditions in Haiti.

Putts concerns over his friends situation prompted him to start an online petition pleading with Ottawa to issue the girls the temporary permits they need to enter Canada. The petition has collected 6,500 signatures in a month.

There have been precedents of temporary resident permits being granted for children in similar circumstances in Haiti, said Putt, including the most recent case of Widlene Earle, who was issued a temporary permit in March to join her Canadian parents without adoption documentation.

He has confirmed the Haitian Institut de Bien Etre Social et Recherches, or the equivalent of the community services ministry, would issue an exit permit for the girls to come to Canada if the family can obtain a temporary residence visa from the Canadian government.

The immigration department would not comment on the case of De Marre and his daughters, but said immigration matters like these are complex and challenging for the families involved.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada must ensure that all cases involving children comply with Canadian law and with our international obligations, department spokesperson Nancy Caron said in an email.

Requests for a Temporary Resident Permit are considered on a case-by-case basis based on the specifics facts presented by the applicant.

RELATED STORIES Immigration Series of mishaps keeps orphaned Dominican girl from joining adoptive parents in Canada

De Marre said he and his wife have made numerous attempts to adopt the girls and spent a fortune on lawyers and immigration papers, but never got far.

Then by Haitian law, we were declared too old to adopt so we gave that up, he explained. We tried to get legal guardian papers for both girls  The government has been chaotic and there are few services.

De Marre said it has been a struggle to care for the girls as basic necessities such as food and gasoline have become scarce. He is anxious that there may be no one to look after the girls if he gets sick because even those who said they would help have left the country.

He also worries about leaving the girls in an orphanage. At least when I am here, so long as I am able, I can protect and care for them, said De Marre.

Correction  May 20, 2020  An earlier version of this story mistated the year of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. The story has been updated.
Locusts that have crossed into Rajasthan from Pakistan are travelling far and wide across the state because of favourable wind conditions and lack of crops in the fields, officials said Wednesday.

Locust swarms were reported from Bundi, Sikar, Pratapgarh and Chittorgarh districts, they said.

Theres no crop in the fields. Unable to find settling grounds and crops to devour, locust swarms are travelling far in search of food. The insects have also become irritable and fly at the sound of tractors or at sight of light when we launch control operations at night, said Dr Om Prakash, agriculture commissioner.

Rajasthan had reported a locust invasion in May last year after a gap of 26 years and the attack continued until February this year, damaging crop across 670,000 hectares in 12 districts. The state put the loss due to the locust invasion at about Rs 1,000 crore.

In 2019, the swarms were first spotted in Jaisalmer.

The Locust Warning Organization (LWO) of the Union ministry of agriculture and farmer welfare warned of another attack in May-June this year. The first locust attack this year was reported in Ganganagar, a north Rajasthan district bordering Pakistan, on May 11.

LWO deputy director KL Gurjar said the Jodhpur-based organization feared last year that yellow matured adults may lay eggs in some places in Pakistan, leading to an outbreak in May-June this year.

The agriculture commissioner said locusts generally settle on vegetation after sunset and fly again at around 9-10 am the next day, giving control teams enough time to spray pesticides at them.

This year, we are able to launch control efforts only around midnight because they are settling late. The current breed of locusts scuttles on hearing the sound of tractors, making our job more difficult. An unsettled swarm is highly mobile and can travel as much as 150 km a day if winds are favourable. These swarms can devour large quantity of vegetation and crops. The saving grace is, theres no crop so theres no damage, he said.

Many districts that did not report swarms last year such as Sirohi, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Pali, Pratapgarh, Sikar and Jhunjhunu, are reporting them this year. So far, locusts have been reported from more than half of Rajasthan, covering 16 out of 33 districts.

Officials say that the desert locust has always been a major threat to mans well-being. Just one small swarm of desert locust can eat the same quantity of crops in one day as 35,000 people. This year, theres no damage so far. Currently, they are settling on babool and khejdi trees, Dr Om Prakash said.

Meanwhile, the state agriculture department has controlled the outbreak on around 40,000 hectares, he added.

Agriculture minister Lal Chand Kataria said the state government had provided 45 pickup vehicles to the LWO for their sprayers and deployed 70 vehicles for survey in fields. He said 600 tractor-mounted sprayers were also involved in control operations. We have also invited bids for drones to spray pesticides in areas inaccessible to the vehicles, he said.

LWO sprayers can reach up to 7-8 feet, and those on tractors go up to 15-20 feet. The department has engaged fire tenders for greater heights. Around 150 teams are working in 14 districts to identify places where control operations need to be launched, the minister said.

He said the department has provisioned Rs 5 crore for vehicles and Rs 10 crore for providing plant protection chemicals to farmers at 100% grant.

Meanwhile, according to a status report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), hopper groups, bands, and adult groups are present on the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab of both countries.

Migration from the spring breeding areas in Baluchistan has commenced, and several immature adult groups and swarms have appeared in Rajasthan, it said.

The FAO has also released a global forecast according to which in addition to the current outbreak, locust swarms from new areas can also enter the Indian border from June 22.

Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 24 and May 11 to seek Centres help in dealing with locust attacks. The CM also told the PM about the outbreak in the state during a video conference on May 18.
After all, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention learned of the outbreak in Wuhan, China, on the last day of 2019 and immediately began to develop reports for the Department of Health and Human Services. Within weeks, Trumps White House had received similar warnings from the Pentagon, the State Department, the National Security Council, the intelligence community, HHS, the Food and Drug Administration and those staffers who put together the presidents daily intel briefings. By the end of January, trade adviser Peter Navarro had seen enough to warn of a coming pandemic that could kill 500,000 Americans, but Trump was dismissing the disease as one person coming in from China. How could two people see the same warnings and come up with such dramatically different conclusions?
The Presidency has assured that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory will be treated equally while tackling security and socio-economic challenges facing the country.

Garba Shehu, the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, gave the assurance in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presidential aide was reacting to Tuesdays Senate resolution calling on the Federal Government to include Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi States in the military operations against bandits.

President Buhari had on May 17, via a statement by Mr Shehu in Abuja, authorised a major military operation to sweep bandits and kidnappers out of Katsina State.

Mr Shehu had said: A major proactive operation by Special Forces, which details are being kept secret, is now in progress to replace the reactive strikes against insurgent camps.

To give a full effect to the exercise, a planning team is already in the state, selecting targets and making preparations for the execution of the unprecedented operation.

The Senate at plenary, on Tuesday, commended President Buhari for his recent directive to launch a military offensive against bandits in Katsina State.

The commendation came against the backdrop of a motion considered on the need to integrate adjoining states of Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi and Sokoto.

The motion was sponsored by Aliyu Abdullahi (APC  Niger North).

However, the presidential media aide said that the Buhari administration would not make any state to suffer discrimination in dealing with security and other matters on account of their political differences with the government at the centre.

Already, he said, the Ministry of Defence had concluded plans to begin Operation Accord, a major military exercise aimed at flushing out insurgents from the contiguous states of Kaduna, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and parts of Kebbi states.

While todays Senate resolution is perfectly in order, it is important to state that in his duty as Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari has already approved the commencement of this operation.

Beyond this announcement, no other details concerning the mode, scope, timings and other essentials will be revealed so as not to compromise its success.

It is, however, important to outline the fact the all the states of the federation are equal and important before the president.

None has suffered any discrimination up to this point, and none will be made to suffer any such discrimination in dealing with security and all other matters on account on their political differences with the government at the centre.

(NAN)
Photograph: Fernando Bizerra/EPA

Brazil has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the country with the third-highest number of confirmed coronavirus infections, amid warnings from its former health minister that three painful months lie ahead.

Latin Americas largest economy has now recorded 254,220 cases, placing it behind only the United States and Russia, and ahead of the UK, which on Monday had 247,706.

Meanwhile, in Mexico  the regions No 2 economy  allegations that Covid-19 deaths were being dramatically undercounted added fuel to an increasingly acrimonious political battle over the governments response to the pandemic.

Brazil has officially suffered 16,792 Covid-19 deaths  the worlds sixth-highest number  although underreporting and low testing rates mean the true figure is likely to be considerably higher.

One leading newspaper, O Globo, has claimed that Brazils former health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, feared the death toll could eventually reach 150,000.

Despite the intensifying public health crisis, Brazilian front pages continue to be dominated by the political turmoil engulfing the far-right presidency of Jair Bolsonaro.

Two health ministers have left Bolsonaros administration in the space of a month, with the latest, Nelson Teich, resigning last Friday after clashing with the president. Teichs predecessor, Mandetta, was sacked in mid-April after publicly questioning Bolsonaros flouting of social distancing guidelines.

In an interview with the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper on Monday, Mandetta painted a bleak portrait of the situation his country faced.

The health ministry is a ship that has lost its way, Mandetta said, warning that Brazil was only two months into a traumatic five-month period that would only begin normalizing in September.

Mandetta predicted at least three major cities  Manaus and Belem in the Amazon and Fortaleza in the north-east  would have to impose lockdowns because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Authorities in Manaus have been forced to dig mass graves for Covid-19 victims because of the soaring number of deaths.

Story continues

Bolsonaros deliberate undermining of social distancing and quarantine measures has sparked outrage and seen opposition to his government rise  although the rightwing populist continues to boast a hardcore of support.

Miguel Lago, the director of Brazils Institute for Health Policy Studies, said he feared the political upheaval was compromising efforts to save lives.

Its terrible to see that Brazil is more worried about politics than with health  Its absurd that in the middle of a humanitarian crisis we are discussing petty politics so much, he said.

But I think this is Bolsonaros strategy, Lago added, arguing that the president was trying to distract from and disown the negative human and economic impact of the pandemic.

There are many important discussions we should be having. How can we fight the economic crisis? How can we fight the health crisis? How can we improve our health system during and after the coronavirus crisis? How can we deal with the loss of 10% of our GDP? But none of those discussions are taking place. All we are discussing is politics, Lago complained.

Health workers bid farewell to stretcher-bearer Hugo Lopez Camacho, who died of Covid-19, in Mexico City, on Monday. Photograph: Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

The pandemic has also become the subject of a bitter political row in Mexico, which has so far officially registered 51,633 coronavirus infections and 5,332 deaths.

Related: Mexico begins lifting Covid-19 lockdown despite fears worst is still to come

But a review of death certificates in Mexico City published by investigative journalists suggests an undercounting of Covid-19 deaths by a factor of three  at a time when the country is preparing to reopen and the president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is speaking confidently of taming the coronavirus.

Reporters from the anti-graft group Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity gained access to Mexico City death certificates and found 4,577 cases where physicians listed the probable or possible cause of death as Covid-19 or coronavirus. That figure is more than triple the 1,332 confirmed deaths in Mexico City that are acknowledged by the federal government.

The investigation follows a series of stories alleging that Mexico is undercounting its Covid-19 deaths.

Mexico Citys government has denied any deliberate undercounting and the countrys coronavirus tsar, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, has admitted Mexico probably has more than eight times more Covid-19 deaths than officially recorded.

We have a bureaucratic and Jurassic system for data capture, said Xavier Tello, a physician and healthcare analyst, offering a partial explanation for the difficulties in compiling the Covid-19 death toll. Information is often handwritten, he added, and prone to errors and discretion. We have a 21st-century pandemic, followed by 1980s means.

On Tuesday, Lopez Obrador again dismissed criticism of his governments response. For us, the strategy has been successful, he said.
(Photo : pixabay)

Successful technological developments in mass consciousness are often riddled with myths: artificial intelligence is independently trained in any task, one robot replaces thousands of people. The result is one: if you expect miracles from technology, sooner or later, you will be disappointed. How to get a working process instead of disappointment? Probably, if you read more about Total AV antivirus, you will learn how modern security players incorporate AI technologies and train their neural networks.

Modern manufacturers constantly try to surprise: new technologies appear almost every day, and develop even faster. The most successful developments in mass consciousness are endowed with supernatural powers. But real results often prove disappointing.

Over the past decade, "digital transformation" has become as integral to corporate language. Many large companies succumbed to the charms and suffered losses: last year, corporations invested more than $1.3 trillion in digital transformation programs, of which $900 billion was spent on non-profit projects.

The Deceived Expectations

Usually, the target results of digital strategies are set at the pilot stage. The company calculates how many hours it is necessary to reduce it by automating purchases, how many new corporate clients will open an account with the bank, and how the work of the number center will change if the chatbot answers questions.

At the same time, the expectations of technology are overestimated. For example, customers expect to be able to completely exclude people from the process by planting software robots or applying machine learning. Or, like General Electric, it is believed that it is possible to create a universal platform that will work equally successfully with any data regardless of the peculiarities of the business. But many technologies have not yet reached this level of development, and the cost of such a project may be tens of times higher than the benefit. The result: the company gets not what it expected, but money and time are wasted.

Effect of a Bottle Neck

Another common story is a clash with harsh reality in the course of the changes. Even in big business, any technology project is a bit of a startup: suddenly, it can find out that everything doesn't work the way you thought, or doesn't work at all. In such a situation, it is important for the company to be flexible in order to react quickly to new introductory changes and not be afraid of fundamental changes in the project.

When laterally automating different areas rather than looking at the process as a whole, individual employees will really start working faster. But globally, nothing will change, or maybe even deteriorate.

That's what happened to IBM and its medical AI Watson, which diagnosed patients with cancer. It turned out that the correct operation of the platform requires a huge amount of medical data from different systems, and the labor-intensive task of collecting them and "feeding" Watson fell on the shoulders of the doctors themselves. Such "holes" are often invisible, but bring millions of dollars in losses to companies. IDC estimates that such bottlenecks can cost businesses 20-30% of revenues.

Correction of Mistakes

Finally, the third problem is the lack of normal metrics. When it is not known how the original process is arranged, it is difficult to understand whether you have improved it in the end. According to the results of the survey BCG and MIT, which was attended by more than 2,500 heads of large companies from different countries, 60% of participants reported that they have not yet profited from the implementation of AI and do not know how to use it to increase profitability. In order to objectively calculate the results, it is necessary to measure "before" and "after correctly." And for this purpose first, it is worth understanding how your business is arranged from the inside.

When you can not only introduce technology but also objectively calculate the results of its application, it does not matter what it is called. The main thing is that the company ceases to act blindly, understands the goals of automation, and is ready for experiments. As a result, a new order can be obtained at the site of digital chaos, and instead of disappointment - a working process.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Rebekah Jones is facing revenge porn and stalking charges it was revealed Wednesday

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday launched an angry attack at the data scientist who said she was fired for refusing to fudge public coronavirus numbers.

DeSantis said geospatial scientist Rebekah Jones was insubordinate and revenge porn charges against her mean she shouldn't have been hired.

Speaking alongside Vice President Mike Pence, DeSantis said: 'Our data is available, our data is transparent. So any insinuation otherwise is just typical partisan narrative trying to be spun.'

Jones designed Florida's comprehensive COVID-19 dashboard. She said Tuesday she had been fired for refusing to 'manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen'.

She revealed that for 'reasons beyond my division's control,' she had been removed 'not voluntarily' as the manager of Florida's interactive informational site on May 5, according to Florida Today.

In an email to CBS 12 News, Jones, who led a team of Florida Department of Health scientists and public health officers, said that she was ordered to censor some data that wold support reopening the state and she refused, leading to her termination.

But DeSantis said: 'She is not an epidemiologist, she is not the chief architect of our web portal  that is another false statement  and what she was doing was she was putting data on the portal, which the scientists didnt believe was valid data.'

Referencing her charges for stalking an ex DeSantis said: 'Come to find out shes also under active criminal charges in the state of Florida.

'I have a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment, so her supervisor dismissed her because of a lot of those reasons, and it was a totally valid way, but she should have been dismissed, long before that.'

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday launched an angry attack at the data scientist who said she was fired for refusing to fudge public coronavirus numbers

Rebekah Jones led a team of Florida Department of Health scientists and public health officers to create and design a comprehensive COVID-19 dashboard

The dashboard has been a useful tool for the public, media and researches to access information regarding COVID-19 cases, testing and data. The site was hailed as a great example by Dr. Deborah Birx last month.

The site was hailed as a great example by Dr. Deborah Birx last month

Jones announced her removal on May 5 in an email to colleagues, researchers and anyone who had signed up to receive updates on the data portal.

She said her department would no longer be managing the dashboard, be responsible for updating the information on the site or fixing errors 'in any shape or form.'

'I understand, appreciate, and even share your concern about all the dramatic changes that have occurred and those that are yet to come,' Jones wrote.

'As a word of caution, I would not expect the new team to continue the same level of accessibility and transparency that I made central to the process during the first two months. After all, my commitment to both is largely (arguably entirely) the reason I am no longer managing it,' she added.

Jones said that over the last few weeks, the site 'crashed and went offline, data disappeared with no explanation and access to the underlying data sheets became difficult.'

She also said she wasn't privy to the team's objectives going forward and 'what data they are now restricting.'

The dashboard (pictured) has been a useful tool for the public, media and researches to access information regarding COVID-19 cases, testing and data

But Jones said in a May 5 email that she was fired for refusing to 'manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen'

At the time of the sites's launch, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees said, 'I am proud of the extraordinary hard work and dedication of the Florida Department of Health epidemiological team and GIS personnel.

'Providing access to real-time information is an integral part of Floridas COVID-19 response,' he added.

The dashboard was recognized for its accessibility by Dr. Deborah Birx last month, who is leading the White House's coronavirus task force.

'That's the kind of knowledge and power we need to put into the hands of American people so that they can see where the virus is, where the cases are, and make decisions,' Birx told CBS' Face the Nation.

Dave Aronberg, Florida's State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit called Jones' allegations, 'disturbing.'

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried supported Jones, writing on Twitter: 'Thank you Rebekah Jones, for not being afraid to speak out.

Dave Aronberg, Florida's State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit called Jones' allegations, 'disturbing.'

'Manipulating the data on Florida's COVID-19 dashboard could cost lives,' he said on Twitter.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried supported Jones, writing on Twitter: 'Thank you Rebekah Jones, for not being afraid to speak out.
Midland County recorded five new cases Tuesday, bringing its count to 76 cases and eight deaths, according to the afternoon state report.

As of Tuesday, MidMichigan Health,which covers a 23-county region and has medical centers at seven sites, including Midland, has completed a total of 3,549 tests. Of those, 3,125 were negative, 268 positive and 156 are pending.

Bay County on Tuesday added two new cases, bringing its total to 250 cases and 16 deaths. Gladwin and Isabella counties added no new cases and their totals stand at 17 cases and one death and 62 cases and seven deaths, respectively. Saginaw County added 10 new cases, and its total is 940 cases and 99 deaths.

The state added 435 new cases and 102 deaths. Forty-three of the 102 deaths are from review of death certificate data conducted by state Department of Health and Human Services staff three times a week, according to the state.

Overall, Michigan is at 52,350 cases and 5,017 deaths.

The average death age is 75.3, according to the state website, mich.gov, with the deceased ranging in age from 5 to 107. The state lists 42% 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 28,234 cases, as of May 15, which represents COVID-19 confirmed individuals with an onset date on or prior to April 15, 2020, according to the state website, mich.gov. The numbers will be updated every Saturday.

The state lists the majority of races in positive cases as 31% Black/African American; 36% Caucasian and 18% unknown, and the top three races in deaths as 40% Black/African American; 50% Caucasian and 4% unknown.

The total positive cases are 47% men and 53% women.

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 e-mail COVID19@michigan.gov. E-mails will be answered seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed and feel you need to talk to someone, reach out to Community Mental Health for Central Michigan by calling 800-317-0708.
Brian Austin Green was spotted stepping out Tuesday for the first time since announcing his split from wife Megan Fox as he went shopping in Los Angeles.

The 46-year-old actor shopped at a Target store in the Westlake area with his 18-year-old son Kassius.

Brian confirmed his split with Megan, 34, on Monday during his '...with Brian Austin Green' podcast after explaining they grew distant after working away from each other, but also did not rule out a reconciliation.

Shopping run: Brian Austin Green was spotted Tuesday in Los Angeles for the first time since announcing his split from wife Megan Fox

He put on a brave face as he shopped wearing a grey tank top reading 'Spiritual Gangster' along with shorts and sneakers.

Brian also had a mask draped around his neck and accessorized with Ray-Ban sunglasses, but noticeably was not wearing his wedding ring.

Kassius kept it simple in a red T-shirt, black sweatpants and trainers.

He wore a white medical face mask while walking through a parking lot with his father amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Family affair: The 46-year-old actor shopped at a Target store in the Westlake area with his 18-year-old son Kassius

Casual style: Brian wore a tank top reading 'Spiritual Gangster' and accessorized with Ray-Ban sunglasses for the shopping trip to Target

Brian has Kassius with his former Beverly Hills, 90210 castmate and ex-fiancee Vanessa Marcil, 51,

He and Megan also have three sons together; Noah, seven, Bodhi, six and Journey, three.

Brian and Megan began dating in 2004 after meeting on the set of Hope & Faith and got married in June 2010.

Split up: Megan and Brian, shown in October 2014 in Beverly Hills, California, split after nearly 10 years of marriage

Megan sparked romance rumors with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, 30, after they were seen spending time together last week following her split from Brian.

'They started off as friends and their relationship grew from there. Megan thinks MGK is a really cool guy and their relationship turned more romantic,' a source told Us Weekly.

The sourced added that Megan and MGK - real name Richard Colson Baker - began spending more time together because of their similar work schedules and filming together.

Romance rumors: Megan sparked romance rumors with rapper Machine Gun Kelly, shown recently on Instagram, after they were seen spending time together last week

Megan and MGK last week were seen getting coffee and then heading back to her Calabasas property in his Aston Martin.

Brian in his separation announcement podcast episode titled 'Context' did not rule out a reconciliation with Megan.

'I mean, we have a lot of life left,' he said.

'So the paths have started gone in separate ways for now. They could come back together. They may not. We don't know. I don't know. I don't want to make any predictions with that because I have no idea.'

He also declared: 'I will always love her and I know she'll always love me.'
The Union agriculture ministry has asked the Assam government for a report and a probe into a potential fraud in PM-KISAN, the federal cash-transfer programme for farmers, which allowed non-farmers to get cash in the state as authorities halted further payments, an official said, requesting anonymity.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered investigations under the watch of a top state bureaucrat, who will give his report in a month, the chief ministers office said in a statement on Monday.

The Centre is likely to advise a category of states with more relaxed enrolment norms to clean up beneficiary lists, the official added.

The responsibility of identification of beneficiary rests with the states, this person said. It is for the state to then initiate criminal proceedings and recover the money.

The possibility of ineligible people posing as farmers and enrolling in the scheme heightened after a software that manages the programme found sampling errors of land records not adding up, according to a second official familiar with the matter.

Field officials in Assam are scrambling to vet beneficiaries. We have been able to identify 9,000 ineligible beneficiaries in our district, Prabin Saikia, an agriculture department official scrutinising records in northern Assams Lakhimpur, a tea-growing district, said.

There has been communication between the Centre and the state on the issue, the first official said.

In Guwahati, Pushpadhar Das, a farm expert, said it appeared that people who got counted in include pensioners, non-farmers, income-tax payers and that names of more than one person from each family are on the list.

Under PM-KISAN, the government provides income support of 6000 a year to farmers with a valid enrolment, paid in three equal cash transfers of 2000 -- one every four months. It was launched on 24 February 2019, when the first instalment was paid. In the last tranche, paid in April amid the lockdown, nearly 70.7 million farmers were given 16000 crore under the programme.

Cash support under PM-KISAN is given to a farmer family comprising husband, wife and minor children who own cultivable land as per land records, according to the programmes manual.

In all states, barring the Northeast and Jharkhand, farmers need to offer four sets of documents to be eligible for cash: updated land records, the 12-digit biometric Aadhaar, phone number with know-your-customer-proof and bank details.

These are then converted into data and triangulated (or cross-linked and verified) through a software, known as the public financial management system (PMFS), that enables automatic transfer of cash into bank accounts. The PMFS, the backbone of direct benefit transfers, is designed to reject any claim if the triangulation doesnt match.

Not all of the above-cited documents however are mandatory for northeastern states, where Aadhaar penetration is below 6%, according to the Union governments Report on Doubling Farmers Income.

In some of the northeastern states, land ownership rights are community based and it might not be possible to assess the quantum of land-holder farmers, the second federal official said. This could have allowed the breach, he said.

Human errors have occurred where data-entry operators failed to match names of beneficiaries and their villages correctly, but most others were intentional inclusion of names of ineligible persons, Das said in Guwahati.

Scamsters gained advantage of a hurried roll-out of the scheme in 2019 and relaxed norms, Das added. Unintentional errors as well as falsification of records took place. Some say there was a competition among officials on who could enter more names.

The Assam government had already ordered re-verification of beneficiaries before a probe was announced. The deadline for it is mid-June.

These things are bound to be caught eventually because as and when records are updated, the software is designed to do its job of spotting fraud and rejecting claims. The largest rejections have happened in Uttar Pradesh, said KS Mani of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Mani cautioned that northeast could see problems in future too because the PFMS is an Aadhaar-based platform and disbursal for northeast and Jharkhand is made through the PFMS without the authenticity-ascertaining process of triangulation.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday disposed of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mohan Joshi, general secretary of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), after the state told the bench that a competent authority under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, has already ordered the release of some of the crucial and vital medical protective equipment and resources seized by the states investigating agencies to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. The PIL had sought proper disposal of properties under seizure so that it could reach those in the frontline in the battle against Covid-19.

The division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice SS Shinde, while hearing the PIL through video conferencing, was informed by advocate Vishal Kanade, appearing for Joshi, that since the centre had announced the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been many instances of black marketing and stockpiling of sanitizers, face masks, gloves and other protective equipment. The police had raided and seized these stockpiles.

Kanade submitted that in light of a shortage of the protective medical equipment, the petition sought directions to the state to furnish a list of the seized material, action taken after the seizure and to direct the authorities to hand over the material to concerned authorities to distribute it among the frontline workers.

The state, through government pleader Poornima Kantharia, submitted an affidavit wherein it was mentioned that the competent authority, under the Essential Commodities Act, had passed interim orders detailing the procedure for disposal of such seized properties but making it clear that such arrangement would be subject to the orders of the criminal court.

Kanade informed the court that though the interim orders of the competent authority were challenged in judicial proceedings the same were not stayed and hence the HC should direct the state to implement the interim orders.

Kantharia then submitted that action was being taken in terms of the orders of the competent authority and a part of the seized properties had been handed over to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

After hearing the submissions the court observed, So long the orders of the competent authority are not disturbed in judicial proceedings, the state shall make all possible endeavour to implement such orders and ensure that in these trying times the seized properties do reach the end-users for combating Covid-19. It then disposed of the petition.
A new law which means all adults in England will now be considered as having agreed to donate their own organs when they die unless they record a decision not to donate, or are in one of an excluded category, comes into force on Wednesday.

Under the Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act, besides the opt-out option, those excluded will be people under 18; those who lack the mental capacity to understand the new arrangements and take the necessary action; people who have lived in England for less than 12 months; those who are not living in England voluntarily and those who have nominated someone else to make the decision on their behalf.

Organ transplants are one of the modern miracles of science helping offer hope in the midst of tragic loss. Today we celebrate a milestone for organ donation as we move to a new system of deemed consent in England which will mean hundred more lives could be transformed each year, said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

The law is known as Max and Kiera's law, named after Keira Ball, who died aged nine in 2017, and Max Johnson, now aged 12, who was saved by her heart.

In cases, where an individual has not expressed a decision, specialist nurses will support families to make a decision, based on what their loved ones would have wanted, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) said.

It is important that people know they will still have a choice whether or not to donate. Families will still be consulted, and people's faith, beliefs and culture will continue to be respected, said Anthony Clarkson, Director of Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation at NHS Blood and Transplant.

We hope this law change will prompt all of us to consider whether or not we would want to donate our organs and encourage us all to register and share our decision with our family and friends. We want people to know that there is no deadline to make your donation decision, you can register your choice at any time, he said.

The coronavirus pandemic has added a further complication to the NHS transplant schedules, with even fewer donations and transplants taking place currently.

While this law change is a huge step forward, and will no doubt help to improve the survival chances of those in need of organ transplants, it will take more time to implement because of the impact of the COVID-19, said Indian-origin peer Lord Jitesh Gadhia, who has been campaigning to raise awareness about the law among Britain's Indian communities.

Ethnic minority patients have been more severely affected not just by the pandemic but also by the knock-on impact on organ donations and transplants. It is therefore more critical than ever that we help our communities and the wider public understand the significance of this law change and continue to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and its significance for British Indians, he said.

Kirit Modi, Honorary President of National BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) Transplant Alliance, added: At a time when COVID-19 appears to have hit BAME communities hardest, we should remember that a shortage of BAME donors means that patients from these same communities wait longer for a transplant and are more likely to die waiting.

It is important that we continue to work closely with NHS Blood and Transplant and NHS hospitals to carefully consider and work to address any disproportionate impact on BAME patients.

Modi also chairs the Jain and Hindu Organ Donation (JHOD) steering group, set up in 2018, to lead an awareness campaign among specific Indian communities. The JHOD has been working in partnership with NHS Blood and Transplant, the organisation responsible for organ donation across the UK, in developing videos and leaflets on the change in law from a Hindu and Jain perspective.

Besides England, the devolved government of Wales already has an opt out system, after changing its law in December 2015. Jersey introduced the opt out system in July 2019 and Scotland will also be moving to an opt out system in March 2021.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Light snow this morning will give way to some clearing this afternoon. Much colder. Morning high of 23F with temps falling sharply to near 0. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%..

Tonight

Bitterly cold. Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low -14F. Winds light and variable.
A court of appeals in Tehran has upheld the verdict against ten citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran sentenced to more than 100 years in prison for reportedly supporting monarchy.

Documents exclusively received by Radio Farda shows some details of the legal case and the names of the convicted individuals who have been sentenced to a total of 100 years and four months.

Speaking to Radio Farda, a human rights activist Haroun Askari who recently left Iran for Turkey said, the suspects were initially sentenced by the notorious hardliner Judge Abolqassem Salavati in Branch 15 of Tehran's "Revolutionary Court". The verdict was upheld by Branch 36 of the same court.

"All ten suspects were from the cities of Babolsar, Gorgan, Noshahr, Shahriar Tehran, Tonekabon, and Qom. Security forces arrested them in a series of operations from May to August 2019", Askari said, adding, "They were all transferred to the cities of Qom, and Tehran". This means they were not participants in the large protests last November.

The detainees were interrogated by Fata (the Islamic Republic cyberspace police) in the city of Qom, and the rest by the agents of the fearsome Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' Intelligence Organization.

According to Askari, all the suspects were charged with supporting monarchy and Iran's last Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi. Evidence mainly came from their social media accounts.

The exiled Prince is currently living in Maryland, USA.

"Assembly and collusion against the country's security", "insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and its current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei" were other charges raised against the ten.

Furthermore, the convicted individuals have been banned for two years from leaving Iran, membership in political parties and groups, and activity in media and social media.

Besides one of the activists Ali Asghar Hassani Rad, who is still behind bars in Ward 4 of Tehran's infamous Prison, Evin, the rest have been released on bail.

Based on the verdict, Hassani Rad has been sentenced to a total of sixteen years and seven months in jail for four separate charges. According to the Islamic Republic's Penal Code seven and a half years is the minimum sentence.

Askari said that two other suspects with similar charges have been sentenced by another notorious hardliner Judge Mohammad Moqisseh but have appealed.

Meanwhile, he noted that Moqisseh and Salavati had been blacklisted and sanctioned by Washington.

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Moqisseh and Salavati on December 19, 2019 for punishing Iranian and dual citizens for exercising their right to free speech and assembly.

In its statement on Thursday, December 19, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department announced: "Abolqassem Salavati and Mohammad Moqisseh oversaw the Iranian regimes miscarriage of justice in show trials in which journalists, attorneys, political activists, and members of Irans ethnic and religious minority groups were sentenced to lengthy prison terms, lashes, and even execution".
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 00:31:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

JERUSALEM, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli court on Wednesday ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appear at the first court session of his upcoming corruption trial.

The Jerusalem District Court rejected a request filed by Netanyahu's lawyers on Tuesday to exempt him from appearing for the opening hearing.

The lawyers argued that Netanyahu's presence was unnecessary because he had "read this indictment several times already," and the five bodyguards needed to secure his arrival would cost the public coffers "a fortune."

The presence of defendants in their opening session is a regular procedure in Israel.

The trial will begin on May 24 at the Jerusalem District Court.

On Sunday, Israel's longest-serving leader was sworn in his rare power-sharing government together with his former rival, Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, breaking a year and a half of political stalemate following three rounds of inconclusive elections.

Netanyahu's trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust should have begun in March but was postponed to May 24 because of lockdown restrictions amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Netanyahu, the first sitting prime minister in Israel's history to stand trial, denies all allegations as part of "a witch hunt."

The trial, including the expected appeals, could take several years. Enditem
Empty envelopes of opened vote-by-mail ballots for the presidential primary are stacked on a table at King County Elections in Renton, Wash., on March 10, 2020. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

Push for Mail-In Balloting During Pandemic Is Partisan and Political, Experts Say

The current pandemic is being used by political partisans to promote fraud-prone mail-in balloting in order to undermine electoral integrity, election law experts say.

Republicans are growing increasingly concerned about the fresh push for voting-by-mail as prominent Democrats lobby for universal mail-in balloting nationwide.

On May 15, the Democrat-controlled House passed the $3 trillion Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would give states and localities $3.6 billion to make their election systems safe for voters and poll workers while pandemic conditions persist. The measure seems unlikely to be approved by the Republican-dominated Senate.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told MSNBC on March 16 that states should allow residents to vote by mail in the remaining Democratic presidential primaries to help reduce the spread of the CCP virus.

Former Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said in a tweet March 18 that the virus is giving greater urgency to calls to make voting by mail the norm.

But President Donald Trump has made it clear hes not enamored with expanding mail-in voting. He expressed his opposition to Michigan and Nevada augmenting their mail-in voting services over concerns about the pandemic.

In a tweet about Nevada on May 20, Trump wrote that he can hold up funds to the State. Sorry, but you must not cheat in elections.

Addressing Michigan, Trump wrote on Twitter that the state sent out absentee ballots illegally and that he would hold up funding to Michigan if they want to go down this Voter Fraud path! Michigan officials replied that ballot applications, not actual ballots, have been sent out.

With mail-in voting, paper ballots are sent to voters, marked by voters, and then mailed to a predetermined address or deposited at a secure drop box. Typically, a mailed envelope bearing a ballot must be post-marked no later than the scheduled election day. Somewhere along the way, one or more government officials have to view the marked ballot to process it, which means, unlike with in-person voting, its not a secret ballot.

Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Hawaii carry out their elections wholly by mail.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed an executive order this month declaring that in light of the pandemic, all registered voters in that state will receive ballots in the mail for the November election. Californians will still retain the option of voting in person. Other states are also considering adopting mail-in balloting regimes before the election.

Over the past two months, several states have delayed their presidential primaries, saying in-person voting heightens the possibility of CCP virus transmission.

Courts Involved

Case law on voting during a pandemic is developing.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of Texas, who was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton, granted a temporary injunction May 19 allowing all voters in the state to vote by mail in upcoming elections.

Any eligible Texas voter who seeks to vote by mail in order to avoid transmission of COVID-19 can apply for, receive, and cast an absentee ballot in upcoming elections during the pendency of pandemic circumstances, Biery wrote.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said he would appeal the ruling, and Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, predicted the case would find its way to the U.S. Supreme Court pretty quickly.

Last month, the Supreme Court refused to halt voting in the Wisconsin April 7 primary based on fears that in-person ballot would spread the CCP virus. The election went ahead.

Fears of Influence

For years, the opinion among conservatives has been that the left tries to make it unduly easy to vote in order to promote voter fraud and allow activists to vote on behalf of the unmotivated and uninformed.

Mail-in voting makes it arguably too easy to vote, making the key act by citizens in the democratic process less solemn and serious, and is particularly susceptible to fraud, some experts say.

The consensus, among people who study fraud carefully, is that voting by mail is a much more fertile area for fraud than voting in person, Charles Stewart, the Kenan Sahin distinguished professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told NPR in 2018.

In addition, more than 28 million mail-in ballots have reportedly gone missing since 2012, and this figure excludes, according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, ballots that were spoiled, undeliverable, or came back for any reason. Left-wing activists say that just because a mail-in ballot comes back unvoted, that doesnt necessarily mean a crime was committed.

Christian Adams, president of the Indianapolis-based Public Interest Legal Foundation and a former U.S. Department of Justice civil rights attorney, is wary of mass voting-by-mail.

Mail ballots are uniquely subject to fraud and undue influence, Adams told The Epoch Times.

Elections should occur in public with election observers from each side watching the process. Elections should not be conducted behind closed doors.

Widespread mail-in balloting is a terrible idea, said Richard P. Pete Hutchison, president of the Leesburg, Virginia-based Landmark Legal Foundation. The foundation recently battled the ACLU in court in an effort to preserve the integrity of elections in Virginia.

Its a power grab that the Framers would have been appalled at, he told The Epoch Times. Systemically, there are so many problems with voter rolls in most states, if not all states.

They not only want mail-in balloting, but they want mass mailing of ballots, and you can be sure that theyd oppose any effort ahead of time to clean up voter rolls, he said. Democrats oppose that, every time, everywhere.

Its a recipe for disaster.

An Electoral Opportunity

But conservative activist Donny Ferguson said Republicans dont understand how mail-in balloting can help them. Ferguson is a campaign consultant, former congressional aide, and president of Americans for a Better Economy, an Alexandria, Virginia-based nonprofit organization.

Ive elected Republican candidates in 67 percent Democrat, majority-minority districts because we ran vote-by-mail campaigns, he told The Epoch Times.

Mail-in voting has long been a gold mine for Republican turnout. This is a case of Republicans cutting their own throats because of internet misinformation. Any GOP candidate can boost turnout by sending ballot applications directly to their supporters and following up with phone calls and visits. In many states, Republicans can even pick up the ballots and deliver them directly.

Mail-in voting requires a signature match, and the records of who voted are public, so you can identify any voter fraud almost instantly.

Vote harvesting only became a conspiracy theory because some California Republicans didnt put any effort into a voter mail program in 2018, so when the voter mail came back, it was mostly from Democrats. Theres no evidence whatsoever the mail-in votes were fake, and there arent thousands of people who had fake votes cast in their name.

Mail-in voting is just as secure as in-person voting, and Republicans could be using it to defeat Democrats if they were willing to put in effort.

Adams disputes that take.

He said as a former Justice Department attorney, he litigated a Noxubee County, Mississippi, case from 2007 called U.S. v. Ike Brown in which he was able to prove that mail ballot fraud took place.

Notaries would snatch ballots from mailboxes and end up voting the ballots for the voters.

Dealing with a pandemic is no excuse for violating the sanctity of the electoral process, Adams said.

Liberia conducted an in-person election during the worst part of the Ebola epidemic.  If Liberia can mitigate Ebola in an election, we can do it, too.
BMoreRaw, as the raw, new Danish invention is called, is now on the air with an ambition to help companies with their product-market fit. The Danish startup company BMoreRaw helps business-to-business companies to better understand their target group and optimize their products according to customers' actual needs. "At BMoreRaw, we are thrilled to finally have the opportunity to help other companies with their product-market fit, which is often one of the more 
An Indian-origin physician here has succumbed to the novel coronavirus, American Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI) said on Wednesday.

Sudheer S Chauhan had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was battling for his life for the past few weeks. He died of complications from the illness on May 19, AAPI's Media Coordinator Ajay Ghosh said in a statement.

Chauhan was an Internal Medicine Physician and Associate Program Director IM Residency Program at Jamaica Hospital in New York.

His daughter Sneh Chauhan said in the AAPI release that his unique, kind, gentle and caring spirit will be missed.

Chauhan had received his graduate medical education from GSUM Medical College, University of Kanpur, India in 1972. He was chief resident in Internal Medicine at Jamaica Hospital and graduated in 1997. A Board Certified physician in Internal Medicine, he also received citations from Royal College of Physicians and FACP from American College of Physicians.

Earlier this month, an Indian-origin father-daughter duo both doctors in New Jersey passed away due to COVID19, with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy describing the demise of the healthcare heroes who dedicated their lives to helping others as particularly tough.

Dr. Satyender Dev Khanna, 78 and Dr. Priya Khanna, 43 both dedicated their lives to helping others and we lost both of them to COVID-19, Murphy said during a press conference last week, saying their demise is a "particularly tough one.

"We have a proud moment, it is (also) a scary moment; it is a mixed feeling, but this virus is a deadly virus, AAPI President Dr. Suresh Reddy said, describing the situation under which the physicians of Indian Origin serving people infected with the virus.

"They tend to work disproportionately in areas that are medically underserved like rural and inner city areas taking on a heavier workload with patients who are more ill. We are definitely in the frontline fighting this deadly battle, against the coronavirus, Reddy said.

Dr. Seema Arora, Chairwoman of AAPI's Board of Trustees, said that coronavirus has placed the entire healthcare sector, and in particular the Indian American medical fraternity at the frontlines of the fight against the pandemic.

AAPI said that Indian-Americans constitute less than one per cent of the country's population, but they account for nine per cent of the American doctors and physicians. One out of every seven doctors serving in the US is of Indian heritage, providing medical care to over 40 million of US population.

There are about 80,000 practicing Indian American physicians who are at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

In addition, there are around 40,000 medical students, residents, and fellows of Indian origin in this country who are supporting many of the hospitals affected by the pandemic, the organisation said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Like every year, the Hindu Mahasabha celebrated the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse at its office in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior on Tuesday.

The event was celebrated by lighting 111 lamps in front of Godses portrait.

The prompted the Congress to launch an attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state.

I am deeply pained and anguished on coming to know about celebration of Nathuram Godses birth anniversary. Its an anti-national act which could be possible because of patronage of the ruling party BJP. I demand of Shivraj Singh Chouhan government to order lodging of an FIR against those who indulged in the act, said RP Singh, Congress leader in Gwalior.

Its unfortunate that the state government endorses the ideology of Nathuram Godse. Thats why celebration of Godses anniversary by lighting lamps by some people who dont believe in democracy is not surprising, another Congress leader KK Mishra said.

But the state unit of the BJP hit back at Congress. Congress is in habit of trying to draw political mileage from any such situation as it has lost its base in Madhya Pradesh and relevance in politics. The fact is BJP has nothing to do with any celebration on Godses birth anniversary, said Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal.

Earlier in November 2017, Hindu Mahasabha set up a shrine of Godse in its Gwalior office on the death anniversary of Godse by installing his bust. Godses bust was unveiled amid vedic chants and it was worshipped with cow urine, curd, milk, honey and water of Ganges.

The district administration in Gwalior later forcibly removed the bust when Congress lodged its protest against it.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan has extended the period of residence of imigrants without a visa in the country, head of the State Migration Service Vusal Huseynov said on May 20.

"Before this, the period of residence was extended until May 31. Usually, migrants should apply for an extension of residence in the country. This issue has been resolved, and the decision was made to extend the period of these persons' residence for 60 days without application until the opening of the borders. Afterwards, their appeals will be considered and decisions will be made, Huseynov said addressing an online briefing.

He reminded that the number of foreigner in Azerbaijan is 134.298.

These are mainly citizens of Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Ukraine and Iran. The rest of the immigrants are citizens of other countries, Huseynov said.

He also said that the State Migration Service has received appeals for financial assistance from migrants residing in Azerbaijan.

These appeals were redirected to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and other relevant agencies. Through volunteers of the Service, some migrants were provided with support and assistance. The appeals of these people related to the problems with transport and jobs were considered and the corresponding assistance was rendered to these people, Huseynov added.

Furthermore, he said that Azerbaijani citizens who have acquired citizenship of another country will not held liable if they do not report this to the Migration Service.

In accordance with the previous law, upon the adoption of other citizenship, a citizen of Azerbaijan had to inform the Migration Service or the Embassy of the country abroad about that within one month.

"In this regard, the parliament adopted a bill upon the presidents initiative. According to the previous legislation, if the citizen does not notify Migration Service about obtaining another citizenship criminal liability was envisaged. But under the new law, this measure is abolished," he emphasized.

He also said that deportation of Azerbaijani citizens from foreign countries whose period of residence there has expired has been suspended.

This process has been suspended in all countries in connection with the closure of borders due to the coronavirus pandemic, including Azerbaijan. The appropriate decisions will be made after the opening of the border," he said.

Huseynov also pointed out that everyone airlifted to Azerbaijan via charter flights are placed in a quarantine for a certain period, during which all the necessary medical and other services are rendered to them.

Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24 and the third stage of quarantine regime easing came into force in Azerbaijan on 18 May.

As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus- related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Zareen Khan says people still assume Salman Khan helps her find work: "I cannot be a monkey on his back"
Design, she says, always leads in thinking about the future, just by nature. You dont think of architecture as having a moral obligation, but right now a lot of architects are stepping up and accepting that responsibility. Built environments are necessarily associated with health and well-being, and our feelings of safety. Public space, parks  these will serve a greater purpose now, in order for people to be together.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global cleanroom technology market size is expected to reach USD 5.3 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 3.8%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Technological advancement in cleanroom equipment, increasing need for cleanroom technology to develop quality products, and initiatives taken by private and public organizations to create awareness are key factors driving market growth.

Manufacturing companies in various industries are dependent on cleanroom technology in order to comply with the stringent regulatory standards. Moreover, there has been an increase in need for standardizing cleanroom standards due to presence of a wide range of classifications used by different countries such as U.S., U.K., and Germany, which is further bolstering the growth.

Key suggestions from the report:

Consumables held the largest revenue share owing to the stringent regulatory guidelines and increase in demand for quality products

Pharmaceutical industry dominated the end-use segment due to several factors such as increasing demand to install the cleanroom technology equipment in production unit and presence of stringent regulations in U.S. regarding approval of imported products from emerging countries

Asia Pacific region is anticipated to exhibit lucrative growth over the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to the increased production of generics, growing government initiatives, and economic development

The key players in the cleanroom technology market include M+W Group; Clean Air Products; Abtech; KCWW; DuPont; Clean Room Depot, Inc.; Integrated Clean Room Technologies Pvt Ltd; Terra Universal; and Labconco

Read 100 page research report with ToC on "Cleanroom Technology Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product Type (Equipment, Consumables), By End Use (Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, Biotechnology), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cleanroom-technology-market

The standards are more stringent among pharmaceutical and medical devices industries as compared to other industries owing to high chances of adverse consequences on public health in case of noncompliance. These factors are also expected to propel the growth of the cleanroom technology market in various industries. Moreover, various initiatives such as presence of cleanroom company directories and online magazines for specifying trends in cleanroom technology is further fueling the market.

Increase in incidence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) is expected to propel the market in the coming years. According to a report by CDC, there were nearly 722,000 HAIs in U.S. as of 2018. Likewise, according to the data published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, in England, about 300,000 patients a year acquire HAI as a result of care within the National Health Service. Thus, the need for installation of cleanroom in hospitals has increased significantly to overcome the growing incidence of HAIs.

Grand View Research has segmented the global cleanroom technology market on the basis of product type, end use, and region:

Cleanroom Technology Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Equipment



Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning System (HVAC)





Cleanroom air filters





Air shower and diffuser





Laminar air flow unit





Others



Consumables



Gloves





Wipes





Disinfectants





Apparels





Cleaning products

Cleanroom Technology End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

Pharmaceutical industry



Medical device industry



Biotechnology industry



Hospitals and diagnostic centers

Cleanroom Technology Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027)

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



U.K.





Germany





France





Italy





Spain



Asia Pacific



Japan





China





India





South Korea





Australia



Latin America



Brazil





Mexico





Argentina



Middle East & Africa

&

South Africa





Saudi Arabia





UAE

Find more research reports on Medical Devices Industry, by Grand View Research:

Automated Breast Ultrasound Market - The demand for automated breast ultrasound systems is on a rise owing to the rising incidence of cancer, technological advancements, and various initiatives undertaken to raise awareness regarding breast cancer and its treatment across the globe.

The demand for automated breast ultrasound systems is on a rise owing to the rising incidence of cancer, technological advancements, and various initiatives undertaken to raise awareness regarding breast cancer and its treatment across the globe. Drug Delivery Across Blood Brain Barrier Market - Growing incidences of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disorder, Hunter's syndrome, and brain tumor are anticipated to drive the market over the forecast period.

Growing incidences of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disorder, Hunter's syndrome, and brain tumor are anticipated to drive the market over the forecast period. Sternal Closure Systems Market- Expanding base of geriatric population undergoing open heart surgery through median sternotomy is considered to be one of the primary growth stimulants for the market.

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661327/Grand_View_Research_Logo.jpg
Olympus' PEN E-PL10 mirrorless cameras / Courtesy of Olympus Korea



By Baek Byung-yeul



Olympus plans to exit its camera business in South Korea hit by decreasing sales, focusing instead on optical equipment for medical purposes and scientific equipment, the Korean branch of the Japanese manufacturer said Thursday.



In a statement, Olympus Korea said it will "cease its imaging business in Korea, effective June 30, 2020." Its Brand Store, a store operated by Olympus Korea in southern Seoul, and its online shopping mall E-store will also be closed on the same day.



The company, however, added it will keep operating the service facility until March 31, 2026. The division is responsible for repairing and exchanging Olympus products.



The Korean unit said the decision was mostly because of declining sales volume.



"Olympus Korea had made strenuous efforts to increase the profitability and efficiency of its imaging business by concentrating on mirrorless cameras, including OM-Dand PEN as well as interchangeable lenses. However, over the last few years, the market has sharply declined. As a result, it has become barely possible to sustain the business with profit, leading to the decision to withdraw the imaging business from the market," the company said.



The company is moving its focus to providing diagnostic and therapeutic products for the medical business including medical endoscopes, laparoscopes and surgical devices. It also sells an integrated operating room system, which provides a touch-screen and voice-control system that allows surgeons to manage a range of medical devices more conveniently.



"Olympus Korea remains committed to contributing to make people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling as a global med-tech company," Naoki Okada, CEO of Olympus Korea, said in a statement.



Regarding whether the company's move is in response to ongoing anti-Japan sentiment and voluntary boycott movement against all Japanese products in South Korea, an Olympus Korea official denied such speculation. Last year Japan removed South Korea from its list of preferred trading partners.



"Olympus Korea decided to wind out our camera business here on the background that the volume of the digital camera market is dwindling and the sales of our camera products are also decreasing," the official said.



Koreans began the voluntary move to boycott goods and service made by Japanese makers when Tokyo announced it would start to impose tougher restrictions on exports of materials used for semiconductors and displays last July in reaction to Seoul's top court ruling in October 2018 that ordered Nippon Steel to compensate surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor.


Swedish Saab Receives Undisclosed $158 Mln Order for Early Warning System

Sputnik News

07:24 GMT 19.05.2020(updated 11:12 GMT 19.05.2020)

The Saab 2000 Erieye is a complete Airborne Early Warning and Control system with multi-role and multi-mission capabilities for both military and civilian needs, and can be used for tasks including border surveillance and search-and-rescue operations.

Saab has signed a contract and received an order for the Airborne Early Warning and Control solution Saab 2000 Erieye. The order is worth SEK 1.55 billion (nearly $158 million).

Due to circumstances concerning the product and customer, the company is reticent about the buyer. No further information about the customer will be announced, a Saab press release said.

The Saab 2000 Erieye is a complete Airborne Early Warning and Control system with multi-role and multi-mission capabilities for both military and civilian needs.

It is based on the Saab 2000 aircraft that equips Saab's airborne radar Erieye and a range of other sensors and provides detailed situational awareness. It can be used for tasks including border surveillance and search-and-rescue operations.

Deliveries will take place between 2020 and 2023, and the work will be carried out in Gothenburg, Jarfalla, Linkoping, Lulea and Arboga.

As of today, the list of its operators includes Brazil, Greece, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. The Erieye system has full interoperability with NATO air defence command and control systems.

In late April, Saab announced the delivery of first of three ordered GlobalEye early warning systems to the United Arab Emirates.

"The delivery of the first GlobalEye plane is a major milestone for Saab, but also an important historical step for airborne sensor platforms," Saab's President and CEO Micael Johansson said in a statement.

GlobalEye is a combination of Saab's new radar system Erieye ER and Bombardier's Global 6000, a jet aircraft that has extra long range and can be in the air for up to 11 hours.

According to Saab, GlobalEye is the first in the world market that can "detect and track targets at great distances and conduct surveillance in the air, on the ground and at sea simultaneously from one and the same platform".

Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of car manufacturer Saab Automobile. Its main focus is fighter aircraft, combat weapons, missile systems, torpedoes, sensor systems, unmanned underwater vehicles, as well as airborne surveillance solutions (including GlobalEye, Saab 2000 Erieye), radars and means of electronic warfare.

At about 17,000 employees, Saab is seen as a backbone of Sweden's military-industrial complex.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at a National Assembly session on May 20, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Phong.

Vietnam's government will submit lower economic growth targets to the parliament, given the disruption of trade and business activities by the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at a National Assembly session Wednesday that the pandemic has severely damaged all sectors, and the earlier economic expansion target of 6.8 percent will be difficult to achieve.

The government has earlier mentioned revised GDP growth targets of 4.5 percent or 5.4 percent this year, depending on the global situation.

Phuc said specific targets including other economic indicators will be submitted after obtaining approval from the Politburo, the main decision-making body of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The government also wants to lower the export growth target from 7 percent to 4 percent, and for the fiscal deficit to increase by 1.31 percent to 4.75 percent. Public debt target will also increase by 3.2 percent to 55.5 percent of the GDP.

The Economic Committee of the National Assembly has noted that the coronavirus impact on the economy has been severe, reflected by the 10-year low in first quarter GDP growth at 3.82 percent.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan acknowledged that all business, trade and investment activities have been disrupted by the pandemic. Drought, salt intrusion and hail have also adversely affected peoples lives, she added.

However, Vietnam has also received international acclaim for its effective response to the pandemic, achieving initial success in containing the virus, Ngan noted.

The country has gone 34 days without community transmission of the virus and recorded no death so far. The total count of active infections is 60 as 264 have recovered after treatment.

PM Phuc also proposed that lawmakers postpone a plan to increase the base salary of civil servants this year in order to allot more resources to support normal workers affected by the pandemic.

The National Assembly last year approved a 7 percent raise in civil servants basic monthly wages to VND1.6 million ($68) starting July 1 this year.

A civil servants salary is calculated by multiplying a base wage, which now stands at VND1.49 million ($64) after a 7.2 percent hike from July 1, with a coefficient determined by qualification and experience.

Public sector employees have complained for years that their earnings are too low. Local economists said at a recent conference that low wages will continue to foster corruption in the public sector.

In the current National Assembly session beginning Wednesday, lawmakers are set to ratify the landmark EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

They will also vote on 10 laws, including the amended Law on Enterprises, the amended Investment Law, and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law, and discuss six others.

The National Assembly is also scheduled to approve the government's proposal on converting the investment form of some projects on North-South Expressway sections from PPP to wholly state-owned investments.

The International Monetary Fund has forecast Vietnams GDP to grow at 2.7 percent this year while market research firm Fitch Solutions estimated it at 2.8 percent.
Some back decision to limit spread of coronavirus as others question whether any savings will be passed on to students.

The University of Cambridge has said it will teach students online for the next full academic year, scrapping face-to-face classes in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

The university in the east of England says it expects social-distancing requirements will stay in place nationally for some time.

Lectures will continue via video until summer 2021, while it may be possible for smaller teaching groups to take place in person if they conform to social-distancing requirements, a spokesperson said.

Exams will also continue to be carried out online.

Cambridge can still charge full fees for online classes.

The university said it may adapt the plans following updated advice on social distancing during the pandemic.

It is the first university in the country to announce its plans for the next full academic year.

It comes after a decision from Manchester University earlier in the week to scrap all face-to-face classes for the next term.

University campuses have been closed in the country this term to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit UK particularly hard and killed more than 35,000 people, according to official figures.

The decision, which comes as the UK is expected to soon send children back to school, led to a debate on social media.

Some supported the move as a way of limiting the spread of coronavirus, as others raised concerns over tuition fees, saying any cost-saving with online teaching should be passed down to students.

Cambridge University has some of the leading virologists, epidemiologists, zoonotic disease experts and professors of medicine in the world. And they wont be having students in classes until at least 2021. Yet [UK Prime Minister] Boris Johnson wants YOUR kids at school, said author Will Black.

English universities can charge home students up to 9,250 ($11,300) a year for an undergraduate degree, while the cost for international students differs between universities.

Priya Shah, founder of an organisation advocating for diversity in the property and planning sectors, said: Will tuition fees be reducing to reflect the education being online only? I know I wouldnt pay 9k just for an online education (would probably pay around half), as Im not getting the full experience from behind a screen (even if it is Cambridge).
Abuja, May 19, 2020 -- Nigerian authorities should cease their intimidation of journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsha and ensure that security forces permit the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

At about 1 a.m. on May 9, four masked Department of State Services agents forced their way into the home of Onitsha, the founder of Naija Live TV, an independent news website, in Yenagoa, the capital of Nigerias southern Bayelsa state, blindfolded him, and drove him around for more than three hours before bringing him to the departments local headquarters, according to the journalist, who spoke with CPJ via phone and messaging app, and a report by the privately-owned Sahara Reporters newspaper.

At the headquarters, agents interrogated Onitsha about his sources for two reports he had published, and threatened him with criminal prosecution on false news charges, according to the journalist and a report by the privately-owned Daily Independent newspaper.

The agents held him until May 12, when Onitsha appeared at a press conference organized by the security agency, in which he apologized for his outlets reporting and denied allegations that agents had abducted him, and he was then released without charge, he told CPJ. Onitsha said he was coerced into making those statements in exchange for being released without charge.

The Department of State Services operates under Nigeria's coordinator of national security, which reports directly to President Muhammadu Buhari, according to the National Security Agencies Act.

The officers also took five phones belonging to Onitsha and his wife when he was arrested and only returned the phones after he was released, he said, adding that he could not tell if anything was deleted from the phones or if they were tampered with.

There is absolutely no justification for seizing journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsha from his home in the dead of night and subjecting him to days of interrogation for his reporting, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. The Department of State Services is far too often involved in the arbitrary detention and intimidation of journalists in Nigeria. Its a pattern that President Buhari should act swiftly to reverse.

According to Nigerias constitution, any person detained by authorities must be arraigned in court within 24 hours if a court is within 40 kilometers of where they are detained. Onitsha told CPJ that the Department of State Services where he was detained was across the street from Bayelsas Federal High Court Complex.

Onitsha said the officers who took him into custody questioned him on May 10 about his sourcing for a December 2019 report alleging that a court in Abuja, Nigerias capital, had ordered the arrest of Bayelsa Deputy Governor Lawrence Erwhudjakpo, and a May 2020 report on the alleged collapse of a COVID-19 isolation center in Nigerias Kogi State.

He said he was afraid that the agents may torture him, but said they did not.

Onitsha said he was questioned again on May 12 by a man he believed to be the Department of State Services Bayelsa state director.

Before his release, Bello Bina, a former local politician for whom Onitsha had previously worked, signed a document vowing that Onitsha would appear at the Department of State Services office whenever summoned, the journalist said.

Peter Afunaya, a spokesperson for the Department of State Services, did not respond to CPJs calls and text messages seeking comment.

Contacted by CPJ over the phone, a spokesperson for the Kogi State governor, Mohammed Onogwu, declined to comment on Naija Live TVs article or on Onitshas detention, and told CPJ to contact the security forces.

Doubra Atasi, a media aide to Erwhudjakpo, told CPJ that the Bayelsa deputy governor had not filed a complaint against Onitsha and that he could not comment on the matter.
FILE PHOTO: Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn talks during an interview with Reuters in Beirut

By Nate Raymond and David Shepardson

BOSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities on Wednesday arrested a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier and another man in Massachusetts wanted by Japan on charges that they enabled the escape of former Nissan Motor Co boss Carlos Ghosn out of the country.

Former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor, 59, and his son, Peter Taylor, 27, are accused by Japanese authorities of helping Ghosn last year flee to Lebanon to avoid trial over alleged financial wrongdoing.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested them in Harvard, Massachusetts, at the request of Japan, which in January issued arrest warrants for both men along with a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with facilitating the Dec. 29, 2019 escape.

Ghosn, who was out on bail at the time, fled to Lebanon, his childhood home, while he was awaiting trial on charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds, all of which he denies.

Japan is closely communicating with relevant U.S. authorities following the arrests, a Japanese government source said on Thursday.

Prosecutors said Peter Taylor traveled to Japan the day before Ghosn's escape and Michael Taylor and Zayek arrived the day it occurred with large black boxes that appeared to be for music equipment.

All three met with Ghosn, who after entering a hotel room with Michael Taylor and Zayek hid in one of the boxes, which was taken to an airport and loaded on a private jet headed for Turkey, prosecutors said.

Ghosn two days later announced he was in Lebanon.

The Taylors were arrested after U.S. law enforcement learned Peter Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut departing Wednesday with a layover in London, according to court papers.

Following their arrest, the Taylors appeared by video before a federal judge wearing orange prison jumpsuits and face masks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They are being detained at the request of U.S. prosecutors, who say they pose a risk of flight after aiding Ghosn's "brazen" escape. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hassink said Japan plans to formally seek their extradition as quickly as possible.

Story continues

Paul Kelly, their lawyer, in a statement said he expects to challenge any extradition request.

"Michael Taylor is a distinguished veteran and patriot, and both and he and his son deserve a full and fair hearing regarding these issues, both before the courts and the executive branch," he said.

A representative for Ghosn declined to comment.

Japanese lawyer Junichiro Hironaka, who had defended Ghosn until his flight from the country, said in a telephone interview Thursday that the key question is whether there is enough evidence for extradition, and that he would watch developments closely.

This month, Turkish prosecutors prepared an indictment charging seven people, including four pilots, over Ghosn's escape via Istanbul to Beirut.

Nissan said in an emailed statement it notes the extradition proceedings and reserves the right to take further legal measures against Ghosn. The company filed a civil suit in Japan earlier this year seeking 10 billion yen ($93 million) in damages from its former boss for alleged misconduct.

In September, Nissan and Ghosn settled civil charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to what it said were false financial disclosures by the company that omitted more than $140 million to be paid to Ghosn in retirement.

That sum was ultimately was not paid. Nissan paid $15 million and Ghosn $1 million, and Ghosn agreed to a 10-year ban from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded U.S. company.

The SEC also said Ghosn engaged in a scheme to conceal more than $90 million of compensation. Nissan sued Ghosn in February seeking about $90 million.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Kevin Buckland in Tokyo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Christopher Cushing)
Description

GIS  20 May 2020: The key objective of the recently enacted COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and the Quarantine Act 2020, isto lay the foundations for restarting the countrys economy within appropriate public health parameters. The key objective of the recently enacted COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 and the Quarantine Act 2020, isto lay the foundations for restarting the countrys economy within appropriate public health parameters.





A broad array of 56 existing primary enactments have been amended under the COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020, while criminal penalties for breaching public health and quarantine legislation have been toughened under the Quarantine Act 2020, recalled the Minister of Land and Transport, Mr Alan Ganoo,the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, and the Attorney-General and Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, last night in a televised programme on the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation.





Speaking about Governments priority to preserving employment, Minister Ganoo stated that as at date, some Rs 8 billion have been disbursed for the Self-Employed Assistance Scheme and the Wage Assistance Scheme. He also listed out the measures put in place by Government to help enterprises facing difficulties amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.





In a bid to protect the population during the crisis, Government has also invested massively, to the tune of Rs 1.5 billion, in the acquisition of Personal Protective Equipment and has set up flu clinics in the five Regional Hospitals, he added.





While lauding the bold measures implemented, Mr Ganoo highlighted that no new infection cases have been detected for the last 22 days. He stressed that the two Acts aim to strengthen Mauritiuspreparedness for and response to the COVID-19 and to any future pandemic and that the amendments brought under these new pieces of legislation, are necessary to prevent a resurgence of the novel coronavirus infections which could result in extremely serious consequences.





As regards the measures taken to relieve the 1 400 school vans and 1 200 contract buses owners, Mr Ganoo stated that they are entitled for the Self-Employed Assistance Scheme, adding that leasing companies have also extended a moratorium period for their loan repayment. Moreover, vehicle owners whose Motor Vehicle Licenses have expired or will expire by the end of the month, have till August this year to make the necessary payment and no surcharge will be applicable. He also recalled that vehicle owners can renew their certificate of fitness, as from 21 May 2020, by respecting the alphabetical order.





For his part, Minister Bodha reassured the population that Government is sensible to the plight of some 3 000 Mauritians stranded abroad in different countries adding that an orderly repatriation exercise is being carried out to that end in order of priority. Hence, flights from Mauritius to London and Paris, to South India and Mumbai, and to Madagascar, Australia, and Reunion Island will soon be organised.





Attorney General Gobin spoke of the importance of the two pieces of legislation especially as regards administrative procedures for payment of bills. He stated that the two Acts are an eloquent testimony of the unflinching determination with which Government is handling the COVID-19 crisis.





Speaking about the Budget 2020-2021 which will be presented on 4 June 2020, Mr Gobin said that it will be a stimulus budget to help relaunch the economy. He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has been an eye-opener especially as regards the healthcare system and the need to be self-sufficient. According to him, the agro-industries and Small and Medium Enterprises sectors will definitely need further revamping .





COVID-19 situation in Mauritius as at 19 May 2020

 No new positive cases registered since the last 22 days

 The number of passengers in quarantine stands at 149

 The total number of tests conducted is 92 764, including 25 626 PCR tests and 67 138 Rapid Antigen tests





#ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris

Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov
May 8, 2020, 8:15 a.m.

Carefully carrying the days COVID-19 samples, Hayley Glantz walks past idle centrifuges and empty beakers to her lab bench and gets to work.

The start of her shift looked a lot different a couple months ago. For one, the research technician in Dr. Julie McElrath's lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center typically handles HIV. And the large space around her would have been bustling with colleagues and whirring machines at work analyzing DNA and RNA samples.

Then the pandemic hit.

The McElrath Lab, like all others at Fred Hutch, ramped down to just one person at a time. Fred Hutch required the bulk of its employees to work remotely. They were drastic but science-based moves aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Like every other organization, Fred Hutch has no playbook for how to get employees back on-site amid a pandemic. But it does have decades of study into the biology of cancer, the intricacies of the immune system and the scourge of viral diseases. So Fred Hutch is tapping its scientific expertise to move forward.

The Hutch has a unique opportunity to lead, to show the country how we can reopen and how we can safely work, said Dr. Thomas Lynch, president and director of Fred Hutch and holder of the Raisbeck Endowed Chair. And science is going to guide our decision-making.

Glantzs new work routine reflects that roadmap. It was science behind the symptom-screening station she had to pass when she arrived. It was science that quieted the lab around her, and it was science behind the masks she wore in the office and the lab.

And its driving her current project: searching blood taken from COVID-19 patients for signs of an immune response. What she finds could help fill in knowledge gaps about the disease  and help inform decisions to bring more colleagues back into the lab alongside her.

Thats the ultimate goal: to get everyone back to work, and doing that safely, Glantz said. Its cool and humbling to be a piece of the puzzle.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - A hydroelectric dam that failed to hold back floodwaters this week in Michigan was the target of lengthy investigations by federal regulators, who revoked the facilitys license over safety violations two years before the flooding that forced 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Boyce Hydro Powers history of violations lasted throughout the 14 years the company was authorized to run the nearly century-old Edenville dam, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which said it repeatedly raised concerns about the dams ability to prevent flooding during extreme conditions because of its inadequate spillway capacity.

The dam on the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers, about 140 miles (225 kilometres) north of Detroit, was among several barriers overtaken Tuesday by floodwaters that chased people from communities in central Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer warned that Dow Chemical Co.s hometown of Midland could end up under 9 feet of water. She said the state will investigate the dam operators.

The commission ordered Boyce Hydro to form an independent team to investigate three other dams it owns on the rivers that were vulnerable to a cascading failure scenario. Among them was the Sanford Dam, which also was damaged.

The commission planned to send a staff engineer to the site to assist with the investigation as soon as it could be done safely, Chairman Neil Chatterjee said in a statement.

The governor said the state was reviewing every possible legal recourse.

Lee Mueller, architect and co-member manager of the company, did not return calls for comment Wednesday from The Associated Press.

The Edenville dam, in Michigans Gladwin and Midland counties, includes a series of earthen embankments totalling about 6,600 feet (2,012 metres) long, with a maximum height of nearly 55 feet (16.8 metres). It forms a 2,600-acre reservoir known as Wixom Lake, a popular boating and fishing spot.

The dam has two reinforced concrete spillways to carry away excess water when reservoir levels get too high.

In its 2018 order revoking Boyce Hydros license, the commission said its primary concern about the dam was its inability to handle the probable maximum flood  the type of event that could be expected from the most severe combination of critical meteorologic and hydrologic conditions that is reasonably possible in the area.

Commission guidelines require that dams be able to withstand such a flood or have enough spillway capacity to prevent reservoirs from rising dangerously high. The Edenville dams spillway capacity was only about 50 per cent of the probable maximum flood, the commission said.

Inadequate spillway capacity is a common problem for U.S. dams, an Associated Press investigation found in 2019.

The commission said it warned the dams previous owners of the need for improvements in early 1999, but no changes were made before the license was transferred to Boyce Hydro in 2004.

Boyce Hydro said it planned to build an auxiliary spillway on the Tittabawassee River that year and was studying the need for another on the Tobacco River, the commission said.

But the company failed to complete either project, repeatedly seeking extensions and missing deadlines, the agency said. Among its other violations: performing unauthorized dam repairs and earth-moving and failing to file an adequate public safety plan, maintain recreation facilities or monitor water quality.

For more than a decade, Boyce Hydro knowingly and wilfully refused to comply with major aspects of its license ... with the result that public safety has been put at risk, and the public has been denied the benefits, particularly project recreation, to which it is entitled, the commissions order said.

The record demonstrates that there is no reason to believe that Boyce Hydro will come into compliance, the commission added. The company has displayed a history of obfuscation and outright disregard of its obligations.

The company twice lowered Wixom Lakes level without permission after the federal license was revoked, said Nick Assendelft, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which has overseen the Edenville barrier since its federal license was withdrawn.

The department was pursuing enforcement action for the violation and resulting damage to natural resources when the dam gave way, Assendelft said. A lawsuit filed April 30 says the lengthy drawdowns in 2018 and 2019 killed thousands, if not millions of freshwater mussels, many listed as endangered species.

The Four Lakes Task Force, an authority formed by the two counties and area property owners, agreed to buy all four dams on the rivers from Boyce Hydro last December and was planning to close the deal within the next couple of months, spokeswoman Stacey Trapani said.

The group planned to raise $32 million for the purchase and for major upgrades and maintenance, she said.

Now, the status of the deal is unclear.

Were still in emergency mode at the moment, Trapani said. As soon as we are able, well start assessments so we can determine a path forward.

___

Associated Press Writer Mike Casey in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.




The headquarters of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in Abuja, has been engulfed in fire.

At the time of this report, the cause of the fire is still not known.

Naija News learnt however, that a large number of staff were in their offices when the fire broke out.

One of the staff told newsmen that the fire service swung into action speedily and were able to put out the fire, not too long ago.

The staff noted that before the firefighters arrived, residents and staff were seen throwing things including stones at the building in a bid to put out the fire.

The incident happened about a week after all members of staff of the agency were directed to resume work.

Share this post with your Friends on
The Light That Failed: A Reckoning is the winner of this years Lionel Gelber Prize. This is the 30th anniversary of the prize, awarded to the worlds best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on international issues. Its presented by The Lionel Gelber Foundation in partnership with the Munk School of Foreign Affairs & Public Policy, and Foreign Policy magazine.

A free virtual event featuring the authors, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes, in conversation with jury chair Janice Stein and Foreign Policy deputy editor Cameron Abadi takes place May 21 at 11 a.m. Register at https://foreignpolicy.com/events/democracy-dialogue/.

When Vladimir Putin, in March 2018, publicly denied that Moscow had anything to do with the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, he presumably thought he was defending his countrys sovereignty, which naturally includes the right to deny the validity of truths that are used by political adversaries to attack Russia. According to this logic, moreover, any Russian who provided corroborating evidence of such acts would be guilty of objective complicity with the enemy. Collective self-defence is more important than a recital of facts that play into the hands of hostile forces.

Such routine attempts to muddy the waters of public opinion tell us little about the role of strategic dissimulation in Putins Russia, however. A much better place to start is with the claim advanced by Russian-born American journalist Masha Gessen, that Vladimir Putin shares more with Donald Trump than a cavalier attitude toward truth.

Its not just that both Putin and Trump lie, she writes, it is that they lie in the same way and for the same purpose: blatantly, to assert power over truth itself. The rationale for their lying, given that much of their intended audience has access to alternative sources of information, cannot be to deceive. One aim is to show that leaders can prevaricate without suffering untoward consequences. Paying no price for telling easily exposable untruths is an effective way to display ones power and impunity.

But Putins untruths have another, and even more pernicious, strategic purpose. That at least is the implication of his March 2018 lies about the situation in Ukraine, blatant falsehoods that totally flummoxed American officials: As Russia spins a false narrative to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine  so read a press release from the State Department  the world has not seen such startling Russian fiction since Dostoyevsky wrote: the formula two plus two equals five is not without its attractions. 

What baffled Obamas Washington was that Russia was denying obvious facts.

The State Department could not understand why Putin was claiming that citizens defence groups, not Russian forces, had seized infrastructure and military facilities in Crimea.What sense did it make to say such things when images of Russian Special Forces capturing the public buildings in Crimea were all over the TV and the internet and when the FBI has identified the intelligence officer who did the hacking?

Putins lies seemed absurd in the age of radically diminished government control over global information flow. So why were Russian spokespersons lying so blatantly when they knew perfectly well that their lies would be exposed a few hours after they were uttered?

Putins barefaced mendacity ran counter to a basic assumption of realpolitik that, in the words of a political scientist John Mearsheimer, lying is only effective when the potential victim thinks that the liar is probably telling the truth and that nobody wants to be called a liar, even if it is for a good cause.

Putins lies about the absence of Russian troops in Crimea were bluntly stated and effortlessly exposed. But he was not afraid to be called liar. This was not only because he wanted to assert power over truth but also because Western expressions of shock and outrage made the Wests practical impotence in the face of Russias only thinly veiled aggression embarrassingly clear. In the 1990s, Russia itself had experienced the frustrating experience of national outrage and humiliation that could not be redressed or avenged. Now it was Americas turn.

Putins strategy of flatly denying Russias responsibility for any of the acts of which it was accused also resembles behaviour typical of hardened criminals who, when sentenced to prison, proudly display their total disrespect for civilized rules and norms and whose underworld reputation depends on their refusing even minimal co-operation with prison authorities. In Russian criminal slang such a behaviour is known as otritsalovo, which roughly translates as defiant stonewalling with an element of omerta.

But Putins untruths are not simply a tough guys expressions of defiance. They also serve a particular geopolitical agenda. Every Western expose of Putins blatantly mendacious behaviour, from his perspective, serves to remind the world and especially America of how often and flagrantly the West has lied to Russia in the past.

Perverse gratification at such turning of the tables is arguably the key to Putins easily detectable lies. In response to Western complaints about Moscows aggressive interventions abroad, Russians repeatedly claim they are doing to the West only what the West has been relentlessly and insultingly doing to them.

A minor but telling example is the Dima Yakovlev Act, named after an adopted Russian child who died from criminal negligence by his adoptive American parents and explicitly designed to mirror the Magnitsky Act, a U.S. law aimed at punishing Russian officials involved in the death of a Russian tax accountant in a Moscow prison in 2009, by imposing sanctions on U.S. citizens involved in violations of the human rights and freedoms of Russian citizens. But other examples are legion.

Just as NATO violated the territorial integrity of Serbia in 1999, so Russia violated the territorial integrity of Georgia in 2008. Just as the United States is flying long-range bombers close to Russias borders, so Russia is now flying long-range bombers close to Americas borders.

Just as the American administration has blacklisted some prominent Russians, preventing them from entering the U.S., so the Kremlin has blacklisted some prominent Americans, preventing them from entering Russia. Just as Americans and Europeans celebrated the dismantling of the Soviet Union, so Russians now celebrate Brexit and the potential dismantling of the EU.

Just as the West has supported liberal NGOs inside Russia, Russians are financing far-right and far-left groups in the West to undermine NATO, block U.S. missile defence programs, weaken support for sanctions and sap European unity. Just as the U.S. is aiding the military of Ukraine (traditionally in Moscows sphere of influence), so Russia is aiding the military of Venezuela (traditionally in Washingtons sphere of influence).

This tit-for-tat logic also explains Putins penchant for responding to Western lies with equivalent lies of his own.

Just as the West, in Moscows view, lied brazenly to Russia about its plans for NATO expansion and about the UN-sanctioned attack on Libya, so Russia will lie brazenly to the West about its military incursions into Ukraine.

Indeed, the best example of such tit-for-tat deceit can be found in Putins March 2014 speech announcing Russias annexation of Crimea. This official address lifted whole passages from speeches by Western leaders justifying the dismantling of Serbian territory in Kosovo and applied them to the Crimean case.

Thus, what most Western observers took to be the first step in Putins attempt to restore Moscows empire was explicitly justified by the rhetoric of U.S. president Woodrow Wilson extolling the fundamental right of popular self-determination. By clothing its own violent actions in an idealistic rhetoric borrowed verbatim from the U.S., Moscow aims to unmask Western hypocrisy. Vaunted Western values, such as the defence of human rights, are simply Western interests in disguise.

Moscows resentment-fuelled policies  however emotionally satisfying they may feel to the Kremlin leadership and whatever desires for vindication they fulfil  dont rise to the level of a well-considered, long-term strategy.

Indeed, Russias policy of ironic mimicry and reverse engineering of American disinformation may be slowly nudging the world towards disaster. Aggressive imitation assumes, in a self-fulfilling way, that all grounds for trust between Russia and the West have been fatally eroded.

Alternative explanations for the Wests failures to live up to its own ideals  such as poor planning, muddling through and lack of professional co-ordination on the Western side  are downplayed in order to impute unhelpful behaviour on Americas part to implacable bad faith. Unmasking hypocrisy attributes malicious intentions (rather than naivete, self-deception, bureaucratic infighting or incompetence) to the adversary.

Distinguishing public justifications from hidden motivations is only common sense. But focusing dogmatically and obsessively on this distinction, as Putin seems to do, is a slippery slope. An irrational compulsion to refute the Wests ridiculous claims to moral superiority has encouraged a ratcheting up of strategically pointless malice on the Russian side.

Because they spy cynicism behind every American invocation of humanitarian ideals and want to prove that they are no longer as naive as they were when they believed Americas two-faced promises not to expand NATO eastward, the Kremlin has thrown itself into a strutting disregard for elementary humanitarian values, as if carrying out indiscriminate airstrikes on civilian targets in Syria, for example, made them into worthy counterparts to the amoral America whose purported villainy they love to revile.

But relying on exposure of the enemys hypocrisy to justify ones own aggressive acts makes it possible to attack the existing world order without offering any positive alternative that can be put in its place. This is not a formula for a sober foreign policy that channels limited means towards achievable objectives. The result is a geopolitics of deepened mistrust, conspiracy thinking and the loss of any basis for mutual accommodation.

The Kremlin seems to believe that mockingly echoing Western lies is the highest form of pedagogy. Like revenge, of which it is a variant, it may taste sweeter than honey but it is also making the world a much more dangerous place.

Reprinted from The Light That Failed: A Reckoning Copyright  2019 by Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes. Published by Allen Lane UK, an imprint of Penguin Random House

Read more about:
More than one in 4 Americans (28 percent) never wears sunscreen, according to a new Consumer Reports nationally representative survey of 2,007 U.S. adults. And most of the people who say they do wear it don't do so every time they're in the sun. That's concerning, because avoiding unprotected exposure to ultraviolet rays is probably the most effective way to keep your skin healthy.

One possible reason consumers don't shield their skin the way they should is because of confusion about how to choose and use sunscreen and other sun protection measures. Here, experts answer some of the most common questions and provide sun safety tips for you and your family.

avoiding unprotected time in the sun is probably the most effective step you can take to keep your skin healthy.

avoiding unprotected time in the sun is probably the most effective step you can take to keep your skin healthy.

What Type of Sunscreen Gives the Best Protection?

Sunscreens that contain chemical ingredientsavobenzone, octisalate, or oxybenzone, for examplehave been found by CR to be the most effective. They protect skin from the kind of sun damage that can cause burning, wrinkles, and skin cancer by absorbing energy from the suns ultraviolet (UV) rays and preventing them from penetrating skin. All of CRs top-rated sunscreens are chemical-based. But there has been controversy in the past few years over the safety of these sunscreens, because research has shown that the chemicals can soak into the skin and bloodstream.

This has raised some concerns, and the Food and Drug Administration recently asked sunscreen manufacturers to provide more information on the safety of these chemicals. But the FDA stresses that this request doesnt mean that the ingredients are unsafe.

We need additional data in order to fully understand the long-term effect of absorption and what levels can be considered safe, says David Strauss, M.D., Ph.D., director of the division of applied regulatory science for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA, who has studied the absorption of these chemicals.

Story continues

In the meantime, the FDA says it isnt necessary to stop using chemical sunscreens. Don Huber, CRs director of product safety, agrees. With the information we have now, he says, the risk of not using sunscreen far outweighs any potential risk from the chemicals it contains.

If youre concerned about chemical exposure, one solution is to be especially diligent about covering up and staying in the shade. This allows you to skip sunscreen on covered body parts. Because youll be using less of the sunscreen, youll be reducing your exposure to any chemicals it contains, Huber says. And sunscreen was never meant to be your only defense against the suns rays.

Arent There Effective Sunscreens That Dont Use Chemicals?

You could switch to mineral sunscreens, which pose no known safety risks, according to the FDA. These products contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which sit on top of the skin, blocking UV rays without being absorbed, says Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Theyre also less likely to irritate delicate skin, which is why theyre recommended for babies and young children. And because the American Academy of Pediatrics currently advises parents to avoid using sunscreens with oxybenzone on children due to the aforementioned concerns, mineral sunscreens would seem like a good choice for kids.

But theres a hitch: In CRs tests, mineral sunscreens dont do as good a job of shielding skin as chemical sunscreens. Over the last eight years of testing, we havent had a mineral sunscreen come in anywhere near the top of our ratings, Huber says. What we see is that some provide adequate SPF protection against sunburn-causing UVB rays, but they arent so great against the UVA rays that contribute to skin cancer and skin agingor vice versa.

If you still prefer a mineral product, consider California Kids #supersensitive Tinted Lotion SPF 30+ and Badger Active Natural Mineral Cream SPF 30 Unscented. While these sunscreens didnt come in at the top of our ratings, they both received Good scores. (Note that adults can use formulations made for children.)

Are Reef Safe Sunscreens Really Less Harmful to Oceans?

They may be, although the term reef safe isnt regulated. More scientists are focusing on the environmental impact of sunscreens, particularly those with oxybenzone, a highly effective UV filter. (In fact, all of the top-rated sunscreens in our tests contain it.) Studies have found concentrations of oxybenzone high enough in some ocean waters to interfere with the reproductive systems of fish and destroy coral reefs. For this reason some areas, such as Hawaii, Key West in Florida, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, currently ban (or plan to ban by 2021) sunscreens that contain it. In some cases, sunscreens with the chemicals octocrylene and octinoxate are also being banned.

Many sunscreens have been reformulated to remove one or more of these chemicals. They include some that were top-rated in our previous tests, such as La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk and Equate (Walmart) Ultra Lotion SPF 50. But we couldnt get the new products in time to include in this years testing, so we werent able to gauge how they rate now.

Four products that scored Very Good ratings dont contain oxybenzone or octinoxate but do have octocrylene. Theyre all from Hawaiian Tropic: Sheer Touch Ultra Radiance Lotion SPF 50 and SPF 30, Silk Hydration Weightless Lotion SPF 30, and Island Sport Ultra Light Spray SPF 30.

Is Wearing Sunscreen While Indoors Overdoing It?

No. Although even plain untinted glass blocks most UVB rays, more than 50 percent of UVA rays can still penetrate your skin through home or office windows. So if you sit all day close to a window that doesnt have UV protective film, you might want to use sunscreen on exposed skin. Getting sun damage in a car is also possible. The kind of glass used in front windshields and some sunroofs blocks a majority of both types of UV rays, but side windows let UVA rays pass through unless theyre tinted.

Dark-Skinned People Dont Need to Use Sunscreen, Right?

Wrong. But its a common misconception. In CR's survey, just 39 percent of African Americans said they ever used sunscreen, compared with 77 percent of Latinos and whites. People of color have more of the skin pigment melanin, which provides some natural UV protection. But they can still get sunburn and skin cancer. The melanoma rate is 28 in 100,000 for whites, and while lower, its still 5 in 100,000 for Latinos and 1 in 100,000 for African Americans, according to the American Cancer Society.

A nationally representative survey of 2,007 American adults by CR reveals that we dont do as much as we could to protect our skin.

Do You Need a Separate Sunscreen for Your Face?

Not from a sun protection perspective. Facial sunscreens (and moisturizers with SPF) are held to the same standards for safety and effectiveness as other sunscreens. But you might want a face formulation if you have oily, acne-prone, or easily irritated skin. Sunscreens designed for the face are often oil-free, lighter, and wont block pores, says Rebecca Hartman, M.D., M.P.H., director of melanoma epidemiology at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. That means theyll work well under makeup or over facial stubble.

Are Sunscreens for Kids and Babies Different From Products for Adults?

Generally speaking, no. The FDA doesnt regulate sunscreens for children any differently from those for adults; all are required to meet the same criteria for safety and effectiveness. Those labeled for babies or kids may have a different fragrance or be less irritating to delicate skin by having more mineral ingredients (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) than chemical ones. But an adult can use a sunscreen labeled for kids and vice versa.

Is It Okay to Use Sunscreen From Last Summer?

It depends. "Heat accelerates sunscreen breakdown," says Susan Booth, who oversees CR's sunscreen testing. "If the bottle has been in your car or in a beach bag in your garage, temperature fluctuations may have affected it." But even when properly stored, sunscreen won't be effective after three years. Check the expiration date, but if the bottle doesn't have one, and you can't recall when you bought it, it's time to pick up a new bottle.

If a Product in CR's Ratings Is Unavailable, Will Another One From the Same Brand Do?

No. Manufacturers might use different ingredients in different concentrations in their various formulas. For example, CVS Healths Ultra Protection Sun Lotion SPF 70 and Sport Sun Lotion SPF 50+ have different ingredients. And in our tests, Ultra Protection got a Very Good rating, while the sport lotion earned a Good. But even if two sunscreens have the exact same ingredients listed in the same order on the label, you cant be sure theyre equally effective. Manufacturers must tell you the percentage of active ingredients (such as avobenzone or zinc oxide) used in a sunscreen and list the inactive ingredients, but the exact formulation is proprietary.

Whats more, Zeichner says, a higher price is no guarantee of quality. For example, the priciest sunscreen in our tests, La Roche-Posay Anthelios Clear Skin Face Lotion SPF 60, costs $11.76 per ounce and got a score of Fair. The least expensive, Solimo General Protection Lotion SPF 50, is 58 cents per ounce and is one of our recommended sunscreens.

What Does CR Recommend for People Who Don't Like the Feel or Smell of Many Sunscreens?

Some do feel better on your skin and dont have an overpowering scent, our professional sensory testers say. If you want to avoid the greasy, tacky feel of some sunscreens, we suggest Coppertone Ultra Guard Lotion SPF 70 or Hawaiian Tropic Island Sport Ultra Light Spray SPF 30. As for scent, Ultra Guard is barely noticeable, and Island Sport has a faint tropical aroma.

The Right Way to Wear Sunscreen

Applying sunscreen carelessly will deprive you of its benefits. Play by the rules:

 Always choose an SPF of 30 or higher.

 Select a broad spectrum sunscreen, which protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

 Check the expiration date. Sunscreens are effective for 3 years.

 Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before heading outside.

 Use at least 1 ounce; thats about a shot-glass worth, enough to cover the entire body of most adults when in a bathing suit. If wearing clothing, use 1 teaspoon per uncovered body part.

 Reapply the same amount every 2 hours or immediately after swimming or sweating.

 Pay attention to commonly missed spots: the backs of your hands, the tops of your feet, your ears, and the back of your neck. Wear a hat to protect your scalp if you dont want to use sunscreen there.

If you use a spray, hold the nozzle an inch away from your skin, spray until your skin glistens, and thenyesrub the sunscreen in to ensure even coverage. When using a spray outdoors, make sure the aerosol isnt being blown away by the wind. And dont spray directly onto your face, because inhaling sunscreen could harm your lungs.

Editors Note: This article also appeared in the July 2020 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.





More from Consumer Reports:

Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

7 best mattresses for couples





Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2020, Consumer Reports, Inc.
New UNDP report says progress in income, education and health will be set back as existing inequalities balloon.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing a steep and unprecedented decline in human development, disrupting progress in income, healthcare and education and crystalising already existing inequalities, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned.

A new UNDP report (PDF)  titled COVID-19 and Human Development: Assessing the Crisis, Envisioning the Recovery  stresses that conditions today are equivalent to levels of deprivation last seen in the mid-1980s.

This shock is different in that it is universal, Pedro Conceicao, director of the Human Development Report Office at the UNDP said during a press briefing in Geneva on Wednesday. It is global in nature and it is also almost synchronistic because it is hitting each country and hitting all three dimensions at the same time.

Warning that the pandemic was superimposed on unresolved tensions between people and technology, between people and the planet, between the haves and the have-nots, the report draws from simulations based on an adjusted Human Development Index  modified to reflect the effects of school closures  and incorporates projections of gross national income (GNI) per capita for 2020.

The findings conclude that advances in education, healthcare and income are threatened by the coronavirus pandemic that is triggering the largest contraction in economic activity since the Great Depression.

The official virus death toll currently stands at more than 300,000 but indirectly the coronavirus could lead to an additional 6,000 child deaths every day from preventable causes over the next six months, the report says.

The crisis was simply imposed in a context of already deeply entrenched inequalities, Conceicao told Al Jazeera. When we think of development we tend to think of the basic achievements  weve been able to reduce poverty, child mortality.

Progress in education is taking a massive hit. Out-of-school rates in primary education are expected to drop to the levels of actual rates of the mid-1980s levels.

With almost nine in 10 students out of school and economies experiencing a deep downturn, the decline in the index  reflecting a narrowing in capabilities  would be equivalent to erasing all the progress in human development of the past six years, according to the UNDP simulation.

But if conditions in school access are restored, the simulation shows capabilities related to education could immediately bounce back though the income dimension would take longer to recover.

Addressing pre-existing inequalities with internet and broadband access has become even more important to human development as well. Given more social, educational and economic activities are moving online to contain the spread of COVID-19, getting the estimated 3.7 billion unconnected people across the world consistent, reliable internet access has assumed even greater urgency.

We knew the digital divide is important. But with many children now out of school and without access to the internet, we risk scarring a generation of children who are unable to learn and were already at a disadvantage, Heriberto Tapia, Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst at the Human Development report Office at UNDP told Al Jazeera.

In a scenario with more equitable internet access  where each country closes the gap in its human development category  the decline in human development would be more than halved.

The UN emphasises that connecting the unconnected is affordable. In 2018, it was estimated that $100bn would be needed to close the gap in internet access in low- and middle-income countries. That amounts to 1 percent of the unprecedented fiscal programmes announced around the world so far, according to the UNDP.

The UNDP recommends governments respond with a systemic and holistic approach rather than tackle these issues sector-by-sector. It also stresses the importance of collective action  at the community, country and global levels.

All of these numbers depend on how governments will react. There are ways in which governments can increase the connectivity and resources to enable people to function, said Tapia.
Gov. Tom Wolf has issued guidance that would allow more home sales and other real estate transactions.

Wolf announced the new move to ease restrictions on the real estate industry Tuesday afternoon. The real estate industry has been slowed due to the governors restrictions on businesses to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Wolf is acting after vetoing legislation that would have broadly expanded real estate activity.

Under the governors new guidance, more real estate activity can occur in red counties that remain under a stay-at-home order. Some relaxed rules on real estate transactions had previously been limited to the counties in the yellow phase of the governors plan to gradually reopen the state.

This industry impacts numerous types of businesses and Pennsylvania homebuyers who are in the process of, or considering, purchasing a home," Wolf said in a statement. Its critical that these businesses, regardless of whether they are in red phase or yellow phase counties, strictly adhere to all appropriate guidelines and guidance.

Pennsylvania has been the most restrictive state in the country when it comes to in-person real estate activity, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home sales have declined during the coronavirus crisis, as agents are relying on virtual tours to showcase properties.

Under the Wolf administrations guidelines, in-person real estate transactions can resume, with some limits.

The Wolf administration said all in-person activities should be scheduled and limited to no more than the real estate professionals and two people inside a property at any time, according to a news release. The administration also calls for real estate professionals to exercise social distancing.

Everyone present at a property offered for sale must wear masks or face coverings, according to the Wolf administration.

The Wolf administration encourages as much activity as possible by mail or electronically, including signing documents and settlements and closings. When that isnt possible to conduct activities electronically, attendance in-person must be limited to those needed to sign documents and their legal counsel, the Wolf administration said.

Real estate agents are asked to stagger scheduling of property showings and minimize time spent in the property. Businesses are encourage to provide sellers guidance on sanitizing properties. Agents meeting in-person are encouraged to do a verbal health screening with their clients, according to the news release.

Wolf said he vetoed legislation (House Bill 2412) that would have reopened more real estate activity because it wouldnt provide sufficient public safety measures. State Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-Montgomery, was among a host of lawmakers criticizing the veto of that bill and other legislation to open up other businesses.

Gov. Wolf has once again chosen to veto legislation important to individuals wanting to earn a paycheck, Toepel said on her Facebook page.

House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, vented his frustration on Twitter.

Once again, the governor vetoed a bill to give something the power of law, to put in place his own plan without any votes or discussion or public input, Turzai said.

Democratic lawmakers had also been pressing Wolf to allow more real estate activity to resume. Senate and House Democratic leaders sent a letter to the governor asking him to relax restrictions.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, welcomed the governors new guidance on real estate.

Great news in our reopening & restoration process statewide! Real estate can be practiced safely with this guidance, Costa said on Twitter.

More from PennLive

Full list of Pa. nursing homes with coronavirus cases and deaths

Coronavirus cases by day in Pa. (5/19/20): How fast is COVID-19 spreading?

More state parks, state forests about to open across much of Pennsylvania
UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The International Criminal Courts prosecutor said Tuesday her office is working on new arrest warrants in Libya, pointing to the high number of civilian casualties from airstrikes and artillery fire while stressing that military commanders may be held responsible for crimes committed by their forces.

Fatou Bensouda told the U.N. Security Council that Libya remains a priority for her office. She noted the offensive launched over a year ago by eastern-based forces under military commander Khalifa Hifter trying to take the capital, Tripoli, has not abated.

She said her office is monitoring events, particularly civilian casualties from airstrikes and shelling and incidents that may constitute crimes under the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court.

Bensouda did not identify any individuals as possibly facing arrest warrants. But she said intentionally targeting the civilian population is a war crime under the Rome Statute, which also prohibits the targeting of hospitals and other health, education and religious buildings.

Libya has been in turmoil since 2011, when a civil war toppled long-time dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The country has since split between rival administrations in the east and the west, each backed by armed groups.

Hifters offensive is also backed by France, Russia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and other key Arab countries, the U.N.-supported government in Tripoli is backed by Turkey, Italy and Qatar.

Libyas U.N. Ambassador Taher El-Sonni accused Hifter of committing the war crimes that Bensouda cited and told the council the governments military prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for Hifter and other leaders under his command.

What is the ICC waiting for to hold accountable all those responsible for these violations that was indicated today that have been committed by the so-called National Army led by Hifter? he asked.

He also said there must also be accountability for countries and officials outside Libya who support and finance the violations and mercenaries from several nations who carry them out.

Story continues

Speaking via a video connection, Bensouda said her office also is pursuing investigations involving the grave and persistent problem of arbitrary detentions as well as serious mistreatment of migrants and refugees attempting to transit through Libya.

She said information indicates that people detained without proper protection have been tortured and murdered and that men, women and children have been subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Former detainees report brutal methods of torture, she said. Detainees have died from injuries sustained through torture, and from the failure to provide proper and timely medical care.

Bensouda said reports received by her office also indicate increasing numbers of cases of enforced disappearance, committed with close to total impunity, which can be a crime against humanity.

She cited the case of Siham Sergewa, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives, as emblematic of this disturbing trend. Sergewa has been missing since July 17, when armed men reportedly kidnapped her from her home in the eastern city of Benghazi, the prosecutor said.

Last November, Bensouda said her office had reliable information on the locations of three people subject to arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court.

She said then that Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the late dictators son, was believed to be in the Libyan town of Zintan; Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a commander in Hifters forces, was in the Benghazi area; and Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, former head of the Libyan Internal Security Agency, was in Cairo. She said Tuesday that all three remain fugitives.

Bensouda told the council Tuesday that Gadhafi is a willful fugitive, actively evading justice both in Libya and before the International Criminal Court, and that al-Werfalli and Khaled have not been arrested.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  At least 150 Filipino patients are taking part in the World Health Organization's (WHO) solidarity trial, joining the global effort to find a cure for the deadly coronavirus disease.

Dr. Marissa Alejandria, a Philippine representative for the international clinical trials, told CNN Philippines that recruitment continues now that the trials will take place in various hospitals all over the Philippines.

We are just on the fourth week of recruitment so wala pa tayong 500 na naaabot, nasa 150 palang ang kasali sa trial, Alejandria said. Hindi kasi lahat sumasali, hindi rin lahat nagku-qualify kasi kung may contraindication, hindi sila sinasali sa trial.

[Translation: We are only in the fourth week of recruitment so we have not reached 500 yet, we have about 150 involved in the trial because not everyone who qualifies can participate, some have contraindications so they are excluded from the trial.]

The Department of Health announced on April 22 that the participation of the Philippines in the solidarity trial was approved by DOH's Single Joint Research Ethics Board. The board reviews proposed studies to make sure they adhere to accepted ethical standards involving humans, and the approval gives the green light for testing to be conducted in human volunteers.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said the study will initially involve at least 500 COVID-19 patients in 20 hospitals, adding that the sample size could expand. Doctors will enroll patients for the study, she said.

Based on clinical trial protocols, patients included in the study must be at least 18 years old, be probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases, and give their informed consent.

Alejandria said there are five different drugs or combinations being used in the clinical trials, among them remdesivir, lopinavir-ritonavir, lopinavir-ritonavir plus interferon beta and chloroquine, while convalescent plasma therapy is being studied in a separate effort.

When asked how the current patients are doing, Alejandria said it is too early to say, noting that the study is expected to last at least a year.

Meron nang nag-recover, meron din namang namatay, so we cannot give any conclusion at this time, Alejandria said. "Merong independent committee that looks at the results, kung may makita na silang, 'ito, mukhang effective na,' then pwedeng i-announce na 'yon."

[Translation: Some have recovered, some have also died, so we cannot give any conclusion at this time. There is an independent committee that looks at the results, if they see something, if it seems to be effective, then they can announce it.]

Meanwhile, when asked how effective hydroxychloroquine is in treating COVID-19 patients, Alejandria said there is no evidence that supports it's effectivity.

"These are all from clinical trials, and they have conflicting reports," she said. "There are also reports of side effects kaya kailangan talaga natin ng [that's why we need] clinical trials."

U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Monday that he is taking daily doses of hydroxychloroquine, a drug he's long touted as a potential coronavirus cure even as medical experts and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration question its efficacy and warn of potentially harmful side effects.
Shelley Davies waits for her delivery at Plants and Friends./Douglas Zimmerman/SFGate

LATEST, May 20, 6:32 p.m. The Stud, San Francisco's oldest continuously operating LBGT club, will close permanently due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.

"The Stud is the country's only cooperatively owned LGBT venue and has been in operation for 55 years," according to a statement released by co-owner Honey Mahogany and obtained by the Bay Area Reporter. "Because of a lack of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the historic bar will be announcing that they are permanently closing their location and will be holding a drag funeral to honor the end of an era of LGBT nightlife."

The iconic establishment, which opened in 1966, is the latest victim of the pandemic that has ravaged the Bay Area business landscape.

May 20, 4:10 p.m. A Wednesday California entertainment industry roundtable led by Governor Gavin Newsom and featuring filmmaker Ava DuVernay, actor Jon Huertas, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and others considered the complexities around returning to film and television sets as the country works to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Those on the livestreamed call pointed to international productions currently underway  including some in progress in Korea and Iceland for Netflix  saying the guidelines being used abroad to keep cast and crew members safe are helpful, though they will be more expensive, and potentially too cost-prohibitive when implemented more locally.

To boot, these protocols only go so far. Hair stylist Stacey Morris noted that even with precautions, its not feasible for hair and makeup artists to do their jobs on set. To me, if we are returning to work and theres a need for a hazmat suit, its not time to return to work, she said.

Huertas echoed the sentiment. We cant film with PPE on, he added. How are we going to trust everyone is being safe when theyre not on set?  You cant quarantine an entire crew and cast.

Some progress toward filming is, however, being made. Newsom pledged to release guidelines May 25 on ways the entertainment production industry can get back to work. In the meantime, others, like Sarandos, pointed to ways to create content on a smaller scale. Some productions could be filmed using just a few people and sent off to be remotely edited, for example.

Danny Stephens, a Key Grip with Local 80 noted some productions are working with epidemiologists to inform best practices, and DuVernay noted productions could rotate workers on and off set when inactive.

She also found a silver lining and called for a fundamental reexamination of the production process as a whole.

The whole flow of [production] has been disrupted, she said. I think its an opportunity for us to say this sucks but what can we take from it and bring into the new era? What can we leave behind that didnt work? This is an opportunity to break out of that.

May 20, 1:50 p.m. Santa Clara County announced Wednesday new free access to testing and screening for residents through the State of California and Verily. More information is available on the ProjectBaseline website.

May 20, 1:15 p.m. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany addressed questions about President Donald Trump's support for newly-released CDC guidelines on reopening the nation's schools and offices, saying Wednesday that the organization's plan is "in concert" with the president's Reopening of America guidelines.

"He wants to reopen America safely, and it's very important we do so," McEnany continued. "Its good to see most states  I think most have plans to do so at this point to reopen and were starting to see the reopening of several states and Americans getting back to work."

McEnany also pushed back on concerns about the president's many statements in support of hydroxychloroquine, a drug generally reserved to treat lupus, malaria and other serious medical conditions. On Monday, Trump said he's been taking the medication as a preventative measure against the coronavirus. Doctors, however, have stated it's still not clear the drug is effective in the fight against COVID-19, and could have side effects when improperly taken.

McEnany clarified Wednesday that "as with any prescription it should be given by a doctor to a patient in that context," and that "no one should be taking this without a prescription from their doctor."

Nevertheless, she defended Trump's promotion of the treatment, saying, "Its an FDA-approved [medication] with a proven track record."

May 20, 1 p.m. Sana Clara University officials issued a statement Wednesday saying school will resume in the fall with modified in-person classes and instruction to the extent state and local health officials allow.

"As we plan for the fall, we are guided by two principles: (1) protect the health and safety of our faculty, staff and students, and (2) offer a rigorous, transformational education in the long tradition of Jesuit education," the university said in a latter to its community. "While grounded in principles, our planning is also data-driven, relying on the best scientific resources available, including our own faculty experts. We are also consulting with other universities and local health officials."

Read the full letter.

May 20, 10:20 a.m. Here's a rundown of new cases and deaths reported Wednesday in counties around the Bay Area. This list will be updated as more counties make announcements.

San Francisco reported one new death and 54 new cases to increase the death toll to 37 and the case total to 2,185.

San Mateo announced 10 new cases to increase the total to 1,697. The death toll remains 75.

May 20, 7:25 a.m. A select number of flights to Europe and Japan will return at San Francisco International Airport with restrictions in June, according to a statement from the airport. SFO hasn't had any flights to Europe since April 1. Read the full story on SFGATE.

May 20, 7 a.m. The parking lots at 27 California state parks partially reopened Tuesday, weeks after the 280 state parks and beaches closed their parking lots to discourage non-local visitors.

In the greater Bay Area, parking lots were partially reopened at some parks in Sonoma and Santa Cruz counties.

Gloria Sandoval, deputy director of Californias state parks department, said even though there is increased access at some parks and beaches, officials still encourage people to stay close to home.

State Parks will continue to monitor visitation and physical distancing across the system and if unsafe conditions develop, park units may close again, she said.

Before visiting, you should check online to see if the park or beach is open, what new visitor guidelines are in effect and if parking is available, Sandoval said.

Here is list of parks that now have limited parking:

Butte County

Lake Oroville State Recreation Area

El Dorado County

Ed Zberg Sugar Pine Point State Park

Emerald Bay State Park

Folsom Lake State Recreation Area (also in Sacramento and Placer counties)

Lake Valley State Recreation Area

Washoe Meadows State Park

Kern County

Onyx Ranch

Nevada County

Donner Memorial State Park

Orange County

Bolsa Chica State Beach

Doheny State Beach

Huntington State Beach

San Clemente State Beach

Crystal Cove State Beach

Placer County

Auburn State Recreation Area

Kings Beach State Recreation Area

Riverside County

Lake Perris State Recreation Area

San Benito County

Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area

Santa Cruz County

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park

Wilder Ranch State Park

Shasta County

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park

Sonoma County

Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve

Austin Creek State Recreation Area

Jack London State Historic Park

Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

Trione-Annadel State Park

Tuolumne County

Columbia State Historic Park

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Coronavirus in the greater Bay Area: A county-by-county snapshot

ALAMEDA COUNTY: 2,522 confirmed cases, 86 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

For more information on Alameda County, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 1,192 confirmed cases, 33 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

For more information on Contra Costa County, visit the public health department website.

LAKE COUNTY: 11 confirmed cases

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities

For information on Lake County, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 329 confirmed cases, 14 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

Fore more information on Marin County, visit the public health department website.

MONTEREY COUNTY: 344 confirmed cases, 8 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities

For more information on Monterey County, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 92 cases, 3 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

For more information on Napa County, visit the public health department website.

SAN BENITO COUNTY: 61 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail, manufacturing, restaurants, shopping malls

For more information on San Benito County, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 2,185 confirmed cases, 37 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

For more information on San Francisco County, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 1,697 confirmed cases, 75 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail and manufacturing

For more information on San Mateo County, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 2,483 confirmed cases, 137 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities; retail and manufacturing opening on Friday

Fore more information on Santa Clara County, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY: 165 confirmed cases, 2 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail, manufacturing

For more information on Santa Cruz County, visit the public health department website.

SOLANO COUNTY: 424 confirmed cases, 16 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: All "low-risk" businesses that can comply with physical distancing guidelines

For more information on Solano County, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 391 confirmed cases, 4 deaths

What's open beyond essential businesses: Outdoor businesses and activities, retail, manufacturing, car washes, pet groomers, outdoor museums, offices where telework is not possible

For more information on Sonoma County, visit the public health department website.



CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions about coronavirus

Study: Surgical masks can reduce spread of COVID-19 virus by up to 75%

Higher tuition, shorter days: What schools could look like when they reopen

San Francisco officials outline 5 goals before reopening businesses

WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA REOPEN?

With changes made to state order, here's what you need to know: What's open and closed in California?

California could move into Stage 3 in June: Here's what that means

Newsom details 4 stages to reopen California businesses
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said educated and well-to-do Nigerians constitute many of the fatalities from COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Mr Ehanire while speaking at the daily Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday said many of the patients chose home treatment and reported late to care centres.

A disturbing picture emerging from statistics is that not only are most fatalities observed to be linked with preexisting diseases, many are educated, well-to-do people, who chose home-based care, where they develop sudden complication and have to be rushed to hospital, he said.

Nigerias first COVID-19 death was Suleiman Achimugu, a former Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the victim had underlying medical conditions  multiple myeloma and diabetes  and was undergoing chemotherapy before returning to Nigeria.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) patients with diabetes may be at extra risk for COVID-19 mortality.

The late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Abba Kyari, also died from the virus which is ravaging the world.

As of Tuesday night, a total of 192 patients have died out of Nigerias 6,401 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Diagnostic commodities

Mr Ehanire said the government will continue to provide diagnostic commodities when needed.

He also urge the public to quickly seek medical attention when the need arises.

Experience has continued to show that breathing complication in COVID-19 patients cauterises with little or no notice.

This is an added reason why all persons should seek medical attention when they test positive.

We will also continue to provide diagnostic commodities and facilities in collaboration with partners, he said.

Reporting high cases

Meanwhile, at the briefing, the Director-General of NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said reporting more or less COVID-19 cases does not attract support from the federal government to states.

There have been unconfirmed reports of some states distorting the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in order to attract financial support from the federal government.

Mr Ihekweazu however, said there are no benefits to this.

Whether you report more or less, there is no direct relationship between the number of cases and how much support you get.

So, I dont see the benefit of either reporting more or reporting less, he said.
Four more persons tested



positive for COVID-19 in Tripura, taking the total number of cases in the state to 173, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.

He said the four persons who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently returned from Chennai and are now under treatment.

"850 samples have been tested for #COVID19 today and among them 4 persons found positive," Deb tweeted on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Tripura Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday claimed that the state has the highest recovery rate of coronavirus patients in the country.

Tripuras recovery rate is 68.83 per cent while the national average recovery rate is 39 per cent, he claimed.

"India's national average for COVID-19 recovery rate is 39%... while in Tripura it is 68.63 per cent. Our state is placed highest in the country for recovery of COVID-19 patients", he said.

Of the 173 COVID-19 cases in Tripura, 116 people have recovered.

The minister said Tripura so far has not reported any COVID-19 death. Three BSF battalions located in Dhalai district have reported 160 COVID-19 cases, he said.

Nath also claimed that said the rate of testing of samples is also highest in Tripura compared to other northeastern states.

"In Tripura 3,773 samples per million is being tested which is highest among the northeastern states", he said.

Meanwhile, Tripura received five ventilators, 1,050 PCR kits and 10 thousand triple-layered masks and 10,000 pair of gloves from Tata Trust on Tuesday.

The minister said the state government has decided to set up a new 1,000 bed COVID facility centre in Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) Park at Hapania here.

There are covid care facility centres in all the eight districts of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump, approaching his longest stretch without a political rally since he announced his candidacy five years ago, has taken to blaming Democrats for grounding his campaign.

But even as several states begin relaxing their coronavirus restrictions, Trump has not scheduled any rallies in Republican-led states - and his campaign has not reached out to governors in swing states to inquire about holding large political events.

The claim of politically motivated closures was outlined most directly by Trump's son, Eric, who accused Democrats of trying to strip the president of his greatest reelection weapon.

"They're trying to deprive him of his greatest asset, which is the fact that the American people love him - the fact that he is relatable, the fact that he can go out there and can draw massive crowds," Eric Trump told Fox News's Jeanine Pirro on Saturday, echoing the president's charge. "Joe Biden can't get 10 people in a room. My father is getting 50,000 in a room. And they want to do everything they can to stop it."

The president has accused Democrats of "playing politics" with their plans to reopen their economies. He has also said that Biden, the former vice president and presumptive Democratic nominee, is benefiting from the closures because they have kept him out of the spotlight.

And now, despite a pandemic that has killed more than 90,000 people in the United States and forced economic shutdowns, the president has said he will soon be filling arenas. But that prediction might be more optimism than reality, raising the possibility that Trump will be unable to deploy his trademark political events for some time even as he seeks to project a return to normalcy from pandemic life as part of his reelection campaign.

A survey of governors' offices in 10 swing states showed that none had received a request from the president's campaign to hold a rally and that most are operating under reopening plans that would not allow large gatherings any time soon.

"Not aware of any such request," a spokeswoman for Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said when asked whether the Trump campaign had reached out about holding a rally in the state. Kemp was the first governor to relax coronavirus restrictions, but large gatherings like rallies remain prohibited unless attendees can maintain six feet of distance among one another.

"The Trump campaign has not reached out to the Governor's office" about holding a rally, said Helen Ferre, a spokeswoman for Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Even though DeSantis has begun easing restrictions in the key swing state, social distancing rules are still in force.

It has been 80 days since Trump last held a campaign rally, and he could soon surpass the 92-day stretch that began in December 2017 for the longest drought since he launched his presidential campaign in June 2015. Trump has held 400 rallies since announcing his candidacy and regularly credits the raucous events with powering him to the White House.

Breaking with precedent, Trump continued to hold political rallies in the weeks after his 2016 victory, launched his reelection campaign on the day of his inauguration and has held dozens of rallies each year since the beginning of his term.

In the weeks before the coronavirus outbreak shut down dozens of states, Trump had been holding one or two rallies each week, part of a strategy touted by his campaign as critical to its data and turnout operations.

Campaign advisers said they had built an entire apparatus around the rallies, turning them into week-long events bracketed by surrogate appearances, bus tours and tailgate-style parties. The campaign launched a mobile app last month that aims to capitalize on the rallies.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said that Trump "connects best with the American people" on the campaign trail, adding that rallies would resume "as soon as it is possible." He declined to say whether the campaign has determined which states the president would focus on or if officials had been in touch with specific states to plan out rallies. Still, he echoed Trump's claims that Democrats are "playing politics" with reopening their economies and touted the Trump campaign's growing digital effort.

Republican pollster Whit Ayres said he did not believe there was a partisan plot by Democrats to harm the president politically by maintaining coronavirus restrictions, which often match the federal guidance put out by the Trump administration.

"There's not much partisan pattern to the state restrictions," he said.

Ayres said Trump's voters remain engaged despite the current pause in political rallies.

"The president's rallies are important to energize his supporters and important to energize him," he said. "He seems to really feed off their energy."

Democratic governors have said they are not considering politics as they contemplate how and when to reopen their states for various kinds of activity and gatherings.

Several governors' offices told The Washington Post that the Trump campaign had not reached out about holding a rally any time soon.

Melissa Baldauff, a spokeswoman for Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, said Eric Trump's claims that Democrats were using the pandemic to hurt the president's reelection bid were "absurd."

"This is a public health crisis - there are thousands of people sick in this state and hundreds have died," she said. "To suggest that there's any kind of political motivation for keeping politicians from gathering in large groups is just ridiculous."

Eric Trump did not respond to a request for comment.

In Michigan, where the president has sided with armed protesters against Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, state restrictions have begun to ease but not enough to allow huge political rallies.

"The worst thing we can do is open up in a way that causes a second wave of infections and death, puts health-care workers at further risk and wipes out all the progress we've made," said Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Whitmer's office.

Trump is scheduled to travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan, on Thursday to tour a Ford plant that was converted to make ventilators.

Unable to hold traditional campaign events, Trump has been traveling to swing states in recent weeks for official White House events that sometimes veer into partisan politics.

Trump has also used the visits to decry some of the social distancing measures put in place to stop the spread of the virus. The president has repeatedly said he does not like the look of people spaced apart, and his campaign has pointed to his packed crowds as a sign of his electoral strength.

"Oh, that social distancing. Look at you people all spread out, six feet. That's pretty impressive," Trump said last week during a visit to a medical supply distribution company in Allentown, Pennsylvania. "But we like it the old way a little bit better, don't we? And we'll be back. We'll be back to that soon, I think."

After touring a Honeywell mask factory in Arizona, Trump said his friends are pining for a return to his "fun" - and crowded - rallies.

"I can't have a rally with, you know, seven seats in-between everybody. And I hope we can do that soon," Trump told ABC News on May 5. "The rallies are the least of it, but you know, people are asking me all the time. Just last night, I got three calls - 'When are we going to do a rally?' "

He predicted that the rallies restart soon.

Large social gatherings are among the last kinds of activity that public health experts say should be allowed under a phased lifting of coronavirus restrictions.

"When there are thousands of people in a single building, it's a near certainty that some of them will have the infection," said Ben Sommers, a doctor who teaches at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "And we know that close contact in confined spaces - exactly the kind of thing happening at a stadium rally - creates a very high risk of spreading infection to numerous other people."

Trump's own White House coronavirus task force has issued guidelines urging states to wait to see a sustained decline in coronavirus cases for several weeks before allowing large, crowded social gatherings.

Those guidelines, which Trump has largely played down, could become the source of increased tension as Republicans prepare to host a political convention in North Carolina in August. Trump has accused North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) of "playing politics" in deciding whether to permit the gathering of thousands of party faithful. Cooper's office has said he is following the White House guidelines.

"It's got a Democrat governor, so we have to be a little bit careful with that, because they're playing politics," Trump told the Washington Examiner last week. "They're playing politics, as you know, by delaying the openings."

The remarks echoed a May 11 tweet in which the president accused Democrats of "moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes."

Under Cooper's order, gatherings in North Carolina are currently limited to 10 people. Although state officials are in contact with the Republican National Committee about the convention, Cooper is basing his actions on "the data and the science based on White House guidance," said Dory MacMillan, press secretary for the governor.

"Pandemics cannot be political," she said.
The Queen has a special relationship with Canada. (Getty Images)

A rare phone call between the Queen and the Canadian prime minister has revealed the monarchs little-known third birthday.

The Queen spoke to Justin Trudeau on Monday, as she makes her way through a list of countries where she is Queen to catch up with leaders.

She called him on Victoria Day, the day her birthday is celebrated in Canada.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her birthday twice in the UK, with both an official birthday and her real birthday.

The monarch, who has a special relationship with Canada as her most visited Commonwealth nation, has a third birthday marked each year on 18 May.

Called Victoria Day, it was first established to honour Queen Victoria. It has been observed in Canada since 1845, though it was originally celebrated on 24 May, which was her actual birthday.

I spoke on the phone with Queen Elizabeth II today. We talked about the state of the world, COVID-19, and more. I also thanked her for the hopeful messages she has sent during these difficult times, and I wished her the very best this Victoria Day. https://t.co/lLM86KhhkM pic.twitter.com/ZeC7yZFCuH  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 18, 2020

When she died in 1901, it was decided to keep the day as an official holiday, but it was moved to the Monday preceding 25 May.

Queen Elizabeth II, Victorias great-great-granddaughter, acceded to the throne in 1952, but Canada did not change its public holiday to match the new monarchs birthday.

On Victoria Day, many Canadians get the day off and the Royal Union flag is flown along with the National Flag at federal buildings, airports, military bases from sunrise to sunset.

Read more: Queen celebrates first 'virtual' Chelsea Flower Show with throwback family photos

In regular year there would also be parades or firework displays in some Canadian cities.

Story continues

But for the Queen, who only has two days off a year, there was no time for rest, as she called Trudeau to talk about the state of the world.

Tweeting after the call, the prime minister said: I spoke on the phone with Queen Elizabeth II today. We talked about the state of the world, COVID-19, and more.

I also thanked her for the hopeful messages she has sent during these difficult times, and I wished her the very best this Victoria Day.

The Queen on a lab tour in Canada in 2010. (Getty Images)

As a young child in the 1970s, Mr Trudeau met the Queen several times through his father, Pierre Trudeau, who was one of Canadas longest-serving prime ministers.

She has visited the country more than 20 times, but hasnt made any visits abroad in several years.

The Queens real birthday is on 21 April, and is usually marked quietly at home. One of her former chefs revealed her favourite chocolate cake recipe, and said she often shares it with a lady in waiting.

Read more: Why does the Queen have two birthdays?

In 2020, she spent her birthday in lockdown in Windsor, with her husband Prince Philip.

She asked the traditional gun salutes which are held across Windsor Great Park, Hyde Park and the Tower of London not go ahead, for the first time in her 68-year reign.

The Queen and Philip marking Canada Day in Ottawa in 2010. (Getty Images)

Her official birthday is marked on the second Saturday in June, and its when the Trooping the Colour takes places in London.

Australia and New Zealand also have different days for her official birthday. In most of Australia, its marked on the second Monday in June, but some mark it on the first.

In New Zealand, its the first Monday in June. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, they move the date each year, while on the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, they have also chosen the second Monday in June.

The tradition of the official birthday started more than 260 years ago with George II. His real birthday was in November, and fed up with bad weather, he decided to combine his birthday with the Trooping the Colour, a military procession which was held every year and already a fixture of the British calendar.

The Queen welcomes Justin Trudeau at Buckingham Palace during the NATO summit. (Getty Images)

Read more: Chocolate cake and gun salutes: How the Royal Family celebrates birthdays

The Queens father, King George VI, had his official birthday on the second Thursday in June, and the Queen adopted this for a few years after she acceded.

She continued this for a few years before moving it to the second Saturday in June in 1959.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the Trooping the Colour parade will not go ahead in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the end of March, the Palace said: In line with Government advice, it has been agreed that The Queens Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, will not go ahead in its traditional form.

The replacement plans are not yet known.
YouTube CPAC

UPDATE 8:47 a.m.

Prime Minister Trudeau says Canadians are focused on keeping their jobs and paying their bills right now.

Canadians want to know that their jobs are protected and their families are safe and healthy. Thats why were stepping up to provide support that will keep workers on the payroll, protect middle class jobs, and help Canadians recover quickly once we make it through these difficult times, says Trudeau.

The Prime Minister also announced that application documents and updated criteria for Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses are now available, and that the program will be opened for applications beginning May 25.

This program will provide forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners, who in turn will give a rent reduction of at least 75 per cent for April and May (retroactive), and June, to their small business tenants.

CECRA will provide important relief for small businesses experiencing financial hardship, and is another measure that helps businesses keep Canadians on the payroll. Applications will be accepted through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website beginning on May 25, and application documents can be accessed now.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on Canadians. We thank and commend the many property owners who have already taken action to help their tenants during this crisis. With CECRA, the Government of Canada is stepping up to support Canadas small businesses. The forgivable loans will significantly lower the rent for small business tenants and keep them prepared to bounce back when this crisis subsides.

UPDATE 8:35 a.m.

Prime Minister Trudeau is urging Canadians not to let out guard down as people begin to get back to work.

Trudeau also announced details for landlords to apply for the emergency rent assistance program which starts May 25. Trudeau outlined details of the program which starts May 25, and is designed to help pay for 50 per cent (landlord) of the rent with tenants paying 25 per cent and the landlord losing 25 per cent of the rent.

On commercial rent for small and medium-sized businesses, Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program is designed to reduce rent by 75 per cent for small businesses affected by COVID-19 outbreak. Federal and provincial governments to cover 50 per cent, while landlords absorb 25 per cent.

The Prime Minister also pointed out the loan program for Canada's largest companies is not a bailout but rather bridge financing. The loans are designed to help companies weather the COVID-19 storm and protect jobs.

ORIGINAL 8:02 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.
Recently, Ashiesh Roy, who was seen in Sasural Simar Ka, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi, Mere Angne Mein and other popular shows, was admitted to ICU for dialysis. He took to social media to inform his friends and fans about the same, and even asked for financial assistance from his well-wishers. The actor now revealed to ETimes TV that he is in a terrible condition. He also added that many of his friends from the Industry are coming forward to help him.

The actor was quoted by ETimes TV, "I am stuck here in the hospital since my birthday (May 18). Currently, there is COVID-19 situation all around and I am isolated in a room in the hospital. I am in a terrible condition."

The 55-year-old actor also revealed that he had Rs 2 lakh, which he has given to the hospital and now he doesn't have a single penny. He revealed that because of the pandemic, he is kept in a special ward which is costly. He also added that his dialysis goes on for four hours and his medicines and injections are expensive.

The actor further said, "Lot of people are calling up but let's see if they are able to help me financially. I had suffered a paralytic stroke last year and even that time I had to be admitted. In the last couple of years I have done shows like Mere Angne Mein, and while I was working on Aarambh I suffered a stroke. I am currently on dialysis only and I don't think I will be cured. With COVID-19 pandemic, it takes only two seconds to get infected. Within a week you all will get to know if I will be able to survive or not."

We wish the actor a speedy recover.

Also Read: Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi Actor Ashiesh Roy Admitted To ICU; Seeks Financial Help
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 23:13:04|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

SINGAPORE, May 20 (Xinhua) -- For the first time since Singapore's independence, its National Day Parade (NDP) celebrations in August will focus on Singaporeans celebrating in their homes, instead of gathering at a central location like the floating platform at Marina Bay.

Themed "Together, A Stronger Singapore," this year's NDP marks Singapore's 55 years of independence.

It will be split into morning and evening shows, with reduced participant numbers in line of COVID-19 guidelines. Many parade segments will be moved to the heartland and streamed live on TV as well as Internet platforms, said the organizing committee Wednesday.

This year's Aug. 9 celebrations will start in the morning with a national broadcast of the prime minister's National Day message. There will also be a parade reviewed by the president at the Padang, a large field near City Hall in Singapore's downtown area.

In line with the concept of bringing the Singapore spirit into all Singapore homes, the state flag flypast, aerial display, Red Lions parachutists and mobile column will take place in the heartlands. There will also be a special showcase to show appreciation to frontline fighters against COVID-19.

The evening show, to be held at The Star Performing Arts Centre, will have smaller-scale performances and will feature films and performances by Singaporeans.

The festivities will end in a coordinated fireworks display at multiple locations across Singapore.

Chairman of the NDP2020 Executive Committee, Brigadier-General Frederick Choo said, "This year's NDP will be a landmark one - for the first time since our independence, instead of bringing Singaporeans to a location, we will bring NDP across the island into every Singaporean home."

"Just like the past 54 NDPs, NDP2020 will be an unyielding reminder that Singapore will keep going on. COVID-19 will not deter us and we will continue to celebrate, but differently," he added.

Performers will have to abide by safe distancing and hygiene, such as wearing of masks and being spread across different holding rooms for different groups of performers.

In a Facebook post, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will not be possible to hold the NDP in the traditional format, where thousands of participants practice for months, and for many more thousands of spectators congregated at the Floating Platform or Padang."

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Through this unique way of celebrating NDP 2020, let us show that Singaporeans are indeed extraordinary," said Ng. Enditem
Lori Van Buren

In its latest move toward virtual art exhibits, the Albany Institute of History and Art has launched a 3D digital tour of its Hudson River School collection -- highlighting 83 paintings by Frederic Church, Thomas Cole, Asher Durand and 32 other artists.

The technology showcases one of the museums most popular exhibits -- also one of the largest and most significant Hudson River School collections anywhere -- and will be used in the future with STEAM programming and further efforts to digitize AIHAs exhibits, says a news release announcing its launch.
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that his administration wont neglect any State in its drive to tackle insecurity and socio-econo...

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that his administration wont neglect any State in its drive to tackle insecurity and socio-economic challenges.





Buhari, who spoke through his spokesman, Garba Shehu, was reacting to Tuesdays Senate resolution calling on the Federal Government to include Niger, Zamfara, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi States in the military operations against bandits, NAN reports.





The President had recently authorised a major military operation against bandits and kidnappers in Katsina State.





However, a statement by Shehu on Tuesday assured that Buharis government wont allow any State to suffer discrimination in dealing with issues of insecurity on account of political differences.





The statement reads partly: While todays Senate resolution is perfectly in order, it is important to state that in his duty as Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari has already approved the commencement of this operation.





Beyond this announcement, no other details concerning the mode, scope, timings and other essentials will be revealed so as not to compromise its success.





It is, however, important to outline the fact the all the states of the federation are equal and important before the President.





None has suffered any discrimination up to this point, and none will be made to suffer any such discrimination in dealing with security and all other matters on account on their political differences with the government at the centre.








An assistant superintendent of Rohini Jail has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), officials said Wednesday. Senior officials said that because the superintendent lived in staff quarters within the Tihar Jail complex, at least 13 of his neighbours and close contacts from work have also been asked to quarantine themselves.

With this, the total number of positive cases from Delhi prisons has now increased to 17. While 15 of them are prisoners, two are staff members, including a jail warden.

The director-general (Delhi prisons) Sandeep Goel said the 50-year-old official posted to Rohini Jail started feeling unwell a few days ago and was advised to take rest at home.

He lives in the prisons staff quarters in Tihar complex. He got himself tested at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and his result arrived on Tuesday. Presently he is quarantined at home, Goel said.

Goel said they had identified 13 of the officials close contacts, including his neighbours and colleagues, who have been asked to quarantine themselves at home for the next 14 days.

So far, all the 16 prisoners who tested positive had been lodged in Rohini Jail for about three months. Following the positive reports in Rohini, a high alert was sounded in Tihar Jail, where around 15,000 prisoners are currently lodged in different sub-jails. Rohini Jail has 1,370 prisoners within its walls.

With families of prisoners barred from visiting inmates and court hearings currently being held inside the prison over video conference, jail officers suspect the virus may have been transferred through an asymptomatic jail officer. To contain the disease, the bi-weekly visits of all family members have been cancelled. Prisoners have been allowed to use the jails phone to speak to their family members everyday.

Tihar Jails officials are on high alert after reports of the disease spreading rapidly in Mumbais Arthur Road jail.

In Mumbais Arthur Road Jail where 4,000 prisoners are lodged, the infection had affected 184 prisoners and prison staff within a week of one prisoner contracting the virus. It also prompted Maharashtra to look at releasing half the prisoners in its jails to contain the spread of the disease.

Tihar Jail officers have also decongested the prison by releasing around 3,000 prisoners on interim bail and parole. At 18,000, Tihar Jail houses the most number of inmates across the country.
UN Alarmed at Rise in Afghan Civilian Casualties

By Ayaz Gul May 19, 2020

The United Nations has accused Afghan warring sides of killing and injuring more than 430 noncombatants over the past six weeks, with a disregard for international law aimed at protecting civilians from harm.

A report released Tuesday by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) comes as Afghan officials and the Taliban reported renewed fighting in several provinces, with both adversaries accusing each other of harming civilians.

Afghan security forces reportedly bombed a clinic Tuesday in the troubled northern Kunduz province in the process of repelling a Taliban assault on the besieged provincial capital, also called Kunduz. The Afghan Defense Ministry said its forces killed at least 40 insurgents, forcing the Taliban to retreat, but it did not confirm the airstrike on the clinic in area.

The airstrike destroyed a portion of the clinic and there were reports of casualties. The Taliban has twice before overrun Kunduz.

Meanwhile, unknown gunmen stormed a mosque during evening prayers in northern Parwan province, killing at least eight worshipers and injuring several others. There were no claims of responsibility, and officials expected the death toll to increase.

The Afghan war has intensified with the onset of the summer fighting season, despite a landmark agreement the United States signed with the Taliban insurgency in February amid hopes that it reduces years of deadly hostilities in the country.

The UNAMA report noted that the Taliban harmed 208 civilians in April, marking a 25% increase from the same month last year. It also blamed Afghan security forces for causing 172 civilian casualties in April, saying the figures were 37% higher than the month before.

"I call for a halt to the fighting and for parties to respect humanitarian law that is there to protect civilians," said Deborah Lyons, who heads the UNAMA. She called for urgently starting intra-Afghan peace negations.

"Parties have committed to finding a peaceful solution and should protect the lives of all Afghans and not jeopardize people's hope for an end to the war," said Lyons.

The UNAMA also expressed concerns that there was no reduction in the levels of violence in the first half of May, saying more than 50 civilians have died so far and dozens more were injured in attacks, including those claimed by Islamic State terrorists.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the UNAMA findings, accusing it of "concealing" casualties that government forces and their foreign military partners have inflicted on Afghan civilians in recent days.

Reacting to the report, the Afghan government insisted that the information it has gathered from the battlefield showed "the Taliban and their aligned terrorist groups are responsible for the vast majority of the civilian casualties."

A shocking militant gun-and-bomb raid targeted a maternity clinic in the Afghan capital, Kabul, last week, killing 24 people. More than half of them were women, including three with unborn babies, according to Doctors Without Borders, a global humanitarian group, which runs the maternity ward.

The Taliban denied involvement in the hospital attack, and no other group has claimed responsibility. But the United States blamed Islamic State for plotting the violence, saying the terrorist group is opposed to Afghan peace-building efforts.

The attack prompted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to order security forces to resume offensive operations against the insurgents and their allies, posing a fresh challenge to the U.S.-Taliban deal.

The Feb. 29 U.S.-Taliban agreement requires U.S. and coalition forces to leave Afghanistan by mid-July 2021 in return for insurgent security assurances and pledges to engage in intra-Afghan peace talks to end the violence.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy for Afghan peace who negotiated the pact, has begun a fresh trip to the region in his bid to press the Taliban and Kabul to accelerate a slow-moving prisoner swap so the two sides can move closer to opening the peace dialogue.

Washington hopes this week's settlement of a lingering political dispute between Ghani and his chief election rival, Abdullah Abdullah, would help advance the peace process.

Both claimed to have won the September presidential election and held competing inauguration ceremonies in March, paralyzing the governance in Afghanistan and dealing a serious blow to the nascent U.S.-led peace efforts.

However, Ghani and Abdullah signed a power-sharing agreement on Sunday, ending months of political turmoil and raising hope the two would be able to present a united team to engage in peace talks with the Taliban when they begin.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






A nurse who had no pre-existing conditions has shared a shocking photo of his 50-pound weight loss after spending six weeks on a ventilator battling COVID-19.

Mike Schultz, 43, was only released from a Massachusetts hospital last week after spending 57 days battling coronavirus-induced pneumonia.

Schultz posted a photo on Instagram last week to show just how much the virus has ravaged his body.

The first photo was taken about a month before he was hospitalized on March 16 and the second image was taken in a recovery ward after spending six weeks on the ventilator.

'I wanted to show everyone how badly being sedated for 6 weeks on a ventilator or intubated can be,' Schultz wrote alongside the photo.

Mike Schultz, 43, was only released from a Massachusetts hospital last week after spending 57 days battling coronavirus-induced pneumonia. The photo on the left was taken a month before he got sick and the image on the right was taken after he spent six weeks on a ventilator

Prior to falling ill, Schultz weighed about 190 pounds, would work out six or seven times a week and had no pre-existing conditions.

After contracting the virus in mid-March, Schultz said it reduced his lung capacity considerably and left him so weak he was unable to hold his cellphone in one hand.

'I was so weak. This was one of the most frustrating parts,' he told BuzzFeed News.

'I couldn't hold my cellphone, it was so heavy. I couldn't type because my hands shook so much.'

He also lost track of time and wasn't aware he had been in hospital for six weeks already.

'I thought only a week had gone by,' he said.

Schultz, who works in San Francisco but was in Boston to visit his boyfriend at the time, had been in Miami at the Winter Party Festival the week before he got sick.

He said they were aware of COVID-19 at the time but there were no lockdowns or restrictions in place.

'We knew it was out there... We just thought "well, we gotta wash our hands more and be wary of touching our face,"' he said.

After contracting the virus in mid-March, Schultz said it reduced his lung capacity considerably and left him so weak he was unable to hold his cellphone in one hand. He was only able to start eating and drinking what he wanted in early May after six-weeks on a ventilator

Prior to falling ill, Schultz, who works as a registered nurse in San Francisco, weighed about 190 pounds, would work out six or seven times a week and had no pre-existing conditions

Schultz was in Boston to visit his boyfriend at the time he fell ill. The pair had been in Miami at a festival the week before he got sick. They are pictured above after Schultz was released from hospital last week

Two days after arriving back in Boston, both Schultz and his boyfriend started feeling sick.

Schultz went to the hospital after he started having trouble breathing and his fever spiked to 103.

He was immediately put on oxygen before eventually being sedated.

Schultz ended up being intubated for 4.5 weeks.

At least 38 people who attended the Miami festival ended up contracting COVID-19 and three people died.

Schultz, who was released from hospital last week, is still slowly building up his lung capacity and will have to undergo physical therapy.

He said he shared the photo on Instagram to show that COVID-19 could affect anyone.

'I didn't think it was as serious as it was until after things started happening,' he said. 'I thought I was young enough for it not to affect me and I know a lot of people think that.

'I wanted to show it can happen to anyone. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, have preexisting conditions or not. It can affect you.'

Click here to find the Gofundme page set up by Schultz's friends.
Memorial and religious services planned for the National Day of Remembrance on May 20, which commemorates the genocide by the Khmer Rouge regime, have been cancelled on account of the novel coronavirus pandemic.



The National Day of Remembrance will not be observed in Cambodia this year, after the government decided to cancel all public events with crowds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will be no prayer ceremonies at genocide memorial sites across the country nor will the Phnom Penh local government organize the reenactment of the horrors of the genocide at the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center.



On Tuesday, Say Chhum, deputy chairman of the ruling Cambodian People Party, also issued a letter to the party's provincial offices ordering them to postpone any commemorative events on May 20.

This year, we cannot celebrate because we are in the COVID-19 situation and we follow the government's policy to avoid gatherings, said Hang Nisay, chief of projects and planning at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

Instead, the genocide museum will post information and photos about the Cambodian genocide on the museum's social media page, he said, to continue engaging with people on May 20.

Ros Sophearavy, the deputy director of Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, also confirmed that the center will not hold any memorial services this year.

The National Day of Remembrance was first marked as the Day of Hatred during the Vietnamese-installed Peoples Republic of Kampuchea, which removed the Khmer Rouge from large swathes of the country in 1979. In 2018, it was turned into a national holiday but, starting this year, was removed as a holiday to increase the number workdays in the year.

Youk Chhang, executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, said that National Day of Remembrance was an important occasion to acknowledge the great loss seen during the Khmer Rouge-led Democratic Kampuchea.



He added the government should again declare it a holiday to allow people to commemorate the genocide, which is now part of the collective national memory.

If we can we should [commemorate] it on a national level, because it's a national memory for all the people, he said.



The Day of Remembrance is also part of civil party reparations projects intended to honor the victims and survivors of the genocide.

Yun Bin, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime, said May 20 and what it stood for was important for him, and was an acknowledgement of the memories he has of the genocide.

I cannot forget that day because it is a day in Cambodian history for the people who lost their lives, nearly three million of them, he said.
The number of Oregonians who could be tested for coronavirus each week now stands at nearly 38,000, according to new figures from the Oregon Health Authority, representing a 70% surge in reported testing capacity as most counties start a return to more normal life.

State health officials say the reported testing capacity grew from about 22,000 tests a week for two reasons:

Oregon is now receiving weekly deliveries of testing swabs and chemical reagents from the federal government and state officials have compiled a more comprehensive tally of testing options.

I knew the numbers were going to jump like crazy, said Rodney Hicks, Oregons newly hired testing strategy manager, who crunched the numbers used in the latest tally.

The sharp increase in capacity suggests that Oregonians who may become infected with the coronavirus in the weeks or months ahead should not have trouble obtaining a test, as had been the case at the beginning of the pandemic. Oregon has already loosened its testing guidance to recommend testing for all individuals with qualifying symptoms, and state officials are mulling options to expand testing for people living in congregate care settings.

Oregons dramatic boost came last week as Gov. Kate Brown allowed 31 of 36 counties shuttered since March to reopen. State officials had said they wanted to ensure enough tests for 15,000 Oregonians each week to begin peeling back stay-at-home restrictions -- a benchmark now far eclipsed.

In the past week alone, about 20,000 Oregonians received test results, marking a record. It now appears Oregon has more than enough supplies to increase the volume of testing as more residents are at risk of becoming infected as they return to their offices, to the gym, to get a haircut or to eat at restaurants.

Hicks said insufficient testing swabs and chemical reagents, used to extract evidence of the virus, had been holding back Oregons testing efforts. But in early May federal officials agreed to provide regular supplies to Oregon, he said, after weeks of kicking and screaming by Browns office and the health authority.

Federal officials had been prioritizing testing supplies for harder-hit states. As of Tuesday, Oregon has identified 3,636 people infected out of nearly 100,000 residents tested, marking one of the lowest rates in the country at about 4 percent.

I think that put us on the, Theyre OK for now list, Hicks said.

The Oregon Health Authority is now receiving about 11,000 to 12,000 swabs each week from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and about half as many reagents, Hicks said. State officials are taking orders from hospital labs and clinics across the state and sending out supplies.

It literally comes in and usually within 24 hours its back out the door, he said.

Hicks said Oregons surge in capacity is not only because of those supplies but also because officials have compiled a more thorough testing list.

Oregons overall capacity has at times been cloaked in secrecy. Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the state health officer and epidemiologist, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in mid-April that he didnt know the states capacity and suggested a reporter ask individual labs  even though the health authority had been keeping a running tally for weeks.

State officials have now created a new count including far more locations. Rather than focus on the lab capacity at large hospital or health care systems and the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory, the new tally focuses on collection capacity in even more locations. It includes county public health departments and smaller clinics, among others.

Im counting everything, Hicks said.

The precise math behind the states new calculations is murky.

One state spreadsheet lists daily testing totals that equal nearly 38,000 a week, even though the totals dont appear to be supported by line items in the same document.

A different spreadsheet lists daily totals that are nearly just as large, based on information collected by state officials or reported by providers. Hicks said he then used those counts as a baseline but scaled them back by a certain percentage, based on the availability of supplies, to arrive at nearly 38,000 tests a week.

Theres a lot of people doing work behind the green curtain to make those numbers appear, he said.

Hicks, who said his doctorate degree is in health care supply chains, joined the health authority on a temporary assignment April 24. He lives in Oregon but works as the supply chain director for a California-based company, Evolve BioSystems.

Hicks said he plans to work for the state for about three months before returning to his regular job.

They definitely knew what they needed, which is why I got the call, he said of the health authority. I was really impressed by them going, OK, we know where we are, this is where we have to get, and lets fill it.

Hicks, 49, said he previously had done some work with Oregons chief medical officer, Dr. Dana Hargunani, who recruited him.

Its such a great cause. How could you not? he said of joining the state during the pandemic. Its a cause for all of us.

-- Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.




China News on Women





Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page
A new Covid-19 test developed by an Irish company delivers positive results in just 30 minutes.

The rapid molecular test, developed by Dublin-based HiberGene Diagnostics, has achieved the CE marking required for it to be put on the market in Ireland and internationally.

It has the same sensitivity as the current polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19 that is more cumbersome and takes around 24 hours for tests to come back.

The new test uses the company's proprietary molecular reagent format to detect the virus in nose and throat swabs.

It will confirm whether or not a person is infected and is potentially contagious.

HiberGene's HG swift machine can test up to four samples at the same time.

Positive results are returned within 30 minutes while negative results are returned within 60 minutes.

Unlike the PCR test, the new test does not require a pre-extraction stage where samples are treated before the test is carried out.

Using a low-complexity preparation protocol, the new test has excellent performance for samples with high to moderate viral loads.

Chief executive of HiberGene, Seamus Gorman, says the test is in the same price range as those already available.

Our primary target market is small and medium sized hospitals globally who don't typically run PCR as standard and who are looking for an alternative.

The company, which employs 21 people, started working on the EU-funded project at the end of January.

It is supported by a grant of 930,000 from Horizon 2020, the EU programme for research an innovation.

HiberGene already has a strong record in developing molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases.

We are a small team and a lot of us have been working together for about five years. This is our 13th product," says Mr Gorman.

"We are really proud of this test because we had to turn it around so quickly but we also wanted to join the effort to test, test, test and try and reduce the level of infection in the community."

The company's portable instrument, HG Swift, that can run off as battery as well as a mains supply, can test for other diseases such as flu, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean, pure, mineral-rich drinking water is crucial for all life on Earth. Now for the first time, Pure NZ will be making their New Zealand spring water available to the United States retail market. Since 2010, New Zealand based brand, Pure NZ, has been providing the highest quality of bottled water, both locally and internationally, from their state-of-the-art bottling facility.

Pure NZ began as a passion project by long-time beverage industry veteran Tony Vesper. Vesper says that he and his fellow directors have over 30 years of combined industry experience, and a vested interest in providing products that meet not only their high standard of purity, but also environmental sustainability.

Though bottled water started as a luxury item, as sales continue to rise for bottled water across the global market, it has become a daily essential for many people. But Vesper says he wants to retain the feeling of that luxury experience when customers buy Pure NZ, and that their water can stand side by side in terms of quality with even the most high-end brands.

That is because Pure NZ only sources their fresh spring water from an aquifer beneath their facility in beautiful Pokeno, New Zealand. "All of our water is bottled at the source," says Tony Vesper, who credits their "abundant supply and ease of production" for their accessible price point and consistently perfect quality.

But their real innovation within their home market has been their adherence to sustainable manufacturing practices. The Pure NZ US spring water bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic (rPET). While most beverage brands utilize virgin Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) to make their bottles, Pure NZ hopes to help control the output of new plastics by reducing the amount of new PET manufactured for single-use beverage containers.

This emphasis on sustainability makes a big difference for a brand the size of Pure NZ, since they have one of the largest production capacities of any bottled water plant in the country, able to produce over 200 million bottles a year.

The sales market for bottled water can be extremely competitive. Water is possibly the single most important element to maintaining health, so when customers trust the quality of a specific brand, they are likely to be repeat buyers, loyal to a single brand.

Pure NZ is ready to win over the United States market with their premium New Zealand spring water for sale online and in stores as early as 2020.

Please direct inquiries to:

Beniamino Levin

(954) 939-2347

[email protected]

SOURCE Pure NZ
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Premise Health, the world's leading direct healthcare company, is working with clients across regions and industries as they evolve their strategies to protect essential workers and develop a plan to reopen campuses.

With clients ranging from large manufacturing and mining operations to financial institutions and hospitals, Premise recognizes one solution won't best serve every organization and workforce. Instead, it has developed a roadmap with a variety of decision points and corresponding strategies to best fit each individual employer. Strategies can be classified in three different categories  screening and testing; workplace policies and design; and health and healthcare access. When these strategies are combined and executed appropriately, they work together to enhance workplace safety.

"While the future is uncertain, our role as a partner to our clients is not," said Premise Health CEO Stu Clark. "Employee health and safety is our number one priority, and we are committed to supporting our clients with fact-based strategies focused on quality and scientific rigor  and to adapting those strategies as new information and best practices become known."

As the largest and most experienced direct healthcare company, Premise has keyed in on the strategies that have proven most effective to decrease the risk of transmission in the last two months of working with clients in New York City and across the country.

The company offers both questionnaire and temperature checks to screen employees before they enter the workplace, a strategy it is already executing for almost 30 large employers. As antibody testing becomes more available, Premise is partnering with clients to offer it alongside screening and diagnostic testing, with the goal of better understanding the prevalence of COVID-19 within populations. While the level of protection that antibodies provide remains unknown, testing is considered an effective tool for understanding risk on a population level and can be helpful for individuals who may want to donate convalescent plasma.

As employees go back to work, it is more difficult to maintain physical distancing. To combat that challenge, it is important for employers to implement new policies and redesign the workplace. Employers can phase in necessary employees, change work schedules, reduce gatherings, and redesign common areas to reduce interactions between employees. In accordance with CDC guidelines, employers can also require employees to wear masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Premise clinical and client teams serve as expert resources for making these changes, bringing their clinical experience to bear to help clients navigate which policies and strategies are the best fit for their workforces.

Healthcare access for employees is more important than ever as organizations consider how to reopen sites and campuses. Providing virtual care options has proven vital to help employees stay healthy while reducing the burden on the healthcare system. Virtual care has also been instrumental in supporting those in self-quarantine and those with chronic conditions, which can worsen when not managed properly. Premise also works with employers to focus on overall health in the workplace, such as through education on personal hygiene and advising employees to stay home if they feel sick.

Premise has taken several other steps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including:

Delivering nearly 20 products in a virtual first environment through its local virtual and national virtual platforms

Driving value through care navigation for members with a positive or presumptive positive diagnosis of COVID-19

Supporting members with chronic conditions who have a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis through daily outreach to ensure conditions are properly managed

Providing access to a national test finder in partnership with Castlight Health

Hosting webinars for over 259 clients to provide up-to-date information and answer any questions regarding COVID-19

For more information on how Premise Health is responding to COVID-19, visit its Coronavirus Information Center.

ABOUT PREMISE HEALTH

Premise Health is the leading direct healthcare company, operating more than 600 wellness centers in 44 states and Guam for more than 275 of the largest commercial and municipal employers in the U.S.

Premise partners with its clients to connect their populations to high-quality, cost-effective healthcare. It delivers value by removing barriers to care and creating seamless experiences, which helps people live healthier. With millions of eligible members and dependents, Premise delivers care onsite (on campus at an employer), nearsite (in the community), and virtually (24/7) through its primary care, occupational health, pharmacy, fitness, and wellness products.

As the premier provider of employer-based healthcare, Premise offers unmatched access, enhanced clinical quality, and an exceptional member experience. The result is healthcare that raises the bar and delivers true financial return for the ultimate payor, the employer.

For more information on Premise Health, visit www.premisehealth.com.

CONTACT: Lacey Hunter, [email protected]

SOURCE Premise Health

Related Links

https://www.premisehealth.com


There is an article in Peoples Daily Online titled, Deepen Your Knowledge in Sinology with Chairman Xis Speeches, in which the anonymous author talked about the Fifteen Anecdotes that Chairman Xi Jinping Shared with the World. I read the first entry and found a few bones to pick.

This entry was from Xi Jinpings speech delivered at the Parliament of Pakistan, which said Strong wind reveals the strength of grass, and genuine gold stands the test of fire." The author states that this expression is a variation derived from Tang Emperor Li Shimins poem, To Xiaoyu. The verses were Jifeng zhi jing cao, ban dang shi cheng chen. The author explains that this means only the toughest grass can withstand gusty winds, and only in troubled times can the most loyal courtiers be revealed.

These is nothing wrong with Xis speech. My beef was with the Peoples Daily article.

First, the two sentences may not have come from Emperor Lis poem after all, and to use the Tang Dynasty Emperor-Courtier relationship as an analogy for the China-Pakistan relationship is completely inappropriate. Secondly, the interpretation of only in troubled times can one tell who the most loyal courtiers are is inaccurate. Thirdly, the author fails to finish what he or she has set out to do as the title claimed, i.e. to help readers deepen their knowledge in Sinology.

The Ban and the Dang in the verse ban dang shi cheng chen are in fact each a poem of a few hundred words in Da Ya (Hymns of the High Court) from the Book of Songs. Both were written by scholar-bureaucrats of that time; both were circulated freely in the Emperors Court, without any holding back. To understand their true meanings, and to understand why Li Shimin lamented about

ban dang shi cheng chen, please read the two poems and the rest is self-explanatory.

The poem Ban opens with a rather direct message:



Reversed is now the providence of God;

The lower people groan beneath their load.

Translation: The High Emperor deviates from his duty; the common men live to suffer. The poet flatly pointed out the fault of the emperor without any reservation.

Similarly, the poem Dang is just as sharp and explicit. The first few verses read:





How great is God, who ruleth men below!

In awful terrors now arrayed,

His dealings seem a recklessness to show,

From which we shuddering shrink, dismayed.

But men at first from Heaven their being drew,

With nature liable to change.

All hearts in infancy are good and true,

But time and things those hearts derange.

Translation: The Emperor in the High Court, you are the king of the people. King, you are a merciless tyrant, you are of such poor quality. Little control do we have, we common people are born to this fate. You have made promises, but they are all empty to our dismay. 

Therefore, it is very clear what the Ban and the Dang are. There is no need to overinterpret Ban Dang as a time of turmoil. Ban Dang it means to criticize the Emperor, be it in good times or in troubled times.

So, Emperor Lis ban dang shi cheng chen is in fact a recognition and appreciation of honest officials who dare to criticize the Emperor. It is also a recognition of and appreciation for those loyal and honest officials who speak up to their ruler. Li Shimin was not infuriated by the criticism, and he of course did not have those officials beheaded. Quite to the contrary, Li saw such criticism as positive energy  if we can use todays buzz words  that it is not a bad thing at all.

The Ban and the Dang are two unique poems of their kind in the Book of Songs. They are different from the romantic Guan Ju; they are not about the ups and downs of rural lives like Qi Yue, and they are in no way like Shuo Shu, which cursed the corrupted blood-sucking rulers. However, these two poems share a trait common to the rest of the poems in the Book of Songs; that is, they are all free expressions of human feelings and emotions! No wonder Confucius said, In a nutshell, of the three hundred poems in the Book of Songs, there are no depraved thoughts! No depraved thoughts mean that they are pure and just. I believe this is an acknowledgement of simplicity and honesty.

Li Shimin was a smart man. He did not rise to his throne by pure luck or myth. He was fully aware of the cumbersome formality of the Imperial court and of the calculations and agendas of his ministers. He knew that those always submissive to his orders were the most useless. Doing nothing but praising the Emperor is just deception, causing the Emperor to live in a state of euphoria or in his own pipedream. This could bring great dangers to the country and unfathomable sufferings to the people.

Li Shimin understood that those officials who only said things to please his ears were either trying to be on his good side or having other hidden agendas. He knew that the hard-working officials who contributed to his country, who were trusted by the people, were not those trying to please him. Instead, the good officials were honest and down to earth. They were just, and they drew a clear line between right and wrong.

Whether the emperor liked it or not was not their utmost concern. They did not make policies based on the Emperors preferences. They would not twist the facts to appease their lord. They would not report a lost battle as a victory just because their Emperor did not like to hear bad news. The Tang Emperor knew very well that he did not need the petty officials; rather, what he needed were honest courtiers who were loyal to his court -- even if they dared to criticize him, even if they scolded him with their words, written or spoken!

Li Shimins view was advanced and beyond his times. To Xiao Yu is a short poem with only four verses.

Only the toughest grass can withstand gusty winds;

Only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers.

The brave shall seek justice, and

the wise must embrace kindness.

The first verse is common knowledge. The third and the fourth verses were ideas from Confucius 101. There is nothing new here. What really stands out is the only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers  that having the guts to scold the Emperor is a unique characteristic of loyal courtiers! This is Li Shimins reflection, and it is the theme of this poem. Without this verse, the point of this poem is moot, and it would have become just another ordinary stack of verses.

Genuine gold stands the test of fire comes from the love for gold, but only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers comes from the appreciation of loyal ones. Li Shimin valued loyal and honest courtiers more than he did gold. His quest of how to spot the loyal courtiers had finally come to the conclusion that Only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers.

In his time, an Emperor was the highest ruler of all. One was never to disobey the Emperor. To offend the Emperor was suicidal. Common bureaucrats were fearful and submissive. No one would dare to upset the Emperor. No one would have risked his own life were it not for his responsibilities for the people and for society. Therefore, throughout the centuries and the dynasties, honest officials like these are always a rare find. Of course, Li Shimin deserves some of the credit for this, for he, an emperor who ruled more than 1,500 years ago, had already realized that only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers.

We should further ask, then, why only frank words can reveal true loyal courtiers but not the loyal people? It was because Li was the Emperor. In his throne, Li viewed no one as his equal, but all as courtiers under his rule. This was his perspective as an Emperor. He was the Emperor Taizong of Tang, after all. Who could have asked him not to think as an Emperor? Who could have asked the Emperor of Tang to take in others perspectives?

Translated and edited by Min Eu.



Bao Tong, former political aide to the late ousted premier Zhao Ziyang, is under continual surveillance and frequent house arrest at his home in Beijing.
Asia Bankruptcy Court to Oversee Restructuring of Thai Airways

Thai Airways planes are seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport during the COVID-19 outbreak in Bangkok on April 30, 2020. / Reuters

BANGKOKThailands cabinet approved a plan to restructure troubled Thai Airways International Pcls finances through a bankruptcy court, the countrys prime minister said on Tuesday.

The plan for a court-led restructuring of the national carrier replaces a previous proposal of a government-backed rescue package that was heavily criticized in the country.

The airlines troubles are the latest example of how the coronavirus pandemic is crippling the global airline industry.

Colombias Avianca Holdings SA and Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd have filed for bankruptcy protection since the pandemic broke out.

Thai Airways, though, had been in trouble even before the outbreak of the coronavirus due to stiff competition from budget airlines and bloated costs.

It posted losses every year after 2012, except in 2016. In 2019, it reported losses of 12.04 billion Thai baht (US$377.3 million, 533 billion kyats).

We have decided to petition for restructuring and not let Thai Airways go bankrupt. The airline will continue to operate, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters at a news briefing.

If the request is accepted by the bankruptcy court, Thai Airways would be given an automatic stay restricting legal action from creditors.

The Cabinet also agreed the government will reduce its holding in Thai Airways to under 50 percent, ending the airlines status as a state enterprise, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob told reporters.

Thai Airways said the plan will be implemented through the Central Bankruptcy Court and it would operate as usual as the restructuring took place.

Thai Airways will not be dissolved or go into liquidation or be declared bankrupt, Thai Airways Acting President Chakkrit Parapuntakul said in a statement.

Operations including passenger and cargo transportation will continue in parallel with the plan, he said.

Thai Airways shares surged 16.6 percent on Tuesday, but are still down by about a third this year.
This photo shows the company's plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of LG Electronics Inc., Yonhap



LG Electronics Inc. said Wednesday it will relocate two of its TV production lines in South Korea to Indonesia in a move to boost its global production efficiency amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.



LG said two of the six production lines at its TV plant in Gumi, some 260 kilometers south of Seoul, will be moved to its factory in Cibitung, Indonesia, within this year at the earliest.



The latest restructuring is aimed at making the Indonesian TV plant into the company's Asian production hub, LG said.



Its Cibitung factory, founded in 1995, currently produces TVs, monitors and digital signage products. LG said it will increase the production capacity of the factory by 50 percent.



LG said the move will reinforce its regional cluster production system. With Indonesia being its Asian production hub, its plant in Poland will supply TVs to Europe, while North America will be covered by its factory in Mexico.



Despite scaling down the capacity of its domestic plant, LG said there will be no layoffs. Some 500 workers for TV production lines at the Gumi plant will be relocated to other TV and solar module production lines, with some of them moving to its research center in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, according to the company.



LG said the Gumi plant will remain the control tower for its TV business and will produce high-end products, such as rollable and "wallpaper" TVs.



LG was the No. 2 player in the global TV market in terms of value in the January-March period with a market share of 18.7 percent, according to market tracker Omdia, only behind its local rival Samsung Electronics Co. with 32.4 percent. (Yonhap)


The Center for Scientific into Plant Medicine at Akuapem Mampong has approved two herbal medicines of Kwayisi Christian Herbal Clinic also known as Ayisaa Clinic located near Nankese (Koforidua-Suhum stretch) in the Eastern Region, to the Food and Drugs Authority as having efficacy to help facilitate recoveries of Covid-19 patients.

The Products are Ayisaa Opinto Herbal Tea which has been approved by the FDA and has been in the market for long, and Ayisaa Sinutat is yet to be approved by the FDA.

The Chief Executive Officer of Kwayisi Christian Herbal Clinic, Dr. Emmanuel Ampem Darko, in an interview disclosed that the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM) took the two products for scientific evaluation.

We as an entity can produce medicines which will fight coronavirus if given the chance. We havent cured such a disease before but I strongly believe that the said medicine can aid in the cure of the deadly disease he averred.

According to the Center, Ayisaa Opinto Herbal Tea registered by the FDA is recommended for use as immune support and supportive therapy for relief of some symptoms of Covid-19 based on the biological activities of the medicinal plants and used in the formulation. Also, the traditional uses of the plant constituents used for formulation.

The Centers report on Ayisaa Sinutat herbal product stated that the product has passed acute toxicity and microbial load analyses.

According to the Center, Ayisaa Sinutat can be used to manage various ailments such as malaria, inflammation, skin diseases, and Upper respiratory tract infections. Its pharmacological Properties include immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, Anti-hyperglycemic, anti-ulcer, Anti-malaria, anti-fungi, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties.

Also, the product could treat fever, cold, sore throat, chest pain, wheezing, and sneezing. It stated further that it has properties to additional alleviate muscle pain, boost the immune and circulatory systems. While other pharmacologically validated medicinal uses are anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-nociceptive, anti-thrombotic, improve cognitive function, diuretic, and hepato-protective effects.

The products are among the array of herbal products recommended to the FDA to have the chemical properties to help treat various underlining symptoms of coronavirus disease.
Ordinarily, home electricity demand decreases in the March through April time frame due to warmer weather in the spring. In 2020, instead of falling, daily electricity demand increased 22% from March 10 to April 10. Since weather is relatively temperate across most of the country in March and April, people can expect their costs to increase in the warmer months ahead as HVAC systems work to keep homes cool--assuming that most people are still at home.

The Flattened Duck Curve



Mid-day energy usage was the biggest factor in driving up energy demand. Ordinarily, home energy usage drops in the middle of the day between 10 am and 4 pm, when many people are away from home for work or school. Utilities call this pattern the "duck curve."

This year, the average home showed steadily rising energy usage starting at 5 am and peaking at 4 pm, followed by declining use through the evening and overnight. The biggest jump took place at 4 pm when the average home's energy usage increased by 425 kWh compared to 2019 averages. This change in energy usage reflects that most people are home all day and using electricity. In other words, the home's energy "duck curve" has flattened for most Americans.

When Did People Stay at Home?

Sense discovered intriguing patterns in energy data that show people's responses to the Covid-19 epidemic. The data shows that most people made the decision to stay home soon after state emergencies were announced but well before state stay-at-home orders were issued. The biggest increases in home energy demand took place between March 10 and March 21, coinciding with work, school and college changes. As state governments ease restrictions in May, the Sense dataset points to multiple factors influencing peoples' decisions to stay home, including business and school policies.

The steep rise in energy demand as more people decided to stay home between March 10 and 21 coincides with a number of external events related to Covid-19 response that took place before the states issued stay-at-home advisories.

Between March 3 and 10 , California , Massachusetts , New York and Ohio declared states of emergency.

, , , and declared states of emergency. On March 10 , Harvard and MIT sent their students home to learn online, followed quickly by many colleges around the country.

, and sent their students home to learn online, followed quickly by many colleges around the country. On March 10 , Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon asked employees to work from home.

, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon asked employees to work from home. On March 13 , the federal government declared a state of emergency.

, the federal government declared a state of emergency. Starting March 16 , most states closed elementary and high schools.

California issued its stay-at-home advisory on March 19, followed by Ohio, New York and Massachusetts within 4 days; Arizona, North Carolina and Texas issued orders later in the month.

Based on these home energy trends, most Americans made their decision to stay home before being ordered to do so by the government. Other factors appeared to be influential, including actions by prominent businesses and colleges, the need to take care of school age children who were now at home, and emergency orders by states and the federal government.

The Sense home data revealed that after March 14, daily energy consumption increased 22.4% across the country, driven by a 35% increase in mid-day demand, but changes varied significantly across states. Interestingly, homes in North Carolina and Arizona increased at a rate that was half the national average, implying that fewer people stayed home in those states.

State Mid-day Increase in Electricity

Consumption (10 am to 3 pm) Daily Increase in Electricity

Consumption California 28.8% 21.1% Massachusetts 40.4% 26.6% New York 26.6% 15.0% Ohio 19.8% 14.4% Minnesota 36.4% 24.3% Texas 32.7% 20.0% North Carolina 19.0% 9.6% Arizona 18.6% 8.6% National average 35.1% 22.4%

The governors of Arizona and North Carolina issued stay-at-home guidance on March 30, a week after most states. This later guidance may be a factor in residents' decisions. After March 14, the average North Carolina home's daily consumption rose by 9.6%, and the average Arizona home's daily consumption rose by 8.6%, indicating that fewer homeowners were at home during the day compared to national averages.

About Sense's analysis

Sense analyzed data for 5000 homes that have the Sense Home Energy Monitor across 30 states that are geographically representative of the country . The analysis identified percentage increases in home energy demand compared to the same dates in 2019 and normalized for weather. Duck curve data was analyzed for the period March 20-30 when home energy demand was at high levels. Note that Sense customer homes tend to be bigger than the national average and as a result, they have 23% higher energy bills than the US average.

About Sense

Sense's mission is to make all homes intelligent by keeping people informed about what's happening in their homes, and helping to make homes safer, more efficient, and more reliable. Founded in 2013 by pioneers in speech recognition, Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behavior, even for those devices that are not "smart." Customers rely on Sense for a wide range of uses including monitoring their home appliances, determining whether they left appliances running and identifying how to reduce their energy costs. Sense has received investments from two of the world's largest energy technology companies, Schneider Electric and Landis + Gyr. Sense is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. To make sense of your energy, visit: https://sense.com .

Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Sense

Related Links

www.sense.com


Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has accused a reporter of putting words in her mouth over questions about when the state's border could open to the rest of the country.

The Queensland Government's 'roadmap to easing restrictions' - which was introduced to overcome the coronavirus outbreak - says interstate travel could be allowed from July 10.

But Ms Palaszczuk has warned September is a more realistic time frame to ensure COVID-19 cases are kept out of Queensland.

The premier and chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young were questioned about the likelihood of opening borders within the coming months at a press conference on Wednesday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned that the border with NSW (pictured) may not open until September

Poll Should all states relax their borders to boost the economy? Yes No Undecided Should all states relax their borders to boost the economy? Yes 219 votes

No 202 votes

Undecided 21 votes Now share your opinion





A journalist said: 'The roadmap says July 10 for the potential resumption of interstate travel,' to which Ms Palaszczuk responded 'yeah, under review. It says very clearly'.

The journalist replied: 'You said September on Monday.'

'No, no  I said each month,' said Ms Palaszczuk.

'I said very clearly each month we will be reviewing Sarah, don't please put incorrect words in my mouth.'

Dr Young went on to explain July would be the absolute earliest but it was not likely.

'What I have said publicly is the earliest, the very very earliest and only if everything went absolutely perfectly, we might be able to think about opening up our borders in July,' she said.

'That's what the road map says but that's after two points of review.

'I agree with the Premier that September is a far more realistic.

'If the tourist industry wants a realistic scenario they should be preparing for September.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) on Wednesday accused a journalist of putting words in her mouth over the state's border closure

New South Wales residents cannot take holidays in Noosa (pictured) due to border restrictions preventing them from getting to QLD

With international borders closed for the foreseeable future due to coronavirus, the Federal Government wants to re-boot Australia's tourism industry, which provides around 700,000 jobs, by encouraging domestic holidays.

But a major obstacle is that every state except New South Wales and Victoria are refusing to take down their border restrictions which ban inter-state visitors.

On Monday Ms Palaszczuk said the border with NSW may not open until September, much to the fury of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian who says open borders benefit businesses in both states.

Asked when the border would open, Ms Palaszczuk told ABC News Breakfast: 'Things would look more positive towards September. Having said that, I don't want to rule anything out.'

Ms Berejiklian responded furiously, saying: 'Closing borders doesn't help Australia, it doesn't help any of the states, it doesn't help our population and it doesn't help economic activity.

'If we can open up our internal borders that will help everyone.'

Ms Berejiklian said Queensland was wrong to target an elimination strategy and should open the borders as part of a plan to get back to normal.

'This notion that you are somehow going to completely eradicate the virus from Australia is beyond reality. I can't forsee that happening in a population of 25 million people,' she said.

Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday announced recreational regional travel within NSW will be allowed again from June 1 when libraries, art galleries, and museums will also re-open.

Under current NSW public health orders in place because of COVID-19, regional travel for holidays is banned.

Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday announced recreational regional travel within NSW will be allowed again from June 1

The premier said social distancing will still be required and urged people to plan ahead.

'NSW will welcome visitors from all across the country,' she told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

'That's best for NSW and Australia ... This is an opportunity for NSW no matter which way you look at it.'

Ms Berejiklian said the easing of regional travel restrictions will help boost jobs and the economy and noted it was in Australia's best interest for interstate borders to re-open as well.

Ms Palaszczuk said Australia's two biggest states needed to get their COVID-19 community transmission under control before visitors would be welcome in Queensland.

'Unfortunately New South Wales and Victoria have that community transmission and they have to get that under control before we allow visitors to come here,' she told reporters on Wednesday.

'And I'm sorry for that, I'm so sorry for that and you know what, when we all get through this together, I'll be the number one supporter going down there and urging people to come here.'

Ms Palaszczuk reiterated that Queensland is not the only state keeping their borders shut.

'I'm not the only state. Lets be very clear here. Western Australia has a hard border closure, Northern Territory has a border closure, South Australia has a border closure and Tasmania has a border closure. This is not unique to Queensland folks," she said.

'Lets be very clear I will always put Queenslanders first, that's my job.
Leslie Jordan's hysterical Instagram musings came at just the right time for millions of homebound people in need of a good laugh.

The 65-year-old actor joined DailyMailTV for an exclusive chat about his unlikely new status as an 'influencer' after gaining 4.5 million followers seemingly over night.

Plus, Leslie dishes on his new show, Call me Kat with Mayim Bialik, saying goodbye to Will & Grace (again) and what is coming down the pipeline with Ryan Murphy.

Social media star: Leslie Jordan joined DailyMailTV for an exclusive chat about his unlikely new status as an 'influencer' after gaining 4.5 million followers on Instagram and dishes on his new show Call Me Kat, working with Dylan McDermott and saying goodbye to Beverley Leslie

No one seems more surprised than Leslie himself over the millions of people currently obsessed with his viral videos.

'Isn't that fun,' he laughs about his new popularity. 'I think: "who are these fools that want to hear me every day?'

When the coronavirus crisis forced people indoors, Leslie was down in Tennessee visiting his mom and twin sisters.

He decided to hunker down in a bare-bones AirBnB and out of sheer boredom he began recording short Instagram videos riffing on anything and everything.

Organic: When the coronavirus crisis forced people indoors, Leslie was down in Tennessee and out of sheer boredom he began recording short Instagram videos riffing on anything and everything

'All of a sudden my friend called and said "you've gone viral" and I said "No, honey I'm fine. I'm at Momma's in Tennessee,"' Leslie said through fits of laughter.

'I would just sit here and think of things and think: "oh, that's funny,"' Leslie explained. 'And I would, you know, put it out.'

'All of a sudden my friend called and said "you've gone viral" and I said "No, honey I'm fine. I'm at Momma's in Tennessee,"' Leslie said through fits of laughter.

'He said "Leslie check your numbers" - I said "I don't even know how!"'

Jordan never set out to make viral content and, had he tried, it likely wouldn't have worked. It's his truly genuine off-the-cuff takes or, 'pillow talk' as he as dubbed it, that makes the videos a pure joy to watch.

Hysterical: Jordan never set out to make viral content but his genuine off-the-cuff takes or, "pillow talk" as he as dubbed it, makes his videos a pure joy to watch

'I've done Instagram for about a year but I had about 80K followers and I thought that was a lot,' he explained. 'Then all of a sudden like 4.5 million people. It just went nuts.'

Despite the mass of new followers, Leslie isn't planning on monetizing his social media during the current crisis.

However, when it is all over, he is looking use his viral fame to spring board him into bigger venues for his successful one-man show, Exposed.

'I don't do big, big venues,' he explained. 'You know, maybe I'll be able to now! They're calling from places like Live Nation. I think: 'Oh, my god, ten city tour!'

Too funny: Many of Leslie's side-splitting tales about other celebrities he's worked with over the years (like when Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan yelled at him to get off the stage during a show) are bits from his one-man show Exposed

'I don't do big, big venues,' he explained. 'You know, maybe I'll be able to now! They're calling from places like Live Nation. I think: 'Oh, my god, ten city tour!'

Many of Leslie's side-splitting tales about other celebrities he's worked with over the years (like when Golden Girls star Rue McClanahan yelled at him to get off the stage during a show) are bits from Exposed.

During his chat with DailMailTV, Leslie shared a more recent story about his final taping as sassy socialite Beverley Leslie on Will & Grace.

The rebooted sitcom recently wrapped for good and went out with a bang with a retro I Love Lucy themed episode.

Leslie and his on-screen frenemy Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) re-created the infamous Lucy and Ethel stomping of the grapes scene.

Iconic: The actor recently filmed his final scene as Beverley Leslie, the saucy frenemy of Karen Walker on Will & Grace, where they re-created I Love Lucy's Grape stomping scene

'They weren't mushy,' he recalled. 'They wouldn't stick. So, they added grape jelly ... poured grape juice - anything that can find purple. And by the end, it was just a mess.'

The scene was a complicated one with actors, dressed like traditional old Italian women on the country side, stomping on eight pounds of real grapes.

'They weren't mushy,' he recalled. 'They wouldn't stick. So, they added grape jelly ... poured grape juice - anything that can find purple. And by the end, it was just a mess.'

Megan Mullally was determined to get the scene as close to the original and the actual episode was played on loop on a TV screen so the actors could model it shot for shot.

'That was the last episode ever, ever, ever, for Megan Mullally and Leslie Jordan to play those two characters,' he reminisced.

New project: Recently, Leslie landed a new 'really big television series', Call Me Kat, which got a 13 episode order but can't begin filming due to COVID-19

'It's a project at Fox with Mayim Bialik and Swoozie Kurtz as a mother daughter duo,' Leslie explained. 'Swoozie, she wants her 38-year-old daughter to just get married. Anyway, she buys a cat cafe to spite her mother, who is allergic to cats, and I run the cat cafe.'

'We should have made more of it, you know, when it was over. You know like kiss, kiss, kiss but it was just done and over,' he explained, adding that at the end they both just wanted to get the sticky grapes washed off.

Recently, Leslie landed a new 'really big television series', Call Me Kat, which got a 13 episode order but hasn't begun filming due to COVID-19.

'It's a project at Fox with Mayim Bialik and Swoozie Kurtz as a mother daughter duo,' Leslie explained.

'Swoozie, she wants her 38-year-old daughter to just get married. Anyway, she buys a cat cafe to spite her mother, who is allergic to cats, and I run the cat cafe.'

On the horizon: American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy is working on a show for Leslie and actor Dylan McDermott though Jordan doesn't know what type of show it will be (Pictured in American Horror Story)

'I was just fascinated with him, I don't know what it was and so we've kept up because we have this banter,' he said of Dylan. 'I have such a crush on him ... He's straight, Leslie,' he reminds himself. 'I know ... but that doesn't mean I can't have a crush on him.' (McDermott pictured in February)

There has also been talk about a Ryan Murphy project with actor Dylan McDermott, one of Leslie's good friends.

McDermott and Jordan struck up a friendship while filming Murphy's anthology series American Horror Story - the 58-year-old is a frequent commenter on Leslie's viral Insta videos.

'I was just fascinated with him, I don't know what it was and so we've kept up because we have this banter,' he said of Dylan.

'I have such a crush on him ... He's straight, Leslie,' he reminds himself. 'I know ... but that doesn't mean I can't have a crush on him.'

'You never know what you're going to get,' Leslie said when asked what the concept of the show might be. 'There's no telling where that sick mind will go.'

Funny guy: In the meantime, Leslie is back in Los Angeles bringing some relatable light and laughter in dark times through his videos

Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, Glee, The Politician) told the actors that he was writing something specifically for them but didn't divulge any other details.

'You never know what you're going to get,' Leslie said when asked what the concept of the show might be. 'There's no telling where that sick mind will go.'

In the meantime, Leslie is back in Los Angeles bringing some relatable light and laughter in dark times through his videos.

'You're making a little bit of difference in someone's life and that's pretty amazing you know for a comedian ... for a lowly comedian such as myself,' he laughed.


Russian prosecutors are expected to issue their sentencing recommendation on May 25 in the case of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is on trial in Moscow for what the United States says are baseless spying charges.

Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said on May 20 that all evidence in the trial had been presented and the defense and prosecutors would make final statements in the courtroom on May 25.

Prosecutors in the case will then request to the court the sentence they are seeking for the defendant.

In the court proceedings on May 20, the defense presented two witnesses who said there was no indication Whelan engaged in espionage.

The witnesses said they "have known Paul for quite a long time and haven't noticed anything weird about him," Zherebenkov said.

The 50-year-old Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian, and Irish citizenship, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018. Prosecutors claim that a flash disc in his possession contained classified information. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Whelan vehemently denies the allegations against him, calling them political in nature, and has accused guards of mistreatment.

The former U.S. Marine has said he traveled to Moscow to attend a wedding.

The trial is being held behind closed doors because the evidence includes classified materials and because of measures taken to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency showing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaking during a televised announcement, at Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, on March 26, 2020, after the US Justice Department indicted him for "narco-terrorism."

Venezuela has launched legal proceedings to try to force the Bank of England to hand over $1 billion worth of gold, claiming it needs the money to fund an appropriate response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The gold is being retained at the Bank of England as a result of U.K. and U.S. sanctions on the crisis-stricken South American country.

President Nicolas Maduro's administration has claimed it wants the Bank of England to sell part of the reserves in order to help fund the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The legal document, which was filed in a commercial court and dated May 14, calls for the Bank of England to transfer the funds to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The claim states the money would then be used to administer the purchase of food and medical supplies in order to fight the coronavirus outbreak.

Venezuela's central bank was not immediately available to comment when contacted by CNBC on Wednesday, while the Bank of England said it does not comment on individual customer relationships.
National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah on Wednesday sought the release of all detained political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir before Eid-ul-Fitr.

Several politicians, including Omar, his father and NC president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and NC general secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, were detained hours before the Centre announced the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 of the Constitution and bifurcation of the state into union territories on August 5 last year.

While Omar and Farooq have subsequently released, Mehbooba and Sagar continued to be in custody under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

"We are days away from Eid. @narendramodi ji should order the release of all detained politicians in J&K, whether under formal detention orders or informal house arrest. They have done nothing to deserve being locked away for as long as they've been," Omar wrote on Twitter.
Measures imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus will be tightened during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday

In an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, stricter social distancing measures will be imposed throughout the five-day Eid Al-Fitr holiday which starts on Sunday.

Eid Al-Fitr is usually marked by gatherings that this year may lead to the spread of the coronavirus. The stricter measures taken by the government are aimed at limiting the spread of the virus during the Eid, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said on Sunday.

The annual Eid Al-Fitr holiday usually lasts three days. This year cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad said it will extend to five days, until Thursday 28 May.

Eid prayers will be broadcast from inside Al-Sayeda Nafisa Mosque. Mosques around the country will remain closed, though they will be allowed to recite Eid prayers through speakers.

The new measures include extending the night-time curfew to run from 5pm to 6am during the holiday. From 30 May it will return to the pre-Ramadan hours of 8pm to 6am.

Malls, beaches and parks will be completely closed during the holiday. Madbouli added that public transport, including between governorates, will be completely suspended.

In subsequent TV statements Saad clarified that microbuses, taxis and ride-hailing apps will be exempted from the transport ban, and that private cars will be allowed to move between governorates.

The new curfew hours wont apply to food deliveries or workers returning to or from their jobs, and supermarkets, grocery stores and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open throughout the holiday. Hotel beaches that comply with Health Ministry standards will also be allowed to open.

Two weeks ago, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled Al-Enany announced hotels would be open for local tourism and could offer restaurant and day-use services provided they operated at 25 per cent capacity.

Once Eid is over we will return to the same basic measures in place before Ramadan, and they will continue for two weeks, until mid-June, Madbouli said. One difference, however, is that wearing face masks in public spaces will be mandatory.

During the two-week phase, which starts on 30 May, shops and malls will be able to open every day outside curfew hours.

Restrictions imposed since mid-March to contain the spread of the virus include a night-time curfew, the closure of schools, universities, mosques and churches and the suspension of international flights.

Despite the restrictions Egypts infection rate has continued to rise, surpassing 12,000 confirmed cases on 17 May, three months after the first case was confirmed on 14 February. Though it took seven weeks to reach 1,000 infections in Egypt, it only took three days to move from 10,000 to 11,000 cases.

The number of coronavirus fatalities was 645 on Monday, the highest figure in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation.

Egypt has relaxed some restrictions in recent weeks, including opening car licensing sections at traffic departments, real estate registry offices and some court services. Madbouli said restrictions will be further eased mid-June.

In mid-June, the government will announce activities that can gradually reopen. They are likely to include houses of worship and sporting clubs as long as precautionary measures are strictly applied, said Madbouli.

The government appears determined to gradually re-open the economy which has been hit hard by the pandemic. Ten days ago Egypt received $2.772 billion from the International Monetary Funds Rapid Financing Instrument programme to help it cope with the impact of the virus.

Last week the Health Ministry published a three-stage plan, pending cabinet approval, that aims to strike a balance between returning back to normal life and maintaining precautionary measures.

According to the ministry, the first stage lasts for two weeks and includes the strictest measures, including making wearing face masks mandatory, the closure of recreational facilities, and taking the temperature of anyone entering official offices. This is to be followed by gradually loosening restrictions in a 28-day second stage, followed by an indefinite third stage.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 May, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

Search Keywords:

Short link:


President Trump's announcement Monday that he has been taking hydroxycholorquine as a prophylactic to ward off the COVID-19 coronavirus had its skeptics, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "Maybe he's really not taking it because the president lies about things characteristically," Schumer told MSNBC. So the White House released a letter from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley.

Trump "is in very good health" and has tested negative for COVID-19 in his regular testing, Conley wrote. "After numerous discussions he and I had for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks." The letter did not actually say Conley had prescribed hydroxychlorquine to Trump or that Trump was taking it, but White House spokeswoman Alyssa Farah said Trump is taking the malaria drug.

Hydroxychloroquine has well-documented risks, including causing dangerous heart arrhythmia even in healthy people, and multiple studies have shown it has no apparent benefit for COVID-19 patients. The FDA granted emergency authorization to use hydroxycholorquine to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients before later issuing a safely advisory on April 24 warning of serious side effects and recommending its use only under close supervision of a doctor in a hospital or clinical trial.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed concern about Trump's risk-taking on CNN. "He's our president, and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his, shall we say, weight group  morbidly obese, they say," she told Anderson Cooper. (Trump, 73, is technically obese but not severely or morbidly so, The Associated Press notes.)

Nancy Pelosi calls Trump "morbidly obese" pic.twitter.com/NEBc0kqMwC  Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) May 19, 2020

New York's Olivia Nuzzi had a more practical critique.

Story continues

If you are worried enough about the virus to take a drug that has not been proven or approved to prevent or treat the virus, but you are not worried enough to wear a mask and gloves, what the hell does that mean?  Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) May 18, 2020

Well, at least the president won't get malaria.  Josh Barro (@jbarro) May 18, 2020

"Here's my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it," Trump told reporters. "The only negative I've heard was the study where they gave it  was it the VA with, you know, people that aren't big Trump fans gave it."

More stories from theweek.com

Trump spent hours retweeting, slamming Fox News, including profane attacks on host Neil Cavuto

Newly declassified email shows FBI's Comey worried about Flynn's frequent talks with Russia's ambassador

Trump's press secretary says with any other president, 'the media would take him at his word'


Advertisement

More than seven percent of women with breast cancer had a mutation in one of the genes, as compared with two percent of the controls. Among women with breast cancers that lacked estrogen receptors, termed estrogen receptor negative breast cancer, more than 10 percent had a mutation, as compared with five percent in women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer."We also found that mutations in PALB2, RAD51C and RAD51D confer increased risks of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer in the African American population," said Fergus Couch, PhD, co-author of the study and the Zbigniew and Anna M. Scheller Professor of Medical Research at Mayo Clinic.According to the researchers, testing for breast cancer predisposition genes can prevent breast cancer deaths, both in women who have never had breast cancer and in women with breast cancer."Depending on results of the testing and an individual's own weighing of pros and cons, a woman with a mutation in any of these genes may choose more aggressive screening for cancer, and women with mutations in the high risk BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes may choose removal of her breasts and/or ovaries as a way to prevent initial breast cancer or recurrence," added Palmer who is also a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health.Currently, rates of breast cancer genetic testing are substantially lower in African American women with breast cancer than in white patients of the same ages. Differences in recommendations given to African American women has been identified as one of the drivers of this disparity."To the extent that the differences in recommendations are the result of misconceptions among clinicians about the prevalence of genetic mutations and associated risks in African American women, awareness of our findings may serve to increase the proportion of African American women who are offered testing,"added Palmer. These findings appear online in theSource: Eurekalert
Fountain Therapeutics, a San Francisco, CA-based biopharmaceutical company building a pipeline of therapeutics to treat age-related diseases by reversing cellular age, closed a $6m Series A-1 financing, bringing its total Series A funding to $11m.

The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Nan Fung Life Sciences. Fountain previously closed on a $5m Series A financing with Nan Fung Life Sciences in May 2018.

Led by John Dimos, Ph.D., chief executive officer, Fountain Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company building a pipeline of therapeutics to treat age-related diseases by reversing cellular age. Its cell-based AI-driven technology platform, accelerated by the expertise of leaders in aging research and computation, extracts cellular features that provide insights into the aging process of cells.

The company intends to use the funds to expand the senior leadership team and enhance the capabilities of its technology platform and to advance novel therapeutics identified by the platform through preclinical testing in animal models.

FinSMEs

20/05/2020
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



Three additional local news websites have been blocked on Algerian networks since April 22, 2020, bringing the number of outlets affected in April and May to at least six, according to online statements by the websites affected. The intervention came in the wake of a new law against false news.

On May 13, the privately-owned news website LAvant-Garde said that Algerian readers were unable to access their reporting. On May 11, online news outlet Le Matin dAlgerie released a statement saying that the website had been inaccessible for several days; local news website DZvid separately reported online that since April 22 their website has only been available using virtual private network (VPN) software to bypass local censorship. CPJ was able to access LAvant-Garde, Le Matin dAlgerie, and DZvid from the United States in mid-May.

All three have recently covered the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria, as well as anti-government protests that have been taking place since February 2019, according to CPJs review of their reporting.

No government agency has acknowledged responsibility for the measure, according to the three statements. The Algerian Ministry of Communication did not return CPJs email request for comment.

Bouzid Ichalalene, founder of the Interlignes website that CPJ documented had been subject to blocking on April 19, told CPJ by messaging app in May that authorities do not generally disclose why websites are blocked or which government body is responsible.

Interlignes was blocked the same day that the Council of Ministers, headed by newly-elected President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, approved a law that criminalizes spreading false news, CPJ established at the time, while news website Maghreb Emergent and the website of its partner radio station Radiom were blocked on April 9. Journalist and local press freedom advocate Mustapha Bendjama confirmed to CPJ over messaging app that all three were still blocked in Algeria as of May 20.

All three sites that were newly affected expressed concern about the deteriorating state of press freedom, but continued to publish. LAvant-Garde called the block an attempt to muzzle independent media, and set up an alternate web address that remains available. defended its objective reporting and said it would not be intimidated by attempts to criminalize its work.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

Albuquerque Public Schools will host virtual graduation ceremonies next month after the district initially postponed commencements due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The district said the online high school ceremonies will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, June 28.

Mass gatherings like graduation ceremonies are still prohibited under New Mexicos public health order.

Albuquerque Public Schools acknowledges that it is highly unlikely the public health threat caused by the coronavirus will subside to allow for in-person graduations, the district wrote in a news release.

The virtual graduations will include traditions such as reading the names of graduates and student speeches.

APS graduation week would have taken place in May had the pandemic not disrupted the events. During that week, the district launched Senior Celebration Videos to honor and encourage students from afar.

Individual schools, students, staff and families deserve praise for pivoting to adapt to an unprecedented graduation season, Superintendent Raquel Reedy said in a statement. This isnt the high school graduation anyone had planned, but its the hand weve been dealt. Im proud of our high school staff who made sure students were recognized at the campus level, and for everyone who made it a priority to reach out to our graduates and congratulate them for their achievements and resiliency.
Baker: Socialization Sacrificed for COVID-19 Safety

BRAINTREE, Mass.  Gov. Charlie Baker says he spends less time with the lieutenant governor these days yet they talk far more often.

It's an example of how the state will have to navigate this new normal  giving up the physical and social elements of teamwork but keeping remote contact.

"It's the loss of the socialization issues, and the sense of team, and the sense of community that comes with those opportunities to sit together and talk about what's going on with your family or what's going on with your work and what's going on generally that we're going to have to deal with," he said at Wednesday's briefing. "And I think that's going to be true for a lot of us as we all move forward."

The governor and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito toured the family-owned Symmons Industries to see examples of how the plumbing parts manufacturer is adapting to the guidelines for reopening during the pandemic that were set out on Monday. (No briefing was held on Tuesday.)

Two years ago, Baker and Polito had toured the 80-year-old manufacturer and spoke to 150 people in the building's lobby. This time was quite different, he noted, as Symmons has been instituting industry specific guidelines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"During the past 80 years, many world events presented challenges to our business, but never before have we been faced with a challenge as great as the cobia crisis," said Timothy O'Keeffe, chief executive officer at Symmons Industries and grandson of the founder. "The unique combination of trying to keep a business stable, while at the same time keeping your team safe and healthy is unprecedented."

Symmons, precision plumbing fixtures manufacturer, pivoted to producing personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as developing touchless microbial keys and a water management platform for hotels.

Baker said he had been told that the employees expected changes with operating within a pandemic, but the hardest part had been the loss of easy socialization in the cafeteria.

"One of the major challenges that we will all face going forward on this, not just here at Simmons but in workplaces across the commonwealth and as a country, is some of that intimacy ... that is so much a part of the shared commitment to work," he said. "And that is going to be the way it is going to be for some period of time here until we get to the point where we have treatments for a vaccine."

Symmons has also continued to implement policies including wearing masks, using gloves as necessary, regular sanitizing and hand-washing, staggering schedules and social distancing.

"All of us, employers, workers, customers and community leaders, continue to have a role in pushing back against the virus," said Baker. "Symmons stands as a strong example of how this can be done safely and responsibly."

The "Reopening Massachusetts" four-phased plan includes industry specific guidelines for safe operations. Essential businesses already open can continue following the plan; non-essential businesses can begin opening starting on Monday, May 5.

Businesses self-certify that they are complying with new rules by developing a COVID-19 control plan and displaying a signed attestation poster in a place on premises visible to employees and visitors.

"In addition to the safety standards that we've highlighted for manufacturing, a specific checklist was developed to ensure that businesses and their managers may may remain compliant," said Polito. "This is really important because we want workers to feel and be safer when they come back to their jobs, and also for the customers for the people visiting and coming in and out of these workplaces that they also are."

Included in the guidelines is the recommendation for businesses that can to allow employees to work remotely. Baker said he and Polito are positive about the number of businesses that were going to continue along those lines.

"We the commonwealth happened to be one of those," he said. "I certainly believe it's absolutely the right thing to do with respect to with COVID and all the guidelines."

Baker stressed that the public health data will continue to inform the phased rollout as well as businesses' abilities to obtain the necessary protective equipment and other supplies. Resources for businesses and organizations are available on the Reopening Massachusett's website

"The goal of phased reopening is to methodically allow businesses services and activities to resume, while avoiding a resurgence of COVID-19 that could overwhelm the health-care system and erase much of the progress that we've all made so far," said the governor.
As many as 1,19,075 people have been evacuated from 13 vulnerable districts of Odisha as Cyclone Amphan is expected to make landfall on Wednesday between Digha in West Bengal and Hatia Island in Bangladesh.

Due to the cyclone, rainfall and strong winds are expected to batter several districts of Odisha today.

As many 1,704 shelter camps have been set up in anticipation of the super cyclone.

Maximum number of people were evacuated from Kendrapara, (32,060) followed by Bhadrak (26,174) and Balasore (23,142).

"As the storm approaches, the fear of the storm is growing in people's minds as time goes on. We are becoming more and more afraid of the wind. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that it will pass near Paradip by this afternoon. As a result, winds are expected in the northern coastal areas of Odisha," one of the locals told ANI.

"I stay at Bengali Sahi and have faced the 1999 Super Cyclone. When the administration announced that a similar cyclone is going to hit Odisha, we immediately fled from our shelter centres with our documents," said Panchanan Das, another local.

As per the latest update issued by the IMD, the 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm lay centred over northwest and adjoining westcentral Bay of Bengal, about 125 km south of Paradip in Odisha, 390 km south-southwest of Digha and 540 km south-southwest of Khepupara in Bangladesh.

(ANI)

Also Read: Cyclone Amphan: 19 NDRF teams on deployed in West Bengal
Australia's response to the COVID-19 outbreak was able to secure and maintain local demand for property, according to the latest analysis by McGrath Estate Agents.

John McGrath, founder of McGrath Estate Agents, said Australia was able to manage the outbreak "exceptionally well," allowing it to ease restrictions sooner than expected.

"Australia now has a roadmap out of COVID-19, with social restrictions eased last week in stage one of a three-stage process and the re-commencement of opens and on-site auctions across the country," he said in a think piece in The Real Estate Conversation.

McGrath said the latest auction data show an "immediate and impressive bounce-back" in local buyer demand.

Also read: Has property proven its resiliency?

Recent figures from CoreLogic show that despite the muted auction activity, successful sales rates have gone back to above 50% levels. Over the weekend, 400 homes were scheduled for auction, returning a preliminary clearance rate of 64%.

"Sydney had an auction clearance rate of 70% that day  the highest result since mid-March before opens and on-site auctions were banned," McGrath said. "Data shows fewer properties are being withdrawn and more are selling at auction, indicating owners are feeling more confident about proceeding to auction instead of selling prior."

Auction activity is expected to improve over the next few weeks as restrictions continue to moderate.

In terms of property prices, McGrath said they managed to hold up amid the outbreak.

A separate report from CoreLogic shows that home prices remained on an uptrend in April. However, the rate at which they are growing appears to have already slowed down.

While the strong demand from local buyers will help boost confidence in the property market, McGrath said there is still a need for Australia to regain its appeal to foreign investors.

According to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FRIB) report for FY2019, international investments last year totalled $14.8bn, significantly lower than the $72.4bn investments recorded in 2016.

"This is partly due to tighter capital controls in China, resulting in much less outbound investment since 2016. China was our biggest real estate investor for several years, but today, the US is number one, followed by Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, and then China," McGrath said.

The FIRB report cited the increase in state taxes and foreign stamp duty as main factors behind the decline in investments.

McGrath said governments should consider reviewing these taxes to encourage foreign buyers to invest in Australia.

"Australia was proven to be a safe harbour for investment during the GFC and now, once again, we are a stand-out success story in our political and economic management of another global event," he said. "We need to get rid of these taxes and once again put out the welcome mat for foreign investment," he said.
New Delhi, May 20 : In a humanitarian move, the Delhi Congress on Wednesday arranged for the rail fare of the 300 students from Kerala stranded in the national capital.

Delhi Congress President Chaudhary Anil Kumar said that at the direction of Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi, the party arranged the journey of over 300 students from Delhi to Kerala, who were stranded in the national capital due to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.

He said the students were sent to Kerala in Shramik Special train.

He said that Delhi Congress will bear the train fares of these students, besides providing them food packets and water.

He said that Delhi Congress, on the advice of AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugoal, had last week set up a Help Desk and appointed K.N. Jayaraj and K.P. Vinod Kumar to coordinate with these students to facilitate their return to their home state.

The National Students Union of India (NSUI) office-bearers also pitched in to help the Kerala students' journey.

Kumar said that these Kerala students were studying in the various universities and colleges of Delhi and the lockdown forced them to vacate their hostel rooms with nowhere to stay and no money for personal expenses.

"However, at the direction of Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Congress stepped in to make their travel arrangements to Kerala," the Congress leader said.

He said that Delhi Congress has been facilitating the travel of migrant workers to their home states as well as providing them wholesome meals while alleging that the Kejriwal government in Delhi and the Modi government at the Centre did nothing for these people.

He also said that Congress Ki Rasoi, spread across Delhi serving nutritious meals to the poor people ever since the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, will be dedicated to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his martyrdom day on Thursday.
Advertisement

Boris Johnson's plans to reopen schools on June 1 appear to be collapsing today after at least 13 mainly Labour councils refused while parents who want their children back in class were being branded 'teacher bashers' by those in the profession.

Extraordinary rows between parents and teachers have broken out on WhatsApp groups and online forums as it was revealed that up to 1,500 English primary schools are now expected to remain closed in 12 days' time despite millions of children being at home for more than eight weeks.

Justice Minister Robert Buckland admitted this morning that the June 1 reopening date may now not be 'uniform' across England - as the Prime Minister's pledge descended into chaos amid mass dissension from school staff, unions and local councils.

Mr Buckland told the BBC: 'I don't think any of us want to put either children or our dedicated teaching staff in any danger at all, and the question of being safe is clearly paramount. So we're all working towards June 1 and planning for that return, but I accept the point that there may well be issues from employers that need to be addressed which might not mean we'll see a uniform approach on June 1.'

MailOnline can reveal that parents who want to send their children back to school claim they have been shamed by other parents and teachers who claim they are being 'hung out to dry' by the Government. A survey of 20,000 parents by Childcare.co.uk found that 62% of the parents believe it wont be safe to return to school or any form of childcare until at least September - a further 10% stated they dont think it will be safe until October 2020.

On Mumsnet today a thread suggested that 'parents aren't allowed to criticise teachers anymore' and sparked outrage among those in the teaching profession. One parent wrote: 'I've seen a lot of parents genuinely concerned about the teaching who were immediately accused of 'teacher bashing' and being too lazy to teach their own children'. It's ridiculous'.

Teachers then piled in, with one hitting back: 'LEAVE US ALONE for GOODNESS sake. We're all on our knees. My headteacher is about to have a nervous breakdown. PLEASE leave us alone'.

Another wrote: 'Short answer. For right now, no, I don't think parents can criticise teachers in any format' while another said teachers were being treated as 'lazy cowards', adding: 'The majority of posts are just teacher bashing'.

One teacher named Angelina moaned: 'Not only are we being hung out to dry in our classrooms, but it appears we're being tasked with sole responsibility of getting the country back to work and leading us out of a global pandemic. Teachers are a tiny cog in the wheel. Schools reopening should not be the focus'.

Millions of parents are in limbo as it remains completely unclear if children in reception, year 1 and year 6 will be returning to school full time in less than a week.

One parent hit back: 'Our local council has said they don't expect kids in the three year groups to be sent in. No school will be penalised. These are unprecedented times, what the f**k do you want, a crystal ball? Nothing is going to click nicely into place'.

And even a former teacher joined the row to back parents and said: 'My ex husband and his wife are teachers. They are doing f**k all. She's baking with two key worker's kids and he's like on constant ppa [planning, preparation and assessment]. They're loving it'.

Parents on school WhatsApp groups say they have also been made to feel uncomfortable for admitting they want their child in school. One said: 'I felt judged and was made to feel like an awful parent as soon as I told them that I believed it was best for my children to be back in school as soon as possible'.

Children of essential workers socially distance whilst in lesson at Kempsey Primary School in Worcester, as plans for more children to return next month hang in the balance

This parent suggested anyone criticising teachers during the pandemic have been branded 'teacher bashers' for asking legitimate questions about their child's education

Teachers have hit back claiming they are being 'hung out to dry' and should not be criticised because they are working so hard

Boris Johnson returns to Downing Street after a jog today as it looked more likely that might not all open on June 1

How mostly Labour-run councils have refused to obey the Government and open primary schools on June 1 Opposed Brighton and Hove (Labour) Slough (Labour) Teesside Labour) Solihull (Conservative) Stockport (Labour) Bury (Labour) Liverpool (Labour) Hartlepool (Labour) Wirrall (Labour) Calderdale (Labour) Birmingham (Labour) Bradford (Labour) Leeds (Labour) Have expressed 'reservations' but leaving it to schools Wakefield (Labour) Barking and Dagenham (Labour) Redbridge (Labour) Bristol (Labour) Southampton (Labour) Newcastle (Labour) Advertisement

Most schools have been caring for key workers' children through lockdown but the majority have been taught by parents at home, many of whom are working at the same time.

Last night a final decision on whether to reopen schools on June 1 was left hanging in the balance after discussions between Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and the teaching unions made no breakthrough.

And today Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the Government is still attempting to 'persuade' schools on the safety of returning - a tacit admission it is becoming increasingly unlikely.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Conversations are continuing between the Government and teachers' representatives, and in some settings arrangements are being made which lead to a high degree of confidence that the risk can be managed and the setting can be safe.

'Clearly, other employers feel that is not the case and I think we have to respect and understand that and remember that June 1 was a conditional date.'

He added: 'I think we've got to listen to what we're being told and to engage and to persuade and to make sure the necessary arrangements are in place.'

The British Medical Association has performed a U-turn on its support for the teaching unions and said schools should reopen if it is safe to do so.

The BMA was dragged into the row when Chaand Nagpaul, its council chairman, wrote a letter backing the National Education Union after it advised its members 'not to engage' with the Government proposals.

But the chairman of the BMA's Public Health Medicine Committee, Dr Peter English, wrote in today's Telegraph of 'growing evidence that the risk to individual children from Covid-19 is extremely small.'

MailOnline can reveal that parents who want to send their children back to school have been shamed on WhatsApp by other parents and teachers who claim they are being 'hung out to dry' by the Government.

There have also been bitter rows on online forums such as Mumsnet where mothers who want their children back in class so they can return to work have been lambasted by schools staff, with one branded a 'fool'.

A phalanx of Labour councils have pledged to 'resist' Mr Johnson's schools plan with former party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking at a National Education Union (NEU) rally tonight. But the party's new boss Sir Keir Starmer is yet to get off the fence on the issue.

Millions of children across Europe, including France, have returned to school this month with no major spike in coronavirus cases yet.

The Prime Minister's ambition to reopen primary schools on June 1 could now be scrapped amid mass dissension from teachers, unions and growing numbers of councils.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said the Government would 'listen to their concerns' about safety and insisted opening schools in 12 days was not a 'hard deadline' only part of a 'roadmap' out of lockdown.

But the reopening of schools has been further kicked into the long grass by one of its SAGE advisers saying that the reopening of schools in ten days depended on an effective track and trace system.

Dame Angela McLean, the deputy chief scientific adviser, said that before ministers attempted any changes to lockdown measures an effective system was needed to isolated those infected by the coronavirus.

Parents have claimed that the unions demands can never be satisfied making it impossible for schools to reopen

Children work in segregated positions in England but many schools are expected not to open more fully on June 1 as councils, teachers and unions refused to support the plan

Holywell Village First School in Northumberland has revealed its social distancing plans when schools reopen after lockdown - but at least 1,500 primary schools have already said they will not reopen fully

Teaching union chief accuses children of being 'mucky' and brags that opposing plan to reopen schools on June 1 is its 'negotiating position' The cynical tactics of a union trying to stop schools reopening were laid bare last night. Video footage showed leaders of the National Education Union discussing how to 'threaten' headmasters who tried to get their staff back to work. The officials told their members they should refuse to engage if they were asked to return on June 1. In a further sign of their hardline approach, they described their opposition to the date as a 'negotiating position'. Mary Bousted (pictured on the Zoom call), the NEU's joint general secretary, was even shown accusing children of being 'mucky', spreading germs and 'wiping their snot on your trousers or on your dress'. The remarks were made in Zoom meetings for thousands of NEU Turn to Page 4 Continued from Page One members, recorded on May 14 and posted on the union's open Youtube account. The Zoom recordings shine a light on the strength of the NEU's opposition. In one of the videos, Kevin Courtney, its joint general secretary, was shown briefing teachers on how to pressure schools that tried to reopen. He said the aim was to 'back heads away' from reopening on June 1 by suggesting they could be 'putting lives at risk'. The tactics could involve multiple complaints by union members with hostile social media campaigns. Mr Courtney described the union's planned 'escalation procedure', saying teachers should use NEU health and safety documents to undermine reopenings. He said 'employers wouldn't go near challenging somebody if they are breaking health and safety law in this situation'. Mr Courtney told teachers and union officials to pressurise heads, first by accusing them of violating regulations, and then by 'threatening' to denounce them on social media. Dr Bousted boasted that the 450,000-member NEU had 'made the running in this crisis' and said the union's opposition to June 1 was a 'negotiating position'. Advertisement

A poll from teachers' union NASUWT suggested that only 5% of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month.

In a letter to the Education Secretary, Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said the union remains 'unconvinced' that wider reopening of schools from June 1 is 'appropriate or practicable'.

The survey, of nearly 29,000 NASUWT members across England, found that around nine in 10 teachers believe that social distancing will be impossible, or will present major issues and a similar proportion are not confident that the proposed measures will protect their health or the health of pupils.

It also found that 87% of teachers believe that PPE is essential to protect staff against the virus.

The Government wants a phased reopening from June 1, with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils going back first as a row rumbles on about whether it is safe with Education Gavin Williamson insisting getting children back to school on that date is vital for their development and prospects so teachers should 'do their duty'.

But Dr Roach said today: 'The results of our survey underscore the fact that the Government has thus far failed to win the trust and confidence of teachers about the safety of reopening schools.

'It is now imperative that the Government takes every available opportunity to provide the necessary assurances that teachers are seeking.'

John Edmunds, professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a member of the influential SAGE committee, told the House of Lords science and technology committee: 'It looks like the risk to children is low, and that the vast majority don't have significant symptoms'.

And leading World Health Organisation medic Dr David Nabarro has backed the phased return of schoolchildren saying: 'There will be risks but it's a case of balancing up the risks. You don't want children staying at home and missing out on school for a long time.'.

Union chiefs have told teachers to demand detailed answers to at least 169 questions from their bosses on issues such as bin lids, coronavirus counselling and employing extra staff to clean paint brushes, scissors and glue sticks before agreeing to return to school.

The National Education Union has also told its 450,000 members to stop marking work and keep online tuition 'to a minimum' for any children still at home and not to try remote teaching if 'they feel uncomfortable' after going back to the classroom from next month.

Union bosses boast 'the state is back' and demand a public sector pay rise Union bosses today boasted 'the state is back' as they demanded a public sector pay rise and called for a 'National Recovery Council' to be set up to guide Britain's post-coronavirus future. The TUC is calling for a dramatic shake up of the way the UK does business after the outbreak, urging the Government to ban zero hours contracts and give people employment guarantees. The union's general secretary Frances O'Grady believes Britain must show the same level of unity as it did after the Second World War in order to heal society and the economy in the coming years. Citing the last decade of austerity she warned that working people cannot be made to 'pay the price again'. And in a sign that union chiefs have been emboldened by the current outbreak, Ms O'Grady proclaimed: 'Unions are back... but the state is back too.' The demand for a public sector pay rise is likely to prove particularly controversial given that many private sector workers have recently suffered pay cuts due to coronavirus disruption while many others have been made redundant. Advertisement

The NEU's gigantic list of demands includes mapped locations of lidded bins in classrooms and around the school, full health and safety risk assessments for leaving doors and windows open while teaching and also asks: 'What arrangements are in place to keep every classroom supplied with tissues?'.

Other queries from the NEU include: 'Have families been told to provide water bottles?' and suggests grilling bosses about bringing in more staff specifically for washing 'resources for painting, sticking and cutting before and after use' in classrooms and an official policy on how often pupils will be reminded to catch coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow.

The NEU's safety checklist has been hailed by many teachers but critics have said the 22-page document is a 'barrier' to reopening primary schools in England from June 1 because it appears impossible to answer all the questions before then and may spook headteachers who fear their own staff could take them to court.

Richard Marshall, the union's Learning and Development organiser, tweeted last night that the number of 'unanswered' questions from its 450,000 members was more like 1,000, to which one primary school teacher replied: 'I can answer most of them with one sentence - use your bl**dy common sense'.

Today a growing list of councils told their headteachers not to reopen on June 1, with Brighton and Hove, Calderdale, Solihull, Slough and Teesside joining Stockport, Bury, Liverpool, Wirral and Hartlepool despite schools already reopening successfully in 22 states across Europe this month with no major coronavirus spikes.

Former prime minister Tony Blair last night backed calls for pupils to go back to school, saying some children were receiving no education at all with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson insisting getting children back to school as soon as possible is vital for their development and prospects.

MailOnline can reveal that some parents who want to send their children back to school so they can get back to work have been lambasted by teachers who claim they are being 'hung out to dry' by the Government.

As millions wait to hear if their children will return to school on Monday, it has also emerged:

Scroll down to see the all the questions the unions want answered before June 1.

Boris Johnson hoped the majority of primary schools would reopen on June 1 after being scuppered by unions, being supported by Labour MPs including Jeremy Corbyn. New party leader Sir Keir Starmer has kept quiet on the issue of schools

Schoolchildren wearing protective mouth masks and face shields back in class at Claude Debussy college in Angers, France, where 1.4million youngsters are back in class

Answers to questions about bin locations, staff to wash paint brushes and scissors and counsellors for staff and children as the lockdown eases have been demanded

Teachers have been told by union chiefs that it will 'not be safe to mark children's books'. The National Education Union claims schools should make it clear that no marking should take place because of the risk of coronavirus.

It also says that library books should be regularly sanitised as part of a 'workplace checklist' for primaries.

Referring to its 22-page checklist, it says: 'The starting point for every component of the checklist is that it is checked NO until you and your colleagues determine it can be checked YES.

Just one in 20 teachers believe it is safe to return to school, claims union A poll from teachers' union NASUWT suggested that only 5% of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month. In a letter to the Education Secretary, Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, said the union remains 'unconvinced' that wider reopening of schools from June 1 is 'appropriate or practicable'. The survey, of nearly 29,000 NASUWT members across England, found that around nine in 10 teachers believe that social distancing will be impossible, or will present major issues and a similar proportion are not confident that the proposed measures will protect their health or the health of pupils. It also found that 87% of teachers believe that PPE is essential to protect staff against the virus. Advertisement

'School staff will not be protected by social distancing rules nor, in most cases, will they be offered any personal protective equipment. If satisfactory answers are not forthcoming in all areas, then it will not be feasible or safe to extend opening until concerns are met.'

Among the questions the checklist poses are: 'It will not be safe to mark children's books during this period. Will clear instruction be given that no marking should take place and the books should not be taken to and from home/school?'

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair says that schools should return as soon as possible.

Labour-run Bury council announced yesterday it would reject the Government's timetable for sending children back to class, claiming they had taken the decision after a public consultation. But it was later revealed the public consultation had more than 24 hours to run.

Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire has become the latest local authority to advise its schools against reopening on June 1 amid safety concerns.

Councillor Tim Swift, leader of the council, said: 'Education plays a crucial role in making sure children have a good start in life, laying the foundations so that they are able to enjoy a long, healthy and fulfilling future.

'However, the council has major concerns that the Government's tests are not currently being met within Calderdale, and for this reason we are advising our schools against opening more widely on June 1.'

Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden refused to rule out penalties for town halls that refuse to reopen schools from June 1.

British teachers are being urged to follow the lead of their French counterparts by going back to work and getting more than 1.4million children into class after two months in lockdown.

Ministers across the Channel have revealed that they have had 70 cases of coronavirus in 40,000 schools and nurseries in the past 11 days and none of the children or staff are seriously ill.

The bosses of 22 academy trusts have also warned how delays to reopening could cause irreparable damage to vulnerable children.

In a letter to The Times, the group said: 'Since the lockdown, schools have exercised outstanding civic leadership.

'We have remained open for key workers' children; kept vulnerable children safe; delivered food parcels; taught online lessons; and kept in contact with pupils.

'But for any child, prolonged absence from school is concerning. For disadvantaged pupils, it is calamitous. If we do not take action and reopen schools soon, the impact of lost learning could be irreparable.'

Steve Chalke of the Oasis Trust, which has 35 primary schools and is planning to restart on schedule, said: 'The Government published its advice on reopening. The unions countered with their five tests, which they said were designed to create the necessary confidence for parents and staff.

'Now the NEU have set out questions for teachers to ask their bosses, adding that if satisfactory answers are not forthcoming in all areas, then it will not be feasible or safe to extend opening until concerns are met.

'The Children's Commission has told them to stop squabbling and agree a plan. I agree. As a school leader, at this moment of crisis I need  as do all parents  cooperation and conversation rather than endless confrontation and conflict.'

The NEU instead is urging strict two metre social distancing measures remain in place - as is being done in other workplaces. The planning document also includes a 20-page safety checklist, written jointly with fellow unions, Unite, Unison and GMB, which it will urge its members to go through with bosses before they return to schools

'Health and safety reps have the legal right to be consulted on the risk assessment and future amendments,' the document states. Pictured right is a summary of checklist questions for representatives to answer, including: 'Are you satisfied with the cleaning and hygiene arrangements that will operate from when extended opening begins?'

Pictured left are more steps from the summary of checklist questions for reps to answer. Right are questions for reps to ask about site preparation

'Reps need assurances about the systems that the head teacher will be able to implement. Without these assurances there can be no 'expectations' on either staff or parents,' the document states

The DfE is asking head teachers to undertake an audit of how many staff are available, both teaching and support staff

The document states: 'The Planning Guide is explicit that 'unlike older children and adults, early years and primary age children cannot be expected to remain 2 metres apart from each other and staff'

The unions have asked more than 100 questions of a headteacher, which it describes as a safety checklist

The unions have asked more than 100 questions of a headteacher, which it describes as a safety checklist

Reps are given guidance to ask if individual pupil risk assessments will be in place for all pupils who 'exhibit anti-social behaviour, eg biting, before a decision is made'

The workplace checklist tells reps to ask about what guidance will be given to staff on how to support children - and will visitors be provided PPE where necessary
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Beijing, China  Wed, May 20, 2020 16:06 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd947547 2 World China,Mike-Pompeo,Taiwan,president,Tsai-Ing-wen Free

China on Wednesday lambasted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for sending a congratulatory message to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on her inauguration, saying it was "extremely wrong, and it's also very dangerous".

Beijing views the island as part of its territory and has vowed to seize it by force if necessary.

"The US move... seriously interferes in China's internal affairs and seriously damages peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," the defense ministry said in a statement.

Pompeo sent a message hailing Tsai for her "courage and vision in leading Taiwan's vibrant democracy" -- a rare direct message from a US official.

"It is extremely wrong, and it's also very dangerous," China's defense ministry said.

It warned that the People's Liberation Army had the "will, the confidence and the capability to defeat any form of external interference and the plot of 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces".

The statement said China would take "all necessary measures to firmly defend China's sovereignty and territorial integrity".

Tsai is loathed by Beijing because her party views Taiwan as a de facto sovereign state and not part of "one China".

In her inauguration speech, Tsai said China must find a way to live peacefully alongside a democratic Taiwan.

Since she first came to office in 2016, Beijing has rebuffed offers of talks and ramped up economic, military and diplomatic pressure on the island.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is likely to announce the revised dates for the Civil Services (Preliminary) exam 2020 on Wednesday (May 20) after reviewing the situation. It may be recalled that the examination was earlier scheduled for May 31 but was postponed due to the nationwide coornavirus COVID-19 lockdown imposed by the Centre to curb the spread of deadly disease in the country.

The revised schedule for UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) examination 2020 would be notified on the UPSC's website.

The Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2020, scheduled to be held on 31 May stands deferred. Decision on fresh date of the examination will be made available on 20 May after assessing the situation, UPSC said on its website.

The UPSC has already deferred the following: (a) Personality test for remaining candidates for the Civil Services Examination, 2019; (b) Notification for the Indian Economic Service/Indian Statistical Service Examination, 2020; (c) Notification for the Combined Medical Services Examination, 2020; (d) Notification for the Central Armed Police Forces Examination, 2020 and (e) the NDA & Naval Academy Examination, 2020.

Around 10 lakh candidates register for the UPSC civil services preliminary examination every year.

On May 15, the UPSC had announced results of various written exams. Overall, results of seven written exams, for a combined 136 vacancies, were announced. These were Examiner of Trade Marks and Geographical Indications (65); Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (Technical), IB (27); Joint Assistant Director, Directorate of Coordination Police Wireless (13); Company Prosecutor in Ministry of Corporate Affairs (11+5); Senior Examiner of Trade Marks and Geographical Indications (10) and Assistant Legal Adviser in Enforcement Directorate (five).
Regulatory News:

Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies (Paris:ALHGR) (ISIN: FR0013451044, Ticker: ALHGR) ("Hoffmann Green" or the "Company"), a pioneer in low-carbon cement, today specifies the procedures for its Combined General Meeting of June 26, 2020.

Combined General Meeting to be held in closed session

Within the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and given governmental measures limiting and prohibiting gatherings for public health reasons, the Company's Management Board has decided to exceptionally hold this Combined General Meeting in "closed session", without the physical attendance of its shareholders or other people entitled to attend.

However, there will be a live audio broadcast of this General Meeting, which will only be accessible to shareholders who will have registered beforehand.

This decision is a result of the measures adopted by the French Government, and notably Ordinance n 2020-321 of March 25, 2020 pertaining to the holding of Shareholders' Meetings.

The Company strongly encourages its shareholders to exercise their voting rights, one of the fundamental prerogatives of a shareholder, exclusively by remote voting in accordance with the terms governing participation set out below and in the meeting notice published in the French official legal announcement publication (BALO) on May 20, 2020. The minutes of the Combined General Meeting will be made available to shareholders, in French, within the statutory timeframe, on the Company's website under the Shareholders' Meetings section: https://www.ciments-hoffmann.com/investors/shareholders-information/annual-general-meetings/.

General Meeting voting procedures

Eligibility to participate in the Combined General Meeting is subject to having shares registered in the Company's shareholders' account in accordance with the terms set out in the meeting notice published in the BALO on May 20, 2020, and available on the Company's website in the Shareholders' Meeting section.

As the General Meeting is being held in closed session, no admission cards will be issued. Given the impossibility of attending this General Meeting in person, the Company's shareholders will be able to choose one of the three following voting procedures, in each case accompanied by a valid participation certificate enabling the shareholder to vote:

by postal vote

by sending a proxy to the Company without indicating a specific proxy;

by granting a proxy to any natural or legal person in accordance with the following conditions: for registered shareholders : send an email with an electronic signature, guaranteeing your connection with the remote voting form, to paris.bp2s.france.cts.mandats@bnpparibas.com, indicating your surname, first name, address and BP2S ID for direct registered shareholders or your financial intermediary ID for administered registered shareholders, as well as the surname and first name of the appointed or withdrawn proxy; for bearer shareholders : send an email with an electronic signature, guaranteeing your connection with the remote voting form, to paris.bp2s.france.cts.mandats@bnpparibas.com indicating your surname, first name, address and full bank details as well as the surname and first name of the appointed or withdrawn proxy, then imperatively ask your financial intermediary to send written confirmation (by post) to BNP Paribas Securities Services, Service Assemblees Generales CTO Assemblees Generales Les Grands Moulins de Pantin 9, rue du Debarcadere 93761 Pantin Cedex France.

in accordance with the following conditions:

Proxies granted to a designated third party, as well as the instructions given by the proxy for the exercise of the proxies granted to them, should be sent to BP2S by post or email by no later than 11.59 pm CEST on June 22, 2020 and accompanied by the participation certificate issued by the approved intermediaries, for bearer shareholders.

The proxy and postal voting form will be automatically sent to direct or administered registered shareholders by post.

For bearer shareholders, the proxy and postal voting form will be sent to them upon request to their financial intermediary no later than six days before the Combined General Meeting and will also be made available to shareholders on the Company's website in the Shareholders' Meeting section.

The proxy and postal voting forms should be filled in, signed and sent:

for registered shareholders : either by post to BNP Paribas Securities Services Service Assemblees Generales CTO Assemblees Generales Les Grands Moulins de Pantin 9, rue du Debarcadere 93761 Pantin Cedex France, or by email to ag2020@ciments-hoffmann.fr;

for bearer shareholders : to their financial intermediary, who will send it to BNP Paribas Securities Services accompanied by a valid participation certificate.

To be taken into account, completed and signed postal voting forms should be received by BNP Paribas Securities Services, or by the Company for voting forms sent by direct registered shareholders by email, no later than three days before the Combined General Meeting, i.e. by Tuesday June 23, 2020 at the latest.

Written questions

Shareholders can send written questions to the Company's head offices by registered post with acknowledgment of receipt or, preferably, by email to ag2020@ciments-hoffmann.fr by no later than 11.59 pm CEST on June 22, 2020. They must be accompanied by a shareholding certificate.

Submission of draft resolutions and items to the agenda

Requests by shareholders for the inclusion of items or draft resolutions to the agenda must be sent to the Company's head offices by registered letter with return receipt requested, and should be received no later than twenty-five days before the holding of the Combined General Meeting. All such requests must be accompanied by a shareholding certificate.

The list of items added to the agenda and the wording of draft resolutions will be published on the Company's website in the Shareholders' Meeting section (https://www.ciments-hoffmann.com/investors/shareholders-information/annual-general-meetings/).

Availability of documents pertaining to the General Meeting

All documents pertaining to this General Meeting will be made available to shareholders on the

Company's website (https://www.ciments-hoffmann.com/investors/shareholders-information/annual-general-meetings/), at its head offices or can be requested from BNP Paribas Securities Services or from ag2020@ciments-hoffmann.fr.

Financial calendar:

Combined General Meeting, on June 26, 2020, at 2:00pm

2020 first-half sales and results, on October 5, 2020 (after market close)

About Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies

Founded in 2014, Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies designs, produces and distributes innovative low-carbon cements with a substantially lower carbon footprint than traditional cement.

Fully aware of the environmental emergency and the need to reconcile the construction sector, cement manufacturing and the environment, the Group believes it is at the heart of a genuine technological breakthrough based on altering cement's composition and the creation of a heating-free and clean manufacturing process, without clinker.

Hoffmann Green's cements, currently manufactured on a first 4.0 industrial site with no kiln nor chimney in western France, address all construction sector markets and present, at equivalent dosage and with no alteration in the concrete manufacturing process, higher performances than traditional cement.

For further information, please go to www.ciments-hoffmann.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005533/en/

Contacts:

Hoffmann Green

Jerome Caron

Chief Financial Officer

finances@ciments-hoffmann.fr

+33 (0)2 51 46 06 00

NewCap

Sandrine Boussard-Gallien

Investor Relations

ciments-hoffmann@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

NewCap

Nicolas Merigeau

Media Relations

ciments-hoffmann@newcap.eu

+33 (0)1 44 71 94 98
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency in a Michigan county after two dams failed following what one official described as "catastrophic" flooding from heavy rain on Tuesday night.

Details: Whitmer said in a statement the Edenville and Sanford dams in Midland County breached. "In the next 1215 hours, downtown Midland could be under approximately 9 feet of water," Whitmer told a news conference late Tuesday. Authorities told a news briefing they were evacuating some 10,000 people.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

"We are anticipating a historic high water level," said City of Midland manager Brad Kaye. He told the briefing late Tuesday what was unfolding was "catastrophic" and "equivalent of a 500-year flood."

The National Weather Service tweeted that a Flash Flood Emergency was in place in Midland County until 7:30am Wednesday.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
China has said that the issue of Kalapani is a bilateral matter between Nepal and India and urged the two countries to corporate on the same. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson made the comments during a press briefing on Tuesday, May 19.

READ: Army Chief Naravane Clarifies On LAC Standoff, Says 'there Is Nothing New'

China urges India and Nepal to resolve Kalapani issue bilaterally

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, "The issue of Kalapani is between Nepal and India. We hope the two countries will resolve their differences properly through friendly consultations and refrain from taking any unilateral action that may complicate the situation."

India and Nepal are currently in a standoff after the Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli told the parliament that "Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh belong to Nepal. We will get them back. The comments were made a day after Nepal released a map which showed that the mentioned territories were a part of its region.

READ: Indian Troops Maintaining 'posture' Along Border With China: Army Chief

On Tuesday, the Nepali informed the parliament that he had spoken to Chinese authorities regarding the same. "Our government representatives have spoken with Chinese authorities. The Chinese authorities have said that the India-China agreement was about expanding an old trade route for pilgrimage purposes, and it wont affect the position of the tri-juncture and issue of borders, said KP Sharma Oli.

READ: 'It's Premature To Launch An Investigation Into Origins & Spread Of Coronavirus': China

Regarding the construction of the road, India's Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said, "We have seen the press release dated May 9, 2020 issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal pertaining to the inauguration of a road in India. The road follows the pre-existing route used by the pilgrims of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals, and traders.



Earlier, Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane said that Nepal was acting at the "behest of someone else". When asked about the dispute, he said, "I do not see any contradiction at all. The Nepal ambassador has said area east of the river (Kalapani) is theirs. And the road is west of it. So I dont know what they are agitating about. There are issues where the tri-junction should be. They [Nepal] may have raised the issue at the behest of someone else."

READ: Nepal PM KP Sharma Oli Calls For Strong Vigil Along Country's Southern Border As Corona Cases Rises
It was reported on Tuesday that 178,000 of New York Citys public school students, a record number, will be required to take remote summer school classes, after the academic year was derailed by the COVID-19 crisis. Any summer, theres the possibility of learning loss over the summer  that could be a greater challenge in a summer like this, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a Tuesday press briefing. Its going to be a huge effort, an unprecedented effort.

One out of every six public school students, about 18% of the city's student population, will now need to take classes over the summer. About 67,000 students from third to eighth grade, as well as 83,000 students from grades nine through 12 will be required to take extra classes this summer. And 27,700 students with disabilities, who typically require individualized attention and many of whom are entitled to year-round schooling, will also need to take additional classes.

The citys summer school will last a total of six weeks, beginning in July and ending in August. Students in grades three through eight will receive lessons four days a week, while high schoolers and students with disabilities will receive lessons five days a week. Overall, the citys summer school program is expected to cost $83 million and is anticipating a need for 6,000 teachers, who are being asked to sign up to teach remote summer lessons this week.

Despite the city relaxing its grading methods, given the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, summer school is still necessary for many who did not have the tools needed for remote schooling and those who were in charge of taking care of a family member or became sick themselves.

The citys remote summer school program will be slightly different from the program it has offered throughout the remainder of the academic school year, as it will offer more live lessons, scheduled at an appointed time. The city is also hoping to provide students enrolled in its summer school with virtual field trips and the opportunity to participate in social clubs. This was not feasible for many students during the school year, as many students were without internet access or the computers or tablets necessary to participate in online lessons, since city schools closed on March 18.

David Bloomfield, an education professor at both the City University of New Yorks Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, told City & State that the high number of students expected to attend summer school isnt necessarily an indication of a failing school system. In fact, it may demonstrate that standards are being upheld and students who need extra help will get it. It's actually good news, in the sense that probably many more students than those captured by the new grading policy are in need of catching up, Bloomfield said. It also shows that teachers were conscientious on that grading policy, rather than just passing everyone  which was an initial possibility. At the same time, it also demonstrates the extreme deficiencies of online learning.

The city was criticized in late March, when remote learning began, for not immediately supplying students with the equipment required to fully participate in their remote schooling. About 300,000 of the citys 1.1 million students were without the tools required for remote learning once remote lessons began, such as home computers, which remains a big problem. Just this week, the city delivered 284,000 internet-enabled devices, such as iPads, to students in need of them and is expected to deliver another 5,000 in the near future.

However, other students faced difficulties keeping up with their remote lessons as they were in charge of caring for their siblings or a sick family member, or were sick themselves. One-on-one support from social workers, counselors and teachers will also be offered to students over the summer. Bloomfield argues that in-person checkups from health care workers and social workers would be especially beneficial for students who are often in charge of looking after others, and for students with disabilities, rather than checking in with them online. In Germany, home health care workers are making home visits, he said. And that would also be possible in terms of social workers and related service providers in the special education realm.
The Niger governments response to the coronavirus is being supported with satellite capacity and equipment after a recent agreement with a leading provider of satellite technology.

The supplier, Avanti Communications, is a leading Ka-band high throughput satellite capacity partner to the communications industry in EMEA, extending and guaranteeing coverage for defence missions, enterprise solutions and critical public services.

Through the HYLAS satellite fleet and partners in 118 countries, Avanti provides dedicated fixed and flexible-beam satellite connectivity, with extensive coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In this case Avanti is working with the HYLAS 4 satellite, launched in April 2018. Using Ka-band technology, it has 64 fixed beams serving Africa and Europe, as well as four independent steerable beams able to be steered anywhere visible on the Earths disk from 33.5W.

Using HYLAS 4 capacity, Avanti says it plans to provides resilient and secure satellite connectivity and equipment to ten government sites across Niger, keeping lines of communication open for key government bodies.

Avanti is collaborating with the National Agency of Information Society (ANSI), the technical arm of the government of Niger responsible for coordinating ICT solutions in the coronavirus response in Niger. The first site was set up on 15 April 2020; the remaining nine will be installed over the next few weeks.
Many elephant conservation programs have been implemented in Vietnam, but the efforts have not stopped the decline of the elephant population.

A study of Save the Elephants in 2016 showed that of 49 surveyed shops in Buon Ma Thuot City, 24 shops were selling ivories and elephant products.





The organizations found 1,965 product items with labels in Vietnamese language which clearly specified the materials and prices. Sixteen out of 23 woodwork shops in Buon Don were found displaying 703 souvenir items made of elephant ivory or other parts of the elephant.



The prices were between VND200,000 and VND8 million for each.



A survey on the elephant ivory trafficking market by Traffic in 2018 found that shops in HCM City, Buon Ma Thuot and Ban Don had the highest numbers of elephant products on sale. At some shops, there were more than 150 products available.

Despite great efforts by agencies to stop the trafficking, the situation has not improved significantly. Ivory and elephant products are not only sold at the shops but online as well.

Despite great efforts by agencies to stop the trafficking, the situation has not improved significantly. Ivory and elephant products are not only sold at the shops but online as well.



There are also a lot of websites which offer to sell ivory.



A survey by WildAct found that from mid-2015 to early 2016, nearly 21,000 elephant products, including ivory and tail hair, were offered for sale on social networks.



The most popular products on sale were ivory carvings, accounting for 69 percent of total ivory items advertised on Facebook



The field trips by PanNature in 2019 also found sale of ivory and ivory products in some provinces of the Central Highlands.



In Dak Lak province, the elephant metropolis, ivory jewelry and elephant products were sold in the open air at the Buon Don tourism site.



According to the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Center, I 2012-2018, at least 18 wild elephants died in Dak Lak because of different reasons. Some of them were killed by people who wanted to take ivory.



Just within one week, from March 26 to March 31, 2012, three wild elephants were found dead in Ea Sup district with many organs taken away. Even domestic elephants were killed for ivory.



Experts have warned that since the ivory import has become more difficult because customs agencies have tightened control over imports, traffickers eye the herd of elephants in the Central Highlands, both wild elephants and domestic elephants.



In the context of the elephant decline, this will be the final straw that will put Central Highlands elephants at higher risk.

Tu Linh

Dak Lak makes plan to rescue injured elephant Authorities in Dak Lak Province are planning to rescue an injured elephant that can't return to the wild.
Thailand-based hospitality group Minor International (MINT) said is planning to raise capital in the total amount of 25 billion baht ($782 million) through various instruments, including perpetual bonds, a rights offering and three-year warrants.



The share capital increases are subject to shareholders approval at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on 19June 2020.



The announced capital increase programme will be completed between 2020 and2023. The issuance of 10 billion baht equivalent in onshore/offshore equity-accounted perpetual bonds is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020.



The rights offering, which targets to raise approximately 10 billion baht of capital, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2020, while warrants, aiming to raise additional equity in the total amount of approximately 5 billion baht, will be issued after the rights offering transaction is completed, with a tenure of three years from the issue date.  TradeArabia News Service
D onald Trump has accused China of mass worldwide killing over the coronavirus pandemic.

The US president lashed out again as the gulf deepens between the two nations over the widely-held belief that Covid-19 first emerged in Wuhan, a Chinese city of 11 million people.

In his latest attack on the nation, Mr Trump tweeted: Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Please explain to this dope that it was the incompetence of China, and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!

There are fears that China's official coronavirus figures are inaccurate / Getty Images

It came after Mr Trump appeared to suggest China deliberately let coronavirus infect the United States.

In a further ramping up of tensions, he told a White House roundtable on Tuesday: Once the plague, as I call it, came in, I said: how did they let that happen? How come it didnt go into other sections of China?

"Why did they block it from leaving Wuhan, but they didnt block it from going to the rest of the world including the United States? Why is that?

And why didnt they let us go in to help them fix it? So Im very disappointed in China.

Beijing is facing growing criticism from the West over the pandemic, with officials widely-believed to have fiddled figures and failed to contain the outbreak.

Donald Trump has been unrelenting with his criticism of China / Getty Images

The country  with a population of 1.4 billion  claims to have had just 88,000 infections and 4,600 deaths.

Wuhan, in Hubei province, is believed to have been the origin of the virus but there is dispute over whether or not it began in a so-called wet market where live animals are traded

Mr Trump has already entered into a stand-off with the World Health Organisation, suspending Americas $400 million annual funding and accusing it of being a puppet of China.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chinas Communist leaders expressed strong indignation after the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo hailed the re-election of the Taiwanese president, a rebuke to Beijings attempts to isolate the island.
AFP

Two Americans have been arrested for their alleged role in the daring escape of ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn from Japan while he awaited trial for financial wrongdoing.

Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts said former Green Beret Peter Taylor, 59, and his son, Michael Taylor, 26, helped smuggle Mr Ghosn in a musical audio equipment case to his childhood home of Lebanon.

More details of the daring escape in a large black box aboard a private jet were first revealed in court documents posted to Twitter by Seamus Hughes, from the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

In January, Japan submitted requests for the arrests of both Mr Taylor and his son plus a third American suspect, George-Antoine Zayek, over allegedly helping Mr Ghosn flee the country on 29 December while awaiting trial for charges of under-reporting earnings, breach of trust and misappropriation of company funds.

The court documents claimed the former special forces soldier met Mr Ghosn at least seven times during three trips to Japan in the months before the operation.

Morning. Heres a scoop of a story for you. The Feds this morning arrested Michael and Peter Taylor for their role in smuggling out former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn from Japan. pic.twitter.com/YplL85SSAr  Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) May 20, 2020

The day before the escape, Mr Taylors son and Mr Zayek allegedly arrived in Japan carrying large black boxes.

The black boxes looked like they were for audio equipment, and Michael Taylor and Zayek told Kansai airport workers that they were musicians, the court documents said.

Ghosn was hiding in one of the two large black boxes being carried by Michael Taylor and Zayek.

They were said to have loaded their luggage onto the private jet at Kansai International Airport without a security check, before flying to Lebanon via Istanbul.

Story continues

Prosecutors in Turkey have also reportedly prepared an indictment charging seven people that allegedly facilitated the escape via Istanbul, including four pilots and two flight attendants.

The Justice Department obtained warrants on 6 May and US marshals reportedly arrested the father and son pair on Wednesday after learning the senior Mr Taylor had booked a flight from Boston to Beirut.

Peter Taylor would be likely to flee if he learned of the existence of a warrant for his arrest, the court documents said.

They are expected to appear before a federal judge in Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon, and Japan has said it would submit a formal request for extradition.

Read more

Turkey charges seven people over escape of Carlos Ghosn

Nissan sues fugitive former chairman Carlos Ghosn for 70m

People warned to stay out of instrument cases after Ghosn escape
Exxon Mobil has relaunched the sale of its stake in Azerbaijan's largest oilfield, the company said on Tuesday, as banking and industry sources said the move was drawing interest from large Asian oil and gas companies seeking to capitalize on the recent collapse in oil prices.

The top U.S. oil and gas company first tried to sell its 6.8% stake in the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea in 2018, as rival Chevron launched the sale of its own 9.57% stake in the field.

While Exxon's sale process was never officially suspended, it was put on the backburner when Chevron started negotiations with Hungarian energy firm MOL for the sale of its assets last year, which led to a $1.57 billion deal in November.

Exxon's process, run by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was recently relaunched despite oil prices halving to around $30 a barrel after a historic collapse in oil consumption due to coronavirus-linked lockdowns that restricted people's movement.

"Exxon Mobil is testing market interest for its non-operated producing assets in Azerbaijan," Exxon spokeswoman Julie King told Reuters.

Exxon routinely evaluates its producing portfolio and "if other companies find more value in an asset, we will sell," she added.

A number of Asian national oil companies, including China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), India's ONGC and Indonesia's Pertamina, have shown interest in the stake recently, hoping to clinch a deal at a lower price than before, according to four industry and banking sources.

It was unclear how much Exxon was seeking to raise from the sale, but it is likely to be valued significantly lower than Chevron's stake, the sources said.

A spokesman for SOCAR, Azerbaijan's national oil company declined to comment. BAML declined to comment, and Pertamina did not respond to requests for comment.

ONGC did not respond to a request for comment. An Indian industry source said, however, that ONGC, which holds a stake in ACG, had yet to decide whether to bid for Exxon's stake and was in talks with other partners in the field.

China's CNOOC Ltd and parent company China National Offshore Oil Company, or CNOOC, did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The sharp drop in oil prices pushed Exxon into its first quarterly loss in decades in the first three months of the year and the Irving, Texas-based company cut its spending by 30%.

Exxon last year launched a plan to divest up to $25 billion of oil and gas fields in Europe, Asia and Africa as it sharpened its focus on a handful of mega projects at home and abroad.

The effort so far has fallen short of returning asset sale proceeds to a prior average of $5 billion a year. Exxon has sold assets in Norway for $4.5 billion and has launched processes in Australia, Malaysia and Nigeria.

The launch of a number of processes, including the sale of its British North Sea oil and gas portfolio have been put on hold following the collapse in oil prices, according to sources.

For Exxon, the sale of its operations in Azerbaijan would mark the end of a 25-year involvement.

Exxon and Chevron were among five U.S. oil companies that helped create Azerbaijan's current oil industry soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union and acquiring a stake in ACG in 1994.

The deal was dubbed by Azerbaijan and partners as the "the contract of the century" thanks to the field's large reserves and hopes for future major discoveries that would help Europe diversify away from Russian oil and gas.
The University of Queensland says its new battery array has saved it tens of thousands of dollars in power costs over the past three months, in what it hopes is an example to large private sector companies to overhaul their energy use.

The university installed the largest "behind the meter" battery array in Queensland just before Christmas at its St Lucia campus in Brisbane.

The battery array glows green when it is discharging and blue when it is charging. Credit:University of Queensland

UQ energy and sustainability manager Andrew Wilson said the university had saved $74,000 in the first three months of the array's operation.

"We pay around $20 million in energy costs every year, so its a pretty significant expenditure for the organisation," Mr Wilson said.
Arbaje agrees. This pandemic is not over, but now that it's so prolonged, we have to make trade-offs, she says. Although there is asymptomatic and presymptomatic spread, I think if you have been feeling well and taking good precautions, and have access to protective gear, then you can try to resume some kind of [real life] connection. Here's how.



Consider the likelihood that you're infected. No one's risk of carrying the coronavirus is zero, but if you've been healthy and at home for at least two weeks  you haven't even set foot in a grocery store  then the chance of you carrying the virus should be relatively low, Kistler says.

Prep the kids ... or leave them behind. Don't risk bringing young children to Grandma's house unless you're confident they understand that they won't be able to go inside or to hug her, Arbaje says. You have to be really careful about how you talk about it. You don't want kids to feel like they're bad or dirty. They should know that what you're doing is out of love, not fear, and that it's temporary.

Don protective gear. At a minimum, that means keeping a face mask on during your encounter. Your loved one should wear a mask, too. Arbaje also advises using some sort of eye protection, whether it's safety goggles or a regular pair of sunglasses. Although people can catch COVID-19 by inhaling infected droplets, it's also possible to transmit it by touching the virus and then touching your eyes. Masks and eyewear serve as physical reminders to keep your hands away from your face. Gloves may also be worthwhile in certain instances, such as if you're going to be handling your loved one's groceries.

Stay outside if possible. Some preliminary research suggests that virus transmission is less likely outdoors. It's definitely less likely if you make a point of staying at least 6 feet or more away. If I'm getting as close as 6 feet, I'd keep a mask on, Kistler says. If you're sitting 20 to 30 feet across the yard or porch, then you probably don't need to. If you have no choice but to go inside the house  perhaps you need to change a light bulb that your loved one can't reach or find an important bill she needs to pay  take your shoes off, keep your mask on, and wash your hands right away. And keep the older adult away from you, if possible, in another room, Kistler says.

Make it quick. The longer you're together, the greater the chance is of passing along the virus, if you are in fact carrying it, Arbaje says. If you're talking through a closed window, it probably doesn't matter; otherwise, the longer you're exposed to the person, the higher the risk is, she says. About 15 minutes seems to be the cut-off point for what's considered prolonged exposure. If you're going to linger longer, be sure to stay at least 6 feet apart.

If you opt to hold off on in-person visits for now  which, as far as COVID-19 transmission is concerned, is the safest option  be sure to find ways to stay connected to each other so that you're physically distant but not absent from each other's lives. You should also encourage your loved one to tap into a wider network of friends and relatives remotely.

"My mother is 70, and she and her girlfriends have been having Zoom chats, Kistler says. I think maintaining a good social life, even while physically distancing, is vital to human health.
Accusations of Russian war crimes in Syria 'part of media war'

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 3:05 PM

Russia says allegations that the Russian military has committed war crimes in Syria are part of a "media war" on Moscow and are based on information from unidentified, unreliable sources.

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations (UN), made the remark in an interview with Russia's Kommersant business daily on Monday.

"There are many things we are accused of. Not only as concerns Syria. Regretfully, this is part of a war. A media war," Nebenzya said, referring to accusations against Russian armed forces and alleged rights violations asserted by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

Nebenzya said that the Russian foreign and defense ministries had repeatedly refuted the allegations.

"The evidential base of these accusations is unidentified sources. In fact, these sources are familiar  experts in fakes from the White Helmets organization and others like them," the Russian envoy said.

The so-called White Helmets, purporting to be civil defense activists in Syria, are known for their coordination with terrorist outfits in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks to falsely incriminate Syrian government forces and invent pretexts for the United States to attack Syrian government positions.

Back in April 2018, the United States, Britain, and France carried out a string of airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city of Douma, located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital, Damascus.

Washington and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation rejected by the Syrian government, which said the White Helmets had staged the false-flag operation to frame the Syrian government.

Syria surrendered its stockpile of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint mission led by the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry.

The US-backed White Helmets, operating solely in areas controlled by anti-government groups in Syria, are reported to have links to the al-Nusra Front terrorists.

In November last year, a survey by a Russian institution revealed that the White Helmets had been involved in the forcible removal of organs from civilians living in areas controlled by militants.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The government has been able to subdue the militants in almost the entire country.

In 2015, Russia, an ally of Damascus, launched an aerial campaign in support of the Syrian army that helped tilt the fighting in favor of the elected Syrian government.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






While the world has become accustomed to the breathtaking images beamed back from the Hubble Space Telescope, the first image it sent, exactly 30 years ago, is less inspiring, but was extremely important.

On 20 May, 1990, Hubble sent back a blurry, black and white image of the binary star HD96755 from its wide field camera. NASA released the image alongside one of the same star, taken from the Las Campanas Observatory in Chiles Atacama Desert, to compare an image from space with one from the earth.

The difference in resolution was plain to see, but it still appeared unfocussed. The press and the public were underwhelmed. They had been promised a full colour panorama of galaxies showing the workings of the universe. The telescope had cost $2.5bn and was only providing marginally better pictures.

Engineers explained that this was part of the calibration process, known as a first light test, to ensure that the optical systems worked. As they calibrated the telescope the quality of the images would improve.

Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope Show all 16 1 /16 Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the Hubble Space Telescope view of Jupiter, revealing the giant planet's trademark Great Red Spot, and a more intense color palette in the clouds swirling in Jupiter's turbulent atmosphere than seen in previous years. The colors, and their changes, provide important clues to ongoing processes in Jupiter's atmosphere. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th. PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope Undated handout photo issued by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the 28th anniversary image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Lagoon Nebula, a vast stellar nursery located 4,000 light-years away, visible in binoculars as merely a smudge of light with a bright core. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday April 24, 2020. The giant star, called Herschel 36, is bursting out of its natal cocoon of material, unleashing blistering radiation and torrential stellar winds, which are streams of subatomic particles, that push dust away in curtain-like sheets. This action resembles the Sun bursting through the clouds at the end of an afternoon thunderstorm. See PA story SPACE Hubble. PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the tentacled Southern Crab Nebula, officially known as Hen 2-104, located several thousand light-years from Earth in the southern hemisphere constellation of Centaurus, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope on its 29th Anniversary. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday April 24, 2020. See PA story SPACE Hubble PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the 30th anniversary image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbour NGC 2020 which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, approximately 163 000 light-years away. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of the Antennae Galaxies also known as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 which are locked in a deadly embrace. Once normal, sedate spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, the pair have spent the past few hundred million years sparring with one another. This clash is so violent that stars have been ripped from their host galaxies to form a streaming arc between the two. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of a young, glittering collection of stars resembling an aerial burst. The cluster is surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust - the raw material for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th. PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of blue speckles seen scattered across galaxy NGC 2906 which are clusters of massive, young stars, which emit hot, blue-tinged radiation as they burn through their fuel at an immense rate. The swaths of orange are a mix of older stars that have swollen and cooled, and low-mass stars that were never especially hot to begin with. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the Cartwheel Galaxy captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, which lies about 500 million light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, the cartwheel shape of this galaxy is the result of a violent galactic collision. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of NGC 5307, a planetary nebula which lies about 10000 light years from Earth captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. It can be seen in the constellation Centaurus (The Centaur), which can be seen primarily in the southern hemisphere.A planetary nebula is the final stage of a Sun-like star. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope European Space Agency on April 24, 2020 shows one of the most photogenic examples of the many turbulent stellar nurseries the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed during its 30-year lifetime. - The portrait features the giant nebula NGC 2014 and its neighbour NGC 2020 which together form part of a vast star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, approximately 163 000 light-years away. Hubble/AFP via Getty Images Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the Hubble Space Telescope being deployed from the cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery, with one of its two solar array panels deployed while still in the grasp of Discovery's remote manipulator system. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of a vast orb of gas in space, cast off by an aging star named NGC 2022, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th. PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope of the bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust illuminated by the glittering star. The super star is ten times more massive than the Sun and 200 times larger and rhythmically brightens and dims over a six-week cycle. It is one of the most luminous in the class of so-called Cepheid variable stars. Its average intrinsic brightness is 15,000 times greater than the Sun's luminosity. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of one of Hubble Space Telescope most iconic and popular images: the Eagle Nebula's Pillars of Creation, captured in infrared. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the spiral galaxy NGC 2008 sitting centre stage, its ghostly spiral arms spreading out toward us, in this image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble will celebrate its 30th anniversary on April 25th PA Celebrating 30 years of the Hubble Telescope Nasa of a Hubble Space Telscope image of Mars. Mud flows exposed to the low atmospheric pressures and temperatures on Mars behave in a similar way to lava flows in Hawaii, study suggests. PA Photo. Issue date: Monday May 18, 2020. The mysterious lava-like structures on the surface of Mars may have been caused by mud and not lava, according to a new study. While these structures appear to look like pahoehoes a lava flows seen in Hawaii and Iceland a scientists believe they are actually a result of sedimentary volcanism, a geological phenomenon that causes mud to erupt from underground PA

Behind the 2.4m (7.9 feet) wide primary mirror of the telescopes optical system were 24 pressure pads to make adjustments and correct for any launch damage. However, no matter what the engineers did, nothing appeared to work, and the promised resolution proved elusive.

Slowly, after a month of trying, NASA admitted defeat and confirmed that the mirror had a manufacturing flaw and could not be adjusted remotely to compensate for the error.

It was not until December 1993, three and a half years later, that the crew of the space shuttle Columbia were able to transport new optical parts to correct the flaw, giving the telescope super sharp resolution and the ability to beam back awe-inspiring photos.

As replacing the mirror in orbit was close to impossible, a new optical component, the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) system, was added that effectively acted as corrective spectacles.

Even accounting for the aberration in Hubbles mirror, the space telescopes image (right) offers more clarity than what was generally possible with ground-based observations (left) (Left: E. Persson (Las Campanas Observatory, Chile)/Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Right: NASA, ESA and STScI)

Four other servicing missions and upgrades were carried out from 1997 onwards, and COSTAR was removed and returned to earth in 2009 once all the original instruments had been replaced with their own corrections built-in.

The telescope may now keep functioning until 2030 or 2040, but nevertheless, its successor, the James Webb Telescope, is scheduled for launch in March 2021.
On Monday night, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray addressed the state on social media  a much-anticipated speech on the possible easing of lockdown restrictions in the state.

That wasnt to be.

Instead, he said, his government will continue to with red zone restrictions in the state and will not ease the lockdown until at least May 31. The reason? The rising number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, and feedback that told him things would have been even worse, possibly alarming without the lockdown.

Soon after his speech, the state health department released the daily Covid-19 numbers for Maharashtra. In the previous 24 hours, the state had added 2033 new cases, taking the total positives to 35,058. In the same time, authorities recorded 51 deaths. Maharashtra now has 1,249 deaths. This meant that Maharashtra has more than three times the number of cases recorded by Tamil Nadu (11,760), Gujarat (11,746) and Delhi (10,554)  the three states immediately below it in the Covid-19 affected list. Simultaneously, Maharashtra accounts for 39.41% of all Covid-19 fatalities in India (Mumbais share in this grim statistic is 23.89%).

There are more sobering numbers from Maharashtra: It recorded 20,607 coronavirus cases in the last 14 days (May 5-18), averaging 1471 new cases per day. Mumbai recorded 12,025 cases in the same time, averaging 859 per day. Earlier this week, both Maharashtra and Mumbai reported record one-day spikes (2347 and 1595 cases respectively on May 17).

To be sure, a similar trend was observed throughout India during this period; 54% of the countrys 102,287 cases (6 pm, May 19) have been recorded in the last two weeks.

State health minister Rajesh Tope indicated earlier this week that the worst is yet to come. We expect the cases to peak by the end of June, he said. But some experts differ, saying that it may come down after 14 days (May 31) when the fifth incubation period of the virus will be over. Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) said on Tuesday, We will have to wait for another 14-day incubation cycle to complete (by May 31). After this, the rise is likely to come under control, and we may witness a gradual decline. If it does not reduce then, we may be in the community transmission stage.

He added that state has not reached community transmission stage as there is no exponential growth in the number of fresh cases. For comparison, Maharashtra recorded 24,588 cases in the first 18 days of May, whereas it recorded 10,201 cases in April. It took the state 30 days to reach 1000 cases, but only 23 more for 10,000.

The numbers, while on a rising trajectory, have not resulted in a high death rate. On April 12, Maharashtra and Mumbai recorded the highest mortality rate of the pandemic  7.52% and 7.09% respectively. On May 18, this dropped to 3.56% and 3.55%. Indias overall mortality rate is 3.1%.

Maharashtras testing rate has also risen dramatically in a month. On April 14, the state was testing at an average of 290 per million population. However, on May 19, according to Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department data, the testing rate had risen to 2409 per million. Tamil Nadu is testing at 4463 per million, according to the states health department.

Dr Satyajit Rath, retired scientist from the Delhi-based National Institute of Immunology and adjunct faculty at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, said, It is always good to test more. But the fact remains that the crucial time to be testing extensively was in the early stages of the epidemic when outbreak control was much more feasible. Now, we have established local transmission. While it remains very important to test a lot, increasing overall testing numbers by itself may not have a big effect on slowing down transmission rates in local events.

Another scientist, Abhay Chowdhary, agrees. Dr Chowdhary is the head of the department of microbiology at Navi Mumbai-based DY Patil University and former director of Haffkine Institute for Training, Research and Testing. Even though the state is running more tests, individuals are violating physical distancing rules, for instance, in containment zones. As a result, those infected get mixed with the healthy population, said Chowdhary on Tuesday. This is more worrisome in the case of those who are suffering from existing ailments. Even if 1-2% individuals have co-morbid conditions, it will put an immense strain on the states health care infrastructure.

The state government said last week that it has resolved to make the entire state a green zone by the end of the month(currently there are 18 red zone districts). This seems unlikely as, according to the health minister Rajesh Tope, all the predictions about Mumbai and Maharashtra have not come true. The numbers are rising and we feel that the peak is yet to come.According to our mathematical models, the number of cases in Mumbai will likely be four times the current figure by the end of June. We are trying to prevent it, but have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Dr Rath says one of the hurdles to get more testing is the paucity of labs.But that the biggest failure may have been the underfunding of our health care system. We have underfunded our public health system and starved it of resources for a long time; a problem that we cannot now fix overnight. I can only hope that we do not forget this mistake once the pandemic passes.

(With inputs from Faisal Malik)
Celebrity chef Pete Evans has trolled Ben Fordham by sharing the radio star's Facebook poll about COVID-19 vaccinations and telling his followers to vote 'no'.

Ben labelled Pete a 'dangerous moron' last month after the former My Kitchen Rules judge was fined fined $25,200 for promoting a lamp he claimed could help treat coronavirus.

And on Wednesday, Pete jumped at the chance to take a dig at Ben online.

Earlier in the week, 2GB presenter Ben encouraged his Facebook followers to take part in a quiz on whether they believe a coronavirus vaccine should be compulsory.

Celebrity chef Pete Evans (left) has trolled Ben Fordham (right) for supporting compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations - after the 2GB star called him a 'dangerous moron'

Ben, who has previously made his pro-vaccination stance clear, surprisingly received an overwhelmingly negative response from voters.

Using the poll's outcome as a way to troll Ben, Pete uploaded a screen-grab of the results to his Instagram page, showing that 72% voted 'yes' and only 22% voted 'no'.

'Thanks Ben for asking the question that many are not willing to ask. Loving the results,' Pete declared in the caption, adding: 'I voted NO. To vote click on the link below.'

'Thanks Ben for asking the question that many are not willing to ask': Pete trolled Ben, who has previously made his pro-vaccination stance clear, after the 2GB host's online quiz received an overwhelmingly negative response to mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations

It comes after Pete urged his fans to question mandatory vaccinations in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, he urged his Instagram followers to sign a petition demanding the government backtrack on legislation which orders visitors, staff and contractors receive the flu jab before visiting nursing homes.

Some of Australia's largest COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred in aged care facilities, including Newmarch House in western Sydney, where 89 residents were infected and 18 died.

Petition: On Monday, Pete urged his Instagram followers to sign a petition demanding the government backtrack on legislation which orders visitors, staff and contractors receive the flu jab before visiting nursing homes from May 1

Denial: Despite the strongly worded post, Pete insisted he was not an 'anti-vaxxer', and has previously argued he is simply 'pro-choice'

Despite the strongly worded post, Pete insisted he was not an 'anti-vaxxer', and has previously argued he is simply 'pro-choice'.

Vaccinations are vital to reducing the spread of preventable diseases, and any suggestion otherwise flies in the face of science and the advice of medical experts around the globe.

Blasted: Last month, Ben sensationally branded Pete a 'fruitcake' who 'needs to get his head checked'

But the petition Evans is promoting claims the flu vaccine has not been vetted 'for the potential to cause cancer, genetic mutations, and fertility impairment'.

It also alleges the elderly, and anybody who wishes to see or work with them, are being 'coerced to take part in a medical experiment'.

Pete was recently released from his contract at Channel 7 following a spate of controversial and often dangerous statements - mostly relating to coronavirus conspiracy theories.

Fined: It comes after Pete was fined $25,200 for promoting a lamp that he bizarrely claimed could help treat coronavirus

Last month, Ben sensationally branded Pete a 'fruitcake' who 'needs to get his head checked'.

'He is all shades of bizarre, Pete Evans. He's a fruitcake. Some might say he's a dangerous moron,' Ben raged.

It came after Pete was fined $25,200 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for promoting a lamp that he bizarrely claimed could help treat coronavirus.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration issued two infringement notices to Pete's company for alleged breaches of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.

The celebrity chef allegedly live streamed a video on Facebook on April 9 claiming a 'Biocharger' device could be used in relation to 'Wuhan Coronavirus'.

The TGA said the claims have no apparent foundation and were treating the allegations very seriously.

Any claim the references COVID-19 is banned under the legislation and the TGA has recently issued a warning to advertisers about the legality of it.

Pete called the claims 'unfounded' in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.

'The claims made by the TGA are totally unfounded and we will be strongly defending these claims. It is now in the hands of my lawyers,' he said.
BEIRUT - The Lebanese judicial system is widening its probe into the Central Bank of Lebanon's involvement in the "manipulation" of exchange rates between the local lira and the US dollar, in the context of an increasingly worrisome economic and financial crisis in the country.



Media in Beirut reported the arrest Wednesday of Mazen Hamdan, director of monetary operations for the Lebanese Central Bank, which has been headed since 1993 by the immovable Riad Salame.



The vice president of the currency exchange union was also arrested Wednesday as part of the same investigation, while the union's president was arrested in recent days.



Currency exchange agents in the Beirut area have been arrested as well in recent days, some of whom have been released on bail.



Hamdan is accused of having bought significant quantities of US dollars under the table from currency exchangers, in a context in which the local lira in recent weeks has lost more than half of its value.



Thus far, top officials at the Central Bank have denied that the institution is involved in any wrongdoing. Lebanon has for months been facing the worst economic crisis of the last 30 years, and in March the government announced a state of default.



In recent days, the same government opened formal contacts with the International Monetary Fund after having approved an economic reform plan.
Of the donation, $15,000 will be distributed to food banks throughout Maryland, including the Maryland Food Bank, Manna Food Center in Montgomery County, and pantries in Prince George's County. The remaining $30,000 will be split equally between the Capital Area Food Bank and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, two of the area's largest food banks operating within the Feeding America network.

Their goal is to raise $30,000 over the next several weeks, $15,000 for Capital Area Food Bank and $15,000 for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, doubling USSFCU's donation to Feeding America.

U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union President and CEO Tim Anderson hopes to help get the word out about the virtual food drive and the importance of giving to help feed our neighbors in need.

"COVID-19 is a crisis unlike any other. Now, more than ever, our neighbors need our help. With job disruptions, school closures, and health risks, millions are turning to food banks for support. We are calling upon the community to help us Double the Donation!"

- Timothy L. Anderson U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union President and CEO

Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization, has recently announced an estimated $1.4 billion in additional resources will be needed over the next six months to provide enough food for our neighbors struggling with hunger.

USSFCU's Double the Donation virtual fundraiser will run through the month of May. Their hope is meeting a cumulative goal of $30,000 in additional funds in support of Capital and Blue Ridge Area Food Banks. All donations will go towards helping food banks respond to COVID-19. If you are in a position to do so, USSFCU is asking to consider making a monetary contribution to one of these food banks. Below are links to the fundraising sites.

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank | Capital Area Food Bank

About Feeding America

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Learn more at www.feedingamerica.org.

About USSFCU

For 85 years, USSFCU has provided the U.S. Senate and Capitol Hill communities with world-class financial stability, security and service. Now with 100 plus paths to membership, almost anyone has the opportunity to experience the USSFCU difference. Learn more at www.ussfcu.org.

View this press release on our website: ussfcu.org/press.

SOURCE US Senate Federal Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.ussfcu.org/


Guest workers waits at a temporary shelter to register for free travel on a train, during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus on the outskirts of Hyderabad. (AP)

Hyderabad: The Centre has told the Telangana state government that lack of proactive testing will not help the state contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Union health secretary Preeti Sudan, in a letter addressed to chief secretary Somesh Kumar, pointed out that the state had a higher positivity rate  the ratio of positive diagnosis to the number of tests conducted  than the national average.

We need to chase the virus rather than the virus chase us, Sudan said and urged the chief secretary to review the situation and enhance testing. Telangana state accounted for just 1.5 per cent, or 20,754, of the more than 14 lakh RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) tests carried out nationwide, she said.

Sudan noted that the number of samples tested in Telangana was far behind Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, which have reported high numbers of Covid-19 cases. The total number of cases in Telangana as on 17 May was 1,551, with 34 deaths, she pointed out.

A health ministry official said while Andhra Pradesh conducted 9,000 tests per day on average, Telangana states total is just over 200.

Sudan noted, Telanganas tally of tests per million population was far lower than that of other states, as well as the national average, between 30 April and 6 May. While the all-India testing average was 1,025 per million population, the figure for Telangana was only 546.

Sudan pointed out that at all-India level, the percentage of positive samples to total tests (positivity rate) is about 4.12 per cent whereas, in Telangana, it is 5.26 per cent, which shows that if we carry out RT-PCR testing aggressively, we will be able to identify cases and be able to have better containment by breaking the chain.

Finding fault with the state administration for not using private laboratories for RT-PCR testing, though the number of government labs is small, Sudan said, this indicates the capacities of the labs are not utilised optimally.

Asked about the letter, TS health minister Etela Rajender told Deccan Chronicle it was addressed to the chief secretary who would give an appropriate reply explaining the states approach.

He said it was the TS government which had first said that the rapid tests were not accurate, and the first to alert the Centre about the spread of the virus from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation returnees. We aimed at conducting targeted tests and not for conducting tests blindly to create panic among the people, he said.

Rajender said that in the US 16 out of 100 tests return positive while in Telangana state it stood at six. This shows our accurate approach, he said.

Reacting to the letter, state Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that since the beginning the Congress had been pointing out the errors in the governments approach. The Centres letter established that the state government was trying to hush up the factual situation, he said.

Reddy recalled that chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had said that paracetamol could treat Covid-19 and that showed he lacked understanding of the disease. Though the Indian Council for Medical and Research had repeatedly advised more tests, Rao had been dodging the issue by diverting the attention of the people.

BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that since the beginning the party had been expressing doubts on the governments approach. He said the BJP had requested the Centre to send another inter-ministerial team to the state keeping in view the attitude of the KCR government.

BJP spokesperson Krishna Sagar Rao in a statement demanded the resignation of minister Rajender for endangering the population of the state by deliberately conducting fewer tests.

He alleged that Rajender had not only underperformed during the crisis but also willfully misled the people, the Opposition and the media.

Reacting to the criticism, Rajender said, Opposition parties, particularly the Congress and the BJP, are worried but the governments handling of the situation has attracted appreciation from across many sections. It is chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao who had alerted the state administration since March 2 and kept it on the alert to combat the virus.

He asked if the Opposition wanted more deaths. Dont they want the people to live with courage? What exactly do they want with their unmindful and meaningless criticism, he asked.
SPRINGFIELD  Mayor Domenic J. Sarno is demanding an apology from the director of the Farmers Market at Forest Park for a Facebook post telling customers not to bring children.

The markets longtime manager, Belle-Rita Novak, initially said she sees no need for an apology for the post because it was intended to mirror policies in place at other markets around the country requiring children to wear masks to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The post, made through the markets official Facebook account, read, Dont bring children to the market.

Tuesday evening, the initial post was deleted and an apology was posted to the Facebook page.

It reads:

I am deeply apologetic as Forest Park Farmers Market manager from a Facebook post about children. We love your children at our Farmers Market which is why last season we had so many activities created especially for them. Given the current pandemic, though, my tone was stronger than it should be. I should have written Because of the current pandemic, please consider whether to bring your children with you to the market. Anyone who knows me knows that I can be abrupt, but this post was too abrupt, even for me, and I am sorry to those offended. I hope that all of our markets customersand their childrenwill once again continue to make our market successful this season as they have for the past two decades.

In his statement, Sarno called the original post very hurtful and discriminating, and said he has asked Executive Director of Parks Patrick Sullivan and the Parks Commission to review Novaks overall operation of the market.

This is a public park. I demand an apology and rescinding these comments, which she has no authority to make, Sarno said, adding that he has also asked the citys law and health departments to review the matter.

"In the meantime, Patrons of our Farmers Market  your children are always welcome, Sarno said.

The post drew about 200 comments, most of them critical. What a horrible thing to say, one person wrote. Another wrote, a please would be nice.

The market has a tentative opening date of May 26.
LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Watchdog called upon Governor Gavin Newsom to prevent oil companies from receiving approvals for new oil wells without first requiring full bonding for their clean-up.

In a letter to the governor, the consumer group pointed to the impending bankruptcy of oil drillers as oil prices bottom out as the reason for the Governor to demand that the companies put up before they drill down. It also cited the billions that the state needed to close and clean up wells that oil companies have yet to pay for.

"Given the state's grave deficit, it's imperative that no new wells be approved without full bonding for their clean-up and a requirement to plug a certain number of idle wells in exchange for a new permit," the letter said.

The letter took issue with state oil regulators who just gave oil companies a reprieve on paying fees and submitting plans to manage environmentally-damaging idle wells.

"This reprieve is exactly the wrong policy decision in light of a whopping $9.2 billion that the oil industry owes to California to plug and close wells at the end of their useful lives," Consumer Watchdog wrote in a letter to Newsom. "Companies have put up only a total $110 million in bonding for those wells, according to a recent report by the California Council on Science & Technology."

Read the letter here: https://consumerwatchdog.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/LtrNewsomeIdledWells5-20-20.pdf

"Oil producers keep wells idle in California more often than not in order to avoid the cost of permanently plugging and closing them," the letter stated.

"In California, out of a total of 107,000 active wells, roughly 35,000 wells are idle and another 35,000 are barely producing. Many companies don't want to spend the money to plug either idle or marginally productive wells. The state abets them by allowing idle wells to stay that way for decades."

According to state law, oil companies must put up bonds in exchange for permits to drill or rework wells as financial assurance that the wells will be plugged and cleaned up at the end of their productive lives. But state regulators never made companies put up realistic amounts when the average cost of decommissioning a well in California is $86,000, Consumer Watchdog said.

The state's seven largest drillers, controlling 75% of all wells, have posted bonds amounting to only an average of $230 per well.

"This is scandalous," the letter said. "Since you took office in January 2019, CalGEM has issued a total of 6,168 new permits, excluding for well plugging and closure. Based on average decommissioning costs of $86,000 per well, these companies should have put up $530 million."

Oil industry analysts predict that at least 100 oil companies nationally could go bankrupt over the next year due to an oil glut and drops in the price of oil since 2014.

That includes companies such as California Resources Corp. (CRC), an Occidental Petroleum spinoff. CRC is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy with $5 billion in debt coming due, but controls 20% of the idle wells in the state. Its bankruptcy would leave the state with costs to plug onshore wells of $1.4 billion, according to analysis by the Carbon Tracker Initiative. Closing its offshore wells would cost another $2.3 billion.

"The only prudent move, to spare the state billions in clean-up costs, is to issue an executive order stopping any more permits for wells without oil companies putting up the requisite amounts of money first to plug each one," Consumer Watchdog's letter concluded. "Taxpayers deserve nothing less."

SOURCE Consumer Watchdog

Related Links

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org


Online retail giant Amazon was resuming operations Tuesday at its six warehouses in France. They were temporarily closed in a labor dispute over working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amazon "is working on a progressive reopening from May 19" in France, it told the French news agency (AFP) in a statement, after unions also said the agreement had been reached on the conditions for restarting operations. The unions said about 50 percent of the workers would be allowed back on a voluntary basis. Amazon is expected to be back to full staffing by June 2.

The online retailer had been locked in a battle with labor unions which had argued that not enough was done to mitigate the coronavirus risk for staff. Employees had needed to process a flood of orders amid the almost two-month nationwide lockdown that ended on Monday.


AMSTERDAM, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Social intranet platform Happeo announces to have raised $12M in a Series A funding round led by INKEF Capital. Happeo's previous investors DN Capital, Maki.vc and Vendep Capital also joined the round. This new investment will enable Happeo to accelerate its product development and grow its teams in the Netherlands, Finland, Romania and the United States.

Happeo is the community-powered employee communications platform that acts as a company's news stream and enterprise social network, combined into a branded intranet environment. We enable your business communications to flow seamlessly, making work a happier place for all. Social intranet platform Happeo announces to have raised $12M in a Series A funding round led by INKEF Capital. Happeo's previous investors DN Capital, Maki.vc and Vendep Capital also joined the round. This new investment will enable Happeo to accelerate its product development and grow its teams in the Netherlands, Finland, Romania and the United States.

Happeo's platform solves a common problem with intranets: low usage rates. As one of the only vendors in its industry, Happeo has been able to develop a platform with outstanding usage metrics, noticeable through its high Daily Active Use/Monthly Active Use ratio  the industry-standard metric for social-enabled platforms. For the past twelve months, Happeo's average sits at 50%, which is on par with the world's most popular web apps. Additionally, the social intranet platform has seen an increase in average daily messages sent within the platform, going from 500,000 to over 2.5 million in the first quarter of this year, as companies increasingly rely on a remote workforce.

Happeo's advantage, according to CEO and Founder Perttu Ojansuu, is that "Beyond providing a platform that bridges remote communication and collaboration together, we are end-user obsessed. This created our user-first design philosophy, which is our main competitive advantage."

Kyang Yung, Director at INKEF Capital says; "From the first moment that we met the Happeo team, we have been blown away by their drive to disrupt the intranet industry. Happeo has been able to deliver usage metrics which are truly unrivaled in the space. We look forward to working with this team of seasoned operators and supporting them in leading the way to a new kind of social intranet."

The funding round will enable Happeo to further expand its unconventional approach to internal communications, which manifests itself in deep integrations with leading workplace-communication tools such as Slack and G Suite. The company will also integrate with Zoom in the coming months, creating a holistic spectrum of digital communication tools where employees discuss, meet, share files and work with business apps.

About Happeo ( www.happeo.com )

Happeo is the community-powered employee communications platform that acts as a company's news stream and enterprise social network, combined into a branded intranet environment. We enable your business communications to flow seamlessly, making work a happier place for all.

Business success in today's world depends on talent and a company's ability to build and maintain a high-performing digital culture  a place where employees lead the conversation, share information freely and fuel business growth. Large enterprises and fast-growing organizations like the Tide Cleaners, State Auto and Randstad Sourceright use Happeo to engage, align, and retain more than 300,000 employees worldwide.

In 2019, Gartner named Happeo a Cool Vendor. That same year, The Next Web recognized Happeo as one of Europe's fastest-growing scale-ups. Happeo's own talent is spread across locations, generations, and time zones, helping Happeo's continued growth of 280% year on year. To learn more visit https://www.happeo.com .

About INKEF Capital ( www.inkefcapital.com )

INKEF Capital is a venture capital firm based in Amsterdam, backing promising early stage companies in Europe. INKEF takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several rounds of funding. From the early stages of a technology or life science venture, INKEF Capital supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses.

Media contact: Bianca Zwart, [email protected], +316422813156, Media kit

SOURCE Happeo

Related Links

https://www.happeo.com/


A Chicago man who shot his ex-fiancee and killed her mother was arrested in Indianapolis a month after the shootings when he called and threatened to kill the rest of her family, prosecutors said today.



Frank E. Smith, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the slaying early Feb. 28 of Theresa Spearman, 46, and the shooting of Spearman's daughter, 25. He is being held without bail.



Spearman's daughter had given back her engagement ring to Smith the day before, according to Assistant State's attorney Jamie Santini. Smith became "verbally abusive,'' and he argued with her for much of the day and began throwing objects around the house, Santini said.

Late in the evening, the dispute became more heated as a male friend of the victim came to the residence, came to the home in the 5400 block of South Laflin Street

Advertisement

Several family members of the victims assembled there to mediate, but Smith only became more angry, eventually getting into a fight with the daughter and hitting her in the face, cutting her lip, as well as injuring another relative of the family.

Smith hit Spearman in the head with a gun and Spearman hit him in the head with a bottle, Santini said.



Smith began shooting, and Spearman and her daughter took refuge in a bedroom, Santini said. Smith broke down the door and shot his ex-fiancee three times, grazing her in the head and foot and hitting her in the back, Santini said. He then turned the gun on Spearman and shot her in the chest.



Smith then fled the home.



Spearman was pronounced dead at 12:36 a.m. on Feb, 28 at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. Her daughter initially was listed in critical condition at Stroger.



Several witnesses identified Smith as the shooter but detectives were unable to locate him. But on Sunday, Smith called his ex-fiancee and threatened to kill the rest of her family "so she could feel the pain he was feeling,'' Santini said.

Advertisement

Police were able to track Smith to Indianapolis, where local police arrested him Monday. He was returned to Chicago and identified by victims and witnesses in a lineup, authorities said.



Smith has previous convictions on charges of unlawful use of a weapon from 2011, 2007, 2005, 2002 and 2000, according to Cook County state's attorney's spokeswoman Tandra Simonton.



Santini said Smith also has two theft convictions, including one from 2010.



Smith's public defender, Bill Bolan, said Smith was working on getting his GED at the time and was unemployed at the time. He has two young sons and lives with his stepmother and other relatives.



In denying bail, Judge Peggy Chiampas cited Smith's four felony gun convictions.



Smith, wearing camouflage pants, white gym shoes and a black hooded jacket, was asked if he understood that he was to have no contact with any of the surviving victims or their family by any means. He turned his head away from the judge and began shaking it as if to say no.



"Look at me, young man," Chiampas sternly said.



She asked him again and he said, "No, judge."



Chiampas told Smith to "take a deep breath" and she asked him a third time and he said, "Yes, judge."



He then turned away from her and began walking toward the lockup and deputies, then turned back. "Mr. Smith, take a deep breath and calm down," the judge told him before he was led away.

He is scheduled to appear in court again on April 7.

Tribune reporter Liam Ford contributed

asege@tribune.com

Twitter: @AdamSege
Researchers working in Antarctica have been trying to understand the behavior of a mysterious new particle.

Some suggest it's evidence that during the Big Bang a second universe was created that mirrors our own, consisting mainly of antimatter, and in which time flows backward.

The shocking revelations came from an expedition to Antarctica during which researchers were hoping to study cosmic radiation arriving from space.

Researchers traveled to Antarctica to record high energy particles coming from space, using a balloon transporting NASA's Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)

The team attached NASA's Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) to a high altitude balloon and set it aloft in search of high energy particles coming from other solar systems, which are typically undetectable at lower elevations because of atmospheric interference.

Initially, the ANITA balloon produced no evidence of high energy particles, according to a report in New Scientist.

But then the researchers, led by University of Hawaii's Peter Gorham, realized their data showed the exact opposite of what they had been looking for: a stream of high energy particles traveling out of the Earth's surface and into space.

The particles were believed to be tau neutrinos, a type of slow moving particle that has the capacity to temporarily transform into a high energy particle called a tau lepton before returning to its low energy state.

While high energy particles are typically deflected or distorted by the Earth's atmosphere and surface, low energy particles could potentially pass all the way through.

Initially, the team didn't have any look capturing high energy particle streams from space, but subsequent analysis of the data from ANITA showed there were high energy particle readings coming from Earth and traveling into space, a surprising discovery

This meant the tau neutrinos could have traveled through space as a high energy particle, transformed to a low energy particle as it passed through the Earth's atmosphere and planet core, then transformed back to a high energy particle as it traveled out the other side and re-entered space.

'Not everyone was comfortable with the hypothesis,' Gorham told New Scientist, in part because it still left the origin of the particle a mystery.

Soon other researchers began analyzing the ANITA data to grapple with the mystery, including Neil Turok of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada.

The University of Hawaii's Peter Gorham was part of the original expedition and originally suggested the particles were a kind of neutrino that was capable of transforming between high energy and low energy states that allowed it to pass through Earth and out the other side

WHAT IS ANTIMATTER? Antimatter is the mirror of ordinary matter. Normal atoms are made up of positively-charged nuclei orbited by negatively-charged electrons. However, their antimatter counterparts are the other way round. They have negative nuclei and positively-charged electrons, known as positrons. When matter and antimatter meet they instantly annihilate each other, releasing a burst of detectable energy. Advertisement

Turok and his team conducted a range of complex calculations and suggested that the tau neutrinos observed in Antarctica could be an entirely new kind of particle, a 'right-handed neutrino' that mirrored the more familiar kind of neutrino, dubbed a 'left-handed neutrino.'

Turok suggested the right-handed and left-handed neutrinos could be related in the same way that matter and antimatter are related, pointing specifically to a concept that posits matter and antimatter are the same type of particle just moving in opposite directions through time.

According to this theory, the still mysterious 'right-handed' neutrinos' observed in Antarctica weren't just new particles, but pilgrims from an entirely new universe.

That new universe would have formed during the Big Bang at the same point as our own, but moving in the opposite direction through time, contracting rather instead of expanding, and comprised primarily of antimatter rather than matter .

Gorham and his team are still working on analyzing their data and hope to return to Antarctica for further data collection. 'We dont know how to represent it yet, but weve got something,' he said

The mysterious neutrino observed in Antarctica then would simply be a mirror inversion of the neutrinos more commonly observed in our universe, which would explain its unusual behavior.

It's a radical idea with a number of significant technical discrepancies still to be resolved.

One major question is that other researchers working in Antarctica haven't captured readings of these mysterious 'right-handed neutrinos' that Gorham and his team documented.

Gorham says he and his team are still analyzing their data and working to prepare a formal paper, which he believes will be a significant step forward.

'We dont know how to represent it yet, but weve got something,' he told New Scientist.
Israel bade farewell on Wednesday to China's ambassador to the country who died earlier this week.

Diplomats held a short ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport in honor of Du Wei before his body was flown back to China.

The 58-year-old ambassador, who was appointed envoy to Israel in February in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, was found dead in his home north of the city of Tel Aviv on Sunday. He is believed to have died of natural causes.

Who could have imagined that we would have to bid our farewell to ambassador Du in such tragic circumstances, said Yuval Rotem, director general of Israel's foreign ministry, as a wooden casket draped in a Chinese flag lay nearby. China and the world has lost a true diplomat.

The ambassador previously served as China's envoy to Ukraine. He was found dead at the ambassador's official residence in Herzliya. He is survived by a wife and son, both of whom were not in Israel.

Israel enjoys good relations with China. Bilateral trade has grown in recent years, as have American concerns over Chinese investment, and concerns over spying on one of its key regional allies.

His death came just two days after he condemned comments by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who denounced Chinese investments in Israel and accused China of hiding information about the coronavirus outbreak.

His unfortunate passing is a devastating loss to China's foreign service and all of us," said his deputy, Dai Yuming. "During the past few days the embassy was overwhelmed with condolences and sympathies from the Israeli government, diplomatic corps and all walks of life in Israel. We will deeply remember all these kind words.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SEOUL, KOREA, May 20, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Agilex Biolabs, Australia's largest specialist bioanalytical laboratory for biotech clinical trials, is presenting the Australian Advantage including the world's most attractive rebate on clinical trials costs, at BIO Korea 2020.The presentation by Kurt Sales (B.Sc; B.Sc (MED) Hons; M.Sc, Ph.D, PGCM)Director, Immunoassay at Agilex Biolabs, also detailed how well the Australian clinical trials industry had managed during the COVID-19 crisis with most sites, CROs, and labs including Agilex Biolabs, staying open.The presentation is at 13.50 on Friday 22, May 2020 via the virtual conference platform. https://www.biokorea.org/index.aspAgilex Biolabs also launched a News Video Update on the COVID-19 impact on clinical trials in Australia. Watch here. https://youtu.be/vZuHAYZ-GiEAgilex Biolabs specializes in bioanalysis of small molecules and biologics for PK, immunogenicity, biomarkers and immunological pharmacodynamics assessments.Agilex Biolabs, the only FDA-inspected lab of its type in the region, is located in Adelaide, South Australia in a science and biotech specialist hub.Agilex Biolabs CEO Jason Valentine said: "Aglilex Biolabs has just expand its labs by more than 30% to accommodate biotech demand from APAC and the USA."He said more than 38% of Agilex Biolabs' biotech clients already come from the APAC region - primarily from China and South Korea."APAC clients are particularly attracted by Agilex Biolabs' FDA-inspected status, and the more than 40% rebate on clinical trial spend that applies in Australia," he said."Our world-class bioanalytical facilities have OECD GLP Recognition with NATA (Australian Government OECD GLP Compliance monitoring authority) and ISO 17025 Accreditation for global recognition."Agilex Biolabs specialises in bioanalysis of small molecules and biologics for PK, immunogenicity, biomarkers and immunological pharmacodynamics assessments utilising LC-MS/MS, immunoassay (Mesoscale, Gurolab, Luminex) and flow cytometry (BD FACSymphony A3, 20 colour cell analyser).Agilex also offers pharmacodynamics services that include immunobiology services using the latest state-of-the-art technology to support immunology, cell biology and mode of action assays, including:- Immunophenotyping- Receptor occupancy- Cytokine release assays (whole blood or PBMC stimulation assays) and cytokine/biomarker profiling- PBMC assays and cellular mechanism of action assays (eg: ADCC)The FDA-inspected facilities have more than 65 dedicated laboratory staff, and annually support more than 80 clinical trials. This year they will analyse more than 60,000 samples for pharma/biotechs from US, Europe and APAC.Please Book a Briefing with us before you start your next clinical trial. https://calendly.com/agilexbiolabs/15minAustralia: +61 8 8302 8777 | China: +86 21 8036 9483 | South Korea: +82 80 812 1255 | USA: +1 800 247 1909About Agilex Biolabs https://www.agilexbiolabs.com/Agilex Biolabs, Australia's leading bioanalytical laboratory, has more than 20 years' experience in performing regulated bioanalysis, including quality method development, method validation and sample analysis services. We have successfully supported hundreds of preclinical and clinical trials around the world where customers choose Australia for the streamlined regulatory process and access to the world's most attractive R&D rebate of more than 40% on clinical trial work conducted in Australia.We offer services for both small molecules and biologics for PK, immunogenicity (PD) and biomarker bioanalysis utilising the two platforms of LC-MS/MS and Immunoassay.Agilex Biolabs operates a fully quality-assured laboratory ensuring that, within the principles of GLP, assays are validated to the latest FDA/EMA guidance and study samples are assayed and reported to the sponsor's desired format using WATSON LIMS. Laboratory certifications include OECD GLP and ISO/IEC17025.Our highly experienced team consists of over 65 dedicated laboratory staff with over 15 years average industry experience across senior scientists. Expertise includes development of robust compliant PK and PD assays de novo or by method transfer.Our laboratory is fitted with 7 SCIEX tandem mass spectrometers, 6 API 4000 and 1 QTRAP 5500 as our standard platform for LC-MS/MS analysis. For immunoassay, we employ the state-of-the-art systems of Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) and Gyrolab xPlore.Agilex Biolabs owns a suite of validated biosimilar assays that have already supported biosimilar studies executed in the region. These assays include Avastin/Bevacizumab, Lucentis/Ranibizumab, Actemra/Tocilizumab, Xolair/Omalizumab, Herceptin/Trastuzumab and Solaris/Eculizumab. We would like to discuss how we can support companies with biosimilar pipelines looking to conduct trials in the region. Our validated biosimilar assays require less setup saving time and money.Agilex Biolabs also have a suite of biomarker assays that have been developed to support studies in the areas of endocrinology (estrone, estradiol, progesterone, testosterone and others).Recently, Agilex Biolabs has added a comprehensive cannabinoid assay to its suite of validated assays to support clinical trials. The fully validated assay includes the five cannabinoids THC, CBD, CBN and the two THC-metabolites OHTHC and COOHTHC.Our LC-MS/MS experience includes NCEs, sugars, nucleotides, enantiomers, steroids, prodrugs, peptides, immunosuppressants, nanoparticles, neurotransmitters, oligonucleotides and polymeric mixtures.Our biologics experience entails PK analysis using colorimetric, fluorescence or chemiluminescence detection for recombinant or fusion proteins, monoclonal antibodies, ADCs, immunogenicity testing, biomarker analysis and PBMC blood stimulation assays.See us featured in Endpoints https://tinyurl.com/uqmkzcuMedia Contact:Kate NewtonMedia@AgilexBiolabs.comSource: Agilex BiolabsCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Moody's Analytics, a global provider of financial intelligence, announced today that its software has been selected by Danish pension fund, Lgernes Pension. Lgernes Pension will be using the Moody's Analytics Scenario Generator for Solvency II liability valuation, stress testing, and scenario analysis.

The Moody's Analytics Scenario Generator is an award-winning simulation framework clients deploy for actuarial reporting, risk and capital calculation and analysis, and investment and ALM analysis.

Lgernes Pension will also take advantage of the Moody's Analytics Scenario Generator Automation Module, allowing the organization to streamline its modeling processes. By automating model set-up, execution, and validation, both scenario production timelines and costs can be reduced.

"Amidst economic uncertainty, insurers globally are looking for ways to manage their risk effectively, and to understand the sensitivity of their liabilities to different risk factors," said Colin Holmes, Managing Director at Moody's Analytics. "We are delighted that Lgernes Pension has selected our Scenario Generator and automation software to inform their risk-based decision-making and strengthen their risk management processes."

"The Moody's Analytics Scenario Generator, in conjunction with the automation functionality, combines the software and support required to undertake a range of asset-liability modeling activities including Solvency II liability valuation," said Ulrik Eltang Hgh, Chief Risk Officer at Lgernes Pension. "More broadly, the Moody's Analytics solution will form an integral part of our overall risk management framework."

Earlier this year, Moody's Analytics won five categories at the 2020 InsuranceERM Awards, including Best Economic Scenario Generator Software of the Year.

Learn more about the Moody's Analytics Scenario Generator.

About Moody's Analytics

Moody's Analytics provides financial intelligence and analytical tools to help business leaders make better, faster decisions. Our deep risk expertise, expansive information resources, and innovative application of technology help our clients confidently navigate an evolving marketplace. We are known for our industry-leading and award-winning solutions, made up of research, data, software, and professional services, assembled to deliver a seamless customer experience. We create confidence in thousands of organizations worldwide, with our commitment to excellence, open mindset approach, and focus on meeting customer needs. For more information about Moody's Analytics, visit our website or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Moody's Analytics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Moody's Corporation (NYSE: MCO). Moody's Corporation reported revenue of $4.8 billion in 2019, employs approximately 11,300 people worldwide and maintains a presence in 40 countries.

About Lgernes Pension

Lgernes Pension is a Danish pension fund that manages labor market pensions for 46,000 Danish Medical Doctors. On their behalf Lgernes Pension invest approximately DKK 100 billion.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005327/en/

Contacts:

TRACEY SCOTT

Moody's Analytics Communications

+44.207.772.5207

Moody's Analytics Media Relations

moodysanalytics.com

twitter.com/moodysanalytics

linkedin.com/company/moodysanalytics
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 16:01:06

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 1006 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

Dallas Hammer's persistence and passion for defending cybersecurity whistleblowers has paved the way for him to be an expert in the field. His success comes from his ability to advocate for people from all walks of life to help them obtain justice through litigation against the corporations and governmental entities by which they have been wronged. He shares his expertise through frequent articles about whistleblower protections and has been featured in numerous publications.TYSONS, VA / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / The attorney's office looks the way one would expect: a filing cabinet next to a large desk in the foreground; bookshelves filled with thick volumes in the background. Dallas Hammer pauses as he shares an anecdote from his work protecting whistleblowers from retaliation. We are, however, speaking remotely. Hammer pauses to point out how the worldwide pandemic has in some ways accelerated the development of his life's work.Hammer became a whistleblower attorney in large part due to his father. While serving in the military, his father blew the whistle on misconduct. The retaliation that followed eventually ended his father's career. Witnessing that injustice firsthand developed Hammer's passion for helping people early in his career.Since then, Hammer's law practice has grown to include an ever-increasing percentage of cybersecurity cases. He says this evolution is reflective of the country as a whole. Cybersecurity started out on the fringe, at a time, decades ago when companies were focused on amassing data rather than securing it. However, as the digital age has matured, the need for cybersecurity has become clear.So it has gone with Hammer's practice. Because of his personal interest in technology, many years ago, he first began representing information security professionals who suffered retaliation for reporting cybersecurity issues. At the time, precious little legal authority spoke to what protections these workers had. Now, however, Hammer's work consistently includes fighting for cybersecurity whistleblowers who find themselves on the frontlines in a nation that is finally confronting the crucial need for pervasive, effective information security. While that need has generally been accepted, the reality of what it requires is not always popular.Recognizing the importance of ensuring that information security professionals are incentivized to report rather than conceal cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Hammer began researching anti-retaliation provisions that could protect information security workers. He also set out to educate cybersecurity professionals about their rights.Hammer has written numerous articles on cybersecurity whistleblowers, like The Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing and Effective Cybersecurity and Data Protection Legislation Should Protect Whistleblowers. He is routinely quoted in articles on the subject, such as the Wall Street Journal's Cybersecurity Whistleblowers Are Growing Corporate Challenge and Corporate Crime Reporter's interview, Dallas Hammer on the Rise of Cybersecurity Whistleblowing.When representing clients, Hammer views his work in terms of the results he achieves for his clients. "It is a concept Edward Bennett Williams called contest living,'" Hammer said. "Williams' work had a big impact on me, and to him winning was the only measure of success. When it comes to representing your clients, there is no participation trophy. The only question that matters is whether your work puts your client in a better place." To that end, Hammer can count many successes. He has obtained multiple seven-figure settlements for Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblowers, full relief for federal whistleblowers (including one who was subjected to retaliation as the result of cybercrime), and a host of positive resolutions for vulnerable and low-income clients. These victories have been on behalf of all types of workers, from executives to entry-level earners, a fact that Hammer takes pride in."Your clients have put their lives in your hands, put so much trust in you," Hammer said. "Seeing the impact of making that one client's life better, resolving a very negative experience for them - that feeling is hard to describe. It doesn't matter what they do; everyone deserves dignity, and coming through for them when it counts, coming out on top after that struggle, that's all that matters." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hammer says that he cannot choose a favorite case. Though he measures success one client and one case at a time, his goal is to have a broader positive impact."I can't pick just one," he recounts. "I have a tremendous amount of respect, and society owes a debt of gratitude, for people who have the courage to speak up, to do what we are always taught to do, which is to tell the truth and stand up for what's right. To paraphrase Robert Kennedy, they are all ripples of hope that collectively confront injustice." Hammer's experience is not limited to cybersecurity issues. With his broad experience in litigating whistleblower retaliation, discrimination, and employment-related disputes, he leads Zuckerman Law's cybersecurity whistleblower practice and Virginia employment practice. However, improving the situation for cybersecurity whistleblowers is certainly a priority.In particular, Hammer would like to see Congress pass a federal statute that protects cybersecurity and data privacy whistleblowers. "Most often I can find protection for my clients under existing law, but no federal statute deals directly with information security whistleblowers," Hammer said. "These workers are reporting and trying to correct very serious issues, some of which should keep you up at night. It is bitter when the gaps in the law mean that wrongdoers can silence a cybersecurity whistleblower with no repercussions." Hammer said that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in the use of technology to facilitate remote workplaces, which has only emphasized the need for effective cybersecurity. But that need pre-existed the virus, and it will remain after employees return to the workplace."Cybersecurity and data privacy are integral facets of our everyday lives now," he said. "That's not new at this point, and it's not going to change. However, if the pandemic puts a spotlight on that and helps Congress see the urgent need for federal regulation, then that's a small silver lining." Though Hammer predicts federal legislation could still be years
Snow begins to cover Danville on Sunday morning. Share your snow photos by uploading here or emailing to cwilborn@registerbee.com.
In recent years Chinese developers have been putting up, and opening to buyers and renters, reproductions of such attractions as an English village, a lakeside Austrian town, and a Paris neighborhood complete with Eiffel Tower. The government has now had enough: it has prohibited plagiarising, imitating, and copycatting foreign landmarks or historical styles, calling for a new era [of architecture to] strengthen cultural confidence, show the citys features, exhibit the contemporary spirit, and display the Chinese characteristics.  BBC
A 53-year-old man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was shot late Tuesday night by four suspects in San Franciscos South of Market neighborhood, police said.

Investigators were working to determine if the shooting was related to an attempted robbery that had occurred minutes earlier, according to San Francisco police.

Around 11:40 p.m., officers responded to a report of a robbery on the 1200 block of Market Street and met with two men who said they had been approached by four unknown males, one of whom pointed a gun at them, police said.

The two victims said they ran from the suspects and saw all four suspects run southbound on 10th Street toward Mission Street. After losing sight of the suspects, the victims heard two or three gunshots, police said.

At about 11:49 p.m., officers responded to a hospital on the 1100 block of Van Ness Avenue and met with the 53-year-old man who said he had been shot by four unknown suspects on the 1300 block of Mission Street, police said. The man drove himself to the medical facility after the shooting and was admitted with life-threatening injuries.

Officers found spent shell casings and other, unspecified evidence of a shooting on the 1300 block of Mission Street. The shooting remains under investigation by the SFPD Robbery Detail.

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.

A previous version of this story misidentified the neighborhood in which the shooting occurred.

Alejandro Serrano is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alejandro.serrano@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @serrano_alej
By Express News Service

KOLKATA: In a never seen before situation, hundreds of constables attacked their superior, an officer of Deputy Commissioner rank, late on Tuesday night alleging that the barrack where they live was not sanitised after a sub-inspector tested positive for COVID-19.

The demonstrators also alleged that adequate masks were not supplied to them despite which they have been doing duty in containment zones.

NS Paul, the DCP, was assaulted and chased by baton wielding constables along AJC Bose Road. He was rescued by other policemen and admitted to a hospital.

The constables of combat force wing of Kolkata police were given a duty roster to be on city roads on Wednesday in the wake of cyclone Amphan.

FOLLOW CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES HERE

The group of 500 odd constables assembled in front of the gate of the PTS and started agitating. Paul, who lives with his family at the PTS quarters, came out to pacify the agitators.

"While exchanging dialogues, a section of the constables assaulted Paul. Sensing trouble, he started running away and the attacker policemen chased him," said a senior officer of Kolkata police force.

The demonstrators alleged that despite serving for round-the-clock during COVID-19 pandemic, no measure was taken for their safety from coronavirus infection.

"After a sub-inspector tested positive for COVID-19, the barrack where he used to live with us was not sanitised. A few days later, three more tested positive and no step was taken to sanitise our barrack. We dont know how many among us have already infected with the coronavirus," said a constable of the combat force, who was among the agitators.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday morning visited the Police Training School (PTS) where the incident took place and interacted with the constables.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 18:26:39|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HEFEI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- A nature reserve in east China's Anhui Province on Wednesday released 32 Yangtze alligators, also known as Chinese alligators, into the wild, with another 248 planned to be released later this year.

Bred in captivity, the reptiles were placed and set free at different release points in the Anhui Chinese alligator national nature reserve.

Satellite trackers were attached to the tails of some of the alligators for future inspection and scientific monitoring.

Ma Chaoping, a breeder with the reserve, said the alligators released are young adult specimens aged about 10 years old. Each of them weighs some 30 kg with a length of around 1.5 meters.

All of them had received wild training before they were released, said Ma.

By the end of 2019, the reserve had set free a total of 228 Yangtze alligators in 15 batches. These alligators have adapted to the wild environment, and successively reproduced. Workers have found 338 incubated eggs, with 215 baby alligators naturally born.

China listed the Yangtze alligator as a first-class protected animal in 1972. There were about 200 wild Yangtze alligators in the country, according to a 2018 survey. Enditem
Processes that were once subject to national jurisdictions  be it political conversations, trade and commerce, or national security considerations  are increasingly migrating to ungoverned digital spaces, creating what I have earlier called a platform planet. It is clear that the coronavirus will accelerate this process and more permanently fuse our technological and social systems while encoding inequities and cleavages therein.

Most pertinent to this is the issue of access to digital technologies. Think of the pressure on governments today to deliver governance and services in the age of social distancing, the clamour from parents whose children cannot access educational opportunities, or demands from historically marginalized groups who may not be able to work remotely. Life, protection, and livelihood will all need to be guaranteed virtually and most capitals around the world will struggle to provide these.

Some positive transformations will be driven by technology companies looking to break new ground and compete for consumers among the millions of social and commercial interactions that will now be permanently online. Videoconferencing platforms, for instance, have emerged as the go-to technology keeping governments and businesses running even as social distancing is being practised. And still more change will be driven by governments adopting digital tools to carry out health surveillance measures or to enforce quarantines. Evolving debates and assumptions on user agency, privacy and data protection may be significantly altered in the year ahead.

Undoubtedly, the most important structural change will be in the form and format of the relationship between technology and society. Over the past two decades, there have been two fundamental notions that have shaped this ever-evolving relationship. The first, roughly corresponding to the first decade of the 21st century, was a near universal belief in the emancipatory potential of emerging technologies and a social willingness to accept new technologically induced disruptions. The second perspective, corresponding to the second decade, was the antithesis of the first  a tech-lash or scepticism about the role of emerging technologies in our social lives and a growing degree of suspicion about the intent and actions of big tech and strong states.

The coronavirus outbreak will demand a synthesis of these, and other, perspectives under extraordinarily compressed timelines. The many decisions that will be made over the coming year will either become entrenched or will reinforce certain pathways in the decade ahead. Technologies that society would have once expected greater regulatory scrutiny around such as the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare  will likely be fasttracked and deployed. Meanwhile, consumer technologies that are scaling rapidly, such as videoconferencing and fintech platforms, will face additional scrutiny from consumers and states as they become more utility-like in their deployment.

As this process of synthesis unfolds over the coming year, the international community will be confronted with a new set of opportunities as well as risks. Perhaps the first and most visible risk emanates from a largely ungoverned digital public sphere. Indeed, this pandemic has also been accompanied by an infodemic, with misinformation and disinformation flooding most social media platforms, which for all practical purposes play the role of both traditional media and discussions rooms of yore that shaped public opinion.

Fake news alone, however, is not the only dimension of this risk. The response to it may be equally dangerous. The COVID-19 outbreak may end up creating stronger censorship regimes in an attempt to curb the spread of disinformation. Equally worrying is the power of technology platforms to mediate these spaces during times of crisis and the dangerous collaboration or confrontation brewing between technology companies and governments. For instance, certain technology platforms took down content by President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil because they deemed it spread disinformation. But should platforms have the ability to censor the content of a head of state? On the other hand, should they partner with governments and dilute freedom of expression through new measures that may outlast this pandemic?

A second related risk is the data-sharing practices that technology companies, health institutions and governments are adopting  with little oversight or accountability  to combat COVID-19. This trend will not only be about the data generated today. Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely create a new battlefield, one that will be defined by the datasets generated by the fusion of our biological and digital worlds. Indeed, one set of technologies that were already being deployed rapidly before the virus outbreak were those related to genomics. The practices around genetic privacy  and the institutions that manage them  in the year ahead may well create new and unexpected risks to our fundamental rights as unique living beings.

A third risk likely to challenge our technological futures are efforts to undermine the integrity of the cyber realm. While most nations remain worried about threats to critical infrastructure (the United Nations has already called for a digital ceasefire) the COVID-19 outbreak will also exacerbate petty cyber-crimes. These are minor cyber incidences; those that may not pose systemic national security threats but will affect the financial and social lives of individuals dramatically. The sudden uptick in COVID-related phishing scams, telemedicine scams and attacks on medical institutions all point in this direction. Trust in technology will be undermined at a time when the digital is the ether for globalization to survive.

The fourth risk is of individuals being permanently left behind as the process of digitalization continues to accelerate. Inequality has been the defining political zeitgeist of our generation  one that digital technologies have often accentuated. In countries without full or robust access to the internet, citizens are suffering from multidimensional socio-economic challenges as the pandemic snatches away their access to essential public goods.

But the challenge goes beyond this. Just as individuals are beginning to learn that not all work requires formal office spaces, businesses may well realize that not all operations require humans. The rapid adoption of AI and robotics energized amid the pandemic could accelerate a process that governments and policy-makers have been concerned about for years  technology-induced unemployment.

The final risk could end up being a product of how states actually respond to these various challenges amid a rapidly digitizing global society. No two societies are the same  they are defined by different political values, social practices and economic priorities. With COVID-19 forcing more of our social lives, business operations and governance online, the race to infuse the global digital world with a particular set of values and technological standards will only accelerate. Digital code wars may well be this centurys ideological confrontation that may partition the world in the end.

Think of the UN, the centrepiece of the liberal international order, partnering with Tencent, the digital champion of a vast surveillance state, to conduct its remote work operations. This has become a cause for concern for many countries. Reports indicate that the UN is already backtracking from its decision under pressure from human rights groups and democratic nations. Indeed, the varied digital societies that are emerging may fuel loud geotechnological competition.

That said, policy-makers may also see in the COVID-19 crisis an opportunity to reform political and administrative practices that were earlier hobbled by legacy institutional constraints. The most obvious, perhaps, is the accelerated adoption of what the UN calls digital public goods. These are the common digital railroads, which act as force multipliers for a range of business and governance operations.

For instance, Indias Digital ID system has helped the country navigate the pandemic by ensuring cash transfers and digital payments for a range of essential goods. The demand for similar architectures has been growing around the world. Singapore had already signed an MoU with the Indian government, even before the virus outbreak, to develop such a system. Similarly, Google has cited Indias digital payments infrastructure to call on the Federal Reserve to enable similar innovations in the US. These trends could see universal strengthening at this time.

This moment offers an opportunity for states to respond to the needs of a growing global informal workforce. The informal labour force and the gig economy workforce need new systems of social protection. The absence of this has placed them at great risk and at the frontline of this pandemic. These political reforms may not be ignored much longer. The idea of a universal basic income  a measure that is supported both by the Pope and The Financial Times  could also find favour and catalyse a new dimension for the future of work.

Perhaps the most significant opportunity will be for states and individuals to realize the potential of a truly global digital society. Responding to COVID-19 has compelled governments and communities to share sporadic information, some best practices and critical technologies rapidly. Consider for, instance, a rapidly growing community of entrepreneurs sharing opensource 3D printing designs for ventilators. Perhaps civil society organizations and policymakers can use the COVID-19 moment to push for new pipelines that will enable the transfer of technologies and innovations and encourage them to rethink rigid intellectual property regimes, which hindered this earlier.

Over a century ago, when individuals were isolating themselves amidst a far deadlier Spanish Flu, many (primarily Americans) turned to the telephone to stay in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Of course, it was a nascent technology at the time and services promptly broke down because of the rapid rise in demand. But rather than crippling the industry and the technology forever, the Spanish Flu only served to underscore how essential it was to modern society. Over a century later, it is clear that the telephone was instrumental in shaping our global village.

We are at a similar junction today. And decades later, historians may well scrutinize the decisions made in the year ahead when studying how the digital shaped individuals, communities, nations and the world they inherited.

This article first appeared in ORF.
Conventional wisdom suggests that when a company generates more carbon emissions, investors should lower its stock price. After all, the company is generating a socially undesirable byproduct.

Future carbon pricing initiatives by governments will also add extra obligations to the balance sheet. Prior analyses of Australian, U.S. and European firms corroborate this line of reasoning. However, Canadian firms' stock prices do not subscribe to this conventional view, suggests research by Paul Griffin, professor at the University of California, Davis, Graduate School of Management and lead author of a recent study.

"We find a positive relation between the market value of Canadian firms and the level of their greenhouse gas emissions. This positive relation has strengthened in recent years, mainly for high emissions-intensity firms in the Canadian energy sector," he said. This is due to a couple of factors, including that Canada adopted greenhouse gas protocols earlier than other countries, and that Canada has national and subnational expenditure policies that offset climate impacts on the economy, he explained.

The study, The Curious Case of Canadian Corporate Emissions Valuation, was published online in late April in The British Accounting Review. Co-authors are David H. Lont, Department of Accountancy and Finance, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; and Carol Pomare of the Ron Joyce Center for Business Studies, Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada.

The paper examines the relevance to investors of the greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions of publicly traded Canadian firms from 2006 through 2018.

Despite the high market value, this does not mean, Griffin said, that Canadian firm managers can automatically raise share prices by increasing emissions.

"First, Canada adopted greenhouse gas protocols earlier, thus reducing current and future compliance costs compared with the earlier years," he said. "Second, Canadian governments and businesses have invested heavily and increasingly in carbon mitigation projects to combat climate and emissions concerns."

Investors view these policy factors as favorable for firm value net of the costs and risks of regulatory compliance, researchers said.

"Consistent with this result, we find that the positive impact of emissions on firm value in Canada is amplified for high emission-intensity firms (mostly in Alberta). For these firms, the payoffs to environmental investment are greater compared with low emission-intensity firms (mostly in the Ontario-Quebec corridor)," Griffin said. "Emissions data from two different sources -- voluntarily disclosed data by the firms and data mandated by the Canadian government -- generate the same findings."

###

Paper available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2020.100922

Related study by authors: https://gsm.ucdavis.edu/research/relevance-investors-greenhouse-gas-emission-disclosures
By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva has said that Baku and the mediators in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will not allow Armenia to protract the negotiation process.

Neither Azerbaijan nor the international community will allow Armenia to protract the negotiation process on the settlement of the conflict with artificial attempts, fraud and lies, Abdullayeva told AZTV channel on May 19.

Armenia must clearly understand that the negotiation process, in which Armenia and Azerbaijan have been involved for many years, involves international mediators, and the main purpose of this negotiation process is to eliminate the consequences of the conflict, the ministry spokesperson said.

The elimination of the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, including Lachyn, the withdrawal of the occupying forces from these territories and the restoration of the rights of our displaced people, that is, their return to their homes, their return to their property. This is the purpose of the negotiations. Armenias participation in negotiations is characterized by this, Leyla Abdullayeva stressed.

Abdullayeva stressed that Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territorial integrity has never been and cannot be the subject of discussion.

This has always been voiced by the head of our state many times and on the highest platforms, she added.

The sooner Armenia realizes this, the more progress we can make in resolving the conflict, she noted.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

---

Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
CHENGDU, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The University of Oxford and China's Sichuan University have jointly launched a center to bolster research cooperation on gastrointestinal cancer.

Representatives from the two sides signed a contract for the Sichuan University-University of Oxford Huaxi Joint Centre for Gastrointestinal Cancer during a recent video conference, according to a statement by the Sichuan University.

The international collaboration started in June 2019. It plans to set up a gastrointestinal cancer center in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and research platforms at the two universities. These units will work together in studying the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal tumors, as well as developing management strategies for treating cancer patients.

Li Yanrong, president of Sichuan University, said the joint center will be an open research platform where scholars from the two universities and their global counterparts can jointly carry out scientific research, launch talent-training programs, hold international academic conferences and publish papers.

It will focus on cancer therapies and tumor marker development in order to provide better treatment options for patients, said Li, emphasizing the Sino-UK science collaboration as being in the global interest.

How to better treat patients, prolong their survival time and improve their life quality are shared concerns of the researchers at the two universities, said Yang Li, director of the Gastroenterology Department at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University.

West China Hospital, also known as Huaxi Hospital, is a prestigious medical center in Chengdu. Its Gastroenterology Department is a national key discipline and national key clinical specialty administered by China's health authorities.
Even as the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 approaches 100,000, the pandemics next major blow promises to be an economic one. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute, estimates that state budgets will see a 10 percent drop in the current fiscal year and more than 25 percent in fiscal year 2021. As city managers look for ways to trim budgets and add revenue, a company out of Austin, Texas, thinks it has found a new one: water meters. Olea Edge Analytics will announce this week the latest version of its software and hardware for detecting faulty water meters. As described in a news release, Olea offers to put visual, rotational and vibrational sensors on water meters, so as one sensor reads the meter's dial, another feels the water flow in the pipe and another tracks the meters rotation. The sensors are connected to a back-end EdgeWorks software platform with AI and machine-learning algorithms  the edge computing component of the system  which in turn ascertains if and how a meter is inaccurate, and how it might be fixed.The companys CEO, Dave Mackie, toldthat Olea is focused solely on commercial meters for two reasons: they account for 40-80 percent of the citys total water revenue, and fixing them wont take money from private residents who can barely pay their bills as is. He also explained that over-charging for water is less of a concern, because water flow drives the part of the meter that spins, so its virtually impossible for a meter to spin faster than the water going through it.Mackie said some meters can last decades, while others dont work as soon as theyre put in the ground, and theres no reliable way to predict when theyll go bad  not time in the ground, not location, not volume of water flow. He compared Oleas approach to putting sensors in modern cars: when something stops working, usually sensors will detect it and activate a warning light on the dashboard. The American Water Works Association estimates that 10 percent of meters go bad every year, and Mackie said that can translate to thousands or even millions of dollars lost. He said by fixing or replacing these, cities can see a return on investment in a matter of months.We had one meter in Atlanta that was worth $53,000 a month to the city, and it was a $300 fix. So youve got an incredibly underserved part of the market, which is using archaic technology, some of which was developed through the '30s and '40s and '50s, and theres no real way to apply analytics to these things, except by doing what we do, that gives you a view into whether theyre working correctly or not, Mackie said. There are millions of gallons a day going through these water meters, and as they fail, the citys ability to recoup that loss and make repairs that are effective so it works correctly results in an immediate transfer of real-time dollars into the citys infrastructure.Mackie said Olea has had four municipal customers so far: the cities of Austin and Irving in Texas, the city of Atlanta and Gwinnett County, Ga. He said he has three patents so far, four more are pending, and he hasnt seen any other companies measuring water meters with advanced sensors and analytics. He guessed part of that is because the AI tools and low-powered electronics involved are relatively new technologies. In the near future, he expects to unveil more, including pressure sensors and leak-detection systems. But if state and city budget projections are any indication, such advanced asset management tools are likely to go from novel to necessary in short order.What drives it all, and what is our core product for the foreseeable future, is the ability to help cities find revenue in order to pay for infrastructure, Mackie said. On average, major cities in the world are going to see a 50 percent increase in population by 2050. If they cant find a way to true up their water systems so theyre maximizing their revenue while not going into debt and punishing the people who can least afford it, then its going to be a really challenging time. We believe were solving a greater good because of that.
Teachers and students came together on social media to oppose the Delhi University's move to hold online open-book exams if the coronavirus situation does not improve.

Students and teachers took to Facebook and Twitter to voice their dissent against the move using "#DUwithSolutions". It was one of the top 10 trends on Twitter on Wednesday.

The Delhi University Teachers Association and Delhi University Students Union have also joined hands to oppose the move and have the support of the Left-backed student bodies as well as Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India.

"The DU administration that cannot consult statutory bodies online to take a collective decision, that has not bothered to reach its students online to ascertain how they are situated and that cannot give academic responses to feedbacks received from the DUTA, University departments, various organisations and individuals is thrusting upon students a mechanism that is unjust and bereft of sanctity," the DUTA said.

The manner in which decisions are being taken in violation of statutory processes and disregarding the need for consultation and dialogue can only result in callous and horrendous moves, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Winter Session: 1,678 Kashmiri migrants return to JK post Article 370 abrogation: Govt in Parliament

Over 400 migrants rescued over Christmas weekend

Cabinet approves package for allocation of food grains to migrants

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, May 20: The Union Cabinet approved the modification in the existing "Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS)".

It further approved the scheme for formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (FME).

Cabinet decision was focused on welfare of migrants says PM

Here are the highlights of the Cabinet meeting.

Cabinet approves extension of 'Pradhan MantriVayaVandanaYojana'

Cabinet approves 'Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana - A scheme to bring about Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries section in India

Cabinet approves 'AtmaNirbhar Bharat Package for allocation of foodgrains to the migrants / stranded migrants

Cabinet approves Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs/HFCs to address their Liquidity Stress

Cabinet approves additional funding of up to Rupees three lakh crore through introduction of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)

Cabinet approves issuance of the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020 in relation of Jammu & Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act

Cabinet approves waiver of interest of Hindustan Organic Chemicals Limited

Cabinet approves adoption of methodology for auction of coal and lignite mines/blocks for sale of coal / lignite on revenue sharing basis and tenure of coking coal linkage
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday privately expressed opposition to extending a weekly $600 boost in unemployment insurance for laid-off workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to three officials familiar with his remarks during a closed-door lunch with Republican senators on Capitol Hill.

The increased unemployment benefits - paid by the federal government but administered through individual states - were enacted earlier this year as part of a broader $2 trillion relief package passed by Congress. The boost expires this summer and House Democrats have proposed extending the aid through January 2021.

But congressional Republicans have said they are concerned that some workers are making more money on unemployment insurance than if they were on a payroll and therefore have less incentive to return to work or find a new job.

"You can extend some assistance, but you don't want to pay people more unemployed than they'd make working. You should never make more than your actual wages," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said he raised the issue with Trump during the lunch. While Trump did not explicitly say he would not sign another bill if it contained a benefit boost, Graham said "he agrees that that is hurting the economic recovery."

Many economists fear cutting off the benefit extension could hamper the economic recovery. Government spending on unemployment benefits rose by $45 billion from February to April, offsetting slightly more than half of the decline in private wages and salary, according to a recent study by the Brookings Institution. Republicans have maintained that the higher benefit will give workers an incentive to stay at home rather than go to work, but eliminating the massive cash infusion could further depress demand amid fears consumers are already cutting back dramatically on spending.

Trump's advisers have expressed confidence the economy will quickly recover, a view at odds with many economists.

Inside the lunch, Trump also implored Senate Republicans to take their time on the next phase of coronavirus legislation to get it right - according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation - mirroring the strategy of senior Republican leaders who have argued that lawmakers should hit pause before passing another massive rescue package.

"There may be some more needs out there," Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told reporters following the lunch. "After we get back, and after the next week when we get back, we'll take a look and see what we can, and keep focused on the things that are necessary and helpful. "

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., also told reporters Tuesday morning that he "doesn't see the need right now" to negotiate with Democrats on new virus response legislation.

The unemployment benefits weren't the only provisions pushed by Democrats that Trump signaled opposition to during the lunch with GOP senators. The president, a vocal critic of voting by mail, also objected to language in the House Democratic plan passed last week that expands voting options ahead of the November elections, including mail-in balloting, according to two of the officials.

Despite being a critic of the practice, Trump - who is now registered to vote in Florida - has voted by mail, including in 2018 and earlier this year.

- - -

The Washington Post's Jeff Stein contributed to this report.
SAGINAW, MI - While many in the Saginaw and Midland area are experiencing record-high flooding, The Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge is continuing its efforts to prevent high downstream waters.

In recent years, the refuge, which stretches 10,000 acres, has focused on using marshes and ponds to mitigate local flooding as part of the Saginaw Valley Flood Control Project. In 2007, it participated in the Flint River Flood Control Project, which also addressed concerns related to the refuges fish and wildlife.

The refuge has often had to close to the public because of flooding. In June 2017, the refuge closed certain paths to the public for several days after Isabella, Midland and Bay counties were hit with heavy flooding.

It closed again Wednesday, May 20, after record-high flooding hit the Tittabawassee River area. The Wildlife Drive, Woodland trail and the Cass River Unit on M-13 are currently unavailable to the public.

The closures came after the Edenville Dam failed and the Sanford Dam was breached during May 19 flooding in Midland. Many Midland and Saginaw residents were asked to vacate the area, and additional flash flood and evacuation notices were sent out Wednesday morning.

Refuge Manager Pamela Repp said the refuges federal wildlife officer, Jeffrey Hunter, assisted with evacuations May 19. Staff are still helping with local authorities and providing equipment, such as boats.

We are monitoring stream gauges and reporting our assessment of potential flood impacts, Repp said. We notified local construction crews of risk and are storing some of their equipment.

After notifying the public of the refuge closures, the refuge staff began securing equipment and buildings as part of the flood preparation process. Repp previously told MLive that staff also prepare for flooding by determining whether water will go over the refuges highest dikes and boundaries.

During the 2017 floods, the refuge opened one of its largest marshes so it could add water to the area, which had less flooding than other areas. This permitted the refuge to minimize areas where the water was rising too high, Repp said.

The refuge is using a similar process now to take on more flood water. Repp said the staff will be working throughout the day on May 20 to prevent further flooding downstream of the refuge.

We are flooding the refuge to take in as much flood water as is possible to try to ameliorate downstream effects, she said.

Four major water sources run through the refuge and into the Saginaw River. This allows the refuge to be a very response watershed when flooding occurs, Repp said. The refuge ecosystem was developed within the context of flooding events, and the refuge is managed assuming flooding will occur.

Species that are part of the refuges ecosystem include wood ducks, mallards, Canada geese and over 200 other species of birds. A renovation to the Maankiki Marsh has allowed the refuge to create and protect wildlife nests for additional Canada geese, cranes and swans.

Updates on when the refuge will reopen to the public can be found on the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge Facebook page.

Read More

Governor issues emergency declaration after Midland-area dam failures, urges evacuations

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Water is now flowing over top of impoundment at Sanford Dam in Midland County

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge helps prevent worse flooding downstream
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Blue Mountains in Katoomba, Australia, on April 17, 2014. (Phil Noble/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Blue Mountains Bedlam as Visitors Return

The Blue Mountains mayor has called for NSW government help as visitors return to the area, calling it bedlam, as other regions also expressed reservations.

The Blue Mountains mayor is calling on the NSW government for help following a weekend of bedlam when people pushed over barricades and crowds had to be dispersed, as visitors returned to the tourist hotspot.

Mark Greenhill says the local city council doesnt have the power or resources to enforce Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, social distancing rules so the state government needs to come up with a strategy.

NSW will relax travel rules in June, meaning people will be able to once again visit their favourite regional destinations.

Greenhill has written to the premier and health minister requesting assistance because, he says, even now theres no social distancing happening up here.

Were classed as Sydney so weve had visitors coming for weeks, the mayor told AAP on Wednesday.

A number of areas, including Echo Point and Lincolns Rock, are closed due to COVID-19 but as people have returned to the mountains, directions have been ignored and streets have become crowded.

Weve had people actually pushing barricades down, weve had police sort of dispersing crowds. Its been bedlam, the mayor said. What we saw last weekend in the Blue Mountains was not safe.

Greenhill stresses the region, which suffered during the summers unprecedented bushfires, needs visitors to return but they also need tourists to follow social distancing measures.

Too many people thought it was now open slather, he said.

The Blue Mountains has an older demographic and some residents are scared to go out on the weekend.

We welcome the visitors but theres got to be a strategy in place to ensure that happens in a way that doesnt endanger people who are vulnerable, the mayor said.

Local councils dont have the powers under the health order or the resources necessary to ensure social distancing.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday confirmed intrastate travel restrictions are to be lifted from June 1.

Across bushfire-affected communities, theres been a mixed response to the prospect of tourists returning after whats been a devastating 12 months.

Bega Valley Shire Council mayor Sharon Tapscott said it was a double-edged sword given tourism is a huge part of the regions economy.

At the same time, we have a very high cohort of self-funded retirees who fall into that high-risk category for COVID-19 adverse outcomes, she told AAP.

Its a very individual kind of perspective, but as a region, our economy really does need to have the tourists here otherwise were just flat, we dont go anywhere.

Shoalhaven City Council mayor Amanda Findley said businesses were cautiously optimistic while in the community, there was a cautious sort of fear that COVID-19 risks will increase.

Its not that our people look at everybody as disease-carrying people, but theyre just concerned there is that opportunity for the disease to travel now, Ms Findley told AAP.

The state government says lifting restrictions will help small businesses and the tourism industry get moving again.

Public health orders remain in force and the guidelines around physical distancing are still relevant, a spokeswoman told AAP on Wednesday.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said government research made it clear that from June theres a greater appetite to reboot the economy, create jobs and support our regions.

By Christine McGinn
Rapper and entrepreneur D-Black is advising his colleagues to invest in other ventures aside from music.

According to him, this would help them make more income without having to solely depend on the little money music is bringing into their pockets.

His comments come after rapper Edem and UK-based artiste Reggie Zippy called for a campaign to fix the porous structures of the Ghana music industry's royalty system.

Edem took to Twitter to state that it was important to expose how bad the system is, especially during the coronavirus era, where artistes are suffering.

Every artiste in Ghana is hungry. Some might just not say it, he wrote.

But D-Black stated that artistes who have made smart and significant investments are staying alive during this period of no shows.

Using himself as an example, the Black Avenue Muzik owner said music has not been his only source of income for the past four years.

It's important for artistes to use this situation as a reminder for the need to invest in your brand outside of art of music, he added.

Myjoyonline
In New York City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, the virus thats forced most people indoors is forcing the homeless outdoors.

Renee Corbett, a native of Huntsville who works with the international aid group, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF, has seen it first-hand.

Corbett, a civil and environmental engineer by training, is in New York working with an MSF team providing hygiene service and infection control to New Yorks homeless population. With public bathrooms and recreation centers closed, the places where homeless people could bathe are gone.

So Corbetts team operates two mobile shower facilities for people that need it.

At our showers we are meeting many people who say that they are choosing to live on the streets instead of in shelters because they feel that they are safer from COVID-19 on the streets, she said.

Before the global pandemic, Corbett had worked primarily in Africa, providing water and hygiene to people in Ethiopia and Sudan.

It seems odd that providing a simple need: clean water and a place to bathe, would be just as necessary in Americas largest city as it is in wilds of Africa.

The homeless New Yorkers are especially vulnerable because they arent able to follow the standard precautions that many of us do: staying home, self-quarantine away from other people, washing hands before every meal, Corbett said. They also have high rates of pre-existing health conditions and can lack access to health care.

MSF is providing something so simple, but it makes a giant impact, she said.

Her team hands out toiletries (towels, wash cloths, shampoo, soap, conditioner, razor, shaving cream, tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant, moisturizer, nail clippers, and combs), new socks and underwear. They also provide snacks, hand sanitizer, and non-medical face masks.

The face masks are very important in NYC because you arent allowed into stores or on public transportation without them, she said.

Doctors Without Borders is providing mobile showers like this for use by the homeless in New York City.

Corbetts job, though heroic, might not sound glamorous to some.

To her, its the job she always wanted.

When Corbett was 9, her family left Huntsville to live on Kwajalein, a tiny island the Marshall Islands, where the Army tests missiles and many Redstone Arsenal workers get stationed.

We lived there for four years and had many opportunities to travel around the world. I was shocked when we visited a neighboring island called Ebeye and learned that many people didnt have running water, she said. It made a big impact on my young self, and I decided that I wanted to work on water projects for developing communities when I grew up.

She graduated from Huntsville High School in 2011. When she graduated in 2016 from the University of Pittsburgh, with a civil and environmental engineering degree, l learned that Doctors Without Borders doesnt only hire doctors and nurses. They hire people like me too! she said.

After working for a land development company for two years, Doctors Without Borders came calling.

Childhood dream come true! Corbett said.

Shell probably be home in two or three months, and after a two-week quarantine, will enjoy seeing family and friends again.

Its nice in NYC that the Wi-Fi is great, but in previous projects it has been hard to video call with family and friends, she said. Ive missed holidays, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions but luckily the work is so rewarding that I dont get too homesick.

Shelly Haskins writes about points of pride statewide. Email your suggestions to shaskins@al.com, or tweet them to @Shelly_Haskins using #AlabamaProud
A view of the opening ceremony of the 14th-tenure National Assembly's 9th session in Ha Noi.  VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI  The 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA) opened the ninth session in Ha Noi on Wednesday morning.

The opening sitting was broadcast live by Radio the Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television, and the NAs TV channel.

The session will be held online from May 20 to 29, and deputies will gather at the NA building in Ha Noi for plenary meetings from June 8 to 18.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said since the beginning of this year, the COVID-19 epidemic broke out and quickly become a pandemic, affecting all socio-economic activities globally and in Viet Nam.

The pandemic has interrupted production and business activities, social activities, especially health, education-training, tourism and culture. The lives of people have also been affected. In addition, the country was also heavily affected by climate change, extreme weather and natural disasters, causing great losses in many areas.

Facing the above-mentioned challenges, the Party, the NA and the Government have promptly issued many resolutions and instructed leaders from central to local levels to focus on pandemic prevention and control and implement solutions to support economic development while ensuring social security.

Ngan said that the pandemic has so far been controlled, adding that the country has succeeded in preventing the spread in the community and ensure the safety of peoples lives and health.

Viet Nam's response have been highly appreciated and recognised by many countries and international organisations as a bright spot in COVID-19 prevention and control.

The National Assembly appreciated the hardships and sacrifices of medical staff, soldiers, the police and relevant forces on the front line of pandemic prevention and control as well as the the support of all strata in the implementation of response measures, she said.

This initial victory is the result of high determination, unity in action and the will of the political system. It demonstrated the patriotic tradition and the spirit of solidarity of the nation, firmly consolidating the people's trust in the Party and the State.

According to Ngan, during the ninth session, the NA will consider and make decisions on some socio-economic and State budget issues.

The legislature is set to spend more than half of the working time on law making, including voting on 10 draft laws and discussing six others.

Deputies will also deliberate and vote on some important drafts such as the resolution on the law and ordinance making programme for 2021, adjustments to the law and ordinance making programme for 2020, resolutions ratifying the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), a resolution recognising and permitting the enforcement of rulings issued by dispute settlement agencies under the EVIPA, and another on Viet Nams joining of the International Labour Organisations Convention 105 on the abolition of forced labour.

The parliament will also practise its supreme supervisory power over the implementation of policies and laws on child abuse prevention and control, and vote on a resolution on this regard.

Notably, as the Government, ministries and agencies were concentrating on pandemic prevention and control and resuming production, questions-and-answer sessions will not be organised at plenary meetings as usual. Instead, NA deputies will send written queries on issues that concern constituents and people to ministers and other Government members.  VNS
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The shelter-in-place restrictions have brought substantial disruptions in how adult Americans learn, and a rapid acceleration in online learning and engagement through universities, museums, professional training organizations and religious institutions. A new poll from the Longevity Project and Morning Consult shows high levels of satisfaction among Americans with online learning during the pandemic and suggests that the transition to online learning may continue after quarantine measures are lifted.

Nearly half of all adults reported that they are engaged in some form of online learning, with high levels of satisfaction across different learning contexts. Ninety-six percent of respondents described online webinars and conferences as highly or somewhat beneficial to them. Ninety-six percent found online offerings from museums and cultural institutions similarly beneficial. The number was 88% for non-credit college or high school courses.

An impressive 99% found religious and spiritual offerings beneficial, including 80% who rated them highly beneficial. Many respondents also indicated that they were likely to continue online learning after the shelter-in-place orders expire; for instance, 85% said they would be much more or somewhat more likely to use online webinars or conferences after quarantines are over. "The quarantines may prove to be a watershed in the progress of online learning for many Americans," said Mitchell Stevens, a sociologist in the Stanford Graduate School of Education who contributed to the design of the poll. The Stanford Center on Longevity is the primary content collaborator for the Longevity Project.

The poll also revealed high levels of satisfaction with online courses and programs offering credit towards degrees or certifications. Eighty-one percent of respondents indicated that they were much more likely or somewhat more likely to continue these courses once the quarantine is over. For college students who had transitioned from in-person to online classes due to the pandemic, 76% of respondents expressed satisfaction with their online experiences. "The high level of student satisfaction is a reflection of how well many universities and colleges pivoted to fully online course delivery and is a signal of the broader potential of online learning for college students," said Ryan Lufkin, Senior Director of Global Education Product Marketing at Instructure and another contributor to the poll.

Other key results of the Longevity Project  Morning Consult poll include:

Nearly half of all adult Americans have engaged in online learning during the pandemic with the following specific uses: 22% report use of skill-building videos; 16% report religious learning or spiritual activities; 15% webinars/conferences; 10% museum programs; 9% courses for credit; 6% non-credit online courses.

Older Americans consistently had the highest levels of satisfaction with online learning. Ninety-nine percent of baby boomers rated online webinars and conferences as beneficial (57% highly beneficial). Ninety-nine percent said the same with online offerings from museums and other cultural institutions (72% highly beneficial).

Thirty-five percent of Americans used the quarantine to engage in work training or skill building, with highest use among young people (65% among Generation Z, 48% among millennials). Respondents expressed almost uniform satisfaction with online learning (93% highly or somewhat satisfied) and a strong desire to continue online skills learning into the future (86% very or somewhat likely).

Americans are using the quarantine for self-improvement, with 56% citing this as a reason for online learning. Twenty-six percent reported using online learning to engage with family and friends

View the full research findings at www.longevity-project.com.

About the Longevity Project. The Longevity Project fosters research and public conversation to build awareness of the implications of longer life, and bring together leaders from business, government, and the social sector to plan for the transitions in healthcare, retirement planning, the future of work and more. Together with its lead content collaborator, the Stanford Center on Longevity, the Longevity Project supports broader awareness of the longevity challenge and the opportunity for people around the world to live healthier, more secure and more fulfilled lives. Sponsors of the Longevity Project include Instructure, Wells Fargo, and Principal Financial Group.

Contact: Kaila Lewis

[email protected]

443-433-6113

SOURCE Longevity Project
Kelvin Watson, 27, was arrested on suspicion of first degree attempted murder last Thursday just hours after the shooting. Witnesses say he was a regular at the Waffle House

A man has been accused of shooting a Waffle House cook in Denver after he was refused service several times over 24 hours for not wearing a face mask, police have revealed.

Kelvin Watson, 27, was arrested on suspicion of first degree attempted murder last Thursday just hours after the shooting at a Waffle House on E. Mississippi Avenue, in Aurora, that left a 25-year-old worker seriously injured.

Witnesses said Watson first came into the restaurant shortly after midnight on May 14 and was not wearing a mask. He was reportedly told by the cook he needed to be wearing a face covering or he couldnt be served.

He left the restaurant and returned with a mask, though he refused to wear it over his mouth and he was denied service once again, police documents say.

Watson then allegedly pulled out a small gun and placed it on the counter, warning the cook You better shut the f*** up before I blow your brains out.

The assailant left after police were called but the victim refused to press charges at the time.

The following night, May 15, just after midnight, police say Watson returned to the restaurant and once again demanded to be served while not wearing a mask.

The shooting occurred at Waffle House on E. Mississippi Avenue, in Aurora (above), which left a 25-year-old worker seriously injured

The same cook told Watson he needed to leave because the restaurant was at capacity. Police say Watson then slapped the 25-year-old victim across the face with an open left hand.

After the reported assault, the victim ran out of the restaurants back door and called police. However, Watson followed the victim and warned him several times to, shut the f*** up and serve me.

The cook continued running away from the restaurant while dialing 911 when Watson allegedly fired a gun once, striking the 25-year-old in the abdomen.

The victim sustained serious injuries to his stomach but has since been released from the hospital and is expected to recover.

Watson was identified as the suspect by staff who told police that he was a regular at the eatery.

A waitress said Watson comes to the restaurant every couple days and has never acted like this before. She told police she suspected he was high.

Across the two evenings, Watson reportedly refused to wear a face mask despite pleas from staff members. A sign displayed on the door of the restaurant also implores customers to wear face coverings (above), reading: 'Face coverings must be worn by all customers'

Watson was identified as the suspect by staff who told police that he was a regular at the eatery

During their investigation, Aurora police discovered that Watson was also a suspect in another shooting in the Denver area on April 23, where he reportedly shot at a tow truck as it towed away his BMW. No one was injured in that shooting.

Njeri Boss, Director of Public Relations for Waffle House, issued the following statement Tuesday: We are deeply saddened and regret that this senseless act of violence occurred, causing injury to a member of our Waffle House family early Friday morning.

We have learned that the hospital released our injured associate on Friday afternoon to recover from what has been described as a non-life- threatening injury. Our thoughts are with him, his family and coworkers at this difficult time.

We ask that anyone who has any information about this incident to contact the local authorities as soon as possible. We are cooperating fully with the investigation, and direct all additional questions regarding the specifics of this incident to the local authorities handling the case.

Aurora does not require masks or face coverings in public places like some other communities in metro Denver. However, several signs displayed on the door of the Mississippi Ave. Waffle House demand that all customers must wear masks to enter.
A document circulating on social media claiming to show how people can avoid compulsory mask laws.

Facebook/James Marter

Some Americans who oppose mandatory face-covering orders are trying to avoid them by commandeering US disability laws.

A document on social media advises people to say they have a disability that a mask might affect.

The document says people's rights are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act and they are not required to disclose their disability to store owners. The legal basis is weak.

The law says disabilities must be accommodated except when there is "a significant risk to the health or safety of others."

Someone hoping to sue a store under the Americans with Disabilities Act for refusing them entry would be entitled only if they were genuinely disabled.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some Americans are trying to dodge orders by businesses or local governments to wear face coverings by claiming immunity under laws written to protect the rights of disabled people.

As the country's coronavirus outbreak worsened in April, compulsory face covering was introduced in stores, on transport networks, and in other public places in some areas.

As of Monday, at least 13 states were under compulsory orders, ranging from all public places to only limited areas, like public transit, where social distancing isn't possible, according to Masks4All, a group founded by a collection of US-based scientists.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that people wear cloth face coverings in crowded public (while reserving surgical masks and N95 respirators for healthcare workers).

A police officer in a mask in New York City on Friday.

Reuters

But not everyone is complying with the directives, and at least some are turning to a convoluted and dubious legal guide circulating on social media that claims to give them a free pass.

The claim that the tactics constitute a legal basis for not wearing a mask has been rated "mostly false" by the fact-checking website Snopes.

Here's what's happening:

According to the guide, if confronted by store management, you should say you have a medical condition that means you can't wear a mask.

The document cites two laws that purportedly allow people to also say they are "not required to disclose my medical conditions."

The laws in question are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Their purpose is to protect patient privacy and the rights of some 61 million Americans who have disabilities.

The letter goes on to warn of financial consequences for those who violate the ADA.

"Organizations and businesses can be fined up to $75,000 for the first ADA violation and $150,000 for any subsequent violation," the document says.

Story continues

It is true that Americans are not generally obligated to disclose medical conditions and that the ADA demands that businesses should always try to accommodate people's conditions.

The ADA, however, says this does not apply in cases in which health or safety could be compromised by a "direct threat."

According to the ADA, a direct threat is "a significant risk to the health or safety of others that cannot be eliminated by a modification of policies."

State Rep. GA Hardaway during House floor proceedings in Nashville, Tennessee, in March.

Associated Press

The novel coronavirus  which has killed more than 90,000 Americans and infected more than 1.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data  would most likely qualify.

If someone who is refused entry to a store wants to sue the store under the ADA, the law will apply only to those who have registered disabilities under the ADA.

Those without relevant disabilities would not be covered, Snopes said.

The online guide started to gain traction in late April.

James Marter, a Republican candidate in the 14th District of Illinois, was an early distributor, posting it to his Facebook page on May 3.

In a popular online video, posted first to Reddit, a woman identifying herself as Shelly Lewis filmed herself trying out the tactic at a Gelson's supermarket in Dana Point, California.

"I have a condition for which I cannot wear a mask. I do not need to divulge it," Lewis told the store manager, who then refused her entry unless she put on a mask.

"You're being discriminate against me," Lewis said. "You are infringing on people's rights."

A spokesperson for US Health and Human Services told Insider: "This is not guidance issued or endorsed by the US Department of Health and Human Services."

The Department of Justice declined to comment.

A second document, also circulating on social media, provides added tips on how to avoid compulsory face covering.

On Tuesday, the Chicago Bagel Authority restaurant tweeted a letter from a customer who had tried the tactic at one of its locations over the weekend, without success.

CBA - Chicago Bagel Authority (@eatcba) May 19, 2020

Read the original article on Insider
A Neptune Township was sentenced to nearly one year in county jail for harassing four women through social media and breaking into one of their homes and stealing underwear, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office announced Tuesday.

Wayde M. Delhagen, 26, was sentenced to 364 days in jail and five years of probation he pleading guilty on Jan. 28 January to one count of burglary and four counts of stalking, the office said.

The investigation began on June 15 when the Neptune Township Police got a 911 call at 3 a.m. from an 18-year-old woman and her mother who reported that someone broke into the daughters room at their Wayside Road home while they were asleep in a different part of the house, prosecutors said.

The daughter told police she had been having trouble with a man shed met on social media and who began harassing her after she did not want to meet up with him. Shed stopped communicating with him at this point, authorities said.

A month earlier, the man used a different social media platform to contact the daughter and told her he was coming to her house and asked if her mother was home, the office. He also sent her disturbing images including a Google Maps image of her home and then sent a harassing message to her mother and he was rejected once again.

The same night, the mother and daughter called 911. Police searched the neighborhood and found Delhagen in front of a home with the daughters bikini and bra which he swiped from a laundry basket under the girls bedroom window, officials said.

He was initially charged burglary, theft and criminal mischief and released on a summons, but once investigators heard the daughter and mothers stories about their disturbing contact with him on social media, he was arrested again, charged with stalking and cyber harassment and taken to Monmouth County Jail, prosecutors said.

Delhagen was also facing two charges of cyber harassment out of Neptune City for repeatedly sending threatening messages and sexually explicit materials to another mother and daughter using social media and his cellphone, the office said.

The messages even included references to the murder 19-year-old Neptune City resident Sarah Stern, police said.

Authorities did not say when the messages and images were sent to the Neptune City victims.

Delhagen was also prohibited from contacting all the women and was barred from returning to Wayside Road in town.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Search continues to be an integral part of consumers lives, but its time brands realized that people arent searching with them in mind. That is a key takeaway from new Uberall data which finds that many brands may need to optimize, or reoptimize, their sites for both branded and unbranded search terms. This means ranking terms, for a destination like Disney World, with branded terms but also their generic counterparts like family fun park or family destination.

According to Uberalls research branded search queries have increased more than 100% during the pandemic but unbranded searches are up nearly as much (75% increase). And breaking the numbers down by vertical, branded searches are highest in Travel categories (62%) but lowest in B2B categories (12%). This means, for B2B brands, unbranded keyword optimization is more important than branded keywords.

If youre Bank of America, for example, you need to rank for your own terms but also for searches like best 0% APR credit cards or lowest mortgage rates,' said Greg Sterling, VP of Insights, Uberall. Brands often assume people seek them out directly, but failure to address unbranded searches means they could be missing out on a lot of potential exposure. Having a clear understanding of consumer search behavior is essential in optimizing your digital marketing. And in a time of budget constraints, thats more critical than ever.A A

Its critical to understand how potential customers are discovering your business and locations  or your competitors, said Brad Fagan, Senior Content Strategist and author of the report. The more branded queries the better, but most consumers are searching without a specific name in mind, which translates into a battle for visibility; and thats even more true among SMBs, where awareness is much lower.A

More data from the Uberall report can be accessed here. Data from Uberalls report that is specific to small businesses can be accesses here.
Bengals Covid-19 positive confirmation rate  percentage of persons testing positive for every 100 samples tested  is recording a significant decrease despite a sharp rise in the number of tests, a trend that stands in contrast of those in its neighbouring states and some other major states.

Over the past fortnight, while Bengals average daily testing increased by over 227%, the average number of persons testing positive on day increased by only 33%. This has resulted in a sharp decline in the states positive confirmation rate, from 4.87% on May 5 to 3.11% on May 19, helping Bengal to improve its position.

As on May 20, Indias positive confirmation rate stood at 4.2%, with 105,750 people testing positive for 2,512,388 samples tested. This was slightly lower than 4.5% on April 22. In the first month of the lockdown, Indias testing had increased 24 times whereas the number of new positive cases grew by 16 times, chairman of Indias Covid-19 Empowered Group 2 had said on April 23.

In contrast, Bengals improvement is sharper. Between May 5 and 7, the state tested 7,637 samples, averaging 2,545 per day. In those three days, 289 people tested positive, with an average of 96 people daily. However, between May 17 and 19, the state tested 24,994 samples, with 8,331 tests daily on an average. During these three days, 385 people tested positive, with an average of 128 people per day.

This trend stands in contrast to those observed in neighbouring Bihar and Odisha, and the large states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, where positive confirmation rate increased with the number of average daily tests, even if slightly.

In Tamil Nadu, number of tests remained below 10,000 per day till May 4 and the state had a positive confirmation rate of 2.32% (4,058 positive of 174,232 samples tested). After testing another 173,055 samples between May 6 and May 19, with an average of 12,363 tests per day, the states positive confirmation rate stood at 3.58% (12,448 positives out of 347,287 samples tested).

In Bihar, as the number of tests increased, the positive confirmation rate rose from 1% on May 6 to 2.9% on May 19. In Odisha, the positive confirmation rate increased from .38% on May 5 to .97% on May 18.

The positive confirmation rate in Rajasthan remained almost the same  2.31% on May 6 (3,177 people testing positive for 137,287 tests) to 2.33% on May 19 (5,845 people testing positive for 250,800 tests). The states increase in daily number of new cases has been in parity with the increase in the number of tests.

Between May 7 and 9, a total 18,717 tests were conducted, averaging 6,239 tests per day, with 531 persons testing positive, averaging 177 persons per day. Between May 17 and 19, a total 32,455 tests were conducted averaging 10,815 tests per day, and 885 people tested positive, with an average of 295 people daily.

Maharashtras ratio in increase in number of tests and the number of people testing positive rose almost in parity. It tested 28,428 samples during May 6-8, with an average of 9,476 samples daily, and altogether 3,538 people tested positive, averaging 1,779 people per day. During May 16-18, the state tested 32,457 samples averaging 10,819 tests per day, during which 5,958 people tested positive, or 1,986 people daily on an average.

In Karnataka, too, number of people testing positive increased with the number of tests. Between May 5 and 7, Karnataka tested 14,342 people, with a daily average of 4,780 tests and overall 54 people testing positive. Between May 16 and May 18, when it tested 17,939 samples with a daily average of 5,979 tests, the state recorded 190 new cases.

Bengals ruling party, Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress (TMC), claimed that this was because of the states success in containing the spread of the diseases. The data reflects the states success in containing the diseases by enforcing a successful lockdown. Peoples cooperation made every containment zone a success story, said Santanu Sen, TMC Rajya Sabha MP and a doctor by qualification. Sen has been one of the important persons in chief minister Mamata Banerjees Covid-19 management team.

Public health experts Rezaul Karim and Punyabrata Goon, too, felt that Bengal may have managed to contain the spread to some extent.

Koushik Chaki, secretary of West Bengal Doctors Forum, however, was of the opinion that the figures may be a reflection of large number of tests conducted in relatively lesser affected areas. Some pool testing has been conducted in north Bengal. A large number of tests have been conducted in the eight north Bengal districts and Murshidabad in south Bengal, where the virus spread has been nominal, Chaki said.

A total of 74,711 tests were conducted in the state between May 5 and 19, of which 27,358 were conducted in the eight districts of north Bengal and Murshidabad. These nine districts have reported only 93 of the states 2,961 positive cases.
Help India!

Syed Ghiasuddin

Zafar-ul-Islam Khan, Chairman of Delhi Minority Commission became the centre of a controversy for his tweet dated 28th April 2020. The tweet thanked Kuwait for taking note of rising cases of violence against Muslim citizens of India. Khan had also targeted Hindutva bigots whom he alleged were taking advantage of the silence of Indian Muslims assuming the Arab world will not speak against such atrocities given their economic interests vested in India.

Support TwoCircles



As the tweet went viral, it generated considerable outrage, and Delhi Polices special cell lodged a case under Sec 124A and Sec 153A. Khan had also made a Facebook post on the same date, speaking in defence of Tableeghi Jamaat attendees who have been quarantined. Tablighi inmates and many others have completed 28 days in corona isolation, rather than a detention centre, which is twice the mandatory 14 days quarantine period for corona suspects as per the US and WHO guidelines, his post read. He added, Keeping people in isolation, who tested negative and spent twice the mandatory period in corona isolation centres, is tantamount to illegal detention.

Ever since cases of Covid19 were discovered in Tableeghi Jamaat headquarters at Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi, it has worked as fodder to an all-out Islamophobic campaign, targeting the entire community as a spreader of the disease or Corona Bombs. Primetime media programmes, social media trends, and political bickering further added to this narrative that the Muslim community is responsible for spreading the virus in the country. Khan has been slapped with sedition charges for his social media posts, and a special cell of the Delhi Police visited his house for interrogation. This renews the debate on the misuse of sedition laws to silence dissent.

British regime Sedition and otherization

Unarguably, sedition is a legacy of the British. It was a potent weapon in the colonial era to muzzle the voices of dissent. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad and many other freedom fighters were charged under sedition to otherize and de-legitimize their struggle. British interpretation of sedition outlaws the freedom of speech.

As per the established legal fundamentals, intention and action complete the act of crime. Sedition, as defined under section 124(a) of IPC, apparently doesnt necessarily require the action to attract the sedition. This interpretation justified the repressive policies of the British against leaders of the Indian independence struggle. The interest of the British was paramount, and all laws were subjected to their interest.

With the implementation of the Constitution of India, all the laws that are inconsistent with fundamental rights stand void, and sedition, as interpreted by the colonial courts, was expected to be reviewed, but the Supreme Court of India tried to re-interpret it in accordance with the Indian Constitution.

Supreme Court on Reasonableness and Sedition:

When the Constitution of India was enforced, it made it incumbent on the government to be bound by the principles cherished in the Constitution. One such principle is Freedom of Speech and Expression (FoSE). The LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship is mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution as the cornerstone of the civilization that was to come into existence after 26 January 1950. For the enforcement of these noble ideas, the freedom of speech and expression was recognized as a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a).

Fundamental rights are not absolute and come with few exceptions. For instance, FoSE can be restricted by the government if it is a reasonable restriction and in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, so on and so forth. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of India is the protector of the rights of citizens and hence it has time and again entrusted to test the constitutionality of laws. To strike the balance between Sedition and Freedom of Speech, the SC in the Kedarnath case held that the sedition is the reasonable restriction on freedom of speech and expression. In this case, the Supreme Court was guided by the noble ideals of the preamble and reinterpreted the sedition that is consistent with the fundamental rights.

What makes a few words an act of sedition?

It was held that the mere disaffection will not constitute the sedition, S.C determined, that the word is spoken or written shall intended and proximate to violence to attract the offence of sedition. With this, it annulled the power of the executive to usurp the rights of citizens on mere apprehensions of Executive. If the social media posts of Khan are to be tested as per this clear condition set by the SC, the content does not fall in seditious category and actions against him smack of a witch hunt to stifle his voice and are an abridgement of his freedoms.

Sedition as a tool to silence dissent

Now liberated from the subjugation of British, it is unfortunate that the same law is being used by the executive to justify the crackdown on the voices of dissent. In independent India, the hardships of Mahatma Gandhi and Azad are shared by many like Zafar ul Islam, who are using their voice to speak against the actions of the government, which they deem unjust or discriminatory. Today all those who refuse to align with the regime, be it student activists, journalists or civil rights activists, are slapped with sedition and other draconian laws in the garb of national interest.

The words of the member of Constituent Assembly Somnath Lahiri comes true: Sedition would be used to crush political dissent as it had been used in the colonial times. No doubt, the re-interpretation of sedition puts reasonable-restriction, but still it is a substantial legal weapon in realpolitik against the other. In view of this, it is high time that we re-consider the constitutionality of sedition.

Syed Ghiasuddin is pursuing LLM in Constitutional Law at Osmania University.
 Flash

The World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), opened its first-ever virtual session in Geneva on Monday, calling for unity, a stronger WHO role and equity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As COVID-19 infections have ballooned to over 4.5 million worldwide and the death toll surpassed 300,000, speakers at the 73rd WHA agreed that no single country can overcome a health crisis of such a scale alone, reaffirming their commitment to cooperation and solidarity.

They also stressed the WHO's leading role in coordinating the global response to the pandemic and called for equitable access to vaccines and medications among all nations.

'Wake-up call'

The discussion on COVID-19, a main topic of this year's meeting, has moved beyond a health topic and raised some fundamental questions about global governance.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, one of the first speakers at Monday's session, talked about how COVID-19 has exposed global fragility.

Despite the enormous scientific and technological advances of recent decades, "a microscopic virus has brought us to our knees," Guterres said while delivering a speech via video link.

"COVID-19 must be a wake-up call," Guterres noted, saying that feelings of powerlessness must lead to greater humility and deadly global threats require a new unity and solidarity.

"We have seen some solidarity, but very little unity, in our response to COVID-19," said the UN secretary-general.

Echoing Guterres's words, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated that "the two essential ingredients for conquering this virus" are national unity and global solidarity, urging the world to take lessons from the pandemic and make the world safer and more resilient.

Past experience from fighting SARS, the H1N1 pandemic and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa highlighted shortcomings in global health security, but some of the problems went unheeded, Tedros warned.

"The world can no longer afford the short-term amnesia that has characterized its response to health security for too long," he told the virtual assembly.

"The world does not lack the tools, the science, or the resources to make it safer from pandemics. What is has lacked is the sustained commitment to use the tools, the science and the resources it has," Tedros said.

Irreplaceable role

Most of the speakers recognized the WHO's leading role in coordinating the global fight against COVID-19 and took the opportunity to express gratitude and support for the world health organization.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed China's staunch support for the WHO in his speech, calling on the international community to increase political and financial support for the WHO so as to mobilize resources worldwide to defeat the virus.

"At this crucial juncture, to support WHO is to support international cooperation and the battle for saving lives as well," Xi said.

Guterres called the WHO "irreplaceable," a term that was repeatedly taken up by leaders and health ministers across the globe.

Simonetta Sommaruga, president of the Swiss Confederation that hosts the WHO's headquarters, thanked the WHO for its tireless commitment to tackle the pandemic.

"Our support to you (WHO director-general) is based on our commitment to multilateralism, solidarity and international cooperation," Sommaruga said. "Today, more than ever, these things are absolutely essential and they need to be strengthened."

"In this time of great crisis, we need unity, not division. We cannot allow the politicization of this pandemic. Ireland stands shoulder to shoulder with the WHO," said Irish Health Minister Simon Harris.

Many delegates, drawing from their own nation's experience in fighting COVID-19, recognized the importance of the WHO's protocols and guidelines when the novel coronavirus broke out, and expressed willingness to work with the organization to strengthen global health systems.

There's also considerable discussion on the issue of financing. In a video message, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for more funding to the WHO, which he said plays an irreplaceable role in coordinating action thanks to its scientific expertise and knowledge of the situation on the ground.

"The WHO is a legitimate world organization in the area of health. We should continue to work to improve the procedures within the WHO," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We should also look into its financing to ensure that it is sustainable."

No one left behind

Another theme that recurred frequently in the member states' statements are calls for equitable access to vaccines and medications, and for particular attention to vulnerable groups in society and population in developing countries, so that "no one is left behind."

Many countries agreed that COVID-19 vaccines should be a global public good that will be available to everyone.

China will provide 2 billion U.S. dollars over two years to help with COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in affected countries, especially developing countries, Xi said.

China will work with the UN to set up a global humanitarian response depot and hub in China, ensure the operation of anti-epidemic supply chains and foster "green corridors" for fast-track transportation and customs clearance, he said.

Besides, China will establish a cooperation mechanism for its hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals and accelerate the building of the Africa CDC headquarters to help the continent ramp up its disease preparedness and control capacity, said Xi, adding that China will also work with other Group of 20 members to implement the Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the poorest countries.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, chairperson of the African Union, urged more assistance, debt relief and medical supplies, in particular, for developing countries.

"Africa, extremely vulnerable to the ravages of this virus, needs every possible support and assistance," Ramaphosa said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that his country will provide 100 million dollars in humanitarian aid this year and will continue to share its experiences in fighting epidemics with the international community.

Tedros warned that "the majority of the world's population remains susceptible to this virus and the risk remains high," although coronavirus restrictions are gradually being eased in a number of countries.

Guterres reiterated the UN's call for a coordinated large-scale response led by the WHO with emphasis on solidarity with developing countries and vulnerable people.

"We are as strong as the weakest health systems," Guterres said. "Protecting the developing world is not a matter of charity or generosity but a question of enlightened self-interest. The global North cannot defeat COVID-19 unless the global South defeats it at the same time."
(CNN)  Mutual blame over the coronavirus pandemic has reignited tensions between the United States and China, threatening to break what was already a fragile truce on trade between the world's biggest economies.

But the pandemic has left the global economy in a much more precarious position than it was when the two countries began sparring over trade two years ago. And neither can afford the damage another full-blown trade war would inflict.

The virus has weighed heavily on both countries, plunging their economies into the deepest contractions for decades and destroying tens of millions of jobs. And while China, at least, has claimed that it is past the worst of the pandemic, the world is still far from a meaningful recovery.

Which makes President Donald Trump's recent threat of new tariffs on China  and suggestions from Beijing that it could counter with other, dramatic punitive actions  all the more troubling.

"Clearly, the timing of renewed trade tension could not be worse," wrote economists from S&P Global Ratings in a research note earlier this month. "The threat of higher tariffs and the intensifying technology cold war could yet disrupt technology trade and investment, de-powering what still promises to be an engine for recovery in 2020."

Unrealistic terms now made impossible

Even before the coronavirus outbreak became a pandemic, the trade ceasefire between the United States and China was fragile at best.

A "phase one" deal reached in January only reduced some of the tariffs each side had placed on the other, while allowing Beijing to avoid additional taxes on almost $160 billion worth of goods. China also committed to buying an additional $200 billion of US goods and services this year and next.

That would have been a tall order without the virus-induced slowdown: The value of that commitment was more than China was importing annually before the trade war started, and analysts in January called the deal "highly challenging" unless China made sacrifices elsewhere.

"The targets for purchases in the phase one deal were always unrealistic, and now they are impossible," said David Dollar, a Washington-based senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L. Thornton China Center.

According to the S&P economists, China would have had to increase its imports more than 6% each month for two years to honor the terms of the deal. Instead, US imports fell 6% during the first four months of 2020.

"With consumer demand down in the Chinese economy, it's unlikely that Beijing will be able to commit to buying a lot more American goods," said Alex Capri, a trade scholar and visiting senior fellow at the National University of Singapore Business School. "Or, if they do commit ... they will renege later" because of the lack of demand.

Trump also does not have the next two years to find out whether China will honor its agreement. He faces an election in November, which analysts have explained as one reason for his increasingly harsh rhetoric toward Beijing.

"Look, I'm having a very hard time with China," Trump said during a phone interview Friday with 'Fox and Friends.' "I made a great trade deal months before this whole thing happened ... and then this happens, and it sort of overrides so much."

An 'internal rift' in China

Experts who talked to CNN Business still believe that economic and trade officials in Beijing want to make the "phase one" deal work.

Vice Premier and chief trade negotiator Liu He recently spoke to top US trade officials  including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin  about creating a "beneficial environment" for seeing the deal through. On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang thanked US conglomerate Honeywell for opening an office in Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus, adding that he welcomed global business in China.

But Beijing's challenge isn't just about honoring impossible commitments. The pandemic  and who should be at fault for its global spread  has fueled a growing anti-US sentiment in China, making it difficult for the country's leaders to capitulate to demands from the United States.

"There's an internal rift on trade policy within China to be sure," said Marshall Meyer, professor emeritus of management at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

Earlier this month, Trump, who has claimed without providing evidence that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, hinted that the United States could enact more tariffs on China as punishment for the pandemic.

His administration is also moving to further restrict Huawei's ability to work with US companies. On Friday, the US Commerce Department said it wants to prevent the Chinese tech firm from manufacturing and obtaining semiconductor chips using American-made software and technology  a move that inhibits the company's ability to work with its suppliers.

The Global Times, one of the most combative and outspoken state media outlets in China, hinted that Beijing could soon retaliate against Washington and its decision to restrict Huawei's ability to manufacture and obtain semiconductor chips by unveiling a long-rumored blacklist of foreign companies. American firms including Apple, Qualcomm, Cisco and Boeing could face restrictions on doing business in China, it said, citing an unnamed source close to the government.

The tabloid has also called attention to more hawkish voices in China, reporting recently that some are calling for "a tit-for-tat approach over trade issues."

Such reports could represent a "trial balloon" for Beijing to consider, according to Malcolm McNeil, a partner at the Washington-based law and lobbying firm Arent Fox. He said they could also be channeling a "vocal minority" that is pushing for more aggressive action on the part of the government.

However Beijing chooses to move forward, McNeil stressed that authorities there need to handle trade "delicately."

"The coronavirus has become a worldwide phenomenon with the negative focus on China and its handling at the outset," he said, adding that backtracking from January's trade deal would worsen attitudes toward China.

Threat to economic recovery

If tensions continue to escalate, the dispute could morph into a damaging conflict that not only weakens the world's recovery from Covid-19, but also risks slowing important technological innovations.

The global economy is already expected to contract 3% this year, its deepest slump since the Great Depression, according to the International Monetary Fund. A recovery beyond that is far from certain, and could take years.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva reiterated the danger of a trade war earlier this month.

"It is hugely important for us to resist what may be a natural tendency to retreat behind our borders," she said during an event held by the European University Institute, when asked about US-China tensions.

Even before the pandemic, economists and experts warned that a worsening relationship between the two countries could stifle the development of artificial intelligence and super-fast 5G mobile networks. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in January that losing the ability to cooperate on such advancements would be bad for the world.

Another trade war would also take a toll on businesses and consumers. American businesses and farmers paid $3.9 billion in tariffs in March alone, mostly because of the trade war, according to data from the US nonprofit Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, a coalition of trade associations.

"Covid-19 has wreaked unprecedented havoc on American businesses and farmers," said Jonathan Gold, spokesperson for Americans for Free Trade. "Tariffs are the last thing that any company should have to worry about during this pandemic."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "A US-China trade war is the last thing the world economy needs now."
Decrease Font Size Font Size Increase Font Size

Article body

The Harbert College of Business at Auburn University is partnering with Radiance Technologies to further the professional development and education of employees across 12 states with an online MBA.

Starting fall semester 2020, Radiance employees can begin earning an Auburn Online MBA without interruption to their careers or out-of-pocket expenses. Radiance is investing in its people and paying 100 percent of tuition and fees to build the next generation of leaders.

We hope employee-owners take advantage of this opportunity as Radiance is committed to promoting professional development and higher education, said Radiance CEO Bill Bailey.

In 2019, Radiance University established a partnership with Auburns Samuel Ginn College of Engineerings Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering to offer an online Master of Engineering Management, or MEM, degree. The new partnership with the Harbert College of Business expands the education offering to employees wanting to earn a graduate business degree.

Outreach and support of businesses in and around Alabama is part of the Harbert College of Business mission, said Stan Harris, associate dean of Graduate and International Programs. Our online MBA has gained national attention in recent years for the quality of its curriculum and faculty, as well as the return on investment to our students.

A new cohort instructional model is being created through this partnership. The Auburn Online MBA program features streaming technology to share live classroom lectures with students. Radiance employees will have the added benefit of periodic face-to-face classroom instruction in Huntsville, Alabama, from visiting Auburn faculty and staff.

It is exciting and rewarding to develop a new cohort instructional model that provides flexibility and convenience for our employee-owners who have full-time jobs and families, said Lane Fabby, chancellor of Radiance University.

We are excited to work with Radiance Technologies to make the Auburn MBA readily accessible to its employees, said Jim Parrish, executive director of Auburn Full-Time and Online MBA Programs. In our program, we often use the phrase learn today, use tomorrow. These employees will receive a business education ranked among the nations best, and those lessons and skills learned will be transferable and beneficial throughout their careers at Radiance.

The Auburn Online MBA is highly ranked by several online and print publications that review and rank higher education programs, including Poets and Quants (No. 8), Online MBA Report (No. 11), US News & World Report (No. 18) and Princeton Review (No. 19).
As the storm came ashore, millions were plunged into darkness. In the eastern Indian state of Odisha, more than 3 million people were without electricity, according to an update from a disaster relief official. There were also reports of power outages in parts of Kolkata, one of Indias largest cities, which was directly in the path of the storm.
Some 70 per cent of coronavirus cases in Israel have been linked to the US, an early-stage study has claimed.

Biologist Adi Stern, from the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University, shone a spotlight on the government's decision to keep the border open to the US until March 9.

'Those who returned from the US created transmission chains,' she told The Jerusalem Post.

Travel from European countries was shut down 12 days earlier, on February 26. The delay in banning flights from the US 'allowed people to return from the US who thought that they could go wherever they wanted,' she added.

Biologist Adi Stern, from the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology at Tel Aviv University, shone a spotlight on the government's decision to keep the border open to the US until March 9. Pictured Tel Aviv airport on May 14

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu closed the country's borders to all countries, including the US, at the beginning of March after a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence.

The study, which has not been peer reviewed, compared the sequence of virus in 200 randomly selected patients from six hospitals with the global data.

And despite 27 per cent of US travellers testing positive for the virus, the genome study found more than 70 per cent of samples had originated there.

The remaining nearly 30 per cent of infections in Israel were imported from Europe and elsewhere: Belgium (eight per cent), France (six per cent), England (five per cent), Spain (three per cent), and two per cent each from Italy, the Philippines, Australia and Russia, the post reported.

Transmission from country to country can be tracked because the virus gradually mutates as it is transmitted, something Stern compared to a 'bar code'.

Despite 27 per cent of US travellers testing positive for the virus, the genome study found more than 70 per cent of samples had originated there. Pictured, an empty departures hall at Tel Aviv Airport in Israel

She added: 'After the pandemic broke out in Wuhan, for example, one or two mutations occurred, and one virus with a mutation may have migrated to Europe where it experienced additional mutations, and from there it travelled to the United States, and so on.'

These mutations can then be followed to allow scientists to work out where the strain of the illness came from. But she noted they do not change the nature of the disease, or the effect it has on people's health.

The study also found that the rate of transmission was cut down by two thirds when the country shut its borders and enforced social distancing.

Lockdown was implemented in Israel on March 20, when Stern found a dramatic drop in the number of cases.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to close the borders after a phone call with the US Vice President Mike Pence. He is pictured at a press conference on March 16 in Jerusalem

Superspreaders were also heavily blamed as the early-stage study suggested five per cent of Covid-19 carriers were responsible for 80 per cent of infections in the country.

Israel has 16,650 confirmed cases of the virus, while 277 people have died.

On March 17 Israel banned residents from leaving their homes for 'non-essential' reasons and announced plans to track coronavirus sufferers' phones during the outbreak.

Massively restricting movement, the health ministry ordered people to stay home unless they need to buy food or medicine, seek medical attention, or travel to a workplace where there are no more than ten people. They also suspended all public transport at night.

The Middle Eastern country had reported 324 cases of COVID-19 but no deaths at the time.

It comes as Israel is using anti-terror laws to enable it to harvest data from its citizens mobile phones. These powers are usually reserved for tackling Palestinian-linked terrorists. Pictured, an Israeli soldier wearing a face mask gets on a train in Tel Aviv on March 16

A directive issued by the government read: 'You must not leave your homes to visit parks, playgrounds, the beach, the pool or libraries.

'You should maintain social contacts by media and not entertain friends or family unless they live in your building.'

The statement did not say when the new regulations come into force. AFP was unable to immediately reach a health ministry spokesman.

It was released after officials confirmed that Israel would use anti-terror laws to access geolocation data and send alerts to individuals that come into contact with confirmed sufferers.

The spying powers are usually only reserved for tackling Palestinian-linked terrorism.

But an extension of their use for a 'limited period' was signed off by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Monday night.

The near-deserted beach front in Ashkelon, Israel, on March 17. The country has ordered people to stay at home

The near-deserted beach in Ashkelon on March 17. Windsurfers are still seen on the waves

A woman had her temperature checked with a contactless thermometer at the entrance to a retirement home in Ramat Efal district, Israel, on March 17

Israel adopted sweeping measures to contain the virus. These included prison sentences of up to six months for anyone breaching isolation orders.

Police are allowed to use 'reasonable force' to break-up gatherings of ten or more people.

Opposition politicians claimed the move was a step too far and would 'surrender transparency and oversight' over privacy rules.

But Mr Netanyahu defended the move, saying halting the virus's spread outweighed concerns about the invasion of privacy.

Delaying the measure could also 'lead to the deaths of a great many Israelis', he claimed.

He added: 'These means will help us greatly in locating the ill and thus stopping the spread of the virus.

'We will approve these digital tools for a limited period of 30 days. Israel is a democracy and we have to balance individual rights with the greater needs of all.' Mobile phones constantly receive signals from satellites revealing the owner's movements.

A man wears a facemask at Camel Market, Tel Aviv, on March 16. Israel has reported 324 cases

New measures will see Israel track its citizens mobile phones in order to plot their movements

The new measures will use the data to create a picture of an infected person's movements before they were diagnosed with the virus.

Anyone who may have been exposed to them will then be identified and sent a warning by text message to self-quarantine.

Nadav Argaman, head of internal security agency Shin Bet - Israel's equivalent of MI5 - today confirmed the unprecedented move and moved to reassure concerns over privacy.

He said: 'The other state bodies don't have the necessary technological means to aid this effort.

'I am well aware of the sensitivity of this matter and therefore have instructed that only a very limited number of agents will be handling this and the information will not be saved in the Shin Bet database.'

Anyone who may have been exposed will receive a message asking them to self-quarantine. Pictured above is a man wearing a face mask in Tel Aviv

Israel will sentence people that do not quarantine themselves to up to six months in prison

Further measures announced by Israel include putting the majority of public sector workers on leave for one month and banning more than 30 per cent attendance in private sector workplaces.

In the Palestinian territories 41 cases have been confirmed in the occupied West Bank, with none in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has closed schools, malls, restaurants and most leisure spaces as well as limiting gatherings to ten.
The coronavirus crisis is changing the world of autonomous, or self-driving, cars. More companies are now thinking about using the vehicles to deliver goods instead of people.

John Krafcik is the head of Waymo, a self-driving technology company owned by Googles parent, Alphabet.

Earlier this month, Krafcik told the Reuters news agency, The reality right now is that goods delivery is a bigger market than moving people.

Waymo started out working on autonomous taxis, but has also been developing self-driving trucks and delivery vehicles. The company recently raised $750 million dollars from investors. It has signed deals with shipping company UPS and major retailer Walmart to test the delivery of goods.

But Waymo is not the only company raising new financing.

Over the past seven months, investors have put at least $6 billion into more than 20 companies working on autonomous delivery of goods and food. These include autonomous flying vehicles and heavy trucks, a recent Reuters study found.

Most of that investment  at least $4 billion since January  went to big companies like Waymo and Didi Chuxing, Chinas biggest ride-sharing company. Both companies are attempting to create separate autonomous vehicle services to carry goods and people.

While delivery robots built to operate on sidewalks have received much media attention, they have drawn little recent investment. Still, an increasing number of cities and companies are trying them out.

Christopher Bruno is head of the Fairfax, Virginia, economic development office. He worked to get Starship sidewalk robots on the streets as soon as the coronavirus crisis shut down the area. I think without a crisis, there would have been some skepticism as to whether this would have been used or not, Bruno said. Skepticism refers to a kind of doubt.

Bruno said even though the approval process for new businesses usually takes six to 10 months, we did it in a week and a half. Currently, 20 robots are delivering food and other products in Fairfax.



Some investors warn that recent media coverage has increased hopes too much about autonomous delivery services, which still face technical and legal difficulties.

Quin Garcia is the managing director of Autotech Ventures. He noted there is a certain amount of hype - talk that makes people excited - around autonomous delivery.

While theres increased hype around automated delivery right now due to coronavirus, he said, this health crisis will be mostly resolved in a few years from now before automated on-road delivery is ready for mass adoption.

Still, autonomous startups are seeking to take advantage of virus-driven publicity for human-free delivery services.

These include Michigan-based autonomous delivery startup Refraction AI, sidewalk robot maker Kiwibot in California and self-driving technology company Optimus Ride in Boston. Ireland-based Manna Drone is also seeking to enter the market.

All the companies are involved in money raising as demand for their delivery services has increased.

Phantom Auto, which makes software to control delivery robots, has also seen rising demand and expects to raise more money this year.

James Peng is the founder and CEO of Pony.ai. The company recently carried out tests of its vehicles for food deliveries in California during the pandemic.

Peng noted that the virus crisis has created a need to provide some much needed food and package delivery services.

I'm John Russell.

Jane Lee and Paul Lienert reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

deliver  v. to take (something) to a person or place

retailer  n. a person or business that sells things directly to customers for their own use

sidewalk  n. a usually concrete path along the side of a street for people to walk on

adoption  n. the act or process of beginning to use something new or different

take advantage of  phr. to use (something, such as an opportunity) in a way that helps you : to make good use of (something)

package  n. a box or large envelope that is sent or delivered usually through the mail or by another delivery service

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Myanmar & COVID-19 Pastors Arrested for Holding Gatherings Amid Myanmars COVID-19 Restrictions

Canadian pastor Saw David Lah appears at Yangon's Mayangone Township Court on Wednesday before being sent to prison. / Myo Min Soe

YANGONTwo pastors who organized religious gatherings that have been linked to at least 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Yangon, including two deaths, were arrested under the Natural Disaster Management Law on Wednesday and will face charges of violating government orders aimed at curbing the spread of the disease.

Saw David Lah, a Canadian citizen, and Saw Kwae Wah were sent to Insein Prison after their first appearances at courts in Yangons Mayangone and Insein townships on Wednesday.

The gatherings they organized in late March and early April helped spread the coronavirus to nearly seven dozen people, making it the largest cluster found so far in Myanmar, which had reported 193 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday. Saw David Lah himself tested positive for the coronavirus in April and was discharged from hospital late last month after recovering.

Both pastors have had lawsuits opened against them under Article 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law and face up to three years imprisonment or fines if convicted.

The Yangon regional COVID-19 Control and Emergency Response Committee has filed lawsuits against four peopleSaw David Lah, Saw Kwae Wah and two of their followerssince April 14 for holding the religious gatherings in defiance of the government orders, which include a March 13 ban on mass gatherings until the end of this month.

Both pastors were arrested on Wednesday upon completing their quarantine periods. The other two facing lawsuits are still in quarantine or in hospital.

Plaintiff U Ye Win Aung, an administrator in Mayangone Township, where the gatherings were held, said Saw David Lah and his followers held meetings for nearly a whole week in early April and broadcast the events live.

At the time, the governments ban on mass gatherings was already in effect. Their gatherings caused infections. Thats why we have filed cases against them, he said.

Since Saw David Lah tested positive, health officials have been testing anyone who had close contact with him for COVID-19, including Union Vice President Henry Van Thio, whom the pastor met in February. The Vice President tested negative.

You may also like these stories:

China Pushes BRI Projects As Myanmar Rolls Out COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan

Myanmar Confirms 10 New COVID-19 Cases After Two-Day Reprieve

Myanmar Launches Sweeping COVID-19 Economic Relief Plan
Else Blangsted, who fled Nazi Germany as a teenager believing she had given birth to a stillborn child, then built a career as a leading music editor on Hollywood films, died on May 1 in Los Angeles. She was 99.

Her death was confirmed by her cousin Deborah Oppenheimer, an Oscar-winning producer.

For more than 30 years Ms. Blangsted played a major part in shaping how movie music was heard, through her work on features like The Color Purple, Tootsie and On Golden Pond.

She broke down film scripts to show composers precisely where to place parts of their scores, in dialogue or action, and for exactly how long. She was the composers representative throughout the recording sessions.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 12:02:53|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- India's health ministry said Wednesday morning that 140 new deaths due to COVID-19, besides fresh 5,611 positive cases were reported since Tuesday in the country, taking the number of deaths to 3,303 and total cases to 106,750.

This is the highest one-day spike in COVID-19 cases so far in the country.

"As on 8:00 a.m. (local time) Wednesday, 3,303 deaths related to novel coronavirus have been recorded in the country," reads an information released by the ministry.

On Tuesday morning, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country was 101,139, and the death toll was 3,163.

According to ministry officials, so far 42,298 people have been discharged from hospitals after showing improvement.

"The number of active cases in the country right now is 61,149," reads the information.

Wednesday marks the 57th straight day of a nationwide lockdown announced by the Indian government to contain the spread of the pandemic.

The lockdown, announced on March 25, was again extended last week till May 31. Enditem
Mumbai, May 20 : Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 65 Covid-19 deaths and 2,250 new cases, officials said here, as the state continued to notch fatalities above 50 and new patients over 2K consecutively since the past four days.

This comes to a staggering one death every 22 minutes, and around 93 new cases every hour in the state.

With 65 fatalities - down by 11 from highest-ever 76 of May 19 - the state death toll now stands at 1,390 and the total number of coronavirus patients increased from 37,136 to 39,397 now.

The Health Department said with the new cases, the state had 27,581 active cases now.

Of the total 65 deaths, 41 were recorded in Mumbai alone - the second highest on a single-day after May 19 - taking the city's toll to 841 now, while the number of Covid-19 positive patients here shot up by 1,372 cases to touch 24,118.

Mumbai's Dharavi slum alone continued to be a major hotspot and concern for the health authorities, notching 25 new cases, taking the total number of patients to 1,378, and 56 deaths to date.

Besides Mumbai's 41 deaths, there were 15 in Pune, 5 in Thane (Navi Mumbai and Ulhasnagar), besides 2 each Solapur and Aurangabad.

They comprised 46 men and 19 women, and nearly 74 per cent of them suffered from other serious ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems and asthma.

On the positive side, 679 fully cured patients returned home on Wednesday, taking the number of those discharged to 10,318.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari took a review of the Covid-19 situation in the state with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and top officials wherein he suggested augmenting the number of beds for Coronavirus patients.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar urged the people to "accept" corona as a way of life and asked the government to restore normalcy in transport, trade, commerce and business activities.

Slamming the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for launching an agitation targeting the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), state Congress President Balasaheb Thorat dismissed it as a "save BJP protest" and urged them not to adopt an "anti-Maharashtra stand".

Rebutting the Opposition claims, Thorat pointed out how the state BJP leaders donated to the PM CARE Fund instead of the CM Relief Fund, and did not work to get an economic package approved for the state, but instead keep going and talking to the Governor.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (Thane Division) continued to cause huge concerns with 950 Covid-19 deaths and cases shooting to 30,025.

Though trailing a distant second after Mumbai, Pune Division's fatalities touched 255, besides 5,152 patients.

The next major area of concern is Nashik Division with 85 deaths and 1,344 positive cases, followed by Aurangabad Division with 37 fatalities and 1,236 cases, and finally Akola Division with 34 deaths and 577 cases.

There's also Latur Division with 6 deaths and 146 cases, Kolhapur Division with 5 deaths and 322 patients, and finally Nagpur Division with 7 deaths and 447 patients.

Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home-quarantine increased from 386,192 to 404,892, and those in institutional quarantine went up from 21,150 to 26,752, while the state's containment zones increased from 1,765 on Tuesday to 1,849 on Wednesday.

As many as 15,495 health teams have carried out a survey of a population of around 65.11 lakh in the state.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at q.najmi@ians.in)

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Each time the National Peace Council forms an opinion about happenings in the country, it reaffirms the perception that it has become the most dishonest entity in the history of this country. Unfortunately, there are some compromised ones whose behaviors always obscured the honesty of the few who try to do what is right.

Apologies to the few honest ones who have found themselves in this age-old bias Institution that had repeatedly in recent times rendered our nations peace vulnerable.

The National Peace Councils ability to act in accordance with moral independence is of doubtful capacity and sadly, leaderships inability to exhibit a two-way justice leaves the institutions credibility questionable and on the other hand, justifies the suspicion of the National Peace Council being dishonest and overly bias.

In the matter of the EC and new Register, we hoped the National Peace Council would display that quality of having experience, sagacity and good judgement but surprisingly, this institution once again, was overwhelmed and stampeded by desires rather than objective morality and the rule that defines correct procedures in our Electoral system.

Evidentially, there is suspicion with good reason, apropos the Electoral Commissions activities ahead of the 2020 general election. Issues have been raised backed with strong evidence of which legal processes could be breached by the EC in its quest to compile a new register, thereby forcing electoral reforms on Ghanaians. We wish to register our displeasure with the response coming from an autonomous body that is mandated to prevent, manage and resolve conflict and foster peace.

The Electoral Commission should be left to do its work. A statement that cannot be said to be nonpartial considering the National Peace Councils earlier positions on the Electoral Commission under a different regime.

As peace-loving women group, we will condemn and rise against any institution or persons whose action invites tension in this country. We challenge peace-loving Ghanaians to, without fear or favor, rise up to the task and condemn suspicious behaviors so as to ensure the peace we are enjoying today is not compromised.

We are sad to say, someday, Ghanaians will accuse the National Peace Council of fomenting political unrest if something doesnt change now.

Be bold and speak now!

Dont forget to mask it up and stay safe!

Ciao!

Signed:Annette Enyo

Executive Secretary

CONCERNED WOMEN GHANA (CWG)

233 (0) 200951910
The Dean of the School of Performing Arts of the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanyin Agyekum is surprised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are playing politics with COVID-19 figures.



The NDC accused the ruling government of not being sincere with Ghanaians regarding the actual number of infections in the country.



National Communication Director, Sammy Gyamfi asked government to stop misrepresenting our recovered cases; stop suppressing data.



During the weekend, the Ghana Health Services (GHS) released its latest figures on the disease and it showed a total of 1,754 COVID-19 patients recovering from the disease in Ghana.



Although many have described this as good news, Madam Joyce Mogtari says the figures must go under strict proof.



How the hell did 790 more people recover overnight!!... We need to put these numbers to strict proof!! she tweeted.



This comment by the aide to former President John Mahama has however stoked political jabbing with some critics accusing her of wishing ill for infected COVID-19 patients.



Reacting to this on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Opanyin Agyekum said "I don't see why this should bring a debate or misunderstanding . . . there are a lot of people in isolation and so it will not be surprising that a number of them will get healed in a short time. I don't see why this should be turned into a league for both political parties; NDC, NPP.



Falsification of figures



Opanyin Agyekum disagrees with pundits who think the figures are being falsified.



According to him, "it will be surprising for authorities to bring false recovery figures. What will be their objective? do they want a roll call before they will believe? this is not a simple proportion".



Listen to Opanyin Agyekum's submission 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.

Featured Video
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said that it is impossible to find an independent person in the energy sector.

"Tell me, please, do we have any independent energy specialists? Show them to me! No matter whom we hire, the media say on the next day that that is a person of [Rinat] Akhmetov, [Ihor] Kolomoisky or [Victor] Pinchuk," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Therefore, it is difficult to find a good candidate for energy minister, the president said.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Facebook has launched its online store Facebook Shops, aiming to help struggling small businesses amid lockdowns following the worsening spread of coronavirus pandemic. The new platform will be widely available in the coming months.



Facebook Shops will make it easy for businesses to set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. It will soon be available in Messenger and WhatsApp.



The social media giant is partnering with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube and Feedonomics to give small businesses the support they need.



According to the company, the new platform will help small businesses, who are looking to bring their business online, to adapt and make buying and selling online easier.



Any businesses, irrespective of their size or budget, can create free Facebook Shop platform in simple process. They can choose the products they want to feature from their catalog, and then customize the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colors that showcase their brand.



Customers can find Facebook Shops on a business Facebook Page or Instagram profile, or discover them through stories or ads. They can then browse the full collection, save interested products and place an order. This can be done either on the business' website or without leaving the app if the 'checkout' feature is enabled.



Facebook is introducing Instagram Shop this summer, starting in the US. It helps customers to discover and buy products in Instagram Explore. Later this year, the company will add a new shop tab in the navigation bar.



The company is also exploring ways to help small businesses create, manage and surface a loyalty program on Facebook Shops.



Facebook has created a $100 million grant program to help small businesses, which are also getting financial support under the U.S. government's Paycheck Protection Program or PPP.



The PPP, overseen by the Small Business Administration or SBA, is part of the Government's $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, aiming to help small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom  Wed, May 20, 2020 07:09 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd91c6ad 2 Environment climate,climate-activists,London,Britain,Trafalgar-Square,environment,climate-crisis Free

Climate activists placed more than 2,000 pairs of children's shoes in neat rows across London's Trafalgar Square on Monday to demand the British government stop bailing out carbon intensive industries that pollute the environment.

In the shadow of Nelson's Column, Extinction Rebellion activists lined up the shoes across the square and unfurled a banner reading "Covid Today > Climate Tomorrow > Act Now."

"Extinction Rebellion are calling on the government to act on the climate crisis during the coronavirus recovery so children and young people aren't left to suffer a deeper crisis," the group said.

The shoes, arranged across the paving of the near-deserted central London tourist attraction, were donated by people across the city and will be given to Shoe Aid following the action.

Read also: As coronavirus drives climate protests off streets, activists go online

Extinction Rebellion wants to bring major change to the political, economic and social structure of the modern world in time to avert the devastation predicted by scientists studying climate change.

It says it wants non-violent civil disobedience to force governments to cut carbon emissions and avert a climate crisis it says will bring starvation and social collapse.

"Many young people feel suffocated by fear of what is to come, and now with this pandemic, maybe others will start to understand our fear for the future," said Poppy Silk, a 19-year-old activist from Extinction Rebellion.

"Even whilst healing from the pandemic, we must move towards a green transition to prevent future crises," Silk said.
(Updated with Michigan State Police clarification on fines issued to barbers.)

LANSING, MI - Barbers and protesters conducted Operation Haircut on the lawn and steps of the state Capitol with few confrontations or flare-ups Wednesday.

The demonstration, organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition, featured barbers and stylists offering free haircuts in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers executive orders aiming to slow the spread of COVID-19. The emergency orders closed barbershops, salons and other businesses.

Barbers giving away free haircuts on Capitol lawn at next weeks protest

The only escalation Wednesday came when a pair of Michigan Militia protesters, one with a rifle, started shouting at Michigan State Police officers for issuing $500 citations to barbers. The violations were for disorderly conduct, state police clarified on social media.

The officers were issuing a fine to Angela Regas, a barber from Caledonia, as well as six others working Wednesday. No arrests or physical altercations occurred.

They were warned that if they continue to cut hair they will be cited; and then finally they were cited as a disorderly person," MSP spokeswoman Shannon Banner told MLive. "A person convicted of disorderly person/conduct is subject to up to 90 days in jail or a fine of no more than $500, or both.

Regas helped deescalate the situation, telling the two men that she could handle the situation in court herself.

I just took the citation, she said. I just took it and Ill fight it. Im not worried, and I have a lot of friends and a lot of supporters here today that will support me no matter what happens today.

The conservative organizers of the protest pledged to cover barbers fines through a GoFundMe fundraiser in a speech to the crowd. The relative calm of the Wednesday protest contrasted with previous demonstrations against Whitmers outbreak response. There was a scuffle between protesters and a man displaying a doll with a noose around its neck last week, and armed protesters entered the Capitol and demanded to be let into House chambers in late April.

Wednesdays attendees did express anger at Whitmer and her executive orders keeping small business owners from operating. Karl Manke, the Owosso barber who inspired Operation Haircut after continuing to operate his business despite Michigan suspending his license last week, was among the demonstrators.

Owosso barber continues fight to reopen with support from Dallas salon owner

Manke, who said Whitmers continued extension of the executive orders brought him to his knees," financially, and compared the situation to Jews in Nazi Germany being placed into cattle cars.

These older people in Germany were told in reels and movies and types of propaganda coming out at the time, that they could get into these cattle cars, and would be taken to these new homes, he said. They willingly got into those cattle cars. I will not be placed into a cattle car.

There have been 53,009 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Michigan, as well as 5,060 deaths, state health officials said Wednesday. Shiawassee County, where Manke operates his business, has seen 235 cases and 21 deaths.

Live: Operation Haircut Protest in Michigan Operation Haircut is underway on the capitol steps in Lansing, Michigan. Posted by MLive.com on Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement following the suspension of Mankes license, saying his actions put people at risk of spreading the virus.

Anytime you have a barber or other professional providing services to numerous citizens in close proximity to each other and those citizens are then returning to their various residences, there is a risk of contracting and spreading the virus," Nessel said. "It is paramount that we take action to protect the public and do our part to help save lives.

Business owners like Sara Yacks, who runs Hillsdale massage parlor Elbows of Love, said she is losing $2,000 a month and struggles to cover basic needs for her children, who traveled with her to the protest.

Thats not (for) the extras. Thats not for taking my kids out to eat," she said, her voice occasionally breaking with emotion. "Not having that income... while Im grateful for the stimulus check that carried me through and I dont have to worry about getting evicted, the bills didnt stop.

Whitmers administration should trust barbers, salons and massage parlors to operate safely, Yacks said.

As a health care provider before this ever happened, I wash my hands before and after every client, she said. I sanitize my equipment before every client. She has no right to take my career (away).

It is unlikely barbers, salons and personal care services would reopen when the stay-home order expires on May 28, Whitmer said Tuesday.

It hurts me to say it because I would love to go to get my hair done, too," Whitmer said. "But the fact of the matter is, the nature of that personal service is such that it is intimate, it is close, you cant social distance and get your hair cut. Thats why it is important that we have all the protocols in place. My hope is that we get into phase four and then phase five and we are able to do those things. But at this juncture, its too early to say precisely when we will get there. Were going to get there.

State Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lapeer, had his hair trimmed by Holly barber Suzanne Dodoro. He not only needed one, he joked, but wanted to support small businesses.

We need to support the people making a living, he said. We need to save life, but we need to save livelihood, too.

Only a handful of counter-protesters showed up, including members of the New Black Panther Nation. While everyone wants businesses to open, said spokesman Malik Shabazz, it must be done slowly and on the basis of science.

Lets open the economy slowly, safely, cautiously and let science lead us, he said. Because money does not come before lives.

Shabazz and his group, as well as conservative protesters wearing MAGA hats, calmly argued issues with the stay-home order.

PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces.

Read all of MLives coverage on the coronavirus at mlive.com/coronavirus.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

READ MORE

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Wednesday, May 20: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Flooding near downtown Midland as seen by drone

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Sanford Dam remains intact, Dow shuts down operations in Midland as a precaution
Australians are drinking less than ever despite stocking up on alcohol amid coronavirus panic buying.

The number of Australians consuming alcohol dropped by 29,000 people this March in comparison to 2019.

Roy Morgan Chief Executive Officer, Michele Levine, said their Alcohol Consumption Report showed 'a consistent decline in Australians' alcohol consumption.'

Australians are drinking less alcohol than ever despite stocking up on copious amounts of booze amid coronavirus panic-buying. Pictured: A couple with alcohol in March

There has been 'a consistent decline' in alcohol consumption as around 29,000 less Aussies drank in March 2020 compared to 2019. Pictured: A woman relaxing with champagne at home

The report showed 66.3 per cent of Australians consumed alcohol this March, down from 67.5 per cent last year.

Ms Levine said the number of drinkers were reducing despite the hordes of Australians who flocked to bottle shops amid the coronavirus lockdown in March.

She noted the panic-buying of booze did not affect the overall decrease in Australian alcohol consumption.

Ms Levine explained: 'During the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown, the panic buying of large quantities of alcohol prompted understandable concern from health authorities and saw the introduction of buying limits.'

'It's likely the alcohol bought was simply a substitute for alcohol which people would otherwise have consumed at venues, or simply stocking up 'just in case', rather than an overall increase,' Ms Levine said.

The findings also revealed that wine drinking had decreased from 42.8 per cent to 41 per cent and around 4000 less Australian were drinking beer.

Cider consumption also fell by 96,000 people and liqueurs dropped by 117,000.

Pictured: An alcohol consumption report showed the decline in Australians drinking

Spirits were the only alcohol category where consumption increased and rose from 26.3 per cent to 28.7 per cent.

Chief Executive Officer of Alcohol Beverages Australia, Andrew Wilsmore, revealed that alcohol production had decreased as Australians were drinking less.

Mr Wilsmore said: 'Beer, wine and spirit producers are reporting volume declines of between 10 and 35 per cent, which has clearly translated into Australians drinking less overall.'

The Australian Bureau of Statistics this week confirmed the majority Australians were drinking responsibly while in coronavirus isolation.

'The ABS data shows that 28.9 per cent of Australians are largely abstaining or not consuming alcohol, 47.1 per cent are drinking the same and 9.5 per cent are drinking less. Only 14.4 per cent of Australians reported that their drinking had increased,' Mr Wilsmore explained.
Here's what you need to know about what's happening in Berkeley.

Class of 2020: Great grandmother graduates from Cal

Jules Patrice Means, aka "Ms. Jules," is a 67-year-old great grandmother who graduated from Cal with a degree in sociology with all As and just one B.

Read the full story on KTVU Fox 2.

PG&E's bankruptcy plan wins support from wildfire victims

Pacific Gas & Electric's plan for getting out of bankruptcy has won overwhelming support from the victims of deadly Northern California wildfires ignited by the utility's fraying electrical grid, despite concerns that they will be shortchanged by a $13.5 billion fund that's supposed to cover their losses.

Read the full story on Santa Ynez Valley News.

Coronavirus: All Bay Area counties to allow storefront retail pickup, associated businesses to reopen

After sticking with some of the strictest stay-at-home orders in California to curb the spread of coronavirus, the entire Bay Area is advancing in lockstep through the second phase of reopening the state by allowing curbside retail pickup to start on Friday.

Read the full story on The Mercury News.

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.
Fallon Foca of Marlton, is issued a summons by Bellmawr police minutes after exiting Atilis Gym in Bellmawr, N.J. on Tuesday. The gym in New Jersey reopened for business early Monday, defying a state order that shut down nonessential businesses to help stem the spread of the coronavirus. Read more

Bellmawr police arrested one member of Atilis Gym on Tuesday, and cited its owners for the second day in a row for remaining open in defiance of Gov. Phil Murphys orders amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ian Smith and Frank Trumbetti, the owners, initially reopened the gym Monday after appearances on Fox News programs last week roused national publicity and support. The two were charged with a disorderly persons offense on Monday as a large crowd gathered out front of the gym on Browning Road.

They were charged with the same offenses around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Bellmawr police then warned them they could face additional action. Regardless, the gym remained open. Around 12:30 p.m., police began issuing summons citations to members as they left the facility.

One member, who later identified himself only as Matt, 39, of West Deptford, was arrested and charged with obstructing the administration of law, after he declined to give officers his name, and with violating the governors executive order.

Temperatures rose as Matt was handcuffed, with the dozen supporters who lingered in the parking lot screaming out in his defense. Theyre arresting a citizen here! one man yelled, while others screamed, This is horrible!"

Five other individuals were issued summons violations of the Governors order for utilizing Atilis Gym," the Bellmawr Police Department said in a statement. One individual was charged with organizing a protest in violation of the Governors Order.

Police did not respond to additional questions.

I asked them why they needed my name and the next thing I knew they were handcuffing me, said Matt.

Police drove him to the station, issued him citations, which included a June court date, then released him. He walked back to the parking lot to pick up his car.

It was quite the surprise, he said. I wasnt expecting that.

Police approached each member as they exited the gym and asked for their names and license-plate information. Officers told people they would be summoned for violating the governors orders.

Im sorry this happened, Smith said on the phone to a member who was cited. Our lawyers will help you.

 READ MORE: A Bellmawr gym reopened despite Gov. Murphys orders. The owners were issued a citation but plan to continue operating.

On Tuesday, a GoFundMe organized by supporters of the gym had raised more than $30,000 to help the owners and members pay for legal fees. Supporters also walked up to the owners and handed them cash as they stood outside the gym, and a few local lawyers offered their services pro bono.

Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. issued a statement stating incidents surrounding the gym put "people at risk to spread the virus. These capricious actions undermine the work we have all done and the progress we have made over the last two months.

However, Cappelli added that "good points have been raised through this conversation about reopening our businesses.

Tuesdays scene was completely different compared with Monday, when police largely stood by as a mass of supporters gathered outside. Around 11 a.m. Monday, three hours after the gym opened, an officer informed the owners and supporters they were in violation of the executive order, then said have a good day and walked away. Two hours later, Smith and Trumbetti were issued their first disorderly conduct summons. No arrests or additional citations were given.

Despite the more aggressive stance by police Tuesday, Smith and Trumbetti were not deterred. If anything, the police action affirmed their determination to reopen.

Were just being harassed, said Smith. Youre going after free citizens who have not broken any laws, and youre intimidating them with ... financial threats, with potential imprisonment.

Smith and Trumbetti were convinced the police action was inspired by state orders. On Monday, Murphy warned of a different reality for those who choose to use the gym Tuesday. However, Murphys office said the action was up to Bellmawr police.

This is a whole matter for local law enforcement, Matt Platkin, Murphys chief counsel, said Tuesday. So theyre going to make their own independent determinations as to how to handle the situation and de-escalate as appropriate. But the business itself is being held to the same standard as has been held to every business thats not subject or subject to the executive orders that the governor has issued across the state.

Trumbetti said of Murphys warning: "He was expecting us to give in and were not. Im going to have to be locked behind bars to not open these doors.

Officers also cracked down on the protesters, asking them to stay inside their cars. Ayla Wolf, who has organized various protests to reopen New Jersey, was charged with organizing a protest and violating the executive order.

"No gathering of more than 10 people! one officer yelled at supporters gathering to buy Atilis Gym T-shirts. We dont want to charge anybody, but youre going to force us to.

Many of the members who arrived were not scared of legal ramifications. Fallon Foca, 18, said he would continue coming to the gym if it remained open.

This is more than just working out, said Foca of Marlton. At a gym like this, a lot of the members have been through a lot. This is a release."

Ill figure it out, he said when asked about potential fines. Lifting at home is just not the same.
WATERLOO  There was a three-day stretch when Aruna Mahadeo didnt run into one other person on the University of Waterloo campus.

Its almost like those zombie apocalypse movies where everythings deserted and you see like loose paper flying in the wind, the university student said with a laugh.

The only living thing I saw for three days were geese ... and they werent friendly.

Mahadeo was one of more than 5,000 students living in residence at the university during the beginning of the winter term. But that all changed in mid-March when the pandemic hit and the university encouraged students to leave residence to prevent the spread of the virus.

While a flood of people left  about 80 per cent of those in residence moved out in just one week in March  there were students who needed to stay, said Glen Weppler, director of the universitys housing programs.

Many of the students who remained in residence were international students like Mahadeo, who is from Trinidad and Tobago, or they were from out of province.

Residence is a very social place and for everyone to be gone and not seeing people around often was kind of disheartening, said Mahadeo, who lived in Ron Eydt Village and worked as a don supporting other students living in residence. Ron Eydt Village is a traditional dorm-style residence, with bedrooms that spill into hallways with shared bathrooms.

I only had three students living on my floor when I normally have 50, she said.

The cafeteria in the residence closed, so students had to walk a few minutes to another cafeteria where the hours were reduced and the seating was changed.

It looked different, said Erica McDonald, another residence don who lived in Ron Eydt Village for the winter term.

Tables were spaced further apart and then eventually it was encouraged not to stay in the cafeteria to eat, but rather to get your food in a takeout container and then bring it back to where you lived, said McDonald.

When the spring semester rolled around, McDonald decided to stay in residence while working toward her graduate degree. The university paid to move students already living on campus to units that would better encourage social distancing and allow students to self-isolate if necessary.

Each unit has a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and living space.

Its like an apartment and so they can make their own meals, theyve got their own space to relax, their own space to study and sleep, said Weppler.

The university was originally expecting about 1,300 students in residence for the spring term  right now they have just over 360, he said.

Its quieter, thats for sure, said McDonald, noting all the cafeterias and common spaces are closed.

To prevent the spread of the virus McDonald said everything is online  from classes to social events.

Were still going to plan socials  there will be virtual movie nights (and) I just hosted a virtual coffee time for students to make themselves a warm drink in their apartment and then hop on video chat to meet who their neighbours are.

Otherwise, McDonald barely sees anyone  students are spaced out on each floor of the building to further allow social distancing. And when the avid runner hits the trails on campus, she rarely sees another person until she ventures off campus and into Waterloo Park.

Mahadeo, who completed her undergraduate degree, decided to move off campus for May and into a rental while she waits for her home country to open its borders.

Her final year of university wasnt what she imagined.

I finished my degree and I got a notification on my computer and that was it, she said.
Apple and Google say they have added additional encryption to the metadata coming from the contact-tracing phones, to make it even harder to identify individuals. (stock photo)

Apple and Google have delivered their contact-tracing technology to health authorities in 22 countries today, saying that they have provided the system to those who have requested access.

A spokeswoman for the HSE declined to say whether Ireland has yet requested access to the interface. However, she said that the Irish app, which is based on the Apple-Google technology, will not be available to the public by the end of May. Instead, it is on track for the completion of its development at that time, with a large scale field test to follow before release.

She said that the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) For the app will be made available in parallel with the field test and this will be followed by full launch of the app, subject to the necessary approvals from NPHET, HSE and Government.

She did not say when the app expected to launch.

The app will be available when it is fully operational and when all approvals are in place from the relevant authorities, as part of the implementation of the Covid-19 Roadmap for Recovery, the spokeswoman said.

The team are currently working to complete the app development and testing programme, assess the results of the supporting research projects and secure approvals from the relevant authorities such as the Data Protection Commissioner, NPHET and wider Government, she said.

The app is being developed by Waterford-based Nearform.

The technology, being released in the form of an application programming interface (API), allows countries own developed apps to work more smoothly with iPhones and Android smartphones, and between the two operating systems.

It enables contact-tracing apps to work using Bluetooth connections to log 14 days worth of contact with other phones that also use the same app. If someone tests positive for Covid-19, they can consent to uploading their anonymous connection list to a health authoritys system, which can then automatically notify the phones that were in proximity through the app.

Users will be able to consent or withdraw consent at any time at multiple stages of the process. The system will not use location data. The HSE has not yet said whether the Irish app will ask for phone numbers.

Apple and Google say that they will not allow targeted advertising or location services to be used through their technology for a contact-tracing app.

They are also limiting allowance to one app per country, except in the case of countries with regional or state governance levels, to try to maximise the chance of an app getting mass adoption.

Apple and Google say they have added additional encryption to the metadata coming from the contact-tracing phones, to make it even harder to identify individuals.

However, they admitted that there maybe a minor impact in battery life from the modifications.

Separately, the UKs contact-tracing app has been criticised for security flaws that could expose user details.

The British version is currently being trialled in the Isle Of Wight.

Experts say that take up of over 50pc is needed for the app to make a substantial difference in contact-tracing. However, Irish government figures have suggested that 25pc take up would still improve the national effort at slowing the spread of

Earlier this month, Health Minister Simon Harris said: this will only work if the people of Ireland download it. Otherwise it wont make a blind bit of difference.

Apple and Google have previously warned that different contact-tracing app systems in countries such as Ireland and the UK may lead to functionality problems.

Company representatives said earlier this month that if every country deploys their own app based on different underlying technology, it will make it difficult for interoperability when roaming.

Ireland and the UK are currently adopting different contact-tracing app systems, with Ireland basing its decentralised approach on technology provided by Apple and Google.

The UK, by contrast, says that it will store data centrally.

Apple and Google said that they are working in the long term for smartphones to be able to notify people about possible exposure to Covid-19 without having to download a standalone contact-tracing app.

The two giants say they will add the capability into their operating systems in a later phase, with the companies concentrating first on providing underlying technology that national health authorities might use in their own contact-tracing apps.

It means that people might get alerts automatically as long as they agree to turn on the feature on their phones.
Mascot breaks records

A record number of passengers were carried interstate from Mascot yesterday, following the bad weather which held up services on Sunday. More than 600 were carried to Brisbane or Melbourne. By using three Skymasters in addition to the normal airliners, Australian National Airways cleared the weather-bound back-log of passengers and freight as well as the normal traffic. At one stage the three four-engine airliners were on the ground together.

Epidemic eases

"Only one case of infantile paralysis has occurred in the Sydney city area since January 10, the Lord Mayor, Alderman Bartley, said at a meeting of the City Council yesterday. This area includes some of the most congested residential parts of Sydney. While it is too early to say the disease was abating, there was a strong possibility it might have reached its peak, but that is by no means certain. Seven cases in metropolitan and country areas were also reported.

Iceland independent
Congress leader Pankaj Punia landed in the centre of controversy after he made an insensitive remark against Hindus in a tweet on Tuesday.

In an attack on the Yogi Aditya Nath government following the latter's criticism of Congress for offering to ferry migrant workers in Uttar Pradesh on 1000 special buses, Punia took to Twitter and slammed the government politicizing the issue.

"All Congress wanted to do was help pay for migrant workers to reach home. But the government wanted to politicise the issue. Such lowly acts are only done by 'sanghis'", Punia tweeted in Hindi, referring to supporters of the BJP government as well as right-wingers.

The leader, however, went on to make further comments that have invited the ire of Hindus from across UP as well as the rest of the country.

"These are people who dig up graves and rape the dead, these are people who scream Jai Shree Ram while masturbating in front of girls in presence of their fathers," he wrote.

The tweet has since been deleted after intense outrage on social media. The comments by Punia came after a war of words between CM Yogi Adityanath and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vandra over sending migrants in the state back home in INC sponsored buses.

On Wednesday, a UP-based Supreme Court lawyer has filed a criminal complaint against Punia for the comment. The incendiary tweet is being slammed as being insulting to "Hindu faith". As per a report in Times Now, there are now two complaints against Punia in relation to the tweet in UP.

We are filing complaint with UP Police against Pankaj Punia for abusing CM Yogi & Sangh & hurting sentiments of Hindus.#__ Prashant Patel Umrao (@ippatel) May 19, 2020

Social media has also been flooded from calls for Punia's immediate arrest.

Cyber Complaint Filed by @being_vakeel Against Pankaj Punia. He will proceed for further litigation. #__ pic.twitter.com/pSm8QFE44I  (@theadishakti) May 19, 2020

Such vulgar language by taking the name of Lord Ram These are unacceptable It won't work These are legal offenses and the only punishment is jail. FIR and jail necessary against Pankaj Punia A terrible crime that was written about daughters #__ pic.twitter.com/tAc9z9RWaE Varun Singh (@VarunsinghBjp) May 19, 2020

UP Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu and Priyanka Gandhi Vadras secretary were booked by police Tuesday, PTI reported, after the state government said a list of 1,000 buses on which the party planned to ferry migrant workers contained registration numbers of autorickshaws, cars and trucks.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 13:24:51|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

NANJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China's upgraded tracking vessel Yuanwang-6 is sailing to the Pacific Ocean from a port in east China's Jiangsu Province Wednesday for multiple maritime missions of spacecraft monitoring.

The vessel's last voyage to the Pacific was 22 months ago.

Yuanwang-6, commissioned in April 2008, represents the third generation of the country's Yuanwang space-tracking ships. After completing a monitoring mission of the Chang'e-4 relay satellite in July 2018, the vessel has undergone maintenance and maritime calibration tests.

Yang Bianjiao, captain of Yuanwang-6, said the upcoming mission will test the vessel's new equipment and improvement in measuring and controlling operation, laying foundations for future missions including the Mars exploration and Chang'e-5 lunar probe launch.

Crew members have examined facilities and conducted a series of training programs and tests before the voyage to improve their emergency response capabilities. Enditem
Maas has emphasized that Russian cooperation is required to achieve progress in implementing the decisions approved at the Normandy Four summit.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has reminded his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Russia is must comply with the Minsk Agreements on Donbas settlement, Germany's Embassy in Ukraine reported following yesterday's phone call between the top diplomats.

"Minister Heiko Maas, after yesterday's conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: I clearly explained that cooperation between Russia as a party to the implementation of Minsk agreements is urgently needed for Russia and Ukraine to be able to achieve progress in implementing the decisions of the Norman format summit," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

As UNIAN reported earlier, following a Normandy Four summit held in Paris on December 9, 2019, leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia agreed on a communique stating that they support the agreement within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group on the disengagement of forces in three additional sites across Donbas until the end of March 2020.

Read alsoBeyond Minsk talks: Why Russia's Kozak flew to see Merkel and how Kremlin seeks to outplay Kyiv

The document also referred to the exchange of held persons.

In addition, the leaders of the Norman Four states declared their support for reaching an agreement within 30 days within the framework of the TCG on the opening of new checkpoints across the line on contact.

At the same time, the communique spoke of harmonizing the legal aspects of law on the special procedure for local government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the so-called "Steinmeier formula".
Jaime King and Kyle Newman are at the forefront of the media because of their impending divorce and a restraining order. The 41-year-old actress filed for divorce on May 18, 2020. The judge also approved a temporary domestic violence restraining order for King, so that Newman may not be near her or contact her. As the couple hash out their divorce and custody battle, fans want to know if King or Newman has a higher net worth.

Jaime King and Kyle Newman | Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Heres what Jaime King has earned from her acting career

Jaime King began amassing her millions at a young age. She began modeling at age 14 when an agent discovered her at a fashion show in Nebraska. By the age of 16, she was featured on major covers such as Vogue, Allure, Seventeen, Glamour, and Harpers Bazaar.

The model began acting in 1998 as a co-host on MTVs House of Style. She also appeared in the films Happy Campers, Pearl Harbor, Slackers, and Bulletproof Monk.

RELATED: Jaime King and Other Actors Who Married (and Divorced) Their Directors

The Black Summer star began appearing in more high profile roles as Sin City, The Hard Goodbye, and The Spirit about ten years later. Recently, King was in Barely Lethal and The Pardon. She starred in a Hallmark movie, The Mistletoe Promise, in 2016 and voiced the role of several characters  including Aurra Sing  in Stars Wars: The Clone Wars from 2009-2012.

King appeared in various other movies and television shows to earn herself an estimated net worth of $8 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Is Jaime King worth more than Kyle Newman?

Newman is a director, writer, producer, and editor with a long list of productions. He directed, produced, and wrote Star Wars: Smugglers Gambit, The Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting, and Star Wars: Smugglers Bounty.

He met King on the set of Fanboys, which Newman was directing in 2005. Newman also directed the 2015 feature film Barely Lethal, which King appeared in.

RELATED: How Did Jaime King and Kyle Newman Meet?

The director won a Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmakers Award for Bitten by Love in 1998. He also directed music videos for Taylor Swift and Lana Del Ray.

Although the producer has a long list of filmography, he is not worth as much as his wife. King is allegedly worth around $2 million.

How many children do Jaime King and Kyle Newman have?

King and Newman married on November 23, 2007, during a small ceremony in Los Angeles, California. At the time, the actress told InStyle Magazine she would love at least three children.

Jaime King Wants 'Private Resolution' with Kyle Newman as It's 'Best for Their Children': Source https://t.co/EAXz8ylln5  People (@people) May 20, 2020

RELATED: Jaime King Was Famous Long Before Becoming Taylor Swifts Best Friend

However, in 2014, King revealed that she had five miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy before having her first son in October 2013. Their second son was born July 16, 2015, with Taylor Swift as his Godmother.

The couple now have two sons: James Knight, age 6, and Leo Thames, age 4. King would like to come to a private and peaceful resolution to their divorce since she feels it will be best for their children, according to a source reported by People.
As Wisconsins economy opens up and more people head out into public, wearing a face mask, already a political symbol in the age of COVID-19, is taking on a new flavor of controversy in the state.

This week, a Shawano County campground banned face masks, saying it would consider wearing them to be a robbery in progress, and a man in Stevens Point was recently arrested for allegedly harassing Asian-American customers at a grocery store for wearing masks.

Recent surveys have highlighted the partisanship associated with mask-wearing, showing 75% of Democrats report wearing them in public, while only 53% of Republicans take the precaution.

Attitudes about masks have become politicized, said Robert Kahn, a University of St. Thomas Law School professor who has been following the mask debate. I dont think they were always that way, like in, say, March, early on in this.

Wearing a mask in Wisconsin may not yet have garnered the type of partisan vitriol seen in Washington, D.C., but that may be changing. The mask has begun to be seen as a symbol, on the right, of blindly submitting to government authority, and on the left, a sign of compassion.

When I see somebody thats 20, 30 years old, and in their late teens  I think its more of a political thing for them, said Tim Garcia, a 41-year-old project manager from Beaver Dam who supports President Donald Trump. In their eyes, I think it shows that it makes them think that they care more about the well-being of other people, to try to stop this whole thing.

Guidance on mask-wearing from public health experts has at times been confusing.

Today, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth face mask in public settings in areas with significant community-based transmission where social distancing is hard to maintain, such as grocery stores, pharmacies or a busy street. The CDC began recommending public mask-wearing after studies showed that COVID-19 can be spread by people showing no symptoms.

Cloth face masks are not meant to protect the wearer, but rather to protect others from disease transmission if the wearer has the virus but is asymptomatic. Research on the effectiveness of wearing face masks is limited, but the idea is that wearing a mask helps reduce the transmission of the virus from the wearer to people in proximity through talking, coughing or sneezing. Dr. James Conway, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, said cloth masks can achieve that quite well.

He said theyre minimally protective at preventing the wearer from getting sick, although they may be able to cut down on some large virus-carrying droplets from being inhaled by the wearer.

Respirators, such as the N-95, offer more protection than cloth masks if worn properly, but the CDC does not recommend their use by the general public in order to save them for the medical community.

In national politics, the act of wearing a mask has started carrying more weight. President Donald Trump has mostly declined to follow his administrations own advice and wear a mask, prompting sharp criticism, especially from Democrats.

Vice President Mike Pence stoked controversy by not wearing a mask at the Mayo Clinic, an Indiana ventilator factory, and during an April visit to a Madison GE Healthcare manufacturing facility. He later said he should have worn one at Mayo and the ventilator factory, but didnt think it was necessary because he gets regularly tested for COVID-19.

How partisanship plays in

The latest Marquette Law School Poll shows Wisconsin Republicans are generally less concerned about COVID-19 than Democrats. Just 29% of Wisconsin Republicans say they are very concerned about coronavirus in the U.S., while 73% of Democrats are.

Kahn said differences between Republicans and Democrats on the issue could be explained by Republicans and tea-party conservatives rejecting government control over their lives, while Democrats and liberals are concerned about community health and security.

He said some distrust of masks, especially among Trump supporters, makes sense given the sometimes conflicting advice from government officials and medical experts as the country weathers the crisis.

Kahn said masks can carry both political and non-political symbolism, though thats not always the intent of the user.

Masking will always be about peoples individual tolerance for risk, Kahn said. The mask is a symbol of protecting society from COVID, of being a responsible citizen, of protecting yourself even though masks dont necessarily do that, politeness.

Trend in Wisconsin

In Wisconsins political sphere, neither Democratic Gov. Tony Evers nor Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm wear masks in their daily news briefings. Republican leaders also largely declined the mask in committee meetings and on the floor of the Assembly and Senate in April.

A notable exception was when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, donned a mask and other protective equipment when he worked at the polls on April 7, declaring it was perfectly safe to vote in person.

Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff said Evers doesnt wear a mask during his socially distanced, video media briefings because it could make it difficult for people to understand him, but that Evers wears a mask in other public places.

Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, in early May wore a face mask to a committee hearing when testifying, while the Republican co-chairpersons, Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, did not. Larson said he wears a mask every time hes in public, and views it as the safest way to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.

Nass spokesman Mike Mikalsen said Nass didnt wear a mask during the May committee meeting because he didnt think it was necessary given the few people in the room maintained social distance.

Political symbol?

Mikalsen pushed back against the notion that face masks have become political. Last week, he said he looked out the window from his Capitol office and saw about 10 people outside, not wearing masks, in liberal Madison.

He said wearing them depends on the circumstance, and cited doubt about their efficacy.

Wisconsin is not a state that requires mask-wearing in public, but at least two major chain stores with outlets in Dane County are requiring customers to wear masks: Costco and Menards.

Garcia, the Beaver Dam project manager, said hes stopped shopping at Menards because of its face-mask policy. He chooses not to wear a mask because its a hindrance, is uncomfortable for him to wear with his beard and worries the mask carries bacteria.

Still, some studies show a majority of people support wearing masks.

Its clear that theres people that their politics are kind of skewing their choices, said Mark Bahr, general manager for four Ace Hardware stores in Madison, Middleton, DeForest and Sauk City.

Company policy

Costco executive vice president Richard Galanti said that outside of some loud voices on both sides of the issue on social media, the company hasnt seen much pushback to the policy.

Menards spokesman Jeff Abbott said masks are unfortunately becoming a political issue.

Yes, a few people just dont get it, Abbott said. But the response has been overwhelmingly positive and thankful.

The Woodmans grocery chain is not requiring customer masks at its stores in Wisconsin, and company president Clint Woodman reported some limited verbal sparring between customers who think everyone should be wearing one and others who say its my right to go mask-less.

Masks were more common in Madison than in other parts of Dane County during spot checks of five large retailers last week.

At the Gander RV and Outdoors store in DeForest, all but one of the approximately 15 customers in the store around noon were without masks, and most employees did not wear them. By contrast, mask-wearing customers outnumbered the mask-less by more than 7-1 at the Metcalfes Market on Madisons West Side, and all the employees were covered.

Jean Ewing and her husband, who are both over 60 and live in the village of Oregon, had masks for their shopping trip to Walmart in Stoughton. She wore hers but his started to bother him so he took it off.

You take a chance in life anyway. I dont have a real concern, Ewing, who has an autoimmune disorder, said about people who choose not to wear masks. Everyone has to make their own choice.

State Journal reporter Chris Rickert contributed to this report.

COVID-19 in photos: How Wisconsin is managing the pandemic

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 1
For lifeguards, physical contact with the public is almost inevitable.

Drowning victims gasping for air need CPR, beach patrons approach with questions about high tide or where to find public bathrooms, and panicked swimmers caught in rip currents need to be calmed down.

At the Jersey Shore, the up close and personal nature of the job could expose lifeguards to coronavirus this summer as they work to save lives. Thats forcing patrols to rethink how water rescues and other routines are done to keep their workers from getting sick as beaches re-open.

Its going to be a unique summer for all of us. Were going to be changing a little bit of our habits, said Denise Blair, president of the United States Lifesaving Association Monmouth County chapter. Everybody throughout this has changed their thinking.

Because a person can be asymptomatic and still spread the disease, the national association recommends that lifeguards act under the assumption that people they interact with on the beach could be infected. The upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, when many beaches begin allowing swimming, will be a test for them.

In Point Pleasant, lifeguards are getting new equipment to lower the possible spread of coronavirus while performing CPR, said Jay Vitale, head of Aqua Serve, a company contracted to staff a small stretch of beach off Maryland Avenue owned by the borough.

The company has purchased breathing valve masks which are used to deliver oxygen to patients that have high-efficiency air filtration devices build into them, Vitale said. The special equipment reduces the amount of time that virus particles leaving the victims lungs hang in the air and put rescuers in danger, he said.

Lifeguards will do chest compressions only, instead of grabbing one of their old devices without a filter, until the new equipment is brought to the shoreline by an EMT or another lifeguard.

Its to maintain a safer distance from the victims face," he said.

Lifeguards are also being given lightweight, EV-protective face coverings, gloves and eye protection.

Lifeguards keep watch over a big crowd in Seaside Heights as New Jersey beachgoers celebrate Independence Day on a perfect beach day on Thursday, July 4, 2019.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

From staff perspective, its not so much about training. They already have the training, but that muscle memory is going to have to change and that takes more time, Vitale said. His lifeguards will also be reminding beach patrons to stay six feet apart from each other.

Sixty miles down the shoreline, Wildwood is tweaking how rescues are done to limit face-to-face contact when possible, said Ed Schneider, captain of the beach patrol.

Typically, three people go into the ocean for a rescue. One person is designated as the primary rescuer and would secure the victim to a small buoy by wrapping their arms around them and securing them to the floatation device. The three lifeguards would then create a chain to bring the swimmer to shore, Schneider said.

That way of doing things is being tossed this year.

For the upcoming season, only two lifeguards will enter the water. The primary rescuer will throw a buoy to the victim from a distance and direct the swimmer to grasp it. The second lifeguard will pass another buoy from afar to their coworker to grab onto. Then, the primary rescuer will backstroke to shore while maintaining visual contact with the victim as the second guard follows from behind, Schneider said.

Direct contact is unavoidable if the victim is unconscious or has a medical condition, and the lifeguard ultimately must assume some risk.

During CPR, they will give hands-only chest compressions until a nearby EMT at the beach arrives with oxygen, he said, which usually takes less than a minute. The rescuer will sanitize completely afterward.

Brick Beach, NJ, Jersey Shore, file photo for lifeguard, water safety stories.Kevin Shea | For NJ.com

Daily group activities are also being scrapped.

For Wildwoods lifeguards, a typical summer day would begin bright and early. There would be a roll call at the citys Lincoln Avenue headquarters at 9:30 am. every day with dozens of lifeguards, where theyd receive directives and then head out to their stands together. Now, lifeguards will simply check in on a sign-in sheet.

And instead of having three lifeguards on a stand, there will be one sitting, one walking on the sand and one wading in the water.

Schneider, who has been captain for seven years, said the town began discussing changes to operations weeks ago for an unprecedented summer.

Theres always a chance you have to make changes in your operations due to something caused by man or nature, Schneider said. But never anything on this scale. In the history of Wildwoods beach protection, to have this great of an operational change, this is new."

The coronavirus threw a wrench in the planning and hiring process for lifeguards, too, but towns are finding a workaround.

In Monmouth County, many patrols are holding pre-season planning meetings virtually rather than in person. In Asbury Park lifeguards, where Blair is a water rescuer, classroom work and training is being done via Zoom, she said.

Because pools are closed, Long Branch Assistant Beach Manager Chris Keiper said their patrol is doing the physical re-certifications for 100 of its lifeguards in the ocean instead. Theyre scheduling only five people at a time to be tested in the waters each day, he said, to avoid overcrowding.

Lifeguards are sometimes seen as ambassadors of the beach and must field questions from the public, whether its about a stubbed toe or high tide. In those situations, Blair said they will remind the beachgoer to remain at least six feet away at the start of the conversation and will wear masks.

Every single beach patrol right now, whatever theyre doing now," she said, is practicing social distancing and making sure safety is a priority.

Tell us your coronavirus stories, whether its a news tip, a topic you want us to cover, or a personal story you want to share.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo.
Imperial Valley News Center

Drive-in Theaters Tap SimpleTix for Contactless Ticketing in COVID-Driven Resurgence

Asheville, North Carolina - SimpleTix, a groundbreaking online ticketing platform, is playing a key role in the resuscitation of the drive-in theater industry. With contactless ticketing, theater staff can maintain social distancing, while theatergoers enjoy their night out with less hassle and worry.

Its amazing to see the resurgence in the drive-in theater industry, explained Aron Kansal, Founder of the company. However, with COVID-19 limiting peoples ability to do the things they normally do, it makes sense that these businesses are being reborn.

With social distancing mandates in place, drive-in theaters are booming. They let people get out of the house and have fun, while still maintaining a safe distance from others. Many theaters have turned to SimpleTix to sell tickets, like the Warwick Drive In in New York, and have experienced significant success and benefits.

While some theaters used a legacy shopping cart system in the past, this left them vulnerable. With no scannable tickets, theatergoers were able to cheat the system. That is not the case with SimpleTix.

For instance, when a customer purchases tickets, they are provided with a color-coded, scannable QR code. Theater staff simply scan the QR code quickly, moving cars through the gate and preventing long lines. The color-coding system offers additional benefits, allowing staff to easily direct theatergoers to specific areas of the venue without hassle.

Plus, SimpleTix makes it easy for drive-ins to use the platform. There are no long-term contracts to sign, and theaters are able to use their existing Square account, which means there is no need to set up a merchant account with a bank.

With a viable vaccine for COVID-19 likely a minimum of 18 months away, we expect drive-in theaters to be big for at least the next two to three years. We look forward to being part of that growth, stated Lauren Javors.

To learn more about SimpleTix or how to begin using the platform as a drive-in theater, visit https://www.simpletix.com/DriveIn.

About SimpleTix: Founded in 2008, SimpleTix delivers professional-grade ticketing solutions and an alternative to high-priced, custom e-Ticketing software and outrageous fees charged by cookie-cutter ticketing service providers. SimpleTix delivers a simple, customizable, affordable process with the features and options that todays venues and event organizers deserve.
A National Public Radio story broadcast in 2013 asked: So how did a legitimate medicine become a symbol of fraud? The origins of snake oil as a derogatory phrase trace back to the latter half of the 19th century, which saw a dramatic rise in the popularity of patent medicines. Often sold on the back pages of newspapers, these tonics promised to cure a variety of ailments, including chronic pain, headaches, female complaints and kidney trouble. In time, all of these false cures began to be referred to as snake oil.
The prime ministers of Egypt and Sudan discussed Ethiopias controversial dam project on the River Nile during a meeting held on Tuesday via video conference that was attended by both countries' intelligence chiefs and irrigation and foreign ministers.

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Sudanese counterpart Abdalla Hamdok discussed all aspects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during the meeting, Egypts foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The massive $4.8 billion mega project, under construction on the Blue Nile since 2011, has triggered a diplomatic row between Egypt and Ethiopia.

During the meeting, Hamdok said he will call Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to discuss the resumption of the tripartite negotiation as soon as possible, Sudans official news agency SUNA said.

Cairo and Khartoum stressed during the meeting the need to reach a tripartite agreement that takes into account the interests of the three countries, and to continue negotiations based on what was agreed upon in Washington, SUNA added.

The US, represented by the Treasury Department, along with the World Bank stepped in last year to host tripartite negotiations that began in November after years-long negotiations between the three countries hit a dead end.

Following four months of negotiations brokered by Washington, during which the three nations initially agreed on mitigation mechanisms to adjust the filling and operation of the dam during dry periods and drought, the US and the World Bank drafted a deal that was due to be signed in late February.

Ethiopia skipped the latest round of talks and only Egypt initialled the deal.

Ethiopian Irrigation and Electricity Minister Sileshi Bekele said on Tuesday that his country has the right to use the 86 percent share of water it contributes to the River Nile, stressing the dam has no significant harm on any of the downstream countries, according to the Ethiopian News Agency ENA.

Also on Tuesday, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to peacefully resolve any remaining differences and to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement.

Ethiopia has backpedalled on a 2015 Declaration of Principles deal that obliges the three African countries to reach an agreement on the guidelines of filling and operating the dam, telling the UN Security Council (UNSC) in a 14 May letter that it does not have a legal obligation to seek the approval of Egypt to fill the dam.

Article 5 of the Declaration of Principles stipulates that all three countries should reach an agreement on the rules of filling and operating the 6,000-megawatt dam before starting the process of filling the reservoir.

Ethiopias 22-page letter to the UNSC came in response to an Egyptian letter sent to the president of the UNSC on 1 May stressing Egypts "unwavering commitment" to concluding a comprehensive agreement on the GERD based on the 2015 deal.

According to the Egyptian letter, the Ethiopian prime minister sent on 10 April a letter to the president of Egypt and the prime minister of Sudan proposing they agree to an Ethiopian plan covering only the first stage of the filling of GERD.

The Ethiopian proposal was rejected by both countries, the Egyptian 17-page letter said, stressing that any agreement on the GERD must be comprehensive and "must regulate the complete process of filling the dam and its operation".

Egypt also blamed Ethiopia for trying to establish a deal without taking the interests of downstream countries into consideration, the letter noted.

Last week, Sudan joined Egypt in repudiating efforts by Ethiopia to progress its mega-dam, with Hamdok sending a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart disapproving of Addis Ababas proposed agreement which he said lacks several technical and legal aspects, according to the Sudanese cabinet.

"The signing of any partial agreement for the first stage cannot be approved as technical and legal aspects must be incorporated in the agreement, including the coordination and data exchange mechanism, dam safety and environmental and social impacts," Hamdok said in his letter.

Ethiopia hopes the massive $4.8 billion megaproject on the Blue Nile will allow it to become Africas largest power exporter.

But Egypt, which relies on the Nile for the vast majority of its freshwater, fears the dam will diminish its water supply that has already been below scarcity level.

Egypt has a water share of around 570 cubic metres per person annually, well below the water scarcity level of 1,000 cubic metres per person per year. The figure is expected to drop further to 500 cubic metres by 2025.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

Back to [RTHK News Homepage]
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 16:27 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd948343 1 Business citilink,freighter,Cargo,cargo-aircraft,passengers,COVID-19 Free

Low-cost carrier PT Citilink Indonesia, a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia Group, conducted an operational test for its freighter fleet on Tuesday to support its cargo business.

The freighter, with a load capacity of 13 tons, is a Boeing B737-500 aircraft converted to carry cargo instead of passengers.

The conversion was done by Garuda Indonesia Groups maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) subsidiary, PT Garuda Maintenance Facilities (GMF) AeroAsia, and has been certified by the Transportation Ministrys Airworthiness and Aircraft Operation Directorate (DKUPPU).

Citilink hopes that the operation of the freighter will contribute quite significant additional income [to the airline], aside from the passengers revenue, Citilink president director Juliandra said in a press release published on Wednesday.

He noted that the airlines shift to cargo services was a move to seize opportunities in the growing cargo market.

On its test run yesterday, Citilinks new freighter flew from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, to Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, and Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra.

The aircraft will enter operations after Idul Fitri, which falls on May 24 and 25, and will carry cargo for both domestic and foreign routes, especially those in the Asian region.

Many national airlines that predominantly operate passenger flights have reportedly shifted to the cargo business to cover losses from the COVID-19 pandemic that has severely hit passenger demand and airlines revenue.

According to data from the Finance Ministry, the combined revenue losses among local airlines amounted to Rp 207 billion (US$13.4 million) as of April 15.

Meanwhile, Indonesia National Air Carrier Association (INACA) data show that the volume of domestic and international airfreight in Indonesia also dropped 39 percent from the average rate.
Federal Judge John Martin ordered May 11 to delay the trial because the ends of justice served by ordering the continuances outweigh the best interest of the public," according to court records. The judge also ruled that it would be a miscarriage of justice to hold a trial due to the substantial health risks created by gatherings of people in close proximity, according to court records.
A North Dakota construction firm that has received backing from President Donald Trump has now secured the largest border wall contract ever awarded, a $1.3 billion deal to build 42 miles of black-painted fencing through the rugged mountains of southern Arizona.

The company that won the contract, Fisher Sand and Gravel, has been repeatedly lauded by the president in White House meetings with border officials and military commanders, the result of a long and personalized marketing pitch to Trump and ardent supporters of his barrier project.

After its initial bids for border contracts were passed over, the company and its CEO, Tommy Fisher, cut a direct path to the president by praising him on cable news, donating to his Republican allies and cultivating ties to former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon, GOP Senate candidate Kris Kobach and other conservative figures in Trump's orbit.

Fisher's first and only other major border contract, for $400 million, is under review by the Department of Defense Inspector General, after Democratic lawmakers raised concerns about improper White House influence on the procurement process. The IG's office confirmed Tuesday that the audit is ongoing.

The new award to Fisher carries an average cost of more than $30 million per mile of border barrier, more expensive than any other contract for Trump's wall. The project has morphed from a 2016 campaign promise into one of the largest federal infrastructure projects in U.S. history.

The 42-mile span of border south of Tucson, Arizona, where Fisher will build presents significant engineering complexities, with steep terrain and water crossings, including the Santa Cruz River basin, which floods during summer "monsoon" storms, according to border officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the project.

Swelling the price tag further was a design change from the president requiring the barrier to be painted black, adding approximately $1.2 million per mile, according to government contracting estimates obtained this month by The Washington Post.

Raini Brunson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who confirmed the contract was awarded to Fisher, said contract amounts are determined by a range of factors.

"Each project cost is contingent upon its unique characteristics such as geotechnical, topographical, hydrological and hydraulic, underground utilities, final real estate access, and the cost of materials and labor," Brunson said in an email.

The $1.275 billion contract - Tucson Package 3 - consists of "a series of projects within a geographical area with more complex terrain," Brunson added. Under Army Corps procurement rules, the contract went to the lowest-priced technically acceptable bid, she said.

Trump has brought up Fisher in White House border wall meetings again in recent weeks, when he directed border officials and the Army Corps to paint the steel barrier black, a design change that would add at least $500 million to the overall cost.

The president has told aides the darker color will absorb more solar radiation and scorch the hands of any would-be border-jumpers who try to climb the fence. Engineers say the black paint will increase long-term maintenance costs and will boost the metal's ability to retain heat by less than 10 percent.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the Fisher award Tuesday. Attorneys for the company did not respond to an inquiry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) referred questions to the Army Corps.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, blasted the contract in a statement to The Post, noting the Pentagon Inspector General's audit is not yet complete and that the country is in the grips of a pandemic and economic crisis.

"It speaks volumes to the administration's lack of transparency that they didn't announce this award - the largest ever - and we continue to learn about contracts to companies without a proven track record from the media," Thompson said. "Given the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing investigation into Fisher, the administration should pause construction and contracting decisions until the investigation has concluded favorably and it is safe to resume nonessential construction projects."

The section of border where Fisher will build is between Nogales, Ariz., and the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge, an area that has long been an active smuggling corridor. The contract also includes a portion east of Nogales where the Santa Cruz River traverses the border. Such water crossings have required the installation of specialized storm gates that can be left open during summer months to prevent the structure from being torn down by flash floods.

While the contract awarded to Fisher is the single-largest award to date, another firm, Southwest Valley Constructors Co, a subsidiary of federal contracting giant Kiewit, has received multiple awards worth more in total, records show.

The Arizona Daily Star first reported the Fisher contract, which has not been announced by the Department of Defense or CBP.

A CBP official familiar with the area said building a barrier will be "a challenge" and that the higher cost for the contract was likely the result of its "remoteness, rugged terrain, and logistical challenges." The official was not authorized to discuss the Fisher award publicly.

Tommy Fisher's enthusiastic support for the president, and Fisher's unconventional promotional efforts have made his company a darling for some of the president's most militant supporters. It also has made it a target for Democratic lawmakers.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., a close ally of the president's, urged him to hire Fisher while sharply criticizing the Army Corps for passing over the company. Fisher donated to Cramer's Senate campaign, appeared with Cramer as he ran for office and was Cramer's personal guest at Trump's State of the Union address last year. Cramer did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Fisher has paid the lobbying firm Odney more than $100,000 since 2017 while trying to secure border wall contracts, records show. North Dakota-based Odney also worked for Cramer during his 2018 Senate run.

While bidding on government border wall contracts, Fisher has build border barriers on private land for the activist group "We Build the Wall," in some cases purchasing the land himself, according to court filings. The group's advisory board is led by Bannon, Kobach, Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince and other conservative personalities. Its president, Brian Kolfage, frequently taunts and spars with environmental groups and immigrant advocates on social media.

"ANOTHER HUGE WIN! Congrats Tommy Fisher!" Kolfage wrote on Twitter. "It's clear you built @WeBuildtheWall the best border wall ever on the US border and now you're being rewarded for your hard work."

Fisher sued the Army Corps last year when the company was not selected to be one of the preapproved firms eligible to bid on border wall contracts, claiming the process was unfair. Cramer spoke to the president about Fisher and at one point held up a White House budget office nominee to compel the Army Corps to disclose information about the bidding process that it said would violate procurement rules.

The company was subsequently added to the pool of eligible bidders, and once its foot was in the door, it could outbid competitors. Fisher's $1.3 billion bid was the lowest on the 42-mile span, according to one official with knowledge of the contract.

As part of Fisher's marketing push, the company has claimed it can build the barrier faster and for less money, using a signature technique that deploys a fleet of excavators to install elongated segments of steel bollards into the ground and hold them in place until they are secure, instead of relying on conventional bracing methods.

Trump has made the barrier project a major theme of his reelection pitch, and Homeland Security officials say crews are still on track to deliver on the president's promise to complete nearly 500 miles of new fencing by the end of the year. They have finished at least 187 miles so far, according to the most recent figures from CBP.

The Trump administration has allocated more than $15 billion for the project to date, but only about one-third of that has been appropriated by lawmakers. The White House has diverted most of the rest of the money from military construction projects and counternarcotics programs.

- - -

The Washington Post's Josh Dawsey contributed to this report.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Mark Zuckerberg said he's worried that China's approach to internet regulation could catch on around the world during a streamed video conversation on Monday.

Zuckerberg said two very different models are emerging for internet regulation in China and Western countries.

He said the best way to stop China setting the global agenda is for Western democracies to set up their own robust frameworks.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Mark Zuckerberg said during a streamed video conversation with EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, that he fears China could end up setting the global agenda on how governments regulate internet platforms.

Zuckerberg said he thinks there are two models emerging for how to regulate the internet.

"I don't think that there's a question that there's going to be regulation, I think the question is whose framework is going to win around the world. What I worry about is right now I think there are emerging two very different frameworks that are underpinned by very different sets of values," he said.

"Just to be blunt about it, I think there is a model coming out of countries like China that tend to have very different values than Western countries that are more democratic. And I think right now a lot of other countries are looking at China and their economy and the countries that are coming out of there and saying 'hey, that model looks like maybe it might work,'" added Zuckerberg.

He said a model like China's would erode human rights. "I just think that that's really dangerous, and I worry about that kind of model spreading to other countries."

Zuckerberg said the best way to prevent China getting a foothold is for Western democracies to build their regulation first.

"I think the best antidote to that is having a clear regulatory framework that comes out of Western democratic countries and that can become a standard around the world that we can show works well, and that becomes more attractive to countries that are kind of thinking more on the edge about which direction they want to go in.

Story continues

The Facebook CEO lauded Europe's privacy regulation GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) as an example, and said he thought Western democracies have "the next five or ten years" to tip the balance.

This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has sounded the alarm against China's approach to internet regulation. During a speech at Georgetown university last year Zuckerberg attacked Chinese state censorship on TikTok  a Chinese company and a major new competitor for Facebook. The Facebook has also said in the past he will welcome regulation even if it harms Facebook's core business.

You can watch Zuckerberg talking about China and internet regulation here:

Read the original article on Business Insider
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday adamantly denied that he recommended firing the State Departments independent watchdog in retaliation for investigations into Pompeos conduct as Americas top diplomat. But Pompeo again declined to provide specific reasons for Steve Linicks dismissal as inspector general.

Pompeo took an unusually harsh shot at the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. Pompeo accused the senators office of being behind allegations that Linicks ouster was motivated by revenge. Pompeo said he would not take ethics lessons from Menendez, who was once prosecuted by the Justice Department on corruption charges, but his trial ended in a hung jury and prosecutors decided in early 2018 not to retry him.

I dont get my ethics advice from Sen. Menendez, he said.

Menendez responded by saying Pompeos use of diversion tactics by attempting to smear me is as predictable as it is shameful.

He said in a statement that Pompeo faced an investigation into this improper firing and into his attempt to cover up his inappropriate and possibly illegal actions, Tand that it was no surprise Pompeo was lashing out against lawmakers for their congressional oversight.

Pompeo told reporters that he was unaware of any investigation into allegations that he may have mistreated staffers by instructing them to run personal errands for him and his wife such as walking his dog and picking up dry cleaning and takeout food. Thus, Pompeo said, it would have been impossible for retaliation to have been the motive behind his recommendation to President Donald Trump to dismiss Linick.

Its patently false, he said. I have no sense of what investigations were taking place inside the inspector generals office. I couldnt possibly have retaliated for all the things. Ive seen the various stories that like, someone was walking my dog to sell arms to my dry cleaner. I mean, its all just crazy. Its all crazy stuff.

Pompeo did acknowledge that he was aware of an investigation into his decision last year to bypass congressional objections to approve a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia because he had answered written questions about it posed by Linicks office, But Pompeo maintained he did not know the scope or scale of the investigation.

Trump fired Linick late on Friday in what congressional aides have suggested was a move to preempt investigations into Pompeos personal conduct or possible impropriety in the Saudi arms sale. Pompeo, who previously told The Washington Post that Linick had been undermining the State Departments work, said he had recommended Linicks removal, but refused to cite specific reasons.

Pompeo said he had been concerned about the inspector generals work for some time and that he regretted not calling for his dismissal earlier. I recommended to the president that Steve Linick be terminated, he said. I frankly should have done it some time ago.

Linick is one of several inspectors general that Trump has removed from office, sparking outrage among Democrats who say the administration is waging war on accountability. Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the firings, saying the watchdogs can only be removed for cause and that Trumps explanation that he has lost confidence in them is not enough.

Linick was an Obama administration appointee whose office was critical of what it saw as political bias in the State Departments current management but had also taken issue with Democratic appointees. He also played a minor role in the Ukraine impeachment investigation into Trump.

In October, Linick turned over documents to House investigators that he had received from a State Department counselor, T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a close Pompeo associate. The material contained information from debunked conspiracy theories about Ukraines role in the 2016 U.S. election.

Menendez and Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, have initiated an investigation into Linicks firing. They demanded that administration officials preserve and turn over all records related to Linicks dismissal and provide them to the committees by Friday.

Pompeo did not respond to a question about whether the State Department would comply with the demand.

Related Content:
Pauline Hanson has called for the Australian Government to criminalise shipping baby formula to China after a woman was caught sending more than $300,000 worth of powder to the communist nation.

The One Nation leader said Lie Ke - who admitted to shipping stolen milk powder to China - should 'end up in jail over this'.

'Stop it at the borders. Make it illegal for anyone to ship milk baby powder back to China or anywhere else,' Hanson told Sky News host Peter Gleeson.

'If it has to be shipped then let the company themselves do a deal with China and [they] can ship it back to China.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has called for Australia to ban shipping baby formula to China, and said she 'doesn't give a damn' about the communist nation

A visibly-frustrated Hanson said the government needs to prioritise Australian mothers and children over those in China.

'I don't give a damn about China - I really don't. If it has to be shipped let the company themselves do a deal with China,' she said.

Hanson claimed China had been 'putting their tentacles throughout Australia' by purchasing Australian industry, land, and property.

'They can't just throw th eir weight around and tell us what to do,' she said.

Hanson's remarks come just two days after Ke, 50, admitted to buying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of milk formula from supermarket thieves, before sending it to China.

Ke bought tins of formula for between $16 to $25 that were stolen by supermarket thieves.

The tins had been stolen at supermarkets and chemists across Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle by shoplifting teams operating between November 2017 and August 2018.

Hanson's comments come after Lie Ke (pictured), 50, admitted to sending hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of milk formula back to her native China

Searches allegedly located more than 4,000 tins of baby formula, large quantities of vitamins, manuka honey and various other items believed to have been stolen

Detectives set up a series of cameras under mats in shopping trolleys to watch Ke conduct a range of illegal exchanges with thieves in public areas, including car parks and Bunnings stores.

Ke, who moved to Carlingford in western Sydney from China in 2001, used her connection to sell the tins in China for more than $80 each.

One thief said she made around $4,000 per week for selling 50 to 100 containers of stolen milk powder per day to the syndicate leader, The Daily Telegraph reported.

At least ten suppliers were identified by police in the investigation. Six told police they would regularly sell baby formula to Ke.

'One of the offenders would act as a lookout within the store throughout the process,' a police fact sheet said.

'The offenders would attend the self-service checkout and distract staff whilst another offender exited the store without paying for the trolley of goods.'

Ke was arrested in October last year and police located more than 4,000 tins of baby formula, large quantities of vitamins, manuka honey and various other items believed to have been stolen.

Police also found more than $215,000 cash hidden in one of the houses which was seized.

Though prosecutors could not prove all the cash was made from baby formula sales, court documents stated that Ke moved $394,000 into a bank account owned by her partner between November 2018 and August 2018.

Big W and major Australian supermarkets have a two-tin baby formula limit to stop 'daigou' shoppers buying the product in bulk to sell for a profit online to China.

Last month, Daily Mail Australia witnessed pallet loads of baby formula being readied for export to China from several different depots at Springvale business park - about 22kms south-east of Melbourne.

Cartons of baby formula products were stacked up outside some warehouses, with one worker seen pushing baby formula about in a shopping trolley.

In April, Daily Mail Australia witnessed pallet loads of baby formula being readied for export to China from several different depots at Springvale business park - 22kms south-east of Melbourne

Max - not his real name - said the baby formula trade appeared to have ramped up amid the coronavirus crisis.

'It's been the routine out here for quite a while. One place has picked up. They've picked up a lot. They're doing baby formula. Pallet loads. Lots of them,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'And when they're not moving any it will be the place over the other side. Multiple places are doing it around this area,' he said.

'As long as you've got an ABN you can open up a business and export whatever you want really within certain limits.'

It comes amid growing concern in Australia that China is receiving the lion's share of the prized commodity - leaving local shelves empty.

The demand for baby powder in China surged after batches were contaminated in 2008, killing six babies.

More than 54,000 babies were hospitalised.
Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

The global Broadcast Switchers Market is expected to reach USD 1.93 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Transition to digital from traditional analog technology is expected to propel market growth over the next six years. Changing consumer preferences and favorable regulatory scenario have led to high degree of digitization and HD display adoption, which is also expected to be a key market driver over the forecast period. Operational ease during broadcasting and video transmission may favorably impact the market.

Although standard definition (SD) demand has been decreasing, digitization is expected to fuel 4K and full HD adoption; this is expected to present a sizable opportunity for companies operating in the market. Rising production automation demand is also expected to be a growth driver over the forecast period. Restraints to market growth include need for standardization as well as high cost of lighting equipment, cameras, digital audio mixers, etc.

Access Research Report of Broadcast Switchers Market http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/broadcast-switchers-market

Further key findings from the study suggest:

Routing switchers accounted for over 40% of the global market in 2013; the segment is further expected to gain market share over the forecast period. Growing amount of video content has led to installation of sophisticated broadcasting products so as to provide high quality streaming. Production switchers are expected to witness high growth, and manufacturers have focused on reengineering and product development measures.

Sports broadcasting accounted for over 20% of the market share in 2013, mainly due to demand for high resolution format. Key manufacturers have aimed to provide multi-definition switchers capable of functioning in varied environments. Growth in demand for outside broadcasting vans is expected to drive the production trucks segment over the next six years.

North America is expected to continue being the market leader over the forecast period; it accounted for over 35% of the market in 2013. Asia Pacific is expected to be a fast growing regional market over the forecast period due to investments in broadcast infrastructure.

Key industry participants include Sony, Snell Group, Ross Video, Broadcast Pix, Panasonic Corporation, Harris Broadcast, etc. Major vendors differ on the basis of their product offering, with innovation and establishing global presence among the key strategies employed.

Grand View Research has segmented the global broadcast switchers market on the basis of product, application and region:

Broadcast Switchers Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

Master Control Switchers

Production Switchers

Routing Switchers

Broadcast Switchers Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

News Production

Post Production

Production Trucks

Sports Broadcasting

Studio Production

Others

Broadcast Switchers Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2012 - 2020)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

RoW

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.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet will be held here at 11 am on Wednesday amid the COVID-19 crisis.

On Monday, India entered the fourth phase of the lockdown which will continue till May 31.

With 5,611 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, Indias COVID-19 tally reached 1,06,750 today, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

As many as 140 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 3,303.

Out of the total cases, 61,149 are actives cases and 42,298 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
(Newser)  A man has been sentenced to death in Singapore over a Zoom call, which is probably not how Zoom CEO Eric Yuan envisioned his product being put to use. Reuters reports it's "one of just two known cases where a capital punishment verdict has been delivered remotely." It follows a Nigerian case earlier this month in which a man was sentenced to death for murdering his employer's brother, per the Guardian. With Singapore under lockdown due to COVID-19, only essential cases are proceeding. No arguments were presented at Friday's hearing, in which a foreign national was sentenced to be hanged. Punithan Genasan, 37, of Malaysia was convicted of trafficking heroin in a 2011 case.

story continues below

A rep for Singapore's Supreme Court said the case was presented via video call "for the safety of all involved in the proceedings," per the Guardian. But "Singapore's use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so," Human Rights Watch's deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, tells Reuters. Genasan's lawyer, however, says he did not object to the arrangement as only the verdict was presented. He adds his client is considering an appeal. Singapore is one of only four nations where people may be executed for drug-related offenses. (A jury trial is also playing out on Zoom.)
'Alarming' military build-up underway in Libya, as COVID-19 heightens insecurity

19 May 2020 - The civil war in Libya is in danger of intensifying as foreign intervention grows and the spectre of the COVID-19 pandemic adds to a deepening sense of insecurity, the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council on Tuesday.

Stephanie Williams, who is also Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, said on Tuesday that while the rest of the world adjusts to life with the novel coronavirus, Libyans have dealt with almost constant bombardment and frequent water and electricity outages during the holy month Ramadan.

At the same time, an "alarming" military build-up is underway as foreign backers send increasingly sophisticated and lethal weapons to the warring sides  the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) and the so-called opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) led by General Khalifa Haftar. The General's forces began laying siege to southern parts of the capital Tripoli, more than a year ago.

Justice must prevail

The vast majority of the 58 civilians killed and 190 injured since 1 April are attributed to forces affiliated with General Haftar, she said, adding that those guilty of crimes under international law must be brought to justice.

"From what we are witnessing in terms of the massive influx of weaponry, equipment and mercenaries to the two sides, the only conclusion that we can draw is that this war will intensify, broaden and deepen - with devastating consequences for the Libyan people", she told the Council.

"As the foreign intervention increases, the Libyans themselves are getting lost in the mix, their voices crowded out. We must not let Libya slip away. We must enable responsible Libyans to write their own future."

Apply 'credible' pressure

She urged Council members to come together and apply "consistent and credible pressure" on those regional and international actors that are fuelling the conflict, which has left one million civilians in need of humanitarian assistance.

"We can collectively write a different ending to this so far sad tale but only if we demonstrate a collective will to do so", she added as she presented the Secretary-General's latest report on UNSMIL.

COVID impact

Discussing the impact of COVID-19 on Libya, she reported 65 confirmed cases and three COVID-related deaths across Libya up to Monday  a low count that reflects low testing capacity, limited contact tracing and fear of social stigmatization.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), however, the peak of the pandemic has yet to reach the country "and the risk of an intensification of the outbreak remains very high."

She expressed particular concern about the situation of migrants and asylum-seekers, including at least 1,400 who have been expelled this year from eastern Libya in violation of the country's international human rights obligations.

She went on to say that the fighting - compounded with the pandemic and an ongoing oil blockade that has cost Libya more than $4 billion  is aggravating an already fraught socioeconomic situation.

The weaponization of vital services is another worrying trend, she added, pointing to the cut-off of both water supplies from the Man-Made River and natural gas to electrical power plants.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Local residents in Caherciveen have rejected the apology from Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan for the way he and his department handled the relocation of asylum seekers from Dublin to the Kerry town.

Mr Flanagan took the unprecedented step of taking out full page ads in local newspapers to apologise in an open letter aimed directly at the people of Caherciveen.

However, instead of allaying local fears and anger, the apology appears to have backfired, with resident saying it does not go far enough and calling for the centre to be closed.

At least 25 residents at the Direct Provision centre at The Skellig Star Hotel, Cahersiveen have now tested positive for Covid-19.

More than 30 people, some with children have been removed from the centre. The remaining residents, who have been in lockdown for the past three weeks, were allowed out for the first time yesterday.

In his apology, Mr Flanagan stated one of the residents had not tested positive before the move the Caherciveen as had been reported, but he admitted the source of the virus might never be known.

Residents said this suggested that the source of the virus was the local community.

Jack Fitzpatrick chairman of the Cahersiveen social and business alliance said no one was looking for an apology.

What everyone wanted is for the centre to be closed because it is totally unsuitable, he said.

No one is looking for an apology  we are looking for a solution. And where is the solution? He came down to apologise and ended up insulting us, saying the source was here in the community, Mr Fitzpatrick said.

A statement from the asylum seekers at The Skellig Star Hotel, Cahersiveen, provided to Radio Kerry, thanked the minister for accepting the move to the hotel in Caherciveen was wrong.

However, they said the impact of Covid-19 was known by March 2, well in advance of their forced move from Dublin to Kerry.

The issue of whether the Department of Justice followed HSE advice in moving people out of Dublin on March 18, during the pandemic, still needed to be addressed, the statement said.

Local Fianna Fail Councillor Michael Cahill said the apology was "worthless" unless Mr Flanagan closed the centre.

I now call on Minister Flanagan, for once and for all, to close down the Direct Provision Centre based in The Skellig Star Hotel, Cahersiveen and finally house those held there in humane conditions as should have been the case from day one.

Meanwhile, Killarney solicitor Padraig J OConnell has confirmed that legal papers seeking an injunction to close the centre are being drawn up.

Mr OConnell has been instructed by a local man to seek the injunction.

A barrister has been appointed and the matter is to come before the Circuit Court at the earliest opportunity once the documents are in place, Mr OConnell said.

A march is to take place through Cahersiveen today by locals in support of the residents calls to close the centre. It will be the second such march.
Bengaluru, May 19 (IANS) An Air India repatriation flight from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia landed in Bengaluru airport with 142 Indian returnees, including 94 for Karnataka and 48 to Ahmedabad in Gujarat, an official said on Tuesday.

"The Airbus A320-251N landed at the Kempegowda international airport at 6:44 p.m. from Kuala Lumpur with 142 passengers, 16 minutes ahead of its scheduled arrival," an airline official told IANS.

Of the total returnees, 94, including 63 men, 30 women and an infant alighted at the airport, while the remaining 48, with 40 men and 8 women seated in the aircraft for their onward journey to Ahmedabad.

"The airline staff and the state government officials received the returnees at the arrival terminal and gave them masks to and sanitizer to wash their hands.

All the passengers were screened with a thermal device to read their body temperature though only asymptomatic have been flown.

After completing 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 resorts across the city.

Passengers were also told to download the mandatory quarantine app, the Aroygya Setu app and Apthamitra app on their mobile before leaving the airport for contact tracing later.

The service was the second to the southern state in the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, the national carrier and its Express arm are operating to repatriate thousands of Indians, including distressed workers, migrants, students, senior citizens and tourists, stranded overseas since the government suspended international flights on March 23 and enforced an extended lockdown on March 25 to combat Covid-19 spread.

The first flight in the second phase landed on Monday night at Mangaluru airport on the state's west coast, with 177 returnees from Dubai in the UAE.

The remaining 16 flights to Karnataka will land in Bengaluru over the next 15 days till June 3 from 13 more destinations the world over.

In the first phase of the mission from May 7-17, the airline and its arm flew 6 flights to the state from May 11-15, bringing in 800 passengers, including 623 to Bengaluru and 177 to Mangaluru on the state's west coast from London, Singapore, San Francisco and Dubai.

--IANS

fb/prs
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Apart from the 47 terrorists neutralized in Tuesday's assault on two terrorist bases in the northwestern province of Kossi, the Burkinabe forces also seized a large quantity of cannabis, the National Gendarmerie that carried out the operation said
Actor Ken Osmond, best known for his role on the popular TV sitcom Leave it to Beaver, died on Monday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 76.

On the primetime series, which aired from 1957 to 1963 on CBS and ABC, Osmond played the two-faced Eddie Haskell. His character was elaborately polite to the parents in his orbit, but would transform into a mischievous bad boy when the adults were out of sight.

In this way, Osmond provided a comic foil to Wally Cleaver (played by Tony Dow), the straight-arrow older brother of Theodore The Beaver Cleaver (Jerry Mathers). The series, a black-and-white classic, focused on a suburban family coping with the adventures of an impulsive and headstrong Beaver.

Although Eddie Haskell wasnt part of the central Cleaver family, Osmonds character proved to be a standout.

"He was a terrific guy, he was a terrific actor and his character is probably one that will last forever, Dow told The Associated Press on Monday.

I will greatly miss my lifelong friend Ken Osmond who I have known for over 63 years, Mathers said via Twitter. I have always said that he was the best actor on our show because in real life his personality was so opposite of the character that he so brilliantly portrayed. RIP dear friend.

I will greatly miss my lifelong friend Ken Osmond who I have known for over 63 years. I have always said that he was the best actor on our show because in real life his personality was so opposite of the character that he so briliantly portrayed. RIP dear friend. #kenosmond pic.twitter.com/dnVHUEghOC  Jerry Mathers (@TheJerryMathers) May 18, 2020

Despite his success, Osmond found himself typecast after appearing in all six seasons of Leave it to Beaver. The California native later made appearances on TV series such as Petticoat Junction, Lassie and The Munsters, but to viewers and casting directors, he remained Eddie Haskell.

Osmond joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1970, and grew a mustache to disguise himself from TV fans. He worked as an officer on motorcycle patrol until his retirement in 1988.

Osmond reprised his signature role in a TV movie, Still the Beaver, in 1983. He also appeared in The New Leave It to Beaver, a revival sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1989.

This Dec. 10, 1982, file photo shows members of the original cast of "Leave it to Beaver" during the filming of a TV special, "Still The Beaver." From left: Ken Osmond, Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley and Jerry Mathers.(AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)

Osmond also wrote a memoir, Eddie: The Life and Times of Americas Pre-eminent Bad Boy," that was published in 2014.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today SafeBreach announces integration of its attack technique simulations into the Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) evaluation lab , offering friction-free access to SafeBreach's market-leading Breach-and-Attack Simulation (BAS) Platform. This integration empowers security teams to instantly and accurately test the efficacy of endpoint security capabilities against leading threats such as malware infection, credential theft, data collection, ransomware, modification of registry keys, and malicious OS configurations.

The Microsoft Defender ATP team built the evaluation lab to make it push-button simple for organizations to build and run proofs of concept (PoCs) in virtual environments using real software and networking scenarios in a safe simulation environment. The built-in SafeBreach simulations markedly improve the capabilities of the lab; they enable PoCs to clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of various Microsoft Defender ATP configurations and empower security teams to closely observe and review prevention, detection, and remediation features in action. These simulations and the reports they generate cover the full span of a simulated attack along the entire kill chain.

"We share a mission with Microsoft to make organizations more secure by enabling them to adopt the most effective security tools," says Itzik Kotler, CTO and co-founder of SafeBreach. "This integration gives security teams the best-in-class breach and attack simulation platform to use for their product validation to make sure they can try before they buy with the highest possible level of confidence."

Security teams using the evaluation lab do not need to make any code or configuration changes to run the SafeBreach simulations. Testers can simply select from one of the available scenarios in their evaluation lab control panel, immediately run the simulations, and then receive the results for further validation and analysis.

"Evaluating endpoint protection solutions under real-world scenarios is highly critical for our customers, yet can be technically challenging and time consuming," says Moti Gindi, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Threat Protection. "The SafeBreach integration within Microsoft Defender ATP evaluation lab enables customers to easily simulate a wide range of attacks and learn more on how to improve detection, investigation and response capabilities in their network, tackling some of the most critical threats they face in the wild."

In the lab, testers can choose between different simulations, each of which covers a broad range of potential attack tactics and procedures.

The first five available attack simulations include:

APT29 (CozyBear) - attacks for localhost infection and malicious behavior

Credential threat - techniques such as dumping passwords and authentication tokens

OS configuration changes - modifying the operating system configuration to enable malicious activity

Code execution - techniques to verify whether it is possible to enable malicious activity

Ransomware infection - known attacks including WannaCry, JAFF, Locky, NotPetya, and others

Please read the SafeBreach solution brief for more information.

About SafeBreach

SafeBreach is a leader in breach and attack simulation. The company's groundbreaking patented platform provides a "hacker's view" of an enterprise's security posture to proactively predict attacks, validate security controls and improve security operations center (SOC) analyst response. SafeBreach automatically executes thousands of breach methods from its extensive and growing Hacker's Playbook of research and real-world investigative data. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the company is funded by Sequoia Capital, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, DNX Ventures, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, PayPal and investor Shlomo Kramer. For more information, visit www.safebreach.com or follow us on Linkedin at linkedin.com/company/safebreach

Media Contact:

Danielle Ostrovsky

Hi-Touch PR

[email protected]

SOURCE SafeBreach

Related Links

http://www.safebreach.com


(CNN) - Italy will start reopening all its airports starting June 3, Transport Minister Paola de Micheli announced on Wednesday during a parliamentary session.

"It will be possible to proceed to the reopening of all airports starting from June 3, when transfers are again permitted," the minister said.

De Micheli added that current interregional and international limitations will also end for public transport within the country.

Flights were suspended in all major Italian airports on March 14, except for essential flights. Rome's Ciampino and Florence's airports were allowed to reopen on May 4, but the Milan hub remained closed due to the lack of air traffic, the minister said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Italy to reopen all airports starting June 3"
Analysis banner

President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama in 2017.

Jack Gruber-Pool/Getty Images

President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have in recent weeks latched onto a vague conspiracy theory, dubbed Obamagate, that centers on former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

It accuses Obama administration officials of improperly "unmasking" Flynn's name in intelligence reports monitoring former Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak's communications.

But a Washington Post report on Wednesday blew up that allegation when it revealed that Flynn's name was never "masked" in the first place.

The Obamagate conspiracy theory also accuses former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden of having advance knowledge of the FBI's plans to interview Flynn about his communications with Kislyak.

But a newly declassified email appears to debunk that claim as well.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump, Republican lawmakers, and right-wing media personalities have in recent weeks latched onto a vague conspiracy theory accusing former President Barack Obama and his administration of masterminding the Russia investigation and engineering a "deep-state" campaign to undermine Trump's presidency before it even began.

The conspiracy, dubbed Obamagate, revolves around former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of lying to the FBI as part of the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Specifically, Flynn admitted to lying to investigators about a December 29, 2016 phone call with then Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, during which the incoming national security adviser asked that the Kremlin not retaliate against new sanctions Obama had levied against Russia, and suggested the Trump administration would be more receptive.

Obamagate accuses former Vice President Joe Biden and other Obama administration officials of improperly requesting that Flynn's name be "unmasked" in intelligence reports monitoring Kislyak's communications.

Story continues

The conspiracy theory picked up steam last week when Richard Grenell, the acting director of national intelligence, declassified a list of Obama administration officials who made unmasking requests which included Flynn's name between November 30, 2016, and January 12, 2017. Biden was among the names on the list.

Trump and his allies seized on the development and said it showed Biden and others improperly and illegally unmasked the former national security adviser's identity.

But a Washington Post report on Wednesday blew up that allegation when it revealed that Flynn's name was never "masked" in the first place.

"When the FBI circulated [the report], they included Flynn's name from the beginning" because it was essential to understanding its significance, a former senior US official told The Post. "There were therefore no requests for the unmasking of that information."

Moreover, the list documented unmasking requests made through the National Security Agency, while transcripts documenting Flynn's conversations with Kislyak were an FBI product, meaning the names on the declassified list Grenell released are unrelated to Flynn's conversations with Kislyak.

The US intelligence community surveils hundreds of thousands of foreign targets per year, and "unmasking" is a routine and legal tool officials use to make more sense of the communications they're monitoring. The intelligence community gets thousands of unmasking requests a year.

The Obamagate theory also accuses Obama and Biden of having advance knowledge of the FBI's plans to interview Flynn about his communications with Kislyak during the 2017 presidential transition period.

That allegation centers on an Oval Office meeting that took place on January 5, 2017, and included Obama, Biden, then-national security adviser Susan Rice, then-FBI Director James Comey, and then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.

Rice sent herself an email documenting the meeting afterward  known as a contemporaneous memo  and Trump and his Republican allies have seized on the email as evidence that Obama ordered the FBI to "spy" on the Trump campaign.

But the email, which was declassified in full this week (though much of it had already been declassified), appears to indicate otherwise.

During the meeting, according to Rice's email, Obama emphasized "his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book.'"

"The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective," the email said. "He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book."

Obama said, however, that from "a national security perspective," the outgoing administration should be "mindful" when sharing information about Russia with the incoming Trump administration, according to Rice's memo.

Comey then affirmed that he was proceeding "by the book" but said he was concerned about Flynn's frequent conversations with Kislyak and that the communications "could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information."

Obama asked Comey if he was saying the National Security Council should not share sensitive intelligence about Russia with Flynn, to which Comey replied: "Potentially."

He added, however, that he had no information indicating that Flynn had passed any classified information to Kislyak, though their "level of communication" was "unusual," the memo said.

Business Insider
- Wuhan is where the first case of coronavirus was reported in December 2019 and it was widely believed that the virus originated from wild animals

- The ban which was temporarily imposed in February will now last for five years after an official notice was released on Wednesday, May 20

- Chinese nationals have for long embraced the culture of not only eating wild animals but also using them for traditional medicine, clothing, ornaments and even as \pets

China's city of Wuhan has officially banned consumption of wild animals and ordered for closure of all markets and stalls selling meat from wild animals.

Wuhan is where the first case of coronavirus was reported in December 2019 and it was widely believed that the virus originated from game meat that define the business of Chinese city.

READ ALSO: Ruai evictees embroiled in another land tussle with private developer

Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: CBS News.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Watatu wafumaniwa wakila nyama ya mbwa na kuwauzia wakazi Tharaka-Nithi

The ban was officially communicated on Wednesday, May`20, after a temporary suspension on the practice was issued in February 2020.

Authorities further banned all hunting activities within the city except for government-sanctioned directives necessary for "scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances."

The directive will last for five years.

READ ALSO: Senator Moses Wetang'ula's brother buried in Bungoma

In January 2020, scientists in China said the virus had likely jumped onto humans from wild animals sold as food at a wet market in Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people.

Although it was not made not clear which specific animal transferred the virus to humans; bats, snakes and pangolins have severally been suggested as possible transmitters.

Chinese nationals have for long embraced the culture of not only eating wild animals but also using them for traditional medicine, clothing, ornaments and even pets.

According to a report filed by CNN in March, banning of consumption of wild animals in China has had a history of resistance over time and the government might be compelled to go an extra mile in order to completely outlaw the practice.

In 2003, selling of snakes and civets and mongoose-type creatures was banned after being linked to transmission of SARS virus to humans but this policy hit a snag.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused adverse social and economic impact across the world with many businesses shut and flights suspended.

Globally, at least 324,000 people have died and nearly five million contracted the virus.

Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly.

My wife pushed me to marry another woman - Pastor Habil Were | Tuko TV.

Source: TUKO.co.ke
The Pima County Board of Supervisors postponed a vote to amend a set of temporary health code regulations that have sparked controversy throughout the county and state. A decision will be made at an emergency meeting Thursday.

Last week, the board voted 3-2 to adopt the regulations for restaurants, pools, gyms and other facilities in order to protect employees and customers through the duration of the pandemic.

The proclamation includes a variety of regulations for different businesses, such as occupancy limitations, protective-equipment requirements, social-distancing protocols, daily temperature checks and the public display of signage and cleaning logs.

After receiving a considerable amount of feedback, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry offered several amendments to the regulations, including no longer requiring restaurants to have call-ahead reservation systems, no longer requiring workers to determine if a customer is ill with COVID-19 and rescinding any civil penalties associated with a violation of the regulations.

After a lengthy meeting Tuesday, several board members also suggested a number of their own revisions, resulting in a decision to delay the vote until a final draft of the proposed amendments could be reviewed.

Supervisor Steve Christy, who has consistently voted against the regulations, asked that the amendments not be adopted and that the proclamation be rescinded altogether.

There is already adequate assurances for safety of the customers and workforce already on the books with the governors proclamations. What its saying to the restaurant community is that Pima County does not trust the restaurants to do the right thing.
UNITYVILLE  An eastern Lycoming County man is accused of killing a neighbors escaped cow, quartering it and disposing of the remains some by burning them.

Gary W. Colatosti, 40, of the Unityville area, was arrested Tuesday on charges that include aggravated cruelty to an animal, theft and tampering with physical evidence.

He is accused of killing one of two registered Holsteins valued at $1,500 that escaped in January from the Jordan Twp. property of Eddie Kitzmiller.

Kitzmiller reported to state police on Jan. 9 that two of his cows escaped from the pasture but only one returned and it had a neck wound that appeared to have been inflicted by a bladed object.

A family member discovered cow prints leading to Colatostis backyard where he was observed burning a brush pile with a torch connected to a propane tank, the arrest affidavit states. A pile of intestinal remains was visible at the bottom of the pile, the document states.

Troopers dispatched back to Colatostis residence later in the day for a reported altercation said they discovered a loud argument between him and Kitzmiller and his son.

Trooper Anthony Mazzone stated in the affidavit he observed blood in the bed of Colatostis pickup truck and blood in the backyard that was not there earlier. Colatosti claimed the blood was turned up by his tractor tires, the trooper said.

Following that interview, Mazzone said he met with Kitzmiller who told him he found the dead cow along a road west of the Colatosti residence. Tire tracks in the snow matched those of Colatostis all-terrain vehicle, the charges state.

Mazzone said he and other trooper followed the tire tracks and then footprints to a downed tree where behind it they found four trash bags containing quarters of a cow with the meat was still warm.

Colatosti admitted he had driven his ATV to that area to check a game camera and to dump diesel fuel, the charges state.

Laboratory test results received last week of blood samples taken from the bed of Colatostis truck last week confirmed the blood was that of a cow, Mazzone said.

Colatosti, who also is charged with receiving stolen property, criminal mischief and cruelty to an animal in relation to the second cow, is free on $25,000 supervised bail.

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.

--

Other John Beauge stories published recently on PennLive

Geisinger taking step to partially fill void created by closing of hospital in Sunbury

Pa. Health Dept. grossly negligent for not knowing about COVID-19 situation at skilled nursing home: legislator

Bail reduction denied for alleged facilitator in Lycoming County murder-for-hire scheme

Pa. school directors threat to shoot anyone without a mask who comes close to her rankles some in community

Lancaster man accused of stabbing store clerk because she asked him to leave
The list is based on cable television with average ratings of all the episodes in each drama series. The data changes every time a new record has hit the target. All reached rankings for average nationwide TV ratings come from Nielsen Korea. Each drama series ratings are taken from all episodes during their broadcast.

1. "The World of The Married" (2020) - 18.8%

Channel: JTBC

Air Schedule: Fridays & Saturdays

No. of Episodes: 16

Director: Mo Wan-il

Writer: Joo Hyun

The JTBC drama maintained its high ratings from premiere broadcast to its final episodes. Viewers got mixed emotions as the show ran for weeks, plus the show became record-breaking as the highest-rated drama premiere for JTBC!

"The World of The Married" tackles marriage, divorce, and self-realization. Stars Kim Hee Ae, in character as a famous doctor, thought her marriage was perfect until things changed when her husband (Park Hae Joon) commits adultery. Their struggles didn't only affect their marriage but the people that surrounded them, especially their child.

2. "Mr. Sunshine" (2018) - 13.0%

Channel: tvN

Air Schedule: Saturdays & Sundays

No. of Episodes: 24

Director: Lee Eung-bok

Writer: Kim Eun-sook

"Mr. Sunshine" achieved high ratings of 18.1%, thus, becoming one of the top Korean dramas in 2018. It's one of Sky Castle's rivals during the 55th Baeksang Arts awards in many categories.

The story revolves around a man (Lee Byung Hun) who grew up in the US and returned home to Korea as an American Marine Corps officer. As he returns to his homeland, he meets a noblewoman (Kim Tae Ri) and falls in love with her.

3. "Goblin" (2016-2017) - 12.9%

Channel: tvN

Air Schedule: Fridays & Saturdays

No. of Episodes: 16

Director: Lee Eung-bok

Writer: Kim Eun-sook

This fantasy-romance drama became a hit series globally, having recognized and received critical reviews from overseas fans. The story is quite interesting as a goblin (Gong Yoo), who wishes to end his cursed immortal life, gets help from his human bride (Kim Go Eun). Because of the drama's success, Kim Eun Sook, the writer of the series and also renowned in the industry, won the Grand prize at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards, while actor Gong Yoo won the Best Actor.

4. Sky Castle (2018-2019) - 12.5%

Channel: JTBC

Air Schedule: Fridays & Saturdays

No. of Episodes: 20

Director: Jo Hyun Tak

Writer: Yoo Hyun-mi

Sky Castle premiered at a slow start with 1.7%, but it skyrocketed to 23.8% during its finale. The drama differs in terms of peak ratings. It's the highest-rated Korean drama.

The story is about a group of affluent families (Yum Jung Ah), living in an elite neighborhood. They are determined to send their children to the popular medical school in the country.

5. Reply 1988 (2015-2016) - 12.4%

Channel: tvN

Air Schedule: Fridays & Saturdays

No. of Episodes: 20

Director: Shin Won Ho

Writer: Lee Woo Jung

It's a story of simple and ordinary five teenagers, living in the same neighborhood, and have been friends since they were kids. It depicts the reality of events that tackles friendship, love, and family. It hit a peak rating of 18.8% during its premiere broadcast for its record viewership.

Actress and K-pop star Hyeri, Park Bo Gum, Ryu Jun Yeol, Go Kyung Pyo, and Lee Dong Hwi starred in this series. And because of its amazing storyline and the cast members' outstanding portrayals, "Reply 1988" received at least eight nominations and a Best Director and Best New Actor at the 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards.
Piers Morgan enjoyed a socially-distanced reunion with his eldest son on Wednesday, after spending three months apart due to the UK's coronavirus lockdown rules.

In an Instagram post, the Good Morning Britain presenter, 55, appeared in great spirits as he caught up with Spencer, 26, after being forced to isolate separately.

Last week, the host joked he'll be employing two of his kids as a 'cleaner and an estate agent' in order to see them, as the Prime Minister announced the nation can now see others from a different household while maintaining a two-metre distance.

'Nice to see you again': Piers Morgan enjoyed a socially-distanced reunion with his eldest son Spencer on Wednesday, after spending three months apart due to the COVID-19 lockdown

The father-and-son duo flashed thumbs up signs as they enjoyed a refreshing walk in the rare sunshine.

'Nice to see you again son, albeit from 2 metres. #3MonthReunion', the media personality, who also shares Stanley, 22, and Albert, 19, with ex-wife Marion Shalloe, captioned his post.

Piers initially revealed his plans to reunite with two of his sons earlier this month, after Boris Johnson loosened the UK's lockdown status.

Family first: The presenter, 55, shares sons Spencer, Stanley, 22, and Albert, 19, with ex-wife Marion Shalloe, and daughter Elise, eight, with wife Celia Walden (pictured with the kids)

Reunion: Last week, the GMB host joked he'll be employing two of his kids as a 'cleaner and an estate agent' in order to see them (pictured with Susanna Reid)

During a recent episode of Good Morning Britain, the lead anchor told co-host Susanna Reid: 'I'm going to see both my sons', to which she replied: 'What? You're not allowed to see them at the same time Piers Morgan.'

The outspoken star - who did not specify which of his sons he'll meet at the time - explained: 'Separate times, separate days. One son I've employed as my cleaner and the other son I'm employing as my part time estate agent.

'So that way I can see them both in houses. It's just common sense', the TV star quipped.

'Separate days, separate times, it makes sense': The outspoken news personality did not specify which of his sons he'll meet at the time

Joke's on Piers: Injecting some humour into the stressful matter, the journalist's son joked: 'No, stay away from us', when Piers said he was confused over the new lockdown rules

Piers has been spending the nation's lockdown with his wife Celia Walden and their daughter Elise, eight.

The father-of-four's mum Gabrielle, 75, has been in self-isolation since March, with the pair forced to spend Mother's Day apart.

The Prime Minister's 'exit plan' for the COVID-19 lockdown left the nation divided on what the public's next steps are.

In his pre-recorded speech from Downing Street, the leader of the UK urged those who can't work from home to go back to their jobs, allowed unlimited outdoor exercise and hinted at schools returning in June and some public venues reopening in July.

Details about when people can see their families and friends were notably sparse, however.

Piers didn't hold back in sharing he was confused about the new rules, tweeting: 'I haven't seen two of my sons for 10 weeks.

'They live 10 minutes away, next to a large common. Am I allowed to go and see them, if I stay 2 metres away? The answer appears to be no, yet I can see 1000s of strangers a day in my local park if I stay 2m away. Makes no sense.'

Injecting some humour into the stressful matter, the journalist's son joked: 'No, stay away from us.'

Sacrifice: The father-of-four's mum Gabrielle, 75, has been in self-isolation since March, with the pair forced to spend Mother's Day apart
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department on Tuesday put California Gov. Gavin Newsom on notice, claiming that his plan for the state's staggered re-opening from the threat posed by the coronavirus discriminates against religious groups and a return to in-person worship services.

Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, chief of the department's Civil Rights Division, warned the governor that places of worship were being forced to take a back seat to a gradual resumption of operations at schools, restaurants, offices and shopping malls.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces criteria for coronavirus hospitalizations and testing that could allow counties to open faster, during a news conference in Napa, Calif., Monday May 18, 2020.

Dreiband, in a letter to the governor, cast the policy as "differential treatment" that unfairly singled out religious worship for restrictions that the state would not impose on other activities.

"The Department of Justice does not seek to dictate how states such as California determine what degree of activity and personal interaction should be allowed to protect the safety of their citizens," the letter states. "However, we are charged with upholding the Constitution and federal statutory protections for civil rights. Whichever level of restrictions you adopt, these civil rights protections mandate equal treatment of persons and activities of a secular and religious nature."

California authorities did not immediately respond to Justice's action.

But the warning to California marks an expansion of Justice's intervention in states where religious services have been restricted by executive orders aimed at controlling the virus' spread.

Justice intervenes in Virginia: DOJ sides with church in challenge to coronavirus state order limiting gatherings in Virginia

'Discrimination' at Miss., church service: DOJ sides with Mississippi church in COVID-19 challenge; church accuses police of discrimination

Earlier this month, Justice sided with a Virginia church in its challenge to a state shutdown order limiting the size of religious gatherings, claiming it violated constitutional guarantees of free expression.

Story continues

Federal authorities moved in the Virginia case after a pastor was cited by local police for hosting a service attended by 16 people  six more than allowed for such in-person gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, the government joined the side of a Mississippi church after congregants were issued citations for attending a drive-in service.

The Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Attorney General William Barr signaled early in the health emergency that Justice would be scrutinizing state policies that could be interpreted as overly restrictive.

"Many policies that would be unthinkable in regular times have become commonplace in recent weeks, and we do not want to unduly interfere with the important efforts of state and local officials to protect the public," Barr wrote in a memo to federal prosecutors. "But the Constitution is not suspended in times of crisis. We must therefore be vigilant to ensure its protections are preserved, at the same time that the public is protected."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Justice warns California re-opening may discriminate against religion
The United States Senate passed a bill that may block Chinese firms from US securities exchanges.

The United States Senate passed legislation on Wednesday that could prevent some Chinese companies from listing their shares on US exchanges unless they follow standards for US audits and regulations.

The measure, sponsored by Republican Senator John Kennedy and Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, passed by unanimous consent. However, it must pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Donald Trump to become law.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act bars securities of any company from being listed on any US securities exchange if the company has failed to comply with the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Boards audits for three years in a row.

The measure also would require public companies to disclose whether they are owned or controlled by a foreign government.

The bill is written to apply to all foreign companies, but the Reuters News agency is reporting that it is targeted at China, and follows intense criticism of Beijing by Trump, a Republican  criticism that has been echoed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike.

Trump and other officials in his administration insist that China mishandled the novel coronavirus during the early weeks of an outbreak that has spread into a global pandemic that has killed more than 320,000 people and cratered global economies.

Beijing denies such allegations.

There are plenty of markets all over the world open to cheaters, but America cant afford to be one of them. China is on a glidepath to dominance and is cheating at every turn, Kennedy said in a statement.

For too long, said Van Hollen, Chinese companies have disregarded US reporting standards, misleading our investors.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily prevented the House of Representatives from obtaining secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

The court's unsigned order keeps previously undisclosed details from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election out of the hands of Democratic lawmakers at least until early summer. The court will decide then whether to extend its hold.

The federal appeals court in Washington ruled in March that the documents should be turned over because the House Judiciary Committees need for the material in its investigation of President Donald Trump outweighed the Justice Department's interests in keeping the testimony secret.

Mueller's 448-page report, issued in April 2019, 'stopped short' of reaching conclusions about Trump's conduct, including whether he obstructed justice, to avoid stepping on the House's impeachment power, the appeals court said.

Another plea to the Supremes: Donald Trump will find out on June 1 if he will get a Supreme Court hearing on his attempt to block the Democrats from Robert Mueller's secrets

Underlying secrets: Democrats want to see the material Robert Mueller presented to grand juries. The Supreme Court has given itself until June 1 to decide on whether to hold a full-scale hearing on whether they should. If they do not, it will be handed over

The committee was able to persuasively argue that it needed access to the underlying grand jury material to make its own determinations about the presidents actions, the court said.

The materials initially were sought last summer, but by the time the appeals court ruled in March, Trump had been impeached by the House and acquitted by the Senate.

The Justice Department said in its Supreme Court filings that the court's action was needed in part because the House hasn't given any indication it 'urgently needs these materials for any ongoing impeachment investigation.'

The House had opposed the delay on the grounds that its investigation of Trump was continuing, and that time is of the essence because of the approaching election. The current session of the House will end Jan. 3, and lawmakers elected in November will take their seats.

The committee investigation 'continues today and has further developed in light of recent events,' the House told the justices, citing the 'possible exercise of improper political influence' on decisions to seek a shorter prison term for Trump confidant Roger Stone and end the prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, despite his two guilty pleas.

The case is one of several ongoing court disputes between the Trump administration and Congress.

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week over whether Trumps accountants and banks must turn over financial records to House committees. The administration is not a party to the case, but is backing the president.

The appeals court also is weighing whether former White House counsel Don McGahn must appear before the committee to answer questions related to the Mueller investigation.

Here we go again: The nine justices of the Supreme Court will decide on whether to turn the Mueller grand jury material into another constitutional showdown

And the Justice Department has said it will ask the Supreme Court to step in and kill a lawsuit alleging that Trump is illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel.

Mueller's report detailed multiple interactions between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, and examined several episodes involving the president for potential obstruction of justice. Mueller said his team did not find sufficient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy between the campaign and the Kremlin to tip the election, though pointedly noted that he could not exonerate the president for obstruction.

Portions of the report were blacked out, including grand jury testimony and material that Mueller said could harm ongoing investigations or infringe on the privacy of third parties.

Grand jury testimony is typically treated as secret, in part to protect the privacy of people who are not charged or are considered peripheral to a criminal investigation. But several exceptions allow for the material to be turned over, including if it is in connection with a judicial proceeding.

Lower courts agreed with lawmakers that impeachment is considered a judicial proceeding, rejecting Justice Department arguments to the contrary.
UN alarmed by rising civilian casualties in Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 3:32 PM

The United Nations (UN) says it is alarmed by the steep increase in the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and a "striking deterioration" in respect for international humanitarian law there.

The UN said in a report on Tuesday that Afghan civilian casualties had jumped to 380 in the month of April.

The number of casualties attributed to violence by the Taliban militants last month rose by a quarter compared to the same month a year earlier to 208, while casualties attributed to Afghan security forces rose 38 percent to 172.

Deborah Lyons, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan, has called for an immediate reduction of violence in the country.

"I call for a halt to the fighting and for parties to respect humanitarian law that is there to protect civilians," she said. "Parties have committed to finding a peaceful solution and should protect the lives of all Afghans and not jeopardize people's hope for an end to the war."

She said "intra-Afghan peace negotiations need to start as soon as possible."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a Twitter post, however, disputed the figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and blamed "blind airstrikes and artillery fire by US and internal forces" for the casualties.

Official data shows Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased 70 percent since the militant group inked a peace deal with the United States in February.

In a horrendous attack last Tuesday, three gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in Kabul, opening fire at pregnant women and newborn babies there. At least 24 people were killed and 16 others were injured before the gunmen were taken out by Afghan security forces.

Even though the Taliban said it was not responsible for that attack, a claim that the US also made, the Afghan government said the militant group was to blame.

The US has attempted to downplay Taliban violence in order not to see the deal collapse. The agreement, signed in February, allows for the phased withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan. The Afghan war, the longest in US history, started with a US invasion of the country in 2001.

The deal was also supposed to lay the groundwork for a peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The recent uptick in violence has only made that prospect unlikely. Last Tuesday, and in the face of the rising violence, President Ghani ordered the country's military to switch to offensive mode from a defensive one that had been adopted several months before in an attempt to save the deal between the US and the Taliban.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






New York State Police will increase patrols to combat drunk, impaired and reckless driving throughout this Memorial Day weekend.

According to a news release, the STOP-DWI enforcement period starts on Friday, May 22, and runs through Tuesday, May 26. State police and local law enforcement agencies will be out in force to remove impaired and reckless drivers from our highways.

Drivers can expect to see sobriety checkpoints and increased patrols. Troopers will be using both marked and unmarked vehicles as part of this crackdown in order to more easily identify motorists who are violating the law. Troopers will also conduct an underage drinking enforcement detail.

As we take time this Memorial Day to honor those who died in service to our county, we remind motorists to make safety the top priority," State Police Superintendent Keith M. Corlett said in a statement. "If your holiday plans include alcohol, please arrange for a safe ride home. Driving impaired is a choice that often has serious and even deadly consequences. State Troopers will be highly visible this weekend, and will have zero tolerance for impaired, reckless and distracted drivers.

State police said that on Memorial Day weekend in 2019, troopers arrested 225 people for drinking and driving, issued 13,693 total tickets, and investigated 134 personal injury crashes, which resulted in four fatalities.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1
There is nothing House of Cards like about a move by four Cork councillors to encourage Catherine Martin to challenge the leadership of Eamon Ryan, according to Councillor Lorna Bogue.

Cllr Bogue insists that they are just trying to do what is right for the party saying that the Green Party constitution mandates that a leadership election must occur within six months of a General Election.

She said the people who wrote the constitution could never have foreseen a situation where the country would be six months from an election and without a Government.

"Unfortunately (the leadership election) is not a time of our choosing.

In the middle of (Government) negotiations is definitely not the best time to be doing this.

"It is something that is mandated by our constitution that we have to have one (a contest) within six months of a general election.

"It has to be held and done-and-dusted in six months so we have to open up nominations and that takes a few weeks for those to be left open. June or July we will be having the vote."

In an interview with the Opinion Line on Cork's 96FM, Cllr Bogue emphasised that it was not a question of them having no confidence in Mr Ryan.

"We are all very grateful to Eamon and we think he has done a really brilliant job over the last 10 years bringing us to the position where we currently are at. If you think a week is a long time in politics 10 years is a very long time.

"I suppose we are just looking at Catherine. We know there is going to be a leadership election and we are just encouraging her to go for it.

When people start looking at leadership elections people think it is all very House of Cards. It isn't at all. It is actually just about having the best person for the role. I personally think Catherine has had a remarkable career.

"Regardless of whether the decision is made by the party to go in to Government or not we feel Catherine would do an absolutely brilliant job as leader of the party. She is the deputy leader for the last 10 years. She has been with us every step of the way."

Cllr Bogue said she wasn't happy at the thought of going in to Government but was prepared to look at any deal brokered by the parties.

"I have made my view fairly clear, I personally am not (happy to go in Government).

"Politics is about compromise but it is like what are you willing to compromise on? I would need to see what is in this deal. If it is some amazing deal that is brilliant for Cork I would have to take that into consideration."

Cllr Bogue added that she believed Deputy Martin's time had come to lead the party.

"I think regardless of whether we are in Government or not I think Catherine will do a really good job. It is not that we are saying that we have problems with Eamon. We have great time for Eamon. He has done brilliant work.

"Politics is a game of comparisons. You are looking at different skill sets that different people have and you compare them.

"At the moment Catherine is coming out as someone who has put a lot of hard work in, someone who is really supportive of members.....she is really modest. She doesn't go around tooting her own horn. I think she is ready for it. "

Meanwhile, Cork city and county Green Party councillors Oliver Moran, Colette Finn, Lorna Bogue and Liam Quaide say that Martin is the "right person" to lead the party.

In a letter sent to Deputy Martin they stress that they need a leader they can trust to do the right thing for the country and for the party.

In the letter, the councillors state: "In February, Ireland voted for change. We believe with your style of leadership, your convictions and your work ethic, you are the right person to lead the Green Party.

"Regardless of the outcome of these [government formation] talks, we will need a leader who we trust to do the right thing for the country and the party.

"Whether we enter government or not, we believe the party needs a new leader, someone who will fight hard for all of our futures.

"We urge you to put yourself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Green Party. You have our support."
ANN ARBOR, MI  A condo development first proposed in 2018 now has City Councils blessing to go forward.

After making the developer spend several months jumping through extra hoops, council voted unanimously this week to OK plans for The Garnet, a five-story, 10-unit building planned at 325 E. Summit St. just north of downtown Ann Arbor.

The approval came Monday night, May 18, as council members debated whether the delay was worth it.

I dont like how the sausage got made, but Ill eat it, said Council Member Zachary Ackerman, D-3rd Ward.

Some noted the delay resulted in getting the developer to contribute $88,200 to the citys affordable housing fund, while others argued its just driving up the developers costs and making the condos more expensive.

When we think about why housing is so expensive here and why we have a reputation for being difficult to build fairly simple projects that even neighbors want to see, call this is Exhibit A, said Council Member Julie Grand, D-3rd Ward.

The more difficult we make these processes, the longer we make them take and the more that we charge people, all of those costs get passed down, Ackerman said, arguing council put the developer in an unfortunate position.

Weve made them jump through a lot of hoops that theyve been incredibly patient to deal with at a time when local businesses are struggling and the real estate market is uncertain.

Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, said it was going to be an expensive project no matter what.

I know its going to make each of these units cost a little more. Well, thats not on us. Thats on the developer, he said.

Council rejected the project last year in a split 5-5 vote, with some arguing it wasnt appropriate to rezone the commercial property to a campus business district because it wasnt close enough to the University of Michigan campus.

Council members last September asked the developer to resubmit plans and have the project go back through the citys approval process as a planned unit development, also known as a PUD.

After further delays and questions about how much money the developer would be required to pay to the citys affordable housing fund, the project is now approved. Its largely the same as before, but with PUD zoning and the $88,200 for affordable housing.

Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, said it was worth making the developer go through PUD approval to send a message that council isnt OK with campus business district zoning outside the Central Campus area.

We have to be very careful to send a clear message to developers of what kind of projects well approve and especially when it involves rezoning, he said.

It also sends a message that PUDs are preferred because they require public benefits, Eaton said.

I dont know what obstacle that creates if we send a clear message that this is our expectation, he said.

Grand said she didnt want to send the same message and it comes back to philosophical differences about density.

Some council members arent serious about density and want to instill fear about change to neighborhoods, she said, and others support change to reach goals like carbon-neutrality.

I dont praise or shun density in and of itself," Hayner said. I think density is a strange metric by which to measure the quality of life in a city, and I know that its easier for some folks to praise density in neighborhoods when they are well aware that it isnt going to happen next door to them.

Hayner said he supported the project reluctantly and hes not a fan of the building. He said hes disappointed it wont be all-electric, when the citys carbon-neutrality strategy calls for moving away from natural gas.

But you guys are all perfectly willing to say build a building thats heated by natural gas and probably will be for eternity, Hayner told his colleagues.

We should be looking for developers who want to build the types of buildings that were going to want to see in 2030, and unfortunately this isnt one. However, Im going to support it, because it is what it is and Im sure we need 10 more half-million-dollar units. What can I say? There seems to be demand for high-end housing in this town.

The project is proposed by a company registered to local developer Kelly Anderson of KLA Development. Anderson couldnt be reached for comment.

The company paid $900,000 to buy the property in 2018 and development costs are estimated at $4.5 million.

City staff said earlier this year a $317,331 contribution to the affordable housing fund would be required under current rules. Council members decided Monday night to go with the lower amount of $88,200 required under old rules because the project was already in the pipeline before city code changed.

Council Member Ali Ramlawi, D-5th Ward, suggested the developer should have been required to pay more than $88,200.

It just doesnt seem right that were going to take nearly a quarter million dollars away perhaps from the affordable housing trust fund when we dont need to, he said.

Project architect Brad Moore said the development would not be economically viable and would not go forward if the $317,331 was required.

Council Member Chip Smith, D-5th Ward, called it a good project that should have went through under the previous zoning.

He pushed back on the idea that its too far from UM for campus business district zoning, saying its about 2,500 feet from the medical campus.

Thats about how far you would walk if you parked at the end of a Meijer parking lot and walked to the back of the store to get milk, he said.

Eaton said he was worried council could have set a legal precedent if it approved campus business zoning, resulting in the city getting sued if it didnt do the same for another similar project.

The developer has agreed to pay for an environmental cleanup of the property, estimated to cost between $200,000 and $300,000.

The proposed building includes a green roof, parking spaces prepped for electric vehicle charging stations, and improved stormwater management.

The development team argues the project puts new city residents close to jobs, shopping, public transit and other venues and amenities, taking cars off the road, reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Huron River hit with sewage overflow from Ann Arbor wastewater plant

Ann Arbor cancels city pool openings, summer day camps amid pandemic

Neighbor permission no longer required for backyard chickens, ducks in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor council divided 7-4 on COVID-19 financial recovery plan

Affordable housing discussion causes drama on Ann Arbor City Council
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding), proposed that the vehicle purchase tax, which is currently collected by the state tax department alone, should be jointly levied and administered by both the central and local governments.

Mr. Li offered the proposal as a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress before this years two sessions, Chinas most important annual political event, which will kick off in late May.

(Photo source: Geely Holding's WeChat account)

As one of pillar industries to China's domestic economy, the automobile business significantly drives the development of both upstream and downstream industries, he said. In 2019, China output and sold 25.721 million and 25.769 million vehicles respectively, and saw the annual gross product of automobile industry exceed 8 trillion yuan (around $1.128 trillion), which equaled to 8% of GDP.

However, China still possesses a great growth potential in automobile consumption as its per capita vehicle number still remains a relatively low level compared to developed countries.

To boost automobile shopping, China's central government has put forward a number of incentives and repeatedly highlighted the relaxation of the clampdown on new car registrations, but the responses from local governments are quite different. Li said local authorities not only gain meager proceeds from automobile businesses, but also will undertake heavier pressure on transportation and environment management once the vehicle purchase restriction is relaxed.

Li Shufu pointed out that the current tax mechanism substantially curbs local governments initiatives in boosting automobile consumption. Among the major taxes related to automobile sector, the vehicle purchase tax and consumption tax are charged by the central government, and the corporate income tax and VAT are administered by central and local governments together. The vehicle and vessel tax is solely controlled by local tax departments, but only takes very little portion. Apart from the insignificant revenue, they have to assume a sizeable investment cost in building infrastructures like road, park lots and EV charging piles, and in handing the severe traffic congestion after car population explodes.

Invigorating consumption is very essential to the high-quality development of Chinas automobile industry. To make vehicle purchase tax play a better role in increasing fiscal revenue and regulating economical activities, the tax collection system should be adapted to suit the current reality and future trend.

Thus, Li suggested that the responsibilities of collecting and managing vehicle purchase tax are 50/50 shared by both central and local governments. China's automobile outputs and sales are projected to be increased by 10 million units over the next decade to nearly 35 million units, said Li, citing a forecast offered by relevant agencies. If vehicles' unit prices still remain unchanged then, the revenue from vehicle purchase tax is likely to reach nearly 500 billion yuan ($70.289 billion), which would bring tax revenue worth 250 billion yuan ($35.144 billion) to local governments.

The additional tax income would largely alleviate local authorities burdens in improving people's wellbeing, paying wages and ensuring normal operation of governmental functions. Moreover, it will arouse their initiatives in creating sound environment for automobile consumption, strengthening the infrastructure construction, and solving such problems as traffic jam and shortage of parking lots.

Furthermore, Li Shufu also advised local governments to plow part of tax revenuesif the abovementioned proposal was adoptedinto the R&D of new automobile technologies, as he thought that enlarging the investments in new technology areas like NEV, autonomous driving and ICV will drive the industry's higher-quality growth.

Li added he will be happy to see a portion of the tax revenue used to subsidize consumers' vehicle shopping, in a bid to further unleash the potential of domestic demand.
Commuters walk along the city's iconic landmark, Howrah Bridge to cross the Hooghly River as it rains in Kolkata, India, Wednesday. Amphan, a powerful cyclone, has slammed ashore along the coastline of India and Bangladesh.
Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson say the decision to pull talc-based baby powder from the shelves of supermarkets in the US and Canada will not impact sales in Ireland.

The company clarified it has no intention of taking the product of the shelves of Irish supermarkets, despite it being removed from sale in North America.

Sales in the US and Canada plummeted in recent years due to changing consumer habits and fears the product causes cancer.

In announcing the decision to withdraw talc baby powder from sale in the US and Canada, Johnson & Johnson hit out at what it called "misinformation" about the product's safety amid a host of legal challenges.

The company faces more than 19,000 lawsuits from consumers claiming talc products caused cancer due to contamination with asbestos.

Johnson & Johnson has long rejected these claims, saying that it "remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson's baby powder", citing "decades of scientific studies".

It has since clarified that the decision will not affect sales in other markets, including Ireland, where it employs 3,700 full-time staff.

"This decision to discontinue talc-based Johnsons baby powder in the US and Canada is based on declining consumer demand for the product, due in part to ongoing misleading litigation advertising," the company said in a statement.

Johnsons baby powder containing talc will continue to be sold in other markets around the world, including Ireland, where there is significantly higher consumer demand for the product.

The world's largest healthcare company, Johnson & Johnson said sales of the powder had dropped by 60% in the last three years.

Kathleen Widmer, chairman of North America for Johnson & Johnsons consumer health division, said advertising from lawyers seeking new clients to sue the company had confused customers and caused sales to fall.

Ms Widmer said sales would continue outside the US and Canada, which only made up about 20% of the entire market for the talc-based product.

"Johnsons baby powder will continue to be sold in other markets where theres significantly higher demand, and where consumers are not confused by misleading litigation advertising," she said.

The company is continuing to sell cornstarch-based baby powder in the US and Canada.

Johnson & Johnson is to cut about 100 products to prioritise high-demand products like Listerine mouthwash amid challenges caused by the Covid-19 crisis.

This will allow the company to implement social distancing on the factory floor and in distribution facilities, it said.

Existing stocks of talc-based baby powder will be sold until they run out, the company added.
BEIRUT - The Lebanese military has detained two soldiers caught on camera slapping and pushing a doctor in an emergency ward at a hospital in the northern city of Tripoli, the army said Wednesday.

The video, widely circulated online, caused an uproar  particularly as the nations health sector struggles to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The closed-circuit TV footage from the hospital shows a group of armed soldiers cornering a doctor in scrubs in the corridors of an emergency ward. The soldiers, who appear angry, are seen slapping the doctor, then pushing him and following him into a room where they continue to slap him on the head.

Selim Abi Saleh, who heads Tripolis physicians union, said the attacked doctor was trying to keep the soldiers from interrogating two patients receiving urgent medical care: one was bleeding from a gunshot wound and the other was unconscious.

We denounce this, specially at this time when doctors are doing their utmost to defend the citizens health and then they get attacked by the security forces who are supposed to be supporting them, Abi Saleh, told a local radio station.

Abi Saleh told The Associated Press the incident was an unprecedented and surprising attack from the army against a doctor who was only doing his duty. He denounced it as excessive use of force and said that disciplinary action was not enough but that the soldiers should face a court martial.

The Lebanese armed forces described the incident as an individual act and said two soldiers were detained and an investigation was underway. Its statement said the army leadership regrets the incident and reiterated its respect for doctors and their work.

Lebanese authorities have reported over 950 cases of coronavirus, including 26 deaths. Following a reduction in infections, a recent jump in cases has caused renewed concerns.

Tripoli, Lebanons second largest city and its most impoverished, has seen clashes between the army and anti-government protesters in recent months as the country grapples with an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. One Tripoli protester was killed when troops opened fire to disperse a rowdy demonstration late last month. Human Rights Watch said the Lebanese military unjustifiably used excessive, including lethal, force against protesters in that incident.


Click here to See Video >>

For most people the current quarantine has been rather frustrating in some ways, nice in others. For me, Ive had a lot of time to sit down and plan future trips that I can take once everything opens back up, and for this Colorado-based writer, that means visiting quite a few National Parks.

I figured I wasnt the only one on staff who felt this way, so I wasnt surprised when a few of my coworkers agreed to sit down on camera and discuss their post-quarantine car plans. Some include road trips in and out of state, some even include a trip north of the border. Watch the video above to see what our plans are for the rest of the year, and let us know what you have planned in the comments below.

Transcript:

- All right, guys. How's it going? This is the first time I've like been in a meeting with the three of you by ourselves since coronavirus started. How have you guys been?

- Hanging in there, man. Just, you know, day at a time. Got my collection of toilet paper, and just trying  trying to keep my head down, you know.

[LAUGHS]

- Yeah, I was never super worried about the toilet paper. And there's so much here that I'd-- yeah. It would take a disaster for me to run through all my toilet paper.

- Yeah, I've been pretty good. Just keep myself busy working on the house, right now. So we just got our house, you know, last fall, so during this quarantine time, this is the perfect time to fix it up and paint everything.

- Yeah, I think all my trips outside of the house have been to Home Depot to just pick up stuff.

- Yeah, I've been looking for excuses to go drive the car someplace. It's, oh, I want to go take a walk in the park over here. Yeah, I guess it's-- it's time to break out the Porsche that I have in my driveway right now. So, yeah, we're  we're going to go do that.

Other than that, just kind of like working on my car too. I have a few cosmetic things, a few mechanical things here and there that I've been thinking with. So, yeah. Trying to keep busy.

Story continues

- I am jealous of both, you Zac and Byron. Though Zac lately more than Byron because you've had a 911 and then two different Supras, I think, in the last, like, two weeks, which for-- I haven't-- I haven't gotten any cars since the  since this whole thing started. Hopefully, knock on wood, we'll get some here in June, and then I can start shooting. But yeah, I'm super jealous of what you've had in your driveway.

But I have taken this time to kind of plan out what I want to do once we can go places. I don't know. You guys probably, the reason you're here is because you've done the same. And I just want to hear what you guys have planned for after this whole COVID-19 kind of calms down? What are you going to do with your cars, and where you're going to go with them? And Bryon, we'll start with you.

- Well, I mean, I'm in a weird spot, because I moved to the Detroit area like six weeks before all this really started. So I was in the office with a couple of you for, you know, barely a month before they sent us all home. And I would just like to get out and kind of explore the area. You know, go up north, go to the UP.

I want to take a day trip to Canada just because I can, you know. Like, all these things are just completely locked out. And it  and it really drives home how weird it feels to be in a new place and not know anything about it, because I, like, I'm really limited in my ability to explore right now. So like, that's priority number one.

And I had all these plans for road trips for the summer that I don't know. I just kind of see them sort of like fading away. I was really hoping this was going to be the year I was going to get out to the Pacific Northwest and make a trip up to Canada from there. Go to Banff, which has been on my bucket list forever. Just, you know, get out, see some big mountains, see some volcanoes, do all that kind of stuff. And I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that maybe by the end of summer, things will loosen up enough maybe I can actually get some of that done.

- Yeah, Alex and I went to Banff in 2017 from Seattle in a Tacoma TRD Pro and a '98 Tacoma, and took mostly forestry roads there. Got lost a lot, but it was still  that was like  it's definitely one of the more memorable trips for me.

We only spent like two days in Banff, which I really  I mean, if you're going to go to Banff, you get to spend more than two days there. That was like such a tease, especially since the second day was just us packing up and leaving. But yeah, that sounds incredible. Highly, highly recommend going to the Pacific Northwest and then driving up to Banff if you can.

- Fingers crossed.

- Yeah, you'll love that up there. It is easily one of my favorite places I've ever been.

- I-- I kind of feel the same way. Like, I had all these plans for the summer. You know, I moved to Colorado two years ago now, and we did some exploring last year. Went to Telluride, and we did  we drove all the way to the Grand Canyon. Just kind of my wife and I living out of our car for a bit.

But this year, one of the last trips I took was to the Chicago Auto Show before all this went down. And the Weekender was unveiled there, the Mercedes Benz camper van, and I was super stoked to-- to check that out, and hopefully, drive one around. And I got in my mind this big idea that my wife and I, if we could get it for like a month, do like a long term-- like month long Mercedes Benz Weekender review. And I even put together a-- I basically just went on Google Maps, and set a radius of like 500 miles, and selected every national park within that radius for us to go to.

So like, I'll just rattle them off here. It'll be ridiculous. It's like a 4-- roughly a 4,000 mile road trip. First, to Great Sand Dunes National Park, then to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then Mesa Verde, and that's all still in Colorado. Then we go to Moab, of course, not really going to do any off roading in a Mercedes Weekender van, I don't think. You got Arches in Zion, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and then Great Basin, and then from there, I had to do two Google Maps links because they won't let you do 10 places at once.

[LAUGHTER]

From up there, drive up to Grand Teton in Yellowstone, then up to Glacier where I've been before and was phenomenal. And then over to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Figured, might as well check that. I've been there before, my wife has never been to North Dakota. Pretty unremarkable, but there is a national park there. So check that one off our list.

Then Devils Tower. Oh gosh. No, now we're-- oh, Badlands. What's this one? I'm getting so granular now. I don't even remember where they were. Oh, Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave National Park, and then back home to Rocky Mountain National Park. So that was like, I don't even know. 18 places. And it's this giant circle around basically Colorado. It is Colorado and Utah are the southern parts, and it goes all the way up to northern Montana, almost to Canada, basically.

- How many miles is this again?

- I think it's 3,700.

- Wow.

- Yeah, so the first part through Colorado and Utah is 1,300, and this isn't counting driving around in the parks, which would be adding a lot more. And then the rest is 2,400, which when I first started here, I think in the fall of 2013, I drove our long term Nissan Pathfinder from Detroit to Glacier National Park and back in a week, and that was 4,000 miles. So I know I could do it. I would just want-- I'd basically just live out of the van for like a month, And just find Wi-Fi, and try to actually like-- like work normal hours too, mostly normal hours, so that way it's not just like a crazy vacation, but--

- The way you have that organized is a lot actually how I did a full cross-country road trip right after I graduated college, like 2 and 1/2 years ago now. Basically just hit every single national park from Michigan, to Seattle, to down to-- to LA, and then back across the country, you know within a reason. You know, if it was like a one or two-hour drive out of the way, we would go to it. And now it is like one of the best ways, I think, you can traverse around this country. To just hit all the beautiful places that you can.

- I need to hear more about this trip. How long did this take you?

- It was just about a month.

- OK. What did you drive?

- I drove my 2001 Acura Integra GSR, which--

- Wow.

- Yeah, pretty weird road trip car, for sure. It's certainly no Mercedes Weekender as far as [INAUDIBLE] to live out of, but no. My girlfriend and I camped out of it, like, in every single national park that we stopped in. We camped. We didn't do Airbnbs, or hotels, or anything

- No way.

- Yeah, we had the thing just loaded to the gills. It's a hatchback. So there's-- there's a lot of room back there. And yeah. No, it was-- it was like, all right, we graduated.

We're going to go see everything that we want, you know, on a reasonable budget. But we didn't want to fly anywhere. Just wanted to drive the whole way. It was always a dream of mine to drive from Michigan all the way-- all the way to the Pacific and then back. So--

- Man, that is--

- I'm extremely jealous of this trip. That's something I wanted to do for a long time.

- Yeah, it's-- it's really tough to find the time, and that's why we did it right after graduation where neither of us have any responsibilities. We just got out there. We didn't accept a job right after graduation that we'd have to go to, and we just-- we just did it. So--

- Cool.

- That's awesome. Man, that makes my life week in the UP camping after graduation seem so pathetic.

[LAUGHTER]

That is incredible.

- The UP is fun. That's actually where we started. We went straight north up to the UP with Pictured Rock and across the Marquette. Yeah.

- Nice. I think that-- that segues nicely into [? Mahlberg's ?] plans.

- Yeah, so speaking of the UP, that is actually the place where I want to go for my road trip, is up to Pictured Rocks. Not a 13,000 mile trip, it's only 412. So a little less than [INAUDIBLE]. Round circle around Colorado, Wyoming area. But I've actually never been up to Pictured Rocks and neither has my wife. She's only been to the UP one time.

Actually, I think about two years ago, we had a road trip going up to Mackinac Island, and so we went up there, and when we were leaving Mackinac Island, we made a point just across the Mackinac Bridge just to say that she's finally, you know, been in the UP. And we drove up the-- I think it's the sunset highway, or something like that. I can't remember the actual name of that, but it was red at golden hour. We found this beach, and just kind of sat there with lawn chairs and watched the sunset, and then drove back across the Mackinac Bridge.

But Pictured Rocks, the plan is, I would like to go-- that's the final destination, but I want to go to Drummond Island first. And actually, that is only accessible through a ferry. So you drive up on the ferry, and then they ferry you over to Drummond Island. And I want to get a cabin up there and just stay there for a couple days. And then make our way up to Pictured Rocks.

- Is that the place where all the wolves get stuck because they crossover in the winter when there's ice, and then the ice melts, and then there's just like a bunch of wolves there?

- Yeah. Yeah, same with a bunch of "mooses." The plural of that.

[LAUGHTER]

- Moose. Yeah.

- Yeah, moose.

- "Meese," right? Like, goose, geese, moose, "meese." Yeah.

- Yeah, it's beautiful up there. And it's really tiny. I mean, I went up there when I was younger, and I had my motorcycle up there. You can go and back and forth from the island within, I don't know, maybe 30 minutes, if that.

- Wow.

- Yeah, it's-- there's really not much to travel around in that, but it's secluded too. I want to do that in my Focus ST. I actually want to get-- I was hoping to have my new exhaust put on. I want to get the poor performance cap black exhaust on that. So it'll sound good while we're driving up there, but it won't be extremely loud.

- Forward performances is good for that, I think. You'll get a nice tone on it really on it, but hopefully, it's-- it's still tuned to be nice on the highway. I think that's probably a good way to go.

- Yeah, I think so too. It says it only gets real loud when you hit about five grand on European, but highway speeds, you're not going to-- you know, it's not going to be drony and be annoying.

- And you're not going to scare any moose when you're driving slowly around Drummond Island.

- No. Yeah, exactly. That way you can creep up and see them in their natural habitat.

- Nice. Zac, what do you got planned?

- So I actually did a pretty huge road trip right before this whole stay at home quarantine thing ended. I drove down to New Orleans in February. So I got a bit on my road trip bug out of me then, but I'm already itching for another one, and it's probably going to be a camping one.

The destination for right now will be the Adirondacks in like, central, north central New York. So I'm thinking, go over there with my girlfriend. We also have a few friends that actually live in that area that we could visit. I actually went to Syracuse University. So I have-- I know lots of people in that central New York area, but yeah.

No, most likely, I mean, I think the best choice for that right now would be our long-term Subaru Forester, actually, but I-- there's some really great roads up there that also are tempting me to want to take our long-term Volvo S60. That would be fun. There's definitely not as much room for the camping gear, but I've already proved that you don't necessarily need a huge car to go camping for long distances in my Integra.

- Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, do it in the Integra, you'd be fine in anything. Plus those seats in the Volvo do lean back quite a bit. So you could possibly still sleep in those, depending on how easy you sleep.

- We would probably do tents. That [INAUDIBLE]. Yeah, we do that. And I mean, so I drove up there once before and there's a ton of hiking trails, a ton of places to pull off and just hang out.

It's really beautiful scenery, and I think that we would probably to spend a lot of time exploring nature. You know, it's-- the whole social distancing thing, you know, we would probably sort of continue that, you know, whenever we're able to go vacationing again. So it seems like the right kind of vacation and road trip for the times that we're in.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Yeah, I don't think anything's going to get-- like, things will definitely normalize, but it's not going to be normal anytime soon. So anywhere that you can kind of get out and away from people, though I like getting out and away from people in general.

- Yeah.

[LAUGHTER]

Yeah.

- So any time that could happen, definitely a bonus.

- That's good. Yeah, speaking of small cars. When we did our road trip to Mackinac Island, I was in my old Fiesta. 2014 Fiesta, it was a manual too, so that made it-- it did make it fun. But it was loaded, and actually, I think I had your bike rack on the back of that.

- That's right.

- --let me borrow that. On the highway, just to keep up with speeds, I had to leave it in like, fourth gear.

- Oh gosh. Oh gosh.

[LAUGHTER]

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

- Yeah, my entire gas mileage gone gone.

- With the Integra like going up the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and-- oh my god. No torque.

- Yeah, I--

- --third and fourth gear.

- I have a Crosstrek out here, and it's-- it's like-- the other day, I drove into the mountains to pick up a Subaru Outback that my buddy is borrowing from a friend. And it was like, I don't know, like an hour and a 1/2 drive. And he has to go through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which is around 11 or 12,000 feet, and man, that Crosstrek is just-- I'm in the right lane at 50 miles an hour, just like chugging along, because there was one time I tried to keep it at like 75, and by the time I got to the tunnel, it was just like, nope. That's not-- that's not happening. I had to pull over and wait for it to cool down.

[LAUGHTER]

So, yeah. I could-- I feel the pain there. All right, well, if you're watching this video on YouTube, make sure you hit subscribe, hit like. That will help us make more videos just like this. Hopefully, we can get out into some cars here soon, and make some videos, and some cars, fingers crossed there.

Also yeah, hit subscribe, hit, ring that bell, and thanks for watching. Tell us in the comments where you're planning on going on your road trip once everything is all back to normal. Thanks for watching.

You Might Also Like
We have known for more than two years that, on the day of President Trumps inauguration and just minutes before she left the White House for the last time, Susan Rice, then President Obamas National Security Adviser, wrote a memo to herself about Russia. Specifically, she documented the fact, presumably for her later protection should the matter become public, that on January 5, 2017, President Obama had directed her to lie to her incoming counterpart, General Michael Flynn, about the Russia investigation that was then ongoing, in which General Flynn himself was, unbeknownst to him, one of the targets. This deception violated all historic norms, but it was vital if the Obama holdovers (James Comey et al.) were to be able to continue their Russia investigation, a bare pretext for unraveling Trumps presidency, post-inauguration.

I wrote about Rices memo here. At that time, one key paragraph had been redacted from the memo. This is the text of the memo as we knew it two years ago:

On January 5, following a briefing by IC [intelligence community] leadership on Russian hacking during the 2016 presidential election, President Obama had a brief follow-on conversation with FBI Director Jim Comey and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates in the Oval Office. Vice President Biden and I were also present. President Obama began the conversation by stressing his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities by the book. The President stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective. He reiterated that our law enforcement team needs to proceed as it normally would by the book. From a national security perspective, however, President Obama said he wants to be sure that, as we engage with the incoming team, we are mindful to ascertain if there is any reason that we cannot share information fully as it relates to Russia.

Next comes the redacted paragraph, which was classified. It has now been declassified by Acting DNI Richard Grenell, in response to a request from Senators Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham:

Director Comey affirmed that he is proceeding by the book as it relates to law enforcement. From a national security perspective, Comey said he does have some concerns that incoming NSA Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian ambassador Kislyak. Comey said that could be an issue as it relates to sharing sensitive information. President Obama asked if Comey was saying that the NSC should not pass sensitive information related to Russia to Flynn. Comey replied potentially. He added that he has no indication that Flynn has passed classified information to Kislyak, but he noted that the level of communication is unusual.

The memo concludes, as previously disclosed:

The President asked Comey to inform him if anything changes in the next few weeks that should affect how we share classified information with the incoming team. Comey said he would.

What is the significance of the newly-declassified paragraph? Several things stand out.

1) Rice fingered Comey as the person who supplied the basis for lying to her successor.

2) Note that Comey distinguished between the FBIs law enforcement investigation and a separate national security perspective. It has been widely pointed out that Comeys FBI carried out a criminal investigation against Trump and his associates in the guise of a national security investigation. They are quite different things, but Comey improperly merged the two. You can see the national security perspective offered as a distinct rationale in January 2017.

3) The stated grounds for lying to General Flynn were ridiculously weak. Comey claims that Flynn is speaking frequently with Russian Ambassador Kislyak. How frequently? We have all heard about one telephone conversation. How many others were there? We dont know. Comey admits, in any case, that Flynn hadnt said anything untoward to the Ambassador, just as it was later admitted that in the one conversation that has been the subject of public focus, Flynn did nothing wrong. Nonetheless, because Comey claimed the level of communication [was] unusual, Obamas officials should take the stepunprecedented, as far as I knowof lying to a new administrations incoming national security staff.

4) Lying about what? Rices memo is notably discreet here. She refers twice to informationas it relates to Russia. What does she mean? Information about our military dispositions vis-a-vis the Russians, on the ground that Flynn might pass them on to the Russian Ambassador? Of course not. No doubt Flynn was filled in on all such matters, with no faux concern that he might traitorously pass them on to the Russians. No: Rices Russia means the Russia investigation, in all of its permutations, which now stands revealed as the Obama administrations effort first to guarantee Hillary Clintons election, and, failing that, to disable the new Trump administration before it could get off the ground.

Rice foresaw that despite the Obama holdovers best efforts, the truth about their Russia investigation could come to light someday. If that happened, she wanted it to be on record that President Obama had authorized her to lie, on advice from James Comey. This is not surprising, but it fills an important gap in our understanding of the corruption of the Obama administration.
The Rishikesh Municipal Corporation has prepared a detailed project report for the beautification of the ancient Triveni ghat on the banks of the Ganga here on the lines of the famous ghats of Varanasi and Allahabad.

The DPR for the beautification of Triveni ghat has been prepared and will soon be sent to Namami Gange authorities for their approval and sanction of funds under the project, Rishikesh Municipal Commissioner Narendra Singh Quiriyal told PTI.

World-class facilities will be created on the Triveni ghat to attract tourists to Rishikesh which is considered the gateway to the chardham yatra, Quiriyal said.

The DPR worth Rs 4.52 crore focuses on cleanliness of the river as much as on its modernisation and beautification to improve the quality of its water, he said.

A team of municipal corporation officials visited the Ganga ghats of Varanasi and Allahabad to study the extensive beautification work undertaken there before preparing the DPR for the Triveni ghat, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Emirates Mars Mission, the first interplanetary exploration in the Arab world, said that its Mars Hope Probe will be launched on July 15 at 00:51:27 UAE time, marking the start of a 495,000,000km journey to reach and orbit the Red Planet.



The countdown to the launch begins after the probes successful transfer from the UAE to Japan, in a journey that spanned more than 83 hours by land, air and sea.



The Hope probe will be launched from Japans Tanegashima Space Centre, leveraging the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI H2A) platform. The scheduled launch date represents the opening of the launch window for the Emirates Mars Mission, which extends to August 13, 2020.



The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI H2A) platform was chosen as a result of its proven expertise and reputation in space technology around the world, and its high success rates in launching spacecraft and satellites globally. The UAE, for its part, has previously collaborated with MHI to successfully launch the Khalifa Sat satellite.



Meticulous processing



Since its successful arrival at TNSC in Japan, the Hope Probe has undergone detailed processing operations for the launch. This process completed over 50 working days, entails filling the fuel tank with about 700 kg of hydrogen fuel and ensuring there are no leaks. The process also requires testing the communication and control devices, moving the probe to the launch pad, installing the probe on the rocket that will carry it to space, and ensuring the probe batteries are fully charged.



Sarah Bint Youssef Al-Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and Emirates Mars Mission Deputy Project Manager, said: The challenges overcome by the Hope Probe team amidst the global pandemic confirm the UAE missions commitment to achieve the impossible. It is a mentality that has now been embedded within the current and future generations. This mission embodies the nations aspirations, sends a positive message to the world and demonstrates the importance of carrying on unabated despite barriers and challenges.



Our team continues to work diligently to ensure the missions success, and we look forward to collectively celebrate the arrival of the probe on Mars in February 2021  also coinciding with our 50-year anniversary, she added.



83 hours from Dubai to Japan



The first phase of moving the Hope Probe from Dubai involved the preparation and transportation of the probe from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center to Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport, which spanned 16 hours. The second stage saw the probes 11-hour transfer from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai to Nagoya Airport in Japan and included loading the probe and its supporting equipment into the giant Antonov 12 plane - the largest cargo plane in the world.



In light of the challenges posed by COVID-19, internationally approved stringent health procedures were followed to safeguard the health and safety of the team in Dubai, as well as the team accompanying the probe on its flight to Japan. In addition, a third team travelled earlier and underwent the mandatory quarantine procedures in Japan prior to receiving the probe upon arrival and oversee its transportation to the launch station.



The third stage was the probes transfer from Nagoya Airport to the launch site on Tanegashima Island. It included the probes safe landing and land transportation to Shimama Harbor, and its final transfer by sea to Tanegashima Island.



The Hope Probe is anticipated to enter Mars orbit in February 2021, coinciding with the UAE's golden jubilee celebrations to mark the historic union of the emirates.  TradeArabia News Service
A day after four men were held for shooting dead a mobile phone shop owner at his house in Janta Colony on Rahon Road on May 13, police investigation revealed that the accused had primarily conspired to kill the victims brother.

The accused, Rajinder Manocha of Janta Colony (Girishs uncle) and contract killers Manoj Kumar alias Monu of Chhawani Mohalla, Prabhjot Singh alias Ajay Libra of New Subash Nagar and Veerkaran Singh alias Karan of Chandarlok Colony, confessed that they were in an inebriated state when they fired shots at the victim Girish Manocha, 29, and his father Joginderpal Manocha, 60.

Police said there was a dispute over 36 lakh between the families which led to the crime. Police said Joginderpal had given a house in Chhawni Mohalla and a car to Rajinder to settle the matter.

The contract killers confessed that Rajinder used to call them over to his place and serve them alcohol while forcing them to kill Girishs brother, Manish.

A case under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered at the Basti Jodhewal police station.
The idea of deploying an international peacekeeping mission to Donbas has not been rejected but remains in the list of possible actions to establish peace and de-occupy Ukrainian territories, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Yevhen Tsymbaliuk has said in an interview with Ukrinform.

"Since 2014, there have been several ideas on possible ways out of the situation or approaching a situation where peace will be established in Donbas and Ukrainian territories will be de-occupied. All these tools are in the [list] of possible actions," the diplomat said, commenting on whether the idea of a joint UN-OSCE peacekeeping mission in Russia-occupied Donbas is still relevant.

According to Tsymbaliuk, some of these ideas are now more actively involved. "For example, recent new approaches now help develop peace talks more actively, both within the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group. Progress is limited and not as decisive as the Ukrainian side would like it to see, but there are still some changes," he said.

He said this work "is not cut out of context or other realities, and when someone talks about continuing negotiations in one format or another, all possible elements of development are taken into account."

"Therefore, this idea of a peacekeeping mission, which has been raised more than once, is somewhere in the background. If the situation is favorable, it is possible that some other element of this general list of ideas will be used more actively. That is, the idea is alive. I can't say that it is not relevant or has been rejected. It exists and we keep it in this list of possible ways," Tsymbaliuk said.

However, he added, it should be remembered that Russia is the party that has the right to veto a UN Security Council decision on a peacekeeping operation.

op
Additional reporting by Eoin English

A major split in the Green Party is afoot as four prominent councillors are calling on Catherine Martin to challenge Eamon Ryans leadership.

The group of four say Mr Ryan is no longer the right person to lead the party and are urging Ms Martin, the partys deputy leader to challenge him.

The Green Party constitution mandates that a leadership election must happen within six months of a general election. The election takes place by postal vote of all Green Party members.

That leadership election was announced as being open for nominations on Tuesday, May 19 and was triggered after the general election on February 8.

Cork city and county councillors  Lorna Bogue, Colette Finn, Oliver Moran and Liam Quaide  have written to Ms Martin urging her to stand.

The letter, seen by the Irish Examiner, says Ms Martin is the right person to lead the party, whether they are in government or not.

We believe the party needs a new leader, someone who will fight hard for all of our futures. We urge you to put yourself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Green Party. You have our support, they write.

You have remained true to yourself and demonstrated real authenticity and integrity.

"We have watched you negotiate hard, persuade and influence, and have seen you win many concessions while gaining a reputation as a formidable parliamentarian. It is clear that you are prepared to make difficult choices for the greater good, they add.

Cllr Moran, explaining his position said he voted for Eamon in 2011 and in 2016 he signed his nomination papers.

I dont think anyone else could have done the job he did when we needed him most. But we cannot be sentimental. The urgency and challenge is too great.

"Just as Eamon was the right person then, Catherine is the right person now. She has a harder nose. Shes surer in the Dail, he said.

Ms Finn said: Eamon Ryan has led the party through very lean times and I thank him for that. However, I believe that it is time for a leadership change. I believe Catherine Martin is the best person to lead that change.

Attempts to contact Ms Martin were unsuccessful.

The letter sent to Catherine Martin by four Cork-based Councillors

Dear Catherine,

We know now is a very busy and challenging time for you as you lead the Green Partys negotiations for a programme for government. We also know that you are working diligently to secure the best possible outcomes for both the country and for the Green Party, ensuring our environmental, sustainability and social justice policies are reflected in the discussions with the other parties.

As you know, the Party will soon open nominations for the position of Party leader. While we hesitate to ask you to take on an additional role at this time, we believe you are the right person to lead the Green Party into the new decade:

In February Ireland voted for change. We believe, with your style of leadership, your convictions, and your work ethic, that you are the right person to lead the Green Party. We have worked with you, and have seen you work with others, working collaboratively within the political system to drive real and lasting change. Through your on-the-ground campaigning, and work as a TD over the past four years, you have reached out to people and made a real difference to their lives. You have demonstrated that you are a powerful communicator with an ability to win hearts and minds. In those four years you, as a new TD, went from seeking and achieving the extension of maternity leave and benefit for mothers of premature babies, to setting up and chairing the Oireachtas Womens Caucus, to topping the poll in Dublin Rathdown in the most recent election.

During your time in local government and the Oireachtas you have remained true to yourself and demonstrated real authenticity and integrity. We have watched you negotiate hard, persuade and influence, and have seen you win many concessions while gaining a reputation as a formidable parliamentarian. It is clear that you are prepared to make difficult choices for the greater good.

While putting in a herculean effort in our Dail you have also prioritised the grass roots of the Green Party. You have reached out and supported the Young Greens, Mna Glasa and the Glasa Aiteacha, supporting and encouraging more women, younger people and LGBT people to get involved in politics, supporting people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to stand up for what they believe in, and even to run for election. Coming from rural Monaghan, and with your experience as an educator in a DEIS Scoil, we believe you are the person to lead this Party, to build it further and to inspire people from disparate communities to get involved in the Green movement.

The coming leadership election will be set against the backdrop of the negotiations for a programme for government, and regardless of the outcome of these talks, we will need a leader who we trust to do the right thing for the country and the party. Whether we enter government or not, we believe the party needs a new leader, someone who will fight hard for all of our futures.

We urge you to put yourself forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Green Party. You have our support.

Cllr Lorna Bogue

Cllr Colette Finn

Cllr Oliver Moran

Cllr Liam Quaide
Rwanda has taken delivery of five high-tech robots that will be deployed towards the fight against coronavirus pandemic.

Despite having just 308 cases, the East African nation hopes the humanoid robots will help to reduce contact between medics and patients.

Among other top functions, the robots are capable of screening 50 to 150 people per minute and recording audio-visual data of patients.

In a concentrated effort against novel coronavirus, Rwanda has acquired five humanoid robots aimed at reducing contact between medics and patients. The high-tech robots were launched at the Kanyinya Covid-19 Treatment Centre by the countrys ministry of health on Tuesday, May 19, as Rwanda took a fast leap ahead of its sister African countries in the against battle the ravaging pandemic. Rwanda is one of the less-hit states in Africa, with the country currently managing 308 cases of covid-19. It impressively boasts 209 recoveries and no casualty according to Worldometre statistics. But in a commendable move, the East African nation with a population of 12 million deployed the five high-tech robots with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to put the fight against Covid-19 on a fast lane.

The post Coronavirus: Rwanda deploys robots in Covid-19 fight appeared first on .

Share this post with your Friends on
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 10:15:56|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

GUIYANG, May 20 (Xinhua) -- In a factory belonging to a company called Hengsheng Silk, swarms of silkworms wriggle over the mulberry leaves in big plastic containers.

The factory is located in Jichang Township, in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Hengsheng Silk specializes in cocoon processing and silk-making and has two factories in the township. In addition, they also own fields of mulberry trees in the village of Linpan, under the jurisdiction of the township.

"We built cocoon processing and silk production factories here with an investment of about 90 million yuan (12.7 million U.S. dollars)," said Wang Yanghai, general manager of Hengsheng Silk.

Silk was a pillar industry in foreign trade in ancient China, in addition to fine china. For more than 4,000 years, the Chinese people have bred silkworms for their fine silk, considered a symbol of status and luxury in the past.

However, as the country's current urbanization drive goes into full gear and pushes up land and labor costs in the eastern seaboard, the traditional silk-making industry is shifting its location further inland, with many companies, like Wang's, setting up factories in the western part of China.

FROM EAST TO WEST

Wang's business originally started in east China's Jiangxi Province. In recent years, he moved his business to the west, including to Guizhou and Sichuan.

"The environment and the climate here in Guizhou are perfect for raising silkworms," said Wang.

Suitable temperatures for silkworms range from 22 degrees to 30 degrees Celcius. They don't thrive in cold and dry weather. High temperatures and high humidity also threaten their survival.

But the Jichang Township has an average altitude of about 1,000 meters above sea level. It is cool in the summer and moderately cold in winter. With a good natural environment, the area is perfect for the development of sericulture.

"The unique climate and good environment have created wonderful conditions for silkworms and the silk they produce is of high quality," said local official Wang Chun.

In the sericulture base in the village of Linpan, swaths of mulberry trees sway in the wind. The mulberry leaves are the "granary" of countless silkworms in the village.

"The township has more than 1,350 hectares of mulberry trees, as well as silkworm warehouses of about 100,000 square meters in area," said Wang Chun. "The annual silkworm cocoons weigh 4,500 tonnes and the annual production value exceeds 90 million yuan."

"COCOON-BREAK" FOR IMPOVERISHED FARMERS

The sericulture effectively helped local people cast off poverty in recent years.

Each hectare of mulberry trees has a production value of about 75,000 yuan, much higher than traditional crops such as corn and potatoes.

Wu Peiguang, aged 56, used to be mired in grinding poverty. He comes from a family of five, with three children in school counting on him.

"I have begun to grow mulberry trees on my farm and I also make some money by taking care of silkworms in the village," Wu said. He can rake in more than 3,000 yuan a month thanks to the sericulture.

The village has a rural cooperative to raise the silkworms, with experts invited to impart skills. After the worms form cocoons, the cocoons are taken to the factories in the township to be broken down and processed into silk.

After years of development, the Hengsheng company has established 10 production lines to break the cocoons into silk lines. The production lines can process more than 2,000 tonnes of cocoons each year and the silk they churn out enjoys popularity in regions such as Europe and South Asia.

"Our company offers more than 500 jobs for local people," said Wang Yanghai, the general manager. "We have lifted 3,000 families out of poverty by engaging them in sericulture."

Villager Xi Zhengyang is one of them.

"I used to work in an electronics factory in the eastern part of China but my health deteriorated and I had to stay at home," Xi said. "After joining the company I started breaking down the cocoons and I can make more than 4,000 yuan a month."

The coronavirus epidemic disrupted their business, both at home and abroad, Wang Yanghai said.

"Silk has always been an important part of international trade. I hope that the world gets better soon and that the business will return to normal," he added. Enditem
Advertisement

For almost three years since he published his first story on Harvey Weinstein, Ronan Farrow has risen to become one of America's premier investigative journalists - both feared and adored among elite circles.

Aged just 32 he has a Pulitzer Prize to his name, a best-selling book under his belt, and can lay claim to helping start the #MeToo movement which brought down a string of powerful men - most significantly Weinstein, who was jailed for sex assault and rape earlier this year.

The son of Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, he began his journalistic career with op-eds and columns before moving into TV news and eventually hard-nosed investigative reporting for network NBC - jumping ship to the New Yorker magazine in 2017 after accusing his old employer of trying to bury his reporting on Weinstein.

But serious questions are now being asked about some of his reporting - from #MeToo to the Russia-gate scandal - with holes being picked in some of his most compelling narratives.

Matt Lauer, a former star anchor of Farrow's old network NBC and one of the men accused of rape in his reporting, described his work this week as 'shoddy journalism.'

Ronan Farrow (left in 2019 at Time magazine's 100 most inflential people gala, and right with prominent #MeToo figure Rose McGowan) has risen to prominence thanks to his reporting for the New Yorker, starting with his expose of Harvey Weinstein

The allegations, detailed at length in a column in the New York Times, include that he relies too much on hearsay and conspiracy, has sometimes failed to carry out basic fact-checking and corroboration of his sources, and can be economical with the truth.

'He delivers narratives that are irresistibly cinematic  with unmistakable heroes and villains,' Ben Smith writes for the Times, 'and often omits the complicating facts and inconvenient details that may make them less dramatic.

'At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure, or he suggests conspiracies that are tantalizing but he cannot prove.'

The same allegations were also levelled against him by Matt Lauer, former star anchor at Farrow's old employer NBC who lost his job in 2017 after admitting to a improper relationship with a colleague, and who was later described as a rapist in Farrow's 2019 book Catch And Kill.

Lauer, in a comment piece for Mediaite published in the wake of the Times column, also accuses Farrow of failing to fact-check stories told to him by sources, failing to provide evidence of communications he says took place, and using misleading language to 'manipulate' readers.

He says: 'In some cases [Farrow] undeniably withheld information from the reader that would call the credibility of sources into question.

Farrow's reporting earned him a Pulitzer and spawned a best-selling book (pictured), but now serious questions are being asked about his methods

'He routinely presented stories in a way that would suit his activist goals, as opposed to any kind of journalistic standards.'

Lauer continues to deny allegations of rape, saying that all contact with accuser Brooke Nevils was consensual. He admits their relationship was inappropriate.

Farrow has said that Lauer's account as 'just wrong', adding that his book 'was thoroughly reported and fact-checked, including with Matt Lauer himself.'

His publisher added: 'Little, Brown and Company fully supports Ronan Farrow and his reporting in Catch and Kill.

'Ronan's dedication to a deep and thorough fact-check of his reporting, his commitment to the rights of victims and his impeccable attention to detail and nuance make us proud to be his publisher.'

In response to the New York Times piece, Farrow said: 'Im proud of a body of reporting that has helped to expose wrongdoing and to bring important stories into public view.'

Seemingly destined for great things from birth, Farrow was blessed with striking good looks - but instead relied on a scintillating intellect to mount his enviable climb into the upper echelons of liberal society.

In grade school he was allowed to skip classes to attend the Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth before becoming the youngest student ever to attend liberal arts school Bard College at Simon's Rock aged just 11.

He graduated from parent school Bard College aged 15, and was accepted into Yale Law School aged 16. While there he began working in politics as a UNICEF Spokesperson for Youth.

Leaving Yale with a JD in 2009, the same year he became the youngest employee at Obama's State Department - working as Special Adviser for Humanitarian and NGO Affairs - aged 21.

After a stint working as a special adviser to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he began studying for a doctorate in philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar in 2012.

In 2013 he published his first book and began writing op-ed pieces for high-end newspapers and magazines, before going into television as the host of short-lived MSNBC show Ronan Farrow Daily.

By 2016 he had begun speaking out on what he described as a reluctance by journalists to report on allegations of sexual assault by powerful Hollywood figures, which he outlined in a column for the Hollywood Reporter

Farrow helped spark the #MeToo movement and his reporting was central to bringing down movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who was jailed for rape and sexual assault earlier this year

In the piece he spoke at length about allegations his sister Dylan Farrow made against father Woody Allen, claiming he sexually assaulted her aged seven.

That was followed by agenda-setting reporting for the New Yorker which began in 2017, taking on figures from Weinstein to politician Eric Schneiderman, media executive Les Moonves, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Off the back of his reporting, the New Yorker won the Pulitzer Prize the following year, which it shared with the New York Times. In 2019, Farrow published his second book containing more detailed allegations.

But, in examining Farrow's reporting, the Times shines a light through some of the narrative gaps.

In his initial report on Weinstein, Farrow referenced allegations by Lucia Evans - a college student who claimed the movie mogul forced her to perform oral sex on him in 2004.

Her allegations later formed part of charges against Weinstein at his trial, but were dismissed after it emerged a key witness had refused to discuss details of the alleged incident with fact-checkers from the New Yorker.

She later told a New York Police detective that the encounter was consensual, the Times reports.

Then, in 2018 and while reporting on a different agenda-setting story of alleged Russian collusion with the Trump campaign, Farrow alleged via a source that documents detailing the financial records of the president's personal lawyer Michael Cohen had gone missing from a government database.

Except, as a Buzzfeed report later clarified, the documents had not gone missing but had merely been moved to a private location to stop them being leaked - as Farrow's source had done.

Separately, Lauer says Farrow broke 'the cardinal rule of journalism' by 'coming to a self-serving conclusion first, and then he sees everything through the prism of that assumption'.

In his book Catch and Kill Farrow makes the case that NBC shied away from his reporting on Weinstein because several of its executives and personalities, including Lauer, also had sexual harassment allegations in their closets.

But Lauer said Tuesday: 'At no time did Brooke Nevils ever use the words assault or rape in regards to any accusation against me while filing her complaint with NBC in November of 2017. That has been confirmed publicly.'

Matt Lauer, a star anchor at network NBC where Farrow once worked, was accused of rape in Farrow's book - which he has now described as 'shoddy journalism', pointing out what he describes as errors in the reporting

He also hit out at Nevils, saying her allegation of rape against him was 'used to sell books'. He said Tuesday that Farrow had failed to speak with two of Nevils ex-boyfriends for the purposes of fact checking in his book claims she had made.

'I was also disappointed, but not surprised, that Ronan Farrows overall reporting faced so little scrutiny', Lauer added.

'Until this weeks critical reporting by The New York Times, many in the media perceived his work as inherently beyond basic questioning.'

Nevils herself has responded to Lauer's article, tweeting out 'DARVO' - an acronym used to describe the actions of alleged sex abusers when they are accused - standing for 'Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender'.

Lauer had already denied Nevils claims in an angry and defiant letter released by his lawyer last year and said that his public silence since his firing had been a mistake.

Lauer said that he had never assaulted anyone or forced anyone to have sex.

In his letter, he said he ended his relationship with Nevils 'poorly,' but that 'being upset or having second thoughts does not give anyone the right to make false accusations years later.'

Lauer acknowledged other extramarital encounters, and criticized the women involved for having 'abandoned shared responsibility' for the affairs to shield themselves from blame behind false allegations.

'They have avoided having to look at a boyfriend, a husband or a child in the eye and say, 'I cheated,' Lauer said. 'And I will no longer provide them the shelter of my silence.'
New Delhi: Popular Bollywood and South movie actress Rakul Preet Singh has a fanbase in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi speaking audiences. The actress has also featured in a few Kannada movies. Rakul, who is an avid social media user, knows how to keep her Insta fam happy.

While surfing through her Instagram, we found a throwback picture of the actress with another South beauty, Lakshmi Manchu. It was a birthday post and the caption reads: Its not that diamonds are a girls best friend but its the best friend thats like a diamond! Happpy bdayyyy my soul sista @lakshmimanchu you are strong , bright and exclusive and I love u the mostttt for you are who you are .. keep shining and I promise the more candles u blow the more I will be here to celebrate the special day #birthdayyyyyyy

Soul sisters Rakul and Lakshmi look fab in the pictures. With lockdown in place, birthday celebrations and parties gave gone virtual and looks like it is going to be the order of the day for a while.

Daughter of legendary south star Mohan Babu, Lakshmi Manchu has featured in several Telugu, Tamil, English projects.

Rakul was last seen in Bollywood movie 'Maarjaavan'. It was helmed by Milap Zaveri, featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Tara Sutaria.

Her Telugu release 'Manmadhudu 2' Nagarjuna Akkineni was a huge hit. An official remake of the French movie 'I Do', 'Manmadhudu 2 happens to be the sequel to Nagarjuna's 'Manmadhudu' which released in 2002.
Sports & Recreation, Health & Wellness, Seasonal & Current Events

By Ls Cohen Published: May 20 2020

Read the guidelines for township beaches on mask wearing, closure of playgrounds, and capacity limitations.

A task force consisting of all Long island Town Supervisors have come together to release a bi-county plan for all town beaches. The organization, called the Nassau/Suffolk Towns Summer Operations Task Force first came together in the beginning of May to hammer out their plans and on Monday they released an outline that has been submitted to New York State.

The policy document sets guidelines agreed upon by all Nassau and Suffolk Townships that will ensure residents have a safe summer while enjoying the shoreline.

Under New York State guidelines, beaches must operate at 50% capacity. The town supervisors said that their guidelines are subject to New York State approval and where in conflict with any current or future state guidance, the stricter state guidance will take precedence.

Suffolk and Nassau Counties have also issued statements about summer beach access limiting it to residents only.

Issues addressed in the plan include facemasks, capacity limitations, closing of playgrounds, camps, and summer programs, as well as monitoring of infection rates with the possibility of a coordinated closure of facilities if deemed necessary.

Below are the policies that towns on Long Island hope to put in place:

I. Public Health Messaging - consistent social distancing guidelines across all communities will be vital to ensuring broad compliance from the public.

A. Public Outreach - every Town will establish a proactive public outreach plan, beyond their normal summer guidance, to ensure residents are aware of the many changes and restrictions in place this summer. This may include social media, paid advertisements, mailings, and radio broadcasts. In addition, each Town will, as feasible, ensure that Town Parks staff are prepared to respond to questions and concerns regarding new policies.

B. Face Coverings and Masks, Social Distancing

1. All Towns will remain in sync regarding face covering and social distancing policies throughout the summer season (see below details on policies). Simple, straightforward policies, that are consistent across Towns, will ensure that all residents are fully aware of expectations regarding behavior at all facilities at all times. The Towns task force will communicate at least bi-weekly throughout the summer season to accommodate any changes needed to the policies.

C. Enforcement

1. All Towns will remain in sync regarding enforcement mechanisms throughout the summer season. An established escalation process will be in place for visitors that do not comply with public health policies. The Towns task force will establish clear lines of communication between their respective parks enforcement personnel, and either their respective county police department, or their local law enforcement agency.

D. Signage

1. The Towns Task Force will communicate regularly with the NYS Parks Department and the Suffolk And Nassau County Parks Departments to ensure consistent messaging on all signage. All signage will follow the agreed upon guidelines of including large text, visual cues, and simple

Directives.

II. Opening (and possible closing) Timelines - Syncing the timing of beach, park and facilities openings as much as feasible, will ensure that variation between towns does not lead to a surge in crowding at one location, due to closure at another.

A. As staffing and preparation efforts vary widely across Long Island, not all Towns will necessarily have beaches open by Memorial Day. However, all Towns are on track to open most if not all of their beach facilities by the week preceding the July 4th holiday.

B. All marinas will be open by June 1st.

C. As guidance is issued by NYS, and decisions are made regarding the safety of pools, spray parks, playgrounds, and summer programs, the Towns task force will, as feasible, coordinate possible opening dates.

D. If there is a marked increase in infection rates, or broad issues with public guidelines at beaches and parks at some point in the summer season, the Towns task force will coordinate the possible closure of facilities and activities to ensure consistent public safety across all municipalities.

III. Beach, Park, and Playground Policies - While there is very wide-variation among the size and types of parks resources across the Long Island Towns, coordination regarding best practices for potential each usage, park activity, and playground policies will ensure that the safest approach is applied uniformly for all residents of Long Island.

A. Beaches

1. Face Coverings and Masks -

a) Mask Must be Worn

(1) When you arrive at the facility

(2) When moving through parking lots and public areas

(3) When walking down to the beachfront or up from the beachfront

(4) When in the concession or restroom area

(5) Any other public area other than the below

b) Visitors May Remove Their Masks

(1) When in the water

(2) When stationary on a towel, blanket, chair etc., with their household group

c) Residents must bring a face covering or mask with them. Some facilities may have a small supply on site if needed, but entry is not guaranteed for any residents that arrive without their face covering or mask

2. Capacity Limitations

a) All beaches will have a capacity plan developed that reflect that facilitys unique parking lot capacity, beachfront capacity, and restroom and concession set-up

b) In order to adhere to stated guidelines of 50% beach capacity, Townships may restrict or expand their parking lot access, depending on the safe capacity of the beachfront

c) Residents should check with their local officials and parks department for up-to-date information regarding capacity and restrictions on each facility.

d) All beaches will allow blankets, towels, chairs and coolers, as per the normal rules of each municipality

3. COVID-19 Summer Safety Directors & Monitors

a) At each facility where warranted, one staff person shall be designated to monitor adherence to social distancing and public health policies on a real-time basis. This person, in consultation with management, shall be empowered to adjust capacity and enforcement procedures as needed, to reflect up-to-the moment conditions at that facility.

b) As feasible given established staffing, all Towns will develop a stand-alone program to hire, or designate from current staff, additional personnel who will be trained specifically to communicate and enforce new guidelines and public health policies. This staff will be educated in COVID-19 symptoms, effective communication strategies, and de-escalation methods.

4. Swimming Restrictions

a) As applicable depending on the beach and water conditions, residents will be asked to restrict swimming to 20-30 feet from the shoreline, or at most 10 feet past the wave break. This will lower the rate of saves required by lifeguards and protect their health. Lifeguards on site will be empowered to make daily decisions regarding enforcement of this recommendation.

B. Pools & Spray Parks

1. Due to health and sanitation concerns, no Town will open any pool facility or spray parks until guidance is issued from New York State.

C. Parks

1. All parks (fields) will be open for passive use only. No group sport activities will be allowed until further notice.

2. There will be no congregating of any kind, unless visitors are seated or stationary with strict social distancing adherence.

3. Masks should be worn at all times when moving through parks, unless there are no other visitors within sight.

D. Playgrounds

1. All playgrounds will remain closed until further notice

E. Marinas

1. All marinas will be open by June 1st

2. All marinas will require social distancing at all times while on-site

3. There will be no congregating on docks, in parking lots, or boat ramps

4. There will be no rafting, or tying together of boats between different groups for socializing purposes.

F. Summer Programs

1. Due to health and sanitation concerns, no Town will operate summer programs or day camps until guidance is issued from New York State.

IV. Town Authority

A. While all Towns are committed to adhering to these joint policies wherever feasible, each municipality reserves the right to modify without notice any of the above in order to ensure the safety of their residents and staff.
Union leaders have urged the government to channel the spirit of post-war Britain to rebuild the economy after coronavirus or risk consigning millions to the despair of unemployment.

Frances OGrady, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), called on ministers to emulate the decade after the Second World War by investing for growth, rather than bringing back austerity measures which left public services vulnerable when the pandemic hit.

Analysis by the TUC, which represents trade unions, found that investment for growth between 1947 and 1957 achieved an average growth rate of 3.3 per cent, whereas the austerity years after the 2008 financial crash achieved growth of 1.9 per cent.

It comes as the chancellor Rishi Sunak said the UK faces a severe recession the likes of which we have never seen following the coronavirus crisis, with doubts over whether the economy will bounce back quickly.

In a new report, the TUC argues that the UK will recover more swiftly through investment for growth, prioritising workers wages and support for welfare, as well as strong public services.

The UKs weak economy and ten years of cuts left our country unprepared for coronavirus, Ms OGrady said. Lets rebuild our country through hard work, determination and investment in all our futures  not cuts to spending, deregulation and tax breaks for millionaires and bosses.

Boris Johnson has sought to position himself as a wartime leader, battling an invisible enemy, but the TUC said the post-war years were a better model for the path ahead.

Ms OGrady said: Seventy-five years ago, Britain was bloodied, battered  and broke. Yet after the war Britains economy grew faster than ever before.

We did it not by pay freezes and cuts, but making the priority decent jobs for everyone, new homes, infrastructure and a new national health service.

So lets channel the spirit of 1945. Coronavirus doesnt have to equal mass unemployment and a poorer, meaner country.

High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Show all 18 1 /18 High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Najaf, Iraq A man holds a pocket watch at noon, at an almost empty market near the Imam Ali shrine Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Bangkok, Thailand Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, part of The Grand Palace) Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Prague, Czech Republic An empty street leading to the historic Old Town Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Washington DC, US Lawn stretching towards the Capitol, home of Congress Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Jerusalem's Old City A watch showing the time in front of Damascus Gate Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world London, UK The Houses of Parliament seen from Westminster Bridge Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Wuhan, China Empty lanes in the city that saw the first outbreak of disease Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Havana, Cuba The Malecon road and esplanade winds along the city's seafront Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Cairo, Egypt A little busier than elsewhere: midday traffic in Tahrir Square Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Berlin, Germany The Brandenburg Gate, the only surviving city gate in the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Caracas, Venezuela Bolivar Avenue, opened in 1949 and the site of many demonstrations and rallies Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Moscow, Russia Spasskaya Tower (left) on the eastern wall of the Kremlin, and St Basil's Cathedral Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Istanbul,Turkey The harbourside Eminonu district is usually buzzing with activity Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New Delhi, India Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard that runs through the capital Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Amman, Jordan The Roman amphitheatre that dates back to the 2nd century AD Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world New York City, US The main concourse of Grand Central station in Manhattan Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Kiev, Ukraine Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the site of many political protests since the end of the Soviet era Reuters High noon in a coronavirus-stricken world Accra, Ghana The odd walker out in the midday sun on Ring Road Central Reuters

We can do what the post-war generation did: grow our way out of this crisis and build a better life for everyone.

Speaking at the launch of the report, shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said the government must put aside its allergy to challenging the economic status quo.

Ms Dodds said: It [the report] accurately diagnoses how the eroded resilience of our public services has hampered our response to coronavirus and how our fragmented and fractured labour market means many families are not economically resilient.

She said the government was guilty of misplaced optimism around the economic recovery, with the challenges of the coronavirus crisis heightened by uncertainty about post-Brexit trade.

Ms Dodds added: Our best chance to weather these storms and keep jobs in the UK is with an active government pursuing a clear industrial strategy. Ambition and confidence are needed here as well as a willingness to grasp nettled and take hard choices on regulatory and investment issues.

It comes after the chancellor admitted the UK economy may not bounce back straight away as many had hoped, once the lockdown begins to ease.

Mr Sunak told the Lords Economic Affairs Committee on Tuesday it was not obvious that there will be an immediate bounce back, noting that households may be reluctant to start spending again even if businesses reopen.

In all cases, it will take a little bit of time for things to get back to normal, even once we have reopened currently closed sectors, he said.
RAMALLAH, WEST BANKPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday declared an end to all agreements and understandings with Israel and the United States, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Abbas statement came in response to Israeli plans to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, which could move forward quickly after Israels new government was sworn in.

The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments, Wafa cited Abbas as saying at an emergency meeting.

The leader added that this would include security arrangements. Abbas has threatened similar moves in the past, but has not implemented them.

He added that Israel would now have to shoulder all responsibilities and obligations in front of the international community as an occupying power over the territory of the occupied state of Palestine, according to Wafa.

The United States, as a primary partner with the Israeli occupation government, will be fully responsible for the oppression of the Palestinian people, Abbas added.

Israels new government plans to annex settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trumps Middle East plan.

The plan, released in late January, was widely criticized, and Palestinians have rejected it out of fear it will recognize Israeli claims to parts of the West Bank that they want for a future state.

The U.S. plan said some 30 per cent of the occupied West Bank should become part of Israel under any future peace deal with the Palestinians.

The Palestinian leadership has been boycotting the U.S. government since Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital in late 2017.

Israels acting prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, began his fifth term in office Sunday.

The coalition deal signed by Netanyahu, of the right-wing Likud, with Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, who is set to take on the role of prime minister in November 2021, states that Netanyahu may ask the cabinet and parliament to vote on annexation as early as July 1.

Israel seized control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians claim the territories for their own state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Read more about:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

As many as 2,346 people have been infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours in Iran, said Kiyanush Jahanpur, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Trend reports citing the ministry.

According to Jahanpur, 64 more people have died from the coronavirus over the past day.

Jahanpur added that the condition of 2,673 people is critical.

Jahanpur said that no deaths were reported in 10 provinces of Iran, only 1 death was registered in 8 provinces each.

So far, more than 731,000 tests have been conducted in Iran for the diagnosis of coronavirus.

Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 126,900 people have been infected 7,183 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 98,800 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.

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.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffes temporary release from a Tehran prison has been extended again, according to her MP.

The British-Iranian mother-of-one was freed from Evin prison on March 17 as Iran responded to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Labour MP Tulip Siddiq tweeted on Wednesday morning: Nazanins furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today.

The Hampstead and Kilburn MP said the uncertainty is causing Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes family unimaginable stress, adding: The Government must step up efforts to make sure her furlough is made permanent.

Just spoken with Richard Ratcliffe  Nazanin's furlough has been extended and she is NOT going back to prison today. This uncertainty is causing her and her family unimaginable stress. The government must step up efforts to make sure her furlough is made permanent. #FreeNazanin  Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) May 20, 2020

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been staying at her parents house since her release, and her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said in April that she had been in regular contact over Skype with their five-year-old daughter Gabriella, who now lives with him in the UK.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: Its funny how quickly that almost becomes normal again, seeing her on a Skype screen and being able to talk to her late at night and early in the morning. Its lovely.

He added: Gabriella was a bit disorientated when Nazanin first came out as to why she hadnt come to the UK  why had she not come to our house but gone to grannys house (in Iran).

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested at Tehrans Imam Khomeini Airport while taking her young daughter to see her parents in April 2016.

Story continues

The mother-of-one was sentenced to five years in prison, accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government, which she denies.

She was later afforded diplomatic protection by the UK Government, which argues that she is innocent and that her treatment by Iran failed to meet obligations under international law.

Amnesty International said it is concerned that the Iranian authorities are still playing games with Nazanin and her family, and called on the Government to secure her permanent release.

Kate Allen, the charitys UK director, said: Obviously, there should be no question of Nazanin ever being sent back to Evin prison.

There are numerous reports of Covid-19 in Iranian jails, with detainees pleading for basic things like soap to help combat the disease.

With Nazanins long-term fate still apparently undecided, the UK Government must step up efforts do everything within its power to ensure her full and unconditional release.
With the government taking steps in the agriculture and food sector, industry will be able to achieve export target of USD 100 billion worth in the next five years by focusing on untapped global markets like Africa, Latin America, Middle East and Oceania, TPCI said on Wednesday.

The Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said measures announced by the government for promoting the agri and food sector will help in boosting outbound shipments.

The amendment in the Essential Commodities Act will be a game changer, as it will make agriculture remunerative for farmers by bypassing the middleman, TPCI Chairman Mohit Singla said in a statement.

He said the move will lead to farmers connecting to the market of their choice and help monetise the produce through exports, plus help facilitating smooth inter-state trade.

"From the current USD 37 billion of exports, industry will be able to achieve export target of USD 100 billion worth in the next five years, while focusing upon untapped global markets namely, Africa, Latin America, Middle East and Oceania," he said.

He added that the measures announced will help in diversification of export products, which will reduce dependency on just four to five commodities for exports.

New inclusions like cereals, fresh fruits, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, dairy products and fisheries in the food portfolio will further boost export, Singla said.

"The scheme for formalisation of micro enterprise, wherein almost 2.5 lakh emerging smaller entrepreneurs will enter the fray, will lead to more primary producers feeding the bigger ancillary units to reduce the farm wastage and make Indian agro-food industry competitive," he said.

Further, he said the animal husbandry infrastructure development fund will address the infrastructure and logistics gaps and strengthen the value chain.

Creation of good infrastructure along with a healthy animal population will make the dairy industry competitive against China, which often hinders export citing FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations," he added.

He also suggested that branding agri-products through geographical indication (GI) would realise higher returns in global markets.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An appeal to find witnesses has been launched after an elderly woman was mauled to death by a pack of vicious dogs.

Officers renewed a call for public assistance on Wednesday afternoon, following the death of a 91-year-old woman at Vincentia on the New South Wales south coast two months ago.

Sally Holland, 91, was killed after being set on by three Bullmastiff cross dogs on March 29 at Collingwood Beach.

The dogs also attacked Ms Holland's daughter, and three people who ran over to help them.

Police want to know if anyone else was attacked by a pack of vicious dogs which mauled an elderly woman to death (pictured: one of the dogs owned by Adam Newbold with his two infant daughters)

They were put down by Shoalhaven City Council after the incident.

The four other victims - a 47-year-old man, a three women: 29, 73 and 79 received only minor injuries.

Officers from South Coast Police District established 'Strike Force Beaks' to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

New South Wales Police Superintendent Greg Moore said there are still hoping people will come forward to help with inquiries.

'There's a combination of witnesses that we are hoping to speak to,' Superintendent Moore said in an address to the media on Wednesday.

'We know that there were people out and about on the morning that witnessed the attack.

Sally Holland (pictured) was set upon by dogs at a Jervis Bay beach while going for a swim. The 91-year-old died at the scene

Sally Holland was walking along Collingwood Beach (pictured) on the New South Wales south coast when she was attacked

'We also believe that there's witnesses out there that may have information about the care and control of these particular dogs.'

He said they'll be looking into the temperament of the dog breed as part of inquiries, and urged anyone with these breeds to ensure they were adequately cared for.

'That's certainly one aspect that we'll be looking into as part of our investigation and report to the coroner,' Superintendent Moore said.

'You have them certainly secure in the yards and adequate fencing to ensure the animals can't escape from the yard and if they're out, they're out on a leash.'

New South Wales Police Superintendent Greg Moore said they're investigating the 'care and control' of the dogs involved in the brutal attack

All three dogs were owned by South Coast local Adam Newbold

It's believed the animals escaped their Vincentia backyard by 'busting out the bottom of the fence'.

The dogs were owned by Adam Newbold, who told Nine News at the time he couldn't understand why the usually 'gentle' animals turned violent.

'I never thought in my wildest dreams that this would happen,' Mr Newbold said.

'I had my two daughters, we were just playing with them in the yard yesterday afternoon the kids hang off them.

'I don't understand what is going on. I'm in shock. I don't know what could send them wild.'

Mr Newbold said there was nothing out of the ordinary that could have set them off.

'Fair enough if it was another dog or something but it wasn't even another dog, my missus said.

'They even bit her when she was trying to help the people.'

Devastated by the brutal attack, a tearful Mr Newbold apologised to the victims.

'All I can say is that I'm sorry to the people that have been hurt,' he said.

'I've had them for seven years I would never have had these dogs near my kids if I knew this could happen.'

However neighbors told Nine News there had been previous control issues with the dogs.

'They sort of run around a bit and they attacked another woman across the road,' Neighbour Robin Hill said.
In this article 7201.T-JP

U.S. law enforcement authorities on Wednesday arrested two American men, including a former special forces soldier, wanted by Japan for their alleged involvement in helping former Nissan Motor boss Carlos Ghosn escape that country in December. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said that Michael Taylor, 59, and his 27-year-old son Peter Taylor, were taken into custody in that state in response to a request for purposes of extradition submitted to the U.S. by Japan. Michael Taylor is a former Green Beret in the U.S. Army. Both men appeared by videoconference in orange jail uniforms and face masks for an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon. They primarily sat silent during the less-than-20-minute hearing other than thanking the judge.

U.S. District Judge Donald L. Cabell during the hearing said Japan has not yet formally submitted a request for extradition. U.S. prosecutor Stephen Hassink said Japanese officials plan to submit that request within a required 45-day period. "A lot of this is kind of hurry up and wait," Cabell said, citing additional information from Japan as well as motions regarding bail and detention. He said as those actions occur, the court "will schedule things as soon as possible." Japanese officials issued arrest warrants in January for both men as well as a third, George-Antoine Zayek, in connection with the escape on Dec. 29, 2019.

U.S. prosecutors said the government of Japan charged Michael and Peter Taylor with helping Ghosn flee. The former chairman and CEO of Nissan "was indicted in Japan for financial crimes and had been released on bail pending his trial," U.S. prosecutors said. Attorney Paul V. Kelly, who's representing the Taylors, declined to comment. News of the arrests was first reported by Seamus Hughes, a George Washington University professor, who discovered documents related to the busts. Tweet Court records detail the elaborate escape through hotel reservations, surveillance videos and travel records, among other documents. According to the complaint, Peter Taylor visited Japan at least three times leading up to Ghosn's escape, starting in July 2019. He allegedly visited with Ghosn at least seven times during those visits, according to meeting records the former auto tycoon was required to maintain as a condition of his bail. Peter Taylor, according to the documents, arrived in Japan and met with Ghosn a day before the escape, followed by Michael Taylor and Zayek, who both entered the country on Dec. 29 from Dubai on a private jet. The two allegedly claimed they were musicians and entered Japan transporting two large black boxes, as shown in video surveillance images.

Photo provided by Istanbul Police Department shows the case which former chairman of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn hid in while fleeing from Japan , where he was held in house arrest, to Lebanon in Istanbul, Turkey on January 08, 2020. Istanbul Police Department | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged Congress workers in West Bengal and Odisha to warn people of the impending super cyclonic storm 'Amphan' and help them move to safer places.

"Cyclone Amphan is coming to the country amid the Corona crisis. I appeal to all Congress workers of West Bengal and Odisha to warn people of the impending danger and help take people to safer places. You should all be safe," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

The severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal was on Tuesday afternoon hurtling towards the Indian shores in West Bengal and Odisha where lakhs of people were evacuated from vulnerable areas, officials said.

This is the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal in two decades.

It is expected to make landfall on the West Bengal coast on Wednesday afternoon between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya island in Bangladesh.
Time has a funny way of catching up with people.

Perhaps that thought crossed Felicien Kabugas mind when police arrested him over the weekend in Paris. On the run for over 25 years, Kabuga was finally detained on several charges relating to his role in 1994 Rwandan genocide. Kabuga is alleged to have bankrolled the Hutu extremists that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Kabugas arrest serves as a warning to all those who aid, abet, fund or do business with despotic regimes. And not just in post-conflict states like Rwanda. Western companies and democracies, including Canada, are also being put on notice.

Committing atrocities doesnt come cheap. It is often assumed that everything has to go wrong for something like a genocide to occur. In fact, everything has to go right for those with genocidal intent to succeed. It requires careful planning, implementation and, yes, a lot of money.

With some exceptions, like the Nazi industrialists who faced trial at Nuremberg following the Second World War, companies and countries that do business with and fund perpetrators of mass atrocities have historically escaped scrutiny. That is changing.

Today, business human rights is a booming field. International courts and domestic prosecutors have targeted companies for their complicity in international crimes:

French oil giant Lafarge has been indicted for crimes against humanity in Syria.

The chairman of Swedish oil company Lundin has been charged with aiding and abetting crimes against humanity in South Sudan, where United Nations investigators have reported that oil companies are complicit in mass atrocities.

In Colombia, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is reportedly exploring an investigation of companies for their role in funding para-militaries during the countrys civil war with the FARC. Even seemingly innocuous entities like banana companies, such as Dole and Del Monte, have been accused of financing Colombias death squads.

Canadian entities are far from immune:

SNC Lavalin, which helped to legitimize the regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was charged by Canadian prosecutors with bribing a leader who was eventually accused of war crimes by the ICC.

More recently, the Supreme Court of Canada paved the way for a British Columbia-based mining company, Nevsun Resources, to be sued for its role in the commission of crimes against humanity in Eritrea.

The case against Hudbay Minerals and its subsidiaries, for human rights violations committed during the eviction of Indigenous villagers in Guatemala, is proceeding through the Canadian courts.

It is not just companies involved in doing business with regimes that commit atrocities that should be worried. The Canadian government has sent mixed messages on its arms trade, insisting that it wont sell military weapons to human rights-violating regimes. Yet, for some reason, Saudi Arabia is exempt.

Despite the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives, the jailing of human rights advocates, and allegations of war crimes committed in Yemen, the Canadian government announced last month that it would continue selling military hardware to Saudi Arabia.

This asks the question: if its not enough for a journalist to be slaughtered and disappeared, for atrocities to be perpetrated against civilians, and for rights advocates to be jailed, just how bad do things have to get for Canada to stop selling arms to the Saudi government?

The government insists that all is fine because a Global Affairs Canada investigation found no evidence that the military goods sold to Saudi Arabia are being used to commit atrocities. On the contrary, the investigation concluded that they contribute to regional security.

Others have already pointed out how incoherent and contradictory this conclusion is. Even if Canadas military hardware was used for ostensibly defensive purposes, it should not be sold to a government whose military actions in Yemen have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, including children.

The government will, of course, insist that we must protect Canadian jobs. It did so when it pushed for SNC Lavalin to receive a deferred prosecution agreement and it has done so when it comes to the companies that make the military hardware destined for Saudi Arabia.

But thats not a trade-off Canadians should have to make. It is up to the government to find business partners that arent involved in murdering journalists or bombing school buses. If it doesnt get it right, time might just catch up with it.
One of the worst storms over Bay of Bengal, Cyclone Amphan is likely to hit Bengal this afternoon. More than 3 lakh people in Bengal and 1 lakh in Odisha are evacuated.

Cyclone Amphan: A total of 1,19,075 people have been evacuated from more than 13 vulnerable districts on Odisha as severe cyclonic storm Amphan is expected to make landfall on May 20, Wednesday. Amphan is expected to cross West Bengal and Bangladesh coasts between Digha and Hatiya islands near Sundarbans during the afternoon to evening with the wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 mph. Amphan is likely to be more massive than earlier cyclones like Bulbul and Aila. A total of forty teams of NDRF are deployed in Odisha and West Bengal to deal with the natural calamity.

According to the reports, Amphan is expected to cause large damage in West Bengal and Odisha. In West Bengal, areas are Howrah, Hoogli, east Medinipur, south & north 24 Parganas are vulnerable areas, and Mayurbhanj, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Balasore and Jajpur of Odisha are most vulnerable. IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that Cyclone Amphan is the second super cyclone which has formed in the Bay of Bengal after 1999.

On May 19, Union Home Ministry also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and assures Centres assistance in dealing with the natural calamity. Further, Amit Shah also reviewed the preparedness of the state over Cyclone Amphan.

Also Read: Cyclone Amphan: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee says 3 lakh people evacuated to relief camps till now

Odisha: Fire Services team clearing road blockage near R&B office in Bhadrak to facilitate the movement of vehicles, essential commodities, and emergency service personnel. #CycloneAmphan pic.twitter.com/jE2P9eAtqz  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2020

MeT department warned that due to heavy rainfall, strong winds, and cyclone massive damage to standing crops, plantations will be seen today. A total of 1,702 shelter camps have been set up in anticipation of the super cyclone. A total of 32,060 people are evacuated from Kendrapara, 26,174 from Bhdrak, and 23,142 from Balasore. Further, IMD has also earned all the fishermen not to venture into North Of Bay of Bengal till May 20, 2020.

For all the latest National News, download NewsX App
Lawyer and Mumbai beach clean-up crusader Afroz Shah was allegedly detained by Tilak Nagar police late night on Tuesday for around two hours in suburban Chembur on charges of ferrying stranded migrant workers.

Shah, who caught the public imagination a couple of years ago for his stellar work in a solo clean-up drive of Mumbais Versova beach, has been seen moving in and around the city to feed and ferry migrant workers during the lockdown restrictions, which were enforced from March 25 to contain the spread of raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak.

He is also feeding stray dogs and cats amid lockdown 4:0 that came into effect from Monday and will be in place till May 31.

On Tuesday night, Shah tagged Mumbai Police and the police commissioner, Param Bir Singh, and recounted the trauma that led him to temporarily suspend his charitable activities.

Detained for ferrying migrant workers to their destination in Mumbai. God bless this country, he tweeted.

He followed it up with a more elaborate tweet: Harassed for two hours by Tilak Nagar police. Taken to the police station  let off by saying please leave suspending all my activities to help the poorest of the poor sorry migrants the system doesnt allow me to work for you. Broken heart broken soul I cry and Im in pain.

Harassed for 2 hours by Tilak nagar police



Taken to the police station



Let off by saying please leave



Suspending all my activities to help the poorest of the poor



Sorry migrants - the system doesn't allow me to work for you



Broken heart. Broken soul



I cry and I am in pain pic.twitter.com/jxWTuo9Ddf  Afroz shah (@AfrozShah1) May 19, 2020

Shah said that he was detained at around 12 am while he was helping migrants, who were walking from Byculla to Ghatkopar, a distance of around 16 kilometres, to catch a bus back to their native place in Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Also read: Covid-19 state tally - Cases breach 37,000-mark in Maharashtra, over 22,000 in Mumbai alone

I was on the highway between Thane and Nashik, ferrying, and providing food for migrant workers for the better part on Tuesday. I returned to Mumbai late at night and wanted to help those looking for a free meal. Initially, I came across a group of around 8-10 people at Mulund check post, who wanted to reach Byculla. These people came from Bhiwandi to Mumbai looking for some odd jobs. I dropped them to their destination. While taking a U-turn, I saw another group of around 40 people, who were walking towards LBS (Lal Bahadur Shastri) Marg in Ghatkopar from where they were to board a bus for UP. I took around eight of them in my pick-up truck and told the others that Id come back to ferry them. Police stopped me on LBS Marg. Two on-duty constables abused and heckled me. I told them to file an FIR (First Information Report) against me, if Ive committed any crime, as Ive been trying to help the poor. My volunteer Faizan and I were taken to Tilak Nagar police station. The police refused to file an FIR and unnecessarily detained us for about two hours, he alleged.

Shah has been hitting the roads for 16 hours daily to help stranded migrant workers during the lockdown restrictions while observing fast during the Holy month of Ramzan.

The Good Samaritan has been hailed on social media for helping the poor and needy during the lockdown restrictions.

A huge humanitarian crisis is unfolding in front of our eyes. Though my mother has been warning me that Im putting myself at grave risk by exposing myself to the viral outbreak, I cannot simply sit idle at home. I need to help my fellow citizens, he added.

Sashikumar Mina, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 6, has promised to look into Shahs allegations.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SAO PAULO, May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. ("Company") announces to its stockholders and the market in general, in line with the Material Fact disclosed on April 13, 2020, that its controlling stockholders have made a donation in the total amount of R$200 million to Todos pela Saude (All for Health) for the purpose of fighting the novel coronavirus and its effects on Brazilian society.

Itausa  Investimentos Itau S.A., a Company's controlling stockholder, and its controlling stockholders, the Villela and Setubal families have donated R$100 million, and the Moreira Salles family, also a controlling stockholder of the Company, has also donated R$100 million.

The Todos pela Saude initiative was created in April with the initial donation of R$1 billion by the Company, which, together with its controlling stockholders, wants to be part of the solution of this serious crisis.

Further details are available on the website https://www.todospelasaude.org/ , where it is possible to see the entire development of the project and make donations. The Company invites its stockholders and all of those that can join this very important effort.

ALEXSANDRO BROEDEL

Group Executive Finance Director and Head of Investor Relations

Itau Unibanco  Corporate Communication

(11) 5019-8880 / 8881  [email protected]

SOURCE Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Related Links

www.itau.com.br


You are here: Arts

The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) staged an online concert on Monday evening to celebrate International Museum Day 2020.



Themed "Amazing Harmony," the special concert presented various Chinese and foreign classical music styles, integrating different instruments and forms of art, including harpsichords, pianos, dancing and chorus.

The event also featured exhibitions on traditional Chinese opera, the NCPA's original stage productions and art collection.

The International Museum Day, coordinated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), has been celebrated around May 18 every year since 1977. The theme selected by ICOM this year is "Museums for Equality: Diversity and Inclusion."
Mumbai:

Flagging difficulties in getting top talent at public sector banks, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said they tend to over-pay at the bottom but under-pay their top executives, even as he rued, albeit jokingly, himself being under-paid.

One of the problems, of course, is that as with all public sector entities, you overpay at the bottom and underpay at the top... Yes, you feel that you are doing the job for the broader public but you just make it harder to attract top talent, specially a lateral entry, Rajan said here while talking about public sector banks (PSBs).

Addressing a banking conference here, the outgoing Governor jokingly added, I also feel under-paid.

As per the latest data on monthly salaries made public by RBI, Rajans total monthly emoluments stood at Rs 1,98,700 for the month of July 2015. Rajan, on-leave professor of finance at Chicago University and former Chief Economist and IMF, will return to academia after his term at RBI ends on September 4.

The top-level salary disclosures made by the banks in their respective annual reports show a sharp difference between the total remuneration paid at the public sector and private sector entities.

Public sector behemoth SBIs Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya got just about Rs 31.1 lakh in the fiscal year 2015-16, while public sector major HDFC Banks Managing Director Aditya Puris total remuneration for the same period was more than 30-times higher at Rs 9.7 crore.

Rajan also suggested giving rewards like ESOPs by public sector banks, which is very common in private sector, by taking advantage of the current low share valuations of PSBs.

Rajan said a better payscale at bottom levels can also be a source of opportunity, and pointed out that the RBIs compensation packages even for class III employees are attractive enough to get really highly qualified people in.

We get lot of engineers, MBAs even in class III jobs. Our strategy has been to try and expand opportunities these people have while saying that you are not just there for clerical work, we are asking you to do much more value, he said.

Rajan said while one of the strengths of the public sector sometimes is the absence of pay and promotion that is very sensitive to performance, too little sensitivity can also be a problem as high performers get demotivated, and the slothful are not penalised.

An increased emphasis on performance evaluation, including identifying low performers with the intent of helping them improve, may be warranted, he said.

In addition, rewards like employee stock ownership plans (Esops) that give all employees a stake in the future of the bank may be helpful. With public sector banks shares trading at such low levels, a small allocation to employees today may be a strong source of motivation, and can be a large source of wealth as performance improves, the Governor said.

For all the Latest Business News, Economy News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Harvey Weinsteins extradition to Los Angeles to face rape and sex crime charges has been indefinitely delayed to due the coronavirus outbreak, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The disgraced movie mogul, 68, was convicted in February of rape and sexually assault in attacks involving two women. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11 in the landmark #MeToo trial in New York.

Hes awaiting trial in Los Angeles where hes charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another over a two-day period in 2013.

Hours after his March sentencing, the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office said it would begin the extradition process to take him to California court.

Harvey Weinsteins extradition to Los Angeles to face rape and sex crime charges has been indefinitely delayed to due the coronavirus outbreak, prosecutors announced Tuesday. Pictured April 26 leaving his New York trial

On Tuesday the Los Angeles DAs office said to NBC: 'The virus has delayed the processing of the extradition paperwork.'

'There is no time estimate on when he will appear in a Los Angeles courtroom,' the prosecutors office said.

In that case he faces charges of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint stemming from the alleged rape of one woman and a sexual assault of another in separate incidents in February 2013.

In March he was sentenced to 23 years in jail for rape and sexual assault following the landmark #MeToo trial in New York. Now he faces additional sex crime charges stepping from incidents in 2013 in Los Angeles, California

Weinstein is currently jailed at the maximum security Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York (above)

Weinstein is currently jailed at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. He was initially placed in New York's notorious Riker's Island jail but has since been moved to the other maximum-security prison near Buffalo.

After arriving to Wende in March the former film producer reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

On April 9 his spokesman said he was not symptomatic of the virus without confirming or denying a corrections officer union report that he contracted COVID-19.

Weinsteins rep Juda Engelmayer says the producer's team plans to fight his extradition to Los Angeles.

Today there are over 81,000 cases of COVID-19 in the state of California and over 3,300 deaths reported.

Overall there are over 1.5million cases across the US and over 92,000 deaths.
Burma MP Warns Australian-backed Mining in Myanmars Far North May Spark Protest

Snow-capped mountains in Putao Township, Kachin State. / The Irrawaddy

YANGONA Kachin lawmaker voiced concerns in the Upper House of Parliament about an Australian-backed companys plan to conduct a feasibility study for a large-scale mining exploration project in an area of Myanmars northernmost township with snow-capped

mountains and a largely untouched environment.

The Australian-backed Fortuna Metals Co. Ltd submitted a proposal to the government in August 2018 to carry out a feasibility study for a project to extract gold, metals and other minerals on nearly 300,000 acresan area almost twice the size of Singaporein Khaunglanhpu Township in northern Kachin States Putao District, where Myanmars largest area of forest cover is located.

Last November, the Kachin State government gave the company a green light to carry out the study. According to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), two directors of the company are Australian citizens and one is a Myanmar citizen.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC), the government granted the company permission to conduct a feasibility study for two blocks in Khaunglanhpu Township that dont include protected forest reservesone block of 125,861 acres and a second block of 151,025 acres.

On Wednesday, Upper House lawmaker J Yaw Wu said in Parliament that local people are concerned about the possible confiscation of land, losing their natural resources and losing their livelihoods in areas that have been cultivated for generations due to the project.

J Yaw Wu said the feasibility study covers areas that include farmland, community forests, historical places and lands that local communities manage for rotational farming using customary tenure practices.

In Myanmar, especially in ethnic areas, people customarily use a shared land ownership system that includes freehold lands, community forest reserves and lands kept under customary tenure for rotational farming practices. The majority of people do not have ownership certificates or land titles.

J Yaw Wu warned the Parliament about the possibility of local resistance and protest as local people have not been adequately consulted about the project.

He also said that the state government should prioritize giving this kind of project to local companies.

In response to the lawmakers concerns, deputy head of MONREC U Ye Myint Swe said that though the company has already been granted permission for the study by the state government, the company is currently drawing up an environmental management plan (EMP) to prevent undue and avoidable adverse environmental impacts.

The deputy minister said the feasibility study will not significantly affect conservation areas, the environment or local land. If the company finds a possible mining project area, it must then carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA), a social impact assessment (SIA) and a corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan in accordance with Myanmars environmental law.

U Ye Myint Swe said the company will have to submit such a proposal to the Ministry of Planning, Finance and Industry (MOFPI), the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations (MIFER), the Ethnic Affairs Ministry and other related departments.

The company is preparing a contract and both sides [the company and the government] will have to sign the final agreement [for the study] after the Union-level approval is granted, the deputy minister said.

You may also like these stories:

Almost 200 Homes Set Ablaze in Myanmars Rakhine State

Myanmar Hands 22 Assam, Meitei Rebels Over to Indian Govt

Rakhine Court Frees Civilians, Says No Evidence in Terrorism Case
VALPARAISO The back-to-work order has been given for Porter County employees beginning next Tuesday.

With employee testing nearing completion, we have a baseline at which to start, County Commissioner Laura Blaney said. But testing was just the first step in reducing the risk of exposure to our employees and visitors.

The commissioners voted Tuesday to allow employees back in the buildings after Memorial Day. Testing of employees is expected to be completed Friday. Beginning next Tuesday, employees will have their temperature checked each day and must complete a COVID-19 risk assessment questionnaire when they report for work.

Any employee whose temperature is at or above the U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines or who does not pass the risk assessment will be sent home and cant return until they are tested at the Indiana State Department of Health testing site and receive a negative result for the virus.
A Civil Society Organization has called on the National Assembly to withhold the 2020 Budget of the Niger Delta Development Commissi...





A Civil Society Organization has called on the National Assembly to withhold the 2020 Budget of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC until the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Commission is dissolved.





The CSO, Niger Delta Movement for Peace & Justice, NDMPJ, made the call on Wednesday in a press statement.





National Coordinator NDMPJ, Comrade Etifit Nkereuwem said the Committee has failed to achieve its objectives and therefore should be dissolved.





His words, Following the recent and worrisome developments in the Niger Delta Development Commission, we believe that the Interim Management Committee of the Commission has failed to achieve its objectives and therefore should be dissolved.

We urge the National Assembly not to recognize the Interim Management Committee henceforth because it is illegal, undemocratic and unacceptable.





The National Assembly should withhold the NDDC 2020 budget until Mr. President dissolves the Interim Management Committee.





And the National Assembly should liaise with President Buhari to ensure the immediate inauguration of the substantive Governing Board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) that was screened, and confirmed last year by the Senate.





Nkereuwem expressed hope that the leadership of the National Assembly would expedite action over the investigation of alleged misappropriation of funds in the NDDC.





He commended stakeholders and elders of the region particularly the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) for backing the National Assembly to carry out the probe in the interest of the region and nation in general.





He, therefore, urged people in the region to join hands with PANDEF and other stakeholders to ensure the repositioning of the NDDC to enable it achieve its mandate





PANDEF as the umbrella regional body and the voice of the Niger Delta people under the able leadership of our respected leader, patriot and nationalist, Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga, (Rtd) deserves commendation and support of our people.




A strong political signal, a big step forward, and a historic moment  these are just some reactions to the latest plan from France and Germany to set up a coronavirus relief fund in Europe, CNBC writes in the article Why the French-German proposal for a $545-billion relief fund is a big deal for Europe. The idea is to task the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), to raise 500 billion euros ($545 billion) in public markets.

This money would then be used as grants for sectors and regions where the impact of the coronavirus has been most stark. The allocation of these funds would be done via the European budget  a common basket that receives contributions from all the 27 member countries and which finances projects across the region. The plan amounts to a historic step by Germany away from its long-held opposition to mutual debt to fund other EU member states, analysts at Eurasia group, a research firm, said in a note Monday.

In the wake of the coronavirus economic crisis, several European countries including Italy, Spain and France have pushed for corona bonds  a financial instrument that would combine different national debts and would be sold as one bond in public markets.

It has been fiercely opposed by nations such as the Netherlands, Austria and Germany. They argued that linking their finances to nations with very high public debts would be too risky for their own taxpayers and the plan was against European treaties.

This argument had been used before, in particular in the aftermath of the regions sovereign debt crisis of 2011. At the time, some countries were at risk of bankruptcy and other European nations were reluctant to take on too much risk to help them.

The German Chancellor was eager to point out  that the 500 billion euros would be debt raised by the Commission and spent through the EU budget in the normal way. Without saying so, she was making a distinction with the idea of mutual debt taken on by EU governments, or so called Corona bonds, Eurasia analysts said.

Taking on populism

The Franco-German plan is likely to have wider political implications, including on populism. The coronavirus pandemic has sparked political infighting in Europe, with the worst-hit southern nations blaming the richer North for not doing enough the help them. This was the case in Italy, for example, where the government argued that countries such as Germany needed to do more. This political division has bolstered anti-EU rhetoric in southern nations; Italy, for example, has experienced growing support for anti-EU parties in the wake of the pandemic.

Whether the recovery fund, if and when it is finally agreed, will help to dispel this impression and thus curtail the tail risk that a disaffected Italy may turn more euro-sceptic over time remains to be seen. But egged on by France, Germany is now taking the political risks sufficiently serious, Holger Schmieding, chief European economist at Berenberg, said in a note.

Still some work to be done

Nonetheless, the Franco-German plan has yet to be approved by the other European countries. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the aid should be provided to those who need it in the form of loans not grants, as proposed by France and Germany. The European Commission is due to present more detailed plans, based on the French and German idea, next week. It is unclear how the EU will design and ensure debt repayments and whether the proposal can secure support from the remaining EU27, Ana Andrade, Europe analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC Monday.

Any new recovery fund will have to be unanimously approved by the 27 EU countries as well as by the European Parliament, the only directly-elected EU institution. In relation to debt repayments, Andrade explained that in the absence of new own-resources, such as a European digital or carbon tax, member-states will be responsible for debt-servicing costs. This means the effective financial relief of these transfers will have to be measured against a given countrys contribution to the fund.
PARK RIDGE, Ill., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gravely concerned about the psychological health and well-being of nurses and other healthcare professionals serving on the pandemic's frontline of care, leaders of the nation's nursing organizations have urgently asked the U.S. Administration for help.

In a May 19 letter, leaders representing the voice of 5 million nurses, including advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), requested that behavioral health agencies and staff develop resources, activate U.S. mental health and service access teams to address the psychological impacts of COVID-19, and deploy military disaster mental health teams and behavioral health servicemembers to heavily impacted areas to provide psychological assistance and care for civilian nurses and other healthcare professionals.

"Urgent action is needed now to address the emotional toll among nurses and others who are experiencing trauma during this pandemic. Acting now can help prevent threats to the psychological well-being among nurses and help save the lives of patients suffering from the virus. Proactive support may help avoid the impending mental health crisis expected, once the national public health emergency is over," said Kate Jansky, MHS, CRNA, APRN, USA LTC (ret), president of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). The AANA collaborated with nursing organizations and the American Psychological Association (APA) to address with the U.S. Administration the mental health and well-being of nurses and APRNs, who are not only first responders, but also sustained responders for patients and their families.

"America's front-line nurses risk their lives and the lives of their families each day that they tend to people with COVID-19, under some of the most stressful working conditions imaginable," said APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr. "Our government must provide them the help they need now in order to mitigate the threats to their psychological health and well-being."

Nurses who tend to patients with the coronavirus, and previously with severe acute respiratory syndrome (or SARS), report more severe degrees of psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia than other healthcare workers. Nurses are facing extraordinary workloads, often without adequate access to personal protective equipment (PPE). And, in recent surveys, nurses reported extreme to moderate concern about the safety of their family and friends (87 percent), about adequate testing (84 percent), and about access to PPE (75 percent).

"We urgently ask for your help to preserve and protect the profession for the sake of our nation's future," the nursing leaders wrote, adding evidence-based interventions, such as psychological first aid and skills for psychological recovery, which can increase resiliency and reduce anxiety among those going through a crisis.

In their letter, the leaders also expressed gratitude for the presidential proclamations on designating May 6 as National Nurses Day and May as National Mental Health Awareness Month. "These proclamations recognize the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the mental and psychological health of nurses and their communities," they wrote. "Nurses in many specialties are the primary providers of patient care, and their psychological health and well-being are essential to addressing the COVID-19 public health crisis."

The full text of the letter is available here.

SOURCE American Association of Nurse Anesthetists

Related Links

https://www.aana.com


Indian virus looks more lethal than Chinese, Italian: Nepal PM

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, May 20: Amid worsening ties with Nepal, Prime Minister K P Oli on Wednesday attacked India for the spread of coronavirus in his country, saying the virus was "more acute" in people who came from India compared to those who entered Nepal from Italy and China.

Addressing his Parliament, Oli said, "Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing."

"It has become very difficult to contain COVID-19 due to the flow of people from outside. Indian virus looks more lethal than Chinese and Italian now. More are getting infected," he added.

Border row with India worsens as Nepal approves new map with Lipulekh

Oli also said Nepal would "bring back at any cost" the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh area, which is part of Indian territory.

The Nepal cabinet on Monday approved a fresh political map which included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani as part of its territory, perhaps for the first time in several years that India's historically connected neighbour and friend has taken such a severe confrontational stand even as the issue has remained simmering for a while.

The move came 10 days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a link road on the Kailash Mansarovar route in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, leading to Lipulekh.
T V star Kris Marshall told the High Court today intrusions into his private life left him paranoid and suspicious as he settled a phone hacking claim against the publishers of the News of the World.

The actor, 47, who starred in BBC comedy My Family, Death in Paradise, and hit film Love Actually, sued News Group Newspapers  publishers of the now-defunct Sunday newspaper and The Sun  over allegations that his private voicemails had been intercepted.

He suspected a string of News of the World articles between 2002 and 2010 had been fuelled by intrusions into his private life, and joined dozens of other famous faces who were suing the publisher for damages at the High Court.

In a public statement this morning, the actors lawyer Alex Cochrane said a financial settlement has now been reached over Mr Marshalls claim, and he will be paid a significant sum in damages.

Kris Marshall in Love Actually

Mr Marshall, who described himself as a very private individual, launched the legal claim in January last year, alleging journalists had hacked into his voicemails from family and friends and the newspaper had also obtained personal information by deception.

(He) used voicemails extensively, particularly while on set filming, said Mr Cochrane. As a result of the publications, he became paranoid and suspicious.

News Group Newspapers today apologised for distress caused to the star by the actions of the News of the World.

As part of the settlement, no admission of liability were made over Mr Marshalls claims that The Sun had been involved in phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering. The Sun has consistently maintained that phone hacking did not take place at the newspaper.

Todays hearing in front of Mr Justice Mann was told that 49 legal claims have been issued but not settled by the publisher, while another 83 claims are waiting to be lodged.

A trial of any phone hacking claims against News Group that cannot be settled is due to take place in October.
A Republican-led United States Senate committee has voted to issue a subpoena as part of its investigation into former Vice President Joe Bidens son, a move that met immediate opposition from Democrats who said the panel should be focused on overseeing the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Senates Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 8-6 along party lines to subpoena Blue Star Strategies, a lobbying firm that was a consultant to Burisma, a gas company in Ukraine that paid Hunter Biden to serve as a board member.

There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, and Hunter Biden has denied using his influence with his father to aid Burisma. But Republicans coming to President Donald Trumps defence during and after last years impeachment trial have encouraged investigations of Hunter Bidens activities, questioning whether his highly paid job created a conflict of interest for Joe Biden as the former vice president worked on Ukraine policy in the Obama administration.

The chairman of the Republican-led panel, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, has repeatedly insisted that the investigation is not designed to hurt Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee in this years US presidential election.

Senator Mitt Romney, the only Republican who voted to convict Trump of abuse of power during the impeachment process, said in March that he thought Johnsons investigation of Hunter Biden appeared political. But on Wednesday, Romney joined other Republicans in approving the subpoena. A no vote by Romney would have deadlocked the committee.





A Biden campaign spokesman said in a statement that Johnson was running a political errand for Trump.

Senator Johnson should be working overtime to save American lives  but instead hes just trying to save the presidents job, said Andrew Bates.

Democrats decried the investigations as politically motivated and said they are a distraction from work the committee could be doing to try to help mitigate the coronavirus pandemic.

At this moment when Americans need us to work together, this extremely partisan investigation is pulling us apart, said Michigan Senator Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the committee.

Peters noted a letter from Blue Star Strategies to the committee in which the CEO, Karen Tramontano, said the company has already cooperated with the probe and is willing to cooperate further. Johnson told Peters that he would allow the letter to be added to the committees official record, but said he disagreed that the company has been cooperating.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Republicans of promoting conspiracy theories.

It appears the subpoena is just for show, a way to create the false impression of wrongdoing, Schumer said Wednesday from the Senate floor. Its like in a third-world dictatorship: a show trial with no basis in fact, with no due process, with no reality.

Hunter Biden was really bad on @GMA. Now Sleepy Joe has real problems! Reminds me of Crooked Hillary and her 33,000 deleted Emails, not recoverable!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2019

Trump has been clear about his intentions to use Hunter Bidens work in his re-election bid, saying in March that it will be a major issue in the campaign. I will bring that up all the time, he said then.

The presidents efforts to have Ukraine investigate Hunter Bidens role as a board member for Burisma were at the heart of House Democrats impeachment probe last year. Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens during a July phone call that was later revealed by a whistle-blowers complaint.

The US House impeached Trump in December for pressuring the Ukrainian government on investigations while withholding military aid to the country. The Senate acquitted him in February.
Call them "super polluters" -- the handful of industrial facilities that emit unusually high levels of toxic chemical pollution year after year. There are only a few of them, but together they account for the majority of annual industrial pollution.

Such is the key finding and major takeaway from a new paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

"This pattern had previously been identified in one industry at one point in time, but the pushback was, 'Well, that's an exception.' What we showed is that it's not the exception, it's the rule," said co-lead author and environmental sociologist Simone Pulver, of UC Santa Barbara.

The study by Pulver and Mary Collins of State University New York, Syracuse, is the first to establish disproportionality in the production of toxic pollution both across a wide range of industries and over an extended period of time.

The researchers examined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, spanning the years 1998 to 2012, on toxic releases from more than 25,000 facilities in 322 manufacturing industries.

The results are striking.

advertisement

"The more you compare like facilities, the more you see a handful of facilities are accounting for the majority of the toxic pollution emitted in one year from that industry," said Pulver, an associate professor of environmental studies. "It's a consistent pattern across a wide range of industries. It's an egregious pattern because it's really extreme, and it's an incredibly stable pattern over time."

Said lead author Collins, "Not all polluters are the same, even those who seem like they should be, because they operate in the same industry, produce similar goods, et cetera. Instead, a small group generate much more harm than the rest. This finding is not entirely new, but with Simone and our two graduate students (Dustin Hill and Ben Manski), we show that this is widely true across industries and time."

The research has significant implications for the regulation of toxic pollution and suggests that major reductions to pollution could be achieved by focusing on a relatively small number of facilities doing the most polluting.

As Collins explained, "there are a handful of facilities that alone generate more than 50 percent of their entire industry's emissions." Of the more than 25,000 facilities analyzed, 1,116 can be characterized as egregious polluters, defined as single facilities that generated 50% or more of the total annual hazard within an industry.

"But it's complicated," Pulver noted. Making it so, among other complexities, is that it's not always the same facilities each year doing the egregious polluting. Of the group of super polluting facilities, the researchers noted, only 31 facilities are "consistently egregious polluters within their industries throughout the study period."

In their study, Collins and Pulver looked at more than 300 industries that reported toxic emissions, had more than five facilities reporting emissions each year and had data about their employees, overall providing a solid characterization of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

advertisement

The researchers were careful to compare things as similar as possible, such as facilities making the same product and with access to the same technology, and to control for facility size.

Finding that "the generation of environmental harm is not distributed equally across units but rather concentrated within a small group of egregious actors," their results challenge the presumption of proportionality between economic activity and environmental harm.

"Even with all the controls -- the same business done in the same way -- you see this real inequality," Pulver said. "A lot of facilities are not producing much toxic pollution at all to make their product, while a small handful are producing a whole lot of toxic pollution to do the exact same thing."

"You expect inequality when you look at the economy as a whole -- there are more resource intensive businesses, things are not evenly distributed in nature, and so on," she continued. "But that's why I find this pattern so surprising. We expected to see some of it but not for it to be this extensive."

Some interesting details: The highest level of disproportionality uncovered by the researchers was in the "All Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing" category; the lowest was in industrial mold manufacturing. The biggest increase in inequality, over the course of the study, occurred in bitumous coal underground mining.

Taken altogether, the findings have both scholarly and policy implications for the nature of pollution generation, for the role of targeting in environmental regulatory decision-making and for efforts by environmental advocates, according to the authors.

"There are some facilities where there are real opportunities for learning and improvements to bring them in line with other facilities in their industries," Pulver said. "There is a standard that's possible in terms of damage to environment, and that standard is demonstrated by a vast majority of facilities. Here is an opportunity to get that handful of facilities up to that standard."

Although this paper is the first to empirically document this disproportionality across a wide range of industries and across time, the notion that this pattern may exist was posited in 2005 by another UC Santa Barbara environmental sociologist, Bill Freudenburg, Collins' dissertation advisors and Pulver's mentors.

"His was the first paper that put this idea on the map," Pulver said. "So there is a long, great history of this research here at UC Santa Barbara."
But what I really want to talk about is Madeline Kahn, who is peerless. Its hard to think of Doc working without her performance, which is perfection from the flip in her steel-helmet wig on down. Her Eunice  who has to vie with Judy and, by proxy, Streisand, poor thing  could have been a mirthless disaster, yet another sexist cliche, the woman scorned, blah blah blah. Instead, Kahn and Bogdanovich make Eunice into a fully rounded woman who thinks she knows what she wants, a.k.a. Howard. One of the movies delights is that she also gets a happy ending, one perhaps better than she might have without Judys anarchic interference.

Its not for nothing, as one sharp-eyed reader, MrsDohler, pointed out, that Eunice is seen engrossed in the self-help book The Sensuous Woman. Eunice has desires and its unclear that Howard is meeting them or ever could. And Whats Up, Doc? is all about desire: for rocks, for pizza, for a cute guy who studies rocks and for the life you really want.

The chemistry between Ryan ONeal and Barbra Streisand is smokin hot (shes never been sexier)  and Im pretty sure that Ryan ONeals shirtless underwear scene was the first moment that I realized Yep, Im gay. THANK YOU, Peter Bogdanovich for one of my all-time favorite films. XO  Andy S, Los Angeles

A.O. SCOTT The Eunice-Judy rivalry is the farcical engine that drives the plot, at least until the actual car engines take over. Judy spends a fair amount of time impersonating Eunice  or Burnsy, as she insists  and as Judy seduces Howard away from Eunice, she also seduces the highfalutin moneybags Mr. Larrabee (Austin Pendleton) on Eunices behalf.

Who is the real Judy Maxwell, though? Yes, shes a serial college dropout and a judges daughter with an encyclopedic knowledge of every arcane subject and a Merriam-Webster dictionary nestled amid the underwear in her red plaid valise. But the clue to her true identity is in the movies title, which is also the first line Streisand says to ONeal. Like Bugs Bunny, Judy is a principle of pure comic disorder, a commentary on and embodiment of the absurdity of the universe, or at least the part of it called San Francisco.

I watch this movie and see Streisand, such a gift to the screen, the eyes, the ears, the heart. Then I remember how often she is denigrated and hated and targeted for abuse. And thats when I realize how far weve fallen. Thank you to all the readers who can smile and simply enjoy the good things weve been given. And thank you, Barbra, for being bravely different.  Mark, Chicago

What does she see in Howard? A sweet-natured, absent-minded hottie, thats what. ONeal may function as the straight man for Streisands impishness (and Kahns imperiousness, and Pendletons preciousness, and Kenneth Marss towering Balkan pomposity), but he also serves as a punchline. As many readers of a certain vintage noted, the last lines of the movie send up Love Story, the soapy blockbuster of the previous year that had turned ONeal into a heartthrob.

Other readers cited lines that have become family in-jokes or catchphrases. The marvel of a script is credited to a dream team of New Hollywood screenwriters: Buck Henry, who had written The Graduate, and Robert Benton and David Newman, the credited authors of Bonnie and Clyde. And while were at it, we cant scant the contributions of the editor, Verna Fields (who would go on to win an Oscar for Jaws) and the production designer, Polly Platt. The decor of Mr. Larrabees house  with those Lucite pillars and all that fancy modern sculpture  and the surreal rooms on the 17th floor of the Bristol Hotel may be the real stars of the picture.
The grim tale of the man who introduced heroin to Ireland ended at 3pm on Monday in St James's Hospital.

Larry Dunne (72) was being treated for catastrophic self-inflicted stab injuries.

He had been rushed to the hospital from his home in Carrickmount Drive, Rathfarnham, on Sunday.

Dunne - one of the most notorious criminals in the history of the State - was in the advanced stages of a battle with lung cancer.

Despite his reputation, which was enhanced when he famously said: "If you think we're bad, wait until you see what's coming after us" after he was handed a 14-year jail sentence for heroin-dealing in March 1985, Dunne had not been an active criminal for well over a decade.

Cheers

Expand Close Larry Dunne in prison. The drugs baron introduced heroin to Ireland / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Larry Dunne in prison. The drugs baron introduced heroin to Ireland

Back in 1985, loud cheers had greeted the lengthy sentence handed down to him at Dublin Circuit Court.

After all, nine other members of the family have been jailed on drugs, firearms and other criminal charges but Dunne was the leader of the pack.

His brother Mickey Dunne was sentenced to eight years in 1987 on drugs charges. Eldest brother Christy Dunne received a 12-year sentence.

Seamus 'Shamie' Dunne was jailed for 12 years in Britain after he was caught with a huge quantity of heroin which he was trying to bring back to Ireland.

However, Larry was the kingpin - the criminal who was the number one target for the drugs squad, a relatively new unit within the garda force.

In an era long before the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up, the criminal, who had been born into abject poverty in a flats complex in inner city Dublin in February 1948, loved to flaunt his wealth from his heroin-trafficking enterprise.

He drove expensive cars and lived a Champagne lifestyle, buying a mansion in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, which would today be worth more than 1m, but he also had a house in Crumlin.

It was in the plush mansion called Gorse Rock in Sandyford where Dunne spent most of his time and this became a notorious symbol of his ill-gotten wealth in the 1980s.

Dunne's lifestyle seemed light years away from his difficult and tragic childhood which had involved him being incarcerated in the notorious Daingean Industrial School in Co Offaly.

He was released from prison in 1995 but would continue to get into scrapes with the law.

In 1998, Dunne was accused of firing a pistol during a robbery at the Bradford & Bingley Building Society in Erdington, England.

However, a jury at Birmingham Crown Court took just over two hours to find him not guilty of having a firearm with intent, robbery and attempted wounding.

Dunne was also acquitted of a charge of attempted murder at a previous trial in which another defendant was jailed for 11 years.

After being cleared of those charges, he returned to Dublin and it was during this period that he received a three-month jail sentence for assaulting an undercover garda with a 4.5m plank and a bamboo cane as officers carried out a drugs raid.

Dunne was also found guilty of cocaine-dealing in 2004 for an offence that happened in 1999, but this was his last major brush with the law, and gardai say he had no major links with the new breed of gangland criminals who are causing such mayhem today.

Dunne's drug importation business in the 1980s swamped Dublin with heroin and led to a massive drug addiction epidemic - and this made him the number one target for gardai.

In time, bigger drugs traffickers such as Christy Kinahan and John Gilligan would emerge, but 40 years ago Larry Dunne was Ireland's number one drugs trafficker.

Bribed

It is understood that he bribed juries, lived an extravagant lifestyle, boasted he had contacts in the gardai and fled the country when the heat was on, before finally being convicted for drugs supply and receiving a 14-year sentence.

In April 2000, Dunne's wife Lily died in Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, Dublin, after a long illness.

Despite his criminal pedigree, Dunne was known as a good family man and it is understood that some family members were around his hospital bed when he died on Monday.

However, he also had more than 40 previous convictions, the most serious of which was when he was arrested and charged with possession and intent to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis with a combined street value of between IR50,000 and IR60,000 on October 19, 1980.

He was found guilty after a circuit court trial in June 1983, but he had already absconded by the opening day of the case. The trial continued in his absence.

The court was told that when gardai raided Dunne's corporation house they found heroin, cocaine and cannabis resin.

Although unemployed, Dunne had moved to a home in the Dublin Mountains then worth IR100,000 in 1982 while on bail for the drugs offences.

In his absence, he was found guilty of being in possession of drugs for supply.

Dunne had fled to Portugal but he was arrested there and then extradited back to Ireland where he was given the 14-year sentence on March 25, 1985.

Dunne was the first drug dealer in Ireland to use more junior criminals to carry drugs for him - often for very little cash reward - a trend that continues in organised crime to this day.

It is understood that the then flashy and ultra-rich drugs trafficker gloated when other criminals said "Larry doesn't carry".

Busted

However, his luck ran out when he was busted by gardai and in his latter years Dunne lived a modest and quiet life in the working-class Carrickmount Drive housing estate.

This was the same property where he was busted with the drugs 40 years ago and when arrested all that he said to gardai was: "Look, I'm accepting responsibility for everything and that's all I'm saying."
The work on World Bank-funded Jhelum Tawi Flood Recovery Project (JTFRP) will restart next week in the Jammu region, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

JK Economic Reconstruction Agency (JKERA) Chief Executive Officer Syed Abid Rasheed Shah said the resumption of work would instill hope and play a crucial role in creating employment opportunities.

Shah, also the CEO of the project, asked engineers and contractors to resume work while strictly adhering to the coronavirus guidelines issued by the government for the construction sector.

Chairing a meeting to chalk out the modalities, he directed the project manager to depute the staff for execution and monitoring of these works. The contractors were asked to mobilize men and machinery immediately at the construction sites, an official spokesman said.

"The works be executed in a systemic manner and each project activity be planned in such a manner so as to ensure that work on all the projects are completed within the agreed upon timelines, Shah said.

JTFRP is executing works worth Rs 166 crore on the upgradation of seven vital road projects and three bridges in Jammu division.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CAMARILLO, Calif. and ROCKLEDGE, Fla. and EUGENE, Ore., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Saalex Information Technology (SaalexIT), a division of Saalex Corporation and an industry-leading Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) since 2010, today announced the acquisition of Eugene, Oregon-based Managed Service Provider Arctic MSP. Financial terms are not being released.

The acquisition brings into the SaalexIT team another respected Managed Service Provider (MSP) in the Western U.S., enabling SaalexIT to scale by leveraging the cybersecurity, cloud, and compliance resources that Arctic MSP brings to the table. The Arctic MSP brand will continue to operate as a DBA SaalexIT Company and maintain its Eugene, OR, headquarters. The Arctic MSP acquisition comes one month after SaalexIT's acquisition of Scottsdale, Arizona-based Valeo Networks, launching SaalexIT's revenue volume into the top 10% of MSSPs nationwide.

"We continue to execute on our national strategy and working with great companies like Arctic MSP will help us achieve that goal," said Travis Mack, President and CEO, Saalex Corporation. "This acquisition grows and further enhances our capabilities in the areas of cybersecurity, cloud, network security, and compliance service offerings. With the acquisition of Arctic MSP, SaalexIT will be firmly rooted in the top 10% of MSSPs nationwide."

"One of the things I am looking forward to with Arctic joining Saalex is the ability to expand regionally beyond where we are now," said Dan Herman, CEO, Arctic MSP. "With Saalex's financial and technical backing, Arctic will become an even stronger IT service provider and be better able to provide top quality IT services and security for our clients."

Celebrating its 20th anniversary recently, SaalexIT is an employee-owned company. As an experienced player in the managed services industry, the company has been nationally recognized by CRN as a top 500 Managed Service Provider in North America and locally recognized by Pacific Coast Business Times as a Top IT & Tech Service Provider.

About Arctic MSP

Arctic MSP is a Managed Service Provider (MSP) headquartered in Eugene, OR. Starting out in 2000 as Dan Herman Consulting, Inc., the company later changed its name to convey "top of the world" quality for customers' IT needs. They provide a full range of IT services including managed security services, network administration, consulting, web design, and more. Learn more at www.arcticmsp.com.

About Saalex Corporation

Saalex Corporation is the parent company of two operating divisions providing engineering and information technology (IT) services for the Department of Defense, municipalities, and small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Saalex Solutions, the Federal services division, provides core competencies in the areas of test range operations and management, engineering and logistics services, data analytics, cybersecurity, and IT services. The Saalex Information Technology division provides core capabilities in the areas of cloud services, cybersecurity, network security and managed IT services. Founded in 1999 by Travis Mack, Saalex Corporation is a service-disabled veteran-owned business headquartered in Camarillo, CA. Learn more at www.saalex.com and www.saalexit.com.

Contact:

Neal Stein

Technology PR Solutions

[email protected]

(321) 473-7407

SOURCE Saalex Information Technology
Police in Bangladesh's capital fired tear gas and swung batons to disperse more than 1,000 garment factory workers who were demanding that they be paid salaries and bonuses ahead of Islam's biggest holiday, witnesses and an industry official said.

The workers at Civic Apparels Ltd. in Dhaka's Shyampur area took to the streets after demanding that they be paid their salary in advance for May and a 100% bonus for Eid-al Fitr, the festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, said Rubana Huq, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Huq said the workers had been paid until April, but some protesters said they had not received their salaries for three months. Some said they were attacked without provocation.

Huq accused the workers of vandalizing the factory, taking the owner hostage and blocking streets outside the factory, prompting police to take action.

Witnesses said the workers threw stones at the police and about a dozen people were hurt.

Up to 2,000 workers work in the factory, Huq said.

Rehana Begum, 30, said they were asking for their salary and bonus.

They can pay (at least) half of our salary (for May) so that we can go through the times of Eid. We'll rejoin work after the Eid holiday and they will pay the rest, she said.

Huq said the factory owners agreed to pay the bonus after the chaos ended with the intervention of police.

Bangladesh has about 4,000 garment factories employing about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural areas. The garment industry is the world's second largest after China and earns $35 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe. After the outbreak of the coronavirus, Western buyers have canceled or suspended orders worth $3.2 billion.

The government allowed owners to reopen their factories in a limited way in late April as buyers began placing orders. Some small protests have taken place demanding wages or a bonus.

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

On Sunday July 16 the NASCAR series staged the first auto race with no fans. Formula 1 plans to do the same thing starting on July 5 with the Austrian Grand Prix.

The fact that the NASCAR race was successfully operated bodes well for the F1 events with no fans. However, the F1 team people have to travel to and from different countries, so that will create challenges and problems that the NASCAR teams did not have to deal with. So, too, is the fact that the entire F1 operation is more complex to produce than NASCAR's.

The NASCAR teams are based in Charlotte, North Carolina. From there it is only a two-hour drive to Darlington, South Carolina, where the race was held on an oval track. So the drivers could drive from their homes to the track, race, and drive home on the same day.

The drivers commented on how strange and unnatural it was to race in front of completely empty grandstands.

It was a one-day event. There was no practice or qualifying  the grid was created at random. So the first time the drivers drove on the track were the warm-up laps and then the race itself.

Here are some of other observations and regulations:

*Each person who was allowed to enter the track had to read a 30-page instruction manual.

*Everybody had their temperature tested at the gate before getting into the circuit.

*There were limits on how many crew members were allowed in  14 per car.

*The team transporters were parked spaced apart.

*The drivers were allowed no contact with the crews from arriving at the track until getting in the car.

*Everybody had to wear a mask, even the drivers when out of the car.

*The people were all social distancing.

*Only one crew member was allowed to be there to help the driver do up the seatbelts.

The TV commentary was done from the studio, with the three announcers in separate rooms.

*There was just one pit lane TV commentator at the track, with a cameraman, and they always stayed 2 meters away from the drivers.

*Only four people from the media were allowed to attend the event, and they were in a separate building away from the paddock.

*The teams will all be back at the same track on Wednesday night for another race.
Spain's prime minister appears before parliament on Wednesday to ask for its endorsement to extend the state of emergency that his government has used to rein in the country's coronavirus outbreak that has killed at least 27,000 people.

It would be the fifth two-week extension to the state of emergency, which is currently set to expire on Sunday. The government wants to extend it until June 7.

The path we are on is the only one that can possibly beat the virus, Prime Minister Pedro Snchez told a chamber with only a handful of members to limit contagion risks.

Thanks to all the parliament members who have supported the state of emergency because with their vote they have saved thousands of lives.

Since the start of the national lockdown on March 14, Spain has lowered a rampant COVID-19 virus contagion rate that was well over 20% to under 1% over the past week.

More than 230,000 infections have been confirmed by laboratory tests in Spain.

Snchez argues that Spain still needs to keep a tight, centralized control over the health situation as it starts to loosen restrictions and restart economic activity. Small shops have reopened in most of the country, but not in hard-hit Madrid and Barcelona.

The vote is expected to be close, although Snchez's minority government made up of his Socialists and an anti-austerity party has maintained the important backing of the center-right Citizens party and Basque regionalist party PNV.

Snchez's support has been waning with every vote to extend the state of emergency, which gives the government the power to restrict constitutional rights such as free movement and assembly key to its sanitary lockdown.

The main opposition conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox party have said they will vote No.

Both right-wing parties accuse the government of being responsible for the impact of the pandemic that threatened to collapse the nation's health system managed by Spain's regions until the state of emergency centralized all efforts.

You are like a headless chicken running around not knowing what to do, Popular Party leader Pablo Casado told Snchez.

To endorse your extension would be irresponsible. Catalonia separatist parties, meanwhile, are clamoring for the end to what they consider an interference of the national government in their affairs.

The Citizens party gave its support after the government reduced its original petition of wanting a one-month extension and settling for two weeks.

PNV was appeased by the government increasing the role of the regions in decision-making.

Stop using the pandemic to seek political gains, Citizens spokesman Edmundo Bal said. We are facing a possible second outbreak. We need to move forward in an orderly manner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has stated that the law, approved by the Verkhovna Rada, On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Safety of Nuclear Energy Use is a fulfilment of international obligations undertaken by Ukraine, the Government portal reports.

With the adoption of the Law, Ukraine has fulfilled its international obligations to comply with the principle of independence of the state regulatory body for nuclear and radiation safety," he said.

Ensuring the independence of Ukraine's nuclear regulator is one of the conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding on a Strategic Energy Partnership between Ukraine and the EU, as well as one of the conditions of the Guarantee Agreement between Ukraine as a guarantor and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) as a creditor to disburse a loan to NNEGC Energoatom for the implementation of the Comprehensive Program for Improving the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants, said the prime minister.

According to the Government portal, restoring the independent status of the regulator will in fact restore Ukraine's ability to comply with international regimes and safety standards (IAEA) and the European law in terms of state regulation of nuclear and radiation safety.

Thus, Ukraine regains the status of a state responsible for nuclear safety, while NNEGC Energoatom is given the opportunity to continue using the EURATOM loan for EUR 200 million.

It notes that Energoatom is implementing a Comprehensive Program to improve the safety of nuclear power plants. The program was developed by Energoatom taking into account the recommendations of the joint project of the European Commission, IAEA and Ukraine on improving safety and was approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

The program was developed by Energoatom taking into account the recommendations of the joint project of the European Commission, IAEA and Ukraine on improving safety and was approved by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Safety of Nuclear Energy Use" (No.2372) on May 19. A total of 288 MPs voted in favor of the document.

The implementation of the law will ensure the realization of state regulation in the sphere of nuclear energy, taking into account international requirements for such activities to ensure its safety, preserve Ukraine's image in the world as a country that fulfills its international obligations and countries capable of safe use of nuclear energy.
A cyber criminal recently impersonated the commander of U.S. cyber operations in an attempt to draw women into a romance scam.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, the director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command, is one of two Army four-stars whose names appeared on social media in false email conversations with women, according to a recent story on cyberscoop.com.

Read Next: Group Threatens to Sue VA over Nazi Symbols in National Veterans Cemeteries

In early May, scammers used a Facebook account under the name of "George Lyons" that contained photos of Gen. Stephen Lyons, head of U.S. Transportation Command, to talk with at least two women, according to cyberscoop.

Then, a Gmail user posing as Nakasone contacted one of the women and claimed to be in Syria, where he spent his days on patrol, cyberscoop reported. The impostor then inundated the woman with religious messages and requests to download Google Hangouts so they could correspond further.

The individual posing as Lyons continued to email one of the women with requests to download Google Hangouts as well, according to cyberscoop.

Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey told Military.com, "Scams like this happen quite frequently."

"We are aware of this issue and are monitoring the situation," Grey said in a statement. "Typically, Army officials work with the various media platforms to remove the material where these impostors post their criminal scams."

CYBERCOM spokeswoman Madalyn Gainey told Military.com that the command had nothing further to add to Grey's statement on the issue.

TRANSCOM spokesman Dave Dunn told Military.com his organization "became aware of the specific false account noted in the [cyberscoop] article upon its publication, so we are unable to discuss any details of that particular incident."

"This year, we have already reported 15-20 such accounts to social media platforms for removal, including three in the past week," Dunn said in a statement to Military.com. "It is all too common for unscrupulous actors to exploit others by impersonating persons with public profiles, and military leaders are unfortunately not immune from this form of identity theft."

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 467,361 complaints about internet-enabled crime in 2019 and recorded more than $3.5 billion in losses to individual and business victims, according to FBI.gov.

"Criminals are getting so sophisticated ... it is getting harder and harder for victims to spot the red flags and tell real from fake," Donna Gregory, the chief of IC3, said in a recent article on FBI.gov about the 2019 Internet Crime Report.

Email is still a common entry point, but frauds are also beginning on text messages -- a crime called smishing -- or even fake websites -- a tactic called pharming, according to the article on FBI.gov.

"You may get a text message that appears to be your bank asking you to verify information on your account," Gregory said. "Or you may even search a service online and inadvertently end up on a fraudulent site that gathers your bank or credit card information."

And this is not the first time someone has impersonated an Army general.

Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command, has had his identity used to set up false profiles on social media.

Evidence of Townsend's identity being misused started to show up in 2014 on tip reports by anti-scam websites such as Scamlot.com.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Army Leaders Warn Soldiers to Watch for Foreign Agents Lurking on Twitter
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is embarking on an expansive study of the prevalence of novel-coronavirus antibodies in people in 25 metropolitan areas, an effort to provide long-awaited insight into the way the virus is spreading and its presence in communities.

The study, which is scheduled to test 325,000 people by fall 2021, will build on an antibody study that has been underway in six of the cities since March, according to Michael Busch, who is overseeing the study and is director of the Vitalant Research Institute. CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund confirmed plans to announce the study but declined to discuss details.

Starting in June, this vast new antibody study will test samples from 1,000 blood donors each month for 12 months in the 25 metro areas. Researchers will test the samples for evidence of coronavirus antibodies, which are created by the immune system when someone is infected with the virus.

By determining who has antibodies, epidemiologists can figure out who has been infected with the virus, even if someone never reported a positive test or experienced symptoms. Several early studies suggest a large portion of those infected never display symptoms, making the extent of the virus's spread more difficult to track.

"What we're going to be able to do is a little like a monitoring station for forest fires. We'll be behind the outbreak, but we'll be able to tell policymakers whether opening up resulted in new spread," said Busch, who added that case rates and death rates show a more limited, momentary picture of the infection's spread.

A smaller preliminary version of the study is underway, led by Busch and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. That study began testing 1,000 donors each month in six major metro areas: Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. The CDC will provide $4.5 million for technical assistance as the study expands to 19 more metropolitan areas that remain to be determined.

Vitalant Research is a nonprofit that specializes in blood-related research and is linked to 170 blood donation centers throughout the country. The effort will include major blood collection organizations such as the American Red Cross and New York Blood Center. Those groups will collect samples and demographic data from people who come to their facilities to make routine blood donations.

In each metro region, 1,000 blood samples will be tested each month for a year; then, six months later, 1,000 more blood donations from each region will be evaluated, allowing researchers to track the virus's spread through the end of 2021.

Plans to launch the study were first reported by Reuters.

Antibody testing - known as seroprevalence surveys - can provide researchers and policymakers with a wider snapshot of the presence of the virus than the acute viral testing that has dominated much of the public health conversation for the past four months.

Instead of testing whether one person has the virus at a moment in time, which can often miss asymptomatic cases and gives no insight into prior infection, antibody testing determines whether someone ever had the virus - and, in some cases, when they had it. Prevalence and patterns of antibodies can sometimes indicate the difference between a more recent infection and one that occurred months ago.

Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard University who is advising Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, on that state's coronavirus response, said using acute testing to inform public health policy is analogous to "trying to find a needle in a haystack." Broad antibody testing, he said, "is the public health tool that should be used" because it provides evidence of whether the virus is spreading. If testing in a given month shows that 20% of New York City's population has coronavirus antibodies, and testing a month later continues to show a prevalence of 20%, that suggests the city isn't experiencing significant ongoing transmission.

"That probably means that the epidemic has diminished," Mina said. "If it continues to increase, then you know that there's still cases."

The data can show how prevalent the virus is in a location, how incidence has changed and how it varies among demographic groups. In the case of the coronavirus, long speculated to exist asymptomatically in many of those infected, a survey such as this could shed light on the percentage of people infected with the virus who do not show symptoms of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Some cities, including Boston and New York, have begun smaller-scale serological testing, in addition to the preliminary study being overseen by Busch. In Chelsea, Massachusetts, a city adjacent to Boston that has emerged as a covid-19 hot spot, a survey of 200 blood samples found that nearly a third tested positive for antibodies, according to reports. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced this month that 12.3% of samples taken from 15,000 New York state residents - including nearly 20% of samples taken from those living in New York City - were positive for antibodies.

Experts cautioned that because the planned nationwide study will rely on people who donate blood, it could limit the ability to provide a comprehensive picture of the virus's spread.

"You'll come out of [the study] knowing the fraction of people who have experienced this virus who are donating blood," Mina said. "So that's potentially a very limited pool."

Busch said that because of the high number of collection centers involved, donors are expected to cover a variety of demographic groups, which will allow researchers to extrapolate the data responsibly. He said the study will take into account the fact that blood donors are generally healthier than the general population.

"What we know from many previous studies is that the data from asymptomatic blood donors will trail, by a month or two, the infection rates that are taking place in the general population," Busch said. "They call it the healthy donor effect."

Data collected from the tests will be made public on a rolling basis, allowing researchers and policymakers to track the changes in real time. Busch said the study could provide a sense of how close the country is moving toward herd immunity - a population's resistance to the spread of a disease because a high proportion of individuals are immune to it - in the next year.

"If, after 15 months, we still see that less than 10% or so of the population has been infected, we'll know we better have a vaccine because natural infection rates have not created herd immunity," Busch said. "And that immunity won't be enough to preclude another significant outbreak if society returns to the way we used to live."
The four Cynthia Pomaah, unemployed, 19, Issah Yakubu, motorbike mechanic, 22, Dennis Gyimah a Disc jockey, 20 and Emmanuel Essuah, motorbike mechanic apprentice,19, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and attempted robbery, were convicted on their own plea and sentenced to 10 years in jail each each.

Gyimah, alias Remix and Essuah were each sentenced to 12 years for carrying offensive weapon and having possession of firearms without lawful authority. Their sentences are to run concurrently.

Prosecuting, Police Detective Inspector Adams Mumuni told the court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Bart Plange Brew that the complainant Mr Samuel Dugois is a farmer and lottery agent who resides at Asuohyiam.

He said the convicts are residents of Adiembra and Asuohyiam near Samrebio in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality.

The prosecution said on May 11, this year, at about 1200 hours, Pomaah who is Yakubu's girl lover was in Gyimah's house where she placed a call to the complainant inviting him for an important discussion.

Detective Mumuni said Gyimah after eavesdropping the conversation planned with Pomaah and Yakubu to rob the complainant and later informed Essuah who agreed to join them.

He said Pomaah then met the complainant and accepted to pass the night with him for a fee of 100 Ghana cedis.

The prosecution said on the midnight of May 12, Gyimah and Essuah armed with machete and a single barrel shotgun together with Yakubu, proceeded to the complainant's abode to carry out their operation.

The prosecution said Pomaah who was with the complainant in his room upon realization that her abettors were around, quickly opened the door for them and they in turn instructed the complainant to relinquish all his money.

He said the complainant gathered courage, held the gun and struggled with the three convicts and they upon sensing danger bolted.

Detective Mumuni said the complainant who suspected Pomaah to be part of the gang kept her in his room and at about 0700 hours on that same day, informed the neighborhood watch committee members of Asuohyiam about the incident.

He said when Pomaah was interrogated she mentioned Yakubu, Gyimah and Essuah as her accomplices and they were arrested from their various homes by the committee members and handed over to the Samreboi Police.

---GNA
LONDON, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- QS Quacquarelli Symonds, publisher of the QS World University Rankings, released their inaugural ranking of America's top universities.

The QS World University Rankings: USA assesses how well universities are responding to the social, intellectual, and economic challenges of our time. Universities are ranked according to their research performance and career outcomes as well as a range of indicators evaluating each institution's social impact and attempts to foster equitability.

The methodology also evaluates universities based on the efforts they are making to support the 17 UN Sustainable Development goals.

QS CEO Nunzio Quacquarelli said, "QS surveyed 33,000+ prospective university students since the start of the pandemic. Though COVID-19's effects on higher education will resonate for years to come, our research reveals that students are not deterred from pursuing their education goals. It is our hope that this ranking will provide students with an insightful comparative tool, as they prepare for the next steps in their educational journey."

The QS World University Rankings: USA sees Harvard University named America's top university, placing ahead of Stanford University (2nd) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (3rd).

Harvard's leadership is founded on perfect scores for QS's Research and Employability indicators, which suggests that on average, Harvard produces America's most impactful research and most employable graduates. Five American colleges achieve perfect scores for QS's Learning Experience indicator:

Yale University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University, and Brown University.

QS has named 300 institutions as the best four-year universities in the United States.

QS Research Director Ben Sowter said, "For thirty years, QS has served the global student community with the independent insights they need to make informed decisions. Our Employer Reputation indicator, a dataset based on the sentiments of over 44,000 hiring managers worldwide, allows potential applicants to assess US universities based on their ability to enhance their future careers, according to the most robust dataset available."

Sowter continued, "As the global graduate jobs market becomes even more competitive, our research suggests that students are placing a greater emphasis on this information. With the pandemic further disrupting the graduate employment market, we predict that concern about the relationship between education and employability will intensify."

QS World University Rankings: USA 1 Harvard University 2 Stanford University 3 MIT 4 University of California, Berkeley 5 Columbia University 6= University of California, Los Angeles 6= Yale University 8 University of Pennsylvania 9 Princeton University 10 Cornell University

 www.TopUniversities.com

SOURCE QS Quacquarelli Symonds

Related Links

https://www.qs.com


Actor Hagen Mills has died in an alleged murder/suicide attempt, according to local media.

TMZ reports that Mills, 29, shot a woman at a house in Kentucky on Tuesday 19 May before turning the gun on himself.

Police were apparently called to the house following claims that a woman had been shot. Upon arrival they found the woman with gunshot wounds to her arm and chest.

She told police that her shooter, whom she named as Mills, had turned the gun on himself inside the house.

The woman alleged that Mills had waited for her arrival at the home, having held her mother and daughter captive. Both were reportedly uninjured in the incident.

Recommended The celebrities who died in 2020

The injured woman remains in a stable condition in hospital.

Mills had lived in Hollywood for several years while maintaining a property in Kentucky, his mother told TMZ, and appeared in TV comedies including Baskets and Swedish Dicks.

His most recent acting credit was in the horror film Star Light, which was released in the US in February. He also appeared in films including Bonnie & Clyde: Justified and the Dolph Lundgren thriller A Certain Justice.

The Independent has reached out to Mills representative for comment.
New Delhi :

Whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Pakistan to attend the SAARC summit later this year will be a "policy decision" a call on which will be taken at the "right time", government sources said tonight. "It is something on which we will take a call at the right time," they said.

There has been an escalation in war of words between India and Pakistan over the ongoing unrest in Kashmir and today India rejected Islamabad's proposal to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks on the issue.

The 19th SAARC summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in November.

Asked whether Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will travel to Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Finance Ministers' meeting, the sources said a decision on it has "not been firmly made".

On reports that the Prime Minister may not travel to Venezuela next month to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, the sources said it has not been decided who will represent India at the conclave.

At the same time, they added there was no change in India's policy towards NAM.

The last time an Indian Prime Minister stayed away from attending NAM was Chaudhary Charan Singh in 1979.

Asked about Modi's comments on situation in Balochisthan, the sources said it was an expression of concern by the Prime Minister and did not come out of the blue. They said the PM was troubled by the human rights violations and excesses done by Pakistani army in Balochistan.

Questions like with whom India will coordinate and what New Delhi was going to do in Balochistan are "premature and irrelevant", the sources said.

About discussion with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi here last week on NSG issue, the sources said the leader of the Chinese delegation at the plenary meeting of the 48-nation grouping in Seoul in June will soon come to India. They said all related issues will be discussed during his visit.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Hawaii is still having to deal with covidiots who want to take a vacation there and possibly spread the virus to locals. The governor issued a two-week quarantine rule for anyone arriving in the state, but many tourists are ignoring it, reports MSN. Approximately 20 people have been arrested and hundreds more have been fined for ignoring the order.

State parks and Hawaii's famous beaches have been closed. Hotels are issuing single-use keys, forcing quarantined guests who leave their rooms to go to the front desk and explain why. Airlines have been encouraged to suspend incoming flights. The state's visitors bureau has asked media organizations to "refrain from publishing any stories about Hawaii that might encourage people to travel to the islands."

Image: Jumpstory/CC0
A big sticker of the healthcare services of Sweden was placed on the pavement in Stockholm to instruct people to remain 2 meters apart.

JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images

Sweden recorded the most coronavirus deaths in Europe per capita over the past week, according to data from Our World In Data, an online research publication based at the University of Oxford.

Sweden never issued a formal coronavirus lockdown and has instead encouraged citizens to stay home when they're sick and maintain social distancing when in public.

Johan Giesecke, Sweden's former chief epidemiologist who is now a health adviser to the World Health Organization, told Business Insider that while Sweden's relaxed policy had not yet been successful in curbing its COVID-19 outbreak, it would in the future.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Sweden recorded the most coronavirus deaths in Europe per capita over the seven days that ended Tuesday, according to data from Our World In Data, an online research publication based at the University of Oxford.

The data, first reported on by Reuters, indicated that Sweden averaged 6.25 deaths a day per million people from the virus over the past week.

Comparatively, the UK averaged 5.75 deaths a day per million people over the same seven-day period, Belgium averaged 4.6, France averaged 3.49, and Italy averaged 3.

While Sweden has recorded far fewer coronavirus cases overall than more-populated countries like Italy and Germany, its per capita coronavirus death toll is among the highest in the world.

Sweden never issued a formal lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, the country's coronavirus model relies on personal responsibility and encourages citizens to stay home when they're sick and maintain social distancing when in public. Most businesses, restaurants, bars, and schools have remained open, though gatherings of more than 50 people were banned in late March.

Johan Giesecke, Sweden's former chief epidemiologist who is now a health adviser to the World Health Organization, has defended Sweden's policy and said that countrywide lockdowns merely delay the inevitable number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Story continues

"There is very little we can do to prevent this spread," he wrote in a piece in a piece for the Lancet medical journal earlier this month.

"A lockdown might delay severe cases for a while, but once restrictions are eased, cases will reappear," he wrote.

"I expect that when we count the number of deaths from COVID-19 in each country in one year from now, the figures will be similar, regardless of measures taken," he added.

Reuters noted that Sweden's per capita death toll overall from the coronavirus was smaller than that of some countries, like the UK and Italy, that had introduced lockdowns.

Giesecke told Business Insider that Sweden's controversial policy had not yet been successful in curbing the COVID-19 outbreak in the country but would in the future.

He predicted that Sweden's case count and death toll would continue to rise in the coming weeks but said the country was "on the downward slope."

"When countries with a lockdown open up, they will get their cases," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
If someone in your home is infected with COVID-19, you have about a 10 per cent chance of contracting it yourself.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If someone in your home is infected with COVID-19, you have about a 10 per cent chance of contracting it yourself.

And while 47.1 per cent of Manitobans contracted the novel coronavirus while travelling, with another 41.5 per cent getting it from close contact with someone already infected, health officials have not yet been able to figure out where another 11.1 per cent picked it up.

NIAID-RML / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An electron microscope image shows the virus that causes COVID-19.

These are some of the statistics Manitoba Public Health has posted from the first few weeks of monitoring the intensity and geographic spread of COVID-19 as it first spread through the province, and in the days since there has been a gradual reopening.

Its the first in-depth look released publicly by the province, since the virus arrived 19 weeks ago in early January.

"Surveillance data collected includes syndromic, laboratory and public health investigation data about cases and contacts to detect activity in both community and in health-care settings," a provincial spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The report goes up to May 15; at that point, there had been 289 total cases of COVID-19, with 254 people recovered from it.

At that point, 33 Manitobans had been hospitalized because of the virus, with 14 of them ending up in intensive care. Seven Manitobans had died from it.

Testing for the virus started slow, but by week 19, more than 500 people per day were being tested and the number of laboratory-confirmed cases was low compared to earlier weeks. More than 29,000 Manitobans have been tested, representing about 2.2 per cent of the provinces population.

The report says three-quarters of Manitobans (210) with COVID-19 live in Winnipeg, while 31 are in the Southern Health region, 26 in Prairie Mountain Health region, 19 in Interlake-Eastern RHA, and three in the Northern Health Region.

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.

While people aged 65 and older, as well as those with underlying health conditions, are at the highest risk of suffering a severe outcome if they contract the virus, the age group with the highest number of virus cases is between 19 and 34  with women representing almost two-thirds of the cases in that age group.

The report found four women contracted COVID-19 while they were pregnant, while 34 people with the virus were health-care workers. Of those, 31 health-care workers have returned to work. Twelve of the health-care workers were nurses; nine were doctors or physicians in training.

About 70 per cent of Manitobans who contracted COVID-19 reported they had a cough, followed by 47.8 per cent with a headache, 42.9 per cent with a fever, 41.2 per cent with chills, and 40.8 per cent with muscle pain. And, while many people around the world reported it as a symptom, only about 20 per cent of Manitobans said they lost their sense of taste or smell.

There have been three outbreaks of the virus in this province, with one of them in a long-term care facility.

The next in-depth report will be released next week.

 Kevin Rollason
Amidst the coronavirus pandemic in the country, Nigerias ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has released the timetable for its primaries ahead of the 2020 governorship election in Edo and Ondo states.

This is coming barely seven days after Nigerias electoral body, INEC, expressed its readiness to conduct elections in both states despite the uncertainty over the impact of the pandemic.

INEC had, in February, fixed the governorship election in Edo for September 19, while that of Ondo State was fixed for October 10.

In a statement signed by the APCs National Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, on Tuesday, the party said the primaries will commence with the sale of forms to Edo governorship aspirants from May 20 to June 2 while that of Ondo State will be from June 11 to July 1.

The forms for governorship aspirants in both states have been fixed at N22.5 million. This includes N2.5 million for expression of interest form and N20 million for the nomination form.

There shall be no separate charge for the deputy.

Female aspirants and physically challenged aspirants (pay) 50% of the prescribed fees for each position, Mr Ibediro said, adding that all payments be made into the partys bank account.

The APC said its Edo governorship primary will hold on June 22 while that of Ondo State is to hold on July 20.

The party did not indicate what type of primaries it will hold. In the past, the APC has held different forms of primaries  direct, indirect and consensus  to pick its candidates.

Currently, both Edo and Ondo states are governed by the APC which also has a majority of the states lawmakers.

Other details of the primary process provided by the APC include:

Screening of aspirants (Edo)  Wednesday 10th  Thursday 11th, 2020.

Screening of aspirants (Ondo)  Wednesday 8th, 2020.

Screening appeal (Edo)  Friday 12th June, 2020.

Screening appeal (Ondo)  Friday 10th July, 2020.
Prosecutors in Ivory Coast said Wednesday they had arrested an opposition leader accused of disseminating rumours that led to a riot at the start of the coronavirus crisis

Abidjan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th May, 2020 ) :Prosecutors in Ivory Coast said Wednesday they had arrested an opposition leader accused of disseminating rumours that led to a riot at the start of the coronavirus crisis.

Etienne Daipo N'Ponon, general secretary of an umbrella group called Together for Democracy and Sovereignty (EDS), was detained on Monday, the public prosecutor's office in Abidjan said in a statement received by AFP on Wednesday.

N'Ponon is accused of complicity with a cyber-activist, Francois Ebiba Yapo, who in early April called for the destruction of an anti-coronavirus centre in a poor district of Abidjan, triggering a riot.

Yapo, whose tag on social media is "Serge Koffi Le Drone", was arrested on May 7 and later charged with "harming national defence and disturbing public order" after "several publications of fake news on social networks".

Yapo said that he admitted disseminating "certain fake news... which he received from other people," according to the statement, issued by Prosecutor Richard Adou.

Further investigations led to N'Ponon's arrest, it said.

N'Ponon has been charged and placed in custody but the full charges against him were not spelt out in the statement.

The EDS is a coalition of political and trade union groups close to the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) led by former president Laurent Gbagbo.

EDS's president, Armand Ouegnin, confirmed that N'Ponon was in custody, but said the accusations were an "injustice" and an "intimidatory manoeuvre" in the runup to presidential elections due in late October.

The FPI's general secretary, Assoa Adou, was questioned twice by police, in March and early April.

Ivory Coast still carries traumatic memories of political violence from a decade ago.

Gbagbo refused to step down after losing the 2010 presidential elections to bitter rival Alassane Ouattara, triggering a five-month spell of unrest that claimed several thousand lives.
Lucy Li tries not to let fear dictate her interactions with patients as she makes the rounds in the covid-19 intensive care unit. But the anesthesiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital cannot erase the memory of what happened after work at the start of the pandemic.

A man followed the Chinese-American doctor from the Boston hospital, spewing a profanity-laced racist tirade as she walked to the subway. "Why are you Chinese people killing everyone?" Li recalled the man shouting. "What is wrong with you? Why the f--- are you killing us?"

Stunned at first, then relieved she was not physically attacked, Li is now saddened and angered by the irony that she spends her days and nights helping save lives. Her work inserting tubes in patients' airways has grown riskier since the coronavirus emerged - each procedure releasing droplets and secretions that could carry viral particles.

"I'm risking my own personal health, and then to be vilified just because of what I look like," said Li, 28, wary that one of her patients, too, could harbor such prejudices. "I try not to think about that possibility when I'm at work taking care of patients. But it's always there, at the very back of my mind."

Across the country, Asian-American health-care workers have reported a rise in bigoted incidents. The racial hostility has left Asian-Americans, who represent 6 percent of the U.S. population but 18 percent of the country's physicians and 10 percent of its nurse practitioners, in a painful position on the front lines of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Some covid-19 patients refuse to be treated by them. And when doctors and nurses leave the hospital, they face increasing harassment in their daily lives, too.

Asian-Americans have experienced a sharp increase in racist verbal abuse and physical attacks during the pandemic, with the FBI warning of a potential surge in hate crimes against Asians as the coronavirus death toll mounts and stay-at-home orders are lifted.

"People are worried about transmission of a disease that they associate with foreignness and Asian faces," said Grace Kao, a Yale University sociologist. "Nothing erases what we look like."

3 1 of 3 Photo by Olivia Falcigno for The Washington Post Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Photo by Olivia Falcigno for The Washington Post Show More Show Less 3 of 3





There is no comprehensive data measuring anti-Asian bias during the pandemic. An analysis of self-reported incidents by Russell Jeung, chairman of the Asian-American studies department at San Francisco State University, shows a steady rise in reports of harassment and assault against Asians since mid-March, with twice as many women than men saying they have been mistreated.

Jeung, who is researching racism and xenophobia amid the pandemic, said a multilingual website set up by his department in a partnership with civil rights groups to document anti-Asian harassment has recorded more than 1,800 reports since its March 19 launch. Victims said they were spat on, stabbed while shopping, shunned for wearing masks and barred from entering ride-hailing vehicles.

Some academic experts on race say President Donald Trump's rhetoric around the virus and China has contributed to the rise in racial harassment. For weeks, Trump deliberately referred to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus" despite guidance from public health officials to avoid attaching locations or ethnicity to a disease. He has since tweeted that Asian-Americans are not to be blamed for the virus' spread.

"Words matter. People are making that close association between the virus and Chinese people because he insisted on using that term," Jeung said.

During a media briefing last week, Trump lashed out at CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, who is Chinese-American, telling her to "Ask China!" after she questioned him on why he insisted on making testing a global competition at a time when so many lives are being lost. Jiang previously tweeted that a White House official had called the virus "the Kung-Flu" to her face.

White House adviser Peter Navarro, in an ABC News interview Sunday, accused China of sending "hundreds of thousands of Chinese" to "seed" the coronavirus around the world. And Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., drew criticism after he blamed the virus' spread on "thugs in China" in a high school graduation speech over the weekend.

Jeung said he expects harassment and violence against Asian-Americans to grow in coming months as states reopen their economies and people return to work, school and public life.

"With the China-bashing and with the economy tanking and more deaths from covid-19, we expect anti-Asian bias to only increase," Jeung said. "People make automatic assumptions, especially in times of threats, and go into fight-or-flight mode. The fight mode is attacking or harassing Asians, and the flight mode is shunning Asians."

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has encouraged Asian-Americans to step up and "show our American-ness in ways we never have before," in response to the rise in racist abuse.In a controversial op-ed last month, he called on Asian Americans to be part of the "cure."

But many Asian-Americans felt offended by seemingly having to justify their existence. "It shouldn't matter if you're a front-line worker," said Esther Choo, an emergency-room physician in Portland, Oregon, who hosts a podcast on the coronavirus pandemic. "Every time something like this happens, there's this wave of, 'But we're so good, and we don't deserve this.' No, you don't deserve this because you're human."

Being a front-line worker didn't help Li - and when she texted her colleagues to warn them before they left work, one of them responded with her own story of being harassed just a week earlier.

Gem Manalo, a Mass General anesthesiology resident who is of Chinese and Filipino descent, was riding the "T," as the subway is called in Boston, across the river to Cambridge for a yoga class in early March when she said a man starting yelling: "F--- China! F--- the Chinese!"

"I was too scared to look at him," said Manalo, 29. A stranger recorded the incident with her phone and assured Manalo that she would defend her if the man tried to physically harm her.

"He kept saying things like: 'You people eat bats! Watch my YouTube channel tonight, and I'll tell the real story.' He kept saying: 'F--- China. F--- the Chinese,' over and over," Manalo said.

"Here I am in the hospital, working in all these makeshift ICUs," Manalo said. "We're all at a loss, too, trying to come up with new protocols to keep everybody safe, and this guy is telling me that I am terrible."

Audrey Li, an internal-medicine resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston who plans to specialize in infectious diseases, said she was repeatedly told by a frustrated patient at another hospital to "go back to your country."

Li was too shocked to respond and immediately wondered if she had done something wrong. But a white intern told the patient that her comments were unacceptable.

"Part of the unsettling piece of racism is you're never sure if it's something you as an individual did or if it's something that's immutable and larger than yourself," Li said. "There was a sense of a little bit of guilt and shame for having forgotten what it was like to be marginalized in that way."

In Los Angeles County, Hengky Lim, a 44-year-old nurse practitioner from Indonesia, said he approached an ER patient who had a fever and a cough to show him how to put on a mask one night in March. The patient yelled at him and coughed in his face, spit splattering on his plastic face shield. "You know where coronavirus is from? It's from you people! I don't want to be seen by you," Lim recalled the patient shouting. Then the patient walked out of the ER.

In April, when Lim, dressed in a hazmat suit, was treating patients with covid-19 symptoms in a tent outside the main hospital, he said a man who came in with chest pain, difficulty breathing and a persistent cough declined Lim's assistance and returned to see the nurse who had taken his vitals. That nurse, who was white, later told Lim that the patient said he did not want to be seen by an Asian provider because he thought he had contracted the coronavirus from a Chinese man coughing near him at a store, Lim recalled.

"I asked the nurse, 'Are you sure it was a Chinese man?' It's just stereotyping, assuming everyone who is Asian is Chinese and has coronavirus," Lim said. He tried to treat the patient anyway, telling him that he was his only choice and that he would take care of him. But the man left after spitting into a cup for the coronavirus test - and did not bother getting the X-ray or EKG that Lim had ordered for him.

Lim said he had never before encountered such discrimination during his 10 years in nursing, but it has become such a common experience among his Asian colleagues that he thought about quitting.

"Everybody is scared. I'm putting myself out there only to be treated this way. It's very disheartening," he said. "We're not sick. You're the one who is sick, which is why you are here. And you are exposing us as the health-care provider taking care of you, and we are treated as though we are the ones carrying the coronavirus."

This spring in Seattle, Amy Zhang was wearing scrubs, walking to her 13-hour night shift as an anesthesiology resident, when a man began cursing at her a block away from the hospital.

"F--- you, China, for giving us smallpox," the man shouted at Zhang, the 29-year-old doctor recalled. He followed her and continued yelling racial epithets.

Zhang said the encounter shook her, affecting her ability to focus on her work at the start of her shift. "I was not in the best state of mind to help out with patient care," she said.

And in Southern California, Audrey Sue Cruz, an internal-medicine doctor in Loma Linda, was conducting a telephone visit with a new patient recently when, 15 minutes into the appointment, the woman began grilling the physician on her medical education, work history and ethnicity.

Cruz told the patient that she is Filipina, to which she said the patient replied: "Wow. I can't believe what your people did. I usually wouldn't choose an Asian doctor, but you seem nice."

Cruz quickly ended the visit. The incident inspired her to join more than a dozen other doctors in producing an #iamnotavirus video to help combat the wave of bigotry against Asians.

"We wanted to use our voices as physicians to remove the stigma that's occurring right now about Asian people being virus carriers," Cruz said.

She posted the video on Instagram. Then came the comments: "Bat eater."
Beautiful Saturday sun, I love this. Its starting to feel like summer again, waking up with the sun. This feels amazing. My name is Najee Wilson. Im originally from Charleston, S.C., but I currently live in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the neighborhood of Crown Heights. Im quarantining with me, myself and I. I moved to New York because New York is the city of dreams. I work as a fine art muse. So that means that Im lending inspiration to artists for their work. Its hard to maintain a practice where it is very much reliant on being in the same space, breathing the same air. There is an exchange thats happening. There is a connection between the artist and the muse. Technology just really lacks a lot of intimacy. And the intimacy that you get of being in the same room with someone is unmatchable. When Covid hit, all my work got canceled. I have already been late on several bills. Now at this point, Im just totally in the hole, and at a deficit. As far as paying rent, I dont have a lot of cushion. As an artist, I dont have a lot of savings. And, yes, that is my fault to a degree, but I could never have foreseen something like this. The pledge to try to get rent canceled isnt something thats just happening in Brooklyn. Its happening throughout the rest of America because without work, there is no money. And without money, there is no rent. I decided to become involved with H.O.P.E. That means Housing Organizers for People Empowerment. And It has been really comforting to know that Im not the only one going through this struggle. Hi, everyone. This is H.O.P.E.s first virtual meeting. Were going to be talking about our campaign to cancel rent. When Covid hit, we were ready to get the government to pass a moratorium to help with the rent. The governor right now has an extraordinary amount of power because hes declared a state of emergency. We believe that he has the authority and the power legally to cancel rent. I think were all just going down a very slippery slope here, because I mean, nobodys working. Everything stopped. Everythings closed. So lets just say this continues for another two months  right now Im not working  and theres going to be nothing left. The thing that I miss most about life pre-coronavirus is freedom  freedom to hug a friend and not feel like maybe Im going to contract something. Ive been having very solitary, quiet days. Sometimes, I wont speak for an entire 24-hour period, and then some days Im on the phone for seven hours straight with different friends. I think for myself the first thing I needed to figure was unemployment. Did, you know, get through the website? Because as far as I was concerned, I thought it was like a tragedy and impossible. I didnt even know if it was going to work. Theres some people who havent gotten through yet, and were in May. Sometimes all you can do is just breathe through it. Sleepless nights have been happening to me. I was sleeping so well before this. And now I find myself being very restless. Its like around midnight, and I still am not tired. Ive been so awake lately, awake when I need to be asleep and asleep when I need to be awake. So Im going to read, continue reading here. Theres literally like nobody outside on the street  as I roll through this intersection. Eastern Parkway would normally be a bustling promenade of people walking, running, biking, families, maybe dominoes being played, just all sorts of life happening. And now thats all stopped. It just really doesnt even feel like I live in New York anymore. So many opportunities Ive had have come out of simply being in New York, and being open to the experiences that come. I told myself that in August, if things are not somewhat normal, I may move back to South Carolina, but well see. This quarantine hasnt been easy, but what I can do right now is focus on being present. Im living for today.
 Flash

Another 545 COVID-19 patients have died in Britain as of Monday afternoon, bringing the total coronavirus-related death toll in the country to 35,341, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Tuesday.

The figures include deaths in all settings, including hospitals, care homes and the wider community.

Earlier in the day, Chancellor Rishi Sunak warned that Britain faces a "severe recession".

"We are likely to face a severe recession, the likes of which we haven't seen, and of course that will have an impact on employment," said Sunak while addressing the Lords economic affairs committee.

"We are currently passing through" that period that is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, he added.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced Tuesday that the number of people claiming jobless benefit in Britain monthly soared by 69.1 percent in April as the labor market was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data showed that the country's Claimant Count, a statistic of the number of people claiming benefit principally for being unemployed, increased to 2.1 million in April, representing a monthly rise of 69.1 percent.

Chairing Tuesday's Downing Street briefing, Eustice told reporters that the government "will only take the next step when we are satisfied it is safe to do so" to gradually ease the lockdown.

Talking about the availability of foreign labour for the harvest, he said normally workers from countries like Romania and Bulgaria come during the harvest season, but only around a third of them are here now.

A new "pick for Britain" website has been launched to check what jobs are available during the harvest and match employers with people seeking a job -- particularly those who have been furloughed, said Eustice.

He urged people who want to get out, to play a part in the virus response and supplement their income to visit the website.

As to the new track and trace program, the secretary told reporters that testing capacity has been "expanding" and more than 20,000 people have been hired to staff the program, which he believes will be "quite crucial".
Florence Pugh's unforgettable 30-pound May Queen flower frock from Midsommar is now the property of the Academy Museum.

The studio behind Midsommar, A24, sold the dress at auction to the Academy Museum for $65,000, according to Variety.

A24 announced a charity auction of their film props last month in aid of efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout.

Grandeur: Florence Pugh's unforgettable 30-pound May Queen flower frock from Midsommar is now the property of the Academy Museum

'The original May Queen gown worn after Danis coronation, complete with 10,000 silk flowers and weighing in at a staggering 30 pounds,' reads the official lot description for the dress on the A24 website.

'Spiked crown of forget-me-nots, sweet peas, buttercups, cornflowers, and persian jewels also included.'

Money from the auction is being directed to organizations in New York, the American epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money for Florence's dress will specifically go to the New York City Fire Department's official nonprofit, the FDNY Foundation, according to A24.

For a cause: The studio behind Midsommar, A24, sold the dress at auction to the Academy Museum for $65,000, according to Variety

Other organizations benefiting from the auction are the Queens Community House, NYC Health + Hospitals and Food Bank For NYC, Vulture reported.

Several props from Midsommar were sold at the auction including a bear headdress worn by Jack Reynor that eventually went for $4,750.

The auction includes items from other A24 projects as well such as Idina Menzel's busty hot pink bat mitzvah dress from Uncut Gems and Robert Pattinson's eight piece cap from The Lighthouse.

After starring in Midsommar Florence earned an Oscar nomination for her supporting performance as Amy March in Little Women.

Side by side: Florence has been in a relationship with Scrubs hunk Zach Braff for more than a year and the duo have gone into lockdown together

Directed by Greta Gerwig, the latest adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel also starred Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothee Chalamet and Meryl Streep.

Florence has been in a relationship with Scrubs hunk Zach Braff for more than a year and the duo have gone into lockdown together.

The romance has drawn online mockery for the fact Zach is 21 years older than Florence and bears a striking resemblance to her father Clinton Pugh.

In the new June issue of Elle UK Florence struck back at the critics, saying: 'I have the right to hang out and be with and go out with anyone I want to.'
Health Minister does not expect health system in North Wales to be overwhelmed as we reach peak

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

The Health Minister has re-iterated the stay home message to North Wales in the week the First Minister pointed to a peak being reached in the area.

With the news on Monday that the First Minister, in response to our question, had said we might just be reaching the peak in North Wales we asked the Health Minister Vaughan Gething about the peak.

Previously we have asked Ministers about hotspots and the lack of testing in North Wales (along with or data questions), and if hotspots were seen where testing was taking place. Recently more tests have been taking place in North Wales however there are still under 2,000 tests taking place in the entire of Wales as of the latest data.

We asked the Health Minister if the peak had been identified due to more testing taking place in North Wales, and is perhaps therefore more man made, or if it a more real, new, concern based on non-public data such as hospital admissions and the like?

The Health Minister replied, There are two things as you identify, on the one hand, when you undertake more testing, youre likely to understand a greater level of people who have Coronavirus.

Actually for us in many ways, the levels of hospital admissions are an even more important indicator, because that shows you the level of harm thats potentially being caused in an area and the pressure on our health and care system.

You remember right at the start of all of this when we went into lockdown, and we were talking about staying home saving lives and protecting the NHS. Thats because we were really concerned that the NHS could be overwhelmed, and the sort of dignity in care but also the ability for the health service to treat people and to help to save the lives of those people could have been overwhelmed.

Now in North Wales we dont expect the system to be overwhelmed but it is at a different level in, if you like, the curve of the pandemic, to other places of Wales.

But, it is still the case that the amount of coronavirus per head is at a lower rate in North Wales than all of the South Wales health boards in the south east.

So, Cardiff and Vale, Cwn Taf, regarding and an Aneurin Bevan [health boards] still had many more cases per head of that population.

But we continue to look at whats happening in North Wales and its why the messages were giving about stay home and if you do need to go up for one of the permitted reasons, stay local and stay safe are still so important.
New York, May 20 : Pushing back against the steady hum of privacy concerns from critics of India's Aarogya Setu contact tracing app, MyGov CEO Abhishek Singh emphatically defended the app as the safest across all mobile apps that Indians currently use and a digital public good that Indians should be "proud" of.

MyGov developed the Aarogya Setu app and launched it in April.

"There is no other app that anyone in India is using today that has greater privacy features than what Aarogya Setu has", he told IANS in a video interview Tuesday.

"Critics will be there, we welcome them. Sometimes what they say makes us strive harder and ensure(s) that what we do is in the best interests of the people of India." Baptiste Robert, a French security researcher, in a May 6 Medium blog post under his online pseudonym Elliot Alderman, said he was able to spoof his location and zoom in on the location of infected users.

MyGov responded pointwise to Robert's security concerns and cranked up its communication around privacy FAQs and the small details. On May 11, for instance, when Aarogya Setu had 98.5 million downloads, it pushed out information that data of "only 0.013 per cent" of all users were uploaded to the server to identify Bluetooth contacts and alert them.

Singh's remarks to IANS come on a day when the app at the heart of India's contact tracing effort has been downloaded 107 million times in a country with a smartphone user base of about 500 million.

Singh said Bluetooth contacts of confirmed COVID19 cases on the Aarogya Setu app have begun to turn up a 23 per cent positivity rate for the coronavirus and are helping identify hotspots "seven days faster" than what's possible without the app.

"Among those who have been identified as bluetooth contacts of COVID19 positive, when we do the testing, the positive rate we are getting is almost 23 per cent." Aarogya Setu's GPS and Bluetooth mix has sparked intense scrutiny among critics about potential data breaches and government leverage.

Singh explained that encryption and anonymity are hardwired into Aarogya Setu. Personal details are taken "only once", at registration, and then anonymised via a device ID, he said.

Singh said Aarogya Setu's privacy standards conform to the draft privacy bill pending in Parliament and the app's focus is "on saving lives".

"This device ID is the one with which all other interactions take place subsequently." Singh said only information essential for "medical interventions" like making quarantine decisions or sanitising of public areas is shared. "That too, only with government health representatives", Singh stressed.

At least 25 countries around the world, including India, have deployed contact tracing apps to help contain infections by identifying and notifying all those who come into contact with a carrier.

India's Aarogya Setu uses a mix of location and Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth, which is easier to anonymise, is considered several notches above location data in the context of privacy.

On a sliding scale of 30 days to 60 days, depending on the user's COVID19 risk profile, data is destroyed, according to Singh. Data destruction on the Aarogya Setu app happens 30 days from creation of data for zero risk users and 60 days post recovery for COIVID19 patients.

Aarogya Setu's data analysts at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru calculate the cumulative hours of contact with an infected person "at the sub pin code level", Singh told IANS.

This is "huge potential as an early warning systema, Singh said, speaking to Setu's role as a public good in a health emergency.

MyGov's former chief Arvind Gupta, in a recent conversation with IANS, called for a change in how the public thinks about privacy in the context of digital public goods in the post-COVID19 era.

India's COVID19 caseload has surged past the 100,000 mark, more than 3,300 have died from the virus, according to official data.

(Nikhila Natarajan is on Twitter @byniknat)
Families of a Pickering long-term-care homes residents  some of whom died during the COVID-19 outbreak  are calling for a criminal investigation into the care their loved ones received at the facility.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Durham Regional Police Chief Paul Martin, the 41 families say what occurred at Orchard Villa is completely out of proportion to what has occurred in other facilities in this province.

Our own observations and what contact we could manage with our loved ones demonstrates that they were malnourished, dehydrated, and not receiving basic care for days, and in some cases weeks, reads an attachment to the letter, which also alleges that the Orchard Villa residents did not receive the necessities of life.

Seventy residents at the 233-bed facility have died of COVID-19, the most deaths recorded at any long-term-care home in Ontario. Another 135 residents and 99 staff members have tested positive for the virus.

Last month, a Star investigation revealed that the home has faced a litany of citations for non-compliance with regulations and ministry orders in the last five years, including requirements that living areas are kept clean and sanitary and to protect residents from staff abuse.

In an email to the Star, Orchard Villa executive director Jason Gay said neither the facility nor its owner, Southbridge Care Homes, have seen the letter from the 41 families, but offered our sincere condolences to all families who have lost a loved one to COVID-19 in long-term care.

Managing this virus has been an immense challenge, for everyone in our home and for everyone who loves them. The most important thing we can do is protect our residents and staff and try to mitigate any risk of transmission, Gay wrote.

Orchard Villa was quick to call on our partners in government and health care for help and we are extremely grateful that they answered our call.

We take our duty of care for the people in our home incredibly seriously.

Martin confirmed in an emailed statement to the Star that Durham police have received the families letter and that he had reviewed the allegations.

We will be reaching out to the appropriate agencies and oversight bodies to determine the best and most appropriate way to proceed in order to address these concerns, he wrote.

Last week, the families of two Orchard Villa residents who died of COVID-19, Paul Parkes and George Morrison, filed lawsuits against the home and its owner.

Parkess daughter Cathy, who also signed the letter to Durham police, told the Star she first became concerned about her father in mid-April when he mentioned to her that residents were eating meals together even during the lockdown. She said she didnt find out from the home that her father had tested positive for COVID-19 until three weeks after he died on April 15 at age 86.

I cried. I was upset. It was almost a release because I knew he had it and I just needed to see it. I just needed to know, she said. Im glad we told everyone who was preparing his body that he did, because what a nightmare that would have been if we hadnt.

Parkes added that she wants police to investigate things she believes have been done wrong  things that outside of a long-term-care home would normally be considered criminal, and so therefore inside a long-term-care home should be judged the same way.

Morrisons daughter, June Morrison, also signed the letter. George Morrison died at the age of 95 on May 3 in hospital after contracting the coronavirus at Orchard Villa.

She said her father, who lived with dementia, Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease, was admitted to hospital with apparent anorexia, dehydration and a urinary tract infection. He had lost significant weight, she said, and looked emaciated.

He didnt look like my dad. He looked like a prisoner of war.

Morrison believes her father was not isolated from a roommate who was infected with COVID-19, and that there were insufficient staff members in the home to adequately care for him. I know my dad suffered, she said.

Morrison has asked Ontarios chief coroner to investigate her fathers death, but she also believes police should investigate how the facility was managed.

The sooner the police get involved, the sooner they can interview the (personal support workers), the nurses and cleaning staff, and the sooner we can get to the bottom of what really went on in there.

Correction - May 20, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the number of residents at the facility who have tested positive for COVID-19 as of May 19.
A drive-in cinema company has said it is developing plans to add Mid Ulster venues to its planned tour of Northern Ireland later this year.

South Derry film fans closest venues under the initial plan would have been Derry city, Portrush and Antrim, but plans are currently underway to bring the tour to Cookstown and Dungannon.

Conor Moran, from The Big Drive Inn, told the County Derry Post that they hope to show four different screenings per day.

He said: We use an LED screen and the brightness is a lot sharper than a projector. Our movies can run from 12 oclock in the day til 9 oclock at night.

In the afternoon, at 12pm and 3pm, we will be showing more family-orientated films. At 6pm, well show a classic film and at 9pm a blockbuster.

The plan is to do this as a tour of Northern Ireland and keep it going as long as Covid-19 lasts.

The company had already begun to tour in the Republic of Ireland before it was placed into lockdown, with shows in Dundalk and Cavan, and are now resuming plans to move north.

In keeping with strict hygiene guidelines, the organisers say they will be taking all necessary precautions and implementing social distancing.

We encourage arriving in, staying in and leaving in your car so its complete family isolation, said Conor.

Toilets will be provided, we provide portaloos. Your temperature is taken on entering the toilet by an automated temperature taker.

If your temperature is too high you wouldnt be able to enter the toilet. All toilets are sanitised and there is state-of-the-art technology checking temperatures.

All toilets are sanitised after each use. There will be sanitisers on site as well and well be encouraging people to sanitise.

We have a host of other processes in place to protect against Covid-19. All transactions are cashless, so you buy your ticket online.

We wont be offering any food yet, until the lockdown eases. If thats during the tour, well look at doing some food, but for the first few events, well be encouraging people to bring their own.

All our staff members have undergone safety training to ensure we promote and enforce a safe event for all.

If the tour proves to be a success, the organisers have said they may look at continuing the service after the Covid-19 restrictions have been eased.

We hope to continue with it after the lockdown. It will be almost a funfair operation, staying in each venue for two days.

All of our screens are on trailers and we have four smaller trailers that are shown throughout the car park.

Conor does not foresee any issues in having to enforce social distancing but have insisted that they have a security team in place to deal with those who arent complying.

We did it just before the lockdown in the south and to be honest, people dont want to leave their cars, he said.

We had hundreds of cars and had no hassle. People are excited to see the film. If they do, well ask them to leave the car park and we have staff in place for that.

More details can be found on the Big Drive-Inn Facebook page.
OnePlus has managed to stay in headlines for quite some time now for various reasons including the latest OnePlus 8 Series launch. This time, the company is in headlines for appointing Navnit Nakra as the Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for OnePlus India, who previously worked with Apple as the Head of Affordability in India for over three years.

As a part of the senior leadership team, Navnit will be leading the strategic operations on the Red Cable Club, OnePlus marquee digital lifestyle membership initiative, and will also drive key strategic partnerships that are vital to the India business.

In his stint with Apple, Navnit led the strategic initiatives on devising effective consumer and enterprise finance offers across categories ranging from smartphones, tablets, and laptops, to watches and accessories.

Furthermore, he has 15 years of experience in various leadership roles across Consumer and Institutional Banking in Citibank as well. During his later years of tenure at the company, Navnit was the National Head for Liabilities and Regional Lead for the E-commerce segment across India, Greater China, and Korea within commercial banking.

Coming to education, Navnit holds an MBA degree from the renowned Faculty of Management Studies  University of Delhi. Navnit is also an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School where he pursued his Program for Leadership Development.
[May 20, 2020] Sense Data Shows That Home Energy Demand Increased 22% Since Covid-19, Driving up Utility Bills, and Most People Decided to Stay Home Before Government Mandates

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on an analysis of changes in home energy trends across the country since Covid-19, Sense ( sense.com ) found that the average home electrical usage increased 22% compared to 2019, a reflection of people using more electricity while they stayed home. With this increase, most consumers will pay 22% more on their April electricity bill compared to April 2019, with a typical increase of $22-$25, and higher in states with steeper utility rates. Staying at Home Increased Electricity Demand and Costs Ordinarily, home electricity demand decreases in the March through April time frame due to warmer weather in the spring. In 2020, instead of falling, daily electricity demand increased 22% from March 10 to April 10. Since weather is relatively temperate across most of the country in March and April, people can expect their costs to increase in the warmer months ahead as HVAC systems work to keep homes cool--assuming that most people are still at home. The Flattened Duck Curve

Mid-day energy usage was the biggest factor in driving up energy demand. Ordinarily, home energy usage drops in the middle of the day between 10 am and 4 pm, when many people are away from home for work or school. Utilities call this pattern the "duck curve." This year, the average home showed steadily rising energy usage starting at 5 am and peaking at 4 pm, followed by declining use through the evening and overnight. The biggest jump took place at 4 pm when the average home's energy usage increased by 425 kWh compared to 2019 averages. This change in energy usage reflects that most people are home all day and using electricity. In other words, the home's energy "duck curve" has flattened for most Americans. When Did People Stay at Home? Sense discovered intriguing patterns in energy data that show people's responses to the Covid-19 epidemic. The data shows that most people made the decision to stay home soon after state emergencies were announced but well before state stay-at-home orders were issued. The biggest increases in home energy demand took place between March 10 and March 21, coinciding with work, school and college changes. As state governments ease restrictions in May, the Sense dataset points to multiple factors influencing peoples' decisions to stay home, including business and school policies. The steep rise in energy demand as more people decided to stay home between March 10 and 21 coincides with a number of external events related to Covid-19 response that took place before the states issued stay-at-home advisories. Between March 3 and 10 , California , Massachusetts , New York and Ohio declared states of emergency.

, , , and declared states of emergency. On March 10 , Harvard and MIT sent their students home to learn online, followed quickly by many colleges around the country.

, and sent their students home to learn online, followed quickly by many colleges around the country. On March 10 , Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon asked employees to work from home.

, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon asked employees to work from home. On March 13 , the federal government declared a state of emergency.

, the federal government declared a state of emergency. Starting March 16 , most states closed elementary and high schools. California issued its stay-at-home advisory on March 19, followed by Ohio, New York and Massachusetts within 4 days; Arizona, North Carolina and Texas issued orders later in the month. Based on these home energy trends, most Americans made their decision to stay home before being ordered to do so by the government. Other factors appeared to be influential, including actions by prominent businesses and colleges, the need to take care of school age children who were now at home, and emergency orders by states and the federal government. The Sense home data revealed that after March 14, daily energy consumption increased 22.4% across the country, driven by a 35% increase in mid-day demand, but changes varied significantly across states. Interestingly, homes in North Carolina and Arizona increased at a rate that was half the national average, implying that fewer people stayed home in those states.







State Mid-day Increase in Electricity

Consumption (10 am to 3 pm) Daily Increase in Electricity

Consumption California 28.8% 21.1% Massachusetts 40.4% 26.6% New York 26.6% 15.0% Ohio 19.8% 14.4% Minnesota 36.4% 24.3% Texas 32.7% 20.0% North Carolina 19.0% 9.6% Arizona 18.6% 8.6% National average 35.1% 22.4%

The governors of Arizona and North Carolina issued stay-at-home guidance on March 30, a week after most states. This later guidance may be a factor in residents' decisions. After March 14, the average North Carolina home's daily consumption rose by 9.6%, and the average Arizona home's daily consumption rose by 8.6%, indicating that fewer homeowners were at home during the day compared to national averages. About Sense's analysis

Sense analyzed data for 5000 homes that have the Sense Home Energy Monitor across 30 states that are geographically representative of the country . The analysis identified percentage increases in home energy demand compared to the same dates in 2019 and normalized for weather. Duck curve data was analyzed for the period March 20-30 when home energy demand was at high levels. Note that Sense customer homes tend to be bigger than the national average and as a result, they have 23% higher energy bills than the US average. About Sense

Sense's mission is to make all homes intelligent by keeping people informed about what's happening in their homes, and helping to make homes safer, more efficient, and more reliable. Founded in 2013 by pioneers in speech recognition, Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behavior, even for those devices that are not "smart." Customers rely on Sense for a wide range of uses including monitoring their home appliances, determining whether they left appliances running and identifying how to reduce their energy costs. Sense has received investments from two of the world's largest energy technology companies, Schneider Electric and Landis + Gyr. Sense is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. To make sense of your energy, visit: https://sense.com . Media contact: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sense-data-shows-that-home-energy-demand-increased-22-since-covid-19-driving-up-utility-bills-and-most-people-decided-to-stay-home-before-government-mandates-301062944.html SOURCE Sense

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
UN forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) have arrested a warlord and eight of his militiamen in connection with the deaths of more than two dozen people in a northeastern town last month, sources said.

A senior humanitarian worker and a source in the United Nations identified the warlord as Azor Kalite, who has played a key part in months-long violence in the region.

Twenty-eight people, at least 21 of whom were civilians, were killed on April 28 in Ndele in fighting between splinter groups of the Popular Front for the Rebirth of the CAR (FPRC), one of the countrys biggest militias.

One group is drawn mainly from the Runga ethnic community, while the other is drawn from the Gula community, according to the UN peacekeeping force MINUSCA.

They are fighting over control of the regions trade and lucrative mineral deposits, it says.

MINUSCA spokesman Vladimir Monteiro said on Wednesday that nine armed elements had been arrested in the Ndele region the previous day.

He said MINUSCA acted in response to a request by the Special Criminal Court, a tribunal set up in October 2018 to rule on major crimes in the CAR. He did not disclose the identities of those arrested.

Kalite, a Gula, was once a senior member of the Seleka, a predominantly Muslim militia which in 2013 overthrew the then president, Francois Bozize, a Christian, causing the impoverished country to plunge into a bloody spiral.

France intervened militarily from 2013 to 2016 to push out the Seleka, winding down the operation after Faustin-Archange Touadera was elected president.

Touadera governs today with the support of a large UN peacekeeping operation, but most of the country is controlled by ex-rebels and militias.

The government signed a peace deal in February 2019 with 14 armed groups, who typically claim to defend the interests of specific communities or religions.

Violence has since generally receded, but there are still bloody flareups, typically sparked by fighting over resources.

Presidential elections are due in December.

CAR prosecutors earlier this month said they had opened a formal investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the Ndele killings.

On Sunday, Kalite, speaking to AFP, angrily condemned MINUSCA operations to restore security in Ndele and threatened to stir up protests against the peacekeepers.
Oyo State has recorded six new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number recorded in the state to 143.

According to the latest figures released by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Tuesday night, the six cases in Oyo were among the new 226 recorded in 16 states.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had repeatedly called on residents who believe they had come in contact with COVID-19 cases to come forward for test.

The government had also admonished people with COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, fever, tiredness, body ache and shortness of breath as well as health workers who had been in contact with high-risk groups to present themselves for test.

Experts have attributed the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the state to the high number of people that were responding to the call for testing.

(NAN)
NORWALK  Norwalk is installing concrete barriers on Washington Street to block off parking spaces on the south side of the road and allow more space for outdoor dining and retail.

Installation of the barriers will begin May 21 and be completed in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Washington Street will only be open to local traffic and emergency vehicles while the concrete barriers are being installed beginning at approximately 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 21.

The barriers will remain in place throughout the spring and summer to allow outdoor space businesses reopening following two months of coronavirus-related closures. While retail spaces may open and allow indoor shopping with limitations during Phase One of Norwalks reopening, restaurants are limited to offering outdoor dining along with takeout.

The concrete barriers will more than double the amount of outdoor space remaining on Washington Street. The Street will remain open to two-way traffic, but by blocking off parking spaces on the south side, businesses now will be able to use the entire sidewalk for outdoor dining or retail. A pedestrian walkway will be available between the sidewalk and concrete barriers.

My team and I have been working around the clock to explore new ways to maximize the space available to businesses. We are always looking for ways to support our local businesses while at the same time ensuring the health and safety of the public. This plan achieves both of those goals by greatly expanding the available outdoor space while preserving access for emergency vehicles, Mayor Harry Rilling said. I appreciate the feedback weve received from these businesses, and the hard work of City staff for executing the plan. Well continue to look to do creative things like this all around Norwalk to help our local businesses.

The concrete barriers will be installed along the right side of Washington Street when driving towards the water after passing under the railroad tracks between North and South Main Streets. On the north side of Washington Street, all of the parking spots will be free 15-minute parking to further support businesses along the street. City officials will continue to work with these businesses to maximize available space.

City officials said they could not close Washington Street completely, or make it one-way, due to safety concerns and the duration of the expanded outdoor dining and retail areas. Norwalk Transit District buses will be re-routed for the summer down Hanford Place.

Businesses on the south side of Washington Street that wish to use the expanded sidewalk space will need to submit revised outdoor dining and patio plans to Planning and Zoning before additional tables are permitted. Updated plans can be submitted to Bryan Baker at BBaker@norwalkct.org. Setbacks will still be required for fire hydrants, but not for trees and other sidewalk obstructions.

Businesses must obtain an outdoor dining or outdoor retail permit. The streamlined application, Frequently Asked Questions, and more information can be found at norwalkct.org/covid19businessresources.

erin.kayata@hearstmediact.com
The Congress, All Assam



Students' Union (AASU), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and environmental activist Jadav Payeng on Wednesday said coal mining inside Dehing Patkai forest will harm its ecological balance and warned of strong protests if any such move is initiated.

The Coal India Limited (CIL), which has allegedly been carrying out mining activity inside the forest for 16 years since 2003, may get an official licence to resume it if the PSU major fulfils a set of 28 conditions.

People have been demanding on social media a ban on mining inside the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve, which is spread over Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. An online petition in this regard has already attracted over 52,000 signatures.

"Coal mining should be stopped to protect our climate and I appeal to the central and state governments to ban mining inside Dehing Patkai," environmental activist Jadav Payeng, who is known as the 'Forest Man of India', said.

Coal mining inside the Dehing Patkai will have an adverse impact on the ecological balance of the area, said Payeng, recipient of the UK's 128th Commonwealth Points of Light Award.

The Padma Shri awardee's contention was backed by Congress MP from Assam, Pradyut Bordoloi.

"Since this BJP government came to power in Assam in 2016, illegal coal mining increased many-fold and is patronised by the ruling politicians. Hundreds of coal-laden trucks come out of Dehing Patkai and many other areas of Upper Assam."



He alleged that hundreds of rat-hole mines are operational there and police are not taking any action despite complaints by various quarters.

"Now the government wants to damage Dehing Patkai in an organised way through the CIL. If the final approval is given to the company for mining inside the forest, nobody will be able to save it," he said adding that the Congress will hit the streets against such devastating steps once the lockdown is lifted.

The Centre has given in-principle (Stage-I) clearance to PSU major Coal India Limited (CIL) for mining in 57.20 hectares inside Dehing Patkai forest in December, 2019 with 28 conditions, including payment of fine and action against officers responsible for violating the Forest Conservation Act.

In a meeting held last month, the Standing Committee of the National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, said the CIL will be accorded the final approval (stage-II) provided it fulfils the conditions.

Accordingly, the Assam Forest Department slapped a penalty of Rs 43.25 crore on the CIL for carrying out illegal mining activity inside the forest, which is termed as the Amazon of East, for 16 years since 2003.

The forest department has also filed an FIR against officials responsible for the alleged illegal activity in around 73 hectares of land inside the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve forest between 2003 and 2019.

Rejecting the logic of the mining advocates that the proposed area falls under Saleki, which is outside the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordoloi said it falls under the Elephant Reserve and is just three kilometres from the main sanctuary.

AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi said Dehing Patkai has rich biodiversity and any step to tamper with its characteristics will not be accepted.

"It has some endangered species, unique orchids and many other habitats. The NBWL move for approval is not appreciable. Even if the CIL gets the final approval, we will not recognise it and will oppose it strongly," he added.

Gogoi stressed that man-elephant conflict will rise significantly in entire Upper Assam if their home in Dehing Patkai is touched.

KMSS president Raju Bora said the organisation and people of the state will do everything possible to protect the "second Amazon" of the world.

"If we destroy Dehing Patkai, the entire North East will suffer. After the lockdown is over, we will launch an aggressive campaign against coal mining inside the forest," he added.

Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across 111.42 sq km, while the Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve with 937 sq km of area is surrounding the sanctuary in its periphery.

Leading environmentalists, activists, teachers and students are protesting on social media with hashtag "Save Amazon Of East from Coal Mafias" and "I am Dehing Patkai" against the decision of the NBWL to recommend the CIL's proposal for approval.

A mining lease was given to CIL in 1973 for 30 years. After its expiry, CIL was supposed to apply for forest clearance but they applied only in 2012. However, mining continued there till last year, a senior forest department official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CHICAGO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic will have a devastating impact on people facing hunger across communities nationwide, according to a new study by Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization. This study is the first of its kind to explore how food insecurity rates at the local level may increase in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Impact of the Coronavirus on Local Food Insecurity analyzes food insecurity rates for the overall population and children by state, county and congressional district. According to the study, communities that had higher rates of food insecurity pre-COVID-19 will continue to struggle more than other areas. Meanwhile, communities with lower rates of food insecurity pre-COVID-19 will tend to see the largest relative increases in food insecurity as a result of the crisis.

Pre-pandemic  and according to the USDA's most recent report on food security in the U.S.  37.2 million people, including 11.2 million children, did not have adequate access to nutritious food to live a healthy life. However, a recent Feeding America analysis demonstrates that this number is likely to grow by 17 million, including nearly seven million children. That means approximately 54 million people (1 in 6 people) may experience food insecurity in 2020, including 18 million children (1 in 4 children).

"This pandemic continues to impact the lives and livelihoods of our neighbors nationwide, putting millions of additional people at risk of hunger while continuing to hurt people already familiar with hardship," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. "The long-term effects of COVID-19 may be substantial, but the Feeding America network of 200 food banks and over 60,000 partner food pantries and meal programs has a footprint in every community to help serve our neighbors during this time."

According to The Impact of the Coronavirus on Local Food Insecurity, the states projected to have the highest rates of food insecurity among the overall population include Mississippi (24.1 percent), Arkansas (22.5 percent), Alabama (22.2 percent), Louisiana (21.7 percent) and New Mexico (20.7 percent). Meanwhile, the states projected to have the highest rates of child food insecurity include Louisiana (34.5 percent), New Mexico (33.9 percent), Nevada (32.9 percent), Mississippi (32.6 percent) and Alabama (32.4 percent). One in three children in these states will likely experience food insecurity this year.

Specific counties projected to have the highest rates of food insecurity this year are:

Jefferson County, MS (34.2 percent for overall population)

(34.2 percent for overall population) Issaquena County, MS (33.9 percent for overall population, 49.9 percent for children)

(33.9 percent for overall population, 49.9 percent for children) East Carrol Parish , LA (33.2 percent for overall population, 52.5 percent for children)

(33.2 percent for overall population, 52.5 percent for children) Kusilvak Census Area, AK (33.1 percent for overall population, 52.3 percent for children)

(33.1 percent for overall population, 52.3 percent for children) Holmes County, MS (32.7 percent for overall population)

(32.7 percent for overall population) Sabine County, TX (49.1 percent for children)

(49.1 percent for children) Zavala County, TX (48.9 percent for children)

Additionally, the counties that may see the highest change in food insecurity rates for the overall population are:

Burke County, ND (157 percent change from 2018 to 2020)

(157 percent change from 2018 to 2020) Renville County, ND (131 percent change from 2018 to 2020)

(131 percent change from 2018 to 2020) Dickey County, ND (127 percent change from 2018 to 2020)

(127 percent change from 2018 to 2020) Loudoun County, VA (125 percent change from 2018 to 2020)

(125 percent change from 2018 to 2020) Eagle County, CO (124 percent change from 2018 to 2020)

"More of our neighbors in these communities and beyond are relying in part on charitable food assistance to make ends meet," said Babineaux-Fontenot. "As a result, food banks are facing a 'perfect storm' of surges in demand, declining food donations, fewer volunteers and disruptions to our operating procedures. Regardless of these challenges, we will continue to stay strong and resilient and work our best to help ensure our neighbors have food on the table."

This new analysis was conducted by building upon the approach Feeding America used in two earlier briefs to predict changes to national food insecurity rates for the overall population and children in response to changes to poverty and unemployment. The annual projected unemployment rate (11.5%) is within close range of expert estimates when annualized, including those from a monthly Wall Street Journal survey of more than 60 economists as of May (11.6%), the Congressional Budget Office (11.4%), and Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research (10.3%). To account for local unemployment variation, this new analysis adjusts the national unemployment projection for job loss due to COVID-19 based on an analysis of projected changes in the unemployment rate by industry and occupation by Goldman Sachs Investment Research.

The underlying analysis for the food insecurity projections was conducted by Dr. Craig Gundersen using the model developed for Map the Meal Gap, Feeding America's county-level food insecurity report.

Other key findings from this report regarding the overall population include:

The projected rate of food insecurity is highest for Mississippi (24.1 percent), which also had the highest rate of food insecurity in 2018.

(24.1 percent), which also had the highest rate of food insecurity in 2018. North Dakota has the lowest projected rate of food insecurity for 2020 at 12.0 percent. Still, it will see the largest increase in food insecurity rates (77 percent) compared to all other states.

has the lowest projected rate of food insecurity for 2020 at 12.0 percent. Still, it will see the largest increase in food insecurity rates (77 percent) compared to all other states. In addition to North Dakota , states that are projected to have the highest change in food insecurity rates  from 2018 to 2020  include Minnesota (60 percent change), Nevada (57 percent change), Wisconsin (57 percent change) and Hawaii (57 percent change).

Other key findings from this report regarding child food insecurity:

California will see the highest increase in the number of children living in food-insecure households (852,730) bringing the total to 2.2 million. Still, Texas will be home to the most children facing food insecurity (2.3 million).

will see the highest increase in the number of children living in food-insecure households (852,730) bringing the total to 2.2 million. Still, will be home to the most children facing food insecurity (2.3 million). States that are projected to have the highest change in food insecurity rates  from 2018 to 2020  are North Dakota (96 percent change), Massachusetts (81 percent change), Colorado (78 percent change), Idaho (75 percent change), New Jersey (75 percent change), and Utah (75% change).

Press Contact

Zuani Villarreal at [email protected] or 312.641.6532

About Feeding America

Feeding America is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter .

SOURCE Feeding America

Related Links

http://www.feedingamerica.org


New Delhi, May 20 : Sources close to developments have revealed that Islamic evangelist and zealot Zakir Naik, one of the most wanted Indian fugitives, who is currently based in Malaysia, continues to be engaged in propagation of radical Islamic activities and collection of funds from his wealthy contacts in the Gulf region to support his activities.

In the most recent instance, Naik has contacted one of his old contacts, Abdullah Ali al Emadi, a prominent Qatari national, and requested him for a generous charity during the ongoing Ramadan period.

Emadi is learnt to have assured an amount of $500,000 to him. It is also learnt that Mohammad Siddique Al Emadi, a Qatari national, is a close associate of Naik and helps him contact local wealthy businessmen and charity organisations for collection of funds.

It may be recalled that Naik is an Islamic preacher and televangelist from Mumbai. He is the founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRP) and Peace TV, an Islamic TV Channel broadcast in Urdu and English from Saudi Arabia. He is also associated with several local radical Islamic organisations such as South Karnataka Salafi Movement and Al-Lisaan Islamic Foundation.

Naik continues to maintain several bank accounts in Gulf countries, including Qatar and the UAE, for collection of such funds to evade scrutiny of the Indian government. He generally uses these accounts to transfer funds to his associates and network for activities by IRF and other associated organizations. The Indian government has since put a five-year ban on IRF.

Naik is involved in preaching of radical Islamic ideology that has influenced a number of youth in India and abroad in adverse manner and some of them are found to have been motivated to join extremist organisations such as Daesh.

Following are some of the instances, in which individuals influenced by Naik have joined terror organisations: i) Abdul Rasheed @ Abdulla and his wife Yasmin were radicalised while working in Zakir Naik-run Peace International School (Kerala). Subsequently, Abdul Rasheed motivated a group of 23 individuals to join him in leaving the country for Afghanistan to join Daesh.

(ii) Mohd Ibrahim Yazdani and Mohd Uyas Yezdani, kingpin of ISIS-influenced Junood-ul-Khilafafil-Hind (JKF) module which plotted to carry out terror attacks in different parts of India, were influenced by Naik's speeches. The module was neutralised by the Indian agencies in July 2016.

(iii) Naser Abubakar Yafahi @ Chaus joined ISIS-influenced JKH module after being radicalised by the preachings of Naik. Abubakar Yafahi was arrested in July 2016.

(iv) IRF had provided scholarship to Abu Anas from Rajasthan, who intended to join ISIS and was arrested while he was leaving India for joining ISIS.

(v) Afsha Jabeen @ Nickey Joseph, while based in Dubai was involved in facilitating recruitment for ISIS. She was influenced by Naik. She was deported back to India in September 2015.

(vi) Two Bangladeshi terrorists, namely Nabris Islam and Rohan Imtiaz, who were involved in the July 2016 Holey Artisan Bakery attack in Dhaka, confessed to have been inspired by Naik.

In view of his involvement in extremist activities, multiple non-bailable warrants (NBW) have been issued against Naik by the India authorities on charges of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and for money laundering.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, May 20, 2020 10:56 610 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd92cb12 1 News bali-island,tourism,Booking-com,COVID-19,travel,destination,travel-destinations Free

The travel industry has been one of the hardest-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, but travelers around the world have also been eager to get back on the proverbial road and visit new holiday destinations.

Dutch online ticketing company Booking.com has recorded growing wishlists on its app, listed by people in quarantine around the world in March and April.

On the list, Bali ranks second among the most desirable tourist destinations.

The island is listed along with international destinations such as Andalusia and Catalonia in Spain, as well as Florida in the United States. Krasnodar Krai in Russia tops the list.

In a statement, Booking.com said the list was based on the number of likes for properties listed on the app.

The data was compiled in March and April and compared to similar data in March and April 2019.

Read also: Bali's The Nusa Dua improves safety measures amid pandemic

Alongside Bali, there are 27 Indonesian destinations on the list, such as West Nusa Tenggara, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and West Java.

The list also revealed that Indonesian users on the app are hesitant to plan international journeys after the pandemic.

Around 76 percent of Indonesian users wishlists comprise domestic destinations in sunny cities and places with beaches, such as Yogyakarta, Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, and Ubud and Seminyak in Bali.

Meanwhile, international destinations are dominated by Asian metropolitans, such as Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.

On Saturday, Reuters reported that Bali could reopen to tourists in October, following the government's success in controlling the coronavirus outbreak. If the infection curve continues to improve, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry is looking to revitalize destinations and do promotional work for some parts of the country, including Bali, between June and October. (gis/wng)
Chhattisgarh's new Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana, which will be launched on Thursday, will benefit 19 lakh farmers and help increase the area under cultivation, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said.

He said the aim of the scheme is to help farmers earn more and bring more area under cultivation from the current 20 per cent in the state.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be part of the joint launch of the scheme on May 21 to mark the death anniversary of the former prime minister, Baghel said.

"The state is launching the new Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Scheme for farmers to help them earn more money of their produce and to help bring more area under cultivation. The scheme will be launched from tomorrow," Baghel told PTI.

He said around 19 lakh farmers will benefit from the "first-of-its-kind scheme" that will help provide Rs 10,000 per acre to paddy farmers as subsidy. Those cultivating sugarcane will get Rs 93 per quintal and that will come to nearly Rs 13,000 per acre.

The chief minister said even though the state has 50 inches of rainfall, the cultivated land area is only 20 per cent, with 43 per cent being forest land which has only 0 to 5 per cent farming.

"The cost of inputs for farmers is also high and Chhattisgarh has only one crop. To encourage farmers grow more crops and earn a better living, the state has evolved this scheme," he said.

Baghel said the state is also seeking to improve the irrigation facilities.

He said a Government of India survey has revealed that the state has 40 per cent people still below the poverty line, 41.7 per cent women anaemic and 37.5 per cent children malnourished.

Under the scheme, a sum of Rs 5,700 crore will be transferred directly to the accounts of 19 lakh farmers of the state in four instalments.

Under this scheme, 18,34,834 farmers will be provided Rs 1,500 crore as first instalment for paddy crop.

Similarly, for sugarcane crop, payment of FRP amount of Rs 261 per quintal and incentive and input support, amounting to Rs 93.75 per quintal, i.e. maximum Rs 355 per quintal, will be made depending on the quantity of sugarcane purchased by the cooperative mill in the crushing year 2019-20.

Under this scheme, 34,637 farmers of the state will get Rs 73 crore 55 lakh in four instalments and the first instalment of this amount, Rs 18,43 crore will be transferred on May 21.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Maori grandmother living in an affluent suburb who was called 'an embarrassment' by a nasty neighbour has received an outpouring of support.

Rose Greaves received a letter from her neighbour in Ponsonby, Auckland calling her 'vulgar' and 'absolutely vile' - even demanding she leave the wealthy area.

But she has since been inundated with uplifting messages from horrified locals, with some even bringing her doughnuts as a heartwarming present.

The anonymous writer said they had lived in the street for 23 years and Ms Greaves' presence had 'caused a lot of upset'.

'The language and level of vulgar display of disgusting behaviour that you produce is absolutely vile,' the letter said, according to Marae TV. It is believed the letter's writer was referring to Ms Greaves speaking the Maori language.

Shocked by the letter, scores of well-wishers have written their own notes to Ms Greaves, even sending sweet treats.

'We were embarrassed - but not surprised - to see such koretake (worthless) opinions expressed in our own neighbourhood', the woman wrote.

A new letter sent to Ms Greaves (pictured) said such hatred was not welcome in the suburb, and even offered the grandmother some doughnuts as a gift

'We think those opinions and that type of hate should not be welcome here and they'd be doing Ponsonby a favour if they cut it out.

'We just wanted to introduce ourselves to you and bring over these yummy doughnuts to let you know not all your neighbours are like that.

'In fact, we're really happy to know there's some Maori in the neighbourhood.'

The original letter called Ms Greaves an 'embarrassment to the area'.

The person who wrote the letter said they and their neighbours had worked hard to live in the area and paid top rates to do so.

The anonymous writer said they had lived in the street for 23 years and Ms Greaves' presence had 'caused a lot of upset' (pictured, the letter put in her postbox)

They said she paid nothing because 'Housing New Zealand put her there' and that even a playground across the road doesn't stop her.

They urged her to request a housing transfer and she was 'not liked or welcomed'.

But other horrified locals have taken to social media to support Ms Greaves, with one calling the letter writer a 'racist coward'.

'Who's this racist coward? Putting hate speech in peoples mailboxes,' one neighbour wrote.

Another urged the letter-writer to look at the history of the inner city suburb, which has a long and proud link to Polynesian culture.

'This was written in a way to degrade/humiliate the reader,' they wrote.

'Please educate yourself on the whakapapa of Ponsonby and how you yourself have managed to live here today #dawnraids.'

Rose Greaves (pictured) received the letter in her mailbox shortly before New Zealand went into coronavirus lockdown

One neighbour said Ms Greaves is a 'wonderful and kind lady' who was a considerate local resident, never shouting or swearing.

'I am one of her neighbours and we don't have any issue with this lovely lady,' he said.

'She is wonderful and kind and has a love for her Maori work she does. We have a guess who wrote this disgusting letter though.

'We don't have any problem with her, she is lovely and no she does not swear or is loud.'

Ms Greaves said she had received death threats from racist groups saying people would burn her home down with her inside, so the letter 'wasn't as bad' in comparison.

She said the comments about being 'vulgar' relate to her being a proud Maori woman who speaks the language.

The weaver said she was left angered by the letter but doesn't want to change who she is.

She said she is proud of her culture and wants to pass it on to others.

Ms Greaves said she had a message for the person who targeted her.

'Everybody - all ages, all nationalities and from the rainbow community - everybody is welcome here in my house,' she said.

'I'd like to say to the letter writer: come and talk to me. I am a really nice person. You might actually get to like me if you bothered.'
No casualties reported amid 10 enemy attacks in Donbas in past 24 hours  JFO HQ

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 10 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas in past 24 hours, with no casualties reported.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire 10 times in the past day. No casualties were reported among the personnel of the Ukrainian army," the JFO staff said in its update on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Bohdanivka, Taramchuk, Vodiane, Novotoshkivske, Krymske, and Orikhove came under attacks.

Russia-led forces opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles.
Officials began hunting for a facility that could provide shelter for those without homes. They found a former Sleepy Inn with rooms that opened to the outside, rather than into a long interior hallway  ideal for maximizing isolation. They petitioned FEMA for support and their city council for money, and persuaded local government that the more than $1 million investment was worthwhile  a lengthy process that highlights the obstacles that can hinder officials even after they decide to set up an isolation facility. Missoula officials said they expect 75 percent of their costs will be reimbursed by FEMA, an expectation shared by officials in other jurisdictions that have set up facilities in accordance with FEMA guidelines.
New Delhi/Mumbai, May 20 : India will allow resumption of domestic passenger flight operations in a calibrated manner, exactly 2 months after suspending them under the national lockdown norms.

In a tweet, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday said: "Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday, 25th May 2020." "All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May," he said.

Furthermore, the minister said the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the passenger movement would be issued soon.

The development comes a day after Puri had said that it is not only up to the Central government to decide on the resumption of domestic flights, as states will also have to be ready to allow civil aviation operations.

Ever since the imposition of the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country on March 25, passenger air services were suspended for both scheduled domestic and international flights.

"It is not up to @MoCA_GoI or centre alone to decide on resuming domestic flights. In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the govt of states where these flights will take off & land should be ready to allow civil aviation operations," Puri had tweeted on Tuesday.

On Sunday, after the Ministry of Home Affairs' decision to extend the lockdown till May 31, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said that it will suitably inform the airlines about flights resumption in due course.

In its guidelines for lockdown 4.0, the MHA had said that all domestic and international air travel of passengers will be prohibited, except for domestic medical services, domestic air ambulance and for security purposes.

IANS on Tuesday reported that Covid-19 battered airline industry has started to accept ticket bookings for the travel period starting June 1.

When contacted on Wednesday, many airline executives said they will now swiftly load new ticket bookings itineraries representing the new schedule from May 25 onward on online platforms.

However, this can only happen after the issuance of new route allocation and other SoP norms.

Besides immediate financial relief, the move allows the airlines to keep their staff and aircraft ready for the re-start of operations.

At present, some players have made cargo operations their main revenue stream. Still, fixed cost, especially the employee compensation component alone, has dented their financial positions and stock prices.

Nevertheless, the latest announcement should bring some stability to the companies business continuity plans.

A second airline executive contacted by IANS said that not all sectors are likely to be offered under the new bookings itinerary.

Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said: "This resumption will go a long way in lifting the overall economic sentiment in the country. While the SOP for resumption of operations and details of flights to be operated is still awaited, we are sure that this much awaited move will help a large number of passengers by providing them access to the safest and quickest means of transport." On his part, Aloke Bajpai, CEO and Co-founder, ixigo said: "It's a positive step much awaited by airlines and the OTAs - we look forward to the detailed SOPs and guidelines." "The industry now needs to collaborate and focus on advertising all the confidence building measures that will reassure travelers to get back on a plane. Reopening domestic flights will give a big boost to our economy and kickstart the recovery of the travel industry which was the most affected during the lockdown."
YEREVAN, MAY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh military has successfully tested an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) during the final phase of a military exercise at the Tigranakert training grounds on May 19.

The combat drone is developed and modernized by civilian and military specialists of Artsakh, the military said.

According to the military, the drone functions independently from various positioning systems, has high maneuverability and striking capacities and is controlled easily.

Artsakhs Defense Army said it will launch serial production of the combat drones in the coming months and the weapons will be deployed in the military.

The Artsakh militarys top brass personally inspected the drills.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
A 60-year-old woman legislator of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party in Punjab province died of COVID-19 on Wednesday, making her the first lawmaker in the country to succumb to the virus that has killed over 900 others in Pakistan.

Shaheen Raza, 60, was admitted to the Mayo hospital in Lahore a few days ago after she was tested positive for the coronavirus.

Her health deteriorated over the weekend following which she was put on ventilator, Gujranwala Deputy Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said.

However, Raza succumbed to the viral infection in the hospital on Wednesday, he said.

She was also suffering from other diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes and her situation deteriorated fast, officials said.

Prior to developing coronavirus symptoms, Raza had been inspecting various quarantine centres.

Raza was the only PTI member from Gujranwala district in the Punjab Assembly. She was elected on a special seat in 2018.

President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed deep grief and sorrow at her demise.

Earlier, many Pakistani politicians -- including National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and Pakistan Peoples Party legislator in Sindh Assembly Saeed Ghani -- had contracted the virus, but all of them recovered.

Pakistan has recorded over 45,895 coronavirus cases and more than 980 deaths.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Technavio has been monitoring the slimming tea market and it is poised to grow by USD 7.02 billion during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of almost 6% 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/20200520005394/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Slimming Tea 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. adagio teas, AriZona Beverages USA LLC, Associated British Foods Plc, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Co. Plc, ITO EN Ltd., Nestle SA, Tata Sons Private ltd., Thai Beverage Public Co. Ltd. (International Beverage Holdings Ltd.), The Hain Celestial Group Inc., and Unilever Group are some of the major market participants. The focus on reducing weight 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.

Focus on reducing weight has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market.

Slimming Tea Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Slimming Tea Market is segmented as below:

Product Green Tea Herbal Tea Others

Geography APAC North America Europe 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=IRTNTR43666

Slimming Tea 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 slimming tea market report covers the following areas:

Slimming Tea Market Size

Slimming Tea Market Trends

Slimming Tea Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies the growing awareness about organic and natural food products and the associated health benefits as the prime reason driving the slimming tea market growth during the next few years.

Slimming Tea Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the slimming tea market, including some of the vendors such as adagio teas, AriZona Beverages USA LLC, Associated British Foods Plc, Dilmah Ceylon Tea Co. Plc, ITO EN Ltd., Nestle SA, Tata Sons Private ltd., Thai Beverage Public Co. Ltd. (International Beverage Holdings Ltd.), The Hain Celestial Group Inc., and Unilever Group. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the slimming tea 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

Slimming Tea Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

Detailed information on factors that will assist slimming tea market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the slimming tea market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the slimming tea market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of slimming tea market vendors

Table Of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Analysis

Appendix

Explore Technavio

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005394/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/
20.05.2020 LISTEN

Kenyas health officials have denied entry to 182 foreigners who tried to enter the country at various points of its borders with Tanzania after testing positive for coronavirus.

Of the cases, 126 tested positive in the main border crossing of Namanga. The others were diagnosed in four other border points. The nationalities of the foreigners were not disclosed.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday closed borders with Tanzania and Somalia following an increase in cross-border infections. Cargo vehicles were exempted, but drivers have to be tested for coronavirus at border points.

We can not allow people from outside Kenya to come in without a Covid-19 free certificate, just like we are not allowing Kenyan drivers to leave without a certificate, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe told a media briefing on Tuesday.

What would have happened had we not taken the measure of testing at the border is that the cases being reported in the country would have gone up, he added.

Another 18 coronavirus cases were picked up along the Kenya  Somalia border in the northern region of Kenya. Fourteen of them tried coming in through Wajir while two from Garissa counties.
A photograph of SK Innovation's plant in Ulsan / Courtesy of SK Innovation



By Nam Hyun-woo



SK Group's new growth businesses of semiconductors, 5G and biopharmaceuticals are gaining market attention in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, as they become key elements of the non-face-to-face economy and the healthcare industry.



SK said it could establish its current status as an industrial leader after successfully handling three major changes in industrial hegemony in the past, and the group's current portfolio will become a "launch pad" for SK to jump forward amid the major changes stemming from the pandemic.



Highlighting the portfolio is semiconductors, whose significance is ever-growing amid the expansion of data- and visual-intensive products such as video streaming and webcam conferences. This has been leading the healthy demand for server chips for data centers at leading service providers such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.



SK has already built a semiconductor value chain within its group, including chipmaker SK hynix and chip material firms of SK Siltron, SK Materials, SK Trichem and SK Showa Denko.



The group said it is also pinning hopes on SK Telecom's 5G business, as it will play a pivotal infrastructural role for transmitting exponentially increasing amounts of data in the digital economy.



Showing the sharpest growth recently is the group's biotech business. Earlier this month, SK Biopharmaceuticals' partial-onset seizure treatment XCOPRI began its sales in the U.S., after winning U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval last November. The firm also licensed out sleep disorder treatment Solriamfetol to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which won European Medicines Agency approval for sale in January.



SK Group said those firms are the clues to its growth strategy for the post-pandemic era, and will power its growth momentum.



SK Group has had three major growth moments in its history since 1953.





Sunkyong Group Chairman Chey Jong-hyon

The first moment was the oil shock in the 1970s. In October 1973, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut oil shipments to Korea by 50 percent, citing the relations between Korea and Israel, and threatened a full oil embargo over the next 10 months.



The Korean government requested help from the late Chey Jong-hyon, chairman of Sunkyong (now SK), who was attempting to establish a refining facility in Ulsan after securing a promise from Saudi Arabia to supply 150,000 barrels of crude per day.



Though Sunkyong's plan to set up the facility was disrupted due to the oil crisis, Chey visited the ruling family of Saudi Arabia and then Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Ahmed Zaki Yamani, and won a promise allowing Korea to receive all of its oil imports from Saudi Arabia starting December 1973.



Chey's network in Saudi Arabia also helped Sunkyong to cope with the aftermath of the second oil shock in 1979, with Yamani again promising to provide the company 50,000 barrels of crude per day.



This helped Sunkyong to become Korea's leading refiner. In 1980, the government decided to privatize the state-run Korea Oil Corporation (KOC) and selected Sunkyong as the acquirer acknowledging the company's ability to secure crude oil and financing. The KOC was renamed Yukong in 1982 and is now known as SK Innovation.



After standing as one of Korea's leading conglomerates in the 1980s, Sunkyong selected the telecom business as its new growth driver. The group first set up a telecommunication team in its U.S. Management Planning Office in 1984 and set up Sunkyong Telecom in 1991.



A year after its establishment, Sunkyong Telecom changed its name to Daehan Telecom and joined a government auction for a license to operate the country's second mobile carrier.



In the bidding, the Daehan Telecom consortium was selected as the preferred bidder for the license, beating rival consortiums led by POSCO and Kolon, but returned the right just a week after winning it, to defy the controversy over a marriage between Chey's son, Chey Tae-won, and then-President Roh Tae-woo's daughter, Roh So-young. At the time, Sunkyong said it would try again after the Roh administration.



As the bidding for a second carrier ended without a winner, the next Kim Young-sam administration reopened the bidding in 1993, as well as privatizing the existing state-run mobile carrier, Korea Mobile Telecommunications Corp.



Daehan Telecom, however, had to give up its bid again, because the government appointed the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) to select the winner. Since Chey was the FKI chairman, the group had to give up on its bid for the license to avoid controversy, and tapped into the acquisition of Korea Mobile Telecommunications Corp., which was more costly.



In 1994, Sunkyong purchased a 23 percent stake, or 1.28 million shares, in Korea Mobile Telecommunications Corp. at 335,000 won per share. At the time, the shares were traded at 300,000 won but Sunkyong purchased them at a higher price in order to prevent potential controversy.





An aerial view of the SK hynix plant in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of SK hynix
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 05:57:27|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RAMALLAH, May 20 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres invited on Wednesday Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to join a meeting to discuss the Palestinian cause.

The official Palestinian News Agency WAFA reported on Wednesday that the International Quartet, which comprises the United States, the UN, the European Union, and Russia will convene soon without setting a specific date for the meeting.

The report said that Guterres invited Abbas to join the meeting to prepare for a successful international ministerial meeting that will deeply discuss the situation the Palestinian cause is passing through.

"Guterres reiterated to President Abbas during a telephone conversation on Wednesday that the UN position towards the Palestinian cause is constant and based on international law and international resolutions," said the report.

According to the report, Abbas briefed Guterres on the Palestinian leadership's decision to end all the agreements reached with Israel and the United States in response to Israel's plan of annexing parts of the West Bank.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Ishtaye announced on Wednesday that his government will turn the Palestinian leadership's decision into deeds and facts.

Ishtaye's remarks were made in a press statement that was issued after an emergency meeting for the Palestinian government held in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Enditem
The visa scheme set up to support relatives of NHS staff will also cover support workers such as cleaners and porters.

A scheme to allow the families of immigrant health workers who die after contracting coronavirus to stay in the United Kingdom had been widely criticised for excluding dependents of support staff, until a government u-turn on Wednesday.

The bereaved families will no longer face deportation, and will be granted indefinite leave to remain,

The move followed criticism that care workers, cleaners and porters had been left out of the scheme, which only applied to certain occupations including nurses, biochemists and radiographers.

The extension of the scheme, which was originally announced last month, will be effective immediately and retrospectively, the Home Office confirmed.





Every death in this crisis is a tragedy, and sadly some NHS support staff and social care workers have made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of saving the lives of others, said Home Secretary Priti Patel.

When I announced the introduction of the bereavement scheme in April, I said we would continue to work across government to look at ways to offer further support. Today, we are extending the scheme to NHS support staff and social care workers.

We want to ensure families have the support they need and so this will be effective immediately and retrospectively.

NHS Englands national medical director, Stephen Powis, told the daily Downing Street news conference there were a huge number of people working behind the scenes in hospitals.

All I can say is, as a doctor who has worked on the front line for many years, how much I value the entire multidisciplinary teams  so everybody  from porter to manager to administrator to nurse  who absolutely work together as a team in managing this sort of crisis but also in the day-to-day care that the NHS provides.

Its often the doctors and nurses who are at the front and get the praise but believe me there are a huge number of people working behind the scenes.





The news came as Labours Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, raised concerns about care workers and low-paid NHS staff not being included in the Home Offices free visa extension scheme.

It is really disappointing to get confirmation from the Home Secretary that care workers and low-paid NHS staff are not included in the free visa extension scheme even though we had asked the government to rethink, said Cooper.

This means care workers applying to renew their visas along with the NHS surcharge could end up paying thousands and thousands of pounds.

Asking them to do this as they stand on the UK front line against coronavirus, caring for and supporting people, and putting their own health at risk feels deeply unfair.

Last month, the government said it was expanding a scheme to help NHS workers so that migrant midwives, social workers, pharmacists and other front-line health staff would be granted free visa extensions for a year.

All visas for the health workers in question which are due to expire before October 1 will be automatically renewed for a year.





The Home Office said it will apply to those working both in the NHS and independent sector and include their family members.

Those who qualify will also be exempt from the immigration health surcharge during the extension.

But the measures are unlikely to extend to carers working in small private care homes because the Home Office said such staff were more likely to be working in the country on a long-term visa, which allows them to work, rather than having a time-limited shorter-term sponsored work visa.

In Scotland, where the devolved government has taken a different approach on many coronavirus-related issues to the central UK administration in London, unpaid carers are to receive a cash boost, while new legislation will ensure companies based in tax havens will not receive bailouts from public funds.

Approximately 83,000 Scots who receive the Carers Allowance will get a supplementary payment of 230.20 pounds ($280) in June. Meanwhile, a social care support fund for care workers who suffer a loss of income because of the disease will also be established.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie said: The work of rebuilding absolutely gives us an opportunity to decide what kind of society and what kind of economy we want to build.
Wisconsins controversial decision to hold in-person primaries at the beginning of April led to a large spread of coronavirus, a study has found, as Georgia becomes the largest state to resume in-person voting since stay-at-home orders were issued across the country in March.

According to economists at The University of Washington and Ball State University, a strong correlation was found between in-person voting and the spread of coronavirus across Wisconsin in the weeks after the April 7 election.

Contact-tracers working for the Wisconsin Department of Health have so far tied 71 cases of COVID-19 back to people who either voted or worked at polls, however the experts say the states investigation was not comprehensive, according to the study.

Looking at coronavirus data on a county-by-county basis, the researchers concluded that in counties where more people voted, or more in-person polling stations were available, a spike in positive cases was seen in the weeks afterward.

Comparatively, in counties where voting was less concentrated, less positive cases of the virus were later confirmed.

According to economists at The University of Washington and Ball State University, a strong correlation was found between in-person voting and the spread of coronavirus across Wisconsin in the weeks after the April 7 election

Contact-tracers working for the Wisconsin Department of Health have so far tied 71 cases of COVID-19 back to people who either voted or worked at polls, however the experts say the states investigation was not comprehensive

Across all models we see a large increase in COVID-19 cases in the weeks following the election in counties that had more in-person votes per voting location, the studys authors said. Furthermore, we find a consistent negative relationship between absentee voting and the rate of positive COVID-19 tests.

The experts, who are yet to fully complete the research, say the real impact that in-person voting couldve had on the states coronavirus may be even broader than their data currently suggests.

The decision to proceed with Wisconsin's primary election  held for both parties  was fiercely debated across partisan lines.

After implementing a statewide safer-at-home order on March 25, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers tried to change the April 7 election so that it would be conducted entirely by mail.

However, that decision was blocked by the Republican-led Legislature and conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court. The election then went ahead as scheduled.

Looking at coronavirus data on a county-by-county basis, the researchers concluded that in counties where more people voted, or more in-person polling stations were available, a spike in positive cases was seen in the weeks afterward

The decision to proceed with Wisconsin's primary election  held for both parties  was fiercely debated across partisan lines

As a result, long lines were seen outside polling stations across Wisconsin on April 7.

According to the data released by the researchers, when the average number of votes per polling station in a county rose by 100, the county's rate of positive COVID-19 tests rose by about 3.4 percentage points in the two or three weeks after the primary.

These estimates suggest that counties with higher numbers of voters per polling location see notably higher increases in their positive test rate in the weeks following the election, relative to those with lower in-person votes per location realities, the study says.

The state began feeling measurable impacts of its in-person primary in late April, when the Wisconsin DHS estimated at least 40 poll workers and voters had tested positive for the virus. On Saturday, DHS spokesperson said the final number of COVID-19 cases linked to the primary was 71.

Citing the lack of early widespread testing and the uncertainty surrounding asymptomatic patients, researchers said it was difficult to determine an exact number of cases that could be linked back to the primary.

Despite this, they said the data gathered indicated using in-person voting would likely contribute to a spike in cases in future elections.

Given these results, it may be prudent, to the extent possible, that policy makers and election clerks take steps to either expand the number of polling locations or encourage absentee voting for future elections held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors of the study wrote.

Georgia became the largest state to resume in-person voting on Monday, since state-at-home orders were issued across the country in March (pictured: Fulton County Early Voting Manager Shamira Marshall periodically sanitizes electronic voting machines as early voting begins)

More than 15,000 turned out on the first day to vote in Georgia. That figure is larger than what the state saw on the first day of early voting for primaries in 2018, or even in 2016

Most states that were slated to hold Democratic primaries and local elections in April and May decided to cancel in-person voting, opting for mail-in ballots instead.

However, in Georgia, early voting for the states June 9 Democratic primary - as well as local races - resumed on Monday, with more than 15,000 turning out on the first day. That figure is larger than what the state saw on the first day of early voting for primaries in 2018, or even in 2016.

In Cobb County, voters were spaced 6 feet apart as they waited to cast their votes. The line was so long, that some people were told to wait in their cars to limit contact between people to avoid contracting coronavirus, WEBTV reported.

Election officials have urged voters to vote by mail, sending absentee ballot request forms to all 6.9 million active voters in the state. And people have responded in large numbers, with more than 1.4 million ballots requested and more 360,000 already returned.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last week estimated that half of Georgia voters will vote by mail this election, when typically only around five to seven percent opt do so.

Raffensperger said in an interview Monday from the Cobb County election site that its been 'a very orderly, safe process' so far, NEWS4JAX reported.

'People are moving through the lines that we do have,' Raffensperger said. 'I think its as safe and as healthy of a process as it can be with the situation that we have with COVID-19.'
Obviously were very thankful for our situation, but it also makes us kind of cautious, she said. Were making sure that we save, because we dont know whats going to happen, especially with my husbands job. Were kind of preparing in case we later are impacted.

Among those surveyed who were working before the pandemic, about one in 10 had lost their jobs in the last two months, and roughly one-third had had their hours cut or otherwise lost income. Of those who had kept their jobs, about one in three were at least somewhat worried about losing them.

Democrats are more pessimistic than Republicans, as they have been throughout President Trumps term. But confidence has fallen sharply among members of both parties. In February, before the coronavirus outbreak began to spread widely in the United States, nearly 80 percent of Republicans said they expected business conditions over the next year to be good; in May, just 35 percent said so. Among Democrats, that share fell to 8 percent from 18 percent.

Perhaps the starkest divide, however, is between those who have already lost jobs and those who have been relatively unaffected by the pandemics economic toll.
The new political map and a road to Lipulekh have sown fresh seeds of discord whose principal beneficiary is Beijing. Nimbleness was needed from New Delhi in defusing the crisis





by Ashok K Mehta





Already riding high, China has used the Corona pandemic to extend its political influence in Nepal. Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and inquired about the COVID-19 situation, despatched flight loads of succour and staved off the collapse of the Government over there. Then on May 9, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new Indian road to the disputed Lipulekh, triggering off a political storm in Nepal. This was accompanied by protests and the customary exchange of diplomatic notes. Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, who is the honorary General of Nepal Army, in response to a question on the protests said, Nepals protest over Indias road in Lipulekh might be at the behest of someone else, alluding to China, though it could also have been Pakistan. Last year in November, there was a tsunami of protests when India reproduced a map depicting new political boundaries in Jammu & Kashmir, including Kalapani, an area claimed by Nepal in its territory.













In the lull before a second spike in the territorial issue, a week-long political charade around May Day, to dethrone Nepalese Prime Minister KP Oli, fizzled out as his bete noire, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) executive chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, switched sides and let Oli claim victory. In turn, Oli promised to make his political foe and party vice-chairman Bam Dev Gautam a lawmaker.





It was China and not the traditional player in Nepal, India, which came to the rescue of an embattled Oli. Sensing internal crisis within the ruling NCP and the Oli Government, Beijings popular envoy in Kathmandu, Hou Yanqi, followed upon Xis 45-minute-long conversation on April 27 with his Nepalese counterpart Bhandari. What followed next were mediations for the next two days, meeting with Bhandari, Oli, Dahal, former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and according to one report, even with Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the Nepali Congress Opposition party. By May 2 evening, at the fateful Central secretariat meeting of the NCP where Dahal has a majority, surprisingly, he declared a truce. He called for party unity when it was he who had asked Oli to step down naming Madhav Nepal as his replacement three days earlier at the same forum. Friends of India saw the rescinding of Madhav Nepals (sometimes jokingly called Madhav India) name as the Prime Minister as a defeat for us.





Kathmandu fears Chinas new political mantra of compliance, which was recently demonstrated in the admonition of the editor of the Kathmandu Post by the Chinese Embassy. This was not so in mid-2016 when China valiantly tried to prevent Dahal from breaking away from the Oli-led coalition Government but very briefly months later, India succeeded in orchestrating his exit with the lure of premiership in a Deuba-Dahal Government. It is another matter that even as part of this Government, Dahal surreptitiously entered the Beijing-inspired Left alliance, which was expected to sweep the federal, provincial and local polls that followed. In this new Great Game in Nepal between India and China, Beijing demonstrably has an upper hand.





It is worth recalling that during the pre-2006 peoples revolution and civil war periods, Chinese diplomats in Kathmandu, while alluding to New Delhi, would claim that Beijing does not interfere in any countrys internal affairs. They would describe Dahal-Maoists as anti-state rebels, miscreants and hijackers of Maos fair name. After the Maoists came to power in 2008, Beijing conveniently discovered ideological identity and congruity with them, saying all was fair in love and war.





In contrast, India has had a monopoly in making and unseating Prime Ministers as well as preventing their appointments. Like in 2009, after Prime Minister Dahal was removed from office, he was never allowed to become the premier again till 2016, when he was thought to have been tamed. During the decade of Constitution-writing, Madhav Nepal and Baburam Bhattarai, both considered to be friends of India, became the Prime Minister and so did Jhala Nath Khanal. But Khanal, whos never passionate about India, was not invited to New Delhi on a State visit.





Oli, once an Indian blue-eyed boy, has risen to become the most powerful Prime Minister and party chairman of Nepal on a wicket of nationalism and anti-India sentiment following the economic blockade of 2015. Chinas help in forging first the Left alliance and then the merger of the two Left parties ensured Olis sputnik rise. Lord John Dalberg-Actons dictum that power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely fits the Oli story well as he sits in Baluwatar (the Prime Ministers red-stone residence) on a gilded chair under his own towering portrait at the back. In designer clothes, he appears to be in the pink of health even after a second kidney transplant.





Dahal and Oli joined the battle early following a gentlemans power-sharing agreement, whose existence Oli denied. Mutual sniping was halted when Bhandari brokered an agreement last year, which nominally elevated Dahal as the executive chairman of the NCP even as Oli became its co-chairman but remained a spoke in Dahals wheel. What followed next were widespread reports of disillusionment and frustration with Olis autocratic style and shenanigans capped with misgovernance and corruption. This, even during the purchase of medical equipment in the midst of the pandemic, passage of two controversial political ordinances, which he withdrew and in transacting due to which Bhandari became complicit. Through such high-handedness, Oli sought to garner more power: Secure two-thirds majority in Parliament and make Constitutional appointments with simple majority.





That is when on April 24, the proverbial straw broke the camels back and Dahal triggered off plan Alpha  leadership change  which has been in the works for some time now. It envisages replacing Oli with Madhav Nepal as the Prime Minister, appointing Dahal as the undisputed party executive chairman and Khanal in time as the President of Nepal. While Oli kept clutching at the straws at the party central secretariat meetings and divulged his own leadership reshuffle plan, he sent a May Day call to Yanqi. During the crucial secretariat meeting on May 2, Dahal did a somersault, declaring the importance of party unity and letting Oli stay as the Prime Minister as the latter promised to make Gautam a law-maker soon. That was a demotion for Gautam as earlier, Oli had offered him premiership to wriggle out of the crisis.





Dahal has pressed the pause button on plan Alpha, surprising its key players. Undoubtedly, there will be rewards for Dahal from Oli and Beijing. The ruling political class has shadowboxed what Nepalese are calling a political Corona instead of seriously combating the COVID-19 pandemic, thus proving that power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.





Kalapani and Lipulekh are part of a disputed package revived in 2015 after a trade agreement was signed between China and India. The new political map and a road to Lipulekh have sown fresh seeds of discord, whose principal beneficiary is Beijing. Nimbleness was needed from New Delhi in defusing the crisis.





(The writer, a retired Major General, was Commander IPKF South, Sri Lanka and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the Integrated Defence Staff.)
GLEN CARBON  During its board meeting Tuesday, the Glen Carbon Fire Protection District voted to make several major changes, including removing Chief Ralph Well.

The board voted 4-1 vote with Trustee Alan Schaake dissenting.

Well has served the district since 1980, eight of those years as fire chief. His last day as chief is May 31. Thursday, board of trustees president Luke Harris clarified that Well will remain part of the fire district but he will no longer lead it after May 31.

During a closed session, the board unanimously appointed current EMS Director Eric Wilson to take over as fire chief and director of EMS on June 1. The board of directors are Harris, Jack Humes, Chris Otto, Schaake and Ron Williams.

The district is making these changes in response to a study it commissioned from McGrath Consulting Group out of Wonder Lake, a Chicago exurb. McGrath specializes in fire, public safety and municipal entities. Other area clients include Collinsville and OFallon.

The board, based on the McGrath Study and recommendations, believes there needs to be bylaws set up for the district, said Harris. The district, not the volunteer fire department, is responsible for governance, operation and direction of the fire and EMS departments. The board voted unanimously to approve this new governance.

McGrath audited the district and determined there is a current dysfunction within leadership and recommended a single, primary chief oversee fire and EMS and report to the board of trustees, eliminating the current fire chief and emergency management services (EMS) director positions.

The board touted this decision as one less layer of bureaucracy and employing one full-time employee versus two part-timers. During its treasurers report, the board noted that it ended April with a balance of $2.8 million.

Well pointed out to the board that the board followed every consultants recommendation except for the one that affects his position as chief.

I have a concern that its not necessarily based on strictly cost, but an agenda that I didnt want those people in there so therefore Im excluding them because theyre not important, Well said.

Its not an important part of it, Harris replied. We need to have some unification, and this will allow for that unification and also make sure we have our budgeting because I dont think the district needs another $100,000 salary. Well noted that he and Wilson each earned $35,000 last year.

Some people questioned the deviation from fire district voting traditions and an apparent rush to make changes.

I can speak from the 25-plus years Ive been here. In May, typically, we have our nominations for department officers, said Dave Budwell during the meetings public comment portion. We vote on them in June, at which time, we let the board know what our recommendations are. My question is why are we doing this so early?

As a district taxpayer, firefighter Doug Schultz said he doesnt understand why the fire board feels threatened by the fire district.

The board of trustees has spent almost $30,000 of taxpayers money to receive a poorly-written report to provide them information already available on our website, boilerplate human resources information and a report on national guidelines [that] the district and EMS organizations already follow today, Schultz said. What is the rush in approving these bylaws so fast? Are we on a specific timeline the members are unaware of?

Several people spoke in favor of retaining Well during public comment. Each person was allowed three minutes to speak.

I think Glen Carbon is fortunate to have Chief Ralph Well. His priority for supporting public safety and dedication to citizens has undoubtedly impacted our community in a really positive way, said Erica Harris, a Madison County Board Member and a Glen Carbon resident. Hes an example of a hard worker. Hes often the first one to the scene. Ive been told his management of building a fire station and the details which go into such a huge project, were excellent and a huge asset for our community.

Ive gotten to work with him, voluntarily, for about five years, said Rebecca Blankenship by proxy. He has an impeccable record, hes so professional and hes been a huge asset to the community and done an amazing job. Not having him involved in this would be a huge loss to our community.

Danny Picarella, Wells current assistant fire chief, spoke next.

I have a long history with Chief Well, going back to when I was a kid, he said. I have never met a more dedicated person than Chief Well. In the middle of the night, no matter what time that alarm goes off, hes there for you. He cares about his community and hes done a fantastic job for this department.

Picarella pointed out that the new fire station #1, where the meeting took place, Well played a major role in getting it built.

We take your comments seriously, Harris said prior to going into closed session. We have been talking a lot of people  members and non-members  to try to understand the best route for the district. While he agreed with supporters comments about Well and the success of the new fire station, Harris said, unfortunately, as the board sees it, we dont have a cohesive group of people; it doesnt feel like a team.

As an independent taxing district with no formal connection to Glen Carbon Village government, I respect the boards thoughtful analysis and decision to do what they believe is in the best interest of all Glen Carbon Fire Protection District taxpayers, said Mayor Robert Jackstadt in an email statement Wednesday. I congratulate Eric Wilson, who was appointed chief of fire and EMS, and look forward to working with him and the fire protection district trustees in the future to keep this community strong and safe.

Reach reporter Charles Bolinger at (618) 659-5735
The number of people who have benefited from the 'Ayushman Bharat' scheme has crossed the one crore-mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, noting thatthe initiative has had a positive impact on several lives.

In September 2018, Modi had launched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Ayushman Bharat. It has been termed as the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the world.

"It would make every Indian proud that the number of Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries has crossed 1 crore. In less than two years, this initiative has had a positive impact on so many lives," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

He congratulated all the beneficiaries and their families and prayed for their good health He appreciated the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and all others associated with Ayushman Bharat, saying their efforts have made it the largest healthcare programme in the world.

"This initiative has won the trust of several Indians, especially the poor and downtrodden," he said. One of the biggest benefits of Ayushman Bharat is portability, the prime minister pointed out.

"Beneficiaries can get top quality and affordable medical care not only where they registered but also in other parts of India. This helps those who work away from home or are registered at a place where they don't belong," he explained.

He said during his official tours, he would interact with Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries.

"Sadly, that is not possible these days but I did have a great telephone interaction with Pooja Thapa from Meghalaya, the 1 croreth beneficiary," he said.

The prime minister shared the audio clip of the conversation in which Thapa, a soldier's wife, explains about the surgery she underwent in Shillong using the Ayushman Bharat facility. Her husband is posted in Manipur and could not be with her due to the coronavirus lockdown. Her two small children are being taken care of by the neighbours.

On being asked by the prime minister, Thapa said she did not have to pay for the surgery and the medicines. She said without the scheme card, she would have found it difficult to go for the surgery without a loan.

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

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: An unauthorised vaccination drive in a residential complex of a CRPF unit that provides external security to the Prime Minister's residence and office has raised the hackles of its personnel as expired vaccines were allegedly administered to their children.

The wives of the personnel later complained in writing to CRPF Director General A P Maheshwari, who has ordered an inquiry into the incident, which happened on May 16 in Sector-4, Pushp Vihar where many families of SDG personnel live. Around 50 children were administered polio drops and Easy 6 vaccines. Four of those 50 children were allegedly given Easy 6 vaccinations that had expired in April this year. A CRPF spokesperson said that the CRPF's medical directorate is conducting an inquiry and the "findings of the report will be taken to its logical end as per the facts."

In the letter written to the CPRF DG, some mothers of the children, of all who are said to be under six months, have expressed their anxiety in moving words. The letter, copies of which have also been sent to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, also carries allegations against the official who is said to have ordered the immunisation program.

The wives of serving CRPF personnel have alleged that the said official was pressurising the families of the four children who were given expired polio drops to not speak about the matter and threatened them with dire consequences. The letter is signed off by 'a wife of an upright officer wronged by a helpless system'.

The CRPF unit involved here is a special battalion of CRPF called Special Duty Group (SDG). It comprises around thousand personnel and is deployed for outer cordon duties of the Prime Minister.

According to the spokesperson, CRPF, the immunisation program was "not official".

"Around 50 children of SDG who were due for vaccination could not be administered due to lockdown. Parents of these children have tied up with a clinic and was facilitated into the camp to vaccinate after observing COVID Protocols. It is learnt that 4 doses out of 116 got expired on 30.04.2020," the official stated.

The New Indian Express has in its possession a letter written by an official of Bionic pharmaceuticals, the agency responsible for administering the drugs, to the commandant of the said CRPF unit. In the letter, the official claims that the expired doses were given by mistake to the patients.

"Though it's not harmful or give any side effects to patient, but if anything goes wrong to patient-related to vaccine we will be responsible for this[sic]."

The agency describes itself 'a highly famous organisation of the industry involved in manufacturing and trading a broad assortment of best quality Pharmaceutical products [sic].'

In order to set up a vaccination camp, due permission is required from local authorities, which then appoints a vaccine superintendent, who oversees that the medicine is being administered properly and also keeps a data of each child who is given the shot. A report of all these is then sent to the Health Ministry and then to the World Health Organisation. Administration of expired medicines is also punishable under law.

CRPF said no vaccination camp was set up but the doctor's services were availed at the request of the families. "No camp was set up and therefore, permission was not sought from local authorities. The SDG commandant facilitated the families to get vaccines for their children but it was not an official immunisation programme," officials of CRPF headquarters said.

They added that the paramilitary force has been in touch with the families and the four children are doing fine.

Affected families also alleged that the private doctor who administered vaccines to the children was related to the commandant who organised the drive. This charged was denied by CRPF and Dr RK Sinha who said he was not related to the commandant.

In his defence, Dr Sinha said, "I got a request from CRPF commandant who said about 50 personnel had been trying to get the vaccination done for their children but were unable to get it done due to the shutdown. I agreed to help in good faith and it is unfortunate that four of the 125 doses supplied by the pharmaceutical distribution company were later found to be expired. This should not have been given but was a mistake on the company's part. However, as a medical practitioner for the last 27 years, I would say that these vaccines, which expired about a fortnight ago, will have no harmful effects but their efficacy may have reduced by about 5 per cent and this can be taken care of in subsequent doses."

The jawans of SDG were also charged Rs 300 for two drops of the polio vaccine, which usually costs around Rs 20 in private hospitals, and Rs 3,000 for each shot of Easy 6 vaccine, families alleged.

Easy 6 vaccine provides immunity against six diseases  diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis, hepatitis B and polio.

Officials of CRPF headquarters claimed the commandant had first approached CGHS empanelled hospitals/clinics for the vaccination drive but the hospitals refused to provide the service due to the shutdown.

The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) promises comprehensive medical care to nearly 35 lakh central government employees and pensioners, including personnel of paramilitary forces.

"The cost would not have been an issue had a CGHS empanelled facility agreed to help the families of these personnel but they refused. And because they availed private services, money was charged accordingly," a senior official said.
Swiss firm Zurich Airport International AG has received the security clearance from the central government to develop the Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, a senior state government official said on Tuesday. Zurich Airport International AG had earlier applied to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for security clearance. "Glad to share that Zurich Airport International AG has got the security clearance for the development of the Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar," Principal Secretary, UP government, SP Goyal tweeted.

On November 29, the developer emerged as the highest bidder for the Greenfield Airport in Jewar. It had outbid companies such as Adani Enterprises, DIAL and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holding.

The upcoming airport in Jewar is expected to be the biggest in the country. The project will cover more than 5,000 hectares and is estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore, news agency PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying. The Noida International Airport (NIAL), a special agency floated by the government, will manage and operate the entire project.

The airport, the third in the national capital region after Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport and Ghaziabad's Hindon airport, is touted to have six to eight runways, the most in India, when fully built.

A team of the Switzerland-based developer including CEO Stephan Widrig, CFO Lukas Brosi among others earlier in January met the officials of Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) in Greater Noida. "A presentation was made by project consultant PwC and various aspects about development of the project discussed. The Zurich Airport team then visited the airport site and made observations about overall infrastructure," Shailendra Bhatia, NIAL's Nodal officer, had then told PTI.

Also read: Lockdown 4.0 Coronavirus Live Updates: Noida issues new rules; allows markets to reopen, India cases: 1,06,750

Also read: Coronavirus lockdown: Global carbon emissions fall by 17% in April
Hyderabad, May 20 : Telugu star Jr NTR celebrated turning 37 on Wednesday, and several industry colleagues wished him on the occasion.

Veteran superstar Chiranjeevi wrote: "Happy Birthday #Bheem @tarak9999 Wish all your dreams come true! Tarak is the name Jr NTR is popularly known by in the industry, while Bheem refers to Komaramm Bheem, the character he plays in his upcoming film, "RRR".

Mahesh Babu tweeted his wish for Jr NTR: "Happy birthday, brother @tarak9999 have a great one!! Wishing you the very best always." Ram Charan took to Instagram to post his wishes: "Happy Birthday to my dear brother @jrntr! I know I owe you a return gift. But, I promise I will give you the best. More celebrations await." Ram Charan and Jr NTR will soon be seen in "Bahubali" franchise director SS Rajamouli's next ambitious film, the period action drama "RRR". The film also stars Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, and narrates a fictitious tale based on the life of Telugu freedom fighters Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. While Ram Charan plays Raju, Jr NTR is Bheem.

"I am glad you were a part of my journey from the start! Happy birthday dear Tarak. I couldn't have found a better Bheem," wrote Rajamouli, sharing a throwback photo of him and Jr NTR.

Actress Samantha Akkineni wished the actor on his birthday and also wished him well for his next release. She wrote: "Unleash your greatness in your next... been too long".

Actress Anushka Shetty wrote on Instagram: "Wishing Tarak a very Happy Birthday and a Healthy life ahead. Eagerly waiting for #RRR.. Best wishes to whole team." Actress Rakul Preet wrote on Twitter: "Happppy happy bdayyyy @tarak9999. Wishing you a fabulous year and great health. May all your dreams n desires come true. Keep killing it with your outstanding work." Sai Dharam Tej tweeted: "Wishing one of the best performers of our Telugu film industry a very happy birthday... may all your wishes come true." Composer Devi Sri Prasad hailed Jr NTR wrote: "Keep Dancing, Keep Rocking & Keep Entertaining us with ur Extraordinary performances always !!!"

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
James Kolo, the Kwara commissioner-designate in the Federal Character Commission (FCC), is dead. Kolo, who hailed from Patigi loca...





James Kolo, the Kwara commissioner-designate in the Federal Character Commission (FCC), is dead.





Kolo, who hailed from Patigi local government area of Kwara, was said to have died in the early hours of Tuesday, after a brief illness.





His corpse has been reportedly been deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital morgue.





AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, governor of Kwara, has commiserated with the Edu community and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state over the sudden death of Kolo.

The governors conveyed his condolence through a statement issued by Rafiu Ajakaye, his chief press secretary (CPS), in Ilorin on Tuesday.





Buhari had nominated the deceased alongside Fareedah Dankaka to represent Kwara as commissioner and chairman respectively in the Federal Character Commission.





AbdulRazaq described Kolo as a loyal party man and a team player whose death was a great loss to his family, the people of Edu local government and the entire state.





We are devastated by the death of Mr. Kolo after recently falling ill. He was a staunch party man and a bridge builder, who worked hard alongside other patriots for the success of the APC in the state, he said.





We are consoled by the fact that he was a good man who got along with everybody that crossed his path. Many knew him for being a generous person.





We commiserate with his family and pray to the Almighty God to comfort them and rest his gentle soul.




Rozcloob.com scored 40 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 2/5.0 Stars by Social Team

This CoolSocial report was updated on 4 Dec 2015, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.

The total number of people who shared the rozcloob homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the rozcloob homepage on Twitter + the total number of rozcloob followers (if rozcloob has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the rozcloob homepage on Delicious. The total number of people who shared the rozcloob homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the rozcloob homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if rozcloob has a Facebook fan page).

Basic Information

PAGE TITLE    |  |    DESCRIPTION           KEYWORDS               OTHER KEYWORDS



The title found in the head section of the homepage. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site.

Domain and Server

DOCTYPE XHTML 1.0 Transitional CHARSET AND LANGUAGE Persian UTF-8Persian SERVER Apache (PHP/5.3.29) OPERATIVE SYSTEM Linux Linux

Character set and language of the site. Operative System running on the server. Type of server and offered services. The language of rozcloob.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0)

Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world.

Referring domains for rozcloob.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines.

Facebook link

FACEBOOK PAGE LINK NOT FOUND

The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The type of Facebook page. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file.

Twitter account link

TWITTER PAGE LINK NOT FOUND
Johnson has pursued the subpoena since early March, but Democratic objections and the spread of the novel coronavirus delayed his efforts to push it through the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel, which has broad investigative jurisdiction. Democrats, in addition to objecting to the partisan nature of the inquiry, have suggested that any information sourced from Telizhenko could be suspect and called on Johnson to schedule defensive briefings with intelligence officials to prevent the committee from disseminating potentially false information planted by Russian intelligence services.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 23:37:04

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 557 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Every year graduating students work hard to complete senior year requirements which culminates with a well anticipated pomp and circumstance for graduation. Accomplishments are shared with family, friends and fellow graduates who gather at a well-attended and celebrated graduation ceremony showered with love, endless photo opportunities and proud and dotting parents beaming with pride for their children's accomplishments.Feeling a little cheated, 2020 graduating seniors in the face of this pandemic are finding creative ways to celebrate their accomplishments while making this graduation a memorable one. Joshua's Heart Foundation (JHF) takes a moment to salute its graduating High School Seniors and recognizes past alumni who are now graduating college.Introducing the 2020 High School Graduates, their college acceptances, and planned majors:Celina Azebeokhai - 1 year at JHF - St Thomas Aquinas HS - Pratt Institute - Film majorDaniel Block - 4 years at JHF - American Heritage HS Plantation- Duke - MathMeghan Corrales - 3 years at JHF - St Thomas Aquinas HS - Loyola University - Pre-Med majorNicole Hawley - 5 years at JHF - Immaculata LaSalle HS - University of Florida - General BusinessChiara Kusmierek - 3 years at JHF - Immaculata LaSalle HS - University of Florida - Finance majorCarson Merlo - 1 year at JHF - St Thomas Aquinas HS - Temple University - Broadcast Journalism majorPaulina Nieto - 5 years at JHF - Palmer Trinity School HS - University of St. Andrews (Scotland) - International Affairs majorCarlota Sosa - 7 years at JHF - Immaculata LaSalle HS - Savannah College of Art & Design - Graphic Design majorJulie Valencia - 10 years at JHF - St Thomas Aquinas HS - College - Pre-Med Dentistry majorAnnouncing the 2020 JHF Alumni College Graduates:Arianna Bailey - Graduated from FIU with a BS in Biology and preparing for Medical SchoolNavya Baranwal - Graduated from Brown University with a BA in Public Policy and will head to Medical school in the fall at Brown University.Banjamin Obando - Graduated from FIU with a BS in Biology and heading to Indiana University School of Medicine in the fall."Our graduates leave JHF with a sense of accomplishment and readiness to take on the world and forge ahead eager to uncover their future dreams. Their tenure at JHF has taught them how to become public speakers, run a business and has ultimately helped them develop a level of self-confidence that many did not have prior to joining. We congratulate all the graduates and expect nothing but the best from them and for them," says Joshua Williams Founder and Chief Changemaker - Joshua's Heart Foundation.Youth volunteer opportunities are available for students from 5 years of age. Visit: https://joshuasheart.org/volunteer #changemakers #joshuasheart #volunteer #endhunger #endpoverty #youthvolunteer #bethechange #graduates #covid19 #graduates2020Joshua's Heart Foundation (JHF)JHF was founded in 2005 in Miami, Florida by Joshua when he was four and a half years old and is dedicated to the fight against global hunger and poverty. JHF is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit, which empowers needy people to improve their quality of life by providing necessities like groceries and personal items. We also effectively engage and educate young people in committing to fight hunger and poverty on a global basis. Learn more at http://joshuasheart.org JHF 2020 High School GraduatesJHF 2020 Alumni College GraduatesSOURCE: Joshuas Heart Foundation
Gary Lin, a Chinese-American business owner in New York City, has been working through the coronavirus crisis to keep his ramen restaurant afloat. He is worried about getting sick and bringing the virus to his family, but has remained partially open for takeout services as rent and bills pile up.

On top of the financial struggles, Lin said he and his employees have also been facing harassment due to their Asian background and that business was already down as early as February.

PHOTO: Hou Yi Hot Pot on 92 Hester St. in Chinatown in New York is pictured during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. (Courtesy of Hai Shian Peng via Asian Americans for Equality)

"We did receive some phone calls, you know, I don't know who is calling me just asking, Can I order coronavirus? or something like that, Lin told ABC News. He said one of his employees was even attacked while doing his laundry, just because hes Chinese.

Hai Shian Peng, a Chinese-American business owner who operates two hot pot restaurants in New York City that have closed amid the pandemic, described a similar experience to Lin's.

This report is part of Pandemic  A Nation Divided, ABC News' special coverage of the heightened racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tune into "Nightline" for a three-day series starting tonight, 12 a.m. ET on ABC.

Peng said that some of his employees were attacked and yelled at while taking the train home from work due to their Asian background.

He also said he and his son also experienced a confrontation in early March when they got yelled at while walking on the street in Chinatown at night and since then, they have not stepped out at nighttime anymore.

MORE: Backlash against Asians could hinder efforts to contain coronavirus, expert says

Lin and Pengs experiences are not unique. Asian Americans are facing a range of threats and challenges during the coronavirus pandemic -- getting the virus which has killed more than 90,000 in the U.S. alone, skyrocketing unemployment and struggling to survive financially and doing all of this while facing the prospect of being attacked or harassed because of COVID-19's suspected origins in Wuhan, China.

Story continues

PHOTO: Hou Yi Hot Pot on 92 Hester St. in Chinatown in New York is pictured during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown. (Courtesy of Hai Shian Peng via Asian Americans for Equality)

Chinatowns and Asian American businesses across the country began to report drops in businesses as early as late January -- with many pinning the decline to misplaced fears about the virus origin in China.

And in March, the FBI warned of a spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans, saying in a report that they made the assessment based on the assumption that a portion of the U.S. public will associate COVID-19 with China and Asian American populations.

Asian American unemployment rate skyrockets in New York

New York, where Lin and Peng work, has the second-largest population of people of Asian descent in the U.S. after California and has been the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

California and Texas (the state with the third largest Asian population) do not break down their unemployment filings by race or ethnicity, but New York does -- and the findings indicate staggeringly disproportionate suffering for Asian American workers.

New York state saw a 10,210% year-over-year increase of unemployment filings among Asian Americans (51,653 compared to 501 in 2019) -- the highest of any racial group -- for the week ending April 11. In that same week, jobless claims for black Americans spiked 1,927%, white unemployment filings jumped 2,904%, and Hispanic or Latino claims rose 3,222% in New York compared to the same week a year before.

Chart Illustration (ABC News / New York State Department of Labor)

Asians represented nearly 13% of New York state's claims in that week despite being 9% of the state's population, according to the Census.

Lin employs about 20 people, who are almost all Asian, and said most of them have filed for unemployment insurance, but he hopes to hire them all back when the business reopens.

When we are ready to reopen, I think most people want to come back to work as people are calling and asking me when we can start working, but we don't see the date yet at this moment, Lin said.

New Yorks pandemic statistics are shocking in part because nationally, Asian Americans have had among the lowest rates of unemployment in the U.S. -- 2.1% in April 2019 -- lower than white Americans at 2.9% at that point. In April 2020, the Asian American unemployment rate spiked to 14.3%, while the unemployment rate among white Americans rose to a lesser degree at 13.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Chart Illustration (ABC News / New York City Commission on Human Rights)

As the pandemic raged on, Asian Americans consistently saw the highest percentage increases for New Yorks jobless claims each week by large margins. According to New York states most recent data from the week ending May 9. Asian American unemployment filings were up 4,150% compared to the same week last year (22,526 compared to 530 in 2019). This was followed by claims from Latino/Hispanic workers (1,861% spike), black workers (1,151% uptick) and white workers (1,329% increase).

All told, 195,153 people of Asian descent have filed for unemployment in New York since April, compared to 3,489 in 2019 -- a nearly 5,500% increase. Unemployment in the overall population in New York increased just over 1,500% during the same time period, according to the data.

MORE: Nearly 3 million Americans file for unemployment, bringing total to over 36 million

Meanwhile, complaints of anti-Asian discrimination to the New York City Commission on Human Rights spiked 92% from February through April this year compared to the same time last year. The complaints reflected harassment or discriminatory incidents in employment, housing and places of public accommodation.

PHOTO: Chart Illustration (ABC News / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Moreover, while overall hate crimes declined in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the same period a year ago, the New York Police Department said earlier this month that the city is seeing an increase in hate and bias incidents targeting individuals of Asian descent in relation to coronavirus. As of May 4, the NYPD has investigated fourteen COVID-19/Asian-bias related hate crimes.

PHOTO: Hou Yi Hot Pot on 92 Hester St. in Chinatown in New York City is pictured before the restaurant closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Hai Shian Peng via Asian Americans for Equality)

'By calling it a Chinese disease, you are one step away from saying dont hire Chinese people'

President Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to the insidious respiratory disease as the Chinese virus at news briefings and on Twitter, doubling down even in the face of critics who pointed out that diseases dont carry nationalities and the World Health Organization specifically naming the disease COVID-19 to avoid regional or ethnic stigma.

Trump's rhetoric has been echoed by other administration officials and politicians -- from local leaders to House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, of California.

Peng called the impact of the rhetoric "terrible," saying he never thought the incident that he and his son experienced would happen "because I am a citizen."

I think, unfortunately, it is too easy for some people to scapegoat and stigmatize in times of fear," said Carmelyn Malalis, the commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights and longtime advocate of employees rights in the workplace.

Malalis said she speculates that rhetoric made it so that stigma immediately attached to Chinese and other Asian people and their communities," resulting in a hit to their businesses.

PHOTO: Hai Shian Peng, center, and his staff pose for a group photo during an employee field trip in New York City before the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Hai Shian Peng via Asian Americans for Equality)

Thomas Yu, the CEO of Asian Americans for Equality -- a nonprofit based in NYC that Lin and Peng reached out to for assistance in obtaining economic relief -- said that Asian American business owners are facing a double whammy amid the rising xenophobia.

If you are a non-Asian business owner, I would say your predicament is hard enough, right? Your business is shutting down. But imagine you had to deal with the double whammy of thinking about, am I going to be a target of an assault or, you know, sort of overt racism, Yu told ABC News.

Moreover, employers are influenced by the same negative views that the labeling of this disease creates and facilitates, Andre Perry, a fellow at the Brookings Institution whose research focuses on race and economic inclusion, told ABC News.

By calling it a Chinese disease, you are one step away from saying dont hire Chinese people, he said, adding that because many Americans dont understand nationality, ethnicity and race, the ramifications extend to all people of Asian descent.

When President Trump continues to label this an Asian disease, it impacts the policy makers, it impacts the implementers, it impacts everyday dealings with folks, Perry added. Youll see in a heartbeat folks who work diligently, who do everything theyre asked to do when it comes to achieving the American dream, who are American, be let go in a heartbeat.

I don't think that business will recover

Some advocates and business owners worry that the decline in business that Asian American enclaves experienced even before stay-at-home orders took effect could be an ominous sign of what is to come when restrictions ease and businesses are allowed to reopen, as they are doing in some states.

Lin said that business at his ramen shop, KyuRamen, and bubble tea stores started to drop in the middle of February or the end of February and it happened a little bit by little bit. Sales had fallen 10-20 % in February and by mid-March, business had already dropped by 70-80%, he said.

KyuRamen is located in a predominately Chinese American community in Flushing, Queens, and is open for takeout service (it is part of a chain with more than 125 locations around the world. T Baar, which Lin opened in New York in 2006, has about 20 franchised locations in the U.S.  from Maryland to Florida -- that are mostly closed.

Peng, who owns two locations of Hou Yi Hot Pot in New York's Chinatown and the East Village, said business dropped by more than half in January and February, prompting him to close one of his locations on Feb. 28, nearly a month before the state's "PAUSE" order, shuttering restaurants except for takeout, went into effect.

PHOTO: Hai Shian Peng, center, and his staff pose for a group photo before Hou Yi Hot Pot shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy of Hai Shian Peng via Asian Americans for Equality)

Both Lin and Peng worry that even when New York City begins to reopen, which could happen as early as May 28 when the PAUSE order expires, business will continue to suffer.

Even though we may reopen by the end of this month or whatever, I don't think people are going to be coming out to eat or shopping," Lin said. "I don't think that business will recover just like before."

Peng expressed concerns that people might not be willing to step into Chinatown and could continue to avoid Asian American neighborhoods, adding that without foot traffic, its difficult for restaurants and other businesses to remain afloat.

Elizabeth Yang, an attorney who serves on the board of the Los Angeles-based Asian Business Association, lives and works in Southern Californias San Gabriel Valley, where there is a large Asian American population. She said that even weeks before stay at home orders took effect, the community noticed a significant decrease in the number of customers that were frequenting all of the Chinese restaurants in the area.

So they think the virus comes from the Chinese people and then our president doesn't help by calling the virus the Chinese virus, and other politicians are all calling it the Chinese virus, so people who are ignorant think that oh, Chinese people have the virus, Yang said, adding that after the quarantine lifted, it's going to be very similar.

A lot of Chinese restaurants are going to go out of business, Yang predicted.

What help is available

Asian American business organizations and nonprofits across the country have been rallying to support their fellow business owners in the community who have been hit hard economically by COVID-19.

Through the Asian Business Administration, Yang and her colleague James Hsieh have been hosting webinars and virtual training sessions during the pandemic to teach business owners how to shift some operations digitally.

Hsieh said that the digital marketing company he runs is busier than ever as business owners reached out for guidance amid the pandemic.

We have seen an influx of questions and inquiries of how can we help them pivot their business to be more online focused ... we're trying to educate people out there [on] how they can leverage the online channel, the advertising channel, their websites, to get free traffic or just to find ways to increase exposure, he said.

Yang added that brick and mortar businesses that are not based online have been especially hit hard and the learning curve is especially steep for older business owners who are not digitally savvy.

They're having a really hard time adjusting, she said. Theyre basically trying to learn the technology as well as all the adjustments all at the same time, and it's overwhelming when theyre struggling.

Meanwhile, Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) launched its own fund to provide loans to small businesses and the nonprofit has been working with business owners like Lin and Peng to help them apply for federal relief.

Both Lin and Peng received in-house loans from AAFE and received assistance from the Renaissance Economic Development Corp. in applying to the Payment Protection Program -- the federally backed emergency loan program to help hard-hit small businesses.

PHOTO: Business owner Gary Lin participates in a Zoom meeting with May Gee of the Renaissance Economic Development Corp., which helped him apply for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Courtesy of Asian Americans for Equality)

As expenses mount, businesses remain shuttered and the incidents of xenophobia continue to impact the lives and livelihoods of Asians Americans during the crisis, Malalis of the New York City Commission on Human Rights said she wants to emphasize how important it is to report them, "regardless of whether or not they themselves personally want to avail a remedy.

The lingering anti-Asian fears that people will have after or during our emergence from COVID, that is rooted in deep-seated racism, deep-seated miseducation, she said. And it's only by documenting this stuff during a time of crisis do we know what we have to then start really seriously addressing when were not in the time of crisis.

Asian Americans face coronavirus 'double whammy': Skyrocketing unemployment and discrimination originally appeared on abcnews.go.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - While reporting its first-quarter financial results on Wednesday, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) also provided a business update in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.



As part of the global containment effort for the COVID-19 pandemic, the company previously announced a voluntary suspension of its global cruise operations.



On March 10, 2020, Royal Caribbean had withdrawn its first quarter and full-year 2020 guidance. The company noted that as the magnitude, duration and speed of COVID-19 remains uncertain, it cannot estimate the impact of COVID-19 on its business, financial condition or near or longer-term financial or operational results with reasonable certainty.



However, the company expects to incur a net loss on both a U.S. GAAP and adjusted basis for its second quarter and the 2020 fiscal year, the extent of which will depend on the timing and extent of the company's return to service.



Royal Caribbean noted that due to the impact of COVID-19, booking volumes for the remainder of 2020 are meaningfully lower than the same time last year at prices that are down low-single digits.



Although still early in the booking cycle, the company said that the booked position for 2021 is within historical ranges when compared to same time last year, with 2021 prices up mid-single digits compared to 2020.



Royal Caribbean has implemented various programs in order to best serve its booked guests, providing the choice of future cruise credits in lieu of providing cash refunds for both cancelled sailings and future bookings.



As of April 30, 2020, about 45 percent of the guests booked on cancelled sailings have requested cash refunds. Additionally, as of March 31, 2020, the company had $2.4 billion in customer deposits.



Royal Caribbean said it continues to take future bookings for 2020, 2021 and 2022, and receive new customer deposits and final payments on these bookings.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Y K Joshi on Wednesday briefed Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor G C Murmu on the overall security situation along the Line of Control (LoC), a Raj Bhavan spokesman said.

They also discussed several other issues related to security management and challenges in the Union Territory, he said.

The spokesman said Lt Gen Joshi briefed the Lt Governor about the successful anti-terrorist operations being conducted by the army in coordination with the local police and central armed police forces in the hinterland.

The Lt Governor lauded the role being played by the army in safeguarding the territorial integrity and the internal security of Jammu and Kashmir, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
London: Prince Charles is urging the public to join a national effort to help farmers bring in the harvest, comparing the need to pick fruit and vegetables with World War II-era programs that fed the nation.

The heir to the British throne offered his support to a government initiative to bring UK workers and farmers together to ensure crops are not left to rot in the fields.

Until now, Britain has been almost entirely dependent on foreign workers, largely from Romania and Bulgaria, to pick its fruit and vegetables.

Food doesn't happen by magic: Prince Charles. Credit:AP

Last year, only about 1 per cent of the pickers were from Britain.
Perus rise in cases comes amid WHO reporting most number of COVID-19 cases in 24 hours yet.

Perus number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 100,000, making it the country with the second-highest number of cases in South America after Brazil.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 106,000 cases globally, the highest in a single day yet, rasing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in poor nations.

China has accused the United States of smearing Beijing and shirking responsibilities to the WHO after US President Trump threatened to quit the organisation.

Globally, there have been more than 4.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 323,000 people died, according to the Johns Hopkins University. More than 1.7 million people have recovered.

Here are all the latest updates:

Wednesday, May 20

23:52 GMT  Madrid presses Spanish Supreme Court to ease lockdown

The regional authority of Madrid is appealing to Spains Supreme Court over the Spanish governments refusal to ease its lockdown.

The Madrid regional government said in a statement on Wednesday it believes that technical assessments over what areas can loosen restrictions adopted to stem the new coronavirus outbreak are not being applied in the same way in different parts of the country.

The Madrid region has officially recorded almost 67,000 of the countrys 232,000 COVID-19 cases, making it the hardest-hit area.

23:12 GMT  Brazil to expand use of chloroquine against COVID-19

The administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday unveiled new measures to expand use of chloroquine, the predecessor of an anti-malaria drug promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19.

The new guidelines were approved by General Eduardo Pazuello, who became interim health minister after his predecessor was fired five days ago. Pazuello had no health experience until he became the ministrys No 2 official in April.

22:00 GMT  Brazil records 888 new coronavirus deaths, nearly 20,000 new cases

Brazil registered 888 new coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, with a record of nearly 20,000 new cases, taking the total to 291,579, the Health Ministry said.

21:30 GMT  Trump says his hydroxychloroquine regimen finishes in the next day or two

US President Donald Trump said the regimen of an anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine that he is taking to ward off the coronavirus finishes in the next day or two.

Trump revealed this week he was taking the drug despite medical warnings about potential serious side effects and questions about its effectiveness in preventing COVID-19.

20:55 GMT  Mexican capital restarts beer production

The Mexican capital will allow beer production to restart after a standstill of nearly two months caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, local authorities announced.

From June 1, brewing beer will be considered an essential economic activity, in the same way as construction, mining, transport equipment or bicycle sales, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said.

20:44 GMT  Germanys government agrees to Lufthansa rescue offer: report

German ministers on Wednesday agreed on final details of a rescue deal they will offer coronavirus-stricken airline giant Lufthansa, business daily Handelsblatt reported.

Berlin will take a 20-percent stake in the group, topping it up with a convertible bond worth 5 percent plus one share  putting the state in a position to build a blocking minority in case of a hostile takeover, the newspaper said.

If confirmed, the solution would close weeks of wrangling between Chancellor Angela Merkels CDU conservatives and their centre-left junior partners the SPD.

Due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak a large number of flights of the German carrier Lufthansa have been cancelled [Thorsten Wagner/EPA-EFE]

20:22 GMT  Qatar launches messaging service to protect health and rights of domestic workers

Qatars Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs has created a series of SMS messages in 12 languages to help provide tips to domestic workers on COVID-19 and how to protect their rights.

The project was done in conjuction with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Project Office for the State of Qatar, Migrant-Rights.org and the International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF).

20:01 GMT  Soccer-Womens Bundesliga to restart on May 29

The womens Bundesliga will restart following the coronavirus stoppage on May 29, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Wednesday following a meeting with the clubs.

The DFB said the competition was among the sporting events which had been given the green light to resume by local health authorities who have the final say.

I am very happy that the clubs of the womens Bundesliga have expressed their unity in favour of continuing the season, said DFB president Fritz Keller.

19:46 GMT  Perus confirmed coronavirus cases surpass 100,000  health ministry

Perus number of confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 100,000, the Ministry of Health reported.

There are 104,020 confirmed cases in the South American country, which has been under nationwide lockdown since March and the death toll rose to 3,024, the ministry said.

Peru has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in South America after Brazil [File: Rodrigo Abd/AP]

19:24 GMT  Austria protesters demand end to virus measures

Hundreds of people gathered on Viennas central Heldenplatz square to protest against the government measures implemented to curb the coronavirus.

In order to keep the required distance of one metre (3.2 feet) between each other people were standing on signs depicting a baby elephant  a reference to a government campaign asking people to keep at least the length of one baby elephant between each other in public.

19:06 GMT  Worlds largest iftar online set to wrap up with prominent speakers

The United Kingdoms Ramadan Tent project will host a global online iftar from May 19-20, that will see thousands of people from across the world come together to break fast amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The event will feature a list of speakers including former football star and Seville FC player Fred Oumar Kanoute, Hollywood star Riz Ahmad and media personality Mishal Husain.

18:45 GMT  Merkel sees further steps ahead to ease developing countries debt

The international community may soon take further steps to ease developing nations debt burden on top of a payments freeze decided last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

We took a correct step with the debt moratorium by the G20 and Paris Club, but its only a moratorium on repayments, Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

In her talks with the heads of economic groups including the World Trade Organization, International Labour Organisation, World Bank, IMF and OECD it was definitely highlighted that this might not be the final step, Merkel added.

Last month, G20 and Paris Club creditor nations agreed to waive most debt payments for the worlds poorest countries in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

18:20 GMT  Bolivia health minister arrested for corruption over ventilators: police chief

Bolivias Health Minister Marcelo Navajas has been arrested on suspicion of corruption related to the over-priced purchase of coronavirus ventilators, the police chief said on Wednesday.

Navajas was detained by police in La Paz, Colonel Ivan Rojas said, a day after interim President Jeanine Anez ordered an investigation into possible corruption.

Bolivia has reported over 4,800 coronavirus cases and 189 deaths to date [File: Manuel Claure/Reuters]

18:08 GMT  Pompeo calls China virus response paltry compared to damage done

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China over the coronavirus on Wednesday, calling $2bn Beijing has pledged to fight the pandemic paltry compared to the hundreds of thousands of lives lost and trillions of dollars of damage.

Pompeo rejected Chinese President Xi Jinpings claim that Beijing had acted with transparency after the outbreak in China, and said if Xi wanted to show that, he should hold a news conference and allow reporters to ask him anything they liked.

17:50 GMT  Monkey studies encouraging for coronavirus vaccine

Two studies in monkeys offer some of the first scientific evidence that surviving COVID-19 may result in immunity from reinfection, as well as a positive sign that vaccines under development may succeed.

In one of the new studies, researchers infected nine monkeys with the new coronavirus. After they recovered, the team exposed them to the virus again and the animals did not get sick.

In the second study, the same researchers treated 25 monkeys with experimental vaccines and then exposed them to the coronavirus. In the vaccinated animals, we saw a substantial degree of protection, said Dr Dan Barouch.





17:35 GMT  Greece to restart tourism mid-June, international flights July 1

Greece will restart its tourism season on June 15 and gradually restore international flights from July 1 to boost its economy after the virus lockdown, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

With Greece suffering fewer than 170 COVID-19 deaths over two months into the pandemic, Mitsotakis said the countrys prompt response to the virus would be a passport of safety, credibility and health to attract visitors.

The tourism period begins June 15, when seasonal hotels can reopen, and direct international flights to our tourist destinations will gradually begin July 1, Mitsotakis said in a televised address.

17:15 GMT  WHO reports most coronavirus cases in a day, worried about poor countries

There were 106,000 new cases of new coronavirus infection recorded worldwide in the last 24 hours  the most in a single day yet, the World Health Organization said, expressing concern for poor countries even as rich ones emerge from lockdown.

We still have a long way to go in this pandemic, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. We are very concerned about rising cases in low and middle income countries.

16:56 GMT  Opinion: Like India, Sri Lanka is using coronavirus to stigmatise Muslims

In India, since the emergence of COVID-19, members of the countrys 200 million-strong Muslim community have repeatedly been accused of being super spreaders of coronavirus both by the media and the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In neighbouring Sri Lanka, the government chose to use the pandemic as an excuse to stigmatise Muslims and pander to Islamophobia.

Read more here.

16:34 GMT  Turkey says low risk of second outbreak, opens to controlled tourism

Turkey does not risk a second wave of infections from the new coronavirus at the moment, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said, adding that Ankara was preparing to start what he called controlled health tourism with 31 countries as of Wednesday.

Koca also said travel restrictions for senior citizens were to be eased in the coming days.

Turkeys daily number of new COVID-19 cases has fallen to around 1,000 from around 4,500 last month. Its official coronavirus death toll stands at 4,199, with more than 110,000 people having recovered.

16:10 GMT  India to allow some domestic flights from May 25  minister

India will allow airlines to begin some domestic flights from May 25, its civil aviation minister said on Wednesday, two months after the country imposed a ban on air travel as it went into lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday, the minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Twitter.

Puri said all airports and airlines are being informed to be ready for operations from May 25 and that the ministry would issue guidelines for passenger movement separately.





15:50 GMT  Italians let their hair down as coronavirus restrictions eased

The Italian government is allowing businesses to reopen gradually, in hopes to revive the economy without triggering a second wave of infections.

Italy has paid one of the highest prices of the global pandemic with more than 32,000 deaths and about 225,000 infected.

Read more here.

15:27 GMT  Brazil recommends chloroquine to treat even mild cases

Brazils health ministry has recommended using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat even mild cases of COVID-19, treatments President Jair Bolsonaro has pushed for despite a lack of conclusive evidence of their effectiveness.

New federal guidelines released by the ministry recommend doctors prescribe the anti-malarial drugs from the onset of symptoms of coronavirus infection, together with the antibiotic azithromycin.

Patients will be required to sign a waiver acknowledging they have been informed of potential side effects, including heart and liver dysfunction, retina damage and even death.

15:05 GMT  Nigeria doctors to strike over treatment by police during lockdown

Doctors in Nigerias commercial capital Lagos will go on strike because of what they describe as police harassment of health workers trying to move through the city to treat patients during a coronavirus curfew.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) doctors union said it had become unsafe for its members to continue to provide healthcare under the present confused arrangement.

It cited an example in which it said an ambulance carrying a patient was prevented from moving to a destination while the attending healthworkers were harassed and temporarily detained.

Nigeria has had more than 6,000 confirmed cases of the virus and 192 deaths [Adeyinka Yusuf/Anadolu]

14:45 GMT  Germany moves to clean up meat industry after virus outbreaks

The German government banned the use of subcontractors in the meat industry after a string of coronavirus infections among mainly foreign slaughterhouse workers sparked alarm.

Its time to clean up the sector, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil told reporters after Chancellor Angela Merkels cabinet agreed on stricter regulations.

From January 1, 2021 abattoirs and meat-processing plants will have to directly employ their workers, putting an end to the controversial practice of relying on chains of subcontractors to supply labourers from abroad, often from Bulgaria and Romania.

14:35 GMT  EUs frugal four to make own virus aid plan: Dutch PM

Four European countries will propose a tougher alternative to a huge Franco-German fund to help the economy through the coronavirus crisis, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.

The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden  dubbed the Frugal Four  will insist on greater guarantees that countries getting aid will enact reforms, and that any help should be in the form of loans not grants.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday proposed a 500-billion-euro ($546bn) fund to mend an economy devastated by the pandemic.





14:15 GMT  Israeli court tells Netanyahu he must appear at start of trial

An Israeli court rejected a request by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be absent from the opening of his corruption trial next week, saying he must abide by the practice of hearing the charges in person.

Netanyahu had asked Jerusalem District Court to be excused from his May 24 arraignment, deeming the event a formality and arguing that bringing his bodyguards would be a waste of public funds and a strain on coronavirus rules against congregations.

13:55 GMT  Britain ready to support Rolls-Royce employees over job cuts

Britains government stands ready to help those affected by a plan at engine maker Rolls-Royce to cut at least 9,000 jobs, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

The spokesman said that although the plan to cut more than a sixth of Rolls-Royces workforce was distressing news for employees, the government would be ready to help them and would work with Rolls-Royce and other companies on supporting the sector.

13:39 GMT  Spain PM urges unity as he pushes to extend lockdown

Facing growing political opposition and protests in the street, Spains Pedro Sanchez called for unity as his minority government sought parliaments approval for an extension of the lockdown.

Pot-banging demonstrators have hit the streets of several cities to demand Sanchezs government quits over its handling of the crisis and curbing of basic freedoms.

Its the Spanish people who have stopped the virus together  nobody has the right to squander what weve achieved during these long weeks of confinement, the prime minister told parliament, which is expected to back extending the state of emergency until June 6.

Sanchez has come under heavy criticims for his governments handling of the coronavirus crisis [Jon Nazca/Reuters]

13:20 GMT  Trump blames Chinese incompetence for mass Worldwide killing

US President Donald Trump again lashed out at China over the coronavirus pandemic, blaming Beijing for mass Worldwide killing

.

The early morning tweet, which also referred to an unidentified wacko in China, was the latest heated rhetoric from the White House, where Trump is making attacks on Beijing a centrepiece of his November reelection bid.

It was the incompetence of China, and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing, the president tweeted.

Some wacko in China just released a statement blaming everybody other than China for the Virus which has now killed hundreds of thousands of people. Please explain to this dope that it was the incompetence of China, and nothing else, that did this mass Worldwide killing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2020

13:05 GMT  Marks & Spencer warns of pandemic impact as profits halve

British clothing-to-food retailer Marks & Spencer announced a slump in annual profit as it booked a sizeable charge late on from the coronavirus outbreak and said it was slashing costs.

Net profit collapsed 49.5 percent to 27.4 million British pounds($33m, 30 million euros) in the 12 months to March 28 from a year earlier, M&S said in an earnings statement.

The group booked a 52-million British pound ($63.4m) charge in March, largely owing to COVID-19.

Hello, this is Usaid Siddiqui in Doha taking over from my collegue Farah Najjar.

12:30 GMT  Ukraine to further ease coronavirus lockdown

Ukraines government has decided to ease nationwide lockdown measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic from May 22, Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said at a televised government meeting.

The government will allow hotels to reopen and public transport to resume operations in cities from May 22, while kindergartens will be allowed to reopen from May 25 after implementing some precautionary measures.

Earlier in May, Ukraine opened parks and recreation areas and allowed some shops, such as those specialising in household goods or textiles, to open.

12:00 GMT  Indias domestic air travel to resume on May 25

Domestic air travel will resume in India on May 25 after a two-month shutdown introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a top minister announced.

All airports and air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter.

Domestic civil aviation operations will recommence in a calibrated manner from Monday 25th May 2020. All airports & air carriers are being informed to be ready for operations from 25th May. SOPs for passenger movement are also being separately issued by @MoCA_GoI.  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 20, 2020

The government halted all domestic and international flights on March 25 as it started a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

11:45 GMT  Pakistani legislator dies from coronavirus

A local legislator in Pakistan has died after contracting COVID-19, hospital officials said, marking the first death of a political figure in the South Asian nation from the disease.

Shaheen Raza, a 65-year-old female member of the provincial assembly of Punjab, the countrys largest province, died at Mayo Hospital in the eastern city of Lahore.

Raza belonged to the ruling party of Prime Minister Imran Khan and was elected on a reserved seat for women. Tuesday saw the most deaths reported in a single day, at 46, in the country.

I would like to condole the death of Punjab MPA Ms Shaheen Raza Cheema.

    

May her soul rest in peace and may Allah grant the family the strength to bear this loss.  Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) May 20, 2020

11:30 GMT  Canadian preacher arrested in Myanmar for holding service

Myanmar police have arrested a Canadian pastor for allegedly holding a service in defiance of a coronavirus ban on mass gatherings, after which he and dozens of his followers and their families became infected.

Myanmar-born preacher David Lah, 43, was taken to a Yangon court where he was charged with violating the Natural Disaster and Management Law.

Toronto-based Lah, who often visits his motherland Myanmar for sermon tours, could face three years behind bars if convicted [AFP]

Footage emerged in early April showing Lah leading services in which he claimed Christians would be spared from the pandemic.

10:05 GMT  Guterres: African countries may be spared worst of the pandemic

The relatively low number of confirmed cases in Africa has raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, while praising the continent for responding swiftly to the pandemic.

Guterres, however, warned that millions of people in Africa could be pushed into extreme poverty due to the pandemic.

The pandemic  will aggravate long-standing inequalities and heighten hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease, Guterres said.

Since the pandemic is still in its early days in Africa, he stressed that disruption could escalate quickly.

Read more here.

09:49 GMT  Russian prime minister says outbreak reaching stabler phase

Russias coronavirus outbreak is entering a more stable phase, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said, while warning that restrictions should be lifted carefully in the 17 regions where such moves have been authorised.

Russias coronavirus cases surpassed 300,000, but with the lowest daily rise in infections since May 1.

Our time under lockdown has been tough on us mentally  and we probably dont talk about it enough. So how can restrictions on movement affect both our minds and bodies? #AJStartHere explains. pic.twitter.com/kzDGWNIQfv  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 19, 2020

09:22 GMT  Virtual safaris help attract support for African wildlife parks

Virtual safaris are helping distract people under lockdowns while attracting badly needed support for African wildlife parks hit hard by the disappearance of tourists.

Some Kenyan wildlife tourism operators are sharing live broadcasts of safaris on social media in the hope that interest in endangered and other species doesnt fade.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy workers have created the Sofa Safari, driving around filming with a smartphone from an open-top vehicle.

One of the ways we are trying to be innovative is looking at virtual ways of bringing wildlife to peoples homes, to their television sets and to their telephones, said Ol Pejeta managing director, Richard Vigne.

09:17 GMT  Number of cases in Malaysia tops 7,000

Malaysias health ministry reported 31 new coronavirus cases, taking the cumulative total to 7,009 infections.

No new deaths were recorded, leaving the total number of fatalities at 114.

08:41 GMT  Germany moves to protect healthcare firms from foreign takeover

The German government gave itself new powers to veto hostile foreign takeover bids for healthcare companies, a measure designed to ensure a continuous supply of essential products during the coronavirus crisis.

The regulation, approved during a cabinet meeting, will allow the government to block foreign takeovers of makers of vaccines, precursor chemicals, medicines, protective equipment or medical machinery such as ventilators.

Health officials at a testing station at Festplatz, Mitte, Berlin, Germany [File: Abdulhamid Hosbas/Anadolu]

08:39 GMT  UK still working out quarantine plan for people entering country

The British government is still working on the details of how it will implement quarantine measures for people arriving in the country, interior minister Priti Patel said.

We are still developing measures, Patel said during an interview on LBC radio.

In terms of how this will work, we will be announcing this shortly, she said, confirming only that the duration of quarantine would be 14 days.

08:14 GMT  Philippines reports 279 new cases, five deaths

The Philippines health ministry recorded 279 additional confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase in nine days, and five additional deaths.

In a bulletin, the ministry said total deaths had reached 842, while infections have risen to 13,221, with total recoveries rising 89 to 2,932.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque told a senate panel that the country is already facing a second wave of infections, with the first occurring in January when three Chinese people from Wuhan tested positive of the virus.

Motorists at a quarantine checkpoint after the government relaxed lockdown measures and allowed more industries to resume in Marikina, Metro Manila, Philippines [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images]

07:53 GMT  Global number of cases surpasses 4.9 million

The total number of positive cases worldwide has exceeded 4.9 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

While the global death toll stands at 323,345, nearly 1.7 million people have recovered from the disease.

"What will we do here? There's no food, no water, no work" These migrant workers in India want to go home but remain stranded due to the #COVID19 lockdown. pic.twitter.com/7TCFcUv4fC  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) May 20, 2020

07:43 GMT  Cambridge University moves lectures online until summer 2021

Cambridge University has become the first university to announce measures for the full 2020-2021 academic year, saying that it will move all lectures online, according to a Press Association report.

It may be possible for smaller teaching groups to take place if they conform to physical-distancing requirements, the university said, adding that the decision will be reviewed should there be any changes to official advice on coronavirus.

07:37 GMT  Number of cases in Russia surpasses 300,000

Russia reported 8,764 new cases, its lowest daily rise since May 2, taking the total number of documented infections to 308,705.

The countrys coronavirus response centre said 135 people had died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from the virus to 2,972.

A woman wears a mask as a precaution against coronavirus as she walks at Pyatnitskaya street in Moscow [EPA]

06:58 GMT  Thailand says it expects a vaccine next year after tests in mice

Thailand expects to have a coronavirus vaccine ready next year, a senior official said, after finding positive trial results in mice.

Thailand will begin testing the mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccine in monkeys next week after successful trials in mice, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the governments Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

The Thai vaccine is being developed by the National Vaccine Institute, the Department of Medical Science and Chulalongkorn Universitys vaccine research centre.

06:33 GMT  Spaniards ordered to wear masks if distancing not possible

Spains government made it compulsory for everyone older than six to wear masks in indoor public spaces, and outdoor ones when it is impossible to keep more than two metres (six feet) apart.

The health ministry in Spain, one of the hardest-hit countries, said the measures were needed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

In Spain, people have to wear protective masks if they cannot remain at least two metres apart [Nacho Doce//Reuters]

06:24 GMT  Britains Rolls-Royce to lay-off 9,000

British engine-maker Rolls-Royce said that it would need to lay off at least 9,000 of its 52,000 staff to make annual cost savings of 1.3 billion pounds ($1.59bn) as it seeks to cope with the downturn in air travel caused by the pandemic.

We are proposing a major reorganisation of our business to adapt to the new level of demand we are seeing, Chief Executive Warren East said in a statement.

As a result, we expect the loss of at least 9,000 roles from our global workforce of 52,000.

The job losses would mostly be in its civil aerospace business, the company said, as it started consultations with unions.

06:11 GMT  Polish schools may remain closed until end of June

Polish schools will most probably remain closed until the end of June, when children start summer holidays, government spokesman Piotr Muller told public radio.

Schools have been closed since March when Poland confirmed its first case of coronavirus. By May 25, they will start offering daycare for the youngest children, although teaching will still be conducted online.

The current school year ends on June 26, followed by a two-month holiday in July and August.

Hello, this is Farah Najjar taking over from my colleague Kate Mayberry.

05:30 GMT 

Im handing the blog to my colleagues in Doha shortly. A brief summary of developments this morning  Brazil had a record number of deaths for a single day on Tuesday, the US praised Taiwans COVID-19 response as President Tsai Ing-wen was inaugurated for a second term, Estonia has begun tests for a digital immunity passport, and Singapore has delivered a death sentence by Zoom.

04:35  Man sentenced to death by Zoom call in Singapore amid court curbs

A man has been sentenced to hang in Singapore via a Zoom video-call, the first time the city-state has delivered a death sentence remotely.

Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced for his role in a 2011 drug deal on Friday, court documents showed. Singapore is under lockdown to try and curb one of the highest coronavirus rates in Asia.

For the safety of all involved in the proceedings, the hearing for Public Prosecutor v Punithan A/L Genasan was conducted by video-conferencing, a spokesperson for Singapores Supreme Court said in response to Reuters news agency questions, citing restrictions imposed to minimise the viruss spread.

Singapores Supreme Court sentenced a Malaysian man to death in a Zoom call [Edgar Su/Reuters]

It was the first criminal case where a death sentence was pronounced by remote hearing in Singapore, the spokesperson added.

Genasans lawyer, Peter Fernando, confirmed his client received the judges verdict on a Zoom call and is considering an appeal. While rights groups have criticised the use of Zoom in capital cases, Fernando said he did not object because it was only to receive the judges verdict, which could be heard clearly, and no other legal arguments were presented.

04:20 GMT  Malaysia raids migrants in area under enhanced lockdown

Local media in Malaysia are reporting authorities have begun a raid on undocumented migrants in an area of Kuala Lumpur that is under enhanced lockdown.

The Star newspaper reported immigration trucks entering Petaling Jaya Old Town on Wednesday morning and that police were providing assistance.

In a statement, local MP Maria Chin Abdullah, who was distributing food aid when the trucks arrived, urged the authorities to stop using COVID-19 as an excuse to crack down on migrants.

No one should be faced with such indignity, especially at a time of crisis like this, she said.

There have been raids previously in other parts of the city with large populations of migrants.

Press Statement  End Arrests of Migrants https://t.co/p4jaK7wp60  Maria Chin Abdullah (@mariachin) May 20, 2020

Petaling Jaya Old Town was sealed off behind razor wire on May 10 after a spike in coronavirus cases linked to a food market in the area, with no one allowed in or out. The enhanced lockdown is due to end on May 23.

04:05 GMT  Estonia begins testing digital immunity passport for workplaces

Estonia has started testing one of the worlds first digital immunity passports, according to Back to Work, a coalition of technology firms, medical experts and local government officials developing the app.

The device collects testing data and allows people to share their health status with a third party via a temporary QR code.

Taavet Hinrikus, founder of Transferwise and a member of Back to Work, told Reuters the immunity passport was intended to diminish fears and stimulate societies all over the globe to move on with their lives amid the pandemic.

02:00 GMT  Venezuela imposes new curfews in key border towns

Venezuela has imposed new curfews in a number of towns along its border with Colombia and Brazil after a jump in coronavirus cases.

Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez said the country had confirmed 131 new cases in the past 24 hours  the most in a single day  110 of those in people who had returned from overseas.

Many Venezuelans have left the country because of economic collapse, finding work in nearby countries including Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Those returning have to spend 14 days in quarantine in shelters at the border.

01:45 GMT  US praises Taiwans pandemic response in inauguration message

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday praised Taiwans coronavirus response, calling it a reliable partner, in a statement congratulating President Tsai Ing-wen on her second term; words that stood in sharp contrast to recent US criticism of China.

We have a shared vision for the region  one that includes rule of law, transparency, prosperity, and security for all, Pompeo said in a statement. The recent COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the international community to see why Taiwans pandemic-response model is worthy of emulation.

Tsai, who won a landslide victory in January elections, had her inauguration ceremony on Wednesday morning. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own.

 2020  inauguration activities are underway in Taiwan, so please join me as I take the oath of office, deliver my inaugural address, & greet friends & allies from around the globe.https://t.co/Rj89TQoRiA   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) May 20, 2020

01:10 GMT  Australias New South Wales to ease domestic travel restrictions

Premier Gladys Berejiklian says people living in New South Wales will be able to take holidays within the Australian state from the beginning of June.

Art galleries and museums will also reopen, but Berejiklian warned people they would need to adapt because some physical-distancing measures would remain.

We want people to enjoy themselves, to be free, but at the same time, please know that nothing we do is the same during a pandemic, she said in a televised media conference.

00:10 GMT  Brazil reports record daily death toll

Brazils daily death toll from the new coronavirus reached a record 1,179 on Tuesday.

The highest daily toll before that had been on May 12 when 881 people died. The pandemic has killed at least 17,971 people in Brazil, according to the Health Ministry.

Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticised for his handling of the outbreak and has been a vocal opponent to coronavirus lockdowns that he sees as too damaging to the economy.

Brazil has the third-highest number of cases in the world after the US and Russia.

-

Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Kate Mayberry in Kuala Lumpur.

Read all the updates from yesterday (May 19) here.
Photo credit: BSR Agency - Getty Images

From Popular Mechanics

Google and Apple released a public exposure notification API on Wednesday, meant to help health authorities develop their own contact tracing apps to fight the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

Already, many states and 22 countries across five continents have requested access to the API for their own apps.

In part, the idea is to cut down on the overwhelming number of contact tracing apps so that there is a more centralized system.

Today, Google and Apple revealed the first publicly available version of their "exposure notifications system," meant to augment manual contact tracing procedureswhich draw heavily on public health resourcesand digital contact tracing apps that use Bluetooth. Contact tracing is a method for tracking whether a person has crossed paths with an individual that has tested positive for COVID-19.

To be clear, Google and Apple's technology is an API that third party companies affiliated with a public health authority or government can use to roll out their own contact tracing apps that are more uniform across regions, states, and countries. Google and Apple are not releasing an app of their own. The apps their API will enable, though, can push out notifications to individuals' phones to let them know if they've potentially been exposed to the virus.

"Exposure Notification has the specific goal of rapid notification, which is especially important to slowing the spread of the disease with a virus that can be spread asymptomatically," Google and Apple told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday afternoon. But to do that, the world needs to come to a consensus, rather than rely on the existing messy web of contact tracing apps in developmentand the new API is a step in that direction.

Google and Apple's contact tracing API exists in a pretty noisy space, with apps in development in academia, like at MIT, and some more extreme efforts at the government level, such as the mandatory Ehteraz app that Qatar is forcing citizens to download. In North Dakota, there are even two apps in development at once. The hope is that Google and Apple's system will help centralize digital contact tracing and cut back on some of this overlap.

Story continues

These kinds of apps work by using Bluetooth "chirps" that keep a record of whether or not your phone has come into contact with another Bluetooth device. If a person reports that they've tested positive for COVID-19, the associated chirp will let others know that they may have crossed paths with the virus.

Photo credit: Google/Apple

Public health authorities and governments have asked for their help in that endeavor, presumably because they control most smartphones' operating systems. Without this partnership, Google and Apple claim that iPhones and Android devices would likely have trouble detecting one another, for example.

The companies say that in most cases, the API will only be available for one app per country to avoid fragmentation, but some exceptions will be made. Presumably, the U.S. is one such instance, since multiple states have requested the API. Another 22 countries across five continents have also requested access.

For these apps to meaningfully quell the spread of COVID-19, it's pivotal to achieve a high rate of user adoption so that people with the virus can quickly seek medical treatment or at least self-quarantine. After 24 consultations with public health officials, app developers, and epidemiologists, the companies have built in additional privacy protocols to encourage people to trust the system.

Photo credit: CATHERINE LAI - Getty Images

"User adoption is key to success and we believe that these strong privacy protections are also the best way to encourage use of these apps," the companies said.

Once a user has downloaded an app that uses Google and Apple's underlying API, the individual must explicitly choose to turn on exposure notifications, and may turn the feature off at any point. The API prohibits GPS services, even if a user reports that they've tested positive for COVID-19the tracking only occurs through Bluetooth signals that are not tied to location.

Even then, users have the option to report whether or not they've tested positive, it's up to their discretion. Perhaps most significantly, all metadata associated with the Bluetooth tracking is encrypted, making it difficult to tie any information to a particular person.

Additionally, Google and Apple will not collect information tied to user identity. Only public health authorities can use the exposure notifications, and the companies will not monetize any of these apps.

As the need for exposure notification begins to decline, in tandem with fewer reported cases of COVID-19, Google and Apple will disable the feature on a regional basis. The companies will update the API as they receive feedback. Still, only time will tell if the API becomes a universal model for contact tracing apps.

You Might Also Like
A teacher explains anti-COVID-19 procedures to students in a high school in Seoul, Wednesday, when schools across the nation reopened for high school seniors despite lingering COVID-19 fears. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul



By Jun Ji-hye



Schools finally reopened for about 450,000 high school seniors nationwide Wednesday, 79 days after they were shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak.



While the move is putting the government's quarantine measures to the test, concern and confusion remain  two education offices sent some students home, citing concerns over potential outbreaks following the confirmation of new cases in their regions.



The education authorities decided to forge ahead as "a further delay could affect the university entrance or employment plans of the high school seniors," at a time when the reopening had already been delayed several times due to the pandemic.



High school seniors went through temperature checks before attending classes, while their desks were spaced out and fitted with plastic dividers, in accordance with the Ministry of Education's quarantine and isolation protocol. Distancing measures were also implemented in cafeterias.



Those in other grades will return to school gradually over the following weeks up to June 8.






Extra funding for farm businesses struggling with the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland is a lifeline, minister Edwin Poots said (Simon Graham/DAERA/PA)

Extra funding for farm businesses struggling with the coronavirus pandemic in Northern Ireland is a lifeline, minister Edwin Poots said.

The 25 million boost for the beef and dairy sectors is the most generous allocation made by any UK or EU administration for agriculture during the emergency, he added.

Mr Poots visited Hollowbridge Farm, near Hillsborough in Co Down, on Wednesday and said the official intervention reflected the deep and complex challenges the industry faced.

Expand Close Mr Poots visited Hollowbridge Farm near Hillsborough in Co Down on Wednesday and said the intervention reflected the deep and complex challenges the industry faced (Simon Graham/Daera/PA). / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Mr Poots visited Hollowbridge Farm near Hillsborough in Co Down on Wednesday and said the intervention reflected the deep and complex challenges the industry faced (Simon Graham/Daera/PA).

He said: We know that with falling demand and prices for beef and dairy products, many farm businesses have been amongst the hardest hit, so the funding I have secured will certainly go some way towards helping the sectors.

This will be a lifeline for many businesses and reflects the Executives commitment to supporting the sectors.

The sector employs 100,000 people and has been badly affected by the shutdown of restaurants during the pandemic.

The minister previously warned that a 10% contraction in agriculture represented the loss of 10,000 jobs.

He said the red meat industry had been hit because closure of restaurants meant less demand for higher end cuts of meat.

The milk industry had also suffered because people were not drinking milky coffees in cafes.

On Wednesday, the minister added: I have vowed to do all I can to support the agriculture industry during these very difficult times.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has moved to court to challenge orders freezing 10 of his bank accounts holding Sh18 million.

Justice Luka Kimaru issued the freeze orders on February 6, which Sonko now claims amount to abuse of the court process.

In his application filed at the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday, May 19, Sonko wants the orders dismissed, arguing that he was not accorded an opportunity to defend himself, hence his right to a fair trial was violated.

Noting that the freeze orders have been oppressive, draconian and harsh to him, Sonko said he has never received any summons, telephone call or even a request in writing from the Asset Recovery Agency to explain any deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or transaction in the frozen accounts.

The agency did not furnish the court with any compelling grounds or proof to raise reasonable suspicion with respect to any fraudulent transaction related to the bank accounts in question. It only made unsubstantiated claims, Sonko submitted through his lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui.

Sonko further argues that the order issued by Kimaru expired after 14 days, yet ARA continues to rely on it to freeze his accounts.

At the same time, the former Nairobi Senator claims that he was not the Governor at the time(between 2017 and 2019) the Agency alleges funds were looted from county coffers.

It is not enough for the Agency to merely make allegations based on wild unspecified suspicions. I believe that the burden of proof lies with them to make out a strong case based on verifiable facts, he says.

It is manifestly oppressive of the Asset Recovery Agency to have then secured summary orders against me in the manner I have complained of herein, Sonko adds.

The frozen funds are held in six accounts at Equity Bank, three at Diamond Trust Bank and another at the Co-operative Bank of Kenya.
NEW YORK (AP) - Online sales at Target more than doubled as the pandemic put millions in lockdown during the first quarter, revealing further the critical role big box stores played in getting supplies to an immobilized population.

The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday that comparable-store sales, which include online purchases, rose 10.8% for the three-month period that ended May 2.

That was fueled by a 12.5% jump in the number of items customers bought with each trip to the store as families made major restocking runs, but fewer of them.

"Last quarter was unlike anything I have ever seen," Target's CEO Brian Cornell told reporters on a conference call. "It was intense. It was volatile. It was stressful for our guests and for the country."

The pandemic has widened an already growing rift between big box retailers that deftly followed consumers online, and those, particularly mall-based clothing chains, that have struggled. Walmart this week reported a 74% surge in U.S. online sales for the first quarter. Same-store sales rose 10% at its U.S. stores.

J.Crew, Stage Stores, Neiman Marcus and J.C. Penney, filed for bankruptcy protection this month.

FILE - In this April 6, 2020 file photo, a customer wearing a mask carries his purchases as he leaves a Target store during the coronavirus pandemic, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Online sales at Target more than doubled as the pandemic put millions in lockdown during the first quarter, revealing further the critical role big box stores played in getting supplies to an immobilized population. The Minneapolis company reported Wednesday, May 20 that comparable-store sales, which include online purchases, rose 10.8% for the three-month period that ended May 2. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

A years-long campaign by Walmart and Target to challenge Amazon.com online was, as it turns out, a dry run for a pandemic.

Target had already transformed its 1,800 stores into distribution hubs, putting it in a better position than even Amazon.com to keep supplies flowing. Its stores were directly involved in supplying goods for 80% of online sales. Same-day services, such as curbside pickup at stores for things ordered online, nearly tripled.

The company has 5 million new users on its website, and 2 million have begun relying on Target's services like curbside pickup for things ordered online.

Target picked up market share in all five of its merchandise categories, Cornell said. Sales of items like furniture and electronics surged 20%. It was the same for groceries.

Target's clothing sales, which come with high-margins for retailers, fell 20% during the quarter. However, that business began to rebound at the tail end of the quarter. Cornell cites government stimulus checks.

Walmart saw the same stimulus-check related bump to sales in April.

As with other retail companies operating in a pandemic, costs soared as well. Target spent and additional $500 million on things directly related to the outbreak. It's bumped up hourly pay for workers by $2. It has now extended emergency pay for those workers to July 4. Target also spent money to sanitize stores and warehouses, new protections for workers an signage for customers to ensure social distancing.

Cornell said those costs will be the new reality going forward.

"There is going to be a premium on creating a safe sanitized shopping environment," he said. Shopping while minimizing human contact is the new normal, he said, referring to drive-up and curbside pickup.

Target reported an 11.3% increase in revenue, which hit $19.62 billion for the quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $19.02 billion. Net earnings slid 64% to $284 million, or 56 cents, or 59 cents when adjusted for non-recurring events. That's far better than the per-share profit of 44 cents that Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet.

Shares were essentially flat Wednesday.

_____________________

Follow Anne DInnocenzio: http://twitter.com/ADInnocenzio
Ajay Kanth By

Express News Service

KOCHI: An airfare war has broken out among chartered airliners to bring the film crew of Djibouti and Aadujeevitham home. Stuck in Djibouti and Jordan, respectively, the teams of artists and technicians are waiting for the resumption of international flight service to fly back to India. Aviation industry sources told TNIE that many airliners, including Air India, are in discussion with the crew to transport them to Kochi airport, and are quoting a fare between Rs 95 lakh and Rs 1.7 crore per flight.

We have to get a lot of mandatory clearances to operate chartered flights to bring the film crew back home. Air India, being the countrys flag carrier, has a lot of advantage in getting nod from the ministry of civil aviation. But we are also in the race by offering highly competitive rates, said a senior executive of a chartered airliner.

Chartered airliner Halo Airways Pvt Ltd has submitted a quote to operate special chartered aircraft to transport 90-odd crew members of film Djibouti from Djibouti to Kochi, said its CEO Shoby T Paul. Once we get the approval, an A-320 aircraft will be used from Dubai for the operation which will cost below `1 crore. All the stipulated Covid-19 safety protocols will be followed and we will ensure that all passengers adhere to the guidelines put in place by central government for international travellers, he said.

Its learnt that many international airliners are also in fray, giving a tough competition to Air India. Airliners see this as an opportunity to make up for the loss suffered during the 50-odd days of lockdown. While the shooting of Dileesh Pothen-starrer Djibouti was completed in April, the filming of Aadujeevithum with Prithviraj in the lead role wrapped up only a few days back.
COVID-19 fatalities may be much more than what is being reported

Explained: Why the development of coronavirus vaccine is delayed?

India

oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P

New Delhi, May 20: With the number of coronavirus cases on the rise, there has been news about inventing a new vaccine that could fight against the spread of COVID-19. But, there are several other far-fetched approaches where the invention of the vaccine not as close we think.

According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is also the coronavirus survivor, had reportedly said that the invention of the vaccine remains a very long way to go and a vaccine might not come to fruition.

Migrants in Uttarakhand pose new threat to state as 84% have travel history to COVID-19 areas

What are the series of stages to develop a vaccine?

It is evident that the development of a vaccine is a long process that can lose the momentum at any step. Also, there is another issue of effectiveness. Meanwhile, several other questions arise on how the vaccine performs in real-life conditions against efficacy.

As per the protocols, once a candidate is identified, the safety and efficacy of the candidate have to be tested over three phases. The fourth stage involves the collection and analysis of post-marketing data.

Indias COVID-19 death toll touches 3,163

In this case of coronavirus, there are more than 100 vaccines developed across the world, while some are developed from scratch and some from the existing molecules developed for other diseases.

What is Oxford University's stand on the development of a vaccine?

Recently, Oxford University had reportedly announced that it is ready to trial its vaccine candidate that was developed from the common cold virus whose safety in humans is already established.

Hydroxychloroquine a 'line of defence' against virus, says Donald Trump defending drug

"ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans. Genetic material has been added to the ChAdOx1 construct, that is used to make proteins from the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) called Spike glycoprotein (S)," the University said

Meanwhile, a recent report revealed that the university gave out the results of the vaccine trial in macaques. "We observed a significantly reduced viral load in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and respiratory tract tissue of vaccinated animals challenged with SARS-CoV-2 compared with control animals, and no pneumonia was observed in vaccinated rhesus macaques." In simple words, the said vaccine had not prevented the novel virus but had prevented pneumonia.

What is CanSino Biologics' stand on the invention of the vaccine?

Several reports claimed that Hong Kong-listed firm CanSino Biologics is testing a vaccine. Recently, Phase one trials were cleared and the vaccine is currently moving into Phase two that is allegedly "based on the preliminary safety data of Phase I clinical trial".

Imperial College London

The government of the United Kingdom is reportedly funding a vaccine effort at Imperial College London. Professor Robin Shattock, the Head of Mucosal Infection and Immunity in the UK Department of Medicine, and his team developed the vaccine within 14 days of getting the gene sequence of the virus from China. However, it is reportedly said that the vaccine is not being tested in animals. The researchers are expected to move to human trials soon. The Professor was quoted as saying that the vaccine could be available sometime next year.
SANTO ANTONIO DO ICA, Brazil - Residents of Santo Antonio do Ica hid from the sun under umbrellas as they waited anxiously for the twin turboprop plane to land in their town in the farthest reaches of the Brazilian Amazon.

Aboard the aircraft, doctor Daniel Siqueira and nurse Janete Vieira prepared for the days mission: the evacuation of two patients from the municipality of some 22,000 people. Because COVID-19 has slammed its small population, with almost 500 cases, the town has the highest incidence per capita of any Brazilian municipality, according to a compilation of official data by the G1 news portal.

The lives of 89-year-old Sildomar Castelo Branco and the towns mayor, Abraao Lasmar, would be in the health workers hands until they landed in state capital of Manaus, some 550 miles (880 kilometres) away.

The sparsely populated but vast rainforest region is among Brazils hardest hit, with scattered riverside towns completely unprepared to cope with the virus that crept upriver from Manaus. Some towns cant get oxygen tanks refilled or dont have breathing machines, forcing nurses to manually pump air into lungs. When they do have machines, power cuts frequently shut them down.

Many patients need higher level care  so they must wait for the puddlejumper to take them to Manaus, the only place in the state of 4 million people that has full intensive care units. While they wait, their conditions worsen.

They managed to isolate the remote areas for a bit, but now (the virus) has invaded the remote areas, and there are a lot of patients getting worse who need to be brought to the capital, said Siqueira. If we leave them there, they would die.

___

This story was produced with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

___

Flying to Manaus is a gamble. The altitude and pressure during the trip can strain already damaged lungs, and a patients condition can deteriorate in a matter of minutes. The day before this trip, Siqueira lost a COVID-19 patient just 35 minutes after taking off. But theres no alternative.

In the interior of the state, we dont have human resources, we dont have doctors, we dont have enough people to operate intensive-care unit machines, Gov. Wilson Lima said in an interview in Manaus.

To reach Santo Antonio do Ica, near the border with Colombia, takes several days by boat on the Solimoes River, and there is only so much equipment small aircraft can bring in. Each turboprop can only bring out one critically ill patient at a time because of the demands on the accompanying medics; it can carry an additional less sick patient in a pinch.

Most medical personnel in Amazonas state are concentrated in the swamped hospitals of its capital. There was only one doctor working in Santo Antonio do Ica until Anancy Lasmar, the mayors niece, returned to her hometown to help. The town has only one ventilator.

Its hard not to get emotional. I was brought up here and when I got to the front line I saw everyone who I know, Lasmar said. She has lost two uncles and 20 patients.

A federal judge ruled this week that the situation is so critical in the region, which is home to countless indigenous people who are particularly vulnerable, that authorities must urgently expand capacity at a military hospital in the area.

Amazonas, almost as big as Alaska, has the fourth highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases among Brazils states  despite a small population and insufficient testing. Brazil has confirmed over 271,000 cases and nearly 18,000 deaths; the daily increases to its death toll have been growing.

On Tuesday, state health authorities reported for the first time fewer infections in Manaus  home to nearly half of the states population  than in the rest of Amazonas. The numbers are reflected in the waiting list of patients requesting medical evacuations that has tripled in recent days, Siqueira said.

In Santo Antonio do Ica, he and his colleague had to jump into action even before their patients boarded. Castelo Branco, the octogenarian, urgently needed a breathing tube inserted  right on the runway. Sweating under his protective suit in the humid air, Siqueira performed the procedure.

My dad never got sick. Even the flu couldnt bring him down, Castelo Brancos daughter Telma Maria lamented. But this damn virus brought him down.

Mayor Lasmar, 53, always one to chat and joke with locals like a natural politician, smiled and waved at well-wishers who had gathered at the airport as he boarded the plane. But he couldnt muster a complete sentence as he struggled to breathe.

Residents and relatives watched and prayed as the plane took off. They were unsure whether theyd see them again. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness and lead to death.

For the next three hours, doctors did everything they could to keep Castelo Branco alive, while the mayor, whose condition required less medical attention but was rapidly worsening, coughed nearby.

Minutes into the flight, Castelo Brancos heart rate skyrocketed, forcing Siqueira to inject a cocktail of drugs. The loss of a patient on the prior days flight was fresh in his memory, and he didnt want a repeat.

But just after his heart rate stabilized, Castelo Brancos blood pressure plummeted. The medical team injected a second round of drugs.

Two ambulances were waiting at Manaus airport when the plane touched down. Its back hatch opened and Castelo Branco  along with a network of tubes, cables and machines  was pulled from the plane.

He still had a pulse.

Now hes no longer mine, Siqueira said, breathing a sigh of relief that he had done his part.

As Lasmar climbed into the other ambulance, he gave a thumbs up and managed through strained breath to utter the words: Thank you.

Hundreds of miles upriver in Santo Antonio do Ica, five more people were waiting for airlifts that might not arrive in time.
(Newser)  A shooting at a Colorado Waffle House that left one employee injured took place after a customer was asked to wear a face mask, local cops say. According to an arrest affidavit cited by KDVR, police say 27-year-old Kelvin Watson first showed up at the Aurora restaurant, which is currently offering takeout only, shortly after midnight on Thursday. A waitress informed him he couldn't be served unless he sported a mask (Aurora-area locals aren't required to wear face masks, but they're encouraged to do so). Watson was then said to have come back with a mask, though he wasn't wearing it, and when he was once more told no mask, no service, he allegedly took out a small gun, placed it on the counter, and informed the 25-year-old cook he could "blow your brains out."

story continues below

Fast-forward to Friday night, again just after midnight, when Watson allegedly showed up a third time and was confronted by the same cook from the previous encounter, who again told him he had to wear a mask or they wouldn't serve him. Watson is then said to have slapped the cook's face, at which point the cook started running, he told cops. The affidavit notes the cook was shot outside the restaurant; he told police he called 911 as he sprinted toward his home. Police say the cook was taken to the hospital. The Denver Channel notes he suffered serious injuries to his abdomen, but was treated and released and is expected to recover. Watson, meanwhile, was arrested Monday and has been charged on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder. "We are deeply saddened and regret that this senseless act of violence occurred," Waffle House says in a statement. (Read more Waffle House stories.)
He has been isolating at his home in Canada with wife Hailey Baldwin over the past few months.

And Justin Bieber's visit home meant he was there to celebrate his sister Jazmyn's 12th birthday on Tuesday.

And rather than buy a present, the 26-year-old with a net worth $285 million, enlisted the help of some the world's top celebrities to share a personal message to Jazmyn.

The Biebers! Jazmyn shared a photo on social media of all her siblings, including Hailey and Justin, celebrating with her

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZZ. SOME VERY SPECIAL PEOPLE CAME TOGETHER TO SHOW YOU HOW LOVED AND SPECIAL YOU ARE,' Justin captioned the eight minute clip.

Stars included; Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, DJ Khaled, Ariana Grande, the Smith family, Zendaya, Romeo Beckham, Tom Holland, Snoop Dogg, Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Billie Eilish, Marshmellow, Quavo, Charli D'Amelio, The Weeknd, Chirs Brown and Kevin Hart.

The video was posted to Justin's IGTV and received over 2.6 million views within the first two hours.

Natural vs glam: While Kylie had a full face of makeup and a filter, sister Kendall went makeup free

Wants to hug her: Ariana also kept it short and sweet: 'I just want to wish you a happy birthday and have a great day and I can't wait to give you a big hug when this is all over'

Where DJ Khaled took over one minute of the video to wish the pre-teen, Kylie Jenner kept it simple.

She said: 'Hey Jazzy, it's Kylie. I just want to wish you a happy birthday all the way from home. I hope that you're staying safe and I hope that you have the best day ever.'

Ariana also kept it short and sweet: 'I just want to wish you a happy birthday and have a great day and I can't wait to give you a big hug when this is all over.'

Starting it off: The Smith family were first to wish Jaz in the 8 minute video

Sending their love: Kevin Hart and The Weeknd sent sincere messages to Jazmyn on Tuesday

Over on Jazmyn's social media account she shared a sweet photo with all her siblings and sister-in-law, Hailey.

'Celebrating my birthday today with this crazy fam,' the 12-year-old captioned.

Jazmyn sat between Hailey and Justin with a feather scar and fun glasses over her eyes.

There was a 'Happy Birthday' banner stuck on the window with balloons all around her.

Listen up: Dj Khaled had lots to say to Jazmyn on her birthday

Making music: Jeremy recently shared a photo of his elder children in the recording studio

They were also joined by Justin's other siblings, Jaxon, 10, Bay, one, and step-sister, Allie, 12.

Justin's dad, Jeremy Bieber, welcomed Jasmyn and Jaxon with his ex partner, Erin Wagner. They split after seven years in 2014.

He went on to marry Chelsea Bieber in 2018. They welcomed Bay shortly after their wedding and she's the mom to Allie from a previous relationship.

In 2014, Justin purchased his dad an $850K mansion with Jeremy also boasting at the time that his son gave him a $50K monthly allowance.

It's not known if the Sorry star still provides such funds to his father.
RIO DE JANEIRO - President Jair Bolsonaro unveiled rules Wednesday expanding the prescription of chloroquine, the predecessor of an anti-malaria drug promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump, for coronavirus patients despite a lack of clinical proof that it is effective.

Chloroquine was already being used in Brazil for COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized in serious condition, and under the new regulations, it can be given to people with lighter symptoms such as abdominal pain, cough or fever, according to the Health Ministry.

There is still no scientific evidence, but it is being monitored and used in Brazil and worldwide, Bolsonaro, who has likened the virus to a little flu and feuded with local governments over their stay-at-home measures, said via his official Facebook page. We are at war: Worse than being defeated is the shame of not having fought.

More than 291,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Brazil, the third most in the world after the United States and Russia, and the announcement came a day after the countrys single-day death toll from the virus hit a new high of more than 1,100. Officials said Wednesday that 888 more died in the subsequent 24 hours.

Trump has promoted treating COVID-19 with hydroxychloroquine, a variant considered less toxic and more effective than chloroquine, and he announced Monday that he was taking the drug as a precaution. No large, rigorous studies have found either drug safe or effective for preventing or treating the virus.

Bolsonaro, a conservative populist and nationalist, has long expressed admiration for Trump and enthusiasm for chloroquine. Brazils new guidelines were approved by interim Health Minister Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, who had no health experience prior to becoming the ministrys No. 2 official in April.

Pazuellos appointment to the top job came after then-Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta was fired last month for publicly supporting state governors who shut down nonessential businesses and adopted other measures against the virus, and after Mandettas replacement, Nelson Teich, resigned last week. Teich did not explain why he left, but he had publicly disagreed with Bolsonaro over chloroquine.

Speaking to a group of street cleaners in the capital, Brasilia, Bolsonar suggested Wednesday that he has no plans to replace Pazuello: This one is going to stay for a long time.

Officials say nearly 19,000 people have died of the coronavirus in Brazil so far, and experts warn that low testing rates mean the true number of cases is likely far higher.

Health systems in various states have gone over capacity, with overwhelmed intensive care units unable to take in new COVID-19 patients, and experts say rising numbers of people are dying at home.

Cemeteries are using backhoes to dig hundreds of graves at a time, and Manaus in the heart of the Amazon rainforest is burying the dead in mass graves.

Gen. Pazuello appointed nine more military officers to the Health Ministry on Tuesday, Folha de S. Paulo reported, including his No. 2, Col. Antonio Elcio Franco Filho.

Also Wednesday, Bolsonaro announced the resignation of Culture Secretary Regina Duarte, a former soap opera star who was recently criticized by many in the opposition and the arts community for downplaying torture during the 1964-1985 dictatorship and who had warned against the dangers of unbearable morbidity around the virus.

Bolsonaro continues to oppose governors and mayors who are renewing stay-at-home recommendations or introducing stricter measures.

The former army captain has argued in favour of restarting the economy, even though experts say Brazil has yet to reach the peak of the pandemic. He believes that containment measures are too painful in a country where tens of millions of workers depend on low-paid jobs in the informal sector.

Several large observational studies, including one in U.S. hospitals for veterans, have not found benefit from hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19. Earlier this year scientists in Brazil stopped part of a study of chloroquine after seeing heart rhythm problems among patients taking a higher of two doses being compared.
A hapless drug runner busted trafficking $200 million worth of meth because he crashed his van into parked police cars offered up a farcical cover story upon his arrest, court documents have revealed.

Simon Tu, 27, was branded 'Australia's dumbest criminal' when he accidentally ploughed his white Toyota HiAce into stationary cop cars outside a police station in Sydney's Eastwood one Monday morning last July.

Daily Mail Australia can exclusively reveal Tu has admitted the crimes of supplying 260kg of crystal methylamphetamine, known as ice and other charges including negligent driving.

As Tu faces up to 20 years' imprisonment, documents released by the New South Wales District Court on Wednesday shed light on the moment he was arrested for the first time.

The papers also detail what police know about the mysterious - and clearly well-supplied - drug conspiracy Tu was a part of.

Sprung: Simon Tu, 27, accidentally rammed into two parked police cars in broad daylight while driving a car with carrying up to $200million in methylamphetamine in the back

Smashed up: Tu's spectacular crash destroyed the front of a police sedan parked out the front of Eastwood Police Station, in Sydney's north-west

After crashing his car into the police vehicles at 10.36am on July 22, Tu drove his banged-up van for about an hour before officers pulled him over on Blaxland Road, Ryde, the court document said.

Tu, dressed in a white business shirt, jeans and loafers, was 'nervous, shaking, fidgety' and avoided eye contact as officers asked what happened outside the police station.

Tu said he had fallen asleep behind the wheel - veering onto the wrong side of the road - and only woke up when he rammed into the cop car.

'Driving and microsleep ... realised I fell asleep,' he said.

Tu, who was being recorded by police body worn cameras, was then asked what he'd been doing in the suburb, the court facts said.

Someone isn't going to be happy. You know how much it's worth? A detective speaking to Tu on July 22

He claimed - brazenly, given what was in the back of his van - that he was simply 'delivering food'.

The fidgety driver said he picked up food from a warehouse in Eastwood and was running deliveries around Sydney.

But police were suspicious of claims, the fact sheet said, because of his nervy demeanour and the fact he had driven off from a disastrous crash out the front of a police station.

Officers inspected the back of the van and found a series of Bunnings-branded cardboard boxes. What they didn't see was any food, the facts said.

What was hiding in the back: Police found 260kg of crystal methylamphetamine in Tu's vehicle

The court facts said the purity of the substance was between 71 and 81 per cent

The cardboard boxes were loaded out of the van and meticulously pored through by gloved New South Wales police officers

Police opened one of the boxes and found twenty resealable bags of a suspicious crystalline powder. There were 260 bags of the drug inside in total.

The detectives asked Tu what was in the bags, but he was evasive. 'Not sure,' he said, the court documents said.

Then he made an intriguing admission.

He claimed to have picked up the boxes from a Pizza Hut outlet an hour before - but wouldn't say who had given them to him.

Officers also found a note with the address of the Eastwood, Balaclava Rd Pizza Hut in his jacket pocket.

Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing by people involved in the business  only that Tu claims to have allegedly collected them there.

The detective asked: 'Mate, we have a drug dog coming and it's going to be analysed. Is it drugs?'

Tu shrugged.

'What is it ... ice?' the police officer asked.

Tu shrugged again.

'Someone isn't going to be happy. You know how much it's worth?'

'A lot,' Tu admitted.

'What's the go, you owe people money or just wanted to make some quick cash?'

'Something like that,' Tu said.

In the hour after the crash, a shaken Tu only managed to get from Eastwood to the nearby suburb of Ryde

An address of a Pizza Hut outlet on Balaclava Rd (above) was found written on a note in Tu's pocket, court documents said. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing by people involved in the business

The agreed fact sheet said Tu has accepted he knew the boxes contained prohibited drugs and that they contained a 'large commercial quantity' - a critical legal definition which would allow prosecutors to jail him for up to 20 years.

But he didn't know the exact quantity of drugs in the car.

'There is no evidence ... the offender played any further role other than as the driver of the vehicle which was transporting the drugs at the time he was apprehended,' the agreed facts said.

Tu's truck was fingerprinted extensively and his prints only turned up in the driver's seat and on the front of the truck, not the back, the facts said.

He offered police a 'no comment' in an electronically recorded interview at the station.

Tu's crash was one of the biggest - and easiest - drug hauls in the history of the New South Wales Police Force, with officers valuing the total haul at $200 million at the time.

'(He) has certainly had a very, very bad day,' Detective Chief Inspector Glyn Baker said at the time of the arrest.

'Crashing into a police vehicle with that amount of drugs on board is somewhat unheard of.'

Tu has been remanded in custody and his sentencing will begin on September 10.

Police investigations continue.
Ambassadors of the 27 European Union member states have endorsed two agreements that will make it easier and cheaper for Belarusian citizens to enter most EU countries.

The May 20 decision will be officially rubber-stamped on May 26 by the European Council, consisting of the governments of all EU member states, with the agreements expected to enter into force in July at the earliest.

Brussels and Minsk signed the two agreements in January and Belarus's National Assembly adopted them last month, while the European Parliament gave its green light earlier this week.

Once they enter into force, visa fees will be reduced to 35 euros ($38) from 80 euros ($87), while the deadline for consulates to make a decision on a visa application will be shortened.

Several categories of travelers -- such as journalists and students -- will also be able to get multiple-entry visas with longer validity.

Visa facilitation is the first step before potentially granting the complete visa-liberalization regime currently enjoyed by the citizens of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

It applies to all EU countries apart from Ireland, as well as non-EU states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 22:39:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

HELSINKI, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL) on Wednesday toned down the COVID-19 restrictive recommendations to seniors.

At the start of the pandemic, Finland issued a recommendation for seniors aged over 70 to stay inside as much as possible and avoid all contact with other people. As the pandemic situation is getting better, THL said the restrictive recommendations could be eased now.

However, the THL still warned seniors against trusting the personal feeling of "being in good condition."

Minna-Liisa Luoma, head of the unit of Ageing, Disability and Functioning at THL, told a government press conference, that "age as such" worsens the person's immunity level, irrespective of the personal feeling of health.

"Good personal physical strength does not mean a strong immune defense ability," Luoma said, explaining that a person actually cannot feel the strength of his or her immunity.

Speaking at the press conference, Minister for Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru said that the "pandemic is not over," and seniors should use "common sense."

The minister praised the high acceptance level of the recommendations among the seniors, adding that it contributed in easing Finnish health care situation at the time when a "blitz epidemic" was feared this spring.

According to Statistics Finland, the country has 875,000 people aged over 70, out of the current population of 5.5 million. Enditem
So many things have changed during the coronavirus crisis. But one thing has luckily stayed the same  New Jersey pizza is amazing, and our neighbors across the Hudson River are still taking notice.

Popular food website The Infatuation posted a NYC Pizza Showdown bracket on Monday, a terrific idea at a time when were all starving for content (and pizza! Were always starving for pizza.)

But among the 16 pizzerias vying for the crown are 14 New York pizza spots and... two New Jersey pizza restaurants.

Anyone paying attention to where New Yorks pizza attention has been in recent years wont be surprised at all that those two spots are located a short PATH ride from New York in... Jersey City, aka the town quickly becoming New Jerseys haute pizza capital.

You guessed it. New York Times darlings Razza and Bread and Salt both made the field, squaring off against the likes of Big Apple pizza royalty like L&B Spumoni, Lucali, Robertas and Scarrs.

A year ago I may have found this to be pizza pandemonium. If your pizza is so great, New York, why are you claiming two of our spots as your own?!? Id scream across the Hudson between bites of a burrata pie from Razza.

I could go on a red-saucy rant about how there is terrific pizza in New Jersey that Pete Wells hasnt given the The New York Times stamp of approval. I could point out that Santillos in Elizabeth won NJ.coms Jersey Eats New Jersey Pizza madness competition (Al Santillo texted me, theyre trying to get in on the action! What are you going to do about it? when he saw the NYC pizza bracket).

I could remind everyone that Star Tavern is a short drive into Essex County.

But that would be getting further away from New York, and further from the point. New Jersey and New York are hurting worse than anyone during coronavirus, and maybe its time for a pizza ceasefire. Jersey City is going to need New York visitors when its safe to travel again, and vice versa. Were gonna need to break sauce and cheese-covered bread, and eat each others pizza.

So were flattered you think this highly of our pizza, New York. Some of yours is pretty great, too. But the next time you try to argue who has the best pie, just remember we have the pizza receipts.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
F rom the outside, it is an average central London hotel. One of the hundreds of converted-terrace houses in Victoria and South Kensington, which serve the masses of tourists that would descend on London in normal times.

But despite the room rates advertised by the front desk, the clientele of this hotel is today rather different. They are people who, until coronavirus hit, were homeless or rough sleepers.

They are also testament to one of Londons greatest and largely unheralded achievements of the crisis.

At the start of the lockdown, the capitals authorities, in partnership with the charitable sector, launched a joint effort to take Londons homeless off the streets and out of danger. In less than a week, London was able to practically end rough sleeping.

Over the past few weeks, I was able to see for myself what exactly has happened. One charity on the frontline, Thames Reach, invited me to see how they are operating during the time of Covid.

I joined one of its outreach teams, which still walks the streets looking for rough sleepers, I visited a hostel that continues to run for those with complex needs, and I entered the commercial hotel that it now runs.

Bill Tidnam, the charitys CEO, explained that as the country went into lockdown, he and other organisations had to co-ordinate almost overnight to get Londons homeless housed  a task previously considered nigh on impossible.

The starting gun, he explained, was fired by the countrys homelessness czar, Dame Louise Casey. She had been brought back into government to lead a review on rough sleeping and found herself in a unique situation.

On March 26 Casey emailed local authorities and homeless charities calling on them to ensure rough sleepers were inside and safe with immediate effect.

The result was an operation to take over hotels empty as a result of the collapse of the tourism trade, and then for people to fan out across the city to inform the homeless.

It all happened in a great hurry, Tidnam recalled of those first frantic days. It was extremely difficult to start up such a new service, especially at a time when we were quite short of staff as people were self-isolating. But we did it.

Visiting one of the hotels that Thames Reach took over, it was clear how frenzied those first few days were.

Katherine Cowling had been running a day centre for the charity in Deptford when it had to close due to the Covid crisis.

Within days she was preparing the organisations new hotel in west London, her laptop resting on the bed in one of the rooms as she worked.

Food, she said, was a major challenge as it took almost a week until regular deliveries. I was just desperately using Uber Eats and JustEat, she recalled. There were days when I was here 12 hours straight.

By the end of last month, when I spent an evening with Tidnam and his outreach team in Croydon, areas that used to have a large number of people sleeping out each night were largely deserted. That evening we came across just two rough sleepers.

One, a young man called Kai, was begging outside the tram station. There are normally 20 or 30 around here, he told me. But they have been gone for the last couple of weeks.

He had originally been part of the Everyone In strategy, given a place to stay, but was asked to leave due to his behaviour. That put him in a small minority. Some 4,000 people  the vast majority of the citys most at-risk homeless  have had as a result of Caseys action somewhere safe to see out the crisis.

One of those at Thames Reachs west London hotel is Ancuta Moise. Born in Romania, and homeless after she lost her job, she had been in a shelter when she was moved to the hotel as the virus spread.

My room was so beautiful and so clean. I have my own bathroom and I feel protected here

It was so beautiful and so clean, the 37-year-old told me of her new accommodation as she proudly showed me her room. I have my own bathroom and I feel protected here. There is fresh food. From the first moment I saw it I felt happy.

Evgeny Lebedev speaks to Ancuta Moise in her hotel room / Lucy Young

Homelessness is an issue on which the Evening Standard has long been campaigning. The events of the last few months show what can be achieved.

The programme has not been perfect. It took time for specific hotels to be identified to house those with Covid symptoms, a particular problem for the homeless who often have recurrent coughs. Existing arrangements with many hotels are due to expire in coming weeks.

But the key question now is what happens next. There can not be a return to business as usual.

My encounter with Ancuta remains at the forefront of my mind. A vase of flowers sat on a small table. On one of the twin beds she had rested her Bible which she had spent her time at the hotel reading. It wasnt much, but it was home.

My hope is to be able to train as a florist and work with flowers, she told me when I asked about her future. That is what I hope will happen after I live here. It will be in the hands of God and Prime Minister Johnson to help all the people on the streets. I put myself in their hands.

Our challenge is to give people like Ancuta a future after this crisis. We dont need to imagine a city where no one need sleep rough; weve seen it. Now lets think about how we can do it in the long term.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 20)  The government is in talks with airlines about the use of electronic arrival cards and boarding passes for international passengers to fast track contact tracing and minimize physical contact, the Bureau of Immigration announced on Wednesday.

The BI is discussing with different airlines the mechanics and procedures for implementing the said initiatives so these could become operational as soon as possible, Immigration chief Jaime Morente said in a statement.

For his part, BI Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina said, Should information be needed for contact tracing, we wouldnt have to manually dig into boxes of arrival cards which take up precious time. With one click, we would be able to provide the data faster to contact tracers.

Medina said under the new system, airlines can simply scan unique QR codes from a passengers device to check-in.

This will create a fully paperless transaction during immigration assessment, reduce the risk of transmission, and allow for more efficient monitoring, he said.

The safety measures are all part of the "new normal" in air travel.

Some local airlines have suspended flights until May 31, due to the government-ordered lockdown.
The Congress alleged on Wednesday the Uttar Pradesh government is obstructing efforts to help migrant workers by not allowing in 500 buses, and urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to enable the labourers to safely reach their homes.

The party said the buses, which have been standing at the Uttar Pradesh border for the past six days, will remain till 4 pm on Wednesday.

The issue has triggered a war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, with both sides accusing each other of playing politics with the plight of migrant workers.

One is astounded, one cannot understand - if it were not tragic for humanity, it would be comic. How is it that the state government is sitting and doing nothing and not letting anyone else do something, and also obstructing any help for the migrant workers, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters via video conference.

Will the Uttar Pradesh government stand up and explain to the nation? For the last six days, especially the last two days and even as we speak, about 500 buses are standing at the Uttar Pradesh border. How is it that you will not allow to ferry the migrant workers of UP and Bihar? This is the cheapest form of politics, he said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the BJP government are at loggerheads over her plan to send 1,000 buses to help transport migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh to other states.

The offer was made on Saturday, and accepted on Monday. But by Tuesday evening, the Uttar Pradesh government said only 879 of the 1,000 vehicles were buses, and the rest three-wheelers and other vehicles, triggering angry reactions from the Congress.

In its own statement, the state government has admitted 879 buses in the list have been found alright. The administration (Agra) has stopped our 500 buses for hours, while 300 buses are reaching the Delhi border. Allow the 879 buses to run, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted.

UP government has crossed all the limits. When there is an opportunity to do away with political differences and serve helpless migrant labourers it has caused all the hindrances. @myogiadityanath ji you can use BJP flags and your posters on these buses, but dont reject our feelings of service, she said in another tweet.

Late on Tuesday evening, Uttar Pradesh Police booked Priyanka Gandhis private secretary Sandip Singh and state Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu for allegedly providing misleading information about the buses.

It is still not too late and I beseech with folded hands, like Priyankaji said, if you are so concerned about politics, please put your name or party banner but at least use the help we are providing, Singhvi said.

I beseech with folded hands, if the Adityanath government cannot help the migrants, let Priyankaji and the Congress party help the migrants, he added.
Sony tweeted a tease for a new 4K compact camera arriving May 26th, and rumor has it that it will designed for vlogging. Called the ZV-1, it will be based on Sonys popular RX100 VII with some key differences, according to a leaked PR and specs seen by Sony Alpha Rumors. While it reportedly packs the same canny eye-tracking autofocus and 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor, it comes with a different 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens, large record button, 3-capsule microphone, fully-articulating display and a grip.

That should make it more video-friendly than the RX100 VII, which has a less bokeh-capable 24-200mm f/2.8 zoom, a pop-up (rather than a vari-angle) display, small record button and none of the accessories. Other possible specs on the ZV-1 include a built-in neutral-density filter that will allow for better bokeh in bright light, a Soft Skin effect to smooth wrinkles and a custom face-priority auto-exposure algorithm. It may also have a one-button product showcase setting that can automatically shift focus from your face to another object.

Sony teased an image that looks much like what has been leaked, but itd be best to take the specs with some salt until the camera is announced officially. That will happen on May 26th at 10AM ET, and Engadget will be there to bring you the news.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday described as very worrying the continuing rapid spread of coronavirus in Armenia but argued against changing his governments strategy of coping with the epidemic.

Pashinian said the Armenian authorities should only make some adjustments to their decentralized fight against the virus which places a great deal of responsibility on ordinary citizens.

The Ministry of Health reported earlier in the day at least 3 more deaths and 230 new COVID-19 infections, which brought to 5,271 the total number of confirmed cases in the country of about 3 million. The official death toll from the virus reached 67.

Citing the growing number of cases, Health Minister Arsen Torosian announced on Tuesday that the authorities will have to stop in the coming days hospitalizing or isolating most people testing positive for COVID-19.

Our calculations show that if we dont change anything we will have about 10,000 cases  by the end of May and that figure could reach 20,000 in mid-June, Pashinian said at a meeting of an interagency commission coordinating government measures against the virus.

The authorities, he went on, should therefore review the quality and scale of measures already taken by them.

We should first and foremost understand how we are going to make more effective the fight against coronavirus which we believe is most effective, he said. Namely, the decentralized struggle whereby as many forces and citizens as possible should be involved in the fight against coronavirus at the level of individual responsibility.

Pashinian has repeatedly urged Armenians to do so by practicing social distancing and taking other precautions recommended by the health authorities. Some opposition figures and other critics of the Armenian government have responded by accusing him of trying to dodge responsibility for the authorities lax enforcement of stay-at-home orders and failure to contain the epidemic.

As part of a nationwide lockdown imposed in late March, the government seriously restricted peoples movements and ordered the closure of most nonessential businesses. It began relaxing these restrictions already in mid-April. The daily numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country have steadily increased since then.

Critics say that the authorities lifted the lockdown too soon and are now paying the consequences. They cite the example of many other countries, notably neighboring Georgia, which have kept lockdown restrictions in place for at least two months and are now reporting very low infection rates.

Pashinian dismissed such comparisons, claiming that Armenia has at the time suffered less financial and economic damage from the virus than some of those countries. We should carry on with our tactics and not underestimate socioeconomic problems vis-a-vis health problems, he said. On the other hand, the aggravation of the health crisis could further deepen economic problems and make it harder to solve them.

A government statement on the meeting chaired by Pashinian said the government commission discussed further actions in the fight against the virus. But it did not report concrete decisions made by the ad hoc body.
It must have been a happy day for Michael Winterbottom, deviser and director of The Trip and its sequels, when he came across that quote. In this series imitation has always been the main item on the menu ever since Brydon and his more celebrated travelling companion Steve Coogan, both playing lightly fictionalised versions of themselves, first embarked on a tour of the Lake District in 2010.

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan reprise the old pals act in The Trip To Greece.

Early in The Trip to Greece, Rob Brydon gears up for the journey by reading from Aristotles Poetics, which defined some of the basic principles of drama long before screenwriting manuals came into vogue. According to Aristotle, the basis of drama lies in imitation - which for humans is a source of universal pleasure.

The pretext for that journey was a series of restaurant reviews commissioned by The Observer. Subsequent adventures have stuck with the same framework, while gradually dropping the pretence either character is interested in food.

What remains is a sense of pampered idleness, entailing a minimum of plot and a maximum of banter between the leads built on their virtuoso impersonations of celebrities, especially those they likely admired in their long distant youth.

Coogan and Brydons duelling Michael Caines are already legendary. This time, we get a fair amount of Brando, some Mick Jagger, a flash of Tom Hardy and a lengthy riff on Ray Winstones 2003 performance as Henry VIII.

All this is part of the larger game of oneupmanship played almost constantly by the pair. Theres a dangerous edge to this sniping, but also a sense that this is the most natural way for a pair of middle-aged British comics to express mutual affection and respect.

The Trip series is about the most original thing Winterbottom has done (as well as the funniest, and probably the most likely to endure). But he too is doing imitations: each instalment draws from various literary sources chosen to match the setting.
McCorveys life had been hard. Her mother hit her. As a girl, she ran away with a female friend, and when they were caught kissing, she was sent to reform school for punishment. She escaped a marriage to a man who she said abused her and found a long-term partner in Connie Gonzales, but the 1970s and 80s werent always welcoming times for lesbians. Now, though, there was a movement that saw her as a hero. She was offered speaking engagements  local ones at first, and then she met famed feminist attorney Gloria Allred, and the engagements became national. She was funny and vulgar and had the wry, weary wit of an early Roseanne Barr. When a reporter at a news conference asked how much money she made as a maid, she shot back: Why? Anybody here need a good housecleaning?
By Simon Wintels, Matthieu Francois - Simon Wintels is a partner at McKinseys Singapore office and Matthieu Francois is an associate partner in Ho Chi Minh City

Despite having experienced disruption to their daily lives, McKinseys mid-April consumer survey found that most citizens remain hopeful that their country will weather these tough times. This optimism, coupled with the countrys head start on recovery, is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the countrys new reality.

Out of more than 600 respondents from Vietnam, 47 per cent expressed a belief that the economy will rebound within two to three months, and will then grow at a similar or even faster rate than before the pandemic.

Interestingly, this consumer confidence stands in contrast to several more developed economies. Our ongoing global consumer sentiment study found that only 22 per cent of Australian respondents, 14 per cent of Italians, 13 per cent of South Koreans, and 6 per cent of Japanese expect their economies to rebound within two to three months.

It is likely that this positive outlook is rooted in the Vietnamese respondents conviction about the growth potential of a young, resilient, digitally-savvy, and dynamic country  and possibly the wider region. We see similar benchmarks of optimism in neighbouring countries, such as Indonesia (53 per cent), Malaysia (46 per cent), and the Philippines (42 per cent).

Essential service focus

What is even more remarkable from our findings is that Vietnamese respondents are still holding onto their optimism despite grappling with financial hardship. Nearly half (47 per cent) of respondents expect the COVID-19 crisis to negatively impact their ability to make ends meet, and 52 per cent feel their jobs are less secure than before the pandemic.

As a result, two-thirds (67 per cent) of surveyed Vietnamese reveal that they are being very careful about how they spend their money, even as the country begins to reopen its economy.

Essential services will remain key areas of expenditure for Vietnamese consumers, with respondents sharing intent to spend more on groceries, telecommunications, and food delivery services than they did before the pandemic. By comparison, they expressed intent to spend less on discretionary categories such as jewellery and accessories, hotel and resort stays, and flights.

Pushing digital solutions

The coronavirus outbreak has understandably brought health and safety to the fore for many people. Some 81 per cent of Vietnamese respondents say that they are focused on exercising and healthy eating  one of the highest across all surveyed countries in Asia.

The shift to digital channels is more telling. Nearly 40 per cent of respondents listed the availability of an online store or mobile app as a primary factor for why they switched to a new grocery store. In addition, respondents who are grocery shopping online say they are spending more during COVID-19 than they did before, and they intend to continue to do so after the pandemic.

Even within physical stores, this digital shift is apparent as respondents express a stronger preference for contactless payment options, such as card tapping, in-app payment, and direct mobile payment, than they did before COVID-19.

Loyalty and pride

But amid the disruptions and shifts, our findings show that Vietnamese pride and community spirit remain heartening and strong. Of all the Southeast Asian respondents, buying local resonates most with the Vietnamese, with half of them saying they do not intend to increase purchases of foreign products, compared to 31 per cent in Indonesia and 40 per cent in Thailand.

When it comes to store loyalty, only 39 per cent said they have switched from their regular stores, mostly due to the stores proximity to home and the availability of essential goods. By comparison, while keeping in mind that distancing guidelines vary across the region, the store switch rate is 45 per cent for Thai respondents, 48 per cent for Indonesians, 59 per cent for Malaysians, and 67 per cent for Filipinos.

Brand loyalty is an area where we saw a significant, though likely temporary, shift. Three-quarters of Vietnamese respondents said they have switched brands, mostly due to availability of stock, but 95 per cent of switchers said they would return after COVID-19.

Future of retail

In previous large-scale crises, such as the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, we observed that changes in consumer sentiments and behaviours can persist even years after key economic indicators have returned to pre-crisis levels.

As the next normal starts to take shape, Vietnamese food retailers will have to quickly adjust. They can work on their response around three imperatives: rethinking the safety, health, and scope of their supply chains; using technology to better enable delivery, the value chain, and customer experience; and reimagining their notions of consumer loyalty.

Looking at the sentiments of Vietnamese consumers, it is clear their optimism in the countrys recovery has influence over consumer spending, which will be pivotal in rejuvenating its economy.

This creates the potential for a self-fulfilling prophecy. If this is the case, Vietnam will be well positioned to emerge stronger, economically and socially, in a post-pandemic world.
A man has been sentenced to death in Singapore via a Zoom video call for his role in a drug deal, in the first case in the city-state where such a decision has been delivered remotely.

Punithan Genasan, a 37-year-old Malaysian, received the sentence on Friday for his role in a 2011 heroin transaction, court documents showed, with the country under lockdown to try and curb one of the highest coronavirus rates in Asia.

MORE

For the safety of all involved in the proceedings, the hearing for Public Prosecutor v Punithan A/L Genasan was conducted by video conferencing, a spokesperson for Singapores Supreme Court said in response to Reuters questions, citing restrictions imposed to minimise the spread of the virus.

It was the first criminal case where a death sentence was pronounced by remote hearing in Singapore, the spokesperson added.

Genasans lawyer, Peter Fernando, said his client received the judges verdict on a Zoom call and was considering an appeal.





While rights groups have criticised the use of Zoom in capital cases, Fernando said he did not object to the use of video conferencing for Fridays call since it was only to receive the judges verdict, which could be heard clearly, and no other legal arguments were presented.

California-based tech firm Zoom did not immediately respond to a request for comment made via its representatives in Singapore. The Attorney Generals Chambers, the public prosecutor, referred Reuters news agencys questions to the Supreme Court.

Inherently cruel and inhumane

Many court hearings in Singapore have been adjourned during a lockdown period that started in early April and is due to run until June 1, while cases deemed essential have been held remotely.

Singapore has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drugs and has hanged hundreds of people  including dozens of foreigners  for narcotics offences over past decades, rights groups say.

Singapores use of the death penalty is inherently cruel and inhumane, and the use of remote technology like Zoom to sentence a man to death makes it even more so, said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division. HRW has also criticised a similar case in Nigeria where a death sentence was delivered via Zoom.

Countries with recorded executions for drug-related offences include China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Singapore [File: Roberto Coloma/AFP]

Countries with recorded executions for drug-related offences include China (which classifies figures as a state secret), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Singapore also retains the mandatory death penalty, in certain circumstances, for murder and drug trafficking, contrary to international safeguards and restrictions on the use of the death penalty.

According to Amnesty International, two persons were executed in Singapore for drug-related charges in 2019, while two others were hanged after being convicted of murder.

This case is another reminder that Singapore continues to defy international law and standards by imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking and as a mandatory punishment, Amnestys death penalty adviser Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement. This must end now. At a time when global attention is focused on saving and protecting lives in a pandemic, the pursuit of the death penalty is all the more abhorrent.
SPRINGFIELD  The manager of the Farmers Market at Forest Park has apologized for a controversial Facebook post telling the public to keep children away from the event.

Market manager Belle Rita Novak said she was deeply apologetic for the post made via the markets official account on Tuesday, and has clarified that the request was meant to urge customers to take precautions during the coronavirus pandemic.

The original post, which sparked a rebuke from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and hundreds of Facebook comments, said, Dont bring children to the market.

Novak deleted the original comment and replaced it Tuesday night.

We love your children at our Farmers Market which is why last season we had so many activities created especially for them, Novak said. "Given the current pandemic, though, my tone was stronger than it should be. I should have written Because of the current pandemic, please consider whether to bring your children with you to the market.

On Tuesday Sarno said the original post very hurtful and discriminating and called for an apology.

Sarno had no further comment on Wednesday, a spokesman said.

Sarno has asked Executive Director of Parks Patrick Sullivan and the Parks Commission to review Novaks overall operation of the market. The market requires approval from the city to operate within a public park.

After Sarno issued his statement about the matter Tuesday afternoon, Novak said children wearing facial coverings would be welcome.

In the subsequent apology, Novak said anyone who know her knows that she can be abrupt  but this post was too abrupt, even for me, and I am sorry to those offended," the post said.

The post continued: I hope that all of our markets customers  and their children  will once again continue to make our market successful this season as they have for the past two decades.

The market is tentatively scheduled to open Tuesday.

Related Content:
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
Aurora, N.Y.  Wells College, a small private college located in Aurora, said that it will not have enough money to operate if students arent allowed back on campus to start the fall, according to a report by Inside Higher Eds Emma Whitford.

Whitford cited an email sent by the schools president Jonathan Gibralter and noted Wells is particularly challenged because it is a private school with a small endowment that relies heavily on student fees to finance the school.

If New York State continues its mandate that our campus remain closed through all or part of the fall semester, Wells simply will not receive enough revenue to continue operations, Gibralter wrote in the email.

While schools of all types and sizes are cutting costs to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Wells is in the category of schools expected to be hurt the most. It is a private school with an enrollment of just over 400 students and a sticker price of $46,300 before financial aid.

Whitford reports that the school has an endowment of just $24 million and that just 15% of that is available to be used for general expenses.

Whitford noted that Gibralter struck a different tone in an interview after hed spoken to a variety of people looking to help the college, which launched a $4.7 million fundraiser to help raise money to meet operating costs.

I got so much feedback from dozens and dozens of people -- alumni, students, families -- who all said, What can we do to help? Gibralter said.

The school has been able to access Paycheck Protection Program loans from the federal government and has instituted cost-containment measures. According to Whitford, employees making more than $50,000 will take a 6 percent salary reduction and employees making less than $50,000 are required to take eight unpaid furlough days.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Chris Carlson anytime: E-mail | Twitter | 315-412-1639
by Fady Noun

Economic crisis and new coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated an already troubled sector. The lack of state support over the years weighs. The general secretariat of Catholic institutes speaks of "negligence". Government policy puts private schools at a "disadvantage" to public ones. Schools one of Lebanon's cultural "gems". Private schools guarantee schooling to over two thirds of pupils in Lebanon, about 710 thousand pupils.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - Lebanon risks a "school emergency" in which "80% of Catholic schools" face closure. This is the alarm issued by the general secretariat, in an open letter sent to the President of the Lebanese Republic Michel Aoun signed by Fr. Boutros Azar. A crisis, explains the priest, due to the "economic difficulties" added to a "negligence" of the state towards a vital sector in the context of the national educational panorama.

In recent days, Pope Francis had donated 400 scholarships to support the education of deserving Lebanese students. However, internal resources and targeted interventions are needed, in order not to see one of the "cultural gems of Lebanon frustrated: the educational level of its population, devoid of religious discrimination, elevated to the rank of a sacred mission".

Lebanon is facing an educational emergency: about 80% of Catholic schools, which provide schooling to about two thirds of the pupils in the country's private institutions, will close their doors for the next school year 2020-2021, due to the lack of resources. This potential time bomb was announced yesterday by the general secretariat of Catholic schools, led by Fr. Boutros Azar, in an open letter sent to the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun. This development, explains Fr. Azar, is due "to the economic difficulties encountered by these schools and to state negligence ".

The open letter made public by Fr. Boutros Azar goes straight to the heart of the matter: This open letter is proposed as a warning that we address to you, in the name of our educational and national responsibility; and the central point is that the majority of the schools affiliated to our congregations (no less than 80% of them) are heading towards a forced closure due to the economic situation and the negligence of the State in the fulfillment of their duties. So these schools will not open their doors at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. "

Questioned by LOrient-Le Jour (LOJ), Fr. Azar specifies that with the expression "state negligence", the secretariat refers to the law 46/2018 which has changed the wage scale in the public sector and placed all educational institutions, even the largest in great difficulty. For middle sized and small schools, especially semi-free ones subsidized by the state (which has not paid its share for five years), only one choice remains: to close or drastically cut teachers' salaries.

I don't really understand this neglect- underlines Fr. Boutros Azar  this putting private schools at a to public schools. The state should recognize the fact that we perform a public service and subsidize private schools. "

The priest and pedagogue adds that the depreciation of the national currency, which has impoverished the whole population, compounds the situation. The closure of schools following the demonstrations in October and the one imposed, later on, by the new coronavirus pandemic discouraged pupils' parents, who asked for a reduction in school fees in proportion to the number of closed days (approximately 40% of the school year). This despite the fact that, as revealed by a reliable source, only half of the tuition required was actually poured into the coffers of private schools.

Hundreds of thousands of pupils

"What emerges today from the Federation of Private Schools of Lebanon and from the General Secretariat of Catholic Schools confirms that we are facing a generalized challenge for the private education sector, which provides schooling to over two thirds of pupils in Lebanon (710 thousand students, compared to 260 thousand in public education).

The loss resulting from all that has been said above undoubtedly exceeds the material dimension, and can be considered as a major national loss, which adds to the series of losses affecting the country at the moment.

This forced closure - reads the appeal - will force hundreds of thousands of students to seek a place in the public schools. Not to mention the loss of jobs for tens of thousands of teachers, employees and workers, as well as the increase in unemployment and poverty in the country, and all the resources we have are not enough to avoid this danger ".

A number of large schools, well rooted in the area, have also been impacted by this alarming prospect that looms on the horizon. According to reliable data, at least 87 of the large schools concentrated mostly in the area of Mount Lebanon, mainly Christian, will continue to carry out their educational mission. Asked by the Orient-Le Jour (LOJ) a leading ecclesiastical source, responsible for the educational institutions, warns of the dangers inherent in losing one of the cultural gems of Lebanon: the educational level of its population, devoid of religious discrimination, elevated to the rank of a sacred mission.
The buses hired by Congress to ferry migrants home in Uttar Pradesh returned after three days of political slugfest between the party and the UP government, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra saying the idea behind the move was to help migrants.

The Congress accused the BJP and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of playing "shameless and cheap politics" over the issue, even as Priyanka Gandhi made a last-ditch appeal to the CM to allow them to ply buses to ferry migrants.

Noting that this was not the time to play politics, she also appealed to various political parties to shed their ideology and help people, especially migrants walking down the roads in the summer heat.

The buses parked along the UP border returned late in the evening after the Adityanath government imposed certain conditions and did not grant permission to them, sources said.

Priyanka Gandhi in a 10-minute video message told Adityanath that the 1,000-odd buses made available by the party would remain where they are till 4 PM Wednesday and that he should allow them to ferry migrants to their homes safely.

"I want to urge the chief minister that our buses will remain parked where they are at the borders (with Rajasthan) till 4 PM and it will be 24 hours since they were made available there.

"If you want to use them, kindly allow permission to us to ply them. If you want, you can paste your posters or banners on them, but kindly allow them to ply so that the migrants can be ferried in them and they reach home safely," she said.

She claimed that till the time the issue remained embroiled in politics, at least 92,000 migrants who were walking on roads in this heat, without water and food, could have reached home safely.

"This is not the time to play I urge every political party to set aside their political ideology and help people instead," she said.

In her message to migrant labourers, she said Congress workers and leaders stand by their side in this time of a crisis and will help them in every possible manner and provide them food too.

She claimed that service towards migrants by plying these buses was their aim and not

Earlier during the day, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi alleged the "Ajay Bisht government" was creating hurdles in the Congress help reaching migrants.

He accused the UP government of being insensitive towards the plight of migrants despite such deprivation and devastation among them.

"I condemn this and the nation condemns this. It is shameless amidst crisis and devastation," he said.

The way the UP government "is not only doing nothing but not even allowing anyone to do something" for migrants leaves one astounded, he alleged.

"Will they stand up and explain to the nation? For last six days, especially the last two days and even as we speak, about 500 buses are standing at UP borders. How is it that you will not allow to ferry migrants of UP and Bihar. This is the cheapest form of politics," he said.

Another Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate at a press conference said the BJP government at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh have been exposed, and asked what they will say to thousands of migrants who were still walking on roads.

"People will ask you this answer. But a day will come when you will have to answer to the people,"she said, as she condemned the arrest of UPCC chief Ajay Kumar Lallu.

Lallu was arrested in Agra after he sat on a dharna demanding permission to run the buses.

Congress Legislature Party leader in UP Aradhna Mishra said the BJP has been playing politics on the issue and has "betrayed" the people of the state.

"This government is full of arrogance and does not want this attempt to help migrants succeed," she said, adding that the BJP stands exposed in the 'janta ki adalat'.

Thousands of migrants are walking to their homes amid the lockdown and the Congress party in UP and the UP government are locked in a tussle over plying of buses provided by the Congress for ferrying migrants home.

The Congress had lined up buses along the UP border and was seeking permission to ply them. The Yogi government allowed the plying of buses but put some conditions and also accused the Congress of giving false information about the buses, some of which have turned out to be two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) issued its 2020 Corporate Accountability Report, an annual assessment of its performance as a public company and a community partner. This is the 14th year of AEP's report, which details developments in energy and technology, social responsibility, community investments and environmental stewardship.

The report's theme, "Moving Forward Together for a Brighter Future," reflects AEP's goal of delivering clean, reliable and affordable energy, while also providing value to its customers, shareholders and the communities it serves. This year's report also addresses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company, its employees, customers and communities and details AEP's response to ensure the health and wellness of its workforce and the public, while maintaining critical customer services.

"Energy is an essential service that is life-sustaining and crucial to our nation's health and economic well-being. Our vision for a sustainable energy future is unwavering, and we believe it is more important than ever," said Nicholas K. Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, in the report's introduction.

The company continues to reduce its carbon footprint by retiring coal-fired generation units, investing in renewable energy and setting aggressive emissions reduction goals. AEP has cut its carbon dioxide emissions 65% from 2000 levels. The company also is conducting a scenario analysis of how climate-related risks and opportunities may play out under different circumstances. AEP expects to publish the findings by the end of 2020.

"At AEP, we never have been more certain of our responsibility to ensure a sustainable future for our customers, communities and employees. We will continue to take steps to reduce our carbon footprint, to empower customers and to value and develop our workforce," Akins said.

AEP also enhanced its environmental, social & governance (ESG) disclosure efforts by creating an ESG Data Center that houses relevant metrics. This effort reflects the company's commitment to transparency by proactively sharing data and information about its sustainability goals, strategy and ESG performance.

View the 2020 Corporate Accountability Report and learn more about AEP's sustainable development strategy.

American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio, is focused on building a smarter energy infrastructure and delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions to our customers. AEP's approximately 17,400 employees operate and maintain the nation's largest electricity transmission system and more than 221,000 miles of distribution lines to efficiently deliver safe, reliable power to nearly 5.5 million regulated customers in 11 states. AEP also is one of the nation's largest electricity producers with approximately 31,000 megawatts of diverse generating capacity, including more than 5,200 megawatts of renewable energy. AEP's family of companies includes utilities AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and the Texas Panhandle). AEP also owns AEP Energy, AEP Energy Partners, AEP OnSite Partners, and AEP Renewables, which provide innovative competitive energy solutions nationwide. For more information, visit aep.com.

SOURCE American Electric Power

Related Links

www.aep.com


Zarchi Lwin pawned her only two gold bangles for $140 when the owner of the Myanmar factory where she sewed winter coats for British retailer Next Plc shut it down after orders dried up due to the coronavirus.

She is one of hundreds of thousands of garment workers across Asia who have been laid off, according to the Workers Rights Consortium, a labour rights campaign group, and are now struggling to survive with little welfare support, mired in debt and in many cases reliant on food handouts.

If I have a job and an income, I can pay for medical treatment for my mother, Zarchi Lwin, 29, told Reuters from the home she shares with her 56-year-old mother, who has lung disease, in a shanty town on the outskirts of Yangon. Now no income, no job, she said, fighting back tears. We dont know what to do.

Next temporarily closed all its stores in Britain in March due to the coronavirus. The company said in a statement it had only cancelled some orders and endeavoured to be fair to its suppliers. KGG, the factory where Zarchi Lwin worked, did not respond to requests for comment.

Since the 1960s, Asia has grown into the worlds garment factory, sending about $670 billion worth of clothes, shoes and bags a year to Europe, the United States and richer Asian countries, according to the International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency.

After non-essential stores were closed in many countries and people were told to stay at home to prevent further spread of the disease, international retailers from ASOS Plc to New Look said they cancelled orders with garment makers. Factory owners in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia immediately shut down thousands of factories and sent home workers with little or no pay.

Retailers generally place orders at least three months ahead of delivery and pay for the finished product when it is delivered. Initially most retailers cancelled all outstanding orders, but many adjusted their position in March and April after a public outcry, agreeing to pay for goods that had already been manufactured or were mid-production.

To finish pending orders, about half of Bangladeshs 4,000 garment factories have reopened, according to garment manufacturer associations. About 150 of Myanmars 600 or so factories have shut down, while 200 out of 600 or so are closed in Cambodia.

Many factories that have reopened are struggling to enforce social distancing and good hygiene practices in often cramped conditions, two union officials told Reuters. Most of the factories are not complying with the safety guidelines, said Babul Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, adding that dozens of garment workers had been infected with the virus. Just placing hand-washing systems and checking temperatures at the entrances will not help. Inside the factories, when the workers work so closely, how will they maintain safe distancing?

Some orders have been trickling back. Swedish fashion retailer H&M said it only paused orders for two weeks at the height of the virus outbreak. U.S.-based Walmart Inc, the worlds largest retailer, said it placed new orders with Asian manufacturers last month.

STAY OR GO BACK HOME?

Despite the new orders, several garment manufacturers said the low volume of work on the books means many factories in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Cambodia will not be viable, which means many of the young women who make up the majority of the workforce will no longer have jobs. That leaves them torn between returning to families in the countryside, where there are few employment opportunities, or enduring life in the city in the hope that factories will reopen at full capacity.

The European Union has created a wage fund for workers in Myanmar worth 5 million euros ($5.3 million) to pay a portion of the salaries of the most vulnerable for three months. Myanmar has promised to cover 40% of the salaries of laid off workers. More than 58,000 have been laid off, according to the countrys garment manufacturer association.

In Bangladesh, one million workers were furloughed or laid off by late March, according to the Penn State Center for Global Workers Rights, although some have since returned to work. About 75,000 have not been paid for March, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), which estimates tens of thousands more will not be paid wages owed to them.

The government has announced a $588 million aid package for its export sector to help pay employees. Garment manufacturers, which estimate they have lost almost $3 billion in exports since the start of April, said the funds are not enough. Foreign-owned firms and joint ventures are not eligible for payments.

In Cambodia, where about 60,000 garment workers have been suspended, according to the countrys manufacturer association, workers have been promised $70 per month - $40 from the government and $30 from the employer - but that amounts to just over a third of the current minimum wage.

In that countrys capital, Phnom Penh, 39-year-old Rom Phary said she and her husband had racked up $550 of debt and interest since she lost her factory job in early March, several times her monthly salary. She said she and her family are living off rice donated by an NGO, the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, which is working in Cambodia. Phary said she persuaded her landlord to let her stay rent-free rather than forcing the family to return to relatives in the provinces.

If we go back, it would be shameful. We dont know what we would do, she said.

IF SHE DIED, IT WOULD BE A RELIEF

In Myanmar the garment industry was the fastest-growing sector of the economy, accounting for about 10% of the countrys exports and offering an escape route from extreme poverty for hundreds of thousands of people, many of them migrants from rural areas.

In Dagon Seikkan, an industrial zone on the outskirts of Yangon that is home for many migrant workers, local officials have been giving out rations of free rice to those who have been without jobs for some time. But Zarchi Lwin said she did not qualify as she was employed up until recently.

She and her parents left their small village in the central Magwe region six years ago after selling their house to pay for treatment for her brother, who eventually died from kidney disease. At first, they worked as cleaners and lived in a dormitory. Then Zarchi Lwin trained herself to sew clothes and secured a sought-after job at one of the nearby factories, earning $146 per month: enough for food, rent of a small wooden shack, and medical treatment. She saved up for a year to buy the bangles she pawned, she said.

Sobbing, she recounted how her mother told her she wants to die in order to lessen the financial burden on the family. Sometimes I want to kill myself because of this situation, she said. Her father, a guard at a furniture factory, has also lost his income.

Before the new coronavirus, garment workers in Yangon and the neighbouring province of Bago were sending more than 40 million euros ($43 million) in remittances to their hometowns and villages across the country each month, said Jacob Clere of SMART Textile and Garments, a European Union-funded project.

Education for children who would otherwise not have it. Medicine for grandmothers who would otherwise go without. Healthy food. Better shelter, said Clere, describing how that money helped rural communities. Many are now at risk of being forced into early marriage or taking on debt from loan sharks at very high rates, said Mike Slingsby, a regional urban poverty specialist.

HIGH-INTEREST DEBTS

In Bangladesh, the worlds second-largest garment maker behind China, 4.1 million workers or 2.5% of the population worked in garment factories, many of which are now closed. About 70% of Dhakas garment industry workers left the city to return to their villages, said Tuomo Poutiainen of the International Labour Organization, although he said some have since returned after some factories reopened to finish work on existing contracts.

Orders for June are down 45% from a year ago, according to Rubana Huq, president of the BGMEA.

Banesa Begum, a 21-year-old worker laid off from a Dhaka factory making clothes for Zara, among other brands, said she had nothing to send to her parents, subsistence farmers in the northern district of Rangpur. I know they are starving, she said.

Inditex, the owner of Zara, told Reuters it will pay for orders from garment makers, whether finished or in production, according to the original payment schedule.

Begums salary also paid for her two young brothers to go to school. I dont know how Ill manage money to continue their study, she said. All my dreams are shattered.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. )

Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a mechanism to check Twitter content and advertisements spreading hatred through fake and instigative messages via bogus accounts.

The petition, filed by BJP leader Vinit Goenka, also a member of the Governing Council (CRIS), said that there are hundreds of fake Twitter handles and bogus Facebook accounts in the name of eminent people and high dignitaries.

These fake Twitter handles and Facebook accounts use real photo of constitutional authorities and eminent citizens. Therefore, common man relies upon the messages published from these Twitter handles and Facebook accounts, said the plea filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey.

The PIL said that fake is the root cause of many riots, including the one in Delhi earlier this year, and bogus accounts are used to promote casteism and communalism which endangers fraternity and unity of the country.

It is submitted that presently total number of twitter handles in India are around 35 million and total number of Facebook accounts are 350 million and experts says that around 10 per cent twitter handles (3.5 million) and 10 per cent Facebook accounts (35 million) are duplicate/bogus/fake, the plea said.

Political parties use fake social media accounts for self-promotion and image building and to tarnish the image of opponents and contesting candidates, especially during the elections, the plea said.

The plea has also sought directions to make a law as per which an action can be initiated against Twitter and their representatives in India for willfully abetting and promoting anti India tweets and penalize them.

The petition further said that a representation to the concerned authority to act in accordance with the law of the country against social media giant Twitter was filed but no action has been taken so far by the concerned authorities.

It also pointed out that the Ministry of Home Affairs has banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) under the Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act on July 10, 2019, yet it continues to have an active presence on twitter espousing hatred, terrorism and sedition, criminal acts.

The logic and algorithms that twitter usage should be shared and vetted by Indian government authorities or competent authority for screening anti India tweets...

KYC of all social media handles in India must be conducted for making social media safe and accountable and traceable, the plea said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW YORK  Oprah Winfrey is giving grants through her $12 million coronavirus relief fund to the cities shes called home.

She announced Wednesday that her Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will donate money to organizations dedicated to helping underserved communities in Chicago; Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she was born.

The reason Im talking about it is because there is going to be a need for people of means to step up, Winfrey said in an interview with The Associated Press. I mean, this thing is not going away. Even when the virus is gone, the devastation left by people not being able to work for months who were holding on paycheck to paycheck, who have used up their savings  people are going to be in need. So my thing is, look in your own neighborhood, in your own backyard to see how you can serve and where your service is most essential. That is the real essential work, I think, for people of means.

After speaking with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other leaders, Winfrey decided to give $5 million to Live Healthy Chicago, which provides immediate support to seniors and high-risk residents affected by the coronavirus.

In Nashville, where Winfrey lived with her father and started her media career, she is giving $2 million to NashvilleNurtures, a collaboration with Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University, Winfreys alma mater. They plan to feed 10,000 families in and around the city.

In Milwaukee, where she lived with her mother, Winfrey is assisting those in need of housing and mental health care with a $100,000 donation to SaintA and The Nia Imani Family, Inc.

In Baltimore, where Winfrey also built her media career, she's donating money to Living Classrooms Foundation and Center for Urban Families.

She will also give $115,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi.

Im not opposed to big organizations dispersing money, but I always like to do the on-the-ground grassroots stuff myself, she said. Look, I want to be able to reach people who have been incarcerated and are coming out of prison. I want to reach mothers of domestic violence. I want to reach people. I want to feed people. I want to help people get access to testing.

Winfrey said shes been homebound since March 11, four days after she wrapped her nine-city wellness tour that visited arenas like Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Forum in Inglewood, California.

She announced her COVID-19 Relief Fund last month, initially giving $1 million to Americas Food Fund. She said Wednesday that she will also give grants to advocacy organization Global Citizen, New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago and Minnies Food Pantry in Plano, Texas, among other organizations.

Before giving out millions to others, Winfrey said she first helped the people closest to her.

The first thing I did was start in my own family, people I knew who were going to be touched and were not going to have jobs. Then I moved out to people who Ive worked with and known who maybe would be out of work. I started literally here, working my way out, and then into the community. So people who I hadnt spoken to in years ended up getting checks from me like, What is this? she said.

All the cousins and some aunties  try to help your own family first, she added. I didnt want an announcement about, Im going out into the world trying to help other people and then your own family saying, Hey, I cant pay my light bill. I cant pay my rent."

Last week, Winfrey gave a commencement speech during Facebooks virtual Graduation 2020 event, and asked the graduates, What will your essential service be? She said shes asked herself the same question.

What this pandemic has done is made me think about giving differently. How I give and whos on the receiving end of that, and how do you do that in such a way that sustains people? Ive ultimately always believed that you teach people to fish ... but sometimes people just need fish and a piece of bread, she said. Sometimes you need some fish, OK? Sometimes you dont have time to learn to fish. I just need some fish today!
India reported the biggest single-day jump in the number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients on Wednesday with 5,611 new cases in the last 24 hours taking the countrys tally to 106,750, Union health ministry said.

The number of deaths has also gone up after 140 Covid-19 patients succumbed to the respiratory disease between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, according to the health ministrys dashboard at 8am. So far, 3,303 people have died.

The recovery rate now stands at 39.62% as 42,297 people recovered from Covid-19, data showed.

Also read: Drug being tested could help in Covid-19 recovery, say Chinese scientists

The number of coronavirus disease cases have doubled in nearly two weeksup from 49,391 on May 6 to 106,139 on Wednesday as the country entered the third day of the fourth phase of the lockdown. Lockdown 4.0 is scheduled to end on May 31.

A new study has found that higher temperature and humidity may do little to arrest the spread of the coronavirus pandemic adding to a growing body of literature that indicates that the correlation between local climate conditions and virus transmission is weak.

The study by scientists at Princeton University and the US National Institutes of Health also suggested the lack of sizeable immunity to the Sars-Cov-2 virus and the speed of the pathogen ensured that climate and humidity had limited impact on transmission. It was published in the journal Science on Monday.

Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today

A batch of studies during the initial surge of the pandemic had held out hope that drier and colder climates are more suited to the virus, and that the weather in tropical countries may hobble the spread to the disease.

Previous research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) also say while there is some evidence that Sars-CoV-2 transmits less efficiently in higher ambient temperature and humidity, this does not lead to a significant decrease in disease spread without major interventions, such as personal protection and social distancing.
In this photo illustration, tablets on a blister pack of Plaquinol (hydroxychloroquine) are displayed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 10, 2020. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Brazils Health Ministry Recommends Wide Use of Hydroxychloroquine, Chloroquine

Brazils Health Ministry on Wednesday recommended using hydroxychloroquine and the closely related chloroquine in hospitalized patients, from the mild cases to the most serious ones.

Doctors should consider prescribing the increasingly popular three-drug combination of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with azithromycin, an antibiotic, and zinc, the new guidelines (pdf) state.

Brazils federal guidelines previously said hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine should only be used in patients suffering from severe cases of COVID-19. The new guidance says the anti-malarials should be used with azithromycin at the first sign of symptoms.

Patients will have to sign a waiver recognizing potential side effects caused by the medicines.

Because of the heightened toxicity of chloroquine, children should receive hydroxychloroquine, health officials said.

A photograph of a laptop shows hydroxychloroquine for sale on a Brazilian website in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 20, 2020. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images)

Chloroquine should be used with caution in patients with heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, and mental illness.

The guidance came after the national medicine council authorized the prescription of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine against COVID-19, a new disease thats caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Brazils Health Ministry said patients with mild or moderate cases should receive two doses of 450 milligrams of chloroquine on day one and a single dose of the same amount on days two through five, along with 500 milligrams of azithromycin per day through day five. The same regimen is recommended for hydroxychloroquine at the slightly lowered dosing of 400 milligrams.

Patients with severe illness shouldnt be given the chloroquine regimen, health officials said.

The ministry issued the guidelines in consideration of the existence of several studies and the wide experience in the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of other infectious diseases and chronic diseases in the scope of the healthcare system.

It said no other effective treatments for COVID-19 exist to date.

Brazilian Executive Secretary of the Ministry Health Eduardo Pazuello during a press conference to give updates on the COVID-19 pandemic at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on April, 27, 2020. (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)

Interim Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, an active duty army general, authorized the new guidelines after two trained doctors left the ministrys top job. Nelson Teich, an oncologist and health care consultant, resigned on Friday after taking the position in mid-April.

Life is made up of choices and today I decided to leave, Teich told reporters in Brasilia.

Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have long been used around the world to prevent and treat malaria and other ailments and their use against COVID-19 has gained steam in a number of nations, including the United States, India, and Turkey.

The guidelines cited 76 documents, including some completed and ongoing studies, about the drugs, including studies in the early 2000s about the effectiveness of zinc, chloroquine, and hydroxychloroquine.

More recent studies included a March 22 study in France that found hydroxychloroquine was associated with a reduction in viral load; an April 10 study in China finding the use of the drug could significantly shorten time to clinical recovery; and a May 1 study from Chinese researchers that found hydroxychloroquine associated with a decreased mortality rate in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Medical experts said studies have not confirmed the effectiveness of the drugs in treating the CCP virus, including Marcos Espinal, director for communicable diseases at the Pan American Health Organization.

Our recommendations are crystal clear that they should not be used yet and in fact studies are suggesting a higher rate of secondary effects and cardiological problems in people who use it, Espinal told journalists in a Tuesday briefing.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Cab aggregator Ola will lay off about 1,400 of its employees from the rides, financial services and food businesses as revenues declined by 95 percent in the last two months due to coronavirus outbreak.

This 1,400 translates to roughly 25 percent of the company's workforce.

In an email to employees, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said: "..I write to all of you with the toughest decision I have ever taken  the need to downsize our organization and let go of 1,400 of our valued employees."

He made it clear that the prognosis ahead for the business is "very unclear and uncertain" and the impact of this crisis is "definitely going to be long-drawn for us".

However, he also assured that this will be a one-time exercise and no more COVID-related cuts will be done after this.

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 fallout of the virus has been very tough for our industry in particular. Our revenue has come down 95 per cent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies," he said.
(ANSA) - Brussels, May 20 Italy must guarantee workers' income in the COVID crisis, the European Commission told Rome in its economic recommendations on Wednesday.

It must also guarantee liquidity to small and medium-sized firms, the EC said. "Delays in payments must be averted," said the Commission.

After the crisis, Rome must guarantee the sustainability of the public debt, the EC added.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-20 21:15:23|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RABAT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's exports dropped by 61.5 percent in the first four months of 2020 year on year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moroccan imports has dropped by 37.6 percent during the same period, reported Maroc Le Jour newspaper on Wednesday quoting Minister of Finance Mohamed Benchaaboun.

The most impacted exporting sectors are the automotive industry, aeronautics and electronics, it added.

Tourism, which represents seven percent of Moroccan economic activity and generated last year 8 billion U.S. dollars in foreign currency inflows, dropped by 60 percent, the report said.

The North African country has drawn in April on an IMF liquidity line of 3 billion dollars to finance its balance of payments and offset the drop in foreign exchange reserves.

Moroccan Ministry of Health on Wednesday morning reported 25 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 7,048.

The country has extended the state of medical emergency until June 10. Enditem
Shares of Vodafone Idea surged 9 per cent to hit a two-month high of Rs 5.93 on the BSE on Wednesday amid expectations of an increase in tariff rates in the near term. The telecom services provider's stock was trading at its highest level since March 18, 2020. It has rallied 51 per cent in the past one month from the level of Rs 3.92, on the back of delivery-based buying.

In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 3.5 per cent during the same period. At 12:56 pm, Vodafone Idea was up 4 per cent, against 0.88 per cent rise in the benchmark index. The counter has seen huge trading ...
C raft beer makers BrewDogs bid to sue a PR firm over a fake news invite for President Donald Trump supporters to drink at its bars has been thrown out at the High Court.

The press release in 2018 offered free beer at BrewDog venues for Trump fans and claimed there would be stunts including beer can clay pigeon shooting and a monster truck demolishing stacks of cans.

The brewers brought a libel claim against Frank PR, alleging the press release had damaged the firms brand as believers in equality and inclusion and vocal critics of Trump policies.

But Mr Justice Nicol today dismissed the legal claim, saying BrewDog did not have reasonable grounds for taking forward its case and added it would not be libellous simply to call someone a Trump supporter.

President Donald Trump / Getty Images

The incident stemmed from a deal BrewDog struck with US brewer Scofflaw, to launch the brand in the UK with a week of promotional events at its bars in London, Manchester and Leeds in September and October 2018.

Scofflaw hired Frank PR to promote the initiative, and a press release was issued saying: Free beer offered to UK Trump supporters this weekend by contentious US brewery 'Scofflaw'.

The advert, which drew heavy criticism when posted on Twitter, advertised the partnership between BrewDog and Scofflaw, promising to get the UK 'beered up redneck style', completely free of charge!

It read: But there is a hook ... you have to be a Trump supporter. Scofflaw are putting tens of thousands of pounds behind Brewdog bars in Shoreditch, Soho, Shepherd's Bush, Tower Hill, Manchester and Leeds over the next 7 days and are intending to crash onto the UK beer scene."

The release, which went on to promise the publicity stunts and advertise a video of beer cans being shot at, was swiftly denounced by BrewDog, who cancelled the deal with Scofflaw and offered its own beer free of charge to customers supporting love over hate.

The rogue advert was branded fake news by BrewDog and Scofflaw also publicly distanced itself from the incident, saying it had been issued by Frank PR without our consent or knowledge.

Legal action claiming that the press release had implied BrewDog was backing Trump was then brought against Frank PR.

At court today, the judge ruled the press release had said nothing about the political philosophy of BrewDog, and had only stated the firm had embarked on a partnership with Scofflaw and Scofflaw was promoting its beer by offering free beer to supporters of Donald Trump.

He said Scofflaw had been the ones promising free beer, the press release was sent in its name, and talk of shared beliefs was limited to both companies having a desire to make good beer.

The judge acknowledged that President Trump is a controversial politician, but said stating that someone supports him would not be enough to support a libel claim.

Even in England Mr Trump has supporters as well as opponents, he said. In other words, simply to say of someone that they were a supporter of Donald Trump (or his policies) would not arguably lower that person in the eyes of right-thinking people generally.

The judge agreed to Frank PRs application to strike out the claim, and said BrewDogs libel claim could not be redrafted at this stage.
Savannah, Ga.

More than two years before he was fatally shot in a Georgia subdivision, Ahmaud Arbery had a tense confrontation in a public park with police officers who attempted to use a stun gun on him after Arbery angrily protested being bothered and refused to let them search his parked car.

"You bothering me for nothing!" Arbery tells one of the Glynn County police officers whose body camera recorded the encounter on Nov. 7, 2017.

Arbery was killed Feb. 23 by a white father and son who armed themselves and gave chase after seeing the 25-year-old black man running down their street. More than two months passed before a video of the killing emerged, sparking an outcry. Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34, were then jailed on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.

Attorneys for Arbery's parents said Tuesday that the body camera video from 2017 shows Arbery being harassed by the same police department that declined to arrest his killers. The McMichaels were taken into custody after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case this month.

In the incident report for the 2017 encounter, officer M. Kanago writes that he pulled up behind Arbery's car parked in an open field at a public park because it was a "known area for drugs and other criminal activity."

First obtained by The Guardian, the video released Monday shows Arbery repeatedly declining when an officer asks to search his Toyota. A backup officer arrives, and tells Arbery "don't reach the car" and "keep your hands out your pockets." This second officer then attempts to use a stun gun as Arbery raises his hands out to his sides. The device just clicks loudly; the officer later says it malfunctioned. Arbery complies with orders to get on the ground, and he goes to his knees.

At the beginning of the encounter, Arbery hands over his driver's license and asks the first officer on the scene why he's being bothered. When he's told that the area is known for drugs, Arbery becomes angry. "Criminal activity? I'm in a f-ing park! I work! What the f- you talking about?"

The first officer pats him down looking for weapons. "I'm not searching you. I'm checking you for weapons," he says, adding: "You don't have any warrants."

Absent probable cause or a court-issued warrant, police generally aren't allowed to search a parked car without permission.

Arbery was not arrested or charged with any crimes. S. Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery's mother, said Tuesday that the video showed Arbery being harassed by police.

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

"The same reason that Ahmaud Arbery was killed was the same reason he was stopped in that park. It was the criminalization of blackness itself," Merritt said at a news conference. "They saw a black man alone in the park and said, 'You know what, this appears suspicious.'"

Officer Brandon Kondo, a Glynn County police spokesman, said the department "is not issuing any statements regarding the Ahmaud Arbery case, or previous interactions." He referred any questions to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the shooting investigation.

In the police report, the first officer on the scene wrote that as Arbery, bare-chested beneath an open coat, became angry, "I observed veins popping from his chest which made me feel that he was becoming enraged and may turn physically violent toward me."

As the officer calls for backup, the body camera video shows Arbery shouting at him: "You hit me with that s-, bitch, you gonna be f up!"

After police try to stun him, Arbery and the officers seem to calm down. On his knees, Arbery says: "So in the park chilling, then, that's a crime?"

"Well, when it's way back here ... it's kind of weird," one of the officers replies on the body camera footage. "We don't see cars sitting out here that often."
(Natural News) The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly moving forward with the filing of antitrust lawsuits against Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, which also owns YouTube.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), people familiar with the matter have confirmed that the DOJ, in conjunction with various state attorneys general, is well into the planning stages of unleashing litigatory hell on Alphabet, which continues to engage in techno-fascism against online free speech.

The DOJ case against Alphabet could come as soon as this summer, the WSJ says, while a coalition of state attorneys general led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, is planning to file its own case probably closer to the fall.

An investigation by the DOJ has confirmed that Alphabet owns the dominant tool at every link in the complex chain between online publishers and advertisers, the WSJ says. Thus, the DOJ is focusing primarily on the companys online advertising business, as well as its advertising technology.

The DOJ is also looking into concerns that many have expressed about how Google is using its dominant search business to stifle competition, meaning it has become more difficult than ever to browse the web and pull up information without having to run queries through Google-owned platforms.

Coronavirus is interfering with efforts to deliver justice to Google

The biggest impediment currently is the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, which has stifled efforts to really get this process moving with the swiftness it deserves. Public health and reopening efforts have basically forced these probes to take somewhat of a back seat for the time being.

Even so, Attorney General William Barr has indicated that considerable resources are being devoted to holding Google accountable, and that his agency is still treating its inquiry as a top priority. The same goes for the individual states pursuing legal action against Google.

Weve issued [civil subpoenas] to Google and impacted third parties, stated Paxton. We hope to have the investigation wrapped up by fall. If we determine that filing is merited we will go to court soon after that.

Paxton is in full agreement with the DOJ that such efforts seek only to increase competition for consumers, allowing them a greater range of options when it comes to how they use the internet. And by sharing information between themselves, Paxton, the DOJ, and the rest of the attorneys general hope to expedite the process.

Based on all that has been gathered thus far, the DOJ says that all signs point to there being a strong case against Google and Alphabet. Still, no final decisions have been made, and there is a possibility that all of this will be settled without any litigation.

What still remains unclear is whether individual states will file their own complaints or join the federal case once it gets filed. There is also the possibility that groups of states will file their own respective complaints, depending on which angle they decide to take.

While Texas has focused its investigation on Googles ad services, other states are looking more at Googles search function. Whatever the case may be, these lawsuits could lead to the undoing of Google as the global leader in search and advertising, which would certainly be a great thing for the average consumer.

The culmination of these efforts has been a long time coming, especially after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which shares antitrust authority with the DOJ, opened and later closed an investigation into Google back in 2013. The evidence was apparently not strong enough back then, but is now.

To keep up with the latest news about the DOJs lawsuit against Google and how the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting this process, be sure to check out Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

WSJ.com

NaturalNews.com
There is no bad blood between exes Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck.

Jennifer is reportedly 'happy' that her ex-husband has found love with his new girlfriend and co-star 32-year-old Ana de Armas, according to a source who spoke with Us Weekly.

The 48-year-old actress - who shares Violet, 14, Seraphina, 11, and Samuel, eight, with the Oscar-winning star - is pleased that Ben is in a 'good and healthy place with his life' alongside the Knives Out actress.

Making it work: Jennifer Garner is reportedly 'happy' that her ex Ben Affleck has found love with his new girlfriend and co-star 32-year-old Ana de Armas and has come so far since his relapse, according to a source who spoke with Us Weekly (Pictured January 2020)

An insider told Us Weekly: 'Although it's sad in a way to see him move on and be so happy, she is ultimately happy that he is happy and in a good and healthy place with his life. That's what she ultimately wants for the father of her kids,' they added.

Jennifer and Ben split back in 2015, but the Hollywood stars have subsequently worked hard to maintain a good relationship with each other for the sake of their children.

The source added that Jennifer is 'always polite and trusts Ben and lets him do what he wants when he's with the kids'.

Meanwhile, Ana and Ben first connected on the set of the thriller film Deep Water in 2019 where they star as a married couple who have fallen out of love.

An insider told Us Weekly: 'Although it's sad in a way to see him move on and be so happy, she is ultimately happy that he is happy and in a good and healthy place with his life. That's what she ultimately wants for the father of her kids.' (Ben and Ana pictured March 2020)

They took their relationship public in March when they were seen enjoying a vacation in Costa Rica and Ana's native Cuba.

Earlier this month, a insider claimed that Ana has been wowed by Ben and Jennifer's co-parenting skills.

The source said that the Cuban starlet is impressed by how the celebrity duo have managed to balance their acting careers with raising their three children.

The insider explained: '[Ana] thinks Ben is such a sweet and nice guy. [She] admires how he juggles so much between work, his kids and co-parenting with Jen.'

Ex factor: Ben and Jen were married from 2005-2018 and the former couple share three children, Violet, 14, Seraphina, 11, and Samuel, eight, whom they successfully and amicably co-parent

Ben 'splits his time [between Ana and his family] and, as always, the kids are the most important thing in his life'.

However, the insider added that the Hollywood actor - who was married to Jennifer between 2005 and 2018 - 'always makes sure he has time for [Ana] and that she is number one'.

The new couple is currently hunkering down together while stay-at-home orders are in place in Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, Ana and Ben packed on the PDA as they sweetly held hands while taking their dogs for a walk around their neighborhood.

Love birds: Ana and Ben are currently self-isolating together in Los Angeles after having first connected on the set of the thriller film Deep Water in 2019 where they star as a married couple who have fallen out of love

Jennifer, meanwhile, is also self-isolating at home and being her usual entertaining self on social media.

The actress, who is also a great cook, tried her hand at frying up some homemade donuts and donut holes on Wednesday.

'Week 10. Hump Day. This is where we are now,' she captioned an Instagram post of her culinary endeavor.

The photo showed fluffy rings of donut dough frying merrily in a Dutch oven full of oil.
Dushawnda Glover, 48, was last seen walking in an industrial complex near the Tri-Union Express Trucking company sign in the 1900 block of Lafayette Ct. between 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Saturday morning, Griffith Police spokesman Cmdr. Keith Martin said Tuesday. A second person on Monday contacted police to confirm they also had seen Glover in the area; video from that employees business showed Glover walking northbound from River Road and Indiana Avenue into a lowland wooded area at about 6 a.m. May 16 before disappearing from view, Martin said.
The latest Government aid scheme is launching today to help innovative and high-growth businesses survive the pandemic.

The 500million Future Fund will open to applications, allowing companies to access loans of between 125,000 and 5million.

If they cannot pay it back, to avoid pushing the firm to collapse, the Government will convert the debt into a stake in the company.

The 500m Future Fund will open to applications, allowing companies to access loans of between 125,000 and 5m

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: 'Our start-ups and innovative firms are one of our great economic strengths, and they will help spur our recovery from the pandemic.'

The Treasury revealed that loans issued under its various coronavirus schemes have surpassed 22billion.

Banks have handed out 464,393 Bounce Back loans  which are 100 per cent guaranteed by the Government  worth 14.18billion to some of Britain's smallest businesses.

The less-successful Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), which only carries an 80 per cent guarantee and is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, has lent 7.25billion to 40,564 firms.

And the larger version of CBILS, or CLBILS, has approved 86 loans worth 593million to businesses throughout the country.
Gillette has launched a new men's grooming collection k and the 15-piece capsule includes beard trimmers and facial hair treatment. (Getty Image)

Yahoo Lifestyle is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Gillette has announced it has launched a new mens grooming collection - the King C. Gillette range.

While some may have let their facial hair grow during isolation, others may think it is time to take matters into their own hands and trim their beard - or shave it off completely.

So the longstanding American grooming brands latest drop comes at the perfect time.

The 15-piece collection - named after the founder King Camp Gillette - includes everything from individual razors and beard trimmers, as well as haircare products such as beard oils and washes.

The range can be divided into three categories; Shave and Edge, which includes shaving gel, as well as a razor and refills, Trim and Care that includes beard and face wash, as well as beard oil and a balm.

The capsule collection also includes an updated version of the iconic double-edged safety razor, which was pioneered over 100 years ago.

Plus there are a selection of curated bundles, from facial hair treatments to the full kits with an electric trimmer, as well as a neck razor, shaving gel, facial hair wash and beard oil.

Speaking about the latest drop, the CEO of Gillette, Gary Coombe, said: Were excited to announce the launch of the King C. Gillette range - the first complete line up of products and tools designed for men with facial hair.

All men have their own grooming styles and at home rituals which are personal to them, and so weve put all our years of shaving experience together with the very best razor, hair and skin care technologies to create this full range of tools, accessories and care products to meet all the grooming needs of all men. Its the one-stop shop for grooming that men have been looking for.

The King C. Gillette range varies in price from 5 to 72, all of which is available to buy online at Superdrug and kingcgillette.co.uk.

Story continues

Shop our favourite products in the King C. Gillette range

King C. Gillette Ultimate Beard Care Kit

The Kind C. Gillette Ultimate Beard Care Kit is the ultimate grooming bundle, as it includes a Braun-powered beard trimmer, as well as a neck razor for those wanting a neat finish.

It also features a beard shampoo and face wash, as well as shaving gel and beard oil, which is infused with nourishing ingredients for a soft yet tamed finish.

King C. Gillette Beard Trimmer Kit

For those who are looking to trim their beard the Trimmer Kit may be for you.

This set features a Braun trimmer, which boasts 11 different length settings, as well as three combs so you can achieve the perfect length.

After the trimmer is fully charged it will last for 50-minutes of use.

King C. Gillette Beard Trimming Kit

The bearded males will go head over heels for this set, which includes a trimmer with Braun technology, a beard and face wash as well as beard oil.

The trio allows you to prep your facial hair before trimming it, as well as an after care treatment to leave your beard soft and nourished, which is ideal for those who want to transform their face fuzz.

King C. Gillette Beard and Face Wash

The beard and face wash in the King C. Gillette range is a double threat, as it not only cleanses the beard and skin underneath by removing dirt, dead skin cells and excess oil, but also nourishes the hair and skin.

This product is super nourishing as it contains argan oil, coconut oil, as well as menthol to moisturise and calm the skin.

King C. Gillette Double Edge Razor

The Double Edge Razor is the most iconic item in the range, as it was inspired by a classic design that launched over a century ago.

This beauty buy is ideal for those who want a close, clean shave, as the single razor blade is made from high quality stainless steel, which is coated in platinum for an anti-friction coating.

Plus, users can use two cutting edges, to get more use out of the razor, which is held in place by a safety cap.

King C. Gillette Beard Oil

Beard oils have grown in popularity, and work as a conditioner or leave-in hair product to nourish, tame and soften even coarse facial hair.

The oil is made from a mixture of argan, avocado, jojoba, grapeseed, almond and evening primrose oil to tame beards, or moustaches, of any length and texture.
There is palpable tension in Rivers state following the seizure of cows and trucks from the Hausa community in the state for violating the states total lockdown put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state.

It would be recalled that the state governor, Nyesome Wike had impounded two trailers loaded with cows and heading for Port Harcourt, the state capital, despite the 24-hour lockdown to check the Coronavirus pandemic in the capital city.

The Governor also arrested 14 persons in the two trailers conveying the cattle from Adamawa State to Port Harcourt.

Anger over the decision of the governor, the Hausa community in the state instituted a N100 million suit against the Nyesom Wike, and the State Government at a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt over the seizure of cows and trucks.

The Federal High Court Harcourt presided over by Justice E.O. Obile, has fixed June 1, 2020 to hear the substantive suit filed by the Northern Community.

At resumed hearing, the Northern Community is demanding the sum of N100,000,000 as compensation for the arrest of their kinsmen who were in the state on a business trip alongside their cows and trucks.

Justice E.O. Obile said the Court fixed the date to allow the Plaintiff to put Wike and the state government on notice over the case.

Counsel for the arrested Northerners, Eze Kpaniku, claimed that Wike erred in arresting the Northerners, adding that they had waivers from the Federal Government for interstate movements to distribute the Agricultural products.

Kpaniku also lamented that both his clients and their cows have been arrested and dumped at the Isolation centre without food and medication for days.

Meanwhile, Leader of Northern Community in Rivers State, Alhaji Musa Saidu, demanded for the unconditional release of the arrested persons.

He said the Hausa community is the worst hit in the lockdown in Port Harcourt as most of their members have been arrested and detained at the isolation Centre.

The governor said that the cows and the trailers would be auctioned, explaining that a tip-off from some persons led to the arrest.
The US on Wednesday strongly backed India amid its simmering border tensions with China, with the Trump administrations pointperson for South Asia saying such disputes are a reminder of the threat posed by China.

Alice Wells, the outgoing head of the state departments South and Central Asia bureau, said there like-minded nations such as the US, India, Australia and Asean states have rallied together in the face of Chinas provocations and disturbing behaviour.

The remarks, made in the course of an online briefing for journalists, came against the backdrop of simmering tensions in Ladakh and Sikkim sectors of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where India and China have deployed additional troops. China on Tuesday also accused Indian forces of crossing into Chinese territory.

The top US diplomat also addressed Indias role as a critical player in Afghanistan, saying it was for New Delhi to decide whether it wants to directly engage with the Taliban. However, she suggested that with the Taliban set to join the emerging governing structure in Kabul, it would be necessary for India and any future Afghan government to have a healthy relationship.

Answering a question on the recent India-China tensions, Wells replied: The flare-ups on the border, I think, are a reminder that Chinese aggression is not always just rhetorical. And so whether its in the South China Sea or whether its along the border with India, we continue to see provocations and disturbing behaviour by China that raises questions about how China seeks to use its growing power.

She added, What we want to see is an international system that provides benefit to everyone and not a system in which there is suzerainty to China. And so I think in this instance, the border disputes are a reminder of the threat posed by China.

Chinas actions have led to a rallying of like-minded nations, whether its through Asean or through other diplomatic groupings  the trilateral that the US has with Japan and India or the quadrilateral with Australia  and conversations that are taking place globally, Wells said.

India is and will remain a critical player in Afghanistan and this was reflected in US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzads decision to travel to New Delhi amid the Covid-19 lockdown for consultations with the Indian leadership last week, Wells said.

Khalilzad had said in an interview that India should engage with the Taliban. Asked about the issue, Wells replied: We defer to India as to whether it wants to engage directly with the Taliban.

But in a situation where we are seeking through a negotiated political settlement to have the Taliban as part of that political governing structure, that governments relationship with India should be close, and we believe that a healthy Afghanistan is going to need to have a healthy relationship with India.

Wells was less forthcoming on a question about the US-Taliban agreement signed in February having no guarantees about Afghan soil being used by anti-India terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed that are known to have links with the Taliban.

The Taliban, she said, have made commitments against international terrorism, and the US is committed to ensuring that Afghan soil is never used as a base for terrorism directed against us, the region and our friends and partners. Noting the $3 billion in aid and political and diplomatic support provided by New Delhi to Kabul, she added, Obviously, its up to India to determine how best to support the peace process.

Wells also noted that the core principles of President Donald Trumps South Asia Strategy of 2107 remain in place  that Pakistan must take decisive action against militant groups and that India is an important partner in Afghanistans development. Trumps suspension of security assistance to Pakistan in January 2018 demonstrated our resolve, she said.

The South Asia Strategy also marked a major change by seeking to hold Pakistan accountable for the presence of terrorist groups on its soil. Pakistan has taken initial steps to curtail terror groups that threaten the region, such as arresting and prosecuting LeT leader Hafiz Saeed and beginning to dismantle terrorist financing structures, she said.

With the formation of an inclusive government by President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, Wells said, the time has come to double down in Afghanistan and take forward the peace process and to root out the Islamic State, which has committed despicable acts of violence such as the attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul.

It is against groups like ISIS that we believe the Afghan government and Taliban should make common cause and youre only going to be able to defeat the most vicious of these terrorists by reaching a peace agreement that allows a unified and total response to the threat posed by these terrorist organisations, she said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Like any major marketing strategy of the past decade, social media has had plenty of time to accumulate some big myths.

And despite the fact that data has disproven a number of marketing myths today, some marketers will still hold onto a few, simply because it's hard to keep up-to-date on what's really going on with social media.

Yes, social media landscapes change dramatically every day. However, as a marketer, it's important to identify myth from reality in order to create an effective social media strategy.

To help you separate fact from fiction, I put my MythBusters hat on and drudged up some of the most common social media myths out there.

Let's dive into some social media myths we've all probably heard from colleagues or friends. Then, I'll explain why you need to leave these old ways of thinking behind.

19 Social Media Myths to Leave Behind in 2021

1. My customers aren't on social media.

In 2021, over 3.7 billion people worldwide are active on social media. Today, it seems like there's a social platform for everything and everyone. While family and friends connect on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, professionals are networking on LinkedIn.

Odds are, at least one social media platform has an audience that will align with your brand. Not sure which one is the best for you? Check out this blog post to explore which social platform(s) are best-suited for your brand  and which probably won't work for your needs.

2. You should join every single social media network immediately.



Just because I can name a lot of social networks, it doesn't mean I should set up a profile on all of them.

By all means, research other social networks. Set up a company profile or page and give 'em the old college try. But you may find that some aren't really worth your time. If that's the case, consider removing your profile and move on. You should only devote time and resources to the platforms that align most with your audience and marketing tactics.

The best marketers use data to identify which marketing activities yield the best results  if a social network isn't helping you out, cut it loose.

3. Pinterest is only for B2C organizations.



Pinterest is totally awesome for B2C marketers, to be sure. But usually when someone says a channel is only for B2C, the B2B marketer in me takes that as a challenge to prove it's not so.

Turns out some of my colleagues feel the same way, because one of them wrote an entire guide to using Pinterest for business. You can also check out the accounts of brands like GE, Microsoft, Econsultancy, and yours truly for some B2B Pinterest inspiration!

4. You should only try to get fans and followers that will become customers.

Quality is important, yes, but don't underestimate the power of a large social reach. Remember some of these points next time you bemoan acquiring a fan or follower that lives outside of your sales territory or target demographic:

More fans and followers means you're gaining access to their fans and followers.

If they're an influencer, their clout transfers to you by association.

When they share your content, your SEO improves.

They may still refer business your way.

Of course, that doesn't mean you shouldn't also target a specific, high-converting audience on your social channels  to figure out your ideal target audience on social media, check out this post.

5. You should only schedule posts during the work week.

While you shouldn't force your social media manager to work on the weekends, you certainly can schedule posts or launch social media ads on the weekends ahead of time  and, depending on your audience, it might be a good idea.

Of course, you'll need to identify when your audience uses certain social platforms the most. While pique social media engagement times occur around the middle of the week, most platforms also have high engagement times during the weekends and evenings as well.

6. You'll have amazing social media engagement if you ask your friends and family "Like" every post.

You can't just have your mom and uncle Like every post you put up on Facebook. Although it might feel like you see a lot of posts that your friends or family members like, Facebook and other social media algorithms are a bit more sophisticated than that when it comes to determining which posts get seen.

To get social media feeds to favor your content, you'll need a variety of people interacting with your content  both to grow your reach, and to show up in users' news feeds.

So, rather than encouraging just your friends or family members to Like or heart your posts, encourage your followers to Like, comment, or share to encourage further discussion and spread your brand awareness.

7. You have to respond to social activity immediately.

There's no doubt a speedy response is appreciated, but it isn't always required. People understand that you're running a business. There are other things going on. If you get back in a timely manner, but not in mere seconds, it's alright.

There are exceptions, of course. For instance, Verizon runs a few Twitter accounts. One is @VerizonSupport. While Verizon will share blog posts and educational marketing materials on this Twitter, it also uses it to respond to questions or concerns from prospects or customers.

Because Verizon's support account is for customer service rather than marketing, reps who manage this channel should be responding immediately to inquiries.

Another example could be if you're running a social media account that receives a complaint which is public to all users and could hurt your credibility. In that scenario, you should consult your service team as soon as possible and write a thoughtful reply that shows you're taking the feedback seriously.

8. Social media is only about engaging conversation  and not a place to share branded content.

It's not that conversations aren't important. You can't just ignore your fans. But, while it's beneficial to stimulate conversations and discussions with your audience, it's not the only point to social media marketing.

Aside from allowing you to virtually connect with people, social media is a lead generator, a non-organic traffic tool, and a great place to share your best content.

If you publish valuable posts, they might not always stimulate conversation, but they could lead people to your website and products.

9. Social media marketing tactics don't drive bottom-line results.

Piggybacking off of the last myth, you can actually generate value beyond just "engagement" and "brand equity" from social media. Social media drives leads and customers, period.

Don't believe me? Here are a few stats you should know:

10. It looks tacky to seem relatable as a brand on social media.

The content you publish on social media should always keep your target audience in mind  but that doesn't mean you can't also publish content that shows your brand's personality. Or, frankly, even your community manager's personality.

There are people behind your company; don't be afraid to show that with your own special brand of humor, pictures of people that work at your company, and links to news content that you find particularly entertaining ... even if it's not directly related to your industry.

11. Hashtags are essential for every post.

You know those tweets that look like this?

Love this article on #socialmedia #marketing that talks about #pinterest and has an image of a #puppy #lol

The point of hashtags is that they join together common conversation threads. So while it's nice to have a hashtag for an event, like a webinar or a trade show, don't lose your mind if it doesn't become a trending topic. It's not necessarily going to blow your leads goal out of the water if it does ... think of hashtags as a way to be more user-friendly for those following the hashtag, not a way to make all your marketing dreams come true.

12. Social media monitoring takes forever.

One social media monitoring scenario: Glue your eyes to your computer screen, open five tabs for each of your social networks, chug three espressos, click between tabs, and hit refresh like a maniac.

Alternate social media monitoring scenario: Use social media monitoring software that alerts you when important terms are mentioned; check back to your accounts briefly every hour or two to see if you need to respond to anyone, follow someone back, etc.

That second one takes you, in aggregate, maybe 30 minutes a day. No big deal. Everybody breathe. Everything's gonna be alright.

13. Social media managers should be new graduates or have years of experience.

This isn't just a myth. It's actually an ageist theory that should be completely abandoned  if it hasn't been already.

Being good at social media marketing, or any job for that matter, has absolutely nothing to do with how young or old you are. You can learn the tools and strategies at any age, and make mistakes at any age, too.

Instead of considering a social media manager's age range, look for the candidate who's both creative and analytically-minded enough to manage your presence. To learn more about how to hire the best social media manager for your brand, check out this post.

14. Only young people use social media.

Think that the only people on social media are Gen Z and millennials? Think again.

Consider this: 40% of internet users age 46 to 55 are on LinkedIn by the end of 2020; roughly 55% of Facebook users are over the age of 35 as of 2021; and in 2019, over 80% of 45-64 year old U.S. internet users watched videos on YouTube.

More than likely, your audience (at any age!) is on social media  the key is figuring out which one they prefer the most.

15. Newer platforms, like Snapchat and TikTok, aren't worth taking seriously.

Snapchat and TikTok are both mobile social media apps that have pulled in millennials and Gen Z due to their unique platforms. While Snapchat thrives on ephemeral content, AR filters, and Bitmoji features, TikTok highlights goofy, fun, or musical 10 to 60-second videos similar to Vines.

Despite the fact that these platforms pull in odd content created by users, it doesn't necessarily mean that brands can't use the apps to gain credibility and awareness.

At this point, a plethora of brands  from publishers to B2C companies  have created profiles or ads for TikTok. One of the most surprising and oldest brands to build a TikTok strategy is The Washington Post. Although the publication has a very formal social media presence on other platforms, they use TikTok to highlight the funny, yet human, side of working in a newsroom.

Similarly, a number of larger businesses have also launched paid promotions or long-form Stories on Snapchat Discover. To learn more about these companies and the content they've launched, check out this blog post.

At this point, you can certainly take any popular social media platform seriously. But, as we noted when debunking previous myths in this post, you should identify which platforms best match your audience and your goals before spending time and money to build a strategy for them.

16. You don't have enough content to have a social media channel.

The thing with social media is that it moves really fast. What's posted today might very well be forgotten about tomorrow. It's easy to think of this as a problem by saying, "I don't have enough content to post." But, alternatively, you could just repurpose content or re-share great content regularly.

If the topic your post discusses is evergreen, it will almost always be useful, even if you repurpose or repost it later. This doesn't mean you should share the exact same link and update commentary day after day, but if a few weeks go by and you want to re-promote something, go for it. Just do your loyal fans a favor and find a new interesting nugget of information to call out in your update.

17. Social media gives people a venue to publicly bash your company.

The truth is, angry customers already have plenty of venues: word of mouth, Google reviews, Yelp reviews, and many other places on the internet that will allow them to give feedback when they aren't happy. Not creating a Facebook page simply for fear of negative feedback isn't protecting you from an angry wrath.

Instead, get ahead of the conversation by being aware when negative reviews are taking place, reading them, responding to the customer, and coming up with solutions for their problems. Additionally, when customers are pleased, encourage them to share their positive stories.

18. Social media is too "fluffy" to have solid metrics around.

Again, social media isn't about fluffy things we talked about earlier, like "brand equity" and "engaging conversation."

Yes, those things happen, but it doesn't mean you can't measure the effectiveness of your social media activities.

With HubSpot marketing tools, you can identify exactly how much traffic social media drives to your website, how many leads social media generates, and how many of those leads become customers.

From there, you can even calculate things like the average cost-per-lead and customer  across individual social media networks, and in aggregate  just like you do with every other marketing channel (right?).

19. Social media is completely free marketing.

It's free to join, but it's still a resource investment. Even if you are posting for free, you'll likely need to pay an employee to manage your channels and build strategies. And, as your social media strategy grows more successful, you might decide to up time and money investments.

Luckily, social media is still one of the most affordable ways to boost audiences, brand awareness, and ultimately leads. This makes the investment worth your while.

Navigating Social Media Marketing

Now that you've learned about the falsehoods and myths behind social media, it's time to start looking at the actual research-back tactics that could make your brand successful on a given network.

For more data that backs why you need a social media marketing strategy in 2021, check out this list of stats. For tactical advice on various social media tactics and platforms, read our Ultimate Guide to Social Media Marketing.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in October 2012 but was updated in February 2021 for comprehensiveness and freshness.
ORLANDO, Fla., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeremiah's Italian Ice, one of the most in-demand franchise concepts, has surpassed yet another milestone in its fruitful first year of franchising. The brand launched its highly-anticipated franchise opportunity last May, and in under 12 months, has awarded more than 100 units to 43 franchise partners.

"When we launched the franchise opportunity, our goal was to grow and be able to share our delicious treats with people in markets across the country," stated CEO and Founder, Jeremy Litwack. "Since that time, we have added trusted franchise partners in our home state of Florida, and are eager to be expanding our presence in markets across the South, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, to name a few. We are excited to welcome these partners to the Jeremiah's family and can't wait for them to open their doors."

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, the brand has placed an emphasis on maintaining the health and safety of its employees and customers. Jeremiah's was able to continue to spread joy in the community with their beloved frozen treats through delivery, drive thru service and curbside pickup options. Jeremiah's continues to adapt to society's new normal, pivoting its traditional franchise development efforts to instead host virtual discover days in order to continue connecting with their pipeline of interested franchisee prospects.

The 100th store was awarded to Charles Rankin, a retired FBI Special Agent and Air Force veteran. Rankin and his brother-in-law Angel Areizaga signed a development deal for three Jeremiah's Italian Ice locations in Southwest Florida. It's the same area that Jeremiah's signed its first franchise agreement at the start of their franchise journey with the Frisone family, who plan to open a Naples location this summer.

"We knew that the concept was poised for growth when we first started working with Jeremiah's," stated Cameron Cummins, Co-Founder of Pivotal Growth Partners and Chief Development Officer for Jeremiah's Italian Ice. "I've been involved in franchising for nearly 20 years and I have never seen pent up demand resulting in growth like this before. We are proud of our team for all the hard work they have contributed and are eager to share Jeremiah's delicious frozen treats with communities in new markets across the country."

Founded in 1996 and franchising since May of 2019, Jeremiah's has expanded across Florida and gained a loyal, devoted customer base. Each store boasts an upbeat atmosphere full of vibrant colors and offers over 40 flavors of indulgent high-quality Italian Ice, as well as creamy Soft Ice Cream. A synthesis of these two core products, the Jeremiah's Gelati is the showcase of the menu with layers of Italian Ice swirled with thick, homemade Soft Ice Cream, offering nearly limitless flavor combinations. Jeremiah's franchisees are embedded in the local community and are crucial to helping keep communities shining through tough times. Jeremiah's wants to continue to expand its footprint so people across America can taste how amazing their treats are and to help entrepreneurs make their dreams come true.

Jeremiah's is poised to become the premier frozen dessert franchise of the new decade.

For more information about Jeremiah's, visit www.jeremiahsice.com.

About Jeremiah's Italian Ice

Founded in 1996 and franchising since 2019, Jeremiah's Italian Ice has come to be known not only for its superior frozen treats, but also its outstanding customer service, community involvement, and an exciting brand image that exudes the Jeremiah's motto - LIVE LIFE TO THE COOLEST.

Focused on delivering flavorful experiences to each and every guest, Jeremiah's is committed to serving its vibrant, flavorful treats up with a smile in a lively environment. With 23 thriving locations throughout Florida, Jeremiah's is offering franchises nationwide. Initial expansion plans target the Southern United States, including Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arizona and Texas. For more information, visit https://www.jeremiahsfranchise.com.

About Pivotal Growth Partners

With a combined 50+ years of experience and a network of expert financial, growth and development partners, Pivotal Growth Partners creates value and grows small, regional companies into nationally acclaimed brands. Co-founded in 2018 by longtime franchise industry professionals Bryon Stephens and Cameron Cummins, PGP helps emerging franchise brands at their pivotal growth moment through experienced leadership, access to fundamental resources and day-to-day guidance. Jeremiah's has partnered with Pivotal Growth Partners (PGP) to facilitate nationwide growth.

SOURCE Jeremiahs Italian Ice

Related Links

http://www.jeremiahsice.com


Zelensky announces signing of memorandum with IMF in May

11:45, 20.05.20 1859

The president said he would shortly enact the banking law.
Clackamas County submitted its coronavirus reopening plan to Gov. Kate Brown and is urging her to approve it despite the fact that it doesnt meet all the governors criteria for reopening.

Washington County also plans to submit its plan to the governor on Friday, targeting a Phase 1 reopening date of June 1.

At their regular meeting Tuesday, Clackamas County Commissioners discussed the countys reopening and unveiled a new dashboard that tracks its progress against seven criteria the governor laid out earlier this month to qualify.

The governor has already approved the gradual reopening of 31 counties, though several of them failed to meet her criteria. Washington, Clackamas and Multnomah counties are the only that have yet to submit reopening plans, while Marion and Polk counties were denied because they are currently hotspots for the virus.

The seven criteria include whether counties have adequate levels of contact tracing staff, personal protection equipment and testing supplies. Hospitals are required to report on their protective equipment reserves and will confirm that they have an adequate supply on a daily basis, as well as sufficient bed capacity. Testing capacity is being measured at the health region level, which are groups of contiguous counties. Counties also need to demonstrate that they have facilities in place to isolate those who are sick with the virus.

MORE ON OREGON PHASE 1 REOPENING:

Guidance on: retail | restaurants and bars | salons and personal services | outdoor recreation | sporting events | large gatherings, including concerts and festivals

In particular, counties are having difficulty meeting the Oregon Health Authoritys standard that each must have at least 15 contact tracers per 100,000 residents.

Despite assurance that it would make all the county-level data it is tracking -- and supposedly verifying each week -- publicly available, the OHA has yet to do so. But a review by The Oregonian/OregonLive of reopening plans submitted by each county suggests at least four counties failed to meet the contact tracing criteria but were allowed to reopen anyway.

Clackamas and Washington counties may be hoping for the same flexibility, as they cant meet the criteria today.

The Clackamas coronavirus dashboard shows that it still falls well short of the required contact tracing capacity, with only 21 of the 63 case investigators required. Meeting the criteria, its plan says, is dependent on ability to hire additional staff and adequate funding and OHA providing training and new technology.

The county also falls short on having adequate levels of personal protection equipment for first responders, and having isolation motels in place for those who get sick.

Nevertheless, its letter to the governor Tuesday said we are confident that we either meet the necessary requirements or have comprehensive plans in place to address urgent needs as our businesses start to reopen.

Washington County also falls short of contact tracing capacity. It posted a note to its COVID-19 website Tuesday updating its plans.

This Friday, May 22, we plan to submit our application to the state for reopening, with a goal of entering Phase 1 on June 1, it said. Please note this is our PLAN and depends largely on our ability to hire and train enough contact tracing staff who are reflective of our community. We will keep you posted! Please keep wearing those face coverings and following physical distancing guidelines.

-- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter
BRIDGEPORT  Lisa Morrissey marked her first official day as the citys new health chief by politely contradicting Mayor Joe Ganims previous COVID-19 advice to constituents.

Without a permanent health director, Ganim has been the face of his administrations response to the new coronavirus crisis and has often urged residents to wear face masks and gloves.

But Morrissey, who made her official debut Tuesday during the mayors daily Facebook briefing on the virus, said she has told her husband and children not to use gloves.

It gives some people a false sense of security, Morrissey said, noting many people handle foreign objects and surfaces with their gloves, and then touch their faces and cell phones. Theyre almost like a second skin. The very microbes ... youre trying to avoid by wearing gloves, youre touching them with the gloves and still touching your face ... If youre not wearing gloves, youre going to be more cognizant of what youre doing with your hands.

Hired away from the same post in Danbury, Morrisseys nomination received final approval from a divided Bridgeport City Council Monday night. She replaces Maritza Bond, who left Bridgeport in late January, several weeks before the pandemic struck Connecticut and the nation, to head New Havens health department.

Bond has played a very public role in that citys response to the new coronavirus. Ganim has had an acting health chief working behind-the-scenes, but some on the council had grown concerned Bridgeports own approach to the pandemic was lacking. At of Tuesday, the city had 137 fatalities and more than 2,900 cases, according to the state.

We dont have a real robust health director to coordinate all this stuff, Council President Aidee Nieves told the Connecticut Post Monday for a story about how the CVS pharmacy chain opened free COVID testing sites in New Haven and Hartford, but not Bridgeport.

Councilman Ernie Newton before casting a vote to hire Morrissey Monday night expressed a similar concern to Nieves: We dont have a plan for the hot spots in the city where blacks and browns can die if we dont put a plan together.

As of late last week, for example, the health department and Bridgeport public housing were not collaborating to track the infection rates among the latters low-income tenants.

Morrissey, who is black, told Ganim Tuesday she will be very focused on some of the health disparities impacting communities of color (and) seeing what we can do to try to reduce some of those.

She left Danbury April 22 and has been volunteering in Bridgeport and pushing to open the citys first walk-up COVID testing site for the convenience of residents who have no cars and rely on public transportation.

Mondays divided, 11-8 council vote was not about Morrisseys qualifications. Members praised her resume and her background in infectious diseases. Most focused their criticism on the hiring process, either complaining not enough candidates were interviewed or taking issue with the fact Morrissey would not be moving from Danbury to Bridgeport as necessitated by the charter.

I have concerns regarding the interview process, how long was this job posted (and) about other resumes that might not have been submitted and were not given an opportunity, said Councilwoman Maria Valle, who ultimately voted yes.

Shes highly qualified, said Councilman Avelino Silva, who voted against Morrissey. I was really impressed with her. Its unfortunate I cant support it. ... Im bothered (by) how some things transpired.

Other no votes included Marcus Brown, Alfredo Castillo, Jorge Cruz, Mike DeFilippo, Matthew McCarthy, Maria Pereira and AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia.

Morrissey, who has four kids in the Danbury schools, had previously claimed she was never told about the positions residency requirement.

She wasnt given all the information she should have had when she applied, said Councilwoman Mary McBride-Lee, who voted for Morrissey. You cant just pick up the children like that and move to somewhere else.

Newton noted that, per state statute, Connecticuts health director could appoint Bridgeports should too much time pass with the position being vacant. However, such a move is rare and has not happened in at least 30 years, according to the state.

Say you vote her down. The state will appoint a health director (and) they can live in Timbuktu, Newton claimed.

Nieves, who also backed Morrissey, said the city could not afford to start a new search during the coronavirus crisis. Otherwise, she argued, The message you will be sending is your personal agenda is more important than the city itself.
(CNN) Losing your sense of smell or taste has been added to the official list of coronavirus symptoms in the United Kingdom, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

A government statement said that "from today, all individuals should self-isolate if they develop a new continuous cough or fever or anosmia."

Anosmia refers to the loss of or change to a person's sense of smell. The Department of Health statement said "it can also affect your sense of taste as the two are closely linked."

The Chief Medical Officers for the four nations of the UK endorsed this expansion of the recognized symptoms, saying they "have been closely monitoring the emerging data and evidence on Covid-19 and, after thorough consideration ... are now confident enough to recommend this new measure."

The move comes after Tim Spector, the head of the UK's coronavirus symptom tracking app and a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, criticized the government's failure to expand its list of symptoms.

Spector estimated an additional 50,000-70,000 cases in the UK have gone undiagnosed due to the lack of recognition of other symptoms, including anosmia.

The UK has suffered the most deadly outbreak of coronavirus in Europe, according to official figures, with more than 34,000 confirmed deaths.

Anosmia emerged as a potential Covid-19 symptom in March, when doctors in the United States called for it to be added to the "list of screening tools" for Covid-19.

Around the same time, ENT UK, a professional organization representing UK ear, nose and throat surgeons, said in a statement on its website that anosmia could be another symptom of infection with the virus.

It has long been known in medical literature that a sudden loss of smell may be associated with certain respiratory infections.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Loss of taste or smell added to official list of coronavirus symptoms in UK."
MIDLAND, MI -- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an emergency declaration late Tuesday and sent the National Guard to help after two dams failed in the Midland area after heavy rains.

She also urged residents in evacuation zones to get out immediately. Please, get somewhere safe now, she said in a 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, press conference.

About 10,000 people in the city of Midland are being evacuated, along with the village of Sanford, Edenville and Dow Chemical. Officials also are trying to evacuate areas of Tittabawassee Township, Thomas Township and Saginaw Township, she said.

The first dam to fail was the Edenville Dam about 5:45 p.m., later followed by the Sanford Dam about 6:50 p.m. which saw water come over the top of the impoundment.

The governor urged people to do not hesitate and go stay with a friend, relative or get to a shelter.

Whitmer said the worst case scenario calls for downtown Midland to be under nine feet of water. We are anticipating an historic high water level, she said.

She encouraged people to continue to wear masks and observe social distancing if possible.

In a Midland County press conference late Tuesday, Midland City Manager Brad Kaye said about one-quarter of the citys population, or about 10,000 people, are being asked to evacuate.

This is a massive effort, he said.

Kaye said the flood depths, under a worst-case scenario, could approach 4-1/2 feet to 5 feet more than an historic 1986 flood.

While the 1986 flood was a 100-year flood, what were looking at here is an event that is the equivalent of a 500-year flood, he said, calling the situation unprecedented. Its something that is extremely rare, extremely catastrophic and quite dangerous.

He said authorities are going into evacuation zones with police and fire trucks and asking people to leave. He asked people to take the evacuation seriously.

Kaye reminded the public that the flooding could put water and sewer systems as risk.

They will be inundated if we get these flood levels, he said.

He said residents may have back-ups and flooding into basements in some areas.
Two Christian congregations in the Near South neighborhood  F Street Neighborhood Church and Jacob's Well  have chosen to merge their ministries.

The merged congregation will meet Sunday mornings at the F Street Neighborhood Church, 1302 F St., beginning either in person or via livestream on May 31.

Pastor Bill Thornton of Jacob's Well has been hired as a pastor for F Street, and will work alongside current pastor Jeff Heerspink.

Heerspink said that because the two churches have similar goals in the same neighborhood, they have discussed merging their ministries for several years.

"Both of us have a heart for God and wish to serve him well," he said.

Jacob's Well has its own nonprofit organization, Thornton said, which will continue its operations independent of F Street Neighborhood Church. He said the nonprofit conducts outreach  such as food distribution and block parties in the community  as well as doing charity work in Haiti. Previously, he said, Jacob's Well held Sunday evening services at the F Street Neighborhood Church, but that group will now join F Street's congregation in the morning.
Mali has become the first African country to obtain a moratorium from the Paris Club after the G20 decision to suspend debt service this year, the French Finance Ministry said Tuesday, May 19. The Paris Club brings together about twenty countries, international creditors, and aims to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties of indebted countries. Three other countries have been granted this moratorium: Nepal, Grenada and the Dominican Republic, while 77 are eligible, including 41 of the 49 sub-Saharan African countries which should repay 19 billion dollars this year. The sums not paid in 2020 will be spread over three years starting in 2022, according to Agence France Presse.
America stands firmly with the people of Ukraine in support of a democratic, prosperous Ukraine.

The United States has congratulated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration on their first anniversary in office.

"At the time of President Zelensky's election, the United States warmly welcomed his commitment to implement the reforms necessary to move Ukraine into a new era marked by stability, prosperity, democracy, and further integration into Europe. We commend the progress achieved this year," says a statement posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on May 20.

"Over 130 Ukrainians unjustly detained by Russia and its proxies have returned to their families. The government completed unbundling of its natural gas sector, an important step in strengthening Ukraine's energy security. Decentralization efforts to empower local communities have moved forward. Ukraine has implemented many of the reforms necessary to establish a new IMF [International Monetary Fund] program," it said.

Read alsoUkraine expects first IMF tranche in week or two, presidential official says

The United States says it supports the work that remains, which is complicated by Russia's ongoing, illegal aggression on Ukrainian territory and by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As President Zelensky and his team press forward with dismantling Ukraine's oligarchic system, strengthening the rule of law, and ensuring the independence and integrity of anti-corruption and law enforcement institutions, we will continue to work with the administration to achieve its objectives, and we call on Rada members, and local and regional officials, to resist attempts by vested interests to slow progress," it said.

According to the statement, as President Zelensky enters the second year of his presidency, the United States stands firmly with the people of Ukraine in support of a democratic, prosperous Ukraine, secure in its internationally recognized borders.
History, its said, is written by the winners  and that usually means men. But in the realm of historical fiction, women have plenty of opportunity to take their revenge, and right now Hilary Mantel isnt the only one doing it. In fact, theres a small army of women offering their own slant on what life was like for our ancestors, near or far, famous or obscure. Here are some of them  and theyre all winners.

Katy Simpson Smiths THE EVERLASTING (Harper/HarperCollins, 352 pp., $27.99) could only have been set in Rome, where historys layers are visible every day and, as one of her characters remarks, You cannot move forward  only up or down. Each of the four central figures in her storytelling  divided by centuries but not by their emotional quandaries  experiences the city in a different way.

Read More

Tom, an American biologist on a research grant in 2015, studies the microscopic action of Romes rivers while embarking on an illicit relationship that threatens to upend his family. Is the fishhook he finds merely a piece of junk or is it the holy relic given, in the novels next section, to Giulia de Medici as she grapples with an unwanted pregnancy in Renaissance Rome? Could it be the same relic thats bought for six shillings in a grubby ninth-century market by 60-year-old Brother Felix, pining for a friend from his youth while he cares for the corpses of fellow monks in the putridarium of Santa Prisca? Can it have belonged to the second-century Roman girl, defying her parents with dangerous consequences, whose name happens to be Prisca?

The sun sets over the river Tiber, the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge in Rome and the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica. Alberto Pizzoli/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images

For Smith, this is a literary hook, a means of exploring large moral questions: How much do we owe to those we love? To ourselves? What does it mean to lead a good life? Can you do that without being religious? Her eloquent storytelling shows us glimpses of certain answers, sometimes serious but just as often comic. Its fitting that the latter tend to be provided by a fifth major character who interjects barbed commentary throughout: the Devil.

Satanic superstitions are just a few of the dangers confronting Rue, the heroine of Afia Atakoras satisfyingly spooky first novel, CONJURE WOMEN (Random House, 416 pp., $27). Thanks to the lore passed on by her mother, Rue is expert in midwifery and the healing arts  and also hoodoo, which in the antebellum South is black folks currency. Yet even after the fall of the Confederacy, Rues position is precarious. When local children fall sick and begin dying, the rumors also begin: Rues dead mother has cursed this isolated community, clinging to the ruins of a burned-out plantation, and Rue herself is said to have cast spells to save a suspiciously pale child while leaving others to die. Those foxes in the woods? Theyre the souls of the recently departed. Those men in white hoods? The all-too-real ghosts of the defeated rebels.

Cleverly ricocheting her chapters between the 1850s and the 1860s, Atakora shows how the legacy of bondage is played out in the aftermath of war. Scenes in slaverytime gradually reveal the reasons for certain actions in freedomtime. Of course, the people in the Big House and the people in the cabins are linked by violence, but theyre also enmeshed in the complexities of kinship, both forced and chosen. Although Marse Charles, the father of Rues childhood playmate, Miss Varina, will not survive the war, some of his familys secrets will live on in Rues care. And a few of them are of her own making.

Martha McPhee is less interested in revealing family secrets than in probing the way insistently told lies can become a kind of truth. Partly inspired by McPhees grandmothers own stories, AN ELEGANT WOMAN (Scribner, 416 pp., $27) charts the course of a hardscrabble youth in the raw American West thats deftly camouflaged by a prosperous, sophisticated Eastern adulthood. Isadora, McPhees novelist narrator, takes us back to the Montana of more than a century ago, where her grandmother, Tommy, and her little sister, Katherine, are left mostly to fend for themselves while their steely-eyed mother, Glenna, in flight from a bad marriage and in pursuit of independence, bounces from one teaching post to another, campaigning in her off hours for a womans right to vote.

Glenna is an artful liar and her message to her girls is simple: You can be what you pretend to be, especially if you take care to look the part. So they, like her, are impeccably dressed as they migrate from dirt-poor farms to rough mining towns to desperately poor Indian reservations, even though they can fit everything they own into a single battered trunk. But when the girls are grown and Glenna abandons them for good, tomboy Tommy must stop pretending that shes pretty Katherines foster mother, especially since Katherines dreams of Hollywood dont include her.

Whats the harm in risking one more lie, even if its a big one? Over the years, the sisters lives will diverge, one unable to keep up her charade, the other suffering privately in order to maintain hers. As McPhee brings the novel forward, into Isadoras mothers more freewheeling generation, what once looked heroic is in danger of being dismissed as a collage of pretensions. Isadora, the self-appointed curator of her family lore, is left to wonder how much of it will survive in the era of Snapchats My Story, where everything vanishes in 24 hours. Distilled to its essence, she asks, who then takes it and transforms it to legend?

L. Annette Binder must have asked a similar question when she tried to imagine her fathers childhood in World War II Germany. He died when she was 16 and they never spoke of it; all she knew was that he had spent time in the Hitler Youth. In THE VANISHING SKY (Bloomsbury, 288 pp., $27), she uses Etta Huber, a hausfrau in a rural village, as a means of feeling her way back into the past, channeling the anguish and uncertainty of the final months of the fighting.

Etta is the wife of a retired schoolteacher and the mother of two sons. The elder, Max, returns from the Eastern Front early in the novel, haunted by what he has endured. When not rigid in his bed, hes drawn to the local cemetery. All their clocks have stopped, he tells his mother. Mine should have stopped too. I dont know why it keeps on going. Etta struggles to hide the severity of his condition lest the authorities confine Max to a mental hospital  or, worse still, deem him physically able and enlist him in a defense force now made up of grandfathers and boys.

Thats what has happened to Georg, Ettas younger son, a pudgy bookworm with a fondness for magic tricks. At 15, hes almost old enough to be a soldier. In the meantime, hes off at a camp run by the Hitler Youth, digging trenches as the Allied armies come closer and closer. Georgs adventures, at first full of adolescent pranks and braggadocio, quickly turn dark and desperate. As Germany collapses, all he wants is to get home. But how to do that when even nature seems to be conspiring against him? They could hear the first shells already, and the sky shone red some nights as if the world had reversed itself and the sun were rising from the west.

Agnes Pelton in her studio. via Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

At many times in her career, the American artist Agnes Pelton felt the need to flee, but her enemy was self-doubt and nature was her solace. From her deathbed in a small 1960s town in the Sonoran Desert, she narrates Mari Coatess quietly moving first novel, THE PELTON PAPERS (She Writes Press, paper, 328 pp., $16.95), tracing her journey from the modest Brooklyn home she shared with her mother and grandmother to the places where she sought inspiration: Italy, Maine, the East End of Long Island, Hawaii, Southern California and, finally, an enclave of artists near Palm Springs.

The settings may sound glamorous (a Florentine villa, New Yorks momentous 1913 Armory Show) and the walk-on parts name-worthy (Mabel Dodge Luhan, Djuna Barnes), but Peltons life was led on humble terms, dogged by worries about money and uncertainties about the strength of her talent. Coates sees her as a gentle but tormented soul: attracted to other women but wondering if shes unnatural; relishing solitude but longing to be comfortable in a wider social circle; dutifully painting portraits to make money even as the abstract work she cherishes fails to sell.

As a student at Pratt Institute in the 1890s, Pelton is captivated by the Japanese concept of Notan beauty, the harmony that is achieved by correctly arranging light and dark spaces. In Coatess narrative, much of Peltons darkness emanates from the lingering effects of a great scandal: her grandmothers affair with the famous preacher Henry Ward Beecher, which, when made public, destroyed her marriage and warped the life of her only daughter  and of her only grandchild. But in the end, the light Pelton finds in her artistic vocation wins out. When her work is going well, it creates its own kind of poetry: Time ceased to march. Instead it flowed and became almost tidal, in and out, high and low, establishing a sense of the eternal present.

Pelton was drawn to theosophy. Georgie Hyde-Lees, the heroine of Alice Millers MORE MIRACLE THAN BIRD (Tin House, 368 pp., $25.95), is a rising member of an occult London society called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. By day, she tends soldiers wounded on the battlefields of World War I; by night she attends mystic ceremonies in a crowd of worshipers wearing hooded robes, one of whom is the renowned poet W. B. Yeats. Hes a ladies man, old enough to be her father, part of her mothers social set. And Georgie isnt a conventional heartthrob: stubborn, with dark hair and a severe, slightly chubby face. She wasnt really swanlike, or pretty, or especially feminine. So how does she wind up as Mrs. Yeats?

The answer, at least in Millers telling, has a great deal to do with one of Georgies patients, Second Lt. Thomas Pike, who takes an unlikely interest in her, despite her infatuation with the charismatic Irishman. The narrative moves back and forth between Georgie and Pike, sketching out Georgies stumbling attempts to stay close to her idol and Pikes almost as ungainly efforts to present himself as a suitor. Yeats, sublimely unaware that he has a rival for Georgies affections, is still obsessed with the actress Maud Gonne, and then with Mauds daughter, Iseult.

William Butler Yeats, 1914. Genthe photograph collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Georgie, however, is clever enough to know that a person with her efficiency and scholarly talents (she reads in Italian, French, German and Latin and is teaching herself Sanskrit) will always be useful to a person as disorganized and emotionally skittish as Yeats. Warned that if she marries him shell become a glorified secretary, she deploys a more inventive talent, not just snaring and holding him but allowing her to become the steward of his genius, rivaling Maud Gonne as his muse.

Cassandra Austen oversaw the legacy of another of English literatures greats, and generations of readers have wondered what was in the letters she destroyed after the death of her sister, Jane. In MISS AUSTEN (Flatiron, 288 pp., $26.99), Gill Hornby presents a persuasive portrait of that bane of scholars and biographers, introducing an elderly Cassandra hurriedly inviting herself to the vicarage where an intimate friend of the Austen family once lived. Janes confidante, the mother of Cassandras onetime fiance, is long dead and now her husband is also gone; with a new vicar about to arrive, its crucial that any remaining trace of Janes correspondence be kept from prying eyes.

There are others in the village who might also profit from this kind of trove, and as Cassandra acts as a genteel snoop she must also contrive to discourage their efforts. Why such desperate conniving? Every now and then, Hornby sends us back to the past, starting in the 1790s, when the Austen girls had yet to become confirmed spinsters. As time goes on and their situation seems ever more precarious, the reasons for Cassandras fierce protectiveness emerge. There was but one fact that was allowed to walk with the novels into posterity: that Jane had lived her short life as a stranger to drama; that few changes, no events, no crises broke the smooth current of its course. Cassandra, of course, knows otherwise.

In the background of Cassandras search, Hornby depicts a romance that could have emerged from an Austen novel and a number of real-life characters whose traits Austen may have borrowed for her fiction. Its unlikely, though, that she would have distilled them into quite such a sympathetic heroine as Janice Hadlow does in THE OTHER BENNET SISTER (Holt, 480 pp., $27.99). Her Mary Bennet is indeed the plain and awkward sibling of Pride and Prejudice, whose action is reprised in the early chapters of Hadlows novel, this time from Marys lonely, yearning, deeply insecure point of view.

Your sisters get in the way, Mrs. Hill, the kindly housekeeper, informs her. A daffodil seems quite ordinary when planted between lilies. But looked at without them, it has its own kind of beauty. In the aftermath of her fathers death, Marys hesitant efforts to find a place in life are threatened by a familiar enemy, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and encouraged by a surprisingly benign old one, Mr. Collins, whose wifes hospitality she accepts at Longbourn and whose marital troubles she finds herself resolving.

But it isnt until Mary takes up residence in London with her warm and welcoming aunt and uncle, the Gardiners, that shes able to address her own predicament and the daffodil starts to hold her own against the lilies. Another nemesis appears: Miss Bingley is, it seems, still on the hunt for a husband. And not one but two suitors hang about Mary in Mrs. Gardiners drawing room, drinking gallons of tea. As befitting an Austen clone novel, there are misunderstandings that keep the right young man from popping the question. It had not been so difficult to consider abandoning the idea of love, Mary forlornly tells herself, when she had never truly experienced it.

Will the endlessly interfering Mrs. Bennet achieve her lifes ambition: seeing all her daughters married? The answer isnt really in doubt. And neither is the wisdom of the lesson Mary imparts to Hadlows readers: The best response to glorious, unexpected happiness was not to seek explanation for its appearance but simply to embrace it and be glad.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Nelson Bocanegra (Reuters) Bogota  Wed, May 20, 2020 16:38 609 fc6853813033f564188675f8bd949568 2 Entertainment Colombia,director,bathroom,mobile-phones,Movie,coronavirus,quarantine,COVID-19 Free

This time there are no lights, cameras, dressing rooms or the hundreds of people who usually crowd a film shoot. There is just a mobile phone, a tripod, a bathroom and "Action!"

Colombian director Harold Trompetero, who has directed 21 films and produced another 30, is now tackling an unusual project amid a nationwide coronavirus quarantine that has his actors stuck at home.

The new movie "The Bathroom" is filmed on phones, with actors' family members helping with camera work, make-up and costuming as Trompetero gives instruction via video chats.

"When we were writing the script I came across a quote by Darwin that said in the evolution of the species it wasn't the most intelligent or the strongest who survived, but the ones who adapted best," Trompetero told Reuters.

"For a long time we'll need to adapt ourselves to new ways of doing things under these circumstances. If not, we will drown," he said.

The comedy movie is the story of a group of university friends who are still in touch 10 years later when the quarantine is declared and secrets come to light.

But why the bathroom?

Read also: A first film on the coronavirus epidemic has been shot

"We started thinking the privacy of home starts to lose personal privacy under quarantine, you don't have any space to yourself," Trompetero said. "The bathroom is the space left in lots of homes where you can be by yourself for five minutes of solitude."

Actress Marcela Carvajal said she cried when Trompetero called, asking her to star.

"I cried because I thought I wasn't going to return to acting for a long, long time - theaters are closed, TV channels are closed," she said. "It's a dream to make a film in this era."

Carvajal's husband helps her film and is making his debut as an actor in "The Bathroom." She said she is more afraid of the changes the coronavirus will bring than she is of getting sick.

"I'm not so scared of the illness, but am about what will happen with certain traditions in future - like meeting up in person, like live shows," she said.

Cinemas, theaters and other public events have been shuttered in Colombia since March and are unlikely to reopen any time soon.

"This year looked really good, I had projects all year," said Biassini Segura, another actor in the film, who said he is living off savings.

"In the end life goes on, but with a mask and gloves."

The movie will be released in August.
Canberra, May 20 (IANS) The Australian government has announced "quick financial support" for 10 Pacific countries hit by Cyclone Harold and the coronavirus pandemic.

Cyclone Harold swept through the Pacific in April, causing widespread damage that exacerbated the economic impacts of COVID-19.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) committed 100 million Australian dollars (65.4 million US dollars) to nations struggling with the basic costs of running their countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) will receive the most assistance at 20.5 million Australian dollars (13.4 million US dollars), followed by the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu at 13 million Australian dollars (8.5 million US dollars) each.

"To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our region, Australia has been working in partnership with Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to provide quick financial support, drawing on our existing aid program," a DFAT spokesperson said.

"Australia is providing separate support packages for Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Nauru, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Timor-Leste.

"This immediate funding will provide respite."

The government in November 2019 provided PNG with a 440 million Australian dollars (287.7 million US dollars) short-term loan, repayments on which have been postponed amid the pandemic.

Marise Payne, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, told the parliament earlier in May that Australia's Pacific neighbors had kept the spread of COVID-19 "to a very low rate" on account of "very swift action."

However, she said Cyclone Harold "compounded the impact of COVID-19 in the Solomon Islands, in Tonga, in Vanuatu and in Fiji", saying it prompted a "pivot" in foreign aid priorities.

--IANS

sdr/
BEACHWOOD, Ohio

Overdose: Larchmont Drive

At 1:20 p.m. May 13, a man, 20, overdosed on prescription medicine. The man was treated and survived.

Theft: Cedar Road

At 5:35 p.m. May 13, police arrested a Euclid man, 26, and a Cleveland woman, 18, for stealing clothing worth a total of $456.50 from Dillards at Beachwood Place mall, 26300 Cedar Road. The suspects were also cited for marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia possession.

Domestic violence: Interstate 271

At 12:15 p.m. May 14, a passerby saw a man and woman fighting while in a car stopped along I-271 southbound. Police investigated and charged both with domestic violence. Charged were two Cleveland residents, a man, 52, and a woman, 46.

Theft: Cedar Road

At 6:20 p.m. May 15, police arrested a Maple Heights man, 22, for stealing merchandise valued at $134 from Dillards at Beachwood Place mall.

OVI: Richmond Road

At 12:25 a.m. May 16, an officer stopped a car for reckless driving. It was subsequently learned that the driver, a South Euclid woman, 41, was intoxicated. Police charged the woman with OVI, reckless operation and failure to reinstate her drivers license following a suspension. The woman refused to take a breath test.

OVI: Chagrin Boulevard

At 3:15 a.m. May 16, an officer stopped a car at Chagrin Boulevard and Park East Drive after it was driven through a stop light. It was then learned that the driver, a South Euclid man, 20, was intoxicated.

Police charged the man with OVI, possession of drug paraphernalia, a marked-lanes violation, disobeying a traffic device and driving with a suspended license.

Theft: Chagrin Boulevard

At 10:35 a.m. May 17, police charged a Cleveland man, 38, with theft after he stole merchandise worth $2.29 from Giant Eagle, 24601 Chagrin Blvd.

Disturbance: Cedar Road

At 2:55 p.m. May 17, Beachwood Place security were called when three teenage girls caused a disturbance in the store Forever 21 by throwing clothes about and refusing to wear masks. The girls left the store before security arrived, but two of them were shortly after discovered in the mall. The two Cleveland Heights girls, 16 and 17, were banned from the mall.

Read more from the Sun Press.
TULSA, Okla. - Tulsas iconic Golden Driller statue is joining the effort to lure automaker Tesla to build its new U.S. assembly plant in Oklahomas second-largest city.

The 75-foot tall statue in the heart of the city is getting a makeover that includes a bright-red Tesla logo on its chest and a mask to make the oil field worker resemble Tulsa CEO Elon Musk. City officials plan to unveil the new look at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

The company has reportedly picked Tulsa and Austin, Texas, as finalists for its new factory that is expected to employ more than 10,000 people. No timeline for a decision has been announced.

Oklahoma touts its low tax rates and cost of living, particularly its low utility costs, when trying to woo businesses from other states. An auto manufacturer would qualify for numerous tax incentives, including a Quality Jobs program that provides cash rebates to companies that create good-paying jobs, a sales tax exemption that covers purchases of machinery and equipment, and a five-year property tax exemption. The state also has a specific automotive engineer tax credit that provides a corporate income tax credit of up to 10% of the engineers salary, and a $5,000 annual income tax credit to the worker.
Passengers line up for hire cars at Hobart airport on March 19, 2020 in Hobart, Australia. (Steve Bell/Getty Images)

Boost for Tasmanian Businesses as Cases Steady

Small businesses will get more of a boost in Tasmania as the government tries to stop any more from going under while COVID-19 cases start to flatten.

More Tasmanian small businesses will see some financial reprieve from the financial devastation of coronavirus, with funding being spread further across the sector.

Premier Peter Gutwein recently announced an additional $20 million was going towards the Small Business Emergency Support and Hardship grant programs, under which more than 15,000 businesses have received financial support.

Business Minister Sarah Courtney said applications for the grants was unprecedented, therefore the government was redirecting the $20 million so more businesses had access to it.

Some of the additional funding will go towards smaller hardship grants of $4000, with eligible businesses to be assessed against a lower threshold.

The government estimates the changes will mean approximately 1900 more small businesses will be supported through the small business support grant programs.

Meanwhile, the Tasmanian Prison Service has introduced virtual visits so inmates can connect with friends and family during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 170 inmates at the Risdon Prison facility have connected with loved ones online, including one who had a virtual visit from his family in the United States, the first time he has seen them in more than two years.

A total of 421 virtual visits have been facilitated under the supervision of Tasmania Prison Service (TPS) staff.

The states total cases remained at 226 for the fifth consecutive day.

By Christine McGinn
The Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed has lifted the ban on religious gatherings in the State.

The decision was made by the state governor, Sen Bala Mohammed on Wednesday during a stakeholders meeting held at the command guest house, Bauchi.

Also Read: 10 Patients In Bauchi Isolation Centre Overdose On Vitamin C

The governor urged the participants at the meeting to assist the government in ensuring that the protective protocol put in place were adhered to strictly in order to be free from the COVID-19 virus saying that with the present situation.

Advertisement

Religious gatherings in the state are scheduled to resume effective on Thursday, 21st May 2020.

The Governor expressed that the decision was made having been satisfied with the level of case management in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the State.
U.S. health secretary supports Taiwan at WHA

ROC Central News Agency

05/19/2020 12:27 PM

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) A top American official on Monday pushed for Taiwan's inclusion in the World Health Assembly (WHA) after it was not invited to the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's decision-making body for a fourth straight year.

Speaking on the first day of the WHA's two-day virtual meeting, United States Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it was "critical" that Taiwan participate as an observer at the WHA "to bring the helpful perspective regarding their effective and exemplary response (to the COVID-19 pandemic)."

Noting that the WHO has barred Taiwan from WHA participation since President Tsai Ing-wen () was elected president, he said "the health of 23 million Taiwanese people should never be sacrificed to send a political message."

The main theme of Azar's 3-minute address was bashing the WHO and China.

He said a member state of the WHO "made a mockery of their transparency obligations, with tremendous costs for the entire world," in an apparent reference to Beijing.

"We must be frank about one of the primary reasons this outbreak spun out of control: there was a failure by this organization to obtain the information that the world needed. And that failure cost many lives," Azar continued.

"This cannot ever happen again. The status quo is intolerable," the secretary said. "WHO must change, and it must become far more transparent and far more accountable."

The U.S. supports an independent review of "every aspect of WHO's response to the pandemic," Azar said.

Azar was one of several representatives of countries that supported Taiwan's WHA participation on the WHA meeting's first day.

Japan, and nine of Taiwan's 15 diplomatic allies -- Honduras, Haiti, Paraguay, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Belize, Guatemala, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Nicaragua -- also voiced similar views in their respective speeches Monday.

Meanwhile, a separate statement issued Monday by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also condemned Taiwan's exclusion from this year's WHA.

He accused WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus of choosing "not to invite Taiwan under pressure" from Beijing despite having the "power and precedent" to include Taiwan in the assembly's proceedings.

"The Director-General's lack of independence deprives the assembly of Taiwan's renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO's credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most," the statement said.

Pompeo said China's "spiteful action" to silence Taiwan "exposes the emptiness of its claims to want transparency and international cooperation to fight the pandemic, and makes the difference between China and Taiwan ever more stark."

He praised Taiwan's fight against COVID-19 as "one of the world's most successful efforts to contain the pandemic to date, despite its close proximity to the original outbreak in Wuhan, China."

He attributed Taiwan's success to its being a "transparent, vibrant, and innovative" democracy, in contrast to authoritarian regimes.

While Taiwan serves as "a model world citizen," Pompeo said Beijing "continues to withhold vital information about the virus and its origins, deny access to their scientists and relevant facilities, censor discussion of the pandemic within China and on Chinese social media properties, and casts blame widely and recklessly."

Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when Taipei's relations with Beijing were better under 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-Taiwan Strait relations since Tsai of the independence-leaning DPP took office in May 2016.

(By Tang Pei-chun, Tai Ya-chen and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ls

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Testing Platform Now Available for All Applications Running on the Global Network

Login VSI, the company dedicated to maximizing the end-user experience, today announced the general availability of Login Enterprise with native support for Microsoft Azure.

Login VSI has seen significant traction with our customers running applications and infrastructure on Azure. The native support for the platform enables these customers to seamlessly deploy Login Enterprise to Azure quickly, and without any additional hardware.

Login VSI is a Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) integration partner. We have been supporting WVD performance testing since 2019 and performed hundreds of tests to evaluate the performance profile of Windows 10 multi-session. This testing has been focused on maximizing the end-user experience for WVD in the areas of scalability, login performance, and cost optimization. Supporting Azure as a native platform for Login Enterprise is further support of this partnership.

As more and more enterprises are shifting their workforce and infrastructure to enable remote productivity and management, many of them are adopting Windows Virtual Desktop as a desktop solution. By offering native support for Azure, our customers can easily perform stress, performance and compatibility testing on applications running on WVD, all within the context of their Azure account.

"Releasing native support for Azure enables us to more effectively support our customers with an 'Azure first' methodology," said Eric-Jan van Leeuwen, CEO of Login VSI. "Additionally, this initiative supports Microsoft's Azure consumption goals, which furthers our alignment within the Microsoft sales and channel organization."

About Login VSI

Login VSI is the only solution in the market guaranteed to maximize the end-user experience for digital workspaces. We reduce risk and ensure business continuity by safeguarding application and desktop performance. We do this using synthetic users to automatically test and validate the impact of change in physical, virtual and cloud-based workspaces.

Our flagship product, Login Enterprise integrates application compatibility testing, load testing, as well as performance availability testing into a single platform. Login Enterprise also includes standard "out-of-the-box" application template workloads. Login VSI has over 400 customers in 50 countries. For more information, visit www.loginvsi.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005045/en/

Contacts:

Login VSI Media Contact:

Nonna Druker

n.druker@loginvsi.com
The Chinese government is trying to extradite a Uighur man living in Turkey who fled Xinjiang amid worsening repression, documents obtained by Axios show.

Why it matters: The documents from 2016 and 2017  together with Turkey's treatment of the man after that  show how Beijing is using its growing diplomatic clout to pressure foreign governments to surveil and deport Uighurs.

Go deeper:
Srinagar, May 21 : A 12-year-old boy injured on Tuesday after a house collapsed at encounter site in Srinagar has succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.

According to details, Basim Aijaz of Chota Bazar Karan Nagar, Srinagar was injured at Nawa Kadal encounter site in a house collapse after the encounter got over.

The class 7 student was undergoing treatment at SMHS hospital in Srinagar.

On Tuesday two militants including top Hizb militant Junaid Sehrai were killed in a 12-hour long gun battle with security forces.
Reuters

The World Health Organization's head said on Tuesday he would keep leading the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off funding and quit the body.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus defended the agency's role after the United States again withheld full support for a resolution on the pandemic.

"We want accountability more than anyone," Tedros told a virtual meeting of the WHO'S 194 member states. "We will continue providing strategic leadership to coordinate the global response."

Washington allowed the resolution calling for a review into the global response to the pandemic to pass by consensus, but said it objected to language about reproductive health rights and permission for poor countries to waive patent rules.

WHO officials running the meeting clapped and cheered after the resolution was passed without a vote hours after Trump tweeted his threat to pull the United States out of the body.

It calls for a review into the WHO-led global response, something the United States has demanded.

But the U.S. mission in Geneva said in a statement that paragraphs on the right of poor countries to waive patents to obtain medicine during a health emergency would "send the wrong message to innovators" trying to produce new drugs and vaccines.

The reproductive healthcare language could be interpreted as requiring countries to permit abortion. "The United States believes in legal protections for the unborn," it said.

China and the United States also sparred in the closing moments of the assembly over the issue of Taiwan. Taiwan lobbied hard to be included as an observer at the two-day meeting and received support from the United States, Japan and others, but says it was not invited due to opposition from China.

Backing From China

Even as Trump has proposed quitting the WHO, the body has received backing and a two-year pledge of $2 billion in funds from China's President Xi Jinping.

Many other leaders expressed support for Tedros.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for international cooperation in response to the pandemic.

"At times like these, the greatest act of courage is to play as a team," she continued, without an overt reference to the United States.

During his three years in office, Trump has criticised many international organisations and quit some. Still, European diplomats said they were taken aback by Washington's decision to stand aside at the WHO while China is boosting its role.

"It was so striking to see Xi Jinping seizing the opportunity to open up, with broad (cooperation), and make a proposal for $2 billion, and say if ever there is a vaccine they will share it with everyone," a European diplomat said.

"It's exactly what we feared: the space liberated by Washington will be taken up by China."

The WHO declined to comment on Trump's threat to quit, saying only that it had received his letter and was considering its contents.

Tuesday's resolution calls for a review into how the novel coronavirus spread after making the jump from animals to humans, believed to have happened in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year.

Some countries including hard-hit Spain and Italy suggested the body could emerge stronger from the pandemic through reform.

"This should be a time for renewing our organisation and we renew our strong commitment to the organisation," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
Fox Trail Senior Living Home is letting family members hug in the sterilized suits

His mother-in-law turned up to surprise her in an inflatable hippo costume

This is the bizarre moment a daughter embraces her self-isolating mother outside her care home - wearing a sterilized hippo suit.

Hilarious footage shows Nick Bolerjack's mother-in-law Linnea Bentz hugging her parent after Fox Trail Senior Living Home in Stephens City, Virginia allowed families to get creative so they could pay their parents a visit.

Staff at the home came up with the idea of allowing relatives wearing inflatable suits sprayed with disinfectant to meet their parents so they avoid potentially passing on the coronavirus.

In the video, Nick records from a safe distance as Linnea walks up to the front porch of the suburban home.

'Mom!' she can be heard exclaiming in the video, as the grandmother appears at the front door.

'Oh my God, this is so wonderful,' she says in return, as Linnea goes in for a hug.

Posting the video on twitter, Nick Bolerjack said: 'My mother-in-law hugging my grandmother in an inflatable hippo suit wearing a tutu is the content you needed today.

Nick Bolerjack recorded the moment his mother-in-law got to hug her own mother after Fox Trail Senior Living Home in Stephens City, Virginia allowed families to get creative so they pay parents a visit

'Her nursing home is letting family members hug each other in these sterilized suits.'

Nick's wife Ana added: 'My mom and Grandma are the absolute cutest. Thank you Fox Trails for making this happen!'

But while fun the idea of hugging relatives in the suits may seem fun, the contact still brings with several risks as the costumes are not a substitute for proper personal protective equipment, health officials have warned.

The state of Virginia has confirmed 31,247 coronavirus cases and has a total death toll of 1,040.

Health officials have warned that the inflatable costumes provide 'no more protection than a cloth face covering' and advise people to continue social distancing

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that a mask that fits closely to the mouth, has multiple layers, and is easy to wash is the best form of protection, aside from social distancing, which remains the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

'While CDC appreciates the creativity that some Americans have shown in protecting against COVID-19, Kate Grusich, a CDC spokeswoman, told the Washington Post.

She added: 'An inflatable dinosaur suit will not provide more protection than a cloth face covering.'
Chandigarh, May 20 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday announced the government will pay interest of education loans taken by students for three months.

This decision will bring relief to 36,000 students amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Khattar said there are many such students who have taken loan for their education. The government would pay the interest of three months of all those students who are completing their education this year or who have already done so in the previous year, but have not been able to start their jobs or business due to this epidemic.

Similarly, the government will bear two per cent of the total interest on loans of up to Rs 50,000 under Shishu Yojna of Mudra Loan Scheme of the Central government.

They will not be required to give any type of collateral for this loan. Under this scheme, loan will be provided to 5 lakh people of the state.

The Chief Minister also said that the state would provide loans of up to Rs 15,000 to 3 lakh poor people for starting their own small business at only two per cent interest.

These loans will be provided under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme, in which banks charge four per cent interest.

Of this, two per cent interest will be borne by the state government.
Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov must bring the investigation into the murder of journalist Pavlo Sheremet to an end, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"His [Avakov's] responsibility is the Sheremet case. If he launched this case, he must bring it to an end," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The president said that Avakov has to do the utmost to punish those involved in the murder of Sheremet.

"Arsen Borysovych Avakov is not a godfather of my child or my close friend. On the contrary, he has close friends, who are not my friends for sure. Is he is a strong minister? Yes. Do we have a complicated situation today? I think we do," the head of state said.

As reported, journalist Sheremet was killed in a car explosion in central Kyiv on July 20, 2016. The explosion occurred when Sheremet was driving a vehicle that belonged to Ukrayinska Pravda co-founder Olena Prytula, who was not in it at the time. The journalist died at the scene shortly following the bomb blast.

On December 12, 2019, police conducted a number of searches and notified several people of their status as suspects in the Sheremet assassination case. Later in the day, the National Police and Interior Ministry held a briefing, at which President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke, to inform the public about a number of interim investigation findings and the suspects' names.
???? Todos estamos con Loreto! Esta manana la ministra de la Produccion, Rocio Barrios, acompana y supervisa el traslado de 9 valientes enfermeras y enfermeros punenos y 3 medicos radicados en Lima, hacia Iquitos, para sumarse al personal de salud que lucha contra el #COVID?19.?? pic.twitter.com/5ARVW9pcBb
As all 50 states ease restrictions weeks after the novel coronavirus crisis led to widespread shutdowns, the military has new guidelines for doing the same on bases and installations.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday issued a four-page memo to commanders responsible for setting color-coded health protection condition, or HPCON, levels. Esper directs leaders to consult their medical leaders to make "deliberate, risk-based decisions" to change the protective measures set during public health emergencies.

Read next: 'Heartless:' Lawmaker Decries Sudden Stop to National Guard Orders

He outlines three criteria that should be met before commanders make a change:

A decline in reported cases of coronavirus or flu-like illnesses for 14 days.

A decline in documented COVID-19 positive tests as a percentage of total tests over a two-week period.

Capacity for military treatment facilities and local hospitals to test for and treat COVID-19.

"These decisions must be informed by local conditions based on public health surveillance data; guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; collaboration with State, territorial, and local authorities; and advice from the command Public Health Emergency Officer and local military medical treatment facility," Esper wrote.

The guidelines, according to the Defense Department, follow the Trump administration's directions for reopening America. But several states that have begun to reopen their economies don't meet the criteria set in those guidelines.

That includes several states with military bases, such as Arizona, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oklahoma. Those states, according to government data, have all seen recent rises in cases of COVID-19, the sometimes fatal illness caused by the coronavirus.

Many military bases have for several weeks been operating under HPCON level Charlie, which means the area is experiencing sustained community transmission during a health crisis. Some units, such as the Army's contingency response forces, were operating under the more restrictive HPCON level Delta.

That condition, which is labeled as red, required them to stay at home to remain protected against the virus in case they needed to deploy.

As areas reopen business and other facilities, Esper said commanders can set conditions that are more stringent than their surrounding communities. They can't, however, set conditions that are less rigorous without approval from their chain of command.

Commanders must also maintain a plan to manage possible coronavirus outbreaks, Esper said, including an ability for contract tracing, patient isolation and quarantine measures for those arriving from COVID-19 hot spots.

Leaders should also prepare to again restrict on-base services.

"If upward trajectories related to these criteria are observed or medical facilities become significantly burdened by the treatment of individuals who have contracted COVID-19, then commanders shall consider increasing the HPCON level," the memo states.

Pentagon leaders could be preparing for the coronavirus crisis to last until summer 2021, Task & Purpose reported Wednesday. That's despite Esper's assurance last week to President Donald Trump that the Defense Department would work toward developing a vaccine by the end of this year.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Leaked Pentagon Memo Warns of 'Real Possibility' of COVID-19 Resurgence, No Vaccine Until 2021
JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) today announced the launch of RADICAVA (edaravone) JourneyMate, a new program connecting people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their families to live nurse educational support, which can help answer questions about the disease and treatment options.

"We interact with the ALS community regularly to understand their needs and how we can help, and in doing so we learned many people who are recently diagnosed desire to speak to someone knowledgeable and sensitive to their situation," said Joseph Scalia, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing, MTPA. "We are excited to be able to provide this program to the entire community, adding to their arsenal of resources."

The JourneyMate program does not give medical advice. Instead, the program will provide information to people with ALS and caregivers who want to learn more as they talk with their healthcare providers (HCP) when considering treatment options. Specifically, JourneyMate representatives can answer questions about ALS disease progression, support callers in preparing to talk with their HCPs about treatment, explain the RADICAVA infusion process and provide support resources for caregivers.

A JourneyMate can be reached by calling 1-855-4-JRNY-M8, or 1-855-457-6968, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday  Friday. Off-hours callers are encouraged to leave a message, and a JourneyMate representative will return the call the following day. To learn more about the program, visit Radicava.com/JourneyMate.

An estimated 5,000-6,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with ALS, a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.1,2,3 The majority of ALS patients die within two to five years of receiving a diagnosis, but progression of the disease can vary significantly.4

About Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.

Based in Jersey City, N.J., Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. (MTPA) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation's (MTPC) 100 percent owned U.S. holding company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Holdings America, Inc. MTPA is dedicated to delivering innovative products that address the unmet medical needs of patients in North America. It was established by MTPC to commercialize approved pharmaceutical products in North America with plans to expand its product line through collaborations with partners. For more information, please visit www.mt-pharma-america.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook .

Overview of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC)

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, which was founded in 1678, has its headquarters in Doshomachi, Osaka, which is the birthplace of Japan's pharmaceutical industry. With business centered on ethical pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is a well-established company and has the longest history of any listed company in Japan. In accordance with the corporate philosophy of "contributing to the healthier lives of people around the world through the creation of pharmaceuticals," the Company formulated the key concept of Open Up the Future under the Medium-Term Management Plan 2016-2020. Through the discovery of drugs that address unmet medical needs, centered on its priority disease areas  autoimmune diseases, diabetes and kidney diseases, central nervous system diseases, and vaccines  Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma will strive to contribute to the health of patients around the world. MTPC is the parent company of MTPA and the license holder of RADICAVA. For more information, go to http://www.mt-pharma.co.jp/ .

About RADICAVA (edaravone)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved RADICAVA (edaravone) on May 5, 2017, as a treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).5 In a pivotal trial, people given RADICAVA experienced a 33 percent slower rate of decline in the loss of physical function, compared to placebo as measured by the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R), a validated rating instrument for monitoring the progression of disability in people with ALS.6,7 Edaravone was discovered and developed for ALS by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) and commercialized in the U.S. by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. MTPC group companies began researching ALS in 2001 through an iterative clinical platform over a 13-year period. In 2015, edaravone was approved for use as a treatment for ALS in Japan and South Korea. Marketing authorization was granted in Canada in October 2018 and Switzerland in January 2019.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Before you receive RADICAVA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:

have asthma.

are allergic to other medicines.

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if RADICAVA will harm your unborn baby.

are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if RADICAVA passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will receive RADICAVA or breastfeed.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

What are the possible side effects of RADICAVA?

RADICAVA may cause serious side effects including hypersensitivity (allergic) reactions and sulfite allergic reactions.

Hypersensitivity reactions have happened in people receiving RADICAVA and can happen after your infusion is finished.

RADICAVA contains sodium bisulfite, a sulfite that may cause a type of allergic reaction that can be serious and life-threatening. Sodium bisulfite can also cause less severe asthma episodes in certain people. Sulfite sensitivity can happen more often in people who have asthma than in people who do not have asthma.

Tell your healthcare provider right away or go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following symptoms: hives; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; fainting; breathing problems; wheezing; trouble swallowing; dizziness; itching; or an asthma attack (in people with asthma).

Your healthcare provider will monitor you during treatment to watch for signs and symptoms of all the serious side effects.

The most common side effects of RADICAVA include bruising (contusion), problems walking (gait disturbance), and headache.

These are not all the possible side effects of RADICAVA. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc. at 1-888-292-0058 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch .

For more information, including full Prescribing Information and Patient Information, please visit www.RADICAVA.com .

Media inquiries:

Debbie Etchison

908-340-8578

[email protected]

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry (April 25, 2017).

2 Frequently Asked Questions  Questions About ALS. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/als/ALSFAQ.html.

3 Marin B, Boumediene F, Logroscino G, et al. (2016). Variation in worldwide incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a meta-analysis. Int J Epidemiol, 00:1-18.

4 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Information Page. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/all-disorders/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als-information-page. Accessed May 2020.

5 Research by TOKYO SHOKO RESEARCH, LTD.

6 RADICAVA U.S. Prescribing Information. August 2018.

7 Simon, N. G., Turner, M. R., Vucic, S., Al-Chalabi, A., Shefner, J., Lomen-Hoerth, C., & Kiernan, M. C. (2014). Quantifying Disease Progression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Annals of Neurology, 76(5), 643657.http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ana.24273

SOURCE Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mt-pharma-america.com


The Zurich Airport International AG on Tuesday got the security clearance from the Union ministry of home affairs to develop the Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, said senior officials of the Uttar Pradesh government.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday (May 19) granted security clearance to Swiss firm Zurich Airport International AG to develop Jewar airport in Uttar Pradesh.

It may be recalled that the Jewar airport concessionaire -- Zurich International and special purpose vehicle -- the Yamuna International Airport Private Limited had applied for security clearance on January 30, 2019.

SP Goyal, principal secretary with UP chief ministers office (CMO), expressed happiness over this development and said, Glad to share that Zurich Airport International AG has got security clearance for the development of the Noida International Greenfield airport at Jewar.

Government officials said that the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) will now sign concessionaire agreement with Zurich International and Yamuna International Airport.

It is to be noted that the work at the project was scheduled to start in April 2020 but it got delayed due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

In November 2019, Zurich Airport International AG had emerged as the highest bidder for the proposed airport at Jewar, beating Adani Group and DIAL.

The Switzerland-headquartered company made the highest per-passenger bid for the airport, thereby, outbidding other firms like Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), Adani Enterprises, and Anchorage Infrastructure Investments Holdings Limited.
Here are COVID-19 updates you need to know this Wednesday, May 20.

1. The number of cases in Kenya has hit 1,029 after 66 people tested positive for the virus.

2. The government has received mobile laboratories from Germany to boost testing of truck drivers at the border.

READ ALSO: Nurse punished for wearing only underwear, transparent PPE in male coronavirus ward

The Ministry of Health announced 66 new cases. Photo: Ministry of Health.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Senate to hold special sitting on Friday, May 22, to debate removal of Kithure Kindiki

3. Cessation of movement in Eastleigh and Old Town has been extended up to June 6.

4. In the new 66 cases, 30 are from Mombasa while 26 are from Nairobi.

5. President John Magufui has said Kenya and Tanzania should iron out the border issues that have been emerging due to coronavirus pandemic.

6. Brazil has recorded 1,000 deaths of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

7. Rwanda has deployed robots to screen, deliver food and drugs to COVID-19 patients.

8. In the global arena, the number of cases has hit the five million mark and the death toll is .

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
One new case of COVID-19 has been diagnosed in Manitoba, the province announced in a media release Monday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Advertisement Advertise With Us

One new case of COVID-19 has been diagnosed in Manitoba, the province announced in a media release Monday.

That brings the total number of lab-confirmed and presumed positive cases in the province to 290. It had been thought that number was reached last week, but a presumptive positive case ended up testing negative in the lab.

There are now 26 active cases in the province, with 257 people having recovered from the virus. The location of the new case and whether it is lab-confirmed or a presumptive positive were not disclosed.

Mondays news breaks a streak of consecutive days without a new case dating back a week to May 11. However, there is good news in that there was only a single COVID-19 patient hospitalized in Manitoba on Monday, compared to two on Sunday, and this person is not in intensive care.

During the past week, cases at Pauls Haulings maintenance shop in Brandon, the Safeway gas bar at the Corral Centre and a contract security guard at the Maple Leaf Foods plant in Brandon have been identified, but tests for those people happened prior to May 11 and would already have been reflected in the provinces statistics.

While the recent statistics in Manitoba have been improving, the provincial government is advising Manitobans that significant work still has to be done to prevent the virus from spreading. People in southern Manitoba are still not allowed to travel north of the 53rd parallel in order to prevent the viruss spread to northern communities.

Those going to cottage country or camping are advised they still need to follow social distancing rules.

After 487 tests were performed on Sunday, the total number of COVID-19 tests completed in Manitoba has climbed to 35,200.

Manitobans with related symptoms, including a fever, cough, sore throat, headaches, shortness of breath, runny nose, nausea, fatigue or rashes no longer need a referral from Health Links or their family doctor to get a test.

The province has tested 35,200 people for COVID-19 since February. The province didnt say how many of the most recent tests came via self-referral.

All COVID-19 testing sites in the province except for a few in Winnipeg, Selkirk and Winkler were closed on Victoria Day. Provincial chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin did not hold his usual Monday afternoon press conference on Monday due to the statutory holiday.

 cslark@brandonsun.com, with files from the Winnipeg Free Press

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Former Secretary of State Ruth Johnson is questioning the logic and motive behind the current administrations plan to mail absentee ballots applications to every registered Michigan voter leading up to the August primary and November general election.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the effort is meant to allow voters to cast ballots safely from their homes while threat of the coronavirus outbreak and a need for social distancing lingers.

I do question how and why this specific mailing was done right now," Johnson said in a prepared statement issued Tuesday, May 19. "Local clerks are the ones who have always handled these requests, not the secretary of state.

Like Gov. (Gretchen Whitmer), SOS (Jocelyn Benson) seems to be taking unilateral actions with no input and questionable motives  and that is very troubling.

Benson on Tuesday announced all of Michigans 6.4 million registered voters will receive applications for absentee ballots for the two remaining elections this year.

Another 1.3 million Michigan voters are already registered to vote absentee ballots.

By mailing applications, we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote, Benson said in a Tuesday morning news release. Voting by mail is easy, convenient, safe, and secure, and every voter in Michigan has the right to do it.

The decision comes following a May election that was conducted with multiple alternative modes of voting and saw record turnouts despite coronavirus fears.

Nearly 25% of eligible voters cast ballots on May 5, Bensons office said, and 99% of them did so by mail or in a drop box. This was more than double the 12% that turned out in May elections from 2010 to 2019, Bensons office said.

The secretary mailing an application to every voter is an unnecessary expense that will cost millions of dollars," Johnson said. "Where is that money coming from? I assume it will be from coronavirus funds the state received.

That money should be going to get personal protective equipment for health care workers and more tests for our state, not to do a big mailing promoting the secretary of state for something that usually comes from local clerks. It seems political to me.

Bensons office hasnt provided a detailed breakdown of the additional projected costs to mail absentee ballot applications for the forthcoming elections.

We received $11.2 million from the federal government in the most recent stimulus package, Benson said following the May election. We will be using those funds to ensure that were able to securely provide democracy in every election this year.

In addition to registered voters receiving applications for absentee ballots, the form will also be available online to download at Michigan.gov/Vote.

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 from MLive:

Voters may submit ballots by mail

Complete coverage at mlive.com/coronavirus

Northern Michigan restaurants and shops can reopen Friday, Whitmer says

Coronavirus preparedness, response plans required for Michigan businesses set to reopen
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - MAY 15: European Commissions UK Task Force Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier talks to media about the third round of talks with the United Kingdom on Brexit on May 15, 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Thierry Monasse/Getty Images) Thierry Monasse

The U.K. and the EU have many differences yet to overcome as they try to get a new trade deal by the end of the year  a political hot potato that could bring additional economic uncertainty, for both. The U.K. stopped being a full member of the European Union (EU) in January, but it is still in a transition period until the end of the year, so it can negotiate new trade arrangements with its closest partners. However, after three rounds of talks, negotiators have complained about the lack of progress. David Frost, the U.K.'s negotiator, said Friday there had been "very little progress towards (an) agreement on the most significant outstanding issues between us." In Brussels, the EU's negotiator, said Friday it was a "disappointing" round.

What are the issues?

One of the sticking points is about the "level playing field" for businesses. Both sides agreed last year "to develop an ambitious, wide-ranging and balanced economic partnership," which will be "underpinned by provisions ensuring a level playing field for open and fair competition." This means that there should be common rules and standards to prevent British businesses from undercutting their European competitors, and vice-versa. However, it seems there's a different interpretation of what was agreed.

Speaking last week, Barnier said "the United Kingdom did not engage in a real discussion on the question of the level playing field." On the other hand, Frost said "the major obstacle" to progress is "the EU's insistence on including a set of novel and unbalanced proposals on the so-called 'level playing field' which would bind this country to EU law or standards." Furthermore, there's also the question about fisheries. The British government wants "annual negotiations" on access to U.K. waters. However, EU fishermen, who rely on being able to fish in U.K. waters, have said they do not want discussions on quotas and access every year. They are concerned they will have limited, if any, access to the U.K. "The EU continues to insist on fisheries arrangements and access to U.K. fishing waters in a way that is incompatible with our future status as an independent coastal state," Frost said Friday. Barnier said their positions on fisheries "remain very far apart." Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, Tom Raines, from Chatham House, said there are "significant philosophical differences" between the two sides.

The hit to the U.K. economy will be unwelcome and we have to brace for a significant recession. Anna Rosenberg Signum Global

They also seem to disagree about the implementation of previous agreements. One of the pre-conditions for the U.K.'s departure from the European Union was to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Both sides agreed in 2019 that Northern Ireland will remain part of the U.K. customs territory  meaning if the U.K. signs a trade deal with, say, the U.S., the latter will also buy Northern Irish products. However, it was also agreed that to preserve the EU's single market, there will be checks and controls on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Barnier said Friday that the U.K. has not yet explained how it will implement that part of the agreement.

Why it matters?

Both sides have to decide by the end of next month if they need much more time to negotiate a trade deal or not. They have until December to conclude a free trade agreement, but they could extend that for one or two years more. The U.K. has often said it will not extend negotiations. If they don't have an agreement by the end of the year, there could be hefty duties on goods and services moving across the English Channel. This would be costly for businesses on both sides.
Facebook outlined to staff globally how it plans to handle a return to major job sites starting July 6.

Facebook Inc. will limit offices to 25% occupancy, put people on multiple shifts and require temperature checks when it lets employees back into workplaces beginning in July, according to people familiar with the matter.

The social media company outlined to staff globally how it plans to handle a return to major job sites starting July 6, providing a glimpse at what offices may look like more broadly when businesses reopen their doors in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook will also limit how many employees can gather in meeting rooms, create 6-foot spaces between work stations, replace cafeteria buffets with grab-and-go meals and initially keep office gyms closed, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing company internal policy. The Menlo Park, California-based company also will bar outside visitors initially.

Staff must wear masks in the office when not social distancing, and in some locations, masks will have to be worn at all time while working. Facebook doesnt plan to test employees for Covid-19, but it may do so in the future once quicker testing becomes more readily available, the people said.

Facebook also is working to create a way to social distance on its shuttle buses, which are used by many Bay Area employees to get to the offices. The company declined to comment on its plans.

Major technology companies, including Facebook, Alphabet Inc.s Google and Microsoft Corp. were among the first to close offices and send their workers home as Covid-19 began to spread in early March, particularly along the West Coast where the companies have their headquarters.

Facebook announced earlier this month that employees who are able to work remotely can do so through the end of 2020. While major offices will open in early July, some, such as in Asia, plan to let workers in earlier.

Not all staff can work remotely. Employees working on hardware, operations, or other tasks that arent possible at home will be asked to return to the office, the people said. In the Bay Area, local governments just relaxed shelter-in-place rules for employees who cant work from home. Facebook may ask some hardware employees to return to the offices before July 6 as long as they are willing and abide by the new policies being put in place, one of the people said.

Facebook already has canceled events through mid-2021. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has said he doesnt want employees who can work remotely clogging up public infrastructure, like buses or subways, for people who dont have the option to work from home. Twitter Inc., has told staff they can work remotely forever, while Amazon has disclosed an October return-to-work date. Apple Inc. has told employees it will start bringing more workers back to the office in phases beginning in late May or early June.
We are happy to be working with SatRevolution and powering their complete nanosatellite solutions -- Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus.

Momentus (http://www.momentus.space), provider of in-space transportation services for satellites, and SatRevolution, a forerunner of the space industry in Poland, today announced an orbital deployment contract for SatRevolutions LabSat 3U Cubesat. Momentus will launch the 3U cubesat, called LabSat, on-board the Vigoride Orbit transfer vehicle in December of 2020 to an SSO orbit on a dedicated SpaceX Falcon-9 Rideshare mission where Vigoride will then transport the cubesat to a higher drop off altitude. This change in orbital altitude will also help with identifying and tracking their satellite post launch.

LabSat is the result of a project focusing on miniaturized laboratory tools and technologies for testing in microgravity conditions. The satellite consists of a cubesat bus, created by SatRevolution, and scientific payloads developed by four Wrocaw based universities, spearheaded by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology.

SatRevolution is excited to start our cooperation with Momentus, said Grzegorz Zwolinski, co-founder and COO of SatRevolution. We hope to put their services to great use in the future, both for general access to orbit, as well as for last mile services - which is their key offering.

SatRevolution designs and supplies cubesat platforms and services, and is currently working on the first phase of its Earth-observation constellation in 2023. With two satellites already in orbit since 2019 (Swiatowid and KRAKsat, launched from ISS), SatRevolution is focusing on a series of dedicated and shared customer projects. Based on a tried and tested NanoBus cubesat platform, these satellites will see LEO in the next 12 months.

We are happy to be working with SatRevolution and powering their complete nanosatellite solutions, said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. Weve tracked their work with scientific institutions, such as Grenoble University Space Centre, Wrocaw University of Science and Technology, and AGH University in Krakow and are looking forward to working with them on both scientific and commercial projects in future.

A graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator program and based in Santa Clara, California, Momentus announced a $25.5MM Series A raise last year, bringing total funding to nearly $50M. Momentus employs new and proprietary technologies, including water plasma propulsion to enable revolutionary low cost orbital shuttle and charter services. The prototype of the Vigoride vehicle, El Camino Real, was launched and tested last year. The first Vigoride test mission is planned for December2020 on a SpaceX dedicated rideshare mission to sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO).

About Momentus

Momentus is the first company providing in-space transportation services for satellites. The company was founded in 2017 in Santa Clara, CA. Momentus designs and builds transfer vehicles propelled by proprietary water plasma thrusters. The vehicles ferry satellites to a custom orbit after they are delivered by conventional rockets to their initial orbit. Momentus is a 60 person team growing rapidly.

For more information visit http://www.momentus.space

About SatRevolution

SatRevolution is a new space company based in Wroclaw, Poland, offering complete nanosatellite systems and solutions. Founded in 2016 with the idea to build and launch first Earth-observation constellation in Poland, SatRevolution has recently been co-funded by European Regional Development Fund for the first stage of the constellation. The company specializes in cubesat and microsat platforms and services, with two satellites already in orbit and a number of customer projects well on the way.

For more information visit http://www.satrevolution.com
Because most mining companies in Ghana are part of global mininginstitutions, they have generally been somewhat ahead of the curve interms of planning. Global capacity and experience have allowed them tobe more proactive in taking preventive measures, even before Ghanareported its first case. Many

companies already had business continuity and contingency plans in place, as well as health interventions, forexample, restricting travel for employees both locally and internationally.



However, once cases were reported, the government began to introduce its own directives. At that stage, mining companies were impacted on a practical level, particularly by the lockdown and the international travel ban. That said, even under the lockdown, the government exempted mining companies, provided they take the necessary precautions. Mining workers could therefore move in and out of work easily.



Moreover, most mining companies are located in remote areas, and the lockdown mainly affected the two big cities of Accra and Kumasi. The fact that mining companies were exempted and the lockdown did not generally affect the movement of goods has been helpful for mining companies, and operations have carried on without too many challenges.



Mining companies are better prepared than other sectors of the economy, and even though no mining company in Ghana has suspended production, we do not know what lies ahead of us. Whatever contingency and continuity plans we have in place need to be under constant review and subject to change as we move forward.



How will the surge in gold prices affect the mining industry, and to what extent are sector players working with the government in response to the crisis?



ASUBONTENG: Oil prices have collapsed amid the pandemic. The importance of the mining sector, and gold in particular, is even more critical now. Even before this crisis, gold was a key contributor to Ghanas economy. The increase in the price of gold certainly helps the government, particularly in terms of boosting revenue, taxes and royalties.



However, it is equally important during this time that we are able to maintain production. This means that, hopefully, we can avoid losing control during subsequent waves of the crisis.



Thus far we have managed, but the crisis comes with its own set of challenges and introduces its own unexpected costs, and we do not know the full extent of that cost yet. For example, because of the impact on supply chains, companies are building up extra stock. That means they might be charged a higher premium by suppliers, which could drive up costs.



Mining companies are also supporting and working directly with their host communities to help respond to the crisis. It is obviously in our interest to do so, to ensure that companies and communities are prepared if cases spike, and if they do, that they are managed appropriately.



All mining companies in Ghana are presently working with their host communities. Some of them have hospitals that service both companies and communities. At one point, there was a shortage of hand sanitiser across the country; we moved in quickly with our own expertise, and, with approval of the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority, developed our own sanitiser, which we are distributing to communities. These count as additional costs, but the fate of communities and mining companies in this crisis is tied together.



At a national level, the members of the Ghana Chamber of Mines came together in early April to assist the government, providing $2m in support to cover ventilators, personal protective equipment and testing.



What are the most pressing challenges mining companies in Ghana will need to address in order to continue to work in a safe and sustainable manner?



ASUBONTENG: Health is the first and foremost challenge we face. Companies do not want to risk the health of their workers and communities.

As we manage the crisis, it is also important that we work closely with the government, so that they fully understand the impact of any new directives on mining companies and avoid unintended consequences. To that end the Ghana Chamber of Mines is in regular consultation with the government about the sectors activities.



The other challenge is to protect and maintain supply chains, and ensure we have enough back-up for predictability purposes. Not only are supply chains potentially impacted by directives at home, but they are also impacted by directives imposed in other countries. When South Africa imposed its lockdown, our ships were no longer able to move, and our supplies were stuck. It took time before exemptions were made for specific cases to finally see our supplies trickle through. Therefore, getting supply chain under control is key.



Lastly, skilled personnel is another challenging factor. With many mining companies relying on specialist skills of expatriate workers and contractors, some of whom are currently stuck in their home countries, this could result in certain skills no longer being available in-country.

Source: ERIC ASUBONTENG









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
SAN DIEGO, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FIDUS Pet Concierge (https://www.fiduspet.com/) recently highlighted its latest informative blog to help owners prepare their anxious pets, "Your Pets in a Post-COVID World: How to Help Them Cope." FIDUS Pet Concierge is San Diego's first exclusive pet amenity club, offering highly trained and insured pet care experts who make life more convenient for apartment residents. FIDUS reopened for business as of May 13.

Dog Walking is reccommended to ease the transition for pets staying home alone Dog training is recommended for newly fostered or adopted dogs as you trasnition back into work and school

"With nationwide quarantine easing, our pet-parents are concerned that their fur-babies might react negatively to being left home alone again," said FIDUS owner, Karen Posner." Especially after having lavished those pets with so much personal attention lately. It's one of our biggest concerns too, as we help our clients deal with pet care during these return-to-work orders. We have developed a wide array of socially-distant pet services that can help."

FIDUS Pet Concierge: Four Tips to Help Pets Adjust

Extra snacks were a part of quarantine benefits for pets. But return to regular feeding schedules as soon as possible; paring back slowly, to keep pets from getting anxious. Practice leaving pets for short periods of time. Go for a walk, drive, or short errand, while leaving pets at home. This will begin to get them used to a regular schedule that includes absent pet-parents. Break out old toys, and begin to leave dogs and cats with safe and independent activities that they can utilize while pet-parents are away: scratch pads, treat toys, etc. Slowly reintroduce pets to new people and other dogs, in preparation for leaving the home again during walks. Use a dog walker.

For more informative articles and blogs to help pets, please visit HERE. For the latest news on regular FIDUS services and events, follow them on social media: Facebook, Yelp, and Instagram.

About FIDUS

FIDUS Pet Concierge is the go-to pet amenity and exclusive resident club dedicated to raising the standard of care and quality of life for apartment-living pets. Conveniently located within luxury apartment communities, FIDUS makes life easier by offering a wide variety of high-end services close to home, all to help pet parents treat their fur babies like royalty. Residents have full access to luxury FIDUS services like dog walking, pick up and drop off, grooming, pet spas, and retail boutiques; while guests are welcome to utilize state-of-the-art pet facilities. Learn more about requesting a FIDUS Pet Concierge in your community at: www.FIDUSPet.com.

Media Contact:

Karen Posner

818-515-2621

[email protected]

SOURCE FIDUS Pet Concierge
Wednesday, May 20th, 2020 (12:49 pm) - Score 9,336

The latest version (v83) of Googles popular Chrome website browser has finally made its new Secure DNS feature available to all, which by default  will automatically upgrade you to use their DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) service. But in order to placate concerns it only does this if your current broadband ISP supports it.

At present most Domain Name System (DNS) requests, which turn Internet Protocol (IP) addresses into human readable domain names like ISPreview.co.uk and back again, are still unencrypted and this makes it easy for your internet service provider to snoop, filter (e.g. block websites / parental controls etc.) and even optimise some aspects of your internet connectivity (e.g. better direction of traffic for Content Delivery Networks etc.).

By comparison the DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) system encrypts DNS requests by sending them over the common HTTPS protocol for websites. On the one hand this is a welcome security and privacy improvement. On the other hand big ISPs and governments are concerned that wide-scale adoption by major third-parties (e.g. website browser software that enables it by default) could disrupt some of their services (as above).

Mozillas rival Firefox browser initially took most of the flak for this approach after they introduced a Cloudflare based DoH system by default in the USA, although concerns raised by ISPs and the UK Government later resulted in them saying that they had no plans to do the same over here (here). But you can still optionally enable it or choose a custom DoH server.

Weve covered all of this quite a lot before (here and here) and at one point the ISPA even controversially labelled Mozilla as an Internet Villain for their aspiration to enable the feature by default (i.e. taking DNS requests away from ISPs and making it harder to intercept them in the traffic flow), which was promptly withdrawn following a backlash (here).

Now its Chromes turn to enter the fray, which is arguably much more significant given their status as the largest web browser. However, the approach taken by Google is a softer one, which only enables DoH (Secure DNS) if your current internet provider supports it.

Googles Statement for Chrome v83 Were also launching Secure DNS, a feature designed to improve your security and privacy while browsing the web. When you access a website, your browser first needs to determine which server is hosting it, using a step known as a DNS (Domain Name System) lookup. Chromes Secure DNS feature uses DNS-over-HTTPS to encrypt this step, thereby helping prevent attackers from observing what sites you visit or sending you to phishing websites. By default, Chrome will automatically upgrade you to DNS-over-HTTPS if your current service provider supports it. You can also configure a different secure DNS provider in the Advanced security section, or disable the feature altogether.

At present none of the major broadband providers have launched their own DoH solution to replace unencrypted DNS, although BT have conducted trials (here) and so have some smaller providers like AAISP (here). Much like Firefox, users of Googles Chrome browser can also optionally add their own choice of DoH server to the browser and use that if they prefer.

Naturally ISPs that dont need to filter, manipulate or snoop on DNS traffic will find it much easier to establish their own DoH solutions in the future. In the meantime if you do choose to enable DoH then just remember that it may break certain features on the bigger broadband and mobile operators, some of which may have a negative impact on your experience, but you can always disable it if that happens.
MIDLAND, MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer visited Midland Wednesday to discuss the flooding disaster in Midland County after the collapse of the Edenville Dam and the breach of Sanford Dam. She praised local response and said the state will review legal recourse to hold people responsible.

Whitmer spoke Wednesday, May 20, at Midland High School, which is being used as a shelter for residents displaced by flooding. She took an aerial tour of the flood zone along the Tittabawassee River by helicopter before the address, she said. After assessing the damage, Whitmer said she will ask FEMA for additional support. She called on FEMA and the federal government to help cut through red tape and quickly deliver relief to the area.

Experts have described this as a 500-year event. Its going to have a major impact on the community and our state for the time to come, Whitmer said. Thats why were going to be very aggressive about getting help from our federal partners... Its my hope that theyll be able to move quickly."

The flooding is expected to peak around 8 p.m. Wednesday, Whitmer said. She directed those seeking shelter to Midland High, as well as the West Midland Family Center and Bullock Creek High School, and urged those in impacted areas to get somewhere safe if they havent yet.

Were gonna get through this, Whitmer said. "Its a tough time to be sure, but we are going to get through this. We know that tough times dont last, but tough people do. We have seen a community come together, and were going to continue to do that until we get through this crisis.

Stay informed, and stay safe.

First-responders, National Guard and Michigan State Police personnel worked through the night to help get people to shelter, Whitmer said. She also gave thanks to local officials for their response.

I want to thank all of these people for their hard work and the incredible volunteers that have brought food and supplies to their fellow residents," Whitmer said.

There has been no reported casualties so far, Whitmer said. The state will update the public if that changes.

It speaks to how seriously this community took this, how often flooding has been an issue and people know what to do, Whitmer said. We are working arm in arm to make sure that we continue to keep people safe... at this juncture, were very pleased to see a 10,000-person evacuation that has, I think, gone as well as something like this can go. As a tribute to the local leadership, we want to acknowledge that.

Responding to questions about the reported compliance issues and warnings at the Edenville Dam in years prior to its collapse, Whitmer said the initial view is that the dam had known problems for a while, she said, emphasizing its important that the state does its due diligence and then takes action.

The State of Michigan is reviewing every potential legal recourse that we have, Whitmer said. This incredible damage requires that people be held responsible.

President Donald Trump is expected to make an appearance in Michigan tomorrow, touring a Ford plant in Ypsilanti that has shifted to making ventilators. The state intends to give his team a full briefing on the flooding, Whitmer said. Trump also tweeted about the situation on Wednesday, thanking first responders.

Despite the flood issues, the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, Whitmer said. She encouraged residents to continue safety precautions like wearing masks and practicing social distancing.

Its hard to believe that were in the midst of a 100-year crisis, a global pandemic, and that were also dealing with a flooding event that looks to be the worst in 500 years, Whitmer said. Heres what I know. When the chips are down, the people of Michigan are able to rise up. We are tough, were smart and we care about each other. As long as that guides our actions, were gonna get through this, and were gonna get through it together.

Read more:

Record flooding that broke dam in Midland County will surpass 1986 level

Pilot captures aerial footage of roaring water as Edenville Dam bursts in Midland County

Feds warned years ago Edenville Dam couldnt handle a historic flood

Sanford Dam remains intact, Dow shuts down operations in Midland as a precaution
Business owners reliant on tourism dollars to make ends meet are concerned ongoing "harsh" messaging from the Haida Nation for visitors to stay away will have lasting impacts on their ability to do business.

The Haida Nation has made a series of statements over the past two months asking the public to refrain from non-essential travel to Haida Gwaii, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the community, where medical resources are limited.

The last notice was published on the Haida Nation website on May 15 and encouraged residents to stay home and shelter in place and discouraged non-essential travel.

"The messages from the Haida Nation and the leaders of Haida Gwaii have been clear and consistent that non-residents of Haida Gwaii are not welcome at this time," Haida Nation president Jason Alsop said in a statement to CBC News.

James Douglas Cowpar, the owner of a cultural adventure company called Haida Style Expeditions, fears ongoing efforts to enforce travel restrictions to the area will chase away future customers.

Cowpar and Susan Musgrave, owner of the Copper Beech House, call the Haida Nation's messaging "too harsh."

"I would like to think that when and if this is over, people would feel welcome here," Musgrave said. "I think being made welcome is a very important part of going anywhere. It's why I love Ireland so much  it's a land of a thousand welcomes."

She said the messages from the Haida Nation should be "gentler, softer and more diplomatic."

"With respect to messaging moving forward  everyone, right now, is working on reputation management," Cowpar said. "Having said that, it's important at this point to convey a positive message, in my view."

Hopeful visitors will return

When the pandemic began, Cowpar and many other tourism operators in the area saw a complete drop in bookings and a major increase in cancellations. But now, as restrictions across the province begin to lift, he hopes people will rebook and that the message to "stay away" doesn't deter future bookings.

Story continues

"I'm fielding calls each and every day," he said. "There's the question of are we allowed to come, when can we come. So, at this point, we're just only hoping to find answers and obviously respect the protocols that are currently in place."

Alsop did not provide specifics about when the Haida Nation would allow visitors to Haida Gwaii again. He said that when it does, it will be done in a "controlled and deliberate manner."

"Although B.C. has made significant progress and is trending in the right direction as it moves into slowing opening up, tourism is a national and international industry and the risks remain too high at this moment," he said.
The Shanghai Conservatory of Music will hold a series of projects to commemorate the centennial of the creation of Chinese art songs in 2020 and 2021.



Liao Changyong, president of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, said on Monday that the projects will range from personnel training to curriculum creation and cultural exchanges.

According to Liao, the school will invite international experts to visit Shanghai and provide talent-training to its teachers and students.

Liao also said the institution plans to publish a record consisting of 16 Chinese classical poetry art songs, in cooperation with the world-renowned German music publisher Breitkopf & Hartel.

In 1920, Chinese composer Qing Zhu created the first Chinese art song "The Great River Goes East" during his study in Germany. It is regarded as the very beginning of Chinese art songs.

"Many excellent projects are going on and we are looking forward to more cooperation," said Professor Hartmut Holl with the Karlsruhe University of Music in Germany in a short video.

"Two years ago, when I first heard Chinese art songs in Shanghai, I was immediately fascinated by the music," Holl said, adding that Chinese art songs express drama, longing, melancholy, tenderness and nostalgia and should be enjoyed by more European music lovers.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, brought an end to the 2-year long controversy surrounding the office of the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

He did this when he sent a letter to the Senate requesting the house to ratify the appointment of Dr Lamido Yuguda as Commissions new DG.

Here are 10 things you should know about him.

1 Yuguda is an economist, banker and investment manager, with over 30 years experience in financial services. Let us take a closer look at Yugudas pedigree.

2 He began his career with Central Bank of Nigeria back in 1984, just shortly after he graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He was employed as a Senior Supervisor of the Foreign operations department, which manages Nigerias external debt records.

3 In 1985, he moved to the Banking Supervision Department and had the task of handling bank licensing and prudential regulations.

4 Following a secondment, he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, the USA in 1997, as an economist in the Africa Department. In this position, Yuguda assessed the economic policies and management of balance of payment support programmes in IMF Following a secondment, he joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, the USA in 1997, as an economist in the Africa Department. In this position, Yuguda assessed the economic policies and management of balance of payment support programmes in IMF member countries.

5 In 2001, he returned to the CBN to lead a team of staff to restructure and diversify the CBNs growing FOREX reserve portfolio. Together with this team, a new investment policy was adopted with the introduction of new asset classes, the appointment of a reputable global custodian and asset managers.

6 By 2010, he became Director of the Reserve Management Department. He is credited with the strong risk-aware investment culture in the department, and also instilled a disciplined approach to investment evaluation.

7 After 32 years at the apex bank, he voluntarily retired in 2016. He has been a member of the Board of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and will now resume as its DG.

8 Yuguda has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, having graduated in 1983. He later obtained a Masters degree in Money, Banking, and Finance from the University of Birmingham, UK, in 1991.

9 He has attended leadership training at notable business schools like Harvard, INSEAD, IMD, Said, Wharton, Haas, and London.

10 He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a CFA charter holder, and also holds a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the Swiss Finance Institute, Geneva, Switzerland.
Michigans Edenville Dam burst following heavy rainfall on May 19, forcing the evacuation of communities downstream.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning for the length of the Tittabawassee River after the dam breach. This video shows water bursting through the dam bank wall as bystanders look on.

Local media reported that the evacuations would include the towns of Edenville, Sanford and parts of the city of Midland, which is home to 42,000 people.

The dam breach followed days of heavy rain in Michigan, Illinois and across the Midwest. Credit: Kayla Neibert via Storyful
A 21-year-old Birmingham is behind bars in connection with the shooting death of his grandfather.

Antwon Jermayne Jones was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 9:43 a.m. Monday on a charge of murder. He is charged in the May 12 slaying of 68-year-old Jessie Johnson.

The shooting happened that Tuesday at 10:20 p.m. in the 1300 block of Mims Avenue. When police and fire medics arrived on the scene, they found Johnson unresponsive in the street. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Birmingham police Sgt. Rod Mauldin said that shooting was domestic in nature. Multiple family members of Johnson were on the scene, including his siblings and a daughter. Family members said they believe Johnson was trying to break up an argument between two others when he was shot and killed.

Jones fled the scene and remained on the run several days before he was taken into custody. His bond is set at $100,000.
BRADY ANDERSON, Chariho, Wrestling, Sophomore; Anderson finished first in the 152-pound weight class at the Griswold Midseason Invitational tournament. Anderson went 3-0 in the tournament, pinning all of his opponents in the first period. Anderson is 10-4.

LYDIA LASKEY, Stonington, Gymnastics, Senior; Laskey finished first in all four events in meets against NFA and Westerly. Laskey had an all-around score of 33.75 against NFA and 34.60 against Westerly.

RILEY PELOQUIN, Westerly, Girls Basketball, Sophomore; Peloquin scored 22 points and had 19 rebounds in two games. Peloquin is averaging 7.6 points and 7.5 rebounds a game for the Bulldogs.

DEONDRE BRANSFORD, Wheeler, Boys Basketball, Sophomore; Bransford scored 25 points and had 28 rebounds in a pair of Wheeler victories. Bransford is averaging 10.6 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest for the Lions.

Vote

View Results
General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu has scolded the entire leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for accusing the ruling party and the National Identification Authority (NIA) of scheming to rig the 2020 general election.



According to him, the press conference by the opposition party, wherein the NDC sought to accuse the NPP of conniving with the NIA to rig the elections lacks logic.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, John Boadu stated; I want to see from the NDC's evidence why they think that the NPP and NIA are in cahoots to rig the 2020 general elections. Give me one logical sequence that you saw at their press conference that shows that the NPP and NIA want to rig the elections. What has the NIA registration of people in the Eastern Region during the partial lockdown got to do with the New Patriotic Party (NPP)? Does the NPP get 100 percent of vote during elections in the Eastern Region?



To him, the current crop of NDC leadership is a great disappointment to their members.



The issue is that the current crop of NDC leadership is the worst ever; they have disappointed their members very well. The reason why I am saying this is that they could not establish any connivance between the NPP and NIA in their press conference, he chastised.



Touching on the use of Ghana Cards for the new voters register and the NDC claims that a lot of Ghanaians will be disenfranchised in that regard, John Boadu accused the opposition party of shooting itself in the foot when it earlier directed all its members to boycott the registration for the Ghana Card.



 . . the NIA will no matter what go to the stronghold of both the NPP and NDC because from the last election, the NDC had 6 seats in Upper West and the NPP had 5 seats; can you say that place is the stronghold of the NDC? Upper East, they had 12 seats and we had 3 seats and even in that place, will you say that is the stronghold of the NDC? In Northern region, the NPP had 9 seats and the NDC also had 9 seats and in North East, both the NPP and NDC had 3 seats each. It is in Savanna region that the NDC had 6 seats and the NPP had a seat.



" . . and so if you are embarking on such a registration, how can you say you are selectively or randomly registering only the strongholds of the NPP? This defiles logic; there is no sense in it their argument, he jabbed.



Listen to him the video below





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com









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

Featured Video
In two recent interviews with the Canadian media, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino emphasized the "vital importance" of immigrants for Canada and its economy during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Mendicino: Immigration to remain enduring value after coronavirus In two recent interviews with the Canadian media, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino emphasized the "vital importance" of immigrants for Canada and its economy during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Mendicino: Immigration to remain enduring value after coronavirus In two recent interviews with the Canadian media, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino emphasized the "vital importance" of immigrants for Canada and its economy during and after the coronavirus pandemic.

Mendicino: Immigration to remain enduring value after coronavirus In two recent interviews with the Canadian media, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino emphasized the "vital importance" of immigrants for Canada and its economy during and after the coronavirus pandemic. Alexandra Miekus Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

Sans Font Size A

A

COVID-19 is showing us the need for continued strong immigration to Canada and the important contribution of immigrant workers to the Canadian economy, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday when he spoke with the Canadian Press.

[It is] vitally important that we continue to immigrate today in a manner that is safe and orderly and also to drive that future that we all believe will be underpinned by immigration as it has been in the past. Immigration will remain, Mendicino believes, an enduring value for Canadians.

Mendicino made the comments in response to recent questions being raised by analysts and critics about Canadas high immigration targets and its open immigration policies at a time when the current economic crisis threatens to loom long after the health crisis has passed.

For decades, the promotion of accessibility and inclusion had been Canadas cornerstone, but the pandemic has put a damper on this approach based on openness. The federal governments actions to contain the spread of the virus, high unemployment rates and the reluctance of some international workers and students to travel in an era of social distancing and uncertainty are the main reasons.

Mendicino remains confident and hopeful, however, that Canadas overall approach to welcoming and helping newcomers will not change.

I have faith that Canadians believe in immigration, he told columnist Susan Delacourt in a recent interview. Thats because they relate to it. Its part of who we are. At its core, immigration is about people coming together to build a stronger country, which is what weve seen throughout our history, throughout this pandemic and, Im confident, what we will see in the future.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Many sectors of the Canadian economy rely heavily on immigrant workers, and during the pandemic, immigrants are being called upon to strengthen and sustain many essential services. In Canada, front-line workers, food supply chains, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, among others, all depend on the support of foreign workers.

Over the years, growing immigration levels have been at the heart of Canadas policies because they help sustain its labour force, support economic growth and spur innovation.

Canadas 2020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan had set targets of 341,000 permanent residents in 2020, 351,000 in 2021 and total immigration could increase to as many as 390,000 new permanent residents by the year 2022. This represents an immigration level of nearly one per cent of Canadas population, which the Conference Board of Canada has said must be reached by 2030 to ensure modest population and economic growth.

Mendicino does not rule out the possibility that these numbers may be revised in November when the government is expected to announce new immigration targets.

The Minister of Immigration also told the Canadian Press that the government has been continually monitoring the situation and finding ways to improve the application process for permanent residents and temporary foreign workers.

For instance, a temporary policy unveiled last Tuesday by Ottawa will allow foreign workers to work for an employer other than the one on their permit while waiting for a new permit to be issued. The immigration department promises to process applicants applications within 10 days of their submission instead of the usual 10 weeks.

There was also concern that international students, whose contribution to the Canadian economy is estimated at about $21.6 billion, would be unable to enrol and attend higher education institutions this fall while borders remain closed.

The government has sought to address this issue and has recently rolled out new measures and policies that will allow international students to count online classes in Canada toward education programs and for immigration purposes. One of the major program reforms announced this week will enable international students to enrol in online courses for the fall term while they are abroad and still be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit after moving to Canada.

See if you are eligible to study in Canada in fall 2020

 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved
Senate Committee Issues First Subpoena in Biden-Burisma Investigation

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee approved on Wednesday its first subpoena as part of an investigation into the relationship between former Vice President Joe Biden and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

The Republican senators in the committee approved the subpoena, at the request of the panels chairman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), for Blue Star Strategies in an 8-6 party-line vote.

It will cover records dating back to Jan. 1, 2013, regarding the public relations firms work for Burisma.

Hunter Biden, son of Joe Biden, joined the board of Burisma in April 2014 when the former vice president was leading the Obama administrations Ukraine policy. He left Burisma in 2019.

Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in mid-2019 to look into corruption allegations against the Bidens, noting that Joe Biden forced the ouster in 2016 of a prosecutor who was probing Burisma. The phone call sparked an impeachment inquiry against Trump, leading to his impeachment in December 2019.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) supports the subpoena and said it will provide the Senate with the full picture of Bidens relationship with Burisma.

The public deserves to know how a guy was vice president of the United States, who is currently trying to be president, got away with using the U.S. government to force a foreign country to stop investigating a company that was paying his son over $30,000 or $80,000 a month, he said.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) objected to the subpoena and said the extremely partisan investigation is pulling apart the committee and will damage the committees long tradition of non-partisan oversight.

In a letter provided to Johnson before the voting, Blue Star Strategies Co-founder and CEO Karen Tramontano said that the company is willing to cooperate, had provided information demanded by the committee, and offered to be interviewed.

Tramontano questioned why the committee wanted to vote on the subpoena.

However, Johnson said he disagreed that the company has been cooperating. A spokesman for the committee, Austin Altenburg, said after the vote that the firms efforts had been incomplete and that the company officials had delayed cooperation for months.

A Biden campaign spokesman, Andrew Bates, said in a statement that Johnson was running a political errand for President Donald Trump.

Senator Johnson should be working overtime to save American livesbut instead hes just trying to save the presidents job, said Bates.

Epoch Times reporter Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to the report.
China highly values artificial intelligence (AI) development and injects big in developing a new generation of AI technologies, an official from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said at Tuesday's press conference.



China has initiated two batches of key projects on new generation AI technologies, with the investment amounting to 1 billion yuan (about 140.7 million U.S. dollars), said Qin Yong, director-general of the Department of High and New Technology of the MOST.

These key projects target at those AI-techs, which are of the world's cutting-edge fields and in line with the national strategic needs, Qin said.

Support will orientate five scientific research themes: data intelligence, swarm intelligence, cross-media intelligence, man-machine hybrid intelligence and intelligent system.

To facilitate the development of the new generation AI, the MOST has already made systematic arrangements from studies on basis theories, key technologies, supporting systems and industrial applications, Qin said.

AI is an inevitable process of the further development of new-generation information technology (IT), also a global concerned direction of deep integration of IT and economic and social development.

In 2017, the State Council issued a plan for new generation AI development. The plan said the AI industry should become a major new growth engine.

Then, China has seen encouraging growth in the new generation AI sector, thanks to nationwide joint efforts to facilitate its growth.

Besides big investments into key projects, the MOST has introduced a series of measures to boost the AI development.

According to Qin, the MOST has arranged the construction of new generation AI open innovation platforms to cultivate the environment of tech-development and application.

To date, China has set up 15 such platforms nationwide, respectively focusing on basic software and hardware, intelligent healthcare, smart supply chain and smart city governance, among others.

Besides, China has set up a batch of new-generation AI innovative development pilot zones, which target helping pilot projects and boosting industrial upgrading through AI-tech. To date, there are 11 such pilot zones across China.

Furthermore, China is active in boosting AI ethical governance. The country highlights the development of responsible AI-techs, through moves such as setting up a national specialized committee and issuing principles on new generation AI ethical governance.

"China gained rapid development in the development and application of AI-techs due to those comprehensive measures," Qin said.

He noted that the AI-assisted diagnostic system, face recognition, temperature detection and a series of AI products and technologies are playing significant roles, especially in the recent anti-epidemic fight.

"In the future, AI will surely be a part of daily life, which means that there is a lot of work ahead. We are also paying efforts in various tech-paths of the AI," said Wang Zhigang, Minister of the MOST.

China's science and technology authorities and scientific insiders are also keeping an eye on the relationship between the development of AI and the fourth industrial revolution, Wang said.

"In the next step, the MOST will strengthen support to the development of the AI technologies by further enhancing basic research and key technologies, as well as strengthen the ethical governance to ensure its healthy development," Qin said.
Azerbaijan decided to express outrage by Artsakh elections.

The text of the statement was published in the Azerbaijani media.

In a lengthy statement the MFA referring to tomorrows inauguration ceremony of the newly-elected Artsakh president.

According to the statement, "the organization of illegal elections and so-called oath-taking show in Azerbaijans occupied Nagorno Garabagh region by the occupant Armenia is another bright manifestation of Armenias annexationist policy," the Azerbaijani media reported.

The results of the so-called elections contradicting with Constitution of the Azerbaijan Republic, as well as norms and principles of international law and expressly rejected by the international community dont and cant ever have any legal force. The separatist regime established on Azerbaijans occupied territories as a result of the illegal application of force by aggressor Armenia to Azerbaijan, occupation of the fifth part of Azerbaijans territories, bloody ethnic cleansing, and violation of fundamental rights of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people," the statement said. "Participation of Prime Minister of aggressive Armenia in this provocation, committed under the cover of so-called inauguration in Shusha city, which has special importance in historical-cultural heritage of Azerbaijani people, is nothing but to blot the democracy concept out of a person, who has presented himself as so-called democrat."

"The war has not over yet, and Azerbaijan has a right to ensure restoration of its territorial integrity by all possible means within the framework of its internationally recognized borders. The corresponding provocative actions of the Armenian leadership nullify practically all efforts for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and serve to strengthen further military confrontation and increase tension in the region.

Let nobody doubt that our occupied territories will be liberated from the occupation, territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the framework of its internationally recognized borders will be restored and the fundamental rights of IDPs will be ensured.
A leading solicitor has said lawyers are appalled by safety arrangements in the PSNIs specialist Covid-19 custody suite.

It was reported this week that 53 alleged offenders with coronavirus have been detained at the 10-cell block at Musgrave police station in Belfast over the last two months.

Part of the arrangements include a perspex screen dividing detectives and suspects in interview rooms.

Experienced criminal defence lawyer Joe Rice said the set up left many colleagues feeling vulnerable to infection.

Read More

Although arrangements have been made to allow solicitors to have remote consultations with clients, he said they are often still required to be present during police interviews.

Solicitors are appalled at the new proposals for interviewing clients in the ten cell block unit at Musgrave Police Station, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

An interview room with a perspex screen is inadequate at best, and downright dangerous at worst.

These adjustments are being heralded by the police as effective and dynamic but my view is that they have been put together without consultation from the legal profession.

Given the small layout of the interview room, they also dont take into account that not only will solicitors need Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) but others including interpreters and appropriate adults for vulnerable persons will have to be suitably equipped.

Read More

I think its fair to say that the new measures fall far short of the standard that was to be expected with this proposal.

Mr Rice added there has already been a hepatitis A outbreak in Antrim custody suite in June 2018 as well as an outbreak of lice in Musgrave Custody suite previously.

So its not as if these places are known for the quality of their hygiene in these custody suites. Theyre small and get all sorts of infections.

Expand Close The facility at Musgrave Street in Belfast PA / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The facility at Musgrave Street in Belfast

In response, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: Police Service NI has always responded quickly, dynamically and effectively to address the unprecedented and unforeseen operating environment Covid-19 has created within police custody suites.

The dedicated, isolated custody suite at Musgrave Station has been put in place to best manage the welfare of not only COVID symptomatic detained persons but police officers, staff, legal representatives and any other organisations required to use the facility. It is co-staffed with our healthcare colleagues and rigorous anti-infection measures have been put place to help ensure the safety of all.

PPE is available to staff and visitors in all custody suites in line with national guidance. An interview room which allows for appropriate social distancing has also been identified in each operational suite.



We have been, and we continue to, engage with the PPS, the Lord Chief Justices Office and with the Law Society of Northern Ireland to listen to concerns, and we have established remote communications for legal representatives to consult with clients and attend interviews, reducing the requirement for physical attendance at the station.



Police will continue to work with criminal justice partners to ensure that criminal justice processes run effectively thereby ensuring that the rights of both victims and alleged offenders are upheld.

Joe Rices comments follow a report from the Press Association, who were given access to Musgrave station to view how the PSNI has adapted during the pandemic.

The Covid-19 suite is on a different block to suspects who do not display symptoms, and has strict infection control measures.

This requires officers and staff who interact with detainees to wear full PPE, including a body suit, face shield, respirator mask, glasses and gloves.

Since March, police officers working in the community have also been issued with spit and bite guards after some have been spat on by people claiming to have coronavirus.

Chief Inspector of Musgrave custody suite, Peter Brannigan, told PA that a 44% drop in the number of detainees due to lockdown did not mean it was less challenging for staff.

Expand Close A member of the PSNI Musgrave Street custody team wearing the PPE / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A member of the PSNI Musgrave Street custody team wearing the PPE

He explained a high proportion were being held for more serious offences.

Suspects are also spending more time in cells, with social distancing meaning more court appearances are taking place via video link.
Accra, May 19, 2020  MTN Ghana has presented food items to the Muslim community in support of this years Ramadan fasting. The items were presented to the National Chief Imam and three regional Imams in the Ashanti, Western and Northern regions.

The items donated comprised bags of rice, cartons of cooking oil, bags of sugar, crates of tin milk, cartons of milo, soft drinks, water, rams, cash, and airtime among others.

Presenting the items to the National Chief Imam in Accra, the Senior Manager for Customer Relations Salihu Abu indicated that this years Ramadan was not a regular one. He said The holy month of Ramadan has coincided with a pandemic that has changed our lives in so many ways. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we are unable to come together to pray and even break our fast as we usually do. So, during this month, we are all praying that Allah shows us his infinite mercy and spare us from the impact of the pandemic.

Mr. Abu further said, As we fight Corona Virus together, we acknowledge that some responsibilities such as providing basic needs to support the needs of individuals and families fall on the office of the National Chief Imam. Especially during this month of Ramadan, we know some families depend on the office of the National Chief Imam. It is in view of this that MTN Ghana has come here to support, just as we have done over the past years.

Receiving the items, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Prof. Osman Nuhu Sharabutu expressed his gratitude to MTN Ghana for the gesture. He said the donation will be utilized equitably and will reach all beneficiaries. He prayed for Gods blessing and guidance for the management and staff of MTN during these difficult times.

In the Ashanti region, the items were received by Sheik Abdul Mumin Harun, Ashanti regional Chief Imam. He thanked MTN for the donation and stated that the company has shown that it is a faithful partner because it has braved the odds and donated in a season where the dreaded disease COVID 19 is wreaking havoc everywhere on the globe and affecting the finances of institutions. MTN has proven that not only are they present in good times but they equally think about us during crisis and calamity.

In the Western region the items were received by Dr Sheikh Ostaz Ali Hassan Ali, Western regional Chief Imam and in the North by Sheikh Abdul Salam Ahmed, Northern regional Chief Imam. They were grateful to MTN Ghana for coming to support them during the holy month of Ramadan.

MTN has supported the Muslim Community for the past thirteen years during Eidul Fitr celebrations through donations and the organization of events in Nima, Accra New Town, Kumasi, Tamale. MTN has also been supporting the National Hajj Board annually in the organization of the pilgrimage to Mecca.

About MTN Ghana

MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghanas telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation.
Latest Technical Advisory Cell briefing note published by Welsh Government

This article is old - Published: Wednesday, May 20th, 2020

The latest technical advice given to Welsh Government has been published, stating the R figure for Wales is between 0.7  1.0.

Welsh Government has published more of the scientific and technical research, and evidence they have received to form a response to the pandemic in Wales.

The latest advice document from the Technical Advisory Cell (TAC) has been published, although public now the document itself is several days old. The Technical Advisory Cell (TAC) is a conduit and interpretation group, interpreting UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) outputs into a Welsh context, relay relevant information and questions from Welsh Government to SAGE as well as feed the information to groups such as Local Resilience Fora.

This is the second such publication and sees an update in several areas, including the R figure.

The reproduction value (Rt) for Wales is estimated to be between 0.7 and 1 which is described as increased slightly when compared to last week  which would roughly be the first week of May being compared to the second. Three days before this report is dated Welsh Government stated an R figure of 0.8 could see 800 deaths and 1.0 seeing a projection of 2,900 deaths.

A note reads, It is the consensus view that the overall reproduction number has increased slightly, when compared to last week. This is because the number of cases in the community is decreasing while the number in, or seeded by, care homes or hospitals remains broadly flat. As a result, hospital or care home cases represent a higher proportion of total cases. This means that the rate at which the overall epidemic is shrinking has slowed.

Although the peak has been referenced as more current in North Wales than elsewhere, it notes, The total number of hospital reported confirmed Covid-19 patients in Welsh ICU peaked on April 18 (139) and is now below half of this peak number (58).

New official information about the virus is contained in the briefing document including:

The virus lasts far less long on surfaces in open sunlit environments, than in indoor environments.

Evidence that the virus is likely to be stable for long periods of time on indoor surfaces and in air.

Decay rate on surfaces increases with higher temperature and humidity.

The virus is very likely to decay very quickly (a few minutes) in air and on surfaces when exposed to sunlight.

The report stated due to the above there is likely small benefits in operating buildings at a higher temperature and/or humidity  with a note that ventilation rates should not be reduced to achieve this. It also concludes that outdoor environments are highly likely to be a lower risk for transmission.

The full TAC PDF can be found here, which is dated 12th May 2020.
According to intelligence data, three members of Russia-led forces were wounded on May 19.

Russia's hybrid military forces on May 19 mounted 10 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation's armed formations violated the ceasefire 10 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 20, 2020.

Read alsoUkrainian troops destroy enemy military truck in Donbas (Video)

Russia-led forces opened fire from proscribed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and rifles.

Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the town of Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Bohdanivka, Taramchuk, Vodiane, Novotoshkivske, Krymske, and Orikhove.

Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling. According to intelligence data, three members of Russia-led forces were wounded on May 19.

"Since Wednesday midnight, Russia-led forces have attacked Ukrainian positions near Krasnohorivka and Bohdanivka, using 120mm mortars, heavy machine guns, and rifles," the update said.

No Ukrainian army casualties were reported over the period under review.
Police have said they have reached a "significant milestone" in their investigation into the tragic deaths of three teenagers at the Greenvale Hotel in Cookstown last year, after they submitted a file on the case to the Public Prosecution Service.

Morgane Barnard (17), Lauren Bullock (17) and 16-year-old Connor Currie died in a crush outside the hotel on St Patrick's night last year.

In the wake of the deaths the hotel's owner, Michael McElhatton, and another man were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, however they were later released on bail.

Expand Close Morgan Barnard Photopress / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Morgan Barnard

Mr McElhatton was questioned a second time by detectives before being released pending a report to the PPS, while seven other men were also interviewed and files were being prepared for the PPS.

The Police Ombudsman is also probing the actions of seven officers at the scene on the night of the tragedy.

In a statement released on Wednesday evening, Detective Superintendent Richard Campbell said police have submitted at intertim file to the PPS, which contains a "substantial" amount of information.

"This is a significant milestone and over the coming months we will be submitting further material for inclusion," he said.

Expand Close Connor Currie Photopress / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Connor Currie

Our focus remains firmly on trying to find answers for the grieving families of the three teenagers and we remain in close, regular contact with them to provide updates on the progress of the investigation, including the submission of the interim file.

Our dedicated team of detectives are continuing to work to advance this major investigation, which is one of the largest undertaken by the PSNI. It is complex and there are a significant number of witnesses and substantial amounts of evidence to be assessed and progressed. However we remain absolutely committed to building up an accurate picture of what happened on St Patricks night in 2019.

Our thoughts remain very much with the families of the three teenagers and also with their friends, anyone who witnessed the tragedy unfold and the wider community.

Expand Close Lauren Bullock Photopress / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Lauren Bullock

Following the tragedy, it emerged that four officers withdrew from the scene and did not intervene for 16 minutes.

Of the seven police officers being investigated by the Police Ombudsman, five are being probed for misconduct in office, while the remaining two are being investigated for potential disciplinary matters.

In the run up to the anniversary of the teenagers' deaths, Morgan Barnard's father James Bradley spoke out about his family being "re-traumatised" by delays in the case.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong while working from home and the Internet has churned out many such hilarious examples. From wearing no pants during a live telecast to being interrupted by a half-naked dad or simply an adorable dog, the instances are many. The recent inclusion to that list is an incident which was witnessed during a Zoom meeting of Brazilian officials with the countrys President Jair Bolsonaro.

A screengrab of a Zoom meeting, shared on Twitter by an individual who was attending the meeting, shows the major blunder by one of the officials and that has now become the talk of Twitter town. The photo shows one of the attendees without a shirt.

Take a look at the image of the shirtless person who is still to be identified.

Brasil. En pleno zoom entre Bolsonaro y empresarios uno de ellos se estaba duchando .!!! pic.twitter.com/t6J6Hy4zO1  Andres Repetto (@andresrepetto) May 14, 2020

The slip-up led to a rather embarrassing situation with the president Bolsonaro asking theres a colleague there in the last little square. He left, is he okay?, reports Daily Mail.

The tweet quickly went viral with many speculating that the man probably went to take a shower but forgot to switch off the camera.

Have you faced any such mishaps during a meeting?
India forces detained American pastor to pay $50K before hes allowed to return home

Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

A Tennessee pastor, who was detained in India for seven months before returning to the United States Tuesday, was forced to pay over $50,000 to secure his release, his lawyer said.

Lawyers for the American Center for Law and Justice announced Monday that charges against Pastor Bryan Nerren were officially dropped by prosecutors in India on Friday, resulting in a judge lifting travel restrictions and returning his passport.

Nerren is the pastor of International House of Prayer Ministries in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and founder of a nonprofit called Asian Childrens Education Fellowship, an organization that trains Sunday school teachers in India and Nepal.

Nerren posted a video on his Facebook page Tuesday, showing him in an airplane as he returned to the U.S. He posted another update once he arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.

His troubles began on Oct. 5, 2019, when he was arrested after stepping off a domestic flight in Bagdogra. Nerren was in the middle of a two-week trip to visit religious leaders in India and Nepal.

He was questioned about failing to pay duty on $40,000 in cash he brought into the country when he first arrived in New Delhi.

According to The ACLJ, which is representing Nerren, the money was to be used to cover the cost of two conferences.

The law group says Nerrens failure to pay duty on the money is a result of a misunderstanding with airport officials in New Dehli. Further, the ACLJ noted that Nerren was not carrying the minimum amount of money that would have made it a crime to evade tax duty.

Nerren was jailed for six days in Siliguri before he was allowed to pay bail. Although he was released and paid about $4,000 in fines, he was prohibited from leaving the country to return home to his family.

A misunderstanding that should have taken just hours to resolve administratively within customs, turned into a seven-month ordeal, involving false arrest, false charges, jail time, seizure of passport, travel ban, court hearings, custom reports, and appeals, ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow said in a statement.

The reality is Pastor Nerren was never informed of the duty, although he openly declared the funds to customs in New Delhi. He was, however, specifically asked if he was a Christian and if the funds would be used to support Christian causes.

ACLJ lawyer Cece Heil previously told The Christian Post that even though New Delhi customs agents told Nerren he could continue with his travels, he was falsely arrested when he arrived in Bagdogra.

We are thrilled that Pastor Nerren has been allowed to return home to his family, who have desperately needed him, Sekulow added.

Sekulow thanked U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster for his engagement in Nerrens case as well as the engagement of four members of U.S. Congress: Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and James Lankford, R-Okla., as well as Reps. Scott SeJarlais, R-Tenn., and Jody Hice, R-Ga.

In a letter sent to Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in March, the Congress members pointed out that Nerren had accepted an offer to compound his sentence and compile $7,000 to be transferred to Indian customs upon the finalization of the agreement.

But Indian authorities demanded that Nerren submit a waiver of forfeiture for the money lost. According to U.S. lawmakers, that request was not included in the original conditions.

"The only way customs said they would let Pastor Nerren leave was by compounding the offense, which basically means dropping the charges and withdrawing the prosecution  according to their terms  which included keeping all of the $40,000, plus the penalty of $4,203.57, and an additional compounding fee of almost $2,000," Heil told CP in an email.

"Pastor Nerren was required to pay almost $50,000 before they would allow him to leave India. And that does not include his attorney fees. A situation that by law should have been resolved in 10 minutes by customs simply having Pastor Nerren fill out a one-page document and pay roughly $3,000 ended up costing Pastor Nerren $50,000-plus and 7 months of his life."

According to Heil, it doesn't seem there is any recourse available at the moment for Nerren to get his money back.

"At this time, it seems it is lost," Heil told CP.

In their letter, the representatives also noted that Nerrens six-month visa required him to leave the country by April 2.

We request that India uphold their end of the offer, as Mr. Nerren has upheld his, by finalizing the compounding of the offense and allowing him to return to his family, they urged in the letter.

India ranks as the 10th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. India has fallen 11 spots on the list since 2015. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party rose to power in 2014, a wave of Hindu nationalism has swept the country and led to increased persecution of religious minority communities.

In late April, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that the U.S. State Department label India as a country of particular concern for tolerating or engaging systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.

The Indian government has not publicly taken any responsibility for the alarming rate of human rights violations occurring within its borders and decried the new USCIRF recommendation as a "new level of misrepresentation.
New Delhi, May 20 : With a target to double the income of fishermen, fish farmers and workers by 2024, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave its nod to the implementation of Rs 20,050- crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a scheme to promote 'Blue Revolution' in the country through sustainable development.

The scheme will be implemented in the next 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.

Out of the Rs 20050 crore, the share of the Central government will be Rs 9,408 crore and the state governments' Rs 4,880 crore while the share of beneficiaries will be Rs 5,763, according to the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

The Ministry said in a statement that the PMMSY will address the critical gaps in the fisheries sector and aid it in realizing its potential.

The scheme is expected to create direct gainful employment opportunities to about 15 lakh fishers, fish farmers, workers, vendors and other rural/urban populations in fishing and allied activities. Besides, it promises to offer indirect employment opportunities, including enhancement of incomes, said the Ministry.

It will help in augmenting fish production and productivity at a sustained average annual growth rate of about 9 per cent to achieve a target of 22 million metric tons by 2024-25 through sustainable and responsible fishing practices, said the Ministry.

The scheme also aims to improve availability of certified quality fish seed and feed, traceability in fish and including effective aquatic health management and help in creation of critical infrastructure, including modernisation and strengthening of value chain.

The PMMSY, a 5-year scheme, will be implemented as an umbrella scheme with two separate components -- as a Central sector scheme (CS) and (b) Centrally-Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

The entire project/unit cost will be borne by the Central government (i.e. 100 per cent Central funding). Wherever direct beneficiary-oriented i.e. individual/group activities are undertaken by the entities of the Central government, including the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), the Central assistance will be up to 40 per cent of the unit/project cost for general category and 60 per cent for SC/ST/women category, said the Ministry.

In northeastern and Himalayan states, the Centre will contribute 90 per cent of the scheme while states' share will be 10, but in other states, the Centre's share will be 60 per cent and state's 40 per cent.

In Union Territories, 100 per cent financial assistance will be given by the Centre.
WASHINGTON - In its rush to roll back the most significant climate policy enacted by President Barack Obama - mileage standards designed to reduce pollution from cars - the Trump administration ignored warnings that its new rule has serious flaws, according to documents shared with The Washington Post.

The behind-the-scenes-skirmish in late March between career employees and Donald Trump appointees at the Environmental Protection Agency highlights the extent to which Trump officials are racing to reverse environmental policies by the end of the president's first term.

Even as the coronavirus outbreak has hampered many government operations, the administration is pressing ahead with the rollback of a bedrock environmental law governing federal permits and working to open more public lands to oil and gas drilling. In recent weeks, the EPA has opted not to set stricter national air quality standards, and it is poised to defy a court order requiring that it limit a chemical found in drinking water that has been linked to neurological damage in babies. The agency soon plans to finalize a change to the Clean Water Act that would restrict the ability of states, tribes and the public to block federal approval for pipelines and some other energy-related projects.

The documents - obtained by Sen. Thomas Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee - include an exchange between two agencies that has not been entered into the public record as required under the Clean Air Act.

Details about objections from EPA staff could create legal problems for the administration's Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles rule, which requires U.S. cars, pickup trucks and SUVs to improve average fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent each year between model years 2021 and 2026. It replaces Obama-era standards that would have improved the auto fleet's average mileage by 5 percent a year over the same period.

"In the rush to finalize this rule - and in the middle of a pandemic, no less - they broke just about every rule in the book," said Carper, who on Monday asked the EPA inspector general to investigate. "The result is a policy that fails to protect public health, fails to save money, fails to result in safer vehicles and will, ultimately and undoubtedly, fail in court."

In his letter, Carper argued the EPA violated federal rules by failing to enter all relevant documents into the public record, changing the rule after it was signed and not meeting its obligation to write its part of the mileage rule.

Jeff Lagda, a spokesman for the EPA inspector general, said in an email that he and his staff are reviewing Carper's letter.

In an email Tuesday, EPA spokeswoman Corry Schiermeyer said the approach the agency followed is in line with other joint rulemakings it has undertaken, including in past administrations.

She said written, deliberative discussions between agencies on a rule about how to draft a notice or respond to comments during an interagency review typically are not included in the public record. "This approach is compatible with the docketing requirements of the Clean Air Act," Schiermeyer wrote.

In addition, she said the final rule unveiled in March was the result of a long and cooperative effort between the EPA and the Transportation Department.

"It is the result of a collaborative process between EPA and [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] and takes into account over 750,000 comments from a diverse group of stakeholders," she said.

For months, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler have insisted that their staffs collaborated closely to weaken national greenhouse gas standards for cars and light trucks that were finalized just days before Obama left office.

Speaking at a joint appearance at EPA headquarters in September, Chao declared, "Our team of experts have been jointly working together, conducting a long, thoughtful and detailed review of these rules."

Wheeler echoed her remarks, thanking the secretary and her staff "for the professionalism . . . in everything that we've done together."

The documents, however, reveal that EPA staff were sidelined as they warned that the revised standards had several defects.

Commenting on the preamble's assertion that the government's "action will result in reductions in climate change-related impacts and most air pollutants compared to the absence of regulation," EPA staffers wrote in an internal document in February that "this is not correct" from the agency's perspective.

"The action revising the [greenhouse gas] standards will result in increased climate impacts and air pollution emissions compared to the existing standards," agency staff wrote in the margins.

In a Jan. 30 presentation to the head of the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, according to a document obtained by The Post, staffers stated that the rule submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget did not reflect their work.

It noted that the EPA had not seen about two-thirds of the 1,000-page document that Transportation Department staffers had submitted to the White House to justify the change in the mileage standards.

Four days before the rule was signed by Wheeler, the top EPA official in charge of setting fuel economy standards wrote an email saying Transportation Department officials had not addressed more than 250 comments by EPA experts.

"Factually inaccurate text has still not been corrected in numerous places," Bill Charmley, who heads the assessment and standards division at EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, wrote in a March 26 email to his superiors.

Charmley warned that incorrect information in the rule would make it vulnerable to legal challenges. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The detailed comments Charmley referred to were made on documents the Transportation Department submitted to the White House for review earlier this year, which normally would be entered into the record under a requirement under the Clean Air Act.

Kevin Minoli, who held the highest-ranking career attorney position in the EPA under the Trump administration before joining the firm Alston & Bird in late 2018, said the fact that top officials there may have ignored the advice of career staff does not necessarily undermine the basis for the new mileage standards. Political appointees have the authority to direct the agency's actions, and Wheeler's signature on the rule makes it an official agency action.

But it creates risks for the agency, Minoli said.

"The career employees on EPA's mobile source team are the most experienced technical and legal experts in their field, and the choice not to rely on them substantially increases the chance that the regulation will be vulnerable to a substantive challenge," Minoli said in an email. "But it does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds for a court to overturn the rule."

Mike Danylak, a spokesman for Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in an email that the senator supports the new mileage rule "and the commonsense standards it established to protect America's air, while preserving consumers' vehicle choice."

Barrasso looks forward to hearing more on the EPA's work Wednesday, when Wheeler is set to testify before the committee, Danylak said.

Public records show that Wheeler made significant changes to the rule after he signed it, before it was published in the Federal Register, which is unusual. The rule Wheeler signed on March 30 has multiple errors, including one table on new mileage standards that says "passenger cars" when it should have said "light trucks" and an assertion that cars would become nearly 5 percent less carbon-intensive between model years 2020 and 2021.

Schiermeyer, the EPA spokeswoman, said such changes are "commonly used by federal agencies to correct errors in notices prior to publication in the Federal Register," and that Wheeler's tweaks corrected "inadvertent errors in the pre-publication version of the preamble and regulatory text."

Jeff Alson, a former senior engineer at the EPA's vehicles lab who retired in 2018 after four decades, said the factual errors show how rushed the process was.

"It's really unbelievable and unprecedented to make an error like that," said Alson, adding that the charts matter because they lay out the legal obligations of automobile manufacturers. "The lawyers should have said to the engineers, 'You got those tables right, right?' "

Peter Zalzal, lead attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund, said in an interview that making major changes between the signed and published rule requires "technical correction notices. This is really highly irregular."

The EDF notified the agency on May 8 that it plans to sue the EPA if it does not publish in the federal rulemaking docket all interagency review materials, including comments its staff made on the Transportation Department proposal sent to the White House. It is also gearing up to challenge the administration's SAFE rule, in concert with other environmental groups and some Democratic attorneys general.

Zalzal said he remains optimistic that opponents will be able to overturn the new mileage standards in court.

"The agency here has adopted a rule that, by their own analysis and all scenarios, hurts the public and runs contrary to the agency's mandate," he said. "It is increasing fuel use, it is increasing pollution and it is hurting the public."

The ongoing fight over federal fuel efficiency requirements has unfolded in contentious fits and starts during President Trump's first term. In 2018, the Trump administration first proposed weakening the 2009 requirements put in place by the Obama administration, which had argued that stricter standards would improve public health, mitigate climate change and save consumers money without compromising safety.

In contrast, the Trump administration has insisted that forcing automakers to increase the fuel economy of their fleets would make new vehicles more expensive and encourage people to drive older, less-safe cars and trucks. It has also cited arguments from the auto industry that the market has changed since the Obama-era standards were developed - namely, that low fuel prices have made buyers gravitate toward SUVs and pickup trucks in far larger numbers than smaller, more efficient cars.

The rule finalized this spring estimates there will be fewer accident-related deaths over the lifetime of vehicles sold between 2021 and 2029 as more people trade older cars for newer, safer ones. The government's own estimates, however, say more Americans will die as a result of increased air pollution during that period than if the existing standards remained in place.
Government is making good on its pledge that no one will be left behind as it repatriates hundreds of Vietnamese citizens from all over the world.

A child passenger waits to board a flight back to Vietnam at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC, US on May 15 (local time).

In the past few weeks, planes carrying Vietnamese from Russia, Europe, the UAE and the US have all touched down on home soil.

Inevitably some of those onboard have tested positive for COVID-19, but with strict guidelines in place, each passenger was immediately quarantined after disembarking, vastly reducing the risk of spreading the virus.

On May 13 a flight from Moscow landed at Van Don airport in Quang Ninh bringing home more than 340 people, many of them children and the elderly.

Moments after clearly immigration at the airport, each person along with the Vietnam Airlines crew, was taken into quarantine.

In the days that followed, they were all tested for COVID-19 and so far 29 people from that flight have been confirmed to be carrying the virus.

At the beginning of May, a flight from the UAE touched down at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta bringing home almost 300 people.

To date, 18 people including a baby under the age of one, have tested positive from that single aircraft.

As these flights continue to bring home people from countries where COVID-19 has hit hard, it is expected that more cases will emerge.

But with strict rules in place to ensure each passenger is quarantined as soon as they arrive, risks of community infections remain low.

This can be reflected in the news that for more than 30 days, not one locally transmitted case has been detected.

And on Sunday morning, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said there have been no new cases recorded in the last 12 hours.

More and more people have returned home to Vietnam on specially arranged flights in the past few days.

A teenager on a flight from the Philippines has tested positive and tests are being conducted on more than 500 passengers who arrived back to Vietnam from the US and Europe.

A father takes photo of his children on Trang Tien Street near Hoan Kiem Lake on Saturday.

On Friday, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put plans in place to bring more Vietnamese home from overseas.

But he did stress that where possible, people should look at the option of staying in the countries they are now living in to not put added strain on Vietnams healthcare system.

Meanwhile on Friday for the first time in three months, Hanois pedestrian street reopened to allow people to enjoy a traffic-free weekend around Hoan Kiem Lake.

It may only be one small gesture as the country gets back to normality, but opening up the walking streets is clearly a step in the right direction. VNS

No one left behind: Hanoi's dialysis patients get help amid COVID-19 Dialysis patients at Ha Noi-based Bach Mai Hospital have seen their difficulties increase in recent days, because not only do they have to self-quarantine but also follow medical treatment and take measures to avoid the SARS-CoV2 virus.
LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global lead acid battery market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 5% during the forecast period 2020 to 2027 predict by Acumen Research and Consulting.

The global lead acid battery market is expected to reach the market value of around US$ 61 Bn by 2027.

Get Free Report Sample Pages for Better [email protected] https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-sample/1843

The main alternatives to acid batteries are lithium-ion batteries, as they have higher earnings. These factors are likely to threaten global demand growth in the forecast period. Leading technology companies like Google and Samsung look forward to expanding their data centers to ease the processing of outcomes. As a result, UPS systems in data centers worldwide are urgently needed, which will provide healthy growth prospects to the world market in lead acid battery. In recent years, the increase in the data centers and consequent demand for high weight lead acid batteries have been the biggest global trend in the acid battery industry.

The existence of lead material as a battery material which has negative effects on the environment is one of the limiting factors on the market. The fall in the cost of lithium batteries has also slowed production, primarily due to the advancements made in technology. In multiple energy storage applications, constantly rising prices will potentially further boost lithium ions, which will also curb the demand of lead acid battery.

However, innovation is anticipated to build business development prospects in the automobile sectors of India, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. In addition to technical developments, growing competition for pollution-free electric vehicles is likely to increase competition for leaded acid batteries in recent years.

View Detail Information with Complete [email protected] https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/lead-acid-battery-market

Segmentation Outlook

The flooded battery sector was built as a global leader over other construction methods. In diesel-electric submarines, traction generators and nuclear submarines as emergency energy reserve are still in high demand for submerged plumes-acid batteries. Growing naval trading practices would also potentially provide a healthy potential for growth over the expected era of flooded lead-acid batteries. The use of these batteries in crane lorries has also increased considerably because of their cost-effectiveness. Elevator lorries are used mostly in the material handling industry where reliability and low cost are of utmost importance.

Asia Pacific Govern the Global Market

Asia-Pacific represented, biggest market share led by China and Japan. The positive public-private investments regulations are projected to fuel the demand in lead acid batteries and foreign direct investments as well as the emerging economies such as China, India and South Korea. Thanks to the increasing number of offshore and onshore renewable energy projects in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the European region is projected to expand significantly. Moreover, the rising population and increasing supply of income in the region will possibly raise passenger car demand and thereby lead to market growth.

About the Market

The device uses spongy lead and plumbing peroxide to transform chemical energy into electricity. Since it has high cell voltage and reduced costs, it is mainly found in power stations and sub-stations. A lead acid battery is a secondary cell that is predominantly used in cars and trucks and is classified as rechargeable. It has high power cell voltage and lesser cost and is used most commonly in power stations and sub-stations.

Key Players & Strategies

The industry is divided with the presence of major competitors and an increasing range of local niche suppliers. The main tools for improving market competition are aggressive marketing strategies, brand awareness and product quality while reducing the possibility of counterfeiting.

Participants include major global players such Narada Power Source Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corporation, GS Yuasa Corp, Leoch International Technology Ltd., ATLASBX Co. Ltd., NorthStar, C&D Technologies, Inc., Crown Battery Manufacturing, Johnson Controls, Others.

2018, The Panasonic Company introduced lead-acid batteries to EVs in its old TV panel factory in Japan. As a manufacturer of specialized automobile components for smartphones or other low-margin electronic goods which are faced with a difficult demand war, Panasonic Corp. is Tesla Inc's sole battery cell provider for mass-market model 3. The firm plans to expand its product range for lead-acid batteries with this introduction.

Request for [email protected] https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/request-customization/1843

The report is readily available and can be dispatched immediately after payment confirmation.

Buy this premium research [email protected] https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com/buy-now/0/1843

If you would like to place an order or have any questions, please feel free to contact at [email protected] | +1-407-915-4157 OR +1-408-900-9135

About Us

Acumen Research and Consulting (ARC) is a global provider of market intelligence and consulting services to information technology, investment, telecommunication, manufacturing, and consumer technology markets. ARC helps investment communities, IT professionals, and business executives to make fact based decisions on technology purchases and develop firm growth strategies to sustain market competition. Among the industries served include aerospace and defense, information and communication technology (ICT), semiconductor and electronics, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, advanced materials, banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI), and others.

Our collective industry experience of over 100 years has helped us to offer appropriate market information and our global reach and regional connects ensures appropriate insights into regional markets to guarantee apt delivery of information.

Our regional market intelligence helps our clients to identify potential opportunities and develop growth strategies across regions and countries. Our services are geared towards offering best market research to our clients.

Contact Us:

Mr. Frank Wilson

Acumen Research and Consulting

17890, Castleton St #218, Rowland Heights, CA 91748 United States

Tel: +1-407-915-4157 OR +1-408-900-9135

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.acumenresearchandconsulting.com

SOURCE Acumen Research and Consulting
Under a Joe Biden presidency, the United States would retain a military presence in northeast Syria as leverage against the regime, the presumptive Democratic nominees top foreign policy adviser suggests.

In an interview Tuesday with CBS, Tony Blinken indicated that the hundreds of US troops stationed in northeast Syria to advise partner forces fighting the Islamic State and secure the regions oil fields would remain there if Biden were elected.

They shouldn't be there for the oil," which he indicated is "as President Trump would have it." He added, "But they happen to be there adjacent to it. That's a point of leverage because the Syrian government would love to have dominion over those resources. We should not give that up for free.

The Donald Trump administrations policy on Syria has prioritized preventing an Islamic State resurgence, blunting Iranian influence and pushing for a durable political settlement to end the war. On the latter, Blinken accused the current administration of ceding too much influence to Russia and Iran, which back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey, which supports the opposition seeking to oust him.

Right now, what diplomatic process exists? The US is AWOL, we're not in it. Blinken said. I can't guarantee success. I can guarantee that in a Biden administration, we'd at least show up.

Blinken also offered a frank assessment of what he perceived as the Barack Obama administration's failings on Syria.

This is a little bit personal to me, and any of us  and I start with myself  who had any responsibility for our Syria policy in the last administration has to acknowledge that we failed, he said. Not for want of trying, but we failed.

It's something that I will take with me for the rest of my days, said Blinken, who served as deputy secretary of state from 2015 to 2017.

Why it matters: Blinken isnt the first former Obama administration official to express regret over not doing more in Syria, where Obama famously drew a red line on chemical weapons use that he never enforced with military force.

Trump has taken limited, but direct military action against the regime. The missile attack he authorized in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians in April 2017 has been among his better-received foreign policy decisions. The following year, Britain and France joined the United States in another round of strikes on Syrian military targets.

Since running for president, Biden has called for American military force to be used judiciously, but has also described what he views as a moral duty to respond to genocide or chemical weapons use around the world.

Whats next: Asked if a Biden administration would consider normalizing ties with the Assad regime, Blinken said it was virtually impossible to imagine.

With the war drawing down in all but Syrias embattled northwest, various regional actors have signaled they will welcome Assad back into the fold. The sanctions-hit Syrian government needs hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild, and other states and investors stand to benefit.

The so-called Caesar Act could make that difficult. The US measure, which allows for sanctions on governments and private companies that lend financial or other support to the Syrian regime, comes into effect June 17.

Know more: Congressional Corresponent Bryant Harris walks through the views shared by Bidens foreign policy team, and Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman reports how US officials are pressuring Russia to reopen a key border crossing in Syria.
On Monday, May 18, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that in the coming days he intends to sign a decree on granting Islamic religious holidays Kurban Bayram (Eid al Adha) and Uraza Bayram (Eid al Fitr) state status.



Thus, Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram may be the first non-Orthodox Christian state holidays in Ukraine. Whether these days will be days off is still unknown.

New public holidays



We want to build a state in which everyone feels himself a citizen of Ukraine. I would like everyone to feel like a full-fledged citizen, not forgetting the history and traditions of their people. We want to support you not only in words but also in actions, at the legislative level," said Ukrainian President Zelensky on May 18, addressing representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.



According to the president, in the coming days he plans to sign a decree according to which Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram will receive the status of state religious holidays.



In addition, a new large mosque is planned to be built in Kyiv. The President emphasized that he expects to receive the project of this mosque from the Crimean Tatars and is ready to support it.



Uraza Bayram - a celebration of conversation



Uraza Bayram, or the Feast of Conversation, is one of the main days of the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the fast, which lasted during the holy month of Ramadan. The tradition of celebrating the day of conversation dates back to 624 - from the time of the Prophet Muhammad.



On the eve and on the day of the holiday compulsory alms are collected. The collected funds in the form of dry food or the cash equivalent of these products go to the benefit of the community (the poor, travelers).

January 1 - New Year;

January 7 and December 25 - Christmas;

March 8 - International Women's Day;

May 1 - Labor Day;

May 9 - Victory Day over Nazism in World War II (Victory Day);

June 28 - Constitution Day of Ukraine;

August 24 - Independence Day of Ukraine;

October 14 - Day of Defender of Ukraine;

one day (Sunday) - Easter;

one day (Sunday) - Trinity.

But whether Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram will be days-off is not yet clear.
Aisling Cullen of Thanks Plants with Aida (5) and Sebastian (3)

SUPERVALU has graduated a new class of micro firms from its 'food academy' - which means a host of new home-grown products are arriving on its shelves.

The seven-year-old business incubator, run in partnership with State-funded Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and Bord Bia, gives food and drink start-ups professional assistance in developing their product and image for a retail debut in local SuperValu outlets.

The 15 new product lines unveiled yesterday include seaweed burgers from Plantruption, cold-brew coffee from Maisha Coffee, Indian starters from Lets Chaat, and salad leaves from Larkins Hill Farm.

The firms' founders since October have received training and mentoring from SuperValu, LEO and Bord Bia officials on market research and branding, food safety, marketing, finance and business development.

"Over the last six months, with the help of SuperValu's Food Academy, I've been working steadily to develop a unique product," said Aisling Cullen, whose firm Thanks Plants has developed a handmade line of meat-free sausages.

"Without the help of Food Academy, I would not be where I am now," Ms Cullen said. "It has given huge support to all the producers involved, and I recommend it for any new producer starting out."

Flavours for Thanks Plants' vegan sausages include apple and sage, and sun-dried tomato and herb.

SuperValu said its academy has supported product development at 620 start-ups since 2014. The grocer said those small firms have created about 1,500 jobs and generated 140m in sales for SuperValu at its 223 outlets nationwide.

"We have been supporters of local for 40 years and it's part of our DNA," said SuperValu marketing director Martin Kelleher.

"Our independent retailers can provide producers with their all-important first supermarket listing, helping them to create employment in local communities," he said, calling the food academy "a great way for us to help new businesses to grow and get the support they need".
Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

NORWALK  Wednesday marked the start of the first phase of the citys reopening from the coronavirus pandemic.

Local restaurants can offer outdoor dining after they obtain city approval. Once approved, the restaurants must adhere to a strict set of guidelines to ensure social distancing and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
LAS VEGAS  The parent company of Ricks Cabaret said that while its mainstream Bombshells Restaurant & Bar division received $4.2 million under the CARES Acts Paycheck Protection Program, its numerous adult nightclubs received zero funding.

So far, adult businesses have had mixed results with obtaining funds under the program because of a Small Business Administration rule that excludes companies that offer performances or sell products of a "prurient sexual nature." One brothel operator in Nevada says she has been given approval for funds, while several strip clubs in the Midwest have had to go to court to receive the green light to even apply for the loans.

For Ricks Cabarets parent, RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc., the lack of a loan program during the pandemic is substantial because it operates more than 40 clubs in New York, Miami, Charlotte, Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Houston, Minneapolis, St. Louis and other markets under brand names such as Rick's Cabaret, XTC, Club Onyx, Vivid Cabaret, Jaguars, Tootsie's Cabaret and Scarlett's Cabaret.

Last month, RCI furloughed more than 1,900 employees after the pandemic forced stay-at-home directives. The company also said that it reduced pay of about 100 remaining employees to 75 percent of previous levels.

RCI, however, was able to receive $1.1 million in PPP assistance for its shared-services division, the company said in a SEC filing last week.

The company also said it is filing business interruption insurance claims because of the pandemic.

We do not know the extent and duration of the impact of COVID-19 on our businesses due to the uncertainty about the spread of the virus, the company said. Lower sales, as caused by social distancing guidelines, could lead to adverse financial results. However, we will continually monitor and evaluate our cash flow situation and will determine any further measures to be instituted.

The company said that, to date, it has re-opened 10 company locations in Texas that are adhering to a 25-percent occupancy requirement.

RCI was founded in 1983 by Robert Watters, who introduced the Ricks Cabaret gentlemens club concept, according to the company.

Several years ago, the company added its Bombshells restaurants  eight, all in Texas  that offer alcoholic drinks and dining served by scantily clad waitresses.
Egypt's Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty will be tested for the coronavirus after he had met with a provincal governor who was later diagnosed with the flu-like disease, ministry spokesman Mohamed El-Sebaie said in TV comments late on Monday.

Daqahliya governor Aymen Mokhtar announced his infection on Monday evening after he had met with the minister earlier on the day to discuss projects in the governorate.

The minister said in a statement late on Monday that he was in good condition, adding that preventative measures had been taken during the meeting including wearing face masks and gloves and following physical distancing rules.

All people who had come in contact with the infected governor will be examined and the ministry's office, where the meeting was held, will be sanitised, according to the ministry.

The governor said he was tested for the virus after showing some symptoms two days after a director at the governorate office tested positive for COVID-19.

The governor had also met with local development minister Mahmoud Sharawy last week, he said as he spoke to satellite TV channel MBC, noting that all people who had come into contact with him would be traced and tested.

He will be transferred to a quarantine hospital in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya.

The local development minister also said all prevention measures were followed during the 10 May meeting, adding that his ministry's office had been sanitised several times since the meeting.

All the ministry's workers and visitors have their temperature measured before entering the ministry building, he added.

Egypt has so far registered 12,764 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 645 fatalities.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Britain has the second highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe per capita over the last seven days after lockdown-free Sweden, data has revealed.

Between May 12 and May 19, in a rolling seven day average, Britain saw 5.75 deaths per million inhabitants. In Sweden the figure was 6.25 deaths per million.

The United Kingdom's proximity to Sweden as compared with the United States (4.17), France (3.49), Italy (3.0), Spain (2.95) and Germany (0.81), is unsettling.

Britain's deaths per capita are closer to Sweden's than they are to many of the former 'sick men of Europe' (Spain and Italy) and of the world (the US).

This despite the UK adopting a far more stringent lockdown, whereas Sweden chose to keep its schools, bars, restaurants and shops open.

Between May 12 and May 19, in a rolling seven day average, Britain saw 5.75 deaths per million inhabitants. In Sweden the figure was 6.25 deaths per million. The United Kingdom's proximity to Sweden as compared with the United States (4.17), France (3.49), Italy (3.0), Spain (2.95) and Germany (0.81), is unsettling.

Over the course of the pandemic Sweden still has fewer deaths per capita than the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Belgium and France, which have all opted for lockdowns, but much higher than Nordic neighbours Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Sweden's strategy, mostly based on voluntary measures regarding social distancing and basic hygiene, has been criticised by some as a dangerous experiment with peoples lives but also been put forward as a future model by the WHO .

Sweden's open strategy seems to have softened the blow on the economy, with growth shrinking much less than in Denmark and Norway in the first quarter.

Sweden's public health authority on reported 45 more deaths from coronavirus, today bringing the total death toll in the country to 3,743.

According to the latest update, 422 more people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the country's total number of confirmed cases to 30,799.

Death toll figures in Sweden generally fall over the weekend, due to a lack of reporting, then increase again during the week as health authorities catch up.

Today's figure was the lowest reported on a Tuesday for six weeks, suggesting the outbreak in the country is now in abeyance despite a relative lack of measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Basing its approach on a so-called 'principle of responsibility', Sweden has kept schools open (indeed compulsory) for children under the age of 16, along with cafes, bars, restaurants and businesses, and urged people to respect social distancing guidelines.

Statistics released on Monday showed that Sweden had its deadliest month in almost three decades in April, with a total of 10,458 deaths recorded in the country of 10.3 million people.

'We have to go back to December 1993 to find more dead during a single month,' Tomas Johansson, population statistician at Statistics Sweden, said in a statement.

In total, 97,008 deaths were recorded in Sweden during the whole of 1993, which in turn was the deadliest year since 1918, when the Spanish flu pandemic ravaged the country.

Johansson said there was no official breakdown explaining the high death toll in December 1993 but said there was a flu epidemic at the time.

State epidemiologist Anders Tegnell of the Public Health Agency of Sweden speaks during a news conference on a daily update on Covid-19 in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 18, 2020

Karin Ulrika Olofsdotter Sweden's ambassador to the US previously called the country's number of elderly deaths due to covid-19 a 'big failure'.

As the number of deaths passed 3,000 in early May Olofsdotter said 90 per cent of those who died in Sweden were over 70, meaning that around 2,700 elderly people have died of the virus.

Sweden has banned visits to care homes in one of its few restrictions after deciding against a full-scale lockdown, but Sweden's top virologist Anders Tegnell has previously admitted that more should have been done to protect the elderly.



Tegnell told the daily press conference on Monday: 'The curves look to be slowly but surely pointing downwards, but there is still a lot of strain on all parts of the healthcare sector.'
He says his decision on running for the second term depends on public support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says one presidential term is not enough to fulfill all promises.

"Honestly, sincerely  one is not enough," he said at a press conference on the first year of his presidency, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoAlmost 60% of Ukrainians trust in President Zelensky  poll

Answering a clarifying question whether he would run for the second term, Zelensky said he would need to think it over whether to run for another term.

"I'll think about this," he said. "I believe any president who has 10%, 15% or 16% at the beginning of any election campaign  if they have such figures  has no right to run for president. Because this means one thing  society does not support them. I'm going for one term, as I said, I see the work is hard, no one will say thank you. But if support from the people of Ukraine is strong, I can think it over. I will think," the president said.

Earlier, Zelensky said he was not going to run for the second presidential term.
Advertisement

Stunning locations captured by the finalists of the 2020 Landscape Photography Competition showcase the Earth's beauty in a unique series of images.

There's Eric Melzer's other-worldly picture of the Ivanpah Solar Station in California, John Kimwell Laluma's incredible 'Density', which captures the courtyard of a Macau apartment building from a whole new point of view, and Olivier Jarry-Lacombe's amazing aerial shot of the Lofoten archipelago in Norway.

The Landscape Photography Competition is run by The Independent Photographer - an international network of photographers and photography enthusiasts that reaches over one million visitors every year.

Olivier Jarry-Lacombe snapped this incredible aerial image over Norway's Lofoten archipelago. He called the picture 'Paradise Island'

This image shows a wintry scene in the Arches National Park in Utah. The mesmerising snap was taken by Ben Riley and was named an editor's pick

Photographer Jay Kazen impressed the judges with this jaw-dropping image of a waterfall in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

This incredible scene was captured by Stefano Tomassetti in Bagan, Myanmar. The image is simply called 'Balloons over Bagan'

On the left is the winning image - 'Winter Wonderland'. It was taken by Stephen King during a spring snowstorm in Hokkaido, Japan. On the right is an image by Mark Boyle called 'Sensual Curves', which was shortlisted. It was captured in Injidup Bay in Yallingup, Western Australia

Photographer Stephen King also captured this serene scene over the Remarkables mountain range in the Otago region on the South Island of New Zealand

The monthly competition offers up to 1,645 ($2,000) in cash prizes and is committed to helping emerging artists kick-start their professional careers.

After sorting through entries from over 60 countries, photographer and judge Thomas Heaton whittled the selection down to winners, finalists and editor's picks.

Stephen King's 'Winter Wonderland' took first place - his image capturing 'an unexpected spring snowstorm in Hokkaido, Japan'.

Mr Heaton said: 'The photographer has created an image that can only be described as a piece of fine art.

Christopher Baker scooped the runner-up medal with this image of the Pyramid of Khafre in the Giza Necropolis, Egypt

This amazing shot of the Great Wall of China was captured by Joshua Cavalier, who came third in the contest

Photographer Eric Melzer's other-worldly image 'Solar Storm'. It shows the Ivanpah Solar Station in California

Photographer Sid Ghosh took two editor's picks. One shows the Italian Dolomites, left, and the other is of a dramatic scene at Mount Cook in New Zealand, right

This image was an editor's pick and was snapped by photographer Nathaniel Perales in the Pacific North West in the U.S

'The pastel colours, subtle tones, and beautiful arrangement of trees give this image a painterly quality which instils peace and calm in the viewer.'

Christopher Baker took second place with his unique 'Pyramid of Khafre' image taken in Giza Necropolis, Egypt.

Mr Heaton said of Mr Baker's work: 'The Pyramids are a great place of wonder. They are shrouded in mystery and hold so many untold secrets. The photographer has captured this perfectly.

This eye-catching image was taken by Dan Tomic in the mesmerising Shey Phoksundo National Park in Nepal. The picture was an editor's pick

Peter Dyndiuk snapped the image on the left in the Hoh Rainforest in Washington State. It shows a 'nursery log' - a large dead tree that serves as a breeding ground for new trees. On the right is a jaw-dropping image of Waihilau Falls in Hawaii taken by photographer Stuart Chape

This hypnotic 'editor's pick' photograph of the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland was taken by Michael Blann

The beautiful image on the left was an editor's pick, snapped in Alaska by Janessa Anderson. On the right is a jaw-dropping image of Monument Valley in Arizona that was shot by Cole Udall

John Kimwell Laluma's stunning image 'Density' shows the courtyard of a Macau apartment building from a whole new point of view

Jason Marino captured sunset at Vermilion Lakes in Banff National Park, Alberta. The image was an editor's pick

'I am unsure if the photographer used intentional camera movements or took a double exposure, but the resulting image has that almost perfect symmetry - bold shapes and strong lines, whilst softening and hiding much of the unwanted details that may have been a distraction.'

Joshua Cavalier rounded out the top three with his third-place image 'Jinshanling, The Great Wall', taken in the iconic Chinese location.

Mr Heaton said: 'The Great Wall is one of the most iconic wonders and thus presents a multitude of challenges for photographers.

'Extensively photographed over the years, almost continually flooded with tourists, and subject to natural weather conditions, capturing the perfect shot is no easy task.

'Joshua Cavalier successfully overcame every challenge to create an image well worthy of its subject - perfectly composed, timed, and framed with a vantage point depicting the landmark void of people.'

For more, visit www.independent-photo.com.
MIDLAND, MI  Michigan National Guard units are working to aid Midland County communities impacted by massive flooding resulting from the failure of one dam and the breach of another.

National Guard units from Bay City, Saginaw, Port Huron, and other areas responded to the request for aid placed by the Michigan State Police after the Tuesday, May 19, failure of the Edenville Dam and breach of the Sanford Dam. The units, comprising about 130 soldiers and more than 40 specialized vehicles, arrived in the affected areas and began missions about 4 a.m. on Wednesday, May 20.

The soldiers are helping to remove citizens whose homes were to be evacuated, augmenting emergency planners, and preparing logistical support, the MSP said.

The Michigan National Guard is using assets such as Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs) that are capable of driving through high water for this mission. More than 200 soldiers and additional equipment are expected to arrive throughout Wednesday. Additional guard members are on standby with capabilities for other missions including aviation, rescue hoist, and logistical support, if needed.

Our priority is supporting the State of Michigans response to this situation and ensuring the safety and well-being of Michigan citizens, said Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Members of the Michigan National Guard are trained to respond at a moments notice when their skills are called upon  their professionalism is another reassuring example of the guards mission as Michiganders helping Michiganders.

Members of the Michigan National Guard are to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 spread during this emergency response using carefully supervised medical protocols, including pre-screening, mission-appropriate face covering, social distancing, and sanitizing equipment.

The Michigan National Guard has also been integrated into the states emergency response for COVID-19 since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced its activation on March 18. Currently, nearly 1,000 Michigan National Guard members are supporting COVID-19 response missions across the state.

Related:

Pray for Midland, says resident surveying flood damage after dam failure

Bay County sheriff ready to use 39,000-pound military-grade vehicle for flooding rescues

Midland-area residents evacuate to high school after dam failure threatens city

Sanford Dam collapse imminent, Midland County residents urged to evacuate

Residents told to evacuate after Edenville Dam failure in Midland County
Ukraine and Bulgaria agreed to intensify bilateral cooperation in political, economic and consular fields.

The Foreign Ministrys press service reported this following a phone conversation between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Ekaterina Zaharieva.

In particular, the parties discussed measures taken by the governments of both countries to counter the spread of coronavirus. Kuleba thanked his Bulgarian counterpart for the decision made by the Bulgarian government to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, namely protective equipment for healthcare workers.

The interlocutors focused on topical issues of the development of Ukrainian-Bulgarian relations in the political, economic and consular fields, as well as the issue of protecting national minorities, the report says.

In addition, the foreign ministers exchanged invitations to make bilateral visits.

ish
Changi Airport's iconic control tower. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

SINGAPORE  Singapore will gradually allow travelers to transit through Changi Airport from 2 June, when Phase 1 of the countrys reopening begins amid the pandemic.

Currently, transit through Singapore is limited to foreign passengers who are on repatriation flights arranged by their governments. The decision will allow passengers to transit through Singapore more easily, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on Wednesday (20 May).

This is part of Singapores strategy to gradually re-open air transport to meet the needs of our economy and our people, whilst ensuring sufficient safeguards for safe travel, the CAAS added in a statement.

Stringent precautionary measures will be in place to ensure that the transit passengers remain in designated facilities in the transit area and do not mix with other passengers while at Changi Airport. Staff at the airport must wear personal protective equipment when interacting with passengers.

Other current measures, such as safe distancing, temperature taking for passengers and staff, will still be enforced.

Airlines should submit their proposals for transfer lanes through Changi Airport to the CAAS. The proposals will be assessed based on aviation safety, public health considerations, as well as the health of passengers and air crew.

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

More Singapore stories:

COVID-19: Singapore confirms 570 new cases, total at 29,364

COVID-19: Singapore to exit circuit breaker period, resume activities over 3 phases

COVID-19: Heng Swee Keat to announce more help for businesses, individuals on 26 May
Syria vows fight against 'American, Turkish, Israeli occupiers'

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 19 May 2020 7:53 AM

Syria's UN envoy says any presence of foreign forces on Syrian soil without authorization from the Damascus government amounts to "aggression and occupation," emphasizing the Arab nation's right to defend its sovereignty and resources.

Addressing a teleconference meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, Bashar al-Ja'afari said Syria would not abandon its right to safeguard its land and resources.

The Arab country, he added, is determined to keep up the fight against both foreign-backed terrorists and the occupiers, whether they are Americans, Turks or Israelis.

He slammed Turkey for sponsoring the terrorist groups that are active in different regions of northern Syria, describing Ankara's move as a flagrant violation of its obligations under the agreements in Sochi, Moscow, Kazakhstan and under international law in general.

On the US military intervention in his country, Ja'afari said the American troops had begun to establish a new military base in the countryside of the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr with the aim of tightening their grip on Syrian oil wells and looting the nation's resources.

The senior Syrian diplomat further referred to the Israeli regime's frequent acts of aggression against the country using the airspace over the Tel Aviv-occupied side of the Golan Heights or Syria's neighbors.

Syria says such hostile practices  which are in flagrant violation of international law  are part of an agenda to prop up the terrorist groups wreaking havoc on the country and prolong the crisis gripping the nation since 2011.

Russia, US must push for Syria peace: UN envoy

Separately, the UN's Syria envoy Geir Pedersen on Monday urged the US and Russia to make the most of "some calm" in the conflict-stricken country and push for peace amid the threats posed by remnants of the Daesh Takfiri terror group in the country as well as a coronavirus outbreak there.

The mediator told the 15-member Security Council that since the outbreak of conflict in the Arab country, too many "fleeting opportunities to turn dynamics towards a political path were lost," warning that those "missed moments were followed by renewed violence and a hardening of positions."

"With some calm, with the common threats of COVID and ISIS [Daesh terror group], and with the Syrian people continuing to suffer, I want to stress that renewed and meaningful international cooperation, building trust and confidence between international stakeholders and with Syrians ... is essential," Pedersen said.

"I believe that Russian-American dialogue has a key role to play here, and I encourage them to pursue it," he said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Imtex Membranes Corp. has reached its target funding goal of $20 million with over $10 million from SABIC Ventures US Holdings LLC ("SABIC Ventures") and Valent Low-Carbon Technologies, over $6 million from Sustainable Development Technologies Canada ("SDTC") and $3 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta ("ERA").

Imtex's PermyleneTM membrane technology reduces energy and emissions intensity of light olefins, the main building blocks for resins and rubber chemicals. In the production process these olefins, namely ethylene, propylene and butene, must be separated from paraffins, being ethane, propane and butane. Traditional incumbent processes are energy-intensive, generating annual CO2e emissions equivalent to 40 million passenger vehicles.

"With over 10,000 hours of pilot operations demonstrating stable, on-spec results, Imtex has proven it can consistently achieve polymer-grade purification of olefins in a cost-effective, low-energy product offering. We now have the funding required to move forward on all fronts," said Karlis Vasarais, CEO, Imtex Membranes.

SABIC Ventures' parent company is a global leader in diversified chemicals with $40 billion in revenues and operations around the world.

"In a short period, Imtex has shown significant progress on the SABIC project. We are excited about our investment to support an accelerated scale-up and roll-out of their technology," said Aruna Subramanian, Managing Director, SABIC Ventures.

The focus of the investment is to build out two commercial facilities in Alberta and Ontario processing C3 refinery grade propylene and C4 raffinate. In addition, funding proceeds will be used for several other global behind-the-fence projects (C2 and C4 olefin streams) in the United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and South-East Asia.

"Over 40% of energy in petrochemicals is associated with chemical separations. SDTC is proud that our early and ongoing support of Imtex is helping lead to a significant funding milestone and further progress toward commercialization," said Leah Lawrence, President & CEO, SDTC.

"ERA is pleased to work with investment partners, such as SDTC, and entrepreneurs like Imtex, to leverage funds that accelerate new technologies to reduce emissions from petrochemical production. This unified approach demonstrates Alberta's and Canada's global leadership potential in low-carbon, hydrocarbon production." said Steve MacDonald, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta.

Since inception, Imtex has received funding in excess of $22 million, led by Monteco Ltd. The research that materialized into Imtex's pilot facilities was supported by a series of Ontario and Canada Federal government investments. Most recently, Imtex has received funding from the Province of Ontario, through the OCE Voucher for Innovation and Productivity, GreenCentre Canada's CONNECT Program supported by NRC-IRAP, and BioIndustrial Innovation Canada's Ontario Bioindustrial Innovation Network (OBIN) which supports cluster development in Sarnia-Lambton and Eastern Ontario.

About IMTEX (www.imtexmembranes.com)

Imtex Membranes Corp. is an innovative Ontario-based membrane technology company that delivers energy and emissions reductions to olefin production. Imtex's PermyleneTM membrane separation technology separates paraffins and purifies olefins, the building blocks for polyolefin resins and rubber chemicals. Imtex's technology was invented by Dr Xianshe Feng, University Research Chair & Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

About SDTC

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) is a foundation created by the Government of Canada to support Canadian companies with the potential to become world leaders in their efforts to develop and demonstrate new environmental technologies that address climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil.

About Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA)

For more than 10 years, ERA has been investing the revenues from the carbon price paid by large final emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since established in 2009, ERA has committed $542 million toward 163 projects worth over $4 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs and create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative GHG reductions of 39.5 million tonnes by 2030.

About Valent Low-Carbon Technologies

Valent is a Canadian company that is aggregating the low-carbon fuels value chain. Valent is a coalition of energy industry stakeholders, major institutional investors including Kensington Private Equity Fund and CFFI Ventures, and seasoned clean energy technology entrepreneurs. Valent has operations across Canada in Alberta, South West Ontario, and the Maritimes.

About SABIC Ventures

SABIC Ventures' parent company is a global leader in diversified chemicals headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high-performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.

SOURCE Imtex Membranes Corp.

For further information: For Media requests, please contact: Karlis Vasarais, Chief Executive Officer, Tel: +1-416-301-8353, [email protected]; For Customer inquiries, please contact: Dale Kline, Business Development Director, Tel: +1-803-554-1002, [email protected]
(TNS)  With the state's numbers steadily increasing in COVID-19 cases, contact tracing has begun in Arkansas.The Department of Health has begun reaching out to people who may have been exposed or who have tested positive for the virus in order to contact trace.Gov. Asa Hutchinson asked Arkansans to "help us out" and answer calls from health officials.On Saturday during his COVID-19 update, Hutchinson expressed that the state would be able to detect a coronavirus surge if it returns this fall."We do have sufficient capability for contact tracing, but Dr. Smith is continually trying to improve it," said Hutchinson. "To illustrate, when this emergency first started, we had three nurses who did contact tracing and now it's well over 150, or I think 180 was the last number that I heard."Contact Tracing is the process of identifying people who have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, instructing them to quarantine and monitoring their symptoms daily.They work with an infected person to get the names and phone numbers for everyone that infected person came in close contact with while the possibly infectious.Hutchinson said work is being done now to incorporate contact tracing into the state's economic infrastructure as things begin opening back up.According to the Federal Trade Commission, scammers are now using what was meant for good, for evil, by sending text messages to bait consumers of their private information."People who had contact with someone infected with COVID-19 may first get a text message from the health department, telling them they'll get a call from a specific number," said Colleen Tressler Consumer Education Specialist, FTC. "The tracer who calls will not ask for personal information, like a Social Security number. At the end of the call, some states ask if the contact would like to enroll in a text message program, which sends daily health and safety reminders until the 14-day quarantine ends. But tracers won't ask you for money or information like your Social Security, bank account, or credit card number. Anyone who does is a scammer."Tressler says that there's no question, contact tracing plays a vital role in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19 but scammers, pretending to be contact tracers and taking advantage of how the process works, are also sending text messages."Theirs are spam text messages that ask you to click a link," said Tressler. "Unlike a legitimate text message from a health department, which only wants to let you know they'll be calling, this message includes a link to click."Hutchinson discussed contact tracing using numbers from the weekend before. He presented a flow chart that showed the positive COVID-19 case contacted by a nurse.A contact tracer calls to get a list of contact. The tracer then reaches out to those contacts.Hutchinson said all contacts are enrolled in the SARA alert system, which allows those at risk for the virus to enter their symptoms daily. Those contacts without symptoms are instructed to isolate for 14 days. Those with symptoms are told to get tested."We need everyone to be responsive to the Health Department if they call," Hutchinson said. "Case tracking is our most effective defense."While contact tracing is important, the FTC warns consumers to don't take the bait on suspicious text messages."Clicking on the link will download software onto your device, giving scammers access to your personal and financial information," said Tressler. "Ignore and delete these scam messages."
WATERLOO  The family of a missing Arizona woman and her stepfather is appealing to the public for information on the two, who are presumed dead.

Elissa Landry, 28, and stepfather David Batten, 45, of Chino Valley, Ariz., were reported missing in April, and authorities believe their bodies are somewhere in the remote and rugged terrain surrounding the central Arizona community.

They are honorably discharged combat veterans, and they do not deserve this, Ben Batten, David Battens brother, said in a video released Tuesday by the Yavapai Silent Witness program.

We are pleading with the public to help us find them. Anything anybody can find, even the smallest thing that you come across out in the woods, camping, hunting, would be of tremendous help, Ben Batten said.

The case has a local tie. Investigators believe Landrys blue Subaru Forester is somewhere in the Waterloo area. Authorities have searched rural locations and explored a Waterloo lake.

Landrys boyfriend, 24-year-old Mitchell Allen Mincks, formerly of Waterloo, was briefly listed as missing with them until he was detained on a federal probation warrant at a Raymond home days after the disappearance. Authorities have referred to him as a suspect in the disappearance.

He remains in the Linn County Jail in Cedar Rapids awaiting transport to Arizona.

Sonya Batten, Elissas mother, said the family is looking for answers.

Right now they are out missing. We would like to right by their remains, and the whole family is in need of closure, she said.

Silent Witness is offering a $10,000 reward in the case.

David Batten is 45, 6 feet tall, weighing about 255 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He goes by the name Nick.

Landry is 28, 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing 155 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She goes by Ellie.

Landrys vehicle is a blue 2013 Subaru Forester with an Arizona Women veteran plate WV1236.

Anyone with information on Batten, Landry or the vehicle is asked to contact Silent Witness at (800) 932-3232 or www.yavapaisw.com or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers at (855) 300-TIPS (8477).

Tips may also be left at WWW.CVCRIMESTOP.COM Tips may also be sent with TipSubmit or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637).







PHOTOS: Arizona missing persons

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 4

Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
Syracuse, N.Y.  While the Syracuse University campus remains largely closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, at least one University Hill icon has returned.

Varsity Pizza, 802 S. Crouse Ave., reopened for curbside pickup and delivery on Tuesday after being closed since March 20.

For now, the restaurant will be open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for breakfast, lunch and dinner, though supervisor Eric Ockert said the pizzeria may stay open later once the dining room is allowed to reopen.

Restaurant dining rooms are part of phase three of the four-step reopening process Gov. Andrew Cuomo has laid out for New York. In Central New York, the earliest that phase can start is June 12. Thats based on no problems emerging as businesses and the community reopen.

Curbside delivery is available to nearby hospitals, university offices and hotels. Ockert said they do not deliver to residential addresses.

Much of the menu will remain the same, though aside from fish fry on Friday, no other daily specials will be offered.

Ockert said the reason behind the opening was two-fold  the business received a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program that meant bringing staff back to work, but also to get the economy rolling again and give people a taste of normalcy again.

When I came back, I was so happy, said Varsitys iconic Pizza Lady Elli Darmoyslis.

The Varsity was open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and despite the restaurant being closed for two months, Ockert said he was impressed by the lunchtime business on its first day back.

Diners can place their order by phone at (315) 478-1235 or in person at the front door of the restaurant.

Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and all things gastronomic across Central New York. Contact him by email at jpucci@syracuse.com.
The Labour-run Welsh government has been reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over accusations their testing failures needlessly cost care home residents' lives.

Helena Herklots, the Older People's Commissioner for Wales, said she had spoken to the EHRC because testing for Covid-19 in the Welsh care sector had been 'too slow' and may have breached the elderly's 'fundamental right to life'.

Around a third of all coronavirus deaths in Wales have taken place in care homes.

Before May 2 only staff or residents displaying symptoms were able to access tests. Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething has denied the claims.

The Labour-run Welsh government was reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission over accusations their testing had been 'too slow' and cost care home residents' lives. (Stock image)

According to a snap survey of 87 care homes in Wales, carried out by the BBC, 16 said they felt pressurised into taking untested or Covid-19 positive patients into their home from hospital.

Helena Herklots, Older People's Commissioner in Wales, told BBC Wales Investigates: 'I have serious concerns that older people's human rights have been breached; the fundamental right to life  the fact that testing wasn't in place as quickly as it needed to be for every resident and every member of staff.

'That is why I believe the Equality and Human Rights Commission needs to investigate.'

Nigel Clark, who runs Alma Lodge Care Home, in Port Talbot, said he was told he would be reported to the authorities if he did not take patients from hospitals who hadn't been tested.

Brian Rosenberg, owner of Tregwilym Care Home, in Newport, where 19 residents have died, said that, although he could not be certain, he feared the virus entered the home with a patient discharged from hospital.

It has been revealed that a third of all coronavirus deaths in Wales have taken place in care homes. (Stock image)

Mr Gething said the Welsh government 'changed the approach on testing people who were leaving hospital' on April 22. But by then it was too late for many. More than 1,200 died in Welsh care homes in April  700 more than in the same month last year.

Phil Crean's mother Joyce was among them. She was discharged after treatment for a stroke, into the Romilly Care Home, in Cardiff. Unbeknown to her family, coronavirus was already present. She died ten days after arriving.

Mr Crean said: '(It is) an absolute disgrace. It's basically throwing sheep to the wolves.'

BBC Wales Investigates: Testing Time in Care  BBC One Wales at 20:05 tonight.
The police sources said that one of the jawans was killed on the spot and the other died on way to nearby Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Medical Superintendent at SKIMS. AP Photo

Srinagar: Two jawans of Border Security Force (BSF) were shot and critically wounded by gunmen riding a motorbike in Pandach area on the peripheries of Jammu and Kashmirs summer capital Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon. Both of them were declared brought dead at a nearby hospital.

The police sources said that one of the jawans was killed on the spot and the other died on way to nearby Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). Medical Superintendent at SKIMS, Dr. Farooq Jan, said that both troopers were declared as brought dead on arrival. The assailants before fleeing from the scene also took with them two services weapons of the BSF jawans, a senior police official confirmed here.

The J&K police earlier tweeted Two BSF jawans on naka duty on the outskirts of Srinagar City at Pandach Chowk were fired upon by two to three bike-borne militants. One jawan died. Other injured evacuated to hospital.

The local sources said that the BSF jawans belonging to its 37th Battalion which is stationed at nearby Dignibal in the Valleys Central district of Ganderbal were targeted while they were patrolling along the old Pandach road.

None of the militant outfit active in J&K has, so far, owned responsibility for the attack which has come a day after the J&K police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in a joint operation killed Hizb-ul-Mujahideens divisional commander Junaid Ashraf Khan and his close associate Tariq Ahmed Sheikh in an encounter in Srinagars Dana Mazaar, Nawa Kadal locality.

28-year-old Khan was the son of prominent separatist leader and amir of Tehrik-e-Hurriyat party Muhammd Ashraf Sehrai who is a close confidante of Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

The 10-hour-long gunfight also left behind smouldering heaps of ruins of residential houses including the one where the militant duo had been holed up. While some police officials have termed the destruction of these houses other than the one in which the militants were hiding as unavoidable collateral damage, the locals have accused the security forces of deliberately causing devastation which has rendered many families homeless.

Some of the residents have also alleged the security forces looted cash, gold jewellery and other valuables and even LPG cylinders from their homes after they were asked to leave these to avoid harm coming to them during the fighting. The authorities have strongly denied these allegations and reiterated that the security forces evacuated several families to safety before engaging the militants in the gunfight.

Meanwhile, the J&K police has said that they along with the Armys 2 Rashtriya Rifles arrested four terrorist associates of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) in central district of Budgam. The accused have been identified as Muzaffar Ahmed Dar, Mudasir Ahmed Lone, Younis Waza and Nazir Ahmed Sheikh. Incriminating materials including a pistol, a grenade and huge cache of ammunition were recovered from their procession, a statement issued by the police here said.

Meanwhile, tension erupted in Srinagars Bagh-e-Ali Mardan Khan area and its neighbourhood early Wednesday after the residents found that a failed attempt has been made overnight to torch a place of worship.

The police said that a case has been registered against unknown persons for damaging the Imam Ali mosque at Alipora and investigations launched into the incident. The local residents said that the act of sacrilege could be a deliberate attempt to create sectarian divide in the Valley.
Im not brilliant, but Im dogged is what James Michener told an interviewer from the American Academy of Achievement. But, given what I have learned about him from reading his memoirhis military service, his academic career, his insatiable travel lust, his art collecting, not to mention his 50 books, I would tend to disagree with his assessment of his intelligence. Humility, of course, is a virtue.

In this interview, he says that he is not a master of plot or psychology like some novelists. That probably accounts for his lackluster reception by the critics. But, he admits, he can tell a damn good story. And his sales indicate that that may be a better skill.

He was always uncomfortable being called an author. Authors, he said in his memoir, are the bearded and bespectacled men from England who have three names  Alfred Lord Tennyson, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He considered himself to be a much more humble writer.

The best part of the interview is also the most telling piece of advice that he has to offer. The interviewer asked about his productivity. He explained that a long novel was going to take him three years. And he works on it 10 hours a day, seven days a week. If you put in that kind of work on anything, youre bound to come up with something he said.

How many of us have the courage and fortitude to work on the same thing, with that consistency, for that long? How many of us have that kind of attention span? Not many.

But, how many of us are capable of doing that? Every single one of us.

Another reason I admire Michener is his sense of ethics and fairness. He was a liberal democrat who thought racism was abhorrent. Even in the 1950s, he thought it was a travesty that Mexican, Jewish, black and Asian people werent given the same opportunities in this country as white people. He also believed in paying his taxes and thought he was under taxed for what the government provided. He thought it was terrible that writers of good books, who may have critical success, do not have financial success, which is why he endowed the Iowa Writers Workshop and started the creative writing program at the University of Texas.

But what is most telling about his personal ethics are the stories he tells in his books. Currently Im listening to The Source, his book about Israel. It is filled with memorable characters, but there is one whose situation I think really sums up the way Michener looked at the world. Indeed, this is an overtly feminist story, which was way ahead of its time in 1965.

Shimrith and Judah are a Jewish couple living in Makor, the fictional town through which Michener tells his story. Judah takes a trip to Ptolemaeis and leaves Shimrith alone for a week. Judahs brother Aaron has been eyeing Shimrith and decides that he is going to seduce her while his brother is away. Aaron, in his head, has mistaken Shimriths civility for desire. He ends up raping her, violently. And he does so thinking she is enjoying it. He thinks that he has done her a favor.

Then he does it again, forcibly, in a corridor. She knew it was going to happen again and brought a dagger with her. But he slapped the dagger out of her hand, ripped off her clothes and had his way with her.

Ashamed and humiliated, she decided to go to her rabbi to see if anything could be done. This, the narrator says, was a mistake. The rabbi accuses her of seducing Aaron. Then he quotes something in the Talmud, the Jewish book of laws that were derived from the Old Testament, about how if a woman seduces another man she must marry him or be stoned to death.

The rabbi also asks why she didnt come to him the first time. She explains that she was ashamed. The rabbi doesnt believe her and doesnt care. He thinks Shimreth wanted it in the first place, but is now having second thoughts. He basically dismisses her.

Then when Judah gets back from Ptolemais, Aaron strangles him in an olive orchard. Shimrith sees the dirt on Aarons sandals and knows he did it, but knows that no one is going to believe her. And, that same rabbi says that the Jewish law indicates if a Jewish man dies and he has no children, his wife must marry his brother so that his name will carry on.

Can you imagine a worse fate for a woman? To have the authorities side with the man who raped you? And then to be forced by an unfeeling, misogynistic patriarchy to marry that rapist? But, how often has this story happened in real life? How many Jewish women were put in that situation? And even in our current time, outside of Israel, how often has a woman been not believed, or even blamed for their being sexually assaulted?

This true, clear-eyed sensitivity to what is just and right is why we love James Michener. His characters conform to laws in a clearly defined moral universe. Some are winners and some are losers, but hard work and honesty often pay off. So too does truthfulness and integrity. Bad things may happen to ones parents in a Michener novel, but their children will usually prosper.

One secret to success in corporate America is this: always under promise and over deliver. I think James Michener followed that advice. I can imagine him talking to his editor: Oh, Im going to do a little something with Poland. And he would be off for three years to live in Poland, delivering a fat manuscript at the end. A Michener novel is truly the paragon of over delivery. And in America, that is what makes you a success.

Which Michener novel do you recommend? Email John Henry Martin at jhm@johnhenrymartin.com.
(Alliance News) - Great Portland Estates PLC on Wednesday reported lower annual profit as trading property revenue more than halved and gross rental income declined.

The FTSE 250 property investor reported a GBP51.6 million pretax profit for its year ended 31 March, down 8.8% from GBP56.6 million, as revenue fell 8.9% to GBP102.4 million from GBP112.4 million.

Most of this revenue drop consisted of a plunge in trading property revenue to GBP6.4 million from GBP14.4 million and a smaller 2.7% drop in gross rental income to GBP80.7 million from GBP82.9 million.

A final dividend of 7.9 pence per share has been declared, flat year-on-year, lifting the total annual dividend by 3.3% to 12.6p.

Chief Executive Toby Courtauld said: "As we examine the implications for our business, it is clear that we must plan for a recession with an increase in unemployment, leading to reduced occupational demand for space, implying falling rental and capital values. Key to our market's performance will be both the depth of the downturn and the shape of the recovery. Given this uncertainty, we are pausing the provision of guidance on rental value movements until the picture becomes clearer. "

He added: "We have positioned [Great Portland Estates] for any market eventuality; our low leverage is both defensive and gives us significant capacity for growth; our portfolio is virtually fully let, off low rents and has material upside potential from our extensive development pipeline; and our talented team with its deep market knowledge, combined with our financial strength, gives us the ability to choose our path to deliver on all our ambitions."

The company also made a number of other announcements on Wednesday, including that French investment bank Exane SA has pre-let office space at Great Portland's development at 1 Newman Street and 70/88 Oxford Street, W1 in London's West End.

Exane will occupy the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors as well as basement space on three separate 15-year leases.

Great Portland also said it had created a Covid-19 community fund, to which its board and executive committee have contributed.

"The fund will be seeded with more than GBP280,000 raised through a combination of board director bonus reductions and fee waivers to the equivalent of at least 20% of salary or fees for 3 months, along with significant contributions from all the other [Great Portland Estates] executive committee members, and group matching," the firm explained.

On top of this, Great Portland has committed to achieving net zero carbon by 2030. This will involve reducing its energy and carbon intensity at all occupied properties, as well as the embodied carbon in all of its developments, fit-outs and refurbishments.

Shares in Great Portland Estates were down 2.7% at 624.00p in London in morning trading.

By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Crown Spa in Toronto, where a woman was stabbed to death in an act of 'incel' terrorism: Google Street View

A teenager has been charged under terrorism laws after Canadian police concluded his alleged sword attack on three people, which left one woman dead, was motivated by incel ideology.

Ashley Noelle Arzaga, 24, died in the stabbing at a massage parlour in Toronto in February. Another woman and a man were also injured. Ms Arzagas family described her as a loving mother, daughter, sister, cousin and friend.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder on 24 February before evidence surfaced to suggest the crime had been terrorist in nature, police said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement on Tuesday: [Our] integrated national security enforcement team worked in conjunction with the Toronto Police Service, the Ministry of the Attorney General and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and determined that this crime was in fact one in which the accused was inspired by the ideologically motivated violent extremist movement commonly known as incel.

Incel  involuntary celibacy  is a misogynistic online victimhood cult whose members believe they are actively being denied sex by women who have been seduced by more attractive men.

The 17-year-old in Toronto is now being prosecuted under terror legislation. RCMPs statement added: Terrorism comes in many forms and its important to note that it is not restricted to any particular group, religion or ideology. The public can be assured this appears to be an isolated incident and there is no further known threat to the public associated to the accused at this time.

Bill Blair, Canadas public safety minister, said the updated charges were appropriate. He told CTV: Those types of motivations cant be tolerated in our society and they do seriously aggravate the nature of those crimes.

We monitor the various motivations for those types of crimes and where it is ideologically motivated as this case was, we look at that very seriously as a terrorist offence.

Februarys attack was the second incel-motivated mass assault to hit Toronto in two years. In April 2018 Alek Minassian killed 10 pedestrians by running them over with a van.
The centre will close its doors because the landlord won't renew the lease

The sudden closure of a major Centrelink office in Melbourne during the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked outrage.

Centrelink in Abbotsford, Melbourne, will close its doors on Thursday because the landlord has refused to renew the lease.

Stuart Robert, the Minister for Government Services, made the announcement on Wednesday.

He said Medicare and Centrelink offices would consolidate at another location in South Melbourne - six kilometres away.

A crowd is pictured outside the Centrelink office in Melbourne's Abbotsford in March when the COVID-19 lockdowns began

People are seen queuing outside a Centrelink office in Preston, Melbourne after an estimated 88,000 people lost their jobs

In an explosive Twitter post, Greens leader Adam Bandt slammed the government's decision not to open a new office in the area during a 'Depression-era joblessness' as a 'savage attack on people in need of help'.

'In the middle of the biggest ever demand on Centrelink, in an area with more public housing than almost anywhere in the country, the minister gives just over 24 hours' notice that people will be left without a local service,' he wrote.

The centre saw some of the largest queues of the in city when the COVID-19 lockdowns rendered thousands of residents unemployed earlier this year.

Abbotsford is also in an area with more public housing than anywhere in the country.

But Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said the South Melbourne location is prepared for an influx of welfare recipients, according to 7 News.

Greens leader Adam Bandt slammed the government's decision not to open a new office as the country suffers 'Despression-era joblessness' as a 'savage attack on people in need of help'

'We've been making rapid improvements to support the many Australians who need our help and we know people are increasingly taking advantage of online options to manage their Centrelink and Medicare needs,' he said.

The closest Centrelink offices to Abbotsford are in South Melbourne, Prahran and Camberwell.

Each are 15 minutes away by car, 30 minutes by tram or an 80-minute walk - which Mr Bandt said was unacceptable.

'The minister's supposed solution for these thousands of people, to walk the 6km all the way over the Yarra to South Melbourne to the next closest option, would be laughable were it not unimaginably cruel,' he said.

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten took aim at the Minister for Government Services and said the announcement 'robs communities of local services'.

Queues for Centrelink in Darlinghurst stretched around the block after 88,000 people were let go from their jobs

On March 23, tens of thousands of newly unemployed Australians lined up at Centrelink offices around the nation (pictured in Sydney)

On March 23, tens of thousands of newly unemployed Australians lined up at Centrelink offices around the nation for hours to find out whether they'd be able to pay their rent and feed their families.

Lines to access Centrelink in Brunswick, Melbourne, were 200m long by 7am after 88,000 hospitality workers lost their jobs on Monday when the government closed all pubs, bars, cinemas and gyms to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Last week, Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg warned the country faces a bleak economic future with unemployment hitting ten per cent in June.

About 1.4million Australians will be out of work due to coronavirus lockdowns.

The unemployment figure has not been in the double digits since 26 years ago in April 1994.

Australia has only had double-digit unemployment during the 1930s Great Depression, the early 1980s and early 1990s.

As a result of mass unemployment, 1.4 million people are now receiving the JobSeeker allowance from Centrelink.
The Rajasthan government on Wednesday issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for arresting an accused during the coronavirus pandemic, making it mandatory for police personnel to wear gloves and masks.

Police custody of an accused should be sought only in most urgent cases. The accused will also be made to wear a mask and a cap during the arrest, the Home Department said in an official order.

The 14-point SOP was issued by the state government in compliance with a Rajasthan High Court order.

Taking suo moto cognisance of the spread of coronavirus in Jaipur district jail, the high court had on Sunday directed the state government to come up with an SOP for admission of accused to jail.

According to the SOP, police personnel have to wear a mask and gloves while searching an accused and they should be washed after use; lock-ups in police stations need to be sanitised with sodium hypochlorite and social distancing should be ensured.

The lock-up will be sanitised again when the accused leaves and the blanket used by him/her shall be washed. The next accused shall be given things separately, it said.

"The arrested accused shall be presented before magistrate in person or via video conference as soon as possible for custody. The accused, thereafter, will be admitted to jail ward/isolation ward of district hospital for COVID-19 test," the order stated.

The district police will make arrangements to keep the accused under watch till the test report is received, it said.

If the test report is positive, then action shall be taken as per the COVID-19 protocol of the medical department. If the report comes back negative, then the accused will be sent to jail where he/she will be kept in isolation ward for 21 days, it added.

The Home Department said after three weeks in the isolation ward, the accused shall be tested again for COVID-19.

If granted bail by a court, the accused has to undergo 14-day home quarantine and if denied bail, then he/she shall be shifted to the general ward of the jail, it said.

According to the order, jail officers and staff who come in direct contact with the accused in the isolation ward should be more cautious. Random testing of jail staff and their family members will be conducted.

Also, health officials will conduct regular check-ups of prisoners and will also give suggestions to jail authorities about steps for sanitisation etc.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You may have noticed a new face bringing you the news in San Antonio. Last month, Fox-29 and News 4 San Antonio welcomed reporter Gloria DeLeon to their team.

MySA wanted to help San Antonians get to know the journalist outside of TV, so we asked her some questions.

DeLeon, most recently, was a co-anchor for the KFOX14 Morning News in El Paso, according to her bio on News 4's website. She also says she's excited to call San Antonio home.

Here's is what she had to say:



MySA: How long have you been in San Antonio?

GD: Ive been in San Antonio for three weeks now. Its been such an odd time to move, honestly. I think the hardest part was not being able to spend time with my family and friends before leaving El Paso.

MySA: Favorite restaurant so far? (Even if it's takeout)

GD: I havent had the opportunity to try many places, unfortunately. But, Zushi Sushi or Viva Pho would be at the top of my list for takeout, at the moment. I LOVE Asian food!

MySA: Do you have any pets?

GD: No, not right now. But, I am in the market for a pup.

MySA: Do you have a hidden talent or a secret side not many people may know about you?

GD: I played piano for 10 years, as a kid. Honestly, Im sure I need A LOT of practice before I could crank out a tune. But, Im a pretty silly, goofy and an easy going person. You dont always get to see that side of me on the news. But, Ive got some dad jokes up my sleeve and always willing to make someone laugh!



MORE SAN ANTONIO TV NEWS: KENS 5 traffic anchor Niku Kazori makes a big move to Japan with her fiance



MySA: Do you prefer indoor or outdoor workouts?

GD: I like them both! But, I do love being able to breathe in that fresh air while out for a jog or hike. Its amazing. Ive been able to check out a few trails and parks around town and I look forward to seeing more.

MySA: What is one thing you can't live without?

GD: TACOS! If you know me, you know Taco Tuesday is a holiday for me, every week. I dont discriminate, I love them all! The spicier, the better.

MySA: Why did you want to be a journalist?

GD: I love people. Getting to know someone, being able to tell their story and help them, is something I will never take for granted. I cant explain how it feels to be trusted by someone, who is sharing the most intimate parts of their lives. Journalists are the voice for the voiceless. We hold officials accountable and do what we can to ensure they fulfill the promises they made. Its not an easy job, by any means, but in my opinion, its one of the most important jobs out there.

MySA: Relationship status?

GD: Happily taken

MySA: Favorite movie and why?

GD: "Grease" will forever be my favorite movie. Its a classic. Ive been obsessed, since the first time I watched it at 10 years old. I can pretty much quote the entire movie to you!

MySA: What will be the first thing you want to do once things get back to normal in San Antonio?

GD: Im excited to see and experience everything San Antonio has to offer. Going out to eat and sightseeing are some of my favorite things to do. So, I cant wait to try all of the food and to be a tourist in my new city! If you see me out, dont be shy! I love meeting new people!

Candice.Garcia@express-news.net | Twitter @_candicegarci








I dont think we can return back to normal, whatever that is," he said. What COVID-19 has done, (of course exacerbated disparities and social ills) is exposed us for who we are, how we treat one another and the most vulnerable. This is an opportunity for us to look in the mirror and ask questions: Not only who am I? But who have I become and who do I want to be and thats a personal and collective question. I am hopeful that we will be able not only to do something immediately but to resurrect conversations around justice, reparations, and recovery."
The WCO-led operation ALAMBA 2020, organized under WCOs Global Shield Programme, took place from 7 to 17 March 2020 with the participation of 14 Member countries from West and Central African (WCA) region. The Customs administrations targeted commodities that were misused by terrorists, in particular those diverted for the manufacture of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for use in attacks in the region. A total of 119 seizures were recorded, including: approximately 39 tons of cyanide; 7.8 tons of explosive components; 5,200 metres of detonating cords; 1,052 litres of nitric acid, 660 parts of igniters; and 220 litres of hydrogen peroxide.

Programme Global Shield is a multilateral WCO initiative, aimed at building the capacity of Customs administrations to counter illicit trafficking and diversion of chemicals and other components used by terrorists to manufacture IEDs.

Operation ALAMBA 2020 was managed by an Operational Coordination Unit (OCU) established in Dakar, Senegal. 14 participating Customs administrations as well as the Security and Intervention Forces (SIF) and the Regional Liaison Offices Intelligence Offices (RILO) were involved in the Operation and deployed their officials to the OCU.

The operation was the culmination of a two year capacity building project conducted by the WCO with funding from the Government of Japan, in which the 14 WCO Member Customs administrations received chemical identification equipment and extensive training in the detection of the precursor chemicals and components used by terrorist to manufacture IEDs.

The outstanding results achieved during Operation ALAMBA 2020 demonstrate what can be achieved by committed and skilled Customs officers, working collaboratively across national borders, said WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya. He added that these seizures will have a significant impact on the activities of terrorist and criminal organizations and will contribute to greater security and stability in the West and Central African region. I am confident that this operation has further strengthened relations between participants and that the counter-terrorism capability of Customs in the region will continue to grow.

Dr. Mikuriya went on to thank the 14 Customs administration for their strong commitment that led to the success of this operation and in particular the Senegalese Customs for generously hosting the OCU in Dakar.

Background information:

The operation code-name ALAMBA, comes from the Marba language of Southern Chad and describes a collective fight managed by skilled men and represents cooperation, strategy, intelligence and common willingness.

The 14 participating Customs administrations were from: Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad; Central African Republic; Cote dIvoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Guinea; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; and Togo.
But in the bigger picture, the pandemic has only heightened the need for sustainable business practices that can make companies more financially resilient as well, Peel said, noting that the Green Business Alliance had already been in the works when the pandemic hit.

We recognized we needed to be about resiliency as well, Peel said, citing Local First Arizonas mission to support triage, recovery, and resiliency efforts for businesses during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Its so apparent that we need to rethink how we go about our business and the economy, so were able to withstand shocks better in the local community, ensure more local procurement, with more support for sustainability over time, Peel said.

Efforts through the alliance will also focus on a regenerative economy, emphasizing the efficient flow of capital and other resources through the economy while prioritizing people and the environment, he said.
The state government of Western Australia has unveiled a $150m housing investment package in an effort to boost the residential building sector.

The news could not have come at a better time for the residential building industry, which has already reported a 50% reduction in pipeline as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, said Cath Hart, executive director for WA at the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

"Supporting and sustaining job-creating sectors such as construction through the pandemic will be vital for economic recovery. It will create much-needed additional activity across the residential building supply chain," he said.

Around $19m of the package will be allocated for 200 additional shared-equity homes. These will be delivered in partnership with Keystart.

The Housing Industry Forecasting Group recently reduced its forecast for new dwelling commencements in WA for 2019-20 by 19%  from 15,500 to 12,500, the lowest level ever, adjusting for population.

"This downturn will hurt businesses and workers in the home-building supply chain over at least the next 12 months. Unfortunately, many in our industry are not eligible for the JobKeeper safety net because of the way state governments regulate home-building progress payments," Hart said.

Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia (REIWA) show that the Perth residential property market is already feeling the impact of sluggish building activity.

Damian Collins, president of REIWA, said the number of properties for sale and rent has already hit a six-year low.

"Perth's property market has been showing signs of recovery since October 2019, and while COVID-19 may delay this, it most likely won't stop it," he said. "The state's economy is coming back much quicker than many experts thought, and as long as it continues to recover, it is unlikely the property-market recovery will be reversed."

Collins said the limited stock will help support prices. He said the average discount accepted by sellers has reduced to 7%, lower than last year.

"If we were in a struggling market, we would see this number higher as sellers accepted lower than normal prices," he said. "There should not be any major downward price pressure, and it is likely that the current median sale price will remain relatively stable over the coming months."
Advertisement

Jeremy Hunt has ratcheted up the pressure on Downing Street to publish its scientific advice and put an end to Whitehall's coronavirus blame game.

A flurry of finger-pointing erupted yesterday as both ministers and experts shirked responsibility for blunders which have hamstrung the ability to fight the crisis.

The decision to abandon contact tracing early in the outbreak is quickly emerging as a political hot potato, with government figures scrambling to pass the buck.

Former Health Secretary Mr Hunt, who has been critical of the government's handling of the pandemic, turned the screw tighter last night and urged Number 10 make public the advice it receives from SAGE.

The one-time Tory leadership contender told Boris Johnson to mirror the model displayed by the Bank of England and opt for complete transparency.

'The only way to resolve this is to publish the scientific advice ministers were acting on,' Mr Hunt told the Times.

'We can't possibly know whether government was following the science if we don't know the advice they were given. If you publish the advice it gives a chance for other scientists to scrutinise it.'

Sage, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, which reports its advice to the Prime Minister, does not immediately publish its guidance and has come under fire for secrecy.

The covert nature of the advice has muddied the waters over whether the buck stops with politicians or scientists for a string of mistakes.

Jeremy Hunt has turned the screw on Downing Street to publish its scientific advice and put an end to Whitehall's coronavirus blame game

Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to track individual cases 'took account of the testing that was available'

The blame game kicked off yesterday when Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey broke cover to lament ministers being given 'wrong advice'.

Pushed on whether the government had made mistakes, Ms Coffey told Sky News that ministers could 'only make judgements and decisions based on the information and advice that we have at the time'.

'If the science advice at the time was wrong I am not surprised people think we made the wrong decision,' she said.

The row escalated further when Dame Angela McLean, chief science adviser at the Ministry of Defence, said the advice given to ministers to abandon efforts to track individual cases 'took account of the testing that was available'.

At the Downing Street briefing yesterday, she said: 'With the testing we had the right thing to do was to focus it on people who were really sick in hospital... it was the right thing to do at the time.'

She said the 'scientific advice would be that you need to have a rapid and reliable testing system'. Asked if that was now true, Dame Angela replied: 'I think it is getting better.'

Environment Secretary George Eustice stopped short of conceding explicitly that policy was driven by limits on testing capability, merely saying efforts were made to 'build the capacity'. 'We were building it very rapidly from a very early stage,' he said.

The admission came after the MPs said hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'.

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with checks reserved for hospital patients and health staff.

But the cross-party MPs said the failure to ramp up testing for the disease was the 'most consequential' error in the crisis, and crippled efforts to trace, track and isolate Britons with the disease.

Anger is also rising on the Tory backbenches, with one MP likening the response to the famous Morecambe and Wise comedy sketch where composer Andre Previn tells Eric he is 'playing all the wrong notes' in a piano piece, and he responds that he is 'playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order'.

Scots Royal Regiment of Scotland take a test sample at a Covid-19 testing centre at Glasgow Airport - but the scheme was lambasted today

Boris Johnson sits at the top of a complex chain of experts who have shaped crucial decisions on the coronavirus crisis. As chair of Cobra and the Cabinet, the PM has the final say on the UK's approach  but ministers insist they have faithfully followed the scientific advice at all times. The government's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance are the main 'gateways' through which expertise is channelled to the PM from a variety of scientific committees and groups

Environment Secretary George Eustice stopped short of conceding explicitly that policy was driven by limits on testing capability, merely saying efforts were made to 'build the capacity'

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey appeared to pass the buck in a round of interviews this morning, saying science advice might have been 'wrong'

How the UK's testing regime chaos collapsed into chaos - and the fateful day No 10 halted community testing before the pandemic's peak The UK's testing regime is under the microscope after ministers appeared too slow to act while today the UK still has no fully functioning trace and trace app despite already easing the lockdown. March 12 is viewed as the lowest point of the crisis when the Government dropped community testing despite experts around the world warning that testing every case was the only way to cut infections and save lives. The Government has been damned by MPs for still not explaining who took the decision - or exactly why - although a lack of capacity and a lack of control over the virus' spread are the likeliest answers. This is how the testing scandal has unfolded: January 31: First confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK are two Chinese nationals staying in York while sightseeing. The Department of Health pledges to test anyone who becomes ill with the virus. February 1: China reports asymptomatic cases of coronavirus, making the testing of health workers crucial because they could be spreading the virus unknowingly. An outbreak of COVID-19 had already swamped the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan. A British man on board would later die. February 21: As the virus continues to spread across the globe, the UK Government experts conclude at a meeting that the disease is still only a 'moderate' threat to the UK. Yet in Lombardy, Italy, clusters of cases began to emerge before the north of the country was engulfed completely. March 3: South Korea manages to reduce the number of Covid-19 infections to 851 on March 3 by effectively tracking people infected with COVID-19 using an app and testing. By the end of March there would be less than 20 cases per day. Doctors urge other countries to adopt their model. March 11: Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he is 'rolling out a big expansion of testing' but fails to give a timetable and says 1,215 people have been tested for coronavirus in the UK. March 12: 24 hours later Boris Johnson was accused of mixed messages after saying that health workers will no longer test people for the virus in their homes, only when they are admitted to hospital. Anyone with symptoms, but able to care for themselves at home, would not be tested and it marked the end of the policy to 'contact trace' everyone with symptoms on, as the government's response moves from 'containment' into a 'delay' phase. Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: 'It is no longer needed to identify every case, so we will pivot testing capacity to identify people in hospitals with symptoms to ensure they don't pass it on.' Critics have said that this is the day the Government lost control and conceded defeat on testing as cases increased and they didn't have the capacity to test every person. Downing Street has always refused to say who took the fateful decision to halt testing in the community on March 12, with many claiming it was this decision that led to it sweeping through communities and care homes. March 13: Chief Scientific Officer Patrick Vallance suggests the strategy is not to 'suppress' coronavirus completely but 'reduce the peak' as up to 60 per cent get infected. He says that means the UK will 'build up some kind of herd immunity so more people are immune to this disease'. March 16: Boris Johnson urges Britons to follow 'social distancing' guidelines as well as isolating when they have symptoms, in a change of policy after modelling found the death toll could be much higher than previously estimated. The WHO warns on slow progress with testing, saying you 'cannot fight a fire blindfolded' and urges countries to 'test, test, test'. March 17: There was more confusion as Patrick Vallance tells a Commons committee testing numbers should be higher. 'I think we need a big increase in testing, and that is what I am pushing for very hard.' March 18: Amid growing criticism, the PM declares that there will be a big expansion of tests from under 5,000 a day to 25,000. He also sets an ambition of 250,000 tests a day, although this includes potential mass antibody tests for whether people previously had the disease. March 21: Downing Street sends an email to research institutions begging for machines needed to process testing samples. No10 denies this was the first time it had raised the idea. March 27: Mr Johnson and Matt Hancock announce they have tested positive for coronavirus. Prof Whitty goes into self-isolation with symptoms. March 29: Cabinet ministers Matt Hancock and Michael Gove hail news that the UK is now carrying out 10,000 tests a day. April 1: It emerges that the UK has still not carried out 10,000 tests in a day, despite apparently having the capacity to do so. In Germany a single lab in Cologne was carrying out 10,000 tests itself. Germany would soon ramp up to 500,000 tests a week. April 2: Matt Hancock sets a target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. At the same time a goal of 25,000 tests a day by the middle of April is quietly dropped. April 5: The PM's official account causes confusion by tweeting that the target is for 100,000 people to be tested a day, rather than 100,000 tests as other ministers have suggested. Many people need more than one test in a day for clinical reasons, such as to confirm results. April 6: Mr Johnson is admitted to hospital as his symptoms fail to subside and would later spend days in intensive care. April 30: Mr Hancock declares victory with 122,000 tests in a day. However, it emerges that the government has been counting tests posted out but not actually completed. That is despite Mr Johnson and others stating the numbers are for tests 'carried out'. The numbers tumble below the target again in the following days, although the government insists capacity remains in place. May 5: Trials of an NHSX app to track who has been in proximity to infected people begin on the Isle of Wight. Chief scientific officer Patrick Vallance admits ramping up testing earlier would have been 'beneficial'. May 18: It emerges the app will not be ready for national use by 'mid-May' as planned, although Downing Street insists track and trace can start without it. Mr Hancock announces that everyone over the age of five displaying coronavirus symptoms can now apply for a test, although key workers and patients will be prioritised. May 19: A furious blame game erupted over who was to blame for coronavirus blunders on testing and care homes were down to 'wrong' science advice. The Science and Technology Committee found hospital staff, care home workers and residents were put at risk because of a lack of capacity for screening 'when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant'. The Department of Health and Public Health England have been pointing the finger at each other. Advertisement

The ability to detect and crack down on cases is seen as crucial to getting the economy up and running, with unions warning workplaces and schools cannot be safe until the regime is in place.

The committee hit out at Public Health England for the 'pivotal decision' to shun smaller labs and failure to make a 'rigorous assessment' of countries such as South Korea and Germany that had successfully ramped up testing.

But PHE chief Duncan Selbie shot back that it was 'not responsible' for the testing strategy, which 'has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care'.

He insisted 'any testing facility with the right technology and containment' could have carried out checks after security restrictions were lowered on March 3.

GMB's Piers Morgan also berated Ms Coffey for mistakenly claiming that 100,000 people had been tested on a 'handful' of days. In fact, while the government says it has hit the 100,000 tests a day target, the number of people checked is lower as many need to be done more than once for clinical reasons.

In a letter to Boris Johnson, committee chairman Greg Clark identified a series of lessons to learn from the UK's handling of the outbreak.

He said capacity must 'urgently' be built up for contact tracing, a key tactic in helping ease existing lockdown measures.

Mr Clark said: 'Testing capacity has been inadequate for most of the pandemic so far.

'Capacity was not increased early enough or boldly enough. Capacity drove strategy, rather than strategy driving capacity.'

Mr Hancock announced on April 2 that he wanted to reach 100,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of the month.

The goal was reached for the first time on April 30 but sparked accusations the figures had been inflated, as they included tests which had been posted out but not completed.

The milestone has been reached a handful of times since.

Mr Clark said PHE had repeatedly failed to answer questions over the 'pivotal' decision to ignore mass testing in favour of other tactics.

He said: 'The decision to pursue an approach of initially concentrating testing in a limited number of laboratories and to expand them gradually, rather than an approach of surging capacity through a large number of available public sector, research institute, university and private sector labs is one of the most consequential made during this crisis.

'From it followed the decision on March 12 to cease testing in the community and retreat to testing principally within hospitals.'

He said the decision meant that residents in care homes and care home workers could not be tested at a time when the spread of the virus was at its most rampant.

Mr Clark wrote: 'Had the public bodies responsible in this space themselves taken the initiative at the beginning of February, or even the beginning of March, rather than waiting until the Secretary of State imposed a target on April 2, knowledge of the spread of the pandemic and decisions about the response to it may have made more options available to decision makers at earlier stages.'

But in a statement to the BBC, Mr Selbie said the testing strategy was not PHE's responsibility.

'PHE did not constrain or seek to control any laboratory either public, university or commercial from conducting testing,' he said.

Downing Street rejected the criticism over testing.

'We set up the largest diagnostic testing industry in British history from scratch in a matter of weeks,' the PM's spokesman said.

The spokesman also dodged questions about Ms Coffey's intervention, stressing 'ministers make decisions, scientists advise'.

'The PM is hugely grateful for the hard work and expertise of the UK's world-leading scientists,' the spokesman said.

The Science committee identified concerns over the transparency of its Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency) membership amid concerns political interference could affect the guidance.

The report, based on evidence sessions with experts including Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, and Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, found the approach to dealing with asymptomatic carriers of Covid-19 was 'unclear'.

Separately, a care home chief blamed delayed advice and testing during a 'critical' period for having spread coronavirus throughout homes.

Barchester Healthcare chief executive Dr Pete Calveley, who said around two thirds of his homes have had Covid-19 cases, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had several weeks where their first reaction was to protect the NHS, where they wanted to discharge a lot of clients from hospital to make sure there was capacity for what they anticipated was a surcharge.

'And that meant a lot of people being discharged from care homes rather quickly who hadn't been tested and often we've seen where we've been doing large testing of care homes where asymptomatic staff, and particularly residents, are actually positive and therefore are freely moving through the home are infecting other residents and staff without anybody knowing about it until too late.'

Dr Calveley said there was a 'critical' period of up to four weeks before testing was available and advice was issued for staff to wear professional masks and isolation for new admissions.

'None of that advice came out until it was probably too late,' he said.

One former minister told the Telegraph the government's handling of the crisis was reminiscent of the famous Morecambe and Wise sketch featuring Andre Previn, the pianist and composer.

The MP said: 'It's like when Previn turns to Eric and says: 'You're not playing the right notes' and Eric grabs him by the lapels and replies: 'I am playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order'. Everything has been the wrong way round.'

On the plan for a 14-day quarantine period on arrivals to the UK, they added: 'That should have happened at the beginning of the crisis, not at the end.'

Ms Coffey defended the Government's coronavirus testing record as having improved from a 'standing start'.

Responding to the Commons Science and Technology Committee's criticism, she told BBC Breakfast: 'We had a small amount of capacity at the very start, it was solely based on Public Health England's capability of being able to have about 2,000 tests a day.

'We had little capacity early on, I recognise that, we have got a lot of capacity now.

'I think from pretty much a standing start, roughly in about mid-February I think it was, to get to a capacity and actual tests being done of 100,000 within about six weeks, I think is pretty full-on and actually I think something we can look on with pride.'

The row came as Downing Street announced the NHS contact tracing app  trailed on the Isle of Wight this month  will be launched across the country in the 'coming weeks'.

Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has called on Boris Johnson to start getting the economy working again and to reconsider the two-metre social distancing rule, after dire benefits claim figures show the highest rise since records began 50 years ago.

The Tory MP told Today that unemployment depends 'first and foremost (on) how quickly are we able to get the economy moving'?

'We need to get that moving as quick as possible and I've certainly been arguing that for some weeks now,' he said.

Ministers 'must stop claiming they are following the science' Ministers should stop claiming they are 'following the science' and stop passing the buck in the battle against coronavirus, a leading scientist has demanded. Sir Adrian Smith, 73, a statistician and the the incoming president of the Royal Society, said politicians are justifying their measures by saying they are following expert advice to appear decisive. He warned that blame should not be passed to scientists as the government are the ones implementing and making decisions in the battle against coronavirus. Sir Adrian also blasted the government's decision to make decisions behind closed doors, adding 'openness and transparency would have been a better option'. A full list of members of the government's secretive SAGE committee, which has advised on tackling the virus, was only published two weeks ago and minutes from its meetings have still to be released. Furious MPs have previously demanded research papers underpinning the government's coronavirus strategy are immediately released. Advertisement

On social distancing, Sir Iain said 'we're the only country certainly in Europe that I know of' that uses the two-metre rule.

'I think when it comes to the hospitality sector, I think we do need to look at it very carefully,' he said.

'So we do need to look at how they manage that process and give them some flexibility.

Meanwhile, ministers have been told to stop claiming they are 'following the science' and stop passing the buck in the battle against coronavirus.

Sir Adrian Smith, 73, a statistician and the the incoming president of the Royal Society, said politicians are justifying their measures by saying they are following expert advice to appear decisive.

He warned that blame should not be passed to scientists as the government are the ones implementing and making decisions in the battle against coronavirus.

Sir Adrian also blasted the government's decision to make decisions behind closed doors, adding 'openness and transparency would have been a better option'.

A full list of members of the government's secretive SAGE committee, which has advised on tackling the virus, was only published two weeks ago and minutes from its meetings have still to be released.

Furious MPs have previously demanded research papers underpinning the government's coronavirus strategy are immediately released.

The latest slides released bythe government tonight show the state of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK

PHE chief Dunan Selbie (right) said it was 'not responsible' for the testing strategy, which 'has been led by the Department of Health and Social Care' - Matt Hancock's (left) department

Abandoned to their fate: Elderly hospital patients with COVID-19 symptoms were discharged into care homes WITHOUT tests before virus killed 10,000 pensioners - despite warnings from around the world

Care home chief blames lack of testing for spread A care home chief has blamed delayed advice and testing during a 'critical' period for having spread coronavirus throughout homes. Barchester Healthcare chief executive Dr Pete Calveley, who said around two thirds of his homes have had Covid-19 cases, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've had several weeks where their first reaction was to protect the NHS, where they wanted to discharge a lot of clients from hospital to make sure there was capacity for what they anticipated was a surcharge. 'And that meant a lot of people being discharged from care homes rather quickly who hadn't been tested and often we've seen where we've been doing large testing of care homes where asymptomatic staff, and particularly residents, are actually positive and therefore are freely moving through the home are infecting other residents and staff without anybody knowing about it until too late.' Dr Calveley said there was a 'critical' period of up to four weeks before testing was available and advice was issued for staff to wear professional masks and isolation for new admissions. 'None of that advice came out until it was probably too late,' he said. Advertisement

Elderly hospital patients who had coronavirus symptoms were discharged into care homes without being tested despite warnings from around the world the crisis could grip the sector, industry bosses revealed today.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, told MPs the decision may be partly to blame for allowing COVID-19 to race through homes and kill more than 10,000 residents.

Routine testing for those with symptoms was abandoned on March 12, when the Government shifted to its 'delay' phase, with swabs reserved for critically ill hospital patients and NHS staff.

Professor Green said emphasis on saving the NHS led to elderly people with underlying health conditions - the most at risk of dying from the disease - being abandoned.

Prioritising hospitals over care homes also resulted in residents having their medical support cut off and PPE supplies for the sector being disrupted, according to Professor Green.

He told the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee today that 'very clear national strategy' was now needed from Government to prevent more waves of the virus ravaging the sector.

Adelina Comas-Herrera, assistant research fellow at the London School of Economics, told the committee that there was 'plenty of evidence' in March that care homes could be devastated by the crisis.

She said US research had shown that coronavirus patients were regularly asymptomatic, highlighting the need for stringent testing.

An Office for National Statistics report revealed today that at least 11,000 COVID-19 deaths occurred in England and Wales

However this is a modest estimate because it does not include care home deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland or residents who were moved to hospital before they passed away

It comes as an Office for National Statistics report revealed today that at least 11,000 COVID-19 deaths occurred in England and Wales. However this is a modest estimate because it does not include care home deaths in Scotland and Northern Ireland or residents who were moved to hospital before they passed away.

Researchers at the London School of Economics estimate at least 22,000 care home residents have died with coronavirus - half of the UK's overall fatalities.

Meanwhile, a damning Government study leaked today also revealed that untested temporary staff may have been inadvertently spreading the illness in the sector's scramble to fill vacancies left by workers in self-isolation.
Carnegie Hall was packed, including extra seats on the stage, for a recital by the pianist Yuja Wang. Her program offered 13 wildly contrasting works spanning three centuries, from Bach and Galuppi through Chopin and Brahms to Ravel, Scriabin, Berg and Federico Mompou.

But in a message that was broadcast to the audience before she appeared onstage, Ms. Wang alerted everyone that she might not follow the order of works as printed in their playbills.

I firmly believe every program should have its own life, and be a representation of how I feel at the moment, she said. I want to let the music surprise me. Please experience the concert with all of your senses and an open mind, and enjoy the ride.

Musical rides can certainly be enjoyable, especially with a superb artist like Ms. Wang as your guide. Yet as she began to play that night in late February, many in the audience looked confused. People all around me were rifling through their programs, trying to figure out whether they were hearing a sonata by Scriabin or Berg; a Chopin mazurka or a Brahms intermezzo; a watery piece by Ravel or a lilting work by Mompou.
National Agency for Food Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) has started working on coronavirus potential remedy drugs submitted by Nigerians, its Director-General (DG) Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye said yesterday.

The DG explained that the submissions were made after the agency called for expression of interest for the COVID-19 related medicines from researchers and practitioners.

The NAFDAC DG, who spoke on a television programme, said the four applications submitted would undergo due diligence.



The DG also said instead of spending huge amount of money to get the COVID Organic from Madagascar, she would prefer such money to be spent on herbal remedies produced in Nigeria.

Also yesterday Minister of Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the Federal Government is conducting a study on the efficacy of some drugs to treat patients who tested positive to Covid -19 in five centres in the country.

He said: As I said before, there is a study being done on the efficacy of some drugs by about five centres in our country and hydraulic chloroquine is one of them. When the result comes out, I will share with you.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Jewish In Berlin And Scoring High

If Jewish parents in Berlin worried that sending their children to a traditional Jewish school would leave them with compromised scholastics in math, history, and
ZTO Reports First Quarter 2020 Unaudited Financial Results

SHANGHAI, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO), a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China ("ZTO" or the "Company"), today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020[1]. Although adversely affected by the global pandemic COVID-19 outbreak, the Company delivered 4.9% volume growth to reach 2.4 billion parcels and achieved better than expected adjusted net income of RMB635.1 million.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

Revenues were RMB3,915.9 million ( US$553.0 million ), a decrease of 14.4% from RMB4,574.0 million in the same period of 2019.

( ), a decrease of 14.4% from in the same period of 2019. Gross profit was RMB818.7 million ( US$115.6 million ), a decrease of 35.0% from RMB1,259.6 million in the same period of 2019.

( ), a decrease of 35.0% from in the same period of 2019. Net income was RMB371.0 million ( US$52.4 million ), a decrease of 45.6% from RMB681.6 million in the same period of 2019.

( ), a decrease of 45.6% from in the same period of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA [2] was RMB1,173.4 million ( US$165.7 million ), a decrease of 18.6% from RMB1,441.0 million in the same period of 2019.

was ( ), a decrease of 18.6% from in the same period of 2019. Adjusted net income [3] was RMB635.1 million ( US$89.7 million ), a decrease of 34.3% from RMB966.4 million in the same period of 2019.

was ( ), a decrease of 34.3% from in the same period of 2019. Basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share ("ADS" [4] ) were RMB0.48 (US$0.07) , a decrease of 44.8% from RMB0.87 in the same period of 2019.

) were , a decrease of 44.8% from in the same period of 2019. Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share [5] attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB0.82 (US$0.12) , a decrease of

attributable to ordinary shareholders were , a decrease of 33.3% from RMB1.23 in the same period of 2019.

in the same period of 2019. Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB 177.8 million ( US$25.1 million ), compared with RMB 633.3 million in the same period of 2019.

Operational Highlights for First Quarter 2020

Parcel volume was 2,374 million, an increase of 4.9% from 2,264 million in the same period of 2019.

Number of pickup/delivery outlets was approximately 30,000 as of March 31, 2020 .

. Number of direct network partners was over 4,850 as of March 31, 2020 .

. Number of line-haul vehicles was over 7,700 as of March 31, 2020 , which included over 6,800 self-owned vehicles and over 900 vehicles owned and operated by Tonglu Tongze Logistics Ltd., a transportation operator that works exclusively for ZTO.

, which included over 6,800 self-owned vehicles and over 900 vehicles owned and operated by Tonglu Tongze Logistics Ltd., a transportation operator that works exclusively for ZTO. Number of self-owned trucks increased to around 6,800 as of March 31, 2020 from 6,450 as of December 31, 2019 . Among the self-owned trucks, over 5,000 were high capacity 15 to 17-meter-long models as of March 31, 2020 , compared to over 4,650 as of December 31, 2019 .

from 6,450 as of . Among the self-owned trucks, over 5,000 were high capacity 15 to 17-meter-long models as of , compared to over 4,650 as of . Number of line-haul routes between sorting hubs was over 2,900 as of March 31, 2020 , compared to over 2,600 as of December 31, 2019 .

, compared to over 2,600 as of . Number of sorting hubs was 90 as of March 31, 2020 , among which 81 are operated by the Company and 9 by the Company's network partners.

[1] An investor relations presentation accompanies this earnings release and can be found at ir.zto.com [2] Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before depreciation, amortization, interest expenses and

income tax expenses, and further adjusted to exclude the shared-based compensation expense and non-recurring items such as the gain on disposal of

equity investees and subsidiary which management aims to better represent the underlying business operations [3] Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure, which is defined as net income before share-based compensation expense and

non-recurring items such as gain on disposal of equity investees and subsidiary in which management aims to better represent the underlying

business operations [4] One ADS represents one Class A ordinary share [5] Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per American depositary share attributable to ordinary shareholders is a non-GAAP financial measure. It is

defined as adjusted net income divided by weighted average number of basic and diluted shares, respectively.

Mr. Meisong Lai, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZTO, commented, "ZTO's overall results for the quarter were satisfactory. The entire country faced challenges brought by COVID-19 outbreak and made tremendous effort and sacrifices. Express delivery business as a whole was able to return to normal operations ahead of many other industries, thanks to policy support and robust consumption demand. We saw our average daily volume in the first half of May reached record high and exceeded 50 million parcels. Our core business strategy is intact, which is focused on accelerated market share gain and increasing volume lead while maintaining quality of services and achieving net profit growth."

Mr. Lai added, "Chinese domestic consumption and particularly, innovations in ecommerce is rapidly transforming the Chinese economy and augmenting the traditional distribution channels. The time and spatial distance between consumers and the origins of goods and services are compressing. We believe competition is likely to further escalate in the near term, however, the industry growth prospects remain positive. We must, on one hand, constantly reach up to find new equilibrium in higher capacity and utilization in order to ensure operational efficiencies and quality of earnings. On the other hand, we must seize opportunities and evolve with the economy, and regenerate relevant competitive advantages to stay ahead of the curve. At the recent celebration of our founding anniversary, we recounted our journey in the past 18 years and renewed our resolve and commitment. Our road ahead may present many challenges but even more opportunities. We have only just begun."

Ms. Huiping Yan, Chief Financial Officer of ZTO, added, "Because of the orderly recovery in operations as well as a healthy growth in ecommerce spending since March, we achieved positive results during the first quarter by expanding volume market share by 0.3 points to 18.9%, and achieving an adjusted net income of 635.1 million. During the quarter, we kept up with market level subsidies to incentivize volume growth. At the same time, we leveraged our strong cash reserves to support many of our network partners to ease liquidity pressures and ensure pickup and delivery activities were normalized and outlets could stay ahead as competition intensified."

Ms. Yan added, "Relief and stimulus policies are positively supporting the economic recovery, and consumer demands appeared strong. Statistics shown that ecommerce growth lead the retail spending, and express delivery industry is at the forefront acting as a catalyst. Our parcel volume has surged to a new level and we must recalibrate capacity investment and output efficiencies while navigating through a highly competitive landscape. Our recent corporate initiatives for building standardized operations and procedures, which emphasize more on process management and measurable outcomes, will help further harness efficiencies, improve productivities and drive results."

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB % RMB US$ % (in thousands, except percentages) Express delivery services 4,059,372 88.7 3,406,410 481,077 87.0 Freight forwarding services 289,314 6.3 295,476 41,729 7.5 Sale of accessories 208,838 4.6 177,025 25,001 4.5 Others 16,506 0.4 36,978 5,222 1.0 Total revenues 4,574,030 100.0 3,915,889 553,029 100.0

Revenues were RMB3,915.9 million (US$553.0 million), a decrease of 14.4% from RMB4,574.0 million in the same period of 2019. Revenue from the core express delivery business decreased by 15.5% compared to the same period of 2019, as a combined result of a 4.9% increase in parcel volume and a 19.4% decrease in unit price per parcel mainly to provide extra support to the network partners in order to maintain competitiveness and to cope with the negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Revenue from freight forwarding services increased 2.1% compared to the same period of 2019, mainly due to increased cross border e-commerce demand during the COVID-19 outbreak. Revenue from sales of accessories, largely consisting of the sales of thermal paper used for digital waybills' printing, declined 15.2% due to use of lower-priced single-sheet digital waybill since second half of last year. Other revenues were mainly derived from financing services and advertising services.

Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB % of RMB US$ % of revenues revenues (in thousands, except percentages) Line-haul transportation cost 1,594,007 34.8 1,297,417 183,231 33.1 Sorting hub cost 891,069 19.5 965,756 136,391 24.7 Freight forwarding cost 283,115 6.2 287,613 40,619 7.3 Cost of accessories sold 119,686 2.6 74,475 10,518 1.9 Other costs 426,562 9.4 471,968 66,653 12.1 Total cost of revenues 3,314,439 72.5 3,097,229 437,412 79.1

Total cost of revenues was RMB3,097.2 million (US$437.4 million), a decrease of 6.6% from RMB3,314.4 million in the same period last year.

Line haul transportation cost was RMB1,297.4 million ( US$183.2 million ), a decrease of 18.6% from RMB1,594.0 million in the same period last year, accordingly, line-haul transportation cost per parcel declined 22.4% to RMB0.55 . The decrease was primarily due to (i) reduced toll road fee charges based on a federal waiver policy which took effect in mid-February and lasted through early May,(ii) higher usage of self-owned vehicles with increasing number of higher-capacity trailer trucks, andiiidecrease in domestic diesel price due to decline in global oil demand triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

was ( ), a decrease of 18.6% from in the same period last year, accordingly, line-haul transportation cost per parcel declined 22.4% to . The decrease was primarily due to (i) reduced toll road fee charges based on a federal waiver policy which took effect in mid-February and lasted through early May,(ii) higher usage of self-owned vehicles with increasing number of higher-capacity trailer trucks, andiiidecrease in domestic diesel price due to decline in global oil demand triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak. Sorting hub operating cost was RMB965.8 million ( US$136.4 million ), an increase of 8.4% from RMB891.1 million in the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to (i) an RMB8.8 million ( US$1.2 million ) increase associated with labor costs, the headcount of sorting hub workers increased 12.7% year over year, and (ii) an RMB58.1 million ( US$8.2 million ) increase in depreciation and amortization costs associated with the increased number of installed automated sorting equipment. As of March 31, 2020 , 265 sets of automated sorting equipment have been placed into service, compared to 130 sets as of March 31, 2019 . The sorting hub operation cost per parcel increased 3.4% to RMB0.41 , as a result of declined parcel volume in the first two months of 2020 where sorting hubs were forced to temporarily close down due to the COVID-19 outbreak until gradually returned to operations in mid-to-late February.

was ( ), an increase of 8.4% from in the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to (i) an ( ) increase associated with labor costs, the headcount of sorting hub workers increased 12.7% year over year, and (ii) an ( ) increase in depreciation and amortization costs associated with the increased number of installed automated sorting equipment. As of , 265 sets of automated sorting equipment have been placed into service, compared to 130 sets as of . The sorting hub operation cost per parcel increased 3.4% to , as a result of declined parcel volume in the first two months of 2020 where sorting hubs were forced to temporarily close down due to the COVID-19 outbreak until gradually returned to operations in mid-to-late February. Cost of accessories was RMB74.5 million ( US$10.5 million ), a decrease of 37.8% from RMB119.7 million in the same period last year. The decrease was mainly driven by the increased use of lower-cost single-sheet digital waybill since the second half of 2019.

was ( ), a decrease of 37.8% from in the same period last year. The decrease was mainly driven by the increased use of lower-cost single-sheet digital waybill since the second half of 2019. Other costs were RMB472.0 million ( US$66.7 million ), an increase of RMB45.4 million ( US$6.4 million ) compared to the same period last year. The increase was mainly resulted from (i) an increase of RMB27.3 million ( US$3.9 million ) in expenses related to IT and technology development, and (ii) an increase of RMB12.8 million ( US$1.8 million ) in dispatching costs serving enterprise customers with associated volume increase of 12.8%.

Gross Profit was RMB818.7 million (US$115.6million), a decrease of 35.0% from RMB1,259.6 million in the same period last year. Gross margin rate decreased to 20.9% from 27.5% in the same period last year mainly driven by combined effects of 4.9% volume growth, unit cost productivity gain of 10.9% partially offsetting overall ASP decline of 18.4% due to competition and COVID-19 outbreak.

Total Operating Expenses were RMB446.6 million (US$63.1 million), compared to RMB499.7 million in the same period last year.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were RMB560.1 million ( US$79.1 million ), compared to RMB557.8 million in the same period last year.

were ( ), compared to in the same period last year. Other operating income, net was RMB113.4 million ( US$16.0 million ) for the quarter, compared to RMB 58.1 million in the same period last year. Other operating income mainly consisted of (i) government subsidies and tax rebates of RMB75.4 million ( US$10.6 million ) received in the first quarter of 2020, and (ii) RMB41.7 million ( US$5.9 million ) of VAT super deduction recognized in the first quarter of 2020.

Income from operations was RMB372.0 million (US$52.5 million), a decrease of 51.0% from RMB759.9 million for the same period last year. Operating margin rate decreased to 9.5% from 16.6% in the same period last year, mainly driven by a 6.6 percentage points decrease in gross margin.

Interest income was RMB126.2 million (US$17.8 million), compared with RMB146.5 million in the same period in 2019.

Foreign currency exchange gain, before tax was RMB16.5million (US$2.3 million) in the first quarter of 2020.

Income tax expenses were RMB129.8 million (US$18.3 million) compared to RMB191.9 million in the same period in 2019. The decrease in the income tax expenses was mainly due to the decrease of operational profit before tax. The effective income tax rate was 25.2% while the share-based compensation expenses were non-tax-deductible and interest income from onshore US dollar deposits was taxed at a reduced 10% rate.

Net income was RMB371.0 million (US$52.4 million), a decrease of 45.6% from RMB681.6 million in the same period last year.

Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB0.48 (US$0.07), compared with basic and diluted earnings per ADS of RMB0.87 in the same period last year.

Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB0.82 (US$0.12), compared with RMB1.23 in the same period last year.

Adjusted net income was RMB635.1 million (US$89.7 million), compared with RMB966.4 million during the same period last year.

EBITDA was RMB909.3 million (US$128.4 million), compared with RMB1,156.2 million in the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA was RMB1,173.4 million (US$165.7 million), compared to RMB1,441.0 million in the same period last year.

Net cash provided by operating activities was RMB177.8 million (US$25.1 million), compared with RMB633.3 million in the same period last year. The decrease in net cash provided by operating activities resulted mainly from (i) RMB310.7 million (US$43.9 million) decrease in net profit, and (ii) RMB209.1 million (US$29.5 million) increase in accounts receivables related to qualified network partners who were granted late payment terms for transit fees during COVID-19 outbreak.

Business Outlook

Even though there still exist uncertainties in the economic development in the world, the management maintains an optimistic outlook and is confident in delivering positive top and bottom-line growth for the entire year. The Company targets to achieve an annual parcel volume in the range of 15.9 billion to 16.4 billion for 2020, representing a 37% to 42% increase for the combined last three quarters of the year, and the adjusted net income is expected to be in the range of RMB5.39 billion to RMB5.83 billion, representing a 10% to 20% increase for the combined last three quarters of the year. Above estimates represent management's current and preliminary view, which are subject to change.

Company Share Purchase

On November 15, 2018, the Company announced a new share repurchase program whereby ZTO was authorized to repurchase its own Class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs with an aggregate value of up to US$500 million during an 18-month period thereafter. On March 13, 2020, the board of directors of the Company approved the extension of the current share repurchase program to June 30, 2021. The Company expects to fund the repurchase out of its existing cash balance. As of March 31, 2020, the Company has purchased an aggregate of 7,716,436 ADSs at an average purchase price of US$17.33, including repurchase commissions.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translation of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars were made at the exchange rate of RMB7.0808 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate on March 31, 2020 as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Systems.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, each a non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating ZTO's operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes.

Reconciliations of the Company's non-GAAP financial measures to its U.S. GAAP financial measures are shown in tables at the end of this earnings release, which provide more details about the non-GAAP financial measures.

The Company believes that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income help identify underlying trends in ZTO's business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of the expenses and gains that the Company includes in income from operations and net income. The Company believes that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by ZTO's management in its financial and operational decision-making.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income should not be considered in isolation or construed as an alternative to net income or any other measure of performance or as an indicator of the Company's operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review the historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income 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 ZTO's data. ZTO encourages investors and others to review the Company's financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

Conference Call Information

ZTO's management team will host an earnings conference call at 9:00 PM U.S. Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 20, 2020 (9:00 AM Beijing Time on May 21, 2020).

Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

United States: 1-888-317-6003 Hong Kong: 852-5808-1995 Mainland China: 4001-206-115 International: 1-412-317-6061 Passcode: 5776219

Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the passcode to join the call.

A replay of the conference call may be accessed by phone at the following numbers until March 27, 2020:

United States: 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Passcode: 10143427

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at http://zto.investorroom.com.

About ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO) ("ZTO" or the "Company") is a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China.

ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain.

For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the Company's unaudited results for the first quarter of 2020, ZTO management quotes and the Company's financial outlook.

These forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding expected results and events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of its control. The Company's actual results and other circumstances may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and events indicated in these forward-looking statements. Announced results for the first quarter of 2020 are preliminary, unaudited and subject to audit adjustment. In addition, the Company may not meet its financial outlook included in this news release and may be unable to grow its business in the manner planned. The Company may also modify its strategy for growth. In addition, there are other risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from what it currently anticipates, including those relating to the development of the e-commerce industry in China, its significant reliance on the Alibaba ecosystem, risks associated with its network partners and their employees and personnel, intense competition which could adversely affect the Company's results of operations and market share, any service disruption of the Company's sorting hubs or the outlets operated by its network partners or its technology system. For additional information on these and other important factors that could adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects, please see its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this release, except as required by law. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

Summary of Unaudited Consolidated Comprehensive Income Data: Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands, except for share and per share data) Revenues 4,574,030 3,915,889 553,029 Cost of revenues (3,314,439) (3,097,229) (437,412) Gross profit 1,259,591 818,660 115,617 Operating income (expenses): Selling, general and administrative (557,778) (560,051) (79,094) Other operating income, net 58,102 113,403 16,016 Total operating expenses (499,676) (446,648) (63,078) Income from operations 759,915 372,012 52,539 Other income (expenses): Interest income 146,471 126,227 17,827 Interest expense  (291) (41) Loss on disposal of equity investees and subsidiary (529)   Foreign currency exchange gain/(loss), before tax (25,954) 16,453 2,324 Income before income tax, and share of loss in equity method investments 879,903 514,401 72,649 Income tax expense (191,858) (129,772) (18,327) Share of loss in equity method investments (6,398) (13,656) (1,929) Net income 681,647 370,973 52,393 Net (income)/loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (932) 3,727 526 Net income attributable to ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. 680,715 374,700 52,919 Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders 680,715 374,700 52,919 Net earnings per share/ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders Basic 0.87 0.48 0.07 Diluted 0.87 0.48 0.07 Weighted average shares used in calculating net earnings per ordinary share/ADS Basic 786,032,440 782,354,037 782,354,037 Diluted 786,212,265 782,553,924 782,553,924 Other comprehensive income, net of tax of nil: Foreign currency translation adjustment (344,228) 176,926 24,987 Comprehensive income 337,419 547,899 77,380 Comprehensive (income)/loss attributable to noncontrolling interests (932) 3,727 526 Comprehensive income attributable to ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. 336,487 551,626 77,906

Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheets Data: As of December 31, March 31, 2020 2019 RMB RMB US$ ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 5,270,204 5,020,188 708,986 Restricted cash 7,210 21,169 2,990 Accounts receivable, net 675,567 750,400 105,977 Financing receivables, net 511,124 500,373 70,666 Short-term investment 11,113,217 10,117,308 1,428,837 Inventories 43,845 56,129 7,927 Advances to suppliers 438,272 341,798 48,271 Prepayments and other current assets 1,964,506 2,035,863 287,518 Amounts due from related parties 74,312 84,246 11,898 Total current assets 20,098,257 18,927,474 2,673,070 Investments in equity investees 3,109,494 3,134,650 442,697 Property and equipment, net 12,470,632 13,370,657 1,888,298 Land use rights, net 2,508,860 3,028,158 427,658 Intangible assets, net 48,029 46,480 6,564 Operating lease right-of-use assets 901,956 810,479 114,462 Goodwill 4,241,541 4,241,541 599,020 Deferred tax assets 403,587 424,898 60,007 Long-term investment 946,180 1,058,080 149,429 Long-term financing receivables, net 549,775 697,313 98,479 Other non-current assets 612,191 713,003 100,695 TOTAL ASSETS 45,890,502 46,452,733 6,560,379 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities Short-term bank borrowing  300,000 42,368 Accounts payable 1,475,258 1,176,627 166,171 Advances from customers 1,210,887 1,237,940 174,831 Income tax payable 80,272   Amounts due to related parties 38,943 17,042 2,407 Operating lease liabilities 298,728 268,483 37,917 Acquisition consideration payable 22,942 22,942 3,240 Dividends payable 1,629 1,666,837 235,402 Other current liabilities 3,552,288 3,459,218 488,535 Total current liabilities 6,680,947 8,149,089 1,150,871 Non-current operating lease liabilities 504,442 444,899 62,832 Deferred tax liabilities 207,896 204,715 28,911 Other non-current liabilities 93,820 95,424 13,476 TOTAL LIABILITIES 7,487,105 8,894,127 1,256,090 Shareholders' equity Ordinary shares (US$0.0001 par value; 10,000,000,000 shares authorized, 803,551,115 shares issued and 781,947,464 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2019; 803,551,115 shares issued and 783,894,733 shares outstanding as of March 31, 2020) 517 517 73 Additional paid-in capital 22,336,594 20,852,512 2,944,937 Treasury shares, at cost (1,436,767) (1,350,529) (190,731) Retained earnings 16,726,540 17,101,240 2,415,157 Accumulated other comprehensive income 675,720 852,646 120,417 ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. shareholders' equity 38,302,604 37,456,386 5,289,853 Noncontrolling interests 100,793 102,220 14,436 Total Equity 38,403,397 37,558,606 5,304,289 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 45,890,502 46,452,733 6,560,379

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial InstrumentsCredit Losses (Topic 326), which requires all entities to disclose their current estimate of all expected credit losses. The Group adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective transition method and no material adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings of 2020 was necessary. The adoption of this new ASU has no material impact on its consolidated financial position, results of operations or cashflow.

Summary of Unaudited Consolidated Cash Flow Data: Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands) Net cash provided by operating activities 633,270 177,791 25,109 Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities 895,365 (714,703) (100,935) Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities (14,009) 297,654 42,037 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (45,233) 17,315 2,445 Net increase/(decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 1,469,393 (221,943) (31,344) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 4,622,954 5,277,414 745,313 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period 6,092,347 5,055,471 713,969 The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the condensed consolidated balance sheets

that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows: As of March 31, 2019 March 31, 2020 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands) Cash and cash equivalents 6,092,247 5,020,188 708,986 Restricted cash, current 100 21,169 2,990 Restricted cash, non-current  14,114 1,993 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 6,092,347 5,055,471 713,969

Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands, except for share and per share data) Net income 681,647 370,973 52,393 Add: Share-based compensation expense 284,264 264,154 37,306 Loss on disposal of equity investees and subsidiary, net

of income taxes 529   Adjusted net income 966,440 635,127 89,699 Net income 681,647 370,973 52,393 Add: Depreciation 271,423 392,580 55,443 Amortization 11,293 15,648 2,210 Interest expenses  291 41 Income tax expenses 191,858 129,772 18,327 EBITDA 1,156,221 909,264 128,414 Add: Share-based compensation expense 284,264 264,154 37,306 Loss on disposal of equity investees and subsidiary, net

of income taxes 529   Adjusted EBITDA 1,441,014 1,173,418 165,720 Three Months Ended March 31, 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ (in thousands, except for share and per share data) Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders 680,715 374,700 52,919 Add: Share-based compensation expense 284,264 264,154 37,306 Loss on disposal of equity investees, net of income taxes 529   Adjusted Net income attributable to ordinary shareholders 965,508 638,854 90,225 Weighted average shares used in calculating net earnings per

ordinary share/ADS Basic 786,032,440 782,354,037 782,354,037 Diluted 786,212,265 782,553,924 782,553,924 Net earnings per share/ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders Basic 0.87 0.48 0.07 Diluted 0.87 0.48 0.07 Adjusted net earnings per share/ADS attributable to ordinary

shareholders Basic 1.23 0.82 0.12 Diluted 1.23 0.82 0.12

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

ZTO

Investor Relations Department

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +86 21 5980 4508

SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.
Manitobans anxious for things to return to normal will find out later this week how more restrictions will be relaxed, but the move is tempered by the announcement that the province's latest case involves an employee at the Southdale Walmart.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 19/5/2020 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitobans anxious for things to return to normal will find out later this week how more restrictions will be relaxed, but the move is tempered by the announcement that the province's latest case involves an employee at the Southdale Walmart.

Province fills in some data gaps with COVID-19 surveillance report Click to Expand An electron microscope image shows the virus that causes COVID-19. Posted: 10:04 PM May. 19, 2020 If someone in your home is infected with COVID-19, you have about a 10 per cent chance of contracting it yourself. And while 47.1 per cent of Manitobans contracted the novel coronavirus while travelling, with another 41.5 per cent getting it from close contact with someone already infected, health officials have not yet been able to figure out where another 11.1 per cent picked it up. Read Full Story

The province's chief public health officer said the employee may have exposed people to COVID-19 more than a week ago.

"It shows how easily an outbreak can occur," Dr. Brent Roussin said Tuesday.

The employee last worked the evening of May 9, was tested on May 14 and the result came back positive on the long weekend, Roussin said at his first press briefing since Friday.

"There's minimal risk in this situation," the doctor said. The worker who was on the floor of the Walmart from 4 to 9 p.m. a week ago Saturday practised social distancing, and didn't have close, prolonged contact with anyone, he said.

"In most of our case investigations, we can identify all the contacts," Roussin said, explaining that in this case, there's a five-hour window at an indoor place with multiple people coming and going.

"We thought this is something the public should be made aware of."

Written information about the retail employee testing positive was not included in the daily press release and wasn't posted as of Tuesday afternoon on the province's COVID-19 page that notifies the public of flights and events where there have been confirmed cases.

"It shows how easily an outbreak can occur."  Dr. Brent Roussin

Anyone who was in that Walmart at that time on that day and develops symptoms should get tested for COVID-19, Roussin said.

"It's really important to understand that it's only during that time that you need to be at all concerned," said Roussin. "It's not the day after, it's not today."

How the worker became infected can't be traced to any known cases or local contacts, which is concerning, he said.

"We can't link this case to anything (or anyone) in particular, so we know the virus is still here," Roussin warned.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Shoppers at the Walmart in the Southdale Shopping Centre Tuesday afternoon after it was announced that the latest person testing positive with COVID-19 in Manitoba is an employee at the store.

But given the increased number of tests being performed and the low numbers of people testing positive, the situation is not running amok, he said.

Manitoba's numbers are "dramatically low," compared to Canada overall, he said. The province's test-positive proportion right now is less than one per cent, while the Canadian average is close to six or seven per cent of tests performed that come back positive.

"It's nice to see that," he said after 35,578 tests in Manitoba have turned up only 290 positive cases. No new cases were reported Tuesday.

"I think it looks favourable for us," he said.

"We've come up with a pretty good plan. It's not quite finalized yet. We're hoping to share the details of that Phase 2 plan later this week."  Dr. Brent Roussin

So favourable, that later this week he expects to announce the province can move to Phase 2 of restoring services before the June 1 target. The initial reopening plan Premier Brian Pallister unveiled in late April said Phase 2 should happen no earlier than June 1. The second phase includes increasing the size of public gatherings now limited to 10, allowing manicurists and pedicurists to reopen, as well as indoor restaurants at half-capacity.

Travel in North off limits Travel to Northern Manitoba remains restricted even though there hasn't been a positive case of COVID-19 reported for close to seven weeks. "That was the goal  to not have cases up north," Dr. Brent Roussin said Tuesday. So far, three people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Manitoba's North with no cases on any First Nations. click to read more Travel to Northern Manitoba remains restricted even though there hasn't been a positive case of COVID-19 reported for close to seven weeks. "That was the goal  to not have cases up north," Dr. Brent Roussin said Tuesday. So far, three people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Manitoba's North with no cases on any First Nations. While a very low test-positive proportion is enough for restrictions to be lifted in the rest of the province, that's not the case north of the 53rd parallel, he said. "Remote, isolated communities are susceptible to outbreaks," he said. With more chronic health issues, crowded homes, fewer services and limited access to medical help, remote isolated communities are vulnerable to an outbreak of the potentially deadly virus and need to be protected from COVID-19. That isn't likely to change until a vaccine or effective treatment is developed. And it raises the question of how long Manitoba will restrict travel to the entire province north of the 53rd parallel. "We are going to likely be dealing with the virus for a long time," said Roussin. "At this point, relatively early on in the pandemic, we have to do what we can to protect those who are vulnerable and susceptible to severe outcomes like outbreaks." The province will have to come up with ways of dealing with the virus, he said. "Right now, as we gradually reopen things, we have to pay extra attention to make sure we're not introducing this virus to places that are very susceptible to large outbreaks." Even if travel was restricted to only remote isolated communities in the North, people from those communities will still need to travel to larger centres, Roussin said. "We're always looking at ways to balance these things to ensure we're allowing for economic activity to occur, but in a safe way." In the meantime, anyone who knowingly violates the northern travel restriction risks a hefty fine. Over the long weekend, Thompson RCMP charged eight people for violating public health orders for non-essential travel past the 53rd parallel. Each of those charged said they were visiting friends and family in the Thompson area and knew that a travel restriction was in place but chose to ignore it, the RCMP said Tuesday. Seven Winnipeg residents and one from Dauphin were issued $486 fines. "Most Manitobans follow the advice," said Roussin. "Some require a bit of education or a reminder or assistance with how they can comply," he said. "There are the rare ones that persistently don't follow orders. Those are the ones that would get the tickets or the fines," Roussin said. Close

Roussin wouldn't release any details of what the next stage of reopening will look like.

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.

"We've come up with a pretty good plan," he said. "It's not quite finalized yet. We're hoping to share the details of that Phase 2 plan later this week."

He said any negative impacts or a spike of COVID-19 cases from Manitobans being out and about on the long weekend wouldn't be noticeable for a week or two  the incubation period for the virus. Public health is waiting to see if anyone connected to the latest Winnipeg case tests positive.

"This is a reminder of the importance as we move to re-open things that we have to ensure we're not out in public when we're ill," Roussin said.

For restrictions to lift, Manitobans have to stay home when they're sick, keep social distancing and wash their hands frequently so the number of coronavirus cases stays low, he said.

"We could see that upward trend again if we let up on our precautions," he said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
The embattled Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, has resigned from office.

Mr Gwarzos resignation comes amidst graft allegations and trial for corruption as well as his tough stance that an audit of the indigenous oil firm, Oando, be conducted.

Mr Gwarzo repeatedly said that his suspension from office in 2017 was because he insisted on the audit of Oando, one of Nigerias largest and most influential indigenous oil firm.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday accepted Mr Gwarzos resignation as SEC director-general, an official said.

The resignation takes effect from January 9, 2020.

A letter with reference number BD//2000//EXP/216/315 conveying President Buharis acceptance of the embattled officials resignation was dated May 18, 2020, according to the Permanent Secretary of the finance ministry, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, in a statement.

The letter titled: RE: RESIGNATION AS DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, reads:

I write to refer to your letter dated 9th January, 2020 on the above subject and convey acceptance of your resignation as the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission by the President of the Federal Commission of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, with effect from 9th January, 2020.

Securities and Exchange Commission has been directed to pay you all the benefits you are entitled to.

End Of An Era?

The presidents acceptance of Mr Gwarzos resignation appears to mark the end of a long-drawn battle he waged in his bid to return to office after he was suspended by the then Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, on November 2017.

The minister said Mr Gwarzo, who was appointed in 2015, was suspended from office to allow for an unhindered investigation of several allegations of financial impropriety levelled against him.

Mr Gwarzo, however, said he was suspended because he ordered an audit into Oando.

Mr Gwarzo said Mrs Adeosun pressured him to drop the Oando investigation which he declined.

That audit and its findings were later embroiled in legal controversies.

Mr Gwarzo was suspended alongside two other senior officials of SEC: the then head of media division, Abdulsalam Habu, and the head of legal department, Anastasia Braimoh.

In January 2018, the administrative panel of inquiry constituted to investigate the allegations of abuse of office against Mr Gwarzo recommended his immediate dismissal from the public service.

In June 2018, the embattled former SEC DG was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) on a five-count charge for alleged fraud.

He was arraigned alongside a commissioner at the commission, Zakawanu Garuba. They were accused of abusing their offices and breaching public trust by diverting over N114 million while they served as officers of the commission in June, 2015.

However, in April 2019, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court discharged and acquitted Mr Gwarzo of all charges of fraud filed against him and his co accused.

Also, in May 2019, Justice Sanusi Kado of the National Industrial Court, Abuja ordered Mr Gwarzos immediate reinstatement back to his position.

In his ruling in the case brought by Mr Gwarzo, Justice Kado held that the then minister of finance lacked the power to suspend him from office.

In the absence of the board of SEC, the judge said, the minister, who only exercises supervisory power, did not have disciplinary powers to suspend Mr Gwarzo.

However, following an appeal filed by the ICPC against the ruling of the court to free Mr Gwarzo of the corruption charges, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the former DG resorted to seeking a political solution that would guarantee him a soft landing.

Advertisements



It was learnt that part of the political solution to the crisis was the need for him to seek retirement from service.

Mr Gwarzo later sent his resignation letter, dated January 9, to the president.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a new Director-General of SEC. He is Lamido Yuguda.

Mr Isa-Dutse said the new director-general should give priorities should to investors protection and effective implementation of capital market master plan, if confirmed by the Senate.

A fresh trial

It is unclear how President Buharis acceptance of Mr Gwarzos resignation will affect a new case filed by the ICPC against the former SEC chief.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the ICPC, in March, arraigned Mr Gwarzo at an FCT High Court in Apo.

He was arraigned alongside a Principal Manager, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Jamila Muhammad.

Mr Gwarzo and Mrs Muhammad were arraigned before Justice Olukayode Adeniyi on 14 counts bordering on gratification and abuse of office.

ICPC alleged that Mr Gwarzo on or about December 28, 2016, while serving as SEC DG, knowingly held a private interest as a director and shareholder of Outbound Investment Limited, a company which was awarded a contract to supply and install 12 units of air conditioners.

The anti-graft agency alleged that four units of refrigerators at SEC Lagos zonal office were bought by SEC for N3.4 million contrary to and punishable under Section 12 of Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Act, 2000.

ICPC also alleged that, among things, Mr Gwarzo used his position as SEC DG to gratify himself when Outbound Investment Limited was awarded the contract to supply and install 12 units of air conditioners and four units of refrigerators at SEC Lagos zonal office by the commission, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the ICPC Act.

The ICPC alleged that Mrs Muhammad, around November 15, 2015, while being a public officer, used her position as Principal Manager at NIMC to gratify herself.

ICPC alleged that Outlook Communications Limited, where she was a shareholder and director, was awarded a contract to air a 60-minute awareness campaign radio jingle on e-dividend in the North-East region for the sum of N798 million, contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the ICPC Act.

She was further, alleged to have knowingly and directly held a private interest as a shareholder and director of Outlook Communications Limited, which was awarded a contract to air a 60-minute awareness campaign radio jingle on e-dividend in the North-Central states for the sum of N1.3 million by SEC thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12 of Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Act, 2000.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them in court.

They were granted bail by the court and the matter adjourned.
The Telangana government has so



far deployed 75 special trains and ferried more than one lakh people, spending over Rs six crore, Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao said and alleged the Centre made zero contribution for it.

In a tweet, Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, said: As a responsible Govt, Telangana has so far run 75 trains; shramik specials, ferrying one lakh plus people to various states."



State has paid over Rs 6 Cr to Railways & not charged even a single Paisa to workers. Food & water included... Zero contribution from GoI; strange but a fact, Rama Rao, also the Working President of ruling TRS, maintained.

His charge comes days after Chandrasekhar Rao mounted a strong attack on the Centre over the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package and accused it of treating states like 'beggars' by linking rise in borrowing limits to certain conditions.

The Centre has said it was bearing 85 per cent of the cost of running the special trains to ferry migrant workers and as of Tuesday more than 1,600 Shramik specials had been operated carrying over 21.5 lakh people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Afghan president and rival strike power-sharing deal after months of feuding

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah signed a power-sharing deal to end a months-long political stalemate, Ghani's spokesman said on Sunday, a step that could smooth efforts to end the country's long-running war. Abdullah had disputed the results of an election in September and announced the formation of a parallel government earlier this year, undermining Ghani's administration at a time when the United States was trying to advance a peace process with the Taliban to end the 19-year Afghan war.

Netanyahu's new Israeli government approved, eyes West Bank annexations

Israel's parliament approved on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new unity government, ending more than a year of political deadlock, but he still faces a trial starting next week for alleged corruption. His decision to share power with former rival, centrist Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, opens the way for Netanyahu to proceed towards a pledged annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians seek for a state.

Iran complains to U.N., summons envoy over U.S. threat on Venezuela shipment

Iran complained to the United Nations on Sunday and summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents U.S. interests in the Islamic Republic, over possible measures Washington could take against an Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela. A senior official in U.S. President Donald Trump's administration told Reuters on Thursday the United States was considering measures it could take in response to Iran's shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela.

Pompeo warns China over interference with U.S. journalists in Hong Kong

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said it had come to his attention that the Chinese government had threatened to interfere with the work of U.S. journalists in Hong Kong, and said any decision impinging on Hong Kong's autonomy could affect the U.S. assessment of Hong Kong's status. "These journalists are members of a free press, not propaganda cadres, and their valuable reporting informs Chinese citizens and the world," Pompeo said in a statement.

Story continues

UK coronavirus death toll rises by 170, lowest increase since March

The number of people who have died in the United Kingdom after testing positive for COVID-19 rose by 170 to 34,636, business minister Alok Sharma said on Sunday, the lowest increase in the official death toll since March 24. The increase reported on Sunday was sharply down from the 468 rise in deaths reported 24 hours earlier and the lowest since Britain brought in a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus on March 23.

Bolsonaro snaps photos with children at Brazil protest, defying health advice

Wearing a face mask, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro posed for photographs with children plucked out of a crowd of supporters on Sunday, disregarding public health advice aimed at containing one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks. Bolsonaro's latest flouting of social-distancing guidelines came after he lost two health ministers in a month, both of whom resisted his fight against quarantines. Brazil's confirmed cases of the virus passed those of Spain and Italy on Saturday, making it the site of the world's fourth-largest outbreak.

'He wouldn't say a word' - Rwanda genocide fugitive lived incognito in Paris

Rwandan genocide fugitive Felicien Kabuga, whose arrest on Saturday ended 26 years on the run, was a frail, elderly man who said little to neighbours and who would take a stroll most days outside of his apartment in a well-off suburb of Paris. Kabuga, 84, Rwanda's most wanted man with a $5 million bounty on his head, had been living under a false name in a five-storey apartment block in Asnieres-sur-Seine with the help of his children, according to France's justice ministry.

Iran Supreme Leader says Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria

Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, renewing Iran's demand for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from the Middle East. Iran almost got into a full-blown conflict with the United States when a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Tehran to retaliate with a missile barrage against a U.S. base in Iraq days later.

Beaches, parks busy as Europe heat wave and U.S. spring test new coronavirus rules

Summer weather is enticing much of the world to emerge from coronavirus lockdowns as centers of the outbreak from New York to Italy and Spain gradually lift restrictions that have kept millions indoors for months. People are streaming back to beaches, parks and streets just as a heat wave hits southern Europe and spring-like temperatures allow Americans to shed winter coats. As they venture out again, most are keeping their distance and some are wearing masks. However, protests are also heating up from Germany to England to the United States, arguing the government restrictions demolish personal liberties and are wrecking economies.

Canada Snowbirds team jet crashes in British Columbia, report says one crew member dead

A jet from the Canadian air force's Snowbirds team that was on a national tour to lift spirits during the coronavirus outbreak crashed into a neighborhood in Kamloops, British Columbia, on Sunday and Global News reported that one crew member was killed. Witnesses and officials said earlier that at least one person was injured when the plane crashed after the pilot ejected. Kamloops is about 320 km (200 miles) northeast of Vancouver in the West Coast Canadian province.
By Trend

The US has provided nearly $3.6 million COVID-19 assistance to Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the State Departments website.

Nearly $3.6 million in total assistance includes $3 million in health assistance which is helping prepare laboratory systems, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance, support technical experts for response and preparedness, bolster risk-communications, and more. It also includes $565,000 in MRA (Migration and Refugee Assistance) humanitarian assistance that will help vulnerable people and host communities during the pandemic, reads the message.

Over the past 20 years, the United States has invested more than $894 million in total assistance to Azerbaijan, including nearly $41 million for health, said the State Department.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Chinese doctors are seeing the coronavirus manifest differently among patients in its new cluster of cases in the northeast region compared to the original outbreak in Wuhan, suggesting that the pathogen may be changing in unknown ways. Cases in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases.

Scientists still do not fully understand if the virus is changing in significant ways. Researchers worldwide are trying to ascertain if the ...
"Cases like this show why it's so important to have government agencies looking out for communities when corporations dig in their heels and do everything they can to avoid complying with the law," said Mary Gade, who was forced out of the top EPA job in Chicago during President George W. Bush's administration after she forced Dow Chemical to speed up the removal of toxic waste near its Michigan headquarters. "Without a well-trained, experienced enforcement staff, it's easier for companies to cut corners in ways that can harm people."
A Rwandan tycoon arrested in connection with his countrys 1994 genocide after more than two decades on the run, is expected to be tried at a tribunal in Tanzania, a prosecutor told AFP Wednesday.

Felicien Kabuga, 84, one of the last key fugitives wanted over the genocide, was arrested at his home outside Paris on Saturday after living for years under a false identity.

Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor for the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), told AFP Kabuga is expected to be tried in Arusha, Tanzania, where he was in 1997 indicted on seven charges, including genocide.

He is accused of being one of the organisers and financiers of the genocide carried out by ethnic Hutu extremists against Tutsis but also moderate Hutus between April and July 1994, in which at least 800,000 people were slaughtered.

According to the UN indictment filed against him, Kabuga  once one of Rwandas richest men  used his fortune and business empire to facilitate the killings.

Arusha was the headquarters of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which closed in 2015, and whose duties are now being handled by the MICT.

It is fully expected that the trial will take place in Arusha, said Brammertz.

Of course, in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, where there are obvious health concerns as well as difficulties in international travel, it cannot be excluded that Kabuga may first be transferred to The Hague while preparations are made for his transfer to Arusha.

The Arusha branch of the MICT  which also has an office in The Hague  is housed in a United Nations complex where it has an ultramodern courtroom and conserves the archives of the Rwanda genocide trials.

The first to appear in the courtroom was Augustin Ngirabatware, planning minister at the time of the genocide who was found guilty of inciting, aiding and encouraging Hutu militiamen to kill their Tutsi neighbours. He lost an appeal against his 30-year sentence in 2019.

Following Kabugas arrest, seven other key fugitives remain. They include former defense minister Augustin Bizimana and top-ranking military figure Protais Mpiranya.

Brammertz said international trackers were motivated more than ever to find the remaining fugitives.

As the most significant suspects still sought over the attack the two would also, if caught, be tried by the MICT.

However the others would be handed to Rwandan authorities.

Kabugas lawyers said Tuesday he will oppose his extradition and Brammertz said hearings in France could take months to decide his fate.
Gandhinagar, May 20 : The total number of Coronavirus positive cases climbed over the 9,000-mark for the hotspot Ahmedabad, as 271 fresh cases were added taking the total to 9,216 in the city on Wednesday. The death toll in Ahmedabad also crossed the 600 mark with 602 deaths. With this, Gujarat's total cases jumped to 12,539 with an addition of 398 cases on Wednesday. The death toll has now gone up to 749 in the state.

More and more number of cases are being found outside the three major cities -- Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, since the past couple of days, a sign of worry for the health authorities.

On Wednesday, a total of 398 Corona positive cases were detected in the state. Ahmedabad had the maximum number of cases with 271, followed by Surat (37), Vadodara (26), Mahesana and Patan (15 each), Kutch (5), Aravalli (4), Gandhinagar, Sabarkantha, Navsari and Surendranagar (3 each), Banaskantha, Anand, Kheda and Valsad (2 each), Jamnagar, Bharuch, Dahod, Junagadh (one each).

Another 30 patients succumbed to the dreaded virus on Wednesday, out of which Ahmedabad had the highest casualties, 26 (22 males, 4 females). A female each from Gandhinagar and Surat succumbed to the virus and a male each from Patan and Sabarkantha also died on Wednesday. Out of the total 30 dead, half of the patients did not have any comorbidity.

The month of May has proved to be very grim for Gujarat, as over 20 deaths are reported daily. A total of 535 people, out of the total 749, have succumbed to the virus in just 20 days.

Till date, out of the total 749 deaths, 602 people have died in Ahmedabad alone (over 80 per cent), followed by 56 in Surat, 32 in Vadodara, 8 each in Bhavnagar, Anand and Gandhinagar and 6 in Panchmahal.

On Wednesday, a total of 176 patients were discharged. Till now, total 5,219 patients have been discharged in the state.

Ahmedabad continued to lead the state with maximum number of positive cases 9,216, followed by Surat (1,193), Vadodara (726), Gandhinagar (193), Bhavnagar (114), Banaskantha (88), Aravalli (86), Anand (83), Rajkot (82), Mahesana (80), Panchmahals (71), Mahisagar and Patan (68 each), Kutch (57), Botad (56) and Kheda (53) cases.

Health authorities have so far carried out a total of 1,60,772 tests in the state, out of which 12,539 have been found positive and 1,48,233 negative.

There are 6,571 active cases, out of which the condition of 6,524 is stable, whereas 47 critical patients are still on ventilator.

Right now, there are over 4.7 lakh people quarantined in the state. Of 4,76,084 people, 4,64,900 are home quarantined, 10,562 in government facilities and 622 in private facilities.
Conspiracy theorists are posting dangerous recipes for homemade hydroxychloroquine online after President Donald Trump revealed that he was taking the anti-malaria drug - against the advice of physicians - to avoid catching coronavirus.

A promoter of the right-wing QAnon conspiracy theory - which centers on the baseless belief that Trump is waging a secret campaign against enemies in the 'deep state' - recently shared a do-it-yourself method of creating hydroxychloroquine using the rinds of citrus fruits.

The recipe was posted on a Twitter thread urging people to drink the concoction 'if you ever feel a chest cold coming on or just feel like crap'. The thread has been retweeted nearly 2,000 times.

The poster said that it could help people avoid 'big pharma fillers' while 'taking away all of your fears about the virus'.

Health experts have strenuously condemned the use of self-prescribed remedies for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 as they can have dire unintended consequences.

In the case of the latest hydroxychloroquine recipe, certain fruits could react dangerously with other medications.

Conspiracy theorists are posting dangerous recipes for homemade hydroxychloroquine online after President Donald Trump revealed that he was taking the anti-malaria drug - against the advice of physicians - to avoid catching coronavirus (file photo)

One recipe posted in a Twitter thread recently suggests using citrus rinds to replicate the effects of hydroxychloroquine. The thread has been retweeted nearly 2,000 times (file photo)

The frenzy over hydroxychloroquine began in mid-March when Trump called it a 'game changer' in the fight against COVID-19 during a press conference.

The president has repeatedly touted the drug as a treatment for the virus - despite warnings from health officials over the fact that it is not recommended by the FDA.

The agency is currently conducting trials measuring hydroxychloroquine's potential effectiveness in fighting COVID-19 but has warned that taking it can produce 'abnormal heart rhythms', particularly for people with heart or kidney disease.

A recent Veterans Affairs study of hydroxychloroquine found that the drug has no effect on COVID-19 and could actually increase mortality rates for patients.

Across the board health agencies have warned that the drug should never be taken unless directed by a doctor - though a number of people are reportedly ignoring that advice.

Health experts have expressed concern that enthusiasm over hydroxychloroquine is directly driven by Trump's public remarks.

In March, an Arizona man died and his wife was hospitalized after they drank fish tank cleaner believing it was hydroxychloroquine. The wife later said that they took the chemicals after hearing Trump praise the anti-malaria drug at a press conference.

In April, the president posed the stunning question to potential users: 'What have you got to lose?'

The enthusiasm escalated dramatically this week after Trump claimed on Monday that he had been taking the medication for 'a couple weeks' to prevent infection.

Trump revealed on Monday that he's been taking hydroxychloroquine for 'a couple weeks' to avoid contracting coronavirus

On Tuesday, talk radio host and former Trump White House adviser Sebastian Gorka announced that he had also been taking hydroxychloroquine for the past month to avoid infection.

'Is it the miracle solution?' Gorka wondered on his radio show while showing off the label of his prescription bottle.

He also brought his doctor on the show to discuss dosages.

Rep Roger Marshall (R - Kansas), a doctor and candidate for state senate, also revealed that he and several family members were taking the drug for the same purpose.

'I'm relieved President Trump is taking it,' Marshall said Tuesday.

Right-wing activist Michael Coudrey, who Trump has retweeted in the past, also praised the drug.

'I have been taking #hydroxychloroquine for the past month, no side effects, actually feel great & I feel like I have increased energy & higher mental clarity,' Coudrey tweeted Monday.

'My face is also very plush & vibrant, likely bc the drug increases extracellular H202 production & helps immune system.'

Lionel Lebron, a conservative media personality and QAnon conspiracy theorist who visited Trump in the White House in 2018, urged his followers to lie about taking hydrochloroquine just to anger liberals.

'Tell everyone you're taking it,' Lebron tweeted Tuesday. 'Even if you're not. Say you're taking it via enema. A high colonic with a twist of lime.'

Talk radio host and former Trump White House adviser Sebastian Gorka (right) announced that he had also been taking hydroxychloroquine for the past month on his show Tuesday. He invited his prescribing doctor, Sam Pappas (left) to speak about dosage

Rep Roger Marshall (R - Kansas) said he and several family members were have been taking hydroxychloroquine for the past month to avoid infection

Right-wing activist Michael Coudrey revealed he's been taking the drug in a tweet Tuesday

Lionel Lebron, a conservative media personality and QAnon conspiracy theorist who visited Trump in the White House in 2018, urged his followers to lie about taking hydrochloroquine just to anger liberals

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CHLOROQUINE WHAT IS IT? Chloroquine is an older version of an anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. It's also an immunosuppressive drug that may treat Lupus. BENEFITS In this April 9 file photo, a chemist displays hydroxychloroquine tablets in New Delhi, India It could have the power to stop coronavirus replicating in cells, and taking hold in the bodySARS-CoV-2 entry into cells in an in-vitro experiment. It blocked SARS-CoV-2 entry into cells in an in-vitro experiment. The malaria drug also believed to have antiviral activity. It can be manufactured cheaply and is sold under the brand name Aralen. In one small French study, some COVID-19 patients showed improvements but there was no way to know if the drug was the reason. Results published in April from another study in France and one in China found no benefit in patients treated with the drug. Dozens more clinical studies are underway around the world. SIDE AFFECTS Heart arrhythmias are a known side effect of chloroquine according to studies of malaria and autoimmune disorder patients. One quarter of the 81 patients given 600mg of chloroquine in a Brazil coronavirus study developed heart arrhythmias and they may have been at greater risk of death. Notably, the patients developing heart arrhythmias were being treated with a higher dose than is being used for most patients in the US. Advertisement

Trump defended his use of hydroxychloroquine amid fierce criticism at a televised cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He attempted to discredit the Veterans Affairs study which showed a higher rate of death among COVID-19 patients who received the drug.

'There was a false study done, where they gave it to very sick people, extremely sick people, people that were ready to die,' Trump said.

'It's got a bad reputation only because I'm promoting and so I'm obviously a very bad promoter. If anybody else we're promoting it, they'd say this is the greatest thing ever.'

He continued: 'It was given by, obviously not friends of the administration, and the study came out, people were ready to die.'

'Everybody was old, had bad problems with hearts, diabetes and everything else you can imagine.'

The president also denied the Food and Drug Administration put out a warning about hydroxychloroquine, which it did on April 30.

The FDA warned the drug caused heart problems and said it should only be used to treat the coronavirus on patients already in the hospital.

'No that's not what I was told,' Trump said when asked about the warning.

Trump said he didn't feel any impact from taking a daily dose of hydroxychloroquine, stating: 'I feel the same. I haven't changed I don't think too much.'

He got two of Cabinet secretaries to defend his use of hydroxychloroquine: Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Veterans Secretary Robert Wilkie.

Azar said any medical drug can be used for 'off-label' purposes or something it was not originally intended for but may have an effect on.

'The doctor in consultation with the patient may use it for what we call off-label purposes, which are indications that are not yet proven and not yet in the label,' he said.

Azar called Trump the 'right-to-try president' - referencing a policy that allows patients with fatal diseases and little time to live the chance to take experimental medications.

President Donald Trump said that veterans who passed away from the coronavirus while taking hydroxychloroquine were sick people who were 'ready to die'

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar (left) argued medications are allowed to be used for 'off-label' purposes. Veterans Secretary Robert Wilkie (right) said the hydroxychloroquine study was not from the VA but used data from veterans' hospitals

Wilkie pointed out the study being quoted was not from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

'It was not a VA study,' he said. 'Researchers took VA numbers. And they did not clinically review them; they were not peer reviewed. They did not even look at what the President just mentioned, the various co-morbidities that the patients who were referenced in that study had.'

He added: 'We are doing everything we can to protect the lives of our veterans, and this is one of the means that we used.'

However, others in Trump's circle were less supportive.

Former VA head David Shulkin, who ran the department in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018, criticized the president's rhetoric on hydroxychloroquine in a tweet on Tuesday.

'The risks of taking hydroxychloroquine are real, yet no data has shown it's effective for COViD19 [sic]. That's why this should only be used now within ongoing clinical trials,' Shulkin wrote.

'I worry about the example being set and whether others may take the drug inappropriately.'

Former VA head David Shulkin, who ran the department in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018, criticized the president's rhetoric on hydroxychloroquine in a tweet on Tuesday

Because hydroxychloroquine is a prescription medication, most will find it difficult to get their hands on it as the majority of doctors refuse to prescribe it to patients outside hospitals, or at all, without FDA approval.

Fears are mounting that people will get around barriers to access by creating their own, as the QAnon promoters suggested last week.

Another baseless method of replicating hydroxychloroquine's still unproven effects by taking quinine made the rounds on social media last month.

That method was promoted in a video from Missouri chiropractor Eric Nepute that racked up more than 21 million views on Facebook before it was taken down by the site.

In the video, Nepute urged people with flu-like symptoms to drink tonic water because it contains quinine, a medicine that is distantly related to hydroxychloroquine.

The unfounded remedy spread like wildfire across the internet, drawing the attention of health experts who condemned Nepute's advice as dangerously misleading.

Chiropractor Eric Nepute falsely claimed that tonic water is an effective treatment for coronavirus in a Facebook Live video (pictured) viewed by over 21 million people last month

Nepute, who runs the Nepute Wellness Clinic in St Louis, posted his video on April 6 with the caption: 'Seriously. How much longer are we going to put up with all the BS..???'

'Quinine acts similar to hydrochloroquine, okay,' he said in the livestream. 'Quinine acts as a transport chain to allow nutrients to get into the cells.

'So I'm telling everybody right now, if you know someone who's got flu-like symptoms - if they've got symptoms of COVID-19, the cold, the flu, whatever - go and get either some quinine and/or some Schweppes tonic water.

'Let me tell you this again: quinine and/or Schweppes tonic water.

'I need every one of you to be sharing this right now, I mean every one. Every person needs to share this because there's a lot of bulls**t going on right now that everybody needs to know about. And I'm going to throw some common sense at you because most people aren't looking at this. Go get some quinine and get some zinc.'

A number of medical professionals have since advised the public not to heed Nepute's advice, noting that he is a licensed chiropractor, not a physician.

Dr Luis Ostrosky, a professor of infectious diseases at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, said that there is no scientific basis for the treatments Nepute recommended.

'I'm guessing he's going off of quinine as another antimalarial drug,' Ostrosky told Buzzfeed News.

'There's really nothing in the literature about quinine and COVID-19.'

Dr Humberto Choi, a pulmonologist at Cleveland Clinic, noted that the concentration of quinine used in medical circumstances is different from that of soft drinks.
Only 50 per cent Indians are comfortable about returning to workplace and a majority will defer letting kids resume schoolamid coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey.

In a survey of nearly 16,000 people conducted from May 7-10, a majority of people in nine out of 16 countries said they were comfortable with going to their workplace in the coming weeks.

South Korea (82 per cent), Australia (71 per cent), China (65 per cent), Russia (63 per cent) and Germany (58 per cent) were in the top five in that list.

Brazil and Spain (48 per cent) were among the countries that are most uncomfortable with returning to workplace, according to Ipsos Global Survey.

In terms of allowing children to return to school, a majority of people in Italy and South Africa (56 per cent), Canada and Spain (53 per cent) are not comfortable with doing this in the coming weeks.

There are only two countries -- Australia (59 per cent) and South Korea (49 per cent) -- where people are more comfortable with allowing their children to return to school in the coming weeks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Its been an uncomfortably swift rise to the top of the coronavirus tables for President Vladimir Putin. From only a handful of Covid-19 cases in early March, Russia now has more than 290,000 of them and a rate of new infections that puts it second only to the U.S.  a country with more than twice as many people.

Few governments have made a success of managing the epidemic. Yet the rapid spread of the illness has exposed a Russian health system thats suffering from poor funding, incomplete reforms that neglected much of the country, and a misguided attempt to replace imports of drugs and medical equipment with local production  at least until two ventilators caught fire and killed patients. An authoritarian regime that dislikes bad news and fuels disinformation hasnt helped.

History matters here. During the Soviet period, health care was free for everyone, but it was never a priority. Quality was patchy; the service was inefficient and forever short of cash. Distorted incentives resulted in a proliferation of hospital beds and excessively long stays for patients. Doctors, most of them women, were severely underpaid and seen as low-status state employees.

With oil money gushing in, Putin did set about reforming the system. A series of programs over the years set out to streamline provision, add primary-care doctors, and improve pay and training. With Russias shrinking population starting to worry the nationalist Putin, there was a focus on improving neonatal health and on reducing early deaths, largely by tackling cardiovascular disease, alcohol abuse and smoking.

None of that was irrational, argues Judy Twigg, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who studies post-Soviet health reform. Mortality rates did improve. Unfortunately, as Twigg points out, many of the reforms werent executed as planned. While poor-quality clinics were removed and hospital numbers halved from 2000 to 2015, an alternative wasnt always provided, and primary care remained weak. Meanwhile, better pay starved other causes, and the purchase of new technology allowed for corruption. According to a 2018 Bloomberg analysis, Russia still has one of the worlds most inefficient health systems. Only the U.S., Azerbaijan and Bulgaria are worse.

Story continues

The coronavirus crisis is a reminder of the human cost of those past blunders.

Most obviously, Russias first line of defense fell short. The government was quick to see the international threat and rushed to close its border with China in January, but it was far slower to appreciate the domestic infection risk. It denied an obvious problem of escalating cases for too long  not least because doctors and local authorities were wary of passing on bad news. Moscow spread disinformation about other countries coronavirus efforts, but it paid too little concern to the home front. Being more attentive might have contained the problem, even taking into account the early Covid-19 tests that produced too many false negatives.

Then the medical system also stumbled; too many patients went straight to the hospital. Anecdotal evidence suggests staff with little experience of infectious diseases, and chronically short of protective equipment, inadvertently made the problem worse by mixing patients and carrying on working even after falling ill. There are now 400 Covid-19 hot spots associated with hospitals, and thousands of medics have contracted the illness. An unofficial list shows more than 220 fatalities among medical staff, a far higher proportion of overall deaths than for most countries.

Even the uninfected are buckling under the strain. Some nurses walked out. In recent weeks, three doctors have fallen from hospital windows in unclear circumstances, two after complaining about working conditions.

The biggest failure of Putins reforms may be one we have only glimpsed so far: the neglect of Russias regions.

While cosmopolitan Moscow has suffered the most cases, its also home to Kommunarka, a high-quality coronavirus hospital, and it has other top-notch facilities. Beyond the large urban centers and outposts linked to big natural-resources companies, much of the rest of the country is less well-equipped. The real pain of reform cuts was felt in these farthest reaches of Russia, where populations are falling fast. In 2016, parliamentary deputies were told that out of 130,000 rural settlements, less than half were within reach of medical assistance. Russia had 42,000 ventilators at the start of the outbreak, several times the size of Britains supply, but a quarter were in Moscow.

Left by Putin to keep a lid on things locally, regional governors are struggling. A spike in cases in Komi, in the far north, showed how bad it could get. In early April, a single doctor caused an outbreak by continuing to work while ill, leaving dozens infected. This vast, sparsely populated province soon became one of the worst affected. In the large city of Yekaterinburg, another hospital medic caused 78 cases. Poor southern Dagestan, meanwhile, is emerging as a hot spot. Officials described the situation to Putin this week as very difficult, with deaths left unrecorded.

There are signs of hope. Russias testing regime has improved dramatically. Its official fatality figures dont show the true picture, but Moscow suffered 18% more deaths than normal last month  a measure thats deemed more accurate. During its outbreak, New York City had four times its number of usual deaths. With roughly half the Russian population suffering from underlying health problems, that isnt a bad comparison.

Nonetheless, the future looks grim. Russias recession this year will be the worst since the end of the Soviet period, as lockdowns coincide with a languishing oil price. Investment in the health of ordinary Russians is unlikely to be the priority.

(Corrects to fix transposed labels in the chart titled Surgical Cuts.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
EWING, N.J., May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- GS1 US has appointed the following executives to its Board of Governors: John S. Phillips, senior vice president, customer supply chain and go-to-market, PepsiCo, Inc.; Randall J. Skoda, president and CEO, Topco Associates LLC; and Steve Breen, senior vice president, enterprise inventory optimization, Walmart. Additionally, long-standing GS1 US Board of Governor members, John Inwright, president and chief executive officer, Wendy's Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc. and Dr. Susan D. Moffatt-Bruce, chief executive officer of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada, have been appointed chair and vice chair, respectively.

The executives join a diverse Board of Governors representing a cross-section of industries including apparel, general merchandise, retail grocery, foodservice and healthcare. They will help guide the GS1 US strategy to drive adoption and use of GS1 Standards that support supply chain visibility, product traceability, e-commerce operations, regulatory requirements and increased consumer demand for product information.

"These accomplished leaders have been pioneers of innovation within their respective organizations and industries," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO. "Their vision will help GS1 US support our communities as they overcome persistent supply chain challenges and enable new business strategies in the face of constant disruption."

John Phillips is responsible for working with PepsiCo's largest customers on supply chain and collaboration initiatives to drive both effectiveness and efficiency across the shared supply chain. He also leads PepsiCo's go-to-market COE focused on global process and technology tools to optimize go-to-market systems. He has been with PepsiCo for over 33 years and has worked in a number of different sales and field operations roles since joining the company as a route salesperson with Frito-Lay. Prior to his current role, Phillips was vice president of customer delivery systems for Frito-Lay North America where he led the development and implementation of new DSD delivery systems and the development of the next generation of frontline hand-held computers for the DSD sales force. Before joining PepsiCo, he spent ten years in retail store operations with Jewel Food Stores in Chicago.

Randy Skoda leads the strategic vision at Topco Associates, LLC, a $14.5 billion, privately held, member-owned company that leverages the volume, commitment and knowledge of its collective partnership of regional retail grocers, wholesalers and pharmacies, to compete and thrive in an industry rife with national chains. Topco's extensive breadth of services and support span every aspect of their members' stores, including their own brands, member brands, meat programs, floral, health & wellness and indirect spend programs. Skoda has been a key member of Topco's management team for more than 13 years. Prior to his current role, Skoda served as executive vice president overseeing Topco's program management, product and brand development, innovation and indirect spend groups. He also held leadership positions with Old Town Partners, Sayers Group LLC and KPMG.

Steve Breen leads inventory flow and optimization across stores and e-commerce at Walmart. Since joining Walmart in 2007, Breen has held several leadership positions, including senior vice president of snacks and beverage, chief merchandising officer for Walmart Brazil and chief merchant for Walmart.com. Prior to his tenure at Walmart, Breen was a vice president at Abbott Laboratories and chief marketing officer at Molson Coors Brewing Co.

The GS1 US Board of Governors includes executives from 20 leading organizations, including: The Coca-Cola Company; Dot Foods; Google Store; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson & Johnson; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; PepsiCo, Inc.; The Procter & Gamble Company; Publix, Inc.; PVH Corp.; Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Sysco Corporation; Target; Topco Associates LLC; Wakefern Food Corp.; Walmart; Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. and Wendy's Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc. The full list is available at www.gs1us.org/about-gs1-us/corporate/board-of-governors.

About GS1 US

GS1 US, a member of GS1 global, is a not-for-profit information standards organization that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chain visibility and efficiency through the use of GS1 Standards, the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. Nearly 300,000 businesses in 25 industries rely on GS1 US for trading partner collaboration that optimizes their supply chains, drives cost performance and revenue growth, while also enabling regulatory compliance. They achieve these benefits through solutions based on GS1 global unique numbering and identification systems, barcodes, Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID, data synchronization, and electronic information exchange. GS1 US also manages the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC).

SOURCE GS1 US

Related Links

http://www.gs1us.org


Samuel Kateynor alias Shaba

20.05.2020 LISTEN

There is seeming tension at Prampram near Tema following an alleged murder of a Construction Supervisor of a real estate company in the area.

The deceased, Samuel Kateynor alias Shaba, a 33-year-old resident of Ashaiman left behind a pregnant wife and three children.

He was reportedly shot when he and his colleagues attempted to fend off an attack on a land they were helping to develop at Prampram.

His body has been deposited at the Police Hospital in Accra.

Moses Kateynor, family elder of the deceased is calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to initiate full scale investigation into the incident to unveil the circumstances under which their son was allegedly shot and killed last Thursday, May 14, 2020.

He said although their son's colleagues and other witnesses have alleged that he was shot and killed by one AsafoatseTotimeh and his men at Prampram, the Prampram Police discounted the shooting incident and described the incident as a mere motor accident.

He noted that even though they were not present when the incident took place, they have adequate evidence to prove that their son was shot.

They stressed the CID and the IGP should ensure the right thing is done because our son was shot. The Police should do something, else we shall not rest on this matter.

Notwithstanding this account by the family and eye-witnesses, the Prampram Police has dismissed the murder claim as at the time of filing this report.

According to Superintendent Mohammed Issah Cantona, Prampram District Police Commander, the deceased died through a motor accident after he fell off from a motorbike he rode on as a pillion rider with his colleague.

He further alleged that Samuel and his colleagues together with their boss had gone to attack AsafoatseTotimeh instead in his house.

To this end, he fell from the motorbike and died when they were escaping retaliation from the Asafoatse and his men.

However, a post-mortem report available to DGN Online indicates that the deceased died through haemorrhagic shock, severe chest injury and gunshot at a distant range.

The report was signed by Chief Superintendent Dr. O. Owusu Afriyie of the Police Hospital, Accra.

---Daily Guide
Black, Asian and minority ethnic people are no more likely to die from coronavirus than white people, a study given to government scientists has found.

Research presented to Number 10's SAGE panel found there was no greater risk of death for Brits of BAME backgrounds when all factors were taken into account.

It showed that 'comorbidities' - long-term health problems - appeared to account for higher rates of hospitalisation and intensive care among ethnic minority people.

Risk among BAME communities has been a sensitive topic during Britain's outbreak and even given rise to calls for extra protection for non-white NHS staff.

Statistics show BAME people in Britain are dying of COVID-19 at disproportionate rates, but scientists have struggled to explain why.

The research - done by scientists from the universities of Edinburgh and Liverpool - was one of around a dozen secret papers published last night by the government.

It did, however, claim BAME people did seem to be more likely to end up in intensive care in the first place.

The SAGE paper was met with scepticism, however, with one intensive care doctor saying the data it contained did not line up with what the scientists claimed.

Oxford University's Professor Duncan Young said: 'Im not sure why they thought black patients were more at risk of ICU care.

'The take-home message is that BAME patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are no more likely to end up in ICU nor are they more likely to die.'

Researchers said in a government paper that 'BAME groups are more likely to be admitted to intensive care units' (Pictured: A member of staff in ICU at the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge)

The research was done by Professor Ewen Harrison and Dr Annemarie Docherty, from the University of Edinburgh, and Professor Calum Semple from the University of Liverpool.

They studied 23,577 hospital patients with COVID-19 in the UK before April 11. 11,690 of them were white, 1,135 were 'minority ethnic', 835 were Asian and 568 were black.

Minority ethnic people were most likely to be admitted to intensive care, with a rate of 22.6 per cent, followed by black people, of whom 22.5 per cent were admitted.

The proportion for those of Asian ethnicity was 22 per cent, while it was significantly lower at 15.4 per cent.

The researchers said: 'BAME groups are more likely to be admitted to HDU/ICU.'

They explained that although intensive care admission appeared higher for non-white people, the BAME patients were not more likely to die once on the units.

'When patient characteristics are taken into account,' the paper said, 'no excess HDU/ICU [high dependency/intensive care unit] deaths are seen in the BAME group.'

ETHNIC MINORITY PATIENTS MAKE UP DISPROPORTIONATE COVID-19 DEATHS In NHS hospitals in England, non-white people have so far made up a disproportionate of COVID-19 victims. Scientists do not understand why, whether there are biological reasons such as higher rates of diabetes, or whether more BAME people have caught the virus because they are more likely to live and work in densely populated cities. White people account for 83% of all coronavirus deaths in NHS England hospitals, while they make up 86% of the population. People of Asian ethnicity - which includes south Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan - make up 8% of the COVID-19 deaths but 7.5% of the population. B lack people have accounted for 6% of all coronavirus deaths but just 3.3% of the general population. Mixed race people, meanwhile, account for 1% of deaths and 2.2% of the population. Sources: NHS England/Gov.uk Advertisement

However, a higher number of admissions in the group would inevitably lead to a higher number of deaths, even if the survival rate is the same across each ethnic group.

Professor Duncan Young, an intensive care lecturer at the University of Oxford, said the link between ethnicity alone and ICU admission was not significant in the study.

He told MailOnline: 'The [data] suggests all ethnic groups were (statistically) equally likely to be admitted to HDU/ICU after all the different co-morbidities and age had been corrected for.

'Similarly, hospital survival was not different across ethnic groups. Im not sure why they thought black patients were more at risk of ICU care.'

Professor Young added: 'To check the result... they took BAME patients and found matching white patients with similar co-morbidities, age, sex and other relevant features, and then compared the hospital survival.

'There was no difference in hospital mortality between the BAME patients and the matched white patients.

'The take-home message is that BAME patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are no more likely to end up in ICU nor are they more likely to die.'

By way of explaining its claim of higher intensive care admissions among non-white patients, the paper said that long-term health conditions - namely diabetes - were to blame.

'More admissions to HDU/ITU are seen in the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) group, compared to the White ethnic group,' it said.

'These are explained by differences in patient characteristics such as comorbidity. No difference in HDU/ICU admission is seen after adjusting for patient characteristics.'

After highlighting the importance of the 'patient characteristics' in the chance of someone needing intensive care, the report outlined them in two brief sentences.

It said: 'BAME groups are younger and more likely to have diabetes.

'BAME groups were less likely to have other comorbidities such as cardiorespiratory disease and chronic neurological disease/dementia.'

The study found obesity appeared to be the biggest predictor of whether someone would be admitted to intensive care, raising the risk by 84 per cent.

But obesity rates were not seen to be significantly different across ethnic groups - 11.5 per cent black, 9.9 per cent Asian, 9 per cent minority ethnic, 10.3 per cent white.

Type 2 diabetes, however - which is closely linked to obesity - was significantly more common in non-white people.

Rates were 40.5 per cent in black patients, 39.3 per cent among Asian patients, 32 per cent in minority ethnic, and 25.4 per cent among whites.

Professor Paul Hunter, a former NHS doctor and medicine lecturer at the University of East Anglia, said: 'The study shows that BAME are more likely to be admitted to intensive care, once they've been hospitalised, and they are more likely to die.

'But that increased risk is almost certainly because of other health issues that they have, rather than actually the fact that they are black.'

A study published by researchers at University College London in December last year found that ethnic minority people in the UK have higher rates of type 2 diabetes.

Dr Tra My Pham and colleagues found that, using data from more than 400,000 patients in Britain, type 2 diabetes was 2.3 times more common in people of Asian ethnicity than in white people, 65 per cent higher among black people, and 17 per cent higher in those of mixed race.

Their research was published in the journal Clinical Epidemiology.
It might sound like science fiction, but scientists are preparing to build colonies on the moon and, eventually, Mars. With NASA planning its next human mission to the moon in 2024, researchers are looking for options to power settlements on the lunar surface. According to a new article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, nuclear fission reactors have emerged as top candidates to generate electricity in space.

When it comes to powering an astronauts' settlement, there are many factors to consider, writes correspondent Tien Nguyen in collaboration with ACS Central Science. The power source must be capable of being transported safely from Earth and of withstanding the harsh conditions of other worlds. Past space missions have used solar power as a scalable and renewable source of electricity, but the dark craters of the moon or the dusty surface of Mars may not offer enough light. The limited lifespans of battery and fuel cell technologies typically relegate them to backup options. Nuclear devices that run on decaying plutonium-238 have been used to power spacecraft since the 1960s, including Mars rovers and the space probes Voyager and Cassini, but they don't provide enough energy for a settlement. In contrast, nuclear fission reactors that split uranium-235 atoms, which are used by power plants here on Earth, could provide a reliable power source for a small space settlement for several years, scientists estimate.

Despite funding and design setbacks, researchers are reinvigorating efforts to create a nuclear reactor for space travel and settlement. In the early 2010s, a team of scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy came together with the goal of developing a new nuclear fission system that could produce at least 10 kilowatts of energy. With a core containing molybdenum and highly enriched uranium, the reactor uses nuclear fission to generate heat, which is converted to electricity by simple piston-driven engines. The prototype, which was tested in 2018, produced up to 5 kilowatts of electricity. The researchers hope to optimize the technology to achieve the desired 10-kilowatt output. They also say that transporting uranium in space can be done safely, as the alpha particles emitted by the core are weak and can be fully contained by proper shielding.

###

The article, "Why NASA Thinks Nuclear Reactors Could Supply Power for Human Colonies in Space," is freely available here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder and STN), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Follow us: Twitter | Facebook
Being an Android developer is an excellent career choice in 2020. However, you need to recognize the fact that technology is constantly changing and developing, and so should you, as someone who facilitates its growth. Luckily, there are lots of learning opportunities online, the opportunities that can fit any needs, and any budget. You can get knowledge free of charge, for little money, or quite a high price, as long as you are willing to invest in your education. Here are some of the best online courses that will help you become an excellent Android developer.

Udemy Course by Rob Percival

Udemy is one of the most popular and affordable online learning platforms at the moment. As a future developer, you need to use the courses it has to offer to the fullest, as there is a lot to learn. For example, there is a course for Android developers called The Complete Android N Developer Course, which costs only $9.99 and has a pretty good rating. During this course, you will learn how to develop Android apps as it will help you expand and liberate your imagination.

Whats more, the course will teach you how to start making money off your Android works by submitting your apps to Google Play and getting revenue from them. It is one of the courses that will get you closer to becoming a professional developer and empower you to find partnerships and work from any location in the world. After all, being a good Android developer opens a lot of doors these days. There are 32 hours of video lectures in the course, so you might need to make some room in your schedule for this. If you are a college student struggling with assignments overload and taking additional development classes, you should find a reliable paper writing service for constant and professional help with your studies.

Advertisement

EdX Course by HKUST

EdX is another popular online learning platform you should keep in mind if you dont want to miss the best courses in the field of Android development. It currently offers a fully-fledged online course called Build a foundation for creating Java and Android apps powered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Ting-Chuen Pong, a Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, will lead you through the learning process. After finishing the course, you will get a valid certificate that you can add to your resume and your LinkedIn profile.

During the course, you will learn how to build Android apps by using Android Material Design elements, building GUI, graphical user interface, and employing the event-driven programming paradigm. The courses pace is quite moderate, and you will be able to cover it within three months by devoting 3 to 5 hours of your time to studying each week. The course costs $267, but it is a valuable investment in your professional development.

Udemy Course by Stephen Grider

Another useful course that you can find on the Udemy platform is called The Complete React Native + Hooks Course. The course is very cheap. It costs only $9.99, but it takes 38 hours to complete. Not to take too long to study the program, it will be best if you hire an academic writer from domyessay.com. He or she will take care of your full-time studies assignments, and you can focus all of your time on the course.

Advertisement

During the course, you will get to dive deep into the world of Android development by mastering the React Native framework to create real-world native apps. Additionally, you will get to cover the main concepts and terminology of Redux. A team of experienced engineers will help you discover various mobile design patterns by explaining what makes all the React methodologies and design principles. This course will give you a chance to create and deploy the applications you build by yourself to the Google Play Store. It is one of the best-selling courses on the platform, so make sure not to miss it.

Udemy Course by Mark Price

For the same price of only $9.99, you can purchase 23 hours course called Kotlin for Android: Beginner to Advanced. Kotlin is a programming language that is commonly used for building Android apps, and in this course, you will get to learn it from scratch. However, you will not only learn what Kotlin is and how to use it, but you will also get to practice working with interface builder, and all the SDKs that you will, later on, need to build Android apps. You will basically learn how to create professional apps from A to Z.

After taking the course, you will know everything needed to code like a pro and submit your works to the Google Play store. Additionally, you will get a clear idea of how to build beautiful apps people need and how to turn those apps into real projects, you can make good money off.

Advertisement

Coursera Course by Jogesh K. Muppala

Available on Coursera for free, this course called Multiplatform Mobile App Development with NativeScript. It is suitable for both Android and iOS developers as it shows you how to build beautiful apps with the help of NativeScript (Ver 3.x). One of the perks here is that you will also get to learn a lot about UI development, providing layout support, and accessing native mobile platforms capabilities from Javascript.

This course is not for beginners, so it is better if you already have some solid knowledge of Angular and Bootstrap 4 before working on this course. After the journey, you will know how to build unique applications that target different platforms with a single codebase. Furthermore, you will know how to use various NativeScript framework features when building cross-platform mobile apps. The course will take around 41 hours to complete, but you get flexible deadlines, which is quite handy.
Residents of Ogidi ward in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara have called on the state government to rescue them from perennial darkness occasioned by a faulty transformer servicing three communities in the area.

The residents made the call in a statement issued on Tuesday in Ilorin and signed by Baba Malu and AAbdulkharim Dende, Joint Chairmen of Alawo, Ajibesin and Olayeri communities.

According to the statement, there is only one transformer providing electricity to the three communities.

They said the population of the three communities has grown over the years, hence the lone transformer cannot cope with the load.

The chairmen recalled that in January 2020, they wrote a letter to Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq urging him to come to their aid by giving them two more transformers for the area.

Mr Dende said in Olayeri community, there were over 5,000 inhabitants with over 1,500 completed houses and over 500 under one stage of completion or other.

The old age of the existing transformer coupled with the noticeable expansion of the buildings and increasing population of the area has put the three communities into constant darkness, they said.

According to them, the appeal to the governor for two more transformers will cushion the effect of overloading on the only available transformer serving the three communities.

They said that the constant power failure in the area was having a toll on their socio-economic activities.

The residents added that there were many artisans living in the affected communities that depended on electricity for their businesses, adding that the power outage is affecting their businesses.

This is why we, on behalf of the entire communities, are crying out to Gov. AbdulRazaq to come to our rescue and give us transformers in our area.

If the governor accedes to our request, it will go a long way to reawaken the socio-economic activities of the hitherto sleeping community as a result of the darkness we are now, they added.

The chairmen, however, commended the governor for his commitment and strive towards alleviating the standard of living of the people, particularly in rural areas.

We also commend the governors track record of achievements in all areas of human endeavours, the chairmen said.

Reacting to thd development, the Communication Officer of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (lBEDC), Asaju Kolawole, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the company was not yet aware of the electricity problems confronting the communities.

The lBEDC spokesman advised the affected communities to formally write a letter to the company with a view to restoring normal electricity supply to them.

(NAN)
NEW YORK (AP) - With more businesses across the country easing back to life, the new challenge will be how to keep workers safe during the pandemic.

From temperature checks, contact tracing, social distancing and staggered schedules, a variety of new protocols are being implemented. The stakes are high since without a vaccine or treatment, an outbreak of the new coronavirus could be devastating for companies and workers alike, whether it's in a meatpacking plant or an office.

"Businesses face existential threats all the time. They are built to make decisions that will determine the life or death of the company," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of the staffing firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Choices that affect the life or death of their employees now need to be made for the first time. The stakes have never been higher."

Brian Kuhn, a data analyst in Roxbury, New Jersey, worked in an office with about 50 people until mid-March, when they switched to remote work. His company has not asked him to come back to the office yet, but he says if they did, he would not feel comfortable, even with precautions in place.

"I dont think any of that prevents someone coming in who is asymptomatic and spreading it," he said. "It poses a risk to each of us that just is not necessary at all. ... Prevention is the most important thing."

Here are some questions and answers on what returning to work will look like:

FILE - In this May 12, 2020 file photo, amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19, Ronaldo Santos has his temperature checked before starting his work shift in the meat department of a grocery store in Dallas. With more businesses across the country easing back to life, the new challenge will be how to keep workers safe during the pandemic. From temperature checks, contact tracing, social distancing and staggered schedules, a variety of new protocols are being implemented. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

HOW ARE COMPANIES MONITORING EMPLOYEE HEALTH?

Companies are introducing a variety of new tools and techniques to monitor the health of their employees. The simplest method is temperature checks. A variety of companies make no-touch infrared forehead or camera temperature takers. U.S. automakers, for example, make employees fill out questionnaires daily to see if they have symptoms, take temperatures with no-touch thermometers before workers enter buildings, and require gloves, masks and face shields.

While this can be somewhat effective, plenty of people could have a temperature for reasons unrelated to coronavirus, such as another illness or even rigorous exercise. In addition, people with asymptomatic coronavirus might not have a temperature and still spread the disease.

"Checking temperature doesnt necessarily correlate directly with COVID," said Aiha Nguyen program director of Labor Futures at Data & Society, a New York-based institute that studies the cultural impact of technological change.

Employer-led contact tracing is another tool companies will use to reopen. Contact tracing is a method of identifying people who may have come into contact with someone who has the virus in an effort to suppress transmission.

Many companies are offering tech that purports to do contact tracing digitally using mobile phones or other devices. Some apps use Bluetooth or other signals to track people. Others analyze ambient signals around the device to create a digital footprint, then compare it to other phones to determine if they have been in close proximity. PriceWaterhouseCoopers is testing a contract tracing app that uses this method and plans to use it internally as well as offer it to clients.

A company's human resource department can work backwards to notify people who have been in proximity with an infected employee. The data is usually anonymized. With some apps, data is sent to a remote server and others keep it on the phone.

Contact tracing can be done offline, with employees self reporting at the end of each work day who they have been in contact with. Then if an employee tests positive the company can contact the people they were in contact with.

Social distancing can be a challenge but some employers are getting around that by staggering employee hours and limiting the number of people in the workplace. Google, for example, plans to reopen some offices beginning in June, keeping capacity at 10% to 15%.

IS IT LEGAL FOR COMPANIES TO TRACK THEIR EMPLOYEES' HEALTH?

Regulations vary by state, but generally it is legal to require employees to download tracing apps, and in some cases, it could be argued that it is required, since under the Occupational Safety and Health Act employers must give workers "employment and a place of employment, which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm."

The American Disabilities Act prohibits employers from making disability-related inquiries and requiring medical examinations of employees, except under limited circumstances. The coronavirus is one exception because it has been deemed a "direct threat" under ADA guidelines by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, so employers have more leeway. That means they can test employees if it is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

Companies probably couldn't test an employee isolating at home, but it becomes necessary when bringing people back to the office. They still have to comply with confidentiality rules laid out by the ADA, so temperature checks and other medical inquiries should be private. Health records should also be kept separate from employee personnel files.

WHAT ABOUT EMPLOYEE PRIVACY RIGHTS?

Because contract tracing involves collecting sensitive data about people, there are some privacy concerns. Health care providers cannot disclose patient medical information to other entities because of HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), which was enacted in 1996 and regulates what health care companies can do with health care data. However, employers and contact tracing apps arent covered by HIPPA, said Michele Gilman, a privacy lawyer and fellow at Data & Society.

"One of the concerns here is that this will open the door to employers gathering massive amounts of health data on employees," she said. "A lot of people believe health data is protected by the HIPPA statute. That law does not apply to employers. Employers have free reign over collection of this data and what they do with it."

PwC and other app makers say they wont collect information on users. PwC, for example, says no name or personal information is associated with the data and the data goes away in 45 days. But without federal regulation, employers are left to police themselves.

ARE THERE ANY GUIDELINES FOR REOPENING?

Companies must comply with each states guidelines for reopening, most of which include different requirements for screening, health checks and social distancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also offers a online guidance for businesses and employers on how to reopen, including recommendations to minimize risk to employees. It has also posted six one-page "decision tool" documents that use traffic signs and other graphics to tell organizations what they should consider before reopening.

FILE - In this May 15, 2020 file photo, barber Lannie Hale cuts Bob Mitchell's hair at his Waveland Barber Stylist shop in Des Moines, Iowa. With more businesses across the country easing back to life, the new challenge will be how to keep workers safe during the pandemic. From temperature checks, contact tracing, social distancing and staggered schedules, a variety of new protocols are being implemented. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

FILE - In this May 1, 2020 file photo, Mike Hutchinson, a co-owner of the CraftWay Kitchen restaurant, poses for a photo in Plano, Texas, Friday, May 1, 2020. Hutchinson said that they made many adjustments to the restaurants layout in order to adhere to recommended social distancing guidelines. With more businesses across the country easing back to life, the new challenge will be how to keep workers safe during the pandemic. From temperature checks, contact tracing, social distancing and staggered schedules, a variety of new protocols are being implemented. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Ecopolis HTZ, the next generation diversified business park, part of DCH Group of businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, has signed memorandums of cooperation with a number of Ukrainian research and educational centers.

"Ecopolis HTZ' partners in the development of the research (R&D) direction became Kharkiv University Consortium, Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology and Sokolovsky Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry," according to the Ecopolis HTZ website.

According to the report, the Kharkiv University Consortium includes 32 leading universities and research centers, which combined their scientific, educational and innovative potential to enhance collective competitiveness across Ukraine and the world.

"With all of the listed research centers, Ecopolis HTZ plans to develop advanced technologies and implement innovative projects of the relevant profile, and then organize their testing within the framework of the R&D cluster of the business park. In addition, the plans include a joint search for international partners and working with them," it says.

Earlier it was reported that the Chinese corporation ZTE, a global innovation leader, chose the Ecopolis HTZ business park to organize its office, research center and production site here.

The Ecopolis HTZ business park is a long-term investment project of Yaroslavsky's DCH Group (www.dch.com.ua). It is being created on the basis of Kharkiv Tractor Plant.
The mind is one of the most important elements in our bodies. It allows us to think and give reasons whether something is good or bad. As we grow older, our minds develop that we are able to think more clearly and wisely.

This is the reason that we have to go to a school from primary-years to high school-years. After that, we can go to a university to pursue our studies on something that we are interested in, or we can have a career with.

Going to schools is one of the main systems to know how to be successful in our lives. I graduated from primary to high school in New Zealand. After Long Bay College, I moved to New York to live with my father.

While I was attending an English academy to get my visa sorted out, I pondered what is my next step. Since I wanted to work on a computer and received the gift of Christian writing, I had two choicesto go to a university to pursue my career with Microsoft Office programs or to go to a Bible College and work in a church and/or as a Christian writer in the future.

As time went by, my desire of going to a Bible College grew stronger but I was concerned that education in a Bible College would be harder. Although I had to move back to New Zealand because of some visa issues, I had never given up going to a Bible College in spite of what difficulty level might be for me.

To my surprise, I have been doing theological studies very well as I received most B grades. I received A grades as well but I dont know if I am getting better in theological perspective. A grades only come out when I am doing only one paper as there is a lot of time to wrestle my theological thinking on assignments with.

I do know that my writing skills are getting better as there have been a lot less grammatical errors in assignments nowadays compared to a long time ago.

But beside all of this, the main thing I care about is getting more knowledge of God when it comes to theological studies. I love being immersed in them. Doing theological studies is a way of disciplining myself into Christianity.

Loving God

Although studying theology is one of the ways to discipline ourselves into Christianity, there are many devout Christians who do not study theology.

For example, Matthew Thornton, who does not study theology but engineering and commerce conjoint, won the Bronze Award for being the best new writer from Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) in 2019.

Two other people are Rebecca Hoverd and Jessica Knell. Rebecca studies law and geography at the University of Auckland. Jessica is a registered nurse at one of the hospitals in Auckland. They both won the Youth Development Award from Press Service International in 2019.

Regardless of their past status, what I have in common with them are the fact that we think that writing is one of the communications with God. We also love to teach ourselves and others about believing in God. In fact, my dream of being a testimony speaker became true because of the prayer ministry in Windsor Park Baptist Church.

However, devout Christians believe entirely on the grace and mercy of God, that Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross and resurrected three days later to bring us a new life. Since we have been given a new life and reconciliation with God, we need to keep Christ as the foundation of our lives (Colossians chapter 1, verses 15-20).

But how do we do that?

2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16-17 gives us a clue:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

We need to treasure Gods word daily. This means not only do we have to read it but also apply it to our lives.

Interestingly, Jesus has declared in Luke chapter 6, verse 46-48, that whoever hears His word and practice it is like laying their foundation on a rock. Metaphorically speaking, the rock is God according to David, the Psalmist.

Of course, we can hear the word of God through an audio bible CD or application. However, I believe Jesus meant that hearing His word should happen through the Spirit of God as we read it. We cannot understand Gods word without His Spirit properly, even though we feel like we could.

The Bible is filled with Gods word and it has been freely given to us. Since God has poured His Spirit into believers of Christ so they can understand Him properly, the Spirit interprets Gods word and send them into their minds. I think this is how the Spirit works. Have a read the whole second chapter of 1 Corinthians.

There are a lot of ways to listen to Gods word like through Christian podcasts, sermons and devotionals but there are just resources Christians make through hearing Gods word.

Although many good ones are out there and studying Gods word is indeed done in a community, it would be more revolutionising if we hear Gods word by ourselves.

So, let us try to make Gods word as our primary source of Gods revelation!
The United States slapped fresh sanctions and visa restrictions on 12 Iranian officials and entities, most accused of serious human rights abuses, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Wednesday.

Irans Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli is among those sanctioned over the governments crackdown on peaceful protests that erupted across the country last year.

"We have reason to believe Minister Rahmani Fazli gave carte blanche orders authorizing Iranian police forces to use lethal force on peaceful protestors and bystanders," Pompeo said in a statement. "His  and the regimes  goal was to quash these peaceful protests and suppress the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression at any cost."

A sudden increase in gasoline prices prompted widespread anti-government demonstrations in November that reportedly left hundreds dead. Amnesty International documented the deaths of at least 23 children killed at the hands of Iranian security forces, most shot dead when police fired live ammunition into the crowds.

The United States also sanctioned a provincial commander of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and seven senior officials in Irans Law Enforcement Forces, which the US Treasury says played a key role in the crackdown on protesters and runs detention centers that carry out physical and psychological abuses.

Ali Fallahian, the former head of Irans intelligence service, was designated for visa restrictions over his alleged involvement in a number of terror attacks, including a 1995 suicide bombing in the Gaza Strip that killed Alisa Flatow, a 20-year-old US exchange student. Hes also wanted by Interpol for a 1994 bombing that killed 85 people at a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

Why it matters: The sanctions, which freeze any US-held assets belonging to the targets and make any transactions between them and American entities illegal, are the latest in a series of tit-for-tat moves between Washington and Tehran.

Tensions escalated following the Donald Trump administrations withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord in 2018 and peaked with the US drone strike on Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in January.

On Tuesday, the US Navy warned vessels in the Persian Gulf to stay 100 meters away from its warships or risk lawful defensive measures. The warning comes a little over a month after 11 Iranian vessels came dangerously close to US naval ships in the international waters.

Iraq has also served as the venue for US-Iran hostilities in recent months. Following a series of deadly rocket attacks blamed on Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah, American warplanes targeted the militias weapons depots in March.

Whats next: The latest sanctions come as Iran struggles with a surge in coronavirus cases. The Donald Trump administration has resisted calls to ease its maximum pressure campaign of economic sanctions, which Tehran says is hampering its ability to contain the virus.

Most recently, US officials have indicated the administration will attempt to trigger a snapback of UN sanctions on Iran if the UN Security Council doesnt renew an arms embargo set to expire in October.

Know more: Mordechai Goldman has the latest on a possible cyber war brewing between Iran and Israel, and congressional correspondent Bryant Harris explains why the United States sanctioned a China-based company for doing business with Iranian airline Mahan Air.
In the absence of a clearly demarcated boundary between India and China, border patrols of the two countries frequently stray into territories the other side claims as its own from time to time. When the going is relatively smooth between New Delhi and Beijing, the governments of the two countries discourage their respective media from whipping up jingoistic emotions, if not they quietly feed nationalistic fervour, raising the pitch.

Keeping this in mind, we urge both countries to quit wrangling about the May 5 Galwan Valley incident in eastern Ladakh in which apparently hundreds of troops of the two countries jostled. It was ugly. Later, Chinese military helicopters were spotted over the area. India responded with a pair of Sukhoi-30s taking to the skies. Chinese official media claimed this was the worst blow-up since the Doklam crisis of 2017.

The Indians have tried to play down the matter. But the Chinese appear to be stretching things out a bit. The Global Times, the English-language external propaganda arm of the communist state, has accused India of building defence fortifications on its side. The facts are difficult to establish in such cases, but let good sense prevail. For a start, the language of threats must be eschewed followed by talks through the normal protocols. It is clear that local commanders have failed to sort things out. This may suggest that higher level military intervention is needed. We hope it doesnt have to go any higher.

India and China are two of the worlds most populous and important countries. It is possible that one of several issues may be on Chinas mind  Nepal, for one. The Chinese may be making things just a bit more difficult for India when Nepal is revving up a territorial dispute with it. Or, China may be miffed with India for asking questions, along with the US, on the origin of the new coronavirus. A third possibility is Indian ministers talking publicly about hosting American companies if they pull out of China. Whatever the cause, it must be finessed soon.
A homeless woman who allegedly spat on a nurse who was walking down the street in uniform could be jailed for 15 years.

Police arrested a 42-year-old woman in Adelaide's CBD on Tuesday morning after the alleged assault of a worker on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus.

South Australia police commissioner Grant Stevens condemned the random attack in an address to the media on Tuesday morning.

'These types of behaviours are completely abhorrent and should not be occurring,' Commissioner Stevens said.

A nurse was allegedly spat on by a homeless woman while walking down the street in uniform (Pictured: two workers in scrubs and personal protective equipment wait outside the Tanunda War Memorial Hospital in South Australia's Barossa Valley)

'We are resolute in taking action against any incidents where emergency service workers are assaulted in this way.'

The alleged assault took place on Hindley Street, near King William Street just before 7.30am on Tuesday morning.

The woman allegedly spat a drink over the nurse as she walked along the street wearing blue scrubs.

Police arrested a homeless woman a short time later on North Terrace, and charged her with assaulting a prescribed emergency worker and failing to state particulars.

The woman did not apply for bail and appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Police arrested a 42-year-old woman in Adelaide's CBD (pictured) on Tuesday morning after the alleged assault of a worker on the frontline of the battle against the coronavirus

In South Australia it's a criminal offence to assault a prescribed emergency worker, after strict new laws were introduced on October 3, 2019.

According to the legislation the definition of the offence varies from physical attacks to the spitting or coughing.

'An assault may include intentionally causing human biological material to come into contact with a victim or threatening to do so,' the law reads.

Anyone found guilty could face up to 15 years in jail.

Police across the country have been faced with rising assaults on healthcare workers and other public servants linked to COVID-19 (Pictured: police officers man the South Australia border in March due to coronavirus border closures)

Similar legislation was passed in New South Wales on April 20, making it a criminal offence to spit or cough on a public servant while at work or on their way to work.

Police were granted the power to issue on-the-spot fines of $5,000 after a spate of attacks on healthcare workers.

A New South Wales nurse recently shared a story involving her treating a patient who was suspected of having coronavirus.

In a video she shared to social media on March 24, she revealed the patient had spat on her 'because she was going to get sick anyway.'

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 generally have this attitude about coronavirus where they don't care whether they live or die or kill, or their grandparents, which is already super fun to deal with,' the young nurse says in the clip.

'But yesterday I had a patient spit on my face. We don't know if he's been confirmed or not but he's been tested, we haven't got the swabs back yet. He spat on my face because ''I'm going to get sick anyway''.'

The horrific abuse is just one of many incidents involving healthcare workers that have been reported since the outbreak.

During the past few weeks some nurses have been refused entry to stores while wearing their uniforms, others say they have been abused in the street.
For Philadelphia activists looking for a villain, Joel Freedman fits the profile.

The private equity owner of the Hahnemann University Hospital building drew an angry Bernie Sanders to the City of Brotherly Love after the safety-net hospital filed for bankruptcy last July.

But by March, when city officials and the California businessman started talking about using the shuttered facility for Philadelphias fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the outrage and vitriol aimed at Freedman over the hospital closure had died down.

Then Freedman offered the hospital for rent at $410,000 per month  plus $400,000 to $500,000 in building operating expenses. Mayor Jim Kenney, who didnt like the offer, accused Freeman of trying to make a buck out of the pandemic, even as city officials say they knew early on that the building was not suitable for overflow hospital beds in the event of a surge in critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Freedman, who has barely spoken to the media in over a year, told The Inquirer in an interview that he would have lost $600,000 a month if the city had taken his offer. And with $100 million in debt secured by the Hahnemann property, he said, he did not have a lot of flexibility in what he could do with the facility.

What came after the Kenney blast in late March was terrifying to Freedman and his family, he said. It was far more intense this time than it was last year, because people are scared. Weve had literally hundreds of threats. Its been remarkably intense.

 READ MORE: How the owner of Phillys shuttered Hahnemann hospital became the internets coronavirus villain

Vandals defaced the house on the 2100 block of Locust Street where he had lived with his family until shortly after the bankruptcies of Hahnemann and St. Christophers Hospital for Children last June. Spray-painted letters spelled out Joel Kills and Free Hahnemann in capital letters.

A Twitter search for #joelfreedman turns up an image of a guillotine accompanied by the words, Let him eat steel.

For Freedman, it was hard to take.

Until we get the property sold, were going to burn a million-plus a month, he said. Those costs include the $400,000 to $500,000 for things like utilities, maintenance, insurance, and taxes.

Additional carrying costs include more than $300,000 a month in interest on the loan and a similar amount for legacy pension contributions, Freedman said. The debt, and lenders rights, likely would have prevented him from giving the property away even if he wanted to.

The fundamental issue was that city was unwilling to pay rent, Managing Director Brian Abernathy said Friday. At most, it was willing to negotiate over utilities, he said.

Joel wanted to make sure he covered his costs," Abernathy said. "I dont think we were in a position to pay rent for the facility, and on top of that pay a few hundred thousand to prepare the facility to be occupied.

 ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters.

This was never going to be a hospital space," he added. "It wasnt equipped to be a hospital space. Theres no beds inside it. It wasnt suited for a surge facility. Our initial exploration was quickly shifted from a surge facility to a quarantine or isolation space.

By the time Freedman offered the facility rent-free, the city had moved on, Abernathy said.

Its unclear how long it would have taken to reopen Hahnemann, which had been licensed for 496 beds. It had the advantage of having rooms with oxygen hook-ups, but virtually all of the equipment, including beds, had been sold to help pay off bankruptcy debts. Elevators werent working.

The details didnt matter for those targeting Freedman on social media.

I think the abuse that he took was completely undeserved," Abernathy said. "I know the mayor feels strongly that he was trying to make a buck. That is what it is. I think the mayor still feels that way. That doesnt change the fact that the abuse the guy took was completely uncalled for.

The Kenney administration, which was under pressure from Councilmember Helen Gym to seize Hahnemann through eminent domain, ended negotiations with Freedman on March 26.

 READ MORE: Mayor Kenney accuses Hahnemann owner of trying to make a buck on the coronavirus

By the end of the month, Temple Universitys Liacouras Center was lined with 200 cots for overflow patients from Philadelphia hospitals. The center did not accept its first patient until April 20, and 10 days later officials started winding down operations there, as stay-at-home orders helped prevent a surge of patients in the citys hospitals.

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley first disclosed on March 11 that the city was exploring ways to use Hahnemann as it grappled with how to expand the citys hospital capacity. Freedman said he expected the city to make a proposal after officials toured the site. Instead, it asked him to make an offer  which he did about 6 p.m. March 23.

The next day, at the daily city news conference, Kenney criticized Freedman, who bought Hahnemann and St. Christophers in January 2018 for $170 million, using mostly borrowed money.

We have the owner of the Hahnemann hospital jacking up monthly prices, Kenney said, calling it sad that people will take advantage" and try to make a buck out of this.

Kenney kept it up on NPR on March 29, accusing Freedman of being a multimillionaire owner who wanted to maximize his profits.

Other governments are paying to temporarily use shuttered hospitals. California agreed to pay $236 per night per bed, for a total of $2.6 million each month, to use the 366-bed St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles  which, like Hahnemann, closed during a bankruptcy. Illinois agreed to lease the former Sherman Hospital in Elgin for $291,667, or $43 per bed per night, according to Freedmans attorneys.

Freedmans Hahnemann offer of $414,000 a month worked out to about $27 per bed per night. Its not clear if the hospitals in other states still had beds, or what condition those hospitals are in.

Why didnt Freedman speak out sooner to defend himself?

Because I have been nervous about getting into a tit-for-tat with people in high places, he said. It got so intense this time that I just felt something needed to be said.
BEIJING : Chinese doctors are seeing the coronavirus manifest differently among patients in its new cluster of cases in the northeast region compared to the original outbreak in Wuhan, suggesting that the pathogen may be changing in unknown ways and complicating efforts to stamp it out.

Patients found in the northern provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang appear to carry the virus for a longer period of time and take longer to test negative, Qiu Haibo, one of Chinas top critical care doctors, told state television on Tuesday.

Patients in the northeast also appear to be taking longer than the one to two weeks observed in Wuhan to develop symptoms after infection, and this delayed onset is making it harder for authorities to catch cases before they spread, said Qiu, who is now in the northern region treating patients.

The longer period during which infected patients show no symptoms has created clusters of family infections," said Qiu, who was earlier sent to Wuhan to help in the original outbreak. Some 46 cases have been reported over the past two weeks spread across three cities -- Shulan, Jilin city and Shengyang -- in two provinces, a resurgence of infection that sparked renewed lockdown measures over a region of 100 million people.

Scientists still do not fully understand if the virus is changing in significant ways and the differences Chinese doctors are seeing could be due to the fact that theyre able to observe patients more thoroughly and from an earlier stage than in Wuhan. When the outbreak first exploded in the central Chinese city, the local health-care system was so overwhelmed that only the most serious cases were being treated. The northeast cluster is also far smaller than Hubeis outbreak, which ultimately sickened over 68,000 people.

Still, the findings suggest that the remaining uncertainty over how the virus manifests will hinder governments efforts to curb its spread and re-open their battered economies. China has one of the most comprehensive virus detection and testing regimes globally and yet is still struggling to contain its new cluster.

Researchers worldwide are trying to ascertain if the virus is mutating in a significant way to become more contagious as it races through the human population, but early research suggesting this possibility has been criticized for being overblown.

In theory, some changes in the genetic structure can lead to changes in the virus structure or how the virus behaves," said Keiji Fukuda, director and clinical professor at the University of Hong Kongs School of Public Health. However, many mutations lead to no discernible changes at all."

Its likely that the observations in China dont have a simple correlation with a mutation and very clear evidence" is needed before concluding that the virus is mutating, he said.

Northeast differences

Qiu said that doctors have also noticed patients in the northeast cluster seem to have damage mostly in their lungs, whereas patients in Wuhan suffered multi-organ damage across the heart, kidney and gut.

Officials now believe that the new cluster stemmed from contact with infected arrivals from Russia, which has one of the worst outbreaks in Europe. Genetic sequencing has showed a match between the northeast cases and Russian-linked ones, said Qiu.

Among the northeast cluster, only 10% have turned critical and 26 are hospitalized.

China is moving aggressively to stem the spread of the new cluster ahead of its annual political gathering in Beijing scheduled to start this week. As thousands of delegates stream into the capital to endorse the governments agenda, Chinas central leadership is determined to project stability and control.

The northeast provinces have ordered a return of lockdown measures, halting train services, closing schools and sealing off residential compounds, dismaying residents who had thought the worst was over.

People should not assume the peak has passed or let down their guard," Wu Anhua, a senior infectious disease doctor, said on state television on Tuesday. Its totally possible that the epidemic will last for a long time."

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!
Bixby Land Co.

Newport Beach, California-based Bixby Land Co. donated $50,000 to 11 food banks throughout the U.S., including Northwest recipients Sumner Community Food Bank and Oregon Food Bank. The donations assist communities where Bixby currently acquires, redevelops and operates industrial, logistic, office and R&D properties.




AUSTIN, Texas, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Four state and regional banking associations announced their endorsement of Abrigo's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness and Administration solution, part of the Sageworks SBA Lending solution, to aid their member banks in streamlining the loan forgiveness and administration process. Those associations include the California Community Bankers Network, Georgia Bankers Associations, the Ohio Bankers League, and Virginia Bankers Association.

The PPP forgiveness process is expected to be a time-intensive process for banks as they work with borrowers to collect documentation and submit information to the SBA. With many aspects of the forgiveness process currently unclear, it is beneficial for banks to have a partner, like Abrigo, to help the institution to stay compliant and service the loans at scale.

Abrigo's automated PPP loan forgiveness solution provides banks with software to digitize the collection and submission of any required forgiveness documentation, so banks can spend less time dealing with manual processes and more time serving their small business borrowers. In addition to increased efficiency and speed on the front end, Abrigo's solution also gives banks the ability to calculate the forgiveness amount based on the provided PPP guidelines to ensure compliance and accuracy. Lenders can also generate Form 1502 within the platform to request their loan processing fees from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and for ongoing monthly servicing.

Regardless of whether or not a bank used Abrigo for PPP loan origination, any bank can utilize Abrigo's PPP loan forgiveness and administration solution. Institutions who filed with other vendors or directly through the E-Tran portal can easily import the data from their core to streamline the forgiveness process.

"Community financial institutions were the true heroes of the Paycheck Protection Program and their work is just beginning. As these loans are funded, CFIs need to ensure they are following the proper forgiveness procedures, an often time-consuming process," said Abrigo President Jay Blandford. "We're proud to partner with state banking associations to provide their member banks with direct access to our PPP Forgiveness and Administration solution to help streamline the process and keep them compliant."

Over 175 community financial institutions used Abrigo's automated PPP loan origination solution, with E-Tran integration, to quickly and efficiently process over 110,000 PPP loans, totaling more than $11.1 billion in loan volume, since the program was first launched on April 3.

These state banking association's member banks will receive preferred pricing for Abrigo's PPP Forgiveness and Administration solution through the association. For more information on Abrigo's PPP solution, visit Abrigo's website or the CARES Act and SBA lending resource page.

About Abrigo

Abrigo is a leading technology provider of compliance, credit risk, lending, and asset/liability management solutions that community financial institutions use to manage risk and drive growth. Our software automates key processes  from anti-money laundering to asset/liability management to fraud detection to lending solutions  empowering our customers by addressing their Enterprise Risk Management needs. Visit abrigo.com to learn more. Follow Abrigo on social media using @WeAreAbrigo.

SOURCE Abrigo

Related Links

http://www.abrigo.com


BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20

By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:

About 43.9 tons of tea leaves have been purchased from farmers in Iran during last 20 days, Chairman of Iran Tea Organization Habib Jahansaz said, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad.

According to Jahansaz, 95 percent of purchased tea leaves are 1st grade tea.

Jahansaz added that so far, the value of the tea purchased was some 1.99 trillion rials (about $47.4 million).

The official said the amount of dry tea processed was 9,890 tons to date.

"This year, low-interest, unlimited loans will be issued through a special Fund on tea. The loans will be provided for agriculture, purchase of equipment, modernization of factories and working capital, he said.

Jahansaz said that the loans worth 550 billion rials (about $13 million) were issued at 4 percent in the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020) and will be returned within four years. The loans issued increased by 300 percent compared to the preceding Iranian year (from March 21, 2018 to March 21, 2019).

The official said that it is forecasted that 130,000-135,000 tons of tea leaves will be purchased from farmers this year. This means an increase of 10 percent compared to last year.

Jahansaz added that 75 percent of the tea leaves purchased from farmers are paid by tea factories and 25 percent by the government.

The price of first-class tea leaves is 46,000 rials (about $1.09), and the cost of second-class tea leaves is 33,000 rials (about 78 cents) this year.

As much as 126,700 tons of tea leaves worth 3.42 trillion rials (about $81.5 million) were purchased from farmers in Iran's Gilan and Mazandaran provinces last Iranian year.

In Iran, some products such as rice, sugar beet, wheat and tea are purchased from farmers by a state-owned company under a guarantee and paid for in installments.
(Natural News) The Department of Agricultures (USDA) annual Honey Bee Colonies report has detailed a decline in honey bee populations following the recent budget cuts by the Trump Administration.

A nationwide survey led by the University of Marylands non-profit organization Bee Informed Partnership shows that beekeepers lost 40.7 percent of their honey bee colonies in just one year  from April 2018 to April 2019. Researchers caution that this trend could soon affect food crops because these pollinating insects assume a critical job in the fertilization of plants.

Bee population decline observed over 10 years

Survey results indicated the yearly loss of 40.7 percent of honey bee populations, a negligible increase over the yearly average loss of 38.7 percent. However, the study noted that the winter losses were the highest recorded since the survey began 13 years ago.

These results are very concerning, as high winter losses hit an industry already suffering from a decade of high winter losses, said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, associate professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and president of the Bee Informed Partnership.

The survey involved over 4,700 beekeepers overseeing 320,000 colonies from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, representing about 12 percent of the countrys estimated 2.69 million managed colonies.

One of the main concerns the respondents had about the winter colony losses is varroa mites, which are external parasitic bugs that not only feed on bee colonies but also spread viruses.

In 2018, numerous beekeepers reported that poor treatment adequacy and constrained field tests demonstrated that products that once removed 90 percent of the mites no longer worked as potently as before, which has made the pest problem worse. This is on top of other factors such as land-use changes, pesticide exposures, environmental factors and beekeeping practices.

The decade-long trend of elevated losses has urged researchers to determine the precise cause of the collapse of these colonies  but they are struggling to gain significant ground in diminishing the overall losses, shared Geoffrey Williams, assistant professor of entomology at Auburn University and co-author of the survey.

State and federal agricultural agencies, university researchers, and the beekeeping industry have been working together to solve the honey bee crisis since they first noted a dramatic loss in colonies 10 years ago.

In addition to cutting the funding for USDA programs, the Trump administration has permitted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to expand the use of chemical insecticides, which was banned under the previous administration.

In July 2019, the EPA announced that some of these insecticides are exceptionally toxic to honey bees, causing the agency to require the manufacturers of these synthetic substances to print new statements on the package:

This product is highly toxic to bees and other pollinating insects exposed to direct treatment or to residues in/on blooming crops or weeds. Protect pollinating insects by following label directions intended to minimize drift and reduce pesticide risk to these organisms.

While researchers arent exactly sure what is specifically causing the bee colonies to collapse in large numbers, any more significant losses through the mid-2020s can lead to widespread crop losses that may trigger food shortages across the United States.

Implications of bee population collapse on food security

Honey bees are among the most diligent creatures on Earth, ensuring crop fertilization and thus the production of many cultivated and wild plants, which is pivotal for food production, human livelihoods and biodiversity.

Pollinators, such as honey bees, influence 35 percent of the worlds crop production, increasing yields of 87 of the main food crops around the world, including rice, corn, and potatoes, in addition to many plant-derived medicines.

About two-thirds of the crops that feed the world depend on these creatures for pollination to produce fruits, nuts and seeds for human consumption. The worldwide decline in honey bee populations represents a serious threat to a wide assortment of food crops.

Bees are under great threat from intensive agriculture, pesticide use, biodiversity loss and pollution, stressed Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva on last years World Bee Day.

The absence of bees and other pollinators would wipe out coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa to name just a few of the crops that rely on pollination. Countries need to shift to more pollinator-friendly and sustainable food policies and systems, he said.

Graziano da Silva urged people to make pollinator-friendly choices such as growing flowering plants at home to provide food for pollinating bees.

Interested in more ways to help protect bees? Visit Bees.news for stories and tips.

Sources include:

WakingTimes.com

DTNPF.com

EarthJustice.org

TriplePundit.com

FAO.org

UN.org
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and AAP government to keep track of the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the national capital so as to ensure that medical and testing facilities are adequately available.

The direction by a bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad came while declining to entertain a plea seeking directions to nominate all private hospitals for the treatment of coronavirus patients to reduce burden on government hospitals.

Delhi government additional standing counsel Anuj Aggarwal said the high court was not inclined to interfere with the steps the administration was already taking and only directed that the rising number of COVID-19 patients be kept track of so that adequate medical and testing facilities can be made available.

Aggarwal said the direction came after the high court heard both sides, via video conferencing, and took into consideration the efforts made by the Delhi government.

The detailed order of the court is awaited.

During the hearing, the Delhi government opposed the plea saying only those private hospitals which fulfill central government criteria can be designated for COVID-19 treatment.

The counsel also told the bench that currently, there are two government hospitals -- Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital -- with the capacity of around 2,500 beds and 8 private hospitals, with the additional capacity of around 650 beds, dedicated towards treatment of COVID patients.

"Moreover, many private hospitals are not coming forward to create isolation wards for COVID patients keeping in view of the safety of their doctors, nurses, other staff members and patients and also due to the scare of losing out on patients suffering from other disorders/ diseases and the government is making the best efforts to increase the number of beds in different hospitals in the city," he told the bench.

The petition was moved by Hitesh Bhardwaj, a law student, had sought to include more private hospitals to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic to ease out the situation of overcrowding in the various government hospitals of Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
SHEFFIELD, England  Theres a voice inside your head, and its telling you the story of a man who went into the Amazon and came out with a new understanding of human consciousness. It whispers in your left ear, then your right. Then it seems to take up residence right inside your skull.

The voice belongs to the writer and performer Simon McBurney, co-founder of the British theater company Complicite, who toured internationally with his one-man show The Encounter from 2015 to 2018. The audience wore headphones, and the show made a pioneering use of binaural sound, which uses a head-shaped microphone to record sounds in the same way our ears hear them.

Fed back through headphones, it creates a 3-D sound world. Binaural sound can be intimate, but it can also evoke vast soundscapes, like the Amazon rainforest.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 01:46:47|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov on Wednesday warned of the grave consequences of Israel's planned annexation of occupied Palestinian territory.

"The continuing threat of annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank would constitute a most serious violation of international law, deal a devastating blow to the two-state solution, close the door to a renewal of negotiations, and threaten efforts to advance regional peace and our broader efforts to maintain international peace and security," Mladenov told the Security Council.

Recent polls show that the Israeli public is also divided on the issue. Countries in the region and many in the international community have clearly stated their positions regarding annexation, he said in a briefing.

The Palestinian leadership announced on Tuesday that it sees itself absolved "as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the obligations based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones" and calls on Israel to assume its obligations as the occupying power. The statement by President Mahmoud Abbas also calls for negotiations under international auspices, including by the Quartet, to advance a negotiated two-state solution, said Mladenov.

"Tomorrow I will be meeting with the Palestinian prime minister in order to better understand the practical side of the decision by the leadership and its implications on the ground. If there is one concern that we all share, that is the need for all to work together to prevent escalation and radicalization."

Mladenov does not see the Palestinian announcement as a threat.

"If I may speak openly and very frankly on the issue, whatever our individual assessments of the Palestinian reaction to the Israeli threat of annexation may be, it is certainly one thing -- it is a desperate cry for help. It is a call for immediate action. It is a cry for help from a generation of a leadership that has invested its life in building institutions and preparing for statehood for over a quarter of a century."

The Palestinian leadership is not threatening, it is calling for urgent action to preserve the prospect of peace, he said.

The Palestinian leadership is doing so at a time when a new, younger generation comes forward, with its own aspirations for the future, many feel betrayed and increasingly cynical, he said.

"We don't know what future they will carve out for themselves, but whatever future young Palestinians and Israelis decide to build, we have an obligation to prevent violence and protect the chance for peace. Therefore, I ask you today, to join the secretary-general in his call against unilateral steps that will hinder current diplomatic efforts to create the conditions for bringing Israelis and Palestinians back to the table."

Mladenov asked the other parties of Middle East Quartet -- the European Union, Russia, the United States -- to work with the United Nations and quickly come forward with a proposal that will enable the Quartet to take up its mediation role and work jointly with countries in the region to advance the prospect of peace.

Israel must abandon the threats of annexation. The Palestinian leadership should re-engage with all members of the Quartet. Everyone must do their part, said Mladenov.

"I firmly believe that the time has come for all sides to do their part in the coming weeks and months in order to preserve the prospect of a negotiated two-state resolution to the conflict, in line with relevant UN resolutions, international law and bilateral agreements," he said. "These efforts must begin immediately, there is no time to lose. The fate of the Palestinian and Israeli people must not be determined by destructive unilateral actions that cement divisions and may put peace beyond our reach in our lifetime." Enditem
New Delhi, May 20 : With the COVID-19 pandemic breaching the walls of Indian prisons at several places, two prominent organisations have appealed to the government to release undertrials and petty offenders to avoid overcrowding in jails and contain the spread of the disease among the inmates and officials.

Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS) at O.P. Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana and non-governmental organisation International Society of Criminology (ISC) sent the appeal to senior Union Home Ministry officials, chief secretaries of state governments and appropriate prison authorities and correctional institutions, according to a statement from JIBS on Wednesday.

The appeal highlights the need for safeguarding the rights of prisoners and prison staff of all over the country after the recent news of the outbreak in prisons, including in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail where over 100 inmates have tested positive.

"It is urgent and imperative to take a critical look at overcrowding in jails and consider possibilities for temporary release of those prisoners who are not a threat to public safety as this could lead to more and more prisoners/prison officials being affected by this pandemic," said Professor Sanjeev P. Sahni, Member of Board of Directors, International Society of Criminology.

This effort should focus on prisoners, especially undertrials that comprise more than 65 per cent of the prison population including those who are vulnerable to infection.

Based on the current situation in curtailing this novel virus and its extremely contagious nature, the Central and State governments have taken difficult policy decisions by issuing stay-at-home, public transportation restrictions, closing doors to non-essential businesses, and providing guidance about social distancing -- all in the interest of public safety.

"Unfortunately, behind boundary walls of these correctional institutions, social distancing is not an option and hand sanitizer, in most of the cases, is a prohibited item," said Sahni, who is also a Member Governing Body, O.P. Jindal Global University.

"With prisoners cramped in such a small space, our prisons are essentially open casket for disease transmission. These conditions not only pose grave dangers to incarcerated people but also professionals who work as guards, counsellors and medical staff," Sahni said.

As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report 2018, the total prison population in the country accounts to more than 4,66,000 prisoners with an overall occupancy level of 117.6 per cent.

More than 77,000 undertrials have spent more than one year in Indian jails despite not being held guilty by any court, JIBS said, citing the report.

Of them, more than 5,000 are those languishing in prisons for more than five years without being convicted plus the thousands of employees who work in correctional institutions, all of whom are in a high risk category, it added.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2020) - C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) today announced that it has amended its option plan to set the number of common shares available for issuance pursuant to options granted under the plan to 7,618,320 common shares, being an amount equal to 20% of the outstanding common shares as of May 1, 2020 and to increase to the limit on the number of common shares that may be reserved for grants to Insiders (as defined in the rules of the TSX Venture Exchange) to 15% of the issued common shares. The establishment of the new option pool was approved by C-COM's shareholders at a meeting held on May 1, 2020. All option plan amendments require approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. is a pioneer and world leader in the design, development, and manufacture of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems. The Company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling Broadband Internet via Satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies.

C-COM has sold more than 8,500 antenna systems, in over 100 countries, through a dedicated dealer network that provides service to a wide range of vertical markets such as Oil & Gas Exploration, Military Communications, Disaster Management, SNG, Emergency Communications, Cellular Backhaul, Telemedicine, Mobile Education, Government Services, Mobile Banking, and others. The Company's iNetVu brand is synonymous with high quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness.

C-COM is in late stage development of a potentially revolutionary Ka-band, electronically steerable, modular, conformal, flat panel phased array antenna. In cooperation with the University of Waterloo, C-COM is engaged in the design of this unique antenna with the intent of providing low-cost, high-throughput mobility applications over satellite for land, airborne and maritime verticals.

iNetVu is a registered trademark of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

The Company is publicly traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV: CMI) (CVE: CMI) and on the US OTC Exchange (OTC: CYNSF).

Contact:

Investor Relations

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

Tel: (613) 745-4110 ext. 4950

Fax: (613) 745-1172

lklein@c-comsat.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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/56250
Walmart paid $3.3 billion for Jet.com nearly four years ago. Now, it's shutting the site down.

But Chief Executive Doug McMillon said, given the chance, he would do that deal a second time.

"Absolutely ... would do that all over again," McMillon told CNBC's Becky Quick in an exclusive interview Wednesday morning. "If you look at the trajectory of our business, it changed when we made that acquisition."

"Not only did we pick up Marc Lore ... we picked up fulfillment centers  a lot of expertise that ended up paying off," he said.

As a result of the deal, McMillon went on, the Walmart brand is now reaching younger and more affluent customers, and also has been able to bring new brands, such as water bottle maker S'well, to Walmart.com. "That was the other role that I thought Jet was going to play," the CEO said. Brands are more "comfortable," selling on Walmart now, he said.

Critics have contended, however, that Jet.com was only a money-losing venture for Walmart.

Trying to play catch up with Amazon, adding faster shipping options and more third-party sellers, has resulted in a string of investments and expenses that have been a drag on the profitability of Walmart's bricks-and-mortar shops.

On Tuesday, Walmart reported quarterly earnings, revealing that its e-commerce sales in the U.S. shot up by 74%, and same-store sales grew by 10% in the fiscal first quarter.

But there is also a price to pay, being the biggest private employer in the U.S. operating during a pandemic. The company said it spent nearly $900 million on expenses related to the Covid-19 crisis, with about three-fourths of that devoted to employee bonuses and expanded benefits.

McMillon said Wednesday that Walmart has seen notable spikes in discretionary categories like adult bikes and craft supplies, after the government sent out stimulus checks to aid American households during the pandemic.

"If the consumer generally feels like they are going to have a job ... access to money ... we will see them spend that," he told Quick.

Walmart shares as of Tuesday's market close are up about 5% this year. The company's market cap is roughly $354.1 billion.

 CNBC's Melissa Repko contributed to this reporting.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, who are the most admired people in America?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
One Costco shoppers Gotcha moment ended up costing him his cart. The unidentified shopper recorded an interaction with a Costco employee identified as Tison, in which he was informed of the companys policy that all shoppers must wear masks in order to shop at the store.

When Tison is informed that the video is being broadcast to the shoppers 3,000-follower Instagram feed, he gives a polite wave and shares exactly what he is doing and why.

When the shopper responds, And Im not doing it because I woke up in a free country, Tison brings a swift end to the exchange by walking off with the cart, which prompted a futile last-ditch attempt to save his items as Tison walks away.

This isnt the first dust-up between customers and store employees trying to enforce their company policies as COVID-19 tensions escalate. It also wont be the last, but Tison probably deserves to be featured in a Costco instructional video for how to stay cool and in charge when confrontations like these start to escalate.

Take a look at the video below and please note that it does contain profanity.
Mr. Sher faulted the museum for allowing the demonstrations, which he described as advancing a transparently political agenda which had no relevance whatsoever to the museums charitable purpose.

In addition to the protests, artists last year organized a boycott against Mr. Kanders that threatened to disrupt the Whitney Biennial. The boycott, in which several artists threatened to pull their work from the exhibition, came after months of protests had already shaken the institution. Two of the artworks included in the show alluded to the reports that Safariland products had been used against civilians.

I believe that the Whitney leadership did not honor its fiduciary responsibility to the museum and those who support it, Mr. Sher said in an interview. My objective is to ensure that this situation doesnt arise again. What the museum has done is make a mockery of the important public policy principles that lie behind tax-exempt statuses.

The museum declined to comment on Mr. Shers complaint, which was first reported by The Financial Times. Mr. Kanders was unavailable for comment.

Mr. Sher said he is acting on his own, but that he has spoken with Mr. Kanders and other donors to the museum. He said he and Mr. Kanders are not friends and that they had not spoken before this.
Carlos Sainz says he hopes his move to Ferrari will give the future of the Spanish GP at boost.

We have already reported that Spanish broadcasters are shaping up for a EUR 100 million fight for the F1 television rights, after Spaniard Sainz was signed up by Ferrari for 2021.

Also in play is the future of the Spanish GP in Barcelona, whose place on the calendar for 2021 is uncertain.

"I don't know what the reasons for the possible break are, but I hope that the 'Sainz at Ferrari' issue will help it to continue," Sainz told Movistar.

But the 25-year-old said he is currently focused only on McLaren, even though the world of F1 is excited about his move to replace Sebastian Vettel in red.

"I understand that people want to see me in red and fighting for podiums and victories, but 2020 is a different year in which we are going to need to work hard," he said.

"I am thinking only of going to the UK next week, putting Ferrari in a drawer and thinking of McLaren 100 percent. Everyone at McLaren has been very good to me - even the managers and the shareholders have congratulated me. I don't want to forget that."

Sainz thinks that once the 2020 season finally gets underway, drivers will be 'rusty' but that won't necessarily lead to dangerous incidents.

"We haven't had a race since December where we had all the sensations of fighting on the track, and that's going to show when it comes to racing again," he said.

"But I don't think there will be more accidents. We are F1 drivers and we have talent. The physical issue will impact us more, because so many months without getting in the car is hard. The neck, the stomach - it will be quite impressive.

"The first races will be easy because we have not raced for a long time and we really want to, but in the end of such an extreme schedule we are going to be destroyed," added Sainz.

"Hopefully this is the case and we do all the races they are saying, but I think it will be difficult."

Finally, Sainz said he would be happy if his countryman, friend and mentor Fernando Alonso returns to Formula 1 next year.

"F1 is for the best, and Fernando is one of them," he said. "I would love to fight him again.

"I think he can afford to decide based on his pedigree as a driver - he can do whatever he wants. He should do what makes him the happiest," Sainz added.

(GMM)
In a lengthy article published May 17 (Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?), New York Times media columnist Ben Smith launched a sharp attack on journalist Ronan Farrow, revealing him to be a dishonest, manipulative journalist and a fraud.

Farrow has been the golden boy of the American media since the publication of his supposed expose of Harvey Weinstein in the New Yorker in October 2017. Smith demonstrates that Farrow plays fast and loose with the truth, omitting complicating facts and inconvenient details.

The 2017 Weinstein story, published almost simultaneously with the Timess own piece on the Hollywood producer and his alleged wrongdoings, helped launch the #MeToo sexual misconduct campaign. As a result, in part, of Farrows pioneering efforts, dozens of lives and careers have subsequently been destroyed.

Ronan Farrow in March 2019

Farrow went on from the Weinstein New Yorker feature to publish or collaborate on bombshells that brought down, among others, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation Leslie Moonves, and fueled the effort to block the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court. Parallel to all this has been his ongoing effort to destroy and blacklist his father, Woody Allen, including working to block the veteran filmmakers autobiography from seeing the light of day.

It is impossible to know precisely why the Times has chosen to go after Farrow at this juncture, when the extent of his misconduct could have been investigated at any time over the past several years, but the decision cannot simply be an arbitrary or incidental one. No significant piece appears in that newspaper without fitting into and advancing a larger political agenda. Clearly, the famous wheel of retribution has turned.

It may be that the claim of sexual misconduct by Tara Reade against former Vice President Joe Biden was the straw that broke the camels back. In that controversy, the #MeToo campaign and its slogan of Believe women cut across the plans and politics of the Times and the powerful sections of the American ruling elite for whom it speaks. Having benefited the Democratic Party and its constituency, Farrow and the sexual witch hunters may now be perceived, at least temporarily, as a hindrance: therefore, its time to move on!

At any rate, the exposure and attempted burying of Farrow are revealing.

In his Times article, Smith examines Farrows role in the cases of Weinstein, NBC anchor Matt Lauer and Michael Cohen, Donald Trumps personal lawyer. Additionally, Smith convincingly rebuts Farrows contention that NBC conspired to suppress his reporting on Weinstein and that the Hillary Clinton camp sought to kill the same story.

In regard to Weinstein, who, with Farrows assistance, was ultimately sentenced to a brutal 23 years in prison, Smith points to problems with the original October 2017 New Yorker feature.

One of the women interviewed by Farrow, Lucia Evans, claimed she was approached by Weinstein at a club, writes Smith, and then later lured to his office with a promise of acting opportunities. There, she told Mr. Farrow, he forced her to perform oral sex on him. Smith observes that Farrow provided no corroboration for the claim, a fundamental principle of the contemporary craft of reporting on sexual assault.

He continues: A crucial witness, the friend who was with Ms. Evans when both women met Mr. Weinstein at the club, later told prosecutors that when a fact checker for the New Yorker called her about Mr. Farrows story, she hadnt confirmed Ms. Evanss account of rape. Instead, according to a letter from prosecutors to defense lawyers, the witness told the magazine that something inappropriate happened, and refused to go into detail.

Later, the friend told a New York City police detective that Evans had indicated the sexual encounter was consensual. The cop allegedly attempted to suppress this piece of evidence and when the witnesss account emerged, the judge in the Weinstein case dismissed the charge.

In fact, Farrows entire Weinstein feature story stank to high heaven. Along with Evans, another prominent source for the article was Asia Argento, who admitted that she even grew close to Weinstein, that he dined with her, and introduced her to his mother... She said that she had consensual sexual relations with him multiple times over the course of the next five years. The rest of the article consisted of rumor, gossip and repeated allegations of Weinsteins boorishness and inappropriate behavior. There was very little of substance there.

Smith punctures one of Farrows principal claims, one that looms large in his legend, that NBC executives caved in to Weinsteins threats to suppress the account of his alleged sexual predation, which Farrow was working on at the network. (After he left NBC, he took the story to the New Yorker.) The Times piece suggests that NBC executives, with good reason, thought the Weinstein story was weak and failed to meet high  standards of proof.

Reviewing Farrows journalistic efforts as a whole, Smith writes in the Times: He [Farrow] delivers narratives that are irresistibly cinematicwith unmistakable heroes and villainsand often omits the complicating facts and inconvenient details that may make them less dramatic. At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure, or he suggests conspiracies that are tantalizing but he cannot prove.

Smith bends over backward to give Farrow the benefit of the doubt, observing that the latter is not a fabulist. His reporting can be misleading but he does not make things up. His work, though, reveals the weakness of a kind of resistance journalism that has thrived in the age of Donald Trump: That if reporters swim ably along with the tides of social media and produce damaging reporting about public figures most disliked by the loudest voices, the old rules of fairness and open-mindedness can seem more like impediments than essential journalistic imperatives.

Nonetheless, despite its relatively cautious and understated tone, the May 17 piece in the Times is devastating. It is, as Vanity Fair suggests, a brutal portrayal of Farrow. And one with broader implications. Smith writes, The New Yorker has made Mr. Farrow a highly visible, generational star for its brand. But this brand is not simply the New Yorkers. Farrow has been at the heart of the #MeToo campaign since its inception, as its highest-profile journalistic mouthpiece.

For instance, when Farrow spoke at the University of Michigan in March 2019, where he received an award, he was introduced as a groundbreaking reporter whose work had set the gold standard of sexual misconduct reporting and had initiated a tidal wave of societal change. His reporting, it was claimed, unveiled the tools at the disposal of Americas most powerful figures as they seek to silence their many victims. The audience was told that Farrow was combating power structures and power imbalances while aggressively searching for the truth.

This was all nonsense, eagerly lapped up by his affluent audience. To cast serious doubt on his reporting is to cast doubt on the entire squalid, reactionary sexual witch-hunt and raise inevitable, penetrating questions about its larger purpose and evolution.

Smith and the Times proceed, of course, as though that newspaper itself did not bear a share of the responsibility for Farrows undeserved reputation. One can peruse dozens and dozens of Times articles focused on Farrow without coming across a single skeptical or even searching passage. On the contrary, the content is almost always highly flattering. These are typical headlines in the Times: Ronan Farrow to Develop an Investigative Series for HBO, In Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow Recounts Chasing Harvey Weinstein Story, Ronan Farrow Goes After NBC News Executives in His New Book, Ill Go to My Grave Ranting About How Important Fact-Checkers Are [Farrow], Matt Lauer Accuser Speaks Out in Ronan Farrows New Book, Imagine This Were Your Sister, Ronan Farrow Tells Woody Allens Publisher, and so forth.

In April 2018, when the New Yorker (thanks to Farrow) and the Times shared the Pulitzer Prize for public service for their coverage of alleged sexual harassment and abuse in Hollywood and elsewhere, the Times never hinted at any problems with Farrows methods. The prize, the Times wrote, recognized investigations into the film mogul Harvey Weinstein, whose predations of womenand extensive efforts to cover up his behaviorwere exposed in The Times by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, and in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow."

The joint coverage of Weinstein, gloated the Times, set off a cascade of testimonials from women about abuse in the workplace, whether at a Beverly Hills hotel or a Ford Motor plant in the Midwest. Famed personalities, including the comedian Louis C.K. and the chef Mario Batali, saw their careers derailed after women came forward with allegations of misconduct. Where were the references to Farrows shabby, deceitful and self-promoting methods then?

In fact, Farrow wholly belongs with the rest of the media-celebrity trash produced by the past several decades of cultural and political degeneration in the US, a process that the Times' brand of journalism incarnates just as thoroughly.

Farrows standard operating procedure as an investigative journalist consists of anonymous and unsubstantiated claims, sensationalism, half-truths, hints of dark secrets that are never spelled out and openly McCarthyite smear tactics. It is not accidental that Farrow began public life as a propagandist for US imperialist policy in the Middle East and Central Asia, where distortions and lies are a daily requirement. But this is the Times school of reporting as well, vetted or simply supplied by the CIA, the Pentagon and other state or corporate bodies.

While the liberal and pseudo-left media (Jacobin, the Nation and the late, unlamented Socialist Worker) accepted and endorsed Farrows claims, the WSWS, proceeding on the basis of democratic principles, did not need to wait two-and-a-half years to see through him and his accomplices in the media.

As early as January 2018, we commented that Farrow personified the nexus between middle class moralizing, the Democratic Party and high-level state operations... Farrow began working in some unspecified capacity (Politico) for US diplomat (and Democrat) Richard Holbrooke when he was a teenager. At one point, Farrow served as a speechwriter for Holbrooke, who, as the WSWS noted in a 2010 obituary, was a man steeped in the commission and cover-up of bloody crimes from Vietnam to the Balkans, Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond.

After the publication of Farrow's attack on Moonves, we wrote in August 2018 that the latest New Yorker piece was scandal-mongering at its worst. Farrow constructs his articles with the minimum of proof and a maximum of innuendo to exert influence on an upper-middle class readership only too willing and eager to accept his every sensationalized pronouncement. The individual target is tried, found guilty and condemned by the moralizing, sanctimonious Farrow. In March 2019, the WSWS bluntly asserted that once again it was Scoundrel Time, and Ronan Farrow is one of the chief scoundrels.

Now the Times and sections of the establishment have turned on him. This may be driven by the Reade allegations, but there may be other issues. Did Farrow step on or threaten to step on the wrong toes? Was he sniffing around individuals at or connected to the Times itself, in its newsroom, editorial office or corporate boardroom?

Unquestionably, Farrows efforts, which have cost some of his targets tens of millions of dollars, social standing and more, have made him powerful enemies. Or did he just generally make himself a nuisance? He may have become enamored of his own self-importance and been brought down by his own hubris. In any event, he is falling out of favor. The New Yorker claims it stands by his reporting. We shall see. No doubt re-evaluations are under way in a number of quarters.

Our eyes are dry. But the task of fully exposing the forces and motives behind the #MeToo campaign falls to the socialist movement as part of fighting for the working class to free itself from the Democratic Party and all its apologists.
State Forest Rangers came to the rescue of several lost and injured hikers on trails recently in areas ranging from the Catskills to the Adirondacks.

The following incidents took place from May 12 to 17. All information below was supplied by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Town of Chesterfield, Essex County

Wilderness Rescue: On May 17 at 10:10 a.m., DECs Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a group of hikers on Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain. The caller said a 16-year-old female in the group fell, hurt her ankle, and could not continue down the mountain. Forest Ranger Lt. Brian Dubay and Forest Rangers Sarah Bode, Marie Arnold, Robbi Mecus, and Jared Booth responded. At 2:20 p.m., Rangers placed the hiker from Chazy in a UTV and started down the mountain. At 2:45 p.m., the group was back to the trailhead and the hiker advised she would seek medical attention on her own for the ankle injury.

Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County

Wilderness Search/Rescue: On May 12, Forest Rangers Steve Jackson and John Gullen responded to a search for a missing 40-year-old man from Castleton-on-Hudson. The subject left his residence earlier that morning on an electric scooter and family members became worried when he hadnt returned. The family notified the Schodack Police Department and a search ensued. A family member found the mans scooter in a patch of woods between Carney and Van Hoesen Roads. The man was located a short time later, unable to move due to a disability. Emergency personnel set up a steep angle rope system to remove him from a steep drainage area, carried him out of the woods in a litter, and transported him to a local hospital for medical treatment. DECs Division of Law Enforcement assisted in the rescue along with New York State Police (NYSP), Rensselaer County Search and Rescue, Schodack, East Schodack, Castleton and Schodack Landing fire departments, Castleton and Valatie EMS, and other volunteers.

Town of Hardenburgh, Ulster County

Wilderness Rescue: On May 12 at 12:45 p.m., while patrolling Alder Lake, a hiker told Forest Ranger Joe Bink and Lt. Rob Morse that his wife had fallen along the trail around the lake and needed help. Ranger Bink headed down the trail, where he located the injured hiker from Brooklyn and determined she had an unstable lower right leg injury and needed to be carried out of the woods. Rangers brought in a vehicle and staged it at the Alder Lake Dam. Rangers Bink and Lt. Morse carried her out approximately 200 yards to the waiting vehicle. The subject was driven back to the trailhead to her vehicle. Ranger Bink bandaged the womans lower leg and she advised she would seek additional medical treatment on her own.

Town of Bolton, Warren County

Wilderness Rescue: On May 13 at 5:20 p.m., Warren County 911 transferred a call to DECs Ray Brook Dispatch from two hikers who became disoriented on the trail for Thomas and Cat mountains and needed assistance. The 76-year-old man and 69-year-old woman from Moreau stated that they intended to hike Thomas Mountain and return to their vehicle at the Route 11 trailhead. Recognizing they were lost with limited supplies, the hikers decided to call 911. Warren County 911 provided Rangers with coordinates that placed the pair south of Thomas Mountain, closer to Cat Mountain. Forest Ranger Hannah OConnor spoke to the couple on the phone and advised them to take the blue marked trail while Forest Ranger Marie Arnold proceeded on foot to intercept them. Ranger Arnold began from Edgecomb Pond and reached one of the hikers who told her the other had continued ahead north on the trail. Dispatch contacted the other hiker and, per Ranger Arnold, advised the subject to turn around and head back the way they came. Once reunited, Ranger Arnold escorted the pair back out to the trailhead where they were met by Ranger OConnor, who assisted them the rest of the way via an ATV. The couple was out of the woods by 8:57 p.m.

Town of Colchester, Delaware County

Wilderness Search: On May 13 at 8:30 p.m., Forest Rangers Joe Bink and Anastasia Allwine responded to a search for a party of seven hikers and two dogs lost in the Delaware Wild Forest. The group was not prepared to spend the night and did not have flashlights to navigate out of the woods on their own. GPS coordinates placed the hikers approximately one mile from the trailhead and they were instructed to stay where they were until Forest Rangers arrived. Forest Rangers Bink and Allwine hiked in, met up with the group at 11:10 p.m., and safely escorted them out of the woods a little after midnight.

Town of Keene, Essex County Wilderness Rescue: On May 16 at 6:36 p.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch reporting a 20-year-old Syracuse man lost on Giant Mountain. The man was hiking with a group when he chose to head back down while his companions continued to the summit. The man reported that he was having difficulty following the trail and not prepared for the icy conditions. Essex County 911 provided coordinates that placed the hiker near Putnam Brook. Forest Ranger Robbi Mecus responded to the Roaring Brook Falls trailhead to assist the hiker but did not find him when he reached the location. Ranger Mecus requested a second attempt to get the missing man's coordinates, which placed him on a ridge west of Roaring Brook. Ranger Mecus located the hiker at 8:14 p.m., and escorted him back to the trail and out of the woods. Once back at the trailhead, the hiker was reunited with the rest of his group.

Town of Arietta, Hamilton County Wilderness Rescue: On May 16 at 6:55 p.m., DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a group of seven hikers requesting assistance after losing the trail while hiking to T Lake Falls and were requesting assistance. Dispatch advised the hikers to call Hamilton County 911 to get their coordinates, which placed them on Mill stream. Forest Ranger Melissa Milano responded to the trailhead for T Lake Falls and requested Dispatch to call the group and advise them to stay where they were. At 8:45 p.m., Ranger Milano made verbal contact, located the group, and escorted the group out of the woods by bushwhacking to the road where their vehicles were parked. The group was out of the woods by 11 p.m.

Town of Chesterfield, Essex County Wilderness Rescue: On May 17 at 10:10 a.m., DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from a group of hikers on Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain. The caller said a 16-year-old female in the group fell, hurt her ankle, and could not continue down the mountain. Forest Ranger Lt. Brian Dubay and Forest Rangers Sarah Bode, Marie Arnold, Robbi Mecus, and Jared Booth responded. At 2:20 p.m., Rangers placed the hiker from Chazy in a UTV and started down the mountain. At 2:45 p.m., the group was back to the trailhead and the hiker advised she would seek medical attention on her own for the ankle injury.

Town of Bolton Warren County Wilderness Rescue: On May 17 at 9:09 p.m., Warren County 911 transferred a call to DEC's Ray Brook Dispatch from a hiker separated from his hiking partner on the Cat and Thomas Trail. One hiker went further ahead and failed to meet up on Cat Mountain. After a brief FaceTime conversation, one of the hikers realized that the other, a 26-year-old man from Queensbury, was lost with no equipment or headlamp and only 30 percent left on his phone for a light. Forest Rangers Hannah O'Connor and Chuck Kabrehl responded to the trailhead and followed 911 coordinates that placed the missing hiker halfway along the ridge trail between Cat and Thomas mountains. The hiker was told to continue south along the trail to meet up with the Forest Rangers coming to assist him. At one point, the hiker became disoriented along the trail and again reached out for help. Rangers told the subject to remain in place. At 10:55 p.m., Rangers located the hiker and walked him out to the Edgecomb Pond Trailhead.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DECs Hike Smart NY and Adirondack Backcountry Information webpage for more information.

MORE OUTDOORS

How coronavirus syndrome is affecting young children is making NY rethink summer camp

Canal Corporation: Large systems of NY canal system will be open by July 4

No camping will be allowed at DEC, NYS Parks campgrounds Memorial Day weekend
A woman who murdered a Victorian mother so she could gain custody of the victim's four children has failed to have her conviction overturned on appeal.

Christine Lyons is serving a 30-year jail term over the murder of mother-of-four Samantha Kelly, 39, in Bendigo in 2016.

Ms Kelly was bludgeoned to death by Lyons' then-partner Peter Arthur, who struck her seven times in the head with a hammer.

Christine Lyons is led into the Supreme Court in 2018. Credit:AAP

The motive was found to be Lyons' "desperate desire" to take over the care of Ms Kelly's four children, as she was unable to have children of her own.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  John Ball Zoo says it has a plan to reopen safely, and is hoping that the state will give it permission to do so by May 29.

During a press conference on Tuesday, May 19, officials with the zoo and other businesses said they understood Gov. Gretchen Whitmers decision to temporarily close most businesses to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. But they said more clarity on when they will be allowed to reopen  and what parameters they must follow once open  is needed.

We cant plan or operate in uncertainty, said Peter DArienzo, CEO of John Ball Zoo. Being closed was the right thing to do. It saved lives. But knowing when we can reopen will save our businesses.

The zoo was scheduled to open April 3 but was forced to delay doing so due to the global health emergency.

Tuesdays press conference was hosted by the Grand Rapids Chamber. In addition to calls for greater clarity on when businesses can reopen, chamber officials said businesses should be granted deferments on summer property tax bills, regulatory flexibility and employer liability protections from lawsuits.

As the economy reopens, businesses need to know that if theyre following state and federal guidance on safety protocols and its adhered to, they will be protected, said Andy Johnston, the chambers vice president of government and corporate affairs.

Sara Grey, the owner of Lunar Cycle in Grand Rapids, said she opened her business on Jan. 24 but was forced to close just seven weeks later when Whitmer issued her stay-at-home order.

She said she has since pivoted to leasing her cycles to customers so they can stay fit during the pandemic. But now, she says shes ready to reopen and has a plan ready to do so safely. Such guidance is needed because its difficult to know where to invest and what offerings to create without knowing when her business can reopen and what rules it must follow once it does so.

Are we closed for another two weeks, or are we closed for all of 2020, she asked. I honestly dont know the answer to that. Im excited to learn it.

On Monday, Whitmer announced that restaurants, bars and retailers in 17 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula and all counties in the Upper Peninsula could reopen, in a limited capacity, starting Friday. Bars and restaurants, for example, will be limited to 50 percent capacity.

Whitmers office could not immediately be reached Tuesday afternoon to discuss when businesses in Kent County could be allowed to reopen and under what conditions.

Kent County Health Director Adam London, during a virtual townhall hosted on Monday by the chamber, said West Michigan has flattened the curve substantially, and that coronavirus statistics are all trending downward in a good way.

However, he emphasized that we have to be careful, because while were trending in the right direction, were still in a very delicate precarious position.

Kent County, the fourth most populated county in the state, has a total of 2,934 confirmed cases and 58 deaths. The county posted 181 new cases on May 15, its second highest number to date. London attributed the spike to a backlog of cases that were recently tested. He says the overall number of cases, when looked at over a three-day average, is trending downward.

DArienzo, the CEO of John Ball Zoo, said hes hopeful he will be permitted to reopen the zoo to members on May 29 and the public on May 30. However, he made clear that he will not do so if the governor does not grant his request.

A spokesperson for John Ball Zoo said the zoo has reached out to the governors office with its request but has not received a yes or no answer.

DArienzo said the zoo has a reopening plan that would limit capacity to roughly 1,000 people. It can normally accommodate about 8,000 visitors. Plans also call for disinfecting all touch points every two hours with hydrogen peroxide, and all indoor exhibits and buildings would be closed to the public.

We look forward to opening when its safe to do so, and we have a safe plan to open, he said.

Like many businesses, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the zoo hard. The zoo, which was scheduled to open April 3, estimates it would have received $2 million in revenue by the end of this month had it not been closed.

And while the summer tourism usually brings lots of visitors to the zoo, its unclear how its numbers will look this year. The zoo was expecting 550,000 people to pass through its front gate this season.

Now we dont know, DArienzo said. Weve already lost two months.

Read more:

Stimulus payments coming to millions of Americans via prepaid debit cards

Tuesday, May 19: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

Donation of 69,000 rolls of toilet paper distributed to West Michigan nonprofits
By Ayya Lmahamad

MP Fazil Mustafa has proposed resuming communication with Azerbaijans Naxcivan Autonomous Republic, during the parliamentary session held on May 19, local media reported.

Deputy Fazil Mustafa stressed that the communication with Nakhchivan has become a serious problem.

"Some people have found themselves in a bad situation. So I propose to resume communication with Nakhchivan urgently within 3-4 days. In a few days it is possible to reduce the number of flights. A complete cessation of communication with Nakhchivan may become a serious problem" he said.

In addition, deputy Siyavush Novruzov said Azerbaijan was dealing effectively with the coronavirus pandemic.

"Azerbaijan is one of the countries that suffered the least losses in the fight against coronavirus. It has allocated funds from the budget for the protection of citizens' health and economy. Quite a large sum has also been raised in the coronavirus fund, Novruzov said. As of May 2, Azerbaijans Fund to Support Fight against Coronavirus has collected 113 million manat ($66 million).

Naxcivan is Azerbaijans exclave separated from the mainland Azerbaijan by Armenia. Naxcivans borders with Iran and Turkey have been closed since March due to the COVID-19.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan introduced special quarantine regime on March 24. The third stage of quarantine regime easing came into force in Azerbaijan on 18 May. However entry and exit into and out of the country is still prohibited (except for cargo transportation).

As As of May 20, Azerbaijan has registered 3.518 COVID-19 cases and 41 coronavirus- related deaths so far. The total number of recovered patients is 2.198.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Read what is in the news today:

Politics

 The 14th National Assembly of Vietnam convened its 9th session on Wednesday morning with deputies tuning in remotely from 63 provinces and cities for the first time in history. They are expected to meet online from May 20 to 29 before assembling in Hanoi between June 8 and 18 for an offline sitting.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday attended and spoke at the 73rd World Health Assembly, which was held in the form of a videoconference, at the invitation of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Society

 Vietnam logged no new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Wednesday morning, the 34th day of no community transmission. The national tally remains at 324, with 264 recoveries and no deaths.

 Nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens stranded in India  including Buddhists who were on a religious journey in the South Asian country when the COVID-19 pandemic hit  were brought home on a flight that landed at Can Tho International Airport in the namesake city in the Mekong Delta on Wednesday morning.

 The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has been made the developer of a VND11 trillion (US$471.15 million) project to build a third terminal, T3, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, according to a prime minister decision approving the project issued on Tuesday.

 Around 20-30 percent of the lungs of a British pilot who is the most severe case of COVID-19 infection in Vietnam to date are functioning, up from ten percent as reported last week, according to Vietnamese doctors who attended a videoconference  the third one in ten days  to discuss his treatment on Tuesday evening.

Lifestyle

 Authorities in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue are struggling to fix a one-kilometer section of a moat surrounding the historical Imperial City of Hue after the structure  originally built by placing rocks on top of one another without any binding paste  had been wrongly 'restored' using modern materials held together by mortar.

Business

 The investigative police agency under the Ministry of Public Security has launched a criminal investigation into the case of fraudulent appropriation of assets at Horizon Property Group Co., Ltd., which is run by businessman Huy Nhat  the owner of the Mon Hue restaurant chain which abruptly shut down in October last year  after the group had been accused by four foreign companies of appropriating $25 million in investment capital in relation to a resort project in Thua Thien-Hue.

 Vietnams gross domestic product (GDP) can grow by 4.4 to 5.2 percent, or up to 5.4 percent in the best-case scenario, in 2020, Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday. He admitted, however, that GDP growth may fall in the range of 3.6 to 4.4 percent in more difficult circumstances.

World news

 The novel coronavirus has infected over 4.98 million people and killed more than 324,800 around the globe as of Wednesday morning, according to statistics. More than 1.96 million patients have recovered from COVID-19.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Syracuse, N.Y.  The coronavirus cant stop the Taste of Syracuse.

Organizers for the Summit Federal Credit Union Taste of Syracuse announced Wednesday that the 2020 food festival will be held virtually on June 5-6 through the events Facebook page, @TasteOfSyracuse. A livestream featuring interviews with food vendors and music performances will begin each night at 6 p.m.

Festival-goers are encouraged to still eat their hearts out by creating their favorite restaurants Taste recipes and competing to be a TOPS Chef for a chance to win a $50 gift card to both Tops Friendly Markets and a local restaurant, said Carrie Wojtaszek, Chief Operating Officer for Galaxy Media.

According to a press release, people can get recipe cards from www.tasteofsyracuse.com and attempt to make their own favorites from the Taste of Syracuse at home. Participants who post photos online and tag tag The Summit Federal Credit Union and Tops Friendly Markets will have a chance to win a $50 restaurant gift card and a $50 gift card to Tops.

Some restaurants, food vendors and local wine and distillery vendors will also offer a Taste Takeout Special menu for takeout from June 5 through June 12. A full list of participants, menu items and information will be posted on the Taste of Syracuse website.

The virtual event will also feature performances by local and national recording artists, shoutouts from local celebrities, and fundraising for the Food Bank of CNY.

The Taste of Syracuse isnt just about food and music; its about bringing our community together, Wojtaszek said. We knew that we needed to come up with a way to still give Syracuse a taste of the festival, showcase our local bands and restaurants, and help out an important local organization, the Food Bank of Central New York. We hope the community will join us  via our virtual Taste  as we listen to live music, eat and support the Food Bank.

Organizers previously canceled this years Taste of Syracuse, which was scheduled for June 5-6 in and around Clinton Square, due to Covid-19 concerns. The two-day event, which typically draws 200,000 people to downtown Syracuse for food and music, is expected to return in 2021.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

No blow-drying, wait in the car: Get ready for a different hair salon experience in phase two

Most CNY school districts, others across state ending year early to avoid paying teachers extra

New York to allow small ceremonies, vehicle parades for Memorial Day, Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com
Visakhapatnam, May 20 : Parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh Wednesday received rains accompanied by strong winds while the sea was rough with storm surge under the impact of super cyclone 'Amphan' which made landfall in West Bengal.

Rains lashed parts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts while huge tidal waves lashed the coastline at few places in the coastal belt.

However, no loss of life or property damage was reported from any part of the region, officials said.

According to the Visakhapatnam Cyclone Centre, strong surface winds with speed reaching 45-50 kmph were blowing along and off north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

It said sea condition was very rough along and off north coastal Andhra Pradesh. It said sea condition was phenomenal over north Bay of Bengal and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal.

The sea was rough in the port city of Visakhapatnam. The sea water advanced onto land to several meters along the famous RK Beach road. The authorities had closed the road for vehicular traffic as a precautionary measure.

Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea along and off north coastal Andhra Pradesh. They were also advised not to venture into north Bay of Bengal and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal, along and off Odisha, West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh coasts during next 24 hours.

Distant warning signal number two was kept hoisted at Visakhapatnam, Machilipatnam, Nizampatnam and Krishnapatnam ports. Distant warning signal number two with section signal number was kept hoisted at Kakinada and Gangavaram ports, said the Cyclone Warning Centre.

Earlier, huge waves lashed the coast of Mangamaripeta village in Visakhapatnam district. Tourism Minister Avanti Srinivas visited the village and warned fishermen not to venture in the sea. He advised the people of the village to be alert and stay safe at the time of the cyclone making its landfall.

Roads and Buildings Minister Dharmana Krishna Das held a review meeting with district officials in Srikakulam. State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) personnel and the police were deployed as a precautionary measure.

Officials were asked to coordinate with the authorities of neighbouring Odisha over the flooding of rivers and also take necessary precautions to prevent damage to the electrical lines.
A forgivable loan program for businesses that keep employees on the payroll through the current economic shutdown has helped keep small businesses afloat, Iowans told members of Congress on Wednesday, but the coronavirus pandemic still may claim Main Street businesses.

I think that the Paycheck Protection Program has provided an important lifeline to some businesses, Bill Menner, executive director of the Iowa Rural Development Council, told a U.S. House subcommittee on small business.

The program was designed as a forgivable loan if a business kept its employees on the payroll for eight weeks. The funds could be used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest or utilities.

The program had limitations, however, and many small businesses were not able to participate, Menner said during the virtual hearing chaired by Iowa 1st District Rep. Abby Finkenauer, a member of the House Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade and Entrepreneurship subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee.

In particular, he said, restaurants and other businesses closed by government orders were not able to take advantage of the loans because it would have required them to bring back their entire staffs when they were operating for takeout only or not open at all.

Small businesses lead the way for many communities, especially in rural America, said Finkenauer, a Dubuque Democrat.

When this crisis is over, we must make sure our small-town pharmacists, town-square restaurants, hardware stores and florists are still in business and serving their communities, she said. Right now, their futures are in doubt.

For some businesses, the Paycheck Protection Program provided emotional as well as financial support, Melissa Moretz, a farmer and Mason City banker, said.

While we were filling out the application together, (a businessman) stopped me and he said, Melissa, I am responsible for nine families. What do I do if I cant take care of those nine families?  Moretz said. At that point in time, I realized that this is what were here to do. So thats one small story of success out of that program.

Her bank was able to help more than 650 businesses secure more than $86 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, she said.

Not everything is going smoothly, she added. Some of those businesses are now getting close to the end of their eight-week loan but are just now getting guidance on what they must do to be eligible for loan forgiveness.

So theyve been spending this money for six weeks and now theyre unsure if they did it correctly, she said.

A key to her success, both on the farm and at the bank, was access to reliable internet service, said Moretz, who farms near Kensett in Worth County.

Ive been working from home for the last two months and, thankfully, we do have in our area a good source of rural broadband, but its not the same just a few miles away, she said.

As he looks ahead to what a COVID-19 recovery looks like, Menner has no doubt access to high-speed broadband will be key to the future of rural America.

Small businesses in many places have pivoted to provide a greater online presence, assuming their internet speeds are sufficient to do so, said Menner, who lives in Grinnell. Rural residents are working remotely in huge numbers. ... Rural communities are fashioning tech-based, coworking spaces and incubators and venues for online collaboration.

Unfortunately, too much of rural America is disconnected. And the opportunities that arise from the ashes of this pandemic in regard to distributed work and online commerce and tech-based collaboration will be lost if rural communities do not have access to high-speed internet, Menner said.

Finkenauer compared the impact COVID-19 is having on rural Iowa to the losses experienced during the recession in 2008-09.

Then, she said, rural America was hit harder than more urban areas and did not recover as quickly.

Many rural areas struggled with people moving away during that time and losing more and more jobs, Finkenauer said. So the geographic division in our country will likely intensify if we dont get this right when it comes to this recovery.

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0
- The five children have been left under the care of their aunt after losing their dad to COVID-19

- Plangca who lived in Ireland passed away last week after a 41-day battle in intensive care with the virus

- In a heartfelt tribute, his teen daughter mourned her dad saying he had fought a good fight

- The five children lost their mom 6 years ago to cancer

As many countries continue to set strict measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease, many have lost lives to the deadly menace.

Five children have been orphaned after their father died following a long battle with Covid-19.

READ ALSO: Jalang'o's boys' club member Sam Young hints betrayal from friend over leaked screenshots

READ ALSO: TV anchor Victoria Rubadiri opens up on struggle to fit in Kenya after living in US

Posting on Facebook, one of the children identified as Mikee Plangca shared the news of her dad's death in a heartbreaking tribute.

"You fought a good fight papa. Thank you for everything. We will miss you. We love you!" wrote Mikee.

Miguel Plangca who lived in Ireland died last week after a 41-day battle in intensive care with the virus.

Miguel Plangca with his children. Photo: Mikee Plangca.

Source: Facebook

According to a report by Daily Mail, Plangca's five children, Stephanie, Mikee, Michael, John and Chekie, have been left all alone after their mother to cancer six years ago.

Well-wishers touched by the story have so far raised over KSh 1,523,000 (13,000) just in four days to support the five children who are now under the care of their aunt.

Mikee thanked well-wishers for raising money to support the siblings, saying the love and support they have been receiving was unbelievable.

"The love and support that we have been receiving is unbelievable. Thank you to the two persons who helped us set up the GoFundMe page and for the continuous support from everyone. God bless us all!" she wrote.

Madam Yaa Botwe seems to have a lot to say about the novel "KWABENA-19" | #Yencomgh:

Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
The G Suite-focused communications app, Google Chat, will soon support contact with all google users outside of any domain. Thats based on recent reports detailing the incoming feature, set to begin rolling out on May 26.

For clarity, the new feature effectively allows enterprise and G Suite users to contact Google account-holders outside of the business. Typically, Google Chat has been locked down as an internal communication tool as part of the shutdown of the search giants Hangouts app. Now, Chat users will be able to send messages to any Google user, as long as they have a Google account.

That paves the way for communications specifically via Gmail but also with users of any Google service. That means it could prove an effective communication tool for any number of purposes.

Advertisement

The new Google Chat feature does come with requirements

Once a chat is started, Google Chat users will see users that are outside of their domain marked as external in the UI. But that doesnt mean just anybody can be added to any chat. Rooms will need to be explicitly marked as External when theyre being created. That setting cant be changed afterward so users will need to create new chats. Otherwise, they wont be able to include external users.

Rooms created prior to the features arrival will be locked in as Internal.

The requirement that participants have an active Google account isnt going anywhere either. Of course, it wont matter if the user has a free Gmail account. Those can still be added. But the invites are sent via Googles other products and users are signed in with those too.

Advertisement

The good news is that the feature will no longer be relegated solely to communications between Chat and Hangouts Classic.

When is Google Chat coming for everybody?

Now, this follows a long string of similar actions taken by Google after it first announced the death of Hangouts. Thats supposed to happen this year.

Google decided to kill off Hangouts around the same time it shut down its Google Plus service. Both that social networking site and Hangouts were essentially repositioned as Enterprise and business tools. Hangouts, as it was known to everyday users, became known as Hangouts Classic, and Hangouts Chat was set aside for businesses. Later on, Hangouts Chat was renamed to Google Chat.

Advertisement

The video meeting side of that was shifted to the Hangouts Meet branding, in the interim. Thats before it was rebranded as Google Meet and then, this month, made available for all Google users.

The latest decision from Google on that front was to join all of the messaging services under the leadership of a single team. And thats good news too since Google has been notoriously bad at keeping consistency in its many messaging applications. At the very least, this could lead to the further consolidation of its apps into a more cohesive experience to compete with Apples iMessage platform.

The end goal for Google Chat and Meet is that theyll become available for all users, essentially replacing the old Hangouts. So this new move to allow external accounts could be seen as just another step in that direction.
[May 20, 2020] Tech Alliance is Helping Rebuild the Shattered Economies by Democratizing FinTech During the Pandemic

You can't rebuild during a hurricane. But you can rebuild during a pandemic. While this pandemic rages on we can prepare for the future we are going to need to rebuild. The future that was well underway, where innovations in financial inclusion were eliminating extreme poverty for not millions, but hundreds of millions of people around the world. Now this progress is set back because of the pandemic disrupting economies, especially young and fragile ones. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005618/en/ Corent Tech's SurPaaS Platform, together with Microsoft (News - Alert) Azure Cloud enable Mifos Initiative to offer affordable core financial services to the 2 billion unbanked and impoverished populations as a backbone of financial inclusion, access to credit and micro-financing. (Photo: Business Wire) It will take a concerted effort to rebuild those economies, to once again start lifting the unbanked, the uncredited, the impoverished millions hardest hit by this economic stop orders. The world flung itself into stasis to cope with a virus, now we need to work to revive and rebuild those economies. The Mifos Initiative mission is to speed the elimination of poverty by coordinating a global community that builds, supports, and uses Mifos X, a free and open source platform that enables financial service providers to more effectively and efficiently deliver responsible financial services to the world's 2 billion poor and underbanked. Corent recently collaborated with The Mifos Initiative to bring the Mifos X platform onto Microsoft Azure Cloud as an efficient self-service SaaS (News - Alert) (Software as a Service) using Corent's SurPaaS SaaS-enablement platform, offering an easy pathway to an affordable Mifos X environment for any fintech solution provider. Now anyone who wants to start rebuilding the economy of the world by offering financial inclusion has an opportunity to do so very easily with the Mifos X platform running on Azure for a modest monthly fee. The Mifos X platform is a highly regarded core banking system which can be used by any organization to deliver core banking capabilities at very low cost. "Offering Mifos X as SaaS - empowered by Corent's SurPaaS on Micosoft Azure - opens up many new opportunities for us to advance our mission of facilitating a global financial inclusion movement." - Ed Cable, CEO, Mifos Initiative.



We need to get started. There are millions who can't afford to wait. Corent and The Mifos Initiative are launching a call to action for all the fintech entrepreneurs to start the rebuilding now. The world needs every fresh idea, new perspective and opportunity to be seized and nurtured. To help start the rebuilding of so much of the world's struggling economies that are suffering from pandemic collapse, Corent and Mifos are offering the fintech solution providers the SurPaaS powered Mifos X platform on Azure for an incredibly low cost. The Mifos Initiative tells the story of Marie to illustrate the transformative power of financial inclusion. Marie was a poor woman who, through one of the fintech organizations that uses Mifos X, applied for and got her first ever loan to start a restaurant business. In real terms it would be considered a very small loan, yet it enabled Marie to start and grow her business and be able to afford to pay the school fees for her children. It was a loan that made a huge difference to Marie's life, enabling her to improve her circumstances and her community. The goal is to create millions of Maries, and it is being repeated millions of times in hundreds of places to enact that economic miracle for people all over the world.

"Microsoft is honored to be working with Corent Technology and the Mifos Initiative to empower financial inclusion with the potential of positively impacting the lives and livelihood of people around the globe." - Gavriella Schuster, Corporate Vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. The setback this pandemic has caused endangers a lot of progress. We need all the fintech solution providers, the community service organizations, the co-operatives and associations of independent farmers, artisans and other capable hardworking people of the world to rise to the challenge and not let the most fragile economic successes of the last decade slip away. Work with us and keep the economic miracles that have let hundreds of millions raise themselves out of poverty - use the SurPaaS powered Mifos X platform on Microsoft Azure to create your own bank of success. "Corent's OpenSaaS Initiative is about advancing technology to liberate open source for the SaaS era, and to do that in support of the Mifos mission in this time of economic stress is especially gratifying. " - Scott Chate, VP Partner & Market Development, Corent Technology. Related Links:

Microsoft Customer Success Story:

https://customers.microsoft.com/en-us/story/810894-mifos-corent-azure

Dealing with Covid-19 Economic Impact - 5 min Mifos video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSkpG3FS2KU#action=share About Corent Technology Corent Technology, Inc. is a leading innovator in the cloud migration and SaaS-enablement technology space. Corent's SurPaaS Platform is used by key enterprises, system Integrators and cloud providers to enable rapid discovery, analysis, planning, optimization and migration to the cloud; and optionally, automated transformation of software applications to efficient, scalable SaaS. Corent is managed by a team of industry veterans from Microsoft, IBM, HPE, EMC, Oracle (News - Alert), and VMware among others. For more information about Corent, please visit www.corenttech.com and to contact Corent please drop a note to [email protected]. About Mifos Initiative We are a US-based 501(c)3 non-profit initiative that stewards the global community that builds the Mifos X platform - an open technology platform for financial inclusion used by financial services providers worldwide, supported by a network of certified local partners and maintained and extended by a global team of volunteers. Our Mission To speed the elimination of poverty by coordinating a global community that builds, supports, and uses Mifos X, a free and open source platform that enables financial service providers to more effectively and efficiently deliver responsible financial services to the world's 2 billion poor and unbanked. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005618/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-21 05:38:20|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

People wearing face masks are seen on public transportation in Izmir, Turkey, on May 20, 2020. Turkey on Wednesday reported 972 new daily COVID-19 cases and 23 more deaths in the country. (Photo by Emre Tazegul/Xinhua)

ANKARA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The daily new COVID-19 cases fell under 1,000 on Wednesday for the first time since March 25, indicating Turkey's success in dealing with the novel coronavirus, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

"The world does not yet know when the outbreak will end. But in Turkey, we have seen the results of our measures. When the daily number of coronavirus cases falls below 1,000, this decline will be an indicator of our success," the minister said at a press conference.

"We will now fight the virus more freely. Our new way of life is controlled social life," he added, referring the policy of easing anti-COVID-19 measures, but also urged the citizens for mandatory masks and gloves as well as strict social distancing rules in public spaces.

Turkey has conducted a different treatment algorithm which is one of the key factors for success in decreasing the number of patients in intensive care units and for intubated cases, Koca said.

Late intubation method and use of blood thinners are part of this treatment, he stated.

The experienced health workers is another factor in this success, Koca emphasized.

"R naught," or the reproduction variable, for the coronavirus in Turkey is 0.72, he noted, adding that a value below 1.0 suggests that active cases were in decline.

"We don't expect a second wave at the moment. If people obey the measures and stay in controlled social life, we don't wait for a second wave," the minister stated.

As he called the second phase of the struggle against the coronavirus as "controlled social life," Koca said that Turkey succeeded in the first phase of the fight against the coronavirus and it will succeed in the second phase as well.

Turkey imposes curfews at the weekends and even extends the lockdown days to national holidays. Accordingly, the country will have a four-day curfew on May 23-26 during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

With a decreasing trend in the number of daily cases and fewer deaths, Turkey recently started gradual normalization with few hours of curfew relaxation and the reopening of shopping malls and barbershops.

The Turkish government plans to further ease restrictions after the Eid al-Fitr holiday and allow intercity travels and foreign tourists at the beginning of June.

The elderly people that are under lockdown for two months will be allowed to leave for their hometowns for the Eid al-Fitr with a doctor's approval and on the condition of not returning for 30 days, the health minister said.

Turkey will start the health tourism season early for foreigners and charter flights would be arranged depending on demand, Koca added. The government also monitors its citizens by a mobile application for their travels.

"The mobile app by the Health Ministry will be used to track intercity travel," he said, adding that the citizens will use the code from the app to show that they are not diagnosed with COVID-19 and be able to travel with planes and trains within Turkey.

The government also plans to test passengers coming from abroad at airports and on land borders, he noted.

Turkey on Wednesday reported 972 new daily COVID-19 cases and 23 more deaths in the country.

The total number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases has surged to 152,587, while the death toll surged to 4,222, the health minister tweeted.

In addition, 113, 987 patients have recovered from the virus since the outbreak, while 877 are being treated at intensive care units and 445 intubated, according to the minister.

Turkey reported its first COVID-19 case on March 11. Enditem
Research team from the University of Gottingen investigates the influence of storage on the flavor of ripe tomatoes

There is much debate about the correct storage of tomatoes. There are two main options available to consumers: storage in the refrigerator or at room temperature. A research team from the University of Gottingen has now investigated whether there are differences in the flavour of ripe tomatoes depending on how they are stored and taking into account the chain of harvesting from farm to fork. No perceptible difference was found: the variety of tomato is much more important. The results have been published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

How does the flavour change when ripe, picked tomatoes go through a commercial post-harvest chain and are then stored either in the refrigerator (7 degrees Celsius) or at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius)? Researchers from the Division of Quality of Plant Products at the University of Gottingen analysed flavour-related attributes in new tomato strains drawing on the expertise of a "sensory panel". The sensory panel consisted of experienced and trained assessors who use their senses to perceive and evaluate the sensory properties of products. Among other attributes, this panel examined the discernible sweetness, acidity and juiciness of tomatoes. No significant differences in flavour were found between the two storage options when the entire post-harvest chain is taken into account.

"It is the variety of tomato in particular that has an important influence on the flavour. Therefore, the development of new varieties with an appealing flavour can be a step towards improving the flavour quality of tomatoes," says Larissa Kanski, lead author of the study. "The shorter the storage period, the better it is for the flavour and related attributes. However, we were able to show that, taking into account the entire post-harvest chain, short-term storage of ripe tomatoes in the refrigerator did not affect the flavour," reports Head of Division Professor Elke Pawelzik.

###

Original publication: Kanski L, Naumann M and Pawelzik E (2020) Flavor-Related Quality Attributes of Ripe Tomatoes Are Not Significantly Affected Under Two Common Household Conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science (2020). Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00472

The study is part of the PETRAq+n - project (Partizipative Entwicklung von QualitatsTomaten fur den nachhaltigen regionalen Anbau), which is financially supported by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (VWZN3255).

Contact

Professor Elke Pawelzik

University of Gottingen

Department of Crop Sciences, Division of Quality of Plant Products

Carl-Sprengel-Weg 1, 37075 Gottingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 395545

Email: epawelz@gwdg.de

Larissa Kanski

University of Gottingen

Division of Quality of Plant Products

Email: lkanski@uni-goettingen.de
Peel police have charged a 40-year-old Milton teacher at a Mississauga area private school with sexual assault, and are appealing to the public for more information.

The alleged incidents began in the winter of 2019, Peel Region police said Tuesday, and he was arrested March 9. Police said the alleged victim is a young female who attended the same school as the accused.

Mustafa Alazzawi is charged with sexual assault and sexual interference, the latter of which relates to touching, directly or indirectly and for a sexual purpose, with a part of the body of a person under 16.

Investigators believe that there may be additional victims and witnesses, police alleged in a news release Tuesday night.

This investigation is ongoing; anyone with information can contact the forces Special Victims Unit Bureau at 905-453-2121, ext. 3460.

LR Louie Rosella is a reporter and editor for InsideHalton.com and its sister papers. Reach him via email: lrosella@metroland.com
Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman and Millie Bobby Brown are among the A-list celebrities handing over their social media accounts to the coronavirus experts amid the pandemic.

The Pass The Mic project from the ONE Campaign aims to highlight the need for a global response to the COVID-19 crisis and will see stars give experts and frontline workers a direct line to their millions of followers to help spread the word.

Stranger Things actress Brown, 16, has over 33 million followers on Instagram.

Millie Bobby Brown is handing over her Instagram account for one day. (Pass The Mic/ONE Campaign)

She is among the celebrities who will be handing over their accounts for one day, telling their fans, The last person you need to hear from right now is me.

Read more: Naomi Watts, Hugh Jackman among celebs feeling the pressure of lockdown

Experts including David Anderson, director of quality at Nightingale Hospital, Manchester, and Aya Chebbi, youth envoy of the African Union, will be on hand to explain why a global effort will be crucial in order to eradicate the virus.

Specialists such as Jen Kates of Global Health & HIV Policy will share their views, based on data, science and facts, in a bid to raise awareness of what is going on on the frontline in the battle to beat the disease.

Julia Roberts is taking part in the Pass The Mic project on Instagram (Pass The Mic/ONE Campaign)

Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts, 52, will be the first celebrity to Pass The Mic, handing her 8.7 million followers over to American infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci on Thursday 21 May.

Other stars who will be taking part include Penelope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, David Oyelowo, Alan Cumming, Naomi Ackie and Robin Wright.

Rita Wilson, who along with her husband Tom Hanks recently recovered from coronavirus, is also reported to be taking part.

ONE is a global movement campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

The #passthemic takeovers will continue on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter throughout May and into June.
The general administration department of the Delhi government has decided to seek written explanation from the employees who do not attend office for two consecutive days.

Deputy Secretary (GAD) Promila Mitra has issued an office order, saying that according to the coronavirus lockdown guidelines, government offices have been permitted to function with full strength.

"All the branch in-charges of GAD are therefore directed to maintain a manual record of daily attendance of staff working under them," Mitra said in the order.

The department said that an explanation should be sought from officials who do not come to office for two consecutive days.

"The branch in-charges are also required to submit a weekly record of attendance on every Friday," it added.

While announcing the relaxations for the fourth phase of the coronavirus-forced lockdown earlier this week, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that both government and private offices can operate with full strength.

He, however, encouraged private sector offices to work from home.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As consolidation in the convenience store distribution industry continues, a quiet player has emerged as a leader in the northeast. Palm Beach Capital (PBC) has named a new divisionNational Convenience Distributors (NCD). NCD will be the name of the parent company leading PBCs three current acquisitions in this vertical; Harold Levinson Associates, LLC (Farmingdale, NY), PBCs first deal in the industry back in 2014; Consumer Products Distributors, LLC d/b/a J. Polep Distribution Services (Chicopee, MA) in October 2019, and the newest of PBCs family members, Allen Brothers Wholesale Distribution (Philadelphia, PA) in March 2020.

Ed Berro, President of the Harold Levinson Associates Division, I have been in the convenience distribution industry for over forty years and I have never been as optimistic and excited about the future as I am today. Palm Beach Capital has created something truly special with National Convenience Distributors. The three divisions complement each other exceptionally well and together we are a much stronger organization. I look forward to future additions to our NCD team.

With the creation of this entity, internal and external benefits will be realized including, but not limited to, enhanced customer experiences, implementation of best practices, integration of centralized operating systems, increased marketing power and go-to-market efficiencies, and synergistic and collaborative programs. These proficiencies will help NCD emerge as an industry leader delivering outstanding service, unmatched values, and unwavering dedication to all of their relationships, for many years to come.

National Convenience Distributors has now become the largest full-line convenience store distributorship strictly servicing the Northeast.

About National Convenience Distributors (NCD)

Founded in 2020, Palm Beach Capitals National Convenience Distributors (NCD) division, is the parent brand of HLA Distributors, J. Polep Distribution Services, and Allen Brothers, serving customers in the Northeastern United States as one of the countrys largest full-line convenience store distributors. For more than 120 years, the companies have shared nearly identical family values, corporate cultures, and customer-centric philosophies. Now, under one parent company, NCD, will continue to enhance the legacy of excellence and shared values while providing value-added services and personalized product recommendations that nurture long-term relationships. The NCD website is http://www.TheNCD.com

About Palm Beach Capital

Founded in 2001, Palm Beach Capital is a private equity investment firm with offices in both West Palm Beach and Sarasota, Florida. Currently investing out of its fourth committed fund, the firm focuses on high growth investment opportunities and partners with management teams in middle market management buyouts, recapitalizations and growth equity investments. Since its inception, Palm Beach Capital has made investments in 49 portfolio companies (59 distinct investments including co-investment vehicles). For more information, please visit the firm's website at http://www.pbcap.com

About Harold Levinson Associates

Founded in 1977, Harold Levinson Associates is a leading distributor to the convenience store industry and provides candy, cigarettes and premium cigars, frozen and refrigerated foods, as well as its own Island Coffee brand of coffee products to its over 15,000 customers located throughout the United States. Currently ranked as the 6th largest wholesaler to the convenience store industry, the company services its customers from six strategic distribution centers located in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit the companys website at http://www.hladistributors.com

About J. Polep Distribution Services

Founded in 1898 and based in Chicopee, Massachusetts, J. Polep Distribution Services is a leading distributor to the convenience and grocery store industry by providing candy; snack items; fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods; cigarettes and cigars; and coffee products to its over 6,000 customers located throughout the Northern United States. Currently ranked as the 7th largest wholesaler to the convenience store industry, the company services its customers from seven strategic distribution and cross-dock centers located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. J. Poleps objective is to service your business with the programs and value-added services that they offer. For more information, please visit the Companys website at http://www.jpolep.com.

About Allen Brothers

Allen Brothers, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began its operations in 1910 as a family business and has become one of the nations leading distributors servicing customers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware. Known for exceptional customer service and on-time deliveries, the Company offers a wide array of products including candy, snacks, grocery, food service items, coffee, tobacco products and general merchandise. Led by industry veteran and third-generation President, Jeff Allen. For more information, please visit the companys website at http://www.abdelivers.com
When Mayor de Blasio announced New York Citys open streets program, he said the focus here will be where the need [for social distancing space] is the greatest. That makes sense. Open streets are critical for the social distancing needed to bring infection rates down and finally flatten the curve. Sadly, Mayor de Blasio hasnt kept his word for those of us in need.

Here on Staten Island, we have the second-highest rate of COVID-19 infections in New York City, sidewalks that are too small for social distancing, an aging population with a high rate of senior citizens and disproportionately high rate rates of asthma, especially on our hard-hit North Shore. Stapletons Bay Street corridor has even been cited by New Yorkers for Parks last year for having particularly low open space acreage.

So, how many miles do we have? Out of New York Citys close to 21 miles of open streets, Staten Island has just 1.3 miles, divided among two locations -- Silver Lake Park Road and Bank Street, one of which ought to be closed off to traffic permanently anyway. Thats a slap in the face.

We need more streets, especially in hard-hit areas like Stapleton. Tappen Park is Staten Islands second-oldest park and it is the centerpiece of Stapletons town center. As we grapple with the devastating effects of COVID-19 on our vulnerable populations and communities, a fair share of open streets would allow us to participate in the benefits of safe, walkable areas in our neighborhood.

We are asking that the mayor revisit his decision to only include 1.3 miles allocated for Staten Island and consider our boroughs need for more open walkways for greater social distancing during the COVID-19 crisis.

During a time when decisions can be life or death, we cannot continue to be the forgotten borough.

(Rose Uscianowski is a Stapleton resident and Kamillah Hanks is president of the Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership.)
Anti-abortion groups pressured the anonymous plaintiff in the landmark abortion rights case Roe vs Wade to speak out against abortion, she revealed in a documentary filmed in the months before her death.

Norma McCorvey, the case's "Jane Roe", had shocked the nation when she said she would pledge her life to "helping women save their babies" nearly 25 years after the 1972 US Supreme Court case that struck down restrictive anti-abortion laws and protected women's right to the procedure. She also wrote about her reversal in a 1998 memoir and appeared at anti-abortion demonstrations.

But her announcement was a paid stunt supported by anti-abortion organisations, she says in the FX documentary AKA Jane Roe, set to premiere on Friday. It airs on Hulu on Saturday.

"I was the big fish," she says in a clip from the film. "I think it was a mutual thing. I took their money and they'd put me out in front of the cameras and tell me what to say."

Ms McCorvey died of heart failure in February 2017. As part of her "deathbed confession" captured on film, she relayed her support for abortion rights: "If a young woman wants to have an abortion, that's no skin off my ass. That's why they call it choice."

The documentary was filmed over several months in 2016, leading up to the election of Donald Trump. Ms McCorvey supported his opponent Hillary Clinton.

"I wish I knew how many abortions Donald Trump was responsible for," Ms McCorvey says in the film. "I'm sure he's lost count, if he can count that high."

She had previously said she no longer supported abortion rights following her conversion to Evangelical Christianity, then spent several years supporting efforts to overturn the Supreme Court decision central to the movement.

The film's trailer outlines Ms McCorvey's difficult childhood  during which her family told her that her homosexuality was "dirty"  and her complicated legacy in the abortion rights movement.

She was married at 16 but was abused after revealing to her husband that she was pregnant, she says.

Her voice in the trailer says: "It was 1969, I was pregnant and I was scared. These two attorneys were looking for a plaintiff to help overturn the Texas abortion laws."

March for Women's Lives: History in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 March for Women's Lives: History in pictures March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Thousands rally in Washington DC on 25 April for the March for Women's Lives in favour of abortion rights AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Thousands rally in Washington DC on 25 April for the March for Women's Lives in favour of abortion rights Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Thousands rally in Washington DC on 25 April for the March for Women's Lives in favour of abortion rights Getty Images March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Thousands rally in Washington DC on 25 April for the March for Women's Lives in favour of abortion rights AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Demonstrators participating in the March for Women's Lives make their way over the Brooklyn Bridge to a rally at New York City Hall on 28 August 2004 AP March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 A demonstrator punches an effigy of President Bush as thousands take part in the March For Women's Lives Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Anti-abortion counter-protesters oppose the March For Women's Lives in Washington DC Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 A police officer stands between two priests outside the US Supreme Court during the March for Women's Lives in Washington DC AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 Pro-choice activists shout slogans during the March For Women's Lives Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2004 The 2004 March for Women's Lives on the National Mall in Washington DC Jfruh March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2017 Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington on 21 January Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2017 Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington on 21 January Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2017 Protesters gather during the Women's March on Washington on 21 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2018 A woman shouts as she attends the Womens March on New York on 20 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2018 Protesters hold up placards during the Women's March in London on 21 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2018 Protesters hold signs as they attend the Womens March on New York on 20 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2018 Protesters hold signs near the White House following the Women's March on Washington on 20 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2018 A young protester hold up placards during the Women's March in London on 21 January Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2019 Protesters rally at the Womens March on Washington on 19 January AFP/Getty March for Women's Lives: History in pictures 2019 Protesters rally at the Womens March on Washington on 19 January AFP/Getty

Though she helped make abortion legal, she never had the procedure  while pregnant with her third child, she signed the affidavit that challenged the state's law prohibiting abortions except in cases where it saves the mothers' life.

Operation Rescue, the militant anti-abortion group that Ms McCorvey said had paid her to publicly denounce her views, has denied her claims.

In a statement, group president Troy Newman said: "There is no way her Christian faith or her pro-life beliefs were false."

The documentary arrives in the midst of renewed attacks against the Supreme Court ruling from conservative state legislatures and the Trump administration and its allies, while officials in at least eight states have relied on coronavirus guidelines prohibiting nonelective medical procedures to halt abortion clinics.

Abortion providers in Texas, where Roe vs Wade began, were forced to stop offering services for nearly a month under the rules  the first time in decades that the state had banned legal abortions.
Satirists are freshly rendering President Trump as a perilous man of medicine.

During the global pandemic, political cartoonists have depicted him as a leader who frequently veers from what the scientific community is saying is safe. And now that Trump is saying the White House physician approved his taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug the FDA has issued serious warnings about, some editorial artists are ramping up their mockery.

Trump often is pictured not wearing a protective mask in public, plus "he self-prescribes a potentially dangerous drug," says Barry Blitt, whose new cover for the New Yorker, titled "Natural Ability," imagines the president performing surgery as advisers in scrubs look on. (It was created before Trump's hydroxychloroquine announcement.) "And yet here he is, seemingly healthy and energetic enough to express wide-ranging hostility at all hours of the day."

"Ordinarily I would put my trust in science, but at this point, I'd not be surprised to see him flouting the laws of gravity or thermodynamics, distorting the fabric of space-time, even uniting the Democratic Party," continues Blitt, who this month was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

"What I like best about Barry's astute image is that a little bit of tongue is sticking out," says New Yorker art editor Francoise Mouly, noting that Blitt is often a master of the telling detail in his covers.

Here is how cartoonists Jeff Danziger and Adam Zyglis lampooned Trump's latest responses to the pandemic, as the reported U.S. cases top 1.5 million:
Los Angeles Public Health Department Continue to Study Disproportionate Death Rates Within Underserved Communities

African Americans are still reflecting one of the highest COVID-19 Death rates within the Los Angeles Community.

Tuesday, May 19, Los Angeles County Officials updated the community with their response towards the COVID-19 outbreak. There has been ongoing progression towards opening communal spaces and nonessential businesses, but the Los Angeles Health Department urge those with underlining health conditions remain in the house as outside traffic picks up, the risk of spreading the virus is still present. The Director of the Public Health Department Dr. Barbara Ferrer shared the latest positive case count and current death rate due to coronavirus. Although Los Angeles is seeing progress in flattening the curve, there has not been a day with zero deaths due to COVID-19 in the last two months.

Looking at the effects of COVID-19 within race and ethnicity, the data reflects the disproportionate death rate and financial fall within the African American and Latino communities. The model chart reflected black communities having one of the highest COVID-19 related death rates when compared to other ethnicities. Black people make up 7% of the positive cases and 12% of the county rate, even though only 8% African Americans are part of L.A. population.

ADVERTISEMENT

The information collected from the coronavirus death rates where race and ethnicity was identified in 1,722 fallen victims showcased 12% were African American, 18% were Asian, 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 39% were LatinX, 29% were white, and 1% identified with another race or ethnicity. The disproportionate death rate within the African American and latino communities were acknowledged. Through a pro-rated formula, the health department determined that African Americans have the highest COVID-19 related death rate than all other races. An in-depth study presented those who lived below the poverty line, had three times the rate of death from COVID-19.

Barbara Ferrer, Director of Public Health disclosed the latest updates surrounding the COVID-19 Virus. Dr.Ferrer shared Tuesday, May 19, Ferrer acknowledged the growing death rate in Los Angeles, there were 76 additional deaths, 52 of these individuals were between the ages of 65 and over, 48 of them with underlining health conditions. 19 people were between the ages of 41-65, with 14 of them having preexisting medical concerns. Two victims were under the age of 41 with underlining health conditions, this brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 1,913.

Ferrer disclosed as of May 19, there are 1,183 new coronavirus reports. These numbers reflect 1,305 positive cases in Long Beach and 702 COVID-19 reports coming from Pasadena. Approximately 23% of those infected with COVID-19 are hospitalized at some point. 92% of positive cases that died, had underlining health conditions. In summary there are 39,573 positive COVID-19 cases in the Los Angeles region. Within the unsheltered community, there were 300 positive coronavirus cases. This includes 150 reports coming from shelters, they are now appropriately isolated.

Public officials have preached the importance of testing capacity throughout this crisis. It has been referred to as the key to containing the coronavirus. Although there is a delay in testing accessibility nationwide, Supervisor Hilda Solis assured Angelenos that L.A. has the support to supply available testing across the county. Solis recommended anyone experiencing fever, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, or a loss of taste or smell would be a sign to get tested. If their residents not showing symptoms but are over the age of 65 or have a chronic health disorder, Solis urged for those most susceptible to the virus should also be examined for COVID-19. In collaboration with California State Governor Gavin Newsom, L.A. is looking to bring more testing sites online, including a location in Cal State L.A. Currently there is an overall capacity to test 20,000 people. Supervisor Solis stated, Widespread testing helps inform our strategies on when and how fast we can reopen.
The race for Metro District 3, which represents the southwest swath of the Portland suburbs, is headed to a runoff.

Tom Anderson, a 58-year-old real estate broker and longtime Tigard City Council member, had a narrow lead over his nearest challenger with 35.9% of the vote in partial returns.

Gerritt Rosenthal, a veteran environmental consultant, tallied 30.2% of the vote and will face off with Anderson in November.

Rosenthal, a 75-year-old Stafford resident with years of land use planning and environmental consulting experience, has experience lobbying in Salem as well.

The two will face off in November in their attempt to inherit the suburban District 3 seat held for two terms by Craig Dirksen, a former Tigard mayor. Dirksen opted not to seek a third term.

The eventual winner will join a Metro Council that had big ambitions before the coronavirus pandemic struck, creating national financial uncertainty. Metros homeless services financial package, also on Tuesdays ballot, appeared to pass across the entire metro area.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

Metro leaders have also signaled they intend to pursue a $7 billion transportation package in November.

Anderson grew up in Aloha and moved to Tigard with his family 15 years ago. He and his wife have two teenagers.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19

By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:

Anglo Asian Mining PLC, the gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, completed 2019 with profit worth $30.1 million, Trend reports referring to the company.

Accordance to the report, the companys profit increased by 19 percent on a year-on-year basis compared to $25.2 million in 2018.

The total revenues increased by two percent year-on-year from $90.4 million in 2018 to $92.1 million in 2019.

Some 82,795 gold equivalent ounces were produced in 2019, calculated using budgeted metal prices compared to forecast of 82,000 to 84,000 gold equivalent ounces.

Gold production for 2019 decreased by four percent year-on-year to 70,098 ounces compared to 72,798 ounces in 2018.

Copper production for 2019 increased by 34 percent year-on-year to 2,210 tons compared to 1,645 tons.

Silver production for 2019 deceased up to 159,356 ounces compared to 210,184 ounces in 2018.

Some 53,992 ounces of gold bullion (59,481 ounces in 2018) were sold at an average price of $1,410 per ounce in 2019 ($1,265 per ounce in 2018).

The copper concentrate shipments to the customer totaled 10,281 dry metric tons with a sales value of $16.7 million in 2019 (excluding the Azerbaijani governments production share) compared to 7,675 dry metric tons with a sales value of $15.4 million in 2018.

The cost of gold production increased to $591 per ounce in 2019 ($541 per ounce in 2018). The total production target for 2020 is between 75,000 and 80,000 gold equivalent ounces.

"I am very pleased to report on another year of excellent performance for Anglo Asian," non-executive chairman of the company Khosrow Zamani said. "We continue to enjoy higher precious metal prices and the company increased both its turnover and profits in 2019 with production broadly similar to 2018."

"The company is now debt free and has a robust balance sheet," Zamani added. "Our geological exploration program made very good progress. We announced two new significant copper and gold discoveries at Avshancli and Gilar. The mineral reserves and life of our existing mines are being extended and several promising new mineral occurrences are under investigation."

"The Group's financial position continued to strengthen in 2019," non-executive chairman of the company said. "Cash from operations including cash in transit was $42.9 million and free cash flow was $25.5 million. The final installment of its bank debt was repaid in February 2020."

"The Company had over $50 million of bank debt in 2015 and it was therefore a significant milestone to become debt free in early 2020," Zamani said. "The company is committed to delivering returns to shareholders by dividends and has a target of distributing approximately 25 percent of free cash flow to its shareholders. I am therefore delighted to announce a final dividend for 2019 of 4.5 cents per share giving a total dividend for 2019 of 8.0 cents per share."

----

Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
Guwahati/Imphal, May 20 : With 44 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, Assam saw its tally of Covid-19 patients rise to 185, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

Of the 44 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, 35 were reported in the state's main city of Guwahati and remaining in several other districts, he said.

Sarma also said that three Covid-19 patients escaped from Sarusajai (stadium) quarantine centre, causing immense stress for the authorities, but were traced and brought back.

"Thanks to police for apprehending them in time. Such acts shall attract punitive measures," he said in a tweet.

Out of the 185 positive cases found so far in Assam, 48 people have been discharged from hospitals after they recovered from the disease and three cases migrated to other states, while four died, including a 16-year-old girl, who was found to be infected a day after her death earlier this month.

Meanwhile, health officials in Manipur said 18 people, including 12 women -- all returnees from other states, mostly Chennai -- tested positive for coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

Of the 18, 14 returned to Manipur from Chennai and four from Delhi. With the fresh cases, the total number of positive cases in Manipur rose to 25 with active cases 23.

In Meghalaya, coronavirus returned 24 hours after the state's 13th and last patient was pronounced cured, with one person found infected by coronavirus on Tuesday night.

In Tripura, four more persons tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday night, taking the state's total number of cases to 173, though only 38 of them are active.

All the five people who tested positive in the two states had recently returned from Chennai, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad K. Sangma said.
Texas lawmakers are questioning the hastily-awarded, multi-million dollar contract that put a little-known company in charge of the states effort to track down people who may be infected with the coronavirus.

Hearst Newspapers reported last weekend that Texas will give MTX Group up to $295 million over a 27-month period to hire contact tracers and create a call center to find people who were exposed to the virus. Building up a force of contact tracers is key to the states strategy for limiting the spread of coronavirus as Texas reopens its economy.

The Texas Department of State Health Services, which is administering the contract, could not cite another state in which MTX has performed the same level of work. It said the company has helped build and run a coronavirus call center in New York City, but was unable to say whether the company has ever hired, trained and managed a fleet of tracers.

Legislators from both parties say they were caught off guard by the contract award and questioned whether it was an appropriate use of federal dollars. A history of contracting troubles at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission only compounds the worry, they say.

There was no heads-up, said Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, a member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee that writes and oversees the state budget. Bettencourt said Tuesday he had gotten a copy of the contract and was going to spend the afternoon reading it.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

$300 million is a big contract by any definition and the fact that it comes through during an emergency period of time may allow it to not have any legislative review, but theres going to be a lot of questions about it, Bettencourt said. This is a concept that has opposition to it.

The contract went out for bids on May 5, with proposals due May 7. It was executed May 13.

Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the health department, said the contract includes funding for up to 1,000 tracers, but that MTX will likely only have to hire about 500, which would lower the payout to about $180 million.

The company has been working for several state and local health agencies since the pandemic began, mostly to develop and oversee a contact tracing app. As of last year, it had about 200 employees, many of them based in India, according to Vanguard Law Magazine.

MTX declined to comment. It has at least two contracts in place in New York, one with the state for $250,000, and another with New York City for $46 million. Health officials in New York did not immediately respond to requests for more information about the contracts.

KEY SAFETY MEASURE: Rising cases, inadequate tracing put Texas at risk during reopening

Contact tracers track down close contacts of those infected, monitor them for symptoms and provide them with instructions on testing and quarantine or isolation.

During a conference call with state senators Monday night  which featured a cameo from Gov. Greg Abbott  numerous senators expressed concerns ranging from a potential invasion of privacy to a lack of oversight and transparency in the awarding process, officials said.

Nobody who was on the call last night has seen the contract, said Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo. What are the provisions? Is there something that obligates the state in the future when this money runs out? We certainly want to know that.

Seliger said while some senators expressed concerns about an invasion of privacy from government-hired contact tracers, he questioned the efficacy of the massive expenditure.

Given my choice, I would spend it on testing. How many Texans could we test for that  which basically is the point of contact tracing anyway  to determine who it is we need to test, he said.

Seliger said at one point during the call Monday evening he asked who signed the contract for the state but no one could say.

The state has entered into a very large contract with a private company and nobody even knew who signed the contract, Seliger said. Seliger said Abbott was on the call Monday night and heard some of those concerns.

Hes been very forthcoming on issues that pop up like this, Seliger said. I expect there will be a discussion.

Abbott came under fire about the contract Tuesday from conservative Houston activist Steve Hotze, who said he will sue over privacy concerns. Without citing evidence, he said the state would be tracking all Texans through its tracing app and using the information to check on their whereabouts.

This is an unconstitutional act that Gov. Abbott did without the approval of the state Legislature, Hotze said in a video to supporters. He thinks he has the power to dictate this on his own. We're filing a lawsuit this week in federal court to overturn that action.

The governors office disputed Hotzes claims, saying Abbott had no part in the contracting process, and that the health department followed the protocols established by the Legislature.

Other top Republicans have advocated for contact tracing. In a report on reopening Texas earlier this month, a task force led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for a statewide tracing effort, including phone apps if reasonable protection of personal information can be assured.

Sherry Sylvester, an adviser for Patrick, said the health department did not review this issue with our office or the Senate. We are looking into it now.

Van Deusen said the states contact tracing app, Texas Health Trace, is voluntary and that any information collected is protected by health privacy laws. The app was developed by Deloitte.

The state has not provided a copy of the contract to Hearst Newspapers. It was signed by Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Phil Wilson, according to the agency.

Among the ten losing bidders were contracting giants IBM, Accenture, Maximus, AT&T Global Business Services and NTT Data Services, according to the health department.

Its not only Republicans who are expressing concerns about the MTX contract. Austin Democratic Rep. Donna Howard, a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee, said she found it alarming that so much money had been awarded so quickly without legislative oversight or transparency.

Im definitely supportive of doing whatever we need to do to get contact tracing in place. We needed it before. We certainly need it now, and were going to need it in the future, Howard said. But it needs to be done right and when action is taken without legislative involvement thats this large of a contract over this length of time, Im definitely going to look at that with a jaundiced eye.
The United States and China reportedly clashed at the annual World Health Assembly on Monday. The summit, which focused on charting a plan to combat the pandemic worldwide, turned into a battleground amid growing tensions and diplomatic battle between the two countries.

According to reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the event by announcing a $2 billion extra funding for the pandemic response. The budget would go towards dispatching more doctors and medical supplies to Africa and other nations across the globe.

The contribution, which amounts to twice than how much the U.S. had been giving the federal health agency, would be spent over two years. The funding could help place China at the forefront of international efforts to combat the deadly virus.

American officials claim the contribution is an attempt by the Chinese government to stall scrutiny and investigation of the allegations claiming they hid crucial information about the new coronavirus and its outbreak to the rest of the world.

U.S. authorities denounced the aid and claimed it was an attempt to influence and distract the organization from addressing calls from multiple nations to hold the Chinese government accountable for the outbreak.

Ryan Hass, a China scholar at the Brookings Institution, claimed Xi always steps forward when the U.S. withdraws from international leadership. "Xi has been ruthlessly opportunistic about seeking to exploit America's withdrawal from global leadership for China's advantage," Hass said.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded less than a day later, where he gave the World Health Organization a month to commit to improvements. Failure to do so would result in the U.S. permanently stopping its funding to the public health agency. He also accused the health agency of heavily depending on China. The four-page letter ends with Trump saying the U.S. would continue supporting W.H.O. if it "actually demonstrate independence from China."

Leaders from other nations criticized the lack of unity in fighting the global health crisis during their remarks. They did not name countries, but encouraged all nations to "set aside their differences."

During the summit, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's Director-General, acknowledged the criticism the organization had been receiving over its handling of the early weeks of the outbreak. He, along with 144 countries, agreed on initiating an independent review of the agency's COVID-19 response "at the appropriate moment."

Dr. Tedros urged countries to continue funding the agency and do everything it takes to ensure there would not be a repeat of the 2020 pandemic. He claims the world needs a sustained commitment to using the tools and resources available to keep the people safe from the epidemic.

The agency's chief did not address Trump's insistence on investigating allegations that the COVID-19 virus originated in a research facility in China.

The Chinese government contributed $86 million to the international health agency in 2018 and 2019, while the United States gave over $893 million in contribution within the two years.

Want to read more? Check these out:
Ajman's ruler has issued a new law pertaining to regulation of the emirate's real estate development in a bid to maintain a balance between the interests of both the developer and buyer and ensuring the emirate's competitiveness in the property sector.

HH Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman, has issued a new law pertaining to the regulation of real estate development in the Emirate of Ajman.

It is aimed at regulating real estate development projects in the emirate to forge a safe investment environment in the field of real estate development.

It is also focused at achieving a balance between the interests of both the developer and the buyer, ensuring and enhancing the emirate's competitiveness in the real estate sector.

As per the royal decree, any other text or judgment contradicting the provisions of this law will be cancelled. It shall come into force 30 days following its issuance and will be published in the official gazette.-TradeArabia News Service
The Haryana government will bear three months interest on education loans taken by thousands of students in the state, Chief Minister M L Khattar announced here on Wednesday.

Haryana government will pay the interest of three months of all those students who are completing their education this year or who have already completed their education in the previous year, but have not been able to start their jobs or business due to this coronavirus pandemic.As many as 36,000 students will be benefitted, he said in a televised address to the people of the state.

The burden on the ex-chequer for this is estimated to be about Rs 40 crore.

The Haryana government will also bear two percent of the total interest on loans of up to Rs 50,000 under the 'Shishu Yojana' of the Centre's Mudra Loan Scheme, an official statement here quoted the chief minister as saying.

They will not be required to give any type of collateral for this loan.Under this scheme, loan will be provided to 5 lakh people in the state, Khattar said.

He said the state government will provide loans up to Rs 15,000 to three lakh poor people for starting their own small businesses at nominal two percent rate of interest.

These loans will be provided under the Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) scheme, in which banks charge four percent interest.Of this, two percent interest will be borne by the state government, he said.

He said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activity has been limited for the last three months.As a result, not only the family incomes have been affected but the government's revenue has also come down drastically, he said.

The chief minister said banks will play a prominent role in restarting businesses that have suffered due to the pandemic-induced lockdown.

But applicants often face various problems in availing loans from different banks. Since the last three months, e-governance has been widely used by the government to help the common man.Keeping this in mind, a portal is being developed on which one can apply for any kind of loan from any bank to start a new venture. The state government will ensure that all such loan applications are approved by banks without any delay, he said.

Khattar said the government was determined that in this crisis not even a single person should remain deprived of food.

Daily needs of families will not suffer due to lack offamily income. With this resolve in mind, financial assistance of Rs 636 crore has been provided to 15,09,108 families in the last three months in Haryana.This amount has been directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, he said.

The chief minister said keeping in mind the spirit of the 'Antyodaya' scheme that no one should sleep hungry, free ration is also being made available to more than 27 lakh families by the state government.

Apart from this, 3,70,925 families who do not have ration cards are also being provided free ration through Distress Ration Tokens. In addition, so far 2.62 crore food packets and more than 12,22,000 dry ration packets have also been distributed to needy people, he said.

About migrant labourers, he said that more than 2 lakh labourers have so far been send to their native states from Haryana through a total of 53 trains and 4,257 buses.

During the last two months, more than 600 shelter homes have also been run for stranded labourers, he said.

The chief minister said many types of relaxations have been given during the lockdown since May 18 and majority of economic activities have been allowed.

However, many businesses need government assistance to resume their work, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In this article TRI-CA

The global number of confirmed coronavirus cases crossed 5 million on Thursday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Now, the Federal Reserve is concerned that a second wave of infections around year's end will result in another round of social distancing and further damage to the economy, while the WHO made clear Wednesday that the pandemic is far from over after countries around the world collectively reported the largest daily increase in coronavirus cases so far. Apple and Google have released contact tracing technology and three U.S. states have committed to using it. The coverage on this live blog has ended  but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S. team. Global cases: More than 5 million

Global deaths: At least 328,172

Top 5 countries: United States (More than 1.5 million), Russia (308,705), Brazil (291,579), United Kingdom (249,619), Spain (232,555). The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

2020 Olympic Games might have to be canceled if they can't be held next year

10:35 a.m. (London time): The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said he understands why the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Games would have to be canceled if they cannot take place next summer. "You cannot forever employ 3,000 to 5,000 people in an organizing committee," IOC President Thomas Bach told BBC Sport on Thursday. "You cannot have the athletes being in uncertainty." The event has been postponed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic and local organizers have said they don't have an alternative plan if the Games can't go ahead in July and August 2021.  Holly Ellyatt

Euro zone's economic downturn shows signs of easing

09:00 a.m. (London time): Business activity in the euro zone rebounded in the month of May, as the region began to slowly reopen after approximately two months of lockdowns. Data from IHS Markit showed that the flash euro zone composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 30.5 in May, up from 13.6 in April. May's reading was the highest since February. The survey measures business activity in the services and manufacturing sector in the 19-member euro zone; a reading below 50 indicates a contraction.  Silvia Amaro

A woman wearing a protective mask rides her bicycle next to the Eiffel Tower on April 23, 2020 in Paris, France. Chesnot | Getty Images

US gives AstraZeneca $1 billion for Oxford vaccine

08:45 a.m. (London time): AstraZeneca has received more than $1 billion from the U.S. Health Department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a vaccine from the University of Oxford. The British-Swedish drugmaker has agreed to initially supply at least 400 million doses of the vaccine and secured total manufacturing capacity to produce 1 billion doses, with first deliveries in September. AstraZeneca's development program of the vaccine includes a phase three clinical trial with 30,000 participants and a pediatric trial. Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, said the drugmaker would do everything in its power to make the vaccine "quickly and widely available."  Vicky McKeever

EasyJet to restart some flights from June 15

08:30 a.m. (London time): British budget airline EasyJet announced Thursday that a small number of mainly domestic flights from 21 European airports will restart from mid-June. This plan includes U.K. domestic routes, it said in a statement, as well as some routes from France, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. "Flying will principally be on domestic routes alongside a minimal number of international routes. The airline expects to increase flying as customer demand continues to build and restrictions are relaxed," EasyJet said. The airline said it is introducing new safety measures, including enhanced aircraft cleaning and disinfection and the requirement for passengers and crew to wear masks.  Holly Ellyatt

Coronavirus cases globally top 5 million

2:15 p.m. (Singapore time)  Reported Covid-19 cases around the world topped 5 million on Thursday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The number of reported cases worldwide hit 5,000,038 and the global death toll now stands at 328,172, the latest data from Hopkins showed. Some countries began easing lockdowns in recent weeks, and reopening their economies.  Noah Higgins-Dunn

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier back at sea after it was sidelined for coronavirus

9:26 a.m. (Singapore time)  Some of the nearly 5,000 crewmembers aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier became infected with the virus, forcing the vessel to dock in Guam. The U.S. Navy announced on Wednesday that the Roosevelt was back at sea. In the near two months that the vessel was moored, the U.S. Navy tested every crewmember for infection, provided treatment to those who tested positive and cleaned the ship from bow to stern.  Amanda Macias, Saheli Roy Choudhury

Expedia revenue falls 15% as travel is decimated by pandemic

8 pm ET  Expedia reported that its revenue fell 15% year over year when announcing its first-quarter earnings. The company's latest financial results reflect the financial devastation the coronavirus pandemic has wrought on the travel industry, CNBC's Jessica Bursztynsky reports. However, the company said it did seem small signs of recovery in May. Hannah Miller

Facebook giving $20 million to women, minorities and veterans as part of $100 million small business grant

7:20 pm ET  Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said the company is going to give $20 million in grants to small businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans in the U.S. The $20 million is coming from the $100 million small business grant program that Facebook announced in March. Facebook plans to give $40 million to businesses in the U.S., and half of that is earmarked for businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans, she said on "Mad Money." Facebook will start to deliver that money to businesses sometime in the next few weeks, Sandberg said. Salvador Rodriguez

Executive says 80% of the ads on YouTube in April were not related to coronavirus

6:48 pm ET  YouTube advertisers in April mostly ran non-Covid related ads on the platform, an executive said. "80% of the ads that we saw in April were not Covid-related; they were straight-up ads," said Tara Walpert Levy, VP of agency and media solutions at Google and YouTube. She said generally, Covid-themed ads did not perform any better than regular ads on the site. The company looked at factors like what people watched and how they engaged, as well as brand metrics like consideration or brand preference. Surprisingly, YouTube found that Covid-specific ads performed no better or worse than regular ads. Megan Graham

Secretary Mnuchin may be wrong about an aspect of unemployment benefits

Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Treasury secretary, speaks during a virtual Senate Banking Committee hearing seen on a laptop computer in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified on the $2.2 trillion virus rescue package passed by the Congress in March. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg

6:28 pm ET Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that furloughed workers aren't eligible for unemployment if they refuse an offer to return to a prior job. That's generally true, but the CARES Act carved out a few reasons someone can refuse a job offer and still collect benefits  needing to care for a sick family member or a child whose school has closed, for example. States will likely interpret eligibility differently, experts said. Putting workers back on payroll is a key provision of the Paycheck Protection Program, which offers forgivable loans to small businesses. Many workers, primarily low- to moderate-income individuals, can potentially earn more from unemployment than a prior job. Greg Iacurci

Michigan AG asks Trump to wear mask for factory visit

President Donald Trump tours a Honeywell International Inc. factory producing N95 masks during his first trip since widespread COVID-19 related lockdowns went into effect May 5, 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

6:14 pm ET  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked President Donald Trump to wear a mask when he visits a Ford Motor factory in Ypsilanti on Thursday. In an open letter, Nessel said Trump has a "legal responsibility" under state law to wear a mask, CNBC's Dan Mangan reports. Trump has previously not worn a mask in public, and the White House is going to make its own determination as to whether he will wear one, according to Ford. Hannah Miller

Apple makes it easier to use iPhones with face masks on

Customers and staff wearing face masks in an Apple store in Tianjin, China, March 22, 2020. Zhang Peng | LightRocket via Getty Images

6:05 pm ET  Apple released a software update on Wednesday, iOS 13.5, which makes it easier to use an iPhone with a face mask on. The iPhone's facial recognition system, Face ID, cannot unlock a phone if the user's mouth and nose are covered. So now, when you swipe up to unlock your phone with a mask on, it will immediately display a screen that lets users input their password. Previously, there was a slight delay as the phone tried to scan the user's face again. Kif Leswing

Some San Francisco Bay Area restaurants to potentially offer outdoor dining

Customers wearing protective masks stand near signage informing people of a variety of pick-up options at Original Joe's restaurant in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, May 14, 2020. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg via Getty Images

5:45 pm ET  Restaurants in some California counties are allowed to offer dine-in service under specific health guidelines, but others remain closed to the public. The Bay Area, in particular, has been slower to adopt reopening measures, with San Francisco, and other cities and counties still only allowing delivery and pickup options for restaurants. However, San Jose is moving towards offering outdoor dining at restaurants and the city is waiting on approval from Santa Clara County. San Mateo County and the City of Berkeley are also considering adopting similar measures. Hannah Miller

Connecticut begins first reopening phase, other states expand retail services

5:25 pm ET  Connecticut entered the first phase of its reopening plan Wednesday, allowing retailers to offer in-store service. Outdoor museums and zoos are also open to visitors in the state and restaurants can provide outdoor dining. Kentucky and New Jersey also expanded their retail offerings. Retailers in Kentucky can offer in-store service at 33% capacity, while New Jersey automobile and motorcycle dealerships can resume in-person sales. For more on states' reopening progress, click here. Hannah Miller

University of California system institutes pay freeze

5 pm ET  The University of California is freezing the salaries of all of its non-unionized employees as it faces growing losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The UC is one of the largest public higher education systems in the U.S. and serves more than 290,000 students, the Associated Press reports. UC President Janet Napolitano as well the system's 10 chancellors are also taking a 10% salary cut. Hannah Miller

Moderna chairman defends company's vaccine data

4:45 pm ET  Moderna Chairman Noubar Afeyan defended the biotech firm's new vaccine data, saying it would never put out data on its potential vaccine for the coronavirus that looked different from "the reality." He added the company put out the extent of data it had available. The comment came a day after STAT News reported that some vaccine experts were skeptical of Moderna's data from its phase one human trial. They said it did not provide critical information to assess its effectiveness. The company said Monday all 45 patients enrolled produced binding antibodies seen at similar levels of people who have recovered from the virus. The vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies, which researchers believe is important to protect against the virus, for eight of the patients whose data was available so far. Data on neutralizing antibodies for the remaining patients are expected to come out later. Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Comcast, Disney, SeaWorld pop amid Florida theme park reopening hopes

4:30 pm ET  CNBC's Julia Boorstin reports that Comcast, Disney and SeaWorld will present plans to reopen parks to the Orange County task force.

Real estate brokerage CEO: Searches for homes with pools rising during pandemic

4:20 pm ET  Robert Reffkin, the CEO of real estate brokerage Compass, told CNBC that more people have been looking for homes with pools during the coronavirus pandemic.

Senators propose skills training credit for unemployed workers

4:00 pm ET  Four senators hope to boost workforce training for people left unemployed by the coronavirus crisis.Two Democrats and two Republicans have introduced a bill to create a $4,000 refundable tax credit that people who lost their jobs due to the crisis can use to offset costs of training programs before the end of next year. The measure, proposed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ben Sasse, R-Neb., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., would apply to apprenticeships, certificates and two-and-four-year schooling, including remote learning.The bipartisan bill comes at a time when Democrats and Republicans in Congress have struggled to agree on a way forward to provide relief to Americans and restart a ravaged economy. While House Democrats passed a sprawling $3 trillion package last week to try to mitigate the damage from the crisis, Senate Republicans have showed less urgency to approve more federal assistance. Jacob Pramuk

Houses on the market often face bidding wars

3:54 pm ET  After a significant drop in the number of houses available for sale amid the Covid-19 pandemic, homes that are on the market are often caught in a bidding war. More than 41% of homes experienced a bidding war in the four weeks ending May 10, according to Redfin, while only 9% of homes did in January. Potential homebuyers are eager to look at new listings as states lift stay-at-home restrictions, but sellers are more reluctant to put their homes on the market during widespread economic uncertainty, CNBC's Diana Olick reports. Hannah Miller

Tesla drops suit against California's Alameda County

Robots work on a Tesla Model X in the Tesla factory in Fremont, California in 2018. Mason Trinca | The Washington Post | Getty Images

3:43 pm ET  Tesla has withdrawn the suit it filed against California's Alameda County earlier this month. The company had asserted that the county's mandated shutdowns, due to Covid-19, contradicted California state policy. Tesla stopped production at the end of the day on March 23, but resumed operations earlier this month. The lawsuit was seen as a gesture by many because Tesla did not ask for a temporary restraining order, which could have been implemented and allowed it to proceed with vehicle manufacturing legally, right away. Jessica Bursztynsky

Fed officials worry about second wave of infections

3:35 pm ET  Minutes from the April Federal Reserve meeting show central banks concerned with longer-ranging impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting summary showed that officials were particularly concerned about a second wave of infections. In addition, they noted that the impacts of the economic slump, which looks to be the worst single-quarter drop in U.S. history, will fall on those least able to take the hit. They also said rate cuts and liquidity and lending programs were "crucial for limiting the severity" of the downturn. Jeff Cox

Trump administration purchases mask-cleaning machines that may damage masks

2:38 pm ET  After President Donald Trump pressured the Food and Drug Administration to waive certain rules, his administration was able to purchase mask-cleaning machines in a deal that ballooned from a $60 million price tag to one with a ceiling of $600 million. Not only did the deal costs explode, but the cleaning process used by the machines to sanitize the masks may actually damage them and prevent them from being reused.The machines were supposed to allow masks to be reused up to 20 times through sanitizing treatments. However, scientists and nurses say that masks cleaned by the machines began to degrade after two or three treatments, putting them at risk. "They keep saying these recycled masks are still safe after all these cycles, but we don't know that," said a nurse in Pennsylvania, whose hospital has used the machines. "What we do know is that there are not enough masks for medical workers and there are very real consequences if we get sick." Hannah Miller

Here are 8 new, in-demand jobs created by the pandemic

2:30 pm ET  You've probably heard about the millions of jobs destroyed by the coronavirus. But the pandemic has also created many new jobs. As companies consider how to bring their employees back into offices in the safest way possible, many are hiring temperature screeners and Covid-19 testers. Meanwhile, video platform support specialists are needed to help people carry out their remote weddings and work conferences. Here are the jobs borne out of the pandemic. Annie Nova

Global daily cases increased by most ever, WHO says

2:24 ET pm ET  Countries around the world collectively reported more new cases to the WHO in the past 24 hours than ever before, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Most new infections are coming from the Americas, followed by Europe and the Middle East, according to data compiled by the WHO. However, the virus could be spreading unknown in parts of the world with limited testing capacity and health care infrastructure. Will Feuer

Apple and Google release digital contact tracing technology

2:21 pm ET  Apple and Google's contact tracing system has launched in iOS and Android updates. Apple and Google won't make the actual contact tracing apps  government health bodies will. Alabama, North Dakota and South Carolina are the first states to commit publicly to using the system in the United States.The technology is designed to slow the spread of coronavirus by tracking who a person has been in close contact with, using Bluetooth processed on the device, instead of GPS location tracking and central databases. But whether users adopt the apps remains an open question: The more phones that opt-in to the system, the more successfully it can detect how the virus spreads. Kif Leswing

Antibody testing shows coronavirus is still spreading in low-income, minority communities in NYC

1:55 pm ET  New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the coronavirus is still spreading through New York City's low-income, predominantly minority communities when compared with the general population. According to results from approximately 8,000 antibody tests conducted by Northwell Health in New York City, Bronx had the highest percentage of positive tests at 34%. Meanwhile, New York City overall had a positive rate of nearly 20%. The state partnered with faith-based communities in lower-income, predominantly minority communities to conduct the antibody testing, which found that 27% of people in the group tested positive."The spread is continuing in those communities and that's where the new cases are coming from," Cuomo said. "What we're seeing in New York City is going to be true across the state." Jasmine Kim

With surge in online sales, Walmart speeds along launch of new smartphone app

1:40 pm ET  As more customers shop online during the pandemic, Walmart sped along the launch of a new smartphone app to make those purchases easier and nudge shoppers towards adding higher margin items to their virtual baskets. The big-box retailer's e-commerce sales jumped by 74% in the first quarter, as customers flocked to Walmart for everything from pasta sauce to bicycles. The company said it's attracting new customers who are trying online services like curbside pickup for the first time.Before the pandemic, Walmart planned to combine its two apps to blend together groceries and general merchandise, such as home decor and fashion. It decided to launch that app this week -- about six months ahead of schedule, said Janey Whiteside, Walmart's chief customer officer.She said the app includes a feature that's become popular during the pandemic: Walmart Pay. It allows customers to check out without having to touch a screen at the register. Melissa Repko

Trump pulling funds from WHO may hurt emergency program

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

1:22 pm ET  President Donald Trump permanently pulling U.S. funds from the World Health Organization could hurt the agency's emergency programs for poor nations, WHO officials warned. The agency's budget is already "very, very small" at about $2.3 billion a year, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Most funding from the United States goes directly out to the program that helps "some of the most vulnerable people in the world," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's health emergencies program, told reporters. The WHO's funding runs in two-year budget cycles. For the 2018 and 2019 funding cycle, the U.S. paid a $237 million required assessment as well as an additional $656 million in voluntary contributions to the agency, averaging $446 million a year and representing about 14.67% of the WHO's total budget, according to spokesman Tarik Jasarevic. Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Ricky Sandler says herd immunity is the best way to ease 'civil unrest' from pandemic restrictions

1:08 pm ET  Hedge fund executive Ricky Sandler has told his associates that he's now in favor of herd immunity as a way to combat the coronavirus. In a letter to friends, Sandler, who lost billions at the start of social distancing protocols, argues that the tactic will be the best way to avoid "civil unrest." "With proper coordination, I can envision Artists hosting virus relief concerts where young and healthy people go and hopefully get the virus and then the antibodies which allow them to donate blood to be used as a treatment or a prophylactic," Sandler wrote. Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health made a case against that approach in April. "For less severe diseases, this approach might be reasonable. But the situation for SARS-CoV-2 is very different: COVID-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and even death," two Johns Hopkins staffers wrote. Brian Schwartz

How PVH is managing shopping experience as its stores reopen

12:55 pm ET  PVH, owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, is offering customers face masks upon entry to its stores, as well as putting returned clothes in quarantine for a few days, CEO Manny Chirico told CNBC. It's all part of what Chirico called "a brave new world" for retail during the coronavirus pandemic. "It looks like the consumers really want to come back and shop, and we have to just manage this whole process," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." Kevin Stankiewicz

Workers at reopened Ford plant test positive for Covid-19

A Ford Motor employee inspects the all-new 2020 Ford Explorer before it rolls of the line to ensure quality for our customers. Ford

12:40 pm ET  Ford Motor closed and then reopened its Chicago assembly plant twice in less than 24 hours after two workers tested positive for Covid-19, the company confirmed. The plant, according to the company, reopened Wednesday after work areas were deep cleaned and disinfected. The brief closures on separate shifts Tuesday are the first-known type of incidents since Detroit automakers started reopening their large North American assembly plants on Monday. The plants were shuttered in March for employee safety and to lower the potential spread of the virus. Ford said the employees did not contract the coronavirus while at work, citing the incubation time of the virus. Ford and other automakers reopening plants have implemented stringent protocols to assist in lowering the chance of spreading the disease, as well as protocols such as pre-work questionnaires and temperature screenings to identify those who may be at higher risk of contracting Covid-19. Michael Wayland

United's new CEO doesn't expect a full recovery in travel demand without a vaccine

Passengers, some wearing masks and protective gear, queue for their flight at Terminal 1 of John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) amid the novel coronavirus pandemic on May 13, 2020 in Queens, New York. Johannes Eisele | AFP via Getty Images

12:10 pm ET  United Airlines' new CEO Scott Kirby reiterated that the airline is seeing a slight uptick in demand from a low-point last month but the recovery won't be immediate. "I think we have a gradual recovery, but the full recovery probably doesn't happen until we get to a vaccine. So we are preparing United to go through a time of depressed demand, pretty significantly depressed demand for a long period of time so that we make sure we are here and as soon as the vaccine is in place that we can bounce back quickly" Kirby told CNBC's Squawk Box. TSA data show the number of people passing through U.S. airport checkpoints is down more than 91% from a year ago. United on Wednesday announced it is working with Clorox and the Cleveland Clinic on guidelines for cleaning protocols and social distancing measures for passengers. Kirby, who has been United's president since August 2016, said he's hopeful the carrier can negotiate pay or other changes with labor unions that represent more than 80% of United's 96,000 employees, to avoid layoffs this fall. Leslie Josephs

How scammers are targeting Americans during the pandemic

12:02 pm ET  Nearly 50,000 Covid-19 related scams were reported to the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Sentinel Network as of this week. The scams netted more than $35 million according to the same report. It appears the coronavirus shutdown has created the perfect environment for scammers to thrive. "We are working with our children and homeschooling. We're sharing devices with our children. We're trying to juggle work and family. But to a hacker, we are their day job," said Adam Levin, co-founder of Credit.com and founder of CyberScout. The new schemes include fake offers for expedited stimulus checks, bogus healthcare claims, pretend IRS agents and exploiting Zoom to learn your private information. Almost every scam will be designed to get either your money or your personal information according to Levin. Robert Exley, Jr.

At least 68 grocery workers have died from Covid-19, union says

11:46 am ET  The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said that at least 68 grocery workers who were members of the union have died after contracting Covid-19. The deaths were heavily concentrated in the New Jersey and New York area. Marc Perrone, international president of UFCW, said that grocery workers' deaths have slowed down, but noted that the union does not have statistics for nonunion grocery stores. The union is pushing for grocery stores to continue hazard pay for workers and to better enforce mandates about wearing masks while in stores. Kroger, for example, ended its hourly pay increase and will give workers bonuses instead. Amelia Lucas

Dallas Fed president pushes for help to state and local governments

11:36 am ET  Congress and the Federal Reserve may need to do more to help the economy, with specific attention needed to cash-strapped state and local governments, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan told CNBC. "My guess is we are going to need to do more," the central bank official said. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told a Senate panel Tuesday that the bulk of the additional rescue funds may need to come from Capitol Hill, and he also specifically mentioned help needed to prevent layoffs of local and state government workers. Jeff Cox

New York City sees 'striking' decline in children's vaccinations, mayor says

A nurse demonstrates how a measles vaccine is administered at the Orange County Health Department on May 6, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. Paul Hennessy | NurPhoto | Getty Images

11:15 am ET  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that children's vaccinations have seen a "striking" decline in recent months, declining 63% for all children in the city when compared with the same period of time last year, as families stay home and doctors' offices remain closed for routine visits because of Covid-19. De Blasio said the number of administered vaccine doses has declined a "shocking" 91% for children over the age of 2 years old. "This is essential work, getting your child vaccinated is essential work. Getting your child vaccinated is a reason to leave your home," he said. Noah Higgins-Dunn

Most Americans who lost jobs describe layoffs as temporary, but those jobs may be gone for good

10:46 am ET  Since the coronavirus crisis took hold in mid-March, the number of people forced out of work has exploded. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has risen to nearly 36.5 million, the biggest loss in U.S. history. But while 78% of out of work individuals describe themselves as temporarily laid off, new research suggests for many the job losses will be permanent, CNBC's Rahel Solomon reports. The University of Chicago's Becker Friedman Institute estimates 42%, or about 11.6 million, of all jobs lost through April 25 due to the coronavirus will be gone for good. "The current crisis may be so severe that the fraction of temporary layoffs that become permanent ends up being much larger than the historical evidence would suggest," co-author Jose Maria Barrero said in an email. Terri Cullen

Remote learning could be here to stay

Robert Schachter, a parent of an NYC public high school student and a college student, bought bridge tables so his kids could have space for remote learning while schools were closed due to the coronavirus. Robert Schachter

10:32 am ET  The coronavirus crisis laid bare how ill-prepared most schools were when it came to remote learning. Now, a growing number of schools are committed to adopting a "hybrid" model to education in and outside the classroom going forward. Students will likely see smaller classes and staggered scheduling, which could include alternating days of the week or times of the day, to help limit the number of people physically present in a building at any time That means kids will spend much less time in brick-and-mortar classrooms in the years ahead. "Despite the clamor and the complaints about it, remote learning is going to be here to stay," said Mayssoun Bydon, founder and managing partner of The Institute for High Learning, or IHL Prep, an educational consulting firm. Jessica Dickler

As U.S. reopens, companies brace for a flood of workplace lawsuits

10:24 am ET  States are gearing up to slowly reopen their economies and companies of all sizes, especially small businesses, are worried about the liability risks. "There is no playbook for this," said Harold Kim, president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. "Litigation is particularly damaging to Main Street because the level of potential damages can close down your doors." He anticipates a surge in worker liability lawsuits as coronavirus infection rates tick up. Recognizing the issue there is bipartisan debate on federal and state levels to limit liability. Most of the proposals focus on limiting liability from customers. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said liability protections for doctors and businesses are the top priority for GOP leaders: "No bill will pass without it," he said speaking Tuesday on CNBC. Anticipating the coming flood of suits, employers are developing workplace safety precautions including additional cleaning measures, conducting temperature checks of workers and requiring that all employees wear masks or other face coverings at work. Lori Ioannou

Coca-Cola CEO says he expects a 'U'-shaped economic recovery

9:44 am ET  Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said he's expecting a long road to recovery for the economy. "The economic impact of the lockdown is just starting to begin," Quincey said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Countries around the world are easing shelter-at-home orders and letting businesses gradually open. But Quincey said he's forecasting a "U"- or "extended U"-shaped recovery rather than one shaped like a "V," where the economy quickly snaps back to pre-crisis activity. Coke is still seeing declining demand in May, compared to a year ago. Restaurants, movie theaters and other away-from-home occasions accounted for half of its revenue before the crisis. Amelia Lucas

Dow jumps more than 300 points, lifted in part by solid retail earnings

9:37 am ET  Stocks rose sharply, due in part to solid retail earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 316 points, or 1.3%. The S&P 500 gained 1.3% as well while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%. Read the latest on stock market activity from CNBC's Fred Imbert and Maggie Fitzgerald. Melodie Warner

Lowe's sales soar, led by growth in online sales

9:10 am ET  Lowe's reported better-than-expected earnings that saw online sales grow 80% in the first quarter, CEO Marvin Ellison said in a statement. The pandemic hit in the midst of the company's turnaround plan that includes a revamping of its website. Lowe's kept its stores open as essential retailers as the coronavirus kept most brick-and-mortars closed through the beginning of Spring, the home improvement industry's busiest time of the year. However, the company limited capacity in its stores and rolled out curbside pickup for online customers. William Feuer

The latest hot spots of new U.S. cases

CDC publishes 60-page document of guidelines for reopening

9:02 am ET  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released 60 pages of guidance for reopening schools, mass transit and non-essential businesses. The plan outlines a "three-phased approach" for reducing social distancing measures and proposes the use of six "gating" indicators to assess when to move through another phase. The health agency warned that some amount of community mitigation will be necessary until a vaccine or effective drug for Covid-19 is widely available. The document comes as the CDC has remained largely quiet on the coronavirus, which has infected more than 1.5 million people in the United States. Agency officials haven't held a coronavirus-related briefing in more than two months. Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Voters in swing states are divided on coronavirus

8:20 am ET  Swing state voters are divided along party lines over the coronavirus pandemic and whether a second wave is likely to hit the country, according to a CNBC/Change Research poll. Democrat and Republican voters in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin  all key electoral states  disagree about the country's trajectory in fighting the virus, and about who would be to blame if the U.S. did see a resurgence, the poll found. Those surveyed were also divided along partisan lines about whether they were wearing masks or eating out. Read more on the poll results from CNBC's Tucker Higgins. Sara Salinas

Strong retail sales continue with report from Target

A cyclist wearing a protective mask passes the future site of a Target Corp. store in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Thursday, May 7, 2020. Christopher Dilts | Bloomberg | Getty Images

7:43 am ET  Target continued a strong week of retail earnings reports, posting quarterly sales growth of 10.8%. Target saw a surge in online orders. Sales at brick-and-mortar stores open at least 12 months rose just 0.9% during the quarter on an annual basis. Online sales, in contrast, soared 141%. Sara Salinas

Iconic New York steakhouse to start delivery and accept credit cards for first time

People walk past the Peter Luger steakhouse in New York City. Getty Images

7:16 am ET  Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn is now offering delivery for the first time in its more than 130-year history. To make that happen, the iconic restaurant has partnered with delivery app Caviar, owned by Square. In another first, the steakhouse will accept credit cards. "To best serve our customers, delivery was the best option for us," General Manager David Berson told CNBC's "Worldwide Exchange." "As far as the best safety practice, credit cards only was the clear choice to us." Peter Luger's dining room remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to delivery, customers can order and pickup at the Brooklyn location. Matthew Belvedere

Germany will tighten rules on meat processing plants after coronavirus outbreaks
After being cast as the main lead actress in The CW TV series Batwoman Season one, Ruby Rose shockingly decided to leave the show for good. Rose said that it was not an easy decision to make and said she was grateful for the opportunity that Warner Bros. and CW have given to her. Now, the production for the show will be paused, as Rose left her role as Batwoman. But who will replace her? Here are the possible choices.

Ruby Rose leaves 'Batwoman': Who will be her copycat?

On Tuesday, May 19, Hollywood actress Ruby Rose that played Batwoman/Kate Kane in the DC TV series with the same title officially announces departure from the show.

"I have made the very difficult decision to not return to Batwoman next season," Rose said in a statement on Tuesday. "This was not a decision I made lightly as I have the utmost respect for the cast, crew, and everyone involved with the show in both Vancouver and Los Angeles."

As first reported via Deadline, the staff, crew, and even Rose won't give the exact reasons why the actress decided to leave her iconic role.

It was also not related to her past accident during the show which caused her paralysis and emergency surgery. For now, the shooting of the next season for the series was postponed due to the pandemic, but it seemed like the exit of Rose as the main cast may also affect the next season's airing for 2021.

However, Warner Bros, CW, and Berlanti Productions already announced that they respect the actress's decision and look forward to finding her replacement as the next Batwoman.

"Warner Bros. Television, The CW and Berlanti Productions thank Ruby for her contributions to the success of our first season and wish her all the best," the three companies said in a joint statement Tuesday, adding they were "firmly committed to Batwoman's second season and long-term future."

Who will replace Ruby Rose as Batwoman?

Now that Rose is gone from being Batwoman. Who will be next-in-line? Here are choices, according to the report.

Cara Delevingne

The companies behind the TV series said that they still wanted the next Kate Kane to be a "member of the LGBT community," just like Rose. And Cara Delevingne looks perfect for this role.

Delevingne is no longer new to fantasy epic genre films. She used to play 'The Enchantress' in the movie Suicide Squad--it seemed to have a smothering look, suitable for the taste of Batwoman's role.

Ashley Platz

Aside from Rose, another potential Batwoman from Season one was an actress and writer Ashley Platz. Reports said that Platz once auditioned for the role.

She is now playing for the next season of 'Glow' which highlights her skills in action genre stories.

Kat Graham

The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham may not be your top choice for Batwoman, but the report said she could be. Since The CW needs to choose a replacement for Rose quickly, Graham might be one of their choices since she's already part of the CW family.

Evan Rachel Wood

Evan Rachel Wood is already commonly known for her role as Dolores Abernathy-- a killer robot-- in the famous series Westworld.

If she can be a perfect robot, she might also be perfect for the Batwoman role.

Rachel Skarsten

If you're following the storyline of Batwoman, you would know that Rachel Skarsten may be the next actress up for the role of Rose.

Skarsten is expected to be Kate Kane's twin sister in the series so it means that she kind of looks like Rose. No one perhaps can play a role better than her supposed to be twin sister, right?

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Highway agencies, which have seen either tolls or gas tax revenue plummet due to double digit drops in traffic volume due to coronavirus travel restrictions, are asking for federal aid to make up for lost money.

But national highway officials said what they need is more than whats been proposed isnt enough. Without it, state departments of transportation, DOTs, face tough choices including stopping construction, cutting back on maintenance and furloughing workers. officials said.

A $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill proposed on May 12, included $15 billion in funds for state departments of transportation, but that is lower than the almost $50 billion that the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) officials estimates DOTs will need.

That request was based on an estimate of what states need over the next 18 months to offset revenue losses, said Susan Howard, AASHTO program director for transportation finance. Nationwide, state DOTs stand to lose $110 billion, based on prior years.

The bill has $15 billion. Its not as much as we hoped for, but were happy to have that revenue, she said. We see it as a first step.

The first $2 trillion CARES act had funding for transit agencies, but not for state transportation departments or toll agencies, Howard said.

For toll agencies and state DOTs, less traffic means less revenue, either in tolls or gas tax revenues. Traffic research company Inrix estimated that traffic on New Jersey highways dropped by 62% after COVID-19 stay at home orders except for essential workers were issued in March.

An association representing 128 toll agencies in the U.S. has made a separate request to Congress for $9.2 billion in federal aid last month. That figure is tied to revenue losses projected in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.

NJ Turnpike officials reported a $23 million loss in toll revenues caused by a 29% traffic drop in March due to COVID-19. Port Authority officials reported a 61% traffic drop at its six bridges and tunnels and have asked federal officials for $3 billion in aid to cover lost revenues that also includes airports and the PATH rail system.

For drivers, the effects could be the same without federal help, whether they drive a toll road or state highway.

Some states have begun to suspend major road and bridge construction projects, others have delayed approving contracts to start work, even though this is the peak season for construction, because of the uncertainty of revenues, Howard said. Some state transportation departments have furloughed or laid off employees, she said. Maintenance projects would have to be prioritized and some put off.

Every state will have to look at revenue forecasts, all will see a definite loss, Howard said. They will have to make some tough decisions on what they can afford to do.

New Jersey highways have seen a higher traffic reduction than the 30% to 40% drop in other states, due to COVID-19. But New Jersey is in better financial condition because current funding is based on taxes collected prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Steven Schapiro, an New Jersey Department of Transportation spokesman said.

There are no funding issues for state fiscal year 2020 (which started on July 1, 2019). He said. The full impact of the pandemic on the Transportation Trust Fund are not yet known.

New Jersey DOT officials are watching funding needs and are working with Gov. Phil Murphys administration on them, Schapiro said. Murphy has until May 22 to update his revenue forecast and until Aug. 25 to present a new spending plan. Employee furloughs also would be addressed with the administration, Schapiro said.

The states future looks grim, based on reports of falling tax revenue collections that were down $3.5 billion when compared to last April. Statistics were not available from the state treasury department for gas tax collections which are a major DOT funding source.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Glouchester, has proposed a partial furlough of state employees as a way the state can deal with revenue shortfalls and avert layoffs. Approved by both houses of the state legislature last week, it is up to Murphy to sign or reject the bill.

AASHTOs funding request would fund projects for the next 12 to 18 months, so this pain wont be felt all at once, said Tony Dorsey, an AASHTO spokesman.

Without it, money that DOTs have in the pipeline will dry up and projects will dry up and employee furlough more rampant, he said. That is the crisis we see happening.

New Jersey DOT officials supports the AASHTO funding request and has informed members of the state congressional delegation about that, Schapiro said.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
Poor healthcare facilities in Pakistan were once again exposed when authorities at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zaid Combined Military Hospital in Muzaffarabad complained of receiving personal protective equipment (PPEs) which were already used, with some of them stained with betel leaf.

The hospital tweeted from its official account, CMH Muzaffarabad, Hospital across AJK (Pakistan occupied Kashmir) has received around 3 lakh PPE kits from military hospital, Rawalpindi but the kit we got in our hospital were already used before. Some of the masks had a red stain on them, after lab testing it was found those were paan stain.

As per our hospital protocol, we destroyed all kits to ensure no infection gets spread in our hospital. Its shameful that after receiving fake Made-in-China testing machine, AJK has now become a dumping ground for used PPE kits, the Twitter thread added.

The hospital was constructed with humanitarian assistance donated by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates to alleviate the sufferings of the people of the region, who were affected from the devastating earthquake in 2005.

Pakistans tally of coronavirus cases soared to 45,898, with 1,932 new ones reported on Wednesday.

With poor testing and trained medical staff, PoK has registered 133 Covid-19 cases whereas Gilgit Baltistan has reported 556 positive cases.

Earlier, the doctors in PoK held protests against the government for its failure to provide PPE kits to treat Covid-19 patients.

However, many of these healthcare workers denied going to hospitals without PPE kits, which have affected the testing and treatment of suspected coronavirus patients.

Islamabad has been discriminately treating PoK and Gilgit Baltistan during the outbreak, which has directly affected the lives of people in the regions.
Four persons were on Wednesday sentenced to a total 44 years imprisonment in hard labour by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for conspiracy to commitment crime, attempted robbery, carrying offensive weapons and being in possession of firearms without lawful authority.



The four Cynthia Pomaah, unemployed, 19, Issah Yakubu, motorbike mechanic, 22, Dennis Gyimah a Disc jockey, 20 and Emmanuel Essuah, motorbike mechanic apprentice,19, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and attempted robbery, were convicted on their own plea and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment each each.



Gyimah, alias Remix and Essuah were each sentenced to 12 years for carrying offensive weapon and having possession of firearms without lawful authority. Their sentences are to run concurrently.



Prosecuting, Police Detective Inspector Adams Mumuni told the court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Bart Plange Brew that the complainant Mr Samuel Dugois is a farmer and lottery agent who resides at Asuohyiam.



He said the convicts are residents of Adiembra and Asuohyiam near Samrebio in the Wassa Amenfi West Municipality.



The prosecution said on May 11, this year, at about 1200 hours, Pomaah who is Yakubus girl lover was in Gyimahs house where she placed a call to the complainant inviting him for an important discussion.



Detective Mumuni said Gyimah after eavesdropping the conversation planned with Pomaah and Yakubu to rob the complainant and later informed Essuah who agreed to join them.



He said Pomaah then met the complainant and accepted to pass the night with him for a fee of 100 Ghana cedis.



The prosecution said on the midnight of May 12, Gyimah and Essuah armed with machete and a single barrel shotgun together with Yakubu, proceeded to the complainants abode to carry out their operation.



The prosecution said Pomaah who was with the complainant in his room upon realization that her abettors were around, quickly opened the door for them and they in turn instructed the complainant to relinquish all his money.



He said the complainant gathered courage, held the gun and struggled with the three convicts and they upon sensing danger bolted.



Detective Mumuni said the complainant who suspected Pomaah to be part of the gang kept her in his room and at about 0700 hours on that same day, informed the neighborhood watch committee members of Asuohyiam about the incident.



He said when Pomaah was interrogated she mentioned Yakubu, Gyimah and Essuah as her accomplices and they were arrested from their various homes by the committee members and handed over to the Samreboi Police.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
Citywide

Photo: SF Bicycle Coalition/Facebook

The Bay Area's shelter-in-place order has brought countless events usually held as in-person gatherings online. We're aiming to support local businesses in San Francisco and Oakland by highlighting five of these events each day.

Got a suggestion for an online event based in SF or Oakland? Email our events reporter, Teresa Hammerl.

Here's your SF event calendar for Wednesday, May 20. Sing during a bike-themed karaoke night, watch a drag pianist play pop hits and learn how to prevent a second wave of COVID-19  all from the comfort of your couch.

COVID Conversations: Second Wave of Infection and Immunity

Curious what the pandemic will look like as we slowly return to "normal life"?Join Exploratorium scientist Jennifer Frazier, Ph.D. as she talks to Dr. George Rutherford, head of epidemiology at UCSF, about how the Bay Area can prevent a second wave of infection. The discussion will span decades, including lessons from the 1918 flu pandemic and the latest science on immunity to recurrences of COVID-19.

When: Wednesday, May 20, 4 p.m.

How to join: Via YouTube

Price: Free

Community Brainstorm: Manny's Next Chapter

Mission-based community center Manny's has hosted more than 100 "civic cyber conversations" since the pandemic started, with authors, Congresspeople, CEOs and other notable figures. Now, it's hosting a virtual brainstorm session to figure out how it can continue to engage the community in the months to come, as businesses tentatively begin to reopen.

When: Wednesday, May 20, 6 p.m.

How to join: Via Eventbrite

Price: Free

Paige Turner presents Piano Lounge: Dirty Pop

Photo: SF Oasis/Facebook

Join drag pianist Paige Turner as she plays and sings some sexy tunes from the top of the pop charts. This week, she'll perform hits from the likes of Robyn, Arianna Grande, Dua Lipa, Lizzo, and more, with a dash of her signature vintage style. Got a request? Put it in the comments ahead of time, and Turner will work it up for you.

Story continues

When: Wednesday, May 20, 6 p.m.

How to join: Via Facebook Live

Price: Free

SFDFF Digital Season Presents: Raising Voices

Image: San Francisco Dance Film Festival/Facebook

The San Francisco Dance Film Festival is encouraging viewers to tune in to "Raising Voices," a collection of mini-documentaries and experimental shorts spanning a wide cross-section of the dance community. The program focuses on underrepresented communities, with select filmmakers and artists joining to share thoughts about their films and the moment we find ourselves in.

When: Wednesday, May 20, 7 p.m.

How to join: Via SF Dance Film Festival

Price: Free

Bike-Themed Karaoke Night

Photo: SF Bicycle Coalition/Facebook



SF Bicycle Coalition member Sarah Katz-Hyman has been leading online karaoke parties throughout shelter-in-place  and now she's hosting a bike-themed edition for the city's cyclists. Any song is welcome, but you'll get bonus points for choosing something bike-related. There will also be a few opportunities for the group to sing together.

When: Wednesday, May 20, 7 p.m.

How to join: RSVP via SF Bicycle Coalition's website

Price: Free
Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all.

Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe

Additional reporting by Lita Martinez and Monica Bushman.

We can't guarantee there'll be swinging, swaying or records playing, but there will be dining in the streets.

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday night approved a plan to open some of its streets for al fresco eating -- one of the first cities in Los Angeles County to do so. Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Palm Springs and are considering similar options.

Long Beach's Open Streets initiative, which is currently focused on Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach and on Bixby Knolls, has several components.

In some cases, the city might close entire streets to vehicles. In others, it might partially close streets. In others, it might allow restaurants to transform their parking lots into dining areas or expand sidewalk dining.

"It's not a one-size-fits-all model," Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said this morning on our newsroom's public affairs show AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 KPCC.

But before outdoor dining can become a reality, the city must clear important hurdles under the state's current reopening guidelines. Positive COVID-19 cases must be under 8% for at least a week in a county before next steps can happen. Los Angeles County is currently at 9% -- and as of this week, more than 11% of Long Beach residents are testing positive.

A parklet on Spring Street in downtown L.A. (LADOT/Flickr Creative Commons)

As Los Angeles (and the rest of Southern California) moves toward loosening stay-at-home orders, officials will likely impose limits on how many patrons can be inside a restaurant at the same time and how far apart tables must be placed. Allowing restaurateurs to seat patrons outside would expand an establishment's capacity and help its bottom line.

Besides, in Southern California patio dining (although not necessarily sidewalk dining) is so popular it's practically a sport. The physical distancing practices demanded by coronavirus have given that choice new weight.

One of the best ways to transmit coronavirus to a lot of people all at once is for them to sit near each other in an enclosed space (such as a restaurant or a movie theater) and breathe the same recirculated air (you may know it as air conditioning). In the pandemic era, dining outside isn't merely an aesthetic preference, it's a health-centric one.

"What we're hearing is people are much more comfortable eating outside as opposed to being inside with COVID," says Sierra Madre City Manager Gabe Engeland. "And being outside, from all the information we're seeing, is safer. As long as you're still social distancing, practicing good hygiene."

A parklet on York Boulevard in Highland Park. (LADOT/Flickr Creative Commons)

Officials in Sierra Madre are in talks with 20 downtown restaurant owners about a program that would waive permitting fees and provide equipment, such as K-rails and fencing, so these businesses could turn sidewalks, parking spaces and parking lots into pocket-size oases known as parklets. Put a few folding tables and bistro chairs out there and voila.

Many of restaurants in Sierra Madre are independent operations and don't have much ability to spread out seating in their relatively small dining room. This program could potentially give each restaurant an additional 400 square feet of room.

"It provides, I think, a unique opportunity for the diner to feel safer, to have physical distance and and enjoy something that's maybe a little bit more European or South American," Long Beach Mayor Garcia said on AirTalk.

Right now, these initiatives are temporary but if they work well, they could be here to stay.

"We still have to follow all the state's rules when this can happen... because we want to do this safely," Palm Springs Mayor Geoff Kors said on AirTalk. "If we do it safely, we're going to be able to keep it open longer term and, like Long Beach, we're also looking at how this might work permanently in some of these spaces."

Parklets aren't new. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Long Beach was already working with architect Alan Pullman to transform curbside parking spaces outside some downtown restaurants. And they've been part of downtown L.A. and Highland Park, among other Los Angeles neighborhoods, for years.

Restaurants will still have to wait, however, for Los Angeles County officials to allow dine-in eating.

LISTEN TO THE AIRTALK CONVERSATION

UPDATES:

4:30 p.m.: This article was updated with the current postive testing rates in L.A. County and Long Beach.

This article was originally published at 1:30 p.m.
[May 20, 2020] Zendesk to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences and Investor Meeting

Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE:ZEN) today announced its participation in four upcoming conferences. Norman Gennaro, President of Sales, and Marc Cabi, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance & Analytics, will virtually present at the Cowen and Company 48th Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. Zendesk's presentation is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Pacific Time.

Norman Gennaro, President of Sales, and Marc Cabi, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance & Analytics, will virtually present at an investor meeting hosted by RBC Capital Markets on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Zendesk's presentation is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., Pacific Time.

Elena Gomez, Chief Financial Officer, and Marc Cabi, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance & Analytics, will virtually present at BofA Securities 2020 Global Technology (News - Alert) Conference on Wednesday, Jne 3, 2020. Zendesk's presentation is scheduled for 1:45 p.m., Pacific Time.

Marc Cabi, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations and Strategic Finance & Analytics, and Luke Behnke, Vice President of Product, will virtually present at William Blair 40th Annual Growth Stock Conference on Thursday, June 11, 2020. Zendesk's presentation is scheduled for 8:00 a.m., Pacific Time.



About Zendesk

The best customer experiences are built with Zendesk. Zendesk is a CRM company that builds flexible support, sales, and customer engagement software that is quick to implement and scales to meet changing needs. From large enterprises to startups, we believe that powerful, innovative customer experiences should be within reach for every company, no matter the size, industry or ambition. Zendesk serves more than 160,000 customers across a multitude of industries in over 30 languages. Zendesk is headquartered in San Francisco, and operates 17 offices worldwide. Learn more at www.zendesk.com. Source (News - Alert): Zendesk, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200520005822/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Since the beginning of the outbreak, Andres has been doing some groundwork feeding communities. This week's operations were focused on helping the people living in a particularly hard-to-reach territory.

In order to extend assistance, he and his non-profit organization partnered with various stakeholders to repurpose buildings like Washington Nationals' stadium into a distribution center for free food.

pic.twitter.com/4sWPppRaIk Just landed in @NewMexico On our way to Navajo Nation where we are already starting operations @WCKitchen and where we hope to bring food relief anywhere is needed.... #ChefsForAmerica May 15, 2020

Navajo Nation

Underserved communities in the Navajo Nation due to lack of information dissemination by local authorities led them to practice poor social distancing and other health protocols promoted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. As such, they have seen a surge of coronavirus cases in their locality, and the government has virtually no clue.

Andres announced on his social media last week that he and his team in the non-profit organization, World Central Kitchen, were prepared to do the people at Navajo Nation a public service. They were cooking dishes at the Bee Holdzil Event Center at Window Rock High School that would be distributed to vulnerable families.

This week, he and his team launched Restaurants For The People, a campaign to support local and independent businesses with a commitment of $50 million. In addition, Andres planned to keep working alongside restaurants to give healthy meals to communities.

According to their website, their initiative has allowed them to serve food to more than one million people in the U.S. alone. This does not include their reach in other countries like Spain, which is also leading the world in terms of coronavirus mortality rate.

Check these out:

Jose Andres and his relief initiatives

Prior to serving meals to the Navajo Nation, Andres was busy providing relief packages to over fifty cities in the United States. He took his world-renowned charity with him at each corner he could count in the country.

As far back as in 2010, Andres and his wife Patricia started building the foundations for World Central Kitchen. He made enough money from his commercial success to support his growing business, and he thought that volunteering to help the less fortunate would leave him a better legacy than when he started.

The non-profit organization was an initiative to provide food to people in vulnerable conditions after being devastated by disasters. After Hurricane Maria, Andres flew to Puerto Rico with his team at World Central Kitchen. They cooked and fed almost four million people in the country.

A lot of what he learned from volunteering at Puerto Rico, Andres found himself to be relearning as he distributed food during the pandemic. Most of the people who account for this number are medical front-line workers.

At the same time, World Central Kitchen is coordinating with restaurants all across the country to keep their businesses running and to help boost the economy. This help is also inclusive to food delivery companies like Uber Eats, who help with distributing food.

"If somebody is hungry, you just get in the kitchen and start cooking," Andres said.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-05-20 21:03:13

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 549 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Murder hornets, locusts, flying monkeys... what's next? Just when you thought 2020 could not get any more bizarre, we are being warned about lethal flying insects. Such a dystopian scenario seems like a great time to make friends with a reputable pest controller.Even if murder hornets are not on a horizon, nobody wants to share their home with any creepy-crawlies. The most fatal pandemic of recorded human history was the bubonic plague, which killed hundreds of millions in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. North America was not "discovered" yet, as we are talking about 1347 - 1351. The Black Death originated in Central Asia and traveled along the Silk Road, carried by fleas on rats, reducing the world population from an estimated 475 million to 350 million in the 14th century. Numbers that climate change activists and over-population proponents dream about. CEPestControl.com manager Tom Loch.Personally, I have been lucky enough not to have come in contact with such vile creatures (the plague-carrying fleas and rats, I mean) but the Smart Car size palmetto bugs in Florida still give me nightmares. One can literally hear them scurrying across the herringbone parquet floor in the middle of the night. Imagine a cockroach. Now imagine it ten times bigger. If you try to squish it with a slipper on a carpet, the bugger literally bounces back and stares at you with antagonizing antennae.My second most scarring encounter with pests was; in of all the places; the ethereal Venice, Italy. My husband and I were touring the land of his Roman ancestors and had booked a lovely hotel in La Serenissima aka Venice. The room boasted yellow silk damask wall-coverings, heavy drapes with tassels, sumptuous bedding, and quilted headboard... All perfect habitat for bedbugs! Mamma mia - fairytale shattered by the itchy little pepper-specks.No matter what type of uninvited quests might invade your home, choosing the right pest control service is important. Not all homes or hornets are the same and those particularities matter when choosing an exterminator. You want a company with years of experience and that also keeps up with modern techniques via constant training, as Tom Loch of Calamus Enterprises Pest Control explains. He and CEO Mike Calamus insist that attending industry-specific seminars is imperative, as it ensures the health and safety of their customers. One can no longer douse a house in lethal chemicals and call it day; health risks and environmental concerns must be considered.So keep that in mind, once you are looking for a reliable company to rid your pantry of all the mice, ants, and roaches raiding through the surplus crisis groceries.CE Pest Control serving Chicagoland - Chicago metropolitan area: Chicago, Illinois, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Kenosha, Naperville, Arlington Heights, Berwyn, Bolingbrook, Cicero, Des Plaines, Evanston, Gary, Hammond, Mount Prospect, Oak Lawn, Oak Park, Cook County, DeKalb County, Lake County, DuPage County,Will County, Kane County, Lake County etc.More information about CE Pest Control can be found at https://cepestcontrol.com/ , while details on the other brands at Calamus Enterprises are available at https://www.calamus-enterprises.com/ By Ave Maria Blithe, writer & real estate professionalCONTACT:Tom Loch(872) 216-1793CE Pest Control2415 Colby Dr S, McHenry, IL 60050License: IDPH ID 052-038148SOURCE: Calamus Enterprises LLC
Congress leader Milind Deora on



Wednesday said Mumbai needs to self-isolate from the rest of the country for some time to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The city is the worst hit in the country by the pandemic and the need is to ensure people stay at home as much as possible, the former MP from south Mumbai told PTI.

"The need of the hour is for Mumbai to self-isolate from the rest of the country for some time," he said.

Deora, in partnership with the Godrej group, has set up quarantine and isolation facilities for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients from congested areas in south Mumbai.

These facilities at four different places comprise total 900 beds and will be handed over to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the former city Congress chief said.

He stressed the need for more quarantine and isolation facilities for residents of slums and chawls (small tenements) since they are unable to self-isolate due to their congested residential environments.

Religious, social and political gatherings should not be allowed at any cost in Mumbai, Deora said.

Densely populated cities like Mumbai and New York are hit the hardest by the pandemic, he said, adding that poor people in urban areas are affected the most because of hygiene and space constraints.

The Congress leader said work from home culture needs to be encouraged.

"People in sectors like the Information Technology and financial services, which are a big part of Mumbai's economy, should work from home while the hospitality sector should find new business models like home deliveries," he said.

He also said that since most of the migrant workers have left for their native places, there will be a labour shortfall in the city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi: Cab aggregator Ola is laying off 1,400 staff from rides, financial services and food business as revenues declined by 95 per cent in the last two months due to coronavirus pandemic, a note by CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said.

In an email to employees, Aggarwal made it clear that the prognosis ahead for the business is "very unclear and uncertain" and the impact of this crisis is "definitely going to be long-drawn for us".

"The fallout of the virus has been very tough for our industry in particular. Our revenue has come down 95 per cent over the past 2 months. Most importantly, this crisis has affected the livelihoods of millions of our drivers and their families across India and our international geographies," he said.

The company has decided to downsize and "let go" of 1,400 employees, Aggarwal added. He said this will be a one-time exercise and will be complete by the end of this week for the India Mobility business, and by the end of next week for Ola foods and Ola Financial Services. "No more COVID-related cuts will be done after this exercise," he noted.

Aggarwal explained that more companies are expected to have a large number of employees work from home, air travel will be limited to essential trips and vacations being put off for better times.

"...the impact of this crisis is definitely going to be long-drawn for us. The world is not going to revert to the pre-Covid era anytime soon. Social distancing, anxiety, and an abundance of caution will be the operating principles for everyone," he said.

In the past few weeks, a number of tech-led businesses like Uber, Zomato and Swiggy have announced layoffs as the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown dried up demand and ravaged businesses.

Zomato has laid off 13 per cent of its 4,000-staff, while Swiggy said it will let go off 1,100 employees. Uber is laying off 3,000 people globally and the move is expected to impact India operations as well.

Last year, Ola had undertaken a restructuring exercise of its 4,500-workforce that resulted in about 350 employees being laid off.

Aggarwal, in his mail, said the crisis necessitated the need to conserve cash aggressively so that it is able to invest in opportunities in the future. "While we restructure our organisation to the new realities of our business, we are also going to recommit ourselves to strengthening our operational excellence.

"We are increasing our investments and adding people capabilities in R&D as a group, through this crisis to double down on innovation and engineering...This crisis is accelerating macro trends of digital commerce and clean mobility, and our businesses are well-positioned to leverage these macro trends well," he said.

The company has, in the past, spoken of its aim to turn profitable and go public in the next few years. Aggarwal said the impacted employees will receive a minimum financial payout of 3 months of their fixed salary, irrespective of the notice period. "Employees who have spent significantly more time with us will be eligible for higher payouts depending on tenure," he said.

Also, all eligible ESOPs will vest forward to the closest quarter and for those who may not have completed a year, as an exception, Ola will enable pro-rated vesting for the period of time spent with the company, he added.

"All affected employees will be able to continue using their medical, life and accident insurance cover for themselves and their families up to December 31, 2020 or the start of their next job whichever is earlier, to help minimise the financial burden of health and other risks in a time like this," Aggarwal said.

The company has also decided to offer medical insurance for up to 2 parents (or in-laws) to each employee. This insurance will cover parents for all pre-existing ailments up to the age of 90, for a sum of Rs 2 lakhs.

"While we have made every possible effort to accommodate as many affected team members in open roles in our other group companies, we are rallying the support of the Ola Talent Acquisition team to help with outplacement support for as many people and in helping find suitable roles for them outside of Ola," he said.

In addition to this, we are also allowing all company-issued laptops (primary work devices) to be retained by affected employees, he added. Aggarwal said all members of Ola's extended leadership team have taken significant salary cuts. "We had all hoped in the beginning that this would be a short-lived crisis and that its impact would be temporary.

"Over the past couple of months, all members of our extended leadership team have taken significant salary cuts to be able to help the organisation delay tougher people decisions as we waited for the situation to evolve. But unfortunately, it's not been a short crisis," he said.

Aggarwal said economic activity returns, so will the need for mobility. "Formats will evolve depending on context - personal, shared, public transit, or the niches in between. This pandemic has only highlighted the need for each of us to have safe and reliable mobility solutions. As economic activity returns, so will the need for mobility, but the paradigm will have changed," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
From her laboratory in the far western reaches of Montana, Elizabeth Fischer is trying to help people see what theyre up against in COVID-19.

Over the past three decades, Fischer, 58, and her team at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories, part of the National Institutes of Healths (NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have captured and created some of the more dramatic images of the worlds most dangerous pathogens.

I like to get images out there to try to convey that this is an entity, to try to demystify it, so this is something more tangible for people, says Fischer, one of the countrys leading electron microscopists.

Now, as her renderings of the coronavirus flash across screens worldwide, she says: You often hear people call it the invisible enemy. Its trying to put that face out there. Working in one of the nations 13 Biosafety Level 4 labsthose equipped to safely handle the most dangerous pathogensFischer and her team visualize the worlds deadliest plagues from Ebola to HIV, salmonella to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Elizabeth Fischer uses an electron microscope to capture images of the coronavirus, which is about 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. I like to get images out there to try to convey that this is an entity, to try to demystify it, so this is something more tangible for people, Fischer says. (Courtesy of Elizabeth Fischer) | Courtesy of Elizabeth Fischer

The breathtaking images allow people to see a virus as elaborate biological structures with weaknesses that can be exploited, yielding clues for researchers about how to develop treatments and vaccines.

Originally from Evergreen, Col., Fischer completed a degree in biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder and contemplated going to medical school, before deciding instead to join the Peace Corps. She taught math and science for two years in Liberia, and then took time to travel through East Africa and Asia, including a trek into the Himalayas. Returning to Colorado, she immersed herself in the outdoor world she loved. She worked as a rafting guide on the Arkansas River for several summers, and as a childrens ski instructor at the Monarch Mountain ski resort during the winters.

Story continues

She later enrolled in graduate school to study education, thinking she might teach biology. But when she took courses in electron microscopy, she was hooked.

It appealed to her sense of exotic adventure. Youre looking at a world that most people dont get to see, she says. She switched gears and completed a masters degree in biology.

Upon graduation, she sent her resume to a national microscopy job placement office and soon received a call from Rocky Mountain Laboratories. In 1994, she moved with her family to Hamilton, a city of fewer than 5,000 people about 50 miles south of Missoula, then worked her way up to become chief of the labs microscopy unit.

Some of the more stunning images of the coronavirusabout 10,000 times smaller than the width of a human hairhave come from Fischers microscope. One is Fischers photograph of viral particles being released from a dying cell infected with the virus.

An electron microscope photograph showing viral particles (the small, blue spheres) being released from the surface of a dying kidney cell infected with the coronavirus. | Courtesy of Elizabeth Fischer

As NIH director Dr. Francis Collins recently highlighted in his blog, the photo shows the orange-brown folds and protrusion on the surface of a primates kidney cell infected with SARS-CoV-2. The dozens of small, blue spheres emerging from the surface are the virus particles themselves. (The images produced by the electron microscopes are black-and-white, so Fischer hands them over to visual artists who colorize the image to help identify different parts of the cell and to distinguish the virus from its host.)

This image gives us a window into how devastatingly effective SARS-CoV-2 appears to be at co-opting a hosts cellular machinery, Collins wrote. Just one infected cell is capable of releasing thousands of new virus particles that can, in turn, be transmitted to others.

Scientists like Fischer have used electron microscopes to uncover the unseen world of viruses and bacteria dating to the 1930s. In the past two decades, however, new technologies have unleashed a resolution revolution, allowing researchers to see down to the near-atomic level. Microscopists have come up with better ways to prepare samples for viewing and have written sophisticated software programs to sharpen images.

Courtesy of Elizabeth Fischer

Through her lab, Fischer receives samples from all over the world, and was sent viral material from SARS-CoV-2 in early February from one of the first U.S. patients to be infected. Often, her samples come from vials that have been stored in a freezer for decades, or from cultures routinely grown in a lab. Its very sobering when you know it came from a human patient.

For example, in 2014, a sister lab in Mali sent over an Ebola sample from a 2-year-old girl who had lived in Guinea when her mother died of the disease. Her grandmother traveled from Mali to attend the funeral, which involved touching and bathing the body, and to take the girl home with her. Both got infected and brought the virus back with them as they returned to Mali by public transportation. They both died.

In 2014, Fischer received a sample of Ebola from a 2-year-old girl in Mali. The cell border and nucleus shape resemble the shape of Africa. | Courtesy of Elizabeth Fischer

This one particular cell, it looked like the continent of Africa, Fischer recalls. It was a very powerful moment. You see that virus growing in there, it takes you back around to not only the lab work we do, but that theres an impact on human health.

Despite virusess deadly nature, she still appreciates the beautiful symmetry in many of them, she says: Theyre very elegant, and theyre not malicious in and of themselves. Theyre just doing what they do.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Oregon Supreme Court Justice Thomas Balmer and Oregon Court of Appeals Judge Joel DeVore won contested races Tuesday to serve additional six-year terms.

Balmer, who has been on the Supreme Court since he was appointed in 2001 by then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, defeated Van Pounds, a lawyer who says voters too often have no choice in electing judges because they're routinely appointed by the governor and then elected in uncontested races.

Before becoming a Supreme Court justice, Balmer worked in a range of roles as a lawyer for nearly a quarter of a century.

On Monday, Balmer and the Supreme Court took swift action by putting a hold on an eastern Oregon judges ruling invalidating Gov. Kate Browns restrictions on church gatherings and other emergency restrictions meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Balmer wrote that the high court will review the arguments, then make a final decision.

Among other rulings, Balmer sided with the majority in the landmark 2016 case Horton v. Oregon Health & Science University, in which the court upheld a controversial cap limiting the amount injured people can collect from the state or its employees. Balmer and others ruled that Tyson Horton, who nearly died and suffered irreversible injuries after OHSU botched a liver surgery when he was 8 months old, could collect no more than $3 million despite a Multnomah County jury award of more than $12 million.

OREGON PRIMARY 2020: Live results | Elections homepage

DeVore was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2013 by Kitzhaber. He defeated Kyle Krohn, an appellate public defender in Salem for the past eight years. Krohn said he believes the Appeals Court needs to do a better job of explaining its decisions.

Before becoming a judge on the Appeals Court, DeVore worked on a wide range of civil cases during his more than 30 years of practicing law. He says his job on the Appeals Court requires him to be impartial.

That means it is my duty to listen, understand the conflict, know the facts, study the law, and work for a just outcome, DeVore said.

Among the cases DeVore has ruled on: In 2018 he was on a three-judge panel that upheld a $409 million jury verdict against BP, the oil and gas-producing giant, for misleading gas station customers by tacking on a 35-cent debit card fee to their purchases without proper notice. After various appeals, in July 2019 nearly 2 million Oregonians started receiving checks for about $92 each.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee
warehouse

A day after the Swiss firm Zurich Airport International AG received security clearance from the Centre for developing Jewar airport in western Uttar Pradesh, real estate consultants say that in COVID-19 times, the first activity to perhaps take off would be land acquisition, especially for warehousing.

The Zurich Airport International AG, on November 29, was selected as the concessionaire for developing the greenfield Jewar airport in the NCR region. Jewar Airport or the Noida International Greenfield Airport, will come up in 5,000 hectare area when fully constructed and is estimated to cost Rs 29,560 crore. On completion, the airport is expected to be the largest in India.

On May 19, Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary SP Goyal tweeted: "Glad to share that Zurich Airport International AG has got the security clearance for the development of the Noida International Greenfield Airport at Jewar."

Also Read | Developer Zurich Airport gets security clearance for Jewar airport

This clearance will now pave the way for the concessionaire to sign an agreement with Noida International Airport Limited, the government's nodal agency for the project.

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

As things return to normal, activity along the stretch may gradually start gaining momentum. Only preparatory, early stage activities such as land acquisition may take off first, particularly for the purpose of warehousing and supply chain to start with," Mudassir Zaidi, executive director  North, Knight Frank India, told Moneycontrol.

Other activities such as housing, commercial or hospitality may take time, he said.

"The airport is expected to act as a catalyst for a well-rounded and comprehensive real estate development along the Yamuna expressway and surrounding regions. From a real estate perspective, the proposed international airport (and other infrastructure initiatives planned alongside) and abundant land availability offer several opportunities for developers and investors - residential projects, commercial complexes, industrial and warehousing facilities and manufacturing hubs," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO  CBRE India, South East Asia, Middle East & Africa.

In recent years, growth in the warehousing sector has been primarily driven by 3 PL companies (third-party logistics that refers to outsourcing of e-commerce logistics processes including inventory management, warehousing) and e-commerce firms owing to consolidation and upgradation to modern facilities.

Currently, India's warehousing sector market had robust absorption volumes of around 37 million sq ft in 2019. However, new leasing activity in 2020 is expected to witness a sharp decline of around 40 percent compared to 2019, a report by KPMG in India has said.

Having said that, post COVID, with e-commerce companies capitalising on pent up demand and focus on essential categories, warehousing is expected to witness a relatively steeper recovery in comparison to other real estate asset classes, the report said.

The warehousing sector witnessed an investment exceeding $200 million in the year 2019, mostly accounted by large deals in tier-1 cities. Further, foreign investors and top Indian developers have formed platforms for development of investment grade warehousing spaces.

Impact of Jewar to be visible only after 8 to 10 years

The new metro rail corridor, Yamuna Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway and the planned rapid rail network will also play a major role in improving the accessibility of this region from all parts of NCR.

Experts say that once operational, the airport will be a game-changer - not just for Noida and Greater Noida markets, but also in areas such as Greater Noida and across the Yamuna Expressway, which are areas that have seen lacklustre demand.

However, the impact would not be immediate but be visible only after eight to 10 years, they caution.

The abundant land availability offer several opportunities for real estate developers and investors and that - residential projects, commercial complexes, industrial and warehousing facilities and manufacturing hubs.

It should be remembered that both Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway have seen a lot of speculative activity in the past few years. While these areas always looked promising for end-users, liveability was a challenge. As a result, several housing projects along the Expressway remained unoccupied and were largely ghost towns. The residential stock that came up in these areas was mostly inhabited by students who attended universities in the vicinity.

With the new airport coming in, this market may attract more end-users and see steady, genuine capital appreciation rather than mere speculation, real estate experts said.

Despite being more affordable than Gurgaon and Delhi, Greater Noida and the areas along Yamuna Expressway did not become end-user driven markets due to unimpressive infrastructure.

"Logistics would come up in the nearby areas followed by ancillary activities related to the airport. Warehousing is expected to get a shot in the arm first followed by the commercial sector, but all this will take over five years," said Zaidi.

To cite an example, Gurgaon, especially its commercial and residential markets, benefited more than Delhi from the existing airport, despite Noida having better infrastructure, he added.

According to Anarock Research, the average price of units in Noida is Rs 4,780 per sq ft. In Greater Noida it is Rs 3,320 per sq ft and on the Yamuna Expressway, it is in the range of Rs 3,350 per sq ft.

The first phase of the airport would be spread over 1,334 hectare and cost Rs 4,588 crore. The project is being managed and operated by the Noida International Airport (NIAL), a special agency floated by the government.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
By 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evening, there were about 40 people in the Midland High School gymnasium, displaced by the flooding caused by heavy rains, rising rivers and lakes and the Edenville dam failure earlier that day. Families sporadically congregated in the parking lot among the cars and a couple of trailers while a couple of individuals walked across Washington Street to get essential items and toiletries.

Taryn Kayden of Midland, who works for Independent Community Living, sat in the gym bleachers with two of her patients from Midland who live in the floodplain.

I just got a text message that said to pack up everything and go to Midland High. There was a lot of traffic, but I didnt see any flooding, Kayden said.

Within five minutes, Kayden had her two clients ready to go, only bringing the essentials, ready to have them spend the night at the school.

Some individuals didnt bring much

Rebecca and Steve Malkin, of Sanford, had heard about the floods progression along Sanford and Wixom lakes and had an idea of what was coming. They didnt wait for the police to come and tell them to evacuate.

When we saw the neighbors throwing crap in their cars and run, we decided wed better go too, Steve said.

The Malkins basement flooded on Monday. Shortly after, their water heater was out along with the power; they were able to get the power back with their generator.

Weve lived there for 30 years and this is only the second year weve had water in the basement: first in 2017 and then now. All the years weve been there, it hasnt been a problem, Rebecca said.

Steve and Rebecca packed only the essentials, not planning to stay overnight. Rebecca observed they might need to cross the street to get a few things from Walgreens.

Im just hoping its still standing when we get back, Rebecca said.

Jenny and Kevin Wale, of Midland, have their house on high ground, and so they decided to stay around the school and help residents of Riverside Place as they arrived. Jenny, who works independently with a few residents at Riverside, happened to be at the senior living center when the decision was made to evacuate. Kevin reported that at that point, the river was 15-20 feet away from the lower level of the building. In about 15 to 30 minutes they were ready to go.

She went in to check on them and make sure they were ok and we just started helping everyone else, Kevin said.
Families are being forced to pay thousands of pounds for student accommodation that is now sitting empty.

Many young people fled to their family homes when universities closed due to the pandemic.

Some accommodation companies and most universities are now offering refunds to students.

However, other private firms are still billing tenants in full, even though the national lockdown means they are not living there.

Some accommodation companies and most universities are now offering refunds to students

One in three students has encountered issues with their housing during this pandemic, according to campaign group Save the Student.

And when Money Mail contacted 34 companies which provide private student accommodation to ask if they would be offering tenants refunds, just five responded and only one confirmed it was waiving the full rent.

Unlike some tenants renting from private landlords, those living in purpose-built student and university accommodation do not have 28-day notice periods to end their tenancies.

It comes as the Scottish parliament is expected to approve a bill today that will allow students affected by lockdown to end their leases early.

Zamzam Ibrahim, National Union of Students president, says: We need governments across the UK to follow suit and bring in a safety net for all student renters without delay.

Student Bethany Wades parents had to draw from their savings to help her pay her 2,295 bill.

One in three students has encountered issues with their housing during this pandemic

The 22-year-old was living at a block run by Mansion Student while studying for her one-year English Literature Masters degree at Newcastle University.

She had already paid two of her three 2,295 instalments for the year-long tenancy of her studio flat.

Bethany had worked part-time job at a fish and chip shop to help pay the rent, but she was let go when customers began to dwindle in March.

When her university announced her course would be taught online, she was already back with her family in Wolverhampton for the weekend.

But even though she may not return to Newcastle, Mansion Student insisted she would have to pay her final instalment earlier this month.

It meant her parents, Lynn and Pete Wade, both 57, had to dip into their savings to give her the 1,295 she needed.

Lynn says: It seems unfair the firm is asking her to pay for accommodation she isnt living in.

Mansion Student did not respond to requests for comment.

A Department for Education spokesman says: We urge universities and private hall providers to put students first and be fair in their decisions about rent.

f.parker@dailymail.co.uk
A modern Mediterranean mansion located off of Avignon Court in the Royal Oaks Country Club just hit the market for nearly $6 million and has undergone a significant remodel transforming it into a lavish Gatsby-esque estate.

Designed by Caroline Wheeler of Designer Dreams, the opulent smart home features materials imported from Italy, Holland and Brazil as well as interior accents inspired by sculptures and fine dining restaurants in the prominent Galleria area of Houston.

Susan Collins and Harris Benson of Douglas Elliman Real Estate hold the listing. Keep scrolling for a look at before and after photos of the remodel, as well as a virtual tour inside the striking home...
A Byron Bay filmmaker has had COVID-19 for more than two months and has tested positive for the deadly virus three times.

Mirabai Nicholson-McKellar first tested positive in mid-March after suffering mild symptoms when she returned to Australia from Germany.

The 35-year-old went into self-isolation for six weeks and experienced a host of symptoms including loss of smell and taste, chest pain and shortness of breath.

The virus also left her with extreme fatigue and she felt unable to leave the couch.

'One of the most challenging things about this illness, apart from its severity and length, is that there's so much that we don't know about it and so it's a really vulnerable place to be,' Ms Nicholson-McKellar told 7.30.

Mirabai Nicholson-McKellar has tested positive for coronavirus three times in just over two months. Pictured: Ms Nicholson-McKellar in hospital before being diagnosed for the second time

After three days without any symptoms on April 25, Ms Nicholson-McKellar got the all clear from NSW Health to leave isolation.

But just four days later she was back in hospital and spent five hours in the emergency ward where she tested positive a second time.

Despite varying symptoms for more than six weeks, doctors and nurses told Ms Nicholson-McKellar her case was considered mild.

'I thought I was over it,' she said. 'I thought I was recovering and it was really disheartening to end up back there and quite scary.'

Ms Nicholson-McKellar kept an extensive Instagram diary of her battle with COVID-19, posting regular updates of her condition and symptoms.

On day 22 she wrote: 'I'm just sick of being sick'.

On day 48 she reported that it felt like someone was pushing 'really hard' on her chest and that she had 'stabbing pains in my ribs'.

Ms Nicholson-McKellar posted regular updates on her condition in Instagram

She has experienced more than 16 symptoms in her fight with the virus including headaches, chest pain and fatigue

Data from NSW Health states that 50 per cent of coronavirus patients recover in 16 days, with 75 per cent of people beating the virus after 23 days.

From the test pool of 3,000 patients, 95 per cent of people were over the virus after 6 weeks.

Ms Nicholson-McKellar tested positive for COVID-19 for the third time on Monday, 66 days after she was first diagnosed in March.

She said she is frustrated and worried with medical advice she has been receiving, as doctors still don't know a lot about the disease and how long her recovery will be.

After more than two months fighting the disease in isolation, Ms Nicholson-McKellar is desperate to kick the virus.

'I just want to be better,' she said. 'I just want it to be over.'
Things tend to drag in January; Christmas has gone, it's not quite spring, and the world is recharging while it has the chance.

But there was plenty zip to a January 29 meeting of the Santa Barbara Sister Cities Board, where a vote taken by one of its sub-committees earlier that month was written into the record.

This set in motion the severing of a special 17-year relationship between the Californian city and a small Kerry town; within three months, Santa Barbara's ties with Dingle would unravel, officially at least.

"The committee voted last night to recommend to Council and the Mayor to dissolve the Santa Barbara Dingle Sister City relationship," Pat Fallin stated. "We have requested numerous times in the past year to bring it [Dingle] in to compliance with the new guidelines adopted in 2019.

"Our delegation that visited in 2018 did not feel all that welcome. Many of the people they spoke with weren't even aware of Santa Barbara and Dingle being Sister Cities.

"The Sister City was founded in 2003 and there have been a couple of exchanges but very little reciprocity. The committee in Dingle is one couple and no other engagement with other members of the public or at the local government level."

Santa Barbara was now looking towards another "more viable" Irish Sister City.

On April 7, a city council resolution stated "there have been minimal educational or cultural exchanges" between the two Sisters. "There have been no official visitors from the City of Dingle to the City of Santa Barbara" or vice versa in recent years, it added. The mayor received authority to dissolve the relationship.

It would be an embarrassment for any town or city, but for a town that spins gold from tourism - much of it driven by US visitors - it's mortifying.

Or it would be, at least, if the claims levelled against Dingle fared well under scrutiny.

"The committee had no inkling this [dissolution] was on the cards," Dingle-Santa Barbara Sister City Committee Secretary and Community Chair Mairead de Staic tells The Kerryman. "They haven't contacted us in relation to that before, during, or after the process," she claimed.

She and husband Brian are the "one couple" the Santa Barbara side referred to as being the entire Dingle committee. She says the board actually has six members - as well as some 30 representatives of different organisations - and that's far from being the sole point she contradicts.

Having looked through material from both sides of the Atlantic, The Kerryman is aware of at least 12 delegations between the two sister cities, whether official or unofficial, since 2003. Almost half of these were educational or cultural delegations, and some were documented on these pages or in Santa Barbara local media.

One Santa Barbaran source observed that 12 visits isn't a lot relative to others - Santa Barbara also has sisters in Mexico, Greece, Japan, Philippines, and China - but to call it 'minimal' seems tough.

And to say there have been no recent visits between the two Sisters is untrue - unless one applies a very harsh definition of the word 'recent'.

Then-mayor Helene Schneider and seven others formed a delegation to Kerry in 2017; a group also visited in 2018; and in 2019 a Bank of Montecito group travelling the west of Ireland included Dingle on its tour.

A 13-strong business delegation representing Dingle visited Santa Barbara in 2015, while Dingle International Film Festival showcased at the Santa Barbara equivalent in 2016 and made a presentation to the family of Gregory Peck, relatives of Lios Poil's Tomas Aghas. Most recently, Mairead, Brian, and their son, Dara, visited in 2018 after mudslides devastated Santa Barbara.

Ms de Staic claims the Dingle side knew nothing of moves to dissolve the relationship until contacted by Raidio na Gaeltachta last month. Following that, the Dingle side countered what had been stated by Pat Fallin in an e-mail seen by The Kerryman.

They hit back at claims they were requested "numerous times in the past year" to adhere to new guidelines: "This has never been discussed or mentioned to anyone in Dingle save one email at the end of 2019 and a passing comment by Gil Garcia during their visitationThis [the email] was answered by Mairead de Staic the same day. However, her e-mail was neither responded to or even acknowledged", they claimed.

They questioned how the 2018 delegation to Dingle "did not feel all that welcome": "This is an inexplicable statementUpon their arrival in Dingle they were greeted by some 40 different organisations, clubs, businesses, schools, etc."

They attached what appears to be a Santa Barbara report, which wrote of this "amazing meeting with community members representing eclectic organizations, festivals, businesses, politics, authors, artists, craftsepeople & educators!"

Dingle responded to a statement that "They have resisted expanding [the Sister City relationship] to the larger County of Kerry": "This was only brought up to us just once - rather abruptly and without any context - in the middle of the large Dingle reception," they claimed.

"The gist of this proposal is to make the entire County of Kerry the sister city instead of Dingle, for reasons that were never explained clarified or even followed up upon".

On that point, Ms de Staic tells The Kerryman that "There isn't a city of Kerry. When they mentioned it to the people in Tralee, they got the same reply: it couldn't be done, it isn't a city, it's a number of big towns. And the Sister City relationship with Dingle was working perfectly well."

"The decision to challenge this decision originated in Santa Barbara," Ms de Staic says of what's to come next.

"We've been contacted by members and friends in Santa Barbara. On their instructions, letters were sent to the Mayor of Santa Barbara and City Council."

E-mails were also sent recently to journalists and political figures on both sides of the Atlantic. Former Mayor Schneider, now a board member of Sister Cities International, is among these recipients.

On Thursday last, May 14, The Kerryman sent a set of queries to four separate e-mail addresses listed as Santa Barbara Sister Cities Board contacts. The following day, we sent the same queries to Pat Fallin. None of the five parties has responded yet.

There's irony in all this: President Eishenhower created the Sister Cities movement in 1956 as a means of bringing communities worldwide closer together.

Now it seems a town and city already eight time-zones apart are drifting still further from one another.
Courtesy Tracy MurleyBy KATIE KINDELAN, ABC News



(NEW YORK) -- Doorsteps across a suburb in Detroit are covered in gift baskets randomly delivered by a group that calls itself the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine, named after The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a book that tells the story of four inseparable female friends.



The group, now 3,000 strong, started earlier this month as a way to bring cheer to women during the coronavirus pandemic.



"It is a true ding dong ditch to bring happiness and to let you feel like you're being supported by an amazing community," Tracy Murley told ABC News' Good Morning America, referring to a Midwestern term that refers to dropping something at someone's front door. "It is not an expectation to receive, it is an opportunity for giving, and when you do receive, you know someone is there for you."



Murley, 39, a mom of two, started the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine in her town of Canton, Michigan, after being invited to join a group doing the same thing in another part of Michigan, where she grew up.



"As a family, when the lockdown was coming, we committed that we would do one good deed every single day, regardless of how we felt or how yucky the news was," Murley told GMA. "We delivered cookie kits and games and paid for people's groceries in line behind us."



"It was getting to the point of, 'What can we do next?' and then I saw [the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine] and was like this is perfect timing," she said.



Murley started by creating a private Facebook group and inviting 30 friends to participate. Now with 3,000 members, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine has delivered thousands of gift baskets, with most including wine, to thousands of women.



Members of the Facebook group simply post their information and then other members can choose to "wine" them, or deliver a gift basket to their doorstep. You can "wine" and "be wined" as many times as you'd like, according to Mulrey.



While the group is known best for wine, gift baskets also include coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks, food and self-care items like face masks and bath bombs, according to Lyssa McClenahan, a member of the Canton Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine.



"Someone saw on my personal Facebook page that I got a grill and made me a basket filled with grilling essentials," McClenahan said. "It's not really about receiving a bottle of wine. It's just letting people know I'm here for you if you need something."



McClenahan, a dance teacher, said making the gift baskets together as a family has been a welcome distraction for her three kids, who are all competitive dancers and saw their seasons, as well as their in-person school classes, abruptly end due to the coronavirus pandemic.



For Murley, a regional sales director for a local hotel chain, organizing the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine group for her hometown has brought some much-needed joy in her own life too. She recently had to furlough or lay off her entire staff, and, like so many other parents, has been leading her two sons through virtual learning and the end of their extracurricular activities.



"I've always believed in giving and seeing my community do this: it's breathtaking," said Murley, who noted she's become friends with a neighbor of 13 years and a mom in her son's class for the first time through this experience.



"We so get lost in everything we do every day and running kids here and there and everywhere and we get so competitive," she said. "I think this has really united our community and opened us up to where we're willing to know our neighbor. Maybe it took a pandemic to get us here, but let's not lose it."



The Sisterhood of the Traveling Wine group in Canton has grown so large that local businesses are now offering items to include in the baskets. A local clothing company volunteered to make T-shirts for the group and donate 70% of the proceeds to a woman's shelter in Ann Arbor, Michigan.



"As powerful women doing this to uplift women, I thought let's find something that impacts women," said Murley. "This shelter is really struggling right now."

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
A 90-year-old grandma from Japan is the worlds oldest gaming YouTuber, the Guinness World Records organization announced earlier this month. Hamako Mori  who goes by the username Gaming Grandma on YouTube  said she began playing games 39 years ago on her first console, Epoch Co.s Cassette Vision hardware which was released in Japan in 1981. It looked so much fun, and I thought its not fair if only children played it, Mori told Guinness World Records. I thought life would be more fun if I knew how to play it. So I started playing, at first while no one was watching. Also Read: Why Video Games and Esports Will Thrive Post-Pandemic Eventually, she graduated to a platform where up to millions are watching  YouTube. Mori began streaming on YouTube five years ago, and said she tries to upload at least four videos each month. She plays a variety of games, from the zombie thriller Resident Evil series to EAs Battlefield franchise. Right now, Moris favorite title is Rockstar Games Grand Theft Auto V. I receive a lot of comments saying dont work too hard. Everyone is so kind. Their comment(s) leave a strong impression on me, and...

Read original story Meet the 90-Year-Old Gaming Grandma Who Set a Guinness World Record At TheWrap
SAN FRANCISCOOn day two of the San Francisco Bay Areas stay-at-home orders in March, Nohemi Jimenez got into her car in San Pablo, Calif., waved goodbye to her three-year-old son and drove to her regular Wednesday dialysis appointment.

The roads were deserted. No traffic. Jimenez, 30, said it is hard to admit what she thought next: No traffic meant no car accidents. And that meant shed be on the waiting list for a kidney transplant even longer.

I dont want to be mean, but I was like, Oh, my God. Nobodys going to die, she said. Im not going to get my transplant.

Jimenez was 20 and pregnant with her first child when doctors discovered she had been born with only one kidney, and that lone kidney was failing. By age 29, doctors told her she needed a new one. It was strange and scary, she said, waiting for someone to die so she could live.

Youre just thinking about it, she said. Its sitting in your mind. It just can never leave you alone.

Deaths from accidents are the biggest source of organs for transplant, accounting for 33 per cent of donations, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, UNOS, which manages the nations organ transplant system.

But since the coronavirus forced Californians indoors, accidents have declined. Traffic collisions and fatalities in the state dropped by half in the first three weeks of sheltering in place, according to a study by the University of California, Davis. Drowning deaths dropped 80 per cent in California, according to data compiled by the non-profit Stop Drowning Now.

In April, organ procurement organizations typically see a surge in donations related to outdoor, spring break-related activities and travel, but not this year.

From March 8 to April 11, the number of organ donors who died in traffic collisions was down 23 per cent nationwide compared with the same period last year, while donors who died in all other types of accidents were down 21 per cent, according to data from UNOS.

Spring break accidents are almost nonexistent because theres no spring break  beach accidents, motorcycle accidents, hunting accidents, said Janice Whaley, CEO of Donor Network West, which manages organ donations for Northern California and Nevada.

Doctors said theyve also noticed a decline in emergency room visits overall, not just for accidents, and this may also be limiting the supply of donor organs.

Where are all the people with heart attacks? Where are all the people with strokes? said George Rutherford, a professor and infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco. Are those patients staying away from the ERs for fear of COVID? Clearly, the census is way down in ERs.

Strokes and heart attacks are the second and third most common sources of organ donations, accounting for 27 per cent and 20 per cent of organs, respectively, according to UNOS.

When people die from a stroke or heart attack at home instead of a hospital, their organs cannot be used for transplant because of lost blood flow. Most organ donations occur after a person suffers a near-fatal event and life-saving measures do not work. For organs to be viable, people must die or be declared brain-dead while on a ventilator, so blood keeps pumping to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys.

A range of other logistical complications have made transplants difficult during the coronavirus pandemic. Hospitals have had to scale back surgeries of all kinds to preserve scarce supplies of personal protective equipment and ventilators. And many havent had the bandwidth to manage the delicate timing and complexity of organ donation, recovery, transportation and transplantation.

Transplant surgeries across the U.S. plummeted 52 per cent from March 8 to April 11, according to UNOS data.

Theres a lot of things that have to happen perfectly, and now were in an imperfect situation where were trying to deal with so many other things, Whaley said.

As medical centres braced for a wave of COVID-19 patients, they wanted to free up as many ventilators as possible. In addition to donors needing to die on ventilators to keep their organs viable, doctors often keep them on ventilators for two or three days while transplant teams and recipients are lined up. Then the recipients need to be on ventilators during surgery.

People were very antsy about having non-COVID-19 patients on ventilators, taking up space, Whaley said. They wanted to make sure they were ready for that next patient.

Many COVID patients who died offered their organs for donation, but those were declined out of concern that recipients could become infected, she said.

And a shortage of coronavirus testing supplies made it difficult for transplant centres to test potential donors who later died of other causes to make sure they were not infected with the virus.

So there may have been some organ turndowns that we normally wouldnt have seen, said Dr. Chris Freise, a professor and transplant surgeon at UCSF.

As a matter of policy, hospitals cancelled virtually all organ transplants from living donors, where a family member or someone else donates a kidney or section of their liver.

That involves bringing two patients into the hospital  the donor and the recipient  and we certainly didnt want to put donors at any significant extra risk, Freise said. Living-donor kidney transplant ground down to almost a complete halt in most programs across the country.

Some hospitals began doing living donations again in early May, while donations from deceased donors started to increase slowly in mid-April.

Thats when Jimenez got her call from Freises team at UCSF. A condition related to Jimenezs three pregnancies made finding a donor match for her very difficult, Freise said, like a needle in a haystack. That also put her at the top of the waiting list in case a match was found.

Jimenezs phone rang at 2 a.m. on April 17. A transplant staffer told her to get to the hospital right away.

I was excited, Jimenez said. But then my mind hit me: Somebody died.

All she knows is that the donor was 19 and died in an accident in Los Angeles. Jimenez wrote a letter to the donors family.

I told them that I will forever be thinking of them, she said. I will have him or her in my body for the rest of my life, and I will live for both of us.

Jimenez has six months of recovery ahead of her. She said shes looking forward to going back to work and having more energy to play with her kids.
Correction: The original figure for the number of MDOC staff who have died after contracting the coronavirus was incorrect and has been updated.

ADRIAN, MI -- Some inmates at a Michigan prison where nearly one third of the population has tested positive for the coronavirus caused a disturbance Tuesday when they refused to return to their cells, Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz said.

The Michigan Department of Corrections reported an explosion in confirmed coronvirus cases at Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Lenawee Countys Adrian Monday, May 18. The facility with capacity to house 2,362 prisoners had 716 confirmed cases and three deaths as of Tuesday.

We believe the reason why they were protesting is that they felt that they had not been given their individualized (coronavirus) test results from our private health care provider ... " Gautz said. That should have already happened and so we made sure with ... leadership that was going to happen immediately ...

We had already moved prisoners who were positive and negative but they wanted their individual results ... That is being done and everything, as far as I know, is back to normal.

Gautz said there had been ridiculous and wild rumors that 18 prisoners had escaped.

Following the disturbance, an emergency count was conducted and all prisoners were accounted for, Gautz said.

The MDOC, with assistance from the Michigan National Guard and contracted health providers, is attempting to test every inmate for the coronavirus. After administering 35,650 tests, 3,089 -- nearly 9% -- had tested positive. There have been 62 prisoner deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Additionally, 356 MDOC employees and correctional officers have tested positive. Two have died.

State officials on Monday, after reporting 773 new coronavirus cases in Michigan, attributed 513 of those to enhanced testing at prison facilities.

Cases of the virus in correctional facilities make up almost 6 percent of the states total.

The overall statewide count was up to 52,350 Tuesday, state health officials said, with 5,017 deaths.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

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.

Related stories:

Coronavirus deaths surpass 5K in Michigan

Prison testing leads to coronavirus reporting increase in Michigan

Court ruling favors Whitmer in lawsuit over emergency orders

Michigan sheriff says Gov. Whitmers stay-at-home order is akin to mass arrest

Heres what can reopen in which Michigan counties under new state order

Outdoor drinking districts proposed in state House to help Michigan bars and restaurants

Michigan Secretary of State says all voters may submit ballots by mail this year

Ex-Secretary of State Ruth Johnson questions motive behind Michigans mass absentee ballot mailing

Hurley deploys germ zapping robots to battle COVID-19 virus in hospital rooms

United States and Canada agree to extend border closure to June 21

Michigan residents can watch court proceedings across the state from home with new virtual directory
A farmer has been convicted of drowning his wife in liquid manure in Germany.

The 55-year-old was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison after his wife died in a slurry pit on their farm in Germany in 2018.

The court dismissed his claim she fell into the pit by accident.

Judges in the Bavarian city said the woman, 51, had been victim of a violent crime, but the defendant's lawyer said they would appeal.

The 55-year-old was sentenced to 13-and-a-half years in prison after his wife died in a slurry pit on their farm in Germany in 2018 (file image)

In Germany, 123 women were killed by their current or former partners in 2018.

A court in the southern city of Ellwangen convicted a German man, 48, for killing his estranged wife last year by pouring gasoline over her and setting her alight.

Prosecutors said the victim, 45, died in a fiery blast.

The defendant was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for murder.

Last May a German father was arrested for allegedly slaughtering his wife and son in their family home.

The house where the mother and son were murdered. The police arrested Josef H. as the suspected killer at the murder scene

The bodies of a 38-year-old woman and her eight-year-old son were found at a home in an upmarket neighbourhood in Tiefenbronn, a town in the south-western German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

According to local media, the neighbours of 60-year-old engineer Josef H., who could hear the gruesome scenes unfold. He was later arrested as the suspected killer at the murder scene.

Neighbours said the man's eldest child, 11, had sprinted out of the house covered in blood screaming 'that's enough now daddy'.
As conversations continue about what the new normal will look like in the workplace, state health officials announced another 128 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the statewide death to 6,066.

Health officials confirmed another 1,045 cases of the virus, which is based on 13,013 new tests reported Wednesday. There are now at least 88,970 cases of COVID-19 across Massachusetts. Altogether 489,953 tests have been carried out.

On Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Baker said the data has shown a decline in the virus  from hospitalizations to the rates of positive cases  for about three weeks.

Health officials have tweaked their reporting method to better track key metrics in the fight against the virus, and now indicate in their daily reports which data points are trending favorably, which will determine the pace of the reopening plan.

The data this week has so far shown a downward trend in COVID-19-related deaths, positive tests, the three-day average number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital and the number of hospitals using surge capacity. Wednesdays figures showed that since April 15, there has been a 67% decline in the rate of positive tests; that percentage is based on a seven-day weighted average.

Hospitalizations fell to 2,508 on Tuesday, which represents a 30% decline since April 15, according to the three-day average. On May 1, there were 3,707 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

Since April 15, the three-day average of coronavirus deaths has fallen by 44%, the data shows. The three-day averages balance out any one-day jump or drop in numbers as cases and deaths. Although the number of deaths continues to decline, the figures fluctuate daily.

Since April 15, there has been a 65% reduction in the rate of positive cases. Of the total number of tests carried out on Monday, just under 10% resulted in a coronavirus diagnosis.

Wednesdays figures come the day after Baker unveiled his administrations plan to reopen parts of the Massachusetts economy, beginning with the restart of some operations and activities at hospitals, in construction and manufacturing, as well as places of worship, that day.

In the states first of four phases of reopening, retailers will be permitted to resume work for curbside pickup; hair salons can take appointments; and some offices can open at limited capacity, according to the plan. Hospitals can resume certain high-priority services for high-risk patients, and some manufacturing and construction businesses can restart, provided they put in place workplace safety standards.

Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Here are the cases listed by county:

Barnstable County: 1,197

Berkshire County: 500

Bristol County: 6,165

Dukes County: 26

Essex County: 12,920

Franklin County: 309

Hampden County: 5,418

Hampshire County: 792

Middlesex County: 19,708

Nantucket County: 12

Norfolk County: 7,607

Plymouth County: 7,280

Suffolk County: 16,962

Worcester County: 9,780

Unknown location: 294

Related Content:
I recently helped distribute 200 desktop computers to students in my community who did not have access to a computer at home. It was a great moment, but it came after Texas schools had been closed for a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These students had been struggling to participate in online schooling  if they were able to participate at all  for weeks, underscoring how existing disadvantages now threaten to leave them further behind.

The closure of K-12 schools has exacerbated the digital divide, which in turn has complicated efforts to shift to online learning. The federal government had the opportunity to even the playing field and get students the technology they need during the pandemic. Unfortunately, federal leaders have failed to seize the moment.

The CARES Act, which commits about $2 trillion to respond to COVID-19, allocates just $13 billion for states to use toward computers, Wi-Fi hot spots, cleaning supplies and professional development for teachers. Many education organizations have said this is inadequate to solve the digital divide problem. The National School Boards Association had asked for a funding package of $75 billion. For comparison, during the 2009 recession, President Barack Obamas American Recovery and Reinvestment Act directed $77 billion out of the $831 billion package to help schools.

Many school districts across Texas have stepped up to connect students to technology during the shutdown, but the amount the federal government has offered states to help students access computers and high-speed internet is simply not enough. And states and school districts, including those in our backyard, will soon run out of money to address the problem on their own.

The digital divide starts early and exacerbates deep social, economic and racial inequalities that students may already be experiencing. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students are sitting at home right now without computers, and in Texas, more than 2 million households lack high-speed internet. This means nearly 275,000 students do not have access to the bandwidth needed for online learning, and if a student is a child of color or lives in a low-income household, things are grimmer.

Sadly, several cities in Texas fare worse in terms of limited access to the internet and computers. Laredo and Brownsville rank as two of the worst-connected rural cities in the nation. On top of that, Dallas tops the list for worse connection rate among the 10 largest U.S. cities, followed by Houston at No. 3 and San Antonio at No. 4.

This is not OK. We are a country that promises an education as a foundation on which to build a strong life, and this is a miserable attempt at helping children get there. Research shows that students with internet access at home have higher reading, math and science scores than those who do not.

Some school districts and nonprofits are working hard to bridge the digital divide despite the lack of federal support. Southwest ISD in San Antonio provided one electronic device for each student in addition to ordering thousands of hot spots. The Austin Independent School District has delivered 10,000 computers and deployed 100 buses to serve as Wi-Fi hot spots for students. And El Paso ISD approved a $4.6 million purchase of about 8,200 iPads and Wi-Fi hot spots to aid students amid the COVID-19 crisis.

However, without more federal investment, these well-intentioned but disparate efforts by districts will fizzle out as funding dries up.

In the coming weeks, federal lawmakers are expected to propose follow-ups to the CARES Act. This must include additional funding for districts and students to bridge the digital divide. Their futures  and ours  depend on it.

Annika Olson is the assistant director of policy research in the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis at the University of Texas at Austin.
More than 80% of the country's men's sheds have had their fundraising affected by Covid-19 - placing their future at risk.

The Irish Mens Sheds Association (IMSA), the representative body for more than 460 mens sheds in Ireland, is launching a fundraising campaign after a survey of members showed a cumulative loss of almost 600,000 since the pandemic began.

It comes as a survey of more than 2,000 charities here found that more than half fear they may be unable to continue providing a services for more than six months because of the impact of Covid-19, and among that group almost 10% fear shutting down within a month.

A total of 2,223 responses were submitted for that survey, which was conducted by the Charities Regulator.

It found that 55% of respondents said their charitys finances were uncertain or in difficulty, while 54% of respondents were concerned that their charity may be unable to continue providing services for more than six months.

"Within this group, approximately 9% of respondents were concerned that they may not be able to provide services for more than one month, 28% for more than three months and 17% for more than six months," it said.

Another finding was that 52% of respondents had reached out to other charities to discuss plans to deal with the current situation.

The Charities Regulator report showed more than 37% of respondents said their fundraising has been postponed until later in the year and more than a quarter had seen fundraising cancelled.

The survey also found many charities are using technology to continue operating, with 73% of respondents stating their charity trustees continued to communicate via email or by meeting remotely. Others stressed the continued need for good governance.

With so many charities under pressure, the Irish Mens Sheds Association (IMSA) found that 82% of its own members are worried about their financial security, with the average shed losing 1,286 from March 13 to May 8.

That equates to a combined 591,560 for the 460 sheds on the island of Ireland.

It has prompted the Save Our Sheds (SOS) fund, with any money raised to be distributed to sheds affected by the crisis.

Not only were the sheds closed as part of the restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus, but they could face another three months of closure.

The CEO of IMSA, Barry Sheridan, said: It is very concerning to see that the majority of mens sheds are being financially impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. It is hard to find a sector, group or individual that has not been affected.

We have always been committed to supporting our sheds, that is why we are launching our Save Our Sheds (SOS) fund. We are aiming to raise enough funds so that we can provide support to the sheds affected by Covid-19, and to keep as many sheds open as possible."

Val Browne, who joined the Ballina Mens Shed after his wife died, said:

The shed saved my life, thats the truth of it. After my wife died, I was at a loss.

A friend brought me to the local mens shed, and to say I havent looked back is an understatement. The shed has given me a new lease of life. Im there every day, and Im looking forward to going back soon.

People can help support the SOS Fund by donating online at www.menssheds.ie/sos, or by texting SHED to 50300.
The Concerned Citizens Association of Tarkwa-Nsuaem in the Western Region has appealed to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision to revoke the appointment of Mr Gilbert Kennedy Asmah as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tarkwa-Nsuaem.



According to the group, the news has stunned majority of the citizens within the Municipality because his leadership has contributed immensely to the development of Tarkwa-Nsuaem.



Mr Kofi Bosco, spokesperson for the group, said this when he addressed the media at a press briefing held on Monday at Tarkwa.



He stated that Mr Asmah had demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the Municipality which placed 79th position nationwide in the 2016/2017 District League Table assessment of Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMADs), by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDDGhana), performed creditably to a seventh position in the 2017/2018 assessment under his stewardship.



The Municipal Assembly was also fifth across the entire country under the Local Government Performance Management Assessment of MMDAs in 2019, and first in the Western Region through his efforts, he added.



The spokesperson emphasized that the MCE pro-actively ensured effective supervision for the implementation of the Presidents prudent economic, social and infrastructure development policies, programmes and projects in the Municipality to benefit the citizenry.



Mr Asmah has rolled out series of development projects in the Constituency and this has led to the construction of link roads and revamping of existing markets to improve upon economic activities, agriculture, Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHIPS) compounds and other health initiated programmes, provision of portable pipe borne water and construction of school blocks.



He alleged that Since Mr Asmah was inaugurated into office in 2017, he has suffered a series of opposition, threats, humiliation, physical and verbal attacks from some members of his own New Patriotic Party (NPP) that he once led as the Constituency Chairman before becoming the MCE.



He underscored that if the revocation of the MCEs appointment was not re-examined it would develop a huge drawback in the development of Tarkwa-Nsuaem and also affect the NPPs fortunes in the 2020 general elections.

Source: GNA









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

Featured Video
PHILIPSBURG:--- The French and Dutch authorities will not be meeting today Wednesday as was planned. SMN News asked Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs to explain if the two sides are still cooperating since the Dutch side removed law enforcement on Sunday from the borders.

Jacobs said that from the inception St. Maarten wanted to close off the borders in France just like she did with China and the US, Jacobs said the Dutch Government pleaded with her not to shut off the EU flights and instead St. Maarten should play nice. The Prime Minister said when she finally did shut off the COVID-19 was already imported to the island. Jacobs said that for two weeks she was pleading with the Prefette to reopen the borders because the Dutch side residents were not being treated fairly. She said as Prime Minister she was constantly signing waivers for French side residents to go over to the Dutch side for banking, medical, and other reasons but when Dutch side residents request waivers to go over to the French side even for medical reasons they were being denied.

Asked why did she agree to close the borders in the first place knowing that there have been border disputes for years between the French and Dutch. Jacobs said at that time St. Maarten had real concerns with its accommodations at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). Jacobs reminded at that time there were only two ICU beds and the government had to ensure persons on the French side did not go over to the Dutch side and fall sick.

Jacobs made clear that she had from the inception informed the Prefette that as soon as control was had on the COVID-19 then the borders would have been reopened.

The Prime Minister further explained that today Wednesday there will be no cooperation meeting but assured the French and Dutch Healthcare Ministries are working on some kind of agreement for both sides to sign as the island continue fighting the spread of COVID-19.
Seventy percent of coronavirus cases in Israel could be linked to the US, according to a new study on the virus' genome.

The study, which has yet to be peer-reviewed, compared the sequence of the virus from more than 200 randomly selected patients and compared them to sequences of the virus found worldwide, The New York Times reported.

Israel shut down travel from European countries starting on February 26 but did not impose those measures for US travel until March 9.

Researchers said that had the measures been applied to the US sooner, the number of cases in the country would be significantly lower.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Israel coronavirus





Passengers wait to check in while keeping social distance in Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, on May 14, 2020.

Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua via Getty

While only 27% of US travelers to Israel tested positive for the coronavirus, a new study found that travel from the United States alone could account for 70% of coronavirus cases in the country, The New York Times reported.

A genome study from Tel Aviv University sequenced the genomes of virus samples from more than 200 randomly selected patients across six hospitals and compared them to sequences worldwide. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

According to the Jerusalem Post, while flights from some European and other countries began to be halted starting on February 26, those from the US were not suspended until March 9.

"Those who returned from the US created transmission chains," Adi Stern, from the School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology at TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, told The Jerusalem Post.

As of Tuesday, Israel had 16,659 confirmed coronavirus cases and 278 deaths.

The study said that if the country had banned travelers from the US when it banned other countries, "a substantial fraction of the transmission chains in Israel would have been prevented," The Times reported.

"There was this gap in policy, and this gap allowed people to return from the US who thought that they could go wherever they wanted, so they probably spread the virus that way," Stern told the Post.

Story continues

According to the Post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to close the country's borders to all countries, including to the US on March 8 after a conference call with Vice President Mike Pence.

The study also said that closing the country off from tourists, enforcing social-distancing rules, and imposing a lockdown on citizens, appears to have cut the transmission rate in the country by two-thirds.

However, it did also find that superspreaders appeared to have an important role in the spread: 5% of patients were thought to be responsible for the spread of the virus to 80% of everyone infected, according to The Times.

Read the original article on Business Insider
You can contract COVID-19 from having a lapse in employment, drinking alcohol or missing curfew. Surprisingly, this is the case for the 36,000 New Yorkers on parole who may be locked up during the pandemic for such minor mishaps.Surveillance as usual is literally killing us.

Look no further than New York Citys Rikers Island jails: as reported in the New York Times, Raymond Rivera, 55, of Queens left a drug treatment program before he completed itt and Michael Tyson, 53 missed appointments with his parole officer. They both died of COVID-19 on Rikers within a day of one another in the first week of April. Both were waiting for the final resolution of their cases, accused not of new crimes, but of technical rule violations of state parole, Tyson since late February, Rivera since August. Riveras wife rightly asked the Times Why did he have to wait so long?

New York state parole effectively gave them death sentences, even though the courts did not. Adding to the public health crisis are the COVID-19 infections that arise when more than 1,500 Rikers staff who have become infected go home to their families after work.

For at least the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak in New York, the state should save lives by not jailing people for non-criminal acts. On April 21, the Pew Charitable Trusts and Arnold Ventures proffered over 50 straightforward recommendations to safely reform supervision by reducing both the number of people under community supervision and the number who get imprisoned for rule violations. Key proposals include:reducing technical violations and instead incentivizing good behavior by granting merit time off of supervision for compliance with supervision conditions.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo himself has the power to protect public health by safely releasing people held in state prisons and county jails for technical violations and telling his parole officers to stop sending people back to prison for those minor violations. And the Legislature has the ability to ensconce reasonable parole policies into law by enacting the Less Is More Act that would eliminate certain technical violations like missing curfew or consuming alcohol and incentivize good behavior on parole by shortening supervision periods by 30 days for every 30 days successfully completed.

Over a month ago, Cuomo announced that he would release some people in jails awaiting violation hearings for what he described as having violated parole for non-serious reasons. Though it was a good move, it raises the question of why they were incarcerated, even before the pandemic, if the parole violation wasnt serious. But by the time Rivera and Tyson died, fewer than half of the 400 people the governor said hed release from Rikers had actually been freed. And, since the governors release commitment, over 100 new people have been detained at Rikers for technical violations. They are now at risk, just like Rivera and Tyson were.

Across New York and the nation, there is a growing consensus that parole is a feeder into prisons and needs to be reformed to be less punitive and more rehabilitative. The Pew recommendations to do so were endorsed by dozens of organizations including the conservative R Street Institute and American Conservative Union. Even before the pandemic, a group of over 80 probation and parole commissioners calledExecutives Transforming Probation and Parole issued a statement that community supervision has become overly burdensome, punitive and a driver of mass incarceration, especially for people of color and calling for probation and paroleto be substantially downsized, less punitive, and more...restorative. Seven district attorneys, including Albanys David Soares, have endorsed the Less Is More Act.

While much is rightly written about the United States having the worlds highest rate of incarceration, fewer realize that there are twice as many people in the U.S. on probation and parole as are incarcerated. A quarter of those in U.S. prisons are incarcerated for technical violations at an annual national cost of $2.8 billion. New Yorks record is a poor one when it comes to parole; our rate of parole ending with prison reentry is 47 percent, substantially higher than the 28 percent national average. New York parole officials return six times as many people to prison for non-criminal, technical violations as the number who go back for new convictions. Before the pandemic, persons accused of minor mishaps, like Tyson and Rivera, were the only population group actually increasing on Rikers Island. Black and Latino people are incarcerated on Rikers for technicals at 12 and four times the rate, respectively, of white people.

In New York, the Columbia University Justice Lab, the New York State Bar Association, the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, and even the New York City Mayors Office of Criminal Justice have decried excessively locking people up for technical parole violations. Outside of the City, groups like the New York State Association of Counties and the Rochester City Council have endorsed the Less Is More Act.

Before the crisis, Cuomo stated, New York jails and prisons should not be filled with people who may have violated the conditions of their parole, but present no danger to our communities. Theres clearly a gap between his beliefs and actions, leading to haphazard and inadequate handling of parole violations  putting New Yorkers lives at risk.

COVID-19 caught us all by surprise and Gov. Cuomo is viewed as having adeptly responded. But the governor had plenty of time to reduce incarceration for technical parole violations before  and since  the pandemic. Now its time for Cuomo to act, before there are more unnecessary deaths like Raymond Riveras and Michael Tysons.
The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic has opened up opportunities for textile companies to come up with innovative fabrics.

Siyarams, a textile brand in mens fashion, will launch anti-viral fabric in the market soon. The fabric is ready. We are yet to hit the market, so once trade channels start it will be available on the shelves, Gaurav Poddar, President and Executive Director, Siyaram Silk Mills, told Moneycontrol.

The company is in the process of getting the fabric certified. It has, however, not clarified if by claiming that the fabric is 'anti-viral' it means that the cloth can resist coronavirus.

Anti-viral fabric is made from special chemicals, we are in the process of getting it certified, Poddar added.

The company is hoping to elicit good response through this launch due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Siyaram Silk Mills, which has its factories in Tarapur, Silvassa and Daman, produces over 80 million meters of fabrics annually with a diverse range of fabrics such as polyester, viscose, polyester cotton, 100 percent cotton, 100 percent wool, and 100 percent linen with some of the popular brands such as Siyarams, J Hampstead, Cadini, Oxemberg, and Casa Moda.

Retailers in India started feeling the heat immediately after the announcement of nation-wide lockdown in India and are still coping with a complete pause in their business.

Due to COVID-19 lockdown, the company has been non-functional since mid-March owing to which it has lost almost 25 percent of the business, said Shridhar Soni, Vice-President of Cadini Italy.

However, the management is hinging its hopes on the festive season for a revival of demand.

It will take 3-4 months for everything to come back on track. We are hoping things will start getting better and larger demand will come from October onwards because of Diwali, followed by marriage season which will prompt fabric sales to rise, Soni added.

Siyarams is also planning to expand its online business, which currently contributes 10 percent to its total business.

Because of COVID-19 challenges such as social distancing, customers will avoid going to shops and there will be less footfalls. So, we believe online is the way to go and we have allocated a higher budget for expansion of our online platforms, said Poddar.
Inspector General to Assess ICE facilities for COVID-19 Practices

In response to reports that ICE detention facilities with confirmed cases of the CCP virus were operating without full procedures to protect both staff and detainees from the virus, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and her colleagues called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general (IG) to conduct a full investigation.

Harris on Tuesday joined Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) in releasing a statement announcing that the DHS IG will conduct a review of U.S. ICE facilities.

Harris, Udall along with 24 other Democratic senators are asking the IG to evaluate the extent to which all ICE facilities operations, management, standards, and conditions have adapted to address the threat of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virusalso known as novel coronavirusto both the staff and detainees, such as having proper hygiene and personal protective equipment broadly available.

This is an important step in halting the spread of COVID-19 in detention facilities, said Harris. The virus does not care about anyones age, race, or immigration status. We have a duty to protect every person from coronavirus and Im eager for the DHS IG to share its assessment of ICEs practices and procedures to protect these individuals.

An ICE spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a written statement: U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement (ICE) cooperates fully with these investigations and appreciates the efforts of the DHS Office of Inspector General, whose reviews serve to help ICE improve our processes and ensure that our civil detention operations provide a safe and secure environment for both detainees and staff. The health, welfare, and safety of ICE detainees is one of the agencys highest priorities.

According to the ICE website, in-person visitations for detainees, by family members, have been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic but virtual meetings using technology are permitted. Legal representatives can still meet with detainees at ICE facilities, after going through full screening procedures.

Since the onset of reports of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), ICE epidemiologists have been tracking the outbreak, regularly updating infection prevention and control protocols, and issuing guidance to ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) staff for the screening and management of potential exposure among detainees.

In addition, ICE is actively working with state and local health partners to determine if any detainee requires additional testing or monitoring to combat the spread of the virus, the website states.

In March, Harris along with her colleagues sent a letter to Chad Wolf, acting secretary of DHS, Matthew T. Albence, acting director of ICE, and Mark A. Morgan, acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, to demand answers about how the ICE facilities were managing and preventing the spread of the virus among staff and detainees in these immigration facilities.

There are currently nearly 39,000 individuals in U.S. immigration detention. In May 2019, ICE had detained over 52,000 individuals and the agency has requested capacity to detain 60,000 for FY2021, the letter stated.

In addition to detained persons, staff, medical personnel, and attorneys move in and out of immigration detention facilities every day. As a result, the risk of the uncontained spread of coronavirus in immigration detention facilities endangers detained persons, staff, and the general public, the senators added.
The Sensex settled 622.44 points or 2.06 percent higher at 30,818.61, while the NSE Nifty rose 187.45 points, or 2.11 percent, to end at 9,066.55

The equity benchmark made a strong gain today as the value buying emerged in financial stocks which has been under performing over the past few sessions. Buying was broad-based and market ended with a gain of 2.3 percent.

All sectoral indices ended in the green territory, while pharma and financial service indices witnessed sharp buying in the afternoon session. On stock specifics, HDFC surged 6 percent as the top gainer, followed by Dr. Reddy and M&M. Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Infratel remained the top laggards in todays session.

#MarketAtClose | Market surges sharply in the 2nd half; frontliners up 2% each. Sensex gains 622 points to 30,819 & Nifty 187 points to 9,067 pic.twitter.com/eIJuVZi5Ye  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) May 20, 2020

The 30-share index settled 622.44 points or 2.06 percent higher at 30,818.61, while the NSE Nifty rose 187.45 points, or 2.11 percent, to end at 9,066.55.

HDFC was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging over 5 percent, followed by M&M, L&T, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma.

Manish Hathiramani, Index Trader and Technical Analyst, Deen Dayal Investments, told Firstpost, "The Nifty50 Index continued its intraday upward trajectory and comfortably crossed its resistance of 9030. The next levels of resistance would be 9,150 and 9250 with a good base formation at 8,850. This rally seems broad-based where most stocks have handsomely contributed to the rally up and good volumes have been clocked on the Nifty futures as well."

Paras Bothra, President-Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking, told Firstpost said, "The domestic markets opened flat but gained higher later during the day led by buying across all sectors. Positive statements from the Finance Minister that the government was with industry and would do as much as possible depending on how the coronavirus pandemic will pan out, implying there could be further stimulus ahead."

While stock-specific action led benchmarks higher, experts forecast continued volatility in the near-term amid rising number of coronavirus cases in the country.

Going ahead, investors will closely monitor the economic policies, US-China relationship, crude oil prices movements and development of coronavirus cases and vaccines

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director Choice Broking told Firstpost, "Finally, the Nifty settled its closing above 9,030 level at 9,066 level with the gain of 187 points which is a good sign for the time being; as from the present level we are seeing a further upside movement. Moreover, the Index has formed a based around 8,800 level from where it gave a very good bounce back earlier also. So at present level, we are expecting the same movement to be replicated in the Index.

"The opening session was good. However, during most part of the session, we saw a range-bound movement. We had to wait till the dying hours to see Index breakout, based on which it managed to close above 9,030 level. At the present level, downside support comes at 9,000-8,800, while upside intermediate resistance comes at 9,100. If the Index sustains above this level then we may see good upside movement up to the level of 9,200-9,350," Bagadia said.

Rupee settles 14 paise lower at 75.80 against dollar

The rupee depreciated by 14 paise to 75.80 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday as headwinds due to US-China trade tiff and worries over the second wave of coronavirus infection weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex traders said positive domestic equities supported the local unit, while sustained foreign fund outflows, US-China trade tiff and concerns over coronavirus pandemic weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.60, but pared the initial gains to finally close at 75.80, registering a fall of 14 paise over its previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 75.66 against the US dollar.

During the trading session, the domestic unit witnessed heavy volatility and saw an intra-day high of 75.60 and a low of 75.86.

"The COVID-19 vaccine-trials temporarily excited the market. But there are headwinds due to ongoing US-China trade tiff and worries over second wave of infection. Also, Reliance rights issue has opened today, and we can see some FII participation in it in coming days which may limit the fall in rupee," said Rahul Gupta, Head of Research- Currency, Emkay Global Financial Services to PTI.

Gupta further noted that "technically, The USD/INR spot is trading in a very tight range of 75.25-76, and we expect it to remain in this until there are major cues. Either side breakout will give further clarity over the trend".

Global stocks adrift as vaccine rally falters

European stocks slipped lower on Wednesday and gold gained as a skeptical press report undermined some hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine and concern about obstacles to a recovery from the pandemic returned.

Italian bonds sustained their multi-week lows, continuing to gain from a Franco-German plan for a 500 billion-euro coronavirus recovery fund, ignoring a hawkish counter-proposal in the works, Reuters said.

Europes STOXX 600 index was 1.6 percent lower. The blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percen as Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc shed 0.8 percen after it said it would cut 9,000 jobs and might close some of its factories.

MSCIs broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percen. Its world stock index was 0.1 percen lower after reaching its highest level since March 9 on Tuesday.

Wall Street ended Tuesday lower after medical news website STAT cast doubt on a Moderna Inc COVID-19 vaccine trial. The report said the trial results, which had rallied global stocks this week, lacked detail.

With markets being very narrative driven, this was sufficient to see European equities pick up where Wall Street left off and head lower, said James Athey, investment director, Aberdeen Standard Investments.

Two-thirds of 223 fund managers surveyed by Bank of America reckon recent gains are a bear-market rally.

S&P 500 futures were last up 0.4 percent. Oil was steady and gold rose to $1,750.93 per ounce.

Brent crude futures were at $34.64 per barrel, having rallied nearly 7 percent this week. US crude was 0.4 percent lower at $31.84 a barrel.

--- With inputs from agencies
Open source

On May 19, Boryspil international airport hosted four passenger flights with Ukrainians who returned from abroad within the evacuation campaign. 535 people arrived from Yerevan, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, and Riga. Ukraine's State Border Guard reported that on May 20.

The Border Guard staff performed temperature screening procedures. None of the passengers showed any symptoms of disease or complained about their health.

All passengers installed the Diy Vdoma (Act at Home) mobile app on their cellphones and obliged themselves to stay on self-isolation for 14 consecutive days.

The Ukrainian government has begun working to resume the international air traffic connection with foreign countries. A source in the diplomatic service told that to the Ukrainska Pravda news agency.

According to the interlocutor, Ukraine is not going to wait for the offers from other states. Instead, it begins negotiations on this matter on its own. So far, citizens of Ukraine and other non-EU member countries are banned from entering the Schengen area; the restrictions is to expire on June 15. So long, it remains unknown whether the EU plans to extend the travel ban.
In a recent stress test conducted by A.M. Best, to gauge the capital position of insurers varying from life, health to property and casualty, results came out quite favorable.



The rating agency is of the opinion that most insurance and reinsurance companies have adequate capital resources to absorb the potential loss due to prevalent COVID-19 pandemic.



The testing, however, showed that a specific class of insurers was more sensitive to suffer the loss from the plaguing pandemic, than others. Life and health insurers with high mortality and asset risk, others with wide exposure to mortgage loans and those having small capital bases are more prone to endure losses.

Importantly, property and casualty insurers are better placed than their life and health counterparts. Property and casualty insurers such as The Allstate Corp. ALL, The Progressive Corp. PGR, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.B among others have been enjoying top-line growth with vast and diversified business portfolios. Premium rates in Personal and Commercial lines of insurance have been rising over the last several quarters, which are likely to support topline growth.

The rating giants stress test outcome was based on procedures that scanned insurers risk-adjusted capital status, investment portfolios, reserve adequacy and other aspects of risks borne by the rated entities. It also focused on a particular companys access to liquidity and the laddering and maturing of debt securities within its capital structures.



Also the current balance sheet position of the insurance industry seems much stronger than the financial crisis of 2007-2008.



Recently, A.M. Best, affirmed the Financial Strength Ratings and Issuer Credit Ratings of different units of Renaissance Re Holdings Ltd. RNR and acknowledged its superior level of risk-adjusted capitalization, among other factors.

Per the rating agency, insurers are likely to see a significant earnings decline in 2020, rather than a material weakness in risk-adjusted capitalization.

Story continues

Further, the deadly COVID-19 outbreak caused disturbances for insurers worldwide. Claims related to workers compensation, events cancellation and other commercial liabilities are some of the challenges faced by insurers. The impact of COVID-19 is wider than other disruptions that commonly hound insurers, such as weather-related events which are restricted to certain geographies.

Additionally, the 2020 Atlantic Ocean hurricane season, is expected to be above-average, inducing losses greater than the earlier catastrophes, such as Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in Japan or the militant-orchestrated 9/11 terror attacks. The losses can run into tens of billions or half a trillion.

Despite the anticipated losses that might hit the insurance industry, which is the backbone of the U.S. economy, the industry seems healthy enough to resist the possible adversaries.

Among the stocks mentioned above bith Allstate and Progressive carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside?

Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana.

Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.

See the pot trades we're targeting>>



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



Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) : Free Stock Analysis Report



RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (RNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



The Allstate Corporation (ALL) : Free Stock Analysis Report



The Progressive Corporation (PGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Description

GIS

- 20 May, 2020:

A post Covid-19 Action Plan,

spelling out 13 emergency measures to help preserving cultural life and supporting artists to sustain creativity in these difficult times, has been elaborated by the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage.

The Plan, approved by the Cabinet last week, aims to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the cultural industry. The authorities have also agreed to the drafting of the Status of the Artists legislation and reviewing the Copyright fees as charged by Mauritius Society of Authors (MASA)

The drafting of the Status of the Artists legislation is expected to be instrumental in establishing the professional status of artists and improve their economic, social and working conditions. A consultation with all relevant stakeholders will run alongside the drafting exercise. As regards the review of the Copyright fees, these new charges were worked out by MASA and will be applicable as from 1st July 2021.

Measures of Post Covid-19 Action Plan

The temporary measures will be valid over a six-month period. These measures are:

Online concerts

The holding of concerts behind closed doors at the Serge Constantin Theatre, on a weekly basis. These concerts will be broadcast on the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) channels and on digital platforms. Artists will be paid for their show, for a maximum duration of 30 minutes per group and per performance. This financial support has a ceiling of Rs 60 000.

Online theatre and other performances

The holding of plays behind closed doors on a monthly basis. These concerts will be broadcast on the MBC channels and on digital platforms. The artists will be paid a sum of up to Rs 200 000 (including costs of costumes, rehearsals and other accessories). Other artists working in hotels will also be able to perform at the Serge Constantin Theatre on a weekly basis and will be paid up to Rs 40 000. Their performance will be broadcast on the MBC channels and on digital platforms.

Review of other support to artists (for the production of CDs and DVDs)

For the production of albums, an amount of Rs 40 000 will be allocated and an additional Rs 20 000 will be provided for the use of visual support. An amount of Rs 10 000 will be allocated for the production a single and an additional Rs 10 000 will be made available for the use of visual support.

Television programmes

A television programme, Lil Moris nou kiltir, nou talan, will be designed to promote Mauritian art and culture, as well as its history on a monthly basis. Artists will be paid for their collaboration. Moreover, Literary exchange, a television programme, will be launched to promote literature and works of local authors.

Online artistic training and storytelling for children

The Ministry will collaborate with professional dance schools and other choreographers to develop virtual lessons. A mobile app will be developed for this project. Dancers and choreographers will be paid for their services. Through the same mobile app, a storytelling for children project will be launched.

Acquisition of works by local authors

An amount of Rs 25 000 (per author) will be offered to purchase the works of local authors published during a defined period.

Publication of a coronavirus anthology in e-book format

A call for texts will be launched to publish a compilation of short stories or poems on the experience of the lockdown in relation to Covid-19. Each author will be paid varying between Rs 5 000 to Rs 10 000 according to established criteria.

Street Art

Forty sites will be identified and a list finalised over the coming days to allow artists create the wall frescoes. The theme of these frescoes will be on the consolidation of national unity.

Exhibitions and virtual exhibitions of painting and photography

Painters and photographers will benefit from a financial support from the National Arts Fund to hold fairs and virtual exhibitions of painting and photography

Acquisition of works of art

The works of local artists will be purchased by the Ministry according to criteria established.

Heritage sites virtual tour

A platform will be set up to allow virtual tours, at an initial stage, of the following sites: Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage Site; Le Morne World Heritage Site; and Trou Chenilles Open Air Museum.

A team has been set up at the level of the Ministry to implement the Action Plan and a Help Desk created for artists. The Desk can be reached on the following numbers: 213 4233/214 2173, from 9.00 hours to 16.00 hours. Artists can also forward their queries via email on: machdesk@govmu.org





#

ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris

Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: gis@govmu.org Website: http://gis.govmu.org Mobile App: Search Gov
Despite Queensland MP Jason Costigan remaining adamant he is not aware of any inquiry into his travel in far north Queensland last week, police have confirmed there is an investigation examining whether his trip was essential travel and potentially breached novel coronavirus restrictions.

Mr Costigan, the state member for Whitsunday and leader of the NQ First party, said he has "not had a call from the police" and claimed he cleared his trip to the Cook Shire Council chambers last Thursday with the senior police officer for the area, before he travelled.

Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan inspecting the biosecurity checkpoint south of the Palmer River in far north Queensland.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, the Queensland Police Service said it "is aware Mr Costigan travelled to Cooktown [170 kilometres north of Cairns] and confirms an investigation is under way".

Mr Costigan said the accusation of him breaching the pandemic restrictions was a political attack by federal LNP member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch.
By Trend

The second meeting of the Regional Action Group of the World Economic Forum was held in the form of a videoconference on May 19, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry on May 19.

Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, President of the Forum Borge Brende, as well as top officials from more than 30 countries attended the meeting.

The goal of the Regional Action Group is to support the development of the Eurasian region in terms of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, as well as in the changing political and economic environment.

The issues regarding the importance of coordinating the strategies regarding the coronavirus quarantine, preparing for the post-quarantine period, increasing the sustainability of the supply chain, supporting the green economy and others were discussed during the meeting.

The first meeting of the Regional Action Group of the World Economic Forum was held on April 30.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 19)  Subscribing to Netflix to watch your favorite show or shopping at Lazada may cost you more soon as two lawmakers propose additional tax on digital services.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Joey Salceda last Monday filed House Bill 6765 or the Digital Economy Taxation Act of 2020" to raise more revenues to fund the governments efforts to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

If passed into law, the measure would yield about P29.1 billion annually in incremental revenues for the government.

The digital economy is becoming a rising component of overall commerce. While it has brought convenience and efficient in many sectors where it is now becoming a competitor, if not the norm, it is also a largely untaxed segment of the economy, according to the bill.

Under the measure, digital advertising by Google and social media giant Facebook, as well as subscription-based services like Netflix and Spotify will be subject to value added tax.

Salceda noted that companies which offer streaming services do not pay taxes, while Google and Facebook are not subject to any VAT for advertising.

No new taxes here, we just want them to pay their fair share, he said in a statement.

The lawmaker pointed out that social media platforms will remain free and only those who advertise using these sites will be affected by the bill.

The bill also proposes that network orchestrators like Grab, Angkas and other similar services which link customers and providers be made withholding agents for income taxes.

On the other hand, network orchestrators for lease services like AirBnB and online shopping platforms like Lazada and Shoppee, will be withholding agents for VAT.

Also under the measure, digital service companies are required to do have a resident agent or representative office in the country. Salceda said that this is for consumer protection as some businesses do not have a physical office in the country.

A day after Salceda filed the bill, Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. filed a resolution urging the upper chamber to look into the possibility of collecting taxes from multinational online streaming services.

Revilla filed on Tuesday Senate Resolution 410 urging the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and other appropriate Senate panels to consider the proposal in aid of crafting legislation on a digital taxation framework.

"We need to embrace the digital revolution of our time, and to comprehensively review and update our existing tax laws regarding digital economy," he said in a statement.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine digital economy was expected to grow by more than 250%, from $7 billion to $25 billion by 2025. Revilla said that these figures are equivalent to 5.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

In 2013, the Bureau of Internal Revenue issued Memorandum Circular No. 55-2013 reminding obligations of taxpayers related to online business transactions, including online shopping or online retailing, online intermediary service, online advertisement/classified ads, and online auction.
Opposition Congress in Madhya



Pradesh on Wednesday alleged that amid the lockdown, the BJP- led state government has served notices to 24 former ministers who were part of the previous Kamal Nath dispensation, asking them to vacate the official bungalows allotted to them.

The ruling BJP, however, termed it as a "routine administrative procedure" so that the new ministers are accommodated in those bungalows.

The Congress leaders raised questions over these eviction notices amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.

"Shocking action of MP government; In the midst of corona pandemic, the authorities issued eviction notices to 24 Congress ex-ministers in the hot spot Bhopal, asking them to vacate government residences," Congress Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha alleged in a tweet on Wednesday.

"@ChouhanShivraj (CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan) and @drnarottammisra (Home Minister Dr Narottam Mishra) personally ensuring (this). SC/HC (Supreme Court and High Court) bar(red) coercive action in corona time," he alleged.

In a statement, All India Congress Committee (AICC) media coordinator Abhay Dubey said the government took this action out of frustration.

"The Kamal Nath government never prejudicially took such action during its tenure. On Wednesday, the government accommodation of former Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot was illegally sealed, which is located in the containment zone of Bhopal," Dubey said.

Bhanot's residence is located in Char Imli area, which is a containment zone after the coronavirus positive cases were found in the locality.

However, the state BJP termed this as a routine action.

"Whether in power or not, the Congress leaders have intense desire to get the government facilities. The government accommodations are not provided to settle down. These bungalows are allotted as a minister so that they can perform the work," state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said.

He said that the notices were served as per the law, but no one will be treated insensitively.

This is not a violation of any guidelines or rules, he said, adding that this is a routine administrative process to get the house vacated from old ministers to accommodate new ones.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The scope of the problem is huge, he said. We anticipate the demand will be there for sure. This problem is going to happen whether the state steps up or not. The only question is are we going to step in and give people financial assistance, or do we leave them vulnerable to eviction and foreclosure?
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave ex post facto approval to a law on specified domicile criterion for employment in the public sector in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its ex post facto approval for the Jammu & Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020 issued under section 96 of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, an official statement said.

This order has further modified the applicability of domicile conditions to all levels of jobs in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir under the Jammu & Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act (Act No. XVI of 2010), it said.

"This Order would apply the specified domicile criterion for employment to all posts in the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir," the statement said, without mentioning further details.

The Jammu & Kashmir (Adaptation of State Laws) Second Order, 2020 was notified by the Home Ministry on April 3.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had on Monday issued new rules allowing people belonging to West Pakistan, Valmikis, women marrying outside their communities, non-registered Kashmiri migrants and displaced people to get domicile.

Children of the people in these categories can now also get jobs in Jammu and Kashmir as they will be entitled to rights after they are granted domicile, according to the Jammu and Kashmir grant of domicile certificate (procedure) rules, 2020.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
District Commander, Dansoman Divisional Police Headquarters, Accra, Chief Superintendent Jeffrey Darko, has discounted claims that his outfit has recorded two COVID-19 cases.

Instead, he explained that blood samples of both police personnel and inmates have been taken of which they were waiting for the results.

"I am the District Commander of Dansoman, and I am saying that blood samples have been taken from my station including mine and we are patiently awaiting the results. So I cannot make any confirmation on the matter, Chief Superintendent Darko clarified.

The Dansoman district police commander was reacting to reports that his division had recorded two coronavirus cases during a disinfection exercise by Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Wednesday, May 21, 2020. Two other police facilitiesMamprobi Police Station and the Korle Bu District Police Headquarters, all in Accra--were also disinfected.

According to Chief Supt. Darko, though blood samples of officers and inmates had been taken to test for COVID-19 or otherwise, he emphasized that his personnel were not relenting in the performance of their duties.

...as officers, we are observing all the COVID-19 protocols in the performance of our duties. [This is because] a lot of people come here [referring to the Dansoman District Divisional Headquarters]. The citizenry always comes here to lodge complaints; we are still handling cases, and going to court as well, the police commander said.

Continuing, he said that his division has put in place measures to prevent congestion in the various cells in his division.

These steps, he disclosed, included avoiding detaining suspects of all cases, taking witness statements, and where there is evidence they send such cases to the court.

and in cases where there is lack of evidence we grant bail for the suspects to go home because we have decided not to crowd our cells, Chief Superintendent Darko revealed.

Asked the question of how his division was enforcing the preventive protocols at the Dasnsoman market which is only a stone throw away from them, the police commander indicated that his officers from time to time patrol the market to educate the traders.

Even last two weeks, our community policing unit was there to enforce the social/physical distancing protocol in addition to the wearing of masks, and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers for their hands, the chief superintendent recounted.

On this score, Chief Superintendent Darko expressed gratitude to Zoomlion Ghana Limited for partnering the Ghana Police Service to have its facilities disinfected against the global pandemic.

According to him, facilities disinfected in his division included both the male and female cells, barracks, various offices, and the whole compound of the Dansoman Divisional Headquarters.

To this end, he said all the preventive protocols regarding COVID-19 were strictly being adhered to by his officers.

For his part, the Mamprobi Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Cephas Arthur, who also had his station disinfected, intimated that the exercise will go a long way to sanitize both the police station and its environment.

It will also protect us against the deadly coronavirus, adding that it is a good exercise, he said.

He went on to reveal that mass testing of his officers had been done recently but added that we are waiting for the results.

He, however, said some of the tests were voluntarily done as officers availed themselves for it.

Additionally, we have Veronica buckets, detergents, hand sanitizers, which we make sure personnel as well as inmates and visitors to this place use in sanitizing their hands against the virus, Chief Superintendent Arthur said.

At the Korle Bu District Headquarters, Police Commander Cephas Edezeami indicated that as part of measures to avoid crowding in the cells, his outfit has resolved not to detain suspects of lesser offenses.

We ensure that suspects of cases which are not serious are not detained but granted bail to go home, he said.

He, therefore, thanked Zoomlion for the exercise, stating that it will help contain the spread of the coronavirus at his station.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has refused to grant early hearing on a plea seeking registration of FIR in a matter related to an attack on students and teachers on the JNU campus on January 5, saying only urgent matters were to be taken up during the present condition posed due to Covid-19.

The court was hearing a plea filed by Sucharita Sen, who suffered head injuries during the attack inside the campus on January 5, seeking early hearing of an application for registration of an FIR.

The reasons for preponment of the application...of the complainant are not found to be plausible. Further, in the present condition posed due to Covid-19 Pandemic, the courts are to take only the urgent matters. It is beyond the comprehension of the court as what prejudice will be caused to the complainant if already pending application...is not preponed, the court said on Tuesday.

Duty Magistrate Vasundhra Chhaunkar passed the order after noting from a status report filed by Crime Branch of Delhi Police that the investigation of the FIR already registered regarding the mob violence at JNU was in progress and the Delhi HC has already directed to the investigating agency to expedite the matter.

In her plea, Sen had told the court that the lodging of an FIR was urgent since investigation could take place only after the case is registered.At least 28 people, including JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, were injured in the attack.
The head of the World Bank warned Tuesday that the coronavirus crisis threatens to push some 60 million people into extreme poverty, wiping out the gains made over the past three years.





The global lending institution is already financing aid programs in 100 countries, under its commitment to spend $160 billion over the next 15 months, bank president David Malpass said.













"That's home to 70 per cent of the world's population. This represents a significant milestone," Malpass told a conference call.





Malpass said the bank anticipates a five per cent contraction in the world economy this year, with severe effects on the poorest countries.





"Our estimate is that up to 60 million people will be pushed into extreme poverty, erasing all the progress made in poverty alleviation in the past three years, and our forecasts indicate a deep recession," Malpass said.





Nearly five million people have been infected by the virus around the world, and more than 300,000 have died since it first appeared in China in late 2019.





So far, the World Bank has spent $5.5 billion to shore up beleaguered health systems, economies and social services in poor countries.





But Malpass stressed that the World Bank's efforts alone were insufficient, and urged donor nations to step up bilateral aid to poorer countries to ensure a durable recovery.





He said restoring the flow of remittance payments and tourism -- key sources of income for developing countries -- would be "critical steps in the reopening."





A year-long moratorium on debt payments by less developed countries -- called for by the G-20 in mid-April -- has gained growing acceptance, he noted.





According to Malpass, 14 countries have agreed to such a suspension of debt payments, another 23 are expected to request it, and 17 were giving it serious consideration.





"That's a very welcome and very fast response and positive response to the G-20 countries' commitment," he said.
North Korea has halted talks with the United States until the results of the US presidential election in November are known, Russia's ambassador to Pyongyang told news agencies Wednesday.

President Donald Trump has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times at historic summits and voiced admiration for him, although hopes of striking a comprehensive agreement have faded.

"As for dialogue with Washington, which they deem to be pointless for now, it seems to have been postponed at least until after the US presidential election," Ambassdaor Alexander Matsegora told Interfax news agency in an interview.

"They shall see what happens next," he said.

North Korea has fired off a series of rockets as it demands concessions from the Trump administration, which says that international sanctions should remain until the regime fully denuclearizes.

Matsegora said he expects dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang to eventually resume, adding Russia was unhappy with the suspension of talks that could increase tension in the border region.

"Clearly, Moscow cannot be happy with the deep-freeze in the US-North Korean dialogue, which is fraught with an escalation of tensions in the region adjacent to our Far Eastern border," he said.

The ambassador also criticised US sanctions on North Korea which he said were hindering supplies of crucial medical equipment to Pyongyang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in March called for sanctions relief during the coronavirus pandemic, telling G20 leaders it was a matter "of life and death".

Matsegora said sanctions were blocking the supply of medications and medical equipment to North Korea and Washington was "hunting down anyone who has at least some trade with North Korea, even if completely harmless things are supplied."
T he Justice Secretary has admitted that schools in England may not take a "uniform" approach to returning, as council leaders and teaching unions continue to express safety concerns.

Robert Buckland said discussions are ongoing with teaching representatives about how schools will reopen after several councils warned they would not be ready to open from June 1.

It comes after Professor Dame Angela McLean, chief scientific adviser for the Ministry of Defence, suggested on Tuesday that a highly effective track, trace and isolate system needs to be running for lockdown measures to be eased.

The Government recently announced its intention for children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England to return to schools from the first week of June. But, with continued opposition from teaching unions over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in schools, Mr Buckland admitted it remains a "mixed picture" of whether schools will achieve the return date goal and that No 10 is taking all concerns very seriously.

He told BBC Breakfast: I dont think any of us want to put either children or our dedicated teaching staff in any danger at all, and the question of being safe is clearly paramount.

So were all working towards June 1 and planning for that return, but I accept the point that there may well be issues from employers that need to be addressed which might not mean well see a uniform approach on June 1.

Gavin Williamson outlines five tests which must be met before schools reopen

Speaking on Sky News, he added: We always said that June 1 was conditional, not just on the R rate but on the need to make places of work safe."

According to a tally by the Guardian, at least 18 councils representing more than 1,500 primary schools are opposing the Government's plan.

Local authorities including Birmingham, Calderdale Council in Yorkshire, and Sefton Council in Mereseyside, were some of the latest councils to say they will not force primary schools in their areas to follow the plan.

A spokesman for the Merseyside local authority said the later date would allow time for appropriate risk assessment to take place.

He said: The priority of the council and school leaders is the safety of the children and the staff.

UK lockdown eases as more people return to work - In pictures 1 /54 UK lockdown eases as more people return to work - In pictures A woman wearing a face mask and gloves walks on a platform at Waterloo Station in London Reuters Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn General view of roadworks on London Bridge, London PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park. PA People are seen at Waterloo Station in London Reuters People wear a face masks at Leeds station PA A worker from LNER stands beside ticket barriers that have been blocked for social distancing measures at Newcastle train station, PA Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Police at Victoria Station as Lockdown is slowly lifted at Victoria Station Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Burnt Oak tube station. PA A Victoria line train is deep cleaned at Northumberland Park depot PA Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA Nigel Howard Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Nigel Howard Passengers board and leave a train at a station in Bracknell, Berkshire PA Commuters and staff in and around at Clapham Junction Railway Station Daniel Hambury Police officers pictured at Colliers Wood Daniel Hambury/@stellapicsltd Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Euston Station Jeremy Selwyn Increased police and security personnel at New Street station in Birmingham PA Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Commuters at Clapham Junction sStation PA Nigel Howard Cannon Street Station Jeremy Selwyn Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park PA Nigel Howard Commuters and staff in and around at Clapham Junction Railway Station, Daniel Hambury Nigel Howard Increased police and security personnel at New Street station in Birmingham PA Increased security at New Street station in Birmingham, PA Busy tube train between East Ham and Upton Park PA Commuters at Clapham Junction Station PA A sign advising passengers to wear a face mask at Clapham Junction station, PA Stickers being installed on a bus at Abellio Camberwell bus garage, as more people are set to return to offices, factories and building sites this week PA

Currently, school leaders, including governing bodies, are working through the Government guidance that has been published to consider how best to reopen their schools safely.

We therefore do not expect childcare providers or schools to adhere to Government guidance in terms of timescales, or the suggested year groups, if they judge this not to be in the best interest of children.

Conservative-led Solihull Council also said some schools may not be ready for the first week of June.

Mr Buckland told Sky News that he respected councils' decisions not to follow the Government's plan.

Children's Commission calls on Government and unions to work together to reopen schools

It really depends on the views of employers," he said. "A lot of councils are direct employers of teaching staff, their views are clearly very important.

Im not going to sit here and pretend that suddenly on June 1 everything will be uniform, I dont know, its my hope.

But these conversations need to continue and we need to listen very carefully to the concerns of employers and staff.

Asked about opposition in some local authorities to classroom reopening next month, Mr Buckland added: Weve got to accept the fact that some of the councils, of course, are employers, decisions have to be made collectively, there will be other institutions that feel it is safe to open up. I respect that as well.

The chief executive of the National Governance Association, Emma Knights, told BBC News that governing boards would have to think very carefully before disregarding the advice of local authorities.

She added: If they were to do that they would have to have very good reasons why they had come to a different conclusion.

The comment came as a poll from teachers union NASUWT suggested that only 5 per cent of teachers think it will be safe for more pupils to return to school next month.

General secretary Patrick Roach said the union remains unconvinced that wider reopening of schools from June 1 is appropriate or practicable.

Meanwhile, the British Medical Association sought to distance itself from the row and said schools should reopen as soon as it is safe to do so.

The BMAs public health medicine committee chairman Dr Peter English said there was growing evidence that the risk to children from coronavirus is extremely small  but cautioned there is no united view yet on whether children can spread it.

The doctors union previously said the Government should not consider reopening schools in England until the case numbers are much lower.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Dr English said: The decision about when schools should be allowed to reopen is an extremely difficult one.

We know that the longer children are kept away from the classroom, the greater the harm to their education, life opportunities and wellbeing.

For disadvantaged children, this harm is even greater. A focus on arbitrary dates for schools to reopen is polarising.

The BMA wants schools to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so and the evidence allows  this could be before June 1 or after. But a zero-risk approach is not possible. This is about safe being an acceptable level of risk.
Dublin City University (DCU) has launched an emergency fund for students experiencing financial hardship after it saw a 183% increase in the numbers seeking help since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.

With many scholarship supporters also feeling the economic impact of the pandemic, the university faces significant challenges in maintaining privately-funded scholarships for more than 1,100 Access students.

The university is now seeking donations to its Covid-19 Student Emergency fund, set up to support students in four priority areas.

This includes maintaining Access scholarships while also meeting the increased demand expected next year due to record high levels of unemployment, and providing additional emergency support to students in serious financial difficulty.

With all universities facing a prolonged period of social distancing, this fund will also focus on providing technology to students to ensure they can pursue their learning online, and on providing mental health support for vulnerable students.

DCU established Irelands first Access programme in 1990, and continues to deliver the largest programme nationally, according to Professor Brian MacCraith, DCU president.

We know that this crisis is creating significant difficulties for our Access students, and for many other students too, but we are determined that no student should feel unable to pursue or complete their higher education at DCU due to financial hardship caused by Covid-19.

With the university now seeking donations to this fund from alumni, BT Ireland has agreed to match the first 25,000 received.

Joe Quinsey, the chief executive of the DCU Educational Trust said: This fund is an important response to the financial plight of students who have seen family incomes decimated, and who have lost the part-time and summer work they rely on to save for next years college expenses.

This year, almost 10,000 students applied for financial aid within hours of the opening of this years third-level assistance fund.

It is anticipated more students will apply due to Covid-19.
Standardbred horseman Forrest William 'Bill' Carroll, 85, passed away at his home in Pinebluff, NC on May 10, 2020.

A native of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada, Carroll was born on April 30, 1935. He was a horseman from day one and learned from his parents, Weldon and Isabel Carroll. Weldon was a longtime trainer for Clearview Stables, and Bill proudly followed in his fathers harness racing footsteps.

He moved to the United States to pursue his Standardbred aspirations and began working for famed trainer Sanders Russell. He later worked under the tutelage of Harry Whitney in Goshen while still in his teenage years.

Bill proudly cared for the famed pacer Hillsota, together they captured the inaugural American Pacing Classic at Hollywood Park in 1955.

He married his wife, Blanche, in 1959 in Bennettsville, SC. They had one son, William Carroll, in 1962.

Bill was a staple on the Brandywine and Liberty Bell circuit as a trainer. He set a track record with Bees Chief in 1968 in the Independance Pace and Denny Dee was named Pacer of the Year by the Cloverleaf SOA. He also served as a director for the PHHA for several years.

A true fan of harness racing, Bill avidly followed the sport in his later years and frequented the Pinehurst Harness Track. He is preceded in death by his parents, Weldon and Isabel, and his son, William. He is survived by his loving wife, Blanche.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Bill Carroll.
The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on Iran's interior minister, senior police officials, and a military commander for human rights abuses, including killing peaceful protesters.

"The Iranian regime violently suppresses dissent of the Iranian people, including peaceful protests, through physical and psychological abuse," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on May 20.

"The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people."

The Treasury Department said Iran's interior minister and chairman of the National Domestic Security Council, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, has led security forces in killing hundreds of protesters over the years and in November 2019, including at least 23 minors.

Seven senior members of the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) and an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general were also put under sanctions for their role in violent crackdowns on dissent.

The Treasury also alleged that the LEF operates detention centers associated with physical and psychological abuses and has led a crackdown on Afghan migrants in Iran, coercing them to fight for Iran-backed militias in Syria. The LEF is also alleged to be implicated in the torture and drowning earlier in May of Afghan nationals attempting to cross into Iran.

In addition, the LEF Foundation, known as Bonyad Taavon NAJA in Iran, was put under sanctions.

The foundation is engaged in economic activity in Iran's energy, construction, services, technology, and banking industries. Most of the newly sanctioned individuals are or were board directors at the foundation.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the sanctions "send a message of support to the Iranian people that we will continue to support their demands for transparent and accountable governance and speak out for those who are being silenced by this regime."

The sanctions bar U.S. nationals from conducting transactions with the sanctioned entities and seize their assets in the United States.

They also leave foreign companies and financial institutions that conduct transactions with sanctioned entities subject themselves to sanctions.

The United States has already imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran since President Donald Trump withdrew from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
- Peace FM journalist Kwasi Agyeman has moved to Adom FM

- Kwasi Agyeman will be the new news editor for Adom FM

- Until his move, the experienced journalist was an editor for five years at Peace FM

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

David Okyere Kwasi Agyeman, simply known in the media circles as Kwasi Agyeman has joined the Multimedia Group Limited (MGL).

Kwasi Agyeman. Photo source: Adomonline.com

Source: Original

Kwasi Agyeman, a journalist with 20 years experience will be taking up the role of news editor on Adom FM.

This was contained in a report YEN.com.gh sighted on Adomonline.com on Wednesday, May 20, 2020.

According to the report, Kwasi Agyeman has been tasked to assist in creating compelling, exciting and enthralling content to attract the largest audiences.

Prior to his new appointment with MGL, Kwasi Agyeman worked with Despite Media's Peace FM where he was an editor from 2015. He has also had a stint with TV Africa.

With his wealth of experience in the Akan broadcast media space, he is expected to help the Adom News brand, to maintain its top position in the space.

Kwasi Agyemang is currently at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana as a second-year PhD student.

He has a Master of Arts Degree in Media Management, Ghana Institute of Journalism, having completed his B/A Degree in Communication Studies from the same institution.

He is a member of Ghana Journalists Association Award Committee and Spokesperson of Ghana Journalists Association Media Village Committee.

The move comes at a time that MGL has seen Nana Yaa Brefo, a presenter with Adom TV and FM resign under a cloud.

Madam Yaa Botwe seems to have a lot to say about the novel "KWABENA-19" | #Yencomgh:

Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page

Source: YEN.com.gh
The fast food giant McDonald's is scaling back its head office operations in Ireland, with the business set to be managed from the UK. Photo: PA

Mcdonalds re-opens. People queue at the McDonalds drive thru on the Malahide road in Dublin . Picture; Gerry Mooney

Mcdonalds re-opens. Darren Mulligan who was first in line to be served at the McDonalds drive thru on the Malahide road in Dublin . Picture; Gerry Mooney

MCDONALD'S have opened up six drive-thru restaurants in Dublin today and customers across the city took to their cars to treat themselves pandemic style.

For most, a trip to McDonalds was something we took for granted pre Covid-19 but in the days of the new normal, a jaunt to get a Big Mac has been impossible for eight weeks.

But today, at 11am six drive-thru restaurants opened up in Dublin, on Malahide Road, Nutgrove, Kylemore Road, East Wall, Artane and Tallaght.

And even before opening time, cars had steadily waited in the carpark of the Malahide Road, Coolock, drive-thru area.

Read More

At 11am on the dot, a staff member wearing a surgical mask removed a barrier to open up the drive-thru and a steady line of dozens of cars drove into the two-lane service area.

The company is adhering to strict social distancing and safety measures to keep customers and staff free from risk during the pandemic.

Being served by someone in a surgical mask and protective gloves, might have seemed an off putting scenario pre-pandemic but the staff at Malahide Road made this experience completely neutral to the point its barely noticed.

I entered the queue at 11.07am and had my bag of fast food by 11.17am. Queuing was simple and the service was quick and glitch free.

Yellow signs dotted round the drive-thru lanes remind customers the company is operating a social distancing service and a limited menu but staff were patient to list which options were available. These included the usual favourites of burgers, fries and fizzy drinks.

Expand Close A customer receives their order at the McDonalds drive thru on the Malahide road in Dublin Picture: Gerry Mooney / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp A customer receives their order at the McDonalds drive thru on the Malahide road in Dublin Picture: Gerry Mooney

Families and workers queued without a problem and were served rapidly at Malahide Road but the company is expecting high demand as the day progresses.

Customers are served, as usual at a window hatch. A card reader is lowered out of the window on an extended plastic arm and wire to allow maximum distance from the staff member to customer.

Perspex screens at the hatches allow the staff extra protection and maximum spends of 30 a vehicle have been put in place with customers encouraged to pay by contactless methods.

I was a little disappointed that a chicken wrap or a chocolate milkshake wasnt available at the drive-thru in Coolock today but this is as a result of the limited menu in place.

The first customer to bag himself a McDonald's today in Coolock was electrician Darren Mulligan, 33.

"I've been dying for a McDonald's, so I made sure to get here early," Mr Mulligan said.

"It's like Christmas to get one. My girlfriend is going to be so jealous.

"I got chicken nuggets and I can't wait to tuck into them. It's just a small thing but this is how we are living now, so any little treat helps.

"I wasn't put off by the PPE because this is the new normal now isn't it.

"If we can try to enjoy the smaller things as much as we can it's going to get us through this, 'til things improve." The drive-thru lanes will be open up until 11pm tonight and the company has warned customers they are expecting "high demand" and "things may take a little longer" than expected.

The company is working with local authorities and the gardai.

McDonald's said it would be monitoring how the service operates but it would make a call on if the lanes should close if there was any disruption at busier sites.

Social distancing measures inside the restaurants have created "safer working environments" for staff, the company said.

Floor markings help keep workers apart while staff are asked if they are fit and able to work.

Contactless thermometers will be used to take employee temperatures as they arrive for each shift.

And despite the surgical masks and all the protective measures being taken, the staff at Malahide Road seemed delighted to be back in work today and customer service was top notch. And customers were visibly happy just to have this treat to brighten their day.
By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijans first national tanker "Lachin", built at Baku Shipyard, set off for its first run today, press-service of SOCAR reported on May 20.

From Baku port the ship will depart to Georgian port Kulevi. After passing through the Volga-Don canal through the inland waters of Russia, the vessel will reach the port of Kulevi, where after additional loading of cargo will go to Turkey. The cargo carried by the tanker is planned to be delivered to the Turkish port of Gebze.

From now on, the ship will carry liquid cargo in the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins.

The new generation tanker, will play an important role not only in strengthening Azerbaijan's position in international cargo transportation, but also in the representation and promotion of country in foreign waters.

The length of the tanker is 141 meters, width - 16.9 meters, height of the board - 6 meters. The vessel is designed for transportation of crude oil and oil products with density up to 1.015 tons per cubic meter, including gasoline, and chemical products (methanol, acetone, ethylene glycol, ethyl tret butyl ether, ethyl alcohol, etc.). The capacity of six cargo tanks and two lagoon tanks is 9,190 cubic metres.

ASCO's activity in international waters near the Caspian Sea was resumed after a long break in 2014 with the purchase of "Uzeyir Hajibeyli" and "Natavan" ships by the presidential order.

With the commissioning of Lachin, the number of ships sailing outside the Caspian Sea reached 15. Out of them 12 are dry cargo ships and 3 are tankers.

Construction of "Lachin" tanker began in February 2017. The vessel was put into operation on December 13, 2019.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday held a meeting with newspaper distributors of Mumbai and assured that a decision on restarting door-to-door delivery of newspapers, which has been stopped temporarily, would be taken after looking at the current Covid-19 situation. The state government had stopped door-to-door delivery of newspapers and magazines from April 20 due to the extent of the outbreak.

Thackeray, in the meeting held via videoconferencing, called it a temporary measure and said newspapers are a daily need. A statement from the chief ministers office said, Currently, delivery of newspapers is stopped due to the scare of Covid-19 but this is temporary. We will see the situation and find a way from this soon.

In the meeting, newspapers vendors and distributors said housing societies in Mumbai are also not allowing delivery of newspapers due to fear of Covid-19 spread.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Taiwan attempt to participate in this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) failed because of objection from China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses deep regret and strong dissatisfaction with this decision. President Tsai said Taiwan will not abandon its efforts to participate in international organizations actively.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has become one of the most successful countries to sustain the virus, with only 440 confirmed cases and seven deaths reported. With this achievement, Taiwan authorities have been striving to join this year's WHA but failed. This is the fourth consecutive year that Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA.

During a briefing at the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Tsai said the WHO's decision to exclude Taiwan from this year's World Health Assembly (WHA), which began Monday as an abbreviated virtual meeting, was based on political pressure.

"The WHO's secretariat has again, under pressure, refused to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA, and I would like to use this opportunity to express my solemn protest," she said. "Refusing Taiwan's participation because of political factors does not conform to the common interests of the international community."

The WHO's refusal to invite Taiwan to this year's WHA is generally considered to have stemmed from political pressure by China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.

Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when Taipei and Beijing's relations were better under the then-Kuomintang administration.

Since 2017, however, China reportedly has pressured the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing's hardline stance on cross-Taiwan Strait relations since Tsai of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016. China strongly objected to Taiwan taking part in the assembly unless it accepted it was part of China.

In Tsai administration, they refused to accept China's "one country, two systems" model that "belittles" Taiwan. Since then, China has been pressuring international bodies to exclude Taiwan from participating in global organizations.

Tsai said Taiwan is already an independent state called the Republic of China, its official name.

Meanwhile, After a landslide election victory in January, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has been inaugurated for a second term. Secretary of State Pompeo congratulated her with an official statement, stating that the US would like to continue to have a great partner relationship with Taiwan.

"I would like to congratulate Dr. Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of her second term as Taiwan's President. Her re-election by a huge margin shows that she has earned the respect, admiration, and trust of the people on Taiwan. Her courage and vision in leading Taiwan's vibrant democracy is an inspiration to the region and the world."
(TNS)  On Tuesday, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt vetoed a bill that would have created a Rural Broadband Expansion Council and given the Legislature more say in efforts to expand internet access in rural areas.This is the same bill sources previously told The Oklahoman was at the heart of budget feuding between lawmakers and Stitt earlier this year.Stitt said digital transformation has been a top priority for him, and the state secretary of digital transformation had already created a broadband task force.Our current broadband task force is yielding great results, and the need for another task force is unnecessary and redundant, Stitt said in his veto message. This is a duplication of work, expertise and expense.Stitt pointed to his administration improving its broadband ranking from 47th to 26th in the nation.House Bill 4018 called for the council to be funded through the states Digital Transformation Revolving Fund, which was also central to earlier budget arguments.House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, was pushing the bill this session.When the Stitt administration indicated it was against creating more boards, sources said that was why McCall and other lawmakers pushed back on Stitt priorities in the budget negotiations by pulling funding from the Digital Transformation Revolving Fund.Lawmakers said they were pulling some funding because of concerns over transparency.As Ive told the governor, were happy to move forward with the digital fund once we have more transparency into what it is doing and his plan for it, McCall said in a statement last month.The Digital Transformation Revolving Fund did not receive any dollars for Fiscal Year 2021, which starts July 1, Stitt said.
ST gets $166M for operations

WASHINGTON, D.C.  The Federal Transit Administration awarded a $166.3 million grant to Sound Transit under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Sound Transit will use the funds for operating costs, maintenance, disinfecting vehicles and keeping drivers safe across its light rail, bus, paratransit and other transit services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding is part of $25 billion to be awarded nationwide.

This historic $25 billion in grant funding will ensure our nation's public transportation systems can continue to provide services to the millions of Americans who continue to depend on them, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao in a news release.

FTA is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.




Anushka Sharma's first Amazon Prime original, Paatal Lok, is in legal trouble due to a slur used in the show. As Anushka Sharma was a co-producer for the show, she was recently served a notice by the Lawyers Guild. According to the notice, a slur used in Paatal Lok is offensive to the Nepali speaking Gorkha community.

Anushka Sharma served a legal notice due to a seemingly offensive slur in 'Paatal Lok'

Also Read | Would Deepika As Debbie & Katrina As Daphne Be Perfect As 'Ocean's 8' Bollywood Cast?

A member of the Lawyers Guild, Viren Sri Gurung, served a notice to Paatal Lok co-producer Anushka Sharma on Monday, May 18, 2020. As of now the actor/producer has not yet responded to the notice. The Lawyers Guild will further get in contact with Amazon Prime and other production houses associated with the show.

According to the Lawyers Guild's notice, a dialogue in Paatal Lok was extremely offensive to the Nepali speaking Gorkha community. The notice also claims that the usage of this slur is highly problematic right now, as the Nepali community is already facing racism due to the stereotypes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The scene in question features a policewoman who uses the slur while talking to a Nepali character.

Also Read | Dia Mirza Shares Fond Memories From The Time She Shared Stage With Priyanka, Aishwarya

Nepali Communities in India petition the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry to remove the slur in Paatal Lok

In a petition addressed to the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Nepali Community asked the word to be muted and the subtitles to be blurred. They also demanded an apology for the use of the offensive slur. Moreover, the petition also asked for an edited episode, without the slur, to replace the original one.

Also Read | Deepika Padukone Used To Kiss THIS Person Goodnight In Childhood Every Day; Find Out Who

Further, the petition also mentioned that this fight was not personally against Anushka Sharma, but against the stereotypes that were offensive and hurtful to Nepali speaking communities. According to the Gorkha community, this slur "puts down the entire clan". Speaking to a news portal, Nanda Kirati Dewan, president of the Bharatiya Gorkha Yuva Parisangh, mentioned that the usage of the word was "regressive". She also added that people should stop consuming content that showed a community in a negative light just for the sake of creative freedom.

[Promo from Paatal Lok trailer and Anushka Sharma Instagram]

Also Read | Kartik Aaryan Talks About His Now Deleted Video After Being Accused Of Misogyny
A public question also provided an update on another development project: the supermarket. Doherty said there were some environmental challenges that CRDA and ShopRite are working on. No timetable for that project was given.

Were still progressing along and trying to push the deal together to bring a ShopRite to Atlantic City, he said.

While Tuesdays meeting was scheduled months ago, the CRDA has held two special meetings in consecutive months to authorize immediate actions related to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Since March, CRDA has allocated more than $600,000 toward community food assistance and social service initiatives as a result of the financial impact on the Atlantic City area of COVID-19 business closings.

Covenant House of Atlantic City was the latest social service agency to receive grant funding from the CRDA. The board authorized $16,503 to support the increase in operational costs to house homeless youth as a result of the COVID-19 state of emergency. Covenant House will use the additional funds to purchase personal protective equipment for staff and to fund additional cleaning of common areas.

The board also authorized additional funding for the Tourism District restroom renovation project. After approving $350,000 for the project in November, an additional $60,375 was awarded Tuesday. The design team on the project proposed a restroom trailer for Gardners Basin that can be stored in the winter.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
She added: My slogan, For One Oregon, has nothing to do with conspiracy theories or media bias, but rather, has long been my commitment to being a civil servant for all of Oregon, not just some as has been the case under Jeff Merkleys tenure.
While the idea of baring your soul to a chatbot might seem uncomfortable, sisters Claudia and Carolina Recchi think that might be exactly what college students across the United States need right now.

The duo co-founded EdSights in 2017 to support high and medium-risk students to stay in school, and increase university retention rates.

EdSights uses a chatbot, branded under a schools mascot, to send personalized questions and messages to students to understand their biggest stresses. It then connects them to university resources spanning areas like financial aid, food security and mental health.

As the pandemic has forced millions of students to move off campus and learn from home, the co-founders have found a spurt of growth from colleges looking for new ways to hold onto their students.

And the pandemic has added a new layer of honesty to the answers.

There is just so much going on with the world, people losing jobs and barely being able to make ends meet. School hardly seems pressing at the moment, one student wrote. And yet, grades are still there, determining our future when we aren't even sure what the future looks like.

Another wrote, My work is closed. I have no income. One said, Because I am not going out I can't distract myself from all the things going on in my life.

Beyond its chatbot, EdSights has a dashboard for administrators to see what percentage of their students are struggling with specific issues at the moment. The company deals with information on high-risk students and their biggest worries, so privacy is key to their platform. EdSights says it complies with both FERPA and GDPR regulation, and does not rent or sell data to third parties. Students also have the right to request an amendment of their records and receive a full log of it.

Obviously, universities are also spooked that students wont show up in the fall, she said. So they want to make sure that theres a connectivity and they feel connected to the university, even if they cant go to campus.

Story continues

The company took one year to scale to 16 customers, including Baker University, Missouri Western State, Bethel University, Culver Stockton College and Westminster College. On average its ARR has been growing by 66% month over month, and it has doubled its revenue since February.

EdSights charges colleges $15 to $25 per student. Most customers bring on their entire student body.

Before this, we did see a lot of universities asking, can I roll this out to freshmen or can I only roll it out to my first-generation students or maybe those that need additional support?  said Carolina Recchi. Now, colleges are not only asking us to help with all four years, but weve had some institutions ask us to roll it out to graduate students, which was new, because we had never done that before.

This newfound momentum led the co-founders to raise $1.6 million in venture capital funding from a slew of high-profile investors. Investors from this round include Lakehouse VC, Kairos VC and The Fund.

The new raise also includes investments from Warby Parker, Harrys, Allbirds, Bonobos and Rent the Runway founders.

The EdSights co-founders say COVID-19 played a part in their company receiving inbound interest from generalist investors, who have been historically skeptical about the space, versus solely getting term-sheets from specialist education firms. In fact, the duo had to turn down a number of investors, a stark difference between the chilling effect other founders claim has covered the entire fundraising scene.

EdSights new funding is another data point of how the pandemic is forcing the general public to be more nuanced in how it thinks about the intersection of education and technology.

In the time of a pandemic, a chatbot could be the only way to remotely support millions of students. Now, its just up to EdSights to prove that their technology is necessary in a world where schools start to reopen, whenever that is.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2020 / Banco Comercial Portugues, S.A. (OTC PINK:BPCGY) will be discussing their earnings results in their 2020 First Quarter Earnings call to be held on May 20, 2020 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time.

To listen to the event live or access a replay of the call - visit

https://www.investornetwork.com/event/presentation/64119

To receive updates for this company you can register by emailing info@investornetwork.com or by clicking get investment info from the company's profile.

About Investor Network

Investor Network (IN) is a financial content community, serving millions of unique investors market information, earnings, commentary and news on what's trending. Dedicated to both the professional and the average traders, IN offers timely, trusted and relevant financial information for virtually every investor. IN is an Issuer Direct brand, to learn more or for the latest financial news and market information, visit www.investornetwork.com. Follow us on Twitter @investornetwork.

SOURCE: Investor Network





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/590581/Banco-Comercial-Portugues-SA-to-Host-Earnings-Call




Folashade, a 66-year old younger wife of retired Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya was diagnosed and confirmed dead of Coronavirus pan...





Folashade, a 66-year old younger wife of retired Lieutenant General Oladipo Diya was diagnosed and confirmed dead of Coronavirus pandemic following a possible infection of the Diyas by some of their domestic staff.





gathered that the 70-year old elder wife of the former Nigerias Chief of General Staff, Josephine, who was mistaken for Shade and reported to have died by some social media news platforms, is down with the virus and has been quarantined at one of the Isolation centres in Lagos. It wasgathered that the 70-year old elder wife of the former Nigerias Chief of General Staff, Josephine, who was mistaken for Shade and reported to have died by some social media news platforms, is down with the virus and has been quarantined at one of the Isolation centres in Lagos.





Also, some domestic staff and family members of the Diyas, have been quarantined as a result of COVID-19 diagnosis carried out on them which proved positive but retired General Diyas COVID-19 diagnosis was said to be negative and he has since been put under a serious clinical observation and care.





Confirming the sudden death of Shade, Olawale Adekoya, Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, the retired General, said that Deborah Folashade Diya (JP), who was the second wife of the former number two citizen during the late General Sanni Abachas regime, died on Monday barely few days to her 66 years birthday.

Although the press release signed and made available to the journalists on the demise of Shade was silent on the cause of her death, an impeccable source told our Correspondent that Shade had been battling with high blood pressure and had been sick before now which made her more susceptible to COVID-19 death due to underlying health challenge.





Madam Deborah Folashade Diya was preparing and looking forward to her 66th birthday celebration on May 23rd 2020 (this week). But as man proposes, God disposes; six days ago, she took ill and was taken to the hospital, where she took her last breath on Monday, May 18, the press release quoted the retired Generals media aide, Adekoya.





In a related development, the eldest son of retired General Diya, Oyewole Babafemi, has debunked the death rumour being peddled against her mother, Josephine, saying the Septuagenarian mother is alive.





In another press release signed by Oyewole Babfemi Diya entitled CHIEF MRS JOSEPHINE DIYA IS ALIVE, the eldest son said The attention of the family of His Excellency Gen. Oladipo Diya (Rtd) GCON, MNI, has been drawn to a social media story concerning the elder wife of the retired Army General, Elder (Chief) Mrs Josephine Diya.





For the avoidance of doubt, Chief( Mrs) Josephine Diya is well, alive and doing very well. She is at her Ikeja residence, as well as her husband His Excellency Lt.Gen. Oladipo Diya Rtd. The house is not deserted as touted in the social media report. Aides and family members are still on the premises.





The information is grossly misleading and highly insensitive. Its really unfortunate that a story was cooked using the picture of a 70-year-old woman to announce her purported death.

However, Lt.Gen. Diyas family is presently mourning the demise of another wife of the former Chief of General Staff; Otunba(Chief) Mrs.Deborah Folashade Diya, JP, aged 66 who passed on, on Monday 18th May 2020.





This is to debunk the widespread social media report circulating and set the record straight. We are deeply saddened by our loss and presently mourning our wonderful wife, mother and grandmother.

We pray the public to respect our grief and be left alone to mourn this great woman in peace.




NEW HAVEN  While President Donald Trump may be taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure, doctors from Yale New Haven Health not only dont recommend it, theyve taken it off the list of drugs used for COVID-19 patients.

Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief clinical officer for the health system, said Tuesday that, as of Monday, we have moved it from a possible drug to a not-recommended drug.

Hydroxychloroquine has been used to treat malaria, but it comes with significant side effects, including heart arrythmias, and has significant toxicities associated with it, according to Dr. Richard Martinello, medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention.

Martinello said a small number of patients have developed complications. And because we havent seen any clear benefit either in the care that weve provided, in the medical research thats been performed to date, and because we are very aware of these potential risks that this drug has  its been removed from our recommendations for treatment for patients.

Trump told reporters on Monday that hes been taking the drug for about 10 days, along with zinc, after being in close contact with staff members who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Balcezak, asked about Trumps use of the drug, said he would not respond directly about the presidents taking it.

My personal recommendation is I think its a mistake, he said. Weve used hydroxychloroquine, but weve used it in a setting where the patient has been in the hospital, on a heart monitor and monitored. But this drug does have side effects, and those side effects can be dangerous in certain patients. And if its not effective against the virus, which the scientific consensus now is that it is not effective against the virus in humans, then we shouldnt be using it.

Balcezak said the health system has been using remdesivir, a drug originally developed to treat hepatitis C and Ebola and which has shown some effectiveness against other coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS.

We have an adequate supply now to treat all patients who qualify for remdesivir within our health system, Balcezak said. The efficacy of that drug, how it changes the natural history and the course of this disease, is relatively modest. It shortens length of stay by a couple of days and hasnt yet been proven to change the risk of mortality. And I think its important for all of us to remember that we are searching for a magic bullet, whether its a virus or a drug, and yet right now we have none of those things.

He said the more important treatments are oxygenation of patients with diminished lung capacity, proning  lying patients face down to avoid using a ventilator and supportive care.

Our treatment has demonstrated that we are at least as good if not better at treating these patients, as evidenced by our mortality rate, than virtually anyplace else that has seen the volume of patients that weve seen, Balcezak said.

Also Tuesday, Yale New Haven Health CEO Marna Borgstrom reported that the total number of COVID-19 patients was down to 388, a decrease from 487 last week: 248 at Yale New Haven Hospital, 99 at Bridgeport Hospital, 20 each at Greenwich and Lawrence and Memorial hospitals and one at Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island.

Balcezak said the number of COVID-positive patients who have been treated with pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome is five, now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has defined the syndrome. Previously, Yale New Haven had reported 10 confirmed or suspected cases. He said there have been about 100 cases nationwide.

One has been successfully discharged to home, Balcezak said. One is currently in our ICU and recovering, while three others have been moved from the intensive-care unit to a medical floor.

Balcezak said the health system is looking toward opening five more coronavirus testing sites to add to the seven now open across the state, with two of them likely in New Haven, and that the goal is 5,000 tests per day.

Martinello said, We are now testing nearly a thousand patients a day for COVID and that includes all of our patients that are being hospitalized. He also said Yale New Haven has held close to 120,000 telehealth visits since January, when the service was relatively modest in scope.

Martinello also said 887 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19, out of more than 20,000 staff statewide. While 887 sounds like a very large number, and it is, is this is a rather small part of our staff overall, he said.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382
Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT) (BVL: SMT) (NYSE AMERICAN: SMTS) ("Sierra Metals" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Luis C. Marchese as Chief Executive Officer, effective June 1, 2020. Mr. Marchese is replacing Sierra Metals' current President and CEO, Igor Gonzales, who will resign this position effective May 31, 2020 and his Board seat effective today. In conjunction with his upcoming appointment as CEO, Mr. Marchese will join the Company's Board of Directors effective immediately and will work closely with Igor during this transition period.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519006016/en/

Luis Marchese (Photo: Business Wire)

Mr. Marchese is a highly regarded mining executive with 25-years of experience in the mining sector, mostly at Anglo American (22 years). He was Anglo American's Peru country manager and most notably, during different periods, General Manager of Quellaveco, one of the world's largest copper mining projects, now under construction. Quellaveco developed a successful business case, reached social license, construction permits, as well as water and land tenure, in a process that required extensive evaluation/engineering and social engagement work for its over US$5 billion capex. Mitsubishi Corporation acquired two strategic minority interests in Quellaveco: 18.1% for an undisclosed amount in 2012 from the IFC, and an additional 21.9% for US$600 million from Anglo American, which we consider a robust validation to the exemplary job performed at this project and a remarkably strong valuation for an undeveloped copper porphyry deposit in Peru.

Mr. Marchese received industry-wide recognition in the Peruvian mining industry with his election as the President of Peru's Society of Mining and Oil and Energy (SNMP) between 2017-2019. Mr. Marchese's operating experience includes service in Chile (AngloAmerican's Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos copper mines), Canada (Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting's polymetallic underground mines), and various assignments at different countries (including Mexico) during his long career tenure. Mr. Marchese also served as a Senior Adviser to Anglo American's CEO in 2018 and 2019. More recently he was a Director to Compania Minera San Ignacio de Morococha S.A. and an Alternate Director to Compania Minera Poderosa S.A. Mr. Marchese currently holds positions at Business associations (CONFIEP), industry associations (SNMPE, CMSP) and Academy (CEMS UP). Mr. Marchese earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Catolica Universidad del Peru, and a Master of Science degree in Mineral Economics from The Pennsylvania State University. He has completed an AMP from GIBS University of Pretoria, and an ASMP delivered jointly by the University of Cambridge and the University of Queensland.

Mr. J. Alberto Arias, Chairman, commented: "We are delighted to have Mr. Marchese join us as our new CEO and a member of the Board of Sierra Metals. Luis is a great fit for Sierra Metals current strategic direction. After over 10 years of having one the strongest growth track records in the industry, Sierra Metals has become a medium scale diversified mining company with a solid balance sheet and increasing its copper participation, which has become its main source of revenue. Sierra Metals has further attractive organic growth opportunities through its exploration projects in Peru and Mexico, which includes copper porphyry mineralization in Peru and the Copper porphyry environment in Mexico. As noted in our Q1 2020 conference call, management has started a dialog with potential strategic partners to evaluate these porphyry style zones. We are confident that with Mr. Marchese's strong track record, he will lead the Company in an exciting new phase of shareholder value generation and market recognition."

Mr. Arias acknowledged Igor Gonzales: "On behalf of the entire Board of Directors and the employees of Sierra Metals, I would also like to extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to Igor for his work and dedication at Sierra over the past seven years, first as director and then as CEO and President. Igor has improved the team and operations in a material way since he joined the Company and positioned to continue its profitable growth profile. We thank Igor for working with Mr. Marchese to ensure a smooth transition of the CEO position."

Mr. Gonzales commented: "I would like to thank the Board, Management Team, and employees of Sierra Metals for this opportunity over the past seven years and welcome Luis Marchese as the new CEO and member of the Board. I consider that the Company is in a good position to continue to perform well."

Mr. Marchese commented:"I am excited about the potential economic value of Sierra Metals assets. I look forward to working closely with our Board and the Sierra employees to fully realize the potential of Sierra Metals assets and operations in Peru and Mexico."

Update on Disclosure Filings and management information circular

In view of these changes, the Company intends to include disclosure concerning Mr. Marchese as President, CEO and a director nominee in its management information circular (the "Circular") for its annual and special meeting of shareholders, which is scheduled to take place on June 30, 2020 (the "2020 Shareholders' Meeting"). As a result, Sierra Metals will be delaying the filing of its statement of executive compensation for the 2019 fiscal year (the "Compensation Disclosure") which would otherwise be required to be filed by May 19, 2020 in reliance on the temporary blanket relief granted by the Canadian Securities Administrators, including the exemptive relief contained in Ontario Instrument 51-504 Temporary Exemptions from Certain Requirements to File or Send Securityholder Materials of the Ontario Securities Commission. The Company expects to include the Compensation Disclosure in the Circular, which is expected to be filed on or about June 3, 2020.

Mexico COVID-19 Update

In a press release dated May 13, 2020, the Company announced that the Mexican Government had deemed mining an essential service allowing for the normalization of mining operations effective May 18, 2020. The Mexican Government then on May 14, 2020 issued a revised communication stating that the effective date for Mining to be deemed an essential service was now June 1, 2020. The Company is using this two-week extension period to begin recalling employees the COVID-19 screening process, which includes a quarantine period to allow the Company to be ready for commencement of mining activities at Bolivar on June 1, 2020. The Cusi Mine, as previously discussed in the May 13, 2020 press release, remains in care and maintenance.

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals is a Canadian based growing polymetallic mining company with production from its Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and its Bolivar and Cusi Mines in Mexico. The Company is focused on increasing production volume and growing mineral resources. Sierra Metals has recently had several new discoveries and still has additional brownfield exploration opportunities at all three mines in Peru and Mexico that are within or close proximity to the existing mines. Additionally, the Company has large land packages at all three mines with several prospective regional targets providing longer term exploration upside and mineral resource growth potential.

The common shares of the Company are listed and posted for trading on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SMT" and on the NYSE American Exchange under the symbol "SMTS".

For further information regarding Sierra Metals, please visit www.sierrametals.com

Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:

Web: www.sierrametals.com Twitter: sierrametals Facebook: SierraMetalsInc LinkedIn: Sierra Metals Inc Instagram: sierrametals

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the date of the 2020 Shareholders' Meeting and the anticipated filing of the Compensation Disclosure. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof, or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 30, 2020 for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and other risks identified in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which filings are available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.

The risk factors referred to above are not an exhaustive list of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements about the future and is inherently uncertain, and the Company's actual achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's statements containing forward-looking information are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200519006016/en/

Contacts:

Mike McAllister

VP, Investor Relations

+1 (416) 366-7777

info@sierrametals.com
Google plans to enter Indias Cloud Market with a bang. The technology giant is looking to utilise its advantage as a data company to gain leg up over competitors Microsoft and IBM.

Google is investing heavily in people and partnerships and will leverage its expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to grab a larger share in the Indian Cloud Market, Karan Bajwa, Managing Director - Google Cloud in India, told The Economic Times.

Presently, Amazon Web Services, IBM and Microsoft dominate the market in India. Bajwa added that the company was hiring great talent, which - coupled with its technology and brand - would put the right people forward for customers.

Theres very strong investments happening on the Google Cloud across the world and in India, he added.

Follow our LIVE Updates on the coronavirus pandemic here

As per Bajwa, the opportunity in India is huge  as much as 80 percent  given that so far only 20 percent of the workforce has migrated to cloud. He added that the coronavirus pandemic and its necessitated adaptations for work would fast track the shift as more companies look at cost efficiencies.

He was not much concerned about the market led by other players, pointing out that shifting to cloud would allow companies to move from capital expenditure to operational expenditure  resulting in faster acquisition of customers, even among companies that have so far resisted due to cost concerns.

For 80 percent of companies, this is the beginning, he added.

By the time we are done with COVID-19, we will be bringing on board very senior people from the industry who have led organizations and who have very strong credibility. That makes a huge difference as customers feel comfortable with the people they are buying from, he said.

The company is looking at a differentiated partner strategy to leverage parent reach in areas such as search, advertising and payments, Bajwa said adding that for the last two months, digital natives are looking to optimise existing technology for cloud.
Throughout the round table, Mr. Biden talked about the challenges facing rural America, slammed Mr. Trumps handling of the coronavirus crisis and struck several populist notes as he described how he would lead the nations economic recovery. He also said he was looking at new ideas to help bring small business out from under the shadow of this high-interest debt and these debt collection agencies.

Mr. Biden promised once again that he would appoint his own inspector general on Day 1 to make sure stimulus funds are spent fairly and transparently. And, he said, not one more penny should go to a Fortune 500 company, period. Period. Not a single penny.

He also held a virtual rally aimed at Milwaukee later Wednesday.

The Democratic National Convention is slated to be held in the city in August, but in an interview with WISN 12 News, an ABC affiliate, Mr. Biden acknowledged the uncertainty about what shape the convention will take months after the pandemic hit the United States.

Asked whether it was realistic that he will accept the nomination in person, he replied that it depended on what the scientists tell us, what the experts tell us at the time. I think it is possible. But it remains to be seen.

Mr. Biden emphasized that he would campaign in Milwaukee.

I hope that there is a convention in Milwaukee, he said. It may not be as robust a convention, with the number of people. There may be a social distancing thing, it may be smaller. I dont know. But I cant ordain what thats going to be, but I plan on campaigning in Milwaukee.

Mr. Biden also gave a virtual commencement speech for Columbia University Law School, addressing graduates including his own granddaughter. In the short speech, Mr. Biden said that it was up to leaders to create a more equitable world after the virus, continuing his efforts in recent weeks to promote a message of more ambitious change, abandoning the return-to-normalcy message that was a feature of his campaign during the Democratic primary.

From this pandemic you can remake the world as it should be, Mr. Biden said. To see Covid-19 as the force majeure that compels us to rewrite the social contract thats been scrambled by natures fury and human failures.